Out of the castle into the world

[blueayes]

[][
Guild Girl laid her head on the counter, things had been interesting and from the looks of it, they were going to be interesting for a while.

Her boss had called everyone for an emergency meeting.

A messenger had arrived last night and had brought him n order from the capital, old plans had been dug up and were now being put to use.

Unfortunately, the guild and by extension, everyone that worked in it would be made responsible for those plans if they failed.

Because so many villages were recovered, the capital believed that the moment those towns were successfully running again, then it was time to expand deeper into the frontier.

Unfortunately for the capital, a successful village only meant one that didn't die after a weak, not one that had survived for more than a year.

They were doing this to both force the knights into obedience, by distracting them with constant monster attacks that they would be forced to deal with.

It didn't make sense until a person realized that the capital planned on forcing the knights to be on constant guard of the border.

Knowing them they would use the guild to force the knights to give pointless reports of what was going on until doing so became so common that it was natural for the knight to do so.

Even if the knights rebelled and stopped reporting back, the people in the frontier would be so dependent on them, that any rebellion would be instantly crushed by a combination of constant monster attacks, that either came from a village being attacked or monsters that the knights ran into.

Guild Girl took a deep breath, for the first time in a long time the guild was opening late, but it had to the meeting took that long after all.

Her boss talked to them about what they should do in case something needed the knight's intervention and how to separate those events with things that needed the attention of the entire guild.

Adventurers are nothing more than mercenaries and the knights are knights, so they both have to be dealt with in different ways.

For example, the knights would be called upon if an invasion of the town was about to happen, but the guild would be the one to act if a village was under attack.

In the frontier the differences between a village and a town were so small that they didn't matter, so the way the guild would handle it would be in a different way.

The knight would be called if either a truly strong monster was found or if an entire army was approaching, other than that then there was no point in calling them for help.

Guild Girl too in the smell of hot coffee and let out another breath.

It had only been a month, but things had already changed so much, villagers use to only travel from town to town or village to village when they had to as the risk was too high.

Now, however, they were using the newly created roads to travel from place to place, unsurprisingly the villagers were only using the roads they knew that the adventurers and knights were seen using.

It wasn't that she didn't like the changes, it was that things were changing too quickly, but why wouldn't they.

Guild Girl knew that just by having the knights nearby meant that if anything major happened then the people in the frontier had somewhere to run to if they needed help.

That alone was a major deterrent for any bandits that might attack, and when word reached the knights that something was out there that was too dangerous, then the knights would have no choice but to move and deal with it.

Guild Girl could feel herself unwillingly smiling, but she didn't care, she let her face show her relief.

She had heard about so many villages dying and if this was what it took for them to stop vanishing then she couldn't help but feel relieved.

he sat up straight and watched as one of her coworkers opened the door and all of the adventurers poured in, some complained about the guild being closed, most didn't care.

Many went to go and look for work while others just wanted something to eat.

Guild Girl watched as the youngest of the adventurers searched for low-level missions, and she smiled as they soon found what they were looking for.

The gild didn't give all of its missions to the knights, after all, the knights just asked for the jobs no one wanted to do, so that was exactly what they had given them

All of the low-level missions that remained were the ones, adventurers that were just starting did.

Guild Girl smiled as a man approached her coworker and handed her the corps of an Iron Snake, the man smiled as he received his payment.

As the man left a group of adventurers bought their kills and cheered when they received their reward, she was used to seeing this every day, soon it would be her turn.

The moment people started to leave they would need her to sign off on their missions so she had time to enjoy her coffee.

She soon noticed a group of knights all carrying several sacs filled with.

No, it couldn't be, those missions were meant to teach new adventurers how to handle monsters, but if what she was looking at was real, then, the guild would be in trouble financially.

"We already talked outside, but we aren't doing this again, so you should send someone to clean tose places before things get so bad again," a knight said to her coworker as he handed her the sack filled with the remains of monsters.

Guild girl watched as her coworker's hands trembled as she opened the sack.

"Look, we did this because we needed to learn what we are dealing with around these parts, so if you can pay by giving us a free meal from time to time, that's fine by us," the knight said to her coworker as her boss walked up to the counter

Guild Girl watched as her boss took the sac and from her coworker and looked inside before raising both eyebrows in surprise.

"You don't have to pay us, we understand that the amount we brought with us is a lot, and we aren't asking for free food all of the time," the knight said to her boss as every knight walked up to the counter and placed a sack on the counter.

Guild Girl could feel herself trembling as she looked at the amount that the knights had brought back with them.

She suddenly realized that the guild had become completely silent and she could see everyone looking at the knights.

"You have to understand that both the amount of what you brought with you and what you just said don't make a lot of sense," Her boss said to the Knight

"It's simple, we used this overturned to see what monsters are running around, that was our payment, and you were able to get a lot of work that needs to be done, finally finished" the knight answered her boss

"However we did risk our lives, so can we get" the knight's words suddenly became harsh

"What's going on here?" Guild Girl heard a familiar voice

Guild Girl watched as the Noble Woman from yesterday walked in accompanied by the same Knight that was dressed in black armor that had accompanied her the day before.

"You whats going on and don't skip on the details," Noblewoman asked the Priestess that was a part of Goblin Slayers party.

Gild Girl watched as the girl told everything that had happened to the Noble Woman who listened to every word the Priestess said.
[][
"So they didn't threaten anyone?" Auna asked Priestess

'No' Priestess answerd Asuna

"Thak you," Asuna said to Priestess before walking to the counter

"Is there a problem?" Asuna asked the guild employees.

"No mam, it just that the amount brought by your subordinates the man behind the counter said to her

"Did they not bring back enough?" Asuna asked the man who looked like if he was in charged

"It's not the matter of the proof man, it's the matter of the amount, we simply don't have the funds to pay for all of this" the man answered her

"Which is why we said that you don't have to pay us, just give us a free meal from time to time. It's not like we want free food all of the time" the man in front of her said to the guild employee

The man was a player, but he was someone Asuna hadn't spoken to before.

"Mind if I handle this?" Asuna asked the player who signaled to her to do so

"Please pay us as if we only killed ten creatures regardless of what it is, we will sign a document saying that this was our decision and no one forced us to make it, but we won't be taking any more low-level missions like these anymore," Asuna said to the man, who didn't say anything

'why?' the man asked her

'Because we needed to know what we are dealing with around here and now we do, we already received our payment" Asuna answered the man who just closed his eyes and began to work on the document.
][][
Guild Girl had watched everything happen in front of her and to her relief the knights weren't cruel, they could have easily demanded their pay but didn't.

Her coworkers were busy pouring out the contents of the sacs and Guild Girl could see that there was so much material that the market would be flooded for a while.

"Sorry to bother you, but is there a place I can take a bath?" Noble Woman asked her

Guild Girl nearly jumped out of her e the moment Noble Woman spoke to her.

Yesterday she had spoken to the woman as if she was just another knight, but now she knew that whoever Noble Woman was, she was someone every knight respected.

The moment her voice was heard by every knight in the guild, every last one of them stood up straight and cleared a path for her.

"We have several tubs upstairs" guild Girl answered Noble Wona, and she nearly slammed her face on the counter when she felt Noble Woman's hand on her shoulder

"Calm down, we talked yesterday and the other times I came here before, please relax," Noble Woman said to her with a soft voice

Guild Girl took a deep breath and closed her eyes before counting to te.

'This is the same person, I've spoken to more than once" she thought to herself

"yes we have several tubs upstairs," Guild Girl said to Noble Woman

"Kirito she says it's upstairs!" Noble Woman said to the Knight that was with her

'Should we prepare two tubs?" Guild girl asked Noble Woman

"Yes, but in the same room" Noble Woman answered her

Guild Girl nearly widened her eyes at Noble Woman's response and it was only her experience as a receptionist that prevented her from doing so, she watched as one of her coworkers led the pair upstairs.

"Damm love birds" she heard one of the knights say

"Lucky bastard," another knight said before walking out of the guild

"I'll have a bath too, five copers right?" A knight said to her as he placed five copers in front of her

"They're married," the knight said to her, and before guild girl could say anything the knight spoke again

"I'm saying that because I noticed you kept staring at them," the knight said to her

"Sorry, I didn't mean to" she apologized but the man just waved her apology off

"Don't worry about it, now about that bath"

"Yes, please go upstairs and one of the employee's will bring hot and cold water" Guild Girl answered the Knight

 

[blueayes]

CowGirl took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead, she wasn't anywhere near done with her chores and she had already been awake since before the sun had gone up.

She spared a moment to look at the cows grazing in the distance and she took a deep breath, for a moment she allowed herself to enjoy the silence of the world around her.

Bit by bit, she listened to the sounds of the farm animals and she pretended that they were the music of her farm.

She could hear the chickens- birds- cows- horses and even the sheep.

She opened her eyes as she heard the sound of rumbling in the distance and she noticed that none of the animals reacted to it anymore, the sound continued to get closer until a small dragon walked past her farm.

The dragon was barely larger than a warhorse, or at least that was what Goblin Slayer said to her when they had seen the beast.

On the dragon's back was the same knight that usually came by during this time to patrol the nearby area.

The first time that the man had passed by, the animals had been so terrified that they nearly escaped from the farm, Cow Girl was relieved when she saw that the man had noticed this and kept his distance from the farm.

It took some time for the animals to get used to the dragon that came by every morning, but just like her, they got used to seeing it.

Soon it would be time for her to take the first of what she hoped would be many deliveries to the knight's fortress, her uncle had warned her about the knights.

The man worried far too much, but she had to admit his words did sound true.

He warned her about the clothes she should wear, but the man stopped talking when he looked her up and down.

"You know what forget what I said," her uncle said to her as he hinted something about her figure

"Look, I know they aren't originally from this world but they're still knights, nobles from some distant land"

"I know they seem nice and all, bu you are a young attractive woman and if just one of them decides he wants to enjoy himself with you, no one can sop him' her uncle had warned her

CowGirl tightened her grip on the broomstick she held and for a moment she trembled at the thought, she had heard stories about what knights did to village girls they liked before throwing them away as used goods.

Most women and girls could go back to living their lives as the people around them pretended that nothing ever happened, while others had no choice but to work in brothels or join a nunnery.

The cool wind blew and she felt it brush on her face, the wind felt strange as if it had a purpose.

CowGirl wondered if it was announcing the change, she wondered just how much change could happen in the frontier, after all the only people that lived here were either the ones that were lucky enough to go unnoticed by monsters or the ones strong enough to fight off said monsters, there is no in-between.
][]
The sky began to darken and everyone prepared themselves for the rain, both adventurers and villagers ran to put away anything that could get wet.

Guild girl did her best to ignore the giggling coming from upstairs, Noble Woman wasn't a regular of the guild so she didn't know that everyone could hear her and her subordinate enjoying themselves.

She turned to the knights and the adventurers and to her relief she noticed that they were all ignoring the sounds coming from upstairs.

'hey I got a question for you guys" Spearman said to a group of knights as he walked up to them

The knights all turned to look at the man waiting for him to finish.

"So are you guys going to start recruiting? I'm not asking because I want to join you guys, but kids will want to you know" Spearman said to the knights

"No, not for a while, we still have a lot of things to do before we can even consider that" one of the knights answered Spearman

"Why?" Spearman asked the knight as he sounded with genuine interest

"It's too dangerous and seeing kids die, it's not something you get used to"

"One moment you say goodbye to them, the next you find out some godforsaken creature got to them" another knight answered Spearman

"Yeah I know what you mean, kids come here because it's their only option left and a lot of them don't make it," Spearman said to the Knights

"Sorry to bother you," Spearman said to the Knights

"Don't worry about it" the first knight answered him

The sound of thunder rang through the guild before the sound of rain falling on the guild's ceiling and walls filled the building and mixed itself with the voices of the people inside.

The door swung open and Guild Girl watched as several men and women she had never seen before walked in.

"Excuse me, we came to deliver the proof of our ownership of the recently recovered lands," a man said to her, and once again it was her boss that took the parchment

"Where are you keeping the animals and the settlers?" her boss asked the man

"We were all given a map of each location that was given to us, so they are all heading towards said locations at this very moment" the man answered her boss and Guild Girl could feel everyone's eyes on the man

"I see," her boss said to the man with a neutral voice

"I have confirmed that these are the p[archments proving that you are the owners, the guild hopes to have a prosperous future with you," her boss said to the man

Guild Girl watched as the group of men walked out of the guild and back into the rain outside

She knew that most if not all of the people that had come with them would be dead, not even the adventurers, the people who were experienced with the frontier, traveled when it rained.

Even if they did survive today and managed to rebuild the village, they were completely unprepared for what awaited them.

"Don't" Guild Girl heard a knight say to another as the man was trying to stand up

'They're going to die"

"I know, but if you act now, you might be setting them up for something even worse in the future"

She listened to the knight's conversation and she was saddened to know that just like the adventurers the knights had to pick their battles.

 

[blueayes]

Heathcliff rubbed his forehead the colonists had just arrived and the headaches were already starting.

He had received word from the players that were at the guild that the colonist had been stupid enough to risk going into the forest with not just people but animals too, even traveling in the open fields right now was more than dangerous.

Unfortunately for him and fortunately for the new arrivals several players that were coming back from the guild ran into the new arrivals and escorted them as far as they were willing to before going their separate ways, it's from them that he received the information that was causing his headaches.

There were a couple of people that thought that they were better than the people around them and should be treated better than everyone else.

Nobles that had lost their position in high society and now had to live out in the frontier.

The nobles and by extension their servants along with everyone that would be living with them would do the same thing as them, meaning that they would be cleaning out one of the ruins and living in it.

From what the other players had told him the frontiers maps were being redrawn, not in the sense that new land had been gained but in the sense that things that had been lost had been recovered.

That meant that more resources needed to both come and go from the frontier, so unlike before when the guild was the main thing managing the finances and population census now it would be the noble's duty to do so.

Heathcliff felt as if he had been forced to go back and sit behind a desk so that he could do paperwork all day.

The new arrivals had their guards, but they were only concerned with keeping the nobles safe, everyone else was on their own.

The sound of water pouring into the fortress echoed through the fortress and truth betold both Heathcliff and the players welcomed it, even though they now knew that there were holes in the ceiling, they also knew that there were several passages they hadn't seen when they first explored the fortress.

Right now a party made up of a mixture of both high-level and low-level players were investigating those areas of the fortress and so far there hasn't been anything dangerous.

The beast tamers are keeping a close eye on their creatures as their monsters seem to be picking up on things that for whatever reason their help screens aren't able to pick up.

Normally everyone would have already left the fortress long ago and gone off to seek their own adventures and take advantage of this new world.

Heathcliff didn't blame anyone that was already doing this in fact he was glad that those that were already doing this were able to move on, however, most if not everyone that remained inside the fortress did so for one of three reasons, the first two are more than obvious.

Yet it's the third reason that so many capable players remain to guard the pillar that they brought back.

When the countdown finally ends every player that died in the death game will be brought back to life and the pillar will vanish, a lot of people have loved ones- friends and family that died in the death game and are waiting to see them again.

Whatever happens after that didn't matter, one thing at a time was the best solution for everyone here.

The rain finally stopped and it was time to let the animals loose, whatever is out there was taking advantage of the rain to spy on them, so its time for them to see how smart it is.

 

[blueayes]

][][]
The army along with several beast tamers will be scouting the surrounding area, they wouldn't be going anywhere near the farms or villages but they would be looking for anything out of the ordinary.

Every player that was leaving the fortress is a veteran of the death game so no one will be taking any unnecessary risks, unfortunately, that won't be the case when the others come back.

This might be their last chance to come back to life and if they died, there isn't any telling how everyone will take it.

Heathcliff let out a breath and noticed that a slight mist formed in front of him, the temperature had just gone down.

"Heathcliff, turn on your chat, you're going to want to look at this" one of the members of the Army said to him and as Heathcliff activated his help screen and opened his private messages he found himself looking at the corpses of an entire heard of cattle.

"Whatever did this didn't attack them because it was hungry or was trying to make them leave its territory, it just killed them because it wanted to," the player said to him

"What about?" Heathcliff began to ask but the man cut him off

"See for yourself," the man said as he looked up and

Heathcliff could see several members of the Army cutting people down from the surrounding trees

"Whatever did dis, played with them, it didn't even spare the kids," the man said to Heathcliff

"When you find what did this, tell me," Heathcliff said to the man but he stopped talking as the man began to run after something that had caught his attention

The player's level was high so despite the distance, he was able to reach the area where the shadow that had caught his attention was.

"My guess is we're either dealing with some sort of spirit or fairy," the man said as he reached behind him and graved onto his ax before using it to cut one of the roots that were sticking out of the ground.

Had the forest been alive, in the way that the trees moved on their own, attacking the tree with the ax would have made the monster react, but it didn't, this meant that the trees themselves weren't the enemy.

The sound of several players running could be heard in the distance before the sound o their armors loudly announced that they stopped moving, the sound of the armors was soon replaced with the sound of the knights cutting a tree or digging in a random spot around them.

Heathcliff didn't like this, whatever this creature or group of creaturs was, was making the players chase after shadows and change the te field around them.

It was smart he would give it that much, unfortunately, it wasn't smart enough.

In the sky, several birds watched as the shadows buried themselves into the ground before the players managed to reach them, at first the creature's actions seemed completely random, but after a while, a pattern began to form.

Heathcliff smirked, not every player was either looking for the enemy at the moment or was inside the fortress.

He sent a message to the players that were still in town or out having fun and told them about what has been going on, he also made sure to send them the images of the infants that had been hung by the creaturs, the infants were alive but the trauma they must have experienced.

The only thing Heathcliff had to do now, was waiting.

"3-2-1," Heathcliff said as the sound of pigs screaming filled the forest.

The creatures had been caught completely off-guard the moment the other players arrived and used their momentum to stave the creatures through the back.

Those that managed to escape found themselves looking into the hungry eyes of several monsters that could travel underground.

Heathcliff watched as the player from earlier held one of the creatures and he frowned at how disgusting the creature looked.

It resembled a pig, but walked on two legs and wasn't any bigger than a six-year-old human child, but its strength didn't match its size even though the player that held the monster was a high-level player, he was still struggling to hold on to the creature.

The creature stopped moving as it looked into the man's eyes and its eyes filled with fear as the man walked up to a nearby wolf.

Heathcliff listened to the creature scream as the wolf bit into it.

"We will escort these people where they have to go, but someone else should check if any of the other groups were attacked," the player said to Heathcliff.

Heathcliff closed his eyes, no doubt the other guilds were already on the job and didn't need him to tell them what to do, either way, his mind was busy wondering where the creatures had come from.

 

[blueayes]

Unintended consequences Part 1
The tech of blood lingered in the air and to her dismay she had no choice but to endure its stench, many beings had lost their lives during the storm and their bodies were now serving as the much-needed food of their killers.

This was the way things should be, the way things have and will always be.

Her escorts guided her towards the town of what the humans called the frontier, she had first heard stories about this place back when she still looked like a child.

Elves age differently from the rest of the races of the world.

Unlike the High Elves, her people aren't blessed with fair appearance, and unlike the Dark Elves, neither the men nor the woman is a being whose body would be sought after by the humans that set eyes on them.

Regardless her people by Elven standards are nothing special, by Human standards, however, they could be said to be the best in everything, from physical appearances to intelligence and even magic.

Yet despite all of these advantages her people are now forced to flee their homes and settle in these accursed lands.

The frontier is a place where anyone should they manage to survive can live in, unfortunately, her people will have to learn to live with Humans from now on.

From the corner of her eyes, she can see the children leaping from one root or rock to another as they tried to avoid getting themselves covered in mud.

She can hear the insects crawling on the ground and the beasts moving nearby, yet no matter how capable her senses are, they aren't anything compared to the hunters and scouts that are leading the way and keeping the refugees safe.

For a brief moment, she turns her attention to the surviving elders and the women that have yet to give birth, and those that already have infants, perhaps its the nature of elves that despite everything they have lost they still have a hint of elegance, no matter how minute it may be.

Everything her people carry is what's left of both their personal belongings and heirlooms that weren't either stolen or destroyed.

She stops walking when she can no longer hear the movement of the scouts and the hunters anymore, the fact that they haven't told anyone to hide means that they just need to wait and let the danger pass.

The threat soon makes itself known and before her eyes she sees a herd of Humans walking past her location.

The humans resembled cattle, they were wet- filthy and judging by the way that they moved fearfully of what was around them.

For a moment she wondered if she should allow the lesser ones to join her people and, no, she crushed those thoughts.

In the past such things might have been valid, now, however, she was no different from any of those unfortunate souls.

So if the Humans are cattle, then perhaps her people are the sheep.

She listened to the sound of the archers tightening the strings on their bows as they prepared themselves to fire their arrows, but they couldn't, they wouldn't after all the humans in front of them weren't a threat to any of them.

"Don't" she ordered her subordinates

"They aren't as weak as they seem' one of the hunters said to her

"They look like beasts" she answered the hunter, but he didn't say anything he just kept his eyes focused n the humans

"The herd needs guard dogs," he said to her as Humans wearing armor that looked as it was worn out and aged so much that it resembled stone and yet as these humans walked past her, she felt her chest being pierced and her neck feeling the edge of the sword that would be responsible for decapitating her.

These humans knew they were being watched and had sent out a warning.

"How much longer until we reach your new village?" one of the knights asked a man

"Yes, sorry, it should be about an hour sir" one of the peasants answered the armored human

"I see, hey I have an offer for you and your people, if your willing to set your plans back an hour, the guys and I can help you and your people build your houses."

'The only thing we ask is for all of you to relax" the knight said to the peasant who looked at him with a frightened expression.

"Relax old-timer, the boys and I have our reasons for doing this, you see up ahead a clear area, you know a place where there's an empty spot in the forest"

"We're going to do something, so we figured w would kill two birds with one stone, we do what we have to do and escort you home, and as payment for waiting we will just help you build your houses," the knight said to the man who immediately agreed

She could see the fear in the eyes of the unarmored Human and how he desperately wanted to refuse, but his fear was greater than his valor and so he gave in to the knight's demands.

The humans soon stopped walking and the knights began to move ahead of the herd, curiosity got the better of her and the rest of the refugees and so they went to spy o the knights.

They soon found a large clearing and found that the knights had already dug up a hole in the ground, they used a wooden spoon to smooth out the dirt before beginning o summon multiple broken swords- spears and axes and throwing them all over the once clean forest floor.

She watched as the knights used the same dirt that they had dug out of the hole to cover almost every broken weapon and when they were done one of the knights walked towards the hole and placed a small clay figure.

Now she understood the Humans were performing a ritual of some sort.

The moment the figure was placed in the center of the hole, she felt the sensation of magic fill the air, but it was not alone divinity flowed through the forest.

She felt it from the tip of her ears, the end of her hair, all over her body, and even in her soul.

The forest had felt it as well as the various beast began to roar or shout in their way, signaling that something was about to happen.

She gasped for air as he watched several rainbow birds begin to circle in the sky, she could hear the humans begin to scream as unicorns began to circle the area, and they proclaimed this part of the forest was under divine protection.

Children laughed as multiple light fairies moved about them some many more creatures and elementals had arrived as if they were here to greet someone or something that had once left the world.

She watched as the woman that wore the forest itself as clothing walked towards the hole on the ground and stood in front of it as it began to fill itself with water.

"We were worried that you didn't exist here," one of the knights said to her, yet the man nither bowed nor kneeled to the goddess

The goddess for her part didn't seem to mind, as she simply ignore the man's words.

The sounds of movent made her turn her head and she was greeted by the sight that shouldn't have been possible, several nymphs were guiding the humans towards the clearing they only stopped when they stood at the edge and pointed at the knights.

The nymphs happily pointed at the armored humans while those they had guided there, immediately kneeled knowing their place.

"Okay then, I guess we will be on our way," the knight said to the goddess his voice giving of his disappointment

The goddess didn't move from her spot yet at the same time she seemed to stand in front of every knight, handing them a small bottle filled with glowing blue liquid.

The knights took the bottles and walked past the goddess form.

"Okay everyone that is hurt or needs to just rest you can rest here and don't worry about any injuries because she will heal them for you!" one of the knights announced.

The humans hesitate but did as they were told.

"Listen do you have anyone that can guide us to your spot," the knight asked one of the humans, who immediately nodded and escorted them away.

 

[blueayes]

[Taken from the story and will change further down]
To the North were the Black mountains an area that was covered in mountains just like their name said but what was unusual about this area was that the mountains were in fact volcanoes, most of them weren't active, but some of them were so the area is dangerous.

Regardless the area is inhabited by fire and rock creatures along with some flying creatures and things that have gained a mixture of all of the qualities to survive in this area.

TheBlack Mountains were also an area where a lot of miners go to search for rare metals that can only be found where active volcanos are and from what the other team reported there was supposed to be a school of fire magic there.

To the East were the Endless Deserts, again the name was self-explanatory but from what the other team reported the desert wasn't a dead place, from it.

There were entire cities built underneath the sands, from what the people told the other team.

One day a guy became so frustrated with walking in the desert that he said the hell with it and began to dig.

They claimed that by the time he found cool ground underneath the sand, he couldn't get out of the hole he had dug himself in, so he just kept on digging, eventually, more and more people found that hole of his and started living there.

What's interesting isn't that people live in those giant holes, it's the fact that if they ever feel like if they are running out of room they just start digging another hole.

The desert is filled with all kinds of animals that live in it, but from what the people said new monsters are showing up, so it's gotten even more dangerous.

Unfortunately, none of the people knew what monsters lived in there.

To the West are the Great Mountains there are a lot of settlements there because not only do the mountains keep a lot of the monsters away but the mountains are filled with gems, gold, and all sorts of rare materials and the ground underneath the mountains are perfect for animal life.

The school of mages is supposed to be near it, however, this isn't the main school, not by a long shot, this school was made by people that couldn't quite make magic work for them so they learned how to make magic happen by mixing all sorts of things.

For a moment Kirito thought to himself that this school was a school for Alchemist instead of mages.

Finally, South, the south was covered in a tundra unfortunately beyond that there wasn't any information.

There are other areas in this world but on a large scale of things, these are just the countries that exist - areas or kingdoms that exist.

As for the area that the Players were in, it's considered the Green, because of all of the forest and fields that exist in it, and it's also considered one of the most dangerous areas to live in.

Unlike the capital that exists in a safe region, the Green has little to no protection, monsters are all over the place and people go missing all of the time.

It's called the frontier for a reason and even though there are a lot of farms and people settling all of the time, there isn't a lot of progress in this part of the world.

 

[blueayes]

[Green; the temple of Eldath]
Eldath is the Goddess of calm- healing- water and just plain relaxation.

Her temples are located in fields- near rivers or forests where an opened path is naturally formed, it's said that anyone can meet the goddess but only her select few can hear her speak.

Regardless of who it is if a person- beast or fay seeks some time off from their everyday lives, or is suffering from injuries or sickness Eldath with welcome them with open arms and help them.

Her followers will attend to the needs of the new arrivals and help them relax.

This contradicts the Knights of the Army who the Goddess considers her most devoted followers.

Where the priests or druids speak in a calm matter, the members of the Army, are loud, speak to every person as if they were one of them, and are either patroling or fighting monsters.

At the center of her temple is a small hole in the ground where the goddess either dips her toes or dips the tips of her fingers from time to time.

It's said that the waters inside are capable of healing any injury and curing any sickness regardless of who placed it or what it may be.

Around these small holes are the broken weapons of those that left behind their lives as adventurers or knights and have turned to dedicate their lives to helping others relax.

These two things are important because it was the Army who first called Eldath into the world and are the ones responsible for both digging and forming the hole where the water first gathered.

The members of the Army were also the ones that scatters the first weapons around the goddess temple.

It's said that when the goddess first set foot on the world a great tragedy occurred to a group of settlers who the Army found after the storm.

Feeling pity for these settlers the Army performed the ritual to call upon the goddess so that she may help the settlers.

When a war goddess who was visiting one of her temples mocked the goddess because several members f the Army had begun to wield weapons and armors that contained his image, the goddess listened to her rival's words patiently.

Ten for the first time in recorded history everyone present heard the goddess speak.

he simply pointed out that wielding items dedicated to whatever god was meaningless, after all, those same men had continued to perform the same acts they always had.

[It should be noted that the fact that everyone could hear the goddess meant that she had gotten angry at the war goddess for daring to mock her in her temple, not because she claimed she had taken Eldath's worshipers ]

The goddesses arrival is what set in motion the first recorded battle for the frontier, her first and thereby holiest temple is located in the frontier.

This is because when a god or goddess first places her or his temple in a world, it needed time for its energy to take a firm grip on the world.

So just like a newborn that left unprotected many dark beings sought to taint the newly created temple.

One should note that Eldath's temple isn't unprotected as my sacred and light beings surround the area and are more than willing to help, tired or lost travelers.

They serve as the goddess's pets- protectors and company, its the area around that, that's dangerous for anyone that isnt accompanied by someone that can defend themselves.

 

[blueayes]

"We should have your houses set up in about five maybe six days," the knights said to them as he looked around the land where the new village would be set up.

'You don't have to" the man said as he tried to keep their debt to the knights from getting any higher.

"Listen, we aren't doing this because we feel pity for you and the people with you, trust me when I say this your people won't survive one night out here," the knight said to him

"What do you mean?' the man asked the knight, but the truth was he already knew that all of their food had been stolen and the animals they brought with them were gone, so the chances that they would survive now were slim at best.

"You probably haven't noticed it, but we're being watched, we have been ever since your people stopped to get some rest," the knight said to him as he looked into the forest.

'Are they dangerous?" the man asked the knight who seemed to look at something he couldn't see.

"Yeah, but they can't do anything to the people that are with her" the knight answered him and the man could easily understand that the knight was referring to the saint or perhaps the angel that was keeping the rest of the villagers safe

'So they're only a threat to us" the knight said as he kneeled and picked up a small rock

He watched as the knight s expression became cold, it was as if the man was trying to keep his emotions in check.

"Excuse me for a second" the knight said to him as he walked to the edge of the forest

'I know that you're there show yourselves, this land is under the Armies protection" he heard the knight declare, but he never raised his voice nor did he look hostile in any way.

Up until this very moment to the man the knights had all looked no different than regular men, who wore grey almost black armor that could have easily been mistaken for stone but was made out of metal.

Yet right before the man's eyes the knights seemed to grow with every passing second, they somehow looked taller and despite the top halves of their heads and faces being hidden underneath their helmets, the knights might as well have had been wearing masks.

"Elves' the man heard one of the knights say, yet to the man, it sounded as if the knight had to spit the word out of his mouth.

The man watched as a beautiful woman who wore a long brown dress, that seemed to be made of plants walked out of the forest, how had he not seen here was a mystery to the man and the rest of the villagers that were watching the woman and her guards step out of the forest.

Al of the elves had black hair and their ears were as pointy as the stories said, but it was her worldly beauty that made the man and the rest of the villagers gasp.

Yet as the man watched he noticed that none of the knights reacted to the elves' presence, yet as he kept on looking he soon found that the knights had all become hostile and were preparing themselves to fight should the need arise.

"Put your weapons down and remove any armor that you're wearing and only then will I listen to what you have to say," the knight said to the elven woman

The man watched as the woman let out a small gasp yet did as she was told, she began to remove her dress, yet the knight immediately stopped her from doing so.

"Are your clothes your only protection?" the knight asked the woman noded

"What do you want?" the knight asked the elven woman with a firm voice that left no hints to any ulterior motives.

"These are wats left of my people, our home is gone, we wish to be able to live in these lands'" the Elf Queen said to the knight

"That's not my decision to make, the forest doesn't belong to me, nor does it belong to these people, unless someone is living there then that place doesn't belong to anyone" the night answered the elf queen

".....We're still new in the area if you want permission to live anywhere the only place I know that has any authority is the guild in a town not too far from here," the knight said to the elf queen who only bowed at him

The man watched as the elf queen walked back into the forest and was quickly escorted away by her guards.

"Did you see that?" the knight said to someone the man couldn't see

"Yeah" Heathcliff answered

"Since when do elves as for permission to do anything?" the knight said as he looked into the forest

"If you think that's weird you should see what the others just found" Heathcliff answered the knight back

"What?" the knight asked as the image of the floor bosses standing in front of the fortress was sent to him

"It looks like when you guys summoned the goddess it acted as a beacon and they just showed up here."

" I mean it's not like we could stop them, they just walked into the fortress looked for an empty room, and made themselves at home" Heathcliff answered the knight.

"So anyway we're going to be helping the settlers set upshot for the next few days, so we won't be back for a while," the knight said to Heathcliff

"Don't worry e will keep the place safe, I mean we did just get a massive boost to our defenses" Heathcliff answered the Knight before both men cut communications

Unfortunately to the man he only heard the knight talking to himself and didn't hear the answers the knight receive, but he had lived long enough to know that some questions didn't need to be asked.

 

[blueayes]

[Green The Land of Aincrad ]
Will changed further down
The land of Aincrad is a mysterious place that all of the [Lost ]Knights guarding the frontier belong to.

It's unknown if Aincrad was a world, a continent, or a vast kingdom, as all information of this place comes only from the Knights and has on more than one occasion one knight's words will contradict another's.

Unlike the world Known as Earth where all of the Knights agree that they come from, Aincrad is either regarded with either dread- hate, or indifference depending on who one speaks to.

There are some scholars and mages that believe that Aincrad and Earth are one and the same, while others believe that both lands are our world but in the distant past.

The reason for the later belief that has begun to gain ground is for the following reasons that support all three beliefs.

The reasons are as follows, it's known that before the great catastrophe all araces had aces to magic and magical equipment, meaning that regardless of who the person was they could use magic and use anything endowed with it.

The knights have shown that unless it's something like casting a spell or using an item that requires a magician to use, the knights can make the items work as if they were still in mint condition.

For example normally if an adventurer discovers a magic necklace, they would need a mage to study the necklace and see what magic was cast on to it.

The knights regardless of whom it may be will automatically know what spell the necklace has and will be able to use it the moment they make contact with the necklace.

This is important because according to the stories told by the Knights Aincrad had entire cities that with a single touch a person would make lights that hardly gave any heat light up a dark space.

The land of Aincrad was said to fly in the sky and if one looked outside they could see the world tree.

Within Aincrad were various towers- dungeons- tunnels- forests rivers and mountains, which makes little sense if it was a place that hung in the sky.

Yet the Knight's access to certain artifacts that by all rights shouldn't exist lends credence to the belief that the Knights might be from our past.

One example is the Monolith of souls, it's unknown as to who or what created the monolith but what is known about it, is that the knights used it to revive everyone that died during what they call the Death Game.

[ Whatever the Death Game was, is unknown, but due to how the numbers of knights that were suddenly were walking around near the edge of the Fortress that the knights call home, it can only be theorized that it was something truly horrifying. ]

It should be noted that the Monolith of Souls is also known by another name, one kept secret to most of the world, the Great Stone of Revival.

It is unknown if the stone can bring anyone back from the dead, but judging how it wasn't destroyed after the knights used it, means that it still has more than enough power to be used again.

According to representatives of the guild that is located near the knight's fortress, the knights have several items that both equal and surpass the power of the monolith and are kept in something called the Vault.

The belief that Aincrad was a place, is both the first-hand accounts of both adventurers and the various inhabitants of the frontier that reported seeing a castle fall from the sky.

Yet if such a thing did happen the impact it would have left should have changed the immediate area, yet no traces of it have been found.

However, if the castle was created, and kept in the sky by magical means, would mean that if whatever power dispersed before it touched the ground, then no such traces of the castle would be left behind, except for the living inhabitants of the castle.

We need to investigate more about Aincra and how to gain aces to its secrets

 

[blueayes]

Guild Girl waited patiently the last couple of days had been interesting but things had calmed down now and the usual routine was back into how it always had been.

Adventurers another world for them is a bunch of troublemakers or criminals, Guild Girl remembered her senior's words, as she looked and listened to the various faces of the adventurers drinking and laughing as they usually did.

Amongst them were the ones that had either failed to complete one or several missions or had lost everyone or a single person during their quest.

This was the life of an adventurer, if you failed then you didn't have any money to pay for the things you needed to live, but if you chose something you aren't ready for, what you lose is your life.

"So what did they say?" Guild Girl heard Noble Woman ask the Black Swords Man who sat in front of her.

"Klein and the others are still exploring the tunnels that were found under the fortress and Andrew says that the Floor Bosses made their rooms bigger somehow, that they now look like the old boss rooms we fought them all in"

"The thing is they don't attack anyone that goes in there even when the door closes behind them the Floor Bosses just ignore them and go back to sleep" the Black Swordsman answered Noble Woman

"So what did the Guilds decide?" the Black Swords Man asked Noble Woman

"Since we are still settling in and things are still changing, we're going to not call anyone else for help, considering how much Eldath s arrival changed the forest near us, we're going to wait a little bit" Noble Woman answered the Black Swords Man

Guild Girl made a mental note to write down as much as she could remember from their conversation, as the capital and by extent, the king would want to know as much as possible as they could about the knights.

Yet Guild Girl had already learned a lot from the knights ever since they arrived, for on the Knights are devived into separate houses and each house is referred to as a guild when it reaches a certain number of people.

Yet not every knight is a member of a group or guild, some like the Black Swordsman are loners who act as mercenaries and diplomats between the different houses.

All Knights have certain skills that they share but vary from person to people, such as the appraisal skill, distant voice, and distant sight two skills that allow the knights to communicate with each other from long distances as well as see what the other is seeing despite how far away they may be.

Guild Girl liked to take her time and enjoy sights like these, despite it being a usual occurrence for her and the rest of the guild staff, she was fully aware that the faces around her were constantly changing, and as such she only recognized the adventurers that hadn't retired or the ones that were lucky enough to live.

She could hear her boss working in the back as he looked for quests that needed the knight's attention and thereby allow the guild to get rid of the dept it had to the knights.

One thing the guild quickly learned is that no matter which knight one was dealing with, they all paid with gold regardless of what they used or ate, at first, this wasn't an issue, but due to the many- many low-level missions, the knights completed recently the guild found itself owing them several favors.

Favors her boss wanted to get rid of as soon as possible.

"Hey, so what are we talking about?" Spearman asked the Black Swordsman as he sat next to him, while his partner the Witch sat next to Noble Woman.

"Not much we were just talking about the fact that a lot of us will be looking for things to do" Black Swordsman answer Spearman

'What do you mean? I mean arent you guys knights so shouldn't you all I don't know be doing what Knights usually do?" Spearman asked Black Swordsman

"Yeah, but some of us will get tired of being knight and others will get old," Black Swordsman said to Spearman before becoming quiet as if remembering something painful.

"Let's....forget...about that...I... heard..l you...Knights... have se....veral...items" Witch said to Black Swordsman and Noble Woman

'We do have a couple like these" Noble Woman said to Whitch as she took out a pair of rings before she handed them to Spearman and the Witch

"Just don't put them on," Noble Woman said to the two adventurers who had already put the rings on before the words left her mouth.

Guild Girl watched as the Black Swordsman and Noble Woman shared a look before wordlessly coming to some sort of agreement.

"Kirito, will you take responsibility for this man?" Noblewoman said to Black Swordsman as she suddenly stood up and spoke with a commanding voice

"Asuna, will you take responsibility for this woman?" Black Swordsman said to Noble Woman

"What's going on?" Spearman asked the two Knights as he tried and failed to remove the ring he had just put on.

" I Kirito the Black Swordsman, member of the Black Cats Guild am the witness for Spearman" Black Swordsman declared

"I Asuna Second In Comand of the Knights of the Blood Oath am the witness for miss Witch" Noble Woman declared

Guild Girl listened closely to the two kights declaring their position in their houses and she was surprised by Noble Woman's position within her order, she knew that Noble Woman was someone of high importance but to think that she was the second in command.

'Waite, what's going on!?"Spearman aksed\ Demanded

"Calm down, the fact that our rings fit the two of you means that you're perfect for each other" BlackSwordsman said to Spearman

"The rings, they're wedding rings, by the Laws of Ainrcrad the moment the two of you put the rings on, your marriage was made official," Noble Woman said to Spearman

"Go ahead take them off," Noble Woman said to the two adventurers who immediately did what she said and found that they could remove the rngs now

"If you don't believe us, look for someone that can tell you what the magic the rings have done so you can find out if we lied to you," Black Swordsman said to Spearman and the Witch, both of which were looking at the two Knights with shocked expressions

Guild Girl instinctively covered her mouth with her hands as she tried to keep the sound of herself gasping as both Black Swordsman and Noble Woman took of their armored Gloves and revealed a pair of rings just like the ones the two adventurers were wearing.

"What? Don't tell me you guys didn't know, Asuna is my wife" Black Swordsman said to the two adventurers

The guild had fallen silent, everyone knew about the two knights' affair, but everyone believed it was something akin to two teenagers caught in a purely physical relationship, but to think that the two are married and belonged to separate houses.

"Can you remove the spell?" Spearman asked Black Swordsman

"Why?"

"I men the rings would have never fit on your fingers f you weren't perfect for each other" Black Swordsman said to Spearman

"If you're worried about the consequences Kirito and I already dealt with them by being your witnesses, so you don't have to worry about any curses, "Noble Woman said to the pair

"....' Witch didn't say anything she just kept looking at the ring that she held in the palm of her hand.

She had already discovered the ring's power and it was exactly what the two knights had said, she was by all rights and laws Spearman's wife.

The fact that they both had someone that had seen them wed willingly to each other stoped the curse from activating.

"Am...I ....not..good...enough?" Witch asked her partner, she tried to contain her emotions from showing but she could barely contain the pain in her chest as she feared her partner's answer.

"It's not that, I mean you shouldn't be forced to be with someone like me" Spearman answered his partner

"I'm...not..forced"Witch answered her partner

"Look for the next few weeks, the two of you will have to act as a married couple" Black Swordsman said to the two adventurers before Noble Woman hit him with her elbow.

"Okay, we can undo your marriage, but it takes about, hold on," Noble Woman said as she looked at the ring she wore on her hand

"It's going to take about three weeks or two months, so until then the two of you have to be husband and wife," Noble Woman said to them

"So what do married people do?" Spearman asked the Knights who looked at him with shocked expressions

Guild Girl could feel her head hurt, to think that the man could ask such a stupid question.

"He's right, the two of them should get some help in their relationship from people that have experience" Guild Girl heard her boss say as he looked t the situation in front of him

"What do you mean?" Guild Girl heard her coworker say to her boss

"Adventurers or at least some of them had parents and family members that were married, but seeing it and doing it are different things."

'For Adventurers settling down is something difficult because they were adventurers, it takes a lot of work to keep a marriage together, that means being together even when you don't get along"

'Adventurers separate when they fight for no reason, so it's better if they get help from people who are close to their age, and have a stable marriage" Guild Girl heard her boss explain to her coworker

She soon noticed that the doors to the Guild opened and a ranger walked in carrying a bag filled with parchments.

"Get this to the Capital," the ranger said as he gasped for air.

Guild Girl watched as the man handed her boss the bag and her boss immediately took out what looked like several sketches of what looked like strange objects she had never seen before.

"Let's talk in the back" Gild Girl heard her Boss say to the Ranger.

Several wards kept the guild staff's voices from being heard beyond the privacy of the rooms, but they were meant to keep their voice from being heard by anyone not working directly with the guild, like the Adventurers and everyone else.

So Guild Girl listened to what the two men were saying to each other, she wasn't spying, after all, she would hear all bout it during the next meeting.

Guild Girl watched as both the Witch and Spearman left the guild and she noticed that once again Noble Woman and the Black Swordsman were once again sitting with each other.

"They have what in that fortress?" Guild Girl heard her boss say

"They have a, if not the Greate Stone of Revival inside their Fortress," the Ranger said to her boss

Guild Girl felt her mind stop working, the revival stones were objects of myth, things that could bring back the dead, not simply heal someone hat stood between the lines of life and death, but truly bring back the dead before a certain time.

Yet the Greate Stone of Revival was said to be able to bring back people from the dead regardless of when or how they died.

It could even recreate a person's body after it was destroyed, there was a lot of information about it because it's believed to be an artifact that was lost and now existed in children's stories told orphans in the temples of the Earthmother.

If word got out that the knights had it, then it was more than enough reason for the capital to mobilize and attack them, but if they had the revival stone then there was no way that any of the knights would remain dead for long so a simple battle could and would become a war.

"There are a lot more things in that fortress than the stone" the ranger gasped for air when he spoke each word

"Sacred beasts- undead- both Demy Gods and I believe a God, live within the fortress each one keeping to themselves inside rooms whose doors are closed but not locked," the Ranger said before the sound of his body hitting the floor reached Guild Girls ears

"Slayer!" Black Swordsman said as he saw Goblin Slayer and Priestess walk into the guild

Guild girl watched as both Goblin Slayer and priestess walked up to the Black Swordsman's and stood next to the table.

"Just the guy we were waiting for, listen on behalf of all of us knights, what can you tell us about killing Goblins," Black Swordsman said to Goblin Slayer and he placed sixteen gold coins in front of him

"Do you have something to write this down?" Goblin slayer asked the Black Swordsman

"No need, I'll have everything in here" Noble Woman answers Goblin Slayer as she pointed to her head