Somnus was remotely familiar with the Danmachi series. He had read the light novels and watched about 10 episodes of the animation's season 1.

He knew enough about the world, at least. How the monsters in the over world was considerably weaker than the ones in the underground labyrinths in Orario. They lacked magic stones too, giving up on its powers during the process of reproducing on the surface. Which meant there was no real way for their bodies to dissipate, as for the body of the monsters to turn to dust you had to extract the magic stones.

Somnus swung his sword as he parried a tackle from a dog-like creature.
He managed to learn that if he timed his shield bash just right- he could stun the monsters as he blocked their hits.

A quite simple, but very neat trick when handling combat.

One of the kobolds took a particularly bad hit, flailing it's arm around as it fell backwards.
It's snout had been slammed in by the dented iron plate, A moment of weakness that Somnus made sure to exploit.
Driving the dulled edge into it's neck, Somnus immediately twisted the blade out and swung to his left. Slicing apart a Goblin trying flank.

The number of monsters had recently increased in the hills, so the tavern owner said.
Including never before seen monsters, with prominent prowess when compared to monsters it accompanied.

Somnus blocked a suddenly blow from a horned horse.
These were one of them - according to what he learnt from adventures in the tavern, unicorns were very rare. Of pure white skin and golden horn.

These horses were in fact, gold with emerald hooves and horn.

And much more common, and much more aggressive.

Somnus knew what kind of monster this is.
A Crazy Horse, from Final Fantasy 1.

Somnus' shield managed to block the horse from running its horn through the man, yet the force alone was enough to drive Somnus off his feet and force him to land flat on his rear.

The Crazy Horse was galloping towards Somnus, rearing its body back to drive its hoofs down into Somnus's ribs.

Somnus rolled across the floor and drove his blade into the underside of the Crazy Horse.

It neighed, as Somnus dragged his sword across, slashing the underside.
The Crazy Horse disintegrated into dust.
These monsters didn't have Magic Stones, and thus upon death would dissipate almost immediately.

It only left it's horn on the grass to notify it had existed just a second prior.

Somnus looked around.
Blood had been splattered on the green pasture, yet no bodies.
Only loot dropped by the monster to prove there had been a fight.

Somnus gathered his breath, calmed his heart, and started to gather the spoils of his small war against the monsters.

There were quests requesting both eradication of the overgrown monster population, as well as materials from some of them.

Guards needed better equipment, but with monsters about it forced them into a dilemma.

They needed adventurers to clear the way and give them a much needed push.

People watched as Somnus returned to the village with an oversized Burlap sack. Filled with horns and claws and fangs.

The local blacksmith knew how to handle them into weapons, and Somnus would get much needed Valis from the job well done.

"Wow! Colour me impressed lad, you've actually went and done it!"

The Forge was hot and humid, and the half-naked Blacksmith was looking at the monster drop in awe. The only light source being the glowing red molten metal

The Blacksmith handed Somnus the reward and dug his hands into the sac. That is until he saw Somnus' state of equipment.

Dulled sword, battered shield. Hell, the Blacksmith muttered, the shield even had a hole punched through.
Yet the blood coated on both made sure to advocate that yet, Somnus did fight with them.

"What's your name, boy?" The Bladesmith asked through his matted beard.

Somnus blinked as he looked away from counting the Valis handed to him in a small leather bag. "Somnus, sir."

"Somnus… Somnus… hmm… you sure you want to keep fighting with weapons like that?"

Somnus looked down at the weapon holstered on his hip and back.
Not really, no. But it was the only thing he had left.

Somnus quietly shook his head sideways.
The Blacksmith snickered, that was the answer he expected.

"Well, hand those weapon over and I'll fix them for you. You busy?"

Somnus pulled his blade and kite shield out of their leather straps and handed them to the black smith.

"No, sir."

The bearded dwarf took a closer look at the state of them and scoffed. How the hell did he really managed to make scratches on those monsters? The Blacksmith thought as he flicked the edge of the blade with his fingers. What, did he bludgeon them to death?

Somnus had gathered more than the desired amount. Nearly overflowing with monster drops, in fact.

The Blacksmith was more than happy with using the spares to making a better weapon.

"Wait outside, I'll bring you the weapon when I'm finished."

One part stood out from the rest in the sack. The emerald horn of the Crazy Horse.
Light, durable, sharp.
This would make a fine point for the long sword.

Somnus looked at the upgraded blade and shield.

"Turns out if you heat the horn long enough, it turns blue!"

The Blacksmith laughed as he looked at Somnus twirl the blade in his hands, before banging the side of the sword to his new shield.

The brass sword was coated further, having it fold and merge with the Crazy Horse's horn.
The surface had a bluish twinged, and he could already feel the sharpness of the edge when he lightly ran his thumb across it.

"How does it feel?"

"Balanced."

"Damn right it is. Now, I don't know where you got your weapons from or how much it costed, I can assure you that you got cheated out of it."

Somnus shrugged. Honestly he just found it on the edge of his room.

The Blacksmith chuckled to himself as he saw Somnus twirl one of his finest work.

"You sure you don't need additional armour? I can tell you're very good with the blade, but I don't think some random shirt would be enough of a protection."

Huh, Somnus didn't actually think of that.
But then again Somnus doubted he could afford a whole set.

He needed the coins for another night in the inn. Maybe even travel fees if he wanted to explore.

"Trust me, armour goes a long way. Especially to folks like you."

"Adventurers?"

"Yes. But more specifically adventurers without a Falna."

Somnus raised an eyebrow.

"How could you tell?"

"That you didn't have a Falna? Well, by the looks of those gods that's point at you behind your back. Their reaction's enough to tell me you fought those monsters without blessing that many would consider mandatory for fighting."

The Blacksmith looked up and down at Somnus, before he went inside for a short moment only to come back out with a couple of plates.

"Look, even if I upgraded your weapon for free, there's still a lot excess monster loot. Definitely enough to make more weapons for our dear guards. So here's a trade. I'll take the extra monster loot in the sac, and I'll give you armour of equal worth in exchange. Does that sound good."

Somnus felt the light armour placed in his hands. A small chest plate, gauntlet and shin guards. It didn't protect all of his body, but it was enough to cover some of the vulnerable parts.

"Yeah, sure. We'll call it a deal."

The Blacksmith smirked as he started to walk back into his shop.

"I'll tell post another request when I need monster parts again. Keep your eye out for it, will yah?"

"I'll look for it if I'm still in town."

Whispers among gods were slowly becoming audible as he put the armour over his limbs and torso.

"So that's the adventurer, right? The one that came back with a sack full of monster drops?"

"So he really doesn't have a Falna…"

"Hey, can you guys follow him and check if he really doesn't have a Falna?"

"You want us to go stalk him?!"

"I don't think we'll even have a chance to see him shirtless!"

"Falna or no, I've heard Fran run back into the tavern to tell us that one guy was decimating the entire field of monsters."

"You believe him?"

"If I don't, I at least believe the spoils he brought back to town. That guy's good. At least good enough to hold his own against a horde."

"… I'm going to ask him to join my familia."

"Hey, wait! I eyed him first! Wait for your bloody turn!"

"First come first serve, idiot!"

Gods, clampering over each other to try to reach Somnus as he made sure everything was strapped and secure, preparing to leave.

"Hey, wait! You there! Child!"

Somnus looked back in confusion. He was 20, far from a child.
Well, no matter how old he was he guessed he would be a child in an immortals' eyes.

"Do you have a Familia yet?" One of the gods, who managed to escape the sabotage and grabs of her fellow, reached Somnus and quickly broke the ice.

Somnus shook his head. He only arrived yesterday.

The god clapped her hands together.

"Oh that's perfect! You see, we're a Familia with 5 people in it already! I'm sure you'd be willing to-"

"Oi! Piss off, tart!" One of the other gods pushed her out of the way, causing the previous god to fail her arms around as she rolled across the floor.

The god that intruded into the conversation immediately turned around to Somnus, acting as if she was a lady too prim and proper to have done what she just did to her fellow god.

"Hello, if I heard right… your name was Somnus? I am Eostre, goddess of Dawn! Truth be told, I've only arrived to the mortal world just 2 days ago, and I am need of someone to start a Familia with! Would you be kind and willing enough to help me? Please?"

"Like hell he would, two-face!" The god on the floor promptly kicked Eostre in the shin, causing her to fall down on the floor to.

"Ow! What the hell was that for!"

"For pushing me down and calling me a tart! Hypocrite!"

"Oh, the nerves of you!"

"Hello! I am Melisseus, God of honey and bees! Ya like Jazz?"

"Butt out of this!"

Thus started the violent recruitment from the gods.
It was a common sight down on the mortal realm, especially so when the target of the affection was one with much desired talent.

Somnus looked as slowly more and more gods tried to come his way, only to be stopped by other and slowly dragged into a pitiful fight.

Somnus shrugged his shoulders and went on his way.

It was getting too much of a hassle to simply stay here and watch this all unfold.

Among the gods however, Loki just watched from the corner of the alleyway.
It was only yesterday since she came down to the lower world, boasting to the sky of how she would create the strongest Familia the mortal world has ever seen.

Unfortunately, much to her dismay, the 30 of the female adventurers rejected her for her rather lecherous recruitment methods, and the other small handful of male adventurers rejected her for her rather disappointing lack physical appeal.

She blamed the previous gods for that. Blaming that it was their fault for leaving such a bad impression on the adventurers, that would cause them to be cautious to Loki.

Yeah. Totally their fault. Loki was definitely not at fault here.

Loki didn't give up, however. She understood how the hardest part of starting a Familia was when you just arrived on the lower world.

Loki stared Somnus through her eyes, slender like a fox.
She could tell from first glance that Somnus had no divine blessing on him. Not even a hint.

And yet from what she heard, he came in with monster blood splattered all over his shirt.

He killed all the monsters on the field.
A task that would've required many adventurers here fighting for their lives to accomplish.

Loki could tell he was no ordinary adventurer.
And gods? They loved anything that caught their interest. Craving fun and entertainment, to greed after something new and unexpected.

Loki smiled. She had decided Somnus would be the first member of her Familia.

Somnus sat in his chair, examining the blade and shield.
Indeed, it looked much sharper now. Fighting would be less difficult with such a weapon.

Though he was more interested in its features - the closer he looked into the blade, the more he could see the emerald tinge.

It was such a strange sight to see a monster drop from a Final Fantasy mob be used for weapons in the world of Danmachi.
A surprise, but a welcome one.

He wondered- did the weapon now have a special ability? Or was it just extremely sharp?

Someone knocked on Somnus' door.

"Who is it?"

"Housekeeping!"

Somnus tilted his head in confusion.
Among the many thing this inn had - nice view, tavern downstairs that would get rowdy at this time of the night, a rather cheap cost for him of only 150 Valis a night, a housekeeper was not one of them.

Especially not this late in the night.

Somnus grabbed his blade and slowly reached the door, opening it inch by inch to see who was on the other side through the gaps.

Loki stood with a grin, two bottles of beer in her hand.

"You going to let me in or what?" Loki asked nonchalantly.

Somnus blinked, before he quietly tried closing the door.

"Wait, wait! Wait!" Loki immediately drove her foot in between the doorframe and the door, stopping it from closing completely.

"At least hear me out first!"

Despite Loki's plea, Somnus was still undeterred.

"I'm not interested."

"Come on! Don't be like that, just let me talk!"

"Then just talk to a wall."

"That defeats the entire purpose! Come on, just give me a chance! Listen to what I have to offer! Please? Please?!"

There was a certain where no matter how much he pushed the door, it wouldn't go further in. He looked down to realise why - the door was absolutely crushing Loki's boots but she still didn't budge.

Somnus sighed. And then opened the door.

"Alright, thank you! Jeez, my poor foot…"

Somnus watched as Loki limped over to the table, sitting down the beers and taking a seat.

"Right! So I guess you've already had a fair share of gods trying to recruit you to their Familia!"

Somnus nodded his head.

"Ok, so! I'll just keep it simple! I'm Loki, and I just came down yesterday and trying to find the first recruit for my Familia!"

Somnus tilted his head. He vaguely remembered that Loki was one of the major Familia in the series.
So this was roughly… 30 years before?
And most of all trying to travel to Orario.

Somnus had no intention of going to Orario. He wanted to travel, and he was pretty sure Loki Familia would solely stay in Orario.

"I'll pass."

"And so the- wait what?"

"I said I'll pass. You're planning on going to Orario, right?"

"Yep!"

"Then I'll pass."

"Why?! Aren't you an adventurer? Don't you want to go test your skills? Everyone wants to go to Orario!"

"Not me. I'll say it for the last time- I'll pass."

"Oh come on! Don't be like that!"

Loki huffed.

"Then Somnus, was it? What do you want to do?"

"Travel."

"Ah, so you'd rather not be forced to stay in one place all your life."

"And I also don't want to limit my strength with a Falna."

Loki nodded. Many gods wouldn't understand the sentiment, but Loki was some of the few that was smart enough to piece the two together.

"Right, because once you get a status on your back, all your growth would be reliant on it. I get that. I get that sentiment."

Loki snapped her finger.

"I get it! What if I follow you! Once you feel like you're satisfied, I can give you a Falna!"

"Not happening."

"Oh bloody hell, why not!"

Somnus walked over and grabbed Loki by the hood of her clothes, picking her up and walking over to the door.

"It's such a good deal! What's so bad about it!"

"Because it circles back to reason number one- I don't want to stay in Orario."

Loki was balling herself up like a kitten as she was lifted.
Yet she didn't back down.

"Look, Orario was my first goal, sure! But we don't have to stay in Orario! We can travel around! I know for sure that I'm not going to Orario now! Too many competitors! Zeus and Hera is already occupying that space like king and queen! If we want to go there and stand your ground, we'll need to be strong enough! I'm happy enough to just travel around until you're tired!"

"And why are you so intent on getting me of all people? I'm sure there's a lot more people with more skills and talent."

"Yeah, talented, sure! But not special!"

Somnus stopped just as he had opened the door and was ready to drop Loki outside the door.

Loki grinned as she saw herself dangling down from Somnus' arms.

"You think I didn't notice, huh? I can tell. You can't fool the heaven's trickster, pal."

Loki gently tapped the side of her eyes, opening them ever so slightly more.
Amber iris bouncing off the candle light to make it look like they're glowing.

"By the sound of it, it was just yesterday when new unexplained monsters starting popping up left and right - new lands suddenly appearing, according to the rumours. I took my time going around asking about you this afternoon. Do you know what's the funniest thing? Everything about you before this morning was vague. Some said you travelled to this town through a horse carriage. Others tell me you came here by foot. But wanna know something weird? No one ever saw you enter the town. No one, not even one single person!
They just heard. Rumours, some passing by words travelling through the wind. Not even the tavern owner remembers you coming in here! Now isn't that weird?"

Loki was onto Somnus.

"So, I've got a question for you - and don't even think about lying! Gods know whether what you say is a truth or a lie. You're not from here, are you?"

Somnus closed the door, and immediately headed to the window.

"I know for sure you're not from heaven- if you're a god, we'd know by the divine aura. You don't have any! But by the sounds of it you're not from the mortal realm either! Could you by any chance be from… wha- hey!"

Somnus outstretched Loki out from the window.
There was still a sloped roof to act as a platform for Loki if he ever decided to let go this time.

But Loki didn't want to take any chances of not slipping and falling. So she grabbed Somnus' arm with both hands, gripping tight like a sloth on a tree.

"Whoa, whoa! Don't do that! I'd get hurt?! I'll really get hurt!"

Loki saw Somnus expression stay calm and indifferent.
She didn't like the look of that.

"It's not good to poke your nose into other people's business, you know. It's called stalking."

Somnus gently let Loki down onto the roof, using his other hand to pull Loki's hand of his arm.

Then he shut the window, locking it while Loki banged on the window.

"Hey, don't be like that! Let me in! Let me in!"

Somnus ignored her, deciding he'd rather go down and talk to other adventurers in the tavern tonight.

Loki can figure out a way to get down from the roof.