Anime: Passive Inheritance System

"Speaking of which, Freya, it looks like you've got your eyes on a new target again. So? Planning to make a move?"

Inside a grand classical hall adorned with gilded angelic statues, several goddesses sat around a circular conference table. They were all shrouded in a powerful divine aura, clearly violating the divine prohibition by using their arcanum in the lower world.

Freya sat alone on the far right side of the table, bathed in soft lavender divine light. In her hands, a mirror formed from pure divine power displayed the image of a man in black moving deftly through a horde of monsters.

No single monster could touch him. Whether it was a Level 3 or a Level 4, none of them could land a fatal blow. Every time his twin swords swept out, several monsters were sliced apart with ease, their bodies falling cold to the floor.

But despite the one-sided slaughter, the man's expression didn't look good.

There were simply too many monsters.

He wasn't facing ten or twenty. Not even a hundred or two hundred. He was up against monsters that filled an entire floor.

The current floor he was on was the 47th. The average monster level there was already at Level 4. The area of the floor was roughly a third the size of Orario. The monsters filling it easily numbered in the Tens of thousands.

Over Tens of thousands of monsters packed into the same floor. Just seeing that terrifying sight was enough to crush the will of any normal adventurer. Yet the man reflected in the divine mirror didn't show a trace of fear. His expression was only cold and focused as he locked onto the blade he swung, eyes reflecting a deadly gleam.

The glint of his sword danced through the tightly packed ranks of monsters.

Blood sprayed in every direction.

Each fierce strike stirred violent gusts of wind. The piercing whistle of his swords echoed through the floor.

Freya dug her nails into the edge of the table, her breathing growing heavy.

He fought in complete silence, teeth clenched, surrounded by enemies on all sides. Even when facing a hopeless battle with no chance of survival, he never flinched. Instead, he launched attacks again and again, each swing of his blade seemingly burning his very soul.

It was a rare and awe-inspiring sight—like something straight out of a heroic epic.

"I can see it…"

Freya slowly narrowed her eyes.

"That child's soul… it's shining…"

Her pale gray eyes were locked onto the man in the mirror. Beneath that pitch-black cloak, it was as if an unmatched brilliance was bursting forth.

And it wasn't stopping there.

As the battle grew more intense, the man's soul burned brighter and brighter.

It kept glowing!

It grew ever more radiant!

That will, that soul—at this very moment, it was blazing with extraordinary brilliance!

"Ah… how beautiful… so beautiful… This radiance… this potential! I was right. I was completely right!"

Freya's face flushed with passion, her upper body collapsing onto the table. She leaned close to the mirror, her nose nearly touching the reflection of the man's cold, determined face. Her body trembled slightly from the overwhelming thrill.

The other goddesses in the hall stared at her in shock.

Freya, known far and wide as the goddess of beauty, had a reputation for being a seductress. Over her countless years of life, she had courted and toyed with more than a million extraordinary men. But now, this infamous goddess was so obsessed over a mortal child that she had lost herself entirely?

The goddesses looked at one another, baffled. What kind of person could possibly drive Freya to such obsession?

That question stirred their own curiosity.

Birds of a feather flock together. Even among the gods, there were cliques, and the ones close to Freya were no saints themselves. Their personal lives were wild to say the least.

Driven by curiosity and desire, they began subtly prying, asking who this child Freya had taken an interest in was. But Freya ignored all of them. Her eyes remained glued to the mirror, and her expression only grew more intoxicated.

A moment later, she lifted her head, her eyes half-lidded as she let out a long, sensual moan. Her legs pressed tightly together and straightened, while a blush like a blooming rose spread across her skin.

Beneath her, the pale gray seat cushion darkened to black. A strange fragrance slowly filled the air in the hall.

"Whoa… seriously, Freya? You can't be that far gone."

The other goddesses froze at the sight. Of course, they knew exactly what that change meant.

But... just from watching the mirror?

After savoring the afterglow, Freya returned her gaze to the mirror. Her gray eyes now shimmered as if overflowing with seductive charm.

"Hehehe… Will he burn out completely… or transcend fate and ascend…? I'll witness it with my own eyes…"

---

Hestia Familia Base

Inside the church, Hestia sat on one of the long prayer benches, lightly swinging her feet. Her gaze was fixed on the white statue of a goddess placed on the altar.

Back when the church had been renovated and Kai brought her, Bell, and Lily back here, she was thrilled at first to see how grand and elegant the church had become. But the moment she opened the doors and saw the statue of herself on the altar, she exploded.

She couldn't remember the last time someone had made a statue of her. Hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of years ago? But when she saw that perfectly accurate likeness of herself carved in stone, a wave of indescribable embarrassment overwhelmed her, and she flat-out refused to let Kai keep it there. She even threw a huge tantrum over it.

In the end, she still couldn't convince him to remove the statue.

Now, over a month had passed since the renovation. What once filled her with shame, she could now calmly stare at in silence… Kai, that child from the lower world, had changed her more in two months than all her millions of years in heaven ever did.

"Hehe… You really are amazing, Kai…"

A smile crept onto the young goddess's face. Her head swayed gently, the small silver bells on her sky-blue twin-tailed ribbons softly chiming.

The lamps inside the church flickered with warm yellow light. Time ticked by slowly, until dawn began to break and soft footsteps sounded from outside.

Hearing the steps, Hestia hopped off the bench and turned to face the door. A subtle sparkle lit up her ocean-blue eyes.

"—Kami-sama!"

Pushing open the church doors, Bell, covered in blood, stumbled in while holding the unconscious Lili in his arms.

On the way back from the dungeon, although the monsters had already been cleared by Kai and weren't as densely packed, for the exhausted Bell and Lili, it was still full of danger.

"…Bell?"

Seeing Bell in such a disheveled state, Hestia quickly ran over. She gently lifted Lili off his chest and looked worriedly at the unconscious pallum girl.

"What happened to Lili?"

"She's okay, just exhausted. She fainted the moment we exited Babel Tower." Sitting up with his hands on the floor, Bell shook his head anxiously. "But Senpai… he…"

"Kai? Ah, right, why didn't he come back with you?"

Hestia glanced around, looking out the church doors for the familiar black-clad figure, but saw no sign of him. She frowned. "Bell, why didn't Kai come back with you?"

Meeting her questioning gaze, Bell lowered his head and said heavily, "Senpai… he's still in the dungeon!"

…

Battle. Battle. Endless battle.

The blades danced mid-air and fell in an elegant arc, taking the lives of yet another round of monsters.

Clang—

A beam of sword intent condensed, slicing forth like a streak of aurora, tearing through the monsters' encirclement. Sword aura roared, and flesh and blood exploded.

Clad in black, the swordsman moved between floors, leaving behind carnage wherever he passed. The chilling glint of blades flashed through the corridors, monster corpses piling up around him, blood pooling into channels.

After dozens of minutes, Kai finally stopped at the edge of a floor.

His back remained straight, sword intent surged from his body, but his eyes were filled with emptiness.

"System."

He called softly and checked the proficiency of all the skills on his skill tree. Then, closing the screen, he stepped into the vertical shaft leading to the next floor.

Sixtieth floor.

Ten hours and five minutes.

Kai had long since lost count of how many monsters he'd killed. But the system countdown reminded him precisely how long it had been.

In ten hours, hundreds of thousands of monsters had fallen to his twin swords. The experience they granted pushed both the advanced and core passive skills of [Black Swordsman] to Level 3. Even his Adventurer level, the hardest stat to raise, was now maxed out—he was just one last step away from reaching Level 3.

But killing so many monsters wasn't without cost.

Even though he'd kept his sword energy output moderate, the nearly ten hours of non-stop combat had pushed his 700-point constitution—already boosted sevenfold as a solo Lv.2 adventurer—to its absolute limit.

The only reason he was still standing was the state granted by his Level 3 [Dual-wielding] skill.

The more damage he received, the less effect it had, reduced to as low as 13%.

Even so, his body was near its limit. His drained blood made him look alarmingly gaunt, his face pale as a corpse.

But the mental toll was far worse.

After slaughtering hundreds of thousands of monsters, the stench of blood seemed to seep out of his very pores. Whenever he blinked, he felt a chill behind him, as if something unseen was watching, whispering, laughing.

To be honest, Kai felt like vomiting.

That queasy sensation—sign of mental stress pushed to its breaking point.

If he could, he would've turned back to Orario, thrown away his swords, drowned himself in the pleasures of the entertainment district, soaked in a hot spring, had a quiet meal, and slept for a day or two.

But he had no choice.

Thirteen hours and fifty minutes remained.

Forty floors still lay ahead.

Each one filled with more monsters and greater danger. He couldn't even guarantee he wouldn't die on the next.

Even if the slaughter made him sick, he had to keep going. No one could guarantee his safety. Death whispered constantly in his ear… That was the system's trial.

Cold, absolute, merciless.

Kai understood all of this. So he gripped his swords tighter, drove his body forward with sheer will, and pressed deeper.

Floor 65: Monsters of Level 6 began to appear, significantly slowing his progress.

Floor 70: Terrain became mountainous and hilly, meaning even at full speed, it took tens of minutes to locate the next vertical shaft.

Floor 80: The first Level 7 monster appeared.

A hulking figure over 100 meters tall. Pale, spherical, its tiny head sat atop folds of fat. Spider-like eyes lined its belly, and hundreds of clawed legs supported its grotesque form—unrecorded and unseen in fifty years.

Kai named it: Eihort.

God of the Labyrinth. The Pale Beast.

On a jagged hilltop, Kai stood facing the creature, its stench mixing with cries that sounded like infants sobbing. Every instinct screamed danger.

A being so massive, just standing could rival a mountain. Resistance felt pointless.

Then Eihort roared. From its misshapen head came a deep, guttural cry that shook the rocks, tearing the air. Just that roar struck with force rivaling a Level 5 monster's full attack.

So this was… Level 7?

Kai's eyes shrank as the mountaintop shattered from sound alone.

Too strong… there was no way he could win.

Even with everything he had—he wouldn't win.

Run!

It wasn't cowardice. It was reality. Eihort's overwhelming strength left him with one choice.

Twisting midair, Kai landed and dashed away at full speed.

Wind sliced past him with a piercing whistle. While fleeing, he frantically searched for the next vertical shaft.

His cloak flapped wildly. His 700 speed exploded to the limit, and he broke the sound barrier again and again.

Floor 85: No weak monsters remained. The lowest were Level 6. Hundreds of Eihorts stood like hills across the floor. Some could shoot searing rays from their eyes.

The only stroke of luck: no high-speed Level 7 monsters… yet.

With one hour left in the trial, Kai barely reached the entrance to Floor 90.

By now, each floor's area was over twice that of Orario. Even at full speed, finding a shaft could take thirty minutes.

That meant, at best, he'd reach Floor 92 before time ran out.

He was cornered. But he refused to give up.

There was still time.

It was unlikely, but not impossible.

Maybe… just maybe… a miracle would occur.

If his hands could still swing swords, and his feet still run, and as long as miracles could exist—then it wasn't time to give up!

He stepped into Floor 90.

Tap.

His foot landed on hot black obsidian, echoing through the empty space.

From the distance, something opened its eye.

A single massive eye, orange-yellow with crimson veins, pupil as black as pitch, burning with a world-consuming flame.

The eye rotated slowly, its gaze seeming to crush space with a grinding noise. Then… it locked on Kai.

And in that instant—reality twisted.

Time, space, even his sense of self shattered and burned to ash.

Paralyzed by the gaze, Kai's mind went blank, breath frozen, body stiff like a doll. Only when the creature blinked did he regain control.

His spine tingled. Sweat poured from every pore. Legs trembling, Kai forced himself to look toward the being.

…

The pressure from that gaze was overwhelming.

Larger than even Eihort. It lay coiled like a mountain, its body armored in jagged black scales, massive wings folded tight, a thick tail curled around it.

It was a creature of legend. A name whispered across the ages—

Dragon.

The Black Dragon King.

One of the dungeon's strongest monsters. Even Zeus's Familia had once fallen to it.

The One-Eyed Black Dragon.

Recognizing it, Kai's whole body shook.

Unlike with Eihort, this time the thought of escape didn't even enter his mind.

Death.

The difference in power was that of an infant facing an elephant.

Escape was meaningless. Every "possibility" shattered. Only death remained.

Huff—

The dragon's single eye lingered on Kai for a moment, then it snorted, flames sparking from its nostrils as if expressing disdain.

It raised a claw—then slammed it down.

Maybe it was just a show of strength, but in that instant, Kai noticed something.

Behind it… a vertical shaft.

Gulp.

Staring at the drowsy dragon, a ridiculous idea rose in Kai's mind.

Maybe… he could sneak past?

He knew why the dragon hadn't attacked: he was simply too weak. Not even worth its attention.

So if he didn't make a sound, maybe he could slip by?

It was possible. But…

Would you hesitate to crush an ant?

That meant his chances were 50/50.

Should he bet?

"Do I even need to ask…"

Forty minutes left on the clock. If he failed the trial, the system would erase him completely. No trace, no memory, no existence.

Compared to that, death was easier to accept.

Gripping his blades, Kai controlled his breath and took the first step.

…

Nothing happened.

The dragon kept dozing.

It worked!

A flicker of hope lit Kai's face. He continued forward.

Step by silent step, like a cat. Soon, he was beside the beast.

He held his breath. Every fiber of his being tense as he passed by.

And there it was.

The vertical shaft.

He… he made it?

Just as that thought formed—

A sharp pain exploded in his gut like his organs were twisting.

"Huh…?"

Before he could react, his vision collapsed into darkness.

At a speed even faster than his full-speed sprint, Kai was sent flying back to the entrance of the floor, crashing into the cavern wall. Blood splattered everywhere.

Only then did he realize what had just happened in that split second.

It was the tail…

The image of that black shadow lashing out like a steel whip remained on his retinas.

The Black Dragon hadn't even opened its eyes. It had merely flicked the tip of its tail, and that alone was enough to hurl him away.

"Ugh..."

Sliding down from the stone wall, Kai immediately began vomiting. Pink bits of shredded internal organs mixed with bloody foam poured from his throat. In his hands, only the black sword remained; the other had been lost during the impact, who knows where.

In the distance, the Black Dragon's solitary eye opened slightly, watching Kai curled up in a ball and vomiting blood. Then, disinterested, it closed its eye again, no longer paying attention to the odd human.

Not only had all of Kai's internal organs been shattered, but his spine had been snapped in two from the casual flick of the Black Dragon's tail.

"Ugh—waahhh—ugh…"

Curled up in a pool of his own blood, each mouthful of blood he vomited drained away his strength and warmth. Soon, he couldn't even hold onto his sword—the black blade slipped from his hand with a clatter.

So this was the end...?

So close, and yet still not enough…

Ahh… So this is my fate?

What a pathetic way to go…

As chaotic thoughts churned, a chill spread through him, hollow and endless, while the burning pain of his body strangely vanished, replaced only by unending fear.

It was as if he could hear the footsteps of death...

Clack, clack...

A hallucination?

Clack, clack, clack—

The footsteps drew closer and closer until they were right beside his ears.

…No, not a hallucination!?

With great difficulty, Kai lifted his head—and his gaze met a pair of pale gray eyes.

"Looks like you need some help, little D

Black Swordsman."

The owner of the gray eyes chuckled and pointed a finger in the air. Countless pale green lights condensed from the void and surged into Kai's broken body.

"Freya…?"

As the lights entered his body, they repaired his shattered organs and spine, quickly healing all of his injuries.

Satisfied with the rapid recovery, Freya turned around and looked toward the distant Black Dragon. Divine light shimmered in her gray eyes.

ROAR—

Locked onto by Freya's gaze, the Black Dragon suddenly stood up, its wings unfurling behind it. Violent gales swept through the floor, and the temperature of the air began to rise.

Facing the dragon's aggression, Freya merely raised her right hand and gently clenched her white, delicate fist. At the same time, divine power rippled from her body and pressed down on the dragon, instantly pinning it back to the ground, completely immobilized.

Standing behind Freya, Kai was briefly speechless as he watched her subdue the One-Eyed Black Dragon.

Why had Freya come to save him?

This was the ninetieth floor and lower, and she had to endure the dungeon's hostility toward gods just to be here. What was her true goal?

"Why did you save me? You used arcanum, didn't you?"

Using arcanum so openly in the dungeon, even as the goddess of beauty, Freya wouldn't escape the consequence—she would be banished back to the heavens, and the Freya Familia would cease to exist in Orario.

Facing his suspicious gaze, Freya smiled and stepped closer, reaching out to gently caress his cheek. Her eyes were filled with adoration.

"Such a radiant soul shouldn't perish here… You haven't yet shone at your brightest. It's far from your curtain call."

"…"

Kai stepped back half a pace. Though he was deeply grateful to Freya, he still couldn't bring himself to accept her affection.

He instinctively felt… if he lowered his guard now, she'd devour him whole.

"Th-thank you."

Avoiding her touch, Kai bent down and picked up the black sword.

The familiar cold and solid feeling of the hilt finally helped calm his nerves a bit.

Even when not actively using her Arcanum, Freya was devastating to any male. Now, with her divine power fully unleashed, most people would probably lose all composure just by making eye contact.

Seeing him grip the sword tightly and work to steady his mind, Freya's smile grew even more radiant.

She desperately wanted to have this child. She had even risked being exiled to save his life. But all of this was for the sake of his dazzling soul. If Kai had thrown down his sword and fallen into her arms, then the soul of the swordsman would've lost its luster.

"The divine power I used must have been detected by now... I'll probably be sent back to the heavens soon. Little Black swordsman, is there anything else I can help you with?"

Freya leaned forward slightly, asking like a bashful maiden.

Turning his gaze away from her deliberately revealed cleavage, Kai didn't hold back and bowed slightly.

"Thank you, Lady Freya. Please send me to the hundredth floor. I will be eternally grateful."

"The hundredth floor?"

Freya's expression grew slightly displeased at the distance in his tone.

"I don't have much time left. Once I send you down, I'll probably be pulled back to the heavens. You'll be alone down there, you know?"

"Please, Lady Freya!"

Seeing his resolute face, Freya's expression darkened.

She had used her Arcanum just to save him, and now he was trying to get himself killed by heading to the hundredth floor?

"I can send you… but I want something from you."

"Uh… what is it?"

A slight curve appeared on her purple-red lips. Her eyes moved toward his waist.

"That is…"

…

Dungeon, 100th Floor

Freya's Arcanum filled the floor, preventing any monsters from spawning.

Kai stood with arms crossed, leaning against the vertical stairway wall, looking a little awkward.

At his waist, the black sword's scabbard was now empty. Only the blue sword—retrieved after much effort—remained sheathed.

The way Freya had spoken earlier made him almost believe she wanted his, well… something "ancestral." But in the end, she had only taken his black sword.

Placing his left hand on the blue sword's hilt, he lightly tapped the guard, sighing.

"Owe her a favor now…"

He waited for several minutes. Around him, the divine power left by Freya was fading. Cracking sounds began to echo from the cavern walls.

Crack…

The ceiling rocks started to fall, the floor quaked slightly, and thick fissures spread across the stone.

Sensing the changes and the dungeon's hostility once again locking onto him, Kai stared at the system's screen.

A faint smile tugged at his lips.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host! Trial task completed!]

[Final time: 23h 58m 03s. Task Rating: C. Completion: 61%.]

[Congratulations! You've earned one Class Inheritance. Would you like to begin random selection?]

Instead of immediately drawing a new profession, Kai checked the system status bar.

Energy: 1,378,825.19 / 1,000,000

With one million energy, he could activate the system's sub-module for Dimension transfer.

Crack—crack—

The tremors around him intensified, the cracks widened, and monstrous entities began writhing in the depths below.

Seeing this, Kai made up his mind.

"System, begin Dimension transfer."

[Beep! Sub-module loading... complete. Energy sufficient. Preparing for Dimension transfer.]

[Recording initial coordinates... complete. Please select destination coordinates.]

Without hesitation, Kai shouted with righteous indignation:

"Gho—(BEEP)—Fighter!"

[Coordinate lock failed. No data available for that world. Please reselect.]

"Then…Fairy Tai—(BEEP BEEP)—!"

[Coordinate lock failed. No data available for that world. Please reselect.]

"Date a Liv—(BEEP)—has to work, right!?"

[Coordinate lock failed. No data available for that world. Please reselect.]

As he tried selecting coordinates, a massive, black arm suddenly dropped down beside him, crashing into the floor with a deafening boom.

Startled, Kai didn't dare linger.

"What worlds do you have!?"

[Beep! Projecting available world coordinates…]

A pale blue screen expanded before him, flooded with alphanumeric codes—nearly all were random strings of letters and numbers.

Staring at the screen, Kwi felt like life had played him.

"'Designated Dimensional transfer' my ass. How is this any different from random jumping!?"

Ah, farewell… Fate★Date a Live★Ghost Fighter★Black Clover ★Tsukimichi★…

Picking one at random, Kai sighed with a bitter smile.

"Fine. This one."

[Coordinate locked. Plane transfer initiated!]

In the dark, damp dungeon, a streak of silver light flashed—

And just like that, Orario no longer had a black swordsman named Takashina Kai.

…

Hestia Familia, Main Base

Sitting on the church steps, Hestia rested her chin in her hands, blue eyes gazing at the street's distant end.

She was waiting.

Waiting for the return of that black-haired man in black clothes.

End of Volume 1