Chapter 5

I felt something touching my face when I woke up, so I pushed it away and saw Seri with her foot on my stomach and both arms stretched out as she slept on her back. Seri and I had barely slept due to the excitement of being in Orario, and the anticipation of what awaited us kept our minds constantly active.

I shook Seri until I finally managed to wake her up. "Hurry up, we have a busy day ahead."

When I tried to wake her, I only heard a brief response, "Let me sleep a little longer," before she fell back asleep.

"You wet the bed." As soon as I said those words, I noticed how she immediately got up in a panic and nervous until she saw that I was lying.

"You tricked me," she pouted.

"Get ready. We're going out."

"Alright..." she said, still a bit sleepy, as we started gathering the things we needed, like our weapons and the bag of valis.

"Are you ready?" I asked Seri as we prepared to leave.

She nodded, her eyes shining with determination. "More than ever."

We left the inn after a quick breakfast, thanking the owner.

Leaving Daedalus Street was easy thanks to the signs pointing the way out. The problem would be finding the inn again later if I were alone. I would probably have looked for another place to stay due to my poor sense of direction and would be like losing my house in Minecraft without coordinates. But Seri is excellent at remembering every path she takes, so for now, I don't need to worry about that.

The streets of Orario were already bustling with life, but I immediately noticed something was not quite right. There was a palpable tension in the air. Adventurers and merchants moved cautiously, casting furtive glances around them while trying to act normal.

"Remember," I said to Seri in a low voice as we walked, "keep your eyes open and don't stray from me. Things seem a bit tense around here."

As we advanced through the streets, I observed our surroundings carefully. Groups of adventurers walked together, their weapons clearly visible, as if expecting an attack at any moment. Merchants watched over their stalls with keen eyes, and some even had armed guards nearby, although this only applied to those who seemed to have a very prosperous business.

"Chris," Seri whispered, moving closer to me, "why does everyone look so... scared?"

I shook my head. "I don't know, Seri. But something's not right here. We'll have to be extra careful."

We headed towards the Guild building, its imposing structure standing out among the other buildings. As we got closer, I noticed Seri getting more and more nervous.

"Do you think they'll accept us?" she whispered.

"We won't know until we try," I replied, trying to sound more confident than I felt.

Upon entering the Guild, we were struck by the frenetic activity. Adventurers of all races and sizes filled the place, some picking up missions, others reporting their achievements. However, there was an unexpected air of tension. The adventurers spoke in hushed tones.

We approached the counter, where a woman with brown hair tied in a bun looked at us with a mix of curiosity and concern.

"Welcome to the Guild," she said with a tired smile. "My name is Merra Flores. How can I help you?"

"We want to register as adventurers."

Merra's smile vanished completely, replaced by a look of genuine concern. "I see. May I ask your ages?"

"We're fifteen," I replied, keeping my voice steady.

Merra looked at us with a mix of concern and something that seemed like pity. Her eyes scanned our small bodies, our young faces, and I could see she was struggling internally.

"I understand your enthusiasm," she finally said, her voice gentle but firm, "but you must know that being an adventurer is very dangerous. Especially now, and even more so for Pallums as small as you, who are smaller than the average Pallum."

I felt Seri tense beside me, but before she could say anything, I intervened.

"What do you mean by 'especially now'?" I asked, though I had an idea based on my prior knowledge.

Merra looked around before leaning towards us and speaking in a low voice. "The past few years have been... difficult in Orario. Some Familias have become more aggressive, there are more conflicts among adventurers. Some call it the 'dark era' of Orario."

A chill ran down my spine. I knew about the dark era, but hearing it firsthand was different. It meant many problems, massacres, lunatics, killers who lurk in the dungeon and have access to it whenever they want thanks to the artificial labyrinth connected to the dungeon.

"How bad is it?" Seri asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Merra sighed deeply. "Very bad. We've lost a great number of adventurers in the past years. And not just in the dungeon. The fights among Familias, the ambushes... it's dangerous even in the city's streets, though not as much as in the dungeon thanks to some Familias that maintain order." Is it right for her to be giving us so much information so openly? Also, I'm not entirely sure how many years are left until Bell's arrival, which is the only way to have a concept of the timeline, because I could try to find out by asking when the last time they fought the black dragon was, but I doubt they'd look at me kindly or even answer when I ask that question.

"Even so," I said, trying to keep my voice firm, "we want to try. We've trained hard and are prepared for the risks."

Merra looked at us for a long moment, her eyes filled with a mix of regret and concern. Finally, she nodded slowly.

"Very well. I'll give you the registration forms, but you'll need the backing of a Familia to complete the process. Do you have a Familia in mind?"

I shook my head. "No, not yet. We were hoping you could advise us on that."

Merra frowned, looking even more worried. "I'm afraid the options are limited these days. With all the chaos, very few gods dare to make large recruitments. Most are more concerned with protecting the members they already have and strengthening themselves."

She guided us to a private room and handed us the forms. "Do you know how to read and write? If you don't, I'll have to fill out the paperwork for you."

"We can read, don't worry," I said, as Seri and I read the papers and filled them out. They only asked for essential information like name, age, where we lived before coming to Orario (optional), and other questions that didn't matter much. After completing the forms, Merra began to ask us some questions.

"What kind of Familias do you wish to join?" was the first thing she asked.

"We want to join an exploration Familia," I said, while Seri just watched from the side because she had no experience with this. Well, neither do I in this world, but I'm the more mature one between the two of us.

Merra sighed before speaking. "The largest exploration Familias, like Loki and Freya, are not recruiting at the moment. The smaller ones are struggling to survive, and it's unlikely they'll accept Pallums." It's a shame, I had Loki as my main option. While with Freya, I wouldn't even consider joining a place where members constantly fight in battle royales. The worst part is that almost everyone considers each other enemies, with the only motivation and connection preventing them from fighting being to attract the attention of a capricious goddess.

"Is Ganesha available?" I need to find out about the important Familias at least.

"No. They are very busy maintaining order and only recruit for a few days every several months. The last recruitment was about half a month ago, so it will be a long time before they recruit again."

"The Hephaestus Familia?" She frowned for a brief moment before asking me, "Aren't you looking for exploration Familias ?"

"Yes, but it's better to aim for the safer ones for now." She seemed a bit pleased to hear my answer.

"It will still be a long time before the next recruitment, but you can join if you demonstrate very exceptional skills, though you'll get on their bad side if you don't even know how to forge something basic." Hearing her, I simply shook my head, I don't even know how to handle metals, and my body wouldn't be much use in smithing due to the weak physique of Pallums.

"The Astraea Familia?"

"They never actively recruit members and always refuse to recruit new ones, with only a few exceptions. There's also a rumor that they only accept women." At least with this question, I got some information.

"So, what options do we have?" I asked, feeling a pang of concern.

"There's the Soma Familia." Hearing that, I immediately shook my head and said, "Please continue with other Familias ."

Merra pulled out a much shorter list than I expected. "These are the Familias still willing to accept new members. But you must be careful. Some might be desperate, and that makes them dangerous, and we still can't filter them all because they are gods who have descended recently."

She spent the next half hour explaining each Familia on the list. Most were names I didn't recognize, small Familias struggling to stay afloat in these turbulent times, and it's likely several of those gods will die to Evilus later.

"Remember," Merra said at the end, "choosing a Familia is crucial. Don't rush. Research as much as you can. And if something doesn't feel right, trust your instincts."

We left the Guild with our heads spinning. The Orario we found was very different from what we had imagined, though much of this I already expected.

We spent the rest of the day walking around the city, trying to gather information about the Familias on our list. It was a daunting task. Many adventurers refused to talk to us, and the few who did only had grim stories to tell. So we relied on information from nearby merchants.

The best place to gather information would be a bar or tavern, but it's dangerous to go to such places. Many drunk people and a hostile environment are not suitable for us.

By nightfall, we returned to our inn with Seri guiding me, and we arrived exhausted and discouraged.

"What are we going to do, Chris?" Seri asked as we prepared for bed. "It seems we came at the worst possible time."

I doubt it's the worst time, the situation doesn't seem as bad as mentioned during the Astraea Record event in Memoria Freese. So the great conflict between Orario and Evilus hasn't arrived yet, or it has already happened.

I sat on the edge of the bed, thinking carefully before answering. "For now, we'll keep looking for a Familia." I looked at the list of Familias I had never seen before and that at least have one member with some temporary residence, which means they are not complete misfits when they descended. The one that stood out the most was Vidar because they had the most members of the entire list, but mostly beast humans except for the vice-captain, who was a human woman. Also, it's curious that Bete is the captain, which seems strange because I don't remember this, although I'm not sure if it refers to Bete from the Loki Familia. Then Marjing, who had their own residence, Hecate, which had few members but at least had a level two who was a mage, Iris, which was the most recent and had one member.

There were others, but I discarded them because when I investigated them, I only discovered bad things, like Himero, who keeps in the red-light district while his Familia has to give him part of their earnings so he can enjoy his life in lust.

Just thinking about the few options frustrates me. Maybe I should beg on my knees to be accepted into the Loki Familia?

Maybe it would have more effect on the Astraea Familia. At least they would accept Seri, but after thinking about it, I discarded it. It would be dangerous if Seri got involved with them, and I promised we would stay together.

"For now, let's sleep. We still have some time to look for a Familia, and if we don't find one within a week, we can look for one in Melen, which must be much safer at this moment."