Panasolei Gruuze De Rittenmeier was a talented man of significant importance. Appointed as the mayor of E-Rantel by King Ranpossa III himself, Panasolei governed over a strategically important fortress city. The position came with significant prestige and many benefits. Unfortunately, with power came responsibility.
"Well, what's so important that I had to be up this early?"
Panasolei complained in his nasal voice to the two other men in the room with him. He was currently meeting with the head of E-Rantel's Adventurer's Guild, Pluton Ainzach and the leader of the E-Rantel Magician's Guild, Theo Rakesheer. They were in a spacious meeting room in the adventurer's guildhall. Panasoeli had been summoned here via a runner and he was only told it was of great importance to the safety of the city. Pluton was the first to address him.
"I apologize for the sudden summons, mayor, but the situation is time sensitive. Last night, a group of adventurers patrolling the graveyard accidently stumbled upon a hidden base. They investigated and managed to capture several suspicious individuals off guard and apprehended them."
"I see, while that is interesting, I don't think it justifies dragging me here."
Panasolei was slightly irritated at Pluton for interrupting his rest for something as trivial as this. However, what the guildmaster said next changed his mind.
"From a preliminary investigation, we have reason to suspect these individuals were members of Zuranon."
"What!"
Panasolei was shocked at this revelation. Zuranon was a feared and dangerous organization. If they were operating within the city, it did not bode well.
At this point, Theo decided to speak up.
"We discovered several powerful dark artifacts in the possession of the suspects, including an extremely dangerous orb filled with negative energy. There was also a cache of artifacts of varying power in the mausoleum that they used as a base. We're still investigating these items, but it looks like they had more than enough power to destroy the city in there."
Panasolei's face turned grim.
"To think this was going on under our noses. It's fortunate that discovered this before they took action."
"Indeed"
"What else do we know about these suspects?"
Pluton frowned at that question.
"Unfortunately, not much at the moment. We're on the lookout for any of these suspected Zuranon members in the city in case they escaped, but all of the ones we captured are still unconscious. We're still investigating, but it could take quite some time. I called you here to notify you of this situation and secure your support in our investigation."
"I see, in that case you have my full support. I cannot allow a threat like this to go unchecked. By the way, who were the adventurers that discovered all of this? Shouldn't we talk to them as well?
"Ah, apparently, they're a new team that was recently formed a few days ago. As such, they're still copper ranked, although I think this merits a promotion. I sent for them a while ago. They should be arriving soon."
"I see, I'd like to thank them personally for their efforts. I don't want to think about the situation the city would be in if this"
At that moment, a messenger entered the room.
"I'm sorry, guildmaster, it seems that the adventurers you requested for have already left the city on a mission earlier this morning."
Pluton stared at the girl before him blankly.
"What?"
XXX
'Well, seeing it in my head is one thing, but to actually see it for real...'
At that moment, Satoshi, Ryuuta, and Angela were staring at what could only be described as a giant hamster laying helplessly on its back, begging for its life.
"Craven! This one yields to thee! This one begs for its life!"
Satoshi sighed in resignation as he reviewed the chain of events that led up to this point.
After dropping off the unconscious Khazit at the guard station near the graveyard, Satoshi and his party returned to the adventurer's guildhall and immediately took another request. He didn't want to answer any questions regarding Khazit at the moment and he had several tasks to do, so he chose a basic monster elimination quest. The request simply said to eliminate the monsters around E-Rantel, but didn't specify how far away he could wander, so technically he wasn't violating the terms of the request.
After traveling a safe distance away from E-Rantel, Satoshi teleported the three to the outskirts of the Great Forest of Tob. He wanted to visit Carne Village, but he didn't have a good reason to go there. Satoshi summoned a few low-level minions to do some reconnaissance, while his party searched for the 'legendary beast' that lived here.
It wasn't very difficult to find the 'Wise King of the Forest', all they had to do was make a lot of noise and the giant hamster came to them. Ryuuta easily blocked the hamster's tail attack and as predicted, the hamster gave them the chance to leave. Satoshi tried to strike up a friendly conversation with it, but the beast was too damn stubborn and prideful to respect him. Eventually, Satoshi lost his patience and cast an [Oppressive Wave] spell and found himself in this situation.
"Are you done yet?"
"Please, master, allow this one to serve you, this one will follow you wherever you go!"
"It's fine, I don't need another follower, I need"
"Please, this one must pay for its insolence, this one will do whatever you bid."
"Like I said, it's"
"This one will do anything, just please spare this one's life!"
The stupid hamster wouldn't stop talking, so Satoshi stayed silent and let the thing ramble on. He figured it would stop eventually. However, Satoshi severely underestimated the hamster's desperation and overestimated his own patience. After about 30 minutes, he finally snapped.
"This one begs forgiveness for challenging you. This one"
"AGH, THAT'S IT! [Stun]!"
Satoshi's spell hit the hamster and it collapsed, unconscious.
'Ah that thing was driving me nuts! How the hell can anything put up with this furball? Seriously, I'd rather be hit with a super-tier spell than listen to this thing for another minute.'
Satoshi gave himself a minute to calm down and relax in the now thankfully silent forest before addressing his companions.
"Alright, that was a gigantic waste of time. Ryuuta, you stay here and watch over the hamster. I don't think anything in this forest other than us can hurt it, even when it's asleep, but keep watch over it anyway. Once it wakes up, explain to it that I will spare its life if it pledges its loyalty to me. I will allow it to keep its territory here, but it must allow me and those under my command or protection access to this forest and its resources. Also tell it to not to kill any humans that it finds unless they attack it. If the furball asks for instructions, just tell it to defend its territory."
Ryuuta nodded to acknowledge his orders.
"Yes, master Satoshi."
Satoshi honestly did not know if the hamster was male or female and he didn't want to find out.
"Alright Angela, follow me, we're going to meet the other powers of this forest."
Leaving Ryuuta behind, Satoshi and Angela headed toward their next target.
XXX
Although it took a while to find the Serpent of the West, Ryrayus Spenia Ai Inadrun, it was relatively easy to negotiate with. The creature was intelligent and perceptive enough to realize it didn't stand a chance against the two of them, so it accepted Satoshi's terms of peace. The terms were identical to the ones he had dictated for the Wise King of the Forest, or Beast of the South as the Naga called him. The Serpent of the West was relieved at being allowed to live and continue ruling over its territory, so it freely told Satoshi what it knew. Satoshi already had information on the Giant of the East, but knew nothing about the 'legendary world-devouring monster' in the northern forest the Naga mentioned. He decided to check it out after he met with the Giant of the East, Guu.
As for how that meeting went...
"Muu! Stop hiding behind fake men, coward!"
Guu charged at the two golems, swinging his sword horizontally. One of the diamond golems easily grabbed the sword while the other punched Guu in the face, breaking his nose. Guu stumbled back, his nose healing in seconds, and bellowed out once more.
"Coward! I crush shiny men, tear you to pieces and eat!"
"Oh, you think you're strong enough to break diamond? By all means, try."
"Shut up cowardly human!"
With that, Guu and his subordinates attacked the diamond golems again. The six trolls repeatedly attacked the golems, but were unable to even scratch them. The golems counterattacked, but the trolls healed their wounds. The battle dragged on, with no losses on either side after the fourteen ogres that fell at the beginning. Satoshi occasionally spoke, either trying to reason with the trolls or throw in a snide remark. Mainly throw in snide remarks. Eventually, he decided enough was enough and it was time to end the battle.
"Stupid human, Guu will eat you. Guu will"
[Rot Wave]
A large amount of acid surged forth from Satoshi's staff, hitting all of the combatants. The diamond golems easily resisted the attack, but the trolls were turned into puddles of goo.
"Well, that was another huge waste of time. Sorry to make you wait, Angela."
Angela was leaning against one of the trees, watching the battle. Satoshi had told her earlier that he would handle this, and she should not interfere unless he signaled her.
"It is no problem, my lord."
"Now, that's all we should do here for now. Let's, ah, they're gone."
The two diamond golems had disappeared, their time exhausted.
"I really need to find out how to make those things permanent. Ah, no matter, let's go, Angela."
Satoshi could have investigated the cave the ogres and trolls came out of, but he honestly did not want to deal with the stench. Satoshi planned to let it air out for a few days, and then send someone over to investigate. He honestly didn't think there would be anything worthwhile, but you never knew.
After picking up Guu's sword and storing it in one of his infinite bags, Satoshi and Angela headed toward their next target.
XXX
After searching the northern forest for a while, Satoshi and Angela stumbled upon a dryad in a clearing. At first, Satoshi thought it would be a mindless creature, but it was surprisingly intelligent. The dryad introduced itself as 'Pinison Pol Perlia' and started a conversation. Satoshi was grateful for finally finding a friendly creature in this forest. The dryad was a great source of information, but when Satoshi asked it to tell him about the 'legendary world devouring monster'...
"Absolutely not! I have no intention to send you to your deaths"
"Look, we'll be fine, we're much stronger then you think. I highly doubt some stupid tree will"
"NO! I don't know how you learned about that thing, but just forget about it! Calling it a 'world devouring monster' doesn't even begin to describe it."
Satoshi sighed as he yet again resigned himself to waiting as a creature ranted on and on in front of him. Mercifully, the dryad calmed down after about five minutes and told Satoshi about the history of the evil treant.
Satoshi found the story quite interesting. This was new knowledge for him. Although the information given during the transfer covered all of the novels, it did not include any of the side stories. Satoshi vaguely recalled there was a mention of a battle against a tree monster, but no details about it. Had Satoshi been given this information as well, his actions would have undoubtedly been different.
After hearing Pinison's tale, Satoshi managed to convince the dryad to lead him to the tree after convincing it that he didn't have any malicious intentions. Even if he didn't fight the treant, he was intrigued with the herb that grew on its head, said to be able to cure any poison or disease.
Eventually, they arrived at the location of the evil treant as the sun was starting to disappear beneath the horizon. Seeing the area round the tree, Pinison became worried.
"Oh no, this is bad. It's absorbing life faster than I thought. At this rate, a partial awakening will probably happen with another fifty or sixty sunrises. Then nothing in this area will be safe. I hope the heroes make it time."
"Hey, if you're so worried about it, why don't you just let me handle it?"
"This thing is more powerful than you can imagine! You don't stand a chance!"
"I'm more powerful than you can imagine.. Believe me, there's very few things in this world that can challenge me."
"Listen, I don't want you to die here. Just wait until the heroes arrive and they will handle this."
Based on Pinison's earlier story, Satoshi could roughly estimate the time since the tree's last 'awakening' and he knew the heroes weren't coming.
"Listen, shorty, I don't think you realize this, but humans age as time passes. I don't think I can explain in a way you can understand, but the people you met have likely died a long time ago."
"They promised they'd be back to stop it! I believe in them!"
Seeing this course of action wasn't going to work, Satoshi decided to change tactics.
"Listen, dryad, I'm confident in my strength. I'm sure I can defeat this thing if you want me to. Even if I fail, you said the heroes would come if this thing woke up again. What's the harm in me trying?"
"You'll die, you know."
"I'll take that risk. There is no absolutely safe path in this world. We must take action if the situation demands it."
Pinison thought on those words for a few moments before answering.
"Well, it's not like I can stop you anyway. I've given my warning, what happens next here is not my fault."
"Very well. In that case, if I defeat this hunk of wood for you, will you do me a favor?"
"What is it?"
"I don't know yet. I'm asking you if you will somehow repay me in the future if I help you now."
"Oh, very well, it's not like you'll survive anyway."
"Ah, thanks for the vote of confidence. Angela, please take Pinison here to the edge of the clearing and protect her while I deal with the tree."
"Yes, my lord."
Angela escorted Pinison to the forest in a position they could observe the battle before casting several protective spells.
Satoshi waited for Angela to finish her preparations before turning back to the tree.
[Summon Beast]
A large grey wolf appeared before Satoshi. This was a Taunting Wolf, a level 25 summon that while weak in combat had the special ability to attract the attention of nearby monsters. It could even attract level 100 creatures unless blocked by a special skill or ability. The wolf howled, causing the treant to awaken. The massive tree in the middle of the clearing started to twitch. The sound of creaking wood and cracking bark filled the area. Six massive branches decorated with leaves descended from the main body of the treant, while near the base of the tree, a massive opening that resembled a mouth opened.
'Wow, that thing's pretty big. I wonder how strong it is. Given the power level of this world, I doubt it'd be stronger than Dominion Authority.'
Satoshi knew he did not have to worry about enemies of that strength. Even with his subpar equipment, he was confident he could easily solo a level 60 boss. Nevertheless, he was curious about this enemy, so he decided to gather more information.
[Silent Magic: Advanced Scan]
Interestingly enough, the analysis spell sent the information directly into Satoshi's head.
"Let's see, Zy'tl Q'ae, huh? So that's really its name. And it's level..."
Satoshi blinked as he reviewed the information given to him. After a moment of disbelief, he spoke.
"Ah, crap on a stick."
XXX
From what I know, Hamsuke is a female, but the character in this story does not know this. While he did receive the knowledge, he did not retain this detail.
XXX
Here's another character sheet
Angela/Anne
Priestess of the Sacred Temple of Galahall
Alignment: 250, Good
Job: Priestess
Residence: Fortress City of Galahall, 4th floor
Racial Level: 0 (Humans don't have a racial level)
Job Level: 100
Acolyte: 15
Priestess: 10
High Priestess: 5
Evangelist: 5
Divine Scholar: 10
Divine Master: 5
Barrier Lord: 10
Barrier Master: 5
Blacksmith: 5
Divine Smith: 10
Wonder Worker: 5
Others
HP: 70
MP: 100
P. Atk: 20
P: Def: 65
Agility: 60
M. Atk: 80
M: Def: 90
Resistance: 85
Special: 100
Total: 670
Angela has a priestess build based around divine magic. She is based upon the priestess/high priestess class. One thing to note is the priestess/high priestess class is restricted to female characters. The male equivalent is the priest/ high priest class. Functionally the two classes are similar, but there are a few unique traits to each class.
The Blacksmith, Divine Smith, and Wonder Worker classes give Angela the ability to repair and imbue with divine power certain equipment. She does not have the proper class levels to create equipment from raw materials.
XXX
In case anyone is wondering, no, the evangelist class will not play a role in this story. This is just a class that Angela has.