Summary
InDanMachi, Falna is the divine blessingbestowed by godsand goddesses who have descended into the mortal world upon adventurers who decide to become their followers. This divine blessing allows the adventurers to acquire supernatural abilities and grow exponentially, transforming them from ordinary people into powerful adventurers capable of facing the threats in the dungeon.
Falna is essentially the foundation of the power system and development in Orario, allowing adventurers to gain strength, magic, and skills that become more refined as they face trials. Without Falna, adventurers are mere mortals, unable to acquire and use the special abilities required to face the terrors in the dungeon. Falna also affects Orario and the world ofDanMachias a whole, greatly influencing the growth and stability of the city and beyond.
Origin Of Falna
Life As Mortals
Before the descent of the gods, humans were already fighting the monsters in the dungeon. However, they had a hard time dealing with them because of their limited ability to combat the monsters.The gods, with their immense powers, could only watch the humans in the mortal world. Out of boredom, the gods decided to descend from the heavens to live among humans, bond with them, and experience life more intimately. To do this, the gods had to seal away most of their divine abilities. However, they retained the ability to bestow blessings on mortals who chose to follow them. This divine blessing is what is referred to as Falna.
The gods decided to descend to the mortal world and understand the humans, but not as mere mortals. They still wanted to be recognized as gods and influence the progression of the mortal world, and Falna was the perfect way to do it. With Falna, the gods can significantly influence the mortal world while still being revered as gods. Falna can also be bestowed upon objects as well. An exampleis the Hestia Knife, forged by Hephaestus with Hestia’s blessing. Currently wielded by Bell, the knife is considered an extension of the Hestia Familia, reflecting the bond between its god and adventurer.
Falna System
How Gods Empower Adventurers Through Falna
Although Falna is often referred to as a blessing from the gods, it is much more than that. It acts as a stimulant used to awaken the innate power of an adventurer. The gods pour a bit of their divine power, also known as Arcanum, into the adventurers they have chosen, and the adventurers receive a power boost. However, the power boost they gain differs from adventurer to adventurer depending on their type and level, which is where Excelia plays a large role.
Excelia
Excelia is essentially an advanced experience that helps build on your physical abilities. The blessing of Falna opens up a sort of container of hidden potential, and Excelia is what fills this container, allowing adventurers to level up. Excelia can be acquired in two ways: through effort and through the energy of monsters, with monsters being the richest source of Excelia. In places like the Amazon homeland, they prefer effort and kill other Amazons to elevate their level.
However, gaining Excelia does not instantly lead to an upgrade in level, as they are not immediately converted into stats. The god who bestowed the Falna is required for this, so they can properly guide the stats to where they are supposed to be. Excelia is also a conduit through which gods can relive the experiences that the adventurers underwent to gain it. This strengthens the bond between gods and their followers and allows the gods to know exactly where to allocate those Excelia points in their stats.
The 5 Parameters
Falna tracks five key parameters: basic abilities, developmental abilities, level, magic, and skill, but the area where its effects are most perceived is in basic abilities. Consisting of strength, defense, dexterity, agility, and magic, the basic abilities are ranked from I to A, then S, with S being the pinnacle. These lettered rankings are also numbered, with each one having a difference of 100 points, that is, I (0–99) to S (900–999). However, there are adventurers like Bell Cranel who defy this ranking, managing to exceed the limit and achieve ranks in SS and even SSS. For developmental abilities, these are gained after leveling up, and unlock an adventurer’s potential, enhancing their abilities. It is more like excess Excelia put into a fighting technique or method of living. However, it is not guaranteed.
Additionally, skills and magic develop independently of the leveling system. They evolve with use, and the more they are used, the faster they level up. Skills are born from the soul and are based on the character’s personality and desires. For instance, because of Bell Cranel’s intense admiration for Ais, he was ableto acquire the skill Liaris Freese, which grants him fast growth as long as he is in love. Magic can also be acquired, but there is a limit of three natural magic categories per adventurer. However, there are exceptions, such as Lefiya, who can use any elven magic she witnesses, and Riveria, who can alter the effects of her three natural magic categories at three different levels. This shows that each individual’s progress is determined by their personal experience, which ultimately leads to how they level up.
Leveling
Although gaining Excelia leads to an upgrade in level, there are othercriteria one must meet before leveling up. While most of these criteria have not been clearly stated, one requirement is that the adventurer must have at least a D rank in any basic ability and use that ability to achieve a great feat. Once Falna is bestowed, the adventurer starts at a rank of I0 and then builds up Excelia to increase in rank. After attaining enough Excelia, their god assists in upgrading their level, and their stats reset back to I0, although the stats of the previous level remain as a foundation for the next level.
Additionally, the higher one ascends in level, the harder it becomes to level up. The quality of Excelia is measured by how difficult an activity was in relation to the character’s level. For example, if a level one character were to fight a highly dangerous monster, they would gain more high-quality Excelia than a level three character fighting the same monster. As seen with Bell Cranel who frequently faces a lot of monsters and characters way stronger than he is, he gains a ton of high-quality Excelia that enables him to level up fast and increase his stats exponentially. This drastic growth also extends to his weapon, the Hestia Knife, because it also has Falna granted to it by Hestia, and is directly linked to Bell’s status.
Limitations of Falna
God Dependency
Falna, with all its amazing advantages and effects on adventurers, has its drawbacks, with the heaviest being that they rely heavily on their god to upgrade in levels. When adventurers earn Excelia, they need their god or goddess to use it to upgrade their basic abilities in accordance with their strengths. Without the presence of their gods, the Excelia earned by adventurers can not be used to upgrade their stats or even upgrade levels, and gods can be absent, sometimes even permanently. While gods can not be killed, they can be banished back to the heavens if they break any divine rules, which leads to losing their ability to dabble in the affairs of humans. An adventurer in the familia of such a god will no doubt lose the ability to progress.
The growth of one’s Falna is also heavily dependent on the desires and personality of the adventurer. While this can be a plus to some adventurers like Bell, it could be a heavy limitation to others. Adventurers who do not have any personal desires or motivations might never realize their full potential, even with Falna. Moreover, Falna does not spare adventurers from the drawbacks of extreme usage of their abilities. While it might increase their pain tolerance, these adventurers are still vulnerable to injury, exhaustion, andeven death if they are not careful.
Significance of Falna
Stability Of Orario
Falna remains a core concept in the world ofDanMachi. It is what adventurers need to survivethe dangerous Dungeon filled with monstersand grow strong enough to make a name for themselves. The adventurers depend on their Falna to improve and survive, giving them a fighting chance. This is one of the core reasons many people wish to join a Familia. Falna also significantly elongates the lifespan of adventurers.
The Arcanum that gods pour into adventurers includes a bit of the essence of their being, which leads to slow aging. The higher they go in level, the stronger they get, and the slower they age. Hestia mentioned that an increase in level closes the distance to godhood, and each step closer makes them age more slowly, significantly increasing their lifespan but not granting immortality. As a pillar of Orario’s stability and development, Falna not only empowers individuals but also enriches the world ofDanMachias a whole, intertwining divine influence with mortal ambition.
Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon?is available to watch onCrunchyrollandHulu.
Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon?
Based on a light novel series by Fujino Omori, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? is an action-fantasy anime that follows Bell, an initially weak adventurer who is the only member of the Hestia Familia. Looking to become stronger and protect those who matter the most to him, Bell regularly descends the dungeon, a seemingly neverending pit filled with monsters.
