Orario, West District.
The simply-dressed young man squatted by the roadside, taking a large gulp from his water bottle before biting into a hard piece of bread.
"Roy, failed again?"
The fruit store owner next to him asked with a curious smile.
The young man waved his hand.
"Don't even get me started. Last time, the Ganesha Familia at least let me look around. This time, the Loki Familia simply hung a sign at the entrance: 'No Admittance for Loiterers and Dogs.'"
The fruit store owner couldn't help but burst out laughing. This kid truly had aspirations that soared to the heavens; the Loki Familia, one of Orario's strongest, wasn't so easy to join.
"I'm just saying, with your talent, you could thrive doing anything. Why are you so obsessed with being an adventurer?"
the fruit store owner said.
He had personally witnessed Roy save a struggling shop from the brink of collapse using a very peculiar method.
It was a general store with a broken cash flow due to too much accumulated inventory, unable to pay next month's rent. The young man before him suggested a raffle to the owner.
Customers could spend a small amount of money to enter the raffle, with a 100% chance of winning. However, the second, third, and fourth prizes were the unsellable glass marbles, paper, and other junk from the store.
The first prize was the owner's former adventurer gear—a sword claimed to be the best in the village, valued at one million Falna. This immediately attracted countless low-level adventurers.
Naturally, no one actually won the first prize, but all the unsellable goods were quickly cleared out. In just five days, the owner made a substantial profit.
Roy merely took a small service fee from the earnings.
The other shop owners were green with envy and quickly followed suit. This raffle method soon became popular throughout the city, yet only a handful of people knew it was the brainchild of a fifteen-year-old boy.
That's why the fruit store owner could tell that this young man's extensive knowledge and experience were completely mismatched with his youthful appearance. It was as if a sixty or seventy-year-old veteran was hidden inside that body.
"You wouldn't understand."
Roy said with a look of melancholy,
"If you've spent your entire life in a world full of Muggles, and someone suddenly tells you that you can gain supernatural power, you too would desperately pursue that strength."
The fruit store owner didn't understand the specific terminology, but he could certainly feel the other party's resolve.
"Forget it. Want to buy an apple?"
The fruit store owner gestured towards the freshly stocked apples.
Roy shook his head like a rattle-drum and walked away. He didn't have the power of "Death Reset" (Return by Death).
That's right, he was a Transmigrator!
In his past life, he was an ordinary office worker in the finance industry. After a 996 overtime shift, he met a notorious "dump truck" (a common trope for reincarnation accidents) and was utterly unable to win the fight against it.
This world was the anime he watched in his previous life, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?
It was more accurate to call his situation reincarnation, though. When he was three, his parents were killed by a monster that burst out of the deep mountains, and their house was destroyed. In the blink of an eye, he was orphaned, homeless, and penniless.
He was adopted by the village chief, a kind-hearted man.
Over the years, he used his knowledge from his past life to help the village develop rapidly. Half a month ago, he finally convinced his guardian (the village chief) to let him leave and come to Orario—the so-called world center and Adventurer's City.
Three thousand years ago, the Dungeon, one of the world's three great mysteries, suddenly appeared in the lower world, spawning countless monsters that plagued the world.
Now, most entrances to the Dungeon have been sealed off, leaving only the entrance under the Babel Tower in Orario.
Gods gathered here, bestowing their Falmna (Blessing) upon the lower-world inhabitants, granting them supernatural powers. These people, known as Adventurers, enter the Dungeon to embark on thrilling adventures.
With the knowledge from his previous life, Roy was confident he could become a wealthy magnate, but what was the point of that?
Who hasn't dreamed of becoming a transcendent being?
However, upon arriving in Orario, reality delivered a hard blow. He was a "God among peasants" in the countryside, but "less than human" in the city!
After being consecutively rejected by seven or eight Familia, Roy faced the facts: he wasn't one of those protagonists who could stand on the street, exude a kingly aura, and have countless people immediately fall to their knees in awe.
Elves, a powerful magical race!
Koneko (Dog-people), naturally sensitive sniffers!
Weretigers (Wolf-people), possessing swift speed!
Dwarves, inherently strong!
Amazons, all female, warlike and incredibly unreserved, dressing revealingly, and fond of mating with strong men to bear offspring—a truly wonderful sight.
...
With so many excellent options available, why would anyone recruit a fifteen-year-old Muggle?
Moreover, he was a Muggle among Muggles.
Raul from the Loki Familia was known as the "Ultimate Commoner" because he had no skills or magic and no outstanding foundational abilities; his Magic stat was consistently 0.
Roy felt he was even more common than Raul.
Perhaps his last hope lay in the cheat ability that had been loading for over a decade.
$$\text{[Panel Awakening 99.8\%... 99.9\%...]}$$
Roy nervously waited. This damned progress bar had been stuck at 99% since he was nine years old, and the final 1% simply refused to advance.
Today, he suddenly noticed the progress bar moving!
$$\text{[Ding!]$$
$$\text{[... 100\%, Panel Awakening Complete!]}$$
A panel visible only to him popped up, and Roy's eyes lit up. A wave of heat spread throughout his body. He felt brimming with strength, enough to punch a cow to death.
Name: Roy
Level: 1
Strength: 0 (I)
Endurance: 0 (I)
Dexterity: 0 (I)
Agility: 0 (I)
Magic: 0 (I)
Skills: None
Magic Spells: None
...
Roy looked at his status panel and was stunned. "Is this the Divine Blessing?"
He had suddenly become a Level 1 Adventurer!
It seemed the System had become his "God." Looking at his ability scores, he saw an all-I panel.
Adventurer ability scores are in the range of 0 to 999, represented by letters from I to S, with a total of 10 ranks (I: 0–99, H: 100–199..., A: 800–899, S: 900–999).
Roy hurried back to his dwelling while tinkering with his cheat ability. It wasn't complicated: he had received a divine blessing and could now enter instances (dungeons) to fight monsters and level up.
$$\text{[Demon Slayer Instance: Hunt Upper Rank Two Doma, Reward: 600 stat points, Bronze Treasure Chest!]}$$
$$\text{[Attack on Titan Instance: The Wall Maria is about to be breached. For every Titan killed, reward 30-100 stat points based on the Titan's physical capability. Reach 30 kills to trigger a special reward!]}$$
$$\text{[World Instance: Akame ga Kill! (Red-Eyed Killer)]}$$
...
Roy's interest grew as he looked at the list of instance quests.
Is this the Danmachi version of Solo Leveling?
When he returned to his miserable abode—a tent pitched on a spacious street in the residential area—a pleasant scent wafted into his nostrils, immediately putting Roy on guard.
Someone was inside!
He generally carried his valuables with him, so he wondered who could be desperate enough to visit his hovel. Roy curled his lips.
When Roy peered inside, his face froze.
A blonde, long-haired Elf girl was lying on his bed. Her pointed ears were translucent and delicate. Her eyes were tightly shut, her brows furrowed, and a struggling look crossed her beautiful face. She occasionally let out painful moans.