Labyrinth City, Orario.
Hephaestus Familia.
A mature woman wearing a white tee stood there, her red short hair casually tied into a low ponytail. Her features were sharp and stunning, yet her brows were knit in a faint frown.
The black eyepatch covering her right eye only made Hephaestus look all the more cool and dashing.
Her gaze lingered for a moment on the black-haired boy lying unconscious on the sofa, before she finally shifted her helpless stare to the close friend across from her who had been giving her a headache all along.
"Hestia."
"My bottom line is letting you stay at my place for the time being. So who exactly is this guy?"
The girl called "Hestia," her long black hair tied into twin tails, wore an awkward smile on her childish face.
Her figure, far too full for such a youthful appearance, swayed slightly as she jumped to her feet. Thankfully, the blue ribbon binding her chest kept things from becoming too eye-catching.
"Well… it's a long story."
"Today I went to the Guild to recruit new familia members, you know? On the way back, when I passed by an alley, I saw this kid unconscious."
At the very least, she was not lazing around at home all day, living off others.
That thought gave Hephaestus a small sense of relief, but her expression did not soften because of it.
"So you just brought him back?"
"That's right!"
"And did it occur to you that he might belong to some other familia?"
Faced with her friend's question, Hestia was clearly lacking confidence.
She looked at the boy's handsome face and spoke seriously.
"Meeting like this is fate, you know. If he belongs to another familia, then we'll just treat it as doing a good deed."
"If he doesn't have a god yet…"
"If he wants to become an adventurer, we can try inviting him once he wakes up!"
---
As shattered memories were absorbed one after another, the images replaying in his mind made Ron abruptly realize that his current situation was not exactly great.
After pulling an all-nighter playing Elden Ring, he had gone out to buy breakfast and run straight into the Truck-kun.
Stats completely off the charts, monstrous strength. Even a physical education student giving it everything stood no chance!
"Logically speaking…"
"With my background as a PE student, even Morgott, the Omen King was easy enough to handle. Tanking the Truck-kun head-on shouldn't have been a big problem."
After all, loss of brainstem function and the disappearance of brain activity meant the end of consciousness. That was basic medical knowledge!
The fact that he could still think meant there was still room for emergency treatment!
Yet there was no smell of disinfectant in the air. As Ron puzzled over this, he caught a faint scent of orchids instead.
At that moment of confusion, a pure white light enveloped his soul, like a lone bird drifting over the sea finally finding an island to land on.
And Ron gradually began to feel something again.
The reality of being "alive."
As he slowly regained control of his body, he opened his eyes with effort. The bright light hanging from the ceiling made his eyes sting painfully.
Then—
What entered his vision was a completely unfamiliar environment, nothing like a hospital's intensive care unit.
A spacious room with a solid wood style. The surrounding furnishings were unlike anything he had ever seen. A massive amount of information flooded his mind, all pointing toward a single answer.
"Not the Truck-kun. It was an isekai transporter!"
Transmigration was a classic trope. Anyone who read webnovels knew that. He just never imagined it would actually happen to him one day.
"Don't tell me I got launched straight into the Elden Ring world?"
A sense of dread settled over Ron's heart. Just as the thought formed, a gentle yet unfamiliar voice sounded from not far beside him.
"Um…"
"Are you okay?"
Following the direction of the voice, Ron struggled to lift his head. But when he clearly saw the girl who was speaking, his brain short-circuited for a moment.
The girl in a white dress stood there, her youthful appearance wavering somewhere between girl and loli. Her beauty looked like a miracle crafted by the creator.
Her long, smooth black hair was tied into twin tails. Despite her childish face, her figure was outrageously mismatched.
In short: baby face, massive chest.
"Where the hell did I get sent?"
Recognizing who she was finally made Ron realize—
He had transmigrated into the world of "Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?"
Compared to the grim darkness of Souls-like worlds, ending up in Danmachi was far easier to accept.
At the very least, you would not get jumped by some sneaky bastard around a corner and die to random mobs without knowing why. Even so, this world was far from simple.
Adventurers....
Familias....
Ron was fairly familiar with this otherworld that possessed a supernatural system.
The gods granted Falna to those in the lower world, giving them the authority to gain strength and continuously improve. Around labor and money, the familia system was built.
Familias varied greatly in scale and nature.
However, only when both the familia members and the god existed together could such a group truly be called a familia!
At the core of it all was Falna. After receiving it, one would gain something akin to a "status panel," displaying their Status.
Adventurers who possessed a vessel could, through training in the Dungeon, continuously draw out their latent potential. That included abilities like magic and skills.
"Becoming an adventurer, huh?"
"When it's right in front of you like this… it really feels impossible to refuse!"
Thinking about the Souls bosses that had walled him so hard he could not let go, Ron felt that familiar frustration again. The kind that made him want to punch through the screen and open up cheat software.
This Danmachi world also had monsters.
No save points, but with magic and other supernatural powers, clearing monsters through skill and strategy was not that different from an alternate single-life Souls run.
On top of that, knowing exactly how the plot of Danmachi would unfold, Ron felt that becoming an adventurer was something he absolutely had to do.
According to the original story, the Black Dragon crisis would erupt in two years.
Without some means of self-preservation, the outcome waiting for him would absolutely be a remake.
He had thought about placing all hope for saving the world on the original protagonist, Bell. But he just could not get past that mental hurdle.
Ron believed far more in relying on himself and was determined to seize his future with his own hands.
After sorting out his situation post-transmigration and the unavoidable problem now before him, he propped himself up on the sofa and looked toward the figure ahead.
Hestia was pouring hot tea into a cup.
After checking his body and confirming there were no issues, Ron thanked her sincerely.
"Thank you. I think my body is fine now."
"I'd like to ask…"
"Where exactly is this place?"
Hestia handed the hot tea to the boy and explained patiently.
"This is the office of the Hephaestus Familia."
"You fainted in an alley. I was really worried, so I brought you back."
After explaining everything from start to finish, the girl looked at Ron, his black hair cut short, and smiled. A sweet dimple appeared on her cheek.
"Which god's familia are you from? Do you need me to help notify them?"
"Right now… I should count as a free agent."
Her personality was no different from the original. As a virgin goddess of the righteous faction, Hestia treated humans with genuine kindness.
As for her question, Ron did not hide the truth. More than anything, he knew that in front of a god, any lie would have its intent exposed.
After he finished answering, Hestia sat upright across from him. In her blue eyes, clear and transparent, an undisguised look of anticipation surfaced.
"Um…"
"Would you like to become an adventurer?"