Chapter 1: Yggdrasil

In a certain room somewhere in [Earth], two figures stood facing each other.

One had a face that made others frown unconsciously, the wrinkles on her face was truly a sight to behold as such that the word ugly isn’t enough to describe her.

This person was Witch.

However, the tone of her voice didn’t match her face at all. Instead, her voice sounded like bell chimes or even the whispers of an angel! It was simply too mesmerizing!

“What is the meaning of this! You said that Crow won’t die!” (Witch)

Naturally, she was speaking to the person in front of her, Lucas II.

“And I always keep my promises.” (Lucas II)

“Then why did you let him die now!?” (Witch)

“Die? You think he’s dead? He can never die. Not until he kills Lucas. That’s how annoying he is.” (Lucas II)

“But-” (Witch)

“Shut up. It’s clear they didn’t tell you everything. You’re being suspected, fix it.” (Lucas II)

After saying so, Lucas II disappeared into the shadows, leaving Which stupefied.

A few seconds passed, Which finally understood what he meant. She clenched her fists and grind her teeth, a drop of tear appeared on the corner of her eyes.

Finally, she left the room.

+ + +

After finally going back to my house, what greeted me was Vil and Fen...with their stomachs bulging!

What!? Huh!? They-...they’re pregnant!!!??? Dammit! Who’s the father!? I’m gonna give him a piece of my mind!

Bastard! Show yourself!!!

Hm?...Wait...I can feel that Vil and Fen’s feelings haven’t changed with my [Bonds of Connection] but…

Ah...it’s that huh?...They’ve grown fat…

“Welcome back Master~” (Vil)

“Master!” (Fen)

Vil and Fen approached me while holding a bag of potato chips...These lazy bums! What? Don’t tell me they did nothing while I was gone!?

“Hehe, Master~ I miss your cooking~” (Vil)

“Xene sis cooks better though~” (Fen)

…...They’re still thinking about food!?

“Ara, these are...the rabbit and snake from before? Wait, before that, where am I? Why did a door suddenly appear in midair? What’s this do?” (Mei)

Mei, it’s good that you actually recognize these two idiots but please don’t ask me a lot of question all in one go!

Mei lifted a silver rectangle shaped...thing...wait, what is that?

There’s a glowing power button symbol on the surface so I pressed it. Instantly, blueish streams of light appeared above it, creating a rectangular frame and inside, various colored videos appeared...huh?

Wait...huh?

I...this is…[Earth]...right?

Vil and Fen are here, so this is definitely [Earth]...then why!? Why is there a futuristic holographic TV!?

Ah, right. 6000 years had passed...no wait, only 5 years had passed here! Can technology really advance this fast!?

Unless...they...used [Zoulang’s] time?

Hmm...they must’ve relocated every research and development in [Zoulang]. Then, after the project has been completed, they submit the results here...thus creating this scenario of having technology way beyond our time!

Impressive…I wonder if they made hoverboards?

What? I can fly so why do I need a hoverboard? Because it’s a hoverboard! A hover-freaking-board! It’s romance!

Anyway, I quickly seize Mei who was curiously poking and looking around things and bring her to the sofa.

I’ll leave the touring till later cause even I most likely don’t know what’s this or that anymore.

For now, let’s lecture these two.

“You girls, what have you been doing while I’m gone?” (Lucas)

““Eat!”” (Vil & Fen)

...I’m really happy you didn’t lie to me but there’s got to be a limit to your frankness!

“Move your bodies more! Eating junk foods like that is unhealthy!” (Lucas)

“But it’s delicious!” (Fen)

“Ya!” (Vil)

“...If you’re unhealthy...the future baby will also be unhealthy.” (Lucas)

“Exercise!” (Vil)

“Burn the damn fat!” (Fen)

...Talk about a sudden flip of the switch…

Without even waiting for me to continue talking, the two ran somewhere frantically…

Well, they seemed to have snapped out of it, I doubt they’ll instantly remove that much fat. Well, I don’t particularly mind, they say that these types feel nice to hug. I’ll try it later...but let’s hope I don’t suffocate…

“Those two really love you huh?” (Mei)

“Well, stuff happened. Right, I should start explaining huh?” (Lucas)

I told Mei about everything...well, not everything everything. Just stuff she needs to know. The [World Key], the different worlds, who I am, and such. She’s surprisingly taking this too well.

After a few hours, I’ve finished telling Mei what she needed to know, and that the fact that she came from [Zoulang] is a secret.

I’ll make up something later...for now, let’s call the other girls…

Just as I was about to go to [Sennerth] to Eu, Aeran, and Aleris, six figures suddenly appeared emerging from the front door.

...Huh? Well...I can understand if it’s only five. Being Eu, Aeran, Aleris, Lily, and Steph but...how come Freya is also here? Isn’t she in [Harus]?

“Lucas!” (Steph)

“You’re back!” (Eu)

“You finally decided to show up!” (Lily)

“With another girl!” (Aeran)

“Eh? Ah, right...I should start explaining huh?...again...” (Lucas)

...Is this how my life will be from now on? Explaining every single thing?...

“Nah, what with you being you, we already guessed you’ll take home more women. We’re actually more surprised you only brought back one even though you’re in there for over 6000 years!” (Eu)

Seriously!? Wait, were you girls expecting me to bring back 6000 girls or something!?

Sigh...I don’t even know if they really trust me or not...it seems it’s fine for them if I bring back many girls…but at the same time, not. I don’t get it…

“Welcome home new sister! We’re all sisters here, also victims to this guy!” (Aleris)

“No, wait, what victims!?” (Lucas)

“Hehe, welcome back~” (Freya)

Freya’s acting like everything’s normal...well, whatever, they seem fine with it so there’s no harm...right?

+ + +

“So? Why didn’t you even bother to cut your hair? Or shave?” (Lily)

This question again…

“Before that, how come you’re here, Freya? Did you get a [World Key] or something?” (Lucas)

“Ah right, you’ve missed a lot of things, Lucas. The seal on [Harus] is gone. There’s no more need for the [Portal] device anymore, or more like, you can no longer use it.” (Freya)

“Huh? What? Why?” (Lucas)

“The [Death Eaters]. They destroyed the seal so they will have a more...direct access to [Harus] and now, even [Harus] people no longer needed to be contracted and summoned so they can travel worlds. In other words, though it helped people, it also brought more chaos than ever before. Even monsters can freely pass now.” (Lily)

“You mean...even monsters has a [World Key]?” (Lucas)

“No, the [Harus] world was unstable to begin with. That’s why there was the seal. But with the seal gone, numerous wormholes appeared throughout [Haurs]. Even after 15 years there, we still haven’t contained every wormhole. Some wormholes even connect to other worlds we have yet to discover.” (Lily)

...Woah...I’ve really missed a lot huh? Though, I don’t think I can help much if it was the me from before...but now...let’s see who has the guts to block my way.

But still...even after Crow’s death, the [Death Eaters] are still causing mayhem...I need to see Trask, or Bram. Actually, let’s just go to the [Gatekeepers HQ]...Oh, nevermind.

“Lucas. You’re back.” (Bram)

Bram appeared out of nowhere and greeted me. I sensed his divine sense just now so I let him discover me. If I didn’t let him, then even if he wanted, he wouldn’t sense me.

It seems that he hasn’t made it into a sovereign yet.

“Up for a tour? A lot of things has changed you know? But still, you should really consider placing a [Spacelock Array] on your house.” (Bram)

“I’ll do it later. But yeah...seems things has changed... a lot...I feel like I just time traveled...” (Lucas)

I said as I looked at the holo-TV that was still on.

“Heh, that’s just one drop in an ocean. Wait till you see the base!” (Bram)

“Give me your best shot then.” (Lucas)

“We’ll prepare a welcome feast for you and her later~” (Aeran)

“I’ll look forward to it then, been awhile since I last ate...oh, also, keep watch of Vil and Fen! Those girls eat way too much...” (Lucas)

“Sigh, without you here, those two didn’t move around at all...” (Steph)

Chuckling, I stood beside Bram as he grabbed me and teleported us away.

+ + +

Seeing Lucas leave, all the girls suddenly looked at one direction...Mei.

Surprised at being stared suddenly, Mei shook and revealed an awkward smile.

“Uhm...right, my name is Mei J-” (Mei)

“*Bzzt* wrong! No surnames! From now on, you’re also a Lauwers!” (Aeran)

“So suddenly!?” (Mei)

“Hehe, don’t mind it. So? What’s your story? Like I thought, Lucas saved you too huh?” (Eu)

“Emm...no?” (Mei)

“Hey, not all of us here are saved by Lucas! Me and Aleris wasn’t!” (Lily)

“Huh? Oh...yeah! I wasn’t!” (Aleris)

Seemingly just realizing it, Aleris also protested. But who can blame her? After all...Lucas did save her...well, not the current Lucas anyway, but they don’t need to know that...rather, they really don’t have to know…

“Point taken. So what happened? You know, I...” (Aeran)

Aeran started boasting her time with Lucas and how she saved her selflessly. Since the other girls understood what she wanted to do, they also did the same and told their own stories.

Now, it’s time for Mei. However, she was hesitating whether or not to tell them since Lucas told her that her existence as a [Zoulang] resident is a secret.

She didn’t know why that is so she didn’t know if it’s fine to tell the other girls.

Suddenly, she remembered that the girls knew about Lucas being in another world, so she decided to trust them anyways. After all, from now on, they will be like sisters right?

“Wow, you waited for 6000 years? I got to admit, at first, I thought you were just liking Lucas as a fan at first but...you’re pretty cool after all.” (Eu)

“I see, I thought that you were with Lucas for 6000 years...I would’ve been jealous if you were but...it seems that your time with Lucas isn’t actually that much longer than us.” (Aeran)

“And here I thought waiting for Lucas for 5 years is too long...” (Freya)

The girls looked at each other and nodded. Suddenly, they pounced at the startled Mei and gave her a group hug.

Like that, Mei has been accepted to the family.

Meanwhile, Vil and Fen are still running around the house to burn some fat…

“So tired vii~ So hungry viii~” (Vil)

“Fooood~” (Fen)

...While eating…

+ + +

...Those girls…

Just now, I stretched my divine sense to see how the girls are doing. They seemed to be fine now but Vil and Fen...I don’t even know what to say…

Sighing, I shook my head and placed my attention in front of me.

A lot has really changed. Just now, when I stretched my divine sense to see the girls, I found out that I can cover the whole [Earth] with my divine sense. Meaning, I can see what everyone’s doing…

Also, I saw things like flying cars and floating islands and such...

Judging from the location of the girls to here, it seems that the previous [Gatekeeper HQ] has been moved and is now somewhere beneath [Antartica].

They’ve placed a huge [Spacelock Array] so we can’t directly teleport inside, instead, we teleported to an empty room where Bram pressed some tiles in arranged order then the whole floor dropped.

We just reached the bottom and the wall in front of us divided into two, revealing a huge hall in front of us.

The ceiling of the hall was at least three stories high and width is so wide, it can fit two olympic sized swimming pools!

On both sides of the hall were a row of pillars, carved into statues...Hey! Is that me on the first pillar on the right!?

I looked towards the pedestal below and the words [White Haired Adventurer] was there...it really is me oi!

Come to think of it, the other [Gatekeepers] are there too like the [White Knight] and...huh? The others also got a nickname? Heck, why are the others cool while mine is still the [White Haired Adventurer]!? I wanna change it!

“Like it? We had a high leveled [Sculptor] do those pillars.” (Bram)

“No, I don’t. It’s not accurate! That guy has a right arm!” (Lucas)

“...You had one before. Speaking of which, why haven’t you recovered that arm?” (Bram)

“It’s my reminder that I can never be weak again.” (Lucas)

“...I see...I heard you’re a sovereign now. Even after 6000 years in [Zoulang], only you, David, Lin, Blaire, and Misty has broken through.” (Bram)

Well, it’s not exactly easy to know yourself...I, myself, forced my way through. But wait...Misty!? Blaire!?

“You...know Misty? And Blaire?” (Lucas)

“Yeah, she’s part of the [Zoulang] division [Gatekeepers].They’re pretty hot, especially Misty. Caused a lot of disturbance when she first went here...well, mostly to the guys...” (Bram)

...Somehow, I can totally see that coming…guess I’ll ran into her plenty from now on...I don’t know if that’s a good thing, or bad.

“So, Wild Gun. What are those things above the people’s heads?” (Lucas)

Wild Gun...who’s the damned idiot who gave him such a cool nickname!?

“Sigh...it feels weird calling me that so stop it…as for those, they’re indicators.” (Bram)

I shifted my attention to the holographic diamond shaped things floating on some people’s heads.

They come with different colors while some didn’t have them. That includes me and Bram by the way.

“Indicators for what?” (Lucas)

“For people from another world. Alright, see those things around the place?” (Bram)

Bram pointed on some objects attached to the walls, pillars, and on the ceiling. They were half-sphere shaped tinted glasses like cameras from 5 years ago.

“Those are 3D cameras. For the holograms. Using a system called [Holo-Share], the 3D cams will feed us with live feed from the HQ of other worlds. The HQ from other worlds are all made the same anyway.” (Bram)

So that’s why some people seemed to be moving faster than the others...it’s because of the time difference!

Ah! There are also people passing through people! So those indicators show which you can pass through. Those that has no indicator, you’ll have to avoid.

“Still, passing through people are still a bit disrespectful so everyone still tries to avoid each other. On crowded areas though like the hallways and private areas like bedrooms, clinic, offices, or bathrooms, there are naturally no cameras.” (Bram)

I can understand why there’s none for the private areas. As for the hallways, it’s probably hard if there’s a lot of people passing. You can’t always check their heads after all, and it’s not necessary.

This [Holo-Share] is probably just for better and fast communications.

“Sounds are also transmitted right?” (Lucas)

“Yep. Neat huh?” (Bram)

I chatted some more with Bram as we walk to the other end of the hall. This hall is actually called the [Legacy Hall] which serves as the entrance to the HQ and tribute for those who had made their mark in the [Gatekeeper] history.

This is also a spot to rest for some employees and even considered as a field trip site to some schools. I can tell that because there is one, on-going field trip tour right now.

Their tourist guide seemed to be introducing each person on the pillar statues. Too bad I wasn’t here when they introduced my statue…

We passed them by and were held up since they took turns to take pictures with Bram...as for me…

“Sir Wild Gun is guiding an old man!”

“Why is an old man here?”

“Is he Sir Wild Gun’s grandpa?”

And such...Bram was laughing to the side all the time…

By the way, I saw some disturbing figures also sculpted on the pillars but I chose to ignore them...they couldn’t possibly be...those guys...right?

We moved on to the next room. It’s a wide circular dome. About four times larger than the [Legacy Hall].

This place is decorated with grass, trees, benches, artificial sky, and even artificial sun! It feels like I’m outside! Even the wind feels fresh!

In fact, there are even vendor shops around. Giving a park square-like atmosphere.

Some people can be seen resting on the benches, having picnic on the shades of the trees, buying food from the vendors, jogging around with their dogs...it doesn’t really feel like I’m inside a base underneath cold ice!

“Hehe, you look amazed. This place is the [Central Park]. A resting place for, well, everyone. See that building over there?” (Bram)

Bram pointed at a building on the farthest right from where we stood.

Huh, a building within a building. Talk about...buildingception...okay, that was lame. It sounded better in my head.

Actually, there was more than one building inside, there’s even a 7-11. Neat.

Anyway, the building Bram was pointing is larger than the others inside and has two storeys.

“The [Gatekeepers] function like an adventurer’s guild. On the first floor of that building, you can accept requests for Ranks E and F. Ranks C and D are on the second floor. As for Ranks B and above, they accept special requests in another area.” (Bram)

Heeh, adventurer’s guild huh? It really feels like fantasy~

“The corridor to the right is for the public living quarters for those who can’t afford a house. With this, there’s almost no more people sleeping on the streets and the homeless people has also rapidly decreased.” (Bram)

I nodded as I listened to Bram explain more of the HQ’s features.

“Next is that corridor on the left. That connects to the [World Portal] chamber. It’s an open [World Gate] connected to a machine and monitor where you can choose which world to enter. Of course, not everything’s free.” (Bram)

The worlds that are free of access to the [Gatekeepers] are world like [Harus] or [Sennerth] it seems. Some requires payment, authorization, rank, or a mix of payment and rank.

Those that required payment are the worlds specialized in entertainment. Bram said there was a world for gambling and games...must be nice~

Worlds that require authorization are usually the worlds that contains important secrets or dangerous technologies. [Zoulang] is apparently one of them. After all, you can become an immortal there.

Worlds that require specific ranks are worlds that contain high difficulty of monsters. There was talks of [Harus] being one of those but was instantly rejected due to the masses.

Also, you don’t get to see the names of the worlds that you are not allowed to go. This is thanks to the IDs that everyone has, they tap it on the machine and a list of world appear which they are allowed to pass.

If one wants to enter a world that isn’t on that list, they apply for a request to an office where various names of worlds that requires payment are listed.

Names of worlds that requires authorization and rank are not listed.

As for the general masses, a [Worldport] is constructed where only some selected worlds are allowed since some worlds are too dangerous. All of which are not free. That’s why most would become a [Gatekeeper] instead.

“Now then, let’s skip the R&D and others for now. I need to bring you to the [Root] to meet the others.” (Bram)

[Root] huh. Apparently, that’s what they call the deepest floor of this base. And also where the higher ups are.

Bram led me to the left corridor where the [World Portals] are. The room was square shaped, with lots of corridors on the walls and [World Gates] lined up in the middle with some kind of machines on their side.

Just as I was admiring the machines, Bram walked to one of the corridors so I followed him.

...Dead end…or so I thought.

Bram pushed some tiles on the wall and the wall opened, revealing an elevator.

After a few minutes of going down, we finally reached the deepest floor. The [Root].

There, we were greeted with a huge room with around two thirds of it being on a lower level.

Somehow, it gives off a spaceship kind of feel… There’s a huge monitor on the other side of the room, covering the whole wall and lots of desks and monitors on the lower level.

The whole room is as big as the [Central Park] from earlier.

On the lower level, the desks are separated in groups. There are also small offices lined up on the walls with glass walls.

On the upper level, a long table is placed and some nice looking chairs.

The upper and lower level is separated with a glass that is made to become see through or not, as Bram described it.

We went up on the upper level and inside the room with the long table.

There, I saw some familiar faces. It was Trask and Ban, who is now wearing a different set of armor.

Hm? That armor...it’s the same as the armor on one of the pillars in the [Legacy Hall]! The one named [Guardian]!

“Lucas, it’s been a while. You look old, haha.” (Trask)

“It’s just the beard, I’ll shave later...” (Lucas)

“Sir Lucas, it’s good to see you again.” (Ban)

You’re still calling me with a Sir…

“Hehe, Ban here has passed on the [White Knight] to another person and became the [Guardian]. Now, he’s the leader of the combat [Gatekeepers]. Trask here is the vice-head of the foreign affair [Gatekeepers]. The other figureheads are away at the moment but you’ll meet them soon.” (Ban)

Heeh, Ban has become a bigshot huh?

“I guess you’re my superior now huh, Ban. Stop calling me Sir.” (Lucas)

“No, Sir Lucas. Your position is still higher than me.” (Ban)

...Huh?

“After all, now that you’re back. We can begin [Project: World Heroes].” (Ban)

…………..Huh??

“In other words, you will be tasked to search for the new [Heroes] and lead them.” (Ban)

……………………...HUH!?

“Welcome to [Yggdrasil], future leader of the [Heroes]. Search them before they fall into the darkness.” (Trask)

…………………………………….Somehow...another insane project has been pushed onto me huh?...

“Well, that’s still for later anyways so you can relax for now~” (Bram)

No, don’t just cut the momentum oi!!!

[/hr]

Author's Notes

Hey guys~ I know I said I'm going to include a status window in this chapter but it will actually make this chapter too long so I decided to do it next chap...teehee :p?

The status window format will change y'see, and there's a reason for that so I had to explain it in the chap, which doesn't seem to fit yet here so...yeah...

Also, just a heads up. Somehow, our desktop has been moved to my mom's room...so it feels weird whenever I try to write...I feel like someone's watching me...it makes me uncomfortable...or maybe I'm just lazy~? Well, I'll start my OJT next week so it will be hard for me to write~

So...yeah...more futuristic stuffs coming next chap~ Also some updates on the other world's situations like [Death], the vampires, the labyrinth, and such. Oh, also the new status.

Somehow, I'm using alot of ~ today~~ Maybe it's because I decided to reread Death March~ I got infected nanodesu~ Pochi FTW! Nodesu!

P.S.: Did Vil and Fen shock you? They did didn't you? You thought they're pregnant didn't you? You wanted NTR didn't you? Mwahahahaha~

P.S.2: RRL seemed to have upgraded huh~ Somehow, it feels more comfortable~

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