Orario, West District.
A young man in simple clothes squatted by the roadside, took a big gulp from his water bottle, and then gnawed on a hard piece of bread.
"Roy, failed again?"
The fruit shop owner next door asked with interest.
The young man waved his hand, "Don't even mention it. Last time I could at least go in and look at the Ganesha Familia, but this time the Loki Familia directly hung a sign at the entrance saying, 'No unauthorized personnel or dogs allowed.'"
The fruit shop owner couldn't help but laugh. This kid really had aspirations higher than the sky. How could one of Orario's strongest Familias, the Loki Familia, be so easy to join?
"It's not that I'm saying, with your talent, you could thrive doing anything. Why are you so fixated on being an Adventurer!" the fruit shop owner said.
He had personally witnessed Roy save a failing shop using a very ingenious method.
It was a general store with too much accumulated inventory, leading to a broken capital chain, unable to pay next month's rent. The young man in front of him suggested a lottery to the owner.
Customers could participate in the lottery for a very small fee, with a 100% chance of winning, but the second, third, and fourth-place prizes were unsellable items from the store, like glass marbles and paper.
The first prize was the store owner's equipment from his Adventuring days, boasted as the best sword in the village, valued at a million falis, which immediately attracted countless low-level Adventurers.
Of course, no one could win the first prize, but those unsellable items were swept away. In just five days, the store owner made a huge profit.
And Roy took a small service fee from it.
Other shop owners were green with envy and quickly followed suit. This lottery method soon became popular throughout the city, but only a very few people knew that it was the brainchild of a fifteen-year-old boy.
So the fruit shop owner could tell that this young man's extensive knowledge and experience were completely mismatched with his youthful appearance. It was as if a sixty or seventy-year-old old monster was hidden within that body.
"You don't understand."
Roy said with a melancholic expression, "If you've always lived in a world full of muggles, and suddenly you're told you can gain extraordinary power, you'd also madly pursue that power."
The fruit shop owner didn't understand those special terms, but he could feel the other party's determination.
"Alright, buying apples?"
The fruit shop owner pointed to the newly arrived apples.
Roy shook his head like a rattle drum and turned to leave. He didn't have the power of death regression.
That's right, he was a transmigrator!
In his previous life, he was an ordinary white-collar worker in the financial industry. After a certain 996 overtime shift, he encountered a dump truck and couldn't defeat it despite his best efforts.
This world was the anime from his previous life, 'Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Underground City?'
Rather than transmigration, his situation was more like reincarnation. However, when he was three years old, his parents were killed by monsters that rushed out of the deep mountains, and his house was also destroyed. In an instant, both parents were gone, no car, no house.
He, lonely and helpless, was adopted by the village chief.
Over the years, he used his knowledge from his previous life to help the village develop rapidly. Half a month ago, he finally convinced his guardian (the village chief) to leave the village and come to Orario, the Adventurer's city, known as the center of the world.
Three thousand years ago, a labyrinth, the Underground City, suddenly appeared in the lower world, one of the world's three great secret realms. Countless monsters emerged from it, harming the world.
Now most of the Underground City's entrances have been sealed, leaving only the Babel Tower entrance in Orario.
Gods gathered here, bestowing blessings upon the people of the lower world, granting them extraordinary power. These people were called Adventurers, entering the Underground City to embark on thrilling Adventures.
With his knowledge from his previous life, Roy was confident he could become a wealthy magnate, but what was the point of that?
Who doesn't dream of becoming extraordinary!
However, after arriving in Orario, he was harshly slapped by reality: a god among gods in the countryside, but a mere human among humans in the city!
After being rejected by seven or eight Familias in a row, Roy recognized the truth: he wasn't the kind of protagonist who could stand on the street, exude an aura of dominance, and have countless people kneel before him.
Elves, a powerful magical race!
Dog-kin Beastmen, naturally keen sense of smell!
Wolf-kin Beastmen, swift speed!
Dwarves, immense strength!
Amazons, all female, warlike and very unrestrained, lightly dressed, fond of having relations with strong men to procreate, wonderfully indescribable.
...
With so many excellent options, why would they recruit a teenage muggle?
Moreover, he was a muggle among muggles.
Raul from the Loki Familia had no skills or magic, no outstanding basic abilities, and his magic power was always 0.
His title was "Super Ordinary Man"!
Roy felt he was even more ordinary than Raul.
Perhaps his last hope was that golden finger that hadn't finished loading for over ten years.
[Panel Awakening 99.8%... 99.9%...]
Roy waited nervously. This damned progress bar had been stuck at 99% since he was nine years old, with the last 1% refusing to budge.
Today, he suddenly found the progress bar moving!
[Ding!]
[...100%, Panel Awakening Complete!]
A panel visible only to him popped up in front of him. Roy's eyes lit up, and a warm current spread throughout his body. He felt full of strength, as if he could punch a cow to death.
Name: Roy
Level: 1
Strength: 0 (I)
Endurance: 0 (I)
Dexterity: 0 (I)
Agility: 0 (I)
Magic: 0 (I)
Skills: None
Magic: None
...
Roy saw his status panel and was startled, "Is this the God's Blessing?"
He had suddenly become a LV.1 Adventurer!
It seemed the System had become his "God." Looking at his ability values, it was an all-I panel.
Adventurer ability values range from 0 to 999, represented by letters from I to S, with a total of 10 ranks (I: 0-99, H: 100-199..., A: 800-899, S: 900-999).
Roy hurried back to his residence, while exploring his golden finger. It wasn't complicated; he had received God's Blessing and could now enter Underground Citys to fight monsters and level up.
[Demon Slayer Underground City: Hunt Upper Rank Two Douma, Reward 600 attribute points, Bronze Treasure Chest!]
[Attack on Titan Underground City: Wall Maria is about to be breached. For every Titan killed, reward 30-100 attribute points based on the Titan's physical ability. Achieve 30 kills to trigger a special reward!]
[World Underground City: Akame ga Kill!]
...
Roy looked at the listed Underground City quests, his interest growing stronger.
Solo Leveling in the DanMachi version?
As he returned to his humble abode, a tent set up on a wide street in the residential area, a pleasant scent wafted into his nostrils. Roy heightened his vigilance.
Someone was inside!
He usually carried all his valuables with him, yet someone had still visited his humble abode. How desperate was this person? Roy curled his lip.
When Roy peeked inside, his face froze.
A blonde Elf Girl was lying on his bed, her pointed ears translucent and sparkling. Her eyes were tightly closed, her brows furrowed, and a struggling expression appeared on her beautiful face as she occasionally let out painful moans.