After weeks of enjoying a leisurely journey across meadows, along rivers, and through small woods, Natsu Dragneel’s footsteps finally came to a halt.
At the end of the cobblestone path he was treading, the world seemed to pull back its curtains to reveal a masterpiece of civilization.
Massive white walls towered high, encircling an area so vast that its edges appeared to merge with the horizon.
The wall stood resolute, acting as an absolute shield separating the untamed wilderness of Gekai from the pinnacle of human civilization.
In front of its main gate, thousands of people were lined up—merchant carriages carrying exotic goods, groups of travelers, and aspiring adventurers from all corners of the world with eyes sparkling with hope.
Natsu stood at the back of the line, gazing at the grandeur with a faint smile.
“Finally made it,” he muttered softly, letting the afternoon breeze ruffle his pink hair.
He stepped forward, following the slow-moving flow of the queue toward the main gate.
The security there was incredibly tight.
Neatly uniformed guards, armed to the teeth, stood at every corner.
Etched onto the chest of their armor was an elephant head emblem—the proud crest of the Ganesha Familia, the familia serving as the absolute law enforcement and police force of Orario.
After waiting for nearly an hour under the blazing sun, Natsu’s turn finally came.
A solidly built guard holding a spear looked Natsu up and down.
The guard’s gaze carried the heavy aura of a veteran.
Unlike ordinary royal soldiers in border towns, these Ganesha Familia guards were true adventurers who had tasted monster blood inside the Dungeon.
“Purpose of visit, name, and place of origin,” the guard stated in a firm baritone voice, holding a clipboard.
Natsu met the gaze casually, completely unfazed by the guard’s intimidation.
“My purpose is to find a Familia and become an adventurer.
My name is Natsu Dragneel.
I’m from…
a secluded village out in the eastern woods.”
The guard jotted the information down quickly, then gave a slight nod.
“A rookie, huh?
Alright, Natsu Dragneel.
Turn around and lift your shirt.
We need to check your back.”
Natsu complied without much protest.
He knew this was standard procedure.
Orario was extremely strict in monitoring the influx of adventurers.
Checking the back was the most absolute method to determine whether someone had received a Falna or not, simultaneously preventing fugitives from dark Familias or spies from foreign nations from slipping in.
The young man took off his black jacket, then lifted his shirt to expose his entire back.
The guard stepped closer, inspecting Natsu’s skin meticulously.
There were no sacred carvings, no divine emblems, and no hidden status hieroglyphs.
The youth’s back was clean, adorned only by dense, perfectly sculpted muscles forged through years of hellish training.
“Clean.
No Falna yet,” the guard called out to his colleague at the registration post.
He then patted Natsu’s shoulder amiably, his strict demeanor melting slightly upon realizing the youth before him was just an ordinary aspiring adventurer.
“You can go in, kid.
Good luck finding a deity willing to take you in.
Remember, obey the laws of this city.”
“Thanks, old man,” Natsu replied with his signature grin.
He pulled his shirt down, slipped his jacket back on, and strode through the massive, wide-open iron gates.
As he walked through the thick tunnel of the gate, Natsu chuckled softly to himself.
He found the situation just now highly ironic, yet advantageous.
In this world of Gekai, the hierarchical system of power was absolute.
Adventurers and gods measured a person’s strength solely by their Falna status and the level carved into their back.
If someone did not possess a Falna, they were automatically deemed an ordinary human at Level 0—a weak entity not worth worrying about.
The Ganesha Familia guard earlier was likely a Level 2 or Level 3, possessing sharp combat instincts.
Yet, because the logic of this world relied so heavily on Falna, they failed to detect the anomaly standing right in front of them.
They had no idea that the seemingly normal fifteen-year-old boy harbored enough power to burn the entire city to ashes if he so desired.
To them, Natsu was just a regular country boy chasing a dream.
There was no complex bureaucracy, no lengthy interrogations regarding gods or familias, and Natsu was simply allowed to walk right in.
Perfect, Natsu thought.
Better to be underestimated as weak than to deal with unnecessary trouble on day one.
The moment Natsu stepped out from the shadows of the gate tunnel, his senses were immediately assaulted by an incredible explosion of life.
Sunlight bathed the exceedingly wide cobblestone streets.
On both the left and right sides of the road, rows of magnificent buildings stood crammed together, ranging from eateries, weapon shops, and luxurious inns to apothecaries selling magic potions.
The air was filled with the clamor of merchants shouting discounts, the clanging of blacksmith hammers forging steel, and the boisterous laughter of adventurers gathering on the streets.
More than just noise, the scenery in Orario was a harmony of various races living side by side.
Natsu saw demi-humans—people with wolf ears or cat tails—casually strolling while carrying cargo.
He saw short but incredibly stout dwarves, as well as elves with pointed ears walking gracefully through the crowd.
The mouth-watering aroma of spiced roasted meat mingled with the smell of iron, sweat, and street dust.
Orario felt so alive, wild, and bursting with energy.
Natsu grinned widely.
His eyes sparkled with enthusiasm as he took in the center of the world.
His first impression of the Labyrinth City wasn’t bad at all.
This place was a melting pot for all kinds of ambitions, a city that truly never slept.
The young man’s attention was then drawn to a single structure that stood as the center of it all.
In the very heart of the city, piercing the clouds and seemingly supporting the dome of the sky, stood the Tower of Babel.
The colossal, pure white cylindrical structure radiated an aura of divine grandeur that was impossible to ignore.
The tower was a monument of greatness, the lid sealing the Dungeon, and simultaneously the palace where the Goddess of Beauty, Freya, gazed down upon the world from her throne.
Natsu stared at the tower for a few moments, silently admitting that the gods of this world did a pretty decent job when it came to architecture.
“Alright,” Natsu said while stretching both his arms upward, shaking off the stiffness from the long journey.
His stomach gave a soft growl, responding to the scent of food wafting from a nearby stall, but he ignored it for the time being.
“I can enjoy the city later.
There’s something much more important I need to take care of right now.”
He adjusted his scaly white scarf to sit more comfortably around his neck, then began striding through the crowded main streets of Orario.
His eyes scanned every corner, observing Guild notice boards and looking for friendly-looking adventurers to question.
He had arrived at the center of the world, and now it was time to gather information.
He needed to find out whether a certain incredibly lazy, black-haired loli goddess had been kicked out onto the streets yet or not.
It was time to hunt for news about Hestia.