Otherworld Volunteer - Chapter 73 (Patreon)

Ekralo was in a pub. He was wearing a strange assortment of clothes that he had stolen from numerous shops. He attempted to be trendy, but he just ended up looking like a teenaged hype-beast.

Sitting on his barstool, he brought up the bone mug in his hands, and took a swig of the cool brew inside. That hits the spot. He thought. It was quite refreshing, especially for being created in such a backwater F ranked world.

Why was he in such a poor world exactly? Well, it just so happened that the little chick that he sponsored was from here. Earth is what the puny humans called it. It was quite marvellous really, although they had no strength to speak of, they made up for it with great ingenuity.

From towering buildings with screens all over them, tasty treats that made his mouth water, and weapons capable of almost destroying entire small planets. If they were given the same talents as he, what would they become? It was a curiosity, but it was nothing more than that. He could, so he did. That was why he was here.

Within the bar, the widescreen tv was currently displaying the Multiversal Broadcast. And as his sponsor was currently at the forefront, of course he was the one with the most screen time. After all, he was a crazy bastard.

“So this is where you were, Ekralo, the Eldritch Primordial.” A young woman arrived in a tight fitting black dress that displayed her every curve. Her red hair looked as if it was alive as it flicked this way and that. She plopped her behind on a stool next to him, eliciting quite the few stares from the onlookers.

“Yeah go on, just throw my title around like you own it why don’t you?” Ekralo grumbled, although his words were filled with spite–he couldn’t care less. There wasn’t a being in this entire universe that was capable of even dirtying his shoes.

Lyra was also a god. Well, a fledgling that had insane talent, but that wasn’t what gave her confidence. No, it was her backers. The armada race, or as he called them, ants. He wasn’t mocking them, they truly were ants. However, the strongest of them became humanoid; like Lyra to his side. Bunch of war crazed freaks. Not that he cared for them regardless.

Ignoring the woman, he grabbed a peanut, and offered it to his little black cat on his lap. When Lyra locked eyes with the simple cat, she froze up in horror. It wasn’t until Ekralo chuckled did the Skill-like effect free her from her terror.

“You brought it here?” Lyra asked in genuine concern.

“It's my tamed companion, of course I brought it with me,” Ekralo continued. “Stop disturbing me will you? Something interesting is happening.”

Just as he finished his words, Noah’s eyes glazed over as his attack pierced toward the troll. Then the next moment, his speed, and strength suddenly evolved as his spear tore a hole in the monster's chest. It was an attack he shouldn’t be capable of from his current Skills and Stats, but there he was–one hitting the lord of the dungeon.

“He awakened to a shard?” Lyra asked as if it wasn’t anything special.

“Aye, but not just any common one,” Ekralo said as he stroked it on his lap. No, truly, that was what its name was. It didn’t like any name he gave it, so it it was.

Lyra thought for a moment before she glanced at Ekralo, then down to the it laying on his lap. Her brows rose in slight surprise. “Monster?”

Ekralo nodded, but then laughed. “But it seems Noah has competition.” His vision wandered from Noah, to a wolf humanoid that stood within the entrance to the dungeon. Layers of kobold corpses lay at his feet as his eyes also glazed over.

“Fear Shard?” Lyra asked.

“Bloody hell woman, will you obtain some of your own initiative?” Ekralo shouted. “Barman, another one of those ails!”

The barman frowned.

“Ah, this world uses manners don’t they?” Ekralo coughed, clearing his throat. “Um, please and thank

you?”

“That’s better,” The barman said as he re-filled his pint class.

Lyra gazed at the barman in trepidation. Was he some hidden away primordial that not even she could detect a hint of energy from?

“Go Noah!”
“Jake, you can do it. Show those kobolds who’s the best archer!”
“Victor, slit Noah’s throat!”
“Go my goddess Maera!”

Not bothering to correct her thinking, Ekralo drowned out the feverish screaming from the humans around them. They seemed to love the entertainment of the broadcast, not that they blamed them, but it was only the humans that loved it more than any other race he had encountered. After all, everyone else was too busy acquiring strength, evolving, adventuring or pondering Expansion.

Humans truly were pitiful. Their Earth was more like a cage than anything. They couldn't grow stronger, nor could they advance without the help of the System. But as he gazed at Noah, and the other talented individuals, he couldn’t help but have a thought.

Could the humans of Earth rise to become gods?

“Why are you so focused on Noah?” Lyra moved her gaze from the barman, back to Ekralo. “You haven’t sponsored anyone for hundreds of thousands of years. So why now?”

“Well,” Ekralo said, before erupting into laughter. “Who would be stupid enough to enter an alien world and rely on taming a monster to become stronger with little prior knowledge. Let alone mounting it. A stealthy mounted tamer. Truly what is he thinking–it's ridiculous. In all my years of watching the broadcast, no-one is more suicidal than he. It’s fun, that’s the whole purpose of the broadcast, no?”

“I guess,” Lyra said. “But he’s hardly an outlier. Throughout the multiverse, there are countless like him. Whether they screw up their Classes through stupidity, or because they tried to be different. No, there’s something more to him.”

Ekral just smiled in response. Of course there was more to him. And the entire multiverse will find out eventually.

***

Declan heaved in gulps of air. Wiping the sweat and blood from his face with one arm, he pulled his blade out of the kobold with the other. He gazed around at the entrance to the cave; it was a bloodbath. Kobold corpses littered the floor, but it wasn’t just them. Throughout the fight, they had also lost a good few men and women from the onslaught of the kobolds.

Glancing at Maera’s pale face, he sighed in relief. If it wasn’t for the elf healer, their casualties would have been more than just a few. Surprisingly, another healer popped up as they were fighting. His name was Jonathan, and he was from a race of halflings that just so happened to be adept in the magic of healing. Luckily he obtained his Class during the fight, which was a big boon in this monster infested place.

With all the kobolds dead, they all looked ahead to the dungeon entrance. Declan wasn’t stupid. He witnessed a few dead bodies on the rocky outcrops; it meant Noah had already arrived. But where was he exactly? Declan shook his head. There was no more evidence beyond the few corpses that had obviously been crushed by his tamed monster.

The common consensus was that he ran away. However, Declan didn’t believe that. Noah was one crazy son of a bitch, and if it was him, he most likely found a way inside. He glanced at the turbulent waves just beyond the rocks. If he was a betting man, he believed that Noah used the distraction of his monster to sneak in.

Although he didn’t know what Skills the delinquent had exactly, they were most likely focused entirely around his tamed monster. But would he knowingly try and solo a dungeon without his main fire-power? Declan doubted it, but the others believed it to be so.

“Shit.” Jake was standing over a dead body. If Noah was here, he would be able to tell that it was a familiar face. It was one of the Trained–Josh–one of Jake’s friends.

“You know the rule of the Otherworld.” Declan placed his hand on his shoulder, but Jake recoiled at his touch. He still hasn’t forgiven me. “Let’s take on the dungeon so his life wasn’t taken needlessly.”

Jake grit his teeth and stood up, breaking free from Declan’s hand.

Shaking his head, Declan was just about to head on further when from within the shadows–a human riding an enormous armoured monster emerged.

Jake glanced at the dead body of his friend, and rage took over. Noah had acted on his own and thanks to that, they had lost friends, and teammates. He activated a Skill as the arrow attached to his bow lit up a bright blue. The air swirled at his command, then he let the arrow fly.

It shot through the air, however, faster than they could blink, a javelin pierced the air. It bypassed the arrow in a split second. Then, there was a wet thud.

Declanslowly turned his head in shock as the hunter Trained from birth was impaled into the ground. From the wound, the shaft of a beastly spear vibrated from the strength that its user had committed to it. Blood dripped down from Jake’s body as it joined the earth, causing the dirt to clump together from the liquid red.

Maera was quick to react as she bolted toward the wounded Jake with her knights in tow.

“Last time, I said that there wouldn’t be a second chance,” Noah said as he stomped forward with his monstrous beast, however, his voice turned into a mumble as everyone looked at him dumbstruck. “Shit, did I remember to say that? I can’t recall.” He shook his head.

***

Noah shook off his arm after having thrown his spear forward with all the power he could muster. Surprisingly, luck was on his side. Or maybe he was just better at throwing a spear than he was at firing a bow? Thanks to his [Spear Proficiency] perhaps? He wasn’t entirely sure, all he was certain of however, was that Jake was a dead man.

He had let him off the first time as he had reservations about taking a life. But this time was different. Jake attacked him not once, but twice, and if left alone, was sure to increase if he let the archer go. There was no intention of maiming him, only a cold detachment of his life.

“Don’t heal him,” Noah continued, “he is already dead.”

Marea looked back, but Noah had already moved. He [Charged] forward, and the might of his stampede caused the other survivors to leap back in fear. Each step of Krall caused the ground to tremble under his might. However, they weren’t all useless.

Declan roused up the others, and fired off Skills toward them. Powered arrows thudded against Krall’s natural armour, only for them to bounce off. Some managed to pierce in between the plates, but the wound was already healing over thanks to [Trollblood].

Of course, Noah was no slouch either. He activated [Beastly Aegis] as the stronger attacks clashed against his shield, only for them to directly break under the impact. Just as his Skill was wearing off, a huge fireball blasted against his shield. He had blocked the majority of the hit, but the flames licked the sides of his flesh.

The smell of burnt skin entered Krall’s beastly senses, and it only seemed to enrage him. With a primal roar, Krall leapt forward with immense power.

Declan attempted to block as his weapon shone a sharp edge, but he was blasted back by Krall.

Noah was about to reach the injured archer, when an intense feeling of fear gripped hold of his heart. He glanced to the side and gazed into the frigid red eyes of the humanoid wolf. His heart thumped. He was scared.