Chapter 44: Stepping Into the Unknown
Unknown World
Stepping out of the portal, I blinked as a vibrant world greeted my eyes, one full of color and teeming with life, according to my senses. It was also brimming with sentient beings of various strengths.
Unfortunately, before I could fully take in the beautiful scenery, I felt a foreign entity attempting to affect me. I focused inward immediately.
‘Astra, do you know what’s going on?’ I asked my reliable partner, resisting whatever it was with little effort as I sharpened my senses and became alert.
Our trip here had come at a cost. It had taken an unfathomable amount of magicules to cross the barriers set between universes, and I would need a few days to fully recover.
I was just glad that, despite whatever was trying to mess with me, this world was rich in magicules, much richer than the Bleach world as a matter of fact, so it would speed up my recovery.
“From what I can gather, it appears the laws governing this world are attempting to place Caius-sama under their rules, since he exists outside the system,” Astra explained calmly, no doubt analyzing everything she could.
‘Will it be a problem for us?’ I asked curiously, my eyes scanning the surroundings as I noticed a flying blue-and-red island in the distance that appeared to be alive with somewhat strong presences residing on it.
“Not at all, Caius-sama. Even should you choose to accept these laws into yourself, with your current strength, you can easily undo them whenever you want,” Astra informed me promptly. I felt her relax now that the situation proved to be a non-issue.
‘That’s good,’ I thought, letting out a small sigh of relief that we had dodged that bullet.
Weakened as I was right now, I didn’t want to risk running into someone strong, especially since I might have an idea where I was now, based on several clues.
The first was the sky itself, with two moons, one red and white, the other green. The second was the clearly visible network of spirit circuits running across the entire planet just above the atmosphere.
The biggest clue, though…
Was the giant chess pieces spread out across the planet.
We were in the world of Disboard.
A world ruled by the One True God Tet, the God of Play. Where everything was decided by games, and the races were forced to follow the Ten Covenants he had set.
Not knowing his current strength, and with my current condition, I decided not to risk a battle with him.
I closed my eyes, and a moment later, I felt what could only be described as chains wrapping around my soul, binding me to the rules here. Though the chains were weak, and I knew that with even the slightest pressure they would come undone, I simply ignored the feeling for now.
“Hopefully our stay in this world goes unnoticed by him,” I muttered to myself with a small sigh before shaking my head and letting a smile grace my face as my previous excitement returned.
To be on the safe side, though, I concentrated on the weakest concentration of beings in this world. An instant later, I disappeared. It wouldn’t do to remain in the same place I had arrived for too long in case someone noticed my arrival or current presence.
While I had no real plan for this world, or any desire to stay longer than it took me to recover my full strength, there was something I wanted to do now that I was here.
‘I wonder what timeline I arrived at?’
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Several Hours Later
Taking my time to fully explore exactly where I was in the world and what time period I had arrived in, I managed to figure out a few things.
First, the continent I had landed on was the Eastern Union, the nation of kemonomimi, girls with animal features like tails and ears. That didn’t tell me much, sadly, since the continent was massive and made up mostly of dozens of islands.
Fortunately, since I could shift my body however I wanted, I had given myself some wolf ears and a tail to blend in with the locals. After entering a town, I drew a few curious looks at first, but they soon left me alone, and I was able to wander at my leisure.
I managed to acquire a map for myself after memorizing one I had seen and creating my own thanks to Material Creation. That finally told me exactly where I was.
It also gave me hope that I hadn’t landed too far into the future or the past when I noticed that the Eastern Union still claimed land next to the Kingdom of Elkia, the last kingdom of humanity, or Immanity, as it was called here.
That meant Steph’s grandfather had already sold the land to the Eastern Union, but since the land hadn’t been reclaimed yet and the Eastern Union was still independent, it meant Sora and Shiro, the protagonists of this world, hadn’t fought them yet.
That could either mean Tet hadn’t brought them to this world yet, or that they had just arrived.
Knowing my time was now limited and I might already be too late, I immediately made my way toward the Kingdom of Elkia in search of the one being I was looking for.
‘Sorry everyone, but I think it would be best if you stayed inside my Imaginary Space for the remainder of our time in this world. There’s no telling how the laws of this world would affect you, and while I can easily free you from their control, I don’t know if that would somehow alert the God of this world,’ I apologized to everyone inside me, excluding the Quincy.
Since the others had been with me far longer, I trusted them more, and I didn’t know what kind of trouble the Bambies and Bazz-B might cause given their personalities. It was best they stayed where they were.
‘Also unlike our previous world, the God governing this world is actually involved in this world unlike the Soul King.’
“It’s fine, Caius. Don’t worry, I understand your concern and I’m of the same opinion,” Nelliel reassured me with a happy tone.
“That’s right, Caius-sama. Please don’t concern yourself with us and focus on recovering. You won’t be staying in this world for very long from your words,” Tier spoke next, her tone calm.
“Meh, I don’t really care. And it’s not like it’s uncomfortable here,” Starrk said lazily. From the sound of it, he was reading some manga.
“While I really wanted to explore the world since it looks so interesting, at least we can see what you’re seeing right now, so don’t worry too much about it, Caius,” Lilynette said excitedly. I could feel her taking in every detail through my eyes.
“Do you think we can visit again in the future?” Riruka asked, sounding the saddest among the group about not getting to explore this world. She had taken one look at the kemonomimi girls and squealed in joy about how cute some of them looked.
“Oh, and I really want to pet your cute ears too. They’re so adorable~” Riruka gushed, making me smile nervously.
The others chimed in with their own reassurances, but I did hear some mutter in agreement with Riruka about petting my ears, which only increased my nervousness. I decided to ignore it for now as I noticed Elkia City in the distance.
‘Thanks, everyone. And that’s correct, Tier. If everything goes according to plan, I’ll leave as soon as I get back to full strength, so you guys don’t have to wait too long,’ I thanked them, answering Tier’s question first and getting a small thank you in return before focusing on Riruka.
‘Now that I have this universe’s coordinates, we can indeed come back anytime we want in the future, Riruka. And I wouldn’t mind returning once I’m stronger so we can explore this world properly,’ I said with a reassuring smile, wisely choosing not to comment on her second request.
“Thanks, I’ll hold you to that then~” Riruka chirped, sounding happy again. “And don’t think I didn’t notice that you didn’t answer my second question, mister,” she continued with a stern tone.
‘Hehe, right.’ Panicking a bit now, I released a small sigh of relief when I noticed I had arrived.
‘Talk to you later. I’m here,’ I said hurriedly before cutting the connection as I landed just outside the city, making sure nobody saw me. I willed my animal features to disappear, returning to my regular appearance.
Now looking just like a regular, if extremely handsome, human teenager, I made my way into the city. I sought out the first young woman I saw and used my charm to ask her for directions to the Elkia Grand National Library and other details.
Thanks to her, I learned that just a few days ago a new king or kings had been decided, and their descriptions matched what I knew of Shiro and Sora.
Thankful for the information, I gave her some gold before making my way to the library, glad I still had a chance and hadn’t arrived too late in the timeline.
Just who was I going through all this trouble to look for, you may ask?
Well, that was none other than the strongest Flügel in the world and, in my opinion, the best girl in the No Game No Life universe.
Jibril.
As an added bonus, she was extremely beautiful, and since violence had been outlawed ages ago, all Flügel sought knowledge above everything else.
And who just happened to have robbed several libraries and downloaded a ton of data on everything we could get our hands on in the Bleach world?
That’s right, this guy right here.
With a skip in my step, I soon reached the library and didn’t hesitate to make my way inside, already feeling a fairly strong presence, the strongest I had felt so far in this world, inside.
“Hellooo~ Is anybody here?” I asked in a sing-song voice as I let myself in.
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Walking further in, I came to a stop as I beheld the rustic and magical look of the place. Hundreds of neatly stacked books floated in the air, while thousands more lined bookshelves that reached the ceiling. Light orbs drifted throughout the library, giving the space its much-needed illumination.
A moment later, a presence teleported in, and I looked up as the person I had been searching for slowly floated down, regarding me with a curious expression. Beneath that though, was barely concealed scorn.
I grinned in amusement as she made a bit of a show of extending her pair of white wings behind her back, as if silently reminding me of her race.
She was basically aura farming with her eyes closed before she slowly opened them, revealing her golden irises with purple cross pupils and the glowing halo rotating above her head. Complimenting that was her beautiful long pink hair that shifted to yellow and green at the tips, along with the cute wings she had instead of ears.
Then she had to open her mouth and ruin the image with her next words.
“Excusing me, person in there! What do you wanting in my library?” she asked, switching between several languages at once and making her question sound ridiculous.
“Haah, I’m going to have to ask her to stop doing that once this is over. That sounded so cringe,” I quietly muttered to myself, never taking my eyes off her.
“I am Jibril. What could I possibly do for you, little Immanity?” Jibril asked in a condescending fashion, not even trying to hide how she felt about me.
Feeling my amusement return, I grinned and casually raised my hand, pointing straight at her and making her blink.
“I want you,” I declared confidently, my amusement only rising as I saw a dumbfounded look flash across her face for less than a second before her smile returned.
“You want me?” she asked, tilting her head while still keeping up with that weird quirk of hers.
“Before we continue, let me invite you to some tea. Since you’ve managed to amuse me with your question, I will be nice enough to at least play the part of a good host,” she continued, guiding me further inside the library. I happily followed behind her.
Jibril led me to a small table, quickly summoned a tea set, and served me some tea as we took our seats and got comfortable.
“Now, back to the main topic. You want me? Why would you want that?” she said, playing the ditzy fool as she took a sip of her tea.
“Hah, could you please stop talking like that? It’s already been done before and it’s very grating on the ears,” I said with a small sigh, taking my own sip of tea and blinking at the amazing taste.
“What? I had thought it an avant-garde and unique way of speaking, but someone else beat me to it?” Jibril asked with a disappointed tone as she looked down dejectedly.
“Yes,” I replied with a deadpan.
Jibril quickly pulled herself together, proving she was just messing around, and spoke in a more relaxed manner with a hint of derision.
“Could you please answer the question now? You want me. Are you challenging me to a game, human?” Jibril asked as she narrowed her eyes at me.
“That’s exactly what I’m asking,” I said with a happy nod, not intimidated in the slightest.
Looking down and letting shadows cover her eyes, Jibril continued, her smile turning dangerous.
“I see. Before the Ten Covenants were introduced, we Flügel collected severed heads. Now that murder is forbidden, though, we value knowledge above all else. It’s not exaggerating to say that books, which contain that knowledge, and the places where they are held, are as valuable as one’s life,” Jibril explained in a blank tone as she looked at me with eyes that could kill.
“Since you want me, that means you also want my library and everything I own. If you want me to wager my life, what are you offering in exchange?” she asked, her eyes narrowed to slits with a dangerous glint in them.
Smirking, I brought my hand up, palm facing upward. Under her gaze, I summoned several books from my Imaginary Space, causing her to widen her eyes in shock and blink several times as if trying to see if she was hallucinating.
“D-Did you just…?” Jibril muttered quietly.
Ignoring her question, I set the books down on the table in front of us and gave my answer. “How does a couple of million books that you’ve never read before sound? Books from another world?” I asked smugly, enjoying her reactions.
As expected, her previous expression immediately crumbled. Her eyes widened even further before she leaned over the table, her face slowly turning red as she started panting, her gaze zeroing in on the books in front of her.
“A-A-A million books!? Th-That sure is a lot… Are they all stored in wherever these came from?” Jibril asked with a stutter as she started drooling like a dog while reaching for the top book.
“That’s right. Go ahead, I assure you that you’ve never read them before. You probably won’t even be able to understand the language they’re written in,” I said, crossing my arms as I leaned back and watched her true personality come out with amusement.
“That’s impossible. I know over 700 languages—What, I can’t read this!” Jibril said with a shake of her head as she calmed down for a moment, taking the book and opening it only to freeze a second later, finding my words proven true.
“They are from another world after all,” I said with a small shrug.
“Are you saying that you’re really from another world?” Jibril asked as she looked up at me from the book with a skeptical expression.
“Yep,” I answered with a simple nod.
“That’s impossible,” Jibril immediately refuted, turning to the side. “Summoning a living creature from another world and keeping it here requires a tremendous amount of power. Even the Old Deus would find it extremely difficult,” she explained, her reason for disbelief clear.
“Believe it or not, it’s true,” I said with another shrug. “And who said anything about being summoned to this world?” I asked with a raised eyebrow, causing her to turn my way again as a smirk grew on my face.
“Nobody summoned me. I traveled here under my own power,” I declared confidently before snapping my fingers and placing a barrier around us that isolated us in another dimension.
Jibril’s eyes turned into pinpricks as what I said slowly registered, and she looked around, inspecting my barrier before finally turning to me with a wary yet intrigued look.
“…What are you?” she asked as all pretenses of a smile or calm expression disappeared from her face, now set in stone.
“I’m just a traveler trying to make his way home,” I answered with a relaxed smile as I took a sip of my tea and looked her in the eyes.
“So what do you say, Jibril? Do you accept?”