《The Demon Queen (On Hiatus)》 Ranking Systems: NOT A CHAPTER Rarity Ranks Legendary Ultra Rare Super Rare Rare Uncommon Common Armor Rank 10: 901-1000 DEF 9: 801-900 DEF 8: 701-800 DEF 7: 601-700 DEF 6: 501-600 DEF 5: 401-500 DEF 4: 301-400 DEF 3: 201-300 DEF 2:101-200 DEF 1: 1-100 DEF Weapon Rank 10: 451-500 ATKSupport the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. 9: 401-450ATK 8: 351-400ATK 7: 301-350ATK 6: 251-300ATK 5: 201-250ATK 4: 151-200ATK 3: 101-150ATK 2: 51-100ATK 1: 1-50ATK Item Rating Best Quality Excellent Quality Great Quality Good Quality Standard Quality Bad Quality Universal Currency Rating Platinum Coins: 1,000 CP, 100 SP, 10 GP, 1 PP Gold Coins: 100 CP, 10 SP Silver Coins: 10 CP Copper Coins: 1 CP Adventurer Rank Legend: 1,000,000 QP + Great Deed SSS: 500,000-999,999 QP SS: 250,000-499,999 QP S: 150,000-249,999 QP + S-Rank Test AAA: 100,000-149,999 QP AA: 60,000-99,999 QP A: 30,000-59,999 QP + A-Rank Test B: 15,000-29,999 QP C: 5,000-14,999 QP D: 500-4,999 QP E: 0-499 QP Quest Rank SSS: 30,000 QP SS: 15,000 QP S: 10,000 QP AAA: 5,000 QP AA: 2,500 QP A: 1,000 QP B: 500 QP C: 250 QP D: 100 QP E: 50 QP Monster Rating SSS: Level 1,000 (Instant death) SS: Level 750+ (Extremely fatal) S: Level 500+ (Run on sight) AAA: Level 300+ AA: Level 200+ A: Level 100+ B: Level 50+ C: Level 30+ D: Level 15+ E: Level 5+ Chapter 1: Boredom and Summoning Sigh. This is some vacation. The tropical Bahamas are nice, but isn¡¯t this really boring? Since the modern era has arrived, there isn¡¯t much interesting stuff happening anymore. Where did my grand adventures of exploring the world go? Everything is way too easy now, airplanes and ships make travel fast and convenient. There¡¯s no roughing the terrain or traversing the wilds anymore. The age of adventures has passed many years ago. Now, everything is fast and convenient, that¡¯s basically the new motto of the modern world. I wish something interesting would happen for once. This is my first vacation in a thousand years, and absolutely nothing interesting is happening. As I thought that, a weightless feeling enveloped my body. Oh? Did the gods hear me? Are they actually granting me my wish? But wait, I¡¯m in a bikini¡­ My face twists into a grimace. If this ends up being some kind of summoning ritual, I¡¯m going to end up giving a weird first impression. My body starts to become translucent, confirming my suspicions. Well, hopefully whoever summoned me isn¡¯t a prude. A bright light engulfs my body, and the weightless feeling intensifies until suddenly my body regains its feeling of gravity. I blink my eyes rapidly to get rid of the bright spots that appeared in my vision. Ah, it seems I was summoned somewhere weird. I was standing on a summoning circle, surrounded by people in robes. They all held a staff in hand, and had pointy hats. I¡¯m kidding about the pointy hats, but if they had them, it wouldn¡¯t be out of place at all. We were in a room with a high ceiling, and everything was made from marble. It was spacious, all leading up to a throne at the very back, a huge throne was a really comfortable looking red seating. Of course, someone was sitting there, someone who looked suspiciously like some high fantasy king. Standing to the right and left of him are two people on each side. Two men and two women, dressed up in outfits that wouldn¡¯t be out of place in a fantasy RPG game.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Before I forget, it seems there are two other people who were summoned alongside me. They were dressed in modern clothing, both of them wearing jeans. The boy is wearing a graphic T-shirt with a video game character on it while the girl is wearing a nice blouse. And of course, I¡¯m in a bikini still. Sigh. At least the other two are panicking while I¡¯m calm. My first impression might not be that bad after all? This is a really strange predicament I got into. The man before me that looks like a human king starts addressing the three of us. "Welcome heroes from another world! Humanity needs your help in defeating the [Demon King]! His plans to destroy humanity must be stopped, and you are the destined heroes to defeat him!" Or so he says. No matter what, isn''t this a really weird situation? I''m a demon you know? A demon! And not just any demon either, I''m the [Demon Queen] you know?! Why was I summoned as a hero?! Chapter 2: This Isnt So Bad After all that¡¯s said and done, what am I supposed to do? Should I just go along with it? I do look human after all. Japanese demons all have a human form, unlike our European brethren. Of course, being the queen of all Japanese demons AKA youkai, gives me an even higher advantage. The more powerful youkai become, the more human they get. It¡¯s to blend into modern society where humans dominate everything. Still, I may have a human form, but I really don¡¯t feel anything for humans besides them being food. With this war with the demons of this world, the humans are going to be giving off a lot of fear and hate, too. Exactly the thing that youkai feed on. Maybe I should just go along for the free meal¡­ The kingly person once again addresses us. I still wonder at how much of a stereotypical king he looks. Short blonde hair graying at the sides, stern blue eyes, and dressed in your typical royal clothing. ¡°You three must have a lot of questions on your mind. Before that though, let us all introduce ourselves. I am King Frederick Vincent of the great human kingdom of Alvera. These four with me are my most powerful retainers,¡± he makes a flourishing motion towards the four people standing beside him. The imposing woman on the far right is dressed in heavy silver armor. She towers above the others with a sword on her hip and a shield on her back. Her brown hair is cropped short, framing her emotionless but regal face. Her green eyes have a glint in them as she stares us down. Her eyes flickered down for a split second when they landed on me. I internally smirk at that. A fellow comrade perhaps? I do have a great body, and considering I¡¯m only wearing a bikini, it doesn¡¯t leave much to the imagination. Actually, do I see some red at the tips of her ears? Hehe, maybe this will end up interesting after all. ¡°I am Ser Melisandre, the commander of the king¡¯s royal guard,¡± she says in a monotone. The man next to her speaks up next. He is dressed in brown leather armor with a short sword on his hip and a bow and quiver on his back. He has a relaxed aura about him, his boyish good looks add to that atmosphere. His unruly black hair and kind looking blue eyes adds to this aura. He scans over the three of us and his eyes didn¡¯t once dip down. Is he the rumored pure boy? A cinnamon roll, too good, too pure for this world? ¡°I am Alphonse, the commander of the king¡¯s scouts and rangers. It¡¯s nice to meet you all,¡± he says with a smile. I am certain he is a cinnamon roll. Now onto the next, the older woman to the king¡¯s left speaks up. She is dressed in a similar robe as the mages surrounding the circle, except the quality is clearly superior. The purple robe also has a high concentration of magical energy, most likely due to enchantments. Her white hair clearly shows her age, even if her face looks deceptively youthful. Her eyes are also a strange color, a dark purple that matches her robe. In her hand is a staff that looks like it was made from mahogany, except the red is much darker. ¡°I am Malory Elizabeth, the royal archmage and court wizard,¡± she says in a wise voice. How does someone¡¯s voice sound wise? I don¡¯t know how she¡¯s doing it, but it sure is an interesting trick. I feel like she¡¯s probably really old, but nowhere near as old as me of course. My feeling of superiority immediately plummets as I realize what I was comparing. Ah¡­being old¡­sure is fun¡­ The last person to introduce themselves is a short man, the shortest of the four. He has on leather armor too, except his is all black and he has a hood that covers his hair and obscures his face along with a mask to completely hide his identity. This guy is definitely a spy or assassin. He even has two daggers on his hips, everything about him screams that he¡¯s an assassin. For some reason though, I am getting this feeling that this man is a prankster, he has a mischievous aura about him. He reminds me of one of my closest friends, a troublesome kitsune that likes to play tricks on people. ¡°Call me his majesty¡¯s Shadow, for that is what I am. I am the blade in the dark against those that oppose him,¡± he says flat out.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. You¡¯re not supposed to just tell people you¡¯re an assassin you know? Isn¡¯t this guy too carefree about that? Rather, isn¡¯t the king too carefree about letting people know he has assassins? We¡¯re strangers from another world you know? Does he not care what we think at all? ¡°Now, why don¡¯t the three of you introduce yourselves?¡± the king implores. The boy standing next to me seems to jump at the chance. His eyes were steadily gaining a star struck expression the longer the five figures in front of us spoke. He looks like he¡¯s about to burst from his skin from the excitement. This boy is your stereotypical gamer boy who always wanted to be summoned to another world isn¡¯t he? His blonde hair, blue eyes look makes him like a relative of the king and he¡¯s definitely not Japanese at all. He looks European, maybe even American? ¡°I¡¯m John Wilson! I¡¯ve always wanted to be a hero! If you need help defeating the [Demon King], then you can count me in!¡± This boy is really excitable. Hopefully he tones it down, or I might just eat him, and not in the pleasant way either. Also, John Wilson? That¡¯s a really American name, I¡¯ll just assume that he¡¯s American until further notice. The girl next to his left looks over at me to see if I was going to go next. At my silence, she decides to speak up. Yeah, I¡¯d rather go last before I decide what to do. This girl is also probably not Japanese. She has long brown hair and brown eyes, but she also has brown skin and her face does not look Asian at all. She looks more Hispanic than anything. She¡¯s probably from somewhere in South America. Isn¡¯t this group actually really diverse? As I ponder that, she introduces herself. ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯m Alicia Gonzalez. I don¡¯t really understand what¡¯s going on, but if you guys need help, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Wow, what an earnest girl. I think we¡¯ll get along fine. Doesn¡¯t hurt that she¡¯s easy on the eyes either. And now it¡¯s down to me. I¡¯m your typical Japanese beauty, with the long black hair and crimson eyes¡­ So maybe not typical, but hey, close enough right? ¡°I suppose you can call me Misaki Miyamoto. I don¡¯t particularly want to be a hero, but I don¡¯t have a choice, do I? Can your mages reverse the summoning?¡± ¡°It is as you say, there is no way to reverse the summoning. The [Demon King] is rumored to have an artifact that can reverse the effects of spells, so that is your best bet if you wish to return home,¡± says the king. So, no matter what, we would have been forced to fight the [Demon King] huh? Well too bad, I have the ability to return whenever I want. Being a gap demon is certainly a great blessing in these situations. Though¡­I don¡¯t actually know where I am? Maybe I won¡¯t be able to return after all then¡­Well, enough worrying about that, the gods heard me lament my boredom, and isn¡¯t this the perfect opportunity to go on a grand adventure? I will stick with these people for now, until I find out more about this world and how it works. The king tells us to rest, as tomorrow will be the start of their education and training on how to defeat demons. He calls forth maids to take us to our rooms. He also makes a comment about giving us appropriate clothing to wear. Is he trying to say something about my bikini? Excuse me, but this black two-piece was really expensive, and it certainly drew a lot of eyes when I was on the beach. It¡¯s not my fault they summoned me while I was on vacation. As we followed the maids to our quarters, John and Alicia both started making conversation. ¡°Hey, since we¡¯re all going to become heroes, let¡¯s get along! I¡¯m John and I¡¯m from the States! Uh¡­I¡¯m a senior in high school so I¡¯m 17 and I¡¯ve always wanted to be a hero! I¡¯ve read all of the books about heroes being summoned to another world and I¡¯ve played as many RPG games as I could. So, if you girls need any help with anything, just ask me!¡± he grins and puffs out his chest. This kid is pretty earnest too. Maybe he won¡¯t be so bad. But really¡­calling me a girl¡­ ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you John, I¡¯m Alicia and I¡¯m from Peru. I¡¯m currently on an exchange program to America right now, so I¡¯m also a high school student. I¡¯m a junior, so I¡¯m a year younger than you. I¡¯ve never played video games before, but I have read some fantasy novels. I¡¯ll be relying on you for knowledge, John,¡± she says with a smile. Such a polite girl. Well, I might as well participate. ¡°I¡¯m Misaki, but since you¡¯re both much younger than me, call me Miss Miyamoto. I¡¯m from Japan and I work as an¡­office lady,¡± I say. John starts clamoring about how cool it is that I¡¯m Japanese. It seems he¡¯s a huge fan of JRPGs and Japanese light novels. This¡­is going to be troublesome. Thankfully, we reach our rooms before they can bother me anymore and we all head our separate ways. The room I enter is huge for lack of a better word. It¡¯s as big as a luxury suite, with a huge bed in the middle and a large wardrobe on one side and a dresser on the other. I don¡¯t pay much attention to the details as I plop down on the bed immediately. It¡¯s made from silk¡­ Isn¡¯t this a bit much for some strangers? The king really wants us to fight the [Demon King] huh? It¡¯s been a tiring day, so I decide to just rest for now. Chapter 3: System I automatically wake up due to my internal clock. Getting a lot of rest is impossible huh¡­ It¡¯s the crack of dawn, so everyone is most likely all asleep. I decide to just go through my daily morning exercises until one of the maids comes to get me. My morning exercises are those commonly used in Tai Chi, a mixed martial arts exercise routine that gives you a full body workout. About 3 hours later, someone knocks on the door and lets themselves in. It¡¯s one of the maids from yesterday and her face is completely red with her mouth hanging open the instant she sees me. She nearly drops the bundle of clothes in her hands. Based on her reactions, I decide to tease her a bit. I walk up to her with a pleasant smile on my face and my arms wrapped under my breasts. ¡°Good morning, how are you today? It seems you brought me a change of clothes, how sweet of you,¡± as I say this, I bring my face closer and closer to hers until I stop next to her ear. ¡°I¡¯d like to give you a reward.¡± I hear a squeak as she tenses up. The redness spreads all the way to the tips of her ears. I smirk and decide to reward her after all. Such cute reactions deserve to be rewarded. I give her a lingeringly kiss on her cheek. She falls limp and passes out. Maybe¡­ I should¡¯ve held back a little bit¡­ Regardless, she has my change of clothes, so I take them from her as I set her down on the bed. I had hoped to get directions to the baths, but I suppose a bit of exploration is also fine. I casually walk out of my room and head down the hall. I remember the throne room is to the right of the door, so I decide to head down the left. As I walk down the hallway, I do a bit of peeking inside all of the rooms I pass. Being a gap demon, I can manipulate boundaries, so I open a little gap by tweaking the borders between two spaces, the spaces being the space in front of my eyes and the space behind the door. So far, I¡¯ve passed by the rooms of John and Alicia and a few empty quest rooms. This is a lot more boring than I thought¡­ Doesn¡¯t the king know how to spruce up the place? Where are the trophy rooms, the armories? As I thought, I should¡¯ve gotten another maid to show me around¡­ ¡°Miss Miyamoto?¡± I hear a cute voice call out. I look back and see Ali running up to me as her maid hurries along with her. I give her a two-finger salute in greeting. ¡°Miss Miyamoto! Good morning, are you headed to the baths?¡± ¡°Yeah, it seems I got myself a bit sweaty with my morning workout.¡± She finally takes in my state of dress and her face begins to flush. ¡°Ah, I see. W-we should hurry to the baths then.¡± With that said, she runs ahead with her maid following close behind. I¡¯m meeting a lot of fellow comrades¡­ Maybe it¡¯s an ability? Turn girls into blushing messes? What would that even be called? [Seduction Aura] maybe¡­ As I ponder that, I follow behind Alicia at a casual walking pace. She disappears behind a door, one that leads to the baths presumably. I follow in after I catch up. Wow¡­ The bath is a huge pool of hot water, with marble lining and a lion head that spews out water in the middle. This bath is quite extravagant. I take back what I said earlier, King Fred. You sure do know how to spruce a place up. There¡¯s even an area to wash yourself before getting into the bath. It feels like I¡¯m back in Japan in one of the communal baths. This world might be more advanced than I thought if they have running water. And how are they able to keep the bath water heated? Some type of magic? I will have to ask one of the mages later. I¡¯m certain Mal will be able to answer me. After slipping out of my bikini, I wash myself quickly and enter the baths. The hot water does wonders to soothe my muscles. As I thought, no matter where it is, hot baths are the best~ As I relax, I notice Alicia doing her utmost to avoid looking at me. This girl is just too cute. Too bad she¡¯s jailbait. She seems to calm down after a moment and pulls her legs up to her chest. With her arms wrapped around them, she has a melancholic expression on her face. ¡°Miss Miyamoto¡­ how do you feel about being summoned here?¡± ¡°Well, I suppose I feel shocked and maybe a little bit annoyed¡­¡± ¡°Really? I feel scared. I don¡¯t know anything about this world and they expect us to become heroes and defeat the [Demon King]¡­ Why was I summoned? I¡¯m just a 16-year-old high school girl. I don¡¯t have any special talents and I¡¯m not like John who¡¯s always wanted to become a hero. I want to help them, but I¡¯m scared I¡¯m going to end up dragging everyone down¡­¡± This kid¡­ She¡¯s a really earnest girl. It makes me want to protect her. I inwardly give myself a self-deprecating grin. Heh, who was it that said she didn¡¯t care about humans? I guess I don¡¯t know myself that well after all. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t worry Ali. You being the one summoned out of all the others means that you have the potential to be something great. Don¡¯t be so hard on yourself. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll become the best in whatever you pursue,¡± I say as I give her a reassuring smile. She smiles back and seems to finally relax. We both soak in the bath as the silence washes over us. Ali¡¯s maid comes and informs us that we were to finish getting dressed and then head to the dining hall where we will be served breakfast. With that said, we both dry off and get dressed. It seems we were given matching outfits. We are both wearing a comfortable tunic and¡­long¡­skirt¡­ How the heck am I supposed to fight in these?! You¡¯re supposed to wear pants to fight, pants! I sigh and click my tongue in annoyance. I¡¯ll just have to bother someone until they give me proper fighting clothes to wear. At least Ali seems to like her clothes. The maid hurries us along to the dining hall, and once we enter, a grand long table is placed in the middle with luxurious chairs all around it. Like the rest of the castle, the room is huge and much too lavish. Everything is once again made of marble and paintings of past kings and queens are hanged all around the hall. At the very end of the room hangs the portrait of King Fred. And right below the portrait is the biggest seat in the room, where the actual King Fred sits. The maid shows us to the seats closest to him, where John is already seated. He waves enthusiastically. I¡¯m fairly certain I will want to strangle him if I stay too long. The other four from yesterday are also seated close to us. Instead of any grandstanding from the king, we all end up having a normal breakfast. I did learn that despite his stern face, he¡¯s actually a pretty jolly guy. The morning passes by quickly, and the three of us were ushered down the hallway to a room that looks like a study. Only Mal stayed with us while the rest of them went somewhere, probably the training grounds. Mal tells us all to take a seat while she gets a blackboard¡­ ready? There are diagrams drawn all over it, indicating that we¡¯re about to cover a lot of subjects that I¡¯m going to probably not pay that much attention to. ¡°You three must have a lot of questions about this world and how your role fits. I¡¯m here to answer them.¡± She points at an image of a map on the board. ¡°There are five continents in this world of Ostea. They all correspond with a particular element such as fire or water. This is because the mana lines on that continent is steeped with that particular elemental affinity. The Water Continent, better known as Aquaria is the one we are on now. There are numerous lakes and rivers and nature grows in abundance here. Humans aren¡¯t the only kingdom that exists on this continent, we also share it with the elves. While we stick to the plains, the elves stick to their woodlands. Are there any questions so far?¡± John enthusiastically asks, ¡°Are there any monsters or dungeons?!¡± Oi, calm down, she¡¯s standing right there, no need to shout. Having sensitive ears is a pain in the ass when there¡¯s overly excited people around. ¡°Of course, monsters exist. Something to know is that monsters and demons are two different species. Demons are much more intelligent and cunning whilst monsters are more similar to vicious beasts than anything. Monsters exist only in dungeons while demons have their own continent. Before we get to dungeons, I¡¯ll go ahead and detail the rest of the continents.¡± With that said, I decide to selectively filter out most of what Mal says. So, there¡¯s the Fire Continent called Igneous that¡¯s home to the demons where everywhere is volcanic. There¡¯s the Earth Continent, Gaea that¡¯s full of mountains and hills that is home to the dwarves and ogres. There¡¯s the Air Continent called Zephyr that¡¯s a literally flying continent home to bird people and pigeons, I mean angels. And then there¡¯s a special continent that is also flying called Anima that is literally pure mana that has all of and none of the affinities. It¡¯s a neutral place where a wide host of people live. It¡¯s also apparently where they use magic to create things that sound suspiciously like modern-ish technology¡­ Now I¡¯m curious but also¡­ how in the world do they get up there with no wings or flying magic? Do they have airships? If so, that¡¯s really OP. Not like I can really say anything about that but still¡­ Mal interrupts my thoughts when she smacks a ruler against the board near a table that looks like it has stats in it. ¡°And this here is the most important lesson today. This right here is what we have access to from the [System]. What is the [System]? It¡¯s the underlying principle that governs growth in this world. This [System] allows us to quantify the experiences we gain and the amount of life we have left. It also quantifies our strengths and weaknesses and lists all of our abilities and skills. This [System] is what allows us to challenge monsters and gain strength from them through the accumulation of experience points. For instance, these are stats from an average soldier.¡± She points at the board again and now I finally understand what I¡¯m seeing.
Name: Eric Willow Race: Human
Gender: Male Age: 25
Lvl: 40 HP: 2,050
MP: 100 SP: 3,025
STR: 125 DEX: 105 CON: 180
INT: 30 WIS: 30 WILL: 100
Classes: [Soldier]
Titles: [Royal Army Soldier]The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Skills: [One-handed Sword lv4] [Shield lv4] [Spear lv2] [Archery lv1]
Abilities: [3 Hit Combo] [Shield Bash] [Overhead Slash]
¡°This status window appears when you think about wanting to see it. No one else can see it but you unless they have a specific ability that allows them to. These stats you see here are quite intuitive. It provides basic information about yourself and then your health, mana, and stamina are displayed. Once you reach 0 in health, you die. If you¡¯re even at 1 health though, there¡¯s still a chance to save you, so remember that. Even as I say that though, being stabbed through the heart or getting a fatal wound will still rapidly bring you to death, so don¡¯t count on the [System] to help with that. We are still humans after all. As for the other stats, [STR] is your strength, a measure of how physically strong you are. [DEX] is dexterity, a measure of how quick and agile you are. [CON] is constitution, a measure of how sturdy and resilient you are. [INT] is intelligence, a measure of your ability to problem-solve and comprehend new information. [WIS] is wisdom, a measure of your common sense and spirituality. [WILL] is willpower, a measure of your mental resistance towards outside forces. These stats ¡®level up¡¯ as you gain more experience alongside your ¡®level.¡¯ Your level is a representation of how much experience you¡¯ve gained, but it isn¡¯t the best way to gauge someone¡¯s abilities. If someone has a warrior type class that is level 40 compared to someone that is a merchant class at level 40, the warrior will have higher stats. Do any of you have questions about what I¡¯ve said so far?¡± This time, Ali raises her hand and asks a question, ¡°How do we know how good we are compared to others? Is a strength of 175 really good or is it average¡­?¡± ¡°That is a good question. Most humans are born with a natural strength of 5 as babies and it can be increased through training and exercise. Most children have a strength of 15 and teenagers have a strength of 20. Normal adults usually have a strength of 40. Soldiers are supposed to have a high strength, so they commonly have strengths of 100-150. There are manuals on common stats that I can bring the next time we meet so you can familiarize yourself. It will most likely increase your wisdom if you can memorize them.¡± She pauses for a moment to gather some books from the shelves and hands them to us. A Handbook of Common Stats for Dummies. Ha ha. Very funny. Mal continues her lecture afterwards. ¡°The next few areas are important to know. The classes are specialized jobs you can pursue that all give their own benefits. The [Soldier] class is a common class that can be taught easily. There are a number of such classes, but there are also unique classes that can only be obtained through fulfilling certain conditions. Those are rare, and most people don¡¯t know exactly what you have to do to obtain them. Unique classes tend to give better benefits, but don¡¯t worry if you never unlock one. After that are titles. Titles give passive bonuses that are very useful. You all will have a [Hero] title that will give you special benefits that no one else has. These can be obtained through accomplishing great feats or joining a faction such as the Royal Army. Then we have skills. Skills are the abilities you gain through using a tool or performing certain actions that require some kind of skilled work. These have levels from 1-10. Having a 6 is standard mastery of a skill while a 4 is adept proficiency at it. A 10 is complete mastery over the skill and allows you to perform with astonishing accuracy and efficiency. Abilities are something that are borne from skills. They generally involve a specialized move that allow more power to be added than a regular attack. It can also be something like an ability to see in the dark or a resistance to a certain condition. Are there any questions before we move on?¡± I¡¯m highly curious about something now, ¡°Is there a maximum level or amount of skills and abilities we¡¯re allowed to have? Is there a max of any of the stats?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good question. The maximum level is 1000 right now, though we have reason to believe certain individuals are allowed to surpass that level. The [Demon King] is rumored to have a max level double that. As for stats, there is a max of 1,000 for all of them except for [HP], [MP], and [SP]. Mana is something that is set at birth, so it¡¯s incredibly difficult to increase it, but there are ways. Stamina is something that can be raised to a certain extent, but there is usually a max that your body can take. Health is something that can increase forever though, but it, too has restrictions. There are, however, no restrictions on how many classes, titles, skills, or abilities. With the questions out of the way, I¡¯d like you all to check your own status.¡± Check our own status¡­ I feel like mine is going to be something outrageous, but here goes.
Name: Misaki Miyamoto Race: Gap Demon
Gender: Female Age: 2746
Lvl: 3000 HP: 60,000
MP: 50,000 SP: 30,000
STR: 3,000 DEX: 3,000 CON: 3,000
INT: 3,000 WIS: 3,000 WILL: 3,000
Classes: [Border Mage] [Gap Demon]
Titles: [Demon Queen] [Demon Sage] [World Power] [Mistress of Boundaries] [Hero] [Boundless] [Army of One] [Genius] [Silver Tongue] [Impervious Body]
Skills: [Border Magic lvMAX] [Boundary Manipulation lvMAX] [Martial Arts lv10] [Evasion lv10] [Engineering lv10] [Leadership lv10] [Persuasion lv10] [Intimidation lv10] [Deception lv10][Detect Magic lv10] [Detect Spiritual Energy lv10] [Detect Demonic Energy lv10] [Detect Divine Energy lv10] [Flute lv10] [Cooking lv2]
Abilities: [Teleportation] [All-Seeing Eyes] [Barrier Break] [Aura of Inescapable Void]
Wow, it¡¯s a little depressing seeing only four abilities. It¡¯s not my fault I never named any of them¡­ From now on, I¡¯ll name every single special attack I do. But wow, my stats are really quite something. I¡¯ll just do a little tweak and make it so the boundary between the visibility of my status is nonexistent. Now no one will be able to see it but me~ Special abilities can¡¯t beat manipulation of the fabric of reality~ But only with boundaries of course~ Too bad everything has a boundary. Hehe. Man, I¡¯m way too overpowered. This world will be too boring if I use this ability too much, so I¡¯ll try my best to stick to only using my [Teleportation] and [All-Seeing Eyes] abilities and stop using any other aspect of my boundary manipulation. I¡¯m curious to see what John and Ali have¡­ and maybe even Mal, too. I do a little tweak to the boundary between seeing and not seeing the status window and look over at Ali.
Name: Alicia Gonzalez Race: Human
Gender: Female Age: 16
Lvl: 5 HP: 200
MP: 2,000 SP: 100
STR: 30 DEX: 25 CON: 30
INT: 40 WIS: 25 WILL: 20
Classes: N/A
Titles: [Hero]
Skills: [Martial Arts lv1] [Piano lv1] [Cooking lv3] [Acrobatics lv1]
Abilities: N/A
Oh? So she has a few skills after all. Now what about John?
Name: John Wilson Race: Human
Gender: Male Age: 17
Lvl: 5 HP: 200
MP: 200 SP: 1,800
STR: 35 DEX: 30 CON: 35
INT: 25 WIS: 20 WILL: 25
Classes: N/A
Titles: [Hero]
Skills: [Boxing lv1] [Cooking lv5] [Tailoring lv3] [Sewing lv3]
Abilities: N/A
[Tailoring] and [Sewing]¡­? This guy has some interesting qualities about him after all! But wow, his [Cooking] skill is lv5... I think my respect for the kid went up a lot. Hmmm, now I¡¯m really curious about Mal¡­ I glance at her to see if she has some interesting abilities.
Name: Malory Elizabeth Race: High Human
Gender: Female Age: 347
Lvl: 468 HP: 14,765
MP: 15,690 SP: 300
STR: 40 DEX: 40 CON: 40
INT: 655 WIS: 570 WILL: 300
Classes: [Archmage] [Elemental Mage] [Gravity Mage]
Titles: [Elementalist] [Royal Court Wizard] [Sage of the Elements] [Destroyer of Armies] [Dragon Slayer]
Skills: [Fire Magic lv6] [Water Magic lv10] [Ice Magic lv8] [Earth Magic lv6] [Wind Magic lv6] [Lightning Magic lv6] [Gravity Magic lv8] [Alchemy lv2] [Enchanting lv2] [Cooking lv2] [Healing lv3] [Detect Magic lv5]
Abilities: [Grand Fireball] [Fire Storm] [Water Lock] [Raindance] [Tidal Wave] [Ice Prison] [Blizzard] [Earthquake] [Rock Barrier] [Whirlwind] [Razor Wind] [Tornado] [Thunder Storm] [Lightning Strike] [Zero Gravity] [Crushing Weight]
Oi, those abilities are really scary. How the hell does she have insane spells like that? Also what is up with those crazy sounding titles? [Destroyer of Armies]? This lady is hardcore. Actually, now that I think about it¡­ isn¡¯t being able to see the abilities and titles of people extreme cheating? I¡¯ll make sure abilities don¡¯t show up next time. Hmmm¡­ I wonder what the [System] allows people to see with those special abilities Mal mentioned¡­ ¡°Hey Mal, when you said that some people have the ability to see our status, what exactly can they see?¡± ¡°Calling me Mal¡­ that¡¯s some nerve,¡± she sighs. ¡°But as to what the ability grants, it usually only shows level and class. The more advanced ones also show race, health, mana, and stamina. Even abilities can¡¯t show your skills, titles, and abilities. The six stats are also hidden to all but the most powerful [Seeing] abilities.¡± I give her my thanks and proceed to tweak my [Sight] so that it excludes most of what she said. Looking at her again, the information is much less complicated.
Name: Malory Elizabeth Race: High Human
Lvl: 468 HP: 14,765
MP: 15,690 SP: 300
STR: 40 DEX: 40 CON: 40
INT: 655 WIS: 570 WILL: 300
Classes: [Archmage] [Elemental Mage] [Gravity Mage]
¡°So? Are your stats to your liking? It¡¯s impolite to ask for someone specific stats, but a vague description is acceptable. Usually, just asking for level and class are the only acceptable times to ask for someone¡¯s status, but since I¡¯m your teacher, it would be best if you can give me a slightly more detailed description of your strengths and weaknesses.¡± Of course, John jumps at the chance. ¡°I have really high stamina! And my strength, dexterity, and constitution aren¡¯t bad either! It¡¯s pretty high considering I¡¯m only 17!¡± he says with a grin and a puffed-out chest. Mal nods and looks at Ali next. ¡°I have a really high mana and high intelligence for my age. Everything else is average¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s only natural. People with the capacity to become a mage generally only have high [INT] and [MP]. That was how I was when I was younger.¡± ¡­How much younger though? You¡¯re seriously old for a human. But maybe humans live longer in this world? She then looks at me to hear my evaluation. Eh¡­ I¡¯m going to have to lie through my teeth about this. ¡°I have above average on all of my stats. I do have a high mana pool though.¡± Technically, what I¡¯m saying is true, the magnitude is just off by a bit. Mal seems satisfied though, so I¡¯m home free for this. She tells us that our lesson is down for today and the most important parts of our lessons are done. The rest will be history of this kingdom and the world at large after that. She dismisses us to go eat lunch, even if it will be a late lunch. We are to meet in the training grounds after and all of the information will be provided there. I¡¯m assuming that that is where we will be choosing our instructors in whatever class we want to pursue. I can¡¯t help but look forward to it. I¡¯ve never felt the need to learn any new skills besides the ones that I have already, but this is a great chance to explore a new field I¡¯ve never touched before. This world won¡¯t be challenging or fun without learning a whole new skillset I¡¯ve never used after all. I head to lunch with that thought in mind with a smirk on my face. If John and Ali were looking at me questioningly, I deemed to not say a word. Chapter 4: Magic After the nice lunch, we head out to the training grounds with our maids leading us. My maid seems to have woken up and seems really nervous around me. She keeps stealing glances every few seconds. Ah~ She¡¯s so cute~ I¡¯m going to have fun teasing her~ I restrain myself though. There¡¯s plenty of time for it later, hehe. They lead us down the long hallways until we finally reach a set of ornate double-doors. The king¡­ he really likes his fancy d¨¦cor, huh? Most of it¡¯s in good taste, so I can¡¯t fault him. The architecture does remind of ancient Rome though. I wonder if I¡¯ll get to see a colosseum? Once we exit to the training grounds, I¡¯m even more impressed. There¡¯s all of the equipment you need to train properly and wide spaces for sparring. There are soldiers practicing on the fields to the left, and it seems they have a near equal amount of men and women. I have high hopes for this world. In the clearing to my right, the king and his cohorts are there waiting for us. They seem to be having an amicable conversation. You can tell that they have close bonds from the aura of comfort surrounding them. Hopefully this isn¡¯t some kind of fa?ade and they end up actually being good people. Summoning rituals that on beings from another world are sketchy at best and sinister at worst. I¡¯ll give them the benefit of the doubt though. I can afford to have some fun and not worry too much about being deceived. It¡¯s not like they can do much damage to me after all. Once we reach the merry band, we go through the usual pleasantries before King Fred becomes serious. ¡°Now that you heroes have learned the basic knowledge of the [System], I¡¯d like you all to choose the type of class you wish to pursue. There are some basic classes that everyone can unlock, and here we have four fine instructors that can help with most everything you wish for. Once you pick what class you want, your instructor will be the one in charge of the furthering of your education of this world. Humanity needs you to become powerful enough to fight the [Demon King], so I implore you to take your training seriously and become the greatest heroes¡¯ humanity has to offer.¡± The guy sure knows how to give a speech. That end there is probably going to get John fired up, if no one else. Hm¡­. I wonder what class I should try for? I don¡¯t really want to get bored, so trying something new is good. Being a mage-type class will let me breeze through everything, but I also really want to try the magic of this world. Being a [Knight] or something will be sufficiently hard, but won¡¯t I accidentally mutilate people with my strength? It might also be really suspicious if I never take any damage¡­ So, I guess a [STR]-based character is out. I could also be an [Archer] or [Ranger], and my instructors would be Good Boy Al. Sniping people from afar is fun¡­ but seeing their fear up close and personal is way more delicious. So, then an [Assassin], [Rogue], and [Duelist]? The more speed based classes would explain why I don¡¯t take damage, and I still want to use this world¡¯s magic though¡­ Actually, wouldn¡¯t it be hilarious if I became a [Cleric]? Ah, but I don¡¯t really like playing the healer¡­ Actually, Mal mentioned unique classes, didn¡¯t she? I could try combining a [DEX]-based melee style with magic and see where I end up¡­ In that case, learning from Mal would be the best option considering her age. She no doubt has the most knowledge out of everyone. It seems while I was contemplating my class choices, Ali and John both chose theirs. And now everyone is looking at me expectantly. Oops. I get lost in my thoughts too easily, I didn¡¯t even notice they were finished. ¡°It seems I got a bit lost in my thoughts. What did Ali and John end up choosing?¡± I ask with a charming smile. They sigh exasperatingly, but oblige to answer my question anyways. John chose to be a [Knight] like I suspected he would while Ali wants to be¡­ a cleric? Well, she can be the first [Hero] to specialize in healing. Apparently, John convinced her to pick that class, and King Fred is going to get her a special instructor. None of these four know any healing spells so it¡¯s to be expected. But seriously? She¡¯s not going to be able to protect herself very well as a healer, and I¡¯m not planning on staying here for long. Adventures await beyond the castle walls after all. Anyways, I finally deem to give an answer. ¡°I want to try for a unique class. I think Mal would be able to help me in my endeavor the best.¡± King Fred glances over to Mal and mouths. ¡°Mal?¡± She just shakes her head. Heh, if only he knew what I call him. ¡°Well, now that everyone has decided, let us be off to training. I wish you all the best of luck.¡± I wait for Ali and John to finish their thanks before I reveal my nickname for him. ¡°Thanks King Fred.¡± All they can do is stare at me incredulously as Fred leaves my lips. Heh, I hope they didn¡¯t seriously expect me to call them by their official titles. They¡¯re a couple thousand years too early for me to treat them with any kind of dignity. King Fred seems to roll with it and nods his head to acknowledge our thanks. Mal has a slightly constipated look on her face as she indicates me to follow her. Haha, a stickler for propriety hm? I¡¯m going to have fun messing with her. John stays in the field with Mel while Ali follows King Fred to wherever the healer is. I have a feeling I won¡¯t be seeing much of them in the future. As I follow behind Mal, she starts to lecture me on propriety and how I should address people with respect to their stations. As soon as she talks about respect, it goes in one ear and out the other. I even adapt a bored expression on my face and make a show of picking at my ears. She seems to get more frustrated, so I decide the best solution is to blatantly flirt with her. ¡°Your frustrated face is really cute. makes me want to frustrate you in a different way,¡± I say with a relaxed smile. Mal sputtered in the middle of her rant and her face gained some color. ¡°M-My, aren¡¯t you a rascal?! I¡¯m much too old for you!¡± ¡°And yet, your beauty has not diminished with age. In fact, it further exemplifies your attractiveness. I¡¯ve always liked experienced women.¡± ¡°You¡¯re certainly a smooth talker. But don¡¯t think I would fall for such charms,¡± she says in a huff. That really doesn¡¯t convince me. In fact, it does the opposite. Well, I¡¯ve always wanted to see what sex is like with an old woman. Never actually tried it before, so it¡¯ll be a first. We finally reach a different study from before. It¡¯s much bigger, and has a lot more magical artifacts scattered about. It also has an impressive looking library. The room itself is extremely neat and clean. It has the look and feel of a professional [Archmage]¡¯s study.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°As you probably realized, this is my own personal study. Leaving aside our conversation from earlier, I am curious which unique class you were thinking of.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure.¡± She has a questioning look on her face and asks me to elaborate. ¡°See, I was thinking that I can combine magic with a melee-type class, but I would first need to experiment with magic to see what I can do.¡± ¡°Ah, I see. In that case, a general magic study will be best.¡± ¡°Actually, could you just teach me every type of magic there is? I think that will be more helpful in the long run.¡± ¡°Are you insane?! That will take years to accomplish! And even then, you need to have the affinity for it, no one has ever had the ability to learn every type of known magic!¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, if I can¡¯t do something, we can just go on to the next,¡± I say with a shrug. She seems incredulous at my nonchalant attitude. She grimaces then lets out a long sigh. ¡°Fine, if that¡¯s what you wish, then I will oblige. Since we¡¯re covering all magic types, we¡¯ll have to start immediately. I may not be able to cover any history is this case. It will take a tremendous amount of time to cover each type to magic. You must learn the intrinsic workings of them to truly master these spells. Let¡¯s start with basic magic theory.¡± In the next few hours or so, Mal explains how magic works in this world. People are born with a certain amount of [MP] to use to power spells. This amount stays the same and rarely increases except through the harshest of training. [INT] is the stat that influences spell-casting the most. Even then, the [System] doesn¡¯t do everything for you. The [System] is only there to quantify what is already happening and using its inner workings to provide knowledge on certain phenomena in this world. So having a high [INT] simply means that I have the potential to use stronger spells. It doesn¡¯t mean that the [System] automatically adds that benefit, I have to utilize it myself. Furthermore, people are born with certain affinities for types of magic. For instance, someone may be born with the affinities for fire and water. That means that they can only use those two types of magic to great effect. Trying other affinities is immensely more difficult and is often an exercise in futility. Learning spells of non-affinities tend to become impossible after low-ranked spells. If someone has no affinity for any types of magic, then they will never be able to advance past lv2 in any affinities. Most people are born with about three affinities, but there are a number of people who are compatible with more. Knowing what one¡¯s affinity is is a lot more difficult since it isn¡¯t listed on status windows. It¡¯s something that I¡¯ll have to discover for myself. And when we get to the types of magic, there are three branches of magic. Elemental and nature magic in one branch, fundamental magic in another, and specialized magic in the last. Elemental and nature magic include: fire, ice, water, wind, earth, lightning, life, and death magic. Fundamental magic includes: chaos, order, void, gravity, space, time, astral, light, and dark magic. Specialized magic includes: enchanting, necromancy, illusion, divination, conjuration, transmutation, purification, ritual, and blood magic. The only magic that is banned from usage is necromancy, every other magic is accepted. To understand how to cast a spell, one must know how that certain element or fundamental aspect works and how it affects the world. The more Mal talks about this, the more I¡¯m convinced that the magic system in this world is heavily science-based. It makes sense why there are certain aspects of this castle that seem too advanced for a medieval world. This world isn¡¯t medieval, it just has the appearance and flavor of the Middle Ages. The actual technology is more modern due to advancements in magical applications. Another thing to note is that where someone is born plays a part in affinity. For instance, people on Aquaria are guaranteed an affinity in water at the very least. Most, if not all people are born with at least one affinity. They may not have a large mana pool, but they still have an affinity. Those born without are very rare cases and usually have a physical defect. Everyone is also born with at least some mana, it¡¯s impossible to survive without. Ostea is a world steeped in mana and not having any would mean a slow and painful death. A person needs the mana to counteract with the mana from the world that helps raise their natural resilience. The most important part about magic is learning how to utilize it. Magic is used via spells and spells can only be cast by manipulating the mana within and without me. Most magic requires the use of mana from within a person¡¯s body, but some can use the ambient mana all around them. Mana is pulled from within one¡¯s body and pushed out through gateways throughout the body. The most common usage is through the hands or some type of conductor such as a staff. When I ask about wands, Mal scoffs and says that if I want to push mana through something that small and thin, it would be better to just use my hands. Once the mana pools through either the hands or staff, I have to visualize the effect of the spell and I must understand what exactly it does. With understanding comes the ability to manipulate the mana to do as I will. Most people chant words to help them visualize these effects easier, but that isn¡¯t necessary. ¡°With that out of the way, I want to see if you have the affinity for water. The fundamental way that water works is that it is a force that flows and is incredibly malleable. It can take on many forms and can be a force of great destruction, yet it is the embodiment of life. The manipulation of water is knowing how to control the flow and shape of it. Low level manipulation of magic is generally unnamed and only special attacks are given abilities, but this type of manipulation can be called [Water Creation]. I want you to turn your mana into a pool of water.¡± With that said, I eagerly try it out. I visualize a current flowing from my chest out to my hands. I pool the mana there and imagine it turning into the crystal-clear waters of the Bahamas. My hands gain a feeling of coolness. I slowly push that feeling outside of my hands and when I check to see if it worked, there it was. A small pool of water in an orb. Mal is looking at me in complete shock. ¡°H-how? How did you get that on your first try?¡± I just shrug. I know why, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to let her know that I¡¯m not human. Being a gap demon means that there isn¡¯t an affinity I can¡¯t have. Why I was able to get it on the first try is because of my history as an engineer. Learning the basics of physics, chemistry, and even biology was something I learned before I even got to engineering anything. I know how water works. ¡°W-well, then let¡¯s continue practicing how to manipulate water. We have a while before dinner. I expect you to gain [Water Magic lv1] before we finish up.¡± Instead of responding, I work on getting my mana to take form faster than before. With every repetition of [Water Creation], I can feel my mana flow faster and obey my will. Mal decides to throw in something new and tells me to shape the water into small animals or objects like a book. Manipulating my mana from outside my body is more difficult to control, but I still manage. I just need to allow the water to flow as it likes and only direct the movements it was already making. It was a fluid and beautiful process. I can see how water can be described as graceful and fluid. By the time dinner comes along, a window pops up to show I unlocked a new skill.
Gained [Water Magic lv1]!
With a satisfied smile, I tell Mal my accomplishment. Even though she was the one to tell me she expected me to gain that skill, she seems taken aback. I guess she really didn¡¯t think I would be able to gain it in so little time. Sorry but I want to hurry up and get through all of this training so I can finally try and unlock a special class. If magic is this simple, I can breeze through the rest of the magic types and then get some training from the shadow guy. Getting some melee training will be interesting. With that plan in mind, I follow my maid to the dining hall with a swagger in my steps. Chapter 5: One Month Later... The next month passes by in a blur. My speed of progress went by ¡°alarming quick¡± according to Mal. By the second week, she should have stopped being surprised at my ability to learn, but nooo, she keeps gaping her mouth at me every time I learn a new skill. It¡¯s really not that hard you know? You only need to have a firm understanding of the fundamental laws of the universe, physics, chemistry, and also have a little imagination. Really not that hard. And I suppose having the affinities didn¡¯t hurt. The most memorable magic types I learned were void, astral, and blood magic. [Void Magic] really surprised me with how easy it was, but considering the deep connections that boundaries and voids have, I¡¯m not too surprised. [Void Magic] is basically deleting things from existence. It¡¯s an incredibly rare affinity and has a fundamental ability that can become one of the deadliest weapons. Using [Void Magic] reminds me of when I completely erase the boundaries of two things. It has a power that can almost warp reality itself, but of course there are limitations. It can¡¯t do anything silly like erase a concept after all. [Astral Magic] was also another pleasant surprise. Calling on the powers of astronomical and celestial bodies like stars and planets was really amazing. Of course, I wasn¡¯t actually bringing down comets or anything stupid like that. That could create a mass extinction event and I doubt someone was dumb enough to create magic that can literally call down a star or meteor. Instead, the ability allows me to create my own little ball of fire called a star or any other astronomical object. There¡¯s a certain energy that celestial bodies contain that can be used to make fantastic replicas of the bodies we see in the skies. This is the most fantastical type of magic I¡¯ve seen yet. It¡¯s completely out of the realm that physics can currently achieve so it took me longer to figure out how to use it. I¡¯m also definitely not an astrophysicist so that helped with my suspension of disbelief. [Blood Magic] was the most useful and terrifying magic I could have learned. It also made me understand why ice and water are two different magic types. Each magic type has a restriction to their particular domains. [Water Magic] can¡¯t create ice and [Ice Magic] can¡¯t go back to water. It¡¯s because one¡¯s a solid while the other is a liquid. The type of mana that comes out of my body also influences that. One important rule of magic is that people can¡¯t change mana that has already been formed into a particular type outside of their body. It has to be mixed outside of them. So the use of [Blood Magic] is an aberration to the rules since it manipulates something that isn¡¯t created from my body. It has the interesting perk of being able to manipulate the mana in blood from other people. Of course, the blood has to be outside of them, but once someone reaches lv10, that includes the ability to manipulate blood from inside, too. This makes it possible to control someone¡¯s body and that¡¯s why that particular ability is locked behind the highest level. I look forward to reaching that level. I was also able to gain lv1 in each of the magic types that Mal listed besides [Necromancy]. It was a much more tedious process than I imagined. Once we got past the elemental magic types, Mal had to teach from a book instead of personal experience. The book explanations were vague at best, so I had to puzzle them out myself. This completely cut any time I could spend lazing around. I also haven¡¯t even finished getting information about anything else in this world but magic. With that said, my skills section has filled out nicely, to a point where it¡¯s become tedious to read through them all. I even gained the title [Fast Learner]. I¡¯m not sure exactly what it does, but it probably will speed up my learning ability even more.
Skills: [Border Magic lvMAX] [Boundary Manipulation lvMAX] [Martial Arts lv10] [Evasion lv10] [Engineering lv10] [Leadership lv10] [Persuasion lv10] [Intimidation lv10] [Deception lv10] [Detect Magic lv10] [Detect Spiritual Energy lv10] [Detect Demonic Energy lv10] [Detect Divine Energy lv10] [Flute lv10] [Cooking lv2] [Water Magic lv1] [Ice Magic lv1] [Fire Magic lv1] [Wind Magic lv1] [Earth Magic lv1] [Lightning Magic lv1] [Life Magic lv1] [Death Magic lv1] [Chaos Magic lv1] [Order Magic lv1] [Void Magic lv1] [Space Magic lv1] [Time Magic lv1] [Astral Magic lv1] [Light Magic lv1] [Dark Magic lv1] [Illusion Magic lv1] [Purification Magic lv1] [Blood Magic lv1]
Something I found hilarious was my ability to use [Purification Magic]. Ironic that I can even learn it considering I¡¯m a Japanese demon. Youkai are hurt most by [Purification Magic] and yet here I am, able to use it myself. It¡¯s supposed to be able to purify negative emotions and energy, and since youkai are literal embodiments of negative energy, purification attacks our very essences. I will probably use this skill sparingly, I understand the pain that purification brings, and I¡¯d rather not make anyone else experience it. Anything else is fair game though, so the enemies in my future, prepare yourselves. This entire month was filled with training and I barely saw anyone else besides Mal and my maid. I still don¡¯t know what her name is. This new system of magic has me so enamored that I didn¡¯t flirt even once since ¡°sticking my head in the books,¡± so to speak. Since I¡¯m finished with learning all of the magic that I can, it¡¯s time for me to go find the king. Mal is great and all, but it¡¯s time to finally get some melee training. I have absolutely no clue how to even hold a sword. It¡¯s ironic since I lived through the era of the samurai and was never tempted to even try my hand at kenjutsu. That was a missed opportunity, but really, why would I need to use a weapon when my fists are enough? King Fred left me alone for the most part since my training began with Mal, so this is the first time seeing him in a month. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen a trace of Ali or John either. My hyper-fixation makes it impossible to notice when I¡¯m neglecting anything else I should be doing. I practically skipped dinner every other day since magic training began. Once my maid showed me to the king¡¯s office, I knock and enter alone. His study is as I imagined. A huge portrait of him hangs behind his plush chair. He also has a large library to the right. The few covers I glance over seem to be political theory and history books. His desk has piles of official looking documents and he¡¯s hunched over signing papers with a¡­ ballpoint pen? It looks like a pen¡­ but I can sense magic from it. Don¡¯t tell me¡­ it¡¯s a pen with never-ending ink? How the hell did they engineer that? As the gears turn in my head, I completely forget why I¡¯m here in the first place. Hm¡­ I think I hear someone calling my name? ¡°LADY MISAKI!¡± I shake myself from my stupor. Ah, that¡¯s right, I¡¯m here to ask King Fred something. ¡°Why were you staring so intently at my hand? Did I get ink there or something?¡± His face was crinkled as he tried to understand my actions. ¡°No, I was just curious about your pen. What does it do exactly?¡± ¡°Oh this?¡± he says as he holds it up. ¡°This is something the mages at the Arcane Academy came up with. It¡¯s a pen that produces an unending amount of ink through magic. I simply pour my mana into the pen and out comes ink.¡± I¡¯m completely flabbergasted. How in the world¡­? This Arcane Academy is somewhere I must visit in the near future. Any place that can engineer something so simple yet so ingenious deserves my attention. I won¡¯t need the king¡¯s pen then, I will just visit the creators themselves and pick their brains for their methods. Remembering why I came here again, I present my request. ¡°I see. As interesting as that is, I¡¯d like to request something of you. My magic training with Mal is finished and I want to move on to phase two of my training.¡± ¡°Phase two¡­?¡± ¡°I want to create unlock a unique class by mixing magic with melee skills. I need to have Shady as my new instructor then.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t recall knowing anyone named Shady,¡± he says even more confused. ¡°Oh, I meant your Shadow. I want him to teach me how to fight.¡± ¡°Are you certain you want to already abandon your training with Malory? It¡¯s best to stick to one path and master that instead of trying too many at once.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry. I know what I¡¯m doing,¡± I say with firmness in my voice.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. The king stares at me, trying to gauge how serious I was. After a moment, he comes to a conclusion. ¡°¡­Alright. I¡¯ll arrange for Shadow to become your instructor. Meet him tomorrow in the training grounds after breakfast. I¡¯m assuming Malory is no longer needed?¡± ¡°You can have her back, she¡¯s taught me all I needed to know. You should give her some praise, I couldn¡¯t slack off at all with her even if I wanted to,¡± I say with a grin. He guffaws and says that he¡¯ll do that. With that done, I say thanks and head out to kill some time before I return to more training tomorrow. I should probably tell Mal I¡¯m not going to be learning from her anymore and then I might go find Ali and see how she¡¯s holding up. I tell my maid to take me to where Mal is and she leads me down the hallway until I reach a familiar set of doors. I give her a smile that makes her blush before entering the room. Mal is skimming through a book when I enter. She looks up and asks if I was ready for my advanced lessons. Yeahhhh, no. ¡°Sorry Mal, I¡¯m finished learning magic for now. I¡¯m going to be learning how to fight with Shady,¡± I say as apologetically as I could muster. ¡°¡­what? Weren¡¯t you the one that said I was the best instructor for you in the beginning? Now you want to just end this?¡± Her voice becomes a bit shrill at the end. ¡­It feels like she¡¯s talking about something else entirely. Is she trying to suggest something? ¡°I¡¯m really sorry but that unique class I want needs me to learn how to fight with physical weapons, too. I can¡¯t learn that from you.¡± ¡°Of course, but you don¡¯t need to end your lessons with me! We can still have our lessons while you go training with whoever this ¡®Shady¡¯ character is!¡± Why is she so adamant about our lessons? Don¡¯t tell me¡­ did she fall for me? I¡¯m probably coming to the wrong conclusions. I really need her to understand that I don¡¯t need her lessons anymore though. ¡°As great as our lessons have been, I don¡¯t need them anymore. I can figure out how to further advance my magic by myself. Even if I needed help, I can¡¯t focus on that. I need to put all of my concentration into physical training and having you as a co-instructor isn¡¯t going to help,¡± I say firmly. Her voice gets a bit shaky as she says her next words, ¡°¡­Don¡¯t you enjoy our time together? You¡¯ve been one of the greatest students I¡¯ve ever had, and I don¡¯t want our time together to end.¡± Her eyes are becoming moist with steadily growing tears. ¡°¡­You¡¯ve grown on me. I don¡¯t want out time together to end¡­¡± My entire body freezes as I realize what¡¯s happening. This sounds like a love confession¡­ I didn¡¯t even do anything to warrant this¡­ Also what the hell?! She looks like a 40-year-old woman, yet she can act this cute?! Is this what it¡¯s like to be seduced by a cougar?! My defenses are slowly crumbling. I want to **** her. But I really don¡¯t think this is the time to be thinking that. She¡¯s literally about to cry. It would be extremely insensitive, and I have pride in not being a douchebag. I will have to say pass to this flag. I¡¯m sorry Mal, but I¡¯m not the one for you. I hope you can forgive me for rejecting your feelings. I internally take a breath before proceeding to let her down as gently as I can. ¡°Mal¡­¡± I say as I tuck a hair behind her ear, ¡°I really enjoyed my time with you, too. I loved being your student, but I can¡¯t stay. There¡¯s so much about this world that I don¡¯t know about, and I need all the tools I can get to make sure I can learn as much as I can. My heart is that of an adventurer, even if I stayed, I would have had to eventually leave. I want you to know that I¡¯ll hold these memories of our lessons in my heart as I venture out. So here¡¯s my goodbye for now.¡± I give her a soft kiss on her cheek before leaving the study. I grimace when I hear quiet sobs. Ok, maybe I got a little too dramatic back there. I hope she gets over me soon enough. I hate making girls cry. The only cries I want to cause are cries of pleasure, so this is leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. My maid seems to not know what¡¯s going on. I¡¯m grateful humans have bad hearing or else this would have been a pain to try to explain. I quickly tell my maid that I want to see Ali next. She nods and starts leading me away from Mal¡¯s study. I¡¯m glad King Fred let the maids know where we all are. It would¡¯ve been a pain to try and find her otherwise. She leads me down the hallway and up a flight of stairs until we reach one of the towers that protrudes from the castle. It¡¯s interesting how the castle¡¯s exterior and foundation is similar to Gothic architecture while the interior is more reminiscent of ancient Roman architecture. There are four towers in total in the four corners of the castle. Mal¡¯s study isn¡¯t her actual room, but rather a specific study for teaching new apprentices. Her actual study and room is in the western tower. The tower we arrive at is the northern tower. I¡¯m assuming it¡¯s where the [Grand Cleric] lives in and where we will find Ali. The double doors that we reach have their own design. An angel using magic on a fallen human. Very subtle [Grand Cleric]. I wonder what that could mean? Sarcasm aside, it¡¯s a beautiful piece of art. I knock on the door and I wait for an answer for once. I hear a gruff voice that tells me to come in before long. As I enter the room, my eyes are immediately drawn to the tall man in the center of the room. He¡¯s even taller than Mel! He¡¯s dressed in what I can only call a bastardization of a cleric¡¯s robes. It¡¯s the same style and everything except the sleeves are torn at the shoulder and he has a breastplate over his chest. He¡¯s wearing bandages around his hands and there¡¯s scars littered all over him. Hey King Fred, I think you got Ali the wrong teacher. This guy looks more like a fist fighter than a healer. Does he heal people by beating them up? Isn¡¯t that counter-intuitive? As I try to rein in my shock, I glance over and see Ali sweating and on her back. She looks like she ran through a marathon. She¡¯s also put on more muscle since I last saw her. Did she change her mind and decide to become a warrior class instead or something? When our eyes make contact, hers lights up in joy. I give her a smile that she returns with one of her own. The brawler dude looks at me appraisingly, almost like he¡¯s sizing me up before he nods. ¡°So what are you doing here? Don¡¯t you have some training to do?¡± Damn this guy is blunt. At least say hi or introduce yourself before getting straight to the point. I can¡¯t help but admire him for it though. Honest people are my favorite, they¡¯re so easy to trick after all. ¡°I finished the first part of my training. I came here to check up on Ali, see how she¡¯s doing so far.¡± ¡°Great. You¡¯ve seen her so you can leave now.¡± Oi, being blunt is one thing, but you¡¯re being super rude right now. You¡¯re making me want to punch you in the face, asshole. I give him a tight smile. ¡°I haven¡¯t even talked to her yet. Besides that, you¡¯re the [Grand Cleric] right? You certainly don¡¯t carry yourself like one.¡± ¡°Hah, what does some dainty mage know about me? I¡¯m a [Grand Battle Cleric], I get in way more fights than even a [Knight] does. [Battle Cleric]s are trained in offense, defense, and healing. We know our way around the battlefield since no one knows how to protect their healers.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I can understand that. So I¡¯m assuming Ali is also learning to become a [Battle Cleric]?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask her yourself? Might as well take a break since you¡¯re not leaving like I told you to.¡± He goes off to lounge in a chair as he waits for me and Ali to talk. I can feel my eye muscles twitching. This guy is pissing me off, but I¡¯m here for more important things. I sit down next to Ali who¡¯s recovered from whatever state she was in. ¡°Um, I can¡¯t really move my body right now, so we¡¯ll have to just stay like this.¡± I chuckle at that shrug saying sure. I quickly check to see what her stats are after all this time and I¡¯m keenly impressed at what I¡¯m seeing.
Name: Alicia Gonzalez Race: Human
Lvl: 27 HP: 1,560
MP: 2,050 SP: 1,200
STR: 85 DEX: 55 CON: 90
INT: 50 WIS: 35 WILL: 60
Classes: [Battle Cleric]
¡°So how¡¯s your training going? You doing alright?¡± I ask with some concern showing in my voice. She¡¯s my favorite human right now besides Mal, so it¡¯s natural I¡¯ll care about her well-being. She giggles before glancing down at her body. ¡°Well, I think you can see how I¡¯m doing right now. My training is going really well though! I¡¯m learning a lot about how to fight and heal. I even know how to cast magic to make myself tougher! Eric is also a really nice guy when you get to know him. I haven¡¯t seen you in a while though, how is your training going?¡± ¡°Well, I already finished my magic training, now I just need to start my physical training. I¡¯m trying to unlock a special class, so I need to be adept at more than one field you know?¡± ¡°Wow¡­ You¡¯re already finished with magic training? That¡¯s so cool! I always thought you seemed like a really smart person!¡± ¡°Thanks, you¡¯re not so bad yourself. I just wanted to stop by and see how you¡¯re doing, but I¡¯m going to have to go now. Your teacher looks really impatient to continue your training, so I¡¯ll take my leave before things can get out of hand.¡± I give her a pat on her head and ruffle her hair a bit. Eric was fidgeting in his seat waiting for me to leave, but before that, I want some proper introductions. I walk over to him and tell him he can get back to teaching, but I stop him before he actually goes back over to Ali. ¡°Before I go, I¡¯m Misaki Miyamoto,¡± I say with an outstretched hand. He eyes it for a moment before taking it. ¡°Eric Lance,¡± he says as he gives me a firm grip. With that, we give each other a mutual nod. When I leave the tower and head back to my room, I can¡¯t help but think that that guy is going to be trouble in the future. Until then, I¡¯ll leave Ali in his care. She¡¯ll learn a lot from him, and she might even become strong enough one day to defeat that [Demon King] the humans have so much trouble with. If John is having anywhere near the same progress as Ali, he¡¯ll also be fine in the future. I might even decide to join them again when the time comes. I do want to meet this world¡¯s [Demon King] after all. I wonder if he¡¯s strong enough to defeat not one, but two [Hero]-titled people. When the time comes, I want front row seats to that fight. Chapter 6: Swords are Best After the start of a new day, I go through my daily morning routine before I have to head to the training grounds. As usual, I wake up at the crack of dawn and do my morning exercises. Just because I was studying magic doesn¡¯t mean I can slack off with them. My morning routine is the only way for me to get rid of my excess energy for the day after all. I get antsy when I don¡¯t do them, it makes my body too hyperactive for my tastes. Being too powerful has some drawbacks, too. Sometimes, I wish I weren¡¯t so strong, but then I snap myself out of it because I love having so much power. Only the most powerful beings are truly free to do whatever they want, and I¡¯m near the top of the food chain. It might be a little boring at times, but the assurance that nothing can truly hurt me is always a nice feeling to have. Then again, the feeling of a life or death battle is also exhilarating to feel. I only had one person who could match me in my life, and he¡¯s back on Earth. My number one rival, how I miss you. I hope this world can provide me with a challenge that can match you. My melodrama aside, once I finished my three-hour exercise and finished breakfast, I make my way to the training grounds. I¡¯m wearing clothes that are actually practical for physical training that I got from the king a few weeks back. He¡¯s really great about providing me with whatever I want. I¡¯m pretty sure he would give us almost anything if we asked for it. He seems to really want to stay on our good sides. Are they really that desperate for [Hero]s? He sure is lucky though, considering everyone he summoned isn¡¯t greedy at all. He still gives us expensive things anyways. My training clothes are made from black widow silk, which is honestly outrageous. Black widow silk is one of the strongest material that fabric can be made out of back on Earth, and it seems that way here, too. I wanted to know what material my special training clothes were made of, so I checked them with my [All-Seeing Eyes] a week back and the stats were off the charts. It¡¯s good to know that the [System] also categorizes objects, but seriously. The status window that opened up was too much.
Training Clothes
Type: Clothing Rarity: Super Rare
Armor Rating: 7 Weight: Light
Materials: Black Widow Silk, Cotton
Enchantments: None
Description: A light training outfit made from black widow silk and cotton. Extremely durable and can absorb major amounts of damage. Sharp objects will find it difficult to penetrate. The outfit is a pair of black fitting pants with a red short-sleeved tunic. It is highly fashionable for training clothes.
I remember looking up what armor ratings there are, and this was what was listed: 10, [DEF 901-1000]; 9, [DEF 801-900]; 8, [DEF 701-800]; 7, [DEF 601-700]; 6, [DEF 501-600]; 5, [DEF 401-500]; 4, [DEF 301-400]; 3, [DEF 201-300]; 2, [DEF 101-200]; and 1, [DEF 1-100]. [DEF] meaning defense of course. 7 is a crazy high ranking, but it¡¯s to be expected. Spider silk shouldn¡¯t be underestimated when it comes to durability and elasticity. With how durable this is, I¡¯ll be wearing this outfit for years to come. With that thought, I¡¯ve been standing in front of the exit to the training grounds for a good while. My maid seems to be getting both worried and confused as to why I¡¯m just standing there staring at the door. I¡¯m sorry my maid, but I get lost in my thoughts easily and often. Please bear with me, I have a lot on my mind. I finally exit to the training grounds, and I am easily able to spot Shady. He¡¯s still wearing his all black get-up while standing under the hot sun. It¡¯s summertime for this part of the world, and the days have been long. I should probably ask how time passes, but it¡¯s similar enough to Earth¡¯s time that I¡¯ve since adjusted my internal clock. The days feel quite a bit longer, which means that the planet is bigger than Earth. It would be nice to know the specifics though. If it followed the same trends with the numbers so far, then the numbers are going to be nice and easy round numbers. Shady has seen me by now and simply waits for me to come to him. Once I get to where he is, he starts walking away. I follow him to a secluded area away from the rest of the training grounds. There is a small forest to the west of the castle, an area I assume is where the [Ranger]s and [Scout]s conduct field training. He leads me straight into the forest to a small clearing that looks well used. The ground is cleared and has seen a lot of use. There¡¯s a few racks of weapons on one side and some practice dummies on the other. He stops here and turns towards me while nodding his head at the weapon racks. Does he want me to pick up a weapon? Cutting straight to the chase then. I walk over and look at the selection that the racks offer. There¡¯s some different length swords, axes, spears, daggers, and other similar piercing and slashing type weapons. I contemplate what to pick for a moment. I don¡¯t really want to use an axe; it isn¡¯t very elegant, and the reach of a hand axe is too small for my tastes. I wouldn¡¯t want to use a dagger either, at least not as a primary weapon. It¡¯s a good weapon to use if I actually wanted to attack from the shadows, but I don¡¯t like hiding from my enemies before the last moment. I want them to know who is going to kill them, I want them to see my face when they take their last breathes. A bit bloodthirsty, but I¡¯m a youkai, we¡¯re made from negative emotions. I haven¡¯t killed anyone in so long, it¡¯s been a few centuries since I engaged myself in real battles. This world will give me the opportunity to let my violent side out, she¡¯s been neglected for too long. That said, spears would be no good, too. I don¡¯t want to be too far from them, I want to be able to see their fear closer than what a spear would allow. As I thought, swords are the way to go. The simple route is often the best answer. As for the length of the sword, I think I¡¯d like to be more of a [Duelist]. If I only use one sword, then my free hand can cast spells. This means that I need a blade that can be comfortably be wielded with one hand, but I also want to be able to increase the power I put into my swings by using both hands. In this case, the bastard sword is the most versatile, it¡¯s not called a hand-and-a-half sword for nothing. When Shady sees that I¡¯ve chosen my weapon, he takes out two short swords. So he¡¯s a duel-wielder? It makes sense since he probably also duel-wields daggers. [Assassin] people tend to do that no matter what world I¡¯m on. Of course, in the recent turn of the century, Earth assassins use silenced guns instead of daggers, but up until then, small blades were the go to murder weapon. Shady gets into a stance and motions for me to come at him. ¡­He does know that I have no clue how to even hold a sword right? I¡¯m completely clueless on sword-fighting, I just let the hired samurai do that for me. Why dirty your hands when someone else can do it for you? That thought process has been dead since I got here though. Everything is so new that I don¡¯t want anyone to ruin the novelty of first-hand experience. I tell him I can¡¯t use a sword, hoping that he gives me some instruction before going straight into sparring. ¡°¡­So you¡¯re a complete beginner then?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never tried sword-fighting even once in my life.¡± He sighs and sheathes his swords. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll teach you the basics first.¡± He comes over and shows me how to grip the handle. I copy it perfectly. He pauses for a moment and raises an eyebrow at me. I suppose most people can¡¯t copy things like that, but I¡¯m not most people. I can copy things if I¡¯ve been shown it once, but it seems I have an easier time learning than before. As I thought, the [Fast Learner] title increased my memorization abilities. Shady starts showing me how to actually use the weapon, and shows me a few slashes. I copy them exactly, but something feels weird about it. I ponder on why the stances and attacks he shows me feel weird when I copy them. I notice how much shorter he is than me, and how he doesn¡¯t put as much power into the slashes. Instead of power, he uses speed. The slashes aren¡¯t mighty swings and are more like the beginnings of a combo¡­ That¡¯s the difference then! It¡¯s not that the way he teaches me is wrong, it¡¯s that it isn¡¯t the right style! In that case, I can¡¯t copy him. I¡¯ll have to figure out how to make my own style. It¡¯ll be like creating a new school of kenjutsu. When I achieve that, I¡¯ll have to give it an appropriate name. I stop copying his attacks, making him look at me questioningly. This guy is the silent broody type hm? ¡°The attacks you¡¯re showing me aren¡¯t going to work. It doesn¡¯t feel right. You¡¯re using your own style of sword-fighting to show me, right?¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°So you noticed. I thought you wanted to learn how to fight like an [Assassin]. You just want basic sword training. I¡¯m not the person to go to for that. Go find Ser Melisandre to teach you. Once you finish that training, you can come back.¡± ¡°¡­Ok. I¡¯ll see you then.¡± He nods. I go over and place the sword back into the rack it came from. Leaving the forest behind, I guess I should go find Mel. I haven¡¯t seen John in a while either, so it would be interesting to see his progress. I head back to the training grounds and search for them. Two lone figures stand out from the group training of the [Soldier]s. I make my way over and appraise what I am witnessing. Both John and Mel are dressed in chainmail shirts and trousers. They¡¯re exchanging blows in what looks like a sparring match. I can immediately tell the difference between their skills. Mel is aiming to kill or incapacitate with every attack while John can only defend. She¡¯s striking near all of his vitals isn¡¯t wasting a single movement. So this is what a master [Knight] can do¡­ I¡¯m in awe. John being able to keep up with her attacks is impressive in its own right. I don¡¯t I can do much right now if I faced her with a sword. Instead of using it to try to block, I¡¯d be forced to use my [Evasion] skill. And if that happens, I won¡¯t really be learning anymore. I stay a moderate distance away as I wait for them to finish their bout. John glances over and sees me, distracting him from Mel¡¯s next attack. She does a diagonal slash that John barely blocks with his sword, sending it flying. She holds her blade at his throat as a checkmate. ¡°Distractions are fatal on the battlefield. You must learn to focus on your battles and not allow anything to distract you.¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am!¡± He even does a silly salute; which Mel gives an exasperated sigh at. She looks over at me. She has a look of concentration, as if she¡¯s trying to glean why I was here just by looking at me. ¡°Why are you here? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be training with Malory?¡± ¡°Yeah! You¡¯re training to be a [Mage] right? That¡¯s really cool!¡± John interjects. ¡°I completed my training with her. If you recall, I wanted to unlock a unique class and to do that, I need to learn how to fight with a sword. I was with Shady earlier, but he was trying to teach me his fighting style when what I need to learn is the very basics.¡± ¡°So you want me to teach you the basics? What type of sword?¡± ¡°A bastard sword, unless you have a katana?¡± I ask jokingly. ¡°Oh? You mean the blades that the Kemono people use?¡± ¡°Who now?¡± Kemono¡­? Does she mean ª•(¤±¤â¤Î)? That means beasts or animals¡­ Are they this world¡¯s version of Beastmen? Ostea is very reminiscent of Earth in many fashions. For instance, what I¡¯ve seen of this human kingdom so far seems like a mixture of ancient Roman and medieval European culture. It¡¯s possible that the Kemono people have a similar culture to Japan. Though if my hunch is correct, it might also be a blend of two different cultures from Earth. I¡¯m not sure what the other one is. ¡°The Kemono are people from the Earth Continent, Gaea. They have the features of animals and can completely shapeshift into them. There¡¯s many different tribes of them, but they have interesting weapons. The katana is used primarily by the Toraneko Tribe.¡± Toraneko¡­ »¢Ã¨(¤È¤é¤Í¤³) means feline so maybe a unified tribe of different types of cats? I¡¯m assuming wild cats are including such as tigers and lions. ¡°The Toraneko are all cat shifters. From small cats to lions, tigers, and jaguars. They invented the usage of what they call kenjutsu, which is their form of sword-fighting specific to their tribe. There¡¯s a specific class that uses katana and it¡¯s called the [Kenshi] class. It utilizes the quick reflexes and agility of their tribe to its full effect. They are considered one of the best swordsman classes focused primarily in pure skill and speed.¡± „‡Ê¿(¤±¤ó¤·) means swordsman so that makes sense. I thought she was going to say samurai for a second there, but I¡¯m both glad and sad about being wrong. On one hand, samurai are a pain to deal with, but on the other hand, they have an interesting history and fighting style. I really want to fight with a katana, though. My country¡¯s most famous weapon in my hands. I¡¯ve never been particularly patriotic, but I do want to give that weapon some justice. I want to make that the famed weapon once I venture out to make my mark on this world. ¡°Can I learn how to use a katana then?¡± ¡°¡­Yes. I¡¯ll have to get it out of storage, but we do have one. I¡¯m hesitant to let you to use it, but I¡¯m curious how you¡¯ll be able to take to learning this particular sword-style. If you truly have already finished your training with Malory, then I look forward to seeing your progress.¡± Mel calls over one of the soldiers to go get the sword out of storage. John looks like he wants to say something really bad, but he¡¯s holding it in. Did Mel also teach him some restraint? He¡¯ll turn out into a fine [Hero] if this keeps up. ¡°So John, how¡¯s your training going?¡± He perks up at being addressed. ¡°It¡¯s going great! I¡¯m learning so much stuff and Ser even praised my learning speed! I¡¯m advancing way faster than a regular [Soldier] and she thinks that I¡¯ll be able to fight the [Demon King] in no time!¡± I can¡¯t help but ruffle his hair. ¡°I don¡¯t doubt it,¡± I say with a smile. He beams up at me. This kid is growing on me a little. While our little interaction was happening, the soldier from before came back with a long rectangular box. He hands it over to Mel and salutes her before leaving. That looks suspiciously like the salute that John tried to do, except more crisp. He should really practice more if that¡¯s how it¡¯s supposed to look. Mel comes over and tells me to open the box. The box itself is absolutely stunning. The wood that it¡¯s made out of looks incredibly polished and has a faint red sheen to it. There is a beautiful design on the cover of tigers prowling in a forest. The detail is indescribable. Am I already getting some legendary weapon that is only supposed to appear at the endgame? I open the small latch in the middle of the box and prop it open. The sword resting inside is¡­a demonic blade? It gives off a strong demonic aura that I can almost taste in the air. What are some humans doing with it and how did they not notice? The amount of demonic energy coming off of the weapon is able to incite my bloodlust. This blade¡­ I can¡¯t let the humans keep it. The scabbard the katana is resting is black with a dark red rose design near the opening. Petals are shown falling down the length of the scabbard. I pick the sword out of the box and slowly draw the blade. It glints in the sunlight. The blade itself is a clear metallic color, one side is sharpened to an edge while the other is not. It is a katana after all. The hilt itself feels comfortable and I can¡¯t help but admire the workmanship. It¡¯s a beautiful blade. I check its stats to confirm my suspicions.
Muramasa
Type: One-Handed Weapon, Katana Rarity: Ultra Rare
Weapon Rating: 1 Weight: Light
Materials: Titanium, Demon Blood, Demon Heart
Enchantments: [Leech Life]-absorbs the life essence of enemies and increases attack power in proportion to the number of enemies killed. [Proficiency Enhancement]-the user¡¯s proficiency with [Kenjutsu] is increased. [Bloodlust]-increases the user¡¯s bloodlust every time it is used.
Description: A demonic sword created from the blood and heart of a high-level Demon. Crafted by a master swordsmith using titanium as the primary metal, this blade can withstand a lot of damage. Its curse increases its own strength through bathing in the blood of enemies. As a result, the user will experience increasing bloodlust until they lose their sanity. The proficiency enhancer allows the user to continue fighting even if they are a mindless husk.
Wow, this sword can be really powerful if in the right hands. So it increases strength through killing... That means that this sword hasn¡¯t been bloodied yet with its weapon ranking of 1. Weapon ranks are similar to armor ranks except half of the numerical value. The ability to increase proficiency is also very interesting. The bloodlust will be troublesome, but I live with bloodlust every day. It shouldn¡¯t be an issue. Its name is something is very familiar. Muramasa is the name of one of Japan¡¯s most legendary blades alongside Masamune. On Earth, it also had a similar reputation of being a demonic blade because of how easily it can cut. When I said I wanted to bring a piece of Japan with me, I didn¡¯t expect to have Muramasa dropped into my lap. Remembering where I am, I thank Mel for letting me use this sword. She waves it off and tells me to familiarize myself with it. She shows me how to grip the hilt and a few basic slashes to copy. She points to the training dummies a few meters away and tells me to practice there. She will check on my technique at the end of the day after she finishes her training session with John. Eager to master this ability, I oblige willingly. Facing off against the training dummy, I copy Mel¡¯s movements from before. They feel¡­wrong for some reason. Trusting that the sword will show me the way, I allow it to guide my instincts. I focus on the dummy and take a deep breath. I allow myself to empty my mind and only see the opponent in front of me. Then, I let myself go. Muramasa seems to take on a life of its own as it almost guides my hands through its forms. I remember them for future reference, but right now, the best thing I can do is see what the sword wants me to do. The hours pass, and Mel finally comes over to check on me. Sensing her presence, I take back control of myself. She seems dully impressed at my speed of growth. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anyone able to show such good form after just one day of practice. They aren¡¯t the same as the ones I showed you, but it seems they fit you better. If you keep this up, you¡¯ll be able to start sparring in maybe a week¡¯s time.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll look forward to it,¡± I say with a grin. I really am looking forward to it. I¡¯m curious at her level of mastery in sword-fighting. While sparring against the dummy, I also gained two new skills.
Gained [Sword-Fighting lv1]! Gained [Kenjutsu lv1]!
Now all I have to do is practice until I can gain enough mastery to use it in a fight. After this, I can finally start thinking about how to incorporate magic into this style of fighting. Until then, training is all I can do. Authors Note So, this is basically an author''s note to tell y''all that I won''t be able to continue until Saturday. Last week was basically me having to finish and turn in all of my final projects for engineering and calculus so I didn''t have any time. Next week is my finals week and I have one basically every day so I won''t be able to write. I''ll resume according to the schedule I set after that though since I have winter break. Sorry for the wait! ^^This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. On a story related note, I might as well make a poll to gauge what y''all want the romance to be like since the whole point is to make a fantasy litRPG with yuri in it. There''s a few options, but I''m on the fence about what to do so I''d like some input. I could go the harem route or the single romance route. I''ll try to keep the romance as organic as possible either way, but if I end up going the harem route, it''ll be harder to do if it''s not kept in mind. So what do you guys think, harem or regular romance? Chapter 7: Easy Escape Another month passed full of training. The king called us to the throne room today to give us an important announcement or something. Shady didn¡¯t tell me anything even when I asked why the king wanted an audience with all of us. Since I started training with him halfway through this month, he¡¯s been incredibly boring when it came to conversations. He¡¯s antisocial and a stickler for formalities. He acts very robotic in that sense, but at least he¡¯s a good teacher. After learning how to properly wield a katana and how to wield a one-handed broadsword from Mel, I returned to get lessons from Shady. Once he saw me bring my katana to training, he decided that the best way for me to utilize it was to learn how to fight like an assassin. That was my plan anyways, but it¡¯s nice to have my thoughts reinforced by an expert. Training went by as usual, learning was something that I¡¯ve always been good at, and with that new title I got, [Fast Learner], my learning speed has grown noticeably higher. Good thing too, because I started getting really bored of all this training really quickly. I had forgotten that I didn¡¯t learn how to fight with weapons for a reason. Training to fight with a weapon gets repetitive fast. The only reason I even do my daily exercises is because I need to in order to drain off excess energy. I did it begrudgingly at first and now that it¡¯s been my routine for hundreds of years? Well, it¡¯s a little hard to shake off. This recent training with weapons is something new however. It was fun at first, as all new things are. But then, the repetitive drills day after day is wearing me down quick. I¡¯ve already gained some new abilities and at this point, I¡¯m contemplating whether I should just make a break for it and leave. It¡¯s not like the king can hold me here anyways. If it comes down to it, I¡¯ll just reveal my real powers and say fuck all. If there¡¯s one thing I can¡¯t stand, it¡¯s boredom. That said, the past month has been fruitful in gaining the skills I need to build a hybrid style out of. I gained [Stealth lv1], [Dagger Wielding lv1], [Dueling lv1], and [Sneak Attack lv1]. Of course, I didn¡¯t just learn those skills, I also improved them all to lv2 and my [Sword Fighting] and [Kenjutsu] to lv3. I even learned some new abilities to complement them all. [Quick Strike], [Backstab], [Quick Draw], and [Triple Slash] were all abilities I gained while training. All in all, it was nice progress. Nice enough that I want to leave this place already and see what the rest of this world has to offer. Of course, I¡¯ll go see what the king has to say first before I leave. It¡¯s only common courtesy after all. He provided me with such nice accommodations and was a good host. I wouldn¡¯t want to be a rude guest. My maid, whose name I finally found to be Isabel, is leading me towards the throne room. The sight of her back is a familiar one now, and I¡¯ve grown somewhat attached to her presence. Haha, I grow attached to humans too easily. That was always my weakness I suppose. I remember one of my close friends warning me that getting attached to such short-lived creatures will only end in pain, but I¡¯m too stubborn to listen. I¡¯ve felt that pain enough times that I¡¯ve grown used to it. I really can¡¯t help growing attached. There¡¯s so many exceptional and interesting humans that I can¡¯t simply ignore them all. Them being so short-lived is one of the reasons they are so interesting after all. And it just makes it worst once they die. Oh well, enough introspection for now, it seems we¡¯ve reached the throne room. I¡¯ll deal with their deaths as they come, it¡¯s no use thinking about something like that when I¡¯m not that attached to anyone right now. Only John and Ali are here alongside the king and Mal. Ah¡­ Mal¡­ I haven¡¯t spoken with her since the little scene from a month ago. I never planned on staying anyways, so maybe it¡¯s for the best? That said, I wonder why King Fred called us here? ¡°Heroes! You¡¯ve all made wonderful progress in the past two months. You should be proud of yourselves! There has never been anyone who has progressed through training as fast as you three have in triple the time you¡¯ve spent. With that said, I have decided that the best way for you to truly master your newfound skills is to put them to the test! In another month¡¯s time, you three will form a team and become adventurers! There are dungeons in every major city of this country and defeating the monsters within them will grant you experience that you can use to defeat the [Demon King]! Malory will tell you the details of these dungeons once the time approaches, but know this. I believe you all have what it takes to clear an entire dungeon by yourselves once the month is up. Once you three become adept adventurers, our kingdom will be ready to lead humanity against the demons that plague us with their existence.¡± Wow, that¡¯s some hate speech you got going there. ¡®Plague us with their existence.¡¯ I have this itching sensation in my hands. It¡¯s telling me I should punch someone in the face. Of course, John and Ali buy everything the king is saying. I can¡¯t blame them, they are both impressionable kids after all. Either case, waiting another month sounds like torture. Guess that means my grand escape is happening sooner rather than later. Hm, maybe I should leave tonight. The sooner the better at this point. We all thank the king for such ¡®great news¡¯ and then take our leave afterwards. I tell Isabel to lead me back to my room. With that settled, I think of ways to escape. I could simply gap my way out, but that¡¯s a bit boring. I could casually walk out and deal with whoever I see on the way. That¡¯s something no one would really suspect, and it¡¯ll be pretty funny if I succeed. In fact, if I take Isabel with me, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about looking suspicious, since she¡¯s shown me where to go these past two months. Once we reach my room, I commence plan ¡®convince the maid to break me out of the castle.¡¯ It¡¯s a simple two, maybe three-step, plan. First, I ask her politely. If she says yes, proceed with leaving. If she says no, then seduce her and get her to fall madly in love with me. Then she¡¯ll beg to come with. Easy as 1, 2, 3. ¡°Hey Isabel, I¡¯m extremely bored. Can you help me?¡± I ask with a tilt of my head. ¡°Of course, my lady!¡± she says enthusiastically. Isabel has since grown used to my presence. She hasn¡¯t blushed or stammered for weeks. I¡¯m not quite sure how to feel about that. On the one hand, she was really cute being so flustered around me. But on the other hand, she¡¯s a lot more useful now. She¡¯s also really enthusiastic about serving me, but I¡¯m not sure why that is. And I won¡¯t ever find out once she leads me outside the castle grounds and points me to the nearest city. Maybe she can even get me a map. I¡¯d like to leave everyone here behind, there¡¯s no use in getting attached to people whose goals I don¡¯t agree with. ¡°Isabel, could you do me a favor? Could you get me a map of this area and its surrounding cities? I want to leave the castle.¡± She blinks at me owlishly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my lady, but did you say you want to leave the castle?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m incredibly bored here and I want to explore the world. I¡¯d like you to lead me out so I can do so. I want to become an adventurer like the king said, but I don¡¯t want to wait an entire month for that.¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m allowed to do that for you, my lady¡­¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t then I¡¯ll do it myself. And if I do it myself, I¡¯m going to waltz straight out of here and if anyone gets in my way, I¡¯ll have to show them why it¡¯s not a good idea to try and stop me. Either way, the end result will be me out of this castle before night falls. The only difference is, my way is violent, while your way will end peacefully. Of course, if the king asks why you helped me leave, you can repeat what I¡¯m saying right now.¡± ¡°I¡­understand. Please wait here while I go get a map then.¡± Wow, that was easier than I thought. Isabel diligently walks out to find the map, leaving me here to gather everything I¡¯ll bring on my journey. I don¡¯t have that much to bring except for my training clothes, the clothes I¡¯m currently wearing, some different change of outfits, underwear, and some money I ¡°procured¡± during my stay here. It¡¯s a total of 30 gold coins, which is probably a lot. I don¡¯t exactly know how much it actually is since I haven¡¯t seen anything be given a value yet. Until then, I¡¯ll hold on to the assumption that it¡¯s about average. All of my clothing is stored in a bag that I got from Mal. I also take along the Handbook of Common Stats for Dummies that she gave us. I still have plenty of room in my bag for anything else I might end up buying. Along with that, I strap Muramasa to my hip and check to make sure all of my daggers are hidden where they should be on my body. Everything is in place, so now I just need to wait for Isabel.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. She comes back with a map in a short while after I finish packing. Looking at the map she got, there¡¯s the capital city that¡¯s located a few kilometers from the castle. Beyond that are three cities in sporadic distances from each other. I should probably not go to the capital city. I¡¯ll go to one of those three cities and then travel farther. Getting away from the human kingdoms might be a good idea at this point. I¡¯ll buy maps along the way. I could go to the elven kingdoms and try my luck there. ¡°Thanks Isabel, now let¡¯s go. I¡¯m itching to finally leave this place.¡± She just nods at me. I guess she really feels like she doesn¡¯t have a choice in the matter. I¡¯ll make it up to her somehow. I¡¯m pretty sure she has a crush on me, so maybe a kiss¡­? As I think that, she leads me right past all of the guards easily. They don¡¯t suspect a thing as we make our way to the castle¡¯s front doors. Bold choice Isabel. I can at least recognize the direction we¡¯re going and if we¡¯re heading to the front doors, she¡¯s planning to lead me out of the castle right in front of their faces. I hope she¡¯s not thinking of betraying me, I¡¯ll have to punish her if she thinks she can get away with that. When we get to the very front doors, the guards tell us to halt. Isabel has a response ready for them it seems. ¡°Miss Miyamoto was curious about how the castle looks to visitors so she asked me to take her to the front of the castle. She just wants to admire the architecture.¡± The guards look at each other and shrug. I guess they think I¡¯m the type of person to actually do that, since they let us pass. Honestly, I am that type of person, but not this time. Sorry boys, but you just let a traitor out from under your noses. She leads me all the way out and off of the castle grounds. No one raises any alarms nor does anyone notice that I¡¯m already so far away. Hahahahaha, we actually did it. And so easily too. That was a lot more fun than I thought. It was a bit anticlimactic, but also entertaining in a, ¡°I can¡¯t believe that worked,¡± kind of way. I turn to give Isabel a bright grin. ¡°Is there anything you want? I want to repay you. That was a great show you put on, I still can¡¯t believe they bought it, but it was funny nonetheless!¡± ¡°Ah, no I¡¯m just a maid. There¡¯s nothing I could want from you, my lady.¡± ¡°Hm¡­ not even a kiss?¡± Isabel immediately blushes bright red and stammers out an ¡°o-o-of course not!¡± Yeah, real convincing Izzy. I just sigh and place a hand on her cheek. She completely freezes and closes her eyes. I smirk as I give her a good, long kiss. I add a little tongue to show my deep appreciation. Standing back, her lips look a bit swollen from my attention and she has a dreamy look on her face. I lick my lips and tell her thanks again. She¡¯s unresponsive, but that¡¯s alright. She¡¯ll snap out of it sooner or later. With that said, I make my leave and start heading towards the forest. It¡¯s best to stick to the cover of the trees in case of pursuit. Looking at the map Isabel gave me, I go in the direction leading to the capital of Alvera, Einhard. Looks like a fairly large capital, so I¡¯ll stop there and rent a room for a bit. I want to explore and see what the city is like. I¡¯ll stay for a day and then move on. Hours pass traversing the forest. I use the moon to guide me, as long as the position of the moon is in the east, I¡¯m going the right direction. None of the animals bother me, being a demon has its perks. Most animals with a more primitive brain rely more on their instincts and demonic auras tend to scare the living shit out of most instincts. Because of that, my trip to Einhard is uneventful. It was more a nice stroll with a beautiful scenic background. Einhard¡¯s walls can be seen from a distance away. The city looks heavily fortified with guards posted on the watchtowers protruding from the walls. I can see one entrance from this side. Based on the map that Isabel gave me, the city has four entrances, one on each side. I¡¯m on the south side, so I head to that entrance. A contingent of guards are guarding the entrance. This¡­ will be a bit difficult to get in. Coming up to the entrance, the guards stop me and ask for my identification and reason for coming to the city. Hm¡­ well¡­ this world is a bit more thorough with things than I thought. Time to put my persuasion skills to use. ¡°Hi! I¡¯m sorry but I don¡¯t have any identification on me, I come from a small village that you probably haven¡¯t heard of. I know that the capital has one of the best adventurer¡¯s guilds in the country and I was hoping to make a better living here as an adventurer.¡± The guards look at me suspiciously and point out that I¡¯m wearing clothes that look a little too expensive for my story to be true. ¡°Haha, yeah I got the clothes from my parents. They wanted me to have the best equipment they could get so I have as many advantages as I could when I start my career as an adventurer.¡± They look at me suspiciously, but on seeing the weapon and small bag I¡¯m carrying, they decide that what I¡¯m saying is true. ¡°Before we let you go in ma¡¯am, we¡¯re going to assign a guard to you so that we make sure you aren¡¯t lying.¡± Well, I expected that, so I guess I¡¯m starting my adventuring here. Hopefully the king hasn¡¯t sent anyone to find me yet. I¡¯ll just stay and get my adventurer identification and do a few quests before leaving for one of the other cities. The guard should be satisfied with that and leave. The guard they assigned me was an average height guy with an average face, average stature, average everything actually. He¡¯s one of the most average looking people I¡¯ve ever met. He has a serious expression on his face and gives off a by-the-book feel. I sigh internally. This guy is going to be really boring to hang out with. ¡°Ma¡¯am, it¡¯s getting late, so I advise you to rent a room at one of the inns for the night. I¡¯ll accompany you to the Guild tomorrow and make sure you get all of your paperwork in order. After that, you¡¯re free to go.¡± ¡°Thank you for letting me in.¡± He nods, and we continue to an inn in silence. That is, until I remember that I have no clue where an inn is. ¡°So, mister guard. Do you happen to have any inns you could recommend?¡± "Right, of course. I¡¯ll take you to one right now.¡± And with that, we reach this homely looking inn. It¡¯s called the Warm Flames and has a sign reminiscent of a campfire. Once we enter, the woman who I assume is the hostess greets us with a warm smile. It¡¯s too warm to be faked, so she must actually enjoy her job. A room here is only 10 silver pieces a night, so I have plenty of money to spare. She leads me and the guard, who paid for himself, to two rooms upstairs. The guard goes to his own room and seems to trust I won¡¯t bail on him. Silly guard, I could leave right now and he would be none the wiser. I won¡¯t though. It would be a waste of money and I have no clue where the other inns are. Actually, he might trust me to not leave because he knows I have no clue where anything is in this city. Well played average guard, well played. The inn room is cozy with a one-person bed and a chair and desk on one side of the bed. There¡¯s a small lamp on the desk and the room is lit by a¡­ lightbulb¡­ This world is pretty advanced for a fantasy world. I check and see what is powering the light and it feels like the ¡°lightbulb¡± is actually a magic source. This particular magic source holds light magic. So they can mass produce something like this huh? That¡¯s interesting, I wonder where they make these magic sources? What are the proper names for them anyways? I guess I¡¯ll figure that out later when I find someone who is knowledgeable in these subjects. Right now, I want to go to sleep. It¡¯s been an interesting day and I¡¯m looking forward to tomorrow.
Misaki''s Stats as of this chapter:
Name: Misaki Miyamoto Race: Gap Demon
Gender: Female Age: 2746
Lvl: 3000 HP: 60,000
MP: 50,000 SP: 30,000
STR: 3,000 DEX: 3,000 CON: 3,000
INT: 3,000 WIS: 3,000 WILL: 3,000
Classes: [Border Mage] [Gap Demon]
Titles: [Demon Queen] [Demon Sage] [World Power] [Mistress of Boundaries] [Hero] [Boundless] [Army of One] [Genius] [Silver Tongue] [Fast Learner]
Skills: [Border Magic lvMAX] [Boundary Manipulation lvMAX] [Martial Arts lv10] [Evasion lv10] [Engineering lv10] [Leadership lv10] [Persuasion lv10] [Intimidation lv10] [Deception lv10] [Detect Magic lv10] [Detect Spiritual Energy lv10] [Detect Demonic Energy lv10] [Detect Divine Energy lv10] [Flute lv10] [Cooking lv2] [Water Magic lv1] [Ice Magic lv1] [Fire Magic lv1] [Wind Magic lv1] [Earth Magic lv1] [Lightning Magic lv1] [Life Magic lv1] [Death Magic lv1] [Chaos Magic lv1] [Order Magic lv1] [Void Magic lv1] [Space Magic lv1] [Time Magic lv1] [Astral Magic lv1] [Light Magic lv1] [Dark Magic lv1] [Illusion Magic lv1] [Purification Magic lv1] [Blood Magic lv1] [Sword Fighting lv3] [Kenjutsu lv3] [Dagger Wielding lv2] [Dueling lv2] [Sneaking lv2] [Sneak Attack lv2]
Abilities: [Teleportation] [All-Seeing Eyes] [Barrier Break] [Aura of Inescapable Void] [Quick Strike] [Backstab] [Quick Draw] [Triple Slash]
Chapter 8: Adventurers Guild With a new day comes a new possibility to finally achieve that unique class I want. It looks like just learning skills from traditional mage and rogue paths isn¡¯t going to help me unlock anything. I¡¯m not quite sure what else I need to do to fulfill any unknown conditions, but I might have an idea. If I just start trying to combine skills together, it might lead somewhere. Before that happens, I have to get that ID from the adventurer¡¯s guild. I woke up early like usual and already finished my daily exercises, so I might as well go wake the guard up. I want to finish registering as an adventurer and go on some quests already. When I knock on his door, he opens it looking all freshened up. ¡°Are you ready to go the Guild?¡± I nod an affirmative. I wasn¡¯t expecting him to already be up, but he is a guard after all. I guess I shouldn¡¯t underestimate them in the future. We head out with a wave goodbye to the hostess. I wasn¡¯t paying much attention to the city yesterday, but now that everything is bathed in a nice light, I¡¯m impressed by how nice everything looks. The architecture follows the same patterns as the castle, a mix of ancient Roman and Gothic architecture. The buildings are made of marble and had a lot of arches and columns, a design choice very reminiscent of Roman architecture. The Gothic aspect didn¡¯t really come into play except for a few important looking buildings. That makes sense since Gothic architecture is mainly found in castles, town halls, universities and the like. The people themselves didn¡¯t wear anything that would remind me of Rome though. No togas or anything like that. They instead had more practical clothing like trousers, skirts, and shirts. The only way I could tell that the clothing they are wearing isn¡¯t from Earth is because of the look of the material. No synthetic materials like polyester are present in the clothes they wear. My people-watching is cut short when we finally reach a building that does have Gothic architecture. The building looks like a church from Italy but less tall. It has a single tower leading out from the middle of the building and the entrance is framed by pillars. It¡¯s very impressive looking. That¡¯s not to mention the huge dungeon next to it, about a block away. The dungeon is in the shape of a tower that ascends high into the sky. The outside of the dungeon reminds me of the Roman coliseum but stretched out vertically. It¡¯s very impressive, and I wonder what types of monsters could be found in a dungeon with such a design. Maybe there will be minotaurs and harpies? That would be interesting. I also think it¡¯s curious that this world has so many similarities with Earth. Maybe this is a parallel world to Earth? Well, no use in trying to figure that out now, the guard is starting to get fidgety with me standing stone-still in front of the guild entrance for so long. It¡¯s really not my fault I get wrapped up in my own thoughts. I start walking into the guild as if the last few minutes didn¡¯t occur. The guard follows in surprise. The inside of the guild looks way more futuristic than the outside would suggest. There¡¯s a hologram in the middle of the room. A hologram. What? Upon closer inspection, it¡¯s actually a scoreboard with a ranking from 1-100 with names of¡­ groups? I assume that the ranks next to them are the stats that tells someone what their strength is. Even if they are literally just letters. What is this, school? Are they getting graded or something? Either way, this scoreboard is pretty interesting. It promotes competition but not to the point that too much trouble will come from it. The board only shows a rank number, the group name, and the group¡¯s actual rank itself. It eliminates the risk of isolating individual adventurers and places the reputation mainly on the groups¡¯ hands. There are still problems with that, but it¡¯s significantly lower than using individuals. Besides the scoreboard, there¡¯s a row of receptionist desks, each behind a glass window. There¡¯s also a large screen that lists titles, maybe quests? They also each have a ranking from E to uh¡­SSS? I¡¯m getting flashbacks to my time playing MMORPGs. I¡¯m pretty certain the screen is a touchscreen like on a smartphone or tablet. Where the hell did they get this type of technology? This world has been a weird blend of futuristic and medieval elements so far, and I¡¯m confused as to how they achieved this state. I suppose that¡¯s something I¡¯m going to try and discover as I go along. I¡¯m doing the thing where I start thinking and forget where I am again. The guard is looking at me in concern and other people in the guild hall are also looking at me weird. I sigh internally. It¡¯s really not my fault that my thoughts are more interesting than paying attention to what¡¯s going on around me. I look over to the guard and ask him, ¡°So how do I get identification from the guild?¡± He¡¯s shaken out of his concern and says, ¡°That¡¯s easy, you just need to register as an adventurer. They¡¯ll give you an ID card, or identification card. Adventurers¡¯ cards are one of the best IDs that someone could have. Most people register as an adventurer if they live in the city, since anyone can become one. It¡¯s strange that you don¡¯t have one yet, but villages don¡¯t have dungeons, so your situation is understandable.¡± ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll go do that then. I just need to talk to one of the receptionists?¡± When he nods, I make my way over to the receptionist area. There¡¯s a few receptionists open while the others are talking to some adventurers. The guild isn¡¯t busy right now, but it is still early in the morning. I¡¯m sure with the culture here gives the guild a lot of business. I go to the cute blonde receptionist. I¡¯ve always been vain, so I¡¯d naturally go to the prettiest receptionist. Seeing a pretty face is good enough, I don¡¯t want to flirt with her. When I go up to her, she asks what she can do to help. God, she¡¯s making it hard to not flirt, but I must resist. I¡¯m here strictly for business¡­ Who am I kidding? I¡¯m flirting with her. ¡°Well, I was going to ask if you could help with registering, but I¡¯d rather get your help with something more urgent. You see, I walked in here and saw a beauty that captured my heart. Could you help me get it back?¡±Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m sorry but I can¡¯t help you there,¡± she says with a frown. ¡°That¡¯s a shame, you were the only one who could help me after all.¡± ¡°And why is that?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re the one who stole my heart,¡± I finish with my signature grin. It¡¯s guaranteed to make a girl swoon. She just looked at me unamused. ¡°You can have it back then. Now, do you have actual business with the guild?¡± ¡°Haha, ouch. But yes, I do. Can you register me as an adventurer?¡± ¡°Alright, do you have any prior ID or are we starting from scratch?¡± ¡°Oh? Do people start from scratch often?¡± ¡°More often than you would think. There is a fee though. It¡¯s 1 GP if you start from scratch. It¡¯s 50 SP if you start with prior ID.¡± ¡°Well, that does sound expensive, but business is business. Here you go,¡± I say as I hand her one ¡°GP¡± as she called it. ¡°Thank you. Now, what is your name, sex, age, and birthdate along with your birth place,¡± she says looking at a¡­computer screen? Wait, it¡¯s more of a holographic screen with a holographic keyboard. Not an actual computer. I¡¯m not sure if that makes it more or less confusing. I have to think fast of what age I should tell her and what birthplace and birthdate. Maybe I should just tell the truth? ¡°What if I said I wasn¡¯t human.¡± ¡°¡­Well, I suppose I should ask that first then. I assumed you were human, but that is something that needs to be filled out too.¡± ¡°Can I ask exactly what people can see on this ID card?¡± ¡°¡­They can see your name, age, sex, race, and adventurer rank. It also shows a picture of you and any title you wish to show on the card. Only one title at a time can be used. It also shows what group you are affiliated with.¡± ¡°Is it possible to hide it? Or show different information?¡± ¡°Why do you need to know that?¡± ¡°A lady can be sensitive with her age, can¡¯t she?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s why. Please tell me the real reason or I will have to report you to the guards.¡± ¡°Woah there, let¡¯s not get hasty. I¡¯m a race that humans aren¡¯t really fond of and I¡¯d prefer it if that isn¡¯t so easily visible.¡± Her face immediately tenses up and I think I fucked up here. I don¡¯t want her to make a ruckus, so I guess I have to use my OP powers here. I don¡¯t want her to ruin my fun so quickly after all. I open a gap directly behind her neck and stick my hand through. I elongate my nails so that they¡¯re razor sharp and set them against her neck. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry that you had to find out like this, but if you try and tell anyone, I¡¯ll have to kill you,¡± I say with a shrug. I can feel the fear emanating from her. It¡¯s delicious. ¡°So here¡¯s how this is going to go, you¡¯re going to put in false information since I can¡¯t exactly let people know what I am. You¡¯re going to put in Misaki Miyamoto as my name, Misaki my given name and Miyamoto my family name. My sex is female, and my race is human. My birthplace will be left as unknown and my birthdate¡­ Well, why don¡¯t you decide that for me?¡± She nods frantically as she types in the information I gave her. Once she¡¯s finished, she looks up at me for further instruction. ¡°Good, so what did you put in as my age and birthdate?¡± ¡°U-um, I p-put 25 as your age and I left the birthdate as unknown with the year 546 A.E.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine. Finish making my ID now.¡± ¡°I-I need to take a picture of you.¡± ¡°Well, you had better make this picture as flattering as possible,¡± I say with a smirk. She holds up a camera with trembling hands and points it at me. She tries to steady her grip and succeeds for the most part. She tells me to get ready so I just smirk. Having a smug profile picture is fine too. With a click, it¡¯s over in a flash. She then starts typing stuff on the keyboard until the screen produces a burst of mana. I think it just casted a spell and out of the burst of mana is a nice polished card. So that¡¯s the adventurer¡¯s ID. It has everything in a horizontal format with my picture on the left side and my information on the right. It has everything that I told the receptionist to put on it and a rank of E. It also just interfaced with my mind because there¡¯s a little system window that popped up that¡¯s asking me what title I want displayed. What the fuck? The laws of this world are so confusing. Is it actually a virtual reality or did some god decide that it wanted this world to behave like a video game? More and more mysteries keep popping up, and I¡¯m so eager to figure them out. Not yet though, I have to take one step at a time. I don¡¯t want to exhaust all of the fun so fast. The receptionist is looking at me fearfully as I contemplate all of this. Poor girl, this was my mistake but I really can¡¯t have someone knowing my secret. I don¡¯t like killing pretty girls, so I guess I¡¯ll just mark her so that she¡¯ll be unable to say a word about what transpired. ¡°Since you did so well in following my instructions, I won¡¯t kill you. Instead, I¡¯m going to curse you so that you can¡¯t utter a single word about what happened unless you want to experience immense pain.¡± I say all of this with a smile as she starts going into a cold sweat. Youkai are able to curse others easily by placing a part of their demonic energy in someone. It¡¯s a racial trait, so it wouldn¡¯t show up as a skill. It¡¯s more an innate trait of ours. Truthfully, my curse makes it so she can¡¯t ever betray me, but what she doesn¡¯t know won¡¯t hurt her. With the hand still against her neck, I pool my demonic energy into it and break her skin with my nails. I let my energy flow into her bloodstream and inside of her body. It¡¯s a good thing that the process is painless or I would¡¯ve made a scene just now. I can feel her power growing alongside my curse. Another effect of the curse is an increase in physical prowess all across the board. In my case, my curse will increase all of her stats along with her health. It¡¯s really a great package, but she might experience a few¡­oddities. Being cursed is like being made into a partial youkai, so she might be feeling a little more violent than normal and maybe a little bloodthirsty. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be fine though, she seems like a capable girl. With that done, I wave her goodbye. She can only stare after me incredulously as she holds the back of her neck. I show the guard my newly minted adventurer¡¯s ID and he nods. He tells me to have a good time exploring the dungeon and that with the ID, I can do as I like now. After he waves me farewell, I¡¯m left in the guild hall with all the freedom in the world. Time to check that screen that I¡¯m going to call the notice board from now on. I want to get a quest right away. Once I¡¯m looking at the quest titles and ranks, I¡¯m suddenly stuck with a problem. I¡¯m not allowed to take these quests by myself. I need a party of four to do any of these quests. Well shit, I guess I have to find people for a party. Chapter 9: Soft Spot Finding people to party with is a lot harder than I thought. Most everyone is already part of a party and I don¡¯t want to join one, I want to create one. Joining a party means that I have to fit into whatever style they already have going for them, but if I create one myself, I can make the style. Of course, trying to get people to want to party with a Rank E adventurer is a bit difficult. Persuasion can only go so far when there¡¯s a glaring piece of common sense that is telling them that letting someone who¡¯s Rank E be the leader is dumb. They aren¡¯t wrong, but I really can¡¯t follow someone¡¯s orders. It goes against my entire predisposition as a powerful demon. As if I can listen to someone else¡¯s orders. This makes convincing people to join me nearly impossible. If this goes on any longer, I might have to swallow my pride and join another group... A commotion draws my attention from my downtrodden thoughts. There¡¯s a child crying in front of one of the reception windows. She looks like a young girl of twelve with a mop of red hair, looking like a kicked puppy with tears streaming down her face. The receptionist is trying to calm her down, but the man is behind the window and can¡¯t offer any physical comfort. Curious about what¡¯s going on, I approach the kid. I¡¯ve always had a soft spot for kids. ¡°Hey sweetie, what¡¯s wrong?¡± I ask in a comforting voice. I also give her a gentle smile to try and give off as comforting an appearance as I can. She doesn¡¯t answer and continues to cry. The receptionist guy answers for her. ¡°She just found out that her parents aren¡¯t coming back, and we need to turn her in to child services so they can take care of her,¡± he says in a regretful voice. Well fuck. I can¡¯t help her there, but I can at least try to make her feel a bit better. ¡°Sweetie, your mom and dad were adventurers, right?¡± At her teary-faced nod, I continue. ¡°There¡¯s a fantasy about adventurers that I¡¯ve heard when I was younger. Adventurers are the pioneers of this world. They explore new dungeons and solve quests to help everyone around them. While they are alive, their brilliance shines and when they die, that brilliance doesn¡¯t dull. No, it gets engraved into the stars so that their brilliance remains ever present. Their contributions will always hold its place in this world, so they never truly die.¡± The girl is paying rapt attention to my tale, and I go in for the finishing touch. ¡°Your parents were adventurers. Just taking that mantle, that title, qualifies them a place in the stars no matter what rank they were. So your parents aren¡¯t truly gone, their brilliance is written in the stars now. You just need to look up at the night sky and they will be right there amongst the stars. Even then, as long as you remember them, they aren¡¯t truly dead. So don¡¯t be sad, they will always be with you no matter what.¡± She nods, seemingly star struck with my explanation. I¡¯m glad she likes it, since that story was complete bullshit. But sometimes bullshit is needed when it comes to children. The receptionist chose this time to speak. ¡°Abigail, now that you¡¯ve calmed down, I want to let you know that I let child services know already. They¡¯ll be here in a bit to help you through this okay?¡± I stare at this guy incredulously. Dude, she just found out her parents are dead, could you be a bit more sympathetic. The girl starts tearing up again. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go to an orphanage!¡± she sobs, ¡°I want my parents!¡± ¡°Now, now. The orphanage will help you find a new family! They¡¯ll love you just as much.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe you! My mom said that if they ever have to leave me, then I have to stay away from the orphanages! Those places are bad!¡± Wow, if even her mom told her that, there must be some substance to that statement. This world seemed a bit too good to be true honestly. There weren¡¯t any overt signs of problems that I noticed since being here, but if this girl is right, then there¡¯s some more hidden problems people don¡¯t talk about in public. Orphanages have always had a dark side to them on Earth, so it¡¯s safe to say there might be more insidious things happening here, too. If this girl, Abigail, says she doesn¡¯t want to go to the orphanage, then I might as well help her. I¡¯ve never been able to ignore a child in need. ¡°Hey Abby, can I call you Abby? If you really don¡¯t want to go to the orphanage, then will you be alright with me taking care of you?¡± She stares at me in confusion. ¡°But, I don¡¯t even know you?¡± ¡°I know, but I want to help. I¡¯m not going to be able to replace your mom and dad, but I can try to take care of you as best as I can. I¡¯m only giving you this option because you don¡¯t want to go with child services.¡± The receptionist butts in again saying, ¡°That¡¯s not exactly legal. You can¡¯t just take a child like that.¡± ¡°Yes well, she doesn¡¯t want to be taken by child services either.¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am I¡¯ll have to call the guards if you try and take her.¡± I feel a headache forming at his implication. Why is it that whenever I try helping someone, stupid shit always gets in the way? Abby comes to the rescue then. ¡°No! I want her to bring me with her! I don¡¯t want to go with the scary people!¡± she yells as she attaches herself to my leg. Awwwww, she¡¯s adorable. ¡°Well there you have it, she wants to go with me,¡± I say with a shrug. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯m going to have to call the guards,¡± he says as he pushes a button on his desk. Are you serious? They have signals they can just send to alert the guard? Isn¡¯t there too much advanced technology? I sigh audibly for once as I pick Abby up and cradle her in my arms. The kid is really small, so she¡¯s completely cocooned in my arms. ¡°So Abby, it looks like I¡¯m going to have to run from the guards. Is there anything you want me to get from your house before we leave?¡± ¡°W-we¡¯re leaving?¡± ¡°Seems so. If you really don¡¯t want to go to child services, I¡¯m going to have to leave the city.¡± ¡°¡­isn¡¯t this kidnapping?¡± ¡°Probably. Well, I don¡¯t mind becoming a criminal for a cute girl like you.¡± Why the fuck did I say that? Now I sound like a child molester. God fucking dammit. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what I meant to say is that I don¡¯t mind being a criminal if it¡¯s to help a young girl escape from a shitty situation.¡± There, that¡¯s better. Hopefully Abby doesn¡¯t think I¡¯m a pedophile. ¡°But why me? There¡¯s hundreds of other kids that are orphaned. Why help me?¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s easy. You¡¯re the first kid I¡¯ve met with this issue, so I¡¯m helping you.¡± She stays silent at that before answering, ¡°My parents told me to get a chest that¡¯s in our house if they ever can¡¯t come back. My house is in the eastern district. It¡¯s pretty easy to see since it¡¯s the biggest one there.¡± The¡­biggest one? Are her parents actually some big shot adventurers? Well, time to run there I guess. This whole time I was running away from the guild hall towards the¡­west side? I cheat a little bit and use my [All-Seeing Eyes] to figure out the direction I¡¯m going. Basically, I looked directly up at the sky and thought of the cardinal directions. When I found out I had my own personal compass, I personally burned every compass I had in my possession. There are boundaries between each of the four directions and I could see them easily. Manipulating the boundary of such a fundamental idea of the world is something I can also do, but the more entwined a concept is with the world or universe, the harder it is to manipulate. There are also much larger consequences in messing with things integral in how the world is perceived. It¡¯s why I always tried to stay away from manipulating the boundaries of such things. Seeing them is a different matter though. There¡¯s no harm done just looking at where the borders exist. My bullshit powers aside, I start to run in the east direction. Of course, I have guards on my tail but that¡¯s alright. I hop on one of the roofs of a store and start running along its surface. Roof jumping is something I¡¯m quite fond of. There¡¯s something exhilarating about stepping on someone else¡¯s property as if it¡¯s nothing more than the ground I walk on. I¡¯ve always had a superiority complex, but who wouldn¡¯t with my powers?If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. The guards following me split up into a group chasing me on the ground and a group chasing me on the roofs. Well, if they want to follow me, they¡¯ll have to be able to see me to do it. Pooling illusion magic to the palms of my hands, I cast a camouflage spell. Now you see me, now you don¡¯t. I also cast another spell on my feet so that it cushions them as they make contact with the roof tiles. Wouldn¡¯t want them to hear my footsteps. I pivot to the right and start bounding over for a hundred meters or so before heading east again. I don¡¯t have to worry about the illusion spell stopping anytime soon, so I maintain a leisurely pace. Illusion magic is a type of magic that relies on a person¡¯s mana more than others. When a spell is cast, it only lasts as long as mana is provided to it, so people with huge mana pools can maintain a spell for as long as they want. With my huge reserves, I don¡¯t have to worry one bit about it. After traveling into the eastern district for a while, I finally realize what Abby meant. Her house is so big, it¡¯s not even a house anymore. It¡¯s a straight up mansion. How important were her parents? ¡°Hey Abby, mind telling me how we¡¯re supposed to find the chest you were talking about?¡± ¡°My parents have a treasury, it¡¯s in there.¡± As she says that, her face still shows some excitement from the previous chase. I head towards the mansion, aiming to break in through a window. As I climb the mansion by basically running up the sides, Abby looks at me in awe. It¡¯s not that impressive, I¡¯m just casting an ice spell repeatedly to freeze the soles of my boot to the wall and break the spell to unfreeze it. It¡¯s a simple application even if it is tedious. I have to freeze the sole of my boot along with the surface of the wall and make sure it¡¯s strong enough to not break as I run up. Only people with excessive amounts of magic would even consider doing it this way. I could¡¯ve just cast a gravity spell, but that¡¯s not as fun. ¡°Um, miss? Who are you?¡± Abby asks in a tone of reverence. Oh yeah, I don¡¯t think I ever introduced myself. Which brings me to a different question. Why the heck is she letting me basically kidnap her? Are orphanages her really that bad? I guess I¡¯ll ask her later. ¡°I¡¯m Misaki Miyamoto. I just registered as an adventurer today, nice to meet you,¡± I say with a smile. ¡°¡­you don¡¯t act like a beginning adventurer. Beginners wouldn¡¯t be able to outrun the city guard and they wouldn¡¯t be able to do everything you¡¯re doing. Who are you really?¡± Her tone of reverence never wavered, but suspicion is now lacing her voice. You should¡¯ve been more suspicious at the start, kid. I¡¯m not sure what I should tell her, but she is going to be in my care for the foreseeable future, so a little bit of the truth won¡¯t hurt anyone. Let¡¯s keep my more demonic origins a secret for now, but being a summoned hero will satisfy her curiosity. ¡°Hm, you¡¯re right. I¡¯m not exactly normal for a beginner. I¡¯m actually a hero summoned from another world.¡± She stares at me with a shocked face, at the exact same time as I promptly destroy a window with an icicle. A little destruction here and there won¡¯t hurt anyone. I jump in through the window before looking upon a well decorated hallway. ¡°Wait! Are you actually a summoned hero? That¡¯s so cool! My dad told me about how there¡¯s a legend that says that heroes from another world will be the one to defeat the [Demon King]! Can you really do that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about that legend, but I don¡¯t really want to kill some guy just because everyone tells me to, so no, I won¡¯t be killing the [Demon King] any time soon. I just want to be an adventurer and explore.¡± Abby goes silent for a while before finally speaking up again. ¡°I understand. Being an adventurer will just make you disappear one day though, so I don¡¯t want to go with you anymore. Can you give me back to the guards?¡± ¡°Woah there. We already came this far. You want to go back already?¡± ¡°Yeah, no matter how strong you are, you¡¯ll die, too. My parents were Rank S adventurers, yet they still died. Being a hero won¡¯t change anything.¡± She says all of this with a grim look on her face. It¡¯s a look I¡¯ve seen before, sometimes even caused by me. It¡¯s a look of dashed hopes. Seeing it on a little girl makes me a bit reckless even if this feeling of hopelessness is feeding me. ¡°Well, you don¡¯t have to worry about me dying.¡± Mouth could you stop moving? This is a bad idea. She¡¯s looking at me confusedly. ¡°I¡¯m not just a hero you know? I¡¯m something way stronger.¡± Holy shit, shut the fuck up me. I can¡¯t just reveal my identity like that just because some kid shows me a helpless look. My mouth doesn¡¯t listen to me at all. ¡°In my world, I¡¯m someone really important. Do you know what my title is?¡± Oh my god, am I seriously going to just tell her? Why am I such a softie towards kids? Someone¡¯s going to send a child assassin after me one day and I¡¯m going to let myself get killed. ¡°¡­what title?¡± ¡°I am the [Demon Queen]. The most powerful demon in my world.¡± FUCK. Well, cat¡¯s out of the bag. Hope Abby doesn¡¯t mind having a demon take care of her. And Abby is now completely speechless and I¡¯m still standing in front of the window I broke in. Fear starts to show on her face and fuck. I¡¯m going to have to use my persuasion skills to the max. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Abby. The demons on my world are different than yours. We live alongside humans and some of us even get married to humans. We aren¡¯t bad people, we¡¯re just like humans. Except for the obvious power difference.¡± ¡°¡­y-you¡¯re not lying? You¡¯re really a demon?¡± ¡°Yes, but don¡¯t be afraid, I won¡¯t do anything to you.¡± ¡°¡­you¡¯re really the [Demon Queen]?¡± ¡°Yes, so don¡¯t worry about me dying. Nothing short of a god can kill me. Will you stay with me then?¡± ¡°¡­you really won¡¯t die?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t, I promise.¡± ¡°¡­then okay. I¡¯ll stay with you.¡± Phew, that could¡¯ve been a sticky situation. I can¡¯t kill a child, and I hate messing with brains, so I can¡¯t just erase her memories either. Good thing she¡¯s in such an emotionally unstable state that she can accept everything so easily. Now, time to find that chest of hers so we can leave before I do anything else stupid. ¡°Can you point me to where the treasury is now?¡± She nods and starts giving me directions. I follow them dutifully until we reach an office. It¡¯s very well decorated with trophies and books. There¡¯s also magical artifacts in glass cases. This office has a lot of expensive things in it already. It might actually not be an office but a storage room. There¡¯s a large safe door hidden behind a false wall that Abby shows me how to disable. She knows the combination so I set her down so she can input it. The door slowly rises up to reveal a room full of treasure chests. I¡¯m curious about the contents, but I won¡¯t touch them since they¡¯re Abby¡¯s to do with as she wants. It¡¯s rude to take someone¡¯s inheritance. Abby runs all the way to the back of the room and comes back with a chest that¡¯s just small enough for her to carry. ¡°This is the chest my parents told me to have.¡± She opens it with ease and inside are a few items. A bookbag, a necklace, and some armor. The necklace is definitely enchanted along with the armor. The armor itself is very light in appearance and also very expensive-looking. The armor is a light blue with white accents. The armor looks like something a fantasy rogue would wear, but without the typical hood. Abby immediately strips out of her clothes and puts on the armor. Does this kid have no modesty? Whatever, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m looking so it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll have to warn her about the perverts who might take that as an invitation to do something illegal. Once she finishes putting the outfit on, I have to give the creator some props. The armor makes her look like dangerous and not like a twelve-year-old girl. ¡°The armor looks good on you sweetie.¡± She looks up and beams at me. A warm feeling blossoms in my chest. My maternal instincts are going haywire. I want to give this girl everything in the world, and I¡¯ve only met her today. I¡¯m way too weak towards kids. She puts on the necklace next and gives it a small pat. Abby then starts looking into the bag and pulls out so many items that I have no clue how they fit in there. There¡¯s a lot of medical supplies, food, survival gear, and clothes all tumbling out of the bag. Does the bag have an infinite storage? I can detect space magic from the bag so it must be some type of spacial manipulation spell. Abby then puts everything back and slings the bag onto her back. ¡°I¡¯m ready to go!¡± ¡°Seriously? You don¡¯t need anything else? Like, I don¡¯t know, money?¡± She looks at me sheepishly before opening one of the chests and taking out a coin purse. She stuffs it with gold coins, or gold pieces. I hold up my own coin bag and raise an eyebrow at her. She nods so I toss her the bag so she can fill it up, too. ¡°So what¡¯s going to happen to the rest of these things? Shouldn¡¯t you inherit them?¡± ¡°No, I can¡¯t inherit them until I¡¯m sixteen. So until then, the city safekeeps the money. There¡¯s a fee for that so they get to take 5% of the remaining money every year until I can inherit it.¡± ¡°5% is a lot of money.¡± ¡°Yeah, but they can probably get everything if I join the orphanage. They just need to make someone in the government adopt me and then everything will belong to them to use fit until I come of age.¡± ¡°I can see why you don¡¯t trust the orphanage system then. Is that why you didn¡¯t want to go?¡± Abby shakes her head as she says, ¡°My mom told me that the kids at the orphanages who don¡¯t get adopted end up being recruited by shady people and are never seen again. And even if kids get adopted, it might not be into the best families since they don¡¯t have a lot of rules against who can adopt. The only two things that doesn¡¯t let someone adopt is if they don¡¯t have enough money or if they have a criminal history.¡± ¡°Hm, that¡¯s not a very good system.¡± She shakes her head. Yeah, I can see why she doesn¡¯t want to go if that¡¯s what her mom thought was going on. I¡¯m inclined to believe her, considering rich people tend to have more knowledge of the shadier parts of society. I¡¯m glad she¡¯s coming with me then. I might see what I can do about these orphanages, but trying to fix it will require a complete rewrite of the system and I don¡¯t really want to go through that trouble. I might have a soft spot for kids, but that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m going to help faceless kids who I¡¯ve never met. I doubt I could do anything right now anyways. I have absolutely nothing to my name so why would anyone listen to me? Physical prowess only goes so far. I pick Abby back up into my arms before heading out. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I¡¯m here then. I won¡¯t let them take you. We might not come back here again Abby, so do you want to do anything before we leave?¡± She just shakes her head and grasps her necklace. It¡¯s her call, so I leave the mansion and head out towards the north gate. If I leave that way, I can make it to the next city without having to double back on the distance outside of the walls. When we reach the gate, I can see a numerous amount of guards stationed there. I guess they were expecting me to leave this way. I don¡¯t really want to kill anyone, so I place the illusion magic over myself again. I take a running start before leaping over the entire group of guards, landing on the ground with a thud. Small cracks form from the pressure since I had to jump a large enough distance that they wouldn¡¯t hear me. I really love being a demon. After walking a long enough distance away from the city walls, I dispel my magic and set Abby down. She pats herself off and looks around apprehensively. ¡°So where are we going?¡± ¡°Good question. Far away from here, maybe even a different continent.¡± She looks a bit scared at the thought, but clenches her hands and nods to me. ¡°I¡¯ll follow you wherever you go. Just remember, you¡¯re not allowed to die.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± I say with a grin. ¡°Now let¡¯s head to the next city. I need to find some people for a party.¡± ¡°A party?¡± ¡°Yeah, the quests at the guild said people aren¡¯t allowed to go into dungeons unless they were in parties of four.¡± ¡°Oh, then I can be a member! I¡¯m registered as an adventurer. My parent took me with them on missions before, and I¡¯m a trained [Archer]. I¡¯m actually Rank D.¡± Huh, I guess I found member number one. I¡¯m not sure how to feel about taking a twelve-year-old girl with me, but I¡¯m strong enough to protect her so why not? Chapter 10: The Spy When I decided to help Abby, I forgot that having an extra person to travel with would slow down the journey. Now that we¡¯re already on our second day of traveling to the next city, I start to feel the beginning effects of boredom. We¡¯ve had to stop numerous times so that Abby could recover her stamina, eat, rest, and all of the other things humans need to survive. It¡¯s really slowing us down, but at least I get to talk to her more during our pit stops. It¡¯s a nice change of pace having someone to travel with. I was always more solitary on Earth, going long periods of time without social contact. I¡¯m immortal though, so I have all the time in the world to talk to people. Come to think of it, all of my friends are shut-ins just like me. That¡¯s probably not a coincidence. Immortality is the greatest source of procrastination and monotony. Getting to know Abby is nice, she¡¯s a sweet girl. I was surprised when she told me she has combat skills all the way to level 3. That¡¯s really high for a little kid, but her parents were high ranked adventurers. They probably taught her how to fight from a young age. I¡¯ve refrained from asking about her parents so far, I didn¡¯t want to touch on that subject so quickly after their deaths. So far, I stuck to asking about her abilities and anything that she¡¯s learned that can help with adventuring. She¡¯s an [Archer], but not just any archer. No, she¡¯s an [Arcane Archer]. She actually mentioned how her mom was a mage and her dad was a ranger, so she was probably inspired by them. She also thinks bows are cool, which I completely understand. Bows are cool. Being an [Arcane Archer], she uses magic to create bows and arrows, so her ability as an archer is completely dependent on magic. I personally think that that is extremely dangerous to rely on just mana for weapons, so I make a note to buy a bow for her later. Asking her all of these questions about her ability made me curious about her actual pure stats, so I used my [All Seeing Eyes] on her.
Name: Abigail Harrington Race: High Human
Lvl: 16 HP: 630
MP: 1,800 SP: 800
STR: 20 DEX: 50 CON: 30
INT: 50 WIS: 20 WILL: 20
Classes: [Arcane Archer] [Archer] [Conjuration Mage]
Of course, seeing her stats and comparing them to mine doesn¡¯t do me a load of good, but having more data on stats from people other than me will help me gauge the threat of any future enemies better. It will also help me in evaluating future allies. Though, comparing Abby¡¯s stats to Ali¡¯s stats makes me realize that the [Hero] title really buffed Ali¡¯s learning ability. In a span of one month, she¡¯s way more leveled than Abby is, and she¡¯s only four years older. Also, Abby is a high human, which is interesting. What is the difference between a regular human and a high human? I decide to just ask her. ¡°Hey Abby, do you know the difference between a high human and a normal one?¡± She¡¯s shocked out of her daydreaming as I suddenly ask her after an hour of silent traveling. She stares at me with a tilt in her head before realizing I just asked her a question. ¡°Oh! Um, high humans are direct descendants of the humans from the ages of old.¡± ¡°The ages of old? What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Oh right, you don¡¯t know. Uh, the ages of old was the time before the system appeared in our world. The history teachers said that it was a time of everlasting war between the different races. There was a pantheon of gods that each represented a race. Those gods are long dead, but at the time the different races would vie for their gods¡¯ favor by bringing glory to them through victory in war. Every single race was more or less evenly tied, but since war required only the strongest, each race had a group of people who held power above what others could get. They were called the generals. The never-ending war ended abruptly when a lone goddess killed all of the members of the pantheon. She ushered in a new age of peace and she¡¯s the [Goddess] that we all worship now. She brought in the [System] that is a part of everyday life,¡± she suddenly twitches and looks at me sheepishly. ¡°Sorry I went on a tangent. So, uh, high humans are the descendants of the [Human General]s. The [System] changed the race for every descendant of the generals by placing high in front of their race. It¡¯s because the descendants have higher potential than regular people of the race. At least, that¡¯s what I¡¯ve been taught.¡± I give her a pat on the head for such a concise answer. She acts exactly like how a child of a noble family would, except without the arrogance that often comes with it. Her explanation only makes me more intrigued though. So there was a time of never-ending war? And a goddess, the very same goddess that everyone worships, was the one to end it by killing off the previous pantheon? And she was the one to initiate the [System] that is in place right now? Sounds like there was a lot more going on than what Abby said. If the [System] wasn¡¯t here since the beginning, and was only implemented by a lone goddess, then how much good does it actually do? I don¡¯t have all of the information about this world¡¯s politics and social climate, but once I find out more, I might be able to solve this mystery. We¡¯re finally able to see the city in the distance after another hour of talking about mundane things. This time, the city didn¡¯t have heavily fortified walls, but they were armed enough to hold their own against an invasion. Are all cities this fortified? Is it for the war they¡¯re going to wage against the demons? Then again, based on what Abby told me, the fortifications might come from the previous age. Before we get anywhere near the city gates, I ask Abby for her adventurer¡¯s ID. She looks at me confusedly, but hands it over anyways. Holding out both of our IDs, I cast an illusion over them. ¡°We don¡¯t want them to arrest us. I did kind of kidnap you after all.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not kidnapping if I want you to take me with you!¡± I pat her head as I hand her ID back. While I¡¯m at it, I place an illusion spell over her, too. ¡°You might think that, but the guards think I kidnapped you. Your opinion won¡¯t change what they think happened.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not fair though,¡± she said with a frown. ¡°Sometimes life is like that. You just need to keep on going anyways. That¡¯s why we¡¯re going in as different people. We¡¯re going to be traveling siblings who want to explore the world. It¡¯s close enough to the truth, so don¡¯t forget alright Abby? Or should I say Anna?¡± ¡°Oh! Then should I call you big sis or something¡­?¡± ¡°Regular siblings call each other by name so no need for that. You¡¯re not Asian after all¡­¡± I say as I think back on all of the honorifics that every Asian culture has. Europeans don¡¯t have anything like that, so she wouldn¡¯t understand. ¡°Asian? What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Well, back in my world, there¡¯s a continent called Asia. A lot of the countries on that continent have similar cultural practices. I come from Japan, a country in the eastern part of Asia and we did call our siblings and family with honorifics. A lot of other eastern Asian countries also practice this, but most others don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Ohhhh, that sounds nice. What would I call you in your language then?¡± I feel a little nervous letting her know. I¡¯m weak towards things like this, so if she were to call me ¡®onee-san¡¯, I don¡¯t know how I would react. But! I also really want to hear her say it! ¡°Big sister in Japanese, my language, is ¡®onee-san.¡¯¡± Abby cocks her head as she tries to repeat what I said, ¡°Ohnaysan?¡± ¡°No, no. Just say it naturally. It¡¯s just ¡®onee-san.¡¯¡± She mutters it under her breath for a while before saying, ¡°I think I got it! Onee-san!¡± Oh no, my heart. I just took a critical hit straight through my chest. I¡¯m going to protect this girl with my life. No, she¡¯s not just any girl, she¡¯s my little sister now. I won¡¯t let anything happen to you! I give her a hug immediately after this decision. I hear muffling from her after a while and realize that I¡¯m suffocating her. Oops. I loosen my grip, but in place of that, I start petting her head. ¡°Onee-san! What was that for?¡± she asks with puffed out cheeks.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. God, the cuteness just keeps coming. I¡¯m going to die from happiness if this keeps up. ¡°Haha, sorry. You were just too cute, I couldn¡¯t help myself.¡± ¡°Cuteness makes you want to suffocate them? That¡¯s kind of weird.¡± ¡°Cuteness makes me want to hug them, not suffocate. Besides, didn¡¯t it feel nice?¡± ¡°¡­it¡¯s very soft¡­¡± she mutters into my chest. Ahhhh, such cuteness should be illegal. After those shenanigans ended, we decide that she shouldn¡¯t call me ¡®onee-san¡¯ since it makes no sense when we shouldn¡¯t know how to speak this unknown language. Instead, she¡¯ll just call me Mira like it says on my ID. We¡¯re going to be the Atkinson sisters who come from a family of adventurers. Our parents weren¡¯t famous, so people wouldn¡¯t have heard of them. The details are sparse so that we can make things up as we go. As for the illusions, I turned my black hair into a lighter shade of brown. I also changed my very recognizable red eyes to a chocolate brown. I also changed my features so that they looked more European and less Japanese. Changing Abby¡¯s features was much easier. I just changed her red hair and green eyes to match mine. Red hair is pretty recognizable so they probably won¡¯t suspect that it¡¯s her as long as they don¡¯t look too closely. With everything ready and prepared, we head to the city gates. Like before, the guards stop us to ask for our IDs. Hopefully no one here has some kind of illusion magic detector or things will end up going badly once again. After they check and see that the IDs are real, they ask what our business in the city is. ¡°We¡¯re just stopping here to do some quests before heading to the next city. We¡¯re on a journey to explore the world,¡± I say as I place my hand on Abby¡¯s head and give it a ruffle. ¡°Good luck with that. Journeys are pretty hard so raise your rank a bit before trying to go anywhere too dangerous.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that¡¯s what we intend to do,¡± I say with a charming smile. ¡°You two can go ahead then. Enjoy your stay in Wales.¡± Heading in, Wales looks similar to Einhard, but less grand. The architecture is the same, but it doesn¡¯t hold the same lushness to it that Einhard did. Then again, Einhard is the capital, so it¡¯s expected that it would be the best city that a country could have. Wales doesn¡¯t look bad at all though. It¡¯s just less radiant and smaller in size to Einhard. If this is how all cities in Alvera looks, then the humans really have it going for them. After my assessment of the city, I tell Abby that we¡¯re going to go ahead to the adventurer¡¯s guild. I want to check out whether anyone there would be interested in partying with us. I assume that the guild will be right next to the dungeon like in Einhard, so I head for tower looming in the distance. It takes us a little while to get there, but when we do, I can¡¯t help but compare this dungeon to Einhard¡¯s. This dungeon looks similar, but it seems to be slightly smaller. Were the cities built around the dungeons? I wonder how long the dungeons were here? Were they here during the ¡°ages of old¡± or did they appear afterwards? I guess I¡¯ll figure that out eventually. Before we head into the guild, I notice a suspicious figure looking at me and Abby. The person is dressed in a black cloak with the hood covering any vision of their head and a cowl covering their face. No one seems to think that person is suspicious, so I assume that¡¯s how rogues generally dress. I¡¯m unsure why they¡¯re staring at us so intently, unless they can sense that I have illusion magic covering us? Either case, I don¡¯t worry about it too much. Until they make any overt moves against us, I won¡¯t do anything. With that thought, we head in. The interior of the guild is the exact same as the one in Einhard, so much so that it can be mistaken for the same one. Guilds must work similarly to how chain stores on Earth work. If that¡¯s the case, then I don¡¯t have to worry about adjusting to a new layout. I head towards the quest board to check out what types of quests they offer. ¡­The quests are a whole rank lower? So dungeons have different difficulties? The quests in Einhard went all the way up to S rank but this quest board only shows quests going up to AA. Is the layout of the cities in this country dependent on the level of the dungeons? It seems that the biggest capital city has the biggest and most difficult dungeon, while this city that¡¯s closer to the capital has a fairly large city with a fairly difficult dungeon. If the next few cities I go to have a similar set-up, I can confirm this theory. Besides that, what the hell? I only need a three-member party to enter the dungeon? It went down an entire member because of the decrease in rank? Well, lower ranked dungeons aren¡¯t as dangerous so I suppose it makes sense. The quests available for E and D rank adventurers are all simple material gathering quests near the lower floors in the dungeon. God, I¡¯m going to be so bored. But before that, I need to find another person to party with us. The person in the cloak followed us in and is still watching us intently. I suppose I can kill two birds with one stone. ¡°Hey, you in the black cloak. You¡¯ve been watching us for a while. I¡¯d like to know why.¡± ¡°¡­so you noticed. Come with me for a moment, I don¡¯t think what I¡¯m about to say is something you want publicized.¡± Their voice sounds too androgynous for me to get a read on the person¡¯s gender, but their voice is very nice. They turn their back and head out of the guild, looking back once to gesture us to follow them. Abby asks me if it was alright to follow them, and I just shrug. It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t handle it if it goes south. We follow the person until we end up in a back alley a few blocks from the guild. There¡¯s no one around and the traffic from the streets is barely existent. Wow, not suspicious at all. ¡°Now that we¡¯re in private, why are you two cloaked in heavy illusion magic?¡± the person says as they squint. I notice how their eyes have very long eyelashes and look extremely pretty. So maybe a girl? ¡°What¡¯s a little illusion magic to protect two girls from the dangers of the world?¡± I say with a shrug. ¡°Little is putting it lightly. The magic cast on you two is so potent that only a high-level mage would be able to sustain something like that for more than a few moments. Who are you girls really?¡± ¡°Nice question from someone who looks even more suspicious than we are. Can¡¯t we just be two sisters who wish to explore the world and go on adventures?¡± The person glares as they say, ¡°You¡¯re not lying. That doesn¡¯t make sense why you¡¯re covered in illusion magic though.¡± ¡°Well, what if I were to say that we may be in a little bit of trouble and disguising ourselves is the smartest option?¡± ¡°¡­you¡¯re still not lying.¡± ¡°Of course not. Now why don¡¯t you enlighten us on who you are oh mysterious cloaked individual? I¡¯m sure Anna is also curious,¡± I say looking down at Abby. She¡¯s been letting me control the flow of the conversation, but she looks like she wants to say something. ¡°Are you some kind of spy or assassin? That would be really cool!¡± she says enthusiastically. Hmm, a spy would fit the image this person is portraying. Isn¡¯t that a little too obvious though¡­? ¡°¡­no?¡± ¡°What the fuck? Are you actually a spy?¡± ¡°What, no. Of course not. Just your regular friendly neighborhood human rogue. I¡¯m not a spy at all.¡± ¡°¡­you¡¯re definitely a spy. Come on, spill the beans. I¡¯m not letting you leave until you tell me who you are.¡± ¡°Oh? And what could you do to me?¡± Haha, this guy is in for a rude awakening. I quickly cast a gravity spell that increases the gravity in a specific area right where the ¡®spy¡¯ is standing. They drop like a rock, body snug against the hard ground. I may have put a little too much mana into the spell, since I only meant to keep them standing there. Instead, the ¡®spy¡¯ ends up with a face fall of dirt and a heavy thud that probably will leave bruises. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to use so much mana. But you see your situation now, don¡¯t you? I can throw spells like that at you without even exhausting a fraction of my mana pool, you won¡¯t stand a chance against me.¡± The ¡®spy¡¯ looks at me with eyes showing hints of fear in them. They also brim with determination. What¡¯s this person up to? ¡°Are you loyal to Alvera, to the human race?¡± they ask with conviction. ¡°So you¡¯re a spy from a different race? You don¡¯t need to worry about me saying anything then. I couldn¡¯t care less about the human race or any other race for that matter.¡± ¡°You¡­ don¡¯t care? Are you not loyal to anyone at all?¡± this time, their voice contains a hopeful tone to it. ¡°I¡¯m only loyal to myself and anyone I come to care for,¡± I say as I place a hand on Abby¡¯s head. She smiles up at me as she places her hand over mine. Having sugar directly shot into my veins is fine too I guess. ¡°If that¡¯s the case¡­ then will you help me?¡± ¡°Did I not just say I¡¯m only loyal to myself? Why would I help you if you¡¯re a spy for a different race?¡± ¡°No, I mean. Help me, not my country. I don¡¯t want to be a spy anymore. I¡¯ve never wanted to be one. Let me join you, you said you only wanted to go on adventures, right? That¡¯s what my dream has always been, too. If I join you, I¡¯m certain that I can be free,¡± they say as they look at me with eyes full of shining hope. ¡°¡­what makes you think that? I might just be someone who has an abnormally high mana pool and that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°No! You¡¯re definitely not just some random adventurer. I have this ability that lets me know instinctively how dangerous something or someone is. It¡¯s something I was born with, a special ability that only people of my family have. When I first saw you, my instincts screamed that you were as dangerous as SSS ranked monsters.¡± ¡°Why in the world would you suggest us talk in an empty alleyway where I could easily kill you then?¡± ¡°I wanted to take a chance. Besides, you have a child with you. There¡¯s no way someone who would coldly murder people would be able to have a child so genuinely happy to be with them. And here we are. You haven¡¯t killed me and you¡¯re letting me tell you all of this. Please, let me join you.¡± Honestly, all of these long-winded explanations don¡¯t interest me much. I was already going to accept the minute this guy asked to join. We need one more member to take any quests. I doubt we¡¯d have much luck with regular adventurers because of mine and Abby¡¯s laughingly low ranks. ¡°Sure, why not?¡± ¡°Really? Just like that?¡± ¡°Yeah, since you¡¯re going to be with us for a while, why don¡¯t you introduce yourself.¡± ¡°Of course! I¡¯m Stefan Klein, an elven spy with an assassin skillset,¡± they say as they pull down their hood and cowl. I¡­ am more confused now than I was before they did that. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m looking at? A girl? Or just a very pretty boy who looks like a girl? Their name is Stefan though, so probably a guy? His(?) face is small with angular features one would expect form fantasy elves. His eyes are wide and expressive on his face, framed by his long hair that¡¯s tied up in a ponytail. His ears are pointed and long, yet they aren¡¯t very wide. It gives a refined look to him, like a woman of royalty. His mouth and nose both look delicate and give him the look of a beautiful maiden. Is this guy really a guy¡­? ¡°Uh, not to be rude, but are you a boy?¡± ¡°Of course I am?¡± he says with a confused expression on his face. What the hell, that makes him look even more like a girl. His voice doesn¡¯t help either since it can be heard as a girl with a deeper voice or a boy with a higher one. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s just¡­ You look like a girl.¡± ¡°Oh. That¡¯s¡­ understandable. I¡¯ve been mistaken as a girl my whole life so don¡¯t worry too much. It¡¯s why I wear the cowl and cloak.¡± ¡°Well, sorry but you¡¯re not allowed to wear the cowl anymore.¡± ¡°What? Why not?¡± ¡°Your face is pleasing to look at so if you want to stay with us, you have to let me see it.¡± ¡°¡­are you some kind of pervert?¡± he says with a look of dawning horror. ¡°Oh stop, I¡¯m not interested in men. You have a nice face though, and if I¡¯m going to help you, then I might as well get something out of this arrangement.¡± ¡°Can I keep my hood up at least?¡± ¡°Sure, as long as I can see your face, I don¡¯t really care what you do.¡± He nods as he pulls his hood back up. ¡°Before I forget, I¡¯m Misaki Miyamoto and this is Abigail. It¡¯s nice to have you.¡± He gives me a smile that practically shines from radiance. ¡­is he really sure he¡¯s not a girl? Well, at least we finally have a third member. Now we can take quests and go into a dungeon for once. I look forward to seeing what Wales¡¯s dungeon has to offer.