《Tricked into another world!》 Chapter 1 Loli Goddess Where am I? Where is this place? Standing up in a completely white room I looked around uneasily. With no walls, the room seems to extend endlessly in all directions with only the ground and ceiling visible. Crossing my arms and closing my eyes, I start to think about the events that transpired before finding myself here. ¡°If I recall¡­¡­¡± Certainly I was lying on my bed right before I lost consciousness. But¡­ I¡¯m not sure exactly what else happened. Pondering about my current circumstances, a voice resounded in the air. ¡°Welcome, I am God!¡± Appearing out of thin air, the person proclaiming herself as god appeared in front of me. ¡°H-hello¡­¡± Looking closely, God looked to be a small child with long white hair, flowing all the way down to her ankles almost touching the ground. With big eyes, slender arms and legs, God spoke to me in a really cute voice. Puffing out her chest, she bent her arms holding her waist with almost a haughty attitude. ¡°If you aren¡¯t sure why you¡¯re here, It¡¯s because you have agreed and accepted the terms and conditions of the email I sent you!¡± ¡°Email?¡± Come to think of it, I did check my email much earlier in the day before I lost consciousness. However wasn¡¯t that from the company asking if I wanted to participate in their full dive beta for Project Iris Online? PIO, also known as Project Iris Online the MMO that currently dominates the MMORPG game industry. It is the first game to demonstrate the use of virtual reality headsets. Although it isn¡¯t a true virtual reality experience, it is a step in the right direction. There was a lot of news regarding them developing a full dive experience. Upon completion they would select a number of lucky participants and begin beta testing. Thinking closely, my day started off with me doing that didn¡¯t it¡­ Several hours earlier¡­ ¡°Hot¡­ today is really hot.¡± I woke up in the morning summer heat, with sticky sweat covering my entire body. Groggily sitting up I head straight for my shower carrying myself as I sway back and forth. Stripping off my clothes and tossing them everywhere, I turn the knob for the shower. As the water slowly comes on with a *creek*, shooting out in small waves before a steady stream of water begins to fall, I hop inside and wash myself down with some body soap that foams quickly. Scrubbing my crotch, butt and then quickly washing down my armpits and lastly shampooing my short black hair. My name is Tetsu Tagami. I guess if this was Japan my family name would come first? In any case I am a man nearing the age of 24, with a height of 5¡¯7, attending university overseas living in the dorms, single, and a gamer. I have a terrible physique, being scrawny with no muscles, and usually go by the nickname Dead Eyes. That is because I am a gamer who likes to stay up late gaming everyday so I have eyes like a dead person. Large dark circles formed from my many sleepless nights of gaming coupled with little to no sleep every night. Of course, it isn¡¯t like I do badly in University you know. I still maintain decent grades since I will still need to graduate and get a good job in order to live properly. Turning the knob back, turning off the water to the shower I step out and quickly dry myself. Putting on some clean underwear I walk out of the bathroom still mostly nude and check the time. ¡°9am huh?¡± Class doesn¡¯t start for another 2 hours or so. Thinking this I sit down, grab my virtual reality headset and log into PIO for a small gaming session before class begins. ¡°Welcome back master!¡± Logging into the game world, I¡¯m greeted by my personal non-player character or NPC for short. She is a slightly short beautiful elf girl with golden yellow hair tied in a ponytail, green eyes, has an extremely cute voice, and stands at a height of 5¡¯0. In other words, my ideal type! However it¡¯s not as if I¡¯m a lolicon you know! I do like big breasted women much more than flat chested types! However if it¡¯s an elf then of course she needs to be much smaller for when she wields her bow¡­ ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be going out for a while, please watch over the house as usual.¡± ¡°Yes, as you wish Master!¡± Cheerfully sending me off with a bow, I open the door to the outside world of the virtual reality game. ¡°Yo! Up and online early as usual aren¡¯t you Tetsu!¡± Receiving a personal message from Grants, a close friend of mine both in this game world, and in real life, I greeted back with an indifferent tone of voice. ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s only been the usual 3 hours of sleep I would say¡± ¡°Mr. Dead Eyes, you seem slightly cranky this morning don¡¯t you~¡± ¡°In any case, there¡¯s still a few hours before class, let¡¯s go kill some stuff¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯m in the center of town next to the teleporter¡± Letting out a deep sigh at his cheerful responses, I marked his location on my mini-map and then proceeded towards the town square. ¡°Slow!¡± Upon meeting up with Grants, I was greeted by a friend of his going by the name Mimi, a flat chested little girl with short red hair reaching down to her shoulders. She had a very petite figure, but overall it was a cute character, donning the mantle of a wizard along with a pointy hat and cane to go with the attire. ¡°P-pervert, lolicon, molester!¡± Staring at the shorty intently, she immediately blushed and hid behind Grants poking her head out glaring back at me while spouting verbal insults. ¡°No no! it¡¯s just that your character is really well made that I couldn¡¯t help but to stare you know¡± Looking up towards the Paladin clad in sparkling silver armor, a handsome western face with blonde hair was greeting me with a lady killer smile. ¡°Sorry did I keep you guys waiting too long?¡± I greeted him with my own smile, as someone from behind had appeared next to me. ¡°No, you¡¯re just on time, but it would seem that I¡¯m slightly late¡± Turning around there was a priest with long black hair reaching her waist. Her name is Reyna. A head shorter than I was, she had beautiful and delicate features which made her character stand out from the feeling of pureness she continually emitted. ¡°Ahh! The sun is surely too bright today as well¡­¡± Covering my eyes from the intense brightness she naturally gave off, I back pedaled a few steps from being abnormally close to such a bright person. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°That¡¯s no way to treat a lady!¡± Cheerfully smiling with a radiant expression, Reyna took a few playful steps towards me. ¡°Ok ok! I understand so please don¡¯t stay so close to me!¡± Waving my arms frantically, she lets out another smile and nods her head while taking a step back. Don¡¯t get the wrong idea; it¡¯s not as if I¡¯m afraid of women you know. It¡¯s just that the people around us would get jealous if their lovely goddess was seen getting close with a person like me you know. Having shimmering black hair, and a soft voice that goes with her gentleness along with a well-proportioned body, she could be a gorgeous model. Her fan club I¡¯ve heard has already reached well over 400,000 players. Looking around us, there was already a commotion starting from the other online players whispering next to each other. ¡°Look, it¡¯s the 4 top members of the guild Divine Retribution¡± ¡°Are they going on another adventure?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Heavenly Knight Grants, he¡¯s so awesome!¡± ¡°Shining like the sun, the Radiant Goddesses Reyna and Mimi are here!¡± ¡°The Undead King Tetsu!¡± The four of us are longtime friends of PIO, and have been together since the start of the game. Divine Retribution was the name given by the guild leader, Grants, and we became the top guild in PIO. Although Grants was named as leader, the 4 of us equally contributed in building the guild into what it is now. The nicknames aren¡¯t a title granted by the system; rather it¡¯s just something people came up with on their own. If I had to guess, Heavenly Knight would refer to how Grants obtained the one time title ¡°Might of God¡±. The system title was awarded to the first person who achieved soloing 666 Arch Demons in the Demon Continent, which isn¡¯t an easy task to do, as the level of Arch Demons are 94 with the level cap of players set at 100. Soloing a single Arch Demon could take up to an hour since it is considered as a boss monster. However rather than the lengthy amount of time it takes defeating them, they use a suicide attack that ignores all defense including magic barriers, and instantly kills anyone within its attack radius once they reach 1/5 of their life. And adding salt to the wounds, because it¡¯s a suicide attack, it doesn¡¯t count towards the overall 666 Arch Demon kills so the title was naturally deemed impossible to achieve. How did Grants achieve that title you say? Stacking buffs and magic enchantments from Reyna and Mimi, while maximizing his equipment for pure attack, I lent him my sword ¡°Holy Executioner¡± that dealt triple damage to Demon and Undead type monsters. Along with his unique class skill ¡°Light¡¯s Fury¡± it gave him an additional increase of 200% damage dealt to all darkness elemental creatures, at the cost of sacrificing his defense. Watching as he sickeningly slaughtered Arch Demon¡¯s using only 2 skills; the system title was obtained in less than an hour. The Radiant Goddesses would probably just refer to how cheerful Reyna is and how she¡¯s always glowing like the sun. Mimi on the other hand has red hair so it¡¯s convenient to stick her with the same title I suppose. However on a side note, Reyna was the first priest to max out her class and earn the title ¡°Saint of Hope¡±. At the same time Mimi reached the pinnacle of her magic profession earning the title ¡°Master of Magic¡±. I on the other hand, have no achievements to brag about. Then what would the title ¡°Undead King¡± be? That is a good question, when the highest level raid dungeon first came out, Demon Lords Catacombs, in a 20 man raid, I in a party with Grants, Mimi, and Reyna successfully repelled all 13 waves of enemy mobs during the final boss confrontation using the ¡°Staff of Caine¡± that granted me unlimited mana usage as if I had complete control over the thousands of undead that continually assaulted the raid team. Although there was no significant system title for achieving such a feat, people had revered me as some sort of absolute ruler when I displayed my complete overwhelming dominance over the waves of monsters. After killing a few monsters in random dungeons, it was nearing the time class was to start, so I logged out and quickly put on a random shirt and pants then headed out. Opening my front door, I did one last check in my room, and shut off the lights then closed the door behind me. Ding! Dong! The clock resounding in the atmosphere signaled the 11th morning hour. Just as I walked into my classroom, everyone was seated with loud chatter still waiting for the professor to arrive and start the lecture. Looking on my phone, it was 11:03am. Oddly the professor wasn¡¯t here when he normally already has something written on his writing board to welcome the new lecture day. Checking my email while waiting I noticed there was a pending notice from Project Iris Online. Checking and reading the contents, the email was addressed to me, ¡°Having become the best Magic Swordsmen in the world, we invite you to experience an entirely new world. We eagerly await your response.¡± Checking the sender once again, it was indeed a system message from the game. Could it be that the full dive technology has already been created?!! It has only been 3 years since PIO was released, if so they¡¯re really innovating the world, was what I thought. Immediately replying to the email, ¡°Yes, I would love to join. Please sign me up!¡± I sent it off right as the professor showed up for the first time late to class. A few hours later the class lecture ended, and I had proceeded to the ever busy cafeteria to get some food. After eating some odd looking spaghetti and meatballs which had meatballs that looked nothing like meatballs, I gulped down the rest of my orange juice and then left back to my room under the cover of the night sky. Reaching back to my dorm, I made my way up the winding staircase to my room on the third floor. Opening the door to my room I instantly felt a wave of dizziness hit me like a truck. Quickly closing and locking the door I silently set down my backpack, and fell face first onto my bed. ¡°Guh!, what is this feeling?¡± Could it possibly be that odd spaghetti I had?!! I knew it!!! I should have gone for the grilled chicken instead! Slowly losing all my strength, my consciousness was going out fast. Unable to maintain my composure the surroundings faded into black as I finally drifted into darkness. Chapter 2 The Loli Goddess is Shy?!! ¡°Hey you! Listen to me!!!¡± After being lost in thought, I stare back down at the little girl goddess standing in front of me stomping her feet like the child she resembles. ¡°Hah¡­ if possible, could you send me back to my world God?¡± Letting out a sigh, I let out my inner desire on impulse. ¡°Impossible!¡± ¡°Impossible?¡± ¡°That''s right, you¡¯ve already agreed to the contract so it¡¯s impossible!¡± ¡°Hah¡­¡± ¡°Stop looking so disappointed with those overly exaggerated sighs!¡± Looking at the small goddess pouting her face looks extremely cute, so I unintentionally give her a serious looking face staring intensely at her figure. ¡°W-what are you staring at me l-like that for?!!¡± Shyly raising her voice again, she turns around hiding her beat red face. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s a habit of mine to look intently at cute things¡­¡± ¡°C-cute?!!, H-he called me c-cute?!!¡± Extremely flustered, the small goddess¡¯s face turns into a much brighter red mumbling to herself. Perhaps did I make her angry? ¡°Ah¡­ anyways, so you were going to explain to me what I¡¯m doing here since I can¡¯t go back?¡± ¡°C-c-c-cu¡­ Ah! T-that¡¯s right!¡± Regaining her composure, the Small Goddess turns around facing me once again with a refined expression. ¡°You¡¯ve been called here by me! In order to assist the next hero in defending the human race from being wiped out by the hordes of demons.¡± ¡°Assisting the hero, Is it? I¡¯m not a very talented person when it comes to fighting you know. Even just looking at my scrawny body you can see that right?¡± ¡°Something like that will be OK. After all you succeeded in repelling 13 continuous demon hordes of the highest level. Such a feat is recognized by even us gods!¡± While standing up straight with sparkling upturned eyes, the goddess smiles with triumph. ¡°Hah¡­¡­ you know, that was merely just inside a game. Something like that is impossible for me in real life. Moreover, there are no such entities known as demons anyways.¡± I gave out another sigh, unintentionally retorting back. ¡°Game?¡± The tiny goddess replies with a puzzled expression. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°A game is something you just have fun playing, in this case it was in a fantasy world that doesn¡¯t exist in reality¡± ¡°Game¡­ so something to pass the time for enjoyment¡­?¡± The goddess still looking bewildered, answered in a cute voice with a finger pressed on her bottom lip, while tilting her head. ¡°Yes, a game. Something we play to have fun. Not real. Now that we have established that fact, could you send me back?¡± Instantly turning pale, the small goddess fell down to her knees, on all four. ¡°I-Impossible¡­ for me to have¡­ made such a¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± After an awkward silence, the goddess stood up once again with an extremely troubled face trembling. ¡°I-in any case, t-there is n-no taking back the c-contract¡­¡± In a shaky voice, the goddess seemingly on the verge of tears has lost the light in her clear blue eyes. Noticing that something felt slightly off with the goddess, I ask a question. ¡°If you¡¯re a god, why is it that you¡¯re unable to just cancel the contract?¡± ¡°That is¡­ I no longer have the power I once held as a goddess. Even the form you see before you now is a direct result of me losing almost all of my power. Using the last of my power I summoned a contract with you. It will be several decades before I will be able to regain my original power¡­¡± Shifting her line of sight back and forth while fidgeting around, the goddess explained her circumstances to me. ¡°I-is that so¡­¡± With the goddess no longer full of life, my eyes began twitching at my current extremely unlucky circumstances. ¡°Then, what''s going to happen?¡± ¡°That is¡­¡­¡± The small goddess seemed to have been trapped in her thoughts as she continually stood in one position with her eyes closed and arms crossed. After a short while, she finally answered back. ¡°No! I have faith in you, regardless of what happens! Since I have already summoned you, you will be put to work. I don¡¯t believe I made a mistake!¡± The small goddess, looking back up at me with rejuvenated eyes nodded with approval and quickly began chanting. After the short verse, multiple complex magic arrays surrounded me in white light. ¡°With the last of my power, I will grant you a small blessing. I hope you¡¯ll be able accomplish many great things.¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Speaking in a calm mature voice, she looks directly into my eyes as if peering into my very soul. ¡°W-wait!¡± ¡°Become a grand warrior.¡± The goddess gave out one last smile as she sent me off. Looking at the small figure of the goddess, I threw out a hand, out of concern just before being teleported. It might have been my imagination, but it seemed as if she had begun to vanish the moment she finished chanting. [Obtained: Supreme Blessing of the Goddess of Fate]¡­ Appearing alongside the small goddess who had used the remainder of her power, another goddess clad in shining golden armor with a pale blue sword hanging on her waist began to talk. ¡°It seems you¡¯ve finally run out of power, Fortuna.¡± ¡°Yes I¡¯ll be sleeping until I can recover enough, Athena. Have you finished your summoning as well?¡± ¡°No, I have yet to find a suitable person¡± ¡°Then could I trouble you with a small request?¡± ¡°What would that be?¡± ¡°Please guide and watch over him¡­¡± ¡°If it is only that much, It is not a problem. Consider it done.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Rest well, you¡¯ve done enough. Let us other gods handle this for the time being.¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be excusing myself until I awaken once more¡­¡­¡± The goddess of fate and fortune, Fortuna, slowly faded out into nothingness, entering into a long slumber in order to recover a portion of her exhausted power. In the same place, much further away many more people were summoned by many other gods. A familiar knight makes an oath to his lord. ¡°I understand, by the name of Glenn Grants, I wish to serve as your intermediary¡± ¡°Very well I accept your resolve; I will give you my blessing Glenn. Go forth and dominate those who proclaim themselves as evil!¡± Looking at each other eye to eye, almost as if one was the student and the other the master, two others exchange their farewell. ¡°I will strive to master magic here as well, please watch over me!¡± ¡°Indeed, from hence forth you must seek out the elementals, best of luck young one.¡± With a bright atmosphere surrounding two female beauties, their gazes interlock while they exchange formalities, and then bid each other farewell. ¡°I will bring forth the light of salvation.¡± ¡°May the holy spirits guide you in your long journey.¡± Concluding the meeting of their summoned contractors, the gods meet up slowly one by one after finishing their business. ¡°It is almost done, the conjuring of new heroes.¡± ¡°Indeed, may the new heroes pave the way for a new era of hope.¡± ¡°I felt the diminishing power of Fortuna go out like a candle flame, was she able to complete her contract?¡± ¡°Yes, she has entered into her slumber.¡± ¡°Tis a shame, she will be unable to bear witness to her own contracted hero¡¯s feats.¡± ¡°Shall we witness such deeds for ourselves to share upon her awakening?¡± ¡°Then we shall indulge ourselves in her absence.¡± ¡°Who is her warrior this time?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard he is hailed as the world¡¯s strongest and mightiest magic swordsman, bearing the strength to repel hundreds upon hundreds of demons easily by his own power.¡± ¡°Such monstrous strength, she must have exhausted the last of her power to form the contract.¡± ¡°That is indeed the case; I¡¯ve not seen her so depleted since the time of summoning with that person¡± ¡°The otherworldly swordsman whom clashed with the Demon God himself, casting him back into the netherworld. It¡¯s been a long time.¡± ¡°Her display of power was on par with even us gods; such a person will be forever ingrained into the history of mankind.¡± ¡°Do you think that this magic swordsman will be able to achieve similar results?¡± ¡°That in itself would be hard to say, however if it¡¯s his fate to do so, then it will happen. He was summoned by that person after all.¡± ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, his comrades have also been recruited into this sacred war correct?¡± ¡°That would be so; the remaining gods undergoing their contracts will also be done shortly.¡± ¡°That is wonderful to hear. Such powerful warriors will surely bring about a change in that war torn world.¡± "However, we can only hope for the best." Chapter 3 Thrust into a World of Fantasy ¡°A Demon Lord has appeared!¡± ¡°Have we angered the gods?!!¡± ¡°We¡¯re doomed! We¡¯ve been abandoned by the gods!¡± Opening my eyes from the blinding white light that had enveloped me a second ago, I look around to see what all the noise is about. ¡°A Human?!!¡± ¡°Avert you¡¯re eyes, or you¡¯ll be cursed!!!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to die!¡± What is this?!! Everyone around me for a while now has been spouting nonsense. Rudely pointing their fingers and screaming out with spite. Although my eyes are still adjusting from being blinded, I can still vaguely make out human shaped figures. Could it be that they¡¯re afraid of me? In order to confirm, I ask a nearby person what¡¯s wrong. ¡°Hey, you over there what¡¯s with all the screaming?¡± ¡°He, He spoke to me?!! Oh god why?!! What have I done wrong?!!¡± With my eyes finally adjusted, I saw the man fall back in fear, covering his eyes while shouting. However, there was something else that caught my attention. ¡°Pointy ears¡­ they¡¯re elves?¡± Mumbling to myself with a dumbfounded expression, I look around once again. ¡°He¡¯s casting a spell! EVERYONE RUN!!!¡± ¡°AHHhhh!!! My soul is being sucked away from his evil eyes! Save me!¡± A woman falls to the floor screaming, while others are running for their lives. I know I¡¯m not the best looking guy, but I know I¡¯m not that repulsive you know. Despite my unusually pale skin, and ghoulish eyes, I think I¡¯m doing relatively fine you know. With a gaze I watch my surroundings while everyone runs out in panic. Checking out my surroundings closely, I finally realize I had been teleported inside of a large room where there was likely a ceremony being held. Long benches enough to hold at least 4 people were lined up one after another in rows. The room was about the size of four football fields. Up on the ceiling there was a large portion of the roof missing, as if it were intentionally done. The walls were made of stone. Vines wrapped around the walls, flourishing with the growing moss. I stood on a stage, with the full moon peering down on me. Behind me was a magic circle drawn. The scale of it was at least 10 meters wide. Silently thinking to myself, I hoped everything would be alright. Watching as the elves run out of the sacred marital grounds was simply astonishing. As the elder of this elf village, such an uproar has never happened in my 700 years of living. Sensing the distress I stop a youngster nearby, to inquire about what¡¯s happening. ¡°Young man, tell me, what¡¯s with the sudden commotion?¡± ¡°E-elder?!! Elder! You mustn¡¯t go in there! A Demon Lord has arrived and has begun casting spells! We must hurry and escape!¡± Letting go of the young man, he begins to frantically run away. ¡°Demon Lord¡­?¡± Strange, I felt a small disturbance in space, however such a power couldn¡¯t compare to that of a Demon Lord. At best his ability is on par with an infant. However with so many people running out, could he have suppressed his power? Indeed that would be troubling if he were in fact a Demon Lord. Taking small steps forward I quickly cast the Magic spell, [Bright Flare]. It isn¡¯t an attack based spell, but something I use only for calling the elite warriors during a time of duress. As the bright blue flare lights up the evening sky, hundreds of my village¡¯s finest warriors appear almost instantaneously. With haste I instruct them to suppress the being that seems to be in the marital grounds. If he shows any hostility then we will fight back with all our strength. With my old age, I¡¯ve gained much wisdom. Although I may not be as old as the High Elves that never age, I¡¯ve fought my share of battles. That being the case I must ascertain his objective first as long as he doesn¡¯t pose a threat. If he turns out to be a Demon Lord, giving even a moment¡¯s time for the villagers to escape is infinitely better than being utterly wiped out. Unknown footsteps begin to resound in the distance after a few minutes. Quickly, one after another elves armed with bows and swords storm the room, surrounding Tetsu. From behind the formation, the figure of an old man makes his way to the front. This does not look good at all. What¡¯s with all these people with weapons? Couldn¡¯t that loli goddess have sent me to a better place than this?!! At this rate I¡¯ll die before even a day has passed here! Thinking such negative thoughts, an old man takes a few steps forward and then talks to me. ¡°Tell me¡­ are you¡­ a Demon Lord?¡± The old man stroking his chin asked as such, after which I replied back. ¡°No?¡± The old man who seemed extremely cautious of me immediately raised one hand into the air, and then swung it forward. In that instant, I knew something bad was going to happen. Reacting to the hand that had swung forward, I quickly jumped back, and in front of me appeared a volley of arrows piercing the ground where I had stood before. ¡°H-hey now, let¡¯s not get carried away ok¡­?¡± Sweating bullets, my voice came out slightly shaky with my impending doom¡­ Walking forward into the marital grounds, my elite warriors were on standby staring down the young man on top the stage with the moonlight shining down on his figure. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Having skin and eyes similar to those of the deceased, I had begun to wonder if this person was indeed a Demon Lord. His appearance was dark. The pressure he exuded was almost as if he belonged to another world. Sensing no hostility I boldly took a few steps forward. ¡°¡­ are you perhaps¡­ a Demon Lord?¡± ¡°No?¡± I couldn¡¯t sense any magic nor power coming off from him. Was he skilled enough to hide his presence? However I felt slight unease from his answer, so I had decided to test the waters. Raising my hand, I signaled the archers to fire a single volley of arrows in order to see his reaction. Almost immediately he jumped back avoiding the oncoming arrows. He has good instincts. However if he were a second slower he would have been struck by tens of arrows. Was my judgement perhaps wrong? I¡¯m gonna die. I¡¯m gonna die. I¡¯m gonna die! This isn¡¯t looking good at all. With these thoughts pouring into my mind I braced myself for death. But, the old man turned around completely exposing his back, and with a quick wave of his hand all of the people armed with weapons scattered. Safe¡­? ¡°So, tell me, who are you, you certainly don¡¯t seem human. But you aren¡¯t very strong either.¡± The old man had begun approaching me, this time in a solemn subtle voice. Climbing onto the stage, he stopped just a meter away from me. ¡°You¡¯re not going to kill me?¡± ¡°I have no reason to kill someone who poses no threat.¡± Looking at this old man, I could see that he was serious. So I decided to answer him. Maybe I could get information about what kind of world this is? ¡°Although I might not seem like it, I¡¯m human. Also I don¡¯t know where this is, or what I¡¯m doing here so please spare me.¡± Immediately kneeling down I give the old man dogeza while expressing myself as nonthreatening as possible, all the while cursing my unhealthy days of gaming. ¡°It would seem you¡¯re telling the truth. Do you know how you got here?¡± At his next question, I hesitated before answering. ¡°¡­¡­ I¡¯ve come from another world.¡± ¡°Another world¡­ then perhaps, were you summoned by the gods?¡± ¡°Gods? You mean there is more than one?¡± At his words, it occurred to me. Nothing had been explained to me, prior to being thrown into this world. Why didn¡¯t I think to ask questions! In the first place I don¡¯t even know the name of this world! Retorting at myself inside my mind, the old man begins to chuckle. ¡°Ho ho ho! It would seem that I¡¯m right. Very well, come with me.¡± Walking out of the ceremony like structure, we walked into a clearing of houses, all built from wood. Surrounding the vast houses were trees that grew further than I could see. The old man led me into what seemed like another ritual ground. In this particular area, was a Large tree which seemed to extend well into the clouds above. This area had been enclosed, with a small temple like structure at the base of the tree. ¡°In this world are many monsters and demons, as well as many other races.¡± Inside of this ritual ground like place, the old man had begun to draw a magic circle on the dirt floor. ¡°You will have many encounters, and each one will make you stronger.¡± After a moment, a large complex magic circle was completed. ¡°Please stand in this circle boy.¡± ¡°Eh¡­ it¡¯s not going to kill me is it?¡± ¡°No, it will merely bring you outside of this forest.¡± Nodding, I immediately understood his intentions. It was likely that if I stayed, I would be imprisoned. ¡°Boy, before I send you to the outside world, I¡¯ll leave you with some advice. First take these; it¡¯ll come in handy later.¡± Materializing a bag from space, the old man threw it at me before explaining anything else. ¡°In order for you to live in this world, you will need strength. Above that you will need knowledge. I advise you to head over to the Adventurers Guild, and learn what you can.¡± Standing on top of the magic circle, a pale blue light began to shine from underneath. ¡°Inside of that bag contains a small Mithril dagger. Etched onto it is a symbol known only to us of the elf race. When you become much stronger than you are now, and if you want to come back that dagger will allow you passage to see me.¡± The light from the circle had become much more intense, my vision began to blur once again. ¡°If there is a next time, you will want to change your hair color. Black is considered as ominous, and is detested by us of the elf race. Ho ho ho!¡± With his words, I was once again teleported before I could thank him¡­ ¡°Elder, the commotion has been settled. We¡¯re currently on standby, what are your orders?¡± Appearing from the shadows an elf knelt before the Village Elder. ¡°For now, return to your original duties.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± In an instant, just as he appeared, he was gone. The Elder walked towards the temple, and went inside. Inside the temple was a giant crystal, surrounded by numerous chains and magical arrays. In the center was a person, seemingly frozen in time. ¡°Could it have been the wheels of fate? However, it is not yet time¡­¡± Side Story 1 The Final Battle ¡°Che¡­ you¡¯ve defeated me, but this isn¡¯t the end for you yet! I OFFER YOU MY LIFE! SO REVIVE INTO THIS WORLD ONCE MORE AND BRING FORTH TRUE DISPAIR!!!¡± Stabbing himself with his hand, he pierced his own heart ending his own life instantly. However what happened after was completely out of my own expectations. Rumble, Rumble The ground started to shake as countless magic circles appeared in the sky above the Demon Lord who had just taken his own life. The skies darkened, and the surroundings were enveloped in black. In the center of the magic circles, a single entity had emerged. Immediately a wave of energy swept away the magic circles, and brought upon stillness in the air. Floating in the sky, the figure descended. ¡°This world, it has been a long time¡­¡± Feeling his presence, a chill went down my spine. Unable to move, the figure clad in a dense dark aura gazed at me. The amount of energy pulsating from his being was something far stronger than anything I¡¯ve encountered. It was almost as if he were¡­ ¡°You are¡­ a god?¡± ¡°Yes¡± Confirming my suspicion, I immediately took a fighting stance and readied my sword. ¡°Do you wish to fight against me?¡± ¡°If possible no, however I cannot allow you to leave¡± ¡°Then die.¡± With a wave of his arm, a wave of jet black energy was shot at me. ¡°!!!¡± Slashing my sword down, I enveloped my sword with magic and sliced his energy wave in half. ¡°Ha!¡± ¡°You¡¯re stronger than you seem¡­¡± ¡°Gah!...¡± Protruding out of my stomach was a hand. ¡°Im, Impossible w-when did you?!!¡± Using the energy wave as a feint, he appeared behind me, and using only his bare hand he penetrated through my Divine Armor?!! Frantically slashing behind me, he instantly moved back to his original position. ¡°But even so, you¡¯re weak¡± ¡°Haaa, Haaa¡­¡± I took in deep breaths as blood streamed from both my mouth, and the hole in my stomach. With the unbearable pain, it was hard just standing up. Having also been exhausted from my fight with the Demon Lord, how can I expect to win against something like this? No even if I hadn¡¯t fought with him, I still wouldn¡¯t be able to beat this person. The amount of energy he¡¯s emitting is increasing quickly. This bottomless amount of power, is it possible to even win against? No there is still that option. Concentrating the last of my energy, I began to chant. ¡°Is this your last stand? Don¡¯t be na?ve I won¡¯t allow something like that!¡± Immediately reacting to my chant, the Evil God rushed at me. Embracing myself for his impact, I took up a defensive stance with my shield. However what happened before me was¡­ [Lightning Strike!] Crashing down like thunder, the ever reliable magic fighter Lumin appeared from the sky. ¡°Rina! You don¡¯t have time to sit around and wait, what are you doing?!!¡± From his sudden appearance, the pain in my body immediately vanished as I leaked a smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, buy me some time!¡± Immediately I began chanting once again, if it¡¯s him, then no matter what he¡¯ll be able to give me the time I need. ¡°To think another bug has appeared¡± ¡°Shine with blinding rage, [Radiant Edge]¡± Casting [Radiant Edge], Lumin¡¯s spear glowed white with holy energy. Running forward, Lumin slashed his spear horizontally, evading it by a hairs breath the Evil God retaliated. With a blast of dark energy from up close Lumin was sent flying. ¡°Squashed so soon?¡± Appearing from above, a stream of lightning shot out from the palm of Lumin¡¯s hand. ¡°[Chain Lightning]!¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°An illusion?!! Moreover instant casting?!! However you¡¯re too slow! Swallow everything [Hellflame Blast]!¡± A wave of black fire Immediately flew out towards Lumin, burning away the atmosphere itself. ¡°That won¡¯t work! [Vorpal Strike]!¡± Shining within the black flames, a concentrated energy wave split open the fire bridging a path. ¡°A Sword skill?!! Impossible!¡± ¡°Bind, 1000 needles of darkness [Shadow Stitch]¡± Landing beside the evil god, Lumin cast another spell immediately, immobilizing the Evil God. ¡°Something like this won¡¯t hold me!¡± ¡°No, but it¡¯s already over¡­¡± ¡°Radiant light of judgment, blow away the darkness! [Heaven¡¯s Wraith]!¡± Blue light shot forward from where Rina stood, bombarding the Evil God continuously for almost a minute. As the blue beam of light faded out, the surroundings dyed in black returned to back to its original color as if purified by the holy light. Rina, exhausting the last of her energy fell down to her knees. ¡°Recover, [High Heal]¡± ¡°Thank you, Lumin¡± Looking up at Lumin as the hole in my stomach closed, my heart skipped a beat. Once again, coming late and saving me as usual¡­ ¡°To think¡­ to think the two of you would be strong enough deal this much damage to me!!!¡± Rising from the earth, the Evil God once again materialized from nothing. And once again darkness began to invade the skies. ¡°Tha, That can¡¯t be possible!¡± Impossible, it survived an attack granted by the gods?!! Are we truly fated to die?! ¡°Che, I guess it can¡¯t be helped after all¡­ Materialize...¡± Watching Lumin, a mass of energy formed in front of him. It was power matching that of the gods themselves. ¡°Release¡­¡± Thrusting his hand forward into the mass of energy, a Katana materialized. ¡°This is¡­¡± A pulse of energy swept the area, along with that Lumin¡¯s figure also began to change. His hair turned from a golden brown to flowing black and grew well past his waist. His wide back became smaller and much more feminine. His broad arms became thin, and his heavy armor turned into light clothing. ¡°Lumin¡­ that sword is¡­!¡± ¡°Sorry Rina¡­¡± Lumin quickly tied her hair into a ponytail, and with a soft voice of a girl, Lumin dashed forward, clashing with the Evil God. ¡°Guh!!! Fast! This sword is!¡± ¡°Burst! [Arrows of Light]! Instantly, 12 magic circles appeared around the Evil God, and shot out magic arrows made of light, as Lumin leapt back. ¡°[Infinity Wall]!¡± Reacting to the spell, the Evil God set up an absolute barrier. ¡°Even so!¡± Taking a quick draw stance, Lumin infused magical energy into her katana. ¡°Shatter, [Stasis Blade]!¡± Lumin dashing forward again, swung her blade rending both time and space alike, cutting down the absolute barrier together along with the Evil God. ¡°Guhah! So this is¡­ the power¡­ of a hero?¡± ¡°No, it is merely the power of a mortal¡± The katana that had materialized shattered at that moment. ¡°Well done, however you¡¯ve only won for now¡­ no matter how powerful you may be, you cannot withstand the sands of time¡­¡± The Evil God¡¯s power had finally disappeared after the intense battle. ¡°Lumin!¡± Running up to her friend, Rina stopped just an arms width away. ¡°Lumin, y-you¡¯ve won?¡± ¡°No, the Evil God has only just run away. I could not kill him.¡± Lumin answered turning around, looking straight into Rina¡¯s green eyes. ¡°Lumin¡­ just who are you?¡± Chapter 4 Slimes can be powerful to… The full moon which had shun down a gentle moonlight, was no longer there. In its place was the blazing sun in the sky, bathing the world in white light. ¡°This is¡­?¡± Just moments ago it was night, after being teleported a second time it became day already? Moreover was the forest I came out from? Gazing at my surroundings, it was green open fields as far as the eyes could see. Far ahead, there was a town encircled by large walls. In the distance, there were a few creatures frolicking about. Thinking logically, there could only be one explanation as for why night changed into day. I was teleported too far! Face palming myself, I thought of the positive aspects. The elves whom I disturbed won¡¯t be able to find me~ he he he. Giving out a villainous laugh, I felt something bumping into me, making ¡°Pon!¡± sounds. Turning around it was¡­, a slime?!! A pink jelly like creature with no eyes or mouth had been bumping into me repeatedly. However, something like that didn¡¯t hurt at all, and was more annoying than anything else. With an evil smile, I took a few steps back. With a running start, I kicked it will all my might. Plop! However the jelly like substance didn¡¯t quite splatter like I had thought, instead¡­ ¡°MY LEG! AHHHHHHHH¡± My leg had magnificently lodged itself into the body of the slime. With an extreme burning sensation, I immediately took out the Mithril knife stored in the bag, and slashed at the slime wildly. ¡°Take that, and that, and that!!! Die!!!!!¡± With my leg finally freed, I noticed that part of my pants, my shoe, and my sock went missing where the slime had been attached. ¡°W-what the hell?!!¡± To think the slimes in all the mmo¡¯s I¡¯ve played and grinded off of was actually this formidable! Rethinking my attitude towards the slime, the slime that had been cut up began to glow. Almost instantaneously the slime reformed and then once again began assaulting my leg. ¡°It r-revived?!!¡± Taking a battle stance, I once again slashed at it, cutting it into pieces. However shortly after, the same phenomenon happened once again. Was it possible, that I couldn¡¯t kill even a single slime?!! This time, staring at the slime I decided to leave it be and make my way towards the town dejectedly. A few moments later¡­ ¡°Dammit¡­¡± Stepping on small rocks with my shoeless foot really hurt! And that damn slime is still attacking my leg! Moreover it¡¯s my shoeless leg! As expected, it doesn¡¯t hurt but it¡¯s not as if I can kill the slime either you know! Finally reaching the town gate, the guard looked at me with an odd expression. Pon! Pon! ¡°Sorry, do you have any identification?¡± Pon! ¡°No¡± Pon! Pon! ¡°Then you¡¯ll have to pay a small entrance fee of 2 copper coins¡± Pon! Pon! Looking into the bag that was handed to me, it had what seemed to be exactly 1 silver coin along with the Mithril dagger. Taking out a silver coin I handed it to the guard. Pon! ¡°I¡¯m sorry this is all I have¡­¡± The guard looking at me with an even stranger expression began to talk. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, we don¡¯t have change for a Mithril coin¡­ Are you sure you don¡¯t have anything smaller?¡± ¡°Mithril coin? Isn¡¯t the color silver?¡± Looking back at the guard with a blank expression of doubt, he answers back immediately. ¡°Yes yes, of course it¡¯s a silver coin my mistake!¡± Pon Pon! The guard gave a huge grin, and passed over 9 large copper coins, and 8 smaller copper coins. Pon! ¡°You may enter, and is that a pet?¡± Pon Pon Pon! Ignoring the guard I walked straight into the town. Pon! While feeling extremely fatigued, I looked over the shops while passing by for a place to sleep. However coming across a clothing shop, I decided to enter in order to purchase some clothing and of course shoes. I ended up buying a green shirt and pants, and worn black boots that seemed to be a reasonable price. Heading back out, I resumed my search for a place to sleep. Moments later not far down from the clothing shop, I found an inn. Walking through the door, a little girl with pink twin-tails and blue eyes sitting at the reception desk greeted me. ¡°Hello!¡± ¡°Cute¡­¡± The girl immediately ran towards me and brought me up to the counter. ¡°Welcome to Summer¡¯s Inn! How may I help you!¡± Setting down a big copper coin, I asked, ¡°How many days can this get me?¡± ¡°Umm...¡± The little girl brings out a sheet of paper and begins to write stuff onto it, it was¡­ really cute¡­ ¡°You can stay here for 5 days! And please sign here with your name!¡± ¡°Ok, by the way, how much are these big copper coins worth?¡± Immediately thinking back to what the Elder said, knowledge was extremely important in this world. Since I still didn¡¯t quite have a good grasp on the worth of coins, I asked this little girl since it seemed much less embarrassing asking an another adult. Call me self-conscious, but it¡¯s not as if I could plainly walk up to a random guy and ask him the worth of one copper without looking like a fool ya know. ¡°Oh¡­ um¡­ 1 big copper coin is 10 copper coins, and 10 big copper coins is one silver coin¡­ and umm¡­¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The little girl looking up at the ceiling, stumbling with her thoughts while scratching her head answered my questions in an extremely cute manner. ¡°Ah! 10 silver coins is 1 gold coin¡± Looking at me cheerfully, the little girl gave out a bright smile after answering my question. ¡°Ohh, thanks.¡± This little girl¡­ she is really cute¡­ Hmm? I¡¯m a lolicon? No no! As I¡¯ve mentioned before, I really prefer much taller bustier women you know! If I had to say, the cuteness is relative to¡­ hmm¡­ yes! Playing with a small baby animal! ¡°Ah! Mister! Here is your room key, it¡¯s up the stairs to your left!¡± Nodding at the cute child, I walk towards the room. Pon Pon Pon! ¡°Milly! Did you properly ring him in?¡± ¡°Oh, Mama! Yes he¡¯s gonna stay here for 5 days with his pet!¡± ¡°Ok, it¡¯s time for your bath, make sure you wash up ok?¡± ¡°Yes Mama, do you think Mister will let me play with his pet?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure if you¡¯re a good girl he will¡± ¡°Yes Mama~¡± Echoing in the distance, the little girl leaves the sounds of her footsteps running towards the bathing area. Slam! Closing the door behind, there¡¯s a small bed enough for 1 person along with a small closet to store baggage. Laying down on the bed I close my eyes¡­ Pon Pon Pon Pon! ¡°This thing¡­ will you stop it already!¡± Talking out loud, I grab the slime still attacking my leg with both hands and throw it into the closet. Pon Pon! ¡­It¡¯s attacking the closet door? In any case, as long as it isn¡¯t attacking me I can sleep in peace. Lying down on the bed, I shut my eyes and fall into a deep sleep. I¡¯m not sure how much time passes, but when I woke up the sun was rising. Perhaps I slept for an entire day? Sitting up on the bed, my hand touches something soft making a ¡°Puni Puni¡± sound. Don¡¯t tell me¡­ looking down it was¡­ the slime¡­ How did it get out? It wasn¡¯t attacking me anymore, but it wasn¡¯t moving either. Was it asleep? In the first place, do slimes even need to sleep?!! Looking over to the closet, a portion of the bottom door was broken. Cringing my eyes, I got up and walked down the stairs, an older woman greeted me. ¡°Good morning! It seems like you¡¯re finally awake! Since your 5 days have expired, you¡¯ll be charged for the extra 2 you stayed for. Will that be fine?¡± ¡°Wait¡­ I was asleep for 7 days?!!¡± My mouth hung open as I had unintentionally shouted. ¡°Yes¡­ we came in to check often, however your pet slime seemed to be happily jumping on top of you, so we didn¡¯t want to bother you¡­¡± The woman¡¯s face blushed instantly as she diverted her attention elsewhere unable to look at me. ¡°NOOO!!! You¡¯ve got it all wrong! It¡¯s absolutely not like that at all!¡± Paying for the extra 2 nights, as well as another 5 days¡¯ worth, I quickly ran out of the Inn completely embarrassed as the slime trailed behind me. Since coming to this world I haven¡¯t eaten anything at all¡­ Feeling extremely hungry I decided to buy a skewer for 1 copper right outside, I made my way over to the Adventurers Guild following up on the Elder¡¯s advice. Opening the door into the guild building, it was surprisingly emptier than I had imagined. ¡°Welcome to the Adventurers Guild, I haven¡¯t seen you around here are you new?¡± Immediately greeted by the receptionist lady, I make my way towards the counter. ¡°Yes, I would like to register and learn what I can¡± ¡°Then please fill out this form here¡± The receptionist lady pulled out a piece of paper, and gave an odd smile while cringing her eyes at me. Seeing how the elves mistook me for a Demon Lord, it was probably my looks that bothered this blue haired plain looking receptionist. Though I say plain looking, she isn¡¯t really that bad looking. With a little make up she¡¯d be well received by many. Pon Pon Pon! Filling out the piece of parchment paper with my name, race, gender, and age, I handed promptly handed it back. ¡°Let see here, Tetsu Tagami. That sure is a strange name. As a new adventurer, would you like to take part in the novice adventurer¡¯s training course? It¡¯s free and lasts exactly one week, and you¡¯ll be trained by experienced veteran adventurers.¡± Hmm, that certainly sounds beneficial. I can probably assume they¡¯d teach me how to fight things as well? In that case, I definitely can¡¯t let such an opportunity go! ¡°Yes, please sign me up.¡± ¡°Ok, then please wait one moment.¡± Saying so, the receptionist walked into the room behind the counter. Moments later, she came out with a bald guy that had scars all over his face along with an eye patch covering his left eye. His build was certainly big; however it wasn¡¯t to the point of having bulging muscles. With a stern looking expression he seemed gazed at me menacingly with an extreme killing intent. ¡°H-hello¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be your trainer for the next week, the names Roger Reinsfield. Let¡¯s get started right away¡± ¡°Eh, Isn¡¯t there normally some time given after signing up to prepare for the training?¡± Slowly creeping back, I was thinking of quickly escaping. ¡°No.¡± With a scruffy voice, the man who introduced himself quickly dragged me away before I could make my escape. Chapter 5 Is the Instructor a Sadist? ¡°Now come at me!¡± ¡°Uhh, ok¡­¡± Swinging my wooden sword at the instructor, I try going in with a feint like what I¡¯ve seen on i-tube and read in light novels and manga. However the instructor easily dodged it, moving like the wind going left and right. ¡°Haaah!¡± ¡°It seems like you have some skill, but you¡¯re still unrefined. Brace yourself!¡± Right after saying so, instructor Reinsfield moved in and delivered a straight punch right into my stomach. Falling down on my back, I roll around clutching my stomach. ¡°Gah! Please no more for today! I feel like I might die before today¡¯s training ends!¡± Let me explain what¡¯s been happening for the past few hours. Right as I was dragged off, I was made to immediately run laps as fast as I could, around the traning area, until instructor Reinsfield allowed me to rest. Every time I stopped before the given time was over, I was subjected to this torture I¡¯m currently experiencing now. This torture is a mock battle with a former S rank adventurer. Saying things like ¡°You can rest ONLY when you¡¯re better than me¡±, and ¡°Do you think you¡¯re better than me already?!!¡± to me as I fall down to my knees puking out my stomach fluids. Of course I definitely don¡¯t think I¡¯m better, therefore there isn¡¯t a reason to say the same things again as I fall over. Running isn¡¯t also the only thing I¡¯ve been made to do. Things like push-ups and sit-ups, and moving heavy objects from one area to another is also what I¡¯ve been doing. As for the slime that¡¯s been following me, for some reason after being subjected to instructor Reinsfield¡¯s battle aura, it scurried away. Other than being dragged away and forced to train, I did learn a lot of things about this world. This world I¡¯m currently in is exactly like the stuff I¡¯ve read about in mythology. The world was once destroyed by a disaster named ¡°Ragnarok¡±. Almost every race perished. With the decline of races, demons began to rise to claim this world for themselves. With the gods help fighting off those demons, the world was able to once again repopulate. Several thousand years later, today the demons are still aiming to conquer this world and still stand strong. However the gods have gotten much weaker since then. The gods send out chosen ¡°heroes¡± in order to fight back. That would explain why I¡¯m here now. However in my case, the words the loli goddess left me with were to become a great warrior, and to aid the next hero? So in sense my primary objective is to learn how to survive in this world, and MAYBE help the hero¡­ Hey! Don¡¯t look at me like that! It¡¯s not like I asked to be thrown into this world you know! Other than the history of this world which Instructor Reinsfield enlightened me on, I did learn of the adventurer¡¯s hierarchy. The ranking system, just like in games I¡¯ve played restrict you to taking only certain ranked requests. So for example E rank is the lowest, and what everyone starts off as unless you have good connections, can only accept E rank requests. From E rank, it goes F, D, C, B, A S, SS, SSS. However it¡¯s not limited to just accepting requests within your own rank. If you rank up to C class, you can take requests of up to 2 ranks below your own. So as Rank D, you can still take E rank requests, but once you become C rank you¡¯re no longer allowed to take the E rank requests. There¡¯s also another fundamental rule for taking requests higher than your rank. For every party of 3 taking on a request in their own grade, they¡¯re allowed to take 1 person of 1 rank lower. So 3 A rank people in can take 1 B rank along in their A rank request. Incidentally, there has only ever been 8 adventurers to have made it into the SSS ranking. The most surprising part is that out of the 8, 2 were in the same era. One person went by the name Lumin, and the other person went by the name Lester. However since they were both heroes, it is obvious they would have the strength to make it into SSS rank. ¡°The sun may be setting; however there are still at least another few hours before there¡¯s no more sunlight.¡± While saying so, instructor Reinsfield picked up the wooden sword I dropped when I fell on my back, and tossed it over to me as I sat up. ¡°Practice your swings until its dark, you¡¯re allowed a 1 minute interval of rest after every 1000 swings. I¡¯ll be watching so don¡¯t even think about slacking off!¡± ¡°Yes sir¡­¡± This man is evil! Pure evil! Thinking to myself I immediately took a neutral stance and started my practice swings. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Stand straight! You have bad posture!¡± ¡°ah, y-yes¡± Timidly answering back, I straightened my back and began swinging once again. After a while, the instructor was nowhere to be seen. Although he was gone from the training area, his words still resounded in my mind, so I didn¡¯t slack off and continued swinging the wooden sword. After every 1 thousand swings, instructor Reinsfield would magically appeared from behind me and watch me rest for exactly 1 minute. After the given time of rest is over, he would disappear again after I resume practice swinging. This guy is seriously gives me a bad feeling. After a long time the sun had finally set, and I was allowed to go back to the inn and sleep. Dragging myself back to Summer¡¯s Inn, I paid for an extra 2 days on top of the 5 I payed for earlier this morning. Oh I haven¡¯t mentioned it yet. In this world, weeks are classified into 7 days just like planet earth, months have 36 days, and one year encompasses 10 months. As I walked into my room, I layed down and immediately fell asleep from exhaustion. Several hours later. ¡°WAKE UP! ITS TIME FOR TRAINING!¡± Looking up I saw instructor Reinsfield looking down on me. ¡°Hababa, what?¡± Still in a daze I uttered some nonsensical words. ¡°TIME TO RESUME TRAINING! LETS GO!¡± Immediately I was dragged off my bed, and back into the training grounds. Staring up at the sky, the sun had yet to rise. How early is it? Shaking off my sleepiness, Instructor Reinsfield had me start off with 1000 practice swings. ¡°Alright are you awake now?¡± ¡°Ah, yes¡­ very much so now¡­¡± ¡°Alright let¡¯s start off todays training. Put on these weights, we¡¯ll be doing the same thing as yesterday.¡± ¡°W-what?!! No, I wouldn¡¯t be able to get through half the day with that much extra weight!¡± Looking at the vest, the number 50 was written on it. Simply looking at it, you could assume it was an extra 50 kilos of weight. Looking back up to Instructor Reinsfield, I sensed a huge amount of bloodlust coming off him. I Needless to say, I braced my still aching muscles and quickly threw on the weighted vest. We then immediately began the training session. ¡°Alright, make sure you get some good rest tonight, tomorrow will be even harder! HAHAHAHA!¡± ¡°Y-yes¡­¡± As the second day ended, I crawled back to my room and instantly fell asleep before I could climb onto my bed. The following day, the amount of weight was increased to 75. By the 4th day the weight was doubled. This trend continued for the entire week. However on the 6th day, my body adapted from the previous days as I became stronger. And on the 7th day, I no longer felt tired. On the 8th day, I graduated from the rigorous training program. ¡°Boy, you¡¯ve grown splendidly this past week.¡± ¡°Ah, that is all thanks to your training.¡± ¡°Go out there and make me proud! And don¡¯t ever neglect your training.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll take that advice to heart¡± My arms and legs were no longer scrawny. I had actually built enough muscle to look like a decent adventurer. On this occasion, thinking back to the first day of training, I was actually glad I had attended this training course. ¡°Although it¡¯s only been a week, I feel that we¡¯ve built a solid long lasting bond. It isn¡¯t much, but this is both a graduation, and a farewell gift.¡± As Instructor Reinsfield finished talking, he presented me with an item bag. ¡°This item bag was one I used during my adventuring days. It¡¯s made from a dragons hide and imbued with space magic. It can hold many things. I¡¯ve also left something for you inside the bag as well. Please use it well.¡± ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll cherish it.¡± With a bow, I said my farewells and began walking into the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in order to take on my first request. Before that, I¡¯ll have to see what his other present is. But¡­ ¡°What the heck is this?!!¡± Peering into the bag, I pulled out a bunch of leather straps. The straps when put on, seem to restrict movement and helps promote the growth of body strength. Don¡¯t tell me¡­ the instructor is actually a masochist?!! Chapter 6 Field Trip Entering the guild hall I greeted Angela, the blue haired receptionist lady, who was standing at the counter. As usual, the guild was empty in the morning. However it does get really busy towards the late morning hours all the way until evening. ¡°Morning~¡± ¡°Oh, if it isn¡¯t Tetsu. Congratulations on completing the training course. Are you here to take your first request?¡± ¡°Yes, please give me a good beginner request.¡± ¡°Then, please wait just a moment.¡± Angela immediately began shuffling papers around at the counter. This receptionist lady is actually the one I first met. As it turns out, the odd meeting we had was due to my pale skin and dark droopy eyes, but more so due to the pink slime that had been attacking my leg. Also she didn¡¯t expect me, who seemed extremely thin and ghoulish, to complete the training. Halfway into the week, I began to look more like a human. So her confidence in me rose as we both began to talk more. Of course I haven¡¯t checked out exactly how I look since then, but judging from my skin tone I seem to be much healthier. ¡°Here you are. This request is to subjugate slimes in the fields around town. Lately, they¡¯ve been increasing in number. It¡¯s become troublesome for merchants traveling in and out of town as they easily get caught into the carriage wheels.¡± Taking the piece of paper Angela handed me, I took a look at the request. ¡°Slime¡­ then I¡¯ll do my best¡­¡± The request detailed out, to kill and bring back 20 slime cores as proof of subjugation. I¡¯m a little embarrassed to ask Angela since I¡¯m not sure, but how do you kill a slime?!! And moreover they have cores?!! Walking out of the guild hall, I head over to the south gate. Incidentally it¡¯s the same gate I came through when I came into this town. This town is called Canute. It¡¯s mostly a trade town bordering in between the kingdom of Minerva towards the south and the Grim Claw Mountains towards the north. Both places are roughly a day¡¯s trip away by carriage so there¡¯s always a lot of traffic going to both places. Reaching the guard post at the south gate entrance, I greet the two guards on standby. ¡°Yo!¡± ¡°Heading out? If so be careful, there have been a few rumors saying a rare unique boss slime is outside in the fields terrorizing adventurers.¡± ¡°Ah, thanks for the info. I¡¯ll be careful.¡± Waving a hand at the 2 guards, I quickly jog towards the nearest field in search of some slimes. ¡°HYAHaHAhAhaHAhHahAHahAhA DIe! dIE! DiE! dIe! Die! dIE! DIEEEEE! BuRN! BUrN! bURN! BURn! AhhHhHyAHAHAHahAHAha¡± In the middle of a field, there was a girl with medium length wavy blond hair. She donned a pointy hat, while wearing a one piece purple robe. As she madly laughed, sparks of fire lit up the surroundings as she crazily screamed out BURN! Despite her seemingly cute petite figure, the crazy maniacal laughter and gibberish she was screaming was something else entirely. Being completely weary of her, I kept a distance and crept by. I absolutely made sure to completely avoid her at all costs. A crazy little girl like that is definitely someone I don¡¯t want to get mixed up with. ¡°AhaHAHAhahAHAhahAHh¡­¡± Hearing the crazy laughter slowly fading away, I relaxed a little knowing I was no longer near her. Sitting down in the field I opened by bag and examined the things I had on me.
ITEMS
Mithril Dagger Money: 0G 0S 27C
Gah! To think I¡¯m running so low on funds! However this current request would pay out 5 big copper coins completing it. That would roughly last me about another 2 weeks. However, from the time I fought with that pink slime, I know it won¡¯t be easy finishing the request quickly. Looking around diligently, I put away the bag and take out the knife as soon as I spot a slime hopping around. However, the slime isn¡¯t pink but purple? I guess they must vary in color. I immediately walk towards the stance and ready a battle stance. From the week of training I had with instructor Reinsfield, I know I should be able to take on at least a slime now. As this was my first genuine fight with a dagger, I thought back on how Assassins used them back in my days playing Project Iris Online. What came to mind was the reverse grip stance. Generally speaking, holding the knife handle so the blade comes from the bottom of your hand allows better maneuverability with all 8 joints. ¡°Alright, this will work.¡± Mumbling to myself, I worked up my courage and approached the slime. When I got within a meter of the, I noticed that inside of the slime was a small round ball. However thinking back the pink slime didn¡¯t have that at all. Maybe it¡¯s a different type of slime, since this one is purple afterall. Approaching the slime with a dash, I quickly cut it in half. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°¡­¡± Expecting the slime to regenerate like the pink slime, I waited. But what happened as soon as it was cute into 2 pieces, the slime halves dissolved leaving only the core. Thinking myself how strange these purple slimes are, I had decided to avoid any trouble with pink slimes. Killing 20 other slimes will suffice. Picking up the translucent slime core that was on the ground, I quickly searched out more slimes to kill. Killing 16 slimes, I decided to take a break and sat down. Killing the slimes was much easier than I expected. Slimes had a lot of different colors, from blue to yellow. However after finding even red slimes I realized that there weren¡¯t any pink slimes no matter where I went. So after all this time, the information I¡¯ve gotten up until now had clicked together. The slime the guards mentioned, they were no doubt talking about the pink slime I had first encountered. The one I couldn¡¯t kill no matter what how many times I slashed at it, the one with no core, and the boss of slimes. However, there was one thing that popped into my mind. Why was it so weak if it was a unique monster? I suppose I could ask around the guild later. Right now, the sun was slightly overhead which mean it was late morning. When I had woken up, the sun was just rising. Lying on my back, I thought to myself that there was still almost nothing I knew about this world. ¡°Maybe I should head to a library¡± Talking to myself again, I closed my eyes and thought about PIO. Right now I could be finishing my legendary weapon! But I wonder if I¡¯ll be able to go back. Or will I be stuck here forever? Feeling a little lonely missing my friends in PIO I stood back up, and began searching for the last 4 slimes to complete my request. ¡°Hah¡­ too bad there isn¡¯t a status window in this world¡± Giving a sigh, I muttered to the empty fields talking to myself. Ding!
[tr][tr]
STATUS
Tetsu Tagami
Level: 1Race: Human
Hit Points: 100/100Magic Points: 150/150
Strength: 8Agility: 6
Magic Affinity: 9Luck: ???
SKILLS
Sword Mastery: 1/10Dagger Mastery: 1/10
Muscle Mastery: 6/10TITLES
Living ZombieOtherworldly Traveler ???
¡°This is¡­?¡± The status window had showed itself completely baffling me. However, something else surprised me even more before I could comprehend the status window that had opened. Rumble Rumble It was as if there was an earthquake happening. The ground around me was shaking constantly. Looking into the distance, approaching me was... a horde of slimes... And in the front, was the pink slime leading the group. Chapter 7 Field Trip II ¡°Alright¡± Seeing the ridiculous amount of slimes coming towards me, I made up my mind to run for my life. Immediately turning around, I started to sprint towards the direction of south gate. Even with that said, the slimes were by no means slow either, they rolled and hopped at about the same pace as me sprinting! Pon! Before I could get far, a slime had attacked me from behind making me cease my movements for a moment. ¡°Ha!¡± With the mithril dagger in my hand, I cut apart the nearby slime that had attacked me from behind. Looking around, I had actually been encircled by other slimes. Along with the incoming horde, the slimes numbered over 100 easily. It was as if all the slimes in this area were targeting me! The way the slimes had surrounded me as well, was almost as if they were being commanded. Rather than waiting for the horde of slimes to catch up, it was much better to run away was what I had originally thought. But there was actually a considerable amount of slimes everywhere I looked. ¡°Guess there¡¯s no helping it¡­¡± Talking under my breath, I ready a defensive stance for a prolonged fight with the surrounding slimes and the incoming horde that was quickly approaching. Slash! After killing a dozen more slimes, the horde had finally caught up. Oddly as the horde stopped in front of me, all the slimes stopped moving. Instead they all stayed still as if revering a king. The pink slime slowly approached me, and at just a few meters away it stopped. After a slight moment of silence between us, the pink slime started to glow. However it wasn¡¯t just the pink slime, all the slimes around me seemed to also resonate with the slime and started glowing themselves. Goosebumps began to surface on my arms and legs, as I felt a torrent of energy from the surrounding slimes. Immediately I jumped back and readied my defensive stance. The surrounding slimes were moving, as if drawn to the pink slime. In a matter of seconds, all the surrounding slimes had gathered around the pink slime. In that moment, a bright flash swept across my vision forcing me to shut my eyes tight. Opening my eyes, a single slime entered my line of sight. A slime that neither looked like a slime, nor was as small as one. In Project Iris Online, there was a mini boss similar to this monster¡¯s size named the Giant Slime. Strictly speaking, it was only the size of it that was the same. What appeared in front of me was something completely different. Dripping bits of slime from its body, with giant wings and claws that could rend a human being easily, the appearance of a dragon colored in many shades of pink and red settled before my eyes. Because the dragon was originally a slime, many of the robust features weren¡¯t there. Staring at its body, it was translucent exactly like that of a slime, and in the chest cavity where there was normally a heart, sat a giant monster core. Even the sounds it made was exactly like that of a dragon. ROOAAARRR The dragon slime let out a big roar, as it widely swung one of its legs. Jumping up I barely avoid the arm. Whoosh! ¡°Gahhhh!¡± Following up its attack by swinging its tail, it sent me flying across the grassy fields. Coughing out some blood as I stand up, I see the dragon slime running towards me. ¡°Damn¡­ I¡¯m gonna die at this rate¡± With an exaggerated jump, the dragon slime tries to crush me under its feet. Dodging it I roll to the side, while slashing the mithril dragger at its leg. However, the slash seems to do nothing, as the slashed area immediately recovers as if nothing happened. ¡°WHYYY!!!¡± The only weapon I had seems to have dealt no damage to this dragon slime thing! Just want kind of monster is this anyways?!! Immediately reacting to my misfortune, a window opened.
Current available Skill Points: 1
Would you like to learn [Analyze]? (YES / NO)
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Shouting out yes in my mind, an information window immediately opens in my sight.
Lv. ??? Mimic Slime [DRAGON]
Impervious to all physical attribute attacks
As if reacting to my slash, its leg immediately swept at the area I was kneeling at. Avoiding it while jumping back, I ready back into a defensive stance with my adrenaline filled heart. RIDICULOUS!!! Isn¡¯t this too hard for a beginner?!! Right from the start, it¡¯s as if the difficulty has been set on Hell Mode! Alright, I¡¯ve gotta calm down a little. Caaaaalm dowwwwnnn. There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll die here. It¡¯s absolutely impossible right? I¡¯m near a town afterall, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s people who would notice the presence of this monster right? It¡¯s impossible for anyone not to notice a monster of this size! That¡¯s why I just need to buy time until someone notices. BAAANG! Jumping to the side avoiding another attack as the Mimic Slime¡¯s leg stomps down, I retreat another few steps back. ROAAAAR! With the roar, the Mimic Slime inhaled a huge breath of air, getting ready to spit out a breath attack. NOPE NOPE NOPE, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll survive long enough for help to arrive. I think I had better run back to the south gate at the very least. With sweat profusely pouring down my face, I turned around and started running as fast as I could. Looking back, the breath attack the Mimic Slime used, it spat out some kind of gooey liquid like substance that immediately melted the surrounding grass it landed on. ¡°Acid breath?!!¡± Yelling out into the open field, I increased my pace at the thought of getting melted by acid. Moments later it began chasing after me, after I had put in quite a bit of distance between us. While wheezing and panting, I look back at the Mimic Slime as it approaches me at an astounding rate as I continue to run in one direction. ¡°F-fast!¡± It can run pretty fast can¡¯t it. It seems there wasn¡¯t any way for me to escape either. Stopping and turning around, I decide to confront the Mimic Slime that has caught up to me. There was no longer any reason to be afraid, only thoughts of to kill or be killed began to circulate into my brain. The Mimic Slime, starting off with a tail swing turns its body with force as the tail comes at me overhead. Sidestepping the tail, I dodge by a small margin as the sound of its tail slamming into the ground resonates into the air, sending vibrations everywhere as the ground around its tail collapses. The outside merely looks like a dragon, but in the end it¡¯s just a giant slime isn¡¯t it? If that¡¯s the case, all I have to do is destroy its core. Without realizing it, the blades edge gave a faint glow. STAB! Plunging my knife into the tail as I jump onto it, I drag the blade with me as I run on top of the tail that had sunk into the earth. ¡°ROARRRR!!!¡± As if the Mimic Slime was feeling pain for the first time, it let out an ear splitting roar. Quickly moving its body around violently like it was trying to shake off an annoying fly, it continued to screech as the knife blade made its way up the back of its body. Pulling out my knife, I jump onto its back and plunge my dagger into its back. But even though its core is abnormally big, the knife¡¯s blade isn¡¯t long enough to reach it. Quickly pulling out the knife, I instinctively jump off its back as the Mimic Slime rolls on the ground. Looking at the knife I held after landing, I finally noticed the faint glow. Being momentarily dumbstruck, the Mimic Slime had stood up and readied another breath attack. Only this time it took into the air. ¡°It can fly?!!¡± No, more importantly I have to escape its range! However just as I had thought those words, it had already released its acid breath. Chapter 8 Field Trip III ¡°[Explosion]!!!¡± Immediately following those words, right above me appeared a wide ball of fire which imploded before expanding outwards. BANG! Swallowing the falling acid breath in a gulf of fire, the Mimic Slime was also blown back slightly. The explosion had occurred so close to me that my ears began ringing from the aftermath. But I¡¯ll take ringing eardrums any day than being melted into slime paste. Turning around to the voice I heard, I saw a very cute petite blond haired girl with an extremely creepy grin on her face. Her smile reaching from ear to ear seemed to be mumbling something. ¡°firefirefirefirefireFireFIREFIREFIREFIREEEEE~¡± Her speech became increasingly audible as she continued to crazily chant one word. It can¡¯t be¡­ It¡¯s the girl from earlier¡­ I, I was saved by a pyromaniac?!! ¡°hEy, aRe yoU AlrIgHt?¡± The girl greeted me as she reached my position. ¡°Eh, ah yes, thank you¡­¡± ¡°YoUr wElcOme, BUUUT HeRE iT CoMeS, heRE IT coMES, HerE IT COmeS!¡± The girl¡¯s anxiety skyrocketed as the Mimic Slime quickly recovered and began to creep forward carefully. ¡°yOu, gO DiSTraCt it WHilE I¡¯m cAsTinG¡± Creeping me out with her way of talking, I immediately ran forward to be used as a distraction. This girl really creeps me out. Her personality seems extremely twisted. Fighting with the Mimic Slime seems to be much safer than standing next to her in my honest opinion. Running up to the Mimic Slime disguised as a dragon, I dodge its mouth trying to take a bite out of me and slash at its eye. Although, with the faint glowing phenomenon no longer displayed on my weapon, the slash seems to be ineffective. I wonder to myself how I did it last time as I dodge a claw attack. Just as it misses, it begins a follow up attack with a tail sweep. ¡°[Explosion]!¡± Boom! However, just before it could swing its tail, an explosion catches it off guard taking out one of its wings. As it falls forward slightly, I take a step back, avoiding the fall. The wing that had been blown off splattered into a puddle of rainbow colored slime as it hit the floor. ¡°heheheheHAHAHAHAHAHA¡± The girl begins laughing with an uproar. ¡°HAAA! HAAA! HAAA! BURN MORE! MOREEE!!!¡± Panting loudly, she starts chanting again putting in a little more distance from the Mimic Slime. ¡°Isn¡¯t she¡­ a little too excited?¡± Talking to myself, I slightly began to feel sorry for the Mimic Slime. After this, I really, reaallly need to keep my distance away from her. Thinking back, the information window from the mimic slime did say it was immune to physical attacks. Does that mean I channeled magic into my dagger? Thinking so, I called out ¡°Open Status¡± inside my mind. And just like that, my status window appeared again.
STATUS
Tetsu Tagami
Lv 1Race : Human
HP : 67/100MP : 132/150
STR : 8AGI : 6
MA : 9LUK : ???
SKILLS
Sword Mastery : 1/10Dagger Mastery : 2/10
Muscle Mastery : 6/10(NEW!)Magic Edge : 1/10
Analyze : 1/10
[tr] Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
TITLES
Living ZombieOtherworldly Traveller
???
Other than the suspicious question marks I see in my status window, I do see [Magic Edge] listed in my skills. And also, why am I still level 1?! I¡¯ve killed over twenty slimes already! In normal RPG¡¯s, you wouldn¡¯t need to kill more than 10 slimes for the first level right?!! However, this isn¡¯t quite a game either when I think about it. So in a sense I suppose it¡¯s perfectly clear as to why slimes offer so little xp. They do die in one hit afterall. Or maybe it¡¯s this mithril dagger doing all the work? Normal daggers aren¡¯t as good maybe? ¡°[Analyze] Mithril Dagger¡± Mumbling to myself, another information window opens up. [Mithril Dagger] [Dagger made entirely of Mithril. Allows magic to easily be imbued into the blade] Hmm, that description is one thing, but how does one normally use magic in the first place? With my thoughts wandering, the girl speaks up. ¡°hEy yoU, thIs thiNG is GEttiNg bAcK Up, hUrRY anD aTtaCk iT!¡± Coming back to my senses from the words of the girl, I charge back into battle with the still stumbling dragon mimic. Thinking back, I did feel my resolve of not wanting to die. At that time¡­ ¡°[Fire Rain!]¡± Gathering the feeling I had moments ago, I steadily approach the Slime Mimic. With the same willpower in my confrontation earlier, I slashed at the slime mimic¡¯s arm just as magic began to bombard its head. Slicing through the flesh with a clean cut, the arm fell straight down and turned into a puddle of jelly as it hit the floor with a ¡°Thud!¡±. ¡°This will work!¡± I happily exclaimed to myself. The Mimic Slime cried out in pain with a screech, and stumbled back a few steps on its hind legs. As it staggered, I immediately ran towards it and slashed my dagger at its where the thickness seemed to be the least towards its ankle. GRAAWRRR! With a painful howl, the Mimic Slime fell on its side without the support of its hind leg. However, the slime wasn¡¯t the only thing that had fallen. Looking back, the girl that had been continuously casting magic had fallen down. As shameful as it may be, I don¡¯t have the luxury of checking on her condition. What¡¯s important right now is taking down this slime before it gets up again. Readying myself for the final attack, I make a jump towards the chest of the Slime Mimic. Landing on the fallen slime, I slash frivolously trying to open up a gap big enough to attack the core. As the flesh tears apart with bits of its slime like flesh flying everywhere, the core finally shows itself. It was a slightly translucent black crystal like core. Plunging my dagger into it, a crack appears. But, I¡¯m once again blinded by a bright flash. Quickly covering my eyes, I jump off the body as it glows white. Covering my eyes from the bright light, questions began to surface in my mind. Was this the end? Is it dead? Is it over? However, what appeared next completely killed my expectations. Standing before me was a human shaped figure standing roughly 3 meters tall. It had transformed once again. However the size of the core didn¡¯t change and the crack on the core itself still remained. Looking at it, it was as if it were beckoning for me to come at it. My body felt incredibly exhausted. The adrenaline keeping me from falling over had vanished. I could feel the piled up fatigue weighing me down. Glancing at the slime, it wasn¡¯t moving either. Most likely this was the last stand for the both of us. Steadying my breathing, I took a firm stance and charged forward with my faintly glowing dagger. Just as I approached closer, clasping both of its hands together it tried to hammer down on me as I appeared just below it. Bam! Crushing the floor below me, I lose my balance from the aftershock of the attack that nearly smashed me into the ground. Gripping the dagger tightly, I attempt to slash at its arm next to me. As my dagger cuts into its left forearm, ¡°Gahhh!!!¡± I suddenly receive a kick that crushes my arm sending me back a few meters. Taking deep breaths to calm my trembling body, I check the state of my arm that received the brunt of the attack. Needless to say, it¡¯s really bad. I can¡¯t move my right arm. It¡¯s most likely broken. It was good that I didn¡¯t drop the dagger. When it was still in dragon form, dodging simple attacks were easy since it was big and slow. However now that it¡¯s in a human shape form, its attacks were much faster and harder to predict. But, it¡¯s not like the slime came out unscathed as well. Sending my eyesight towards the Slime Mimic, the arm I had attacked was almost falling off its body. It seems like cuts made from magic prevents it from recovering, as it made no attempt to reattach its still hanging arm. We both had traded an arm for an arm. But I don¡¯t plan to give it anything else. I¡¯ll be more careful to avoid any follow-up attacks. Holding the mithril knife in my left hand, I once again run towards it. However unexpectedly, it tears off its arm that was hanging, and throws it at me. Narrowly dodging the arm that turned into slime pudding on the floor, I feint a slash expecting an attack. Just as expected, it threw out a punch. Twirling my body, I spin to its backside as it¡¯s punch catches the afternoon breeze. I slash diagonally in both directions making an ¡°X¡± on its back as it cries in pain. Ducking low, I avoid its turning punch, and then jump back avoiding its kick as it retaliates. As the side kick flows out from the punch, the momentum from the force of the kick allows it to follow up with a round house kick using its other leg. ¡°Taekwondo?!!¡± Exclaiming out of surprise as I dodge by ducking again, even the slime stops moving as if it¡¯s questioning me with an odd expression. Hey, this isn¡¯t the time for jokes, but this slime can sure do martial arts better than me! Thinking back, in my childhood days when I took one of those martial arts classes, I fell on my back attempting those cool looking kicks you know. As I recover from my surprise, I drive my knife into its leg, separating it from its main body. The slime with one less leg immediately falls over from the shifting weight. Pouncing on its body, I stab at its core again, successfully plunging in my dagger for a second time. Silence immediately engulfs the Slime Mimic, as the core cracks and splits in two. Its slime body immediately glows and then begins dissipating. After dissolving in the white glow, it left behind a single core split in two pieces. My body hitting well over its limit falls over. Relieved of the long fight, I roll over to my back and spread open my legs and arms in relaxation from overcoming this ordeal¡­ In a place not too far away, two figures talk hidden from plain view. ¡°That battle was well done, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°For a while I was beginning to think he would lose¡± ¡°But, for a beginner like that, and to take down a Mimic Slime no less, that¡¯s an achievement well worth the respect¡± ¡°Without the help from that magic caster, he would have lost though¡± ¡°True enough, but if that girl didn¡¯t show up you would have had to save him yourself. And besides that, we got to see him being pushed to his extremes. It really looks like you trained him well, Reinsfield.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not worthy of such praise, Guild Master¡± ¡°In any case, with this he passes with flying colors¡± ¡°What do you have planned for the boy?¡± ¡°Nothing in particular, but before he journeys outside our eyes, I want him to become stronger. Besides that, her wish will also be fulfilled. He is a summoned being afterall.¡± ¡°I see...¡± Reinsfield pauses for a moment as he begins talking again. "The nobles are scheming something. I don''t have enough information to conclude what exactly they have planned" ¡°Ho~, to think even the mighty Reinsfield isn¡¯t able to find anything. Then all we can do is wait¡­¡± As the talk concludes, the two figures vanish with the sounds of insects buzzing about in the clear afternoon skies. Chapter 9 The Spiteful Thing Known as Life ¡°Mother¡­ Father¡­¡± A young girl with medium length blond hair stood in one place in an open field staring at the only picture she had left of her parents. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she recalled the recent events that had transpired. ¡°Well then little missy, how about you and me get comfortable with each other? Heh heh heh¡± A tall slender man with white hair towered over the girl¡¯s petite figure as she sat down trembling on the ground of an empty mansion. ¡°What are you doing to my daughter!¡± The girl¡¯s father with anger mixed in his voice spoke back to the tall slender man as he made his way into the mansion. ¡°Relax, I¡¯ve read the contract. No harm will befall her, but girly, you¡¯ve got a nice body. How about it? You could get a lot of money selling yourself.¡± Licking his lips with a vulgar expression, the debt collector continued to harass the girl. ¡°Your business here is finished is it not?!! If so then get the hell out here!¡± ¡°Che, well then little girl, I¡¯ll see you soon. Heh heh heh¡± Clicking his tongue, the tall slender man dressed in flashy clothing made his way out of the mansion. ¡°Misha¡­ I¡¯m sorry it became like this¡± ¡°Father¡­ everything will be ok, won¡¯t it?¡± The girl who had recovered from the shock of losing everything had earnestly asked her father with a worried expression. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Misha, but after this I won¡¯t be able to see you anymore.¡± ¡°But father you¡¯re innocent! Why is it that don¡¯t they believe you?!!¡± Misha, almost shouting on the verge of tears, she wanted to know why her father wasn¡¯t being pardoned. Her father who had been the King¡¯s most trusted, and loyal retainer for the past twenty years, the father who was bestowed upon the nobility rank of Arch Duke, the father that pledged lifelong loyalty to his highness, that same father who had grown up alongside the King as his best friend was going to be killed on groundless evidence of betrayal. Thoughts of anger and sadness swirled inside Misha at the thought of not only losing her mother, but her father as well. A few years ago her mother had been murdered by a mysterious person who also seemed to have white hair. Since then, various odd events began to unfold around her surroundings. Now, her father, a well trusted subordinate of the King of Minerva Kingdom was to be sent to death. At this time, Misha thought that surely the slender man and the mysterious person were one in the same, and had caused this discord as if they were just chess pieces on a playing board. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Misha. You must leave soon, tomorrow I¡¯ll be taken. When that happens, I won¡¯t be able to do anything to that vile, disgusting man! Please, you must go! This is all that I have left¡­ please take it and go!¡± Taking out a small coin bag from his inner coat, he handed the bag to Misha. ¡°It is enough to last you a week if you spend frugally¡­ I wish I could give you more¡­¡± While holding a bag with its content filled with only a few measly silver, Misha had finally begun to tear up at the thought of her no longer being able to see her father. ¡°Misha, you are well endowed with magic. It would be best if you became an adventurer¡­¡± Tomorrow was the day her father was to be executed. He was to be executed on the grounds of being a traitor to the kingdom. His crimes detailed of various acts of manipulation, and treason. Misha¡¯s father was also scared. Not scared for his life, but scared for his daughters. Unable to protect his wife as he watched her die in front of him, he lamented that he couldn¡¯t do more for his own flesh and blood. He lamented the fact that he didn¡¯t wasn¡¯t strong enough to face the reality before himself. And worst of all, he lamented that he himself had betrayed the king¡¯s, his best friend¡¯s, expectations. Everything he had crumbled into nothingness as he watched his daughter sobbing in front of him. ¡°Father¡­ we could escape together!¡± For an instant, the man¡¯s face lit up. But shortly after, it grew dim. He was happy that his daughter thought so highly of him. So much that she even considered throwing away her own freedom and become a fugitive aiding in the escape of a criminal. As a sign of respect towards his once trusted retainer, the King allowed him freedom until the day of his execution. ¡°I must face the consequences of my actions. I will stay here and follow through with the King¡¯s order¡­ They may take away the luxuries of life, but they cannot take away my pride¡± He refused he throw away the little pride he had left inside of himself. To that end, no matter what, he wouldn''t run away from his crimes. He wanted his daughter to live on if nothing else. He had thought it was by his own blunder that he was cast into this pool of acid that slowly ate away at his consciousness. ¡°Then father¡­ this is goodbye¡­¡± ¡°Misha, take care of yourself¡± With their final farewell, Misha too, made her exit as the sun had set leaving the world colored in darkness dimly lit by the stars above. She vowed to exact revenge upon the man with white hair, and if he wasn¡¯t the one sowing turmoil within the kingdom, then she would find the person who was. The man sat alone in his empty mansion that was plundered by the man with the white hair. Losing his rank, his house and fortune had been taken away. And even now, he was stripped of even his family. At the moment, he was nothing more than a common man who would die alone with no friends or family beside him. He had sent his young fourteen year old daughter, one year before her coming of age, into the world of adults alone with nothing. He sat and prayed, for the safety of his daughter. ¡°I pray to the gods, please watch over my daughter if nothing else¡­¡± The girl with tears flowing from her eyes woke from her daydream recalling the past events. It had already been almost three months since that incident. She had cast aside her family name, Lebard, in order to escape the watchful eyes of the nobles who scorned her family. No matter where she went, she couldn¡¯t find suitable work in Minerva Kingdom. Her mind was slowly beginning to crack. Everywhere she went her history tormented her, not allowing her to find any jobs. Even the adventurer¡¯s guild inside the kingdom had shunned her. She was forced to live off of food scraps on the streets, and she was even sometimes horribly beaten from passing nobles who recognized her. Eventually she made her way outside of the kingdom, tired of the beatings and hateful stares; she wound up at the merchant town Canute. Upon reaching the south gate entrance, the guards had barred her entrance. Without any money on her person, she scornfully glared at the guards who seemed like they would spit on her if she came any closer. She wandered off into a nearby field to get away from the society that seemed to constantly remind her she was nothing more than garbage on the side of the road. Her beautiful red robe had been dirtied over the months, and blended into into a disgusting purple color with all the dirt stains. Although she was able to cast cleaning magic on herself, she couldn¡¯t repair the clothes that time slowly had eroded away at. Even her beloved magician¡¯s hat was no longer pointy. The top had rounded out, and had spots with various patches from being torn just like her robe. Along with her ragged clothes, her hair was also in a complete mess. She had been unable to properly bath for so long that her golden blond hair had become slightly dull. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Wiping away her tears, she walked further into the fields as she held onto the picture of her mother and father. *Pon!* ¡°Gueh!¡± Making an awkward sound as she had been attacked by a slime, she had dropped her picture. Immediately, she began to look around the only remaining item that was precious to her. Frantically, she searched. Only to find, that the slime that had attacked her had eaten the picture. Inside of its translucent slime body, it was quickly being dissolved. ¡°AHHH!!!¡± She screamed. The last thing she had to remember her mother and father by was eaten by a slime. A picture of a young mother and father, happily smiling holding onto their young daughter who wore a cheerful smile dissolved into nothing. The feeling of helplessness overwhelmed her. Incoherently, she began laughing and chanting magic at the same time. ¡°HYAHaHAhAhaHAhHahAHahAhA¡± Tears streamed down in waves. Many different types of emotions spiraled inside of her. Her mind had finally broken from the overwhelming emotions that engulfed her. ¡°DIe! dIE! DiE! dIe! Die! dIE! DIEEEEE! BuRN! BUrN! bURN! BURn! AhhHhHyAHAHAHahAHAha¡± Sparks of fire surrounded her, as she continually casted magic alongside her crazy laughter, spouting nonsense as the slime before her melted. ¡°Haaah, haah, hah¡± Breathing heavily, she herself also understood. Something inside of her was no longer the same. Every time she looked at a slime, she felt the urge to blast them away with every ounce of magic she possessed out of spite and hatred. For a long time, she continued to seek out slimes, and destroy them. ¡°ROAARRR¡± Far off in the distance, she heard a loud roar. There was a silhouette of a dragon, and a human engaged in combat. Unconsciously, Misha cast analyze and walked forward as the words ¡°Slime¡± entered her vison. For her, even if it looked like a dragon, it was nonetheless still a slime. It was something that she needed to kill by her own hands. ¡°Ignite the flames of discord, [Explosion]!¡± It was a chant that suited herself extremely well at this moment in time. As Misha came within range of the dragon on the verge of spewing out its breath, she had quickly chanted and fired off her spell towards the dragon in the air, as something akin to vomit exited the dragon¡¯s mouth. Her spell seemed effective, as the dragon slime had crashed into the ground. In a tone even Misha herself was unfamiliar with, she spoke to the young man whom was staring at her in surprise. ¡°aRe yoU AlrIgHt?¡± ¡°thank you¡± It was the first time in a long time, that someone had said those words to her. After such a long time, another human had shown her some slight compassion. Misha was grateful for having met a person who thought of her as another human being. ¡°HerE IT COmeS! gO DiSTraCt it WHilE I¡¯m cAsTinG¡± Unable to fix the voice coming out of her throat, Misha began chanting once again as the Dragon came forward. ¡°Ignite the flames of discord, [Explosion]!¡± Again, she casted. This time taking one of its wings, the dragon fell forward. A wave of dizziness came over her, as she completed the spell. ¡°Did I perhaps use too much magic?¡± Misha had been, for the past few hours, constantly casting magic on slimes over and over, exacting her revenge. Only now did the sense of mana depletion hit her. But right now, she couldn¡¯t let down the only human that had treated her humanely. She reaffirmed her resolution, and focused her mind on another spell as she began casting. ¡°Droplets of fire, rain down on my enemy! [Fire Rain]!¡± Her vison instantly became blurry as she casted an intermediate spell. Misha wobbled forward slightly just before falling to the ground. Unable to summon up any more energy, she lost consciousness. After an unknown amount of time had passed, Misha woke up on a bed inside an unknown room. The bed was something she hadn¡¯t slept in for a long time. Just sitting on it alone made her feel sleepy from the comfort it provided. Looking outside of the window, it was dark outside. On the side of the bed, on top of a nearby shelf was a plate of food that had gone cold. She slightly hesitated before completely devouring the food, savoring every bite. The person who brought her here wasn¡¯t present inside the room, and was nice enough to even leave her food for when she awoke. Misha couldn¡¯t hold in the amount of happiness she felt, as she cried softly at the compassion she felt. Wiping away the beads of tears, her eyes finally adjusted to the nightly darkness, she once again looked out the window. Outside was a backyard with a decent size. The stars illuminated the green grass and the single tree in the yard. Noticing a young man sitting underneath the tree, she eyes opened up widely. It was the same man she met fighting off the dragon. Although she couldn¡¯t see his figure well, she somehow felt he was the same person. Wandering her way outside, she approached closer to the man who was leaned against the tree with his eyes closed. Sensing that he was asleep, she came closer, face to face to the man that had given her a warm bed to sleep in for the night, as well as some food. Staring at the man, he had black hair. His body wasn¡¯t slender, nor was it big. It was, in her own perspective, the perfect body type. On his face, more particularly his eyes, was a thin dark circle probably due to one or two sleepless nights. It seemed they would go away with proper rest in the next few days. Other than that, Misha had clearly thought this young man with black hair was handsome. As his body slightly began to fall to the side, Misha hurriedly caught him before he hit the floor. With his face so close to hers, she felt her face become hot, as her heart began to beat faster. And on a whim, she decided to accompany the young man until morning. She placed his head on her lap, and with a smile began to hum as she too, fell deep into sleep. Chapter 10 The Guilds Legacy *Ding* What was that? As soon as the last of the slime¡¯s flesh had dissipated, I heard an extremely familiar sound. ¡°Status!¡±
STATUS
Tetsu Tagami
Lv 1 -> 5(+4)Race : Human
HP : 27/100 -> 27/140(+40)MP : 78/150 -> 78/170(+20)
STR : 8 -> 14(+6)AGI : 6 -> 10(+4)
MA : 9 -> 15 (+6)LUK : ??? -> ??? (+???)
[tr]
SKILLS
Sword Mastery : 1/10Dagger Mastery 4/10 (+2)
Muscle Mastery 7/10 (+1)Magic Edge 2/10 (+1)
Analyze : 1/10Available Skill Points : 4
TITLES
Living ZombieOtherworldly Traveller
Slime Slayer???
Just as I thought, the familiar sound was exactly the same from Project Iris Online. It was the ringing sound notifying the player that they¡¯ve leveled up. My level had jumped from one all the way to five from killing that slime. Do boss monsters give that much experience? Or was that particular monster high leveled? The status screen didn¡¯t display the amount of experience necessary to level up either, so in the end, the question was left unknown. Upon looking at my stats, I noticed the odd question marks under my luck stat and under titles. Besides the average looking stats, it seemed like my mastery over skills had significantly increased. Muscle Mastery was almost at max. I hadn¡¯t been using my mithril dagger for very long either, and yet it already reached level four. Not to mention Magic Edge has already gained a level as well, even though I had just obtained it not too long ago. No matter how I thought about it, the rise in skill levels was too abnormal. Was it the effect of a title? Or possibly my luck stat? To begin with, do titles even give bonuses? ¡°Analyze title, Living Zombie¡±
Living Zombie
Description : One who has lived the lifestyle of a zombie.
Effect : Fatigue builds up slower at night
¡­¡­¡­Well¡­ it¡¯s not like the description is wrong you know¡­ but the effect it grants, that¡¯s extremely useful. Thinking back during my Project Iris Online days, I would always stay up late grinding. ¡°Analyze, Otherworldly Traveler¡±
Otherworldly Traveler
Description : One who has jumped through dimensions, arriving in another world.
Effect : Nothing.
Just reading the title name is obvious enough, but to grant nothing?!! What a useless title! "Analyze, Slime Slayer"
Slime Slayer
Description : Kill a Mimic Slime.
Effect : Slime''s will attack you more often.
...As long as they aren''t Mimic Slimes... ¡°Analyze, ???¡±
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???
Description : ???
Effect : ???
Figures it would be like that, but it doesn¡¯t hurt to try. ¡°Hah¡­¡± Letting out a sigh of relief, I touch my broken arm checking it¡¯s condition. Painful. I wasn¡¯t able to move anything below my elbow. Getting up I quickly try to store the large slime broken slime core as proof of its subjugation. I store it the same way I do with my mithril dagger. No matter how often I experience it, it¡¯s surprising to see a small bag store something much bigger than it. ¡°Now then¡­¡± Turning around, I pull my sight towards the girl. I let my broken arm hang as I walk towards the girl lying face down on the grass. She¡¯s breathing heavily, but she seems ok. ¡°Hey¡­ are you alright?...¡± No response from her motionless body. As pointless as it may seem, you never know if someone¡¯s actually unconscious¡­ I¡¯ve had friends play those kinds of pranks on me¡­ Turning her over, I check her body for any major injuries as I touch various parts of her body. It¡¯s not as if I¡¯m a hungry wolf looking to attack a young unsuspecting maiden you know! She still looks relatively young. She¡¯s probably about as young as a person in middle school. Girls that have just hit puberty, I don¡¯t particularly have any interest in them. I wasn¡¯t able to get a good look at her before, but despite a few dirt stains smudged on her legs and arms, she looks really pretty, almost like a doll. Beautiful face, although the hair seems unkempt, and looks it has unnaturally faded in color just as her clothes. The clothes itself has various patches here and there. It¡¯s very worn out. Looking at her body as a whole, it¡¯s slightly thinner than a normal person. Although she has many beautiful features, she has signs of malnourishment. Other than being somewhat thin, she doesn¡¯t have any major injuries. A few cuts and bruises on the skin of her legs and arms. Underneath the slightly dirty surface of her skin, was the color of snow white with tinges of pink here and there, indicating she wasn¡¯t pale from any kind of bad habits like how I was until just recently. Touching her forehead, it was slightly hot to the touch. Considering she had been using magic until she fainted, it¡¯s highly likely she¡¯s experiencing mana exhaustion. Hmm, I¡¯ve read about it often in novels, but to see the actual thing. I¡¯ll be sure to take note of this for later. But, the question is, what am I going to do about this girl? I hate to say it, but in my current exhausted state, I don¡¯t have the energy to carry her with one arm. While contemplating to myself, someone had approached from behind and placed their hand on my shoulder. ¡°Good Work¡± I knew exactly whose voice that was. I turned around and verified it with my eyes. ¡°Instructor Reinsfield¡­¡± ¡°What with that greeting, and you seem kind of pale¡± ¡°Ah, I didn¡¯t notice you there¡­ and were you watching this entire time?¡± Instructor Reinsfield always had a stern look on his face, so it was impossible to tell what kind of personality he has. This time as well, I could only see a neutral expression on his face. ¡°Looks like your arm is broken, hold still for a moment¡± Listening to his words, I stood still waiting. ¡°All that is alive flourish eternally, recover [High Heal]¡± In an instant, a soft warm light covered my body. My broken arm oddly snapped back into place as the green light enveloped me. ¡°How do you feel?¡± ¡°Much better, thanks¡± I answered back with a smile of appreciation. ¡°Well then, Tetsu head back to the guild as soon as possible. The Guild Master wants to speak with you. Also take care of that girl. She doesn¡¯t seem injured anywhere, but she is going through mana exhaustion. Make sure you put her in a bed. I¡¯ll notify the guards to let you pass.¡± With the long string of words, Instructor Reinsfield disappeared as if he teleported. Of course it was nice to have my arm healed, but there was something that was bugging me. It was the fact that my question was left unanswered. Was it purposely ignored? Or was he more concerned about my health? Touching my arm, I had resolved myself. I absolutely have to learn magic if I want to survive. With that resolution in mind, in both arms, I princess carried this mysterious girl that had saved me. Just as Reinsfield had said, the guards let me through without a fuss, but strangely they glared at me as I walked by while carrying the girl. It wasn¡¯t out of spite or jealousy, but rather, the stares they gave felt murderous. Ignoring them, I headed straight to the Inn I normally stayed at. ¡°Oh, welcome back~ did you kidnap that cute young lady?¡± ¡°Absolutely not! Give me a room please¡­¡± With a short playful exchange with the inn lady, I was given the key to the room I had been staying at for the past week. I laid the girl on the bed, and asked the inn lady to take care of the girl while I was out. Since I had been staying at the inn so long already, she had easily accepted the simple request. Just outside of the inn, was the person selling cooked meat. It was always cheap, so I had always been buying food from this guy. Although the texture of the meat itself was strange, the taste was good so I deemed it fine to eat. As I finished eating, the sun was beginning to set, indicating it was almost evening. I hurried over to the guild. ¡°Another drink here!¡± ¡°Me too!¡± ¡°Did you hear about the large snake that was found in the mountains recently?¡± ¡°zum-someone ¡®hic!¡¯ t-told me that yew ¡®hic!¡¯ were ¡®hic!¡¯ a master magician¡­ ho-hows ¡®bout it ¡®hic!¡¯ wanna join me?...¡± ¡°GAHAHAHAA¡± This was the adventurer¡¯s guild in the evening. Loud and annoying. I quickly walked over towards Angela, who was currently free at the counter. ¡°Oh, Tetsu, welcome back. Were you able to finish the request?¡± ¡°Yes¡± Taking out 22 slime cores, I set them on the counter. Although I killed more than the 22 cores I had on me, I wasn¡¯t able to pick them all up because of the Mimic Slime transforming. ¡°Oh, Looks like you completed it without a hitch! Please wait a moment while I process this request¡± ¡°Ah, Angela I also encountered a Mimic Slime.¡± Taking out the large core that was split in two, I placed that on the counter as well. ¡°Ah, Mr. Reinsfield had told me about the Mimic Slime, but to think it was actually true¡­¡± Angela stared at me with a puzzled expression ¡°I had some help, I didn¡¯t do it alone¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll process this in as well. For the time being, the Guild Master would like to speak with you as well. Pass the doors behind me, take the set of stairs that lead up. Please be sure to knock before you enter his room¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll see you after¡± ¡°Normally I would accompany you myself, but today it¡¯s just me working I apologize in advance¡± With a smile, Angela directed me past the door behind her. Just as Angela had said, normally there were two and sometimes three other receptionists working besides her. Today has sure been a long string of strange events. Reaching the door to the Guild Masters room, I gently knock. ¡°Tetsu Tagami, I¡¯m here on some business?¡± ¡°Oh Tetsu! Come in, come in!¡± With the words of the Guild Master, I proceeded to enter. ¡°Welcome, this is a room exclusively for the master of this guild branch. It¡¯s nice isn¡¯t it?!¡± In a cheerful tone, the Guild Master motioned me over towards a couch opposite of the one he sat in, in the center of the room. I immediately walked over, and sat down. The Guild Master seemed exceptionally young. Normally you would expect a Guild Master look something like Instructor Reinsfield. The Guild Master seemed to be about as old as I was. He had green colored eyes, and blue hair that seemed reminiscent of Angela¡¯s. His physique was slightly thinner than my own, but he gave off the air of someone who was even stronger than Reinsfield. ¡°Now then, I bet you¡¯re wondering what you¡¯re doing here. Allow me to ask a few questions first, would that be fine?¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll try to answer to the best of my ability¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯ll skip to the point. Were you summoned into this world?¡± With a stern look on his face, I could tell he would be able to see through any lies. But from the start, I never had such intentions, so I answered back seriously. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Interesting. I didn¡¯t expect you to answer so clearly. Then, one more question. Which god contracted you?¡± Immediately after the first, a question I couldn¡¯t answer had appeared. Recalling the memories from back then, certainly the goddess was small, but I didn¡¯t quite have a clue as to who she was. But rather than that, what does this person stand to gain by knowing this kind of information? ¡°I take it, that silence means you won¡¯t tell me that much. I won¡¯t disclose this information with anyone else. It¡¯s merely a promise I¡¯m fulfilling. You won¡¯t have to worry about this kind of sensitive information getting out. I give you my word.¡± ¡°No rather than that, even I don¡¯t know which God summoned me.¡± Answering his question, a look of surprise fell over him. ¡°Is that so, but I see that you aren¡¯t lying either.¡± Breathing out a sigh, the Guild Master¡¯s expression loosened. ¡°Hah¡­ well then. As promised, allow me to explain from the start.¡± The Guild Master rose from his seat, and moved over towards the window in the back of the room while speaking clearly. ¡°Reinsfield has told me a lot about you. And judging from your lack of understanding, you probably don¡¯t have much knowledge of why you¡¯re here. So, I¡¯ll begin from the start. In this world, demons strive to take over this land. In order to combat it, you people have been summoned from another world by gods to help repel them every 100 years. Of course, you are free to do what you want. We understand that you are summoned against your will after-all. Many of the gods are weak, and therefore only a few are selected to form a contract with you otherworlders. The most heroes ever documented to have been summoned were a group of twelve. The least amount is six. Thus far, we¡¯ve received contact from nine otherworlders during this summoning. There could be more that have yet to make contact with the adventurer¡¯s guild, but that isn¡¯t our main concern. Guild halls were first established during the era the Demon God awoke. The founder went by the name Lester. He was a hero who that fought side by side with the hero Lumin. If Lumin was considered the guiding hand of fate, then Lester was the one who moved within the shadows. However, because of that, many of his exploits were left unknown in this world¡¯s history books. The guild was originally founded in order to aid Lumin. At some point in time, a promise was made between the two. That new goal has never changed since. It was a promise to dedicate ourselves in helping future heroes. In a sense, we are a separate entity from religion and political powers. With that said, demons aren¡¯t the only evils in this world. Humans, and Demi-Humans corrupted by greed, power, anger, and so forth also pose a threat. Us Guild Masters serve to aid and help the heroes grow. That is her wish as well as our founders. All guilds across this world are connected to each other. So in theory, there shouldn¡¯t be any problem for you to journey around the world, as long as you remain in contact within the Guild. But, recently a threat has been steadily growing within this kingdom. I¡¯ve lost contact with a few guild establishments around the kingdom. So stay on guard. Before you journey outside of this town, I would like you to take some time and grow stronger. But in the end, that choice will also be left to you.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± It was a lot of information to take in. In short, guilds operate in the grey area and they are thus more trustworthy. But, there¡¯s something going on in the kingdom, so don¡¯t trust everyone you meet? I¡¯ll be sure to keep that in mind. ¡°Then I¡¯d like to ask a question.¡± ¡°Allow me to hear it.¡± ¡°Where is the best place to learn magic?¡± __________________________________________________________________________________ Authors Note; Hello, and thanks for reading. This chapter marks the end of the first volume. I''d like to take some time and clarify a few things that have come up. "Why is the MC portrayed as an idiot if his INT stat is high?" In normal games the INT stat would refer to the magical attack value. So I actually wasn''t aware of the conflict regular game stats would have with a characters personality. So with that in mind, I went and changed the stat from INT(Intelligence) to MA(Magic Affinity/Attack) to sort out anymore confusion with stats vs personality. "Chapters are slow to release, are you dead?" Well, not necessarily. I''m currently the WN translator for kenja(aka wiseman) so I do spend more of my time translating than writing. In the future I''ll be hosting my novel on my blog as well. Here''s my site; https://saiakutranslationsblog.wordpress.com/ "Where is the story going? its really slow" Sorry, originally I didn''t plan to have the first volume be so slow. There was a lot of things to explain with the story elements. But in the next volume, the story will pick up the pace story-wise. "The MC was OP in the MMO he played, why isn''t he OP in the world he''s in?" Although there are some slight similarities, the game he played and the world he''s in now are two different things. His level and equipment were not retained when he transferred to that world. At most, he only has knowledge of weapon usage and on fighting monsters. Of course both of those aspects were already hinted at in a previous chapter. That''s it for now. Thanks for taking the time to read this novel. Side Story 2 Otherworldly Summoning ¡°I understand, by the name of Glenn Grants, I wish to serve as your intermediary¡± ¡°Very well I accept your resolve; I will give you my blessing Glenn. Go forth and dominate those who proclaim themselves as evil!¡± I answered the other worlds summoning with enthusiasm. There was no way I wouldn¡¯t answer to the call of another world summoning and become a hero. My long awaited harem, here I come! A magic formation enveloped me as it released blinding white light. Moment later I opened my eyes to the beautiful green hillside scenery before me. A field of green stretched before my eyes in the bright afternoon skies with the sun shining high overhead. It was the start of an adventure! Suddenly, I felt a disturbance in the surrounding area in front of me. Particles of blue light converged and then expanded. ¡°So this is the other world¡­¡± It was a familiar voice. It was a person whom I had been playing Project Iris Online with, since its release. It was the cute little girl that had always stuck by my side no matter the circumstances. A small girl about whose height was just a head above my waist, with scorching red hair. ¡°Mimi?¡± Reacting to my voice, Mimi turned around in shock. However shortly after, her eyes sparkled as she recognized me. ¡°Grants!¡± Flying over to me, she immediately gave me a big hug. Momentarily after our reunion, the same phenomenon that Mimi appeared from happened again. Emerging from the light particles, a familiar black haired beauty stood staring at the two of us. ¡°Reyna!¡± Mimi immediately ran off to Reyna and gave her a big welcoming hug as well. ¡°My my, to think I¡¯d meet the two of you here¡± ¡°Likewise, I hadn¡¯t thought I¡¯d see you two either¡± To think that Mimi and Reyna had been called here as well. I had been told that there would be others, but I didn¡¯t realize it would be people I was already familiar with. When he said that there would be other familiar powerful beings such as myself joining me, was he possibly referring to Tetsu, Reyna, and Mimi? If that¡¯s certainly the case, perhaps Tetsu would be here soon as well. ¡°If you two are here, that would mean that Tetsu should be here shortly as well. Let¡¯s wait for a bit.¡± ¡°Agreed, it wouldn¡¯t feel right without him¡± ¡°Ehh, but he¡¯s just a perverted lolicon!¡± Reyna had easily agreed with me, but convincing Mimi would still require effort as usual huh? While waiting for Tetsu, I had decided to check my stats. ¡°Status!¡±
STATUS
Grants
Lv 1Race : Human
HP : 200/200MP : 50/50
STR : 15AGI : 2
MA : 15LUK : 1
Available Skill Points : 1
SKILLS
None
[tr]
TITLES
Blessing of ZeusOtherworldly Traveler
Although I had been told beforehand, before confirming it for myself it seemed really unbelievable. Looking at the other two, they were silently staring into thin air, they too, were probably looking at their status screen. To think such a world would have a status screen reminiscent of Project Iris Online. Looking at my available skill point, I opened the skill list for current available skills. Sword Mastery Axe Mastery Hammer Mastery Spear Mastery Light Magic Fire Magic Water Magic Muscle Mastery Quick Recovery The list seemed small, but the skills were reminiscent of my Paladin class in POI. I never used axes or hammers, so I won¡¯t bother with those. A spear was my choice of weapons, with swords as my secondary choice. I could acquire spear and sword skills through training. In this world, I wasn¡¯t sure how the magic system worked, so I avoided learning magic for now. All that was left was Muscle Mastery or Quick Recovery. Quick Recovery seems useful for tanking, but without proper flexibility how would you win fights? In the end, I opted for Muscle Mastery since that seemed the most useful right off the bat. Right after, I checked the bag I received. I found a usable sword, spear, axe and hammer. There was also a decent sum of money along with the weapons. In total there were 10 gold coins, 5 silver, and 5 large copper coins and 5 small copper coins. This amount would definitely be suitable to buy supplies and armor. ¡°Have you two finished looking over your stats?¡± ¡°Mhmm~¡± ¡°Yeppers!¡± Ahh, Mimi¡¯s reply is quite cute. It had taken a few minutes, and there wasn''t any signs of anyone coming. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like Tetsu or anyone else is showing up, let¡¯s get going¡± ¡°Huh? We aren¡¯t waiting for Tetsu?¡± Reyna placed her cheek into the palm of her hand and tilted her head slightly with a curious expression. ¡°I think we¡¯ve waited long enough, maybe he was sent somewhere else?¡± ¡°It would be better if that pervert wasn¡¯t here at all!¡± With a stiff expression at Mimi¡¯s comment, Reyna sent a glare to the both of us in silence. Now that I think about it, Reyna had only ever showed an irritated expression when Tetsu wasn¡¯t with us. ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll see him Reyna, for now let¡¯s head to Minerva Kingdom Capital City, Serafall. There isn¡¯t much we can do if we¡¯re attacked in this field¡± ¡°I understand, but we should wait a little longer¡± Looking away from the both of us, Reyna looked towards the sky with a face filled with impatience. Instead of incurring Reyna¡¯s wraith, Mimi and I both waited alongside her. ¡°It''ll be better if we can make it to the city before the sun sets, let¡¯s go¡± ¡°Ju-just a few more minutes! He definitely should be coming!¡± ¡°I know that you¡¯re worried, but our lives are more important right now. Before night comes we should head to town¡± In a serious tone, I spoke out my thoughts exactly how they were. We don¡¯t know what to expect when nightfall comes, so it¡¯s best to hurry to town before then¡± ¡°Guu, alright¡­¡± With my sound logic, Reyna had finally put aside her stubborn attitude and we finally marched towards the city. By the time we made it to the city, the sun had almost set. It had taken a few hours, but we made it safely with no monster encounters. ¡°Halt! You three, do you have any forms of Identification?¡± ¡°No¡± ¡°Nope!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, me and my two companions are without such items¡± Answering the guard properly, I moved to the front of the group and conversed with the guard. ¡°Is that so, the fee to enter is 1 large copper coin¡± ¡°I see, then please take this¡± I politely handed over 3 coins. The price to enter seems rather hefty. I wonder, do the prices differ in different places? After letting us through, we quickly found an inn with night fast approaching. The three of us got our own rooms after we found a relatively decent inn to stay in. After having dinner inside, we each went to bed and decided to visit the Guild early tomorrow morning. The sun calmly rose with the pleasant sound of birds happily chirping. This morning we would be visiting the guild, but for some reason Reyna seemed to be in a foul mood. Did she and Mimi get into an argument before I had come out? Neither of the two were talking to each other, and simply looked away with angry expressions. ¡°Good morning¡± With the sound of my voice, Mimi looked over with her usual cheerful expression and hugged me as usual. ¡°Grants! Good morning~¡± Reyna immediately glared at the both of us when Mimi energetically greeted me. ¡°Let go over to the guild and get registered as adventurers, then we¡¯ll go shopping for some armor¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Mimi cheerfully expressed herself as always, but Reyna¡¯s mood seemed especially foul this morning. She probably wasn''t able to sleep good either. I''m still acclimating to this world myself, so I understand if its a lack of sleep. As we made our way to the guild, she had followed behind us not speaking a word. While we filled out the registration forms, a strange man with silver hair welcomed us. Was he a guild receptionist? He seemed exceedingly creepier than anyone I¡¯ve ever met. When we finished up at the guild, for some reason, he personally showed us out as well. The atmosphere he gave off was nothing like what he displayed at all. What a strange person. Inside a supply shop, I finally found the courage to ask what was bothering Reyna as Mimi clung to my arm. ¡°Reyna, you¡¯ve been sulking for a while now is there something wrong?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry it¡¯s nothing¡­¡± As if brushing off my concern, she wandered to the back of the store away from the two of us. Although Reyna didn¡¯t say anything, I already knew what had been eating away at her consciousness. It was always like this when Tetsu wasn¡¯t around as well now that I think about it. To put it simply, she was worried about Tetsu. We had waited for a long time, but he never showed up. Maybe I was wrong about the top players of POI being summoned here. Or maybe he had been summoned elsewhere. Whatever the case may be, it didn¡¯t seem like Reyna would cheer up anytime soon without him. When we finished buying supplies and armor, we headed outside in order to test for our combat abilities. Mimi was excited, but on the otherhand Reyna had been depressed this entire time. What exactly was her fascination with Tetsu in the first place? ¡°Reyna, after this we¡¯ll search for Tetsu, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re worried about him¡± ¡°Although he¡¯s a pervert, it doesn¡¯t feel right without him around¡± Mimi had spoken up as well. Almost as if she wanted to apologize, she approached Reyna and pulled on the hem of her robes. ¡°Then let¡¯s finish up quickly!¡± Reyna was instantly filled with life as she took the lead into the open fields we had come from yesterday. Past these fields, was a town just outside of Minerva Kingdom''s jurisdiction. That town was the merchant town Canute, that bordered upon the Grim Claw Mountains. There were many high leveled adventurers that gathered there. That was because the Grim Claw Mountains were home to dragons, and dragon subspecies. After several hours of trying out different things, we had all figured the best way to go about fighting in this world was to be flexible with our energy. With that, we all decided that putting a few points into Muscle Mastery was the best option for the time being. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. After gaining a few levels in the morning hours, we searched for Tetsu from the afternoon until evening in both the fields, and in the city. This schedule went on for exactly a week before we had concluded that he wasn¡¯t here. Reyna looked absolutely miserable. Maybe she had also began missing her family. We have been here for a while now, it wouldn''t be strange not to. Looking at Reyna, it was like seeing a different person than the one I was used to in POI. Her bright cheerful personality was no where to been seen. Comforting Reyna by telling her we would likely meet him soon, we headed off for the nearby city, Rune Belle tipped off by the silver haired man about a person proclaiming themself as a hero. I hope we meet again soon Tetsu, for Reyna''s sake¡­
[/tr]
STATUS
Glenn Grants
Lv 14Race : Human
HP : 430/430MP : 115/115
STR : 32AGI : 9
MA : 24LUK : 1
Available Skill Points : 0
[tr]
PASSIVE SKILLS
Sword Mastery : 1/10Spear Mastery 2/10
Muscle Mastery 10/10Quick Recovery : 2/10
ACTIVE SKILLS
Magic Edge : 1/10Shield Thrust 4/10
Equipment
Weapon : Silver SpearArmor : Iron Armor
TITLES
Blessing of ZeusOtherworldly Traveler
STATUS
Mimi
Lv 16Race : Human
HP : 210/210MP : 350/350
STR : 6AGI : 11
MA : 38LUK : 10
Available Skill Points : 0
PASSIVE SKILLS
Wand Mastery : 2/10Magic Control 5/10
Muscle Mastery 5/10Fire Magic Mastery : 1/10
Water Magic Mastery : 1/10Earth Magic Mastery : 1/10
ACTIVE SKILLS
Analyze 1/10Fireball 2/10
Water Bullet 1/10Earth Spikes : 1/10
Equipment
Weapon : Sapphire WandArmor : Blue Robes
TITLES
Blessing of LokiOtherworldly Traveler
Fast Learner
STATUS
Reyna
Lv 10Race : Human
HP : 190/190MP : 280/280
STR : 12AGI : 10
MA : 18LUK : 8
Available Skill Points : 0
PASSIVE SKILLS
Staff Mastery : 2/10Magic Control : 5/10
Muscle Mastery : 5/10Light Magic Mastery : 2/10
Water Magic Mastery : 2/10Analyze : 1/10
ACTIVE SKILLS
Heal : 3/10Water Bullet : 1/10
Purify : 2/10Refresh : 1/10
Equipment
Weapon : Wooden StaffArmor : White Robes
TITLES
Blessing of FreyaOtherworldly Traveler
Chapter 11 A New Goal ¡°Magic?¡± I looked straight into the eyes of the young man before myself. ¡°Yes, I want to learn how to use magic as soon as possible¡± ¡°Do you have the aptitude to learn it?¡± ¡°Aptitude¡­? I don¡¯t know.¡± Tetsu glanced up towards the ceiling with a strained expression. ¡°Hmm, not everyone can learn magic. But those who are able to, are more likely to survive.¡± I recalled a similar conversation with someone I knew in the distant past and smiled unintentionally. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°Only those who are loved by the spirits are able to utilize the phenomenon known as magic¡± Asking a simple question, I returned it with a simple answer. ¡°How do you know if you¡¯re liked by those spirits? And does that mean people are limited to the magic type of the spirits that do like them?¡± Tetsu asked earnestly with a serious expression. ¡°If you don¡¯t know which spirits align themselves with you, you can ask a Spirit Seer. They are people who are able to easily sense the presence of spirits and freely talk to them. As for the latter question, you are correct in saying so¡± ¡°Hmm, what magic can you use?¡± ¡°None¡± ¡°None?¡± At Tetsu¡¯s question, I simply nodded. ¡°So you¡¯re unable to learn magic?¡± ¡°Not quite, it¡¯s too troublesome. It¡¯s a hassle to learn how to use magic. Although some people are blessed by many spirits, there are some who never learn magic. In truth, the guild founder Lester was one such man¡± ¡°Then I have one more question to ask, where can I find a spirit seer?¡± ¡°There are none here, you will have to make your way toward the Captial, Serafall. It¡¯s roughly a day away by foot exiting from the south gate¡± ¡°I see, thank you. I¡¯ll be heading there tomorrow.¡± ¡°Take care of yourself¡± As the exchange had ended, Tetsu rose from the couch and quickly left the room. The night sky became visible as the sun had set. Just as Tetsu had left the room, Reinsfield appeared as if he were hiding from within the shadows. ¡°Are you going to let him go so soon?¡± I briskly moved over towards my desk in the corner of the room. ¡°A man with that kind of determination cannot be stopped. It also seems like his growth will be halted until he can make use of magic properly. In that sense, I have no right to obstruct him from reaching greater heights¡± ¡°The guild in the city is likely to have been compromised¡± Reinsfield had seated himself on a couch in the center of the room. ¡°Reinsfield, I¡¯m sorry to do this, but you will have to come out of retirement¡± ¡°That¡¯s to be expected, the enemy this time is powerful¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but there¡¯s no other way. More than half of the guilds in this Kingdom are likely to be in someone else¡¯s control. As for the other kingdoms, there are a few that have fallen into the hands of that person. Our enemy is already among us as one of our own.¡± Shuffling through a few documents, I responded with a wry expression ¡°Then what is my first duty, Guild Master?¡± ¡°Look after Tetsu, and find out what¡¯s happening in the city. Be discrete¡± ¡°A simple yet vexing task is it?¡± Nodding to himself, Reins field stood up and walked towards the door. ¡°We¡¯ve already lost many informants from the city. Be on your guard¡± Nonchalantly waving his hand with his back towards me, Reinsfield instantly vanished into thin air. Although that¡¯s to be expected of one who has complete mastery over shadow magic. Guild Hall First Floor After exiting the Guild Masters room, I casually walked down the stairs back into the noisy Guild Hall. Awaiting me was Angela who had finished processing my request. ¡°Welcome back Tetsu, please come to the counter and receive your payment¡± I politely walked around Angela and faced her on the opposite side of the counter. ¡°Then here is your payment, to total amounts to 3 gold and 50 silver¡± Three gold?!! That¡¯s a lot right?!! Is that amount correct?!! Quickly calming myself, I asked Angela why the amount was so much. ¡°Why is the payment so much?¡± ¡°Oh? Well, actually the Mimic Slime you defeated was on the monster extermination list. Since you¡¯ve brought confirmation of the kill with its large core, I¡¯ve taken the liberty to give you the reward for that, as well as the reward for the slime extermination. Then there¡¯s also the payment exchange for the materials you brought in. Ah, you would have gotten much more if the core you brought in wasn¡¯t broken in half.¡± I see. So on top of the request, the materials could be traded in for extra money. A large portion of it came from the Mimic Slime reward. ¡°Thank you Angela. Then I¡¯ll see you again someday. Thanks for taking care of me¡± Of course, since I was leaving first thing tomorrow morning I wanted to at least say my thanks to the person who helped me the most in this town. Although it hasn¡¯t been long since we¡¯ve met, maybe we¡¯ll meet again someday. ¡°Ehhh, what do you mean?¡± ¡°I¡¯m heading off to the capital to learn magic¡± ¡°Really?¡± What¡¯s with that worrisome look?!! It¡¯s not as if I¡¯m running off to my death you know! ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry Angela, it may not seem like it, but I¡¯ve grown a lot since I first dragged myself in here you know¡± Being trained by Instructor Reinsfield until the brink of almost breaking everyday really did help me out quite a lot. I don¡¯t want to admit it, but during the times Angela cheered me up before and after a day of training gave me enough courage and self-confidence to see the training through until the end. ¡°Then, do your best and make sure to come back to visit someday¡± With a cheerful smile on her face, I gave her a light bow out of gratitude and walked out of the Guild Hall. I didn¡¯t know at the time, but the next time I would meet Angela, would be under extreme circumstances. Walking outside the starry night sky was clear, unlike the night view in my original world that was filled with light pollution. The night sky was bright enough to illuminate even the darkest of ally¡¯s in this merchant town. Reaching the inn, the inn lady had still been manning the desk. It makes me wonder, does she have a husband? And if so, where is he? ¡°Welcome back, I¡¯m afraid your friend is still asleep. If you decide to do something to her while she¡¯s unconscious, I won¡¯t be able to do anything about it. Fu fu fu¡± With a creepy smile, the inn lady said something slightly disturbing. ¡°I¡¯m not like that!¡± With a flustered expression, I retorted out loud. ¡°Just kidding¡± ¡°hah¡­¡± I let out a sigh, and walked up the stairs towards the room. That lady really knows how to push people¡¯s buttons. It¡¯s not as if I¡¯m a lolicon you know! Sure they¡¯re cute, but there¡¯s a saying for that. Yes Lolita! No Touch! I opened the door to the quiet room. With light steps, I looked at the condition of the girl. Touching her head, it was cool unlike this afternoon. I noticed a tray of food beside her that was emitting a little bit of steam. It was probably made not too long ago. Looking back down at the girl, the blanket that was over her had slightly come undone. I pulled the cover up to her shoulder and walked outside of the room. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.I won¡¯t be able to sleep in the same room as a person I¡¯m not familiar with, so I left outside towards the back of the inn. Of course I could also get another room, but I wanted to test a few things so another room was unnecessary. Reaching the tree outside, I sat down underneath it and opened my status window.
STATUS
Tetsu Tagami
Lv 5Race : Human
HP : 140/140MP : 170/170
STR : 14AGI : 10
MA : 15LUK : ???
Available Skill Points : 4
PASSIVE SKILLS
Sword Mastery : 1/10Dagger Mastery 4/10
Muscle Mastery 7/10
ACTIVE SKILLS
Analyze : 1/10Magic Edge 2/10
TITLES
Living ZombieOtherworldly Traveller
Slime Slayer???
Earlier, I noticed I had 4 skill points to spend. Thinking back on the first one I used, it was used to obtain the Analyze skill. But the question I have is, is there a separate skill list than what¡¯s shown on my status screen? As if answering to my question, a window with greyed out skills opened. Spear Mastery Bow Mastery Wand Mastery Scythe Mastery Hammer Mastery Katana Mastery Flail Mastery Shield Mastery Weapon Throwing Mastery Fire Magic Earth Magic Wind Magic Water Magic Light Magic Dark Magic ??? I stared at the screen intently. No matter how much I looked at it, the skill list was too similar to the skill list I had in Project Iris Online. Of course, that is with the exception of the last unknown skill. When I played Project Iris Online, the weapon system was unique in the way you could master different types of weaponry by how often you used it. There were wizards that could use swords if they equipped it for a long enough period of time. In a sense, weapon types weren¡¯t restricted to job classes in that game. I never stuck with a single weapon myself. Instead I opted to use the weapon attribute that monsters were weak against. So I often found myself carrying almost every type of weapon for dungeons and raids. Although, with that said there are a few weapons I¡¯ve never used before. For example, taking daggers for instance is something I¡¯ve only ever seen being used. Until now, I¡¯ve never experienced using a dagger as a weapon. Besides weapon masteries, there was also magic. I don¡¯t remember using light, dark, water, or the earth type magic systems in POI. Since I was primarily a DPS class, I focused on the fire magic system for buffs and powerful spells. Regardless, I suppose being able to learn healing magic in this world is a plus. Although, when looking at the question marks on my stats, title, and now on a skill list, I can¡¯t quite help wondering what they mean. I immediately put a point into Light Magic, and decided to save the rest of my points for later. Now then, what comes next is trying to use Light Magic? ¡°Heal!¡± With an intense expression, I spoke a word in a very serious voice. However, contrary to that, nothing happened! It¡¯s embarrassing! I absolutely feel like I¡¯m a chuunibyou! Who the hell raises their hand in the air and shouts out fantasy-like words expecting something to happen! If there was even some kind of small effect, I wouldn¡¯t feel like this at all! I opened up my Status Screen to confirm I had the skill to use light magic
STATUS
Tetsu Tagami
Lv 5Race : Human
HP : 140/140MP : 170/170
STR : 14AGI : 10
MA : 15LUK : ???
Available Skill Points : 3
PASSIVE SKILLS
Sword Mastery : 1/10Dagger Mastery 4/10
Muscle Mastery 7/10Light Magic Mastery 1/10
ACTIVE SKILLS
Analyze : 1/10Magic Edge 2/10
TITLES
Living ZombieOtherworldly Traveller
Slime Slayer???
¡­It¡¯s there alright¡­ Lightly coughing to myself, I try it again, but this time with more enthusiasm. ¡°HEAL!¡± Someone kill me right now! This is too embarrassing! Maybe magic is used differently in this world. Thinking back, Instructor Reinsfield had chanted a some words before using magic. If that¡¯s the case, what was his chant again? It was something like¡­ ¡°All that is alive flourish eternally, recover [High Heal]!¡± WHYYY!!! I actually thought Reinsfield looked kind of cool when he casted the spell, but when I imagine myself doing it, I feel like a chuunibyou! Just whyyy! Thankfully there¡¯s no one around to witness. ¡­Was it possible, that I had no talent with Light Magic after all?!! What did the Guild Master say again, being loved by the spirits? Could it be possible¡­ I wasted a skill point on something I won¡¯t be able to ever use?!! ¡°NOooooooo!!!¡± Holding my head with both my hands, I let out a scream. Trial and error! Yes, it¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t fully think it through; this is simply trial and error! After all, that¡¯s what beta phases in online games are for! But this isn¡¯t a beta phase, nor is it a game! As I thought, maybe I really did screw up. Calm down! Currently, my eyes were wide open bulging outwards while I stared into the open space in front of me intensely. Closing my eyes, I fell deep into thought. Yes, first I need to calm down. That conclusion isn¡¯t 100%, after all, why would there be a skill in my skill list that I¡¯m not able to use? That¡¯s right; I can also have the Spirit Seer confirm it for me later. It¡¯s also completely logical to say that learning how to use magic requires experience. So for a beginner like me, it¡¯s completely understandable that I can¡¯t use magic. In any case, the next thing to do is to visit that Spirit Seer. With my eyes closed, as I sat down leaning against the trunk of the tree I organized my thoughts from today¡¯s events. Eventually, I fell asleep without realizing it. That night, I had an odd dream. It was a dream of a beautiful girl holding onto me as she hummed. Her voice as she hummed a mysterious song was gentle like the breeze of a passing wind. Chapter 12 To A Higher Place The rising sun marked the dawning of the new day. Opening my eyes, I saw something extremely off. What I mean is, I don¡¯t remember lying down. Moreover, on the lap of the girl I met yesterday! Her hands were wrapped around my head, and her body was bent forward with her face close to mine. Hey¡­this is¡­¡­isn¡¯t this similar to a love scene?!! I should assess the situation first. While thinking to myself, the girl¡¯s eyes opened. Staring at my face so closely, the girls face reddened. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry!¡± She quickly stood up flustered, and let out a really cute voice. But rather than that, what happened to your voice?!! Yesterday your voice was much more terrifying, so much more that hearing it sent shivers down my spine! Who are you?!! Are you the same person?! Impossible! ¡°That¡¯s alright, Thank you. It was comfortable¡± Standing up, I thanked her for the lap pillow. But¡­ Looking at her, she was cutely fidgeting around with her fingers and quickly shifting her gaze after a take a quick look at me. This person¡­ there¡¯s no way such a cute character could be the same person from yesterday! No way! Impossible! Unintentionally, I walked a little closer to her and inspected her face to make sure she was the same person. As I thought, she¡¯s extremely cute. When she gets older, she¡¯ll definitely be a beautiful person admired by everyone. ¡°Awawa, wha, what are you doing?!¡± Taking a small step back, her face was completely flushed. Perhaps she was a shy girl underneath. ¡°Sorry, you¡¯re really cute, so I couldn¡¯t help myself from looking¡± Speaking out what I truly thought, the girls face turned beat red. As I thought, she¡¯s definitely a shy girl after all. ¡°So what were you doing yesterday in the fields?¡± Instantly, I regretted asking that question. ¡°AaaaAHhhH? YEstErDAY? sLiMEs, SLiMes yES, I wAS¡­ I WAs DEsToryInG THosE DaMNed cReATureS!¡± The girl replied in a heavy tone and began breathing loudly, panting for air. Her sweet voice from just now changed into something completely different. Her expression changed completely! She seems like another person entirely! ¡°Ah, thanks for saving me yesterday. I wanted to properly thank you for it¡± Immediately, her expression turned back into a normal looking one. It was the sweet and innocent looking girl that was flustered not too long ago. ¡°O-oh, you¡¯re we-welcome¡± She looked down at the floor answering my gratitude shyly. This girl, she has two extremely contrasting personalities. Don¡¯t tell me, she¡¯s¡­she¡¯s¡­she¡¯s a yandere?!! An image of her holding a knife looking from behind a wall saying ¡°PLEASE NOTICE ME!!!¡± surfaced into my mind. Alright. It¡¯s settled. I¡¯ll absolutely avoid this girl! Of course I still have to give her part of the reward from killing the Mimic Slime. I¡¯m not particularly stingy with sharing loot like a lot of other players I know in POI. It¡¯s best to split the loot and then go our separate ways. For now, it¡¯s probably best if I introduce myself to her. ¡°My name is Tetsu Tagami, Tetsu is fine. What¡¯s yours?¡± ¡°¡­y¡­na¡­s¡­sha¡± The girl who was looking down mumbled to herself. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I couldn¡¯t hear you. What was it?¡± ¡°¡­na¡­s¡­sha¡± This girl, I can¡¯t hear her properly. Taking a step forward, I placed a hand on her shoulder, and lifted her chin slightly with my other hand, looking directly into her eyes. She reacted to my movements, and held onto my chest as she moved her face closer to mine. Now then, at this distance I should definitely be able to hear her. ¡°One more time, what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Misha, just Misha¡± Closing her eyes, she stood in one spot tightly gripping the clothes over my chest on the tip of her toes with her face close to mine. Alright so her name is Misha huh? That¡¯s a nice name. Though if it¡¯s just Misha, does that mean she doesn¡¯t have a surname? I guess there are people without one in this world. Letting go of her chin, I placed my hand on her forehead. ¡°Are you ok? Your face has been red for a while now. Are you sick?¡± She immediately opened her eyes and took a step back. ¡°N-no, I¡¯m ok¡± Completely flustered, she turned away from me facing the opposite direction. It¡¯s good she¡¯s ok. ¡°Misha, this is part of the reward from the Mimic Sli-¡­ err for uhh helping me out yesterday¡­ Please take it.¡± Pulling out a 1 gold coin, and 20 silver coins, I placed it in the extra bag I had inside the enchanted dragon leather pouch. Coming up behind her, I placed a hand on her shoulder gently as I wrapped my other arm around her trying to show her the bag. ¡°ah¡­ah¡­umm¡­a-a-awawa¡­¡± Hmm? She looked up at me with her eyes, and began mumbling again. From behind, with the hand I placed on her shoulder, I reached down and grabbed her closest hand. After opening it, with my other arm wrapped around her, I placed the bag into her palm. ¡°There¡¯s 1 gold and 20 silver in the bag¡± Maybe she was too shy to take the bag. And rather than paying attention to the bag, she was looking directly up at me with a red face. Letting go of her hand, I backed away slightly. ¡°Misha, thanks again. Maybe we¡¯ll meet again someday¡± Turning around, I began to slowly walk towards the inn. ¡°Wait!¡± Misha had suddenly raised her voice after I had begun walking away. Don¡¯t tell me¡­ maybe she wants a little more?!! True enough, in any online game I¡¯ve played, wizards have the most important dps role as they have tons of DOT and AOE attacks. I turned around, expecting her to ask for a little more, but her response was something I didn¡¯t anticipate. ¡°Take me with you!¡± _________________________________________________________________ I wasn¡¯t sure when I had dozed off while humming a song I heard often from my mother during my childhood. In front of my eyes was the man from yesterday. He was lying in my lap looking up at me. Our faces were close. Immediately I stood up when I felt my face getting hot. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry!¡± While apologizing, I could only think of how shameless I was. ¡°That¡¯s alright, Thank you. It was comfortable¡± The man stood up thanking me. I felt my face becoming even hotter. Looking away as if to hide my burning face, I stole glimpses of him as I nervously fidgeted. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Before I had realized it, he had made his way up to me and was staring brazenly at my face while I my thoughts were swimming everywhere. ¡°Awawa, wha, what are you doing?!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but to let out a voice of surprise. With his face so close to mine, I took a step back in order to calm myself, even if it was only slightly. ¡°Sorry, you¡¯re really cute, so I couldn¡¯t help myself from looking¡± Cute? Does this man really think so? I haven¡¯t properly bathed in such a long time, that dirt and mud could have been caked onto my face. Not to mention after suffering from all those beatings, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if my face were even disfigured. I realized it; my face must have been extremely red. I could feel the heat on my face as I looked into his eyes. His eyes were clear. There wasn¡¯t any kind of pity in his eyes as he looked at me. This person was truly speaking from his heart. ¡°So what were you doing yesterday in the fields?¡± Yesterday? In the fields? Ah, that¡¯s right. Those things¡­ those things took the only thing left that was precious to me. Thinking about it, anger began to swallow my mind. I felt almost as if I were a different person. I could feel the anger begin to take over my body. ¡°AaaaAHhhH? YEstErDAY? I wAS¡­ I WAs DEsToryInG THosE DaMNed cReATureS!¡± I spoke in a voice unlike myself. I realized it, but I couldn¡¯t do anything to stop myself. He must be thinking that I¡¯m unpleasant. To show someone such an ugly personality, I began to hate myself. In front of me was someone who I absolutely didn¡¯t want to offend. He was someone who after a long time had shown me human compassion. Dark thoughts began circulating inside me. ¡°Ah, thanks for saving me yesterday. I wanted to properly thank you for it¡± His words quickly pulled me out of my dark thoughts. ¡°O-oh, you¡¯re we-welcome¡± When I looked into his clear eyes, I felt as if all of my hatred had vanished. I had lost everything that was important to me. But everything, I felt as if none of it mattered anymore. Instead what replaced it was my pounding heart, as I stared into the eyes of young man before me. ¡°My name is Tetsu Tagami, Tetsu is fine. What¡¯s yours?¡± Tetsu Tagami, this man¡¯s name is Tetsu Tagami. The name was odd, but at the same time so were his physical features. His features weren¡¯t at all unattractive. In fact, he was rather handsome. I¡¯m almost certain anyone would fall in love. Comparing his features to those who lived here, it¡¯s different than what I¡¯ve seen in this region. ¡°¡­y¡­na¡­s¡­sha¡± Could he be a noble from the distant eastern lands I¡¯ve heard of? Not everyone was blessed with the name of a household. It was given to only those who were of noble peerage. While thinking such thoughts, I mumbled words even I couldn¡¯t understand. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I couldn¡¯t hear you. What was it?¡± ¡°¡­na¡­s¡­sha¡± I answered again, but the only thing I could feel was my heart pounding as I quietly looked at the ground below me. In just a matter of moments, I felt a hand on my shoulder. And before I could grasp what he was doing, he gently lifted my face with his other hand on my chin. Unconsciously, I held onto his chest in his warm embrace. ¡°One more time, what¡¯s your name?¡± This feeling that welled up inside me, it was definitely love. I was in love with this man named Tetsu who held me in his embrace. If it was him, I didn¡¯t mind giving him everything. While holding onto his chest, I stood on the tip of my toes, bringing my lips ever closer to his. ¡°Misha, just Misha¡± I closed my eyes with my red hot face. I waited for what seemed like an eternity. I waited for the kiss from my prince who had come and pulled me away from my darkness. Betraying my expectation, he placed his hand on my forehead. ¡°Are you ok? Your face has been red for a while now. Are you sick?¡± He was worried about me? Perhaps I misinterpreted his actions. Thinking about what I did, I my face grew felt like it was steaming. ¡°N-no, I¡¯m ok¡± Completely flustered, I turned and looked away. Shameless. I was much too shameless. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. I couldn¡¯t help but feel embarrassed at my shamelessness. ¡°Misha, ¡­please take it¡± I was completely engrossed with my thoughts, that I missed what he said. What do I take, did he propose to me? Did express a desire for me to accept his love? And Just moments after that, he approached me again. This time, he had embraced me from behind. It couldn¡¯t be, did he perhaps also feel the same way about me? ¡°ah¡­ah¡­umm¡­a-a-awawa¡­¡± I felt my face becoming hot again. I looked up at his smiling expression. I was too shy to express myself to him. I wanted to tell him I would accept his love with all of my heart. As if he understood my insensible words, he gently took a hold of my hand. ¡°There¡¯s 1 gold and 20 silver in the bag¡± Once again, I had failed to understand this man¡¯s intention. He had given me 1 gold and 20 silver was it? It was true that I didn¡¯t have any money, but was it out of kindness or pity? Or maybe there was an underlying reason? Or maybe the words I missed were the explanation for the money. But nevertheless, to embrace someone not once but twice, maybe he also felt the same way about me but couldn¡¯t quite express himself? Maybe he realized I was still underage? I still had quite some time until I would be old enough to marry. Maybe this is what put him off? ¡°Misha, thanks again. Maybe we¡¯ll meet again someday¡± His words snapped me out of my delusions. He began walking away. Was he going to leave me here? It was perfectly reasonable, we hardly knew each other. And yet, I was unable to stop thinking about him. I couldn¡¯t get him out of my mind. ¡°Wait!¡± I raised my voice. As he heard me, he quickly turned around. It was true that I had nothing left, so what was the harm in going with him? I don¡¯t know what would have become of me if I hadn¡¯t met this person. I was able to come to terms so easily with losing the last precious photo of my now deceased mother and father. Maybe if I followed after him, I can come to terms with my path of revenge. Maybe the two of us meeting was fate. With all of my heart, I expressed my utmost desire towards the man named Tetsu. To fulfill both my path of vengeance, and love, I shamelessly reached out to the person before me. ¡°Take me with you!¡± Chapter 13 Delusions, Bathrooms, and Partners ¡°Take me with you!¡± I froze in place. Did I hear that correctly? ¡°You are an adventurer aren¡¯t you? If so, then take me with you! Magicians are indispensable! I¡¯m sure I can be useful to you!¡± What she said was exactly right. In many different online games I played, there was always a need for magic users. Moreover I¡¯ve already seen a glimpse of her ability with magic. To say the least, I was impressed with her great timing. But, even if I avoid her now I could still find another magic user right? But, would other magic users be OK with someone as weak as I am? Putting that into consideration, doesn¡¯t that mean finding another magic user would be troublesome?!! ¡°How about it?¡± The girl had boldly approached me and grabbed onto my hands with her pupils sparkling brightly. Although I felt it before, her hands were soft. It seemed almost fragile. Just moments ago, she was nervous and shy. Right now, she looked up towards me eagerly waiting for my reply. Her cheeks had a slight tinge of pink. I couldn¡¯t help but to think it was cute. She¡¯s cute so why not¡­. is what you would normally say right? No, it may be true that she is indeed cute, but underneath that cute exterior of hers, is the soul of a yandere! Absolutely not! I¡¯ll die for sure! Staring at this young girl, a cold chill ran down my back. But at the same time, am I really fine traveling alone? What if I run into some trouble like with the Mimic Slime? What about bandits? Oh that¡¯s right, bandits. I completely forgot about them. They most likely exist in this world as well. To be shaken down by a thief on the road, and having everything taken from you. The worst case would be dying to the hands of the robbers. When it comes to traveling, having someone with you is a lot better than being alone¡­ Would you rather die to a group of thieves, or get eaten by monsters. Which would you choose? They are both almost equally bad¡­but those are currently my only choices if I were to travel alone¡­ ¡°¡­¡­yes¡­ you can join me I suppose¡± The girl¡¯s eyes lit up instantly. She jumped up and clung onto my neck with her arms and held onto me tightly. ¡°Thank you¡­¡± In my ear, she quietly whispered her thanks. Dangerous¡­ this girl¡­, I can also feel them however small they are, it was a soft feeling rubbing against my chest. If I were a lolicon, I would have probably done something regrettable to this girl by now. Doesn¡¯t this girl have common sense?!! Or maybe people here in this world are over friendly when it comes to strangers? At a loss of what to do, I gently pat her back. ¡°Ok ok, let¡¯s get going¡± ¡°Where are we going to?¡± ¡°Capital City, Serafall¡± At my words, the girl fell silent. Her expression changed to a slightly bitter one. Could it be that she doesn¡¯t like it there? ¡°Ahh, we probably won¡¯t be there for long. I want to see a Spirit Seer, and then we¡¯ll move on more than likely¡­¡± Her expression changed again. This time she had a slight smile on her face. Maybe she had bad memories of that place? It would be insensitive to ask. After all, we still don¡¯t quite know each other. Inside the inn, the inn lady sitting at the front desk greeted me. ¡°Oh, how was your midnight rendezvous? I¡¯m you two had lots of fun last night. Fu fu fu~¡± This inn lady! No, since this is the last time I¡¯ll see her, maybe I should poke some fun at her as well? Glaring right at her, I took a firm stance and spoke up. ¡°Although there were some muffled heavy breathing noises coming from a nearby window, it was wonderful. Was it possible, that you were watching us in pleasure?¡± As if she were stunned from my comment, the inn lady was speechless. But she wasn¡¯t the only one who was. Next to me, Misha had covered her face with both of her hands. She must have been really embarrassed, because her ears were bright red... There no need for you to be so embarrassed! We were just joking! In the first place, we didn¡¯t do anything like what had been implied! ¡°Fu fu fu. Well then, after such an exciting night, the two of you should bathe before going right?¡± Covering her mouth as she laughed away her surprised expression, she quickly dragged Misha away. ¡°Then I¡¯ll be taking the young lady. Oh, be sure to wash yourself as well. Oh, I¡¯ll also be charging extra for taking care of this young lady. Fu fu fu~¡± The inn lady stole Misha with a devilish smile as if I had been played. ¡­¡­did I fall into her trap? With the feeling of defeat looming over my head, I went over to the males bathing area. It was a good chance to finally wash off any leftover slime that hasn¡¯t come off yet after all. That inn lady! I¡¯ll get her back one of these days for sure! I walked into the bathing area that was sectioned off next to the female bathing area. After taking off my equipment, I sat down in the empty bathing area and scrubbed my body down, washing away the dirt. After quickly scrubbing myself down, and washing away the soap bubbles, I sunk into the hot-spring like pool and contemplated to myself. ¡°Kyaaaa! J-just where are you t-touching?!!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so modest and enjoy yourself. Fu fu fu!¡± Too loud! What exactly are they doing over there?!! ¡°Kyaaa! N-no please¡­ not there!¡± Thinking about the clothes I have, I definitely need to get more. Currently, I only had the clothes I came to this world with, and some leather clothing I purchased for becoming an adventurer. I¡¯ll need to upgrade my armor as well. After the last fight, the leather clothing became tattered. But it was just basic leather clothing so that much is to be expected¡­ probably¡­ ¡°Oh my~ they¡¯re really soft fu fu fu!¡± In any case, since I have a little bit of money, I should get some leather armor at the least, and definitely a sword as well. ¡°Hya! I-I¡¯m really sensitive there¡± ¡°Fu fu fu! What about this?¡± ¡°mmm¡­ haa~ ahn! Y-yes. T-that feels really good, mm ah!¡± What in the world am I listening to?!! Do they know I can hear them?!! No, rather than that. In the first place, what are they even doing?!! ¡°Next is this~ are you ready? Fu fu fu~¡± ¡°I-it looks a little big and rough¡­¡± ¡°Fu fu fu~ try not to squirm too much~¡± ¡°Kyaaa~ ahn! Please¡­ haa~ ahn! No more! Ahn!¡± This is a bathing area! Stop making all those weird sounds! What if someone else comes in and hears you! ¡°Mmm¡­ ah! Hah..hah¡­hah¡­¡± I¡­¡­I¡¯ve got to get out of this place! After quickly soaking in the empty morning bath area, I put on my normal clothes and stored away my equipment as fast as possible. After I sat down and waited in the lobby for Misha to finish, while being slightly flustered. The analog clock displayed it was still morning. After about an hour had passed, the inn lady had finally come out. But where was Misha? ¡°Is Misha still changing?¡± I looked at the inn lady, and the beautiful golden haired girl that stood next to her in a white summer dress. ¡°Fu fu fu, isn¡¯t she standing right here?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t fool me so easily, Misha is definitely a cute girl, but she definitely doesn¡¯t compare to that amazingly beautiful girl next to you, you know¡± If my memory served me right, her hair wasn¡¯t as luscious as the girl who stood next to the inn lady. Although they¡¯re both blond, Misha¡¯s was much duller in comparison. Her skin was a lovely snow white with tinges of pink. And I won¡¯t even bother mentioning the clothes. What she¡¯s wearing is completely different from the robe she wore. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m really beautiful¡­?¡± Her voice leaked out. Her voice was exactly like Misha¡¯s. There was no mistaking that kind sweet and gentle voice that seems to tremble with the passing wind. Briskly walking over to where I stood in the lobby, she stopped in front of me and gazed at me as I stared back dumbfounded. Having a closer look, she resembled her in height, and appearance. I¡­ I was mistaken?!! Thinking logically, it¡¯s completely possible that she hadn¡¯t cleaned herself in a while and had a slightly different skin tone from the dirt that rubbed into it. Her outfit earlier had traces of dirt stains as well so it¡¯s reasonable to assume they would be carrying an extra change of clothes for these kinds of situations. But her hair, there no way that could change so significantly! It went from a wavy dull blond, to a shiny golden blonde with straight hair. But besides that, what kind of girl would only have a single robe to wear! Why didn¡¯t I realize it sooner?!! ¡°Yes, much more than you were before¡± With a bitter smile, I looked back at the inn lady. The inn lady had an eager look on her face. ¡°Now then, that will be 5 large copper coins¡± Expensive!!! Just what did you do to turn this girl into this beautifully shining mass of brightness?!! ¡°Take it¡± Pulling out a silver coin, I tossed it to her. However, there wasn¡¯t any change returned to me. ¡°Are you forgetting something?¡± I asked the inn lady with a tired expression. ¡°The dress isn¡¯t free. fu fu fu~¡± That dress isn''t hers?!! This damn lady¡­ should I be thankful or angry? ¡°Hah...then see you around¡­¡± Letting out a sigh, I headed for the door with Misha happily walking by my side. Instead of heading to the capital right away, I had already decided to buy some new equipment. The current leather clothes I had, had really taken a beating. I also wasn¡¯t very fond of using just a single dagger as my weapon. So we headed for the equipment shop first. And it was just as I had suspected. While walking towards the shop, almost everyone that we passed by, turned their heads to look at the beautiful girl beside me. Reyna, Mimi, I may have found your long lost younger sister¡­ Inside the shop, I had Misha change out of her summer dress and into a new set of light blue magician robes. I bought myself some light leather armor which I equipped as well. I bought myself an iron one-handed sword, and an extra dagger as well as some smaller throwing daggers. It¡¯s good to have a variety of weapons after all. I don¡¯t feel quite as safe without them¡­ I won¡¯t use the throwing daggers immediately though, I¡¯ll have to practice with them later. With Misha out of her summer dress, we received less stares outside the shop, but there were still plenty of people doing double takes. Immediately after, we went to a clothing shop to buy some extra clothes. I¡¯m sure Misha would like to have a variety of choices when it comes to clothing. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The last thing to do was to buy supplies in case we were attacked. After quickly buying a few low grade magic potions for 1 large copper each, as well as some provisions a thought came to my mind. I should register Misha in my party! Although Misha was slightly reluctant to go, we quickly rushed over to the guild one last time before departing. Inside the guild, it was unusually empty for late morning. Normally this was the time the guild became active. In place of Angela was a tall brown haired man that seemed to be in his late 30¡¯s. ¡°Welcome, how may I help you today?¡± "Angela isn''t here?" "She, along with the other receptionists have been transferred to another branch" So that was the reason why it was so empty. Angela and the other receptionists did keep this place lively. ¡°Oh... then I¡¯d like to form a party with Misha here¡± ¡°Very well, please present me your Adventurers card¡± Turning my head over to Misha with my hand out, she gave me an odd look. ¡°Misha, are you an adventurer?¡± To my question, she lightly shook her head. ¡°No¡± ¡°Miss, if you¡¯d like to, please sign these documents. You¡¯ll be registered in our database right after¡± "Is it...is it OK for me to join? "Yes, there shouldn''t be any discrimination towards anyone who would like to be an Adventurer" Misha timidly signed a few documents, and was quickly issued her own Adventurer¡¯s card. After talking with the tall man, I had him sign on off my party. Misha was also able to become an adventurer without any problems. But, for someone who seemed well versed in magic like Misha, why wasn¡¯t she already an adventurer? The guild to my knowledge was an entity that was not tied to politics nor religion. Since that was the case, it would benefit the guild to accept anyone and everyone willing to join. They would be able more easily gain the trust of civilians, as well as maintain the guilds fighting force. After connecting a few dots from Misha¡¯s behavior, to the fact that she had never registered herself with the guild before, and what the Guild Master said about other guilds around the Kingdom, a chilling thought came to mind. Was there someone pulling strings around the Kingdom, manipulating the guild? But for someone to be able to do that, wouldn¡¯t they need enough influence inside the Kingdom to tackle that kind of job without getting caught? Because the Guild was a separate entity, that would make them just as powerful as a Kingdom wouldn¡¯t it? Then to take control of the guild, you would need to at the least, be on an equal footing. Or have a Kingdom or two already in your control. No matter how much I thought about it, it was impossible. Something like that would be absurd. I quickly brushed away my delusional thoughts, and then walked out of the Guild Hall side by side with Misha. With everything said and done we left for the south gate leading to the capital. As we walked over to the guards, I could feel a murderous intent being directed at us. I¡¯m not exactly sure why, but I wonder if it has anything to do with Misha? Were they actually jealous of such a cute little girl next to me?!! Then were these guards seriously lolicons?!! Misha had clung to my arm as I conversed with the guards that glared at us. ¡°Are you two heading out?¡± ¡°Yea, we¡¯re leaving for the capital¡± ¡°Be careful of horned rabbits. They¡¯ve been slightly aggressive lately¡± The guards saw us off with a warning as they continued to painfully glare at us. It¡¯s not good for gate guards to be into little girls you know! The image of lolicon gatekeepers isn¡¯t good for your reputation! Path to Serafall On the road the the capital, we¡¯ve encountered a few slimes which died quickly, but still no signs of horned rabbits. Maybe they were away from the main road? ¡°?~ ?~ ?~¡± In any case, Misha has been happily humming since we departed. I wonder what the song is. I felt like I heard it from somewhere, but I couldn''t quite grasp where. ¡°Misha, I''ve been wondering, what''s the song you¡¯re humming?¡± I asked Misha that was humming while happily swaying left and right beside me. ¡°Ah! It¡¯s a song my mother used to sing to me, would you like to hear the lyrics?¡± Misha turned her head gazing towards me with a smile. ¡°Hmm, it¡¯ll have to wait for now, up ahead are a few horned rabbits¡± As soon as I had finished talking, 3 horned rabbits that were just ahead of us noticed our presence and began hopping towards up. As the name implied, there was a horn on its head, roughly about 12 inches long. While signaling Misha behind me, some thoughts came to mind. If the horns were sharp enough, I could probably make a spear. Ah, and since it¡¯s an actual animal rather than a pile of translucent pudding, I could probably skin it for its pelt and sell it later. I¡¯ve also wondered how rabbit meat tastes. I¡¯ve eaten many different types of game meat, but I¡¯ve never had the chance to try rabbit. While thinking deeply about the textures of the different meats I¡¯ve eaten in the past, I nonchalantly side-stepped the first rabbit¡¯s tackle, and using my sword I cut a second approaching one in half. ¡°Ah!¡± With my mind getting sidetracked with my thoughts, I accidentally ruined the pelt cutting it in half didn¡¯t I? ¡°Drown helplessly in a sea of madness, [Water Prison]!¡± Behind me, Misha quickly cast a water spell, encasing the first horned rabbit in a ball of water. The third horned rabbit had stopped in its track, probably shocked that its brethren were easily put down. Sheathing my sword, I quickly dashed towards the last rabbit pulling out the new dagger I had bought earlier. Schlikt In a matter of seconds, before the horned rabbit could react to my speed, I had already cut off its head as it immediately plopped on the ground lifelessly. The horned rabbit that Misha had encased in her magic was still drowning to death while Misha with a creepy smile watched it slowly drown. ¡°Misha, there¡¯s no need to slowly torture them¡­¡± I called out to Misha as I picked up the beheaded rabbit carcass and wondered if I could store it whole inside my bag. ¡°Yes!¡± Misha casted another magic spell shortly after responding to me. ¡°Shave away forcefully and accelerate, [Shockwave Blast]!¡± Lifting her hand at the rabbit trapped inside a sphere of water, a complex magic formation appeared. Particles of light began to gather. After converging, it turned into purple plasma that immediately swept away everything in front of Misha, disintegrating the fluffy creature that was struggling for air. ¡°How was that?¡± Misha looked over at me with a smiling face full of triumph. Overkill! No matter how you think about it, that was just simply overkill! There was no need for that much excessive force you know! And how strong is this girl anyways?!! Did I recruit some kind of legendary main character¡¯s heroine?!! ¡°Misha¡­ I¡¯m glad that you¡¯re excited to show what you can do, but try not to be excessive¡­¡± As if she wasn¡¯t listening, Misha simply cheerfully smiled and walked towards me. Staring at the pile of charred dust that was once a white fluffy horned rabbit, a chill ran down my back, as I vowed myself to never offend Misha. Holding onto the rabbit, and its separated head, I quickly tried storing both inside my bag. Just like any other item I¡¯ve stored, surprisingly it had no problem sucking up the bunny¡¯s dead carcass. Afterwards, I broke off the horn and stored that as well. As for the hornless head, I threw it to the side. I¡¯m not a head collector you know! I¡¯ve never skinned anything before, so for now I simply just stored the dead animal bodies¡­ We continued on our way, and after a few more encounters with cute bunnies, we had finally arrived at Capital City, Serafall just before nightfall.
STATUS
Tetsu Tagami
Lv 6(+1)Race : Human
HP : 137/150(+10)MP : 175/175(+5)
STR : 16(+2)AGI : 12(+2)
MA : 15LUK : ???
Available Skill Points : 4(+1)
PASSIVE SKILLS
Sword Mastery : 3/10(+2)Dagger Mastery 5/10(+1)
Muscle Mastery 8/10(+1)(NEW!) Dual Wielding 1/10
Light Magic Mastery 1/10
ACTIVE SKILLS
(NEW!) Heavy Blow : 1/10Magic Edge 2/10
Analyze : 1/10
TITLES
Living ZombieOtherworldly Traveller
Slime Slayer???
Chapter 14 All Seeing Eyes With our Adventurers card, we were able to get into the capital without paying any fees. However, inside the capital as the sun began to set, a dark atmosphere seemed to loom about. I calmly thought to myself, that maybe it was just my imagination. We quickly found an inn nearby, and paid for separate rooms with the approaching night. The Inn seemed to be lively. Inside was a wide dining area with multiple tables. At first glance the Inn looked extremely lavish, but after examining the kind of people coming in and out, I noticed it was an inn for adventurers. Everyone that was dining, or walking around was armed. There was a large diversity of weapons being carried by Adventurers. Compared to the merchant city Canute, more people walked around with their weapons out. Considering that Canute was a smaller town, and this was the city, it was expected to some degree. Adventurers dressed in a variety of different armors. Some were black, some white, and some blue. Of course the diversity of experienced and novice adventurers was also present. After dining alone with Misha, tucked away in a corner away from the rest of the people dining, we retired for the night. Well, at least Misha had. I¡¯ve been curious about my outrageous skill proficiency growth, so I headed outside into the wide spacious area next to the Inn. When we first walked here, I noticed there were a few training logs specifically for target practice in the empty lot. I made my way to the row of training logs outside. Under the starlit sky, there was an archer outside practice her bow skills. After firing a few arrows, she would pull out her arrows from the log. Afterwards, the log itself would automatically repair the holes that were created. It was a fascinating site to see. Self-repairing logs! Inspecting the training logs closely, it was actually imbedded into the ground. On the ground itself under the log, was a complicated magic circle. It¡¯s probably what gives the log an auto repair function. On the front of the log was a target carved into it. The target was marked with red coloring, while the circles making up the outside of the target were alternating colors of white and blue. I pulled out 5 throwing daggers. After taking them out and confirming the sharpness, I began to practice throws. After about an hour of practicing, I took a break. Needless to say, my throwing technique was really bad. I would either miss the log completely, or hit the edges outside of the target.
STATUS
Tetsu Tagami
Lv 6Race : Human
HP : 150/150MP : 175/175
STR : 16AGI : 12
MA : 15LUK : ???
Available Skill Points : 4
PASSIVE SKILLS
Sword Mastery : 3/10Dagger Mastery 5/10
Muscle Mastery 8/10Dual Wielding 1/10
(NEW!) Weapon Throwing Mastery 1/10Light Magic Mastery 1/10
ACTIVE SKILLS
Heavy Slash : 1/10Magic Edge 2/10
Analyze : 1/10
TITLES
Living ZombieOtherworldly Traveller
Slime Slayer???
I confirmed that the skill was there on my status screen, but why it didn¡¯t level once after all this time had completely eluded me. ¡°Hello. Sorry for the intrusion, but I noticed you were having some difficulty¡± Approaching me from the other side of the empty lot was the archer who had been practicing her bow skills. She was wearing tight leather clothing, and headgear that covered everything on her head but her face. Besides a gentle looking face, her pupils were a fierce deep red color. Her voice was soft, yet powerful. Although she had a slender body, the atmosphere around her was like someone who had experienced countless amounts of battles. ¡°Ah, yes¡­¡± I gave a short dejected reply back. After hundreds of practice throws, nothing had changed. I didn¡¯t gain any new insight on why my other skills were developing so fast. ¡°Would you like some pointers?¡± ¡°Sure, if you don¡¯t mind¡± At a complete loss, I was open to her suggestion. ¡°Then if you don¡¯t mind¡± Casually picking up one of my daggers that were next to me, she began to explain in detail on how she normally threw daggers. ¡°Having a stance is not important for throwing. However, it is good to at least have the technique down.¡± Holding the end of the dagger¡¯s handle within her fingertips, she readied her arm in a throwing motion. ¡°This is normally how I do it¡± She showed me the movements of her arm, as she slowly traced a path in the air a few times. ¡°And don¡¯t forget, you¡¯ll still need to properly aim in order to hit your targets¡± Looking straight at the target, she pointed the tip of the dagger directly at the center. ¡°All that¡¯s left is to just throw your dagger¡± With a clean arm motion, she launched the dagger that hit the target dead in the center. ¡°Now you try it¡± Getting up on my feet, I briskly walked to where she stood. Copying her arm motion a few times, I concentrated on the target. In one fluid motion, I threw the dagger. There was a huge difference this time. I had hit inside the first innermost ring near the center. ¡°Not so bad, keep up the practice and you¡¯ll hit the center in no time¡± ¡°Ah! Thank you!¡± I expressed my gratitude and slightly bowed. ¡°See you around¡± Almost immediately after I thanked her, she walked towards the Inn. I hadn¡¯t noticed it before, but maybe it was hidden from plain view? Or maybe she had just now taken it out. There was an extravagant sword hanging on her waist. The sword gave off a warm pale blue aura. So was she an archer or a swordsman? Or maybe she was both? I decided to continue practicing her knife throwing technique for a while longer to see if hitting the target was attributed to luck.
STATUS
Tetsu Tagami
Lv 6Race : Human
HP : 150/150MP : 175/175
STR : 16AGI : 12
MA : 15LUK : ???
Available Skill Points : 4
PASSIVE SKILLS
Sword Mastery : 3/10Dagger Mastery 5/10
Muscle Mastery 9/10(+1)Dual Wielding 1/10
(NEW!) Aiming 4/10(+3)Weapon Throwing Mastery 6/10(+5)
Light Magic Mastery 1/10
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
ACTIVE SKILLS
Heavy Slash : 1/10Magic Edge 2/10
Analyze : 1/10
TITLES
Living ZombieOtherworldly Traveller
Slime Slayer???
These were the results. Although I said a while longer, I actually ended up engrossed with my rapidly growing skill levels and stayed up late into the night. I¡¯ve come to a slight realization after tonight¡¯s testing. Diligently practicing something over and over is useless if you don¡¯t know the technique. The reason why my throwing skill didn¡¯t level up the first time around was because I was unfamiliar with the throwing method, and the reason for me not being able to hit anything, was because I hadn¡¯t yet acquired the [Aiming] skill. After organizing all of the events that had happened over the course of the day, I went to sleep. That night, I dreamt a giant snake coiled around me, and began to slowly constrict me to death. ¡°Good morning, Tetsu¡± ¡°Oh, good morning¡± Misha greeted me in the hallway outside of the room. I wonder if she was waiting for me to wake up. In any case, after a quick greeting we were on our way. Although, the only problem was that I wasn¡¯t exactly sure where to find the Spirit Seer. ¡°Misha, do you happen to know where the Spirit Seer is in this city?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ I don¡¯t remember¡± I sort of knew she wouldn¡¯t know, but I had to ask anyways. I wasn¡¯t particularly troubled though, I could probably ask around for the location. After asking around a few shops, someone was able to point me in the right direction, so the only thing left to do was tour around the capital. With sightseeing in mind, we explored the city until noon. Although, Misha was opposed to the idea, she reluctantly agreed when I told her we would be leaving the next day. Inside the Spirit Seer¡¯s shop Ring! A bell on top of the door signaled the opening and closing of the front door. ¡°Welcome, are you perhaps a customer?¡± A man with long brown hair greeted me. He wore some kind of silky gown that was reminiscent of what the pope in my former world wore. It was a completely white gown, embroidered with gold colored patterns. He was sitting down at a small table in the center of the room. Currently, I was inside the Spirit Seers shop. But isn¡¯t this somehow similar to what a fortune teller¡¯s shop is? Isn¡¯t this guy overly dressed for doing such a simple task?! The man in front of me is looked likely older than me, by also slightly younger? I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. The room wasn¡¯t exactly like what I¡¯ve seen back in my world, rooms with all kinds of crazy decorations, but it was instead much larger with only a few potted plants spread around. And rather than a shop, it looked more like the living room of a house! ¡°I¡¯d like to know what kind of magic I can learn¡± I answered his question with what had been on my mind for a while now. ¡°The fee will be 5 silver. Will that be fine with you?¡± The man replied to me with an expressionless face. Expensive! I could live for at least 2 weeks inside a relatively decent Inn that provides 3 meals a day with 5 silver! Taking out the payment, I sat down in a chair opposite of him while Misha stood behind me. As soon as he received the money, the colors of his eyes changed into a countless amount of colors as he intensely stared at me. ¡°You¡­ what are you?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± After a long moment of silence, he blurted out a question. ¡°Are you human?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± His eyes changed back to its normal blue color. I guess my appearance is still quite lacking. Speaking of which, I haven¡¯t had a chance to properly look at myself in a mirror since coming here. I should find a place with a mirror. ¡°Intriguing, I¡¯ve never seen an absurd existence such as you before¡± His expressionless face finally broke into a smile. ¡°Is there something wrong with me?¡± ¡°You are someone who can excel at everything. But there¡¯s also something much more than just elemental magic. How should I say it¡­? It¡¯s a type of magic that suits you even more than any of the 7 elements.¡± ¡°WAIT! I can use all types of magic?¡± ¡°Yes, bu-¡­¡° ¡°This is great!¡± I didn¡¯t mess up after all! Eh, but now that I think about it, what are the 7 elements? Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Light, and Dark? Hmm, Judging from my skill list, Lightning Magic wasn¡¯t available. So it¡¯s something that I can learn but requires hard work and dedication? Eh, I suppose I can ask this guy about that as well. ¡°As I was saying, there is a mag-¡­¡° ¡°Hey! Is it possible that my weakest magic type is the lightning attribute?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct. But the one that best suits yo-¡­¡° ¡°That¡¯s a relief! Thanks a lot! By the way, what¡¯s the best element I can lear-¡­¡° ¡°SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME YOU DAMN IMBACELLE¡± Geh?!! I didn¡¯t expect this guy to get so upset all of sudden! That was really surprising. ¡°¡­¡­ sorry¡­ please go on¡­¡± I immediately apologized for continually interrupting him with my head down. ¡°Ahem! Then if I may, the highest elemental compatibility you have is with fire. However outside of the 7 elements, your greatest potential lies in non-elemental magic. There are many people who are able to utilize that kind of magic, however, your potential with it is something that even someone such as myself is unable to analyze¡± ¡°Ah, thank you.¡± After he finally finished talking, I thanked him and walked out of the shop. After that outburst from him, I was slightly embarrassed at myself, so I didn¡¯t want to stay much longer than I needed to. But, now that he confirmed that I can learn light type magic, how do I use it? _______________________________________________________________________________________ Inside the shop sat the man watching the door to the shop close as the pair quickly left. He had been lost in his own thoughts. (I¡¯ve never seen such a thing before. All elemental magic is rare, however to have such limitless potential with kind of magic. Perhaps, was this meeting fate?) Never before had he seen something so abnormal within the soul of a human being. Ring! The door to the shop opened once again. ¡°Ah! Sorry for leaving you here! And thank you for looking after my shop while I was gone¡± ¡°It¡¯s no problem at all¡± The man smiled at the young looking shop owner who had burst through the door. ¡°Is that a smile from the one known as the Emotionless Sage?!!¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been many years since I¡¯ve last seen something that has piqued my interest¡± While speaking, the shop keeper had flipped the sign on her shop window from open to closed. ¡°So, what has your interest this time old timer?¡± ¡°Old timer? Perhaps that name does suits me, much more than the title of being a Sage. For now, I¡¯ll be taking a leave of absence¡± The Sage with long brown hair stood up from his chair and walked towards the exit. ¡°Ah! You still haven¡¯t answered my question!¡± The Sage stopped and slightly turned his head with a large grin on his face. ¡°To bear witness to the birth of a new hero¡± Chapter 15 Bloody Mischief We walked out of the shop, and onto the busy streets of the city. The suns position had changed to late noon. Soon, the sun would begin to slowly set into the evening sky. I had been quiet and wondering to myself on the method of using magic when Misha who was next to me spoke up. ¡°Would you like me to teach you how to use magic?¡± I stopped walking, and looked at her as she gave me a smile after saying those words. The thought of having Misha teach me magic had never occurred to me! ¡°Yes! That would be great!¡± Unconsciously, I have given her a hug while exclaiming my excitement at the thought of learning magic. ¡°A-awawawa wha-what are you doing so suddenly?!!¡± Ah? I looked at Misha whose face had turned completely red with steam coming out of her head. ¡°Oh¡­ uhh¡­ I got a little excited sorry¡± I quickly separated myself from her. Sweat dripped down my face as I recalled the incident with the disintegrated bunny. She¡¯s not mad is she?!! ¡°To think you were still alive! You damned disgraceful brat!¡± At that moment, a man wearing some elegant clothing had ran up to us and spat out insult. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t know who you are, but could you leave us alone?¡± I tried to get the man to go away as politely as I could. ¡°What¡¯s this?!! To think you were able to seduce yourself a dog! Disgusting!¡± The man took out a cane like scepter from out of thin air and raised it into the air ready to strike. Noticing he was aiming at Misha who was shaking with fear looking at the man, I positioned her behind me and kicked the man onto the floor. What a disgusting person, to try and actually hit a girl smaller than himself. And what was Misha scared for? The man was really weak. ¡°Guh! You damned mutt! I¡¯ll kill you! Immediately getting up, he snapped his fingers. Just moments after that, four armored knights appeared and surrounded us. ¡°Kill them!¡± A knight had raised his sword while approaching me, and swung down. However, his movements seemed really weak and slow. I easily stopped him by catching his arm. There¡¯s no way knights are this weak right? Compared to Reinsfield, these guys are really weak! ¡°Hey, if you leave now I¡¯ll let you off with your life¡± Holding onto the knight¡¯s arm, I glared at him and pushed him back. ¡°h-hiii!¡± He quickly cowered in fear, and the other knights who saw it had also backed off. ¡°C-cowards! You work for me don¡¯t you?!! I¡¯ll have you fired!¡± No matter how much the man yelled at the knights, they simply stood there not moving a muscle. I suppose they know that their life is more important than mindlessly obeying orders? But even if they attacked again, it¡¯s not as if I¡¯d really kill them. I¡¯m not some kind of heartless monster¡­ I hope¡­ Turning around, I grabbed Misha¡¯s hand and walked into the crowd that had been quickly forming around us. After quickly dragging Misha away, we stopped inside an open shop serving food. I quickly ordered a drink for myself and Misha who was lost in thought. ¡°Thank you for earlier¡± After a waitress had brought us drinks and left, Misha spoke up in her usual tone. ¡°That¡¯s alright, but who was that person?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Misha became awkwardly silent. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t tell you right now¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright, after this let¡¯s go over to the guild and see if there are any escort requests to another city¡± Misha retained her cheerful smile and nodded. There is a lot of mystery surrounding Misha, and I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. Inside the Guild Hall Strange. This place is strange. The Guild Hall we walked into seemed busy, but everyone inside seemed slightly off. When I had turned my attention to Misha, her face was twisted in anger. What was she looking at? I followed her line of sight, and hidden inside by the many people wandering around was a man with silver hair. Wearing a tacky business suit with a gentleman¡¯s hat, he had actually been staring at the two of us. Before I had realized it, Misha who was standing right beside me was had disappeared. ¡°Misha?¡± I looked around, and the man with the silver hair had also vanished. What the hell was going on? The other Adventurers walked past me as if nothing had happened. As if Misha wasn¡¯t with me this entire time. No matter how much I thought about it, the surrounding Adventurers felt strange. Ignoring them, I calmly walked to where the silver haired man had been. I felt extremely uncomfortable. When I looked around, all of the Adventurers in the Guild Hall were staring at me. The Guild Masters words from Canute¡¯s Guild Branch rung inside my head. I understood it now, the feeling of unease that had taken hold of me. I took out my sword, and quickly slashed at a nearby person. My sword phased past them, and yet they still continued to walk by as if nothing had happened. Everyone inside this Guild Hall, it was all an illusion. As soon as I had come to that realization, everyone that was inside instantly vanished. The lively Guild Hall became empty and decrepit. The walls were moldy, and the tables were broken. It was exactly like an abandoned building. But it was strange, if the building was in this terrible shape, why didn¡¯t anyone outside notice it? And where did Misha disappear to? In the next moment, I heard loud laughter come from above me. ¡°HAHAHAHA!¡± I hurried and looked around for the set of stairs leading up. _________________________________________________________________________ He was standing on ahead of me, that vile, disgusting human being. My anger began to well up inside. That man had been watching us this entire time since the moment we stepped into this building. In the next moment, we instantly appeared somewhere else. What exactly had happened? I had been transported from a room that had been bustling with people beside Tetsu, to a room that was empty and decaying. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time hasn¡¯t it, Misha Lebard!¡± With a voice full of sadistic joy, a slender man with silver hair made his appearance in front of me. ¡°Just seeing you alive makes me¡­ it makes me¡­ feel like violating every last bit of you! Hahahahahahaha!¡± With exaggerated laughter, he stared straight at me. ¡°Ignite the flames of discord, [Explosion]!¡± ¡°Hey, hey, don¡¯t be so eager to shower me with your love! hahahaha!¡± Easily, the man with silver hair dodged the explosion that destroyed a portion of the floor inside the large Guild room. ¡°[Water Bullet]!¡± ¡°[Instant Casting] huh? Is that all you¡¯ve got?!! Hahaha!¡± ¡°[Ice Bolt]!, [Water Prison]!¡± ¡°Hahahaha! You¡¯ve even learned to use multi-casting in these past few months! Wonderful!¡± *clap clap clap* Easily dodging everything that was thrown at him, the man simply applauded my performance. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Casting multiple spells in short intervals was taxing on my body. I was out of breath and already panting loudly for air. ¡°Well then, this is enough for now Misha. Bind, 1000 needles of darkness [Shadow Stitch]¡± On my shadow appeared hundreds of spikes locking me in place. ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to thoroughly enjoy myself with you after this, so stay put for now. Hahahaha!¡± With a sickening distorted expression, the man began licking his lips. ¡°You over there! Mr. Tetsu Tagami was it?¡± __________________________________________________________________________ Huff¡­ Huff¡­ What was going on just now? When I peered into the room, there was a hole burned into the floor, bits of the ground were frozen, and even puddles of water. It was obvious there had been a battle just now. Misha was on the other side of the room with the silver haired man between the both of us. ¡°You over there! Mr. Tetsu Tagami was it?¡± Saying my name, the man briskly walked over to where I was standing. ¡°I¡¯d like to express my deepest gratitude to you for taking such good care of the little miss!¡± What the hell was this guy talking about? The presence I felt from him was overwhelming. Immediately I put up my guard. ¡°Misha are you alright?¡± I called out to her, but she stood in place without any response. ¡°Hey now! You can¡¯t ignore me just like that! If you do I¡¯ll start to feel lonely Teehee~. Just kidding. Oh, that feeling just now was slightly disgusting.¡± The man had stopped in front of me just a meter away spouting irrational nonsense. Hey¡­ what the hell was with that Teehee and then that self-apathy afterwards?!! I can¡¯t tell if this guy is serious or joking, or maybe he has a few screws loose in his head. ¡°Ahh, well anyways Mr. Tetsu Tagami, as thanks for taking care of Misha until now, you may leave here alive¡± Holding onto his hat with one hand, he glanced at me with a simple gesture. ¡°What do you plan on doing to Misha?¡± ¡°I plan to have a little fun with her of course!¡± Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. I could see the lust inside his eyes as he spoke. ¡°And if I don¡¯t want to leave?¡± He instantly vanished from where he stood, and reappeared in front of me. Stab! ¡°Then die¡­¡± He whispered in my ear as he shoved a knife straight into my stomach and twisted it around. I instinctively shoved him off of me, and swung my sword at him. ¡°Whoa! Too close, that was a little dangerous~¡± He easily dodged my attack. Cough! ¡°You¡­ you lolicon bastard¡± I spat out blood with my words. ¡°Hey now, those are harsh words! Hahaha!¡± The man in front of me shrugged it off with a laugh. This person is really annoying! There was a deep hole in my stomach with blood flowing out. I opened my bag and quickly pulled out a low grade magic healing potion. Slam! ¡°Gah!¡± ¡°Hey now! Not so fast there! It would be a little troublesome for you to heal so quickly!¡± Before I could even bring it to my mouth, I was knocked onto the floor. The potion and sword in my hands had rolled away. ¡°GAAHH!!!¡± The silver haired man stepped onto my open wound. ¡°That¡¯s it! That¡¯s what I wanted to hear!¡± He continued to stomp on my stomach. ¡°HAHAHA! WORTHLESS, LOOK AT YOURSELF! HAHAHA!¡± Hysterical laughter was mixed in with his voice as he continued to talk. ¡°Out of all the summoned heroes, you are the most pathetic one I¡¯ve seen. And yet you think you can save that girl? Hahaha HAHAHAHA!¡± The white haired man kneeled down and pulled out a knife. ¡°Whats wrong? You¡¯ve been quiet for a while now. Maybe this will help. hahaha!¡± Stab! He stabbed me on my shoulder. ¡°GAAHHHH!!!¡± ¡°HAHAHAHA! THAT¡¯S IT! GIVE ME MORE!¡± Stab! Stab! ¡°Hahaha! Don¡¯t fall asleep on me now! How about here?!!! Hahahaha!¡± Stab! I could feel the pain, but I didn¡¯t even have the energy to scream out in pain anymore. ¡°Stop¡­ please stop! let him go!¡± ¡±Oh ho? You can move already? Is that blood coming from your mouth? So you bit your tongue did you? Well, I can¡¯t have you moving around just yet~¡± ¡°I won¡¯t resist anymore! So just let him go!¡± ¡°Hey, you¡¯re mistaking something here girly¡± With a wide sadistic grin, the silver haired man had stood up and completely turned around showing me his back. ¡°The one that¡¯s currently in control here is me!!! If you don¡¯t want him to die, then why don¡¯t you just save him! Hahahaha!¡± This was it, this may be my last shot. ¡°BUT YOU CAN¡¯T RIGHT?!! JUST LIKE YOUR FATHER THE ONES YOU LOVE WILL DIE RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU! I¡¯LL TAKE AWAY EVERYTHING THAT¡¯S PRECIOUS TO YOU, JUST LIKE YOUR FATHER, AND MOST CERTAINLY, JUST LIKE YOUR MOTHER!!! AHHHHHHH HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!¡± Summoning up energy I grabbed my Mithril Dagger from inside my bag and rushed at the man laughing in euphoria. Pushing my dagger into his unguarded back, I felt some feedback. ¡°Hey hey, so you can you move after all can¡¯t you?!!¡± The resistance I felt, wasn¡¯t the feedback from stabbing into a body. It was of the man catching my dagger with 2 fingers. Immediately, he sent me flying with a kick. Thud! I landed on the ground nearby. ¡°Dangerous~ I didn¡¯t expect you to have so much will power left! Now then! What part of your body shall I play with next?! How about an ear? A nose? Maybe a finger? Or how about¡­ AN EYE! HAHAHAHA!!!¡± So it was impossible from the start wasn¡¯t it. My vison began to blur. Was it from the blood loss? Or was it from the intense beating? Am I going to die here? My eyes felt heavy. ¡°What the hell are you doing closing your eyes already? The enemy is still in front of you¡± I heard a familiar voice as soon as my eyes began to close. ¡°My my my! If it isn¡¯t Roger Reinsfield?!! Did you finally come out to play?!!¡± ¡°[Limit Release]¡± Immense pressure exploded from Instructor Reinsfield. ¡°Hahahaha! So you¡¯re going all out right from the start are you?!! Then entertain me!¡± ¡°Kid, I¡¯ll be borrowing this dagger¡± Ignoring the silver haired man, Instructor Reinsfield picked up my Mithril dagger that was on the ground next to me. Immediately after, I fell unconscious as the sounds of weapons clashing resounded in the air. Chapter 16 Destruction Inside The Guild Hall (This is a good weapon. A weapon made completely out of Mithril. A genuine Mithril weapon made by the elves.) Magic power was easily injected into the Mithril dagger. Manipulating mana inside of weapons became more difficult depending on the materials that were used in making it. Mithril was the highest grade material used in forging magic weapons. High grade magic weapons had trace amounts of Mithril forged into the blade, however the dagger he held in his hands was 100% Mithril. The only places that had abundant amounts of Mithril, enough to make weapons out of were occupied by the Elves. Reinsfield put power into his legs and kicked off holding the Mithril dagger that was glowing with a red hue, clashing with the silver haired man. ¡°As expected of a former S Ranker, I can¡¯t let my guard down¡± The silver haired man had displayed power on par with Reinsfield. ¡°You¡¯re name is Misha right?! Take Tetsu and leave now!¡± Misha stood there trembling, witnessing the battle of 2 high class fighters as Reinsfield ordered her to leave. ¡°Y-yes!¡± She ran as quickly as she could, running to where Tetsu was lying. Upon reaching his motionless body, she shuddered at the horrific injuries he had incurred. He had been stabbed several times all over his body. Blood continued to drain from his wounds. She wanted to help him if at all possible, but although she was skilled in magic, she had never taken the time to learn any kind of healing magic. To be precise, she wasn¡¯t blessed by the Spirits governing over the Light element. Frustrated at her own inability, she lifted Tetsu¡¯s dying body, and ran away as she had been told. ¡°Maxwell, so you were still alive. Is this a betrayal?¡± ¡°Ohh, that''s a though question Reinsfield~ but, you should already know the answer to that right?!!¡± The Maxwell that Reinsfield had remembered was a zealous Adventurer who was always helping out both strangers and friends alike. ¡°But, how do you plan to compensate for ruining my plans?!!¡± ¡°How about, by ripping you into pieces?¡± Reinsfield gathered magical energy into the Mithril dagger. The infusion of the magic power caused the blade to turn red. ¡°[Twin Edge]!¡± ¡°[Shadow Guard]¡± Reinsfield activated the dagger skill [Twin Edge]. Confronting Maxwell, he left afterimages as he struck twice with the dagger. The first hit had broken through his [Shadow Guard] throwing him off balance with a powerful strike, and the second was a fluid slash which lightly cut into Maxwell¡¯s body. ¡°REINSFIEEEEELDDD!!!¡± Quickly recovering from the slash, Maxwell took out 5 daggers from inside his torn jacket, and threw them at Reinsfield from close range. ¡°That won¡¯t work!¡± Reinsfield knocked away 3 daggers in front of him, while the remaining 2 flew past him. He quickly stepped back into attacking range. ¡°hahaha! Don¡¯t be so sure of yourself Reinsfield!¡± With the hand he threw the daggers with, Maxwell moved his fingers. For a moment, Reinsfield saw something glimmer. And in the next moment, he felt something going into his back. He instinctively realized it was the 2 daggers that had flown past him. They were manipulated by steel strings. ¡°[Whirlwind Blade]!¡± Reinsfield had closed into position, and unleashed another weapon skill. Spinning in a circle, he simultaneously pulled out the throwing daggers that had hit him from behind, and slashed horizontally at Maxwell from close range. Maxwell simply back stepped, and jumped over Reinsfield figure avoiding his wide attack. As Maxwell landed, Reinsfield used the momentum of [Whirlwind Blade] to spin around and throw the two daggers back at Maxwell, but the thrown daggers were easily deflected. ¡°Hahaha! Reinsfield!!! With your current power, you¡¯re far from being able beat me!¡± The silver haired man merely laughed at Reinsfield. They continued to exchange attacks. Shockwaves were sent everywhere. The walls vibrated, and the floors creaked from the super human like power that was displayed. The moment they clashed again, Reinsford grabbed onto Maxwell¡¯s wrist and threw him into the air. Becoming airborne, Reinsfield immediately casted a spell attempting to exploit the vulnerability. ¡°[Shadow Assault]!¡± The surrounding shadows rose up from the ground and attacked Maxwell as he began to freefall. ¡°REINSSSSFIEEEEELDDDD! Fun! Fun! Fun! FUUUUUUN! I haven¡¯t had this much fun in a loooong time! Ahahaha!¡± Swinging his dagger while airborne, he deflected a few of the shadows that rose up from the ground. ¡°Che, what kind of monster did you turn into?¡± Reinsfield exchanged a few words with the silver haired with Maxwell. The shadows that he didn¡¯t deflect grazed past him. He could feel it. Although he was in his [Limit Release] state, he felt that Maxwell was still slightly stronger than him. Although they both had taken some damage, he was slowly losing the battle. For every 3 hits he landed, he received 4 in return. Once his [Limit Release] wore off, how would he fair against him? ¡°Hahaha! Are you interested to know?!! I¡¯m not quite a monster just yet Reinsfield! I¡¯m still human after all~¡± The man named Maxwell that Reinsfield had known was originally a budding Adventurer. His rank advancements had stopped at ¡°A¡± when he disappeared for almost 4 years ago. In that time span of 4 years, he had been presumed as dead. ¡°It¡¯s about time we ended this little game of ours Reinsfield! It¡¯s been fun, but I have an appointment to keep!¡± ¡°Running away so soon?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll be sending you straight to hell¡± Maxwell raised his left hand in the air. ¡°[Mana Generator] Activate!¡± A vortex of magical energy surrounded Maxwell. The overflowing energy tore apart the walls and ceiling exposing the outside world. ¡°HAHAHAHAHAAA! REINSFIELD!!! HOW IS IT! HAHAHAHA!!!!¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. With both of his arms bent out in front of himself, Maxwell entered into crazy laughter. ¡°[Soul Crushing Blade]!¡± A dense dark aura surrounded Maxwell¡¯s dagger as he ran towards Reinsfield ¡°DIE!!!¡± ¡°[Iron Will]!!!¡± With the speed that Maxwell had approached Reinsfield at, it wasn¡¯t possible for him to dodge. A huge explosion occurred as the dagger struck Reinsfield. Everything behind and above Reinsfield had been blown away, and the ground below them caved in. Reinsfield looked around dazed from the aftermath as he lay down on the floor. Bits of broken boards had fallen onto him. He had survived. However he had suffered a large diagonal gash going down from his left shoulder, and just slightly over his chest. As he looked around, he realized he was on the first floor of the ruined Guild Hall. He was alive because the ground had broken apart right before the concentrated impact of [Soul Crushing Blade] could do its maximum damage. ¡°Reinsfield~¡± Maxwell was looking for him. Did he truly plan to finish him off? After that last attack, his [Limit Release] had worn off, and in his current condition, he would quickly be killed. ¡°Found you~ REINSFIELD!!!!!!!! AHAHAHAHAAA!!!¡± Appearing in front of him was Maxwell. ¡°Reinsfield~¡± Reinsfield gazed up at Maxwell who stood away from him accumulating magic power into his dagger. ¡°The games over! [Shadow Slash]!¡± A wave of dark energy left the daggers edge as Maxwell swung horizontally. Slash! Before the energy wave could reach Reinsfield, it was sliced apart. ¡°Sorry to intrude on your fun, Maxwell¡± A man with blue hair appeared from the sidelines. ¡°Well, if it isn¡¯t Cray!¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a long time Maxwell¡± ¡°Burn, [Magma Burst]!¡± Right where Maxwell had stood, an eruption of fire rose up, incinerating everything that touched it. ¡°So you¡¯ve brought along the Trinity Sage as well? Hahaha! You damn cockroaches just keep crawling out from nowhere. Where the hell do you guys keep coming from?¡± Entering from the same place that Cray had appeared from, a man with brown hair in a white gown embroidered with gold patterns came out casting a spell, and Maxwell had easily side stepped the magic attack aimed at him. ¡°Maxwell, no matter how strong you¡¯ve gotten you won¡¯t be able to beat us¡± For a single moment, the figure of Cray blurred in Maxwell¡¯s line of sight. When Cray reappeared, he had wrapped an arm around his neck as he felt a sharp pain go through his body. He had instantly been impaled by his sword from behind. ¡°Give it up, you won¡¯t win¡± The blue haired man named Cray easily pinned down Maxwell who was fighting almost equally against Reinsfield. ¡°Cough! [Shadow Cough! Merge]!¡± Coughing out blood, Maxwell¡¯s body turned black as he sunk into the ground, and reappeared at a distance. ¡°What brings you here, Guild Master?¡± Reinsfield picked up the Mithril dagger as he stood up, while speaking. ¡°I¡¯ve finished my preparations, and I¡¯m here to take back the capital¡± Cray replied to Reinsfield as he walked towards him, and the Trinity Sage. ¡°How about it Maxwell? If you give up the person you¡¯re working for, I¡¯ll let you rejoin us as an Adventurer.¡± Cray offered a deal to Maxwell who had been pinned down. ¡°Join back as an Adventurer?!! Hahahaha AHAHAHA!!! YOU MEAN TO ONCE AGAIN BECOME THE SAME AS THE GARBAGE THAT HAD ONCE ABANDONED ME TO SAVE THEMSELVES?!!! AHAHAHAHAAAA!¡± Maxwell had broken out into laughter, recalling his past. ¡°The Adventurer''s Guild is nothing but a trash heap filled with selfish cowards riddled with secrets and lies¡± ¡°Are you saying that demons are better? Murdering people and defiling the lands, corrupting men, women, and children alike? The gods have given us hope. To fight against the Guild is to fight against the Gods¡± The Trinity Sage responded to Maxwell. ¡°Gods?!! Tell me then! Where were the Gods in my time of despair!!! THEY SIMPLY WATCHED AS THOSE DEMONS SLOWLY TORE APART MY ARMS AND LEGS EATING THEM!!!¡± Spite and anger had been mixed in Maxwell¡¯s words. ¡°HAHAHA! Demons, Gods, Humans! What does it matters! I¡¯LL PURGE THEM ALL!¡± Maxwell continued to speak as massive amounts of magical energy gathered around him. ¡°This is¡­ [Mana Generator]? However, even if you possess that skill, you won¡¯t win against the 3 of us¡± ¡°HAHAHAHAAA! CRAAAAAY! THAT¡¯S RIGHT! BUT WHAT ABOUT THIISSSS?!!!¡± Mana began to condense behind Maxwell. A complex magical array formed behind him. The pressure of mana circulating around him generated pulsing shockwaves across the entire Guild Hall. ¡°RELEASE!!! [OROCHI] THE LAND DEVOURER!!!!!¡± The condensed magical power that formed the magic circle shattered. A black hole opened, and 8 jet black swords appeared floating behind him as the dark space closed. ¡°AHHHH HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!¡± Maxwell screamed out in laughter as each of the swords floating behind him individually released energy several times stronger than the 3 that stood before him. ¡°Calamity Weapon [Orochi], one of the 9 weapons with the power to go against god¡­¡± All 8 swords began turning red, dyed with a deep crimson color. The 8 swords were quickly generating magical energy as they continued to shine brighter and brighter. ¡°Ahahahaha! Correct again Cray! Now here¡¯s your prize! DIE!!! [LAND FALL]!!!¡± Chapter 17 Chaos in the Capital The once pristine looking Guild Hall had instantly turned into a withered and decrepit building. But even so, where could I find help? People that were once busily passing by were now running away while screaming, in the opposite direction of the Guild Hall. Loud noises and powerful magical energy could be felt. He was bleeding out fast. I could feel his life force fading away. If I couldn¡¯t find any help, he would surely die. I had torn apart some clothing and wrapped his wounds, but the bleeding wouldn¡¯t stop. I continued to search, cursing how powerless I was. ¡°Don¡¯t die¡­¡± I whispered to myself under my breath, as people continued to run past us screaming. I didn¡¯t want to lose another person, but I felt it, his breathing was close to stopping. I continued looking. The nearby shops that had been open were now empty. ¡°Please¡­ don¡¯t die¡± Setting him down, I held onto his body tightly. Tears streamed down my face. There was nothing I could do. ¡°He looks pretty bad¡± Before I knew it, someone had come up from behind me. When I looked for the voice, it was a man with blue hair. ¡°Please! Help me!¡° With tears rolling down my face, I begged the blue haired man for help. ¡°Have him drink this¡± He had taken out a small glass bottle with a slightly viscous liquid that shimmered, and handed it to me. Holding the bottle with shining blood red liquid in my hands, I could feel it emanating slight amounts of magical energy. My eyes opened wide. Information of what it was flooded into my mind as I unconsciously used [Analyze]. What I held in my hand, was something only spoken of in legends. When I was younger, I read many books. Some of them were about Alchemy. In those books, there was a certain magical potion that eluded alchemists. Because of the numerous failed attempts over many hundreds of years in trying to create it, it was thought to have been the product of fairy tales. However, even if that were the case, were the documents pertaining to its use passed down from the heroes of the past all fake? Because of that argument, there are still alchemists who pursue its creation today. It was deemed as a legendary item lost through the sands of time, that even those who had reached the pinnacle of Alchemy could only dream of recreating, Elixir. ¡°I¡¯ll leave Tetsu in your care, young lady¡± Bang!!! In that moment, from the direction of the Guild Hall, an enormous wave of magic exploded. When I looked around again, the man with the blue hair had vanished before I could thank him. Who was he? And was he acquainted with Tetsu just like the last person? Before more questions arose, I placed them into the back of my mind. What was important now was the person lying in my arms. Quickly, as people ran past me screaming, I lifted Tetsu¡¯s upper body. With haste, I pulled off the cork, and tried to pour the elixir into his mouth. The liquid helplessly fell out of his mouth and onto his bloody clothes and then dripped onto the ground. I had realized it even before attempting to have him drink it, but denied it deep inside my heart. Simply pouring it into his mouth wouldn¡¯t work. I prepared myself as my heart began beating loudly, and filled my mouth with the rest of the liquid. I had wished my first time with the one I love would come more naturally. Gently holding onto him, I pressed our lips together. The liquid flowed down from inside of my mouth, into his. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. As our lips parted a string of saliva appeared from where we had, for several seconds, been connected. Staring down onto his figure, Tetsu¡¯s body was enveloped in a faint light. The horrific wounds miraculously healed, and his deathly pale complexion returned to normal. His breathing steadily stabilized. I couldn¡¯t help but to smile to myself, knowing that he was going to be ok. Tears of happiness flowed down my cheeks. But my happiness was short lived. The clouds looming over the Guild Hall had suddenly parted, and brilliant red light engulfed the Guild Hall together with the surrounding buildings. An enormous wave of magical energy was radiating from the direction of the Guild Hall. What was going on? The earth shook violently, as if the entire capital was seemingly struck by an earthquake. Buildings that stood firm crashed down in waves. Newly built houses crumbled away into nothing. Shops collapsed into piles of broken wood and stone. Tree¡¯s that stood tall toppled over. Large cracks were quickly forming on the stone paved ground. It was evident that a disaster was about to happen. I quickly rose to my feet, and while tightly holding onto my beloved, I ran. In the past I had felt fear many times. However what I felt behind me as I ran forward was something extremely sinister. It was as if the world was going to end. The people around us frightfully watched on in despair. But something like that, it wasn¡¯t anything you would simply want to sit around and wait for. More and more people were turning around and screaming as they ran. Some dropped to the floor and began to pray; others fell down and looked on in fear cowering, as the bright light slowly invaded everything around us. I continued running as fast as I could. The evil feeling continued to grow stronger. Thud! While running, I had tripped onto the ground. We were far, but he light in the distance was still turning brighter. I hugged onto Tetsu as the bright light quietly devoured everything behind and in front of me. For several seconds, there wasn¡¯t any kind of explosive sounds. Only the noise of the violently shaking ground. As the blinding red light faded away, the shaking also began to calm. I turned and looked around in dismay. With Tetsu tightly in my arms, a chilling site stretched out behind me. Everything past a few meters behind me, in a wide radius extending in a very large area had somehow vanished into thin air. The buildings that had crumbed away from just a few meters down had completely disappeared. In its stead was a vast empty area filled with only dirt and a large chasm that seemed to extend forever. Even the people who had been running behind me had gone missing. All that was left behind was dirt, and a gaping rift gauged out from the earth. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Hello, and thanks for reading! If you like the story so far, write a review! If you hate the story, write a review anyways! I don''t really mind the criticism from bad reviews. I''m not exactly sure how well I''m growing as an author, so write about whatever it is you like and hate. If you don''t want to review the story, drop a comment. It doesn''t seem like it, but I do go back and read any new comments. Thanks again. Chapter 18 Darkness in the Capital ¡°[Land Fall]!!!¡± At the sound of Maxwell¡¯s voice, the eight swords pulsing brilliant red light immediately struck the ground, each one embedding its blade several inches deep into the wood flooring inside the torn up Guild Hall. As the blades struck the ground, large craters formed from the impact of each sword as a result of colliding with the ground, completely destroying the wood flooring. ¡°[Trinity Wall]!¡± The Sage had casted his strongest defensive barrier, [Trinity Wall], right at the moment the swords had hit the ground. Three balls of condensed magical power surrounded the three that stood together, forming a triangle shape around them. The three spherical balls of energy each had a different glowing color. One was red, another blue, and the last yellow. For a slight moment, the air became still, and a single gust of wind generated by the impact swept the area. The walls that had still been intact were blown apart. The entire Guild Hall was instantly destroyed by the heavy physical force of the swords slamming into the ground, revealing everyone inside to the outside world. The clouds above parted from the immense amount of force. However, that burst of energy was just the start. A blinding red light immediately followed, and enveloped everything around them as the ground began violently shaking. For a few minutes Reinsfield, Cray, and the Trinity Sage were blinded by the red light as the ground continued to shake harder and harder. They were unable to see what was happening around them; however they could feel that the ground around them was beginning to split apart as the shaking became more and more intense. ¡°It won¡¯t last much longer!¡± The Trinity Sage had shouted out at the other two, as the three floating spheres of magical energy grew dim. Directly below them, the [Trinity Wall] had also protected the ground. However the barrier wouldn¡¯t last much longer, as cracks began to form on the wall, while they were continually bombarded by the powerful energy before them. ¡°Get behind me!¡± Cray immediately ordered the two behind him, as the cracks in the barrier became enlarged. They quickly huddled closely, and as the barrier shattered into magic particles, Cray threw a small gem like object in front of him. The small gem like object let off a green hue right before the three of them were enveloped completely by the ominous red light. The red shining light had covered almost a third of the capital as it continued to shine. After several minutes, the world that had been dyed in red, turned back into its natural color. The magic power that invaded the city had entirely died down. The three that had been in the epicenter of it all, opened their eyes to the world around them. The scene around them was as if they had been transported into another world. Directly around them, they stood in the center of a large gorge several meters wide. Past the bottomless pit was an empty dirt wasteland. ¡°How did we survive an attack on that kind of scale?¡± Reinsfield raised the question while stunned at the sight before him. ¡°Indeed, I would also like to know¡± The Trinity Sage stood up asking, while rubbing his chin with his thumb and index finger. ¡°Absolute barrier, [Infinity Wall]¡± ¡°Non-sense, there isn¡¯t anyone that¡¯s able to enchant an item with legendary class magic, not to mention finding a medium strong enough to attempt it is hard enough as it is!¡± The Trinity Sage cried out in surprise at Cray¡¯s answer. True enough, although there were masters of magic like the Trinity Sage in existence, there was no one who was skilled enough to enchant the highest level of magic onto magic stones. High grade magic stones were scarce because only high level demons dropped them, and high level demons were intelligent creatures that usually banded together with other demons, or controlled a lair with hundreds of monsters. Finding one alone without minions was quite rare. The only high grade stones in circulation were ones that were being auctioned off by advanced adventurers brave enough to enter a den of high level demons. But nevertheless, they were alive because of the object Cray had thrown protected not only their lives, but the ground they stood on. Even if there were another barrier that could hold off the attack, they would still have fallen to their deaths below. ¡°It¡¯s a long story, but they¡¯re just some of the items passed that were down from Lester¡¯s era. In any case, I no longer feel Maxwell¡¯s presence in this area. I¡¯ll leave Reinsfield in your care Kain¡± Before either of the two could respond to Cray, his figure immediately vanished. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Shall we move to a safer place?¡± ¡°Yea, it¡¯s dangerous sitting here¡± The two that were left, quickly jumped out of the small portion of land that had yet to crumble away into the deep never ending crevice surrounding it. Capital City Serafall, inside the Castle¡¯s Audience Chamber ¡°Maxwell, you¡¯re late. Not only that, you¡¯ve used your trump card much too early¡± Maxwell emerged in front of what seemed to be a short girl with distinctly long eye lashes, and long black hair. She gazed at Maxwell emotionless, and spoke in a dull voice. ¡°Cough! Aria cough!... Hah.. There wasn¡¯t any other option for me. Haah¡­¡± Maxwell replied breathing heavily, coughing out blood as he stumbled towards the girl named Aria. ¡°What of the key?¡± ¡°haa¡­ She escaped¡­. Haah¡­¡± ¡°Useless, to think you were unable to complete such a simple task¡± Aria ridiculed Maxwell as he continued to breathe heavily. ¡°Tell me more about this ¡®key¡¯, will you?¡± ¡°And you are?¡± Cray had suddenly appeared in front of them. ¡°That cough! is Cray. He¡¯s currently in charge of all guilds across this Kingdom cough! Lester¡¯s blood runs in his veins. cough!¡± Maxwell continued to cough out blood as he explained who Cray was. ¡°Where is the King?¡± A question floated into Cray¡¯s mind. Why were they in the king¡¯s castle, and why was the castle empty? ¡°Oh? I see why you lost now, Maxwell. The King is where he¡¯s always been, sitting on his thrown of course!¡± With a snap of her fingers, the surroundings instantly changed. The stone walls which had looked new transformed into moldy aged stone bricks. The red carpet in the center of the room faded into a purplish color. Cracks formed on the stone pillars inside the audience chamber. The ceiling which shielded them from the sun was partly destroyed revealing the afternoon skies, and the worst of it appeared right in front of him. On the throne which had looked empty until now appeared a body sitting down. A crown lay on the ground next to feet, and his head looking down as if he were sleeping. A single dagger was embedded deep into his chest, likely piercing his heart. The King was dead. ¡°You may take this city back if you so desire, but don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be easy¡± Aria raised her hand in the air while she spoke. In the sky outside, a large magic formation was beginning to take shape. The size of it most likely covered the entire city. Cray immediately rushed at them trying to stop whatever it was Aria was attempting. However, just before he could come close, he was pushed back by a powerful barrier. ¡°Damn!¡± ¡°Unfortunately I don¡¯t have time to play with you. However I¡¯ll leave you with a parting gift~¡± As Aria talked, the particles of mana in the air began to simultaneously swirl in a spiral behind her as the extremely large magic circle in the atmosphere quickly completed itself. ¡°Teleportation magic?!!¡± Cray loudly exclaimed, as a portal tore itself open. ¡°Then we¡¯ll be leaving first¡± Aria looked back at Cray with a disdainful smile as she walked into the portal behind Maxwell. As soon as Cray had recovered from staggering, they were already gone. Thoughts began to circulate inside his mind. Who was that girl named Aria? What was her purpose? Who were they referring to when they mentioned a ¡®key¡¯? And most of all, why was it that they knew how to use teleportation magic? Teleportation magic was something only known by the elves. And while they knew teleportation magic, the most advanced type that was known had to be hand drawn. The complexity of teleportation magic wasn¡¯t something so simple that magicians were able to freely use it. However, he wasn¡¯t able to process any of the thoughts. The magic formation in the sky had begun to shine brightly. In the next moment, a monster appeared in front of him. It was an orc, but before the orc could move, Cray had already sliced it into pieces. ¡°Summoning magic?¡± Cray muttered to himself as more orcs along with goblins materialized out of thin air. The monsters all encircled Cray as more and more appeared. The heavy breathing of the humanoid monsters could distinctly be heard as he quickly took out another sword. Chapter 19 Breakthrough! Monsters in the Capital ¡°Tetsu, do you wish to take Misha as your lovely bride?¡± In a white wedding dress, Misha stood in front of me holding a bouquet of flowers. I can¡¯t remember the last time we stared at each other so intently. Looking into her heartwarming eyes, I gently held onto her shoulder with one hand, and her waist with my other. ¡°I do¡± I smiled as we both deeply gazed into each other¡¯s eyes. ¡°Misha, do you wish to take Tetsu as your¡­ well husband I suppose¡­?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Misha took a small step forward with her face flushed red. ¡°Then I pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride, you lucky bastard¡± I leaned in and kissed Misha passionately as she tossed her bouquet of flowers into the audience. However, as we continued kissing, from the corner of my eyes Misha took out a knife and stabbed me right in the stomach! ¡°You finally noticed me~ hehehe! AHH HAHAHAHA!¡± Right as the knife plunged into my stomach, Misha¡¯s face and figure turned into the same appearance as the man I met at the broken down Guild Hall. ¡°AHHHHHHH!!!!!!¡± I woke up screaming from possibly the worst nightmare I¡¯ve ever had. Quickly looking around, I found myself in the middle of the city streets far from the Guild Hall. Misha was right next to me. What the hell kind of dream was that?! Absolutely terrible! I became a lolicon and married Misha?!! The creepiest part was the transformation, although the stabbing part was pretty awful as well! It¡¯s not so bad after having experienced it for real already¡­ probably¡­ ¡°Are you alright?!¡± Misha who was beside me, had her arms wrapped around my body. ¡°Ah¡­? Where are we? And sorry, just a bad dream¡­¡± When I looked around, it seemed as if we were in a different place entirely! Behind Misha, it was a completely barren wasteland. It was like the city had been hit by a nuclear bomb. ¡°Before that, are you ok? Does your body hurt at all?¡± Misha continually asked in a worried voice. Besides a tingling sensation that lingered on my lips, I wasn¡¯t in pain, and moreover, I felt great! But there was something else on my mind. That is¡­ why am I forcefully being hugged so tightly by Misha?!! ¡°Misha¡­ if you don¡¯t mind, you can stop hugging me so tightly¡­ and while you¡¯re at it, what happened to the city?¡± ¡°Moments ago, the city was hit by a catastrophical attack. It¡¯s good that you are both safe¡± Appearing in front of us and answering my question, was the guy in an expensive looking robe that we had seen from the spirit seers shop. Along with him was a beaten up instructor Reinsfield. He had light cuts and bruises all over his body, and a deep gash on his chest area. The fight must have been intense judging from his battle wounds. ¡°Looks like you survived. A job well done, here, this belongs to you¡± Instructor Reinsfield tossed my Mithril dagger towards me with a smirk on his face. ¡°So, what are you doing with the spirit seer, instructor Reinsfield?¡± ¡°Hey¡­ this guy isn¡¯t just some random jackass in town, he holds the position of the strongest magician on this side of the world¡± In a shocked expression, Instructor Reinsfield looked at me and answered in disbelief. ¡°Do you run that shop as a hobby?¡± Misha blurted out a question as she loosened herself from me. ¡°I see where the confusion comes from; however, I suppose I do partly take the blame for not properly introducing myself when we first met inside my acquaintance¡¯s shop when we first met by chance. My name is Kain Wright, and currently the most well-known title I hold is the ¡®Trinity Sage¡¯ among other titles¡± While stroking his chin, the man named Kain introduced himself with a slightly long winded introduction. ¡°Hey, did you use ¡®that¡¯ on him, Kain?¡± Instructor Reinsfield who caught onto the conversation, was slightly bewildered when he was met with the explanation. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve seen everything¡± Kain nodded in unison with the words he spoke. Before I could ask what ¡°that¡± was, I felt the air around us become stagnant. Eight pillars of intense yellow light rose up from a distance, and instantly the skies above us were overtaken by a large magic formation. The gigantic magic circle gave off a feint blue light, and continued to shine brighter as it finished taking shape. No matter how I looked at it, it gave off an eerie feeling. Just moments after its completion, we had become aware of an alarming crisis unfolding. In the skies, giant bats began to appear. It wasn¡¯t limited only to bats, various other flying creatures began swooping down, and attacking the civilians standing at a distance. Some were carried into the vast open sky while screaming by birdlike creatures, some people were pounced on or eaten alive by the giant bats, and others were torn to shreds by some kind of creature I couldn¡¯t quite describe with words. On the ground, goblins and orcs appeared. We ourselves had been encircled by a small group of goblins. In the far distance, the orcs, other goblins, trolls, ogres, and various other monsters that were familiar to me seemingly ¡®spawned¡¯ as if it were a game. For the first time in a while, I used [Analyze], and my vison became filled with unknown information of the monsters I could see. Orc lvl ??? Goblin lvl 12 Troll lvl ??? Ogre lvl ??? Giant Bat lvl ??? Skeleton Knight ??? I had only able to see the levels of the goblins around me. They were all at random level ranges, but had an average level of 12. The other monsters showed as only question marks. A thought suddenly hit me after I finished viewing the monster¡¯s information windows. If I could check out monsters, items, and titles with [Analyze], then why not people? After all, this world has entirely different laws than my own. I realized that while my physical body had adjusted to this world, my own mindset hadn¡¯t. In the truest sense, this world was game-like. If a full dive VRMMO was ever made, it would probably be similar to what this world is like. Every time I meet someone new, this world¡¯s logic becomes further and further away from the laws I followed back in my world. So does that mean I should treat this world in a more game-like manner? The answer of course is no. After all, I won¡¯t revive if I die. While thinking about these things, for the first time since I¡¯ve come here, I finally used analyze on the people around me.
STATUS
Roger Reinsfield
Lv 129Race: Human
HP: 661/3500MP: 5/760
STR : 232AGI : 364
MA : 120LUK : 41
PASSIVE SKILLS
Dual Wielding : 8/10Sniping : 5/5
3-D Movement : 9/10Advanced Weapon Throwing Mastery : 5/5
Advanced Dagger Mastery : 5/5Advanced Gauntlet Mastery : 5/5
Advanced Dark Magic Mastery : 5/5Magic Control : 5/10
Muscle Mastery : 10/10Increased HP Recovery : 5/5
Chakra Control : 10/10Stamina Boost : 5/5
Mind Guard : 10/10Poison Guard : 9/10
Soundless Steps : 5/5
[tr][td2]Heavy Strike : 4/5
ACTIVE SKILLS
Twin Edge : 3/5
Whirlwind Blade : 2/5Counter : 6/10
Energy blast : 6/10Flame Strike : 3/10
Limit Release : 1/1Disembowel : 5/5
Backstab : 10/10Disarm : 10/10
Shadow Stitch : 5/5Soul Release : 5/5
Shadow Assault 5/5Shadow Guard : 10/10
Shadow Merge 5/5Vanishing Wave : 5/5
Stealth : 5/5Iron Will : 1/1
Shadow Spike : 10/10Enchant Shadow : 10/10
Soul Collect : 10/10Soul Strike : 10/10
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TITLES
Silent KillerGrim Reaper
Loyal GuardianNameless Assassin
Night StalkerTwilight Death
Martial ArtistExpert of the Fist
Dragon SlayerShadow Weaver
Combat ManiacTraining Instructor
Killer of Unique MonstersRetired Adventurer
Magic Fighter
[tr][td2]Lv 18
STATUS
Misha (Lebard)
Race: Human
HP: 180/180MP: 223/520
STR : 4AGI : 6
MA : 42LUK : 1
PASSIVE SKILLS
Magic Control : 10/10Magic Perception : 2/10
Lightning Magic Mastery : 7/10Fire Magic Mastery : 9/10
Water Magic Mastery : 7/10Muscle Mastery : 3/10
Parallel Chanting : 4/10Magic Theory : 6/10
ACTIVE SKILLS
Analyze : 6/10Explosion : 9/10
Fire Rain : 7/10Fire Ball : 6/10
Flame Blast : 2/10Water Bullet : 9/10
Water Prison : 9/10Refresh : 10/10
Lightning bolt : 10/10Shockwave : 9/10
Ice Bolt : 3/5Shockwave Blast : 2/5
Frost Wave : 1/5Fire Bolt : 1/5
TITLES
Fallen NobleMagic Genius
Blessing of WaterBlessing of Fire
Blessing of LightningSheltered Girl
STATUS
Kain
Lv ???Race: ???
HP: ???MP: ???
STR : ???AGI : ???
MA : ???LUK : ???
PASSIVE SKILLS
??????
??????
ACTIVE SKILLS
All Seeing Eyes : 1/1???
??????
??????
TITLES
The Strongest MagicianTrinity Sage
??????
??????
Quickly glancing over the status screens, it seemed unbelievable! Instructor Reinsfield¡¯s skill set was exactly like an assassin¡¯s! What¡¯s more, isn¡¯t that guy too overpowered?!! Not only did he had a lot of skills with scary names, his titles clearly showed how scary he could potentially be! I had originally thought Misha was powerful, but after looking over her status, I confirmed just how strong she was. It was frightening to say the least! Most of her skills were almost at max. A young girl that was nearing the peak of 3 different types of magic. In the future she would definitely become an important figure. I wasn¡¯t able to see anything about the Trinity Sage, but if what Instructor Reinsfield said was true, then he was probably the strongest person here. While I was stuck in my thoughts, a nearby goblin had lunged forward at me. Right before it could take a bite out of me, I slightly shifted my body avoiding it, and stabbed it in the back. Ding! [Level Up!] Although I wanted to check my stats, now was probably a bad time as more monsters began to take notice of us, and gathered around. Instructor Reinsfield, and the Kain had been busy killing monsters left and right as they continually spawned endlessly. ¡°Reinsfield, the source of power is coming from the pillars of light. I¡¯ll take these 2 here with me to the nearest one. Go on ahead and eliminate as many as you can.¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯ll leave them in your care¡± Reinsfield departed from us running in a straight line towards one of the pillars of light. ¡°Now then, let¡¯s get going. The nearest one is this way¡± Just as Kain finished speaking, a horde of trolls, orcs, and even skeleton knights spawned in front of us, blocking our path. ¡°This is quite the view, is it not?¡± From behind, a mysterious woman in a set of light weight blue armor appeared, and took a quick glance at me after talking. The armor had covered only her upper body, along with a short plated skirt that revealed her arms and legs. An elegant helmet adorned with white wings on both sides of the helmet sat atop her head. The open helmet exposed her beautifully gentle, yet fiercely looking face. Behind, her glimmering long white hair fluttered in the air with every step she took, and sitting on her waist was a slender sword that gave off a faint aura. It was the archer woman I met last night. ¡°Allow me to cut open a path for you¡± Before I could respond to her, she had unsheathed a beautiful silver sword that was dyed in a strong blue aura. Moving faster than what my eyes could perceive, she left behind a trail of blue light as she dashed through the group of monsters. In a single moment, the monsters which had appeared were instantly destroyed. It was almost as if a goddess of war had descended onto the battlefield. _________________________________________________________________ Authors Note: the people following my translation blog are probably already aware, but for the readers that aren''t sure if I''m still alive, I''ve been busy with summer classes without any time to write new chapters lately. Chapter releases will be delayed for now. Chapter 20 Guardian of the new Generation A young woman wearing elegant armor appeared from behind. For someone like me to be unable to sense her presence, just who in the world was she? Activating my [All Seeing Eyes], it revealed nothing. Just like the young man, hers was of an immeasurable amount of power, but I wasn¡¯t able to see anything more. Perhaps I was going senile. Maybe it was time I passed on my will to another person. Someone young, and of course it had to be someone who could surpass my achievements. ¡°Allow me to cut open a path for you¡± With a slight smile on her beautiful face, she immediately dashed forward. Tens of monsters were demolished each time she swung her elegant sword. In an instant, she cleared out everything in front of us. However, just like the monsters she destroyed, she too disappeared into the passing wind. All that was left from that single fleeting moment were particles of blue light that had trailed behind her. The intense aura she emitted gave me goosebumps. Beautiful yet fierce, powerful yet graceful. Surely she was someone who led the forefront of battle! While watching her, I realized I was making a delightful expression. It had been many many years since I¡¯ve found joy in anything at all! And yet¡­ here I was, expressing myself time and time again. I had been given the nickname of ¡®Emotionless Sage¡¯, ¡®Heartless¡¯ and was even deemed to be a ¡®grumpy old man¡¯. What would my fellow colleagues in the Magicians Society think if they saw my face now? Surely they wouldn¡¯t believe that such a person like me would ever smile for something as insignificant as gawking at another person¡¯s strength! Perhaps I really was going senile. However, there were no longer any doubts in my mind. Truly, a new age of heroes has begun! If I were younger, I wouldn¡¯t mind traveling around with the young man before me. With my age, I am merely a shadow of the past. My duty is merely that of a spectator. I will witness the coming battles, and document them with my own eyes. To that extent, I will have this young man show me what he is capable of. ¡°Let us go, before they respawn¡± My words were brief, but the 2 before me nodded in unison. As we continued forward, we were met with more monsters. However, in the background, we weren¡¯t without other adventurers. Dozens of magicians, and warriors were scattered about, staving off high level monsters. Was this what Cray meant when he said he had finished his ¡®preparations¡¯? Although there were many adventurers, it seemed casualties were still piling up. Adventurers and City folk alike were littered on the ground here and there. Some weren¡¯t moving, and others were bandaging themselves or the others around them. The priest order probably had their hands full at the moment as well. The number of people that would be wounded from this kind of catastrophe wouldn¡¯t be a small number. After thinking about it, I sent my regards to the Cardinal. Being a priest wasn¡¯t an easy job in these kinds of circumstances. [Fire Bolt!] A ball of fire wrapped in an electrical discharge blew apart an orc. This young girl before me wasn¡¯t ordinary either. She possessed an innate talent for magic! Her sense of magic was extraordinarily high! Magic Fusion was could only be done by magicians who understood to a degree, the two different elements that were combined, and to be able to grasp it at such a young age, she must definitely be a prodigy. However, my eyes have revealed to me a person filled with grief and sorrow. Those feelings that grasped her heart, if they were to melt away, then perhaps she would become a pillar of support for the future of this world. [Chain Lighting!] On the tip of my staff, an orb of lightning gathered and condensed. Utilizing my adept control over magic, I shot out a streak of lightning that vaporized many monsters in both the sky and on land, as it traveled from one monster to another in a zigzag pattern. At this moment in time, there is not a person in this world that is capable of besting me in magic! Clearing out these savage monsters for someone like me comes as easy as simply waving my staff! It isn¡¯t an exaggeration to say that I have reached the very pinnacle of fire, water and lightning magic. After all, there is no one else with the title of [Trinity]. However, there is no meaning in me doing all the work. Therefore I shall act as a guide to those of the younger generation. My golden age has long since passed. This era belongs not to me, but rather to those of this current generation. I will be sure to observe them, as they inherit our wills. As we traveled closer to the pillar of light, in the distance, 2 other pillars of light had faded out and vanished. I sensed the Magic Circle above us weaken considerably. One of the lights that went out was probably done by Reinsfield, but who had taken out the second one? Perhaps it was a special unit Cray had deployed. Right as the second one completely vanished, a third pillar quickly went out. Perhaps that was Cray¡¯s doing. It was in the direction that Cray ran off in. With those 3 gone, the magic circle above us had lost a large portion of its power. As the third pillar dispersed into particles of light, I felt the power of the surrounding monsters drop a few levels. Perhaps the strength of monsters it summoned had strength corresponding to the amount of energy it produced. ¡°[Heavy Blow]!¡± With his fist, Tetsu smashed apart the troll¡¯s wooden club, and then delivered a cut along the tendons of its leg as it stumbled backwards, immobilizing it. ¡°Incinerate all that lies before me! [Flame Blast]!¡± Without a second of hesitation, Misha finished casting her spell and unleashed it on the monster just as soon as Tetsu moved out of range. ¡°GROOROAAHH¡± The troll roared out in rage as its eyes turned red. It was a sign that they were going berserk. Unfortunately Misha¡¯s [Flame Blast] wasn¡¯t strong enough to kill it. The troll wasn¡¯t a weak monster by no means, rather it was a high level one. It had high resistance to magic and physical attacks. That wasn¡¯t all, it had high vitality and recovered wounds quickly. With that being said, Tetsu¡¯s dagger was easily cutting through its hardened skin. What kind of weapon was it? Although they struggled against it, their teamwork was astounding. The two in front of me displayed a high level of trust and combat potential. Where Tetsu lacked in power, Misha made up for it with powerful high tier magic. A team well suited to each other. However they still have much room to grow. Their potential seemed unlimited. ¡°Burn, [Magma Burst]!¡± Fire as hot as burning lava erupted from underneath the monster, turning it into a pile of ash. ¡°Let us continue onwards¡± But, no matter how much they fought against a monster of that level, they would not be able to beat it. They would likely be torn apart if I had left it to go berserk. Monsters were getting tougher the closer we approached the pillar of light. As long as it is something within their ability to handle, I won¡¯t intervene. ¡°[Fireball]!¡± On the two Skeleton Knights that had appeared, Misha casted her basic fire spell, [Fireball]. The ball of fire converged and exploded on impact, destroying the left Skeleton Knight¡¯s right arm which held its shield. ¡°haa¡­ haa¡­ Please¡­ hold them off for a moment!¡± Misha was sweating profusely as she tiredly called out to Tetsu who was engaged in the fight with the two Skeleton Knights. ¡°Misha, drink this and rest for now¡± Handing her a magic potion that would restore her depleted mana, I told her to rest. Even if she drinks it, she would still wind up passed out at the rate she consumed her mana, casting spells erratically. ¡°Y-yes..¡± Such an obedient girl. It would be nice if I had a disciple like her. ¡°Turn to ashes, [Flare Burst]¡± Just as the damaged Skeleton Knight that was without an arm jumped back, ready to lunge forward with sword thrust, I made use of my shortened chant and gave the struggling Tetsu a hand. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Instantly, the Skeleton was devoured by my exploding blue flames. ¡°Damn, this thing is tough!¡± Tetsu cursed under his breath as he continued his struggle with the last remaining Skeleton Knight. Slash! They exchanged blows as they clashed again and again with one another, but it was clear that Tetsu would run out of stamina before defeating it. Misha stood in place, watching intently as Tetsu nimbly dodged the Skeleton Knights precise attacks. He has good fighting sense. Skeleton Knights were brittle, but wore armor to overcome that weakness. Unless Tetsu had another weapon he wouldn¡¯t be able to overcome the toughness of that magic steel armor. Perhaps if he knew how to cast magic, he would have the edge over that Knight. ¡°Tetsu, would you like to learn how to use magic?¡± Clink! I threw out my question just as Tetsu¡¯s dagger interlocked with the Skeleton Knight¡¯s sword. Carefully looking at his dagger with my [All Seeing Eyes], it revealed to me its slight green hue under its silver luster. Mithril. A weapon forged with magic by the elves. Wonderful. It was a weapon that easily allowed one to inject their magic power directly into the blade. Since he was already familiar with using [Magic Edge], then using magic wasn¡¯t too far off. ¡°Dammit! ... Could¡­ could you possibly teach me at a better time¡­?¡± Tetsu was quickly overpowered and thrown back by the Skeleton Knights strength. ¡°There is no better time than now, lest you prefer to be sliced into pieces by that Skeleton Knight!¡± With a smile on my face, I exclaimed loudly, brightly expressing myself. ¡°huff¡­ then¡­ haa¡­ tell me¡± Taking deep breaths, Tetsu got up and confronted the Knight once more. True enough, it normally took one a long time to learn magic. ¡°Vividly imagine it! The magic you want to use, and let it naturally take shape inside your mind. You must take hold of the elements that surround you, as you materialize it!¡± Magic, if the imagination was powerful enough, learning magic came simply. There were three processes to casting magic. The first was to imagine the spell. The imagined magic would have to be concise. The next process was to gather the elements, and materialize it with your own power. In the final process, the elements would guide and stabilize your imagined spell. Chanting itself was merely something that had been developed to aid with the imagination. There existed many forms of it. The normal chanting, and of course the quick chanting I had done. Instantaneous chanting used only word to help form the magic structure, and then there was the coveted no chanting method. A person¡¯s proficiency in magic determined their speed of formulating spells. However, it also came at a cost. A higher level of concentration was needed, which would require one to expend more of their magical energy. Clink! I could feel it. A subtle power gathering in Tetsu¡¯s left hand as he continued to deflect blow after blow with the Mithril dagger held in his right. Sparks erupted from the two weapons that heavily collided against each other. Clang! Clank! The Skeleton Knight pushed forward and raised its sword overhead. Just as it swung down, Tetsu had predicted the swords angle and side stepped around behind it. Lifting his left hand, a light but exuding pressure was emitted. ¡°You damn monster, eat this! [Javelins of Light]!¡± Two magic circles I had never before seen had appeared right above the knight in mid-air. From those two circles, two beams of light manifested and struck the Skeleton, impaling its body. As the two intense rays of light dimmed out, the shape of two spears could be made out. Gagagagaga! The Skeleton Knight¡¯s mouth began to chatter, as if it were trying to talk. Schlik! Before I could fathom what kind of magic he had used, a horizontal sword arc was drawn in the air. Not a moment after, the Skeleton Knight¡¯s armor shattered to pieces as it fell down, completely split in half horizontally from the waist down. What Tetsu held in both hands was a large great sword letting off white magic particles. Did he simultaneously cast [Enchant Holy] as well? The first Skeleton Knight had dropped its sword previously before I reduced it to ashes. The ability to plan and think ahead in while in a heated fight was Marvelous, truly marvelous! Indeed, he has a lot of potential. He far exceeded my expectation. I hadn¡¯t thought to see not only an original magic, but to also quickly grasp the way to enchanting weapons with elements. ¡°Good work, just a little further and we¡¯ll have arrived at our destination¡± Tetsu, who had been breathing heavily until now, quickly stored the great sword he picked up, but also the standard knight sword the second Skeleton knight dropped, as well as an arm guard and gauntlets after silently nodding to me. Misha who had watched Tetsu struggle had her eyes open wide. Perhaps she was surprised at how fast he was able to utilize magic after being given merely a few words of advice. Reusing an enemy¡¯s weapon was an old tactic I had seen many times on the battlefield. His battle sense and sense of values are both good. Just as Tetsu finished up equipping his new arm guard and gauntlets, I sensed an enormous amount of magical energy far off towards a different pillar of light. Bang! A loud explosion erupted, most likely resounding around the entire capital. In the next moment, the sky was dyed deep blue as a vortex of energy swirled around. I could sense divine magic being used. After a few seconds had passed, particles of divine energy could be seen scattering in all directions. Could that have been the young woman from earlier? We continued forward for a while longer, and at last we forced our way through to the pillar of light that seemed to be the power source of that damned magic formation in the sky. If not for the many adventurers deployed here, it would have taken much longer. Tetsu and Misha seemed slightly exhausted. They are still weak, so I suppose it cannot be helped to be out of breath, just as we arrive at our destination. It would seem that this pillar would be the last one. The dimly lit magic formation in the sky had all but vanished. The other seven pillars had dispersed into magic particles. From the center of the pillar of light, emerged a single demon. Perhaps it was stronger before the other pillars of light were taken care of? I did not sense, nor see anything significant about this particular demon. However, I¡¯m allowed to justify that much only because I have the power to do so. Although I can only see it as weak, it¡¯s not quite a low ranked demon, but nor is it ranked very high. I wish to see more of Tetsu¡¯s strength. This monster, compared to these two however was much more powerful than what they¡¯ve fought thus far. It will serve as a proper test of strength for him. ¡°Tetsu, Misha, I will not assist you in this battle. Show me your capabilities by defeating this demon!¡± Though I say as much, if it gets dangerous I''ll step in. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The two of them quickly put up a stance as they replied. There is no such thing as having an easy life. There will be hardships throughout your path. This is merely the first step. Overcome this demon, and show me your light of hope in this era riddled with darkness! Chapter 21 A Goddess Descends AN: Double chapter release today, be sure to read chapter 20! I''ll probably head back to novel translations after summer finals this week. I may also move my novel over to my blog as well. If I do, I''ll be sure to leave a notice for my readers here to visit my blog from chapter 22 onwards to continue the story. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Chapter 21 A Goddess Descends For as long as I can remember, I have lived for battle. How fun it is to cross blades against masters of martial arts only few can fathom. Slash! However, those days have long since passed. The once long forgotten past of testing my strength against those whom I would consider as kin, no longer exist. Long winded are my days of these endless battles against the vile creatures known as demons. They who seek only to instill fear, ruin, corruption, and damnation are my enemy. Schlik! My blade cries out neither for blood nor vengeance, but for challenge! These selfless creatures whom possess no free will of their own, they are merely garbage that has piled up. ¡°Come! I shall end all of you damned creatures!¡± The monsters swarmed around me. However, such monsters are no match for my strength even while I roam this world inside of this artificial vessel. ¡°Perish in the wake of my power thy foolish creatures. [Wind Walk]!¡± Grawrrrrrr!!! As I began running, wind wrapped itself around my body, increasing my speed. The light feeling of weightlessness quickly enveloped my body. The Skeleton Knights that I passed by were instantly torn to pieces, as they came in contact me. With each swing of my blade, the bags of flesh that opposed me were cut in half. In a matter of seconds, I demolished every single enemy before me. My blood soaked blade mourns over wasting such effort against that which contains no soul. The Orcs, Trolls, Goblins, Giant Bats, and Skeleton Knight were diced into pieces. ¡°May your tormented souls find peace in thy afterlife¡± Sheathing my sword after wiping off the blood that dirtied it, I hastily walked away from the now empty streets. In the end, I need not worry about such low level cretins. They are unable to harm me in any way. That infernal magic formation floating in the sky is responsible for the beasts that now roam this city. It would seem that the eight pillars of light surrounding this city in the far distance are supplying it with energy. It would be good to get rid of them as soon as possible. However, those pillars of light do not concern me in the slightest at the moment. Though it is bad that these forsaken monsters hunt down the humans that live in this city, watching over that person takes priority over anything else. It is quite shameful that I cannot do more while presiding inside this container. After quickly moving around, I came across whom I had been searching for. He was a young man with short black hair. Compared to when I first saw him with Fortuna, his figure had drastically changed. His skin complexion had gained a healthy color. He grew muscles, and hiding under his once ghoulish face, was a man with many handsome features. Perhaps this is what she saw in him when she first summoned him. As they say, you can never judge a book by its cover. ¡°Now then, let¡¯s get going. The nearest one is this way¡± The man with considerable mana spoke to Tetsu, and the young girl. Were they heading towards one of the pillars? Not a moment after he had finished speaking, a horde of monsters appeared. If they were going to leave this area, it would take them quite a while with all of these monsters, would it not? Besides that, I had been anxious to see how Fortuna¡¯s warrior fought. Although he seemed weak, the density of his Mana has been steadily growing since he¡¯s arrived in this world. When I first saw him, I had wondered if the stories surrounding that individual were false. I cannot see him being able to single-handedly take out hundreds upon hundreds of high level demons. With his current strength, that is completely impossible. However, it was still a fact that she had used up the rest of her energy to transfer him. Perhaps her power was only able to summon his physical form, while she was unable to materialize his strength. Striding up to the young man, I quickly glance at him as I walk by. ¡°This is quite the view, is it not? Allow me to cut open a path for you¡­¡± Truly, if they wanted to go through these monsters it would take them too long. I unsheathed my sword once again, preparing for battle against these annoying monsters. Injecting magic power into my sword, it began to faintly glow blue. It¡¯s quite a shame, were I able to exert my full power, my sword would give off a much brighter, dazzling blue aura. Holding my sword in front of my face, I shut my eyes and quietly chant a few magic spells, boosting my combat abilities. ¡°[Blessing], [Wind Walk]¡± The enemy this time is almost thrice as many as the first I had encountered not too long ago. I will quickly clear this area. I kick off at an incredible speed! The wind gracefully pushes me forward, as I seemingly glide through the air. Each swing of my sword easily cuts through these monsters as if I¡¯m swinging at thin air. In a matter of seconds I finish cleaning the area, and take off towards a pillar in the far distance. I can feel powerful presences each heading for a different pillar. With lightning speed, I depart for a pillar containing a powerfully evil presence. Along the way I encountered numerous monsters, each one stronger than the last. It seems that the closer I come into contact with one of the pillars, the stronger the creatures become. ¡°[Heal]!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you heal him faster?!! At this rate, he¡¯ll die!¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry! It¡¯s not working!¡± As I approach closely, I see a group of people injured and heavily breathing. A priest, two magicians, and two warriors make up this party. It seems that one of the warriors is heavily injured as the priest continually tries to heal his wounds. Next to them is a magician doing his best to keep his barrier up. It¡¯s quite unfortunate, but it seems he won¡¯t live to see tomorrow. That kind of wound will not heal no matter what you do. The dying warrior is inflicted with a curse that even high ranking priests cannot remove. ¡°Damn! What is this thing!¡± ¡°Humans, the density of your mana is quite high. You shall make the perfect offering for my lord¡± Up ahead, the remaining warrior and magician were holding off the demonic entity with great difficulty. A demon with a human like form seemed to be playing around with the party in front of me. Blue spikey hair, short pointed ears, demon wings, and multiple magic tattoos lined his body. This demon wore an open shirt accompanied with torn trousers. Just as his nature implied, his taste in fashion was also disgusting. ¡°An Arch Demon, you seem to be quite the monster¡± Speaking out loud, the party quickly turns their heads towards me, noticing my presence. ¡°Are you our back up?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just a Greater Demon, but an Arch Demon?!!¡± ¡°Please help us!¡± ¡°Who are you?!¡± The party greeted me with mixed reactions. However, that matters not to me. ¡°To be able to hide your presence right in front of me, you are definitely someone strong¡± The Arch Demon was able to keep his calm. He may be stronger than he seems. Arch Demons have power that can rival Demon Lords. They are much stronger than a Greater Demons, yet weaker than a Demon Lord. I cannot fathom what such a high level demon is doing here. ¡°A human? No, I feel something more. Nevertheless if you want to live, then leave immediately. I¡¯ll spare you¡¯re life if you leave now¡± Was this demon is slightly shaken by my unknown strength? Or perhaps he was taking me lightly. ¡°Foolish, those words mean nothing to me¡± With my words, the Greater Arch Demon unleashed a wave of energy, pushing back both the swordsman, and magician who were in front of me. ¡°Then become a sacrifice to my Ruler of Darkness!¡± Three orbs of darkness formed behind him as he finished talking. The energy the three orbs were emitting felt dangerous. Perhaps it would be favorable to destroy them first. ¡°Entangled thoughts concealed within darkness, rise up and pierce! [Shadow Spike]!¡± From within the shadows of pebbles and rocks surrounding me, several black colored spikes sprung up towards me. ¡°Childs play¡± However, such a low level spell will not be able hit me. Slashing my sword once, diagonally in front of me, the incoming spikes were cut apart and shattered into black mana particles. Taking just a few steps forward I easily avoid the spikes behind me, as well as the ones on my left and right sides. ¡°Is that all? Then here I co¡ª¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°[Eruption]! [Wave of Darkness]!¡± Immediately cutting off my speech, he threw out two spells simultaneously. Around, and directly underneath me a stream of fire gushed out completely sealing my movement, and in front of me, a pitch black energy wave shot flew towards me. ¡°Nnngh!¡± Unable to dodge the stream of fire that came from underneath, I clenched my teeth and focused on minimizing damage by putting up a basic Magic Barrier. I quickly equipped my shield for the incoming energy wave as well. Putting the shield in front of me, I knelt down compressing my center of gravity awaiting the incoming impact. The energy wave slammed into my shield completely destroying it, and leaving a horrendous black scar on my slender arm. My left arm had become unusable, and my lovely armor had become burnt. Though there was no blood, it seems his attacks contained powerful curses in addition to being high ranked magic attacks. The darkness slowly encroached up my arm. Although I pride myself in battles, I too easily let down my guard. How careless of me. ¡°Chase away the binding darkness, [Purify]¡± I quickly chanted [Purify] in hopes that the debilitating curse would vanish. However, it only slowed the darkness that continued to spread, into crawl. ¡°Hue hue hue, that curse of mine will continue to erode away on your body. Your death is already inevitable¡± The demon talked haughtily as he stared at me with a large gaping smile spread across his face. ¡°So be it, one arm is more than enough for the likes of thou!¡± The pain in my arm continued to grow as I forced myself up on both of my feet. ¡°You think you can win against me like that? It seems that the foolish one isn¡¯t me, but you¡± The demon had spoken the truth. Had I not limited my power to only a fraction inside this artificial vessel, an Arch Demon would be nothing in the face of my strength. If only I hadn¡¯t limit mysel¡ª¡­ No, such thoughts are merely an excuse. I could have won long ago in my current state if I hadn¡¯t underestimated him. ¡°[Heal]!¡± ¡°!!!¡± I turned my head slightly and saw the priest that casted healing magic not far behind me. ¡°Thank you, such kindness will suffice¡± I smiled, returning back to her some kindness while regaining my composure. My left arm had been rendered completely useless. Since that was the case, it would be in my best interest to end this battle quickly. ¡°Demon, be on your guard, not that it would matter¡± My voice was coarse. It had been mixed with bitterness. I wasn¡¯t particularly angry at this demon, but at myself for becoming complacent with the weak monsters that spawned. If I were to battle against this high level demon with only one arm, no doubt I would lose in my current state. As I slowly considered my options, the three orbs behind the demon transformed into rings that started to rotate around him. The rings quickly expanded and retracted multiple times. This is¡­ ¡°Humans, do you have any last words?¡± As the demon talked, a dense amount of energy was being compressed as the rings continued rotating. I had encountered this type of magic before. ¡°This power¡­¡± ¡°W-w-w-we¡¯ll defeat you¡­ for sure!¡± Rushing out in front of me, the warrior and wizard who were thrown back, quivered in fear at the overwhelming presence in front of us. ¡°We¡­ we¡¯ll make it through this! Everyone push forward!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t die here!¡± Behind me, the warrior afflicted with cursed wounds stood being supported by their priest, along with the wizard who refused to give up hope. How unbecoming of me, humans weaker than I came to my aid. These adventurers would surely continue to grow stronger. ¡°Corrode and swallow everything in blight! [Dark Exceed]!¡± The revolving rings all dissipated, and in its place, an ominous Sphere of dark purple mana appeared. It was just as I had thought. It was one of the most powerful attacks that only high ranking demons of the demon race could learn with the ultimate spell, [Dark Void] being only a rank higher. In all rights, it was a terrifying power. The sphere was quickly thrown at us. ¡°[Icicle Wall]!¡± ¡°[Barrier]!¡± ¡°[Gaia¡¯s Embrace]!¡± The two magicians and priest shouted out perhaps their most powerful defensive spells. A wall of ice spread out in front of us, as a bright visible barrier surrounded us, and right in front of us, two human like hands formed from the earth, blocking the path. The hands were connected to the figure of a woman who rose up from behind us. Upon closer inspection, the woman who cradled us looked very much like Freya. ¡° ¡°[Steel Wall]!¡± ¡± The two warriors quickly huddled in close and put up their shields. They had probably planned to absorb as much of the blow as possible as meat shields. Their noble actions are indeed praiseworthy. The dark sphere quickly drew in close without losing any momentum, as it demolished the Ice wall in front of us. Flying past the walls of ice, it struck the earthen Freya who quickly disintegrated with a smile wrapped on her face, as the sphere itself exploded on the barrier of light, swallowing us in the aftermath. ¡°Hue hue hue, foolishness, the lot of you¡± The Demon snickered to himself as the explosion engulfed everything that surrounded us. However, as the dust cleared, we emerged unhurt. It seems Freya had blessed them with a small amount of her divine energy. ¡°We¡­ we survived?!!¡± The curse inflicted warrior who seemed to be the leader exclaimed out loudly with wide round eyes in disbelief as the others stood shaking in fear, unable to speak. ¡°To think you were able to stop my strongest attack is simply astounding! But will you be able survive another?¡± The demon began chanting his powerful spell again. As I watched the expression of the warriors beside me, they again showed despair, but inside of them an unwavering will lit up. ¡°I admire thy courage and resolve shown today brave warriors. Rejoice, thou shall all see the light of tomorrow¡± As I spoke to the group, they all looked at me filled with eyes full of hope. A portion of my energy and mana I hadn¡¯t yet used surrounded me, dyeing my tattered beloved armor and my surroundings in deep blue. ¡°It feels so refreshing¡­¡± ¡°My wounds, they¡¯re healing!¡± ¡°I can feel my depleted mana returning to me¡± ¡°This feeling is very calming¡± ¡°This holy power, it¡¯s almost as if¡­¡± The group spoke amongst themselves, as my heavenly energy purified everything around us. ¡°Whatever it is you¡¯re planning, it¡¯s already too late! [Dark Exceed]!¡± ¡°Precious Golden Shield, stand firm and solid! [Aegis]!¡± Four shields adorned with golden ornaments materialized around the six of us just as the demons second [Dark Exceed] reached were we stood. However, this time there was no explosion. Simply an impact that made no sound, and then it quickly dissolved into particles of light. ¡° What?!! My attack had no effect?!!¡± With a dreaded look, the demon looked on with a trace of fear hidden inside his eyes. ¡°[Blessing], [Wind Walk], [Enchant Holy], [Wings of Avarice]¡­¡± Wings of light emerged from my back while I finished stacking my magic enhancements. The pure and gentle light quickly enveloped my body as the curse on my left arm vanished from my divinity. In an instant, I flew towards the demon and arrived at his back. ¡°Human, are you¡­ a warrior sent by god?¡± The demon¡¯s expression turned rigid as he glanced at my sword enveloped in a deep blue divine aura. ¡°I have no obligation to answer your question, vile demon. Thou may simply perish. [Cross Cut]¡± My voice contained no emotion as I prepared my attack. In response, he quickly put up a magic barrier, however it¡¯s too weak. It cannot defend against my blade. My sword infused with divine energy cut through his flimsy barrier and a single diagonal slash sliced through this body. I immediately followed up with a second diagonal slash, flawlessly cutting him into four. My divine energy instantly purified the demon¡¯s remains, turning him into ash as it dissolved into the wind. After the battle, I released my magic which summoned my shields. My four shields began spinning around me as they rose higher and higher. After floating into the sky, my shields burst into particles of divine energy, purifying everything they touched. ¡°Those shields¡­ and that divine power. Are you a holy knight of the highest faith sent by the church?¡± The others hastily ran towards me right when the battle ended, and the one to speak was the priest who looked at me in admiration. ¡°Nay, I am merely an individual who decided to fight for this city. Continue to grow brave warriors, you too will certainly become strong¡± The group simply stared at me in wonder, as I made my exit under the divine light which spread across the city skies. Chapter 22 The D stands for…… Demon?!!! All of the chapters can be read at my site; https://saiakutranslationsblog.com/tricked-into-another-world/ RRL from now on, will be a secondary site for posting chapters. Ahh, and because chapters will just be a repost from my main website, I won''t be formatting character stats into those boxes anymore. ______________________________________________________________________________________ ¡°Allow me to cut open a path for you¡± Before I could talk to the archer woman who appeared, she had leap forward after quickly mumbling a few words to herself. With a fierce and straight forward fighting style, she quickly made mincemeat out of everything that spawned. Not only was she good at using projectile weapons, she excelled in close combat as well. As I watched her continue running forward, I thought to myself. Maybe I¡¯ll ask her to teach me some close combat as well the next time we meet. ¡°Let us go, before they re-spawn¡± Slightly nodding, we begin moving forward. Along the way, I pick up a finger-less gauntlet nearby. There were various other pieces of armor scattered around dropped from the skeleton knights, but most of them looked too damaged to use, or didn¡¯t fit my left hand. We ran into a few small monsters along the way, but rather than doing all the work, the Trinity Sage opted to watch us fight. Was he analyzing our strength? I used Project Iris Online as a reference in the fight against the Goblins, and Orcs. It seems to work well, however I¡¯m not sure how far gaming knowledge would get me. ¡°Som¡­someone¡­ anyone help!¡± As we continued moving, we encountered a large troll blocking our path attacking a helpless woman. ¡°AHHHHHHHhhh¡ª!¡± Splat! By the time we saw the troll, it was already too late. The troll had made a mess out of her. Her body was splattered all over the streets. Blood, guts, and body parts scattered around the area. All that was left was a red splatter where she screamed. The realization that I would really die hit me again. From the pit of my stomach, I felt an urge to vomit. It was my first time witnessing a person die in such a horrifying manner. However, right now that was the least of my worries. My body trembled in fear as I watched the towering monster walk towards us. [Lv. 79] [HP: ???/???] [MP: ???/???] [Classified as a large demi-human monster, has a high regenerative ability.] Using [Analyze], a different kind of information window appeared in front of me. It was a more organized window, however everything but its level and information displayed as unknown. ¡°Tetsu! It¡¯s coming!¡± Hearing Misha¡¯s voice beside me, I calmed myself. That¡¯s right. As long as these two are here, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll die just yet. I¡¯ll survive through this as well. With resolve burning inside, I took out my Mithril Dagger and charged at it. GUUAAA!!! The Troll screamed at me. It was probably trying to intimidate me, however there¡¯s nothing to be afraid of. Thinking back, I¡¯ve already fought a menacing monster probably on par with this troll. Rushing directly under it, it prepared its wooden club and swung horizontally at me. Ducking, I heard the sound of the club whiz past me. Although I had confronted this troll, my body was still slightly shaking. The thought of dyeing from getting smashed into pieces was something that I couldn¡¯t quite stop thinking about. In short, this thing is pretty damn scary regardless if I¡¯m prepared or not! The troll immediately lifted his wooden club overhead, and swung down. I jumped back as the club shattered the ground below us. ¡°[Explosion]!¡± An exploding flame instantly engulfed the body of the troll. However, as the flames dispersed, the troll didn¡¯t seem like it had taken any damage at all. Unfazed by Misha¡¯s spell, it simply walked forward and took another swing at me. I jumped back again. The wooden club would be troublesome to keep dodging. One hit would definitely kill me. If I can¡¯t disarm its weapon easily like the orcs and goblins, then it¡¯s better to just destroy it. It swung its club with both arms, so neutralizing one of them to reduce its swinging speed by half would be my first step. I stood in front of it, waiting for it to attack. My aim was to make a cut along one of his forearms, severing its major nerve, disabling it. Glancing back at Misha, it seemed she was almost ready to cast another spell. Silently nodding to her, I kick off again confronting the Troll. Instead of attacking me right away, it stomped on the ground with monstrous strength, causing the ground to shake. Taking out a two throwing knives, I immediately threw them at the troll to stop the small escalating tremors. The daggers whistled through the air, but it was swatted away using its club. With the ground now stable, I cleared the small distance between us while throwing two more daggers. Blocking them with its arm, the daggers seemed to bounce off its skin. However, my objective had been accomplished. I was within striking distance of its arm. Issuing out another roar, the troll swung its arms at me in rage. The wooden club flew past me as I felt the pressure of the wind it created go by, dodging just by a hairs breadth. As the arm stopped in mid-air, I quickly took out another throwing knife, and threw it at the troll¡¯s eye. Unable to react in time, the knife pierced its eye making a popping sound. At the same time the knife struck its right eye, I jumped up and made a deep cut along its left forearm, and carved in multiple slash marks on the wooden club. As if she understood what my intention was, Misha cast [Explosion] on the weapon as well. Pulling out the knife from its eye, it frantically swung its weapon around wildly. Jumping back a few steps, I retrieved the two throwing knives that bounced off its skin. Looking at me with anger, the troll¡¯s eyes were starting to turn red. The eye that had been pierced was quickly recovering, but the arm that I cut would still take a little longer to heal. Throwing another knife at the troll, I rush back in. After blocking the thrown knife with its unusable left arm, it quickly followed up by swinging its damaged wooden club. However, its swinging speed had noticeable decreased. I could make out the slash marks I made on the burnt weapon. ¡°[Heavy Blow]!¡± Using my fist equipped with the gauntlet I found earlier, I smashed its wooden club into pieces. The troll stumbled backwards in surprise. ¡°Chance!¡± I quickly ran towards the troll¡¯s leg, and delivered a deep cut on its calf muscle. Unable to get up, the troll had been immobilized. ¡°Incinerate all that lies before me! [Flame Blast]!¡± Sensing that Misha was finished casting another spell, I quickly moved out of the way. The moment I moved away, a huge ball of blue fire engulfed the troll. ¡°GROOROAAHH¡± The troll roared out in rage as its eyes turned red. This situation looks kind of bad¡­¡­ Misha¡¯s [Flame Blast] had done a lot of damage, but it wasn¡¯t dead yet. It looked like the cuts I made were recovering even faster. I watched as the fresh wounds I made quickly close up. ¡°Burn, [Magma Burst]!¡± Something that seemed like burning lava erupted from beneath the monster. In an instant, the monster was turned into ashes. ¡°Let us continue onward¡± The Trinity Sage beckoned us onward. Hey¡­¡­ to simply one-shot that troll, aren¡¯t you too overpowered?!! Our hard work has gone to waste you know! Although it¡¯s not as if we would have defeated it anyways I suppose¡­ Ignoring my dejected expression, both Misha and the Trinity Sage continued walking away. As we walked by the spot where the blood stained floor once had a woman cowering in fear, I prayed that her soul would rest in peace. The closer we approached towards the pillar of light in the distance, even the smaller monsters became harder to fight. However, as the other pillars of light in the background dispersed, the monsters in turn became much weaker. Because of that, we were able to steadily continue moving forward. A bit farther ahead, we encountered two skeleton knights. One held a rapier, and the other with a two-handed sword. Both knights were fully armored. However, while the skeleton equipped with a rapier didn¡¯t have a shield, the one wielding a two-handed sword had a small shield attached to its arm guard. It was something I¡¯d only seen in Project Iris Online. Two-handed sword users would learn a skill called ¡®Monkey¡¯s Grip¡¯. The skill enabled them to use any two-handed weapon with only one hand. It was a popular skill among Paladins, as they were able to have the destructive power of two-handed weapons, and wear a shield at the same time. On Berserker classes, they had often dual wielded heavy axes, two-handed spears and swords. ¡°[Fireball]!¡± On the two unsuspecting skeleton knights, Misha started off with a surprise attack that blew off the skeleton¡¯s knight¡¯s entire shield arm. Responding to her spell, I immediately dashed ahead, confronting the knights. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°haa¡­ haa¡­ Please¡­ hold them off for a moment!¡± Misha was sweating heavily. Up until now, she had been constantly casting magic. It was reasonable that she would be tired. When I looked back, the Trinity Sage had been engaged in an almost casual conversation with Misha. Hey¡­ can¡¯t you help me out a little?! I won¡¯t be able to hold them both off for a long time! Cut me a little slack here! Clank! A skeleton knight was clashing blades with me in close range, as the other jumped behind me. ¡°Turn to ashes, [Flare Burst]¡± Towards the skeleton that had circled behind me, bright blue flames converged and exploded right before it was able to attack me from behind. All that was left in front of me was the skeleton knight with a rapier. Shhhing! Parrying its sword, it made a high pitched sound as it scraped against my Mithril Dagger. ¡°Damn, this thing is tough!¡± If the battle continues, I¡¯ll run out of energy before I can beat it! Taking a glance behind me, I saw that Misha had been watching frantically, and the Trinity Sage person simply watched with a dumbfounded face. Heeyyyy! If you¡¯ve got some time to watch, can¡¯t you help me out?!! ¡°Dammit!¡­¡± Pushing away the knight, I cursed under my breath. ¡°Tetsu, would you like to learn how to use magic?¡± ¡°... Could¡­ could you possibly teach me at a better time¡­? huff¡­¡± Panting for air, I quickly answered the Sage asking a ridiculous question. Fighting and learning magic is too hard to do at the same time you know! There¡¯s a time and place for joking around! ¡°There is no better time than now, lest you prefer to be sliced into pieces by that Skeleton Knight!¡± With a smile on his face, he spoke loudly with excitement. Clink! As our blades locked again, this time the knight overpowered me and sent me flying a few meters back. This damn person! Does he actually intent to lecture me about that stuff right now?!! ¡°then¡­ haa¡­ tell me¡± ¡°Vividly imagine it! The magic you want to use, and let it naturally take shape inside your mind. You must take hold of the elements that surround you, as you materialize it!¡± With an odd explanation, he quieted down and began watching again. What¡¯s with that explanation! Isn¡¯t there a more conventional way of using magic?!! And that explanation seems too short! Calming myself, I took in a few deep breaths as the skeleton knight charged at me. Imagining a spear of light manifest in my hands, a strange feeling took hold of me. However, no matter how hard I tried to imagine it¡­ Clank! It¡¯s impossible to do it while this thing is attacking me isn¡¯t it!?! Slightly mistiming my parry, the sword nicked the side of my cheek, leaving a light cut. I have no interest in becoming some kind of wandering swordsmen with a scar on my face you know! Can¡¯t you swing at a different spot other than my face?!! That¡¯s right! A thought came to mind right as I backed away from the aggressive knight. [Tetsu Tagami] [Lv 28] [Race : Human] [HP : 407/530] (+200 HP) [MP : 188/250] [STR : 51] [AGI : 67] (+10 Agi) [MA : 49] [LUK : ???] [Available Skill Points : 23] [Sword Mastery : 4/10] [Dagger Mastery : 10/10] (Additional Agi +10) [Muscle Mastery : 10/10] (Additional HP +200) [Dual Wielding : 1/10] [Aiming : 6/10] [Weapon Throwing Mastery : 9/10] [(New!)Magic Control : 1/10] [(New!) Magic Perception : 1/10] [Light Magic Mastery : 1/10] [Heavy Blow : 5/10] [Magic Edge : 7/10] [Analyze : 4/10] [Living Zombie] [Otherworldly Traveler] [Slime Slayer] [Hard Worker] [???] It was just as I thought! I gained two new skills. But besides that, when the hell did I gain so many levels?!! We''ve killed a lot of monsters so far, but not enough for me to jump so many levels this quickly! Could it be that shared experience gain exists in this world? I quickly allotted four skill points into [Light Magic Mastery], [Magic Perception], and [Magic Control] using a total of twelve of the twenty-three points I had available. I closed my status screen, just as the skeleton knight approached. Parrying its initial attack, I began to concentrate again, imagining Spears of light in the palm of my hands. Clank! I knocked the sword away from me, hitting the side of the sword as it swung down. With less concentration than the first time, my left hand began to glow with white light. I could feel something warm in my palms. Paying attention to my surroundings, I noticed we were near the first exploded skeleton. Stuck in the ground nearby was the two-handed sword. The situation was perfect. It was now or never. Clashing directly with the skeleton knight, I baited out an overhead strike. Just as it began to swing down, I circled around it and lifted my left hand just as its sword struck the ground. ¡°Eat this! [Javelins of Light]!¡± Two familiar magic circles instantaneously appeared, and two distinct shining javelins of light pierced through the skeleton knight, binding it to the ground. Gagagagaga! The skeleton knight began making a chattering sound from its mouth. However, it was already too late. Quickly putting the Mithril dagger into my bag, I grabbed hold of the two handed sword. The light in my left hand that had yet to fade, enveloped the sword as I lifted it from the floor. Slash! Grunting as I swung the sword with my hips, it cut through its armor like butter, cleanly severing it in half. Ding! A ringing sound of leveling up resounded inside my mind, as if to say that the battle had ended. ¡°haa¡­ huff¡­ haa¡± It was surprising that I was able to use [Javelins of Light]. It was an intermediate spell from Project Iris Online. Its use was mainly for demons, and undead monsters. For fifteen seconds, they would be immobilized, continuously take light damage every second it was active, and it would enchant your weapon with holy attribute magic for thirty seconds. According to what the Sage had said, all I needed to do was imagine what I wanted to use. If that was the basic criteria for using magic, maybe I could potentially use any magic skill from the game. Although, I wonder¡­ would that also apply to weapon techniques as well? ¡°Good work, just a little further and we¡¯ll have arrived at our destination¡± With a bright smile, the sage stroked his chin and walked past me. Bang! As I was catching my breath, a loud explosion rung out in the distance. In the next moment, the sky was dyed deep blue by a vortex of energy that gathered in the sky. In just seconds after, particles of blue light began scattering in all directions. It was a calming sight to watch, and the tiredness that I felt in my fight against that skeleton knight immediately vanished as if I had never been tired in the first place. I quickly picked up and stored the skeleton knight¡¯s gauntlet, and sword. The rapier was relatively light, but slightly too thin to block incoming sword attacks without damaging the weapon. It was made for thrusting attacks, and quick slashes. I¡¯m not particularly fond of these kinds of swords, but I could probably sell it for a decent amount. Its condition was still in good shape after all. After running at full speed for a few minutes, we finally arrived at our destination. Standing before was a single demon who had emerged from the pillar of light. ¡°Tetsu, Misha, I will not assist you in this battle. Show me your capabilities by defeating this demon!¡± Hey, you¡¯re kidding right?!! Weren¡¯t you doing that in all the other battles already?!! Just looking at this creature, I could see a strange aura being released from it. Was it because of [Magic Perception]? Using [Analyze], I tried to see if any kind of information about it would display. [Lv. ???] [HP: ???/???] [MP: ???/???] [???] What¡¯s with that name! What are you, some kind of mid game boss?!! Will a stronger monster come out if you¡¯re defeated?! Or are you some kind of cameo character from a game?!! At least give me a proper name! In any case, this thing looks dangerous! ¡°Yes!¡± Misha seemed enthusiastic about it. ¡°I¡­. I¡¯ll do my best¡­¡± Taking out my Mithril dagger, I stared into the black pupils of this creature that had a gargoyles head atop a human-like body with horns growing from his head, and bat-like wings sprouting from its back. GUAAAA!!! With a loud screech, the demon took off flying towards us. Chapter 23 Entranced by Battle! While flying at a speed faster than what I could react to, the demon extended its claws and attacked me. ¡°!!!¡± Surprised by its quickness, it delivered a cut on my shoulder. ¡°[Firebolt]!¡± Just as it flew into the sky out of my reach, Misha finished recited her spell. The demon looped back and dived down, dodging the lightning infused flames while swooping back down for another attack. ¡°Damn!¡± Just barely managing to dodge it the second time, it flew back into the air with the same pattern. This damn thing is annoying! On our sides, we were surrounding by buildings, and in front of us was a partially destroyed stone wall. Just beyond the wrecked stone wall, was the shining pillar of light. The demon had flown higher than the buildings, so it was impossible to reach it even from atop a building. My dagger wouldn¡¯t be of much use here, so I placed it back into my bag and pulled out the rapier I found earlier. It was fast, so I needed a weapon that could strike equally as fast. In Project Iris Online, I tried using the rapier weapons a few times, but because it required an agility based build in order to do significant damage, I eventually gave up mastering it. ¡°^##*& $@^#!@*!¡± The demon spoke in a language unknown to me. It sounded like gibberish, but it was probably saying something about the weapon I had taken out. Almost as if it knew that coming within my attack range would be bad, the demon opted to stay in the air. However, I could see distinct particles of energy swirl around it. Was it casting magic? It was the second time today that I¡¯ve encountered these strange energy particles. Sensing a disturbing amount of energy gather around it, I braced myself for whatever kind of magic it was going to cast. ¡°[#@$&!$!#]!¡± ¡°[Ice Bolt]!¡± At the same time the demon had cast its own magic, Misha released her own. Both of the spells were exactly the same. Jagged chunks of ice, supercharged with electricity materialized in the air, flying towards each other. As Misha¡¯s chunks of ice struck the demons, small explosions sounded off in the sky with sparks and a substance like snow flying in every direction. The demon floated in the sky, covering its eyes from the bright flashes produced by its magic colliding against Misha¡¯s. Taking the opportunity while it was dazed, I took out my last two throwing daggers and threw them, aiming for its wings. GRAWRRR! The demon screamed in pain, as the two knives I threw created two holes in one of its wings. ¡°[Lightning Bolt]!¡± Not missing her chance, Misha casted another spell hitting the demon as it cried out in pain. Being struck by a bolt of lightning that flew out from Misha¡¯s staff, the demon began plummeting towards the ground. ¡°[@*&!#*]!¡± However, as it fell down, the sounds of multiple explosions came from behind me. As I turned around, I caught sight of Misha being blown back several meters, after being engulfed by several small explosions. ¡°Misha!¡± I quickly sprinted towards her. ¡°Hey, are you alright!?¡± Laying down on the floor, Misha seemed to have been knocked unconscious. Her hair and been singed, parts of her robe had be blown apart, and there appeared to be various burn marks on her body. ¡°To cast [Chain Explosion] while plummeting towards the ground, quite a tenacious demon indeed¡± Appearing next to me, the Sage looked over Misha. ¡°Go, your fight isn¡¯t done yet. I¡¯ll look after the girl¡± With a breath of relief, I nodded in silence at the Sages words. The demon that had fallen to the ground was still recovering. Now was probably the best time to finish it off while it was still too weak to get up. I rushed towards the demon that was slowly getting back up. Just as I closed in and thrust my rapier towards the demon, my sword stopped just a few inches from its body. An unknown force had stopped my attack. ¡°A barrier?¡± The demon that got up quickly jumped back, and waved its arms outward in my direction. It threw out a wave of lightning while it gained some distance. The wave of lightning that was shot out was impossible to escape. I clenched my teeth as the pain in my body receded. As the pain passed, I looked at the demon standing upright. The demons wings were shredded, but besides its wings, it looked like it hardly received any damage at all from Misha¡¯s [Lightning Bolt]. If its wings were ripped apart, then it wouldn¡¯t be able to fly. However, it seemed like the fight had only just started. Taking out my Mithril dagger, I placed it in my left hand, while holding the rapier in my right. Infusing magic into both weapons they began to faintly glow. If it can use magic barriers, then I¡¯ll need to be able to brute force my way through. ¡°[#*%@%^]!¡± A ball of fire formed in the air, and then began flying towards me. It was the [Fireball] spell I¡¯d seen Misha use a few times. Dodging the ball of fire as it went past me, I ran forward. It seemed the demon was already casting another spell. Coming within range, the demons wings slightly moved up and down as it jumped into the sky. From above, another ball of fire was shot at me. Dodging it again, I diligently watched as it came back down. Although it didn¡¯t seem to be able to fly, its tattered wings were still able to produce a little bit of lift. It was able to float down slower than normal after jumping up. Falling down close enough to reach, I thrust the rapier at the demon that had become an easy target as it fell down. However, swinging its arm, it used its claw to deflect the rapiers thrust. After brushing off my attack, it slashed back at me with its other arm. Using my Mithril dagger, I blocked it, and once again thrust the rapier at its body. After committing itself to attacking with its other arm, it wasn¡¯t able to fend off my thrust. My sword easily pierced through its body, as it let out a deafening cry. Was it unable to use its barrier simultaneously with its attacks? Backing away from me, the demon put some distance between us. A blueish liquid leaked from hole in its body. It was most likely blood. I ran forward again. I wouldn¡¯t allow it to have any rest. However, just as I approached it, its body turned from a grayish color to light red. The wings on its back shrunk in size, and the hole in its body closed up. I could feel its power and vitality surging. It was becoming stronger. Was it transforming? I didn¡¯t understand what was happening. Right before I could thrust the rapier towards its body again, a whirlwind of power pushed me back. ¡°Human¡­ I must thank thee¡­ for allowing me¡­ to evolve¡­ past my¡­ primitive form¡­¡± Instead of the unknown language it was using earlier, the demon now spoke words I could understand. ¡°It can talk now?!!¡± Surprised by the phenomenon, I blurted out my thoughts. However, it said it evolved? So it was different from a transformation. Other than the change in skin color, and the wings shrinking, the demon seemed to become more human-like. ¡°You will¡­ make¡­ for a good¡­ meal¡­¡± As I was stuck in my thoughts, the demon dashed towards me. ¡°[Enchant Lightning]¡± It lifted its hand, and yellow sparks quickly wrapped around its arm. A bad feeling rose up inside me, as it grabbed hold of my rapier. Being unable to move my rapier away in time, I decided to abandon it, and let go. ¡°[Load Lighting]¡± Just as I let go of the sword and jumped away, the weapon was engulfed in electricity. The rapier rapidly turned black, and then burst into pieces. ¡°Damn¡­¡± I cursed to myself. It¡¯s not as if I dislike daggers. But when I lose two swords in one day, that¡¯s some really bad luck! I don¡¯t know what happened to my sword back in the guild, but it¡¯s most likely a lost cause by now. I haven¡¯t had that rapier for more than an hour now and that¡¯s gone as well! I¡¯ve used up all of my throwing daggers, and all I have left is a great sword that¡¯s too heavy for me to fight properly with! God, if you can hear me out, please cut me some slack! I¡¯d much prefer to use other weapons besides a dagger you know! What¡¯s more, I don¡¯t even have any proper dagger techniques! While having an epiphany, the demon quickly closed in. ¡°Become¡­ food¡­ for¡­ me¡­ to¡­ grow!¡± Approaching me at an even faster speed, the demon threw out a random punch. Its fist that seemed to discharge electricity connected on my shoulder as I tried to dodge in time. ¡°Ga¡ªNnn!¡± Gritting my teeth from the pain of being shocked, my body became stiff as the lightning coursed through my body. ¡°This¡­ is¡­ the¡­ end¡­!!!¡± Pulling back his fist, he opened his hands. In the palm of his hands, a small orb of condensed plasma was forming. Forcing my numb body, I immediately poured in as much magic power into the Mithril dagger as I could. ¡°[Shockwave Blast]¡± The demon recited the spell in a low voice. ¡°Not yet!¡± With the dagger in my right hand, I swung down the blade with as much force as I could towards the incoming plasma. I could feel an intense pain running through my arms, traveling through my body. I could hear the sounds of my equipment ripping apart, and for an instant, my surroundings turned completely white. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°haa¡­ haa¡­¡± When my vision returned to normal, I found myself kneeling down on one knee exhaling heavily. My clothes were burned and shredded in various places. And in my hands, the Mithril dagger I had been using up until now had nearly become destroyed. The tip, down to the base of the dagger was charred black. The dagger itself had small bits of pieces missing from the edge. It was now a completely unusable weapon. The demon looked at me quietly, and then jumped back. What was it doing? Bang! As if to answer my question, a hissing noise from above had become audible. And In a single moment, an object wrapped in blue lightning struck the ground in front of me like thunder. A wave of static sparks circled around the object that was now stuck to the floor. Was it a dream? In my sight, was a weapon I was familiar with from Project Iris Online. A mythic grade lightning element katana, [Ikazuchi Suzume]. The name of the weapon displayed itself as soon as I touched it. What was it doing here at a time like this? I wondered. Without a second thought, I placed the roasted Mithril dagger into my bag and picked up the weapon in front of me. As soon as I held onto the katana, a revitalizing wave of electricity overflowed into my body. Holding onto the sword, a feeling of nostalgia greeted me. It was one of the first weapon types I had ever mastered in PIO. Inside my mind, a message window opened. [Please confirm the usage of all remaining points on , < YES | NO >] With a smile on my face, I silently nodded to myself. Ding! [Katana Mastery 10/10] ¨C > [Advanced Katana Mastery 2/5] A message box opened with a ring, notifying me of the skill upgrade. I would most likely lose if I simply waved around a katana without any techinques. So I decided to put my earlier idea into action. The demon that jumped back quickly fired off a ball of fire in my direction. In haste, I took a quick draw stance, and infused the katana with what little magic I had left. ¡°[Third Form, Waning Moon]¡± As I imagined the katana techniques from Project Iris Online in my mind, my body naturally moved as I wanted it to, mimicking the exact technique from the game. This was probably the effect of Katana Mastery. In one swift moment, I drew the katana in an upwards arc. Electric sparks flew everywhere right as I unsheathed it, and the incoming fireball was cleanly cut in two, splitting in half and exploding as it flew past me. Looking closely at the blade as I sheathed it, a familiar name was etched onto the blade. In small letters, the familiar name ¡®Liu Shien¡¯ appeared. Click! The katana made a clicking noise as it slide into the scabbard. ¡°This will work¡± In PIO, there were two different fighting styles. Kendo, and Iaido. Both systems had twelve different sword techniques. Kendo focused on a wide range of fighting techniques. However, it focus was on defensive skills for survival. Iaido was specifically for sword drawing techniques. It prioritized dodging over blocking, and burst damage over sustained damage. My character was geared more towards a DPS build, so I always had low defense. Rather than waste effort on Kendo, I went for the obvious choice and mastered the Iaido skill set. With a smirk on my face, I ran towards the demon who was readying another spell. ¡°[Chain Explosion]!¡± In front of me, numerous orbs of fire had appeared and began detonating. It was the same magic that had left Misha in a sorry state. Boom! The explosions were detonating closer and closer towards me. ¡°[Sixth Form, Surging Tide]¡± The katana became shrouded with electric sparks as the sword emitted a faint blue aura. Drawing the blade, a wave of violent energy swept the ground in front of me, carving a distinct pattern onto the floor, as it blew away the surrounding explosions. Under the cover of [Surging Tide], I was able to quickly approach the demon. ¡°[First Form, Calm Wind]¡± I draw the katana in a horizontal arc as the sparks produced by the sword flew everywhere. ¡°Aggh!¡­¡± The demon let out a muffled sound as he tried moving out of the way. However, his left arm was caught, and cut off. The katana had cleanly sliced through one of its arms. Quickly sheathing the sword, I stepped in close again. ¡°Seventh Form, [Overflowing Cascade]¡± In a series of five fast consecutive slashes, the demon that became slightly paralyzed by the katana¡¯s electricity was unable to completely dodge all of five continuous attacks, and was cut into pieces. ¡°Human¡­ you¡­ cannot¡­ escape¡­ the¡­ inevitable¡­ death¡­ so¡­ why¡­ do¡­ you¡­ fight¡­?¡± Lying on the ground in a pool of blood, surrounded by its own various body parts, the demon gave its last words. ¡°Because dying is scary. As long as I¡¯m alive, I¡¯ll do my best just to live¡± After coming to this world, I¡¯ve experienced it many times. The close encounters with death. Right now, I¡¯m still weak, and if it weren¡¯t for this katana, and the people that helped me, I would have already died long ago. Thinking about the katana, and what it was doing here, the name of its creator flashed back into my mind. Liu Shien. Could it have been possible that he was also pulled into this world? But, in order to continue living, I need to gain even more strength. After all, if there¡¯s a ton of guys as frighteningly strong as that guy from the run down guild, I don¡¯t know how long I¡¯d last without protection from people like Instructor Reinsfield. Crack! As the demons life energy went out, I heard a sound similar to glass shattering above me. A web of jagged lines spread across the magic circle that was floating in the sky, and it slowly broke apart into particles of light. The final pillar of light that was supplying it with power had been shut off. At that moment, feeling of sleepiness overwhelmed me. My eyes shut closed as I tumbled onto the ground with a plop. My consciousness was slowly leaving me. Did I overdo it? The only thing that kept me from collapsing so far, was the shock of adrenaline that came from the katana. ¡°Good work, kid. Sleep well. You¡¯ve earned it¡± The sound of Instructor Reinsfield¡¯s voice came from nearby. When I opened my eyes, he was standing above me with a smirk. ¡°Ah¡­ thanks¡± Without any energy to give a proper response, I closed my eyes again and quietly dozed off. Ding! [Tetsu Tagami] [Lv 28 -> 29] [Race : Human] [HP : 144/530 -> 144/540] (+200 HP) [MP : 3/250 -> 3/255] [STR : 51 -> 59] (+5 Str) [AGI : 57] (+15 Agi) [MA : 50] [LUK : ???] [Available Skill Points : 0 -> 1] [Sword Mastery : 4/10] [Dagger Mastery : 10/10] (Additional Agi +10) [Advanced Katana Mastery : 2/5 -> 3/5] (Additional Str & Agi +5) [Muscle Mastery : 10/10] (Additional HP +200) [Dual Wielding : 1/10 -> 3/10] [Aiming : 6/10] [Weapon Throwing Mastery : 9/10] [ (NEW!) Chakra Control : 2/10] [Magic Control : 5/10 -> 6/10] [Magic Perception : 5/10] [Light Magic Mastery : 5/10] [Heavy Blow : 5/10] [Magic Edge : 7/10] [Analyze : 4/10] |< KATANA >| [ (NEW!) First Form, Calm Wind : 1/10] [ (NEW!) Third Form, Waning Moon : 1/10] [ (NEW!) Sixth Form, Surging Tide : 1/10] [ (NEW!) Seventh Form, Overflowing Cascade : 1/10] [Living Zombie] [Otherworldly Traveler] [Slime Slayer] [Fast Learner] [Hard Worker] [???] Chapter 24 Ruined Capital After the battle had ended, shadows of people could be seen leaving the area. They were adventurers who had come to destroy the last remaining pillar, but had instead become an audience. Of course their job to rid the city of monsters was important, but their pride as fellow adventurers came first. They wouldn¡¯t allow themselves to steal someone else¡¯s prey out of respect. So they waited, and watched as the battle unfolded, and ended. Atop a building towering over the battlefield, a young man along with two women discuss the battle they had just witnessed. A slightly older woman with short straight hair and long parted bangs talks to the young man with long black hair. ¡°Incredible, I take back my words. I thought you were bluffing when you said his true ability wasn¡¯t with rapiers or daggers. The change in his demeanor and skill with a proper weapon was like night and day. However, are you sure you¡¯re fine without meeting him?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind at all, Karen. We¡¯ll meet again in the future¡± The young man¡¯s gaze stares into the distance as he answers the slightly older woman named Karen. ¡°Shien¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong Iris? You seem surprised as well. What do you think?¡± ¡°There were no wasted movements with his sword technique¡­ everything was calculated thoroughly, and perfectly executed¡­ I¡­.. I wish to have a bout with that man at least once¡­¡­¡± The young woman, Iris, with dark reddish brown hair wore a serious expression on her face as she watched Tetsu from afar. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s do one last sweep through the city before heading back and meeting with everyone else. Shien, Iris, let¡¯s go. I want to finish before it gets any darker¡± ¡°Roger¡± ¡°Understood¡± The three who quietly observed everything from above leapt down, and went on their way. Moments after the battle ended, both Reinsfield and Kain took Misha and Tetsu towards the Mage¡¯s Association. Although the summoning circle in the sky was now destroyed, monsters that had already been summoned still roamed the city. As the day came to close, the city was thoroughly cleaned of all the monsters. Morning, the day after. Inside the Mage¡¯s Association, five important figures of the Kingdom had gathered to discuss yesterday¡¯s events, and what the future holds for them. The Minister of Commerce and Trade, the Guild Head Leader and his right hand man, the Mage Association¡¯s Leader, and the Archbishop. The six of them sat a wide oval table with plenty of open seats. ¡°Good morning. This meeting¡¯s topic is about the aftermath of yesterday¡¯s events¡± ¡°We¡¯re starting already? Where is the King? We¡¯re also missing the representatives of the upper and lower ranked nobles. Were they not notified? What kind of farce are you playing at, Cray?¡± The Minister of Commerce and Trade looked around the table with an agitated expression. It was the first time such an important meeting was being held without the main people who governed over the civilians. ¡°The king is dead, and the other representatives will be here later¡± ¡°Surely you jest! Such a joke is out of my taste. Even as a joke, something like that should never be said¡± ¡°Unfortunately it¡¯s no joke, Vincent. I saw it yesterday. Cray led us directly to the King¡¯s audience room. There upon his seat, he sat unmoving, and a single dagger pierced through his chest. I¡¯ve since confiscated his body so that we may perform the rite of sending him off¡± The minister of commerce, Vincent, sat wide eyed at what the Archbishop had confirmed. ¡°I-Impossible! The palace is guarded with over one-hundred of the kingdoms finest soldiers! Unless¡­ he was assassinated?¡­ And¡­ you said Cray led you al¡ª¡± ¡°Do not finish those words Minister. Such accusations will deem you as a traitor¡± ¡°But how can you be so sure that he isn¡¯t responsible Kain?!!¡± ¡°Because the palace that we once knew was no longer the same¡± Interrupting the billowing Vincent, the Archbishop spoke clearly and concisely. ¡°Even the wound on his chest, only traces of dried blood remained. He had been dead for a long time now¡± ¡°!!!¡­ Impossible¡­ I had seen the King alive and merry just the other day! If that is indeed the truth¡­ this must be a dream¡­ Yes¡­ that¡¯s right! All of this, All of this, All of this! It¡¯s all a dream!¡± ¡°Minister, I advise you to calm down first. There is a good reason for why the others will be here later¡± Cray chimed in as he looked at Vincent with a stern look. ¡°ha ha ha! And what could that reason be, Cray!? Perhaps that the nobles had schemed the murder of the King?!¡± Vincent continued to reject the idea that the King was dead, sarcastically, with an almost equally far-fetched idea that came to mind. The thought that the lively king whom he had met just days earlier, had actually been dead long before, was impossible to believe. From his perspective, it all seemed like a bad joke that had been played out too far. ¡°That¡¯s precisely it. Although, saying they schemed it would be giving them too much credit¡± ¡°This is madness! Even if what you say has any merit, what is the purpose in telling me all of this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not only just the King that¡¯s been dead inside the castle. The prince along with the queen, were also found lying lifelessly on the ground.¡± ¡°What does that have to do with me?¡± ¡°Tell me, what do you know of Davory¡¯s execution?¡± ¡°Davory? I had heard he was accused of attempting to usurp the throne, along with various other crimes¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you at all find it strange, that a proud retainer of his majesty for over thirty years was found suspicious of overthrowing the Kingdom?¡± At Cray¡¯s words, Vincent immediately became wide eyed. When he thought about it, there was absolutely no reason for that kind of betrayal. Although he married the King¡¯s younger sister, even if the King was murdered, Davory wouldn¡¯t be the next in line to become King. ¡°Then tell me, what proof do you have that would say otherwise?¡± ¡°Take a look at this¡± Cray immediately produced a small book in his hands. After opening the book, he slid it towards Vincent. ¡°This is¡­¡± Vincent quickly recognized the hand writing. It was a diary. The King¡¯s personal diary. The page entry was dated back to almost four years ago, and written there was; ¡°Today, a man with silver hair approached me and my entourage. Along with the man, was a young profit in a black robe. Her hood concealed her face. She said to me, ¡®A great disaster will befall your kingdom in years to come. The precursor to fate, is death¡¯. Perhaps, where they threatening my life?¡± Looking at the next page, the next entry was dated months after. ¡°I am a fool. Today I have outlived my last remaining sibling. On the streets of my City, my youngest sister was struck by a thief. She had bleed out before any kind of medical attention was possible. I can¡¯t help but to think, was it just coincidence? My grief is shared with another, my closest friend mourns at the loss of his wife. To him, the loss is just as great, if not greater than my own. Will he be fine? I¡¯ve already arranged to have my youngest sister¡¯s daughter to be properly taken care of. It¡¯s the least I can do.¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Turning the page once more, the next entry had been dated just a few months ago, with many missing pages between the previous one. ¡°Today, I¡¯ve once again met that profit while on the busy streets of my city. Is it really just coincidence? All of her predictions have come true. In any case, I¡¯ve arranged for her to meet with me privately inside my audience chamber. I wish to speak with her alone regarding the future of my kingdom¡± Turning the page a few more times, Vincent noticed there weren¡¯t any more entries. It was the last entry recorded in the diary. ¡°Are you implying the profit has something to do with this?¡± ¡°Yes. However, rather than asking about the profit, I¡¯d like to ask about the man with white or silver hair that likely masqueraded himself as a business man¡± ¡°A business man with silver hair¡­ The debt collector?¡± Cray and the others looked at each other as if they had found the missing information they needed. ¡°If you will, please explain to us what he did¡± Cray urged Vincent to continue on and explain this new found information as he crossed his arms. ¡°He went around lending and collecting money from everyone. Recently he had been really successful, and was hired by the King as the manager of the treasury.¡± ¡°Thank you, that much is good enough¡± Satisfied with the answer, Cray immediately stood up. ¡°You still have yet to answer what this has to do with me¡± ¡°At this moment in time, with the King and his successor dead, a struggle over becoming the next ruler will happen. Factions likely will collide against each other. As a result, civil unrest will greet this already unstable kingdom. As someone with enough wealth to back the kingdom in this crisis, who you decide to support will ultimately become the next ruler¡± ¡°Then¡­ are you trying to garner my support? If so, what is the point in telling me all of this?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a smart man Vincent, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve already connected the dots between Davory¡¯s death, the man with silver hair, and the noble factions¡± ¡°Could it be¡­ is Davory¡¯s daughter still alive?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go, the battle to decide the Kingdom¡¯s future will start soon¡± At Vincent¡¯s question, Cray simply revealed a smirk on his face, and walked towards the door. Everyone else also stood up and they all left the room shortly after. The real meeting would take place in a different location. For the purpose of not leaking any information, the Magician¡¯s Society had allowed the use of their facilities. In a different place, a different kind of battle was taking place inside a young maiden¡¯s heart. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for keeping everything from you¡­¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s not really anything to be worried about you know. I¡¯ve never mentioned anything about myself either until now, so it¡¯s not as if you were obligated to tell me¡± On a hilltop with flowers and green grass swaying in the wind, two people were engaged in a long conversation. ¡°he he~, but to think you were someone who was actually from another world. Say¡­ if we are to part ways, what would you do from now on? And would you¡­ miss having me around¡­?¡± ¡°Hmm, well¡­ my objective, it won¡¯t change. I just want to survive. I have no intentions of becoming some kind of grand hero. And well, I also don¡¯t mind having you around Misha. Any extra company would be nice. After all, I don¡¯t know if I could find someone to replace you right away¡± With a happy gaze, Misha continued staring into Tetsu¡¯s eyes after hearing his answer. ¡°Hey¡­ there¡¯s no need to stare at me like that you know¡± ¡°I want to make this as clear as possible¡± Misha inched closer towards Tetsu who had a stiff expression. ¡°I love you¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t catch that¡­¡± ¡°I love you¡± ¡°I must be hearing things¡­ I keep hearing an odd word that sounds almost li¡ª¡° ¡°I LOVE YOU!¡± Misha leapt on top of Tetsu, and kissed his cheek. ¡°I love you¡± ¡°¡­¡± Tightly holding onto Tetsu, she repeated herself once more. In a dazed state of mind, Tetsu remained silent ¡°I want to be together with you, always. Will you accept me?¡± ¡°ahh¡­ umm.. well¡­¡± Stumbling with his words, he quickly tried to regain his composure. ¡°Misha, you¡¯re a very cute girl, but uhh¡­ we¡¯re almost ten years apart¡­¡± ¡°Love has no bounds! And there aren¡¯t any restrictions in age when it comes to marriage!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you can find someone better than me¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want anyone else! I love you!¡± ¡°Then¡­ uhh¡­ if you still feel the same way about me in five years, ask me again. I might consider it¡­¡± As if her prayers were answered, she immediately pressed her lips onto Tetsu¡¯s. She had stolen a kiss! Tetsu who was unable to move, could only wait until she was finished. After a few seconds had passed, she lifted her flushed red face away from his as a strand of saliva still connected the two of them together. ¡°Misha, it¡¯s time¡± Appearing in front of them, familiar faces had appeared. ¡°It¡¯s a promise, okay?¡± Slowly getting up, Misha walked towards the party of five. After a short greeting with Tetsu, the now six people went on their way, parting with him. Tetsu, who was now alone, looked into the distant sky. Watching as the clouds slowly passed him by. Many things had happened thus far in his journey. His first party member, Misha, had been thrown to a long drawn out plot to send the kingdom into turmoil. It was highly likely that they wouldn¡¯t meet again. And if they did, it wouldn¡¯t be for a long time. Finding out that the King was dead, along with his son and wife, and the kingdom¡¯s army sacrificed for the construction of the large scale summoning magic, insecurity would quickly spread among the civilians. They would quickly be in need of a new ruler. Through the King¡¯s sister, Misha was the last remaining person who was of royal blood. She held the right to seize the throne, not only through her bloodline, but through ones who backed her. Watching as the clouds took on different shapes, Tetsu recalled the lyrics of the song Misha had recently told him. It was a story. It was a story about a hero who able to briefly manipulate space and time, and cleave a godly demonic entity in half, but the lyrics abruptly ended after saving the world. It seemed as if there were more lyrics in the song, but even Misha herself was unsure. Did the hero of that story have a happy ending? He thought to himself, there was absolutely no way he was as righteous as the hero in that story. All he wanted to do was to keep living. He was simply another human. He wanted nothing more, and nothing less. Chapter 25 Displaced Feelings ¡°I can¡¯t stand it anymore! You¡¯re absolutely disgusting!¡± ¡°And where do you think you¡¯re going?!!¡± ¡°Away from all of you! What else?!!¡± ¡°Wait, Reyna!¡± ¡°Shut-up! I don¡¯t care anymore!¡± ¡°Mimi, let her go. Without us, she won¡¯t make it far. She¡¯ll definitely come back¡± In an outburst of anger, Reyna stormed off, quickly leaving the party. ¡°Mimi thinks¡­ what if¡­ what if Reyna doesn¡¯t come back this time?¡± In a worried voice, I stared into the empty thicket of trees, covered in the void of darkness that the starlit sky brought along. ¡°Hu~ someone like that doesn¡¯t need to come back¡± The beautiful woman with blonde hair, wearing leather clothes that emphasized her breasts immediately responded back to me. ¡°That¡¯s right, an immature brat like that doesn¡¯t have the right to stand next to someone as great as Glenn¡± The other beautiful girl with dark green hair, wearing a flashy robe, stood next to Glenn exposing a sinister expression. The both of them, they really hated Reyna. ¡°Mimi¡­ Mimi will go look for her¡­¡± ¡°Then hurry up, we¡¯re leaving soon¡± In a harsh tone, Glenn rebuked me. It wasn¡¯t often that he would forcefully say things like that. I stood there feeling alienated under the gaze of the other two women. Why...? why did it turn out like this¡­? I thought to myself, how did our adventure up until now become so unbearable? The bonds that connect us together are crumbling too fast. Reyna this time seemed really upset. Her expression was one of complete and utter disgust. The moment she left, it was as if she were looking at a pile of trash that had already begun to rot for several days, oozing with black sludge while releasing a horribly sour stench. Turning around, I followed after Reyna. I absolutely didn¡¯t want the bond that connects all of us together to break. I ran through the empty path we had come from, looking for any kind of sign that Reyna was around. Over the course of this past month, Reyna had already been quickly deteriorating. Her sanity was being consumed. For one month, we actively searched for our missing friend while upholding the duties set on us when we were summoned. We searched and searched, but we didn¡¯t find him. All of our leads, led only to the others who were summoned with us. ¡°Haa¡­ hah..¡± Running out of breath, I stopped and looked around. Reyna was gone. She had probably gone down a different route than we originally came from. I could only hear the noisy insects that buzzed around in the bushes nearby. Giving up, I traced the path back to where Glenn and the others were waiting. Although I didn¡¯t like the other two women, I hated being alone the most. It was much more comforting to be around people, even if they didn¡¯t like you. ¡°eh¡­?¡± When I made it back, there was no one waiting for me. Did they go ahead without me? I looked around again. No one was around. My heart sank. It was the first time Glenn had ever ditched me. Reyna was nowhere to be found, and Glenn had gone ahead. Not knowing what to do, I decided to go back to town. I hoped Glenn was right, and that Reyna would be waiting at the inn. Making it back to town, it was already morning. I had gotten lost and wandered around in the woods for a few hours, and made it back just as the sun was rising. I was tired and wanted to sleep. Walking up to the inn, I noticed Glenn was waiting outside along with the two girls. Was he waiting for me? Maybe he was worried about me. ¡°Where is Reyna?!!¡± Scary ¡°Is she hiding from me?!! I¡¯ve done nothing wrong, tell me where I can find her right now¡± In an angry voice, he stared at me with an expression I had never seen before. ¡°Mimi doesn¡¯t know¡­¡± Did Reyna really leave? Was she not inside our room? ¡°Where the hell did you go last night then?!!¡± Scary ¡°Mimi¡­ Mimi got lost in the woods¡­¡± ¡°Bullshit!¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. It¡¯s as if all his anger is being directed at me. It¡¯s scary. ¡°That place is too damn small to get lost in!¡± ¡°Mimi is, is¡­ Mimi is telling the truth¡­¡± In a frightened voice, I looked at the ground away from him. I couldn¡¯t look at him anymore. The face he was making was too scary. It was filled with anger. I had never seen him this angry before. ¡°I see. So that¡¯s how it¡¯s gonna be. Ha ha ha ha ha¡­ I¡¯m a fool for believing in you¡­¡± All of a sudden, his voice calmed down. Looking up at him, he was laughing at the sky. ¡°We¡¯re done. Get out of my sight¡± Huh¡­? ¡°I don¡¯t need Reyna¡± What¡­? ¡°And I especially don¡¯t need someone like you!¡± He began walking away from me immediately after. Did he really mean those words? ¡°Mimi really really loves you¡­ Do you¡­ hate Mimi¡­?¡± I softly called out to him with a trembling voice. ¡°You¡¯re annoying, don¡¯t follow me around anymore¡± His expression was the same as Reyna¡¯s. It was a look of disgust. My heart shook as tears began forming in my eyes. Why? Why is this happening? My vision began to blur as I watched him turn his back on me again, and leave with the other two women. Tears dripped down my face. This is a dream right? Glenn isn¡¯t like that at all. It¡¯s the complete opposite of how he normally is. It was the same with Reyna. Her personality turned full circle into someone I didn¡¯t know. Thinking that it was simply a dream, I slowly walked into the inn and into the empty room that Reyna and I had shared until last night. ¡°When I¡ª¡­ sniff¡­¡­ wake up, everything will be¡ªhic¡­ alright¡­¡± I tried to convince myself that everything that happened wasn¡¯t real. ¡°I¡¯ll go to sleep¡­ and when I wake up, this nightmare will be over¡± Knock! Knock! Knock! Just as I sat down on the bed ready to fall asleep, someone was knocking at the door. Did Reyna come back? Quickly jumping off the bed, I rushed over to the door and opened it. ¡°Yo!¡± However, it was someone else that greeted me at the door. ¡°How¡¯s it going Mimi!¡± Wiping away the residual tears, I prepared to answer back. ¡°Umm¡­ was it Chin? Or¡­ Shin? Anyways, Mimi asks¡­ what are you doing here?¡± ¡°Hey¡­ It¡¯s not Chin or Shin yes?!!¡­ there¡¯s an entire letter you¡¯re missing! Shien! The ¡®E¡¯ isn¡¯t silent yes?!!¡± Immediately he corrected me with the pronunciation of his name. For the first time in a while, I smiled a little. ¡°Anyway, I thought I¡¯d drop by and let you know that I¡¯ve found him¡± ¡°him?¡± Looking at Shien with a curious expression, I wondered who he meant by ¡®Him¡¯. ¡°The person you three have been looking for, Tetsu. He was in Serafall City, but by now he¡¯s probably gone. Though, I don¡¯t think he¡¯s left the territory of Minerva yet.¡± My eyes opened as soon as I heard his name. ¡°I¡¯ll let you get back to whatever it is you¡¯re doing. My group is heading towards the Labyrinth City, See ya!¡± He quickly left after the brief message. Tetsu... That¡¯s right. The three of us had been searching for him for the last month since we arrived in this world. If he was here, Reyna wouldn¡¯t have left. If he was here, then Glenn wouldn¡¯t have gotten angry. If he was here, all of us would still be together. Everything, all of it was his fault! Tears began building up once again. But this time, it wasn¡¯t tears of sadness. It was tears of anger. Chapter 26 Call to Adventure! Walking outside of the gates, I heard a voice from behind. ¡°Leaving already?¡± It was Instructor Reinsfield. ¡°Yea¡± It¡¯s been two weeks after the day the city fell to ruin. A request to help rebuild the city was commissioned by the new Guild Hall that was quickly constructed near the Magicians Association. Compared to the Guild Hall in Canute, it was much smaller. It was being used temporarily for adventures to turn in and receive commissions. The large chasm that was created inside the city was sectioned off. The Magicians Society was gradually filling the bottomless pits with earth magic, in an attempt to repair it. Overall, the disaster that stuck the City didn¡¯t quite do as much damage as what was thought. This was due to the efforts of Cray, who had anticipated a large scale disaster, and prepared beforehand. It seems that only a few thousand people had died along with a couple hundred adventurers. With that said however, the amount of injured people still easily exceeded almost one third of the City¡¯s population. ¡°Does she know you¡¯re leaving already?¡± Putting emphasis on the word ¡¯she¡¯, the scene from two weeks ago came to mind. ¡°I don¡¯t want anyone else! I love you!¡± Who Reinsfield referred to, was Misha. At that time, she confessed her feelings to me. However pleasant that might sound, let me remind you. I¡¯m not a Lolicon you know! I¡¯m not interested in young little girls! Hopefully she¡¯ll be able to find someone within five years¡­¡­ ¡°Hey, you¡¯re face is turning red. Are you thinking about that passionate kiss from that beautiful young girl?¡± Reinsfield spoke in a mocking tone, as if to shower me with embarrassment. ¡°You¡¯re wrong! It¡¯s not like that at all! In the first place, she¡¯s too young for me you know!¡± In a loud voice, I unintentionally blurted out my thoughts. ¡°Ha ha ha! But even if that¡¯s the case, in a few weeks she¡¯ll be of age. At that time, when you decide push down on her, be sure to go easy on her alright? Although she¡¯ll have become a mature woman, she¡¯ll still be inexperienced down there¡± ¡°As if I¡¯d push her down!¡± ¡°Ha ha ha ha ha!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not listening to me at all aren¡¯t you¡­¡± Reinsfield continued to laugh heartily in joyous laughter. Shit! His strategy of embarrassment worked too well! Damn you Reinsfield, I¡¯ll get you back one of these days! During the last two weeks of reconstruction, she was able to establish herself as a temporary ruler. Why temporary you ask? If you ask me, if I were in her shoes, I sure as hell wouldn¡¯t want to be part of a kingdom that shunned your very existence. Funnily enough though, the Nobles who treated Misha harshly, had their wealth and status as nobility taken away from them. The ones who tried to stir up a revolt were also quickly taken care of the backing of the Guild, and Magicians Society. I heard that most were thrown into prison cells, and the others were either executed or sold into slavery. Karma really has a way of making itself back around. Since then, I haven¡¯t seen her once. ¡°I haven¡¯t spoken to her yet¡± ¡°Then, where¡¯re you headed to?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± Turning around, I answered him while lost in thought. I wasn¡¯t sure where to go. For the two weeks after the city was destroyed, I¡¯ve been searching for Liu Shien. After thoroughly looking at the katana, I noticed there were some slight differences. This one had been newly forged. If that was the case, he was definitely watching my fight when he threw the sword. Although I¡¯ve come out empty handed, I did find some information. More recently, a band of famous A-rank adventurers hired a wandering magic blacksmith. The blacksmith was reported to be young with long black hair. Although I had also asked around for information about the party of A-rankers, there was no one who could give me decent information on where to find them. Without much information, I planned to just travel to different towns and ask around. In any case, it was in my best interest to find and meet with him as soon as I could. Since coming here, a question had popped into my head from time to time. Is there a way back to my world? Right now, Shien was probably the only person I could ask. ¡°Here I come, prepare yourself!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± With a stern expression, instructor Reinsfield immediately rushed forward without an explanation. Bang! Instinctively, I quickly took out the katana, and blocked a palm thrust directed at me. The force of his attack pushed me back several inches from where I stood. ¡°Hey! What the hell are you doing?!! I¡¯m not interested in fighting a monster like you, you know!¡± With a shocked expression, I shouted out in complaint. ¡°Ho~, so you were able to block that. Then I¡¯ll get a little more serious¡± In an excited voice, he approached me again even faster. Tink! ¡°Don¡¯t hold back on me now! Show me your sword skills!¡± With a look of ecstasy, Instructor Reinsfield threw out a few more punches as I struggled to block them. ¡°Damn! Since you¡¯ve asked for it, don¡¯t blame me for going all out!¡± Quickly taking a step back, I sheathed the katana while taking a quick draw stance. ¡°Na?ve!¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Vanishing in front of me, Instructor Reinsfield reappeared instantly from behind. ¡°It seems that you¡¯re still wet behind the ears!¡± ¡°You¡¯re mistaken Instructor Reinsfield!¡± When it comes to PVP, I¡¯ve done enough of it to understand where you¡¯ll attack from! Pivoting my body to the left and turning around, I held the katana parallel to the ground with a guard stance. ¡°[Forth Form, Raging Tempest]!¡± While deflecting his fist, I redirected the force of his body weight slightly to the side of where I stood, forcefully creating an opening to attack. TING!!! The sound of two metal objects hitting each other rung out like a bell. Right after I had redirected his attack, I quickly went back into my quick draw stance and drew the katana in a diagonal arc. However, just before it hit, he pulled out a long dagger with his other hand and completely blocked my attack. ¡°You were able to block in that state?!!¡± I was genuinely surprised. His attack just now was one he fully committed to. He shouldn¡¯t have had any room to block, and yet he maneuvered out of his opening, and received my attack with his dagger. I know that he was still going easy on me, but the fact that he was still able to block my attack in that position is really amazing. But then again, for someone as strong as him, he had probably already anticipated my counter stance before he attacked. It seems that real life battles are much different from games when it comes to recovery time. I guess in that regard, I can still be considered ¡®wet behind the ears¡¯¡­ ¡°Heh, that was pretty good kid. No, you¡¯re no longer a kid. That was pretty good, Tetsu¡± Putting away his dagger he took out, he began walking back towards the city gates as he spoke to me. ¡°The person you¡¯re searching for, head towards Labyrinth City, Astall. And don¡¯t call me instructor, call me Guild Master. Remember that the next time you visit Serafall¡± ¡°Thanks for everything until now¡± Waving his hand nonchalantly with his back towards me, he walked away with big strides. I quietly thanked him and walked off in the opposite direction into the open fields. ¡°Labyrinth City, Astall¡­ If I recall¡­¡± The Labyrinth City was located towards the center of the continent. It was a city that bordered in-between the Kingdom of Minerva, and the Land of Somber Dusk, Delavian. Delavian was the side of the continent where demi-humans lived. Dark Elves and Beast-men were prevalent there. My first stop was Port Town, Rune Belle. Although it was called a town, it was big enough to be called a city. It was located next to the ocean, and like the name implies, it had a harbor. Because Serafall had become nearly destroyed, traffic from places going to and from the Labyrinth City became nonexistent. It would be easier to find a Traveling commission in Rune Belle. And if worse came to worse, I could take a ship in that direction and save myself almost a month¡¯s worth of walking. Of course, taking a caravan was faster than walking, but still slower than taking a ship. With this thought in mind, I headed for Port Town, Rune Belle.
Arriving inside of the city gates, Reinsfield was greeted by Cray. ¡°Are you fine letting him go, Reinsfield?¡± ¡°Yea it¡¯s fine, Guild Master¡± ¡°It¡¯s not Guild Master anymore, but Leader right? Although calling me just Cray is also fine¡± ¡°Cut me some slack here, I¡¯m not used to this Guild Master thing yet, Guil¡ª¡­ AHEM¡­ Leader¡± Quickly correcting his speech, Reinsfield looked away in embarrassment as he walked faster. ¡°Ha ha ha! To think that even Reinsfield could become flustered over something so small!¡± Cheerfully laughing, Cray increased his walking speed to catch up. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect his skill with a katana to be on the brink of complete mastery. He almost got me for real¡± ¡°Oh? And here I thought you were able to control yourself for a slight moment out of excitement¡± ¡°No, at the very end, he forced me to block his attack with my full strength. Forcing me to get serious¡­ it¡¯s my complete loss¡± ¡°Has he been hiding his strength until now?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not quite right. It makes more sense to say his abilities are being restricted¡± Talking with Cray, Reinsfield rubs his chin, as if recalling something. ¡°What gives you that impression?¡± Curious as to why Reinsfield had that idea, he further inquired about it. ¡°As you know, he was enrolled in my beginner¡¯s course for becoming an Adventurer¡± Looking into the distant sky above them, Reinsfield continued his explanation. ¡°During the times we sparred throughout the week, he used multiple weapons. I originally thought he was trying to find the right weapon to use for himself, but that wasn¡¯t the case at all. His fighting stances were already at a higher level than what I could instruct him on. Although he stumbled around a lot in the mock battles with different weapons, they weren¡¯t the movements of a rookie. Rather, he was trying to execute high level skills his body wasn¡¯t capable of. And in actuality, the battle with me just now confirmed that fact. The only thing I could do, was teach him about the history of this world, and train his body for physical and mental endurance¡± After walking past multiple buildings, Reinsfield finished the explanation of his analysis. ¡°Then, the question isn¡¯t whether or not he¡¯s hiding his strength, but rather what is restricting his ability¡± ¡°In any case, he no longer needs my guidance. No it¡¯s more correct to say that he never needed it in the first place. If we were to fight at an even level, there¡¯s no doubt in my mind that his sword skill alone would overwhelm me¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite the high praise. But it doesn¡¯t seem like you¡¯re joking around either. I¡¯ll send a few people to watch him for the time being. For now, I¡¯ll have to find another successor¡± The two having arrived in front of the temporary Guild Hall, quickly parted ways. Chapter 27 Traveling Knight? ¡°RIBBIT! RIBBIT!¡± ¡°DIEEEEEEEEEE!!!!¡± Slash! ¡°YOU UGLY MAN EATING FROG!!!¡± Stab! ¡°Ribbi¡­...t¡­ R¡­i¡­bb¡­¡­it¡­¡± ¡°Haaa¡­ haa¡­ huff¡± Looking back behind me, there was a long trail of blood complete with a long trail of bloody footprints. It was as if a serial murderer had just gone on a killing spree, and left behind pools of blood everywhere. Maybe I should have thought this through before leaving Serafall¡­ When I first left the capital, there weren¡¯t any monsters at all. However, after a few hours of walking down the road leading to Rune Belle, a relaxing stream of water that flowed along the path appeared from the tall grassy plains. I thought to myself, ¡®how nice! Walking down this empty road is relatively peaceful! And the scenery is pretty good as well!¡¯. But after a few minutes of walking down the road, along with the soothing sound of flowing water, an eight-foot toad jumped out of the water and attacked me! Now then, the problem isn¡¯t the frog since they¡¯re relatively easy to kill. It¡¯s the amount of frogs that have attacked me so far! For the past two hours since this stream of water has appeared on the roadside, I¡¯ve been killing these damn frogs left and right! I¡¯ve made sure to collect a set of frog legs from each corpse, and I have to say¡­ I¡¯ve lost count at the fortieth pair of legs¡­ What the hell do these damn frogs want from me anyways?!! And what the hell is the adventurer¡¯s guild doing, letting these damn frogs multiply this much for?! While cutting off the pair of frog legs from the current corpse in front of me, a horse drawn wagon appeared from behind. ¡°Hey there! I¡¯m also headed towards Rune Belle. Need a ride?¡± Peering out from the coach¡¯s seat, a man clad in a full helmet, and plated armor greeted me. Shedding tears of joy, I responded back as I stood up from kneeling down, ¡°Yes please!¡± ¡°Hop in!¡± Stopping the wagon right beside me, the person driving the wagon helped me up onto the seat next to him. ¡°How much for the ride?¡± ¡°Free of charge!¡± Quickly replying, he flicked the reins, and the horses continued walking. ¡°What¡¯s the occasion?¡± ¡°Take a look inside and you¡¯ll understand why¡± Talking with a familiar monotone voice, he pointed towards the inside of his wagon. Briefly looking inside the wagon covered with a leather tarp, I saw piles and piles of giant frog carcasses. ¡°I see¡­¡± I placed the leather tarp back onto the frog corpses and quickly faced back to the front. ¡°So how far until we reach port town?¡± ¡°Hmm, we should probably get there by noon tomorrow¡± He replied in the same monotone voice from earlier. When I thought about it, his voice sounded really familiar. However, I couldn¡¯t quite remember where I had heard a similar voice. Traveling another hour or so down the trail, the sun had risen high overhead signaling it was around noon. The stream of water that flowed alongside the path, looped back into a small clearing of trees. What kept the frogs from attacking, was the monster repelling incense that was hung around the wagon and horses neck. The man wearing the full plated armor¡¯s name was John Carter. After a few minutes of exchanging idle chatter in his monotone voice, we introduced ourselves. But there was something that I couldn¡¯t quite shake the feeling of. That was, his last name and voice was vaguely familiar. ¡°Aren¡¯t you hot wearing that full set of armor John?¡± ¡°I feel safer with it on¡± In the same monotone voice, he lazily talked back. Though, when he says that he feels safer with it on, I don¡¯t particularly understand at all. I heard this area was been particularly strict with driving away bandits. So much in fact, that all you had to worry about was monsters attacking you. In regards to monsters attacking, John had an amazing amount of monster repellent around his wagon. I don¡¯t believe any kind of monster would attack us. In fact, the frogs that were attacking me nonstop had steered clear of his wagon.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. If you ask me, this guy seemed extremely intent on having as much monster protection as possible¡­ It was overly excessive. ¡°How about at least taking off your helmet so I can see your face?¡± ¡°It¡¯s disappointing, but I don¡¯t have a very good looking face¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, it¡¯s not like you¡¯re some kind of cursed skeleton knight, traveling around from town to town, trying to find a way to lift his curse, right?¡± ¡°Sorry, but I feel safer with my helmet on¡± ¡°Hah¡­¡± Letting out a sigh, I leaned back slightly, and looked up towards the clear blue sky above. The horse drawn wagon continued moving at a steady pace. Since it would take a day reach town, I decided to try out healing magic. Healing magic would definitely be indispensable in the long run. Sitting up straight, I cupped my hands and began my image training with my eyes closed. I imagined a soothing gentle light enveloping everything around me. ¡°This magic¡­ is this healing magic?¡± I heard a slight mumble next to me. It was John silently talking to himself. I suppose he didn¡¯t want to interrupt me or anything. It had taken a few hours, but I was finally able to use healing magic. Although it wasn¡¯t anything advanced, I felt proud of myself. ¡°It¡¯s taken some time, but I can finally use it now!¡± I exclaimed in triumph while I looked at the evening sky that replaced the afternoon clouds. ¡°Let¡¯s set up camp here¡± ¡°Alright¡± John guided his wagon off the road, quickly stopped his horse, and began taking stuff out from his bag. He pulled out a tent, and tied his horse to a nearby tree as I attempted to start a fire. After putting up more monster repelling incense, he sat down across from me and watched as I struggled to start the fire. ¡°Need some help?¡± Although he asked calmly, I knew that he was secretly laughing behind his helmet at my failed attempts. It¡¯s not as if I¡¯ve ever made a fire before you know! I tried copying what I¡¯ve seen on those popular survival shows like the triple survivors. ¡°Move aside¡± With a slight push, he forced me aside. ¡°fire¡­¡± With one word, a small flame lit up in the palm of his hands. Quickly moving his hands, he swiftly lit the pile of branches and started the fire. ¡°You can use fire magic?!!¡± ¡°¡­yes¡± With a look of bewilderment, he answered my question hesitantly. When I thought about the everyday applications of magic, using it to improve the quality of life never occurred to me! I¡¯ll have to deeply rethink what type of magic will be useful next. ¡°What can you do with water magic?¡± ¡°Well¡­ things like this I suppose¡­ [Refresh]!¡± At the sound of his voice, what seemed to be a stream of bubbles circled around me. After a spinning around me a few times my body felt lighter. It was as if I had finished taking a nice long hot shower. I felt renewed. I definitely must learn how to use water magic as well! ¡°I¡¯ll cook us up some nice frog steaks¡± John took out one of the carcasses from the back of his wagon. ¡°Is that still even safe to eat¡­?¡± ¡°Drawn underneath the wagon is a magic inscription that helps preserve meat. See for yourself¡± Cutting off a hunk of meat from the body, he threw it towards me to inspect. Looking at the color of it, it was still deep red. In fact, it still felt as if it were still throbbing with life. ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll leave the cooking to you. I¡¯ll look around for some more firewood¡± With a simple nod, I walked a little deeper into an area with many trees. As I walked along a small path, it seemed that the number of trees increased as I picked up fallen branches. ¡°zZzZz¡­¡± In the middle of the densely packed tree¡¯s, a small girl with long red hair in a mages attire seemed to be asleep while lying face down on the floor. This girl¡­ the color of her hair seems somewhat familiar, but it¡¯s too long to be the person I¡¯m thinking of. Without seeing her face, it impossible to be sure either. ¡°nnn¡­ who are you...? what are you doing?¡± Waking up from her sleep, the girl with long red hair immediately sat up while rubbing one of her eyes. Purple irises. Her bangs were also long enough to cover her eyes. Besides having a worn-out face, she looked cute. Like another person I knew. But the one I thought of, had a much rounder face, and much shorter hair. Her eyes were also red, just like the color of her hair. ¡°eh¡­ sorry I didn¡¯t mean to disturb you or anything. I¡¯m just collecting some firewood is all¡± As if she was trying to see if I had any ulterior motives, she seemed to study my facial expression. ¡°You seem to be telling the truth¡­¡± GrrrRrrrr! As soon as she finished speaking, her stomach made a loud growling noise. ¡°Are you hungry¡­? I¡¯m about to have dinner with another person, we have more than enough for another if you want to join us¡± ¡°Wah! I-it¡¯s not like that at all!¡± With an embarrassed expression, she waved her arms back and forth at me while shouting in surprise. ¡°I had a little snack before I fell asleep¡­¡­¡± Magically pulling out a hat from thin air, she quickly covered her face as she spoke with a quiet voice. I pointed behind from where I came while smiling. ¡°It¡¯s over this way¡± As if to show her the way, I started walking back towards camp. ¡°Ah! wait!¡± With a flustered look, she held onto the brim of her mage hat, and ran towards me with her cape flowing neatly behind her. It didn¡¯t take us long to get back to camp. It was about a five-minute walk from where I found the girl. During the walk, she didn¡¯t say anything at all. She kept herself a few paces behind as she watched me the entire time. Whenever I turned to look at her, I tried to smile with the kindest expression I could make so she could feel at ease. However, she would look away or pull down her hat to cover her face. ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve come back with another person, is she joining us for dinner?¡± ¡°Yea, sorry. I found her alone back there¡± With a quick glance, John immediately walked back to his wagon. ¡°Take a seat over here¡± I led her towards the fire, and prompted her to sit down on one of the two logs. She stared at me with wide eyes, looking back and forth at the log, and at me, as she finally came out from underneath her hat. ¡°Hmm, if you¡¯re worried about that, then how about we do it like this?¡± Guessing what she was thinking about, I picked up the log and placed it on its side making room enough for two. Sitting down, I patted the empty space next to me, urging her to sit as well. ¡°I-it¡¯s not as if I want to sit with you or anything¡­ I¡¯d just feel bad if you had to sit on the floor¡­¡± Quickly sitting down, she looked away while talking. Just now¡­ that response¡­ a tsundere?!! Why¡­ Why can¡¯t I just meet normal people! What¡¯s wrong with them you ask? Well, I¡¯m not particularly fond of them you know! They¡¯re too damn clich¨¦ if you ask me. Not to mention their personality is strange and annoying to deal with! They say one thing, but really, they mean the opposite! ¡°¡­¡­that voice. Is that you Miss Marie Weldzinaire?¡± From behind, John quietly walked, carrying another piece of meat ready grill over the fire. ¡°¡­who are you again?¡± Placing a finger onto her bottom lip, she looked straight at John who still had his full set of armor on, in wonder. Chapter 28 Mithril Dagger ¡°John, do you know this girl from somewhere?¡± I looked at John as he quietly sat down and skewered the hunk of meat in his hands and placed it over the fire across from us. ¡°It¡¯s not very important. It was a short greeting, so I¡¯m surprised you would remember me¡± Looking down dejectedly, he poked at the fire, adjusting the heat under the pieces of meat that were cooking. Could John be¡­ a lolicon¡­? Certainly, the girl beside me named Marie was indeed cute and short. But, John gives the impression that he¡¯s a much older person. I don¡¯t see why anyone would remember a face they¡¯ve seen briefly almost a month ago, if they weren¡¯t infatuated with them. On a side note, John could actually be a really young person that just likes to wear armor. I haven¡¯t seen his face yet, so I shouldn¡¯t judge him yet. ¡°Here, Mr. Tagami. These two skewers are finished cooking¡± Handing over the two skewers, I took them both and handed one over Marie who was drooling as she watched. ¡°Ah!.... Thank you umm¡­¡­ Tagami?¡± Wiping away her drool, she took one of the skewers and began eating right away. ¡°Can I call you Marie?¡± ¡°Yesh, I don¡¯t mind¡± Marie responded back to me with her mouth full, and immediately looked away with her cheeks red in embarrassment at how she said yes. ¡°What are you doing around here Marie?¡± Swallowing the food in her mouth this time, she looked up for a moment, and then back down. ¡°¡­¡­I¡¯m going to the capital to look for someone¡± ¡°I see, looking for someone huh?¡± ¡°So you¡¯re still looking for him?¡± ¡°¡­Yes¡± John directed his attention away from the fire for just a moment to address her situation. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find him¡± After John finished talking, from the corner of my eyes, I caught a glimpse of what seemed to be tears of frustration leaking from Marie¡¯s eyes. She quickly pulled down her hat so we couldn¡¯t see her face. The rest of the time we spent at the fire, it was in silence. I¡¯m sure John and I didn¡¯t want to say anything that could make Marie feel worse than what she already was. ¡°Good night¡± ¡°See you in the morning¡± ¡°¡­¡± John went inside his one-person tent after finishing his meal and saying good night, leaving the two of us together. Right after he finished his meal, I volunteered for the night watch since Marie had another day of traveling on foot before getting to Serafall, and John was the wagon driver. ¡°What are you traveling around for, Tagami?¡± Marie for some reason or another, moved a little closer and asked me in an almost incoherent tiny voice. ¡°eh, you may not believe it, but I¡¯m also looking for someone¡± I looked at the stars brightly shining down on us. ¡°Where are you from?¡± ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t mind telling you, but it¡¯s a long story. It would take all night to explain. Instead, you should think about sleeping for tomorrows journey don¡¯t you think?¡± After listening to me, she took off her hat, revealing her red hair and weary face. ¡°I don¡¯t mind if it¡¯s long. I just don¡¯t like to be by myself¡­¡± I¡¯ve seen a lot of fragile people in my life, and it seemed to me that she was at her breaking point. I don¡¯t know her circumstances, but if she feels better sitting with someone like myself, then this much should be fine right? ¡°Then I¡¯ll tell you about when I first got to Canute¡± I wasn¡¯t sure I could explain about being from another world to this person, but I could at least entertain them a little. ¡°Ok¡± Marie simply stared at the fire as I began to recount my story of when I first arrived here. By the time I had finished telling her about the battle against the Mimic Slime, she had already dozed off asleep. Her body was leaning against my arm in an awkward position. I quickly wrapped my arm around her so she could sleep a little more comfortably. For the first time in a long time, I felt a little lonely. Sitting at a campfire, and telling a story reminded me of the time when I went camping with my family and neighbors a few years ago. My childhood friend was begging me to tell her what it was like overseas in America. Before I could finish telling her about everything, she had fallen asleep just like Marie. Of course, I ended up carrying her back to her tent with her Mother and her father. Unfortunately, neither Marie or I have a tent to sleep in.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I watched as our shadows danced to the light of the campfire, reminiscing about the past. The Morning After. ¡°Good-bye, Tagami, John¡± ¡°Good-bye, Miss Weldzinzaire. I hope you find him soon¡± ¡°See you around, maybe we¡¯ll meet again¡± ¡°Yes!¡± With a brief farewell, John and I continued towards Rune Belle. Marie was headed towards Serafall. Although out meeting was short, we immediately went our separate ways. Tatatata! The horse pulling the wagon walked forward at a steady pace. ¡°John, do you know who Marie is looking for?¡± ¡°If I recall it was someone with an odd name that started with a ¡°T¡±? I don¡¯t quite remember. It¡¯s been a long time. Her friends never said his last name, so I don¡¯t know much more than that¡± John answered the best he could as he flicked the horses reins to speed up. ¡°I see. How long until we get to Rune Belle?¡± ¡°I left yesterday a little late so we¡¯re almost half way, but we should be there by sunset¡± ¡°Alright, wake me up when we get there¡± My eyes had already been slowly starting to close, I wouldn¡¯t be able to stay awake much longer. I pulled an all-nighter after killing all those frogs, so it was understandable that my body was shutting down. Little by little, I drifted away into a deep sleep. THUD! ¡°UNHAND THAT GIRL!¡± Huh?... What¡¯s with the commotion? When I opened my eyes, the wagon was stopped in the middle of road, and John was holding a large shiny broadsword twice his size, with one-hand. ¡°Fool! I don¡¯t care who you are, but you can¡¯t tell me what I can and can¡¯t do to my own slave can you?!!¡± ¡°If you continue to beat her like that, she¡¯ll die. It¡¯s the same as committing murder!¡± ¡°So what if she dies?!! The fate of their lives is decided by us by contract!¡± ¡°Grrrr!¡± Getting up, what I saw in front of me was a bloody scene. A small girl with purple like hair and fox like ears was lying on the ground not moving. There were traces of blood on the ground all around her. Her blood stained clothes were messy and torn apart. Right in front of her, was a short and round little man with a top hat wearing a shoddy suit, and confronting that man was John who seemed ready to kill him. ¡°How about this? If you buy her from me, she won¡¯t have to die. Of course it won¡¯t be cheap¡± ¡°Name your price!¡± ¡°200 Gold coins¡± ¡°You bastard!, are you telling me you want to die here?!!¡± ¡°Are you telling me you¡¯re willing to commit murder for the sake of a slave?¡± The short round man revealed an evil looking grin. ¡°YOU!!!!!!!.... ¡°John, move aside¡± While watching the two of them argue back and forth, I snuck up from behind and shoved John away before he did something. Although I¡¯m not sure how slaves are viewed in this world, it¡¯s probably safe to assume that they¡¯re treated as disposable garbage. ¡°I apologize for my friend¡¯s actions, but could you give us a more realistic price?¡± Since John was intent on saving the fox girl, I tried to bargain with the man. ¡°Realistic is it? Then how does 250 gold coins sound?¡± Hey¡­ how is that even remotely realistic?!! You just raised the price by fifty gold coins you know! ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but is there a reason why the price is so high?¡± ¡°That little bitch dropped some important merchandise in the back! You said realistic is it?!! You¡¯re looking at well over 300 gold if you ask me, but I¡¯m giving you a discount for that brat lying there only because she¡¯s already half dead!¡± The round man pointed towards his wagon as he talked. When I looked at John, he looked straight at me with eyes that said he wouldn¡¯t leave here without that girl. ¡°Do you accept trades?¡± ¡°Hah! Of course I do. But from the looks of it, it seems the two of you don¡¯t have anything that could be of any worth¡± Opening my bag, I rummaged around and pulled out my destroyed mithril dagger. ¡°How much is this worth?¡± ¡°This is¡­¡­¡± His jaw immediately dropped open as he walked closer towards me to inspect the dagger. From his money grubbing expression of disbelief, I could tell the dagger was still worth a lot even though it was broken. ¡°This is¡­¡± ¡°Alright alright, take it. In exchange, we¡¯re taking the girl with us¡± I shoved the half melted mithril dagger into the old man''s arms and walked towards the girl lying on the ground not moving. From afar, I concentrated a significant amount of mana around the half dead fox girl. ¡°[Heal]!¡± After casting my spell, I could visibly see her wounds clear up. Although I couldn¡¯t fully heal her, she looked much better than before. ¡°Wait!¡± From behind, the little man shouted and grabbed onto my jacket. ¡°My name is Heckman Jules the third. I¡¯m a trader of slaves and rare goods. I apologize for my rude behavior earlier. May I have your name, young master?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± His attitude immediately did a full spin in the opposite direction! What the hell happened to that small round guy that was angry just now?!! ¡°My name is Tetsu Tagami, Tetsu is fine¡± ¡°Young Master, I cannot take this dagger from you, however, to celebrate our first meeting, please accept that girl as my apology.¡± He presented the mithril dagger back to me with a bow. ¡°Uhh¡­ Could you explain a little? I don¡¯t really understand what you¡¯re doing¡± Taking the dagger back, I placed it into my bag. ¡°Does the young master not know about the origins of that dagger?¡± ¡°No, I know where it¡¯s from, but¡­¡± ¡°I see, so this must be fate that we¡¯re meeting here. That dagger represents the highest of peerage in the elven community. That symbol at the base of the dagger is unmistakable. That dagger alone grants you free entry into any city around the world. I cannot take such an item from young master, less I wish face the wrath of the elves.¡± Kneeling in front of me, the round little man quickly finished his explanation. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is¡­¡­¡± When I thought back to my first experience in Canute, it would have gone much better if I knew about the dagger wouldn¡¯t it?!! Why didn¡¯t that elf man tell me about it back then?!! Unless¡­ ¡°Inside of that bag contains a small Mithril dagger. Etched onto it is a symbol known only to us of the elf race¡± ¡°Etched onto it is a symbol known only to us of the elf race¡± ¡°a symbol known only to us¡± The words of the elf elder echoed continuously in my mind. THAT¡¯S WHAT HE MEANT?!!!!!! ¡°Allow me transfer ownership of that girl to you, young master¡± Almost immediately before I could respond to him, he began chanting some strange words I didn¡¯t recognize. STOPPPPP!!!!! I DON¡¯T EVEN WANT A SLAVE! GIVE HER TO JOHN! AND AT LEAST LET ME DIGEST ALL THIS INFORMATION FIRST! A circle of light formed below both me and the girl lying on the ground. In just a matter of seconds, the contract was completed, and the light from underneath us faded away. ¡°Young Master, the transfer is complete. I hope you¡¯ll overlook this small incident, and do business with me in the future. Farewell for now¡± The little round man hastily scurried back to his wagon and headed off as I was still trying to recover from my state of shock. ¡°Well done Tetsu, you have my eternal gratitude¡± As the sight of the small round man¡¯s wagon disappeared into the distance, the fox girl behind us woke up. ¡°Where is master?.... Sniff¡­¡± Looking around frantically, the little girl searched for her former owner. ¡°Wahhhhhh!!!!!¡± Unable to find him, she immediately began to cry. ¡°Hey¡­ John¡­¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°What the hell just happened?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Congrats on your new slave!¡± John threw his hands in the air with joy as he talked. IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY?!! I THOUGHT YOU WERE AGAINST SLAVERY! AND WHAT THE HELL IS WITH THAT UNCHARACTERISTIC RESPONSE?!!! DAMNNNNNITTTTT! Chapter 29 The Girl Who Cried Wolf ¡°Wahhhh! Hic! Sniff¡­ hic¡­ waahhhh!¡± ¡°Hey John¡­¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°Do you know to how to soothe a child?¡± ¡°No¡± ¡°¡­Wahhh!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t either¡± At a slight distance away, John and I were both huddled up and whispering to each other as the fox girl cried. ¡°Tagami, you have nothing to worry about!¡± ¡°You should probably take off your hel-¡± ¡°Just leave everything to me!¡± With a voice inflated with confidence, John walked towards the girl taking big strides completely ignoring what I was going to say. Creeping up near the fox girl, John kept his hands up in front of himself, as if to say he came in peace. ¡°Little fox girl, we¡¯re taking you away!¡± ¡°Hic¡­ Nooo! I¡­sniff¡­Ihicnot taste good¡­hic¡± With a look of dread, the fox girl backed away further as John tried to approach her. I could see genuine tears of fright in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve failed¡­¡± John came back looking like he had lost a high steak battle. His arms were hanging low, and his body bent forward in defeat. ¡°John¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Are you trying to kidnap her¡­? And take off your helmet! I¡¯d be damn scared if someone like you approached me if was a kid as well!¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Damn! Looks like I can¡¯t rely on John. Walking past John, I decided to give it a shot. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t eat you¡± I slowly approached her without any ill intent. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°¡­ N-no have¡± She answered in a shaky voice while I slowly inched forward. ¡°Do you remember what happened to you before you fell unconscious?¡± ¡°¡­master¡­ abandon?¡± The fox girl spoke a little more clearly. It seemed she had calmed down a little. ¡°Heckman transferred you over to me¡± I sat down in front of her, and pat her head as I talked. Her eyes opened wide as I explained what happened while she was unconscious. ¡°Then¡­ new master?¡± I nodded my head and stuck out my hand in front of her. ¡°Let¡¯s go¡± As if guiding a lost child, we walked back to where John was, hand in hand. ¡°Alright John, let¡¯s go¡± With an ecstatic expression, he hurriedly ran to his wagon and climbed into the driver seat. Because there wasn¡¯t enough room for three people, the little fox girl looked back and forth at me and the last remaining seat. ¡°Hmm, how about we do this?¡± I lifted her up, and sat down with her on my lap. ¡°Wah! Sit, master, ok?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fine¡± With things finally settling down again, we were back on our way to Runebelle. ¡°Mr. Tagami, shouldn¡¯t you give her a name?¡± With my thoughts wandering off back into dreamland, John reminded me of an unresolved issue. ¡°Hmm¡­ how about Cece? I looked at the small fox girl with big round eyes sitting on my lap. ¡°Name, Cece? ¡°Do you like it?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Cece revealed a bright beaming smile, happier than anyone I¡¯ve ever seen before. Looking at her, it made me smile as well. Maybe having a slave won¡¯t be so bad. Without any more disturbances, we safely made it to Runebelle just before sunset. ¡°Mr. Tagami, this is where we part ways¡± ¡°Thanks for the ride¡± With a polite tone, John headed off towards the Guild Hall. I suppose he wanted to turn in the frog carcasses right away. Though I can¡¯t really blame him, there were a lot of frogs in his wagon¡­ I thought of going directly to the guild as well, to turn in my frog legs, but there was something else I needed to attend to first. ¡°Cece, let¡¯s get you some clothes¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Holding her hand, I walked around the busy streets until I found a shop that sold cheap clothes. ¡°Welcome!¡± An elderly lady that was hunched over and had grey hair greeted us as we walked inside her small store. ¡°Good evening, I¡¯m looking for clothes that will fit this girl here¡± ¡°Oh my, isn¡¯t she just the cutest thing ever!¡± The elderly woman walked over to Cece, and began touching her all over, as if she were a plush toy. Cece kept looking over at me, as if asking for help with her eyes.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Uhh¡­ lady, I don¡¯t think Cece enjoys being touched like that¡± ¡°Oh! Is that so? Your slave is so cute that I couldn¡¯t quite help myself. Allow me to apologize by giving you a discount on whatever cloths you want to purchase for her¡± As soon as the old lady finished talking and let go of her, Cece quickly darted behind me and held onto my leg. She poked out her head, watching the elderly lady in fear from behind me, as if she were a dangerous existence. ¡°I¡¯ve never chosen clothes for little girls before, what do you recommend for someone her size?¡± ¡°Oh? Is that so? In that case, allow me to take a few measurements before I recommend anything!¡± With eyes beaming directly at Cece, even I felt a few shivers run down my spine at her words. Cece behind me was also shaking in fear. ¡°Cece?¡± I looked behind, and called her name. She looked back at me with big round eyes, and shook her head vigorously. She really didn''t like the idea of that elderly women taking her measurements. I looked back at the elderly woman with a serious expression, ¡°Go for it¡± Like a cat that had found a small mouse, the elderly lady pounced behind me and seized Cece before she could react. She moved at an illogical speed completely unfit for someone her age. Is she really an old lady?!! ¡°N-noooo!!!¡± Slam! Cece was quickly dragged off into the back room as the door slammed shut. ¡°Kyaaa!!!~¡± ¡°Oh yes! Wonderful! Wonderful!¡± Hey now¡­.. ¡°n-no¡­ no! no! no!¡± I feel kind of sorry for Cece now¡­ ¡°Yes! Yes! Yes! Just a little more! Come here!¡± ¡°Auuu! Ahhh! ......¡± Creeeaak!!! After a moment of silence, the door to the back room slowly opened, and they both came out. Cece looked straight at me with an expression as if she had been both violated and betrayed, as she slumped back over to me. Sorry Cece, I don¡¯t know what happened back there, but it was for your benefit! ¡°Oh my! She has such a wonderful body~ fufufu!¡± The old lady began blushing as she talked. I feel like I¡¯ve encountered a similar situation before... For now, I''ll pretend like I didn''t hear anything... ¡°What do you recommend?¡± ¡°About that, could you come back tomorrow around noon? I have nothing in here for her at this time, but you can take a few different dresses if you need spare clothes for her to wear¡± Taking the old lady¡¯s offer, I grabbed a few one pieces that looked like it would fit Cece, and had her change into one right away. Coming out from the back room again, Cece was wearing black shoes with a tan colored once piece. ¡°Thanks I¡¯ll come back tomorrow¡± Just as I turned around to leave the store, a question popped into my mind. Come to think of it, how did the shop lady know Cece was slave? When I glanced over her, she didn¡¯t have any weird markings on her arms or legs, or even have on a kind of slave collar around her neck like what I¡¯ve read in novels. ¡°By the way, how did you know Cece was a slave?¡± I turned back slightly, and threw out my question. ¡°Oh, you mean you don¡¯t know? It¡¯s different for humans, but for demi-humans, they usually have a certain part of their body cut off. For demi-humans like that fox girl there, they have their tail cut off aside from the enslavement crest that¡¯s placed on their back¡± The old lady talked in a serious tone. ¡°But many slaves have worked hard enough to become free on their own, so be mindful of who you judge¡± ¡°I see, thanks. I¡¯ll keep that in mind¡± As the lady finished talking, I thanked her and left the store holding onto Cece¡¯s hand. Outside, the sun had almost finished setting. We actually spent a fair amount of time inside the clothes shop. I wanted to visit the Guild Hall right after, but Cece was sucking on her thumb. Was she hungry? ¡°Cece, are you hungry?¡± When I looked down at her and asked, she shook her head and looked at the ground as we continued walking. We didn¡¯t eat anything on the ride here, so I knew she had to be hungry. Maybe she was just too shy to say anything? ¡°Let¡¯s get some dinner¡± Holding her hand, I guided her over to a what looked like a restaurant. ¡°Hello, please have a seat over here. We¡¯ll be right with you¡± Inside, we were greeted and seated by a waiter. It seems like this world had proper waiters. It was much different from what I had envisioned. I glanced over the menu, and everything was decently cheap. ¡°Cece, what would you like to eat?¡± ¡°Not hungry¡­¡± There was no way a child like her wouldn¡¯t be hungry. When I gazed at her from across the table, she looked down, staring at the top of the table. ¡°What would you like to order?¡± The waiter from before had come back, and asked what I wanted to eat. ¡°Give me your evening special, and for the fox girl, get her the kid¡¯s daily special¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, is your slave eating with you?¡± As soon as I had answered, the waiter gave me a look of shock. I realized why Cece had been adamantly saying she wasn¡¯t hungry now. When I glanced around the room out of the corner of my eyes, there were others who were already seated, staring at me strangely. ¡°Yes, is there a problem with it?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t serve slaves here¡± Although I couldn¡¯t see Cece¡¯s face, I knew she felt some kind of emotional pain. Her ears immediately drooped down as the waiter finished her sentence. I got up from my chair angrily, picked up Cece with both of my arms and walked out of the restaurant before the waiter could say anything else. It was frustrating. I wasn¡¯t mad at the restaurant, or even at their policy. I was mad at myself. Something like shops not accepting slaves was what I should have anticipated. Instead, I rashly entered at my own pace and embarrassed not only myself, but Cece as well. Outside, I found a food vendor and bought some skewers from him. I handed over two to Cece, and we both sat down on a bench to eat as the sun dipped down into the other side of the world, vanishing from the sky. I watched as the orange in the sky faded into dark blue while munching on my skewers. Restaurants are overrated anyways! I never really liked eating out back in my world, and even less inside the school¡¯s cafeteria. These food venders outside are godsend! I don¡¯t think I could survive in this world without them. Maybe its time for me to learn how to cook? When I looked down at Cece, it she hadn¡¯t eaten at all. Instead she was watching me munch on the various meats attached to the skewer with her mouth wide open, drooling. ¡°Cece, aren¡¯t you hungry?¡± She snapped out of her drooling trance, and glanced back and forth at me, and the meat skewers in her hand. ¡°¡­Ok to eat?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s okay to eat. I bought those two for you, so eat them¡± Her ears that were down, rose up in delight as she began eating with a cheerful expression. It was likely that she had been forbidden to eat before her master previously. But those kinds of things, I don¡¯t care about them. If you¡¯re hungry, then just eat I say! ¡°Cece, you don¡¯t have to ask me if it¡¯s okay to eat. If you¡¯re hungry, tell me so we can eat together from now on¡± I gently pat her head, and continued talking. ¡°Yes!¡± She looked up with her eyes that had curved into a smile, and answered in a voice fitting of a child while quickly finishing her skewers. I waited for her, as she instantly devoured her food. It was getting dark, and rather than going to the Guild Hall, I decided to find an inn. It was a long ride here, and I¡¯m sure the both of us were tired. Tomorrow morning, I¡¯ll visit the Guild Hall, and then visit a weapon shop to buy some equipment for Cece. Although she might not like the idea of killing things, I¡¯ll have to get used to it. I want her to eventually become independent after all. _____________________________________________________________________________ Capital, Serafall. Inside the Guild Hall, a familiar red-haired girl approaches the man standing at the counter. ¡°I¡¯m looking for Tetsu, a guy that looks half-dead with black hair, I heard he was here¡± ¡°A guy with black hair, and half-dead¡­? I¡¯m sorry, bu-¡° ¡°You mean Tetsu Tagami?¡± From door behind the counter, a bald man with many scars and a body with seemingly perfect muscles walked out and spoke with a loud voice. ¡°Tagami?¡± She had heard the name Tagami before, but could they really be the same person? They looked nothing alike. But when she thought about it, she had never hard his last name before. She had only known that he was a Japanese guy that looked like a zombie from horror movies. ¡°Yea, he should be headed towards Runebelle on his way towards the Labyrinth City right now. You might even have missed him on the road here Missy¡± A look of confusion quickly took hold of the red-haired girl who stood there with a dumbfounded expression. ¡°Was his in-game avatar actually different than real life? Did he lie to us about himself then¡­?¡± She talked to herself, in a whisper low enough for no one else to hear what she was saying. In Project IRIS Online, the guild the four of them had created was a place where everyone had designed their character to look like themselves. Plagued with childish looks, her friends and family nicknamed her Mimi because it fit her childish image. Not offended by the nickname, she began using it as her online handle. However, she was absolutely sure there was at least three people who knew her real name, Marie, inside Project Iris Online. The three people were the guild managers, Glenn, Reyna, and of course Tetsu. If the person she met was really Tetsu, then why did he act as if he didn¡¯t know her? ¡°He¡­ he must have tricked me!¡± Marie stood there and mumbled incoherently to herself as she shook in rage. Although she was angry at him in the first place, she planned for him to beg for her forgiveness after she was done torturing him. But now it was different. She felt as if she had been played! ¡°I-I-I¡¯ll never forgive him! Ever!!!¡± She quickly stormed out of the Guild Hall, and dashed out of the city under the sky illuminated by the night stars. Back inside the Guild Hall. ¡°Havehimwatch her would you?¡± ¡°By him, you can¡¯t possibly meanthat guy, can you?¡± ¡°Yea, that¡¯s exactly who I mean. He¡¯s in Runebelle watching over Tetsu right now, but that girl worries me as well. For now, sendhimto keep an eye on her movements as well¡± ¡°Yes, Guild Master!¡± Chapter 30 Shadow of Doubt Sunlight shun through the window. I opened my eyes groggily, and felt something under my sheets holding onto me. ¡°Cece?¡± I questioningly called out. ¡°Zzz¡­¡± I lifted my blanket, and found Cece sleeping next to me rather than in the bed nearby. ¡°¡­hey¡± I mumbled to myself as I recalled last night¡¯s events. Last night, I had trouble finding a place that would allow slaves inside. I didn¡¯t want Cece to sleep alone in a barn outside, so I ended up searching late into the night for one that also accommodated slaves. When I did find one, I must have fallen asleep fast. I don¡¯t remember when Cece crawled into my bed. ¡°Cece¡± I poked her cheek this time while saying her name. Come to think of it, Cece had a relatively healthy looking body for a slave. She wasn¡¯t quite skin and bones, but she wasn¡¯t well fed either. While her body was much thinner than the average child, she had a good complexion. I also noticed that her leftover bruises were healing up nicely. I began to caress her head. This is almost like having a little sister. ¡°¡­Nnn¡± While petting her, Cece opened her eyes slowly as I felt her ears twitch a few times. ¡°Good morning, Cece¡± ¡°Guu mawning¡± Cece stared at me while sitting up as she greeted me. Her right ear twitched as she rubbed her eyes. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of things to do today, let¡¯s go¡± Lifting her up, I gently placed her down on the floor and got up to put on my shoes. The first thing on my list to do, was to visit the guild and check for any traveling requests headed out towards the Labyrinth City. After, I¡¯ll buy some equipment for Cece, and check in on that old lady. After quickly getting ready, we headed out. Inside the Guild. ¡°Hey! Get me another drink!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s take on that request next¡± ¡°Did you hear about the corrupt noble that died last night? Some say it was done by the Assassins Guild¡± ¡°Ahahaha! That guy! I never thought he would do that!¡± ¡°¡¯ey ther¡¯ hon¡¯ ya lookin¡¯ fer som¡¯ strong adventurers?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have the hog steak¡± The guild hall was filled with both humans and demi-humans alike. It was much different from what I saw back in Canute. Humans were intermingling around with cat and dog eared demihumans, and there were even a few elves here and there. It was truly a mixing pot of different races coming together, laughing, and having a good time. ¡°Welcome, will you be having breakfast?¡± ¡°Ah, sorry. Are slaves allowed to eat in here?¡± A waitress caught me by surprise. Cece and I hadn¡¯t eaten yet, so it might be good to eat first before anything else. ¡°Yes of course. Inside the Guild Hall, there is no discrimination towards slaves. You may eat with them as you like¡± After a quick explanation, the waiter seated us towards the back where it was less noisy, and left a small menu. ¡°Cece, what would you like to eat?¡± ¡°Fish!¡± With a smile, she answered cheerfully. I called the waiter back, and placed an order for their popular breakfast meal.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. It¡¯s going to be a few minutes before the food arrives. Now is a good time to explain to Cece what she¡¯ll be doing from now on. ¡°Cece¡­¡± With my arms crossed, I called her in a serious tone. Her ears slightly twitched, and bent forward as she looked down at the table away from me. It seems she¡¯s misinterpreting my intentions. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re not in any trouble¡± ¡°Not mad¡­?¡± She looked at me with upturned eyes, and spoke in a squeaky voice. ¡°No, I¡¯m not angry, so don¡¯t worry¡± I stretched out a hand, and pat her head softly. ¡°Do you want to stay with me?¡± I brought up my first question. Although I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll say yes, I wouldn¡¯t know what to do if she says no. ¡°¡­¡­Want to stay with¡­¡± After a long silence, Cece answered back. ¡°Then Cece, from now on you¡¯ll be part of my party¡± I pulled my hand back, and crossed my arms again. The Guild visit today is to do three different things today. Turn in my frog legs, search for any traveling requests if there are any, and to register Cece as an adventurer in my party. ¡°I don¡¯t have a house, a lot of money. You¡¯ll have to work with me if you want to stay with me¡± A look of curiosity settled on her face. ¡°Cece, we¡¯ll be traveling a lot, and you¡¯ll have to help me kill monsters¡± ¡°Don¡¯t like¡­ but want to stay with¡­ so will do¡± She looked into my eyes, and answered with a firm strong determination. ¡°Here you are, two breakfast platters¡± The waiter came back with our food, and placed it in front of us. On our plates was scrambled eggs on top of toast, what seemed to be various pieces of fried vegetables, and a small bowl with a clear soup. ¡°Please enjoy it!¡± After eating our breakfast, I took Cece over to the Reception desk. ¡°Hello. How may I assist you today?¡± I was greeted by a beautiful tall bunny eared voluptuous woman. She had on a very cool kind of attitude as she gave us a welcoming smile. ¡°First, I want to turn in some giant frog legs¡­¡± ¡°One moment please¡± The bunny girl walked into the back room, and came out with a cart. ¡°Please place them in here¡± ¡°Are you sure you want me to place them in there?¡± Looking at the cart, it¡¯s kind of small¡­ will all of the legs be able to fit in? But, thinking back on the magic bag, it easily held all of the legs I placed in. This cart could also be a type of magic cart. ¡°Yes, here is fine. Please place them all here¡± After being assured by the bunny girl, I began taking out the pairs of frog legs from my magic bag and placing them inside the cart. One, two, three¡­ I counted the pairs of legs that started to pile up above the cart inside my mind. The bunny girl began sweating profusely as the legs slowly piled above the cart. ¡°Stop stop! How many do you have?!!¡± Finally breaking her posture, the bunny girl grabbed hold of my hand and prevented me from reaching back into my bag. ¡°That¡¯s only the eleventh one you know, there¡¯s still at least another fifty in my bag¡­¡± ¡°At least¡­ Fifty more¡­?¡± With a look of surprise, the bunny girl mumbled to herself in a fluster. ¡°Wait right here, got it? Don¡¯t move¡± In a hurried pace, she disappeared into the back room again. She may have went to get more carts, the cart in front of me didn¡¯t actually have a function to magically store the legs¡­ ¡°What?!! Over fifty of them?!!! Are you sure about that?!¡± From the outside, I could hear a lot of shouting between two people in the back room. It seems like the amount of frog legs I have is unexpectedly a lot, although the bunny girl has only seen me put in eight into this cart¡­ ¡°Ah, could he be the one that other guy was talking about?¡± ¡°Other guy? What other guy was there?¡± ¡°You know, the one that came in yesterday with over twenty of them in a wagon¡± I could hear a different person¡¯s voice cut-in and began saying things. ¡°There was such a person that came in with that many legs as well?!!¡± ¡°Oh, you weren¡¯t here for it. It wasn¡¯t legs, but full bodies. But they were missing legs. He must be the person that guy was talking about. The person that defeated nearly one-hundred of them¡± ¡°one-hundred¡­.¡± I could hear a few different people talk in the back room. It seems the amount of legs I have is abnormal. ¡°Sharon, actually the Guild Master would like to talk with that person¡± ¡°Y-yes, please wait just a few minutes¡± After throwing a fuss in the backroom, the bunny girl came out and had me explain the situation as I emptied my bag full of legs into the various carts that was brought out. After recounting my tale, the bunny girl told me the activity of the frogs was really strange. The frogs generally liked to stay away from the main road, and even human settlements alike. They were considered rare to find, but lived and traveled in colonies. The most abnormal thing about the frogs was that they normally don¡¯t attack in such large groups, let alone are they hostile towards humans in the first place. If what she said is true, then what was the reason the frogs were aggressive? And what was so many of them doing around the main road leading to Runebelle? Thinking about the reasons why, a single answer came to mind. Maybe they were scared out of their home? I remember reading a study of how the natural habitat of certain animals can be taken over by an invading species of another animal. After losing their home, they would even attack human settlements in search of a food source while migrating to another area. ¡°Sharon, the Guild Master would like to speak with that adventurer alone if you¡¯re done¡± A guy with cat ears walked out from the back and curtly bowed as he spoke to the bunny girl. Hearing the sudden news, Cece tugged the edge of jacket. Looking down at her, her eyes told me she didn¡¯t want to be left alone. ¡°I want to register Cece here as an adventurer and add her as part of my party, could I trouble you with that request for the time being while I¡¯m talking with the Guild Master?¡± I looked straight at the bunny girl and asked as politely as I could. ¡°Then, please leave her to me¡± After leaving the timid looking Cece in the care of the Sharon, the bunny girl, I walked through the door into the back room. The cat eared guy with a butler like uniform led me up a set of stairs, leading to the Guild Masters room. ¡°I¡¯ve been expecting you, Tetsu Tagami¡± A tall thin man wearing nice clothing and an eye monocle greeted me as I walked through the door to the room. ¡°Zen, please prepare some tea¡± ¡°As you wish¡± Giving a formal bow, the butler walked out of the room. ¡°Now then, please have a seat. There¡¯s someone I¡¯d like to introduce you to¡± Just as the tall thin man stopped talking, the lights inside the room immediately dimmed. The shadows inside the room swirled and converged onto one area and formed a circle. ¡°Introductions won¡¯t be necessary Guild Master¡­ It¡¯s been a long time Tetsu¡± Rising up from the shadows, a single person emerged from within the darkness. Chapter 31 Mysterious Acquaintance ¡°Gear! Didn¡¯t I tell you not to come out until I said so? Moreover, what are you doing showing up without the disguise?!!¡± The Guild Master exclaimed loudly at the figure that slowly rose from the merged shadows. ¡°I don¡¯t remember being under your direct order. The only person who can order me around isThat Guy¡± A cold voice rippled through the air, and the Guild Master immediately went quiet. It was as if he didn¡¯t want to offend this person in any way. ¡°Who are you?¡± I stared at the man shrouded in shadows, whom was staring right back at me. ¡°Do you remember the name, Gig?¡± The shadows slowly receded back into their original positions as he revealed himself. Gig, that name was very nostalgic. It was a name I could never forget. In the early days of Project Iris Online, he stood at the top of the game¡¯s player versus player system. He and I sparred on numerous occasions. I was his number one choice as a punching bag because I had mastery with a wide range of weapons. However, two years ago, he stopped logging into Project Iris Online. Eventually the PvP leader board ranking was reset, and someone took his spot as number one in the ranking system. After a while, his name was also forgotten. From the shadows, a man outfitted in lightweight dark clothing that was just a few centimeters taller than me appeared. His hair was light brown, and although he wore a mask, his gaze seemed to pierce right through me. ¡°I do, but what does that have to do with you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯ve forgotten. My character looked completely different in that game¡± As he spoke, something felt extremely wrong. ¡°You¡¯re Gig?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Back in that game world, you formally knew me as Gig. I want to thank you for everything back then¡± Walking towards me, he held out his right hand as a friendly gesture. As I shook his hand, I couldn¡¯t help but feel that something was slightly strange with this Gig. In PIO, his character model was based off the humanoid cat race. Rather than that however, back then he seemed like a cheerful person. Although his gestures were friendly, the current Gig¡¯s expression seemed to indicate otherwise. ¡°It¡¯s good to finally see someone from the same world as me¡± I replied back with a smile. Certainly, this Gig was strange. But, if he¡¯s the same Gig as from back then, maybe he could answer most, if not all the questions I have. ¡°Ahem! Sorry to interrupt your reunion, however there¡¯s still something we must discuss¡± Although he seemed reluctant to interrupt us, the Guild Master forced himself to bring up the topic at hand. ¡°Guild Master, I¡¯ll leave the explaining to you. I¡¯ve got something to attend to. Tetsu, we¡¯ll meet again later¡± The shadows converged around Gig, and quickly swallowed him. He had left just as quickly as he came. Knock Knock ¡°Sir, the tea is ready¡± ¡°You may come in Zen¡± The butler that had disappeared came back with tea cups and a tea kettle. ¡°Now then, Tetsu, it seems like you two are already acquainted with each other. That makes a few things easier to explain¡± Crossing his legs, the Guild Master looked up towards the ceiling with a serious face as his butler poured the both of us tea. ¡°Originally, I wanted that person to join you in your journey while in disguise. However, that¡¯s no longer necessary, as you are already both familiar with each other¡± The Guild Master continued talking as he directed his gaze at me. ¡°Instead, he¡¯ll be observing you as a party member¡± After his simple explanation, we began talking about various other things. The frogs that I encountered meant that a lot of new adventurers would be forced to stay around the city than to adventure out. A request to scout the area would immediately be put up for seasoned adventurers. Scouting and extermination would take at least a week. That meant that I was stuck in this city for a week until it was safe for new adventurers like myself to go out. Although I don¡¯t particularly mind, I wanted to train Cece a little before leaving anyways. Before leaving, I did ask him a few questions about Gig. In the end, there weren¡¯t many questions that he could answer. Of the things I did learn, was that in this world he went by the name Gig, and he¡¯s been in this world for the last two years of his life. ¡°Welcome back, I¡¯ve finished registering Cece as an adventurer and party member. If there¡¯s anything else I can do, please don¡¯t hesitate to ask¡± After making it back down to the first floor, I was quickly greeted by the voluptuous bunny lady. ¡°Ok, thanks¡± I gave her a quick reply as Cece quietly walked over and held onto my shirt from where the bunny lady stood behind the counter. ¡°Before you leave, here is your reward for defeating 129 Monstrous Frogs. Inside, you¡¯ll find your reward of 2 gold and 9 silver¡± The bunny lady quickly handed me a bag filled with coins. ¡°Along with your reward, your rank has increased from E-rank to D-rank. Please do your best to make it to the next rank~¡± ¡°O-ok¡­¡± The bunny lady teased me by winking right at me as she finished talking. Leading Cece by her hand, we left the Guild Hall in search of a store that sold equipment. Although I hadn¡¯t intended to, we spent a lot of time in the Guild Hall. It was already late afternoon as we made our way through the busy streets.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. It had taken a while, but we eventually got Cece some leather armor. Because I wasn¡¯t sure of what would suit her best, I bought a few different ones, ranging from a dagger, to a short sword, and even a bow. Tomorrow I plan to have her test weapons and see which one shes comfortable with. As soon as we finished buying equipment, the sun had begun to go down. I originally planned to finish doing everything on my schedule today, but after finding out I couldn¡¯t leave the city just yet I decided to check in on the old lady¡¯s clothing store tomorrow. Cece seemed exhausted, and with a long day of training tomorrow, I wanted her to rest as much as possible today so we headed back to the Inn early. ¡°Yo! How have you been, Tetsu?¡± Casually greeting me in front of the Inn was a person dressed in a green tunic and a green hat. ¡°Who are you?¡± I pondered while staring at the person who had begun talking to me cosplaying as a certain character form a certain popular game. His voice was familiar, but I couldn¡¯t quite make out who he was. ¡°Did you forget who I am already?¡± The person dressed as Zelk, from the gameThe Legend of Linda, spoke with a slightly high pitched voice. His eyes were brown as was his hair, but I don¡¯t recall meeting an average looking guy like him anywhere. As a matter of fact, besides the cosplay, it was rather refreshing talking to someone as average looking as me after a long time. ¡°Sorry, have we met befo-¡° And then it hit me right as I was going to finish my question. This person must be Gig! The Guild Master did mention something about a disguise, and he did say we would meet again later. ¡°Ah, I remember now¡­ I didn¡¯t expect to meet you here in that disguise¡± ¡°Ohhh! So you do recognize me! Were you able to finish your Guild Hall errands yet?¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m finished for now¡­¡± ¡°Good Good! Then, see you later. I was just passing by!¡± Before I could say anything, the cosplaying Zelk quickly ran away. Somehow, Gig¡¯s voice was perky and full of emotion rather than cold and emotionless. Unless¡­ could it be¡­ he¡¯s actually a roleplayer?!! With that thought in mind, I walked inside the Inn with Cece by my side. Cece quickly and quietly dozed off as I tucked her inside her own bed tightly so she wouldn¡¯t sneak into mine during the night. It was still a little early, but I decided I should also probably rest as well. ¡°psst¡­ hey¡­¡± Eerily I heard a whisper at the foot of my bed. A-a-a a g-ghost?!! The unknown voice caused me to jump up in fright. Calm down!!! Ghosts¡­ ghosts don¡¯t exist! Yes, that¡¯s right. Ghosts are fake! Zombies aren¡¯t real! There no such thing as ghosts! Calm down! I continually talked to myself, trying to calm myself down. ¡°pss-¡± ¡°G-g-g-g-ghost?!! I-I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry! Please haunt someone else!¡± As a dark shadow rose up at the foot of my bed, I quickly threw on my blanket covers. ¡°¡­¡­ Hey¡­ I¡¯m not a ghost. It¡¯s me, Gig¡­¡± Throwing off my sheets, the black figure had turned into the man with light brown hair I had met earlier today inside the Guild Hall, and in front of the Inn. ¡°O-oh¡­ It¡¯s just you Gig. You scared me you know¡­¡± Breathing a sigh of relief, I got up and headed towards the door as Gig, now known as Gear, signaled me to leave. Cece was fast asleep, I guess he didn¡¯t want her to wake up. Inside another private guest room, we both sat down at a small table with a large burning candle that illuminated the room, located next to the window overlooking the street. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time¡­¡± Gear stared at me with an empty expression. I couldn¡¯t quite make out what he thinking. However, he said its been a long time, but didn¡¯t we just meet in front of the Inn not too long ago? And before that was inside the Guild Hall. Although I suppose being in another world for two years is a long time. ¡°This might be random, but do you like to cosplay?¡± ¡°No¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± He must be a closet cosplayer. ¡°Alright, so what are you doing here Gear? The Guild Master already explained the circumstances, so there¡¯s no need for you to go out of your way to come see me if you¡¯re busy you know¡± ¡°Before that, allow me to take off my mask as a sign of gratitude¡± Click Right as he reached behind his head, a clicking noise was made. With his other hand, he grabbed his mask and pulled it off. Behind the mask, his green eyes almost glittered as he stared right at. Isn¡¯t this guy much more handsome than the person from earlier?!! ¡°Gear, can I ask you another question?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Have you ever cosplayed before?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ve already told you I don¡¯t like that stuff¡± ¡°I see¡± They were two different people!? Then who was the guy that I met cosplaying as Zelk?!! ¡°You¡¯re looking for answers am I wrong? I¡¯ve heard you¡¯re searching for someone that also came from the same world as us. You¡¯ll probably get the same answers from me if you were to ask him as well¡± My eyes lit up as I listened to him. It was as he said. I wanted to find someone from the same world. Maybe then I could finally make sense of what happened. ¡°Then first off, who¡¯s the hero we¡¯re suppose to help?¡± ¡°That¡¯s an odd question. All of us who formed a contract with a god can be considered heroes. However, whether or not you¡¯re willing to call yourself one is another matter¡± I slightly furrowed my brows while listening. Sure enough, there was more than one person who was summoned, but it felt slightly off. The little girl I met before being sent here, what were her words again? ¡°You¡¯ve been called here by me in order to assist the next Hero¡­¡± I recalled her words from back then. If we¡¯re all heroes, then what did she mean by that? ¡°what do you mean by that?¡± ¡°Any of us can receive the title of Hero. It¡¯s not bound to just one person. It¡¯s just a matter of meeting the requirements¡± ¡°Alright, what about the status screen that pops up. I¡¯ve wondered why for a while now, why is it similar to a game?¡± These two things were the things I didn¡¯t understand the most. This world wasn¡¯t a made up game world. The pain I¡¯ve experienced so far has been very real. ¡°Didn¡¯t the god that contracted you explain that?¡± Huh? ¡°What?¡± ¡°The god that summoned you into this world should have explained all of the basic information for you¡± HAH?!!! That little girl was suppose to explain that to me?!! WHATTT!! Impossible! ¡°Did something happen?¡± In the first place, why didn¡¯t she explain that?!! Well, for starters, it didn¡¯t help that I kept interrupting her right? "Whats wrong?¡± It was her job to wasn¡¯t it? If she was a god, then couldn¡¯t she explain things in a more believable fashion? Half of the things we talked about, she didn¡¯t know as well! What kind of god wouldn¡¯t know that Project Iris Online is a game?!! ¡°Hey¡­ your face is turning pale, are you alright?¡± No But, no matter how you look at it, wouldn¡¯t the fault lie with me? When she was talking to me, she already seemed rushed. And Didn¡¯t my pointless remarks cause her to waste more time? After-all, it seemed as if she was fading from existe- ¡°HEY!!! KEEP IT TOGETHER!!!¡± Gig had suddenly appeared and was violently shaking me while I was deep in thought. ¡°Ah¡­ sorry, I was uhhh¡­ just lost in thought¡­¡± After breathing in a deep sigh of relief, we continued our talk after a few moments passed. ¡°It seems to me you don¡¯t know even know the basics of what was told to everyone, so I¡¯ll briefly explain it to you. For us who have been summoned, we¡¯re allowed to look at our status window at anytime. We also have access to skill points, and can distribute them into whatever we wish. That is what our god¡¯s blessing allows us to do as heroes. Normal people in this world aren¡¯t given that freedom. For example, they would have to use [Analyze] to see their own status. In this world, a majority of strength comes from steadily training yourself like in our world¡± ¡°Continuing on, what is a blessing?¡± ¡°¡­¡­A gods blessing is something they bestow upon you before coming to this world. It¡¯s under you titles list¡± My titles list doesn¡¯t have any blessings listed, but its most likely that entry that says [???]. Judging from what he¡¯s saying, everyone should know what blessing they have. ¡°Anything else you want to ask?¡± Gig looked in my direction, and eagerly awaited my response. For the most part, he¡¯s answered a majority of my questions, but those answers left me with more questions. Ones that he probably couldn¡¯t answer. Who was the girl that summoned me? Why doesn¡¯t my blessing show? There¡¯s a few more questions that have come up, but it¡¯s useless to think about it, so for now I¡¯ll push them to the back of my mind. ¡°That¡¯s enough for now¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll be on my way¡± ¡°Ah, by the way, what were you thanking me for earlier?¡± Out of curiosity, I asked him another question right as he was getting up from his chair. ¡°Are you interested in hearing my story?¡± ¡°Sure¡± There was nothing to lose from hearing his story. So I decided to hear it out. I also happened to be curious what he¡¯s been doing these past two years in this world. Standing up from his chair, his expression seemed dark and bitter. ¡°It¡¯s a story from roughly 2 years ago¡± Sitting back down, be started to recount his tale. ¡°It was during the time when I was first summoned here¡­¡± At that time, I didn¡¯t realize the struggle he had experienced. The story he would tell me, was one filled with fleeting romance, violent betrayal, heart breaking sorrow, and everlasting revenge. Chapter 32 The Prideful Knight ¡°I welcome thee mortal, to a portion of what thou may call, the realm of gods¡± Standing in a dimension that seemed to go on indefinitely was a man with light brown hair, and green eyes that almost seemed to glitter. ¡°Who are you?¡± The man with light brown hair looked around and asked the other person who wore a simple robe that covered him from head to toe. ¡°I am, what many would call a god¡± ¡°What am I doing here? Did I die?¡± ¡°Fear not young one, thou art completely alive and well¡± The man wearing the robe began stroking his chin, as he looked over the man with light brown hair. ¡°Young one, answer me this question. What is a man without honor, pride, wealth or fame?¡± The young man looked at the person proclaiming himself as a god with a confused expression. He had thought to himself, why would a god ask him a question he should already know? Nevertheless, he still gave an answer. ¡°A man without honor is a man of sin. Without pride, man has no backbone. Wealth doesn¡¯t define a person, but measures their greed. Whether or not you want fame and attention, that¡¯s for the person themselves to deicide. The values of a man may change from person to person, but you can¡¯t judge a poor man who shamelessly steals to provide for his family. Therefore my answer is, a man is a man regardless if he is without honor, pride, wealth, or fame¡± A smile formed on the robed man¡¯s face. ¡°Well said young one. I was right in choosing thou¡± ¡°Choosing me?¡± ¡°Indeed, I¡¯ve chosen thou¡± The atmosphere around the robed man quickly changed. A powerful pressure filled the area. ¡°W-who, who are you?¡± The light brown haired man trembled as a gust of wind blew past them. ¡°I am one who rules over all that is Life and Death. Albert, thou may call me, Odin¡± ¡°Odin¡­¡± Albert who heard the gods name at last stood astonished. Was everything that was happening a dream? Unable to understand what was happening, Albert and the god talked vigorously. After what seemed like hours, he finally understood. ¡°Albert, son of man, you will be sent into another world. You will judge those who cannot be judged. Whether they be human, or not at all. You will seek them out¡± ¡°Understood¡± Understanding his purpose, shining blue light surrounded him. His vision distorted as he was sent into another world. ¡°This place is¡­¡± Albert looked around In his peripheral vision, he was in the middle of a field. The grass was lime green, and the tree¡¯s close by were in various shades of red, brown, orange, and yellow. Currently, this world was experiencing what his world referred to as, Autumn. Spotting a small city in the distance, he immediately embarked on his path. He was told to grow strong, and to judge those who were unable to be judged. ¡°He he he, looks like you¡¯re alone. Drop everything you have or we¡¯ll kill you¡± After thirty minutes of walking, a group of three approached him from the side. ¡°Bandits?¡± Dressed in worn out clothing, each of them carried a knife in one hand, and a sword on their waist. ¡°Hey, didn¡¯t you hear us?¡± Although the bandits were serious, Albert wasn¡¯t scared in the slightest. He himself also wondered why for a slight moment. Although he had trained in martial arts, when threatened by more than one person holding a weapon, anyone would give into their demands out of fear. ¡°Sorry, I have no respect for garbage like you¡± ¡°Tch, Kill him!¡± Clicking his tongue, the bandit on the left quickly ran out in front, while the other two surrounded him. Sensing he was in a bad situation, Albert remained calm. From behind, one of the bandits quickly lunged at him, however Albert sidestepped while raising his arm up and immediately swing down his elbow at full force. ¡°Gah!¡± The thief who cowardly attacked from behind missed, and was hit in the back of his neck. A cracking sound mixed in with his cry could be heard. Unable to withstand the force of the impact, he dropped onto the ground, showing the whites of his eyes. ¡°That¡¯s one. Come!¡± Albert taunted the other two bandits who had watched as one of their own was so easily handled almost as if it were child¡¯s play. ¡°Randy!¡± One of the bandits screamed out as their friend fell to the floor with a plop. ¡°You bastard! You¡¯ll pay for that!¡± The one who could be called the leader drew his sword. He ran forward and quickly tried slashing vertically. ¡°Too slow¡± Simply moving a step back, and bending his body slightly, Albert completely avoided the wild slash. As the sword moved past him, Albert quickly grabbed him by the neck, and slammed him into the ground. A cloud of dust immediately flew up from his choke slam. When the dust settled, the leader could be seen in full display, knocked out while foaming at the mouth.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°And then there was one¡± The last bandit stood there, trembling in fear. Did they choose the wrong person to rob? He thought to himself. His movements were precise, and his attacks were calculated. Who was this person? Was he secretly a master of martial arts? ¡°Here I come!¡± Without much warning, Albert appeared in front of the last bandit, and before he could react, Albert had Knee¡¯d him in the chin. ¡°Guuhah!¡± The bandit flew up several inches before falling down and hitting the floor with a hardthud! In the distance, galloping horses could be heard. In just a few moments, A group of Five knights appeared. ¡°You there! Stop what you¡¯re doing!¡± When the knights arrived, they saw the three bandits sprawled across the dirt road. The leader dismounted their horse and made their way towards the oddly dressed man. ¡°What happened here?¡± A very feminine voice was heard coming from underneath the knight¡¯s helmet as it was taken off. ¡°These guys tried to rob me as I walked by. I simply retaliated in response¡± Surprised by the turn of events, Albert explained the situation to the stunningly beautiful woman with tied up crimson red hair. ¡°Is this the truth?¡± The beautiful knight looked at the young man with light brown hair, and then at the thugs who were knocked out cold. ¡°Yes¡± ¡°Unbelievable¡­¡± She shook her head as the other knights also dismounted from their horses. ¡°Unbelievable? You don¡¯t believe me?¡± Surprised by her reaction, he repeated her words. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean what you¡¯re saying is a lie, I meant its surprising¡± The Lady knight had simply been astonished. A young man, unarmed, beat a group of three bandits all at once. ¡°Gather, and tie them up¡± ¡°¡±¡°Yes ma¡¯am!¡±¡±¡± The other knights urgently responded to her orders, and rounded up all three to tie up. ¡°I apologize for the late introduction, My name is Clair Rosenberg. Knight Captain of the Red Barons. On behalf of our knight corps, I¡¯d like to thank you. Those three bandits are well known in this area, we surely wouldn¡¯t have been able to catch them¡± ¡°My name is Albert Ridge¡± ¡°From the look of it, you¡¯re not from around here. Are you an adventurer?¡± Clair examined the way he was dressed, looking up and down his body. ¡°No, not yet. I¡¯m on my way to town¡± ¡°Is that so? Allow me to bring you to town as thanks¡± ¡°I accept your offer¡± The two of them firmly shook hands, after introducing each other. ¡°Captain Rosenberg, we¡¯re finished tying them up¡± ¡°Good! Go ahead and take them with you, I¡¯ll follow behind¡± ¡°Yes, Ma¡¯am!¡± The knight that had come to inform the knight captain, ran back and helped the other knights load the bandits onto the back of a horse. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind, but there isn¡¯t much room so you¡¯ll have to ride with me¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright, let¡¯s get going already¡± The two of them saddled up on a single horse, Albert sitting behind Clair as they rode off towards town. _________________________________ ¡°That was my first meeting with the female Knight Captain, Clair Rosenberg¡± As Gear spoke, he was looking out the window, towards the stars outside illuminating the darkness. ¡°How long were you in that city for?¡± ¡°A little over 3 months¡± ¡°I see, so it was your area of operations while you were still getting used to the new world¡± ¡°In a sense, you could describe it as such, but there was another reason¡± Gear turned his head towards me, anticipating the obvious follow up question. ¡°What was that other reason?¡± ¡°I fell in love¡± ¡°With the woman named Clair?¡± ¡°Yes¡± Nodding his head, he continued his story. ¡°That day, I registered at the Guild as a new adventurer. I spent the first week in the fields nearby, completing small requests as I raised my level and skills. During the second week, we coincidentally met again, or maybe it was fate?¡± _______________________________ Grrawr! Thud! ¡°Alright, that makes all 12¡± Albert had finished his objective of exterminating twelve horned bears, and began quickly dismantling it. Skinning the fur, and cutting off its horn. He also cut off various parts of its body like its paws and feet, as well as cutting off portions of meat for himself to dry out later for making rations. ¡°It¡¯s still early, should I head back?¡± Finishing his request faster than he thought he would, Albert was reluctant to go back. Although he had travelled far into the woods to find the nest of horned bears, his curiosity got the best of him as he studied the species of animals and monsters around the area. He wanted to expand his knowledge of his surroundings. Finally deciding to search around for a while longer, he quickly disposed of the bear carcass as to not attract any monsters. ¡°Surround them!¡± Making his way towards a small hill overlooking a random cave, he heard voices in the distance. ¡°Secure the horses, make sure none of them escape¡± Looking down towards the cave, he saw the figure of five knights surrounded by numerous bandits. They looked to number above thirty. ¡°Looks dangerous¡± Albert sat and contemplated. Clearly the number of bandits outnumbered the knights. The knights would no doubt lose. Even if he went down there, it was unlikely that it would change the outcome. From his distance, it was impossible to gauge the strength of the bandits. It was practically like committing suicide if he were to just randomly jump in. ¡°Captain, we¡¯ll break through the left flank. Take that chance and run!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be foolish! I cannot to leave behind my fellow knights!¡± Thinking about their Captains safety, the knights decisively would aim for the left side of the bandits that encircled them. As the bandits drew in closer, Albert quickly formulated a plan as he heard the familiar voice from afar. If it didn¡¯t work out, at the very least it would allow him to escape unharmed. Creeping around to the mouth of the cave, he quickly activated his hiding skill. ¡°Hey, that one there is female, make sure you save her for last¡± A large man commanding the group licked his lips as he heard the Knight Captain muttering. ¡°Kill them!¡± The large man finally signaled the other bandits to move. ¡°He he he! Let us have a taste later as well boss¡± ¡°Yea, I¡¯ve been starving for one for a long time now!¡± The knights engaged in fierce combat versus the numerous bandits. ¡°You bastards!¡± ¡°Take this!¡± ¡°Arrg!Stop struggling!¡± The knights slowly fought off the bandits. The bandits were weak, however, they were great in number. No matter how many the knights beat, another would take their place. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I couldn¡¯t be of more use to you my Lady¡­¡± One by one, the knights fell. Each of them saying their last words holding on tightly to their swords. ¡°Are we fated to lose¡­?¡± Knight Captain Clair had looked on in despair at the remaining number of bandits. There were too many! They were severely outnumbered! ¡°He he he, its too bad little lady. You underestimated our numbers. Because of you, your knights all died! But don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll become our plaything for a loooong loooooong time! Ha ha ha ha ha!¡± The large man laughed wildly as the knights were beaten down. His eyes were completely glued on his prize, the female Knight Captain. Forcing her to her knees, her helmet was stripped off, and her armor was ripped apart, exposing her bare white skin. ¡°Delicious!¡± Four of the bandits held her down, and licked her face. ¡°You¡­ I¡¯ll never forget this humiliation!¡± Clair furiously spat in the large mans face. ¡°I like em¡¯ feisty. After I¡¯m finished with her, you can all have a round. He he he¡± """Cheers for our leader!""" The surrounding bandits cheered on the bandit leader, as he began fondling Clair¡¯s various body parts. ¡°Stop¡­ Stoop! Ku!Damnyou!¡± ¡°Ha ha ha! You like it there don¡¯t you!¡± He inserted his fingers into Clair¡¯s various body parts. ¡°Haa¡­ haa¡­ haa..Curseyou wretched animals!¡± ¡°Looks like you¡¯re ready¡± The Bandit Leader licked his fingers, quickly took off his pants, and came closer towards Clair. Watching as the bandit leader crept ever closer, Clair closed her eyes as tears flowed down her cheeks. If only there was someone who could save her. As she thought of that, the figure of that person she met a week ago came to mind. He had a gentle, yet handsome face, yet his beautiful sparkling green eyes were his best feature. She waited with her eyes closed for her body to be penetrated, but after a few moments nothing still had yet to happen. ¡°What¡¯s wrong boss? What¡¯re you standing there for?¡± ¡°¡­¡± One of the bandits holding her down spoke up to the bandit leader who wasn¡¯t moving, however he didn¡¯t respond back. ¡°Gah!¡± ¡°Guuh!¡± ¡°Uuueh!¡± Appearing from out of thin air, three of the bandits holding down Clair were immediately blown away. ¡°Wh-who are you?!!¡± Stunned at the person dressed in black, the remaining bandit that held onto Clair¡¯s left arm stuttered. ¡°[Deadly Impact]!¡± The bandit was answered with a swift blow to his chest that sent him flying away. ¡°Hold on tightly, we¡¯re leaving!¡± Quickly picking up Clair who had her eyes open wide in surprise while shivering in fear, Albert vanished into thin air as the bandits rushed towards him. ¡°Where¡¯d he go!¡± ¡°Search the area!¡± ¡°Are you alright Boss?!!¡± ¡°That sneaky bastard!¡± The voices trailed far behind Albert as he sprinted through the forest, dodging tree after tree, as he held onto the trembling Clair in his arms.