Author's Note:
Character Map:
"X" = Loid Orcus (protagonist)
"(X)" = Loid Orcus (strong inner thought)
°X° = Makina
•X• = Soul Goddess Aksa
^X^ = Sebastian (AI Assistant)
'1 X 1'= Human male Swordman, Daren
'2 X 2'=Dwarf Male, Garius
'3 X 3' = Beaskin Male Scout, Krivven
'4 X 4' = Human Female priest, Dianara
'5 X 5' = Elf Female Mage, Velenya)
X>X = Chat Window/Panel in the Livestream
*X* = God and Goddess
#X# = Deities
?X?=Unknown Person
' X '= Extra (Maybe or maybe not one time character(for convenience, if their extra that more than one, i will put number('1 1') to the second extra and so on)
×X×=Monster/Enemy
Others:
[X] = Status Board/What is written on it/ Status Window (New)
--- = POV Change
|||| = Time Skip/Time Preview(New)
(X) = Explanation/author/ A.U.T.H.O.R.
([X]) = Sound effect
{X} = Buttons, or something that may cause a certain action
---
And with that, the esteemed Soul Paladin—whose presence could be said to be equivalent to our Elven Life Paladins who once led our race—joined our party.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------(Loid POV)
It's been a month since I registered, and during that time, I've had the chance to explore and learn much about the city—especially thanks to the party I joined.
On the first day I registered at the Adventurer's Guild and entered the city, the party kindly showed me around. They've been nothing but helpful, answering my questions and guiding me as I adjusted to life here—especially the elf, Velenya, who seems incredibly knowledgeable, likely due to her long life.
Velenya once explained that elves live long lives because their ancestral race chose to follow the Goddess of Life, Viviane. As a result, the goddess blessed them with eternal life. However, despite this gift, elven culture teaches that once they reach the age of 1000, they should willingly return the blessing as a sign of devotion to the Goddess. Thus, there are no elves who live beyond 1000 years.
As she continued, she also spoke about the other faiths of other races who serve the other gods. She said that, so far, there are certain and confirmed Labyrinths of the Gods:
The Labyrinth of Life, where the Elves who serve and represent the Goddess of Life, Viviane, reside.
The Labyrinth of Fire, said to be where the Goddess of Fire, Helia, resides, and is served and represented by the Dragonkin race.
The Labyrinth of Water, where the Merfolk race serve and represent the Goddess of Water, Maya.
The Labyrinth of Earth, said to be where the Goddess of Earth, Terra, resides, served and represented by the Dwarf race.
The Labyrinth of Air, said to belong to the Goddess of Air, Abel, served and represented by the Beastkin.
The Labyrinth of Light, where it is said the Goddess of Light, Helen, resides and which is served and represented by the Human race.
The locations of these Labyrinths are confirmed and recognized as certain by all races. However, there are also rumored and uncertain contacts with other Labyrinths—such as the Labyrinth of Darkness, said to be the dwelling of the God of Darkness, Erobos, and rumored to be served by the Monster Race or Majin; and the Labyrinth of Death, believed to be the domain of the God of Death, Thanatos, said to be served by the Undead, led by Vampires.
And then, there is said to be mine—the Labyrinth of Soul, believed to be the dwelling of the Goddess of Soul, Aksa, served by an unknown race, and rumored to be located somewhere on the continent or beyond the horizon of the sea.
As our conversation and journey continued, night eventually fell. The party asked where I planned to stay, and kindly offered to welcome me at the inn where they were lodging. I thanked them for the gesture and told them I would be returning tomorrow. If they wished to see me again, I said, they could meet me at the gate early in the morning.
With that, I took my leave—though not before discreetly setting up a camouflaged antenna around the city, blending it seamlessly with the surroundings. I then departed from the city and made my way back to the port. Makina informed me that a hasty but decent makeshift base had been established—not just near the port, but anchored below the sea:
A concealed, underground submarine facility hidden beneath the harbor that had just been built in back where we come from and send to this port as the day about to end.
Amazed and slightly surprised, I paused before turning in for the night—not out of necessity, but routine. After all, I no longer needed sleep in the traditional sense. Sleep, for me, had become a mental exercise: a session of simulated training within the neural interface Makina had designed.
Before entering rest mode, I took time to explore the submarine. Its quiet corridors echoed with subtle machinery, and its structure—though hastily built—was efficient and well-hidden beneath the sea. I called on Makina to report tomorrow's plans. Upon receiving the detailed briefing and mission outline, I gave my approval.
With that, I entered the simulator and trained—mind active and purpose clear—even as the rest of the world slept.
Morning came, and with it, ships I recognized from history books—especially those resembling World War II-era vessels—approached the port, having navigated in from the distant sea earlier. Fortunately, the people of the port had been informed beforehand, though the surprise still lingered on their faces.
The ships did not dock directly, as the port lacked the proper decks to accommodate their size. Instead, they dropped anchor near the shore— just at the side of the port where no decks were and just near right above the underwater submarine facility where I had been staying.
And then, despite how unnatural it seemed—since ships of that era shouldn't have had such capabilities, at least not in the world I knew—the side hulls of the vessels opened while still afloat and extended a bridge-like structure toward the shore. It was probably the result of a Transmutation Spell that Makina developed to mold and reshape materials.
Seeing this, I could tell Makina must have been in a hurry, resorting to such uncertain and unscientific methods. At that, I let out a shallow laugh, amused by the way she always bends logic when pressed for time.
From there, various vehicles began to drive onto land. Observing closely, I noted that—much like the ships themselves, which resembled those from World War II—the vehicles followed the same theme: transport trucks for supplies, troop carriers, and armored vehicles equipped for both offense and defense.
Of course, there's something worth noting: both the ships and vehicles are fused with mimics, especially in their engines. These serve as mana generators and engines.
While they're also capable of operating under conventional mechanical principles, Makina prefers using the scientific configuration when possible. However, from a long-term perspective, the mana engines are far more efficient in terms of supply management—hence their use as the primary source of power.
Returning to the topic at hand, Makina, who controls both the ships and the vehicles through AI systems, instructed them to proceed according to plan. Some headed toward the port, while others followed me on the road to the city, carrying the personnel we had selected for the urban mission.
After some time, we approached the city.
Still some distance away, I used a telescope—formed from shapeshifted mimicry—to check the gates. As expected, the party was already waiting for me there. When we arrived, they were clearly surprised as I stepped out of the vehicle—especially Garius the dwarf, who was stunned by the sight of the vehicle itself.
He commented that even in his homeland, where magical craftsmanship thrives, he had never seen anything like it.
I explained that it wasn't exactly magic craft, but something based on a principle called "science." I gave him a basic rundown of how it worked, and to my surprise, he understood enough to be amazed. He even said that if he ever returned home, he wanted to share it with his fellow dwarf brothers who adept at craftsmanship. He asked for permission—and with Makina's agreement, I gladly gave it.
After that, the personnel Makina had sent with me entered the city alongside us, their presence validated by the party. They ventured with me to help gather information. The previously hidden antennas embedded throughout the city reconnected back to Makina, who remained at the Head Base deep within the Soul Labyrinth, enabling her to command on site here.
While venturing with the party, the AI-controlled personnel performed well in their conversational tasks, adapting smoothly to interactions. As the day ended, we returned to the port—where the ships had remained anchored—and finished registering the personnel at the Adventurers' Guild. Now with identification, they could freely enter the city.
The next day, another batch of ships arrived, and a fresh team of personnel followed. This time, they were led by the previously registered members.
Upon arrival, some joined my party as accompanying guards, while others followed their designated team leaders, who had already registered with the adventure guild and had identification to lead them inside the city. They paid the toll using our coin reserves to pay the toll, as it would be shameful not to pay a toll even though it seems the city guard is trying not to accept it, probably because their superior order them not to take toll for us, as the superior probably hear where we come from and have thought about it.
This process continued day after day: I, along with AI personnel acting as guards, accompanied the party while others entered the city, registered with the Adventurers' Guild, and integrated seamlessly.
Over the past month, we've gathered all general and necessary information and connection—city maps (carefully charted by AI scouts), community structures like the government, markets, and customs. We even dove into deeper research regarding city factions, market pricing, and inter-racial relationships.
Some of our personnel took on guild jobs: a few joined the Adventurers' Guild, others infiltrated—I mean, connected with—local organizations like the Merchant Guild, Apothecary Guild, Craft Guild, and more to create networks and extract further information.
We even managed to establish a connection with the Guard Captain, who is said to serve directly under the lord of the city. According to him, the lord is currently away—but if he were to return, the captain is certain that the lord would want to meet us and might even grant us a special favor, such as exemption from the entry tolls. This conversation took place near the end of my first week in the city.
From what I've observed, the Guard Captain is quick-witted and clearly knows what he's doing. For that, we are deeply grateful and have assured him that we will repay this kindness in the future.
The port itself has now become a fully operational base—albeit unofficially. Since we likely wouldn't be granted permission to construct anything inland, we simply organizely clustered the ships together to form a floating base. We then pulled them slightly offshore—just far enough to remain discreet while still maintaining full functionality. That way, if we're ever asked to retreat, we can easily do so without issue.
As for me, I decided to act as the party's porter after they told me their vacation had ended and it was time to return to work by taking on quests. I suspect the real reason was that they had spent all their spare money entertaining me—and in turn, I had been treating them to my rations, even though the personnel and I didn't actually need food.
Thanks to those supplies, they'd extended what was supposed to be a two-week break into a full month of the party.
Now, with funds running low, the party has resumed their adventuring duties.
And with that—at last—I will have my first real adventure.
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AOT
Well, that quite a info dump lol, well, i hope i atleast make it enjoyable, now hen, next chapter is certainly action, so loo forward on it
Have a good read and day to come