The conversation started smoothly as Lucian asked the village chief about the currency used in the village and nearby cities, and whether they were even in a country at all.
Apparently, as he learned, the country they were in, along with the surrounding countries, at least the ones the village chief knew of, used a simple fantasy currency of copper, silver, and gold coins. The village chief mentioned that platinum coins existed too, used only by merchants and higher nobility, though he'd never actually seen one himself.
"Do you recognise this coin?" Lucian asked, once the conversation about currency had settled into an easy rhythm. He held out a Yggdrasil coin. In this new, real world, Yggdrasil coins existed individually rather than in the stackable form they'd taken in the game, each one its own solid piece of gold.
Seeing the huge gold coin, with its beautiful design on both faces, the village chief stared in shock.
"No, Lucian-sama. I've never seen a gold coin so intricately crafted, or so heavy."
The gold also looked far purer to the village chief's eyes and he wasn't wrong. The coins he was used to seeing weren't pure gold at all, only about ninety percent purity.
After that, Lucian asked various questions about the area and the neighbouring countries. He learned that the village bordered three nations: the Re-Estize Kingdom, the Baharuth Empire, and the Slane Theocracy. The village itself fell under the jurisdiction of the Re-Estize Kingdom, specifically under the frontier city of E-Rantel, which was also the largest city in the area, and the one Carne Village answered to.
He asked various other things about the world, trying to gauge how closely it was tied to Yggdrasil, and just as Lucian suspected, the influence ran deep. The village chief even spoke of monsters that lived in the forest, and of some wise king of the forest who protected the village.
He also learned that other races existed beyond humans, which confirmed his suspicion that this was a world of many races. The village chief spoke of dwarves, goblins, various types of elves, ogres, and other demi-humans. Apparently, some demi-humans had even built their own nations.
And, as with any fantasy world, adventurers existed here too. The more Lucian learned, the more this world reminded him of a typical isekai.
The realization dawned on him once again, how he had probably been isekai'd, and his avatar had become real. It wasn't a foreign concept to him; countless works of fiction covered exactly this premise. He just never expected to become the protagonist of one himself. But he couldn't have been happier. After all, wasn't a world where he could be entirely himself, without fear of consequence, exactly the freedom he'd sought since he was a child? Explore. Conquer. Rule.
His dragon heart thumped loudly. No one else could hear it, but Lucian felt it all the same. This was the beat of conquest.
Next, he asked more questions about the profession of magic caster, since he'd introduced both himself and Momonga as one. He learned that in this world, the term meant the same thing it had in Yggdrasil, a broad category covering wizards, sages, mikos, and other types of magic users.
As he took in all this information, Momonga was also asking the village chief a few questions of his own.
As their conversation drew to a close, the village chief opened his mouth apprehensively, sweating a little.
"About repayment for saving us, Lucian-sama, unfortunately, we can only gather—"
Before the chief could finish, Lucian waved a hand and cut in with a smile, his voice filled with magnanimity.
"Don't worry about repayment for something anyone would naturally do. Honestly, I should be the one paying you, given how much information you've shared with us, village chief."
"No, no, no, no! Not even in our dreams could we expect to receive anything more from the saviour of our lives and our village!", The village chief shook his head vehemently, tears welling in his eyes at the sheer greatness of the man before him. Not only that he likely commanded supreme magical strength but he also had an enormous heart.
Momonga, watching all this, couldn't help but cringe internally. There was no way Lucian was doing all this for a bunch of villagers out of pure goodwill — so what was he really after? Was he planning something? Shaking his head slightly, Momonga turned to him.
"Lucian—" He'd barely started the sentence when a knock at the door interrupted the conversation entirely.
The village chief glanced at Lucian as if asking for permission, after all, he couldn't just leave his guests, let alone his saviour, sitting there alone.
Lucian smiled, "Go ahead and answer it. Don't worry about me."
"Thank you very much, Lucian-sama." The village chief got up and unlocked the door. A weary, middle-aged man stepped just inside the doorway, paused at the sight of Lucian and Momonga, then turned to the village chief and said quietly, "They're ready for the burial."
Lucian looked at the man, his smile fading slightly. He knew resurrection magic existed, but this world probably didn't have easy access to it — assuming it wasn't pure myth. From what the village chief had told him, a magic caster capable of casting even tier-three magic was already considered a powerhouse, strong enough to rank among the best adventurer.
Lucian got up from his chair as the village chief headed out for the burial. Momonga followed close behind. He had no more questions, but plenty of theories about everything he'd heard, along with other things he wanted to discuss with Lucian but he decided that could wait for now.
____________
There was a communal graveyard near the village, enclosed by a broken-down fence. Inside stood several stone slabs, each inscribed with a name.
All the villagers, from the children to the elders, had gathered near the graveyard. The bodies lay ready for burial. In a village this small, everyone knew everyone, which was why, whenever someone died, the whole village turned out to say goodbye. Even now, in this moment of sudden, mass sorrow, everyone had come.
Children cried over lost parents. Newly widowed women wept for their husbands, and husbands wept for wives or family members who'd been killed. It was a scene that would wrench the heart of any normal person.
Momonga watched it all and felt nothing. Not even an ounce of pity stirred in him. The only thing he felt was curiosity — about this new world, and about the humans living in it.
Lucian, on the other hand, wasn't used to this. He had never experienced someone's death or a burial before, and he found himself watching the proceedings the way one might watch ants building a nest. Beside him stood Shiraori, who had extracted information from the guards through magic before killing them. Mei Mei remained hidden inside Lucian's shadow.
His eyes wandered around the grieving families, until they landed on two crying sisters — the same girls he had helped the moment he arrived at the village.
Both were kneeling over the bodies of a woman and a man, likely their parents. The older sister still wore the dress Lucian had created for her using his spell, and it stood out sharply among the villagers' shabby, worn clothing. But no one noticed or cared right now; the grief was too consuming, and everyone was busy drowning in their own sorrow.
Lucian looked ahead at the village chief, who was reciting a verse for the spirits of the dead. He asked, to no one in particular, in a low voice only two people could hear,
"Do you think it's really a good idea if I suddenly went ahead and resurrected them?",He paused, his gaze drifting into the distance."It might shake this world."
A soft voice entered his ear, gentle as a whisper carried by the wind, yet it came form his shadows, "Then let it shake, Master."
There was no hesitation in her voice. No concern. Not even the slightest trace of doubt, "If your miracle is enough to disturb the world, then the world should simply endure it."
He said nothing but lowered his head towards his shadow. He knew his maid was looking at him with Nothing but absolute devotion from his shadows.
"You need only do what you desire, Master. Whether kingdoms tremble, nations fall into chaos, leave the aftermath to me."
The shadow wriggled beneath his feet as the voice continued., "After all, what kind of Maid would i be if i couldn't clean up a little trouble caused by my beloved Master?"
The voice hadn't even finished before another one entered his other ear. So sickeningly sweet, heavy, and dark, rising not from his shadow but from the very depths of his soul.
"Why do you hesitate, my dearest? Whether you choose to save them or destroy them is meaningless to us. Whatever path you take, I- no- we shall walk it beside you. If this world deserves salvation, then save it. If it deserves ruin, then burn it to nothing. And if you decide that every mortal beneath the heavens must perish… then so be it. Do not burden that beautiful heart of yours with the consequences. Whatever follows your choice, we shall bear it together. Let the heavens condemn you. Let the gods curse your name. Let the world itself turn against you. I will still be here." Euphemias intoxicating words didn't end there as she moved to envelope his soul in a warm, almost maternal embrace.
"So do whatever you want, my dearest. Choose what you desire. Never again mistake hesitation for any kindness or cruelty. Every breath you give these mortals is a mercy they have not earned, and every fate you alter is a blessing they should be grateful for, even beyond death."
"And as for consequences…" she gave a soft giggle.
"They are nothing more than chains for those who lack the strength to break them. But you? You have me. So if the heavens reject you, I shall reject the heavens. If the gods abandon you, I shall abandon the gods. If fate declares you an enemy, then fate itself shall become my enemy. And if reality itself decides that you do not belong within it… Then, my dearest, I will simply find a reality that does."
Lucian didn't know what to make of Euphemia's words. He knew she loved him beyond measure, and that was why she'd deal with the consequences of anything he did.
To be honest, Lucian wasn't afraid for himself when it came to other players, he was afraid for Suzune and Mei Mei. He didn't want them hurt, not even a scratch. He had a feeling he'd lose himself to rage if anyone so much as looked at them wrong, Suzune, Mei Mei, or Shiraori alike.
His heart thumped, chanting 'mine, mine, mine, mine, mine' like a mantra whenever he looked at them—whenever the thought crossed his mind that someone might hurt them.
These feelings were new to him. It wasn't that Lucian had never been possessive before, but this was something more extreme. He could control it, obviously but the feeling of never wanting anyone to even touch them was new. He wanted to hold them close, keep them entirely his. And the worst part was, he knew that if they found out how he felt, they'd be overjoyed.
For the last time, Lucian cast aside the inhibitions he'd been harbouring. He could handle anything now. Even the gods themselves. And he had his loved ones supporting him as well after all.
And if anyone dared to hurt, harm, or so much as lay a finger upon a member of his guild—upon HIS girls—then he would simply have to ensure they never existed again to make that same mistake.
From now on, he was no longer the old Lucian Evans.
He was Lucian Aeternus.
His eyes shone with a new light. His bloody crimson irises deepened, turning brighter—as if some latent evolution had taken place within him.
He would be whatever he wanted to be. He would do whatever he wanted to do. And what he wanted to do right now was perform a miracle for these two sisters, and maybe for the entire village.
He wasn't doing it out of kindness. He wasn't doing it out of some lingering human obligation from his past self. He was doing it because-why not?
He could do it, so he would. He didn't need a reason behind his every actions. Sometimes you simply did what your heart told you to.
And...
Lucian looked at the crying sisters—Enri and Nemu, the Emmot sisters. The older one, Enri, fascinated him. He wanted her. He wanted to possess her, like a treasure, like an object. He wanted to own everything she was.
It was a new feeling for him, toward someone who was neither his creation nor one of his women. It was as if he needed to mark her.
He was still learning about his new powers and abilities, and how they affected others and him, so this urge felt both unfamiliar and ungrounded, and its origin unclear. But he knew he had to have her.
Lucian took a step forward and walked toward the weeping Emmot sisters.
He knelt slightly and looked at the older sister. She met his gaze immediately but didn't stop crying.
"I–I'm sorry… ahh… th-thank you for saving us, Lucian-sama—" She couldn't continue. In an instant, she found herself pulled into a tight, divine embrace that was soft, warm, and scented with something sweet yet intoxicating that filled her senses. Her sobbing faltered, then stopped. For a moment, she wished she never had to leave that embrace.
"It's all right," he murmured directly into her ear, his lips and face so close that his breath tickled her skin. "Saving you was my own selfishness. You didn't ask for it, so you don't need to thank me."
Enri had never been this close to any man who wasn't her father. She couldn't help but blush, especially since the being holding her was so beautiful his presence nearly blinded her, and he was her savior, too.
Then he pulled back, and Enri suddenly felt as if she were alone in the world again. The younger sister, Nemu, watched it all in silence; her tears had stopped.
He ruffled Nemu's hair. "Have you ever seen a miracle?" he asked, a playful smile tugging at his lips.
Nemu didn't know how to answer, so she simply shook her head.
Lucian got up and looked out at the villagers.
"Then let me show you one."
As soon as the words left his mouth, a golden sheen enveloped Lucian, drawing every villager's attention. They stared up at him with wide eyes, tears and grief still fresh on their faces but they were transfixed by the divine being now floating before the graveyard.
Momonga, who had been exchanging information with his remaining subordinates, Albedo and Sebas, looked up sharply. His glowing red pupils flickered like flame.
"People of Carne Village." Lucian's voice carried effortlessly to every corner of the graveyard. "What I'm about to do must remain an absolute secret between us."
The village chief and the older villagers didn't even understand what was happening before they found themselves kneeling, as though some divine force had compelled them to.
Resurrection magic was a concept that existed back in the game of Yggdrasil.
When a player died, they lost several levels' worth of EXP, but they could still respawn and keep playing. The catch was the timer: after death, a player couldn't log back in for thirty minutes. In-game, thirty minutes could easily decide the outcome of a raid if the wrong person went down.
That was why resurrection spells existed, to bring a fallen player back immediately instead of making them wait. The lower-tier spell, [Raise Dead], didn't guarantee a 100% success. [Resurrection], on the other hand, guaranteed a 100%, but but it still cost the target a steep chunk of EXP, easily enough to erase five levels.
Casting it here, on villagers who were barely level one or two, should have been difficult bordering on impossible. And Lucian had no idea how revival mechanics even worked in this world. What would happen if the spell simply failed?
He wasn't willing to gamble on something he'd already decided to do. So instead of taking chances, he reached for the second-highest tier of revival magic available to him, stacked with a very special enhancement.
When Lucian had unlocked his Valkyrae [Sigrdr], he had also received a group of Meta-Magic Enhancements that were completely broken if used in the game.
But due to Lucian already being so overpowered, he had almost forgotten about them. But now he remembered.
A Meta-Magic Enhancement that removes any negative effects of a spell—or anything deemed as negative or capable of affecting the player or environment negatively.
"[Pristine – Widen Magic: True Resurrection]"
Lucian raised both hands. A white magic circle bloomed to life above his palms, and a far larger one unfurled across the ground beneath the entire graveyard, swallowing every body laid out for burial.
The bodies still lay in their burial clothes, cleaned enough now that most of their wounds weren't visible.
Thirty-six dead, out of a village of maybe a hundred and twenty people spread across roughly twenty-eight families. Someone from nearly every household had died. Some families had been spared; others hadn't. No wonder the entire village had turned out to grieve. Left to their own devices, the knights would have wiped Carne village out completely and burned what remained, after all, that had been their orders, as Lucian understood it.
The instant the magic circle swallowed the ground, the villagers scrambled backward, shaken out of their daze. What happened next left every last one of them breathless.
There was no other way to describe him — a floating god, hovering above them all. He simply watched as motes of light spiraled around each body, gathering, swirling, mending flesh in an instant. Deep gashes closed. Pierced organs knit themselves whole. Even the ones who'd lost limbs found them restored, wrapped in light until nothing remained but pristine, unmarked skin. Color flooded back into faces that had gone pale and lifeless.
And then came the moment that truly broke the villagers' understanding of the world: one of the dead opened their eyes.
Then another. And another. One by one, every villager laid out for burial blinked awake and, slowly, shakily, pushed themselves upright.
The villagers surged toward their families. Enri and Nemu ran straight into their parents' arms, their parents, who were very much alive now, staring up at the floating figure of Lucian with the same shock and awe as everyone else.
A short distance away, Albedo pressed a hand against her hard armoured chest, her golden eyes fixed upon the floating figure above. Awe shimmered within them, intertwined with a fierce, almost possessive pride.
"Even now…" she whispered, her lips curling into a reverent smile beneath her helmet. "Even when he stoops to save creatures as insignificant as these insects, he is still magnificent."
Her fingers tightened against her chest. "How utterly beautiful…"
Sebas said nothing. He merely watched the floating figure in silence, a complicated conflict passing through his eyes.
Albedo, however, never looked away.
"To think he would extend his mercy even to those who could never comprehend the privilege of receiving it…" Her smile softened, almost tenderly. "How could these insects be worthy of such kindness?",
She lowered her voice to a near whisper, "Truly… he makes every mercy of his look divine."
....
Fear was one way to command people.
It could make them obey. Make them kneel. Make them hesitate before defying you. But fear had its limits and there was something far more powerful.
Faith.
Fear could force people to follow you but Faith made them choose to.
Faith made people yours completely, in a way fear never could. And what Lucian had just kindled in this village was faith of the deepest, most absolute kind.
Every villager looked up at him as though he were a divine emissary sent down to earth. No- not a mere emissary. Divinity itself. Every single one of them, whether newly risen from death or still clutching a family member they'd nearly lost, sank to their knees and pressed their foreheads to the dirt.
Lucian descended slowly, landing with a soft thump.
"Consider this a gift — for all of you." His gaze lingered for a moment on Enri and Nemu, the first two faces he'd seen in this village, before sweeping out across the rest of the kneeling crowd. "For all of Carne Village."
The entire village erupted, chanting Lucian's name over and over. Even the newly resurrected, still confused about what exactly had just happened to them, understood on some primal level that the figure before them was their savior, and joined the chorus of 'thank you, thank you, thank you'.
Lucian scratched his cheek with his left hand, a little thrown by the sheer force of it. He was used to praise, but not like this. Not this raw, unfiltered admiration, villagers gazing up at him like he was the answer to every prayer they'd ever made.
While he stood there basking in it, Shiraori drifted close and murmured something in his ear. Whatever she said cracked his composed, faintly awkward expression into something closer to helpless.
He sighed and waved for the crowd to rise, "Everyone, please, get up. I'm not a god. Just a magic caster."
He stopped for a beat.
"…Albeit the Strongest One."
_________________
"Village chief, could you come here for a moment?"
The chief, still crying tears of joy, hurried over and dropped to his knees. He didn't dare stand in this being's presence, not out of fear, not because he was forced to, but simply because something in his heart refused to let him be anything less than reverent.
"Ah... this is a little awkward, but here it is. There are some armed men on horseback headed toward the village." Lucian delivered the news with visible discomfort; being the bearer of bad news was totally new to him. The color drained from the chief's face as he looked up, fear and fresh tears mingling in his eyes.
But Lucian's next words swept the worry away just as fast.
"Don't worry, though. I'll handle it. If they're hostile, they'll be dealt with. If they're not, we'll see what happens." He said it with a smile, the kind of smile that made the village chief privately certain that if beauty itself ever needed a face, this would be it.
The chief's lips trembled, "Lucian-sama…"His voice breaking.
Then he bowed so deeply that his forehead nearly touched the ground.
"Thank you." A sob escaped him. "Thank you… thank you so much." He raised his head, tears streaming freely down his face.
"I don't know how we could ever repay you. You saved our village. You saved our families. You gave us back those whom we had already mourned…" His voice shook. "How could we ever possibly thank you enough?"
He tried to speak again, but the words dissolved into another broken sob. "Thank you, Lucian-sama. Truly… thank you."
Lucian shrugged his shoulders, "Please don't cry. It's making this awkward for me."
Lucian then turned and made his way over to Momonga.
"Momon-kun, Want to come along? Or are you just going to watch the show from here?" he teased, flashing a smile sharp enough to show off one fanged tooth.
'He's so cute', Momonga thought, before answering aloud in the measured, dignified tone of a ruler. "Umu. I believe I'll stay and keep watch over the villagers you've decided to take under your wing, in case another player decides to take an interest."
In truth, he'd rather stay well clear of whatever was riding toward the village; he could always pry the details out of Lucian later. As for the villagers themselves, Momonga couldn't have cared less what happened to them, but Lucian had already invested effort in saving them, which meant he had a reason. Better to keep them safe until that reason revealed itself.
"Is that so. Well then, I'll go greet our visitors at the entrance." Lucian rose into the air the moment he finished speaking, Shiraori floating up beside him without a word.
"See you in a bit."
And with that, he flew off.
Momonga watched him go, a golden speck shrinking against the sky, Shiraori's pale silhouette trailing just behind. Beside him, Albedo's gaze lingered on the same point in the sky a moment longer than necessary before she turned back.
_______________________________
Hey peeps! Sorry for disappearing for so long!
Life's been rough lately—I recently lost my father, and family stuff left me with barely any time to breathe, let alone write.
But I'm back! The story isn't getting dropped unless I drop dead. I've already written 4–5 chapters ahead and set a daily writing schedule, so you can expect 1–2 chapters a week!
If you'd like to support the book, check out my Patreon/AzazelGrim
It's 5 chapters ahead
Any support is greatly appreciated!