"Mr. Levi, why did you go into the Dungeon on your own again!" In the Guild Hall, Eina, the elf girl with short brown hair and glasses, looked angrily at the boy sitting opposite her. "How many times have I told you? Adventurers don't take unnecessary risks, especially a normal person like you who doesn't even have a Falna."
Levi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead from being caught again, a dry smile on his face. "Well, that's why I was just wandering around on the first floor."
"You!" Eina was so angry she laughed. She actually understood that the boy before her probably wouldn't listen to her advice, so she took a step back. "Mr. Levi, since you want to be an adventurer so much, why don't you find a Familia to join? The Loki Familia, Freya Familia, Ganesha Familia, and several other mid-sized exploration Familias are all recruiting right now. With your strength and courage, you could definitely pass their tests."
When the conversation turned serious, Levi's expression also became stern. Hadn't he traveled thousands of miles to Orario for the sole purpose of receiving a God's Falna?
It's just that…
[Levi Bright]
[Lv.0]
[Strength: S952+/S999]
[Endurance: S951+/S999]
[Dexterity: S954+/S999]
[Agility: S951+/S999]
[Magic: S938+/S999]
[Value after '/' is the potential upper limit for the corresponding ability]
[Development Ability: Swordsman H]
[Magic:]
[Mana Burst · 4-Star (Master 17%+): Speed Attack, large increase to all abilities except Magic]
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Skills:]
[Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū · 3-Star (Proficient 6%+): Grants Development Ability 'Swordsman H', allows use of all Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū techniques except 'Kuzu-ryūsen' and 'Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki']
[Equipment: Sky-Piercing Sword · 3-Star (Unbreakable, slightly accelerates mana recovery, small increase to all abilities after using magic or an active skill), Blacksmith Apprentice's Practice Leather Armor · 1-Star, Blacksmith Apprentice's Practice Leather Boots · 1-Star, Blacksmith Apprentice's Practice Leather Hood · 1-Star]
[Items: Health Potion x5, Mana Potion x5, 32,718 Valis]
[Main Quest: Join a Familia, obtain the God's Falna. Quest Reward: Character level increases to Lv.1, all ability potential limits +100, unlocks Lv.1 Dimensional Card Pool.]
This translucent status panel, floating before his eyes and visible only to him, was the cheat he obtained ten years ago when his past life's memories awakened.
It was a system very similar to the God's Falna system, or rather, a system that had self-adapted and improved based on the supernatural system of the 'DanMachi' world.
Among them, 'Mana Burst' from the 'Type-Moon' world, 'Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū' from the 'Rurouni Kenshin' world, 'Sky-Piercing Sword' from the 'Genshin Impact' world, as well as five health potions and five mana potions, were all obtained from the starter pack issued by the system.
Furthermore, compared to the God's Falna, which required extensive training and even life-or-death crises to increase ability scores, Levi's unique character panel allowed him to increase his ability scores and skill proficiency by simply spending Valis.
At the current stage, Levi needed to spend 100 Valis to exchange for 1 point in an ability.
As for skills, 100 Valis granted the memory of one day of training.
As for the 'Join a Familia' quest that had been on his panel for a decade, someone more impatient might have tried to complete it immediately after getting the cheat.
But Levi, for one, was already in his thirties when he died unexpectedly in his past life, so he understood that good things come to those who wait.
Besides, DanMachi was not a particularly safe world. The dangers from monsters were one thing, but thieves and bandits were by no means rare. Traveling alone as a child, ending up in a monster's stomach would be a good outcome; a more likely fate would be getting sold as a slave to some perverse noble or dignitary.
Secondly, although Levi had only watched the DanMachi anime in his past life, he had heard from other otaku friends online about a great crisis that had once befallen Orario.
Rushing into the Labyrinth City without enough strength was no different from suicide.
Third, and most crucially.
Levi, well, he had a bit of an obsessive-compulsive personality.
Skill proficiency was one thing; it surely wouldn't reset upon leveling up his character.
But the system's ability scores, if Levi's guess was correct, would likely convert into his underlying potential upon leveling up, just like with the Falna, and become fixed.
Aizen once said that a battle between Soul Reapers is a battle of spiritual pressure.
This statement wasn't entirely wrong when applied to the world of DanMachi either.
A battle between Falna holders is a battle of their total ability scores—more accurately, the sum of their underlying potential and current ability scores.
With high enough stats, one could naturally challenge opponents of a higher level.
Conversely, if they were insufficient, one's personal adventure would come to an end right there.
Levi was not Bell, the protagonist of the DanMachi story, who had a skill to accelerate growth through yearning, had multiple goddesses looking after him, giving him weapons, gifting him grimoires, and a whole host of gods providing protection and suitable trials.
However, the golden finger he came with wasn't weak either.
If he could max out all his ability scores before receiving the Falna, combined with 'Mana Burst' and 'Hiten Mitsurugi' which could boost his abilities, he would possess combat power comparable to some Lv.2 monsters or Falna holders right at Lv.1.
It was with this desire to build the strongest possible foundation that Levi trained for ten whole years, raising his various stats to D-rank or higher. Upon arriving in Orario two weeks ago, he didn't immediately seek out a Familia, but instead plunged right into the Dungeon.
After spending the first few days adapting to combat, he began earning 15,000 to 30,000 Valis per day, using it to raise his ability scores at a pace that wasn't fast, but certainly not slow.
If he hadn't been asked about his Familia affiliation by the half-elf girl who happened to pass by the counter yesterday while he was exchanging Valis, Levi might have gone unnoticed for violating Guild regulations until he successfully received the Falna.
And so, for two consecutive days, he had to endure a daily verbal lecture.
"As for a Familia, I do intend to join one." After a quick calculation in his mind, confirming he could max out his stats today, Levi said half-truthfully, "After all, without a Falna, I can only bully Goblins and Kobolds."
—No, no, no, being able to defeat your fear and beat those two types of monsters without a Falna is already incredible, you know?!
Eina retorted in her mind, her cheeks flushing red from holding back her frustration.
"How about this, Miss Eina. The Guild should have a brochure introducing Familias that are currently recruiting, right? Could you give me one? I'll try to find a Familia to join in the next few days."
Seeing that Levi was finally willing to join a Familia, Eina let out a sigh of relief. She stood up and said, "Wait here for a moment, I'll go get it for you now."
The round trip from their seats to the work counter was only a minute or so.
But in that brief moment of waiting, a question suddenly echoed in Levi's ear:
"Young man, would you like to join my Familia?"
Levi turned his head as requested. The first thing that entered his vision were the great, great fruits held up by a blue ribbon, completely defying gravity. Following that was the black-haired, twin-tailed girl looking at him with expectant eyes.
Or rather, a goddess.
Although he had already guessed the identity of the person before him thanks to his past life's memories, Levi still feigned a confused expression.
"Your Familia? Excuse me, Lady Goddess, but before I answer your question, could you please introduce yourself?"
After a brief pause, he stood up, placed a hand on his chest, and bowed. "As for me, my name is Levi Bright. As you just heard, I'm just a normal person who recently arrived in Orario and is preparing to join an exploration-type Familia."
Normal person... my ass!
Hestia retorted in her mind.
She had overheard the entire conversation between Levi and the half-elf Guild employee.
Even without relying on divine wisdom, just based on the facts, it was clear that the boy before her possessed considerable, even exceptionally outstanding, potential.
To put it simply, he was like a lottery ticket that was already half-scratched to reveal a winning prize. If she could just trick—no, recruit—him into her Familia, there was no way she could lose!
However, it was precisely because of this that Hestia looked guilty after hearing his question.
As for the reason...
"I-I am Hestia, the Goddess of the Hearth."
Levi nodded upon hearing this. "And then?"
"What 'and then'?" Hestia subconsciously took a step back.
"The Hestia Familia's member composition, its home base, and its short-term goals."
"Uhm…"
Hestia averted her gaze, her lips moved, but she couldn't utter a single word.
But this was to be expected. It had only been two weeks since her friend Hephaestus had kicked her out. Forget Familia members, even her home base was a gift from Hephaestus out of pity.
It could be said she was dirt poor, with nothing to offer but herself and the God's Falna.
In fact, before Levi, Hestia had invited several adventurers she thought had potential, but they had all turned her down with similar questions.
This time, was it going to end the same way?
Seeing Hestia bite her lower lip, a smile spread across Levi's face.
It was confirmed. He had arrived in Orario before the start of the DanMachi story.
Levi had really liked Hestia when he watched the anime in his past life: her cheerful and magnanimous personality, her cute pouting when she was jealous, and of course, those great, great fruits.
If he had the chance, he certainly hoped to join the Hestia Familia and, through their time together, develop a very close relationship with her.
However, being a man in his thirties on the inside, Levi, despite his youthful appearance, was long past the age of fantasies.
In the ten years since his memories awakened, his first priorities were getting stronger and surviving; personal feelings came second.
His original plans even included contingency scenarios for joining the Freya Familia or even the Soma Familia.
But now, things didn't have to be so complicated.
Power, he wants it.
The goddess's love, he wants that too!
"I guess it's no good after all…"
Hestia hung her head, muttering.
"I'm sorry to have bothered you."
With that, she intended to leave.
The next second, her wrist was suddenly grabbed, followed by Levi's slightly hoarse voice: "Lady Hestia, where are you going?"
"Where...? Back, of course," Hestia replied instinctively.
"You're not taking me with you?" Levi said with a smile.
"Why would I take you... Ah!"
Hestia at first wanted to ask for a reason, but then, realizing the subtext in the boy's words, she let out a cry of surprise.
"Y-You mean?"
Levi smiled, his pale golden short hair swaying gently with his firm words.
"Lady Hestia, I like you."
"Please allow me to join your Familia."
"..."
The moment he finished speaking, the slightly noisy Guild Hall fell abruptly silent.
Three seconds later, along with Hestia's cute "EHHHHHHHHH!!", the atmosphere instantly exploded.
…
Half an hour later, at the Hestia Familia's home base, a long-abandoned, dilapidated church, in the basement used as a rest area.
"Levi, you little pervert!"
Even though some time had passed, Hestia, straddling Levi's back, couldn't help but blush at the memory of being confessed to in public.
Levi lay on the wooden bed, his chin resting on his hands. He chuckled, "Hestia, I wasn't lying."
"I-I haven't accepted yet!"
"I believe sincerity can move mountains. Or perhaps, Hestia, you dislike me?"
"Just shut up!"
Hestia playfully hit the boy's back beneath her, her heart fluttering at the sight of his well-defined muscles.
To escape the increasingly romantic atmosphere, she quickly picked up a prepared silver needle, pricked her finger, squeezed out a drop of blood, and spoke with a solemn expression:
"Levi, I'll ask you one last time. Are you sure you want to become a member of my Familia?"
Levi's answer to the goddess was a sideways glance.
Hestia was stunned for a moment. "Why aren't you speaking?"
Levi grinned. "Didn't you just tell me to shut up, Hestia?"
"You little rascal!" Fury rose in Hestia's heart. Realizing he was teasing her, she said no more, and drew a line of divine blood down Levi's spine.
Then, as the hieroglyphs gradually formed, she froze in place, muttering involuntarily:
"Wh-What in the world is this?"
Almost at the same moment the God's Falna was bestowed, a system prompt only Levi could hear sounded in his ear:
[Main Quest 'Join a Familia, obtain the God's Falna' complete. Distributing rewards...]
[Levi Bright]
[Lv.0 → Lv.1]
[Strength: S999/S999 → I0/SS1099]
[Endurance: S999/S999 → I0/SS1099]
[Dexterity: S999/S999 → I0/SS1099]
[Agility: S999/S999 → I0/SS1099]
[Magic: S999/S999 → I0/SS1099]
[Rest omitted]
...
[Lv.1 Dimensional Card Pool unlocked.]
[New main quest has been generated:]
[Main Quest: Raise Falna level to Lv.2. Quest Reward: Character level increases to Lv.2, all ability potential limits +200, unlocks Lv.2 Dimensional Card Pool.]
_______
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