Just as he walked out of the Guild, Vali was approached by another beautiful woman. She looked almost as if she were a goddess gracing his mortal eyes.
Her silver white hair slowly transitioned into crystalline green and blue, reflecting light as if they were the diamonds whose unrivalled brightness would have led to wars amongst men.
Her blue eyes carried the depth of an ocean in each of them, an ocean guarded by a Leviathan - a serpent symbol in each of her beautiful eyes.
Unlike Gina, this woman was almost as tall as he was, reaching a little above his neck in terms of height. Her physical fitness also seemed to be on par with that of other adventurers Vali saw in the guild.
Even in this harsh summer, she wore clothes made out of brown fur and white feathers; her only solace from this harsh sunlight seemed to be the fact that these clothes seemed to hardly cover her, purely focused on covering the parts necessary to cover.
"Lady Luck must be truly shining on my eyes today." Vali thought.
Although not a man of many words, this time, he was simply awestruck by her beauty, which rendered his attempt at speech futile for a few moments before she introduced herself.
"I'm the Goddess Kukulkan. I heard you talking to Gina. You wish to explore the dungeon, right? I need a person with my Falna to register my Familia. Would you like to join my Familia?" She asked in desperation.
"Goddess? I thought Familias are gangs... Was I wrong? Are they cults instead? Also, what even is a Falna? Regardless of how beautiful she looks, I won't join a cult." Vali thought to himself, but he was curious... Perhaps directly asking would be a better idea than simply making assumptions.
"Why do you call yourself a goddess? What even are Familia and Falna?"
"Are you perhaps from the countryside?" She asked with genuine curiosity.
"I call myself a goddess because I am one. As for what a Familia and Falna are.... Think of a Familia as a group with a primary motive, in our case it will likely be Dungeon Exploration. A Falna is simply a blessing a God grants to help their Familia fulfil their role. My Familia has no members so far and I'd like you to be the first." Despite sounding a little crude, it was pretty clear that she carried no ill intentions. Her voice was full of cheer and perhaps hope - hope to get her first member.
Feeling somewhat relieved that this was nothing more than an equivalent of a Hunting Party, Vali decided to join her Familia. While it wasn't exactly optimal that he was joining a practically empty Familia, being the first member meant he would have the greatest influence in this arrangement after the goddess herself.
"I'm Vali Starling. I'd love to join your Familia." he replied. While it did feel odd to instantly get what he was searching for, he certainly appreciated it.
Before he knew it, a bright smile lit up the Goddess' face and she invited him to a rather spacious house for a Goddess who hadn't even registered her Familia. It filled to the brim with books, as if it were a library.
"Get comfortable. This is going to be your new house." she cheekily said.
This Goddess had likely received some form of assistance with regards to her house. It did seem rather spacious and it contained many books... maybe even some from the Guild.
"Most of those books are stolen - from the Guild Office and School District, they might help you get the hang of this place. I even have some grimoires to help you learn magic, though I do have to mention that it's essential that you be careful with those. An adventurer has only 1 to 3 magic slots. Well some rare skills do help you bypass them, but I'd rather you be careful either ways." Kukulkan said. She noticed his unwavering attention to the books. Perhaps they caught his interest.
"Is it not a criminal offence to steal these books? What if you get caught?" he curiously asked. Vali did not particularly care for the ethical complications of stealing, he was more so worried for the consequences of facing the red right hand of the law.
"They'll never figure out these books were stolen. The Guild's efficiency at cataloguing leaves a lot of room for criticism and the School District's deep pockets care not for a few missing books." she said, almost proud of herself with this little fortress of knowledge she had built.
Vali noticed that he could read the titles of some of these books from afar, it was as if he understood the language they were written in. He noticed that the books were arranged neatly but were not organized in order, unrelated books were kept together. Perhaps, he would sort them out some day and maybe he would even write a few of his own.
It was here that Vali was going to receive his Falna. Kukulkan placed her hands on Vali's back and channelled her Divinity. Vali was greeted again by the strange blue holographic screens that had once returned to slumber upon failure. Perhaps his luck with his gift would be better this time?
[SEED STATUS: DORMANT]
[Seed Implantation: 5%]
[Seed Implantation: 60%]
[Seed Implantation: 100%]
[SEED STATUS: BONDED]
[Congratulations User! You have successfully bonded to The Seed. Analysis of your current state has currently granted you the functions of Status, Quests and Inventory. Simply think about a function to activate it.]
[There are infinite possibilities presented to you and an infinite number of ways The Seed can evolve. As a token of warm beginnings, you are presented with "Beginner's Gift" and "Seed Manual".]
[Beginner's Gift has been added to your Inventory.]
[Seed Manual has been added to your Inventory.]
[NOTE: The Seed Manual acts as an access point for your Tutorial. It contains a finite amount of data and can only provide you with limited answers required to start your journey! To anyone who is not it's user, it simply appears to be a book on farming.]
So many notifications... Vali vaguely remembered an experimental device from his world Sensory Orbital Myogenic Articulator, mostly known as S.O.M.A. It was truly a revolutionary piece of technology, it provided sensory assistance for visually and auditorily impaired Hunters. It was even popular amongst able-bodied Hunters as some sort of a sixth sense.
It did also come with a holographic VR function for Hunters to have fun in their spare time. Some had a little too much "fun". Vali had the privilege of temporarily wielding one that he had once found from a corpse, though it did not last very long due to already being damaged.
While he could not contain his excitement to use these functions. He preferred to do it while he was alone. He did not want to seem like a lunatic staring at the sky or waving his hands around to move the holographic screens that seemingly could only be seen by him.
The process of gaining a Falna did come with a few tangible benefits he could instantly feel; his senses grew sharper, he felt slightly stronger and more durable. He was certain that his already well trained body, despite the weakness caused by his body being "restructured" during the dimensional travel.
His back now held the mark of having Kukulkan's Falna - a Winged Serpent soaring the sky.