Amelia the Level Zero Hero

Chapter 98

Chapter 98

Announcement

Shoutout to Salvos, my other serial, that has just made the swap to Amazon KU! Check it out here:

Follow the evolution of a Demon girl as she learns to survive in a fantasy world!

The life of an Infant Demon is a bloody grind to the top. For Salvos, a curious newborn Demon with a penchant for making friends, surviving the swarms of wild Demons in the Netherworld was always going to be a difficult task. She will adapt, gain experience, and evolve to survive this hellish landscape with the help of her sole companion.

But when her companion's life is threatened by a mysterious Demon King, she'll have to do what it takes to save him. Even if it means separating from him and being tossed into an unfamiliar world with Humans, monsters, and a bright blue sky where she is scorned for being born a Demon.

The law of evolution is survival of the fittest, and Salvos will : Curious Beginnings: A LitRPG Adventure (Salvos, Book 1) eBook : Lewis, V.A.: Kindle Store

Ar’elith the First Lich King was back. Or rather, he was in the process of coming back. And it wasn’t even like it was the first time he returned, either. After all, apparently, he had briefly come back to life, only to be instantly killed by Amelia before he could really do anything at all.

So, sure, Ar’elith the First Lich King was coming back again. But Noele wasn’t sure how to evaluate that information. She had heard stories about his reign of terror from around ten thousand years ago— tales that were as much legend to her as the myths she’d heard about angels. It happened so long ago, it was hard to contextualize just how much destruction could be caused by his return. 

Theoretically, she understood if left unchecked, Ar’elith could be responsible for millions of deaths— maybe even more. And if he were empowered by the Void, the scale of his destruction would be amplified tenfold. The world as the blonde girl knew could come to an end.

But it was such a nebulous concept. It was not easy to fully grasp the actual scale of the so-called ‘end of the world’. It seemed like it was so far out of reach, it didn’t even register as a real possibility. It was, right now, merely a hypothetical. And that was why Noele didn’t panic.

She went to sleep with ease, before waking up in the morning completely refreshed.

Saros was more antsy than she was— but that was probably because he felt partially responsible for what was happening. She reassured him. She calmed him down so he would stop panicking. And together, the two adventurers sought out the only person who could help them.

Amelia. Noele’s mentor. The level-less otherworlder. And the one who had defeated Ar’elith when he came back the first time around.

She had apparently killed the Voidgod, and she had spent an indefinite period of time in the Fractured Realm. If anyone was capable of quickly and easily cleaning up this mess, it was her.

The moment she learned about the full situation— about the gravity of the predicament at hand— Noele was certain that her mentor would help them out. 

“Absolutely not,” Amelia said with her arms crossed.

“Welp, I tried.” Noele just shrugged in defeat.

Saros just blinked, glancing between the two women. “You can’t be fucking serious, right…?”

—--

I was serious.

I sat cross-legged at one of the tables at my restaurant as Noele and Saros both pleaded with me. Bucky’s Out of this World Restaurant was closed today, so most of the tables and chairs were set aside, making the room seem much emptier than usual. 

The only reason I had a table set out was because I was going to be holding a handful of interviews soon. I was hoping to hire another server or two and maybe a bartender before Guardian Angel Z357 left the village. I had a lot of applicants— everyone wanted to work with an angel.

Unfortunately for them, they probably weren’t going to get that chance. And that was why I was going to have to actually vet each of the applicants to ensure they didn’t just quit the moment Guardian Angel Z357 went on to ‘save the world’ or whatever.

Anyways, I was busy. So I couldn’t help either Noele or Saros out right now. Not until I had more free time. But the gnome didn’t seem to comprehend that, even though I had already explained my reasoning to him a dozen times.

“Why not?” he exclaimed, waving his hands wildly at me. “You heard Noele— Ar’elith isn’t just returning like before, he’s now going to be even stronger than ever thanks to the Void!” 

“Yeah, I know,” I said as I shook my head. “And I said I’m busy.”

I had spent the last hour arguing with both Noele and Saros about this matter. Actually, scratch that. The blonde girl had given up about half an hour ago, but the gnome wouldn’t take no for an answer. 

“What could you possibly be so busy with that you can’t help us save the fucking world?” Saros sputtered.

I gave him a flat stare. “I’m holding job interviews today— then I have to help Dorien out with his shit, remember?”

“Who gives a damn about that [Druid]’s request?” The gnome’s face was practically painted crimson at this point.

Noele sheepishly raised a hand. “I mean… I do? Dorien’s an old family friend, and he told me about—”

“Not helping!” Saros glared.

“Right, I know,” the blonde girl sighed. She glanced my way as she shook her head. “But there’s no point arguing with Amelia when she has her mind set.”

“Yeah.” I folded my arms. “I’m not budging.”

“But we can compromise,” she said, holding the gnome’s gaze. Then she turned to me. “Right, Amelia?”

I furrowed my brows. Saros cursed, shaking his head. 

“That’s ridiculous— what is there to even compromise about? The fate of the world is at stake!”

“Look, if the world really is in danger right now, I’m pretty sure I’d notice it. But as far as I can tell, we’re all still fine, aren’t we?” I gestured vaguely around us. 

The Gnome Inventor pursed his lips. “That can change in a week.”

“And I’ll help you guys out in like… two or three days’ time, alright?” I said, leaning back in my chair. “If Ar’elith shows up literally this instant, then I’ll help you out now. But considering that’s not the case, I’m not going to worry about it.”

“I… what?” Saros stared at me, completely aghast. He tried to work his jaw. “But… that’s— we want to stop it before it happens, not after it happens!”

I waved a hand dismissively. “I mean, you can try and stop Ar’elith before he’s brought back. I’ll intervene if things go bad.” 

“How?!” He tried to tear his hair out.

I shrugged. “Noele has me on speed dial. So don’t worry about it.”

“Speed dial?” He blinked.

“She has a [Message] scroll— you literally gave it to her, remember?” I said simply, glancing at the blonde girl, then back at Saros.

“Oh, right.” He hesitated. “But still—” He tried to protest.

I got to my feet, cutting him off. “I’m not changing my mind, Saros. I have my own things I need to deal with. I’ll help you guys out when I’m done, alright?”

“I…” he trailed off. Finally, he acquiesced. “Fine. But if we all die— it’s on you.”

Saros turned away from me, walking out of the restaurant. I watched him go. Noele was a step behind him. She nodded apologetically at me as she waved.

“Good luck with your interviews,” she said. “And make sure to keep your [Message] scroll on you!”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry, I will.”

And the door closed behind her. I heard their muffled footfalls vanish into the distance, before I settled back down into my chair. I tapped a finger on my chin. The gnome’s words echoed in my head. 

I felt a slight pang of guilt. But I shook my head— it was not my responsibility. I already killed both the Voidgod and Ar’elith before. The fact that they were back was not my fault. And I was going to help out when I could. However, I had my own issues to deal with— far more important issues. Like getting more employees for my restaurant.

“Now where’s my first applicant?” I wondered aloud. “It’s getting late…”

Right as the words left my mouth, a figure burst into the room. A young woman stumbled in, panting as waved her arms in the air. 

“Sorry I’m late!” she exclaimed. “I’m here to work with the angel— I mean, I’m here for the job interview!”

Of course she’s here to work with Z. I was going to waste a lot of time as most of the applicants were probably just here to spend some time around an angel. Well, I already knew that before I started searching for employees. Many of them were obviously going to be here for the same reason why most of my customers were here.

I rolled my eyes as the young woman dragged herself up to the table. She leant against the chair, wiping a bead of sweat off her forehead with a weak smile.

“My Mama forgot to wake me up. I promise you it’s not my—” And she paused. Blinking, she looked past me, her gaze landing on the bar. “Wait, where’s the angel?”

“Hm?” I glanced up. 

I followed her gaze, before staring at the empty counter. The angel had been standing there just a few minutes ago— I was pretty sure he was at the bar when Noele and Saros first arrived. But now, he was gone.

“That’s a good question,” I said as I raised my head. “Where did Z go?”

After a moment’s pause, I shrugged.

“Well, it’s his day off— on to the interview.” 

She blinked, trying to protest. But I started pelting her with questions anyways.

—--

“That didn’t go well, huh?” Noele remarked casually.

Well, it wasn’t exactly a casual tone. It was more like… an observation. But one said too lightly for the liking of Saros. He was incredibly annoyed right now. And maybe he was directing his annoyance towards a target who didn’t deserve it. 

However, the blonde girl had reassured him that she would be able to convince her mentor to help out. And quite evidently, that didn’t work out. So the Gnome Inventor wanted to blame her— he wanted to blame Amelia too for being so callous about the potential end of the world. 

But Saros knew that, ultimately, it was his own fault this happened. So he had to fix it. Somehow, he had to find a way to put a halt to Tristan Devon’s plans to revive the First Lich King. It was not something he wanted to do— it was something he had to do.

“Maybe we could recruit Garron’s help?” Noele suggested as she trailed after the gnome.

He stopped and frowned in response. “Is that some S-rank adventurer?”

“Uh, not quite.” She scratched her cheek. “Garron is a B-rank adventurer. You met him last night, remember?”

“That big guy? Wait— how in the Thrones is a damn B-rank supposed to help us?” Saros scowled.

“Garron may be a B-rank, but he’s pretty competent and will probably hit A-rank soon,” Noele explained, shaking her head. “Things may not look so good, but we still have to try. And we don’t have many other options, do we?”

“Fine. We can get this B-rank’s help— and then we can all die together when Ar’elith returns.” The gnome muttered under his breath, “Maybe we can rope some more idiots into our suicide pact too.”

The Noble Spellsword raised a brow. “Like who?” 

“Like—” Saros started.

Perhaps I can offer you my assistance, a voice interrupted him.

His brows snapped together, and he spun around. “Who the fuck are you?”

And he blinked when he stared at the towering gray figure. Noele paused. She frowned, reaching for her two blades nervously. Meanwhile the gnome’s eyes just went wide as he tried to work his jaw.

“Wait, you’re— that’s…” But he couldn’t muster up a single word.

In response, a dozen eyes simply stared back at him. 

Greetings, Guardian Angel Z357 said, transmitting his thoughts. I overheard about your encounter with the Void while I was working at the establishment called Bucky’s Out of this World Restaurant. I would be able to aid you if I can learn more about this predicament.

Saros wasn’t sure what to say. He processed those words in his head, and his mind whirled. He exchanged a glance with Noele, searching for her help. She hesitated. Neither adventurer knew what to say at first.

Until, finally, they realized that this was the help they were looking for. They nodded at each other, making their decision.

MelasD

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