Third Person POV
In the city of E-Rantel, inside the adventurers' guild, Link is sitting in one of the chairs around the center table. To avoid glares and diminishing comments, and to avoid being called an elf again, Link was wearing his Depths armor set which covers almost his entire body leaving only his left eye showing, he also wasn't using the Master Sword nor the Hylian Shield anymore, instead, he brought only the Fierce Deity Sword which he is now carrying on his back.
It has been one day since he left Gazef and the men few who survived the battle of Carne Village. Link decided to stay in E-Rantel and join the adventurers' guild while Gazef had to take Nigun back to the capital so he could be put on trial.
One day ago
Link, already dressed in his Depths set, approaches the gates of E-Rantel with Gazef, the warrior captain would only stay for a few hours so he could replenish his supplies and go back to the road.
Thanks to Gazef's status Link was able to enter the city without the need to do a check-in, something he was grateful for, and gestures his gratitude to Gazef by bowing to him.
"No need for thanks". Gazef says with humbleness. "It's the least I could do after you've done so much for me".
Their walk to the guild was quiet between the two, once or twice someone approached Gazef and wanted to talk to him, Link noticed he was loved by the common folk, which makes sense, Gazef was an underdog like them who worked hard to reach the top, he brings hope to the people, and the fact that he still cares for them despite now being someone of a higher status tells a lot of his character.
Once they reach the guild Gazef and Link share a last look and shake hands, Link didn't like to talk, much less when it's a farewell so they just kept quiet and nod at each other before Link entered the place and Gazef goes his way with his prisoner and his men.
When Link entered all eyes were on him, which wasn't a surprise, the Depths set is kinda catchy to the eye, and the Fierce Deity Sword does call unwanted attention due to its size and strange appearance.
Luck at least was on his side, when Link told the receptionist he wanted to register as an adventure there was no interview or evaluation, all he needed to do was fill in a file, his name, age, residence, and some more information, as Link suspected this new world has its own alphabet but Link manages to make its due thanks to his Sheikah Slate, when he used its table mode over the file he had, the Sheikah Slate automatically analyzed the pattern of the words and learned the language, then it translated the language to Link, all he needed to do was fill in.
Now Link is waiting for the other adventurers to take their jobs, he wasn't in a hurry, so he was just sitting there and taking a nap due to having spent the whole night learning and memorizing the alphabet of this world.
It took one hour for the crowd to disperse, now, fully rested Link goes to the jobs board and tries looking for the hardest one he can find. He looks at the insignia on his neck, it was a copper plate, the lowest rank of an adventurer, Link can't help but sigh in disappointment, unfortunately, the guild didn't have any type of test for him to show his power and start ahead, but starting from bellow has its benefits, in this way, no one will doubt Link's capabilities when he reaches the top.
Link finds the job he is looking for and goes to the balcony to talk with the receptionist.
When the woman who was attending Link looks at the job request he gave her, she frowns while reading it, but Link can't blame her, despite being a cooper-level job it was dangerous even more since Link was a solo adventurer.
"Mr. Link". The woman starts. "This job is recommended to do with a full party".
Link understands she is trying to warn him, but he just shrugs his shoulders in response, the main reason Link doesn't want to be in a team is that he doesn't want to endanger others with his sense of adventure, nor worry about them in the middle of a fight.
"Are you sure you want to clean a goblin nest as your first job, Mr. Link?" The receptionist asks and Link nods with a confident smile. "Very well, although I still think you are making a mistake".
Despite her hesitation, the woman goes with the hylian's wishes and stamps the file with the request then gives Link a bag of cloth. Apparently, in this world, adventurers need to confirm their kills and in most cases, like Link's, they need to cut off both ears from the monsters they'd slayed as proof that the job is done, and even when outside a job the guild pays you for killing them since they helped clean the land from attacks and from stealing their crops.
Link then leaves the building and goes to the stables, he reads the job's file once more to avoid making any mistakes, the job is to slay 20 goblins and destroy their nest located in the south, 1 mile away from E-Rantel, the reward would be 30 copper coins and an extra 5 coppers for each pair of goblin's ears, Link thought the reward was good enough, he was in dire need of money, Gazef gave him one hundred gold coins as a reward for capturing Nigun, but that money was going to end soon despite him staying on the cheapest inn and eating the cheapest food, one could argue that Link has a lot of money because of his rupees, but the hylian refuse to use them for two motives, the first one is the exchange rate, on Hyrule one green rupee could be considered equal to one dollar, but the fact is, rupees are rare gems and the only reason its value was so low on Hyrule was that there was literally mountains of it everywhere, but in this world and in his former world, one green rupee could possibly be worthy of hundreds of gold coins and dollars, the second reason is because if the first reason is true, Link would be painting a target on his back due to him having thousands of rupees.
After reaching the stables, Link mounts Epona and goes to the goblin nest, it was a long way, so he tells his mount to go fast. On his way to the goblins' nest Link starts thinking about the day before, his fight against Nigun and his men, their summons, and about Ainz, the magic caster said that someone was watching the fight, and that made Link nervous, he could be being watched at this very moment, and after what he did to the Theocracy by defeating one of their own he might have painted a target on his back, and that's only the Theocracy, on his way to E-Rantel the hylian talked to Gazef about the neighbor countries of the RE-Estize kingdom, there was the Baharuth Empire and the Slane Theocracy, which Link already knew about, the Holy Kingdom and the Argland Council State, all which could be watching him right now. The last country was the one interested Link the most, according to Gazef, Argland is not a monarchy, but a parliamentary government led by five dragon councilors and a dragon chancellor, the population is also mostly demi-human and heteromorph, with humans consisting of only 10% of the total population.
'Maybe I should visit there someday'. Link's thoughts on the matter are then put to rest, he doesn't know if he is being watched but if he is he can't do anything to avoid it, until he learns a spell that prevents it, or find a magic item that allows him to hide from any observation spell.
Once they arrived Link is surprised by how fast Epona traveled them here, the distance between E-Rantel and the quest's location was 1 mile, yet Epona ran the course in just a few minutes and doesn't even look tired, the former player wondered for a moment if the gameplay and lore have something to do with this after he transmigrated, it's the only way to explain how Epona was so fast and durable compared to a normal mount.
Link ties Epona to a nearby tree and goes toward the goblin's nest, he wonders what kind of goblin he will see, in his former life he played many RPGs, and while some portrayed goblins as intelligent, most of the time there were mindless beasts and ravagers who committed the murder of villagers and pillaged their crops, the only information the file give him was that they were dangerous and were creating a nest so Link didn't know what type he will face.
It doesn't take long for him to find the nest, it was a cave, which automatically makes his sword useless since he won't have space to swing it, with that in mind, Link grabs his bow and arrows from his inventory and puts the Fierce Deity Sword back in it, due to the lack of knowledge Link refrain himself from using his special arrows since he doesn't know if this world has the resources for him to create more of them, because of it, Link is using normal arrows, during his travel with Gazef he was able to make lots of those. Link wanted to just enter inside and use his Din's Fire, an item that when used summons a dome of Fire around the body that expands outward affecting anything in its range, and given that the place was a cave everything inside would be burned down, but Link had to stop himself from doing it, the main reason was that if he turned all the goblins to ashes he wouldn't have proof that he killed them, meaning the Link would have to wait for someone to verify the cave and ensure he correctly finish the quest, and that could take a whole day, maybe two.
With a bow in one hand and arrow in the other Link proceeds to enter the cave. Thanks to his high senses the visibility wasn't as bad as it would've been if he was still human, a torch while helpful was out of the table, goblins could smell him, and using a torch would only help them even more by giving them Link's precise location.
Goblins weren't smart, but were adaptable, at least in some media from his old world, Link is aware of this and slowly proceeds further into the cave. After a few minutes, Link stops in his tracks, a human would've not heard but Link knew he was surrounded by now. When he first stepped into the cave Link heard the goblins moving, they were soundless to the human ear, but not to a hylian's, he knew they were just waiting for him to go deeper so they could ambush him, by the footsteps there were three goblins behind him and five in front of him, lurking in the darkness and hiding behind rocks.
Link smiles, he already knows what to do, he turns around in a spin, readying his bow and arrow and shots, he hits a goblin in the eyes and readies another arrow while watching the foul beast fall to the ground and scream in pain. Link shoots another arrow, this one pierces through the goblin's heart making it suffer an instant death, the reason Link decided to take the ones behind him first was simple, there were in fewer numbers.
The goblins were in some kind of trance, that was due to how fast Link just killed two of their own, while the hylian saw it happening at a normal speed, to the goblins he was moving like a lightning bolt, and only after the second kill that their wake up from the vision in front of them and start to act. While the five goblins try to act, the one in front of Link isn't so lucky, the moment it raises its weapons Link hits it in the head with a swing of his bow, goblins are fragile creatures, and Link's superior strength was enough to kill the beast yet instead of just breaking some bone in the head or its neck, Link's attack made the goblin's head be torn off its neck and throw away like a baseball.
The goblins were scared of the attacker, and one of them even shit on their clothes but Link doesn't have time to waste, he turns around and sees the five goblins left, when his eyes met the goblins' they recovered what little courage they had left and charge against the hylian.
Four of the goblins attack together while one stays behind, as they approach Link takes one arrow out of his quiver, they were too close for him to use his bow so he grabs the arrow and with a firm grip, he stabs the closest goblin, who jumped at him to attack, in the eye, then with a spin of his body he hits the second closest goblin with his bow, making his belly explode with the brute force used, watching their comrades die the other two goblins that were charging stop on their tracks due to shock, this hesitation give Link an opening so he grabs the arrow and the bow's string and shoots hitting not only one of the goblins but the one behind it too as the arrow Link had shot goes through the skull of the first one hitting the goblin behind it right in the middle of the face.
The goblin that was left alone stayed behind because like Link it was using a bow as a weapon, waiting for an opening, that opening appears but to his misfortune, this window only appears after all his comrades were killed, so he doesn't let their sacrifice go to waste, with a wicked smile the goblins pulls the string of its bow and shots, he was aiming at Link's temple so it would be an instant kill once the arrow struck, drooling in anticipation the goblin watches as the arrow flies toward its target but then, all his hopes are shattered, instead of the arrow piercing through Link's skull and killing him, the moment it made contact with its target the arrow slip in pieces when it hit the hylian, it was as if Link was an immovable mountain.
The hylian and goblin stare at each other in silence, both wondering the same thing for different reasons, the goblin thinking why his arrow didn't kill its target and Link thinking how his body could do something like this, the fear of death and the anxiety of getting killed overcome his body and Link doesn't even notice he just reloaded his bow and shot at the remaining goblin.
A few minutes later
The job was done, Link was coming out of the cave, and the cloth bag he received from the guild's woman was filled with twenty pairs of goblin's ears.
Once Link reaches the place where he left Epona, he falls on his butt and sits beside his mount. He couldn't stop thinking about that scene, about how he almost died by an arrow piercing his skull, he was supposed to be dead, yet here he was, alive while the goblins who tried to kill him were now rooting corpses for the rats and insects that live in the cave.
While fear had seeded itself into the hylian's heart when he first faced death it was already gone by now, yet Link couldn't stop thinking about how close he was to dying.
The former player only saw those types of things in games but this is now a reality, he was sure that there was no continue button here, and this makes him dive into deep thoughts about his choices, given Link's courage and personality he was already overcoming the fear of death in only a few minutes after what happened, but his old personality and his thoughts still dwelled on it, asking him if he made the right choice by becoming an adventurer.
This kind of danger and constant fighting for survivor would repeat itself every single day if he decided to stay on that route, and this job he is currently doing was of the lowest rank, it was easy to imagine the dangers he would face if he ever found himself as an adamantine adventurer, the highest rank. He already knew that adventurers formed groups to avoid things like this from happening, yet he still couldn't bring himself to enter any group exactly for that reason, for had it been anyone besides Link and the end of that arrow, they would've died, and the guilty would've eaten him whole.
It's at this moment that the former player realizes how strong Link was in the games, not in the strength of the body, but in the strength of character. The former player had faced death only once, yet the original Link faced it every day and every time but never gave up nor let it stop him from going ahead on his journey.
With that in mind, he gets back on his feet and smiles at his mount that has been looking at him during his brooding, the former player was still thinking about what happened, worried and scared, and yet all this anxiety didn't make him want to give up, despite it being scary and horrific to face death at every corner he couldn't let this fear own him, he had to fight against it for if he let the darkness overcome him he will never find the light.
It was clear to the former player that his old personality and Link's were merging, now more than ever, no normal person would overcome the fear and anxiety induced by death so easily, but here he is, already recovered and ready to face it again.
He mounts Epona and charges back toward the city, his determination fully recovered, and his fears being diminished with every second, the life of an adventurer was a dangerous and scary one, but Link was determined to never let fear cloud his choices and judgment, and while the thought of dying was scary he refused to give up.
'I guess I also have the Triforce of courage with me since I was capable of overcoming this fear as quickly as I did'. Link told himself, he was still scared of dying and probably will always fear it no matter how his body diminishes this fear by the seconds, but he could fight that fear, and at this moment it's what he is going to do, he would learn from this mistake and improve himself to never commit it again. 'Next time I fight a goblin or any other opponent, there will be not a single room for them to try anything like that again. It's a promise!'.
Elsewhere
On the Great Tomb of Nazarick, its leader, Ainz Ooal Gown is reading through a report recently given to him.
After dealing with the attack on Carne Village by the Sunlight Scripture, Ainz was trying to carefully process the information he received. Due to Link taking Nigun with him, the overlord was forced to capture the rest of the Slane Theocracy's squad and take information from them, unfortunately, the information Ainz obtained was… mediocre, due to their status as members of a high order from their country Ainz was able to obtain relevant information, but their position inside their own order wasn't high enough from him to obtain anything special.
Besides the basic knowledge like the nation they came from, and the countries surrounding it, the only thing Ainz managed to obtain that could really be considered exclusive was the name of the other Scriptures, the lack of knowledge of the members prove that their government didn't trust them with the information, or that no scripture knows the name of the members of others scriptures to avoid any leak in case of capture.
"*Sigh* I wonder how Link is dealing with Nigun, maybe I should ask him what he found out if we meet each other again". Ainz tells himself loud enough for only him to hear.
"Something wrong, Ainz-sama?". Albedo, the beautiful succubus standing at Ainz's side asks.
"Yes, we don't have enough information". Ainz tells Albedo and a sudden idea appears in his head, this lack of information gives him an opportunity. "But I already know how to solve it".
"Woah, as expected of my beloved". Albedo tells him.
Ainz cringes before his emotion suppress acts, before he came to this New World he changed Albedo's character info from bitch to madly in love with Momonga, his former name before taking his guild's name as his own, the result was Albedo being thirsty for him at the most inconvenient moments, and also at every other moment.
"Albedo now is not the time for this". Ainz says with a majestic tone, attempting to make her come back to her serious behavior. "As I was saying, we are lacking information, but I managed to resolve this. I am going to the city those men told us about, E-Rantel, and join the adventure guild".
"You can't do that Ainz-sama". Albedo says, she runs at Ainz and grabs his robes like a child who doesn't want to be left behind by her parents, by the sad tone in her voice and the despair showing on her face add to her eyes almost tearing up, it is not far from the truth. "You are the Supreme Leader of Nazarick, you can't let yourself dirt your hands with something so trivial".
Ainz's emotion suppress activates once more, one thing he had noticed after coming to this word was the fanatical devotion the NPCs had towards him, believing Ainz to be perfect and can do no wrong, but the skeleton knew that was far from the truth, on his former life he was just a salaryman working on a horrible job for a living in a world so dystopic it looked like all those futuristic movies from that era called the 80's, back in the XX century, combined.
"I must. Albedo. This is something I can't do from here and to avoid any error of calculation on my part I must be there to do it". Ainz tells her, hoping that she understands.
Gathering information was only one of Ainz's motives, the other one was that he needed to get out of Nazarick, acting like a supreme ruler was mentally exhausted and due to the fact he is a undead he can't even sleep to make the invisible headaches go away so the city was the best escape from the stress that managing Nazarick is, and with Albedo taking his place he is sure the management of the tomb would improve, despite gaining sentience only a couple days ago she and Demiurge already showed they were more than capable of planning and deal with any situation by themselves.
"Will you take any of the guardians with you?" Albedo asks, worried to the core.
"Yes". Ainz responds, yet he didn't want to take anyone with him, but being in an unknown land he would need someone to watch his back.
"Then my heart can be at ease". Albedo says. "Is there any instruction you have for me?".
"Yes. I want you to manage Nazarick while I'm gone, also see if Demiurge needs anything with his breeding farm experiment". Ainz says.
They are both interrupted by the doors at the entrance being open, revealing a small girl with wax-colored skin and red eyes, wearing a pink and black dress. Ainz and Albedo watch as the girl walks towards them with grace and a confident smile on her lips.
"Shalltear". Ainz greets the girl.
"I bow to you, Ainz-sama". Shalltear bows in reverence to her master.
"Is there something you need?". Ainz asks.
"I just wanted to see you one last time before I leave". Shalltear says with fascination as she gazes upon her master's splendor. "I'll soon go to finish the task you assign me Ainz-sama".
Ainz nods at the floor guardian, watching Link and Gazef's battle against the Sunlight Scripture Ainz learned about an ability called Martial Arts, in a way it is some kind of magic used by warriors, whether is it exclusive to this world Ainz still didn't know. When the men he captured were interrogated they explained that all warriors could use it, Ainz then assigned Shalltear to find and capture someone who can perform such abilities on a major level so they can study it and learn what they can, and maybe replicate their feats.
"Now that you saw him you may leave". Albedo says with a dry tone.
"This is why old hags are the worst, they lose composure too quickly". Shalltear says with a shrug and a mocking smile.
"Did you say something, lamprey?" Albedo has a full scowl on her face as she looks at the gothic girl with twitching eyes.
"Ho, getting deaf with age?" Shalltear says with a frown over her brow.
Ainz almost feel sweat drop over his forehead as he watches the two women kill each other with their eyes while they have their bodies enveloped by some energy aura that emanates from inside them.
'I better find out someone to go with me and leave quickly'. Ainz tells himself as he watches the two women finally calm down.
Link was actually surprised, as he leaves the guild he looks at his new plate over his neck, due to the goblin's job being a four men task Link was promoted from copper to iron for finishing it alone. He can't help himself from feeling that things are moving really fast for him, yet his mind is still keeping up with these changes.
The hylian decides to go back to the inn and rest a little, as he walks Link notices two people walking on the streets that caught his attention, the first is a tall man in black full plate armor with some gold on the edges and a red cape, he was carrying two greatswords on his back, behind him was a woman, her attire was simple with nothing standing out, but her appearance was exotic, unlike most people Link had met so far who looked like people from middle age western Europe, she appeared to be from some Asian country like in Link's old world.
Link watches as the two enter the adventure guild, he was sure that they were there to register themselves, and if that armor was not just for show the hylian knew that guy would go high on this job.
After reaching the inn Link sits at a table near the center and asks for some food. As he waits he starts thinking about the events of his quest, he nearly died so it would be prudent to start planning future strategies to avoid scenarios where enemies have an opening to attack him. The former player is still surprised by how quickly he overcame his fears and is already disposed to move on.
'Let's see, the first thing is to be aware of all opponents around you, never letting them out of your vision field no matter if you are engaged in combat'. Link tells himself. 'Another point is that I should always be ready to defend myself from an outsider attack even when already engaged by an opponent, I doubt on a battlefield the enemy will wait for my current fight to finish to attack me. Then, there is my fighting style, I possess Link's move set, but I should diversify my swords styles, otherwise, I'll get stagnant and predictable if I find opponents that learn quickly or if I fight against someone more than once'.
Link puts his thoughts to a stop once his food arrives, a plate with yellow rice and a big piece of meat, on his former life he wouldn't consider himself a vegan, but he only ate the necessary amount of meat due to his sedentary life so he could avoid heart attacks and getting fat, as for drinks this was a tavern as much as an inn and the former player was not a fan of alcohol so beer and ale wasn't an option, and this world didn't discover how to make coffee yet so water it was.
Bringing the spoon under his hood, Link takes a bite out of his food as he resumes his thoughts from where he stopped on how to proceed.
'The plan is to still the same, reach the top, and spend my life as an adventurer, there's has to be unexplored temples, ruins, and tombs to venture somewhere on this world'. Link then thinks about Ainz's protective spell against eavesdroppers. 'From what Gazef told me in this world people learn magic through study and trial and error, magic also has tiers, but Gazef is a warrior so his info on the matter was lacking, when I… politely asked Nigun… he told me that these tiers are basically how strong spells are, the highest the tier the strongest the spell, while I do possess magic I don't think I could learn any of the spells Nigun knew, like Martial Arts, Tier Magic must be something exclusive to the beings of this world, which led me to the topic of magic items, magic can be imbued to objects, unlike spells though, this objects can be used by anyone so I'll need to find someone who knows how to block spells likes the one used to spy on me and ask them to enchanted something so I can protect myself. I'm not paranoid enough to believe people are observing me 24/7, but something like my quest of slaying goblins was definitely observed in case I'm really being watched.
"*sigh* I should've asked Ainz… when I had the chance". Link whispers to himself.
Link started to think how he could find the mage again, but his thoughts are interrupted once the doors to the inn are opened, the person responsible for it, the two people he saw entering the adventurer's guild when he had left, and seeing the cooper plate around their necks proves they did go there to register themselves as adventurers.
Many were doing like Link, watching the newcomers as they approach the counter, Link wondered if the bartender is going to use the same act of intimidation with him as he tried with the hylian, Link smiles at the recent memory, he doubts that man could ever scare him, Triforce of Courage or not, and like Link, the armored man isn't a bit intimidated by the act, unlike Link though he has a more solid reason, the armored man towers over the bartender.
'That was the first step'. Link tells himself as he observes the armored man and his companion walk to their room. 'Let's see if he passes step two'. Link smiles as he knows what is coming next.
As the hylian expected, one of the iron-ranked adventurers sitting at a table close to the stairs that lead to the rooms upstairs had put his foot in front of the way, the guy was a troublemaker for sure. When he tried that with Link the day before Link easily grabbed the man's arm and twisted it behind his back, making him weep like a child and begging the hylian to release him. Looks like he will have another lesson in humility.
Link smiles at the scene unfolding in front of him, as expected the armored man just gave the troublemaker a small push when walking making the troublemaker get off his chair acting all mighty and high.
'Does he realize that the armored man is way taller than him?' Link asks himself, trying to hold the chuckle that will come out once the armored man deals with him.
As expected, the troublemaker f-ed around and found out, the armored man grabbed him by the collar and threw him at a table on the other side of the place. Link puts a closed fist in front of his mouth and gives a silent laugh at the scene.
While Link was having a good time, someone wasn't, a woman, an adventurer, like Link and the armored man, she has tanned skin, red hair, and blue eyes.
'Brita isn't it? I remember her congratulating me for becoming an iron-rank adventurer after finishing my first job' Link pays attention to the conversation they are having, unlike the talk with the troublemaker this one could be interesting, so he puts his higher senses to work overtime and hears everything.
"Do you have any idea of what you did?" Brita grinds her teeth, her face almost touching the armored man's helmet, then she pointed at the broken table. "You broke my potion! You better pay it".
Link looks at the broken table and sees a blue liquid spread all around the floor, he wanted to facepalm at both the woman and the armored man, at the armored man because of this predicament he found himself in, at the woman for buying a blue potion, a potion that cures health and magic when she is clearly a warrior and doesn't use magic.
'Why would she go with the most expansive potion?' Link asks himself before wondering if this world has the same potion and elixirs from the game and if it does not have, maybe he could create it. 'Got to find some ingredients to test that'.
"Potion?" The armored man says with a calm and intrigued tone making Link watch their talk continue, the woman was trembling now.
'Man, she is mad'. Link thought.
"I bought it with the money I spared by stopping drinking! The money I spared so much to buy it! TODAY! YOU BROKE THE POTION I BOUGHT TODAY!" Brita says.
Link thought she was either brave or foolish to stand up against a man that dwarfs her while knowing nothing about his personality.
'She may be on the right, but for all she knows, he could be a cold-blooded killer'. Link says to himself.
"Then why don't these guys pay you back?" The black-clad warrior asks looking at the group he just put in their place.
"It costs one gold coin and ten silver coins". Brita says, looking at the men with her hands over her waist, furrowing her brow. "The only thing they do all day is drink, so I doubt they have this quantity".
Brita's words made the men she was talking about smug instead of feeling ashamed, Link shakes his head at this behavior, believing they should at least feel a little embarrassed for not spending their lives doing better and more productive things.
"You have a shiny armor on you". Brita says, seizing the warrior head to toe and not noticing his companion's annoyance rising. "You may have some potions don't you? It works for me; I only want to recover what I have lost".
The smug face on Brita was a red flag for Link, and the Asian-looking woman's action is proof he is right as she goes for her sword while the armored man is monologuing something to himself, Link couldn't discern what the man said because he already has gone to stop the woman to do something to Brita and grabs her hand that has gone for the sword. She looks at Link with a vicious stare and the hylian just shakes his head.
"Wait, wait, everything is fine". The man says quickly looking at his companion being held by Link, Link then releases her hand and takes a step back as the warrior continues his talk with Brita.
The warrior gives Brita a red potion which makes Link slightly shake his head, it was a healing potion, but he doubts the woman would accept it since he broke a blue potion which is more valuable.
"Is everything okay now right?!" The man says, clearly hoping to be off the hook.
'Of course, it isn't' Link yells inside his head.
"Yes, for now". Brita says, frowning at the potion and leaving. Link and Momon didn't know that yet, but Brita would go to the best potion store of E-Rantel and speak with the owner, Lizzie Bareare, those two would discover something extraordinary studying that red potion which would bring a great impact in their lives in the nearest and distant future.
'Wait, IT WOKED? Why? HOW?' Link is so lost in his thoughts that he doesn't notice the armored man and woman looking at him.
"Who are you?" The man asks making Link stop his thought travel and look at him.
"… I am Link". Link says, giving his hand to the man for a shake. "Iron rank… adventurer".
"… I see". The man says and shakes Link's hand. "I am Momon, and this is Nabe".
There was something familiar about him, but Link couldn't point out what it is, one thing is sure, the man has a firm grip and Link smiles at it, he was strong, and by the look of the two swords on his back not only he is a warrior but a good one too, he wants to go in an adventure with him, but more importantly, he also wants to fight this man, he was the first person Link met since coming to this world that apparently could offer a good challenge.
"Would you… go on an adventure with me?". Link asks hoping for a positive answer.
"Why?" Momon asks with a cold tone, Link couldn't see Nabe going again for her sword because she was behind him.
"You look strong… want to fight you". Link says, his eyes burning with determination and anxiety ignited by his heart's adventurous flame.
"…He… hehehehe". Momon gives a warm laugh and puts his hand over the hylian's shoulder. "Very well, wait for me in the guild, I'll be there after I'm finished here".
Link nods and speeds to the counter to pay his tab before leaving the place fast as a lightning bolt. Momon just watches the scene unfold in front of him with an invisible smile for the boy reminded him of someone from his past.
'Although he is more light-hearted and innocent'. Momon tells himself. "Nabe let's go".
Inside the room he rented, Momon takes off his helmet with a spell, like the headgear, the whole armor was made of magic, including the swords, and the only piece of attire that wasn't magically generated was his red cape, named the Spawn's cape, after some American comic book. (A/N: Yes this is canon; you can check on volume 2 of the novel)
Under the helmet, it is revealed that Momon is none other than Ainz Ooal Gown, the undead Overlord and supreme being that leads the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
'I didn't think I would've met Link again so soon… wait, does he know who I was under the helmet? Did he find out I'm a player and wants to kill me using the fact that I'm strong as a reason so we can fight on a spar where he will finish me?' Ainz panics over his head.
"A supreme being shouldn't stay in a place like this," Nabe, or Narberal Gamma, says with a huge distaste for their room.
"It's okay, Narberal". Ainz says calmly after his emotional suppression takes effect and he takes a sit in one of the beds. "So, these are the adventurers. People controlled by the guild which mostly works by killing dangerous beasts and monsters that may threaten the city. This work is more unfortunate than I imagined".
Ainz, like Link, thought being an adventurer meant exploring the unknown and discovering new things, be treasures or knowledge, to know the name is used as a replacement for monster hunting was depressing for him as it was for Link who also wanted to go on a journey of discovery.
"What should we do to that insolent woman and that hooded boy?" Narberal asks with an impassive expression and tone.
"They both are iron-ranked adventurers, which is a higher rank than us. As rookies, we should let them keep their images". Ainz said as a reasonable excuse for Brita and a desperate excuse for Link, Ainz already confirmed the hylian was level 100, the last thing he wanted was for Narberal to die fighting someone far above her. 'Though, how did Link reach the rank of iron so quickly? By my calculations, he should've started on this job only yesterday.'
"I understand". Narberal closes her eyes and gives a calm sigh in response to her master's words.
"Do you hate humans?" Ainz's voice was monotone but there was a small amount of hope behind his words.
"They are despicable". Narberal says immediately.
'So, she also shares Albedo's opinion'. Ainz tells himself before speaking back to her. "What about Link?".
"I read the reports about him". Narberal doesn't answer as fast as she did when the first question was asked, she takes her time to think, putting one hand over her chin and diving deep into thoughts. "I don't know, he is an outsider, he wasn't created by the supreme beings, by all accounts I should hate him, yet when he grabbed my hand I didn't feel anger, it felt… light, calm".
Those words made Ainz have thoughts about Link, Narberal has negative karma of 400, and for Link to make her feel like that while being an outsider could have two explanations, the first is that Narberal acted with some primitive survival instinct, Link is level 100 while Narberal is level 66, in an attempt to survive Narberal follow her instincts and submitted to him, the other explanation could be that Link's karma was positive, at least 500 if it makes Narberal feel like the way she did, that could be a problem for Ainz, one of the undead weakness is the light element, and someone with high volumes of positive karma like Link could automatically have a buff on their light type attacks, just like negative karma gives a boost to his dark magic.
'It seems like Link gets more dangerous the more I learn about him'. Ainz looks at Narberal and sees that she is still looking at him waiting for a response. "I understand your feelings, and I won't ask for you to change, now Narberal, while we are one a human-populated area I ask of you to not antagonize them".
"Yes, Ainz-sama… what about the elf Link?" Narberal asks.
"He is a hylian Narberal. Answering your question, for now, don't do anything, Link is friendly and wants no conflict, so I ask you to not do anything harsh nor act against him while he is nearby". Ainz says, more worried about Narberal than the hylian. "For now, our objective is to gather information while being disguised as adventurers, once we reach the higher ranks we will be able to find the best jobs and the most useful information".
"Understood, Ainz-sama". Narberal says.
"It's Momon". Ainz says, putting his helmet back and assuming the Momon persona. "At the moment we already have a problem, we got no money!" Ainz shows his hand holding a few copper and silver coins, facing the exact problem Link has with his rupees, except with YGGDRASIL's gold. "We need to find some work and fix this problem".
Back at the guild, Ainz is in front of the quest board, Nabe on his left, Link on his right, while the former The Legend of Zelda player already learned this new world's alphabet, Ainz wasn't so lucky, to make matters worse Link told Ainz that he could pick any job he wanted since his iron-rank would allow them to pick jobs above Ainz's copper-rank.
While Ainz is deciding what job to take Link listens to the comments directed at him and the warrior at his side.
"Look at that armor, how much had it cost?" One adventurer asks.
"He's only copper rank, must be just some rich noble who asked it from daddy". Another one replies.
"What about the small one, Link wasn't it? Why do you guys think he dresses like that?" A third adventurer asks.
"Must have been trying to hide scars". The second one comments.
"Wouldn't surprise me, I heard he killed 20 goblins and destroyed their nest". The first one says.
"That's a four men job, *tsk* no wonder he was promoted to iron in only one day". The third one says.
Link frowns as they start laughing, it was clear they were mocking Link's work due to jealousy, the same for Momon only in this case they were jealous of his money. Before Link could do anything Momon grabs one of the quests and goes to the counter, Link could barely see what quest did he take, but he saw it was Mithril rank, making the hylian wonder what he was trying to do, for some unknown reason though, he was sure he and Momon could do this mission no problem, but rules are rules, and he doubts the guild would let them take the quest.
"I would like to take this quest". Momon says, giving the file to the receptionist.
The receptionist looks at it confused at first but quickly recomposes herself.
"I'm sorry, but this is a Mithril rank quest". She says what Link already predicted.
"I know". Momon says making Link raises an eyebrow, really wondering if Momon was really going to do what he was thinking. "That is why I chose it".
'He is'. Link thought, smiling at the determination of the warrior in front of him. 'No wonder he became an adventurer, he is a free spirit, just like me'.
"I'm sorry, but the rules must be followed". The receptionist said.
For a moment Link felt the impulse to go do the job just to prove they could do it but stopped himself, Momon was in charge on this one so he would follow the lead, just like the hero of time always did with Zelda back when it was all just a videogame.
"It is a stupid rule". Momon says seriously and Link nods slightly.
"If you fail, there is a good chance many will die". The woman continues.
"Well, my partner is a magic caster who can use tier 3 spells". Momon comments, making all gasp in surprise, Link being the exception as he starts to remember what he learned about magic in this world. "And I am a warrior on the same level as her, and I'm sure Link is at the same level as me. We want to do quests worthy of our abilities".
Link smiles at the vote of confidence, although he can't stop himself from wondering what level Momon thinks he is, the way he spoke Link assumes Momon considers himself on the same level as Gazef, or maybe above.
'This is so hard when there is no level system'. Link thought.
"I'm really sorry, but the rules must be followed. You can't take this quest". The receptionist bowed her head, Link thought it was unnecessary since she was just doing her job.
"I see". Momon says a little dejected. "There is no way then. I apologize for my selfishness. In this case, give us the hardest iron-rank quest you have".
"Aye". She says before leaving.
"Would you like to help with our mission?" A voice says making the trio look at the source.
The speaker was a man, probably the leader, amidst a group of four silver-rank adventurers.
Momon, Link, and Nabe followed the four to a private room on the upper floor which is usually used for meetings between clients or the staff, but it could be used by adventurers too.
"So, let us introduce ourselves". The man with the spike orange-ish hair says. "I am Peter Mauk, leader of the Swords of Darkness team".
He then gestures to the blond man sitting on a separate chair from the group.
"That is our eyes and ears, Lukrut Volve, the team's ranger". Peter presents his comrade.
"Hi". Lukrut says with a goofy smile while waving at Nabe who just closes her eyes and ignores him, Link gives a soundless chuckle at the sight.
"This guy here manipulates nature and healing magic, Dyne Woodwonder, the druid". Peter introduces the druid, a man with a full belly and beard.
"Nice to meet you". Dyne says politely.
"And last but not least, the genius who is the head and brain of our team, Ninya the mage" Peter introduces the final member, a petite boy, even smaller than Link, with brown hair and blue eyes.
"Nice to meet you". Ninya shyly greets the three and looks at Peter. "Could you stop calling me that?".
"Why though?" Peter asks a rhetorical question.
"This guy has a talent". Lukrut says pointing at Ninya.
"Hoo, a talent?" Momon says.
Link heard about talents from Gazef, apparently, some people, one between two hundred, are born with a special talent that gives them some advantage in a specific field, not like in his old world, in this world it made you like ten times better than a normal person, it was hypocritical from Link's part but he didn't like the fact that just because you were born gifted you would always be better than someone who worked hard their whole lives.
Momon was having similar thoughts on the matter.
"He has magic talent". Peter says. "He learns magic half the time one would normally need. He learned a spell that takes eight years to learn in four, didn't you?".
"This is incredible". Momon says, Link looks slightly to the side but nods his head in agreement, still not liking the unfairness despite his own unfair circumstance of being a former human now in the body of a hero.
"I was lucky to be born with this talent, it made me take my first step forward toward my dream". Ninya says.
"He is pretty famous in this city". Peter adds.
"But there is someone more famous than me". Ninya attempts to take the attention away from him.
"You must be talking about Bareare". The druid comments.
"Oh?". Momon murmurs and proceeds with the introductions. "This is Nabe and Link, I am Momon, please take care of us".
Nabe gives Momon a look akin to shock or worry while Link only nods to the Sword of Darkness.
"What kind of talent does this Bareare possess?". Momon asks.
"I see, you must not be from E-Rantel if you don't know". Peter takes a sit before starting to explain.
"No, we only arrived yesterday". Momon says.
"Nfiria Bareare is his name, he is the grandson of a famous pharmaceutical". Peter says. "His talent allows him to use any magic item, no matter the requirements they possess".
That gave Link pause, he starts to think about the implications, and he starts to wonder if this Nfirea could use the Master Sword, in the games the sword could only be used by the Hero chosen by the goddess, but this is not a game anymore, and while there is a chance that only Link can be the wielder, this talent could bypass it, Link furrows his brow at the thought, he doesn't know this Nfirea nor if he is a good or bad person, but to avoid possible troubles in the future he would not let him even touch the Master Sword.
'What if there is a talent that allows you to steal or copy other talents?' Link thought.
Such thoughts terrorize Link making him steel his resolve to not let anyone use the Master Sword.
"About our mission". Peter resumed their talk. "Our objective is to eliminate the monsters that are close to the city".
Monster hunting, Link was already expecting it, most of the quests on the board were the same, making the work of an adventurer look more like pest control than a real journey. Link ignores the explanation for he knows what it will entail already, in a few words, kill monsters, collect proof of their death, bring it to the guild, and collect the money.
'These guys are silver rank though. They got to know about something cool, if I'm gonna be a monster hunter at least give me a real fantasy fight, like a dragon or a frost giant from Norse mythology' Link tells himself.
"So, what do you think? Do you want to come with us?" Peter asks.
"Yes, please take care of us". Momon says. "Although, if we are to work together, I shall show you my face".
Their talk brought Link back to the real world, mainly Momon's words, Link figuratively sweats as he sees Momon taking off his helmet, his face was similar to Nabe's, with narrowed eyes and raven black hair, and his skin was a little more tanned compared to how pale Nabe looks.
Link's mind is once again taken away that he doesn't notice the comments everyone makes on Momon's appearance and he only comes back once the warrior looks at him, soon realizing he is not the only one as the rest got all their eyes on the hylian.
'Sorry Link, but I somehow need to make sure you are the same guy I met and not coincidentally someone with the same name, height, eyes, and voice'. Momon thought.
Link takes a look at the expectations shown on the face of everyone, the pressure would squash him if he was in his old body, but here it was just mildly annoying. Giving a loud sigh the hylian's hands go to the hood over his head and he slowly removes it, it was not for dramatic effect but for the reaction that they will probably give him, and the reluctance of being called an elf once again.
When the cards or in this case, headgear, were laid on the table, they all were surprised, except Momon, though, Link couldn't tell since he didn't move, and his face was covered by the helmet. To Link the reactions that stood out the most were Ninya and Nabe's, the first was blushing for some reason while the second just softens the stern glare she was giving him since the moment they met, but only a little thought.
"Are you an elf?" Peter asks.
"Are you a girl?". Lukrut asks.
Link doesn't know which question was the most frustrating, so he just bit his lower lips and closes his eyes as he picks up his headgear from the table and puts it back over his head.
"Not an elf… not a girl". Link says calmly.
"What about your relationship with Nabe?". Lukrut asks Momon and Link, with the latter just blinking.
"She is only my companion". Momon says making Lukrut get off his chair and shame himself.
"It is love at first sight! Please go out with me". The ranger gets on his knee next to Nabe.
"Shut up vermin. Talk to me only when you know your place, or I shall cut off your tongue". Nabe responds showing no emotion in her voice and face.
"Thank you for the beautiful rejection". Lukrut says with grace AND BOWS TO Nabe, offering her his hand for a shake. "Then let us start by being friends".
'Dude she doesn't even want to stay close to you'. Link sweat drop at the scene,
"Do you want me to take off your eyes with a spoon vermin?". Nabe says, closing her eyes.
'I reiterate my former statement; she doesn't even want to look at you'. Link narrows his eyes and slightly shakes his head in disapproval, Lukrut didn't reach the point of sexual harassment yet, but he is very close to doing it with the way he is in Nabe's personal space.
Before the ranger could say anything else Peter slaps him hard on the head and apologize for his behavior, Momon does the same regarding Nabe's own behavior but didn't hit her, Link thought it was unnecessary. While Nabe had gone too hard on the threats. it was just that, threats.
'It's not like she was really going to do those things to him'. Link thought.
When everything that needed to be spoken was said they all got on their feet and prepared to leave. Walking down the stairs they all notice a crowd gathered in the main lobby of the guild, one woman, the same receptionist that refused Momon the Mithril quest approaches the bottom of the stairs, looking at the group, mainly Momon with concern all over her face.
"Mr. Momon, you have been requested for a mission". She tells him.
"Who requested me?" Momon asks, stopping in the middle of the stairs and making the rest follow suit.
"Nfirea Bareare". She gestures to the crowd.
A young man with dirty blond hair covering the upper half of his face approaches the bottom of the stairs, Nabe gets in front of Momon going for her sword for some reason until she is stopped by the warrior who karate chops her head.
'What if she did that to someone like Link?' Ainz thought in despair until his emotion suppression activated. "Don't act without thinking". Momon whispers to her.
"I'm sorry". Nabe whispers back.
Link doesn't pay attention to their talk as he was busy wondering what Nabe's intent was with her sword, while Nfirea was someone to be aware of because of his talent, any experienced fighter could tell at a glance that the boy was no warrior and presented no physical threat.
'This girl needs to chill'. Link thought.
"Nice to meet you". Nfirea introduces himself. "As the lady said, I was the one who requested you".
"I'm sorry". Momon says raising his hand. "But I've already accepted another request. I'm honored by your request but…".
"Momon-san". Peter interrupted. "It is a personal request".
"It is. But finishing the request I already accepted is good sense". Momon says.
Link, and many other adventurers downstairs who heard Momon, nod in agreement, honor dictates that any agreement should be fulfilled, had Momon accepted Nfirea's request he would be seen as someone who goes back on his word. Link's respect for the warrior increases as he would've done the same thing.
"But this is a personal request". Peter insists instead of using arguments, making Link frown under the hood for his attempt, although unaware, of making Momon forget his honor.
"How about this, I'll make my decision after hearing Bareare's proposal". Momon says, turning his head to look at Peter.
They all return to the room they were in just a few minutes ago, Link sighs loudly, feeling like he was in some kind of re-run, he knows this is the procedure, but introducing themselves one more time was tiresome, so he just stayed quiet and let Momon introduce him to the boy, Link is thankful for the warrior to notice he wasn't much of a talker.
"Nice to meet you all". Nfirea says after all their introductions were over. "I'm Nfirea Bareare, I'm a pharmacist in this town. I plan to collect some herbs in the forest of Carne Village so I would like for you to escort me while I collect the herbs.".
That got Link's attention he had been in that village less than a week ago after he and the warrior captain, with the help of Ainz Ooal Gown, fought Nigun and his men, Link didn't stay there for long, thanks to his Mipha's Grace, he was able to immediately cure all of Gazef's men who survived the battle and left immediately.
Mipha's Grace was an item from Breath of the Wild, in the game it resurrected the player to full health plus extra temporary hearts, but here in this new world it was able to cure wounds and didn't need time to recharge, costing Link only his magic, Link wanted to use it to resurrect Gazef's men who died too but he couldn't due to the possibility of becoming a target to people in power, and other influential people if they knew he could resurrect the dead, and because of the possibility of being marked as some kind of heretic and hunted down, this was a medieval world so it wouldn't be strange for it to have many religions and fanatics who love a witch hunt, the Theocracy was proof enough. It pained Link to not be able to resurrect them and the people of Carne who died due to the risk of them also being hunted down too or curse their own existence after being revived.
Hearing about the village makes the hylian want to go there and see how the people are holding up considering the trauma and difficulty they've been through just recently.
"I would pay you…" Nfirea says but is interrupted by Momon who looks at Peter.
"Peter". Momon says. "Would you like to be hired by me?"
"What do you mean?" Peter asks, showing confusion over what Momon is planning.
"A ranger like Lukrut is necessary for an escort mission. If we are going to a forest, a druid like Dyne would come in hand." Momon says.
"A good perception you have Momon". Dyne comments.
"I wouldn't mind". Lukrut says raising his hand.
"We are grateful for asking". Peter says.
"Fine by me". Nfirea says.
"Great". Momon says. "One last question. Why me?".
Momon looks at Nfirea and despite the fact that his eyes were hidden by his hair Link could see the eyebrows raising, the hylian crosses his arms and pays attention to the explanation for he knows there's a high probability of Nfirea lying or not telling the whole truth, it's what most contractors do, especially when they go all the way to hire the adventurers themselves.
"I arrived in this town yesterday. I don't have any friends or acquaintances. So why me?" Momon asks and Link leans forward.
Nfirea just smiles and answers the question. "Actually, I heard about what happened at the inn".
That was a lie, but also the truth, as Link suspected, Nfirea is hiding something, which makes the hylian raises an eyebrow at his next words, Link would not risk these people's lives and safety, but he will also give Nfirea the benefit of doubt, if he tells the truth before this conversation was over Link would let it pass, if he didn't, the hylian would call him out.
"I heard from a client about how you defeated experienced adventurers in the blink of an eye. The person whom I used to hire moved away, so I think it is time to hire someone new, also, I think hiring someone of copper rank is cheaper".
"That is true". Momon comments, he grabs his copper insignia and looks at it deep in thought.
"Any other question?" Nfirea asks looking at the whole group.
Link raises a hand, it seems he surprised everyone given the expression they were showing, or maybe because they got used to the fact he isn't much of a talker and is surprised for him being willing to speak, for Link's part, he didn't felt or noticed any ill intent or malice from Nfirea but the fact that he didn't tell them the whole truth was still standing, so it was time to come clean.
"There is… another reason.". Link says. "Another reason for hiring Momon… that you are not telling".
That makes eyes widen, narrow in Nabe's case who looks at Nfirea with a glance so sharp it could cut. Nfirea feeling the pressure of having all eyes on him starts to get nervous, but fortunately, he relents.
"Yes, it is true, there is another reason for hiring Momon-san". Nfirea says, getting gasps out of the Swords of Darkness. "This client showed us a potion that I never see anything like it before, a red potion, one of the reasons I'm hiring Momon-san is because I wanted to ask him about that potion".
"Lying is bad… it shows lack of trust… and breeds conflict". Link says and everyone nods at his words.
Then, the hero of time starts to think about what Nfirea said, he never saw red potions before. There were too many implications over that statement, but the most obvious one is that in this new world, TLOZ potions and elixirs were never made or Nfirea never saw one.
Momon gets on his feet and puts his hand over Nfirea's shoulder.
"Link is right, if you wanted to know about the potion, all you needed to do was ask" Momon tell him gently.
"I understand, Momon-san. I also understand if you don't want to do the job anymore". Nfirea says with a little sorrow, clearly regretting his course of action.
"Now, now, I didn't say that". Momon says with a humorous tone. "We will still go, isn't that right?".
Everyone nods and gets on their feet, they had a job to do, and an adventure to start.
Unknown to all of them, in the cemetery of E-Rantel, a sinister plan was in the making, and this plan would come to fruition real soon, changing their lives forever.
Author's note: Okay, serious confession here, on my original draft Link would go with Brita on her quest and he would fight against Shalltear and meet Brain, who would become part of Link's team. But I decided to not go with it because it was Ainz's fight with Shalltear that granted him the adamantite rank, so I will "skip" the final arc of season 1/volume 3 and write an original arc with only Link going on a quest to get his own adamantite rank.
Now let's talk about Brita and Clementine, as you saw I cut off their scenes at the potion store and cemetery because Link's presence didn't change anything so it would just be a copy and paste from the original, unlike Gazef's which I will make t whole chapter about him and Link's influence when Jaldabaoth arc begins.
Okay then, thank you for reading, follow and favorite if you want, also, leave a review, feedback is always appreciated. (please be polite if you didn't like it)
English is not my first language.