Netherborne [An OP Monster Isekai]

Alice awoke to dead silence. The familiar sounds of birds chirping away or wooden wheels creaking as they followed along half-trodden country paths were gone. Just cold, dead silence. Yet the ceiling was familiar, one of a carriage. Although it was clearly of higher make than the one she had been transported in, the wooden boards had a fresh lick of paint and a fresh wood smell that tickled her nose.

“That also smells good,” she mumbled. A plate of beef jerky lay beside her alongside a full waterskin. Feeling that familiar empty void in her stomach, Alice rolled over, ignoring the incredibly comfortable hay mattress she was lying on, and reached for the tantalizing meat.

She ignored everything. Even the beautiful dress that replaced her rags paled compared to the food. In recent weeks, she’d been fed nothing other than that sickening gruel those heinous merchants had force-fed down her gullet.

The jerky was rubbery to the touch. Some light orange seasoning rubbed onto Alice’s fingers as she rammed it into her mouth. “Ugh.” The meat tasted dry and sucked away all her saliva in an instant. While choking, she downed the water skin in a single gulp while gagging on the jerky.

“SO DRY!” she exclaimed as she let out a haggard breath. “But so bloody good!” Without hesitation, she devoured all the meat and sat back on the bed in satisfaction. The food felt heavy in her stomach, so she tried to massage the pain away.

“Howdy!”

“AHH!” Alice shrieked at the skeleton that poked its head around the corner. It was a small thing, only reaching the doorknob. It was hunched over with three long fingers, a flat face, and two empty eye sockets that disturbed her as the skeleton awkwardly scratched its head.

“D-do n-not b-be a-alarmed, Miss Alice.” It slurred every word as if repeating the words of someone else. “I am here to help you!”

“What!” Alice crawled into the corner of the room and held her arms out in front of her face. After receiving the spirit of Darkness’s blessing, she researched the dead in the few days before being sold to merchants. She knew for a fact that an undead was incapable of speech, except for powerful liches, but she was confident a goblin lacked the skills to become a lich. “How can you talk?”

“By the power granted to me by the mighty one!”

“T-the mighty one?” Alice thought long and hard. Then she vaguely remembered some disjointed voice speaking to her before she passed out, and a realization hit her. In a panic, she chanted, “Status.”

In her mind, a blue box displayed her status alongside someone else.

[Name: Alice] (Leader)

[Race: Human]

[Level: 12]

[STR: 30, DEX: 42, CON: 12, INT: 72, WIS: 56]

(Weak) (Slave)

[Name: UNKNOWN]

[Race: UNKNOWN]

[Level: 281]

[STR: 259200, DEX: 259200, CON: 259200, INT: 259200, WIS: 259200]

(Lifeforce Unstable) (Out of range)

Alice read through the stats in complete shock. Her breathing became ragged as she clutched the hem of her new dress till her knuckles went bone white. Mother told me that the strongest dragons reached level one hundred, and these stats are beyond odd. Not only are they impossibly high, but they are all the same. Is the System bugging out?

Taking deep breaths, Alice massaged her temples as she contemplated her situation. She wasn’t stupid; this UNKNOWN monster had kept her alive for some purpose. “What does the lord or lady of this land wish from me?”

The goblin had waited patiently by the door and seemed happy with the question. “Lord! The lord only has one wish for now, which is for you…to get stronger!”

“Stronger?” Alice tilted her head in confusion. Why would this lord require my strength? His stats are insane!

“Yes! Eat well, rest up, and then train! I can help you…” Despite its evident excitement, the goblin spoke in a monotone voice that grated on her ears.

“You will help me get stronger?” Alice stood up and brushed the hay from her dress; her legs were a little weak, so she had to steady herself on the wooden wall, and a few cuts here and there brushed against the fabric, causing her to wince and exhale sharply through her gritted teeth.

Alice glanced back at the status. It showed that this UNKNOWN lord was suffering from an ailment, unstable lifeforce. She might have a chance to kill and escape if she discovered what kept him alive. Another piece of information from the status that gave her peace of mind was that the lord was out of range, meaning he was at least over a mile away.

She decided to keep the status open at all times; if the Out of Range debuff disappeared, she was no longer alone. Wait, I am a fool; this undead is under that lord’s command! A necromancer or powerful lich can see through the eyes of their servants!

Alice sighed. Whatever nefarious schemes this ancient necromancer had with her were beyond her control. Who was she to complain if this lord wished for her to eat well? Maybe he will even teach me the dark arts… THAT’S IT! He kept me alive because of my blessing from the Goddess of Darkness! He can be all-powerful, but necromancers can always appreciate a helping hand in managing their army. Right, right?

The nice clothes, food, and even an undead servant suggested she was valuable. A small amount of pride welled up in her chest. Even if all these thoughts are mere delusions, it’s not like I can save myself in this situation without at least investigating the outside. A girl such as myself, blessed with Darkness, has one fate awaiting them in any human country. So long as the lord doesn’t grind me up into a pill or turn me into a zombie, my life here shouldn’t be too bad compared to one as a slave in the Empire.

Alice looked around the carriage; it was spacious with a bed of hay, a table and chairs, a weathered sofa on the far side, and a small ensuite bathroom that was no more than a hole in the floor that allowed one to take a shit while the carriage moved along. There was no shaking or noise, so they were stationary. Are we still on the road?

Deciding it was time to toughen up and impress her new overlord, Alice walked toward the undead servant. “Can I go outside?”

“Of course you can.” The goblin moved to the side and fully opened the carriage door, letting in a wave of light, meaning hours had passed since she passed out.

Alice stepped out and looked around. The carriage appeared to be in the middle of a goblin village that had been demolished and renovated with the most massive ice sculptures she had ever seen. The detail was incredible; some even had red shading to bring out the art.

“Wow!” Alice wandered to the nearest one to get a better look. It appeared to be a four-armed bear in a fetal position with its head in the middle of a terrifying roar. “Wait, this isn’t a sculpture!” She stumbled back after the sun hid behind a cloud, reducing the glare on the ice. The actual sculpture was an A-class monster encased in ice with its head sliced cleanly off.

She shuddered in a mixture of pure terror, and she was cold. Standing next to the sculpture reminded her of the massive freezer room at her family’s estate. A flash of anger passed at the reminder of her wretched family; if she ever got powerful here and somehow escaped, she would visit them.

“Miss, do you know the name of these monsters?” The goblin servant gestured with its three-fingered hand at the hundreds of ice sculptures populating the clearing.

“Maybe some of them? If they are famous ones, then most definitely.”

“Excellent!” The goblin smacked its bony hands together. “Then, apart from recovering, the lord would appreciate it if you could name all these monsters.”

A test of my capabilities? Alice wondered as she walked to the next one. No way an ancient necromancer at level 281 doesn’t know the name of these monsters, right?

She pointed at the sculpture she had just passed. “That bear is called a Four-Leaf Golden Bear. The name derives from their golden fur that can be plucked off like a leaf from a tree and sold at high prices in auctions and, of course, their four arms. A mother bear’s fur is worth much more than the father’s.”

“How come?” the goblin asked as it carved the name “Four-Leaf Golden Bear” into a wooden plank and placed it in front of the sculpture as if it was a museum piece.

“Simple, the father bear is called the Two-Silver Bear. Their skin is molten silver that wraps around their form like a constant suit of armor; they are S-class, but the silver harvested from their corpses is very brittle. Nevertheless, they are so powerful that platinum-ranked adventurers have stopped hunting them altogether…” Alice paused as they arrived at the second ice sculpture showing a bear twice the size of the first, and a distinct silver shine made the ice look breathtaking.

“And this one?” the goblin asked, eagerly holding a blank plank.

“A Two-Silver Bear…”