Chapter 10: The First Week In The Mansion

After what felt like an eternity, Nilcaris, Subaru, and Elsa carrying unconscious Rem, reached the door to Roswaal's room, which the amethyst-eyed young man knocked on.

However, it was never opened nor did a response come from the other side, and in the middle of this quiet night, the feeling of something more would not leave him as if eyes were observing from the darkness and a certain air of loneliness encroached, slowly isolating the world around as it became harder to breath, see, smell, feel, hear... the senses lost a war that didn't even start as the blurry confusion took over.

(Am I being cursed?) Nilcaris wondered but there was no time to think, so he moved forcefully opening the door, and falling to his knee with heavy breathing he did so before the weight got too bad to handle and his eyes closed.

On the other side of the door, instead of Roswaal's room, there was a library with shelves followed by more and more. All of it is full of books, and at the center of this room, there is a small blond girl with twirling twin tails, reading a book calmly as she sits on a fancy stool.

"Nil! What happened?!" Subaru grabbed Nilcaris' body to check on him with clear worry.

"Let me check, you'll probably make things worse." Elsa pushed Subaru off him to check herself, lowering the unconscious Rem to the ground, but never losing track of the blond little girl.

"I suppose you two don't want to die, so I would recommend not touching a cursed corpse, I suppose." The blond girl looked at them as she talked then went back to reading her book.

"What do you mean a cursed corpse?!" Subaru ran to her yelling as he asked.

"Don't yell at me, since I suppose you don't want to die either way. Leave this place or I suppose I'll have to make you. A corpse is a corpse, not much to say, I suppose. I thought it was obvious he was hit with the curse I placed on the door, Roswaal... Nothing, I suppose." The blond turned her attention back to her book, no longer seeming to be aware of even her surroundings.

Such a response didn't help at all, only making Subaru all the more erratic as his breathing grew heavier and his eyes contained an ugly disdain while his face contorted into a rage.

 "You can't just shout whatever you feel like, and then throw people out like they are some sort of rag! He's a human, a person! So stop being an entitled brat and help me! If you did this you can turn it back! So do it!" Subaru knocked the book off her hand in his anger, slapping it out of the way.

"I suppose you need time to accept reality, he's dead. Now leave." The result of such an action was not a great one as the blond girl looked irritated and cast strong winds upon them and threw them all out of the room, before closing the door on their face. However for an instant, a frown not with anger, but rather sadness appeared on her face, but the door was already closed.

Elsa who still had an arm busy with the unconscious Rem, held Nilcaris' body in place, while Subaru flew against the wall, and hit rather strongly bouncing on and falling to the ground.

"Do... Don't... Don't think you can run away from this like that?!" Despite his clearly bruised body from the altercation, the black-haired young man slowly got up and ran to the door to open it again, as he refused to let it end there.

On the other side of the door, however, was a smiling green-haired clown man, fully dressed up, sitting on the bed and looking at them, as if he had been waiting for the door to be opened.

Roswaal turns his head slightly, a smile creeping across his face as Subaru and the others enter the room.

"My, my, my, what a curious turn of events we have here," Roswaal said in his distinctive drawl. His eyes gleamed with amusement and something darker as he surveyed the scene. "I see you've been quite busy, Subaru-kun. But I must say, bringing the infamous Bowel Hunter into our midst is a bold move indeed."

Subaru looked at him with a frown not a word came out, but it was clear what he felt.

He rose slowly from his bed, his flowing robes rustling softly. "Now, what is it that brings you to my humble abode at this late hour? Surely, you have a very good reason for disturbing my rest." His gaze flickered to Elsa who was carrying Rem, and Nilcaris, then back to Subaru. "Ah, and of course, for your little...mishap with the door or maybe your strained encounter with my maid."

"You..." Subaru clenched his fists walking up to the man.

Roswaal chuckled softly, the sound echoing in the dimly lit room. "You should be more careful where you tread. Curses can be such tricky things, don't you think?"

"Stop! Playing games! You told her to do this! You told both of them to do this I bet! Why? If you wanted to kill us why do all this?" Subaru was stressed as he yelled at Roswaal and swung his fist at him, but it ended with him getting flung across the room back to the door.

Roswaal's smile widened, a hint of menace glinting in his mismatched eyes. He spread his arms wide in a theatrical gesture as if embracing Subaru's anger.

"Ah, Subaru-kun, such passion! Such fire! It's truly...entertaining," he said, his voice dripping with mock admiration. "But you see, it's not about wanting to kill you. If that were the case, there are far simpler and more direct methods, don't you think?"

At this point Subaru got back up, gritting his teeth.

He stepped closer, his gaze piercing into Subaru's. "No, no, no. This is all part of a much grander design. A design you have yet to fully comprehend. You see, each action, each decision, each...death, plays a part in weaving the tapestry of our destinies."

"Say whatever you want! It doesn't mean anything." Subaru shook his head refusing to want to listen him.

Roswaal's expression became, more serious, though the smile never quite left his lips. "Beatrice, Rem, even Elsa here," he gestures to the Bowel Hunter, "they all play their roles. And so do you, Subaru-kun. It's all to ensure that the future unfolds as it must."

He paused, letting his words sink in. "Now, you must ask yourself, Subaru-kun. Are you ready to play your part? Or will you continue to struggle against the inevitable?"

"What the hell are you on about?!?! Is this all a GAME to you?! These are people's lives!!" Subaru was utterly furious at the man in front of him, unable to understand his intentions, nor did he care to anymore.

"Come on, Subaru-kun, it's no fun if you don't struggle, and this is far from a game, It's just a story waiting for the plot to flow in the right direction, and you just so happen to be at the center of it all, to play the big role, one of sacrifice, so you should know what to do to put things in the right place." Roswaal smiled at him, a tap of his fingers on his own face, like a clock ticking.

"You... You... You know... You bastard..." Subaru looked at Roswaal and turned to Elsa, he looked her in the eyes before saying. "Kill me!"

Elsa raised an eyebrow, but a smile surfaced then she swung her dagger at his gut. "I'm not doing that, I would like to get your guts, but I was ordered to protect you, and that willingness has not disappeared." She stopped last second, and let go of Nilcaris.

"How rude to throw your master off like that, I was dead or something. You should treat a precious man like me with dedicated movements." Nilcaris hit the ground on his feet, as he dusted himself off.

"Nil... Dude, you're alive!" Subaru smiled as relief washed over him.

"Yeah, it was a bit of a hard-fought one, thanks for keeping things up, leave the rest to me." Nilcaris smiled at him, before turning to Roswaal.

Witnessing this Roswaal clapped. "Would you look at that, surviving a curse is no small feat, maybe I underestimated you, Mister Love." 

"What can I say? The rumors about my death were greatly exaggerated, but now I have a suggestion, Roswaal. Your cat is out of the bag, so why not listen?" The amethyst-eyed young man said a small smile on him.

"A suggestion, huh? Well, it would be rude to not even listen, when you have proven to be resilient." Roswaal was intrigued, interested in what he would say.

"Good, let us talk. My goals are exactly what I said they were, so maybe give me a month, and I will give you help in accomplishing any one request from you." Nilcaris declares with a smirk.

"Hahahahaha, I like you quite a lot, Mister Love, you have boldness rarely seen in someone who knows what they are doing. I'll take you at your word. Just as you asked, I looked into your past, and let us say, your word might just carry a greater weight than you believe." Roswaal extended his hand to the amethyst-eyed young man.

"It doesn't matter, I alone can bring forth my will." Nilcaris took his hand.

"Don't be too arrogant, one should know how to recognize the dangers ahead," Roswaal spoke calmly, but there was a warning in his words.

"Please, Sir Roswaal, don't make such assumptions, I'm in no danger whatsoever." Nilcaris smiled some more.

To this Roswaal too smiled, they seemed both happy from the outside, but there was clearly a disparity between them.

That ended there, as Elsa threw Rem to the ground, and they left his room.

"Subaru, choose a door at random, then open it." Nilcaris requested from his friend.

"Wait... Oh, I get it. Count on it!" Subaru walked to the 5th door of the hall and opened it.

Inside there was the blond girl, reading another book, noticing the door was opened she was about to close it, but Nilcaris caught the door and came in.

"Beatrice, come with me, it's about time we go." He walked in front of her and extended his hand to her.

"I suppose... You're still alive..." The blond girl, Beatrice, looked at him, her hand wanting to reach out to him, yet something felt off. "You don't know what you're talking about... I belong here...I suppose."

"You don't and you've been here for long enough, come with me. I'm taking you out of here." Nilcaris kept his hand in front of her.

"I... I... " She could not say it but her hand held his.

That was more than enough for him, he lifted her and carried her out of the library wall on the way to the window, where a full moon could be found gracing the world beneath it.

"Look, you're outside," Nilcaris said as he held her in his arms, and petted her head.

"I suppose... I suppose..." She hid her face in his chest, silently smiling as she enjoyed being pet.

"This guy..." Subaru shook his head seeing his friend just do something odd again.

Then there was Elsa, who also watched from the side, a small smile on her face. "It seems, Meili won't be in bad hands..." She murmured to herself.

Later, they all went to their rooms, and Beatrice was very clingy to Nilcaris, refusing to let go. Not having much of an option as she would not listen, Elsa who was supposed to sleep with her left to her room, and Subaru who wanted to convince her also left. 

That night, she clung to Nilcaris as he slept peacefully. 

The days that came after were when Nilcaris continued his days, but now Beatrice would also follow him everywhere aside from Elsa. Ram continued to obverse every day, but she now looked even more annoyed at Elsa and Nilcaris.

Having watched the amethyst-eyed young man over the days, Meili no longer seemed to hate his presence, but still, she refused to accept him, and thus the challenge continued until the 7th day since the start of their bet came.

Laying in bed while Beatrice was sitting on him reading, Nilcaris was lost in thought looking at his status screen. His hand petting her even now.

[Status Screen]

[Name: Nilcaris Kwiv Love

Age: 16 years old

Sex: Male

Species: Humanoid | Sub-Species: Human

Affinity: Neutral, Life, Death, Yin, Yang, Fire, Water, Earth, Wind

Bloodline: Love Lineage

Physique: True Deathless Human Body; Excess Mana Circulation Constitution

Soul rank: Mortal(Rank I)

Level: 5(Rank I cap)

Titles: None

Job: None

Class: None

Attributes:

HP: 500/500 | MP: 450 | Sta: 210/250

Strength: 29 -> 34(Limit)

Dexterity: 29 -> 34(Limit)

Willpower: 34(Limit)

Agility: 29 -> 34(Limit)

Undistributed attribute points: 0

Stats:

-Accessible

Charisma: I+

Luck: I+

Mortal Energy Core/s(2): Od(I+); Gate(I)

-Inaccessible

Chi(Od): I+

Mental: I+

Spiritual(Soul): I

Angelic: 0

Demonic: 0

Essence: I-

Magic(Mana/Gate): I

Reality: I-

Particularity/s(Authority/s): Portal Creation; True Deathless; System

Innate ability/s(Racial skills): None

Active skills: None

Passive skills: None

Resistances: Deathless,

Magic: None

Unique Magic: None

Extras: Divine Protection Of The God; Blessing Of The Great Spirit, Genive;

Inventory: Human corpses x8]

(I haven't leveled up since reaching level 5, and all my attributes plateaued. What now? Genive!) As he reached a wall he didn't believe he could just overcome without help, Nilcaris called out to her. No longer petting Beatrice.

[Here to serve! Hi, master... Sorry, I was silent, It felt awkward after the last time. Anyway, to level up more, you need to rank up. Your entity rank is I, right now, the normal human tier of capability at its fullest. Your entity rank is basically your power classification in the grand of the Omniverse, the higher it is the closer you get to the state of True Omnipotence, though remember just because you can get close it doesn't mean you can reach it. The next rank is H, and to reach it, you need to get your energies in harmony.] Genive replied sounding a bit tired despite her efforts to seem excited.

Nilcaris caught on to her tiredness. (I don't know what you were doing but don't over-exert yourself. Now, how do I get my energies in harmony?)

[That varies from entity rank to entity rank, but for the I rank, it's pretty simple. You need to infuse your energies into your physical vessel. While there are countless types of energies, only 6 of them are the basic fundamental ones. Physical energy, Spiritual energy, Mental Energy, Essence Energy, Magical Energy, and Reality Energy. You need all the other 5 for Reality Energy, but it can't interacted with or interfered with at your level. So, I recommend you focus on the other 5.] Genive explained.

(Oh, those are the ones in my stats... Good, so how do I do that exactly?) Nilcaris scratched his head as he found himself asking again.

At the same time, Beatrice noticed it had been some time since he patted or petted her head at all, unacceptable.

Thus she stopped reading a pout on her face. "I suppose something must be done. He appears to be in some sort of haze state." So, she crawled to his face and began poking him. Only for Nilcaris who was far too lost in thought to not notice.

[Your body has a mortal energy core formed in it for each energy that is already accessible or compatible with you, so try to reach into those and spread their energy around your body, and compress it into your skin, hair, eyes, ears, mouth, nose, brain, muscles, bones, and internal organs. Everything. Don't worry about the other 3 energies out of the 5 you don't have yet, you can deal with them later, but now, you need to focus on what you have.] Genive responded. 

(So, there's no problem in me doing them later? Like a point of no return?) Nilcaris was worried.

Meanwhile, Beatrice sighed with frustration after checking his pulse. She went to sit on the chair in front of the desk in the room, a pout still on her face. "I suppose there are things more important than me!"

[There is a point of no return, a few actually, but they are so far ahead you might as well ignore their existence, don't worry, I'll warn you if we reach that point and you still don't have all the 5 basic ones. Also, I think Beatrice is mad at you, now.] Genive answered.

(Thank you, Genive. Now let's deal with Beatrice, and then rank up. I need to fight a strong demon beast alone today, so I better get it done.) Nilcaris got up and looked at Beatrice sulking on the chair pretending to be unaware that he was moving again.

The amethyst-eyed young man got up and walked to her, then pet her head.

"I suppose you ARE alive." She commented sarcastically while looking unimpressed by his petting.

"I'm not one to die easy, and I have a cutie like you to take care of, so I'm not going anywhere." He smiled as he continued petting her.

"I suppose you're a liar then. You already left me alone." Her voice was calm, but her words were not.

"Then let's make it up, we'll read together for a bit." Nilcaris lifted her and sat on the bed with her on his lap, then he started to read the book with her.

This managed to calm her down, but some of the things in the book were too much for him to keep up, so he would often ask Genive for help understanding that stuff.

Later though, he got ready to harmonize his energies, before the fight with the demon beast came.