Chapter 5

Adventurer's Guild – E-Rantel

Third Person POV

Link was mentally exhausted. Since the guild had never seen a dodongo before he had to give the staff all the information he had on the creatures, and since the dodongo he brought was the king he had to repeat the process twice since kings are different from regular dodongos and because there could be more variants like a queen or a sentinel, (trolls and goblins have those) they couldn't risk this new specie recently discovered to have some of those as well.

The hylian looked at his side and unlike him, the dark warrior was having less trouble with the giant hamster since it could speak and answer all it knew about itself, some you win some you lose, Link had the best fight, but Momon had the best interview with the guild since he didn't need to do anything but watch as the wise king answered all the questions about its species.

Lowering his head with a sigh of disappointment the hylian turns his attention back to the receptionist who is filling the file with the information Link gave her. After she is finished Momon and Link are approached by a man Link knew only by name. Pluton Ainzach, the guild master, is a man in his early 40s, but still managing to look mighty and majestic, he has a mustache trimmed and smooth in the handlebar mustache style while his skin and muscles look like those of a man still in his prime, his hair has grayed obvious from the stress of previous quests. He is dressed in a green silk shirt with a brown sleeveless coat over it, blue pants, and black boots. The hylian looks him up and down and wonders why the guild master would approach them.

"Link-san, Momon-san". Pluton starts. "Would you mind coming to my office? I promise you it will be quick."

"But of course guild master". Momon says with a polite tone while Link nods twice to the man. "Forgive him, he isn't much of a talker."

"Aye, I've heard the rumors". Pluton says with a weak chuckle. "This way gentlemen."

It didn't take long for the adventurers to reach Pluton's office, getting inside Link observed the room and found it pretty normal, it looked like the solar of every classics-obsessed millionaire from the movies, with book stands all around, furniture, and decoration all Victorian-era-like and even a metal sculptured lamp in the desk. The carpet was wine-colored with the adventurer's guild insignia sewed in a lighter red shade, over it were two chairs in front of a desk very well carved and Link could see the images of two lions standing on their rear legs on each side roaring to the sun in the middle which the hylian supposed represented the God of Fire.

Link has heard that in the RE-Estize Kingdom, many follow the Four Great Gods, and the same for the Roble Holy Kingdom. The Empire on the other hand was freer regarding religion as the rumors said the Emperor wanted to expand his country's religion and allow all of them. Last, there is the Slane Theocracy who worshiped the Six Great Gods, these were the ones who intrigued Link the most, according to Nigun they descended from the skies six hundred years ago and saved mankind which was on the brink of extinction and freed from their lives as stock from other species such as the dragons and beastmen, while Link agreed with their actions of freeing humanity Nigun also told him that the Six Great Gods religion teach that humanity is the gods chosen race and cleaning this words from all demihumans and heteromorphs was their duty, Link didn't think it was the Six who taught that but a priest with too much hate inside that started this.

Link was not a very religious person back in his old world, and like his old world, this new one already had too many gods for his taste, the Four Great Gods, the Sic Great Gods, and the Eight Greed Kings which are considered gods, then there are the minor gods that are also considered deities, and for some reason even Buddha existed in this world. For the hylian though, these religions didn't matter, if he was to follow one then he would follow the three goddesses from Hyrule, Din, the Goddess of Power, Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom, and Farore, the Goddess of Courage sounded more appealing than the gods of these new worlds.

'Though that begs the question, where did these supposed gods go after their descent?' Link asks inside his head.

"Please, take a seat". Pluton says pointing to two cushion chairs in front of his desk.

Link and Momon do as they are told with the guildmaster sitting over his desk, he told them it would be a quick talk, so he probably didn't want to waste time and energy going to his chair.

"First I would like to thank you for what you did, if those monsters hadn't been stopped then they could've attacked the village and E-Rantel in the future". Pluton says with gratitude, giving the two adventurers a bow with his head.

"Think nothing of it, we just did what was necessary". Momon says, Link nods in agreement.

"Even so I'll still thank you. Seeing those creatures, I highly doubt that just anyone could stop them". Pluton says. "But that is not why I've called you. It is about your promotion. While I know you will reach the top one day due to the rules I can't promote you higher than Platinum."

"Why so?" Momon asks.

"While you and Link defeated your opponents by yourselves the work you two did was in a group, so per rules, your achievements also count as your companions' achievements". Pluton tells them.

Link understood why there was such a rule, but Momon apparently didn't since disappointment was all over his body.

"I see". Momon tells the guildmaster.

"I know it is not fair, but these rules exist because individually not every adventurer has abilities equal to their ranks". Pluton says looking at the hylian. "Link here is a good example, his first job was to eliminate a goblin's nest, this is a copper rank job but one that required a group of four to do it, yet he did it by himself and earned his rank plate."

"Very well then". Animosity returned to Momon's voice, Link smiled seeing that his companion understood why such a rule existed and would not interfere in the future if they wanted to team up again. "I'll accept the Platinum promotion."

"I'm glad you understand". The guildmaster nods at the adventurer. "I'll have the petition for your new plates made once you officially finish your job with the herbs, until then, keep up the good work."

"I will". Momon nods and gets off his chair.

Link follows the dark warrior and bows to the guildmaster before leaving. Now the two adventurers walk to the entrance where Nabe is waiting for them with the big hamster.

"All things considered". Momon starts, attempting to get Link's attention. "I'd say we did well, though it is somewhat frustrating to prove your strength again and again."

Link nods in agreement, while Platinum wasn't a bad jump over ranks Link was still only halfway from Adamantite, once his job was finished, he would go to the Azerlisia Mountains which means he would stay away from the guild and be unable to take jobs and rise up on the ranks again so soon.

'Maybe I should take a Platinum job that it's in the direction of the mountains or close to them, so when I finish it, I can go there directly and rise up again'. Link thought.

"That dodongo". Momon says, making Link pay attention to him. "You seemed familiar with it. Have you seen its kind before?"

Link nods to the warrior, he remembers for a moment his fight with the beast, the hylian won the fight without taking any hits but he notices something during his combat, the dodongo while not following its battle pattern from the games still had a pattern of attack, in the games when it started rolling around it would stop after some time while the one Link fought probably wouldn't stop, it was safe to assume in the past it had battle someone and learned that if they stopped rolling it would be vulnerable.

'Meaning that it was smart enough to learn from its past experiences'. Link thoughts were scary, intelligent beasts were harder to slay and more cunning, crocodiles are a good example, when their prey is out of reach, they will either try slow approaches or distance themselves from it in an attempt to make themselves confident enough and get closer to the water.

'That creature didn't exist in YGGDRASIL and apparently, no one but Link has ever seen one, by now I can almost be sure that Link isn't a player so whatever that dodongo is, it might be something from his land, if so, it would beg the question of why it was here, would it be a mating season and it was migrating to these lands, it could also have been captured when it was a baby to be sold by the black market but escaped. Too many possibilities, but I can't lose focus, there can be more creatures from Link's land that no one else has seen but him, which means he will be my only source of information if there are more, from what I heard about Link's battle that dodongo was probably level 75, it is the strongest creature I've seen since arriving, what if there is an army of those or worst, what if there are level 100 creatures all around that Hyrule Link spoke of'. Momon's thoughts would've been interrupted if Link hadn't been doing the same, the dark warrior notices that he is also thinking about something and decides to continue his conversation with the hylian. "Do you think there could be more creatures like it in this country?"

"…Maybe". Link says, he wanted to say more but the problem is, there was nothing more to say, many of the creatures of Hyrule could live in a country like RE-Estize, and that worries the hylian, what if something is wandering in these lands wearing Majora's Mask. "On alert… we must be."

"Indeed". Momon says as they reach the doors.

Exiting the guild both adventurers watch a crowd gathering to watch the two creatures Momon and Link brought to E-Rantel, the hylian couldn't stop himself from chuckling as he watched four grown men desperately trying to carry the dead dodongo to the guild's backyard, Link supposed it is hurt pride since they decided to drag the creature as Link did instead of putting it on a wagon and make it easier on themselves.

"Sorry for the wait". Momon says, gathering the attention of his companions and the crowd around the beasts.

"It is fine". Nabe says.

"The registration is finished". Momon says as he walks toward the hamster to ride it. "From now on, your name is Hamusuke."

"Master, I'm thankful". Hamsuke says, looking at her owner as he sits on his mount.

"It speaks, could the other one also do it?" Someone in the crowd says among all the gasps.

"Incredible."

"Could these creatures really have been defeated by Cooper and Iron Plate adventurers?"

"He is mounting an incredible magic creature and the other managed to kill that horrible beast. Aren't they famous adventurers?"

Among the crowd someone approaches the four, it is an old woman, her face is full of freckles, and her most prominent feature is her rounded nose. Link is the first to notice the old woman approaching them and takes a look at her, she isn't tall, almost the same height as a child, and her clothes are simple with only the green apron and cloth in her head standing out as it smells like herbs.

"Hey, aren't you the adventurers that escorted my grandson when he went to collect herbs? I'm Nfirea's grandmother, Lizzie Bareare". The old woman asks Link who clicks his tongue as he rather had Momon do the talking and looks at the dark warrior.

"We traveled with him to Carne Village as his bodyguards". Momon says, coming to the Hylian's rescue. "My name is Momon. These are Link, Nabe, and…"

"I'm the wise king of the forest". Hamusuke says, raising her head and almost dropping Momon. "Now my name is Hamusuke!"

'How the standards for the title of wise have fallen'. Link says inside his head as he turns it to watch the four men still humiliating themselves trying to carry the dodongo's body making the hylian sweat drop at the sight. 'Just swallow your pride and go take the horses'.

"So, this creature is the wise king of the forest?!" Lizzie comments impressed, making Hamusuke raise her head once more, full of pride.

"That's right. I found her while I was working with your grandson and tamed it". Momon states matter-of-factly.

"What about the big lizard? Did you also defeat it?" Lizzie asks Momon.

"No, that one was slayed by Link here". Momon says, pointing at Link after shaking his head in response to Bareare's question.

"Incredible! So, where is my grandson". She asks looking at Link who sweatdrops and turns to face Momon asking for help.

"He went ahead to unload the wagon. We're going there now to collect our payment". Momon says.

"I see, why don't we go together?" Lizzie asks.

"I would love to". Momon says, Link nodding in agreement while Nabe remains unmoving.

The walk didn't take long, it was night already and most people were asleep, so the streets weren't as crowded as they are during the day. Momon and Lizzie are walking ahead with Link and Nabe following behind. Momon was speaking to the woman about his epic fight with the hamster and the hylian frowns listening to it, while Hamusuke is a giant hamster Link knows she is strong, meaning her fight with Momon was a good one, and Link couldn't stop himself from being annoyed for missing it.

Soon after the talk is over the group arrives at the potion store and Link frowns upon what he hears, or rather, what he doesn't hear, due to his hylian physiology Link can hear better than humans, but the problem is that humans would be able to hear if there were noises as well due to the silence of the night, but the potion store is completely silent and for Link, this fact is a red flag, even if Nfirea and the others had finished unloading the wagon with the herbs they would be talking or doing something that would make sounds, no matter how faint it would be loud enough to the human ear, the fact that there was only silence made the hero of time unsheathes his sword and shield, after the dodongo incident he forgot to change them to his fierce deity sword.

Momon and Nabe are the first to notice Link's change of behavior, Lizzie is too busy unlocking the door.

"Something wrong Link?" Momon asks.

"…Too quiet". Link answers.

Momon takes a few seconds to process and when he does he also takes his sword off his back with Nabe following suit.

Lizzie unlocks the door and prepares to enter until she is grabbed by Link, she looks at the hylian in confusion, watching him shake his head and go inside the store ahead of her.

"What is happening?" Lizzie asks.

"Stay behind us". Momon says as he enters the store right behind Link.

Inside the store, all lights are off, no candles, Link looks around and doesn't see or hear anything with his high senses, then, he focuses on the wooden counter and goes to it, behind the counter there is a door, slowly and carefully the hylian opens it and sees a corridor on the other side, Momon and Nabe enters after Link.

"Where does this lead to?" Momon asks, looking at Lizzie who is the last one to enter.

"That is where we keep the herbs to make out potions". Lizzie says, pointing at the door at the end of the hallway.

The adventurers exchange a glance and share a nod, they both walk towards the door and open it, Link is the first to sense the smell inside, a putrid and decayed smell of miasma spread throughout the air after the door opened, making Link and Lizzie have to cover their noses. Inside the storage room, they find four of the five missing companions, Peter, Lukrut, Dyne, and Ninya, but no Nfirea.

"What happened here?" Lizzie asks, her voice trembling along her whole body. "Where is Nfirea?" There is fear and desperation in her tone.

"He is not here". Momon says. "Whoever came was specifically after him."

Link nods in agreement. Out of a sudden, the bodies of Peter, Dyne, and Lukrut start to move, soon they are on their feet, but Link can see they are nothing but mindless undead with the way their skin is purple and their eyes lack any sign of life. With their swords ready Link and Momon charge at the living corpses, Momon decapitates zombie Peter and Link pierces zombie Dyne's head, the only one left is Lukrut. When both warriors turn to face the final opponent they are already on the floor, burned to a crisp with smoke coming out of it, Link and Momon look at Nabe and see that she is pointing her finger in the corpse's direction, Link could've sworn he saw something akin to a smile on Nabe's lips, while Lukrut has been a pain in the ass for the both of them Link didn't believe he deserved this fate and hoped Nabe's smile was just a trick caused by his mind and stress of seeing his traveling companions bodies turned into zombies.

"Those are zombies". Lizzie states. "How did this happen?"

"We'll have to find out". Momon says.

Link takes out his Lens of Truth from his bag and Momon looks at him and his magical item with curiosity, Link could see it even with the helmet in the way.

"What is this Link?" Momon asks.

"Magical Item… Lens of Truth is the name… allows me to see through any illusion and find magical vestiges". Link says.

"…I see". Momon says. "I'll get out of your way so you can use it."

Momon doesn't waste time and goes behind Link as the hylian puts the lens in front of his eyes and looks through it, looking for any magical traces that might have been used in that place to find out what happened and if it could lead them to Nfirea.

The corpses of their former companions show that magic was used to turn them into zombies, Ninya was spared, but with the injuries the body possesses it is clear that whoever did this to the poor adventurer took their time, either torturing for information or just for their amusement. Luck appears to be on Link's side, whoever did this has done so using a magical object because a magical trace is found with the Lens of Truth and it shows a magic pathway that can lead to the responsible.

Link puts his item back in his bag and turns around seeing Momon and Nabe right behind him.

"Did you find something?" Momon asks.

Link nods at the warrior in response.

"Know how to find them". Link says and looks at Ninya. "Must take care of Ninya first… could you take care of the others' bodies?"

Momon nods his head and goes with Nabe to collect the other bodies. Link looks at Ninya and sees the exposed skin, her chest is covered by bandages, and it clicks on Link's mind the conversation he heard on their first night camping.

'So, Ninya was a she, guess this would explain a few things'. Thought Link, remembering the times Ninya called him cute or pretty as he searched her body for clues or any type of information that could lead him to her killers.

Taking his Sheikah Slate Link points it at Ninya, he knew he would have to try this now or later, and now it was a necessity, in the game, this only protected him from death, but this is not a game and many of his abilities had changed after arriving in this New World, this might be one of them, Link selects Mipha's Grace in his Sheikah Slate, still pointing at Ninya, he activates it and Mipha appears just like Sidon has. Mipha is a Zora, like Sidon, so the resemblances are obvious, she looks at Link and smiles before giving him a small hug, she can tell by looking into his eyes and her surroundings that Link is busy.

"I have answered your call Link". Mipha says.

Behind the hylian Momon and Nabe carefully watch what is happening in front of them, Nabe had gone for her sword when Mipha first appeared but was stopped by her companion, Momon was too curious to see how things would turn out to interfere.

Link points his hand towards Ninya's body and Mipha's eyes widen at the sight, believing it was too brutal and cowardly to do such an act against a girl so young and innocent.

"You want me to revive her?" Mipha asks and Links nods to her. "Very well."

An azure light surrounds Ninya's body, her wounds are closed, and her bruises disappear, after a few seconds the light dissipates, it worked, Link can already see Ninya's breathing by the small movements her chest is making, the hylian looks at Mipha and hugs her, grateful for her help and for what she did for Ninya.

"Thank you for helping". Link says.

"Always". Mipha responds, hugging him as well. "I'll see you again, it is a promise."

Link nods at her words and Mipha disappears. Link then grabs Ninya bride-style while she is still sleeping and goes to Momon and Nabe just as they've finished with the others' bodies.

"That was something…". Momon says. "Impressive, I didn't know you could use summon magic."

"Long… story". Link says.

"I'm anxious to hear it someday". Momon says.

"Someday maybe… too busy now". Link says. "I'll take Ninya someplace safe… then I'll be back to help you."

"That's for the best". Momon says.

Link leaves the two adventurers with Ninya in his arms. Now that the two are alone Momon looks at Nabe, his arms are crossed, and the surroundings appear to be colder than before.

"This is worrying". Momon says, Nabe looks at him in the eyes and nods in agreement.

"He is dangerous". Nabe says. "First he tracked Aura-sama, and now he has resurrection magic."

"Not only that". Momon says, his voice is more serious. "On YGGDRASIL you lose five levels after dying, I used the [Analysis] spell on Ninya, and Link's magic resurrected her the way she was before, no level loss.

This information made Nabe's eyes widen in surprise, and fear, when she heard from Albedo about Link being able to hurt their lord it was already a worrisome fact. Link had already proved he was a top-notch warrior, but now he also proved he possessed powerful magic, the trick with the fire arrow was something Nabe had dismissed as his only spell or just a special ability from his item, after seeing that summon she realizes she made a mistake, something she has to change in the future to better serve her master.

"How will we proceed?" Nabe asks.

"Link's demonstration on Carne Village and this recent summon made me realize Nazarick can and will face serious threats in the future, I already knew this was a possibility, but Link showed me it is not a possibility anymore but a fact, I've had many plans to strengthen Nazarick, but it won't be enough, we will need to innovate and be creative by expanding our options". Momon says, his chin resting in his hand as he dives into deep thoughts. "Maybe we can turn this situation in our favor?"

"How so?" Nabe asks.

"Lizzie Bareare, she is the best potion maker in the city, maybe in the entire Kingdom according to rumors, and right now she is under stress and fear of what might happen to her grandson. If we explore this window…" Momon says to himself.

"We can force her to swear loyalty to Nazarick and have a potion provider for the future". Nabe states.

"… Yes! Exactly my thoughts, Great job Nabe". Momon says, it was a half-truth, his thoughts were reaching Nabe's logic, yet she was quicker than him, but since he would've reached the same conclusion a few seconds later it wasn't a lie.

"Your words are beyond what I deserve". Nabe says and bows to her master.

"But we must be cautious, we need to make Lizzie think we are the only ones that can bring Nfirea back to her safe and sound". Momon says,

"What if she chooses Link to do it?" Nabe asks.

"A good observation, I see that you took my words from the forest to heart and are already learning how to adapt". Momon says, earning a small smile from his companion.

"I always do, whenever you tell me something, my lord". Nabe says with another bow.

"If Lizzie thinks about hiring Link, then we only need to make her believe Link is my subordinate, he is not here anymore so there is no one to deny my claims, and in her current state of mind she will most likely believe me". Momon says.

After finishing his talk with Nabe, the person they are talking about enters the room, Lizzie is clearly afraid for her grandson which makes Momon smile inside his head.

"Now, let us begin". Momon says and walks in Lizzie's direction. 'I'll need to work fast, from what Link told us he already found a way to track Nfirea's kidnappers, if he rescues Nfirea first I'll lose my chance of getting a new asset for Nazarick.'

Meanwhile

In the inn, Link is in his room putting Ninya's body over his bed, she is still unconscious and showing no signs of waking up. Link wished to stay and look after her, but Nfirea is still missing, and if he stayed the boy could be killed, or worse. The hylian picks a piece of paper, along with an ink flask and a feather from the drawer of his room's desk and writes a letter in it for Ninya to read in case she awakens and he is not there, he was never a good writer and is too much in a hurry to be delicate, so he doesn't mince his words and is direct, he tells in the letter that Peter and the others died, that Nfirea was kidnapped, and that he is going after the culprits and bring them to justice.

After finishing writing the letter, Link puts his greatsword back in his inventory and takes out the Master Sword and Hylian shield, he doesn't know what threats he will face, but he rather not leave anything to chance, he would rather be wearing his green outfit as well but he will have to wait until his adventurer rank has risen, this way he can avoid suspicious and other unpleasantness in case the people of this country have a disdain for non-humans.

Leaving the inn, Link goes to the stables and finds his companion. With too much time wasted he mounts Epona and charges with her into the potion store's direction.

It didn't take long to arrive at Bareare's store on Epona's back, Link approached the store and saw the owner outside, looking at him as if she was expecting his arrival.

"They went to the cemetery". Lizzie says, her voice a little on edge, making Link confused, and wondering why. "Your boss told me to inform you he went from the north entrance, so you need to go by the south to avoid their escape".

Link narrows his left eye in reaction to Momon being called his boss, but he lets it go, the fellow adventurer found what they were looking for and already devised a plan to catch the culprits, so he earned the leadership of this job, giving Lizzie a nod Link grabs the reigns of Epona and turn around with her, charging into the south entrance of E-Rantel's cemetery.

As Link approaches the cemetery he hears the sound of metal clashing, the closer he gets the more intense it sounds, once the cemetery is in view Link sees the guards fighting against dozens of undead skeletons. The guards are so busy with their opponents that they don't see the pile of bones joining each other and creating a massive creature.

One of the guards sees Link approaching, he takes a quick glance at the hylian plate and sees it is made of iron and lets out a grunt before turning his attention back to the skeletons.

"Go away, we need to hold them back until higher-class adventurers arrive". The guard tells Link.

Link ignores the guard's warning as he stands on his feet on top of the horse's saddle, ordering Epona to speed up before letting go of her reins and unsheathing the Master Sword. When Link is close enough Epona stops in her tracks and Link uses the impulse of the sudden movement to jump just as the bone-made giant is on his feet. Link firmly grasps the Master Sword's handle and pierces the giant on the forehead.

"*ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR*"

With a growl of pain, the pile of bones starts to lose shape and fall to the ground, Link pulls the Master Sword back and readies for combat again. The moment the hylian's feet touch the ground he charges at the skeletons the guards are fighting, slashing them one by one, and in less than 30 seconds no more undead is in sight.

The guards can do nothing but stare open-mouthed at the hylian, Link though couldn't waste any more time, so he pointed his sword at the cemetery's gate.

"Open". Link says, but the guards don't move. "…Now."

"Open the gate". The guard who appears to be the chief says.

The guard closest to the gate obeys and runs to it so he can open it, Link looks at the captain and nods at him in gratefulness.

"Good luck out there". The captain says.

"… Don't need luck". Link says with confidence.

"Who are you?". One guard asks.

"Link… iron-plate adventurer". Link says and charges at the now open gate.

Like in the gates, Link sees undead skeletons everywhere, this time they are accompanied by zombies. The hylian slashes them left and right, this amount of undead is too much to be a natural occurrence, leading the hero of time to believe whoever kidnaps Nfirea is also responsible for the undead emergence.

The moment the main mausoleum is in sight Link gets a strange feeling, the same one he got from the forest of Tob when he entered and before fighting the dodongo. Shaking his head Link dismisses it as just paranoia and continues his charge, hoping to find Momon and Nabe already there.

In the middle of his run Link stops and jumps a few feet backward. The strange feeling is back, and the reason is standing in front of Link. It is an undead skeleton, but very different from the others. This skeleton is tall, his head has some kind of crown on the top, his face has six beard-like red spikes and green eyes, his torso is covered by some cloth that covers its shoulders and upper rib cage, on his right hand he holds a sword and on his left a square-shaped shield, his hips and thighs are covered in bandages that give a pants-like appearance and it has two golden rings on the heels.

"Igos… du… Ikana". Link says the name of the undead he fought in the past on the game Majora's Mask. 'First the dodongo, now this undead, this is not a coincidence.'

"Well, well, well". Igos says with a humorous voice. "If it isn't the hero of time. We meet again it seems. And I'm itching for revenge after you defeated me."

Link furrows his brow at Igos words and readies his stance, if his fight with the dodongo was any warning is that this will not be like the game, and even if it was, there is no sunlight for Link to use to his advantage against Igos.

"Allow me to make the first move then". Igos says, jumping at Link and raising his sword.

Link rolls out of the way from where Igos lands as the undead delivers a slash at where the hylian was standing a second ago, Link's roll leads him right beside Igos. Seeing an opening the hylian thrusts the Master Sword into the undead, hitting it on the femur, making Igos take a step back and growl more in annoyance than pain.

"Still agile I see". Igos say.

Link doesn't respond, he only gives a war cry and charges at his opponent.

"Heya"

Igos doesn't stay behind and does the same.

"OOOOOOH"

The hylian goes for a horizontal slash while the undead goes for a vertical, both blades clash against each other. The opponents try to push back their adversary, faces almost touching as they grind their teeth and try to take a step forward and make the other retreat. Locked in a stalemate Link and Igos try a final push and both end up losing their balance and taking a step back, they recover at the same time and go for another clash of swords.

Every attack Link made Igos countered with an opposite attack, clank sounds resonated all over every time their blades met the other, up, down, left, right, no one could get an advantage over the other leading them to realize an advantage had to be created.

They both jump backward and stay 10 meters apart from each other, Link and Igos are looking for openings and opportunities to exploit, no one dares to move and only look at each other, Link's brow is furrowed and Igos' would be the same had his body still possess skin.

When the battlefield seems to have reached complete silence both warriors make their move, Igos launches his head at Link, remembering Igos used to make that move when this reality was still a game so Link raises the hylian shield to stop the attack. Once Igos' head hits the shield it retreats a few inches and bashes against it again. Link can see the undead was stronger than the dodongo for he is managing to make the hylian put more effort into standing his ground.

While Link is still blocking the head beating against his shield the headless body starts to circle the hylian. Link notices Igos' plan and starts to think about how to avoid getting into a pincer attack, when the head goes for another hit Link goes on the offensive and bashes his shield against it making it retreat a few meters, only to return faster than before, thanks to Link reflexes though he manages to block it once again.

With a plan in mind Link knows what to do and just waits for the headless body to get closer and in range, if he moves too soon Igos would evade, if he moves to late, he will get hit, a risk, but without sacrifice, there can be no victory.

It takes only a few seconds for everyone to get in position, Link doesn't waste time and act on his plan, first he pushes Igos head away with a shield bash, immediately after he turns around to block the upper slash the body would deliver with its sword, then Link pushes Igos' sword and body back just like he did with the head and jumps high in the air at the exact moment Igos' head was coming for another attack, with Link out of the way Igos' head hits agains the ribcage of the body and Link, in a backflip, while still in the air sheathes his sword and shield and takes off his bow and arrow, aiming right into Igos' head, he feels the magic drain from his body and with a smile he let's go of the arrow, in less than a second the projectile finds its target, Link's arrow pieces Igos' head and ribs and immediately the light spell Link uses is activate, like in Carne village a maelstrom that reaches the skies hits Igos whole body and Link watches his work, waiting to see if he achieved victory.

Once the light dissipates Link smiles, knowing that victory was achieved and an agent of Evil was destroyed given that there is nothing but dust where Igos was standing not too long ago. Link's victory doesn't last though for he remembers there are others in this place that still needs his help, the hylian turns around and runs towards the center of the cemetery, hoping he isn't too late.

Nabe POV

Nabe wasn't in the best of places, her master Ainz Ooal Gown, disguised as Momon for the time being, had limited her from using her full potential and that led her to her current situation, she didn't blame her master of course, all his actions have a plan behind them, and if he wants Narberal Gamma to limit herself then it is because he needs her to do it for his plan to succeed.

After Link used his strange summon to resurrect the human who didn't become a zombie, she and Momon took advantage of the window Link gave them, they managed to convince the old human that Link works for Nazarick and that if she wants her relative rescued, she must swear herself to Nazarick now and forever.

After that, Nabe followed her master to the cemetery after discovering it was where the kidnappers were, apparently, the person responsible wanted the male human for his talent to use any magical item and unleash a horde of undead to attack the city, why? she and her master didn't know, at this point it was irrelevant, their objective was to rescue the human and obtain a new asset to Nazarick.

Back to the present Nabe is facing her opponent, one of the kidnappers, the others were killed after just one spell, the survivor would've died too had a pillar of light not distract her for a second. The last survivor is a bald, old human, wearing a red robe, holding a staff in one hand and a black orb in another, he has just summoned a skeletal dragon and due to the restrictions her master had put on her Nabe is forced to face the undead dragon with only her physical capacities, a hard task since her melee attacks are better with blunt weapons instead of blades, but not impossible.

The skeletal dragon goes for an attack, Nabe has cast a few spells on her before and is prepared to act, once the dragon goes for the attack Nabe charges at it, she evades the claw targeting her with a jump and hits the dragon's head with her sheathed sword like it was a mace, making the dragon fall into the ground.

"Are you really just copper?" The bald human says in astonishment.

"It looks like the insect recognizes a superior when it appears in front of it". Nabe says.

"I won't allow it". The human says with disdain, he lifts his hand holding the dark orb while watching the skeletal dragon get on its feet and prepare another spell. "[Ray of Negative Energy]"

The dragon who had suffered real damage starts to heal, and the human then starts to cast more spells on it.

"[Reinforce Armor], [Lesser Strength], [Shield Wall], [Undead Flame]".

Nabe doesn't just stand and watch and does the same as the human.

"[Reinforce Armor], [Shield Wall], [Protection Negative Energy]".

The man smiles and watches as his summon charges at Nabe. She prepares to attack but before she can a blur too fast for her to see appears in her way, immediately after the dragon's head falls from its body and soon dissipates in the air once the full body turns into dust.

Nabe looks at the source and sees Link in front of her, sword and shield in arms, and looking at the bald human with eyes burning with determination. The human just stares completely dumbfounded, as if its mind is too primitive to understand his summon has been defeated in mere seconds.

"Who… are… you?" The human asks, his throat is dry because of how long his mouth has been opened, and his eyes tremble just looking at those blue eyes staring at him.

"… I am Link". Link says.

While the human and Link engage in talk Nabe takes this opportunity to speak with her master about this outcome and casts a silent spell over herself, followed by a message spell.

"Ainz-sama, a new development has occurred". Nabe says with [Message].

"What happened?" Ainz says.

"Link has arrived, it won't take long before he defeats the insect". Nabe tells her as she watches the human summon another skeletal dragon, at first, he tried to attack Link with his spells but all were ineffective, as Link repelled all attacks with his sword the human deluded himself into believing Link's sword was the reason he was able to defeat the skeleton dragon in one hit, saying it was magic and by attacking the dragon with a surprise attack it allowed Link to achieve victory, this comment made Nabe took the utmost effort to not roll her eyes due to how pathetic it was.

"Understood, I'll finish things on my end as quickly as I can. In the meantime, observe Link and if he ends the fight before I arrive do whatever you can to distract him, but do not open hostilities. Understood?" Ainz says.

"Understood.". Nabe nods her head and turns her attention back to Link.

The human had summoned another skeletal dragon, believing that since Link lost the surprise factor the hylian would be unable to win against another one. The ground shakes and a hole opens in the middle between Nabe and the bald human, from the inside the hole bones rise and the draconic shape appears in front of her once more.

"Stay behind me". Link looks over his shoulder at Nabe, even with his hood over his head the battle maid knows he is smiling underneath. "I know you don't need protection, but I'll give you regardless."

Nabe slightly tilts her head to the side at the gesture, she doesn't care for beings outside of Nazarick, yet Link's gesture does make her feel something that is not indifference, she wouldn't call it appreciation nor she was thankful for it, the best way she could describe it is the way she tells the hylian.

"It is acceptable". Nabe says with a nod.

"Why did they kidnap Nfirea anyway?" Link asks as he effortlessly defends them from the dragon's claw by just raising his shield.

"They want to use his talent to use a magic item that raises the undead by the hundreds and then attack the city with them". Nabe responds as she watches Link parry the dragon's tail that was being used as a whip with his sword, once again without effort, leaving only dust getting spread over the air due to the shockwave of the impact.

"I see". Link says as he cuts off the dragon's tail, making it retreat and the bald human casts another spell to help it. "What about Momon, where is he?"

"A woman was here before the fight started, she was the one that killed the other party, Momon-san took her away so they could fight with all they had". Nabe points at the undead dragon so Link can see it was cured again.

"I see". Link says before jumping into the air and cutting the second skeletal dragon's head, sheathing his sword and shield after the body turns into dust. "That makes him the only one left… right?"

Nabe nods at Link who takes a strange device from his pouch and aims at the bald human as he is once again dumbfounded and without words after witnessing the weak undead dragon get defeated without effort by the hylian.

Link shoots the device at the bald human. A long chain with an arrow-like tip swings through the air in the human's direction faster than most arrows, the tip penetrates the flesh of his knee and brings him right at Link's feet, the human screams in pain and denial about his summons' defeat, demanding to know how Link was able to do it before getting knocked out by a punch in the jaw.

Putting the man over his shoulder Link looks at the small black orb the human let drop, Nabe is about to say something but before she can do it Link smashes the magic object with his boot, it is obvious to the hylian that this item is what the human used to summon those dragons. Nabe had to bite her tongue, whatever her master could have planned with that magical object was now impossible, she knew he could fix it with his magic but Link used so much strength the entire thing became dust and the wind soon made it vanish through the air.

"It's over…" Link says.

Nabe comes back from her thoughts and notices he is right in front of her.

Nabe only nods, thinking about what to say to her master once he learns Link destroyed the magical orb before he could study it.

"Nfirea still missing". Link says.

Nabe notices the way Link speaks has changed once he isn't in combat, remembering her master's words she tries to distract Link, and thanks to the hylian's actions she has the perfect topic to discuss.

"Why did you break the orb?" Nabe asks, looking at where the hylian's feet were and watching the little dust left behind vanish in the air.

"Evil magic it has… with its destruction… it can't be used for evil anymore". Link says.

"We could've learned more about it". Nabe says only for Link to shake his head.

"Too risky… price not worthy". Link tells her.

Nabe sighed in disappointment, her orders were to not engage herself in combat with Link, and while she would fight him to the death had it been her master's will she knows that as things are right now, she would only waste her life always without achieving anything for her master's plan.

"Why did you spare him?". Nabe asks, looking with disdain at the human who dared to look down at her, had Link not been present the human would be dead by now.

"Not my right to decide… He will stand trial". Link says.

"Why?" Nabe tilts her head once more.

"Because unless I'm fighting for my life… I have no right to decide who lives and who dies". Link tells her.

"Looks like everything is fine". A voice speaks behind Link, making him turn around to see Momon, with Nfirea in his arms, Nabe smiles at the nod her master gave her, showing she succeeded in her mission.

"…Where is your opponent?" Link asks, looking behind Momon in search of the woman he was fighting with.

"Dead". Momon responds.

Her master then proceeds to explain to Link about Clementine, who she was, what she did, and how she was the one who tortured Ninya and the others before killing them. Link then explains his part of the story, Nabe and her master couldn't stop themselves from raising an eyebrow at the part where Link fought a powerful undead, from the information he gave them Nabe could assume even she would've been able to herself defeated against that Igos. She noticed a small amount of worry in her master as he asked Link if the bald human on Link's shoulder was responsible for that undead.

"No…". Link says, looking at the side and showing concern with his eyes. "I don't think he was responsible."

"Do you know who it is responsible then?" Momon asks with carefulness. "From your expression and tone that undead seemed familiar to you."

"I… I'll tell you another day… I promise". Link says and Momon nods in response. "I wanted to tell you… but I need proof that I'm right, and not just paranoid."

"Very well then". Momon says. "Time to go back, guess we'll have another talk with the guildmaster."

Link chuckles at Momon's words, they'd talked with the human who leads the guild less than twelve hours ago and they are going at it again.

Walking back to the guild Nabe takes a look at Link. She can't understand why he is this way, Link has shown he possesses the power to rival her master yet unlike him the hylian limits himself by following the human's rules and laws because he wants to, her master only does so because he wants to blend in so he can gather information and knowledge for his plan to conquer this world. No matter how much she tried, Nabe couldn't understand why someone so strong as Link would accept being dragged down by the weak.

Ninya POV

Ninya didn't think she would ever open her eyes again. The pain and memories were still fresh when she awakens. She takes a look around and recognizes the place, it is the inn used by rookie adventurers, she takes a look around and finds nothing, except a piece of paper. Ninya reads it and then re-reads it to make sure she didn't miss anything, it is hurtful and a tear runs down he cheeks once she realizes this is reality and not a nightmare, her friends are dead and she is the only survivor.

Putting the piece of paper she was reading back where she found Ninya asks herself where is Link and when he will return, only to have her answer by the door of the room slowly opening.

Ninya looks at the newcomer and just stares in shock, it is Link, now dressed in a green tunic with a hood on his head, that was not what shocked her though but the Mithril insignia on his neck.

"So… you're finally awake". Link says, making Ninya stop daydreaming.

"Did you save me?" Ninya asks, Link responds with a nod. "Thank you."

"No problem… we need to talk". Link says.

Ninya nods at the hylian in response. Link takes a small book from his pouch and the girl recognizes it immediately. The book is her personal diary, on the inside, Ninya has written many things, from her magical studies and notes to her personal life, she wanted to lash out at him for probably reading it without her permission but holds herself back, Link saved her life and took care of her, many wouldn't do half of it, so she just takes a deep breath to regain her calmness.

"Before I tell you, can you tell me in detail what happened after I was attacked and after you brought me here?" Ninya asks.

Link nods at her question. For the rest of the day they would talk, Link would tell Ninya about his fight in the cemetery and Nfirea's rescue, and Ninya would tell him about her life. After the hylian had shown Ninya compassion and care by keeping her safe, maybe one day she could do the same and make him open himself to her.


Author's note: Done. Okay, with Ninya and Khajit alive that makes three characters who are alive that had died in the canon, what butterfly effects will this cause? No idea, didn't plan that far ahead, but I'll do something with these characters, at least for Ninya I've already had everything figured out. Another thing that changed from the original plot is the black orb, though sincerely, that sub-plot went nowhere, by volume 10 Ainz completely forgot he gave that item to Hamusuke to keep it.

Thank you for reading, please leave a review, feedback always helps.

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English is not my first language.