AUTHOR'S NOTE: After this chapter, the story will really start, these previous chapters felt a little too close to the original story, and it felt weird for me to write them, so I skimmed and shortened them. Behind on schedule, I know, I'm sorry. Too much stuff is happening too quickly right now in my life.

CHAPTER 7

"Why did you save them?"

Nabe had obeyed and stayed near the forest as ordered. But following her master's departure, she suddenly felt a very powerful spell explode within Carne. Fearing the worst, she disregarded his command to conceal her power. She stretched her senses to the very maximum. Relief flooded her as she realized that Icarus was unharmed, but as she saw the corpses revive, she was left in confusion. Seeing that Icarus gave no explanation, she messaged him, as her curiosity didn't fade. She felt that there was no merit in saving these lowly humans.

"Nabe, have you ever heard about noblesse oblige?"

"No I haven't, Lord Icarus."

"Back on my world, there were many nations and countries, and one of them was a land called France. The French had a saying, that Touch Me told me about. It was called 'noblesse oblige'. It stated that the more privileged nobles should be acting with respect and generosity towards the less privileged people. It was essentially a vague code of conduct. But, this saying was rarely, is ever, followed. In fact, 18th century France was actually rife with discontent and revolutions. Riots were common and it wasn't strange to have experienced several revolutions in your lifetime. No one had a good life. The poor were stomped on, and the rich would eventually be toppled, yet did nothing. The common people were neglected, and their anger simmered, until it reaching a point where it exploded towards the nobles that had ignored and taken advantage of them."

"I see..."

"Truly a brilliant leader!"

Nabe ended the [Message] spell and silently followed them, her footsteps ever so light, leaving no traces of her path. Their return was mundane, and the presence of the Wise King of the Forest scared off all the monsters who had thought of attacking. Entering E-Rantel, the massive hamster with a scaled tail naturally attracted attention. Nearing a crossroad, Icarus took the initiative to speak.

"I'll go with Nabe to register this furball. You guys can go back to the pharmacy, as well as sell the gear you got along the way. Then we can go together to confirm the completion of this quest, and them we'll split the pay accordingly."

Nods of agreement were seen, and the party split. After much confusion and some annoying paperwork, the duo Yin Yang got a partner, Hamsuke. Icarus enjoyed the looks of shock when he told them that Hamsuke was in fact, a female. The sun, that was low when he entered, was now completely gone. But the area near the Adventurer's Guild was lively. The people loved heroes, strong righteous people who stood for what was right. And Icarus looked just like that to them. His shining armor and beautiful partner only helped. Seeing them leave, chatter broke out.

"Who is that?"

"Is that really the Wise King of the Forest?"

"How are they coppers? Didn't a team of gold plates get completely destroyed?"

"They are new, but I'm sure they will be adamantite in no time!"

Hearing the admiration and compliments of the people made Icarus feel good inside. Suddenly, a squat elderly woman approached him. He took in the apparel and the wrinkled face, along with the white hair. This was a woman who had worked very hard for a very long time.

"You're the one who helped Nfirea with his gathering, aren't you? Come with me, let's go to the pharmacy, I can't wait to see my dear Nfirea again."

Lizzie, while often loud and outspoken, truly loved Nfirea. She was stern, but also spoiled him, treating him like her son. Weaving their way through the audience, the trio left the admiring masses behind, and neared the building. However, the Swords of Darkness should have already been there, waiting for him. And even if they hadn't finished, there was no reason for the wagon to be over half full. Entering only set off more alarms within Icarus's mind. The silence, along with the scattered boxes of supplies everywhere, and the sense of death, started tugging at Icarus's insides. Seeing dark red liquid, Lizzie screamed and ran off, yelling out for Nfirea. The trail continued to a wooden door, slightly ajar. Bracing himself, he pushed it open, completely exposing the inside of the room. Nfirea was nowhere to be seen, and the corpses of the Swords of Darkness were sprawled around. It was a messy, there was more blood on the walls and floor than in their bodies. Lizzie chose that moment to come back, only to see the mutilated corpses start moving of their own accord.

"Zombies!" she shrieked out.

"Zombies? Could this be the third tier spell [Raise Dead]? Nfirea's no here, but why would they take Nfirea? Oh no, wasn't he capable of using any item?"

He summoned Judicus and quickly sliced off the heads of the three undead.

"W-What the hell is going on?!"

"Judging from the spell, the culprits are most likely powerful undead magic casters, and they have captured Nfirea for certain purposes."

This was common sense, and if you simply stepped back and spent a few moments analyzing the situation, anyone would also come to that conclusion. But to Lizzie, in her crazed state, Icarus sounded like a detective.

"C-Can you find him?"

Seeing an opportunity, Icarus didn't hesitate.

"Yes, but they are quite strong, me and my partner are the only ones capable of bringing him back. Be warned though, we are not cheap to hire."

"What do you want?"

"This is a good chance. Potions are valuable, and who better to be involved then Nfirea and Lizzie? Should I scare her? Hmm...I think that would be good, but I wouldn't want to go overboard."

"Everything. You, this shop, Nfirea, everything."

Hearing this, Lizzie stumbled back in fear, then the fear left her as her face hardened and she glared at them.

"You don't want money or potions, you want everything? As a child, I used to hear stories about demons. They said that a demon would grant you any wish you had, any crazy or far fetched desire out there in the whole wide world. But all of them asked for the same things, and always the same things,. They always desired human souls or eternal servitude. Is that what you two are, are you two demons?"

Switching over to his demon form for the effect, he took off his helmet, and glanced at her. Lizzie was frozen by the gaze, as if he was a basilisk. His hair was ink black. Two curved horns stuck out of his head, right above the temples. His eyes were dark red, the same color as the fluids that coated the roam. He shot her a smile, but the smile never reached his eyes, his unmoving, unchanging eyes.

"Does it matter, if we're demons or not? do you want Nfirea back, or not? Time's ticking, Lizzie Bareare."

For Lizzie, this wasn't an answer, yet it was simultaneously confirmation. Her fear returned, but she had to admit, the tall armored being was right. It didn't matter to her. If she could get Nfirea back, she would give them anything and everything that she had.

"N-No, it doesn't matter..."

"Good, I'll be back with Nfirea before the sun rises. I expect my payment ready upon return."

With this, he turned his attention to the carnage before him, but not before ordering Lizzie to fetch him a map. Ninya was a mess, and her chest was exposed and mauled. The skin on her face was covered by all the tears and blood. Following the trail of tears, he realized the eye were missing, he felt more anger, a feeling he was used to. Analyzing the situation and events, he came to a quick hypothesis as to what had gone down. The Swords of Darkness had been ambushed, and Peter, Lukrut, and Dyne were quickly killed off. Ninya, however, didn't get a quick death, her body, covered in slashes and blood, was clear proof. However, Nfirea could have used that time to get away, so hat meant the existence of a second person, most likely the necromancer. A dagger-wielding assassin to kill the guards, and a necromancer to handle the civilian boy.

Requiring confirmation, he turned to the four and cast [True Resurrection]. The pale cadavers regained their color, as life returned. The wounds disappeared, and missing parts returned. With a collective scream, the four jerked into upright sitting positions. Then the memories returned and they noticed the environment. They saw Icarus and bombarded him with questions.

"What happened?!"

"What's going on?!"

"Where is Nfirea?!"

But Icarus needed to do this quickly so he interrupted.

"Enough! I resurrected you all, but that's not the point. Nfirea has been kidnapped. Nabe and I are going to find him. I need to know what happened here."

Ever the leader, Peter stepped forward.

"We were unloading, and we entered this room to take a break, just to come face to face with an hooded person. I think it was a girl, and she had short blonde hair. She started rambling about some 'undead invasion' and pulled out a crown, until an old bald man in red robes came up behind us. he grabbed Nfirea, who started struggling to get free, but he was quite strong, as he didn't budge at all. The bald man told the girl to hurry up. And then, I guess...we died.."

"So the necromancer wants to invade E-Rantel using undead. But why does he need Nfirea, an alchemist Wait, Nfirea could use any magical item...I think I know where they're going."

"Okay, I think I know what's happening. You four need to go alert all the guards and adventurers, and tell them to go to the cemetery. And Ninya, put on some clothes please."

He went to find Lizzie, as he didn't know the location of the graveyard. Back in the storeroom, Lukrut had recollected himself, and turned to face Ninya, who was blushing furiously. Lukrut took this opportunity and proceeded to tease Ninya.

"So, you're a girl. That's why you never wanted to change with us, or sleep in the space. Who would've thought?"

"S-Shut up! Y-You-"

Flashing a grin, Lukrut suddenly replied with seriousness.

"I'm joking, but seriously, we really do need to hurry and warn the people."

The ranger, however much of a flirt, was no idiot, and they all quickly left for the Adventurer's Guild.

...Arwintar...

As Solution Epsilon walked the sidewalks of the capital of the Baharuth Empire, her appearance and clothing choice, brought many stares and whispers. However, none tried to stop her, or get her attention. She was near the Imperial Palace, the center of Arwintar. The academies and institutions that surrounded it was proof of its significance. The people here were mostly aristocrats, and there were few aristocrats who would spend their nights outside. Furthermore, their senses, hone from too much time spent socializing, told them that the master of the beauty was someone that they could not afford to offend. Her mission was to observe, and observe she did.

"The streets of Arwintar are made of stone and brick, with lanes, quite impressive. The fences on the edges are to protect those on foot, along with the patrolling knights. This place gives off a safe feeling, and gives the idea of a strong nation. Hmph, I wonder what these aristocrats, who have grown fat and lazy from wealth and peace, would taste like. Chewy? I'm so bored...wait, I'm getting off track, focus, Solution Epsilon. Remember your mission, and make contact with unique people only if certain of success."

But no one would ever know her thoughts, after all, her smile disarmed all. As expected of a poison-using assassin slime, she had conducted surveillance while walking, and she slipped into an alley, and cast [Invisibility] on herself. She went back out, and no stares went her way this time. As she neared the palace, she took notice of a blind spot and slipped in through an open window, but her senses tingled as she entered the interior. She turned and locked eyes with a short elderly man. A magnificent long beard, with a head full of hair., both white, along with his wrinkles, showed his long age. A soft loose white robe covered him, along with a necklace made with numerous crystal orbs. His fingers were covering by countless rings. She tensed, worried about detection, until a group of people, wearing gray robes, came up behind him.

"Sir Fluder, is something the issue?"

'H-Hm? A-Ah, no, it is all right, I just thought I felt something. Let's continue forward."

Seeing the departure of the old man, who was apparently named Fluder, Solution relaxed. Although she was created only to buy time against invaders who made it to the 10th Floor, that did not mean she was weak. You had to have a certain amount of strength if you had to buy time, and the fact that noone ever made it that far, said alot. The 10th Floor wasn't reached even under the assault of 1500 players. Whoever reached the 10th Floor were truly monsters, and her purpose was to fight them. She was also mainly a stealthy assassin, she would not get detected by a casual glance of Fluder.

"Interesting, there is an interesting human here, I hope that I won't have to be so bored anymore."

...Kami Miyako...

Shalltear had made haste to arrive in the Slane Theocracy as soon as possible. After interrogating a blood bag, a human, she had found out the location of their capital. She had basic information, and she hastily came up with a plan. She would simply pretend to be a traveler. She knew that they preached humans as the superior and only worthy race. Their military was relatively strong, and they took magic very seriously.

"These damn lower life forms! Calm down Shalltear, I'll complete this mission and impress Lord Icarus, and then I'll steal him away from that fat bitch Albedo! What do I do? Oh I know, I'll go show my power at the Slane Theocracy, that way, they can't ignore me! They had units called Scriptures right?"

She had learned of the relative strength of this world, she was going to be a fifth tier magic caster, quite strong, but not the peak. Nearing the main cathedral of the Slane Theocracy, she was blocked by a guard.

"I would like to try out for a Scripture, I'm a traveler and I need money, I believe my strength is sufficient."

The guard was not amused, and he looked at her. He had worked diligently, and after years of devotion and effort, he was finally capable of the third tier, and he was allowed to join a Scripture, but he was only an ordinary member. The Cardinals were having another meeting, and he did not need to be seen frolicking with a child while on guard duty. The teen, who couldn't be older then sixteen years old, wore a fancy dress, and had perfect pale skin. All this, along with her stance and air of superiority, all gave off the look of her being a pampered rich little doll, emphasis on rich. Not wanting to infuriate an important person, he simply smiled, ignored the question, and tried to move her away,

"Miss, I understand, but please move along, this is not the-"

"This stupid humans! Looks like I'll have to show off a bit."

"[Dragon Lightning]"

His words were cut off by hers, and he saw a arm extended straight up with her pointer finger up. A massive dragon, made out of lightning, burst forth, and shot far up into the air, before exploding with a loud bang. He had seen [Lightning] before, and he thought that it was quite impressive, but then this child came along and far surpassed that. The power, speed, amount of lightning, everything was on a different level. This was clearly a rarely seen genius, maybe even the next great hero. Not even an adult, and capable of such powerful magic, how strong would she be in ten or fifteen years? The citizens that were happening to be looking that way were in a similar state of shock.

"U-Uh, I'll go get the Cardinals."

"Yeah, run off like the peasant you are! Trash!"

The sentry ran off, leaving the girl alone at the gate. As he wasn't looking, he didn't get to see the vicious smile on her face, the smile of a predator. Reaching the door burst forth from the double doors at the entrance, alerting the Cardinals before he even said anything. Assuming an attack, the Cardinals all stood up, only to relax as no attack came, and identified the intruder as one of their own. They prepared to scold him for his brash actions, but his next words stunned them into silence.

"Honored Cardinals, I believe I've found another God-Kin."

XXX

Currently Known Equipment and Abilities:

EQUIPMENT

-[Holy Set] (Legendary Class Armor Set) (Archangel)

-[Judicus] (Divine Class Rapier) (Archangel)

ITEMS

[All Seeing Eye] (Relic Class Item) (see all 6th tier or lower traps/read all written languages)

SPELLS

-[Message] (2nd tier)

-[Cruel Contortion] (4th tier)

-[Implosion] (8th tier)

-[True Resurrection] (9th tier)

-[Mass Resurrection] (10th tier)

AUTHOR'S NOTE: With the Swords of Darkness being resurrected, and contact has been made with two countries, what will happen now? It's a short chapter, but I've been working on a Naruto fanfiction also, along with some other things. Enjoy! -08/11/20

-ASAI