Faltra city was a Western frontier city in the Kingdom of Lyferia. It was the only major military and trade hub in the immediate area. In order to reach it the trio had to cross the bridge of Ulug. An important defensive bastion.
"I see." Zeryk muttered as he listened to Rem's explanation. "So who is the bridge meant to defend against, a kingdom made up of demi humans and heteromorphs?"
"No, the area behind us is Fallen territory. The fallen are races that worship the demon lords. They are generally savages who do nothing but kill and eat what they kill." Rem explained. "There are some exceptions such as dark elves." Rem added.
Zeryk noticed Shera twitch but didn't enquire further. "So how many demon lords are there? On that note how powerful are the demons themselves?"
Rem eyed him warily. "If you're hoping to join up with your kin, you'd better stay with us. The demons are members of the allied races who fight the fallen."
Zeryk almost tripped in disbelief. "Why would demons fight the fallen if they're ruled by demons? Was there a civil war that caused a split?"
Shera finally spoke up. "The demon lords aren't demons per se they're said to be creatures complexly made of magic. I heard once that they were all once one being but were split."
Zeryk decided to drop the line of questioning when they reached the bridge. Rem and Shera suddenly stopped.
"What's the issue? If the guards seeing me is a problem, I have other ways of crossing the river."
"It's not just that it's…" Shera trailed off as she yanked uselessly at her collar.
"Ah the summoners are embarrassed that the summon bound them instead of the other way around. I could try destroying the collars with a spell but I may risk harming the girls in the process. That being said maybe it would be better if I downplayed my appearance." Zeryk closed his eyes for a moment and suddenly his armor was replaced what appeared to be an open black long jacket, a short-sleeved sliver tunic, black pants and steel toe boots. He then retrieved a ring from his inventory and slipped it on. Suddenly his appearance changed as his horns, scales, and tail disappeared. He now looked like a normal human with no indication of being anything other than that.
Rem stared him not even trying to hide her shock. "H-How?"
"Magic." He replied with a smirk. He felt a light tug on his sleeve and looked down to see Shera who was hunched over, trying to hide her face.
"Would you happen to have a cloak as well?" She asked.
Boris Marks was a simple man. He had grown up in a small farming village, he was expected to follow in his father's footsteps and live an uninteresting life in the middle of nowhere. He could not take it anymore and one day snuck out of town and travelled to Faltra. He was so excited to be stationed in some exotic post and possibly see demi humans and other new people for the first time. What he got instead was a boring post only a few miles away from home. He supposed that's what he got for dreaming big being big despite being a farm boy.
He noticed someone was approaching. "Oi you over there." He shouted.
The man stopped. "Is there a problem sir?" He asked.
"He called me sir." He thought mentally chuckling. "No, it's a rule that we have to inspect everyone that comes through here. Also, why…" He trailed off as he looked at Rem and Shera, two girls he was briefly acquainted with. Both girl's heads were sticking out from the cloak. It was obvious the two were being carried by the lager man.
"Oh, don't mind them. The poor things got tired and asked me to give them a hand. Women really are needy bunch." He said jokingly. At least it sounded like he was joking. Boris didn't miss the murderous glare the girls gave the man before stating that it was true. "Please just let us through." They begged in unison.
"Alright then, watch your step." He stepped aside and watched them go for a moment before resuming his post.
"That was humiliating." Rem whined as she walked behind Zeryk, face in her hands.
"Better than the disgrace of being seen with slave chokers." Shera muttered. "But seriously, tired is that the best excuse you could come up with?"
"No. I just like watching you squirm." Zeryk said with a sadistic smirk causing both girls to pout in a way that excited him in a way that made him uncomfortable. "Take it easy boy. They're still just teenagers."
As the trio approached the main gate, Zeryk examined the city's defenses. "The city is surrounded by water which renders battering rams and ladders useless. The walls seem tall and sturdy enough that they could resist damage from catapults long enough for the defenders to return fire." He thought to himself, he had taken a medieval history class in college so he had a working knowledge of castle's and armors and how they should work and look.
As he passed through the gate, he felt an odd sensation like something had tried to block his way in before he effortlessly walked through it. "Ah a barrier, though it's incredibly weak. Though maybe it was made simply for detection."
As he took in the sights, he noticed that most of the races were made of humanoids. "Humans, elves, cat pe-uh pantherians, rabbit people, dog people, and…" He stopped when he looked at a group of cloaked individuals with what appeared to be tattoos or brands on their faces.
"Who" He started before suddenly each girl grabbed one of his hands and began dragging him along. He planted his feet stopping them in their tracks. "What are you doing?"
"Please just hurry." Rem begged.
"Hey. It's Rem and that elven girl isn't it." One person asked. "Are they wearing slave collars?" Another added. "Did they become his slaves?"
"I thought they were just embarrassed because their spell failed. But they were nervous because of the misunderstandings the collar would cause." A small part of him felt guilty but another part of him knew that they wanted to collar and use him too.
"What are you waiting for? Lead the way." He said as the girls ran towards the inn as fast as they could.
Eventually they arrived and walked inside, unsurprisingly the proprietress was a demi human. "Welcome to the peace of mind inn, nya!" She paused when she saw Rem. "Rem, welcome back! Did you succeed in the summoning?"
"…I succeeded in the summoning." Rem answered meekly. "Dammit girl, stop feeling sorry for yourself. If you keep acting meek everyone will think I actually am a slave." Of course, that brought up the disconcerting fact that her new companion had her at his mercy.
"More importantly, I want an additional room as well." She stated.
Zeryk had no intention of sharing a room with either girl. He didn't trust is self control. That said he felt that he should at least pay for it. "But will my in-game money work here? I mean gold is gold, though for all I know gold has no value here."
He noticed Shera strut past Rem and approach the desk. "Shera too, yahoo. If it's for a key I can take one out right now."
Shera hesitated, Zeryk noticed that her ears were red. "Would it at all be possible to let another person share a room with me?" Her attempt to appear composed was ruined by how red her face was.
Zeryk stiffened. "Wait she wants to share a room with me?!"
"As long as I'm wearing this collar I need to stay on his good side. An if that requires a little seduction on my part then so be it!...Not that I actually have any idea how to do that. Damn you Keera! Why couldn't you ever let me talk with boys?" Of course, she knew why but she had promised herself that she would do everything she could to wipe his sick confession from her mind.
"That won't be necessary." Zeryk stated.
"Well I don't have enough money for two rooms." Shera replied meekly. Rem smirked. "Just spend the night alone in poverty fat elf. Besides, he should stay in the room with someone who can support him. Like me."
While the two argued back and forth Zeryk snuck around them and dropped some Iradora gold coins in Mei's hands. As he hoped she accepted the coins even if she didn't recognize the currency.
"Alriiight!" She said, getting the girl's attention. One room for Zeryk and a large room for the two girls."
"I'd rather be thrown out then share a room with this fat ass." Rem complained. "
"Shut up or I actually will." Mei replied, her happy go lucky tone replaced with an aura of death.
Zeryk sighed as he slumped on his bed. He mentally tuned out the sounds of Rem and Shera arguing in the next room over. Now that he had a chance to stop and think he took in all that he knew.
"This city is called Faltra, a defensive Bastion as well as probably the only major city in the region. This city and the fortress bridge are supposed to ward off attacks from the fallen which are primarily composed of beast men. I have been summoned by a ritual that normally would summon powerful animals." He felt a sense of unease as he didn't know anything about this world's history, geography, and customs. "If I'm not careful I might accidentally piss off some noble or organization because I made the wrong gesture. Rem and Shera seem to think I'm strong but they aren't that powerful themselves so I shouldn't get cocky. To top it all off, I'm unemployed. While I could probably live off the money I have in my inventory, I'm too young to retire."
He trailed off from his mental ramblings when he heard a knock. He opened the door and noticed Rem as well as a purple haired woman behind her.
"Is there a problem?" He asked, noting that one of the woman's guards seemed to be giving him the stink eye.
"Not a problem, I was just hoping to ask you some questions."
"Oh? Why would she be here? She can't have possibly come for me so it must be Rem she wanted to talk to."
As he followed the mages downstairs, he thought about trying to scan their status to see what levels they were.
"Status" He used silent cast to hide his use of magic. The first thing he noted was that there was no items or spells to block out detection. While a player could not hide their level, they could hide their stats. He mentally scoffed, the two guards couldn't even be considered level 15 with their pathetic stats. Even the womans's mp was negligible to his back when he was level 45. She called herself a magic caster? No wonder mages had to rely on summoning, these people would be exhausted after throwing a rank 2 spell.
"Allow me to introduce myself." The woman said as they sat at an unoccupied table "I am Celestine Boudelere, the head of the mages association. I am the one tasked with maintaining the city's barrier."
"They force maintaining the city's barrier on one person? That's just stupid, never mind morally questionable."
"At any rate, I'm happy you finally made some friends Rem." Celestine stated.
"They aren't friends. One is someone I met by accident. The other one…ignore her, think of her as mold as the wall. Her clothes are green after all."
"M-Mold on the wall!?" Shera shouted indignantly. "Why you-"
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Mei said as she brought over dinner. Shera began to dig in occasionally scowling at Rem.
Rem didn't reach for her food. "Did you come here to talk about that again?"
"Rem, there's no need to be hostile. I'm just trying to help you." Celes said frowning.
"She seems genuine enough. Though I am curious, the leader of the mage's association wants to help Rem about something she clearly doesn't want to disclose."
"I have no intention of giving up my life as an adventurer and I don't want an escort everywhere I go." Rem retorted.
"I know that, but Rem these days the roads are getting more and more dangerous. Fallen attacks are becoming more frequent."
"I am grateful for your consideration, but I can protect myself." Rem replied.
"…I understand." Celes said reluctantly. "Though perhaps you could tell me why you're wearing a choker? I doubt someone like you could be forced into being a slave. In any case, I've noticed that the collars are linked to this fellow's flow of magic."
"Flow of magic? Does that mean she can sense magic like ki in dragon ball?"
"Sir, I'm not sure what happened but please release Rem. She is a very important person for this nation and the world."
"So, you're outright admitting she's important. What is she a lost princess? Or does she have a unique skill?"
"Allow me to clarify somethings. Rem is not my slave. I have no intention of ordering her. I did not cast an enslavement spell on her. If you know how to undo it, tell me and I'll release her now."
"Unfortunately, even I don't know." Celes replied. "I'll have to do some research. That being said if you didn't enslave them then how did this happen?"
Shera however interceded before Zeryk could explain. "Zeryk was somehow summoned when we cast the ritual on Starfall tower. When we collared him, he deflected the magic back at us. If you're going to research maybe you could start with magic reflection."
Celestine stiffened at the mention of magic reflection but maintained her magnanimous smile. "In any case, I'll be needing your help sir…Oh my, I never did ask your name."
"My name Is Zeryk and is the knowledge to undo slave collars really such rare knowledge? Shouldn't the mages association know everything there is to know about magic rituals?"
Suddenly one of Celestine's guards slammed his staff down drawing everyone's attention. "Galluk?" Celestine asked.
"There should be a limit to how rude you can be. What right do you have to speak to lady Baudelaire in such a patronizing tone!" Galluk shouted.
"Patronizing!? I was neutral at worst. I never said anything offensive. Is he just mad that I pointed out that his organization doesn't keep good records?"
"Galluk, that isn't necessary." Celes tried to calm her subordinate.
"Lady Celes, this man's tone was utterly devoid of respect. He was snubbing you and the mages society as a whole!" The man shouted, getting even more animated.
"Then as the head of the mages association she should be able to stand up for herself. Or are you saying she's so incompetent that she needs an idiot like you to fight her battles?" Zeryk cut in.
Galluk grit his teeth but didnt retort. He realized that the bastard as baiting him. If he continued letting lose his accusations, he would undermine Celestine.
Said mage decided to nip this conversation in the bud before Galluk's ego overrode his common sense. "Well, it looks like this conversation has reached his conclusion. I apologize for bothering you when you're all likely very tired."
"Celes." Rem called out. "I understand this may seem selfish after refusing your help but, if you could investigate how to remove the chokers…"
"Of course, don't worry. And Rem, if you ever change your mind you can ask me for help. You're like a little sister to me after all." Rem made a point of hiding her face by staring directly at the floor.
As she exited the building, her smile shifted into an uneasy frown. "Magic reflection is the ability of the demon king of the brain Enkavalos. Is it just a coincidence or…"
Zeryk was still mentally simmering from his argument with Galluk. "Was he just waiting to pick a fight and jumped on the first excuse he got? Even if it made him look foolish in the process. Idiot. More importantly, I should address the elephant in the room. Why is Rem so important?"
"Rem, you seem to be a far more valuable person that you led me to believe. Care to explain why?" He asked.
"I…I can't do that." She replied, nervously edging away from him.
"It would be stupid to confess such a secret to a stranger I know. On the other hand, I hate being left in the dark. If I'm going to stick with Rem I don't want to be blindsided, I need to know what's coming. Perhaps we should move this conversation somewhere private." He thought as he threw her over his shoulder.
"What are you doing?!" Rem squeaked as Shera simply stared in shock.
"Oh, we're just gonna have a chat."
Shera blinked for a moment before going right back to eating.
"You're not even going to try to save me!?
"Weren't you the one that said to think of me as mold on the wall?" Shera replied, her tone not showing the slightest hint of concern.
After dragging her back to his room, Zeryk sat her down on his bed while he leaned against the wall. "Look, I understand that this isn't something that you can just tell anyone, however if we can't trust each other, I suppose I'll just have to partner with Shera and leave you alone."
He was expecting Rem to be indignant and angry. He was not expecting her to hunch over and sigh. "So, you'll abandon me to huh. It doesn't matter, even if you knew you'd leave."
"She's paranoid. I suppose it makes sense, however… Honestly even after everything I've done today, you're still looking down one me."
"It doesn't matter if you're strong you KYAA!" She screeched suddenly as Zeryk grabbed her ears and jammed his thumbs inside.
"Let's see how you like that, I'm not letting go until you…is she moaning?"
Sure enough, instead of pain it seemed that Rem was only being stimulated. "Dammit, this is getting me excited. Rem just tell me what I want to know."
"N-No I augh! Please this…embarrassing."
"Rem, I can read minds." He said. She paused. "I haven't done it because I don't like the idea of invading people's heads. Also, because I don't know how the spell would work in real life and don't want to risk brain damaging either of us."
Rem stared at him in disbelief. "If he isn't lying, he could just look in my head anytime. Instead he gave me an ultimatum. I don't know if he's bluffing but even if he is, can I afford to call it. He might just be my best chance."
"You swear she won't abandon me?" She asked.
"I swear." He replied.
"I-I have to soul of the demon lord Krebskulm inside me." She braced herself, for disbelieving laughter, for fear, anger, anything. Instead he simply stared at her with a mildly surprised look on his face. He muttered something under his breath that she couldn't hear. She could only make out the word Naruto, whatever that meant.
"Is that it?" She blurted out before she could stop herself.
"I'm not a coward Rem. While this revelation is unnerving, abandoning you in a moment of weakness would be just pathetic. Though the only real solution for your situation would be to try to seal the bastard in a magic item or release him into a planned ambush. I've stepped in it now but, I can understand why it would be bad for the world if she was killed. What's more she's a girl who's been made to semi literally carry the fate of the mortal races. What the hell."
"How did you become Krebby's jailor anyway?" Rem blinked at the nickname before answering. "I inherited it from my mother."
"My god she is Naruto. Don't worry, I'll put this nightmare to bed." He was supised when Rem suddenly hugged him and started sobbing into his chest. He hesitantly moved to hug her but paused when h noticed her state of dress. He settled for patting her on the head.
After Rem had finished sobbing and went to bed, Zeryk opened the window and leapt out. Checking to see no one was watching he ducked into an alley and unfurled his wings. As he watched the city from above, he sighed.
"I'm my avatar. In a fantasy world. With no indication that I could ever go home. On one hand, I've been dealt a very good hand. It's not like I had anyone special back home. If I'm going to start my life over, I'm going to live it to the fullest this time. No obligations aside from the ones I choose to take on." He chuckled, his teeth briefly sharpening into fangs.
Eventually, he started to feel tired. "I suppose, demon or not I need sleep." He landed back in the alley and changed back to his human form. He began to walk back to the inn but alas no rest for the wicked.
"Oi bastard!" He stopped in his tracks as he turned to see Galluk as well as a group of mages behind him. "Don't think I forgot your rude comments earlier." He rambled, his tone and face indicated he was drunk. An observation only enforced by the bottle in his hand.
Zeryk stared at him for a moment in silence. Before turning around and continuing on his way.
"Wha-Hey bastard I'm talking you!"
"Unlike you I'm not petty enough to pick a fight with the mentally handicapped. Never mind when he is drunk." Zeryk retorted.
Galluk body was visibly shaking in indignant rage. Screaming incoherently, he trew his half empty bottle at Zeryk's head. He didn't expect the man to catch the bottle. He also didn't expect the man to suddenly appear in front of him and slam the bottle into his forehead.
Galluk screamed as blood and alcohol ran down his face. "Drunk losers who only act tough in groups aren't worth my time. Go home before you make an even bigger fool of yourself and the mage's association." He turned away.
"Hey bastard!"
"Oh, I am too tired for this shit. What, idiot?" He turned and noticed that Galluk was holding up some sort of gem. "Status" Zeryk frowned. "Summoning a monster in a heavily populated area, you're just begging to be fired, aren't you?"
Galluk obviously didn't care. "I'll have you rolling on the ground with your limbs plucked off! Come forth salamander!" As he threw down the crystal a jet of fire shot up from the ground. As it dissipated it revealed a gigantic red lizard with flames bursting from its back.
"How's that? A level 30 salamander! The strongest summoned beast that could burn everything to death!"
"A level 30? He's bragging about a level 30? I swear, the more time I spend around this man, the more pathetic he appears."
"Galluk what are you doing?! You know the penalty for using a summon in the own!" One of Galluk's stooges shouted.
"Who cares!? Roast to death salamander!" The monster opened it's maw as a jet of flames made to envelop Zeryk. "Triple Slash" Three blades of puple light sliced through the monster and its flames from three different angles. The wind generated by the attack sent the mages sprawling.
As they recovered, they took in their surroundings. Zeryk stood unharmed, holding a sword that they were very sure he wasn't carrying before. The street was torn to shreds. There was no sign of the salamander.
Suddenly Zeryk had appeared before Galluk again and gripped him by the throat. When he spoke, his voice was deeper almost primal. "You…almost killed someone because your oversensitive dumbass couldn't handle a slight blow to your ego. Drunk or not, you don't deserve the air in your lungs. I'd be doing the world a favor if I killed you…But if I did it would lead to one to many headaches."
He dropped Galluk. "Run loser." He surveyed the damage. "I let my temper get the best of me. I could have easily killed the creature with a weaker spell."
"W-What the hell are you?" Galluk shouted.
Zeryk smirked. "You couldn't even begin to comprehend what I am."