The Labyrinth City of Orario was, without question, the center of the world.
Countless riches, glory, and dreams lay buried within the bottomless depths of the Dungeon.
The gods descended from the heavens in search of entertainment, sealing away the vast majority of their divine power and authority before stepping into what they called the Lower World.
By granting mortals their Falna, they made them members of their Familias and sent them to challenge the seemingly endless Dungeon.
As the saying went, it was easier to enjoy the shade beneath a great tree.
For every rookie adventurer, joining a powerful and prosperous Familia was the dream starting point.
Adventurers defeated monsters, gained experience, and earned wealth by collecting magic stones and drop items.
The gods, meanwhile, enjoyed the game of watching their children grow and competing against other Familias.
Of course, there were always exceptions.
For the fifth time, Heimer watched a passing adventurer glance at the recruitment notice he had posted with visible disdain before quickly walking away.
At last, he could not help but sigh.
He leaned against the front pillar of his temple—well, calling it a temple was generous.
In reality, it was just a shabby two-story building.
He stood by the door, holding a wooden sign with several crooked words written in common language:
[Heimer Familia is recruiting adventurers! Men and women welcome! All races welcome! Food and lodging included! Excellent benefits!]
Passersby would sweep their eyes over the sign, then look at the building behind it, and finally settle their gaze on Heimer’s face.
Most of them would first freeze in surprise.
Then their expressions would turn into a complicated mix of pity, suspicion, and deep doubt toward the claim of “food and lodging included,” before they hurried away as if afraid he might latch onto them.
Heimer knew perfectly well that his presentation was rather poor.
As a transmigrator who had somehow stumbled into this world and become an ancient god, he should have been waking up from his dreams with laughter.
After all, he had crossed into this world and luckily become a god.
By all rights, Heimer should have been living the good life.
Reality, however, had slapped him hard across the face.
In Orario, whether a god was doing well depended mainly on two things: reputation and money.
A famous god, such as the widely connected Loki or the Goddess of Beauty Freya, did not need to recruit people personally.
Adventurers hoping to join their Familias could practically wear down their doorsteps.
A wealthy god, such as the God of Smithing Hephaestus, could attract adventurers with top-tier equipment and generous benefits.
As for Heimer?
He had neither fame nor money.
It was suffocating.
Painfully suffocating.
He had finally experienced what it felt like for Hestia—the immortal goddess who presided over the ever-burning sacred flame—to descend to the Lower World and fail to recruit even a single Familia member.
…
“Haah…”
Heimer sighed again, leaned back in his chair, and sank his consciousness into his mind.
It had already been a month since he descended to the Lower World.
Last week, he had spent all his savings making this recruitment sign, taking what was supposed to be the glorious first step of his grand ambition—recruitment.
The result?
Reality immediately slapped him across the face again.
“Hah…”
“A god reduced to wandering the streets.”
That title was simply the most accurate summary of his current situation.
Just then, a set of light footsteps stopped in front of Heimer.
He raised his head.
An elf girl stood before his stall, curiously examining the wooden recruitment sign.
She had the pointed ears and elegant beauty characteristic of the elven race.
Her long, silky pale-blonde hair shimmered under the sunlight, and she wore a fitted set of light leather armor.
It revealed her graceful figure without losing the crisp, capable air of an adventurer.
A delicate short bow hung at her waist, and a quiver was strapped to her back, clearly marking her as an archer.
More importantly, she looked like a rookie.
A truly experienced adventurer would never spare a second glance for a roadside stall like his.
A chance!
Heimer immediately straightened his posture and put on what he believed to be his kindest and most sincere smile.
“Good day, beautiful miss.”
“May I ask if you are an adventurer who has just arrived in Orario? Are you perhaps searching for a suitable Familia?”
The elf girl shifted her gaze away from the wooden sign and looked at Heimer.
When she saw his appearance clearly, a trace of surprise flashed through her emerald-green eyes.
A faint blush then rose on her cheeks.
However, she quickly concealed it with her excellent upbringing.
At the moment, aside from his divine power, Heimer’s appearance was the only asset he could truly show off.
Black hair, black eyes, and features so handsome they seemed like the finest artwork ever crafted by a god—oh, wait, he was a god now, so never mind.
His aura was clean and refreshing.
Even dressed in plain linen clothes, it could not hide his outstanding presence.
In terms of looks alone, he was enough to make ninety-nine percent of Orario’s gods feel jealous.
Unfortunately, the people of Orario were very realistic.
They could admire your face, but entrusting their lives and future to you was another matter entirely.
For anyone with real ability, a Familia still had to prove its strength first.
“Yes. My name is Leila, and I have only just arrived in this city.”
The elf girl nodded slightly, her manner graceful.
Her gaze moved back and forth between Heimer and the dilapidated temple behind him, carrying a clear sense of assessment.
“May I ask… are you the god of this Familia?”
“That is indeed this humble self.”
Heimer puffed out his chest, trying his best to look more reliable.
“Although my Familia has only just been established, its potential is limitless!”
“If you join now, you will become a founding core member! Your future will be boundless!”
Heimer began promoting himself nonstop, casually pulling out every startup-style empty promise he had seen in his previous life.
“And think about it, beautiful Miss Leila. Once our Familia grows into one of Orario’s top powers in the future, what kind of glory would that be for you as the very first member?”
“Your name will surely be engraved on the first page of our Familia’s history!”
Leila listened quietly without interrupting him.
Only after Heimer finished speaking in one breath did she slowly open her mouth.
The questions she raised neatly cut through all of Heimer’s grand and flowery rhetoric.
“Then, Heimer-sama, may I ask whether your name is well known here in Orario, or perhaps among the gods in heaven?”
“Alternatively, do you have any close relationships with the gods or Familias currently stationed in this city?”
That question made Heimer freeze on the spot.
“Uh… I am rather low-profile, so my reputation in this world is not very prominent.”
Heimer answered vaguely.
After all, while his name was not as famous in this world as Loki, Freya, Hera, or Zeus, he was by no means unknown in the distant heavens.
It was just that…
Even if he announced those titles in this world, basically no one would believe him.
Fortunately, Leila did not show any displeasure because of his answer.
Her words and bearing remained perfectly polite as she continued asking questions with calm composure.
However, the content of those questions grew increasingly serious.
“Then, your Familia’s base… is this building?”
“Do you have any plans for future repairs or relocation? And what is your source of funding?”
Faced with these questions, Heimer finally began to sweat.