Rose did not like to wake up early. She would even go as far as to say that she hated it.

  Morning shifts are the worst.

  With a languid look in her sharp golden eyes, Rose Fannet observed as the guild main hall steadily filled up with overeager adventurers. They were practically vibrating in excitement to enter and finish their affairs so that they could go into the Dungeon as soon as possible.

  These fools. Why are they always so excited to venture into that cursed place? Have they really not figured out yet that all that awaits them at the bottom of it is death?

  Rose had been working for the guild for over a decade now. In that time, she had seen many things. Most of them terrible.

  She had seen Families be destroyed. Orario‘s very own Dark Age come and goe. She even had a front-row seat to the rise of the famous Sword Princess.

  In all of that time, if there was one thing that had never changed, then it was the arrogance of adventurers.

  How is it possible that each of them always thinks that they are the chosen ones? That they are somehow special, and just one more trip into the Dungeon will change their fortunes and make everyone else recognize that 'fact.'

  Rose sighed and rubbed her forehead in annoyance.

  I did not understand it ten years ago, and I still do not understand it today. Maybe being an adventurer just requires a certain level of delusion?

  This job was not good for her mental health. She only just passed her mid-twenties, and she already felt like she was too old to still be doing this crap.

  "Eh, Rose? What are you brooding about again? The day has only just begun… Oh! Don’t tell me…has some poor adventure confessed their love to you again?!“

  Rose sighed even louder as she turned her head toward her unruly junior. Would this girl never get tired of teasing her? What happened to respecting your elders? She was almost a full ten years older than this mischievous girl!

  "No, Misha. That is not what I was thinking about. Besides, do not call them "poor" even in jest. I have made my stance very clear when it comes to romance. If they do not respect me enough to heed it, then I feel no pity for them when I am forced to "break their hearts,“ as they say. And neither should you.“

  "So cruel! As expected of our thorny Rose. As tough as always. Don’t you know that—"

  "Excuse me.“

  A smooth voice interrupted her pink-haired friend just as she was about to go on another tangent regarding her nonexistent love life.

  Rose slowly turned her head to the source of the disturbance. Her face remained carefully blank as she inspected the young man in front of her. Meanwhile, Misha had made herself scarce the moment she realized that playtime was over and her senior colleague was busy.

  He is neither wearing armour, nor does he have any weapons on him. And what are those clothes? It really has been a while since I’ve seen a newbie this green…He doesn’t look like he’s fought a day in his life.

  Her gaze turned somewhat judgmental as she took him in. Still, despite her thoughts, years of experience allowed her to answer with the professional tone of an expert service worker.

  "Yes? How can I help you?“

  "My name is Cain. I recently joined a Familia and have been told that this is the place to sign up as an adventurer.“

  Rose furrowed her eyebrows as she considered what she had just heard. Registering new adventures was nothing new to her. Quite the opposite. New adventurers showing up at the guild was a daily occurrence. The adventuring industry was a gaping pit that was only matched in its mortality rate by how fast it could replace the bodies it devoured.

  Still, it was somewhat unusual for a rookie to appear before her without at least one senior member of his Familia there as support and to show him the ropes.

  "I suppose this Familia of yours is a small one then? Tell me the name of your god so that I can register you as a new addition to their followers.“

  She prepared herself to go and retrieve the necessary documents from the archives when the young man spoke up again with a somewhat sheepish tone this time.

  "Actually, I am my Familia's first and only member. The Hestia Familia. We are just starting out.“

  Ah…It is one of those situations.

  The odds were certainly not stacked in his favor. Did he even know what he had consented to when accepting the Falna of a goddess that could offer him nothing but her blessing, by the looks of it?

  "Very well. If that is the case, then you first must register your Familia with us so that we can put you into our system. We will then assess your Familia rank, based on which we will collect taxes for our provided services. Has your goddess explained to you what is involved in that process? Is she going to join us soon?“

  Rose suppressed a sigh when she saw the boy's clueless expression.

  Just my luck.

  With practiced ease, she searched through the drawers of her desk until she found the files she was looking for. She always made sure to keep at least a couple registration papers on the ready just in case a situation like this one arose.

  She fished a pen out of her pockets and handed it to the newbie.

  "Here. First read through each page carefully and then simply fill in the brackets here, here, and here. Then sign at the bottom…there. Of course, only do that if you agree to the terms listed within. I should warn you that once you have signed, you will be held liable for its content as long as you reside within the walls of this city.”

  She paused for a moment as she took his nonverbal answer to her last question into consideration. "As you are a new Familia, we would normally also require your goddess’s signature for the registration to be valid. However, since you are its first member, that automatically makes you the Famila Captain. Your will counts as the will of your goddess, and as such, it is your right to represent her interests in an official capacity.”

  The boy understood her meaning and went to work going through the documents page by page.

  She observed him silently.

  He either reads very quickly or just not very carefully.

  Disbelief rose within her when she saw him write down that the Hestia Familia would be mainly operating as a "Dungeon Exploration type“ Familia.

  What is it about the Dungeon that attracts young men like him? For a newbie without guidance to go into that place… I will be shocked if I ever see him again after he leaves this building.

  "Alright, I am done.“ The boy smiled and handed her back the filled-out documents. Her expression remained unchanged as she put them aside for sorting later.

  His handwriting is pretty nice.

  "If you don‘t mind me asking, what exactly do you mean by Familia Rank? How will that rank influence my Familia going forwards…and how will the taxation work?“

  It was getting progressively harder for Rose to accept that there really was a goddess out there who was willing to send her first follower into the Dungeon while he was this clueless.

  Is she trying to get rid of him?

  There was no way a goddess existed that was this incompetent.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  "Families are ranked by the strength of their adventurers. At the top of the hierarchy are the S-rank Familias like Freya’s and Loki’s. Those at the bottom are either very new or simply very weak. They are all made up of few members that are all level 1. Those Familias hold the Rank I. The Hestia Familia is one such case. The guild taxes Familia based on that ranking. The tax level rises as that rank increases.“

  Seeing that he was keeping up with her explanation, Rose shifted to a different topic.

  Having long noticed how utterly underdressed the aspiring adventurer was for the Dungeon when it came to his gear, she decided to throw him a bone.

  "The guild also offers beginner equipment for new adventures. We offer knives, armor, and bags with a light space enhancement enchantment. They are expensive for newcomers, but to compensate for that, the guild gives out loans with no interest attached to them. Just be aware that you will not earn any Valis from the magic stones you sell to us until that loan is paid.”

  It wasn’t like she really expected him to last long enough to ever pay that debt back…but she had not yet grown cold enough to send another adventure to their deaths without offering at least some token amount of aid.

  The boy nodded at her offer with a contemplative expression.

  At least he is taking this seriously.

  "I would like to take one of those bags, please. No weapons or armor.”

  …Or not. When will the arrogance of adventurers ever cease?

  Rose briefly thought about admonishing him for his foolishness but decided that she had already done enough and instead simply did as he requested. She returned a short while later with a small, brown leather backpack held within her arms.

  "That will be 5300 Valis, to be paid at a later date.“

  The boy took the bag and immediately began fumbling around with it in interest.

  "The guild also recommends that all new adventurers consult our very own library before setting foot in the Dungeon. Of course, I cannot force you, but I would advise you to heed that recommendation. The library might be small, but within it, there are books with detailed explanations on the Dungeon monsters and floor layouts.“

  To her surprise, the boy perked up at the mention of books and gave her his full attention as she provided him with the direction to the library area.

  Shortly after, he was gone.

  ———-

  Well…that went pretty alright I‘d say.

  I did not know what I had first expected when signing up at the guild, but I did think that there would be more to it than simply filling out some documents and signing a few papers.

  In the end, all they wanted from me was to know the size of my Familia and its purpose, my own level, and the name of my goddess. All of those were very reasonable requests.

  Apparently, I would now be held accountable by the guild for any crimes I committed within Orario. That was hardly a problem for me. I was not planning to break any of their laws in the first place, and if I was forced to do so…I would simply make sure not to be caught.

  With an idle mind, I strolled through the first section of the library. The striking receptionist had certainly been understating things when she called this place "small."

  In what kind of world can a place that has collected within it a thousand years of knowledge be called small?

  I came to an abrupt halt when I spotted the title of a book that looked especially relevant for my current situation.

  The Monster Encyclopedia

  I quickly grabbed it and walked over to the spotless seating area.

  How come this place is so empty?

  While it was still relatively early in the morning, the guild hall had steadily been filling up as I conversed with the crimson-haired woman. And yet, the library was completely empty.

  I put that curiosity out of my mind and began to read the first passage of the book as soon as I was seated.

  Monsters are born from the Dungeon. They hatch from its walls and stay on the floor they were created in. The source of their power is the magic stones that give them life. To destroy the monster, it is enough to sufficiently damage the magic stones at the center of their being. Once that is achieved, the monster will disintegrate. While it is not a phenomenon that has been observed within the Dungeon, it is known that monsters are able to breed and procreate once they escape to the surface and spread across the land…

  I took a pause from reading and browsed through the many pages of the thick book. Once I properly assessed the task ahead of me, I let out a long-suffering sigh and relaxed back into the comfortable chair.

  I think I am going to be here for a while.

  ————-

  It was hours later when Rose saw the young man she had spoken to in the morning again. He wore a satisfied and determined expression on his face. He was also walking toward her from the direction of the library.

  Are you telling me he actually spent all this time in there reading? I thought he went home or sneaked off into the Dungeon the first chance he got, like newbies tend to do.

  "Hello again, miss. I’m afraid I require some more of your time. I have a request to make.“

  Of course you do. Wouldn’t be here otherwise, now would you?

  "As long as it concerns your career as an adventurer in relation to guild activities, you can ask me anything."

  He nodded. "Alright. I wish to know how I can get in contact with an advisor…I recognize that there is still too much that I don’t know. Things that no amount of reading can prepare me for. My Familia is new, and I want to be prepared so that any future members will not have to start from zero like I have to do now.”

  Rose stared at the boy silently for a moment. She had planned to brush him off as soon as she heard the word "advisor," but in front of such earnest reasoning, how could she not answer truthfully?

  "Being an advisor isn’t a separate profession. All of us guild employees can choose to take one or more adventurers for ourselves and fill that position. We will then guide them in their journey and represent their interests in an official capacity during legal disputes that concern the guild.“

  The boy perked up and smiled in relief. "Ah, that is good. Will you be my advisor then?“

  "No. I will not.“

  The newbie's smile froze at her pitiless rejection.

  "May I ask why not?“

  Her voice remained even as she answered. "Do you want me to be honest?“

  "Of course.“

  "I think you are going to die. You wear no armor, wield no weapons, and know nothing about what it means to be an adventurer. Neither I nor any of my colleagues would ever accept to be your advisor because you are…“

  ———-

  "...a lost cause."

  I was more stunned than I would like to admit as I processed the harsh words directed at me.

  I guess I should have been expecting something like this. I was warned that these women were "notoriously picky." There were only a few of them, and there must be thousands of adventurers without advisors. Did I really expect that getting one to choose me would be that easy?

  Instead of getting angry, I simply nodded. "Is there something that I can do to change your mind?“

  "There is not.“

  "I understand. Then I will bother you with it no longer. However, know that you are mistaken about one thing." My chin rose. "Yes, I am inexperienced. Yes, I possess neither weapons nor armor. But that does not mean that I am without means. I will not die in this Dungeon. I will never die.“

  My spine straightened, and burning conviction spread out from my core through the rest of my body.

  "I will go down into that place, and I will kill the monsters it holds within. I will continue to kill them day after day until someday, I have killed so many of them that they will start to run in fear the moment they catch sight of me.”

  I stared dead in the woman’s stunned eyes and continued in a lower voice.

  "I do not fault you for not believing in me. That is alright, I do not mind. You don’t know me yet. Neither am I arrogant enough to believe that I am somehow special and can therefore convince you otherwise. Still, I want you to know this: while it might be harder for me without an advisor, I will still succeed. And die? That is something that I will never do.“

  Having said all that I wanted to say, I turned around and advanced toward the exit.

  I did not make it far before a voice called out to me from behind.

  ———

  "Boy, wait.“

  This is probably not a good idea.

  "If you ask me today, then no, I will not be your advisor. But if you make it out alive from the Dungeon and ask me again tomorrow? Maybe I still won't be your advisor then, but maybe I will.“

  The young man turned around and glanced at her in confusion. Eventually, he nodded with the right corner of his mouth slightly raised and continued walking away.

  Rose let out a deep exhale as she felt Misha approach her from behind with muted steps. Of course, her own werewolf heritage allowed her to hear the troublesome girl coming as clearly as if she had been stomping.

  "I can hear you, Misha. No need to try and be sneaky.“

  "Rose! What was that all about? Has some passionate young adventurer finally managed to worm his way into your thorny heart?“

  Rose clicked her tongue in annoyance. She could not wait for Eina to come back from her break and relieve her from this pink menace. The adorable half-elf girl was much easier to get along with.

  "It is nothing like that. You know that the others have been pestering me for a while now about taking another adventure under my wing. Besides, it likely won't matter anyway. The chances that he makes it out of the Dungeon are minimal.“

  Misha let out a humming noise. "Is that so? Are you sure that is all there is to it? Mhm?“

  Rose’ wolf-like ears twitched in agitation as she was once again drawn into her junior's pace. She fought with all her might to resist the urge to snap back at her.

  She failed.

  It took a few more minutes until Misha finally had enough of riling her up and fled to gods know where.

  Rose used that precious moment of quiet to think about what had just happened.

  Well, it’s not like it's all bad. He either dies and I will forget all about him, or he comes back and I am proven wrong…it wouldn’t be the first time that happened.

  In Rose’s mind, the image of Cain glaring into her eyes with such unflinching conviction overlapped with another set of golden eyes. Eyes that belonged to a delicate, female face. A face framed by shining blonde hair.

  ————

  I might have gone a little overboard back there.

  I was used to being underestimated. After all, I had done my best to appear as unassuming as possible for many years of my life. If people had known about my Blessing or my blasphemous thoughts about the Theocracy…well.

  I likely would have ended up in this world a lot sooner.

  Still, somehow the way in which she said that I "was going to die“ rubbed me the wrong way. I had gotten intimately familiar with death quite recently, and it was not an experience that I wanted to repeat.

  Most of all, I had no intentions of dying weak and helpless again. Certainly not before I left my mark upon this world and achieved my ambitions.

  That I swore to myself.

  I can‘t even imagine how Hestia would react if she found out that I died.

  It did not take long until I crossed the relatively short distance separating the guild building from the humongous tower that was built over the entrance to the dungeon.

  No. I will not die in this place.

  This was just the start of my legend.

  The Legend of the World's Greatest Hero.