6 Once our City, Now our Home

When Rai was almost finished cooking breakfast Akatsuki had managed to awaken so the two sat down and enjoyed a nice meal together.

Akatsuki had yet to eat food that wasn't cooked by Rai, so she didn't realize yet what was so special about Rai's food.

After the game became reality many things changed.

One such change was in regards to the food.

During the game, all one needed to do was prepare the ingredients, and pick the item you wanted from the menu. Once you had done this it would automatically make you a food item that looks like the real thing. This was a way for the players to satiate their characters hunger.

However, when one was on the other side of the computer screen, there was no taste associated with the food. This caused issues when the game became reality and the players learned that the menu created food had no taste to it and only alleviated your hunger.

Rai knew though thanks to the memories that Ingredient items like fruits and vegetables taste like the real thing, something that the other players would realize given enough time.

So all one needed to do was to stop thinking of this world was a game and treat it as if it was reality.

To make food which has a taste to it, one must prepare and cook the ingredients with your own hand, just like reality. However, if the person who attempts to cook doesn't have the Chef subclass with the requisite cooking level then the cooking process would fail and all you would get was a paste like substance.

Although it seems like something simple and straight forward, it actually was a fact which would bring great change to the world of Elder Tale.

Rai: "Akatsuki, make sure you don't tell anyone about my cooking alright?"

Akatsuki: "My Lord?"

Rai: "You'll understand in the future. Just make sure you don't mention anything about my cooking to others as it will cause problems. At least for now, keep things under wraps."

Akatsuki: "Yes!"

Although Akatsuki was confused and curious, she had already placed her complete trust in Rai and wouldn't question his decision as she knew it was most likely for a good reason that he wanted her to keep it a secret.

Akatsuki: "My Lord, where will we head now?"

Rai: "For now we will split up. I need you to walk around Akihabara and gather information. I am going to go check on some things then we will meet up back here in two hours."

Akatsuki: "Yes!"

Watching Akatsuki run off in the direction of the cities center, Rai thought to himself. 'Now then…'

Turning around, Rai headed towards a destination of his own.

~Akatsuki's POV~

Although she was slightly curious about what her Lord was doing Akatsuki, maintaining her determination from earlier, decided not to question him and just complete the task she had been assigned to. As this was the first mission her lord had given to her, she was determined to complete it to the best of her abilities.

As she was heading down the abandoned street, making her way towards the center of Akihabara, Akatsuki took the time to admire the city now that it was no longer a game.

She felt the warm, moist wind rustled refreshingly through the treetops which grew through the buildings and roads. As she ran beneath the dazzling early summer sunlight, she felt as if all her pores were opening in an attempt to soak in moisture in the air to cool her down. More than just the heat, the radiant light of the sun also seemed to burst forth from the sky with an overwhelming intentness over both trees and buildings as it casted deep shadows on the town's main road. Those shadows seemed as if they had wrapped around themselves as well as the dark soil and dilapidated asphalt, brining about an eerie yet serene feeling.

While Akatsuki was absorbed in all of the new and wonderous sensations, she hadn't even realized she had neared Akiba's central area.

Slowing her running to a walk, Akatsuki began headed deeper into the city while keeping an eye on the surroundings. There were many adventurers who sat on the sides of the road as they sunk deeper into despair. Some seemed to be taking their anxiety out on the people of the land who manned the street stalls.

As she took in everything, Akatsuki thought to herself, 'Many people who don't belong to guilds seem to be having problems adapting to suddenly being transported into the game. Thankfully I meet Raidon-dono otherwise I may have been in a similar situation…There also seems to be more 'people of the land' around then when things were a game.'

Noticing the strange influx in the amount of 'people of the land' which was the Elder Tales rendition of NPC's, Akatsuki happened to catch a stall that was selling rice dumplings, one of her favorite foods.

Random PoL: "Hey miss! Would you like to buy something?"

Akatsuki: "I'll take rice dumplings with green tea."

Random PoL; "Sure thing! Coming right up!"

Accepting the pack of rice dumplings and the bottle containing green tea from the vender, Akatsuki decided to take a small break as she ate. Although she had just enjoyed a delicious meal that her lord had prepared for her, she couldn't resist when she saw the rice dumplings and decided to had a small snack.

Taking a bite of the rice dumpling, Akatsuki immediately noticed something was off.

Akatsuki: 'This…has no taste?'

Thinking this far, Akatsuki suddenly remembered the words of her lord.

---Rai: "…Don't tell anyone about my cooking…you'll understand in the future…it will cause problems." ----

Akatsuki: 'I see…so that was why Raidon-dono said that. It seems like my lord's cooking is special when compared to others…If others were to find out it could lead to problems. It's best to keep quite until Raidon-dono says otherwise.'

Having had enough of the tasteless food and water flavored tea, Akatsuki decided to continue gathering information.

~Two Hours Later~

Having arrived back at the meeting spot, Rai noticed Akatsuki had already returned as well.

Rai: "Hey, how did things go?"

Jumping down from the ledge she had perched herself on, Akatsuki began notifying Rai of all the information she had managed to gather.

Akatsuki: "Yes my lord! First, it seems as if this world's food has no flavor, something which I believe my lord already knows."

Seeing him nod in agreement, Akatsuki continued without missing a beat.

Akatsuki: "There were many adventures without guilds who seemed as if they had given up on life and were beginning to drown in despair. As opposed to that, there seems to be an influx of people of the land in Akiba and the way they act seems more vibrant and emotional then when things were a game."

Rai: "Hmm…continue"

Although Rai already knew the cause for it, he decided to keep some things to himself. He trusted Akatsuki but he also knew that some things were best kept to himself so she doesn't face harm due to possessing knowledge she shouldn't have.

Akatsuki: "No one has ventured outside of the city due to fear of a permanent death yet the large guilds seem to be preparing for something, where as the smaller guilds seem to be attempting to bring all of their members together in an attempt to adapt to the new world."

Rai: "…The large guilds are probably waiting for someone else to test the waters. Once they obtain the information regarding whether the cathedral still resurrects us, or we die permanently, then the large guilds will most likely begin their exploration into the area surrounding Akiba to see if anything has changed due to the new expansion. One of the downsides to being in a large guild for some people is that they feel as if their nothing more then a number, however, it is also those very same 'numbers' which give them courage. They believe that regardless of the challenge they may face outside they will be able to overcome it as long as they have enough people. Even if they can't resurrect, they will venture out into the surroundings sooner or later."

Akatsuki: "Mmm."

Rai: "As for the small guilds, their members don't possess the confidence that is installed with the larger guilds so they must be trying to regroup and adapt before they attempt anything. When one is part of a smaller guild, you feel as if everyone is a family. Most guilds, regardless of size, have some money saved up. If the threat of death persists then they will most likely tap into their savings to take care of the lower leveled players, while the higher leveled ones venture out to hunt and keep a steady stream of income going into the guild."

Akatsuki: "indeed. The only reason I didn't join a guild was because I preferred being by myself. I did know quite a few people though that said their guilds were like their families, causing me to be slightly envious…"

Normally Akatsuki preferred to keep such feelings bottled up, however, after last night she felt like she could lay her feelings out to Rai and he would accept her regardless. This caused her to open up more, but it was still only to him. If there were others around, she would keep things inside until they were alone.

Rai smiled hearing her words as he reached his hand out and began petting her head.

Rai: "Don't worry to much about the past. If you want, we can start up a guild? It would be just the two of us for now though."

Not expecting him to propose something like that caused Akatsuki to stall slightly as her eyes grew wide. Coming back to reality, she couldn't help but ask.

Akatsuki: "You mean it?"

Rai: "Yes. With how things are currently within Akiba, I believe forming a guild is a smart move. Both of us been longing for a place in which we could call home for a long time, so why not make one now that we have an opportunity for a fresh start? Aside from the emotional aspect there are also many strategic aspects as well. Now that we are trapped here, there will be no more new players entering the game. This means that all of the current players will most likely begin to gravitate towards forming or joining guilds for their own place of belonging. Although I don't desire a large guild, I still believe it wouldn't hurt to recruit some people who could become our friends and assist us in this new world."

Hearing all of the points he had made, Akatsuki couldn't see any reason to refuse, nor did she want to. It was as he said, she too had deeply desired a place that she could call her own, a place where she felt like she belonged.

So with a bright smile, she stated simply.

Akatsuki: "Yes! Let's do it my lord!"

Seeing how happily Akatsuki was Rai knew that it was the correct decision.

Rai: "Alright, I'll head over to the guild hall and create out new home."

Suddenly, as if remembering something important Akatsuki hurriedly asked,

Akatsuki: "My lord! What are we going to name the guild?"

Pausing slightly, Rai thought about it deeply before settling on a name which he believed represented not only his situation, but also paid homage to the memories he had acquired which served as a massive boon in this unknown world.

Rai: "How about, 'Beyond Horizon'?"

Akatsuki: "Beyond…Horizon…mmm I think it's a lovely name my lord!"

As the two smiled at one another over the creation of their new home. Neither realized that with the naming of their guild, events had been set in motion through-out the world. As this moment marked the beginning…of a new Apocalypse.

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Author's Notes: Sorry for the relatively short chapter. I had written this after a got home today around 8:30pm. I set it so it would be posting tomorrow but I wanted to get a couple chapters out for you guys so I wrote one before bed and ill be attempting to write some more tomorrow night (The day this posts I might post another later at night). I also want to write at least 1 or 2 chapters for FFS after I get home from work so hopefully you guys will cut me some slack xD If its straight up dialogue, I usually aim for around 2,500 words but if there is a lot of other things such as system notifications or status screens ill aim for 3,500-4,000 to make up for it. Todays chapter ends around 2,200 so its on the shorter side but next chapter will be an exciting one :) Hope you guys are looking forward to it!!! Thanks again everyone for being patient with the chapter uploads being all over the place, I will be trying to write whenever I have the time but it will be inconsistent for the most part. If you feel like you like the story though, please drop some stones and some reviews to help it out :)