Somewhere in the northwest Wishe Forest, Oberon and Orstrid are fighting off the goblins and kobolds that bring havoc to the surface. After the earthquake that comes from Orario, exactly from the Bable Tower, the monsters on the surface become active. Because of that, for the full weeks, I spent patrolling and protecting the border from any monster intrusion.
((Slash))
Then I point my blade at my left arm, aiming at the monsters that start running.
{{Multiple Ice Spear}}
Then ice spears appeared from thin air going at the speed of sound and stabbed each monster, and then they exploded into dust. The only thing left was a purple crystal.
There I stood holding a twin blade called 'Laguz & Logi' which means water and fire. The blade has the same design; the difference is in the ornament of the crystal imbued in the blade. The material used is from the [Laguz] use of Leviathan Blue Eye that crystalizes, making it a really powerful boost for water-type magic, and for [Logi], the crystal is from the heart of the volcano, which increased the power of fire magic.
The blade length is 72 cm, which suits me well because it's not only something I can use to slash the monsters; I can also use it as a staff to cast my magic. For Orstrid, she has a single Clymore name, Tyr. I gave that name because she asked me to name it myself.
("Are you finished, Orstrid?")
("Yes, Master, I already cleared most of the area.")
After the area is clear of monsters, I use a tool that I made to shoot a signal of green smoke into the sky. This communication device was created and planned by me to make sure that we can share information easily in the dense forest. Green means it's clear; yellow means there is a monster; and red means there is a need for reinforcement. Then I called Tanyl with a whistle, petted her, and climbed on her back.
"Good girl, Orstrid, now we are heading to our post."
"As your command, Master."
The magic crystal that drops from the monsters will be picked up by the soldier assigned to gather all the material dropped from the fight; all they need to do is head to the green smoke signal to find the material to gather.
When I get closer to the base, the guard shouts to open the door. The base itself is the same size as the baseball field, and it has a wooden tower to watch over the forest to see the smoke signal to send the guard reinforcements or material gatherings.
"I am back, Mother."
"Welcome back, Oberon. Orstrid, good work."
Because of the rampant activity of the monster Mother partakes in the duty to protect the Wishe people, it was easy for me to take the horde of monsters that gathered in one place, but now they are all scattered around the forest, so it needs all men and women that are available to help. It has been a week since the monster on the surface became restless.
"Mother, from the information, the hunt for OEBD started a week ago, right?"
"Yes, that's true. From the information that Riveria provided, the hunt had already begun a week ago. The only Familia that partake in the hunt are Zeus and Hera, so Riveria should be safe. There is no need to be concerned, Oberon. I know you don't want to stain our family name, but you just need to pay attention to the preparation before your departure."
"Okay, Mother, anyway, this twin blade is so amazing! I can use it as a weapon to slash the enemy, and I can use it as a staff to cast my magic!"
"Fufufufu, of course, my son; the metal was pampering by a great blacksmith from the far east, and the crystal was imbued by great mages in Altenia; we make sure that blades can help to protect you on your journey."
"Thank you, Mother. Now how is the border situation, Mother?"
The situation's not so good right now. Many of the monsters went out of the dungeon and started roaming the Wishe's Forest area. Normally, we can stop them from spreading by closing the dungeon exit, but we can't do anything because the dungeon itself is located outside of our border. At first, I suggest asking the one who has the authority to close the dungeon entrance, but for a stupid reason, we can't ask such a favor. It's because of the Elven people's opinion and treatment of the outside people; they most likely refuse to help us.
Thankfully, the number of monsters that roam the Wishe Forest is decreasing, and their activity has become more manageable.
"How is Father doing, Mother?"
"Thanks to you, Oberon, your Father can concentrate his attention on the border of the abandoned world and manage to stabilize the situation, and your healing scroll and tactic help us not lose any soldiers... Good job, Oberon; I am so proud of you."
Then she hugs me and pats my back.
"Hehe, of course I will do anything to help my family."
"You to Orstrid, thank you for always protecting our son."
"No need to thank me, Lady Viska."
I am sorting and reading the document while waiting for any signal that needs help clearing the monster. Most of the encounter is easy to handle by the Elven Guard, and we gather quite a few magic crystals for civilian use.
"Mother, can you investigate the abandoned world with Orstrid? I want to make sure there are no dangerous monsters there."
Mother and Father were already well aware that I had flying magic, so I could travel far faster and safer. Mother knows that lately I have worked myself to the bone, and she is well aware of the reason. I want to ensure that when I leave, no monster can pose any danger to my home. Because they were worried Mother and Father gave me Laguz and Logi far earlier, they planned to give me that twin blade when I reached 15 years old.
"*sigh* Sure, Oberon, but please be careful. The abandoned world right now is in chaos and anarchy; there is no law or order, and most of the territory is infested by bandits and monsters."
"I understand, Mother. I will put that in mind."
("Orstrid, let's go.")
("as your command, Master.")
After picking up all the equipment I need, we head toward the gate.
"Have a safe trip, Oberon."
Then I waved my hand to Mother and left the room. When we went far enough from the fortress, I cast {Gravity} Orstrid, who followed with bright wings, and then we flew east of the forest. I already remembered the geography of the world map, so I don't have a problem traveling around thanks to the time I spent in the Royal Library.
I calculated that with the speed we traveled, we could reach the abandoned world capital in four hours.
----
I am now standing 4 kilometers above the ground, looking down in disbelief and fear because I saw there was almost nothing left—only a crater 3 kilometers wide. This place should be where the capital city is located and where Anya and Allen's birthplace are, but there is nothing here other than ruins and some monsters roaming around.
"Orstrid, can you detect any living being other than the monster?"
"I am sorry, Master, there is none."
"Is that so? Such destruction... that dragon is too dangerous to keep existing in this world. I know the story told by Anya, but this."
I can't help my feeling of unease when I imagine my home suffering the same fate.
"Orstrid, you told me before that the dragon was originally a spirit, but it corrupted. Can you tell me how a spirit can be corrupted?"
"I am sorry, Master. I do not know the exact reason, but there is something to do with the dungeon."
From what I know, the dungeon is the place where all the monsters were born. The most famous one is the dungeon, which is located under Orario Bable Tower. There is a rumor that the OEBD nest is located inside that dungeon.
But there is one thing I have to do, at least, to help clean this place of monsters.
"Ostrid I want you to gather all the monsters into that crater. I want to do some testing. Make sure to retreat when I tell you, "
"As your command, Master."
I can use them as my testing object to see how powerful my spell can be when I use my Laguz blade ability to increase my water magic power. I will use my king-rank magic spell called {Lightning} to wipe them out.
Then I descend a bit to avoid getting caught in the storm cloud that I will create. After I reach 1,4 kilometers above ground, I point my blade at the sky. Soon after, storm clouds start to gather, and then thunder starts to scream and the wind starts raging around. I hold the lightning until Orstrid gathers them all.
I can see Orstrid pulling all the nearby monsters to the crater. After she reaches the center, I order her to fly and retreat to my side, then use my other hand to cast a quagmire to trap all of them. I drop my blade at the trapped monster. What follows is a bright light falling upon the monster, and then a thundering noise follows.
{Lightning}
((BOOM!!))
After the bright light fades away, I can see a crater, and there is no sign of monsters; only ringing noises are left in my ears.
'Hm, I only put 2/10 of that spell power input yet... The power has almost reached 6/10 power input. I can't imagine what kind of destruction there will be if we put maximum power into it. I can probably wipe a city with the full power of my lighting magic.'
"I need to be careful to cast such spells... Orsrid, are you okay?"
"Yes, Master, it's just... my ears feel some pain from the loud noise."
"I am sorry, Orstrid."
Then I went close to her and cast healing magic.
"Better?"
"Yes, thank you, Master."
I just smiled and petted her head a bit. Our heights were not far different; my height was 176 cm, and Orstrid was 179cm.
"T-thank you, Master; I feel much better now."
"Anytime Orstrid. Now we are going to survey the southwest. From here, Anya said there should be a settlement for the remaining civilians. There, we can gather some information."
She just nodded, and then we flew to the southwest of the capital.
----
After 45 minutes of flight, I can see a settlement with a stone wall. The town itself is surrounded by a mountain, and there is a river stream separating the outer wall from civilian houses. There is also a castle connected to the large mountain. Then I descend close by to find a good spot to draw my teleport circle, and after finding one, I pull my notebook from my pocket and memorize the drawing of a teleport circle. Then I draw it on the ground and put my mana into it.
"Done, Orstrid; please guard this area until I return. I need to change my equipment; these clothes are too eye-catching."
"As your command."
When I stepped into the circle, I teleported into a room without a single door. I did so to avoid anyone other than me who used this teleport circle to get out of this room. The only way to get out of this room is to use earth magic to reveal the hidden door on the wall. This room is located right beneath my home. Mother and Father already know of the existence of this underground room, but I am not telling them yet about the teleport circle.
I built this place like a labyrinth, and there are five rooms I built: a bedroom, a training room, a research room, a teleport room, and lastly, an equipment room where I store clothes, food, a healing scroll, and some armor and weapons. There is an escape route I build in case my home is attacked, and my family can use it as an escape.
Then I grabbed some clothes and money. I use Valis as an exchange currency; for the clothes, I wear casual clothing with a cloak I can use to hide my pointy ears; and, of course, some instant food that my mother makes long-lasting food as I request to be stored here.
"This should be enough."
Then I went back to the teleport room, and while teleporting back there, I could see Orstrid standing firmly guarding the open area.
"Welcome back, Oberon-sama."
"I am back, Orstrid, and wear this."
I give him the cloak that I use to cover her head and body before we head there. I destroy the teleport circle, then we head to the entrance of the small town. I can see there is a guard with cat ears and a sword on their waists gazing at Ostrid and me.
{Eresh}
I can see a gray aura emanate from both of them.
("Orstrid, be on guard. Don't attack until they do.")
("I understand Oberon-sama.")
"Hold!!"
Then I stopped.
"Who are you, and what has your business brought to Tein? Open your head cover so we can see your face."
'Ho, this town's name was Tein, okay, then I shall play nice."
Then I open my head cover, and Orstrid does the same as I did. When they see my ears and face, they are surprised and can see some hate in their expressions.
"An Elven kid! What the fuck are you doing here!?"
"First, let me introduce myself. My name is Oberon, and beside me was my servant, whose name is Orstrid. We are both travelers; we are just visiting this place because we want to restock our supply and gather some information about the monsters roaming this territory."
"Why should we help you? Your people did nothing when we were in dire need of help."
"I can't say we are doing the right thing or the wrong thing to shun our door from your people, but you did know that before the calamity, your King always tried to scorch our border and try to mine our sacred place without asking for permission. So there is a good reason why our people don't want to help your people."
I could see his expression changing, and both of them tried to pull their swords. Then I put my hand on my blade handle, ready to pull it at any moment.
"STOP YOU, IDIOT! If you try to fight both of them, you will die for sure."
There, I can see a red-haired human girl, probably the same age as me. With a twin-tail hairstyle, she wears revealing clothes showing her breast curve and her belly button with hot pants, and she has two daggers on her waist.
'She looks so much like Eris; the only difference is her hairstyle and her breast size.'
Then she gets closer and, while staring at both guards, tells them to stand down.
"Sorry about that; they are too stupid to see that you can cut their heads easily. By the way, my name is Sera Rufus. nice to me... Hm, hello? Why are you freezing?"
'Calm down, Rud I mean, Oberon is indeed gorgeous. Dammit, why is my heart pounding hard? Calm down and keep cool.'
"Inhale exhales…. My name was Rud—I mean, Oberon. The woman behind me, her name was Orstrid, And what's your name again, miss?
"Sera, Sera Rufus Kukuku, you are very funny. Okay, then Oberon, can you tell me again why you are here?"
"The reason why I am here is because I want to resupply my food and gather some information about monsters that roam this territory, plus I need a safe place to sleep."
"I see... Hmm, a strong, handsome, and beautiful elf traveling around is pretty. Okay, then you can come in, but you must meet our goddess first to know you are not having any bad attention."
"But captain, they are an elf!"
"SO WHAT!? Did you hear what he said? Our King did bad things to his people too, so why should he apologize and beg so he can get in?"
Then both of the guards went silent and put their hands away from their weapons.
"Sorry about that. Please understand that our people are tired and angry because of the frequency of monster attacks."
"It's okay; I will pretend this debate never happened."
"Hm, you are an elf, right?"
"Yes, I am, as you can see from my ears."
Then I moved my ears a bit to show her it was real.
"You are not so arrogant; I heard that Elven races always look down on other races."
"Well, I can't blame you for having such views; my people are more often proud of themselves, and because of that, they always look down on other races."
"You don't say, Okay, then come in, and I will escort you to meet goddess Iduun; she loves to meet strong travelers, especially Elven races."
"Sure Rufus-san."
"Sera, call me Sera. I don't like formality."
"Well, Sera, you can call me Oberon; there is no need for formality; you can do the same to Orstrid."
"Good. I will give you a summary of this town's situation along the way. Both of you keep on guard and stop staring at that Elven woman, or you will lose your head."
Because of my awkward behavior, I did not notice that Orstrid normally does not easily get angry. I can feel that she is not in a good mood.
("I am sorry, Orstrid, did they make you feel uncomfortable?")
(Yes, Master, I don't like that they are shouting at you.)
("Thank you for caring about me, but we must keep our heads down if we want to know what happened here.")
Then I follow Sera from behind. As the guards said, this town's name was Tein. This town is one of the places that survived the calamity that wiped out Sera's homeland. Most of the population lives in the capital city, so when the calamity happened, her homeland lost more than 60% of the population. The survivor describes the horror of the incident; most of them didn't realize what happened until the explosion and fire burned their beloved city.
That is not the only bad thing happening to this kingdom. What follows is that monsters start to get active, with no military to hold them. They start rampaging around a small town and killing more people, plus some bandits take advantage of the chaos by building their base in this unlawful place. Tein is one of the places that are safe from bandits and monsters. Thanks to the goddess Iduun and her Familia members, this place has become a haven for people who seek home and protection.
This town has a dense population. Most of the refugees living in the other district were cat people; because they were living in the outer city, they managed to survive the calamity. This town is not so perfect; of course, there is a thief and a kidnapper. Because of the lack of jobs and opportunities, many refugees become criminals.
"Goddess Iduun does her best to protect and maintain order in this town, but it is not an easy task. But somehow, after 7 years, we managed to maintain order inside, but on the outside, it was a different story. The strongest of Iduun Familia was me; my level was 3, and most of the members were levels two and one. Because of a lack of manpower, we can't venture outside often to clear some areas and dungeons. I am just lucky that I am the first child of goddess Iduun, so I have an easy start, but lately, we received some help from another goddess, who helped us send weapons and equipment from Orario. Who is her name again? Ummmm, oh yeah, her name was Loki, Goddess Loki. From what I heard, Goddess Iduun and Loki have a great relationship in heaven."
'Now I know what I need to do. To stop monsters from going to Wishe Forrest, I need to clear out this town problem so Goddess Idunn Familia can go outside of town to maintain the monster number. Loki, whose name shows up so frequently lately, maybe because Riveria knows this town is significant, asks Loki to help Goddess Iduun. No Sera said that Loki and Goddess Iduun were well acquainted, which may be the reason.'
"Hey, Oberon, stop standing outside; we have already arrived."
"Oh, sorry, I get caught up in my thoughts, then excuse me."
Then I went into the building that looked like a church. Inside, I saw many people eating and drinking, as it felt like a tavern atmosphere. When they noticed me, they all went silent, but thanks to Sera at my side, nobody was willing to start a fight. Then we stopped in front of a door.
"Oberon, Orstrid, please don't be disrespectful to our goddess. I know your people hate gods and goddesses, but please be kind to her. She helps out people through bad times, so we are all here to love our goddess."
"It's okay, Sera. I am maybe an elf, but I am not a close-minded elf that blindly hates someone without any reason."
"Oberon I am sorry to say this, but you are indeed the weirdest elf that I have ever met. I am not sensing any arrogance in your words or your actions. I hope every elf thinks like you."
"Let's say you are the second person to call me a weird elf."
I can see her giggling a bit. I can't help but see her reaction as pretty cute. Then Sera knocked on the door.
"Iduun-sama, I bring you a guest."
"That sound, Sera, sure brings them in."
Then Sera gave him a code to come in with Orstrid. When I open the door, I see a woman in her mid-twenties. She has long blue hair with some pink color on it. She was wearing a blue and red dress, and I could see her eyes watching outside of the window while holding some paper in her hands. While our gazes meet, her eyes widen, but she keeps silent until she takes a seat on the sofa and then asks me to do the same.
"It is so wonderful to see a strong, handsome elf. You must understand this; not many people love to visit this town without any good reason, so I believe there is something you want to know about this town. But know this: we simply do not have much to offer for you and your companion."
"First, I feel honored to have such an audience to meet goddess Iduun, and second, I will introduce myself. My name is Oberon, and the woman behind me is a trusted companion named Orstrid."
Then politely bow to her to show some respect.
"As goddess Iduun said, I want some information, especially about the surrounding monster."
"What can you offer if I give you the information you want, Oberon?"
"In exchange, I will solve monster problems that wreck this land."
After I declared such a claim, Goddess Iduun went silent, and then she started observing me and Orstrid.
"You …. I can see you are not lying to me. Oberon, can you really do that?"
"Yes, goddess Iduun, I can do that easily."
Then Goddess Iduun smiles at me, and the atmosphere becomes less dense than before.
"I thank you for that, Oberon. I will provide you with any information you need to help your monsters hunt, but can you go with one of my children, Sera? She is right now level 3; if she can level up, it will become our town's greatest asset."
"Sure, Goddess Iduun, but when she does level up, I want to ask you some favor; later, it's not a hard thing to do and it will benefit both sides."
"Sure, Oberon and I will provide you with a room so you can take a rest."
"Thank you, Goddess Iduun, for your hospitality."
Then I bowed politely before leaving the room.
"Such a bright child; his aura is so warm and cozy. He must be the one that creates that weird storm and thunder noise."
Then goddess Iduun watches the scenery out of the windows.
"Finally, a hero comes to aid this poor land."