Damn, I knew going for a hike today was a bad idea. I am sat in an office looking across a desk at a completely nondescript office drone of a man.
"Well it's not every day that we have someone come to us, it's normally us picking somebody up after they die." He said, only half paying attention to me while he works on his computer. Or maybe he's playing hearts.
"Look sir," I say, trying to inject as many apologetic tones into my words as I could. "I'm really sorry to interrupt your day, it was an accident, and I'll be glad to get out of your hair." It really had been an accident. I'd gone to Yellowstone National Park for a hike and while I was walking past a cave a black bear came out to chase me down. I got away from it… by running straight into a sinkhole.
I fell for what felt like a long time and then the scenery changed and I landed hard in this chair.
"I'm afraid that's not possible sir." The man said, still barely paying attention. "We have a policy that prevents us from sending anyone back to their original world." He let out a sigh at my downtrodden expression. "Give me a moment."
He waved his hand and then picked up the phone on his desk to make a call. I could see him talking but I couldn't hear him. Maybe he cast a silencing spell? It wouldn't be the strangest thing to happen today.
After maybe five minutes he put the phone down and I was able to hear the click. "After discussion with our Department of Recruiting as well as the Department of Workplace Accidents, we have made a decision." He said, turning to look at me fully. "As part reward for finding a hole in our defenses that needed closing and part recompense for the loss of your previous life, we are willing to give you one of two options: you can join us and work for us as a contractor, or you can be a freelance contractor."
I blinked once, twice, and then a third time before I scrunched my face in confusion. "Huh."
The man let out a long sigh. "Okay let me explain it to you as efficiently as possible. We are a company that exists outside of the known multiverse, our entire purpose is the acquisition, sale, and handling of men, women, children, property of any value in any multiverse." He made sure I was still paying attention before he continued. "Our agents, the ones who act on our behalf in the multiverse are known as Contractors, they have several benefits including, but not limited to: multiversal travel, sex, money, women, men, heritage, patrons, etc. On the other hand you can be an independent, also known as a freelancer. Basically it's the package that we give to our contractors and retinue members that want to retire, you pick a world and that is your new home from now on. You then have access to basically everything except for the patrons and the provided multiverse transportation methods, if you want it you'll have to figure it out using the materials available to you in your new home. Any questions?" He asked, somehow he managed to give the entire shpeal with an impressive deadpan.
"Uh… no?" I said, managing to make my answer into a question.
After a few minutes of contemplating I spoke again. "I think…" I paused one last time before making the final decision that would determine my future. "I think I'd like to be a Freelancer."
The only thing about the man's countenance that changed was a single eyebrow lifting in question. "Are you sure about that?"
I paused for one more moment before nodding. "Yes, I think one new world is all I need."
He looked at me for another moment before he returned my nod. "Very well." He said as he reached into one of his desk drawers and pulled out what looked like a smartphone box. "Everyone gets one of these, both regular and freelance contractors, it's how you access the company services." He then slid it over the desk and placed it right in front of me.
I pulled the phone out and initialized it. Before long I was brought to a Home Screen and was directed to make my choices for my starting world, or in my case my new home. Scrolling down the list there was one that stood out as "right".
World: Log Horizon selected
Condition?
I looked at the three options; the current condition was to start in Akibahara which would put me smack dab in the middle of the plot giving me 235 credits to spend. The second option would keep me in the Yamato server, but not in Akibahara which would give me 375 credits. The last option would be to start outside of the Yamato server, basically anywhere in the world, but I would receive 610 credits for the trouble. With two quick taps I was able to determine that I was able to come back to any page I'd already completed. So I moved on without changing from the default settings.
The next step was determining the intensity. After a few minutes of contemplation I made the following choices:
Team: Me and My Girlfriend(s)
Payment: 100%/0%
Bindings: Standard
Heritages: Only One
Template: One Each
Defenses: Immunity
Leveling: Automatic Connection
Personal World: Lawless
Worlds: Limited (Locked)
Warranty: Expiry
Death: Standard
It seemed like the best option for how I wanted to do this, so I moved onto the next step.
I decided that I wanted to enter as a possessed character, I wasn't sure who yet so I moved onwards before making the decision.
For the bindings I decided to get the base Tempest Jewelry (Ring) before moving onto the Lures. I quickly grab Faerie Feast since I know that good tasting food will be worth more than its weight in gold. After a moment of thinking I also select Zenryoku Zenkai, if there's any kind of a dueling system it'd be a pretty good way to influence people. I then snatch up the two upgrades for Faerie Feast; Master Chef and The Secret Ingredient is Love so my retinue can use the benefits of the Lure.
I moved on to the Heritage list, which was actually kinda easy. I chose to be a Pirate. While there are the thieving murdering bastards like half the crews from the Pirates of the Caribbean, there was also plenty of examples of relatively good ones; Edward Kenway, Jack Sparrow, and while I had never actually seen the show I was fairly certain that Monkey D. Luffy was a genuinely good person. And that is the kind of Pirate that I'm going to be.
I quickly select Under Jolly Roger, Bling, Booty, and Chests, And a Bottle of Rum, and after a few minutes of thinking I also choose Pirate Armada for the talents it provides as well as the ability to expand in the future.
Seeing the deficit in my credits I quickly go back and change the conditions to be outside of the Yamato server. I then shifted back to the Talents and Perks tab and was met with a list of available "Rides", vehicles from all over that I could buy. As much as buying a Venator class Star Destroyer would be fun, it was a little bit out of my price range. And then I saw the opportunity I needed.
M.S. Prima Vista: 50 Credits
Add-ons:
Fantasy Conversion now runs on its own mana: 10 Credits
Self repair: 20 Credits
Generates its own supplies for the crew: 50 Credits
Yes.
All of the yes.
Every good pirate needs a ship, you can bet your ass that I'm going to have the flying ship. I quickly dump 130 Credits into it and to my surprise an option appeared to customize the ships layout. I don't need a full stage built into the back third of the ship so it can go, but I'll keep the platform so that it can be used for loading and unloading larger materials. The tower in the back as well as the music gazebo are out. I adjusted the hull to have gun ports even though the guns themselves were extra, if I have any extra budget I'll swing back around. I ended up turning the rear of the ship into a massive four story cargo bay and was even able to add in retractable flooring so that the bay could be used to its maximum potential. I then placed a hallway that ran down the direct center line of the ship on each floor. I turned the bottom deck, now dubbed deck 4, into four separate storage rooms for food, water, ammunition, and the final room would be used for excess storage. Deck 3 was turned into the workshop area, with five rooms on each side of the ship being set aside to be used as either emergency passenger space or a more long term workspace for different purposes, six of which I immediately changed: one into a kitchen and another two were combined into a galley and the final three were all connected into an infirmary with an attached live in office. Deck 2 had the access halls to the four propeller turbines that were used to keep the ship airborne, so at the end of each of those halls I placed a four man bunk room for the maintenance crew of each, I also added four ten man bunk rooms one at each of the ships cardinal points, a ship this size has a crew of roughly 60, if I implement hot bunking there won't be any problems. Well other than getting the crew. Deck 1 was the one right below the main deck, this is where I placed the private rooms for my retinue and myself, a total of 15 rooms with seven on each side and my room on the bow. The final alteration was the bridge, all I did was just extend the window to be 360 degrees rather than 180 that it had previously since the theater tower in the back was removed.
Satisfied with my alterations I pulled back out to the Rides tab and scrolled further down to see if anything stood out to me, thankfully there were three that were pretty good:
Catch-A-Ride Crew Training Program: 5 Credits
Catch-A-Ride Crew Production Program: 20 Credits
Catch-A-Ride Crew Tier Upgrade: 40 Credits
The price was a bit steep but it was worth it to have a full crew without having to kidnap and/or hire people.
I placed the cloning chamber in the unused storage room on Deck 4 before moving over to the Demiplanes and Dungeons page and paused on the Pocket Space. With an automatic connection to the System of the world I should receive an Inventory, but if I remember correctly killing a player drops some random items from their Inventory. I take the perk so that I have a truly secure location for my materials. I pick up both Sexual and Fertility Calibration as I have no idea how babies would work and I have no desire to play a game of Fuck Around and Find Out… no pun intended. I quickly snatch up Body Tune Up as well so that everyone in my retinue will be at their physical prime.
Then I shifted over to the companions tab. After a little consideration I decided to Possess the Dreamworks version of Sinbad if I was going to be a pirate, I might as well look good while doing it. I decided that I wanted to make a Guild around my crew, so I started looking for people who could fill roles in that kind of an organization.
I decided that it'd be beneficial to have a secretary to keep me organized, so I got Isabelle the dog secretary from Animal Crossing. I promise I picked her for her skills, and definitely not because of some of the rule 34 art of her… not at all. I did purchase the Anthropomorphize for her so she'd be a dog girl instead of a girl dog.
Next I wanted a mechanic for my ship so I decided to see what came out of just searching for Engineers, and I was not disappointed. While the list was excruciatingly long I decided on three engineers, two lieutenants and a commander if you will. I decided that my overall Head Engineer would be Asami Sato from the Legend of Korra since she was already smart enough to be building complex engines on her own. I figured she'd be perfect to oversee the ship as a whole. The Head Mechanical Engineer was Kaylee Frye from Firefly, she always said that engines just spoke to her so I hope that she'll continue to have that gift. Last but probably the most crucial was Scribe Haylen from Fallout 4, who was to be posted as Chief Weapons Engineer. The part that made her so important was that I Power Swapped her with a Huragok from Halo so that she'd have the skills she'd need to properly modify all the weapons we come across.
After that I need to fill out my Medical staff and thankfully that's a pretty easy task, my Chief Medical Officer is Dr. Karin Chakwas from Mass Effect and her assistants are Lieutenant Tamara Johansen from Stargate Universe and Sergeant First Class Mari Kurokawa from GATE: thus the JSDF fought there. I figured that a couple of combat medics would be pretty good assistants for a starships medical officer, plus they are all moderately familiar with non-human anatomy.
Now I need a good chef, so I decided to go with one that was motherly. I didn't necessarily need them to be a gourmet chef because of my Faerie Feast but having a preexisting knowledge of recipes would definitely help so I picked up Sabine Cheng from Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir.
Finally I needed my primary fighting force. With the Heritage boosts I went from tier 3 to tier 4 which could be anywhere from level 40 to level 80 in game terms, I want at least one level 90 to give our group validity and based on other Log Horizon captures level 90 is between tier 5 and 6. I selected my heavy hitters first, going to a moderately skilled world. I picked Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra and Brain Unglaus from Overlord, they should both be near or at level 90 once connected. Still in the Overlord tab I picked a ranged combatant in Imina, the half-elf ranger from the worker group that tried to enter Nazarick. After that I wanted stealth specialists, and a lot of them. Lakyus' ninja teammates Tia and Tina were a pair so that was a no brainer, then I switched the world I was looking at to one that was completely about assassins. I grabbed Evie Frye, Edward Kenway, and Ezio Auditore da Firenze from Assassin's Creed to finish up my roster.
I looked at my build and was completely satisfied with one small exception. For the first time in forever I looked up at the man who was watching hardcore porn for all I knew. "Excuse me?" I asked, getting him to look at me waiting for me to continue. "I know that it doesn't normally allow it but I was wondering if I could get the Paper Trail perk for my Airship the Whispering Dagger?"
He let out another long suffering sigh. "Give me a minute." He once again did a thing to prevent me from hearing anything and made another phone call. I watched as he spoke with his colleague and tried to get an answer, and it reminded me of the time my dad and I had watched an old episode of the A-team but the sound wasn't working so we made up the dialogue ourselves. After a minute he covered the receiver and looked back at me. "Sir you have it selected to start outside of the Yamato Server, correct?" I nod once. "Alright, so we can do it, it'll just cost you 5 Credits."
My last 5 Credits.
Worth it.
I nod in response to his words. "Let's do it, it's better than having awkward questions asked about it."
With a nod from the man I look down and see that the Credits were deducted from my account leaving me with exactly 0.
I make a quick double, triple, and even quadruple check of my build before I press the Finish Build button and everything goes black.
I blink into awareness as I'm left standing on a beach, turning to my right I can see many decrepit and reclaimed structures that appear to be hotels of some kind. To my left I see what looks like an old Naval Base, and behind me is my retinue laid out on the sand .
Before I can really say anything the world system connected to us and I see a game menu appear in my vision.
Name: Sinbad
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Class: Swashbuckler
Level: 72
Subclass: Sailor
HP: 8760/8760
MP: 6730/6730
Guild: N/A
Server: Kanaloa Isles
Location: Momi Outskirts
Item: Note - "Midway"
Well at least I'm decently leveled. I look into the harbor of the old Naval Base to see a bustling maritime port city. That's probably Momi. I think to myself before I realize that the only way I'd have a note in my inventory would be if it was placed there by the company, and I was seeing a distinct lack of an airship so I assumed that was the only clue I'd have to get my ship.
"Okay, step one: find a ride to Midway." I said under my breath, my companions getting to their feet. "Step two: fly to Yamato. Step three: profit… and girls. Or do they come as a package deal for me?" I turn back to my crew as they look around confused. "Alright, welcome everyone. I'll be your captain for the foreseeable future, and it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Has my inner darkness taken my mind already?" The blonde swordswoman asked, grasping her face in pure unadulterated chuuni.
"… No." I deadpan so fucking hard.
Name: Lakyus
Level: 89
Class: Guardian
Good she's plenty strong. I look her over before looking around at the others. The blue haired swordsman next to her looks at her in recognition.
"If this isn't some elaborate hoax, then what is this?" The man asks, looking at me since I was the one answering.
Name: Brain
Level: 88
Class: Samurai
Unfortunately I wasn't lucky enough to get a full level 90, but two people in the high 80's is pretty good all things considered. "As you should all be able to see, my name is Sinbad. This is a new world and unless my guess is wrong there has just been a massive Isekai event." I noticed several confused looks at the word so I clarified. "For those who are unfamiliar with the term: Isekai is a word that is used for the idea of transferring someone to another world and/or reality." I turned to the Overlord group. "The gods of the Slane Theocracy, the Eight Greed Kings, and most recently Ainz Ooal Gown were all victims of this kind of event." I looked at the trio of medical personnel, two of my engineers, and my cook. "You guys should have come from a time where such concepts are widespread." I got a series of nods in response. I then looked at everyone else. "Unfortunately I have nothing to offer in explanation or example for you. Anyway, this world used to be a game and when the newest version of the game came out it transported everyone who was playing at that time into the game. Now as much as I want to sit here and explain things to you all, we don't have a lot of time." I looked over everyone to see levels and classes.
Name: Isabelle
Level: 12
Class: Shrine Maiden
Name: Kaylee
Level: 13
Class: Bard
Name: Tamara
Level: 18
Class: Cleric
Name: Mari
Level: 18
Class: Druid
Name: Sabine
Level: 15
Class: Monk
Name: Imina
Level: 30
Class: Assassin
Name: Asami
Level: 21
Class: Shrine Maiden
Name: Kerin
Level: 33
Class: Cleric
Name: Haylen
Level: 54
Class: Shrine Maiden
Name: Evie
Level: 77
Class: Assassin
Name: Tia
Level: 75
Class: Assassin
Name: Tina
Level: 75
Class: Assassin
Name: Ezio
Level: 79
Class: Assassin
Name: Edward
Level: 78
Class: Assassin
I nod at the solid core group I have. "Okay, for now let's get to our ship, it's a few hundred miles that way." I say pointing west north west. "Edward, Ezio, and Evie, you three come with me and we'll secure a ride. Brain, Lakyus, Tia, and Tina, wait here and keep everyone safe. With any luck we won't be gone long."
While they didn't seem to like the plan, the rings enforced their obedience, resulting in reluctant nods. The three Assassins and I entered the city of Momi proper with little fanfare, as I suspected there were several docked ships in port and I couldn't really tell them apart, so I turned to my nautical expert. "Edward, of the docked ships here, which do you think would be simplest to sail but most likely to make it through a few hundred miles of barren ocean?"
The pirate eyed the vessels with a critical eye. "That bastard would definitely make the journey." He said in a great English accent, pointing at a massive warship that was probably only slightly smaller than what the Whispering Dagger was supposed to be, that is to say probably way outside of our crews ability to sail at the moment. He then pointed at the smallest ship there that was so small that if it were any smaller it'd be a rowboat. "She'd be easiest to sail."
He then motioned towards a smaller frigate that probably was just big enough to not be considered a schooner. "But she's the girl for me." He said, his face breaking out into a broad smile.
"Why are we stiamo una ship?" Ezio asked, his mother language bridging the words that he wasn't familiar with in English.
"Because we have no money." I said, strolling in between the three and the ship that Edward was eyeing in a way that was very close to making me uncomfortable. "And beyond that you, Evie, and I are Pirates now, Edward I'm pretty sure was just birthed from sea foam to forever be a pirate."
Edward kinda half shrugged in acceptance of my theory before Evie spoke up. "As much as I don't mind taking from those who deserve it, this hardly qualifies." Her English accent far more refined than Edward's, she sounded so sexy, and completely correct.
Oh I'm so making sure that she stays in the companion slot indefinitely. I think while simultaneously responding to her verbally. "I wholeheartedly agree, and I intend to make that the standard operating procedure once we get to where we're going. Until then we are not wealthy enough to either purchase either a ship or just a ride to where we're going and we aren't strong enough to defend our weaker members. The peace will only last for 24 hours at most, after that it becomes a case of every man for himself." I explain, before raising my clenched fist and jutting out my thumb. "The first thing that's going to happen is total anarchy, guilds will look for their colleagues and almost everyone will be checking on friends." I raised my index finger. "After that some people will start fear mongering, turn things into us versus them regardless of who the them are." Third finger goes up. "People will start to prey on the weaker players, primarily because players under level 30 receive a potion that increases their growth rate and it can be given or taken." I drop my hand. "I wish I knew enough about this area, but I only really know of one city that has some kind of stable ruling class that maintains order by keeping each other in check. That's our destination."
The two slightly more honorable assassins managed to look slightly sheepish at my explanation. "Side note: don't do anything to actually harm anyone in the city, there's guards that will step in and will absolutely decimate our entire group combined, putting someone in an uncomfortable position like twisting their arm behind their back is fine so long as no damage is dealt. Now, how about we steal us a ship?" I ask, clapping my hands together.
A/n: Okay so this is where the other intrusive thoughts went. I had to get them out before I could work on anything else so here you go.
Before you say anything, I know that Paper Trail isn't for rides but I don't see why there shouldn't be an option for that. Additionally I decided that adding an extra challenge to collecting the ride is part of the cost, just not one that's explicitly stated.
I'm not sure if I'll write this out regularly or if I'll just keep it on the back burner for whenever I need to take a step back from Love and War. Regardless, I hope you enjoy.
Read. Follow. Review.