Village Visit

Zelphyr adorned one of his many sets of armour once more, giving him a feeling of immortality once more. The armour in question was the 'Falcon of the Legends' which he had worn on his last trip to Carne. While he had better armours, Zelphyr reasoned that the village will be a lot more welcoming if he held the same appearance as before. Besides, it was still a Divine Class item with some very nice abilities alongside its high quality materials.

Its inspiration being Horus of the Egyptian Pantheon, and housing three interesting abilities; Enhanced Peripheral vision, Deaths Survivor and Substance Purge .

Deaths Survivor is a perk that grants the wearer extreme strength and durability as long as the armour set is complete. This provides a strong boost to the user who wears it, allowing them to enhance their role as a front-liner, or provide them higher survivability when dealing with larger threats.

Finally, the ability Substance Purge was a very handy ability that provided an automatic filtration of hostile foreign substances when the user is wearing the armour. This prevents all forms of diseases such as 'Plague' as well as status effects such as 'poison'. The better the quality of the armour, meaning how far upgraded the item is, decides how well the armour prevents the effects. As a result, Zelphyr has complete immunity all the time he is wearing the complete set of armour.

Zelphyr had grinded a lot to grasp these perks and spent a lot of money in order to get the armour to its peak condition so the abilities would be at their most effective. Due to this, Zelphyr felt very confident when wearing it, as though the days of pure grinding were wholly worth it.

Looking over his shoulder, Zelphyr took in the frame of Albedo, equipped with her armour. The Floor Guardians had proposed the policy of having at least one battle-ready attendant accompany Zelphyr whenever he was to associate with outsiders. While a part of the reason was for protection, the biggest reason was to show status. As a ruler, it is common practice in most cultures to have at least one attendant following a person of high status, of course Zelphyr did not need to abide by such procedures since he had very little interest in it, however he found it prevented a lot of unnecessary issues when dealing with humans.

'Its also pretty nice having someone to talk to, those carriage rides are so boring sat there alone'

With this thought, Zelphyr opened a 'Gate' to the outskirts of the Forest of Tob that bordered Carne Village, stepping through first much to Albedos worry.

"Lord Zelphyr, please do not lead when stepping through the 'Gate'"

Her soft voice was filled with worry as she spoke to her Master who seemed to just shrug his shoulders.

"Now, now, there is no need to be so strict in friendly territory, besides do you really think I would travel without any preparations?"

Faced with Zelphyrs reply, Albedo took a step back, her face underneath her helmet still wearing a worried expression.

The preparation in question was the area itself. The last time Zelphyr had travelled to Carne, he had marked out a small area as a travel point. A small boundary was set up with 'Alarm' spells as well as 'Ward' spells that made anyone within 50 meters of the area avoid it. Of course this only worked against lower levelled beings up to level 45, but a surveillance network had been set up too.

This network utilised his personal creation, Cinder. Zelphyr had asked Cinder to convert the trees into observation relays, essentially turning the trees themselves into cameras. Of course this was only able to be accessed by Cinder, however it was just a simple case of contacting him before travelling.

One of Cinders tasks was to use this ability to create a reliable observation link surrounding Carne and Nazarick, stopping roughly 2km before E-Rantel. All information of importance such as those travelling into the territory and areas of value, are sent directly to Cinder who creates a report for Zelphyr directly. Of course any urgent situations are able to be directly reported to Zelphyr without delay.

"Come on, let us move, I don't plan on staying overnight in such a village"

Zelphyr hurried Albedo whose motherly expression returned as she followed along in silence.

"Albedo, remember to keep your calm. I trust you to do this, after all Carne is going to be quite the important location to Nazarick"

His warning was not anything too serious, however Zelphyr intended to speak with Enri by themselves, thus he wanted to make sure Albedo held her tongue should any of her certain ticks activate when he is not around.

The two approached the village from the front, so as to not alarm the residents. Unlike from what he knew, the village in this verse had not built up any defences such as barricades or walls. It seems the Goblins were essential to kick-starting Carnes development. That being said, Zelphyr felt the Goblins were still too fragile, especially since Nazarick is going to be targeted by much larger threats than it was from Momongas reign.

As he was deep in thought, Zelphyr and Albedo approached. Breaking him out of his thoughts, Zelphyr heard loud voices of men and women busy at work. However what truly caught his attention was the rejuvenated tone of each of them. Rather than the sombre atmosphere from before, the voices seemed to be filled with vigour as though a travesty had never happened to begin with.

"It seems that the humans here are stronger than we gave them credit for"

Zelphyr spoke under his breath, just loud enough for Albedo alone to hear.

"What do you mean Lord Zelphyr? Their weakness caused this situation."

Zelphyr nodded to her fact, but elaborated.

"Yes it was their weakness and yes, they are still just as physically weak. Their technological level is low as well. However I am referring to their ability to work through their grief. One would expect such weak creatures to fall into despair, yet here they are, going through the day while still being cheery. Truly fascinating."

These were Zelphyrs true thoughts. Even when he was in his former bodies, he was certain that he would not have the willpower to stand up again after such an experience. Of course that is why he spent so long getting as strong as possible, but still it was fascinating to him.

"Maybe so, but the result will still be the same if they are attacked again"

Albedo responded, her voice level with no particular emotion clouding it.

"Indeed you are right"

They progressed in further before a squeaky sounding voice reached them.

"Travellers Stop!"

Zelphyr ignored the voice and carried on, Albedo followed suit. In his mind, Zelphyr wondered whether or not she even registered the voice.

"I said stop! You two!"

The voice grew angrier as their attempts to stop the two armoured strangers failed. A soft sound of something moving towards them at a hurried rate begun.

"Since you won't stop, prepare yourself"

Zelphyr rolled his eyes as he finally paid the voice some attention. After all, the buzzing of a fly will grow more annoying if left alone. Turning around whilst letting his annoyance infest his presence, his eyes pierced the arrogant human.

A child roughly the age of 15 froze on the spot as he felt Zelphyr presence nail his shadow to the floor. The boy had a prepubescent face with brown hair and his overall build was skinnier than the average. Despite this, his eyes contained a hint of derision as he looked at Zelphyr and Albedo.

'Who is this child? His eyes are quite annoying to say the least'

Zelphyr thought as he waited for the boy to make his way towards them. meanwhile, Albedos dead stare penetrated the boy, causing the small hairs on his arms and legs to straighten in fright. Oblivious to this feeling, the child carried on towards them with an annoyed expression.

"Who are you!"

The boy spoke with a projected voice, attempting some form of intimidation.

"I suppose you're not from this village?"

Zelphyr questioned with a flat tone, his voice portraying how boring he found this interaction.

The boys face grew redder by the second as he heard Zelphyr ignore his question entirely and dismiss him.

"Answer me! Who are you!"

Zelphyr shook his head.

'This child really doesn't know how to ask a question...'

Deciding this unruly child wasn't worth the hassle, Zelphyr turned around, signalling with his hand for Albedo to follow and ignore. Albedos glare immediately ceased as a smiled flourished upon her face once more.

Zelphyr strode into the village without a care in the world, accompanied by his faithful subordinate. Eventually, the arrived in the heart of the village. Many different faces covered in dirt and sweat rushed around in what seemed to be a chaotic mess considering the general peaceful atmosphere of the village before. Nevertheless, the chaos was organised in a way that everyone was contributing with their jobs as a unit.

'Truly impressive, for these ill-trained people to be able to work as a solid unit, almost as effectively as a unit of soldiers'

Of course this level of unison could not compete with Nazaricks standard, however considering the level of education and services available to these people, it was quite a sight seeing them work so well in unison.

As he looked around, his gaze eventually settled on who seemed to be at the centre of the chaos. Two figures of similar sizes. One was an old man with physical fatigue on his aged face, while the one the old timer was watching was a teenager with blonde hair and a bright smile on her face despite the large amount of voices being projected towards her. The old man watched on with a scrutinizing gaze watching both the villagers and the teen. These two individuals were of course, the Village Chief and the subject of Zelphyrs trip, Enri Emmot.

A small smile bloomed on Zelphyrs face when he saw her.

'It seems even without the goblins, Enri has started to show her skill in people management and commanding. Even better.'

Zelphyr thought with a hand on his chin as he watched from afar.

In contrast, Albedos gaze was anything but appreciative. As she watched her lord observe a female human with interest, negative feelings started to bubble inside of her. Despite that, not one thought managed to leave so much as a crack in her perfect visage. Of course, her expression was hidden by her helmet, but to Zelphyr, she may as well have been naked.

Stepping back slightly, Zelphyr reached one arm out behind Albedo and pulled her closer, bringing her a few inches away from him. His gaze remained on Enri, yet this small gesture managed to soothe the time-bomb that was Albedos emotions very easily.

Not intending to stand around purely observing, Zelphyr strode toward Enri.

Unlike other metallic armours, the high-quality materials used in Zelphyr and Albedos made it so that on top of their immense defensive capabilities and abilities, they made virtually no sound. Additionally, they did not get dirty easily. Zelphyr only noticed this recently, but it seemed that any armour that had a self-repair function also cleaned itself without any maintenance. The same applied for blades, they kept themselves maintained. This was a bonus Zelphyr enjoyed as his weapons and armour were safe from the wear and tear of overuse.

"Mr Dyle can you please head to west side group and help with the logging, and Mrs Dyle please go help the ladies in the Village Chiefs house please"

"On it Enri, don't stress too much ya hear?"

"Thank you Enri, make sure you come take a break when you need it"

The two left their parting messages before heading in their assigned directions. Enri saw them off with a brief smile before looking down at the list in her arms. Unlike at Nazarick, Carne still used weathered cloth and charcoal as their forms of writing, with very few of the villagers actually being capable of writing anything beyond basic words. Thus, one of the reasons Enri was entrusted with such a tall task such as assistant to the Chief was due to her ability to read and write to a foundational level.

"Thank you Enri, you have been a huge help to the village. No matter how much I deny it, my old bones seem to remind me that I am not the young man I once was"

The Village Chief Ald smiled wryly as he spoke to Enri. Lately, his body had not been responding the way he wanted, he felt it was due to the last tragedy, putting his body through immense strength. Knowing this, Enri could only smile with an awkward expression.

"It is fine Village Chief, Lord Zelphyr saved my life and rescued my family, I have decided to become better. I am not strong but my brain isn't too bad so I decided to work in that area"

Enri pulled the cloth into her chest as though hugging something valuable.

Ever since that fateful day, her mind had been plagued by nightmares of the sights she saw, nevertheless, those nightmares were always banished the moment the heroic figure of Lord Zelphyr appeared. As a teenage girl, she was not one to be swept away by heroes, as to her, a resident of a small village, such stories were just that. Yet, she couldn't help picturing Lord Zelphyr whenever she had a spare moment, his gallant figure when he confidently slashed down her attackers and the serious voice of his when he told them to find safety.

While in her own thoughts, Enri failed to notice that the village chiefs gaze had shifted from her to the side. It wasn't until she heard the sound of snapping wood, that she returned to reality. Her gaze shifted to the direction of the noise. As she did, she noticed a familiar figure. A figure she had been longing to see.

A burst of gratitude, happiness and excitement spread within her as she saw the armoured figures approaching at a leisurely pace. They looked completely out of place in the decrepit village, causing others to look in their direction as well.

Eventually, all the sounds in the village ceased.

"Ah Enri Emmot, and Village Chief, good day to you both"

Zelphyr said with a calm voice, ignoring the gazes of those around him.