The message before his eyes read:
[Gacha]
Besides that message, there was a second one floating in front of him.
[Touch the blade to begin the gacha.]
Ethan tilted his head, confused by the situation. Before he could touch the sword, however, he felt someone slap him on the back. It was one of his friends, though he couldn't remember his face.
"Come on. We only have fifteen minutes before we have to get back to work."
"Ah? Oh, right."
Then the tall, fat guard shouted, "Move it! Stop wasting my time! Out, now!"
Ethan ignored the system message and walked out of the massive forge. As soon as he stepped outside, he found himself in a corridor. They were escorted as if they were prisoners until they reached a large dining hall.
It looked just like a prison.
The tables were made of wood, filthy and beginning to rot. Every single one looked as though it was being eaten away by termites. Ethan glanced around in alarm.
He had never experienced anything like this before.
His mind was in complete chaos.
He was simply going with the flow, but he was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
'This is a nightmare. This is a nightmare. This is a nightmare.'
He repeated those words to himself as he walked beside his friend and joined the line to receive food. His friend noticed the sudden change in Ethan and asked,
"Are you alright? You're pale. You look like you're about to faint."
Ethan looked into his friend's eyes and replied, "I'm not alright. I shouldn't be here."
"You're funny, Ethan. None of us wanted to end up in this place, but here we are. You'd better eat well so you don't pass out while working. If that happens, you'll be punished."
"Right. I'll be careful," Ethan said with a gloomy expression.
Soon, it was his turn.
He was handed something that looked like noodles, a strange green soup, a nearly raw piece of fatty meat, and a cup filled with what looked like dirty water. Even the smell was awful.
As soon as he sat down and took a sniff of the food, he nearly threw up.
He hadn't eaten in so long that he decided to take the risk. His hunger was stronger than his disgust.
The moment he started eating, he felt like vomiting again, but he forced himself to continue because he was starving. Once he finished, he covered his mouth with his hand, struggling to keep everything down.
His friend noticed and said,
"You'd better keep that inside your stomach. I'm warning you."
"..."
Ethan said nothing. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and prayed that he would wake up in his own bedroom.
It didn't happen.
When he opened his eyes, he was already being led back toward the forge.
As soon as he returned, he saw that the message hovering above the blade was still there.
He glanced to both sides.
'Is anyone seeing this?'
Ethan reached out and touched the blade.
The moment he did, the message expanded before his eyes.
[Do you wish to begin the gacha?]
[Y/N]
He simply thought, 'Yes', and the message in front of him changed.
A new pale blue window appeared, and inside it was a coin. It began spinning while rapidly changing colors—red, orange, silver, gold, purple, and finally a rainbow-like multicolored hue.
The coin spun at incredible speed, gradually slowing down.
A few seconds later, it stopped.
It was red.
The coin then grew larger, and several pieces of information appeared at its center.
They were the sword's stats.
Sword (Failure)
Attack: 57
Magic Conductivity: 34
Skills: None
When Ethan saw those stats, he stared at the coin for several seconds before looking at the sword resting on the counter.
The blade he had forged hadn't changed in the slightest, yet those stats now seemed to be attached to it.
It didn't even have a hilt yet, but its quality had already been decided.
Ethan let out a disappointed sigh before returning to work on the sword's hilt. It turned out to be more difficult than he had expected.
Once he finished the sword, the guard approached and snatched it from Ethan's hands.
"You're still as worthless as ever. At least I can still sell this piece of junk for a few coins."
The man spat at Ethan's feet.
Ethan felt his blood boil, but he said nothing.
Suppressing the urge to do something foolish, he began heating another piece of iron to forge a new sword.
'I have to get out of here as soon as possible.'
Ethan still refused to accept his fate.
But he had to do something.
He felt that if he stayed here any longer...
He would die.
####
Time passed, and the sun over Orario finally set.
When Ethan realized he would finally be able to rest, he let out a sigh of relief.
Besides the first sword, he had forged two more.
Both were failures.
Together with four other men, Ethan was escorted toward a room furnished with two bunk beds and a single bed.
As soon as they arrived, everyone immediately prepared to sleep without even taking a bath.
Ethan had been sweating all day and felt filthy.
He sat silently on his bed before looking at the window floating before his eyes.
'So... I really do have a status.'
Name: Ethan Walker
Familia: Alectro Familia
Level: 1
Strength (STR): I 76
Endurance (END): I 81
Dexterity (DEX): I 65
Agility (AGI): I 67
Magic (MAG): I 43
Luck (LUK): I 24
Looking at the status screen, Ethan realized that he truly had been transported into a fantasy world.
And one he knew well.
'Alectro Familia... Familia... DanMachi...'
He stared at his status without showing much reaction.
Then he closed the window and shut his eyes.
'I have no idea what kind of Familia this is. I don't know that much about the series since I only watched the first season of the anime. But judging by the way I'm being treated, it's probably not a respectable Familia.'
Then the lights went out, just like in a prison.
In the darkness, Ethan continued thinking of a way to escape.