The Next Day, at Dawn
In the guest room of the Bountiful Mistress, Qu Shaoyun suddenly woke up and instinctively reached out to grab his phone from the bedside table. But when he touched a glass object, he realized what had happened and couldn't help but let out a bitter smile.
"It seems like I won't have the chance to arrive early for company meetings anymore."
He turned his head and glanced out the window, realizing that without electronic devices, he could only rely on the sky to estimate the time, which was probably between 3 to 5 in the morning.
Even so, he noticed that the sounds of pedestrians on the street had already spread outside. Thinking about it, it wasn't surprising, as in this world lacking nighttime entertainment, apart from the pleasures of procreation, people mostly just slept during the night.
And if they slept early, they naturally woke up early.
Qu Shaoyun lowered his head and looked at the shirt he had casually thrown on the ground. He sighed helplessly as he picked it up and quickly put it on.
He adjusted his Qilin Bow, which was leaning against the bedside table, and checked the condition of his arrows. Out of the twenty arrows he had, three were broken and four were lost due to unavoidable circumstances during the battles he fought yesterday.
The thirteen arrows that were still usable showed varying degrees of wear, mainly from piercing into the stone walls when killing goblins. Accommodation, food, clothing, and equipment were currently the most troublesome issues for Qu Shi. As a newcomer to Eulalia without any acquaintances or the guarantee of a clan, it was unlikely for him to find a daily wage job in Eulalia.
For now, the fastest way to earn money seemed to be venturing into the underground dungeons. "Starting with just a bow, relying on equipment drops," he joked to himself before lying down on the bed. His gaze fixed on the wooden ceiling above as he pondered how to quickly join a clan and obtain blessings from the deities.
The world of Geocatastrophe seemed to encompass many pantheons, such as Loki from Norse mythology and Hestia from ancient Greek mythology. The ancient Greek pantheon alone had 72 deities, and when including deities from other pantheons, Eulalia likely had over a hundred deities. Despite the numerous options available, there were not many clans mentioned in the original work that Qu Shi was aware of. The ones he knew of were: Freya, Loki, Hestia, Apollo, Hephaestus, Sumo, Hermes, Takeyumi, Mih, Geburun, and Uranus.
Among them, the two most powerful clans without a doubt are the Freya Clan and the Loki Clan. Joining these two clans would require a certain level of strength or possessing special talents and abilities.
As for how Qu Shi knew about this, the best example in the original work was Bell. When he first arrived in Orario, the rabbit practically visited all the clans in Orario but no one was willing to take him in. It was ultimately Hestia who took the initiative to approach him, providing him a place to stay.
Compared to other clans, the Freya and Loki Clans are undoubtedly the most difficult to join.
On the other hand, the easiest clan to join, in Qu Shi's opinion, is the infamous Sumo Clan. Don't think that Hestia Clan is desperate for members and would accept anyone who comes their way.
On the contrary, the Sumo Clan, under the control of their leader Sanesis Lustra, is like a pyramid scheme that exploits its clan members. It is definitely the easiest clan to join in Orario.
Of course... If it's a woman we're talking about, the easiest clan to join would probably be the Ishtar Clan.
If Qu Shaoyun were an ambitious warlord, then the Sumo Clan would definitely be the best choice.
Because the Sumo Clan itself doesn't actually manage the clan, and their leader, Sanesis Lustra, is only Level 2. Once their level reaches Level 3, they can easily control the entire clan.
But unfortunately, Qu Shaoyun doesn't have such ambitions.
Apart from the two strongest clans and personal preferences, the Hephaestus Clan is undoubtedly the best choice.
Hephaestus, known as the "Divine Blacksmith" in the heavens, has the best blacksmith shop in Orario, even in the lower world. Not all equipment in Orario comes from Hephaestus, but 50% of the top-tier equipment does.
If one can join this clan, let's not talk about anything else; in terms of equipment alone, they can definitely surpass members of other clans at the same level.
Looking at the arrows of varying degrees of damage in his quiver, Qu Shaoyun has already made up his mind, even though he doesn't have high expectations.
After all, the current Bell hasn't even acquired the title of "Little Rookie" yet, which means he hasn't reached Level 2. It hasn't been more than a month and a half since he joined the Hestia Clan.
Considering that Bell himself couldn't join the Hephaestus Clan back then, Qu Shaoyun doesn't think he has any advantages over the Bell of the past.
But nothing ventured, nothing gained. It's worth a try.
After making up his mind to wait until dawn and prepare to visit the Hephaestus Clan, Qu Shaoyun suddenly remembered something.
He raised his hand and lightly tapped the empty space in front of him, and immediately a translucent panel appeared, displaying information about Qu Shaoyun.
[Name: Qu Shaoyun]
[Level: Lv2]
[Strength: 6]
[Endurance: 1]
[Agility: 1]
[Magic Power: 0]
[Available Attribute Points: 0]
[Current Energy Progress: 1.1%]
It was still the same simple and plain format, but the energy progress that was previously at 1% had increased to 1.1% overnight.
Qu Shaoyun couldn't understand the meaning of the energy progress in the entire panel. After repeatedly trying and getting no results, he had to temporarily ignore it.
With some time left before dawn, Qu Shaoyun, having nothing else to do, could only pick up his Qilin Bow and practice shooting while getting accustomed to his enhanced strength.
"Click!"
The door to the guest room opened from the inside, and Qu Shaoyun, with his Qilin Bow and quiver, walked out of the room.
He crossed the few meters of corridor and descended the stairs to the first floor.
At this time, the hospitable landlady had already opened the main door, and several maids were cleaning, preparing for the day's business.
"Mr. Qu, did you rest well last night?"
Seeing Qu Shaoyun coming down from the second floor, Hille, who was now dressed as a maid, held a broom and hurried over to him.
After the mental adjustment he made yesterday, Qu Shaoyun forcefully stopped associating the girl with Phoebus Clan and instead saw her as Hille Flova, the hospitable landlady.
"Thanks to you, I had a good dream last night."
As he spoke, he handed the key to the girl in front of him.
"And I want to apologize again for yesterday. I took my frustrations out on you because of my personal issues."
"Please don't worry about it." Hille took the key that Qu Shaoyun handed over and smiled playfully, sticking out her tongue. "If you feel guilty, then please come to the inn more often and spend some money!"
"I will definitely do that." Qu Shaoyun replied with a smile.
Just as he turned around to leave, he noticed a white-haired, red-eyed boy standing at the entrance of the "hospitable landlady" as if he had been there for a while.
"Mr. Bell!"
Hille, who noticed the boy behind her, set aside her broom and ran past Qu Shaoyun, stopping directly in front of the young man.
"Are you heading to the dungeon this early again today?"
"Yes!" The boy scratched the back of his head shyly and took out a bento box from his backpack.
"Miss Hille, the lunch you made is really delicious!"
Qu Shaoyun lowered his gaze to the bento box in the boy's hand, then looked back at the boy himself. He was Bell Cranel, the male protagonist of DanMachi.
Seeing the harmonious atmosphere between Hille and Bell, a barely perceptible smile appeared at the corner of Qu Shaoyun's mouth. He then strode away from the "hospitable landlady," holding the bowstring of his Qilin Bow.
Ah, the future Little Rookie. It seems that your "mama" Freya is even more interested in you. So please continue to be my shield.