Divine Chamber.
"Genshin Impact! Launch!"
"Palworld! Launch!"
"League of Legends! Diablo! Warcraft! Dungeon Fighter! Launch!"
"…Launch!"
Zanis pushed open the door, staring in confusion at Charles, who was spouting one repetitive catchphrase after another.
"What are you doing?"
Charles straightened and saluted.
"Captain! I'm testing my skill!"
"Oh? Any progress?"
"Not yet, sir! But I believe I'll bring glory to the Familia!" Charles declared in a loud, resolute voice.
Hmph. Looks like Soma was right—if even a god can't decipher it, how could a mortal possibly know how to use it?
Granted, an ability you can't use might as well not exist… but what if it did work?
Just imagine—a skill so powerful that even a god couldn't read it. The kid was only twelve; given time, he could be carefully groomed and controlled.
"Charles…"
"Yes, Captain!"
"You want divine wine, don't you?"
Zanis shook the gourd in his hand. Inside was the portion he'd skimmed off from the initiation batch.
When he pulled the stopper, a rich fragrance filled the air.
A flicker of desire passed through Charles' eyes—whether it was genuine or an act was hard to tell.
"Give it to me. Without divine wine, I won't survive!"
Zanis poured a bamboo flask's worth and tossed it to him.
>"Want more? Then bring in more money—use that skill even a god can't understand! Hahahaha…"
Charles didn't hesitate. Whatever the future held, Zanis was the greatest danger right now. And the strange craving gnawing at his body made him tip the flask back and drain it in one gulp.
The intoxicating alcohol slammed into his head. His cheeks flushed instantly, his body swaying, vision blurring—until he collapsed with a thud.
"So much for that…"
Zanis sneered. No matter what the boy's skill was, as long as he kept him under control, he'd be a useful tool.
But divine wine alone wasn't enough—it could control actions, but not thoughts. He needed the kid to remain loyal forever.
With that in mind, Zanis turned and left. He had a sacrifice to arrange.
---
Moments later, Charles stirred. His eyes still held a drunken haze, but his mind was perfectly clear. Heat flared across his back—his Falna reacting. His skill was activating.
At the same time, information flooded his mind.
[Drunken Rampage – W]
Triggers when consuming strong liquor.
While drinking: reduces incoming damage and moderately increases Endurance.
After drinking: slightly increases attack range and deals area damage to nearby enemies.
The higher your Endurance, the greater the damage.
Grants immunity to negative status effects from drunkenness.
(Tip: "After this drink… have another!" — Gragas)
PS: Gragas is a character from 'League of Legends'
...
What the hell?
I don't remember having this skill!
Charles staggered to his feet, trembling from the wine's addictive pull.
"Don't panic… this isn't powder. If I stay away from it long enough, I won't get hooked."
He reassured himself while digesting the skill's details.
Along with the new effect, he finally glimpsed his true skill's description:
[Second-Dimensional Pandora]
Once per week, refresh your entire Falna.
Upon refresh, skills and magic will randomly change depending on luck.
Effects last one week.
(An unstable soul… a remnant of the vortex of chaos… a child of fortune… the spinning wheel of fate.)
...
Holy crap!
Got it—this is basically a Pandora's prep bench!
The effect was absurdly short and overpowered. The key detail: it refreshes my entire Falna, not just this skill. That means every week, I could get new skills, new magic—maybe even different Development Abilities.
"Can Development Abilities refresh too? Needs testing."
Obvious perks:
I'll never need a god to manually update my Falna again.
And…
"If my current baseline is LoL's Gragas W, could I roll [Soul-Draining Strike] next week? Or [Transcendent Corruption]?"
"What if I hit Feast + Soul Furnace + Heartsteel + Grasp of the Undying…?"
"…Wait, the description never said it had to be LoL abilities. What if—"
"What if I got exp boost type skill?"
Literal good shit. Just the thought of different skill combination thrilled his mind
"Damn it, my mind is getting foggy. I can't think of any good combos!"
He smacked the side of his head, trying to shake out the wine fog.
Still… god tier combinations would take god-tier luck to appear. And given my track record—getting a job by sheer fluke, reincarnating straight into the Soma Familia—what are the odds?
But even a random roll from his imaginary skill combination could be terrifyingly strong.
Charles abandoned overthinking, flipping backward and raising both arms in triumph.
"Whatever."
That's right. Whatever the combo, one thing was certain—he was broken.
Even the baseline Gragas W was enough to temporarily nullify the divine wine's influence. From here on, it was one step at a time.
After some time, he calmed himself.
His past life had taught him—don't get cocky. Aim carefully, strike precisely.
Taking a few deep breaths, he meditated for fifteen minutes to calm his mind, then composed his expression and left the divine chamber.
No matter how great the skill, that was a problem for the future. Right now, he had no real means to protect himself.
---
He crossed the hall, went down the stairs, and found his room in a corner of the basement.
"First… let's check my starting loot. Yeah… not expecting much."
Calling it a "room" was generous—it was more of a storage closet, barely ten square meters, just big enough for a bed.
From the doorway, he could see everything: a supporter's oversized backpack and nothing else of value.
Inside the pack he found:
A few monster-luring herbs
500 valis
A magic stone lantern
A standard-issue knife for disassembling monster corpses
Searching the rest of the room turned up:
Some stale bread
Two sets of spare clothes
That's it.
"Tch. Classic newbie starter kit."
The evening sun slanted through the barred window, casting the room in a dull glow.
Charles sat on the bed, not rushing out to "go adventuring."
"Let's review the known intel… What in this world can I actually use? Some sealed artifacts? Strange treasure found in street vendors?"
In Orario, the biggest cheat was the Falna. After that—connections.
Some protagonists started by mooching off two goddesses, netting a 200-million-valis dagger and a 100-million-valis grimoire—a 300-million investment, more than many adventurers could earn in a lifetime.
"Three hundred million valis… How many fried potato balls could that buy? Could I pile them high enough to cover all of Orario? Damn… I want a sugar mama too. Freya would be fine."
He hugged his knees, rocking on the bed—until his head thumped against the wall, snapping him out of his daydream.
"Ow… What am I thinking? Forget sugar mamas—just escaping the Soma Familia alive should be my life goal."
Ask for help? His twelve years as a local told him—no chance.
Soma's wine wasn't illegal—in fact, it was a luxury. Reporting him would go nowhere.
As for internal bullying? That was a "Familia matter." Outsiders wouldn't bother, just like a parent scolding their own kid on a rainy day.
In this era, no one had time to deal with your petty problems.
"The only way is to either take down Zanis or get rid of Soma… The first requires reaching Level 3 at least. Zanis controls over a hundred members—I'd stand no chance without it."
"As for the second…"
Gods in Orario inspired both awe and fear. In game terms—you couldn't attack a "non-hostile NPC" without the red name flag.
Wait… this era?
Charles' memory lurched, and cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
"Last year—no! Nine months ago—the Sword Princess Ais set the record for the fastest Level 1 to Level 2 upgrade in the city's history."
His lips trembled.
"That means… it's seven years ago right now. And the legendary 'Seven Days of Death'… are only three—no, just over two months away!"
BOOM—
As the last sunlight vanished, a deep roar echoed from afar.
Charles leaned against the railing, watching smoke rise in the west. Noises of chaos drifted on the wind, and cold sweat drenched his back.
"Holy crap… Compared to that, the Soma Familia is full of amazing people. I love it here."
"…Maybe my luck's not so bad after all?"