“…For now, we’ll just make do with this place.”
“Frugality is a virtue, after all!”
“As for funding, once we recruit members and start exploring the Dungeon, money will come in quickly.”
“In other words, not only does the Familia currently have zero members, but its startup funds are also zero?”
Leila summarized the situation without giving Heimer any chance to argue, then continued asking.
“…”
The smile on Heimer’s face stiffened.
“Only one patron god, no members, no funds, no reputation, and even the base is on the verge of collapse.”
The current state of the Heimer Familia had been summarized with painful precision.
Leila looked at him, and a polite yet distant smile appeared on her delicate face.
It was the kind of smile a noble young lady would give when rejecting an unsuitable suitor far beneath her family’s standing.
“Heimer-sama, thank you very much for your introduction.”
“Your personal qualities are truly, truly outstanding!”
Leila deliberately paused on the words “personal qualities,” her gaze sweeping over Heimer’s handsome face.
“But.”
As expected, that word had arrived sooner or later.
“The strength of a Familia does not depend solely on its patron god.”
“The size of the Familia, the average level of its members, its reputation within the Guild, and… its financial condition are all factors we elves must consider when choosing where to belong.”
“My family holds a modest reputation back in my hometown. They expect me to join a Familia with at least a D-rank evaluation, stable logistical support, and no fewer than two veteran adventurers above Lv.3 to serve as guides.”
“So this is not merely my personal preference. I truly would not be able to explain this to my parents, and I believe you understand what I mean.”
“They would think I had… entrusted myself to the wrong person.”
“And if I joined you, would our Familia’s base be this… building?”
“If I were injured, would the Familia have enough funds to purchase expensive potions for me? If I wanted to upgrade my equipment, would we have our own smith, or at least a connection to a master from the Hephaestus Familia?”
After saying this, Leila took one step back and performed an impeccable elven courtesy before Heimer.
“Therefore, thank you very much for taking the time to meet with me today, but I must decline your invitation. I wish you luck in finding suitable Familia members soon.”
“May fortune be with you, Lord God.”
After saying that, Leila turned and left with light, brisk steps, showing not even the slightest reluctance.
It was as if she had merely stopped by the roadside to ask the price of an item, only to realize she had absolutely no interest in buying it.
Heimer’s hand remained raised, frozen in midair.
The smile on his face had not yet fully faded, making him look somewhat ridiculous.
Entrusted myself to the wrong person…
That evaluation was both painfully accurate and brutally hurtful.
“Damn it!”
Heimer slumped back onto his stool in defeat and scratched his hair.
This was already the third time he had gathered his courage and taken the initiative to recruit someone.
As for the first two targets—a burly dwarf man and a beastman boy—they had treated him like air and walked past before he could even exchange three sentences with them.
At least this elf girl had been willing to stop and speak with him for a while.
Although every single thing she said had been a critical hit.
Sure enough, in this realistic world, good looks alone were useless.
He looked at the bustling flow of people on the street.
In the distance, Tower of Babel pierced straight into the clouds, standing as the only passage connecting the surface to the Dungeon.
Countless adventurers formed teams of all sizes, marching toward it with high spirits or returning from it with their bags full.
They belonged to all kinds of Familias: powerful ones like the Loki Familia and Freya Familia, or smaller rising forces that were still working hard to grow.
And then there was him.
Heimer, a lone god with no one under him, stood here looking completely out of place.
This really was a hell-difficulty starting point…
Heimer lamented inwardly.
Transmigrating into a god sounded amazing.
But in reality, the gods of heaven had to obey the rules of the Lower World if they wanted to descend and enjoy themselves.
They voluntarily sealed away most of their power, retaining only their immortality, divine aura, and the ability to grant mortals their Falna.
In every other way, they were no different from ordinary people.
They got hungry.
They got tired.
A god without a Familia was like rootless duckweed, unable to do anything at all.
No matter how powerful his divinity was, if it was sealed, he could not use it.
Did he want to fight monsters and farm the Dungeon?
Sorry, gods were forbidden from entering the Dungeon.
Therefore, recruiting Familia members was the only path for a god to develop in the Lower World.
And if a god wanted to recruit Familia members, he needed appeal.
Connections, wealth, ability—he needed all of them.
Yet unfortunately, Heimer’s divine name was not famous in this world at all.
Although he was a transmigrator, he was not some nameless god.
In the distant heavens, within that divine realm where even the flow of time felt vague, his divinity possessed many titles that made the gods take notice.
[Lord of War], [Calamity of Battle], [Ruler of Iron and Blood], [Gravedigger of Civilization], [Midwife of Civilization], [Source of Chaos], [Ender of All Things], and [The Last King].
His origin did not come from mythology, but from numerous concepts.
It began when the first ape learned to sharpen a stone and use it to pierce the skull of prey—or one of its own kind.
It began when the first bronze sword took shape within the furnace and rang with a clear metallic cry.
His divinity was born from those scattered sparks and flowing blood.
As long as intelligent life still fought over benefits, as long as one living being still raised a blade against another, his divine flame would never be extinguished.
His divine throne would forever hang high above mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Thus, Heimer represented the entire process of conflict within the same species: from the first probing signs of war, to the blazing climax of battle, until the final end of destruction.
He also represented every factor that pushed that process forward.
Sounds incredible, right?
It was practically the setting of a final boss.
But so what?
In this land called Orario…
No!
One!
Knew!
Him!
Heimer could still vividly remember the scene when he had excitedly gone to the Adventurers Guild to register as a god.
He had announced his long list of titles.
The half-elf receptionist named Eina had gone from a polite smile, to extreme confusion, and finally to an expression that practically said, “Are you messing with me?”
That scene remained painfully clear in Heimer’s mind even now.
“Haah…”
“This is rough…”
Heimer sighed again, picked up the disliked recruitment sign from the ground, and prepared to close up and go home.
It seemed today would be another day with absolutely no harvest.
Although gods did not die, the feeling of being so hungry that his stomach was sticking to his back was very real and very painful.
Maybe…
Maybe he really should give up on the path of starting his own Familia.
The Hephaestus Familia recruited blacksmith apprentices all year round.
With his divinity, going there and working his way into becoming a high-ranking smith might not be a bad option.
Or perhaps he could go to the Miach Familia and help grind medicine.
Miach was a good-natured guy.
He probably would not mind having one more mouth to feed.
Although doing that would basically make him a disgrace among the gods.
Still, it was better than being unable to endure the humiliation and returning to heaven, or continuing to starve on the streets of Orario.
Just as Heimer was sinking into self-pity and wondering whether he should find a way to sneak out of the city, rows of glowing pale-blue words suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Only he could see them.
[Ding. Detected that the host has survived alone in the Lower World for one month…]
[Familia Recruitment System activation conditions have been met!]
[Starting up… 1%… 20%… 70%… 100%!]
[System activated successfully! The Hyperdimensional Familia Recruitment System is at your service!]
A series of notification sounds rang inside his mind.
Heimer froze completely, and the recruitment sign in his hand fell to the ground with a sharp clap.
This was…
A system?
The essential golden finger of every transmigrator had arrived a full month late, but it had finally come!
The Hyperdimensional Familia Recruitment System?
Did that mean he could recruit members from across different worlds?
And if he went to other worlds, could he unseal his divine power?