Chapter 1: Welcome to Godhood, My Friend
Chapter Text
Time: Unknown, Location: Unknown
A man stood in awe on a floating rock amidst the vast expanse of space, surveying his surroundings to unravel his mysterious circ*mstances.
Suddenly, memories surged forth, replaying in his mind like a biography film, unfolding and filling his mind with memories and details.
Among his new memories, he retraced his past life as a man born in a privileged family, who also developed decent intellect due to his family’s upbringing.
He Graduated college with an engineering degree and ascended to the position of head engineer at a branch of an international company with high chances of promotion and further success.
Yet, his true passion lay in the realm of fiction. His heart resonated with animated stories/shows, cinematic masterpieces, novels, immersive games, and many more.
He remembers he was naturally introverted, navigating social activities with a hidden reluctance since he found it obstructing him from his hobbies.
despite his reserved nature, others around him perceived his introversion as a composed and reliable exterior.
His looks are above average but he makes up for it with his approachable demeanor.
Unbeknownst to him, his fusion of passion for hobbies and personable nature made others view him as nerdy yet also endearing because he could click with many people over their shared interests.
at work, his efficiency was unparalleled. to the point that many first mistaken him as a workaholic. His responsible attitude and strong work ethic ensured that colleagues' and superiors' trust in him didn’t go to waste.
His latest or most recent memory was of attending a matchmaking party since now he has a good income and is free from constraints.
As the man delved deeper into the memories surrounding that matchmaking party, a voice seemingly born from the space intervened.
“Welcome my boy!”
The voice jolted his senses, abruptly interrupting his deep contemplation. He pivoted to search the origin of those words, yet he found no one nor thing that indicates its source.
Instead of panicking, the man stood there unfazed. an unspoken intuition within him assured him that the voice harbored no malicious intent.
“You are remarkably composed.” the voice remarked.
“Any manner of excessive reaction yields no fruitful outcome. I discern no harm borne from my slumber.” The man replied, his tone carried a neutral tone, reminiscent of how scientists discussed their experiments, as though he were an observer of epochs long past.
“Oh good. Looks like it has succeeded, though your manner of speech has been temporarily altered.”
“Forgive me,” the man interjected, “this self a man named…” He began to introduce himself but then was seized by a profound realization.
I don’t remember my name! These memories, all of them lack names! all the people I see have identities such as coworker A and friend B, but they don’t have names! uncertainty unfurled before him.
“Could these memories have been tampered with?” he wondered aloud, now wavering at the authenticity of these memories.
“Ahem… I'm aware you've noticed a concern regarding your ‘identity’, but let’s move on so I can explain your current situation.” The voice interjected, halting his spiraling chain of self-doubt.
“Forgive me for my unresponsiveness.” The man said, finding his verbosity somewhat excessive, he hoped his speech patterns would get better over time.
“Very Well,” the voice continued, adopting a more concise tone, “ As an introduction, let me prepare for a moment.” The voice fell into silence for a while.
The man noticed a subtle shift on the horizon, seconds later…
*BANG!* Radiant fireworks exploded across the empty skies “Congratulations! You are now a god! Yes, Like those from Mythos! I, as a fellow God, welcome you to godhood my friend.”
The man hearing this introduction can’t help but gawk at his situation. Before he could say anything the voice continued, ”I know you have many questions, and I will answer to the best of my abilities. However, let me remind you that I will refuse to answer any question that shouldn’t be answered.”
The man offered a conflicted look. The voice replied with silence, waiting for him to begin asking questions.
The man realized he couldn’t progress until he asked questions, with this, he could only ask, “First question, why do I have the memories of a specific individual?”
“Not going to ask who or what you are?” The voice questioned back.
“I have enough intelligence to realize that if I ask such questions, you will simply reply ‘You are a god or deity’. There is also an intuition that tells me I am beyond human, instinctually.”
Good . The voice complimented the man in his mind, “To keep it short, you were a deceased god, those memories of yours are a byproduct of our methods to revive you.”
“May I inquire further for additional information?”
“Sure, all I can say is that the multiverse, or maybe the omniverse, is real, hence why you are here. There are countless worlds, and numerous powerful beings exist. You know those multiversal stories, it is essentially the same concept.”
The man nodded in agreement.
“The multiverse has existed for such a long time that anything is possible. Many omnipotent beings bite the dust through various causes over time, and you’re technically one of them. Sorry to be blunt but we found your corpse and analyzed it.”
“That's tragic.” The man chimed in.
“We found wisps of your soul with an attached divinity to it, your soul was moments away from dissipating, so the organization decided to fuse your last remaining wisps into a mortal’s body. This would nourish, repair, and cultivate your soul back to completion, just like grafting in horticulture for plant or stem cell therapy for organs.”
“Understood, I assume the intuition I mentioned earlier is my power or divinity?”
“Most likely, we can find out more later.”
“Then this self will inquire about the fate of my mortal’s cocoon?” the man continued
“Why ask such questions?”
“It is not fair for my existence to cause grave effects and consequences on that mortal’s life. That person bears no guilt in your grand plan; his body and soul are tied by fate to many loved ones. I feel guilty for the sadness my disappearance will cause in their hearts.”
”You don’t have to worry. I’ll show you something.” The voice’s words were followed by a gigantic hologram that appeared in the skies.
In it, a video of a wedding ceremony played, Though not grand, it is lovely enough. The man immediately recognized that many of those attending the wedding were his friends and family.
He then looked at the bride and groom and realized the one getting married was him—not his current self, but his version before he became a god.
He noticed that the woman he was married to was top-notch. She had a lovely face and enticing curves in all the right places. She has a hint of nerdy charm, giving her the vibe of a hot librarian or lovely bookworm. The man, now a God, approved the woman his former self chose, she was a keeper.
“We fused your soul with someone who wasn't supposed to live long, your's was supposed to die a day after birth. Slipping you in allowed him to become who he is today"
The man raised his eyebrow, the voice spoke of this matter quite bluntly.
"When we fuse your soul with a mortal’s body, that mortal will become a version or an incarnation of you in that world, you can still feel a connection with him if you try, with this method you can inquire about the mortal’s name, information, and such.”
“So that human will be an avatar of me in that world?”
“Yes.”
“Will my power as a god influence that mortal in any way?”
“Don’t worry, our technique only alters that mortal's personality, that’s why he has a vivid imagination and loves stories. It references the deceased god you once were.”
The man/god continued, “Thank you, for another question. Why would a resurrection be necessary? This brings no benefits and only results in loss and waste.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be thanking us for actually reviving you?”
“I have enough experience to understand that the revival of a god is neither easy, cheap, nor simple. There must be a catch, a grand plan, and a reason for such a thing to be done.”
“You’re right, there are strings attached. Don’t worry, we meant no harm to you and all of this is for the greater good.”
The newly resurrected man/God gave the opposite party an analytical glare, the same given to suspicious strangers they had never met.
“Now pardon my inquiry, but I noticed you mentioned you’re not alone, is there a group or an organization behind you?”
“You don't need to know more right now, this is sufficient.” the voice replied with finality.
He finally asked, “Are there any other powerful beings revived similarly to me?”
Inquisitive and sharp aren’t you? the voice thought and smirked, since there was no face, no one could tell.
“There are more, I’ll give you an insider scoop, we have done this a ridiculous number of times. Currently, we are still attempting to revive such beings, but only a few have succeeded, and even fewer were brought back completely functioning. Do not ask more; this is my limit.”
“Then I will now ask how one is classified as a god or deity?”
“That classification can't be too specific due to the multitude of beings with different power systems. you don’t need to know this right now; we will teach you later on.”
The man/god looked confused and asked, “I question the divinity attached to me, what power is available in my arsenal, and how to use it?”
“We researched your remnant divinity. We can confirm you have an ability or power. We just can not tell you what your power is.”
The man nodded in understanding that it was a dead end. “My next question is, what place is this rock I tread upon?”
“You understand that in many stories, powerful beings or gods have their realm or dimension. This one is from your old self when you were the aforementioned dead God. It was found with your corpse. Let me remind you that not all gods have places like this.”
“I see, this might explain my unknown feeling of kinship with this place, as for why you are here in ‘my realm’, you revived me, I have nothing to hide.”
“Understandable.” The voice replied.
“Now who was this old self? More specifically, who was the god that was my previous self, it seems nonsensical if you found my corpse and dissipated soul by pure luck or chance ?”
“That’s a secret, or more accurately confidential matter, we found some information from your previous grave and will tell you later when we deem you ready or worthy enough. Next question.”
“What is my current name? not the name of the mortal, as you mentioned I can find that out myself.”
“For that part, we don’t know much, the only information we found indicates that your name is ‘Seth’, we don’t even know if you have a last name or title here.”
Upon hearing the name ‘Seth’, he felt a connection. The voice noticed his change, “You felt a connection to that name?”
The man answered, “I do feel a connection to that name, however, I feel like it is an incomplete name for me.”
“Nice, let me tell you, To us, our names are also a representation of our soul and inner self. We don’t choose our names; those names choose us. You can refer to them as your ‘true name’. The name ‘Seth’ was all we could find, you feeling that way means this is your ‘true name’, but not your exact ‘true name’.”
“Then this self can be called ‘Seth’?”
“Yes, we can't just keep calling you something like ‘the man’ or ‘he’.”
“Now this should suffice for an introduction, it is time for us to begin your training, but first let’s ensure you look fabulous.” The voice’s mood lightens, though a hint of trepidation lingered.
A giant mirror materialized in front of Seth, revealing his current appearance - A tall male (180-190 centimeters high), who appeared to be around 28 years old.
he possessed sharp eyes, and his hair was dark brown (almost black). He possesses slightly tanned skin, broad shoulders, and a lean yet muscular physique reminiscent of a professional swimmer. His face was pleasant, with a sharp jawline that bestowed upon him a confident appearance.
Yet his corneas are shaped like spiraling galaxies, a constant reminder that he is now above ‘human’. he is only wearing a pair of pants to cover his private parts, though the question arose: Was he supposed to have private parts?
"Now there is so much to learn and uncover, so the organization will have someone to train you!” the voice beckoned.
Suddenly a soft poof resounded, and a cloud of smoke puffed out near Seth’s location. From it, a floating ball donning a top hat emerged. It had no face but Held a sheet and a small figurine.
“I TOLD YOU THAT WE SHOULD WORK WITH…” The ball halted his sentence, realizing it was now in a different place.
“This person will be teaching you what you need to know about the inner workings of the multiverse.” The voice explained.
The ball heard the voice, fixed its gaze on Seth, and then shouted, “WAIT!? I don’t even…”
An angelic hand snatched the ball with a top hat, “Stay here and teach him the ropes, you ARE capable of teaching, albeit very, VERY uninterested!” The incorporeal hand forcefully slammed the ball back into the rock, forming a crater right next to Seth.
“You’re in good hands!” The voice answered Seth.
At that moment, Seth felt that this organization wasn't as majestic as it initially seemed.
Chapter 2: Prelude and Training
Chapter Text
Location: Unknown place only accessible to gods.
“ERIS-CHAN!!! GUESS WHAT? THERE’S A NEW GOD IN TOWN! THEY MUST BE THROWING SOME DIVINE PARTY FOR HIM! WE’VE GOT TO JOIN IN BEFORE THE DRINKS RUN OUT!” A blue-haired woman kicked open a magical door, producing a gust that scent papers flying around the room.
A white-haired woman sighed at her paperwork in disarray. “Aqua… there is no party.”
“EHHH!? BUT WHY?”
“Because this time, the big shot behind the new guy still recalls what happened last time. As a result, the bigshot insisted on subjecting the new God to some sort of Godhood boot camp before allowing any public appearance.”
“Ohh… You are not trying to trick me, Eris?”
“This is ancient news Aqua. it’s practically common knowledge by now. You should have gotten the memo ages ago.” Eris noticed Aqua’s bewildered expression.
The white-haired woman prodded, “They sent those messages in those magical letters that cling to you until you read the entire thing. It’s almost impossible to miss.” She playfully watched Aqua’s scrunched face.
Aqua quickly composed herself into a poker face, though anyone could see through it. D*rn it! Those annoying flying letters are always filled with boring workplace stuff. How could they expect the GREAT GODDESS of water to bother with SUCH NONSENSE? I just skimmed through and wished to burn those suckers! Oh, wait, burning? No, no, no, I should have wished to drown those letters instead. Much more fitting for the great and benevolent Me!
Eris caught wind of what was unfolding and continued her teasing, ”If memory serves me right, the letter for this matter was quite special – enormous, golden, shiny, and it came with a full-on trumpet band. an Idiot-proof way to make sure even the most clueless knew the message was of utmost importance.”
Aqua’s already joke attempt of a poker face began to crumble as she recollected the events. There was a weird letter that came with a tiny trumpet band. But I received it while I was… sipping from my secret stash. It mentioned canceling a big event. I thought if it was canceled, it wouldn’t affect me anyway.’
“The entire announcement is still plastered on the god’s Notice board for everyone to see. Don’t tell me you haven't noticed it either... they practically made the ‘important’ notice big enough to be seen from space, complete with neon signs. it could be spotted from a mile away.” Eris teased, Noting Aqua’s widened eyes.
Eris, with a smug tone, remarked, “Eh? You FAILED to notice even that?”
“AHH! STOP IT, ENOUGH! I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT ANYMORE! I AM STILL YOUR SENIOR SENPAI!” Aqua couldn’t take it anymore.
“Ok, ok, I understand senpai, kukuku.” Eris giggled.
“I GET IT! I WILL PAY ATTENTION NEXT TIME! That was too much…” Aqua's face remained sullen from the teasing, and from then on, she continued to pester Eris about the things she might have missed, all while still grumbling about how unnecessary it was to pay attention to such trivial matters.
essentially, this big shot is allowing a big collaboration with their pantheon, appointing the newly revived guy as the ambassador or manager.
Finally, Aqua returned to her place to do her divine duties, Eris hoped that this time Aqua wouldn’t cause trouble for the newly revived god when they met.
—
Meanwhile, in a different realm entirely...
Seth stared at the crater where the ball lay after the voice’s powerful slam. He couldn’t tell if the ball was moving, but he could guarantee that the slam didn’t injure it, not even its top hat.
“Should this self offer some assistance?” Seth inquired.
The ball jumped and struck a perfect landing while a mysterious cape materialized and attached itself to the ball.
Seth decided it was pointless to pursue further and simply asked, “What shall we do first as my first step in this matter?”
The ball pondered for a moment and replied, “Why don’t I help you glimpse at your true power right now?”
“Have you done similar actions like this before?” Seth inquired.
“Very rarely. But do not worry, it won’t hurt you.” the ball assured.
“Thank you for your reply and assurance. This one may not know what you will do but will try to cooperate.” Seth replied, straightening his back, ready to take whatever the ball had in store.
Rings of lights suddenly encircled the ball, “Get ready!” The rings transformed into comets of light heading straight for him.
Seth closed his eyes due to the intense brightness. The comet of light crashed into Seth and enveloped him in radiant light.
As the light hit, an incredible itch spread throughout his body.
A majestic white-grayish cape adorned with constellations draped over Seth, with a stunning set of white pauldrons providing the finishing touch for the cape. An almost black-gray sleeveless vest appeared magically underneath.
His pants transformed into brown trousers adorned with stars. Metallic light white armor materialized, covering his chest, crotch, and both legs down to his feet. A dragon-looking gauntlet overlaid itself on Seth’s hands. Finally, Shiny armored shoes, resembling a mix of sabatons and modern-day steel-toed boots, fitted themselves to complete the look.
Seth's head remained unarmored, letting it go bare. The cape magically fluttered and indescribable fluctuations of power emanated from him.
influenced by his newfound powers, Seth folded his arm in front of his chest, straightened his back, and gazed forward, asserting his dominance.
The entire realm was saturated with these emanating powers. The ball, sensing the palpable fluctuation, nodded in acknowledgment.
“What did you do?” Seth asked.
“I triggered your divinity a bit,” The ball explained, ”causing you to release your inner god power. Most gods, when reacted to this, manifest random things like new armor, a transformed appearance, enhanced weapons, special abilities, and more. Now for the next step, your majestic look attracts too much attention and is too ostentatious for everyday use. I’ll use my power to show you how to tone it down or remove it.” The ball released visible strands of energy and enveloped it around Seth.
Seth felt an indescribable sensation as if a new layer emerged from his skin. It felt sticky and an urge to peel it off consumed his thoughts, so he did exactly that in his mind.
In reality, he is slowly reverting not by peeling anything off, but by reabsorbing his leaking power into his skin. Some of the magical clothing and armor also faded away.
The ball conjured a mirror to Seth's side, revealing his current appearance. The dark gray vest had become a dark gray shirt covering his previously bare biceps, the brown trousers no longer had stars, and a white-grayish long-sleeve coat replaced his cape. The pauldrons and light white armor had vanished, leaving only his shiny armored shoes. As for his gauntlets, they are now fingerless gloves made out of a material he doesn’t recognize, seems like leather but it’s thinner than it and feels metallic.
His body has gotten a bit more muscular, however, what caught Seth’s attention the most was his hair—new streaks of red hair appeared at the end/tip of his previously almost black hair. Giving him a wilder and fiery look.
The ball complemented, “Good job, you got it on your first try, and in less than a minute. Many gods with this ability took a minute to revert even a small part of their body.”
“Hoh… does this mean I have top-tier potential?”
“It is more a representation of your talent,” the ball explained. ”Even then, it doesn’t mean much since anyone can still reach the top of the multiverse with none of it.”
“Now back to the point, this time I will teach you how to use your power. You are a godly member of this great organization and we can't just let you be untrained. That form-changing was only the first step. I already have a basic plan for your training.”
“Ugh!” Seth suddenly felt a prick on his inner chest.
“Sorry Seth, this was ordered,” The ball secretly struck him and replied.”What I just did is similar to taking DNA samples from gods. We did it to your previous corpse, now we took a sample of the current you for comparison or in case there are any hidden problems.” The ball, now holding a small glowing object, used some sort of magic to teleport the glowing object away.
Seth's expression went a bit sour; He was still grateful for them reviving him, but that prick still irked him a bit.
“OK, this time it’s serious.” A weird stringy luminescent light attached to Seth’s head, And from Seth’s mind, a wealth of knowledge flowed into his consciousness.
Minutes passed and Seth emerged from his trance-like state. He now regarded his body and newfound identity in a different light. What was once just a part of him now held a new, profound significance that sent shivers down his spine.
The ball spared no effort allowing Seth to readjust. Seemingly dangerous rings slowly gathered around the ball, the ball stated, ”Because we don’t know your actual power or abilities, I decided to start with the basics. we’ll spar to ingrain the combat things you learn, while it’s still fresh in your mind. Other less combat-intensive matters will follow later.”
Seth responded with a confident smile, taking his first step toward becoming powerful, or his second step if you counted the transformation of his clothes as his first.
Chapter 3: Your Job
Chapter Text
Time has passed since the start of Seth’s Training. An unidentified figure is manipulating an ethereal orb with many futuristic yet also whimsical types of machinery.
The figure had just finished its part of the work and was waiting for the mechanical contraptions to finish their task on the ethereal orb. Finally, the machinery finished its part, and a set of information went straight to the figure’s mind.
The figure smiled but also felt a sense of concern after analyzing this new information, “Interesting, he is one of those types, this could be a blessing or a curse.” The figure obtained the information it wanted and sent it through specialized channels.
Glancing at the stacks of papers filled with writings, the figure sighed, ”Ugh… Only some of it provides something.” It threw the papers away, grabbed a small item from somewhere, and departed.
—
Location: Seth’s Rock
Seth had just finished building a small but also elegant bar on top of his desolate rock. He is now creating the final item to complete the bar behind the bar table.
Midway to his creation, a jingle from the bar’s doorbell rang, and an individual he was far too familiar with entered his bar.
Seth welcomed the ball and grabbed a co*cktail glass from the bar counter, he set aside the object he was currently creating and used one of his hands to materialize an elegant liquor bottle from thin air.
The bottle’s liquor was poured into the co*cktail glass and served to the ball. The ball accepted the drink and Seth went back to fiddling with his final item.
The ball took a sip, “Not bad, you’ve come a long way with your creation ability.”
“Thank you, creating a drink out of my power still feels too unnatural to me. Even though you said it’s fine for me to drink it, it feels like drinking my sweat.” As time passed, Seth’s way of speaking had almost returned to normal, though his gentlemanly eloquence resurfaced from time to time.
“Not many gods' powers can easily create objects out of nothing, and if they can, they often have extreme limitations, sad that your power’s limitations are that it’s limited to this place.”
“I understand,” Seth felt a bit stifled by his limitation, but he finally finished the last object he wanted to create, and with a single wave, the object moved by itself to a hidden corner the ball couldn’t discern.
Seth nodded, “Now, back to the point, is it that time again? Another book to read?”
previously, The voice introduced him to the ball with a top hat, and they promptly delved into combat training. Although Seth wasn’t initially inclined toward combat, they discovered that Seth enjoys and is quite talented in it. After a few intensive combat sessions, they shifted to more ‘relaxing’ knowledge-based study sessions.
The ball without revealing its name or identity, emphasized its high-ranking and experienced status, providing a well-rounded education for Seth's development. Those study sessions might sound relaxing, but in actuality, the ball just made Seth study a multiverse-level amount of information through extensive reading.
To make it not boring, the ball meticulously chooses educative and entertaining sources. In the multiverse or omniverse, anything could exist, even books that make boring things like statistical analysis and grammar rules fun to read.
The ball also provided tools and activities like educative videos and fun experiments to enhance his learning experience.
As Seth studied, Seth experienced a breakthrough as a God. First, they found out that his innate talent to learn and comprehend surpasses even godly standards. If a typical god took a week to learn one topic, Seth could learn that in a day.
The ball capitalized on this by shoving lots of knowledge into Seth without any pause. Good thing Seth liked the feeling of acquiring knowledge, he just felt bored and longed for other activities.
Secondly, Seth discovered his first innate ability—‘creation’. Initially, there was excitement, but soon it waned when they realized it was confined to Seth’s realm. They tried bringing many things out of his realm but sadly they faded out of existence the moment they came out.
Further testing confirmed that outside his realm, he could create new stuff out of existence, but they were limited in size and time usage, plus they came with huge drawbacks.
Nevertheless, they both agreed that this power deserves further development, hence the bar he resided in was built by himself to train his ‘creation’ power. Where did he get the materials and tools to build it? Well by making Seth spam the materials and tools out himself.
At the start, Seth can only magically poof up materials in small quantities like a single piece of brick. With his power unwieldy, he had to build his bar with his bricks manually.
Fortunately, as he spammed more bricks, he grew and gradually became able to create more complex items. Currently, he could materialize an entire house with complete plumbing and furnishing (in his realm). The construction not only honed his abilities but also helped him acclimate to his new divine form, as the process was taxing in many ways.
As for how he could have the mental capacity to create something on such a scale, remember that he is now more than human.
“No, this isn’t any of those. The others who have been monitoring your progress have determined that you are now competent enough to function as a god representing us.“ Seth noticed the ‘monitoring’ part but kept mum.
“After thorough discussion, we will send you as a representative to those pantheons working or cooperating in our ‘isekai’ project as the first step of your integration.”
“So what am I supposed to do?”
“We will join a meeting involving the pantheons involved with the isekai project. If you’re asking what they do, since you know the ‘isekai’ genre, you can already guess what they do right?”
Seth expressed some uncertainty, “Isn’t this too big of a job for a complete newbie like me?”
“It is, but we will assist you along the way. Shall we go?”
Seth used his power to open the bar’s door, saying, “After you.”
Together, they set off for Seth's first job, ready to navigate the challenges that lay ahead.
—
A massive assembly began to take shape at a vast plaza surrounded by an uncountable number of vertical starry rivers.
Many of those attending were engaged in conversations or some sort of indescribable work. One thing for certain: all of them were filled with excitement and anticipation.
“ERIS! Today is THE DAY! That new guy, Seth (they announced his name beforehand), is coming! I just know that something wondrous is about to happen for us because, you know, fate is always on my side!” A blue-haired goddess declared with enthusiasm, her confidence shining through as if the entire divine realm revolved around her.
“Aqua, others can hear you.” The white-haired Eris blushed a bit.
“Yes, and only us co-workers are around us, there is no shame between friends and coworkers.”
The other gods gave signs of approval, Eris could only smile, Aqua is still Aqua and her carefree attitude is a rarity among us, she thought.
“So will there be a party for Seth’s arrival? Where is the food and music? I mean, come on! We can’t just welcome him without a proper celebration!”
“Sorry, Aqua, it has been announced that this gathering is strictly a formal meeting. It will primarily be diving into our project matters, and at the end, one of us gets to mentor Seth and introduce him to the project.” Eris patiently explained.
“EH!? I mean, OF COURSE, I KNOW what today's event is for! I just forgot some… details… Yes! Yes! The details! I definitely paid attention to the announcement! I just, you know, forgot the nitty-gritty part and just assumed there would be something special like booze for Seth because he is ‘special’ right?” Aqua replied with a sheepish grin.
The gods couldn't help but chuckle at Aqua's attempt to save face.
“Yes Aqua, we understand what you’re coming from.” Eris smiled warmly and continued, “Seth is a bit special since he’s from that big shot. Since he is also a newcomer, let’s make sure to help him settle in! When he shows up, our priority is to give him our warmest and friendliest welcome.” Eris tilted her head cutely, earning affectionate smiles from the other gods.
“YOSHA!” Aqua stomped her foot on an unknown pedestal, exclaiming, “Even if there are no drinks to welcome Seth! As Seth’s Senpai, we should give him our best welcome and teach him the way!” Aqua declared in a victorious pose.
“OOH!” The other gods also raised their fists in solidarity with Aqua.
A Portal rift materialized in front of the gathering, and the ball emerged first, followed seconds later by Seth in his coat.
“WELCOME TO THE ‘ISEKAI’ PROJECT!” A resounding cheer erupted throughout the gathering plaza, leaving the ball and Seth stunned by the unexpected welcome.
The ball inquired, “What’s with this sudden festivities?”
One of the gods responded, “We were just waiting quietly for your arrival, but our co-worker goddesses, Aqua and Eris, suggested that we give Seth a more exciting welcome.”
“Who are these Aqua and Eris you speak of?” The ball asked, the ball had only the core fundamental knowledge of this project and was primarily tasked with leading and briefing on the project's future directions. Assisting Seth's integration by choosing a mentor was more of a bonus.
“The ones you spoke of are right here!” Aqua proudly pulled Eris forward to the spotlight and patted her chest with confidence.
“wa!? I apologize if this causes you trouble!” Eris bowed and blushed out of shyness.
When Seth saw both goddesses for the first time, he couldn't help but widen his eyes. A surge of memories resurfaced in his mind, although they were so blurry that he could barely discern them. Nonetheless, he felt a strong familiarity with both goddesses, especially the blue-haired one.
“No need to be tense; your attempt was unexpected but also nice and pleasant.” The ball didn't berate them and complimented their efforts.
Both Aqua and Eris bowed in unison.
Seth was still wide-eyed, he checked his gut (god power/divinity) for insight on this matter and received two replies from it:
“OH SH*T!”
and
“This will be interesting.”
“Seth… Seth… SETH! Are you okay!?” The ball floated directly in front of his eyes.
Seth snapped out of his trance-like state and noticed everyone was staring at him in confusion, especially Aqua and Eris. Eris' cheek turned red, while Aqua squinted her eyes with alertness.
Seth had just realized that, while he was in his trance, he had unconsciously or accidentally stared at both girls in a way that could be perceived as lecherous.
“Seth, I know those two are very beautiful, but you shouldn't make it so obvious.” The ball said with a grin, Seth didn’t understand how he could tell since the ball had no face, Perhaps it was the familiarity he had developed with the ball during their training.
“Forgive me,” Seth responded, not wanting to reveal that he had been in a bit of a trance since seeing Aqua and Eris, it would make the atmosphere even more awkward.
“Alright then, let’s start our meeting and brief Seth’s role in this project, if you have any questions, there will be a discussion at the end, feel free to take notes if necessary.” The ball conjured an amphitheater from the plaza’s ground and a meeting commenced.
Chapter 4: Explanations
Chapter Text
The meeting finally ended. currently, The Ball delivered its final remarks before commencing Seth’s project familiarization.
“I think this is enough for now, please record their data correctly. So Seth, do you grasp what you need to do?" the ball inquired.
“Yes, I understand the basic ‘isekai’ project procedure. We send, or more accurately reincarnate/ transmigrate individuals with potential to another world. Their past world memories may be fully retained, partially, or not at all,” Seth replied.
“Correct, we meet and interview these individuals. Determining their destination for reincarnation or transmigration, including the possibility of returning to their original world.”
“Their return methods can vary, from returning to their old bodies to being sent back in time. Some also receive ‘cheats’.” Seth affirmed, demonstrating his understanding.
“Yes, those ‘cheats’ can manifest as systems or power-ups, commonly referred to as 'golden fingers' in Eastern terminology.” The Ball added.
“Are there specific actions or criteria required for the ‘isekai’ process?”
“There are some, but they’re jokingly have no significance, you get it? besides, we decide if those peeps remember us or not.” A random goddess from the crowd chimed in.
“Lady! That may be true, but as gods and goddesses, we maintain decorum.” another voice admonished.
The ball took a deep breath, the ball continued, “This process can be done anywhere and any time. You can make them remember the whole process, only part of it, or none at all. You can even avoid meeting the reincarnated person by opting for long-distance communication. The only real constraint is the selection of worlds they can be sent to. Our choices are limited to worlds requiring our services and their respective original world.”
Seth nodded, contemplating for a moment before asking, “Those worlds are the clients, we act as the service providers, and the sent individuals are the products. You also mention that sometimes these worlds want to conduct the ‘interview’ themselves?”
The ball nodded in agreement.
“Then regarding those ‘cheats’, they seem integral to their growth and capabilities, what exactly are they?” Seth's question hung in the air, prompting everyone to look at the ball in anticipation.
Seth squinted, observing The ball as it replied, “Those ‘cheats’ are signature products. Deities involved in this project attach them to those individuals. These ‘cheats’ can only be affixed to them while they are being sent to their new destination.”
Seth continued asking, “So what about true or complete reincarnation, where they remember none and receive no ‘cheats’?”
“They will go the normal way, something like the afterlife, Heaven, Hell, Buddhist reincarnation, etc. For the reincarnation route, the souls undergo memory and personality wipe, and their destination world will be random. If you want even a slight alteration, like making sure the soul returns to their original world, we can't use that method and have to intervene in the whole process manually.”
Seth posed his final question, “Why are we reincarnating and transmigrating in the first place.”
“Have you heard of vaccination? To those worlds stagnation and corruption are akin to diseases, individuals who we sent will shake things up and cause a huge impact enough to disturb said stagnation and corruption.” the ball replied.
Now I know why so many MCs I read go through so many idiotic young masters. Seth thought.
The ball concluded, “Now, let us choose who will be Seth’s mentor. What about those two goddesses who livened up the place earlier?”
“EHH!?” The ball, Seth, and all the gods turned their heads toward two certain individuals seated in the center of the meeting. One of them is the white-haired girl named Eris who had just yelped in shock, while the other one is a blue-haired girl named Aqua whom everyone assumed to be sleeping.
*Snore…* the pin-drop silence allowed everyone to finally hear the blue-haired girl’s snore. Many could see her drooling and mumbling incomprehensible words.
“Ahem…” The ball cleared its throat politely.
In embarrassment, Eris shook Aqua to wake her up, “Aqua! Please wake up Aqua! Everyone is watching!”
“Ehehehe… I’m da best. Bow to me and where’s ma whiskeh?” Aqua continued to mumble in her sleep, oblivious to the attention.
“Eris you can go a bit harder.” the ball replied
With no other option, Eris pinched Aqua on her arm, prompting Aqua’s immediate reaction, “AHH! That hurts! Who dares to do that to me?! I’ll show’em a goddess wrath with my God blow!” Aqua stood up, assuming a ready-to-fight posture. Everyone thought at the same time, Is this really a goddess?
“Aqua, sorry to wake you up, Both of us were chosen as Seth’s mentor, but when you were called, you were sleeping, so now everyone noticed and is currently staring at you.” Eris in a panic explained
“Eh? Really?” She looked around and scanned the other gods’ stares.
“What you looking at? * umph!* ” Eris quickly covered Aqua’s mouth before she could make things worse.
The ball intervened, ”Aqua, I am going to choose Eris as Seth’s mentor for the moment while you will only become Eris' assistant when mentoring Seth.”
“OBJECTION!” A burly god bellowed.
“That woman, Aqua, just slept through the whole meeting, that is a clear display of disrespect and laziness. With these two factors alone, we can all agree she is not fit to even assist Eris in mentoring Seth. Eris is a fine choice but a bit still somewhat inexperienced. I, as a veteran, volunteer to become Seth’s Mentor and have * deep breath * Eris as my assistant!” The burly god proclaimed.
“Heh, Typical.” a prince charming-looking god sounded his dissatisfaction.
“You got a problem?” the burly god responded with a disgruntled expression.
“Why yes, Everyone can see that you are using this as an opportunity to get yourself close to the big shot. Even more disgustingly, you seem to want Eris for yourself! To prevent that, I volunteer to take on the role, I’ll also allow others to assist.” The Prince charming god announced.
“HYPOCRITE!” an old man (who was also a god) Shouted. Both the burly and prince charming god turned their heads towards him.
“Both of you aren’t true seniors yourselves. I, as one of the oldest and most senior in this project, should have the honor of becoming Seth’s mentor.” the old man spoke with smugness oozing out.
“NO WAY OLD MAN!” The burly god and Prince charming god dissed.
“HEY! STOP TALKING ABOUT TAKING MY POSITION AWAY! I mean, come on, even if I DIDN’T become Seth’s Mentor, it doesn’t mean you stooges will get it. Let’s be real here; only such a goddess as I who has such an amazing track record should become Seth’s Mentor.” Aqua Blared out, voicing her desires, and causing others to voice their disagreement.
Unfortunately, this whole debacle caused both the ire and Competitive spirit of many gods to rise. More and more gods joined in their contention, turning this already disastrous heated discussion into a yelling frenzy with no hopes of resolution.
Seth watched the chaotic scene unfold and couldn't help but wonder, Would I be in safe hands?
“That depends. They’re like this because we bring lots of benefits to those who will mentor you.” Seth shook for a moment from the sudden voice in his mind, fortunately, he knew that the ball was communicating through his mind, or else his reaction would have been more exaggerated.
“Now answer me honestly, Seth. When you went into that wide-eyed staring trance at the two girls, was it because of your god power reacting?”
Seth pondered why this mattered .
The ball guessed his confusion and answered, “Because I am experienced enough to know that your previous absent-minded state is caused by your divinity. This will have an impact on your or should I say our future.”
Then yes, it was caused by my god power reacting. Seth confirmed in his mind
“What was the reaction?”
Seth delved into his memory, he thought, A hidden memory resurfaced, making me feel like I knew Aqua and Eris well. Then my gut or divinity went haywire and kept sending me messages of chaos but also excitement, no exact detrimental messages came from it.
“Now look at all the gods and goddesses currently in this meeting, do you find anyone else who gave you a similar feeling?” Seth received another message in his mind.
Seth's eyes darted across the meeting, giving a thorough leer at all of the gods in this meeting. After that he replied in his mind, I don't have any reaction to anyone else, my power only reacted to Aqua and Eris, and it’s still reacting to them right now.
“I understand. Would you like me to stop this charade or would you like to do it yourself since they are yapping to get you? For fun?”
It would be my honor, I also just comprehended some new tricks from that trance. A borderline trickster grin crossed Seth’s face.
As the tumultuous scene continued, Seth tugged at the collar of his shirt and coat, flexed his head sideways producing a satisfying crack, and finally widened his eyes. At that very moment, an extreme change occurred in Seth.
The ball observed that as seconds passed, the galaxy-like cornea of Seth’s eyes swirled, and from it emerged a black hole with a spiraling red hue. Whatever lay inside it wasn't simple.
Once the spiraling black holes in his eyes stabilized. He raised one foot and stomped, releasing a mighty red auroral shockwave. This shockwave, upon contact with any of the gods, forced their heads to turn away from Seth with such force that some gods flung their bodies to react against their sudden head turns.
The red shockwave subsided, Peace was finally achieved, and most gods couldn’t help but stare at Seth for his powerful intervention.
“AGH!! IT HURTS!” only one certain goddess failed to react on time.
Seth thought, I never thought that this trick would be THIS head-turning.
“It was.” The ball responded in his mind.
Nothing but the pained moan of one goddess filled this almost silent meeting.
Seth then spoke, “Sorry to end your chaotic debate, but the one in charge has decided who will be Seth’s mentor.”
“Yes, but before I continue, does anyone want to offer a hand to that one goddess in pain? a who was it…, * snap finger * Aqua!” The ball commented.
Seth stepped forward, “May I?”
After those words, he took a combat horse stance, putting his right arm next to his waist. Slowly an incandescent yet also vigorous light covered his right fist.
The gods seated near the in-pain goddess slide themself away from her. Aqua, still in pain, remained oblivious to the situation. Eris looked worried but still scooched over to avoid becoming collateral damage.
Seth finally released a mighty strike with his glowing right fist, from it came a blast with the same incandescent light. It instantly swallowed Aqua, many thought, Is he even helping her?
"OUCH! MY NECK! IT DOESN'T hurt anymore?" Aqua’s words provided the answer, looking equally confused.
Everyone except Aqua stared at Seth again for a different reason now. The situation has changed significantly, Aqua asked loudly, “Who almost broke my neck!?”
everyone looked at Aqua for a few seconds and then back to Seth.
Aqua took the hint, “Then who has just healed me with a laser?”
Once again, the gods turned their gaze to Aqua, then back to Seth.
without much thought, Aqua blurted out, “You still almost broke my neck, I want compensation.”
many gods stared at Seth, intrigued about how this would go on. Thinking about how he will handle this. Seth stared at the ball, with an expression that said ‘Help?’
The ball spoke, “Sorry Goddess Aqua, your request is denied. Also, my previous choice for Seth’s mentor still stands."
"GODDESS ERIS! You will be Seth's mentor during his stay in this department. Goddess Aqua, you will be allowed to be Seth's substitute mentor, functioning more as an assistant in this matter. Seth will now join and have some sort of ‘internship’ in this isekai project, where he will help with reincarnating and/or transmigrating individuals."
Aqua couldn't help but ask, " Shouldn't I be Seth's mentor since I am more senior than Eris?"
Eris was fidgeting, she wanted to ask something but decided to change her mind.
"True, but Eris is senior enough to handle this, plus you will assist her considering Seth’s position, this is already the limit."
Aqua with no way to refute replied with a displeased face, "I will accept this arrangement."
The other gods felt a pang of jealousy because the two goddesses got close to Seth, who represents that organization.
With a sonorous clap, the ball announced, "With this, I will end this meeting. You will all return to your duties. Seth will join and begin his involvement at a later date."
The ball then teleported Seth and itself away. The remaining gods decided to chat for a bit before returning to their duties, sending individuals to other worlds.
Chapter 5: First Visit to Seth's Rock
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Location: Seth’s Bar and Rock
Seth landed in front of his small bar on his rock. The ball followed and spoke, “This is it, I will leave because I have matters to attend to. All that is left is for you to decide where you want to do this whole isekai job thing. We have some standard ‘isekai’ rooms if you want?”
Seth pondered and asked, “Can I do it here?”
“You can, but no offense, would a small bar on a small rock suffice?”
“No, my rock still has empty plots of land. I can just upgrade my bar to make it classy enough. I can also build an evil horror god’s den, an interstellar space throne, a sci-fi white emptiness realm, and...” Seth's excitement grew with those wondrous room designs.
“Why didn’t you build it previously?” The ball asked.
“I had no time before, initially, I wasn’t skilled enough to modify my realm, and when I did, you started assigning me more materials to study and comprehend. Remember the time when you gave me a hundred of those magic grimoires?”
The ball sighed and said, “Oh, forgive me, but I have to teach you so much because we can’t let that potential go to waste, you know.”
Seth nodded and sighed, reminiscing about the events that happened before the meeting.
“It’ll take a while before we get you to ‘isekai’ people, blame it on higher-ups' preparations, duties, and such. But heck! No more homework for you!” The ball used his magic to conjure a stack of paper and ripped them apart.
“We will send those two goddesses at a later time to start your mentoring plus teach you how to teleport from your realm to the public places of our organization. Before that, you can do whatever you want. Now, ta ta…” The ball poofed away Like an interdimensional stage magician. ”
After the ball left Seth’s rock/realm. Seth flicked his finger, and the rock changed shape, creating more plots of land for his construction.
With this Seth contemplated his next steps, embarking on a journey to create something that many Beings across the multiverse agree as an ‘inter-dimensional must-see destination for all’.
—
Location: a certain goddess's workplace
A small flash appeared.
“ERIS! HURRY! I’m carrying chilled wine here!” Aqua shouted as she emerged from a circular portal holding a large bottle.
“Aqua senpai! Calm down! Seth can’t go anywhere.” Eris followed suit, welcoming Aqua.
“We need to find Seth so we can uhh… teach him the ways, it’s a big duty we were given!” Aqua said determined.
“Yes senpai, they say that Seth’s place isn’t big, so we should find him quickly.” Eris would have believed her words if she wasn’t hugging a bottle of wine.
“Eris, you don’t understand how important the training budget and time they gave. We have to use them wisely to mentor Seth. The more progress and growth Seth showed, the better our rewards from that bigshot’s group.” Aqua harrumphed with pride.
“And we bought that expensive wine using the said budget for what exactly?” Eris asked with a helpless smile.
“It’s to lighten the mood so we can know each other more. It’s not JUST because I want to drink it.” Aqua defended her choice.
She is treating the budget as her own personal wallet. Eris thought helplessly.
“Now ONWARD to Seth’s dingy bar and rock! We have lots of stuff to do, we gotta go fast!”
So that this debacle can end faster, I want to laze around with that leftover time. Aqua secretly thought in her mind.
Eris, however, had reservations, “Are you sure this is enough? Should we prepare something else?”
“AH!!! No more dilly dally! There’s no time to lose.” Aqua Pulled Eris's arm and leaped into the portal without hesitation.
So the two goddesses and one wine bottle entered the portal, unaware of the surprises and opportunities that awaited them.
—
Location: Seth’s ‘Rock’
On what seemed to be a grand platform, a small portal flashed, and out came Two goddesses and a bottle of wine. They were now standing on top of a circular plaza atop a tower-like structure, surrounded by beautifully crafted topiary. Several bridges extended from the plaza leading to other floating islands, each with its own unique features.
Above them stretched a star-filled sky, and below flowed an aurora-colored and luminescent ocean. The most prominent landmark visible from their current position was a grand and futuristic castle, others are scattered too far away in the distance.
“Strange? I was told that his place is just a small rock with a ramshackle bar on it. Why the heck is there a castle here?” Aqua exclaimed in confusion after observing the place.
“AQUA! DON’T SAY IT OUT LOUD! Seth might hear you!” Eris reprimanded her in a hushed tone.
“Too late.” Seth popped behind her
“WAH! My apologies Mister Seth! Aqua didn’t mean to!” Eris with a reddened face bowed down to apologize.
“Don’t worry; it was just a small bar on a rock. I have just upgraded it significantly.”
“Yeah, we heard you went full god build mode while waiting, though this place is a bit boring.” Aqua quipped on a whim. Eris, hearing this, became worried.
“Care to explain” Seth raised his eyebrow.
“First of all, this place is so big yet feels empty, you should allow people in like a big resort, or make it small and manageable, like a manor. I'm not bragging or anything but I am regarded as a master artist around here and my expertise tells me this architecture is misused. ”
“You’re also a master artist?”
“Ehh… Yes, not an active member, but still a high-ranking one. WAIT!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘ALSO’?”
He then glanced at Eris, silently asking ‘Is what she said true?’
Eris nodded in confirmation, conveying ’Yes, it’s true.’
“BUH! WAH! EXPLAIN TO ME NOW WHEN YOU SAY ALSO!?” Aqua stammered, feeling like her thunder was stolen.
Before Aqua could continue, Seth cut her off, “I did intend to make this place open to the public. It’s just that I wasn’t allowed before I get members or employees to manage the place first, automated machines don't count. They say you two could assist me in this matter.”
“Ughh… okay, I still have some issues with your design,” Aqua replied, giving up on that matter and trying to assert her seniority with her professional criticism.
“Then Lady Aqua, can you enlighten me, or even help me in my venture constructing my place?”
“I originally didn’t want to, but since you show such a humbling manner… Sure, let's do it....” Aqua obliged.
“Before you express your artistic view and suggestion for my islands, why don’t we take a tour?” Seth tapped his foot, and the floor under them transformed into a floating platform, akin to a magic carpet. Three comfortable seats and a tiny fridge appeared out of thin air.
“Ladies, some lovely seats for you, and would you allow me to store your…” Seth reached for Aqua’s drink, intending to store it in the tiny fridge, but Aqua jumped back, hugging it tighter and making a hiss.
“Message received.” They took their seats, and the floating platform began to move.
Eris couldn’t help but think, I hope this won’t ruin Seth's impression of Aqua, as she observed Aqua affectionately guarding her bottle.
“Don’t worry, it won’t,” hearing this Eris almost jolted.
“As a former human, I have dealt with many people worse than her. Compared to them, she is just a little bit frisky.”
Where did you learn this mind link thing, Seth? This thing is not easy to do, right? A god’s mind is a tough nut to crack; only true powerhouses can confidently do this.
“The ball previously did it to me; I reverse-engineered it and finally learned it the day before yesterday. I just tried it on you. Forgive me if this is intrusive.”
As expected someone associated with that organization, please don’t use it indiscriminately on others. Many people don’t like it, and I… don’t want you to get hurt.
“Thank you Eris; that is sweet of you.” A smile rose on Eris’s lip, and Seth returned the smile.
“Now what was I gonna ask? Oh yes! Was Aqua always this haughty?”
Seth, Aqua is a good person. She likes to inflate herself, but she means no harm; she just wants to be praised. She also speaks her mind without thinking, and there’s usually no deeper meaning to it. Eris relayed her thoughts.
“So she is just like this? Airheaded, a bit egotistic, but also very honest like an open book.”
A bit rude but yes . Eris replied in thought
“Is there anything else you would like to add?” a question was sent to her mind.
Uhh… Aqua is genuinely pure, to the point she can be easily fooled by others. She doesn’t judge people at all, making her very open and enjoyable to be around. Even though her occupation as a ‘master artist’ is legitimate, her inaptitude and bad ethics prevented her from fully showcasing it. She likes to create plans with good intentions and maybe for praise. Sadly those plans were usually hastily planned and led to unintended consequences.
“She must have been a doozy for the higher-ups.”
She was, but with proper guidance and management, she can produce great results, and that’s why she holds a senior position. Eris thought as a reply to Seth.
I see, she seems manageable. Seth thought without transferring it to Eris’s mind.
“This is enough for now Eris; thank you. We should end this here. Enjoy the journey; I added a fantastic show along the way.” Seth spoke to Eris’s mind and then pointed his finger slightly to the ocean surrounding them.
“Girls, what do you think of what I have done to what’s under us?” As he ended this sentence, a giant cosmic glittering whale jumped from the bioluminescent ocean and flew to the skies above. Bioluminescent fishes followed suits, filling the skies by the thousands.
They followed the platform and floated happily in the skies, sparkling the dark starry skies. Overlaying the actual stars above, they blended with the sky, creating a breathtaking sight.
All the fish were moving in the same direction as Seth and the others. The moving fish’s glowing mixed with the natural shine of the still stars made quite a spectacle. Creating an illusion as if they were shooting stars. They followed and gleefully danced above.
As the two goddesses stood in amazement. Eris spoke in amazement, “It’s beautiful Seth.”
Aqua, equally amazed, asked, “Where did you get these, I have never seen these fishes before?”
“These wonderful creatures already lived in this glowing milky ocean, it seems like they are from my previous god self, meaning they are ancient.”
“Did the higher-ups know this?”
“They did, they deemed them harmless.”
“Neat, though we’ve never heard you had an ocean in your realm.”
“Neither did I previously, now I moved them closer here.”
“Then how did you get them to float in the skies?” Aqua pointed at the floating fishes.
“They aren’t.” Seth smiled
“What do you mean?” Aqua and Ersi asked at the same time.
“We are actually underwater, I just made the top part of this ocean transparent and made a water tunnel surrounding our path. This realm is mine in the first place, I can edit it however I want.”
“Whoa… you made part of this ocean transparent, I didn’t know that,” Aqua spoke out loud.
“All I did was make the ocean see-through.”
The moment Aqua heard those words, something ticked inside her, “Hey? You saying I'm incompetent?”
“No, why did you think…”
“LET ME tell you this! me being a goddess of water doesn’t mean I have to be able to detect it!” Aqua proclaimed.
Seth finally understood what was wrong, “So have you ever done this? Since you're a goddess of water and all?” Seth asked, feeling a bit taunting.
“Uh… no, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN I CAN'T DO IT! I JUST NEVER THOUGHT OF IT, UGH… I MEAN THERE IS NO REASON TO!” To prove her point, she crossed her arms and conjured a ball of water, then turned it so transparently that only the outline could barely be seen.
Seth used his ‘creation’ power to conjure water too, “Then what about…”
With this, a heated debate and show-off of skills erupted on the moving platform, involving Aqua and Seth showcasing their water-manipulating abilities. Seth did it to experiment with his ‘creation’ ability and Aqua did it to prove her capabilities. Eris, who was not related to the water element, only observed from the sidelines.
Notes:
"Greetings people!" Honestly, this is the best of what I could come up with to greet you for this spot, right here right now.
All I would say I am very new here and decided to release 5 chapters at once for the first time purely so you guys could get the feel of this novel.
I know currently it seems very slice of life and chill. but don't worry our MC will go through many things in this fanfic.
since I am new I'll release this slowly, maybe around 1-2 chapters a week, but most likely 1 chapter/week most of the time.
Now share your thoughts in the comments or many other things in the comments or something. I'm just starting anyway.
Chapter 6: Talk At the Bar
Chapter Text
A full day has passed since Seth started his tour to goddesses and one bottle through his realm while also having many bouts with Aqua.
Like a montage, the adventures the three of them go through as Seth tours Aqua and Eris are:
- Eris smiled as Aqua playfully chucked all the books into the central void of a tower library, watching them fall again from above them, creating an infinite loop.
- Seth and Aqua continued their competition of water control in an eastern-styled training dojo, with training gyms, stadiums, and swimming pools nearby.
- The two goddesses pretended to listen to Seth's explanations about his futuristic and robotic equipment in his gigantic sci-fi lab/factory.
- Seth showcased his magical potion collection in his wizard tower apothecary, only for Aqua to ‘accidentally’ add ingredients to his active cauldrons, leading to a comical explosion.
- They visited a diverse nature reserve comprising various tiny realms, each with unique environments. Aqua, in a lighthearted mishap, found herself stranded in a desert realm while searching the sea.
- Aqua and Seth did a musical performance on top of a clam-shaped outdoor opera house as the fishes in the skies danced to the tunes. All this started because Seth asked if Aqua or Eris wanted to perform, and Aqua took it as a challenge.
- The trio played poker at Seth’s entertainment area with arcades and more, sadly it was cut short due to Eris’s luck.
- They ventured into a dark and depressing dungeon, where Eris’ suggestions for dealing with criminals from all the groups involved in his organization made Seth break a sweat.
- Seth showed the goddesses his throne room, complete with a remote that could alter the room design based on their imagination. Aqua and Eris had fun using and passing each other the remote, it took them 10 minutes to grow tired of it.
This summary captures the essence of their day together.
Their day finally came to a close, Seth, Aqua, and Eris were finally at their final destination: the first creation in his realm, his bar which had expanded to a high-class vintage bar.
The bottle of wine Aqua brought along finally fulfilled its purpose, instantly poured and shared among the three.
Seth had to admit that this drink, crafted by and for higher beings, exceeded any human-made booze he’d tasted from his past. He also felt something profound inside him burning and growing.
He thought of using his power to replicate this drink, recreating its unique taste and effect, but found it almost impossible for now. He could only create a small part of the special taste and none of its godly effect. This was a roadblock for him, yet he was happy because he felt with time and training, he could achieve something from it.
With a wave of his hand, Seth conjured a perfect replica of Aqua’s wine. He Popped its cork and poured it into all three wine glasses they had just drunk from.
Eris looked surprised, While Aqua's eyes sparkled.
“Seth, did you just copy this drink?” Eris inquired, Seth nodded.
“And what about the taste?” Aqua asked eagerly.
Seth raised his wine glass and took a generous sip, “just as I expected, only like a quarter of its true worth.”
“Can I?” Aqua stared at both the wine glass and bottle, her intention clear.
“You may,” Seth said, The second Seth uttered those words, a gust blew through. Seth found her in a corner, the bottle was already planted into her lips, and a satisfied grin spread across her face.
“Uwahh… It’s watery but still good.” Aqua gasped with a smile.
Having dealt with Aqua, Seth made eye contact with Eris, who had already sampled the wine.
“That was no ordinary wine, Seth. It has the unique properties known to enhance the strength of gods.”
Seth nodded, acknowledging, “I know, my imitation only possesses part of the taste and none of the benefits.”
“Give me five bottles now, Seth!” Aqua exclaimed.
Seth obliged and swiped his arm, and five bottles emerged.
“YAHOO! Thank you, Seth! You’re the best!!!” Aqua joyfully claimed all the bottles, retreating to her corner to consume them like no tomorrow.
“Can it really not be taken outside?” Eris silently asked,
“Nope, the moment you do, it turns to dust,” Seth replied quietly. Recalling the efforts made by the organization to extract it from his realm.
“SETH! Give me a crate, I’m taking them back!” Aqua with a drunken grin shouted.
“Aqua… they told us that won't work, it can only exist here.” Eris reprimanded.
“That means I'm staying here!”
“No, I’m not allowing it.” Seth instantly rejected the idea.
“BUT WHY? I’ll even do anything!” Aqua shouted. Eris, who heard it found it inappropriate.
“Still no,” Seth still rejected, feeling that she would cause trouble here.
“FINE THEN! Make me a crate of it! With the great power this goddess holds, I don’t believe those bottles will disappear!” Aqua demanded.
Seth poofed a sizable crate and said, “Good luck.”
Aqua immediately clung to the crate, adding numerous runes and enchantments to it. Eris could only offer an awkward smile, knowing the endeavor would be fruitless.
Seth clapped two times. catching both Aqua and Eris's attention. He gestured to a kitchen set that had just appeared behind him, “Why don't we have a feast to go with my imitation wine? I know it’s basic human food, but hey, it's better than nothing. do you have any suggestions?”
“STEAK, SEAFOOD, AND PASTA!” Aqua shouted, then went back to working on her crate.
Seth turned to Eris, who wore a lovely smile. “Anything you choose to make would be most appreciated.”
“K then,” Seth said. Using his powers, he manipulated the cooking utensils and sat down with the others while the utensils prepared the food.
As they waited, Aqua finished her work on the crate, and the food was finally ready.
as plates of delicious food arrived on the table, Eris suggested, “Why don’t we have a nice chat while we have dinner, so we can know each other better?”
“YOSH! LET’S PARTY!” Aqua exclaimed, and the three of them chatted and feasted on a gourmet master class.
—
Location: Aqua’s workplace
A small portal popped into existence. A white-haired girl emerged, followed by a blue one pulling a large, floating crate.
“HAHAHA! Eris! Look at that, I told you I could do it! I’ll go back first; these premium drinks need proper storage ASAP!”Aqua said enthusiastically.
“Uhh… Aqua, look over there.” Eris pointed at a corner of the crate.
“yes, what’s wrong with it?” Aqua inquired.
“I see sand leaking from it,” Eris spoke.
Aqua’s pupils dilated the moment she heard that. She quickly tore the boards of the crate with her bare hands. “NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!”
“WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT!!!” She cried as she witnessed the bottles and crates slowly disintegrating into dust
Eris looking at this was unsure whether to feel pity as this outcome was expected. She let Aqua wallow in her tears and took a deep breath, summoning a different portal next to her.
—
in a clandestine meeting room, Eris began her report, Her composure wavered facing several powerful beings.
A higher-ranking figure asked, “How did it go?” He offered her a seat and non-alcoholic drinks.
“It went well. I believe he won’t oppose your plans for him; rather, I think he’ll approve of the matter,” Eris reported while using a magic spell to send something to the assembly.
The ball, among the higher-ups, asked, “Are you prepared for this responsibility, considering what Seth could cause?”
“I’m not certain. Even if I am the goddess of luck and fortune, I fear I am far from ready for what lies ahead,” Eris answered meekly.
“Don’t worry, many of us support you, just keep a close watch over Seth for now.” The ball assured.
Eris nodded in understanding before inquiring, “What about Aqua, is she aware of this?”
“She isn’t, however, you know her well enough to know she could be a liability here.”
Eris chuckled at the various ways Aqua could complicate this matter.
“Now off you go.” With a flash, Eris was returned to where she came from.
Silence descended back after Eris’s departure. A different voice said, “Are you certain this is the right course of action?”
“It is.”
Chapter 7: Learning from the Pros
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Location: Aqua’s Place
“Now hero! May you be victorious and defeat the demon king... I bid you farewell!”, A blue-haired goddess commanded with grace.
“YES! I WILL, GODDESS AQUA! I WON’T WASTE MY LIFE AGAIN! I WILL DEFEAT THE DEMON KING AND FULFILL MY DREAM OF HAVING A HAREM!”
A pillar of light lifted the person into the air and transported him into the distance, successfully reincarnating him.
After the light disappeared, Aqua’s grandeur instantly faded, She couldn’t help but snicker, “Too bad that world barely has any woman.”
She went to the back of her chair, picked up a sake bottle, and drank like a true incapacitated drunkard. After finishing the whole thing, the bottle disintegrated into dust. “Seth! Keep them coming!” Aqua shouted, and a few bottles gently descended from a small tear in space. “THANK YOU VERY MUCH!” Aqua Slurred.
—
“Ugh… She’s treating me like her personal booze dispenser. My creation power still gives me nasty headaches outside my realm.” Seth held his head dizzy, watching Aqua from a hidden mirror dimension.
“At least we now know it’s not worse than before.” Eris nodded with understanding, Aqua had suggested/ordered Seth to keep making liquor by using his power as ‘training’, Seth at first completely disagreed since Aqua’s intent was truly obvious, but after thinking a bit, he agreed because he couldn’t ignore the possibility that it could indeed be trained.
“Though I have to admit, when it comes to reincarnating people, she is no joke.”
Eris giggled, “It’s true, Aqua can ‘convince’ almost everyone to ‘isekai’ to the least chosen worlds, others sift through souls and worlds, Aqua gladly accepts the leftover and unwanted ones since the more she sends, the greater the bonus - in the form of liquor of course.”
Seth thought, She took all the bottom rung who no other gods bothered to isekai, that’s how she got her role here, by quantity. Reminds me of a certain slayer.
—
After taking her customary swigs of alcohol, Aqua hid her bottles. “Now, what’s the next world? Ooh! This one has my GREAT RELIGION in it! Hmm? Does the demon king still exist there? Well, nothing wrong with sending more.”
She returned to her seat, “Now, who is the next guy, Mitsurugi Kyouya? From his life story, he’s just your average high schooler, nothing impressive except that he is a little muscular.”
She snapped her finger; a magical wisp entered the place, and a teenage boy emerged from it. Aqua with a graceful smile, welcomed him, “Greetings Mitsurugi Kyouya, welcome to the afterlife. I am sorry to inform you that you have died.”
So, for the umpteenth time, Aqua started her reincarnation process.
—
“Wait, Religion?” Seth inquired.
“Oh right, we forgot to mention that,” Eris replied, making a fist on her other palm.
“Seth, a god gains believers to gain ‘faith’, which serves as an additional source of power to us. Although Gods are already strong, ‘faith’ can further amplify their power,” Eris explained.
“So you establish religions in these worlds and get a continuous supply of faith?” Seth quickly grasped the concept.
Eris nodded and continued, “Faith can come from fame, infamy, and anything that makes people think of anything related to you. Through trial and error, we’ve found that religious fervor is the most potent form.”
“I understand.” Seth turned his body towards Eris, “Do you have a religion?”
“I do have one,” Eris replied.
“then how do you rank position among gods?”
“It usually varies, most of them are based on power, though not just based on raw strength or combat ability. It also includes influences, skills, indispensability, and more.”
Seth asked, “Is Aqua Religion big?”
“No, but it’s v-very devoted,” Eris answered, almost stuttering.
Seth smirked in his heart, I see.
“Though I’m still confused, she is still ‘lackluster’ in the other departments except for artistry and this.”
“Seth! Don’t underestimate Aqua too much.” Eris warned him.
“I am not; I just see that you are better than her.”
“I… Ah… Whahh…,” Eris's face turned red and stammered, while Seth only smiled.
Silence fell as they continued watching Aqua ‘reincarnate’ the teenager. As they did, Eris turned thoughtful, “Seth?”
“Yes, Eris?” Seth replied.
“Do you have any intention to build your religion?”
“I don’t know. It seemed like a hassle, and my intuition (divinity) said I didn’t need it. Plus if I do, I might be labeled as an evil or heretic god.”
“No, you’re a good person, and I know it.” She made eye contact with Seth.
Seth decided not to go further and redirected her attention.“Let’s go back to watching this show.”
Eris nodded and they went back to watching Aqua ‘hoodwink’ random people. Seth reminisces about the events days ago.
—
Location: a really big market
They arrived at a very open plaza hanging above a sea of clouds, filled with bright glowing festivities.
“Come on Seth! There are still lots of places to visit, this is my favorite place, the Grand Market.”
Eris as a mentor was also tasked with introducing Seth to places. The grand market is open to the public, even to outsiders or criminals. As long as the involved party is not a threat to the omniverse and not causing trouble or harm.
Eris held Seth’s hand as they whizzed through the cheery market.
Eris brought him to some stalls and shops selling exotic foods, beautiful boutiques, and maybe a jewelry or two, though they were only window shopping.
Seth was inspecting a glowing gauntlet when he heard Eris yelp, Seth instantly gave the gauntlet back and ran to her.
He noticed a crowd had circled Eris and one other person wearing Chinese clothes with a ponytail reaching his back, “Milady, As expected of the kingdom of gods, you are one of the most beautiful woman I have ever met, Would you allow me, Zhang Gu Se, the first disciple of the great **** Sect second elder, have the honor of the afternoon with you?”
Seth saw Eris looking flustered and conflicted at this. He understood what was going on.
He shouted, “Eris! There you are!” attracting the other’s attention.
Seth without hesitation held Eris’ hand, and because of the awkward situation instinctually moved closer toward Seth.
SETH!
“Calm down Eris, only goodhearted and noble cultivators can enter here. However, we should still tread carefully since some are temperamental. We don’t want to make this frisky.”
Sorry… it’s just I have met a few… persistent ones in the past.
“Oh forgive me, You must be blessed by the heavens for having a beauty as your partner. And it was uncivilized of me to interfere.” the cultivator apologized cordially.
Seth and Eris looked at each other for a moment, they wanted to deny it, but….
“Haha, as an apology, why don’t I bless you two with fortune and luck, our sects are famous for it.” He then waved his hands and chanted.
Golden Chinese words and symbols circled Seth and Eris, but midway it broke. The cultivator coughed slightly and a hint of red stained his lips.
“HEAVENS! I blessed you two with great luck, but I almost received backlash.”
Seth and Eris stared at each other, instantly knowing what was happening. Giving a blessing of fortune to a goddess of fortune is pointless. Seth thought.
The cultivator instantly knelt on the floor and hit his head on the ground three times.
"I thank you two sweethearts for opening my eyes! Our sect spans many heavens or in your terms 'multiverse', but you two made me realize why my master made me go on this journey! I am a frog in a well! Experts here are as common as the clouds! Now will you excuse me, i can’t repay you now, but I have other ways.” He threw a sword out and jumped on it, he whizzed away at the speed of light.
“It’s over right?” Eris asked.
“I guess so, I sensed no malicious intention from him. We were lucky, he was just really altruistic.” With this potential mess subverted, Seth decided to continue holding Eris’ hand. They continued their merry window shopping. Seth smiled at how sweet she was, enjoying her company.
“Seth! How are you doing!” A muscular middle-aged man called out to Seth while he held Eris’ hand.
“It’s been a while since you came to sharpen your sword skills with us.” The man went closer. Seth let go of Eris and gave him a manly handshake.
“Don’t worry dude, it’s just I still have to go to more places.”
The blond man nodded, “Heh! I thought my deep mastery of the sword scared you away.”
“No way man,” Seth replied confidently, The man hooked his arm into a headlock around Seth’s neck, pulling him away from Eris.
He whispered, ”So you're dating Eris officially now?”
“Bahahaha!” Seth had to release that, “We only knew each other for days, I do kind of like her but that’s too fast. You could say there’s progress, but still not there yet. I'm still a bit indecisive about this.”
The muscular man gave Seth a hard slap on the back, sending him back to Eris, “Have fun you two.”
“By the way, why are you here, shouldn’t you hang out with the other battle gods?”
“Hmph, who says a god has to only like the thing they are a god of. I am searching for new delicacies here.” the muscular man waved goodbye.
After that chat Seth went back to Eris, “I think we had enough adventure around here, I still have to learn how other gods did their ‘isekai’.”
Eris nodded, a portal opened, and they entered.
—
Seth and Eris found themselves in a very pink girlish bedroom. A bratty-looking goddess lounged on her bed. Resembling the stereotypical high school queen cheerleader.
“Oh Heeey girl!” She jumped off her bed, giving Eris the most typical excited girl hug.
Eris also did the same, “It’s so good to see you again! How long has it been since we hung out?”
“GIRL it’s been forever, though I’m not totally in the mood to hit the mall. But, you know, we girls have to have a get-together ASAP!”
“Sure, but first thing first, today’s your turn,” Eris replied.
“Oh yeah… I signed up for this. Come, boyfriend!”
“Boyfriend?” Eris looked confused
“Oh chill, girl, everyone knows that you two are, like, so close together,” she spoke loudly.
“SETH AND I AREN’T DATING!” Eris proclaimed.
“Really? These few days, you two are like two peas in a pod. Honey, you’re a match made in heaven, looking so good together.” the teenage-looking goddess continued.
Eris tried to rebuke, but Seth put his hand on her shoulder, “Just tell them we are not currently dating when they ask. Adding more will cause misinformation”
“BUT! But…” Eris persisted, but with Seth’s patient convincing, she calmed down and relented.
“You sure you two aren’t together? you two are so in sync. I can see sparks of love,” the teenage goddess pointed out how close they were. Seth gave an expression as if saying ‘See’ and Eris just sighed.
The teenage goddess showed her laptop and phone screen to them. “Doing the 'isekai’ thing is such a turnover; luckily, we have the technology for it.” programs are processing which candidates fit her criteria. Invitation messages and emails are being automatically sent out.
Seth gave her a look, she responded, “What? Work smarter, not harder. I just got my nails done.”
Seth asked, “How about our ‘cheats’?”
the teenage goddess showed her phone, “Wanna try?” * tut-turuu * a cute spin-the-wheel game popped up on the screen. “It could also be a lucky draw or gacha. Don’t worry; this is a demo.”
Seth tested four times and got a library, a monster-taming system, a farm, and nothing (failed). “Not bad,” Seth commented.
“I know right? If those oldies asked if this was too random or carefree, just say that if the person got it, they are fated, if not, then they’re not. Now, sweetie, that’s all of it for today, seriously, like, that’s all I did for this gig.” She created a portal and shoved Eris and Seth out. Eris and Seth found themselves in a shopping center.
“Eris. I got some big things, and sorry, but your company won't help at all. I need to like fully focus on this matter alone! Hey, at least I'm bringing you to the best hangout place around here. Ta-taah… ."
The portal closed, and Seth and Eris can’t say much about it. They decided to window shop the place and visit their next expert.
—
In a corridor lined with doors. A bespectacled man was reading a newspaper at his office/ receptionist desk. He glanced at Seth and Eris, let go one finger from his newspaper, and pointed to a door on his left.
Seth and Eris followed suit, entered the door, and found out they could see the corridor, but those inside couldn’t see them; it was like a one-way mirror.
The blond man revealed a note he had printed, allowing Seth to read it. It was a questionnaire that only 2 possible answers for each question. The final question asked ‘Do you know how this world ends?’.The blond man made a light wave, The note turned transparent and vanished.
Seth realized that the note was likely for the ‘isekai’ process, and was sent to a person.
The blond man signaled for Seth and Eris to be quiet and focused his view on the end of a corridor. A bloodied samurai emerged from it.
Notes:
For those asking, the cultivator (Zhang Gu Se) is an original or made-up character, not supposed to be related to any series. He's there to help my fanfic's worldbuilding.
Chapter 8: Final Day
Chapter Text
Location: Eris’ place
A jagged portal appeared right outside an elegant door. A shiny metallic boot emerged from it.
“Finally, got the coordinates right this time,” Seth spoke as he arrived in front of a door. He knocked and shouted, “Eris! You there?!”
“Coming!” rushed footsteps could be heard, and the door opened. As it did, Seth wanted to say something but stopped midway at what he saw.
Eris looked like a mess, with unkempt strands of hair all over and her headwear askew, almost falling off. Seth instantly materialized a brush. Eris blushed, accepting the item, “Thank you, aren't you gonna get dizzy?”
“A bit, though it’s fine, Anyway, who's the blond girl?”
“Oh, you mean…” Eris jolted in shock. Seth pointed behind Eris, and she followed his gaze. In a corner, a floating video screen displayed a girl praying.
“AAHHH!!!” Eris instantly tried to slam the door, but Seth shoved his metal-protected foot between the door, stopping her.
“Uhh…” Eris hunkered down, her cheeks turning pink as she struggled to hide her embarrassment.
“So you watch over your believers?” Seth asked.
“yes…” She answered, fidgeting with her fingers
“That’s nice.” Hearing this, Eris' mood rose a bit.
“Can I?” Seth indicated that he wanted to watch closer. Eris nodded and followed.
They watched as a voice arose from the screen. A girl prayed alone inside a cathedral. “Oh Goddess Eris, I give thanks for granting me my wish for a true friend and adventure. These last few weeks, fraught with challenges, have also been one of the happiest days of my life...”
Seth watched this and also glanced at Eris. He saw Eris wearing a radiant smile, the kind that only blossoms when someone finds true joy in witnessing the happiness of others.
Seth decided not to ruin the moment and decided to watch with her for a while.
—
A blue-haired goddess was sipping on vodka in a displeased expression. A man with stars in his eyes finally arrived, Aqua drunkenly grabbed the man’s collar with a glare.
“TOOK YOU FOREVER! What took you so long, huh?”
in a flurry, a White-haired goddess arrived, “Aqua! Please forgive Seth; It’s my fault this time.”
“Well, be grateful that I’m in a * hick! * good mood today…” Aqua released her grip on Seth and swaggered back to her place.
As they saw Aqua was preparing herself like usual, Seth and Eris decided to go back to their usual hidden mirror dimension, this was the final time before he did it himself.
—
Location: Aqua's place
White light flashed in front of Aqua.
"Satou Kazuma, welcome to the after-life. Unfortunately, you died moments ago. Your life might be short, but it is still over." Aqua sat casually as she watched a teenager emerge from the light.
"... Can I ask something?" the teenage boy asked.
“Sure, go ahead."
"That girl... that I pushed away from a truck, is she okay?"
“She lives, though with a broken leg. She wouldn’t be hurt in the first place if you hadn’t pushed her away.”
“Oh thank goodness… Huh?”
“That tractor would have stopped before hitting that girl.”
“ Chotto matte? A tractor?”
“Yes, a tractor,” Aqua confirmed.
“Wait, did I die from being run over by a tractor?”
“No, no, no. You died from shock. You know, like thinking that a truck ran over you and going into full-blown shock! puh, HAHAHA.”
The teenager Kazuma just stood there at a loss for words.
“I have been handling reincarnations for ages, but yours? it’s like THE WEIRDEST DEATH I’VE EVER SEEN! PFFT HAHAHA!” Aqua couldn’t contain it and lost it.
“LISTEN HERE! YOU WERE SO TERRIFIED THAT YOU WET YOURSELF! When they rushed you to the nearest hospital. The doctors and nurses laughed while trying to save you from a heart attack! PFFT HAHA! THEY CAN'T CONTROL IT, SAYING THINGS LIKE 'WHAT'S WITH THIS LOSER’!”
“STOP! I DON’T WANNA HEAR IT!” Kazuma just cupped his hand around his ear almost in denial.
Aqua walked closer, leaning in to whisper into his ear, “Your family rushed to the hospital after hearing this, when they found out how you died, they had to burst out laughing before even bothering to grieve.”
“AAHHH! SHUT UP! NO MORE!”
Aqua laughs out loud as Kazuma squirms in cringe and embarrassment.
—
Seth and Eris watched the whole show in the mirror dimension.
“What Kazuma went through is sad, I pray he will be happy in his new world,” Eris said as she wished the best for the teenager.
Seth stroked his chin, ”He is quite smart, and has potential. sadly, a few setbacks made him give up society to become a NEET. Those setbacks are quite painful for the young him, though he shouldn’t just give up with no effort.”
“Seth don’t judge him by your standard; everyone is different. Plus you laughed at him with Aqua in the first place”
“Yes, for a few seconds. I can't help laughing at hearing how he exactly died. You are quite a woman to be able to not laugh at him at all.”
Eris smiled at the compliment.
“Anyway, it looks like it is almost time. Kazuma is selecting his ‘cheat’. Usually, it took a while because Aqua usually explained it in a grandiose manner. Now she just goes to the point since her image as a goddess is already ruined.” Seth pointed at the papers being spread out for Kazuma, which he had to pick one.
“I wonder what he will pick.” Eris wonders.
“He is quite smart; he could use and beat the demon king with any of the decent choices.” They sat back and watched the show.
—
Aqua was munching on potato chips as she watched Kazuma deciding what ‘cheat’ to go with him to a new world.
“Come on, choose already, what's the point? you’re just a useless otaku anyway.” She took a potato chip and ate it.
“I’M NOT AN OTAKU, I DID DIE OUTSIDE MY HOUSE!”
Yes, you are . One god and two goddesses thought at the same time.
“Come on! hurry up! you’re wasting my time. I still have, like, a ton more souls to deal with.” Aqua complained, her annoyance evident.
D*mn this Egotistical pretty face . Kazuma gritted in his mind. “You want me to choose right? Then I choose you.”
“Ok then, off you go.” Two glowing circles formed under Kazuma and Aqua.
“Hold up…” Aqua suddenly realized something.
An angel descended and announced, “Satou Kazuma, we have heard of your request. Your wish has been granted. To comply with the request, another god named ‘Seth’ will take over Aqua’s post.” As those words were spoken, a pillar of light arose from the circle, illuminating and encapsulating both Aqua and Kazuma.
The Angel continued, and a spatial rift formed. From it popped out a handsome man in a white coat/cape, looking somewhat unprepared.
IKEMEN! WHOA! What’s with those eyes ? Kazuma thought as he stared at Seth's galaxy-like eyes.
“Uhhh… greetings Sir Satou Kazuma, this self is named ‘Seth’, I am ahh… a god who was once under the tutelage of Aqua. For what awaits your future, best of luck to you, sir Kazuma.” Seth says, implying a deeper meaning because of Aqua.
He turned towards Aqua, “Aqua... senpai, may your journey with Kazuma be… smooth sailing.” Seth did a small bow.
“Wait a minute, seriously? this has to be a joke, right? TAKING ME, A GODDESS AS A CHEAT! NO WAY! WAI-WAI-WAIT! PLEASE!” Tears and snot gushed out in divine distress.
“Safe Travels Aqua, you can come back if the demon king is defeated.” The angel replied.
“Have a safe trip, I’ll take care of the reincarnation thing while you’re gone.” Seth waved goodbye without any expression.
“WAIT! I have zero fighting skills! How in the world am I supposed to take down the DEMON KING!” She started floating.
“Kukuku, How does it feel to be dragged away into another world by the guy you view as sh*t? You’re the ‘thing’ I’m bringing along. So with those godly Powers of yours, either start making miracles or make my life as easy as possible!” Kazuma spoke with greed.
“NOOO! I refuse to be sent to a world with a sc*m like this!” She wailed, with more tears and snot streaming down her face.
“HUAH HAHAHA!” Kazuma Continued to laugh, sounding like a third-rate villain.
THINK AQUA, THINK! HOW COULD I LET MYSELF BECOME LIKE THIS? THERE HAS TO BE A WAY OUT OF THIS MESS! Aqua thought frantically as her eyes darted around to figure out something.
As she glanced at Seth, a metaphorical light bulb flashed on top of her. “AH HAH! Seth, do you honestly believe you can just snatch my post away, right here, right now!?” Aqua shouted.
Seth felt a dread premonition, but alas, it was too late, Aqua announced with flair, “I HEREBY EXERCISE MY DIVINE RIGHT AS SETH’S MENTOR TO ALSO BESTOW SETH AS KAZUMA’S CHEAT!”
Seth's eyes widened at what she had spoken.
“REQUEST DENIED!” A solemn voice echoed throughout the room.
*Phew* Seth sighed in relief.
“THEN I DEMAND A WAY TO INVOLVE SETH! I DON’T CARE HOW! BRING HIM WITH ME! ”
Oh no! Seth has a bad feeling about this.
“REQUEST APPROVED!” Seth panicked, thinking it was nonsense.
“SORRY SETH! I DON'T WANT TO BE STUCK WITH A LOSER!”
“Hey!” Kazuma protested.
“Processing… A solution has been found to fulfill said request without breaking the rules: Individual Satou Kazuma will receive a tool to contact Aqua or Seth. Individuals Aqua and Seth will be given a tool that will teleport to Kazuma’s or each other’s location.” a resonant voice sounded. A gem magically embedded into Kazuma's right fist, while two rings manifested, one landed on Aqua’s hand, and the other on Seth’s.
“YES! Now Seth, as your Senpai, it’s time to fulfill your obligations and protect me from this trash!” Aqua smugly ordered, expecting obedience.
Both men showed disgruntled faces, Seth looking annoyed, Kazuma looking resentful.
Aqua confidently slipped the ring in and commanded, “Now ring, bring Seth to me.” The ring glowed briefly, but a second later it dimmed with a * PUUOOT * sound.
It failed, everyone just stared at her in disbelief.
“Hey! Why isn’t this working!?” She banged on her ring.
“Umm… Lady Aqua, due to the power of each ‘cheat’, we have them sealed during the ‘isekai process’ to avoid any form of accidents.” The angel virtuously explained.
“What?! But I want him here now! You know what, I’ll do something about it.” Aqua threatened.
Seth shouted, “Aqua! Calm down, just use that ring when you get to your destination!”
“SHUT UP! I can’t escape from being sent to a mortal world because of him! I’ll at least drag you down with me.” Aqua, frustrated, gathered power from her fist to do something stupid.
“PURIFICATION! PURIFICATION! PURIFICATION!!!” Aqua chanted dramatically, attempting to break the ring’s seal.
Uh oh… Seth and the angel thought at the same time
“LADY AQUA! Unsealing the ring could lead to jeopardy!” the angel warned, but it was too late.
A white flash blinded everyone, and Seth, the first to open his eyes found himself in a transparent barrier next to Aqua. He was teleported inside the pillar of light.
Eris emerged from a portal and shouted, “Miss Angel! Report this IMMEDIATELY! We have a dire situation!” Her voice filled with panic. The alarmed angel instantly teleported away to report.
OOH! Who’s that lady? Kazuma wondered in his mind.
Aqua hid behind him, using him as a shield, “SETH! Protect me at all costs against this NEET!”
Seth stared at Aqua as she smoldered his back with her snot and tears, and then at Kazuma.
“Dude, it’s not my…”
“AHHH!! OW OW OW! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” Aqua screamed in pain. Seth had his two hands on her cheeks, pinching her.”
“SETH! How could you do this to your SENPAI!” Aqua complained as if she had been wronged
“Do you know what you have DONE!” His grip tightened.
Eris, standing outside exclaimed, “Seth! Enough! This won’t change the situation!”
“CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT’S GOING ON?!” Kazuma shouted with worry.
Eris explained, “Satou Kazuma, this ‘isekai’ magic circle is currently overloaded and very unstable! It can barely ‘isekai’ one god, but not two!”
“What would happen if this continued?” Kazuma nervously asked.
“If our estimates are correct, it could… * gulp * cause an explosion big enough to obliterate a pantheon, or roughly about five earths for comparison...” Eris answered with anxiety. Kazuma reacted with an ‘OH SH*T’ face.
A cracking sound was heard. The pillar of light enveloping Seth and Aqua showed cracks.
“Uhh… guys, I think it’s STARTING NOW!!!” Kazuma screamed, panicking at the unstable pillar of light. Distress showed on everyone’s faces.
“EMERGENCY! ALL PERSONNEL WITH SKILLS IN REINCARNATION CIRCLE MAINTENANCE IMMEDIATELY COME TO XXX! WE HAVE AN OVERLOAD!” An elder angel descended in a rush, followed by the previous younger angel who had just left to report.
“Can’t we pull one of them out?! The male one got dragged into it?” Kazuma shouted.
“We can’t! It can’t be stopped to prevent someone from changing their mind and bailing, even if a god got in, he can just come back after being teleported to his destination!” the elder angel replied.
“Then what can we do? will this thing explode?” The younger angel asked.
“NANI! ANGEL-SAMA, DON'T JINX IT!” Kazuma screamed.
“Sorry!” the younger angel still apologized since she ‘is’ an angel.
Multiple angels descended, and the elder angel signaled them, “GO! GO! GO! SUPPORT THE REINCARNATION CIRCLE! STABILIZE IT!”
They instantly circled Seth and Aqua’s circle, performing magical tasks to stabilize the pillar.
“How can I be of assistance?” Eris approached.
“Just supply us with energy and put defensive measures around it!” one of the angels spoke.
Eris obliged, creating a magic wall for protection and channeling energy to the angels.
“You two! Sorry to bother your bonding, but are any of you capable of the runes and enchantment of the ****** System?” The elder angel asked.
Seth finally released Aqua and said, “I can do it. What do I need to do?”
“Now, you use the…” The elder angel directed Seth and the other angels to stabilize the magic circle pillar of light.
—
Moments passed and the angels struggled, “COME ON MEN! IT FINALLY WON'T EXPLODE! BUT WE CAN DO BETTER!”
The lights are changing, signaling the imminent journey to another world.
“ALMOST THERE! THREE! TWO! ONE!”
A big flash spread out of it, both magic circles vanished, and the reincarnation was miraculously a success.
Everyone sighed in relief, the elder angel tapped Eris's shoulder.
“We are gonna make a report; we need your input.” the angel informed.
Eris nodded.
—
“Sir we have a situation. A catastrophe almost happened but luckily it was averted.” Reported an angel to an old-looking man”
“We all saw it; that single destabilized portal disrupted this whole sector’s ‘isekai’ process. We had to stop everyone from sending people to other worlds for a while just because of it,” the man spoke.
“Sir, here is the detailed report we got from the eyewitness, technical data, and video footage on the place of the incident.” The angel handed over a slightly thick reportbook.
The man read it for a few minutes and then sighed, “So this was all caused by her. She removed the seal on the ring. The ring then reacted toward the magic circle and pillar of light, causing a glitch in its system, which then forcefully teleported Seth inside the pillar of light.”
The old-looking man couldn’t help but ask. “Seth was supposed to be able to reject that teleportation, right? But that glitch circumvented it right?”
The angel nodded and asked, “May I ask sir, what will ‘they’ do about what had just transpired?”
“Don’t worry, they already have countermeasures in place. Anyway, where’s the damage report from this mess?” the man asked.
“Oh right here sir, sorry I forgot,” another thinner report emerged from the angel’s hand.
The old-looking man received it and started reading it, his expression becoming more helpless by the second.
“ *Sigh…* luckily it’s still manageable, could have been worse.” the man let out a dry laugh at his current predicament.
“Then what will we or ’they’ do to her, sir?”
“Her? We can’t exactly kick her out but momentarily relieving her of her post should be enough.”
“Understood sir.” the angel bowed, then left.
Silence descended throughout the room. The old-looking man opened one of his cabinets. From it, he pulled out a note and a photo.
He first stared at the photo, reminiscing about this whole thing, “Aqua, what have you brought yourself into? I knew from the beginning you couldn’t even grasp the regulations for this job, but this...”
Chapter 9: On Arrival
Chapter Text
The following chapter is from Satou Kazuma’s point of view.
—
Time: 1 month after Kazuma’s reincarnation, Location: outskirts of Axel City
Lying on a grassy plain, I marvel at the sunset, thinking, “This world’s a real beauty. Sometimes, I gotta pinch myself to remember it’s not my old world.”
a voice interrupts my happy thoughts. “KAZUMAAA! Dinners ready!”
“Yeah! Yeah! Cut the shouting!” I spring myself up and head to a cozy log cabin.
“Hurry! We’re having stew tonight! And Seth’s cooking.” She shouts, the quote on quote ‘Great Goddess of water’ lazily lounges on a table while plates and utensils float into place. In the corner of my eye, a cleaver is even washing itself like it’s taking a spa day—a bit over the top, as always. No matter how many times I see it.
My gaze wanders around this quant cabin on the outskirts. It Sparks me with memories of the past.
—
Time: Right after Kazuma’s reincarnation, Location: In Axel City
“Yahoo! Fantasy life here I come!” I cheered amidst the medieval streets of an actual fantasy City.
Cute thief girls, busty witches, cat-eared folks, and those pesky archer elves — Everything I dreamed of is now reality! My excitement peaked in the fantasy-like countryside.
“Uwaah!” but alas, it was short-lived. A certain someone’s crying noise ruined the moment.
“K Then, a fresh start. Aqua, do I get a starter pack or something? my tracksuit isn’t exactly screaming ‘from this world’. can you do something about that?” I tried to speak, yet interrupted as the goddess grabbed me by the shoulders, wailing.
“Hey cut it out, lady! I get it, I brought you here; can’t we chill first?”
“UWAAAH! ” But her cries only grew louder with the realization of her predicament.
“Calm down Goddess. this place looks like your typical fantasy game-like world, I can guarantee guilds should exist, like the adventurer’s guild...” But my words fell on deaf ears.
One crying session later…
“So, Aqua, do you get it? Even with nothing, as long as we stick to this path, we could live a lavish life.” FINALLY! I could say my words across!
“Wow Kazuma, that sounded very reliable and professional coming from a loser NEET.”
“You did send me to this world, Shouldn’t you know that?” I asked.
“Kazuma, I reincarnate lots of souls to countless worlds! How could I remember things about this single world? Do you expect me to remember everything about this one!?” Aqua stated.
God... I thought.
“Didn’t you bring another god with us to this wonderful world?” I folded my arms.
“OH RIGHT! SETH!” She instantly twirled around to find Seth.
“Ahh! Over there” Aqua pointed right behind me.
“Whuh?!” I flinched to the side. There was Seth, behind me, kneeling and staring straight up at the sky; he must not have moved for at least a few minutes.
I saw his lips moving slightly. I put my ear closer to listen, “I have entered a world without laws. I have seen what's inside… I HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT!” That’s what he mumbled, honestly, it's too weird for me.
“Bro, you’re staring at the sun,” I quipped.
“Yes, and it burns!” Tears streamed under Seth's eyes.
“Seth! What’s gotten into you!” Aqua Lifted Seth and shook him more, her frustration evident.
“Beautiful…” still absentminded, Seth mumbled.
“Oh! I know you meant it… Quit messing around, Seth!” Aqua teased with a smug grin before slapping him.
“Augh! D*mn woman!” Seth regained his focus.
Aqua gasped when she heard that, immediately releasing her grip on him. I may not know what going on, but it seems Seth is regaining his focus. I think this is my chance to set things straight.
“Dude… Uhh, Seth right? sorry for dragging you here.” I apologized, knowing I couldn’t escape the responsibility for this mess, even if it were all thanks to a certain goddess.
“Nah, it’s fine, I blame it on her.” he pointed at Aqua. Looks like he is reasonable; he knew it was her fault.
“So, dude, what happened there? on your knees looking like you’re about to scream ‘PRAISE THE SUN’!?” I asked, no matter what, what he did was too cultish for comfort.
Aqua also asked, “Seth what has gotten into you? You talked like a member of my order all of a sudden.”
“Oh sorry... I was in something like a rush. It’s not a big deal; you could say I just got an upgrade.”
Aqua finally confirmed her astonishment, “Seth, you were never this casual. You’re usually so polite and well-mannered, except when you're angry!”
“Oh, I see...” Seth realized it too but still gave her a shrug. he massaged his eyes and decided to continue, “That rigged reincarnation got me new powers… a new innate ability, I think it is clairvoyance. From what I currently see, you Kazuma, will do big things in the future.”
“Ooh! Really?” I got excited; is this a comeback for protagonists?
“Affirmative.”
Hearing that I made a ‘✓’ shape with his thumb and index finger, placing it on my chin, “Seth, I don't know how reliable your future power thingy is right now, but thanks for the encouragement. I may just be a couch potato now, but I guess your powers see right through me.”
“Seth, don't boost his ego. Kazuma is still a weeb shut-in.” Aqua remarked.
“HEY! Can’t a man have his moments!” I retorted. But she ignored me.
“By the way, your eyes changed.” Aqua pointed out.
Seth instantly conjured a small mirror in his hand, the size of a credit card. He then finally saw his changes; his galaxy-shaped eyes were now normal eyes with yellow irises.
“WHOA SETH?! IS THAT THOSE ABILITIES THAT CAN SPAM STUFF OUT OF NOTHING!” I had to know.
Seth nodded.
“JACKPOT! A God that can poof anything I need! I’d be a joke if I couldn’t beat the demon king with you two!” This is gonna be a breeze.
“With caveats Kazuma, It’s nerfed. I can’t create anything big or it would turn to dust. Also, they have a time limit.” Seth explained showing that the mirror in his hand began turning to dust.
“That’s a hefty drawback. WAIT ‘NERFED’?” I slapped Seth’s shoulder, ”Are you one of us?”
Seth nodded. I extended my right hand, and Seth shook it vigorously. A silent comradeship between us was formed.
“Anyway, could you explain how your clairvoyance works?” I had to ask, and Seth complied.
After some explanations, I got the gist: he could foretell faint lines of fate, similar to those red strings in dramatic ghost shows. Knowing this I commented, “Clairvoyance sounds lame, could we call it something more classy like ‘fate vision’?”
Seth smirked at my comment, “Sure, we could call it that, a bit basic but solid and roll off the tongue. We can give it a different name later.”
With this I have to ask, “Please try it on me, I need to know about my fated ones. Are they girls?” Don’t judge; everyone has their priorities.
Seth squinted his eyes, and moments later he spoke, “Yes there are a few.”
YES! Virgin life, goodbye! HAREM LIFE HERE I COME! Kazuma cheered inwardly.
“Kazuma, calm down, we’re not there yet. They could be best friends or arch-enemies.” That man could see what I was fantasizing about.
D*mn it. Seth bursting my bubble.
“Kazuma, sorry to break it to you but I will be going back. I could drop by anytime. Just tell Aqua what you need, and she will relay it to me. Plus, the gem embedded in your hand, you can change it into a tattoo or something, move it around your body, change its design, or make it invisible.”
Seth touched my hand to demonstrate; it transformed into an arcane-looking tattoo. I couldn’t help but gasp in excitement as I got the feel for it, then I dove straight into experimenting.
Seth snapped his finger, and a portal appeared, but only in the size of a strawberry. With a *pfft!* sound, it collapsed
“That’s strange…” Seth tried it again, but the portal remained tiny, and this time a tiny scroll shot out before the portal collapsed again.
“OUCH!?” I yelped as it hit me right on the nose. Seth instantly picked it up and read it, “F*ck…”
I peeked and read out loud, “Dear Seth, because of the unstable reincarnation process, the realm around this world became incredibly unstable. You momentarily can’t teleport in and out of this world for a while. The estimated time before it stabilized: more than a month.”
“Great Seth! Since you’re stuck here, fulfill your duty and take care of your senpai now; your powers are made for it!” Aqua exclaimed, wrapping herself around Seth like an octopus.
“Get off of me.” Seth shoved her away.
“How Could you do this to me… You changed!” Aqua cried with puppy eyes on the floor, like a distressed widow in Mexican dramas.
“Won't work on me, woman. KAZUMA! Let's just head to the guild or something.” Seth spoke.
“You betcha,” I replied, so we started our search.
“Hey! WAIT FOR ME!” Aqua trotted along with the two of us.
—
After that whole debacle, we stumbled for half a day until we found the adventurers' guild. With my ‘ingenious’ snooping and charisma (or whatever you want to call it), I managed to get the key info we needed.
Thank god or (or gods?) For the fact that here, an adventurer ID is a universally accepted identification.
Either way, what happened there was an experience.
—
in a corner of the guild, Seth and I taught Aqua the ‘norms’ of this fantasy world. ‘Norms’ that were gathered from our conversation with this world’s residents when we asked around for the adventurers’ guild.
Aqua chirped, “Honestly, Kazuma, how’d you end up being a hermit otaku with zero friends?”
Kazuma Retorted, “Heck goddess! stop that, you don’t have to say it out loud.”
“Aqua, shouldn’t you have read his past before reincarnating him at all?” Seth Chipped in, obviously on my side. Yet, how could I not miss the bombshell he dropped!?
“You read my past!?” I looked at Seth, in disbelief and demanding answers.
“Don’t worry” he gave a hushing motion, moved his index finger and thumb across his lip, then made a tossing gesture with it.
“Though I understand that you went through some stuff, it’s quite a shame.” a message appeared inside my mind.
WHOA! WHAT THE!? I recoiled internally, shuddering in real life as if a pervert had just fondled me. Okay, note to self; filter that out next time.
“I can communicate with you telepathically, don’t worry I’m not reading your mind. I can only hear what you want to convey to me.”
First of all, cool power, and second, don't judge me, Seth! Kazuma thought.
“Just trying to help.” Seth ended it there.
I decided to wrap this up, softly saying, “By the way, sorry, and thanks for your concern man. Still what I did is my choice, so don’t meddle...” Seth patted my back as confirmation.
—
At first, my first impression of him was that of an all-perfect normie god who also happened to be an otaku—a combination of words that doesn’t sound ‘too’ weird, considering my basis on ‘everyone’s not perfect’. hey, at least even God has hobbies.
But let’s be real, the fact that he, despite being a god, had read my whole life history from the get-go will always be unsettling, right?
I mean, come on, at that time we’d only known each other for, what, four hours? Not nearly enough time for me to trust him, yet there he was, revealing every detail down to the exact year, month, week, and date. Oh boy, there’s no way he didn’t know about my dark past, yup.
Fortunately, as I spent more time with him, my stance on him shifted, but hey, be patient; we’ll get there.
Still, why did I apologize and thank him for his concern? Was it ‘godly’ charisma or his friendly demeanor? BAH! Enough pondering! Back to the story! What was it again? Oh yes, our first roadblock…
—
“Excuse me Miss Receptionist, we would like to register as adventurers.”
“Sure thing, but there’s a registration fee.”
“A fee?! Seth, Aqua! Do you have any money for this?”
“Umm? Nope, you dragged me here in the first place. How could I prepare anything like that.” Aqua proclaimed.
She’s really.. . I wanted to curse inside but I held back and shot Seth a knowing glare.
“Why don’t you two sit back and let me handle this.” Seth beat his chest in confidence and talked with the receptionist.
At Least this guy’s reliable. I thought as I let Seth do his magic.
Chapter 10: Guild's Experience
Chapter Text
The following chapter is still from Satou Kazuma’s point of view.
—
After finding a random corner for me and Aqua to sit and wait. Aqua started a fire. “You didn’t expect a fee, did you.”
“I had this notion that we’d get some newbie equipment and cash right away. You know, like in those games and animes…” It hit me like a ton of bricks, and I slapped myself in the face. This is real life, nothing comes free - well except maybe charity. And face it, the adventurer’s guild isn’t exactly in the charity business.
“Looks like you are a shut-in, really lacking in real-life experience,” Aqua remarked, speaking her mind without care.
“Hey! We are in this together so stop whining like a!” Before I could continue, Seth stepped in.
“We have an issue.” *phew…* I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank you, Seth! You came back before I exploded on this uh… goddess.
Seth spoke, “They don’t accept loans, barter, or delayed payments. Fortunately, I asked for some other alternatives and found some stuff we could do. Are you two fine with a little detour?”
“What’s the plan?” I asked
“I have at least four.” Seth pointed out, the more the better, I thought.
“Great! what’s the first one?!” Aqua swooped in enthusiastically.
“We’ll be street bards and you know, do a performa…”
“NO WAY! I AM NOT DOING THAT!” Aqua protested.
“But…”
“NO! DON'T WANNA!” Aqua stood firm.
I sneakily asked, “um… you two can play music and stuff.”
Seth nodded, “wanna join?”
“Seth, I know my skills, and performing isn’t one of them. Sorry about that.” I, Kazuma, apologized for my lack of talent.
“The second option is to do odd jobs, the most laborious and time-consuming one.”
Me and Aqua looked at each other, and then we both shook our heads in disagreement.
“The third one is…” Seth made a ‘come here’ gesture with his hand. The two obliged and Seth whispered the last choice.
“Seth! That’s criminal!” Aqua proclaimed.
“Technically, that is the easiest way, but to money…” Before I could continue, Seth put his middle finger and thumb together. Shutting my mouth telekinetically.
“Don’t say it out loud.” Seth let go of his finger, releasing the hold on my mouth.
“Anyway, while that might be the easiest way to what we need, it just doesn’t sit well with me. Let’s pass on that option.” I concluded, expressing my opinion on the matter.
“Yeah, that third plan is a bit risky here,” Seth commented.
“Finally, the fourth is to go to a free market, crafter’s association, or pawn shop. I could create or craft some stuff to sell, with my…” Seth wiggled his fingers indicating his ‘magic’.
“Wait! Didn’t you say those things will disappear?” I pointed out, but Seth raised his hand.
“I will ‘poof’ my crafting tools into existence, then use stuff we could find like stones and twigs as materials to make something else. Once I’m done, those tools go bye-bye.” Seth explained. I finally nodded and we began discussing which plan to choose.
After some deliberation, we settled on the bard and performance plan. However, only Seth would take the stage since Aqua, for some inexplicable reason, hates that idea, and as for me… well, let’s just say my presence would likely drive away any potential audiences. Hey, at least I acknowledge my lack of charm in such situations.
“Wait for me for a while; I got a tune to play,” Seth said mysteriously as he opened his coat, revealing a hidden pouch attached to his waist. From it, he pulled out a guitar (like a certain blue cat robot). Since when did he have that pouch?
“Seth! WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?” Aqua exclaimed. She asked, I wanted to ask the same thing but ok. I thought as I glanced at Aqua.
“Aqua, I just created this pouch to conceal my power. Which one is more plausible to this world — me creating matter out of thin air or pulling something out of a magical spatial artifact? And don’t ask if this pouch is a real magical item. No, it is not. I’m using my power,” Seth sternly stopped her in her tracks, as if knowing what she’s gonna ask, then slowly continued to pull out (conjuring) the guitar from his pouch.
Aqua turned sideways to avoid eye contact with Seth because he had read her like a book. As if in answer to her prayer, the moment she did so, she spotted a way out of their mess.
“Seth! Stop making that guitar. I’ll show you something amazing! After this, you have to give me the attention I deserve!” She proclaimed.
Seth instantly halted the creation of his guitar, “Go on.”
“LOOK! A priest!” she pointed excitedly to an actual old priest lounging in the guild hall.
“You remember that I am the proud goddess of a quintessential religion here right? I will show you how far-reaching I am!” Aqua declared confidently.
She promptly walked over to the priest, “Greetings priest! I am Goddess Aqua—The great Goddess worshiped by the illustrious axis order that you know and love! If you happen to be a priest of my divine order, please lend me some money to cover the adventurer's registration fee. Your assistance would be a blessing to all!”
“Excuse me, miss, I am from the Eris order.”
Aqua and I were shocked, while Seth silently observed.
“Miss, are you from the Axis order? although our goddess and yours have a superior and subordinate relationship, our great goddess Eris did remind us always to be willing to give a helping hand.” The priest handed Aqua enough money for us to register.
Aqua awkwardly took the money. Still, the priest added something, “Miss, a piece of advice from me. I know you are a true good devoted believer of the goddess Aqua, but you shouldn’t just proclaim yourself as one.”
“Thank you mister…” She went back to me and Seth.
When she arrived, she muttered in anguish, “He doesn’t believe that I am a goddess. Plus he is from the Eris order… a religion from a goddess lower rank than me… I feel like I am being pitied by a believer of a goddess below me….” Tears slowly formed in her eyes.
I, Kazuma, have no words to say, don’t know if I should pity or look down on her, but Seth does.
“Here.” Seth pulled out a tissue from his pouch for her to wipe out whatever tears and snot she got.
“Wuu… wuu…*sniffle*,” Aqua who was breaking up, accepted Seth’s tissue.
“Let’s just pay for the fee,” Seth reached his hand out, and Aqua handed the money to Seth to finish this up.
—
“Satou Kazuma, Average stats all across the board. The only thing special is decently high intelligence and luck stats.”
The assessment deflated me. Da HECKI! Aren’t I supposed to be the protagonist? I feel misled here… SETH!? I called my friend in my mind.
“I am also quite surprised.” a message appeared in my mind.
Seth! Your clairvoyance, fortunetelling, or whatever that power is, it’s broken! I angrily thought, projecting my frustration so he could hear it ringing in his head, he had raised my hopes so high!
“You did hear the amazing intelligence and luck.” Seth telepathically replied.
Seth, don’t hype me like this, I hoped for more.
“Don’t worry, you can grow stronger later,” Seth assured me.
Our telepathic communication was cut short by the lovely receptionist's question, “So what about it sir? With what we’re seeing here, the most suitable occupation for you is the merchant, even if it’s not a combat one.”
“Is there any other occupation available?”
“If you want a combat-based one, you are hardly suitable for mage, only the most basic adventurer occupation is suitable and open for you.”
“Fine, I’ll take it.” I accepted reluctantly.
After me, it was Aqua’s turn now, she held her hand out and her registration card was being filled.
The receptionist grabbed it, “Let me see… OH MY LORD! LOOK AT THIS STATS! MOST OF THEM ARE ABOVE WHAT COULD BE CONSIDERED NORMAL! Sadly, her intelligence is very below average and her luck statistic is the worst I’ve ever seen. Either way, these kinds of stats are still unbeatable! You can choose any class except mages!”
“Wait! Does that mean something? Did I win or what?!” Aqua was both excited and confused.
A crowd gathered as they heard the receptionist, murmuring stuff like ‘Who is this girl’ and ‘Wow she is quite amazing’. Aqua beamed with joy from the attention.
“With these stats, you can even choose advanced classes like crusader and archpriest!”
“Well, I think I will choose archpriest.” Aqua chose that class, which does make sense since she owns a religion here.
“Then Arch-Priest Aqua, as the staff of the established adventurer’s guild, we happily welcome your arrival!” the employees gathered around and bowed their heads.
“OOOH!” The crowd cheered and became festive upon hearing that they now have an advanced powerful archpriest as their member. Aqua stood blissfully, soaking in the praises.
So what I expected to happen to me happened to that goddess… I grumbled.
Meanwhile, Seth, watching from a distance, decided to just make the card himself. He put the card in place and hovered his hand above the orb.
*WHIRL!* an audible hum and overly bright light spread throughout the room, catching the attention of the gathering adventurers.
“Ahh! Sorry, there is still one more person. Sorry sir Seth.” The receptionist apologized, she then took a look at the card and dropped it on the floor.
Chapter 11: Rings
Chapter Text
The following chapter is still from Satou Kazuma’s point of view.
—
“HOW COULD SUCH STATS EXIST!? THIS IS BORDERLINE INSANITY! ALMOST ALL HIS STATS REACHED TO THE TOP! The only slightly normal one is luck, even then it is way above average! Sir, with just your stats alone, you’re in the top five of all adventurers in the kingdom!”
The crowd went silent. The news was too shocking.
“Sir, have you considered what class to pick?” The receptionist asked fervently.
“Any occupation that can touch a bit of everything? It should at least touch combat, magic, and maybe even craftsmanship.” Seth asked jokingly.
“I don’t know sir. I don’t think such a class exists…” Before the receptionist continued, Seth’s card magically glowed and a new text was written on the occupation space.
“Arch Magic Warsmith?! Sir Seth! The card magically tried to fulfill your wishes and automatically assigned you that role! This should be one of those hidden classes that are almost inaccessible because it’s almost impossible to meet the criteria, from the looks of it it’s a mix of arch wizard, combat master, and even a crafter like the blacksmiths!”
The realization left everyone taking deep breaths.
And of course, Seth has to be special too… I know those two are gods, but if this is all I got, why am I here in the first place? I muttered sarcastically under my breath.
“Sir Seth! As the adventurers guild! We can only thank you for allowing us to do your registration, hope your presence will end the demon king’s reign!”
“WOO!” The crowd around cheered louder than ever. The adventurers gathered around Seth plus Aqua and lifted them in the air.
“We pray that you two couple will achieve greatness!” The receptionist congratulated them.
“Couple?!” Like a DJ scratch, Seth jolted while Aqua stood ignorant because of the cheering.
My ears perked from hearing that.
Seth leaned closer and spoke softly “How did you conclude that?”
“You two have those beautiful wedding rings, see.” The receptionist pointed out.
“Ring?” Seth spoke confused. He looked at his hand and found a platinum ring adorning it. The ring was thick and simple, sporting a rectangular dark purple gem on top, exuding a masculine charm.
He glanced at Aqua's hands and noticed she also wore a ring. Hers was a silver ring that was slim and lightweight, with a small light blue circular gem on top, radiating an elegant and feminine appeal.
Seth instantly checked the ring with his power. His pupils shrank, he tried to pull it out of his finger, but it wouldn’t budge. The pulling caused Aqua, who was enjoying the limelight, to notice.
I, Kazuma, thought silently, trying to let him telepathically hear it, Isn’t that the teleportation rings thingy? Any problem with it?
Another message entered my brain again, ”Yes, it is. Due to our bumpy interdimensional ride, these rings are momentarily stuck to our fingers."
Aqua, noticing Seth’s ‘fidgeting’, whispered, “What’s wrong Seth? You’re ruining the moment.”
“Look at your hand,” Seth said.
Aqua did and gasped in surprise as she noticed an elegant ring adorning her finger. She admired its beauty and asked aloud, “What’s wrong with it Seth? Isn’t this ring gorgeous?”
“Try taking it off, gently…” Seth suggested.
Taking Seth’s advice, Aqua unassumingly tried to pull her ring.
Sadly this is Aqua, the moment she did and realized that the ring didn’t budge at all, Her impulsive nature got the better of her.
Forgetting Seth’s instruction to be gentle, She exerted her full power to pull it off. Everyone else watched as Aqua tried to yank the ring off in an exaggerated and cartoonish manner, only to find it still stuck in place.
“It’s stuck! like super glue! is there any big danger from it?” Aqua asked, her frustration evident.
Seth on her side facepalmed in annoyance and replied, “Currently, there is no danger, but there’s something else.”
“Do you know what these two rings symbolize here?” Seth whispered.
“Wealth? I mean look at them, They look extravagant and pricy!” Aqua exclaimed, placing her ring-adorned hand over Seth’s.
Indeed, They do look quite extravagant and pricy. Seth agreed silently.
Still whispering, Seth continued, “I'm gonna say it straight, these two rings signify marriage. Since we both wear them, they assume we’re married.”
“Oh, is that it… HECK NO!” Aqua’s initially calm demeanor quickly turned hysterical.
“Absolutely not! This can’t be happening!” She started pulling the ring exaggeratedly, nearly losing balance. “Impossible! I, Aqua, am far too divine for such mundane entanglements! This must be some cosmic joke! This misleading symbol of fate must be removed! I refuse for my godly self and religion to be associated with a housewife and child rearer! Seth! Assist me in ridding myself of this cursed contraption!”
“Before we could do that…” Seth discreetly gestured toward Aqua, hinting Aqua to the elephant in the room. Everyone else now stared at them utterly bewildered, the silence deafening.
“...” The adventurers and guild staff exchanged confused glances as they watched Aqua’s antics unfold, exacerbated by Aqua’s complete disregard for volume control.
Finally, Aqua whispered, “Should we tell them of our divine status?”
“No.” Seth replied, “First of all, they wouldn’t believe us. Second, there’s a rule against revealing our true identities, and the third most important one, you’re the goddess of the axis order.”
“Hey! What’s wrong with the AXIS ORDER *HUMPH?!* ” Aqua attempted to berate him but Seth swiftly covered her mouth, prompting her to struggle. This scene resembled an exaggerated comedy skit between an over-the-top couple.
I watched from the sidelines while everyone looked at them more weirdly. The atmosphere was so awkward…
Kazuma! I’m making a fake origin for us to reduce everyone’s suspicion and awkwardness of us, Are you okay with it? Seth asked for my permission telepathically.
You got yourself into this. I thought to reply.
“It’s also to spice things up, we’re a clean slate right now. We can leave a heroic or manly first impression”
I don’t know… seems scummy. I felt like our cover could be blown or it would bite our ass in the future.
“It can make you more popular with the girls.” Seth gave his offer.
DEAL! And I took it instantly.
—
I still remember it like it was yesterday. I reminisced about that moment.
Seth concocted our origin story: The three of us are fallen nobles who were captured by a mad wizard. Seth’s and Aqua’s rings were experimentation tools by said mad wizard not related to each other, but coincidentally are in similar forms (beautiful rings).
‘Conveniently’ authorities got wind and closed in on the wizard. ‘However’, like a cliche supervillain, he took his own life and triggered a teleportation that sent us, his experiments, to faraway lands so the authority could never find us again.
I admitted that while the story is nonsensical and has more plot holes than Swiss cheese itself, I didn't take Seth’s charisma and the medieval folks’ gullibility into consideration.
I remember how everyone in the crowd cried hearing our ‘harrowing past’.
I must bow down to Seth, he has a knack for manipulating and spinning tales. Even the magic gemstone implanted on the back of my palm became ‘proof’ of the wizard's misdeed.
Heck, he even allowed anyone to try to yank out the ring from their fingers to prove his point. Which only reinforced his story as they failed to do so.
Some of the adventurers got worried about the mad wizard’s return (as a ghost or something). Seth calmed them by explaining that the wizard’s control was no more after his suicide, but due to the quality of his experiment tools, they currently have no way of removing them.
Thus the guild shifted from celebrating the arrival of two overpowered ‘adventurers’ to one celebrating our ‘freedom’. However, they are now more convinced that Seth and Aqua are star-crossed lovers. Proven by their matching ‘experiment tools’ and the fact that both were sent to the same place despite being supposed to be random.
It kinda sucks that I was relegated to the role of the ‘other random guy’ that coincidentally got sent to this place with them. I suppose it’s better than being labeled as the third wheel or something. Silver linings, I guess?
In the end, it went sorta well. Seth kind of kept his part of the bargain. At least I wasn’t ignored anymore. Though overshadowed by the attention given to those two gods, the cheers and high-fives I received were a welcome change.
As for the inevitable questions about our origins like ‘Which kingdom do you come from?’ Seth's responses were as evasive as can be, brushing it off with convenient excuses of memory wipes and magic-induced amnesias. Despite those BIG glaring Plot holes, they flew over their heads with ease.
Aqua was still fuming over Seth's failure to remove the ‘couples’ label they had. But I can’t blame him, he clarified multiple times that they are not together, yet the adventurers insisted on shipping them otherwise.
Ok too much reminiscing! That was weeks ago, now focus on the present, especially when dinner is involved. I went straight for a bowl of Seth’s stew. It smelled incredibly divine.
Without hesitation, I took a spoonful and brought it to my lips.
THANK THE GODS SETH’S A F*CKING CHEAT! I, Kazuma shouted in my mind, the stew was too good.
Chapter 12: Frogs
Chapter Text
Location: outside Axel City
“So the quest we got is the ‘frog’ hunting quest is supposed to be safe, right?” a teenage boy read the quest papers in some bushes.
“Yes, out of the available ones, this is the safest one.” A handsome man replied atop the trees.
“So let me get this straight,” Kazuma remarked with skepticism, “Hunting those elephant-sized carnivorous frogs that can AND WILL swallow a man’s whole is the ‘safest’ quest around here?”
“Kazuma, the next ‘safest’ quest we got is to hunt a truck-sized lion with wings, so this is the closest thing we could get.” Replied the handsome man, also known as Seth. They watched as gigantic frogs hopped around the nearby plains from afar.
As they observed the massive amphibians, a boar passed by one of them, and before it knew anything, a gigantic tongue suddenly latched to it and the rest is history.
Yes… Real safe… Kazuma muttered under his breath, feeling unease in his heart.
Suddenly in the distance, Kazuma and Seth saw a blue-haired girl running in the open.
“KAZUMA! Behold! The might of god! Bow before me as you awe in its strength!” Aqua proclaimed as she charged with a glowing fist.
“GOD BLOW!!!” A mighty punch was unleashed by Aqua against the frog, and a small shockwave spread from it. Too bad she punched the belly, causing it to jiggle violently, but not much else.
“Ehh… Seth… Please help!” Aqua spoke as the frog’s tongue lashed out at her, instantly taking her to its mouth.
*tsk* Kazuma clicked his tongue, Note to self, Aqua is about as useful as a wet noodle in combat, dedicate Aqua to the support role ONLY. He made a mental note to himself in frustration.
“Seth, we have to do something,” Kazuma asked but no reply came.
“Seth?” Kazuma looked around and spotted Seth also charging towards the frog who had swallowed Aqua.
He ran with the agility of a professional athlete. With a snap of his fingers, jagged gauntlets magically equipped themselves to his arm like a mech.
“Stone HENGE!” Seth exclaimed, summoning a magic spell circle beneath his feet. A stone pillar shot out of the ground, Launching Seth into the sky like a cannon.
As he soared, a shout echoed, “WOMAN! THIS IS THE SECOND TIME YOU’VE DONE THIS! IF YOU WANT TO USE ‘GOD BLOW’! AIM FOR THE EYE OR SKULL!”
Seth’s fist, equipped with the gauntlet, gleamed as he descended gracefully onto the frog right between its two eyes.
“GOD BLOW!!!” He Shouted, delivering a devastating punch on the frog’s forehead, crushing its skull and reducing its inside to mush. A small Earthquake-like tremor spread as the light from the frog’s eyes disappeared, extinguishing its life instantly.
Another note to self, never anger Seth, EVER! Kazuma etched it into his memory.
The frog collapsed lifeless to the ground, mouth wide open, and Aqua crawled out from it.
Still covered in frog slime and spit, She cried as she embraced Seth, “WAAA!!!! THANK YOU SETH! My life was flashing before my eyes!”
The flashy combat caught the attention of the other frogs, drawing them closer to the two gods. Seeing this Seth swiftly scooped up Aqua, admonishing her, “Aqua, aim for the head next time.”
He dashed towards Kazuma, who protested, “What are you doing!?”
“You need to practice! I’m not gonna babysit you all the time! As your first true step as an adventurer, go kill them! I’ll save you when needed! I can’t always be here!” Seth shouted sharply.
Ugh… Fine! Reluctantly, Kazuma emerged from the bushes, With a bow in hand. Two arrows flew, and with it, a frog fell in agony.
One of the frogs hopped near Kazuma, Sh*t! Melee it is! Kazuma thought, drawing his sword, and charged forward like a true champion.
As he charged, he recounted the event that had brought him to this moment.
—
“Anyway, where’s Seth?” Kazuma asked while scarfing down Seth’s delicious stew
“Bach yard, smihing some schuff (back yard, smithing some stuff),” Aqua replied, chewing and grabbing a bottle of wine from who knows where.
seeing that, something inside Kazuma clicked, “Aqua, I can see that you are being a burden again.”
“You can’t say that to a goddess! Aren’t you the same!”
“No! I am doing multiple jobs just like Seth, trying to keep us afloat. Other than construction, you DID NOTHING ELSE! A COMPLETE DEADWEIGHT! YET YOU STILL DARE TO WASTE MONEY AND BUY THAT DRINK?!” Kazuma's tone was furious.
Yes, All three of us now worked in construction because of an ‘incident’ they caused.
“but you barred me from every other job in town!”
“BECAUSE YOU BROUGHT US MORE DEBT THAN SALARY WHEN YOU DID!”
Aqua has flunked and sabotaged almost every business she touched, like flooding a whole smithy with water and ruining dozens of batches of hot metal intended for weapons. Seth and I had to take additional jobs like blacksmithing, carpentry, and cooking to cover her debts and make ends meet. Besides mandatory construction work and one other job, she is hopeless. Kazuma remarked in his mind.
Kazuma continued in his mind, Yes, the one other job she didn’t screw up was as a tailor because it allowed her to flaunt her ‘master of arts’ title and skills, but why DID SHE BARELY DO HER JOB!? I’M NOT TAKING ‘MY STANDARDS ARE TOO HIGH’ AND ‘NEED TO BE INSPIRED FIRST’ AS EXCUSES! At least a single of her artwork earned us months' worth of pay.
With anger, he confronted her, “Seth and I built this house from scratch. What did you do back then? You just cheered from the sideline! You barely did any while SETH AND I BUSTED OUR BUTTS! NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT, WHERE DID YOU GET THE MONEY TO BUY THAT BOTTLE!?” Kazuma's gaze turned intense.
“Seth was too stingy, only a bottle a week? It should have been three.” Aqua clarified.
Kazuma facepalmed and deflated, She is a lost cause. He muttered loudly, “No point arguing with a lost cause…”
“AH, I see you finally understand… HEY!” she heard his mutter and became frisky. Ignoring her, Kazuma ate his dinner.
“Also, I’m Telling Seth.” Kazuma pointed at the bottle.
Aqua’s face instantly turned green, “NO! PLEASE! ANYTHING BUT THAT!” begging Kazuma to keep it a secret.
“Too late.” Seth appeared from behind and snatched her bottle to confiscate it.
Aqua latched to Seth’s feet and thigh with tears in her eyes, “AHH!!! PLEASE SETH! NO! PLEASE JUST LET ME *sniffle* FINISH THIS ONE BOTTLE!”
“I would be fine with it if you didn’t use OUR SHARED bonus from construction work to buy this,” Seth spoke, his face resembling the devil.
Kazuma looking at this recalled something: Seth and Aqua were no joke construction masters, building at the speeds no normal ‘humans’ could match.
Unfortunately, their seamless coordination at work led others to believe they were a couple (rumors didn’t help). Because of this, they were given a unified bonus to ‘build a family’ together.
She wasted that money on booze. Money that could be used for emergencies. She’s a real piece of work. I feel bad for you Seth, for knowing and ‘being together’ with her longer than I have. Kazuma sipped his juice as Aqua’s cries and begging grew louder in the background.
Still, you know what’s funny? They do look like a married couple. Look at them. This is the classic scenario of the wife confiscating her husband’s money before he squanders it, except in this case, Seth’s the ‘wife’. And Aqua… even hugged Seth’s leg like a typical husband from a cheesy sitcom. Kazuma thought as the chaos ensued.
“Ahh… how did we end up like this.” He remembered that they were also adventurers. Too bad all the easy monsters were almost exterminated around this city; causing beginner quests to be non-existent if you didn’t count the odd jobs.
All that's left are those massive raid boss quests, Seth could manage it on his own, but throw Aqua and me into the mix, and we’re dead meat! GAHH! The easy straightforward RPG plot I was supposed to have is a complete joke! all adventurers here are just glorified, expendable odd-job laborers! Kazuma watched as Seth decided to chug Aqua’s whole wine bottle, while Aqua screeched as if her precious baby was murdered.
Why were we stuck with dead-end jobs? Why are we even adventurers when the quests are death sentences!? Why was she even here again!? OH YEAH! To… defeat the… demon… king…
“CHOTTO MATTE YOU TWO!” Kazuma shouted. It got both Seth's and Aqua’s attention.
“We are supposed to defeat the demon king for F*CK SAKES!”
Aqua's eyes widened, and she replied with urgency, “Yes! That’s right! I can’t go home if the demon king isn’t defeated! Kazuma, something needs to be done here!”
“You gonna say something, Seth?” Kazuma asked.
“Not really, I’m only stuck here for maybe a week more. I’m supposed to ‘occasionally’ help you or something. So just call me any time when you need help, I am technically your cheat too.” Seth answered with nonchalant. The mood was sort of killed but Kazuma pressed on.
“Then why are we doing ALL THESE JOBS?! We should be training me to become a buff unkillable hunk!” Kazuma questioned with anger.
“I did. Look at you now, remove your tracksuit.” Seth used ice magic to create a reflective mirror (didn’t use creation power because it makes him dizzy).
Kazuma complied, walked towards the mirror, and finally paid attention to his physique for the first time in this world.
“My biceps! I have ABS?!” Kazuma exclaimed as he observed the slight definition in his muscles all over his body. While still scrawny and a bit flabby, sculpted muscles are now hidden underneath it.
“All those odd jobs we did were specifically designed to build your strength, carrying bricks, chopping wood, and hitting hot ingots all require physical exertion, perfect as workouts. The cozy log cabin we built provides an optimal place for muscle generation and growth during sleep. And of course, this.” Seth instantly scooped a ladle worth of stew and sipped it.
“The dishes I cooked follow athlete dietary guidelines, packed with protein for muscle growth. Of course, a touch of ‘magic’ from a god like me helps to speed up the process.” Seth proclaimed as he flicked his hand, causing sparkles of magic to flutter from it
Overwhelmed with gratitude, Kazuma dropped to his knees, and bowed deeply, “THANK YOU SETH-SAMA! YOU HAVE GIVEN ME A CHANCE TO LOOK LIKE A TRUE PROTAGONIST! IT’S NOT THERE YET BUT I DON’T CARE! I THOUGHT YOU WERE WASTING OUR TIME HERE!”
Well, I sort of did. Seth secretly thought.
“Hey, what about the goddess me?” Aqua asked.
“YOU DID NOTHING! All day you were just a leech!” Kazuma shot back.
Like thunder, Aqua felt stabbed in the heart, she wanted to defend herself but couldn’t rebut it since she really hadn’t done much. With it she slowly retreated and curled herself into a corner, muttering apologies under her breath.
“Anyway… even if I should train my body more, we should do those quests and gain exp. Training alone is not enough! Seth! Help me find the easiest, wait, no… they don’t exist here… Find me the ‘safest’ quest possible for us to do!”
“Sure.” Seth nodded.
“YOSHA! MY FIRST STEP AS A PROTAGONIST BEGINS TOMORROW!” Kazuma shouted as he did a victory pose.
—
That was what ran through Kazuma’s mind as he saw seven frogs lying dead in front of him (not counting the one who ate Aqua).
Five were killed by him through a combination of swordsmanship, archery, and magic, while the other two were one-shotted by Seth with a single spell to save his ass.
Kazuma admitted it’s a good thing that before all this, he asked Seth to train him in the ways of combat. If it weren’t for him, things would have gotten a lot more messier.
But still, Seth, please stay longer! You’re too useful! I can’t imagine dealing with this world with that goddess all alone! Kazuma thought with a heavy heart and tears.
“Sorry, I can’t just stay here with Aqua, but you can always emergency call me later,” Seth telepathically replied as he reprimanded Aqua.
“Now that you mentioned it, maybe we should recruit new members to our party, you can’t always rely on me all the time,” Seth telepathically told Kazuma as he finished giving Aqua a piece of his mind.
Chapter 13: A New Member
Chapter Text
Location: Guild’s Hall
“I don’t think that recruitment notice was enough,” Kazuma spoke.
“I agree, the requirement for our party member is a bit too high.” Seth concurred.
“But we can’t lower our standards like that! We are the party that is destined to defeat the demon king because I, the great goddess, exist! If any Tom, Dick, and Harry join our party, An advanced or veteran status is a MUST!” Aqua Rejected loudly.
Seth replied, “I get your view Aqua, but remember, I have these,” Seth pointed to his eyes.
He also added, “Even if we have a newbie on our team, as long as that person has the spirit, I could train and polish that guy to the top.”
Aqua still stood for her opinion, “Even if that is the case, it would still take you too long, and I still don’t want an average Joe in our team.”
Hearing this both Seth and Kazuma decided to wait for more, they may lower the requirement tomorrow if no one came.
As they waited, to pass the time Kazuma slipped in, “Seth, were you serious about being able to train anyone on any occupation?”
Seth answered by handing his adventurer’s card to Kazuma for him to observe. At first, there was nothing special about it, but when he paid attention.
“Seth, your occupation space seems glitchy, why is there a typo on the WAIT!? IT’S CHANGING?!”
Seth answered with a smile, “Yes, it does change.”
Sword saint! necromancer! Defender! Magi! musician! Druid! Arcane machinist! Dragon tamer! Kazuma kept reading the names of classes before the card stopped at ‘Royal Instructor’.
“Yes, my divinity or godhood affects this card, And from my research, I found out I can technically be most class, occupation, or job at any time.” Hearing that, Kazuma felt assured.
“Greetings, fellow adventurers bound by the threads of destiny!”
The three of them turned around.
“By the fateful proclamation of your recruitment notice, we stand united on this sacred ground. Rejoice, for I am Megumin, the renowned Archwizard of Explosions! I extend my first greeting to you All. our destinies are now intertwined, as we embark on this grand adventure together. With a resounding explosion!" A short young Arch wizard girl proclaimed.
Kazuma whispered, “What does your clairvoyance think?” Seth’s eyes glowed for a second before giving him the ‘OK’ hand gesture.
With this, Seth greeted, “Um… greetings Arch wizard named Megumin, from what you have spoken, Are you here to join our party.”
“Yes, indubitably so.” Megumin proudly confirmed.
Both men looked at each other with surprise, while Aqua held a smug face as if saying ‘I told you so’.
As they looked at the wizard, Seth noticed the wizard’s unique hair and eye color combination. He asked, ” Excuse me, are you from the crimson demon village.”
“Of course, I hail from the revered Crimson Demon Village, the famous birthplace of illustrious mages feared across the land.” Megumin flamboyantly replied.
Kazuma looked confused and whispered to Seth “ Is there anything special about them?”
“A few, most of the crimson demons are capable mages with high intelligence and mana capacity. But they are more famous for their weird way of talking, which you can view as ‘chuunibyou’.” Seth whispered low enough so only the two of them could hear it.
“Ahh… I get it.” Kazuma now has the gist of it. Still, Kazuma had to ask, “You sure the crimson demons are powerful mages?”
Megumin spoke back, “Hey! Our powers as mages are genuine! Be assured, the forbidden powers held inside me can flatten mountains and split lands…” Before she could finish, she dropped to the floor. Causing the three of them to jump from their seats.
The arch-wizard Megumin apologized, “Forgive my display of weakness, I have not eaten a full meal since three days ago.” When she said this, Kazuma and Aqua stared at Seth, “I think it’s about time for lunch right? Do we have enough?” Kazuma asked.
“We do.” Seth pulled out a metal container from somewhere on his body and laid their lunch on the guild table to eat. He also prepared a light dish for Megumin by taking parts from the other’s portion.
One lunch later.
“Thank you so much for the food, I'll try to repay this by doing my best on our adventures in the foreseeable future!” Megumin thanked them.
Kazuma nodded and replied, “It’s fine, just a meal, Seth cooked a lot. Before you proceed, do you want to introduce your occupation more as an arch-wizard, like what spells you use?”
Megumin jolted with fervor, she took a pose and declared, “*Ahem* Blessed the heavens because I, a master of the mystic arts, am someone who has mastered one of the few known most powerful spells in this realm, Explosion! If you seek proof, here it is.” As she did so, She placed her adventurer card on the table.
Two gods and one man looked at the card, and each of them had a different reaction.
Kazuma saw that the stats were surprisingly high and a bit one-sided. But he still finds them acceptable, he could guess from the card that Megumin is a ‘glass cannon’.
Aqua had not much to say, she just knew her occupation or job was advanced, and she knew the advanced spell explosion, which is great for offense.
On the other hand, Seth arose from his chair and picked up Megumin’s card. He lightly touched it and the card glowed strangely.
He brought it in front of his face and just stood there, menacingly.
Seconds passed and he still hasn't moved. Noticing the eerie silence from Seth, Kazuma leaned to Aqua and asked, “You were with him longer than me, do you know what’s happening?”
Aqua replied, “ Honestly, no.”
“Seriously!?”
“YES! Our relationship is more work-related! The only thing I know is that he likes to make stuff!”
Before the two could continue, Seth finally spoke his piece.
“Girl… What is this!?” Seth spoke with a low growl.
Megumin felt pressured, but she still answered, “What are you talking about?”
Seth leaned closer, “I mean your skills. Don’t you see something wrong with it!?”
“There is nothing wrong, all I see is what I envision myself to be, what I pursue and dream of.”
Seth leaned back, with a judging face and asked, “That is?”
“To Walk on the path of explosion and achieve the most grand power of fundamental magic at its finest and peak. I want to engrave such sight on my eyes and etch it into the deepest section of my mind and soul!”
Seth hearing this giggled like an evil mastermind, and Megumin fought back, “Huh! Ehh! What are you laughing at!? You think this is a joke!”
“I’ll just keep it basic, learn other spells. If you’re going to keep this up, you are going to get yourself killed. Even then, from what I see you will never be able to get your dream.”
Megumin instantly exploded, “HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT! DON’T JOKE ABOUT IT!”
“I am not. I’m just saying you are a frog in a well. You won’t get far with your explosions, kid.”
“Are you gonna lecture me that the advanced spell explosion is a joke magic? And I should just switch to something else, RIGHT!? If that’s your plan then sorry I have heard it thousands of times!” Megumin spoke with distress.
“No, I do not consider explosion magic as a joke, in my eyes, there is no such thing as a joke spell. I view it as art.”
“Really!” Megumin’s ear perked up, showing hints of joy. She felt that for the first time in her life, she found someone kindred to her, someone who appreciated the advanced spell explosion.
But his next words shatter it, “But my point still stands, you’re not good at casting explosions.”
“YOU SAYING MY EXPLOSION SUCKS! HOW DO YOU COME TO SUCH CONCLUSION JUST BY READING MY ADVENTURER'S CARD!”
Seth took a deep breath, “By abandoning other spells, you deny your explosion of its true potential!” Megumin felt stumped hearing that, but she was still resolute.
“Explain! My stance still stands, I will not learn other spells, it’s a waste of time and energy towards the path of explosions.”
“That is why I said you’re a frog in a well. Learning other spells will slow down your progress, but have you ever considered that those spells can assist your explosions? You do know that by brushing up on your fundamentals. It will solidify your foundation and help you gain a more thorough understanding of that advanced spell.”
Seth went right next to Megumin’s ear and whispered, “From what I see, if your progress in pursuing the best explosions reached a bottleneck. It’s not because you aren’t doing it hard enough, but because you became too narrow-minded to even see the most basic flaws in your casting. I could tell that…” And so he whispered more.
As the other part was whispered, Megumin jolted, as if she was completely read, but even then she still stood her ground, “I don’t believe it! Even if you found out about that! Explosion magic is still the purest form of destruction! Mixing it with other spells will taint it! It will…”
“HERESY! Who says that, do you have proof? Listen here Arch-wizard…” Seth and Megumin went into a crazed debate about explosions, but it’s mostly about Seth explaining how other spells and magic could help create bigger explosions, while Megumin denied it and created counter-arguments.
Kazuma and Aqua felt like they were on the sidelines.
This may be the first time we are seeing this side of Seth. Kazuma thought, he then asked Aqua, “Do you know anything about this side of him, Have you ever seen him like this?”
“No, this is my first. Wait… Now I remember, Seth is very passionate about the craft, any kind of craft. Maybe this applies to magic and I think he saw something in Megumin’s card so horrendous that he deems she needs fixing.”
Kazuma replied, “But he was never this harsh or mean to me at training. He was supportive when he trained me in my non-existent swordsmanship.”
“Me neither, when we go against each other in art, he never raises his voice against me,” Aqua spoke in agreement.
“Kazuma! Aqua! We are going to the plains! This arch-wizard ain’t budging. I need to show her what she’s missing out.” Seth instantly rushed towards the guild’s exit.
“Hmph! Fine by me, I’ll show you how wrong you are when I invoke an explosion so great that you will bow down to me and beg for forgiveness!” Megumin followed suit.
*BANG!* The guild’s main door was pushed hard as if it was kicked. Seth and Megumin have left the guild. Kazuma and Aqua sat frozen in shock before running to catch up with them.
Chapter 14: Explosions
Chapter Text
Location: Outside Axel City
Four people stood in the middle of a plain, a short girl and a tall man was arguing with each other, while a blue-haired woman and a teen man followed behind.
“You're not even an Arch-wizard anyway! Why bereft my path of magic if you are not even an expert in it.” Megumin, the short girl spoke angrily.
“I am more than just a typical arch-wizard. And I viewed your very misaligned path of magic as something I must mend.” Seth, the tall man replied with a stern tone.
“You say that I must follow the old-school traditional route deemed necessary by society!? Well, forgive my defiance because that choice limits my pursuit of magic’s true beauty!” Megumin tippy-toed while Seth bent downwards, their faces inches apart, and imaginary sparks flew by.
“Guys, sorry to stop your bickering but why did you drag us to the middle of nowhere?” Kazuma finally shouted, intervening before this went on longer.
“Oh yes, sorry kazuma.” Seth snapped back, and Megumin followed suit. They distanced each other a bit and Megumin declared, “Let’s get this over with!” And Seth nodded in agreement.
“SETH! What are you gonna do?” Aqua finally asked.
“We gonna do a magic face-off to see whose path in magic is the right one,” Seth replied. Aqua lowered her hand after hearing that.
Seth did a gentleman bow towards Megumin, “As a senior, I’ll allow you to go first.”
Megumin replied with smugness, “Then I'll thank thee for allowing me to show you my full crimson might.”
She spun her staff and took a pose, “Hear yee heathen who disgrace the essence off explosions, etches your soul of this moment cause ill grace you with splendor!”
A giant magic circle appeared a distance away from them, With it she chanted, ”Darkness blacker than black, and darker than dark, I beseech thee, combine with my deep crimson.”
The magic circle started to glow iridescent, “ The time of awakening cometh. Justice, fallen upon the infallible boundary, appear now as an intangible distortion!”
malevolent vortexes swirled and gathered, the sky above the circle twinkled in fervor,” Desire for my torrent of power a destructive force: a destructive force without equal! Return all creation to cinders, and come from the abyss! EXPLOSION!!!”
*BOOM!!!* An explosion as high as the castles erupted. Producing shockwaves that extend over a vast area. The explosion engulfed the surroundings, causing awe-inspiring destruction. As it settled it left behind a scorched landscape. Its sheer force and intensity resonated across the terrain, making it a spectacle that dwarfs any typical magic could achieve.
Kazuma and Aqua stood in awe at the explosions while Seth showed no reaction.
Kazuma nudged Seth, “No matter how I see it, this is impressive.”
Seth replied, “This is worse than I thought.”
Seth instantly pointed toward Megumin. Who lo and behold, laid flat on the ground. Kazuma was stunned for a moment before he propped her up.
Kazuma asked, “What’s going on?”
“She overdid it and used too much mana to cast it. Draining her completely and straining her body to the point she can't even move. I thought she would adjust her output but sadly, I overestimated.”
“Hey! At least my explosion is a death sentence to any who dares to face its gloriest might!”
Seth answered, “If you brushed up your basics, your explosion could have been bigger.”
Megumin still puffing in anger issued her challenge, “Since my spellcasting was so flawed, then enlighten me right here right now, show me the way!”
“Firstly, I’ll cast your explosion spell on your level.” He declared, lifting his hand and aiming toward the same spot Megumin cast her spell.
Taking a deep breath, he bellowed, “EXPLOSION!” *BOOM!!!* an explosion of identical magnitude as Megumin’s erupted from the same location, with the same blast radius and such.
F*ck! he cast the same big explosion without even flinching! Kazuma stood in shock.
“He didn’t even chant or strike a pose,” Megumin grumbled beside him.
Girl, he cast the same spell you did before to the tee without breaking a sweat! he showed off his impeccable control and huge amount of mana! Yet the thing you took notice of is the fact that he didn't strike a dramatic pose and spout one paragraph worth of chuuni nonsense! That’s what he wanted to say but Kazuma kept it in.
“Now pay attention, what will happen if I used wind magic right now.” He asked as a gigantic light-green magic circle glowed beneath them.
A blizzard engulfed them, and clouds gathered as a windstorm brewed at where they stood. Massive winds swirled around the area as the temperature around them plummeted.
Kazuma gawked at the miraculous weather manipulation. Megumin unfazed by such a spectacle asked, “What’s the point of this over-the-top magic?”
“Pop quiz: if I cast your same advanced spell within those ferocious winds, what would happen? Will it get bigger or not?” Seth spoke out those questions like a lecturer.
“That’s easy. The explosions will be smaller because the winds will disturb it. Wait, they should barely change at all, how could such pure, unbridled power be affected by the measly wind!”
“Welp, let’s find out.” a familiar magic circle materialized once more, “EXPLOSION!” *BOOOOM!!!* Seth shouted, triggering an explosion much larger than before.
The explosion produced an air pressure mighty enough to knock Kazuma and Megumin off their feet momentarily.
“GAHHH!!! UECK! PTUI!!!” Kazuma accidentally swallowed a bug from the gust of air.
Megumin face became shocked as an unfamiliar, heightened level of air pressure rammed into her body.
“Ahh! My hat!” the gust also sent her hat flying.
“Got it,” Kazuma caught it quickly mid-flight because of his decent reflex. Megumin's face showed gratitude and she thanked him.
With that Megumin became serious, looked towards Seth, and questioned, ”How did adding wind make that explosion bigger, I must know.”
“Oh, I thought you would accuse me of faking that result,” Seth answered teasingly.
Megumin with a ‘you got me’ face asked, “I can tell you cast that explosion with the same strength from start to finish. But the size, and shockwave, how did it…”
“I’ll show you,” Seth answered.
Seth mysteriously pulled out a small candle and placed it on the ground. “I’ll demonstrate an experiment to explain it.” He instructed.
Seth snapped his finger, a lick of flame to light the candle up. Because Megumin still couldn’t move, Kazuma held her up and brought her closer to Seth’s candle.
“The continuous existence of this tiny flame represents the fundamental laws, physics, and magic of your beloved explosion magic. Explosions and flames may differ, but they share similarities in how they work, here’s the hint: all that’s left are ashes” Seth explained.
Megumin racked her brain a bit, then had a light bulb moment before answering, “Both explosions and flames produce heat and disintegrate matter. The explosions do so instantly while the flame takes it slow. I can view fire magic as the shabby, slow version of explosions!”
Seth nodded in approval, “You’re on the right track, Now watch closely, this one will be crucial.” Seth conjured a wind magic circle and a glass dome.
Firstly, Seth used wind magic to blow the flame and extinguish it. “As you can see, the wind magic blew out the flame.” Megumin nodded a little.
“Now, what if I use magic not to blow air onto the flame, but just to increase the air around it?” Seth asked rhetorically. As he did so, a gasp from Megumin was heard as the flame on the candle intensified. Sensing her curiosity, Seth gestured for her to wait.
“This is the most vital aspect for you to grasp.” Seth put the glass dome above the candle-lit flame, slowly lowering it to cover it.
Megumin observed with fascination as the flame grew weaker with each inch the glass dome covered it. Finally, when the glass dome completely sealed the candle, the flame put itself out.
“I SEE! AIR FUELS THE EXISTENCE OF EXPLOSIONS! EXPLOSIONS (and flames) CAN ONLY EXIST BY, uhh… ABSORBING THE AIR AROUND IT! YOUR WIND MAGIC SUPPLIED MORE AIR THAN NECESSARY TO IT AND CREATED A BIGGER EXPLOSION, RIGHT?!”
“Correct,” Seth confirmed, he knew that the correct answer was the increase of oxygens and other flammable gas molecules in the air. But he knows that the inhabitants of this world's understanding of science haven’t reached that level.
Seth with a wave of his hand made the candle and glass dome disappear. Seth proclaimed, “Now what do you think, from this, you could tell that wind magic can make bigger explosions. If this is not enough, I'll prove it again with earth magic…”
“You have already proved enough! Thank you for opening the eyes of this arch-wizard! WAIT! DID YOU SAY! EARTH MAGIC CAN HELP!? NO! Back to the topic! Master Seth! I admit that you are a true master of explosions, but…”
“I understand, you’re hesitant about using other magic. Focusing on one spell is still a valid path. I’m simply offering you a different perspective.”
“Since you’re joining our party anyway, I can help you with your magic and spells,” Seth assured her, he sensed her uncertainty but was still glad she was open about exploring new spells. His clairvoyance also assured him that she was a valuable addition to their team.
Megumin became conflicted, “Thank you, but I still don't want to learn…”
Seth cut her off, “Don’t worry, my offer is different this time. Since you won’t budge, why don’t I teach you about modifying the explosion spell? Look.” With that, he raised his hand, and a familiar magic circle materialized once more.
Kazuma and Megumin watched intently, trying to anticipate his next move, and what came after shocked them.
The magic circle suddenly shrunk, “EXPLOSION!” *Boom!* A small explosion erupted, with a reduced radius but potentially greater lethality.
“This is the explosion spell modified to consume less mana, the price is that it has a smaller radius, but in certain situations, it could become a benefit. Here’s another variation.” Another explosion magic circle manifested in front of them.
This time, a different magic circle hovered above the circle, overlaying it. The new magic circle gradually spun around the old one like a propeller. Once it reached a certain speed, “Explosion!” *BHWOOOOM!!!* The explosion surged sideways and branched off.
“IT’S GOING HORIZONTAL! LIKE A HYDRA OF PURE DESTRUCTION STRIKING IN MULTIPLE DIRECTIONS SIMULTANIOUSLY!” Megumin exclaimed.
Seeing their expressions, Seth knew he got her hook, line, and sinker. He added, “Do you still remember what I whispered before? That straining your body by casting explosions could have stunted your growth.”
“WAH!!! WHY SPOKE IT OUT LOUD!” Megumin blushed from embarrassment.
“Well… I may have a way to fix that.”
“REALLY!” Megumin jumped out of excitement, but because she still couldn’t move, she landed face-first to the ground.
Without care she continued, “PLEASE HELP ME MASTER SETH! ALSO DON’T FORGET TO TEACH ME THOSE COOL EXPLOSIONS!” Megumin replied in excitement as Kazuma lifted her from the ground.
“Sure, but it won’t be easy, are you still up for the challenge?” Seth reached his hand out.
Megumin, looking at the hand, instantly snigg*red, “Remember this moment, and cherish it. For I will accept thy invitation and tempering. I will survive and rise like a phoenix. Becoming the Arch-wizard of explosions feared across the lands.” She weakly shook Seth's hands.
Although feeling sidelined from the debacle, Kazuma knew, that even if Seth left, he would be in safe hands. After all, they now have a party member who was personally trained by what he considers a very overpowered war ‘god’… WAIT! Speaking of god…
WHERE’S THAT GODDESS!? Kazuma shouted, “Seth! Aqua’s missing!”
Hearing that Seth showed a flash of worry. He looked around with focus, “There!” Seth proclaimed and pointed in a direction.
Kazuma squinted and saw a giant frog basking in the sun, its stomach shaking violently as if someone was struggling inside.
“Seth! We need to—” Kazuma forgot his words as he noticed a menacing javelin in Seth’s arm.
“D*mn it!” Seth complained loudly as he coated his javelin with ominous energy.
“Seth! You trying to kill her!?” Kazuma shouted in alarm.
“No.” Seth launched his Javelin, producing shockwaves and a trail of destruction in its wake.
The frog who was basking in the sun heard an ominous whistling sound. It lifted its head and at that moment, its life flashed before its eyes.
Chapter 15: This Knight Seems Off
Chapter Text
Location: Guild’s Hall
“Greetings, adventurer Kazuma! I heard you’re still looking for another member for your party.” A Busty armored woman announced.
‘’Whoa! Um… First of all, thanks for the offer, but you do know about our reputation here, right?” Kazuma replied cautiously. “I know this seems odd but I just don’t want another one leaving us right after getting the ‘Seth treatment’.”
“Don’t worry! I know about it I sort of came specifically because of that.” The knight lady spoke confidently, Kazuma noticed a faint blush crossing her cheeks.
“Many adventurers have joined your team, only to quit the very next day! The man who will crush your will, making you want to quit your job and retire immediately!” Her words were laced with euphoria.
Sigh… Seth does overpower them on their own game. But the main cause is that our recruitment asked for those with advanced jobs in what I like to call, a ‘beginner’s town’. Kazuma retorted in his mind.
This left us with whiny babies spoon-fed by their families to get their high ranking. As payback for crushing their tender hearts, they spread rumors about us out of spite. Luckily Seth did say they were not fated with us to begin with. Kazuma clenched his fist, trying to ingrain their faces inside his mind, if he ever met them again, he’d give’em a piece of his mind.
“Ohh~ Those stories make me shiver! Seth critiqued and made them quit. The worst part~ he wasn’t even trying! He just showed them so much expertise making them realize how bad they were! Oh, the things I would do feel such disgrace *Squeel!*~” She answered with ‘ecstasy’, flailing all over the place.
Did she just shiver? Oh boy, I can tell why she wants to join now Kazuma thought. Trying to get her attention, he decided to ask. “What about me?”
The knight regained her composure, she answered with a shy blush, “You’re also quite well-known. The useless perverted guy who only ogles at the girls across the city. Causing the men to hide their girlfriends and wives from you.” She was not disgusted at him at all, or actually, she was quite happy.
D*MN THOSE B*ST*RDS! I JUST ADMIRED THOSE MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS FROM FAR! YOU’RE LUCKY THAT YOU LEFT THIS CITY BACK TO YOUR RICH PARENTS! Kazuma clenched his fist, oblivious to the other cues Darkness has given.
Losing steam for a bit, he finally asked an important question, “Sorry, but you forgot to introduce yourself.”
“AHH! Where are my manners? You can refer to me as Darkness, I am a crusader!”
Taking that to note, Kazuma continued, “Do you still want to meet him, you know, Seth?”
“It would be my pleasure!”
With that confirmation, Kazuma stood up from his bar and led darkness to their next destination.
—
Location: Outskirts of Axel City, Seth’s cabin
Kazuma and darkness finally arrived at their destination, Seth’s log cabin. Darkness found the place to be charming, however, she noticed the war-ridden lands nearby.
“You curious about those holes?” Kazuma explained. “Seth’s currently teaching our resident explosion maniac. So they ‘occasionally’ blow up their surroundings. Don’t worry, Seth can revitalize this place with his ‘druidic’ powers.”
“COME ON GIRL! LIFT THOSE LEGS! JUST A FEW MORE TIMES!” a man shouted nearby.”THIS IS NOT YOUR LIMIT! The pain is good! it means change for the better, and with it, your body will inch closer to your dreams! NOW WHAT WAS YOUR DREAM!?”
“TO BE ABLE TO WALK AFTER CASTING ONE EXPLOSION!”
“AND AFTER THAT!”
“TO BE ABLE TO CAST IT AGAIN!”
They both turned around to see Megumin haphazardly run across the field, with Seth beside her giving motivation.
“There he is, the man of the hour, Seth,” Kazuma remarked, he took a look only to see her somewhat disappointed face.
Megumin finally achieved today’s goal and fell to the ground sweating. Seth activated his magic to ease her pain. “As promised, I’ll add extras for your dinner,” he said, to which Megumin responded with a thumbs-up before passing out.
Kazuma and darkness (whom Seth found familiar) approached from the distance. Kazuma then introduced Darkness to him.
“So you do know about that?” Seth inquired.
“I do! I want to ‘experience’ how harsh and heart-shattering your words are!” Darkness answered with Fervor.
“OK then? can we see your adventurer’s card?”
“Uh… Sorry, but I prefer not to…” Darkness responded, revealing a shy side that surprised Kazuma.
In the end, Seth only had Darkness mention the necessary details from her adventurer’s card.
As this whole event progressed, Seth’s expression turned strange. “Tell me honestly, why are you even here? With those stats and skills, you should be able to join better parties. Yet you’re here? I know I’m a fine choice, but Kazuma, Aqua, and this girl here?” He pointed at megumin.
“Well… The reason is…” Darkness hesitated to explain, she tried to say something but she couldn’t quite bring herself to say them
Sensing her hesitation and the lack of progress, Seth picked up a stick from the ground and chanted, “Harden.” A mystical glow coated his stick, making it look metallic.
He swung his stick and declared like a final boss, “Since you don’t want to explain your reason, why don’t we get to the point.”
Darkness feeling the palpable intent, ecstatically brandished her sword, With pleasure. She thought.
—
A butterfly landed on Megumin, *Achoo!* sneezing her awake. The moment she opened her eyes, she spotted Kazuma spectating Seth in combat with the new girl. She crawled closer and asked, “A new adventurer again, do you think she will quit?”
“Not this time, she’s different,” Kazuma replied.
“How can you tell.”
“From my guess, she likes the ‘struggle’, and they have been dueling for more than an hour, yet look at her.” Megumin could see Seth sitting on a stool, slowly swatting and dodging darkness’ strikes. Darkness was sweating and gasping for air, caused by her constant failed attempts at striking Seth, yet no sight of despair was on her face.
“Darkness! This has gone on for an hour! Your defense is impenetrable, but your offense is non-existent! I am moving my stick and body very slowly, just an inch a second! Yet you still haven’t managed to hit me at all! Lady, I’m not even lifting my leg! Look! I’m still sitting on my stool, unmoved like a sitting target! Yet your sword can't go even straight!” Seth complained in frustration.
“AUHH~ Forgive this crusader!~ I am hopeless! If you want to, why don’t we go back to testing my defense~, you know, by hitting me again?~” Darkness spoke with a questionable expression.
“No,” Seth answered with a deadpanned face. She squirmed a bit from the denial.
Seth noticed that Megumin was awake, he turned towards her, “Megumin! You’re awake, ready for your magic lessons?” Seth exposed his back towards Darkness, yet he was still able to block her effortlessly.
Megumin replied, “I am, but you sure about doing this while, who was she?”
“Just call her Darkness,” Kazuma added.
“While darkness still fights you.”
Seth materialized a chair and used wind magic to place Megumin on her seat, “Don’t worry, I don’t think she could. It’s been an hour and I barely broke a sweat.” Seth said while swatting darkness sword strikes like a fly.
Darkness expressed delight from such disrespect and honesty. Oh, the neglect!~ she thought, He views me as nothing more than an afterthought while I struggle with all my strength! HOW DISAPPOINTING OF ME!~ A perverse delight colored her expression.
"I have confirmed that you have now mastered the way to control and fine-tune your explosions. By using half of your usual mana, you can cast an explosion with 80% of your previous power. Based on my calculation, if you were to cast your advanced spell with your entire mana, your explosions would be 160% more powerful than your usual.”
Megumin eyes twinkled, and said, “Yes, you’re right! I haven’t told you but I have been secretly training and unleashing my full-powered explosion outside your training time. AND YES! My explosions are now two times bigger and more destructive! You truly are a master of the explosive arts!”
Seth chanted a spell that covered Megumin’s whole body for a second and happily spoke, “Looks like my hypothesis was right, your mana reservoir increased by five percent since you started working out. What do you think about this happy little progress?”
Megumin nodded and added, “It usually takes me three hours just to barely move my legs, but now it took one!”
“Good, good… since you have grown that much, it is time for me to teach you something new.” Seth looked thoughtful for a minute before answering, “I’ve decided, We will now delve into the art of directing the force of your explosion. As you know, explosions typically radiate in all directions, but we aim to focus that energy in a singular direction. so instead of the explosion dispersing in all directions, we channel it exclusively to one side.”
“Wouldn’t that weaken its power?” Megumin inquired.
"On the contrary," I explained while blocking Darkness's strike, "It amplifies it. I never mentioned reducing the explosion's destructive power itself. By redirecting its destructive force to a single direction. It will force all the power to concentrate and merge with that one direction. This redirection effectively doubles the explosion’s impact as one direction will receive all the power whose direction you denied."
“I see! That’s possible.” Megumin wrote them down in a tiny notebook.
Kazuma who watched from the sideline found it intriguing. On one side Seth is teaching Megumin with care. Yet on the other side, he is completely overpowering darkness, blocking all her sword strikes without a second glance.
Now that I think about it, where’s Aqua? Kazuma wondered.
—
Location: Axel City’s tailor shop
Inside one of the tailor rooms, “PLEASE DOOR! LET ME OUT! I ALREADY FINISHED THAT STUPID CLOAK!” Tears streamed down Aqua’s face as her fist pounded on the door.
The door glowed, and an automated voice that sounded like Seth replied, “Request denied, the cloak product has only been completed 98%”
“That’s just a few more stitches, just the flapping corners!” Aqua cried in despair.
“Yes, just finish it so you can leave.” the door replied tiredly.
“JUST LET ME OUT! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! IT’S BORING HERE!”
“Lady! I’m just an enchanted seal on a door, following what Master Seth told me to.” However, its words fell on deaf ears as Aqua continued to strike the door.
“AAGH! YOU LEFT ME NO CHOICE! I CAST PURIFICATION!” a blast of light covered the door.
The door sizzled. “LADY STOP IT!” a burnt seal emerged from the door glowing ever menacingly.
Aqua didn’t care and continued, “MAKE ME! *deep breath* PURIFICATION!!!”
The seal on the door couldn’t take it anymore, it declared, “You leave me no choice…”
the door pulsed a shockwave, pushing Aqua back to her seat.
she skidded right next to her workbench. She tried to stand up but noticed that her butt and chair were glued on the spot. Not allowing her to move at all.
Her almost finished cloak floated elegantly on her workbench, beckoning her to finish her work.
“YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME! THIS IS ABUSE!” She shouted.
threads and sewing needles landed on her hands, and an order was heard, “Do it.”
“NOOOO!!!”
Chapter 16: Chris the Thief
Chapter Text
Location: Guild’s Hall, Time: a few days after Darkness joined
Kazuma looked decently stumped on the guild’s bar on this peaceful day.
“Salutations Satou Kazuma!” Darkness Had just entered the guild and rushed towards Kazuma with a cheer.
“Oh darkness… looks like you’re satisfied with the skills Seth taught you.”
“Absolutely! Seth taught me a couple of new moves: ‘taunt’ and ‘counter-attack’. With those skills, I could fulfill my dream of fighting like a real swordswoman and getting hit– I MEAN protecting others!” Darkness answered with appreciation.
Seth has given up on teaching Darkness in offense. The moment her target wiggles even for a bit, she loses all of her aim.
In the end, Seth taught Darkness two skills that were usually inaccessible to crusaders, ‘taunt’ and ‘counter-attack’. ‘Taunt’ forces the enemy to target her, while ’counter-attack’ allows her to ‘accurately’ strike back after being hit.
To complete her kit even more, Seth was currently crafting an artifact that reflected damages back to her enemies.
“Eh? What’s with that frown?” Darkness asked.
“I have enough points to get some skills. Yet now I don't know what to pick. Dang it…”
“Haven’t you asked the other’s what to pick?”
“I did. But…” Kazuma reminisced about what transpired.
—
“You want to learn skills? Why bother with all the hassle? Just join my religion! Become my chosen one and change your class into my chosen champion! You’ll automatically get tons of points and can choose any skill you want! So what do you say?” Aqua enthusiastically pitched her axis order.
Kazuma palmed his face and rejected, Why did I ask her… he pondered.
—
“PICK THE MAJESTY OF SPELLS THAT IS EXPLOSIONS! CAST ASIDE ALL ELSE AND DEDICATE YOURSELF WHOLLY TO THE GLORIOUS PATH OF EXPLOSIONS! WITH IT, THOU SHALT OBLITERATE THINE ENEMIES WITH BUT A SINGLE THOUGHT!” Megumin preached passionately about her beloved spell.
“But that thing costs so many points,” Kazuma replied.
Megumin’s eyes blazed with intensity as she retorted, her voice resounding with enthusiasm, “THEN LEVEL UP MORE! ASCEND TO GREATER HEIGHTS! FORSAKE THY REDUNDANT SKILLS! EXPLOSIONS ALONE ARE THY SALVATION! TREMBLE NOT AT THE HIGH COST AND DRAWBACKS! FOR MASTER SETH, THE GRAND MAGIC MASTER OF LEGEND SHALL SURELY ALLEVIATE THAT!”
—
“RIGHT! Seth! He is so good with so many things, why didn’t you ask him?”
Kazuma pulled out a small but decently thick book. Darkness who saw this asked, “What’s this?”
“His answer. I did ask him for suggestions, but since he was busy making your artifact, he gave me this.” Kazuma handed the small book to her.
Darkness, filled with curiosity, read aloud the book, “Congratulations, you have just asked the great *** Seth for guidance. To find out, let’s make this a game. Go to the next page to start.”
She flipped the page and continued, “Now here’s how it works, each page offers choices that will direct you to another page. You just have to choose the ones that fit you the most. Now let’s begin, which one do you prefer: A. Fight enemies head-on. / B.Attack enemies from afar.”
Darkness uncharacteristically chose ‘B’ out of curiosity “What do you want to do from afar: A. heal and buff teammates / B. annoy and weaken enemies / C. send them to their graves.” Darkness noticed that some of them direct you to multiple pages.
Darkness had fun playing along with the book, each end suggested a decent number of skills, teaching many different ways a skill could be used for many scenarios. Like using ‘flee’ to not just dodge, but also jump toward an enemy to take a hit, No! To absorb an attack for a teammate.
Kazuma took out a piece of paper noting a few skills, “I narrowed down to these six skills from the many options previously. Yet from these six I can’t decide.” He struggled with what to choose in the end.
“Why don’t you let me have a look?” A white-haired girl asked.
“Of course you can, Hey! Excuse me but who are you?”
“Ahh sorry! Where are my manners, let me introduce myself. I am Chris the thief. A friend of Lady Darkness here. I came to find out what kind of party my friend got into.” Chris greeted Kazuma.
“Pleasure to meet you, I guess. Here, have a look.”Kazuma handed his paper, Chris examined his choices and contemplated for a while.
“I suggest you take these two first.” Chris pointed out the ‘steal’ and ‘lurk’ skills. “I may be a thief but I am not biased when I said you should take this. Out of the six, these two provide both decent offense and defense capabilities. ‘Quickdraw’ is good for melee and archery but it’s mainly offensive. And the others like ‘flee’ and while still useful, is not as effective as these two.”
“Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll go to Seth so he can teach me.” Kazuma arose from his seat before suddenly facepalming himself, “I forgot, Seth’s still busy smithing.”
“Just buy me a drink, and I’ll teach you both skills outside the guild, we don’t want any accidents in here,” Chris replied with a wink, and Kazuma obliged.
—
Location: outside the guild
“Listen up,” Chris spoke in a mentoring manner. “The thief skill is very versatile, but it comes with a risk. There’s a chance to fail or get you the wrong item, giving a certain randomness to it.” With a glow, a pouch appeared from her right hand, “ behold! The ‘steal’ skill!”
“Whoa! Is that?” Kazuma checked his pockets before realizing she was holding his actual pouch.
Tossing it back to him, Chris continued, “Now let’s get you to learn this skill.”
A few minutes later, Kazuma successfully learned the ‘steal’ skill, officially adding it to his adventurer’s card.
“Now that that’s settled, go ahead and test it on me!” Chris taunted with a playful grin.
Kazuma became hesitant, “I don’t think that’s a good idea. My luck is no joke.”
“Nonsense!” Chris waved off his concerns. “As a certified thief, I must ensure you can use the skill without a hitch. And don’t worry…” She revealed her hands filled with pebbles, “These should even out the odds.”
“Welp here goes nothing! STEAL!” Kazuma’s hand glowed, and suddenly, Chris felt something different in her pants, causing her cheeks to blush.
“OOH! I DID IT!!! I HIT THE JACKPOT!!!” Kazuma exclaimed, proudly displaying his ‘prize’: Chris’s panties. With no remorse, he waved it like a flag.
“NOOO!!! GIVE IT BACK! ” Chris pleaded in distress, to no avail.
Darkness on the side as a witness to this whole mess stood in shock, “My hunch was right…” Her cheeks reddened, “HE IS A TRUE PERVERTED TRASH ALL ALONG!”
*Plop!* A sound interrupted the scene. Darkness quickly turned around only to find Seth, frozen and wide-eyed with a small smooshed box in front of his feet.
His gaze shifted between the crying Chris and Darkness, clearly realizing something significant.
—
Location: inside the guild’s hall
As Chris tearfully recounted her heart-wrenching experience, the atmosphere grew heavy as the adventurers in the guild slowly became disgusted at Kazuma.
“...AND WHEN I BEGGED HIM TO GIVE IT BACK, HE REFUSED AND WAVED IT LIKE A TROPHY!” Chris cried out, her voice echoing in the tense silence.
Looking at the deteriorating situation, Kazuma thought hard for Seth to hear telepathically. SETH! GIVE YOUR BRO A HELP!
Seth who was hanging around with Aqua and Megumin replied telepathically, “I refuse.”
WHAT! BRO! WHY! Can’t you do something about this!? You’re my cheat! isn’t this part of your duty!? Or are you too P*SSY to quote even a single thing? Didn’t you brag about your planet’s worth of smarts in your noggins? USE IT! Kazuma ranted in his mind.
“This is too messy for me to deal with, plus you dug your own grave with this one,” Seth stood his ground with annoyance.
Seth! I’ll even do you a solid favor! ANYTHING! Just get me out of this sh*t show! Kazuma begged.
Seth hearing this snapped his finger and Kazuma felt a mark etched into his very being.
“Fine, I’ll do it. Don’t worry, I just added an IOU on your soul,” Seth told Kazuma in his mind with a ‘smile’.
Receiving this Kazuma's heart plummeted; he had accidentally screwed himself over.
He didn’t know the weight of this IOU, but he knew that he would now be at the mercy of Seth.
From his knowledge of games and anime, he understood all too well the precarious position he now found himself in, and the thought of what Seth might demand in the future sent a shiver down his spine.
There was no escaping the consequences of his impulsive actions. At least Seth isn’t the cruel evil kind, right?
With a deep breath, Seth spoke up, “Alright everyone. On behalf of Kazuma, let me apologize for his... antics. You know how he is—always getting himself into these ridiculous situations. He was just trying to use his 'steal' skill and things got out of hand. Sure, he's a bit of a perv, but this time it was not unintentional, right?” Taking the cue Kazuma nodded at his words frantically.
The adventurers murmured among themselves. Kazuma seized the chance to chime in, “Yes, Like what Seth said! I was just really ‘lucky’ at that time!”
He looked at Seth who sat near Aqua and Megumin to ask, “Can I use my ‘steal’ skill on you Seth?”
“Go ahead.” Seth consented.
With this Kazuma activated his skill. and surprise-surprise, another pair of panties materialized on his hand again.
What the!? Kazuma was utterly dumbfounded. Before he could react, Megumin, next to Seth, intervened while blushing, “Kazuma-san! Can you give it back…”
Realizing the predicament his luck had brought upon him. Kazuma watched as the crowd’s perception of him sank to rock bottom. As his last hope, he turned to Seth only to receive a resigned smile from him.
Seth gestured toward his chest and made a slashing motion across his throat—a universal sign for ‘calling it quits’. With that, he left Kazuma to face the fallout alone.
As Seth retreated to escape from Kazuma’s Social murder. Someone tapped his arm, It was Darkness, she held the book that Kazuma used to choose his skills.
“Sir Seth, I would like to talk about your book.” Darkness spoke, “This book is well thought out and useful for newbies. Suppose this book was distributed to all the guilds, institutions, and militaries worldwide. It would help strengthen the whole human race!”
“Darkness?” Seth looked intrigued.
“Ahh! Forgive me! How inconsiderate of me, you will be paid handsomely if you allow us to spread this book, and if you make subsequent sequels, that would be appreciated.”
“I was about to say that your action was quite noble.”
“Ahh… Ohh…” Darkness blushed.
“Now that you said it like that, I thank you for the payment. Though, how will you distribute it?”
“Oh don’t worry! The house of- I MEAN I know a person who can handle this matter.” Darkness flustered from her slip of the tongue.
Seth chuckled softly before continuing, “Darkness, you’re nobility right?” He connected the dots. Her being a crusader in a beginner town, her reluctance to reveal her identity, and finally her ‘connections’ and the slip of the tongue.
Flustered, Darkness nodded.
“Don’t worry, I'll keep it a secret.” Seth assured her, “As for that book, I think I’ll accept your offer, as for the contract and my conditions… I’ll address them at a later date.”
“Really Seth! Thank you!” Darkness showed her most pure joyous face, untainted by any form of her usual ‘ecstasy’.
“Oh before I forget, your artifact has been finished. Here you go.” Seth handed his roughened box to Darkness.
She opened the box and found a lovely necklace inside. Its pendant was a beautiful collection of gems ornate in the shape of a rose with accents of gold and platinum. The moment she examined the artifact. She instantly dropped the box.
“BY THE GREAT GODDESS OF ERIS! WHAT KIND OF ARTIFACT HUMPH!” Seth covered Darkness's mouth to suppress her outburst.
Darkness's eyes widened with masoch*stic pleasure as Seth's hand forcefully covered her mouth. She couldn't help but feel a strange thrill at the unexpected physical contact. Her body shook and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and exhilaration. But Seth remained serious, urging her to compose herself.
Taking the hint, Darkness reluctantly calmed herself down before gently pulling Seth’s hand away.
With a complicated expression, she whispered, “I can't take this! This artifact is worth too much! An entire empire could have hunted my whole family just to get their hands on this!”
“Don’t worry, I have enchanted it so that only those who can be trusted can see and know its true form and value,” Seth assured her as he touched and revealed its fake form–a simplified silver rose pendant with a small ruby on its center.
Darkness was still perplexed to receive such an item, but after some insistence, Darkness reluctantly took it.
“Why would you give me something this valuable?” Darkness asked her last question.
“Because you’re my friend, and because I can make better things than that,” Seth replied with a mischievous twinkle.
Darkness was still confused but decided not to inquire further. She wore the necklace and walked back shyly to Kazuma and the rest. Everyone around only saw the fake form of the artifact. Only Kazuma and Aqua could perceive its true value, and the look of their shocked face was a sight to behold.
“That’s quite daring of you Seth. To give Darkness such an item in public. What if some unsavory people noticed?” A sweet voice rang next to him.
Chapter 17: Source of Troubles
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Location: Seth’s Cabin, Time: a day after Chris’ introduction
“Thanks for showing me the way, Kazuma.” The white-haired thief girl Chris thanked Kazuma for bringing her to his cabin.
“No probs.” Kazuma casually replied.
She looked at what was around and asked, “Though I find it odd that your place is on the outer parts of this city, I thought you would pick somewhere nearer the guild?”
“Two reasons, cheaper land cost and allowing Seth and our resident arch-wizard to do their experiments,” Kazuma replied casually.
Chris nodded at the answer. Then she asked something, “Kazuma… how has the two of them fared? You know, after Yesterday’s conundrum?”
Talking about this, they recalled what happened yesterday.
—
Location: Guild’s Hall, Time: right after chapter 16
“That’s quite daring of you Seth. To give Darkness such an item in public. What if some unsavory people noticed?” A sweet voice rang next to him.
“I’ve got that covered.” Seth snapped his finger. A translucent shell shivered around them. “That artifact’s camouflage alone already suffices, this soundproof illusion barrier made sure no one could eavesdrop on us. Only a master at stealth and illusions could barely detect this,” Seth boasted with hidden meanings.
“Indeed. Your foresight is worthy of applause, Darkness is my good friend and I want any harm to happen to her! Though you surprise me with your barrier.” Chris smiled cheekily.
“I know, Eris,” Seth said softly.
Chris took a few steps back, immediately, but Seth quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her in.
Greeting her with a smile, face to face under the barrier, Seth spoke, “It’s been a while Goddess Eris.”
Chris, who is actually the goddess Eris repositioned herself to a more comfortable position. She smiled warmly, though a hint of uncertainty flickered in her eyes. "Seth, you always find a way to surprise me," She said softly, with a blush showing how unfamiliar she was with such closeness.
"It's been a while, Seth. I'm glad to see you're doing well," she added. Feeling Seth’s attentive grip on her hands, eris couldn’t help but remark, "You weren't like this before, you’re not usually this bold."
“The reincarnation changed something in me. Now I just want to admire this lovely face of yours.” Seth confessed, causing Eris to blush from the flirtation.
She shyly replied, “Don’t phrase it like that.”
“SETH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!” A certain goddess voice was heard.
Oh boy… Seth thought.
“I WILL SAY IT AGAIN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH HER!?” Aqua screeched loudly, to the point that the whole guild took notice.
Seth annoyedly replied, “Aqua, calm down. I’m just talking to…”
“SETH! YOU KNOW THE RULES! NO FLIRTING WITH *******! WHAT THE!!!” Aqua cut him off, only to find her speech censored.
“Calm down, there were no rules about flirting with ******,” Seth replied with his words censored too.
Seth explained what he did, “I added a seal to censor our words because I was afraid that we would accidentally spill sensitive information that might cause us trouble.”
“WHEN DID YOU CAST THIS!?” Aqua shouted.
“When you were dead drunk, after drinking bottles of liquor you secretly bought with ‘our’ money,” Seth answered, to which Aqua stifled.
“BUT STILL! YOU CAN’T DO THAT!”
“Which one, putting a seal on you after wasting our money, or me getting close to Chris right here, right now?” He pulled Chris (Eris) slightly closer. The adventurers around them were fully focused on the show and listened to the couple’s quarrel.
“BOTH! BUT MOSTLY ABOUT YOU GETTING CLOSE TO CHRIS! WE ARE BOTH **** YET YOU STILL GOT CLOSE TO CHRIS!” The adventurers gasped, wondering how Seth would get out of this one.
“Why does this matter? We’re not together anyway, the others just shipped us because we’re stuck with these rings,” Seth spoke matter-of-factly, stunning Aqua in the process.
“But, but, but, but…” Aqua stammered, “ I DON’T WANT YOU WITH ANY OTHER GIRLS THAN ME!!!”
HOLD UP! Kazuma, Seth, and Chris (Eris) reacted. “WHOAH!!!” The adventurer roared and whistled in excitement.
Seth lost his cool, “Aqua! Did you mean what you said!?”
“Yes! Every word!”
“Even the part where you wanted me!?”
“YES!” Aqua declared, then realization kicked, “Why DID I say that!? I, THE GREAT ******* AQUA SHOULD NOT BE BOUND BY SUCH AFFECTION!”
“Yet you have just admitted your feelings for me!?”
“WHAT ABOUT YOU!? HEH! WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT ME!? WHY AM I BLUSHING!?” Aqua shouted while blushing.
Seth grunted before answering, “To me, You’re always causing trouble, never taking anything seriously! You drive me crazy! Remember all the mess you created since we came here! I had to fix so many things and did so many things! Just to keep you happy and safe!” His words hung heavy in the air with unspoken feelings.
SETH! Kazuma shouted in his mind.
Seth realized what he had just spoken. His face lost composure.
Utterly confounded, Seth glanced at Aqua only to find two contrasting expressions: Complete bafflement at their sudden affection and a radiant blush achieved by being confessed by someone she truly loved.
Kazuma found this profoundly odd. Seth and Aqua harbored no feelings for each other, maybe even mutual dislike. Yet here they are.
“WHOOOH!!! YEAH!!! WAY TO GO MAN!!!” A celebratory uproar erupted throughout the guild. Celebrating their declaration of love. Cheers and whistles drowned the guild as they forgot Seth's prior ‘attempt’ to get closer to Chris (Eris).
Seth and Aqua stood in the middle of it all. Extremely bewildered and incapable of thinking anything else.
—
“After we got back from the guild, those two didn’t even look at each other before returning to their own rooms.” Kazuma summarized the following events that transpired.
“Then what about today?” Chris (Eris) asked.
“It went better, after breakfast they had a serious chat. They were still tense, but hey, at least they’re not giving each other the cold shoulder.”
“What was their conversation about?”
“I do not know.”
“?” Eris tilted her head.
Noticing this Kazuma clarified, “Seth asked me not to intervene. And so I did.”
“That’s very genuine and trustworthy of you.”
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? Did you think I’d pry and snoot his privacy? No way Chris! Don’t tell me you believed the rumors those crybabies spread about me!? Sure, I would’ve done it if it was anyone else, but it’s different with Seth!” Kazuma retorted defensively.
Chris responded, teasingly and judgmentally, “Forgive me, but with that ‘panty’ incident yesterday, I couldn’t believe so…”
“Ah… about that, I’m really sorry…” Kazuma coughed while avoiding eye contact.
Seizing the opportunity, Kazuma poured out his thoughts, “I can assure you, they weren’t themselves yesterday, I’ve lived with them for a month and knew they have, uh, I mean ‘had’ no feelings for each other. I bet that they were discussing their newfound feelings, but since that is a sensitive topic, they wanted privacy.”
He took a deep breath before he continued, “I’ll respect that, not just because he’s like a bro that I never had, but because he is also the reason I could become like this. Without him, I’ll be living in the dumps scrapping for survival… You know, I would-” Kazuma monologued while facing the other in a melancholic and thoughtful manner, which he intended to look cool in front of her.
Unbeknownst to Kazuma, Chris (Eris) wore a picturesque joyous face as she listened, If Kazuma had taken even a single glance at her during that moment, his heart would have been captured.
Her face finally returned normal, still with a smile she replied, “Seth must have been a wonderful person for you to say that.”
“No doubt about it. Still, even if they solved this they could never remove their couple status.” Kazuma after saying this realized something, While they fought a lot, they could work seamlessly together and were strangely always the first ones to help each other, though it was mostly Aqua who was the one always getting helped. Maybe they were not that far from an actual couple after all.
“It can’t be helped, From the outside, those two make a cute couple,” Chris said as a smile blossomed from her. Kazuma noticed traces of sadness from it.
“Now that I think about it, how did you end up with this cabin?” Chris asked, Kazuma hearing this decided to tell her.
—
Location: adventurer’s guild approved stable, time: A day after reincarnating to this world
Kazuma and Seth were hanging out near a stable early in the morning. They were cooking breakfast over an open fire while Aqua slept inside the stable. Looking at their rugged lifestyle, Kazuma spoke his mind, “Seth, we can’t live in a place like this.”
“I agree,” Seth replied. At that moment he thought of a solution, “Now that I think about it, why don’t we just build a house?”
“Seth, can you build one?” Kazuma asked skeptically.
“Absolutely.” Seth proclaimed confidently. “We can go to those authorities who sell lands. As for the tools…” With a flick of his finger, hammers, axes, and other tools materialized on the ground.
OOH! Seth’s cheat! Kazuma gave a thumbs-up seeing it.
*Thud!* But suddenly, Seth collapsed to the ground.
“Seth!” Kazuma rushed to his side to check.
“Ugh… sorry Kazuma HUMPH!” Seth groaned before rolling away and vomiting.
Kazuma stood incredulous. Looking at the pile of nauseating barf beside him He couldn’t help but think, He almost threw up at my tracksuit, if he did, I’d make him wash it.
“Don’t worry,” Aqua who had just emerged from the stable, chimed in casually. “Seth can create stuff out of nothing, but the bigger, stronger, and more stuff he creates, the more dizzy he gets.”
“Besides, how could you barf? you usually know your limits,” Aqua added.
“New world, my limits got recalibrated, lower than usual, didn’t know UEGH!” Seth explained between gags.
Absorbing it all, Kazuma spoke, “Seth, we will test out your limit later, We can’t have this happen again; your puke stinks.”
Seth gave a thumbs up, and with that acknowledgment, Kazuma picked up one of the axes.
“Can I test it?” he asked.
Seth nodded, so Kazuma let it rip on a nearby tree.
*THUCK!* a deep cut appeared on the tree, a single chop took 20% of the 1-meter-thick trunk.
*Whistle* Kazuma complimented.
“Let me try,” Seth said as he stood up wobbly, he picked up another axe and did a relaxed one-arm swing.
*SLINK!* The tree leaned slowly.
Oh no… Kazuma and Seth thought simultaneously.
“TIMBER!” Aqua shouted excitedly.
*CRASH* The tree fell and rolled down the hill.
A constable, minding his own business nearby, suddenly found himself faced with a rolling tree. It narrowly missed him, but he looked up at Kazuma and the rest.
“Um… I can explain sir, this is purely an accident.” Kazuma began to explain.
Sadly the constable activated his magic signal, causing the nearby city garrison to gather.
“SOLDIERS! APPREHAND THESE THREE! YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!” The constable shouted.
“EHH! WHAT DID WE DO!?” Aqua shouted.
“Damaging public property and attempted murder!”
—
“Bless the heavens Seth came in clutch. He smooth-talked us out of a trip to prison, while I covered Aqua’s mouth before she made it worse. Ultimately, they decided to punish us with mandatory construction work for a set period, which conveniently ended yesterday.” Kazuma recounted.
Chris (Eris) giggled at their misadventures. “Oh, Kazuma! I don’t know if I should feel sorry for you or not.”
“Luckily the garrison gave us more details on how to buy land and such. The existing houses for sale are too expensive so Seth decided to build our cabin from scratch. We had to chop the woods and gather the rocks ourselves, anything else could only be bought, or… spew- I mean crafted out from Seth.”
Chris smiled and said, “I’m happy that you’re having fun around here.”
*BOOM!!!* a gigantic explosion erupted, reaching toward the clouds and stopping Kazuma and Chris from their conversation.
“YES! YES! YAAAS! I DID IT!” a shout of exhilaration echoed. It was from their resident arch-wizard and explosion enthusiast, Megumin. She was walking towards the cabin, albeit very poorly and almost falling, but still walking nonetheless.
Megumin joyously shouted, “KAZUMA! SETH’S TRAINING WORKS! I’M STILL DRAINED BUT I CAN FINALLY WALK! YOU DON’T HAVE TO CARRY ME ALL THE TIME!”
“Hey Guys! Sorry for the wait!” Darkness exclaimed as she arrived at Seth’s cabin. Not in her crusader suit, but in casual, yet also luxurious clothes.
Noticing this, Kazuma inquired eagerly, “So they approved it? They will sell Seth’s books on our behalf?”
Darkness smiled proudly as she handed him a glowing contract “Of course! This matter was approved by the kingdom. The payment will be in royalties with Kazuma managing the earnings. This deal extends to all of Seth’s future books.”
Kazuma grinned with joy, I know Seth’s gonna leave us to do his godly duties, but as my cheat, he has given me the perfect solution: MONEY! Continuous ever-flowing money! If the royalties stopped coming, Seth would just write more books! Ahh the cheat of earning money while lying flat… Kazuma giddily thought.
Then, Kazuma remembered something and quickly asked. “Have you checked Seth’s other endeavors?”
“I haven’t.” Darkness replied, “He mentioned he collaborated with a magic item craftsman and sold their creations at a local shop in Axel. Today’s the day he will introduce me to them. He also told me they are quite eccentric but also hold potential. If this meeting goes well then another business venture could be on the horizon.”
“SETH! WHY DID YOU CUT YOUR FINGER OFF!” Aqua's cries of panic were heard behind the cabin. The group immediately rushed there, what they saw was shocking.
Notes:
I know that Seth and Aqua's situation is a bit too forced, but I'll try my best to minimize situations like this.
Chapter 18: Meeting Them
Chapter Text
Seth was holding a bloodied chisel, his left ring finger was missing and blood was squirting from it.
Aqua was rushing towards Seth with a chopped-off finger, ”SETH! I ALMOST HAD A HEART ATTACK! LET ME PUT YOUR FINGER BACK!” She shouted in distress.
“No,” Seth snatched his finger before throwing it into the air.
He splattered his godly blood all over his chopped finger, causing his blood droplets to hover around the finger, levitating it.
Seth threw away the chisel and performed intricate hand signs. His blood droplets blazed into a magic circle, “Hearken, ancient laws that ascend the mortal realm. With this divine blood as the medium, I break the realm's laws… And command thee to incinerate any being that dares cross thy path! Behold, ‘PURGATORY FLAME’!” A torrent of dark crimson flames erupted from the circle, swirling and crackling with raw untamed power, disintegrating everything in its path to the core.
The group stood shocked by its intensity and heat, while Megumin secretly gave a thumbs-up at his cool chant.
The flames subsided; the aftermath revealed something magical: the ring, unblemished from that world-ending flame, floated magically around a piece of charcoal that was previously his finger.
Tch, this is no joke. Seth admitted inwardly
“SETH! WHY DID YOU BURN IT!” Aqua panicked, she immediately tried to use her power to regenerate Seth’s amputated finger.
Seth pushed Aqua away and pointed his unchopped hand toward the ring. he shouted, “By the ancient laws of truth and light, I summon thee to unveil the hidden and expose all deception! 'REVEAL TRUTH'!”
The ring on Seth’s Finger flashed and unknown energies swirled around the surface of his dark purple gem.
The swirling energy flowed outwards to Aqua’s ring, causing it to swirl around Aqua’s blue gem too.
“WAH! WHAT IS THIS!?” she yelped and flailed her hand.
“These rings are why we are attracted to each other. The reason why we spoke with affection towards each other!” Seth declared.
“Ok! I understand! Now please let me heal your finger!” Aqua spoke with genuine concern, to which Seth obliged and extended his hand.
Aqua used her power to regrew his finger, and the moment it did so, the ring teleported back to his new finger.
“Looks like this isn’t going anywhere.” Seth lamented.
“The mad wizard’s curse still exists!” Megumin and Darkness exclaimed at the same time. They still believed in their fake origin since the three never told them the truth.
Kazuma asked, “Is there any danger from it? What will happen if this goes on?”
Seth answered with a worried face, “If we don’t do anything about it… Aqua and I will be… addicted to each other permanently.”
“Don’t you mean ‘love’?” Chris (Eris) questioned.
“No, it’s addicted, like actually having withdrawal symptoms for not even in sight and contact with each other. Worst-case scenario, Aqua and I will have to snuggle and embrace each other while doing everything together. Annoying others with public affection, even if we didn’t want to.”
The group instantly imagined it vividly: On their way to the guild, Seth apathetically princess carried Aqua while she latched at his neck with a dead face.
Their faces contorted at the thought of it. “What will you do now?” Darkness asked.
“I’ll leave and travel the world to find a solution. So it is kinda sad for me to do this, but I will leave my Aqua in your hands.”
“Wait? How could you teach me in the path of explosions if you are going to leave? that is unacceptable!” Megumin demanded.
“Don’t worry, I can still teach you from afar thanks to this.” Seth pointed towards Kazuma’s hand.
Everyone stared blankly at Kazuma’s hand, Seth clarified, “It’s the thing the mad wizard did to Kazuma. I have tested its function, and for what it does.” Seth was covered in light and disappeared.
Following this, a small gem emerged from Kazuma’s hand. A small projection of Seth emerged from the gem.
“Woah…” everyone watched in fascination
“With this, I will still be able to help from afar. But since you still don’t want to cast any other spells, I’ve decided that each time you want my guidance on explosion magic, you must learn between five basic or three intermediate magic spells first!”
“AHH!!! NOT FAIR! You can't do this to me! I’d rather not know cooler ways to cast explosions than to learn other magic!”
“Then If I show you this.” Seth pulled out a cool-looking badge with pulsing mana, “If you do learn other spells, you’ll get this, an artifact that will allow you to cast your beloved explosions ‘MULTIPLE’ of times.”
Seth teleported back and handed his badge for her to examine. As a trained arch-wizard and daughter of a craftsman, she analyzed.
Seconds later her eyes widened. She groggily asked, “How many… explosions… can this badge help me cast… in succession?”
“At least above a hundred.”
“UGH!!!” Megumin shouted in distress. “Not Enough!” She persisted.
“I forgot to mention you could stack up all those explosions into a single one, imagine merging the might of hundreds of explosions into a single blast, the destruction it would cause will reshape the continent itself,” Seth added with a merchant’s grin.
“AHH! I CAN’T TAKE IT! STOP TORTURING THIS PURSUER OF EXPLOSIONS WITH SUCH TEMPTATIONS! I’ll do it! I’ll learn other spells!” Megumin shouted in frustration as she finally gave in.
“Good.” Seth handed a book to Megumin with a smile. “Here’s a list of the spells that can support or boost your explosion magic, with explanations on how they could do that.”
Megumin took a quick read at the book, her face became fascinated and troubled as she read it.
“Promise me, when I learn these spells, you’ll give me that badge.”
“Of course,” Seth promised.
“Now that’s done, Darkness! It’s time for you to meet them! You four can come along.” With this, they set off.
—
Location: Axel City
“Seth, are you sure this is the right path?” Aqua asked as she walked down an unfamiliar street.
“Yes, this is the way. Now that I think of it, Megumin, forgive me if this seems out of place, but do you still remember the people from your village.”
“ I remember a lot of them. Why do you ask?”
“Because…”
“MAMA! PAPA! IT’S ONEE-CHAN!” A little girl tackled Megumin into a hug.
“Komekko!”
“Komekko! Don’t run too far! this is not our home village. There are baddies over here. Ara? Mister Seth?” a woman’s voice was heard.
Son of a gun. Seth snigg*red at how small this world was.
A couple was riding on a caravan pulled by strange machinery. “Seth! My crafting compatriot! It is truly fate for us to meet each other!”
“Ehh… EHH!!!” Megumin shouted. “Seth! what’s your business with my family!? DON’T TELL ME! They’re the craftsman you talked about!?”
“Calm down. Let me tell you how it all started…”
—
The following flashback is from Seth’s point of view.
Time: a week after Kazuma’s reincarnation in this world.
I was walking through the market testing my clairvoyance power, looking for individuals who could be fated with us or more.
—
“Since when did you have this power!?” Chris (Eris) asked.
“I’ll explain later, let’s go back to the story.” Seth continued.
—
In the end, I found no one.
I looked towards the sky, clearly seeing lines of destiny pointing toward this place yet I currently found none.
“This is very odd, my power said I should find someone here…”
“Ahh!” As if the heavens answered, A beautiful lady bumped into me. She was carrying a big bag of groceries and our bump caused her bag to spill.
“Forgive me! Lady…” At that moment, when I looked at her with my clairvoyance, I finally found her.
—
“Seth! Don’t you dare have any feelings for her,’” Aqua harrumphed.
Seth spoke, “It’s not like that, you’re always my Eh… let’s get back to the story…”
—
“Don’t worry it was my mistake in the first place, I didn’t pay attention.” She replied.
“Let me help.” I reached out to pick up her fallen groceries and found something peculiar.
“Excuse me, what is this thing?” I held an odd-looking stick with a button on it.
My clairvoyance suddenly flared, urging me to press it, and I did. The moment I did so a dome-shaped barrier covered me.
“Sir! Are you okay? Did it hurt you!? This was a sample given to me by a wonderful craftsman. I wanted to test it out later but it seemed like you activated it. I’m sorry if this caused you inconvenience.” she bowed apologetically.
I knocked on the barrier and exclaimed, “This barrier is amazing! For such a small item to hold such a barrier without needing the user’s mana…”
“You think so too!” The lady showed happiness and relief.
“Yes really! I can’t even find a way to, *gasp!*” Suddenly I choked.
“WAH! Sir! Is there something wrong!? If anything bad happens, I’ll do my best to make amends and even compensate you, though I currently don’t have much money to begin with!”
I held my breath and wrote the air using my mana, ‘There’s no oxygen! How to turn this thing off?’
“You can’t, it has a timer inside the tool, the only other way is to destroy this barrier or wait it out. I could break this barrier if you can’t handle it anymore.”
I wrote in the air ‘Nope, this is fine, breaking the barrier could damage this.’
“I see, it’s rare to see someone appreciative about inventions like this.” The lady smiled.
Yes, I can tell the creator of this tool should also be fated with us too. I thought with a mystical glint in my eyes.
A minute later, the barrier faded away and I took deep gulps of air. The lady got worried for a second but I assured her I was fine. I asked, “May I know what the creator originally intended this for?”
“He said it was to protect the user. Isn’t it amazing? to allow anyone to have a barrier of this level even though they never even trained in their life!” The lady spoke with revelry.
“It is amazing but why does it also prevent air from entering the barrier?” I Inquired.
The lady explained, “The craftsman added that because he is worried poisonous gas could easily pass through the barrier.”
“Then don’t promote it as a tool for protection. Someone will suffocate from this,” Seth remarked. The lady felt ashamed hearing that.
Seth noticed it and clarified, “I didn’t mean to devalue this thing, I meant it when I said this thing is good.”
“Eh!?”
“What’s the matter?”
“People usually just called them trash.” the lady answered meekly.
“Don’t worry, one man’s trash can be another man’s treasure. Most of the time, people haven’t found the right purpose for tools like this. From what I can tell, while this thing is not great for defending, It's a different matter for capturing someone!” I replied, The lady’s mood lifted after hearing my words.
“Either way, can you introduce me to this tool’s creator?”
“Of course, coincidentally, he is now here at my shop, delivering new magic tools for my shop.”
“Your shop? May I come?”
“That would be lovely.”
—
“After that, the lovely shop owner introduced Hyoizaburoo and Yuiyui to me at her shop,” Seth explained how he met Megumin’s parents.
“And that is how I met this comrade in craftsmanship,” Hyoizaburoo added before slinging his whole arm around Seth’s neck and shoulders.
Kazuma decided to ask something important during Seth’s flashback, “That’s good and all, but you forgot something, the shop owner’s name.” Seth never mentioned the shop owner’s name once in his flashback.
Yuiyui immediately asked, “Wait, you never told them her name?”
“Well I planned to tell them the moment they met her, I wanted this to be more of a proper introduction, I feel it’s kinda rude to tell someone about their name before they even properly met each other, plus it also kind of ruins the fun of meeting a new person.”
Kazuma and the rest still looked resolute, they still wanted to know her name.
“Ok then, the lovely shop owner I spoke of is named Wiz, more famously known as the ‘ice witch’.”
“HER!” Darkness shouted.
“Do you know about her?” Kazuma inquired.
“Of course! The Ice Witch is an arch-wizard known around her for her beauty and strength. Her background is a complete mystery to us, all we know is that she arrived in this town just to build a shop and retire peacefully.” Darkness spoke out. Hearing this, Aqua eye’s darkened, feeling as if someone could be stolen from her.
Darkness continued, “The other thing worthy of note is that her shop’s business was in horrible decline until a few weeks ago… SETH! Are you the one responsible for her recent success!?”
Seth nodded, to which Hyoizaburoo added, “You betcha! Since that fateful day when Wiz introduced us to Seth, Seth did his magic and turned her business around. Though I admit our first meeting wasn’t the best.”
Kazuma got curious, “How was your first meeting?”
“Well…”
—
“Why didn’t you just design it to filter the air instead of pushing away all air completely?” Seth asked in the lady’s shop.
“NONSENSE! A barrier’s true purpose is protection! Not even parts of the air should be allowed to pass through! You go all in or not at all!” Hyoizaburoo argued.
“Then have you ever thought of using this thing for a different purpose, if you do, you could sell this for a lot more money?”
“Blasphemy! Why should I HMPHH!?” Hyoizaburoo’s wife, Yuiyui choked hold her husband and asked, “Excuse me, mister Seth, forgive my husband, please go on, how would you make this thing profitable.”
“Buh! honey! That’s my…”
“Listen dear, we haven’t sold a single item for five days straight, why don’t we let Seth have a go at it? Now you don’t want our lovely Komekko to suffer from hunger because of your pride, right?” Yuiyui whispered grimly.
“Uh.. uh… Fine! Seth, show me how you made my finest creation even better! But you cannot modify or change anything on my prized creation.”
“Challenge accepted,” Seth replied with a smile.
Chapter 19: Wiz's Shop
Chapter Text
“He etched a delay timer and homing function on my barrier stick! So now you could throw the thing to someone else and it will fly to them! The way his eyes shone with focus when he etched those functions proved that Seth is a true master with a passion!” Hyoizaburoo spoke with tears.
“Dad, I know you deep enough to know that that is not enough to convince you…”
“Ahh… cat’s out of the bag? Well… the true reason is, that I, Hyoizaburoo, the finest magic item craftsman in the revered Crimson Demon Village! Must admit that Seth’s enchantment didn’t disappoint!”
“'My original plan was for the stick to create an indomitable dome of defense when slammed to the ground. You can imagine it! As you kneel in a cool pose, a wall of fortitude protects you from the enemy onslaught. Seth’s iteration, while less flashy, has its charms.”
He struck a pose, “Imagine! A crook has just stolen your pouch. Instead of chasing him, you casually tossed the stick and turned away cooly. The stick will fly towards that crook like a winged phoenix! The moment it arrived, BAM!!! Struck the man down and trapping him inside the barrier! A bit boring for my taste, but it has such a cool-guy rouge feel that I had to approve it!” Hyoizaburoo Gave a thumbs up.
”The tool’s removal of air became an advantage because it suffocates them.” Yuiyui added, “A fat noble passing by found it useful and bought it instantly. He might seem suspicious but money is still money. With this proof we allowed Seth to modify the other items we originally had for sale. Thanks to his tinkering, our items were being sold like hotcakes! Finally, we could repair the house, give Komekko proper clothing, and most importantly, have meat for lunch AND dinner!” Yuiyui spoke as a drop of tear trickled down her cheek.
“MASTER SETH!!!” Megumin Shouted with a turbulent mix of emotions on her face.
“For… bringing my family out of poverty… The great arch-wizard of explosion… thank thee from the deepest chasm of her heart!” Megumin face was complex, filled with shock, determination, and most importantly gratitude.
“It wasn’t much, I also like to mingle with your dad’s ‘fascinating tools’ They may be odd and questionable, but they have a heart in them.”
“Even with such indulgent and haphazard reasons, I must still repay you!” Megumin answered resolutely.
“Then just do what I asked, learn other spells, and help Kazuma on his journey”
A flash of reluctance crossed her face but she still answered with vigor, “I Definitely will!”
“Now then, let's go to the shop.”
—
Location: Wiz’s Shop
“Here we are.” Seth proclaimed as he pointed towards a decently crowded shop.
Seth smiled, “Looks like it’s going well.”
“So this is the place…” Aqua remarked.
“Meoww!” A cute black cat with wings suddenly jumped into Seth’s arm and snuggled in. Seth. Seth responded by giving it the best head pats and rubs it ever had.
“Aw! Can I pet it? OWW!??” Aqua tried to pat its head but the cat instantly bit her hand. Chris (Eris) from the side somehow felt disgusted but she ignored it.
“Chom*osuke! You were here all this time?” Megumin questioned.
“Meow!?” Chom*osuke the black cat jumped towards Megumin, giving her a few loving head butts at her.
“So she’s yours Megumin?”
“Yes, I remembered I left Chom*osuke to a person named Yunyun, but to be here...”
“I see.”
“What do you mean?’
“You’ll see.” Seth arrived at the door. when he almost opened the door, he asked.
“I almost forgot! Aqua, Chris, when you meet Wiz, promise me not to react violently, she may not look like it, but she is a good person deep down.“
“Why would we?” Chris asked.
“You’ll know.” Seth opened the shop’s door.
“Master Seth! Mr. Hyoizaburo! Mrs. Yuiyui! It’s been a while,” a sweet girl with black hair and red eyes arranged the trinkets on the shop’s shelves.
“Yunyun!?” Megumin exclaimed.
“MEGUMIN!!!” She almost tossed the trinkets out of shock, luckily she composed herself quickly before that could happen.
Yunyun with an awkward smile greeted Her friend whom she hadn’t met for a while. “Eh… surprise?”
“Yunyun, I deserve an explanation,” Megumin demanded as she appeared next to her. “I heard you went back to our village with Chom*osuke, yet here you are...”
Beads of sweat trickled on Yunyun’s face as she had nowhere to hide, "Um, Megumin, I... Forgive me for not telling you this sooner. I didn't mean to keep it from you. It's just... I didn't want you to think differently of me. I know we've always been rivals but I didn't want this to come between us. Working at Wiz's shop, it... It just happened, and I didn't know how to bring it up without making things awkward between us."
Megumin pulled both of them into a corner, away from Seth and the others. She whispered into her ears, “Can you tell me now?”
In a borderline nervous breakdown, Yunyun whispered it out, “You see! I was snooping around Wiz’s shop because of the sudden surge in popularity and the items it sold. It’s DEFINITELY not because there’s a rumor that one of your party members came there sometimes! In the end, Wiz caught my snooping, but Instead of getting into trouble, Wiz requested if I wanted to work at her shop! Which then I accept. Days went by and I finally met the rumored man, Seth! Well actually, it was Wiz who introduced me to him. A few chit-chats later he decided to help me out on my path of magic. WAH! SORRY IF THIS COULD HURT OUR RIVALRY! He is your master after all! I tried to refuse at first but he insisted, he said it’s a clairvoyance thing… Believe me Megumin! I have no bad intentions! That’s how it happened!” After whispering all that, she turned her face away, not daring to look Megumin in the eye.
Megumin finally stepped away from Yunyun before saying, “Yunyun, listen.”
“First of all, it kinda hurts to know that you hid something like this from me. You could have visited and told me this great news. Yet for at least a week, you hid yourself from me.”
“It’s not like that! It’s just that my previous statement about going back to our village would become a big fat lie! I don’t want you to think…”
“WHY SHOULD YOU APOLOGIZE FOR SUCH THINGS” Megumin harrumphed with glowing red eyes, Yunyun on the receiving end was confuddled.
“We are rivals remember!? you are training under a great wizarding master, Why be ashamed of such manners, for this arch-wizard has also accepted words of wisdom from the said master too.”
“Don’t you find it odd that…”
“You mean that we both received teachings from the same master. I don’t condone or hate it.” Megumin declared, ignoring the fact that the said master was still in front of them, Watching AND listening to all of this.
“Huh?”
“I think he hasn’t told you, but Master Seth planned to leave this town.”
“WHAT!? Master Seth!” Yunyun turned towards Seth, to which Seth nodded.
“He told me a few hours ago, I think he wants to tell you about this after he finished his business with Wiz.” Megumin pointed out. “Anyway don’t worry, he has ways to contact us, so his continued tutelage is guaranteed. Now if we work together and play our cards well, we could get more from him.”
Megumin handed Yunyun a book that Seth had personally written for Megumin, filled with information about spells that can work with the advanced spell explosion.
Yunyun skimmed the book but slowed down with the flip of each page. The more pages she turned, the more focused and studious she acted. After closing the book she stammered, “Don’t tell me…”
“Yes, Master Seth is truly that great. Moreover, he has also mastered the advanced spell explosion. Thanks to him, I decided to explore other spells, not just explosion.”
“IMPOSSIBLE!!!” Yunyun immediately slammed her back to the racks behind her, shaking and in disbelief, just a bit more and her face became comic-like.
“Hey! Do you find it too unbelievable!? Well, you can thank Master Seth for that, he has successfully convinced me anyway.”
Megumin opened a page in the book and read it out, “Seth’s amazing… this page said that enclosing an explosion, like covering all its sides with a barrier or earth magic walls, could increase its destructive forces. The simplified explanation is that you can treat an explosion like a temper tantrum toddler. Stop or slight it a bit and it will cry louder. Plus the flying debris can act as dangerous projectiles and such. I don’t know if it truly works but I can’t exactly refute it at all. Because of this book, I wanted to cast barrier or earth magic just to find out if it was true. So now I propose we work together to maximize Seth’s tutoring. I may be a devout explosion arch-wizard but the thing this book spoken of is too intriguing to not delve into.”
From this, the girls ended up murmuring to each other while reading the book as if in secret. Or this would have been the reality if it wasn’t for another person.
“Enjoying the book?” A male voice was heard.
“Seth!” both exclaimed at the same time.
“Sorry to disturb your moment but where’s Wiz?”
“She’s in the back, restocking and checking something.”
“Ahh, she must be handling my order.”
“What order?”
“It’s for fixing your body.” Seth pointed to Megumin
Megumin first looked confused before gasping, “DON’T TELL ME!”
“Yep, it’s that thing. It will be used as your reward when you learn spells other than explosions.”
“Before I forgot,” he quickly called Megumin’s father, “ Hyoizaburoo, did you get the Potions I requested previously?”
“Sure do!” Hyoizaburoo exclaimed, he pulled out a chest.
Seth immediately opened the chest and laid out the myriad of potions inside it. He inspected them with magic but frowned at what he found.
“Hyoizaburoo, tell me honestly, were you the one who concocted these?" Seth asked.
“Oh, what do you think, do you like it?” Hyoizaburoo nodded.
“You know this is to help your daughter’s body, so her body has a higher chance to become taller and more ‘mature’ right?”
“Yes, so I upgraded these potions and made them better.”
“Sigh… look at this muscle potion. You made it so that instead of slowly enhancing and repairing muscles over time, you made it quicker by forcing the muscles to contract and relax on their own, basically simulating a workout to expedite the magic-based process.”
“Yes, I reduced the time so you get results in a few nights instead of weeks, that’s a huge upgrade. Plus I believe my daughter should earn those muscles.”
“This will cause every muscle Megumin has to twist beyond its limit for those entire nights, causing agonizing pain.” Seth took a drop of the potion onto his tongue.
He lifted his calves, and shortly after they spasmed and contracted intensely, in rhythm with a person's heartbeat. His claves now resemble a tightly bound knot of rope
Megumin seeing this stepped back in fear, “I don’t think I could survive that.”
Seth then presented a pink one, “And this beautifying potion, instead of just beautifying, also induces the drinker a lust-filled heat.” Then he revealed a brown one, “This nutrition potion instead of providing enough sustenance for days with one gulp, also immediately adds two hundred pounds of fat to the drinker.” With each description, Seth illustrated the horrible and weird side effects Hyoizaburoo’s potion could cause on Megumin. With each potion, Megumin became more terrified, and the others became more worried.
Hyoizaburoo receiving all this asked, “Seth it can’t be that bad right? Their effects are just stronger than ever before!”
“Yes, honestly if we use these items now, the results will be even better than what I planned previously, but I think Megumin would be traumatized or physically broken afterward.”
Yet even with all these things against him, he has a solution, “I know a way out of it, a sleeping potion, also known as a knockout potion, the one that can make someone unconscious for days.”
“Isn’t that just a tranquilizer?”
“Yes it is,” Seth confirmed and everyone frowned.
“Can’t you just do your alchemy mixing thing to undo those side effects?”
“I would love to, but this selection of potions has been planned to be mixed into a single super potion with the ingredients I have requested from our lovely shop owner Wiz, they’re gonna be the mixing aid and catalyst for all of these potions. Changing the potions now could cause unintended consequences, I'm just impressed that your dad’s handmade potions don’t cause disharmony with the previous mixing I planned, but just added these weird side effects.” Seth spoke.
In the end, Seth ordered Megumin’s parents to buy the tranquilizer from the market.
“Don’t forget to buy the most potent ones, the more unconscious she is, the better!” Seth ordered.
Hyoizaburoo and Yuiyui obliged and they went outside with Komekko to start their search.
“Now that’s settled, I will go to the back to check on Wiz.” Seth declared.
A door from the back of the shop opened, Wiz called out. “Seth, you’re finally here! The ingredients you wanted have arrived.”
*STAB!*
Chapter 20: Tying Loose Ends
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
*Creak…* “What are you doing, Eris…” Seth's voice cut through with eerie calmness.
“I could ask you the same, Seth.” Chris (Eris) retorted, her voice icy with determination.
Wiz fell onto her backside in horror as a dagger grazed her stomach. But before it could inflict more harm, Seth’s hand intercepted the blade with a vice-like grip.
The customers, stunned by the sudden attack, scrambled to the corner of the shop. Kazuma and the group just stared in disbelief at the lightning-fast assault.
Silence descended as Chris (Eris) struggled against Seth’s gauntlet-clad hands. With the tension thick and palpable, Seth’s eyes glowed as he spoke, “Let me introduce you… this lovely lady here is Wiz..”
“Seth, Do you know who she is.” Chris's (Eris) eyes glowed with killing intent.
“She is the sweet owner of this lovely shop, a bit bad at business but you’ll love her company.”
“Don’t joke with me, do you know what she is.” Chris (Eris) questioned with an expression as dark as ink.
Seth’s face became a tad colder, “She is an undead lich, but she was just an innocent woman who went through a series of unfortunate circ*mstances. She is still a good person at heart.”
Without hesitation, Chris (Eris) drew another dagger with lightning speed and aimed it at Wiz’s vulnerable neck, the blade gleamed ominously as it descended.
*CLANK!* Seth’s gauntlet-covered hand parried the blade with a resounding clash, the sound reverberated across the room like a thunderclap.
Chris (Eris) didn’t relent, swiftly aiming her rebounded dagger at Seth’s hand that gripped her blade.
Seth reacted and released his hold, Allowing Chris (Eris) to distance herself and crouch into a predatory stance. Clad in sturdy gauntlets, Seth mirrored her with a horse stance of his own.
The tension peaked as they dashed towards each other in a deadly dance of fists and daggers.
Shock waves and air pressure from their clash rattled the whole shop, stopping anyone from moving as the trinkets in the shop fell to the ground, adding to the chaos.
The onlookers remained rooted in place, Aqua looking at the standstill spoke her piece, “Seth! How could you stand her!? Any **** would have this icky feeling towards her kind!”
“I do feel the undead aura, but I don’t disgust it,” Seth replied as he greeted a few dagger slashes with his metal-plated fists.
“If you don’t feel disgust at her, that means…”
Abandoning her futile melee with Seth, Chris (Eris) leaped back with feline grace, swapping away her old daggers for a fresh pair of enchanted ones. Her eyes burned with intensity as she locked her gaze on Wiz, who had taken refuge behind Seth. Her voice dripped with venom as she demanded, “ Please, Seth, move out of the way.”
“I refuse.” Seth's voice rang out with unwavering determination. He prepared himself for the impending clash, never taking his eyes off her.
“So be it.” Chris (Eris) launched herself at Wiz with her daggers poised straight at her heart.
Before she could reach her target, Seth tackled her in a blur of motion, pinning her to the ground with the force of a raging boulder. They crashed to the floor as their impact sent shockwaves rippling through the room.
“AQUA!!!” Chris (Eris) screamed like a banshee, her voice desperate amidst the chaos.
“Hie! Yes!?” Aqua’s eyes were wide with alarm.
“CAST TURN UNDEAD!”
“Ah! Of course!” Her voice trembled in urgency as she raised her palm towards Wiz, a white light exploded from her palm, engulfing Wiz in its blinding embrace.
Wiz's anguished cries filled the air as she writhed in agony under the onslaught of holy power. Seth quick to react shifted his focus, his eyes narrowed with grim determination as he countered the divine assault with a dark incantation of his own.
“Raise Undead!” A sinister purple light emerged from the ground, pushing back against the blinding radiance and granting Wiz a momentary reprieve.
Seizing the opportunity, Chris (Eris) struggled with all her strength, rolling and twisting beneath Seth in a desperate bid for freedom. The sheer force of her momentum caught Seth off guard, sending him sprawling to the ground as she broke free from his grasp with a triumphant snarl.
With the tables turned, Chris (Eris) wasted no time. She launched toward Wiz in a blitzing manner.
Desperate, Wiz summoned a powerful magic barrier, one strong enough to repel the mightiest humans.
Sadly Chris (Eris) was more than just human. With a single strike, she stretched the barrier beyond its limit, causing it to tear.
Not one to take chances. Chris (Eris) gathered her power onto her dagger, coating the blade until it glowed dangerously white. With the strength capable of flattening multiple houses, she struck decisively at Wiz’s barrier, shattering it like glass. barely any momentum was lost as she aimed straight for her eyes.
*PRANG!!!* In a blink, Seth appeared between them, using both of his gauntlets, he blocked the devastating attack.
*CRASH!!!* Shockwaves tore through the shop, sending dust flying and ripping a huge hole in the wall. Seth and Wiz were blasted outside. Seth took the brunt, his hands and back bloodied, while Wiz lay a distance away from him, unconscious but also barely harmed.
In a split-second decision, Seth had blocked the blow for Wiz, he positioned himself, especially his gauntlets, to absorb the brunt of the impact due to the kinetic force from her strike, they were flown through the air separated.
Pieces of Seth’s shattered gauntlet scattered across the street as panicked passersby screamed and fled from the chaos.
Chris (Eris) emerged from the hole and the dagger she used to strike shattered to dust due to the strain of bearing her godly strength.
Looking ever emotionless and unhindered, she approached the battered duo. Seth lifted himself, yet Chris (Eris) was already in front of the shop owner, poised to deliver the final blow.
Chris (Eris) stood resolute, brandishing her other intact enchanted dagger over Wiz. With a flash of white light illuminating her blade, the dagger was transformed into a sword of holy might.
The bloodied Seth noticing Wiz’s impending doom thought in his mind, She’s coated her blade with divine power! It will penetrate and vaporize anything in its path! My body and anything my power creates can’t stop its lethal blow! Think, Seth, think!
How could I forget!? He remembered his prophetic eyes. A red glow swirled in his eyes as his clairvoyance activated. But time was running out. Chris (Eris) took a final breath and initiated the plunge.
At the last moment, An answer appeared from it. With all of his strength, he leaped and struck the blade with his left fist.
Cink! A dagger blade embedded itself in the tavern’s wall. Chris's (Eris) momentous strike was blocked. The ring on Seth's hand had scattered the dagger’s godly energy, snapping its blade without a single scratch.
The ring glowed brightly in reaction to the strike, and *BHWOOMP!!!* two figures were flung into the air – Chris (Eris), who slammed into a wall, and Seth, who, while protecting Wiz, skidded across the street.
Kazuma, Darkness, Megumin, and the others stood frozen, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
Only Aqua’s urgent voice broke the silence. 'WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING? GET YOUR LAZY BUTTS HERE AND HELP ME SAVE SETH!' They hurried to aid their fallen comrade, minds reeling from the unexpected turn of events.
—
“SETH!!!” Wiz shouted in despair.
“Huh! This is my room!” She looked around to find herself comfortably tucked in her bed.
Looking at herself, Wiz found out she now wore a new set of clothes she didn’t wear before the fight.
“What happened, was it a dream?” She got off her bed only to stumble, just like a toddler.
This feeling, mana deficiency, and weakness from almost being exorcised? That means the fight was real. That means!
“SETH!” She dashed out of her room.
“Wiz! You’re awake! Are you really alright? Sir Seth did say you’re fine, but still… If you need some medicine I could get them for you.” Yunyun exclaimed in joy while she was serving tea to Hyoizaburoo, Yuiyui, darkness, Kazuma, and Seth around a decently sized table.
She looked around and realized that the smashed wall from the fight was still there. Aqua was over there trying to fix it. Megumin on the other corner was playing with Komekko, her sister.
“Wiz! You’re just in time, Darkness has just inspected our product and decided she wanted to make a deal with us. We were going to discuss it when you woke up just in time” Seth replied. With this chance, Seth beckoned her into her seat.
“Um… excuse me, but didn’t we just get attacked before? If I remember correctly, it was a female rogue right?” Wiz asked with hints of fear.
“you were,” Hyoizaburoo added. “The perpetrator is over there.” he pointed. Wiz turned toward the place and found Chris (Eris) completely unconscious on the sofa.
“EEEK!!! Please No!” She immediately cried as she fell from her seat, but before she could fall, Seth picked her up. Kazuma who was next to him got jealous because he got a chance to act gentlemanly to a hot woman.
“Don’t worry, she’s not waking up soon. Plus, I also sealed her.” As if responding to Seth’s comment, a magic seal glowed on her chest, with strings of magic enveloping her.
Wiz who was in his embrace blushed, to which Seth nicely put her back in her seat.
With this chance, Wiz inquired how the chaotic situation previously became this casual. Kazuma and the others explained that Seth had cast a mass calming spell to defuse the mass and situation.
Darkness guessed the reason Chris (Eris) attacked was because she is a devout believer in the Eris order. The Eris orders demanded beings such as the undead must be punished no matter what.
Connecting the dots, Wiz asked, “Aren’t you afraid that I’m a lich?”
Kazuma replied, “You don’t look bony, actually you look very hot, so Lich or not I don’t care OUCH!” Seth swatted Kazuma to remind him of his manners.
Hyoizaburoo answered, “Honestly, when I got back here it was shocking to know you’re a lich. But after getting hit by Seth’s calming spell, I realized, the fact that we are doing business with a Lich IS VERY EPIC! Think about it, One of my buyers of magic items is a powerful city-ending lich! I could brag about this to all those in the village!”
If he knew that Seth’s a God, he‘s gonna be hysteric. Kazuma added in his mind.
Yuiyui added, “The other reason is you still sold our magic items way before Seth came into the picture, we have known you for a long time and you never betrayed our trust. From this we knew even if you are a lich, you are a very good person at heart.”
Finally, Darkness added her piece, “I have heard of you, never in my wildest dream that the rumored ice witch is an undead lich. The fact that I have never heard of any evil deeds from you and the testimonies from these three fine people have proven me enough of your trustworthiness.” She pointed to Seth, Hyoizaburoo, and Yuiyui.
Wiz hearing all this compliment released a smile of relief, knowing that while she is not human anymore, she does not need to worry about being treated as a threat by them.
Suddenly a doorbell rang throughout the shop, signaling a customer had just entered. The customer was shocked at the hole and asked Aqua if the store was still open.
“A customer! Yunyun, please handle him,” Seth asked nicely.
“Ah! Eh…” Yunyun flustered with hesitation.
Wiz gave her support, “Don’t be nervous Yunyun. You’ve been working as my amazing employee for a week. Since we will have this important business talk, only you could do it since only you know the ins and outs of my shop.”
“Ah… Alright! I’ll do my best.” Yunyun finally complied and left to tend to the customer. Those on the table noticed her happiness from being praised and relied on.
—
It has been an hour since they started their business talk. Yunyun has tended and successfully sold a few not-defective products (courtesy of Seth’s fixing) to a few customers. On the side, she saw the shop’s partly repaired hole while Megumin helped Komekko take a nap on the shop’s cozy couch.
“The business talk is over, we snagged another business venture and… I noticed you wanted to say something?” Seth spoke matter of factly.
Yunyun spoke of wanting to learn more from him with Megumin, which Seth casually accepted. Then Yunyun continued by asking the reason why he planned to leave and more.
After answering all that Seth announced, “I’m gonna start concocting Megumin’s super potion, don’t bother me.” he carried two chests and walked back to his cabin where his cauldron and chemistry set were.
Megumin couldn't help but be filled with doubt about the super body potion. She thought, could I even survive that mix? AGHH!!! It’s your fault, DAD! But I still have faith in Seth’s judgment and skills!
—
A day has passed and everyone from the shop yesterday has gathered in front of Seth’s cabin.
Kazuma and Wiz were chilling on the side watching Megumin levitate a piece of rock with her magic.
Yunyun was coaching her and Komekko was playfully chasing the rock. Megumin’s mom and dad, who were watching her from afar, teared up seeing their little girl cast a normal spell other than explosion.
Darkness was in her crusader armor, with her usual jovial smile on her face, She then remembered something and asked, “Now that I think about it, where is Chris?”
“Don’t worry she is still resting at her place.” Seth reminded.
Megumin suddenly shouted, “I just realized something important, if you’re gone, how will you make sure Dad’s stuff would not scam the customers away.” They could hear an angry ‘HEY!’ from the distance.
“The same way I will teach you magic, by Kazuma. That’s why I pulled him into the business talk from yesterday, he will replace me as the product checker, if he can’t do it, he could just call me for help. If that’s not enough, I have already taught your mother the trick.”
“Huhuhu don’t worry Seth, I'll make sure of it…” Yuiyui giggled with slanted eyes.
The only one left was Aqua, she was watching him from a distance, feeling conflicted about many things.
Seth shouted, “ Aqua, don’t cause trouble! And don’t try to exorcize Wiz!”
“YES, I KNOW! I’m not that dumb!”
“It’s because I’m worried and I’ll be gone for a while,”
Seth said his goodbyes to all of them and took a few steps back to an open field. A large teleportation circle emerged and with it, Seth twinkled out of existence.
A few final words Echoed as he faded away, “Well, then see you…”
Sparkles of mana trickled down as Aqua accepted that Seth had left. Looking at all this, she kept mum, but her face spoke it all.
—
In a mysteriously black room, a white flash struck the room, and from it emerged Seth with Eris in his embrace.
“So how was it?” A familiar voice echoed across the room.
“I have many things to report.”
Notes:
first time writing a full-blown fight scene, plus may be the end of the prologue.
Should this also be the end of the first volume or not? I'll leave it out for now since I don't think you can set volumes in AO3 and fanfiction.net.Yes, the first 20 chapters are basically a Konosuba fanfic, but after this, the crossover will expand.
Chapter 21: After Leaving that World
Chapter Text
Location: Seth’s Rock (too big to be called a rock but whatever)
In a white throne room, Seth watched the things happening in his realm through a myriad of screens.
He saw his robots maintaining many places in his realm. This would have been monotone if it weren’t for the occasional strangers coming out of portals, sometimes carrying gadgets and even caged creatures.
Looking at this he recollected how all of this transpired.
—
Time: A day after the previous chapter
“So what do you think? About my report?” Seth asked.
“Your journey was a bit more cheery than I expected. Though your report on your soul does raise concerns.” The ball spoke.
“Of course, a change in personality, clairvoyance, and now this ring. No matter how you put it, this is not normal.”
“Our check-ups say there is no problem with your physical body, but the same couldn’t be said for your mind and soul. Plus that ring, those were just our mass-produced teleportation ring, Now it changed into this enigma.”
“You don’t say,” Seth commented as he stared at his missing ring and finger. “Anyway can I see the latest report on my ring?”
A stack of paper descended on Seth’s hand, he quickly read it and said, “My guesses are right.”
The ring Seth originally received was supposed to be a boring grey metal ring with no gems on it, now it became platinum with a dark purple gem on top. The same applies to Aqua’s ring, the same gemless grey metal ring now became an elegant silver ring with a blue gem.
“Anyway, can I join in your research on this ring? You know I’m capable and I’m in a bit of a hurry to solve my ring. My feelings for her have gotten stronger.”
“I don’t think it’s that bad, love is hard to come by among us gods.”
“Yet this love is artificial, I don’t like how forced this feeling is”
“...”
“And I don’t want to dream about her 24/7.”
With an understanding sigh, the ball created a portal, “Go ahead, I’ll bring you there.”
—
Seth stared at the ring on his finger. Only one supposed solution has been found since that day. As for what it was, he received a pamphlet.
‘FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAM! ZEUS EDITION’ This was its title, bold and loud.
Gods while all-mighty and powerful, have a very well-known trait, a very low birthrate. It may seem odd to hear that since Zeus existed, well too bad, he was an outlier.
Many mythologies may have hundreds if not thousands of gods in them, but it needs to be remembered that they took thousands of years to reach that number, maybe even more. Comparing that to other races who could achieve that number in less than a hundred years shows it.
To offset such low birthrates, the gods are technically immortals and can live through eons or more. Given the chances, they could see dozens of generations of their godly offspring before kicking the bucket.
“So the other solution is to marry Aqua… They say the rings will stop influencing our minds when we do the deed. But still…” Seth read the pamphlet. It was filled with the best child benefit and childcare assistance program he had ever read.
Everything the baby ever needs will be fulfilled. While the parents, especially the mothers, will be taken care of to the point they become royalty. Seth analyzed the pamphlet.
Seth also thought. Having such a system also has its consequences, if a god ever impregnates anyone, even if that person is not a god (i.e. a human), then he has to take full responsibility and custody of his child, no questions asked. They also have enforcers so no one can run from this.
The last sentence on the pamphlet was, ‘The price for raising your child will be free! We will even pay you to have more!’ Seth felt that this pamphlet reeked of desperation, yet again he understood.
“GRAOOR!” A monstrous shark-octopus hybrid (let’s call it the shark-topus) Appeared on one of the screens, having escaped its cage and causing havoc.
Seth flicked his hand, and a hole popped under the rampaging beast, swallowing it whole. He then glanced at another screen where a hole appeared on top of a blue sea. The shark-topus fell through, splashing into the water below, clearly confused.
Watching this, he found himself reminiscing about why the creature was here in the first place.
—
Time: Three days after the previous chapter
“So let me guess this straight, they finally approved my plan to turn my realm into a multiversal destination?” Seth inquired inquisitively.
“They did.” The ball nodded.
“Even though I haven’t recruited any employees.”
The ball nodded, “We've signed collaborative endeavors with other worlds and pantheons. We will approve of your proposal as long as we can use your realm as our collaborative hub with those worlds.”
Seth's galaxy eyes glowed with interest, ”go on.”
“You can make a variety of facilities of the highest degrees, from conservation centers, training dojo, laboratories, hospitals, and more. We intend to use your facilities to fulfill those collaborative partnerships. Suppose you allow us to use them. You’ll get to outsource employees from them, both intern newbies and veteran professionals.”
Seth instantly caught on, “It’s a win-win situation. We will have a dependable workforce, less troublesome management, and a reason for people to visit my realm. Of course, all so I could do ‘business’ and provide service with them.” Seth spoke with a sly grin, knowing the ball shared his sentiment.
—
The last question he asked at the end was “Why did it take you guys so long to approve this obvious move?”
The answer he got was ‘bureaucracy’.
Looking back, Seth chuckled at such an answer, “Some things never change.”
With that, He returned to watch the shark-topus wonder in the very clean yet empty sea. He found it quite joyful to watch the beast’s bewildered expression as it explored its new home.
He was happy to accept this collaboration, a multiversal powerhouse of a civilization his organization collaborated with wanted a place to store and research their collection of creatures. Since Seth has an always modifiable realm that could always adjust to the creature’s needs and habitats, they instantly agree to it. Seth and the organization even got permission to use these creatures for profit, of course with the clause they can’t harm and stress them out.
I have a zoo now and I could use this to attract visitors. One of Seth’s initial attractions/destinations is finally taking shape, and with this, he is getting closer to opening his rock/realm.
Wonder why he opened his realm?
First things first, Seth’s realm has evolved from a rock to a city with every possible cool thing imaginable. At first, he was proud of his creation, but later on, he realized a problem.
This place’s freaking empty! With no one else other than him in this realm, his mighty city is no different than a life-sized city-sized display. With no one frolicking around, he felt alone and bored. This was why he requested his rock’s opening for the public, to liven it up.
for some reason, his divinity also urged him to do this. Not out of boredom, but to earn faith through fame or notoriety. Luckily as long as an individual knows and recognizes you as a god, you will earn that faith, even if it’s a minuscule amount.
The quantity route it is. Seth reaffirmed his path. He had no concrete reason to turn his realm into a multiversal hub, but deep down he found it very fun and intriguing.
*knock-knock* A knocking sound was heard.
“May I come in, sir?” A child-like voice was heard.
Seth waved his hand, “Come in.”
A tiny fairy made out of clouds brought a stack of papers, “Your list has arrived, sir.” It cutely replied.
Seth politely accepted the papers and checked, it was a list.
Seth remembered why it brought him this. It must be the list of isekai applicants the ball mentioned before. Previously, the ball had explained their plan for his internship in the isekai department. But due to being stuck in that world with Aqua for a month, their plan had been derailed.
Originally, Seth was supposed to isekai people for a few weeks, but he missed all of it. The organization initially considered skipping his internship and moving straight to the next event. However, the prophets and oracles dictated that Seth must isekai a few before they proceeded.
This is why the list was delivered—to allow him to use his clairvoyance and choose quickly.
His star-spangled eyes turned void dark, he focused his vision on his list of papers. His clairvoyance worked, but it pointed at 60% of those on the list.
Not enough, how to get it stronger…? Suddenly, he remembered something from when he first started. With his pitch-black clairvoyance eyes still on, a surge of power arose.
*WHOOSH!* Air pressure burst across the room. A pulse was released as his whole body glowed.
“Eep!” squeaked the poor fairy as it was almost flung across the room.
Metallic white armor manifested, equipping itself onto him. Pauldrons and gauntlets appeared over his body, specks of stars decorated his trousers, and finally, a white-grayish starry cape adorned him. This was a form Seth had achieved when the ball triggered his divinity (chapter 2).
I never had any reason to use this when I was stuck in that world. It’s been a while. He thought.
“I think this transformed form deserves a name, I’ll just name it ‘god mode’ for now,” he spoke to himself.
He looked at the list again and was relieved that it worked. His clairvoyance became more accurate, but it only reduced the number of applicants from 60% to 30%, which was still too many.
“Eek! Sir! Sir!” a cute screech was heard. Causing Seth to snap out of his train of thought.
“Ah! Forgive this self, little one, is there something wrong.” he turned his face towards the fairy.
The fairy bawled in tears, it was curling itself into a ball as it received his direct gaze, “Sir Seth! Please don’t look at me! Your face! Your eyes!”
Hearing such claims, Seth conjured a mirror to inspect himself, what he saw made him gasp.
His eyes were replaced with something he could describe as swatches of the grotesque flesh itself. As if his eyes were an entity of their own, tentacles of darkness spread out from his eye socket and invaded his skin and face as if an eldritch infestation was happening to him.
No wonder the timid fairy almost wets its pants. Insidious energy was leaking from it, giving off the ‘void stares back at you’ kind of feeling.
This must have been what the fairy felt. He felt bad for the fairy.
He brought his hand near his empty eyes and one of the tentacles latched to his finger. With it, a piece of information entered his mind.
“I see, I’ve only gone halfway in my transformation. The partial transformation reacted horribly with my activated clairvoyance, causing this appearance. Then could I go further?” Seth took a deep breath and searched for something deeper within himself.
The hunkering fairy asked, “Excuse me sir but could I–” Too late, the room shook again as Seth pushed his transformation further.
Violent, godly energy lashed out, filling the room with an overwhelming force. The fairy covered its eyes in fear, weeping and crying out in its mind, "Mama!", it curled and prayed for the ordeal to end.
A dozen seconds later the room calmed down, and with this newfound calmness, the fairy dared to peek. Whoa… It thought. its supposed boss look has changed again.
The fairy could only describe Seth's current look as the embodiment of cold space in human form. His skin had transformed into a pitch-black void filled with countless specks of stars, and even his hair had receded into the void itself.
The human features that remained were the anthropomorphic body shape and the two gigantic swirling galaxies that should be his eyes. The trousers, armor, and cape also still existed as reminders of his humanoid form.
“Forgive this self for subjecting your mind to such a harrowing experience; compensation would not be granted, but the tasks related to the applicant’s list have been fulfilled.” Seth declared, extending his hand, an indiscernible hand-shaped cosmos clad in armor.
As the fairy stood before Seth, it felt something it never felt before–existential dread. Seth didn’t appear menacing, but every inch of his body exuded the weight of reality itself.
To the fairy, Seth appeared as the cosmos in human form. Being in his presence felt like facing the vastness of the universe—not a direct threat, but it caused the fairy to realize its own emptiness and insignificance.
“The way to leave this place has been opened right by your side,” Seth spoke, a small portal opened next to the fairy.
The fairy, holding the list, exited absentmindedly.
Seth in his mighty form went back to sit on his throne, “To think this fancy way of talking came back.” He contemplated.
“For this form that shows the essence of my previous omnipotent self, I currently don't have the moniker it deserves, maybe the previous ‘god mode’ will be relegated to this form, while the partial transformation I used before, the moniker ‘regal mode’ could be considered,” Seth mused, but inside he also found his speech overly wordy.
