"A War Game!!"
Compared to the adventurers and Guild staff who were so shocked they were left speechless, the gods—who often loitered around the hall flirting with pretty girls—let out excited roars.
For the gods who descended to the lower world in search of entertainment, this was one of their most thrilling spectacles: two familias clashing under game rules they themselves had devised.
The moment those words were spoken, it was as if they were about to climax—many gods flushed red with excitement.
"W-wait, honored gods, please don't get carried away!" Ramer said hurriedly, seeing how the gods looked ready to declare the matter settled on the spot.
Ramer was on the verge of tears. Had he forgotten to check his fortune before leaving home today, to end up with such a mess? The other staff members looked at him with pity in their eyes.
Turning to Ryuu, Ramer said, "Miss Ryuu, adventurer commissions can only target monsters, materials, or rescue operations. You can't place bounties on adventurers."
In truth, the Guild did sometimes place bounties on criminals who were extremely vicious or who endangered public order.
However, adventurer commissions and Guild bounties were two entirely different systems. The latter required the Guild to pay out of its own pocket. Since the Guild had no military force, it was unwilling to provoke too many criminals unless its own interests were harmed.
Otherwise, the bounty would be purely symbolic—so low that even a dog would shake its head at it.
Ryuu's eighty million valis—whether it was a lot or not depended on who you compared it to.
The weapons held by the three top members of the Loki Familia were each worth over a hundred million valis. But for ordinary adventurers, this was unquestionably a fortune. Roy had once helped a shop owner scam people— even a "fine village sword" worth five hundred thousand valis was enough to trick a large group of Lv.1 rookies.
If the bounty on the Rudra Familia were suddenly raised to eighty million valis, even Lv.5 adventurers would be tempted.
Orario would likely be drenched in blood.
Faced with Ramer's repeated attempts to persuade her, Ryuu remained unmoved. She only wanted the Rudra Familia dead—whether it was an adventurer commission or a bounty made no difference to her.
"Gale!"
Just as Ramer was at his wits' end, a bloated, obese male elf came trotting down from the second floor.
The elves in the hall turned away in disgust. Ryuu also struggled to suppress her nausea.
The Guild Master—Royman Mardeel!
Despite being an elf, after seizing the highest authority in the Guild, he lived extravagantly, squandered money, discriminated against half-elves, and indulged in gluttony until his body became grotesquely obese. He was reviled by countless people as the "Guild's pig," a disgrace among elves.
"We can add this sum to the bounty on the Rudra Familia—but this is a special case. There will not be a next time!" Royman declared solemnly, trying to project authority. However, paired with his pig-like obese body, it only made him look absurd.
According to the rules, they were not supposed to do this. The Guild cared greatly about precedent—if anyone could add money to bounty missions at will, it would turn into an assassination list.
But since that great god had spoken, all rules had to step aside.
Royman looked at Ryuu with suspicion. Just how had she persuaded the great god Ouranos?
Having obtained a satisfactory answer, Ryuu left behind the voucher for eighty million valis and turned to leave.
Hidden among the crowd, Roy also slipped away quietly.
But everyone knew this storm had only just begun. No one knew what methods the Rudra Familia had used to annihilate the Astraea Familia.
Even a starved camel was still bigger than a horse—when the Astraea Familia struck back, what would the final outcome be?
Ryuu and Roy met again in a secluded alley.
"What do we do next?" she asked.
"Wait," Roy replied.
In truth, his plan wasn't complicated. Ryuu had simply underestimated the prestige her familia had accumulated.
The Astraea Familia often helped the weak and punished the strong, working together with the Ganesha Familia to maintain order in Orario. During the "Great Feud" two years ago, they had played a crucial role.
Even in the original timeline five years later, when Ryuu appeared during the war against the Freya Familia, the residents and adventurers of Orario were deeply moved.
With the entire familia wiped out, they could use the reputation accumulated over the years to shape a tragic image and win everyone's sympathy.
Add eighty million valis on top of that—anger combined with profit was enough to drive Orario's adventurers to encircle and purge the Rudra Familia. Either they would be hunted to death, or they would agree to a War Game and be dealt with in one stroke.
"Then I'll be going," Roy said.
This plan needed time to ferment. For now, there was nothing they could do. Roy waved his hand and turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Ryuu glared at him.
If this bastard ran away, would she really have to face the Rudra Familia alone?
Roy glanced back slightly and smiled. "Don't think too highly of me. I'm just going to the Dungeon for a bit."
"???"
Watching Roy's carefree retreating figure, Ryuu realized she could no longer keep up with his train of thought. She herself needed to return to the Court of the Stars to report to her goddess.
If Roy could see the elf girl's expression at that moment, he would definitely think of the image of an old man, a phone, and a subway.
The Guild headquarters wasn't far from Babel Tower. A spacious plaza soon appeared before Roy's eyes.
He and Ryuu had been seen by many people when they went to the Guild. The Rudra Familia wouldn't receive the news that quickly. He still had a bit of time to go have some fun in the Dungeon—to vent the desires he'd suppressed for over a decade.
In theory, only adventurers registered with the Guild were allowed to enter the Dungeon. But generally speaking, no idiot would deliberately go to the Dungeon to die.
The members of the Ganesha Familia guarding Babel Tower and the Dungeon entrance were too lazy to check everyone one by one.
Roy strode forward with his head held high, looking like a fearless newborn calf—exactly like a rookie adventurer who had just received a divine blessing and whose confidence had skyrocketed.
The seasoned veterans around him wore amused smiles, already taking bets in their minds on how many days this fool would survive.
Fortunately, the fine village sword Roy obtained from the system came with a scabbard. Otherwise, a good sword worth hundreds of thousands of valis in the hands of a rookie might tempt someone with ill intentions.
A member of the Ganesha Familia frowned, wanting to warn him, but in the end it turned into a sigh. They had seen this kind of thing too many times—people grew numb to it.
The moment he stepped into the Dungeon, the youthful expression on Roy's face vanished without a trace.
Although he had been in Orario for over half a month, this was his first time entering the Dungeon.
Times were different now. He had received the system's blessing and held a fine village sword, a magic sword, and magic boots.
Roy absolutely had to come have a go in the Dungeon.
The first floor of the Dungeon consisted of corridors formed by stone walls. The light-blue-tinted walls and ceiling filled his entire field of vision. A natural labyrinth with no sky in sight, stretching endlessly in all directions.
The stone walls were made of an unknown substance similar to magic stone, emitting faint phosphorescent light like lamps, illuminating the surroundings. There was no sun, yet it was bright as day.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The wall in front of Roy suddenly shattered, and three or four goblins leapt out—green skin, sharp ears, brown pupils gleaming with vicious light.
They charged straight toward Roy.