[Ding— Wheel of Fate begins to spin—]
[Main Quest Stage Three activated]
[Quest Name]: Hero of the Seat Above the Gods
[Quest Description]: You are no longer a mere bystander to fate. Under the games of the gods, every step you take has become a deciding factor in Orario's future course.
[Completion Condition]: Raise your current Familia to become Orario's true number one faction.
[Quest Reward]: Unknown
The mechanical voice rang briefly in his ears and then vanished.
The room fell silent again, but Ryota felt no drowsiness. Lying there staring at the ceiling, thoughts flooded through his mind like the tide.
The first main quest had been to join a Familia — that was his starting point in this world, a sense of identity, a place to belong, the prologue to an Adventurer's journey.
The second main quest was to stand up and fight head-on, to break free from being a pawn in the gods' games and become a wild card on the stage.
And now the third main quest — to lead a Familia and change the entire balance of power in the city.
"So basically..."
Ryota murmured softly:
"Every main quest from the system is built around me, from establishing an identity, to breaking free of destiny, and now to reconstructing power."
He was being recognized by this world as a "player" qualified to overturn its rules.
Ryota got up, walked over to the window, and looked out over the city bathed in moonlight.
In the distance, the Babel Tower still stood proud, piercing the clouds above.
"To become number one..."
He whispered, his knuckles tapping rhythmically against the window frame.
The goal of this main quest was still vague.
It didn't tell him "what to do," only "what result to achieve."
"Is beating the Freya Familia enough?"
In today's Orario, there were only a few truly powerful Familia.
The Hephaestus Familia focused on smithing, the Ganesha Familia was tasked by the Guild with keeping the peace, and then there was the Ishtar Familia over in the Pleasure Quarter...
None of them had any real conflict or interest clash with the Loki Familia.
And in terms of sheer power or size, they were far below the Loki Familia.
"As for the Zeus Familia... and the Hera Familia..."
Ryota's eyes lifted, gazing toward the tip of Babel half-hidden in the night, and he laughed lightly:
"Come on, if those two Familia were still in Orario, this quest would never have been issued like this!"
Of course he knew what those two once-legendary "strongest Familia" represented.
Zeus Familia's Maxim, Zald, Hera Familia's Level 9 CaptainLevel 9 Empress... any one of them was a monster in their own right.
In those two Familia, a Level 6 was basically a nobody, and Level 7s or 8s were all over the place.
—But unfortunately, they were history.
After failing to defeat the Black Dragon, they'd been driven out of Orario and had vanished ever since.
"Right now, this city really only has the Freya Familia left."
Meaning, if they could win the War Game, if they could beat Freya—
No matter in prestige, morale, Adventurer evaluations, or even the divine ranking of Familia power, the Loki Familia would completely overshadow their rivals.
"But... is that really the peak?"
Ryota murmured, a faint crease forming between his brows.
He didn't think so.
A Familia that truly stood at the summit wouldn't just be stronger than others.
It had to be able to uphold the city's order steadily and for the long term.
It had to be able to push deep into the middle floors — or even the lower floors — on an Expedition, and bring back miracles capable of reshaping Orario.
It had to be able to stand alone against massive crises, without relying on others to shield it.
Through strength, discipline, scale, and spirit, it had to earn the respect of the gods and every citizen.
"Maybe... that's the system's real standard."
But right now—
Whatever the ultimate bar might be, the first step was crystal clear: beat the Freya Familia in the War Game!
…
The night passed without incident.
By the next morning, as soon as Ryota came downstairs, he noticed how unusually quiet the entire Twilight Manor felt.
The hall was completely empty, the only sound the chilly morning breeze stirring the curtains by the door.
He paused, about to check the backyard, when he saw a familiar figure standing by the steps outside.
It was Lefiya.
The elf girl had her hands clasped in front of her, as if she'd been waiting a long time. The moment she saw Ryota appear, her eyes brightened and she hurried over.
"Ryota, you're awake!"
She was breathing a bit hard, but quickly continued,
"Lady Loki and the others already left for the Adventurers' Guild to attend the Denatus."
"The Denatus?"
Ryota blinked, then instantly understood.
"Oh, so Freya submitted the War Game application already."
Lefiya nodded.
"Yes. The Guild's staff brought the news early this morning — they've already approved the War Game proposal."
"Lady Loki wanted you to rest a bit more, so she didn't let us wake you."
Ryota hummed in acknowledgement.
"Now that you're awake, Lady Loki said to have you come to the Guild in an hour to attend the meeting."
"Got it."
Ryota was just about to step past her when he noticed Lefiya still standing there, not moving, so he asked:
"What's wrong? You're not going?"
The elf girl stood in place, eyes flickering with hesitation and worry.
She gripped the hem of her robe, as if wrestling with something she'd been holding back.
At last, she spoke up:
"Um... if you really do have to leave the Loki Familia... please... please come back to visit sometimes, okay?"
Ryota tilted his head, several question marks practically popping up over his face:
"Leave? Hold on — the fight hasn't even started yet, why are you already shipping me off?"
Laughing helplessly, he reached out and ruffled the silly elf's head a few times, his voice gentle:
"Don't worry, I'm not planning on leaving."
"You know what I'm capable of, don't you?"
With that, he stepped out toward the front door of Twilight Manor.
Lefiya stayed rooted to the spot, still feeling the lingering warmth of Ryota's hand on her head.
A second later—
"...Ahhhhhh!"
She clapped her hands over her flushed face, practically steaming,
"I-I just got... got head-patted to death?!"
Ryota completely tuned out the elf's embarrassed scream behind him, pretending he hadn't heard a thing, and slung his pack over his shoulder, heading toward the Adventurers' Guild.
After coming out of the Dungeon yesterday and running into Freya, he hadn't even had time to submit the designated commission's materials.
That was a solid 80,000 valis in reward money — he had to get it changed before replenishing his supplies.
He'd already burned through the Dungeon's magic stones he'd scavenged to heal up Lain.
If this kept up, he'd be stuck living on bread and milk from the Familia's pantry every day.
However, he'd barely stepped away from Twilight Manor when he noticed something strange.
Orario was incredibly lively today.
Every street and alley was even more packed than usual, and Adventurer's Main Street was practically overflowing.
The air was no longer filled with merchant cries and haggling, but with an electric wave of excitement and chatter:
"Did you hear? The Loki Familia and the Freya Familia are gonna fight!"
"A War Game! You almost never see one of those anymore, and between these two? Man, this is gonna be wild!"
"Freya's got Ottar, y'know. Loki's screwed this time... I'm putting 5,000 valis on Freya!"
"Don't bet too fast. Word is that black-haired rookie in the Loki Familia's been making big moves lately..."
"You mean that guy named... Ryo something? Freya personally called him out!"
"Yeah, that's the one! You think this is, like, the gods fighting over a man?"
"C'mon, Freya's the goddess of beauty — you think she's short on men? It's about who gets to rule Orario!"
"..."
Gossip rolled through the city like an unstoppable tide.
Ryota walked calmly through the crowds, expression completely flat.
A War Game, to the gods, was the ultimate form of entertainment.
To the people of the lower world, it was a festival, a celebration that drew every eye.
No matter where you went, this War Game was guaranteed to become the hottest topic in Orario for months, maybe even years.
After squeezing through the packed throng, Ryota finally stumbled through the doors of the Adventurers' Guild.
But the sight that greeted him made him freeze.
Unexpectedly, the reception counters — usually lined with long queues — were practically deserted.
Instead, the Magic Stone Exchange counters were so packed they were overflowing.
Every window had a line twisting around the hall, filled with Adventurers hauling out their life savings by the bagful, exchanging them all for hard valis so they could bet on the War Game's outcome.
Ryota watched, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"Man... did I just give Orario a GDP boost?"
He spotted his old friend Misha and hurried over, calling out:
"Misha, I'm here to complete a commission."
As he spoke, he shrugged off his pack, took out a silvery, sharp-looking piece of bone — a Infant Dragon's fang — and handed it over.
"...Huh?!"
Misha, who'd been spacing out, jolted back to life the moment she saw Ryota, her pink eyes going wider than a magic stone:
"Y-You... you you..."
She looked around in a panic, making sure no one was eavesdropping, then leaned forward across the counter and dropped her voice as low as possible:
"Do you have any idea what kind of situation you're in right now?!"
"Lady Freya has her eye on you!! They even triggered a War Game! This whole city is going nuts about it!"
She kept glancing nervously from side to side, terrified someone might overhear.
"And you still have the nerve to waltz in here submitting commission materials?!"
Misha reached over and grabbed his sleeve,
"Are you crazy?! Get back to the Loki Familia and lay low! If you wait any longer, Freya's simps — no, I mean her Familia — will storm in here to kill you!"
Ryota couldn't help but laugh at how flustered she was. He gently pushed the Infant Dragon fang closer to her and said,
"Relax, Misha. I haven't lost my mind."
"Money comes first, right?"
Misha was so stunned she froze for a solid two seconds, then sighed.
"Your guts are even bigger than the Dungeon itself..."
"Fine, I'll register this — but seriously, you need to get back. Stop flaunting yourself, okay?"
She carefully collected the materials, scribbled down the commission completion record, then handed Ryota a slip.
"For the valis, just bring this to the exchange window later to collect."
"Thanks, Misha."
With that, he turned and headed deeper into the Guild toward the hall reserved for the Denatus.
Misha watched his back recede, eventually sighing again with helpless resignation.
"Agh! I knew it... never listens. Such a pain..."
She absently picked up the Loki Familia's registry booklet, intending to record Ryota's commission — but the moment her eyes landed on the "Lv." column, she froze solid.
—[Ryota, Lv.2]
"...Huh?"
She couldn't believe her eyes, checked it three more times, and even rubbed them just to be sure.
"When did he level up?! He's only been registered for, what, a month?!"
Misha gave a bitter laugh.
"No wonder Lady Freya wants him."
Slumping back against the counter, she gazed at the ceiling and muttered to herself:
"If I were a god, I'd steal him too..."