章 13: Standoff
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Ottar continued to stare at me for a little longer before he finally spoke. True to his depictions, his voice was smooth and silent which was very different from what you would expect from someone of his appearance.
"Are you the applicant who wants to join our Familia?"
"I don't know. Don't you have the answer already? I can't imagine any other reason that any one member of the Freya Familia would bother talk to me, let alone its captain, unless it I was the applicant?"
He gave me a flat stare.
"You didn't answer the question."
"Ever heard of something called rhetorical questions 'King'? They're not meant to be answered."
"That is no way to speak to someone who will be your superior and commander if you do join boy."
"Save it Ottar. Nobody in your Familia listens to you, they only follow the words of their Goddess. The only way you can make them listen is when you threaten them."
He raised an eyebrow at my casual use of his name. Wouldn't you if someone who only knew you for a few seconds did that?
"You appear to know me beyond my title. Have we met before?"
"I make an effort to remember any powerful people I may come across. And as far as I know, I have no recollection of meeting anybody like you."
Ottar's eyes narrowed further, uncertain whether or not there was insult hidden in my words. I continued.
"But if you must know, Finn Deimne of the Loki Familia was the one to tell me about you. We spent the entire day together in the Dungeon."
"And you went down to the 14th floor? When you're not even a level one?"
"Yes. Is that so hard to believe?"
"It's easier to believe considering you went down there with some of the Loki Familia's most powerful members."
"If you're implying I rode on their backs that deep, then you're sorely mistaken. That being said, I'm not going to make any effort now to prove the truth of my words. I intend to make my capabilities known in the future."
"And why our Familia of all that you could have joined?"
"Because it's the most logical choice. As the largest and most powerful Familia in existence, you're bound to have rather extensive connections. Using those, I can raise the standard of my living for lower prices. And because you are powerful, not many other Familia will dare pick a fight with you, which will keep my affairs safe from meddlers.
You're also the best exploration type Familia in Orario, which is the kind of thing I'd like to do as well. It would make sense to join you because nobody could show me the ropes better than you could. These are just a few logical reasons. Anything else can only be privy to the ears of the one who bestows a Falna upon me."
Ottar shifted and folded his arms. He appeared to scrutinize me a little. Misha backed away a little, unnerved by the whole ordeal. She'd probably expected me to bend because of Ottar's reputation. And nobody else had probably ever acted so brazenly towards Ottar before.
"If the decision were up to me, you would not join our Familia." He said as he unfolded his arms. "You are rebellious and arrogant. And you are too confident for your own good. And you appear to be the kind who is overly ambitious." Ottar sighed. "However, that privilege does not belong to me. My Lady has taken a keen interest in you, and therefore I am obligated to bring you with me to Babel. However before we go, I must verify something."
"And what would that be?"
"On your application paper, it said that you possess a storage magic which opens an interdimensional space in which you can store objects regardless of size or complexity. Can you demonstrate?"
I instantly cast a silent '[INVENTORY]', and beside me the signature hole in reality opened. There was no visible reaction Ottar's face as his eyes turned to it. I tossed the sack that was over my shoulder inside. The portal largened to accommodate the sack before it closed and disappeared from sight.
"Your opinion, Master Ottar?" I said with a smile. He grunted.
"It's satisfactory at best. We can test the extent of your spell's potential and capabilities later in the dungeon...that is, if my Lady approves."
He turned and began walking out, obviously expecting me to follow. I smiled at Misha.
"Sorry, Misha. It looks like we'll have to discuss my first run tomorrow."
"Yeah, sure." She said in a shaky voice. "Don't keep them waiting." I gave her another warm smile before turning to follow the Boaz. Before I stepped out the door, she called out to me again.
"Garth!"
I turned to her and raised my brow and cocked my head upwards in the universal gesture that said 'what's up?'.
"Be respectful please. If the Freya Familia reject you, it could become widespread, and the more powerful Familias may not want to deal with somebody that has earned their ire. And they will never consider giving you a place in their ranks."
I nodded, appreciating her helpful, but otherwise unnecessary advice. When I turned back, I saw that Ottar had stilled for a moment, looking back at me with a frown that told me to hurry up. I obliged and decided to shock him a little. He was already over 30 feet away at this point.
In an instant, I was by his side. His neck jerked as he swiveled his head quickly to face me. Surprisingly his face did not drop the golem expression. But I couldn't imagine what was going through his head now. To him, it appeared as if I had just taken a step before I suddenly disappeared like someone who had just glitched out of the Matrix. Before he knew it I was beside him, staring him down with a cheeky grin.
"So, shall we get going?" I asked. He grunted and began walking in the direction of Babel. I followed a step behind him.
People began looking at us, staring, pointing and whispering. Ottar did have a reputation after all. Being the only level seven in the world (well as far as they knew) and having taken part in driving Evilus back into the shadows a few years ago, there was no one in Orario that hadn't seen him or not heard of him.
I saw some people recognize me as well. Some of them were adventurers I'd seen in the Hostess last night. Amongst them were the three idiots that had tried to intimidate me from a table. Their eyes caught my own and they looked away.
I suppose the sentiment that was going around that anybody who was walking in such a manner with the King was either a powerful person or somebody being recruited for the Freya Familia. And antagonizing me would be antagonizing Freya and there weren't many stupid or crazy enough to do that.
With the exception of one Goddess in particular of course, although even she was more reserved in her approach.
We eventually made it into Babel and stepped into the elevator. I marveled at it as one did not usually see these things in fantasy anime. It looked like those third world-elevators but still an elevator nonetheless.
The doors opened as we made it to the top floor. Before we stepped out, Ottar spoke to me.
"I know there are three creatures of some sorts hiding inside your shadow at the moment. I'm afraid that they must stay behind before we go in."
I didn't question how he knew the amount of shadow demons were tailing me and instead I looked towards my shadow. "You heard the man boys. Come out, and stay out."
My shadow bubbled before three writhing, horned black masses that seemed to drip with wispy shadows emerged from it. They appeared to bow their heads and flitted across the ground to a shadow corner and stayed there perfectly visible.
I was hoping and also hoping against the possibility that somebody else came up after us. One look at that corner and they'd flee for their lives in terror. Although considering where we were at the moment, it was probably only high level adventurers that came here. I imagined they would be harder to scare off like that.
Ottar stared at them threateningly before he gave the same look to me.
"I will go ahead and inform Lady Freya that you are here. Once I have her approval, I will return for you. Stay here until then and make sure that they-" he gestured to the three child sized shapes in the corner. "...stay outside. They will only come in if Lady Freya wishes for them to come in."
I merely nodded and watched him disappear through a door. I held my breath and felt my heart pound as I waited for the most anticipated moment yet. I was going to meet her!
It was time to see if my designs had paid off. Although I'm pretty certain that her eyes would see the bubbling excitement in me. I wasn't sure how she would react to that, so I decided to get rid of it. Trouble was though, I didn't have a spell to suppress emotions.
'Wait, I can create skills as well can't I? I did it with 'Aura of Despair' after all. Didn't Ainz have one particular passive skill that...'
"[EMOTIONAL SUPPRESSION]"
A green glow encompassed my face with what appeared to be like green sparkles showering on it. Instantly I felt the excitement die down as if somebody pulled the plug and it all went down the drain.
"Handy skill indeed."
---
{Top of Babel}
It had been a normal day for her as any other. Her chaotic children were all either in Folkvangr trying perfect their less dramatic skills or they were in the dungeon trying to win her favour and attention.
Apart from her most trusted child that had been standing faithfully and dutifully behind her. Truly, Ottar was the most faithful child she had yet. And one of the best as unlike his comrades, he was not enchanted by her gaze.
He followed willingly with the sole intention of pleasing her and working her schemes to achieve their desired result to the best of his ability. Freya could not imagine life without him at this point.
But he was no Odr.
For millions upon millions of years, she had waited for her prophesized husband. She remembered that day back in heaven, when she was told she was destined to find a worthy and powerful husband in the lower realm.
There was nothing she'd desired more in her eternal life. Every relationship she'd had been in were always insincere. While some looked upon her in scorn for what she did, she did what she had to in order to protect herself from being taken advantage of up there and also down here.
Hearing she would one day find a true and loving husband that was meant to be with her for all eternity had filled her soul with a happiness that she could not even expect to ever feel beforehand.
At first, she was content to stay up in heaven, watching down on it, searching in the ocean of souls for any that might seem like they could be the one. But she never did find them.
And so she descended to the lower world, believing she would have an easier time finding her beloved. But centuries passed and nothing. She'd capitalized on favours from other gods and nothing. She took advantage of the Zeus and Hera Familias being banished to the unknown and still nothing.
She climbed to the top and sat at the highest peak in Babel and still nothing. She helped in stamping out the threat of Evilus, and despite the fact she knew they were still around and was currently amassing as much strength and talent she could find to repel the inevitable threat, still nothing.
Then she stumbled upon a poor bedraggles girl that bore certain similarities with her and managed to come to an agreement with her that made them one yet separate at the same time. Having accomplished that, she took up the new identity she obtained and volunteered at a tavern founded by her ex-captain.
The different environment, and the thrill of being able to walk around and no one was wiser about her true face relieved some of the despair and boredom she faced. She'd made friends in the other waitresses, including the one that had been expelled from her ranks simply because she'd hit a plateau. And especially the silent but icy elf that she'd once again found collapsed in the street.
She'd hoped that by being closer to them, she'd be able to pick out a more promising candidate. But nothing. It was beginning to seem that she would never find her destined one.
Until yesterday.
She'd decided to send the real Syr to work in the hostess as she simply wasn't in the mood to work in the kitchens and around rowdy mortals that night. Instead, she'd perched on her usual seat, staring out of the glass window in her room with a chalice of fine wine in her hand.
Like she did everyday, she stared down upon Orario from her throne and gazed upon the souls that scurried around beneath her gaze. They were all a mixture of colours. Some were unique as the colours would from certain pictures, from which she could tell their personality and their best qualities.
Despite all the different blends and textures, they were relatively all the same. Not fit to be her Odr. Until her eyes drifted over to the Hostess of Fertility and she locked onto a strange sight.
A person, a man she could tell although she couldn't make any distinct features without her mirror was currently walking in its direction. But what was shocking was that she could not find a trace of a soul inside him. It appeared as if she was just looking at a body, an animate healthy corpse walking around like a living man.
Perplexed, she decided to pry deeper. To her surprise, the young man appeared to sense her gaze and he paused in the street. She saw something crack inside him, like a crack in a wall from which light poured forth. She deduced that this was her chance to see what this mortal was able to hide from her.
Once she entered, she was suddenly pushed back by an array of bright colours, some she'd never seen before in her life. She was forced to retreat for a moment to gain her bearings, before she steeled herself and tried again.
She hadn't realized that her feet had carried her somehow to the window and her face was pressed up against the glass, staring intently down at the intriguing soul. Ottar had become concerned as he looked won on at the shattered chalice on the floor.
When she reentered, she was greeted by a breath taking sight. She'd come across colours that painted a portrait representation of that individual's soul before but nothing came close to the beauty and magnitude of what she was seeing now.
His soul appeared to be in the form of a shining gold ring. It looked like a ring one would put on their finger, and it was engraved with runes she'd gasped upon recognizing. They were runes from her section of heaven! Holy lettering that she had not seen ever since she descended.
But what was more stunning was what was inside the ring. In it she saw a calm, beautiful deep sea. The water sparkled and the waves splashed around in synchronized harmony creating music that was soothing to her ears. The fact she could hear this inside his soul completely floored her.
Raging above the sea was a howling wind that span around furiously. It roared with the ferocity of a beast, and threatened to blow away any that impeded it's path. But what was most eye catching was what could be found in the middle of that sea.
A great tree, as high as the sky rose out of the water, its trunk thicker than a planet as it radiated with beauty unmatched by anything Mother Nature had to offer. Its branches separated into nine distinct sections. On those sections appeared to grow entire worlds themselves.
The branches that shook most violently in the wind carried worlds filled with fire and devastation. Rivers ran made purely from the blood of war as the inhabitants of those worlds were consumed by bloodlust and chaos.
The branches that swayed more gently were covered in worlds that looked like paradise. Endless riches, fertile lands, prosperity, tidal waves of love that spawned many, many offspring that played in the crops and with beautiful animals that she had only ever seen in Heaven.
She noticed that the golden ring which circled this magnificent visage was covered in flames that had various colours and hues to it. The flames burned with passion and intensity that threatened to consume everything, and yet it was as if she wanted nothing more than for that to happen.
But what struck her most was what the image was doing to her. Every flicker of the flames on the ring sent out a pulse, like a heartbeat. Every pulse resonated with her own soul, and she could feel her Arcanum which she had sealed go wild as it threatened to burst out. It took a great deal to make her lose control like that, and it shocked her out of the electrifying yet pleasurable haze those pulses put her in. Regaining her senses allowed her to detect the true essnce of each pulse.
Power.
Unfathomable, unimaginable power. Power even she could not understand the depths of. She was half excited and half afraid of this. The fact that she could not gauge his strength from his soul alone meant one thing.
This mortal was powerful enough to overwhelm her senses, meaning it was possible he was more powerful than her. And a mortal than could potentially be more powerful than someone like her, even if she were to release her Arcanum was a worrying development. She was no Primordial but she was nothing to scoff at either.
Still, she could not help but be captivated by him. The wondrous image and colours as well as the infinite life-force and energy flowing through him awoke feelings and hopes within her that she had not felt in a long time.
But to her disappointment and shock, she could not marvel at the sight any longer as she was forcibly kicked out of his soul and locked out. She tried again with the same strength as before but to no avail.
Syr who had picked up on her feeling and experiences immediately rushed to the entrance of the Hostess to greet this stranger. And it was through her eyes that Freya could get a better look at his actual face.
He did not seem to be a fully grown man despite how tall he was. In fact, she would say that he could not be more than sixteen years of age. But he was handsome. Too handsome. She could almost call him beautiful if not for the fact that that adjective was often associated with women.
He put people like Apollo, while rather distasteful in attitude and preferences due to his deviant tendencies was still a rather handsome person, to shame. Not in heaven nor in the mortal world had she ever seen a male so magnificent. She felt herself becoming lost again but this time in those eyes of his that seemed like pools of molten gold.
His frame, his aura screamed of unimaginable might, just like his soul. She watched him eat. She watched him drink. She saw him intimidate older and lesser men that tried to scare him with a simple glare.
She witnessed his altercation with Bete whom she'd once taken an interest in but disregarded because he was naught but a traumatized boy inside that had a penchant for trampling upon the feelings and ambitions of weaker adventurers.
She understood his sentiments and reasonings for doing so but such actions would brin more harm than good to her so she forgot about him. There was nothing unique and interesting about his soul anyway.
She saw Loki immediately take an interest in him and try to recruit the handsome barbarian she'd come to know was called Garth Ragnar (which intrigued her more as there was already a Ragnar in her own ranks) and she gritted her teeth while clenching her hands. But fortunately, Garth refused the offer which surprised, confused and relived her.
She saw his little incident with Miach whom she honestly liked and did not mind at all. She watched as three maggots tried to follow him in the hopes of a quick mug and half considered sending her strongest child to decapitate those ingrates. But instead she opted to see what he could do to protect himself in this situation.
To her immense surprise, he cast magic and killed them instantly. She'd seen him do it before when healing Bete's arm but she was unaware that he could use attack magic as well, much less the kind that could snuff out someone's life so quickly, silently and easily.
The magic also seemed to resonate with her, despite the fact she sensed it was a dark kind of magic. In all honesty, it excited her more to see her target of interest was not all pure.
She then watched in amazement as he summoned three dark creatures, creatures she'd seen in that depiction of the great tree in bis soul. They appeared to swallow the bodies of the men and then follow him to a small but well known inn.
Deciding that watching him anymore beyond this point would be a dishonourable breach of his privacy, she decided to let it go for the day, although she kept an eye on the catgirl.
She did not get any sleep at all that night as she indulged herself in fantasies and schemes.
The first thing she did when the sun rose the next morning was to rush back to the room again this time with her mirror and watch him again. Seeing he appeared to be headed to the guild at a slow pace, she commanded Ottar to open a recruitment notice effective immediately. Her trusty Boaz was already well aware of the situation and instantly took off to fulfill his duties.
She took notes when seeing Garth repulsed by the vegetable meals in the food stands and when he scoffed down meat ravenously. She continued to observe as he registered himself at the guild although she decided to keep a beady eye on the pink haired receptionist. She bristled slightly when she saw him kiss that girl's fingertips.
Unrelenting, she followed his journey through the dungeon and was blown away by his prowess and power. He breezed through the dungeon's upper levels like a walk in the park. Even after that incredible spar, he didn't seem fatigued nor winded.
Though she found herself once again filled with slight jealousy as she saw him gift that Sword Princess a breathtakingly beautiful rapier. She didn't like how so many women appeared to be interested in him all of a sudden as she saw the colours in the girl's soul fluctuate. Perhaps she should do a little something about them.
Garth's application finally reached her and she immediately sent Ottar back to fetch him. And the timing could not be more perfect as only minutes after did Ottar arrive did Garth walk in as well.
She stopped her visual stalking by that point, convinced that Ottar would bring the boy home with him.
And here she was, seated at her chair as that incredible soul was standing outside of her quarters and her strongest child came in to greet her.
"Lady Freya, I have brought him as requested."
"Thank you very much Ottar. You have served me well. I cannot express how happy I am with you right now."
"My Lady, your happiness and simply the opportunity to serve you is an honour and a reward enough in itself to me. I live to serve you. This I vowed from the day you took me under your gracious embrace."
"And I appreciate your efforts Ottar. Now then, tell me..." she sloshed the wine in her glass. "...what do you think of him?"
"He is...arrogant and prideful...but wary and cautious as well. He also carries an air of nonchalance about him. Though something in my bones tell me its all naught but a clever façade to make people around him drop their guard."
"Mhm. And what of your appraisal? Is he powerful like we were led to believe?"
Ottar released a large breath he had been holding back.
"I wouldn't say powerful per say Lady Freya..."
"No?" she said confusedly. To her immense shock, she saw something shift in her child's soul and a colour emerged she had not seen in him in a long while.
Fear.
"It would be a tremendous understatement!" Ottar said a little loudly and breathlessly which was completely out of character for him. "As I stood there in front of him, my body carried me towards him, but every instinct, every nerve, every bone in my body was screaming at me to run away! As if I stood no chance against him! As if I would die instantly if I even moved in a way he didn't like."
Ottar gulped, his eyes wide with worry and unease.
"I don't know what's wrong with me my Lady. I am ashamed that you must see me in such a disgraceful state when I have sworn to protect you. But something tells me that even if our entire Familia roused his ire, we would be nothing but lambs for him to slaughter. We stand no chance against something like that!"
"He's that powerful...?" Freya's brow lowered but her insides flipped. Although slightly distressed at how despaired Ottar looked, she was happy she would be gaining such a new asset to her forces. Not to mention she could finally be able to check his status and see what it was that intrigues her so about him.
"Well it's a good thing he'll be joining us isn't it then Ottar? Go. Bring him here."
Ottar bowed and steeled his face once more. He promptly marched out to carry out her orders. Not a minute later he returned. Following in after him came the mortal that had occupied her attention for the past two days.
He locked eyes and she shivered at his intense gaze. She could not see any traces of lust in him. Even when she activated her charm like she always did with people like him, he seemed unfazed. He just continued staring at her.
She placed her glass on the table in front of her. Earlier she'd had a table and another chair brought up for her. On the table was another glass and a bottle of the famous Soma Wine.
She opened an arm out to the aspiring adventurer and latest applicant to her Familia.
"Welcome, Garth Ragnar. It's a pleasure to meet you."
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