Chapter 7: E- Nauru

The smell of the coast had hit the group hard, immediately they could tell this was a bit more prosperous. The smell of corpses had not hit them yet, which given the rest of the kingdom had been an accomplishment.

The trio continued down a beaten path, as the walls of the Coastal City had appeared in the distance. No smoke nor signs of a battle, this was already a good omen. Glenys glanced at the bed of water that was off to their right and shrugged. She hadn't been out this way before but even she thought the sight was beautiful.

Christoff remained silent, fully intent on reaching the city while Nate also glanced at the ocean.

The city had been in full view now as it came over the horizon, still it flew the flags of the Re-Estize Kingdom. Little specs could be seen on the walls and in front of the gates, they had to be human, Christoff had raised his hands to halt the group and pulled out the telescope.

They were indeed humans. Royal Army Soldiers at that, no doubt this city's defense force. He continued looking at the walls, observing the soldiers until he found himself staring at one who was also looking at him with a telescope. With a frantic expression, he dropped it and began to speak. Christoff at the same time had lowered his and let out a sigh, a slight smile formed on his lips as he turned to the duo.

"You were right, I was wrong." Christoff spoke, glancing at Nate.

"Huh?" He asked, his head tilting to the side "What are you referring to."

"E-Nauru lived." Christoff's eyes shifted towards the Elf who refused to make eye contact with him for obvious reasons. "I suppose I owe you an apology as well, so I apologize." He managed before turning away.

The elf had looked surprised, she did not expect the man to do something that rash. She even glanced at Nate who in turn looked at her and just shrugged.

"Let us continue on, I am sure we will have people meet us." Christoff spoke as he began to move forward once again. A full smile had now appeared on his lips for the first time in a while, he had never thought he would see a city that was left intact. He knew not of the plans, but the fact that it was still around told him everything that he needed to know at the moment.

Nate and Glenys had glanced at each other blankly, before they finally moved forward. Has this given Christoff hope? Perhaps, after all he thought him and Nate were the last people of the kingdom let alive.

The breeze was nice and cool, it did not whip against their armor and instead it was gentle. This in itself had been a nice change of pace, not even a trace of the undead. It was as if they pulled from this area completely and rushed the capital. Which was exactly what had unfolded.

Soon enough, they had someone greet them. Though, it was not how they expected. A woman with white hair, who was clearly in her twenties had approached the group with her weapon drawn. She donned plate armor and a helmet similar to Christoff and Nate. Another interesting thing was her adventurer tag, Mithril.

"Halt." The female cried out.

Nate and Glenys had moved their hands closer to the hilt of their weapons while Christoff remained staring at the woman idly as if he could not find the words to speak.

"I knew something was wrong with him, there was no way h-" Glenys tried speaking before she was cut off by Christoff finally speaking

"By the gods..I can not believe it." He stated.

The woman remained silent clearly waiting for him or someone to answer, Nate was able to pick up on this,

"Bit slow today are we?" Nate stated to Christoff before he turned his attention to the woman

"We are former soldiers of the Royal Army, the man next to me and myself that is. The woman is one we had picked up along the way."

"The Royal Army? I heard they were destroyed." The woman pressed on with her interrogation.

"Yes." Christoff spoke with crystal clear words "We were present when the army had been wiped out the second time. We were conducting reconnaissance and once we returned, everyone was dead." He explained

"What of the Capital then?"

"Gone." Christoff spoke, the words leaving his mouth cold.

The woman seemed to show no reaction to it, she let out a sigh before she spoke again "I figured that would happen." She replied.

Christoff's patience was wearing thin, who could have guessed. He bit his lips, wanting to utter 'My Patience is not infinite' but refrained. The man bit the insides of his cheeks as the woman moved to remove her helmet, her plate armor clanking as she did so. Christoff was so lost in his arrogant thought process that he did not notice that it was happening. In the corner of his eye, he caught Nate doing the same and that is when he finally noticed.

"I am Scama Elbero, leader of the Four Armament's adventurer group and Mithril-class adventurer." She said introducing herself. Christoff's gaze focused back on the white haired female, not removing his helmet. Glenys also did not remove her hood for obvious reasons.

Nate nudged him slightly to remove his helmet, but he refused. Nate let out a sigh once again over Christoff before he indulged the woman with a reply

"I am Nate Stutnoch, former member of the Royal Army. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." He replied, giving a bow to the woman before his head shifted towards Christoff waiting for him to reply.

"Is this a jest?" Christoff asked, annoyance had filled his voice. "You speak of adventuring titles but there is no guild to go back to." Anger flared in his aura once again, his docileness was a rather welcoming thing prior.

The woman kept a neutral expression, her blue eyes meeting the slit in his helmet. "If this were a jest, I would be laughing." She glanced back at the city before looking back towards him once again "E-Nauru stands, our guild is still active."

That is right, other cities had Adventurer Guilds. He forgot about that, all that time spent in what seemed like endless conflict had dimmed his memory.

Christoff did not reply, he was already wrong and he wished to not insult himself further by admitting it to this stranger.

"I am Christoff, former soldier of the Royal Army and former Mithril ranked adventurer." He finally said, though not bowing as Nate did. He stood tall, still refusing to remove his helmet for whatever reason.

The woman ignored him, turning her glace to Glenys. "And who might you be?" Scama spoke

"Glenys, I am an adventurer from another kingdom." She replied

"I see." Scama said before her

"You used to be a Mithril class yourself?" The woman had asked Christoff who remained silent for a moment. He did not want to get involved in a conversation.

He would nod before speaking, "Are you hard of hearing, I did not believe I stuttered." He replied

"That attitude of yours must be why there is a former in your adventurer title." The woman said back before gesturing to the group. "Come, I will let you into the city."

The three of them followed behind and before they knew it they had entered the Coastal City. There had been little citizens anymore, most of them evacuated yet some had remained behind. Still, it was a breath of fresh air and a reminder of what things once were.

"Where is the nearest Inn?" Christoff found himself asking, much to the surprise of the other two.

Scama pointed at a stone building that clearly had the signs of a Tavern on it "Over there, you all look worse for wear anyway so get some rest while you can. When you awake I will want to speak with you further."

Christoff just walked off, the others following behind him. The Inn had been empty minus for a few patrons and the barkeep. He reached into his battered sachet and pulled out three coins "Rooms for Three." He spoke.

The barkeep nodded, pointing them to where the rooms would be located.

The three entered a short hallway, the wooden hallway had three rooms on the right side and two on the left. Respectively, each person went to their own room separately without saying a word to each other as the fatigue and exhaustion of the past few days had set in.

Christoff opened his door, the room had been rather small but it was a welcome sight. A proper bed and a table that had a fresh set of clothes on it. That was more than he could ask for at the moment. He took off his armor and quickly changed out of his dirty clothes. The stench was horrid as one could guess, his eyes squinched slightly as the smell had hit him. In the new set of clothes, he sat on his bed finally able to reflect.

For all his early life, Christoff had been taught to mistrust the demihumans. It was true that the least offensive demihuman had harbored a deep perfidy. Lenience towards demihumans could wind up bringing a bounty of betrayal. But in his years, he suspected he never truly hated them the way that others had. Him being able to travel with one was able to attest for that fact, Demihumans only strove to survive just as mankind had. Christoff had gleaned enough history to know that more often than not, hubris and folly had undone the great civilisations of the past. 'Perhaps the same could be said about the present', He thought.

Mankind had more in common with demi humans than with each other in regards to some aspects. He supposed that was why they were so easy for him to hate, that and what he had dealt with as a child. He had never seen the Demi Human's fight, but if he had he could assume that he would see nobility, honor and mercy. Those three things are something that most human kingdoms do not even show.

In the Sorcerer Kingdom, he felt he finally found something that he could truly hate and powerfully at that. His loathing for them was the strongest emotion that he had felt in years. The could be no accommodation with the Sorcerer Kingdom, only war. They had absolutely no redeeming features in his eyes. When he had heard that they had popped up before the massacre of Katze Plains he regarded them as a problem. When the massacre occurred, he viewed them as an existential threat. Now that Kingdom had grown to become as vindictive as the cruelest man and he grew to despise it.

Even if Victory was still possible, what would happen then? It seems this city is the only thing remaining of the Re-Estize kingdom and as it stands this would be easy prey for the Sorcerer Kingdom. They could even be overwhelmed by the Bahartuh Empire even if by some grace of the gods that they were able to win.

As he looked up at the ceiling, he heard three loud knocks on his door. At first he didn't get up but then he heard another knock. He let out a sigh as he got up. He could feel the weakness seeping deep within him, he grabbed his helmet and put it on as he did so much.

He was not wearing his shirt, as he was about to go to bed. He did not think to put it on because it would likely be Nate knocking anyway.

He approached the door finally and let out another sigh before opening it slightly.

At the door was neither Nate nor Gleny, it had been Scama Elbero who had been facing away from the door as it seemed she did not expect him to answer. She had turned around and faced the man, who underneath the helmet had a black expression on his face. She noticed that he wasn't wearing a shirt and a slight blush came to her face as she looked away.

"Speak." Christoff stated

"I-I wanted to talk about your time as a Mithril Adventurer." She stated, still flustered, Christoff was able to piece together why she was flustered and under his helmet, even he got slightly red.

"No, T-this conversation is over." He managed to say before he closed the door on her. She had managed to wedge her arm plate in the door. He let out a sigh, what a problem this had become. He grabbed his shirt and put it on, though he struggled to get it over his helmet before he opened the door.

"Thank you." The woman spoke, still standing outside the door.

"Are you going to enter or do you seek to waste my already limited time?" He asked, any sign of being flustered was already gone from his voice.

Scama entered the room, her helmet had been underneath her shoulder and she let out a sigh before sitting down at the table where Christoff had just made his way to.

"As you have already gathered most likely, My group had been here when the war broke out. We wanted to leave this city, but the situation prevented that and I did not want to leave the city to die." Scama explained, she brushed a few strands of white hair out of her eyes, tucking them behind her ears before she continued again "We wanted to make our way to a bigger city, but we find ourselves stuck here since one of my group members had gotten themselves into a problem."

Christoff listened, his expression not changing. Why was she telling him this? He truly did not understand why, there had been other people to tell. He was not in her group, this didn't matter to him. It was not that he viewed this matter as beneath his attention, he just knew that it would in no way benefit him.

"This is not my problem, the actions of your group do not affect me." Christoff stated. "If it was your intention to come and complain about a member of your party and being stuck in a city, your problems will fall on deaf ears."

Scama shrugged "That was not the point I was trying to make, but okay." She understood that was how it sounded, so she continued on "I wish to know if the other big cities are still around. As a former adventurer, you would have some form of knowledge regarding that correct?"

"No." Christoff said "To put it plainly, E-Rantel is full of traitorous dogs and the capital as you know has fallen. This City to my knowledge is all that remains."

The woman nodded

"So it is safe to assume that staying here would not be in the best interest for my group then?" She questioned

"Most likely not, you would have to go elsewhere. The Kingdom is gone and I care not for the opinions on the Sorcerer Kingdom regarding adventurers." Christoff answered.

In a sense Christoff could relate, caring about the safety of his group as ironic as it sounded. If New World's power level scaled off of assholeness, he would be god tier at this point but part of him still did care for his comrades.

"I guess that begins the next big thing, figuring out where to go next and convincing one of my party members to come with the rest of the group." She spoke slouching back in the chair.

"Then you have found out what you need to do, is there something else you need?" Christoff sighed quietly asking this question, though surprisingly enough he had actually been in a conversation.

"Why did you stop adventuring, I recall you saying that you were also a soldier so does that mean that you became a soldier after you were an adventurer?" She asked, not everyone was as ambitious as her. Scama had been a rare case, going as far as dying her hair to promote her group. To her, it was as if adventuring was the only way of life

"That is correct." Christoff said. "I felt I was not doing enough as an adventurer, so I became a soldier. We all see where that went. If that is all, I will be getting some rest."

"Ah!" Scama had explained as if she forgot that they had just arrived "Sleep Well, Christoff. We will speak later." She finished as she got up. Christoff did not reply as he felt that deserved no response. and watched her leave.

As she left, he took his helmet off again before walking over to his bed. He was confused on why the woman even wanted to talk with him, or even why he decided to speak back. Christoff in a sense lived in a bubble. He really only interacted with a small number of people, relatively speaking. It's not so much lack of social development, but lack of social diversity that can also be attributed to how he acted.

Still, he was able to somewhat hold a conversation. Usually only when he was in the heat of battle could he move past his typical behavior.

Christoff's thoughts lingered on what happened for a few moments before he finally drifted off to sleep.

Christoff awoke in a place he had never been, it appeared to be a throne room. Marble floors and well crafted pillars had been some of the highlights he saw. The window looked as if it had been cracked and fires rose from outside of it. In front of him, had been King Ramposa. The man he had not seen for so long.

"My King.." He tried to speak, but he could not.

Around him, he could smell the air. Ash had filled his lungs, the smell of blood had grew ever so close. He looked down and he was wearing armor that was not his own

The Palace.

That is where he was, but how? Before He could divine any more meaning, Christoff woke up.

"My King," The words escaped his lips as he awoke, he sat up in his bed with the sun hitting him in the face, blinding him. Based on the food that was left, he could guess he was out for an entire day.

He rubbed his eyes, he still remembered his dream vividly. It almost felt as if it were a vision, interestingly enough the smell of ash still lingered within his lungs before it faded slowly.

He rose out of his bed, taking another deep breath.

Perhaps his curse was already starting to take hold, something he wished to prevent. But nonetheless, he cast the thought from his mind with the rests of the thoughts that had never surfaced.

He donned his armor once again, looking at his still cracked helmet and sighed. He walked to the door and into the main are of the Inn. It had been empty "Perhaps they are still sleeping then." He moved back to the hallway and paused, he did not wish to wake them. It was obvious to tell at least Nate was asleep due to the loud snoring that came from his room.

The adventurer group had also not been present, though the conversation he held with Scama was brief he was able to gather that they did not wish to fight the Sorcerer Kingdom again. A smart move, though their fate was probably sealed the moment they raised their blades against the undead forces that now plague this land.

Christoff moved towards an empty table, which had been plentiful and the boards under him had creaked under the weight of him combined with his armor. He took a seat and removed his helmet. He figured it was a good time to do such a thing since it was empty. Only him and his party remained in the building anyway.

Through the open windows, the wind had caressed his face and the smell of sea salt had hit him once again. Finally he had heard it, the faint sounds of footsteps and conversations brewing outside. The city still stood, which had been a miracle in itself. Even though it seemed safe, they could not stay there.

Lesser minds who had not seen the true power of the Sorcerer Kingdom would see this as a triumph and grow complacent, but it would only be a matter of time before those damned banners make their way here again. If humanity had come together, perhaps then they would last a little longer. But even then, that would be borderline impossible.

Christoff dwelled on his disquiet alone.

How many more people would he see die? Privately, he saw this as unwinnable even more so now that he had spoke to the woman. Something had stirred in him during that interaction and pairing the words that had been spoken to him just days prior by the elf, it made him see how blind he truly was in regards to what was going on. Christoff lacked the gift of foresight, but he could see this land entirely flying the banners of the Sorcerer Kingdom.

'The best course of action would be to get out of here.' He thought to himself

But go where? Endless outcomes had swirled through his mind as this had hit him, The Blue Roses might as well be dead. If not dead they abandoned the kingdom. In this, they were alone. At least this small coastal city had the blessing of being left alone for now, though who knew how long that would actually last.

Something had occurred that Christoff had never thought he would find himself doing. A prayer. Disturbed by the fatalism of what was going on, he closed his eyes

"God of Wind" he prayed "Forgive me. I am young, but the toil of this conflict has worn my soul thin, although my body remains strong. I will never falter, I will never retreat, I will never give in. Though I can not ensure a better future for humanity, I can at least see it to the end. Forgive me for my moments of disbelief. Lend me the strength to overcome them."

'Can he hear me?' Christoff had thought to himself.

As if it was an answer to a question, the sun shone through the window and a wind had blew in all directions. The door then opened and inside came Scama and another woman. Christoff was still unmasked at this point, he couldn't hear them entering. Scama had said something to the other woman, who nodded and exited the bar as she made her way over to Christoff.

"How did you sleep?" She asked, taking a seat across from Christoff. His blue eyes drifted over to her and he remained silent before she spoke again "You really should keep that helmet off more often, it makes you more approachable." She joked to him.

His blank expression landed to hers, what could she even want? Was the conversation yesterday not enough for this woman?

"Your attempts at humor are as bland as your personality." He spoke, She had immediately countered his comment

"Bland? Well, you appear to be self projecting yourself onto me." She replied, still keeping a smile on her face. Christoff did not reply.

"What do you need?" He asked, pushing the conversation forward past what had just happened.

"Have you heard of the Theocracy recruiting adventurers from the kingdom? She asked him, putting both hands on the table.

He had not. He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow

"Explain."

"There is not many options for us anymore, but the Theocracy seems like a good bet for my group. If anyone can stop the Sorcerer Kingdom it would be them." She said

Christoff shrugged, this had nothing to do with him again.

"I am also unsure of what to do, most of my group agree with that opinion save for one." She continued on "Have you planned anything out."

He has not, anything he had planned fell flat. Argland was but a fleeting dream at this point as it stood.

"I have not. What you do with your group is of little interest to me, as it stands this will likely be swallowed up by the Sorcerer Kingdom."

Christoff could see Nate leaving his room, he walked to the edge of the hallway and paused when he saw Christoff speaking with the woman. Almost as if on cue, Glenys walked out of her room and Nate gestured for her to go back in. She looked confused but saw what Nate was looking at. Nate snickered a bit as Christoff shot him a pleading look, hoping to save him from this conversation but it was to no avail. They both went back into their rooms.

Bastards.

"Which is why I am telling you this, this will hopefully give you some foundation for a plan. I do not even mind if we travel there together." She continued.

"Together?" Christoff questioned

"N-Not like that!" She yelled in a low voice, she could feel the heat rising up to her cheeks "Like our groups going as one."

"I have no time for this childish game of yours. I do agree there is strength in numbers, but once again I will have to consult my group" Christoff stated

"Exactly. Not even I could take on a Death Knight with the help of others, so if we run into that we are doomed regardless." She spoke, rubbing the back of her head ignoring the first statement that came out of his mouth

"A Death Knight?" He asked, it wasn't that he didn't know what it was, it was more so that he was shocked that she had fought one before.

She nodded

"This city had been under attack before, my group and I had been preparing to leave and undead appeared. Though, they were villagers. The Sorcerer King resorted to slaughtering villages and sending their reanimated corpses, how tasteless can one be." She explained, shaking her head she continued on "Anyway, another adventurer had showed up who wore a power suit. He took care of the Death Knights and saved my groups life, he left shortly after."

"I am aware of the tactics of the Sorcerer Kingdom, though to think they employed it kingdom wide makes matters worse." He let out a sigh "There is nothing we can do, as I am sure you know the Sorcerer King could kill a hundred men at a time."

Scama let another nod answer for her. "The fact that he would use it across this Kingdom…" She said, her face contorted with disgust.

The man had considered bringing up Katze Plains, had she not been a warrior for hire she would have seen it first hand but he refrained.

"If you are done with your theatrics, I must consult with my party." He said plainly to the woman.

With a roll of her eyes she got up and nodded

"Understood, let me know of the outcome." She said, she got up from her seat and put her helmet on before saying one more thing

"Christoff?" She said, of course not receiving a reply from him. She continued anyway, "If you are free later, I would like to grab a bite to eat."

"That is something you can do yourself." He replied, oblivious to what she was asking.

He got up and went over to the hallway, knocking on Nate and Glenys's door. When they had creaked open, he spoke

"We have to talk." He spoke, his voice was rather soft compared to how it usually was.

Editors Note: Christoff mean. On a real note I am in need of a Beta Reader desperately haha. Grammar is not my forte as I am a plumber IRL so if you are interested please send me a PM or something! I hope you are enjoying the story so far and for those of you who are, you rock! This story has plenty more planned for it so I will see you in the future-
Ahriman