Bard of the Wild (Chapter 1) (Patreon)

I do not own anything.

'thought'

"Speech"

"Text via book or newspaper... when those are around..."

System Text

**Linebreak**

"Oh boy." I frown as I look over the absolutely massive wall in front of me.

It's absolutely mountainous in scale, towering up possibly over one hundred feet.

A Plateau of ridiculous scale.

I glance over my shoulder to a truly massive gout of purple miasma. It appears to be sentient, a large plume of black and purple smoke soaring throughout the sky.

It... roars?

Holy shit. What the fuck is that.

"Such malice. Such rotten intent. Truly sickening." The voice which has been making itself known to me for the past hour or so speaks up. "Even with our full power, such a fight would have been close."

Ooooh.

Oh shit.

That's Calamity Ganon.

Well... that's answered a couple of questions.

You see, my name is Aurum. The thing is, that wasn't the case mere hours ago.

I died.

Simple as that.

But apparently Isekai is a very real option for the deceased and I was tossed into another world with a special boon...

I basically have a gamer system, but instead of 'Instant Dungeons' and 'Titles' and all that jazz... they simply gave me a system that already existed.

A tabletop roleplaying game known as Pathfinder.

First Edition.

They said they'd let me have the tabletop system which I played the most of, it appears that Pathfinder was said system.

Shame that I couldn't get any of my damned friends to play Bleach-d20-classless... which, despite its name, has books for a large portion of anime, not simply bleach.

I could have been motherfucking goku of all people.

Goku with the ability to stop TIME!

Anyways, with the pathfinder system, I was given some 'restrictions'.

Honestly, they make a little more sense now.

Firstly, half elf.

Basically EVERYONE in the legend of zelda has pointed ears.

Plus, they casually live to be over one hundred years old. Some far longer.

The next restriction after the race thing?

I couldn't pick a class which has full ninth level spellcasting like Wizard, Sorcerer, Cleric or Druid. Merely being limited to the nonmagical classes or the classes with only 'four' levels of spells like Paladin or Ranger, or 'Six' levels of spells like Magus or Inquisitor. Sort of understandable as I don't think there are many if any 'legitimate wizards' in this world.

A total shame as I wanted to become a genuinely insane wizard who turned people into rats or something.

I made the best with what I had, though.

Name: Aurum
Class: Bard {Thundercaller}
Level: 1 (0/3000)
Race: Half Elf
Size: M

Stats:
Strength: 17
Dexterity: 13
Constitution: 13
Inteligence: 10
Wisdom: 12
Charisma 20

I chose bard.

Merely because I didn't want to die a virgin a second time.

Bards are reasonably powerful. If I gather a group, my inspiring songs could very well turn the tide of battle, my sheer charisma allowing me to woo basically anyone I want!

Anyways, back on the 'Restriction' thing. The system was nice enough to give me benefits for these restrictions that had been placed upon me.

First and foremost, from what I have gathered, the system appears to have given me a 'Link-Esque' story quest.

I have 'awoken' with 'no memories'. At least, the memories in this body, at least. There appears to have been events this body lived through leading up until this point, according to the sword on my back.

The sword on my back is another thing... a sentient weapon.

That just SCREAMS main character energy.

I let out a long sigh as I cup my chin, quietly pondering what I should do.

Let's take stock. I am a level one character in a world that is tormented by a big ass cloud of malice merely being held back by a princess' holy triforce power... then, according the trailer of the sequel I saw- a true shame I died before it was released- Gannondorf himself is a corpse underground or something? Does that make Calamity Ganon a mere leaking vestige of his power?

Monsters of all sorts litter the lard of Hyrule, four massive robot animals are taken over by the blight, the world is- and I can't stress this enough- 'TURBO' doomed if someone doesn't do something.

The real question is 'does that fall to me'.

Am I replacing Link... or is there going to be a separate Link showing up somewhere.

If so, do I follow him around and help him.

I don't necessarily want to leave the fate of the world up to chance.

"Hey... uh... Sword?" I begin slowly.

"Yes master?" A voice pipes up from behind me. "And my name is Vivi."

"Uh, right, Vivi. What do we do now?" I mutter as I look around. "The world is so vast; I don't know where to even start."

"Hrn. Understandable. This world appears to be quite dangerous. First we should find out where people reside. Like a town of village. Then we could begin to help people out at our own speed."

"Right. Right." I nod slowly.

I turn and begin walking along the road, my eyes spying two large mountains in the distance, the large peaks seeming to narrowly touch.

"That looks like a good landmark to start with." I announce blandly.

"HAH!"

I blink as I hear something in the distance.

I let out a confused hum and turn around, looking in the vague direction I heard the noise.

"AHHHHHHH!"

I look up, seeing a figure holding on for dear life to a large hang glider.

She has short blonde hair tied into pigtails, wearing a white shirt, short shorts, and thigh high boots, around her shoulders is a green hooded cloak that ruffles in the wind.

There's also another fact about her...

She's hurtling towards me at surprising speed. "L-LOOK OUT!"

"FUCK!" I loudly curse as she crashes into me.

Pain briefly floods my body as I let out a weak groan, I pointedly glare at the girl who is now on top of me, straddling my body.

You Have Unlocked an Achievement:

Meet the Hero of Hyrule:
You have now met the previously comatose Hylian who is destined to defeat the horrid blight known as Calamity Ganon!
Reward: +500 Exp

I have a sole hand raised... cupping her squishy breast. I can feel the nipple through her shirt, it's clear that she isn't wearing a bra.

She notices it just as I do.

She staggers back with a girlish scream, scooting across the ground. "KYAA! Pervert!"

Her face is covered with a brilliant red blush, as with a flash from an iphone-like device from her hip... an entire axe appears in her hand as she gets to her feet.

"Y-You!"

I raise my hands praying that my diplomacy- which has a plus twelve multiplier due to my ridiculous charisma stat and my 'skill focus' feat from my race being put into it- successfully calms her down. "Hey now, calm down. That was a complete and total accident. Are you alright? You hit me pretty hard."

The girl flinches back at my calming and almost melodious voice, her eyes widen slightly as they dart around briefly.

She lowers the axe she was about to murder me with as I rise to my feet, brushing off my shirt and pants.

"Perhaps we started out on the wrong foot. My name is Aurum. What is yours?" I ask the girl, her axe drooping and the blade sinking into the dirt road.

"Linkle..." She mutters as she looks away, her blush of embarrassment becoming slightly more shamed.

"I see. Well then. Maybe I'll see you around, Linkle." I wave as I turn on the spot and begin walking away.

"Wait!" She calls after me. "Wait a second!"

She rushes up beside me, matching my pace. "You. Aurum. Your sword. May I see it."

"Wh- No." I frown as I glance over to her.

"But- But-"

"Look, Lady, literally moments ago you looked like you wanted to cut me in half with an axe. I'm not going to like... give you my only protection."

"Aurum. She feels... strange..."

"But... it feels like the Master Sword!" The girl exclaims. "I-I need to..."

She lets out a quiet sigh. "Fine."

"Master Sword?" My blade echoes. "How Curious."

I take the sword off my back, sheath and all, relenting to her request. "Here. Take a look."

She blinks owlishly and takes the sword, briefly unsheathing it to look over it.

It's honestly a really pretty sword, a jet-black blade, a ruby red diamond shaped gemstone rests in the handguard which is comprised of two little V shapes, the braided handle is capped off with a golden pommel.

"This sword... it... it really does feel like the Master sword? A blade that seals the darkness? How does it exist?! There's only supposed to be one blade that can do that!"

Fucking pardon? I have a second master sword? What the fuck, system?

I give the sword a surprised look as the girl abruptly flinches, eyes growing wide.

"The Sovereign blade?" She mutters as she sheathes the sword.

She offers the sheathed blade back to me, which I take and place back into the leather loop on my back.

"She has a capability to wield me."

"Strange." I frown.

"That means that she is also a capable hero of equal measure to you... I had my doubts when she came at you with an axe, but... perhaps this 'Master Sword' of hers could answer the questions we might have."

"So...." The girl begins. "Your sword... it's sentient."

"Yes." I nod once as I tap my chin. "And, seeing as how I seem to have lost my memories, would you care to fill me in on what's happening with that castle over there?"

"Lost your... memories?" The girl mutters, a lightly concerned look on her face.

"Yep. All gone. I don't know how I got here, why I have Vivi here on my back, what I'm supposed to be doing. All that's left is muscle memory and a general idea of my capabilities." I nod slowly as I look over my hand.

I clench my fist. "Supposedly, according to my blade here, I am- or, well, was a hero with no equal... far stronger and more capable than I was now, of course."

"Oh, you truly were. Your songs could shake the earth, with a single swipe of me you cleaved numerous foes in twain. It was a sight to behold. A shame that we have been rendered to this state." The blade mutters.

"I have reason to believe that. The Master Sword is really picky about who wields it. I couldn't imagine a second 'Sword That Seals The Darkness' would be any different." The girl to my left nods quietly. "I guess I should fill you in. At least as an apology for the axe thing."

"Speaking on that. Do you normally threaten people with axes?"

"S-Sorry." The girl mutters. "I was just so embarrassed and flustered. I-I don't blame you. Just... don't get any ideas, alright. D-Don't tell anyone or I won't forgive you!"

She lets out a quiet bemoan. "Urbosa would have never let me live that down."

"My name is Linkle, and roughly one hundred years ago I was chosen to be the Princess' protector and wielder of the master sword. Shortly after, the Calamity struck, monsters of all sorts appeared across the kingdom, I took a great blow while protecting Zelda and I was placed in a shrine at the top of the plateau here to recuperate."

"I... might have been dead for a few hours, which is why it took so long, but I'm finally awake and ready to take on that giant gaseous fucker!" She snarls, glaring hatefully towards Hyrule castle.

Her shoulders slump as she seems to wilt. "But... I'm not as strong as I used to be. If I were to go there as I am now, I'd surely die. I need time to regain my strength. Then I need to reclaim the Master Sword... my Master Sword."

"I'm afraid I can't tell you much about what happened recently, as I've been basically dead for the past one hundred years, but what I can tell you is that... it seems like this place has gotten worse." She looks around slowly. "One hundred years ago, we had issues, yes, but... none this large."

"You might have found a roving band of Bokoblins, maybe a Moblin one in a blue moon, and if you ever got attacked by a Stone Talus or Hinox and lived to tell the tale, you'd probably never see one again. But... that has changed."

She gestured to the plateau. "While I was up there. I gazed across Hyrule... and all I saw was destruction. Camps of bokoblins litter the surroundings, I had to fight my way through possibly one hundred- not at the same time, mind you- just to get to where I needed to go... and it is vastly worse down here."

"Hyrule? Strange... the name is similar, but..." My sword mutters, frowning according to her tone. "Aurum... we should help out. It might give us some answers."

"Well, I guess I could help out." I sigh as I scratch the back of my head. "I don't know how I could live with myself if I allowed this to happen on my watch. So. Where to first?"

The girl's eyes widen briefly as her eyes flick around my face, she seems genuinely befuddled that I'd offer to help her even after she threatened me earlier...

The answer to that is simple.

World's fucked if I don't.

Besides.

It's easy EXP for my gamer bullshit.

I watch a small smile slowly work itself onto her face as she offers me a single nod. "Alright. Let's do it! Let's save Hyrule together!"

"First I was planning on heading to Kakariko Village. It's just beyond those two mountains. I've heard the one of my old friends from before I got injured lives there... she should be able to tell me about what is currently happening."

A quest has been received!

Travel to Kakariko Village:
Objective:
Reach your destination: [ ]

I nod slowly as I fold my arms behind my head. "Alright. That sounds good."

We continue walking alongside the plateau, passing trees, puddles, and large hunks of carved stone which seems to have fallen from atop the rocky wall to our right.

"So. You said you were this Princess girl's knight?" I ask quietly. "What was that like?"

"it was fine. She had... so much pressure on her..." The girl lets out a quiet sigh. "I guess I should start from the beginning. My father was one of the Knights of Hyrule, while my mother worked in Hyrule castle itself as a doctor, I stayed by my mothers side for a majority of my childhood and that maaay have led to me becoming friends with Princess Zelda. We were the only two girls our age in the castle, after all. She was always so happy and joyous... then her mother died... and she became distant and cold."

"I completely understand, of course, but, after a while, I decided on what I wanted to do. I wanted to protect her. I wanted to stop any further harm from coming to my only friend.  I decided to follow in my father's footsteps and become a knight. This, may have had the issue of causing us to grow distant, but, I was strong in my resolve. I trained day and night, fought through the rankings, then eventually I was chosen to wield the sword of evil's bane... by the sword, of course, if it didn't agree it wouldn't matter how many people said I had what it takes. I freed it from the stone pedestal in front of the Great Deku Tree, and, well, I started following Zelda around Hyrule as she tried to master the evil sealing power that resides in the royal's bloodline.

"She was... a little cold... and full of anger towards me, but I understood the sheer weight on her shoulders. I had come fully into my destiny, I plucked the sword that seals the darkness from a rock, and suddenly I was a hero, but she wasn't so lucky. Her sealing magic just wouldn't come to the surface." The girl sadly glances downwards. "Her mother was originally supposed to guide her, but when she died, she left Zelda blind... and alone... her father grew more and more strict, she was forced to give up things that she enjoyed. Practicing and blindly wandering towards a goal which she had no way of knowing if she was approaching."

"She... hated me for a while, and I totally understand. I just pulled a sword out of the dirt and I was suddenly finished with the prelude to my destiny. I always had direction. An idea of where to go, and she was so jealous of that fact."

A small smile forms on the girl's lips. "Then. After a lot of traveling across Hyrule. To the northern volcano, to the southern desert, the eastern lakes, and the western mountains. She began to open up again. I had regained my friend and gained many more. Mipha, Daruk, Urbosa, even that arrogant prick Revali."

"So." I begin. "You pulled the sword out and you were made Zelda's protector? Just like that?"

"W-Well... we did have a connection beforehand; I assume that King Rhoam took that into consideration... then there was the fact that I maaay have deflected the laser of a guardian away from Zelda with nothing more than a pot lid."

"…"

"A what?" I blink.

"Oh, a large metal spider thing that's ancient Shieka tech, at the time, this one only shot because of the people who were tinkering with it messed with something inside, but, later Calamity Ganon took over all of them."

"After the Calamity arrived... it was just fighting, fighting and more fighting. Struggling endlessly against the waves of monsters spawned from malice. I remember the battle where I got fatally injured. I had managed to beat back seven waves of bokoblins, Lizalfos, Moblins, and their skeletal counterparts, three hinox and perhaps ten guardians..." The girl lets out a shuddering sigh. "It was seemingly an endless conflict... whatever we killed simply returned stronger whenever Calamity Ganon's power surged. my friends... have probably long-since died."

I look over the girl as she wilts slightly, we pass large puddles and fallen logs.

I blink as I realize something, stopping before a puddle and gazing inside.

Red eyes stare black, I have peachy skin with pointed elf-like ears, atop my head is a short mane of messy white hair.

I frown slightly and cup my chin, turning my head slightly.

"Hey, you coming?" The girl calls back to me after a fair moment, she had walked a good twenty feet ahead before looking back towards me.

"Oh. Sorry. I just realized I didn't know what I looked like so I wanted to take a look." I state as I briefly jog up to her and continue my earlier walking pace.

"So, this Kakariko place. What's it like?" I ask as we continue walking down the winding road.

"No clue. It's been a while since I was there... y'know with the whole."

"Being dead thing?" I echo.

"Yeah!"

**Linebreak**

Linkle and I gaze into the distance as the sun begins to slowly drift downwards, sharing a gaze as we both begin to look around.

If I had to make a rough estimate, it's around six p.m.

My traveling companion's eyes lock onto a ruin down the road, she points over to it as she casts a glance over to me. "We can take shelter there. This used to be a small military outpost to keep watch over the bridge... clearly it has seen better days."

Beyond the ruins is a rushing river and large bridge.

We hadn't been hassled in our journey despite crossing through the ruins of a small town, but I fear that is about to change. According to Linkle, the creatures of Calamity grow more restless at night.

"At least there'd be walls." I state with a small hum only to cringe as my stomach growls.

Linkle frowns as a growl of hunger is also heard from her.

"Got any plans for dinner?" I ask quietly.

"Well... there's probably a couple mushrooms growing somewhere around here, maybe I could get lucky and find a deer or something?" My companion weakly suggests.

"I see." I mutter as I slowly begin walking down the road, Linkle following beside me.

A quest has been received:

First combat:
Traveling throughout the day has left you weary and tired. What a shame that foes have chosen now of all times to attack.

I stop dead in my tracks and gaze around, holding out an arm to the side as Linkle bumps into it, the action nearly causing me to grope her again.

"Dude!" She growls.

"Something's wrong." I frown causing her lightly irritated tirade to die off as she cautiously looks around.

"Foes are hidden behind that wall about thirty feet ahead." My sword supplies.

I draw my sword and lower my stance slightly.

"There are enemies behind that wall there." I announce as I nod forwards.

With a flash a ghostly ocarina appears in my hand, I creep forwards with a glower as a rusty broadsword seems bleed from the Sheikah Slate at her hip in long streams of light.

She looks confusedly at the instrument in my hand. Ordinarily I'd rather use a flute, but an ocarina can be played with a single hand if the need arises.

"Ah. Right. I haven't really explained my capabilities yet. I'll get right on that as soon as-"

A blue creature steps around the wall, holding a club spiked with bone, its head bulbous and seemingly too large for its body as it wears nothing more than a loincloth.

A sole horn rests on the top of its head as its two red eyes dart from me to Linkle.

"SQUAAARK!" It roars as it raises its weapon, four more bokoblins darting out from behind the wall, each with red colored skin.

They wield assorted weapons, the first, an unlit torch, the next, a large rock, the third, some form of long, sharp, wooden stick and the final one holds a bow made from a branch of some sort.

"Let's go!" I call out as I lunge forwards, playing a few notes on my instrument, the notes causing my very weapon to vibrate as energy seems to flood my body, the notes linger in the air as I duck under a swipe and slash upwards.

My sword cuts a small gash across the stomach of the blue bokoblin, its skin clearly quite durable.

I narrowly duck around the spear thrust from one of the red bokoblins,

An arrow strikes it in the forehead and causes it to fall back with a gurgle.

A slim smile appears on my lips as I slash across my blue foe twice, an arrow sinking into the side of his head.

"Duck."

I duck under the swing of a stick as I plunge the blade of my sword into the chest of my attacker.

"Ah-" I can hear a sharp intake of air behind me as I let out a long self-loathing sigh.

I quickly behead the next bokoblin and hold out a hand, the shadows underneath the last enemy raising a bow towards me rise upwards and coil around its body, I dash forwards and stab the blade in between its eyes.

It doesn't make even a sound as it falls back like a puppet with its strings cut.

A quest has been completed!

I turn around, not even reading the prompt as I look to Linkle.

A wooden arrow has sunken into her thigh.

With a wave of my hand I clean the blood off my body and off my blade, I run over to the girl and crouch in front of her as she sits on the ground with a wince of pain.

"Really?" I ask. "You get a leg wound from those guys?"

"I-I'm out of practice alright!" The girl snarls up at me. "One hundred years out of practice!"

"Champion of Hyrule. Taken out by a sharpened stick." I sigh as I look over her. "How'd you managed to take out 'possibly one hundred' of those guys up on the plateau?"

I cup my chin. "Ugh. Why boots and shorts? You're leaving probably one of your most vital areas completely and totally unprotected.

I cause her to flinch back with a blush as I tap her inner thigh, my fingers lingering for a time. "You do know you have veins in here, right? An artery. If your femoral artery is cut, you could lose consciousness in moments and be dead in minutes."

My fingers gently trace her skin as I look up. "It looks like you're lucky."

She frowns at me with narrowed eyes. "I-"

I point to the side. "What's that over there?"

"Wh-" her head turns to look.

I pluck the arrow from her thigh, causing her to let out a cry of pain. "OW! What are you doing?! Aren't you supposed to leave those in until you can get something to stop the bleeding?!"

"If you want to die of infection, sure... I don't exactly know how those creatures make their arrows... my personal bet is by chewing on them." I frown as a golden light shines from my hand as I hold it above her wound. "Besides. I am stopping the bleeding."

I watch the flesh knit back together slowly, Linkle's eyes grow wide. "Y-You can heal?!"

"Some. I feel like I was able to do far more before I lost my memories." I mutter with a small frown.

"You were." My sword supplies.

The wound completely heals as I nod slowly. "Alright. You're good. I'll warn you though. My magic is super limited... aside from some normal party tricks I can do basically whenever I want... as for healing, or that shadow thing, I could probably pull it off maybe... three times before I'd need an eight hour rest."

I gesture over my shoulder. "One."

I point to her bloody leg. "Two."

"We're down to one heal or grab." I inform. "So please don't make my life difficult and be reckless."

"I'll try." The girl sighs.

"Good. Good." I nod as I look around. "Let's see if we can't get some food. It'd probably be wise to stay close. We wouldn't want to be caught off guard by ourselves."

"Right." The girl nods.

I wave my hand over her leg, causing the blood to disappear as if it were never there

I wonder if I can condition her to overlook any time my hand 'slips' or I 'accidently' touch her in a place which could be seen as intimate.

**Linebreak**

First combat:
Traveling throughout the day has left you weary and tired. What a shame that foes have chosen now of all times to attack.
Objectives:
Kill the Blue Bokoblin: 1/1 [x]
Kill the Red Bokoblins: 4/4 [x]

Bonus Objectives:
Single handedly slay all your opponents: [-]
Take them down without allowing a single point of damage to occur to you or your traveling companion: [-]

Reward: 1500 Exp

Not enough to reach level two yet, as I seem to be on 'slow' experience, but oh well. This is fine. I'll definitely level up when I reach Kakariko.

I hold two skewers over a small fire, my blonde companion sat across from me doing the same.

Four skewers and a fire, our collective effort for searching for food. At most, we found a few large mushrooms, then some berries.

We are sat within the rubble of some form of small barrack or infirmary. It is surprisingly intact after what it suffered through. The roof is gone, but stone walls standing around five feet in height surround us on all sides.

Three decayed and rotted bed frames are sat to our left, lining the wall, the stars beaming down on us, our faces tinted orange by the crackling fire between us.

"So." She begins quietly. "You can use magic."

I offer a slow nod. "It's not much, but it's something... what about you? What can you do?"

"Magic is an extremely rare ability. Almost nobody can use it!" The girl pouts. "I can't..."

"Really?"

The girl pauses and tilts her head. "Well, I mean, sometimes I feel as if the world slows down."

"Chronomancy... you have fucking time magic?!" I gasp.

"I... don't know. It happens sometimes at random. I can't control it." Linkle weakly protests.

"That doesn't change the fact that you can still do it." I frown at her.

"It would be beneficial if you learned how to control it." I nod slowly as I cup my chin, looking over her.

"Yeah... probably... I know Zelda has her sealing magic, Urbosa has he thunder calling, Mipha can heal, Daruk can make barriers and even Revali could manipulate wind, it never really occurred to me that I might have something like that."

"We can work on it later." I state with a small shrug.

"So, what was that thing you did with the instrument?" Linkle quietly ponders with a confused expression.

"Oh. That's another aspect of my magic. I can temporarily infuse people around me with courage and vigor. It makes them hit harder, strike faster, and shoot more accurately. I can only do it for about... sixty seconds a day, but I can split it up in bursts that last about thrice as long as I play." I wave off. "Nothing really special at the moment, but in the future if we have enough people, it really starts to add up."

"Of course, I feel like I'll gain some more abilities to spend this 'bardic energy' on in the future, but at the moment, it's just inspiring courage."

Fire begins to lick at the edge of my wooden skewer, so I pull it back and blow out the flames.

"I'll take first watch." I announce. "I'll wake you up when the moon's up above us."

"Alright." The girl shrugs as she takes a bite of her mushroom skewer.

Eventually we finish our rather sad dinner and the girl across from me lays down, the fire dies down to simple embers as I lean back against the stone wall and gaze upwards.

After around two hours or so, a branch cracks, I look around, the world multiple shades of grey.

My darkvision seems to work quite well.

A figure lands on the wall surrounding us, my eyes widening slightly as I hold out a hand towards Linkle, casting a silent spell.

"WELL WELL! What do we have here?!" A shrill voice echoes out... I don't know how to really describe it, but it sounds sort of like if Gilbert Gottfried and Danny DeVito got a pair of potara earrings.

A rotund man stands atop the stone brick wall, his hands on his hips, he wears dark colors of what I can only assume to be red, a white mask sits on his face the image of an eye with three triangles beneath it, a tear seeming to travel upwards, his hair is tied back into a long singular curly bun.

With a flash and puff of smoke, numerous other people appear on the walls with loud laughs, wearing the same general uniform as the man, Linkle snaps awake looking around, her eyes widening in horror.

One thought comes to mind...

Fuck.