### **Chapter 1: A New World, An Unexpected System**
The first thing I felt was the smell.
A mixture of damp earth, metal, and something indescribably sweet and exotic filled my lungs. The second was the pain, a dull throb that pulsed at the back of my head. I opened my eyes slowly, blinking against a light that was far brighter than it should be. Above me, a vibrant blue sky stretched out, much clearer than the gray, polluted sky I was used to.
I sat up with a groan, my hand going to the back of my neck. It came away sticky. Blood. Great.
I looked around, and panic began to bubble in my chest. I wasn't in my city. I wasn't anywhere I recognized. I was in a grimy alley, squeezed between two stone buildings that looked like they were pulled straight out of a medieval fantasy film. People passed by the alley's entrance, wearing tunics, leather armor, and in one case, what looked suspiciously like a pair of cat ears poking out of their hair.
*Where the hell am I?*
It was then that a voice, cold and synthetic, sounded directly inside my head.
**[Initializing Multiversal Chat System... Success.]**
**[Detecting Host... Complete.]**
**[Welcome, Administrator.]**
I froze. "Who's there?" I whispered, looking frantically around the empty alley.
A translucent blue screen, like something from a video game, flickered into existence before my eyes, hovering in the air.
> **Chat Group: The Infinite Archive**
> **Members (1/??):**
> * **Admin_01 (You)**
>
> **Available Functions:**
> * **[Chat]**
> * **[Members]**
> * **[Gacha Banner]**
> * **[Quests]**
I blinked. And blinked again. The screen remained. This wasn't real. It had to be a hallucination from the blow to my head. Yes, that was it.
**[New Initiation Quest Generated!]**
> **Quest: The First Step**
> **Description:** The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Find out which world you have been reborn into.
> **Reward:** 10x Banner Pulls, 1600 Stellar Crystals.
Ten pulls? Stellar Crystals? The terminology was eerily familiar to anyone who had ever played a gacha game. Curiosity overrode my panic. If this was a hallucination, I might as well play along.
"Okay... uh... how do I do that?" I muttered to the air.
As if in answer, a short man with fiery red hair and vibrant red eyes walked past the alley's entrance, wearing light armor and carrying a dagger at his hip. He glanced at me, noticed the blood, and frowned.
"Hey, kid! You alright? Looks like you took a nasty hit."
His voice was rough, but there was a genuine concern in it. What caught my eye, however, was the emblem on his armor. A child's face wearing a jester's hat. I knew that emblem. I had seen it countless times in anime and manga.
It was the symbol of the Loki Familia.
Which meant the man in front of me was likely an adventurer. And if he was an adventurer from the Loki Familia, that meant I was in the city of Orario.
In the world of *Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?*.
*Danmachi*.
The instant the thought solidified in my mind, the system screen flashed.
**[Quest: The First Step - Complete!]**
**[Rewards have been added to your inventory.]**
My heart hammered against my ribs. This was real. Somehow, I had died and been transmigrated into the world of Danmachi. And to top it all off, I'd been given a chat system straight out of a fanfiction plot.
"Kid? You listening?" the adventurer asked, taking a cautious step toward me.
"Yeah, sorry," I said, my voice hoarse. "I think I just hit my head hard. I'm in Orario, right?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Where else would you be? You new to the city?"
"You could say that," I replied, a massive understatement for "I just popped into existence from another dimension."
Before he could ask any more questions, another system notification appeared.
**[Invite Function Unlocked!]**
**[You may now invite others to the Chat Group. A multiversal scan has detected compatible candidates. They are... you. Alternate versions of yourself who have also undergone transmigration events.]**
**[Would you like to send the first invitation?]**
**[Y/N]**
My mind reeled. Other versions of me? In other anime worlds? The implication was staggering. I wasn't alone in this. At least, not entirely.
With a thought, I selected **[Y]**.
**[Sending invitation to a parallel universe... Invitation Accepted!]**
**[User 'Hunter_02' has joined the chat.]**
A new line of text appeared in the chat interface.
> **Hunter_02:** What? What the hell is this? Another Nen ability I don't know about?
Nen ability? That meant...
Before I could type, another prompt popped up.
**[Would you like to send the next invitation?]**
**[Y/N]**
I was about to do just that when the red-haired adventurer snapped his fingers in front of my face. "Hey! Focus! You need a healer. Come on, I'll take you to the Guild, they can help you out."
I shook my head, trying to focus on the here and now. "Thanks."
As I followed him out of the alley, my mind was split. One part was marveling at the bustling streets of Orario, the impossibly huge Tower of Babel that soared into the sky. The other was focused on that blue screen only I could see.
I opened the **[Gacha Banner]** tab. The art was impressive, showing silhouettes of iconic figures against a starry background.
> **Beginner's Banner: Seeds of Power**
> *Pull for abilities, weapons, and powers from heroes and villains across the multiverse!*
>
> **Cost:** 1 Pull or 160 Stellar Crystals
> **Your Resources:** 10 Pulls, 1600 Stellar Crystals (Total of 20 Pulls)
Twenty chances. Twenty chances to get something that could help me survive in this dangerous world. Powers like Ichigo's Zanpakuto, Goku's transformations, magic from the world of Fairy Tail... the possibilities were endless.
As we walked, a new message appeared in the chat.
> **Admin_01:** This is real.
>
> **Hunter_02:** "This"? What is "this"? And who are you? Why is your name 'Admin'?
>
> **Admin_01:** Apparently, I'm you. And you're me. From another timeline. I just landed in a fantasy world with a giant dungeon.
>
> **Hunter_02:** ...
>
> **Hunter_02:** Fantasy? Dungeon? I'm stuck in a city full of bounty hunters and mobsters, about to take an exam to become a Hunter. That sounds way cooler.
I smirked slightly. At least my other self had a sense of humor.
We arrived at a large building bearing the Guild's symbol. The world of Danmachi. A place where gods walked among mortals and adventurers risked their lives for fame and fortune. I had nothing. No status, no familia, no money.
But I had a system. And I had twenty pulls waiting for me.
My future in Orario would be decided by what I got from that banner. But not Now, I need to find a place to stay for a while, and then I need to find a familia, My Journey is only starting.