The Dollmaker of the DanMachi World

Faced with Meitellia's words, Ming Ge did not know what to say.

Bell ultimately failed to keep his Gil, making him a match for Kirito.

However, Bell was even gentler than Kirito. His indecisive personality truly made him unfit to be the male lead.

Ming Ge could also tell that Meitellia liked the story of this hero tale very much.

In a sense, she also had a deep connection with this hero. However, Ming Ge's existence had changed the original course of events, so no one could say what the future would hold.

Time passed, and night soon arrived.

Lying in bed, Ming Ge murmured, "Knowing the 'plot' puts me somewhat at ease, but this is serious..."

Fifteen years before the main story began, the Zeus Familia and Hera Familia launched an expedition against the One-Eyed Black Dragon, resulting in the annihilation of their main forces.

After that, Orario went through roughly ten years of turmoil. With the two "strongest in the world," who bore the hope of saving the world, wiped out, the Lower World lost hope.

Even though the Loki Familia and Freya Familia took up the mantle, many people had already fallen into despair.

Whether for the sake of survival or for Meitellia, Ming Ge needed to speak about this matter.

But there was a problem. Even if Ming Ge told them, would the two Familias believe him?

According to the setting, mortals of the Lower World could not lie to gods. This was an ability derived from the difference in their levels of life.

Yet even if the two great Familias believed him, after consecutively defeating Behemoth, King of the Land, and Leviathan, Overlord of the Sea, they might not take his warning to heart. At most, they would be a little more careful in battle.

But Ming Ge knew clearly that the battle between the two great Familias and the Black Dragon had been utterly one-sided. Their caution would therefore be meaningless.

In any case, the two strongest Familias in the world were still fighting Leviathan, Overlord of the Sea. In the original story, Alfia delivered the final blow to Leviathan and defeated it.

That time had not yet come, let alone the challenge against the Black Dragon.

This matter could be set aside for now. What Ming Ge cared more about was something else.

That was how to obtain "power."

In this world, the divine blessing was an ability that used a god's divine blood as a catalyst to unlock humanity's potential, thereby raising the limits of the "physical vessel."

With the aid of a divine blessing, five basic abilities would appear.

Strength, endurance, agility, dexterity, and magic.

Strength represented attack power. Endurance represented defense and stamina. Agility represented speed. Dexterity referred to striking speed and evasive technique. The essence of magic was mental power—Mind—which used that mental power to trigger a supernatural, "phenomenon"-level force.

By fighting or gaining "great deeds" through other means—that is, experience points—one could level up upon meeting the requirements.

But this was not the traditional kind of leveling up by killing monsters, because the essence of a divine blessing was training.

Only by throwing punches with all one's strength could strength improve.

Only by enduring attacks could endurance grow.

Only by running at full speed could agility increase.

Only by using magic could magic grow.

Once one attribute reached D rank, meaning a value of 500 to 599, and one had accumulated great deeds, one could level up.

The conditions for gaining great deeds were not limited to combat and adventure. They also included commanding, healing, fame, and more. As long as one did something impressive enough to astonish all the gods, it counted as a great deed.

The future Thousand Elf, Lefiya, had leveled up while attending the School District through something akin to writing a paper and defending it.

Therefore, as long as one found the right method, leveling up was not difficult.

But Ming Ge did not intend to become a member of a god's Familia, at least not for now.

Because, in a sense, a god's Familia was itself equivalent to that god's vassals.

A Lover's Promise

No matter how nicely it was phrased, that was still the truth.

For a god, a single thought was enough to seal away a divine blessing.

One could say that a divine blessing was merely an unlocking tool, and that the power gained through training belonged entirely to oneself. Even if the divine blessing vanished, that power would not disappear.

But the divine blessing itself had a sealing function. At the whim of the chief god, or if the chief god returned to Heaven, the power of Familia members would be sealed.

In a sense, gods were like lord players, while the people of the Lower World were like NPCs, with the occasional talented game character among them.

Even if they called each other husband and wife, even if a god dearly loved a person of the Lower World, they still knew that the two sides were ultimately different.

Some gods were kind and loved the people of the Lower World from the bottom of their hearts. Some even disregarded the gap between humans and gods, resolutely becoming lovers with mortals. After that came the issue of lifespan.

Other gods had vile natures, becoming evil gods in the Lower World—like a fourth natural disaster free to do whatever they pleased.

No matter what, Familia members were the possessions of gods. That essence would not change.

Ming Ge found that repulsive, but if it was for the sake of obtaining "power," it was not something he could not accept.

But another point was troublesome. Meitellia did not have the talent to become an adventurer, while Ming Ge was an ordinary person.

Though they were not exactly well-matched in status, in a sense, their conditions were about equal.

Given Hera and Alfia's personalities, even if they learned of their relationship, they might not necessarily come to break them apart.

But joining a god's Familia was different. The two Familias were equivalent to people from two different nations, and the obstacles to being together would become much greater.

Therefore, Ming Ge could not simply join one Familia or the other.

The Hera Familia was entirely female, while the Zeus Familia was entirely male.

Ming Ge could use Meitellia's connection to join the Zeus Familia, but Hera's explosive temper was famous. It was not impossible for a quarrel between husband and wife to drag Ming Ge and Meitellia into it, so that option could also be ruled out.

If he were to join one, it would be best to join a Familia that had a good relationship with Hera and would not easily get caught up in marital disputes.

But that would be difficult, especially since Ming Ge did not understand Orario's current situation. Thus, the idea of "joining a Familia" had to be postponed.

Other than learning the common language of the continent, what else could he do?

Ming Ge pondered, then found an answer.

The next day arrived as scheduled.

Unlike before, Ming Ge was awakened by Meitellia today.