I Just Awakened My Sharingan, and You're Telling Me This Is DanMachi?

[Ding! The Wheel of Fate begins to turn—]

[Main Quest: Phase Two Activated]

[Quest Name: Pawn of Fate]

[Quest Description: Your threads of destiny have begun to cross. You must make a choice: conceal yourself, or face them head-on.]

[Completion Condition: Respond to contact from the Freya Familia, and successfully resolve or directly confront one Familia "conflict."]

[Quest Reward: Unknown]

The mechanical voice in his ear came quickly, then faded just as fast.

Ryota listened, utterly baffled.

"Contact from the Freya Familia… hmm, I get that part."

"Isn't Lain one of their members?"

He rubbed his chin, thinking it over.

"Maybe he'll show up again, trying to pull me into some mission… I guess that counts as contact?"

"But the second half… what exactly does 'Familia conflict' mean?"

In Ryota's understanding, a "Familia conflict" could only mean one of two things:

One, a low-level skirmish—like escort jobs overlapping, fighting over resources, bickering about trade commissions, that kind of petty squabble.

Or two… a full-blown War Game.

"I only just joined the Loki Familia, haven't even memorized everyone's names yet, and now I might get dragged into a war between Familias?"

"This storyline… is moving a bit too fast, don't you think?"

Though he complained aloud, deep down Ryota knew the truth.

If the system flagged this as a main quest, then this so-called "conflict" wouldn't just be a simple shouting match.

"I'd better stay sharp…"

"But… Freya, that crazy woman who can see people's souls, when exactly did she set her eyes on me?"

Was it his soul?

He really didn't think there was anything that remarkable about himself, even as a transmigrator.

"Ah, whatever…"

"If the enemy comes, I'll block them; if water floods in, I'll dam it. That's all there is to it."

Tossing those messy thoughts aside, Ryota picked up the pace toward his destination.

Before long, he arrived at the home of the Hephaestus Familia.

As one of the absolute top-tier smithing Familias in Orario—no, in the entire world of DanMachi—the Hephaestus Familia practically defined the phrase "elite weaponry."

An entire stretch of Northeast Mainstreet was basically their territory.

Here, smithies, material suppliers, alchemy facilities, and even warehouses managed by the Guild were packed together.

Their headquarters, of course, was nestled at the very heart of the forging district.

While crossing the main avenue through the industrial sector, Ryota casually asked a dwarf craftsman hauling supplies for directions, then headed for a red-brick building at the far east end.

As soon as he approached, the mechanical chime sounded in his ear again:

[Ding—Main Branch Quest Triggered!]

[Master the Smithing Skill (0/1), Incomplete, Reward Unknown.]

[Personally forge a weapon (0/1), Incomplete, Reward Unknown.]

Ryota froze in his tracks, instantly noticing the catch.

"Hold on… this isn't just some random side quest?"

This one very clearly stated—[Main Branch Quest].

"So that means… it's tightly tied to the main quest?"

Ryota quickly sorted out the logic in his head.

The main quest was [Respond to contact from the Freya Familia], but the key point was "conflict."

And now this branch that basically forced him to learn smithing skills was quite obviously a preparation step for "combat power enhancement."

In other words—

This wasn't about learning to hammer iron for fun. It was paving the road for a showdown.

"This system is determined to mold me into a one-man army, huh?"

Though he grumbled, Ryota knew perfectly well:

As long as it was tied to a main quest, the system's rewards… had never disappointed him before.

Just as Ryota was pondering how to complete these new objectives, footsteps approached.

A guard posted at the headquarters gate walked over and addressed him.

"Hello, this is the headquarters of the Hephaestus Familia. Do you have business here?"

Ryota snapped out of his thoughts and politely answered,

"I'd like to see Lady Hephaestus."

The moment those words left his mouth, the guard's expression clearly shifted to one of skepticism.

After all, as the most prestigious and renowned smithing Familia in all of Orario, the Hephaestus Familia saw an endless stream of visitors every day—Adventurers, merchants, noble envoys, you name it.

At their doorstep, the routine triple rejection happened so often it practically became part of the daily scenery.

Meet Lady Hephaestus? Anyone who wanted that usually had to schedule six months in advance, submit paperwork, and pass three separate layers of screening before they might—just might—get a "please wait for notice" response.

And now this kid, dressed casually and with a baby face, had the nerve to waltz up and just ask to see the goddess? He had to be lost.

With that thought, the guard was about to break out his well-practiced "triple rejection" speech when Ryota calmly pulled a letter from his pouch.

He held it out.

"Could you please deliver this? Tell her that Lady Loki sent me."

The guard froze, eyes flicking to the feather and seal on the envelope.

No mistake—Loki Familia.

He swallowed hard, his professional aloofness slipping a little as he quickly asked,

"And your name is?"

"Ryota, a new member of the Loki Familia."

Watching the guard's changing expression, Ryota couldn't help thinking that having a Familia name in Orario was basically a universal passkey.

"Understood. Mr. Ryota, please wait just a moment while I report in!"

With that, the guard hurriedly disappeared inside.

True to their reputation for efficiency, even a guard at the Hephaestus Familia moved fast.

Ryota hadn't been waiting long before he saw a woman coming his way—short black hair, an eyepatch over her left eye, and an absolutely jaw-dropping figure that could only be described as… spectacular.

Tsubaki Collbrande.