Chapter 2

Author’s Note: If you can’t understand the time, this chapter (at least most of it) happened 4 days after Uriel beat the men in the black suit and three days before Uriel and Alyssa’s first encounter.

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Three days ago . . .

Gatou’s Restaurant.

A Japanese-themed restaurant who served middle-class workers from sunrise til’ passed sunset. The restaurant is busiest at lunch hour where many workers crowd to get a taste of their delectable cuisine.

And right now, all 20 employees of Gatou were working busily, fluidly doing their tasks like they do each and every day.

“Hey! Where’s the noodles I asked to be boiled?!” the head chef, Yukiteru, yelled as he began to mix ingredients in a pot.

“I told Riel to do it! Riel, where’s the noodles?” the man originally assigned to boil the ingredients and the sole woman of the kitchen, Akane, referred to Uriel, also known as Riel in the restaurant.

Uriel, who seemed to have been in a daze a few moments ago, snapped out of his thoughts and looked around to find what was asked of him. However, dread filled him when he discovered the pot he was supposed to be boiling noodles in empty.

‘Oh shit!’ he thought in panic as he began to quickly unwrap some uncooked noodles and placed it on the boiling water. Mentally counting the amount of time it will need, he clenched his fist and yelled.

“Five minutes!” he cried out, expecting for the worse.

And true to his expectations, a loud ‘What?!’ came from Akane and Yukiteru.

“I’m so sorry, I forgot to—“

“Forgot?! You forgot to do your task? Oh shit, go outside and apologize to the customers now!” Yukiteru yelled.

In a restaurant serving hungry workers with very tight break time schedule, time is truly of the essence. This holds truer for a restaurant which prided itself for serving their customers at record times without sacrificing the quality of the food.

Uriel, fully acknowledging the consequence of his actions, went out of the kitchen to apologize. And as expected, instead of waiting for their food, the hungry workers complained and decided to cancel out their orders.

As he watched the angry, completely dissatisfied men exit their shop, Uriel could only sigh at the certain deduction his daily wage would suffer through.

“You should know full well and reflect properly that the reputation of this restaurant was tarnished because of your actions!” Yukiteru continued to rant on once the rush hour was over.

Uriel pretended to listen, nodding his head and saying an occasional ‘Yes sir’. The young man knew full well the impact of his actions but he also knew that Yukiteru was overreacting.

‘It’s not as if a single customer would destroy your business…’ Uriel thought but resisted the urge to retort against his boss.

The store owner and head chef continued on for a few more minutes before deciding to dismiss Uriel. Uriel bowed his head and muttered his final apology before removing himself from the man’s presence.

‘If it weren’t for the pay, I would’ve long stopped working in this shop. Oh wait, all my jobs are like that too,’ Uriel thought, but none of his complaints could be seen through his perfectly indifferent façade.

After getting out of his work clothes, Uriel, who was about to take his leave and start his short break before his next job starts was stopped when a hand suddenly grabbed his back.

Hateful of physical contact with humans—something he never lost despite his master’s countless training—Uriel winced at the contact and quickly slapped the hand away from him.

“I’m sorry!” the sudden cry of a familiar, feminine voice echoed as soon as Uriel slapped the hand from his back.

Surprised at the reaction, Uriel quickly turned around and saw Akane with an apologetic, almost crying, face. Most men would’ve panicked at the sight of a girl at the edge of crying but Uriel is far from being similar to them.

In fact, his training with Lucinda was enough to shape him into a complete equalist—a man who doesn’t only not discriminate against woman, but also treats them as if they were men themselves.

And so, Uriel remained unfazed and simply raised an eyebrow at Akane.

“Sorry for what?” he asked.

“Umm, for you know, that and that and,” Akane began twiddling her thumbs and even blushed madly.

“Well whatever it was, I guess I accept your apology,” Uriel stated with his usual monotonous voice.

“O—oh and is there something wrong? It seems to me that something has been bothering you lately,” despite the stuttering, the message of Akane was conveyed clearly.

For the first time in a long while, Uriel’s calm and indifferent expression was broken into one filled with surprise.

“W—what?!” he choked out.

“I—I said that there seems to be something wrong with you. Y—you’re acting rather strangely a—and you tend to always go in a daze, s—something that I never saw happening before. N—not that I’m watching you or anything.”

Akane was already dying of embarrassment at her own stupidity. She should’ve known not to open up this topic.

‘Idiot! Now he’ll know that you have some stupid crush on him!’

However, the vampire turned martial artist interpreted Akane’s word differently.

‘Amazing! Seeing through me despite the subtle changes! What an amazing girl!’ however, none of his thoughts managed to skim out to the surface.

Instead, he simply directed a small smile at the blushing maiden.

“Ah. Thank you for your concern but I truly am perfectly fine. There’s just something in my mind that’s been bothering me,” Uriel explained honestly.

“Oh. A—and what might be bothering you?” ‘Ah! Stop digging your own grave Akane!’

“Nah. It’s nothing big. Oh, perhaps you can help me with it!” Uriel exclaimed as a brilliant idea came to mind.

‘If it’s this amazing human girl, I guess I could make an exception,’ Uriel thought.

Despite living in a human populated community for about forty years, Uriel was still, and will probably continue to be a hater of the human race. He just loathed the fact that most of them were so wasteful of the potential they had.

Because of that, Uriel doesn’t talk much with other people except when he needed to extract money from them or when he deemed them worthy.

And right now, seeing her great sensitivity, Uriel was truly impressed by the young girl bearing the name Akane.

“R—really? W—what kind of help do you need?” Akane stuttered, ignoring the irritating voice inside her head.

‘Great job Akane! Just look in his eyes and see how much he trusts you! Now remove that stuttering look and jump on him now!’

“Well. It’s just that I need to find out information about this thing that appeared at my house and I wonder if you could help me figure out what it is and how I would be able to use it,” Uriel asked bluntly.

“W—what? I—I don’t know what to say. I guess I can help you w—with it,” blushing furiously, Akane couldn’t help but begin overheating.

‘H—he’s really asking me to go to his house! Could it be? Ahh! Akane calm down! Calm down!’ Akane thought to try and cool down her system.

“Oh really? Then how does Sunday sound to you?” Uriel asked with a brilliant smile. A smile that seemed like the sun to the innocent Akane.

“S—sure, Sunday sounds good,” as soon as Akane said it, the young cook and only daughter of Yukiteru began to immediately regret her decision.

‘W—wait! I have already have a commitment this Sunday! Oh no! What should I do? What should I do?’

“Uriel I’m sorry I—huh?”

Akane was panicking too much that she didn’t notice Uriel thanking her before bidding his goodbye.

Three hours ago . . .

Akane was very nervous.

Today was the day that Uriel would be bringing her to his house and somehow, the thought of entering the place called home by the mysterious man she began to secretly fantasize about was enough to make her blush.

However—

“Uriel-sama! Who’s that chick? Is she your girl? If not, mind to introduce me to her?”

“Ah! What a beautiful girl! Uriel-sama’s tastes is truly unparalleled!”

“Cheh! Uriel-sama! What’s so good about that girl and why do you keep ignoring me?”

Scary.

The word which best describe the neighborhood where the man she was infatuated with lived in.

All around her there were big men who looked like thugs, ugly men who looked like thieves, scantily dressed women who looked like prostitutes and ugly old people who looked like addicts.

But the scariest thing that Akane realized when she reached Uriel’s neighborhood was . . .

‘H—he’s the big boss here? A—Akane what have you gotten yourself into? Run and save yourself now before it’s too late!’

Akane would’ve truly ran away when she reached that conclusion but somehow, Uriel sensed it and grabbed her.

She was about to scream when she saw Uriel’s eyes. Those eyes which were once cold and unfeeling were now gazing at her filled with nothing but trust and admiration.

With her blood rushing up to her face, the only thing that Akane could do was follow Uriel’s lead.

An hour ago . . .

Akane’s fingers twitched.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

“C—can you please tell me what is it that you needed help with?” Akane asked once she regained her composure, hoping that she must’ve misheard the man’s words.

‘Yeah. That’s right. I must’ve misheard him. He can’t be that stupid, right? Right.’

“As I said, six nights ago, I returned home from work and found this strange machinations already installed in my house. Attached to it, I found a letter addressed to me by a strange man from the company, Circa and—“

“Stop! Stop. Okay, okay, I get it now.” Akane rudely interrupted Uriel.

Normally, Uriel would’ve ‘disciplined’ her for rudely interrupting him while he spoke but since she was still in Uriel’s short list of ‘Humans that I’ll try not to hit’, Akane was saved from such an awful fate.

While mumbling a few words in a very low voice that was even inaudible for Uriel despite his slightly enhanced hearing, Akane stood up next to the ‘strange machine’ and kicked it.

And again.

And again.

And again.

“Hey. What did you do that for?” Uriel asked, not really following Akane’s action. However, Akane simply gave him an innocent smile and said.

“Did what? This?”

And another kick.

“Uhh. Yes?” Uriel mumbled reluctantly. Somehow, Akane, for some reason, was exuding the same strange and sinister aura that his deceased master, Lucinda, once possessed.

“Oh. Nothing, I just want to wake myself from my stupidity. And guess what, it worked!” Akane said and Uriel was surprised at the sudden shift of the young girl’s attitude.

“Stupidity? I really can’t follow what you’re trying to say, Akane,” Uriel said, choosing his words carefully. He knew that people who had the same aura as his past sensei should not be taken lightly.

“Of course you can’t! And you know why? That’s because you’re an idiot! Sheesh, I can’t believe I liked a guy as idiotic as you!” Akane stated bluntly.

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However, Uriel began to tremble.

‘No. I shouldn’t. I really shouldn’t.’ he thought as he fought his bloodlust.

‘But she called you an idiot! You, the wise disciple of Lucinda-sensei and the last Walker of this dojo, was called an idiot by this impudent woman!’

‘She’s still my boss’ daughter.’

‘I know that, but she should also be disciplined!’

The internal battle of wills continued as Uriel trembled while staring at the seemingly two-faced red-hair named Akane.

“Why? Can’t accept the fact that you’re an idiot? Of course you can’t. But anyways, since I’ve already wasted my time coming in this place, let me teach you a few things.”

Akane then gestured at the red machine bearing a capsule-shape the size enough to fit an eight-foot person comfortably within it. The capsule had a black padding that when lied on, would completely allow one to rest comfortably within.

Hearing those words, the internal conflict within Uriel subsided by a bit and the oldest Walker began to listen to Akane(?)’s lecture.

“First of all, this thing here is what you call a gaming capsule. Though its designed a bit differently from the other ones, I guess the function of this thing is the same as others.”

“And what would that be?” Uriel couldn’t help but inquire.

“Please save the questions for later, you idiot,” Akane barked angrily at Uriel. The intense pressure that the girl gave off enough to shut off even Uriel’s alter ego.

“As I was saying, the function of this thing might be similar to the other gaming capsules and that is, to connect you to the virtual gaming space. Now before you ask, a virtual gaming space is something akin to an alternate reality where you can play various virtual reality games. However, based on your illustrative story, this thing here would connect you directly to Infinity Saga.”

“And what is—ow! What was that for?!” Uriel growled but was quickly shushed by the demonic look that Akane possessed.

‘And wait! Is that a demon?!’ Uriel panicked when he saw what seemed like a demonic mask floating right next to Akane.

True to what Uriel was seeing, a hanya mask really did appear behind the oblivious Akane

“I said save the questions for later, didn’t I? Anyway. Let me continue. Infinity Saga is the best game there is. Period. Oh wait, my mistake, let me restate that. Infinity Saga is the best thing there is. It is an alternate world filled with magic and wonders where you can do whatever you want. You wish to be rich? You want to be a killer? You wish to become some slut? Then you can become like that in there. You wish to be a great cook, to conquer the world, to be a powerful lord? Nothing is unattainable there. But of course, like in this sick reality, you have to work for anything you desire. And much like this reality, each and every action you do can either give you a reward or make you suffer a dire consequence. Aside from that, all I could say is that if there is one thing I enjoy more than learning how to cook, then that would be playing inside Infinity Saga.”

Akane narrated happily, complete with hand gestures and a face filled with pride and bliss. Once she finished, she somehow began to feel embarrassed but her alter-ego wouldn’t let it happen.

“Now. Do. You. Understand?” she asked sternly.

“Yes, I understand. But I do have a question.” Uriel said with a respectful tone.

Somehow, along the way in her lectures, Uriel began seeing Akane in a completely new light. Not only was this girl—no, lady—possess the same, sinister aura identical to his grandmaster, she also possessed great knowledge and helped enlighten him.

This not only solidified Uriel’s good impression of the girl, it only earned him the vampire’s respect. At least, enough respect that he will treat her as his equal, the very same way he treats other vampire.

He will treat her courteously.

“And what is your question, you idiot?” Akane asked, raising an eyebrow. Though Uriel was still irked at her manner of addressing him, somehow, with Akane’s new attitude, he could endure it and simply choose to go along with it.

No matter how unexplainable that is.

“How do you know so much about this Infinity Saga?” Uriel couldn’t help but ask.

Akane laughed haughtily, and then, her eyes glinted sinisterly.

“That’s because I, Akane Sato, am one of the best players to ever play the game.”

A few minutes ago . . .

“You sure you’re sure about what you’re doing, you idiot?”

Akane asked and when Uriel nodded his head, the red-head closed the lid, mumbling a few things about a reckless idiot and a stupid idiot who’d only end up dead inside the game.

Uriel, on the other hand, was not really sure about what he was doing.

Sure he was curious about the game and sure he had been mentally debating for hours on end whether or not to try and bite the bait of the strange man who sent this package to him, but never was he sure whether what he was doing was right or wrong.

‘I could end up dead while using this thing. Master always told me how bad technology could affect one’s body,’ Uriel thought, thinking back on the last time he tried asking his master about mankind’s mechanism.

Lucinda Walker, Uriel’s master, is not a great fan and is actually very opposed to technology. That is why Uriel, the man she ‘raised’ not only as a disciple but also as a child completely ignorant of the new things in the modern world, was afraid of approaching anything technological.

In fact, in the dojo as well as in his house, the only thing that can be considered technological were the unused sockets, the light bulbs and the toilet flush.

Aside from that, no other technology can be found in the house. There is not air conditioning unit nor an electric fan. No television. No radio. One cannot even find an iron or a washing machine inside the house.

However, Uriel was stopped from his train of thoughts when he found himself experiencing the foreign feeling of falling asleep.

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When Uriel opened his eyes, he almost panicked when he found himself seemingly floating in an empty space. Though he could move his body, all he could really do was try to wiggle around due to the lack of solid floor beneath him.

Physical scan . . . complete. All normal.

Mental scan . . . complete. All normal.

Connecting to main server . . . complete.

System Initializing . . . as the system adjusts to fit your bodily specifications, please try to move around and get used to the feel of virtual space.

As soon as he read the last window, Uriel was surprised when he felt the space beneath him solidifying.

However, because he was still scared and truly unsure of what to do, he decided to simply stretch his muscles.

‘This is strangely uncomfortable,’ he thought. Compared to his real body, his body didn’t felt much stretch no matter how much he tried stretching his body.

Deciding that stretching was pointless and afraid of what consequences may exist when he tried to run around, he decided to just stand by and wait for the new window to appear.

But then, instead of a new window appearing, an impossibly beautiful young girl, with beauty that rivaled against those of his past comrades, appeared.

With a small smile, she began.

“Hello, voyager. My name is Alyssa, goddess of creations and beginnings and I welcome you to our world, Lasallia.”

She said with a sweet voice accompanied by a radiant smile. Uriel, however, merely stared at her. Though unsure about what the term Lasallia meant, he guessed that it was the name of the world he would be ‘connected’ to.

Used to such reactions, the AI, Alyssa, stifled the urge to giggle.

She knew full well that all men and even some women who went through her domain, the domain where all traveling souls first meet their bodies, were enamored with her and her beauty.

She was even more surprised by those few who were unfazed and unaffected by her beauty.

‘I should really consider a change of title. What about . . . goddess of beauty?’ she humored herself.

Sadly, Uriel wasn’t mesmerized by her beauty. He was staring at the woman who proclaimed herself as a goddess because he was conflicted as to whether she was real or not.

In fact, if Akane didn’t tell him about these so-called NPC’s, glorified names for fake humans, on the short briefing she gave before entering the virtual realm, he would’ve seriously thought that the woman standing in front of him was real.

But despite Akane’s warnings of fake humans, Uriel still doubted the existence of the beautiful woman before him.

The young man snapped out of his train of thoughts when the goddess continued with her statement.

“I sense that you are of new arrival, correct?” Alyssa asked while Uriel simply nodded his head.

“If that is so, as the goddess, I am very much obliged to show you two paths you might want to take before entering our magical world.

The first path, which I recommend, is the path towards a specialized space designed to be the same as your home. That place will serve as the place where your soul will return to if ever it was severed from your body, as well as the place where your body will rest if ever you wish to return to your home world.

The second path, which most people take, is the path towards the creation of your first body, the place we call the Character Creation Room. In that place, with my aid, we will create a body of your specifications which you will need to access the magical world of Lasallia.”

Suddenly, a blue window appeared next to Alyssa and behind her, a strange, dim light illuminated, revealing the path which ends with two doors.

On his left was a door made of bamboo woods similar to that in his own house.

Meanwhile the one in his right was made of what seemed like oak carved with intricate designs of five different creatures. The door was dyed with gold, making it more attractive than its counterpart.

Looking at the goddess who was waiting for his answer patiently, Uriel turned his gaze at the window floating right next to her.

New user detected. Would you like to visit your Personal Lodge or would you like to directly head to the Character Creation Room?Personal Lodge (Recommended)Character Creation Room

Re-reading its content, a single thought echoed in his mind.

‘What do I do?!’

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Hiii! We’re back with Chapter 2! As usual, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask! Any feedbacks and comments would also be appreciated!

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