Inception
I
"Thank you for your patronage," Hestia gave a smile to the customer, who reciprocated the action before leaving.
She let out a sigh, her smile leaving her face. Today was more profitable than other days. Maybe, luck was finally catching up to her. Perhaps she would even get a member for her Familia.
Since she was a new goddess, she didn't have any members for her Familia. Most of the new adventurers would join the already established Familia, like Loki Familia or Freya Familia. Hestia would be lying if she said she wasn't jealous of other Gods. But she also knew her jealousy was irrational.
These Gods had come to the Mortal World earlier than she had and hence had more time to gather members for their Familia. And it was not as if she was the only one stuck in this misfortune. Almost every god had done odd jobs when they arrived in the human world. Everyone had to work before they began to build their own Familia.
The problem now was the fact that no adventurer wanted to join the Familia of an unknown Goddess like her. And while she understood their reasoning, it did not make it sting any less. Couldn't they give her a chance?
Hestia sighed as she began to pack up. It was evening and her shift on the Jagamarukun Stand was over for the day.
"Excuse Me,"
Hestia looked up to see a boy, wearing a white shirt and black pants that looked on the expensive side, with glasses on his face.
"Do you want some Jagamarukun?" she asked.
Even though she was about to leave, Hestia had no qualms about selling Jagamarukun. Any customer was a welcome customer for her.
"Ah, no. But I have a question — are you a Goddess?"
Just as the question left his mouth, Hestia could feel her annoyance rise again. It wouldn't be the first time someone would make fun of her for working at the stall. But looking at his tilted face, she only saw curiosity.
"Yes. I am Hestia. What do you want?"
"Ah, I just want to talk," he said, raising his hands.
Looking more closely now, she could see he had no bad intentions. Hestia felt a little bad she was curt with him.
"I am new to this town, and I have no money with me." He said, with an embarrassed blush. "Since you are a goddess, you might know a place where I can spend a night for free."
Hestia almost ignored the latter statement, and blankly focused on the first part. She jumped towards him and grabbed his collar, dragging his face to hers.
"You are new in town, right?!"
"Ah, yes-"
"Then you are not part of any Familia, right?!"
"...Yes."
"Then would you like to be part of my Familia?!"
"...Can you please let go of my shirt first?"
Oh—right.
Hestia let go of him and took a few steps backward to give him some breathing room. She had gotten too excited at the prospect of getting her first Familia member. But she couldn't help it! This was probably going to be her best chance. He had just come to the town and didn't have any Familia. He would be hers if she could have him before he hears about other Familia.
Did she feel bad about tricking him? Yes, but Hestia was lonely. It had been a long time since she had a proper conversation like this with someone. Maybe, she would tell him later about it, but not now.
The boy took a few steps back as well, straightening his shirt. Instead of being angry, he almost seemed exasperated. "At least, tell me about your Familia at least."
Hestia froze and looked away. Feeling embarrassed, she struggled to speak, her words coming off in a low voice.
"Eh, you would be the first member..."
"What was that?"
"I don't have anyone in my Familia alright!"
The boy silently stared at her for a few moments. Hestia had a strange urge to look away and cover her body. It felt like he was judging her soul, which was funny in a way as it should be the other way around.
"Well, how about I become your first member then?"
Silence stretched between them, both staring at each other before her eyes widened. This wasn't a trick now, was it? Nobody had asked that to her. Even when talking to adventurers, she had to be the one to ask others if they would like to join her Familia.
"...Really?"
"Yes, Hestia."
Warmth radiated from her chest throughout her whole body. Bouncing on her toes, she said, "Alright! I'll be glad to have you."
Beaming up at him, she stepped forward and hugged him. His hands awkwardly encircled her, as if he was almost hesitant to touch her. Well, that was fine, she would give him so many hugs that it would no longer make him hesitant.
"By the way," he said, "it's getting late. Do you have any we could spend the night?"
Hestia released him, but still kept his hand in hers. "There is a place. come on, let's go there."
"...This is the place you're talking about?"
Hestia could feel his hesitance. She felt embarrassed about her situation. What kind of Goddess she was? She couldn't even provide a good place for her children. Not for the first time did she regret not working while staying with Hephaestus. Perhaps if she did have, she might not have been as embarrassed as she was now, maybe she would have also gotten a Familia Member.
"It's fine though," he said after a moment, "It's better and safer than sleeping on the streets."
Hestia knew he was just trying to be polite. She could feel the reluctance in his voice. Yet, despite her inner turmoil, she managed to give a small smile.
"Yes, you're right," she replied, her voice tinged with determination. "It's not a grand house, but it is something."
She dragged him inside the church. Although things inside were falling apart, the place was quite spacious. There was even some furniture that she had gotten cheap. A small area was used as a kitchen. There was a bathroom tucked in a corner.
"So, what do you want me to do?" he asked after looking around a bit, not that there was much to look for. "Is there a process?"
Hestia pointed at the bed. "Just lay down on your stomach without your shirt so that I can see your back."
He raised his eyebrow but said nothing. After removing his shirt, he laid down on the bed as asked.
"By the way, my name is V," he said softly, looking down at the bed sheets.
Hestia blinked. Wait, she didn't even ask his name?!
Hestia felt a flutter of embarrassment dance in her chest. How could she have overlooked such a basic courtesy? She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, suddenly aware of the weight of her oversight.
She cleared her throat, the sound echoing in the quiet room. "V," she repeated, testing the name on her tongue. It felt foreign yet strangely fitting like a key slipping into a long-forgotten lock. "It's nice to officially meet you."
A ghost of a smile flickered across his lips. "Likewise," he murmured, his gaze lifting to meet hers for the briefest of moments before retreating once more to the sheets.
Hestia cleared her throat and clapped her hands, trying to put the awkwardness behind her. "Well then, let's get you your Falna!"
Hestia climbed up on his waist. She removed the hairpin she had always kept on her and poked her finger to let the blood flow from her finger to his back. As she summoned her Arcanum, a bright white light erupted from his back. The light was so bright that she had to close her eyes. Was this supposed to happen?
Hestia didn't know, having never done the process before. Even when she was with Hephaestus, she preferred not to look because granting a Falna was a private thing for most Gods.
The light subsided, and letters appeared on his back.
Viktor Vektor
Level One
Strength: I-0
Endurance: I-0
Dexterity: I-0
Agility: I-0
Magic: I-0
.
Skills
Anomaly: Even the smallest ripples can cause big tides. You are an anomaly. The laws of the world do not govern you.
Unknown
Unknown
For a while, she stared at his back. His stats were expected since he had just started. But, having a skill already was uncommon. Having two was rare. But what about three?
Hestia didn't know if there was even anyone who had three skills starting. And his second and third skill? Unknown. She had never heard of any unknown skill from other Gods.
There were too many things she didn't know. She would need to ask around. But Hestia was hesitant to share this information with other Gods. If they heard V had three skills, even if two were unknown, they would try to recruit him in their Familia.
And while Hestia wasn't proud of this thought, V could leave her for other Familia. She had seen the look that had passed his face while looking at the dilapidated church. His clothes looked expensive. And he probably had an expensive taste too. She could glean that much at least from his way of talking.
"Is it done?" V asked, still lying on the bed, with his head on the back of his palms.
"...Yes." She said, grabbing a sheet of paper from the bedside table to press it on his back. The process of transferring the Falna to the sheet took a few seconds.
She stood up from her position, moving to the side. V sat up and wore his shirt again, before looking at her expectantly. She handed him the sheet.
"This is...interesting," he said, looking up from the paper. "Is it common to have unknown skills?"
Hestia shook her head. "I don't believe so. I would need to ask around to find out more." She let out a sigh. Still, that could be done later, for now, she had her first Familia member! And he even had three skills from the start, even if they didn't know two of them!
Still, she had no idea about the first skill either. It didn't sound like it was something useful in the dungeon. Perhaps, V had some idea about it. She asked him so.
His face scrunched up in thought, before shaking his head. "I have a few ideas, but I would need to test them later. By the way, can you tell me more about the stats, like how they are ranked?"
"Of course. For each ability, there are ten ranks—S, A, B, C, D, E, F, H, and I— with S being the strongest and I being the weakest. The number next to the rank shows the exact ability level: 0 to 99 is the I range, 100 to 199 is the H range, and so on until it reaches 999, which is the absolute maximum. To 'Rank Up' you need to have at least a D-rank ability, and you need to gather a specific amount of High-Rank Excelia—which you can gather by killing stronger enemies or by performing feats that even gods would be proud of."
Hestia took a few moments to catch her breath. She hadn't meant to dump all of this information on him at once. It wasn't fair to overwhelm him like that. It just felt nice to finally teach someone these things.
She looked at his face. V, at some point, had placed a hand under his chin. While his eyes were on her form, they were unfocused as if he was in deep thought. Maybe processing all that information. He finally blinked and shifted a bit.
"Alright. And, the dungeon is under the tower right?"
"The tower is called Babel. It has fifty floors in total. The first floor is the Guild lobby. The second is the Guild Inventory. By the way, you would need to go there tomorrow as they give equipment for new adventures." V simply nodded. "The third floor has Guild Shops. They buy magic stones and offer various other facilities. You should check it out. The Hephaestus Familia has its shops from floors four to eight. Above that, many gods have their own floor."
There was again the distant look on his face as if he was processing all the information. He nodded a few times and released his breath. "So the lower levels of the tower are owned by the Guild, and the floors above are owned by other gods."
"No."
He tilted his head. "Mmh?"
"The Guild owns the entire tower. The Familia have to pay rent to live there."
"I see."
They became silent for a few moments. V was lost in his thoughts, with Hestia staring at him.
"So," Hestia began. "Are you gonna go to the Guild to register now? They are open Twenty-four-seven."
V shook his head. "Not really. I will be doing that tomorrow. It's rather late right now."
Right, he did say he was looking for a place to pass the night.
"Of course. Do you want to sleep right now?"
V nodded, but his face scrunched up a little. "Well, do you have some mattresses?"
Why would he even need another one if there was already one here?
"Well, there's a bed here."
"And where are you going to sleep?"
Hestia tilted her head. Where was he even going with this? "With you, on this bed, of course."
V stared at her as if she had grown another head. He shook his head, muttering something like 'too trusting.'
What?
He was her now first child. What was wrong with her sleeping with him?
Author's Note.
There you have it. This is the first time I have written a story.
The story probably feels dry as there are sometimes no emotions in dialogue. I know I should have taken more time to refine this chapter. But the problem is, the more time I spend on a single chapter, the more lazy I feel to even read it again.
Another problem with the chapter was the fact that I had rarely written anything so informal. Since English is my third language, I only use it for formal purposes like writing letters and essays(in exams). Hence, you would see instances where somehow Hestia's tone shifts to so formal, even when she is such a simple Goddess. I am aware of this fault, but I also know that this flaw can be removed by writing often, which I am trying to do.
Almost every chapter from now on will be from our V's perspective. This was in Hestia's because this was a prologue to the story. I will include some interludes in between to show other POVs.
By the way, this story does not have the traditional Gamer System, since balancing the stats of Falna and Gamer System would be too much of a hassle.
Review.