What was I thinking?
I stared at the black bubbling viscous liquid in front of me. I had only five minutes left until the game servers closed down but before that I had something important to finish.
My critics have said that I was mad, that my experiment was nothing more than voodoo alchemy. Maybe they were right. Yet, I had this inkling feeling that just maybe, maybe, that they were wrong. I noticed that my MP was decreasing more drastically now, this black liquid was absorbing it.
I smiled. I added Dragon Stone to the liquid. The liquid began bubbling more. I could feel my heart pumping wildly in my chest. I could swear that it was trying to break out.
"Dixie, hand me 250 ml of holy water." I commanded at my guardian, Dixie. I dared not tear my eyes from my concoction in fear of making a mistake.
The NPC handed me the glass beaker with holy water, without uttering a single word. Now comes the tricky part.
"Super-Tier Magic: Transmutation!" I chanted.
The liquid glowed violently red. A surge of energy was being emitted. Usually when this happens, it is a sign to take cover because it is only moments before an explosion. But not today, I believe I had found a solution to this problem.
You see, the black liquid before me was no easy task to make. Black Lapiea, the name of this black liquid, occurs naturally in YGGRASIL but in small amounts. To make matters was, naturally occurring Black Lapiea is mixed with other impurities that make it difficult to use. The best method back then used to extract it resulted in the liquid being 95% pure.
Which was impressive but I quickly realized that for my experiment I needed it in a more pure form. After many trials, I got it to 99% purity. Which to my surprise back then, still was not enough. Those game developers sure made it hard to produce.
It took me a while and only recently I got the purity to 99.999998%. My heterochromatic eyes are not just for decoration, they possess the power to appraise any substance in the game with surgical precision. Being an elf does have its benefits.
I took out a gold ingot, which had a rune inscribed on it. It made the gold ingot have a special magic ability to suppress the energy coming from the liquid.
30 seconds remaining.
I held my breath and hoped that this crazy idea might just work. Runecraft is extremely rare in YGGRASIL so using it is risky.
The liquid settled down but a glowing red orb appeared in it. Could it be?
I reached in and picked up this red orb which appeared at first glance to be a red ruby. But on closer inspection it, it was not. I finally had done it. Before me was no other than the Philosopher Stone.
I sense of warm joy spread across me. I fell on my knees. I have proven them wrong. It was possible to create the Philosopher Stone.
Ever since my guild was beaten by one of the top guilds, Ainz Ooal Gown, I felt worthless. Ainz Ooal Gown took our guild weapon and thus effectively disbanding my guild. I will never forget the face of one of the enemies that defeated my team. Momonga. It is a shame that I could not face him once more. Now that I have the Philosopher Stone, I believe I can face him.
But it is too late for that now. I am alone. Only Dixie, the NPC Guardian of mine is here. All my former guild members are gone. Many of them were my friends. The pain we took to create that guild weapon only for to be taken in a guild raid is too much to bear.
I just stared at the stone in my hand and began sobbing. If only my friends were here to celebrate this occasion.
5…4…3…2…1…0…
0…1…2…3…4…5…
What just happened? I thought the game server should have shutted down by now. Wait a minute, my face is drenched in tears. I do not remember the game having this feature.
"Master Enith, please do not cry. You finally accomplished your lifelong task. This is a time for celebration." Dixie looked at me with concern.
My heart almost broke out of my rib cage by the shock of Dixie speaking. Her lips were moving. On top of that, she was initiating a conversation!
Calm down Enith, this is probably a glitch. I should just contact the game administrators and ask what in the world is going on.
To my surprise, I could not get a response. I wonder if the link is down. Strange, maybe I should log out and see if I can get help from the game forum.
I tried logging out but the menu did not appear. I shiver ran down my spine. Something spooky was going on.
"Master Enith, please tell what is wrong. Have I failed as a servant to please you? Then forgive me for my worthlessness to not being a good servant. I promise to better myself." Dixie went on her knees and kowtowed before me.
Her forehead was touching the floor. She was acting like I was the Emperor of China or something. Then I remembered that this is how wrote her in her description. She is meant to be quite critical about herself and constantly seeking to better herself. When I created her, I thought of her as a book smart apprentice who looked up to her master (me). But seeing in action, made me concerned.
I stoop up.
"Dixie, it is okay. I was just so excited over finally creating the Philosopher Stone that I cried."
Dixie looked at me sceptical before getting up. She dusted off her pants and adjusted her Harry Potter styled glasses, which I must add, made her look dorky but cute.
Out of nowhere, I felt a punch on my shoulder.
"Ouch! What was that for, Dixie?"
"You scared me there for a second. I thought I did something wrong but you were just acting all weird again."
"Weird, agian? Can I not get excited over my accomplishments?"
"By all means do get excited but don't break down and cry as if someone stole your lunch money! Be normal, smile and laugh when happy."
Did I mention she is kind of a tsundere? When I created her I never thought that she might become alive and start punching me and stuff.
I got a feeling that I was no longer in YGGRASIL but I still had to confirm it.
I got out of the cabin I was in and found myself in a forest. The flora here is quite different from the one in YGGRASIL. Interesting, I thought. I looked over Dixie to confirm that this flora was different from the one we were in YGGRASIL. She was a druid and thus could communicate with the trees of the plant life and animals of the forest.
"Master Enith, indeed it does appear that we are not Helheim. Nor does this flora match any of the other realms. What do you think we should do?"
How the hell am I supposed to know, I thought to myself. I never expected that I would be transported to a different world. Think Enith, think.
My stomach started to growl loudly. Great, a new feature in this world is that I can get hungry for real now. I just hope Dixie did not notice.
"Master Enith, I suggest we get out of here to find some food. We would not want an elf genius such as yourself to die from mere hunger." Dixie smirked at me.
How embarrassing.
With Dixie being the guide, we began making our way out of this forest. After a couple of hours walking seemingly nowhere, I realised that we could fly instead of walk. This was an opportunity to test whether there was magic in this world.
I casted the fly spell on both on us and we levitated off the ground. Soon we were cruising over the forest at breath taking speed. I could see the end of the forest in sight. Ahead of us. I heard a commotion happening. It was still far ahead so could not see it.
"Did you hear that?" I looked over at Dixie.
"No, but your hearing is more acute than mine since you are an elf. Whatever it is, we should be careful and first make sure that whatever it is, does not pose a threat to us."
I nodded in agreement. It seemed that whatever the commotion is, it must be far since Dixie did not hear it. After all, she is only human.
When we got near the sight, we flew down. It was the end of the forest and I could see a group of people fighting one another. There were a number of caravans around. I wondered whether this was an ambush. Merchants usually did get ambushed by bandits for their money.
I could hear swords clashing together and I could hear the grunts of men fighting.
"Bloody bandits, just die!" The man in a knight armour screamed before slashing down one bandit. Unfortunately for him, no sooner did he defeat one when four more bandits surrounded him.
"Protect Lady Devona, get her out of here immediately!" The man who was surrounded shouted at his subordinated who were fighting the bandits near the carriage. It seemed that he was protected a person of interest.
"Yes, Captain!" They replied
No sooner then he made his order, his sword began glowing blue.
"Martial Arts: Impenetrable Fortress." A glowing aura surrounded him. Martial arts did not exist in YGGRASIL so I guess this is something new to understand about this world. It seemed that this martial arts greatly increased the captains's defence. He continued by using another martial arts, "Focus Battle Aura."
What at first seemed liked a hopeless situation for him, he quickly turned the tables against these bandits and took them down quickly.
But then a figure appeared in front of him out of nowhere. Judging by the quality of the clothes this person was wearing in comparison to the bandits, he had to be the leader.
"My name is Tiziano, leader of this bandit group. Surrender now and I might consider making your death quick."
The captain did not even reply, he just launched his attack. But this move seemed not to have surprised Tiziano who quickly ducked the captain's attack and followed by slashing the captain's left leg.
"You are no match for me. All I want is Lady Devona. Weakling such as yourself simply are not worth staining my blade with your weakling blood."
The captain again did not respond to this taunt. He simply launched his attack. Tiziano dodged the captain's attack with astonishing speed and skill. Tiziano disappeared for a second, only to reappear behind the captain. Their backs against each other. Before the captain could respond, to everyone's surprise his head fell of his body.
Tiziano just laughed and looked straight at the caravan in front of him. He paid no attention to the captain's dead body behind him.
"Lady Devona. Come out now! We won't hurt you. We will just keep you safe until your family ransoms you for a large sum of money." The other bandits began laughing, confident in their victory.
Dixie looked at me with concerned eyes. "Master Enith I know that this does not concern us but we have to do something. We cannot just watch idly by while such injustice is committed in front of us. It is a categorically imperative that we do something."
Dixie is right, something has to be done. But she did not need to go so far as to us Kantian moral ethics to persuade. I swear that when I created her I was just writing what first came to mind.
The thing is, I cannot fight well. I was always a supporting member during guild fights. I was usually in the back, healing my injured comrades and giving them magic boosts to fight better. You could say I was a healer of the group but I could defend myself using the potions I made. These bandits seem low level enough for me to defeat.
I walked out of the forest, from the tree we were hiding behind, I made my way to the bandits.
"Huh, what is an elf doing in Re-Estize alone? Look boss."
Tiziano looked over at me but he did not seem impressed.
"Just capture this elf, I am sure that he will sell a good price at the slave market." Tiziano remarked.
Slave? I will show him. I could use the Philosophy Stone here but I decided against it since I have yet to test its powers and now is not the best of times to try something new.
I took out my flute. This was a legendary item in YGGRASIL. I had to buy it from a stingy collector. Even though I helped him in a quest, he still charged me an astronomical number. It was a good thing I was excellent in illusionary magic and convinced the collector that this flute will be in good hands.
"Look boss, the elf will entertain us with music. He will make a good slave indeed." The bandits laughed at me.
What they did not know was that this flute had magical properties. I held the flute horizontally and took a deep breath.
"The Devil's Melody." I said and began to play. The tune covered the entire surrounding area. At first it sounded pleasant but then…
"Boss, I am scared. I do not know why but I want to get out of here." Before Tiziano could shout at that subordinated he noticed that his other members in the bandit group were scared too. Soon after, they just began to run away.
Tiziano's POV
Tiziano was confused at first. He soon felt his own heart pumping faster. He could not understand what was going. This feeling he felt, it could not be what he thought it was. It was fear.
Impossible, he was Tiziano. The leader of the Red Monster Claw bandit group. He knew not of the word fear. It must be that elf, he thought.
Tiziano launched an attack on the elf. But the closer he got, the more dread he felt. Something felt warm in his pants. He looked down. He had peed himself. Shame engulfed him. No, he was going to kill that elf for what he did. Such dirty tricks.
He moved closer to the elf until he was no more than a few metres away. The elf was still playing his flute blissfully. The elf had even closed his eyes this whole time. Such arrogance, thought Tiziano.
Tiziano tried moving forward but his legs did not move. He was dead scared. He wanted to run but his muscles dared not move an inch. What magic is this? He thought to himself.
Soon his world turned black as if someone turned off the lights and lost consciousness.
Back to Main Character's POV
I looked over at Tiziano who had passed out. I might have gotten a little carried away. I went straight to the caravan where I believe this Lady Devona was at. Just as I was about to open the door, a blond haired woman dashed forward and tried to stab me with a dagger. I stepped back but I could see that I would not be able to dodge this attack.
Vines appeared out of the ground and restrained her. I looked over at Dixie and gave my thanks.
"I am not here to hurt you, I just saw you guys needed help." I said to the woman in front of me.
"You see, Sara? I told that you I felt no maliciousness from him. It was unnecessary for you to try and stab him."
A woman came out of the carriage, smiling warmly at you.
"I aplogise, Lady Devona. I was only trying to protect you." The restrained woman said looking down.
"Oh, so you an elf. Do tell me where your master is so I could thank them in person." Lady Devona said.
I began suspected that elves in this world or at least this country are commonly used as slaves. Just before I corrected her, Dixie stopped me.
"I am Dixie, an adventurer. I have come from across the sea and was headed to your capital. But we got lost on the way. Would you help us, Lady Devona?" I stared at Dixie but said nothing of it. Maybe this is some strategy of hers.
"You guys are lost? Well then, I am glad to help. We too were headed to the capital. Unfortunately most of my guards are injured."
"No problem, my slave here Enith is an excellent healer."
I looked around me. Over 20 bodies injured. Some injuries seemed minor but most appeared fatal. It will be too much of an effort giving each one a healing potion. The quickest way is to cast a healing .
"Maximise Magic: Revival!" Healing all 20 to full health in a matter of minutes is a simple task. A green aura radiates across all of them. Soon, to their surprised looks, they were back to health. Those who lost their limbs grew them back. This didn't use much of my MP so I do did not mind.
Lady Devona stared at me. "That was incredible. I beg of you that once we get to the capital, you have to teach us that. I am sure that Princess Renner will make good use of you. Of course, if your master agrees."
It seemed like that I was moving up the world quickly. Hopefully the royalty here are not bad people.
My stomach decided out of nowhere to grumble again. This time, a little louder. I have not eaten since coming to this world. I saw Lady Devona chuckling at me.
"Since you have saved my group, the least I can do is offer you some of our food. I doubt your master would want to lose an excellent servant such as yourself to mere hunger." She laughed. The last thing I want is for me to be known for my growling stomach.
Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoy the first chapter of this story. More is coming in due course. Any feedback is welcomed. See you later!