Northwest of the City, the Church of Hestia Familia
Kazuma sat on the porch of the old church that now served as Hestia Familia's headquarters, chewing on leftover jagamarukun from the night before.
The morning sun shone gently, penetrating through the gaps in the church roof that had holes in several places. Although his ribs still ached, his condition was much better compared to when he was first injured.
"Strange," muttered Kazuma, realizing something unusual. "My body is healing faster than normal."
Before joining Hestia Familia, Kazuma had never experienced such rapid recovery.
In the past, when injured, he often practiced Kyokushin breathing techniques, and at most, only his mind became clearer from being accustomed to pain.
But this time was different. He felt a comfortable warm sensation flowing through his body. Could this be an effect of having falna?
With the remaining corn bread in his hand, Kazuma decided to try moving to the church yard.
Despite the lingering pain in his ribs, he felt strong enough for light training.
With one foot planted firmly, he lowered his body. His feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and weight gradually lowered. It was a basic stance, but in his current condition, even standing upright was a challenge.
Kazuma began deep breathing, the Nogare technique from Kyokushin Karate. Suddenly, he felt that comfortable sensation again—warmth spreading from his core to all his limbs.
He maintained the position for several minutes.
What Kazuma didn't realize was that bluish-white silvery flashes had begun to envelop his body, seeping from his pores and forming lines of energy in the air.
Curious, Kazuma tried to swing his fist in a straight punch motion.
Instantly, the comfortable sensation disappeared. Confused, he returned to his stance and breathed deeply—and the warm sensation returned.
"Hmm, interesting," he mumbled.
Kazuma conducted various experiments: moving, staying still, moving, staying still. After several attempts, he concluded that as long as he remained motionless and focused on his breathing, his recovery process accelerated.
Was this a new skill he had acquired? Or a unique characteristic of his body? The answer could only be confirmed after updating his status.
Feeling his body gradually improving, Kazuma decided to seriously maintain his stance and remain still with gentle breathing, trying to maximize the healing effect he had just discovered.
---
On the other side of the city, Bell Cranel was slashing monsters on the third floor of the Dungeon.
His eyes sparkled with enthusiasm, his face flushed not from exhaustion, but from Aiz Wallenstein's words that kept echoing in his mind.
He imagined Aiz saying to him...
"Bell, you can do it."
That simple sentence was like an incredible injection of chicken blood.
Bell moved with speed and precision he had never shown before. Monster after monster fell before him.
"Another one!" he exclaimed upon seeing a goblin lunging toward him.
Bell dodged nimbly, then thrust his dagger into the monster's head.
One stab, right on target. The monster crumbled to dust, leaving behind a small magic stone that Bell quickly collected.
"Aiz-san..." he whispered, his face reddening even more as he remembered the golden-haired female adventurer. "I will become stronger. I promise!"
With overflowing enthusiasm, Bell continued to explore the corridors of the Dungeon, looking for other monsters to fight.
His strength seemed doubled today, each movement filled with new determination.
---
At midday, Hestia returned to the old church with a box of food in her hands. Her face looked tired after working for several hours at the jagamarukun stand, but she was smiling.
She found that selling was actually quite enjoyable; as a goddess, she was experiencing new sensations.
Wasn't this why she came down to the lower world, to find entertainment?
With full enthusiasm
"Kazuma-kun! I'm home!" she called out as she entered the church yard.
But instead of finding Kazuma resting as she had hoped, the small goddess was surprised to see the black-haired man training in a shaded area.
Kazuma appeared to be doing some kind of meditation in a low stance.
"Kazuma-kun!" Hestia immediately ran toward him, her face showing clear concern. "What are you doing? You should be resting completely!"
Kazuma opened his eyes, slightly surprised by Hestia's arrival. "Goddess, you're back..."
"Of course I'm back!" Hestia put her hands on her hips. "It's lunch break, so I came home to bring you food. I was worried you might be hungry here all alone."
Hestia's words touched Kazuma. Besides the people in his village, few had ever been so attentive to his needs. "Thank you, Goddess. You didn't have to go to the trouble."
"It's no trouble at all!" Hestia shook her head quickly. "But why are you training? Your injury hasn't healed yet!"
"I found something interesting," Kazuma replied. "It seems I can accelerate healing if I meditate in certain positions."
Hestia stared at him with obvious suspicion, clearly not believing him, but then sighed. "Alright, but it's lunchtime now. Let's sit in the shade."
They both sat under a large tree in the church yard.
Kazuma, who wasn't wearing a shirt and had bandages wrapped around his muscular body, unconsciously drew Hestia's attention.
The small goddess thought that Kazuma's appearance with bandages on his athletic body looked... cool.
Unconsciously, Hestia's hand reached out to touch the bandages on Kazuma's body.
"Eh?" Kazuma was surprised by the sudden touch.
Hestia was equally surprised, realizing her own action. "S-sorry!" she exclaimed, pulling her hand back. "I... I didn't mean to... I just wanted to make sure the bandages were still neat!"
Hestia's face turned bright red, while Kazuma just stared at her without saying anything, slightly confused by the small goddess's behavior.
They continued their lunch in awkward silence, until finally Hestia stood up and announced that she had to return to work.
"I have to get back to the stand now," said Hestia, her face still slightly flushed. "Make sure you get enough rest, Kazuma-kun."
After Hestia left, Kazuma returned to his meditation position.
He had already concluded that as long as he didn't move and regulated his breathing properly, his body would feel the warmth that accelerated the healing process.
Besides meditating for self-healing, Kazuma also began studying one of the skills that he thought had very high potential: Martial Memory. The ability to remember and apply fighting techniques that had been learned or witnessed.
With this skill, he tried to recall martial arts films he had watched in his previous life.
He began practicing the techniques he remembered—from boxing, aikido, Muay Thai, to taekwondo.
Kyokushin karate didn't need to be relearned since he had already reached black belt level in his previous life.
However, Kazuma soon realized that although his memory of the techniques was perfect, his body was very stiff when trying new techniques.
Martial Memory indeed stored theoretical knowledge perfectly, but:
Muscles and nerves needed time to form muscle memory.
For example, Kazuma could remember the Taekwondo Tornado Kick movement with perfect detail, but his legs weren't flexible enough to perform the required 360° rotation.
He also realized that each martial art style had different body mechanics:
Kyokushin focused on low stances and hard punches/kicks.
Taekwondo required high flexibility for head kicks.
Boxing relied on quick footwork and hip rotation different from karate.
"I can perform Mawashi Geri perfectly," muttered Kazuma as he tried the Kyokushin circular kick, "but when I try the 720 Kick Taekwondo, my legs are too stiff."
There was also the issue of specific muscle memory. His muscles and reflexes were already trained for Kyokushin movements, but:
Muay Thai side kicks required new adaptation.
Aikido needed throwing techniques he had never trained.
In other words, Kazuma did have a perfect body from years of training and the Martial Memory skill, but mastering a technique wasn't as simple as remembering it.
His muscles, joints, and reflexes still needed time to adapt to new movements.
Like a sword that must be forged repeatedly before becoming sharp, his body also required endless repetition before being able to execute techniques perfectly.
His Martial Memory was merely a shortcut—a map showing the fastest route, but he still had to walk it himself.
Analyzing the Martial Memory skill, Kazuma realized that this skill was very balanced in terms of advantages and disadvantages.
He wasn't disappointed, because he thought this skill was already very good.
If others needed years of training, he might only need a few months—which could be considered very fast.
"And the fastest way to master it," muttered Kazuma, "is through real combat."
Without realizing it, time passed and the sky began to change color to reddish orange.
---
Bell Cranel swung his dagger for the last time, finishing off a wolf monster on the fifth floor of the Dungeon. His breath was ragged, but a satisfied smile radiated from his face.
"Enough for today," he said to himself, realizing that the sun must already be starting to set on the surface.
Actually, Bell wanted to go home at midday, but because he had provisions given by Syr, he decided to stay in the Dungeon longer.
Now, feeling tired but satisfied, he decided to exit the Dungeon and return to Hestia Familia's headquarters.
The streets of Orario were still busy as usual even as evening approached. Bell walked lightly, feeling satisfied with his achievements today.
Yesterday, he needed extra effort to kill a few monsters on the third floor, but today everything felt much easier.
He even dared to go down to the fifth floor and managed to defeat monsters there.
"Bell-kun!"
Bell turned toward the familiar voice and saw Goddess Hestia who also happened to be on her way home. The small goddess's face looked tired but radiant.
"Goddess!" Bell smiled widely. "What a coincidence!"
"How was the Dungeon today?" asked Hestia, walking alongside Bell.
"Very good!" Bell replied enthusiastically. "I managed to go down to the fifth floor and collect more magic stones than yesterday."
Hestia looked at him with a worried face; after all, yesterday they had encountered a Minotaur on the fifth floor. "You're not hurt, are you? Didn't meet any dangerous monsters?"
"No, Goddess," Bell shook his head, then remembered something. "Oh, I also met a waitress named Syr from Hostess of Fertility. She gave me a lunch box."
"Syr?" Hestia frowned. "From Hostess of Fertility? Bell-kun, you're not trying to get close to another girl, are you?"
"N-no, Goddess!" Bell quickly shook his head, his face reddening. "She just gave me lunch, that's all!"
Hestia narrowed her eyes, clearly not satisfied with that answer. "Lunch boxes are usually the first step, Bell-kun. Next she'll invite you to dinner, then—"
"Goddess!" Bell interrupted, his face growing redder. "It's not like that!"
They continued walking and chatting, Bell telling about his experience in the Dungeon today (deliberately avoiding mentioning Aiz Wallenstein's name), and Hestia talking about her work at the jagamarukun stand.
When they finally arrived at the old church, the sight in the yard made both of them stunned.
Kazuma was doing handstand push-ups on a ruined stone. His perfectly trained muscles contracted with each movement, sweat flowing from his furrowed brow in concentration.
"Kazuma-kun/Kazuma-san!" exclaimed Hestia and Bell simultaneously, shocked to see the man who should be on complete bed rest due to broken ribs instead doing intense physical training.
"Kazuma-kun!" exclaimed Hestia, running toward the black-haired man. "What are you doing? You should be resting!"
Kazuma landed smoothly, lowering his feet from the handstand position. Although he looked sweaty, his face showed no signs of pain at all.
"Goddess, Bell," he greeted them casually. "You're back, I see."
"Kazuma-san, what about your injury?" asked Bell worriedly. "Aren't your ribs still broken?"
Kazuma wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. "That's what I wanted to tell you. Something strange and... interesting happened."
Hestia put her hands on her hips, her expression a mixture of worry and annoyance. "Explain," she ordered firmly.
"When you both left this morning," Kazuma began explaining, "Suddenly, I felt a strange warm sensation spreading throughout my body, especially in the injured area."
Bell listened seriously, while Hestia still looked unsatisfied with the explanation.
She knew Kazuma was lying; as a goddess, Hestia was similar to the god Ouranus who had intuition that could distinguish truth from lies.
But she couldn't force Kazuma to tell the truth. She was afraid he might hate her.
"So you mean," Hestia tried to understand, "you found some kind of... self-healing technique?"
Kazuma nodded. "It seems so. And not only that, the healing process is much faster than normal. The pain is reduced by 70% after 3 hours of meditation"
"That's impossible," Hestia objected. "Even with the best healing potions, broken ribs need weeks to heal completely."
"Maybe it has something to do with Falna?" Bell guessed. "Maybe Kazuma-san has a special regeneration ability?"
Hestia frowned, thinking hard. "But that wasn't listed in his status yesterday."
"What if we check my status again tonight?" Kazuma suggested. "Maybe there's a change or a new skill that has appeared?"
Hestia looked doubtful, but finally nodded in agreement. "Alright. But until then, I want you to really rest, Kazuma-kun. No more training."
"Yes, Goddess," Kazuma replied, though there was a mischievous glint in his eyes that made Hestia suspect he would still do what he wanted.
Bell looked admiringly at Kazuma. Just a day ago, the man was lying weak with broken ribs.
Now, he could do handstand push-ups as if nothing had happened.
The sun leaned further west, coloring Orario's sky with golden orange hues as the three members of Hestia Familia walked into the old church.