Holy Goetia AKA Hailey's PoV:
It was a surreal experience, walking the streets of a fantasy city in search of the adventuring guild. It felt like I was in an Isekai.. which wasn't too far from the truth, at least minus the dying or being summoned part. The portal from the pocket apartment had opened up into an alleyway between a barracks and a kitchen in the Outer District of E-Rantel. As a fortress city of the Re-Estize Kingdom whose primary purpose is to serve as a bulwark and staging area for troops to serve in the annual wars with the Baharuth Empire they had the entire Outer District devoted to the troops from the Royal Army. Luckily it wasn't a restricted area and the looks I did receive were of a.. different nature then I was first concerned about. I hadn't been beautiful for very long, getting stared at by so many of the soldiers I passed took more then a little getting used to. My long multicolored dress probably wasn't making things any easier, but I like the way it looks and feels and had no intention of changing.
Working my way toward the middle district, what most people thought of when they thought of a "city" and containing basically everything that wasn't military or government, was quick and easy. Any questions had probably happened at the outer gate, which I'd managed to skip. The city was quite busy with traffic despite the evening hour, the sun just starting to disappear behind the walls of the city. A trade hub, merchants of all varieties seemed to man every corner hocking their wares. Food, tools, weapons, clothing, it seemed that the poorer merchants all made do with small stalls setup through the streets. The subtle signs of military order were present though- from the occasional patrol to the fact that none of the merchant's setup blocked so much as an inch of the cobblestone roads. The city was fairly clean and the lack of stench said they must have a functional sewer system. If not for the prevalence of beggars that looked like they hadn't had a good meal in weeks it would have been downright pleasant.
A local beggar proved happy to provide me with directions in exchange for two copper pieces to cover his next meal and soon enough I was opening the literal and metaphorical door to begin my adventuring career. The first thing I saw as I entered the room was the counter, where three of the guild's female receptionists greeted the adventurers with smiles on their faces. The guild hall was large and nearly stuffed with adventurers of all sorts. There were warriors in full plate armor, nimble fellows in light armor and bearing bows, people in priest's garb and adorned with all manner of holy symbols, as well as robed arcane magic casters with their staves. On the left was a large door, and on the right was the notice board where quests were posted. There were several dozen pieces of parchment upon it with two pairs of adventurers chatting in front of it.
The eyes upon me were far different here then outside. Surely some of the men still looked at me with lust and desire, but more were hardened adventurers who were attempting to size up the new entrant. Given my fine clothing and lack of a plate designating rank surely some of them thought I'd come hoping to post a new job, or to petition adventurers directly, and saw the possibility of coin. Others likely took me for an arcane caster. In turn I surveyed them, a surprising number of them lounging around seated at the various tables scattered throughout the room. The more I thought about it though, the more it made sense. Where better to gather information, new companions, or just regale each other with stories of adventure. That was aside from having first crack at new jobs as they were posted. As my eyes trailed around the room I couldn't help but notice every single adventurer had either a silver or a gold plate, none with the copper plate I would soon bear. Unfortunately the Sword of Darkness group I'd hoped to join wasn't present.
A group of adventurers had just departed, freeing up one of the girls counter. Approaching the counter I bring up a bright smile. "Greetings! My name is Hailey, I'm a magic caster, and I'd like to register as an adventurer." Her eyes flicked over me briefly with a doubtful expression, whatever she saw when she looked me over didn't stop her from shrugging her shoulder in response. "Very well. I strongly recommend taking it slow with your first few adventures while you determine if this is the life you really want. Almost half of adventurers quit, or die, before completing their fifth job. Registration is two pieces of silver." Not taking any offense to her doubt I provide the coins with that full smile still on my full lips as I nod agreement. She produces the copper plate from beneath the counter, strung on a cheap necklace that I quickly slip around my neck. "Of course. If I'm interested in a job I bring the parchment up to the desk, yes?"
After getting her confirmation I moved over to peruse the jobs available. Monster clearing seemed to be the most prevalent job by far, some with the location of the foes known and others with only vague descriptions. There were a few odd jobs- exploration, escorting, investigation. Almost all were for silver or gold plate adventurers. The only two jobs currently available for a copper plate seemed to be as a caravan guard, both with abysmal pay and a several week commitment. That was certainly out. Soon enough I found exactly what I was looking for- Zombie extermination. The massive graveyard of E-Rantel, regularly fed from the yearly border skirmishes atop the deaths any city of this size should expect, seemed to regularly spawn low level undead. The accumulation of undead was well known to lead to the spawning of higher level undead, and theirs to yet higher. So it was imperative that adventurers regularly cleared out the undead as they spawned to prevent the creation of truly dangerous foes. Taking the job posting off the wall I approached the counter again with that bright smile, placing it before the receptionist. "I'd like to accept my first job."
"I am very sorry, but we cannot let you take this job due to the rules. I couldn't allow a solo copper plate to accept a job intended for a party of silver plates." The receptionist lowered her head in apology as I held my hands up in protest. "No I completely understand, you're only doing your job! However I'm actually quite a skilled magic caster of the second tier, and I am quite capable of handling a few zombies.."
A man spoke from behind me. "How about helping us with our work, then?"
Glancing back behind me I saw a four-man adventurer team, their silver plates glittering on their necklaces. My eyes widened in shock for a moment, doubtless ruining the impression I'd hoped to make. The Sword of Darkness had spoken up from behind me, just as they had done with Ainz. They must have entered the moment I turned away from the board to approach the counter or I'd have noticed them earlier. It was.. an incredibly unlikely coincidence that things would play out so closely to how they had in cannon. Was this Universal Calibration at work, or was there another force gently nudging the world to play out as close to Canon as my actions would allow? I wasn't going to argue with good favor, but it certainly bore watching in the future.
The men were all quite young, all probably under twenty, but there was no childishness in them and they possessed a maturity which did not match their ages. The speaker was the man who looked like a warrior, though I didn't remember his actual classes. He had the typical blond hair and blue eyes of the Kingdom, and while there were no other distinguishing features on him, he looked quite handsome. "I'm the leader of the "Swords of Darkness," Peter Mauk. That fellow over there is the eyes and ears of our team, the ranger Lukrut Volve."
Lukrut, a leather-armored blond man nodded in acknowledgment, and his brown eyes seemed to have a spark of delight in them as he took me in. His eyes dipped briefly down to my breasts before returning to my eyes with warm and welcoming smile. I wouldn't hold a brief glance against him, not with the dress I was wearing to have my lures out for easy use. He was slender and long limbed, kind of like a spider, but his lean torso was wiry and muscular. "Always nice to have such a lovely lady on the team, welcome."
"Next is our magic caster and the brains of our group, Ninya, the spellcaster."
"Pleased to meet you." Ninya's voice was higher pitched then the others. Dressed as a man and deceiving her companions, she was the youngest person in the group, with dark brown hair and blue eyes. She would doubtless still be in high school if she was on Earth, but here she was a fairly experienced adventurer that doubtless had a number of kills under her belt. Unlike the tanned skin of the group's other members, her skin was pale, her face vaguely pretty in an androgynous sort of way. Compared to the unearthly beauties I'd been exposed to in recent days she fell far short, she wasn't in remotely the same league, but that was hardly a fair standard to judge her on. While the others all wore armor, she wore a leather robe with various strange items in her belt, including oddly shaped bottles and peculiar wooden objects and so on.
"…But Peter, can you not use that embarrassing nickname? The Spellcaster.." The way she said the name she was clearly not fond of it.
"Eh? But it's a good one." Peter seemed honestly surprised by her reaction.
My bright smile turned towards Ninya. "I've noticed most people don't love their nicknames, but if their given with affection, you'll probably come to like it in time."
Peter nodding in agreement. "He should be proud of it! He's a Talent holder, and a genius magic caster. I think his Talent had something to do with being suited to studying magic, he only took four years to learn what should have taken eight years. I'm not a magic caster, so I'm not sure how great that is."
"…I'm really lucky that I was born with this ability, because it allowed me to take a step closer to my dream. Without this power, I would have ended my days as a lowly peasant." Ninya's muttering was gloomy and solemn.
Well, that's a downer. Not really my place to dive in further yet having just met them, I say nothing as Peter continues on. He wore some sort of banded armor, strips of metal woven together with metal threads over a leather or chain backing, and carried himself like a warrior. "Let us finish introductions. This is Dyne Woodwonder, he's a druid. He uses healing spells and magic that controls nature, and he's well versed in herbal lore. Let him know if there's anything wrong with your body; he has medicine that's good for stomach pains."
"Pleased to meet you!" came the greeting from the burly, barbaric-looking man with a full, bushy beard. There was a very faint smell of grass from him, which came from the cloth pouch tied to his waist.
Flashing that brilliant smile again I incline my head towards them all in greeting, shifting my love spot lure towards inspiring a sense of trust and competence while still keeping it relatively muted in power. No need to hit them over the head with the force of the lure in a situation like this. "My name is Hailey, as I assume you noticed I've just now registered to become an adventurer, but please don't mistake that to mean I'm incompetent. I've been studying for years in preparation for the day that my family would give their blessings for me to become an adventurer. Now that I've mastered second tier magic, they feel more comfortable with letting me enter into such a dangerous profession. I'm a talent holder too, very similar to Ninya, my talent allows me to master both arcane and faith based magic at an increased rate."
Their reactions varied, but they were all impressed. Lukrut made a whistling sound, glancing at the others before leaning forward and dropping his voice so it would be difficult to be overheard. "Impressive indeed lass. So tell me, which of your two specialties have you reached the second tier in?"
Turning my eyes down in mock shyness before glancing back up at them with glee at being able to reveal my secret. "Both!" More shock from the three men, while Ninya's expression has gone guarded. Did she not believe me? Or perhaps she was jealous? "I've also been lucky enough to inherit a few powerful magic items from my mother, who is a retired adventurer." Said while motioning down towards the multicolor dress that seems so out of place even compared to the other magic casters. "This outfit protects me as well as a suit of heavy armor while not inhibiting my ability to cast, to name only one of the gifts she granted me." Turning to face Peter I let my alluring voice flow forth as I speak gently. "So please believe me that I wasn't speaking from ignorance when I said that I was ready to take on the zombie extermination job. This work you'd planned to take, are you flexible about considering a different job?"
"Mm, well, I feel it's a worthwhile job and it pays well for the risk involved." Peter seemed hesitant. "Aside from that, it is time sensitive and we've already accepted it. We were planning to leave after we had a meal. If we were to return it we'd have to pay a quarter of the potential reward to the guild as a penalty."
"Well, I'd be happy to pay the cancellation fee if the four of you would join me on the zombie extermination quest. I'd even pass on my share of the loot. As you might have guessed, my parents provided me with a generous stipend to get me started on my adventuring career."
Peter hesitates briefly before nodding his head in agreement. "Alright then, it pays well enough for the lesser time investment. Tell me though, why do you want that job in particular?"
Grimacing in response I flash a false embarrassed smile. "Well... Lets just say I have personal reason to hate the undead and wanting them destroyed. I assure you though, my personal motivations won't lead me to any foolish mistakes. As much as I want them eliminated, a dead adventurer completes no quests, and I have every intention of being around for a very long time. "
My words seemed to placate him and he simply nods his head in agreement. "Alright, well then welcome to the team. Going into the graveyard at night is foolish, so we'll wait until morning and meet up at the gate on the south side of the graveyard. They segment it off into smaller sections to prevent too many undead from gathering together, we'll move through each in turn and clear out anything we find. To be clear, you're invited for this mission, but we've already got an arcane caster and a healer. We'll most likely be going our separate ways soon enough."
Bobbing my head in agreement, that smile back on my face. "Of course!" It was a little disappointing we had to wait until morning, but the fact that they'd been about to pick up the goblin and ogre extermination job tells me we had some time before things got truly bad in the graveyard. Sword of Darkness had at least two quests I could remember in Canon before they lost their lives to Clementine, shortly before the ritual was set to complete. We had at least a day, or more likely several.
Lukrut was the next to speak, a little reproach in his voice. "Ohhh come on boss don't be like that! Always good to have backup to make Ninya and Dyne's life easier." He might be speaking to Peter but those eyes never left my face, a warm welcoming smile on his lips, his reason for wanting to recruit me plain for all to see. "To have ~two~ talent holding magic caster's on our team? No telling how high we might rise up." Returning his smile, not quite sure how to handle the attention without either being rude or giving the wrong impression in the other direction, I just shrug my shoulders in response as I speak, tapering my alluring voice off. "Well, I am seeking a regular group, so after we spend a little time together we'll talk about it again."
We formally accepted the job, paid the penalty fee for returning the goblin extermination gig they had previously, and retired to the inn for some food and drink. The next hour passed quickly as I sat mostly quiet, enjoying their easy comradery as they regaled me with stories of their adventures- They seemed to particularly enjoy teasing each other about the times things had gone wrong. It was nice to relax after the recent stress I'd had.. well, most of that was other me, but it felt the same. Eventually I excused myself for the night, letting them know I'd be there in the morning, and retired to my room.
Rather then sleep, something I seemed to only need in small bouts here and there, I spent the night exploring my element. Replicating most existing low tier Yggdrasil spells I'd want to use proved easy enough for my Holy element- Lesser Dexterity, Lesser Strength, Protection of Negative energy, Reinforce Armor, Light Healing. The few I tried that didn't seem to work- Magic Arrow, Thunder Lance, were easily replicated by Chaos Magic.. at least in effect. Getting Magic Arrow to turn whitish yellow, rather then red, turned out to be a bigger challenge then replicating the spell itself. Tomorrow as we met up I'd need to take a peek at some of Ninya's memories to recall how the spells are supposed to look visually, how strong they should be, didn't want to raise suspicion because my effects looked or acted different then everyone else's.
The night passed quickly and soon enough the faint hints of sunlight glittered on the horizon, signaling time to begin the adventure.It hadn't been difficult for Speed to find Antilene, at least not considering that she is the secret trump card of one of the two national super powers in the New World. She had started in their capital with a soldier, a little Chaos Magic and her enhanced mental reaction times allowed her to plumb through his memories with alacrity. He'd never heard of the Black Scripture, much less the one known as Zesshi Zetsumei- Certain Death. He knew where to find an off duty member of the Holocaust Scripture though, and soon enough she was plumbing his memories as well. He'd heard whispers, but ultimately it was his captain that finally knew the location of the base where the Black Scripture gathered. The unassuming cathedral on the edge of the capital, in a land littered with them, was easy enough to ignore. The Black Scripture did an excellent job of not drawing attention to it, but soon enough she'd spotted a member through the window and had taken root in their thoughts. Finally a picture became clear- Antilene Heran Fouche, their extra seat that even the rulers of this powerful nation often submitted to, was inside standing guard of the basement and treasury that contained all the treasures of the six great gods that had founded their nation.
When I'd received the notification that Antilene was found there was no time to waste. Confirming that Creation had finished modifying my damaged artifact armor I slipped out of my dress and into the beautiful new set. She had reformed it to take advantage of the lesser amount of material while making sure I was able to make full use of my lures.. That was the only reason I had her make it so revealing, I swear! The fact that I was starting to really enjoy the attention didn't have anything to do with it. I was still impressed she'd been able to keep the full power of the protective enchantment with such a radical redesign of shape and even materials.
Spoiler: New Armor
Moments later I was standing beside Speed, tucked into a out of the way alleyway a little less then a mile away. A brief nod of thanks to Speed sent her on her way to start her next task- Preparing a surprise for Ainz that we hoped we'd never have to use, but wanted to have ready just in case. Channeling Chaos Magic, I cast my vision into the mid sized room from the other man's memories, and sure enough she was there leaned up against a wall in her casual clothing as she fiddled with a Rubix Cube. I was a little disappointed she wasn't in her full godly equipment, what I had planned wouldn't have quite the same impact, but that would have been expecting too much.
Spoiler: Antilene
Gathering together the Winds of Magic for my short range teleportation spell I melded into the earth, only to emerge on the far side of the room from Antilene with a bright smile on my face as if it was perfectly normal to suddenly appear in the most fiercely guarded building in the . The girl was pretty, in the girl next door sense of the word. Cute, rather then beautiful. Not quite as curvaceous as I might like, but her body was toned and her skin a pale shade I'd always found attractive, plus the utter confidence she radiated had an attraction all its own. Her heterochromia eyes flick up towards me only briefly before turning back towards her cube, dismissing any threat I might pose without hesitation as she continues to fiddle with the puzzle. "I could only ever get one side. It gets so frustrating after that.." She lets out a soft sigh before putting the cube down on a nearby ledge, pushing lightly off the wall to stride towards me with the graceful stride of a predator closing in upon it's prey. "So what brings you into our lovely home?" Her voice is friendly enough, if a bit bored.
A respectful nod of my head in greetings as I flare my love spot lure to full power with an emphasis on trust while allowing my alluring voice to fill her ears. "My name is Sylvie Singh, and I've come here seeking you Antilene. I have some news that I believe you will find very exciting, even if most of your fellows will not be nearly so excited by the dire tidings. A great power, greater then the eight greed kings or the six great gods, has risen at the border of the R-Estize Kingdom. It is an evil power hostile to humanity, and soon enough it will engulf the world if we don't stand against it."
Antilene's eyebrow has risen slightly at the pronounced as she continues to close the distance slowly, even though she was capable of closing it in an instant. "You know who I am and still you came here, like this, into our sacred space? Quite brave, of foolish. If it is as you say, why take this to me, and not the Cardinals? Why not take it to whichever nation you come from?"
"I didn't come for the assistance of your nation, I came for you. The rest of your nation has no chance of standing against the power of Nazarick. If every member of your Black Scripture, including you, stood against one of their elite they would serve only as powerful corpses to bolster the enemies strength. Four days ago you were the second most powerful being on this planet, behind the Platinum Dragon Lord. Today, you are not in the top 10. If we do not stand against them humanity will not survive the decade, at least not as anything but slaves and worse."
She has started to circle me now, perhaps ten feet away and seeming to at least consider my words. She clearly hasn't dismissed the thought that I might be an enemy, a few moments of exposure to my lure can only do so much, but she was listening at least. "So you say the enemy is so powerful that we would all fall to one of their warriors, how do you suggest we face such strength?"
"With strength of our own. Mine, yours, and other allies I will gather to our side. They are powerful, and many, but I am stronger then any of them. Beyond that, I can lend greater strength to those who swear themselves to my service. Strengthened by my magic your skills will grow exponentially faster then they do now, under my training and that of others who I will recruit you will surpass both the greed king and great god who's blood flows in your vains. You will gain powerful resistances to the magic of the enemy. You will learn far more magic in the next year then you have in your over century long life. Of course, I do not expect you to take my word for it." I opened my arms wide in offering, that friendly smile still on my lips. "Attack me, please. If you wish I will wait while you equip yourself for battle, or call to your allies to join you in the fight. There will be no retaliation, except a careful demonstration of my power. Personally, I would prefer that the duel be between the two of us, so as to avoid creating resentment or hostility with your brethren. However I will not hold it against you if you wish to gather your full resources to retaliate against an intruder into one of your sacred spaces. After I defeat everything you bring against me, after you know my claims of strength to be true, I ask only that we speak again."
Shes takes me in for a moment in silence, seeming to consider her next move, though it might have been simply to throw me off my guard because she is suddenly in motion closing the distance between us in a rapid lunge. A dagger, handle white as bone with a blade that glimmers like gold and an aura shinning bright with powerful magic appears from the confines of her baggy clothing, striking at my chest like a missile. The girl certainly isn't taking it easy on me- A test, or an effort to kill me then and there, or some combination of the two doesn't really matter. She's fast, almost anyone alive would have been killed in that moment, but I manage to twist to the side in time to allow only a glancing blow to scrape along my armor just below the v in my armor as it leaves a deep scratch in the material while leaving the perfect skin beneath untouched.
The spin I'd used to dodge continues as her momentum carries her past me, my left fist driving into her open side drawing a deep grunt from her as I pull my punch but give it enough force to ensure it hurts. She's facing me again in an instant, her footwork far more careful as she prowls forward now that she sees a real fight in front of her instead of an insect to be squashed. Her eyes are shinning with excitement, a broad grin curling her lips in her excitement. "Ohhh this is going to be fun.."
She falls into a rhythm, controlled jabs, slices, attempting to throw me off balance, force me to make some mistake of footwork, or otherwise leave myself open. She's excellent with the knife, over a hundred years of experience and a combination or warrior and assassin classes combine to create quite the fearsome warrior. I allow her to think she is harrying me, pushing me to my limit to avoid her blade. She's good, experienced, but it can't compare to the literally thousands of years of experience that Miao Ying has in battle that have become my own instincts. She misses me by inches, time and again. Or the lightest of cuts trailing across my flesh, drawing a thin trail of blood without inflicting any real damage.
The joy is practically radiating off her aura, her eyes gleaming with a feral intensity. Someone who never gets a true challenge granted the satisfaction of a proper duel, one where she feels in control, but only by a hairs breadth. For my part I looked worried, surprised, pushed harder then I'd expected. Could she really be this good I practically scream out with my facial expressions. Yet, somehow, I was always just good enough that she couldn't land that proper blow. At the last instant I dipped down below her thrust and gave her an uppercut. Or slip back just far enough to prevent the blade from opening my face wide open. She was.. almost.. there. Finally I faked a mistake in footwork as I dodged her most recent slash, over extending myself and leaving the smallest of openings.
She pounced at once. [Greater Wind Stride], [Steeled Arm Strike], [Greater Piercing] [Greater Ability Boost], [Greater Possibility Sense] Channeling five of her martial arts at once her speed, agility, damage from her attack, piercing damage, and strength were all increased along with her sixth sense being sharpened to the extreme. She shrunk the distance between us at lightning speed and swung her dagger so fast that the sound left behind by the blade cutting through the air couldn't catch up with the blade. Aimed perfectly at the open V revealing my full breasts, angled towards my heart, her blade bites in to my breast flesh as she flashes a feral grin of victory.. which quickly turns to confusion as she feels the blade stop two inches deep. I could see her mind working, wondering how, the blade from the Greater Gods driven by her strength should have been enough to pierce any armor- to be stopped by soft flesh.. It didn't make any sense.
My voice is calm as the false worry melts away, a soft smile returning to my full lips as I close in on her again. "Good. Very good. Again." I move just that little bit faster now, my foot work just that little bit cleaner. I'm not being pushed back, she is, but she's still coming ever so close to striking back. A blow is coming in towards the side of her rib cage, she's over extended, only able to drop her elbow to absorb a hint of the blow.. [Greater Reinforce Defense] yet another martial art, letting her disperse some of the blows that have been getting slowly stronger and stronger. She isn't grinning anymore, her eyes focused intensely, her pale skin glistening with sweat beneath the candle light glittering throughout the cathedral. Another blow taking advantage of her over extension.. [Evasion][Greater Ability Boost] allows her to drop her guard to absorb the blow with her arms. The martial arts are coming more often now as I push her to the edge, not letting her keep up without giving it her all. The whole time I'm drinking it all in with my martial talent, studying intently the way the energy flows through her aura, the way her muscles tense as the martial arts activated, every little detail of the battle flooding into me with a clarity I'd have claimed impossible a few short days ago.
I keep her on that precipice, at the very edge of what she is capable of, never pushing her to the point to where she knows for sure she can't win.. though she has to have her suspicions by now, it will be difficult for someone as strong as her to accept. I make sure to keep offering that little bit of hope. A little bit faster, and you'll have it. A tiny reward with a glancing blow drawing blood once again. Martial Art after Martial Art slowly drain her stamina as she begins to pant from exhaustion, but she's managed to bloody me so many times while taking only a few strikes in return. She draws back a few steps further then before, modest chest raising and falling rapidly with her panting breath as she stares at me with newly wary eyes. "Who, what in the hell are you.."
My smile only grows in response. "Well.. Let me show you, then we'll talk." [Accelerate time][Element of Speed] My fist impacts her solar plexus before she can hope to dodge, all pretense of this being a real fight driven from her in an instant along with her breath as I show her my true strength. She is thrown into the air by the force of the impact, slamming back against one of the support pillars to crumple onto the ground curled up into the fetal position as she fights for breath that won't come. Worried I might have hit her too hard I quickly draw together the Winds of Magic to allow [Regeneration] to wash over her as she curls up tight catching her breath. My hand lays down lightly against her shoulder drawing a brief flinch from her, but she doesn't yet have the strength to do anything about it. "You did very well. I'm impressed. You're not yet ready to stand against Nazarick, but with my training you could be, soon. Now, I hope you'll listen a little closer to my words." Giving her shoulder a gentle pat I step back away from her, giving her a few moments to compose herself and climb back to her feet. [Heavy Recover] her own healing magic floods into her, helping to mend the bruises and bones that my regeneration did not mend. She stares at me in silence, her expression difficult to read.
It would be easy to just proclaim myself a new Great God and leave it at that, but I wanted her to understand as much as she could. Bringing up the catalog would be a step too far, but beyond that, I would go with the truth. "You asked who I am. My name is Sylvie Singh, and I arrived here a little over three days ago. I don't know what your theology has told you about the Six Great Gods, but they, the Eight Greed Kings, and I are all fundamentally the same. Humans from another world who became a personification of something greater then themselves when they entered this world. Your world lacks the context to explain it in detail, but the closest equivalent would be an author stepping into the shoes of his character or an actor becoming the one he portrays. They were ordinary humans until the wild magic of the Dragon Emperor interacted with their.. metaphorical stories, pulling them here. The ramifications of his spell is still thrumming through the worlds, I can't say if we'll be the last to arrive, except to say it isn't likely to be any time soon." My alluring voice seemed to soothe her, though I kept my love spot lure on low pumping out feelings of trust. It didn't seem right to completely bowl her over with the lures, but I didn't mind putting my finger on the scales a little.
[Heavy Recover] She heals herself in silence for several long moments as I give her time to digest, her eyes look thoughtful, her expression a little sullen. She still doesn't seem to be as excited about being beaten as I thought she might be. Still, she's obviously taking my words seriously, so I'll take the win. "You certainly contain the strength spoken of in legends, but this is a lot to take on faith. You understand that your story is very convenient. You come here, telling the nation that focuses on human survival above all else, that their founders were actually normal people. Not only that, but you're just a normal person too beneath it all, someone we can trust as one of our own. "
A small smirk curls on my lips in response. "More convenient then proclaiming I'm a Great God like the founder of your nation, and leaving it at that? And the rest of my story is certainly not convenient in that respect. Unfortunately for this world, I wasn't the only human drawn here as more then he once was. Recently having named himself Ainz Ooal Gown, he is leader of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. He is a powerful necromancer, likely eclipsing your God of Death that helped found your country. While I came alone, Nazarick is many. He is the only human made manifest, but he is served by many.. background characters, if I maintain the metaphor. He maintains some hint of connection with humanity, but much of it was severed by his undead state, and those around him consider every member of Nazarick to be greater beings then anything outside of their walls. They were never human. With rare exception they possess no connection to humanity except to look down at them as lesser life forms. Ainz is too afraid of their reactions to make them understand what he used to be, ensuring they see him only as the Overlord of Death he has become. Over time, the little connection he has will grow dimmer and dimmer. Even now, if he thought it necessary for the survival of Nazarick, he would flatten this world."
Antilene watches me in silence, still holding her battered body stiffly as she continues to pump her modest healing magic through her body. Seeing she doesn't seem to have anything more to say yet, I continue. "I know the names and descriptions of 11 of these background characters who could defeat you in single combat, and I have no doubt that there are more I do not know. Below that there are many dozens who could defeat anyone in your nation but you. I've managed to.. give them pause, but I don't know how long that will last. We must take advantage of my ability to rapidly train others, like you, and soon."
Finally finished I fall quiet as she watches me for another long stretch of silence. She nods her head slowly after a long moment, her normally relaxed demeanor still deadly serious. "I will need to meet with the Cardinals, they need to know everything you've said."
I briefly consider using Creation to manifest her a map with the location of Nazarick.. but the last thing I need is them to go poking the sleeping dragon. "I understand, but remember- While I will welcome the help of your nation, I'm not here for them. I'm here for you, so even if they decline to help in any way it is important that you make the right decision and join me. Make sure to emphasize to them that attacking Nazarick would be a grave mistake, sending scouts almost as bad, they are dormant for the moment and we need them to remain so. If you want me to, I will return to answer their questions.. on one condition. That you agree to spar with me again."
I finally got that smile again.Holy Goetia PoV:
Roughly a quarter of E-Rantel's outer ring, which was also most of the western quadrant, was E-Rantel's communal cemetery. While all other cities had their own graveyards, none were as large as E-Rantel's. As a staging ground for the regular border skirmishes with the Empire it's graveyard grew by the tens of thousands every year as the many casualties of the peasant levies were laid to rest. This created a problem that had to be managed, diligently, less disaster ensue. Undead regularly spawned from the location of the dead, or where they had fallen. If left unattended the undead spawned more powerful undead. Then those undead spawned yet more powerful undead, on and on in a cycle that would end in the destruction of the city if left unmanaged. This was why the city guards stood guard while adventurers patrolled the graveyards day and night to exterminate the weaker undead as soon as possible.
A wall surrounded the graveyard, this wall was the boundary between the living and dead. While it was only four meters tall and could not compare to the city walls, it was wide enough for a pair of guardsman to walk on top of it. The large doors set into its side were sturdy and could not be easily breached. All this was in order to ward against the undead that spawned in the graveyard. There were staircases to the left and right of the doors, and watchtowers along
the length of the wall. The guards took turns observing the graveyard below them as they yawned from the watchtowers, in shifts of five men at a time. The graveyard was lined with sconces enchanted with [Continual Light] spells, so there was ample illumination even at night.
Outside one of these walls, near the gated entrance, I waited for the arrival of the rest of Sword of Darkness as the sun showed it's first hints of pink light above the city walls. Absently killing a little time I pawed through the smart phone. "Well, looks like Gravity and Lightning are making good progress.. Five more levels already."
Level 15 Monk, 3 pugilist:
Physical attack:....1467 +96(1563)
Physical Defense:.1692 +93 (1785)
Agility:.......746 +81 (827)
Magic Attack:.....518 +00(518)
Magic Defense:.....1014 +78(1144)
Resist:.......1383 +78 (1461)
Health points:...7408 +390 (7798)
Mana points:.....1262 +00(1262)
There were many advantages to the app considering us all the same person, but one clear disadvantage is that I don't have a real listing of my stats in this body. It showed the same numbers, Miao Ying's numbers, no matter which of us looked. Still, that was small price to pay for the shared leveling, even if I only seemed to receive a small portion of the power in this form. Noticing missions have refreshed it is time to take a peek and see if anything useful has popped up, the last several days have been quite disappointing. From assassination requests, to a PVP rumble that invited other contractors to the world, to a naked and afraid parody that would take far too long they'd been duds. Today though..
Become the leader of a faction. Can only be considered complete when your new faction has more than 5,000 people or more than 12 members higher than Tier 6. Note, faction members may not become your familiars/companions until after they have joined the faction for the purposes of this mission (aka no building a peerage of devils and calling it a faction or just having your already acquired waifus become a new faction).
Conditions:
Become the leader of a faction in your new world.
Reward [ Credits ] :150
Without hesitation I click accept. Which particular faction to become the head of wasn't clear, but the opportunity was too good to pass up. 150 points? I'd find a way to make it work. While pondering how to make this work a familiar voice called out.
"Hey there beautiful! So eager to see us you had to show up early?" Lukrut's voice cut through the morning air as the four approached, all smiles as we joined up to begin our first adventure together.
"How could I resist? Come on, we're keeping the dead waiting." The guards let us through with nods of respect- The more we killed, the less they had to worry about making half hearted uncoordinated attacks on the walls, so adventurers were always welcome sights.
Sword of Darkness worked like a well coordinated machine. The first group of four zombies we encountered didn't have a chance, Dyne rooting them in place with [Twine Plant] while Ninya and I lit them up with [Magic Arrow], Lukrut piercing head after head with his composite bow. Peter stood as a front line, without needing to so much as swing his sword. More straggler zombies or skeletons proved even less challenging, casters preserving our mana as Lukrut and Peter made short work of the unfortunate souls. We hadn't been at it a half hour when Peter spoke up. "This is strange, there are too many. It's only been a few hours since the previous shift passed through.." It didn't seem like many undead to me, there hadn't been an even slight challenge for the group, but they had the experience. I had a pretty good idea of what had to be causing the unusual number of undead, but until we found the source there wasn't much I could do about it. Looking over the others I motioned forward. "Come on, all the more reason to get this cleared out before the problem gets unmanageable. We can mention it to the guards and guild when we're done."
No one objected, so we continued our sweep, working around the walls where we could clear out the most enemies without the worry of being approached from all sides. Slowly we began to circle inward, deeper and deeper, and the frequency of the enemy grew. Coming around a corner of a particularly large mausoleum we practically stumbled into the largest group yet, over a dozen zombies milling about a small courtyard, but they were not what immediately drew the groups attention. Peter's voice rang out in warning. "Ghast!" The red eyed creature spun towards them immediately, taller then the rest with a heavily muscles grey skin and six inch claws. The expressions of the others spoke more clearly then words- this was certainly not an enemy they had expected to encounter on a routine clearing operation.
As the zombies started to shuffle forward in their slow uncoordinated hobble the Ghast broke into a sprint, eyes fixed on the nearest of us, Peter. "Don't let it touch you!" He didn't have time to explain any more as it closed on him quickly. [Twine Plant] proved useless, the vines growing up to coil around its legs were instantly ripped free as it charged forward without hesitation. Ninya's [Reinforce Armor] and my [Lesser Agility] gave Peter the boost he needed to get his shield up in time and just avoid being knocked down by the force of the blow, but it was immediately obvious he was in trouble. The creature was faster, stronger, and one touch of those claws would leave Peter paralyzed. The rest of SoD would not do well after that. Lukrut was laying his fire into the slowly approaching zombies, unable to target the fast moving Ghast without risking hitting Peter.
Peter was battered back step by step against a nearby tomb as Ninya sent a steady stream of [Magic Arrow]s into the beast without much effect. Channeling my telekinetic power through Chaos Magic, hoping the others were too busy to notice, I kept the Ghast from tearing through Peter in seconds. Tugging his claw back at an opportune moment to make it just that instant slower, jabbing at his ankle to throw his swing wide, reinforcing the poorly angled shield block to make sure it held. Maintaining the concentration to do that as I rained [Thunder Lance] down upon the zombies growing ever closer, scattering several into pieces, proved more difficult then I thought and in the brief second I wasn't helping him Peters shield was pinned against his body by one claw as the other rapidly approached his throat. No time to play pretend anymore, a bright flash of Holy Energy washed over the pair and the Ghast burst into white flames as it stumbled back and began to come apart. The zombies didn't last long after that, and when it was all done they all turned towards me. "Sylvie.. What was that!?" Lukrut spoke with wide eyes, while Peter and Dyne looked thoughtful. Ninya was frowning in confusion.
A soft sigh escaped me, shaking my head in denial of the question. "It doesn't matter right now. What matters is we get back and report what we saw here today." That, and the chapel I could see in the distance at the center of the graveyard. The sight of it finally sparked my memory about where Clementine and the necromancer Khajiit would be hiding in preparation for their ritual to turn this entire city into a graveyard. As soon as I got them back to safety I'd be back to put a stop to this.
Sylvie, Six hours later:
Antilene is panting, her slender chest rising and falling rapidly as she tries to catch her breath after I've pushed her to her limit yet again. Despite her aching muscles, pale skin glistening under the moon light, her heterochroma eyes are shinning with excitement. A feral grin is plastered on her lips as she hunkers down into a low stance, light on her feet, ready to come at me yet again. I've revised my statement. She's more then cute, she's adorable. The eagerness is intoxicating. She'd departed for less then an hour to deliver her report to the cardinals and request a meeting between all of us, they were still internally debating how that would be handled, then she'd returned to find me. With an eager shine in her eyes she'd challenged me again. We'd been sparring ever since, with only the occasional break for her to catch her breath and stamina. From the little bit we'd chatted while she rested she seemed to be surprisingly down to earth for a girl who had been trained to be a secret weapon demigod since she was a small child. Chuckling softly I raise up my hand in a halting motion, unable to hold back an amused smile. "Alright girl, ~I'm~ starting to get tired, and I didn't even know that was possible. Let's take a real break."
The disappointment on her face is unmistakable, she hasn't had this much fun in as long as she can remember, but she nods her head in agreement. The back of her hand brushes away a stream of sweat as she tucks her dagger back away into her baggy clothing. We're standing out in a small clearing in the woods just outside the city limits. We'd thought it best we avoid any prying eyes that would be drawn by our bout. "Alright. I'm starving. Have you eaten recently?" Her question gives me pause, another chuckle escaping me. "You know, now that you mention it, I've not had a bite to eat since I came to this world. Seeing as this is a new body... You could even say, I've never eaten. Lead on."
She tilts her head slightly, my question triggering her curiosity as her eyes flick up and down me briefly. "New body. I understand your story, but it is still hard to fully appreciate." She seemed to believe me, now, without the reservations she'd had at first. Was it the logical consistency, the fun we were having, or the fact that she'd been staring at my trust inspiring tits for hours on end? Lets go with my powerful arguments, that had to be it. She starts to walk back towards town and I fall into pace beside her. "Tell me about your previous self?" Of course she was probing for information. It would be weird if she didn't, and beside that it felt like she honestly wanted to know, she wasn't building a checklist of information for the Cardinals. Or at least not just that.
Silence stretches on for several long seconds as I consider how the answer the question. It isn't that I want to deceive her, or even manage the situation, it's just... I don't really like thinking about who I used to be. "Well, the world I came from was very different from this one. My life was soft, in a lot of ways, compared to the life humans are forced to live in this world. Humans are the only intelligent species- no orcs, elves, dragons, or anything but animals. We'd long since conquered the world and advanced technology far beyond anything I could easily explain to you. We had enough resources to feed and clothe the entire world, to keep billions in relative comfort, but humans being humans we had our divisions, greed, and created our own misery."
Smiling softly in amusement she shakes her head, glancing briefly over toward me with an eye roll as we emerge from the dark woods into the edge of town. "Sylvie, I wasn't asking about your world. Tell me about you."
"Sorry. The truth is, I wasn't anyone special. I had a quiet job, family who lived far enough away that we only saw each other a few times a year, no one truly special in my life. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a bad life per say, I had a great deal of free time to peruse my own hobbies and entertainment. There was a lot about that life that I enjoyed. I do miss my family though." Silence falls between us as we walk for a few minutes, she seems to recognize I'm deep in thought and doesn't prod or intrude. Finally though I turn towards her with a subtle smile, slightly sad but real. "The best thing about my previous life, was the fact that it lead to this one. That I can be.." A hand motion from the top of my gorgeous white haired head to my toes. "Her. That I can be everything I ever wanted to be, and more. That I was given the opportunity, and the power, to save an entire world from misery. To more then save it, but to lift it up into a shinning future that they don't yet know is possible." My cheeks blush slightly as I really hear the words I'd spoken. "I guess that's a pretty arrogant statement to make."
"Not if you can do it." Her response is immediate and without hesitation, as if pointing out the obvious. She motions with her hand to follow her as she turns towards a small restaurant. "Here, this place is amazing. They use preservation magic to keep everything fresh, and the chefs are incredible. Fitting for a first meal in a new world." Leading us inside and towards a table in the corner she sits down with that subtle smile that I'm really coming to enjoy. "You've got to take some time now and then to enjoy life, to remember what you're fighting for, or you'll lose all perspective." Waving the waiter over she orders for the both of us as we fall into an easy conversation about the pleasures of life. It seems Antilene is quite the shopper- clothing, books, anything that catches her fancy. It's nice, to see there is more then Certain Death to her.
Before I know it the food arrives, resembling a yellow curry, but without a single recognizable ingredient. Antilene can't hold back her laughter as I literally groan in pleasure at the first bite- I've never tasted anything half as good as the explosion of exotic flavors that dance across my enhanced taste buds. It's too good to worry about being embarrassed as I dig in eagerly, glancing up at her with a smirk. "What? You can't tell me to enjoy life then make fun of me for following your advice." Her eyebrow arches slightly in response. "Can. Will."
Suddenly her playful demeanor disappears, her head tilting slightly to the side as if listening to something in the distance. "They would like to request you return to the chapel in thirty minutes. You'll be meeting with Pontifex Maximus and Cardinal Zinedine Delan Guelfi. I need to go prepare." The relaxed girl I'd been dinning with was gone, Certain Death in her place.