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Without further ado, Enjoy ^^
Chapter 2 – Escaping Reality
You can't protect anyone because you are weak.
The air was heavy with fear and smelt so damply of blood.
Every direction was filled with the lingering horror of those who had just breathed their last.
Yet the moon watched without the slightest change in manner, shining its rays over the land that was now stained in a stomach churning red, as though someone had laid out a giant crimson carpet.
One young man found himself fleeing in horror without a particular destination in mind, knowing full well that he had to run or he too would meet his end. Unfortunately he was unfamiliar with any of the buildings that now flew past his vision.
Disaster will follow you like the plague.
Heck, he didn't even know how he had gotten here in the first place. It was like he had been teleported to another world entirely.
Without so much as a second thought, the black-haired turned a swift right at the next T-section betting on nothing but his gut that it was the safer option.
But it took no longer than a second for him to realize that he had been wrong.
Staring face to face with a monstrosity that easily towered above him, Satoru knew without a doubt that his opponent was no ordinary man. Instead it would be more accurate to describe the figure as a creature for it radiated such dread that rendered his already clenched palms sweaty.
Squinting his eyes to adjust to the darkness, Satoru confirmed his earlier suspicions for the uncanny features amounted to that of…well an undead warrior. Additionally, rather than taking a step towards the young boy, the mysterious figure seemed to drag itself forward almost like a cross between a crawl and a limp.
Yes…it was as though he had come face to face with a real life zombie clad in armor, one that had raised a large rotten finger directly ahead.
And those that follow you…will meet an equally unfortunate fate…
Allowing his gaze to wonder in the direction that it pointed at, Satoru could just make out a small figure lying in a large pool of blood. Even with his view greatly hindered by the lack of light around them, the young boy stared in horror for he could easily make out the individual, for it belonged to someone he had spent countless hours perfecting and designing himself.
"Run...Suzuki-sama..."
Even the one you treasure…
"Narberal!"
As it stands, tragedy is imminent.
Will you tempt fate and willingly place her in mortal danger?
Or will you face it alone to save what matters to you?
"Uwahhh" Satoru awoke with a rather loud shout; his eyes darting around the room with lightning speed. "It was a nightmare huh?"
"Suzuki-sama?"
Momentarily startled by the nearby feminine voice, Satoru quickly sat up only to receive the second surprise of the day.
"Narberal?"
"Yes I'm here, how are you feeling?" The black-haired pony tailed maid stared at him with a worried expression. "You were yelling in distress throughout your sleep."
Following her gaze, Satoru realized his attire was drenched completely in sweat, clinging to his skin rather uncomfortably. Yet the sensation did not bother him at all, for he currently had more pressing matters at hand.
"Narberal, you're alive?" Satoru mentioned in both relief and confusion, he did remember vaguely what had happened last night but it was something he initially brushed off as a dream.
"Yes I am, we met last night but you must have been too fatigued to remember much."
"I see…" Satoru mumbled in a slight daze. It was true he was feeling extremely unwell during their last encounter; therefore his mind had yet to come to terms with the notion that he had somehow been teleported into Yggdrasil. Seeking confirmation on this fact, the young man absent mindedly reached out to grab Narberal's hand, failing to notice the slight blush that surfaced on her face.
Her hands were soft and smooth fitting for a lady of such beauty, but more importantly, it returned a warming sensation back to Satoru. In a world where he knew little to nothing, having the warmth of another by your side was comforting to say the least. Therefore without giving his actions a second thought, Satoru pulled his maid in for an embrace.
He immediately noticed a sweet fragrance filling the air around him, most likely from the one he currently held in his arms. Normally a shut in such as the boy himself would never conduct such a daring action for he had trouble simply talking to a girl, but his mind had other intentions entirely.
You see, while Yggdrasil was a wonderful DMORPG game through and through, it did have a couple of limitations. For starters, while the game was first person and replicated a perception that mirrored reality, one wasn't able to feel genuine warmth from touching someone. You would feel the sensation of someone else's hand but that would be about the extent of it.
Additionally, one also lacked the sense of smell within the world of Yggdrasil, whether that be from food or people etc.
However Satoru had just confirmed that neither one of these restrictions applied to him currently for he not only felt warmth from hugging Narberal but she also radiated a pleasant fragrance that reminded him of roses.
Which could only mean one thing…
This was a not a game.
But before Satoru could continue his train of thoughts, a small voice dragged him back to reality.
"Suzuki-sama?" Narberal's voice was a whisper that was laced in neither annoyance nor discomfort, but seemed rather content as she clung softly to his shirt while his arms were wrapped around her.
Realising the position he was in, Satoru quickly detached himself in an embarrassed fashion, attempting to erase the awkward atmosphere with a small laugh.
"Hahaha…sorry Narberal, I didn't mean to disgust you with my sweaty attire." The boy apologized sincerely with a small bow of his head. After all he didn't want to get arrested by the police (if there was even any here) for harassment.
"No need to apologize…in fact…" But she didn't quite finish her thought, instead diverting her gaze and seemingly waving her fingers around the air in front of her as though manipulating an invisible screen of sorts.
Satoru would be lying if he said he wasn't curious but this was hardly the situation to pry right after getting off the hook. Deciding it was better to shift their attention to other matters; Satoru quickly arose to perform a few quick stretches but was immediately interrupted.
"Suzuki-sama, would you perhaps like to put these on?"
Having reached into a weird purple realm, which appeared out of thin air, Narberal retrieved a set of clothes that seem to be made of fairly expensive material and practically screamed comfortable at just a mere glance.
However as much as Satoru would like to put it on, the clothes immediately sent a shiver down his spine at just a single glance.
'I was wearing those same clothes during my dream!'
With a motion that was wrought with hesitation, Satoru slowly grabbed the attire from Narberal's outstretched hands. Like he had initially thought, the clothing was extremely soft to the touch yet he knew just from giving it a slight tug that it was made from extremely durable fabric. Consisting of a pair of long pants and a long-sleeved button-less top laced with golden edges before finishing with a full-body high collar overcoat decorated with grey fur that ran along its hoodie and sleeves, the entire set was dyed almost completely midnight black.
All in all, it sported the perfect balance between fashion and practicality, allowing it's user to dance the battlefield in style.
That's right…battlefield.
There was little to no doubt that it would fetch a pretty sum of coin at the market, but you would be hard pressed to find…say a noble wearing it in town. That was because one could immediately tell that the clothing was designed and intended for an adventurer to wear.
Heck, it even looked a little empty without a sword or weapon to go along with it.
This was exactly the reason why the boy was refusing outright to wear it.
In other words, the nightmare earlier had seemed far too realistic for the young boy for the fear it had incited still clung to him heavily. His mind could still recall the exact details like he had seen it a thousand times which is more than he could say for every other dream he had ever had.
But it wasn't death he was afraid off, but rather…
"Narberal…" Satoru began before pausing in order to choose his next words carefully, "…what do you umm intend to do from now onwards?"
"Sorry? I fear I do not quite understand the question." The pony-tailed beauty, who up until now been busily fiddling away at her invisible screen, had now directed her undivided attention towards the only other occupant in the room.
"Like, do you plan to stay in this here or do you plan to move to another town?"
"Is this place not to your liking Suzuki-sama? If so, we could always pick a village or perhaps travel straight for the city." Without wasting a single second, Narberal immediately resumed her activities with the invisible menu as though checking a map, completely ignorant of the internal warfare that Satoru was currently facing.
"Errrr no…I don't have any issues with this place at the moment but that's not what I was trying to get at. What would you do if I wasn't here?" Satoru tried his best to get the answer he was looking for without making his true intentions blatantly obvious. He needed to know that Narberal would do well by herself even without him around. After all, one line from his nightmare struck him harder than anything else.
And those that follow you…will meet an equally unfortunate fate…
He shuddered as the thought of Narberal's corpse floated past because that was something he feared more than death itself.
He was not going to let his own weakness drag her down too.
If that was his fate, then so be it.
There was no way he was going to place her in harm's way just to have a chance of survival.
"Do you not want me here?" In an uncharacteristically weak voice, she looked directly at him for confirmation.
"No." Satoru replied immediately with conviction for it was the undeniable truth. He genuinely wanted to be together with her, to journey together and to experience life as an adventurer with no one but her. But his nightmare, whether it be true or not did have a very good point. He knew little to nothing about this world which meant the monsters could be ridiculously strong. Add that to the fact of him being basically powerless at the moment and it was pretty much a recipe for disaster.
"Then there's nothing to worry about Suzuki-sama. As long as you are here with me, there's nothing else I need. So no matter what happens, I'll always be there for you." Narberal replied with equal conviction, before giving Satoru a small smile. "Please let me know if there is anything that is troubling your mind."
"Well…okay, I shall let you know if something pops up." The young man managed to stutter.
To put it simply, Satoru was simply beyond torn because he genuinely feared that his incompetence would one day lead Narberal to her death since she is the type to defend him at all costs. But at the same time, he was also worried that she would find life meaningless without him around. The way she replied earlier seemed to imply she had never considered the notion of not having him around.
It quite honestly felt like a lose-lose situation.
But what if…they never became adventurers?
Recalling his dream earlier, he had adorned the outfit that Narberal had provided him. What's even more distinguishing was the fact that he remembered carrying a blade around his waist when he bumped into the zombie warrior.
If he put 2 and 2 together, would that mean that he was a warrior in his dream?
'So basically, is that one possibility of the future?'
To further extrapolate on that idea, it would mean that should he not become an adventurer, maybe the disaster could be averted and they would never be exposed to danger.
Maybe living a quiet life was the solution after all.
"Narberal."
"Yes Suzuki-sama?" The black-haired beauty, who up until now had been sitting quietly by the bed so as to not distract Satoru's thought process, now stood up in response to his call.
"What would you say to living a quiet and ordinary life up here in the mountains with me?"
In Yggdrasil, there was once an event that rewarded players with the ability to create their very own homestead if they managed to clear an entire checklist of dungeons within the allocated time. Satoru could still remember the grind like it was yesterday for one needed to not just clear several rather difficult dungeons within the span of a mere 3 days, but also do so in a timely fashion. Had it not been for the intricate planning as well as excessive use of cash shop items, Satoru himself would not have made it.
Even then he only managed to accomplish it within the last hour before the event was removed entirely, hence the reason why he received a rather low tier reward in return. Naturally he had been soloing it all which made the task that much more difficult.
Yet now more than ever, Satoru was actually quite pleased at his humble abroad especially given the fact that he was here in person. It was nothing to write home about for it was nothing but a small wooden cottage that comprised of a living room, kitchen and finally a room complete with an ensuite. Yet it had a very homely feel to it. With the plentiful amount of windows allowing in adequate sunlight and the natural soundtrack of birds chirping, it really did seem like one of those affordable holiday houses Satoru always read about in tourist magazines back at home. The place had just the right amount of furniture, not too little that it seemed lacking in quality but not so much that one had trouble finding a place to step on.
To add the cherry on top, Satoru had managed to settle his homestead near the top of a mountain, which provided a brilliant view of the sun both when it rose and set. The air was crisp and fresh and not a sound from the city could taint the surrounding peace.
The location was definitely isolated from society per say, but the ambience was something Satoru highly appreciated for he had always enjoyed getting time alone both in game and real life.
All in all, it was perfect.
"If possible I would like to live a simple and modest life with you up here in the mountains, where we would be free from the politics of nations and the violence of adventurers. I know of a village nearby here that we could visit every so often to trade herbs or food with too."
But when there was no response, Satoru quickly continued with his monologue, completely missing the small smile slowly spreading across Narberal's face, a gesture that already indicated her decision.
"But I errrr understand that it might not be to everyone's liking because you have to walk very far before reaching any form of civilization and and…"
"It'd be an honor." Offering the boy a reassuring smile, the pony-tailed beauty genuflected before Satoru, which only made the boy stutter more.
"Ahhhh, there is no need to get down." Satoru quickly offered the girl his hand before pulling her up.
"Of course there is, I would not be so rude as to not show you some respect." He could tell from her serious gaze that it was genuinely how she felt towards him.
"Narberal, uhmmm, I know it's a little awkward to ask but…erm what is your opinion of me?" The boy said albeit with hesitation.
It went without saying that the pony-tailed beauty was of extreme importance to him and the only one he ever would trust with his life in this mysterious world, basically like an irreplaceable partner. However judging from the gesture she had just performed, it did not appear as though she shared his view, instead adopting the attitude of a vassal before her master.
"Suzuki-sama is someone of immeasurable importance to me, someone I owe my very life to and I will follow you and stand by your side no matter what happens." She finished with an air of confidence, bowing her head in an act of loyalty.
"Narberal, you can just treat me as an equal and not as someone abov…."
"That isn't something I can do Suzuki-sama, like I said you are very impor…"
"You are just as important to me as I am to you and you don't see me genuflecting now do you?" Satoru mentioned with a wink, causing the target to fidget in embarrassment.
"But…" Narberal began but was abruptly cut off once again.
"But thank you for staying with me." Satoru continued with a cheerful smile of his own, "We might lead very boring and modest lives though, so don't come complaining to me."
"That would be impossible for such a thought would never cross my mind Suzuki-sama."
"Thank you Narberal, I really appreciate you being here. But one more thing I wanted to clarify, as I do want to lead a modest lifestyle free of magic and fighting…erm well…" The boy did just mention wanting them to be of equal status rather than master and servant so he really wasn't in a place to make any demands.
"Understood, I shall not use any forms of magic or engage in any combat unless Suzuki-sama is being attacked."
Satoru raised an eyebrow in surprise. Narberal sure caught onto his thought process rather quickly but she did make one minor error.
"Unless either one of us are attacked you mean. You're just as important as I am remember?"
"Understood Suzuki-sama, shall we take out a list of essentials from the item box before I stop using magic altogether? After all, the Statue of animal – war horse might be useful to have around for travelling purposes and some money to get us started as well…"
The pair discussed their plans well into the afternoon that day with Satoru pleasantly surprised at Narberal's quick thinking and ingenuity when it came to their resources. In the end, after deciding on what they needed from the item box (which contained a lot of items thanks to Satoru's extreme hoarding tendencies), the pair spent the evening navigating and familiarizing with the mountain and its surrounding areas before watching the beautiful sunset from their humble abroad eager to enjoy the peace that they had planned for the future to come.
Meanwhile sometime in the not so distant future
"So this is where they are located."
"In quite the isolated area if I do say so myself."
"Doesn't look very densely populated either, nor are there traps or countermeasures of any kind that I can see. What should we do captain?"
"What else? Let's give them hell."
A/N - And with that we have reached the end of Chapter 2, what do you guys think?
I trying to take a different approach to this story as I want to stress the difference between Satoru and Ainz as they are fundamentally different in nature due to one being a human and the other being undead. However it is an adventure story, so while there might be discrepancies in their methods and thought processes, I do intend for Satoru and Naberal to shine as a pair much like the team Darkness do in the original source.
But anyways that's enough of my rambling!
As always thank you for taking the time to read my story, and hope to see you all in the next ^^
Take care everyone!
-Eira
-Coming soon -
Chapter 3: The boy who tried to escape fate