After waking up, Goddess Demeter told him the location of her Familia, expressing that he was welcome to come and 'sing' to her anytime, and then left with a reluctant expression on her face.
Ryoji put on his cloak, left the inn, bought a few fried potato balls from a roadside stall for breakfast, and barely filled his stomach.
This was beside the south main street.
South main street was a famous bustling street in Orario, with buildings like casinos, theaters, and taverns lined up closely along the roadside, one visible every few steps.
Early in the morning, the human waiters in the taverns had already started cleaning, the early-rising Beastman hurried toward the Dungeon, and bards from the Elf tribe were playing stringed instruments, producing crisp singing voices, occasionally giving elegant bows to appreciative onlookers.
"Hey, did you hear? Yesterday at the arena…"
"Oh, I heard, I heard."
While walking along the road, Ryoji could occasionally hear idle chatter starting with such sentences.
Overnight, news of the arena seemed to have grown wings and spread throughout all of Orario.
In just one night, Ryoji had become a famous figure in Orario, and his popularity was at its peak; this heat wasn't likely to die down anytime soon.
The big news had already been made, and now it was time to see which powerful Familia would come to extend him an invitation.
If those Familia had sufficiently excellent intelligence networks, there should be results by the end of today.
After all, Orario wasn't small, but it wasn't exactly large either, and as a semi-enclosed city where Adventurers mostly roamed around, information circulated extremely quickly.
The arena.
Ryoji paid the entrance fee at the gate and then walked inside.
Visibly, the arena was more than twice as lively as yesterday, with not only an undiminished but an increased number of civilians, and the number of Adventurers having multiplied, a glance revealing the figures of over a dozen gods.
Among them, Ryoji also spotted a blue ribbon.
That blue ribbon was supporting a pair of massive jugs, attached to the body of a loli god who was only about 1.4 meters tall, looking quite visually striking.
That loli god was gathered with a few divine friends, loudly arguing without regard for those around them.
Listening to their conversation, it seemed they were also here to watch the excitement, and they had even started a bet among themselves about which Chief God Ryoji would end up with, the blue ribbon lady very upset that her odds of winning were zero.
After all, everyone knew that the human from yesterday had said in front of a huge crowd that his goal was to join a powerful Familia, and a Chief God like her, who didn't even have a Familia, had no competitive edge at all.
If she could sacrifice her charm, there might be some chance, but she was a virgin Goddess, and the various Gods all felt she had no chance whatsoever.
Ryoji glanced in the direction where the gods were gathered, hesitated for a moment, and finally let out a sigh, his steps laboriously heading toward the registration desk.
Some gazes converged on his body, likely guessing what level Adventurer he was.
They weren't at all surprised to see Ryoji wearing a cloak; in this Orario, there were plenty of people who only wore cloaks when meeting others— some were involved in intelligence work, some were stalking others with ill intent, and others simply didn't want their bodies seen.
"Are you personally overseeing things again today?" Ryoji arrived at the registration desk and saw Shakti's figure nearby.
"It's you."
Shakti glanced at him, only then realizing it was him, and then said in complaint: "This is all your fault. If it weren't for the mess you caused yesterday, I'd be leveling in the Dungeon today."
As the Captain of the Ganesha Familia, she was usually very busy and rarely personally oversaw the arena.
Only because she foresaw that today would surely have a massive audience, with onlookers and the likelihood of incidents several times higher than usual, did she come in person again, and not only that, she brought several skilled members of her Familia to help.
"Our Ganesha Familia has 11 Lv.5 members, so we're quite well-staffed."
Shakti-san seemed to boast unintentionally but actually deliberately, trying to use this to attract Ryoji.
Shortly afterwards, she seemed to feel she'd been too obvious, a bit like an inexperienced teenage girl, and gave an embarrassed light cough before changing the subject.
"You're still fighting in the ring today, right?"
"Yes."
"I won't stop you, but remember, if you encounter an opponent you can't beat, you must concede in time."
Shakti gave him a word of caution before letting a Guild staff member hand him a registration form and contract paper.
Generally speaking, even on ring days that only top-tier Adventurers could challenge, those who came to fight were usually just Lv.2 Adventurers, with higher-tier Adventurers rarely appearing.
Because higher-tier Adventurers knew that coming to the arena was, at best, just bullying the weak; guarding the ring all day wouldn't earn them as much as a day in the Dungeon, and if they occupied the ring too long, experts from the Ganesha Familia would immediately step in, clearly not allowing high-level Adventurers to rule the field.
So, rather than fighting in the ring, going into the Dungeon was better—earning money while also leveling up was the true path.
However, today might be different.
Shakti looked at the sea of people in the stands and smiled, somewhat taking pleasure in other people's misfortune.
Honestly, she didn't know how many second-tier Adventurers had mixed into today's arena, or even whether a first-tier Adventurer might have slipped in—it wasn't impossible.
Top-tier Adventurers were also divided by Levels.
Lv.2 could only be considered third-tier Adventurers, while reaching Lv.3 or Lv.4 counted as second-tier Adventurers, and first-tier Adventurers were all Lv.5 and above.
Today's arena would surely be incredibly lively.
"Help me hold onto this."
Ryoji took off his cloak and placed it, along with his backpack, beside Shakti, leaving her speechless.
'Wow, you haven't even joined my Familia yet, and you're already ordering me, the Captain, around?'
"If you don't join my Familia, I won't let it go."
Shakti muttered to herself quietly, stowing Ryoji's belongings inside the counter at the registration desk.
But by then, Ryoji had already walked into the preparation room and couldn't hear her words.
"Hey, could that guy just now be…?"
"No mistake, a guy with even his back looking that cool— I've only seen that one from yesterday!"
"He's not planning to fight in today's ring, is he?"
Through word of mouth, the spectators in the stands quickly grew excited.
Though the legends were shocking, nothing beat the thrill of witnessing it with their own eyes.
Half an hour later.
"Everyone, you've waited long enough! I know what you want to see, and honestly, I want to see it too! That's right, the next match features the contestant who's now Orario's hottest topic, Ryoji, the ordinary human who defeated a Lv.2 top tier Adventurer without receiving a Blessing/Falna! His opponent is, once again, a Lv.2 contestant—can he recreate yesterday's miracle? Let's wait and see—welcome him to the stage!"
"áo áo oh oh!"
"Go for it, I've bet everything on your win!"
"Sisters, we absolutely can't leave empty-handed today!"
"Oh oh oh!"
Amid the enthusiastic cheers of the entire crowd, Ryoji stepped onto the ring with a calm stride.
(End of Chapter)
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