Demeter led Dio to a quiet room inside the Familia home and bestowed her Falna upon him.
Dio Brando
Level 1
Strength: I 0
Endurance: I 0
Dexterity: I 0
Agility: I 0
Magic: I 0
Development Abilities:
None
Magic:
[Dreamwalker]
• Weave dreams
• Enter the dreams of others
Skills:
[Master of Tongues]
• Grants mastery over all spoken languages
[Universal Literacy]
• Grants comprehension of all written languages
[Slaanesh]
• Engaging in carnal acts increases Basic Abilities
• Carries an extremely small chance of acquiring the other party’s Skill or Magic
After reading the final entry, Demeter began to seriously question her life choices.
She looked at Dio, then back at the glaringly obvious [Slaanesh] on the paper, and found herself completely at a loss.
Her newest child seemed far better suited to Evilus—or perhaps the Ishtar Familia—than her own peaceful Familia!
If Ishtar got her hands on someone with a Skill like this, Orario might have another first-class adventurer on its hands before long.
For a moment, Demeter considered using her divine power to erase the Skill from the record and hide its existence from Dio.
Once he learned about it, there was no telling whether he would spend every waking moment thinking about sex.
In the end, however, she decided against it.
For one thing, she desperately wanted to see his expression when he found out.
More importantly, Dio did not strike her as a truly wicked person.
Demeter could not look directly into the souls of mortals the way Freya could, but she was still a goddess.
She had her own instincts and could usually tell whether a child of the Lower World was fundamentally good or bad.
So far, Dio had been flustered, disheveled, and painfully awkward, but his eyes were clear.
She sensed none of the oily malice or calculating cruelty that marked a genuinely dangerous man.
“All done.
Take a look for yourself.”
Demeter handed him the sheet recording his status.
Dio accepted it, lowered his eyes, and immediately looked as though he had just read the most outrageous accusation imaginable.
His eyes widened, his mouth fell slightly open, and his entire body went rigid.
‘Slaanesh?!’
This was not a Skill.
This was a fucking slander!
Yes, Dio liked beautiful women.
He liked cute women too!
That was perfectly normal, wasn’t it?
What healthy man did not?
But [Slaanesh] made him sound like some unstoppable sex fiend!
He was a man of impeccable morals!
A model citizen.
Respectful, responsible, law-abiding, modest, courteous, and entirely innocent.
How could someone like him possibly awaken a Skill with a name like that?
There had to be some mistake.
And yet…
If the Skill really worked exactly as described…
Then perhaps…
Demeter watched his expression shift from shock to outrage, then from outrage to inner conflict, before finally settling into intense contemplation.
Unable to help herself, she covered her mouth and giggled.
He really was entertaining.
This was the first time she had ever seen someone display so many conflicting emotions at once after reading his own status.
And then there was [Dreamwalker]…
“A dreamland Casanova…” Dio murmured as his eyes gradually lit up.
He was not some pathetic creep who lurked in dark alleys, but he was also realistic enough to know that exceptional women were unlikely to throw themselves at him for no reason.
That was especially true here in Orario, where he had no money, no connections, no reputation, and not even a place to sleep.
Without [Dreamwalker], the Pleasure Quarter might have become the starting point of his glorious rise.
After all, it already offered both demand and opportunity.
He could spend a little money and gain Basic Ability points in return.
From a purely practical perspective, the exchange rate was excellent.
But if [Dreamwalker] could interact with [Slaanesh]…
Why would he ever settle for the women of the Pleasure Quarter?
With [Dreamwalker], he would never have to compromise his standards!
Inside a dream, he could create any woman he desired.
Her face, figure, voice, and personality could all be tailored perfectly to his tastes.
Best of all, anything done in a dream came without the risks and consequences of reality.
There would be no chance of being caught, contracting a disease, getting blackmailed, or discovering too late that his partner was a dangerously unstable lunatic.
It would be safe, convenient, efficient, and potentially perfect in every possible way.
How could the Pleasure Quarter possibly compete with that?
Dio was already imagining the possibilities.
Of course, all of this depended on [Dreamwalker] functioning the way he hoped.
If the Magic could only create ordinary dreams, or merely allow him to observe someone else’s dream without interfering, then its usefulness would be limited.
He would need to test it at the earliest opportunity.
Demeter watched him sink deeper into thought, his eyes practically glowing, and could not resist teasing him.
“You seem rather pleased.”
“I am,” Dio admitted without the slightest shame.
“If I can become stronger by doing something enjoyable, why would I risk my life fighting monsters in the Dungeon?
It’s dangerous, exhausting, and there’s no guarantee the rewards will even be worth it.”
He paused, growing more enthusiastic as he considered how perfectly the two abilities complemented each other.
“And [Dreamwalker] makes it even better.
If doing it inside a dream also counts toward the Skill…”
His eyes shone so brightly that Demeter almost expected them to start producing light.
The possibilities were too beautiful for him to fully comprehend.
He could simply enjoy a wonderful dream every night, wake up the next morning, and discover that his Basic Abilities had risen again.
No strenuous training, no wasted time, and no risking his life against monsters—only an evening of unparalleled pleasure followed by effortless growth.
Was that not every man’s ideal life?
Demeter blinked, then her eyes widened.
As she stared at Dio’s hopeful expression, her mind quickly connected [Dreamwalker] with [Slaanesh].
Could it really work?
Could Dio enter someone’s dream—or create a dream partner himself—and have sex there, only for [Slaanesh] to recognize it as valid and raise his Basic Abilities?
The more Demeter thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
The activation condition merely stated that Dio had to engage in carnal acts.
It never specified that those acts had to occur in the physical world.
Meanwhile, [Dreamwalker] gave him the perfect stage on which to fulfill that condition.
The two abilities were practically made for each other.
‘Wait…’
Demeter suddenly realized the enormous problem this created and pressed a hand to her aching forehead.
If Dio truly began abusing those two abilities, it would not take long before he became the sworn enemy of every woman in Orario!
No, it would not stop with the women.
Every man in the city would be consumed by envy!