An elf with short brown hair and glasses walked into an office.

Tall shelves lined the walls, filled with maps and documents. They faced inwards towards the only other bit of furniture in the entire room – A desk.

The elven man behind the wooden desk barely glanced up, revealing green eyes, before returning to his paperwork. His chestnut hair was tied into a top knot behind his head, keeping it out of the way.

“What is it Amelia?” He asked his secretary.

She stood straighter as he addressed her.

“Commander” she said

He briefly looked up, raising an eyebrow, before waving her down.

“Just Zen, if you please. We’re the only ones in the room”.

Her posture changed immediately, going from absolutely straitlaced to casual in a moment. He smiled, returning to his work. It was amazing how she managed to do that.

“There’s a guy we found outside in the forest with a dress sense you wouldn’t approve of” she said.

He looked up at her from behind a pile of papers. “Why?” he asked “What sort of clothes is he wearing?”

She shook her head.

“That’s the thing, he’s not wearing any.”

“…”

“…”

“Where is he now?”

“We have him in the interrogation room. He’s unconscious”

Zen looked at the paper he was writing thoughtfully, before placing his quill into the inkwell and rising.

“Well then, lets meet this stranger of ours, shall we?”

He paused at the door, as they were leaving.

“Ah, and Amelia…”

She looked him.

“…get him some clothes, would you?”

“Yes Commander.”

He sighed.

***

Azrael woke up in a small stone room, his mouth dry and fuzzy.

He looked around, taking in the two small windows providing light and the wooden desk set between him and another man. The man coolly regarded him with his green eyes. Azrael sighed. It seemed he had made a habit of waking up next to strangers.

Seeing that the other man was unlikely to initiate the conversation anytime soon Azrael continued observing the room.

Unlike stereotypical interrogation rooms this one was well lit, despite the small windows. The sunlight streaming through illuminated the sandstone blocks of the walls. The floor was similarly made of hewn sandstone, while the roof and door were made of wood.

The door and windows were the best indicators for the room’s purpose. The door was thickly built, with plenty of reinforcements, while the windows were too small to climb through. It would be hard to suddenly escape this room.

Briefly he wondered if he could use magic to escape. Fire might work on the door, or else [Stone Shaping] could… he remembered he no longer had [Stone Shaping]. It had changed becoming [Void Shaping]. He wasn’t desperate enough to try and use an unknow skill on the fly, especially one that drew power from the void.

During this whole time the man had simply watched Azrael calmly, however he now cleared his throat. Azrael turned to look at him. In his current mindset he began assessing the man, wondering about the likely hood of escaping.

The man… no. Azrael noticed the pointed ears. The elf, he corrected himself, sat with an air of confidence, as if he was in absolute control. The elf’s eyes watched him calmly, seemingly relaxed, while the man’s whole body was tensed, ready to react to any sudden movements.

Azrael mentally shook his head and forced his own body to relax. There was no reason to escape, yet. He didn’t know where he was, or what awaited him outside of the door. Any sudden actions would possibly be neutralised in a moment. The stereotypical elf also suggested an affinity with mana, ruling out hidden magical attacks.

He had little to lose and more to gain if he took the time to speak with the elf. If things went south, then he could always try to escape then. He turned to face the elf.

Despite having drawn Azrael’s attention, the elf didn’t speak for a long time until he realised that Azrael wasn’t going to start the conversation. The elf cleared his throat again, before extending a hand out to Azrael.

Azrael hesitated for a moment, recalling his handshake with the Trickster, before reaching over.

“Zen” the man introduced.

“Azrael”

Thankfully, the man’s handshake was normal, with none of a god’s overwhelming power.

Azrael took the initiative to ask a question.

“Where are we and why am I here?” he asked.

Zen clasped his hands in front of himself.

“That’s actually the question I wanted to ask you. What is a completely naked person doing in the New Elven forests?”

Azrael was confused for a second. Naked? He looked down, only just realising for the first time that he wasn’t wearing his villager clothing, but instead some pastel and green clothing similar to Zen.

But in the first place, why was he…? That Trickster! First, he’d been kidnapped and then he’d been left in a random forest, naked! Azrael swore to get the Trickster back for this one. The only question was how far he was from home. It couldn’t be that far, right?

“Where are we now?” He asked Zen.

“We’re in the southern outpost of the Origin Forest.”

“Where’s the forest?”

Zen looked at him confused.

“Where on the map is the forest?” Azrael rephrased.

“We’re in the southeastern quarter of the second ring.”

“Pardon!?”

“We’re in the…”

Azrael waved him off.

“No, I understood that. Sorry.”

To be in the southeastern quarter… If he remembered the map correctly, then the End forest was in the northwest, almost completely on the other side of the map.

…

…

…

THAT BLEEPING THRICE ACCURSED GOD HAD PLACED HIM ON THE. OTHER. SIDE. OF. THE. KNOWN. WORLD!

Azrael felt [Intimidation] tick up another level from Zen and forcefully tried to regain a [Calm Mind].

Outside an alarm bell started ringing.

***

Zen heard the alarm bell ringing, pushing his chair back. Today it seemed the heavens were deciding to make him pay the price for the relatively uneventful week he’d had.

He should have known that trouble comes in pairs.

First a stranger was found naked in his forest. Strange, but not completely odd. Some players still started out this far from the center, despite the warnings on the forums.

This player however didn’t seem to be a newbie. Despite the absolute lack of equipment, the player before him seemed to have an aura around him. It quietly dominated the room and set him on edge. What had been meant as a quick interrogation was quickly swapped around to him answering questions, instead of the apprehended individual.

Even Zen’s usual intimidation tactic of waiting in silence until the other person started speaking had backfired. From there Azrael, as he’d introduced himself, had quickly taken over the conversation.

At the end, he’d even been slightly worried for his safety as the man’s aura flared for a moment. He’d been saved by the bell. Quite literally.

Unfortunately, this bell signified something far worse than a single man. It was the warning for a monster raid.

Zen turned to Azrael, deciding to trust his gut.

“How good are you at combat” he asked.