Lightbringer

by BardTheChronicler

[AU][OC] When an Angel solo player is thrust into the New World before the rise of the young prince who would become the Bloody Emperor, how will the player decide to make his mark? Read on to find out. No Nazarick (maybe in sequel).

7. Chapter 7

X

Lightbringer

Chapter 7
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"Kiah," Lucifer repeated her name and nodded approvingly. "That's a beautiful name. I'd say it suits you perfectly."

It took him a second to realize how smooth he sounded, hearing the words come out of his own mouth. His old self never would have had the balls to even talk to such a pretty girl, let alone flirt with one, but then again he wasn't his old self anymore.

He was something new, a combination of his old self and his YGGDRASIL character Lucifer Morningstar, and being in this new body with all this power at his fingertips definitely gave him a degree of confidence he would have never imagined ever having. Especially after his run-in with the thugs last night.

The elf's cheeks turned several shades of red as she sat there silently, unsure of what to say. A human had just complimented her and it was so utterly unexpected that she was having a hard time processing that it had even happened. She couldn't even recall the last time anyone had complimented her in a normal conversation. Come to think of it, when was the last time she had even had a normal conversation?

In less than an hour, this strange golden-eyed man had seemingly upended everything she thought she knew about humans. Before meeting him, all she knew was hatred for them. She had thought them to be violent, malicious, and cruel creatures who looked down and spat upon all non-humans. Not to mention they were the aggressors and oppressors in a seemingly endless war against the elves, and she rightly despised them for it.

Yet here was a human with no malice in his voice or actions towards her, no hint of disdain or hatred, only a polite and gentle kindness that befuddled her. It troubled her that she now felt indebted to this stranger whose motives were unknown to her, though she wasn't sure what to do about it.

Her hands reached up to touch her restored ears one more time, making sure they were still there. That had been his handiwork too. She briefly entertained the idea that this might be some vivid dream of wish-fulfillment, but then brushed that thought off as unlikely. This all felt real enough to her. And she wasn't going to give her imagination this much credit.

Honestly, she couldn't even remember the last time she even had a proper dream while sleeping. And besides, for her there was an even better wish-fulfillment dream, one that she had dreamed about but only during the daytime when her mind thought so strongly about it. The thought of it darkened her eyes and brought a manic grin to her face.

In this dream she was slowly and meticulously torturing her former masters to death... watching with amusement as they pleaded for her to end their misery while she slowly stripped them of their sanity, piece by agonizingly bloody piece...

Her stomach growled, punctuating the silence that had settled between her and Lucifer, breaking her out of her dark thoughts.

"Oh right, you must be terribly hungry. Don't worry, I'll be right back with some food," Lucifer remarked. He didn't wait for her to reply, standing up and making his way out of the room and leaving her alone with her confused thoughts.

He had seen the slightest of grins on her face just now, however it looked a bit off. Almost crazed even. He presumed she was thinking about her newly restored ears and left it at that. He figured he'd be crazy happy to have them restored too if he was in her shoes.

Lucifer tried to temper his excitement as he made his way downstairs. Who would have thought that he would get to meet a real live elf? Not that he would have ever thought he would be transported into some strange new magic-filled fantasy world like this in the first place, but a part of his old self still found it really cool that this was all happening.

But he did wish he had met the elf under better circumstances. Nothing he could do about that now though.

Making his way down to the main hall, Lucifer came upon the innkeeper busy tending to his bar.

Otto Wyndham was his name, the proprietor of The Rose Moon Inn. The inn itself had seen better days, with some areas covered in dust and cobwebs. Some of the furniture in sight was damaged or plain broken too, but it was good enough for Lucifer's purposes for now. There would be time to find better accommodations later.

In front of the innkeeper was a collection of pint-sized wooden mugs, round ceramic plates, and various silverware that all looked to be freshly cleaned as evidenced by the droplets of water on most of the items. Otto was picking them up one by one and wiping them down diligently with a towel. He was the only one working at the inn, which was probably why some parts of it were falling apart. There was simply too much for him to handle on his own.

With short grayish-black hair and a worn wrinkled face that had several scars all over, some of them even crisscrossing each other, Otto had to be pushing fifty years old if he wasn't already over that mark. His body, however, was still solidly built like that of a man at least a decade younger, maybe more. His hard muscles were likely the result of years of physical labor and exercise, and Lucifer could tell from the way he moved that the man knew how to handle himself in a fight.

There was no doubt that the man's physique helped him keep any unruly patrons in line. The innkeeper's long crooked nose and scars were all clear evidence of a past full of conflict, though why he didn't get his nose set and healed properly was a mystery to Lucifer since it was an easy enough injury to fix.

Lucifer pondered how many of the innkeeper's scars were from fights at the inn. None of them looked particularly recent, which hopefully meant it was relatively peaceful these days.

It was getting close to midday at that point and there were a small number of people in the main hall quietly eating their meals. A trio of working age men were getting an early start to their drinking and were sat at the far end of the bar talking in low voices to each other. A few pairs of eyes glanced the angel's way when he entered, but nobody really cared enough to pay further attention to him, though his shock of spiky white hair definitely stood out.

The innkeeper looked up at Lucifer as he approached, his hands never stopping from their cleaning work. Apparently the man had done this enough times that he didn't even really need to look at what he was doing anymore as he continued to pick up, clean, and put things down while continuing to look at him.

"You here for your daily meal?" asked the innkeeper. His voice was rough as expected, but not aggressively so. It definitely grabbed attention when heard.

Lucifer nodded. "Make it two meals please, Mister Wyndham. I need to bring one for my companion as well."

Otto grunted in acknowledgement and finally stopped cleaning for a moment, setting the towel down on the counter before disappearing through a door behind the bar that led into the kitchens. About a minute or so later, he returned with two steaming bowls of stew.

"Here you go. Made it myself."

Lucifer wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but inclined his head in thanks and reached for the bowls. "Much appreciated, Mister Wyndham."

"It's just Otto," he said. Then when Lucifer was about to turn and head back upstairs, he asked, "How is she?" The innkeeper stared straight at Lucifer, who was surprised at the question. "Your companion," he further clarified, though Lucifer thought it unnecessary since they both knew full well who he was referring to.

Lucifer remembered the look of suspicion he garnered from Otto last night when he carried the unconscious girl with him into the inn, and Lucifer figured the man was simply checking up on her.

At the time, and for lack of a better explanation really, Lucifer had explained that they were traveling companions who had come from far away and that when the girl grew especially tired he offered to carry her the rest of the way to the city.

Otto had seemed skeptical at first, but she seemed to be unharmed and sleeping peacefully so the man eventually took Lucifer's word for it and gave them a room, though not without warning the angel that there better not be anything nefarious going on, to which of course the angel responded reassuringly that there wasn't any.

"My companion, Kiah, is fine. Thank you for asking," he answered, deciding that putting a name to the girl would help ease any lingering suspicions the innkeeper might still hold. "She only now woke up actually, the poor thing. Hungry and tired of course, but I expect her to be back on her feet soon enough."

"Good," was all the innkeeper said as he returned to his cleaning duties, apparently satisfied and no longer interested.

The conversation clearly over, Lucifer carefully made his way back to the room. His hands were so steady that he didn't spill a single drop of stew even as he ascended the stairs. He mused that he could probably perform delicate surgery fairly easily with the amazing body control that he now possessed, not that he would ever actually need to. Thank goodness for healing magic.

The raven-haired elf had barely moved from the spot on the bed where he had left her. She visibly tensed at first when the door opened, but seemed to relax a little when she saw that it was Lucifer.

The angel had so many things he wanted to ask Kiah, but he was able to restrain himself from bombarding her with those questions for now. There would be time for his questions to be answered later when she had recovered more of her strength. Plus he figured he would get more out of her if she was more comfortable and trusting with him, which would only come with time.

Shutting the door quietly behind him, he walked over with both bowls of steaming stew and placed them on the little nightstand between their beds.

Her midnight blue eyes watched him the whole way like a predator waiting to pounce at the right moment on some unsuspecting prey. The steaming bowls of food had not escaped her notice, and the aroma of the stew filled the small room fairly quickly. Perhaps it was the smell of the food or merely the sight of it that made the elf's stomach grumble loudly once more. Probably both.

She glanced down at her stomach, placing a hand on it and looking slightly embarrassed at the sounds it was making.

"Come on, let's get you seated upright so you can eat some of this food," he said, hoping that said food tasted well enough to eat. He would find out soon enough.

She shot him an odd look but said nothing as he helped her sit up. Then he took the pillow from his bed and stacked it on top of her own, allowing her back to rest against the pillows for support.

"There. Does that feel okay?" he asked, receiving a silent nod in reply. "Excellent."

Lucifer sat down on the edge of the bed and reached for the first bowl of stew. He took the spoon that came with it and mixed the stew around before carefully taking a scoop out. It looked and smelled decent enough to eat.

He then brought the spoonful of stew up towards the elf's mouth.

It took Kiah a second to register what was going on, and the look of shock on her face as she moved her head away slightly gave Lucifer pause.

"W-What are you doing?" she asked, looking at the outstretched spoonful of stew and then at Lucifer with bewilderment.

"Feeding you," he replied matter-of-factly. Was it really so shocking that he would try and help her eat? She was still pretty weak after all.

"I c-can see that. I'm not blind you know." Her hands gripped the blanket that covered her legs.

Lucifer shrugged. "You asked what I was doing."

"Yes, but... Well, I mean..." He did have a point.

He carefully put the spoon back into the stew with the handle resting on the edge of the bowl.

"What's the matter?"

She didn't meet his gaze as she stared down at her lap, her pale arms now crossed over her chest. How could he not understand what was wrong with this picture? Humans and elves were enemies and yet here was a human caring for her, an elf, like she was some pampered lady? Granted, everything in the last hour or so had been an experience she thought impossible, but this... this was too much.

"Kiah?" he prompted her after a while, causing her to flinch a little at the sound of her name. He looked at her with worry, "Are you alright? Have you lost your appetite?"

"No... that's... that's not it," she finally responded, and her stomach growled again as if to confirm that she was indeed still hungry.

The hunger was really gnawing at her stomach now that there was food so close at hand, and her body was aching for her to start eating already. The rational side of her supposed that given all that had happened and her current situation, getting spoon-fed by her human savior was not too crazy of an event, but her emotions on the other hand were strongly conflicted.

"Then what's the matter? Do you not like stew? Or perhaps you don't like this type of stew specifically?" he asked thoughtfully, "I can go get you something else if you'd like. Tell me what you want and I'll bring some back for you. We're in the city so I'm sure there are all sorts of foods available here, although it would probably take me some time to get it for you."

He didn't mention that they were on a bit of a tight budget at the moment too. At least until he was able to secure an income. And without really knowing what prices were like it was hard to say for sure how long the money he had would last them.

He was slightly disappointed in himself that he didn't even consider the possibility that the elvish diet was different from that of humans. Were they all vegetarian like they were often depicted in his old world? Or maybe pescatarian or something similar? The stew did have some beef in it, or at least it looked like it was beef to Lucifer. He really wasn't sure what it was now that he thought more on it, but it was definitely some kind of meat.

"It's not that!" She was still too weak to really shout loudly, but she certainly tried. The difference in volume of her little outburst was pretty noticeable.

Lucifer was inwardly surprised at the outburst, though he appeared unfazed on the surface as he continued to look in her direction. Something was really bothering her and he couldn't quite place it, but he had a feeling it was because of him somehow.

"F-Forget it. Please just... let me eat on my own. I can manage," she said after another small silence had settled between them. She finally glanced at him briefly before uncrossing her thin arms and looking back down at the palms of her hands. She didn't really want to mention why she was feeling uneasy because the more she thought about it the more trivial it seemed.

"Very well," replied Lucifer, not wanting to push her on the subject. "The bowl is a bit hot so be careful," he warned her and carefully placed the bowl in her hands.

Kiah winced at the sudden heat as the bowl was pressed against her palms, but a second later she realized it wasn't so bad. She took the spoon in her right hand and with some effort was able to shakily bring it up to her mouth, spilling a little bit on herself but not really caring. With a deep breath of satisfaction as the hot stew hit her tongue and filled her mouth, she gulped it down.

She felt it slide all the way to her stomach and the resulting surge of warmth and relief that filled her felt amazing. Even though the stew itself was a simple salted broth with some meat, lettuce, and carrots, it tasted wonderful and was the best thing she had tasted in a long time.

Lucifer was impressed at her tenacity. He could clearly see that she was struggling with handling the spoon, her finger strength and dexterity affected by her weakened state, and yet she forced herself to power through. That same tenacity that kept her from releasing her hold on this world when he had found her in that field last night, despite all the pain and suffering she was experiencing.

It didn't take her long to wolf down the bowl he had given her, even bringing the whole thing up to her face and tipping the remaining contents into her waiting mouth. A few drops dribbled out from the sides of her mouth and she licked her lips in response, letting out a pleased sigh afterwards. The bottom half of her face was messy with saliva and stew, but she didn't really care about her appearance right then.

She looked at the empty bowl with a tinge of disappointment. It had not been enough to really fill her up, but it was certainly enough to keep her from starving.

Lucifer's lips twitched into the smallest of grins. He was happy that she was eating and seemed to enjoy the food. He took the empty bowl from her before she could even think to start licking it clean. Then he proceeded to give her the second bowl, at which point she once again gave him a confused look.

"Aren't you going to eat?" she asked, her voice still small and quiet. It only made sense that the other bowl was his and yet he was offering it to her so readily like he had been planning it all along.

Lucifer shook his head. "I'm not hungry at the moment so no need to worry about me. Besides, you need it more than I do. Trust me."

It was the truth, though she would never understand the extent of it. This new body of his was not... mortal. That was such a strange thought to him that he wasn't really sure that part of his transformation had really sunk in yet. He was immortal. Now wasn't the time to think about that though.

There was one other reason for him not eating and that was because he wanted to experiment how long he could go without food and if there were any negative effects to that, although he was certainly now curious as to how the stew tasted.

The stew must taste decent enough that she was able to eat the first bowl so quickly without much complaint. But it was also possibly the hunger she was feeling that made her consume it all with such impressive speed. They must not have fed her much of anything while she was working on that farm, and the the thought of it irked him.

She looked down at the new bowl of stew in her hands intently and he could tell she really wanted to eat it, but still she hesitated.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay then... If... If you're really sure..." she trailed off like she was expecting him to interrupt her and change his mind at the last second. But that didn't happen and he stayed silent.

Kiah was a little apprehensive about it, but she was also still hungry enough not to protest too much and so proceeded to consume the contents of the second bowl without any more questions. This time she ate slower, savoring what little flavor there was and relishing the fact that her belly was getting well and truly filled for the first time in a while.

Her stomach was probably going to hurt from being full for the first time in forever, but it was a pain she could certainly deal with. Usually her stomach hurt because she didn't have any food.

When she finished with another satisfied sigh, Lucifer took the bowl from her once more and stacked it onto the other empty one on the nightstand. He then reached for the handkerchief he had given her earlier, which was lying on the bed next to her, and proceeded to gently wipe around her mouth and chin, much to her surprise once again.

"Thank you..." she whispered even more quietly than she had been speaking before so that he barely heard her. She didn't know what else to say.

"You're welcome, Kiah," replied Lucifer with a small smile, "Are you still hungry?"

She shook her head.

"Do you need help laying back down?"

"I... can manage."

"Okay. But please don't push yourself too hard."

Glancing at the dirty handkerchief next to Kiah, a thought occurred to Lucifer just then. There was a Third Tier spell in his arsenal that might just work to clean it, though that was not the original purpose of the spell. Curious to see if it would work, he held a hand over the used handkerchief.

"[Item Restoration]."

A glowing magic circle formed around his hand, and then the entire handkerchief began to glow as well. A few seconds later and the light show stopped, revealing a now spotless handkerchief as if it had never been used in the first place. Elated at the success of his experiment, he repeated the spell once more, this time on the cloak that she was wearing. Again the stains from the spilled stew disappeared.

While technically used to repair low or medium class equipment from damage, the spell also resulted in the item getting cleaned. It worked by returning an item to its original state and could only be used on non-living things. Admittedly it was not the best use of mana to be casting the spell simply to clean some items, but he couldn't leave her with a dirty handkerchief and cloak and he had neither the time nor the inclination to wash them manually.

Besides, what was the point of his massive mana pool, high mana regeneration, and ability to use magic if he didn't actually put them to use? Already he could feel the mana he had used was replenished.

Kiah watched him with fascination, having never seen such a spell before. Like all elves, she was capable of performing magic, however her magical education was haphazard and incomplete due to the Elven Kingdom's war with the Slane Theocracy. Many of the experienced and talented magic casters were fighting on the front lines and few remained who could properly teach everyone. And her community was pretty small within the Elven Country to begin with so she didn't have many resources to draw upon before she was taken.

The little magic she knew was druidic and her knowledge was vastly incomplete on that subject. The main thing she could do was to coax plants to grow faster than normal and for certain ones to sprout out of the ground without needing seeds, and any plants that she personally handled and took care of also grew quicker and stronger, which was why she was put to work on the farms by her masters. Well, her old masters.

Thinking back on what happened to her in the past darkened her thoughts again for a moment before Lucifer's movements returned her attention to the present.

Getting to his feet, Lucifer decided that it was finally time to go out and get some things done. His absence would also be able to give the elf time and space to rest further. At least she was now made aware of her situation and he was confident that she wouldn't try and run away or anything.

Concentrating, he called forth his armor made of Star Silver from his inventory and donned everything from the greaves and gauntlets to his winged helmet and plated cuirass. It was getting easier to bring things in and out of his inventory now, the more he used it.

As the name of the prismatic ore suggested, the metal resembled silver, but had a slightly different texture and had a certain sheen to it that was uniquely different. It almost seemed like it was glowing from within. And although it looked like silver, the metal was far stronger and lighter than even adamantium.

The whole set was named ≪Armor of The Divine Champion≫ and was enchanted with two active spells and several passive ones.

For active spells, there was [Silent Movement], which greatly reduced the movement noise of the armor, and there was [Divine Radiance], which caused the stored divine energy within the armor to explode outward in a blinding flash of holy light, causing massive divine damage to anyone within a thirty meter radius. It needed a full day to recharge after each use.

The passives included enhanced durability, enhanced physical and magic defense, and enhanced mana regeneration while also giving slight boosts to agility and strength among other things. In short, the armor was incredibly powerful and boosted his already considerable stats and abilities to an even greater level.

The armor also did a great job of making him look like a bad ass and he wished he had a mirror right then so that he could take a good look at himself. It took him a moment to remember that he technically could create one if he wanted to, however he decided against it since Kiah might think he was overly vain and he wanted her to have a good impression of him.

Next were his two short swords, ≪Judgment≫ and ≪Executioner≫, one fastened to each hip.

≪Judgment≫ was crafted out of Celestial Uranium, one of the rarest prismatic ores, and was among the most valuable items he possessed. He had to call in some big favors to get his hands on it, and even then he only received enough of it to make a few items.

≪Executioner≫ was made out of Scarletite, another prismatic ore, and it had cost Lucifer no small amount of YGGDRASIL gold to obtain it from a particularly famous master blacksmith a couple of years back.

He decided against bringing out his greatsword for now, which he had named ≪Oblivion Blade≫, figuring that if he ever needed to use it he could simply call it out from his inventory at any time. It was his most powerful melee weapon and he wanted to keep that in reserve for now.

Again, all Kiah could do was watch in amazement as the man's equipment seemed to appear out of thin air. Even though she wasn't well-versed in magic nor had she witnessed much high-level magic before, she had a feeling that this man was really powerful.

Lucifer didn't notice her look of utter amazement as he finished adjusting his armor. With his equipment securely and comfortably on him, he finally looked back over to Kiah, who was still staring at him in awed silence.

"Something the matter?" he asked.

She slowly shook her head and then let out a slight cough.

It occurred to him then that she didn't have any water and she was likely going to be thirsty at some point while he was gone. Reaching into his inventory, he withdrew the ≪Endless Pitcher of Water≫ and then, using [Create Item], he made a ceramic pitcher and a cup. Pouring water from the ≪Endless Pitcher of Water≫ into the ceramics, he returned it to his inventory once he was done. There was no way he was just leaving something like that out of his inventory.

He noted that the created items barely cost him any MP to maintain, and if he had to guess it was only costing him at most 1 MP point due to the small sizes, low-quality of the material, and simple designs he had created. Satisfied that she would not go thirsty while he was away, Lucifer then grabbed the stacked bowls with a gauntleted hand and made his way to the door. He paused when he reached it, one hand grasping the handle as he turned back to the elf.

"You should make sure to get some more rest, Kiah. Your body still needs additional time to recover."

"Yes... will you... will you come back?" she asked with a hint of worry.

"I need to run some errands now, but not to worry I'll be back later. I promise that no harm will come to you if you stay in this room. You'll be safe here," he told her with an air of supreme confidence.

"Okay," she said. The nervousness in her voice was not lost on Lucifer, but he had other things to accomplish and there was nothing more he could do here for her at the moment. He took one last look at her as she slowly settled herself back into the bed.

"Get some rest," he reiterated before he stepped out the door and shut it behind him. Raising his right hand towards the door, he concentrated on the mana he could feel flowing through his body as he called forth his magic. Magic circles formed one after the other and the doorway glowed several times as the spells took effect.

"[Anti-Life Barrier]. [Absolute Alarm]. [Seal of Protection]. [Dimension Lock]. [Sanctuary]."

With those spells in place, he was confident that she would be safe until he returned. Even if she was attacked, the alarm spell was connected to his consciousness so he would know immediately and be able to return to the inn quickly. And woe be to anyone foolish enough to attempt such an act.

That being said, he would still aim to be quick and efficient with his errands.

Returning the empty bowls with another word of thanks to the innkeeper, Lucifer asked the man where the Adventurer's Guild was located and then made his way to the front doors of the inn with long and purposeful strides.

It was time to finally explore the city of Oldaven and gather some more information about this world. First stop: the Adventurer's Guild.

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The Imperial Palace was an expansive and magnificent complex of expertly constructed stone buildings in the heart of Arwintar, the sprawling capital city of the Baharuth Empire. Centered around a massive domed structure that stood several stories tall, hundreds of meters wide, and flanked by several beautifully designed minarets (towers), the whole place was a product of the best engineers and artisans the Empire had to offer.

It was truly a sight to behold and was a testament to the wealth, prestige, and strength of the Empire. For many travelers who had been to both the Re-Estize Kingdom and the Empire, the Imperial Palace far outshone the Kingdom's Royal Palace, and unfortunately for the Kingdom it wasn't even a close contest.

With its many open air gardens, fountains, and statues, the exterior grounds of the Imperial Palace were as impressive as the beautifully decorated and designed interior certainly was. And it was in one of these gardens that several figures clad in fine clothes and expensive jewelry were out for a stroll.

The group of clearly wealthy people had been walking and talking for some time now, having made their way through several of the outer gardens in the process of their discussions that morning.

Leading the pack was none other than Prince Jaque with straight dark brown hair that fell to his shoulders and a neatly-trimmed beard and mustache. On his head was a thin crown of gold to indicate his status as a prince. His blue eyes were piercing and calculating as they looked out into the world with sharp attention.

His flowing black cloak was affixed around his neck by a golden brooch. The cloak was made of top quality velvet while the brooch was in the shape of a roaring lion's head with rubies for eyes and diamonds for teeth, an exquisitely crafted item. Underneath was a simple and yet well-made red silk tunic with gold trimmings that went down to a little past his knees.

On his feet were leather sandals that on first glance might look simple, but closer inspection revealed that the leather was of the highest quality and there were designs depicting Imperial forces in battle minutely carved into every surface. Fastened around his waist was a belt of the finest leather with the buckle made of pure silver. On top of the buckle was a regal golden lion rearing onto its hind legs mid-roar, the one visible eye embedded with yet another ruby.

His fingers were covered by several rings of the highest quality, one of which was of course a golden lion's head with the mouth wrapped around the right ring finger, as if eating it. The one on his left ring finger was the large golden Ring of the Imperal Family, which had the Empire's crest. Anyone within eyesight of the prince would be hard-pressed to not notice it.

The Imperial Family ring had thankfully been enchanted to be lighter than it actually was, otherwise it would have been bothersome to wear it all the time, and of all his rings this was the one Jaque never took off.

To behold the prince was to see a confident and proud man whose clothes and jewelry screamed immense power and opulence, and that was exactly who he was.

"I hear the Dragon Kingdom's delegates left Arwintar yesterday," mentioned the only female of the group, the Marquessa Claudette Lorraine. It was more of a question than a statement.

She was a shrewd woman of middling beauty and a veteran of the courtly game that they all played, rising in prominence once her husband the marquis passed away several years ago. Her curly red hair and smooth, pale complexion was a famous sight in the noble circles.

They walked past a row of gorgeous flowers and well-trimmed hedges and it was the prince who responded to her, "As we discussed previously, our relations with the Dragon Kingdom have improved considerably once we agreed to enter talks to support them in their ongoing war against the savage Beastmen Country. Unfortunately, without father's consent, we are unable to proceed any further at this time. They are aware of this and are, at least for now, being surprisingly patient."

True enough, the Dragon Kingdom delegation was set to return within a fortnight. They were willing to wait that long, at least. Though if there was still no answer by the time they returned, they would certainly ask the other nations such as the Theocracy or the Kingdom for aid if the Empire was unwilling or unable to provide it.

That outcome was unacceptable to Jaque.

Any agreement the Dragon Kingdom struck with the other nations would undermine the Empire's own influence and power while strengthening those of its rivals. If the worst were to happen, he did not begrudge the Dragon Kingdom for seeking out the help of the other nations though - given their situation, he would surely be of the same mind. The survival of their nation was paramount to all other considerations in their situation.

Technically, the Court Council that assisted the Emperor in ruling the Empire could make a decision without the Emperor if it was a unanimous vote, but it was not a precedent that Jaque wanted to set, especially before his hopeful ascension to the throne. While the Imperial Princes as well as the Court Council were given leeway to craft and negotiate deals and make minor decisions and rulings, for major decisions and laws the Emperor had to directly approve.

If only his father would stop clinging on to life so desperately so that he, Prince Jaque, could finally take over and begin his reign as the new Emperor of the Great Baharuth Empire. Was that really so much to ask? Then as Emperor he could finally make decisions and spur action, some of which were quite pressing at the moment. Currently, the Empire was essentially in a holding pattern while the Emperor was indisposed, and it was getting on his nerves.

"Is it really necessary to throw our lot in with that Dragon Queen? Would it not be better to let their country wither and fall and then take over when they've exhausted themselves?" The question came from Count LeGrand way in the back of the group of eleven nobles, excluding the prince. They were the core group that supported Jaque and knew of his desire to become the next Emperor, hoping that when he rose to power that he would also elevate them along with him.

Another noble closer to the front, Earl Dupont, who was a member of the Council, responded, "You're not seeing the bigger picture, Count Legrand. I am myself not necessarily fond of supporting them in a war we have no direct stake in, but at least I understand the consequences should the Dragon Kingdom fall. We would have those wild beastmen right at our borders soon enough and, emboldened by their success against the Dragon Kingdom, they would no doubt turn their unsavory sights on the Empire. They are no laughing matter, after all, the Dragon Kingdom is strong and yet they are asking us for support."

"Don't forget that if we do not support them in this matter, they may find support elsewhere. And that might lead to an alliance or agreement of sorts in the future that may well be detrimental to us," added another noble, Earl Marchand.

There were several murmurs of agreement on that front and Jaque was glad they recognized the dangers in not dealing with this matter appropriately.

"Surely our own forces could handle some wild beasts with subhuman intelligence? Or do you not trust our armies to handle such matters, my friends?" Count Legrand pressed further, frowning.

Earl Dupont shook his head. "We have full faith in our armies should the need ever arise, but that's exactly the point. We shouldn't need to. Why do we need to trouble ourselves with committing a significant portion of our fighting force to deal with the beastmen when we should be building up our strength to one day take Re-Estize for ourselves? There are larger goals we must focus on. Let the Dragon Kingdom deal with the beastmen, albeit with a little help from us."

Another round of agreements came from the other nobles and Count Legrand did not speak any further on the matter. He was clearly in the minority on this subject and he knew better than to continue.

"How is your father our Lord Emperor doing these days, your highness?" asked an elderly gentleman in the middle of the pack, changing the subject. His name was Viscount Blackstone, a man of some influence in the court and was one of many who were eager for there to be minimal waves made when the impending succession occurred. He was also a member of the Court Council.

"He has shown no signs of improving nor has his health deteriorated any further according to our best healers. At this point they are doing all they can to keep him alive, but it appears to be only a matter of time before..." the prince trailed off, his tone subdued.

Though he was not overly fond of his father, he did still respect and love him in his own way. He was a capable ruler, strong and steadfast, and he had guided the Empire into a stronger and more prosperous position up until now. But he had certainly not been the best father to him and his brothers.

Except for the youngest one, of course. Their half-brother Prince Jircniv born from the Empress Alana, his father's second wife.

The Emperor had openly doted on Jircniv, spending far more time with the child than he ever did with his older children, and Jaque wasn't sure if it was because he looked so much more like their father than any of the other children did or if it was because of some other reason.

Jaque had to admit that Jircniv was definitely sharp-witted and a quick-learner for his age, which in a way made him quite special he supposed. Never had Jaque hated someone more than that violet-eyed brat, however. It made his blood boil just thinking about him.

Was he, Prince Jaque "The Young Lion", not good enough to receive similar treatment from his father? What more did he have to do in his father's eyes? How many troubles did he take care of for the Empire and for his father since he entered the court of nobility? How hard had he worked to improve his position and that of the Imperial Family over the years?

The thought of Jircniv soured his mood and it must have showed because Earl Marchand, who had been walking closest to the prince, cast a worried glance in his direction.

"Your highness?" Earl Marchand said with what appeared to be genuine concern.

Blinking, Prince Jaque shook his head to clear away thoughts of his half-brother as he regained his composure.

"I'm fine. Think nothing of it," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

The Earl nodded in acceptance as the contingent of nobles walked from one garden, through some covered stone walkways, and then into another. The group discussed several more pertinent matters relating to the operations of the Empire, both specific and general, before the prince finally stopped in his tracks. The nobles followed suit, the group coming to a standstill with all eyes glued on the young prince.

"And this is where I must leave you, lady and gentlemen," said the prince as his gaze swept across the group, "There are other pressing matters I must to attend to. As usual, it was a pleasure, and I will speak to you all again soon."

With that the nobles bade him farewell without complaint and they parted ways.

Before continuing with his work though, Jaque resolved to first pay a visit to his father and check in on his condition. The thought of his father's current state as well as his plans to succeed him weighed heavily on his mind.

Prince Jaque took his time as he entered the main structure of the palace and navigated the halls and stairwells almost unconsciously. He barely even registered the bows he received from the servants or the soldiers of the Imperial and Royal Guards that he walked past. His mind was preoccupied with thoughts of what was to come, and it made him somewhat nervous.

Periods of transition were always difficult for both the ruler and the nation. He prayed that it would pass without much trouble, unlikely though that was to happen.

It took some time, given the size of the palace, but he finally found himself in front of a set of heavy adamantite doors with the Imperial Crest emblazoned in pure gold at the center of each door. The handles were fashioned out of mithril and were cool to the touch.

As to be expected, the two Imperial Knights that guarded the door had bowed as he approached and now stood completely still on either side of it. Their adamantite plate armor was dyed black and trimmed with silver and gold, as was customary for the elite warriors that served as personal bodyguards to the Imperial Family, and it made them look formidable.

Tasked with protecting the Emperor was an elite unit of knights called 'The Four Imperial Knights'. Some would even shorten it to simply calling them 'The Four.' They were supposed to be the best and most talented warriors in the Empire, with the equipment and items to match their prowess. Each of the princes was allowed to have up to two Imperial Knights of their own, but three of the brothers had only one in their service, and only the Emperor had a group of four.

Prince Jupiter was the only one who didn't keep an Imperial Knight in his service, since he himself was a warrior of renown already and was a part of the Imperial Army. Technically, the soldiers that he commanded were his bodyguards, but none of them were as skilled as the Imperial Knights. Not even close.

After a long breath, he pulled the door open and stepped into the large room beyond it.

To his surprise, waiting for him on the other side was another Imperial Knight, although this man was far more imposing than the two stationed out front. He was a little taller than average height at a shade under six feet tall, but he was built as solid as a boulder, with a thick neck, wide chest, and massive shoulders. Even his legs looked like tree trunks. Though it was the shining pair of adamantite tower shields taller than him, one strapped to each arm, that really caught the eye.

Sir Nazami Enec, "The Unassailable", was a veteran soldier of the Empire and had long served the Imperial Family in his position as an Imperial Knight. His presence was large and unavoidable whenever he was in sight and the prince was simply glad that he was loyal and on the Empire's side.

The knight was standing with his back straight in the middle of the room, ever vigilant, and you might have even mistake him for a statue if you didn't look too closely. His face was expressionless as he stood watch silently. He was the complete opposite of chatty since most people have never even heard him utter a single word, which made him all the more intimidating.

This was a man who truly let his actions speak louder than his words, and Jaque definitely respected that. However it did make him wonder if the knight was actually a mute.

Nazami dropped to one knee and bowed his head upon seeing the prince, and Jaque nodded to him in acknowledgement.

"You may rise, Nazami," he said calmly and the knight obeyed without a word. "Is my... Is the Empress in there with father?" He gestured towards another door on the far side of the room.

The knight nodded, his expression unchanging. His eyes appeared to be closed as if he were napping, but Jaque was not fooled. From what he was told, the knight had keen senses and was quite observant despite what his outward appearance might suggest. Very few things could escape his notice, and they didn't call him "The Unassailable" for nothing.

Without another word Jaque left the knight standing there and moved on to the Emperor's bedchamber.

That room was also large, with a high ceiling that had several crystal chandeliers and silk banners hanging from it. Every piece of furniture, from the tables and chairs to the bed and dressers, was created by the most talented craftsmen in the Empire. All the details were intricate, the materials of the highest quality, and the workmanship masterful. This was meant to represent the height form of luxury in the Empire, and it definitely showed.

Though at that moment in time the curtains were drawn shut over all the floor-to-ceiling windows and the only light came from some magical lamps by the bed.

Jaque hoped to enjoy it for himself one day soon, when all this was in the past. He walked over to the large four-poster bed that was occupied by one person: his father.

The Emperor's once handsome features were shriveled up and faded. His eyes were sunken, his skin was wrinkled a hundred times over and deathly pale, and his hair had no trace of the golden hue that it once had, replaced instead by the grayish-white of old age. He looked like a man with one foot in the grave, and regardless of Jaque's thoughts on his father's rule and conduct later in life, it still pained the prince to see his once proud and commanding father in such a state.

Only the Emperor's shallow breathing, his chest moving slightly up and down, indicated that he was still alive. Not that this was much of a life anymore, unable to do anything except lay there half-dead. It would certainly be a mercy if his life were to be ended soon.

Don't worry father. I will make sure to continue your legacy as Emperor of the Baharuth Empire, thought Jaque as he looked on.

Sitting beside the Emperor was none other than his second wife, Empress Alana, with her golden brown hair decorated with flowers as befitting her title as The Flower Empress. The golden crown that she wore on her head had precious gems shaped into different flowers too; it was a crown specially made for her and even Jaque had to admit that it was very beautifully crafted.

Not even the sound of the prince entering could get the Empress to turn her gaze away from her beloved husband. Both her hands were clasping the Emperor's frail right hand as gently as she could.

The air was still and quiet as Jaque stood off to the side, waiting to be acknowledged.

There were only two people in the whole Empire who had a higher rank than he, and both were in the room. Even though he schemed and planned to win the throne for himself, he respected the rules of decorum and would never give the Empress the satisfaction of ever thinking him to be anything less than a proper prince. Especially in this troubled time.

She still hadn't looked away from the Emperor, and the prince wondered if her body felt stiff from staying in such a position for so long without much movement. If she was at all uncomfortable, she didn't show it.

Jaque wasn't sure how much time passed before the Empress finally broke the silence.

"Your father misses you, Jaque."

The words hit him hard, so taken aback was he that his whole body physically reacted by actually taking a step back.

"He d-does?" he stammered before quickly regaining control of himself, heart pumping faster. "Ahem. Well, I'm sure he misses all of his children, as a proper father should."

"You're right. Of course he misses your brothers as well," said the Empress as she reached a hand out and stroked the Emperor's gaunt cheek. "But he did mention your name specifically."

Jaque's mouth opened and closed a couple of times before he found his words. "Did you speak with him? Was he awake? What did he say?" His mind was swirling and he felt unsteady on his feet. He moved to grab hold of the dresser nearby to steady himself.

She finally turned her head to look at him, the dark circles under her bloodshot eyes making her look almost creepy in the dimly lit room. Her mouth formed into a smile, the first one he had seen from her since the Emperor fell ill.

"Yes. Can you believe that we spoke earlier, Jaque? Isn't it simply the best news? He woke up for the first time since he fell ill right when the healers were tending to him today. Your father... the Emperor will recover!"

=x=x=x=x=X=x=x=x=x=

The streets were busy by the time Lucifer stepped out of the inn, the noonday sun shining hot and bright overhead. It smelled of sweat and dirt and a touch of manure as he made his way through the city in the direction of the Adventurer's Guild.

It was a beautiful day with clear skies and not a cloud in sight. However, the air in the city was heavy with the heat and only the barest of breezes managed to make it through the streets. With the sun high overhead, the temperature continued to climb and Lucifer definitely felt it intensifying around him, yet it didn't appear to affect him in the slightest. He had no idea if he was capable of sweating, but he reckoned he would find out soon enough the longer he stayed out in the sun.

Wagons, carriages, and people on horseback passed through the middle of the paved streets as people walked along on either side, everyone going about their daily lives despite what seemed to be quite the heat wave. Most of the people were sweating profusely and appeared to be struggling with the heat, while Lucifer continued to be unaffected after some time walking outside.

Perhaps this new heteromorphic body didn't have sweat glands? Or maybe it wasn't hot enough to make them work just yet. He might have to go somewhere even hotter to find an answer and mused that he could always try the inside of a volcano. That would definitely settle the question, no doubt.

Lucifer earned many appraising looks on his journey through the city as people caught sight of him in his shiny silver armor, and he was starting to think that perhaps it wasn't the best idea to be trotting around with his most prized armor set. The people of this world had never even heard of any of the prismatic ores, let alone seen them, so it was bound to draw attention. A few kids had even openly gawked at him before their parents pulled them away.

This was something he should have anticipated and he felt disappointed in himself that he had failed to do so. So much for trying to keep a low profile.

Still, it was easy enough to switch his armor out. Not that he was keen to do so since he was most comfortable in his Star Silver gear, but it was more prudent at this point to try not to garner too much attention while he was still gathering more information on this world.

Ducking into a sparsely populated side street and then into a dark and empty alleyway, he cast [Greater Invisibility] on himself and then proceeded to change his armor.

Instead of his usual Lightbringer set, which was Divine-class gear, he settled for a new-world-friendly set of adamantium armor that was only Legacy-class. He had a few other adamantium sets, some that were even one step higher as Relic-class equipment, but those armors were either a little more cumbersome than he preferred or were too flashy for his purposes.

The Legacy-class gear that he had chosen was a lot simpler and would hopefully garner less attention. The fur-trimmed adamantium on this set was tinted obsidian black with silver lines and highlights, which made it somewhat useful for covert operations. Replacing his angelic winged helmet was a less ornate horned one that reminded him of some viking warrior, or perhaps a lowly demon. It still covered most of his face, with a long thin horizontal slit for his eyes and a few even thinner vertical slits along the bottom half for ventilation.

This would have to do. He didn't want to wear anything less protective in case he was ambushed and didn't have time to switch into his normal gear. With a sigh, Lucifer made sure nobody was around before he cancelled the invisibility spell and continued on his way.

After going through what seemed like half the city, and thankfully no longer receiving as many curious looks as he had been earlier, Lucifer eventually arrived in front of the Oldaven Adventurer's Guild Hall. He had only gotten a little bit lost, but for the most part he navigated the city fairly well on his first try. A small part of him did wish he still had some sort of minimap that he could've used for guidance.

The Guild Hall was a large square stone building about five stories tall and taking up almost an entire block by itself. Numerous arched windows dotted the building, each one with a set of open red shutters to either side. Carefully cultivated vines gave the structure some character, the green plants crawling and twisting along the surface of the stones.

A flight of curved stone steps led up to the heavy wooden double doors framed by an impressively carved archway. Sitting atop the apex of the arch was a stone gryphon the size of a small dog, seemingly emerging out of the stone and keeping watch with its sharp eagle eyes.

Since Oldaven was one of the major cities in the Empire it was only appropriate that the Guild building would be rather large and impressive to match, though to be honest Lucifer was a little underwhelmed. He had seen far more impressive buildings in the past, but perhaps it was unfair to judge it in comparison to them.

A few people walked by along the street, but nobody went in or out of the building while Lucifer was studying the exterior. No one seemed to be paying him much attention either and they likely thought he was just another adventurer given his attire and the fact that the Guild Hall was right there.

He was curious as to what kind of defensive magic was in place on the building so before walking in he decided to take a little peek. Looking around to make sure nobody was really watching, he quickly cast [Detect Magic] on the building as discreetly as he could.

He was stunned when the spell discovered only a handful of lower-tier defensive spells. Either they were supremely confident that nobody would attack the Guild Hall directly, or they were incredibly foolish. He could think of a dozen Fourth Tier and even some Third Tier spells that could overwhelm their measly defensive measures and cause some serious damage if he personally decided to attack the building. Any higher-tier spells would undoubtedly cause much devastation before they could even think to react.

Both intrigued and disappointed by the relative lack of defenses, Lucifer stepped inside and immediately noticed the drop in temperature. This was definitely a result of some spell that manipulated the inside temperature. The sensation felt strange to him since he could tell if the temperature was hot or cold, but his body didn't react physiologically, neither feeling the chills nor sweating.

The doors led into the main hall, which was wide and spacious with various chairs, benches, couches, and tables scattered throughout the space. The ceiling was about two stories high and there was a balcony all around on the second floor that overlooked the whole entry hall. Lucifer saw at least one flight of stairs from the main hall that led directly up to that floor.

The whole space reminded him of a big hotel lobby, except there wasn't any of the usual lobby music playing. Idly wondering if they'd ever think to have musicians playing background music here, he continued to study the hall.

He guessed there were private meeting rooms and such up on that second floor, which explained the direct access from the main floor, though he could only guess what any of the other floors might be used for. Most likely there were some offices and maybe some storage spaces, but this building was pretty big so there had to be more to it than that.

There were several dozen people in the hall, many of them sitting around in groups. Most of them looked to be adventurers, with metal plates hanging from their necks and weapons and armor equipped. Almost all of them were engaged in talking with one another so there was a constant murmuring sound that echoed across the hall.

Several figures were gathered around some large boards situated around the hall. Each board was filled with what looked like posters, so it was safe to assume these were the job boards from which adventurers picked their quests. A familiar sight to anyone like him who had played many RPG games.

At that moment, the doors behind Lucifer opened once again, prompting him to step aside as a party of five adventurers entered. He counted two warriors, a ranger or thief - it was hard to say for certain, and what looked to be a priest and a mage. A balanced party, though their equipment looked fairly basic. He couldn't quite tell what kind of adventurer plates they were wearing, but it was grayish so he thought it might be iron or possibly silver.

Their youth surprised him, not that he was that much older, but some of the members of the party definitely looked to be in their mid-to-late teens.

The leader of the party appeared to be a fierce-eyed brunette woman clad in leather armor with spiked metal pauldrons and plated leather boots. She had a sturdy iron shield strapped across her back emblazoned with a flying Pegasus and a decent-looking steel sword hung from her waist. Her skin was nice and tanned and she reminded Lucifer of one of those warrior goddesses from Greek or Roman mythology with her hair intricately braided into a single thick ponytail behind her.

The other members of the party were all fairly relaxed and talking to each other as they walked in, with the brunette warrior alone and silent at the front of the pack as the others followed in her wake. She gave Lucifer the curtest of nods as she walked past, her olive green eyes hard and serious. She looked to be on a mission with the way she was moving with such purpose, and maybe she actually was.

Her fellow party members didn't even really notice Lucifer as they followed along. The group went straight to one of the counters manned by a Guild receptionist and appeared to be turning in a quest they had just completed as they put some of their loot haul on the counter as proof. A few minutes later and the receptionist they were talking to handed them a leather pouch full of what Lucifer could only assume was money.

Having observed enough and seeing that everything looked pretty straightforward, Lucifer went up to what was essentially the front desks, for there were multiple counters. Finding the next available Guild receptionist, he stepped up to her and received a welcoming smile in advance as she looked him up and down, no doubt appreciating his high quality equipment and the confidence with which he carried himself.

Then she frowned slightly, her eyes resting on his chest where she had expected to see an adventurer's plate but instead found none.

"Good afternoon, sir! What may I help you with today? Are you by chance registering with the Guild or are you submitting a job request?"

"Good day, miss. Pardon my ignorance, but I'm new to this country and am not too familiar with the Guild. Would you mind telling me more about it?" he started off with a friendly smile.

She clasped her hands together, smiling once again.

"Certainly, sir. I'm honestly surprised you haven't heard of the Guild before, but I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. Was there anything specific you wanted to know?"

"Hmm... first I'd like to know about jobs. What kinds of jobs does the Guild accept? And what is required to submit a job request? Can simply anyone walk in and submit a request?"

She launched into an explanation almost immediately, telling him that the Guild was open all day and night and accepted job requests from anyone. The Guild asked for as much detail as possible. They also clarified what was the end result that the client was looking for as well as any time constraints.

The Guild then determined how realistic the demands were and whether or not the job was legal and adhered to Guild rules. Once clear of that hurdle, the job is then assessed for difficulty, which then sets the required adventurer rank to undertake it. This also determined the price charged to the client.

That all made sense to Lucifer so he nodded to show that he understood and the woman kept going.

"We then collect payment, which covers Guild fees as well as the payout to the adventurers who complete the job. Should the potential employer have insufficient funds, the Guild can still post the job as long as the Guild fees are paid, but the lower payout to adventurers will mean it is unlikely to get picked and completed. Depending on the circumstances of the request, the Guild or even the country the Guild is in may be willing to finance some portion of the cost."

The angel stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I'm curious, does the Guild accept any simple mundane jobs? For instance, if I wanted someone to carry some heavy objects such as furniture for me from one side of the city to the other? Or to cook a special meal for me?"

The woman shook her head. "No, all jobs handled by the Guild involve either attacking or defending against monsters in some way. The Guild is above such menial tasks as cooking or moving heavy objects, though adventurers are of course welcome to take outside contracts like that if they please, so long as they don't break any Guild rules in the process. In the situation you described, I would advise renting a horse and cart instead of trying to find someone to carry things for you."

Lucifer figured as much but he wanted to be certain, and he was amused and appreciative with the advice about renting a horse and cart even though it seemed a little patronizing when she said it.

"Speaking of payment, what if a client wanted to give more than the set payout that the Guild comes up with?"

"You can absolutely do so. So long as the minimum amount is covered and the Guild fees are paid, the employer is free to add to the payout for the adventurers. The higher the payout the better the chances the job gets taken and completed quickly. You could even offer a portion of the payout up front. From my experience, that usually gets the quest noticed pretty quickly."

"I see... what if an adventurer wishes to take the quest but is not happy with the payout?"

"Quests are taken on a first-come-first-serve basis, and normally jobs only require one adventurer party unless stipulated otherwise in the job details. That being said, adventurers who are not happy with the proposed payout can reach out to the employer and negotiate with them directly, but they cannot accept the quest without first settling the matter of payment," she explained and paused to take a breath.

"This means that adventurers cannot take a job and hold it while negotiating a higher payout with the client, so the job remains open even if they're already in contact with the client regarding pay. The Guild is interested in getting jobs done as quickly as possibly, so while the first party is negotiating price another party can swoop in and take that job at the original price since it's still fair game."

"Alright. Fair enough," remarked Lucifer. That meant that most of the time once the price was set it was highly unlikely that the pay would change since nobody wanted to risk losing a job they wanted to take simply because they were trying to haggle for a better payout. And it appeared that the Guild didn't really care who did the job as long as they were qualified and could get the job done properly.

"Next question: you mentioned adventurer ranks and while I am aware of some of them, could you please list for me the ranking hierarchy so that I'm clear on them all? And what does it take to rank up?"

She nodded, clearing her throat before saying, "There are eight ranks in total. From lowest to highest, there is Copper, Iron, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Mithril, Orichalcum, and lastly Adamantite. There are two ways to rank up: the first is to complete challenging and dangerous tasks that show your strength and power, and the second way is to take the official Guild test. However, the Guild only has tests up to Gold rank. After that, the first way is the only path to reaching the higher ranks."

"I see. How many Adamantite ranked teams are there currently? And is it possible to be demoted?"

"There are currently only five Adamantite ranked teams in the entire known world that I am aware of. There are two in the Re-Estize Kingdom to the west called, the first is called Red Drop and the second is Blue Roses. To the south, in the Dragon Kingdom, is the team known as Crystal Tear. Lastly, here in the Baharuth Empire, we are proud to have two such teams, the Eight Ripples is the first and the Green Fangs is second."

"Only five in the whole world? Interesting," said Lucifer. "They must be pretty strong."

"Very strong," the woman emphasized. "The Guild does not bestow Adamantite ranks lightly. Now as for demotions," she paused, her smile fading a little, "Yes, it's possible to be demoted. Usually this is for Guild rules infractions or breaking government laws. Depending on the severity of their transgression, it's possible for an adventurer to even be expelled entirely and banned from ever becoming an adventurer again. Repeated demotions may also result in expulsion, however."

Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "Has that happened before?"

"Yes. It's rare, but I know of a handful of past incidents that turned out like that. I am unable to share those details with you, however." She sounded apologetic but firm on that front. He was not going to get anything else out of her on that topic.

"Understandable," he said. He was definitely going to try and find out more about those incidents later. "Let's talk about registration. What do I need to do to register myself as an adventurer?"

"Well, obviously you must be properly equipped," she purposefully looked him over one more time, "And I can clearly see that you are. There is the basic Guild registration fee of 5 silvers. Then you must pass a literacy test, which costs 5 copper coins. Lastly, you must pass the practical entrance exam."

Lucifer was intrigued. "What do I have to do in the practical entrance exam?"

"That I cannot say specifically, but it involves demonstrating combat skills in front of an official Guild member."

"If I were to display high enough combat skills, would it be possible to skip any of the lower ranks?"

She shook her head and said, "No, unfortunately not. Even if you were to slay a dragon for your test, you must still start off as a Copper plate. Those are the rules and there are no exceptions," she shrugged and looked apologetic, "However, once you are a Copper plate and pull off a similar feat again, I'm sure the Guild would then consider allowing you to skip ranks. That would be at the discretion of the Guild Master though."

It was worth a shot. He did see the merit in it, albeit must be frustrating in the beginning for anyone who is already an experienced fighter. Forcing everyone to begin at the lowest rank and showing no favoritism or exceptions to that rule meant that everyone was on a level playing field when starting off, and it was only through hard work and success that an adventurer could advance.

Lucifer looked through his coin purse. He only had 12 silver coins and 29 copper coins left from the money he appropriated from the thugs after already spending some of it for lodging at the Crescent Rose Inn. The tiny room he was in cost five coppers a day and he had paid enough for at a week up front. He had also paid an entry fee at the Eastern Gate.

As an adventurer, he had no doubt that he would earn a decent income once he got started so he was not too concerned about money anymore. This would be well worth the investment. He placed five silvers and five coppers on the counter.

The receptionist flashed him a big smile as she took the money, carefully looking over the coins to make sure they were authentic before hiding them away somewhere behind the counter. She then reached for something from beneath the counter and pulled out a piece of paper with a lot of writing on it.

"Here is the literacy test. Please read it over and answer any of the questions asked. When you're finished, sign your name at the bottom and hand it to me for verification. Please note that this will also constitute as your contract to sign on with the Guild."

Lucifer realized that the literacy test was simply the rules and regulations of the Guild. There were some questions that he had to write out answers for that were designed to make sure the applicant knew what the rules meant. It was easy enough to read through thanks to his ability as an angel to understand all languages and since he was a quick reader it only took him a few minutes to finish it up and double-check his answers.

He handed it over to the receptionist who looked it over and then took a wax seal to stamp it near the bottom.

"Great! It looks like you passed the literacy test without any issues. Now that that's settled, and before we continue with the registration process, I do have a question for you, sir." She had a determined look in her eye.

"What is it?"

"Do you have a party? Or people who you might be able to form a team with? Adventurer work is dangerous and going at it alone would make it even more so."

Lucifer shook his head. "Not at the moment, however please don't be too concerned. I assure you that I can manage on my own very well."

She gave him a look that said she had heard that before with unfortunate results.

"I strongly recommend that you find at least one other person to party up with because, as stated in the rules, a party can only be granted a job if they have at least two members," she said with a lecturing tone. "Now let me put together all the appropriate paperwork and I'll get back to you shortly. Please feel free to take a seat anywhere in the hall and I'll find you when I'm finished."

She proceeded to go into some back room with the test he had just completed, leaving Lucifer to wander over to the nearest job board. He wanted to check out the types of job requests being made.

He would probably be forced to start with low-level quests like slaughtering some wild boar or giant rats or something. It had been a long time since he had to do such trivial tasks and it got him excited to start questing again like he did in YGGDRASIL. A whole new world to explore, with hopefully new monsters to fight too.

The party of five adventurers he noticed earlier was standing in front of the board that he ended up approaching. They looked like they were in the middle of picking out their next job and Lucifer couldn't help but observe as he moved closer as discretely as he could so as not to draw attention to himself.

"... vote is for us to take a few days off. We've done five jobs in a row now! I'm exhausted! Mentally and physically! These are almost slavish working hours, and I am no slave!" complained the mage in a nasally voice. Leaning on his long ashen staff that had a blue orb at the top end, he definitely looked like he hadn't had a good night's sleep in a while.

"I'd have to agree. Oudy here has a point. Five jobs in a row is the most we've done in a long time, my friends, so we should really consider taking some rest and relaxation time. Rest plays an important role in a party's success in the long run," remarked the armored priest, speaking as if he were a professor lecturing students. "Tired minds and bodies leads to greater risk of injury... or worse." The priest clasped his hands together in prayer as he bowed his head in silent prayer.

The other warrior of the group was a fairly rugged mountain of a man with bare arms and legs of corded muscle and long slightly curly dark hair that reminded Lucifer of Samson junior or maybe a mini Hercules. Strapped across his back was a massive double-headed ax. The only armor he appeared to be wearing were boots, gloves, a breastplate, and what looked to be some kind of thick leather and fur shorts.

The warrior easily towered over the party and he barked at the others in a low voice. "Quit being soft you two. If River wants to go out again, we go. End of story."

"Arnaud, I'm not being soft... I'm being practical!" replied Oudy, the mage, with annoyance. "Can't you see I'm about ready to fall over from exhaustion here? What if I were to accidentally shoot a fireball at your back because my arms cramped in the middle of a battle?"

"Soft," repeated Arnaud, eliciting a tired glare from the magic caster.

"Gods help us," whispered the priest though it was still loud enough for all to hear. He appeared to still be praying and Lucifer wondered if there were any specific prayers or if he was simply speaking to their gods as if having a conversation, albeit one-sided. Something to look into when he went to the Temple.

The ranger spoke up this time, his arms crossed and looking thoroughly unamused. "Aren't we a party? Don't we all have a say in what we do? Since when did this become River's decision?"

"Since she is the leader of our party," Arnaud responded quickly, crossing his own much beefier arms as he glared at the ranger.

"And she'll lead us to an early grave if we keep going at this rate," rebutted the ranger, adjusting the bow on his back as he narrowed his eyes at the big warrior.

"No," said the big man, "I'll be the death of you if you don't shut your mouth!"

"Please, Arnaud, Ethan, everyone just relax..." the priest tried to say but was cut off by the irate ranger.

"You want a piece of me, ya big brute?" the ranger, Ethan, asked in challenge, "It's about time someone knocked some sense into that big... err... small brain of yours."

Lucifer had to hand it to the ranger, even though the man was easily dwarfed in size he didn't appear to be backing down one inch from the warrior. Though Lucifer's gut was telling him that the ranger was purposefully goading the big warrior, which made him a rather foolhardy teammate.

The big man growled and took a menacing step towards the ranger, his large fists clenched. This was going to be an interesting fight.

"Enough!" the voice of the female warrior, who was apparently named River, rang out and caused them all to freeze in their tracks. She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes for a few seconds, letting out a long sigh. Opening her eyes again, she leveled her steady gaze on each member of the party while she spoke.

"Ethan, Arnauld, the both of you need to shut up and stop acting like children," she admonished them then continued, "Oudy and Laurence, you make a valid point that we need to rest. So this is what we're going to do: we will rest for two days. Do what you will in that time. On the morning of the third day, we will meet back here and go on our next job. Understood?"

There was some grumbling but everyone seemed to accept her decision. Even the ranger who so boldly appeared to challenge her leadership earlier was rubbing the back of his neck and not meeting her gaze. Apparently his bark was worse than his bite.

"Good," she said with some satisfaction. It was always this way with the boys, and she had thought she might get tired of it, but so far she hadn't. Maybe she was simply used to their antics by now.

Her hands shifted to rest on her hips, elbows flared out in a power pose as her attention drifted over to Lucifer, who stood nearby pretending to look at the board behind them. "You there. In the dark armor with the horned helmet. Can we help you with you something?"

Lucifer smiled underneath his helmet. Somehow, she had noticed that he was actually observing them rather than the board. Pretty good instincts on her part. This woman was incredibly confident in herself too and had total command of this group.

He wondered how much of her confidence matched her fighting ability and was starting to imagine what she might be like in battle before he got a hold of himself. There would be time to fantasize about the fighting skills of a warrior goddess later.

"Forgive me, my lady," responded Lucifer with a slight bow, "I was simply fascinated by your party's chatter. I've just signed up to be an adventurer and-"

"Not interested in weaklings." It was Arnaud who butted in, apparently having sized up the angel and found him lacking. To him, Lucifer looked like he was wearing all that expensive-looking high-level gear to compensate for an innate weakness in strength.

"Tch." River looked annoyed and the big man shrugged, unapologetic.

Lucifer held up both gauntleted hands, then made a 'T' with his hands. "Okay, hold on. Time out. First of all, I wasn't trying to join your party-"

"Good," Arnaud interjected, eliciting a side glare from both River and the angel.

"- and second of all," Lucifer continued as if he hadn't heard the big warrior say anything. "I'm new to the Guild and about to be Copper rank so I doubt I'd be able to join you on your jobs anyways since you appear to be... uhh... higher ranked, yes?"

The ranger looked at him with a mixture of pity and annoyance as he chimed in, "Silver. We're Silver-ranked adventurers, thank you very much. Newly minted, actually... so you might say we're the freshest Silver bloods on the block. Maybe if you ask nicely we'll consider letting you carry our stuff on the next mission."

Lucifer chuckled at that but didn't say a word. Silver-ranked adventurers meant they were fairly skilled warriors.

River ignored the ranger and said, "That's a very impressive set of armor you've got there for someone who isn't even an adventurer yet."

The armor and the weapons that hung at his waist had caught her eye when she first sighted him by the entrance earlier. To the untrained eye, the armor might seem pretty regular, but River knew better than that. She had seen her fair share of armor sets as an adventurer, and this was something special.

"Thank you, my Lady. It is quite nice, isn't it?" replied Lucifer as he made a show of examining his own equipment, "It took a significant amount of time and resources to get all of this made, but it was well worth it in the end."

"Please stop calling me a 'Lady'," she said with a sigh, "I can only imagine how much that cost you." In fact, she estimated the armor alone had cost at least a few thousand gold given the quality of the craftsmanship and material. This man was walking around with a small gold mine. "If I may ask, what kind of metal is it made out of? It looks familiar and yet... strange."

Lucifer was taken aback. Was their adamantium different than the one he knew in YGGDRASIL? Realizing he had been silent for a few seconds, he answered, "Oh, this is regular old adamantium, actually."

"Really?" she asked in surprise, "But it looks different." Maybe it was because of the lighting in here? She found herself feeling a tad ashamed for not recognizing it if it really was adamantium.

"It's the color," offered the ranger as an explanation, looking closely at the armor himself, "I've never seen black armor tinted that... well, black, before. It's almost like it doesn't even reflect light like it should."

"May the Four Great Gods protect us from the darkness of evil..." said the priest with eyes closed. He had been murmuring his prayers in the background this whole time.

Lucifer gave him a sidelong glance. Given that last line and the current topic of the conversation, Lucifer was starting to think the holy man wasn't actually praying seriously.

"I suppose that would explain it," River said thoughtfully, then added, "You must be nobility of some kind to afford such equipment."

"Oh I know this one! Let me guess," said the ranger raising his hand in the air as if he were a brown-nosing school student answering a teacher's question, "You're the third son of some high lord of the Empire trying to make his name on the world because daddy's attention, title, and stuff all go to the favorite firstborn son. Sound about right?"

"You know, that's not as far off as I thought you would be," admitted Lucifer with a chuckle.

Technically, he was Lucifer Morningstar, the highest of the angels and the one who defied his Father in part because he was jealous of God's favorite creation being the humans. There was of course more to it than that, such as Lucifer's desire to be a god himself, but that was one of the many aspects of this character's background.

"Nailed it!" The ranger happily pumped his fists. "I always knew I had the gift!"

"Bless us, oh Gods..." the priest was still going on with his prayer off to the side.

"Puny noble in shiny armor," remarked Arnaud as he flexed one of his big arms. Lucifer could see it in his eyes that he wanted to fight him and test his strength, though he had enough restraint not to do it here and now. That was likely because of River's presence keeping him in check.

The mage meanwhile had found the nearest seat and plopped himself down on it when he realized the group wasn't going anywhere just yet, hugging his staff as he apparently decided to take a nap right then and there.

"So tell us, what noble house are you from then, Lord...?" asked River, her tone shifting from challenging to curiosity. Third son or not, nobility held a lot of weight in the Empire and it would be prudent not to upset one if possible.

"My name is Lucifer Morningstar, but please do call me Lucifer," he said with another bow, "As for my noble house, well... you wouldn't know it. So no need for the title when speaking to me. I'm from a land far away from here. In fact, it's so far away that you might even say I'm from a different world."

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AN: Hey Fanfic and Overlord fam! Here's another update for you. Longest chapter yet. Not a lot of action but hopefully it's enjoyable! More exciting stuff coming up next chap :)

Quick notes: Lucifer has levels in War Mage/Armored Mage (similar to Narberal) hence the fact that he can equip swords and armor and still cast spells. He does lean more towards magic than trying to go for physical combat, since he usually has summons to handle frontline work, but he can handle himself in a straight fight if needed. He is definitely not as powerful with magic as Ainz because of his balancing act, but he's still pretty formidable in that respect.

As for the multiple changing perspectives and lack of focus on the OC - I've actually noticed that as well, and it wasn't really my intention to not give him enough attention, which is why I've focused a bit more on Lucifer this chapter and will try to make sure I at least feature the main OC more prominently. I will still be showing different perspectives as I deem pertinent though sometimes I do get carried away while writing about other characters and events outside the OC's direct involvement so I hope you will forgive me :/

Thank you so much for the reviews, this amateur writer truly appreciates the time you've taken to not only read my story but to comment on it. I hope to continue to entertain moving forward! :)