Chapter 7: New Residents & A Close Invasion

Luna was a beautiful girl. She had black hair and milky white skin. Her slim body and figure match perfectly. To think this girl is asking a favor from me.

...how annoying.

"Don't lie Rhythm, you definitely like this situation."

"Shut up Satan."

Right now, I was discussing with Luna about how she would fake her death. As long as she is hidden from her parents and together with her sister, she would be satisfied.

"But an ojou-sama like you will probably have a hard time with managing money."

"How rude! I can probably at least manage myself and my sister."

"How much does a single egg cost?"

"A dollar, even I know that."

I was speechless at her sense of money, otherwise her common sense was better than others.

"...honestly you're in quite a predicament. Even if you successfully escape the control of your parents, you will definitely not be able to manage yourselves. I need to make sure you have a stable income."

"I'm 15, how can I get a stable income?"

"Well I could teach you magic, but that sounds troublesome..." as I was speaking, I noticed how her eyes started to sparkle.

"I wanna learn magic. There are probably a lot of jobs involving magic right? I mean, look at you. You probably have a nice stable income right?"

Well, she does have a point.

"Do you know how many people want to learn magic? It's not that easy to learn magic. Master mages are hard to find to teach you as during the beginning stages, you cannot deal with independent study without any danger. If I teach you magic, I would have to help you with everything."

"Then I'll live with you."

"Eh?"

Well, that does sound reasonable, but for peaks sake I'm a guy. Oh well, as long as she doesn't do anything bad, then living with two girls might be fun… or annoying.

"Are you sure about that. I'm a male in the prime of his youth and you're asking to live with someone who can ignore the law. You're risking quite a lot for this."

"I would do anything to get away from my parents, as long as I have my sister with me. Honestly, this deal is probably one of the most important events in my life."

Seeing as she have no intentions of giving up, I gave up. I honestly hoped that she would change her mind, but oh well.

"Fine, you and your sister will live with me, but in the future you will listen to me as my kind of life needs those that can obey. Otherwise you might get yourself killed."

"I will. So how will you fake my death."

"Easy, your parents don't know what happened to those Satanic worshippers right. All we'll do is take a pic of you and your sister bound and pretend you were kidnapped. They won't be able to find you for months."

Agreeing on this, Luna said that she wanted to leave immediately. Also, she left to bring her sister to meet me.

Coming in was a cute girl wearing a black dress. She looked like a younger version of her sister, so it's expected that she'll be a great beauty when she grows up.

"This is my sister Soleil. Soleil, this is the man who saved us earlier."

"The magician?"

Wow, this girl is sharp. Kneeling down to meet her eyes, I asked her, "Soleil, do you want to leave with your sister?"

"Yeah, I don't wanna stay with mommy and daddy. They won't hit me anymore will they?"

Seeing the bruises on her body, I momentarily remembered how I used to be like her. Thank god the orphanage changed, or else who knows what I would've done in revenge.

"Yeah, you won't have to see them anymore."

Taking them both, I placed a photo on the ground, which I created with my magic. In it contained a picture of both of them bounded with a message for their parents. Taking them both, we left their house.

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(Several Hours Later)

My name is Hill Anderson. I work as a boss of a major loan shark organization. I am a evil man, I must admit, and there are many enemies that would gladly have me removed.

Today, my family was involved in another crazy incident. While waiting at the police station, a female officer actually spilled her coffee on me. That bitch, when I get home I'll relieve my stress by beating my daughter. Next to me is my wife who is also looking at others like trash. Only she understands me.

When we got home, both of my daughters excused themselves. The way they left seemed quite arrogant. Maybe tonight, I'll punish them both.

While my wife and I were discussing business, a servant came in and informed us that our daughters were missing. In their rooms was a photo and a written message on it.

HA! You'll never see your daughters again! LONG LIVE SATAN!

God dammit, it was those crazy cult guys again. I had plans to marry them off to a wealthy family to take some of their fortune.

"Notify the police to find my daughters. I will find that bastard who took my future investments."

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(A few minutes after we left)

Taking them home with [Blink] we all entered my house. Changing to my normal clothes, I led them to a guest room to live in. I also added them into my enchantments as a resident.

"You have a nice home, and you live kinda close to us too."

"Believe it or not, we go to the same school."

"Huh, really!"

Removing the facial illusion, my real face was revealed. Originally, I gave her my name Vocal as I didn't realize that she would interact with me otherwise. Considering that we'll be seeing each other more often, plus the fact that she'll enter the hidden world, it was more beneficial to reveal my identity.

"Oh I know you. You're Rhythm. Wow, I wouldn't have guessed that you're a mage."

Seeing as she had nothing else to say, I let them to themselves while I prepared a meal to eat. It was almost dinner, so I cooked some fried rice while the girls took time to accept their new situation.

Coming to the kitchen, both of them looked at the food with surprise. It seems that they were quite hungry as they didn't have lunch yet. Giving both of them a bowl, we all eat in silence at the table.

"Both of you will need new identities. I know a friend who can help with that, but it'll take a few days. Also, both of you will have to drop out of school. Are you okay with that?"

"We're both okay with that, as our parents made sure we didn't have any friends, but why do we have to leave school?"

"When you enter my world, school will just be in the way. The only reason I'm attending is because I want to take a regular job. I'll have someone teach Soleil basic schooling up to early high school, but that's it. Maybe later, she can enroll in a public school when it seems like your parents stop searching. Now any questions?"

Silence stayed in the air, then Luna raised her hand. "What do we do here?"

"You and Soleil will play [New World] when it comes out in a month from now. There are several reasons for this. 1) Time is different in there, so I can teach both of you easily; 2) Spell training is extremely effective inside VR Worlds; 3) You will still be able to interact with old friends even if you cannot meet in real life."

I already planned ahead for them. It would be bad if they had to hide from their friends, so VR is a perfect solution. Also, learning magic in a place where you can't die is perfect. And there are probably some tutors that can teach Soleil inside of [New World].

Soleil was quite quiet throughout the conversation, but she had a confused face on her, so maybe she just doesn't talk because she doesn't understand what's going on.

"Okay, do whatever you want. Just don't leave the house for the next few days. If you want anything just ask me. Here is a credit card linked to an account set up for you. The account has $500,000. If you need more, earn it yourself."

Saying that, I left to clear the table. While washing the dishes, I wondered why I was doing all of this. Honestly there were no benefits in helping them, at least no clear benefits. Maybe it's because they remind me of myself. Also, I kinda want an apprentice like Teacher.

But there's one thing I know for sure. My daily life will be a lot less lonely.

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Waking up the next morning, I checked out the time. Seeing as how it's around 8, I have about 6 more hours till I can log in again.

Getting out of bed, I walk to the restroom and start dressing. While I was changing, I heard the two sisters walk by. I didn't really care until one of them opened the door.

"So we need to be nice to him oka- Oh! I'm sorry, I'll get out."

Opening the door, I saw Luna staring at me. Honestly I'm glad this cliche situation isn't revered, otherwise several misunderstandings might be made about me. I wondered why she keeps looking. My body isn't really muscular or anything, in fact it's quite slim. Noticing that she's staring a bit too long, her face turned red.

"S-Sorry for entering." Saying that, she quickly left the room. Now that I think about it, I never got a lock installed on the doorknob. Considering that I'll live with two girls, it would help our sense of privacy if I got new doorknobs.

Finishing up, I leave the room letting the other two enter. Going to the kitchen, I make a light breakfast of toast and eggs. Leaving some for the girls, I head to the door and shout, "I'm going out for about an hour. Don't leave the house, and just do whatever until I get back."

Hearing no response, I leave the house. Going to a nearby hardware store, I browse for some knobs before picking out a few for home. Then I go to a sort of back alley and hit a brick on a certain brick wall. Opening a trapdoor nearby, I enter it and find myself in some sort of fortune teller's den.

"Hello, what would you like to b- oh Rhythm it's you! I haven't seen you in quite a while."

An old lady comes out from the cape. I know her too well. Around here, she's one of the best dealers for goods involving the hidden world. For beginners of the hidden world, this place can provide you with almost anything, for a price.

"Hello Baba, I recently took into care two girls who will learn how to be a mage. I need a beginners manual at a kindergartens level as well as a recommendation to a tutor in a VR classroom. Also, I need a few hundred heal talismans and potions. I can pay $500 up front, and I'll discuss the price for the tutor."

"Oh, you're paying quite a bit. Alright, I know a guy looking for work, so teaching a kid might help him earn some cash. Don't worry, he had the qualifications to teach."

Further discussion led to both sides reaching a good deal. When I finished, I left the place. Two hours have passed since I left the house. I don't know if the girls are hungry, but I'm pretty sure they can't cook.

Going home, I enter the house and Soleil runs up to me and says, "Welcome back Mister."

Smiling at the welcome back, I reply, "I'm home."

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Logging back into the game, Navi greeted me.

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Welcome back Big Bro!

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Hey Navi. What happened while I was gone?

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I dunno. I only have a restricted control of the system you know.

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Figures, oh well, might as well see what happened myself. Approximately 10 days are left before the human army reaches here, and that doesn't include any scouting forces. Going to the village, I see everyone almost packed up, but they still might be here for another one or two days. Maybe I should look at the army. I might as well seeing as I have to go with Kira soon.

Should I get an aerial form. Maybe I can absorb a bird or something. Going into the forest, a wolf choose to attack me, even though I was at least twice its level. Maybe this is a sign!

Turning around, I don't do any complicated tricks and just swallow it whole.

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So I guess you want to be a big bad wolf. Okay, you got it. Now you can turn into a wolf.

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Thanks for the notification. I turn into a wolf by activating [Change Form] and run off. A wolf is great for running for a long time, so this is a good form for me to travel somewhere far away.

Running for quite a while, probably about an hour, I finally see signs of the army. Smoke rises from where the camps are, and there seems to be so much people. That's bad, considering that they should be farther away than this.

Looking around, I guess this must be a scouting party, albeit a big one. Let's see if there are any Immortals/Players around.

...hey Navi.

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Yeah Bro?

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How can you tell if a person's a resident or an Immortal?

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You can't. The game is made that way for several reasons,

but if you want I can tell who's a player for you.

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Thanks Navi, you're the best.

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EHEHEH! So in that campground there are two players.

The leather armored woman with blond hair and the

brown haired heavy armored guy. If you need

anything else, just call me.

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Oh, I see them. The woman was wearing form fitting leather armour. She had a cheerful aura and a bow unstrung next to her. She looked young, bout maybe 20 or less. The man next to her seemed around the same age. He was wearing some sort of metal armour that focused on tanking rather than protecting. He had a shield on his back, and his helmet was on his lap, which explained why I could see his brown hair.

Should I approach them. To them, I’'m a Lv: 99 monster with a red cursor (which I got after the summoning incident). But then again, I'm just a cute looking slime.

Going out, some people react until they realize I'm just a slime. Even Lv: 99 people don't fear slimes. Moving towards the two players, they tense up a bit, but don't react otherwise.

Oh wait, I'm still in my wolf form. Why doesn't someone stop me?

"Seriously Amy. Why do animals love you, I mean you don't even have a tamer class."

"I dunno, but this wolf's kinda cute. Maybe we can make it our pet."

I guess this is a regular occurrence for them. Lucky me. But right now my equiped title shows [Kira's Pet] showing I'm taken.

"Oh, it looks like someone already owns him. Is there a person named Kira here? Maybe she's one of the soldiers."

"Oh, hey doggy, want a treat."

The woman named Amy holds out some sort of doggy biscuit. . Where the hell did she get that from? You think I'll just eat something just because you suffer your words... well if you insist.

"Aw, it's so cute! But why's it so weird, it's body is sort of jelly like."

Well, I don't really have to travel, so might as well return to normal. Turning back into my original form, I hear a gasp of surprise from the spectating soldiers.

Fun fact, apparently I learned from Navi that other than my human form, all of my transformations won't be really perfect. As the skill levels up, the detail may slightly get better, but otherwise I can hide perfectly only as a human.

"W-Wh-What kind of slime is this."

"It just transformed! Can slimes do that?"

"What if we catch it and sell it? How much would it be worth."

Uh-oh, it seems like I did something to stand out. So it seems that it's rare for people to transform. Jumping on the guy's lap. I just stay there while everyone just watched me. Taking some more biscuits, I just continue eating and everyone soon ignores me.

HAHAHAHA, infiltration successful. A slime will never be suspected of complex plans like sabotaging an army. I'll act cute and innocent to prevent suspicion from me. In fact, I might just even call a few of my summons to attack for me.

Just you wait. No humans shall attack my owners without going through me.

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(Different Perspective)

Vocal guessed correctly that he was at the scouting forces. What he didn't know was that the scouting forces has stayed for several days already, with the main army only a day away. Thus, his time here was spent trying to befriend the soldiers and the two Immortals.

"Haha, he's so fun to play with." Currently Vocal was with the two players playing a simple game of charades. As a slime, his body is perfect for acting as something else.

"Okay, he's a dragon."

"No way! He's obviously an alligator."

"He looks more like a lizard too me."

"A dragon's technically a lizard."

Some of the soldiers on watch duty were also watching Vocal. Seeing the crowd around him, Vocal continued to gain favor from others. In fact, he even got paid change like a street performer.

This was sadly how Vocal received his first money from the game world. He never got any money from monsters, so it was the first time he received money in this world.

At the village, everyone was still collapsing various hiding spots of theirs when a messenger came telling how the army was only a day away.

Everyone was shocked at how close they were, but they also wondered how did they get so close without warning the village. This village of black and red cursors quickly packed up their stuff and started to leave.

As for Kira, she tried looking for Vocal at her house, but couldn't find him anywhere she went.

"Where could he be, we're leaving in a few minutes." Kira endlessly searched, until her Uncle Jack called her. "Hurry up Kira, everyone else is leaving already. What are you doing?"

"I can't find Vocal anywhere. Just give me a few minutes."

"Kira? Did you forget that you can just summon him?"

"Oh yeah. [Summon Contracted Pet: Vocal]"

At the camp, Vocal was still playing around with others, but he (or rather his system navi pixie) never received a notification to be summoned.

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You have failed to summon Contracted Pet: Vocal as he is

in a sealed zone.

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"Wha? Uncle Jack, I can't summon Vocal."

"What do you mean? Do you mean he rejected the summons."

"No, it says that I failed to summon him as he is in a sealed zone."

"A sealed zone… that's it! I know how the humans reached so close to us."

"What do you mean?"

"The church has a special artifact that allows them to set up a time barrier. Within that time barrier, nothing out of the ordinary changes since the barrier was activated. If the humans activated it on a field when they weren't here, then all we would see is a field without humans, unless they were right in front of us. I guess Vocal must be with them."

"WHAT! Did they take him?"

"Maybe, he is a weird slime after all."

"Well he's actually a slimen."

"I don't know the difference."

"We gotta help him."

"NO! I don't want any one of us to risk our lives. Besides, he's a slime and a valuable one at that. They probably won't kill him, and once the time barrier is lifted, you can summon him, but I don't know how long that'll take."

"...fine. But we should leave."

"Yeah, I need to tell the elders about the time barrier."