901CHAPTER 2-THE BEGINNING
Suvi Tvenstrup was wide-eyed as she saw her beloved older brother Nigel get struck down by the four goblins he was keeping at bay. His long sword and shield fell by his side as he then toppled backwards. Guarded by their mutual friend and teammate, Denys Shkoda, she then unleashed a volley of magic bolts as she gritted her teeth.
[Magic Arrow]!
The four goblins had their eyes and faces destroyed as the spell made contact with incredible accuracy. She then looked down at the bloodied body of her teammate and older brother, with tears and the look of fear all over her face.
"Gods no! Brother! Please don't die on me! Brother!" She wailed in both anger and desperation.
For a moment she had forgotten about the enemy outside their makeshift barricade as she gazed upon him. Time itself seemed to slow down as she feared the worst of him and of losing him. For seven years after their parents had died he was all she had. They had later become adventurers in order to get stronger, and to protect each other. Suvi was the magic caster, and Nigel the warrior, each supporting the other, and they soon would have made it to silver rank.
Now? She could only see her strong older brother on the ground bleeding and not at all moving. Suvi didn't even hear her rogue/ranger teammate and friend Denys' warnings about more goblins until it was too late. She turned around and saw the forms of six monstrous demi-humans ready to end their lives once and for all.
Then in a flash of silver streaks of light beyond counting, the six goblins had exploded in a flurry of blood and chunks of meat.
"Eh?"
That was all Suvi could say as she saw the surreal sight of a man covered in blood and gore, as he stood with [Katana] in hand, and spoke in a voice filled with venom and power.
"Now then... shall we dance vermin?"
The other side froze in shock, and for a moment, outright fear as this bringer of death had quite literally appeared out of nowhere. Suvi and Denys could only stare in awe and bewilderment as this scene played out before them, and the same thought was crossing their minds.
'Have we been saved?'
Just as they were thinking on this, the unknown man had then turned around to look over his left shoulder and as he did, they could swear his eyes were shining red. They could not dwell on it for very long, as at that very moment they looked into his eyes, all went black as they fell into unconsciousness.
...
Madara looked back to the ugly and feral beings to his front and counted the remaining ones left alive. He counted ten goblins and five ogres staring him down. With his [Sharingan] he had made sure that the young people he had rescued would not witness his abilities. He did this to ensure that he would not stick out too much, as he now had a rough idea as to the average strength level of this world thanks to the information given by the Observer.
What he saw through his [Sharingan] only confirmed this information. He could not see any traces of chakra, but he did see what could be best described as their, "flame of life". In other words, he saw their life-force, and using his sensory abilities he could definitely feel their level of strength was far below his.
Having now confirmed everything he needed to, he then proceeded to gently toss his blade up, and when this caught the attention of the goblins they blindly charged forward thinking that he had surrendered. They were wrong, as Madara then used his hands to create various symbols in a blur that could not be read.
[Katon: Ryūen Hōka no Jutsu]!
Suddenly, five dragon-head shaped fireballs erupted from Madara's mouth and in a just moment's breath they engulfed the ten charging goblins in orange fiery explosions. The five ogres present were all wearing expressions of shock, disbelief, and outright terror as the Goblins were utterly obliterated in an instant.
Within the blink of an eye, a smoking object dives through the searing walls of flames and lands in front of the closest ogre to it. That ogre was wearing faded leather armor and was wielding a large bloodied and rusted blade weapon that made it look like an oversized meat cleaver. The smoking object that landed in front of it was Madara, who glared up at the ogre with the eyes of the [Sharingan] glowing a bright red.
Relying more on the fear and surprise of seeing him than any kind of thought, the ogre brought its meat cleaver down, only for it to be stopped by Madara's forearm guard. To say that the ogre was surprised would be a massive understatement as its hideous face had contorted into an expression of shock and fear.
What it didn't know was that Madara's light leather armor was enchanted with magic of the 3rd-tier, and he was further protected by adamantite chainmail underneath, that was likewise enchanted with the same magic. With the poor quality weapon that the ogre used, it could no more cut through Madara's armor than it could part the skies.
"Hmph. Disappointing, but not completely unexpected. You are simply big and ugly." Madara said before he took his [Katana] and in a flash sliced the ogre's weapon in two.
The stupid beast stumbled back, not able to process what had transpired. If it did have any significant intelligence, it would have realized that the weapon Madara was using was also made of adamantite, and also enchanted with 3rd-tier magic.
A wind blew past the ogre, with Madara behind it instead of being in front. As he then casually walked towards the other ogres, the first fell apart into fifteen different parts of foul smelling meat.
Another ogre close to Madara tried to charge with a giant wooden club, but that ended with the same result, with sprays of blood and flesh flowing through the air. Seeing that they had no chance, the remaining three ogres tried to run, but at the last second made the mistake of looking into his eyes. The moment they did the ogres all froze in place, with their eyes and faces glazed over in a trance.
Madara stopped walking and spoke in cold and venomous tones.
"Killing disgusting vermin like yourselves should be beneath me, but I'm quite surprised at myself, at how satisfying it is to end your filthy lives."
With that final word, Madara once again stepped forward, and with blurred, unseen movements decapitated the final three ogres almost simultaneously and then appeared behind them. As if they were in slow motion, the bodies finally fell down with a great, *THUD!*, behind him. With two forceful sword motions, Madara had flung the blood off of his blade, and in a twirl had placed it in its sheath on his back.
As the flames from earlier had begun to die down, the Madara that stood victorious then vanished in a burst of white smoke and steam. Back at the makeshift barricade stood the real Madara who had watched the proceedings while standing guard over the newly rescued survivors.
"Hmph. As expected. They couldn't even stand up to a single [Kage Bunshin]. A mildly successful test. Now then..."
Madara then looked down to the three remaining survivors of the caravan slaughter, and saw that each had an iron plate around their necks. Thanks once again to the info that he received from the Observer, he knew this indicated that each of them were low ranking adventurers. He then hopped over their barricade with a single, swift jump and then landed next to the warrior with the grievous injuries.
Flipping open his brown cloak, Madara revealed to have on his back a small backpack, and two pouches on his waist. He reached into the pouch on his right side and pulled out a small glass bottle with a blue liquid. His gaze then fell onto the wounded warrior with short cut, dark brown hair and ruined leather armor.
"Now then, let us see if this 'potion' does as expected." He said incredulously.
Removing the lid to the potion, Madara shook the contents all over the warrior's upper torso and onto his wounds. With his [Sharingan] Madara could see the effects as the potion was slowly mending and healing the wounds inflicted. Placing the empty bottle back into his pouch, he then pulled out another one, and emptied its contents into the warrior's mouth. After he did this, color and vitality slowly returned to the man's face.
"Hmm... The information was accurate. Both internal and external use of these healing potions is viable. Though in this man's case, using both methods for recovery was the most beneficial." Madara said in a dispassionate and analytical voice.
Seeing that the man's life was no longer in danger, Madara then turned his attention to the other two. He picked up the woman who he heard cry out earlier and placed her next to her brother. She appeared to be no more than nineteen years of age, had long and healthy brown hair, and a clear skin complexion. He also recalled her clear sky-blue eyes from earlier.
She wore light robes and other cotton fabrics, with a simple silver amulet that seemed to be a magic item of some kind, as Madara could see its power with his [Sharingan] eyes. The same was true for the iron staff she wielded, and a single ring on the middle fingers of each hand.
Shortly after, he did the same for the third member of the team who had mid-length red hair, and a slightly thin body frame that had emphasized speed and mobility. He wore light leather armor, used a twin pair of daggers, and had a bow whose matching quiver was devoid of arrows. Madara's gaze looked over the grassy field that was now dyed crimson and saw at least a dozen goblins with multiple arrows in them.
"Hm. Decent work young man." Madara said in an almost bored tone of voice.
Having confirmed that the survivors were no longer in any danger Madara stood up, leaped over the barricade, and then made a cross-like symbol with the middle and index fingers of both hands.
[Mokuton Bunshin no Jutsu]
Suddenly, fifteen plant-like, wooden structures erupted all around Madara, that then took on his likeness and appearance. They then sprang forth into action and started to collect all the bodies of the humans and demi-humans and put them in separate piles. The humans were laid down with care and respect, while the goblin and ogre remains were thrown into a pile like trash.
In addition, all surviving arrows, weapons, goods, and coins were collected and placed in a wagon that was repaired with the use of Madara's [Mokuton]. The surviving trio of adventurers were also gently placed in there in preparation for travel.
Once all the preparations were complete, Madara's clones gathered around each pile, and each one released a powerful [Katon] that exploded into a pillar of flame that cremated all traces into ash.
He did this for two reasons. First, was to cover his tracks and direct involvement in this event. He may be in a new world, but he was still a ninja down to his very core, and leaving behind evidence of his involvement went against his instincts. Second, thanks again to the information supplied by the Observer, he also knew that in this new world leaving behind corpses can often lead to the birth of undead. In his mind, he was taking care of two potential problems with a single stroke.
Having released his [Sharingan], the reflection of the bright orange flames danced on his eyes as he gazed upon the sight with a blank and neutral facial expression. It was almost as if he felt something for the poor human souls that died such ignominious deaths at the hands of trash he started to see as less than even animals.
"Hmph!" He exclaimed in a dismissive manner.
He walked over to the fully loaded wagon as one of his clones had managed to track down and retrieve two surviving horses that had somehow managed to survive. Madara then hopped onto the drivers seat of the wagon and grabbed the reins as his clone connected them to the steeds. He then looked back at the survivors as he sank into thought.
'The information that old man gave me only had basic information of this world. If I want to gain more than that, then heading into a population center and making contact with some of the locals is the most logical course of action. These children I saved should suffice, and will feel indebted to me for their lives...'
Madara's thoughts trail off and his facial expression softens as his sight settles on the brother/sister duo that was sleeping soundly next to each other. He then turns around and lets out an exaggerated sigh as he beckons the horses to move along the dirt road before them.
"Hashirama. I wonder if this is your influence." He says in annoyance.
...
About an hour later, Madara could see a walled city in the distance with his [Sharingan] eyes. As he released his eye's visual powers he then heard his passengers stirring and realized that they would soon awaken. He stopped the wagon and turned his body to face the ones he had rescued. All three were beginning to wake up at nearly the same time, and he did not seem the surprised by it. In fact, it was like he was expecting it.
The first to sit up was the young woman, as she grabbed her head and winced as if she were in pain. Then came the red-haired young man who, upon closer inspection, looked to be in his early twenties, and did much the same as she did. The last to sit up was the warrior who seemed to be at most twenty years of age. All of their movements were sluggish and disoriented, and had not even acknowledged each other's presence yet.
After about a minute or so, the first to speak with slurred speech would be the warrior whose wounds were now completely healed.
"S-Suvi? Ish tha' 'ou?"
The girl's eyes shot open almost immediate after hearing his voice. Her head slowly turned to her left, almost in hesitation to what she would see. To her shock and relief she saw her older brother was completely healed and in good health. Her eyes then filled with tears as she tackle-hugged him and spoke in a loud, cracking voice as she sobbed in happiness and relief.
"Big-brother Nigel! Thank the gods you're alive! I was so worried!" She said as her emotions let loose and she cried without restraint.
Although still slightly disoriented, the brother whose name was now known as Nigel, gazed warmly upon his sobbing sister with bright grey eyes. He returned her embrace and rubbed the top of her head in an attempt to try and calm her down. They seemed to be lost in their own little world as they gave little to no acknowledgement to their surroundings. The last to speak would be the red-haired young man near them.
"Oi, you two. Imma all for tearful reunions, but could you take a few moments to look around you. We're in a wagon and we've got company, of the human kind." He said as his awe filled eyes were on Madara in the driver's seat the entire time.
Upon hearing their comrade, the brother and sister rubbed their eyes and then looked around them and finally realized their surroundings with confusion clearly evident on their faces. They then looked in the same direction their comrade was and saw the man in the wagon's driver's seat.
He had a seemingly neutral and uninterested facial expression as they looked upon his features. He had clear, healthy skin, black hair that partially covered the right side of his face and black eyes that seemed to be filled with power and a strong will that captured their attention and froze them in place. They could not understand why this foreign looking man had such an effect on them, but they could feel strength in his gaze alone.
After a moment of silence, the red-haired man would once again break the silence as he spoke in a confused, uncertain voice.
"I-It seems like we were rescued by this man, a-and that w-we were the only survivors."
"Hm. A fine assessment young man." Madara said in response.
His stern, deep voice was likewise filled with will and power, and it made those present take immediate notice. As the memories of their battle came back, both Denys and Suvi realized that this man had saved them.
As they started to regain awareness of their surroundings, a thought had occurred to them as they realized something important that they had overlooked. Nigel went over his chest with his bare hands, as he just then noticed his wounds were gone. He then smacked his lips as he seemed to recognize the familiar aftertaste of a healing potion. He nodded his head as if to confirm the suspicions they too were having.
Nigel spoke in a weak but firm voice filled with gratitude as he took a bow.
"On behalf of my team, I thank you for saving us. My name is Nigel Tvenstrup. This is my younger sister Suvi Tvenstrup, and this is our friend and teammate Denys Shkoda. We are in your debt." As he named his party they also took a bow.
"You are welcome young man." Madara said as his voice remained as strong and as intimidating as ever.
"M-Might we know your name good sir?" Nigel said as his voice stumbled for a moment feeling the pressure from Madara's presence.
"Umu. My name is Madara. Now raise your heads. You have already given your thanks." Madara said in a slightly softer tone of voice so as to ease their anxiety.
They did as instructed and looked upon their savior with the same expression of awe and gratitude as before. Madara then spoke in a calm voice as he addressed them.
"As for your debt to me, you shall pay it in the form of information. I am new to these lands and will require your aid. Does that sound fair?"
The trio then looked at each other for a moment, as if they were in a silent conversation with each other. They then nodded one after the other, and Nigel spoke up once more.
"That won't be a problem. Judging on where we are, we should be less than an hour away from the Fortress City of E-Rantel if we keep following this path. Will that be satisfactory?"
"Hm. For now."
"Um, excuse me. May I ask a question?" Suvi asked hesitantly.
"Yes, girl? What is it?" Madara responded in a neutral tone.
"Um, I was wondering, in order to rescue us and have this wagon full of salvaged goods you must have been able to finish off the rest of the goblins and ogres by yourself. How were you able to accomplish such a feat?" Suvi said as she seemed barely able to contain her curiosity.
Madara had a barely noticeable smirk as he thought to himself.
'She is a fairly bright girl.'
He then reached to pick up his [Katana] that rested in the seat with him and showed it to the trio as he replied.
"I used this." He said simply as he then placed his weapon back in the seat.
The trio were both dumbfounded and awed at the same time from the all too brief reply. As adventurers they knew all too well that any warrior in possession of a [Katana] would be a powerful one, and would be instantly recognized as such. Knowing this, the third member of their team, Denys, asked another question in a voice filled with a great deal of excitement and enthusiasm as he smiled ear to ear.
"Oh! Mister Madara, you must be a great warrior where you are from, to have such a weapon in hand. Right?!"
"Umu, yes. You could say that." Madara simply said in reply as he turned around and made the horses continue on their way. As he did so he mused to himself the reaction.
'Hm. Now I remember. The information given mentioned that a [Katana] was the mark of a high-level warrior in this world. I briefly overlooked that detail. I will need to be a bit more careful in that case. Also, now that I know where in this new world I am, I can move about more freely without the aid of a map. These three may prove useful in the short term.'
As Madara finished his train of thought, he could hear his passengers carrying on a conversation of their own.
"Brother, how do you feel?"
"Ugh. A bit sore and weak, but nothing too bad. What about the two of you?"
"I'm fine brother. Just tired with a slight headache from mana use. What about you Denys?~"
"Heh. Thanks to our savior I'm fine. Maybe a little thirsty." Denys said with a grin.
His two teammates could only smirk as they once again settled into an embrace, with both of them feeling it both comfortable and natural as they rested. Denys ignored it since he knew the two siblings since childhood, and knew that they were always close. He then took a moment to look over the goods they were riding with. It didn't take him long to do a mental inventory of what was present, and then he frowned.
"Oi, you two. Some bad news. We've only got half the cargo. The client won't like this."
Nigel and Suvi both frowned upon hearing that, but for different reasons as Suvi spoke.
"That's not our fault! They only hired two iron ranked parties, to protect two wagon's worth of goods." She said in annoyance.
Nigel then spoke up in a calm voice before she could continue.
"That can't be helped Suvi. The route we took is normally clear of any dangers and has been for a few years. They hardly ever hire adventurer parties above iron rank for the task."
"Yeah, I hafta agree with you there, Nigel. To see goblins and ogres venture that far out from the forests is just not normal. Somethin' must've happened." Denys said calmly.
"But we lost leader and his wife! They were the pillars of this team. A team we were finally going to name after we passed our ranking exams to reach silver rank." Suvi said as she became saddened.
"They didn't have any other family did they?" Denys asked.
"No. I've no idea about the others either." Nigel responded.
Just as they were hanging their heads low in dejection, Madara then spoke up without turning his back, and in a firm tone of voice, that also had a hint of sympathy to it.
"Do not let this one failure paint the rest of your future, young adventurers. When you walk the path of life and death, one must be willing to accept that at any time it will be inevitable. What matters is how you move forward from this. You are alive, correct? Then don't waste it. Learn from this, and remember the fallen. Keep them close, so as to push you ever forward."
That got their attention as they looked at his straight, and powerful back with eyes of admiration and respect. They then would bow their heads and in unison respond.
"Thank you very much for your words, Sir Madara!"
"Hm. You are welcome. And just 'Madara' will do." He replied calmly.
...
Less than an hour later, they had arrived at the E-Rantel front gates. The line was relatively short, which was somewhat unusual for a late-afternoon day. The procedure to enter the city was a relatively simple one, where they had to show permits and/or IDs for entry. All was fine for the party, except for the part where Madara had to be inspected and cleared as a new arrival.
Although there were times exceptions could be made, this was not one of them since the word of low ranking adventurers would not suffice to vouch for him. Not amused in the slightest, Madara carefully used his [Sharingan] to cast illusionary effects on them. Making them think he had permission to enter from a high ranking authority, he then entered through the gates without further delay or hassle. He also made sure to conceal his [Katana] underneath his cloak to avoid any unnecessary attention.
Upon passing through the checkpoint, Madara saw the trio standing next to the wagon with surprised expressions on their faces. Denys would be the first to give voice to their mutual surprise.
"Sir Madara! They let you go through so quickly. That's incredible. They hardly ever do that." He said in wide-eyed admiration.
"As I have said numerous times on the way here, Denys, just 'Madara' will do." He said in mild annoyance.
During their short time traveling together, Madara had a great impact on the young adventurer and he had taken to calling him with the title "Sir" as a sign of admiration and respect. Although Madara had corrected him each time, he persisted regardless.
Madara was slightly annoyed by the overt hero worship, but a part of him actually enjoyed the witty back and forth. Not since his old friendship with Hashirama did he recalling having fun with simple conversation, so he let it slide.
"Denys, give it a rest for a minute. I need to speak with Madara." Nigel said in a serious tone of voice, to which Denys relented and complied.
"Nigel, is it? What do you need? You and your sister have already given me directions to where I can find lodging."
For a moment there was hesitation in his body language. Like he wanted to say something and was unsure at how to say it. After only a moment he steeled his resolve, looked right into Madara's eyes and spoke.
"Sir, I'm hoping that you would consider training us."
"..."
There was silence in the air as Nigel's sudden request straightened the postures of his teammates. Madara could tell that they were as surprised as he was by the request, but were in total agreement with it. He stared at them long and hard as he weighted the pros and cons of the request.
'Hmm... This young man is serious. It is doubtful that any training I could give would yield any worthwhile results. This is a world where chakra does not even exist after all. Although, it is a chance to see the use of this world's magic and [Martial Arts] up close. If nothing else it would be beneficial to me to see how growth works in this world. And it is refreshing to see the older brother take the lead.'
"Tell me something, Nigel. Can you use [Martial Arts]?"
"Uh, yes I can. Denys can use a little as well." Nigel replied with a tinge of hope in his voice.
After a minute about a minute, Madara spoke up again.
"Very well. Starting tomorrow I will give you some training. When is your next rank up evaluation?"
"Oh! It is one month from now."
"More than enough. In a month's time, I will work you three to the bone. You best be prepared for it."
"Yes!" "Yes!" "Yes!" All three answered in unison with little to no hesitation.
For a brief moment, Madara found himself feeling impressed by the unified revolve of the trio.
'Perhaps this might be worth my time.' He mused to himself.
"Well then, shall we..."
Just as he took a step forward and began to speak his eyes shot wide open for a moment before he composed himself.
'What is this that I am sensing? A tremendous power is nearby, but where...?'
"Um, Madara, sir? Is something the matter?" Suvi asked in concern.
Just as he was about to answer, a sudden commotion started to erupt from the same checkpoint that they had just went through. They could see the guards gather around and they could hear people loudly speaking in a great deal of excitement.
"They've returned!"
"How many?"
"Only two!"
"Which two?"
"It's... Momon and Nabe!"
There were cheers as the guards and other people in line to get into E-Rantel parted to make way for two individuals.
The first was an incredibly tall man who wore a fully jet-black, full-plate armor that was intricately edged in gold, but also sported numerous signs of battle with scorch and claw marks everywhere. He wore a full, closed helm with narrow slits that made it very difficult to see into from the outside. Along with that, he also wore a crimson red cape, and had two magnificent greatswords on his back.
The second was an exceptionally beautiful woman with black eyes that gleamed like onyxes. She also had thick and lustrous black hair that was tied into a ponytail, and her snow white skin had not a blemish, and shined like pearls in the sun. When she walked alongside her companion, there was an air of elegance which surrounded her. She wore a dark brown robe that was plain in make, but immaculate in appearance.
Around both their necks were mythril adventurer plates that denoted their ranks.
The crowd could be heard referring to Momon as, "Dark Hero" as he passed them by walking strong and proud with the exotic beauty Nabe to his right side. Madara had watched these proceedings with scrutinizing eyes as he looked upon the two from a short distance away. Madara noticed that the trio behind him were just as curious as he was and thus spoke to them over his left shoulder.
"Do you know those two?"
"Oh, well not really. We were away for some time, although we were told about a pair of powerful adventurers that just appeared. They seem to match the descriptions we were given." Nigel said in response.
"Whew! She's nice to look at." Denys said with a wide grin.
"Oh? I didn't know you went for women.~" Suvi said with a mocking smile.
"Oi, don't be mean, Suvi. I like women too. I'm just not attracted to you is all." Denys retorted with a victorious smile.
Suvi was had a pouting look on her face as she blushed from embarrassment, and a small measure of disappointment. Nigel could only chuckle in amusement at the scene.
Madara had ignored the talking trio altogether as he continued to stare intently at the approaching Nabe and Momon with the focus of a hawk.
'There's no mistaking it. They're the ones I sensed earlier. The woman is stronger than anyone here I've sensed, but she is far weaker than I am, and I can also sense that her life-force isn't human. The one next to her is much stronger than her, but as much power as I am sensing, I can't detect any life-force. Those markings and battle damage on his armor seems somewhat deliberate and intentional. Real battle damage is often more random and chaotic. How suspicious.'
Just as Madara had concluded his inner analysis, the duo he was studying was coming upon them. He noticed that the man called Momon had looked at him for a moment before turning his sight directly ahead.
Nabe on the other hand glared at Madara with hostility and disdain, like he wasn't worthy of her notice. His eyes narrowed at this and just as Nabe and Momon passed by them, Madara grabbed Nabe by the throat with his right hand and forced her down to the ground. She was taken completely off-guard by the action, as was Momon and the trio of lower ranked adventurers behind.
"Unhand me you maggot!" Nabe hissed.
In response, Madara tightened the grip on his right hand with an almost mechanical strength that choked any further words away from her throat. He then proceeded to arm lock her right arm with his left hand. As he glared at Nabe he spoke in cold and threatening tones, while she thrashed in his hands.
"Little girl, a word of warning: watch your actions carefully. Not only were your glares extremely rude, but in some cultures they're a sign of hostility."
Madara then moved his sight from Nabe to Momon, who stood ready to attack with his right hand on the hilt of one of his swords on his back.
"Momon, is it? You should train your dogs to have better manners, lest their poor and shallow behaviors draw you into troubles you don't need."
There was a moment of silence in the entire area after he had spoken those words. It was as if time stopped and the entire world was holding in its breath. After what was perhaps the longest thirty seconds in history, Momon eased off the grip on his sword's hilt and relented. He then spoke in deep and commanding tones.
"Nabe. Stand down."
Reacting to his words, she ceased her actions and relaxed. Madara then relaxed his grip when he then saw Momon take a bow and speak apologetically.
"On behalf of my teammate, I apologize for her conduct. She's a bit dense when it comes to people."
"Hmph. I accept your apology." Madara calmly replied as he stood up to allow Nabe the chance to get back up on her own two feet.
As she stood next to Momon, she cradled her throat with her left hand, and gritted her teeth as she looked at Madara with murderous eyes. He glared back at her and spoke with a deep and icy tone of voice.
"Glare at me again little girl, and not even his apologies will stop me from gouging out your eyes."
Just then Momon's right gauntlet chopped Nabe over the head and then forced her into a bowing position.
"I hope we all can overlook this incident and move forward from this." Momon said almost hurriedly.
"I agree, as long as you can better teach your dog not to pick fights with strangers." Madara said in an empty tone as he folded his arms underneath his cloak.
"That has certainly been one of my goals. Also, may I know your name, sir?" Momon asked politely.
"My name is Madara. Now leave." He said coldly as he turned his back on them.
"Very well, Madara. Perhaps we can meet again, under better circumstances." Momon said cordially.
"Perhaps."
Momon then practically dragged Nabe away from Madara's direction and pushes her forward. Madara thinks to himself as they walk away.
'I should thank that inept little girl. She gave me the opening I needed to plant a tracking jutsu on her, and to confirm my suspicions. She's indeed not human, and while strong, she's nothing compared to me. Her teammate is an enigma. As close as he was I still sensed no life from him. Only a great deal of what is referred to as "mana". This is somewhat interesting. Perhaps my stay in this world will be more enjoyable than I had thought...'
Just as he had finished his inner thoughts, Madara turned around and saw that the trio of adventurers he had saved were gawking at him wide-eyed with astonishment and no small degree of shock. Denys would be the first to break the silence as he then excitedly spoke up with wide-eyed enthusiasm.
"T-T-That was amazing! You man-handled a mythil ranked adventurer like it was no problem at all! Nigel, if I had any doubts, they're gone now! Great job asking him for some trainin'!" He said with a thumbs up.
Nigel was the picture of both shock and embarrassment as he looked like he wanted to dig himself a hole and stay there. Suvi was likewise dumbfounded as she stood with her mouth agape.
"Hmph. She was an ill-mannered little girl, and I have little patience for such things, so keep that in mind. Also, keep this little incident to yourselves. Now, you three should be returning to the client to complete your task, correct? Then get a move on. We'll meet again tomorrow for training, here at this spot at 8. Understood?" Madara said firmly.
"U-Uh, right! Um, okay. W-We'll see you then, sir." Nigel stumbled to say as he then took a bow of respect, with his comrades following suit.
The trio then climbed into the wagon and then rode away as Madara walked in a different direction in search of lodging for the evening.
...
Some distance away, Momon and Nabe were silently walking along a cobblestone path towards the Adventurer's Guild. Passers by were giving them smiles and cheers while Momon gave them friendly waves. Nabe on the other hand was fuming with rage and killing intent that ended up frightening some of those pedestrians into going into other directions and away from Momon, who did not fail to notice this.
Once they had walked into a relatively clear area of the street, Momon grabbed Nabe by the shoulder and ducked into a nearby alleyway. He then practically threw her against a wall as he towered over her and spoke in a stern tone of voice.
"What are you doing, Nabe?!"
"Momon-sa...n. I am... May I go back and kill that worm who dared to lay hands on me?" She said as she gritted her teeth.
"NO! As far as I am concerned you deserved what happened. I have repeatedly told you to keep your open hostility towards humans in check, but you failed to listen and nearly ruined the public images of the adventurers Momon and Nabe. That nearly wasted the sacrifice I made when I had to kill Shalltear and cover for her as Honyopenyoko!" He said with a tinge of anger clear in his voice.
Enlightenment finally dawned on Nabe as she understood the full meaning behind his words, and in an instant all energy faded from her face and body language. Even her ponytail seemed to droop as shame washed over her face. She then takes a deep bow.
"My sincerest apologies, Ain..."
Before she could say another syllable, Momon chopped her over the head to silence her, clearly allowing his frustration with his companion to show.
"And how many times have I told you to only call me 'Momon' when outside?!"
"I deeply apologize, Momon-san!"
"Umu. You finally start to understand. However, if you continue to make these simple mistakes Nabe, I will begin to question your ability to serve me." He said coldly.
Her reaction was immediate as her whole body shuddered in fear and tears even began to form in her eyes. Momon then thought to himself as he saw this.
'Ah~ah. Was that a bit too much? Still, I can't have her making these mistakes in public. Why can't the NPCs have a little more common sense and social graces? This incident just brought all my frustrations out. I was also so stunned at what happened I couldn't even react, even though I am undead now.'
Just as Momon had finished his thoughts, he noticed that Nabe was a quivering mess as she remained in a bowing position. He then placed his right hand on her left shoulder as he spoke in a calm and gentle voice to soothe her fears.
"Be at ease, Narberal Gamma. As I have said before, what you need to do is to be careful, learn from your mistakes, and take care not to repeat them. If you understand, then raise your head. I need you to be in good shape for when we return to the guild in triumph."
That seemed to have calmed her down as she then wiped tears from her eyes and then slowly raised her head up from her bowing position. Her face went back to a neutral expression as she looked up to her master.
"That's good Nabe, now let us return." He said gently.
"As you command, Momon-san."
Momon took the lead as they exited the alleyway and went back on the path they were following earlier. After a few moments, he cupped his chin in thought.
'Hm? Wait a second... That strange man made some good points, but how was he able to do that to Narberal? She's a level-63 doppelgänger...'
"...!"
Just then, realization struck his consciousness like a thunderbolt as he recalled those events in his mind.
'Damn it! Between having to kill Shalltear, and my frustrations at Narberal's behavior I completely overlooked the fact that man called "Madara", had the strength to restrain her. That's not normal for this world. Is he a player?! His name didn't sound familiar, but maybe it's an alias. Is he the one who brainwashed Shalltear? Ah! What a blunder! What right do I have to lecture Narberal when I overlook something so important?!'
Just as he was panicking on the inside, a green light washes over him inside the armor, so subtle that hardly anyone would have been able to notice. Calming down in that instant, he began to collect his thoughts.
'Right now it's too late to track him down, but even if I did I have no idea as to his abilities so sending in some stealth NPCs to spy on him is not a good idea. Certain class skills can see though those things. Aaah! I'll worry about it later! Right now, I need to focus on completing my job. I'm an undead, so why do I feel like I have a headache?!'
Just as he had completed his inner musings, he found himself in front of the guild's front door. The instant he walked in, gasps and cheers could be heard, even from the outside.
...
Later on that very evening, there was a darkened bedroom with only the moonlight from a nearby window providing any illumination. In a moderate sized bed nearby there were two figures underneath the sheets letting out moans of pleasure. The sounds were of a man and a woman passionately making love as they neared their mutual climax.
"AAAAH!"
"AARGH!"
The sounds of heavy breathing could be heard as the tryst seemed to have ended, and as things came into focus a woman could be seen rolling off from the top of a man to his left side. Still covered by white sheets, they laid still in an embrace before the woman spoke up in a sultry tone of voice.
"That was fantastic, Nigel.~"
"Heh. Same to you, Suvi."
The man and woman were revealed to be the adventurer siblings, Suvi and Nigel. They who recently had a brush with death and who were saved by their mutual benefactor, Madara. As they laid there in bed, they carried on a conversation as if all was normal.
"I'm so glad that you're still alive, brother. The thought of losing you made my heart sink into my stomach." Suvi said in a pained voice. Nigel held her tighter as he replied.
"I know. I'm kind of pathetic. I promised our parents that I would protect you, no matter what, but I can't seem able to keep that promise lately." He said in dejection.
"No, we protect each other. Isn't that why we both became adventurers? Isn't that also why you asked Sir Madara to train all three of us?"
"Heh. Yeah, it is. You saw how he handled a mythril rank, right? With his help, maybe we all can get better. *sighs* The client was none too pleased with the loss of half the goods. I'm just thankful that he listened to us about what happened. We even got a bonus out of that mess." Nigel said in relief.
"He just didn't believe us about what Madara did. But I guess that would be normal. If I didn't see him kill those six goblins in a flash, I don't think I would either. I can't seem to remember anything after that though. It's all a blur." Suvi said.
"I hear ya', Suvi. Hey, maybe after our training, maybe we can get him to join up?" Nigel said in a hopeful voice.
"Tee hee. That would be great. *Yawn* Let's sleep now. We've got a big day ahead." Suvi said tiredly.
"I love you, sis." Nigel said affectionately.
"You too, big brother." She replied as they kissed each other goodnight.
...
*Author's Note: Well, the responses are in, and I will be doing this story on a semi-regular basis. Just remember, my main series has first dibs on my time and attention so releases will continue to be irregular. Anywho, feel free to leave a review and/or a PM. Until next time! ^_^*