Would you consider… joining my Familia?
Rhodes had to admit that this was the best news he had heard since realizing he had been transported into the world of DanMachi.
An adventurer.
In a fantasy world full of magic and supernatural powers, becoming an adventurer was the optimal choice for anyone who didn’t want to end up some random nobody getting kicked to death by the roadside.
But how he became an adventurer was an important question.
Joining a Familia with a good environment was like starting a new game with experienced players willing to show you the ropes.
The opposite?
Those FGO lifers who told new players to pull for Aoko.
Rotten to the core.
Unfortunately, powerful Familias with good environments were like the major tech companies in his previous world.
Even getting a foot in the door was difficult.
As things stood, Rhodes couldn’t think of a reason to refuse Hestia’s invitation.
At the very least, it was the choice that best suited his current circumstances.
A cheat ability?
He hadn’t heard so much as a single delightful system notification since arriving here.
He couldn’t even get his hopes up about some hypothetical talent he had yet to discover.
Rhodes looked at the pretty little goddess who had brought him back out of genuine kindness.
“Really?
You’d let me join?”
“Of course!”
Hestia had already braced herself for rejection.
She hadn’t expected him to agree so quickly.
But after taking a moment to calm down, she suddenly hesitated.
Because—
She realized that her decision to recruit Familia members had been made on impulse.
A headquarters?
Plans for the future?
She hadn’t prepared anything.
“It’s just…”
“I think I should be clear about something.
My Familia… doesn’t have any other members yet.
And our circumstances are pretty poor across the board.”
“Are you really sure about this?”
“…”
As though the well-off Familias were lining up to recruit him.
Rhodes rather wanted to point that out.
They were simply two kindred spirits at rock bottom—the twin stars of poverty and misery.
He would be perfectly satisfied just to become an adventurer.
“Of course.”
“Unlike other adventurers, I don’t think I have any better options.
And now there’s a way for me to become one right in front of me.”
“I have to consider…”
“Whether this might be the only chance I’ll ever get!”
“…”
Hestia could sense the sincerity in his words.
The truth was just a little painful to hear.
Still, no matter how she looked at it, recruiting her Familia’s very first member was a good start!
She nodded, then turned toward her friend.
“Um… Hephaistos, could I borrow your office to give Rhodes my Falna?”
“Sigh…”
“Rhodes, I need you to take off your shirt and lie facedown on the sofa.”
Hestia set the silver needle and parchment needed for the ceremony on the table as she explained the process to the black-haired young man.
Bestowing a Falna involved letting a drop of divine blood fall onto a follower’s back, granting them the capacity to acquire strength and continue growing.
An adventurer’s “vessel” represented their potential.
Before they received a Falna, even a god had no way of knowing what talents a child possessed.
A small minority of gods would even lose interest upon discovering that a new member was ordinary, allowing them to drift to the fringes of the Familia and gradually be forgotten.
Hestia would never do that!
When her friend’s urging had first prompted her to consider establishing a Familia, she had imagined a warm, welcoming home.
Even so…
Now that she was actually about to bestow her blessing, it was difficult not to feel excited about whatever talents Rhodes, her newest member, might possess.
“Here I go…”
The youthful goddess sat on the edge of the sofa.
She winced slightly as the silver needle pierced her fingertip, but still squeezed out a drop of crimson divine blood.
An instant later, a gentle white light began to rise from Rhodes’s back, accompanied by the mysterious script of the gods.
Once the divine characters had settled into a Status, Hestia picked up the parchment and took an impression of it.
She didn’t forget to explain.
“Rhodes… all adventurers start with their basic abilities at zero.”
“To raise them, you’ll need to go into the Dungeon and fight its monsters.
Then you can improve your abilities by having your Status updated.”
“Okay.”
Rhodes hadn’t felt anything particularly unusual during the blessing.
To put it into words, he was filled with anticipation for the future.
And even more uncertainty.
…
RhodesLevel: Lv.
1Strength: I 0Endurance: I 0Dexterity: I 0Agility: I 0Magic: I 0
…
With the anticipation of someone making a gacha pull, Hestia lowered her gaze to the parchment bearing his Status.
Perfectly ordinary starting abilities.
By Orario’s standards, it was impossible to judge an adventurer’s ultimate potential immediately after they received their Falna.
But anyone who possessed a Skill from the moment they became an adventurer was certainly a prodigy!
“Hmm…”
Remembering Rhodes’s earlier remarks—so painfully realistic that they had stung—Hestia decided that a little encouragement was in order.
She tried to sound properly divine as she reassured him.
“I think…”
“You shouldn’t be so pessimistic.
An adventurer’s talent is something that can only be proven through effort.”
“I’ll do my best.”
There was no point in setting his sights unrealistically high.
Besides…
He had left his life as a wage slave behind and gained the chance to begin an entirely new life as an adventurer in another world.
That was already enough to satisfy him.
Rhodes accepted the parchment and nodded earnestly.
Even after becoming an adventurer, the supposedly standard-issue cheat system for people transported to another world had failed to appear.
The message was clear.
How far he went from here would depend entirely on hard work and sweat!
Meanwhile, after handing the parchment to her new follower, Hestia was considering what help she could offer him as his goddess.
Then she noticed the translucent screen above his head.
She fell silent.
In all her long life as a goddess, she had never seen anything like it.
[Welcome to Hero Nurturing Project.]
So…
What exactly was this “Hero Nurturing Project”?
Unable to use her divine power in Orario, Hestia had no way to analyze the translucent screen, which resembled a Falna’s Status.
She could only try to understand the words at face value.
Hero.
That part was easy enough.
Orario needed a hero to complete its final—and most difficult—remaining quest: the slaying of the Black Dragon.
Nurturing Project…
Her pupils narrowed slightly.
Did that mean she could raise Rhodes into a future hero?!
Filled with anticipation, Hestia carefully examined the information provided by the Hero Nurturing Project.
…
[Character: Rhodes][Level: Lv.
1]
[Strength Potential: C][Endurance Potential: D][Dexterity Potential: C][Agility Potential: D][Magic Potential: D]
[Overall Assessment: An unpolished gem.
However, it is still too early to call him a hero in the making.]
[Note: Players may issue milestone quests and devise growth plans to raise this character’s ultimate potential and guide him toward a far greater future.]
…
“Huh?”
Looking away from the information displayed by the Hero Nurturing Project, Hestia lifted her head and studied the handsome young man before her.
Hmm…
Had she actually stumbled across a treasure while she was out today?!
….
I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in
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….
I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length.
If you’re following a particular series, please wait your turn a little If there’s a particular novel you’re enjoying on Patron, please give it a ‘like’ so I know to focus on it