With Yuuki, Yui, and Kanade taking the lead, Sora and Shiro exchanged glances. Sora spoke up: "So this is like a game agreement, right? If we don't follow it, we'll lose access maybe even have our qualifications revoked entirely?"
"That's correct."
The siblings shared another look. The world felt authentic, with incredibly realistic sensory feedback, even the time they'd "saved" by being here was precious. So they weren't about to give this up.
The two readily accepted the terms and swore their oaths before the banner of justice.
Next came Minoru Kageno (Shadow). He glanced at the group and, mimicking Tachibana Kanade's quiet tone, said simply: "Me too."
Shaka didn't press him further he knew of Minoru's preference for keeping a low profile, so he handled the matter quietly. Minoru shot him a brief look of approval: Good, you get it, buddy.
Once the basic induction was complete, Shaka began the formal introduction:
"My name is Shaka, leader of the Astraea Familia. This is our goddess, Astraea."
Astraea offered a warm, gentle smile. They're all such good children.
Shaka gave a concise overview of the world of DanMachi and emphasized the critical importance of protecting the goddess:
"If the goddess is forced to return to Heaven, we'll lose all our ability points permanently and may never be able to come back to this world again."
Sora stroked his chin thoughtfully: "Classic Dragon Quest/D&D setup. So the goddess is the main plot driver, not us? Got it we'll treat our 'protagonist' role seriously."
Shiro hugged her brother's arm tightly, sucking on her finger as she glared defiantly at the three girls across from them: "Ni-chan, you're an idiot."
Sora whispered in her ear: "Wow real female players, and all beauties too. Your big brother's shot at finding a girlfriend is riding on this!"
Yui hopped onto a small stool, swinging her legs impatiently: "Hey, are we done yet? You're talking way too much!"
Minoru also raised his hand: "Can we get started soon?"
Everyone here had their own reasons for being there.
Shaka sighed apologetically: "I know this is a lot to take in right away. But we're facing a major crisis that could put the goddess in danger and we need your help to resolve it."
Sora leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs: "Interesting. A custom challenge just for us? So our team is the five of us here?"
Shaka scratched his cheek: "To be honest, we reached out to the legendary [Blank] specifically because of this crisis. But there's one thing you're wrong about."
Sora raised an eyebrow: "Oh?"
"Everyone here including me, and every resident of Swordsmith City is part of our strength."
His tone grew serious: "Right now, over a thousand magical beasts are marching toward the city. If they break through the walls, the consequences will be catastrophic."
Sora twirled the cursed crest Shaka had given him, his voice growing deeper:
"I see a monster siege right out of the gate. But from what you've told us, only people like us can be frontline combatants, right? Hmph definitely a challenge."
Shiro stared blankly at her brother, still sucking her finger: "Nini... scared?"
Sora's face fell dramatically: "Scared? Me? How could I be scared in front of three beautiful ladies?!"
"Hmph don't forget, Shiro. Blank never loses!"
As he spoke, his posture and expression exuded pure confidence.
But then Astraea prepared to activate the Falna blessing for everyone...
"I'm sorry, but even family members can't view each other's bodies during the blessing," she said gently as she closed the shrine door behind her.
In an instant
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! To think I was bragging about never losing, and even dreamed of using this to find a girlfriend, I'm unforgivable! I'm just a useless shut-in, trash, a twenty-something loser who's never had a girlfriend! Forgive me! Forgive me!"
Sora huddled in the corner, his face pale and trembling as he muttered nonstop.
Shiro wasn't faring any better:
"Ni-chan... where are you? Don't leave me alone..."
Her face had gone completely gray, and her shaking startled Astraea enough to open the door again.
"Shirooooo!"
"Ni-chan!"
The siblings collapsed into each other's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
Minoru stared in shock: "What's wrong with them?"
"If this keeps up, we won't be able to complete the blessing," Shaka noted.
He gave a thumbs-up: "(?ω?)b Just cover your eyes."
So inside the shrine, Shiro removed her upper garments while Sora kept his eyes tightly shut and held her hand, finally allowing the Falna to be bestowed.
After they'd changed clothes, Shaka pulled them aside:
"How did the blessing go?"
Sora scratched his head, looking confused: "Did you look into our backgrounds beforehand?"
"Ah?"
"See for yourself."
Sora handed over two parchments to Shaka.
ABILITY UPDATE
Sora & Shiro
Level: 1
- All Ability Values: I0
Sora: Magic
[Winning Astrological Chart]
Detection Magic
- Can detect all units within the line of sight of any Familia member
- Three times per day, mark a target and cast [Insight] on them
- Chant: None
Shiro: Magic
[Chess Piece of Fate]
Prophecy Magic
- Once per day, make predictions for targets marked by [Winning Astrological Chart]
- Success probability depends on fulfillment difficulty
- Prophecies are fulfilled in reasonableways based on actual circumstances
- Cost equals the prophecy's scale; can be offset by mental energy, with deficits feeding back to the prophet
- Chant: "The game was over before it even began, the moment I placed my piece on theastrolabe. I declare—"
Shaka's eyes widened in amazement: "Is this for real? It's incredible!"
Sora looked irritated: "Incredible? More like underwhelming."
"My magic is just a map and identification tool, basically."
"As for Shiro's..." He sighed deeply. "Not only does it need to be linked to my magic, but the restrictions are way too tight."
Shaka stroked his chin thoughtfully:
"It's like having one guaranteed prophecy per day but no guarantees on success. For example, predicting 'Someone will die in one minute' is way beyond Shiro's current abilities. So on the surface, it seems useless."
He changed gears:
"But if you predict something like 'I'll find money tomorrow' or 'I'll roll a six on this die' the success rate could be 100%, and the cost would just be some mental energy."
In short, Shiro's magic was similar to the "Selfless Realm" from The Prince of Tennis—the ultimate expression of raw talent. It let her announce future events based on her own abilities, experience, and judgment.
Put simply: it was the ultimate form of Observation Haki future sight.
Shaka shrugged, his eyes gleaming with excitement: "Doesn't 'achieved in a reasonable way' sound terrifying to you?"
He mused aloud: "It's somewhat like the [Black Grail] mechanism the path to fulfillment is unpredictable."
"Exactly. You can't just use this carelessly," Sora agreed.
"Not necessarily," Shaka countered, locking eyes with Sora. "In your hands, these two spells are already god-tier, aren't they?"
"Besides you've been gathering information about me this whole time, right? using [Insight]..."