I went over the quests once more before finally accepting the frog one. As much as I thought I could take on the higher difficulty quests effortlessly, I wanted to grind up to that point and test my abilities before I got too cocky with them.

+AXEL PLAINS+

That is one of the reasons why I'm standing atop of a hill, observing the amphibians jumping around below me in the flatland. When they called them "giant frogs", they certainly weren't lying because they were huge in comparison to a person of average height and significantly bigger than me. Yet so far, I haven't identified them as a true threat. I was faster than the frogs at their "walking" speed and keeping at a distance made it easy to deal with them one-by-one.

I leaned forward, allowing for a matchlock to materialize within my grasp mere seconds later with ease. With the knowledge of how to use the firearm flooding into my brain, I place the weapon against my left shoulder before aiming down the sights, slowly inhaling and exhaling, and gently squeezing the trigger. A burst of red discharges with a loud *BANG* coming from the muzzle.

. . . I missed. It wasn't by a huge margin, but my aim was off. Even with the knowledge, my body was still unaccustomed to putting it into action. The frogs, now aware of my location, began to hop towards me. I repeated my actions, steadying my hands more, and fired once more. My aim stayed true this time around, piercing through the first frog's head. Before the other frogs could react to their fallen friend, I summoned a few portals to assist and rain more shots down on them. They were relentless, firing until everything was dead.

Once I was finished, I let out a small sigh and ordered the weapons back into their portals whilst the one in my hands faded into crimson particles. That small display of brutality made a dent in my mana supply, and it was subsequently filling itself back up. Even with my high mana, overusing my weapons could prove an issue if I prove too careless. Disregarding those thoughts for the moment, I also leveled up two times, making me level three.

After that, I took out my card and stared at my skills. Before long, I found the one that held my interest the most. [DEMON KING OF THE SIXTH HEAVEN LV 1] was the personal skill that allowed me to change forms, kept behind a wall that had two desires. The requirements of obtaining my second form, Oda Kipposhi, needed me to be level 20 and then start putting points into it. That was truly irritating but I guess it's to give me more incentive to go on quests, or it's the world way of restricting me to playing by its rules.

I couldn't help but sigh, then suddenly, I was disrupted by a strange rumbling hastily approaching. The ground beneath me began to shake and another one of the large frogs, a different colored one, erupted from the dirt. The monster shot its tongue out at me, which I promptly dodged away from. It seemed a bit more aggressive than the others of its kind so I had to give props where they were due since it immediately identified me as a threat. Still, I didn't hesitate when I saw an opening the amphibian's non-existent defense.

I unsheathed my Katana, tightened my grip on the handle, and attacked before it could recover. A one-handed slash met with its flesh and cut through the skin like it was never there in the first place. Splashes of blood, gore, and slime got onto my uniform, the insides of the frog started to cook from the fire engulfing the blade. Seeing it in the game was intriguing, but seeing it do something like this up and personal made me gag just a little before regaining my composure. I decided to keep my weapon out just in case more surprise attacks came around.

"What a hassle," I muttered to myself, looking at the conditions my clothes were in. They weren't damaged but were still covered in slime, dirt, and God knows what else. In spite of that, I looked at the larger, more colorful frog and looked around the hole it had emerged from the ground from. If this one was burrowed in the ground, there had to be other ones lingering around in the surrounding areas. My quest was already completed but this would give me more practice and EXP.

With that in mind, I surveyed the surrounding areas and searched for more targets.

About an hour passed by the time I was finished with my small-time slaughter; I was level five and steadily getting closer to level six. The sun began to set and the EXP I got from the frogs were minuscule at best. The more close-combat encounters I had, the more my clothes ran slick with slime and frog blood. That is going to be a mess to clean out, but once I get the ability to change forms, I can merely switch back and forth... Assuming my clothes switched with me as well. For now, it's whatever, I suppose. It's time to go turn in my quest regardless.

The walk from the plains to the Guild building wasn't too long of a trip and throughout my walk, nothing of note happened besides a few looks directed to my apparel. I ignored them while neglecting the urge festering within to say something. Despite those complications, I finally made it to the somewhat familiar sight of the Guild. I pushed open the doors to be greeted with a less occupied space.

People were still around, of course, but it was calmer and more serene than earlier. This was... nice. I would have loved to stay longer but this place needed to close sooner or later and I didn't wish to cause too much of a disturbance.

I continued inside and approached the booth from before, quickly spotting the only person I got the name of so-far: Luna. She seemed to be packing up for the day but noticed me quicker than I had expected. Alright then.

"Welcome back miss Nobunaga. It seems you've been quite busy." She said, taking note of my bloodied appearance.

"Yeah... things happened and I got a bit caught up in doing the job. Sorry about that." I replied, removing my card from my pocket and promptly passing it over to her.

"Well, I'm glad you take it seriously, but please be careful out there. I don't want to see you or anyone else coming back hurt." She looked over my card before leaving for a minute, soon coming back with a bag of coins and a small ticket.

"This is your pay and your bonus for the extra work you put in. Good job today."

From those words, I felt a sense of pride bubble up inside of me. Being complimented for my work was satisfying, and it was certainly a far cry from the treatment I used to receive back home. There wasn't some asshole discrediting me for my performance. This was great... but I can indulge in those emotions later. I smiled at that. It wasn't one of the fake ones, similar to the one I gave to the old man, but a genuine grin.

"I appreciate that a lot, Luna. Thank you."

I carefully pocketed the items, hoping to not stain them too much in the process. I was about to be on my way but then a thought struck me.

"But, before I forget, I was wondering if you had any recommendations on a place that could wash these clothes for me and a comfortable place to sleep too. I would rather stay out of the stables."

"Well, the Guild has a section for adventurers where they can rent rooms, and there is a bathhouse not too far from here as well. The prices there are reasonable and they provide services for clothes like yours, but you might cost extra."

In response, I merely nodded at that. The information from Luna was a lot more reliable to me, unlike some random guy off the streets like last time. With our conversation over, I gave her a lazy wave goodbye and shortly took a seat at an empty table to examine the ticket given to me.

The ticket didn't have much on it besides a symbol of a frog carved into its material. 'I guess it's a one-and-done thing, huh.' I noted, raising my hand to call over a waitress. Not long after, one of them arrived and took the ticket off my hands.

Ten minutes passed before my food was brought out. On the plate given to me were what were called "fried frog legs" and a glass of milk was also provided. At first, I hesitated due to the name itself but after a few moments of preparation: I took a bite out of it. And my... It was good, I suppose. It wasn't something I would call favorite but it was still quite enjoyable. I savored every bite until there was nothing more than crumbs, and gulped down the milk last.

That was a nice dinner but I better get going. I'm wasting more and more time staying here.

I negotiated a bit, and surprisingly enough, I was competent in that field. I lowered the price of my laundry and bath from 1500 Eris, down to 900 – and I got a good deal with the room as well, leaving me with 2100 Eris left over. It wasn't too shabby for my first serious negotiation, and maybe my charisma carried me through, but I'll still count that for now.

Now? I stood within the woman's section of the bathhouse, a towel covering my body and another for my hair. I slowly lowered one foot, and then the second one into the warm water before gradually submerging myself until everything below my chest was covered. At first, I felt sick and dizzy just from the sight of the water. The trauma from drowning never left me and my brain developed a small case of Aquaphobia. Even now, that prick of a Goddess still found a way to curse me, yet I forced myself to overcome it. I knew I had to clean myself, and that running away from my problems wouldn't solve anything. However, the anxiety, fear, and nausea in those moments were truly intense, yet I still prevailed. I won.

I let out a long sigh, looking over myself in the reflection of the mirror across from me. This body seemed so... foreign. I could ignore a lot of things, even the idea of turning into a female because of the power offered to me, but once the adrenaline and excitement died down: I wondered if I would truly be me in the long run? I've read some stories of the personalities clashing against each other, fighting for control. What if I lost myself? Who would I be then?

The Demon King of the Sixth Heaven, Oda Nobunaga-

Or

Ludwig Fossen, a normal person subjected to a horrible demise and given power?

What if I became a dictator and tried to unite the world like Oda, or do I take the mantle of Demon King and restart the cycle until more heroes are summoned to defeat me? The very thought of those outcomes made my head hurt a lot. I didn't like those thoughts, so I forced them down. Avoiding the thoughts in my head, I scrubbed myself as clean as I could, ignoring the physical reactions my body gave me to certain sensations.

I didn't want to die alone then, yet I'm alone now with these ideas... I truly am a fool.

Ludwig, you truly are slothful...

I opened the door to my room, closed and locked it, and pressed myself against the bed. On my way over, I found a robe of acceptable quality, and the sheets and covers were quite soft as well. It was quite satisfactory.

Undeterred by my lack of tiredness, I closed my eyes and relaxed as best as I could. Ultimately, I was successful in my endeavor and achieved the sleep that I wished for.

I dreamed, and I dreamed. I dreamed of many places, of many things, and many people. I dreamed of a brother that wasn't my own, of a family that I never had, of people I never met, of a journey that I have never partaken in, and of a desire I never achieved. I dreamed of many things and yet one of them caught my attention the most.

I watched as a temple crumbled, being razed to the ground by a powerful fire. I watched as scattered buildings fell apart by the severity of the heat, some disintegrating and turning into ash from the scorching flames. Watching all of this, I still felt nothing.

I turned to gaze at the only other person around. Myself, no, not myself but theNobunaga that was closest to the abyss. The one called Maou, the Demon King, the great unifier. I could feel her eyes pierce through me, those beautiful crimson eyes of hers judging my every sin and possibly even seizing my soul.

She reached out to me for but a moment, grasping at my chin, a smirk growing on her lips. I was so afraid of moving, of even taking a breath. "You're not me. How peculiar." She whispered.

Those words were the last thing I heard before I woke up, my body drenched with sweat and my hair more of a mess than within the bath. My heart was beating rapidly and I was out of breath. I felt sick, like a virus infected me. I checked over myself, especially my chin, and took slow, deep inhales and exhales of air.

Draped over my covers was the outfit The true Demon Archer, Nobunaga, wore.

'Fuck...' How did that happen? I knew that the other Nobunaga's in-game mentioned this sort of thing happening but I never expected it to happen to me. She knew... she knew I wasn't truly her. I was nothing more than a faker, merely mimicking the original...

And she knew that.

[AN: Hello everyone and welcome back to my horrendous story. This chapter was a little shorter than what I initially planned, but everything doesn't work as intended sometimes. The next chapter will be a time skip as well.

Furthermore, I see that a few people don't like the genderbent aspect of the story, and for that: I offer a poll. After viewing this chapter, you can check out my profile and see some of the characters that I had planned/want to make Konosuba crossover stories about. Depending on your choice, the story might follow the plot I had in mind or diverge from it heavily.

I appreciate a lot of the favorites, follows and please don't forget to review if you have any opinions, or just want to give me a slight ego boost. Anyways, see y'all next chapter]