(2) I waited for 3 years just for this...

At that time, after looking at the three tasks, Reed could only think one thing: the "Simple" task was practically a Nightmare-level task, and the Nightmare task might as well have been Hell-level.

Were the people assigning these tasks messing with him?

Expanding and strengthening the Axis Church, and within a year doubling its followers, was putting far too much faith in Reed.

He was a master of porcelain, not a master of sales.

As for shouting "Shimura Danzo is a bastard" at the entrance of the Hokage Building, Reed felt this task was beyond him as well—the risk was simply too high.

He imagined that after the first shout, he'd be immediately surrounded by Konoha's Anbu forces.

Because of this, Reed had no choice but to accept the second task.

During the three years before the main plot began, although the Loki Familia and Freya Familia were still dominating Orario, the economic situation of the Loki Familia wasn't exactly thriving.

After all, the Loki Familia was a typical exploration familia, with all its income coming from dungeon expeditions. Every bit of income had to account for various adventure-related expenses. At that time, the total asset value of items within the Loki Familia was around one billion valis.

So, what does one billion valis mean in the world of "Danmachi"?

The average cost for a regular meal for an ordinary person was around fifty valis. For instance, Bell Cranel's meal at The Benevolent Mistress was considered mid-to-high range, and a bottle of the failed divine wine sold by the Soma Familia was priced at sixty thousand valis.

Moreover, it wasn't a large ceramic jug like in the anime, but a small bottle made of glass.

The appearance of ceramics in the anime was a minor oversight by the production team. The original novel, set in a medieval background, included glass but lacked porcelain. Otherwise, Reed wouldn't have chosen porcelain as his breakthrough.

For reference, the fine weapons crafted by the Hephaestus Familia cost around 800,000 valis, typically used by second or third-tier adventurers.

Weapons for first-tier adventurers at Level 5 and above usually cost tens of millions. For example, in the Sword Oratoria side story, when Ais Wallenstein took her "Desperate Sword" in for repairs, she had to pay 40 million valis for breaking a temporary replacement weapon given by the Goibniu Familia during a battle.

For a first-tier adventurer, even a billion valis is a significant amount. With some frugality and diligent monster-hunting in the deep floors of the dungeon, it would be possible to save up in two to three years without unforeseen issues.

But for an ordinary person like Reed, amassing even a billion valis, let alone ten billion, was not something achievable through monster-hunting alone.

Upon receiving the task, Reed quickly formulated a general approach and drafted a preliminary plan on how to acquire assets valued at ten billion valis in the shortest time possible.

Porcelain was the key reason Reed dared to choose the second task. In the medieval setting of Orario, there was no porcelain, let alone cement, which might not appear for a long time.

After crossing over to the labyrinth city of Orario, Reed's first move was to locate the flat-chested goddess, Loki, who happened to be wandering outside.

Reed proposed a plan to strengthen the familia through a new industrial chain, presenting an ambitious blueprint that piqued Loki's interest.

Indeed, trying to deceive a god, especially one like Loki who had lived for billions of years, was impossible. Reed didn't have the qualifications to trick her.

All he needed was to make it intriguing enough. Bored gods were often willing to spare a bit of their familia funds to indulge their curiosity.

After all, Reed was the first ordinary human to approach Loki with such grand ideas. His words weren't just empty boasts; he was well-prepared, and the start-up cost he required was merely the price of ten bottles of failed divine wine—well within Loki's means.

After considering for a few seconds, Loki agreed. Reed then became a temporary member of the Loki Familia, using the small amount of money she provided to lead the new recruits in the exhausting process of kiln firing.

It wasn't until a month later, when Reed presented the results of his cement production, that he officially earned Loki's recognition and was granted a Divine Blessing, becoming a Level 1 apprentice adventurer.

However, Reed didn't rush into the dungeon to start adventuring. Instead, he focused on kiln work.

He developed tiles, ceramic sinks, and flushing toilets. At the end of the first year, he completed the first modern-style bedroom with a bathroom for Loki, marking the completion of Phase One.

The second phase was promotion. Reed suggested that Loki sell cement—a low-profit but highly versatile product—to the Guild.

This approach served two purposes: first, it prevented them from monopolizing the product, and second, with the limited number of members in the Loki Familia, they couldn't simultaneously manage both ceramic and cement production until they expanded their ranks.

It was obvious that porcelain would be far more profitable. More importantly, apart from everyday porcelain items, construction materials like ceramic tiles required cement for installation; promoting porcelain building materials meant cement was indispensable.

Promoting porcelain, however, wasn't difficult. Reed simply needed to set up a model home and have Loki invite a group of gods curious to check it out. Soon, orders poured in like a tidal wave.

In the second year, Reed focused primarily on sales.

When he joined the Loki Familia for his technical expertise, he received a promise from Loki that he would earn five percent of the total annual profit from porcelain sales. Based on production volume alone, even if he did nothing, Reed would accumulate tens of millions of valis over a few years.

This was a conservative estimate; if Reed chose to expand his market to kingdoms that frequently launched attacks on Orario, his wealth could grow even faster.

And all of this money was solely for Reed's own use.

Of course, no one would willingly waste their life. To maximize sales, in the second year, Reed used merchants who traveled to Orario to extend invitations across various regions. By the first half of the third year, he successfully hosted the first porcelain exhibition.

With refined, modern designs leading the fashion, orders from all over flooded in like snowflakes. Whether for porcelain or ceramic tiles, orders could keep production busy for years, making Loki's eyes shine with excitement.

Without such accomplishments, Reed would never have had the right to attend the core members' celebration banquet.

The goal of ten billion valis had already been achieved a few days prior, marking Reed's task completion, and he now had three months of stay time remaining.

With the task pressure lifted and substantial funds saved up, Reed finally had the time to focus on his plan to grow stronger.

The Copy Card is an item from the system's shop—but Reed didn't buy it; he received it from the beginner's gift pack which he chose to not use until the protagonist activated his overpowered Liaris Freese.

From that gift pack, Reed acquired both a Copy Card and an Identity Replacement Card.

The Copy Card can be used by touching the target. In contrast, the Identity Replacement Card has only one usage method: killing the person you wish to replace. Once used, the card allows you to take on that person's identity and gain everything they possess.

Additionally, any of Reed's own strengths are retained after the replacement, so they aren't lost by taking on a new identity.

However, the Identity Replacement Card can only be used once in a lifetime. Once used, the world where the replacement occurs will automatically become the main world Reed can return to after completing tasks.

In other words, only by deciding on a replacement target can Reed anchor himself to a world. Without a designated anchor world, he must continue transitioning from one task world to another without returning to the modern world he originally came from.

The post-task rest period depends on the difficulty level of the task completed.

A Normal-level task grants one and a half months of rest, a Hard-level task grants three months, a Nightmare-level task grants six months, and a Hell-level task grants a full year, with the rest period doubling in proportion to the task difficulty.

If the rest time from a previous task isn't fully used, it can carry over to the next task, though the total cumulative rest period cannot exceed one year.

To be honest, if it hadn't been for the Identity Replacement Card and another card in the shop worth 100 points (usable up to three times in a lifetime), Reed wouldn't have felt any hope.

Reed would never have chosen the world of Danmachi for his first task—instead, he would have chosen the world of Konosuba, where, if he couldn't complete the task, he could face the consequences of failure.

While Reed didn't know the exact consequences, he figured it might just mean death.

He'd fear for his life in other worlds, but Konosuba was different. In that world, there was the "airheaded goddess" Aqua. While unreliable in most aspects, Aqua could be trusted to revive the dead.

Reed would only need to get on her good side beforehand. Then, even if he had to face the worst outcome, there'd be a high chance Aqua could bring him back, allowing him to escape the system and live out his days in Axel.

He even thought that, if he managed to survive the third task, he'd propose to Miss Luna from the guild.

But ultimately, Reed was unwilling to give up. This rare chance was almost like a restart of his life, and he didn't want to waste it. So, he grit his teeth and chose the second task.

Fortunately, his three years of effort paid off, and he successfully completed his first challenge.

Entering The Benevolent Mistress with Bell, Reed made his way to the table prepared for the celebration banquet, while Bell was led by Syr to a corner of the bar.

Not long after, Loki arrived at the tavern with the other senior members of the familia.

Midway through the banquet, Bell, just as in the original storyline, was discouraged by the prideful werewolf Bete and ran out.

After Riveria reprimanded Bete, the banquet came to an abrupt end.

Back at the familia's base on the northernmost side of Orario, Reed immediately sought out Loki, who had had a bit too much to drink.

"Loki, starting tomorrow, I want to train in the dungeon," Reed said seriously to the slightly tipsy goddess.

"Reed, are you still unable to let go of that kidnapping incident?" Loki asked.

"Loki, you're well aware of the profits porcelain brings. As for what happened last time, I don't want something like that happening to me again. No matter how great Dian Cecht Familia's panaceas are, they can't heal the scars from what I went through. In the end, this world is still all about strength. If you hadn't mobilized a significant portion of the familia to wipe out the enemy's familia and sent that god back to the heavens, I wouldn't even dare to walk alone on the streets today," Reed responded, shaking his head.

Reed had actually sensed the risk of a kidnapping last year. Knowing that he would eventually be targeted, he had secretly used a special spice he'd bought himself, instructing Bete to memorize its scent, which enabled his timely rescue after the kidnapping.

And that was last year, when Orario's security had already improved. Had it been five years earlier, Reed wouldn't have dared to invent porcelain at all, as those were the darkest times in Orario's history.

The chaos that Orario once experienced was worlds apart from the cheerful laughter that filled it today. The relative peace—at least on the surface—was largely due to the actions of Lyu Lion, a staff member at The Benevolent Mistress, who had gone on a killing spree five years ago.

No one wanted to talk about the events of five years ago. Even Bete, who was close to Reed, only hinted at it before Finn stopped him.

One could only imagine how many adventurers from the dark factions Lyu had assassinated back then. If Freya, disguised as Syr, hadn't taken her in at The Benevolent Mistress, she likely wouldn't have survived.

"But you're not young anymore," Loki said, as Reed had been upfront about his age from the start.

"Even if it's just a little, I have to become stronger. So, please, update my Ability Scores," Reed replied. Without waiting for further comment, he took off his shirt and turned his back to Loki.

"Well, there's no stopping you, is there? Since you're so determined, I'll have Finn arrange for some familia members to accompany you for a while," Loki said, beginning the process of updating Reed's abilities.