[D.C] Ch 2: Nearly Kidnapped!

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Bete the Werewolf — a proud beastman through and through.

He looks down on weak adventurers, acts like he owns the place, and his words are often sharper than his fangs.

They call him the Mad Wolf. The guy's the walking definition of "only strength matters."

"Tch…"

Bete shot a quick glance at Klaus, then stopped in his tracks.

His tone was less than friendly.

"A new face?"

"Hey, kid. Who the hell are you? What're you doing here?"

Klaus scratched his head, gave a sheepish laugh, and explained.

"I wanna join Loki Familia."

"You… wanna join Loki Familia?"

Bete actually blinked like he thought he'd misheard.

Klaus looked up at him with stars in his eyes, completely sincere.

"Big bro Werewolf, is that okay?"

"If I get in, maybe Loki Familia'll become the strongest Familia in the city!"

Sure, Klaus was just a regular dude right now. But deep down, he believed with the help of his Summoner System, he'd grow strong enough to rival — no, surpass — any adventurer out there.

"Pfft… Hahaha!"

Bete burst into laughter, doubling over as if he'd just heard the best joke of the year. But behind the laugh, every bit of it was mocking.

After a moment, he straightened up with a cocky smirk.

"You sure run your mouth, shrimp. But hey, I like your guts."

"Come on, let's spar. I'll even give you three free hits — one hand behind my back."

"If you manage to impress me, I'll bring you to meet our goddess."

Was this... him saying no, or was this some kind of twisted test?

Klaus froze. His smile stiffened like he'd just turned to stone.

Let's be real — he wasn't even a registered adventurer yet. Before transmigrating here, he'd never even been in a real fight.

And now he was supposed to brawl with a battle-hardened fantasy werewolf?

Yeah, no. That's not happening.

He could tell Bete was just itching to vent. If he agreed, he'd probably get smacked around and end up unconscious before even getting the chance to explain himself.

And meeting the goddess afterward? Doubtful.

Bete noticed his hesitation and clicked his tongue, getting more annoyed.

"What? You scared? With that kind of guts, you think you're fit for Loki Familia?"

Klaus took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

He hesitated for a second…

Then turned around and walked away without saying a word.

No point picking a fight he couldn't win. He knew exactly how weak he was right now.

Live to fight another day.

Still, as he left, he muttered under his breath: "Me? Bluffing?"

"Just wait till I unlock the system… Then we'll see who's laughing."

Bete watched him leave and snorted.

"Tch. Buzzkill."

"Talks big for a little fish."

At that moment, the core members of Loki Familia arrived — Finn, Riveria, Gareth, Lefiya, Ais, Tiona, Tione…

And, of course, the goddess herself — Loki.

Funny how fate works. If Klaus had stayed just a minute or two longer, he would've met them.

Loki, with her usual half-lidded eyes and devil-may-care grin, waved lazily.

"Yo~ Bete."

"Waiting here just for us? Calmed down yet?"

"As if."

Bete shoved his hands in his pockets and walked off like he owned the street.

Finn called after him, kindly: "Bete, coming with us to eat?"

Bete waved him off with one hand, grumbling, "You guys go. I'm not in the mood."

As he left, Riveria walked up to the old gatekeeper and asked quietly, "What happened here?"

The old man told her everything that went down between Bete and the mysterious kid.

Riveria's elegant brows furrowed slightly.

Loki called out from ahead: "Yo, Miss Mama Riveria, what's taking you so long?"

"We're leaving."

"I'm not your mom," Riveria said flatly, before turning and catching up with the rest.

...

Meanwhile, Klaus wandered the busy streets of Orario with no clear destination, still fuming over what had just happened.

Turns out, chasing your dreams in a fantasy world isn't as easy as it sounds.

Reality hit hard, and his earlier confidence had taken a big hit.

Maybe trying Freya Familia next?

He thought about it for a second… then shook his head.

Yeah, no. Let's not go there.

If the big-name Familia are out of reach, he could aim a little lower — Hephaestus Familia, Hermes Familia, Apollo Familia, Soma Familia…

Demeter, Miach, Ganesha, Dionysus, Dian Cecht… there were still options.

Worst case, even a small Familia would do!

He let out a frustrated sigh.

"Seriously?"

"Is joining a Familia supposed to be this hard?"

"Am I gonna end up like Bell from the original story? Knocking on every door just to get rejected?"

"This can't be real… This is supposed to be a beginner quest, right? Why does it feel like I started on Nightmare Mode?"

In Orario, humans — and prums too — were pretty underwhelming compared to other races.

Elves were beautiful and masters of magic.

Dwarves were like tanks and could take on monsters even without a falna.

Amazoness were born warriors. And so on....

Honestly, being a human? Not exactly winning the popularity contest.

...

As night fell, Orario lit up like a festival.

Magic stone lamps blinked on, casting a warm glow across the labyrinth city's bustling streets.

Just as Klaus was rubbing his temples, wondering what to do next, a hand suddenly clapped onto his shoulder.

"Hey there, newbie."

"Wanna come hang out with us?"

The voice belonged to Aisha Belka — also known as Antianeira.

Next to her stood a delicate, beautiful blonde fox girl— Sanjouno Haruhime.

Klaus turned to them, looking half-dead inside.

"Hang out? What kind of hang out…?"

Haruhime leaned in, her little fox nose twitching as she sniffed him.

Then she asked softly, "Is this your first time in Orario?"

Klaus nodded.

A glint flashed in Aisha's eyes. Her tone instantly switched to friendly and seductive.

"Hey cutie, you got a Familia yet?"

She smiled brightly. "If not, why not join Ishtar Familia?"

For a moment, Klaus straightened up, a little light returning to his eyes.

But then it hit him.

Ishtar Familia…? Wasn't that their captain, the man-hating frog?

His face turned pale.

Hell no.

He shook his head so fast it almost fell off.

"Sorry! I already have a Familia in mind!"

Then he bolted — full-on sprinted away.

"...Aisha-senpai~" Haruhime blinked. "I think… you scared him off."

After running for a while, Klaus ended up at the entrance of some alley.

He bent over, hands on knees, panting like crazy.

Inside, his heart was still racing.

That was terrifying!

He almost got kidnapped!

Right now, Klaus's soul was still pure and shiny white.

There was no way he was letting that get stained.

Who knew what color it'd become in the future, but for now? He wasn't letting himself be tainted by a bunch of horny old courtesans!

Just thinking about that frog, Phryne, made his stomach twist.

Nope. Nope. Nopenopenope.

Honestly? At this point, he'd rather join Dionysus Familia and be a villain.

At least they had the hot elf Filvis in there!

Then he suddenly remembered the god who showed him around when he first arrived.

Takemikazuchi.

Should've just joined his Familia from the start. Why'd he have to be so picky back then?

And then, a soft, childlike voice tickled his ear.

"Young man… would you like to join my Familia?"

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