I was woken up by the bustling noise below. I yawned, blinking, looking around—and found myself on top of a roof, the bell tower's roof.
The wind blew, and John's figure vanished.
On the street, John walked against the stream of adventurers heading toward the dungeon. It was still early in the morning, and most people were asleep except for the adventurers planning to explore the dungeon today.
In his hands was a book—a magic book that recorded all active Familias and their bases. He bought it from the ramen guy yesterday. The old man had no use for it, so he sold it to John at a good price.
He was reading through the book.
Loki Familia, S-rank exploration Familia—the strongest Familia in the city.
Patron God: Goddess of Mischief, Loki.
Members: over 500. The strongest member is Level 7.
Their expertise lies in dungeon diving and exploration. The deepest floor they've reached is the 59th. They are known for their teamwork, excellent formation, and coordination.
"Nope, not what I was looking for," he murmured and flipped to the next page.
Freya Familia, S-rank exploration Familia—the second strongest Familia in the city.
Patron God: Goddess of Beauty, Freya.
Members: 200. Strongest member: Level 8.
Their expertise is dungeon exploration. They have the most high-ranking adventurers, and the deepest floor they've reached is the 58th.
"Nope."
Hephaestus Familia, S-rank crafting Familia—the richest Familia in the Old World.
Patron God: Hephaestus, Goddess of Forging and the Eternal Crimson Star Tree.
Members: classified, guild secret.
Deepest floor ever reached classified. Specializes in blacksmithing and only accepts blacksmiths.
"This goddess looks familiar… did I meet her before?" John murmured while staring at the image of the patron goddess of Hephaestus Familia. He felt that he was supposed to know her, but didn't.
He thought deeply but found no answer, so he set it aside for now and moved to the next page.
He read page after page, encountering more goddesses who gave off the same sense of familiarity until he found what he was looking for.
The Demeter Familia—an S-rank agricultural Familia. That's what he was looking for, aligned with his most relaxing hobby: farming.
The members' information was also classified.
Their goddess, too, gave off a feeling of familiarity, but John ignored it. He would find the reason soon enough once he unsealed his memories.
To join, he needed to go to their goddess's and Familia executives' home—the Wheat Manor, a vast estate occupying five square miles of land in the city.
No one could enter except the goddess and her executives, who were all women. No one had ever managed to step inside the manor except them. The base of operations was on the outskirts of the city, where they had another mansion called Bread Manor, where most members lived.
The Bread Manor was surrounded by agricultural lands stretching across thousands of hectares.
John followed the map and arrived at Wheat Manor.
The manor was surrounded by a 4-meter wall. As he got closer, he discovered a Tower Barrier atop the wall—similar to the Tower Barrier at the city's center, but smaller, around 5 miles in diameter. Instead of a tower projection, it was a manor's projection, with the wall as its base. The rest was similar.
After a few minutes, he reached the gate guarded by two men.
"Is this the Wheat Manor?" he asked the guards.
"Yes," one guard responded, while the other resumed his duty.
"I want to join your Familia."
"Are you a farmer? Where's your sample of crops?"
The book stated that to join the Demeter Familia, one must bring a sample of their produce to prove they were a farmer and to judge their talent in the field.
He took out his produce from one of his countless inventories and showed it to them. The display of space magic didn't faze them—but when they saw his produce, they were stunned.
"What beautifully grown tomatoes…" The guard paused. "Wait here." He went inside.
The moment he passed through the gate, space rippled—but it wasn't space itself, it was the Tower Barrier surrounding the Wheat Manor.
After a few minutes, the guard returned, followed by a gorgeous woman—she was a goddess.
Her beauty made beauty itself inferior: a seductive, voluptuous figure that would make even a succubus die of envy. Golden honey-colored hair, long lashes, eyes of the same hue, pink lips, a chest larger than his head, a generous rear, and skin white as snow—soft and delicate as jade.
She wore a pink dress with a golden belt. Everyone in the vicity turned their head to her mesmerize.
As soon as she saw him, a bright and gentle smile bloomed on her otherworldly face. She was Goddess Demeter—the goddess of agriculture, harvest, and fertility, also known as the Goddess of the Tree of Life.
She lunged toward him.
John hurriedly opened his arms to catch her. She tackled him to the ground, hugging him like a koala.
"Welcome—you're recruited!"
He was dumbfounded by her actions. The guards, on the other hand, questioned everything. In all their years as members of the Demeter Familia, they had never seen their goddess touch, let alone approach, a man—and now she was tackling one? Absurd. The last man who tried to touch her had died—completely—whether god or mortal, no exception.
That was why men feared her.
Not only was her power unfathomable, making all things feared her. No one dared cross her or become her enemy—unless some fool wished for death.
The crowd who happened to witness the scene froze in shock. The untouchable goddess had touched a man—and she was the one who initiated it. A piece of news that would shake the Old World.
Demeter, unconcerned with her surroundings, made John stand up, hugged his arm, and dragged him into the Tower Barrier—
Leaving behind a stunned crowd, who were already spreading the news of Demeter finding her man.
Mortals and gods alike scrambled to spread the word.