*I do not own DanMachi or You-Zitsu

Leaving the conference room behind with the files in my grasp, I set out for an establishment in which I can read these in peace.

Adventurers. While they are certainly common in this world, striving to go for that occupation would be a waste of time and effort. In essence, I have no reason to become one.

As for money and finances. A normal job in which I can do with my past knowledge is low. For one, just by glancing at the papers in my hands, I can notice that basic things in this world are changed. For example, meters are meders and centimeters are celch. Getting involved in a business would be unwise until I've adequately quired and interpreted the knowledge that a random human in the street does.

For now, shelter is a top priority. Considering what I have in hand, I have one of three options to select.

1. Take up shelter outside.

2. Find a suitable enough building.

3. Join a Familia and see what I can do from there in terms of shelter, food, and money.

As for the food itself, I can last for around 31 days. A considerably larger amount of time than the average person. That was the record I recorded in that place, a record in which is difficult to surpass because of the severity of physical mistreatment each and every student goes through; even with the previous and following generations' lack of harsh treatment as opposed to the fourth.

For now, option 2 is the choice I'm that seems best for me.

Now in the main lobby of the Guild, I notice that the building now had an abundant amount of people dressed in bloodstained armor and weapons. It seemed to leave a putrid smell as the guild employees were looking nauseous. If this is a common occurrence, then one would assume that they would be used to such a smell as I am, but their reactions say otherwise, meaning today might have been a day far from normal in the dungeon.

"I was worried that there would be more Minotaurs on the upper floors so I was cautious but that ended up biting me in the arse and instead I got overrun with those damn overgrown ants."

"Same here man, it's such a bother. For godsakes, TWO minotaurs! In what, the last month!"

The dungeon is dived into 3 known parts. The upper floors, middle floors, and deep floors. Minotaurs are a dangerous monster in mobile games and fantasy novels so since the upper floors are relatively easy with the monsters contained in it, such as the goblin I killed earlier, then minotaurs must not belong there, making more people become aware of their surroundings, but in return, left their other senses for naught.

After listening to their remarks, I went over to a board in the front of the building, for all to see. Any information there would be useful.

The number of people encircled around the board was higher than I expected because I was unable to make it through without neglecting another person. I'll just have to view the board from a relatively far distance.

And on that board was a paper that most if not all the adventures were looking at. On that paper was a drawing of a kid with big, light hair. His appearance was identical to the boy on the cover of the novel. Residing on the paper were just a few words.

-Time Span: One Month and 2 weeks.

-Adventurer Bell Cranel achieved level 2.

"I can't believe it."

"He's got to be cheating"

"A guy with that face doesn't cheat"

"He beat the Kenki! No, he destroyed her!"

With their reactions, it's safe to say this is something abnormal. Misha said that leveling up was incredibly difficult, leveling in one month completely contradicts that.

It's safe to conclude that 'Bell Cranel' is the main character of the novel. With his appearance on the cover to this.

On the board were other papers such as 'Quests'. While Misha didn't explain this, there essentially requests adventurers can take on for rewards. At least, that's what the general description described.

After seeing all I wanted to know, I turned around and set out for the door.

Third Person pov:

It has been 3 days since the adventurer known as Bell Cranell leveled up. And it has been one day since its report to the guild, meaning, news of Bell Cranel's level up was spread throughout the city yesterday. Today, people who didn't believe it made sure to see evidence such as the poster on the board.

But, one person who did believe it arrived at the guild as well. This adventure simply wanted to see the poster with her own eyes, not because she was unsure of this information was new.

As she walked in through the guild's doors, she spotted a man who seemed to be older than her, albeit not by much, walk straight to the door.

Ayanokoji pov:

Standing in front of the entrance was a girl with light armor. She had blonde hair and had a sword of sorts, a saber, hanging from her waist. Many were looking at her with envy, lust, and admiration. She must have been an adventurer of importance or popularity.

After a quick look at her basic appearance with a side glance, I walked right past her and went out the door and into the vibrant city.

Aiz pov:

That man...he walked right past me, only a few celch away. And yet...I wasn't able to hear a sound. It's almost like he wasn't here. If I wasn't looking directly at him...I wouldn't have known he was here.

Was my hearing not as enhanced as I thought, even as a level 6?

Or is he someone strong? Really strong.

Ayanokoji pov:

As I was walking out of the guild and into the busy streets of the new city, I came across two men. Usually, I would ignore them as they're just like every other person in the city. But, among the two of them was a white-haired boy.

Bell Cranell, level 2 adventurer and a main character of the novel, 'Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?'. He was walking in my direction.

Truly, coincidences can be freaky.

He was holding a paper in his hands as he ran to the guild, his red hair partner not far behind.

But, something odd occurred the moment he ran past me.

I felt something. It's something I've felt hundreds of thousands of times. Scorn and contempt from the many students I overwhelmed in the inter-branch competition held in the White Room. A glare of death was being directed right at me. From that moment, I knew where it was directed from. Northwest.

My eyes landed on that very place. At the very top of the tower placed at the center of the city. It was from there that the glare originated.

And when that place was clear in my eyes, it vanished. As if it was never there, to begin with.

Freya pov:

It was clear and transparent, shiny and bright. Glistening as always.

Marvelous.

Bell Cranel. I want him even more than before.

His growth is amazing but the fact that's he's able to stay true to himself through all that. It's outstanding.

I was so immersed in his soul that I neglected the existence of another. This soul was coming closer and closer to the one I was observing.

And it was only when that soul passed Bell, that I saw its contents.

Pitch black darkness. It was putrid. It was as if this soul had never once seen light, forever embarked in the dark shades of life.

It's disgusting. I despise it. This corrupted soul was coming nearer and nearer to Bell until they eventually crossed paths.

I looked at him with pure scorn and contempt. Someone like shouldn't exist. The worst parts of humanity have mand their way into Orario.

I have to get rid of him before he eventually reaches Bell and spreads that darkness.

But, I never expected this to happen.

The dark soul turned to me, facing me as if it knew I was here.

My look of disgust was replaced with bafflement. And I stopped observing that soul as my attendant called out to me.

"Is everything all right, Lady Freya?"

"I'm fine. Just surprised is all."

With that, he stopped asking. As he understood that I didn't want to talk about it.

But after a few minutes of silence. I made up my mind.

"Ottar, there is something I need you to do."

Ayanokoji pov:

Babel Tower. Its usage and inhabitants.

Before I do anything else, I need to understand the tower and what goes on inside. As for where I'd acquire such information, the man from the fish stall should be adequate enough.

The marketplace wasn't far from here, I already remembered the layout of each place I went to, and with the map, I acquired from the guild, navigating has become much easier. Finally arriving at the stall, I can see that the business is thriving.

"Quick, take out the next batch and put them in the ice."

"I am, I am! Just hurry up and clean up the bacteria."

"Customer 5 wants 2 sets of bass and a tuna."

"Who knew a smile food stall would sell so well."

"We've got to tell Njord-sama that his idea is working brilliantly."

Njord is a Norse god of the sea and fishing. His Familia must be targeted at the food industry, specifically fish.

When I walked up to the stall, the man I met earlier looked up at me with an excited face, then had a look of disappointment, after realizing it was me and not a customer.

"You need something again?" He instead the conversation, seemingly wanting to end it as quickly as possible.

"Babel Tower, if you don't mind, would you explain its purposes and inhabitants."

"Didn't you go to the guild?"

"It slipped my mind."

"Hmm, sure it did. Aight well I'm free for now, so come here and sit down,' he pointed to a cargo box.

I took his offer and sat down. He sat across from me. Once I took a seat, he folded his hands and rested them on his lap. After a deep, long sigh, he began his explanation.

"Babel is essentially a tower for adventures. A place for adventurers to stay to do various things. You can exchange magic stones, eat lunch, take a shower and other things. On the lower floors, there are weapon and armor shops in which you can buy, well, armor and weapons. And on the higher floors, gods and goddesses rent out rooms and reside there in comfort. Also, various meetings take place there, such as Denatus. Since you're new here, it's basically a meeting in which gods decided on second names for adventurers who leveled up."

So, Babel is essentially a tower filled with numerous miscellaneous rooms and shops, as well as a living quarter for the 'gods' of this world. One of these 'gods' was a likely suspect.

"At the very top, do you know of anyone who resides in those quarters," I responded. Asking the question I needed to know.

"Well, at the top is Goddess Freya."

If what he says is true, then Freya was the one looking down on me. I can't throw out the possibility that it was another person, but that striking gaze, I've only felt it once before. And that was from him.

Is Freya suspicious of my origins, or does she already know about my transportation to Orario from Japan. Be that as it may, that won't result in immediate hatred.

"About Freya, she would be the patron deity of Freya Familia, correct?" I asked him, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, she leads Freya Familia, Orario's #1. It's the reason she's able to afford the price for staying on the highest floor."

So the higher the floor, the more expensive it is to afford, the same could most likely be said for items and materials found in the tower.

But to lead the #1 group, Familia, things will get troublesome indeed. If she decided to lash out with more than just a glare, I might be in trouble.

"I appreciate it," I said as I got up from the cargo box.

"It's all good, just buy some fish next time," he said, not wasting a beat to advertise his merchandise.

"I'll see what I can do," I reply as I walk back into the busy streets.

During this walk, I had plenty of things on my mind.

The first would be legal issues. Would I be punished for entering the city illegally or would it be possible to avoid that?

Food, water, shelter. These things I need to get under control. I need to learn more about the adventures of the world, the Familias, the gods, and the guild.

And then there is Freya. Understanding what she's thinking is important. But first, I need to find out her appearance.

As I turned the corner into a backstreet alleyway littered with combustible trash and abandoned cats, I sensed a presence coming at an alarming rate.

Whoosh

I turned around immediately, knowing that someone was coming in that direction. And they did.

"Impressive, you noticed me for quite a while, haven't you. You even turned to face me before I could even get to you. Quite the accomplishment."

It's true that I knew someone was tailing me the moment I left the fish vendor, so I vigilantly and purposely went back into the alleys. To confront the said person.

This person was wearing a black hooded cloak, covering their entire body from head to knee. It looked like it was cut at the bottom, to avoid tripping and falling during combat.

Then, after managing to get a stable footing on the ground, the cloaked man jumped right at me with a dagger of sorts. It was pure white with an engrained marking of a valkyrie. It slid right under my chin as I dodged to the left.

? pov:

That was fast, he managed to avoid my jab to the throat but only just barely. That doesn't make sense? Did he do it on purpose? Is he trying to provoke me?

The knife cut nothing but air, causing a wind to form, almost right after, I threw my right arm holding the knife to the right, the area in which he is standing. Somehow though, he ducked below, keeping his shoulders in. To counter that, I threw a sweeping sidekick to his right abdominals, but he just swatted my leg away with his right elbow.

This makes no damn sense. I'm a mid-level 2, my strength is clearly more superior than his, yet he's able to deflect all attacks,

!

He's not attacking, only parrying and defending. He's using a type of trick. That must be it. His strength is low so he avoids direct assault, instead, he uses those tricks of his.

He stood right up and moved his left arm into a relative position of my own, which was ready to throw a jab to his cheek. I'm going to have to put full force into this punch and knock him out.

Right when we're about to make contact, he drops his arm and releases all hold he had on his lower body. Is this some kind of trick?

The punch connects and it lands on his cheek, I know it must hurt.

!

I feel his right calf connecting with my right knee, he didn't even use much force, but for some reason, I lost my balance. Instantaneously, he turned around and... I cant see what he's going to do! Huh, why?

Oh, that's why, my vision was facing the sky, not him, as I fell down on the solid concrete.

He was somehow able to avoid my line of sight and knock me down by targeting a muscle in my body that was weakened due to that split second of having my balance disrupted.

I've seen people use technique instead of brute force to win but to completely knock me down like this, I've never witnessed martial prowess like this.

He threw his right hand to my right arm which was falling down with the rest of my body and twisted the joints making me lose my grip. He snatched the blade and pressed it into my neck with the blunt edge. This caused me to hit the ground with more force than I naturally would have.

And the worst part is that he ended this fight in only 30 something seconds. He didn't even try. All this without breaking a damn sweat.

A memory flooded back into my brain.

'Lady Freya says to be vigilant. That man's abilities are unknown and she suspects he's hiding something.'

Captain Ottar and Lady Freya warned me about him. Did I neglect that warning? No, I made sure to keep it in my mind, yet he still bested me.

Ayanokoji pov:

As expected, it hurt.

Someone from the #1 Familia had to be strong, and that's what I wanted to see.

The markings on the blade made it clear who he was affiliated with. That was a Valkyrie, a symbol of Freya. Add this to the fact that Freya was shooting me a glare of death a while back, and I can be sure he was sent here to assassinate or at least subjugate me.

The way the air changed the moment he noticed me coming right at him only means that he applied more strength than he initially thought he would.

In terms of pure physical might, I suspect that he's about my equal, if not a little less or little more depending on circumstances.

What gave me the edge was my advanced knowledge of modern martial arts. Something this heathen world lacked.

After taking the hit, I switched my left foot's position as I turned around and kicked his unbalanced left leg to the side. This was not to cause him pain but to further his loss of balance. Gravity did the rest.

Once he started his fall to the hard, brick, alley ground, I grabbed his right arm which was holding his weapon, and successfully dislocated his Humeroradial, Humeroulnar, and Prox. radioulnar joints to loosen up his tight grip on the daggers handle. Once he did, I grabbed it, spun it, and grabbed the sharp edge, pushing the handle onto the man's neck.

As I thought, the adventures will be more troublesome than the monsters themselves. This was quite a tiresome endeavor, even for me.

"I believe this farce has gone on long enough. Name yourself, adventure from Freya Familia." As I said that, his facial expression turned into that of shock due to the fact that I knew his Familia.

When he went for the stab, the knife was moving at a tremendous speed so he didn't expect me to notice the emblem carved on it.

"So you noticed. Lady Freya was right, you're dangerous."

Where have I heard that before?

"You could have killed me a while ago, what do you want?"

What do I want? A lot of things, what do I need. One thing. And that one thing is going to be disturbed unless I confront the problem at hand.

"Take me to Freya," I ordered.

? pov:

Of all things, he wants to face the one who ordered his assassination. While I'm in no position to resist, I can't let him near the goddess. If he pulls someth- right, Captain Ottar is with her. He won't be able to do shit.

"I don't know if there's much I can do," I say to him.

"No, she'll let you in the moment she notices me walking toward the tower with your disheveled body."

His facial expression didn't change, not even once. He still wore that apathetic face. But that's going to change. I cant wait to see him humiliate himself as he falls for the goddess's charms.

My revenge will be sweet.

"Then, let's get going."

Ayanokoji pov:

His facial muscles became less tense as if his worries decreased. This must be because Freya's whereabouts are heavily guarded so I won't have a chance to pull anything, not that I planned to. The diety of the #1 Familia would have plenty of enemies after all.

And then of course, if she continues to send out adventures such as him, it'll be very problematic.

There's one of three things I could do to counter that.

1. Plan out a strategy to handle them.

2. Join a Familia.

3. Enlist the guild's aid.

Option 2 is unlikely, considering if a Familia gets involved with me and Freya then almost any chance of that peaceful life I yearn for would vanish into thin air.

I'll think of my choice after I hear what Freya has to say.

Going directly to enemy territory isn't wise but...I've had enough. From being transported to another world, to having a god hunt me down.

If someone wants to disturb my life, I'll confront them, and deal with them accordingly.

END