Azael closed the thick red leather-bound book in front of him gently, pinching his forehead with his spare hand. Closing his eyes, he let out a tired sigh. It had been six hours since he had first brought the thick stack of information books on the table here and started reading, not to mention he had never been the scholarly type.
I wonder what my tutors would think if they knew that I had spent six consecutive hours with books. I must have broken the personal record by three hours. After stretching his hands in front of him and bending his head from side to side to relieve the cricks in his neck, the black cloaked man sitting in a corner of the library stood up and sent the books back to the floating wooden collection tray with a simple Magic spell, before leaving the library with slow, confident strides.
Once outside, Azael took a few moments to admire the pinkish-purple hue the evening sky, along with the four orbs hanging in the sky. One of them was the Sun of Landrea, called Culmine, which changed colours from yellow to blue along with the seasons. The other three were the glowing purple moons of Landrea, responsible for the purplish colour of its night sky. Even though it was only late evening, the moons could still be faintly seen--Aosen, Cen and Orphes, the subjects of many a passionate poet’s song.
Snapping out of his daze--there were things to be done--Azael headed off towards the market district. Earlier in the day, he had been there to purchase suitable clothing as well as to check out the weapons’ store. Not because he was in any lack of weapons--he had stocked up on a great number of things (both useful and useless) in his [Inventory] before coming to this world, and of course, a nearly inexhaustible supply of finely crafted weapons was included. Instead, Azael had been interested to find out if the people of this world had come up with a weapon that did not exist in Atdea.
Unfortunately, but as expected, no such weapon was found. It could hardly be considered a surprise--after all, no matter which world they were from, humans were humans. Unless there was a huge difference in their environment which required for specific tools, the things that they invented would naturally be similar. Of course, that did not mean Azael had come out of the weapons’ shop empty handed. A few weapons made of metals and ores unknown to him had greatly caught his interest, and by the time he was leaving the shop owner had been richer by at least a few gold coins--enough to sustain his living for the rest of the year. He didn’t get it easy, however. Temmy had decided that she wanted to try her hand at bargaining, and Azael had spent a good few hours in the morning being her mouthpiece.
After he left the weapon’s shop, Azael had spent another hour or so wandering the market district, buying all sorts of interesting trinkets (most of them at the behest of Temmy in exchange for turning his hair back to its normal colour) as well as trying out the delicacies of Leis-heimer. The day before, after he had finally entered the town, he had spent the entire remainder of the evening walking around town and updating his mental map; a map created by his [Sense-UR] skill after he had synthesized it with the [Mapmaking-UR] skill. In short, it allowed him to make a replica of any map he saw in his head, as well as note down things about different places on the mental map. Furthermore, because of the synthesization with [Sense-UR], on his mental map, the area within 4 diomels of him would be littered with different coloured dots representing different living beings.
This ability was also why he was heading to the market district again; he had just remembered that he should probably buy a map of the kingdom and update his mental map. He was supposed to do so in the morning after visiting the weapon’s shop, but it had totally slipped Azael’s mind, and by the time he remembered he was already in the library.
After inquiring around, he was informed that the best place to buy a map would actually be the Traders’ Union, which mainly consisting of, well, traders. Because almost all the human merchants in Landrea were registered under the Traders’ Union for ease of communication, the Union was understandably rich. Leis-heimer wasn’t a very big town by any means, but it was quite a prominent port that mainly welcomed ships from southern Seyris, so it boasted a large Trader’s Union building. After obtaining the directions, he successfully brought a map of the Kingdom of Lukia whose soil he was currently standing on, a dungeon map, a map of Amorpha, and detailed maps of the other two major human kingdoms--Seyris and Chravnen--in Landrea. He wasn’t able to find a world map, however. Because Landrea was shaped as a cube, with different species occupying different sides and a high level required to pass through the Falls--the edges of the cube that separated the different sides from each other--it was only possible to get a map of Amorpha, the side of Landrea which humans resided on.
After paying for his purchases, Azael quickly went back to his inn at the insistence of Temmy who wanted to try out the trinkets he had brought in the morning. On the way, he casually glanced at the maps, which was enough to add their information to his mental map. By the time he reached the inn, he had finished all the maps he had brought, but decided to store them in [Inventory] instead of discarding them because, who knew? He might suddenly get amnesia or something.
System: You’re hopeless.
“Not.” Azael replied obstinately, drawing the hood of his cloak even lower as he entered the inn. It was nearing dinner time, and most of the guests were coming down for dinner. He quickly located an empty table near the corner, before settling down and gruffly telling a passing waitress his order. Thankfully, because he had activated the skill [Unfriendly Aura], his CHA was reduced to 590; enough to attract no attention at all, since a CHA stat below 500 meant people would experience feelings of dislike just by his presence.
System: You should make more friends.
“Too weak,” came the immediate reply. Indeed, after a quick sweep around with [Analyse-UR], he had discovered that even though Blue Lemon Point was supposed to be an adventurer’s inn, there were no strong adventurers around. The highest levelled person here was around Level 150, and had stats around 1800. Ironically, he was also the innkeeper--a bearded, well muscled man whose head of greying hair betrayed his age.
System: Well, I suppose that’s not surprising. After all, high-levelled adventurers don’t usually come to towns like this where there isn’t a single high-ranking dungeon around. Speaking of which, which dungeon are you planning to clear first?
“Treitschgone. It’s the closest SSS ranked dungeon. Were you the one who gave it such a horrendous name?”
System: I couldn’t be bothered to think up a good name for the dungeon, so I just pressed random letters on the keyboard. You should be glad it’s even pronounceable.
“Irresponsible,” Azael replied half-heartedly, watching as the blonde waitress walked towards his table with two bowls of steaming food in her hands. He was fatigued, as anyone would be after memorising more than 7000 books in 6 hours, and wanted nothing more to finish his meal, take a long, hot shower and collapse bonelessly onto the bed. With any luck, there wouldn’t be fleas.
The glowing red numbers on the top right of his vision flashed suddenly, before increasing in value. That number represented the amount of HP he had left. According to the books he had memorised, getting tired or hungry would also decrease one’s HP. Of course, that meant that people with high levels--and thus high HP--would be able to go many years without sleeping or hungry.
Pa-dang! The waitress placed the food on his table, her long blonde hair drifting into his face as she bent over. Azael’s stomach let out a low grumble at the mouth-watering smell of the food, and the waitress smiled, amusement shining in her eyes.
“Enjoy your meal,” she said, bowing slightly, one arm placed in front of her stomach, before walking away to attend to another customer.
Azael happily complied. The inn was rather well furnished, with comfortable wooden chairs and sturdy tables. The walls were a soft yellow colour, and multi-colored lights running on Magic hung from wooden beams. Near the staircase to the rooms on the second floor, the innkeeper--a bearded, hearty old man with a loud voice and a cheerful demeanor--poured cups of ale skillfully. On the other side of the room, a bard was playing a musical instrument--the Jorgas, Temmy told him--and a bunch of half-drunk adventurers were singing along. Their voices were at best harmful to the ears, their tune horribly off and their rhythm practically nonexistent, but it created a comfortable atmosphere that Azael, along with a good many other adventurers, appreciated. The food didn’t disappoint, either. He had asked for two bowls of seafood stew (he liked stews, and he loved seafood), and it was rich in content as well as amazingly delicious. The thick liquid went down his throat wonderfully, and the meat voluptuously tender. Azael made mental note to have one last meal at the Blue Lemon Point before setting off tomorrow.
After finishing his meal without being disturbed by anyone, Azael headed to his room. Locking his doors and windows and setting up ten or so different Magic spells around him, he sat down on the bed and waited. It was an idea he had thought of earlier, and while Temmy had been slightly skeptical, she had immediately agreed to help.
Soon, the space in front of him began to glow a shimmering blue. Tiny sparks of bright blue light--the colour reminded him of his eyes--began to appear, dancing and spinning in the air and engulfing the entire room in a soft blue light. As he watched, the sparks of light began to form a shape. A few seconds later, a dazzling golden light burst from the shape, forcing Azael to grimace and cover his eyes with his arm. After a while, as the light slowly subsided, he opened his eyes by just a crack, checking that it was safe, before removing his arm.
In front of him floated a tiny faerie-like girl about half his height. She had pale, smooth white skin, along with dazzling green eyes that called up memories of trees and gemstones. Even though there was no wind in the room, soft white hair even longer than her body floated around her. She was garbed in a simple white dress with long billowy sleeves that were cut open at the shoulders and adorned with gold designs, with four translucent blue wings extending from her back. There were vein-like lines on her wings the colour of the sea, and if he had to make an approximate, were even bigger than the bed he was sitting on.
Suddenly, her face scrunched up, and her lips started quivering. As Azael started to panick, a single tear rolled down her cheek.
“It...it worked...I’m…” she choked out, fist clenching by her side.
Dammit, she’s crying! By Ambriel’s crown, what do I do? Azael’s mind was in a flurry; other than Calandre and his mother, he hadn’t been close enough to any other woman to have to comfort them while they were crying, and Calandre had been the strongest mage in existence while his mother an assassin of the highest order. Even if he wracked his brain and squeezed his memory dry, Azael was sure the amount of times he had seen them cry could be counted with less than a hand. As the panic that usually followed when an inexperienced man had to comfort a crying woman kicked in, without thinking, he blurted out:
“Well hello, Temmy. I suppose your dress isn’t that awful after all. Still, you’re amazingly short for someone who has had a few thousand years to grow. Did you start shrinking because you got old or something?”
Temmy stared at him for a few seconds, swollen red eyes filled with a multitude of emotions. Without warning, she pounced towards him, letting out a loud sob. Azael started at the sudden movement, instinctively moving to defend himself, before forcefully negating the Magic spell that he had just casted before it harmed her. He breathed a sigh of relief, turning his head to look at the young girl curled up on his lap.
“Dammit, woman, you are fast. At least give me a warning next time, will ya? I nearly fried you to a crisp,” he said half-heartedly, one hand stroking her hair, the other around her heaving shoulders. Minutes passed, and they remained in this position. Temmy’s face was buried in his chest, but from time to time he could hear fragments of her voice.
“It worked...I’m actually here…”
After a while--how long had she cried for? Twenty, thirty minutes?--Temmy finally calmed down. Azael took a piece of cloth from his [Inventory], and gently wiped away her tears.
“Thank you,” she replied shyly, not daring to raise her face to look at him.
Azael patted her head, before lifting her up by the waist and placing her beside him. Instinctively, she clung to his arm, uncertainty reflected in her eyes. Azael smiled encouragingly at her, before taking out all the things she had wanted him to buy earlier today and placing them on the bed.
Temmy’s lips lifted slightly--so slightly he couldn’t have noticed it without [Enhanced Senses-UR], and mumbled another “Thank you”. Noticing that tears were starting to well up again, Azael poked her cheek.
“Stop crying so much, Temmy. Don’t you know you might become blind?” he teased gently.
Temmy stared dazedly at him for a few a few seconds, before nodding vigorously and blinking her eyes furiously in response, trying her best to clear away the tears. Before turning her attention back to the things around her, she stuck out her tongue and made a face at him. Seeing that, Azael couldn’t help but let loose a small chuckle.
Because he didn’t want to make her feel self-conscious by staring at her like some creep, he flopping back down onto the bed, hands behind his head. As the sound of Temmy’s laughter drifted through the room, Azael couldn’t help the feeling of fondness that welled up in his chest for her.
This girl...she’s like a sister I’ve never had.
He thought of how happy she had been when she had succeeded in coming to this world, and a wave of sympathy washed over him. When he had asked her about her home, she had told him that she first appeared, or, in terms he could understand, been ‘born’ in an area that she had dubbed The Void. The Void was a seemingly endless space that contained nothing but her. No air, no light, no mana--nothing. According to her, she had, multiple times, went to completely barren planets (which had their [System] altered so that they were completely inaccessible by anyone else) and tried to bring back things like rocks and water, but they had disappeared whenever she went back to The Void.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Because of the rules that bound her existence, she could not go anywhere where there was the slightest chance that she would be seen by mortal sentient beings or could interact with them. For example, if she wanted to appear in an empty desert thousands of diomels away from the nearest sentient being, it would not be possible, because there was a chance that someone might accidentally be loaded into a magic cannonball and spot her whilst flying overhead, or maybe a magician somewhere would botch up a [Teleport] spell. Of course, the chances of those things happening were very slim, but as long as the slightest chance of being spotted existed, Temmy would not be able to appear there.
After hearing the rules binding her, Azael had come up with a plan to counter it; a plan so simple Temmy had almost refused to believe it would work. Unfortunately for her, for fortunately, depending on how one saw it, it did. Considering how happy she had been to appear in this world, Azael doubted she minded being proven wrong.
His idea had merely been for him to set up Magic spells preventing others from seeing, hearing, smelling, sensing or entering the room. However, there was a catch to those spells--they were a proud invention of his, which he had named Absolute spells. Unlike traditional barrier spells, which normally withstood attacks until the magician ran out of mana, Absolute spells were special in that anyone whose WIS was lower than the caster would never be able to break past the spell, while the effects of the spell would be practically nonexistent to anyone whose WIS was higher than the caster, even if it was only by one point. Because of his title [God of Magic], it was impossible for anyone to break past the barrier spells he had set, which completely negated the chances of anyone seeing Temmy, thus allowing her to appear in this room.
Sending another fond glance towards the little girl excitedly bouncing about on the bed, Azael couldn’t help a feeling of wanting to help her rising in his chest. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind--since they had just proven that it was not impossible for her to arrive in their world, it was possible that there were other loopholes regarding her existence. Before him, there was no way Temmy would be able to freely investigate those loopholes, since she couldn’t use magic from within the Void, and he suspected she had practically given up on ever escaping out of it and thus hadn’t placed much thought into this matter. However, now that he was here, he fully intended to find a way to ensure she could come travel freely as and when she wished.
Is it possible, he mused thoughtfully, glancing at the elated girl on the bed, that she would be able to appear in front of other sentient beings as long as no one would be able to realise that she was the [System]? If that was the case, things would be a lot easier. All he had to do was to create a body for her before casting [Wandering Ghost] on her soul so that she would be able to choose which body she wished to occupy. Of course, to prevent people from suspecting her identity, he would have to enchant her body with an Absolute spell that prevented any form of curiosity about her as well as cause the automatic dispel of any form of investigative magic. Having decided that, he decided to leave the matter of having her design her new body for the next morning; she seemed to be having a lot of fun, and he didn’t have the heart to disturb her.
The next day, as per habit, Azael woke up just before the sun rose. Feeling a tight hold on his arm, he looked down to realize that Temmy was curled into him, her pale white hair spreading out behind her. Her face was unexpectedly gentle in her sleep, and Azael reached his hand up to softly stroke her head, a smile tugging on his lips, before gently prying her fingers off and leaving the bed, all the while taking cares not to wake her up. S Walking over to an armchair in the corner of the room, he noticed the trinkets he had brought for her the previous night carefully laid on the bed next to her.
A few seconds, that last thought struck him with the force of a hammer. Those were probably the first things she's ever gotten from someone. How long has she looked at the things of the mortals, wishing for a way to get them?
Azael’s mind flashed back to when he had first arrived to Landrea, a world where System messages existed. He thought of how Temmy had almost always immediately replied his questions, as if she had been constantly watching him. He thought of how hurt she had always been when he insulted her, even if he had done it jokingly, as if his opinion was what mattered most to her. He thought of all those thousands of years she had spent with no one to keep her company, of how lonely she must have been and how happy she must have felt when he became immortal. Azael felt a wave of tenderness over him, tenderness and fondness for this green-eyed faerie girl who was so much older than him and yet so much younger than him at the same time.
I'm the first person she's spoken to, huh? I wonder how much courage it took for her?
As he mused, Temmy began stirring. After a while, her long eyelashes fluttered slightly, before revealing bright green eyes. A dazed and slightly confused look crossed her face, making her look extremely adorable. Looking around, it took a few seconds (and the presence of Azael) before she realised where she was.
“Morning,” Azael greeted, smiling warmly at her. Standing up, he strode over to the bed before settling himself down beside her. “So,” he began in a conversational tone, “I was just thinking for a bit last night, and I was wondering it would be possible for you to appear in the presence of others if there was no way for them to realise who you were.”
Temmy’s eyes widened immediately, and a silver of hope flickered across her face, those bright green orbs lighting up. The next instant, she quickly suppressed her emotions, murmuring cautiously, “It might work.”
“Well then, let’s try it out. I’ll create a makeshift body for you first, before casting a soul transfer spell on you. I’ve just invented this spell, so there will probably be unknown side effects. Not sure if they will apply to you, however.”
Temmy nodded, biting her lips nervously. Her tiny hands clenched the material of her skirt tightly, and behind her her translucent blue wings fluttered slightly. Azael took one last look at her, making sure she was alright with it, before starting the creation of her makeshift body. Since they weren’t sure if it would actually work, he didn’t want to raise her hopes by asking her to design her new body, so he decided to make it based on her current look, except without the wings and normal coloured hair.
Closing his eyes, Azael began drawing the mana out from him. Slowly, the surroundings began to fade away from him, as he submerged himself in the weaving of the spell. Swirls of golden words flew around him as per his will, gently settling down into their own position. As he continued to draw mana from within himself, his mind began to fill up with hundreds of thousands of mystical symbols, dancing and floating all around him, until in his mind appeared a gigantic, complex magic circle made up of countless small inscriptions.
Even after all the words had found their place and the magic circle was completed, he continued to pour mana into it, watching as it began to glow brighter and brighter, before finally exploding in a massive burst of light. Slowly, Azael opened his eyes, greeted with the sight of success. Exhaling slowly, he wiped off the few drops of sweat that had appeared on his forehead. Even for the [God of Magic], the concentration involved in using [Creation Magic] was enormous. After a minute’s rest, he enchanted it with the Absolute spell, before taking a step back of assess his work.
“Well, I suppose it’s passable,” he commented. From the outside, while it did seem a bit weird compared to a normal body, because of the Absolute spell, no one would question it, and besides, he could always change it later on.
“So, I’ll start the spell now. Relax a bit more, Temmy,” he encouraged, seeing her tense shoulders. Temmy let out a huge breath, her shoulders relaxing slightly, before indicating for him to start with a small nod of her head. Seeing that she was ready, Azael started on the spell. Compared to the [Creation Magic] spell earlier, something of this level was insignificant, and Azael completed it with a few flashy waves of his hands.
Immediately after the spell was finished, Temmy’s body disappeared. A few seconds later, the body he had just created blinked its eyes, and Azael felt a wave of relief rush over him, before a feeling of dread and immense tension replaced it. While it was successful thus far, the real test would be when he removed the Absolute barriers surrounding them. If they succeeded, Temmy’s soul would be able to stay in this body. If they failed, however, she would be kicked back into the Void.
Taking a step forward, he took Temmy’s hand in his and gave her a reassuring squeeze. Their gazes met, anticipation and nervousness reflected in the other’s eyes. A flash of determination shone in Temmy’s eyes, just for a brief moment. Opening her mouth, she spoke, “Azael. Remove the barriers.”
Azael gave an almost imperceptible nod, and did exactly as he was told. The moment he removed the barriers, his breath caught, and he stared nervously at the body he had just created. Please, please, he chanted in his mind, come on, she deserves this.
And just when the first silvers of disappointment crept into his heart, the person beside him turned her head slowly, her eyes rimmed with red.
Authors Note:
Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Didn’t have any action at all, but I promise there will be some in the next one (he’ll be conquering Treitschgone). New characters and guilds will be introduced as well (while the MCs will be Azael and Temmy for the most part, there will be a few side characters that will take up quite a bit of space as well). This is not gonna be a harem story, by the way, but there will be a female romantic interest coming in (but whether it’ll be a two-sided love is yet to be decided). Oh, and a preview of the next chapter is below.
Lukia, City of Winderson, Castle Winderson
The hall was large and finely adorned, wealth and elegance displayed in every corner. Streams of golden light flowed through the tall glass windows, casting their gentle spell on the shining red and gold ornaments. It was a majestic sight, sure to strike awe and respect upon all who gazed at it; the glittering chandeliers dripping with luxury, the smooth red velvet that spoke of class and the huge pieces of sculptured hesonal depicting stunningly detailed phoenixes.
A pure xenodite throne sat at the end of the room, its inky darkness a huge contrast on the otherwise brightly colored room. On it lay an indistinct shape which, from afar, seemed to be a pile of furs wrapped together in a bundle. However, upon going closer, a head of chocolate curls could be seen peeking out from the top of the bundle.
A knock on the door of the Great Hall rang out, drawing the attention of the person on the throne. “Come in,” a deep male voice responded, the slight tinge of childish innocence in it clashing against the shivers the coldness present in it gave people. Seconds later, the doors opened slightly to reveal a man in his thirties dressed neatly in crisp white. This was Reeve Essylt, second-in-command to the Lord of Winderson.
Reeve walked briskly down the length of the velvet carpet, kneeling down when he was halfway across the room. “My lord,” he addressed the man on the throne, fist over his heart. “Erkarian’s forces are moving.”
A short pause ensued, tension palpable in the air. Reeve licked his lips nervously, before deciding to risk a glance at his master, eyes darting up quickly to assess his expression. Unluckily for him, their eyes met, and he instinctively lowered his gaze, a visible shudder running up his spine. The Lord of Winderson might be young--they had just celebrated his twenty-fourth winter--but he was about as scary as a person could be, despite the childish innocence he exuded.
“Where?” came the reply, the voice just as cold as ever.
“They’re trying to enter Treitschgone, my lord.”
“Oh?” this time, a tinge of amusement could be detected. “Don’t they know that trying to enter any of the SSS ranked dungeons in the Winderson-Aracht area without the approval of the Flag of Winderson is the same as going against us?”
Reeve lowered his head even more, trying to make himself seem as small and insignificant as possible.
“Erkarian…” the Lord continued musing. “We leave them alone for a few years, and they start to think we’re scared of them?”
Reeve’s every instinct screamed at him to run.
“Capture them alive. Tie the men naked to the gates of City-Treitschgone and whip them, give the women to our soldiers to enjoy themselves.”
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