Chapter 4: Aftermath

It was already morning when Ptah woke up. After he opened his eyes, the first thing he did was activate the system by snapping his fingers. In front of him, a golden screen began to appear, showing information about him and his familia.

[

Familia Status:

Name: Ptah Familia

Members:Saly Resat (lvl 1)

Rank in Orario: Not registered

Type of familia: Not registered

God Information:

Name: Ptah

Domain: Magic and Craftsmanship

Divine Abilities:

Ptah's Blessing (Passive): Increases the effectiveness of magic and craftsmanship of familia members.

Granting of Falna (Active): Allows viewing the status, using Excelsia to improve it, and leveling up the skills of familia members.

Divine Perception (Passive): Allows detecting mortal lies and enhances intuition.

Knowledge:

Basic Alchemy: Fundamental knowledge about alchemy, including basic principles, formulas for simple potions, and use of magical stones as catalysts. This knowledge allows the creation of basic healing potions, mind recovery, and temporary attribute enhancement, provided the necessary materials and tools are available. It can improve with user research and exploration of this path.

Missions:

Current Mission: Officially register the familia in the adventurers' guild. [Abandon]

Completed Missions: 1

Available Missions: 0/1

Inventory: [0/30]

Valis: 0

Properties:

Saly's House

System Options:

View Member Status: Allows re-viewing the status of members at any time, but not altering it.

Remote Observation: Allows observing any familia member from a third-person perspective regardless of their location, within a distance range of one to ten meters from the familia member. It can be used for up to one hour per day, and the usage time resets automatically at midnight.

Item Analysis: Allows analyzing up to three items, showing their approximate value in Valis, special characteristics, material used for their creation, or if they are materials with which new objects can be created if the user has knowledge of them. The number of uses resets at midnight.

]

Ptah felt a bit embarrassed seeing the amount of Valis he had and was filled with doubts when he saw that the system allowed him to observe his familia members at any time and place. "Are there any restrictions when I decide to observe a familia member?"

[There are no restrictions other than the maximum use of one hour per day.]

That's great, I won't get too bored when left alone to explore the dungeon, and if they're in danger, I can know in time and call for help.

At this moment, Ptah was very satisfied with this function. He hadn't thought about observing members in embarrassing situations because his morality didn't allow him to take advantage of people without their consent. Additionally, item analysis was something that could help him a lot because, if he wasn't mistaken, many objects only grew in specific places in the dungeon and had many uses. Though he mainly remembers this from a DanMachi game, so he isn't sure if the information is reliable.

After that, Ptah looked at Saly, who was sleeping in the bed on the opposite side of his, before observing the rest of the place to familiarize himself. In his entire previous life, he had only lived in one house, so it felt a bit strange for him to have slept in a new place. Saly's house was modest but cozy. The main space, with its light wooden walls, contained two simple beds, a small table, and a couple of chairs around a window that let in the morning light. The kitchen, located in a corner with the basics, was at one end of the main area, and at the back, a smaller room served as a dressing room and bathroom.

Ptah went to the kitchen, where he found a low shelf filled with bread, some fresh eggs, and a bottle of oil. As he prepared breakfast, the smell of toasted bread began to fill the room.

"Ptah?" asked Saly with a slight yawn and her eyes still a bit puffy. Before going to sleep, she had been somewhat down, so Ptah stayed by her side until she fell asleep before going to bed in the other room.

"Breakfast is almost ready, let's eat first and get ready to bury your brother. Then we can go register at the guild," said Ptah, continuing to prepare a simple meal.

Hearing this, Saly felt a warmth in her heart. She had always been the one to prepare breakfast and take care of the house while her brother went to work. Now, it felt like the roles were slightly reversed. Furthermore, she had heard that gods are selfish and many of them don't care much about their familia members. But Ptah prioritized burying her brother before focusing on his goals. So this small action made her heart beat a little faster.

Once they were ready, Ptah and Saly prepared to leave. Saly, still with a pale face from grief, led Ptah to the place where they would find her brother's body. As they approached the area where Saly's brother was, it was evident that many streets had been affected by the attacks of Evilus. Buildings, houses, and shops were destroyed, and there were corpses of adventurers and civilians. Melancholic, sad, and dejected faces were visible everywhere.

But not everything seemed so bad. Adventurers were helping surviving citizens of Orario by giving them potions and rescuing people who were injured or still trapped in the aftermath of the battles, and gathering the corpses for burial.

Some adventurers stood out more than others, like a group of women led by a red-haired woman. But the most notable was an extravagant god who kept shouting, "I am Ganeshaaaaaaaa!" throughout the plaza while striking poses and being carried by familia members in a very luxurious and flashy carriage. For some reason, this cheered up some of the nearby people.

Ptah assessed the extent of the damage and realized it wasn't as extensive as to cover all of Orario. This meant that Evilus's attack had been relatively common and not the major confrontation that could have ravaged much of the city. The sky remained clear and calm as there were no pillars of light marking the sky from the deaths of gods indicating a grand battle.

Upon arriving at the alley, they found Saly's brother's body just as they had left it. With care, they lifted it and took it to a group of adventurers who were collecting the bodies. These adventurers, with a prepared cart, would take the remains to the adventurers' cemetery near Daedalus Street.

Saly walked in silence, her gaze fixed on the ground. Her steps were slow, as if each one was a struggle, and her hands trembled slightly as she clung to her clothing. There was no need for Ptah to ask how she felt because the sadness she experienced was evident in every gesture she made.

After this, they both went to the adventurers' guild, with Saly leading the way since Ptah still didn't know where it was located. The guild was a building with a spacious area with counters where adventurers could speak with their advisors and an exchange area for trading dungeon items and magical stones for Valis.

"Hello," murmured Ptah as he approached one of the counters, with Saly following closely. The receptionist, a red-haired wolfwoman, looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

She seemed quite relaxed, almost bored, and Ptah leaned towards her since there weren't many people around. "Could we ask for your help?"

The wolfwoman looked at Ptah with a mix of curiosity and coldness. "How can I help you?" she asked.

"I'm Ptah, god of the Ptah familia," he said with a calm smile. "We want to register our familiaand Saly in the guild."

The receptionist briefly examined them, let out a resigned sigh, and said, "Please follow me."

The three of them went to a private room. Upon arrival, the receptionist settled into a chair in front of them, showing a serious expression, and pulled out several papers, laying them out on the table.

"We'll make this quick," said Rose in a monotone. "I'm Rose, and I'll handle your registration. To start, Saly will need to fill out this form with her personal information, and you, Ptah, will need to complete the form about your familia and sign the documents confirming that you will follow Orario's laws while you're here." She handed them the forms along with pens for them to start filling them out.

Ptah's form contained simple questions about the types of activities his familia would engage in, such as exploration, fishing, trade, or agriculture, among other options. After completing these sections, he had to sign a series of lengthy documents.

Although it was unlikely the guild would try to scam him, he decided to read each detail carefully. Some documents contained interesting information, such as the prohibition of selling magical stones obtained in the dungeon to entities outside the guild and the obligation to report any level-ups.

On the other hand, Saly only needed to provide basic information on her form, answering simple questions about her name, place of birth, age, and other personal details.

Rose waited patiently, avoiding any distractions that might interrupt the process while the two completed their forms. She first reviewed Saly's form, which was complete and correct. Then, she turned to Ptah's form. Reading it, she frowned, puzzled by some details.

"What does it mean that your familia will be classified as 'Medicinal, trader, exploration, and blacksmith'?" Rose asked, clearly frustrated. It seemed ridiculous to her that someone with a single member filled out the form with such varied options, and it looked like random information was being entered.

"What's wrong with that?" Ptah responded, confused. He reviewed the document and found no restriction on the number of specializations allowed for a familia. He wanted to include all available options to see if the system offered any additional rewards but didn't want the guild to consider them problematic.

Rose felt frustrated and wanted to get this paperwork over with quickly. This god seemed to have much less common sense than others, which only increased her exasperation.

However, Rose was a professional. Despite her frustration, she maintained her composure and organized the papers with precision. She sealed them with the guild's emblem and handed over the manual. "All done, the registration is complete. Here's the guild manual."

Rose continued, "As a new familia, you will start at Rank I, which involves a small initial tax. Additionally, the guild offers the service of an advisor for new adventurers. This advisor can guide you on the dungeon, its dangers, and how to survive. Saly will need to return later to choose her advisor if there are multiple options available."

"Thank you, we appreciate it," Ptah responded, giving a slight nod. Saly silently nodded beside him, her gratitude reflected in the soft smile that barely appeared on her lips.

Rose appreciated that they weren't the typical arrogant gods. "One last thing," Rose added. "Do you need initial equipment? We have weapons and armor available for a price."

Ptah nodded, somewhat embarrassed. "Yes, that would be very helpful, but... our funds are limited." Although he would receive the Valis when the registration was complete, he wanted to save them for now.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Of course they are. It's always the same with new families. You can request a loan for the initial equipment if needed. You can pay it back when you're more self-sufficient."

"That would be perfect," said Ptah, relieved.

"Good, follow me," said Rose, standing up. "I'll take you to someone from the guild to choose the basic equipment."

As she guided them out of the room, Rose looked at Saly one more time. "Hey, rookie. If at any point you feel you can't handle the dungeon, don't hesitate to withdraw. There's no shame in living to fight another day."

With those words, Rose led them to a section where another guild member began equipping Saly with a basic sword and a chest protector, preparing her for her first dungeon expedition.

With the registration complete and the equipment ready, Ptah was eager to return, review the rewards, and buy the necessary materials to practice making potions so that Saly could safely venture into the dungeon.