The Protagonist System

I woke up, cold and shivering, huddled in on myself in a less used back alley. My chest was sore from being kicked and my stomach felt like an endless black hole. I didn't try to move or react to my situation, because I was preparing for the memory injection.

I felt the familiar heavy weight hit my forehead and I groaned as 14 years of memories that weren't my own, were shoved into my head. Just like before, they were filtered for essential information and slunk off to the corner of my mind where they settled and became a part of me.

I almost immediately saw Bell Cranel's simple life flash before my mind's eye. He was a simple boy with a simple joy. He wanted to become an adventurer so he could pick up girls in the dungeon. I was sensing a bit of a theme here, considering who my first protagonist was.

I pushed that thought aside and saw Bell enjoy spending time listening to his grandpa's stories about being and adventurer. I also saw him become severely depressed when his grandpa mysteriously died and left him all alone. When he realized he couldn't survive on his own, he came to the main city of the world where the dungeon existed to look for a Familia to be adopted into.

He spent several weeks starving as his savings ran out and he begged for help. Every single Familia he tried to go to had said he was too weak and too poor to be accepted. It was heart-wrenching to see them ignore that they all started out the same way and had only succeeded because they had been accepted into a Familia that gave them a chance.

That was the extent of the information. There was nothing about the city, the dungeon, the descended gods, the people, or the adventurers. He was almost completely ignorant about the rest of the world, because of his limited life spent in a mountain cabin where he was taken care of by someone else.

“Hey, you there.” A female voice said from down the small road. “The back alleys are dangerous. You shouldn't use them.”

I blinked my eyes and lifted my head from my knees to look. Walking towards me was the tiniest and sexiest goddess to ever exist, Hestia. She also hated her nickname, The Big-Boobed Loli-Goddess.

“Are you looking for a Familia to join?” Hestia asked and came to a stop beside me. “Well, I just so happened to be looking for an adventurer to add to my Familia. It's quite the coincidence for us to meet like this, isn't it?” She asked as she held a hand down to me.

I had to hide my smile at the awkwardness she showed, even though she was a goddess. I slowly reached up to take the offered hand. “I would be honored to join your Familia, if you'll have me.”

Hestia beamed a smile at me. “Then we should introduce ourselves! I am the Goddess, Hestia!”

I shook the hand and smiled back. “I am the poor orphaned boy, Bell Cranel.”

Hestia giggled. “All right, Bell. Follow me! We need to make your induction into my Familia official.”

I slowly stood up and Hestia's eyes widened and stared at my head as it went up, and up, and finally stopped at 5 foot 8 inches of height. Considering she was only 4 foot 7 inches tall and right in front of me, her neck was cranked right back and she was almost looking straight up.

“T-t-tall.” Hestia whispered.

I chuckled and motioned down the alleyway.

“R-right, let's get to the place our story will officially start!” Hestia said and kept hold of my hand as we walked through more back alleys to reach a shop that looked like a rundown bookstore.

“Ah, Miss Hestia. If this is about joining your Familia, I still have to say no.” The man behind the counter said as soon as he saw Hestia.

I thought that was kind of rude and decided to hold my tongue. I didn't want to sour any relationships Hestia had by trying to make them be nicer to her.

“Oh! No, it's not about that. Do you mind if we use the upstairs reading room?” Hestia asked.

“Ah-ha, that's no problem.” The man said, clearly relieved. “Make sure to put the books back on the shelves when you're done reading them.”

“Thank you.” Hestia said and led me through the shop and up the back stairs to a room that was covered with bookshelves. There were so many books that some were piled on the floor.

“Okay, take off your clothes and sit here.” Hestia said and indicated the lone chair in front of the small table.

I turned the chair around so I could sit on it backwards, then quickly pulled off my shirt and pants to leave myself in just my underwear. Briefs were not good for longterm wear and I would be changing that as soon as I could. I just needed to make a bit of money first.

Hestia's eyes bulged out of her head as she stared at my muscular form. I might have been reduced in age by a couple of years; but, that didn't change the body that Fate had modified for me. It was weird having my hair color change to white and my eyes to red, though. I suppose I needed to resemble the person I was replacing, so the changes were understandable.

I straddled the chair and leaned my chest against the back of the chair as I sat down. “I'm ready, Hestia.”

Hestia stood there and stared at my naked back for about five minutes before she shook herself like a dog and then stood behind me. She poked a fingertip with a nail file and spent several minutes engraving her Falna, or Blessing, into my back.

“Bell, why did you want to become an adventurer?” Hestia asked.

“Ever since I was young, my grandpa read me stories about the greatest adventurers from the book Dungeon Oratoria, including himself. When he died last year fighting a monster, I decided I had to honor his memory by becoming an adventurer and making a name for myself, too. I left home and travelled across the country to come here to The Labyrinth City, Orario.”

“That's a great reason, Bell. I'm sure he would be proud of you.” Hestia said. “Now, let's see what your Excelia... your experiences... will describe about your history and fill in your status.”

I sat there and waited for her to speak, and waited a bit more, then I heard a soft thump sound. I turned around to look and saw Hestia was unconscious on the floor. I held in my laugh at the sight, because whatever she read on my back had made her faint. It did make me curious about what skills or abilities I had available and would have to wait for her to tell me about them.

I could also see up her dress. Plain white panties never bothered me, especially since the cloth was usually thin and sometimes formfitting. Getting them wet was almost always a good show to see, and depending on the source of wetness, also pretty fun.

I shook my head at those thoughts, especially since we just met and she had inducted me into her Familia. I had nothing to do but wait until she woke up, so I picked up a book from the closest stack and opened it. As luck would have it, it was a history book for how The Labyrinth City came to be built above the dungeon. I braced it on the table and started reading.

*

Hestia slowly swam back to consciousness. She couldn't remember what happened, only that she had been so shocked by something that her brain had shut down. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times, as if trying to clear them, then her eyes landed upon a large expansion of muscled back. His status was laid out before her and written in her ancient hieroglyphs.

Her body locked up as her eyes saw the information that was written there and it sent shivers down her spine. It wasn't the layout that unnerved her, however. It was the ridiculous status that had appeared and the number of skills it listed. He was only Level 1 and he had a list!

Bell was the first member of her Familia and was the first human to receive her blessing, her Falna. A few of her friends that still spoke to her, had told her a few things about how blessed children grow; but, she wasn't an expert by any means. She didn't know any tricks on how to make them gain experience quickly, or how to unlock new skills, or how to release the magic within them.

All Hestia knew was that the status on his back was not normal. At all. Almost against her will, she mentally poked the very first skill called Blessing of Fortune. She knew that it wouldn't be what she thought it was, because skills were never that forthright.

Blessing of Fortune: You have been the first being ever blessed with this skill. All events that happen around you will be in your favor. Odds will always be on your side, no matter how stacked against you they are. Games of Chance have a 75% increase to benefit you.

Hestia stared at the utter nonsense she had just read. Where in the upper and lower worlds did he get a blessing like that?!?

It took her several seconds to push those thoughts aside and checked the next one.

Magic Manipulation: You have foolishly acquired power beyond your body's ability to use it. For every rank of magic cast, you will take a lower rank in magic damage.

Hestia was almost becoming numb from the shocks and checked the next one.

Minor Regeneration: Your superb body can heal one rank of damage every hour. Can be sped up by consuming food.

That's a minor regeneration skill? Hestia asked herself and read the next one.

Normal Ability Mastery: Your unfettered mind has accustomed itself to every aspect of normal life. If it can be done by a person, you can do it expertly. Cooking, cleaning, fighting, farming, building, etc.

Hestia almost didn't want to read the last one and did it anyway. She needed to remind herself of what she had unknowingly unleashed upon the world.

Mind Block: Your mind is your own. No kind of influence, be it internal or external, can affect you. Mental manipulations of any kind will not work on you and you can detect any attempts.

That was what gave Hestia shivers. As far as that skill was concerned, anyone lying to Bell would be instantly caught and he would know it. It was both good and very bad, because the gods and goddesses around the city played word games all the time, and a lot of their children did the same.

Lastly, Hestia was reluctant to look at Bell's status again. It had made her faint, because a Level 1 shouldn't be starting with those kinds of numbers for stats. With an inaudible sigh, she read them once more.

Bell Cranel - Level One
Strength: E-420, Defense: C-692, Utility: E-439, Agility: D-525, Magic: B-770

Magic: (Basic, Ice, Light, Holy Lightning)
Skills: (Blessing of Fortune, Magic Manipulation, Minor Regeneration, Normal Ability Mastery, Mind Block)

Hestia barely stopped herself from passing out again. It was almost too shocking to see those kinds of numbers on a newly blessed child, even if he had met... and far surpassed... her expectations. Now she had a problem. A huge problem. Could she tell him about his ridiculous stats? Should she?

She knew she couldn't lie to him, not with that mind skill. It was just that knowing you were strong, usually led to overconfidence and then to arrogance. She didn't want her child to become a braggart like some of the others that let their powers go to their heads. Arrogance led to carelessnes and that always led to death.

For several moments, Hestia's mind warred between trusting her new child and worrying about what he would do when he found out. In the end, she had to trust him. It was the start of their life together and she couldn't... no, wouldn't... start it with a lie by omission.

*

I felt Hestia stir and didn't say anything as I continued reading. The book was fairly interesting, especially finding out that the gods and goddesses were not the first to venture into the dungeon to plunder it for treasure. They had been bored in their realm and chose to descend and partake of the human existence, which in turn changed the city and eventually the world, into their playground.

I heard a piece of paper rustle and felt it pressed to my back, then magic flowed over my skin. I knew she was copying it directly and not writing out only what she wanted me to see, and I appreciated that. It took a couple of minutes for her to finish and then she stood, walked around me, and she closed the book I had just about finished reading.

“Bell, I... I've finished blessing you and copying it out.” Hestia said, her voice soft and hesitant. “This is what your Falna says.”

I took the paper and read the numbers. “Huh. That's all?”

“Wh-wh-WHAT?!?” Hestia asked, shocked.

“I thought the numbers would be higher.” I said and tried to not smile as her mouth dropped open from shock. “The skills are a little surprising.” I said to distract her and didn't tell her that the Blessing of Fortune was only supposed to be temporary. Then again, I died while it was active. Even though it had increased the odds in my favor, especially considering the situation I had been in, I still died.

I also thought the Magic Manipulation skill was both appropriate and disappointing. I wondered if I could find something like an artifact or a magic focusing object that could absorb some of that backlash damage? Or better yet, negate it completely. I could do some serious magic spells if I didn't suffer so much damage while casting them.

I chuckled under my breath. I really had gone all out at the end, regardless of my physical condition. Burning myself out had been pretty fun and it was only fair that now I had to pay for it. Oh, well. I would deal with it when it became an issue.

I handed the paper back to Hestia. “I'm not sure if you keep those or destroy them to stop anyone else from trying to reading them.”

Hestia smiled as the paper turned to dust in her hands and disappeared. “You don't mind hiding what you can do?”

I shook my head. “It's no one's business but yours and mine.”

Hestia's smile grew and she nodded several times.

“So, is this our secret base or something?” I asked and stood up as I glanced around the room.

“No, I live somewhere else. I just enjoy coming here to read and relax and the shop owner was nice enough to not make me buy the books first.” Hestia explained.

“That's kind of smart. He can claim that he has a goddess visit occasionally to read his wares.” I said and her eyes widened at my words. “Why don't you suggest that to him before we head home?”

“YES!” Hestia shouted and leapt at me to hug me tightly. Her face cutely squished against my chest and her firm breasts pressed against my abs.

It took her several seconds to realize I was still mostly naked and her face turned bright red. Before she could pull away in embarrassment, I wrapped my arms around her and held her tenderly.

“Thank you for the enthusiastic hug, Hestia.” I said, my voice full of warmth.

Hestia looked up at me, probably to see if I was joking.

I moved one of my hands up from her back to cup the side of her face. “You know, you're really cute when you make a face like that.”

Hestia's blush went to epic proportions and I could almost see steam coming out of her ears.

I didn't want to push my luck with her, even with Blessing of Fortune permanently active, so I bent down to kiss her forehead and eased my hold on her. “Why don't you go downstairs to give the shop owner that suggestion to increase his business prospects while I get dressed?”

“Y-y-yes, th-that... that's a GREAT IDEA!” Hestia yelled and ran.

I laughed and pulled my cheap pants on, then the shirt. I tucked everything in and thought about my magic limitations. If the wording was right, then I could cast any spell and use up to 99 points worth of magic and I would suffer a rank lower in damage, namely none. The downside would be that any spell that used 100 points to 199 points, would give me 99 damage.

I tried a basic cleaning spell on myself and it used up 30 points, so three cleaning spells could be cast before I suffered damage. Now, did that mean at one time or to a cumulative 99 points? I cast a repair spell on my shirt and it used 55 points. That was a total of 85. A cleaning spell on my pants was another 30 points... and I didn't take any damage, despite spending a total of 115 points.

A smile grew on my face as I cast repair on my pants and left the room. I just had to be careful about casting too quickly and possibly chaining the spells together. As long as I made sure to cast them independently, and they were all lower than 99 points to cast, I was all set.