A Multiverse Journey Begins with DanMachi

Rose took the form and glanced over it. A black line appeared on her forehead.

Noah Cipher, human, male, seventeen years old. That was it.

His birthplace was blank, his background was blank, and the other fields were blank, blank, blank...

Honestly, he was just like that little girl.

Rose's look toward Riveria silently voiced her complaint.

But there was nothing she could do except accept it and deftly stamp the parchment with the registration seal.

As long as you weren't a spy or an infiltrator, anyone could become an adventurer, no questions asked. That was the rule in Labyrinth City.

Chapter 26: Coach! I Want to Learn Blacksmithing Too!

After finishing their registration at the Guild, Riveria and Noah left the Pantheon.

But Riveria didn't continue down the main street. After passing a few stalls, she suddenly turned into a back alley.

After passing through a stretch of winding alleys that convinced Noah he'd get lost if he tried to find his way through them alone, the two of them eventually arrived in front of a stone-built single-story house.

"Noah, you know the general difference between production familias and exploration familias in the city, right?"

"More or less. Exploration familias like our Loki Familia mainly focus on entering the Dungeon to explore and gather resources. I don't know as much about production familias, but I know the Demeter Familia provides most of the city's agricultural produce, the Hephaestus Familia accounts for a considerable share of weapon production, and the Dian Cecht Familia provides medicine and medical services."

At Noah's analysis, Riveria nodded, a hint of amusement in her eyes.

She wasn't sure if it was because Noah had said "our Loki Familia," or because this junior had taken some interest in the city as a whole.

Most adventurers only knew where the weapon shops, taverns, clinics, and pleasure district were. Who cared where the huge quantities of food needed by the city's population came from every day?

The fact that he'd listed the Demeter Familia first showed that Noah had something of a leader's strategic mindset.

No wonder Finn had said he wanted to nurture him after meeting him just once yesterday.

"The Hephaestus Familia is indeed the largest forging familia, but this Goibniu Familia, which has a priority partnership with our Loki Familia, is no slouch either."

Pointing to the emblem of three hammers carved beside the door, Riveria pushed it open as she explained.

The Goibniu Familia was a forging familia that made and repaired weapons and armor, as well as taking on construction work.

Though its renown and influence were far below those of the Hephaestus Familia, the performance of the weapons it forged was said to be just as good. It could be called a plainspoken, sturdy familia.

The main difference between the two familias was that the Hephaestus Familia forged large numbers of finished weapons and stocked them in shops throughout the city for sale, while the Goibniu Familia mainly started forging after receiving an adventurer's commission.

To be more precise, it offered custom-made work, and its prices were lower than the Hephaestus Familia's for the same service.

As a result, the Goibniu Familia was actually more popular among high-level adventurers.

The Loki Familia had a priority partnership with the Goibniu Familia.

Simply put, the Goibniu Familia had to give the Loki Familia priority for weapon forging and maintenance.

In turn, the rare forging materials the Loki Familia obtained from the Dungeon had to be offered to the Goibniu Familia first, so they could choose what to buy.

This privilege belonged exclusively to powerful exploration familias like the Loki Familia, which were among the few capable of venturing deep into the Dungeon and obtaining rare materials.

Aside from familias, individual adventurers sometimes made direct contracts with blacksmiths. Gareth, for example, had an arrangement with the "One-Eyed Smith" of the Hephaestus Familia, using only weapons forged by him as a form of promotion.

"Is anyone here?"

Inside the building, which fit the words "forging workshop" perfectly, Noah could feel heat radiating from deep within, dispelling the winter chill that had followed them in.

Apparently trying to make himself heard over the ringing hammer blows, Riveria called out loudly.

Soon, a burly man with his upper body bare came out from inside, wiping the sweat from his head as he greeted Riveria.

"Oh! Isn't that Lady Nine Hell? Eh? Who's this young man?"

"He's a new member of our familia."

Noah promptly bowed to him. "I'm Noah Cipher. Pleased to meet you."

"Um, is the main god of the Goibniu Familia here? I'd like to ask him to make something for me."

"The old man's inside. Come on in."

"Thank you."

Riveria led Noah through a curtain and into the room beyond.

There was hardly any furniture, but the weapons covering the walls made the room seem far from bare.

A male god with the appearance of an old man sat inside, examining a long sword in his hands.

His face was covered in wrinkles, but his features were still distinguished, with a high nose and white hair and beard.

His sturdy frame had not an ounce of excess fat, and his solid muscles faintly brought a Dwarf to mind.

Neither Riveria nor Noah had entered under concealment, but the god remained focused on the sword in his hands, not even sparing them a glance.

Riveria said nothing, and Noah could only stand quietly beside her, surveying the weapons. They weren't at all flashy, yet instinctively struck him as exceptional.

About three or four minutes later, the white-haired old man—Goibniu—finally set the sword down and looked at Riveria.

"What can I do for you?"

"This is a new member of our familia. I'd like you to make him some weapons and armor."

"Hm?"

Noah had assumed they were just here to introduce him, and was about to step forward and bow. Hearing that, he turned to look at Riveria.

I don't have a single Valis on me...

Riveria winked at him, a playful look showing on her refined, intelligent face.

Don't worry. I'll lend it to you. You can pay me back later.

After hesitating for only three seconds, Noah gave up on worrying about it and bowed to the main god, Goibniu.

Well, if he had to live off a woman, so be it. It wasn't as though he couldn't pay her back.

Surely he didn't have to give up his weapons just to preserve his dignity?

If he really couldn't pay her back, then he'd just have to...

"Your familia always manages to find promising youngsters..."

Goibniu studied Noah for more than ten seconds before uttering those few words, as steady as iron ingots.

Faced with such praise, Noah reacted like any child praised by relatives: he couldn't quite accept it, but couldn't deny it either. All he could do was stay silent.

"What's the budget?"

"This boy's growth will probably exceed everyone's expectations, so ordinary armor would be a waste. Let's set the budget at fifty million Valis and make him a full set of armor."

Even Goibniu, who had remained calm and unruffled until now, raised his brows at that. He looked Noah over again.

"Hmm, you have that much faith in him? I recently got my hands on some good materials. There should be enough for the armor, but as for the weapon..."

At the words "fifty million Valis," Noah felt a little dizzy and hurriedly interrupted Goibniu.

"Um, the armor is enough. I think my weapon should be fine."

Under Goibniu's gaze, Noah drew his sword from its dull gray scabbard.

With a sharp clang, the silver-white blade gleamed, and a streak of cold light flashed through the room.

Goibniu's eyes widened at once, on a face as rigid as an iron relief.

"Boy, may I take a look at your sword?"

When Noah hesitated, he added, "How about I give you a twenty percent discount on the armor and charge you only forty million Valis?"

Seeing Goibniu offer such a generous discount, Noah could tell just how much profit there was in it.

Good grief. They looked so honest and straightforward, but they weren't making much less than the Hephaestus Familia, either!

They were all crooks!

He was going to learn how to forge someday, too. The money came in way too fast.

Chapter 27: Stay Right Here. I'll Go...

"Ugh!"

Goibniu had originally reached out with one hand, but the moment the sword landed in it, the wrinkles on his face tightened.

Even with his divine power sealed, Goibniu's forging skills were still in the "realm of the gods," but his strength was indeed only that of an ordinary person.

"...It's unexpectedly heavy. It must be much denser than orichalcum, right? No, given the same volume, it's probably heavier than every metal I've ever seen."

Noah had no choice but to set it down on the nearby workbench first.

Goibniu came over to the workbench and switched on the Magic Stone Lamp, which used multiple mirrors to reflect and focus the light, making it exceptionally bright.

In its glow, Riveria could finally see the sword in full—

Apart from the hilt, which was wrapped in ordinary hemp rope, the entire blade was silver-white. Under the light, it even seemed as clear as crystal, dazzling like a carefully sculpted work of art.

Both sides of the blade were etched with patterns resembling intertwined lightning and flames. Looking closely, she could see that the patterns were made up of countless tiny runes.

Anyone seeing the sword for the first time would probably assume, based on its beautiful finish, that it was merely a decorative one-handed sword.

But the blade was at least eighty centimeters long, and with the hilt it was probably around one hundred and ten centimeters. There was no doubt that it was a massive slashing sword. And Goibniu had just said that its density surpassed that of orichalcum...

Riveria guessed that the sword weighed at least as much as a first-tier weapon such as a greatsword or a heavy axe.

The contrast between its delicate appearance and its bloody nature gave Riveria an ominous feeling—

"What a wicked thing..."

With a soft sigh that sounded like either an exclamation or a gasp of surprise, Goibniu finally looked away from the sword and toward Noah.

"Boy, if I ask where this sword came from, you won't tell me, will you?"

Sensing Riveria's curious gaze on him, Noah thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"I don't know much about it, either. I only heard that its raw material was a meteorite from beyond the heavens, melted in a volcano with the fire from the earth's core and forged into its original form. But it was soon lost. I found it on the summit of a mountain perpetually shrouded in lightning."

Noah wasn't lying; he was just telling them half of the story he knew.

The materials used to make the sword included not only a meteorite, but also the ruin of an entire race and an empire—

Thousands of years ago, an empire that had conquered most of the continent set out on an overseas expedition to defeat the demons. After receiving a divine oracle, the emperor led his army to a foreign land, where they found a meteorite from beyond the heavens. They brought it to a volcano in the frozen wasteland, promising to give half of it in exchange for the Dwarves' help.

The meteorite was hammered for months in the fire from the earth's core before it melted, yet it still refused to take shape.

Lost in his desires, the emperor sent his army to slaughter the entire Dwarf race. Only the Dwarves' endless blood helped the sword take shape.

But the emperor, who had obtained the divine sword, was killed by an attack from another race on the journey home. His army collapsed, and the empire fell apart.

The divine sword vanished amid the chaos, until Noah found it again.

In Noah's original world, this history was known as Oathbreaker's Forge.

"What's its name?"

"Some call it Silent Sorrow, but I prefer to call it Thunderclap."

Goibniu gazed deeply at Noah and nodded.

"This sword truly holds an exceedingly terrifying power. I don't know whether to call it a holy sword or a demonic sword."

At Goibniu's gesture, Noah stepped forward and sheathed Thunderclap.

"Boy, a weapon that's too powerful can hinder its user's growth, and might even injure the one wielding it. You've probably experienced that yourself. You started using this weapon a long time ago, didn't you..."

At the thought of certain things, Noah's eyes began to wander.

Riveria noticed his expression and furrowed her brow slightly.

Goibniu closed his eyes and rubbed the space between his brows. "The budget stays at forty million Valis. I'll do my best to make armor befitting this sword. Of course, I can only do my best..."