The sun was setting, and the street outside the Hostess of Fertility was packed. The entire armies of the Loki Familia and the Ouranos Familia stood guard together. Every adventurer looked dead serious. They protected the tavern as if the leaders of the world were inside. Literally, only the gods knew what was actually happening behind those doors.
Amidst the heavy tension, the mortals still acted like mortals.
"Hey, I know this isn't the best time, but do you have any plans tonight?" a guy asked a woman standing next to him. They belonged to different Familias.
The girl looked at him. Both were completely covered in heavy armor. They didn't know each other, and they couldn't even tell if the other person was attractive.
"I can't believe this..." the woman sighed. She turned and walked away, disappointed to even be the same race as that idiot.
"Uhm... bad timing?" the guy said to himself.
...
Meanwhile, inside the Hostess, things were a bit less... disappointing.
"...And I don't think we've met before. Ganesha-sama, right? You can call me Luki," he said formally, offering his hand to the god.
"I AM GANESHA! The god of all gods, the shield of the masses, and the champion of ultimate friendship! It is an honor to grasp the hand of destiny itself!" the god boomed extravagantly, seizing Luki's hand with immense enthusiasm and crushing force.
Luki forced a crooked smile, his eye twitching as he felt his bones being squeezed inside the deity's grip.
"Are introductions finally over? I have places to be," Loki complained, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes.
"Don't be such a party pooper, Loki. Don't you know anything about building proper tension?" Hermes chimed in, flashing a playful grin.
"Pal, unlike you, I actually rule my Familia personally. I don't have that much free time on my hands," Loki snapped back.
"You should really do what I do. Just leave everything in the captain's hands and only focus on taking care of your hobbies," Hermes suggested, waving his hand dismissively.
"You mean troublemaking?" Miach said.
"Or gossiping?" Takemikazuchi added.
"Or getting romantically disappointed by woman you know everything about them but never changed a word?" Hephaestus muttered, raising an eyebrow.
"Ouch... I am just going to say this, ouch..." Hermes whimpered, clutching his chest dramatically as if he had been shot.
Luki watched the interaction between the five deities with a strange smile, completely unsure of how to react to this. Just two minutes ago, the atmosphere outside was so thick with tension, but now they were acting completely carefree.
He didn't even know how to begin talking about the new Familia he had chosen, or what kind of questions he should ask these gods who, by all accounts, clearly knew way too much.
However, someone else knew exactly how to start.
"Let's get this over." Ouranos called for their attention, his voice deep and echoing.
Instantly, everyone shut their mouths and turned to look at him, waiting in silence. This caught Luki by surprise. The old man truly commanded immense respect among his fellow gods.
"Luki-kun, I remember you mentioning earlier that you had already chosen your Familia? Would you mind sharing who this god is?" Ouranos asked.
Now, every divine eye in the room locked onto Luki. He instinctively took a small step back under the sudden, crushing weight of their attention.
"Uhm? Sure, no problem... Hestia and I discussed it a lot before. We thought it would be best if I joined the Familia of one of our friends, as a way to repay him for all the help he gave us without asking for anything in return..."
The tension in the tavern began to rise again. The gods didn't want to admit it out loud, but they were actually quite anxious. Putting aside all the recent problems, who wouldn't want such a talented Child joining their faction?
"So, we decided it would be best if I follow Miach," Luki said directly.
"Eh?" Miach reacted, completely lost for words, his finger pointing blankly back at his own chest.
"Congratulations, brother. You just won the mega-lottery," Takemikazuchi said casually, giving Miach a playful nudge on the shoulder.
"Lucky bastard," a few other gods muttered in unison, their voices filled with envy.
"Wait, wait, wait! This can't be right!" Miach suddenly erupted, his hands flying to his hair as his face turned entirely pale.
"Brother, why are you getting so hysterical? You should be throwing a festival right now," Takemikazuchi asked, thoroughly confused by his friend's extreme panic.
"Throwing a festival?!" Miach screamed, his voice hitting a pitch it had never reached before. "Are you out of your mind?! I am just a pharmacist! An alchemist! My Familia makes potions, we don't fight wars! I have absolutely zero power to handle a walking disaster like him! If anything goes wrong, we are done for!"
"Hey, calm down, Miach. Just relax," Hephaestus sighed, trying to bring some sanity back to the table. "You aren't alone in this. Everyone in this room is going to help protect your Familia and back you up."
"Relax?!" Miach repeated, his eyes wide with sheer terror. "It's easy for you to say! You aren't the one who is going to have Freya breathing down your neck every single second of the day! Did you guys not see her earlier?! She doesn't give a single damn about any of us or the rules anymore!"
He collapsed heavily back into his chair, burying his face in his hands. He began rocking back and forth in deep, agonizing denial, clutching his head tightly.
"This can't be happening... This can't be happening... I am so screwed, by my holy name, I am utterly ruined..." Miach muttered over and over like a broken record. Suddenly, he snapped his head up, glaring at the boy. "Why the hell did you choose me in the first place?!" he yelled at Luki.
Luki scratched the back of his neck, looking completely unfazed. "Well... because you are the poorest, most screwed, and absolutely broke out of all my friends. So, I thought I'd give you a little boost."
Silence. Total, suffocating silence dropped over the tavern. Every single god stared at Luki, their jaws slack, completely caught off guard by his brutal honesty.
Then, the silence broke.
"Pahahahaha! Ahahaha! Oh, my gods, this is gold!" Loki burst out laughing, slamming her fist against the wooden table. "He picked you because you're a charity case, Miach! The ultimate pity join! I can't breathe, this is the best day of my life!"
"As the god of justice and the masses, I find this act of charity profoundly... hilarious! Truly, the heavens weep for your wallet, brother Miach!" Ganesha boomed, though he tried to muffle his own chuckles behind his massive hand.
"I shouldn't laugh... but that is a realistic reason," Hephaestus muttered, a hand over her mouth as her shoulders shook with suppressed amusement.
Takemikazuchi shook his head, a wry, mocking smile on his face. "Man... I never thought being entirely broke would actually be a good thing. Now I seriously regret working hard before."
"Shut up, Take!" Miach snapped back defensively, his face flushing red. "You are the one person in this entire room who has absolutely no right to judge me! Your Familia's situation is terrible as mine!"
Takemikazuchi shrugged, his smile turning a bit smug. "Maybe. But at least I have more than one single member who isn't physically crippled and/or deeply traumatized."
Miach opened his mouth to argue, but the words died in his throat. He completely shut up, staring blankly into space as the harsh reality finally hit him like a brick wall.
'He's right...' Miach thought, his soul practically leaving his body. 'I really am the most miserable one here.'
Everyone continued to mock Miach for a few more moments. Even Ouranos, who was always grumpy and stoic, had the faint corner of his mouth twitched upward. However, it was past time to discuss the more serious matters.
"Leaving Miach's near-homeless status aside," Ouranos spoke up, cutting through the laughter.
"Hey!"
"You did well in choosing him. Miach can grant some incredibly powerful Skills to individuals of your specific type."
"Wait... how do you even know what kind of Skills I created?!"
"That being said, could you show us your Falna now? It will be much easier to explain everything that way."
"Fair enough," Luki said, standing up from his seat while pulling his shirt over his head. "Miach, give me a hand here. We might as well officially bind me to you right now."
Miach let out a defeated sigh. He had entered this massive mess simply to help a friend. If he had known he would be diving headfirst into the absolute worst kind of trouble, he... who was he trying to fool? He would have helped him anyway.
"Alright... let's just get this over with... I am going to need a very strong tea for this headache later," Miach muttered.
Luki grabbed a chair and turned it around, sitting backward and hugging the wooden backrest, leaving his bare, tattooed back completely exposed to the room.
Upon seeing Luki's Falna, every single deity present—excluding Ouranos—raised an eyebrow in deep intrigue. The status was currently locked, making it impossible to read the exact details, but it was as if they could visually perceive a hidden power lurking deep beneath the surface of the crest.
Taking a seat on a chair right behind him, Miach bit the tip of his thumb, drawing a single drop of divine blood. He pressed it against Luki's back and smeared it across the skin.
Instantly, the Falna began to glow intensely, but despite the divine blood, the seal refused to open.
"Damn it, I didn't have enough time to properly fix this before," Hephaestus pointed out, slapping her palm against her forehead before standing up. "Let's solve this problem right now."
Hephaestus raised her open hand high into the air, as if she were waiting for something to arrive.
Bam! Woosh!
The thunderous sound of the upstairs door being violently blown open echoed through the tavern, immediately followed by the sharp noise of something cutting through the air at terrifying speed. Whatever it was, it rocketed down the stairs in a blur of motion and flew directly into Hephaestus's waiting palm.
"You've changed quite a bit since the last time I saw you. Good to see you..." Hephaestus murmured affectionately, her fingers gently tracing the contours of the custom weapon she had forged for Luki. "Miach, give me a drop of your blood."
Upon seeing the gigantic sword with its carved engravings, Miach understood what she meant and offered his hand.
Without ceremony, Hephaestus used the zweihänder to cut Miach's hand and bathe the blade in his blood. Then, with a snap of her fingers, she declared:
"There—now it has your blessing, too. Don't be surprised if it changes a bit later," Hephaestus said as she handed the weapon to Luki.
The moment their hands touched, their falnas resonated. Luki could feel the will within the sword reaching out to him.
'Sorry I left you on the sidelines, bro, but I needed a break,' Luki thought.
He sensed something akin to understanding coming from the weapon, which soon calmed down. Meanwhile, Miach was making adjustments to Luki's falna.
"Let's see... swap the symbol—this one, that one, and that one. I need to change this and that... I don't know why this is here; out it goes, and... done!"
Miach tucked the floating symbols back into the tattoo and locked it.
Luki's body reacted instantly. The sound of bones cracking and growing echoed through the room as his spine elongated. His muscles expanded and defined themselves rapidly, pulling his frame back to his full two-meter height. His wings immediately looked more alive, glowing with renewed vigor.
Luki exhaled heavily, panting as if he had just finished running a marathon.
"This is such a strange feeling," Luki said, gripping his fists.
"That is normal, this is definitely not a natural process for mortals." Miach said, nodding at him.
Then, he bit his own hand and tried to open it aga- or rather, tried to.
"Eh? Why isn't this working again?" He complained in frustration.
"You will need blood from both of us to do that with me," Luki said, slicing his hand against the blade.
"What a pain! Why did you do something like that, Hephaestus?" Miach complained once more while simultaneously wiping his blood onto the sword.
"THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!!" Hephaestus snapped violently.
"Goodness me, there's no need to shout."
What neither of them noticed was the flush rising on Hephaestus's face—a blush she tried to hide behind a tough-as-nails expression.
'Damn it, why did I have to go and get fancy back then?! I worked so hard to erase them from history... my shameful past is coming back to haunt me. No one can remember the changes I made to Ouranos's falna on my weapons... no one.'
Meanwhile, Luki hid a smile behind his hand. He knew exactly why she had reacted that way.
"There, you can take a look," said Miach, making room for the other gods to see.
All the other gods, even Ouranos, crowded around to see, all of them curious to know exactly what made that mortal so special.
And when they saw it, their eyes widened in astonishment. On the Falna parchment, the divine characters seemed to burn with data that defied the very logic of the Lower World:
Status Sheet: Luki Bryan
[Level] 1
[Attributes]
• Strength: 9999 (EX)
• Endurance: 9999 (EX)
• Dexterity: 9999 (EX)
• Agility: 9999 (EX)
• Magic: 9999 (EX)
[Development Skills]
• None
[Magic]
• Blink
[No Chant]
Instantaneous movement magic. Allows the caster to instantly teleport to any location within their field of vision or spatial awareness. Retains the user's kinetic momentum prior to activation, granting full control over their post-teleportation direction and physical posture.
[Skills]
• Tireless Explorer
• Maze Runner
• □□□□ □□□□
[Bound Equipment]
• Hestia's Blade
• □□□□□□'□ □□□□□□□□
"I am Ganesha!" The God spoke, dropping his arms onto the wooden table with a heavy thud, though he kept his voice in a forced, intense whisper. "And even I, Ganesha, did not know the Falna could display numbers beyond nine hundred and ninety-nine! Mortals spent ages debating whether Rank SS was even a myth, yet this boy just shattered every ounce of common sense! Look at this, it is completely absurd!"
A ripple of silent agreement murmured through the other deities around the table. Their faces, illuminated by the dim light of the pub, mirrored Ganesha's sentiment—a mixture of deep fascination and a quiet acknowledgment.
"Well... does that mean he's ten times stronger than an adventurer at the peak of Level 1? That's not all that impressive; any self-respecting Level 3 could do the same." Hermes leaned over the table, adjusting his hat as a soft, intrigued whistle escaped his lips while he studied the glowing tattoo.
"Don't be ridiculous, Hermes. There must be a scaling law at play here. He certainly doesn't just possess the raw power of ten men combined into a single level," Loki replied, her eyes narrowing slightly as she stared at his back with deep interest.
"She is right," Luki intervened, drawing the attention of the deities in the room. "My actual combat capability is around that of a peak Level 4. I already tested it in a spar against Ryuu. As of right now, I am stronger than her... at least in terms of raw attributes."
"Oh, so that fight against the dragon wasn't just the effect of your little special power—it was your base strength too. You're even more amazing than I thought," Hermes said, a sharp glint in his eyes.
"Wait, did you say Ryuu?" Takemikazuchi raised an eyebrow, shifting his posture. "Like, The Gale Wind, that 'fugitive' from the former Astraea Familia? It has been quite some time since anyone heard that name mentioned in the open."
"A tragic tale, that one," Hephaestus sighed softly, crossing her arms. "Unfortunately, she ended up taking the blame for the chaos back then. Not that she helped her own case, of course... relentlessly hunting down the remnants of the Evilus in broad daylight like a vengeful ghost."
"Now that I have my own Familia back and am directly controlling the Guild, that will change," Ouranos stated firmly, his deep voice cutting through the tavern gloom. "I intend to clear her name, along with the names of others who have suffered unjustly under the shadow of Orario's laws over the years."
"Thanks," Luki replied casually, offering a brief nod.
With that, the rustic room fell back into a heavy, contemplative silence, every divine eye remaining glued to Luki's Falna.
Indeed, every single corner of that glowing tattoo seemed to hide an insane secret or an unexpected power.
While ninety-nine percent of Orario's adventurers spent their entire lives dreaming of awakening even a single skill, Luki possessed three. Each one was packed with multiple effects, each more incredible than the last; just a single one of those traits would be more than enough to turn any ordinary person into a first-tier adventurer. Yet, there they were, bundled together—and the deities could even feel the faint, dormant signatures of other skills pulsing beneath the surface, merely waiting for their right moment to manifest.
Then there was his magic. In this world, magic was the art of achieving the impossible through the sheer power of words, a miracle that took most mortals years of grueling study just to grasp the most basic application. Yet, Luki possessed the innate ability to cast an instantaneous spell—and space-attribute magic, no less. How many mortals in the entire world could claim ownership over such a rare power? Perhaps he was the only one.
Furthermore, the sight of Hephaestus's bound equipment carried its own profound weight. It meant Luki would never truly suffer from the lack of gear suited to his caliber. Only seasoned veterans truly understood the grim reality of the Dungeon: the importance of a weapon lay not just in its ability to withstand an enemy's assault, but in its capacity to endure the user's own overwhelming, destructive power without shattering.
Yet, all of this was merely what was being actively displayed. What about the dozens of other hidden metrics woven into his history? The sheer volume of achievements he had racked up in such a short span—the countless monsters slaughtered, the times he had defied death to defeat entities multiple times his own strength, the grueling days spent surviving under the most unfavorable circumstances imaginable. He had slain a black monster. He had even conquered the heart of a goddess.
No matter how the deities looked at it, this was undeniably the resume of a true hero. In a mere fraction of time, he had achieved feats that would leave ordinary people utterly speechless.
And yet, despite the overwhelming weight of those achievements, something else stood out on his skin—something that, by all accounts, even the Falna itself could not fully comprehend or translate.
"This is exactly what I wanted to show you all," Ouranos said, his deep voice cutting through the silent awe as he extended a weathered finger, pointing directly toward the two corrupted, distorted blocks of text on the Falna that remained utterly blank and beyond description.
"I don't understand," Hephaestus muttered, her eye narrowing as she leaned closer to his back. "I only forged one sword for him. How can there be two separate items listed under his Bound Equipment?"
"More importantly," Takemikazuchi chimed in. "how is it that Ouranos's divine blessing cannot even name these things? Up until now, only the Dungeon and the Three Great Calamities were completely unrecognizable by the system."
"Exactly that," Ouranos stated.
The entire room turned their eyes toward the primordial deity, waiting expectantly for him to share his ancient knowledge. To their growing irritation, however, the old god simply remained in absolute silence.
"You're not gonna talk, you old geezer?" Loki snapped, her eyes slit with frustration.
"If I must remind you of this, then I am ashamed to be of the same kin. Use those heads of yours and think. What is the single thing that the Dungeon and the Three Calamitous Beasts all have in common?"
The deities fell silent, their expressions turning grim as they plunged into deep thought for a long while. How profoundly mysterious did something have to be for a god to be entirely ignorant of its origin?
"Let me see..." Hermes began, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "They all share a dark, malicious aura and a primal urge to destroy the thinking races of this world."
"They all originate from a time before our descent to the lower world, and they possess power far beyond mortal comprehension," Hephaestus added, her brow furrowed.
"Their interiors also happen to contain a great wealth of treasures," Miach offered innocently.
Every single god in the room turned to deadpan at him.
"What?" Miach defended himself, raising his hands. "The blood of those calamities were near-miraculous substance for cultivating the most diverse medicinal herbs. I can only wish I could lay my hands on even a single drop."
The silence stretched again, thick with unanswered questions and dense mystery. They continued to brainstorm, discarding theories one by one, unable to bridge the gap. Then, suddenly, Loki's eyes flew wide open.
Her pupils shrank. A look of sheer, unadulterated realization washed over her face.
'No... It can't be!'
Loki violently took a step back, staring down at the young man, her eyes filled with a sudden, freezing sense of aversion.
"Loki? Did you remember something?" Miach asked, startled by her sudden movement.
"Dammit... How the hell could I forget that..." she murmured beneath her breath, completely ignoring his question.
"We would be highly grateful if you could share this grand revelation with the rest of us, sister," Hephaestus demanded, her voice tight with tension.
"It's not hard to understand. I just... I never expected to encounter something like this in the mortal realm. Especially not in a world overflowing with so many gods."
Loki buried both hands into the sides of her head, tightly gripping her own hair. Her expression was that of someone who had just unraveled the dark truth of the universe and utterly refused to accept it.
"Fucking hell, so that is why those things hate the presence of gods so damn much! That's why they despise heroes and spirits! How could I have been so blind? It was staring us right in the face!"
"Loki, just spit it out already!" Takemikazuchi barked.
"They are creations of Chaos, goddammit!" Loki screamed.
Every single eye in the room widened in absolute shock.