The last stretch of the road to Orario felt longer than the entire journey combined, the excitement had him on edge.
Even from miles away, the city loomed like a sleeping giant, massive stone walls wrapped around it like a fortress, tall and proud, while the tower at its heart reached so high it seemed to reach he heavens. It was almost surreal.
The traders murmured in awe despite probably seeing this sight countless times. Axel, on the other hand, just stared quietly. He was used to massive skyscrapers and architecture in his past life so this didn't shake him as much as he thought it would, especially since gods and magic existed to speed up the process.
The caravan approached the massive gates. A line made of adventurers, wanderers, and other traders formed, stretching on for nearly a mile.
"First time, lad?" A voice called towards Axel, confusing his silence for admiration and shock.
Axel turned towards the voice. It was the leader of the caravan he had been travelling with, a man named Boren.
Boren was in his late forties, with a weather beaten face and streaks of silver in his messy hair. His thick beard framed a face that spoke of years of travelling and adventures. He wore a simple brown travel coat over a linen shirt along with some other accessories.
"Yeah," Axel replied simply.
The man with chuckled softly. "Then you're about to see something special. Keep your head down, don't start trouble, and always keep your guard up, It's called the Labyrinth City for a reason."
"Labyrinth City?" Axel questioned, wondering where Orario got it's tile from.
The trader raised a brow, surprised. "You really are green, huh. You'll learn fast enough. Just… don't get yourself killed."
The line of wagons moved forward, creaking along the cobblestone path that led through the wide, reinforced gate. Guards in full plate armor stood on either side, inspecting wagons and people with practiced eyes. They weren't pushovers either, Axel could tell from the way they held themselves. Professionals.
When Axel's turn came, one of the guards approached. "Name?"
"Axel Thorne," he answered plainly.
"Business in Orario?"
"Looking for work."
The guard gave him a quick scan, sword, shield, travel-worn boots, that look in his eye that screamed 'I've seen shit.' The guard gave a curt nod and waved him through. "Stay out of trouble, lad."
Axel passed through the gate without trouble, waving his travelling companions goodbye, but before he could get lost inside the city, someone called him from behind.
"Axel," Boren called out calmly.
He turned around, confused, they had agreed that once they reached Orario, their deal would be complete and they would go on their own separate ways.
"Take it," Boren handed out a sizeable pouch, jingling full of Valis, he looked Axel in the eyes, as if asking him not to refuse.
Axel tried to refuse it. "We had a deal, I helped guard the caravan and you bring me to Orario, this is completely unnecessary."
"I don't like owing people lad, if it weren't for you, our corpses would be rotting out in the wild" Axel still wanted to refuse but as he looked in Boren's eyes, the older man had no intention of backing down.
He sighed, reluctantly accepting the pouch of coin, before he could even muster a thank you, Boren interrupted. "You seem like a good lad, watch your back out there," Before disappearing into the crowd with his other caravan members.
Axel rubbed his temple, before going deeper into the city, wandering aimlessly.
The first thing that he noticed was the noise.
Voices, hundreds of them, layered over one another. Different races mingled with each other seamlessly, Dwarves, Pallums, and Amazons were spotted. Merchants shouted energetically about their goods, children laughing while running around carefree, adventurers bragging about their recent dives, smiths hammering away at their respective workshops. The air was thick with the smell of smoke and infectious dreams.
He instinctively pulled his satchel closer to him out of habit. Big crowds meant thieves.
The main road was wide, paved with concrete, lined with inns, shops, and stalls selling anything from fruits to cheap steel. Banners fluttered overhead with sigils of different Familias. People moved with purpose here. No one was idle. It felt alive.
Axel's feet carried him forward automatically.
He wasn't exactly sure what to do first, but instinct told him to get information. Information kept you alive, and in a city this big, the best place for that was an inn.
He found a decent-looking inn tucked in a corner off the main street. It was a sturdy, two-story building with a sign over the doorway. The smell of stew and baked bread hit him before he even stepped through the door.
Inside, the atmosphere was warm but busy. A hearth burned at the far wall, and the sound of chatter filled the room. Adventurers lounged at tables with mugs of ale, laughing too loudly. A few sat quietly, eyes tired.
The innkeeper, a sturdy middle-aged woman with her hair tied in a tight bun, glanced up as Axel entered. She didn't ask many questions, just raised a brow in that universal "you paying or not" expression.
"I need a room," Axel said.
"Five hundred valis a night. Extra fifty if you want dinner." The innkeeper stated
"I'll take it," Axel didn't argue, he had more than sufficient funds thanks to Borin.
The innkeeper replied, "The room's upstairs, number 6, down the corridor.
Axel didn't hurry, he sat down first in a inconspicuous table in a dusty old corner, ordering a meal, and activated [Hunter's Instinct].
He felt the change immediately, all his senses sharpened two-fold. The change allowed him to listen in on the conversations of all the noisy adventurers, gathering and sifting through information.
He stood there for half an hour, eavesdropping on conversations, while eating his meal quietly.
He gathered some basic information so far, gods descended from Tenkai, some type of ""heaven" or realm of the gods, seeking entertainment from the mortals.
They can grant blessings to adventurers called Falna, which essentially allows adventurers to level up like in a video game, granting them immense power in the process, although they are dependent on gods for the leveling up part.
Adventurers use this newfound power to delve deep into the Dungeon, an actual Dungeon, once where monsters spawn and drop loot that they can sell to the Guild for cash.
Axel processed the information slowly, a god's blessing, strength through leveling up. This world really didn't pull its punches with the RPG clichés, huh?
His eyes turned resolved, he wanted to become an adventurer. He was given this second chance and this system so he wasn't going to waste them lazing around while becoming a fat nobody, plus, he was already accustomed to combat thanks to his previous life so everything was pointing for him to become an adventurer.
He headed off, searching for the Guild building after paying for his meal. He was gonna become a adventurer, he was sure of it.
After a couple minutes of wandering around, Axel spotted it.
The Guild's building was impossible to miss. It sat near the base of the massive tower, an elegant structure of stone, brick, and marble, bustling with adventurers moving in and out.
Inside, Receptionists in sharp uniforms worked behind a long counter, sorting papers, stamping documents, and giving directions to adventurers of every shape and size. A large board displayed quests, bounties, and notices, guards patrolled the interior to keep things orderly.
Axel joined a line and waited. Eina Tulle, a receptionist with brown hair and green eyes called him forward.
'A elf?' Axel thought, confused, he hadn't seen any elves so far but considering this was a fantasy world, it was natural to assume there were elves too.
"'Welcome to the Guild, how can I help you?" Eina asked professionally, having done this thousands of times before already.
"I want to register as an adventurer" He replied.
The elf woman asked him, "Name, age, and Familia?"
"Axel Thorne, 23, and I have no Familia currently" She looked up, confused.
"Having a Familia is mandatory for dungeon diving Thorne-san," she answered. "Having no Falna down in the dungeon is a death sentence."
"Um, sorry, as you can probably tell, I'm kind of new here in Orario," Was Axel's reply. "Can you give me a list of all the available Familias please?"
At the mention that he was new, Eina's gaze softened slightly. "Sure, coming right up."
She went into the back-room, retrieving a long sheet of paper that contained a list of all the Familias, what they specialized in, their numbers, and rank. She plopped it down on the table in front of him unceremoniously
Axel's eyes scanned through the paper systematically, analyzing all of his possible options.
First of all, he removed Familias that were too well known and high-profile, he wanted to create his own legacy, if he went big in one of their Familias, he would just be someone added to their long list of names and heroes. Next, he removed the Familias that were too controlling or dangerous, he didn't want to be stuck in a slave contract with a god, and finally, he removed the Familias that weren't exploration type.
For his final decision, he picked the Tyr Familia. God of War and Law.
He hoped that the god's domains would transfer over into his personality, he wanted a god that wouldn't be disgusted if he killed or fuss a lot if he got injured somewhat, so he decided to pick a god with a domain that relates to combat or killing, next of all, he wanted a God that was honorable and kind, hence he picked Tyr because one of his domains included law.
Axel nodded in satisfaction with his choice, "I'll join the Týr Familia please"
"Good, here's the address where Týr-sama lives." She handed over a slip of paper which containes where his new god lived.
An hour later, Axel stood in front of a modest building not far from the Guild. It wasn't as grand as some of the larger Familia mansions he'd seen on the way, but it was well-kept, white stone walls, hanging lanterns, and a courtyard out back, where he could see some people training.
He knocked once.
A man opened the door, tall with broad shoulders, and a muscular frame visible through his casual shirt and pants,
He had wild brown hair and piercing blue eyes that seemed to see through everything, he sported a short beard that gave him a rustic charm.
"What do ya want brat"
Axel straightened his posture, the man at the door wasn't just some guard, the way he stood, weight balanced evenly on both feet, told Axel he was an experienced fighter. He also caried a faint aura of something... Divine.
"I'm here to join your Familia," Axel said bluntly, not letting emotion show on his face
For a second, the sound of the people training in the courtyard drowned Axel's. Then the man let out a low chuckle of amusement. "Heh. You've got a spine kid, I like that."
Also, not that he would admit it but he could tell that Axel was trained, with how he held himself, his physique, and even how he breathed.
Anyways, he stepped aside, gesturing lazily with his thumb. "Fine. Get in. But don't touch anything unless you're told to."
They walked in the courtyard, catching the faint scent of sweat and steel. The entryway was clean, almost militaristic in how neat it was. Weapons hung on the walls, polished and well-maintained.
Týr called out to one of the guys training. "Oi, get your ass over here boy, we have a newbie that needs testing"
The guy that Týr called jogged over, he was tall, taller than Axel's 6'5, he looked a bit older than Axel, his physique was broad and muscular but not as good as Axel's, as he had access to modern training equipment and training methods that targeted specific muscle regions.
But still, Axel's instincts warned him that this guy was stronger than him, this guy probably had a Falna already so his chances of winning were very low currently.
"Name's Ragnar," He introduced himself. "Looks like I will be your opponent"
Axel glanced back at him. "Noted."
Týr explained the situation, "If you want to join my Familia, You'll have fight one of mine," he said. "No weapons. No magic. Just your body. I need to see what kind of warrior you are."
That was better than expected actually, Axel never had any formal weapon training so hand-to-hand combat was right up his alley.
"Are both of you ready?" Týr asked without delaying any further.
Axel smirked, "I was born ready"
"Same here"
Týr started. "Three"
He took a stance, defensive, he needed to measure his opponents power first before going all in, he couldn't risk anything against someone with a falna after all.
"Two"
Everyone in the courtyard silenced, watching the duel about to take place. His breath came slow, measured, the kind of calm that could only come from someone that's been in the arena and dominated it in his past life.
"One."
The world suddenly slammed into his senses with stunning clarity as he activated [Hunter's Intuition], this skill wasn't made for combat but it would have to do for now.
"GO!"