And we're back, just going to answer some more questions before we get started (even though I responded to some already). I did have a question regarding what his eyes grant him so to speak, from what I do know (this may not be accurate) is that his eyes can know who any servant is and can see what spells they prepare, can practically see through illusions and lies and accurately guess a lot of stuff almost like a sharingan. But the clairvoyance he has is more or less him getting visions of the future from time to time. And once again I know the gate fires weapons at Mach 5-10 and whatnot but once again as he levels up his gate will get stronger and easier to use. I know that's not how it works but it is what I'm going with for now. And I'm going to add a level lock system for the gate as suggested by RedBurningDragon. In regards to Kazuma, he will be in the story and Gil won't join his party or have Kazuma join his. Gil is more of a lone wolf as well as my OC but I will have Gil be present for some missions and other things, now on to the chapter.
Axel Guild Hall:
'Another quest down' I think to myself as I make my way to my usual table in the guild hall. Sitting down I let out a sigh, it's been about two weeks since I went on that quest with Darkness and things have gotten better. I've been cleared by the guild to take higher level quests so I've completed a few recently by myself. Hadn't seen much of Darkness lately, mostly just some waves or glances in the guild but I want to take the quests myself for a while. Call me selfish all you want but I do want most of the reward for myself to build up my treasury.
Speaking of the gate I recently discovered something about it. Once I reached level 15 I unlocked a new tab on my card that involved said gate. It was mostly reduced mana consumption and stuff but scrolling towards the end there was some unlocks that were dozens upon dozens of points but remained locked to the point I couldn't see them. It has been leveling passively which has been nice. More or less increased portals, rate of fire, speed and mana consumption. Being able to reduce mana consumption has been fantastic.
The quests I've been doing lately are clearing some lower level dungeons which were a figurative walk in the park with how easy they were. Haven't gotten much in terms of magical items. Mainly just a few staffs and swords with very low elemental enchantments but nothing to write home about. The strongest weapon in my arsenal was still the magic great sword I got from the death knight which has proved useful in a few of the dungeons.
'I was correct about it being able to increase ones abilities for a short period of time but even then the sword itself is extremely strong and durable.' After that thought I noticed a large gathering of people around Luna who was at a table which was kind of odd.
Getting up from my seat I made my way over to the crowd to see Luna showing a map on the table of what seemed to be a dungeon. She noticed my approach "Gilgamesh just in time."
The crowd of 15 or so people turn to look at me as I approach parting the way slightly and they seemed to be weary of my red eyed gaze once more. "What am I in time for?" I ask crossing my arms ignoring the crowd.
A tall burly man with a small purple Mohawk and beard wearing dark shoulder pauldrons, green pants and pink straps turned to meet my gaze.
"A few days ago a scouting party returned with some troubling news" he began "They were sent out to confirm reports of a newly discovered dungeon a few days from Axel by horse. There were five members in the party and only one of them returned"
Luna then continued "The man arrived severely injured and unfortunately has passed on from his wounds" she seemed sad at this "Before he died he gave us the location of the dungeon and that there was a death knight that obliterated them"
"Death knight?" I said aloud "Like the one that me and Darkness defeated a few weeks ago?" speaking of Darkness I looked around the crowd and noticed her along with them and she gave me a slight wave.
"Yes and from your description of the previous one this one seems almost the same but even stronger than the one you fought" said Luna "We're organizing a small raid party to take on the dungeon, if you would be willing to join your experience with this knight would be incredibly useful"
I closed my eyes in thought 'Another death knight? The last one was far from easy to defeat and while I've gotten stronger if this one is even more so? This fight could be difficult but the fact he might have a similar magical weapon it would be worth the risk' opening my eyes Luna stared into mine waiting for an answer.
"On one condition" I reply. Luna and the crowd look at me expectantly. I uncross my arms and stick my right hand out opening up a gate and pulling out the previous death knight's black great sword. "If the knight has a magical weapon like this one I will be taking it" I then put some magic into the sword causing it to glow gold with a slight gold flame "While it used to glow a deep purple, it now glows gold on my command since it is now a part of my treasury. If this knight is spotted the sword or other weapon will belong to me"
The crowd looks at me and some start to mutter and even outright say that it is not fair and I immediately silence them with a glare.
Luna sighs and slowly looks me in the eye "Fine it's yours but only because you've had experience with something like this and information is key" I then dismiss the sword and my arms cross once more.
The burly man then speaks again "A local caravan is willing to supply transportation since this dungeon is interfering with their business. They are set to leave within the hour and will meet us by the south gate, I suggest you all quickly get your traveling gear ready because this dungeon is close to five days away."
The crowd disperses with everyone leaving to get ready but not before giving me a final glance as they left, probably still angry that I will arguably be taking the best reward. The guild hall slowly started to empty and only me as well as Darkness remained.
She approaches me "I hope this knight is as strong, if not stronger, than the last" she speaks while panting slightly.
I give her a side glance "Let me guess your oath as a knight and crusader is the one and only reason you wish to fight it? Not anything else?"
"Of course it is my duty to slay strong rugged monsters and try to avoid capture" she responds getting even more heated at the last part.
"Sure it is" I roll my eyes as I make my way to the exit.
Snapping out of her… Internal thoughts she catches up to me as I leave the guild "Are you going to prepare for the trip?" she asks.
"I have all the supplies I need within my gate but I would like to purchase more ingredients and food for the trip as a precaution"
"Do you mind if I join? I need to purchase a few things as well" she asks.
"If I told you no you'd probably get a kick out of it so I won't stop you" I then give a smug grin to her.
"I would not!" she pouts as I let out a hearty laugh making our way to the market.
45 Minutes Late South Gate:
Darkness and I made our way to the south exit to see almost everyone there already with the caravan including about five wagons which were carrying various cargo. Four of which were to contain us probably. I split from Darkness and went a little further away from everyone to wait.
It took another ten minutes or so for everyone else to arrive and once they all did the burly man from before spoke "Listen up! I say again this place is almost a week away so be prepared for the journey. You will all split up into groups for now and stay inside one of the carriage until the caravan stops for a break or it is the end of the day. You have five minutes to pick a carriage so saddle up and let's move!" he finishes
I make my way to the furthest carriage available to hold people and climbed in, I sat down and crossed my arms leaning my head against the wood of the seat. Within five minutes three people climbed into the carriage. Opening one eye I glanced at the three people that came in. All seemed around 15-17 years old, one brown haired green eyed guy carrying a sword and wore leather armour, a pretty looking black haired women with black eyes and her long hair in a ponytail and was wearing what seemed to be a light purple gi meant for fighting and a some kind of lady spell caster with a purple cape, magic staff and a wizard hat containing her short brown hair with brown eyes behind a pair of glasses.
They were talking about strategies and other small things as they sat down slightly further from me and conversed. The brown haired guy seemed to be the 'leader' of their little group and seemed to be pretty boisterous. The fighter seemed somewhat the same but much more tame and respectful while the wizard was the quiet one. Probably the more smart one too.
Shortly after they sat down we started to move. They were silent for the most part and I was okay with that since I was resting since I had recently returned from a quest barely over an hour ago. It wasn't till about two hours into the ride when one of them spoke to me.
"Hey your Gilgamesh right?" I cracked my eye open to see the brown haired guy staring at me.
"Yes, what do you want?"
"I'm Justin it's good to meet you, the fighter over there is Rachel" she waved with a smile "And the brooding wizard is Sam" she sent a small glare at the now named Justin before giving me a slight nod. "Don't really know too much about you and if we're going to work together I thought it'd be a good idea to get to know each other" he ended off with a smile.
I opened my other eye and stared at him for a moment to see if he would falter under my gaze and he hadn't so far. "Very well, what do you wish to know?"
The boy seemed to smile a bit more "What's your class? I can't tell but you seem like a knight or paladin"
"I am mostly a warlock but I recently took a few levels in knight for more close quarter skills"
"Wow most people don't multiclass unless they choose the adventurer class" he responds
"I do what I please"
The fighter then looks at me "You seem pretty young but older than us, how old are you?"
"I am in my twenties"
The wizard looks at me "I've seen you create golden portals and have seen things come from them. What exactly is that?"
"It is my Gate of Babylon. I store things ranging from food to weapons and can call them at a moment's notice. I will not go into further detail about it. Now I wish to relax so don't bother me for a while" I close my eyes and drift off into a slumber.
It wasn't till a few hours later I was awoken by the caravan stopping. My eyes opened to see the night sky at the entrance of the carriage and the people riding with me getting off the carriage. Once they exited I stood and stretched feeling and hearing the satisfying pops of a few joints as I hopped out the back of the carriage. The caravan as well as the adventurers were setting up small fires with their respective groups and already laughing and talking the night away.
As I was watching them I decided to start making a fire a little further away from the group and start preparing my dinner. It was another one of those nights where I decided to cook my own dinner for the most part. I had the gate produce a table to prepare on and a pot I could place over the fire that I lit with a simple fire bolt. The pot was already filled with water and I left it to boil as I prepared some ingredients for a simple stew. I chopped up some onions, carrots, potatoes and some other vegetables with a good amount of beef chunks. With the meat already salted and whatnot inside the gate I didn't have to prepare the meat too much which was fine with me. When the water started to boil I added all the ingredients with a small amount of broth that was already prepared. I put the lid on the pot and placed a ladle on the rack with the pot to stir periodically.
Once I sat down to let the stew cook I grabbed a book from my gate and started to read to pass the time. I didn't get too far into my book when I felt someone approaching from behind me. I turned my head slightly to see it was Darkness.
"I see your cooking a stew again but yourself this time. Do you mind if I join you?"
"What about your group?"
"They drank a lot of alcohol and passed out before we could make any food and I saw you all alone so I decided to see if you wanted some company" she ended with a small smile.
"Once again I will not decline since I won't know how you'll react" I said while having a chair appear beside me facing the stew pot. She pouted but decided not to comment as she sat next to me and was gazing into the fire.
After about ten minutes of silence I checked the stew to see how it was doing and to stir it and it was coming along smoothly and the aroma was almost intoxicating it was so good. As I put the lid back on I heard some stomachs growl as I looked to my side. Darkness was blushing a bit and I could notice the three people that were in my carriage behind her seeming sheepish and hungry.
I let out a sigh and had three more chairs appear as I motioned them to sit and they immediately sat down.
"Wow man that smells awesome!" said Justin "Never knew you could cook"
"Never asked" was my response as I continued to read.
The next hour or so was Justin and his team conversing with Darkness which she seemed happy about especially since it seemed she was making more friends. The atmosphere was nice. 'It's been a while since I enjoyed company. Even as Michael I would enjoy time spent with friends, even if I don't talk a lot in these moments I still enjoy them' after this thought I see an image of my old friends over top of them all smiling and laughing. And it made me happy.
After staring for a moment I started to get a slight headache but when I tried to blink it away I saw Justin's team covered in blood for a mere moment before it disappeared. I shook my head ignoring it and proceeded to procure some bowls and start dishing out the stew. They all waited expectantly and proceeded to inhale the soup as they couldn't wait any longer. Darkness was more refined but she still ate the stew relatively quickly.
The rest of the night passed as it had been with the other four talking and me off to the side not really listening in and just reading my book. This is how the next four days passed, Darkness joining me later in the nights as well as Justin and his team approaching while I cooked, with them looking sheepish every time and their stomachs growling. It was a relaxing four days with no interruptions but it wasn't until we reached the dungeon that the mood went more serious.
Outside Dungeon 4 Days Later:
The ruins were what you'd expect, almost looked like an old Roman or Greek ruin but with much more moss and cracks throughout the place. Crumbled pillars and what seemed to be a stone path leading in but it was riddled with cracks and overgrowth. The entrance was once again something out of what seemed like Roman or Greek architecture.
With everyone suited up me and the burly man were standing in front of the assembled group "Alright!" started the burly man "We're splitting up into teams! After a few minutes of walking we'll come across a fork in the dungeon that spreads five different ways. Make sure to stay vigilant and be prepared for anything!" as he finished the crowd cheered and I stepped forward
"The last death knight I fought was extremely powerful" I started, the crowd now quieting down "We were all briefed on its description other than what weapon it wields. If you come across the knight retreat immediately and come find me or one of the other veterans among us. I don't want to see anyone perish. You got that!" they all nodded with serious expressions "Let us move and show these mongrels our power!" that got them riled up as we descended.
After a few minutes of walking we came to the fork in the dungeon spreading five different ways. The fifteen other people split into groups of three or four and made their way down the halls. Justin's team tried to get me to come along but I refused heading down the last pathway myself.
'I want to fight without restrictions and if they're with me I will have to restrain myself and not go all out. Plus they seemed young and needed more experience so it's probably best I go alone for now' and that's just what I did. I came across some hallways and rooms filled with many creatures such as undead wolves, zombies and even goblins which seemed to be raiding the place themselves.
None of them survived.
It wasn't even a challenge; I just walked down the hallways blasting the incoming enemies with waves upon waves of weapons from the gate not even breaking stride. A few rooms had some trinkets and small magical items but nothing that made me super excited.
It wasn't till an hour into exploring that something caught my attention and it was the sound of battle but there were more human screams than monster screams. Slightly picking up my pace blasting any undead in my way and any that got passed I punched them as hard as I could sending them flying.
Another scream this one much louder
I broke into a light jog and as I rounded the corner my eyes squinted and went dark. Not because of the amount of dead monsters but the human body I saw on the floor in a pool of blood. Looking at the body closely I could barely tell who it was. Their limbs were all but gone and the only part I recognized was the head. It was face down and when I moved it over.
"Justin" I spoke.
My voice did not falter nor did I show any outwards emotion as I rose to my feet and heard some more battle sounds ahead. Making it further down the path and found another body with a sword wound in their gut.
"Sam" I mutter.
'This is not good where is Rachel?' hearing something else further ahead I felt something flying towards me. I caught it out of the air and it was a head.
Rachel's head
'What in god's name could've caused this?' I soon received my answer
"Another adventurer roaming the halls of my home" spoke a booming voice from the darkness "They were weak but you are different I can sense it" It stepped into the light revealing what seemed to be a man in spiked full plate black armour with read highlights from head to toe. It's faceplate being replaced by a skull head with glowing red lights for eyes standing over seven feet tall.
And he was carrying Rachel's headless corpse which he proceeded to toss at my feet. I tilted my head down slightly as my eyes were shadowed and my outward expression changing to a slight frown.
"But our battle will not be here" its deep voice echoing down the halls "Find me and avenge your comrades if you dare" it then turned into wisps of black smoke as it seemingly teleported away.
.
.
.
I didn't know what to feel in that moment. I was angry sure but it's almost as if I wasn't feeling anything staring at the headless corpse of Rachel. I put her head next to her body and stared at it for another moment before looking up at where the knight was and clenched my fist
'That thing is going down'
The next few minutes were spent with me putting their bodies inside the gate so they did not deteriorate. 'If this was the real Gil he would never put bodies of people in his gate. At least this part of me remains somewhat normal' I thought to myself as I finished collecting their bodies so their families could have a burial.
Once finished I set off at a decent walking pace and just like before if anything got in my way it got blasted with extreme prejudice. My thoughts were relatively empty as I made my way down the halls of the dungeon but something came to me as I was walking 'That vision I saw a few days ago of them covered in blood. I guess it was the clairvoyance coming through and I just ignored it'
Nothing like that had happened with the month or so that I've been here for so I wondered why it came through a few days ago and not once the past month. With these thoughts going through my head I continued down the corridors with still no outwards reaction. It wasn't till I was walking for another ten minutes that I came across a set of giant steel doors. Walking through I was greeted with what I can only describe as the boss room. But I wasn't the only one there.
Bodies were spread throughout the room but they were all either barely conscious or passed out with only two people still standing at the ready. Burly man and Darkness were staring down the death knight that was directly in front of them with only some minor scuffs on his armour. Meanwhile the burly man had cuts all over his body and was panting slightly. Darkness was more or less the same but panting more for a different reason even though her expression was more or less dead serious.
The first one to notice was the death knight "So you have finally arrived" it said starring directly at me. He had some blood red spear on his back that was covered in spikes and its tip looked more like a glaive or a halberd instead of your average spear tip 'looks similar to Gae Bolg but it definitely isn't.' But he wasn't wielding it. He was using a sword that seemed no different than your average claymore sword.
Darkness turned to match my gaze "Gilgamesh help us slay this foul beast!"
I glanced at her "Take everyone else and leave"
"What?!" her and burly man said simultaneously
I gave a slight glare to them as over fifteen gates appeared behind me with weapons of all kinds sliding out and the previous death knight's sword dropping into my outreached hand. 'Damn the most I ever opened was seven but I can't think about that just have to chalk it up to my anger' and boy could I feel the strain of opening more gates than usual.
Trying not to show signs of strain I looked at both of them "I said leave"
"But why? With our combined might this thing lasts no chance!" spoke Darkness
"What she said!" said burly man
"I have a score to settle with this filthy disgusting mongrel. Now. Leave!" Iraised my voice which seemed to shock Darkness since she's never seen me this mad.
She seemed to hesitate but she eventually started to bring unconscious bodies out of the room, the burly man grunting and following her. Any person that could still move assisted as best they could and as they were leaving the room the burly man said "Give em hell" as he left with the last of the adventurers.
With the others finally gone I stared down the death knight with a slight glare and my full Gilatude coming through.
"You are nothing but a mongrel and will die here" I said with a dark look in my eye as the portals glowed an ominous yellow shadowing the front of my body only showing the glints on my armour and my practically glowing eyes. A very menacing look.
"Just because you bested a death knight before and wield his weapon doesn't mean you'll defeat me" we continued to stare at each other for what felt like hours until the knight exploded from where he was and rushed me at top speed.
In response I fired a hail of weapons slowing his approach as he dodged and deflected the blades while getting closer. He eventually made it through the onslaught and we clashed. Sparks flew in every direction as we fought for dominance. The floor was beginning to crack and chunks of stone were coming up as the knight slowly pushed me back. Not standing for this any longer I poured magic into my sword and it started to glow a bright gold as I gained newfound strength.
Using that strength I overpowered the knight and managed to push his sword into the air and putting him off balance which left him open for a barrage of weapons slamming into him sending him back a few feet. Not wasting any opportunities I rushed the knight.
I continued to assault him with weapons when I drew close and my whole body as well as my sword were coated in a golden glow and fire, as I hit the knight in the gut with a mighty swing sending him flying into the wall across the room.
The knight slowly peeled himself from the wall and chuckled "I see you're not some average adventurer" he spoke now free from the wall and adopting a new stance with his left foot sliding back and his sword pointed at me from above his head. "I can sense it… Your blood has divine properties" a black wispy flame slowly surrounded him "I will no longer hold back!"
He exploded once more and we repeated the same process as before but this time instead of clashing we started exchanging a flurry of blows. Every swing I made was either parried or dodged and I was getting hit more and more until the knight broke my guard and spin kicked me.
While flying through the air I released another barrage of weapons with the knight deflecting them with more ease than before. When I landed on the ground the knight rushed again and landed a solid swing with his sword in my gut. I coughed up some blood and spit as I rocketed into the steel doors at full speed feeling as if I got hit by a train.
The doors were locked so I did not fly through the doors and I left an imprint on the doors as I hit the floor. I slowly pushed myself to my feet using my sword as a cane to rise up into a standing position, my armour slightly cracked.
"It seems I over estimated you" taunted the knight
This caused my blood to practically ignite with rage fuelled by pride. I closed the gates behind me and pored a lot of my magic power into the sword.
"Don't talk down to me you MONGREL!" winds whipped around me violently as I was surrounded by a roaring golden flame this time. Throwing caution to the wind I rushed the knight again in a full offensive. I clashed with the knight so ferociously that the room started to shake as we exchanged blows neither gaining nor losing ground. My armour was being slowly chipped away as well as the death knights in a ferocious flurry of swords.
We broke apart and we stared at each other as both our armours were practically falling off revealing his skeletal body and my armour revealing my six packed body that looked to be chiselled from the finest marble, red tattoos lined the sides of my body and my right bicep.
"You're growing tired. It's about time I end this game" the knight's sword clattered to the floor as he pulled the spear from his back. He slid his right foot back and the tip of the spear was pointed towards the ground and he leaned forwards slightly. With the wispy black flames still surrounding the knight his spear started to gain a red and black haze as he stared at me.
"This is where it ends, you were a worthy opponent but you will die here" the floor cracked beneath his foot as he propelled himself forward. As he drew closer I tried to stop him by blasting him with weapons more intensely then I ever had before and it was hitting the knight chipping his armour more and more with only his metal grieves and legs being left. But he still powered through it and showed no signs of stopping so I formed a plan that I hoped would work.
At the last moment I poured almost the rest of my magic into the sword and went to block the attack. The death knight crashed into me and cracked the sword almost instantly and we skid across the room with me using every single ounce of strength I had to block the attack. When we finally came to a stop with me being pinned against the wall he leaned in and muttered.
"This is where you fall man with god blood" the knight used his spear to swipe my sword from my hands causing it to hit the floor with the roaring golden flame still surrounding the sword as it dissipated into gold motes and returned to the gate. The knight thrusted for my gut but I managed to move slightly to the right so he missed anything vital but it still hurt like hell.
Coughing up a decent chunk of blood and having blood flow out of my gut I slowly looked to him and smirked "M-my n-name is GILGAMESH" a gate opened above my head as the great sword from before still coated in roaring gold flames was launched through the deaths knight head as it stumbled back pulling the spear out of my body causing more blood to shoot out.
Grunting in pain I fell to on knee panting as I looked at the death knight who had a massive hole in its skull staring directly at me. With only half his skull remaining and my magic coursing through him he huffed "Well played… Gilgamesh" he then crumbled to the floor.
With no winds from my roaring flames or attacks my hair went loose and was no longer defying gravity. I used every ounce of my strength to make portals and grab the broken chunks of my armour and taking the death knights weapon.
Still on one knee I pushed myself up barely being able to stand as the doors to the room opened and I limped out the door blood dripping from my wound. I procured a healing potion and downed it in one go alleviating some of my pain which was enough to keep me walking but barely enough to keep me conscious.
Limping for close to ten minutes is when my legs gave out and I kneeled down again 'Damn it I'm not dying here!' as I strain myself even more to move. It took what felt like years to reach the staircase to the exit.
'I'm so close I can taste it' I grunted and forced myself up the stairs with each step feeling like I was being punched in the gut. After what felt like an eternity I reached daylight and the first thing I saw was Darkness yelling at the burly guy.
"Ruffian we have to go back!" so that was his name "He could need us at any moment" she seemed almost scared.
"Kid he'll be fine he will make it back alive" he responded with a resolve of steel
I chuckled slightly coughing up some blood as that gained their attention. They turned around shocked to see me in the state I was in and with a grin I spoke "Of course I'd make it back *cough cough*" some more blood escapes. "I am the great Gilgamesh after all"
Darkness immediately ran towards me and as she did I started to fall forward but before I hit the ground she caught me. "You fool! You could've died!" she yelled with tears dotting the edge of her eyes.
"And I will if I'm not healed" I chuckled as I started to lose consciousness.
"Gilgamesh! Someone who know healing plea-"those were the last words I heard before sleep overtook me. My magic was exhausted and I had a hole in my gut so I slowly fell asleep
Sometime later
It felt as if I was underwater, my limbs felt light yet so heavy as I drifted along not hearing any sounds but my thoughts. I couldn't open my eyes at the moment so I Iaid there continuing to drift along but after what felt like hours I tried to force my eyes open but they refused. I began to grow frustrated and attempted to open them for what felt like hours until progress was finally being made.
My hearing was returning as I could faintly hear birds chirping in the distance and the clopping of horse hooves and the squeaking of carriage wheels. When I finally opened my eyes I was greeted with a white tarp and some wood holding said tarp 'I must be in a carriage'
Not wanting to lay down any longer I forced myself up and immediately hissed in pain, which caught someone's attention. "You shouldn't be getting up" said a voice and soon after I noticed a blond woman kneeling beside me looking down at me.
It was Darkness
She slowly pushed me back down and stared down at me "You were hurt pretty bad and you've been asleep for two days now" she said causing my eyes to widen slightly "We left after the first day since we were trying to find Justin's team but turned up nothing"
I looked at her and tried to speak but my voice felt incredibly weak and my throat more dry than a desert. She quickly realised this and propped me up to take a sip of water which felt like liquid gold at the moment. I let out a sigh and whispered thank you and waited until I regained enough strength to speak "Justin's team was killed by the death knight" she flinched at that "I have their bodies in my gate to bring back to Axel so they may receive a proper burial and be with their families"
"We guessed that they perished and I'm sure their families will be glad they can at least have a proper funeral" she said while looking downcast
To lighten the mood I looked to her and smirked a bit "I guess you wish that you could be in my position" she seemed incredibly confused at this "To be in as much pain as I was and am currently in would be a masochists dream."
Her face lit up and she immediately pouted and yelled at me "I would not! That's not how it works!"
"Hoh… so you admit you are a masochist then?" my grin grew even more as she sputtered looking for an excuse. I bellowed out a hearty laugh but it was short lived as I started to cough and my gut was burning.
She looked at me, huffed and looked away seeming upset and embarrassed but not angry. After my coughs and chuckles died down I looked down and saw my lower abdomen wrapped in bandages and noticed the armour from my legs was gone and I was wearing a pair of brown pants under the sheet that covered me.
"Where's the rest of my armour? And who changed me?" I asked
She looked back with the red in her face gone and responded "Ruffian took off your armour and changed you after one of the casters healed you with magic and one of the caravan members wrapped you up. Your armour is just behind you."
Tilting my head back ever so slightly I saw some of the greaves and opened a gate allowing it to fall inside to be repaired in my gate. Darkness then continued "I'm guessing you picked up the rest of your armour to get repaired in that gate of yours?" I nodded
She nodded back and we stayed silent for close to ten minutes before she asked "Are you hungry? I have some soup if you'd like, it's not as good as anything you cook but you can have some" I nod
She props me up again but leans me against the seat of the carriage and try's to feed me "I can feed myself" I slowly reach up and grab the soup and slowly bring it to my lips. 'A tad salty but not too bad.'
We continued to chat for a while before I grew tired again and she seemed to notice so she laid me back down after fluffing my pillow a bit and I soon fell asleep. And it wasn't till a few hours later I woke up and noticed the carriage wasn't moving but I did hear the sound of chatter just outside and I noticed the sun was setting through a small part at the entrance of the cart but Darkness wasn't around. 'She's probably outside'
With pure will and effort I stood up after a few moments and made my way to the exit of the cart to step outside for some air. When I reached the exit I sat down and slid off the back my feet now touching the ground, the air had a slight chill to it so quickly I flashed on my usual white shirt and black pants with some black shoes and this caught everyone's attention
"There he is!" called out Ruffian a cup in his hand presumably filled with alcohol of some sort "The man who single handily killed a death knight!" the rest of the group let out a cheer as I approached the group slowly and had a chair with a cushion on the seat and back. I sat down with a sigh next to where Darkness was sitting on a log as Ruffian spoke again "Let his hair down too and is out of that armour" he said causing everyone to chuckle.
'I guess my hair isn't spiked up right now' I thought to myself and let out a chuckle opening up a gate and grabbing a goblet with some wine. But before I could drink it Darkness snatched it and said.
"You shouldn't be drinking you need to recover" I sigh and dismiss the goblet causing the group to chuckle again.
The rest of the night passed by quite nicely as everyone but me had something to drink. Everyone laughed and talked the night away and Ruffian took a few jabs at Darkness for apparently barley leaving my side as I was unconscious which she blushed at and yelled at Ruffian comically. I let out a hearty 'Gil' laugh at Darkness' expense but she seemed fine just embarrassed and would mutter about a different kind of shaming and how this wasn't what she liked. I was the only one that caught that so I once again laughed causing her to look away.
A few weeks later back in Axel:
When we arrived back in Axel it felt good to be back, I still wasn't wearing my armour and had my hair down which was nice to do. A good majority of my strength had returned and I could walk with no issue but it would take another few days before I could take on any quests. After arriving at the guild we reported to Luna what took place and she seemed incredibly relieved we were okay and seemed surprised yet concerned that I was hurt as bad as I was.
We all received almost 200,000 eris as a reward and I received an extra 300,000 for killing the death knight who apparently had a decent bounty on his head, lucky me. After a short party when we arrived back in town I gave the guild the bodies of Justin, Rachel and Sam which they thanked me for and said while the families would be sad they could at least have a proper funeral.
The few days I spent recovering were relaxing but boring. I mostly stayed home reading and distributing the points I got from leveling up after defeating the death knight which was a whole five levels worth of points and now I was level 20. I unlocked a few things from my gate like less mana consumption and increased the amount of gates I was able to use and distributed the rest towards my basic stats.
When I finally started taking quests again I started off small and worked my way up but didn't go more than a day or two outside the city just to have some more money coming in and being able to test the new magic spear I got.
And now we make it to the present
I was sitting at my usual table sipping on some wine and reading a house listing paper. Why you ask? I wanted a place of my own that wasn't some small apartment.
'I've been here practically three months now and I can already purchase a small mansion! It's pretty great' I think to myself as I hear the guild door burst open and see two people panting at the door. One was an average kid maybe seventeen or so with brown hair and green eyes wearing a green tracksuit which caught my eye. 'A tracksuit? I haven't seen anything like that in the three months I've been here. Could he be someone from earth?'
I then glance at his supposed partner when I almost chocked on my wine and stared at the person next to him. 'Blue hair with a weird swirl ponytail, blue eyes, blue outfit and I'm sensing some divinity from her.'
.
.
.
'Is that freaking Aqua!' I shout in my head
And that's a wrap for today! Hope this chapter was good and you all enjoyed it. Please leave a review telling me what you all think, that would be greatly appreciated. This chapter was 2k more than the last one and it's the longest thing I've ever written so that felt pretty good. Please read the AN at the beginning of this chapter and the last to see if I've answered any questions you wanted to ask.