After the angel had asked a few more questions, especially about my intentions and such, I asked a few of my own. Mostly about the powers seemingly possessed by that giant woman, who I was informed was called ‘Great Girl’.
A rather demeaning and strange name to be sure. But perhaps it wasn’t here?
Moving on, I learned that firstly the class system didn’t exist here. Nor anything similar. However, a certain percentage pf the population, more in even more certain areas, such as this one, possessed a ‘superpower’.
Bleh!
There was no rhyme nor reason to these powers, some could gain the ability to hover very slowly while others could shake the earth with their very steps, like Great Girl. Typically the powers were somewhere in between there, and most had room for growth.
“So, you’re telling me that certain people are just inherently better than others with no method of.. anything?” I asked.
The first of the core principles I had been taught by Head Abbot Thegar, and had been taught to him and the person who taught that person for generations, was that everyone was equal.
Because they had the same system, the same amount of experience needed a level, the same class choices offered, the same amount of points needed for a skill, and so on. Even with an aspect, you simply needed more effort for more reward. It was all equal, somehow. If it wasn’t…
Equality was my first lesson.
The angel shook her head, “No… it’s not that. But rather.. think of it this way — Each superpower gained needs some sort of catalyst to happen. A person with the ability to turn to acid most likely had an accident related to acid.”
“So anybody could jump into acid and gain a superpower related to it?” I retorted. The angel probably thought I was being ridiculous here, and I was, but I knew bullshit when I saw it.
“Not… particularly,” the angel admitted, “But this is simply the way things are here. No use in arguing over it.”
I tampered down my response. Indignantly waiting for this ‘Turlough’ to be retrieved by this.. Zorphax was it? Supposedly he came from the same dimension as me, his class being ‘Mage’ and him luckily having the translation spell.
Why were they making him come see me? Because I literally couldn’t speak to anyone but him and others with translation abilities, like Malaliel. Thus it would be extremely time efficient to place him with me. Although we would both get our own rooms, free of charge too. Although ‘only’ for three months.
Taking me out of my thoughts was the door. It creaked open as an Ork and, seemingly, goblin walked through.
Locking eyes with the Ork, I remembered nothing much about him. I had never met this Ork, not that it was too surprising. I lived in the wilderness until Head Abbot Thegar took me in at age 5.
Wondering why Turlough had narrowed his eyes at me, obvious intent behind them, I reached out my hand, intending for a handshake.
Turlough reached his own hand out after a moment or two, shaking my hand with about as much conviction as a con artist waiting to swipe your coin pouch.
——
The Hero Lexus sat in a magic carriage, enchanted by his childhood friend back in the capital on the promise that ‘he would return home safe’.
And with no kids or wife(s), she added for seemingly no reason in particular. He could only nod and agree, it would be suicidal to go on his mission without at the least a carriage that could propel itself.
And he was broke.
His armor and weapon was also enhanced by her, merely for the cost of ‘doing dishes and other such duties without complaint’ in the future.
He would have done so already, seeing as he had nobody else to do them for himself. Julia was weird like that, Lexus had concluded while watching the road vigilantly. With Aurora nearly empty on reserves from trying, and failing, to wake Zegar and now sleeping, he had only himself to occupy his time.
Which, in fairness, was quite a lot to deal with.
All of the Monks at the Bastion of Auiver dead. Except for one, maybe. Ainz was the name Zegar had said, Lexus chanted the name. He.. he would attempt to pay for the scrying service, see if.. he was alive.
He had to inform him about the deaths.... it was his duty as the Hero to protect.
If he couldn’t find anyone with a reasonable price, then he would simply buy the skill himself, he decided. It was a useful skill to have anyway. His ‘Aspect of the Hero’ simply made him earn thrice as much experience. And make his skill point gain increase by double.
It was unfair to everyone else, he knew this well. That, he reckoned, was why he must complete his quest, his mission. Issued by the Trifecta themselves, approved by every human and elf kingdom and empire. One ‘democracy’ too, whatever that meant.
Not that they could refuse, nor were they forced to give anything extra. Except for one thing, that is.
Grabbing the parchment stored within the High Elf Confederate Kingdom’s vault for a hundred and seventy-five years, he willed his destination into it. It wasn’t particularly a destination, per se, but merely a goal that could be found on his current plane. Meaning it could be quite difficult to handle, as there was no ‘Go to city A’ configuration.
He had already attempted finding Ainz, but to no luck.
The map started to glow and soon came to life, its empty visage filling as colors jumped, arrowed pointed, compasses pointed true, and mountains stood.
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Scanning the paper, Lexus sighed in relief when he found that the destination wasn’t too far away. Merely a week’s journey assuming they made rest stops. Aurora would pout to him if they didn’t.
The party’s Paladin was in reach.
——
Turlough kicked dirt, mumbling something about stupid mages and making him learn to read before be could become one of them.
Soon enough he decided to return to the orphanage, there he would study up and learn to read. Prove he wasn’t a stupid Ork who was destined to become a Barbarian. He would one day become like Master.. whatever that dude’s name was. Too long for him to remember.
Turning the last corner to the orphanage, he bumped into another child. However, Turlough knew this wasn’t an accident. A group of four children stood as menacingly as they could, some more than others by quite a large margin.
Such as the one Turlough had bumped into. Whose presence was exuding the aura of the apex predators known as Vampires. Although, if any of those present had experienced the aura of a real Vampire, they would know it was a laughable imitation.
Not that any of them knew that Ainz was a Dhampir.
“You!” The young Ainz yelled, “Are you.. seriouwsly trying to become a Mage? Tats stupid.. Wrk! Go bwe a Bwarbarian!”
Ainz had a problem with his Ws, Turlough noted.
Turlough contained the fist that he wanted to hurl into the young Ainz’s face, it would only make him lose. He calmly walked past and all the children deflated in defeat.
At least, thats what he would like to say happened.
Let it be known that even if Orks were naturally stronger and bigger than humans, they were not stronger than Dhampirs. Even with a few years on them at such a young age.
It needs not be said what happened to Turlough in this unfair ‘battle’. And, even more unfortunately, he would have no savior for a long time.
——
“Have we met before?” I asked in Common, confused at his behavior. His grip tightened and then loosened, “…Just now,” He replied in the opposite fashion of smoothly. Chunkily, if I had to make a word for it.
His words were executed in such a manner that it sounded like metal grating against metal.
There was probably a word out there that described what I was trying to say, but again, I’m an un-educated Monk who lived in the mountains every second of his life.
“Well then it’s nice to meet you, Turlough. I don’t know if Zor..” Turlough spoke, “‘phax’.” I coughed. “I don’t know if Zorphax told you this but I’m Ainz Bloodweaver. And I’m a Monk, both class and former.. occupation. Dhampir, too.”
Turlough’s eyes narrowed once more, for reasons I couldn’t discern. “You became a Monk?” He asked, almost in disbelief, seemingly. “Not much else I could have become, found in the woods at age 5 and all. Simply a few rags on me and.. yeah,” I said, chunkily, while grasping the pendulum in my pocket.
Turlough licked his lips and then wiped them.
There wasn’t much more to be said between us, so Malaliel spoke up herself once it was obvious we were done. “Well, Turlough would you mind showing Ainz to his room? It’s the one directly next to your’s. It would also be appreciated if you cast translation on him, just so he could read through our laws and such.”
Turlough nodded and attempted, what I presumed, was an amicable smile. The two tusks extruding out of his face didn’t help all too much with that, however. “Sure,” he replied, probably not planning to stick around for a moment longer judging by his swift exit.
Scampering after him, we began to walk through the hallways of “Extra”. Which stopd for extradimensional and extraplanetary.
——
Turlough knew he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but he also knew he wasn’t nearly dull enough not to realize something was horribly wrong with Ainz.
Unless there was a duplicate Dhapmir named Ainz Bloodweaver with the exact same distinctive shade of greyish-white hair and pinkish-yellowish eyes, who also happened to be of similar age to where he would place the Ainz from his memories, and also possessed that same sickening charm.
In which case, Turlough wouldn’t blame himself for his current suspicions. It was only natural for someone in his position to have them.
The obnoxious figure from oh-so-long-ago reared his head around Turlough’s shoulders. “So, how did you end up here? Did a portal materialize under you? Or did you jump in the way of someone like me?” The curious—and obnoxious—Dhampir asked, eyes sparkling with interest.
Turlough’s mental image of Ainz took another hit at that moment, jumped in the way of someone to save them? The Ainz he knew would rather throw someone through a portal than fall himself.
Perhaps, just maybe, he was being a bit petty attributing someone to their 4-3 year old self? Turlough reckoned maybe he was being unreasonable, especially when Ainz seemed to have grown far from toddler overlord.
“I- Ah… the first one,” said the worst lier, including those who physically couldn’t lie, in the entirety of the city they were in, New Bay city.
Luckily, he was against someone who had no reason to not believe him. If Ainz was given a multiple choice question on how you fell through the portal here, he would pick ‘walked through it in search of experience’ last every time. Perhaps he would pick it second last if it was next to ‘walked through it for mo reason’, but that was beside the point.
Normally Turlough wouldn’t lie even to a fly, as nobody talked to flies to begin with, but upon meeting his ‘childhood bully’, a sudden urge to make himself appear better than them manifested.
Even if, in reality, that wasn’t the truth at the moment.
——
Hero Lexus sighed, his Danger Detection skill going off. Leaping out towards where the weak sense of danger was coming from, iron met iron as an assailant was pushed out of the bush he was planning to ambush Lexus and co. from.
The assassin held his dagger to his face, a large chip in it. Returning to the brush, the assassin activated several stealth skills and began to circle around the carriage.
Aurora yawned while walking to the frontal section of the carriage, waken up by the clashing of metal. Huffing and placing her arms under her chest when seeing the situation outside, she yelled at Lexus. “Did you seriously have to be so loud, for the third time now! Learn silencer or something, I need sleep! Especially when it’s not my turn to watch!”
Casting the spell ‘Detection’ at the brush around the carriage and then ‘Shield’ on Lexus, the short woman, not dwarf or halfling, mind you, of barely a meter and a half (4’6) walked back into the carriage and resumed her beauty sleep the moment she touched down into the primitive sleeping bag.
Lexus muttered something about the sheer amount of sassy women he knew before he began a flurry of attacks on the now revealed assassin. Eventually ending him in a Swift Strike combined with a Power Strike that sent the dark figure’s head flying off.
The tired Hero began his climb back into the enhanced carriage, only for a pattering sound coming from behind Lexus to make his vigilance shoot back up. Although the lack of his Danger Detection skill going off sent it back down to manageable levels.
Turning around, he saw two amber eyes burning holes into his back. “Rest now. With this one dispatched, it should at the very least be another few hours before another one strikes,”
Lexus started something but was interrupted by a ‘ah ah!’ sound from Aurora. “If you’re that worried, I’ll spend a few points to learn to set up a few wards. It would be much better if we were both awake at the same time, rather than merely seeing and talking to each other in passing.”
The princess priestess, seeing Lexus’ lost face, grabbed him and tried to somehow pull the two meter tall giant in heavy armor. Seeing that she didn’t move him an inch, her face grew red and contorted with effort in an attempt to pull him closer to her.
Lexus suddenly knew that, even with his Danger Detection skill not going off, he was in danger much greater than even fighting that rookie assassin.
“Fine,” Lexus yielded, “But you better set up those wards. And we can’t do this every day either.” Looking down at the small pouting face of Aurora, who was using ‘diplomatic skills’ she had learned as a princess, Lexus had to admit that it certainly had its place in royal courts.
“Fine,” Lexus yielded again, “We can do it every day. But if we get attacked and we have to rely on my Danger Detection, it’s back to how it was.”
Aurora groaned, “It’s so hard to convince you of anything! You big grump.” She waved dismissively at him, leaping out of the carriage and setting up the perimeter wards.
Lexus took being called a ‘big grump’ far more personally than Aurora intended.