1 The Tired King

In a castle, a white-haired man was sitting at a desk inside a medium-sized room. Across from his desk stood three chairs. His name was Alvar, he looked to be in his mid-20s with golden eyes and a burn-like scar on his left eye. He was looking out of the window at the buildings scattered across the kingdom.

While he was looking out of the window, he heard a knock on the door.

"You may enter." He said calmly with a tired smile on his face. He started looking at the people entering one after another.

The first to enter was a Human with brown hair and brown eyes. He looked to be in his 20s with tanned skin and wore casual clothing. He sat on the chair in front of Alvar. His name is Maxwell.

The next was a young woman with green hair and purple eyes. She seems to be very young and wasn't wearing any clothing other than vines covering her privates, she is a dryad and her name is Xylia, and she took a seat next to Maxwell.

Last to enter was an old man with a long white beard and blue eyes. He was wearing a blue shirt with an old goldish brown jacket over it and had a hat on top of his head with a feather hanging down the top. This is Alfred, a merchant, he sat on the left side of Maxwell.

"I'm glad to see you all again, since it's been a while," Alvar said after each of them took a seat.

"True, you have been pretty busy lately." Maxwell nodded.

"It's because I was busy making a special item. Which is the reason why I called you all here."

Alvar said with a sigh.

"Oh? You usually don't comment on anything you make..." Xylia mumbled with concern.

"You usually make a lot of weapons and artifacts but never needed to report on it," Alfred said while rubbing his beard and his eyes shining with interest

"Well before we start with that let me tell you something very important first," Alvar said while taking a deep breath. "I'm planning on retiring." He said while looking at their reactions.

Both Maxwell and Alfred were shocked and confused, while Xylia understood the reason. She is a dryad, which gives her the ability to sense a person's nature and feelings. Alvar's abilities do lessen the effect it has on him, but she could still semi-grasp the reason for it.

"I understand why you two are so shocked, but you have to understand. I am tired of being king, tired of seeing my people and those I care for age and die while I can't follow them. People aren't even treating me normally anymore like in the past but instead, they treat me as a god or something similar..." Alvar leaned back into his chair and sighed.

"The other reason is also about this kingdom... I was this kingdom's king from the day it was built, which also leads to one simple problem... No one would be able to pick up the crown if I were to die or disappear... With no one being 'next in line' for the crown or anyone with the ability of leadership..."

"It just doesn't feel right having a kingdom that is too reliant on a king where it comes to a point that if the king is missing, the kingdom will fall... If there is no one that can take my place or if something were to happen to me, then that will be the fate of this place..." Alvar closed his eyes briefly and took a small breath.

"I fulfilled my promise and my task as a guardian... but it is time for me to leave. I am an adventurer at heart and that will never change." He finished and waited for them to digest the information.

After a few minutes, Alfred let out a sigh and asked, "So you asked us to come here to look after the kingdom in your stead?"

Alvar looked at Alfred and said, "Not just to look after, but I want you three to become the new rulers of this place if possible."

"It seems you already have everything planned out," Xylia said.

Alvar nodded and said, "Of course, I also have the perfect positions for each of you if you are willing to become the new rulers."

"And those are?" Maxwell asks curiously.

Alvar nodded and said, "Alfred being a very talented and experienced merchant makes him suitable to be in charge of the trade market and this kingdom's treasury room."

"Xylia can select the people to be in charge of the different districts. This is a big kingdom and with me gone most of my summons will also disappear as well. So having someone trustworthy to pick the new rulers of those districts and keeping them in check is needed."

"The districts won't be that much of a problem so you all can teach them yourselves when I'm gone."

"And lastly is you, Maxwell. I want you to be the king with the help of Alfred and Xylia."

"I'm not forcing any of you to take my place as king. You can turn me down if you feel like it might be too much to handle," Alvar said calmly.

All three of them went silent and thought about everything Alvar said.

"... How are you so sure I would be worthy of being king?" Maxwell asked confused.

"Because I know you, your parents, their parents, and so on. The apple doesn't always fall off so far from the tree." Alvar let out a small chuckle.

"Besides, I deeply care about this place so I wouldn't be retiring if I didn't find any worthy successor."

Maxwell nodded and thought about his decision while Xylia asked, "Wait... if your summons disappears when you retire, wouldn't that leave this place unprotected?"

"You don't have to worry about that at all. Most will disappear, but not all of them, and my summons aren't the only things keeping this place protected." Alvar let out a small chuckle.

"Like I keep saying. I won't be leaving this place unless I am certain it won't fall while I am gone."

Xylia nodded while Maxwell smiled and with a determined expression on his face he said," I'll become the new king"

Alvar smiled and looked at the other two.

"I am also up for the task." Alfred nodded.

"Same here, I have to repay all the things you have done for me somehow, right?" Xylia chuckled.

"It takes a lot to run a kingdom, you know? Especially this one... are you all sure you won't need more time to think about this?"

"Yes, I believe all three of us are sure about this decision. Besides, you said it yourself. You wouldn't have asked us if you weren't positive we would be able to complete the task." Maxwell said with a nod and a smile on his face.

Alvar looked at Xylia and Alfred, saw them both nod in confirmation, and smiled.

"Thanks all of you, in the next few months I'll be teaching you everything you need to know to be the new rulers. After that, I'll be seeing how you fare without my help for a few months and then I'll be taking my leave." Alvar nodded and took out a stack of documents from under his desk.

"Also the item I told you about. I will be using that to go to a different world." Alvar casually said while splitting the stack of documents in three.

"... So that's what you mean by 'adventurer by heart'," Xylia said wordlessly.

"Indeed, I already have seen everything in this world after all... and with my race wanting me to strive for more experiments and whatnot made it pretty difficult to stay in one place for so long."

"... Is that the only reason why?" She asks skeptically.

"... You know me too well, Xylia." Alvar let out a soft sigh.

"Let me have a bit of hope, please... Even if it's for nothing." He said soft enough for just Xylia to hear.

She nodded slightly with a sad smile on her face and didn't comment further.

Alvar handed each of them their stack of documents and said. "For now, I want each of you to go through these documents on your own. If there is anything you don't understand, then you can ask me. There are also some situations I wrote down on some of the documents and under them, you can write down what you would do to resolve them. I'll be taking those back and tell you the problems of your answers if there are any."

"Thank you all for this." Alvar smiled.

"You three may leave." He watched them leave one by one and let out a sigh of relief.

Being alone again inside his office, he looked out of his window. Seeing the different buildings and people walking around in the streets.

'I wonder how much I'm going to miss this place' He thought as he took a multicolored heart pendant from underneath his shirt.

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Alvar spent the next three months teaching the three how to do their respective duties. Xylia didn't really need any tutoring, though there were a few things she needed help with. The same goes for Alfred because he is already well-experienced as a merchant.

Maxwell had a bit of trouble learning everything, but it seemed that he had a lot of talent for being king. He spent some time watching how I work to better understand the duties of a king as well.

'Let's hope he can guide this Kingdom in the right direction.' Alvar thought with a chuckle. He was leaning against a door and watched as the three worked together in signing documents.

Alvar's retirement had become a hot topic that spread like wildfire across the entire kingdom. It was quite a shock to the people that their savior or 'God' had decided to retire.

Yet things calmed down somewhat after Maxwell was appointed as the new king. Having the blood of the human who guided Alvar on his journey flowing through his veins is what eased their anxiety. They were also glad that the famous merchant, Alfred and the legendary dryad, Xylia would also help Maxwell in ruling the kingdom.

'Let's see how you three fare on your own.'

After three more months, Alvar decided that it was finally time to take his leave. The people decided to throw a festival as a farewell party.

The only people who knows that Alvar will be going to a different world are those close to him.

Certain things are best kept as a secret after all.

Currently standing on one of the castle's balconies. Alvar was leaning against the railing with a glass of wine in his hand looking at the people laughing, and dancing while others were sending lanterns into the sky. He really enjoyed this scene.

''I'm glad that this is the final memory I'll have of this place, seeing the people bid their farewells,'' Alvar couldn't help but let out a sad smile.

"It's a nice view, isn't it?" Xylia walked over to Alvar and stood next to him.

"Yes, it certainly is. Seeing everyone so happy without a care in the world... It really does feel nice having everyone care so much about me. Although, the churches wanting to build a temple for me is going a bit far." Alvar let out a wry smile.

"So you saw that petition." She laughed.

"I'm not going to stop you from leaving. I understand your reasons, even the unspoken ones." She looked into Alvar's eyes.

"Just be careful out there. We don't know what might be on the other side. There might even be worlds that have a worse history than ours. Your people might see you as a god, but you aren't fully immortal yet." Her voice was full of concern.

Alvar smiled and said. "I know, and I'll be careful. Although it might be hard in some cases. I was... 'born' to be a guardian of sorts, so some things are built into my nature, but I'll try staying out of the spotlight. I don't want people to start putting me up on a pedestal again."

"Being called a guardian, hero, and king is enough for one 'life' after all... For the next 'life' I just want to try being me." Alvar took a sip of his wine and turned his face back to the people.

"You were really carrying a heavy burden, weren't you?" Xylia sighed.

"About the other reason you're going... Just don't get your hopes up... You know the chances are really low."

"I know the odds are low, but I'm afraid it's a bit too late to care about that."

"I guess so..."

"Let's go back inside, I can't let my retirement party go on without me, right?"

.....

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.....

..

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Now, standing on a hill far away from the kingdom, Alvar turned around and gazed at it from a distance. He already stored most of his items with his storage magic but kept a bag on his shoulder with a few necessities like food, water bottles, and a few low-quality healing potions. It might not be necessary, but it's for the off chance that storage magic doesn't exist in the next world.

It's the same reason why he is wearing some leather armor with platinum plating rather than looking like some noble that came from who knows where.

Alvar looked away from the kingdom and thought, 'There's no point in missing this place.'

He walked towards a very old-looking tree. Under it stood a well-maintained gravestone, neatly overgrown with a thorny vine-like rose bush.

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Rest In Peace

Cali

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Alvar kneeled in front of the gravestone, "Cali, it has been a while since the time we have met. All the promises we have made and kept... and some we sadly couldn't. All the people we met and lost. But in those difficult times, we had all plenty of good ones."

A small, singular tear ran down his left cheek.

"From all the people I have met, you were the only one who knew me the best. The one who stood by my side when my façade broke."

Two tears fell.

"You were the only reason I could have made it this far."

Three tears.

"For the possible last time that I could speak to you. I just want to tell you again, with all my heart, thank you..."

He took out a multicolored heart pendant from under his shirt and let out a small sad smile as he wiped away a few tears. "Although I hope I'll see you again one day. Be it in life or death,"

"Until then, I hope you can look after these lands. Goodbye, Cali."

Alvar turned around and put the pendant around his neck again. He took in a deep breath and lifted up his left arm and closed his eyes. Mana from the surrounding area started gathering around the heart-shaped pendant, glowing magnificently in its corresponding colors.

The different colors looked like they started seeping out of the pendant and after a few minutes, the different colors started taking on humanish appearances. They are elemental spirits: One for air, fire, water, earth, darkness, and light. Their colors show the element they are.

Each of the spirits slowly lifted up their arms and pointed their palms in the same direction as Alvar. They each used their elementally charged mana condensing it into a single point which slowly started to form a small crack in the air. With each passing moment, the crack grew larger until it was big enough for Alvar to fit through.

Alvar opened his eyes and looked at the crack in front of him. It looked like the jagged lines of shattered glass.

"Thanks for the help," He said gratefully. If they didn't help him stabilize the crack, it would have gone out of control.

They all nodded at the same time, then turned back into small light particles that went back inside the pendant.

Alvar shook his head and took out a silver orb, it appeared to be the same size as a marble. This orb is able to temporarily connect two worlds together at a single point. The other function is to conceal the rift from every being in the other world.

Alvar took in a deep breath and threw the silver orb into the crack. The orb hung suspended in the middle of the crack for a few seconds until it slowly turned the crack into a purple rift. The orb slowly sunk deeper into the rift until it completely disappeared.

Seeing the first step was successful. Alvar felt relief wash over his body while his lips slowly turned into a grin. He grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. With his passion for exploring the unknown being rekindled, his heart started welling up with all kinds of emotions.

He walked through the rift, leaving his kingdom in the new generation's hands... and the grave of his first love.

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This is the first chapter of my rework :P Hope y'all enjoyed it~

This is a rework of a book with the same name if you want to check it out, although the previous one is most likely dropped. Didn't know if I should change the name or what the new name would be.

This ff will most likely be more slice of life and focus on a researchy aspect since mc is op. Will put focus on the character interactions and the world of DanMachi as a whole, something would be changed, some cities might be different etc. There is also a high chance that the release dates would be inconsistent, but ill try to get out one chapter per week. Maybe more, but who knows?

Although I myself can't remember much of DanMachi so there is a huge chance that I either forgot a character, added a few or forgot a cannon event, or changed some things. If there are key factors that I get wrong, do please help me out.

Also, if there is any items you wish to see from terraria or its mods then do let me know. Any weapons or items. Or perhaps interesting ideas that could work in danmachi (like with magic or falnas)

I haven't touched DanMachi or this book in a year+ so hope it is still up to reading standard.