《Wait… Why is this a Skill? [Dropped]》 Chapter 1 I am Endou Kouta, a second year highschooler. In school, I am known as the ¡°King of the School¡± for many reasons. One is because I¡¯m an ikemen with black hair and black eyes, a typical Japanese teenager, and another is because of my good grades. ¡°Kouta-nii!¡± A girl who is an underclassman came running at me. She is my little sister, Endou Kayaka. She is a bishoujo with black hair in twintails and black eyes. She also has good grades. But we have one thing in common, and it is hidden from the school and my friends. ¡°Kouta-nii. Can we play later?¡± I gave a nod to Kayaka who asked me a question. As for what we were going to play later. ¡°Can I mid lane, Kayaka? I¡¯m going to try Kunkka for today.¡± Yes. Some of you may know while others may not. It is a popular MOBA game throughout the world. The name of the game is DOTA 2. Since middle school, me and Kayaka have been playing this game. The reason? Because it is fun and also because both of us enjoy playing together. You can call it a connection between me and Kayaka. ¡°Sure Kouta-nii. I was going to play Dark Seer to support the team, but looks like we will have a good compatibility.¡± While both of us were walking towards the exit since school was finished, I bumped into something. ¡°Kouta-nii!?¡± Kayaka who was worried about me came by my side and supported me up while I was dumbfounded by the thing I bumped into. But when I laid my eyes towards the front, I saw¡­ Nothing. Nothing was there. Just the exit, but when I tried going once more, I bumped into something again. ¡°What is happening?¡± There is nothing there, but I can¡¯t seem to move forward. ¡°Kayaka, can you please try moving to the exit.¡± Kayaka who was in silence looked up to me and nodded. She walked slowly and¡­ Bumped into something and fell. Luckily, I was beside her and supported her back. ¡°Kouta-nii¡­ What is happening?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know Kayaka. Should we go tell the teachers?¡± ¡°Un.¡± Both of us backtracked the way we came and surpirisingly, students here and there were panicking and rushing towards the faculty rooms. I caught a rushing student who was running in our direction. ¡°What is happening here?¡± The student looked at me with a mix of fright and admiration. Please stop. I¡¯m not deserving of the title. ¡°It seems we can¡¯t get out of the school. Students tried going through the doors and windows but were blocked with an invisible wall. Teachers are calling the authorities right now but it seems it will take 30 minutes for them to reach the school.¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°Is that right? Thanks for your time.¡± ¡°Th-that¡¯s not necessary Endou-senpai! I¡¯m nothing compared to you!¡± This is why I hate this title. The students and teachers place me up on a high pedestal. ¡°But because you answered my question, I should thank you in return right?¡± ¡°B-but¡­¡± I put a smile on my face to reassure the student. ¡°Y-yes! Well then goodbye!¡± With that, the student left while running. ¡°You sure are popular, Kouta-nii.¡± Kayaka who was silent teased me. ¡°Like you¡¯re one to talk.¡± I retorted her remark. ¡°But we should go see the teacher.¡± ¡°Un.¡± Just as we were starting to walk, I heard a voice inside my head. (Attention all students and teachers. Sorry for taking your time, but first I should introduce myself.) I stiffened in place. I looked over to Kayaka and it seems she stiffened up too. Apparently, both me and Kayaka can hear the voice. But the voice said all students, so I should assume that the whole school can hear this voice. (I am what you would call a God. I am not a God of your world but of a different world. My world is endangered from an existence called a ¡°Demon Lord¡± and if the Demon Lord is not stopped, it will continue wreaking havoc throughout my world and may come over to your world too to wreak chaos.) I know this development as I have read some isekai novels but to think that it will happen in reality. But Demon Lord huh. I have no connection to that world so I have no responsibility to help them, but that voice said that it may cross over to this world too. And the voice said it was God right? I can wholeheartedly believe what the voice said since I can¡¯t even get out of the school because of something blocking the way. I hope Kayaka can understand this too. (My world is the so-called swords and magic world. All of you will be given skills that surpass the talented in my world. The skills you will be given will be related to your talents and hobbies, so that you can use your full potential in my world. In about one Hor (This is not a typo), all of you in this building will be transferred to my world. I have been given permission by the God of this world to take you all to my world. And all of your friends and families who will not be transferred will have their memories erased about your existence. For this one Hor, please come to terms with anything you have to do now. Please take into consideration that your world is also in danger. Well then, until next time.) After the God said his farewell, a sound like a static radio rang in my head for a second before vanishing. ¡°Kouta-nii.¡± I looked over Kayaka who seemed worried about our future. Well, we have no problem with our friends and family forgetting us, since our parents are already gone. Both of them passed away when we were both young because of a traffic accident. We have no close relatives like aunt and uncle, because both of them eloped. And their friends also had their hands full with their families so we can¡¯t ask them to shelter us. Thankfully, both of them had stored a lot of money in their bank accounts and around the house, and thanks to me who made use of their bank accounts to earn money through Steam and other activites, we were able to make it to highschool. And about our friends, we have no close friends back at home. We only have friends here in this school, so no use worrying about that. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Kayaka, I will protect you.¡± I brought my body closer to Kayaka and hugged her to ease her uneasiness. She hugged me tightly and doesn¡¯t let go. ¡°Thank you, Kouta-nii.¡± With one word, both of us parted our bodies and sat down in the hallway. We saw students here and there frantically running around. Some of them had happy faces exclaiming, ¡°Finally! Magic!¡± while others had an unhappy expression. Maybe they had strong familial bonds. We spent our time sitting close to one another. Some students sent us some looks before running about. The girls had an excited gaze while the men sent me envious gazes. Not that I care. All I want is to make my sister and my life easier and happier. ¡­ An hour passed and while the authorities outside the school were contemplating on how to enter, a giant circle appeared below the school building. More like, it looks like a magic circle. A bright light flashed encompassing the whole building while the authorites were stunned while gazing at the spectacle before them. ¡°Kayaka, I will protect you.¡± ¡°Un.¡± I hugged Kayaka as we were about to transfer. A few seconds later, a voice ringed in my ears. ¡°Oh heroes! Please save this world from the Demon Lord!¡± Chapter 2 What greeted us after the transfer was a huge, beautiful room covered in jewels and gold. I''m surprised that this room can hold about 2000 people. It was probably planned to use this room as the transfer point. Moving on. The students that numbered more than a thousand were surrounded by hundreds of knights and robed men. Save for one. She was a beautiful girl that may put supermodels back on Earth to shame. With golden hair flowing down her back and clear green eyes that shows pure innocence. She was wearing a white dress suited for royalty adorned with jewels and gems. ¡°Oh heroes! Please save this world from the Demon Lord!¡± How can I understand her words when they are not even Japanese? Maybe because of the God''s power, we are able to understand them even if we don''t know what language they are speaking. Looks like some students noticed it, as well as Kayaka. After having declared her intent, she lowered her head and the rest of the group followed suit. Metal bumping metal was heard throughout the room, and I''m telling you, it was not a pleasant experience. Most students covered their ears while the teachers face''s twitched. Are they seriously knights? Was what revolved in my head. If they were, then Seargent H*rtman will whip them up to shape Spartan style. After a brief silence, a representative came out to the front. She was wearing a suit with a skirt that reached her thighs. She wore eyeglasses over her raven black eyes and has black hair that reached her shoulders. She was the school principal Tani Tanura. She is known as a Seargent H*rtman incarnation because when she sometimes lectures a class or conducts meetings, Sparta descends on Earth. I''ve been in one and she was scary as heck! Even the muscle head teachers can''t compete with her. ¡°Oh my oh my! Please forgive our discourtesy for not immediately giving an answer. My name Tani Tanura. Tani is my family name and Tanura is my given name. All of the transferred people names are in this order. [Family name ? Given name]. May I ask for your name?¡± While speaking politely, Tani gave a courtesy to the young girl. ¡®Who knew that Tani-sensei can give a talk like that. Usually, she controls the mood and atmosphere during lectures and meeting'', was revolved in my head. ¡°My name Erika Erise von Elika, Third Princess of the Elika Kingdom, honored hero. As you may have heard from our God, Grade (Grade is read as Gra ¨C de, not Gre - yd), our honored heroes have been summoned to defeat the Demon Lord. As of now, countless demons are wreaking havoc through our world and only a few countries are left standing.¡± While speaking, the princess'' face gradually turned gloomy. Her face showed true gloominess. Just how horrible is this demon lord? ¡°I understand, however! The majority of the heroes you have summoned are just children! You can''t expect them to have them fight without experience! How are you going to train them for fighting the demon lord!?¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Tani''s voice resounded through the room, frightening the men in armor. The sound of metal shaking can be heard throughout the room. ¡®I am starting to doubt these men in armor that they are knights'' was what went through my mind. ¡°For your question, allow me to explain. First, chant [Status Open].¡± We hesitated a little bit before doing what she told us. When we chanted it, a transparent menu opened before me. Name: Endou Kouta Level: 1 Skills: [Language Comprehension 10] Titles: [Summoned Hero] This is what was written in the menu. It is surprisingly game-ish. But I have only one skill, and I can''t see others status. ¡°Kouta-nii, can I see your status?¡± ¡°I would like to, but how?¡± As we were contemplating on how we were going to show each other''s status, the princess continued. ¡°This world has a phenomenon called Atra Laos. It is a phenomenon where the nature of this world is shared with it''s inhabitants, and you are no exception. This gives birth to the term known as Skills. Skills are a representation of an individual''s talents and said talent is boosted by the phenomenon Atra Laos. Meaning one''s Skill boosts one''s talent. The skill can boost the talent up to ten times. That explains the number beside your skill. Next is the titles. Titles are names given to an individual in recognition of his achievements. Titles can have effects in boosting the strength of the Skills and the physical and magical power of an individual. For example, a [Dragon Slayer] title can increase damage dealt to dragons and reduce damage from them.¡± After the princess finished her explanation, the students eyes were sparkling with excitement. A moment later, a hand rose from the crowd. ¡°Princess-sama! How can we show our status to another?¡± Thank you, student I don''t know. I was about to ask the same question but I hate drawing attention to myself. Even though I was super popular in school. ¡°Why, it''s easy. Just will yourself to show your status to another. It''s just like wanting to give someone something. Just think of it like that.¡± The student gave a smile before going back to his friends. I tried to show Kayaka my status but I was a little late. Name: Endou Kayaka Level: 1 Skills: [Blacksmithing 7] [Alchemy 8] [Electric Magic 8] [Language Comprehension 10] Titles: [Summoned Hero] I was shocked when I saw her status. She has three skills excluding [Language Comprehension], and all of it has high levels. According to the princess, 1 - Beginner 2 - Trainee 3 - Novice 4 - Average 5 - Veteran 6 - Elite 7 - General 8 - King 9 - Emperor 10 ¨C God Level 7 has the power to devastate a small country while level 8 can destroy a large country. Level 9 can destroy a continent and level 10, the world. The princess also said that the Demon Lord has level 10 skills. ¡°You are strong Kayaka.¡± ¡°Thank you Kouta-nii. Can I see Kouta-nii''s status now?¡± I hesitated a little before showing her my status. She noticed my hesitation, thus she grabbed my hand. ¡°It¡¯s okay Kouta-nii. I will always stay by your side no matter what.¡± ¡°Kayaka¡­¡± I resolved myself and showed Kayaka my status. When she saw it, she was baffled. ¡°Kouta-nii, why do you have only one skill?¡± ¡°I don''t know Kayaka. Maybe, I can get my skill later.¡± As I was questioning myself why I didn''t have any skills other than [Language Comprehension], the princess raised her voice. ¡°Then, can all honored heroes line up so that we can measure your skills and support you to the best of our ability!¡± Cold sweat ran down my back and Kayaka held a face of shock. She understands what will happen if the others knew about my predicament. The worst development happened for me who had only one skill Chapter 3 All of the students lined up with me and Kayaka at the back. One by one, the students'' status were recorded in something like a crystal orb and inscribed in a metal plate. According to the students who were given a plate, they are called a Status Plate. They served as identification when in a country and also serves as a membership for the adventurer''s guild. ¡°Who knew that an adventurer''s guild exist in this world. This really is a fantasy world.¡± ¡°I know right? Hey, you know that in fantasies there are other races and polygamy is accepted?¡± ¡°Which means beast girls! Elves! Harem! That kind of stuff!¡± ¡°!? Ohhh!!¡± A group of male students who got their status plates were loudly spouting some things. Their true intentions were coming out as the girls were glaring at them with hate and cold eyes. I can understand the charm of what they''re saying, but at least talk in a low voice. While saying that in my heart, it was now Kayaka''s turn to take her status plate. She placed her hand on the orb and her status was displayed to a robed man and the princess. ¡°Hmm. A crafting type. You will be able to strengthen others by making equiment they want. Roy! Please write her status down.¡± While the robed man Roy was writing down her status, Kayaka looked at me and stared at my face with a worrysome expression. I gave a smile to ease her, and she was handed her status plate. ¡°Next!¡± Next was me. I slowly went toward the orb. The students were clamoring about, seeing as the ¡°King of the School¡± was about to get his status revealed. Some were excited and some were staring at me with sparkling eyes. ¡®Sorry, but please don''t hope for much.¡¯ While I was apologizing in my heart, I placed my sweaty hands on the orb. My status was exposed to the students, and the princess. ¡°¡­Ha? There must be some kind of mistake. Please try again.¡± The princess beckoned me to try again and I placed my hand on the orb again. The result, nothing changed. ¡°¡­The orb must be broken princess-sama.¡± ¡°Wait, please, the honored hero behind you, please try and place your hand on the orb.¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. The student behind me was staring in shock after seeing my status. Hmm? Was he the one I caught earlier in the hallway? While I was worrying in my heart, the student dragged his body towards the orb. He placed his hand on the orb and displayed his status. Name: Hyoudo Ryou Level: 1 Skills: [Martial Arts 6] [Swordsmanship 6] [Language Comprehension 10] Titles: [Summoned Hero] His status was displayed without abnormalities. ¡°What is the meaning of this? Does this honored hero have no skills except for language?¡± The princess was asking herself with a low voice. But I was able to hear it thanks to how close I was. ¡°¡­ For now, give him his status plate. I''ll consult with esteemed father about this.¡± ¡°Yes! Princess-sama!¡± I was given my status plate and I headed towards Kayaka. The students were staring at me with blank expressions due to shock. I gave them a smile just to show that I am okay. ¡°Kouta-nii, what should we do now?¡± When I came near Kayaka, she asked me a question. ¡°For now, wait I guess.¡± While we were waiting, the student who was given his status plate after me was heading in our direction. If I''m not mistaken, his name was Hyoudo Ryou, right?. ¡°Senpai!¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Please let me introduce myself. My name is Hyoudo Ryou. First Year Kendo club member.¡± That explains his skills, but where is mine? ¡°And what business do you have with me, Hyoudo-san?¡± ¡°Yes! I saw your status earlier when you were called.¡± Kayaka narrowed her eyes at Ryoudo for his statement. Noticing this, Hyoudo''s face twitched and sweat poured on his face. ¡°Please don''t misunderstand, Kayaka-chan.¡± When Kayaka heard what Hyoudo called her, a vein popped in her head. ¡°What did you call me? Hyoudo-san?¡± A black aura surrounded Kayaka causing nearby studets to pale. Hyoudo, who was the focus point of this black aura, was sweating bullets and trembling. ¡°Please forget about that Kayaka. That won''t happen again right? Hyoudo-san?¡± I sent Hyoudo a lifeboat. ¡°Y-yes senpai! Please forgive me Endou-san!¡± The black aura vanished as if nothing happened and Kayaka returned to her original state. ¡°Okay Hyoudo-san. So what did you want when you saw my status?¡± ¡°Yes. I thought that maybe I could help you train. And maybe, you might get your skills while training.¡± That sounds like a good idea. But why would you want to help me? ¡°Okay, but why do you want to help me?¡± ¡°Because, maybe you didn''t know it, but you helped me before and¡­¡± Hmm? I didn''t quite hear that. ¡°Sorry, could you repeat that again?¡± ¡°I-it''s nothing senpai! I just wanted to help you because you are the ¡°King of the School¡± right?¡± Again? I hate this title. No one likes to look at me for who I am because of this title. Well, except for Kayaka. Kayaka glared at Hyoudo-san, ready to pounce, but I patted her head and gave her a smile. ¡°It¡¯s okay Kayaka. Let me handle this.¡± I walked toward Hyoudo and put my hand out. ¡°Please take care of me, Hyoudo-san.¡± Hyoudo was stunned at my behavior, but quickly turned happy and took my hand. ¡°Leave it to me senpai!¡± Both of us shook hands and parted. Hyoudo said that we can add each other to a party by showing our status to each other and pressing the (add to party) button. The three of us were now in a party. As for why I accepted his proposal, I want to get stronger to protect my little sister. I want Kayaka to live a happy life. I don''t want her to feel that same pain when we lost our parents before. That''s why, I will do anything to give that hapiness to her. Chapter 4 It''s been half a year since we were summoned. During the early days of the summons, numerous students holed up in the room given to them. During the night, some cries can be heard through the dark. Those students must be those who have homesickness and miss their families. If our parents were still alive, we might have been like them too for a while. I and Kayaka were given the same room, because we were siblings. I''m surprised that the castle can accommodate a thousand students, along with the soldiers and knights. Just how big is this place? While I was busy training with the students who had skills for combat, Hyoudo was helping me spar during his free time, because the instructors in charge of training the students didn''t even bat an eye to me. Some students were mocking me at how the ¡°King of the School¡± went underground, while the others wanted to help me. I don''t know the reason why they help me, who was the black sheep. Kayaka, who was a support type, was taught how to craft weapons and armor, as well as mix various metals to create better ones. She was also taught how to fight as she was also expected to fight the demon lord. Thanfully, her skills enhances her physical power as she can crush a tree with her hands. Hyoudo was, training diligently with the sword. He had sparkling eyes when Kayaka made him a katana. He named the katana Kouta mk.1. The thought of his katana with my name gives me the creeps. When Kayaka learned about this, she snatched the katana away and sermoned him for an hour while on seiza. During that, I prayed for Hyouda, whose legs were on their way to heaven. The princess and the other royals didn''t pay attention to me. ¡®One day, they might get rid of me,¡¯ was what went in my mind. Kayaka who learned about this, tried her hardest to make up for me with her work. I worried about Kayaka who was overworking, so I told her to stop working for my sake too. Even if she worked ten times harder then anyone else, nothing will change the view of the royals to a useless hero. During the past six months, my body has become toned and muscular, but still have no strength against people with average skills. The soldiers who mocked me told me that people with no skills with strength like mine can take on a goblin at most. Meaning I''m weak. This world is not forgiving to those who have no skills. Every night, Kayaka slips into my bed and comforts me. Not in the sexual meaning. It''s just like lending a shoulder to a crying person. Hyoudo does the same during training. Other students too. 3 months after the summoning, all of the students received a notice that 3 months later, groups of 30 will leave the castle to work as adventurers to get a gist of the world. That reminds me, the God didn''t tell us the name of this world so I asked a soldier who was instructing us on training. ¡°The name of this world? It''s Elzads.¡± Was the answer given to me. Well, after I asked him that, I was beaten to a pulp during a spar with him. The next day, muscle pain assaulted my body. Another three months passed and we''re back to the present. We were grouped into 40 groups. Each group consisting of 30 heroes and 10 knights. These knights looked more like a knight than those that greeted us at the summoning ritual.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Thanfully, Kayaka and Hyoudou were in my group so we were able to stay together. The knights who were assigned to us were those who shunned me and beat me during training. I see the ulterior motives of the royals, but why? This would have worked if Kayaka and Hyoudo were in another group. I can''t stop myself from asking this question while worrying about Kayaka. At night, Kayaka once again slipped into my bed and hugged my body. ¡°Kouta-nii, are you okay?¡± Kayaka was worried about the knight assignments and how there may be ulterior motives. ¡°It''s okay Kayaka. It will be alright. Everything will be alright, because I will protect you. And I won''t die because I made a promise right?¡± ¡°Un. To make our life happier.¡± Both of us slept while hugging each other tightly. ¡­ The next day, each groups were sent out of the castle. As you can expect, the citizens prepared a grand parade to send us off. People lined up on the streets, making a path straight to the gate. Children here and there were running around with excited steps. While the elderly were watching us with hopeful expressions. The parade continued for an hour until all of the groups reached the gate. From there, the groups will split up and visit towns and countries while subjugating monsters in their path to secure safety. Our group was headed to a town known as Fault. It is a town located in near a giant dungeon, and we are supposed to train there for the next year. According to the king, the Demon Lord will not be able to move for about 5 years due to the injury given by a level 10 spell by sacrificing the highest level court mage. The spell was known as [Divine Prison]. It is a spell that seals the target for eternity, but because the target is the Demon Lord, it will not hold. During those 5 years, us heroes are expected to become stronger in order to rival the Demon Lord. And thus, the reason for going to a dungeon. During our march to the town, we camped outside and hunted monsters for food. Luckily, one of our members has a skill called [Item Box]. It can store a number of items inside another dimension. The items stored has their time stopped. Thus, making it impossible for food to spoil. By the way, this is my status now. Name: Endou Kouta Level: 34 Skills: [Language Comprehension 10] Titles: [Summoned Hero] The only change in my status is the level. I haven''t gained any skills for the past six months even though I should have trained the same as them. The students had new skills and their skills levels increased, while mine has not. I wonder what is happening. It took a week to reach the town Fault by carriage, and my butt is hurting. Kayaka stood up while rubbing her butt with a rhythm. And Hyoudo was¡­ It hurts my mind so I can''t explain it. ¡­ A week passed in the town and now, we are going to the dungeon to subjugate a monster. The dungeon is called [The Golem Cave], and the monster we are going to subjugate is the rare monster called Chimera Golem. The characteristics of the monster is a bunch of body parts mixed into a single body. It comes in all shapes and sizes, from the size of a goblin, to a size of an elephant. Before I explain it''s difficulty, here is the difficulty assessment of the adventurer''s guild. G ¨C Ordinary people F ¨C Novice E - Average D - Experienced C - Veteran B - Elite A - Monster S ¨C Disaster SS ¨C Calamity SSS ¨C God This applies to the ranks of adventurer''s too. The average rank in our group is rank B. Mine is rank F since I only have the power to defeat a goblin. The monster we are going to subjugate is rank A. The Chimera Golem can destroy a small country by itself, and it was spotted inside the tenth floor of the dungeon. The dungeon has exactly a hundred floors, and each floor is harder than the last. Normally, rank F adventurers are not allowed to accompany this type of subjugation, but they made me an exception. They really are planning to dispose of me. Kayaka who noticed this was persuading me to not go. ¡°But if I didn''t go, how am I supposed to protect you? Even if I am weak, at least I can help you escape, right? And also, I won''t die.¡± That was what I said in return to her pleading. She gave up and instead said this. ¡°If you are going, then at least let me protect you, Kouta-nii.¡± Never underestimate the love of siblings! ¡­ Day of the subjugation, a tragedy occurred. Chapter 5 The day we enter the dungeon has come. I, Kayaka, and Hyoudo are preparing inside the room of an inn. ¡°Senpai. Do you really have to come with us?¡± Hyoudo, not hiding his uneasiness, asked me a question. ¡°I have to go. Even if I''m weak, The knights will still drag me along. And I want to go with you. Maybe, just maybe I can get a skill in that dungeon. I have a feeling that it will be so.¡± I gave a smile to Hyoudo to calm him down. Kayaka, who was beside me came closer and leaned her head on my shoulder. ¡°But, Kouta-nii. I can''t live without you. If you die I''m coming with you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you I won''t die. I won''t leave my little sister behind right?¡± After saying that, Kayaka stood up and went back to prepare before looking back in my direction. ¡°In life and in death¡­¡± ¡°We will always be together.¡± Both of us put a smile on our face. This was what we used to say whenever we encounter a huge problem ever since our parents died. Hyoudo, who heard that phrase, stiffened in place. ¡®That is not something you say when you have a problem!¡¯, his face seems to say, but he is afraid to tsukomi because of the mood. Kayaka and Hyoudo stacked up on potions and rations, while I prepared my equipment. Thankfully, the royals and knights had at least enough mind to give a useless person like me first class equipment because I am a hero. Mithril sword, Adamantite Shield, Mithril Vest, Damascus Steel Greaves, Gauntlets, and Helmet. This type of equipment can cost about a fortune, and can also bankrupt a noble house. Also about nobles, some are trash, others are saints. But in this town, most nobles are trash, as seen by the public. 45% of this town are slums. The reason is because the nobles are lining up their pockets from the heavy tax with the premise of funds for the Demon Lord subjugation. When we first entered this town, we saw children in back alleys with lifeless eyes. Some were already corpses. We tried to do something but with the nobles'' greed, they made a lot of reasons such as funds for war potential, protection of the city, etc. Many of us thought to report this to the king but seeing as how he shunned me, they thought otherwise. Looks like the king finally got his distrust from the students and teachers. Speaking of which, the principal, Tani Tanura was also in our group. When she was alone, she was approached by delinquents. The story goes like this. ¡°Hey gurl! Wanna have some fun?¡± ¡°Right right! We can play with you all night long. Right aniki?¡± ¡°Yeah, and we don''t take no for an answer.¡± The result? Total annihilation. The group of delinquents were scattered across the ground with arms bending the other way and foam rising from their throat. Now all of the knights were scared of her, and so are the students. Heck, the whole town is afraid of her. Even the nobles, but they still won''t budge with their greed. Back to the present. After finishing our preperations, the three of us stood up and headed for the door. Outside was a few students going downstairs to sortie. When we went downstairs, we were greeted with the usual scene. Uncles getting drunk, the template of cute poster girl, and rumbles between adventurers. They paid us no mind as they were already used to us heroes. ¡°Good luck out there heroes!¡± ¡°Show those monsters who''s boss!¡± ¡°Nyahahaha!¡± A few adventurers who personally knew some heroes, encouraged them. I also spotted a cute nekomata girl and stared at her for a while before getting pinched by Kayaka. ¡°Muu¡­¡± Kayaka pouted with her cheeks puffed. A warm feeling flowed through my heart as I witnessed such scene. Hyoudo, who was watching us two, was smiling wryly. ¡°Hurry up you two. We''re going to be late.¡± I immediately went back to my senses and nodded. Kayaka too, nodded in agreement. ¡°Shall we go?¡± ¡°¡°Un!¡±¡± ¡­ An hour later, our group arrived in front of the dungeon. It looks like a giant cave. The entrance can easily fit three 16-wheelers.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Huge¡­¡± A student muttered in a low voice. If anyone saw this, they would seriously say it was huge. The knight leader went up in front to say some words before setting off. ¡°Heroes! Since this is your first time in a dungeon, let me explain the basics! A dungeon has monsters that spawns infinitely when there is mana. And since a dungeon is a lump of mana concentrated on one place, strong monsters spawn more frequently near the core. A dungeon also has traps laid inside. This phenomenon has not yet been understood by our researchers so we can''t give you any information about traps except for how to detect them. Some heroes here has [Trap Detection] right? They will be our trap-disarming unit. Now that we have covered the basics, allow me to sort the formation.¡± After a few minutes, our formation was complete, with me at the middle, Kayaka at the back, and Hyoudo at the front. I thought they might send me to the front but if they did that, Tani-sensei might do something. Now that we are ready to move, we marched inside the dungeon, before being stopped by the knight leader. ¡°Each of you take this. It is called a warp stone. It can teleport you instantly to the entrance of the dungeon.¡± Each of us were given one and were told to keep it safe. If we lost it, it may mean our deaths. Some students with big pride were spouting nonsense like. ¡°A-rank? Hah! I''m a hero! And I can defeat it with one hand! Right boys?¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°Ohh!¡±¡±¡±¡± He made such a ridicuolous statement that if I weren''t weak, I might have gone to reprimand him. Luckily, Sparta-sensei (Tani-sensei) reprimanded him first. ¡­ After that whole ordeal, the big pride bigmouth was crying with snot dripping down his face. I should never anger Sparta-sensei. Un un. The knight leader who froze quickly regained his senses and led us inside the dungeon. The first few floors only had goblins and slimes in them. Thus, it wasn''t difficult for us. From the fifth floor, orcs and golems appeared. This floor is called the Entrance as it is where the first golems are spawned. After a few more floors, we reached the tenth floor, the destination of our expedition. All of us moved as a group to not get seperated if we see the Chimera Golem. The knights said that it can run faster than wolf so it would be a bad idea to outrun it. After a few hours of searching, we found it. ¡°It''s sleeping right?¡± Kayaka whispered. It must be true as it is laying down with it''s eyes closed? Actually, scratch that, I can''t even see any eyes. It''s like a lump of statues forcefully connected together. ¡°If we want to attack it, now is the time.¡± Hyoudo, who was quietly observing the golem, whispered in my ear. The knight leader then instructed his commands. ¡°The golem is still asleep. Heroes who have [Deploy Trap] skill place traps that activate based on weight, mostly explosions and water traps. Vanguards get ready. Rearguards, ready yourselves, attack on my mark.¡± The knight leader gave precise instructions to attack the golem. ¡­ A few minutes later, the traps were set. It''s a miracle that the golem didn''t wake up. It must be a deep sleeper. ¡°Get ready. 3¡­2¡­1¡­ Attack!!!¡± Magic one after another crashed into the lump of stone. It was mostly explosion and water magic to easily destroy stone. The golem woke up and and roared. ¡°OOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUU¡± The loud roar of the golem entered my ears. Causing all of us to stiffen in place. ¡°Don¡¯t stop! Keep attacking!¡± With the loud shout of the knight leader, the rearguards continued to launch magic after magic. The golem stood up in fury and charged in our direction. *Clack* A sound resounded as the floor seperated turning into a giant hole where the golem once stood. ¡°Now! Use water magic!¡± The rearguards followed the instruction of the knight leader and bombarded the golem with water magic. The hole was filled to the brim with water and the golem was soaked with water making it hard to maneuver out of the hole. ¡°Vanguards your turn! Turn it into rubble!¡± ¡°OHHHHH!!¡± With a loud cry, the vanguards ran towards the golem. Most of the vanguards carried blunt weapons to damage the hard surface of the golem. *Don* *Don* *Don* The sound of blunt objects hitting a hard object resounded within the cave. The golem, with limited mobility, used it''s giant limbs to defend, but because of the water, the limbs were too heavy for it to move freely. ¡°This must be a newly created golem. It still has no control over its body. At most, the difficulty of this monster is B rank.¡± The knight leader, with a sharp gaze murmured. I agreed with him for once, since it was totally correct. But something doesn''t add up. ¡°Why is it here in the tenth floor? If it was newly created, should it be spawned on the lower floors?¡± This question kept on going inside my head. And the answer to that, was answered a few seconds later. ¡°Fufufufu¡­ What are you doing to my child? Oh heroes from another world?¡± A voice as sweet as temptation sounded in the room. The golem suspended all movements, as well as the students. This voice, has a mixture of coldness and disdain. ¡°W-who are you!?¡± The knight leader, who was stunned at this sudden development, shouted. *Click* *Clack* *Click* The sound of footsteps resounded in a dark part of the cave. We focused all of our attention to the sound of footsteps. A shadow appeared, it had the shape of a human. But when it came out, the truth dawned on us. ¡®This isn''t a human!¡¯ Is what entered our minds. It had the head of a mantis, 4 arms of a human, and legs of an insect. ¡°Greetings heroes. My name is Veda, One of the 10 Generals of the Demon Lord and golem transmutator.¡± This person--- no, demon, is a general of the Demon Lord. And from the pressure he is emitting, no one here is able to fight an equal battle with him. Even if all of us ganged up on him, it won''t change a thing. The only thing that goes through my head is to escape. I quickly ran to Kayaka to tell her to use the stone. ¡°Kayaka! Use the warp stone!¡± ¡°Kouta-nii!?¡± After I said that, students and a teacher, one after another get their warp stones and used it. A dazzling light appeared and with that, vanished along with the user. I also tried to use the stone but¡­ ¡°!? It''s not working!?¡± That''s right. It won''t work. ¡°Kouta-nii!¡± Kayaka, who had already undergone the transfer shouted my name. Tears welled up in my eyes as I saw her vanish into thin air. ¡°¡­Sorry¡­¡± Hyoudo and all other students, knights, and a teacher vanished, leaving me behind with the Demon General. ¡°Are are? Don''t tell me¡­ Were you abandoned?¡± Shit! This is bad! I need to get out of here! ¡°Oh well, if I killed one hero, I might get praised by Demon Lord-sama.¡± After the demon said that, I felt like someone dumped a bucket of ice on my body. My body froze in fear and refused to move. ¡°Sayonara, hero of another world.¡± This is bad. This is bad. This is bad. This is bad. This is bad. I''m gonna die! I''m gonna die! I felt a pain through my chest like something went inside. It feels hot. So hot. I can''t breathe. Kayaka. Sorry¡­ ¡­¡­¡­. ¡­¡­.. ¡­¡­. ¡­.. .. . Skill aquired [Dota 2 Skill set] Skill default set [Wraith King] Skills: [Wraithfire Blast] [Vampiric Aura] [Mortal Strike] [Reincarnation] Chapter 6 It''s dark¡­ No... It is not dark¡­ I just can''t see¡­ So this is how dying feels like¡­ Am I dead? What I last remembered was being stabbed by a demon through the heart and losing consciousness. I tried to remember my memories when I was still alive. Playing with Mom and Dad. Playing with Kayaka. Spending time together with a smile. Kayaka''s smiling face. Those were my happy memories when our parents were still alive. But all of that changed after that incident. Mom and Dad''s lifeless bodies. Kayaka''s unconscious body. Blood dripping through the seats. A person outside with little injuries but fiercely banging on the door. That''s right. Dad who was driving almost ran over a person who was crossing the road while the stoplight was green. The car then ran out of control and smashed into the front of a speeding truck. My mom and dad, who were at the front seats were instantly killed, along with the driver of the truck who was sent flying through the windshields because of the impact due to the faulty seatbelt. The person who was almost ran over hurriedly ran to our car. He kept on banging the door in hopes of loosing the hinges, then pulled the door apart. What he saw, was two corpses, me who still held my consciousness but suffered severe injuries, and an unconsciouss Kayaka who suffered medium injuries. Both of us were middle school at that time and miraculously, I who was supposed to be at death''s door survived. Kayaka who suffered only medium inuries will be saved as long as she was treated properly. After a few months of resting at the hospital, both me and Kayaka were awake inside the hospital room. Kayaka was to be released the next day, but who was going to take care of her? I who was supposed to be released a year later? Thankfully, the nurses who took pity on us, introduced ourselves to an orphanage that was just across the street, and for the meantime, Kayaka will be staying there until I recover. Kayaka cried so hard as she gripped the sheets of my bed tightly. Of course, the same goes for me. I cried all night too. After soothing her, she slept while sitting down on the chair while leaning on my bed. I slept a moment afterwards. The next day, Kayaka was sent to the orphanage. The days and months passed as I lay, waiting for my body to recover. Thankfully, Kayaka came to my room everyday to keep me company. During that time, I swore to myself that I will protect her. A year passed and I was now released. Thank goodness I and Kayaka had health insurance so we were treated for a discount. The doctors received the amount from the bank and it was deducted from our parents bank accounts. I was also sent to the orphanage in hopes of finding a new guardian for us two. Unfortunately, the orphanage burned down next week becaue of faulty wiring. Thus we were sent outside with no place to go. Except for one, our old house. Incidentally, the hospital was just close to our house. Since there was no one there since the plot and houe was ours, we were able to get in quickly through the spate key hidden under a potted plant. Inside our house ws so dusty that we had to clean for a week before getting it back. The electricity was cut, water was cut, gas was cut, even internet. Luckily, for the past year, no one ransacked the house so our belongings were still here. Along with the bank card of our parents.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Since I was mature for my age, I was able to deal with the problems for our house. Like getting electricity, water, gas, an internet. How I did it? I leave that to your imagination. I also have to thank our parents for saving money in their bank accounts. With the money left behind, both of us can live at most 3 years. But that was not enough. I searched for money making sites, filling up form after form, survey after survey. I even had a tutorial for programming so I can make a software that can sell and post it on Patreon. The next year, me and Kayaka went back to school. We were a year behind because of the accident so we had to make up for loss time. I had to study and work at the same time at my tender age. Kayaka was also doing a job that focuses more on her craftsmanship. From artwork, to designing. One night, when both of us were so tired from work and school, both of us slept together. She woke up in the middle of the night while crying. I couldn''t leave it be so I got up and hugged her from behind. ¡°It''s okay Kayaka. I''m still here. I will always be by your side. Forever and ever.¡± ¡°¡­Kouta-nii¡­ You promise?¡± ¡°Of course I promise. I am your big brother no? Believe in me.¡± ¡°¡­ Yes Kouta-nii¡­¡± ¡°Of course. Kayaka¡­¡± ¡°¡­ In life and in death¡­¡± ¡°¡­ We wil always be together¡­¡± ¡­ ¡­ That''s right¡­ My promise¡­ I have to fulfill my promise to Kayaka¡­ I can''t die here yet¡­ Move! Move! Move my body! Move! Get up Kouta! You''re sister is waiting for you. Get up! After being in a limbo for more than an hour, my body finally moved. My sight returned and I can see my surroundings. What greeted my sight was cave walls and glowing mushrooms. When we encoutered that golem, the place had no glowing muhrooms. Where is this place? As I was contemplating my situation, I remembered something when I last lost consciousness. Skill acquired [Dota 2 Skill set] Skill default set [Wraith King] Skills: [Wraithfire Blast] [Vampiric Aura] [Mortal Strike] [Reincarnation] After I remembered, I hurriedly opened my status. Name: Endou Kouta Level: 42 Skills: [Dota 2 Skill Set 1] ? [Wraith King Set] o [Wraithfire Blast] o [Vampiric Aura] o [Mortal Strike] o [Reincarnation (Cooldown 1 week)] [Language Comprehension 10] Titles: [Summoned Hero] [God''s Target of Apology] I would love to tsukomi my new title, but first, I would like to know about my new skill. [Dota 2 Skill Set] ¨C Allows the skill holder to gain access to some of the Dota 2 mechanics. ? Level 1: Can choose 1 hero''s skill set. (cooldown 30 min) ? Level 2: Allows the skill holder to view the map function. ? Level 3: Allows the skill holder to use the Dota 2 shop. ? Level 4: Allows microphone chat to chat with party members. ? Level 5: Allows the skill holder to use the ability draft option. (cooldown 1 Hor (still not a typo) 30 minutes) ? Level 6: Reduces cooldown time by 15 minutes. (Applies to all Dota 2 mechanics) ? Level 7: Grants authorization to summon a hero of your choice for 30 minutes. (cooldown 3 Hors) ? Level 8: Extends duration of summoned hero for 30 minutes. ? Level 9: Reduces cost to buy items in the shop. ? Level 10: ??? (Cannot determine) What? What is this? It was not possible to do this before. Can I try using this on my titles? [Summoned Hero] ¨C Title given to a person who was summoned as a hero to another world. Effects: ? Increases experience gain for levels. ? Increases experience gain for skills. ? Increases popularity to common folk. [God''s Target of Apology] ¨C Firstly, I would like to apologize to you, Endou Kouta. Because of my mismanagement of the skill system, you were not able to immediately acquire your skill. I first tried giving it directly, but as it is a new skill I had no knowledge of, I tried to learn more of it. After 1 month, I finally managed to learn the game called Dota 2, and was supposed to give it to you. But¡­ Umm¡­ Please forgive me for neglecting my duties as I was hooked up on the game. As compensation for my mismanagement and tardiness, I give you two skills that may help you. Effects: ? Acquire skill [Appraisal 10] ? Acquire skill [Self-regeneration 5] ? Hides both acquired skills from this title ¡­ If I change to [Zeus'' skill set], can I use Zeus'' [Thundergod''s Wrath] to hit him at least once? There is a limit to playing and working. And a 5 month time gap of neglecting your duties as a God? That''s just cruel¡­ Anyway, at least because of that, I gained two new extra skills so I''m thankful for that. But the problem now is, where am I now? (50th floor of Golem Cave dungeon.) ¨C Appraisal Ohh!! Appraisal can also do this? Thank you God. I promise I won''t hit you with Zeus'' ultimate. For now, appraisal, where is the shortest route to the exit? (Calculating route¡­¡­¡­ Head straight then left.) ¨C Appraisal Yoshi! If I follow appraisal''s direction, I can get out of this dungeon! Kayaka! Wait for me! Your brother is coming back! Chapter 7 Damn¡­ I made a mistake¡­ This is seriously bad¡­ What''s bad you may ask? Being chased by a group of killer golems while your skills are on cooldown. Let''s rewind back the time for a bit. ¡­ Hours earlier¡­ I was all alone, following the directions given by appraisal. I was still on the 50th floor as this floor is seriously huge. At most, the size of the king'' castle. While navigating, I was defeating lone golems one by one. Thanks to my skill, I became stronger. If Wraith King was a durable fighter, than I am too. Apparently, the stats of the hero I copy is given to me. So right now, I am tanky, and can recover my life with each of my attacks. The sight was surreal. Everytime I attack, the wounds I got from fighting heals on its own. The sight of closing wounds and bruises fading made feel that this really a fantasy world. ¡°OOOooo!¡± A golem that I was fighting, was doing it''s last desperate charge. Too bad for you because I got a skill. ¡°[Wraithfire Blast]!¡± A green ball of flame with a skull inside emerged from my right hand and headed straight to the charging golem. The ball of flame crashed into the golem and shifted it''s center of gravity, causing it to trip and stumble down. ¡°One more hit!¡± I charged towards the stunned golem and delivered a strike at it''s cracked spot where the ball of flame hit. *Shwing* Oh? Did I trigger [Mortal Strike]? It felt like it dealt more damage than my previous attacks. The golem crumbles down and leaves behind a shiny yellow gem. It is the so called ¡®core¡¯ of monsters. Here is the ranking. ? White ? Blue ? Yellow ? Orange ? Red With white being the highest. Red monster cores can price from about 50 copper coins to a silver coin. Orange for a silver coin to 25 silver coins. Yellow for 25 silver coins to a gold coin. Blue for a gold coin to 50 gold coins. And white for 50 gold coins to a white gold coin. This here is the order of currency in this world. ? 100 copper coins = 1 silver coin ? 100 silver coins = 1 gold coin ? 100 gold coins = 1 white gold coin ? 100 white gold coins = 1 platinum coin Where 2 silver coins can supply you for a day. The monthly income for an average citizen in this world is about 65 silver coins. A white gold coin can buy you a house while a platinum coin can buy you a castle.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Back to the present. I took the monster core and placed it inside my bag. Sadly, my skill [Dota 2 Skill Set] doesn''t come with an inventory. At least you could have given me the [Item Box] skill! Was what I complained in my mind. ¡°Appraisal, where next?¡± (Turn right at the next junction and head straight to reach the stairs.) Yoshi! Let''s go! ¡­ It¡¯s been an hour since I left the 50th floor, and there seems no end to this. ¡°Appraisal¡­ Where¡­?¡± (Head straight.) My haggard body is complaining to my brain to rest, while my brain says otherwise. This 49th floor is just as huge as the 50th floor. At least, there are no monsters here. I continued for half an hour before my body gave up. I crawled towards the wall to have something to lean on. ¡°Wait¡­ for¡­ me¡­ Kayaka¡­¡± After saying those words, I succumbed to the fatigue and fell asleep. ~ Kayaka POV ~ ¡°Kouta-nii!!!¡± When we teleported out of the dungeon, I tried running back inside but was stopped by the knights and my classmates. Hyoudo too, also wanted to head back inside and rescue Kouta, but was stopped again by the knights and students. While heading back, I strained my ears on the knights conversations, and I heard something I mustn¡¯t forget while I am alive. ¡°The plan worked. But who knew that one of the Demon Generals was there.¡± ¡°I know right? At least, the one who died was a useless hero who can''t even pull his own weight. No wonder the king ordered his disposal.¡± As they chattered away in low voices, feelings of rage and regret welled up inside me. I wanted to kill those bastards who did that to Kouta. Until I kill every last one of them, I will never avenge my brother''s death and be happy, for his sake too. Hyoudo, who was staring at me while we were walking, looked at me with mixed feelings. He was probably regretting that he didn''t try hard enough to help Kouta. When we arrived back in town, I went straight ahead to the inn we booked at. I entered our room and got on my bed. Hyoudo was downstairs, eating while mocking himself at his foolishness, while I cried my eyes out on my bed. ¡°Kouta-nii¡­ Why did you leave me¡­? Didn''t you say¡­ That you won''t die, and we will be together forever?¡± Sorrow and grief filled my heart as I cried another bucketful of tears. ¡°Kouta-nii¡­ Kouta-nii¡­ Again¡­ It happened again¡­ Please come back¡­ Please¡­¡± For the next few days, I never went out of the room of the inn. ~ Kouta POV ~ I woke up and and felt something on my head. When I used my hand to reach for it, I felt something fluffy. I picked it ip and gazed at it. It looked like a furball with green eyes and soft blue fur. It had a tail like a bunny and a mouth that is in the shape of an inverted m. In short, it looks so cute! Appraisal! Help me! Name: None Monster Species: Fluffball Level: 89 Skills: [Cuteness Overload 10] [Tackle 5] [Life Magic 10] [Water magic 6] [Hiding 7] Titles: [Queen of Cuteness] [Lovable Pet] [Friendly to Humans] Description: A B rank monster that mostly lives in dungeons. Their species is hard to detect as they are mostly hiding from other species. It is friendly to humans, but their strength is equal to an experienced knight commander so don''t try to fight it. Because of it''s adorableness, once found, it is almost always kept as pets. ¡­ So, a hairy furball that can rival a knight commander. It was sleeping on my head earlier, so does that mean it became attached to me? I gazed into its eyes that held no impurity. ¡°Puuu~?¡± The furbal tilted it''s head and gazed back at me. Thi- this is too damn cute! I need a camera! Someone give me a camera! (Memory recorded¡­ Would you like to save?) Appraisal¡­ Is that you? But for now, YES!!! I want to show this to Kayaka when I get back. When the memory finished saving, a small crystal appeared in my hands. Name: Memory Crystal Description: Stores a person''s memory inside and can be showed to others. Ohh!!! I can''t wait to show this to Kayaka. I already had enough rest. Let''s get moving! I stood up and started to move towards the direction given by appraisal. While I was walking, I noticed that the furball was following me. ¡°¡­ Do you want to come with me?¡± I asked it in hopes that it can understand me. Luckily¡­ ¡°Puruu~!! Pururuu~!!!¡± Oh? Looks like it wants to come with me. I picked the furball up, and it climbed on my head. So cute. ¡°What should I name you?¡± ¡°Pururuu?¡± The furball tilted it''s head/body while I was thinking of a name to give it. ¡°Yoshi! Your name is Furry!¡± ¡°Puruu~!¡± Looks like it likes it''s new name. Now then, shall we advance? Chapter 8 Heading to the stairs with my new companion Furry on my head, we kept on coming across golems. Each of the golems were weaker than golems on the 50th floor so that was one point appreciated. But the encounter rate in this floor is so high. It''s like every step I make, a golem spawns near me. ¡°Puu~!¡± Furry was helping me on destroying the golems we come across, and let me tell you, it''s strength is no joke. The golem that was the target of its attack was cleanly sliced in half by the water blade. ¡°Pupuu~!¡± Furry looked at me with eyes that said, ¡°Praise me! Praise me!¡±. I grabbed Furry and placed it on my left hand and caressed its body with my right. ¡°You are a strong one, aren¡¯t you?¡± No wonder its species were designated as B-rank monsters. If anyone who loves cute things became an enemy of this furball''s species, my condolences. Furry''s body kept on trembling from the pleasure of being caressed. After that, I placed it back on my head and continued down the path. Any golem that Furry sees is immediately sliced in half. Shouldn''t you be in the lower floors? ¡°Oops!¡± A golem spawned right in front of me and quickly tried to punch me with it''s huge rock hand. I was able to dodge it as the punch was slow, and because of the huge gap in attack, I attacked it with my sword. ¡°Oryaaa!!¡± *Schwing* Looks like I triggered [Mortal Strike] again. The golem''s body was bisected in two from my attack and crumbled down to dust, leaving a yellow monster core. ¡°I have about a dozen of these¡­ I wonder if I can buy some stuff for Kayaka when I cash these in the adventurer''s guild?¡± As I was fantisizing about Kayaka''s happy smile, I reached the next set of stairs going up. ¡°I''m on my way Kayaka.¡± I placed my foot on the first step, and the other on the second. Feeling that this staircase has no traps in it, I slowly ascended. One step¡­ Two steps¡­ Four steps¡­ Eight steps¡­¡­ 128 steps. Is this a coincedence? The last step numbered 128. Anyway, this is just irrelevant so I continued on. Half an hour passed, and I felt something isn''t right here. Even Furry on my head is feeling anxious. ¡°Puu~¡­¡± Furry was grasping at my hair with it''s cute hands, but stop! You''re ripping them! You''re ripping them! I don''t want to go bald when I become an old man! Furry, noticing my distress, loosens his grip on my hair. ¡°Puu~¡­¡± With a face saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±, it''s cute points just went up. I carresed it''s body with my hand while walking in the direction appraisal is telling me to go. I carelessly walked in that direction without noticing just how strange it is that I haven''t encountered a golem in this floor yet. And I seriously regretted my behavior after the next turn. ¡°¡­!?¡± Countless of golems were heading towards me in a briskly manner. The sounds of the shaking earth resounded through the cave. ¡°Damn!! Furry! Hold on tight!¡± ¡°P-puuu~!!¡± Furry grabbed my hair strongly, regardless of the roots being plucked out. This seriously hurts!! I might go bald if you pluck out the roots!Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. I quickly ran to the opposite direction of the charging golems. One golem, whose physique was just like a gorilla, threw a smaller golem beside it to my direction. ¡°Woah!!!¡± I barely dodged the golem catapult, and the golem that was thrown, immediately attacked with it''s right fist! I dodged right while spinning and quickly unsheathed my sword. Using the centrifugal force of my spin, I cut into the golem''s body with the increased momentum of my sword, beheading it. The golem crumbled to dust and I hurriedly took the monster core¡­ not. Instead, I was greeted by another golem catapult. ¡°Are you serious!?¡± I retracted my hand and hurriedly beheaded the golem, and ran away while lamenting my greed. This is bad, at this rate, they will catch up to me! I should use it now! ¡°Let¡¯s go skeletons! [Mortal Strike]!¡± Countless skeletons rised up from the earth. Some were wearing armor, others were just bare, but all of them were wielding weapons. They numbered at least 50. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t it be just 8 skeletons!?¡± While I retorted because maybe the skill was broken, I made a sigh of relief in my heart. ¡°With this, we might be able to win.¡± As I was secretly smiling inside my heart, the golems and skeletons clashed head on. The scene I saw next made me run away at full speed. The golems that charged towards me ran into the skeletons, instantly pulverizing them. ¡°So weak!! No wonder there were too many skeletons!¡± I did a mad dash out of desperation just to get away. But the gorilla golem keeps on using the golem catapault, so I did something to stop it. ¡° Take this! [Wraithfire Blast]!¡± A green ball of flame appeared from my right hand and headed towards the gorilla. The ball of flame crashed into it, shifting it''s center of gravity, causing it to stumble. And the rest of the charging golems trampled it down to dust. ¡°Serves you right!!¡± I shouted a voice of joy as the irritating gorilla golem crumpled down to dust. I saw a shiny blue object from where the gorilla golem once stood. ¡°Noo!! Such a waste!!!¡± While running, I saw a blue monster core and thought that if I could get that, I could buy Kayaka loads of stuff. And we¡¯re back. Running away from killer golems, with my skills on cooldown. I was only able to defeat about 5 golems in that horde. My promise with Kayaka, I need to fulfill it. I desperately searched my memories for a way out of this, and remembered my skill. [Dota 2 Skill Set] ? Level 1: Can choose 1 hero''s skill set. (Cd 30 minutes) That''s it! And I just know what hero skill set I should use! I quickly chose the hero that can quickly mow down waves of enemies with his brute force and physical damage. His name is [Sven]! Hero skill set changed from [Wraith King] to [Sven] [Sven] ? [Storm Hammer] ? [Warcry] ? [Great Cleave] ? [God''s Strength] I felt something gushed out of my body and something new went in it. I felt strength welled up inside me and found myself speaking Russian lines. ¡°Axaxaxaxaxaxaxa!¡± What the hell am I doing!? This is not the time for jokes!! I quickly turned around and charged towards the charging golems. ¡°[Storm Hammer]!¡± A hammer that was enveloped in lightning materializes in my right hand, and I threw it to the front most golem. The hammer, upon impact, exploded and stunned the golems in that area. ¡°[Warcry]! Ooohh!!!¡± I activated the next skill to boost my defenses and increase my mobility. I found myself running faster than the golems and decreased the time upon impact. Last skill! ¡°[God''s Strength]! Oooooooooo!!¡± I let out a shout as I felt surging strength inside my body. My muscles expanded, my skin turned red, and my eyes glowed. As I reached the nearest golem, I slashed it with my sword. *Schwing* The golem I slashed and the others behind it were bisected in halves. ¡°I''ll take you all on! Furry back me up!¡± ¡°Puupuuu~~!!¡± A golem made a charge at my side. With the effects of [Warcry], I was able to dodge it with ease as I slashed at it with my sword. *Schwing* A few golems were instantly bisected and turned to dust. Furry, who was on my head kept on using water magic to support me. From casting support spells such as slowing the golems, to attack spells like slicing a golem in half with a water blade. A golem''s hand came from underground and tried to immobilize my movement. Too bad for you, I''m stronger than all of you. I stomped the ground and caused the ground to shake. Golems here and there stumbled and fell. The golem underneath the earth, probably was destroyed by the earthwave. ¡°I need to hurry up! The duration won''t last long!¡± ¡­ 20 seconds later¡­ 9/10 of the golems were obliterated, and about 8 golems remained. Thanks to the skill [Great Cleave], I was able to quickly cull the numbers. Even if [God''s Strength]¡¯s duration runs out, we will be able to evenly fight with those eight. I swung my sword at the nearest golem and bisected five at once. Now, just three are left. The golems, even though they know they are going to lose, thay still keep coming. They are really just puppets. I wonder who is controlling them? With a last swing of my sword, the remaining golems were destroyed and crumbled to dust. At the same moment, [God''s Strength] time duration ran out. ¡°O- OOOUUUUUCHHHHHHH!!!! IT HUUUURRTTSSSS!!!¡± Extreme muscle pain assaulted my body. This must be how it feels when you go over the limit of what your body can handle. How does [Sven] not feel this? I plopped down on the floor as exhaustion attacks my body. Surrounding me and Furry, were tons of yellow and blue monster cores. ¡°H- hahaha¡­ I can now buy Kayaka anything she wants when I get back. Ouch ouch ouch¡­¡± While I was fantisizing about Kayaka again, my consciousness faded. Chapter 9 ¡°Pu¡­ Pu¡­ Puu~!¡± A strange cry ringed in my ears. I can describe one word about this strange cry. ¡°Annoyi~ng¡­ Five more minutes¡­¡± I turned over while sleeping on my bed. The bed feels hard and cold, it doesn¡¯t feel like a bed. ¡°PUPUUU~!!!¡± ¡°Guho!!!¡± I felt something rammed me hard in my gut, and I was sent flying for a few meters and crashed into the wall. It hurts¡­ ¡°Pupuupuupuu~~!!¡± Again, I heard the strange cry. It¡¯s like its telling me to wake up. I opened my heavy eyelids and a dark and damp cave, along with a bluish furball entered my vision. ¡°Ouch ouch¡­ Huh? Furry? What happened?¡± It felt like I fell into a deep sleep for several days. A loud grumbling sound was heard throughout the cave. ¡°I¡¯m hungry¡­¡± Yes, it was me. It was my stomache that made that sound. And I didn¡¯t notice it, but there were countless of shiny gems piled up in a corner. Most of the gems were colored yellow, while the others were colored blue. ¡°Ah¡­ I remember¡­¡± I was revived when I was killed and suddenly found myself in the 50th floor of the dungeon. I then travelled, following appraisal¡¯s guidance to reach the exit in the shortest amount of time. While walking, I reached the stairs going to the 49th floor and there, I succumbed to fatigue lost consciousness. When I woke up, a furball was resting on my head, and later I took it with and named it Furry. After ascending the next flight of stairs, we encountered a horde of golems and had to run away. Since it was impossible, I used my [Dota 2 Skill Set] skill and picked [Sven]¡¯s kit. Using [God¡¯s Strength], I and Furry wiped them out and when the duration for [God¡¯s Strength] was over, excruciating muscle pain assaulted my body. Not being able to resist, I lost consciousness. Which brings me back to here. Lying on the floor with the wall behind me having a hole shaped like a human. In front of me is a pouting furball. So cute. ¡°Pupuuu~!!!¡± Furry was looking at me with narrowed eyes. It¡¯s eyes saying, ¡°Wake up already!¡± was completely conveyed to my mind. I slowly stood up and stretched my body. Feeling no more pain from the use of [God¡¯s Strength] earlier made me feel relieved. But now, my problem is food. All monsters here are golems with rock for bodies, literally. So how am I supposed to find food in here in the first place? But thanks to one skill I have, I may be able to find a food source. Appraisal! Would you please take the stage? (Impossible to find food in [The Golem Cave] dungeon¡¯s 48th floor) ¡­ Say what now? Hold up, hold up¡­ Are you sure about that statement, appraisal? (Yes) ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!??? What the heck am I supposed to eat in the next few days!? Don¡¯t tell me I will eat Furry here!? I won¡¯t stoop so low to eat a companion just to survive! Even if it is a monster! And I don¡¯t want to die a dog¡¯s death in this freakin¡¯ dungeon before I can fulfill my promise with Kayaka!!!Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. (Neverending verbal abuse to appraisal) ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡­¡­. ¡­. .. . ¡°Okay¡­ Calm down Kouta¡­ You can still survive this¡­ Let me remember what appraisal said.¡± (Impossible to find food in [The Golem Cave] dungeon¡¯s 48th floor) Okay¡­ I spot one word that may be a way out of this. ¡°Appraisal! Where can I find food in [The Golem Cave] dungeon?¡± (Scanning¡­ Please wait¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Found matching areas¡­ Displaying results¡­ ........ Found you! Right now, I am on the 48th floor. So I need to go down 12 floors, or go up 3 floors to find food. I need to take the shortest route, so my next destination is the 45th floor. ¡°Furry¡­ Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Pupuu~!¡± I picked Furry up and it climbed on my head. First, let¡¯s fill up my bag with these monster cores. ¡°It won¡¯t fit, so I guess I¡¯ll be taking only the blue monster cores.¡± I took about 10 blue monster cores and placed it inside my bag. ¡°What should I do about the others?¡± I, who was contemplating on what to do about the remaining cores, was tugged at by Furry. ¡°Pupuu~.¡± Hmm? Is it telling me that it wants the cores? ¡°Do you want the cores Furry?¡± ¡°Pupuu~!¡± I guess that¡¯s a yes. I placed Furry on the ground and Furry trotted towards the pile of cores. It looks so cute doing that. When Furry reached the pile, it took one core and placed it in its mouth. ¡°Ehh?¡± A silly voice escaped my lips as I stared at the present scene before me. A tiny furball was stuffing hard, shiny gems in its mouth and eating it. Not long after, the pile was reduced to nothingness as if nothing was ever there. ¡°¡­¡± I stared at Furry who came trotting back to me with a plump belly and a satisfied face. ¡°Puu~¡­¡± The scene where a furball was trotting to me made a warm feeling in my chest. Forget the weirdness of the scene earlier, the cuteness of this furball can make its past weirdness into cuteness. ¡°Puu~!¡± Furry was standing under me, waiting to be picked up. I picked him up and surprisingly, he didn¡¯t gain any weight. He slowly climbed back to his favorite spot, the top of my head and fell asleep. ¡°Puuuu~¡­¡± ¡­ Appraisal, save this to memory¡­ (Memory recorded¡­ Would you like to save?) Yes¡­ Save this so I can show Kayaka later. A memory crystal appeared out of thin air and into my hands. I stored it inside my bag and continued walking based on the direction of aprraisal¡¯s gudiance. ¡­ 12 hours later¡­ I¡¯m so hungry¡­ A few more steps¡­ I am already in the 45th floor. During the ascension, I encoutered countless golems, from huge, durable ones, to small nimble ones. The most problematic ones were the golems that could use magic, the so called ¡®Gargoyle¡¯. I thought that the gargoyle would look like a statue of a humanoid figure with bat wings like any other gargoyle depictions from my world. Turns out, it just looked the same as all golems, making it harder to determine which is a gargoyle or not. Right now, I am dragging my body along the shruberry. Shruberry you ask? It is a shruberry because there is plant life in this floor! But I still can¡¯t find any food. Plants I come across are inedible and poisoned, while fruits I encountered tried to eat me. The fruits are also inedible. A few minutes later, I found some hope in this forsaken wasteland. Wooden fences, Wooden buildings, humans exiting and guards stationed at the gates. Finally¡­ A human settlement¡­ ¡­ ~ Third Person POV ~ ¡°Kekeke¡­ Those humans, not knowing who they are dealing with makes my soul flutter in ecstacy!! Ahh¡­ The screams of despair when they learn about it is impossible to defeat the Demon Lord, the shouts of grief when their loved ones are taken away from them! AHH!! I love this feeling!! More!!! MOREE!!!! Shower me more with their screams!!!¡± ¡°St¡ªopp¡­ Please¡­ No¡­ More¡­¡­ AHHHH!!!!!!¡± A woman could be seen lying on an altar, bounded by chains, and a human silhouette beside her. The silhouette was carrying something like nail clippers, but was big enough to cut a grown man¡¯s finger. Blood dripped from the left hand of the woman, along with one of her fingers. If one looked closely, she had no toes, and was missing her left breast. Her right arm was missing from the shoulder down and one of her eyes were gouged out. ¡°Kekekeke!! Scream for me!!! Lowly human!!!¡± ¡°GAAHHHH!!!¡± The giant clipper cut all of the remaining fingers of the woman. It is a miracle that the woman was still alive from the blood loss. ¡°Kekekeke¡­ Thank you for your screams. Now I can go out refreshed to finish my job.¡± The silhouette cut the chains of the woman and raised her up while grasping her neck. ¡°Guu¡­ Kaa¡­¡± ¡°To the eradication of all the heroes.¡± That was the last sentence the woman heard before dying due to the dismemberment of her head. Chapter 10 I headed to the gate with a slow pace because of the hunger, while Furry was dozing off on top of my head. ¡°Stop!¡± A guard who saw me heading towards the gate raised his weapon, namely a spear, and pointed it in my direction. The other guards who noticed this readied their guards in case of an attack. ¡°Who are you?¡± The closest guard came near me with his spear raised up. He asked me in a low voice filled with suspicion. His eyes narrowed on the furball that was atop of my head. ¡°Please let me through¡­ I came from the lower floors and just barely made it back here.¡± I spouted out a lie so that I can get into the settlement. ¡°Then, is that your pet?¡± The guard pointed his spear at the furball. ¡°Yes. It is my pet. Its name is Furry. I found him in the lower floors and I picked him up.¡± The guard was raising an eyebrow to my statements. He backed off and informed another guard. That must be the higher up in charge of the gate. The guard came back with his spear still raised up. ¡°I understand¡­ Then show me your guild card.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I lost the card when I was running away from a horde of golems.¡± The guard slowly lowered his spear and beckoned me to come with him. I was taken to a room inside a wooden tower. I was told to sit down on a chair and wait for their commander. The door swinged open and a huge man entered. He was covered in full plate armor and stood about 1.87 meters. He sat down across me and began the interview. ¡­ ¡°Om nom¡­ Om nom¡­ Glug glug glug¡­ Puhaaa¡­ I¡¯m revived!¡± An hour later, I was given identification papers and was told to go to the adventurer¡¯s guild. I arrived after a 10-minute walk and went inside. What greeted me were a few adventurers who were going about their business, not paying me any attention. As expected by an adventurer¡¯s guild in a settlement inside a dungeon. The receptionist was a beautiful blond-haired elf onee-san, can¡¯t say anything about the chest though. My guild card was reissued after paying a gold coin. The coin was subtracted from my earnings by selling the monster cores. Also, the receptionist paid more attention to Furry than me and the others. Just how rare is its species. After reissuing my guild card, I was introduced to a nice inn by the elf onee-san. The price was cheap and it was run by an adventurer couple. They also had a cute 14-year old daughter¡­ Actually scratch that, he¡¯s a trap! A bishounen! I was tricked thinking he was a girl until their parents corrected that. I mean what the heck!? Seriously!? Acts like a girl, talks like a girl, sounds lik a girl, and looks like a girl! He ain¡¯t gay, but just does that to prank other people. Furry, who was on my head, was showered with attention in the inn. Female adventurers came in droves to meet Furry. I placed him on a table while Furry had teary-eyes. Sorry because I can¡¯t take it anymore. If I get interrupted while I eat, I just might lose consciousness because of the lack of food. Just how many days did I spend sleeping on the 50th floor? And now, I am eating to my heart¡¯s content. I have the money to splurge since I made enough money to live for a year, but I still need to earn more money as an apology to Kayaka for leaving her. ¡°Gochisousama!¡± I finished eating, went to the crowded table where Furry was being molested by the female adventurers, picked him up, and went to my room. ¡°Pupuu!!!¡± Furry who I left behind to get assaulted by women was pouting on top of the bed. Seriously, whatever he does, it always seems cute. ¡°Sorry about that, Furry. I needed to eat in peace otherwise, will you carry me to bed and feed me?¡± ¡°Pu¡ªpuu~¡­¡± Furry calmed down and lied down on the bed. It looks like a circle-shaped furry pillow when lying down and sleeping. I got on the bed, brought Furry closer to my side and hugged him. ¡°Good night¡­¡± ¡°Puu~¡­¡± Furry responded with a cute sound and fell asleep. I also followed suit after a few seconds. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­ .. . *Click* *Clack* I woke up to the sound of the lock of my door opening. I readied my sword that was beside my bed and woke Furry up to warn it about danger. Furry instantly woke up and positioned itself on top of my head so that if we need to run, we can easily get out without worries about leaving each other behind. The door swings open and a silhouette of a small human appeared. I can¡¯t see well in the dark so I can¡¯t see his face. He slowly approaches my bed and in his hand, something hard and blunt can be seen. He raised it up, and the cue for me to move has come. I got out of my bed, and swung my sword at the silhouette and stop it before it reaches. The reason? Because the intruder was the ¡®trap¡¯ earlier, the bishounen. He was smiling while cold sweat ran down his back. If I look closely, that blunt thing was a scratching post. That reminds me, the female adventurers said earlier that fluffballs love scratching posts. I narrowed my eyes at the ¡®trap¡¯ and asked him a question. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± The ¡®trap¡¯s¡¯ eyes were swimming around the room, searching for an excuse. Let me guess¡­ ¡°You wanted to kidnap Furry by giving him a scratching post, am I right?¡± The ¡®trap¡¯s¡¯ body went stiff for a moment before going limp. ¡°Y- yes¡­¡± ¡°And? What were you going to do with him?¡± The ¡®trap¡¯ hesitated for a while before speaking. ¡°I was going to sell it to gain money so that I can buy the medicine my mother needs. Otherwise, she will die in a few days.¡± I didn¡¯t expect it to go this dark. But I still need to lecture him about his wrongdoings. ¡°Bonds aren¡¯t that fragile. You shouldn¡¯t underestimate the bond of frienship.¡± I sheathed my weapon and Furry went down my head and into the scratching post after feeling that the bad aura was gone. ¡°¡­What am I supposed to do, nii-san?¡± ¡°Did you ask for help?¡± ¡°Yes, but no one volunteered.¡± Hmm¡­ That just goes to show how expensive this medicine is. ¡°Incidentally¡­ What is the reason your mom is dying.¡± ¡°I heard that it was a disease called [Mana Defeciency]. If it was just that, then we could have cured it at once, but because of the rapid decrease of mana in the body, normal potions are not able to recover a lot at once to repel the disease.¡± So¡­ It is a disease where if you don¡¯t recover enough mana within the allotted time, your mana keeps on decreasing until you die. ¡°I might be able to help you-¡± ¡°Really!? Nii-san!?¡± He really is desperate to accept even a stranger¡¯s help. ¡°I won¡¯t promise you anything, but I will help you.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ Thank you¡­ Thank you¡­¡± Tears fell down his face. It could be one thing if it was a girl, but a boy? No¡­ Send this to the back of my head. Forget about this scene. I ain¡¯t a shotacon. Come to think of it, I didn¡¯t hear about his name or his parents names. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡­¡­¡­.. ¡­¡­. ¡­. ... . I was guided to the room of his parents. Apparently, his name was Alexis. Why a girl¡¯s name, why? This just adds to his girlishness. A few minutes of walking and we arrived at his parent¡¯s room. Alexis opened the door and introduced me to his parents. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the fuffball¡¯s owner?¡± The father of Alexis was the one who asked his question. ¡°Greetings. My name is Kouta. I heard from your son that your wife is suffering from a disease and I may be able to help you.¡± I gave a small bow and looked at the woman lying down on the bed. Her breathing was ragged and her face was red. She was sweating bullets while having a pained expression. The husband was grasping her frail hand as he looked worried about his wife. This is a good family, I thought. Name: Maya Level: 78 Skills: [White Magic 5] [Support Magic 4] [Staff Technique 4] Titles: [Inn Keeper of an Inn in a Dungeon] [Kindhearted] Debuffs: [Mana Deficiency 8] I used [Appraisal] to view her status, and I was shocked to see that debuff status. It was high, no wonder ordinary potions can¡¯t cure it. ¡°If you can, please! I don¡¯t care how much! Just please cure her!¡± The man got up from his seat and did a 90 degree bow. Since he did this much, there¡¯s no way I can back off now. ¡°Leave it to me.¡± I activated my [Dota 2 Skill Set] skill and selected a support type hero that can recover mana points. Hero skill set changed from [Sven] to [Keeper of the Light] [Keeper of the Light] I cast [Chakra Magic] on the woman in hopes of curing her from her disease. When I casted it once, the pained expression and the ragged breathing of the woman lessens. After a few seconds, I casted another one, and the woman returned to sleeping peacefully. I used appraisal once again to check her status. Name: Maya Level: 78 Skills: [White Magic 5] [Support Magic 4] [Staff Technique 4] Titles: [Inn Keeper of an Inn in a Dungeon] [Kindhearted] Buffs: [Increased Mana Capacity 3] Looks like she was cured from the disease. ¡°Ohh. Thank you¡­ Really thank you¡­¡± ¡°Nii-san¡­ Thank you!¡± The parent and child duo thanked me the whole time I was there until the wife woke up. There was no need to say it, I left the family alone for the night to give them some family bonding time. Something tells me that tomorrow will be a long day. ¡­ ~ Third Person POV ~ Inside a dark room were two silhouettes. Both of them had the shape of a human, except for the extra parts. They had wings, extra legs, and antennas on their heads. ¡°Tomorrow is the day the world fears the Demon Lord once again right?¡± ¡°Ahh of course¡­ The first target of our attack will be the Dungeon Town Fault. Isn¡¯t that right? Veda?¡± ¡°Fufufu¡­ Ahhh¡­ I can¡¯t wait to meet those sweet little heroes of another world. I wonder how would they react when they find themselves with no way to escape. Will they fight back? Or¡­ Fufufu¡­ Thinking about it makes me excited.¡± ¡°Kekeke¡­ I wonder how their screams of despair will sound? I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± The day the world fears the Demon Lord once again will start soon. Chapter 11 ¡°Mhmm¡­ Haahhhnnn¡­¡± The morning sun shines through the window. Birds singing in the trees, and the wonderful melody of the leaves dancing in the breeze¡­ Is not what I encountered when I woke up. Instead, what greeted me was, a horrifying scene. Droves of wounded adventurers on the streets, healers frantically running around healing the wounded, cries of sorrow, and the rage of battle. ¡°¡­What the heck is happening?¡± I quickly got up from my bed and woke Furry up. ¡°¡­Puu~?¡± Furry, who was still half-asleep, looked at me with half-closed eyes. So cute¡­ ¡°Pupuu~?...!? Pupuu~!?¡± Looks like it noticed the abnormality. Actually, I have been referring to Furry as it for a while now, but when I took another look at her status, it made me realize how dumb it was of me to refet to her as ¡°it¡±. [Queen of Cuteness] Furry is a she!! So I revised my way of calling her. Anyway back on topic. She climbed on my head when I picked her up and grabbed my hair tightly as I quickly run downstairs. What greeted me was a scene of some adventurers wounded here and there and Maya, the inkeeper healing them. ¡°Kouta-kun is that you!?¡± Maya who was ragged from healing wounded adventurers continously noticed me at the stairway and called out. ¡°Kouta-kun! Can you please help me with the injured?¡± ¡°Leave it to me!¡± I quickly changed my [Dota 2 Skill Set] skill to a healer type. Hero skill set changed from [Keeper of the Light] to [Omniknight] [Omniknight] Now that I had changed my skill set to [Omniknight], I can now heal those injured. Since I had designated all of the adventurers here as allies, they won¡¯t be harmed by the damage ability of [Purification]. To start with, I casted the spell on the heavily wounded ones first. White rays of light poured on the adventurer¡¯s body like it was from the heavens. The surrounding adventurers who witnessed this, had their dams broken. ¡°Ahh¡­ Saint-sama!¡± ¡°Saint-sama!¡± I ain¡¯t no saint! I didn¡¯t think it would be this effective. The wounds of the affected adventurers were instantly closing as soon as the light descended on them. I think that I may get a new title after this. ¡°As expected of Nii-san!¡± Alexis who was busy bringing beverages to the worn-out adventurers appeared while I was busy healing the injured. ¡°But¡­ Doesn¡¯t that magic take a lot of your mana?¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Hmm? Speaking logically, in the terms of this world, mana should have a direct relationship when using magic-based skills. So, how am I fine when using [Purification] multiple times on the wounded. Just as I was saying that, intense pain assaulted my head. ¡°G- Gaahh!¡± I fell on my knees and Furry, who was sitting on my head fell over. ¡°Nii-san!?¡± Alexis quickly came running over to support me who had fallen on one knee. ¡°Nii-san, stop using your magic for now. If you do, you might get [Mana Deficiency] too like my mother.¡± Alexis was worried about me, who seemed to have overused my magic. ¡°Y- yeah¡­ I¡¯ll rest for a while, since the left are those with minor injuries. I can leave this to your mother, right?¡± ¡°Un!¡± Somehow, please don¡¯t make that face. That innocent look, coupled with your cuteness will make any man fall for you. Though, he may regret it later. I went back to my room while staggering with Furry clinging on my shoulder. It seems like she noticed that I had a severe headache and clinged to my shoulder instead of my head. I arrived back in my room, and plopped on the bed. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡­¡­¡­. ¡­¡­.. ¡­¡­ ¡­.. ¡­ .. . ¡°Clang¡­ Clang¡­ Shwing¡­¡± The sounds of metal clashing against metal awoke me from my sleep. I took a peek outside the window to see the situation and it was dead quiet. Corpses from monsters and adventurers littered the streets in an unsightly way. I took up my sword and Furry, who was guarding me while I was asleep, hopped back on my head with a bored expression. Humans dying, to you isn¡¯t anything worth worrying huh? ¡°How long has it been while I was asleep?¡± To check the time, I checked if the my skill is still on cooldown, and yep, I still have ten minutes before I can change hero skill sets. ¡°Furry, can you back me up when I fight?¡± ¡°Pupuu~!¡± I head downstairs with Furry on my head and sword on my waist. Well actually, it isn¡¯t a sword anymore, but a hammer with the same size of the sword I was wielding. Apparently, the weapon of the hero you copy changes your equipped weapon. This skill just got harder to control. I also didn¡¯t notice that my sword turned into a staff last night because I was too sleepy to even pay attention. ¡°Clang! Clang!¡± The sound keeps getting louder as I descend the staircase. At the bottom, I learned what was the reason why I heard those sounds. ¡°Gooohh!!!¡± ¡°Oryaa!!!¡± A male adventurer was fending off a giant humanoid creature with one eye. It was holding a giant war axe coated in deep red blood. The male adventurer is someone I know as he is the father of Alexis. If I wasn¡¯t mistaken, his name was Ryuford. Ryuford was gallantly repelling the giant creatured with his short sword and buckler. He redirects a downward axe slash with his shield to the ground and counterattacked with his short sword. At first glance, Ryuford wasn¡¯t dealing enough damage to wound the creature, but thanks to the training the knights gave us back in the castle, even if some of them beat me to a pulp and turned me into a vent for the anger, the creature was suffering through loss of blood as seen by the blood puddle below on his feet. But Ryoford was in a tight spot either. Behind him were Alexis and his wife, Maya. He can¡¯t change locations to use for a better advantaged lest he risk his family being in danger. He had some minor injuries, such as sprains, bruises seen on the surface, but based on his limping leg, he may have a fracture on his lower body. Seeing as he is in a tight spot, I used my skill. ¡°[Purification]!¡± White light descended on Ryuford¡¯s body, healing all kinds of injuries. If you see it clearly, even his limping leg was gone. The creature on the other hand, had it¡¯s skin peeled of and muscles exposed. Blood scattered on the floor and the creature went limp on the ground, never to move again. What a gruesome sight. ¡°K- Kouta!?¡± ¡°Nii-san!?¡± ¡°Kouta-kun!?¡± The family trio who saw what happened to see me, raised their surprised voices. Alexis, who was hugging his mom like there was no tomorrow, was crying his eyes out with snot dripping from his nose. ¡°Nii-san!!!¡± Alexis dashed from his spot to mine and hugged me with fearsome strength, causing both of us to stumble. ¡°!?¡± I¡­ I didn¡¯t see this coming¡­ He¡­ no¡­ She¡­ has no thing. Alexis is a pure girl. As the result from stumbling with my head on her lower regions, Alexis face turned red like a tomato. ¡°K-Kyaaa!!! HENTAI!!!¡± Alexis quickly got up and ran away from me, while her parents, had lifeless eyes. ¡°Fufufu¡­ Kouta-kun? What did you do to my daughter?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right Kouta. No man has been able to do this kind of thing with her up until now.¡± ¡°What you¡¯re saying might quickly seem as a misunderstanding!!!¡± I mean, if someone was hearing this conversation right now, they would have thought that I might have assaulted a young girl. I ain¡¯t no pedo! Both of them quietly crept closer with smiling faces. They felt creepy and scary. I know as a fact, that their eyes aren¡¯t laughing. ¡°Wait! Father! Mother! That was entirely my fault! And I don¡¯t mind if it was nii-san!¡± ¡°Oyaa??¡± ¡°Ngh!?¡± Maya had a face that looks mischevious, while Ryuford had a stiffened face. ¡°Alexis¡­ Don¡¯t tell me, you like Kouta-kun?¡± ¡°Ha- wawa!?¡± Alexis¡¯ face¡­ Actually, her whole body became red like a tomato. You couldn¡¯t tell if her original skin color was red or fair. ¡°Kouta¡­ We need to talk.¡± Using that, Ryuford dragged me, and his family to the shelter, to the adventurer¡¯s guild. Chapter 12 When we got out of the inn, immeasurable destruction greeted our sight. Lifeless bodies lying on the ground, some, skewered by sharp objects. Alexis, who was still a child, had a face full of uneasiness. Ryuford held her hand tightly as to not let go, the same could be said of her mother. Furry was still on my head, seeming unfazed by the situation. You, how used are you to corpses? ¡°Stick closely together. We don¡¯t know if a monster might pop out of nowhere.¡± Ryuford, who was acting as the leader, gave out a simple command to stay close. Of course, this was followed without hesitation as this seems like a great countermeasure against separating from each other. ¡°¡­How about nii-san?¡± And I, for some reason, was excluded from the stick together command. ¡°Kouta, you stay about 5 meters away from my daughter.¡± ¡­Such a doting father, but still, does he not care about my well being? ¡°Now now dear. Should you be saying that in this situation?¡± Maya, whose face was smiling, looked scary as heck! Her face was smiling but her eyes said otherwise. ¡°¡­Kouta! 4 meters-¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­3 met-¡± ¡°Dear?¡± ¡°¡­Kouta, stick together please.¡± Ryuford gave up after seeing Maya¡¯s cold gaze. Women sure are scary! Except for Kayaka of course! ¡°Understood.¡± I donned my sword-sized hammer and came closer to the family. Just as I did that, a ball of fire came flying at Alexis. ¡°!? [Repel]!¡± A soft white light surrounded Alexis as she stared dumbfounded by the light that surrounded her. A few moments later, the ball of fire that came flying, vanished just before hitting Alexis. ¡°!? We¡¯re surrounded!¡± That¡¯s right. We are surrounded from all sides by monsters standing about 2 meters tall. They had green skin, and held giant iron clubs. It was an orc! Actually, I didn¡¯t notice it, but the monster that attacked the three of them earlier was a cyclops. What is a cyclops doing here in a golem dungeon? But Ryuford was too focused to the situation now that he hasn¡¯t noticed it yet. ¡°Damn! Maya! Take Alexis and Kouta to the adventurer¡¯s guild! I¡¯ll open a way and buy you some time!¡± ¡°!? Father!?¡± ¡°Dear! Let¡¯s go togethe-¡± ¡°You know very well that we can¡¯t get through this without sacrifices! Kouta is still young and can heal the adventurers at the guild, so I have to stay behind and buy some time!¡± ¡°No! De-¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Just as Maya was going to shout, an orc charged at me with its huge body. If I get hit by that, I might be dealt serious damage. I quickly dashed right to avoid the charge. When it came near me, its movement slowed. [Degen Aura] seems to be working quite perfectly. I bashed at its head with my hammer and crushed its skull. Brain matter flew out while its eyes were smashed in the process, turning into red jelly. What a strong hammer. The other orcs charged together this time with their hands holding giant iron clubs. ¡°Ryuford-san! Maya-san! Alexis-san! Get closer together! We¡¯re charging through!¡± ¡°Wh- what are you saying you psycho!? Are you saying to charge against charging orcs! Are you stupid, or crazy!?¡± ¡°Just trust me!¡± The family hesitated before coming to an agreement. ¡°Now, [Guardian Angel]!¡± Bright white light surrounded our surroundings. A light shadow resembling an angel was overhead the four of us. Now that physical damage have been taken care of, the problem are the mages. But for now¡­ ¡°Now! Charge right through them!¡± Ryuford took the front while the other two the back. ¡°If I die, I¡¯ll haunt you for the rest of my life! OHHHHH!!!!¡± Ryuford charged with his sword and shiled in hand. The orc that was close to him collided, with his charging body and was smashed to pieces. ¡°ORAHHH!!!¡± Ryuford kept on charging withour regards to safety. Maya and Alexis followed suit while staying behind Ryuford. This time, fireballs flew towards Ryuford. They wouldn¡¯t stay put huh? ¡°[Repel]!¡± Another white light surrounded Ryuford as the fireballs vanished before contact with his body. The orcs that were in Ryuford¡¯s path were all crushed to pieces, and no other orcs were seen in front of him. Just as if it was timed, the effects of [Guardian Angel] wore off. ¡°Now! Get to the guild! I¡¯ll follow you later!¡± ¡°Nii-san!?¡± Alexis, who was with Maya made an expression of shock as she heard my words. ¡°Go now! I¡¯ll catch up! I¡¯m strong you know. I also have Furry here if things goes wrong.¡± I pointed at Furry who looked smug at the top of my head. Even if shed does that, she still looks cute no matter what angle I take a look at. ¡°Go! Now!¡± With one last shout, the family of three ran away from the battlefield. The remaining ones were me, Furry, a dozen of orcs with an undetermined number of orc shamans. I wonder why these monsters are present here in this dungeon, and on the lower floors to boot! Also, isn¡¯t it strange that there were a lot of corpses of adventurers that looked like they were beaten with a huge blunt object. ¡°Just how strong are these orcs?¡± One orc, charged at me as I was questioning the wonders of the situation. When it strayed too near, its movements became sluggish and I jumped and bashed at its unprotected head, smashing its skull. While I was in midair, another orc charged towards me. Furry, who was a spectator just a second ago, unleashed a water blade, slicing it in half from the head to the crotch. When I landed, four fireballs came flying towards me. ¡°[Repel]!¡± I casted my skill and a soft white light enveloped my body. The fireballs vanished without coming in contact with my body. This time, I spotted who were the orc shamans. They were behind the charging orcs, wearing robes and holding a wooden cane. They numbered four. I charged at the nearest orc shaman. The defending orc became sluggish when it was close to me, and I bashed its head, killing it in the process. The orc shaman was flustered and tried to run away, only to meet with a water blade, slicing its head off. ¡°One!¡± I charged towards the next orc shaman, but this time, the remaining orcs tried to defend the shaman. Just in time, the effects of [Repel] wore off and when I was just beneath their bodies¡­ ¡°[Purification]!¡± Bright dazzling light descended on my body, healing my non-existent injuries and disentigrating the surrounding orcs. There was one regular orc left, so I bashed at it with my hammer and dashed towards the next shaman. ¡°Two!¡± The shaman was chanting a spell in desperation, but was unable to continue as I smashed its face before it could finish, smashing its skull in the process. The remaining shamans were desperately casting their spells and two fireballs flew towards me. ¡°[Repel]!¡± Just in time, the cooldown for [Repel] was over and soft light surrounded my body, making it impossible for the fireballs to hit me. ¡°Next--- !? GAHH!?¡± Just as I was going to charge towards the shamans, extreme pain assaulted my head. ¡°A- at this time¡­ GAAHH!!??¡± N- no good¡­ At this rate, I will die if I lose consciousness. I desperately tried to stay awake and stood up unsteadily. ¡°Pupuu~!¡± Luckily, on my head was Furry, a monster that belongs to the lower floors. As if saying, ¡°Leave it to me¡± Furry jumped down from my head and charged towards the shamans. ¡°H- hahahaa¡­ I leave this to you Furry.¡± After saying those last words, I lost consciousness. Chapter 13 ¡°Ngh¡­¡± I woke up to the sound of something rustling. My eyes were staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. At least, it was not the same as the ceiling in the room at the inn. ¡°Nii-san!!¡± I, who was still lying down on a mat, was tackled by a small girl. Her name was Alexis. ¡°Nii-san! Nii-san! I¡¯m glad!!¡± Tears dropped down while a snot bridge formed from my clothes to her face. The snot looks¡­ green, yuck. I grabbed a piece of cloth from my pocket and wiped it off. I grabbed another one and wiped her face. ¡°Don¡¯t cry. I¡¯m still here, aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Un!¡± Once again, my body was hugged tightly by a small girl. Just how much strength does she have? ¡°Hmm? Kouta, you¡¯re awake!¡± A male adventurer with brown hair came walking towards me. His name was Ryuford, the father of Alexis. He uses a shield in his left hand, and a short sword in his right. ¡°I thought that you might have died back there, hahaha!¡± ¡°Father!!¡± ¡°Just kidding, just kidding. Anyway, are you all right now Kouta? When we seperated, we arrived at the adventurers guild and requested to help you, who stayed behind. When we arrived, we saw you lying on the ground, unconscious, surrounded by orc corpses, with the fluffball beside you.¡± It appears that Furry killed the remaining orc shamans and immediately came back to guard my unconscious self. I really need to manage my mana properly. I got up and patted Alexis¡¯ head. ¡°Sorry. I made you worry.¡± A smile was formed on my face as I faced Alexis, who was still crying. Ryuford who saw this, had a cramped smile. ¡°That reminds me Kouta, we need to talk. Right now.¡± Ryuford grabbed my arm and separated me from Alexis. She wanted to come with but was stopped by her doting father. After that, you can guess what happened. A long sermon, mostly about how his daughter is the best in the world and how I must keep away from her at all times. Well, when Maya learned about this, she barged in the room where Ryuford was still lecturing me about how I should stay away from his daughter. Maya pinched his ear and dragged him to who knows where, so that was one situation avoided. When I made my way to the main room of the guild, I saw adventurers who were wounded and some grieving over the loss of their comrades. Others who were healed by me in the inn were gazing at my direction with relief and sparkling eyes. One of them muttered ¡°Saint-sama¡± under his breath while having red cheeks. ¡­ Let¡¯s forget about that. I headed towards the reception desk where the elf onee-san with the pitiful chest was stationed. She had sunken eyes and had a tired expression. Maybe she didn¡¯t get enough sleep last night because of the attack I didn¡¯t notice. If I remembered correctly, her name was Milly. ¡°Milly-san. Can I ask you a question?¡± Milly was standing there with a tired expression and opened her mouth. ¡°What do you want?¡± Not even giving the usual business smile, she responded with the same tired expression. If it¡¯s like this, I might need to bring out the big guns. I whispered in Furry¡¯s ear to do me a favor. She hesitated for a moment before agreeing with the reward of a full course meal, and a nap on my head after all of this is over. This lazy and glutton furball. Furry jumped down from my head and approached the tired elf receptionist and did a dance. When Milly laid her eyes on Furry who was dancing, her expression turned to one of joy and happiness. ¡°Ahhh¡­ So cute¡­¡± Seriously, Furry dancing made me form a smile on my face. This is just too cute! ¡°Can I now ask a question Milly-san?¡± ¡°Sure, ask anything you want, except about my three-sizes and my private life.¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡­ She didn¡¯t really need to mention the thing about her three-sizes. ¡°Did you notice the abnormality of the monsters that attacked the settlement?¡± ¡°So, you noticed it. I didn¡¯t think a newbie like you would have knowledge about this.¡± ¡­ She has a really sharp tongue. ¡°Anyway, why did orcs instead of golems attacked a settlement that situated inside a golem-themed dungeon? No matter how you put it, this is just too weird.¡± ¡°Yes. That is what we were investigating about earlier, and it turns out, someone instigated this attack, presumably, a demon.¡± Don¡¯t tell me, does this has something to do with one of the demon generals that we met on the 10th floor? ¡°How about the other settlements in the dungeon? The guild has a communication device for communicating with the other settlements and the town right?¡± I heard about his from an adventurer at the inn. Apparently, every 15 floors, there is a human settlement with a purpose of a resting place. They also built branch guilds to give adventurers requests while dungeon diving. ¡°Sadly, communication from all outside locations have been cut. The guildmaster is on his way now to the next settlement in the upper floor to get a grasp of the situation. From what I heard from the guildmaster, the worst case scenario is that the town is overrun by the possibility of a monster flood. Luckily, the heroes were there so the town can pretty much hold up, but that is just if the invading monsters were weak.¡± If that happened, and the town was attacked¡­ No, get that thought away from my head. Kayaka, please be safe. I say my thanks with Milly and parted. My next destination is the family of three. I¡¯m going to say my farewells before stacking up on rations and heading to the next settlement above. ¡°Nii-san!¡± I saw Alexis who was treating some of the injured and walked towards her. She had a smile that was as beautiful as a flower blooming in Spring. ¡°Alexis-san, where are your parents?¡± ¡°Mou, stop calling me with honorifics. I won¡¯t answer until you call me by my name only.¡± ¡°Then, Alexis, where are your parents?¡± Alexis¡¯ face turned red for a moment before replying, saying that both of them were helping with the aftermath of the invasion. ¡°I see. Then, can you please tell them that I am leaving for the surface. I still have something to do up there.¡± ¡°What!? Why!? Could you stay here with us and help just until the rebuilding of the settlement is finished?¡± Hmm¡­? Why do I sense a slight desperation from Alexis¡¯ words. ¡°I can¡¯t. I still need to hurry and reach the surface, to fulfill my promise.¡± ¡°Then, take me with you!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t.¡± Alexis had a face that would seem to start crying anytime soon. I can hear Ryuford¡¯s scream in my ears again, even if it was just imaginary. ¡°Actually, why not?¡± A voice of a girl entered my ears. I turned around and saw a woman with blonde hair rolled down until her back, wearing what seems to be a priestess¡¯ clothing. ¡°Are you sure? That you can make Alexis come with me?¡± ¡°Oh I¡¯m sure. Alexis has spent 14 years inside this dungeon without ever seeing the surface. And it¡¯s just a little over a month before she becomes independent, so why not start now, with a trusty guide to help her in her adventure?¡± I see, if she was going to be independent by next month, why not get someone trustworthy enough to help her start out. And in this place, most adventurers here are veterans who has no use for weaklings, so it might be a little hard for her to find someone who can protect her. ¡°But shouldn¡¯t you tell Ryuford about this first?¡± If Ryuford heard about this topic, no doubt he would chase me to the ends of the earth, with a reason of, ¡°My daughter is eloping with a sick bastard and you¡¯re telling me to do nothing!?¡± Yep, I can clearly hear him saying that when I go to the surface with Alexis. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will take care of it. I want my daughter to find happiness in life. Not be some father and mother¡¯s girl her whole life.¡± If she says it like that, then I have no reason to refuse. ¡°Very well. Well then Alexis, you heard that, start getting ready for departure.¡± ¡°Y- yes!¡± Alexis quickly dashed to prepare her things for the starting point of her adventure. ¡°I wonder how Kayaka is doing¡­¡± With my uneasiness surfacing, I quickly retracted it into my heart and started buying some rations. ¡­ ~ Kayaka POV ~ ¡°There¡¯s too many of them! This town can¡¯t hold out!¡± A shout from a defending soldier was heard from the walls, before being smashed by a flying boulder. ¡°Hyoudo! Get ready! We¡¯re leaving!¡± ¡°But what about the town!? The citizens!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s too late for this town. Unless, you want to fight a losing battle where losing means your life. And I¡¯m not losing mine until I meet Kouta-nii again.¡± My will to live became stronger after separating from Kouta-nii. I know that he is still alive. I just know it! And I won¡¯t die until I meet him again! Another soldier was crushed by a flying boulder. The enemies numbered more than a thousand, and is emerging from the dungeon, but this is strange. Isn¡¯t the dungeon supposed to be a golem-type dungeon? Then why are the monsters all living creatures? Something is definitely wrong here, and I don¡¯t want to find out at the cost of my life. I straddled on a horse that I got from the country and donned my self-made equipment. I saw a fat creature charging towards me. I held my hammer up high and commanded my horse to meet it head on. I slowly shifted the direction of the horse just enough to miss the charge of the monster. When we the monster missed us and entered the range of my hammer, I swung my hammer down and crushed its head. Blood and brain matter splattered on the ground, coloring it red. ¡°I need to get out of here.¡± Behind me are my classmates, or the heroes, and the remaining surviving knights. Luckily, no heroes died during the invasion and we were able to escape the monster flood, and headed back to the royal capital, Rotte. ¡­ ~ Third Person POV ~ In a dark room, two demons were meeting. Both of them were the reason why the dungeon town, Fault was overrun by monsters. ¡°So the heroes got away, such a shame. I wanted to hear at least one hero¡¯s cry of grief and sorrow. Ahh such a waste, such a waste, SUCH A WASTE!!!¡± ¡°Calm down! We still have another hero we can kill. He should be inside the dungeon now.¡± ¡°Is that right Veda? Then, allow me to have a taste of him.¡± ¡°Wait, he survived when I tried to attack him, so you better watch out. He may have several cards up his sleeves.¡± ¡°Is that so? Kekekeke¡­ Then, allow me to let you taste despair, oh hero. Kekekeke¡­¡± Creepy laughter echoed through the dark room, and the two demons vanished from sight. Chapter 14 ¡°Food, check. Water, check. Luggage, check. We¡¯re ready to depart.¡± I am now preparing in a room inside the guild given to me by the guild workers. Furry was, naturally, dozing off in my head, looks like she wanted to fulfill one part of the promise early. I bought food for about a week¡¯s amount. Coupled with a magic bag that can stop the time of anything inside it, I won¡¯t be worrying about food for the next week. Now that I was done preparing, I walked towards the exit of the guild. I saw Alexis, with a backpack waiting for me there with a big smile. Maya was there too, along with Ryuford, who was crying on the floor, begging for her not to go. What a doting parent. When Ryuford turned to my direction, our eyes met, then he lunged at me with bloodshot eyes. ¡°You!!! I won¡¯t forgive you!!! Taking my lovely daughter!! I will--- GAHH!?¡± Ryuford, who was still in midair, was restrained with metal chains while still spouting off something like curses. If I take a closer look, he had chains bound over his limbs. Maya was staring at him with a gaze that looks like it could kill. Scary. ¡°Dear? Didn¡¯t we discuss this already?¡± Maya, who was still staring daggers at Ryuford, had a low voice that sounds like it could break glass. Partnered with her scary gaze, she looked like a scary mafia leader. ¡°Don¡¯t worry father! I will be safe as long I am by nii-san¡¯s side!¡± ¡°KOUTA!!!!¡± Looks like Ryuford broke and tried to get rid of the chains. Just how much does he dislike being away from his daughter. I slowly walked past Ryuford, who was trying to free himself from the chains, going towards Alexis. ¡°Nii-san! I¡¯m so glad I can come with you!¡± Alexis, with a big smile on her face, came trotting over towards me. The next moment, my body felt something warm embrace me. ¡°Oh my. Oh my.¡± ¡° KOUTA!!!¡± Ryuford, who looks like he might cry tears of blood at anytime now, shouted my name with hostility and hatred. ¡°Father! If you call nii-san like that, I will never call you father again!¡± ¡°Wha!? Anything but that!¡± Looks like not being called father by his daughter hurt Ryuford more than separating from her. Such a doting father spoiling his daughter. ¡°Umm¡­ Now that it¡¯s over, can we leave now? Time is wasting.¡± Pretending not to notice the mood, I spoke my thoughts out loud. Of course, this is intentional as we are truly wasting time here. ¡°Dear, Kouta-kun is right. The longer it is for them to leave, the longer they will reach the surface. Also, the harder it is for you to say your goodbyes.¡± Maya, who was still grasping at the chains binding Ryuford,, narrowed her eyes on him at her last sentence. Ryuford, who had no other choice. Nodded in agreement.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Kouta, if our daughter is harmed because of you, realize that I and Maya will chase you to the ends of the earth for revenge.¡± ¡°That is true Kouta-kun. So you might want to take care of her.¡± Both of them are really doting parents. ¡­ ¡°Goodbye! See you next time!¡± ¡°Goodbye!¡± I, Furry, and Alexis said our farewells to the couple in the adventurers guild. Putting one step ahead of another, both of us traversed the damaged path and left the settlement. On the way towards the next settlement, we ran into monsters, slept together, ate together, and protected each other. Alexis was good at using magic so it was good of her to back me up when I took on the monsters in close-quartered-combat. And like that, we traversed through the floors in five days. When we arrived, what greeted us was a very familiar sight. Not in a good way mind you. Walls crushed, buildings burnt and demolished, unmoving bodies on the ground. It was the aftermath of a battle. ¡°Nii-san¡­¡± ¡°I know, for now, let¡¯s search for survivors.¡± We entered through the demolished gate. When we entered, we spotted corpses here and there of adventurers and monsters, but no survivors. ¡°First, let¡¯s search for the adventurer¡¯s guild.¡± We searched for the adventurers guild. It was a building with a sign of a shield and sword above its doorstep. 20 minutes later, we found it utterly demolished to the ground. Corpses of adventurers and monsters can be seen under the debris. ¡°This is bad. There is no one alive in this place. Let¡¯s keep going to the next settlement.¡± ¡°Un¡­¡± But, there is one problem. How can we find food for the next trip? At times like this, appraisal! Please help me! (Unable to find solution¡­) ¡­ This is seriously bad. Well, we can¡¯t just stay here. We need to hurry up and reach the settlement with two days worth of food left. ¡°Alexis, let¡¯s go. Ration your food as we might not have enough.¡± ¡°Un, nii-san¡­¡± Thus we departed from the settlement. ¡­ ~ Kayaka POV ~ Riding on horseback hurts my butt. Ahh, I wish that Kouta-nii is here to give me a princess carry. While fantasizing about my brother, Hyoudo, who was also on horseback, came beside me. ¡°Kayaka, the knight leader told us to rest. We¡¯re resting at that spot over there.¡± While pointing at a huge boulder the size of a truck, something caught my eye. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°Hm? What was what?¡± ¡°Mm¡­ It¡¯s nothing.¡± Was I the only one that saw that? Whatever, must be my imagination. Right now we need to rest. The horses are getting tired from travelling nonstop for an hour. We arrived at the huge boulder and got off from our horses. The knight leader got off from his horse and went towards his fellow knights, must be discussing something about the next move to take. While I was resting my back on the huge boulder, the thing that caught my eye earlier appeared for a moment before disappearing. This isn¡¯t my imagination. I tugged on Hyoudo¡¯s sleeve who was sitting beside me. ¡°Hyoudo, something is following us.¡± ¡°!? Are you sure?¡± ¡°No doubt about it. Report this to the leader, and keep quiet about this as we might attract attention from the following party.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Hyoudo got up and headed towards the knight leader, who was still giving commands to the other knights and instructing some of the heroes about setting up camp. When they learned about this, they became more cautious of the surroundings, but it was wasted effort. ¡°Fufufu¡­ What pitiful creatures.¡± After hearing a familiar voice, my vision dyed in black and I lost consciousness. ¡­ ~ Third Person POV ~ ¡°Fufufu¡­ Now, Korke, I wonder how will you cope up with this number of heroes against you. This is my revenge against you for humiliating me at that time.¡± With a dark smile on his face, the heroes and knights vanished from the area. ¡°Now, how should I report this to the higher-ups?¡± Saying that, Veda left for the demon continent. ¡­ ~ Kouta POV ~ ¡°So hungry¡­¡± ¡°N- nii-san¡­ My stomache¡­¡± ¡°Pu-puuu~¡­¡± Rumbling sounds came from our stomachs while we were traversing the path of darkness. It¡¯s been a day without eating anything. At least we have a water source. The problem is where to get food. And according to appraisal, it will take two more days to reach the next settlement, where we don¡¯t even know whether it was demolished or not. This is a bad situation for us. When we turned a corner while following appraisal¡¯s direction, we entered a huge room with a creepy humanoid creature standing in the middle. ¡°Kekeke. I¡¯ve found you hero¡­¡± With a sentence from the creature, it lunged towards me with incredible speed and striked with a force that can send a bulldozer flying. ¡°Nii-san!?¡± ¡°Pupuu~!?¡± Furry who was on my head was dropped to the ground while I was sent flying to the wall. ¡°My name is Korke. One of the Demon Generals serving the Demon Lord.¡± With a twisted smile, the creature¡­ The Demon General, Korke lunged himself at me once again. Chapter 15 Korke, who was laughing maniacally, while lunging at the same time, sent shivers down my spine. Alexis was too stunned to move while Furry was still recovering from the shock of falling down from my head. When Korke strayed in the range of my [Degen Aura], his speed visibly slowed, but is still fast enough for me to not be able to react. I was lodged in deeper inside the wall as Korke was rapidly punching my body. Wounds opened on my body, blood dyed the walls and ground red. My consciousness was fading in and out from the intense pain each and everytime he strikes me with his fists. ¡°NII-SAN!!¡± ¡°PUPUU~!!!¡± Damn¡­ At this rate, I will die. I still need to guide Alexis to the surface and reunite with my sister. I can¡¯t give up here! Mustering my fading strength just enough to form a voice, I chanter my skills. ¡°[Purification]!¡± Bright light descended on my body as it healed my wounds and dealt damaged to Korke. ¡°Keh!¡± Noticing that it wasn¡¯t an ordinary light, Korke backed off and fixed his stance to prepare for a counter-attack. Even if he is a Demon General, he is still cautious of me. I got out of the hole and my injured body came into view. ¡°Nii-san!!¡± Alexis came running at me, worried about my wellbeing. ¡°Stupid! Don¡¯t move carelessly!¡± But I was too late to warn her. Korke moved immediately and grabbed her neck. ¡°Gahh!?¡± ¡°Let go of her!¡± I screamed my lungs out as I lunged towards Korke, who was holding Alexis hostage. ¡°Futile!¡± Korke jumped out of the way of my charge and swung at me with his claws. Too bad, I predicted your movement. ¡°[Guardian Angel]!¡± A dazzling light descended upon me, Alexis and Furry. The hand which was supposed to harm me, rebounded back and made no damage to my body. With this, I can fight back! ¡°Furry! Assist me!¡± ¡°Pupuu~!¡± Furry let out a cry as if to say, ¡°Roger!¡± and came running towards Korke while firing off water blades at his legs in order to not his Alexis. ¡°Kekeke!!! You truly are a hero!¡± Korke tossed Alexis to the side and defended against our attacks. He seems to have noticed that his attacks have no use during [Guardian Angel]. At this rate, the duration will run out before we can kill him. His shell is even hard enough to reflect our attacks. This is bad. I need someone stronger. One where I can slowly steal the enemy¡¯s stats, as he is freaking hard! That¡¯s why, [Slark]! Give me your power! Hero skill set changed from [Omniknight] to [Slark] [Slark] Also, for those of you wondering how my status is now, here it is.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Name: Endou Kouta Level: 56 HP: 389 / 1680 MP: 89 / 856 Str: 68 Agi: 77 Int: 56 Dex: 67 End: 45 Luc: 10 Skills: [Dota 2 Skill Set 1] [Language Comprehension 10] Titles: [Summoned Hero] [God¡¯s Target of Apology] [Saint] [Golem Crusher] There were new titles when I healed the adventurers in the settlement before, and when I destroyed the horde of golems chasing after me. Well, as for the explanation. [Saint] ¨C Title given to a person who has used healing magic to restore a person¡¯s vitality and was recognized by the masses. Skill¡¯s effects: [Golem Crusher] ¨C Title given to a person who has destroyed numerous golems in a single battle. Skill¡¯s effects: The [Saint] title was a godsend to increase the healing power of my skills when I use a healing type hero skill set. [Golem Crusher] is also good in this dungeon as it helps shorten the battles against golems. Anyway, back to the present. Now that I have succesfully changed my hero skill set to [Slark] who specializes in drawn out battles due to his skills, I might have a chance. Also note that when I changed my skill set, the skill duration of the skills used in the previous hero skill set had no change. Meaning, the skill is still on. The light from [Guardian Angel] still hasn¡¯t disappeared as I changed skill sets. During the duration, I mercilessly attacked Korke with my dagger that changed from a hammer because of the skill set change without regards to even landing a lethal hit. My only objective now is to steal his stats and use it to my advantage. While attacking, I noticed that Korke¡¯s speed visibly dropped, and I took my chance to land a huge strike. ¡°Kuh!!!¡± ¡°!? Keehh!!!¡± My strike slashed Korke¡¯s body from his right shoulder, down to his waist, looks like my strategy is working. Since he has a tough defense, why not steal it? Every attack I make takes away one point of each his status attribute and converts it into my agility stat. And in this world, there are six status attribute so each attack gives me bonus 6 agility. This skill is broken in this world. ¡°What did you do to me?¡± Korke, who realized that his condition was worsening with every hit I gave him, hissed at me. ¡°Like I would tell you!¡± I lunged at Korke, who was readying himself to receive my attack. Right now, I am faster than him by a hair¡¯s breadth. I still need to attack him many more times. ¡°!?¡± But just as I was going to attack him, I was sent flying to the opposite direction. What happened? Name: Endou Kouta Level: 56 HP: 15 / 1680 MP: 89 / 856 Str: 68 Agi: 77 + 60 Int: 56 Dex: 67 End: 45 Luc: 10 Skills: [Dota 2 Skill Set 1] [Language Comprehension 10] Titles: [Summoned Hero] [God¡¯s Target of Apology] [Saint] [Golem Crusher] !? This is bad¡­ Really bad¡­ One more hit and I¡¯m dead¡­ I need to move! ¡­. ¡­ .. . My body¡­ Won¡¯t respond¡­ What is happening¡­ It¡¯s dark¡­ Very dark¡­ Move¡­ Move¡­ Move!!! I willed myself to stand up, even if it hurts so badly. My body aches with every little move I make. My bones are screaming in pain because of the fractures, and my head is disordered because of the pain. I can¡¯t die here!!! I need to reunite¡­ With Kayaka¡­ And bring Alexis¡­ TO thE SuRfAcE!!! ¡°AHHHHH!!!!!¡± I screamed loudly, knowing that I may bring the enemy¡¯s attention to myself, but so what? I promised both of them, that I¡¯ll protect them, even at the cost of my life. Well, I didn¡¯t promise Alexis that, but I swore in my heart that I will protect those precious to me, and Alexis is now one of them. ¡°AHH!!! [SHADOW DANCE]!!!¡± Black fog surrounded my body as it began to rapidly regenerate. My sight returned and my wounds also healed, albeit slowly. When I laid my eyes on Korke, he was looking at me with a twisted smiling face. His body changed from that of a disgusting humanoid creature to that of a giant beetle. ¡°Kekeke!!! HERO!! Let me hear your cries of despair!!!¡± Korke was grabbing Alexis¡¯ neck with his right hand and Furry on his left from who knows where those hands come from. Both of them were struggling for air as they wriggled about to get free. ¡°LEAVE THEM ALONE!!!¡± I dashed at Korke with the [Pounce] skill in hopes of closing the gap between us and striked at him with my dagger. ¡°Useless! Useless!!!¡± The shell of Korke was hard as steel as my dagger bounced off. Alexis already had her whites of her eyes exposed while Furry was trying to get free from sending water blades to Korke¡¯s arms. Damn it!! At this rate, things won¡¯t end well! Is there anything, anything I can use!? ¡°!?¡± Just as I was trying to find a solution to this horrible situation, a bright light enveloped the room and blinded my sight. Chapter 16 ~ Third Person POV ~ The bright light faded and numerous humans appeared out of thin air. Kouta, who was battling the mutated Korke, went speechless at the sudden situation thrown at him. ¡°Kayaka?¡± That¡¯s right. The fated moment where the two siblings reunite after a sudden long parting¡­ ~ Kouta POV ~ ¡°Kayaka?¡± A dumb voice escaped my lips as I stared at the person whom I would never hope to meet in this dungeon this early. ¡°!?¡± A huge beetle charged at me while I was staring dumbfounded at my sister. ¡°DON¡¯T YOU DARE IGNORE ME!!!¡± Korke, while gripping the neck of Alexis and body of Furry, charged at me while spouting words full of hatred and scorn. This is no time for staring! I quickly brandished my dagger and dodged to the side, afterwards, I used [Pounce] to chase the charging beetle and strike it¡¯s arm gripping Alexis¡¯ neck while spinning to gain extra cutting power. *Ting* Sadly, it was not enough to cut through the shell. It barely made a scratch on it. Damn! At this rate, they will really die! I need to ask for help! ¡°Kayaka!¡± ¡°Kouta-nii!?¡± When I shouted my little sister¡¯s name, she responded with a surprised voice. She must have been shocked from the sudden teleportation and change of scenery. ¡°There is not time, but please help me!¡± ¡°!? Un!!¡± Without questioning my motives, Kayaka began asking the students, a.k.a. heroes to help fight the giant monster. ¡°THAT DAMNED TRAITOR!!!¡± Korke went on a rampage, stomping around and charging madly through the hall. Some knights were trampled to death while there were no hero casualties. ¡°FUCKING BASTARD!!! I KNEW I SHOULDN¡¯T HAVE TRUSTED YOU!!!¡± Korke went on and on about something about betrayal, but as I had no time to listen and understand the meaning behind those words, I began calculating the best way to rescue the two from the clutches of the Demon General. Just a few more seconds and Alexis will really die! I need to hurry! ¡°Kouta-nii! We¡¯ll support you!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right senpai!!¡± Kayaka and Hyoudo quickly ran to my side and readied their stances. ¡°Kayaka, please rescue the girl and animal who are being held by that monster.¡± Kayaka, who was holding a hammer, is the best matchup for this opponent, so I asked her to rescue the Alexis and Furry. She gave a nod in response to my request and brandished her hammer.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°GOOO!!!¡± With my signal, I, Kayaka, and Hyoudo charged at the Demon General at the same time. About the others, they were too shocked or scared to fight. Others were literally no use in head-to-head combat so they were staying behind. ¡°Hey!! You students are forgetting what a teacher¡¯s duty is!!!¡± Except for one, Tani Tanura, the principal of the school. Even if she is Spartan, she still holds that teacher ideology of hers to heart. That is, to protect the students and guide them to a better future. She wields a sword two times larger than herself, the very picture of a warrior. She looks like a dignified swordswoman, if the sword she held was a katana. ¡°Hey!! You oversized insect!! Don¡¯t you dare lay a hand on my students!!¡± Tanura-sensei charged at the Demon General while holding her giant sword overhead. She synched her timing with ours in order to be able to not mess our timings up. ¡°Oryaaa!!!¡± First was me. I held my dagger and swiped at the shell of the Demon General, regardless of how it bounced off. And while using the centrifugal force, I continued landing combos on the tough shell, in hopes of draining the Demon General¡¯s status attributes. Hyoudo was keeping it company along with Tanura-sensei. Hyoudo was supporting Tanura-sensei while Tanura-sensei was landing huge blows on its body, causing cracks to form on the black shell. Kayaka, who I asked to save the two hostages, charge towards the Demon General and hopped on its back. Upon landing, she ran towards the arm holding Alexis and swung her hammer, smashing the shell. Sound of breaking could be heard through the cave as Kayaka continued swinging her hammer in hopes of releasing Alexis from the life-threatening situation. ¡°GUaaHH!!! INSOLENT PESTS!!!¡± Just as the arm broke and Alexis was set free, Korke rampaged about, throwing off Kayaka and Alexis off its back. Alexis landed a little ways around him while Kayaka landed a little farther from Alexis. ¡°DAMN INSECTS!!!¡± ¡°Who are you calling an insect!? Insect!!¡± Tanura-sensei charged once more with her giant sword overhead. Her aim, was the other arm holding Furry who was struggling while casting water blades here and there. Just how big is her mana pool? ¡°ORYAAA!!! [Dismembering Strike]!!¡± The giant sword sliced through the shell and dismembered the arm, setting Furry free. Furry fell down and did a back flip upon landing to quickly get away from Korke. While midair, Furry launched water blades towards the visible cracks on Korke¡¯s body. ¡°GAAHHH!!!!¡± Korke let out a scream of pain as blood spewed from the cracks. ¡°DAMN BRATS!!!¡± Korke let out a howl of anger as he tried to look for a chance of escape. In one corner of his eye, he spotted a defenseless girl trying to get her breath back from being strangled for a long time. ¡°UOOAAAAHHH!!!¡± Korke charged at Alexis with his giant body, as there were less defenses in that area. ¡°Shit!!¡± I quickly used [Pounce] in hopes of overtaking him and ran towards Alexis. There was no time to carry her out, so I pushed her out of the way and took the brunt of the charge, causing me to fly again towards the wall. ¡°Gaahh!?¡± ¡°Kouta-nii!!¡± Kayaka, who saw me flying and crashing into the wall, raised a cry of sorrow and worry. Name: Endou Kouta Level: 56 HP: 6 / 1680 MP: 45 / 856 Str: 68 Agi: 77 + 120 Int: 56 Dex: 67 End: 45 Luc: 10 Skills: [Dota 2 Skill Set 1] [Language Comprehension 10] Titles: [Summoned Hero] [God¡¯s Target of Apology] [Saint] [Golem Crusher] Damn¡­ My HP is not going to hold¡­ The passive of [Shadow Dance] still can¡¯t be activated when I can still be seen by Korke. ¡°Kouta-nii!!¡± Kayaka dashed towards me in hopes of helping me. ¡°Stu¡­ pid..! Don¡¯t¡­ Bre.. .ak¡­ the¡­ forma¡­ tion¡­!¡± Because of the pain and wounds, my words were broken and had little to no volume, so it was impossible for Kayaka to hear it from over 30 meters away inside a noisy battlefield. Taking that chance, Korke charged towards Kayaka with bloodshot eyes. Damn! Move! My body!! Mustering the last of my strength, I moved at high speed without regards to the pain and bleeding. Even one hit from a stick can kill me, but I need to protect Kayaka! Faster! Faster! Make it in time! Even if you die! ¡°!? Kouta-nii! STOP!!¡± With tears in her eyes, Kayaka begged me to stop. It¡¯s too late, I can¡¯t stop anymore. If I stopped, I will stumble down and for sure kill myself. Sorry Kayaka, sorry I can¡¯t fulfill my promise. ¡°DIEE!!!!¡± A giant beetle crashed with my body full of injuries and my consciousness faded to darkness. Chapter 17 Drifting¡­ drifting in the everlasting darkness. Is this how dying feels? It feels¡­ mysterious¡­ Like some part of you feels scared and the other part of you feels like there is nothing to be done anymore. Dark¡­ dark¡­ dark¡­ dark¡­ dark¡­ dark¡­ dark¡­ dark¡­ dark¡­ dark¡­ dark¡­ It¡¯s just dark¡­ I can¡¯t feel anything. Not my limbs, not my body, anything. I hope Kayaka is safe. Just as I was thinking about the wellbeing of my little sister, a bright light shone and descended on top of me. When the light subsided, I was surrounded by a familiar scene, a hospital bed, me recovering from injuries, and a crying Kayaka. This was just after the incident when Kyaka was just released from rehabilitation. My surrounding turned pitch black again and was replaced by the burning orphanage. Kayaka was clinging to me tightly with tears in her eyes. The other kids were also crying, but luckily, there were no casualties. Once again, my vision turned black and was replaced by a room. It had a bed enough for two kids to sleep in, a desk, a closet, and two children. The children were me and Kayaka. Kayaka, was again crying while clinging to me tightly, while I held her tightly in my embrace. My vision was cut once again and was replaced by a corridor with two students hugging each other tightly. Those two were me and Kayaka, and this was the time before the transfer happened. After seeing those visions, my sight once again turned into pure darkness. What was the meaning of that¡­? A revolving lantern¡­? But, something is weird¡­ All of the visions had one thing in common, that is, me and Kayaka were always there. Kayaka was mostly crying and clinging to me tightly while I held her close. Kayaka¡¯s crying face and smiling face flashed through my head. Her crying face reminded me of the incident, while her smiling face, of the time when both of us were together. Why did I give up when I rushed in to protect her? Should I not struggle to protect her, even in death? Because I am her older brother, her only remaining family she can depend on, I must protect her! Even if I have to sell my soul to the devil! Wake up! Wake up! Move! Move! Open your eyes! My promise! I will definitely fulfill it!!! KOUTA!!! WAKE UP!!! ¡­ ~ Kayaka POV ~ Rewinding time from when we first transferred to the dungeon¡­ Where is this? A cave? But why is it so noisy? When I turned around, I saw a giant beetle monster and a familiar person who I will never forget. ¡°Kayaka?¡± That person, called out my name with a familiar voice. Just as he called me, the giant monster charged at him with a speed unimaginable for its body. ¡°DON¡¯T YOU DARE IGNORE ME!!!¡± The man dodged to the side to avoid the charge off the giant beetle and lunged at it with incredible speed, striking its arm holding a little girl by the neck while spinning. *Ting* A sharp sound resounded when the dagger clashed with the shell. The dagger bounced off and the man immediately retreated. ¡°Kayaka!¡± ¡°Kouta-nii!?¡± That man was my brother, Kouta-nii, who was left behind during a Demon General attack inside the 10th floor of the dungeon. ¡°There is no time, but please help me!! ¡°!? Unn!!¡± Without a second thought, I began moving to support Kouta-nii. Even if it is just a little help, maybe we can turn the tides in this battle. I quickly called out to the students and the principal to help us fight, but most of the students were support types with no offensive power. The offensive types were to shocked to move and in this battle, every second counts, so I left them behind. They will just come to their senses later. ¡°Endou-san!¡± Hyoudo, who was standing in a daze earlier, quickly responded to my call for help. ¡°Hyoudo-san! Let¡¯s assist Kouta-nii!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Just as we were getting ready to fight, the giant beetle rampaged and trampled some knights to death, along with the knight commander. Luckily, there were no students included. ¡°THAT DAMNED TRAITOR!!!¡± The giant beetle shouted in a rage and continued rampaging. I have been suspicious at the start, but this monster might be a high class demon.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°FUCKING BASTARD!!! I KNEW I SHOULDN¡¯T HAVE TRUSTED YOU!!!¡± With that line, I¡¯ve drawn up three conclusions as why we were transported here. One is, with the familiar voice I heard when we were teleported, this must be a falling-out between demons, and since the demon that teleported us was a Demon General, this beetle must also be a Demon General. This must be a deep-rooted grudge. Two, this might be a coup to bring down a Demon General in a higher position, and since we were heroes, the Demon General thought that we might be able to kill this Demon General Beetle and finish its job without casualties to its army. Three, this must be just for entertainment. If the reason was number three, that Demon General must have a screw loose in its head, sacrificing its comrade just to entertain itself, such a sick hobby. ¡°Kouta-nii!! We¡¯ll support you!!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right senpai!!¡± I and Hyoudo quickly ran to Kouta-nii¡¯s side and readied our fighting stances. ¡°Kayaka, please rescue the girl and animal who are being held by that monster.¡± After giving us instructions on what to do, Kouta-nii gave the signal to charge. ¡°GOOO!!!¡± The three of us charged simultaneously to the giant beetle who was still rampaging about. ¡°Hey!! You students are forgetting what a teacher¡¯s duty is!!¡± The principal, Tani Tanura, was charging while holding her giant sword overhead. ¡°Hey!! You oversized insect!! Don¡¯t you dare lay a hand on my students!!¡± She timed her movements with ours to synchronize our movements. First to reach was Kouta-nii. His speed was way faster than when we were together before. I wonder what happened to him. Kouta-nii continued swiping at the shell of the giant beetle, not even denting it. There must be something happening that I am not aware of yet. Hyoudo and Tanura-sensei was distracting the giant beetle. Hyoudo was supporting Tanura-sensei as she lands huge blows on the shell, causing massive cracks to form. I jumped on its back and ran towards the arm strangling the little girl. For surviving this long, she is tough. I hammered the arm, causing it to bend in an unnatural direcetion and freeing the little girl. ¡°GUaaHH!! INSOLENT PESTS!!!¡± Just as I set the little girl free from the giant beetle¡¯s clutches, it rampaged and threw me, and the little girl off its body. ¡°DAMN INSECTS!!!¡± ¡°Who are you calling an insect!? Insect!!¡± Tanura-sensei charged once more to the giant beetle with her sword overhead. ¡°Oryaaaa!!! [Dismembering Strike]!!¡± She swung it down at the remaining arm grasping something like a furball and cut it away from the body. The furball was released and did a back flip upon reaching the ground while casting water blades towards the massive cracks on the beetle¡¯s body. ¡°GAAHH!! The beetle screamed a shout of pain while blood flowed through the cracks. ¡°DAMN BRATS!!!¡± The beetle took a step back and surveyed the area before charging to a less protected area. In that area, there was the little girl I saved. ¡°Shit!!¡± Kouta-nii dashed towards the little girl and pushed her out of the way. While the girl was saved, Kouta-nii was sent flying through the room and into the walls. ¡°Kouta-nii!?¡± I felt something breaking inside as I hurriedly ran to where Kouta-nii was sent flying. ¡°Stu¡­ pid..! Don¡¯t¡­ Bre.. .ak¡­ the¡­ forma¡­ tion¡­!¡± I was not able to hear what Kouta-nii said as I heard the tremors coming from behind. The giant beetle was charging at me with bloodshot eyes. Ahh, this is it. If I am hit by that, I will surely die. Sorry Kouta-nii, even until now, I still can¡¯t repay my debt to you for always protecting me. Just as I was steeling myself for the oncoming pain, Kouta-nii dashed out of the wall and pushed me out of the way! ¡°!? Kouta-nii!? STOP!!!¡± No¡­ No¡­ Please stop!! I¡­ Don¡¯t want that to happen again! No¡­ Don¡¯t leave me!!! ¡°DIEE!!! The giant beetle crashed into Kouta-nii¡¯s body and split it in half. Intestines, organs, and blood splattered all about on the floor, and on my body. ¡°KEKEKE!!!! DESPAIR!!! DESPAIR!! ALL YOU HEROES MUST DESPAIR!!!¡± ¡°Ahh--- AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!¡± Something broke inside me. Feeling of rage, guilt, sorrow, and regret welled up inside my heart. Tears fell down my face as I stared at the body of my dead brother. ¡°SENPAI!!!¡± Hyoudo too, had tears in his eyes as he stared at the half of a body of my brother. He quickly charged towards the giant beetle and kept hitting at it like there was no tomorrow. ¡°YOU DAMN INSECT!!!!¡± Tanura-sensei was in a rage as she charged towards the giant beetle while swinging her giant sword, forming more cracks in the shell. ¡°Ahh¡­ Nii-san¡­¡± The little girl crawled towards the body with despair and sadness on her face. She had tears and snot flowing down as she slowly went to where my brother lies. ¡°Puuu~¡­¡± The furball also went to the side of the body of my brother and tried applying water-cum-healing magic on the bisected half. If you look closely, you can see tears going down its face. Why¡­ Why did this happen¡­ It was supposed to be me¡­ Why did Kouta-nii¡­ AGaIn¡­ I aM aLL AlOne¡­ No¡­ DoN¡¯t LeAvE Me¡­ KOUTA-NII!!! ¡°UWAAAHHHHH!!!!¡± Insanity swelled in my body. My body just moved on its own towards the giant beetle and automatically casted lightning magic to the cracks in its shell. ¡°DIEE!!! ALL OF YOU DIE!!!! FEEL THE DESPAIR!!! SCREAM LOUDER AND LOUDER!!! KEKEKEKEKE!!!!¡± More knights fell victim to the giant beetle¡¯s rampage. Only one knight was left, and it was the only knight who was kind to Kouta-nii during the whole trip. Tears kept flowing down my face as I unconsciously kept casting electric magic to the cracks of its shell. Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ Die¡­ ¡°DIE!! GIANT BEETLE!!!¡± [Electric Magic 9] increased to [Electric Magic 10] [Electric Magic 10] upgraded to [Lightning Magic 1] ¡°[Thunderstorm]!!!¡± While tears fell down my cheeks, countless lightning strikes assaulted the giant beetle¡¯s body. ¡°!? IMPOSSIBLE!!! HUMANS SHOULDN¡¯T BE ABLE TO LEARN LIGHTNING MAGIC!!! GGGAAAAHHHH!!!???¡± Lightning after lightning rained upon the giant beetle, turning it into charcoal. What remained of the giant beetle, was nothing but ashes. I slowly walked towards the upper half of my brother¡¯s body and knelt before it, before hugging it tightly. ¡°Kouta-nii¡­ Kouta-nii¡­¡± Tears never stopped flowing down as I grieved the death of my brother. ¡­ ~ Kouta POV ~ A dazzling white room and a beautiful silver-haired girl appeared before me. She had a blue eye on her right and a green eye on her left. With her small, cute lips, she spoke her words that will forever change my fate. ¡°Welcome to the circle of reincarnation Kouta-kun.¡± ¡°Haahh???¡± Hyoudo Side Story I am Hyoudo Ryou, a freshman at high school and a member of the Kendo Club, but right now, I am in a different world with the whole student body of our school. One of them was Endou Kouta, my senpai at school. He might¡¯ve forgotten this, but he saved me before when I was little. It was when I was a kid, inside the orphanage where I grew up. I never saw nor knew my parents so I had no attachments to this world. I was raised in this orphanage by the good and kind-natured caretakers. The women love gossiping, while the men like playing with the children. It was a good place for children with no place to call home go. It was on a sunny day, a new child was welcomed in the orphanage. Her name was Endou Kayaka. According to her story, her parents died in a traffic accident and her brother, who was given serious injuries, was still recovering in the hospital, and won¡¯t be released until another few months. The newly added orphan brought smiles to the orphanage, the other orphans, the caretakers, and even me. It was until a month passed when I realized my feelings for her. You might say, ¡°It¡¯s just love of children. They¡¯ll forget it when they grow older.¡± But I didn¡¯t. Day by day, my feelings grew stronger and I tried to get close to her. One day, I saw her crying in a secluded place after following her. I didn¡¯t realize earlier that all her smiles and laughs were just a fa?ade to hide her true feelings. Come to think of it, I always noticed that Kayaka kept on going to the hospital everyday when she has free time, to visit her brother maybe? When she comes back, she looks happy, but on the inside, she must be breaking. I thought to myself to do something for her so I tried to practice kendo. Why kendo you ask? It is for protection, and even at my age, I can still train my body using the proper exercise for a little child¡¯s body. It¡¯s just like how some little children can climb trees given their lack of strength. Nowadays, there were some reports about criminals on the loose, rapists, serial killers, drug addicts, etc., who had no discrimination whether their victim was an under-aged child or an elderly person. I asked one of the men who takes care of us in the orphanage. His name was Kitamura Ken. During his high school days, he was renowned as the champion of kendo through the region. What better instructor to have than a champion? Luckily, he immediately agreed to accept teaching me kendo. Thus, time passed peacefully in the orphanage. The next few months, Kayaka was smiling brilliantly. Her smile this time does not seem t be a fa?ade, instead, it looks to be a genuine one. When I asked her, she said that it was time for her brother to be released from the hospital and admitted to this orphanage. Looks like we will be seeing a new face here, is what I thought. After a few hours, a boy with pure black hair and black eyes that seems to suck you in appeared at the front gate. Kayaka happily rushed towards him and embraced him tightly. The caretakers immediately welcomed him and he introduced himself. His name was Endou Kouta, two years older than me. He spoke in a very polite and formal way, not what you would expect from a child. This time, the atmosphere around Kayaka changed. She was now happily spending her time inside the orphanage with her brother and the other orphans. No more fake smiles, fake laughter, nor fake happiness, just pure love and joy for her brother. Like this, a week passed and a tragedy happened. During the time when someone has agreed to adopt me to the Hyoudo household, a fire broke out. Screams and cries of help echoed through the burning building. The people, who were going to adopt me, were outside because of something, and that was the time when the fire broke out.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I was inside the burning orphanage, crawling on all fours in hopes to find an exit, just to find myself surrounded by flames. I thought to myself that I was going to die at that moment, before an unexpected person saved me. He had black hair and black eyes, and was holding a fire extinguisher in his hands. ¡°Quickly! Get out of there!¡± He¡ªKouta called out to me to get out of the burning room. I quickly ran towards him and followed him while he cleared a path to the exit using the fire extinguisher. According to him, I am the last one inside the building, and because the caretakers were too occupied with saving the other orphans, Kouta came to help me instead. At that moment, I realized why Kayaka always had a happy expression when she was beside her brother. To her, he must be a reliable existence, a pillar of support, a guardian, and her family. Now that I had realized that, I swore to myself to pay back this life he saved with my hard work and effort. I wanted to pay him back by helping him in school, or when he got a job, or when he has encountered a difficult problem. But something unexpected happened, the summoning of the God. We were to be summoned to a world of swords and magic and fight the demon lord. I thought to myself that in this world, I can definitely repay him. During the summons, we were given skills that relies on our skills and talents. Since I learned kendo, I had a skill related to it called [Swordsmanship]. But something unexpected happened. When the princess called out to us one by one to have our status recorded, when Kouta¡¯s status menu was displayed, it only showed the skill given to us by the God called [Language Comprehension]. I stared blankly at it, not actually believing it, but when it was proven because I was the next to have his status recorded, the princess had a face of complete disappointment. When the princess finished with the status inspection, I headed towards Kouta. I asked him if I can help him train during our time here in hopes of him obtaining a skill. He agreed to it, but the sad part was he, not Kayaka remembered me. Of course, I can understand because it was a long time ago. We spent our time there practicing and training for the upcoming fight with the demon lord. The knights, royals, and some students made him a target of bullying, thus I had to shut them up. Because when I practiced here in this world, in a month, I raised my [Swordsmanship] skill level from 6 to 9, nobody could refute me, since I was considered as one of the tops of the heroes. Just like that, half a year passed and we are on our way to a dungeon city named Fault. We were going to train in that city for a year before moving on to the next one. During a subjugation of a monster named [Golem Chimera], another tragedy occurred. A demon claiming itself to be a Demon General appeared and tried to assault us, luckily, we had our warp stoned so we could easily teleport out of there, except for one person, the man who was regarded as weak and incompetent by the royals, Endou Kouta. I and Kayaka tried to rush back in to save him, but were stopped by some of the students and the knights. I bit my lip as frustration and regret flowed through my body. During our way back, I heard some knights talking about how the warp stone they had given to Kouta was a fake, and it was ordered by the king to dispose of him this way. When we returned to the inn, I sat down in a corner, asked for a mug of beer and drank. I say to hell with underage limit. I¡¯m super pissed off right now. While drinking, I saw Kayaka went upstairs. I¡¯m guessing that she went inside the room to regret the fact that she left her brother in the dungeon alone. For a few days, she never really came out. A week passed and an attack was made on the dungeon town. Monsters flooded out of the dungeon, monsters from the plains and forests nearby came and assaulted the town, leaving countless of dead corpses here and there. I and the heroes quickly left the town and hurried back to the royal capital, just to be ambushed by someone and teleported into a cave. There, we saw a man fighting a giant beetle, he had black hair and black eyes. He was Endou Kouta. My heart danced in joy for a moment before coming back to reality a few moments later. Me, Kayaka, Kouta, and somehow Tanura worked together to bring the giant beetle down, but life isn¡¯t so kind to give a happy ending. Kouta was killed and Kayaka killed it in a blind fury. The three of us, a furball, and a child who I don¡¯t know grieved his death and carried it back to the surface with trudging steps. I didn¡¯t know how much time it took, but what I do know, is that I can never repay my debt back to him. Kayaka had a sullen mood, and looks like she might break at anytime. But what I didn¡¯t know, was that something that will bind our fates together in the future will happen because of Kouta¡¯s death. Alexis Side Story It¡¯s been a year since Kouta¡¯s death, and I am now on the surface working as an adventurer. My job classification is a mage since I can use offensive magic. While I was doing adventurer work, I awakened the ability to cast wind magic and fire magic. If these two skill combined, then I can use this to create devastating magic. It took me about three months to get over Kouta¡¯s death, and it might have been that way my whole life, if it was not for Tanura cheering me up. Even if she has a look like that of a leader of a criminal syndicate, she has a heart that is as pure as gold. What transpired in the three months I was depressed, I leave it to your imagination. Right now, I am on a quest, and was on my way back until this happened. ¡°Haah¡­ Haahh¡­ Hahh¡­¡± I desperately ran through the forest while avoiding dangerous plants, branches, roots, and areas that can slow my speed. ¡°Haah¡­ Faster¡­ Run faster¡­ I need to get¡­ away¡­¡± Right now, I am running from a group of people chasing me down. They numbered five and are equipped with equipment used for capturing. They wore hoods so their faces can¡¯t be seen, but I assume that they are slave traders. Since, I saw a carriage earlier loaded with young boys and girls wearing rags only, and are chained to not let them escape. I¡¯ve had this suspicion about them being slave traders. And it looks like I was right. When they spotted me while I was on my way back from completing a request, they chased after me while leaving some of their own behind to observe the captured slaves. They mus be illegal traders, ones that delve in the black guild¡¯s dealings. *Hyuun* An arrow flew right past me as I ran for dear life towards the town. The arrow missed its mark and landed on a tree beside me. When I took a closer look at the arrowhead, I saw some liquid pouring down. The arrows were poisoned! One hit with that and I¡¯m a goner! I ran faster than before and tried to lose them, but who knows how long will my stamina hold. I came upon them just as I was heading back after finishing a subjugation quest so I am completely exhausted. I saw a boar in my path so I thought of hurling the monster to the pursuers. I grabbed a stone on the ground while running and threw it to the boar.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Hey!! Over here!!¡± The boar went into a frenzy and charged towards me. Its size was about a grown up pig. I charged towards me, no holds barred, with great momentum. Just as it was going to hit, I shifted my center of gravity to the right and dodged it by a hair¡¯s breadth. Next, I used my staff and tripped it down and used wind magic to propel it towards a robed pursuer. The boar went flying to the robed man and crashed with him. The boar quickly got and this time, assaulted the robed man, turning him into a pile of flesh. The wild boar is a notorious monster for being quick to change targets and its monstrous strength. Based on the adventurers guild, it has a base rank of D and is C rank when in packs. Judging by the brutal mauling, my pursuers were no more than E rank. I could take on an E rank adventurer, but I can¡¯t fight against multiple opponents at once. I am just a D rank adventurer, and also a mage that uses spells that have long incantations so please spare me. The other four became raged and pursued me even more aggressively than before. This is bad, if this keeps up, I will literally be caught by them. As I searched for a method to escape from this situation, a person came into view. He had white hair, a toned muscular body, and radiant golden eyes. On his waist, he had a short sword, and on his left arm, he held a kite shield. When he saw me running from some suspicious robed men, he sprang into action. First he dealt with one man with a clean slice using his sword, bisecting him in half from the head to the crotch. One other robed man attacked him with his mace, but was avoided by the mysterious man with a light step to the left. During this, he spun and, using the centrifugal force, cut into the man, beheading his head. A blood fountain erupted from the corpse as it lifelessly crashed to the found. I was just staring at the magnificent display of coolness and coldness of the scene. He wasted no actions and used the minimum required movement to deliver clean killing blows. But there were two left. One was the archer who shot the poisoned arrow at me when I was running. He readied his bow and let the arrow fly towards the white-haired man. With a sound as if cutting through air, the arrow was sliced in half from the arrowhead to the tail. The next moment, the archer was also bisected in half, the same as what happened with the arrow. Blood and innards scattered on the ground, painting the grass red. Was that magic? But, I didn¡¯t sense any indications of using magic. As I am a mage, I can clearly know if someone uses magic. The last one became terrified at the deaths of his comrades, and tried to run away. But, his escape was cut short as the man took in air and released a breath of flame, turning him into charcoal! Actually, not charcoal, not even ashes. His body was erased from the face of the earth, along with the items he had on his hand. ¡­ What was that? Was that a high level magic spell? As I was pondering about what kind of magic he used, the white haired man came closer to me. ¡°I finally found you, Alexis.¡± Something inside me told me that I knew this person, but who? I searched my memories if I was able to meet any person with pure white hair, and golden eyes, but none came to mind. Just then, the memory of a person with black hair and black eyes went through my head. No way¡­ Don¡¯t tell me¡­ ¡°Nii-san¡­?¡± The man, Kouta showed a smile as radiant as the sun while he nodded at my response. Tears ran down my face as I finally met with the person who I fell in love with back in the dungeon. Vol 2. Chapter 1 ¡°Welcome to the Circle of Reincarnation, Kouta-kun.¡± ¡°Haahh???¡± The girl with silver hair smiled radiantly as she welcomed me to the place. ¡°Because of your death, and the title you were given by the God of Creation, you have been given a second life in the world of Elzads.¡± What is she talking about? I died? That can¡¯t be true! ¡°Kayaka¡­ What about Kayaka!?¡± ¡°Your sister? She is fine. Right now, Kayaka, Hyoudo, Alexis, Furry, and the other heroes are having your funeral in the town. Even if you were regarded as a useless hero, the higher-ups still had to keep up appearances.¡± ¡°Is that right¡­¡± My voice trailed off as I realized that I died when I fought Korke. It was a good thing that Kayaka and the others survived. ¡°By the way, how did they survive the fight?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­? When they saw you got split in half, Kayaka went into a blind rage and dumped [Electric Magic] one after another on Korke. Just as she was casting the spells, it leveled up and changed to [Lightning Magic], a skill that cannot be used by the human race. She must have been able to use it when she no longer held any reason in her eyes. Since one of the conditions for getting lightning magic is to have no rationality, she was able to acquire it.¡± So Kayaka was able to acquire a high-leveled skill. ¡°Oh yeah, I forgot to ask, but who are you?¡± ¡°Hmmm, you want to know who I am?¡± I nodded my head to her response. She smiled for a bit before continuing. ¡°I am the Goddess of Reincarnation. Well, you might have learned this term from the light novels you read, and it was really interesting to read those kinds of things. Items in Japan are really entertaining for us Gods who have no entertainment in the Heavenly Realm.¡± She had an ecstatic look on her face, before she regained her Goddess¡¯ self. ¡°Back to the subject, I am in charge of guiding the souls of the deceased to their new lives. There have been some like you, who have been favored by the Gods, or chosen for entertainment, but only a few of them were reincarnated because of the mistake by a God.¡± She looked at me with pity in her eyes, before again, regaining her Goddess¡¯ behavior. ¡°Also, I have a message from the God of Creation for you.¡± With a snap of her fingers, a single paper floated within my vision. It was glowing while hovering towards me. What is this, a ceremony? It slowly floated towards me and opened itself when it reached my preferred reading distance.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. (Greetings Kouta! If you are receiving this letter, it means you have passed. But do not fret! As compensation for the delay of receiving your skill, and also why you have lived as a loser in my world, I would like to give you a second chance with the ability to learn skills like the inhabitants of this world, and also give you a skill that is inferior to a God¡¯s skill. For the inhabitants of my world, this kind of skill can be classified as an ancient magic. Also, the reason for you, and the other summoned with you were not able to gain any other skill, was because of the [Skill System] I made for the inhabitants of my world. And since you otherworlders are not part of this system, I had to manually give you the skills, resulting in an inability to acquire skills from the system.) So that was the reason why I was unable to acquire skills, no matter how hard I tried, but, what about Kayaka¡¯s situation? (Also, about the situation of your sister, mutation of skills is excluded from the otherworlder¡¯s inabilities. Meaning, the skills they were given by me can evolve into higher tier ones. [Lightning Magic] is one of the high tier magics, and also one of the hardest to acquire for humans. Since lightning is classified as a natural disaster in my world, it requires one to lose all rationality, even for even a second and use [Electric Magic] on an enemy to the point of losing all of your mana and vitality. Kayaka was able to do that because of your death, and the hate towards your killer.) ¡­ Sorry Kayaka, for making you go through that. That said, what about my situation? (Lastly is about you. You can request to be reincarnated as a baby with your skills and memories intact, or reincarnate with an appearance similar to that of your old self. Of course, you can reincarnate without your skills and memories and start anew, the choice is yours.) The God said that I can choose whatever I want to do with my reincaranation, but of course, I will reincarnate with an appearance the same as my old self so that I can go and meet Kayaka and Alexis and fulfill my promise. As I was thinking this, the paper increased in length and new words form on it. (Also, I have to thank you for introducing DOTA 2 to me and as a reward, regardless of what you choose, I will grant you the skill [Item Box]. Thank you very much!) ¡­ At least he gave me a skill¡­ Thinking, or maybe even knowing that I was done reading, the Goddess opened her mouth. ¡°Now then Kouta-kun, would you kindly choose which way would you like to be reincarnated?¡± With a smile that can snatch the hearts of men, she came closer and in her hands, created a long staff. It was decorated in the finest of metals, the pole was made of orihalcum mixed with adamantite, and the tip of the staff, which resembles an orb inside a sphere, was created with mithril and orichalcum. If this was in the world of Elzads, who knows how many coutries would scramble and wage war just for this weapon. Even If I am no blacksmith, I can still know what type of metals were used thanks to appraisal. ¡°I would like to reincarnate with my previous appearance along with all of my skills, also, in the same world where I was summoned and if possible, closer to my time of death.¡± Without a moment of hesitation, I replied in the most confident expression I could make. Somehow, I fell silly. ¡°Then, would you please step into the circle?¡± A magic circle appeared in front of me as the Goddess stepped aside to let me pass. ¡°This magic circle will lead your soul to your new body. If you have a change of mind, now¡¯s the time to say it.¡± ¡°No thanks. I still need to fulfill my promise with my little sister.¡± ¡°Well then, see you next time!¡± I stepped into the circle and my vision went white. Following that, was a green, open field with trees in the distance. ¡°Where am I?¡± I observed my surroundings while paying attention to movement. But somehow, I feel chilly. When I looked down, I noticed that I was in my birthday suit. (I forgot to tell you, but all reincarnated beings are always reincarnated naked.) A voice resembling the Goddess¡¯ entered through my ears. ¡°W- WAAAHH!!¡± I made a mad dash to the closest tree, picked up some leaves, and made a pseudo man-skirt. ¡°F- for now I won¡¯t be called an exhibitionist when someone passes through.¡± I observed my surroundings again and found a dirt path along the greenery. It looks like it has been used seldomly. For now, let¡¯s create some clothes with my new skill [Creation]. Vol 2. Chapter 2 Name: Endou Kouta Level: 1 HP: 656 / 656 MP: 210 / 210 Str: 25 Agi: 32 Int: 20 Dex: 27 End: 24 Luc: 10 Skills: [Dota 2 Skill Set 1] [Language Comprehension 10] [Creation 1] (Hidden) [Item Box 1] (Hidden) [Appraisal 10] (Hidden) [Self-regeneration 5] (Hidden) Titles: [God¡¯s Target of Apology] (Hidden) [Saint] [Golem Crusher] [Reincarnated Person] (Hidden) [Thanked by the God of Creation] (Hidden) [Creation] ¨C Ability to create non-living things provided by mana. [Item Box] ¨C Ability to store items in another dimension. [Reincarnated Person] ¨C Given to a person who was reincarnated with their memories intact. Title effects: [Thanked by the God of Creation] ¨C Title given to a person who was thanked and recognized by the God of Creation. Title effects: This is how my status looks now, and also the explanations for my new skills and titles. ¡°Hmm¡­? Where is the title of [Summoned Hero]?¡± (Because you have been reincarnated, the title of [Summoned Hero] has been lost due to the host changing.)The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Ohh! Appraisal! I haven¡¯t heard from you for a long time! Well, actually not too long, but it feels like we were apart for a long time. So your explanation means that since I was reincarnated instead of summoned this time, I lost the title of [Summoned Hero], is that right? (Correct.) Hmm¡­ Now that¡¯s taken care of, let me check the other skills and titles. First are the titles. The [Reincarnated Person] helps me learn what I see and experience faster, increases my EXP gain, and skill growth. Isn¡¯t this a bit too much? Anyway, next is the [Thanked by the God of Creation] title. The hidden status related to God is a godsend as this won¡¯t attract attention, but the [God¡¯s Challenge is suspicious. Appraisal, please elaborate! ([God¡¯s Challenge] is a trial where a person who is qualified has a chance to attain Godhood. If one fails the [God¡¯s Challenge], the soul of the participant is shattered and is lost in oblivion.) ... For now, let¡¯s not take, actually, let¡¯s never take this challenge. This is for the sake for me, myself, and I. Next are the skills. First is [Creation]. According to appraisal, I can create anything at the cost of my MP. The problem is, it¡¯s an MP drainer. In level 1, 1 Kg is equal to 100 MP, and some of my skills in the [DOTA 2 Skill Set] take about 115MP and more. And when this skill reaches level 3, the MP per Kg is reduced to 80, but I can place an enchantment for an additional 100 MP. This is way too MP consuming, but there may be a time where I may use it, and now is the time! Creating items [T-shirt, Hooded Jacket, Jeans, Socks, Hiking Shoes, Brief]¡­ MP Cost 210¡­ After hearing that, I blacked out. ¡­ ¡°Bwahh!!!¡± That was dangerous. I¡¯ve been knocked out for about an hour and it isn¡¯t rare for a person to be killed in this world because of sleeping out in the open. Luckily, nothing passed this way and I was unharmed, except for some mosquito bites. I need to limit where, when, and how I use the [Creation] skill. This skill is likea double-edged sword when used in the wrong places. Also, I need to conserve MP. I don¡¯t want to lose consciousness again. ¡°The clothes¡­ Where are they¡­ Ah!¡± I found the clothes lying beside me, all folded up. I took off my pseudo man-skirt made of leaves and wore the clothes I created with [Creation]. When I wore it, it was a perfect fit for my body, no itchiness, no discomfort, and not too hot, nor too cold either. Now that I have tested the [Creation] skill, next is the [Item Box]. I took the pseudo man-skirt and held it with my two hands. I chanted [Item Box] and the man-skirt vanished into thin air. When I tried thinking about it, I saw a list containing only a thing called, [Skirt made of Leaves]. Is this the name given to the item I made? Anyway, when I tried thinking of getting it, the man-skirt appeared in my hands, a really convenient ability. Thank you God of Creation. But for now, let¡¯s change my skill set to one who can survive, even while alone in long battles. I did a memory check to remember the heroes in Dota 2, but didn¡¯t need to do it because a list of heroes and their skill sets appeared, pretty convenient. I scrolled down until my eyes spotted the name [Dragon Knight]. I imagined getting his skill set and it flowed through me like water in a river. Hero skill set changed from [Slark] to [Dragon Knight] [Dragon Knight] With this, I won¡¯t have to worry about something bad happening to me while on my travels. Thanks to [Dragon Blood] partnered with [Self-regeneration], I can recover easily and also nullify most attacks because of the increased defense. If a group of enemies tries to attack me, I can deal with them with [Dragon Breath] and burn them to ashes, but that would be a waste when confronting with humans and monsters. Since humans have loot on them, I might melt the loot and also some monsters have edible meat when cooked, I lose them too. Next if it is a one-on-one. With [Dragon Tail], I can stun him and land combos to surely kill him. This might be the best skill when used in battles with a strong person or monster. Last is [Elder Dragon Form]. If things get too dicey, I can use this skill to bail myself from that. For this world, this might be a too OP skill. ¡°Now, should we get going--- wait, what!?¡± I didn¡¯t notice it since I was busy trying to think up ways to use my skills, but I grew a tail, and that tail is scaly like a lizard¡¯s. Is this one of the side-effects of using [DOTA 2 Skill Set]? At least, I look just like a half-human, half-dragonewt to the eyes of the inhabitants of this world. I didn¡¯t have complete control over my tail. For now, let¡¯s test it. ¡°[Dragon Tail]!¡± I casted the skill and the tail moved on its own landing on the tree, causing a giant crack to form on the bark. But while that did happen, my tail shifted my center of gravity, causing me to stumble when using the skill. If I can¡¯t control this tail, how am I supposed to use it when in battle, and how much more if a I transform to a dragon? ¡°[Elder Dragon Form]!¡± My body slowly grew in size, ripping the clothes I made with [Creation]. Ahh!!! No!!! Don¡¯t!!! Stop!!! The screams in my head tried to stop the transformation, but it still continued, leaving the clothes in a mess. Ahh¡­ The clothes I made with my MP and [Creation]¡­ While regretting the fact that I used [Elder Dragon Form] while wearing clothes, my body turned into that of a giant dragon ranging to about 20 meters. IF someone saw me right now, they would turn tail and run with their tails between their legs. And now, the problem comes in, I can¡¯t control my body. I can¡¯t control my legs, my wings, heck, I can¡¯t even move my head as I want!!! Looks like I¡¯ll have to learn how to use the skills from the heroes in Dota 2. That reminds me, did Dota 2 have an update? I saw a new name I never saw there. If I remember correctly, it was [Grimstroke], right? But that will have to wait until next time. For now, I¡¯ll practice moving my dragon body and wait for my MP to recover to create new clothes. Vol 2. Chapter 3 ¡°Graaawrrr!!! Grawwrr!!¡± Right now, I am practicing my dragon roar to make it more believable that I am a fearsome dragon. For some reason, the [Elder Dragon Form] turned into a toggled skill instead of a duration-limited skill. It requires MP when toggling to a dragon and back to my original form. Also, when I transformed into a dragon, I was able to take a few glances at my body. I had white, lustrous scales, and when it bumped against a tree, it caused it to fall over. Just how hard are the scales? After practicing for a few hours, I was able to freely control my dragon body. It would have taken more if not for the [Reincarnated Person]¡¯s title effect. Now that I am able freely use my dragon body, I reverted back to my original human form with a lizard tail in my birthday suit. Creating items [T-shirt, Hooded Jacket, Jeans with a hole for a tail, Socks, Hiking Shoes, Brief with a hole for a tail]¡­ MP Cost 208¡­ The MP cost was reduced by 2 from earlier when I used [Creation] for creating my clothes, maybe because there were less cloth than earlier. But right now, I am feeling nauseous. These must be an after-effect from consuming MP right to the point of depletion. Unlike earlier, where I used up all of my MP, I had a remaining MP of 2, just enough for me not to faint, but enough for me to feel dizzy and feel a sharp pain in my head. I laid my tired body on the bark of the tree where I bashed with my tail earlier. Thanks to the bash I made, the bark had something like a comfortable spot, making it a good resting place. With my [Self-regeneration] skill, it won¡¯t take long for me to recover my MP to the point where I can walk without any difficulties. ¡­ 20 minutes passed when I rested underneath a tree, my MP recovered to about ? of the max value, about 50. When I got up, I felt no abnormalities, thus making me able to walk properly without stumbling. I started walking towards the dirt path I found earlier, but it has been a few hours, and I still saw nothing when I was out here. Maybe because they found my dragon body to terrifying, making it hard to cross the path. Even some of the monsters where scared to the point of not coming out from their hiding places. I need to limit this [Elder Dragon Form] skill. This has way too much impact on the inhabitants of this world. I walked on t he path, checking all around to see if there are any monsters laying in ambush. There were old footprints here. One from a monster, and the others were boots, these footprints must be a day old. I walked in the direction where the footprints headed before stumbling across a monster. It walked on two legs, had green skin and a small horn on its forehead. It stood about 1.45 meters tall and is holding a club. It was a monster often seen as the first monsters in RPG¡¯s, the goblins. There were others goblins with him, except for the fact that some of them used different weapons. One held a short sword, another, a rusty hatchet, and another one held a stick. They numbered 8 in total. When they saw me, they quickly bared their fangs and sprang into action. One holding a short sword went straight at me, and I quickly readied my weapon--- or not. I forgot that I had not brought a weapon, not even a stick!The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The goblin slashed at me with the sword and tore through my skin, causing blood to seep out. The wound slowly closed, but before it could, another goblin clubbed at me with its stick, making a bruise at my upper shoulder. It hurts, but not as much as when the Demon Generals Korke and Veda attacked me. I raised my hands in the air and made a fighting stance to fight the goblins. I am outnumbered, but they are weak, and thanks to my skills, I can survive even if they all come at me at the same time, as long as they don¡¯t aim at my head or heart. Two goblins came rushing at me, both of them wielding sticks. One goblin jumped up while the other went straight at me. These are smart goblins. If one of them kept me busy, the other one can land a solid hit on me. The goblin in midair is probably the diversion while the goblin on the ground is the attacker. Too bad, that only applies to those weaker than you! ¡°Oraahh!!¡± ¡°Gyiihh!?¡± ¡°Gyahii!?¡± The goblin in midair¡¯s momentum was redirected to the goblin on the ground, crashing into it and throwing both of them off balance. As for what I did earlier, when the goblin in midair¡¯s attack was going to land, I stepped lightly to the right, grabbed the goblin¡¯s stick and spun around while throwing it into its comrade. Right now, I have a weapon with me, albeit a stick, but it is still better than nothing. Another goblin charged at me with its short sword and tried to slash at me diagonally. I dodged it by leaning my body slightly to the left and grasped its hand holding the sword, and kicked it away, in the process, ripping its arm off. ¡°GYYYHHHH!!!???¡± Fresh blood spurted from the torn arm and the goblin screamed from the pain. The other goblins went into a frenzy and all came rushing towards me. This makes it easier. I grabbed the sword from the torn off arm and held it in my right, with the stick in my left. ¡°Now, COME GET ME!!¡± I shouted a cry to boost my fighting spirit as I got ready for battle. One goblin who was faster than the rest reached me earlier. It was holding a rusty dagger in its hands, and with that dagger, tried to stab me. I got out of its path and kicked it towards one of the goblins behind it, lodging its dagger inside its body. ¡°Gyuuhh!!¡± Blood seeped out from the wound as it let out a howl of pain. While they were entangled, I stabbed the sword through the two, ending their lives. Six left! A goblin wielding a hatchet came at me over my head. I tried to do a downwards swing with its hatchet, but thanks to the stick in my left hand, I redirected the swing¡¯s trajectory a little to the lift, causing it to miss, and I beheaded it with my sword. Five left! Three goblins, one that lost an arm, and the two who crashed into together because of me, tried lunging at me close to each other. Thinking it was a good opportunity, I used one of my skill. ¡°[Breath Fire]!¡± I breathed in deeply and blew out flames towards the three goblins, turning them to ash. Two left! The other two goblins were hesitating whether to attack me or run away. Sadly, I¡¯m not that forgiving when it comes to people or creatures trying to attack me, or those precious to me. I lunged at the nearest gobbling and bisected it in half, causing its blood to paint the grass red and innards bursting out. The last goblin tried to make a run for it, but¡­ ¡°[Dragon Tail]!¡± I used my tail and hit at its head, tearing it off from its body. A blood fountain gushed out from its body as it slumped onto the floor. The eight goblins were all annihilated within seconds and this place, where greenery stood pure, now turned into a crimson land. ¡°Woohh¡­ That takes care of that. Now, let¡¯s collect the loot.¡± In the adventurers guild, I learned that proof of subjugation of a goblin is in the form of its right ear, but I have no guild card nor identification paper so cross that out for money making for now. That said, there is a chance that a goblin has a magic stone inside of it. Since living monsters sometimes have a magic stone inside, it can be sold off or used to create a magic item. But this is a goblin we¡¯re talking about. At most, it will net me a few coppers, but beggars can¡¯t be choosers. I took the dagger from the goblin I killed earlier and cut its chest. Using more force, since this corpse is useless so this can be handled roughly, I cut open the chest of each goblin. Out of all the goblins, excluding the three that were burned, only three had magic stones inside of them, and they are all color red. This can net me at least a silver coin and 50 coppers, but let¡¯s not get my hopes up. After disposing of the corpses using [Breathe Fire], I continued on my way towards the direction of these footsteps. Vol 2. Chapter 4 It has been an hour since walking on this dirt path. The footsteps were gradually disappearing as I continued. Since starting, I encountered a few monsters trying to pick a fight with me. Well, you can guess what happened, goblins were burned, horned rabbits were hunted and turned to my food, and others were killed and the valuables, into my [Item Box]. ¡°Haaahh¡­¡± A yawn escaped my lips as I continued on the path. My travelling pace is slow, so I started jogging to at least get a faster travelling speed. Some of you may seem this may be a bad idea because I may need to conserve my energy when an unexpected situation occurs, but thanks to [Dragon Blood], my stamina never got exhausted. While I was jogging, I stumbled upon a clich¨¦ scene, bandits attacking a wagon. There were about six bandits left attacking and two guards defending. You can tell which was going to lose, but first, I¡¯ll observe for a while to grasp the situation. I hid inside a bush that was situated in front of the battleground. Inside the wagon, I saw a girl through the window for only an instant before she closed the curtains. On the driver¡¯s seat, there was a middle aged man with an arrow lodged through his head. There were also some bandits lying on the floor, their total count were three. And there was also a guard lying on the wagon with wounds covering her body. The guards were equipped with iron armor only covering their vital points. One wielded a sword and shield, another, a bow, the last was a cane. The one lying on the wagon was the staff wielder, probably a mage. The bandits were equipped with less than standard weapons and armor. The blades on their weapons were chipped while their armor was rugged without any evidence of maintenance. These bandits were probably lackeys or a third-rate bandit group. The guards were all women while the bandits were all male. This is somehow, disturbing. At this rate, the bandits will win because of their numbers, and also because the guards are exhausted. I better come out now to help because I don¡¯t want those bandits to have their way with those women. I¡¯m not doing this for popularity mind you. I came out from the bush, held the almost destroyed sword I stole from the goblins in my right hand, and charged at the closest bandit I can see. ¡°What!?¡± The bandit noticed me, but he was just a bit too late. I pierced my sword through his head, brain matter gushing out through wound. ¡°!?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s there!?¡± I pulled out my sword from the head and threw it to the next closest bandit, lodging it through his chest. Since the bandit was just wearing leather clothes, the sword, albeit almost destroyed, easily pierced through his body. Both of the bandits crumbled to the ground almost at the same time. ¡°Just a passing traveler.¡± I formed a smile on my face as I picked up the weapon the bandit I killed was using. It was just a short sword, but at least it was better than the ones I got from the goblins. If you¡¯re wondering whether I have some reaction to killing, I would say no. This is not the first time I¡¯ve killed people. And I would have no qualms with killing these low lives. ¡°Shit! Kill him!!!¡± One bandit, presumably the leader, ordered the others to take my life.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°No way, I still need to meet with my sister and another person.¡± I replied with a smile still plastered on my face. One bandit, who was close to me, was already nearing my position, and swung his weapon at my head. It was a wooden club, but is big enough to crack open a human¡¯s skull. I swiftly dodged it by sidestepping to the right and pierced his torso with my sword. ¡°Guha!¡± The bandit coughed up blood before falling to the ground after I pulled my sword out. The two guards, taking this as a signal, started a counter attack against the bandits, killing two of them in the process. There was one bandit left, and he was the leader. ¡°Bastards! Wipin¡¯ out mah crew!! I¡¯ll kill y¡¯all!!!¡± The bandit leader, who was equipped with a weapon, and armor far superior than the other bandits charged at the two women guards. The bow wielding guard knocked an arrow in her bow and let it fly towards the bandit leader. ¡°Hahh!!!¡± The bandit leader, with his weapon, an iron club, smashed the arrow to bits. During that gap, the guard wielding the sword and shield came in close to reach him with her blade. ¡°Take this!!!¡± ¡°Uohh!!!¡± She swung her sword diagonally to the bandit leader with speed and finesse. The bandit leader quickly reacted and shifted his center of gravity to fall back while spinning to avoid the slash. ¡°Oraahh!!!¡± The bandit leader counter-attacked with his club while using the centrifugal force of his spin to acquire more force in his swing. Because of the gap of using the diagonal slash, the guard had no choice but to defend herself with her shield. The club came in contact with the shield and sent her flying for about 5 meters. At that time, the bow user knocked another arrow in her bow and sent it flying to the bandit leader¡¯s head. ¡°Oryahhh!!!!¡± The bandit leader quickly moved his club to block the oncoming arrow and the arrow rebounded from the club. The bandit leader then picked up a stone under his feet and threw towards the bow user, hitting her right hand, making her unable to use her bow. ¡°Hehehe!!! You lots are friggin¡¯ weak!! I¡¯mma break you till you cry bitches, but after I deal with this bastard right¡¯ere!!!¡± He glared at my direction while holding his club in a daunting pose. ¡°DIE MOTHERFUCKER!!!¡± He lunged himself at me while holding his club overhead. I readied my stance to receive his attack as he swung hid club down. *Ting* ¡°WHAT!?¡± I could¡¯ve dodged that swing since the attack was so slow and exaggerated, but I thought of something. Since my tail is also made up of the scales in my dragon form that can destroy a tree with only a bump, what if I caught the attack with my tail? I tried testing it out and the result, the club was shattered to pieces. Man, these scales are tough. If [Dragon Knight] was here, he might be revered to as a Dragon God. ¡°WHAT DID YOU DO!!??¡± The bandit leader shouted with saliva spraying from his mouth. The saliva dropped on my face, close to my mouth. ¡°You smell so take a hike!¡± ¡°Gofuu!!??¡± I used my tail and hit him with [Dragon Tail], causing him to fly towards a tree. His head landed on the tree first, causing it to snap, instantly killing him. ¡°Ahh¡­ I didn¡¯t mean to kill him¡­¡± As I regretted putting in too much force in my tail to knock him off the woma guard using a sword and shield walked towards me. ¡°Thank you for saving us earlier. If not for you, we might have been defiled and killed by those rotten bandits.¡± ¡°Your welcome. Actually, I¡¯ve been wondering, where is this place?¡± ¡°This place? We are inside Elf territory in the country of Elm. Why do you ask?¡± Wait¡­ What¡­? ¡°Elm you say¡­¡± ¡°Hm? What¡¯s the matter?¡± When we were summoned, it was inside the country of Grisia. When I took a look at the world map, there were four continents, namely, Human continent, Demihuman continent, Demon continent, and Beast continent. The Human continent is located at the north, Demihuman at the east, Beast at the west, and Demon at the south. The south continent was actually known as the Majin continent before being controlled by the Demon King. The Demon continent before was actually a peaceful place with kindhearted Majins. The Majins were the most powerful of the four races, but because of the Demon King¡¯s miasma, they have been turned into horrible monsters with only unwavering loyalty towards the Demon Lord. Now, they are referred to as demons. This was taught to us by the King of the country of Grisia, who also holds the most power in the Human continent. I thought if we were just being used for a political battle, but it turns out, there were also the demihumans and beasts cooperating to fight against the demons. Back on the topic, the country of Elm was located in the Demihuman continent, and is ruled by the numerous demihuman races. Right now, I am in elf territory, so it means¡­ ¡°You guys are elves right?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± Since they were wearing caps, they took it off, revealing their sharp, pointy ears. I took a look at the bandits, but they were just regular humans. ¡°Then you must be a dragonewt, but with those human ears, you must be a half-human and half-dragonewt, am I correct?¡± ¡­ This turned out to be one hell of a mess. Vol 2. Chapter 5 ¡°U- un¡­¡± For now, I nodded my head in response to their question. I heard this from the people in the taverns and knight corps, but apparently, there is discord between the humans and demihumans. The main reason is the humans¡¯ and nobles¡¯ greed. Kidnapping, discrimination, smuggling, slavery, etc¡­ They treat the demihumans as inferior beings. This is also one reason why the demihumans closed off their borders to the human continent. But right now, I am also in a predicament. They regard half-bloods as cursed children, because they possess strength stronger than the demihumans and humans. But the main reason is because they were born from a human. At least, their hatred for half-bloods from the humans are less than the humans themselves. ¡°Is that so¡­¡± They glared at me for a while with fear and hostility, before retracting their emotions and calming their selves. ¡°Please excuse us for our rude behavior against our savior. So, may I ask for your name?¡± ¡°¡­ Sure, my name is Kouta.¡± ¡°Kouta, is it? Not an unfamiliar name amongst the dragonewts.¡± There is one reason why I named myself as my true name. Since entering a town requires you to reveal your name via status. Of course, your parameters are kept hidden, only your name will be displayed. A little lore about the dragonewts, it seems that they have culture similar to the Japanese in the Edo period. Their soldiers wield katanas instead of double-edged western sword. They also prioritize skill rather than quantity. That said, one common dragonewt soldier can match a hundred human soldiers. But because of their low fertility rate, their population only number about tens of thousands. ¡°Then, would you also mind telling me your names?¡± ¡°Not at all. My name is Kiera. As you can see, I wield a sword and shield. Behind me is the archer, Liana, and the wounded mage is Phana. We are adventurers on an escort quest. Right now, Phana is recovering from her injuries so leave her alone for a while.¡± Kiera explained about their guild quest. Apparently, their quest is to escort a high elf to the sacred tree where the high elves reside. The number ratio of elves to high elves is 1000:1. In this world, elves have low fertility leading to low births, the same as the dragonewts. But high elves have lower fertility rate than the elves. It is said that a high elf is born once every 500 years. But in exchange for low fertility rates, elves can live for a millennia, while high elves are said to live for about ten thousand years, that is, if they live that long. Most high elves die about 5000 years old, while some die just about a hundred years after their birth. The reason why some high elves die just about a hundredth of their lifespan is because of the rotten nobles and humans. That¡¯s enough storytelling for now. ¡°Is that so, than, could you please guide me just until the next town or settlement? In exchange for helping you defeat the bandits and of course, I¡¯ll also help in defending the person whom you are suppose to protect.¡± ¡°¡­ Please excuse me for a minute.¡± She had a look of hesitation before deciding to ask her fellow party members. But just for a moment, I saw the door of the carriage open and close for a few seconds. ¡°Very well. You may accompany us to the next town, but only that. Of course, we¡¯ll also provide food for you.¡± Kiera came back and announced their decisions about me accompanying them. It was accepted and I also won¡¯t have to worry about food until the next town. Since the driver was killed, Kiera hopped on the driver¡¯s seat and took the reins. The driver was burned to make him impossible to turn into a zombie and his ashed collected into an urn. The bandits were also burned to ashes. They lent me an extra horse to keep up with the carriage when travelling. This was pretty much accepted as my feet hurts from walking. But, did they not seem bothered by my clothes? My clothes must be different from the rest right? Right? Well, no use complaining, for now, I¡¯ll focus on the task at hand. ¡­The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°We¡¯ll stop here for the day and make camp.¡± The sun sets and darkness begins to cover the world. Kiera, Liana, and Phana started preparing camp, setting up tents, picking up dry sticks for a fire, and setting up traps. Of course, I am no exception. I picked up some dry wood for the campfire and gave it to Kiera. I didn¡¯t notice it, but the carriage being used is a high class carriage. The carriage was adorned with jewels and gold, making it look gaudy. The place we were camping in is at the side of the forest. We ate, talked, and when the night was just getting darker, we heard some noise. ¡°¡­ Prepare your weapons.¡± Kiera, who also noticed the noise, whispered to prepare for battle. I readied my worn-out sword I took from the bandits, while Kiera and her party took their battle formation. The noise was coming from a nearby bush behind me. Rattling noises could be heard from the distance. This sounds like a vehicle, is what I thought. Just as I steeled myself for battle, an arrow flew towards Phana, piercing her leg. The same could be said by Liana, her wrist was pierced by an arrow shot at her. But Kiera was able to block the arrow aimed at her with her shield. ¡°Kyaahh!?¡± ¡°Gihh!!?¡± ¡°Ngghh!!!¡± Me? I just block it with my harder than steel tail. Just as I blocked the arrow, numerous silhouettes appeared in the darkness. They were wearing dark clothes and were wearing white masks. Somehow, their get-up reminded me of ninjas. For convenience sake, let¡¯s call them ninjas for now. ¡°Damn assassins.¡± A ninja assaulted Kiera with speed and finesse, also with extreme skill. ¡°Shit! Gahh!!¡± Kiera was unable to follow the ninja¡¯s movement and was slashed from behind, causing blood to paint the ground. What is the deal with these ninjas? They are too skilled for attacking just adventurers, unless, their target must be inside the carriage. Finally realizing this, I ran straight towards carriage door in order to protect the person inside, as per my promise with the three adventurers. The ninja who was about to open the carriage door paused his action and lunged himself at me with insane speed. He held a dagger in his right and some sort of liquid was smeared on the blade. Appraisal! (Paralyzing Venom) ¨C When inside the body, causes paralysis for an hour. Thank goodness it was just paralysis. If it was poison, then the three adventurers would be goners. The ninja slashed at me with speed almost impossible to react to. ¡°Nghh!!¡± At the last moment, I put my tail in between the path of the blade, causing the blade to shatter upon colliding with the scales. ¡°What!?¡± The ninja was surprised about seeing his dagger being shattered by my tail. But his surprised reaction caused him dearly. Using the tiny gap, I swung my sword at the ninja, lopping his head off. Again? Well, anyway, my job is to protect the person inside the carriage so this counts as protecting, right? The ninjas, who saw one of their own dying by my blade, became wary of me. Mostly, they were wary of my tail. The ninjas observed for a while, and I observed them. They numbered four, excluding the one I killed earlier, but I can¡¯t see a ninja holding a ranged weapon. There must be more hiding in the forest. This is bad, I am at a disadvantage. I have little to no information about these guys. Perhaps Kiera and the others know about this, but since they are paralyzed now, they aren¡¯t of any help. I need to do something, and fast. If I use [Breathe Fire] in the forest to create a forest fire, I might be able to create a chance to get away with the person in the carriage, leaving the three adventurers to die. Next is if I fight them all head on, there is a chance I may die, but I am able to defeat them, that would be the best case scenario. Last is using [Elder Dragon Form]. Since this brings too much attention, this will be my last resort. For now, I¡¯ll try attacking them head on, and while I am at it, throw the paralyzed adventurers on the roof of the carriage, so in any case I need to create the forest fire, we can leave safely. I ran to Kiera, who was lying on the ground, motionless. She was muttering some words that are hard to understand because of the paralyisis. When they saw me move, a ninja ran straight to the carriage while the remaining ones ran to intercept me. Damn! This is getting nowhere fast! I reached Kiera, quickly picked her up and threw her to the ninja nearing the carriage. ¡°Sorry about this Kiera.¡± ¡°!?¡± Forgive me for this Kiera. Shout at me all you want later. Kiera collided into the unsuspecting ninja, causing both of them to crash to the ground. By some miracle, the sword that Kiera was holding pierced the ninja¡¯s head, killing him in an instant. How were you able to hold your sword even when paralyzed? The remaining three ninjas froze at the scene, before resuming chase. One of them split up, heading to the direction of the carriage. I quickly chased after the ninja and threw my sword at him. The ninja was slow to react and was pierced by my sword. But during that time, the other two ninjas closed the gap between me and them and slashed at me with their daggers. I used my tail to block their daggers, but it seems that they were able to predict my moves and shifted the daggers trajectory. Shit! This is bad. I could easily take them down now with my [Breathe Fire], but behind them is Kiera and the carriage, I can¡¯t risk it. As I rapidly calculated the way out of this situation, I remembered the skill that can save me from this, at least, just barely enough. [Dragon Tail]! My tail immediately reacted to the skill and smashed against one of the ninjas, causing him to fly towards a tree. The last ninja, because of the air pressure from the tail strike, was shocked, causing his dagger to shift its trajectory, barely missing my body. ¡°You lose!¡± Since I didn¡¯t have any weapon left, I used my fist to uppercut his undefended face. He flew up for about two meters before crashing into the ground. I could see that his mask was cracked and his jaw, dislocated by the punch. ¡°Phew¡­ That takes care of that¡­!?¡± Shit! I forgot! But there were probably more than the ninjas I fought earlier. The carriage door was open and Kiera was gone, along with her party and the person inside the carriage. They probably left me here as I was not in their target list. I have the option of not heading off to their rescue, but I did say that I would protect their client. And I don¡¯t want to go back on my word, because I am a man. And I will not die, not until I meet with Kayaka and Alexis again. Thinking that, I set off to where they were kidnapped. By what means you say? I don¡¯t even know where they went you say? Of course, with my secret weapon, I can figure out where they went! Appraisal!!! (Unable to give information) WHATT!!!??? Vol 2. Chapter 6 ¡°What do you mean ¡®Unable to give information¡¯ appraisal!?¡± (Insufficient information supplied to memory) Insufficient information¡­ Ah, does it mean that I didn¡¯t see where they were headed? (Correct) Damn!!! This is bad! If this keeps up, I won¡¯t be able to find them. Wait, my [Dota 2 Skill Set] has a map function at level 2 right? If I can just level this up, I could find them, but how? (Hero set number of changes: 5) (Hero set number of changes left before next level: 1) That¡¯s it! If I change into another hero skill set, I can level this skill up and acquire the map function! But if I change now, I will lose my current appearance. I might lose the tail, and they might regard me as a human or shape-shifting demon. ¡°What should I do¡­ Maybe this will work¡­¡± I thought of an idea that may allow me to choose a hero skill set while keeping the appearance. This is a 50/50 gamble, and if it works, then I will be able to rescue them. ¡°Please work!¡± Hero skill set changed from [Dragon Knight] to [Dragon Knight] [Dragon Knight] [Dota 2 Skill Set 1] leveled up to [Dota 2 Skill Set 2] [Dota 2 Skill Set] Map Function Acquired ¡°Yosha!!! Now, let¡¯s see if I can see their positions.¡± The method to display the map entered my brain when the skill leveled up. ¡°[Map Display]!¡± A semi-transparent map appeared before my eyes. It looked like a 3d hologram displaying the surrounding area. The forest, mountains, plains, and the road was replicated without any mistakes like the real thing. There were a blue dot, green dots, white dots, and red dots on the map. The blue dot must be me, green dots for my allies, white dots for neutrals, and red dots for the enemies. The area where the green dots and the blue dot were displayed was visible to me. Of course, like the map in Dota 2, there was fog where there weren¡¯t any friendly units. I could only see the landscape, the area where my allies are, at least, those friendly to me, and the area around me in the map. Anything else was shaded a bit darker and didn¡¯t reveal any dots inside. ¡°Finally, I found where they are¡­ I¡¯m coming!!¡± I dashed at the direction where the girls were held. Strangely, there were only three green dots. How about the person inside the carriage? Does this only apply to those I have interacted with? I cut down the branches that were in my way towards the three girls. The green dots were unmoving inside a cave. Since they could only see the room where they were held in, I couldn¡¯t locate where the enemies are. Since there were more ninjas than the ones I killed and knocked out back there. That reminds me, I didn¡¯t give the finishing blow to two of them right? Ahh who cares!!! The important matter right now is to rescue those girls! I picked up my pace to increase the speed, even if just a little. A little time later, I arrived t what seems to be a cave. There were two burly men standing near the entrance. Both of them were wearing less than standard equipment, the type what third-rate bandits would wear.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°What does this mean? Weren¡¯t the attackers dressed in ninja outfits? This is strange¡­¡± I lowered my pace to that of a snail and crept, as quietly as possible to avoid being noticed. Upon reaching about five meters from them, I picked up a stone that could crack your skull when thrown. I readied myself to assault them sneakily to avoid attention and raising the alarm inside the cave. ¡°1¡­ 2¡­ 3¡­¡± I counted quietly and when I reached three, I threw the stone to the farthest bandit, caving his head in, instantly killing him. ¡°[Dragon Tail]!¡± While the other bandit was surprised to see the person¡¯s head next to him getting blown off, I used my tail to crush his head, along with his vocals to avoid him making a scream. His head was separated from his body quietly. At least, it was almost impossible to hear it inside the cave. I hid their bodies behind the rocks to avoid being spotted by other bandits. For your information, I am not Ag**t 4*. I picked up the better sword from the two dropped by the two bandits. After that, I slowly entered the cave and checked the map once more. The three girls were situated in the farthest room from the entrance, presumably, the treasury room. There were 3 rooms, excluding the room where the three were held. The first one was can be reached by taking a left after heading straight and reaching a branching path. The second one is to the right of that path, and the third one is just after the second room. The room where the three were held was just after the third room. The first room was smaller compared to the second room and third room, but is larger than the last room. The third room was the biggest as it can hold about 4 sixteen-wheelers side by side. After checking the layout of the cave, I slowly advanced on the path, careful of setting off traps, and checking for patrols. I don¡¯t want to raise the alarm and risk the three girls to be killed. After walking for a while, I reached the branching path and headed to the right, a little while after that, I reached the second room where about 16 bandits were snoozing. I could just kill them all off here, but I might risk making noise when killing them, so I refrained, and quietly passed through them. After moving past those sleeping bandits, I reached the third room, and inside was¡­ It was too horrifying a sight to explain, women elves here and there in their birthday suits, with white stuff all over their body, and several bandits playing with them. Taking a look at the women¡¯s faces, they had a look of despair and some of them had eyes that held no light. Some of them might be already dead. ¡°Damn¡­ This is just¡­¡± This is just too much. I promise, after saving the three adventurers, we will save you. Now, I had to figure out a way to get past here, luckily, there was a hidden path going to the last room shown on the map. I moved towards the entrance of the hidden path. It was a rock wall, but it was hollow. If I used [Dragon Tail], I could break this down easily, but I risk making too much noise. I held out my hand and put it on the surface. When my hand touched a certain part of the wall, I felt like it could be pushed, so I pushed it. The wall then separated into two and revealed a dark passageway. At least, it wasn¡¯t noisy. I advanced through the dark passage and reached another wall. Doing the same thing as earlier, the wall separated and revealed a room. There was a naked, giant, fat ugly pig on top of a luxurious bed, with several elf women surrounding him. That fat ugly pig, was a human. What are humans doing here in the demihuman continent, well not that I can complain. I spotted the three girls, fully naked and was about to be violated by that pig. Luckily, he didn¡¯t notice me, so I crept in closer. The looks on the elven women held a face of despair and unwillingness, fueling my rage more. This damn pig¡­ I unsheathed my sword and swung down at the defenseless head of the pig severing his head from his body with one fell swoop. But at the moment, the pig raised a cry of pain, notifying the guards outside. The wooden door burst open and two bandits appeared. ¡°What the fuck you doin¡¯¡­ B-Boss!!?¡± ¡°Oi! Shit bastard!! Kill ¡®em!!!¡± The two shouted in a way where the other bandits could hear. Sounds of footsteps rumbling through the cave can be heard clearly. ¡°Shit! Kiera! Liana! Phana! Take care of the women!!¡± ¡°!? Kouta-san!?¡± ¡°Hurry!! There¡¯s no time!!¡± The two bandits came charging at me, while swinging at the defenseless elven women. ¡°Shit!! Get away from them!!¡± I couldn¡¯t just sit and watch as a girl dies in front of me, so I hurriedly intercepted the sword¡¯s path and parried it with my sword. The other bandit tried to flank me, but using my tail, I shattered his weapon to pieces. ¡°!? Bastard!! Guahhh!!!¡± I slashed at him with my sword while I had the chance when he was weaponless. ¡°You bastard!!!¡± The other bandit went into a rage and slashed at me consecutive times. Of course, all of them were parried because he lost his composure, and it was easy to read the trajectories of the sword. Once an opening presented itself, I pierced my sword through his body and heart, causing him to fall down to the floor. ¡°Guu¡­ Haaaa¡­¡± The bandit breathed his last as I pulled out my sword from his corpse. ¡°Kiera! Liana! Phana! Qucikly! Through that passage!¡± ¡°Roger!!¡± ¡°Un!!¡± ¡°Y-yes!!¡± Bandits flooded the path where this room connects to the third room. Man, this is going to be a hassle, but I will protect them!! Vol 2. Chapter 7 ¡°Kill ¡®em!!!¡± ¡°OHHH!!!¡± The bandits flooded through the passageway that connected this room to the third room. The girls behind me, were still buck naked, but continued running through the hidden passageway. Kiera, Liana, and Phana, who were still naked, guided the kidnapped girls through the hidden passage while fending off the bandits with their hand-to-hand techniques. Actually, Phana doesn¡¯t join Kiera and Liana since she doesn¡¯t have experience in hand-to-hand combat. But that doesn¡¯t mean that she can¡¯t the battle. ¡°Fire, dance in the palm of my hands and rend my enemies asunder, [Fire Dance]!¡± ¡°Gyaahh!!!¡± ¡°HOT HOT!!!¡± ¡°GUEEEHH!!!¡± A fire tornado capable of burning a grown man, appeared on each of the three bandits close to Phana. The three bandits burned until ashes were left, and the fire went out like it was never there. What would happen if she burned all the oxygen in the cave, I thought to myself so I warned her. ¡°Phana! Don¡¯t use fire magic inside the cave! You will create poison in here!¡± ¡°Ehh!? O-okay!!¡± She responded with a shocked face while her breasts jiggled up and down. At least, find some cloth that can cover your bodies, I can¡¯t concentrate. ¡°Take this!!!¡± ¡°Gehh!!¡± ¡°Guuh!!¡± Two more bandits became victims to Kiera¡¯s deadly punch to their family jewels. The bandits were ogling them since the battle, and kept on being distracted by their feminine beauty. Heck, even I can¡¯t stop staring at them. ¡°There!!¡± ¡°Oops!!¡± While I was staring at the naked girls, a bandit saw an opportunity and tried to slash at me with his hatchet, but was intercepted by my tail, causing the blade to shatter. ¡°!? Guahh!!¡± While the bandit was still shocked at seeing his weapon shattering, I slashed at him with my sword, causing a huge wound to appear in his chest. Blood gushed out from the wound and the bandit fell to the floor. Of course, he didn¡¯t die yet, so I stabbed his body with my sword. ¡°Shit! Oraahh!!!¡± Another bandit came rushing towards me with an iron mace in hand. Don¡¯t they know that when their weapons come in contact with my tail, they shatter? The mace was swung towards my head with quick speed, well, not fast enough though. ¡°Ngh!! Take this!!¡± ¡°What!? Guuuhh!!¡± I blocked the mace with my tail and the mace shattered to pieces. The bandit was surprised to see his mace shattering, and using this chance, pierced my sword through his heart, killing him in the process. ¡°Now!!!¡± ¡°Oraahh!!¡± ¡°Bastard!! DIE!!¡± While my sword was still lodged inside the body of the dead bandit, three bandits came rushing towards me. Since the door can only let three to five bandits pass together, this helped as it only let me face them with little numbers at a time. Of course, some of them went straight to the back while I was busy fighting with another to cut our escape route, but they were disabled by Kiera, Liana, and Phana. The three bandits, at the same time, lunged at me with synchronized movement, making it harder to defend. One was holding an iron mace, another, an iron sword, and the last, a dagger. Since it was impossible to defend against all three of them, I focused defending from the mace and sword user. I quickly pulled out my sword and put it in between the trajectory of the sword swing of the bandit, while I used my tail to block the mace. My sword met with the sword of the sword user, while the mace was shattered to pieces, and the dagger user stabbed me from behind.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Guuhh¡­¡± Blood seeped down from the stab wound. Luckily, the dagger was lodged at my back, away from the vital points. If that dagger user was any better using that dagger, I may be in danger. ¡°That hurts you know!¡± I swung my tail at the dagger user, blowing him away and into the wall. ¡°Next is you!!!¡± I shifted my sword a little to the side to redirect the sword of the sword user to the ground, and while using that chance, lopped his head off. ¡°Last one!!¡± I took the sword user¡¯s sword and threw it to the mace wielder, piercing his body through the chest. His lifeless body slumped to the ground, never to move again. The dagger user¡­ is dead. His body was impaled by a sharp rock on the wall, blood flowing to the ground creating a blood puddle. ¡°Ngghh¡­ Guhaa¡­ [Map Display!]¡± I reached for the dagger still lodged in my back and pulled it out. After that, I opened the map when I had the chance to check the remaining numbers of the bandits. ¡°¡­ Haahahaha¡­ There are just too many of you¡­¡± I counted the red dots on the map, totaling to about 50. This is just too much for an ordinary bandit group. ¡°Kiara! Liana! Phana!! Quickly guide them out now!!¡± ¡°We can¡¯t Kouta-san!!! They already sealed the passage¡¯s exit!!¡± ¡°Shit!¡± Damn¡­ They already found the passage and sealed it up. But why didn¡¯t they use it instead for a pincer attack? ¡°Huehuehue¡­ Who¡¯s da bastard who picked a fight wit¡¯ me??? Huhh???¡± A giant man, standing about 2 meters tall appeared from the doors. ¡°Captain!!! This is the man!!¡± ¡°SHADDUP!!! I AIN¡¯T ASKIN¡¯ YOU!!!¡± The giant man bisected the bandit who responded to his question with his cleaver in perfect halves. His innards, blood, and organs splattered on the ground, causing a mess. ¡°Now¡­ Ain¡¯t you da one who attacked us?¡± The giant man looked at me with a creepy smiling face. He must be the leader of this bandit group. With his size and strength, it isn¡¯t actually impossible for him to not be the leader. ¡°OI!! I¡¯M ASKIN¡¯ YOU A QUESTION!!!¡± The bandit leader lunged at me with incredible speed not suiting his giant body. His cleaver came down on my head, of course, I blocked it with my tail. The cleaver, surprisingly, didn¡¯t shatter, instead, remained unharmed. ¡°Is that¡­ a magic weapon¡­?¡± ¡°Ohh¡­ You da first person to block mah strike¡­ Huehuehue¡­ Yes, dis is a magic weapon¡­ Now den¡­ I¡¯M GOIN¡¯ ALL OUT NOW!!!¡± The bandit leader¡¯s face smiled with an ecstatic expression. Oh shit, he¡¯s a battle junkie. Battle junkies are people who love to fight more than anything, and will continue until either they die, or until their opponent gives up. And if I give up here, you know what would happen. If so, I have no choice but to kill him with all I have!! ¡°[Dragon Tail]!¡± My tail quickly swiped at the bandit leader. The bandit leader blocked it with his cleaver, but was not strong enough to tough it out. The bandit leader got on one knee and I saw this as a chance to slash him. ¡°Oryahh!!!¡± My sword swung down towards his neck, and blood spurted out. Not his blood, but the blood of a bandit. The bandit that was hit, got his head chopped off and his body fell lifelessly to the ground. ¡°Huehuehue¡­ Nice trick ya got dere, BUT I AIN¡¯T DAT WEAK TO JUST DIE LIKE DAT!!!¡± The bandit leader quickly stood up as he kicked the corpse of his underling to me. I smashed the corpse with my tail, causing it to fly to the opposite direction and into the wall. At that moment, the bandit leader was close enough to lop my head off in an instant. ¡°DIE!!¡± The cleaver was swung down towards my neck. I can¡¯t block it¡­ Shit!!! I¡¯ll die if I get hit by that!! Forget HP value, once your head is gone, you die. Shit!!! I can¡¯t use [Elder Dragon Form] in this place since I risk exposing myself, and also because this cave might collapse once I transform because of my gigantic size. If I use [Breathe Fire] in the cave, I risk burning all the oxygen because of its extreme temperature and suffocating us inside. What can I do!? Is there anything!? ANYTHING!? ¡°Gaahh!!??¡± Just as I was thinking that, a water ball assaulted the bandit leader, causing his cleaver to shift its trajectory. That is just enough for my tail to block it, so I quickly controlled my tail to block the cleaver, causing it to stop in its track. ¡°Hey, we¡¯re still here you know.¡± The Kiera said in a low voice, probably to sound more threatening. But that act was just wasted as she was still naked. Are you all exhibitionists!? ¡°Fuuhaa¡­¡± Phana was probably the one who casted the water ball earlier. While she was exhaling, her breasts swayed up and down, making it a feast for my eyes¡­ No stop!! I¡¯m not a pervert!!! This is just¡­ a man¡¯s impulse¡­ yes¡­ impulse¡­ ¡°BITCH!!! MADERFUCKER!!! YOU FUCKIN¡¯ BITCH!!!¡± ¡°Hyiii!!!!¡± The bandit leader got angry as he saw his attack being messed up by a small, big-breasted girl. The bandit leader, lunged at Phana with bloodshot eyes while hlding his cleaver overhead. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t!!!¡± I quickly intercepted him with my tail and slashed at him with my sword, making a cut on his body. Blood seeped out from the small wound, albeit little. ¡°!? You¡­ YOU BASTARD!!!¡± ¡°Run!!! Captain is in a frenzy!!!¡± ¡°Save yourselves!!!¡± The remaining bandits who saw their captain behaving in this order, scrambled out of the room. Of course they weren¡¯t able to leave because they were all dead before they knew it. I just took my eyes off for a second from the captain and this happened. ¡°TRAITORS WIILL DIE!!!¡± ¡°HYIII!!!¡± Surviving bandits screamed like a girl as they were scared shitless from their monster leader. He looked like a genuine Demon King. He continued killing his underlings until there was no one left. ¡°YOU!!! AFTER I¡¯M DROUGH (Through) WIT¡¯ YOU!! IM¡¯MA KILL ALL GIRLS IN DIS HERE CAVE!!!¡± Shit, now he is in a rage, once he kills me, the other girls will also die. Looks like he lost all reason, and I can¡¯t fight him alone. ¡°Kiera! Liana! Phana! Assist me!!¡± ¡°Roger!!!¡± ¡°Un!!¡± ¡°Y-yes!!!¡± The four of us readied our fighting stance as we prepared to fight against the bandit leader. ¡°Now¡­ It¡¯s time for round two¡­ You giant gorilla!!!¡± After I shouted, the battle between life and death begins. Vol 2. Chapter 8 ¡°Kiera!! Quickly arm yourselves from the corpses. You can find a weapon in their hands, but find some clothes to wear first! I¡¯ll buy you guys some time!¡± ¡°R-roger--- Wait¡­ Why their clothes!?¡± ¡°Un¡­ Stinky¡­¡± ¡°Uweeh¡­ They smell¡­¡± ¡°Is this the time for worrying about smell!?¡± Their responses made me retort at lightning speed. Their responses were just too inappropriate for the time being. Well, I can relate about wearing dirty and smelly clothes, but this is not the time for that. ¡°Just quickly arm yourselves, fight buck naked if you want, but I doubt you would mind right?¡± ¡°!? When we survive this, your dead!¡± ¡°Un¡­ Pervert¡­¡± ¡°Kouta-san is ecchi!!!¡± ¡°Stop your weird responses at this time!!! This is just ridiculous!!!¡± At the time I retorted at their responses again, the bandit leader came lunging at me with quick speed you wouldn¡¯t think given his body. ¡°BASTARDS!!! DIE!!!¡± The bandit leader swung his cleaver down at my head. I quickly used my tail to block the attack. ¡°Nghh!!??¡± H- heavy!!! His attacks are more powerful than before! Is it a skill? It most definitely is a skill! [Appraisal]!!! Name: Klen Level: 73 HP: 3123 / 3546 MP: 102 / 410 Str: 105 (+132) Agi: 87 Int: 65 (-30) Dex: 64 End: 103 Luc: 10 Skills: [Berserk 4] [Swordsmanship 2] [Dagger Technique 2] [Hammer Technique 2] Titles: [Insane Killer] [Berserker] [Slaughterer of Men] [Bandit Group Leader] [Berserk] ¨C Increases physical strength in exchange for intelligence, can be activated without user¡¯s permission upon receiving damage. Increases exchange ratio per level. If intelligence reaches zero, mind is shattered and can never be returned. [Swordsmanship] ¨C Technique in using swords. Increases control and strength when using a sword per level. Does not include katanas. [Dagger Technique] ¨C Technique in using daggers. Increases control and strength when using a dagger per level. [Hammer Technique] ¨C Technique in using hammers. Increases control and strength when using a hammer per level. Includes maces, morning star, etc. [Insane Killer] ¨C Title given to a person who has killed without any reason. Title effects: Does not feel remorse when killing anything. [Berserker] ¨C Title given to a person who has the [Berserk] skill who has fought in many battles. Title effects: Decreases intelligence lost and increases strength gain. ?Increases strength for every kill while in [Berserk] mode. ?Increases strength for every damage received when in [Berserk] mode.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. [Slaughterer of Men] ¨C Title given to a person who has killed hundreds of people. Title effects: Increases damage dealt to people. ?Unconsciously emits an aura that causes fear in people¡¯s hearts. [Bandit Group Leader] ¨C Title given to a person who has command over a group of bandits. Title effects: Increases leadership skills when commanding a bandit group. ?Members in the bandit group are most likely to follow your commands. He has a skill called [Berserk] that can convert intelligence to strength. And also because of the [Berserker] title, the intelligence lost is reduced and strength gain is increased. Not only that, but because of killing his underlings, his strength is boosted greater than before. Combine that with the damage we dealt, and a person with increased physical abilities appear. No wonder his attack is heavy, he has more strength than me obviously, but thanks to my tail¡¯s hardness, I can actually push him back. But now that he is using [Berserk], I¡¯m losing the clash. I quickly slashed his hand that was holding the cleaver in hopes that he would let go, but the bandit leader instead, increased his grip on the handle, the very definition of a berserker. I jumped back just in time to avoid the cleaver slicing me in half. A vertical cut appeared on my clothes, and blood flowed out from it. ¡°Ghh¡­¡± Looks like the cleaver did manage to cut my body, at least, not enough to kill me. ¡°HUEHUEHUE!!! DIE!!!¡± The bandit leader once again lunged at me with his cleaver overhead. He¡¯s trying to repeat what happened earlier. This time, I slanted my tail when I blocked it. When the cleaver landed on my tail, the cleaver was redirected to the ground and I cut at his hand again, causing more blood to gush out from it. ¡°PIECE OF SHIT!!!¡± The bandit leader quickly pulled his cleaver out from the ground, and while using the increased force, swung at me. Just in time, I jumped back again to avoid the cleaver. This time, no additional wound could be seen on my body. ¡°Kiera! Liana! Phana! Are you guys done yet!?¡± ¡°Yes!! We¡¯re done!¡± ¡°Un¡­ All ready¡­¡± ¡°Y-yes!!!¡± The three girls were wearing, what seems to be oversized rags. And they stink as hell! Damn, do these bandits have no sense of hygiene!? ¡°Hey!! We stink because of these clothes!! Ah mou!! When we get back, let¡¯s go for a bath!¡± ¡°Agreed¡­¡± ¡°S-sure!¡± The three girls were again, talking amongst themselves like when we were travelling earlier. ¡°Okay, I know you all are disgusted by those clothes, and so am I, but right now, we need to defeat that giant gorilla!!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me twice!!¡± ¡°Affirmative¡­¡± ¡°Y-yes!!¡± Kiera, Liana, and Phana readied their selves and prepared for the oncoming attack. Thankfully, while we were talking, the bandit leader was busy rampaging about with his cleaver. The kidnapped girls were behind us as to protect themselves from harm. I thought about the other girls in the third room, but we have more pressing matters to attend to. ¡°Phana! Cast an offensive water skill at him! Liana! You have a bow right? Shoot him after Phana casts her magic! Kiera! You assist me at the front!¡± ¡°Hey!! Who gave you the right to command us!?¡± ¡°What the hell are you talking about at this time!? Just listen to me right now if you want to live!!¡± ¡°Muu¡­ Fine!!! But after this! You¡¯re dead!¡± ¡°Yes yes¡­ Now, let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°¡°¡°OHH¡±¡±¡± The three girls let out a shout to boost their fighting spirit. ¡°Water! Strike at my enemies!! [Water Ball]!!!¡¯ ¡°Fuu!!!¡± Phana chanted a spell and a water ball went flying towards the bandit leader. A moment after that, Liana let loose an arrow, causing it to fly towards the bandit leader. ¡°USELESS!! USELESS!!!¡± The bandit leader used his cleaver to cut through the water ball, causing it to splatter around his face, blinding him for a moment. ¡°GUHH!!!¡± That time around, an arrow pierced his body and blood seeped out the wound. ¡°Now! Kiera! Let¡¯s go!!¡± ¡°Roger!!!¡± Me and Kiera charged simultaneously at the bandit leader. The bandit leader pulled the arrow out of his body using his free hand and threw it to us while his blood dropped to the ground. Using my tail, I blocked the oncoming arrow and used a skill. ¡°[Dragon Tail]!¡± My tail moved without my control and slammed at the bandit leader. The bandit leader caught it with his cleaver, but was unable to endure force, causing to be knocked backed for about a meter. ¡°[Blade Dance]!¡± At that time, Kiera used her sword skill to land hit after hit at the bandit leader¡¯s body while he was stunned. Cuts appeared on the bandit leader¡¯s body. Kiera was unable to stab his body, nor cut his head off as his body was abnormally tough, so instead of landing a huge hit, create countless of cuts on his body to weaken him. Blood seeped from the cut wound on his body. ¡°Kiera! Move back now!!¡± When I noticed that the bandit leader was able to move again, I warned Kiera about the incoming attack. Kiera jumped back and at the same time, the bandit leader used his cleaver to swing at her, but was only able to hit air. ¡°Phana! Liana! Again!!¡± ¡°Water! Strike at my enemies!! [Water Ball]!!!¡± ¡°Fun!!!¡± Phana again chanted a skill and a water ball went flying to the bandit leader, while Liana let loose an arrow afterwards. ¡°MADERFUCKERS!!!¡± The bandit leader swung his cleaver to cut the water ball, only to have the scene earlier repeat itself. Water splashed on his face, and another arrow lodged itself inside the bandit leader. ¡°YOU BITCHES!!!¡± The bandit leader pulled out the arrow and threw it towards Phana. Of course, I blocked it with my tail, and again, me and Kiera charged at the bandit leader. Since [Dragon Tail] was on cooldown, I had to distract the bandit leader while Kiera attacks him. ¡°Hey! Giant gorilla!! Can¡¯t beat us huh? You are weak that you can¡¯t even fight with us properly!!¡± ¡°SHADDUP BASTARD!!! DIE!!!¡± I provoked him in order to draw his attention to me. He swung his cleaver at my head again, and was blocked again by my tail. His [Berserk] skill may be troublesome, but because of its weakness, it is easy to counter. ¡°[Blade Dance]!!¡± While I was clashing with the bandit leader using my tail, Kiera once again used her sword skill to land a flurry of hits to the bandit leader. ¡°GUUHH!!!¡± The bandit leader fell on one knee as he visibly weakened because of the blood loss. This is my chance!! I quickly redirected the cleaver to the side and used my tail to swing at his head. *Splat* The head of the bandit leader was magnificently crushed on the ground. Brain matter and blood scattered across the ground, leaving a gruesome scene. The bandit leader¡¯s body lifelessly fell to the bloodied ground, never to move again. ¡°Finally¡­ It¡¯s over¡­¡± ¡°We did it?¡± ¡°Un¡­¡± ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­¡± The three girls, kidnapped girls, and me were exhausted because of the fight. But for now, we can celebrate our victory. ¡°YOSHAAA!!!¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°OOHHHH!!!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± The yells of relief, joy, and happiness reverberated across the cave. Vol 2. Chapter 9 After killing the bandit leader, the girls, and also the girls in the third room that were kidnapped, were all liberated, except for the deceased ones. For now, since they didn¡¯t have any clothes on them, I, Kiera, Liana, and Phana made them wear the smelly bandit clothes. I thought of using [Creation] to create clothes for the, but rejected it because of the usage of MP. ¡°That¡¯s right Kiera, what about your client?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I walked towards Kiera to ask her about their client, but instead, became quiet. What could this mean? ¡°Liana, Phana, you?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± The both of them were also silent. Is it an order to not talk about their client? But their eyes had a look of regret. ¡°¡­ What happened?¡± ¡°Do you really want to know about our mission?¡± ¡°I told you before right? In exchange for guiding me to the nearest town or settlement, I offer you my services. Please don¡¯t take my promise as mere junk--- wait, did you say mission?¡± I got curious about the word mission instead of quest. Before, they said it was a quest to escort a high-elf to the sacred tree where the high-elves reside, but right now, something tells me that this is much bigger than some escort quest. ¡°Yes, mission. I¡¯ll talk about it later when the four of us are alone. For now, let¡¯s attend to the needs of the girls.¡± ¡°Kouta-san¡­ Later¡­¡± ¡°K-Kouta-san, please help me!!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Kiera and Liana was talking about to give me information about their mission later, while Phana was asking for my help because she was being swarmed by the elf women. ¡°What big breasts!!!¡± ¡°Kuhh!! Her breasts are bigger than mine¡­¡± ¡°¡­ Why do you have big breasts?¡± I thought they would be more docile, or more lifeless, but it turns out, they were all right after being set free. And why were they all looking at Phana¡¯s breasts like it was a part of a museum? ¡­ Oh wait, now I get it. If I take a closer look, almost all, actually, all of the elves except for Phana are flat. But they are slender and tall, while Phana was short. It is an elf race characteristic to have tall and slender bodies while having flat chests, but why is Phana different? ¡°K-Kouta-san! Kiera-san! Liana-san!! Help me!!!¡± Oops, looks like Phana is getting teased by the elf women with teary eyes. Sorry but, I can¡¯t help you. Who knows what would happen if I step in that women tornado. I glanced at Kiera with my eyes saying to ¡°Help Phana.¡± Kiera twitched, and looked at Liana for help, but Liana was missing from her place. Sensing that there was no escape, she hesitantly walked towards Phana, while being gobbled up by the elf women.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡­ An hour later, the sun was rising and we were able to safely get all of the women outside of the cave. And from here, it is half a day walk to the nearest town. For speed¡¯s sake, Liana will go to the nearest town to ask for reinforcements to escort the elf women because she has the fastest speed among all of us. Actually, I am the fastest one if you count my [Elder Dragon Form], but let¡¯s not do that as I might send the adventurers to myself. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ be back¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be waiting for you Liana-san!¡± ¡°L-Liana-san!!! Hurry up please!!¡± Kiera gave her farewell to Liana who was about to depart, but all I could hear from Phana was a cry for help while being teased by the elf women. Women are scary, un un¡­ Liana departed as soon as she got her farewells. ¡°Now then, Kouta-san, please accompany me.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Kiera dragged me to a deserted spot where we can be alone. ¡°Now then, let me reintroduce myself. I am Kiera Luncere, Royal Guard of the fifth Elf Princess, Luna Lumisiera. Phana and Liana are also Royal Guards, but if you want to know their full names, please ask them yourself.¡± ¡­ I did not see that coming. I thought that the carriage was decorated gaudily, but it turns out, it was decorated like that because the owner is of royal blood. ¡°Next is our mission. We are supposed to escort Princess Luna back to the Sacred Tree after finishing her duties in the various towns in the Elf territory. And we are supposed to defend her from another organization that wants her dead. Of course, we are not your average guards, but we are one of the elites despite our appearances and personalities, but the enemy this time is highly skilled. We were unable to sense their presence, leading to the abduction of the princess, and us being sent here as a gift for the bandit group.¡± ¡­ Wow¡­ The enemy this time, huh? ¡°How many enemies did you defeat during the time when you three and the princess were circulating the whole Elf territory?¡± ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, about eight organizations were destroyed for trying to lay their hands on the princess, and each of those organizations¡¯ member count was about 50. And the ones who destroyed those organizations were me, Liana, and Phana.¡± ¡­ Eight¡­? Wait¡­ ¡°EIGHT!? AND MOREOVER, 50 PER ORGANIZATION!? ARE YOU THREE MONSTERS OR SOMETHING!?¡± If it was like that, then they defeated about 400 people trying to kill the princess. There¡¯s no doubt about it, they are elites. But¡­ ¡°Then, if what you say is true, what about the organization who kidnapped the princess?¡± ¡°Judging by their appearance, they must be members of the [Black Hand]. The [Black Hand] is a dark organization with uncertain background. That said, [Black Hand] members are said to be on par, if not, stronger than an elite Royal Guard.¡± ¡­ Just what is this country doing? Well, if it was already like that at the start, it is almost impossible to eradicate the organization as it would likely become a war if that happens. And about 8 out of 10, the country will lose. Think about it, elite royal guards against members of a dark organization said to rival or exceed the capabilities of a royal guard. That is just suicide. I guess to solve this, is to slowly whittle them out. ¡°Now that you know about our mission, what would you do? You are an outsider in this case, so you can back out if you want to.¡± She has a point, but, I still keep my promises. ¡°No, I will not break my promise to protect the client until I arrive at the nearest town or settlement. But even if that is fulfilled, I think that they already know my face as I forgot to deal the final blow to two [Black Hand] members, so even if I abandon you, they would still chase me down.¡± ¡°¡­ Is that so? Then, I welcome you to the group, Kouta-san.¡± ¡°Likewise, Kiera-san.¡± Kiera put out her hand in front of me and I grabbed it, exchanging handshakes. ¡°Now then, what shall we do while waiting for Liana-san to arrive?¡± ¡°How about you play with Phana-san. She seems to be having fun with the other elf women right about now.¡± ¡°!? PERVERT!!! Also, I forgot about that, but how about I have my revenge for you throwing me at a [Black Hand] member like I was some object, or how about I have my revenge for seeing my whole body naked, or how about both? Fufufuu¡­¡± ¡°!?¡± A black aura gushed out from Kiera while her face was smiling creepily. ¡°Wait¡­ Stop¡­ No don¡¯t!! STOP!!!!¡± My screams reverberated across the forest, notifying any animals or monsters about or presence, but somehow, no sign of life approached us. ¡°Fufufuu¡­¡± Ahh¡­ It must be because of the black aura being emitted from Kiera. Sorry, Alexis, Furry, and Kayaka. Looks like I¡¯ll be waiting for you three in heaven. ¡°GYAAAAHH!!!!¡± A scream pierced the earth as my body was defiled by Kiera, who was the absolute replica of a Demon King. Vol 2. Chapter 10 ¡°Ohhh¡­ So this is the town?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± We crossed the gate that was serving as the pathway to the town. The town was not that different from the towns in the Human continent, just, a little bit rundown. If you compare the buildings in this town than those in the Human continent, you can clearly see the difference. As for how we got here, when Liana came back with numerous carriages and escorts, we were kindly escorted to the town, along with the kidnapped elves. We were treated fairly better than the average adventurer because of single-handedly subjugating a well-known bandit group. The bandit group was known as the [Berserk Marauders], a group known for its strength and persistence when it comes to raids. The [Berserk Marauders] was a group that has a record of countless murders, numerous razed villages, numerous kidnappings, and smuggling. You could also say they were an organization of their own. Their leader, known as the [Berserk Bandit] is said to be undefeated, even against an elite knight, and we were able to defeat him. Anyway, back to the present¡­ ¡°This town is just on the outskirts of the elf territory. That explains the qualities of the buildings in this place since the towns closer to the heart of the elf territory are given priority than those farther than it.¡± Umm¡­ Sorry for jumping to conclusions. I thought that the Demihuman continent was in a far worse shape than the Human continent because the Demihuman continent is the closest continent to the Demon continent. ¡°Well, anyway, since you promised to help find the princess, first, let¡¯s go to the adventurer¡¯s guild for you to register. I didn¡¯t know that you were not an adventurer until you were inspected at the checking area.¡± ¡°Oh yeah¡­¡± It was when we were entering the gate that the four of us were inspected, along with all the kidnapped elves. Some of the kidnapped elves were adventurers, others were just common folk. The bounty for the bandits was supposed to be rewarded to the ones who subjugated them, meaning u, but for it to be rewarded, you have to be an active adventurer or mercenary. If common folk were to claim the bounty of a bandit they¡¯ve subjugated, they will be examined first before being given the bounty, so being an adventurer can skip those steps. ¡°Still, this is a nice town. It¡¯s peaceful and quiet, and nobody here is actually acting out of place.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear, but in every town¡­¡± ¡°There is always a dark side, right?¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Just before Kiera could finish her sentence, I stated my claim and Kiera nodded in approval. I am not so na?ve to believe that everything is good. Good cannot exist without evil. In everything we do, keep in mind that there is always an effect that can result in either a good outcome, or a bad outcome. ¡°So, where is the adventurer¡¯s guild here?¡± Just before the mood could get any worse, I quickly changed the topic to the part where I register as an adventurer. ¡°If I am not mistaken, taking a left and heading straight should lead us into the adventurer¡¯s guild---¡± ¡°Wrong¡­ Wrong direction¡­ Take right¡­ And head straight¡­¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°O- Oh yeah, I forgot, b-but Kiera-san has no s-sense of direction.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Liana quickly denied Kiera¡¯s remark and supplemented her own claim. Phana also supported Liana¡¯s argument, and I ended up nodding in agreement. The reason why I also agreed was because when we were travelling together after saving them from the bandits, when we were about to depart from the bandit hideout, Kiera actually managed to take more than five wrong turns, even if you just need to head straight and take a left to get out of the cave. ¡°M-Mou!!! Just because you can tell where the guild is, doesn¡¯t mean that you can bully me because of it!!!¡± ¡°Correction¡­ not bullying¡­¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s right Kiera-san. Y-You should study maps more¡­¡± ¡°Enough!!! Kouta-san! Please help me!!¡± ¡°¡­¡± I turned my head away and pretended to whistle, even if I don¡¯t know how. ¡°You too!? Arghh!!! Hole! Is there a hole anywhere!?¡± While Kiera was lost in her own limbo of finding a hole to crawl into, we arrived at the adventurers guild. ¡°So this is the place¡­¡± How do you say it, it feels like the atmosphere of the guild here is very different from the guild back in the Human continent. It feels like I¡¯m getting a cold chill down my spine when I think of entering, ¡°You will know once you head inside, Kouta-san.¡± With Kiera making a mischievous face, she ushered me in while pushing my back. ¡°Hey! Wait a minute!!¡± ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry, your life will not be endangered, well, only your life.¡± ¡°WHAT¡¯S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!?¡± I retorted from the strange remark that came from Kiera. A few moments later, I was pushed inside the guild. What was inside, was a normal day you could see in any adventurers guild back in the Human continent. ¡°Hmm¡­? It¡¯s more normal than I thought.¡± I casually said my opinion out loud, but thank goodness, there was no one here paying attention to notice what I said. ¡°Now Kouta-san, let¡¯s register you to become an adventurer.¡± With a smile that could put any international model to shame back on Earth, Kiera told me to head to the counter to register. ¡°¡­ What is this¡­¡± Every step I take towards the counter send chills down my spine. When I took a look at the receptionist, it was an elf male. Most adventurers inside were only demihumans, so I can understand that he can be someone like a guild receptionist. But somehow, his looks are too dashing!! His face looked like it was sculpted by a God himself!! But why do I feel this eeriness? Also, when I took a closer look, no male adventurer was trying to get close to him, heck, they are clearly avoiding him,, and are lining up at the other receptionists with diverse characteristics. A male dragonewt, a female elf, and a female dwarf were the other receptionists. The female dwarf looked like a small little girl. Let me give you a little trivia about dwarves in this world. The dwarves have a race character trait of being short, stout, and hairy right? But in this world, they only inherited the short height. Meaning, the dwarves look like grade-schoolers in my eyes. The only way to tell them apart is their hair. Dwarves that are already an adult has thicker hair than the other races. Not hair on the body nor beards, hair on the head. And also, dwarves love crafting and smithing, along with their love for alcohol, but some dwarves do part-time jobs to earn a little cash to earn a living. The perfect example of this is the dwarf girl working as a receptionist. And also some trivia for the dragonewts, their appearances are like humans, but with extra parts resembling a dragon¡¯s. They have dragon horns, dragon tail, dragon claws, and once they are able to gain the [Partial Dragon Form] skill, they are able to manifest their own wings and generate their scales. Of course, there is a higher level skill than [Partial Dragon Form] for the dragonewts, and that is [Dragon Form], the inferior skill to Dragon Knight¡¯s [Elder Dragon Form] skill. [Partial Dragon Form] and [Dragon From] is a race skill that can only be obtained by the dragonewts. And dragonewts who are able to obtain [Partial Dragon Form] are considered a genius in their tribe, while those who acquire [Dragon Form], are known to be of higher standing in their tribe. You can think of them as nobles. Back to the present¡­ I wanted to line up like the others with the other receptionist, but Kiera kept on pushing me towards the male elf receptionist. Cold sweat kept on pouring on my back, and it never stopped. ¡°Fufufufu¡­¡± That dark smile again¡­ Kiera, I¡¯ll have my revenge later!! ¡°Welcomeee!! Welcome to the adventurers guild!¡± Hmm¡­? Somehow, he feels normal¡­ ¡°Haahh¡­ Hahhh¡­¡± ¡­ Okay, I take that back. THIS IS NOT NORMAL!!! How do you explain this situation, a stranger walks right in front of you to ask a question, then you look at him with feverish eyes and blushing cheeks while running out of breath. WHAT THE HECK IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE!? ¡°Haahhh¡­ Such a cute boy¡­ Should I rent a room for just the two of us in an inn¡­ No wait, should I kidnap him and try S & M play¡­ Ahh¡­ I can¡¯t stop thinking about the things I can do with him¡­ Haahhh¡­ Hahhh¡­¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­ WHAT THE FUCK!!?? Vol 2. Chapter 11 My mind suddenly went blank from the words that came from the male elf receptionist¡¯s mouth. This is bad, no, COMPLETELY BAD!! What am I supposed to do!? ¡°¡­ Umm¡­ Kiera-san, can I---¡± ¡°What? What do you want?¡± Before I could finish, Kiera stopped me with a question of her own with a dark and creepy smile. With a smile like that, how could I continue? ¡°¡­ It¡¯s nothing¡­¡± I turned my head back and looked at the male elf who was still spouting off scary things that can ruin my health, not physical, but mental health. Even now, my SAN (Sanity) value is going down. Since I was cut off from all corners, and if I don¡¯t do this, I can¡¯t continue to uphold my promise, Ii steeled myself and walked towards the counter. ¡°E- Excuse me¡­¡± ¡°Yesss¡­ What can I do for you today?¡± With still blushing cheeks, the male elf receptionist replied with a question. I could really do without your face blushing you know. ¡°I was wondering if I could register as an adventurer and submit a couple of bounties¡­¡± ¡°Yesss¡­ Then, one adventurer registration and bounty submission, coming up!¡± With quick hands, the receptionist picked up a piece of paper, a feather pen, and some ink in under two seconds. If it wasn¡¯t for his personality, he would probably be the most popular and most respected receptionist in this guild branch. ¡°Thennn¡­ Please fill up this form.¡± With still blushing cheeks, he explained how t o fill up the registration form. What I need to write is my name, age, gender, race, specialty in any field (optional), and skills you want publicized (optional). I had no problem in filling up the form, but the only thing I had to remain secret is my race. Looks like I¡¯ll be stuck with [Dragon Knight]¡¯s skill set for a while. Specialty in field, I listed as vanguard, and the skill I want publicized, none. I don¡¯t want to bring attention to myself when I¡¯m trying to have low profile, but it¡¯s probably too late. But at least, I can limit information about myself. ¡°Thennn¡­ Now that you¡¯re done please wait for a while.¡± The receptionist turned around and started doing something. I wasn¡¯t able to see what he was doing since he was covering it. ¡°Kukuku¡­ *Smooch*¡± ¡­ Did I hear a kissing sound? I did, didn¡¯t I? I have a bad premonition about this¡­ The receptionist came back with a black card and needle in hand. ¡°Thennn¡­ Please drop a drop of your blood on the card.¡± I took the needle from his hand. My skin touched his skin, and the receptionist¡­ No, I can¡¯t think about it anymore¡­ Anymore than this, I just might go insane and turn into a dragon to run way¡­ I pricked my finger with the needle and dropped my blood onto the card. The blood was absorbed and the card lit up, showing my status to only myself. Name: Endou Kouta Level: 16 HP: 1612 / 1612 MP: 524 / 524 Str: 68 Agi: 54 Int: 58 Dex: 49 End: 65 Luc: 10 Skills: [Dota 2 Skill Set 1] [Language Comprehension 10] Titles: [Saint] [Golem Crusher] This is what appeared. It seems that all of my status related to God was hidden and wasn¡¯t shown in my card. This is actually a good thing since it cannot be seen by the others when I show my status to them. ¡°Thennn¡­ Would you like me to explain?¡± ¡°¡­ Please do¡­¡±This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. For now, since I kind of forgot some of the rules of the adventurer¡¯s guild, and for the sake of appearances to the three behind me, I approved of his suggestion. ¡°First is your guild card. The color of your guild card represents your rank as an adventurer. It is like this¡­¡± G ¨C Black F ¨C Green E ¨C Red D ¨C Blue C ¨C Bronze B ¨C Silver A ¨C Gold S ¨C Mithril SS ¨C Adamantite SSS ¨C Orichalcum ¡°Quests are also categorized in this way. An adventurer can only take a quest that is one rank higher or equal to or less than his adventurer rank. There are four types of quests, gathering, subjugation, escort, and nominated quests. Accepting a nominated quest has an advanced payment of 30% of the total reward, and is given the rest upon completion. Upon completion of a quest, the adventurer is given points. Gather enough points, and you can rank up. Failure of completion of quests requires you to pay a fine, and will lose points.¡± After a brief pause, the receptionist continued¡­ ¡°Thennn¡­ About the guild rules, no fighting inside the guild building, except the training field at the back. No trading of quests. No illegal method in completing a quest. Committing a crime is equal to having your guild card revoked, any questions?¡± ¡°¡­ None¡­¡± ¡°Thennn¡­ Once again, I welcome you to the adventurers guild, Kouta-chan!¡± GUHH!!!??? ¡­ Chan??? The receptionist held out his hand and asked for a handshake. I hesitated for a while but accepted a friendly handshake¡­ ¡°My name is Kutz, please take care of me, Kouta-chan¡­¡± Guh!!! Stop¡­ My SAN value is¡­ *Smooch* !? Did¡­ Did he just send a flying kiss at me¡­ He did, didn¡¯t he¡­ My brain overheated and my mind went blank before my consciousness faded into darkness¡­ ¡­ ~ Kayaka POV ~ ¡°Hiku¡­ *Sniff*¡­ Kouta-nii¡­¡± It¡¯s been a month since my brother died. After his death, I killed the giant beetle, brought his corpse back to the surface and held a funeral. I have been stuck up in my room, while the little girl, also known as Alexis, was also stuck in her room. Hyoudo was giving his best to support the both of us mentally and financially. He is the one taking quests to gain money for the food and lodging. Like that, a month passed in a blink of an eye, but I still can¡¯t get over his death. At this rate, I might even follow him to the grave. ¡°¡­ Hicc¡­ Why¡­ Why did you leave me¡­ Kouta-nii¡­ It¡¯s so lonely¡­¡± Like that, the urge to let out tears came through my eyes, and another wave of tears fell down. This is probably the second time I¡¯ve felt the most despair in my lifetime. ¡°¡­ Kouta-nii¡­¡± I held his last piece of remembrance to me. It was a handkerchief. Its color was pink and was weaved with flowers as the decoration. Since my brother knew that I like flowers back on Earth, he gave me something that can represent a flower during my birthday as a birthday gift. And that picture was a rose. The red color of the petals blends in perfectly with the pink background, and the rose was also one of my favorites. Tears never stopped running down my cheeks, wetting the bed sheets. The handkerchief was drenched in tears. Why¡­ Why did you leave me¡­ Didn¡¯t you promise me that we will always be together¡­ *Knock* *Knock* *Knock* Just as I was reminiscing the past of the two of us, a knocking sound came from the door. ¡°It¡¯s me, Hyoudo. Can we talk for a moment, Endou-san.¡± ¡°¡­ Yes¡­¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯m coming in¡­¡± The door slowly creaked open as it revealed a young man, wearing what seems to be light armor and a katana on his waist. The katana and armor was forged by me back in the castle, and I gave it to him for his protection. He was Hyoudo, the first person to approach my brother back in the castle. He slowly walked to the side of my bed and sat down on a chair that was situated near the bed, in front of a desk. ¡°¡­ So¡­¡± Hyoudo was trying to find a topic to lighten the sad mood in this room. He stuttered for a while, and after that, gave up and went straight to the point. ¡°Ah mou!! Endou-san, no, Kayaka-san! That¡¯s enough of wallowing in your own tears! This isn¡¯t healthy for you!! What would your Kouta-san say if he saw like this!!!¡± ¡°¡­ What¡­? What will my brother say in this situation¡­? HE WOULD COMFORT ME AND TELL ME TO NOT WORRY ABOUT IT!! AND HERE YOU ARE ACTUALLY TRYING TO BE A GOODY TWO-SHOES AND NOT EVEN KNOW ABOUT US!!! GET OUT OF HERE!!! GET OUT!!!¡± My temper blew through the roof when I heard about him talk about my brother. I spouted off insults and told him to get out my room. ¡°¡­ You still don¡¯t remember? Back in the orphanage?¡± ¡°¡­ Did you say orphanage?¡± My curiosity went passed my rage when he said something about an orphanage. Why would he talk about an orphanage at this time? ¡°Yes, an orphanage. You were there right? After being released in a hospital¡± ¡°!?¡± When he talked about me being in an orphanage and being released from a hospital, I finally connected all the dots. ¡°¡­ You were also an orphan back in that orphanage?¡± ¡°Yes. I was always observing you back when you were alone in the orphanage. Even while being friendly on the outside, you actually closed your heart on the inside. All of it happened during the time when you were still the last one to be admitted in that orphanage, but all of it changed one day. A boy with black hair was admitted to the orphanage, and that¡¯s when you changed.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hyoudo paused for a moment before continuing. ¡°That, was Kouta-san right? When he first arrived back in the orphanage, the atmosphere around you changed. You were more prone to opening up your heart when he was around.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I was completely silent while listening to his story. It¡¯s true. He was probably the boy who was practicing kendo back in the orphanage. I didn¡¯t recognize him because he changed from his former self. Before, he was weak and childish, but now, all I can see is a trained martial artist. A second later, Hyoudo continued his story. ¡°Then, a week passed and a fire broke out, right? You saw Kouta-san rushing inside the building with a fire extinguisher in hand, didn¡¯t you? I was trapped inside the building and thought that I was going to die, but he rescued me from that hell and that¡¯s where I started to respect him. Not as a savior, nor a guardian, but as someone who can be considered as a true friend, and family. Remember what the caretakers back in the orphanage just said? All of us are family, whether we are taken to different households, in our hearts, we are always family. That¡¯s the reason why I always try my best when it is related to Kouta-san. And also, I also try my best when it also relates to you because you are the main reason why I respected him.¡± ¡°¡­?¡± I had a confused face. Why am I the main reason for his respect to Kouta-san. ¡°!? Ah¡­ It¡¯s nothing, it¡¯s nothing¡­¡± Hyoudo¡¯s face blushed as he turned away to hide his red face. Ahh¡­ I get it¡­ I¡¯m not so dense to not realize his feelings¡­ ¡°¡­Hahaha¡­ Thanks for cheering me up¡­ But for now, please leave, I¡¯ll try to collect my feelings and sort them out for a while¡­¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll be back to deliver your food.¡± Hyoude then left the room with light steps, as if a huge burden was lifted from his shoulders. ¡°Kouta-nii¡­ You really are kind¡­¡± For the first time in a month, a smile broke on my face as I went back lying down on the bed, and fell asleep. This was the first time I was able to sleep soundly in a month. ¡­ ~ Kouta POV ~ ¡­ Where am I¡­ I can feel that I am lying on a bed, and I can see an elf at the corner of my eyes. Wait, isn¡¯t that the male elf receptionist earlier!? I tried to move, but found that my hands and legs were bounded by something. What the heck!! Is this a kidnapping!? ¡°Ara, you are awake¡­ Now, I will let you feel pleasure like you¡¯ve never felt before¡­ Kukukuku¡­¡± !? I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!!! Vol 2. Chapter 12 I quickly surveyed my body and surroundings. The only body parts that were tied were my limbs, the arms, the legs, and also the tail. For some reason, I can¡¯t put any power to control my tail. Shit!! Is there anything, anything I can use to get out of here!!! ¡°Now, now, it won¡¯t be long now¡­ Kukuku¡­¡± HOLY SHIT!!! I NEED TO GET OUT FAST!!! He picked up a tool that looks like a giant p***s and brought near towards my body. !? I didn¡¯t realize earlier, but my mouth was taped, and I was lying there, in my birthday suit. My thing was standing erect, as if beautifully displaying it to the audience. WHO THE HELL STRIPPED ME!? WHO!!! IF IT¡¯S THAT DAMN ELF!!! I WON¡¯T FORGIVE HIM!!! He positioned the giant d***o near my rectum and put in it lightly touched my anus. A cold shiver ran down my spine as I felt something brushing off on my butt. ¡°Kukuku¡­ Now¡­ Feel pleasure like you¡¯ve never before!!!¡± The elf pushed the d***o slightly inside my anus, causing the tip to go inside. !? THAT¡¯S IT!!! I¡¯VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!!! [ELDER DRAGON FORM]!!!! My body turned scaly, while the elf seemed surprised, but still continued his act. STOP THAT YOU FUCKING ELF!!! I AIN¡¯T GAY SO STOP PUTTING IT IN!!! Just as the toy¡¯s tip was slowly slipping inside, my body expanded wings spurted of my back, my limbs became bigger and covered in scales, causing the chains bounding me to break, freeing me from this situation. The tape naturally tore into two, and using my hand, ripped it off my face. The toy that the elf was slowly pushing inside me, was thrown away as he saw my transformation. My body became bigger, and bigger, until it broke through the room, causing my head to go through the roof, literally. ¡°¡­¡± The elf went silent. His skin became pale, but his cheeks were still red¡­ ¡°GRUUAAAHHH!!!!¡± My roar echoed through the walls and the surroundings. It seems, I was still in the town, and all the citizens, adventurers, and guards became pale and ran in fear. An adventurer party, tried to use skills on me to deal some damage, but all of them bounced off, heck, even their weapons that were made with high standard ore were shattered, causing them to flee in a panic. ¡°GRRUUUUAAAHHHH!!!!¡± (YOU MOTHERFUCKER ELF!!!) During my transformation to a dragon, I lose all capabilities of speech. If I had the skill [Telepathy], I might have transmitted my thoughts to the surrounding people. ¡°Haahh¡­ Haahh¡­ Magnificent!!! More!!! MORE!!!¡± I wasn¡¯t able to see the elf, but it seems he was being crushed by my foot. But what he was sensing wasn¡¯t pain, but pleasure. ¡°GRROOOOHHH!!!¡± (THIS PERVERT ELF!!!) THIS CRAZY ELF IS FREAKING ME OUT!!! EARLIER, I WAS ABOUT TO BE VIOLATED!!! AND NOW, HE IS FEELING PLEASUE FROM BEING IN PAIN!!! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THIS ELF!!!??? [BREATHE FIRE]!!! I casted my skill and flames gushed out from my mouth. The target? The pervert elf. I didn¡¯t know before how scary is those kinds of guys are, but now, I feel like I have been traumatized¡­ When I see Kiera again, I will make a mess out of her¡­This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°AHHNNN <3!!! MORE <3!!! MORE <3!!!¡± ¡°GRAAAAHHHH!!!¡± (WHAT THE FUCK IS WITH THIS ELF!? EVEN BEING BURNED MAKES HIIM WANT MORE!!!) I stomped at him using my feet and crushed his body. Every time I stomped at him, his body keeps on recovering, making it look like there was no damage taken. ¡­ Okay, I am seriously freaked out now¡­ How can I actually try to destroy him where even my strong attacks have no effect on him¡­ I¡¯ll just vent my anger and frustration on Kiera¡­ I flapped my wings, and used [Breathe Fire] one more time at the elf, and his house. Thank goodness that that wasn¡¯t the guild house, but some unknown house. ¡°AHHNNNN <3¡± ¡­ Fuck this, I¡¯m out¡­ I flapped my wings once more and flew to the sky. When I was sure that I was out of sight, I descended, and reverted back to my dragonewt form. ¡°¡­ Kiera¡­ You better prepare yourself when I get back¡­¡± Luckily, I was able to do [Partial Elder Dragon Form] to manifest my scales and wings, making it faster to arrive back in town. But when I got back, the whole town was in an uproar. Well, I already know why, but somehow, I feel a little hurt when they called the dragon a calamity type monster. I was able to enter the town thanks to my guild card. For your information, the guild card I used was made with [Creation], and it showed no signs of forgery when they examined it. Maybe I can use this to create money¡­ When I got back, I quickly head towards the guild and quickly saw the trio royal guards disguised as adventurers. Thankfully, the male elf receptionist wasn¡¯t there so that was extremely appreciated. When my work is done here, I will quickly get out of this town and head to another one. I don¡¯t care if it is small or big or shady, anything will do as long as the male elf isn¡¯t there. I walked towards their leader, Kiera, who seems to be in a distressed mood. ¡°Ah! Kouta-san!!!¡± Kiera quickly ran towards me with a smiling face and light steps while trying to hug me¡­ Somehow, that look irritates me more than someone stealing all of my money. I dodged her hug, held her arm with a tight grip and dragged her to a private room inside the guild, along with Liana and Phana. When we head inside, I glared at Kiera and made her do seiza. ¡°Seiza? What is that?¡± I told her how to do seiza, and she immediately did it. I sat on a chair provided, and Liana and Phana also joined suit. ¡°Ehh¡­? Wait, why am I the only one who is doing seiza?¡± ¡°Think for yourself why you are in this position now¡­¡± This damn elf too, I thought in my mind as a vein popped in my forehead while I was glaring at her with daggers. ¡°¡­? Ah! Is it about when I introduced you to Kutz-chan?¡± ¡°YES!!! DO YOU KNOW WHAT I WENT THROUGH BECAUSE OF THAT!? THAT FUCKING ELF COULD DIE IN A DITCH FOR ALL I CARE!!¡± I stood up from my seat and slammed on the desk as I continued spouting insults towards that male elf receptionist. ¡°Ah¡­ I thought it was a good joke---¡± ¡°A JOKE!? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY A JOKE THAT COULD TRAUMITZE YOU IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE!? IF I DIDN¡¯T TURN INTO A DRAGON AND ESCAPE, THAT FUCKING ELF WOULD HAVE STOLEN MY CHASTITY!!!¡± ¡°Ara? Did you say turn into a dragon? And also, are you still a---¡± ¡°SO WHAT IF I AM A VIRGIN AND CAN TURN INTO A DRAGON!!! YOU DAMN PIECE OF SHIT ACTUALLY THOUGHT THAT AS A JOKE!? AND DON¡¯T TALK YOUR WAY OUT OF THIS!!! YOU WILL EXPERIENCE HELL A HUNDRED TIMES HARSHER THAN WHAT I FELT BACK THERE!!!¡± ¡°Un¡­ Kiera-san, punishment¡­¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s right Kiera-san. Even if that was a joke, that was way too far.¡± While I was spouting off harsh words you normally wouldn¡¯t think of me, Liana and Phana agreed to punish Kiera together with me. But¡­ ¡°OH NOW NOW¡­ YOU TWO WILL ALSO JOIN KIERA FOR NOT EVEN WARNING ME OF THE DANGER¡­¡± My voice cracked in a very scary tone as Liana and Phana became extremely terrified. Their face went pale, and even started trembling. ¡°I- I forgot¡­ I still had to run an errand for an acquaintance of mine¡­¡± ¡°Un¡­ Have job to do¡­¡± ¡°OH¡­ ERRANDS AND JOBS HUH??? WELL THEN, POSTPONE YOUR PRIOR ARRANGEMENTS AND ACCEPT PUNISHMENT LIKE KIERA HERE!!!¡± I used my tails, and my scaled hardened body using [Partial Elder Dragon Form], to hold them down and force them into seiza. I tied the three of them together to make sure that they can¡¯t move, and began stacking heavy things one after another on their laps. ¡°It hurts!!!¡± ¡°Painfull¡­ Stop¡­ Please¡­¡± ¡°P- Please forgive us!!!¡± ¡°NOW NOW¡­ THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING¡­¡± With a broken smile forming on my lips, I continued stacking heavy object on their laps for the next six hours. When it was over, they lost control of their legs, had snot and tears dripping from their faces, and had lifeless eyes/ Of course, they were healed at once thanks to the high level potions I bought using the money I created with [Creation]. ¡­ The next day¡­ ¡°That was horrible!!!¡± ¡°Un¡­ Traumatizing¡­¡± ¡°Hicc¡­ Hicc¡­ Scary¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s just your fault for being like that, if you want more, than we can try it again.¡± ¡°!? No no!! I¡¯ve had enough!!!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°N-NO MORE!!! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!!¡± The three of them stiffened up, while Phana burst into tears. ¡°If that happens to me again because of their jokes, they¡¯ll have that seiza torture again with double the duration.¡± While having those thoughts, we continued with our investigation for finding the kidnapped princess. ¡­ ~ Third Person POV ~ ¡°Hahh¡­ Haah¡­ Kouta-chan¡­ You are the only one for me¡­¡± A lone male elf stood in the center of a destroyed room. With some adult toys surrounding him, he picked one up and licked it. ¡°Ahh¡­ This scent¡­ This taste¡­ I can¡¯t get enough of you Kouta-chan¡­¡± The toy he picked up was the one used to insert inside Kouta¡¯s ass, and some of the body liquid of Kouta was smeared on the tip. ¡°Someday¡­ I¡¯ll make you mine, no matter how long it takes¡­ Kukuku¡­¡± The laughter and moaning of a male elf could be heard through the night through the city. The next day, guards went to apprehend him, and Kutz was arrested for previous, pervy crimes. Vol 2. Chapter 13 ~ Third Person POV ~ ¡°Kukuku¡­ Kouta-chan¡­ I¡¯ll make you mine, but for now, I¡¯ll get out of here first.¡± Inside a dark prison cell, lies Kutz, the pervert male elf. While he was making some horrifying remarks while sitting down, he stood up and headed towards the prison bars. There was no one watching him, and this gave him a chance to escape. ¡°Kukuku¡­ Pitiful creatures¡­ I wonder how long will you last once I take over the world.¡± Kutz then suddenly changed shape, from an elf, to a hideous monster. He had wings as dark as the night sky, a tail that has black scales with the length of about five meters, two horns on his head that are twice as long as a rhino¡¯s horn, and scales that are pitch black, that looks like it can pull you into the void. ¡°Now thennn¡­ Let¡¯s get rid of these first!¡± *BANG* The prison cell¡¯s bars were hit with a destructive force, causing it to break and fly to the opposite wall. Some of the bars were lodged inside, while others were beyond repair. The sound of breaking metal was so loud, that it woke up the other prisoners, and alerted the guards. Sounds of numerous rushing footsteps were heard down the dark corridor. ¡°Hurry up!!¡± A voice was heard from the corridor. The voice was from a man whose body was about 2 meters tall, with bulging muscles found everywhere on his body. ¡°Kukuku¡­ Looks like I have myself a souvenir¡­¡± ¡°Guaahh!!!¡± Kutz dashed towards the sound of the footsteps and swung his tail. A powerful gush of wind flowed through the corridor, causing all of the guards to stumble and be knocked back. Kutz slowly walked towards the guards with echoing footsteps, causing fear and terror to rise up in the guards¡¯ bodies. ¡°Kukuku¡­ Ahhh¡­ What pitiful creatures indeed¡­¡± ¡°!? W- Who are you!?¡± When Kutz appeared in front of them, all of them had a face of shock and terror. Some fainted with their foam rising up from their mouth. ¡°Ara ara¡­ Forgive me for my rudeness. I am, Kutzeros Lamphiba, the one you races call Demon King.¡± ¡°!? D-Demon King!? T-There¡¯s no way someone like him would come out here on the enemies¡¯ side!!!¡± ¡°Yesss¡­ You are right about that, but I am here right now. So what you said is meaningless. Kukuku, now, how about I take along some of you to the Demon continent and have be my toys. Kukuku¡­¡± ¡°!?¡± With a snap of his fingers, Kutz, the Demon King vanished from the place along with half of the guards he met down in the corridor. The surviving guards were lucky to be alive, but were also burdened with the gag order. It was only until a year from now that the event that happened in this prison was announced to the public. ¡­ ~ Kouta POV ~ ¡°Now, how are we supposed to find the princess?¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. After having administered punishment to the three girls, we were now on the way to continue our search for the princess. The four of us were still inside the guild private room discussing our objective. ¡°Yes, about that, first, let¡¯s talk about the bounties. Nine bandits were not recorded in their bounty list. Does that ring a bell?¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ Is that the number of bandits you encountered when we first met?¡± ¡°Yes. When we asked the reason from the other receptionists, they said that they haven¡¯t committed any crimes yet, but those bandits were skilled enough to even push us back, the royal guards of the princess.¡± ¡°¡­ So you¡¯re telling me that those bandits had ties to the [Black Hand] organization you told me earlier?¡± ¡°Yes, that is most likely the case.¡± I put a hand on my chin as I regretted the fact that I didn¡¯t even leave one alive. ¡°¡­This is going to be troublesome.¡± ¡°It has indeed. For now, why don¡¯t we create a plan to lure them out, the three of us will be bait while you turn into a dragon to make it look like you are just a monster, so they won¡¯t think about targeting you.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ A plausible idea, but what is the benefit for me transforming into a dragon?¡± ¡°Since they don¡¯t know that you can transform into a dragon, they might mistake you as a monster, causing them to target us more frequently. And while we are being attacked, you swoop down and save us, while capturing some of them for interrogation, simple right?¡± ¡°¡­ That¡¯s not simple at all¡­¡± While I was having a headache on hearing her idealistic plan, I thought of a better way to find the whereabouts of the princess. ¡°How about we head to the dark side of the town, there is a [Black Hand] branch there right? I was thinking of joining them to gather information.¡± ¡°Are you stupid!? Once you join them, you can never get out! And if you try to betray them, they will never stop until they kill you!¡± ¡°Then why don¡¯t I destroy their whole organization before they kill me? I can transform into a dragon where even the high-tiered ores can¡¯t damage me.¡± ¡°¡­ Ah mou!! Fine! But you better come back with information!!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They know my face, so having me on their side must be like a godsend to them.¡± I stood up and headed for the exit. ¡°Until then, try not to gather attention to yourselves, or JOKE around, okay?¡± ¡°!? Y-Yes!!¡± ¡°Un¡­¡± ¡°Hyii!!!¡± I put a little emphasis on the joke word and the three of them stiffened up on their seats. I opened the door and headed outside of the guild. First, I asked direction to the slums, if there are any in this town, and they kindly pointed me the way. Usually, hideouts of dark organizations are situated in the slums in novels, so I¡¯m going with that perception. I hope I am right in picking this decision¡­ ¡­ ~ Third Person POV ~ ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Now now princess. No need to be on guard with us, we are just having a little chat, alright?¡± A beautiful blond haired elf, with green eyes as green as the forest, and had a look of a 16-year old, was sitting in front of a man dressed in a tuxedo. The man had gray hair and had red eyes, with fangs protruding out of his upper lip. ¡°So, what do you want, vampire?¡± ¡°Oh my, forgive me for my rudeness. Our job is to keep you in this place, just until it settles down back in the sacred tree. You already know what will happen if you were able to go back there after you accomplished your mission right? And we can¡¯t actually kill you because if we did, we will have the whole elf race pursuing us. Anyway, our client wishes us to keep you under watch 24/7 and not let you out until after the sacred day.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The elf girl, the elf princess became silent and stared at the vampire. ¡°Now now, what¡¯s with that face? Just sit and relax, think of this as your long-awaited vacation.¡± A smile broke on the vampire¡¯s face as he continued drinking from his cup. All of a sudden, someone knocked on the door and entered. ¡°Excuse me Kuhaal-sama. Someone would like to join our group, and I thought that you would like to see him in person.¡± What entered the room, was a man dressed in black robes, completely concealing his body, and only showing his eyes. ¡°Hmm? For you to come here, Jaarl-kun, just what kind of person that would like to join would cause you to report to me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the white haired, golden-eyed half-dragonewt, half-human.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The princess elf was silent in the whole conversation, but deep down, she was shocked to hear that ¡®that¡¯ person would come here to join the [Black Hand]. ¡°Oh! This is splendid! I don¡¯t know who he is, but he wants to join our organization? They told me in the report that someone resembling that person was able to fend off numerous of our members. I wonder why would he come to this place to ask to join us?¡± Kuhaal paused for a second before turning his head to the elf. ¡°Excuse me for a moment princess, it seems something urgent has come up so I bid you farewell.¡± The vampire and the robed man left the room. The door was shut and a locking sound could be heard from the other side. ¡°¡­ Why did you come here? Hero-sama?¡± The elf princess murmured words that no one was able to hear because of her soft voice, as she spent her time, alone in the closed room. Vol 2. Chapter 14 Right now, I am in the slums. The buildings in this area are mostly rundown, to the point of almost crumbling with just a blow of the wind. Children, adults, and even the elderly were scattered about, wearing what looks like rags. Well, not that kind of rags you would usually see a slave wear, but something along the lines. The people in the slum area are mostly poor, have shady backgrounds, and some thugs. Some of the children were an exception, but with a body like that, I wonder how long can they survive? Should I use some of my knowledge of modern technology to enhance their lifestyle? But by doing so, it would garner attention to my own self, making it almost impossible to escape the government¡¯s hands. If you look at this scenery, you could tell that there is no difference with the hierarchy with the demihumans and humans. ¡°This is just horrible¡­ I wonder what I can do to help the poor people in the slums, except the thugs¡­ ¡± I pondered for a while if I could help them while not gathering attention, but it feels like it is impossible for now, so I stopped that thought and stored it in my mind. ¡°Someday, I hope I could enhance their lifestyle, but my priority is Alexis, Kayaka, and Furry.¡± I walked into the slums, and not long after, a clich¨¦ development arrived. ¡°Who are ya to trespass on our turf, huhhh???¡± A group of five people, no, a group of five thugs stopped me in my tracks. The one who called out to me was a bald man with nose piercings. He held an iron club in his right hand, while a scimitar on his left hand. What bad choice of weapons¡­ ¡°Hmm? Excuse me, but I have an important meeting in this area, so please move aside.¡± ¡°Hehehe¡­ Oi boys! This little squirt thinks he can order us around! How about we play a little with him¡­¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°Hehehe¡­¡±¡±¡±¡± The group of thugs readied their weapons as they readied themselves to beat me up. ¡°If you bow down and beg for ya life, we might consider letting you go if ya give us all ya money.¡± ¡°¡­Haahh¡­ What are you? A toll, no wait, you are less than that, a garbage toll¡­¡± Hearing them say that makes me sick to the brim. It¡¯s been a long time since I felt like this back on Earth. The first time I felt like this was when I was trying to get a proxy for paying the bills to our house. Since I was under-aged, it was impossible for me to pay the bills, so I had to hire a proxy. Using the money from the insurance and savings of our late parents, I was able to hire one, but that bastard was greedy as heck! ¡°¡­ Oi¡­ What did ya call me?¡± ¡°I called you a garbage toll, actually, let me rephrase that, you are a garbage toll whose worth is only equal to insects.¡± Hmm¡­ I¡¯ve been using foul language more often lately. Is it because of stress? Well, anyway, I still have to do something about this development. ¡°!? YOU BASTARD!!! I AIN¡¯T LETTIN¡¯ YOU GET AWAY NOW!!! BOYS!!! KILL HIM!!!¡± While having thoughts about me using more foul language than usual in my mind, the bald man snapped and commanded his underlings to kill me. Even if you try to attack me all at once, you all can¡¯t beat me. Even with a level difference, what really matters is how you use your skills. [Dragon Tail]! ¡°One!!!¡± My tail instantly crashed into the bald man, causing him to fly for about 10 meters. I unsheathed my sword I got from the bandits in the cave and parried a thrust towards my abdomen. The sword¡¯s trajectory was shifted to the ground. And while the thug was stunned, I used my right leg t kick him in the chin, knocking him upwards while losing a few teeth, and instantly depriving his consciousness. ¡°Two!!!¡± While my leg was still in mid air, a thug wielding daggers lunged at me with a fast pace, a fast pace only for beginners. I calmly blocked it with my tail, causing the blades to shatter. And while using the centrifugal force of my kick earlier, I kicked him on the left side of his head, knocking out some of his teeth, and also making him have an intense nosebleed.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°Three!!!¡± The dagger user was knocked down, and while I was open, another came charging at me. He was wielding what seemed to be a mixture of a hammer and spear. What is that? I know that it is a pole arm, but I¡¯ve never seen a pole arm like that. He swung the mysterious weapon down with a terrifying force. I jumped back to avoid the swing, and in my place, the ground cracked and burst, causing some of the earth to fly towards me. Of course, I blocked it calmly with my tail, and lunged towards the thug. I held my sword and swung at the pole-arm, causing it to split in half. Good thing the handle was wood. While the thug was dumbfounded by seeing his weapon cut in half, I delivered my kick on his head, knocking him out. ¡°Four!!!¡± When the fourth thug fell down unconscious, the last remaining thug ran with his tail behind his legs. ¡°Oops, where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± I arrived where the last thug was remaining by propelling my-self with my tail. It¡¯s just like when a spring is pushed down, causing it to jump upwards when the force pushing it down is released. ¡°Hyii!!!¡± I grabbed the scruff of his neck and threw him towards the unconscious thugs. ¡°Now then, please answer my questions or you end up like them¡­¡± ¡°Kyaaa!!!!¡± With a smile on my face, I kindly asked the remaining thug to answer my questions. Not long after, an audience started gathering, so I had to stop with the interrogation and head towards my destination. ¡°Thanks to those guys, I found where I should head next.¡± What I had asked from the remaining thug was, ¡®Where was the [Black Hand] hiding in this place.¡¯ If he didn¡¯t answer, I kicked him in the face, causing some teeth to fly out, and blood to spill from his lips. Well, I didn¡¯t need to go that far as my face was all I need to ask the questions. I found out that the place I¡¯m looking for is an abandoned mansion. I¡¯ve thought something like, ¡®Why is there a mansion in a slum?¡¯ but it turns out that this was once a prosperous part of the town, and the mansion was the residence of a high elf that came to live in this town. But because of a great incident, the high elf died and this part of the town was reduced to what we see today. A few moments later, I arrived at my destination. ¡°So this is the mansion¡­¡± What spread out from my view was a huge mansion. The only problem was the grass and fields were all almost withered, the gate was rusty and prone to breaking, and the mansion looked like it was just about to give. I thought about what to do, but thought of just walking in casually and asking to join. If they don¡¯t let me join, then I force them, simple. I just hope that this goes well. While being nervous inside my heart, I approached the mansion, opened the rusty gate and headed inside. ¡­ ¡­ This garden is huge!!! It took me about thirty minutes arrive at the front door. There were two guards at the door. When I approached, they pointed their weapons at me. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°What¡¯s your business here?¡± The two guards asked me in a threatening voice while getting ready for a fight. ¡°Ahh.. Please call your superior as I would like to join the [Black Hand].¡± ¡°!? Wait for a moment¡­¡± The guard that was at the left side of the door ran inside with a panicked face, while the other guard was still pointing his weapon at me. I just stood there, staring at the withering garden. A few moments later, the guard returned and gave me the news. ¡°Here, let me guide you to where our superiors are.¡± The guard who went inside and came back guided e inside. Inside was just like a horror attraction. Cobwebs littered the place, the atmosphere feels eerie, and the decoration is just like one would find in a haunted house. If this was a horror attraction back on Earth, I¡¯d give it ten stars. ¡°Inside here. Get going.¡± After guiding me to the place where I am supposed to meet his superiors, the guard left me alone to return to his post. ¡°¡­ Normally, [Black Hand] shouldn¡¯t be known¡­¡± The guard murmured some words, but thanks to straining my ears, I was able to hear what he was talking about. Kiera, Liana, Phana, looks like I¡¯ll have to punish you three later again. I opened the door to the room and what greeted me inside were a robed man, and a man wearing a tuxedo with gray hair and red pupils. He also had some fangs sticking out of his lip. He must be a vampire. ¡°Greetings, have a seat.¡± The vampire greeted me and asked me to take a seat. I gladly took upon his offer as my legs were starting to ache because of walking. ¡°Introductions are in order when first meeting. Let me start first, I am Kuhaal Lockus.¡± ¡°And I am Jaarl.¡± The both of them introduced themselves with only their names. Seems they¡¯re trying to keep their race a secret, well, the vampire is obvious, but the robed man is not. ¡°Then, my name is Endou Kouta, and I was hoping of joining the [Black Hand].¡± I followed suit and introduced myself, but only gave my name, nothing more. ¡°Hmm¡­ You see, we can¡¯t just accept those who wish to join us, but, I can make you an exception. You see, you have been on the top of our target list, but personally, I would like to employ you because of your strength. You have already defeated some of our members unscathed, so it would be a waste to kill you right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± I nonchalantly replied while giving a wry smile. ¡°Then, how about we have you do us a little errand. If you want to join us, then kill your three adventurer friends. That should be the perfect job for you if you want to join right?¡± ¡­ Looks like trying to join has failed, let¡¯s just use brute force. ¡°Ah ah ah¡­ I wouldn¡¯t do that if I were you. One wrong step and something just might slip off.¡± A hand was placed on my neck, while blood dripped down from a small cut on my neck. Damn, this is bad¡­ Vol 2 Chapter 15 What should I do to get out of this situation? I surveyed the area using the [Dota 2 skill set] map which no one can see but me. The room is about as big as a mansion¡¯s living room, well, technically, this is a mansion so nothing strange about that, except for a hidden passageway. It was situated right behind a fireplace. The path behind it stretched for about 10 meters before arriving at another room. For some reason, I could see a green dot inside it, meaning someone is inside there that regards me as an ally. ¡°Well, what do you say, Kouta?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Fine.¡± Before the situation could get any worse, I agreed while thinking about how to get to that room. But, that was just not possible. ¡°¡­ It seems that you are not willing to take upon that task, so I am afraid that you cannot join the [Black Hand]. Jaarl-kun, please show our guest to the exit.¡± ¡°Certainly, Kuhaal-sama.¡± With a word, Jaarl lunged at me with frightening speed. I blocked his strike reflexively with my tail, but his weapon, a dagger with a glowing red blade didn¡¯t break. If I hadn¡¯t blocked that strike right now, I would have died immediately. ¡°¡­ What are you playing at¡­?¡± ¡°Since you have already seen our faces, I¡¯m sad to say that you are not allowed to be left alive for our health¡¯s sake.¡± While a cold sweat poured on my cheek, Kuhaal replied in a nonchalant tone. Jaarl quickly retracted his dagger and slashed at me while I was talking with Kuhaal. Again, the dagger was blocked by my tail, but for some reason, I¡¯m getting a feeling that more strikes will be the end of me. ¡°Tch¡­¡± Jaarl clicked his tongue in annoyance as he kept on slashing me without giving me a break. He continued this act for more than ten times, and just when he landed his next strike, I noticed that my tail was gradually feeling hot. ¡°!? Shit!¡± I quickly stepped back when I had the chance and took my sword from my item box. This sword was bought in the weapon shop earlier. I didn¡¯t use this sword when I encountered the thugs earlier as I thought that a rugged sword was just enough to deal with them. (Finally going to use me ehh?) The sword I took out looks just like any other normal sword, but if you have appraisal, then it¡¯s a different story. Item Name: None Item Type: Weapon ¨C One-handed sword (Intelligent Weapon) Owner: Endou Kouta Durability: 3500/3500 Magic Conductibility: A Sharpness: S Skills given to owner when equipped: [Elite Swordsmanship 3] [Quick Reflexes 3] [Weapon Mastery 6] [Flowing Sword Technique 10] [Appraisal 9] [Concealment 9] Titles: [Weapon Wielded by a Master] [Intelligent Item] Note: This item cannot be wielded by anyone other than the person who was deemed worthy by this intelligent item. This is its status. When I first saw this, I was stunned to see it being sold at a very low price. When I asked why the sword was being sold for a low price. The shopkeeper told me that the blade is so dull, that it couldn¡¯t even slice through butter. At most, it would be just used as a decoration, but because of its ordinary appearance, nobody bought the sword. By the way, here are the effects of the skills and titles. [Elite Swordsmanship] ¨C Skill evolved from the skill [Swordsmanship], each level increases control and strength twice as great than [Swordsmanship]. Does not include katanas. [Quick Reflexes] ¨C Increases reaction time. [Weapon Mastery] ¨C Increases control and strength when wielding any type of weapon. [Flowing Sword Technique] ¨C Style of combat where counters are commonly used in combat. Each level increases damage dealt when countering with a sword. [Concealment] ¨C Allows the user to mask his presence, making it harder to detect him. The higher the level, the harder it is to detect his presence. Can also be used on the user¡¯s status. [Weapon Wielded by a Master] ¨C Title given to a weapon which was wielded by a person who could destroy an entire army single-handedly. Title effects: [Intelligent Item] ¨C Title given to an item which has gained a will of its own. Title effects: If I didn¡¯t have appraisal at level 10, I might have not been able to come across this kind of sword. (This will be our first battle together eh partner? And with a high level vampire at that.)This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡®Can you see any openings?¡¯ (None, I can tell that the robed man has a high [Concealment] skill. I can¡¯t appraise him.) As you can see, I can communicate with this sword with my mind. Apparently, this sword was once wielded by a sword instructor who was persecuted because of killing a noble¡¯s daughter who was attending his school. While the girl did die, it wasn¡¯t the instructor who killed her, but another noble who was jealous of her talents, then the blame was shifted on the instructor, causing him to flee. The instructor went through many paths filled with danger. There was one time where the instructor faced against a whole army. It was during the Demon King subjugation, and he came out alive, while killing many from the two sides. There was no particular reason why he didn¡¯t side with any. Maybe he was just brought into their fight and wanted out, but was pressured by the country and instead joined the subjugation. Then he started killing off demons, after which when the Demon King was sealed, he was the next target of a part of the army, presumably, the noble who had his daughter stolen from him. He fought bravely until none was left, but the instructor died from his wounds and the sword was found by travelling merchants, and that¡¯s how this sword got to me. The sword already had a will when the instructor fought the army, so this sword is a witness to the Demon King subjugation. Back to the present¡­ ¡®Then let me.¡¯ (Impossible to appraise) ¡®!? I can¡¯t appraise him!¡¯ ¡°It is bad manners to peek at the status of a person you know.¡± While seemingly bored, Kuhaal raised his voice and revealed the fact that I tried to use appraisal. Jaarl then lunged at me with another quick movement and slashed at me. This time, what received his dagger was not my tail, but my sword. (HOT!!! What the heck is with that dagger!?) ¡®It¡¯s probably a magic weapon. It was probably imbued with the fire element, causing it to burn what it touches.¡¯ (I hate those kinds of weapons. They hurt me more than being crushed by a ton of weight.) While the both of us were chatting in my head, Jaarl kept on swinging his dagger at me with no reduced whatsoever. It feels like his energy is limitless. [Dragon Tail]! I used my skill [Dragon Tail] to immediately swing my tail against him. He wasn¡¯t able to block my tail, causing his dagger to fly out from his hand. Now is my chance! (Do it partner!!) I held my sword overhead and swung it down on Jaarl¡¯s head with a quick motion. The sword slashed through not flesh, but clothes. Jaarl was able to avoid my strike at the last second, but at the cost of revealing his appearance. He had blue skin, horns on his head, arms covered in shell just like an insect¡¯s, red compound eyes just like a fly, and legs that looks like a grasshoppers hind legs. ¡°Tch¡­¡± Jaarl clicked his tongue in frustration because of his identity getting revealed. Jaarl was not a member of the three races, but of the demon race. ¡°Ahh, this is bothersome, I can¡¯t have you running off now as you have seen something you were not supposed to see.¡± Kuhaal, who was silently waiting at his seat for Jaarl to kill me stood up and grabbed something in his clothes. (!? Partner!! Dodge!!) ¡°Die¡­¡± With one word, a sound resounded throughout the hall, it sounded like something dropped. When I noticed it, my left arm has been cut from the shoulder down. ¡°!? AARRRGHHH!!!¡± (Shit! Run away!) Pain assaulted my left side as I lost balance for a second because of the sudden loss of weight. ¡°I missed, but next time won¡¯t.¡± I quickly stored my dismembered arm in my item box and dashed towards the fireplace. Just as I did that, a sound resounded through the room again. This time, it was not a part of my body, but the floor had been cut with a straight, perfect line. ¡°Jaarl-kun! Hold him down!¡± ¡°Certainly!¡± Jaarl dashed at me once again. He was able to pick up his dagger when Kuhaal attacked me with some sort of weapon or magic. Because of the grasshopper legs, he was able to close the distance between us in a second. ¡°Kuh!!¡± I barely dodged his strike, and I counterattacked while his dagger was still in motion. My sword was able to cut his body, but only a few centimeters in because he was able to shift his body at the last moment. Almost there! I was nearing the fireplace when suddenly, Kuhaal appeared before me while pointing at me with. ¡°With this, it¡¯s over¡­¡± I felt a chill down my back. If I don¡¯t dodge, I will die, was the feeling I was getting from Kuhaal. My body was still in motion, so it was impossible to dodge, so instead of dodging, I tried blocking with my tail. I predicted the attack¡¯s course of travel and positioned my tail there, in hopes of stopping the mysterious attack. ¡°!?¡± Kuhaal was shocked when he saw his attack getting blocked. When I saw him stunned for a moment, I saw this as a chance to strike. I used [Dragon Tail] as it was already finished cooling down and my tail smashed against Kuhaal, causing him to crash into the fireplace. The fireplace wall crumbled down and revealed a passageway. When I was about to get inside and run straight to the room where the green dot was, I was stopped by Jaarl. ¡°¡­¡± Jaarls was silent throughout the chase and fight making it hard to guess what he is planning. While Jaarl was blocking my path, Kuhaal got up from the rubble and looked at me with an annoyed face. ¡°Damn, you really did a number on me there. Let me return the favor.¡± Kuhaal lunged at me with his hand still in his clothes, while Jaarl took the hint and flanked me from behind. Since I can only block the mysterious attack from Kuhaal using my tail, my position was in a bit of a disadvantage. ¡°Eat this!!¡± Kuhaal attacked again with his mysterious attack, but this time, I was able to block with my tail. Soon after, I turned around to receive the attack from Jaarl. I was able to parry the sword just in time and gave Jaarl a kick to the abdomen. Damn, this hurts like hell!! My body was feeling weak from the blood loss. Any second now and I just might drop dead. I can¡¯t use [Elder Dragon Form] as I may destroy the mansion along with the green dot person, so I settled on using [Partial Elder Dragon Form]. There was one reason why I was hesitant to use this skill, because it consumes way too much MP. But now, I have no choice. ¡°!? Well, well, it seems the fight is not over yet.¡± My body turned scaly and a pair of wings grew on my back. The scales had a lustrous silver color, and my body became as tough as my tail. But the wound on my left wasn¡¯t healed, so it was still hard to move. Shit¡­ This is bad¡­ (Partner, I have an idea.) ¡®Tell me¡­ My vision is starting to get blurry¡­¡¯ (Throw me towards Kuhaal and dash towards the passage behind him when he is distracted. With your body now, it is almost impossible to wound you. Don¡¯t forget to pick me up with [Item Box] when you pass him alright?) ¡®Good, leave it to me.¡¯ Just as my sword said, I threw it towards Kuhaal. Kuhaal then tried to block it, and that was the time I dashed towards the passage. With my wings, I am faster than Jaarl, so he can¡¯t win against me in terms of speed. ¡°!? Shit!!¡± Kuhaal noticed what my plan was and instead tried to use his mysterious skill to attack me instead of defending. Too bad, you lost your composure at the very wrong time. I quickly sidestepped, grabbed my sword in midair while spinning and cut through Kuhaal¡¯s neck using the centrifugal force from my spin. Kuhaal¡¯s head was perfectly dismembered from his body as his body came slumping down to the ground. I should¡¯ve just used this skill earlier. Damn I¡¯m an idiot¡­ Blood formed under Kuhaal¡¯s unmoving body. Just as I was about to head into the passageway, Jaarl surprised me with an attack from behind. Too bad, my scales are harder than you think. The dagger was stopped by my scales and I spun around while using my sword to cut Jaarl¡¯s body in halves. Blood scattered on the floor and walls, along on my body. This battle was, pretty anticlimactic. Next time when I fight, I¡¯m never cutting corners again. (Partner, what about your arm?) ¡®It still hurts, but because of [Dragon¡¯s Blood] and [Self-Regeneration], the wound is starting to close, and it won¡¯t be long until a new arm forms.¡¯ (Is that so?) ¡®Come to think of it, I haven¡¯t named you yet right?¡¯ (Yes¡­) ¡®Then, how about Poka.¡¯ (¡­ Are you making fun of me?) ¡®Hm? I thought that Poka was a good name.¡¯ (¡­ You¡­) ¡®Then how about Motu?¡¯ (¡­ Are you serious? Just how bad is your naming sense?) ¡°???¡± While having a dumbfounded face, the both of us continued down the path. (Just call me Cordo. That was what my previous owner called me.) ¡®Then Cordo it is.¡¯ While the both of us were walking down the path, we came across a door. The door was locked, but before cutting it down, I used appraisal to check if there are any traps set. (No traps detected) When appraisal said that, I didn¡¯t hesitate to cut the door open. What showed upon my vision were a room with a bed and table with chairs. On the chair, a golden haired elf with green eyes was sitting down while looking at me with a shocked expression. Vol 2. Chapter 16 ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Silence dominated the room where I entered. A golden haired elf was sitting on chair in front of me. She looked at me with a baffled expression showing that she was not expecting someone to come and cut open the door. This eerie silence was actually quite disturbing, so I destroyed it and started a conversation. ¡°Excuse me, are you the Fifth Elf Princess, Luna Lumisiera?¡± ¡°... Ah, yes!¡± Contrary to me expectations, she raised a high pitched voice. Is seems like she was waiting for someone to rescue her. ¡°Then if you would please follow me, we can escape this place and head toward where Kiera and the others are.¡± ¡°Please¡­¡± The princess, Luna stood up from her seat and came to my side. (!? Partner! Someone¡¯s coming!) Just as she was heading towards me, Cordo warned me of someone approaching. I could hear fain footsteps coming from the passage I went through. The footsteps became louder with each passing second. ¡°That¡¯s no good you know? You shouldn¡¯t leave this place princess. Because if you do, you never know what might happen to the people in this town.¡± ¡°Ehh¡­?¡± A silhouette came into view and threatened the princess. When the silhouette became clearer, it revealed that he was Kuhaal, the vampire that I beheaded earlier. His head that was dismembered was back on his body like it never happened, but the bloodstains were still there on his clothes. ¡°How are you still alive?¡± ¡°Sorry to break it to you, but I don¡¯t give out my information for free. Now then, princess, please be a good girl and sit down and relax, while baby dragon here and I kill each other. The outcome is already obvious anyway.¡± ¡°¡­ What do you mean?¡± ¡°What I mean is that you will die by my hand. After you killed Jaarl-kun, my only contact to the demon race is gone, and you¡¯re going to pay for that.¡± (!? Partner! This is bad! I can feel the [Presence of the Strong] aura from him! If you clash with him head on, you will surely die!) ¡®[Presence of the Strong]? Appraisal¡¯ [Presence of the Strong] ¨C Skill given to those who are stronger than those said to be gifted or talented. They have been through countless battles where one risked his life and survived. If one activated this skill, surrounding enemies with a lower level than the user will have their status reduced equal to their level gap. The higher the skill, the less MP this skill consumes upon activation and increases duration. What is with this cheat ability!? Just to figure out how my status will fare, I used appraisal on Kuhaal. Name: Kuhaal Lockus Level: 222 HP: 4012 / 5972 MP: 1030 / 3212 Str: 152 Agi: 191 Int: 182 Dex: 174 End: 167 Luc: 100 (-99) Skills: [Presence of the Strong 5] [Blood Drain 10] [Hand-to-Hand Combat 8] [Blood Magic 10] [Vampirization 10] Titles: [Pure Blood] [One Who Lurks in the Shadows] [Unkillable] [Unlucky] [Vampire] [Blood Drain] ¨C Steals the target¡¯s blood, making it the user¡¯s own. Vampire racial skill [Hand-to-Hand Combat] ¨C Increases the user¡¯s hand to hand combat skill. [Blood Magic] ¨C Ability to control your blood like your own limbs. Vampire racial skill [Vampirization] ¨C Skill to turn your target into a vampire. Vampire racial skill [Pure Blood] ¨C Title given to a person if he has inherited the blood of only his race. Title Effects: [One Who Lurks in the Shadows] ¨C Title given to a person who has erased his existence from the world and commits acts while remaining unseen from the public eyes. Title Effects: [Unkillable] ¨C Title given to a person who has been through countless battles while always surviving by destroying all opponents. Title effects: [Unlucky] ¨C Title given to a person who has extreme bad luck. [Vampire] ¨C Title given to a person whose race is a vampire. WHAT THE HELL!!! DOESN¡¯T THAT MEAN THAT RIGHT NOW, I HAVE NEGATIVE STATUS!?Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Because of his [Unkillable] title and [Presence of the Strong] skill that works well when together. And also because of his pure blood vampire race, I can only kill him using silver or exposing him to sunlight. The only thing is I have no silver on me, and the sun is already down. And the mysterious attack earlier must be an item since it wasn¡¯t listed in his skill column. But I wonder what? Right now, if I check my status, I could imagine what my status would look like. Name: Endou Kouta Level: 22 HP: 2115/ 2315 MP: 613 / 920 Str: 75 (-200) Agi: 70 (-200) Int: 68 (-200) Dex: 65 (-200) End: 73 (-200) Luc: 10 (-200) Skills: [Dota 2 Skill Set 2] [Language Comprehension 10] [Creation 1] (Hidden) [Item Box 1] (Hidden) [Appraisal 10] (Hidden) [Self-regeneration 5] (Hidden) Titles: [God¡¯s Target of Apology] (Hidden) [Saint] [Golem Crusher] [Reincarnated Person] (Hidden) [Thanked by the God of Creation] (Hidden) Debuff: [Presence of the Strong 5] When I appraised myself, it showed that my attribute status is in the negatives. This is bad. Seriously bad. ¡°Playtime is over. Die baby dragon!¡± Kuhaal quickly rushed to my place. Because of my lowered status, what I saw was just a blur before getting hit and getting knocked back for about 10 meters. ¡°!? Hero-sama!¡± ¡°Hmm¡­? Hero-sama¡­? Princess, did you just say hero?¡± ¡°¡­¡± What, what did she mean by hero? Did she mean me? But why does she know about that? Luna became quiet and refused to answer. She just looked at me with worried eyes while giving Kuhaal a scorned look. ¡°Anyway, whether he is a hero or not, he has seen too many things. He must die, do you understand, princess. Anyway, since our goals are polar opposites, I still need to rid of him.¡± Shit, this is bad. I cursed my own worthlessness as I tried to stand up, but because of the damage I took when Kuhaal hit me while my status was reduced, standing up was already a burden on my body. (Partner! Turn into a dragon! Your life is worth more than preserving your energy!) ¡®Seems like you¡¯re right Cordo.¡¯ I used Cordo as a support to stand up. When I was able to stand up, I looked at Luna, who was looking at me with worried eyes, while I gave Kuhaal a determined look. ¡°Kuhaal, sorry about this, but I¡¯m going all out now. [Item Box]! [Elder Dragon Form]! [Creation]!¡± Creating items [Pure Silver Spikes]¡­ MP Cost 450¡­ While my body became larger than my clothes, numerous spikes appeared all over my body. Also, the reason for using item box was to place Cordo inside to avoid being damaged in my fight against Kuhaal. ¡°Hoh, so you aren¡¯t a baby dragon, but a child dragon. Interesting, I¡¯LL CUT YOU DOWN!!!¡± ¡°GRRUUUAAAHHHH!!!!¡± (TRY IT OF YOU CAN!!!) When my body was finished transforming, my dragon body looked like that of a hedgehog. The silver spikes were not able to fully cover my body, but at least this gives me a bit of leeway when fighting Kuhaal. My body grew too large for the room, causing it to collapse. Of course, I shielded Luna with my body as to not injure her from the falling debris. Kuhaal was fending off the falling debris with his bare hands. It¡¯s like he was crushing fruits with his punches. My body became too big for the mansion, causing the part of the mansion where I was to beautifully collapse. Kuhaal, was making a face as if he didn¡¯t care. His attention was focused only at me. He had a delighted smile seeing me as someone who could fight him to the death. ¡®Looks like he is a battle junkie¡­¡¯ ¡®I wonder how long has it been since he had a life and death battle. It seems that his lifestyle, where nobody could oppose him was boring, so he was bored out of his mind, but now as if seeing someone who could finally give him the excitement he needed, he made a face that looks like he won¡¯t waste even a second of this.¡¯ ¡°How long are you going to make me wait dragon child!!¡± ¡°GGUUUOOOHHH!!!¡± (THIS DAMN BATTLE JUNKIE!!!) I quickly let Luna escape to a place where she could not be harmed during our fight. Thanks to her abilities, she had no problem running from the underlings of Kuhaal. That¡¯s a high elf for you. Focusing my attention towards Kuhaal, I used [Breath Fire] as an indicator to start our death match. Kuhaal dodged the flame and dashed towards me and put his hand inside his pocked again. When he did that, I felt something scraped against my scales on my forelegs. ¡°GUUOOHHHH!!!¡± (THAT WON¡¯T WORK!!!) The attack bounced of my scales and I prepared my wings, and flapped it down, causing a huge gust of wind to blow right from under me, and causing my body to float. When I flew in the air, I shot another [Breathe Fire] towards Kuhaal down on the ground. For those wondering, when I am in my [Elder Dragon Form], [Breathe Fire] and [Dragon Tail] does not consume MP, unlike in the game Dota 2. This shows that this is reality, not some kind of game, and right now, I am staking my life to win this fight. Also, here is my status when I am in dragon form. Name: Endou Kouta Level: 22 HP: 10115/ 12315 MP: 15 / 3920 Str: 375 (-200) Agi: 370 (-200) Int: 368 (-200) Dex: 365 (-200) End: 373 (-200) Luc: 10 (-200) Skills: [Dota 2 Skill Set 2] [Language Comprehension 10] [Creation 1] (Hidden) [Item Box 1] (Hidden) [Appraisal 10] (Hidden) [Self-regeneration 5] (Hidden) Titles: [God¡¯s Target of Apology] (Hidden) [Saint] [Golem Crusher] [Reincarnated Person] (Hidden) [Thanked by the God of Creation] (Hidden) Buff: [Elder Dragon Form] Debuff: [Presence of the Strong 5] Without the [Presence of the Strong] debuff, I can say that I am stronger than Kuhaal, but because of it, I am now equal to him. I can also conclude that this skill is broken, no, completely broken, a broken skill that has transcended broken skills in this world. The flame rushed towards where Kuhaal was, but this was also dodged and Kuhaal produced two black ominous wings. ¡°THIS IS IT!!! FINALLY!!! SOMEONE WHO CAN FULFILL MY LUST FOR BATTLE!!! AHAHAAHAHAHA! DRAGON CHILD!!! PREPARE YOURSELF!!!¡± Kuhaal¡¯s eyes seemed to glow for a second, and he pierced his own body with his hand. Blood gushed out and fell to the ground--- was not what happened, instead, the blood rose up like snakes and directly attacked me. Kuhaal also flew up into the sky and glared at me with a face filled with ecstasy and joy. ¡°GGUUUOOHHHH!!!¡± (WHY AM I SURROUNDED BY PERVERTS HERE IN THIS CONTINENT!?) ¡°AHAAHHAAHA!!! THAT¡¯S IT!!! MORE!!! I NEED MORE!!!¡± While laughing like a madman, Kuhaal used up more of his blood to attack me while I was complaining about my situation in this continent. Blood danced around my body, trying to break of my scales in hopes of creating a weak spot in my defenses. ¡°GRRUUOOOHHH!!!!¡± (USELESS!!!) I dashed through the air and charged towards Kuhaal. Kuhaal dodged my charge by strafing to the right, and this time, he charged towards me and took something from his pocket. What I saw was something like a metal ball with a button. When Kuhaal pressed the button, I felt the same sensation earlier on my forelegs when Kuhaal put his hands in his pockets. ¡®So that¡¯s the item he used to cut my arm.¡¯ I turned around to confront Kuhaal and used another [Breathe Fire] and flames gushed out from my mouth towards him. Kuhaal, who didn¡¯t expect me to turn around, had no time to react, so he was directly engulfed in the flames under the dark sky. ¡°!? AHAHHAA!!! THAT¡¯S IT!!! PAIN!! THE FEELING IF PAIN I HAVE NEVER FELT IN YEARS!!! AHAAHHAA!!! INETERESTING, THIS IS TOO INTERESTING DRAGON CHILD!!!¡± ¡°GOOOOOHHH!!!¡± I made a roar of accomplishment as my attack hit. Although his body quickly regenerated, there was one part of his body that didn¡¯t regenerate. That was his left leg. During my [Breath Fire] skill, I also place a silver spike in front of me in hopes of using the blast to send it flying towards Kuhaal. Of course, I lowered the temperature of the flames to make sure that the spike didn¡¯t melt completely. I charged at Kuhaal once more, repeating what we did earlier, but this time, he was able to dodge the flames. Looks like it won¡¯t work twice. ¡°AHAHAHAA!!! IS THAT IT!? THEN LET ME SHOW YOU!! THE POWER OF A PURE BLOOD VAMPIRE!!!¡± Kuhaal took another item from his pocket and revealed a vial with red liquid inside. He opened the cap and drank the contents, and I instantly regretted the fact that I hadn¡¯t stopped him when he drunk the liquid inside. His body turned red and steam rose up from his body. Somehow, this looks like something similar from a worldwide anime I watched back on Earth. His eyes glowed once more and when he was done, he threw the vial away into who knows where. ¡°AHAHAHA!!! NOW COME DRAGON CHILD!!! AND LET ME EXPERIENCE THE FIGHT OF MY LIFE!!!¡± ¡°GUOOOOHHHH!!!!¡± (DAMN BATTLE JUNKIE!!! YOU¡¯RE ON!!!) This starts one of my hardest fights when I first reincarnated and also one of the reason why the town was reduced to rubble. Vol 2. Chapter 17 ~ Princess Luna POV ~ I am Luna Lumisiera, the fifth princess of the Elves. I am the higher being of the elf race called high elves. During my mission to offer tribute to the God of Elves, I was a target of numerous assassination attempts. But thanks to my escorts, Kiera, Liana, and Phana, I was able to survive and accomplish the mission given to my father, the king. During our way back, we were once again submitted to numerous attacks by some organizations that wanted my life. Again, these were all dealt by my reliable escorts. When they found out about the organizations wanting my head, they notified the guards inside the town or city to arrange a sortie to destroy the organizations found. Although some of the organizations were able to escape, most were destroyed and the members, killed, imprisoned, or executed based on their crimes. But there was a time where my three escorts, who were also among the top of the elites in the Elf Royal Guards, were pushed back by some unknown group. They were dressed as bandits, but somehow, they felt different from ordinary bandits. Polished swordsmanship, great teamwork, and skilled individuals that was greater than the three who were my personal escorts. When Kiera, Liana, and Phana were exhausted, that¡¯s where I encountered him. He had white hair and golden eyes, with a silver tail growing out from his waist. The tail was composed of silver, lustrous scales that can charm those who can see it¡¯s splendor. When he appeared, the tide of the battle was turned around and the assaulters were all killed and burned to prevent them from rising to an undead. I was able to take a peek at him when I peeked through curtains and window inside the carriage when they were fighting. When Kiera informed of me that he wants to tag along, I agreed and decided to observe him longer. At night, when I went to sleep, I had a dream, a lucid dream. I heard a voice saying that a human with white hair and golden eyes was a hero who would one day, save the world from the tyranny of the Demon Lord. I opened my eyes from the dream I had experienced and took another peek at the window. There, I saw him chatting with my escorts while eating some of the food that they hunted and made. I promised never to use this skill again as this can put the user, and the user¡¯s surroundings in danger, but decided to use it to gain information about the white haired man. ¡°[Eye of Discerning Truth]¡± My right eye throbbed in pain as blood began to flow down my cheek. This skill apparently is gifted to a high elf once every generation, but with its advantages in information gathering, it also has its demerits. Much more if the user is an inexperienced user. Its effects are mainly seeing the past of a target, and also noticing the user whether the target is telling a lie or a truth. Although I can discern a lie without any demerits, once I use this to see a person¡¯s past, my right eye throbs in pain and tears of blood come rolling down. This also reduces my MP by half and my HP by a fourth, and also leaves me in a weakened state for 30 minutes. I grit my teeth as I focused on the mysterious man. Information about him entered my head and I finally knew the truth about him. His name is Endou Kouta, an otherworlder summoned as a hero along with others. He has a sister named Endou Kayaka that is good at crafting. During the summons, Kouta was gifted no skills except for understanding language, but that all changed half a year later when they encountered a Demon General. Kouta¡¯s companions escaped while he was killed, or not, instead, because of gaining a skill, he was able to revive inside the 50th floor of the dungeon they were in. While looking for a way out, he encountered a Fluffball and a girl and headed off towards the exit. That is where they encountered another Demon General, and where Kouta perished, or so he thought, but was reincarnated in this continent. Because of that very complex past that I saw in Kouta, my right eye was about to burst so I cancelled it immediately before my right eye really burst into pieces. Just when I was about to go back to sleep, we were attacked by people wearing black all over their body, with no openings except their eyes. The three were escorts were taken down by a surprise attack and were paralyzed, but Kouta repelled the others. During his fight, the door to my carriage opened and there I saw another one of their members. My consciousness was cut short after. When I came to myself, I realized that I was sleeping in a luxurious bed. The room where I was at was just like one made for a noble, but when I went for the door in hoped of escaping, it was closed. There were also no windows at the room where I was at so escape was impossible for me. I spent my time there until I heard an unlocking sound from the door, and a person came in. He had a fang protruding out from his upper lip with red eyes. He had grey hair and was wearing something a really rich noble would wear. ¡°Forgive my intrusion princess. My name is Kuhaal and also your captor.¡± With a grin, he looked at me and gave a graceful bow. ¡°What do you want from me?¡± I asked in a curt manner with the the person who called himself Kuhaal. ¡°No worries princess. I am just here to check up on you whether you need to eat or drink or go to the toilet. Of course, your sexual desires can also be fulfilled if you asked.¡± ¡°Shut up!! W-What makes you think that I would need my sexual desire to be fulfilled!?¡± I shouted in a loud voice to retort at his remark about me wanting to release my pent up stress. My face was dyed red up until my ears, while my hands were pointing at Kuhaal while trembling. ¡°Forgive me for my rudeness princess. Anyway, to the main point, you will be locked in here for a few days until the commotion back at the sacred tree subsides. For now, help yourself to the food given, and farewell.¡± ¡°!? Wait!! Vampire!!!¡± Kuhaal, the vampire left a basket filled with food and water while leaving through the door. The door was slammed shut and waslocked from the outside preventing me from escaping. ¡°Let me out of here!!! Vampire!!!¡± My screams echoed through the room, but no one ever responded to it. I went back to the bed while carrying the basket filled with food and placed it on the table next to the bed. After that, I just lied down on the bed, trying to get myself to sleep. A few days later, Kuhaal came back and discussed with me about the motive about my kidnapping. While he was giving me those information, a robed man came in while giving news about someone wanting to join their group. It was Kouta, the person who was a hero and someone who can defeat the Demon Lord. Both of them left while leaving me behind inside this cursed room. ¡°¡­ Why did you come here? Hero-sama?¡± A murmur escaped my lips as I questioned the reason why he would come here to join. Hors (Should I stop typing these ¡®not a typo thing¡¯?) later, the sound of something crashing through a wall was heard. Moments later, the door was cut open, revealing a white-haired, golden eyed half-dragonewt, who I know is a human. While trying to rescue me from this place, the vampire appeared behind his back with torn clothes and fought him. And this brings us back to the present, me running while fighting my way through the mansion. The guards were strong, I can give them that, but none of them can stand up to my magic. Us elf princesses were not only taught about etiquette or politics, but also in the way of combat. I am the second strongest among the princesses while my elder sister being the first. As for who she is, I¡¯ll tell you later.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Behind me, a dragon and a vampire were fighting while decimating the place with no caution whatsoever. Minutes later, I was able to reach the gate, while finding my three personal escorts, Kiera, Liana, and Phana. ¡°Princess!!! Over here!!!¡± ¡°That damn Kouta turning into a dragon during night and roaring caused the whole town to wake up! Princess!! Quickly! The soldiers are now gathering to subjugate the dragon!! We need to stop them at once before Kouta is put on the wanted list!!!¡± ¡°No!! We need to evacuate the citizens before they are dragged into the fight!!¡± I retorted when Kiera told me to stop the soldiers trying to subjugate Kouta. That cannot be done, and even if we stop, damage will not be minimal when their fight continues. I mean look at that, flame breaths that can burn a house into nothing, magic that can decimate a thousand people in one strike, instead of trying to stop their fight, how about evacuating the people and abandoning the town before casualties appears. ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°This is an order from the fifth princess, and I will take full responsibility about this situation!!!¡± ¡°!? Yes!!!¡± Kiera quickly turned around and went to the soldiers, while Liana and Phana waited for me at the gate. Hero-sama, I wish you safety. ¡­ ~ Kouta POV ~ The mansion right now is reduced to rubble after our exchange. My charge, flames, and needles were able to somehow hit Kuhaal, causing some wounds to appear on his body. ¡°HHAHAHAHAAH!!!!! MORE!!! COME HERE!!! DRAGON CHILD!!!¡± Kuhaal charged at me while conjuring black balls of mass and flinging it towards my direction. As a dragon, my body must be big enough for it not to miss. But thanks to my scaled, the balls were repelled. Seriously, these scales are saving me every time during a fight. When Kuhaal was near my location, I used [Dragon Tail] in hopes of hitting him. My tail connected with his body, causing him to fly in the air towards the slums. ¡°GUAAHH!!!¡± (SHIT!!!) I quickly flapped my wings in order to chase after the shooting star that was going to land at where people¡¯s residences are, in this case, the shooting star was Kuhaal. Kuhaal landed in the middle of the road with some soldiers surrounding him. The soldiers raised their spears and directed it at Kuhaal upon seeing his black ominous wings. The soldiers charged at Kuhaal seeing as he was still immobilized. ¡°SMALL FRY!!! DON¡¯T GET IN MY WAY!!!¡± In an instant, the soldiers were all shredded, and blood painted the streets. The soldiers were not only the victims, the houses surrounding him were also destroyed. As the place was a slum, the housed were packed closely together. Fortunately, nobody was inside the houses so no innocent life was lost, except for the soldiers. I arrived a few seconds later and delivered Kuhaal a charge at about 200 kilometers per second. The result is a huge crater where I landed with me and Kuhaal at the center. ¡°GEH!!?? GAHAHAHAHA!!! THIS IS FUN!!! AS EXPECTED OF A DRAGON CHILD!!!¡± ¡°GRUOOHH!?¡± (GAHH!?) While Kuhaal was coughing up blood, he rose and gave me a punch to the chin. The power was enough to send me flying for about 15 meters in the air. While I still had no control over my movements, Kuhaal appeared beside me and gave me a kick to my side, causing me to fly and crash towards another part of the town. The houses I landed on were utterly destroyed, luckily, there were no civilians around my area. While I stood back up, I saw a pair of children on the road beside my landing spot. One was a boy about 9 years old, while the other was a girl about 6 years old. Both of them were scared shitless upon seeing a dragon land before them. Then, I saw Kuhaal charging towards me. When he saw a pair of children, his face broke into a frown and changed his course to them. ¡°NO INSECTS SHALL RUIN THIS FIGHT!!!¡± The pair of children hugged each other tightly as they screamed into the heavens with tears and snot going down their faces. ¡°GROOOOOHHH!!!¡± (WHY THE HELL ARE YOU BRINGING CHILDREN INTO OUR FIGHT!!!) I quickly stepped in between them and took off some of my spikes and grabbed them in my hand, and tossed them towards Kuhaal who was charging in without a second thought. Kuhaal dodged all of the spikes with minimal movement like he was dancing in the air while continuing to charge at the two children behind me. Since he was just charging, he didn¡¯t notice my preparation to my attack. I used [Creation] to create countless of silver spikes that is equal to 1 kilogram. I held it in my hand and when Kuhaal was close to me, I used the same hand that I used to throw the silver spikes earlier, and hit him with it. Kuhaal was shocked to see that there were still spiked in my hand, reducing his reaction speed, causing my attack to hit. He flew through the air with spikes impaled on his body for about a hundred meters before crashing. I extended my wings and flapped it down to raise my body and charged went to where Kuhaal landed with a quick speed. I didn¡¯t forget about the children, so before I flapped my wings, I looked towards the two frightened children and growled, causing them to run away while screaming their eyes out. When I arrived at where Kuhaal was, I saw him standing up with numerous wounds on his body while blood gushed out of them. The creepy thing is, he had a smiling face, while he was laughing like a madman. ¡°HAHAHAHAHA!!!! THE FIGHT THAT I WAS YEARNING FOR HUNDRED OF YEARS!!! AHAHAHAH!!!! I NEED MORE!!! MORE UNTIL I CAN MOVE NO LONGER!!!¡± Kuhaal locked eyes with me and flapped his two black ominous wings. This time, he didn¡¯t charge, but just fly in front of me. ¡°TAKE THIS!!! MY STRONGERST ABILITY THAT I WILL SHOW YOU!!! HAHAHAHA!!!! SURVIVE THIS IF YOU CAN DRAGON CHILD!!!¡± In his hand, blood was gathering. His own blood, blood from the surroundings, blood from the corpses, it was like he was gathering blood from the town. When I took a closer look at the town, I saw that people with wounds were having their blood drained out as they writhe in agony. ¡°GROOOOOOOHHHH!!!!¡± (YOU BASTARD!!!) Without wasting any time, I quickly charged in for the last clash between the fight of a vampire and a dragon. This will surely end in the destruction of the town, but if I leave this psycho alive, more people will fall victim to his acts. ¡°DRAGON CHILD!!!! FEEL MY STRONGEST ATTACK!!!! [BLOOD METEOR]!!!!¡± A giant ball of blood appeared overhead of Kuhaal as it continued gathering blood to enlarge its size. When Kuhaal finished the gathering, the ball of blood was the size of half the town. If this lands, who knows what damage will await for this town. The giant ball of blood went flying towards me. I can dodge this easily, but if I do, then the town will be ruined. So there is only one choice left. ¡°GRAAAHHHH!!!!¡± (AS IF I¡¯LL LET YOU!!!) I gathered air in my lungs and breathed a ton of fire, hoping to burn out the blood meteor before it hits me and lands. ¡°DON¡¯T FORGET ABOUT ME!!!¡± While I was busy burning the blood meteor, Kuhaal came charging at me while holding a blood sword. He swung it at me but I blocked it with my tail. He kept on swinging his sword at me in hoped of tiring me out while I was trying to burn the blood meteor. The meteor was about half of its size, but it was already directly above me. If I dodge, there will be countless death in the town, so I mustered up my strength and charged towards the meteor while spewing out flames from my mouth. ¡°AHAHAHA!!! TAKE THIS!!! AND THIS!! THIS!! THIS!!! AND MORE OF THIS!!!! AHAHAHHAA!!!!¡± While I was busy pushing the meteor to soften the landing or even burn it all up before it lands, Kuhaal was busy slashing at me. I¡¯ve long forgotten about defense and numerous wounds appeared on my body. Somehow, that blood sword is capable of wounding me as you can see from the wounds on my body and tail. ¡°AHAHAHA!!! BLOOD!!! MORE BLOOD!!!!¡± ¡°GROOOOOOOHHH!!¡± (YOU WON¡¯T WIN THIS FIGHT!!!!) Kuhaal used his [Blood Drain] skill to siphon the blood out of my body. This hurts like hell, but thankfully, when he did that, the meteor was already burned up. [Creation]!!! [Dragon Tail]!!! I used my [Creation] skill to create a silver spike worth two kilograms. During this fight, I was able to regenerate my MP from using potions. Since I had no time, I swallowed the potions, along with the bottle. If you¡¯re asking me where I got this, it was inside my item box. The spike was created pointing towards Kuhaal and near my tail. And using [Dragon Tail], I hit the spike, causing it to fly towards Kuhaal, piercing through his body and heart. A huge hole appeared on his chest, showing that his heart and lungs were obliterated from the attack. ¡°GAAHAHAAAHA!!! SPLENDID!!! Dragon¡­ Child¡­¡± With his last words, Kuhaal created another blood meteor from his blood and my blood and sent it crashing down the town. ¡°GOOOOHHHH!!!!¡± (WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO!!!!) Kuhaal crashed to the ground, never to move again, but the blood meteor claimed countless of lives upon impact. The town was reduced to rubble, and it is mostly impossible to repair. Now that Kuhaal was dead, the surviving soldiers directed their hatred at me. Some of them were throwing stones, others used magic, some threw their weapons, etc. Somehow, this doesn¡¯t feel like a victory at all. I saw Luna, Kiera, Liana, and Phana looking at me with a worried face as they knew what truly happened, but this is where we part ways. I flew away from the town in hopes of getting away from the scorn and hatred of the citizens and landed in a forest where there were no signs of life that was far away from the town. I also reverted back to my human form. ¡°¡­Shit!!¡± I punched a tree, cursing my own incompetence for being unable to save most of the citizens in that town. ¡°AAAHHHHHH!!!!¡± Countless punches assaulted the poor tree as my angry shouts echoed through the forest. Vol 2. Chapter 18 After venting my frustration on the now brutally murdered tree, I continued walking through the forest. ¡°Haahh¡­ No use mulling over spilt milk, I have to continue¡­¡± Encouraging myself to press on the thick forest, I came upon a lake. The clear water seemed like it was good enough to drink so I came closer in hopes of drinking as I was exhausted and thirsty from fighting. That¡¯s when I first realized. I haven¡¯t seen my appearance yet haven¡¯t I? I never did see how I looked like when I was reincarnated so I was curious to see what did the present me look like. When I reached the edge of the river, the clear water reflected my face and I froze on the spot. What the¡­? My face didn¡¯t really change from how I looked like in my past life, but the main point of my shock was the color of my hair and pupils. I had white hair as pure as snow, and golden eyes that looks like it was made of gold. Why did my hair and eye color change? I thought I requested that my looks will be the same as the past me¡­ While I was stuck in thought, I heard a rustling sound from the bushed behind me. As this was still inside a forest, the lake was surrounded by thick shrubbery and trees about a meter in diameter. I opened my item box and pulled out Cordo, who I placed inside during my fight with Kuhaal. ¡®Huwaahhhh¡­ Oh? Partner? Did the fight end?¡¯ When I pulled out Cordo from the item box, he let out a huge yawn, accompanied with a question about the result of the fight. I killed Kuhaal, but the town was reduced to rubble. It would take decades for it to stand up again. ¡®No wonder you had a grim looking face. Listen, wh---¡¯ His voice was cut off as I swung Cordo in an arc. While Cordo was talking, the rustling in the bush ceased, and an animal that looks like a rabbit jumped out and lunged at me. The rabbit had a 3-inch long horn on its forehead. It was a horned rabbit, a G-rank monster. My attack sliced through its body, cleanly cutting it in half. Its blood and innards scattered on the grass while the body fell to the ground with a thud. It was a relief that the blood or the body didn¡¯t land inside the water. I can¡¯t have it polluting the lake because I need some water to drink and store for the long journey ahead. ¡®¡­That caught me off guard, anyway, let me continue. During a fight between two strong entities, there are bound to be casualties when the area is populated. Even if one were to protect the others, it is just impossible to protect all of them. Believe me I¡¯ve experienced it with my former partner. What¡¯s important is that you minimized the deaths that could happen if that organization where to clash with another and prevented more deaths if their organization was to continue in the far off future.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t refute his words because all of it was logical and based on reasoning. But then, it¡¯s my fault that happened the town was destroyed. Because of my powerlessness, I was unable to protect most of the citizens. The children, the elderly, countless of innocent deaths happened because of m--- Ouch!!! While I was talking pessimistically and how it was my fault that a lot of citizens died, Cordo used his dull side of the blade to strike at my forehead. ¡®Idiot!!! If you feel that you are weak then become stronger! If you feel that you are lacking, then work harder!! If you are cursing yourself because of your own powerlessness, then have a friend that could whack you on the head to get you back up!! I may be a sword, but I am not different from you. I also have my weaknesses. The time when I was unable to protect my previous partner made me despair, but now, I am facing the future and becoming stronger so that I could proudly say that my partner was the best!¡¯ His words set my heart ablaze. My mind cleared and I felt like a huge weight on my shoulders disappeared. ¡­ You¡¯re right¡­ I shouldn¡¯t be looking at the past and blaming myself for my own errors. Instead, I should look at the past and learn from them to do better in the future. ¡®That¡¯s the spirit partner!! But, are you sure you should continue? I mean, the blood is flowing to the river¡­¡¯ !? Ah!!! While I was engrossed in my chat with Cordo, the blood of the fallen horned rabbit flowed towards the river, dying a part of it in red. NOO!!!! I NEED TO STOP THE SPREADING!!! ¡®Pffttt¡­ Hahahaha!!!¡¯ While I quickly prevented the spread of the blood through the water, Cordo laughed his mind out as I stumbled here and there during my prevention activity. ¡­ ~ Third Person POV ~ In the Human continent, where countless of the human race lived, there stood a girl with raven black hair that could be said to be a rare type of hair color, along with others with the same hair color. The name of the girl is Endou Kayaka, a hero summoned by the King of the Kingdom of Elika, with the mission to vanquish the Demon Lord. ¡°Ryou, here is your sword. I¡¯ve made the adjustments according to your preference. If there is anything wrong, please don¡¯t hesitate to ask me.¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Of course, Kayaka-san.¡± Beside her was a man with short black hair. In his hands, he held a sword resembling a katana that was handed to him by Kayaka. His name was Hyoudo Ryou, another hero who was summoned together with her. ¡°Everybody listen up! We will now hold the strategy meeting before going into the dungeon. The strategy is the same as last time with Hyoudo and the others as the vanguards, and Kayaka with the mages as the rearguards. Archers and scouts are to survey the area for any traps or hidden monsters and quickly inform the group. During combat, they are to support with the fighting by laying cover fire on the attacking monsters, any questions?¡± A young adult woman who had black hair and was wearing special eyeglasses for battle went in front of the group and announced their plan. She held a giant sword that was the same size, if not, bigger than her body in her right hand. She was Tani Tanura, another hero and was the acting principal of the school. The group of 28 black haired people, excluding Tanura, became silent as they focused their gaze on Tanura. ¡°Then, without delay, let¡¯s go!!!¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°OOOHHHH!!!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± The group cheered and went inside the dungeon. It was until two months later that the whole dungeon was captured by the group of heroes. ¡­ In the Demihuman continent where most of the demihumans lived, a giant tree that was as tall as the heavens towered about. If one were to look up when standing at its base, they would be able to marvel upon its beauty and tranquility. Surrounding this tree was a huge, abundant forest. This forest is the homeland of the elves known as the Elven Forest, and the giant tree that stood at the center of the forest is called the Sacred Tree. Inside the tree was where the superior species of the elves, known as High Elves resided. ¡°Haahhh¡­ What should I do¡­?¡± Inside a certain room, a blond haired high elf could be seen mumbling to herself. The room was decorated with expensive furniture, but most of the furniture was made of wood. An example would be the bed frame, cabinets, desk, etc. While sitting in front of her desk with a feather pen in hand, she let out a sigh as she put it down and leaned on the chair. ¡°Why did you suddenly disappear, Hero-sama?¡± While she was contemplating on what to do about the destroyed town, a knock could be heard from the door. ¡°Princess, the meeting will start now.¡± ¡°Ah! Please wait for a moment.¡± The elf stood up from her chair and stood in front of a mirror that can reflect her whole body. She was Luna Lumisiera, the fifth elf princess of the elves. Seeing that her dress was okay and her hair was fixed, she headed for the door and opened it. Behind the door stood an elf dressed in what you could call a maid¡¯s clothing. ¡°Let me escort you princess.¡± ¡°Please.¡± The two then left for the conference meeting that could change the fate of the whole elf race. ¡­ In the Beast Continent, there stood a lone person wearing what seemed to be a cloak. The cloak covered his whole body, along with his face. He was standing in a middle of a wasteland, with corpses of monsters around him. The smell of blood wafted through the air as he nonchalantly left the area, seeming pleased at the result. ¡°If I am not mistaken, the fortuneteller said that the war with the Demon race will start soon, and that only one person will be able to fight against him.¡± While he was talking to himself, a monster that played dead lunged at him with a speed that even a combat veteran would not be able to react. The monster looked like a dog with three heads, and was the boss of this wasteland. Its name was Cerberus, the watchdog of hell, an S-rank monster. It stood for about three meters while blood was dripping from its body. ¡°Oh! As expected of an S-rank monster!¡± The cloaked man exclaimed. Cerberus attacked with the claws on its paws. The swipe was dodged with minimal movement, but the claw snagged on the cloak, causing it to rip, revealing the cloaked figure. He had ears like a tiger on the top of his head and the color of his hair was a golden brown. His eyes had a color of brown with vertical slits that looked on Cerberus like it was hunting for prey while his mouth was smiling with the canines peeking out. His face was overall a human, if the features that could be found on beasts were excluded. ¡°Hahaha!!! That¡¯s more like it!!! Come!!!¡± The tiger man dodged another swipe from Cerberus paws and lunged at it. While he was charging, Cerberus quickly retracted its paw and used one of its head to bite at the charging tiger man. ¡°Hahaha!!! To slow!!!¡± The tiger man, while in air, changed his direction to the side, dodging the bite from one of Cerberus¡¯ head. He grabbed his sword that was hanging on his waist and sliced at the neck of the head, beheading it. Cerberus¡¯ remaining two heads cried in pain and in anguish at the loss of one of its heads¡¯. Cerberus launched another attack as the tiger man was still in midair. ¡°Don¡¯t you ever learn?¡± The tiger man once again changed direction in midair and beheaded another one of its head. ¡°GRAHHH!!!¡± Cerberus lost strength in its legs and collapsed while bleeding at an alarming rate. Even if it was left alone, it will still bleed to death so there was no way for it to survive. ¡°Sorry about this, but become experience points for me so that I can kill the Demon Lord.¡± The tiger man swung his sword at the neck of the remaining head and beheaded head, ending its life. ¡°Now then, I hope I won¡¯t get found out.¡± With a mischievous, the tiger man headed back to the place where he was born, the Hartman Capital. ¡­ In the Demon Continent where demons resided, a figure with a 5-meter long tail and horns that are twice as long as that of a rhino¡¯s on his head, was seated on the throne. He was Kutzeros Lamphiba, the present king of the demons, also known as Demon Lord. ¡°How long until the demons have gathered and are ready to move out?¡± ¡°In about a week, the demons will be ready to invade the beast continent. But are you sure that you got your power back?¡± ¡°Yesss... Kukuku¡­ Thanks to a certain someone I found at the demihuman continent, my power is greater than the past. Impersonating a receptionist was a good choice in hopes of finding a strong individual.¡± The demon that Kutz was talking to froze up the moment he heard that a certain someone was able to fuel the Demon Lord¡¯s power to this extent. ¡°I see¡­ My condolences for that certain someone.¡± That demon had the head of a mantis, four human arms, and insect legs. He was Veda, one of the Demon Generals in command of Demon Lord¡¯s Army. He whispered under his breath condolences for the poor victim that fueled his pervert master. ¡°Soon¡­ It won¡¯t be long now¡­ Kukukuku¡­ Kouta-chan, let¡¯s meet again¡­¡± The demon lord had flushed cheeks as he remembered the person that had tugged at his heartstrings the moment he laid his eyes on him ¡­ ~ Kouta POV ~ We should get ready now Cordo, we¡¯ll leave first thing in the morning and head towards the north while following the road path. ¡®Of course partner! If we want to head towards the Human continent, we need to find a town or village and ask directions while heading north to shorten the distance. Also, if things get too dicey, turn into a dragon and you know what to do.¡¯ I know. We were discussing our plans inside a makeshift shelter I made by using sticks and wood. Since I didn¡¯t know how to do it, I made a survival guide book using [Creation] and followed the steps and successfully made a temporary shelter. While travelling, I should probably focus on leveling up my [Dota 2 Skill Set] so on every cooldown, I¡¯ll keep on selecting [Dragon Knight] to make sure that I keep my appearance. ¡®Hmm¡­ Did you say something partner?¡¯ No, it¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s just a way to level up my skill. ¡®Okay then.¡¯ I laid Cordo beside me and lied down on the patch of grass under the makeshift shelter. Kayaka, I¡¯m coming back soon so wait for me. As I kept on thinking about my little sister, my consciousness faded as I fell into a deep slumber. Vol 3. Chapter 1 Where am I? Is this a dream? Before I noticed, I found myself floating through a dark space with no control over my movements. I couldn¡¯t feel my limbs as I slowly drifted through the seemingly endless void. What is happening? Just as I was questioning the weird situation I was in, my surroundings suddenly lit up blinded my eyes for a moment. When my vision returned, what I saw was a peaceful valley with trees and greenery. The grass was soft and the air was fresh, causing me to feel relaxed. *Don* *Don* Suddenly, the scenery changed from that of a peaceful valley, to that of a city. The rubbles in my surroundings suggested that a fight took place in this area. When I turned around, I saw a face that was familiar to me. She had brown hair that was in twintails with clear blue eyes. She was wearing what seemed to be clothing for mages. She held a staff in her right hand, while she had a dagger sheathed in her waist standing as a backup weapon. Her name was Alexis, the girl I mistook as a ¡®trap¡¯ back in the dungeon. In front of her was a giant monster that looked at Alexis with a face like that of a predator looking at its prey. When I looked closer, Alexis was heavily wounded and was gasping for air while the monster was practically unharmed. !? Shit!!! I quickly sprang into action and charged towards the giant monster in hopes of saving Alexis. But something hindered me from taking any actions. When I travelled a certain amount of distance, I was brought back to where I first stood. What the!? I kept on charging towards the two, but the mysterious phenomenon kept on sending me back to my original spot. ¡°ALEXIS!!!¡± As I kept on charging without stopping, the monster raised its thick arm and swung it down on Alexis. The arm that came in contact with the tiny body of Alexis was quickly smashed to pieces as blood scattered on the area. ¡°AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!¡± I kept on charging, this time, without paying heed to the consequences it may bring to my body. Just then, my surroundings went back to being the void and my consciousness was cut. ¡­ ¡°AAAHHHH!!!¡± I quickly rose up from the patch of grass that I slept on with sweat flowing through my body. ¡®Hey! Partner! Did you have a bad dream? You¡¯ve been sweating since earlier and you didn¡¯t respond to my telepathy.¡¯ Beside me was a sword with a simple design, but don¡¯t mistake it for its blandness as this sword is an intelligent weapon known as Cordo. I-It¡¯s nothing. Just a bad dream¡­ ¡®Are you sure? You should speak to me if you feel that something is not right.¡¯ I told you, it¡¯s nothing. It was just a bad dream. ¡®¡­ Okay, I won¡¯t pry any further. Now then, should we get going?¡¯ I grabbed Cordo by the handle and stood up. Using [Creation], I created numerous plastic bottles that can store about 2 liters for each bottle. I filled it all up with the water from the lake and placed all of the bottles inside my item box. I also took the makeshift shelter with me by using my item box. That should take care of the water, next is the food. Before I went to sleep, I made a few traps to snare some wild animals to be used as my food. Thanks to the survival guide I made using [Creation], I was able to make a simple snare trap from using vines from a nearby tree. I headed in the directions where I placed my traps and 3 / 5 traps were successfully able to catch prey. The animals or monsters in this case that were caught were horned rabbits. The bait used was a carrot I bought from the market. I used Cordo to slice it into 5 so that I could use it as bait to catch some game. Following the survival guide on how to dismantle a corpse, I was able to gain meat, albeit little as I was an amateur in dismantling, for food. Now that food is taken care of, shall we set off? ¡®Let¡¯s, partner.¡¯ With that, the two of us set off on our journey back to the Human continent. ¡­ Hours later, I was able to arrive at a road thanks to using the [Dota 2 Map Function] to find easier directions. If I could use this to immediately find the directions, then I would have done so earlier, but this map is only able to display about two kilometers with me as the center. So my only option right now is to find a settlement or town and ask for directions, and while using the map as a compass, travel to my destination. I would love to use [Elder Dragon Form], but I risk attracting attention and sending a subjugation team at my back, and with the town destruction earlier, my dragon appearance must now be wanted throughout the elf territory, or worse, the Demihuman continent. When I reached the road, I continued heading trough path that leads to the north. While monsters often times attack me, I fended the off while taking any loot I can get and place it inside my item box. When the sun sets, I make camp ate the meat that was edible I got from the monsters that attacked me and that got caught by my trap. We continued this for about three days before something showed up on my map. 2 kilometers from here, I should be able to reach another town, albeit smaller than the one that was destroyed. Finally, no more camping outside¡­Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. While I thought to myself about the beds I could use in the inns, the sound of an explosion echoed through the area. The earth shook and a string gale assaulted where I stood. Nghh!!! What the heck!!! When I turned towards the source, I saw a party of five battling a giant monster. The monster closely resembled the extinct mammoth back on Earth, with the exception of a scorpion¡¯s tail. The party of five was clearly exhausted as they continued battling the giant monster. Looking closely, the party consisted of a female and male dwarf, a male dragonewt, a female elf, and a tall male human. The human was probably one of the giants race, as he towered for about 2.5 meters. They all looked like in their teenage years as they looked younger than the average adventurers. Their age range is probably from 15 ¨C 18 years old. By this world¡¯s standards, they are already adults. Cordo, get ready! ¡®Yes!¡¯ Cordo replied in an excited manner, probably because he was itching to fight with a giant mammoth. I dashed towards the party while wielding Cordo in my right hand with incredible speed. Our distance was about 200 meters, but that was covered in a matter of seconds with my speed. ¡­ ~ Third Person POV ~ ¡°Shit!!! Why is this monster here!?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know! Just run!!!¡± Five demihumans were running from a giant monster behind their backs. The monster had an appearance of a mammoth, excluding its tail resembling that of a scorpion¡¯s. ¡°Chiemi!! Can you use your earth magic to stop it!?¡± ¡°Impossible!! I¡¯m still a novice mage who can use only beginner earth magic!!!¡± Chiemi, the female dwarf, replied in a surprised expression at her elf party member, Eulia. Taking into account that all of them were fledgling adventurers, it is likely impossible for them to immobilize it, let alone slow or make a scratch on it as the monster that was chasing them was a rank-A monster known as [Marpion]. The Marpion is known to possess high physical power and for its unpredictable movements, making it a huge threat to villages or unprepared forts and towns. A Marpion regularly travels alone and is an omnivore that can eat either plants or meat, but prefers meat more than plants. Marpions are extremely hostile towards other living beings, even to their own kind, so meeting with two of them together is mostly impossible. If that happened, then it would be a nightmare. ¡°Hurry up you guys! I¡¯ll try and buy some time!!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t Kalgo!! You¡¯ll die!!¡± The demihuman that raised his voice was the giant, Kalgo, saying that he would buy his teammates time to escape, but was immediately shot down by Yami, the dragonewt. ¡°But we can¡¯t keep running like this! If we continue, all of us will die!!¡± ¡°Then why not fight till the bitter end! If we are to die anyway, then why not die while fighting, not by running as cowards!!¡± The male dwarf who was silent until now spoke up while gasping for breath. Certainly, if they continued like this, all of them would die. All of them were weak to the point where even the giant race Kalgo, who had physical superiority to the others in that party, would likely die in one hit from the Marpion¡¯s trunk. ¡°Nii-chan!!¡± ¡°Chiemi, your brother is right! Even if we left one of us to buy time, The Marpion would just trample him down like mud and quickly reach us!! Why not fight that monster till the end!! We still may have a chance of beating this thing down and being successful adventurers!!¡± ¡°Chen!!! Your orders!!¡± While Kalgo agreed with the male dwarf, Chen, the dragonewt, Yami, awaited orders while being out of breath from continuously running from the Marpion. ¡°Haha!! Even if we are to die, we will still die together with honor!!! Kalgo! Pick up the giant rock in front of us and throw it towards the Marpion!! After that, Yami is to attack it with his elemental blade. Chiemi and Eulia is to support Yami! Kalgo! You¡¯ll join with Yami to attack the Marpion!! I¡¯ll also join with Kalgo and Yamu and keep on using earth magic to restrain it if it is possible!!¡± ¡°¡°¡°Understood!!!¡±¡±¡± Out of the four other party members, only one was unable to respond. She was their elf party member, Eulia. Looking around, Chen found Eulia on the ground with ragged breathing, indicating that her body had already reached its limit. Behind her was the Marpion. The Marpion raised its large trunk and swung it towards the female elf who, was on the ground because of being exhausted. ¡°Eulia!!!¡± Chen yelled out towards his party member, who was about to be smashed in front of his very eyes. The trunk of the mammoth was smashed down on the ground and generated a shockwave capable of knocking down their giant. A cloud of dust covered the area around where Eulia once was. ¡°DAMN YOU!!!¡± Chen, having reached his limit, charged towards the Marpion with no regards to his safety. ¡°!? Nii-san!!!¡± Chiemi, who was worried and mortified towards the current situation, called out towards her brother who was recklessly charging towards the Marpion. ¡°Ngghh... Heavy!!! What the heck is this trunk made of!?¡± Just then, a voice unfamiliar to the group was heard where Eulia was. The voice sounded like someone who was complaining while under the stress of something heavy. Said voice also poured a bucket of cold water on the enraged Chen, causing him to stop in his tracks. ¡°Nghhh!!! Haaaahhh!!!¡± ¡°!? Hiihh!!¡± With a shout, something flew about ten meters from the dust cloud and landed beside Chen. It was the trunk if the Marpion. Blood gushed out from where it was severed. Just as the trunk landed, the cloud of dust subsided, revealing a white haired, golden-eyed half dragonewt wielding a simple decorated sword. He had a tail with silver lustrous scales, capable of charming the public eyes with just its sight alone. ¡°Beautiful¡­¡± Yami, who was a dragonewt, almost the same as him, muttered something under his breath that no one else heard. ¡­ ~ Kouta POV ~ Damn that was heavy!!! What was that!!? ¡®That was the trunk of a Marpion, with its enhanced strength, that swing was on par with a human sized cannonball launched into a castle wall with full force. If that swing smashed into the girl behind you, there would have been no trace of her left.¡¯ What us with that!? Then you¡¯re telling me that I could¡¯ve died by just receiving that attack!? ¡®Yes.¡¯ As I made that exchange with Cordo, the mammoth, or Marpion, cried out in pain and anger. It raised its scorpion tail and used to in an attempt to skewer me. How the heck are you still alive!? Can¡¯t you breathe!? ¡®Idiot, can you see that it has a mouth right? It can still survive a couple of minutes, so quickly end this fight!¡¯ *Ting* With a sound that almost sounded like metal clashing against metal, the scorpion tail was stopped by my silver tail. Even this is heavy!! ¡®Be careful partner, if the poison of the Marpion enters your body, you will die in a matter of seconds. Scary!!! While feeling scared about how I almost died twice because of receiving the Marpion¡¯s attacks, I quickly redirected the tail to make it slide against mine. While the tail missed its targer, I quickly used Cordo to sever its tail. The Marpion once against raised its pained voice as it began trembling. ¡®Partner, Marpions, upon losing their tail flee, but this Marpion, maybe feeling that it has no more chance to live, will use the last of its strength to bring you down! Get ready!!!¡¯ Get ready for what!? As I screamed in my head about the warning of Cordo, on the Marpion¡¯s mouth, a condensed ball of light could be seen. !? A laser beam!? ¡®What is a laser beam? Anyway, that is a magic skill called [Ray of Light]. Marpions, in addition to their high physical capabilities, can also use a random magic type. It seems that this Marpion has a light attribute!¡¯ So that is technically a laser beam!!! Anyway, how can I stop that!? ¡®Use me partner! I can reflect that attack!¡¯ Are you serious!? ¡®Trust me!!¡¯ While I was at a dilemma on what to do with this dangerous situation, the magic finished charging and launched towards me. Shit!! Cordo!! You better not be lying!!! I swung Cordo towards the laser beam at the instruction of Cordo. ¡®[Flowing Sword Technique ¨C Secret Technique: Light Reflection]!!!¡¯ The laser beam suddenly changed its course to the opposite direction when it came in contact with Cordo. The Marpion was enveloped in light as it blinded my eyes. Moments later, the light subsided. I regained my vision and in front of me, was a Marpion with burn marks all over its body. It was lying down on the ground unmoving, indicating that it has already lost its life. Thank you Cordo!!! ¡®We are partners after all.¡¯ While I thanked Cordo, Cordo just shrugged and went back to being a silent sword. When I turned around, I saw the four other demihumans looking at me like some kind of savior. ¡°Umm¡­ Hello¡­¡± Vol 3. Chapter 2 ¡°Umm¡­ Hello¡­¡± A stupid voice left my mouth as I greeted the four demihumans. ¡°!? Eulia!!¡± While the other three were still stupefied at the current situation, a male dwarf opened his mouth to shout someone¡¯s name. The shout also brought the other three to their senses and all of them rushed towards the girl elf lying on the ground. ¡°Eulia!! Get a hold of yourself!!¡± The male dwarf, shouting out words with a voice that didn¡¯t match his appearance, held the elf girl known as Eulia. When I took a closer look, Eulia had a pale complexion, almost to the point where she looked like she would die any moment now. ¡°Oi!! Eulia!! I can¡¯t seem to wake her up!!¡± ¡°Are you sure that she is just exhausted?¡± ¡°Idiot!! Exhaustion from running at full throttle for a minute or two isn¡¯t enough to knock you out!! This is clearly something different!!¡± ¡°Eulia!!¡± ¡°Eu-chan!!¡± ¡®Partner, this is bad. Look for a scratch or any wound on her body.¡¯ While the group of demihumans was trying to wake up their fallen teammate, Cordo used telepathy to warn me about something. ¡­Do you know the reason why she passed out Cordo? ¡®This is no ordinary exhaustion. It has probably something to do with an external source. Also, when I used [Appraisal], it didn¡¯t show any debuffs.¡¯ Then let me use [Appraisal] on her. Name: Eulia Level: 6 HP: 310 / 642 (856) MP: 310 / 910 Str: 29 Agi: 28 Int: 37 Dex: 27 End: 27 Luc: 9 Skills: [Healing Magic 2] [Staff Technique 1] Titles: N/A Debuffs: [Low Health Sickness] When I used [Appraisal] on Eulia I found a debuff called [Low Health Sickness]. It doesn¡¯t have a level so it seems when one is affected by this debuff, all of them will have the same symptoms. [Low Health Sickness] ¨C Affected people are impossible to fully recover (Only up to 75% maximum HP can be recovered) and are stricken with extreme exhaustion when HP is below 40%. Those with 40% Hp and below will have their HP drained until they die and cannot use skills or magic. Can only infect newborns and is concealed from [Appraisal] leveled 9 and below. What the!? Isn¡¯t this just too much of a debuff!? ¡¯O-Oi partner? What¡¯s wrong?¡¯ Many things!!! Apparently, Eulia has a debuff called [Low Health Sickness]. With the level of your appraisal, it is impossible to view it. ¡®¡­ Then, isn¡¯t it a high level debuff?¡¯ No, there aren¡¯t any levels. My appraisal just says that it is impossible to view with [Appraisal] levels 9 and below. ¡®Isn¡¯t that a curse!?¡¯ Maybe, but it can only affect newborns so if you weren¡¯t born with this, then you won¡¯t be infected. ¡®Still, isn¡¯t that something that can seriously affect your whole life? If one had complete control over this debuff, then he can weaken the next generations with ease.¡¯ Both of us paused for a moment before I broke the silence and began to communicate with Cordo via telepathy. Then, what can I do? I can¡¯t risk changing my appearance in front of them. ¡®¡­ For now, I suggest you ask them to check her body.¡¯ ¡­ Got it¡­ After our internal discussion, I walked towards the group and raised my voice. ¡°Excuse me, but would you please let me see her for a moment.¡± I politely asked the group if I could check on the body of the Eulia. The male dwarf turned his head towards my direction, along with the other three. ¡°Sir! Do you know something about Eulia¡¯s condition!?¡± Woah¡­ Suddenly turning around and shouting would give me a heart attack¡­ ¡°I-I might¡­ So would you all please kindly move away.¡± ¡°You heard him! Chiemi, Kalgo, Yami, please step aside.¡± The four stepped aside to give me a path straight towards Eulia. I picked up her body that had white as snow skin. !? Cold!!! When I touched her, I almost dropped her reflexively because of how cold she was. What the heck!! Isn¡¯t she almost close to dying!!! When I used appraisal again, I found that her HP bar was already below 200. What the heck!! Isn¡¯t this too fast!? ¡®Partner, didn¡¯t you say that you were able to gain skill points for your skill? Check it if you can level it up on the next transformation. The 30 minute cooldown is almost up.¡¯Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. I did as Cordo asked and used appraisal to check up on my skill. (Hero set number of changes: 14) (Hero set number of changes left before next level: 1) Yes!! With one more change, I can access the shop!! And with the money I have, I can buy the healing items to recover Eulia! Since yesterday, I¡¯ve been changing my skill set on every cooldown. For it to be useful this early in the game, I appreciate it. I quickly used the [Dota 2 Skill Set] skill to change again to my previous hero skill set, [Dragon Knight]. Without anything happening, information flowed inside my head about the shop mechanic. I see, to open the shop, first will it to appear. I followed the instructions and willed the menu of the shop to appear. A menu filled with items I was familiar with appeared in my front vision. According to appraisal, only I could see the menu. Using the search option, I searched for the item [Healing Salve]. One [Healing Salve] is equal to 50 silver coins and luckily, I have just inside my bag. To hide the usage of the skill with the onlookers, I reached inside my bag and exchanged 50 silver coins for the healing salve. I felt my hand grabbing a smooth surface which I knew that it was glass. I brought it outside to show the demihumans that I have something that I can use to heal Eulia so that they can relax. Instead, they tensed further and focused more on the scene. ¡­ Please stop staring¡­ You¡¯re making me sweat¡­ When I brought the healing salve near Eulia, I realized¡­ ¡­ How do I use this¡­? Back in Dota 2, all you have to do is just press the button of your preference to use it, but how does one actually use it in real life? (For external wounds, apply on the wounded area. And for internal wounds or sickness, ingest the fluid) Thank you appraisal!!! ¡®O-Oi!? You scared me, when you were silent, I thought of using telepathy to hear your thoughts and a noisy shout is what I got¡­¡¯ Sorry about that Cordo¡­ Anyway, now that I know how to use the salve, I brought the glass towards her mouth in hopes of drinking it. Sadly, with her body as it is now, she coughed it back up. When I used appraisal again to check her HP, it is already almost reaching 100. What should I do, a few more seconds and she dies¡­ ¡®Partner, let her drink it, mouth to mouth¡­¡¯ HUH!? W-What are you talking about Cordo!! When I tried contemplating on what to do, Cordo came up with an embarrassing method. ¡®Just do it! We are already running out of time! Or do you want to see the corpse of a female elf? You can take it out on me later, but for now, just trust me!¡¯ ¡­ Okay!!! I got it!! I brought the bottle to my lips and sucked up some of the liquid, then, I brought it to Eulia¡¯s mouth to forcefully make her drink. ¡°!? OI!!!¡± You can take it out on me later, but for now, just tough it up seeing that your crush is getting CPR from a stranger. I ignored someone who raised their voice and took another mouthful and forcefully make her drink until the glass bottle was empty. When I used appraisal, I saw that her HP is now more than 500. Looking at her complexion, she had a peaceful face, as if just sleeping peacefully without a care in the world. ¡°I thank you sir for saving one of my teammates.¡± Once I was finished with her treatment, the male dwarf approached me and gave me his words of gratitude. ¡°Also me! Thank you for saving Eu-chan!¡± ¡°Indeed, this one is grateful.¡± ¡°Thank you!!¡± Also, one by one, the whole group of demihumans, save the sleeping elf, gave me their thanks, but somehow, I feel that the male dwarf was glaring daggers at me. ¡°A-Ah¡­ It¡¯s no problem. Us adventurers need to help one another right?¡± While I made an excuse about wanting to help Eulia, the female dwarf, who looked like a grade-schooler raised her voice. ¡°Anyway, mister! What rank are you? To subjugate an A-rank monster alone, you must be an S-rank right!?¡± With sparkling eyes, the female dwarf quickly approached me with nimble footwork. She had brown hair and pointy ears. Her height was lower than my chest and she had blue eyes. On her right hand, she is holding a wooden staff. Using appraisal, I found out that the staff was just an ordinary rod enchanted with magic to boost the wielder¡¯s magic output. She wore what seemed to be robes what common mages use. ¡°Indeed, for subjugating a Marpion single-handedly, you must be no ordinary adventurer.¡± After the female dwarf, next was the dragonewt. He had black hair and black eyes, the same traits as us heroes, or Japanese. He had a tail that grew for about a meter that was adorned with black lustrous scales. Also, his arms, legs, and neck also had black scales, the same as his tail. He was dressed as an ordinary adventurer with leather vests, pants, and boots, but his weapon, a katana was clearly a superior item. ¡°Thank you stranger!¡± Next up was the giant. He had a tall and muscular frame. His height was about 2.5 meters, completely overshadowing me from the sun¡¯s rays. He looks no different from a human, except for giant body. He had grayish hair with gray eyes, almost looking like he was blind. He wore and oversized leather vest, and had leather shorts that covers the skin up to his thighs. In his hand, he wielded a giant axe, but upon closer inspection, I saw that it was worn and rugged. It won¡¯t be long until he looks for a new weapon. ¡°Nii-chan!! Show your thanks!!!¡± While the three were giving their thanks, the male dwarf, who was still beside the unconscious Eulia, was called by the female dwarf. ¡°¡­E- Ehh!? Excuse me¡­ I thank you for saving Eulia. My name is Chen, the female dwarf is my sister Chiemi, the giant is Kalgo, and the dragonewt is Yami. The elf that is unconscious right now is Eulia. May I please ask for yours?¡± With a quick change of pace, almost as if the male dwarf earlier hadn¡¯t been staring daggers at me earlier, introduced himself along with his team members. It would be rude to not introduce myself after the other party had already introduced their selves, so I unhesitatingly opened my mouth. ¡°My name is Kouta, a wandering adventurer. And also, can you keep a secret?¡± I gave out minimal information about myself to the other party to avoid revealing my secrets and weaknesses. But I should really tell them about one thing I need to, otherwise, there might be misunderstandings. ¡°¡­ Sure, if it is within our capabilities¡­¡± ¡°Nii-chan!!!¡± ¡°Chiemi, quiet¡­ This is for our safety.¡± ¡°¡­ Ahaha¡­ You really are suspicious of me aren¡¯t you? Well, that is what adventurers do in order to prolong their lives, and I am also the same.¡± Silence dominated the area until I opened my mouth once again to speak. ¡°Now then, please what you are going to hear a secret, and also anything that transpired here a secret. This Marpion is an A-rank, correct?¡± The four silent demihumans nodded their heads in agreement. ¡°Now, Chiemi, let me answer your question. I am not an S-rank adventurer. I am just a G-rank adventurer. I just registered now too long ago.¡± ¡°Wha-!?¡± Along with Chiemi¡¯s surprised remark, the other three also looked dumbfounded. ¡°Now, now¡­ Next is what would happen if this event got out to the public. Imagine what would happen if per say that a G-rank adventurer subjugated a Marpion single-handedly, and with proof and witnesses.¡± ¡°¡­ I think it would cause a commotion and the nobles and aristocrats will do anything in their power to restrain that adventurer in their territory¡­. Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± Chen who was silent raised his voice to reveal the course of events if this incident ever got out to the public. ¡°You¡¯ve got a good head. That¡¯s right. It would hinder my travels. Right now, I am trying to go to the Human Continent to meet up with someone I know, and I don¡¯t want to get delayed.¡± ¡°!? Human Continent!?¡± ¡°Are you crazy!? Do you know what will happen if you go there!?¡± Kalgo and Chiemi raised their voices upon hearing the reason. Of course, who would want to go to the Human Continent where they know that they would be ostracized? ¡°Also, if I said that you 5 were the ones who subjugated this Marpion, I doubt this will also end well for you.¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡­¡­..¡±¡±¡±¡± The four of them went silent at my remark. If it was said that they were the ones who subjugated this Marpion, they would be no doubt, given high difficulty requests that they might not be able to complete. Well, there also a few advantages for me and them if we were to say that we subjugated this Marpion, but the disadvantages outweighs the merits. ¡°And so, I would like to make a deal to keep this secret.¡± ¡°¡­ Like what?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you money, about 100¡ªno, 300 gold coins to keep silent about this incident.¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡­!?¡±¡±¡±¡± Upon hearing my bargain, the four of them had money signs on their eyes. They really are typical adventurers. ¡°Oi¡­ What you say is true right?¡± Chen, who was looking at me with eyes that can kill, asked for proof if this was a legit deal. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have it right here.¡± Using [Creation], I created 500 gold coins and a bag to hold all of it. It reduced my MP to about ?, but 500 gold coins is enough to let you live for about 5 years, and still have some more for some fun. I tossed the bag at their feet to let them confirm the goods. ¡°¡­Are you serious¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯re rich!!!¡± ¡°Umu¡­ Gold does tug at the heart of many men¡­¡± ¡°Nii-chan!!! Buy me a new staff!!!¡± While the demihumans were celebrating, Cordo used his telepathy to speak in my mind. ¡®Looks like all of it went well¡­¡¯ Shut up!! I¡¯m never doing this again!!! I¡¯m never going by your script again!!! While feeling tired at doing a play by play from Cordo¡¯s impromptu stageplay, the four demihumans looked at my direction. ¡°We accept¡­¡± ¡°Then that¡¯s good. By the way, if you ever spill the beans, I¡¯m coming for you all¡­¡± ¡°!? Y-Yeah¡­¡± Suddenly being targeted by extreme bloodthirst, the four demihumans flinched. ¡°Now then, for the last request, can you please guide me to the nearest town?¡± The four of them held their breaths about the last request, and then a sigh of relief came out of their mouth from hearing my request. ¡­ Later, when travelling towards the town with the merry demihuman party... ¡®¡­Stop pouting already¡­¡¯ ¡­Shut up¡­ Vol 3. Chapter 3 Before nightfall, we managed to reach the town with no difficulties. The queue for entering was almost non-existent, so it didn¡¯t take long to be granted entrance. The town¡¯s style is pretty much the same as the last town I visited, which is now rubble because of my fight with Kuhaal. It wasn¡¯t as big as the last town though. ¡°Now then, since Eulia has still been unconscious the whole trip, we will be going to an inn now to rest. I wish you good luck on your troubles sir.¡± Chen who was carrying the still unconscious Eulia, raised his voice in order to say his farewells. ¡°I bid you farewell.¡± ¡°Bye bye mister!!!¡± ¡°See ya!¡± As though a ripple has been made, his teammates followed suit. I then separated with the demihuman party, with them heading the opposite direction. Even without guides, I can see where my next destination is using the map function of my skill. It was opposite the direction where the demihuman party left for. I could also guess the inn where they will be staying. I turned around and headed towards my destination, which is the Adventurers Guild of this town. As what I need right now is information, and also some quests to raise my guild rank. While me and the demihuman party were still on our way to the town, I asked them the minimum requirements to cross continents. They said that the requirements are a ton of money, which can be easily solved by taking quests and the cheat skill [Creation], and also a minimum of B-rank guild card of any guild. My mind was calm when hearing about this information as I expected much. Before, when I asked Cordo on how to travel between continents, he said that to travel, you need to go through dangerous waters. At least, the minimum days to travel between the Demihuman Continent and the Human Continent are about two weeks, and while travelling, dangerous monsters may pop out so the rank was reasonable. But the most problematic one is a travel pass. To travel from this continent to the Human Continent would require a pass approved by at least three nobles, or the king. Since, right now, there is tension between the races, they can¡¯t just travel freely between continents. Haah¡­ What a troublesome world¡­ While letting out a mental sigh, I finally reached my destination. The guild was pretty much the same as the last guild, but this one was better for me as there was no pervert receptionist. Actually, I heard that the elf was imprisoned after me almost getting raped. Serves him right!!! Next time, I¡¯m never holding back again against perverts like him¡­ While making a promise to myself, I opened the door and headed inside the guild. What greeted me was an unusual scene of a giant bear¡¯s full moon (butthole). !? What the!? Why must this happen to me whenever I enter an Adventurers Guild!? Am I that unlucky!? Although I have that luck stat of 10, this is seriously gross!! Even when I was back in the Human Continent, whenever I entered the Adventurers Guild, most of the time--- no, all of the time, something weird happens, and this is one of them. Gah!? This stinks!!! While making my complaints inside my head, I circled around the bear, and at the counter, I saw a tall elf talking to the receptionist. The elf had greenish-blonde hair and was dressed in clothes you wouldn¡¯t think of a commoner to wear. Somehow, my image of elves being isolated in the forest and having no aristocracy is falling apart in my mind. Of course, I also thought about this back in the first town I entered along with the three royal guard elves, but this time, this really made an impact in my mind. ¡°Yes¡­ That will be about 16 gold coins in total¡­¡± The female elf receptionist handed out a bag to the noble elf. The bag made a ka-chink sound, making it obvious that it was filled with coins. ¡°Then, I bid you farewell. Come on let¡¯s go¡­¡± The noble elf turned heel and headed towards the door, behind the subjugated bear monster. Two more others followed suit and followed the noble elf. They were a dwarf and a human shaped mass of rocks, probably a rock golem. The dwarf was wearing iron armor that looked heavy enough that even body builders back on Earth would have a hard time lifting it up. On his back, a large hammer was strapped. I¡¯m sure that if a monster was hit with that at full force, the monster would probably go splat. When the three odd fellows left the guild, the surrounding adventurers went back to their own business and a couple of guild workers came and carried the bear to the back. The image of men lifting a large bear was burned in my memory. Anyway, back on topic, I took a look at the request board to try and find a suitable quest. Subjugation¡­ Subjugation¡­ Gathering¡­ Escorting¡­ Ah! Here¡¯s one! While skimming through the board, I found a relatively easy, yet rewarding request on the board. Also, they are accepting any adventurer even if the rank is low. The request was to investigate a particular ruin to the east of this town. That said, if I take this request, I would be accompanied by other parties as the employer is hiring several parties to join the investigation. I say easy because the goal of the investigation is to just guard the employers and scholars while they investigate some stuff about the ruins. And with my map function, I can keep track of them even if I am away, but it should be better to be with them. I stood in line to the reception table to inquire more about the request. Some moments later, it was already my turn.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Yes, what can I do for you?¡± ¡°Yes, I would like to inquire about the request about an investigation of a ruin east of here.¡± When I said that, the receptionist had a cramped smile. ¡°Y-Yes¡­ Would you like to accept the request?¡± Putting back on his business smile, he asked if I wanted to accept the request. Eh¡­? Shouldn¡¯t he explain some details regarding the request? ¡°U-Umm¡­ Could I hear some details regarding the request?¡± ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, but you will only receive an explanation from the employer himself. We have been told that the request detail is confidential from the guild master, so the only information you can get is from the request paper on the request board.¡± ¡°Is that so¡­?¡± While contemplating on what to do, the line behind me is starting to get noisy, so I asked one last question. ¡°Then, is there any party who has accepted this request?¡± ¡°Yes. Two parties have been confirmed to accept the request. One is a party of different demihumans, another is a party of an elf, a dwarf, and a golem.¡± Somehow, the party of different demihumans might be Eulia¡¯s party, while the other must be the noble elf party earlier. Wait, if he is a noble, then¡­ ¡°Okay, I accept this request.¡± ¡°Yes¡­ Please sign this here¡­¡± With quick and refined movements, the receptionist took out a parchment, a quill, and ink. I signed the contract and the receptionist then gave me details about the time of departure. ¡°Then, please head to the east gate two days from now.¡± I thanked the receptionist and went out of the guild. Now to find a place to rest¡­ I asked some locals to direct me to a cheap inn where I can stay for the night. Following their directions, I arrived at an inn called [The Dancing Bird]. The exterior seemed pleasant and inside, the atmosphere felt normal. There were no adventurers or people that would pick a fight, just peace and tranquility. There were a few guests eating and chatting about inside, and behind the counter was an auntie about 30 years old. I walked towards the counter and asked for how much will it cost to stay for the night. ¡°A night is 3 silver coins, 50 additional copper coins to order breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and another 10 additional copper coins for a wet towel to wipe your body.¡± ¡°Then, for two nights please, and also, lunch.¡± I hand over 6 silver coins and 50 copper coins and received a key from the auntie. ¡°Your room is the last room on the third floor. There is a bell inside each room. When the bell rings, please come down to receive your food.¡± With a smile, I went upstairs to check on the room. A bed that was not too soft, nor too hard. a desk and a stool beside the bed, and a window, and beside the door, there was a bell. I hopped on the bed to check its comfortableness, and surprisingly, it was. Not too bad for three silver coins a night. After resting for about 20 minutes, the bell rang and I headed back downstairs. I picked a table and an uncle came serving food to the table. With a greetings and a smile, he went back to the kitchen to resume his duties. The food served was stew with 2 loaves of bread as the side. I picked up the spoon and scooped some soup and brought it to my mouth. The taste was good for a regular inn. No wonder the locals recommended me this inn. The bread was a little disappointing though. To describe it in one word, it was ¡®hard¡¯. After having my lunch, I went back to the counter to give back the key as I was heading out. My destination was an armor shop and a clothing shop. Looking at my appearance, you would think that I am just like a bandit. Worn out clothes, rugged leather armor, dirty trousers, that was pretty much what I am wearing right now. After again asking a few locals, this time, adventurers who seemed skilled for the armor shop, I arrived at one of my destination, the clothing shop. Entering the building, I was greeted by a beautiful girl--- not. Instead of beautiful girl, I was greeted by a man full of testosterone, but he was wearing a dress for ladies. Looking at me like I was a new toy to play with, I quietly tried to retreat, but was caught by the man. The next hour was hell for me, but at least, I was able to get some good clothes on. My shirt was brand new, and over my shirt was a leather vest. On my lower body, I wore new trousers and brand new boots. The fabric was good and the tailoring was so well-made that it kind of felt like I was wearing modern clothes back on Earth. Next is the armor shop. Opening the door, inside were rows of armor being on display. From leather to iron, you could see a lot of different type of armor inside. Behind the counter was a slender man. His race was of the dwarfs. Finding an appropriate set of armor, and once again using [Creation] to cover the cost, I went out and headed towards the guild in hopes of finding a request that can be done today. The set of armor I bought was just leather armor made from wolf¡¯s pelt. Its defense was moderate, perfect for impersonating a new adventurer. ¡­ ~ Third Person POV ~ ¡°Where am I¡­?¡± Inside a dim room, a silhouette emerged from the earth. Its form was that of a skeleton, literally. Two red dots glowed from inside its eyes, and the bone-chilling aura it emitted was that of a dangerous monster. It wasn¡¯t wearing anything, nor was it holding any weapons. It stood for about the human¡¯s height. In front of it was a body. It was clad in dirty leather armor. Looking at the body closely, the skeleton¡¯s memory surfaced. ¡°Aaahh¡­ AARRGGHHH!!!¡± The battles it fought, the countless deaths around him, the taste of despair, and the loss of hope. ¡°W- What¡­ Happened¡­ To¡­ Me¡­¡± Remembering whose body was lying on the ground, it stood, frozen on the spot. The identity of the corpse in front of it¡­ Wasn¡¯t anyone other than it¡­ ¡°AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!¡± Upon remembering the events that happened, confusion, anger, and regret consumed its mind and its consciousness was forever lost in the void¡­ ¡­ In the adventurers guild, a day before Kouta arrived¡­ ¡°¡­ So you¡¯re saying that a monster with overwhelming strength was born in the ruins east of here? And you want to hire adventurers to help subjugate it?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± On the second floor, where the office of the guildmaster can be found, two people were discussing an urgent discussion. ¡°But, could I ask of you to not reveal the details of the request, and instead turn it into investigation of the ruins? Also, please make it so that adventurers of any rank can accept the request.¡± ¡°Now why would I do that? Are you telling me to select adventurers wet behind the ears to die an early death? Are you mad?¡± ¡°No no no¡­ I am merely stating this so that I can train them. The monster that we had discovered was just a skeleton, a skeleton with a human frame, wielding nothing but its own bare, bony hands. And if all of us cooperate, then we can easily subjugate that monster. I am not an A-rank adventurer in name only.¡± ¡°Hahaha¡­ You might be right. However, please issue a suitable reward for the danger and risk. Also, your first priority is the safety of adventurers. If things get dicey, you know what to do.¡± ¡°Of course, Gerald. Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me, I need to start preparing.¡± ¡°Take care Reed.¡± Reed, the A-rank adventurer stood up and headed towards the, before looking back and waving his hand. Gerald, the guildmaster responded by waving his hand back, and Reed then opened the door and left. ¡°¡­ You better not mess this up, Reed.¡± While mumbling to himself, Gerald went back to his desk to finish the unfinished paperwork. ¡­ ~ Kouta POV ~ Two days later, I am now waiting at the east gate where the departure will take place, along with the noble elf party composed of a the elf himself, a dwarf, and a golem, the demihuman party, Eulia, Yami, Kalgo, Chiemi, and Chen, and another party which I haven¡¯t met yet, consisting of only E-rank adventurers. The E-rank adventurer party numbered three, with a warrior as a vanguard, a mage as a rearguard, and a scout as a support. While I and the demihuman party were chatting about some small things, the employer greeted us and all of the parties joining, except for me, were shocked beyond belief. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°A-rank adventurer, Reed the Swift!?¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡­ Eh¡­?