Memories flashed through my mind as I began to smile, black sparks ran all across the world around me as time stopped. With a single blow of my palm, it ended it all. The corruption that had destroyed her and the peaceful life that we could have lived came to an end. It was time for things to come to an end…

  I stood over Mnestia with a smile across my face as I reached out for her one last time. Tears welling in my eyes knowing as this would be fine time that I would ever see her again. At last, I had managed to vanquish her. Even though it was something that I took on myself for the majority of the fighting, it was something that I couldn’t even fathom to do considering that I had lost all purpose and value in my sufferings for too long.

  I was broken without Mnestia but I was reunited to fullness with the presence of Raelia. My master.. No my new master, Raelia who had given me purpose and the resolve to win and fight for a better future, thank you for everything.

  I held the soul essence of Mnestia in my hands as a golden light enveloped Raelia. I stared at her confused just as several items appeared right before her. With a look of intrigue, I continued to look over her. But unlike what I expected from her to be a greedy sort of master who would loot first and ask questions later, she took had that tragic look in her eyes.

  As if she had been just like me in the same position that allowed me to lose the person that I loved and served.

  “There’s no need to cry. Really… There isn’t any no need to cry.”

  I told her aloud but really it was a message that I should have told myself after all it was over.

  “I don’t understand everything that the two of you went through but what I know is that she cared for you deeply and would have wanted you to serve under a good master that will allow you to live to your vell fullest. To live life on your own ideals instead of being a something like door-mat through and through.”

  “Door-mat… Well I guess she was right about calling me a door-mat though you didn’t have to use that same word too.”

  “I didn’t want to call you a door-mat after all that’s something rude to say out of a friend. But I think what Mnestia was trying to say to you this entire time was to stand up for yourself. It doesn’t matter how strong or skilled you are in the end if you are going to let yourself be trampled over. But to be honest, I don’t think you have that problem anymore. Instead of being a door-mat to let step on you as they pleased, you are like a door-mat because you want to give people the best first appearence that possibly could. And well if I said anything wrong or offensive just say so because I kind of am just saying things at random that might not really mean much to you or be that accurate since I can’t even fathom to imagine the sort of life that the two of you have lived.”

  “Well… I don’t mind it all, young master. But what you’ve said about me and Mnestia was right. I was a door-mat and I really thought she hated me for so long but in the end she was trying to call me out from a place of care.”

  Sparkle appeared right by the side of my shoulder and patted my head. Her hands were nice and soft and it was kind of odd being petted by a pixie, especially one so small like her. But it wasn’t really something that I couldn’t oppose.

  “So waht’s with the items right before you?”

  “Wait. Sparkle is it right to tell her my secret and stuff?”

  “Wait you have a secret? I thought Ciel already knew your secret that being the fact that you eat rats. It’s pretty gross and disgusting but it’s something that you should seriously keep a as a secret because no body wants to know w anything about something like that so disgusting and unkept.”

  “It’s not that. It’s the fact that—-.”

  I stared at Raelia’s whoses words began to phase in and out of reality. It was kind of like whatever she was trying to say was filtered.

  “Well it’s alright if I don’t know your secret and besides, I know that you aren’t from around here so let’s keep it at that.”

  —

  ‘It’s not really seems like that she’s uninterested in knowing about the fact that the real world is a thing.’

  “Pst. Just so you know NPCs from this world have their knowledge about the outside world in order to protect their consciousness. If the people of this game came to the realization that they are not a real existence then naturally they are going to try and persecute players and if it were like that, the game would basically be unplayable.”

  “That does make a fair deal of sense.”

  Ciel continued to stare at the two of us from the side while having a strange smile plsatered right onto her face. It was like she was a mother overwatching her children making their first friends. And I was definitely not her child.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “So what about the loot?”

  [Quest Complete]

  [Rewards: Ciel’s favorability, ??? → Mnestia’s Soul Essence, ??? → Mentorship opportunity]

  Ciel said as she showed me a glowing crimson orb. A system panel appeared above it and my eyes widened as I came to see it.

  [Mnestia’s Soul Essence (Hell Mode Difficulty)]

  [Description: The true soul of the gatekeeper of Tartarus.]

  [Abilities: Can be applied onto any set of equipment in order to give it extreme flexibility.]

  I looked at it with a sorrowful look after reading the description of the item. Ciel had looking at me as if she was expecting an answer in the very next moment.

  “I don’t I should keep it.”

  “Why not?”

  “It’s something that you fought for with all your blood and effort and it would be rude and unfair for me to take her soul essence just like that.”

  “I’m surprised that you know what a soul essence is.”

  “I don’t really know what it completely is about but all I know is that is a soul essence.”

  “Well I’m glad that you don’t know what it is since I wanted to give you a tutorial about it. Soul Essences are just the soul essence of power people and creatures. In Mnestia’s case despite the fact that she was devoured by an Eldtrich parasite, her soul essence allows you to tkae upon her abilities.”

  “I see, so what are you going to do with that soul essence now that I gave it to you?”

  “It’s a far shot and I don’t even know if it’s true but I’ve heard rumors that there are items in this world capable of reviving people.”

  “You mean you are going to…”

  “It’s obvious. We’ve been with each other for life so naturally I am going to be a little greedy even though you are my new master.”

  “I’m not angry about it nor am I mad after all that’s something that I can understand. And if you actually revive her, we are going to have someone pretty powerful supporting us!”

  “Aye. That’s what I wanted and I am glad knowing that you are this type of master, kind and caring and at least like Mnestia you are not calling me a door-mat all the time.”

  “I don’t think I have really called you a door mat at all….”

  ‘You literally called her a door-mat earlier in this chapter…’

  Sparkle thought to herself with a dissapointed stare.

  ‘But now that this is done with, the two of us can finally begin to experience the real World Start Online.’

  Sparkle had a smile on her face.

  “So now that we are done with that battle, what do we have to leave this place?”

  Sparkle asked with a look of confusion as she turned to Ciel.

  “I don’t actually know.”

  Both me and Sparkle turned over to face her with a look of pure disappointment as that was not the sort of answer that we were expecting from her after all she was in this place for a long time and it would have made sense if she actually knew where the exit was but well she didn't.

  “In the movies, the exit to places like these are very obvious so try and find something that looks like a door or something.”

  Raelia commented as she stood right in front of a stone gate and pressed her hand on it and blue waves appeared in the portal signifying it’s activation. Raelia turned around to tell the others that she found the exit but before she could eeven turn around, she felt a cold breath down her neck as the others were just behind her already.

  “Hey we are already at the portal.”

  Raelia chuckled before turning around and joining the others in the portal.

  [Calculating Rewards]

  …

  —

  After leaving the tower through the teleportation gate, the three of us were teleported to a wide spanning cliff overseeing an endless grass prairie. In the toiling fields of grass had been many creatures such as sheep, rats and boars.

  “So this is what the world outside of that prison looks like…”

  Ciel said with a complicated look of remorse in her eyes. I turned to her before patting her head in an attempt to try and cheer her up. At the very corner of her vision she turned and side-eyed me. Looks like she’s not being that much of a door-mat, would what Mnestia would comment if she were still here.

  “It still looks the same.”

  She sighed disappointed as if she had expected the outside world to have changed a lot during the time that she was trapped inside of the tower.

  “So now that we are out of the tower what do you guys thing we should be doing?”

  “The first that we should try to do is to find some sort of town. This place is beautiful and all that but if we want to do anything with ourselves, we should find some sign of human civilization.”

  “Hey there’s a road!”

  Sparkle said as she pointed towards it’s direction.

  “If we go along the path of the road, it’s inevitable that we are going to reach a town!”

  “Yeah but I don’t want to go to some random town or whatever so I wish there would be some sort of traveler or something here to help guide us to where we should want to be.”

  “HELPPP!!!”

  The voice of a young man shouted out. The three of us turned to him as he was being chased by a horde of angry sheep. Something that left my mouth wide open in shock and confusion. Never in my life would I think that I would be seeing someone being chased down by angry sheep. But there’s a first thing for everything.

  Just seeing him, I knew what to do and more than anything, he was going to be useful considering what he was.

  [Player]

  Our party ran towards the running player and slayed the sheep in a matter of seconds. Ciel’s powerful spearmanship, Sparkle’s powerful magic and my well- emotional support I guess.

  “Looks like those guys are taken care of.”

  I commented to myself as I turned around to face the running player and the distance between us grew even more as he began running away from me furiously.

  “HELP A PLAYER KILLER PSYCHO IS TRYING TO KILL ME!”

  “Hey! I am not trying to kill you and I just left the tutorial but where the heck is the nearest town!”

  “My master, should I go after that man?”

  “Yeah but don’t kill him. We will need him to know where we are supposed to go.”

  “Alright…”

  Within an instant, Ciel caught up to him and the man was beaten blue and bloody.

  ‘Did you really need to be this harsh to him…’

  I thought to myself before sighing a breath of relief at the fact that I had turned this overpowered NPC into my teammate. But something that has been bugging me since earlier has been…

  Her stats!

  [Ciel]

  [Race: Green Deer]

  [Level sealed to 50] [True Level 460]

  [Title: Spear Master]

  ‘Woah… She is overpowered as hell but what do my own stats look like…’

  [Name not Set]

  [Race Elat]

  [Level 7]

  [Title: none]

  [stats]

  ‘Well… I’m only a starter so it’s natural that my stats aren’t going to be that good but I wonder how long it would take me to reach Ciel’s level… I know that I haven’t spent much time playing time game and th efact that she is going to do everything that she can in order to train me but I wanna know how long it would take me to reach her sealed level and her true level.’

  “AGh!! Stop beating you damn player-killing psychopaths!”

  Our prisoner of war cried out in pain.

  “We aren’t killer players.”

  “Huh?”

  ‘Their words are censored again…’

  Ciel thought to herself as a curious look came over her face.

  ‘I wonder what these people are talking about…

  —

  [Player]

  [NPC]

  [Semi-Player]

  ‘Huh? Semi-player?’

  “What even are you girls?”

  “Uh… Girls?”

  Commented the green cat thing with elven ears. It wasn’t the type of answer that I wanted but with how dumb she looked, I couldn’t be disappointed considering her response.

  “So why did you beat me up when you first saw me?”

  “Because we wanted directions to the nearest town but you ran away and called us player killers so I had my friend, Ciel chase you down and beat you so that we can interrogate you.”

  I shivered at the thought of dying here and now especially to this ragtag band of rogues.

  “You can kill me but you can never take my dignity!”

  “Alright Ciel just kill him.”

  The green haired servant nodded before a spear manifested in her hand and came up to my neck.

  “Any last words?”

  “AHHH! Don’t kill me! I plead guilty and so long as you don’t kill me I will tell you whatever it is that you wish to know!”

  “You should have been like this from the start…”

  The green elf cat thing replied.

  End of the chapter.