Chapter 4: Decision to make

Chapter 4: A Choice to Make

Bukubukuchagama watches on as Momonga once again begins questioning Natsuki Subaru, the only difference being that he wasn't using a mind-control spell or that a fireball wasn't aimed directly at his face.

She looks at the rest of the group, each having varied expressions. Her brother seemed deep in thought as if something had caught his full attention during the ordeal. Wonder what's got Birdbrain thinking this much?

The Slime turns towards Ulbert next. The demon, too, seemed to be pondering something as he stared at his hand intently, the purple flames he launched earlier igniting and disappearing in smaller amounts on his palm.

Powerful beings do exist in this world, then. The one that appeared just now and the one Touch nii-chan sensed earlier proves that we must tread forward carefully from now.

Touch hadn't warned them of the earlier presence yet, meaning they were safe for now.

If that presence from before was looking for Natsuki Subaru, why haven't they arrived yet? The effects of [Spatial Disruption] had worn off a while back…

Speaking of Touch Me, she turns her attention to him, the paladin still staring at where the being last stood. Poor man, it's not that I don't understand his plight, but there's nothing we can do to return to where we came from.

Buku hadn't thought about her old world much as she had been too distracted by the beauty of this world and getting used to her new body, which she still felt a bit uncomfortable in, especially how she had to "slide around". Out of everyone in the group, the slime was having the most trouble acclimating to her new body, though most of these sensations already felt natural.

Unlike the paladin, Buku didn't have family back home, her parents having succumbed to a widespread illness long ago. The only remaining member, her brother, was right here with her. Buku did have her voice acting career, which she knew she would miss dearly, but to trade it for a world where she doesn't have to exhaust herself physically and mentally just to get food for another day? Buku had already decided on which option to choose.

As long as we don't constantly have to live in fear of contracting a random virus, I think I'm okay with staying here. Buku had made her decision. And, as long as he's safe and does something fruitful with his new life. She looked at her brother again, who was… panting excitedly for some reason now.

Although she liked to tease her brother a lot and wished he could move away from his "lustful tendencies", deep down, a part of her still cared for him.

Sibling bond is a feeling that is hard to overwrite after all, despite the changes her body and mind were going through.

Meanwhile, Momonga hadn't received any answers from Subaru, the Japanese boy mumbling incoherently, too afraid to summon that entity once more.

That thing touched my heart! The phantom feeling lingered as the boy remembered the cold hand stroking his heart. It appeared when I was about to mention {Return by Death}. Does this mean I can't tell anyone of my ability!?

The one in front of him is also left to his thoughts, his mind rapidly trying to piece everything together, running through different possible scenarios.

I could use [Charm Person] again or try [Control Amnesia] to search his memories this time. But that 'thing' seems to have been alerted by our presence. It could've developed countermeasures against mind magic or could react to our interference… Plus, I've already used [Control Amnesia] once to alter Subaru's memories. Further tampering could irreversibly turn him into a vegetable.

Momonga looks at the boy, his face still shell-shocked as he continues muttering.

Yeah, his mind already seems to be in a horrible state. How powerful is that thing, and what did that hand do to Subaru?

The Overlord recalls how it nullified Ulbert's [Cursed Flames], a form of hellfire that should've burned the very soul of its target.

Risking another engagement with that being isn't worth it. If it could block 8th-tier magic just like that, it must be on the higher tiers of power in terms of Yggdrasil-scaling. We shouldn't poke at the hornet's nest until we fully gauge 'her' strength.

Now then, what should we do about this boy?

"Subaru-san, can you hear me? Are you alright?", Momonga grabs his shoulder, shaking the boy. Subaru is brought out of his thoughts as he snaps back to reality.

"H-huh? W-what?" he shakes his head to help him think straight, "Yeah, I'm fine. J-just need a moment to think WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED!" he shouts.

Yep, not going to risk using [Control Amnesia] in his current state. We'll need something to bring him back to calm first. Hmm…

Momonga begins rummaging through his massive inventory. When they started, players in Yggdrassil were given a small inventory space, and additional storage could be bought using real money. Being a regular in the game had led to Momonga spending a lot of real-life money to largen his inventory, his being the largest in Yggdrassil by an insurmountable margin.

"Here, take this", The Overlord hands him a ring from his inventory, "That's a [Ring of Sangfroid]. It usually helps suppress mental debuffs such as fear, horrify, berserk, and stupor. It should help you calm down."

The ring was useless to Momonga as his undead physiology already helped him repel mental debuffs like the ones he listed. He had looted it from the corpse of a low-level player he had killed during one of his overworld excursions. Dumping it in his inventory, the ring had stayed there, buried among the thousands of other items he had left in there.

Subaru stares at the ring for a moment. Wait, did he just pull that ring out of that black hole!? He can use magic!? Wait… Sebas-san had also shown some crazy feats before, and that edgy guy threw a fireball. Who are these people!? Were they brought to this world with these abilities!? Can people in their Japan do all this stuff!? His mind is thrown into further chaos as his mumblings become even more rapid.

Feeling his head hammered when he woke up, the surprise of finding other Earthlings, the quick follow-up reminder of the assassin and finally, suddenly encountering the monster that seemed to have brought him to this world had caused Subaru to forget the herculean strength his fellow Japanese had shown during his fight. His single-minded goal to stop the assassin, putting all other thoughts on hold. Now that everything is slowly registering in his brain, Subaru just stares on, utterly oblivious to the goings of the outside world.

Seeing that the boy wasn't wearing the ring, Momonga slides it into his fingers, his face slowly showing signs of life as the effect takes hold.

This will take a while. He needs time to recover from all that.

The skeletal mage addresses his group next, "Alright then, should we continue to follow Subaru-san here or search for other means?"

Touch Me is the first to respond, his gaze never leaving the shadow's last location. "Obviously, we should stay! With what just happened, we've confirmed the boy holds answers to our summoning."

He continues, "And he had mentioned an assassin was about to target innocents. I cannot let that slide."

Buku is the next to talk, "I agree with Touch nii-chan. We can't just leave him to die. If it means 'Saving him' from whatever mess he's gotten himself in and finding answers on our summoning, then I say we help!" Buku pumps her "fists". Her answer was mainly to show Touch Me that they're willing to help him. The paladin had felt somewhat distant from the group recently.

"I agree with sis." Pero adds, "The kid's cool. We should help" With the bit of banter the siblings had with the Japanese boy, Pero had already started getting a bit attached to the boy, seeing him like a little bro. And if it means I can learn more about that girl. I'm all up for it! The deeper part of his mind thinks.

Finally, the group turn towards Ulbert, the Baphomet extinguishing the flames from his hands as he looks at the group, "The boy himself hasn't done anything to warrant trouble. The shadows only function reactively based on what we saw right now. They haven't attacked us and most likely won't if we don't engage."

I thought he would have gone against us based on how he had initially reacted. Touch Me thought. He was about to point out and reprimand Ulbert on how he had almost killed Subaru, but seeing how he had been acting now, the paladin stopped.

In truth, Ulbert still didn't trust Subaru, but he knew he couldn't harm the boy. Although not wanting to admit it, he was afraid of how his spell had been cancelled off like that, the memory replaying in his head like a loop. All this time, he had been thinking of how he could possibly kill the boy but hadn't found any answers.

I could use a super-tier spell like [Extinction] or even [Grand Catastrophe] to kill it… No, if a tier 8 spell was blocked, then it's doubtful that those spells will cause significant damage. Metamagic can boost the damage output but will also increase the area of effect. Nuking the capital is the last thing I want to do since there are a lot of unknown threats looming around.

Since coming to this world, Ulbert had gained powers beyond his wildest dreams. Knowing he could cast destructive magic on a grand scale, along with his demonic pride, had boosted his pride to the high heavens, only to come crashing down hard after the shadow incident. Thus, he was hesitant to act out his plans.

I need more time and power to see if I can reach further heights. This glass cannon build won't help me in long-term engagements. The boy and that thing it carries with him might have the answers I need.

As the saying goes, keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

The group waited a while for Subaru to get his bearings straight, the ring still taking time to calm him down due to how scared he was.

When he reaches the state where he can finally talk, Momonga beings. "Are you feeling better now?"

"Y-yeah. This ring is handy, man. Thanks a lot. I'll be sure to return it to you eventually".

Momonga waves his hand dismissively, "There's no need to. It's an early mid-tier item. I have no use for it."

"Still, to think your Japan had access to things like magic and stuff like this", He stares at the ring in his hand, twisting it around with his fingers, "Must be a really cool place".

Ah, he doesn't know. The group collectively thinks, unsure how to explain their means of teleportation to the boy.

"We can explain that to you at a later time if that's alright?", Momonga said, "What matters more right now is the entity that you summoned just now. Were you able to witness that strange phenomenon as well?"

Subaru nods, "So you all did see it then. I thought I was going crazy for a moment there."

"Indeed, we did. We also noticed one of its 'hands' had entered your body. Could you explain what had happened there?"

The Japanese boy shudders, remembering what it had done, "Well, I could feel it touching my heart when it entered, slowly caressing it as if it was about to crush it." He instinctively places his hand on his chest. "Honestly, I don't know what happened, but I don't wanna go through that ever again."

The Overlord puts his finger on his chin. "Hmm, based on Ulbert's deduction here, we believe that the being only appears when you were about to mention the ability you got when coming to this world. If I am correct, it seems a curse has been placed on you along with the power you got."

"A curse?"

"Yes. Whatever ability you have has been deemed to be kept secret by our summoner. If its details are about to be leaked, it'll crush your heat as a failsafe to protect the information."

"!" Subaru clutches his chest tighter when reading the response.

"It only touched your heart the first time today. I believe it's a warning that the information must only be known by you. We could try finding a loophole to figure it out, but we shouldn't risk it."

Touch Me suddenly interrupts, "For now, we should start heading to that loot house you mentioned. If this 'assassin' is going to attack soon, we better get there early and prepare." The faster I get out of this mess, the better.

Subaru looks at the paladin, "So, you're all gonna help me?"

Touch Me nods, "you said innocents were going to get harmed, correct? I can't just stand around idly and watch that happen. We're coming with you." And if that 'thing' wants us to 'save him' from this mess, it's best to comply.

Touch Me hadn't noticed his obsession with going back home was slowly replacing his sense of justice.

Pero walks forward and lightly slaps him on the back, taking extra care to restrain himself, "We can't leave our Japanese bro's friends to just die like that! Of course, we'll help."

Buku slides along, "Yeah, bro! Like Momonga onii-chan said before, 'sticking with your kind would be more beneficial than travelling in an unknown world alone.'" She attempts to mimic Momonga's voice as the group lets out a slight chuckle.

Ulbert steps forth, having made his decision, "Chagama is right. You are a valuable asset we cannot afford to lose."

"Don't twist around my words like that! And weren't you the one who chucked demonic fire at his face?"

"We don't talk about that."

Subaru sighs a breath of relief, "That's a relief…" He looked at the sky; it was almost late afternoon. "We should hurry then; the assassin strikes before night." This ring is useful in helping cope with everything that's just happened. I should keep it on myself for now. I wouldn't want to lose my composure when facing off against that sadist.

(The streets of Lugnica)

"So, you're telling me the government is the reason your whole world went to shit?" Subaru asked, astonished when hearing of the horrible living conditions of your planet, "Guess humanity always finds a way to screw things up in the end".

"Couldn't agree more", Ulbert said.

While going to the slums where the loot house was located, the group tried to explain to Subaru about their world, Yggdrasil, and how they had been summoned to this world.

The Japanese boy had first thought they were messing with him when they told him they were brought to this world in their videogame avatars, but when Momonga had momentarily taken off his mask to show his face to the boy, his [Ring of Sangfroid] had to work even harder to prevent him from screaming.

Behind the mask was the face of a skeleton waiting for him, his sockets burning with small red flames that seemed to stare at the depths of his soul. After that brief display, Subaru had wholeheartedly decided to believe whatever they told him, silently vowing never to cross them. He didn't want to know what the others looked like, especially Ulbert, since the Baphomet had recently dubbed himself as the 'Demon of Great Disaster".

The way they were summoned kind of sounds like that one anime I used to watch. An image of a black-haired swordsman and a light chestnut-haired girl comes to his mind.

Although Momonga wanted to keep their true forms a secret, it would've eventually been revealed since the skeleton mage couldn't eat or sleep, behaviours that would have raised eyebrows if he had done it for a long time. He did have the [Ring of Sustenance], which he could use as an excuse for his body not wanting those basic needs all living beings require, but even that would have been a play hard to continue in the long run.

Unlike Touch Me, Momonga had no plans of returning to his world; he just didn't have the heart to tell his close friend that only the paladin wanted to go back out of everyone in the group.

Establishing a proper connection of trust with a client you want to do business with is essential. That means showing some of the cards in your hand to show you're not hiding anything from them. The businessman side of Satoru Suzuki spoke in his mind.

"I do trust that you will keep this a secret from others?", Momonga said, "I wouldn't want to alter your memories or even silence you if it comes to it." The Overlord added nonchalantly.

Subaru seemed unaffected by the Overlord's comments, his [Ring of Sangfroid] acting as his mini-emotional suppressor, "Yeah, don't worry, my mouth is sealed." Even if you kill me, I won't stay dead. He thought, a bit gloomily.

"That is reassuring to hear. Know that I am risking a lot here by telling you all of this. There's still a chance another player is around."

During their brief exchange, Subaru had learned of the possibilities of other high-level players from Momonga's world being here, people wielding unfathomable powers after spending countless hours in Yggdrasil.

Then again, that voice made it sound like only we were specifically summoned to help Subaru here. But we shouldn't think of it that way. It's always important to think of the worst-case scenario in mind. That way, you'll be prepared for virtually anything.

(Lugnica's Slum District)

The group finally arrives at the slums of Lugnica, where the loot house was located. Subaru wanted to confront the thief, named Felt, by looking for where she lived but decided against it when Touch Me reminded him of the chance that the old man he mentioned, Rom, would be left vulnerable to attack.

Compared to the bright and lively capital they were summoned to, the slum district was a massive downgrade. The group could see run-down buildings covering most areas, their foundations barely being able to withstand the weight of the crumbling building. The people themselves were looking no better than their houses. The district is comprised chiefly of demi-humans wearing tattered clothing, with many having sunken cheeks that showed they hadn't had proper food in a long time. Finally, the smell of sewage permeated throughout the area, a pungent rotting smell entering the group's nostrils, barring Momonga.

Still, the place does look way better than our Earth ever did. Buku thought as she watched some dog-eared children peeking at the group in envy from behind some buildings.

Ulbert, too, noticed the way people were staring at him, the demon being reminded of the horrible living conditions he had back in their Japan. If he hadn't been teleported to this world, he would've ended up in a far worse state than these people ever did.

So, even this world has an elite class who seem to ignore those below them. Ulbert thought, remembering how close both the capital and the slums were.

Unlike people like Momonga and Peroroncino, who had jobs with decent-enough pay that kept them alive, Ulbert came from the very bottom of the societal ladder. With no education or family, he was left in the world to survive alone and could only reach adulthood through sheer luck and determination.

Seeing the similarities between the slum dwellers and his own condition, Ulbert clenches his fists. I swear I will gain the power needed to fix this. People like me have suffered for too long because of the ones above.

His thoughts are put on hold when he sees a small fox-eared demi-human lying on the street, staring lifelessly at the sky as starvation and sickness eat her. The brown-haired girl looked close to death as the demon could hear her shallow breathing.

Other people were also looking at the girl, their eyes filled with pity. What could they do to help her? They didn't have the money to feed her, with them barely being alive as it was. This was the life in the slums: you either focus on your survival or die rotting away like the girl currently was.

Without thinking, Ulbert breaks off from the group, walking towards the girl at a steady pace. Had she reminded the demon of his own past? Had she made him remember something important? Only Ulbert knew.

The people around her scatter, too afraid to incur the wrath of the noble walking towards them, not wanting to see what he would do to the child.

His friends and Subaru watch on, wondering what the demon is up to. Touch Me was about to tell Ulbert to stop wasting his time, but a firm hand on his shoulder locks him in place. He turns to see Momonga staring at him, the Overlord shaking his head and indicating to keep watching.

Ulbert stares at the girl's eyes, the demi-human not noticing his presence.

"Can you hear me?", Ulbert asked. No response.

He kneels on the ground, his face getting closer to the girl. "I said, can you hear me?" He speaks in a harsher tone. The girl remained unmoving; her breathing was the only indicator of her being alive.

"It looks like you are about to die, no?" He changes his question, "From what I can tell, starvation and sickness are taking hold of you. I have seen this too many times from where I come from, and I can tell you this…

"You will not die quickly." His words echo through the district.

He continues, "Would you like to know how it will end? Your muscles will begin to shrink as weakness starts taking over. I can already see that happening right now."

He pokes at her arm, "Your body temperature will drop as the chill slowly settles in. Can you feel my finger? The warmth has begun to fade as the cold takes over your body and trust me; it will feel never-ending."

He taps her head lightly with his finger, "All this time, your brain will be able to process what happens to your body, but you won't be able to move, only watch on as the world around you gets colder whilst you are trapped in stasis."

"And finally, when all is said and done, the pain eating away at your soul will kill you. You'll die a slow and agonising death."

"…"

He places his right hand into his inventory. "But I can offer you an escape." The girl twitches, which Ulbert notices.

Ulbert pulls out a double-edged dagger from his inventory with purple glyphs engraved on it, the dark blade looming menacingly below the setting sun, "This blade here is called [Stalker's Dagger]. It's a weapon used by high-level assassins to dispatch weaker enemies instantly. You want to know how they do that?"

He examines the blade, tracing the glyphs with his finger, "These runes here give it an enhancement effect, bestowing upon the effect of [Death]. When a weak target is struck with it, it'll instantly die. No pain, no suffering. It's like slipping away into a dream."

The girl's eyes finally move, looking at the blade in Ulbert's hand as its image reflects in her eyes. "Do you get what I'm saying?". She doesn't respond.

"Tsk, anyways, you can take this or…" with his other hand, he takes out a vial filled with a golden liquid, "This is [Purified Ichor]. It's an item that'll cure you of status effects, in your case, hunger and sickness(/weakness)."

He takes the vial closer to the girl, twiddling it with his fingers before her eyes, "This won't heal you completely, but it'll allow you to live longer." The item was a drop from a boss he killed a while back. It was useless against higher tiers of debuffs, which required better potions or a support class player to get rid of.

After holding the vial near her eyes for a while, he retracts his hand back, holding out both items in front of the girl. "You can probably tell what I am getting at. You have the choice here to die a peaceful death or a chance to keep living. I cannot promise you won't fall sick again, but your current conditions will wear off. You could try doing something with your life or just fall sick again and die."

Ulbert finally concludes, "What will it be?

The demon watches as the girl slowly moves her eyes from the dagger to the bottle as if deep in thought. Ulbert just stares at her, waiting for her decision.

After what seemed like an eternity to the girl, she slowly began to raise her hands. It takes a lot of effort, but she gradually extends it towards Ulbert as it moves towards his right hand, where the dagger is.

However, as it is about to reach it, she shifts her shaking hand to the left, pointing at the vial.

"That one…" a rasping voice speaks, barely audible to anyone but Ulbert.

"Are you sure, little one?" He asked, "As I mentioned, I cannot guarantee that your life will be better than it is."

"That one…!" her voice is much louder this time, "I don't…want…to die…" she finally says, slight bits of tears forming in her eyes.

"..."

"I want...to live…!"

"Good choice." Ulbert finally says as he opens the vial with a *pop* and pours some of the golden liquid into her mouth, "Drink".

The demi-human does as he asks, drinking the potion and feeling it enter her body. Immediately, she begins to feel the effects as warmth enters her body again. She blinks as the light returns to her eyes, taking in a hazel colour. She slowly begins the process of standing up, as she can feel the ground beneath her.

When she finally stands, the demi-human checks her hands, the scars disappearing before her eyes. She feels her cheeks, noticing she no longer can feel the hollowness that was always there. The girl felt more energised than ever as strength gradually returned to her body.

"I lied about one part", Ulbert said, "The potion has a restorative effect. I wanted to see if you were determined to strive for better, or you might have wasted this opportunity."

The Baphomet asks her, "Now, tell me, girl, what is your name?"

The girl looks at him, still not speaking.

Ulbert is slightly irritated at that, "Are you mute or something? Can't you tell me-"

"Coco…" the girl's voice is barely audible as she speaks.

"Hm?"

"It's Coco…"

"Well then, Coco, what do you want to do with your life, now that you've been given this chance?"

"I want to live…" she mutters.

"Louder."

"I want to live!" she shouts as tears finally leave her eyes.

As she continues to cry, Ulbert takes out a pen and paper from his inventory, quickly writing down something. When the girl's eyes finally stop streaming tears, he hands her the folded paper.

"Do you have a family or any loved ones?" She shakes her head. An orphan, then. As I had suspected.

"Mommy disappeared a long time ago. I don't know my papa."

"Then, start moving out of this place right away. If you enter the capital district, there should be guards patrolling around. Ask one of them to help you find 'The Duchess Crusch Karsten's manor."

He folds her hands around the letter. "When someone comes to the gates, give them that paper and tell them 'Ulbert from the mercenary group, Ainz Ooal Gown' sent you. This letter should help you get a job and a living quarter there. The woman owes me a debt. What you do with your life is up to you from now."

He also gives her the [Stalker's Dagger], "And take this with you. Defend yourself with it if it comes to it but never forget the determination you showed here today. It may be a small step, but you have done something the others here haven't."

"And that is?" the girl asked.

"You chose to strive for a better life".

Ulbert stares directly at her eyes as gold meets hazel, "True freedom is not granted from above. It is won from below. If you stay here waiting for some miracle to occur, you may as well just kill yourself. Now go before it gets dark!"

The girl stares at the items in her hands, then at Ulbert. Suddenly, she runs towards him, clinging onto his neck and hugging him. "T-thank you, mister U-Ulbert!" she cries again.

Ulbert slowly lets her down, wiping the tears from her eyes, "There is no need to thank me, you've made a choice here today, and I would like to see what you do with it."

The girl nods and slowly starts making her way out of the slums, her pace quickening with each step. Before disappearing from the demon's periphery, she turns back and waves at him. Ulbert waves back.

"Thank you, mister Ulbert! Live strong!" Coco says as she disappears.

That's a stupid quote depending on who says it. The demon smiles.

…

Ulbert stands up as the group finally makes their way to him.

Pero is the first to speak, "Man, I didn't know you had it in you. I'm proud of you!" He gives the demon a thumbs-up.

Buku continues, "Aw, so do you care about others, Ulbert nii-chan! I knew you could some nice things sometimes!"

"Shut up." That is all Ulbert says.

Momonga walks to the group, standing beside the siblings, "Are you sure the kid will be safe? There's still a chance she might get lost, you know?"

Ulbert looks at his friend, "Don't worry, I've got that covered."

He turns to the remaining slum residents in the area, who stare at what just happened.

"What are you all looking at!? Scram! Do something with your goddamn lives!"

He lets some of his aura loose as the people run away in fear.

"Now that they're gone, [Summon – Eyes of Odin]!", Ulbert chants. The ground before him forms a small, black pool as a flock of ravens flies out.

[Eyes of Odin] was a low-tier summon spell that was one of the very few support spells Ulbert had that gave the user a small group of Ravens. Although they had no destructive potential, they acted as excellent recon units, covering a lot of ground in Yggdrasil and blending into the environment perfectly.

Unable to differentiate between the game's naturally spawned Ravens, and the summoned ones, players in Yggdrasil had actually begun mass extermination of these avians, shooting down any on sight. This had created the "Bird extinction" event among players in Yggdrasil when many began killing even other species of birds that had even the tiniest resemblance to the ravens, paranoid of being spied on. It got to the point even pigeons started getting slaughtered, despite looking vastly different from the ravens.

"Scout around this area. If you discover anyone significantly stronger, report immediately".

He points to three of the ravens, "You three, follow that girl and make sure she arrives at her location safely. Immediately report if something comes up."

{By your will, O' summoner mine!}, the ravens speak telepathically before flying away in separate directions.

"That should take care of the girl, and the assassin will also be searched for", Ulbert said. "They probably won't be able to detect the ravens."

Momonga approves, "I'll place some shadow demons to guard the loot house once we get there. Better to be safe than sorry."

"Good idea."

Touch Me finally speaks, "We should hurry up. The assassin is supposed to strike at dawn; we've already wasted enough time."

Ulbert looks at Touch Me, "And here I thought you would have done something to help the people here."

The Paladin replies, irritated, "We can't go around helping every single person in this place. We both know that."

"Oh? I thought Mr Hero of Justice would've wept at the people's suffering here. Guess your single-minded obsession with finding a way home has made you forget who you are."

Touch Me freezes, realising Ulbert was correct. The demon smirks. He had won.

"Never lose sight of who you are, Touch," Ulbert says as he walks ahead of the group. I won't make the same mistake ever again. "How far away are we from the place, Natsuki?"

The boy who had stayed silent till now speaks, "Not that far, should be a few more blocks ahead."

"Then let's go, chop chop! We're wasting time!" Ulbert said, clapping his hands twice as he led the way.

As the group finally continues to move to the loot house, Touch Me is left walking at the back, thinking deeply about what Ulbert had just told him.

(For those who are interested in extra information or just like stat numbers. These won't have much effect in the main story and are just here to expand more on the fic's world building.)

Items and Spells:

· [Ring of Sangfroid]: A ring fashioned by foolish mortals from essences of the undead, in hopes of allowing their filthy kind to copy the undead's emotion negating attributes. Till this day, I have not the slightest clue with what they were hoping to get by tampering with things unknown to them. High chance of nullifying mental debuffs. Warning! If used by living characters for long periods of time, said character might start negating mental buffs until removed.

A ring Momonga looted from a reckless player, who tried to ambush him. Nullifying the negative drawbacks of his [Berserk] skill didn't help the foolhardy player with killing the Overlord. Wearing the item for too long will make the user immune to support spells related to the mind.

· [Stalker's Dagger]: A double-edged dagger with a razor-sharp blade; blackened to prevent the reflection of light. Runes are engraved upon its short blade to provide enchantments attributed to death and killing unsuspecting targets. Favoured by many assassins for its lethality.

A weapon Ulbert obtained from killing Nightstalkers in Helheim. He had given it to Momonga before leaving Yggdrasil until it was returned to him, along with all of his gear the guild leader had refused to sell. High crit value with a chance to inflict [Death] on targets.

· [Purified Ichor]: It is said that the blood of the gods is toxic to humans, killing them instantly if any dared tried to be one with the divine by consuming the Ichor. Only once "purified", it can be consumed by those not of celestial origins, curing them of any status ailments. However, tampering with the blood of a god has led to the potion losing most of its potency, and cannot be consumed in surplus amounts. Lest you want to die a rather horrible death, that is.

Restores 60% health and removes debuffs up to the 7th tier. Dropped by most high-tier god bosses, (Needs to be purified before consumption unless belonging to the divine race).

· [Eyes of Odin]: That fool Odin had his spies swarming all around the 9 realms, almost every corner of the World Tree was under his constant surveillance. It is a relief that he has long since passed away, his birds wandering the realms aimlessly until summoned by those who can mimic a fraction of the Allfather's power.

A 3rd tier magic that summons a flock of Ravens near its summoners. Though the birds have barely enough attack potency, they act as excellent scouts since they blend in easily with the wildlife.

· [Cursed Flames]: The flame from my home is used by those filth to kill their own kind. If left unchecked, they could spread throughout the remaining realms, killing all in this path indiscriminately. It's a good thing that they haven't realised the full potential of what those flames can do.

An 8th tier magic that launches a soul-eating flame at the target. Those hit get affected by the [Soul-crushing] effect, depleting HP and MP until removed.

Character Profiles:

Name: Coco

Race: Demi-human (Fox)

Level: 1

Job: None

Residence: A run-down shack in Lugnica's slum district.

Birthday: 2nd December

Hobby: Looking for thrown away food, watching kids in the slums play

Job classes: None

Racial classes:

· Demi-human (Fox) - 1

Divine Protection:

· {Divine Protection of Magic} A much lesser version of Roswaal's {Divine Protection of Sorcery} that slightly increases Coco's potency with magic (Spell efficiency). She has yet to learn of her Divine Protection and could achieve things of significant proportions if taught by a good magic caster.

A talent somewhat akin to that of Ninya Veyron, which allows her to learn magic at a faster pace compared to the normal living being. A cruel irony it would be if the girl perishes before learning of her powers.

Bio:

The daughter of a slave girl, who was taken to Lugnica by her mother when escaping from the snowy regions of Gusteko. Unfortunately, her mother died of sickness soon after arriving in Lugnica, leaving Coco alone in the slum districts. Rom does feed the girl whenever he can but lately, he hasn't seen her around.

Inheriting the magical talents of her father, the young girl has yet to realise her potency with spellcasting. She may seem cold and quiet but holds deep passion and love for people she gets attached to. She likes watching the kids in her community play around, as it helps her forget about her past for a moment. The whereabouts of her father are currently unknown.

That girl… she seems not to know the power that resides deep within her. By no means is she powerful, nor does she have the potential to become an outstanding mage. But her talents with magic are still intriguing, nonetheless.

"True freedom is not granted from above. It is won from below." – Lanselot Tartaros from Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together. (Chapter 4, The Two Lanselots)