Fairy Tail: Igneel's eldest son in Anime Multiverse

"Sorry, our god is not in right now!"

...

"We're not recruiting at the moment!"

...

"So you want to compete for the goddess's affection too, huh?"

...

Charles sat by the fountain in the plaza. He had visited three Familia over the past few hours and had been turned away by all of them.

The first one he tried was the Hermes Familia, primarily because of their captain, Asfi.

Asfi Al Andromeda, known as the "Jack-of-All-Trades," was publicly listed as a level 2 adventurer, but in truth, she was a top-tier level 4. Most importantly, Asfi was one of the fewer than five known adventurers in Orario who had mastered the rare Development Ability . Charles had hoped to gather some information about it from her.

Unfortunately, Hermes was currently out of town, and no one knew when he'd return.

Charles then visited the two strongest Familia in Orario, known as the Twin Kings: Loki Familia and Freya Familia.

As their titles suggested, these two Familia were at the top of the food chain in the dungeon city, commanding vast resources and knowledge.

But for that very reason, joining them wasn't easy. Charles didn't even get to meet the gods in person—Loki Familia turned him down outright, and as for Freya Familia... Charles ran away on his own.

It was said that Goddess Freya had eyes that could see the soul, capable of discerning the potential of a true hero. Charles had full confidence in himself and had never doubted that she'd find his soul "brilliant."

But the atmosphere in the Freya Familia was just too terrifying.

Each god's personality shaped the direction and tone of their Familia, and in Freya Familia, its members regularly fought—often lethally—for her affection.

Charles had only heard rumors before, but once he witnessed firsthand how the adventurers reacted when he mentioned wanting to join, he knew all too well what kind of place it was.

He had no desire to waste his time in that kind of mess, so he turned and walked away without hesitation.

Still, the day hadn't been a total waste. Charles had managed to confirm the current point in the timeline.

Loki and Freya Familia were both at the height of their dominance. Freya's was held aloft by Orario's current strongest adventurer, the sole level 7, Ottar the "King," along with four level 6s.

Even with her divinity sealed, Freya's political and strategic genius made her unstoppable. Despite the infighting within her ranks, no one dared challenge her supremacy.

Loki Familia, while inferior in top-end power, still boasted three level 6 adventurers.

These so-called "Big Three" veterans had long been sitting at the peak of level 6, needing only the right "adventure" to push into level 7.

They also had a strong pool of up-and-comers. Four level 5s were on the verge of leveling up, giving them overall strength comparable to Freya Familia.

Most critically, they had the elite magic bombardment unit led by the "Nine Hell" Riveria, composed of eleven high-level elven adventurers.

That alone made them worthy rivals to the Freya Familia.

Charles had deduced the current timeline from the state of Loki Familia.

Ais Wallenstein, the "Sword Princess," was currently still level 5. Charles remembered she had broken through to level 6 after protagonist Bell Cranel joined Hestia Familia and she defeated the floor boss Udaeus solo on their second expedition.

But Loki Familia hadn't even started their first expedition yet.

He'd also seen a maid-uniformed elf while passing a tavern, confirming even more clearly that Bell had either just arrived in Orario or hadn't even shown up yet. The main story hadn't started.

Still, knowing the timeline didn't help Charles much right now. What mattered most was joining a Familia—any Familia.

He was broke. If he didn't get into a Familia soon, he'd be out on the streets.

Charles stood up and gave himself a small pep talk before continuing his search.

He'd scoured nearly half of Orario before arriving at a manor marked with a symbol of flames and a hammer.

He had seen the name "Ηφαιστο" engraved on various adventurers' equipment—that was the signature of a crafting Familia, and also the name of their goddess.

Hephaestus.

This was the residence of the Hephaestus Familia, led by the goddess of fire and forging herself.

Charles took a deep breath and was just about to step in when a woman with flaming red hair stepped out.

Eyepatch, pants, black gloves, long boots, and hair like wildfire—it was unmistakable.

In all of Orario, there was only one person—well, one god—who looked like that.

She was the goddess Charles had come to see: Hephaestus.

She noticed Charles, gave him a once-over, and walked right up to him. "You lost, kid? What are you doing in front of my place?"

Charles answered bluntly, "You're Goddess Hephaestus, right? My name is Charles. I just arrived in Orario, and I'm not lost. I came here specifically because I want to join your Familia!"

Hephaestus stroked her chin, circled Charles once, and said, "Listen, kid, everyone in my Familia is a blacksmith. We're not your flashy, glory-hunting adventurers."

"I want to make that clear up front. It's not too late to back out."

She'd seen far too many hot-blooded youths chasing glory in the dungeon. She knew how their dreams worked and wanted to temper his expectations.

Charles nodded seriously. "Joining your Familia is a decision I made after careful thought. For a specific goal, I want to learn how to forge equipment. I hope that one day I can craft something that would even astonish the gods. So please, let me join your Familia!"

Hephaestus chuckled. "A weapon that could shock even the gods, huh? That's a bold dream. But since you're that determined, I have no reason to turn you away. Come on, follow me!"

Charles's face lit up with joy, and he quickly followed Hephaestus into the manor.

The Hephaestus Familia was among the wealthiest in all of Orario. After all, equipment was a vital necessity for every adventurer.

As such, the mansion was luxuriously decorated. Charles thought back over all the worlds he had visited so far—this might be the most extravagant place yet.

Hephaestus said, "This is our Familia's main base, but most of my kids are holed up in the workshops, so it's a little quiet here. I'll introduce you to them later."

Charles completely understood. Hephaestus loved seeing her members forge new creations, so most of them were reclusive blacksmiths obsessed with their craft.

Which suited Charles just fine—this kind of pure, focused environment was just what he needed.

They arrived at a room.

"This is my forge. Also counts as my personal space. Now take off your shirt. Time to receive the Falna."

Charles nodded, removed his shirt, and turned his back to her.

Once he received her blessing, he would officially be a member of the Hephaestus Familia.

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