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A dark, damp dungeon.
Dan sat huddled beside a tiny fireplace, pale-faced, lips cracked, weakly hugging his knees against the cold wall, eyes lifeless.
The weak flames in the fireplace looked like they could go out at any second, but even that faint warmth was enough to keep him going.
"Hey, I'm talking to you. You're about to give up too, huh?"
A pink-haired woman stood over him, resting a red longsword on her shoulder, smirking like it was all a joke.
"It's been ten days since that psycho dumped you here. Is it really that hard to join us?"
She looked around the dungeon and wrinkled her nose in disgust.
This place clearly used to be some kind of garbage storage room.
Trash bags still lay scattered on the floor, greenish-yellow foul water flowed across the moss-covered tiles, filling the air with a rotting stench.
Her eyes returned to Dan. Despite his silence, there was a rare flicker of curiosity in her maddened eyes.
Even though Dan was being held captive in this dump, he looked strangely clean and neat, with a faint fresh scent—completely out of place in such a filthy environment.
He hadn't received any divine blessings, just a regular human. And yet, he gave off an aura that you couldn't ignore.
If it weren't for that, this infamous villain would've never gone out of her way—risking trouble with her own crew—to save him from getting stabbed to death by Vito.
Although, judging by Vito's pissed-off-turned-suddenly-sympathetic expression, it seemed he got the wrong idea.
But honestly, this spider-like, bloodthirsty woman didn't give a damn what others thought.
After all, she was one of the most dangerous executives in the Evilus. Known for racking up the highest confirmed adventurer kills in recorded history—a true cold-blooded killer.
Valletta Grede, the Arachnia, Level 5.
"I looked into you. You're a nobody who just arrived in Orario a few weeks ago. Your body's so frail it can't even match an average adult male."
Even though Dan still didn't respond, Valletta seemed unusually patient with him—even she didn't know why.
"You tried to join the famous Loki Familia with your hopeless dreams, only to get shut out completely."
She narrowed her eyes, thinking of the hero who had ruined her plans a few times before, then chuckled mockingly.
"Kid, don't tell me you really thought that group—always shouting about justice and friendship—would actually waste their time training a rookie like you, who clearly has zero potential and no combat ability whatsoever."
"No no, only we, the unwanted shadows of this world, accept everyone and anyone!"
Dan's eyelids twitched. He looked like he wanted to say something—but didn't.
He wanted to argue... but honestly, she wasn't wrong.
After all, he'd been thrown into this world of Orario, and in his past life, he was just a fresh college grad and an average otaku. Nothing special in physique or talent. And now he was in the heart of the "DanMachi" world, full of monsters and superpowered adventurers.
If there was one thing he had over his old self, it was... maybe just the convenient knowledge of the local language, for some weird reason.
Knock knock knock—
"Ma'am, time's up."
A nervous voice came from outside the cell.
Valletta's smile instantly turned vicious. She snapped at the door.
"I told you not to f*cking rush me!"
"S-Sorry!"
"Phew..."
She took a deep breath and forced what she thought was a 'friendly' smile—though it came off more like a demon baring its fangs.
"I'll come check on you later. Don't worry, no one will touch you while I'm around."
Maybe she was excited about the show that was about to begin. She paused, then said a bit more than usual.
"With your brains, you should know this already—In a world full of chaos and darkness, you can't trust anyone. Only by having power in your own hands will you avoid becoming someone else's pawn."
"You'd better figure that out fast."
As she turned to leave, her gaze drifted to the fireplace, and something bugged her.
Weird... If she remembered right, those were the same logs from ten days ago. Why were they still burning...?
But she brushed the thought aside. No time for little details now.
Just as she stepped through the cell door, a weak voice called out behind her.
"Even if you're just a venomous spider keeping prey alive for future fun... I still won't forget that you saved me."
"Thanks, Valletta."
The cold wind stirred her hair. She smirked.
"For a prisoner, you sure talk big."
"But yeah... remember this well. The one time I, Valletta the butcher of champions, ever lost my mind and saved a clueless idiot like you..."
She walked out without looking back.
Behind her, one of the other Evilus members stared at Dan with open jealousy, then grumbled:
"That guy has no idea how lucky he is. Being invited to join us is a damn honor, and he dares turn it down? He needs to be taught a lesson!"
Valletta suddenly stopped.
The guy almost bumped into her and quickly apologized.
"S-Sorry, Lady Valletta...!"
She slowly turned around and casually raised one hand, smiling.
"Oh, no worries."
The guy smiled in relief.
Then—
Valletta's other hand drew her sword.
"Wha—Guh—Why...?"
His voice came out confused and stupid as his eyes widened in disbelief.
Then it all ended.
His throat slit cleanly, he made a horrible whistling sound, spurting blood like a fountain before collapsing on the spot.
Valletta casually flicked the blood off her blade, laughing cruelly.
"Consider that payment with your life. I'm not exactly known for patience or a nice temper! Hahaha—HAHAHAHA!"
In high spirits, she marched to the end of the dungeon and shoved open the massive bronze door.
A white-haired specter immediately glared at her in irritation.
"You're late!"
Vito leaned against the wall, sniffing the air and catching the scent of blood. His eyes narrowed, and he smirked.
"No need to get so worked up. Just follow the script I wrote, and even that fake hero can't stop what we're about to unleash."
Valletta looked up dramatically, arms wide, crazed expression lighting up her face.
"In this godforsaken age, we'll make them remember—this place is no paradise. It's hell!"
"Alright, boys! The Eve of Destruction begins now!!!"
The twisted, frenzied cultists who had been waiting in the grand hall roared with savage excitement.
"OOOOHHHH!!! KILL THEM ALL!!!"
"...Here we go again."
Back in the cell, Dan ignored the dust falling from the ceiling due to all the shouting. He reached under his butt and pulled out a sharpened stone, carefully grinding its edge again.
It might not amount to much, but he wasn't giving up on escape.
Joining the Evilus? Not a chance. Especially now—this was the start of the Great War. And knowing how it all ends, there was no way he'd go walking into a dead end.
Even if it meant losing out on divine blessings, he couldn't risk dealing with those twisted gods just for power.
After all, who knew if they'd sense he was a transmigrator—and then do something crazy just out of curiosity?
He was willing to take his chances with the good gods from the original story. But those evil ones? Hell no.
Besides...
He wasn't entirely without hope.
Dan looked up at the semi-transparent screen floating in front of his eyes—something only he could see.
[The Wish System initializing…]
"....."