Catching a ride with the Loki Familia and returning safely to Orario's surface meant far more to Genichi than simply escaping danger.
That brief stretch of traveling together gave him a rare, up-close chance to feel and observe the apex of this world's combat power, letting him correct and deepen his understanding of how this world truly worked.
From Genichi's perspective, the Loki Familia's three core leaders, Finn Deimne the Pallum commander, Riveria Ljos Alf the Nine Hell, and Gareth Landrock the dwarf war veteran, carried an aura that ran deep and heavy like an abyss. The confidence in their every motion, and the absolute trust and obedience their members showed them, was not posturing.
Genichi evaluated them in silence. Any one of those three, the pressure and bottomless sense they gave off, probably did not fall short of Rias Gremory. If anything, they felt faintly stronger.
Of course, that judgment came with huge uncertainty.
On one hand, Genichi's own strength was still shallow. His eye for measuring power far beyond his level had limits.
On the other hand, when Rias was with him, she had rarely revealed the full weight of her true power as a pure-blooded high-class devil and the Gremory heir. Most of the time she had acted as a guide.
So he could not say his comparison was accurate.
But one thing he was sure of: a power system centered on a god's falna, growing through battle in the Dungeon, had potential and a ceiling that were absolutely not inferior to the devil system of the DxD world.
That was not an empty claim.
From the inherited memories of the "Danmachi" version of Genichi, and from piecing together common knowledge, he understood a critical point. The gods of this world, when they unleashed their divinity, were said to be omniscient and omnipotent.
Omniscient and omnipotent.
The concept alone made Genichi's scalp prickle.
In the DxD world he remembered, even the deceased God of the Bible was never described as omniscient and omnipotent. That God was unimaginably strong, had created systems and Sacred Gears and divided factions, but He still had limits, still had opponents, and had ultimately fallen.
But the gods of this world, at least by the way their "rank" was described, stood higher.
"So in terms of how their status is framed, the gods here are more 'high-end' than the divine figures I knew in the devil world," Genichi thought, a chill settling in.
That meant he had to treat the gods of this world with more caution, even reverence, than he would treat devil nobility in DxD.
Acting beneath a god's gaze, any excessive disguise or malicious intent could be seen through.
That was the big picture.
For Genichi right now, there was only one practical, urgent task: find a god as quickly as possible and obtain a falna.
It was the only way to truly enter this world's power system and accelerate his growth.
Without a falna, he could not raise his status the way native adventurers did, not in a clear, measurable way. He could not develop Skills, unlock magic, or fully exploit the Dungeon's massive pool of experience and resources.
But that road had already been mapped in blood by the Danmachi Genichi.
Through the merged memories, Genichi could clearly see that unlucky predecessor had practically worn out the thresholds of every Familia in Orario with a name worth mentioning.
From the top-tier Loki Familia and Freya Familia, to powerful groups like Ganesha Familia and Takemikazuchi Familia, and on down to countless mid-tier, small-time, and even bottom-rung Familias.
Every single one rejected him.
The reason was always the same: poor baseline, no potential, not worth investing in.
What left the deepest mark on Genichi was that predecessor had even gone to the blue-ribbon goddess, Hestia.
In the lingering memory, it happened inside a crude, run-down little church.
Facing the goddess with her generous figure, twin tails, and a deceptively innocent look, that Genichi clung to her like a final straw, begging through tears, pouring out his dreams and resolve.
But Hestia's reaction was the opposite of her outward image.
She did not give the usual polite brush-offs about lack of aptitude or a full Familia.
She simply watched him quietly.
In those night-sky-deep eyes, the usual dazed cuteness vanished. What remained was a clarity that saw through to the core, along with a faint, restrained disappointment and rejection.
Hestia did not have Freya's eyes that could pierce the essence of a soul and see its radiance.
But she was a goddess. Even with her divinity sealed, she still possessed a sensitivity to life's essence and instinct that far exceeded any mortal.
She sensed it.
She felt the twisted darkness buried in that boy's soul.
It was not mere selfishness or greed. It was deeper, more chaotic, mixed with an abnormally strong sense of purpose, a sick hunger for power, and a near-objectifying covetousness toward others.
If Freya Familia's selection standards were described in terms of a soul's "brilliance," then that Genichi's soul was the opposite. Black in a way that was almost garishly so, foul and muddy at the root.
If someone's soul was that rotten, what would happen if you granted them a falna?
Hestia did not want to imagine it, and she would not gamble.
Her Familia was small. Poor. But she still held certain lines.
So she refused.
No hesitation. Clean and final.
"I'm sorry. I can't accept you into my Familia."
Hestia's voice had been soft, but the decision inside it was absolute.
"Your heart isn't suited for this place."
That Genichi's last hope shattered right there.
And that rejection became the final straw that accelerated his fall into the Evils, his becoming a punching bag, and his eventual miserable death.
Carrying those memories now, Genichi's feelings were complicated.
On one side, he was relieved he was not that useless predecessor. He had devil power, and the Boosted Gear as a trump card. His starting point was completely different.
But on the other side, Hestia's refusal was a warning hammered into bone.
A god's perception was terrifyingly sharp, reaching down to the level of the soul.
And Genichi's current situation was even more complex, even more dangerous.
The ambition, coldness, calculation, and obsessive hunger for strength in his soul ran deeper and more frightening than that predecessor's warped lust and resentment ever had.
If he went to gods with keen senses, especially gods like Hestia or Takemikazuchi who cared about inner character, would they see the "wrongness" immediately? Would they treat him as some kind of foreign contaminant, or even a threat?
Standing on Orario's bustling streets, watching adventurers pass by with Familia emblems pinned to their chests, Genichi fell into thought.
He needed a Familia. He needed a falna. That was non-negotiable.
But he had to be careful.
"I'm not repeating that mistake," Genichi murmured, eyes sharp.
"Gods who are too sensitive, too focused on the soul or 'heart,' are off the table for now. I should start with gods who aren't so picky about what's underneath."
His mind began rapidly sifting through what he remembered about the gods and Familias of Orario, searching for a viable target.
(End of Chapter)
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