Chapter 6: Chapter 6
Before long, the two of them arrived at the Adventurers Guild.
It was a grand building that resembled a temple, with bustling streets outside filled with carriages and pedestrians.
Hestia led Kiriya into the hall and went straight to one of the counters.
"Eina, I’m here to register my Familia’s child as an adventurer!"
Her voice was loud.
Loud enough for the entire office hall to hear her clearly.
In that instant, Kiriya felt gazes gathering on him from every direction.
Some were burning, some were cold, some were sharp, and some carried a suffocating pressure.
"Isn’t that Hestia? She actually managed to find a member?"
"Interesting. Which poor little fool was desperate enough to—oh my, this child is adorable."
A goddess clasped her hands over her heart, her elegant face full of surprise.
"He really is. What a handsome little thing! Even I’m starting to feel tempted."
"Get lost! You’re a man dumbass!"
"So what if I’m a man? As long as there’s love, gender isn’t a problem!"
"Bastard! Who dares try to steal what I want? I’ll tear them apart with my bare hands!"
"Hehe... what a barbaric gorilla woman..."
Before Kiriya could even open his mouth, the hall was already thick with the smell of gunpowder. The gods who loved excitement even crowded around him directly, reaching out and touching him all over without restraint.
"Where are you from, little brother? How old are you?"
"Do you want to join our Familia? We have plenty of beautiful ’big’ sisters."
"Hehe, how could this little brother be such a shallow person? Come with this big brother instead. I will show you something nice."
"..."
Kiriya’s face darkened until it nearly matched the bottom of a pot, and he retreated again and again.
The goddesses were one thing.
If they came and went, touching here and there, he could at least say he was not exactly losing out.
But what was going on with those two male gods? Their greasy gazes made Kiriya want to dig their eyeballs out on the spot!
Seeing those hands come closer and closer, Kiriya had already made up his mind.
If these male gods really did not know when to stop, he would let them suffer a little.
Sure enough, when a boy went out into the world, he had to learn how to protect himself.
’Let’s start with a broken-bone set meal.’
Just as Kiriya was about to act, a loud roar shot up into the air.
"Let go of that child! Kiriya is mine!"
Hestia rushed in front of Kiriya like a gust of wind and spread her arms wide, looking like a lioness defending her territory.
Seeing the little goddess acting so adorably, the gods, whether familiar with her or not, could not resist teasing her.
"Hey, hey, Kiriya-chan, want to come to our Familia? We have lots of high-level adventurers who can protect you."
"That’s right. Our Familia can also give you plenty of excellent equipment."
"What’s the point of following this poor little goddess? She can’t give you anything. You’ll probably even end up being dragged into living in the basement of some abandoned building."
"Exactly, exactly. You’ll have to feed her every day too. She’s basically dead weight."
"..."
Hestia trembled all over, wishing she could bite those sharp-tongued gods to death, but she had no way to refute them.
Their words were mean and cutting, and every sentence struck her sore spots. In the blink of an eye, her heart was riddled with holes.
’Kiriya-kun... he won’t really change his mind, will he?’
The moment that thought appeared, Hestia could not help feeling a deep sense of worry.
"Thank you all for your generous offers, honored gods, but since I’ve already chosen a Familia, I won’t go back on it."
Kiriya’s voice rang out, gentle and clear like spring water, moistening Hestia’s nearly dried-up heart.
"Equipment and protectors are all external things in the end. Ultimately, people still have to rely on themselves."
Kiriya’s tone was calm, but his words landed firmly.
"And most importantly..."
At this point, Kiriya turned to look at Hestia, his bright eyes filled with warmth.
"Hestia saved my life. I have no way to repay her, so I can only offer myself instead."
"Ooooooooooooh—!"
The entire Guild immediately exploded into noise.
The gossip-loving gods shouted at once, "Little boy, does that mean you like Hestia?"
"Of course." Kiriya answered loudly, "Hestia is so cute! I like Hestia the most, most, most!"
"Waaaah—!"
The wave of noise from the crowd nearly blew the roof off the Guild.
Boom!
Hestia’s brain overloaded on the spot. Great clouds of steam rose from her head, and her body swayed as if she might collapse at any moment.
Seeing that his goddess had been sunk by his straight ball and had completely lost the ability to speak, Kiriya could only take Hestia’s hand and lead her toward the Guild counter.
"Please help me complete my adventurer registration."
The staff member behind the counter was a half-elf with shoulder-length brown hair. Her name was Eina.
She was still immersed in the shock of Kiriya’s public confession, and when she heard his request, she froze for a second before hurriedly taking out several forms.
"Y-yes. Please fill in your personal information first."
Seeing that there was no more excitement to watch, the gods gradually dispersed.
However, many of them had not gone far and were still observing Kiriya from the surroundings while continuing to chat about the gossip from earlier.
Being able to witness such a huge piece of gossip and see the famous virgin goddess Hestia in such a flustered state made this trip more than worthwhile.
The bored gods were satisfied.
But many adventurers were not.
’Damn it. They were all adventurers, so why did this guy get so much attention and popularity?!’
"It’s just a pretty face. What’s there to be proud of?"
A large beastman said sourly, rolling up his sleeve to show off his thick biceps.
"Once you enter the Dungeon, this is what matters."
"Exactly. All shine and no substance."
"When he gets into the Dungeon, we should find a chance to properly spar with him."
"Good idea. As seniors, we have a responsibility to teach these rookies what the Dungeon is and what it means to be an adventurer."
"Oh, you’re so bad."
Under the gazes of people with all sorts of thoughts, Kiriya finished filling out the various forms and officially became an adventurer.
"Kiriya-san, congratulations on becoming an adventurer. I understand that you must be excited right now, but I still need to remind you: when exploring the Dungeon, you must advance step by step. Although you are now an adventurer, please try not to take unnecessary risks."
Eina handed him a Guild-issued map of the Dungeon and spoke with a serious expression.
"Thank you. I understand."
Kiriya had always accepted the goodwill of others graciously.
As for what he would actually do afterward, that depended on him.
"You’re welcome. It’s my duty. The Guild also has standard weapons and armor for sale. The prices are fair, and we can accept payment later. Would you like to take a look?"
Eina reminded him kindly.
As a Guild employee, how could Eina not know Hestia’s reputation as a poor goddess? Kiriya had only just joined her Familia, so he was almost certainly short on money.
Those standard weapons and armor should have been useful to him.
"Thank you, but there’s no need."
Kiriya waved his hand. Seeing the worried expression on the half-elf girl’s face, he smiled.
"Don’t worry. I won’t gamble with my own life."
After saying that, he pulled the still-dazed Hestia out of the Guild hall.
Almost at the same time, a group of adventurers also left the Guild and followed after him.
The gods naturally noticed this as well.
However, none of them said anything, because they were also looking forward to seeing how the situation would develop.
...
"Hey, Hestia. Since we’re already out, I’ll go take a look around the Dungeon first. You can head back."
Standing on the street in front of the Guild, Kiriya spoke to Hestia beside him.
He had just been about to leave when he noticed someone grabbing his arm.
Turning back, he saw Hestia puffing out her cheeks and glaring at him.
"What’s wrong?"
Kiriya found her amusing and asked casually.
"You said something like that earlier and made me all flustered, but now you’re just turning around and leaving... Isn’t that way too irresponsible?"
Hestia looked indignant.
"Oh? Then, most adorable Lady Hestia, what would you like me to do?"
Kiriya leaned closer to Hestia and lowered his voice.
"Do you want a kiss?"
His warm breath brushed across her face.
Hestia shuddered, and her clear, delicate earlobes instantly turned as red as blood diamonds.
Like a startled rabbit, she sprang several meters away.
"Y-y-you... why are you always like this?!"
The goddess shouted, sounding close to losing her mind.
"I can’t help it. My goddess is just too cute!"
Kiriya cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, drawing the attention of half the street.
Hestia finally could not take it anymore and ran off like the wind.
"Kiriya-kun, you big idiot!"
Whether it was Hestia’s criticism or the strange looks from the crowd, Kiriya did not care.
He looked toward Babel in the distance, where the entrance to the Dungeon lay.
"Now then, let me see just how far this world’s Falna can go."
...
The Dungeon was a vast underground labyrinth located beneath Orario.
Three thousand years ago, it had suddenly appeared in the Lower World, and countless vicious monsters had surged out of it, bringing endless disasters and tragedies to the people on the surface.
After the gods descended a thousand years ago, in order to prevent monsters from freely escaping and causing destruction, the people of Orario built a majestic structure that rose into the clouds: Babel.
Like a lid, it sealed the entrance to the Dungeon firmly shut and brought an end to the era of rampaging monsters.
Information about Babel flashed through Kiriya’s mind as he followed the long line of people to the Dungeon entrance.
The stairway there wound downward, twisting toward the dark depths below. Although the route was somewhat complicated and the surroundings dim, the people present did not seem very worried.
This was only the entrance, and it was still considered a safe area.
The true challenge began on the First Floor.
After arriving on the First Floor, Kiriya separated from the flow of people and stepped alone into the deep cave, beginning his own journey through the Dungeon.
After he left, several adventurers quietly followed him.
These people had originally been full of confidence. In their eyes, Kiriya was nothing more than an absolute rookie who had just become a Level 1 adventurer.
On their side, however, they had four veteran Level 1 adventurers and one Level 2 upper-class adventurer. Tracking him should have been effortless.
But none of them expected the boy in front of them to be ridiculously fast. The moment they let their attention slip, he had already thrown them far behind.
The layout of the Dungeon was complicated, with one fork after another.
One careless mistake was enough to lose him completely.
"Hah... hah... hah..."
After quite a while, the five adventurers stood with their hands on their knees, breathing heavily like broken bellows.
Their clothes were soaked with sweat, and their anger toward Kiriya rose higher and higher.
"That bastard runs way too damn fast."
"Is that guy part rabbit or something?"
"Shit! Once I catch him, I’m definitely beating him half to death just to vent."
"Don’t hurt the face. Otherwise, he won’t sell for a high price."
"Hehe, that’s easy enough."
The group talked among themselves casually, as though Kiriya was already something in their pockets.
"I thought I might hook a few big fish, but it turns out they’re just rotten shrimp."
The boy’s voice came from behind them, cold and filled with disgust.
"Who’s there?"
The five turned around and saw Kiriya.
They were immediately overjoyed.
"You’ve got guts, kid. You actually delivered yourself to us!"
But that joy did not last long.
Very quickly, it turned into fear.
At some point, slender wooden spikes had risen from the ground, piercing through their thighs and crippling their ability to fight.
What came next was even more terrifying.
A deadly suction force erupted from the spikes.
The men only had time to let out short, miserable cries before their bodies were drained into extreme weakness.
Then the wooden spikes swelled rapidly inside them, bursting their bodies apart and scattering blood and flesh across the ground.
The first appearance of Forest of All Things was horrifying to such a degree.
Against opponents of the same level, once they were struck by it, there was no chance of survival.
Of course, not every enemy had been wiped out.
The only Level 2 among them had managed to avoid the surprise attack and entanglement of the wooden spikes.
Although a long wound had been cut across his leg, he had survived in the end.
Seeing his subordinates handled by Kiriya as easily as chopping melons and vegetables, the upper-class adventurer’s face twisted almost beyond recognition.
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible!"
His eyes widened with rage.
"You were hiding your strength!"
Magic of that range, that speed, and that degree of effortless control—how could it possibly be something a Level 1 rookie could use?
He would have to be at least Level 2.
"You people really are weak, but you still refuse to admit it."
Kiriya shook his head and sighed.
He walked up to the man, raised a wooden spike, and prepared to give him a quick end.
"Raaah—!"
The man roared, swinging his arm to knock aside Kiriya’s wooden spike before driving a fist toward Kiriya’s abdomen.
Kiriya immediately withdrew his hands and crossed his arms to block, but the man’s powerful strike still sent him flying several meters backward.
Feeling the faint pain of cracked bone, Kiriya’s heart tightened.
Although he had taken the first round thanks to the characteristics of Forest of All Things, there was still an enormous gap between him and a Level 2 adventurer in terms of basic ability values.
’Sure enough, I can’t underestimate the people of this world.’
On the other side, seeing that his attack had worked, the Level 2 adventurer’s confidence surged.
That’s right.
This was how it should be.
The opponent was only a Level 1, while he was a Level 2 upper-class adventurer.
Even injured, a tiger was still a tiger. There was no way he could lose to a sheep.
With that thought, he charged forward again.
And then, a wooden spike shot up from underground and pierced straight through his entire body.
The look he gave Kiriya was filled with confusion.
Hadn’t they agreed to fight in close combat?
This guy had no honor at all!
"Idiot."
Kiriya sneered.
The times had changed. Did he not understand that?
If he could use Magic, who would use such a weak body to fight head-on?
The adventurers departed this world peacefully.
Kiriya collected their weapons and supplies, feeling sincerely grateful toward these generous, kind-hearted benefactors.
Who said he lacked equipment?
Wasn’t there a group of kind people sponsoring him right here?
This battle gave Kiriya a clearer understanding of his current strength.
In terms of his "mana bar," with the support of the Hashirama cells, he was not inferior to Level 2 adventurers, or perhaps even higher.
But when it came to his physical body, he was still far behind.
He was a genuine rookie.
"Sure enough, I still need to grind my ability values."
Kiriya sighed.
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