'For now, we'll make do with this place.'
'Frugality is a virtue!'
'As for funds, once we recruit members and explore the Dungeon, we'll have plenty.'
'So, you have no members, no funds, no reputation, and your base is crumbling?'
Leila summarized, giving Heimdall no chance to defend himself.
Heimdall's smile froze.
'Just one god, no members, no funds, no reputation, and a base that's falling apart.'
Heimdall's situation was laid bare.
Leila looked at him, her polite smile distant.
'Lord Heimdall, thank you for the introduction.'
'Your personal qualities are truly outstanding!'
Leila paused, her gaze lingering on Heimdall's handsome face.
'But...'
"The strength of a Familia isn't solely determined by its Kami-sama."
"The Familia's size, the average level of its members, its reputation with the Guild, and... its financial situation are all factors we Elves must consider when choosing our home."
"My family holds some renown back in my homeland. They expect me to join a Familia with at least a D-rank evaluation, possessing stable logistical support and no fewer than two senior Adventurers above Lv.3 as mentors."
"So, this isn't merely my personal preference. I truly cannot justify this to my parents. You must understand my meaning."
"They would think I... have entrusted myself to the wrong person."
"Furthermore, if I were to join you, would our Familia's headquarters be located in this... building?"
"If I were injured, would the Familia have sufficient funds to purchase expensive potions for me? If I wished to upgrade my equipment, do we have our own blacksmith, or connections to commission a master from the [Hephaestus Familia]?"
After speaking, Leila took a step back and performed a flawless Elven bow towards Heimdall.
"So, thank you very much for taking the time to meet with me today. However, regarding your invitation, I must decline. I wish you the best in finding suitable Familia members soon."
"Good luck, Kami-sama."
Having said her piece, Leila turned and left, her steps light and swift, without a hint of hesitation. It was as if she had merely inquired about the price of a roadside item and found herself completely uninterested.
Heimdall's hand remained raised, frozen mid-air. The smile on his face hadn't fully receded yet, making him look rather comical.
Entrusted myself to the wrong person...
That assessment was both painfully accurate and deeply cutting.
"Damn it!"
Heimdall slumped dejectedly back onto his stool, running his hands through his hair.
This was already the third time he had mustered the courage to make the first move. The previous two targets—a Dwarf burly man and a Beast-kin youth—hadn't even exchanged three sentences with him before walking past as if he were air.
At least this Miss Elf was willing to stop and chat with him for a bit, even if the conversation's content could be described as every sentence being a critical hit.
Indeed, in this realistic world, good looks alone were useless.
He gazed at the bustling crowd on the street. In the distance, [Babel] pierced the clouds, the sole passage connecting the surface and the [Dungeon].
Countless Adventurers formed groups large and small, marching towards it with high spirits, or emerging from it laden with spoils.
They belonged to all sorts of Familias: the powerful [Loki Familia] and [Freya Familia], or smaller, struggling new forces.
And then there was him, Heimdall, a lone god, standing out so incongruously here.
This really was a hellish difficulty start...
Heimdall lamented in his heart.
Transmigrating and becoming a god sounded awesome.
But the reality was, for the gods of the heavens to descend to the lower world for entertainment, they had to abide by its rules, voluntarily sealing away the vast majority of their power. They retained only their immortality, divine aura, and the ability to bestow mortals with—Blessings.
In all other aspects, they were the same as mortals.
They got hungry. They got tired.
A god without a Familia was like duckweed without roots, incapable of doing anything.
No matter how strong his divine power was, it remained sealed and unusable.
Wanted to fight monsters and clear Dungeons?
Sorry, gods cannot enter the Dungeon.
Therefore, recruiting Familia members was the only path for a god to develop after descending to the lower world.
So, for a god to want to recruit Familia members...
He needed to have appeal.
Connections, financial resources, and ability—all were necessary.
Yet, Heimdall's divine nature was notoriously unknown in this world!
Although he was a transmigrator,
he wasn't a nameless god. In the distant heavens, in that divine realm where even time seemed blurred, his divine nature possessed many titles that made the other gods take notice.
[lord of war], [war calamity], [Master of Iron and Blood], [Gravedigger of Civilizations], [Midwife of Civilizations], [Source of Calamity], [Terminator of All Things], [Last King].
His origin did not stem from myth, but from many concepts.
—From the moment the first ape learned to sharpen a stone to pierce the skull of prey or its own kind.
From the moment the first bronze sword took shape in the furnace fire, letting out a clear, ringing cry.
His divine nature was born amidst those flying sparks and flowing blood.
As long as intelligent beings still clashed over interests, as long as a single living being still raised a blade against another, his divine flame would never extinguish, his divine throne would forever loom over mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Thus, Heimdall represented the entire process within a single species—from the tentative beginnings of war's germination, to the wildfire-like spread of conflict, and finally to its destructive conclusion—and all the elements that drove this process—
Sounds impressive, right?
It's practically like a final boss-level setting.
But so what?
On this land called Orario.
No! One! Knows! Him!
Heimdall still vividly remembered the scene when he excitedly ran to the Adventurer's Guild to register as a god.
Reciting his long list of titles.
The expression on the face of the Half-Elf staff member named Eina shifted from a polite smile to extreme confusion, and finally to a 'Are you messing with me?' look.
Heimdall remembered it clearly to this day.
"Sigh..."
"How bitter..."
Heimdall sighed again, picked up the despised recruitment sign from the ground, and prepared to pack up and go home.
It seemed today would be another day of zero harvest.
Although gods couldn't die, the feeling of being so hungry his stomach was sticking to his back was genuinely unpleasant.
Perhaps...
Should he really give up on this path of starting his own venture?
The [Hephaestus Familia] was always recruiting apprentices for blacksmithing. With his divine nature, he could probably become a high-level blacksmith there.
Or go help the Miach Familia pound herbs.
Miach was a good-natured fellow; he probably wouldn't mind an extra mouth to feed.
Although doing that would be a disgrace in the divine realm.
But it was still better than him, unable to bear the humiliation, returning to the heavens or continuing to starve on the streets of Orario.
Just as Heimdall was wallowing in self-pity,
doubting whether he should find a way to sneak out of the city,
lines of text shimmering with a pale blue glow, visible only to him, suddenly materialized before his eyes.
[Ding. Detected host has survived alone in the lower world for one month...]
[Familia Recruitment System, activation conditions met!]
[Starting up... 1%... 20%... 70%... 100%!]
[System activation successful! Transdimensional Familia Recruitment System at your service!]
A series of notification sounds rang in his mind. Heimdall was completely stunned, the recruitment sign in his hand clattering to the ground.
This is... a system?
The golden finger, a must-have for transmigrators, arriving a full month late, had finally come!
Transdimensional Familia Recruitment System?
Could it recruit members from other worlds?
If he went to other worlds, could he unleash his divine power there?