In the middle of a little-used alleyway, where the echo of distant footsteps and the smell of dampness filled the air, a boy of about sixteen lay sprawled on the ground. His breathing was slow, barely perceptible. The few who passed by ignored him, quickening their pace in the twilight shadows.
Suddenly, a small girl with blue hair and green eyes that reflected a mix of curiosity and fear approached cautiously, trembling slightly as she extended a stick toward the boy's motionless body. Visibly nervous, she tried to poke him to see if he was alive.
But just as the tip of the stick brushed his leg, the boy, who had been as still as a corpse, moved slightly and grabbed her ankle.
"AAAHHHH!" screamed the girl, startled by the sudden action. Reflexively, she tried to kick him, but the boy, still lying on the ground, quickly rolled to the side, managing to dodge her.
"What's wrong with you?" he exclaimed as he clumsily got to his feet, brushing off the dust-covered clothes. He looked at her in confusion before frowning. "Why are you trying to hit me?"
The girl, still shocked and frightened, only managed to blurt out a "Sorry!" before running off down the street. Clearly, she had no intention of getting involved with a stranger in that place.
The boy remained silent, looking around. Something didn't add up. He felt a slight tightness in his chest. A familiar feeling, one he always got when he checked his pocket and couldn't find his phone. He looked more closely at the surrounding buildings. Stone walls, rough structures, clothes hanging from ropes stretched across the street. Everything had a medieval air that didn't match any neighborhood in his city.
He looked up and noticed a tower that stood out above the other buildings a tower that loomed imposingly over the rest of the city. Its style was unmistakable, one he recognized from the novels and anime he had consumed.
"Isn't that the Tower of Babel...?" he murmured.
A chill ran down his spine.
'No way...'
'Did I transmigrate into the world of Danmachi?'
As if the world were responding to his thoughts, a golden screen appeared before him, floating in the air with a faint glow.
[Congratulations. You have obtained the God Familia System.]
He stared at the screen, not exactly surprised, but... relieved.
'I've read this in hundreds of novels,' he thought, and he couldn't help but smile slightly. He wasn't the first reader to imagine being in a situation like this, but now it was different. This was real. Though he felt uncertainty about losing his home, the internet, and his friends, he had always dreamed of something like this.
"GodFamilia System?" he repeated quietly, curious.
Honestly, he had expected something more heroic. A combat system, magic, levels, titles. Something more... classic. After all, Danmachi was all about that adventurers fighting in the Dungeon to grow and survive, all while belonging to a Familia led by a God and their trusted lieutenants.
"What kind of system are you?" he muttered, lowering his voice as he noticed there were still people on the street. He didn't want to look like a lunatic talking to himself. Still, the name of the system struck him as odd. It didn't seem like one focused on individual adventures, but rather something related to leading... a Familia?
The answer came quickly.
[The God Familia System is a system that grants benefits to the members of the host God's Familia.]
"Wait... am I a God?" he thought, incredulous. "Not an adventurer?"
[Correct. Though not fully yet. You must choose the characteristics your divinity will have to complete your transformation into a God. You don't need to worry about anyone finding out you're from another world. Almost no God in Orario will recognize you. Many Gods don't know each other unless they're very famous and well-known, so if you choose an unknown name, they'll assume you're a lesser God.]
The boy scratched the back of his neck, confused.
Become a God? In Danmachi, the Gods descended into the mortal world of their own will, lived among humans, and guided their Familias without using their divine powers, Except for a few exceptions, or to bestow falna and sometimes help with their knowledge. They had a lot of freedom within certain limits.
'Then... what am I supposed to do as a God,' he thought, trying to communicate with the system without bothering to speak aloud anymore, not wanting to draw the attention of passersby.
The system responded immediately, as if it had been expecting that question.
[You can develop your Familia however you like. There is no fixed goal. You can be a lazy God like many other parasitic deities with a Familia that works for you. You can work hard to help your children grow. You can simply observe their progress from a distance. The system will only generate missions related to the objectives you, as the host, pursue. The rewards will be tied to the traits of the divinity you choose and to what you aim to achieve.]
The boy remained silent for a few seconds, processing the information.
"So there's no defined goal. I don't have to do things like hunt great monsters, or confront Orario, or get involved with the Hestia Familia to save the city..." he thought with a mix of relief and suspicion.
"Just live... as a God in Orario?"
He wasn't sure if someone was messing with him or if he had truly been given a system that granted him absolute freedom without threatening him with failure penalties or worse, death if he didn't comply with a mission.
"Alright... but why me?" he asked, even though he knew he probably wouldn't get an answer.
As expected, the system stayed silent.
The boy sighed and leaned back against the wall again, crossing his arms. He looked around once more. The architecture, the clothes people wore, even the scent in the air... it all confirmed it. This wasn't a dream. It wasn't a virtual reality game. He was in Orario.
And for some reason, he now held the role of a God.
'Well,' he thought with a slight smile. 'I guess I should make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.'
Unlike other protagonists who were outraged at being chosen, manipulated, or thrown into a new world, he felt no need to dramatize. He didn't need to cry or scream at the sky. Life wasn't fair. Not in his world, nor in this one. But at least here... he could build something of his own.
If, in the end, he was being used by a higher being, honestly, he didn't care. As long as he could live a good life as a God with a powerful Familia, that was all that mattered to him right now. Besides, there were kings, presidents, rulers, the wealthy, emperors, and others with political and economic power who could do whatever they wanted with any citizen, and no one would say anything unless it turned into a major scandal.
Just think of a certain country's president who abused his citizens, and not even many other nations did anything about it because of the consequences such a decision would bring. Or the case of a certain nation where the president cheated in the elections, and despite the many threats he received from other countries and the hatred his own people felt toward him, in the end, nothing changed, and he continued ruling in corruption.
So instead of taking it badly, like many other protagonists who get offended because a God gives them lots of things in exchange for entertaining them a little, doing a few tasks, or simply surviving, he just wanted to treat it like a kind of job.
"Alright, System," he thought decisively. "Show me the options to define my divinity."
[Select the type of God you wish to be.][Your primary divinity will determine the general affinity of your Familia, the most common types of missions, and the rewards you'll receive in them. There will also be benefits for the user that must be discovered personally. (This selection cannot be changed once completed.)][You must also choose three minor divinities to accompany the main one. Their benefits will be slightly lower, but not too far off from the main divinity.]
Along with the message, a list began to unfold.
[God of the Hunt
God of Smithing
God of Magic
God of Fertility
God of War
God of Knowledge
God of Strategy
God of Alchemy
God of Crafts
God of Commerce
God of Medicine
God of Protection
God of Beasts
God of Vengeance
God of Family
God of Feats
God of Chastity]
[Expand list].
There were a lot of options, but not finding the one he wanted after scrolling through, he asked instinctively.
"Is there a God of Luck option?"
[No, the God of Luck cannot be selected because it would greatly disrupt causal laws.]
He could only let out a sigh and ask, "Can I see the benefits before choosing?"
The system responded almost instantly.
[Partial benefit preview available. Select an option to view its general affinity.]
He crossed his arms while selecting some of the options that most caught his interest to compare them before deciding.
[God of Smithing]
[Passive Benefits:
-Your children will be more skilled in crafting weapons and armor and will have a higher chance of acquiring Skills and Development Abilities related to smithing, which will rank up slightly faster.
-Items forged by members of your Familia will have a small chance of gaining unique properties.
-There will be a high number of common missions such as forging requests, using rare materials, equipment enhancement, contracts with merchants or other Familias.]
[God of Magic]
[Passive Benefits:
-Your children will have an easier time learning magic upon leveling up or receiving falna, and their Magic stat will increase slightly faster.
-Slight improvement in magic control, enabling members to learn abilities such as Chant Continuation and Mind Recovery.
-High likelihood of receiving missions related to magic usage and magical artifacts.]
[God of Strategy]
[Passive Benefits:
-Members of your Familia will have greater tactical intelligence and decision-making, and leaders may acquire skills that enhance allies in battle when giving or following commands.
-Slight boosts to perception and teamwork.
-Rewards from missions related to battles or group explorations are increased if planned in advance.]
[God of Fertility]
[Passive Benefits:
-Your Familia will have a higher probability of rapid growth, and members will be more prone to falling in love, forming relationships, and children born within the Familia may be significantly more talented than their parents. When performing agricultural tasks, crops will be of better quality and less likely to suffer from pests or diseases.
-Increased sexual affinity among members and improvement in agriculture.
-Frequent missions tied to growth, farming, community protection, or support for children and apprentices.
-Note: The System does not grant mind control or force romantic or sexual interactions. All relationships will result from human decisions.]
Upon seeing that last note, he withheld the first question he had been about to ask.
"Well, that makes more sense... and reduces the chances of legal misunderstandings," the boy thought as he continued browsing through the list, though he was already getting a general idea.
What was interesting was that all the options seemed valid in their own way. Some improved certain stats, others increased the chance of acquiring Skills, Development Abilities, magic, or Abilities. There were also ones that boosted specific professions, so it was very difficult to pick the main one and the other three, since this would determine the future development of his Familia, something that added a bit of pressure. Even so, after thinking it over for a while, he began to choose the ones that interested him the most.