Danmachi- Hell’s Forge

I quickly ate the food and drank the juice the woman left behind since I doubted they'd poison it at this point if they wanted me dead and I hadn't eaten in almost two days so I was starving. I wasn't sure how this was going to go and wanted even the smallest advantage in energy in case I had to fight. I may not be able to win but I'd be damned if I didn't try. As time moved forward and no one showed up I got more and more anxious as I began to suspect that something was wrong.-

"You are certainly patient, that's good." A male voice came from behind me causing me to strike out at the source instinctively.

Surprisingly my punch landed but to my horror it was obvious that it did nothing to this person. It was a well built man in a thin shirt and odd looking pants that was both striking to look at and plain at the same time. His face and arms had these crazy looking tattoos on them which were hard not to stare at but besides his very fit physique his appearance was quite average.-

"How did you get in here?" I demanded with a sharp look.

"Oh I simply shifted the wall and walked right in, like this." he said with an amused grin before doing something that made my jaw drop.

He pressed his hand against the wall and I watched it silently ripple before splitting apart to allow him to casually step through it. I had never seen or even HEARD about something like this before so I was very stunned to see it. He stepped back into the room and the wall closed up and smoothed over like what I had just witnessed hadn't happened.-

"Oh and before you get any funny ideas only I can do that so as far as you and everyone else is concerned that is a solid wall. Now then I believe introduction are in order. My name is Alexander Drake, Captain of the Hestia familia. I go by Alex by the way." he said with a grin as he leaned against the wall.

"Ophelia, street rat from Daedalus." I said watching his reaction to that last part but he seemed to not care at all.

"I dislike that term "Street rat", like in the end the ones with it aren't even people." he said proving me wrong.

I shrugged "It is what it is. Why am I here and what happened to the guys who were attacking me?" I asked firmly.

"I rescued you and dead respectively. They had it coming anyways from the look in your eyes at that time. It was why I stepped in you know, that defiance of yours. Well one of the reasons at least. I believe any decent adventurer needs to have that stubbornness to really make it and for reasons I won't explain until a certain condition is met I was able to see that you had talent." he said and he was either a really fucking good liar or he meant every word.

"What condition?" I asked both curious and suspicious of his motives.

"I want you to join my familia. Now hold on before you immediately say no and hear me out." He said stopping me before I could unhesitantly reject the offer.

"Fine, you did heal me so I'll at least listen but I'm still probably going to say no." I said bluntly.

He nodded "As is your right. See before I deep sixed those three they told me that you had a debt to them. We can pay it off, no strings attached, no messy catches. Yes I know you are thinking that nothing in the world is free but if you were part of the familia it would be the least you can expect. This may sound like bragging but you can check with anyone else you want to to verify it but the Hestia familia is something many wish to join but can not. I am one of the premier craftsmen in the city with even Hephaestus herself endorsing my work as unmatched in certain regards."-

"Thanks to this the Hestia familia is one of the richest familias in the city at our level. You would naturally gain access to my works, all custom made for you if you joined. As far as obligations go there really aren't any beyond the obvious ones like don't betray us and we stand together in the face of opposition. Besides that your life is more or less yours to live as you please though I'd be quite disappointed if you wasted the opportunity. You don't need to answer now, give it a few days, socialize with the other members and then get back to me with your answer." he said before walking through the wall that parted and closed behind him before I could even say anything.-

I had to admit I was at a loss about what I wanted to do at this point. The man clearly understood me to an uncomfortable degree or at the least was very good at guessing. The offer was maddeningly tempting and yet at the same time made all my honed experiences growing up where I did say that there was a trick somewhere, there had to be.-

I took every single word he spoke and action he took apart to find something that was a trick but found nothing. Even his claim about his crafting ability while it sounded preposterous wasn't the sort of thing that could be fabricated, it was too big to be a lie. That unfortunately made the decision even harder because as much as familias bother me from my past experience with them I also knew that if I really wanted my life to be my own I needed one of my own. Normal folk were mere ants to adventurers even if many didn't act like it.-

I debated the matter for so long that the sun set and I crawled back into the bed in the room I decided that I'd take a chance and at least see if the familia was like he said it was. Waking up the next morning once again completely undisturbed I cautiously left the room and looked around. From the windows I saw a large vibrantly colored yard with many different flowers as well as what appeared to be a crystal clear pool.