Orario

Cassian and Nikolaos quickly left without lingering. They didn't want to be associated with the massacre that happened here and so avoided interacting with villagers completely, better to leave it as mysterious heroes saving them and then quickly vanishing. Luckily it was nighttime, apparently the best time for a raid for the near extinct Resheph familia, so villagers wouldn't be able to see and distinguish key characteristics about them, maybe just white hair on him.

Nikolaos was still processing what happened and coming to terms with having taken human lives. Cassian wanted to help him but decided it was better to give him space, as he saw Nico slowly collecting himself. He would come out of this stronger than before.

After walking for some distance, Cassian left the bound, gagged and unconscious god, covered from head to toe in cloth, with Nico to quickly deal with the remaining 4 members. Eliminating them was easy, as they had their guard down and were wide open to an ambush.

Now only Resheph was left to deal with and the Resheph familia would officially cease to exist. Cassian decided to hold off sending him back until night passed, as the giant light pillar would be too noticeable in the darkness. He surveyed their map and chose a rather secluded spot in the desert, away from any settlements. That combined with the blinding brightness during the day in the desert would ensure that practically no one noticed the event.

The next day came quickly and Resheph still had not woken up. Apparently Cassian had punched him hard enough to cause major damage to his head, not that it mattered. Cassian picked him up and took off running. Upon reaching the desired spot he decided to be quick about it and just decapitated the comatose god. Immediately a big bright pillar took off towards the heavens. With that Resheph familia was no more.

'Heh, not even a month in this world and already committed the ultimate sin of pseudo-killing a god. Go me… Well better to get out of this place quickly.' With that he took off and was back to Nico within half an hour, resuming their journey towards Orario.

— 9 days late —

The brothers have finally arrived to Orario and the sight of the city was nothing short of awe-inspiring. From a distance, the city looms like a magnificent jewel set against the horizon. The towering walls encircling the city gave off a feeling of oppression and security depending on which side you were on. And the glimpses of the city within were spectacular.

For one, the city was massive. Truly massive. The anime should not be trusted to properly convey just how large it was, for budgeting reasons, but now that the brothers were seeing it in person they could understand why Orario was considered the center of the world, beyond the reason of housing the dungeon.

The total population of the city reached 4 million people. They were from all backgrounds and races, making Orario a true melting pot of all kinds of cultures. These people filled the supporting role of Orario and performed all the various jobs in the city to keep it running. And then came the backbone of Orario's society, the gods and adventurers. Both were in massive numbers around the city. Hundreds if not more than a thousand gods called Orario their home and the total number of adventurers making up their familias could be counted beyond 100,000.

Of course not all of these adventurers were dungeon divers, in fact, less than half were exploration-type adventurers. They had different jobs and Falna was a way to enhance their performance at their job. For example, the largest familia in all of Orario belonged to Demeter, the Goddess of Harvest, and they handled the food supply of Orario, by running extensive farms both inside and outside of the city.

Various other sights could be seen from the outside like the Coliseum and Belit Babili, but the most striking feature was the Tower of Babel. A gigantic structure dwarfing even the 300-meter-tall walls surrounding Orario and piercing high into the sky. So high that one could even be mistaken that it stretches into heaven. Babel was, after all, 3 kilometers tall, almost four times taller than the largest building on earth, Burj Khalifa. 

"We finally made it." Nico was exhilarated. This… This is where everything would start.

"This is where we start our grand adventure." Cassian replied with a matching smile. 

— 4 Hours Later —

"UUAAGH, this is not the adventure I was envisioning!" Whined Nico while standing in the line to enter the city. They'd been standing here, under the scorching sun, for 4 hours now and he was about the explode already.

"Your whining only makes it worse, so shut up already. Only a dozen or so people left, then it will be our turn." Cassian was annoyed in turn, the waiting was already painful, and his little brother's whining made it agonizing.

After 15 more minutes, they could finally arrive to the staff at the gates in charge of entrance. The employee looked up to process them and was star-struck by the man in front of her, gaining pink cheeks, but professionalism won out and she quickly regained composure.

"Welcome to Orario, please state your names and purpose of arrival." The process of entering Orario was very simple. Because numerous people from all over the world constantly flooded Orario, making it hard to enter was counterproductive as more potential adventurers were always welcome.

"Cassian Suncrest and this is my brother Nikolaos Suncrest, we came to Orario to become adventurers." Answered Cassian with a polite smile.

"I see and where do you come from?"

"Wishe Forest, we traveled south of it and came along the Ryumilua and Ashenia forests."

"Have you been in a familia and received a Falna before?"

"No we have not yet, we were hoping to find a familia here in Orario."

"Very well, here you go. This is a temporary pass for you two, it will be valid for three days. Before it expires go to the guild to receive official papers for your identity as well as citizenship. Although word of advice, once you become adventurers it will be quite a bit harder to leave the city than it was to enter" The employee said while handing them 2 passes.

"Oh, may I know the reason for that?" Cassian inquired while taking the passes and handing one to Nico. This was news to him, he hadn't heard about there being difficulties when it came to leaving Orario before.

"It is a safety and security issue. Once you become adventurers you will be considered Orario's assets, so leaving the city would consequently reduce Orario's military power. It is also a precaution for the outside world, powerful adventurers from Orario leaving and causing trouble could be disastrous for the rest of the world. Heavy damage could be done by them, which would cause many casualties while also poorly reflecting on Orario. Because of this, entering the city is easy but leaving is hard. The higher level one is the more prominent this notion becomes."

"Huh… Well, that makes quite a lot of sense actually, thank you for the explanation and for granting entrance. Have a nice day." Cassian nodded understandably, it was logical. A small fry level 2 could leave Orario and enjoy a much higher status elsewhere, where people wouldn't be able to stop them from doing whatever they wanted. Essentially ditching the position of a small fish in a Lake to become a big fish in a pond.

With that, they walked through the gates and entered Orario. Immediately they were enveloped by the sights and sounds of the city. Merchants calling out their wares from colorful stalls, adventurers clad in various armors and gear striding purposefully, and the aroma of food from nearby street vendors tempting their senses.

The brothers basked in it for a moment before going about their business, while also sightseeing. The city was bustling with activity. Races of all kinds went about their day. Humans manning the shops, dwarves showcasing their craftsmanship through various intricate wares, elves with their ever-present elegance, the amazons with toned, muscled bodies and bare minimum clothing… 

'Dammit… Geralt wasn't kidding when he said Witchers have overdeveloped libido. This is driving me crazy!' Turns out being a Witcher isn't all sunshine and rainbows, while the Witcher prejudice doesn't exist here, other disadvantages spring up. Sterility was the main one, but being 16, Cassian didn't much care about it yet. No, what bothered him the most right now was being goddamn horny all the time. Thankfully Cassian had gotten used to his new body's urges to a degree and managed to keep his composure somewhat.

"So what now?" Asked Nico, oblivious to his brother's plight.

"We need to find a place to stay at, can't sleep in the streets now can we? An Inn should do it, nothing fancy but it should have a bath at least. I haven't cleaned myself properly for over two weeks now and I feel filthy. We'll think of other things after we get that out of the way." 

"We should ask around then, a good inn with a bath will definitely be a godsend right about now."

And so they did, walking around asking advice for where they could stay and recommendations for a good Inn. They ruled out some of them for being too far from the city center, but eventually settled on a good Inn run by an old elf couple, who were retired adventurers. Considering it was run by elves, it was given to be more luxurious than normal and offer more comforts. The Inn was a bit on the higher end than they intended but decided that now that they could get a steady source of revenue, it was worth it.

They headed towards it and reached it after a while, it was quite close to the dungeon. The inn was called 'The Elfin Lounge', although calling it a Hotel would be more appropriate. Upon entering it, they were impressed. While it certainly did not compare to modern high-class hotels, it still looked very good and had that 'fantasy medieval' theme, all the structures shared in this world, that gave it a unique and beautiful charm. The primary color of interior design was of course green. 

Approaching the reception desk, they saw it was manned by a cute elf in a uniform.

"W-Welcome to the Elfin Lounge, how may I help you?" Said the elf while stammering slightly with pink cheeks as she looked at Cassian. Her name tag read 'Lira'.

"Hello Miss Lira, we would like to rent a suite to stay at. Are there any available?" Answered Cassian with a charming smile, which only caused Lira to blush more.

"O-Of course! How many rooms would you like? Also any other requirements?"

"One with two bedrooms will do, also it would be nice if it had a private kitchen and a bathroom with a bath and shower." Might as well go all out and get as much comfort as possible if they're going to be in this city. No need to live in poverty and crappy conditions. Especially since they were from a modern world, where a middle-class citizen led a higher quality of life than a medieval king, so adapting to a world with no modern entertainment would be hard enough.

"Yes, a suite on the upper floors would be suitable for you then. It will cost 5000 valis per day or 5500 if you wish to include meals as well."

"No just the suite will be enough, we will mostly be eating homemade or street food." They still had 35,000 valis remaining from his silver sword so they could afford it.

"I see, your suite will be on the fourth floor, number 46. How long will you be staying here?"

"We'll take three days for now, depending on how our familia hunt will go, we may extend it later though."

"That's acceptable, here are the keys sir. I hope to see you again!" She enthusiastically handed over the keys to their suite as soon as Cassian paid the 15,000 valis.

Cass and Nico then left for their room, going up the stairs.

"Tch, why is everyone swooning after you? Can't they appreciate a true sorcerer's attractiveness?" Asked an annoyed Nico, the gate clerk, the receptionist, even the people on the streets all were captivated by Cass.

"Heh, Witcher charm, little brother. There's a reason sorceresses were thirsting after Witchers. No need to be jealous though, I'm sure someone will notice you." Teased Cassian.

"I am not jealous!"

"Whatever you say, brother." Cassian stopped messing with him as they came across their door.

As soon as they entered it they knew they would like it here. The door led to a sizeable living room with comfortable furniture and stylish decoration. To the side was the kitchen where they could cook and store their food in the fridge. There were three doors inside, two of which lead to their respective bedrooms and one to a shared bathroom. The rooms were made from polished mahogany wood, with the furniture being a combination of brown and dark green, blending in with the room well and creating a very cozy atmosphere. They liked the place very much.

"Ohh I think this will do just fine"