Frei just stared ahead, at the now sunken into the ground Primordial Spirit tower. It was over. The battle of epic proportions had ended hours ago and so far there had been no other changes. While this should’ve been a calming thing to the people in the surroundings, to Frei it was quite the opposite.

  Her breathing was shaky, her entire body was trembling and her vision was blurry. She was kneeling on the ground, looking ahead as she tried her best to stay composed but at this point she couldn’t. It had been too long; way too long for Amber to not come out of the tower. It was obvious to her that everything was over.

  Days ago, there had been a lull after the explosion of light before the next battle started ?— or that same battle resumed ?— but this time things were different. Hours had passed, and there had been no changes. Amber hadn’t returned from the tower and she hadn’t replied in the notebook either. There were also no more signs of battle which to Frei meant that only one thing could’ve happened.

  Amber had died.

  Her master had died.

  Her only reason to live had died.

  That realization simply broke her. It started with a hiccup before Frei started to full on crying. She couldn’t remember the last time she had done so, but she was tired. All her centuries alive had been spent chasing one single goal, yet every single time things went wrong. Whether it was finding a dead end, or realizing she had been deceived, or even the mere fact that Primordial Spirits would never trust her given her affiliations. All of that filled her with dread, but after so long she had found hope in Amber. And to top it off, she had genuinely liked Amber and hoped for her to surpass her, but now, none of that was possible.

  Whether it was her dreams, or her hopes for Amber as a servant. None of that would ever come to fruition. And that?— that filled her with despair.

  “It should’ve been me…” Frei cried. “I should’ve been the one inside confronting whatever monster there was instead…”

  It’s not like her life had any actual value anyway, she was just a member of the terrible Arcane Council; she was a villain through and through. So at least, at the very least she should’ve achieved redemption by sacrificing herself.

  “Fuck!”

  She slammed her hands against the cold hard ground. Even though she was a level 340 individual all that happened was a loud thud. After all, she was weak, even though she was a physical fighter, she relied on magic to make it all possible. In her normal state, she was no different than a level 50 Warrior most likely. And honestly, it suited her. Being so weak and pathetic suited her, because clearly she just had no redeeming qualities or value, since her own master had died and she hadn’t even tried to save her.

  Frei screamed and gripped her head. What now? Did she even have any choices left, anything to do? Was there even something she could do?!

  “Calm down!” Aveline called from the side. “It’s not the end of the world, relax first then we can figure out what to do!”

  Following her words, a hand came in contact with her back but Frei immediately slapped it away.

  “The world is ending, my world is ending!” Frei protested as she curled over. “I have nothing to live for, absolutely nothing…”

  Her words trailed off as she buried her head into the ground. Was there even anything she could do now aside from crying? What even awaited her after this? To continue serving the Arcane Council and hope she can go to Ill’hine from them? That was obviously not going to happen. Even if the Council did make it into Ill’hine there was no doubt in her mind that the lamps would immediately put an end to their games as soon as it happened. And unfortunately, she was always going to remain a member of the Arcane Council.

  Which meant…

  “There’s no future for me…” she whispered, coming to a realization.

  In the end, there was only one thing she could do.

  Frei raised her head, and looked at the sky for a moment, her vision blurry. She wanted to dream one last time. She closed her eyes, imagining the promised land, and finally she raised her hands and used her magic. And at that moment, she heard a gasp coming from the ex-noble.

  “Frei, wait?!”

  This was the end, at least, the end she wanted. Twisting her magic a knife of darkness was made, and with a deep breath, she?—

  “Don’t.”

  A chilly voice echoed in her mind. A familiar one, and one that caused her to freeze. Frei reeled. What? She opened her eyes and looked towards the tower, where she saw a figure emerging from the ground.

  First came a lightly glowing orange hand, then the head with shining hair, and the rest of her body followed. It was a familiar person, yet she looked oddly different.

  “What is that?!” one of the few remaining people screamed.

  “It must be the Primordial grazing us with their presence!” another called.

  But Frei knew the truth, and it brought her relief. A moment later, the figure disappeared and re-appeared before her and slapped the knife off her hand with a deadly glare. Even though the person should’ve been familiar to Frei, right now it felt closer to looking at a deity, and maybe it was only right. After all, it was her master, and she was a mere servant.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “A-Amber?!” Aveline called. “W-Why do you look like that?!”

  Amber blinked. “Look like what?” She looked at her hand and blinked. “Oh.”

  Following that, the glow filling her body disappeared and Amber’s appearance returned to the normal familiar one that Frei was used to. Which finally made all the tension in her body disappear.

  Ah, she’s alive…

  Amber turned back to her, still frowning.

  “Anyway what were you doing?”

  But instead of answering, Frei launched into her waist for a tight hug as she cried, but this time the tears that came were of relief.

  * * *

  At first, Amber had been lost. She had been lost on a lot of things; from Frei’s actions to the fact that now that same elf was clinging to her. But after listening to Aveline’s explanation of what had happened, Amber understood what the issue was. After all, Frei had bet her future on her, so her dying was most definitely the last thing the elf had wanted. But that hadn’t happened.

  Even then, it took close to an hour for Frei to calm down, but when she finally did she looked more embarrassed rather than anything.

  “What’s the deal with ya looking a bit like a lamp anyway?” She snorted, looking away with a flushed face. “Wouldn’t have recognized ya if I wasn’t so familiar with ya.”

  “That’s right, why were you glowing like that?” Aveline asked, tilting her head.

  Amber paused, and thought for a moment before finally remembering what they meant. Indeed, she had been glowing in an orange color rather than the usual blue aura she emitted. Also her hair had been glowing as well. Of course, she had to give a bit of an explanation but, what was even the right thing to say in a way they would understand?

  “Uh, I grew stronger with my godhood thingy,” Amber said simply. “That’s why.”

  Aveline blinked and meanwhile Frei nodded in understanding. Although after a moment, the elf looked over and paused before narrowing her eyes. Following that, Frei marched up to Amber and peered at her.

  Amber took a step back somewhat surprised by the sudden behavior. “What is it?”

  “You…” Frei tilted her head, leaning even closer. “Your vitality seems weaker?”

  “My Vitality stat went up, though?”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Frei shook her head. “No, I don’t mean that. Obviously your presence is even stronger than before, but I mean your life force is weaker. It’s actually much much weaker. If you were a normal human I would’ve thought you were terminally ill and were about to die.”

  “But Amber looks completely fine?” Aveline asked from the side.

  “Ya obviously, she does.” Frei snorted. “For someone as strong as her it won’t really affect how she functions. But something is obviously wrong with her if she has an even lower life force than even you”

  “You can detect people’s lifespan?” Amber raised her brow.

  “Well ya, I’m not called the Dark Reaper or whatever for nothin’. So, are ya dying, or?” Frei asked, giving a side-eye.

  Amber pursed her lips. “I’m not dying, but I’m not necessarily okay either. But sharing can wait. After all…”

  She looked at the now desolate surroundings. The few people that had been present had ran away in a hurry after she came out of the tower. All that was left was a destroyed plain and a rather sunken Primordial Spirit tower along with the abandoned tents.

  “It’s probably not a good idea to remain here.“

  The other two took in their surroundings and nodded in agreement. Remaining here would only invite unwanted attention. So with that in mind, they departed shortly after gathering the stuff at the camp.

  “Our next destination is…” Frei tilted her head. “Well, I kinda forgot the name but there’s a really big city to the west. And it gets us closer to the Demon of Genesis, so it’s a win win.”

  Amber blinked hearing that. It had been so long since she thought about her ongoing problems that she had completely forgotten about the Demon of Genesis. But soon, she remembered. She remembered Oracle; his plans to destroy the capital of Cytel and his escape that resulted in millions of casualties.

  And finally, she remembered what she intended to do. While she didn’t feel as strongly about it as before, it felt like it was her duty to kick his ass.

  Clenching her fist she glanced at Frei. “How strong is the Demon of Genesis now?”

  Frei tilted her head. “There’s been no new information about it, but I’d assume the fucker is near level 400 now.”

  Amber nodded, but Aveline seemed alarmed.

  “Wait, don’t tell me you intend to fight that thing right away?”

  “She’s right, y’know. Even with your godly powers it’s a really big gap,” Frei added.

  “Obviously not right away, I still need to grow stronger.” Amber shook her head. “But as soon as I hit level 300, I’ll go after it.”

  “Are ya sure ya don’t wanna take care of whatever lifespan issues ya got?” Frei asked, not glancing back. “How much time do ya even have left anyway?”

  Amber frowned as they continued walking. She wasn’t sure if she should really share, to the people of this world; or at least to someone like Frei, her remaining lifespan wasn’t all that much. But to her it seemed like such a distant problem, and not really something to worry about. In spite of this, she could tell her two companions were greatly worried.

  So, after a few minutes of deliberation she finally spoke.

  “Nine years.”

  Aveline nodded with a small frown hearing her answer, but Frei on the other hand, halted on her steps and glanced back, biting her lip.

  “Is it being constantly drained?”

  Amber shook her head before closing her eyes and answering.

  “No, but if I were to truly fight for my life again it would definitely go down even more,” she said simply. “But I don’t think it’s a big deal.”

  “It’s a big deal,” Frei said coldly. “A really big deal.”

  Amber raised her brow. “How so?”

  “‘Cause unlike elves, humans don’t have long lifespans. Even if you level up a lot, you won’t gain that many years,” she said seriously. “Which means, your lifespan will continuously decrease if you keep fighting such strong enemies.”

  She averted her gaze for a moment, biting her lip.

  “It also means, ya’ll die sooner or later.”

  Amber blinked. “Nine years is a really long time, also I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time to find a solution. If not then I have a good solution already in the form of an artifact. And there’s also the fact that I have quite a few potions left over from fighting the Primordial Spirit.”

  Frei frowned before turning and resuming walking. “Ya treat this as if millions of people didn’t just drop dead from old age already. There’s many legends of extraordinary heroes succumbing to their lifespan. Is your artifact that good? Can ya guarantee you won’t be dying any time soon?”

  Amber shrugged. “Probably? You can take a look.”

  With those words, Amber tossed Frei the All-powerful Pendant of Arkara, which she grabbed with a frown. Finally, after looking down on it for a moment, she threw it back but her expression remained the same. It was evident that Frei was greatly displeased. It wasn’t as if Amber didn’t understand where the elf was coming from, but also it wasn’t as big of a deal as it was being made out to be.

  Then again, if I had been alive for centuries I’d be worried too.

  “Frei, I don’t know if you know this but I was literally level 1 as of two and a half years ago, or three years,” she added with a sigh. “I’ll be fine.”

  But all she got in reply was a sneer. “Ya right, and I was under level 100 five years ago. I may not be the sharpest, but I ain’t that stupid. I don’t even see why ya lie about this.”

  “Not even I believe that,” Aveline added.

  “Lie?” Amber asked, confused.

  “Well ya, ‘cause you were called the Demon Killer of Laria or whatever back then. And you were above level 50 already,” she said, annoyed. “Granted, it’s pretty fuckin’ impressive that you’re this level now, but still…”

  “I’m not even lying,” Amber said with a sigh. “But even then, the fact that I was level 50 then and currently 240 now kind of proves my point.”

  In response, she got a mere grumble. But Aveline didn’t seem so convinced.

  “I can’t help but feel like you’re treating this too casually. Even if your artifact is amazing, the fact that you probably will struggle with lifespan for the rest of your life doesn’t seem to worry you enough.”

  “I mean, I thought I was going to live till 80 years old for most of my life.” She shrugged. “It’s genuinely not a big deal. I’m just here to see where my limits lie, that’s about it really.”

  “So did ya suddenly decide you were going to leave your small village and become a monster slayer all of a sudden?” Frei asked sarcastically.

  Amber tilted her head. “No? It wasn’t even a decision. I kind of just woke up inside the Ar’thra Forest’s Tower one day.”

  Then she paused, stopping on her tracks.

  “Oh, you guys don’t know.”

  Frei stopped and glanced back, meanwhile Aveline also came to a natural stop and glanced at her.

  “Know what?” Frei asked gruffly.

  “What is it that we don’t know, Amber?” Aveline asked softly.

  Amber raised her index finger and pointed it at herself.

  “I am…”

  Her expression quickly became a beaming one, one that was incredibly happy.

  “From another world~”

  Hearing that, Frei immediately snorted with clear annoyance, “Bullshit.”

  Meanwhile Aveline gasped.

  “No, no, hear me out,” Amber began. “It all started when…”

  With that, Amber proceeded to regale them with her amazing tale. Speaking from how her experiences were as a kid and learning her motivations, to the perception other people had of her. She also made sure to tell them all about her world. Every. Single. Detail. From the fact that there was technology and absolutely no magic or mana nonsense, to the fact that there were no monsters, to even how peace was so prevalent. In short, she made sure to emphasize how Vir was the polar opposite of Earth.

  And it was all to achieve one single result; one single goal.

  It was simply to:

  “How is someone as violent as you from somewhere so…” Aveline swallowed her words, her eyes trembling as they sat on a makeshift camp.

  Meanwhile Frei simply shook her head as if she had a headache. “I sorta understand why ya are treating this so casually now. If only I had been born there instead of this hellhole.”

  “Oh, we don’t have elves either,” Amber added.

  At that the elf’s eyes went wide.

  “You don’t have what??!”

  Her goal was simply to shock them, but a secondary goal was also to ease their worries, which worked wonderfully. If she didn’t see it as a big deal, she saw no reason as to why her companions should stress about it in her stead.

  * * *

  The next day, while reveling on the dopamine that yesterday brought her, Amber and her group arrived at their destination. It had taken just over a day of travel time in total, but it was quite relaxing, after all, even though most of the land was barren it was nice to sightsee. There was also the ongoing disbelief that she was from another world, which allowed Amber to just enjoy herself.

  After pummeling the Primordial Spirit for such a long time it was a nice change of pace for her, and the feeling of detachment she had been feeling was also gone from the experience. While the conversation of what exactly happened in the tower remained, it wasn’t something that anyone was pressed to talk about. Their main priority right now was mostly deciding their next destination. Of course, the issue of the Demon of Genesis remained, but now wasn’t quite the right time for it.

  Even if she had quite a few potions leftover from fighting the Primordial Spirit, she couldn’t fight hundreds of levels above her for very long. There was also the fact that the Demon of Genesis could be even much stronger than level 400, which is why she had to prepare.

  Nodding to herself, she saw Frei pause and gesture to the distance.

  “Andddddd, we’re here,” Frei said, making a grand display with her hands in a playful tone. “The amazing city whose name I don’t remember!”

  Amber raised her head and saw a gigantic fortress. Rather than a city, it looked like a huge stone castle filled to the brim with ramparts and towers, which she didn’t expect. While the southernmost wall seemed to be under repair, it still remained an impressive sight. In such a desolate and dreary place, it stood tall as if defying anything that nature could ever throw at it. To an extent it even looked a bit intimidating.

  Confirming their destination, they began to approach.

  “Hm, but do you think it’ll be fine?” Aveline asked. “The entirety of the Republic of Mercenaries is on edge.”

  Frei waved her off. “Relax, they won’t attack us on sight. As tense as this place is, the demon activity seems to have gone down.”

  The blonde girl lowered her head. “I hope so…”

  Shortly after, they arrived near the gate as a powerful voice resounded.

  “Halt! Raise your hands and stay where you are!”

  Listening to the voice, they complied.

  “See?” Frei smiled. “These people aren’t barbarians.”

  “Your identities have been confirmed, lay down your weapons and surrender! Otherwise we shall use lethal force!”

  Amber blinked. “Surrender?”

  Meanwhile Frei scoffed. “Cut the crap, what are we even guilty of?!”

  “You lying scum!” the voice growled. “Attack! Don’t let these Demon Summoners escape!”

  “Demon?— what?!” Aveline cried.

  And a moment later, a barrage of fireballs and arrows struck down.

  NOTE: Also let me know if i missed an important detail in world building.