The labyrinth city—Orario.
Right now, the setting sun was gilding the city in a lazy rim of gold.
On a busy main thoroughfare—
A young male god with a face almost too handsome was leaning against a wall, bored out of his mind.
His mysterious eyes swept casually over the passing crowd, searching for any sign of a [Familia] crest—that is, an "unaffiliated" mortal.
"That milf's vibe is vulgar, no sharpness at all…"
"That girl's face… tsk tsk, totally not my aesthetic…"
"That guy's eyes are frivolous—mind seems unstable…"
"That little miss is dressing way too revealing—it screams red-light district, no?"
Passing judgment on these "potential believers," he muttered to himself.
As a god, he didn't need a reason to see the rough nature of a person at a glance.
Give him a few words of conversation, and he could almost pin down their character.
So he kept searching for a candidate who met his standards.
However—
Half an hour crawled by, and he still had nothing.
Just as he was about to give up, his gaze snapped into focus.
Target—acquired!
An elven girl: long, tapered ears peeking through smooth hair.
A longbow and quiver on her back; light leather armor tracing a lithe, ready body.
Her features were pure and cool—like a lily blooming in the dawn mist of a forest path.
At a glance, she was the type who wanted to dive the Dungeon and make it big.
"That's the one!"
Zyhark's spirits lifted.
He neatened his already immaculate robes and strode over in a good mood.
"Hey, you there—Elf-ojou."
He made his voice as reliable as possible.
"You don't seem to have formed a contract with any god. How about joining my [Familia]?"
The elf stopped. Her calm eyes traveled over him.
It wasn't the gaze of someone "looking up" at a god, but the cool appraisal of a buyer valuing merchandise.
"Pardon the rudeness, Kami-sama. Your divine name?"
"Zyhark."
"[Zyhark Familia]…?"
The girl frowned slightly.
"I haven't heard of it."
"If it's a newly established faction, where's your base of operations?"
"How many members currently?"
"Approximately how much working capital?"
"Eh?"
Zyhark blanked.
Base?
Members?
Capital?
Her questions came like arrow fire, leaving him utterly at a loss.
It was exactly like a real-world matchmaking meet where the woman asks whether the man has a car, a house, and savings!
How was he supposed to answer something that realistic?
Seeing him tongue-tied, the clever elf clearly put two and two together.
The forest-fairy beauty that drew praise from all turned frosty in an instant.
She narrowed her eyes, her tone openly skeptical.
"Then, what's the [Familia]'s operational policy? Long-term plan?"
"Uh… well."
Zyhark rubbed his nose, embarrassed.
"As long as you first head into the Dungeon and bring some money back, I promise I can expand the [Familia] fast!"
That utterly unconvincing promise only earned him a look colder than ice.
Then—
Without even a goodbye or courtesy nod, the elf turned on her heel.
As if leaving behind the words "waste of time," her figure walked away and away.
"…"
Zyhark clicked his tongue and stood there speechless—the first dent on his shiny confidence.
Truth was—
He wasn't some millennia-old divine being who'd descended from the High Heavens.
This very morning, he'd still been an ordinary guy—until an isekai "summoning" by a dump truck.
Teetering on the edge of consciousness, he awakened a System called [Strongest Familia].
Under the System's operations, not only did he transmigrate, he jumped from a mortal to a newly minted god in this Danmachi world.
After a moment of silence, Zyhark sighed inwardly and called to the built-in System in his mind:
"System, open the panel."
[Understood.]
A slightly mechanical, icily cool onee-san voice rang out.
A blue, translucent screen only he could see unfurled before his eyes.
—
>Zyhark<
[Race]: Deity
[Divine Office]: None
[Authority]: None
[Faith]: None
[Familia]: None
[Abilities]: "Divine Might," "Divine Power," "God's Grace (Falna)"
—
"Starting as a god—I thought I'd be insta-broken."
"And you tell me this is Danmachi?"
Zyhark raked his fingers through his handsome hair, half laughing at himself.
"In the end, I'm basically no different from a normal guy!"
As a god, in Danmachi the all-purpose "Divine Power" isn't something he can toss around freely.
Because—those are the rules of the Lower World.
The System's first newbie quest was to recruit a capable female member.
That was why he'd been so "picky" just now—not random blind recruiting.
I mean, how could some cat or dog off the street shoulder the task of making him stronger?
Only by continuously recruiting members could he step by step unlock power and ultimately become a truly omnipotent, proper deity.
"You've got to be kidding me."
"Am I going to end up like Hestia—working part-time just to feed myself?"
The godly chill life he'd imagined was cracking against harsh reality.
As a transmigrator, Zyhark had only watched Season 1 of Danmachi—the rest of the plot was a mystery.
Things like running a [Familia]? He had no clue.
And the anime focused on the male lead after he joined a [Familia].
How to build one from nothing? Zero pointers.
"Forget it."
"It's getting late. I'll head back to the inn and rest."
"I'll think about recruiting tomorrow."
Starting life as an orphan, he had no familiar god-friends to crash with in this world, unlike Hestia, who could at least lean on Hephaestus a bit.
Besides the identity of a god, the System had granted him 30,000 valis as living funds.
This morning, just after he arrived, Zyhark found a little roadside inn on a quiet street and paid 1,500 valis for a room.
He then spent 500 valis at a nearby eatery to fill his stomach.
By the time he returned to the second-floor room, dusk had already swallowed the sky.
The room was spartan: just a bed, a table, a chair, and a washroom with a tub.
A magic-stone lamp on the wall gave off a faint, will-o'-the-wisp glow.
"No idea where the story is at right now…"
Lying on the bed, Zyhark stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.
"Tomorrow I'll hit the Guild for info—and see if there's any talent looking to join a [Familia]."
Just as he was wondering whether the blue-ribbon goddess had descended yet, the System chimed in again:
[Ding!]
[Detected slow progress in recruiting. Open the reserved Newbie Pack?]
Zyhark's eyes lit up. He flipped upright like a carp:
"Open!"
"Open it right now!"
[Congratulations. You have obtained a rare item: Cross-World Heroine Summon Card ×1!]
[Use immediately?]
"Cross-World… Heroine Summon Card?"
Zyhark paused.
[If you can recruit the summoned heroine into your Familia, she is guaranteed to become your future SSSR-tier card.]
"A hundred-percent capture rate?"
To that… the System kept a prudent silence.
As a gacha-game veteran, Zyhark knew exactly what SSSR meant for combat potential.
"SSSR…?"
"Wouldn't that put her on the level of the 'Brave' Finn or the 'Strongest' Ottar?"
"No—!"
"Maybe even those cheat-tier monsters like 'Gluttony' Chaldo or 'Silence' Alfia!"
At that thought, a hot surge welled in Zyhark's chest. He stopped hesitating.
"Use it!"
"Use it right now!"
The instant the command landed, the air in the room seemed to twist.
A brilliant yet gentle white radiance welled up from nothing.
Countless motes of light gathered and braided together like midsummer fireflies— until, at last, they sketched a vague human silhouette.
"Here it comes, here it comes!"
"My first SSSR Familia member!!!"
Zyhark held his breath, eyes locked on that mysterious glow.
...
…
ps: No NTR, no bulls, no male joins; everyone is pure; all heroines welcome; never a limp plot.
(End of Chapter)
[No Extra Chapters Yet]