Chapter 006

It had been a week since Himmel had arrived in the Labyrinth City of Orario, while for the city's citizens the days passed rather quickly and all blended together. To the young white haired boy, it had felt like the longest week of non-stop rejection that he had ever had to endure.

He still failed to find himself a Familia, he had dropped off applications at several more smaller Familias but he had not received any response from them and the larger Familias that he had applied at did not reach out to him yet either. He went back several times to some of the larger ones but at each he only got the same few similar lines 'Yeah, our Goddess hasn't had a chance to look at the applications yet…. we will let you know soon…' 'We just haven't gotten around to it yet… just be a little more patient..' and 'Our God has already taken a look through the applications and picked out the ones he liked… sorry…' were all excuses that he had heard that morning as he went around to the several Familias that he had applied to.

The only place that he had been even slightly accepted at was the Hostess of Fertility, after he had left the first morning he did not plan to return so soon but by the end of the day he realized that he had forgotten something crucial. In all the excitement in the morning, waking up to find Syr was sleeping with him, meeting the other waitresses, some who were also some races that he had never seen before and the fact that he had only spent barely a day in the city, he had completely forgotten about the emergency funds that he kept in his old boots.

It was already dark out while he was wandering around the city looking for a place to stay when he really realized just how comfortable his new boots were and how no coins were jabbing into his feet and cutting his flesh. Upon realizing that he had lost a decent amount of his remaining Valis he rushed back to the Hostess and arrived at the pub just as the catgirl Chloe was locking up the front door. Syr apologized and explained that she had taken the money out and placed it in a drawer of the nightstand upstairs when she found it in his old boots, and that she had just forgotten to return the coins to him in the morning with all the excitement.

Himmel accepted her apology and admitted that it was his own fault as well for not being more aware of his own currency. Once Syr handed him the bag of coins, he thanked her and turned around to leave when the dwarf behind the bars counter questioned him on where exactly he was planning on going.

When he explained that he did not really have a plan and that he was going to search around for a place to stay until he found himself a Familia, the dwarf sighed heavily and told him to take his boots and cloak off and stay for the night. He was confused for a moment and went to question her but when she yelled at him to just do as she said, he quickly complied. She then pointed towards the staircase and told him that he could stay in the attic until he found himself another place to stay and that he had Syr to thank for begging to let him stay in the Hostess.

He scurried off to go upstairs for the night before the dwarf grabbed him by the left arm right as he had put his first foot on the staircase, warning him that he would be paying her back for staying in her attic. He accepted and agreed, reasoning that it would be cheaper than any Inn in the surrounding area. So he lived in the attic of the Hostess of Fertility for the first week that he spent in Orario, Syr was rather friendly to him and anytime he found himself getting upset or saddened about the fact that he had yet to find himself a Familia to join she had a weird way of knowing and coming to his side to comfort him in his dark times, Himmel swore that it was like a weird sixth sense that the young girl possessed. She would bring him leftovers from dinner service downstairs and the two would eat them together while they sat on the single bed and chatted about whatever came to mind in the moment.

She would come during her breaks too and sit with him, she liked to talk with him about what Familias he had applied to join and what his future plans were once he was accepted by one. She would always laugh and giggle when he told her about his dreams to become a first tier adventurer and become a hero, but she was always supportive of him and said that she was sure he would get into a Familia soon.

But he was starting to run out of options, his money that had been his life savings were drying up faster than he had thought they would and if things carried on like they were it would not be long before he was washing dishes for Mama Mia. He had washed dishes several times to pay for the drinks and meals that Syr brought him on her breaks and after work every night but it wasn't enough to always cover the full cost.

Himmel was starting to feel almost trapped in the pub, for several days it was where he spent a majority of his time. He would wake up just as the sun was rising over the wall that surrounded Orario and go for his morning run, once he had worked up a sweat he would return to the Hostess and quickly wash himself before he changed into a fresh set of clothes. He would often help set up the pub in the morning, setting out tables and chairs and occasionally helping one of the waitresses with some chore that they had conveniently 'forgotten' to do themselves.

Once he was done helping with whatever he could he would take off for a few hours, he would run around to the different Familias where he had applied to join to see if anyone had agreed to take him in yet. Once he finished getting rejected by the Familias once more, he wandered around the city trying to get as familiar with the sights and sounds of the city as he could. Some citizens called Orario 'the city that never sleeps' because even at sunset there are plenty of places that stay open for business. Bars, pubs, Inns were all places that he had seen stay open, along with a place called the 'Red Light District' which he had only heard of and not traveled to by himself. From what he could gather it was the home of the Ishtar Familia, one of the strongest Familias in Orario but they were surrounded a lot by controversy, so he had not bothered to even submit an application. Reasoning that it would not be worth the trouble despite being in desperate need of a Familia.

Once he had enough mindless wandering around the city, he would return to the Hostess for the night where he would help out the other waitresses if they were overwhelmed with the number of customers. But for the rest of the time he stayed in his 'room' in the attic, reading his grandfather's journal any chance that he got and studying the pages closely and carefully. He tried his hardest to memorize the map of the dungeon, but he focused mostly on the first floor as that was where he found he'd be spending a fair amount of time in the beginning and he had to start simple.

He may have had big dreams but he was going to be as realistic as possible with his expectations of himself, so he studied the map of the first floor and the monsters that were found on said floor. There were only two monsters on the first floor that he had to worry about, although occasionally monsters from deeper floors would be lured or would wander their way up to the higher floors but that was rather rare and not a main concern. On the first floor there were only Kobolds and Goblins, Goblins were considered to be the weakest monsters in the dungeon but in a group they could be dangerous if an adventurer was not careful. They had green skin with glowing red eyes that were said to look rather scary in the dark and could intimidate new adventurers rather well. They used their claws to attack adventurers and were surprisingly quick on their feet. Kobolds were a bigger concern to the white haired boy, they were usually around the same size as a Goblin or slightly larger in extreme conditions. Instead of green skin however they were covered in a small selection of colored fur including black, grey and a reddish orange. They had the heads of dogs with sharp fangs and claws to scratch and stab adventurers with. On their own they would not be a massive deal but in smaller groups they could be extremely dangerous to new adventurers.

Once he was accepted by a Familia he was going to surprise whatever God or Goddess accepted him and prove to them that he really did deserve to be in their Familia, he was going to work hard and prove himself worthy of their blessing.

Today was the first day that he was breaking his somewhat daily routine, after he had finished checking some of the Familias he applied to join and was not surprisingly turned down at each one he traveled towards the center of the city to see one of Orario's most important buildings.

"The Guild…." Himmel muttered to himself as he looked at the grand building before him, his old man's journal had said that it was a rather large building where adventurers would register, seek out information on the dungeon and exchange their drop items and monster crystals that they risked their lives for in the dungeon. But the journal's description did not hold a candle to the real thing, much like a majority of Orario compared to the journal. Reading about the building and seeing it were two very different and the sight took his breath away. He stood in place for several minutes while he just started at the building examining small details that most people would never notice or fully appreciate.

Despite the people that pushed past him and shot him some odd glares, he continued to gaze at the building until he had his fill and decided to enter the building for himself. He walked up to the set of fence doors and placed a hand on each slab of wood before pushing them open to step inside. As he entered the Guild for the first time it was an overwhelming sensation, adventurers of all shapes, sizes and Familias walked the halls either returning from the dungeon or setting out on another dungeon run. The wide open waiting area had several couches for adventurers to sit down and talk with either each other or some of the guilds representatives that would issue them quests.

He waited in the line for several minutes as adventurers received quests and asked whatever questions they needed answered. He looked around as he waited and noticed several other services that the Guild provided to adventurers. The long counter had several Guild staff working behind it dealing with paperwork and adventurers, to the right of the doorway was a hallway that he assumed led to the library connected to the Guild where adventurers could read about the dungeon and some of its monsters. It had a wealth of knowledge that any adventurer wanting to survive past anything more than the third or fourth floor would want to read and study like their lives depended on it, which in reality their lives did depend on it.

To the left of the Guild entrance was a counter that was unlike the other, it had a metal protective cage separating the Guild employee and the adventurers that stood in a separate line. He watched as an adventurer walked up to the counter as another stepped away, opened a small pouch and dumped its contents into a drawer that extended out towards him. The drawer was pulled back a second later and there was a moment's pause before the drawer was pushed back out and the adventurer collected the small pile of Valis that now occupied the box. Himmel could tell almost immediately after seeing the counter in action for only a minute that it was where adventurers exchanged their monster crystals and drop items, in many aspects that single counter was the heart and soul of Orario. It would be fair to say that a majority if not all of the currency and economics in Orario was involved with the Guild in some shape or form. The Guild would charge different Familias taxes based on their incomes and size and then distribute that money back out to adventurers. The Guild would send the monster crystals away to various buyers that would take the stones and use them as a source of energy, powering lamps, pulley systems and waistlines. The Valis would then find its way back into the pockets of different Familias and then back to the Guild, in a never ending cycle.

"Next!" a feminine voice called out and it snapped Himmel out of his diverted attention and pulled him back into reality. He shook his head for a moment and approached the counter where behind it stood a young woman that had called out to him.