284Hey there my fellow Overlord, Fanfiction, & anime fans! This will be my 1st ever attempt at an Overlord fanfic & since it will be my 1st I ask only 2 things. First, please be gentle & not be too harsh on the new guy. Second, if you're able to grant request one, then I'm very much open to constructive criticism, ideas, and/or suggestions as long as it's done in a respectful, detailed, & intelligent manner. I think that's not TOO much to ask for, right? I wanted to do something a bit different from what most people usually do here so these starting chapters will be somewhat long & detailed & kinda' exposition heavy. You might want to scoff at that, but some might recall that the author of Overlord, Kugane Maruyama-sensei, had used a similar method to promote his world & character building. Additional, supplementary information will be provided in parentheses () so as to help readers. So with that in mind I hope you'll cut me some slack & I hope everyone will enjoy the fruits of my labors! Also, I give a very special thanks to the following people for providing ideas, inspiration, and for simply writing some of my favorite stories here that gave me the motivation to WANT to do this. So for various reasons thanks a million to:
Chamaeleonx, Carlos783, ginobi47, levelgap, PervySageChuck, knaka148, Cayan, Garmadon35, pta917, the unknown spirit, FumeKnight, Grogery, Sasugasm, kits11, EvilDetective, and the fanfic community!
*Author's Note: Just to let everyone know, this story will start out with a "Teen" rating but will still have some highly detailed & suggestive dialogue & text in regards to the use of language, violence, sexual content, & a dash of drama for good measure. If you feel it deserves a higher rating then don't hesitate to send me a PM with your reasoning behind that opinion & please be detailed in your message. Thank you!*
Chapter 1-Prologue to the End
The man floated in a weightless void lacking sound, warmth, light, and form which appeared to stretch on endlessly. He looked neither fazed nor worried as he slept in this nothingness that seemed to comfort and cradle him as a mother's womb. Suddenly, there was a massive explosion of flame and light in the distance.
Despite the fact that the event was approximately fifty kilometers (31+ miles) away the man stirred and moved as if in response. For a brief moment all was still in the void while the newly formed ball of light and flame kept its position.
Slowly but surely however it started to move from its point of origin. First it moved down from its high position that had overlooked the void and then it slowly started to move towards the man. As it did the man's eyes stirred and slightly opened somehow knowing to expect something.
As the ball slowly moved towards him its shape began to twist and change from a sphere to something more defined as legs began to sprout from the bright and fiery mass. Then the shape continued to change as hind legs started to form, then a tail, a set of wings, and a long neck with head. The form coalesced and finally created the body of a dragon made up of light and flame.
Once formed, the dragon like mass was over forty-five feet in length (13.7 meters) with the tail included. An equally large wingspan that seemed to create sparks as it flapped its wings propelled it forward, and as it did it's color spectrum began to shift from bright fiery orange to an equally bright emerald green. In mere moments the man was quite literally face-to-face with this bright emerald flame dragon.
The light had done a great deal to illuminate the man, his features now clearly visible under the emerald glow. He was a muscular, six and a half foot (201 cm), well fit man whose naked physique was made up of toned, chiseled muscle that seemed to bulge and ripple under the skin even when he was at rest.
He had long, full blond hair that went down to the mid section of his back that appeared to float as if alive in the void. His eyes were a bright emerald green that seemed to match the radiance of the dragon before him.
Those eyes were still in a barely opened state, like he was emotionally unmoved by the magnificent sight and looked on as if in indifference. In fact, the man's eyes looked empty as he looked upon this bodiless flame dragon before him. The dragon's jaw moved but not to cause harm but it was as if to form words to speak.
After but a few seconds of what seemed to be an exercise to see if it actually could speak it's voice, though booming throughout the void, was a gentle, warm, and compassionate tone that could put at ease even the most frightened of souls. It was a soft, male tone that could be considered fatherly in nature.
"Gabriel." It said to the man, and in response the man weakly replied.
"...My name."
The dragon's facial features contorted into what could have been considered a warm smile and spread its wings out and then brought them underneath the man called Gabriel. The wings of emerald flame cradled Gabriel as if he were a child in a father's arms, while the flames themselves did no harm to his body.
They instead lightly enveloped him as if the flames themselves were a second skin to him. Gabriel felt warmth and peace from those flames, as if he had been made aware of something that he had long forgotten on the outer edges of his consciousness, but couldn't quite place what it was. He brought up his right hand as if to reach out to the emerald form above and in front of him but couldn't quite reach.
As if he hadn't the strength to move more than that. The flaming emerald dragon looked upon Gabriel and as he did this the smile faded into an expression of sadness and quite possibly regret as well. The dragon again softly spoke.
"I am sorry, I..."
The dragon tried to speak further, but the words ceased to be audible even though he continued to move his jaw. Gabriel slightly tilted his head to the left not understanding why the sudden change occurred. The flame dragon let out a long, exhausted sigh as it seemed to realize what had happened to its voice. After a moment it spoke again but its voice seemed weak and faded.
"Time to awaken."
Gabriel widened his eyes a bit and tilted his head slightly once again not quite understanding the meaning. The flame dragon tensed as if upset but held itself back from doing anything violent. Instead it raised its voice to such heights that it seemed to shake the void itself.
"WAKE UP!"
With the voice echoing in his mind Gabriel's eyes shot open. His breathing was labored and his bare chest glistened with sweat that seemed to shine in the low lighting from the windows of his penthouse apartment.
He moved his left hand up and placed his left forearm over his brow as he laid in a king sized bed that was covered in light blue, silk sheets. He stared up at the ceiling fan as he tried to calm his breathing. He managed to achieve this in about thirty-five seconds and as he did so he sighs and softly speaks to himself.
"That same dream again."
It was a dream, but one that had been coming to him randomly once a week for the past four weeks. As he kept his breathing steady he began to ponder on the meaning of this strange, repeating dream that had been hounding his sleep.
'What does it all mean?! I've never had this kind of dream before. It feels more like a memory, but that's impossible. Like I could have forgotten something like that!'
Gabriel closed his eyes and sighed long and hard to try and dispel these thoughts because he knew he wouldn't get anywhere. He has seen and experienced many strange things in his life but recurring dreams outside of the occasional nightmare was definitely outside of what he knew firsthand. Although he knew of some beliefs that dreams could potentially contain messages, he wasn't the type that acted with little to nothing to go on.
Just as he was pondering this a feminine voice moaned next to him. He turned his head to the left to see the naked back of his lover and beloved, Alisha. She was the center of his world and his life, and as far as he was concerned hers was a beauty that could charm even the dead back to life.
The silk sheets had fallen off of her during the night, revealing her full splendor to the room. Her long, divine legs merely accentuated her toned and athletic six-foot frame (183 cm). Her silky short-cut, raven black hair seemed to reflect light with its healthy luster and sheen. At one-hundred and twenty pounds (54 kg) she couldn't be any more perfect to him.
Gabriel smiled as he gazed upon her, as her smooth and flawless skin seemed to glow in their dimly lit penthouse apartment. He moved to match her position and embrace her in his arms from behind. He looks over her shoulder to look down at her face and chest to see her firm C-cup breasts with her nipples perked up and erect in the cool air of the room. Her sleeping face was the perfect picture of tranquility as her breathing was a slow, steady, and relaxed pace.
No matter his troubles, being with her always calmed his worried and troubled heart. The softness of her skin, the smell of her perfume and natural musk, and the soft tones of her gentle voice and breathing always put him at ease. Even if he was raging with anger and/or hatred, or falling into a pit of sadness and sorrow, one touch of her skin on his and one sound whispered in his ear was all he needed to feel calm and centered again.
He looks at the clock next to their bed. It gave a full set of readings for the time, day, month, and year. The date reading was 07-06-2136, while the time reading was 4:05AM.
'Really? 4:00 in the fuckin' morning? Alisha is sleeping so peacefully, no way in hell I'll wake up this sleeping beauty at this hour over that damned dream!'
Just as he was thinking to himself that waking his love now with his troubles would be an inconsiderate move on his part, she began to stir and move from feeling his warmth against her back and his arms wrapped around her waist. Using her right arm she slowly reached behind her to embrace his head as she could feel his breath on the back of her neck.
She smiled and turned her head to face him, revealing a pair of pearl-white and longer than average canine teeth. He didn't seem surprised or disturbed by the sight, nor was he shaken when he saw her slightly pointed ears, or gazed into her violet colored eyes that seemed to refract light like a feline's. This was all perfectly normal for him as she was a real-live vampire.
Unlike those vampires in fiction or those avatars used by Yggdrasil players, she was not a mythical undead creature but a real, living, breathing vampire. Also, despite what the myths would have people believe she and her kind are not unholy things cast out by God or whatever but just another species that quietly lived in the shadows of human civilization.
Gabriel always thought it was hilarious thinking back to all those ridiculous myths surrounding vampires, which included weaknesses to holy water, garlic, and crucifixes. On the contrary, she actually had a fondness for crucifixes and Christianity.
However, some of those old legends did hold true in some ways. Vampires were ageless as long as they kept themselves well nourished with fresh, healthy blood. Alisha herself was over five-hundred years old, but didn't look a day over twenty-two. In regards to the UV rays of sunlight, their grey colored skin was extremely photosensitive and would burn the flesh off their bones with prolonged exposure, bringing a whole new meaning to the word, "sunburn".
Another weakness that held true was silver. It didn't hurt them because silver was a special metal to ward off evil, but was purely an allergic reaction to the compounds in the metal itself that acted like a virulent poison to them. And the most popular belief that held true was destroying the heart.
A vampire's heart was akin to the nucleus of their being, and even if the head was cut off recovery was still possible if treated quickly enough by reattaching the head and providing an ample supply of fresh blood. But if the heart took too much damage death was a very near certainty.
Just as he had become distracted by these inane thoughts she leaned back and deeply kissed him. Her soft lips meeting the warmth of his, their skin seemed to melt into one another. Her moist tongue hungrily forced itself into his mouth and very nearly coiled around his like an aggressive serpent. He always did enjoy the sweet taste of her saliva which reminded him of a watered down type of sweet syrup.
As their mouths continued to devour each other he gently guided his smooth but firm hands all along the contours of her body that was equal parts soft and firm due to her toned physique. After what amounted to twenty minutes of passionate french kissing and massaging they gently parted their mouths from each other as they both gazed into their eyes. Alisha then spoke in soft and sultry dulcet tones that could seduce people with the mere sound of her voice.
"Hmm. Good morning my love.~"
"You too my angel."
Gabriel's pet name for Alisha, "angel", was his way of emphasizing to himself and to her just how much of an impact she had on his heart and his life. She was his angel, his light, and his strength and he had happily given all that he was to her as they shared their lives together.
For her, every time she heard it she felt both equal parts joy and humility from the way he regarded her. Though she was a supremely confident individual, she was never arrogant and always counted herself lucky to have such a loving, caring, and selfless man in her long life, and despite his reverence for her or their differences she regarded him as her equal.
Of course, that didn't stop her from giving him a hard time every now and then, or playfully teasing him. Her smile softened, she turned around and as she embraced him back she spoke in a concerned tone of voice.
"My Gabriel, was it the dream again?"
He sighed. 'I swear keeping anything from her is nigh impossible.'
"Yeah, angel. It was, and it's really starting to piss me off."
He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead into hers. If he had to be perfectly honest, he absolutely hated that recurring dream. It wasn't enough that it was a constant nuisance to him getting a through a week without worrying about it happening, but moreover it left him with a disquiet he couldn't shake.
It was like a feeling that something was wrong somewhere, but with who or what he couldn't say. It was just a feeling that gnawed and ate at him, and to be perfectly honest his patience for the whole thing was wearing thin. Anything that disturbed his peaceful life with his beloved he had no tolerance for, even if that something was his own dreams.
Alisha for her part took it all in stride. She ran her fingers through his long, blonde hair that had set many women's hearts aflutter, including hers. She wasn't disturbed in the slightest, but instead she was concerned about the effect these dreams had on him. Gabriel knew asking her how she knew would be a stupid question of the highest caliber, but for the sake of hearing her sweet voice he decided he really didn't care and rolled with it anyways.
"So, how'd you know this time?"
Alisha chuckled at this thinking it was both cute and even strangely romantic.
"Oh, my Gabriel. I could tell even if we weren't bonded to each other. Your beautiful body is positively drenched in your delicious sweat, and though your breathing is normal I can still hear your heart pulsing and racing."
As she said this, she bent down slightly, and starting from the middle of his chiseled chest, and worked her way all the way up to his neck with her extended tongue being guided up the contours of his skin. He stood still letting her taste his flesh now glistening with his sweat.
As she slowly savored him he let out a small moan. Her tongue was moist and lubed, but rough like a cat's tongue and he loved how it felt on his skin. In a single move she wiped away his anxiety like it was the sweat on his skin. Gabriel smiles and thinks to himself while she is doing this.
'Heh. My heart's not the only thing that pulsing and racing now.'
After doing this she got on top of him, he placed his hands on her waist, and as she straddled him she placed both her hands on his pecks and looked at him with a serious expression on her face.
"Listen my love, due to our bond I know how these dreams upset and disturb you. It is beyond my power to stop them, but it is not beyond my power to help you through it."
She leans down so that their foreheads meet once again. Hers was a very kind, friendly, caring, sensual, and affectionate personality. She was warm and giving, with the kind of warmth of personality that could charm wolves to dance with hares. Gabriel was not alone when he thought of her as an "angel".
There were many others who considered her to have the soul of an angel, as friends and acquaintances alike had agreed on that sentiment. She cherished life, people, and those she loved and cared for. Falling for her was one of the easiest things to do.
"Though it may be disturbing for you, I am certain this will pass in time and I will be here when it does." She smiles warmly as they gaze into each other's eyes once again, knowing more words were unnecessary.
The "bond" she spoke of was not something as mundane as a simple marriage where vows were taken. Alisha and a few other specific members of her kind possess some special abilities, and one of those special abilities is to bond themselves with those they choose as life-mates. After a simple ritual where blood is exchanged, a mental, physical, and in some cases even spiritual link is created.
The "Bonded" as they're simply called, can share strength, power, feelings, emotions, and even knowledge and memories when they willingly offer each others' blood. They become two halves of a whole and even from long distances they can feel the other's emotional and psychological states. This makes their relationship true and honest and renders deceit almost impossible.
Between vampires this is not a rare occurrence, but between a vampire and a human it is actually exceedingly rare. Gabriel was in fact the first human since the 1700s where the bond had successfully taken place. As a human bondmate he had received many gifts from Alisha which included enhanced senses, speed, strength, endurance, stamina, healing, knowledge, and most tellingly of all the gift of longevity.
Gabriel himself was born in 1904 in the United States, although he himself didn't look a day over thirty-two. Thanks to the bond he could gain some of the gifts of a vampire without having to actually becoming one, and thus still remained for all intents and purposes human.
They embraced once again, and for the next five hours they made love as if it were their first honeymoon. For Gabriel his enhanced physical state also gave him an extremely hyperactive sex drive. If one were to try to define it, it would be like being a promiscuous teenager, multiplied by a factor of ten. Their mutual hyper-promiscuity meant that sex was always on their minds.
After being together for over two-hundred years, Gabriel knew Alisha's body better than a sailor knew the constellations in the sky, and knew exactly how to get her to release her pent up energy without falling behind. Another benefit of their bond meant multiple, simultaneous orgasms that would have demolished their bed several times over if it weren't heavily reinforced for just such an occasion. Superhuman love-making can be dangerous after all!
"AARRRGAAH!"
"AAAAAAHHH!"
After hitting their limits they both experienced a torrential flood of euphoria as they hit their fifth hour in each other's arms. As they did however both of them slammed their bites into the other's neck. This was not to cause pain or harm. In fact it was quite the opposite. It was an extension of their bond, and it was even a sensual act for them.
As they struggled to regain their senses and calm their labored breathing they began to lick and clean the bloodshed from each other's necks, each consuming a portion of the other's blood as a show of the bond they shared. They both collapsed while maintaining an embrace with Gabriel on top of Alisha. Both of them struggled to get their breathing back under control, but as they were Gabriel smiled and whispered into Alisha's ear.
"Wanna go again, angel?"
Alisha was dumbstruck as she couldn't process what had just been purred into her ear. Wide eyed she stared at Gabriel, noting he was grinning ear to ear as she looked at him. She closed her eyes, then chuckled and then burst into full on laughter.
"AH HA HA HAH HA HA HA HAAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
After her uncontrolled fit of laughter her breathing was even more labored than it was before. It took her some time but her breathing started to calm while Gabriel's almost back to normal.
'Sneaky bastard.' She thought to herself as she smiled back at him and realized that his game was to be leaving her breathless in the end instead of the other way around.
It wasn't a game he played often, but when he did the result couldn't be more effective. He always did know how to drive her crazy.
"Heh. Oh, Gabe.~ When was the last time you pulled that stunt?" She cocked her left eyebrow and smirked as she waited for his reply.
"Oh, I don't know, it was such a long time ago.~" He looked away a bit and tried to look innocently when he gave his answer, and failed spectacularly since Alisha didn't buy it.
So she reached down, and slapped and grabbed his perfectly formed and muscular buttocks in each of her hands, whilst digging in with her sharp nails drawing blood. Despite her kind nature, she was also very flirty and very mischievous. Alisha could very well appreciate a good jest, but you had better be prepared to pay for it.
"Ugnnn!" He let out as he felt the cost of his joke.
Alisha continued to smirk as she spoke.
"Oh, really? I seem to recall you having a near photographic memory even before our bond. Try again.~"
'Heh. She got me there, and there, and OW!, there.' Gabriel thought to himself as his back arched from the sharp pain digging into both his ass cheeks.
Alisha was smiling and seemed to be enjoying herself making his back arch, but for vastly different reasons.
"Whew! Okay! Alright! It was about fifty years ago. Ow! We were in France and as I recall we were taking a break that year from our 'globetrotting'. We made love all through the night. Even got the attention of some curious tenants with all the noise we made in 'that' hotel."
He winks at her at that last part and she had quite a lovely grin remembering that particular evening.
Seeming satisfied with his answer she very slowly released the steel death grip she had on his ass, and as he collapsed his head on her chest she then proceeded to lick the blood dripping from each of her nails one by one. She speaks to him in a sultry and mischievous tone.
"That's what happens when you're too naughty my love.~"
"Yeah. Ugh. I got that. But at least it wasn't as bad as last time." He said as he sighs in relief.
"Last time?~ Oh! You mean that one time when you thought you'd get away scot-free and I showed you otherwise, extending my fangs into your d..."
"STOP!" He abruptly interrupted as he grimaced upon recalling the events in question. As much as he loved Alisha he was not fond of that particular memory.
*sighs* "Alisha?"
"Hmm? Yes sweetie~?" Responding with a mischievous grin as she gently caresses his now slowly healing ass cheeks.
He lifts his head so that they are staring into each other's eyes and smiled at her.
"You can be soooo evil."
Alisha doesn't respond with words, but simply smiles back at Gabriel and kisses him deeply. Suddenly, she grabs him and rolls him on his back so she's the one on top again. Slowly parting her lips from his, she winks at him, kisses him again briefly, and then slowly gets up and off of him and starts moving from the bed.
"Come my sweet blonde stud. It's morning."
Before she can leave, he grins, looks at her back and responds.
"I'm pretty sure I did. About eight or nine times. Kinda' lost track."
Responding immediately, she grabs a nearby pillow and starts smothering him with it while both are laughing.
"Oh,my, GOD, you are horrible!"
Still laughing he throws the pillow to the side and just smiles at her with his bright emerald colored eyes that always seemed to soften her up and ensnare her heart and soul with his gaze. She leans down and kisses him, and then he comments.
"I've yet to hear you complain.~"
She looks at him knowing he had her there, and in truth she loved how he could drive her crazy. And as much as she regarded him as her equal partner, lover, and beloved bondmate she was still very competitive, especially when it came to witty repartee cum pillow talk.
She then slowly started to glide her hand from his muscular chest, abs, and then finally grabbing his manhood. Bringing her lips to his left earlobe, she softly bites it and purrs whispered nothings to him.
"Honey, if you really want to impress me, go for ten.~"
She releases her grip, turns around, and walks away with a triumphant swagger. However, without skipping a beat Gabriel sits up and comments with a smile.
"Humph. Challenge accepted, babe."
She lets out an overly exaggerated sigh as she smiles to herself.
'After all this time he STILL needs to have the last word. And I love him for it.~'
While Alisha makes her way to the shower Gabriel gets up from their bed and as he does so he notices a green light flashing from their home computer terminal. He walks over to the desk, sits down, and turns on the holographic display.
Everything in their penthouse apartment was top of the line, showing that they lived well and had the resources to do it. The display shows all their recent messages received from their various accounts, and notices only one new message.
"Well, isn't that interesting." He mutters to himself.
With Alisha's hearing she heard him perfectly and raises her voice to sate her own curiosity.
"What's so interesting?"
Gabriel raises his own voice to reply as simply a reflex to the question while reading the message.
"Just checked our messages. Apparently the 'shitty devs' have announced that the YGGDRASIL servers will be shutting down in about two years."
Just as he had finished that statement a sound of some plastic bottles falling down on the floor could be heard in their bathroom. Gabriel was surprised by the sudden racket so he turned around from the desk and spoke up.
"Hey Alisha! Everything okay?"
"Y-Yes. Everything's fine. Just being clumsy."
Gabriel thought to himself as he turned to face the computer to finish reading the whole announcement.
'That's odd. She's very rarely clumsy with anything. I did feel her surprise for a second there. I guess even vampires have their moments. That's actually a comforting thought.
What YGGDRASIL was to them, was a virtual reality DMMO-RPG (Dive Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) that was released in 2126, and was a game that emphasized exploration, and customization. It was a game where all you were told were the controls before being thrown into the world, learning and discovering as you went. In other words, YGGDRASIL's special feature was the incredible amount of freedom given to its players.
Although the game used full virtual reality technology, in accordance to physical laws, it does not provide a sense of smell or taste, and the sense of touch was actually quite limited. In addition, due to the lack of such technology when it was developed, facial expressions were not supported, and artificial intelligence was simple in nature.
What allowed YGGDRASIL stand out and attract a great number of people, was its flexible system to permit players to freely make a great number of choices. Players could select numerous races and jobs, and gain access to various tools and programs for customization within the game.
Should a player use creator tools that were sold separately, one could freely alter the looks and designs of weapons, armor, interior data, character visuals, and advanced settings of their in-game residences or bases. The philosophy of customization was quite far-reaching and broad, even extending to basic programming in some instances.
Gabriel smiles to himself as he turns off the monitor, gets up to stretch and yawns like a bear coming out of winter hibernation. He hears the shower turn on and after a few minutes he hears Alisha calling to him.
"Oh, Gabe?~ Get your nice ass moving. The water is perfect.~"
"Heh. Yes, ma'am." He says with a wry grin.
An hour later they finish their time in the shower and begin a routine of checking messages, watching brief snippets of news stories, and while Gabriel was cooking breakfast for himself, Alisha pulls out what seems to be a red wine bottle from their refrigerator and pours herself a full helping in a large wine glass.
In truth it wasn't wine but a special blood/wine mix that her kind sold in several underground markets. She sits down at the dining room table, and turns off their TV after the news story about YGGDRASIL's announced shutdown started to play.
Gabriel approached with his breakfast, which consisted of three helpings of hash browns, six scrambled eggs, ten strips of bacon, two slices of wheat toast, and an entire pitcher of orange juice with about ten different multivitamin pill supplements.
He sat down, downed all those supplements in one gulp and dug into his food with almost wild abandon. Alisha simply watched him with a wry smile as he ravaged his food like a starving man.
With the exception of certain types of meat in some small quantities, she couldn't eat the same foods as him. Although there was a slight pang of regret for that, she genuinely enjoyed watching him eat. Since his increased metabolism required him to eat more food than most people she thought of it as a cute and a little entertaining show.
While he was plowing through his meal Gabriel spied a few glances at Alisha while she was elegantly drinking and savoring her bloodwine. He recalled he had a small amount once, just to try it out. He had to admit that it wasn't half bad and even shared a bottle with her on special occasions, and she adored him for that because it was one more thing that they could share together.
Although she never said anything to him about it he could feel that she regretted not being able to share his home cooked meals with him. Cooking was one of his many aptitudes. He would often tend to the catering for the little gatherings their mutual friends would host. As soon as he thought of their friends a question formed in his mind.
"Hey angel. Since you were checking messages while I was cooking, you see anything from anyone about the recent YGGDRASIL announcement?"
She paused for a few seconds before carefully setting her glass down and turned to smile at Gabriel.
"Sorry, Gabe. Nothing was sent, but considering the guild membership, not hearing anything from even two-thirds of them for long stretches of time is kind of normal."
He thought on the answer given as he started to finish up his meal.
'She's got a point there. We know some interesting people to be sure. A lot of them are active duty military, special forces, mercs, spies, police, and we even have a couple of contract assassins. One retired, and one who's still VERY active. Hearing from all those hard cases inside of a day in short order would take nothing less than a miracle to happen.'
He thought back to the first time they even started the game. One year after YGGDRASIL's launch, it was actually Alisha's idea to pick it up and give it a try. It seemed like fun so he took on an attitude of, "Sure why not?", when it was suggested. So Gabriel, Alisha, and a childhood friend named Jon joined in and those first three become their first YGGDRASIL adventuring party.
Alisha chose the heteromorphic race, undead vampire because, sure why not? True she was a living vampire in real life, but Gabriel figured it shouldn't be too much of a leap for her to role-play a YGGDRASIL vampire. She focused on a one handed retractable sword build with an assortment of support and combat spells from the divine school of spell casting for versatility in combat. It complimented her real life fighting style which focused on hard, fast attacks to tear down opponents.
His friend Jon chose werewolf, because like Alisha he chose a race that reflected what he was in real life, and in his case a real live werewolf. Gabriel had known him since childhood, and he was like the uncle he never had in some cases. Like Alisha he was almost nothing like the mythic/fictional versions of his race. Although the vulnerability to silver was still a thing, he didn't change with the full moon after his abilities had fully matured after a century.
He had nearly full and conscious control over any of his transformations, but due to the strain it puts on his body and metabolism, he would be as weak as a cub the following day, so unless an emergency required it he actively avoided that. Even in his human form he had enhanced attributes that would still classify him as superhuman, and he very rarely needed the extra boost his transformed state would grant so it became a little redundant.
He also had regenerative healing that could be compared to a vampire's, although he was a tad younger than even Alisha at three-hundred and twenty years old. In short, he would get his ass kicked if he tried to fight Alisha head on, even with transformation. Taking on a person as strong and experienced as her head on was the quickest way to get your ass handed to you on a plate.
Gabriel had sparred with her more than once and soon learned that the only way to get the best of her one-on-one was to catch her unawares and vulnerable. To anyone who wanted to try to catch her unawares, all he had to say was, "Good luck with that!". With her enhanced hearing she could hear a pin drop from 2 km away (1.24 miles), and that was even before she even counted on her other senses.
As for Jon's main methods of attack in YGGDRASIL, he chose ranger, assassin, and ninja classes to better take advantage of the speed a werewolf can develop in-game. Plus, it mimicked his real life fighting style, thus making combat and movement near second nature.
As for Gabriel, he trained as a fighter his whole life in the martial arts which included hand-to-hand fighting styles, as well as blades and swords. Though he was proficient with a great many weapons and styles, he settled on a two-handed sword style that complimented his real world training in the use of the Japanese katana.
He could switch between hand-to-hand, one-handed and two-handed bladed combat with ease which made him fairly versatile and unpredictable in a fight, and it was simply second nature to him. Like the other two he chose to play a race that reflected his real life one, so he chose the human race for his YGGDRASIL avatar. However, something different happened with him when he locked in his character.
He somehow fulfilled the special hidden requirements right out the gate to be granted the ultra-rare, and then unknown class of human called, the [Methuselah]. Gabriel was needless to say shocked with that kind of development. All he did was login and spawn in the beginner area. Shortly thereafter he learned that the YGGDRASIL lore stated that only one [Methuselah] would appear every ten millennia, and that they had a "typical" lifespan of about two-thousand years due to them having a strong life-force.
Alisha took that as hyperbole on the developer's part as their way of saying that once enough human players had populated YGGDRASIL, the next new player that logged in as a human would, in essence win a random freaking lotto ticket. Alisha's theory was backed up by how the devs gave little to no information on hidden classes and how to get them, and the fact that the whole game was geared toward making life hell for nonhuman players with no penalties for PKing them.
Still, it was a win for Gabriel to be sure as the [Methuselah] class human had a great many advantages over regular human avatars. For starters, his class could gain up to ten racial levels which granted bonuses for HP, MP, strength, agility, speed, defenses, and even limited health regeneration, just to name a few.
Most tellingly of all, he could PK other human players with little to no penalty, but only under certain circumstances. Those situations included defending himself from attack, defending members of his party that was under attack, or defending weaker leveled players from being PKed.
Again, their only clues as to why was within the character lore that was provided. It stated that the [Methuselah] class human was supposed to represent the best traits of humanity and thus was to be a guide and example for other humans to follow. Again, it was time for Gabriel to break out his hyperbole translator, and to him it simply meant that it was a way to keep other players from bitching and moaning about how much of a "cheat" that class was by balancing it out with its own unique sets of pros and cons.
Cheat or not, it came in handy during their first sojourn in YGGDRASIL as Gabriel's little band was accosted by higher leveled players on their very first day. It would have been a total party kill if not for the fact that all three of them had real world training and even more so, they had literally century's worth of combat experience, as well as superior reflexes, teamwork, and tactical and strategic prowess.
To them, their higher level meant nothing, because it was like fighting a bunch of strong noobs. Once they set up a clan base, Gabriel hit on the idea for them to recruit more members from their pool of mutual friends who, like them, would have actual combat training and experience.
The advantages were clearly evident when they faced stronger level players on their very first day of traveling. Once they agreed on that point they began recruiting from their pool of friends and associates. Some jumped at the chance, others needed poking and prodding, and others simply turned them down.
Still, at the end of the day they ended up with a clan of about twenty-two members, and the results would speak for themselves as they absolutely demolished the competition in area clearing, dungeon crawling, and PVP.
Gabriel was lost in thought as he was reminiscing on how it all started in YGGDRASIL. He didn't even notice he was finished eating his meal and just found himself staring off into space. As he came to, he realized that Alisha was doing much of the same, but was going about it quite differently.
The bloodwine she had been drinking was swirling around in the air front of her while she was motioning a circle with her right index finger, looking quite amused with herself. Gabriel chuckled at the sight seemingly unfazed and was even amused himself at the scene taking place. He was sensing that Alisha too was in a good mood and decided to poke her a little.
"You like showing off or just making me feel envious?" He said as he gives her a smirk.
"Hmm?~ Maybe I like to do both."
"Heh. That's what she said."
He cracks his bad joke whilst keeping his smirk on. Not missing a beat Alisha then immediately uses her thumb and middle finger to flick a small glob of floating bloodwine at his left eye. Seeming to hit the mark, Gabriel reels back cupping his eye with his left hand.
"Ah! Not in the eye!"
"Hmph. That's what she said.~"
Alisha directs the rest of the floating bloodwine down her throat with simple gesture from her right hand and it disappears as she swallows with a single gulp. She looks at Gabriel with a wry smile seeing him cradling his eye, but not seeing or feeling a hint of pain from him.
"How long are you going to keep up the charade?"
Gabriel shoots her a wry smile of his own as he wipes off the red liquid from his eyelid with a nearby napkin.
"You almost had me there angel."
She stands up, walks over to him, and sits in his lap with elegance and grace as she wraps her arms around his neck and shoulders. He returns her embrace with his own around her waist. Alisha licks a portion of the left side of his neck and then quietly purrs into his ear.
"I think I have you now.~"
"Uh huh. Then what's stopping you?"
She doesn't reply as she slowly sinks her lips and then fangs into his flesh, and he lets out a very audible moan. Alisha slowly and gently starts to drink from his neck letting out a few pleasured moans of her own. After a few minutes she slowly releases her mouth's connection to his neck and then strokes the small punctures in his neck with her tongue. Lifting her head up their eyes meet and they share a deep kiss, with Gabriel not really caring her lips and mouth was still covered with some of his blood.
After a moment their embrace relaxes and Alisha pricks the index finger on her right hand with one of her fangs and uses it to spread some of her blood on the area she fed from on Gabriel's neck. Closing her eyes as if to concentrate, the area heals within seconds and any bruising and fang marks disappear as if it were an illusion. Gabriel then smiles at this and looks at her.
"I have to admit that 'Blood Magic' of yours comes in handy." He says as his facial expression turns soft and genuine, his awe of the ability showing quite clearly.
Alisha smiles back at him, kisses his forehead, gets up and takes his dishes back to the kitchen, and as she does she replies to his comment.
"Oh, Gabe. I know you look great in green, but green with envy doesn't suit you.~" He could only chuckle at the comment since he knew the nature of the ability.
Most people believed magic, like vampires, werewolves and the like were nothing more than myths and legends, but then again most people were ignorant fools. Although magic as a whole was in danger of disappearing from the face of the Earth along with its buried history, vampires like Alisha kept its memory and use alive, or on life support as it were. The type she practiced was one that originated with vampires, which could be called "Life Magic", but a more popular name for it, however inaccurate was "Blood Magic", due to the nature of its use and the culture from which it came from. As living vampires drain and take in the lives of those they feed on, they add that life energy to their own, and because of this they believed blood was both a medium and a currency for life. That belief led to the development of this particular magic.
They could use the vast pools of life energy they could build and accumulate within themselves to be used for a wide array of applications from healing others like Alisha just did, boost and/or enhance physical abilities like strength and speed, using it to manipulate minds, extract information, share information, and/or cause harm on both physical and mental states.
It's use was only limited by how much life force that a user could sacrifice at once. It was both powerful, and supremely dangerous if used incorrectly, and thus strict rules and codes of conduct were established governing its use.
One of those rules dictated who would be granted the ability. Its use was once something all vampires could manage with time and training but that was thousands of years ago and thus needed to be granted to another by a practitioner willingly. Also, beyond extenuating circumstances only one vampire could be granted those abilities from one practitioner. Just thinking about the events that required such rules to be enacted in the first place sickened and angered Gabriel to no end.
Although Alisha hadn't chosen a student to bequeath these abilities to, the reason she couldn't grant those abilities to Gabriel was twofold. First, was the fact that as a simple human, he couldn't use Blood Magic without killing himself due to his limited lifespan, and he had no real way to replenish lost life energy. Even simple spells could take years off his life. Second, his link to Alisha's life would prevent her from granting those abilities, although she did give him all her knowledge on the subject.
Of course, if anyone from her people found out she had done that, both of them would be marked for a swift execution. Even the simple knowledge of its use could be very dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands. Still, despite knowing all of that Gabriel wasn't bitter about it and he just considered himself blessed to spend his days and nights with the wonderful woman whom he was now embracing from behind, as she washed the dishes like a dutiful wife. As she was doing that Gabriel had a thought.
"Hey, angel. Do you have anything going on tonight?"
"Hmm? No, not really. My evening is more or less free."
"That's good. I was thinking that since we're both free we could hook up to YGGDRASIL's servers and just chill at our favorite spot in the base."
"Hmm?~ I guess that wouldn't be a bad idea. Most of the other guild members will most likely be too busy to do anything anyways."
"Then it's a date."
Gabriel kisses her on the right side of her neck and slowly glides his groin area across her backside. She closes her eyes and lightly bites her lower lip from all the teasing.
"I was thinking around 10PM or so to get all hooked up. What'cha think?"
Without answering Alisha finishes washing the last dish, turns around, and wraps her arms around Gabriel's head and deeply kisses him. After about five minutes of intense and passionate kissing they part their lips and Alisha gives her reply.
"I think it's most definitely sounds like a date.~"
"Great! Then I'll get everything set up for tonight angel."
Just as he was about to leave, Alisha picks him up and throws him against a nearby wall, and pins him there with all her great strength. This doesn't faze him and he just cocks an eyebrow, smirks at her and thinks to himself.
'I was wondering how long she'd be able to hold herself back. Seriously, I think I have more self-control than she does. I could feel her heat hitting me in waves, fer cryin' out loud!' She kneels down and starts to slowly undo his pants before she looks up at him with a devilish grin.
"Before you go anywhere or do anything I think I'm going to need just a little more nourishment from you.~"
He continues to smirk at her as he thinks to himself.
'Yeah, I figured as much. Especially since it's the only other thing of mine that she can consume that her body can process. Always thought that was odd but she seems to like it. Maybe it's because of all the orange juice I drink.'
"Heh. Fine then. You won't hear me argue. Just mind the teeth!"
"Hmm~? No promises.~" She gives him a wink as she exposes his now stiff manhood.
He rolls his eyes at the comment.
"Oh! One more thing..."
His attention goes back to her as she speaks and as she tightly grabs and strokes his member, now with a happy and a cheerful expression on her face.
"This time we're going for ten!~"
He gives her a blank deadpan expression as he thinks to himself.
'Well...shit.'