I Just Awakened My Sharingan, and You're Telling Me This Is DanMachi?

[Reward calculation in progress—]

[Reward 1: Dōryoku +20%!] [Dōryoku = Visual/Eye Power]

[Reward 2: Chakra capacity +10,000!]

[Reward 3: Sage Jutsu Chakra +10%!]

Ryota: ????

His pupils contracted sharply, and he fell into a brief daze, his face a mix of shock and disbelief.

"+20% to Dōryoku…"

"Ten thousand points added to my chakra pool…"

He'd guessed that a special mission reward would return to the source, since saving Lain was, in essence, a high-intensity battle of the mind. A combat-oriented reward made sense.

But — these numbers were ridiculous!

"Before it was 50%…"

"Now another 20%… meaning I only need 30% more to unlock my Mangekyō Sharingan in my right eye?"

"So finishing one special mission equals two branch missions!"

Ryota could practically feel it — a sense of something about to break through in his right eye, hovering at the very edge of his awareness.

But what truly made his breathing quicken and his expression change was the third reward:

Sage Jutsu Chakra.

In the Naruto universe, Sage Jutsu Chakra was not something ordinary people could just pick up and use. 

It came from extracting and fusing natural energy, requiring a special body constitution and fine control. Otherwise, you'd get devoured by nature's power, ending up frogified, petrified, or worse.

Yet the system just dropped a 10% preloaded quota on him.

"No training with the Toad Style, no Snake Style, no need for Hashirama Cells… and I can directly tap into 10% Sage Jutsu Chakra?"

Ryota sucked in a cold breath.

That was practically going from mortal straight to god-tier in one jump!

And this wasn't some passive bonus — it was a usable "energy pool" right away!

If he ever ran low on chakra or hit the limits of battle, this tiny bit of Sage Jutsu Chakra could become an ace in the hole.

In fact, once he unlocked his Mangekyō in both eyes, Ryota could even pull off a "Susanoo plus Sage Mode" combo!

Do you even understand what invincible means?!

Of course, using Sage Jutsu Chakra had one extremely crucial prerequisite — a massive chakra reserve to hold it in check.

Because Sage Chakra contained tons of natural elements.

If you didn't have enough base chakra to suppress it, you'd end up getting turned to stone, blown apart, and wouldn't even need a grave.

Which explained why the system had first given him a +10,000 chakra cap.

Piecing it together, Ryota arched an eyebrow.

"This system… is basically a terrifyingly precise machine."

"Boosting Dōryoku, expanding energy reserves, introducing Sage Chakra — step by step, each stage fits perfectly with the next."

He suddenly realized that ever since arriving in this world, the system had never given him anything "random."

It was more like a guide, meticulously crafting him a promotion path to climb to ever higher levels.

Every step, a reward.

Every reward, an evolution.

Just then, a voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"…Senior?"

He snapped back to the present, looking at Lain, who was blinking in confusion and fatigue.

"How do you feel?"

Back in the Dungeon, those swirling suspicions about Freya had already faded from his mind.

Ryota thought for a moment, then held back from directly asking if Lain remembered the charm's details.

"Just get some good rest. But…"

"If you ever decide to leave the Freya Familia — you might consider joining us in Loki Familia."

Freya Familia was powerful, sure, but its members were locked in constant scheming, backstabbing, and even cursing each other — all just to catch Freya's eye.

Ryota really couldn't understand that mindset. Why did they all insist on acting like such pathetic lapdogs?

Lain opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.

Even as a low-ranking member, he knew all too well how chaotic things were inside the Freya Familia.

After a long silence, the red-haired boy simply nodded and answered softly,

"I understand, Senior… I'll think about it."

Ryota gave his shoulder a reassuring pat.

"Just rest here for now, don't overthink it."

Then he turned to look at Airmid, sitting on a bench across the treatment room.

The silver-haired girl was lightly holding her forehead, her amethyst eyes glimmering with fatigue.

To outsiders, it looked like her healing magic was just a moment's work.

But only Airmid knew that in those short seconds, she had compressed and released all of her mana to awaken Lain from that soul-deep stasis.

Which left her mana pool completely drained.

If Airmid ever found out that Lain's coma was caused by Ryota pushing in just a hint of chakra, she might die of exasperation.

She stared blankly at her fingertips, as if trying to recover that way.

Ryota stepped forward and spoke gently.

"Miss Airmid, thank you so much for your help."

"Huh? N-no, not at all!"

"Saying it so formally makes me embarrassed…"

Her cheeks went pink, and her gaze landed on Ryota's face before darting away again.

"Let Lain stay here for a few days to rest. I'll cover his medical expenses."

Ryota pointed to the backpack next to him.

"These magic stones, minus the payment for your treatment just now — I'll leave the rest as a deposit, and I'll bring another batch tomorrow."

Airmid gave a small "mm" of agreement.

Ryota didn't stand on ceremony, crouched down, and poured the contents of the pack into the treatment room's collection bag. The clinking of magic stones rang out as they tumbled together.

Only, after dumping everything out, he carefully picked out a slender, white-glowing fang.

That was the Infant Dragon's fang — the critical target item for the commission.

"Can't leave this behind," he muttered, putting it back into his pack before turning to nod at Airmid.

"I'll head off, then. Please look after Lain for me."

"…Okay."

Airmid stood up, clasped her hands behind her back, and watched him go, replying in a soft voice,

"Take care out there."

—

By the time Ryota stepped out of the Dian Cecht Pharmacy, night had already fallen.

Orario's nighttime always carried a special kind of charm.

The moon hung high, casting its silver glow, stars glittered against the deep blue sky, and the magic-stone lanterns lining the street glowed with a soft, reassuring light.

Standing on the steps, Ryota looked up at the night sky.

"Still… never enough time."

Ever since arriving in this world, he'd felt like he was a cog in a relentless machine, pushed to keep moving by each breakthrough, each mission.

No breathing room, no turning back.

But even so, he'd never once stopped.

He never wanted to feel that moment again — being sent to the Trial Space by Uchiha Itachi for not being strong enough.

He shook his head, tossing those thoughts aside, and headed toward the Adventurer's Guild.

"Time to wrap up this quest and get some real sleep!"

He'd only just stepped into a dim alley when Ryota's brow suddenly furrowed—

A chilling instinct stabbed through his spine like a needle.

Reacting on pure reflex, he kicked off the ground and leapt back several meters.

His left eye's Mangekyō Sharingan and right eye's Three Tomoe Sharingan spun furiously.

From the still shadows of the nearby buildings, a tall, graceful figure slowly emerged.

Moonlight fell on her face, so flawless it looked more like a divine statue than a human being.

Behind her, a hulking man over two meters tall, with a build like living granite, followed close behind.

Ryota's pupils shrank in an instant — he recognized them at once.

The Goddess of Beauty, Freya.

And — the mightiest warrior of Freya Familia, Orario's one and only Level 7, known as the city's ultimate weapon, Ottar.

Shing!

Ryota drew the Kusanagi Sword from his back.

The moment the blade left the scabbard, thunder hissed, flames danced, and the blade's power twisted the night wind around it.

Yet Freya merely covered her mouth and let out a soft laugh, showing no concern for Ryota's wariness. She stepped forward with an unhurried grace.

"No need to be so tense."

"This evening is just… a private meeting."

"No one will interrupt us."

Only then did Ryota notice how deathly silent everything was around them.

This alley, not far from the Adventurer's Guild, should have had footsteps or merchants' wagons clattering by, even at night.

But now, there was only dead stillness.

Before he could think more, Freya spoke again.

"Lain completed his task well."

"But what surprised me — even that Minotaur couldn't stop you."

Her voice sounded like praise, yet at the same time a dreamlike murmur.

"You really are, just as I saw it, the most perfect work of art."

As her words fell, Freya's body began to tremble — an uncontrolled, almost delirious movement.

In those gray eyes burned a possessiveness, a heat so intense it bordered on madness.

The way she stared at Ryota felt like silken threads trying to wrap around him, sharp enough to make his scalp prickle.

"'Sticky'" didn't even begin to describe that gaze — it was more like she was admiring a priceless, personal treasure, already fantasizing about how to keep it for herself.

"But Ryota— you still aren't mine."

"And that… is hard for me to accept."

Freya took another step forward.

"Join me, Ryota…"

"Become one of the men who stand behind me, just like Ottar…"

Ryota's eyes narrowed, and deep in his mind, a familiar voice seemed to chime in again:

[Quest condition: Respond to contact from the Freya Familia, and successfully resolve or directly confront one Familia conflict.]

"So the 'contact and conflict' mentioned in the main quest…"

"It was talking about Freya herself this whole time?!"

Not Lain, not the Minotaur, not any other subordinate — but the sickeningly obsessed Goddess of Beauty right in front of him!

The true "choice" of this quest was hidden in her invitation:

— Accept, and he'd submit willingly, thereby "resolving" the conflict.

— Refuse, and he'd stand against her directly.

In other words, Ryota's next answer would determine whether the quest succeeded, and from another angle, might reshape the entire power dynamic of Orario going forward.

He understood.

Right now, he was standing at another crossroads of fate.