The world of 2138 was completely different to what it was 100 years ago. Mega corporations rule the world, and everything else is merely a object to them. Be it a natural resource or a human being, they would eventually be used up and tossed away.
There were no longer levels of wealth like the upper or middle class. There were only the lucky and the unlucky.
At least, that was how one, Ulbert Alain Odle viewed it. And as luck would have it, or rather lack there of, Ulbert belonged to the latter group from birth. His life would forever be dictated by those above him, and no amount of schooling, or hard work, could change that. He would end up with a fate similar to his parents, being a mere stepping stone for someone to use as they see fit, than when he dies, they toss him in the nearest dump and continue on. No one will grieve him, and no one will care.
So when YGGDRASIL finally shut down, and everyone who would even notice his disappearance were no longer able to be in contact with him. He made his decision. He decided to confront his higher ups at his work, to tell them off for there callous disregard of his life. He had resolved himself to die, and he knew that his rant would do nothing. But he wanted to at least go out on his own terms.
And as he predicted, he had lost his job and went from being one of the merely unlucky, to the slums. He would use what little money he had saved up on food and refills for his VR excursions, and then he would die, and have his own body be one of the many that he often walked over. He did not lament his fate however, as the same thing would have happened even if he had not done so. The only difference being he would have died inside a house rather than an alley.
And thus, this is how Ulbert lived his life, for the few weeks he had until his inevitable death.
Until one day...
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.
.
"huh, so down to my last 10,000 yen eh?"
The one who had said this was one of the world many nobodies, otherwise known as Ulbert Alain Odle. While one who was not in the know may think that amount would be a tidy some, at least for a while, rapid inflation thru the years meant that amount of money would be enough for a meal or two if one rationed it out. At least a decent one. While he could continue on for at least a month by buying liquid foods, he wanted his last days to be somewhat enjoyable, so he choose to go for real food.
"Well, it was going to happen eventually. I guess my time is almost up. Heh, maybe I'll use it to buy a gun and blow my brains out over some higher up over at Neo Kyoto."
of course, such pipe dreams would not happen. The amount of security would prevent anyone with firearms going anywhere near one of the buildings, much less up to a higher up than actually ran one of the corporations.
"Well, whatever. I'll probably just have a last meal after my final gaming session, than jump off a building or something. At least that way I can die quickly. Though I may end up chocking on the air before I hit the ground. Hah... is there such thing as a painless death anymore?"
Ulbert often made these deprecating jokes, since it was his one true way to express himself. Everything that his soul had built up laid bare.
His hatred for humanity.
His hatred for his fate.
His hatred for the world itself.
All of these things and more were built up in his psyche throughout the years, cursing anyone who he encountered. But he was not alone in this. In-fact, one who thought the opposite may find themselves in the minority.
The only enjoyable times he had in life were those with the only people he would dare to call friends in YGGDRASIL. His time role playing as the great demon of disaster. His character was not only a expression of his chuunibyou side, but also how he viewed the world. Indeed, the class [World Disaster] could not be more fitting, as it both represented what he though of the world, as well as what he wanted to do to it. While he wished those years would have continued forever, work and life got in the way, and so he had to hang up his mantle, and put himself back in the grind.
So, while he would have loved nothing more than to meet up with his old friends, he no longer had that opportunity, since YGGDRASIL had shut down its servers. So he turned to other games to fill the time. Though this wasn't really any real fun to him. It just beat moping.
"well what will my final game be? I could just finish that visual novel I was reading. or... hm?" low and behold, the icon for YGGDRASIL was in his list of games he had preloaded. Was this just the devs way of making a offline mode, or was it back for some final content update like they did with the mech update? Since Ulbert had no access to the news, he honestly couldn't tell.
"Well, I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Besides, YGGDRASIL was my favorite game. It would be nice to end it all on a positive note. Finishing it with the game that started it."
Ulbert began to allow himself to relax as he clicked on the icon, which suddenly caused him to feel very dizzy.
Did... my mask slip off or...
Those words were the last thoughts he had as he drifted of into darkness.
.
.
.
"*yawn* when did I fall asleep? Or rather, were am I?"
as Ulbert groggily awoke and mumbled this to himself. When he awoke he found himself on a simple grass plain, without anything odd about it. One would never see something like this on earth. So how was he here?
He began to search his memories, which slowly awoke within as he shook of his dazed state. He remembered turning on his hud, then seeing YGGDRASILS icon for some unknown reason, and then...
"did I fall asleep when I turned on the game? That's the only logical explanation. But then where am I? Did a new version come out? And... what the...?
While his first assumption gained credence at first, it wouldn't make since for him to A.) be in his old character model, and B.) to not be in some kind of hub. As these thoughts filtered through his mind, he suddenly felt the slight breeze blowing through the fields on his now very fluffy coat. And if that was the case then...
Ulberts entire body began to tremble, as he put his hand up to his mouth, a smile could be seen forming on his now very animal like lips. He then let out a cry at the top of his lungs.
"ALL RIGHT!"
this loud shout echoed throughout the large plain, but no one had heard it since he was all alone.
The reason for this shout was Ulbert was desperately hoping what he had thought was happening would be true. As his somewhat immature nature would imply, he was often a fan of stories like Isekai's, specifically the idea of being sent into another world since his own was so drab. He often liked to imagine himself in that scenario, being someone who would be chosen to go on a grand quest, and able to shed his old life away without a second though.
Which made his current situation all the easier to accept. In fact, he was desperately praying in his heart to whatever gods he could think of that he was not dreaming.
"Please be real... this has to be... what if I pinch myself? That will prove this is real right?" just as he was about to commit the act, he couldn't help but remember that his in game avatar had nails that were each the size of a small dagger, and just as sharp. And as his gaze drifted to the instrument of death that was his hand, he ultimately decided against it.
"well, seeing as I can feel everything else, I'll just assume that it is real. But if that is the case, then were am I? I don't remember any realms in YGGDRASIL being this barren."
When a player found a barren area in the game, it almost always just meant "look harder". But nothing was ever this desolate. There would be at least some sort of hint present. But it was just grass as far as the eye could see.
As he was beginning to wonder how to proceed, he saw the outline of a city under the night sky, which, while might normally be impossible, was clearly illuminated under the light of the moon.
"Well, with no leads, that looks like a good a place as any to figure out where the hell I am, and maybe get some gear. Without my badass ensemble, I just look like a mountain goat."
thus, his course decided, he made his way to the unknown capital.
.
.
.
"wow, this place looks super nice doesn't it?"
While he had not said that to anyone in particular, the beautiful buildings and atmosphere made him say that unconsciously. The roads were paved with form fitting brick, and the street lights seemed to glow from within by a magical light source, giving the place a very somber, yet calming feel. Each building was build in a different way, as though they creators wanted this place to feel unique. Though the only odd thing he found about the man made vista was how a lot of the roofs were spherical, and featured many statues they were aligned in no particular order, within indents in the walls.
Naturally as this was the middle of the night, people wouldn't be out and about, but he wanted to explore more of this world, as he didn't have the chance to do this sort of thing back on earth.
"While it looks like information will have to wait until morning, I'm not in any hurry. In fact, I think I'll check inside that large temple looking place to see if... WOAH!"
"you'll do no such thing!"
as he saw a object moving in the sky from his peripheral, he somewhat clumsily moved out of the way. Soon enough, a loud crash was heard throughout the night, and a dust cloud was kicked up that Ulbert had to shake off as he tried to regain his footing from the awkward backpedal he had just performed.
When the earthy mist had cleared, he was left with a figure standing in a sizable indent in the ground, no-doubt caused by his somewhat flashy entrance. It wielded a large spear that immediately transformed itself from being in the earth, into a fighting stance.
Is that a guy... or girl?
As the figure revealed itself, it was very androgynous from his initial impression. Though whatever the case, its appearance screamed "warrior". It was heavily clad in plate armor, though not enough to the point where it would restrict movement. Long black hair flowed from its head, and cold eyes pierced into him, not letting it leave his view.
It was obvious at a glance he was used to fighting.
"you're pretty cocky bafolk I'll give you that. Marching straight into the capital of the Slane-Theocracy without a care in the world. But I'm afraid that your spree comes to a end here."
What is this guy even on about?
Before he was able to ponder such matters, he entered a stance that left no room for openings. "Now are you going to come quietly, or do I have to dispatch you here and now."
Once again a smile grew on Ulbert's face. But this time, for a very different reason. It was pure elation at what was to come. If this guy wanted to fight, then let him come.
As the chuunibyou in his heart came forward, he activated a visual effect, and got into character.
.
.
.
As the moon began to reach its peak, a lone man wandered the capital of the theocracy.
This man was known as the 1st seat of the black scripture. While all but the upper echelons and his comrades did not know of his existence, he was undoubtedly, one of the Theocracy's aces in the hole. A godkin.
As such, guarding the head temple in the capital was his job when he was on standby. While he knew it was a important task, it still hardly qualified as work. It mostly entailed walking the perimeter of the stronghold, while occasionally looking out from the roof.
While I know that protecting the church is important, can't the other guards just do it? Nobody is stupid enough to waltz into the center of.. the...
His thoughts were interrupted by a lone demi-human walking the streets. Based on its appearance, it appeared to be a bafolk.
Your kidding me... Well at least im doing something tonight. I'll toy with it since its undoubtedly up to no good. The cardinals will probably want to know what its doing here to, so I'll have to land in front of it.
With a vault that would make any Olympic athlete jealous, he sailed thru the air like a arrow, and used the tip of his spear to act like one as he slammed into the ground like a lightning strike.
Since it was dumb enough to even attempt... whatever this was, I won't need much caution. Not that I needed it already.
"you're pretty cocky bafolk I'll give you that. Marching straight into the capital of the Slane-Theocracy without a care in the world. But I'm afraid that your spree comes to a end here."
Moving into a position that would allow him to strike at his neck in a second, he gave his demand. "Now are you going to come quietly, or do I have to dispatch you here and now."
the creature in respond gave what looked to be a sly grin(or was it baring its teeth?), and merely chuckled. At the same time, embers began to appear at its feet. Likely due to a magic item, though at first glance, it didn't seem to own any.
"hoho... are you trying to challenge me, Ulbert Alain Odle? My my, your a cocky one."
Whose being cocky here?
"your acting rather Brazen yourself demi-human. You do realize who your talking to right? I'm the first seat of the black scripture. In other words, the second strongest being in the country."
"ho, what a shame. As much as a would have loved to crush the strongest being here, I guess I will have to settle for second fiddle instead. One more thing, I am a demon, not a demi-human. Do you need to get your eyes checked?"
Mockery then... "Well that's even more unfortunate, as you'll likely not find a larger source of holy magic in the area. Well whatever, you die right here right now!"
as he transformed himself into a metaphorical arrow once more, he shot straight up in the air, preparing to impale the abomination right through the middle.
["Meteor Strike!"]
With the activation of the martial art, he shot straight down at the creature, and with this height, he would instantly kill it. While he had no need to go so far, he wanted to release some stress by taking it out on the creature.
"Roar o' sacred flame, and erase all in thy path with your power!- [Maximize Magic-Fireball!]"
With this rallying cry, an argent ball of flame jettisoned itself from the demon, on a collision course with the attacking human.
A spell as average as [Fireball] isn't even worth my time. I'll tank it with this attack and then...
At that moment a Explosion of light rocked the courtyard they found themselves in. One may thing the sun had risen with the light that was Emitted from the resulting blast. Some nearby structures were blown away from the Sheer strength of it.
And as a result, the 1st seat of the black scripture continued to soar through the air, but in the opposite direction, as the shock wave had sent him flying into the fountain, leaving him in a very precarious state.
What... was that...
while he could still move, it took great effort to even lift himself up, and his entire body was wracked with pain when his weight was applied to it. He could barely stand as he was now, much less fight.
"Ahahahah, so it would seem that all of my boasting was not for show now was it? I'm feeling rather generous at the moment, so I'll spare your life for now."
While this comment offended the man, as he was used to being on the top for all his life, he felt that this insult was not mere mockery, but simply objective fact. The demon would spare him because he wanted to torture him with the pain of the loss.
"While I was originally going to explore a bit more, you've made it quite clear that I'm not welcome here. So I shall take my leave. [Dimensional Move!]"
And with that, the toughest foe he had ever faced had disappeared with the wind, leaving only a cracked and damaged street in its wake.
While he was still recovering from the attack just now, he soon disregarded his personal health as one though came to mind which took precedence.
I have to warn the cardinals!