Sakurajima, Japan——
Hayate and Marin stared at the volcano's mouth, which belched smoke.
"They're in deep," Hayate remarked. "Feed's barely registering."
He looked over at the helicopter, which had a projector set up, showing the Kadianchō moving through the dungeon. "Yuka's already down…damn. It's worse than I thought."
"Should we go after them?" Marin asked.
Hayate shook his head. "Too risky. We might sabotage or slow them down. We can only hope they get to the rookies in time, or there may be nothing left."
Almost as if in response, a wave of magma erupted from the volcano, forcing the two back.
Floor 5,001—-
Omariro and Odin appeared inside a grand banquet hall, where a bunch of Viking-like people were sitting, tearing into meat and drinking beer.
"Attention!" Odin shouted.
They all stopped, turning in his direction, noticing Omariro next to him.
"Better," Odin remarked. "Our long-awaited guest, Omariro Nyugawa, otherwise known as the Legendary Kaitansha, has made his way to us!"
Omariro looked at the curious faces of the Aesir as they examined him.
"My children will be your instructors during the trial," Odin explained. "Thor, Loki, and Baldur."
Odin clapped his hands, and a tall, buff Viking man in no shirt, a short, slim female in a Viking dress with long black hair, and a short-haired Viking male with tattoos across his body and a fur coat all stood up.
The biggest one stepped forth. "Thor. You may have heard of me. Big deal among the Endless."
Omariro simply stared at him.
The woman waved. "Hey there, handsome. Loki."
She held out her hand. "Pleasure to meet you."
Omariro ignored it.
"Well, you're a rude one, aren't you? That's fine. I've dealt with plenty like you."
She wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Should we get this party started?"
Omariro whacked her arm off with his staff. "Ow!"
The last one gave a curt bow. "Baldur. Ignore these two idiots. One's dumb and the other's so two-faced you can't tell what she is."
Odin cleared his throat. "Well now, you've seen my children. Let's dive into a little of what you'll be doing, no?"
With a strike of his spear, an illusion of three different areas appeared, one of a net in the bitter cold, one of a cave with a large wolf, and one of a dark, flesh-like underworld.
"The Trial of the Hanged King, where you'll be accompanied by Thor. The Trial of Fenrir's Chain, where Loki will assist you. And last but not least, The Trial of Hel's Gate, where Baldur shall oversee your journey."
Omariro turned to Odin. "Trials irrelevant. Saving group is."
Odin chuckled. "Oh? You mean these two?"
He tapped his staff, and a bound Yuka and Sōshin appeared, now awake, with Emeru as a blob next to them.
"I thought you'd be concerned with them. Their bodies have suffered poisonous damage. But not to fret, we can allow them to consume one of our golden apples if you can complete all three trials. As a bonus, I'll let you pick which of your three allies to drag with you for each trial. So?"
Omariro pointed his staff at Emeru. "Slime. Will be useful."
"M-me?"
Yuka looked around, blinking. "So confusing…how did we end up here?"
"Friend Omariro!" Sōshin called out.
"The choice is done," Odin declared. "Thor, take them to Midgard."
With a slam of his hammer, Thor, Omariro, and Emeru all disappeared. As soon as they disappeared, Sōshin looked around, coughing.
"Hi! Are you all friends?"
The gods laughed, and Yuka nudged him. "Quiet. Don't enable them."
"Enable?"
Yuka looked around. "Who are all of you? I don't understand how mythical figures like yourselves can exist outside of folktales."
The Aesir turned to her, and Odin stepped closer. "We're beings of the Endless. You could say…cosmic beings."
"So frauds, basically."
"Yes…and no. We do have divinity, just given by the Endless, not by any folktales. Loki, care to demonstrate?"
Loki stepped forward, shifting into the body of a male, then a cat, and then Yuka herself. "Mmm. Like what you see?"
Yuka scoffed, pulling her face away. "Tsk, what kind of tricks are you playing?"
"Uh, hello? I'm the Trickster God, or Goddess, since I prefer being a woman."
"I do not care."
"Why are all of you people so rude?"
"Gods exist?" Sōshin questioned. "Dad told me the only god-like beings were those Jōi people!"
"The Jōi Genkei," Odin confirmed. "Think of them as the Progenitors, the first divine creations of the Endless. From them, we came into existence, gods of our respective floors. Even that slime has power over her own floor."
"Then what are you the god of?" Yuka asked.
"Wisdom. Magic. Stuff of that nature."
"I see."
"That's enough about us," Odin stated, tapping his staff. "Time to see how my son and your 'legend' will do."
An illusion of Omariro and Thor walking through forests of snow appeared, and all the gods eagerly tuned in.
Floor 5,001, Midgard——
Thor and Omariro walked side by side through the trees and falling snow. A tree truck toppled over, but Thor sent it flying away with his hammer. Emeru hopped behind them.
"So," Thor said. "You look a lot smaller than I'd expect."
Omariro kept walking, while Emeru nervously laughed.
"Ever since I came into being, everyone's been talking about you like some scary abnormality or something. The Mujinsha, Raid Bosses, and even the Jōi, before they disappeared. What's your secret?"
Omariro didn't respond.
"Ahh. A silent warrior, I see. Well, we will learn today what you're truly made of, one way or another."
After a few more minutes of walking, they arrived at a gigantic ash tree, which had branches that reached toward the sky.
"Yggdrasill," Thor recognized. "In all its glory."
"That tree's huge!" Emeru gasped. "Brother didn't tell me you guys had such cosmic power down here…"
"Your brother avoids this place," Thor informed her.
"Begin trial," Omariro ordered.
"Not so fast, old man. You've got to hang from this tree. That means enduring the power of forbidden knowledge itself, until the tree cracks…or your body does."
Omariro looked the tree up and down. "Begin."
"Brave, are we? Alright. Let's see it, then."
A noose descended from the top of the tree, and Thor gestured to it. "Go ahead."
Omariro walked forward and wrapped the noose around his body, and the tree quickly dragged him up, glowing with a fierce light.
"That's odd," Thor realized. "It's never done that before!"
"Wait, what?" Emeru worried. "Why didn't you say something—-?"
The tree glowed even brighter, and with a jerk, it absorbed Omariro into it…
…right before it unleashed a powerful shockwave that sent Thor and Emeru flying back.
"W—where'd he go?" Emeru asked.
"Into the tree," Thor noticed. "That only happens if there's no forbidden knowledge left for one to gain."
They both stared at the tree, which began to wither slowly but surely.
"So, that means…"
"He already HOLDS forbidden knowledge. Now it's a matter of can he endure it."
???——
〈Rule: Endure…〉
"Master? Master, wake up!"
Omariro awoke in his bed, noticing a young boy with black hair tugging on his arm. "Boy."
"Sorry for bothering you! We just wanted to know if we could train with you, since we're still so far from being anything above the Mid-Floor Ranks."
Omariro, now youthful and tall, stood up. "Come. We'll train in the dojo."
"Awesome! Thank you, Master!"
Omariro formed his armor and headed toward the dungeon, where a girl with long white hair and light blue eyes was cleaning. "Master! Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't realize you were training us today!"
She caught sight of the boy. "Itsuki! Did you bother the Master again?"
"I only asked him to help train us today!"
"You should know better than to bug him! He's a busy man!"
"Right…sorry, Master…"
Omariro held up a hand. "All fine. What's done is done."
He formed a sword, swinging it once. "Now, take positions!"
"Yes, sir!"
Without hesitation, they both knelt on the ground before him, and he pointed his blade at the girl. "Ichika."
Her face turned red. "Y—yes, sir?"
"Defense will be your focus. Stand."
She did so, hands at her hips. Omariro turned his attention to Itsuki. "Itsuki. Strike her."
"With…all my strength, sir?"
"Correct."
Itsuki took a deep breath as Ichika gave him a nod. "You heard the Master."
Omariro sat, picking up a nearby cup and sipping on it. "Begin!"
"Jugen-Tōshi: Kōrin no Kyokujun!"
With powerful force, Itsuki formed a shield around his arm, moving with precision and speed as he charged at Ichika.
"Jugen-Mahōshi: Kesshō Men'eki no Ōra!"
The entire room turned into a crystal-like domain, and as Itsuki tried to strike her, crystal armor formed around her body, blocking his strike.
"More force," Omariro ordered. "You are not trying."
"Sorry, sir!"
Itsuki slammed his fist against his shield. "Jugen-Tōshi: Kamisori Kyōfu no Tate!"
The shield's spikes got larger and started spinning around like a wheel, and he launched it at Ichika, who yelped.
Crystals formed around her, blocking the shield.
"Protection good, Ichika," Omariro complimented. "Hold the line."
Her face turned red, and she nodded. "Thanks, sir! Will do!"
Itsuki looked between them before recalling his shield and charging into her, bashing her crystals into pieces. As he tried to strike again, a crystal spike appeared, knocking him into the wall.
BOOM.
"Oops!" she gasped. "Are you okay, Itsuki?"
Itsuki threw his shield on the ground. "Damn it! Why won't any of my moves work?"
Ichika and Omariro both stared at him, and with a nod from Omariro, Ichika returned the area to normal.
"Sorry, sir. It's just, I've been training harder than her, why can't I break her crystals?"
"Excuse me?" Ichika questioned.
Omariro held up a hand. "Watch. Reform skill."
Ichika held out her hand, and the room returned to the crystalline domain.
"Put up defense."
"Okay, sir…please go easy on me!"
Omariro's blade disappeared. "Start."
She formed a cocoon of crystal material around herself, huddling inside. With practiced ease, Omariro shattered it with the palm of his hand, causing the entire room to shake and return to normal.
"Gah!"
Omariro pulled Ichika out of the way as crystal shards flew around, and Itsuki watched, dumbfounded.
"Sir, how did you break her shield with your bare hands?"
"Tōshi gives the user more than a weapon. Tōshi gives strength."
He put a hand on Itsuki's head. "You, boy, must find that strength."
He did the same for Ichika. "And you, girl, must better your defense."
They both sulked. "Yes, sir…"
"Now, training done."
He clapped his hands and disappeared, leaving the two alone.
"He's so powerful…" Ichika admired. "It'd be a miracle just to be anything like him!"
"Well, I aim to try," Itsuki assured her. "Being mentored by the greatest of all is a privilege, one we can't waste."
He formed his shield. "Now, let's do some training on our own!"
She sighed. "Alright."
Later, Omariro was busy sitting on his couch as Ichika finished cooking. "Here, sir! I made you dinner!"
She placed a plate of steak and rice in front of him, anxiously watching as he ate it.
"Girl is a good cook."
"R—-really? I've got more if you want, sir!"
Just then, Itsuki burst through the door, breathing heavily. "Sir, you've got trainees outside!"
"Hmm?"
"You brought randoms to the Master?" Ichika questioned.
"No! I was just getting supplies for the Master, and they ganged up on me and chased me back here!"
Omariro opened the door, where he noticed a group of children standing outside, all in Kaitansha outfits.
"Sir!" they all said in unison.
"Ridiculous," Omariro scoffed. "All of you, home. Now. Itsuki, close door."
Itsuki grabbed the door. "Sorry, guys. Sir says no more students, find a new teacher!"
A girl with gray hair stepped forward, tears in her eyes. "Wait, sir, please! There are no other teachers! We've been kicked out, abandoned by our Kaidanchō. Could we please prove to you that we truly desire to be mentored by the best?"
Omariro pointed his blade at her. "What is your name, girl?"
"Mirei Kanzaki, sir!"
"Come, Mirei," he demanded. "Come and prove your worth."
The girl wiped her tears. "Sir, yes, sir!"
〈Now Entering *Second Phase.*〉
——-