Final Pre-Dungeon Preparations

"Destiny? My name is Destiny!" My lifelong companion, or Destiny as I'll now be calling her, expressed nigh infinite joy as even I was corrupted by her giddy outburst. Taking a second to calm down, Destiny said, "What did you want to know again? Oh right… You're no longer a nineteen-year-old. Technically you're not even a day old, but physically speaking, your body has reverted back to its optimal age to begin training. So while you're technically not a teen at all, your body measures up to a thirteen-year-old."

"What the fuck did you just say?! In what world does a thirteen-year-old grow to be over 1.9 meters tall?"

"God, you don't have to yell… I don't know, maybe the Voidseeker did want your ascent to slow down by having to get used to a small body again. Why do you even care? I mean seriously, after training you'll eventually be immortal and then eternal..."

"It's… Nevermind…." She was right. I guess it doesn't really matter what my physical age is.

Leaving the bathroom after understanding my situation a bit better, I was about to continue my conversation with Hestia, when I came across the sight of a white-haired crimson-eyed boy "about my age." Upon leaving the bathroom, both Bell and Hestia were looking in my direction and I could hear Hestia say, "This is our familia's newest member, Nathaniel Keter."

"???!" Bell's voice was filled with excitement as he rushed over to my side and asked… something. I barely understood what he said aside from his own name, so I had Hestia translate for me. She translated, "Oh! This is my first teammate? Nice to meet you, my name is Bell Cranel, but you can simply refer to me as Bell!"

A bit surprised by the innocent manner with which Bell approached me, I took a second before saying, "Mhmm… Ok Bell, you can call me Keter." It wasn't a cultural thing, back on Earth, I lived in America where people called each other by their first name. Yet, for some reason, my nickname always turned out to be my last name. So, by habit, I asked to be referred to in what the Japanese would call a "formal" manner; by my surname.

Of course, Hestia had to translate for me and after the introduction, the three of us talked for a while longer to get to know each other a bit better. Leaving when the opportune time came, I left Hestia and Bell's side after explaining to Hestia that going forward I would like it if she stopped speaking in English and if she could encourage Bell to speak to me whenever possible, so as to accelerate the rate I learned Japanese. She nodded, and told me what I was assumed was either a goodbye or "to leave" in Japanese, and so I did.

Making my way outside once more, I reviewed the various methods ingrained into my head and decided to start with body refinement. After all, it's not like there was anything to practice my Chain Sickle skill with around me anyways. "Tsk. Tsk. Is everything here connected to magic?" I audibly complained as I looked over how to begin body refinement according to the Gold Star Killer Constitution technique.

Fortunately, my Magic Manipulation was well above the required Level E to begin and then there was also my extremely high tolerance towards pain. With these two things supporting me, I jumped into the world of body cultivation with nary a frown or a scowl. Slowly I manipulated the magic already gathered within me to start revolving in my body to become a "Gold Star Killer."

According to what I know, all Body Cultivation methods begin with tempering the flesh then the muscle, bones, and organs. As I stated cultivating, I felt my skin crawl, break, and reform, dozens and hundreds of times over. Within minutes, I received notifications of my various physical stats increased from I to H. However, I had to stop soon after I began as I felt my Magic run out. Sighing, I added the process of refilling my magic into my routine and for three more hours, I stayed out effectively raising all my stats.

It was midnight when I returned inside the Church and everyone was already asleep. So, I locked up the basement and promptly checked my status before going to sleep. The last thing I recalled before I entered the world of dreams, was a warm feeling after seeing that Hestia and Bell had left three croquettes for me.

[Status

Name: Nathaniel Keter

Level: 1

Power: F

Endurance: F

Dexterity: F

Agility: F

Magic: B

Name: Gold Star Killer Constitution

Level: F

Effect: The skin has reached a tempered completion rate of 15%. Reach 100% completion to gain a new passive ability.]

The next day, at around 7 AM, I woke up to the sounds of my housemates beginning their daily routine. I got up and followed along whilst listening to them talk in Japanese and trained my Passive Language Aquisition. Eventually, Bell packed all his things and we left to head for the guild. It was a terrible feeling not being able to express my thoughts as best as I could, but such was the plight of an outsider in this ridiculous anime universe…

When we finally made it to the guild, I was like a baby with Bell acting as my guardian in taking care of all my paperwork. I was given an ID and appointed an advisor, but given my lack of communicative abilities, there was not much to do with either for now. As I waited for Bell to finish whatever else he had to do in the guild, I stayed by the exit playing around with magic to pass the time. If anything, I could at least improve my Magic stat and Magic Manipulation to not completely waste my time.

When Bell finally finished, we walked over to the tower of Babel and began our descent into the dungeon. As we descended the first set of stairs, in the best Japanese I could muster, I said, "Bell, I'm… beginner..." Pointing at my Chain Sickle all the while, I hoped he understood. But to make sure, I emphasized that he could go ahead if he wanted by saying, "No need… stay back…"

Either he didn't understand and elected to work as a team, or because I expressed my status as a newbie, he felt obliged to see to it that I didn't die immediately...