Chapter Four: Explosions
"Darkness, draw it's attention!" Ulysses commanded as the Frog landed within two meters of him.
"Decoy!" Darkness shouted. A dim, white light appeared around her for just a moment and then disappeared.
The Frog stopped and slowly turned towards Darkness. Ulysses suddenly felt one of his new skills activate, The one titled 'Sentinel'. As it did so, understanding of the skill quickly flooded to his mind; The skill activates when an enemy within close proximity takes it's attention off of him, while activated, Ulysses' Reflexes heighten and his speed increases for just long enough to make an attack.
Ulysses took the moment to activate another new skill of his: 'Power Attack'. By focusing on his form and breathing while putting all of his power into a single swing, Ulysses can maximize his damage. It's a great skill but, if he were to miss a strike while using 'Power Attack', he'll be grossly overextended.
Ulysses brought his Saber down on the backside of the large Frog, cutting a huge gash into it's back. Darkness took the moment to swing at the beast as well, only to miss and plant her sword into the dirt.
Ulysses made another Power Attack against the Frog's leg, cutting it off at the base. The Frog fell to the ground where Ulysses finished it off by planting his Saber in it's face.
"There…" Ulysses panted. "It's dead…"
Darkness dislodged her sword as Aqua finally walked up to join them.
"Wow, Darkness. Normally when people say 'you can't hit the broad side of a barn', it's meant to be an exaggeration… for you, it might be an understatement!" Aqua giggled.
"I… I'm sorry… I'm not very dexterous with my hands, so swinging a sword is a difficult task for me." Darkness blushed.
"Aqua, at least Darkness was helping by distracting the damned thing." Ulysses furrowed his brow. "What were you doing?"
"I'm glad you asked! I was in the middle preparing a 'Blessing' for you guys!" Aqua placed a hand on her hip and gave a smug smile. "You can thank me later."
"A blessing?"
"Yeah! A blessing! Y'know, the spell that raises a target's luck?" Aqua rolled her eyes as she explained.
"No, Aqua. I don't know! Need I remind you that I came from anothe-" Ulysses stopped as he remembered Darkness standing next to him. "That I'm not from around here? I don't know much about magic!"
"Hm? Oh! Right!" Aqua slapped her own forehead. "Alright, I'll give you a pass this time." She shrugged.
"Well, this was the fifth Frog." Darkness finally interjected. "Should we return and claim our rewards?"
"Yeah..." Ulysses stared at Aqua for just a second longer. "We should."
"Wait, let me cast Blessing first!" Aqua quickly finished the spell and a golden light briefly emanated from Ulysses before fading. "There! You'll have increased luck for at least a day!"
"I don't… see how this helps me…" Ulysses looked down at himself.
"What!?" Aqua gasped. "C'mon! You're… you're luckier, Y'know? Just be thankful, already!"
"Let's go, Darkness." Ulysses sighed as he began walking off.
"Fine! You don't see it now, but you'll be thanking me soon!" Aqua declared as she jogged to catch up.
Soon after that, the trio turned in their rewards and sent crews to clean up the Frogs. With each Frog worth about 5,000 Eris and the completion of the main quest being 100,000 Eris, the standard rate for completing this quest was 125,000 Eris. If the average party size was about five people, and you split the main reward five ways, that'd be about 25,000 Eris per person for two days worth of work.
The average laborer in this world makes about 1,500 Eris an hour meaning this quest was only a bit better than that of the average laborer. In short, it wasn't really worth it.
Regardless, Ulysses, Aqua and Darkness spent the next week completing this quest two more times racking up a total of 375,000 Eris. Darkness, as selfless as she was, only took about 30,000 of the reward, leaving the remainder to be split 50/50 between Aqua and Ulysses.
After subtracting living expenses, the Cuirass he purchased along with a tunic and cloth trousers to replace his uniform white trousers and button up shirt, Ulysses was left with about 51,000 Eris. He figured he should have protection and clothes that don't stand out too much. While the Frock coat style and knee high, leather riding boots hadn't come to this world yet, those who saw him would most likely think he's a noble.
Aqua had also purchased herself some sleepwear but she seemed to spend most of her money on food and… well… the issue Ulysses was dealing with at the moment.
"Blegh!" Rainbow-colored puke followed the noise Aqua's mouth seemed to muster up.
Ulysses was patting her back as she was keeled over in an alleyway behind the Adventurers Guild.
"I think you may have had too much to drink, again, Aqua." Ulysses sighed.
"Huh? H-how can I h-help it… I-I was Ch-Ch-Ch… Blegh!" Another wave of puke followed. Aqua panted to catch her breath before continuing. "Challenged to a drinking contest… I couldn't turn it down!"
"That's… not a reason to incapacitate yourself."
Aqua continued puking and was about to respond when a voice interrupted her.
"Ah! There you two are." Darkness said as she entered the alleyway. "I was hoping we could…" she trailed off when she saw the color of Aqua's puke. She blinked a few times before shaking her head and continuing. "We could, uh, accept another Frog hunting quest and leave before noon."
"Unfortunately not…" Ulysses let out a short grunt. "Somebody thought it was a good idea to get black out drunk first thing in the morning."
"H-Hey! It wasn't b-black out dr-blegh!" Aqua let out another volley.
"I… I see…" Darkness eyed Aqua. "When do you think we'll be able to set out again?"
"Well, actually, I was thinking about visiting the local Nobility… a man by the name of Alexei, I heard? I want to strike a deal with him." Ulysses continued patting Aqua on the back while facing Darkness.
"Oh… oh!" Darkness' eyes widened as realization struck her. "I understand… um, then, I guess I should wish you luck on your journey."
"You'll not be joining us?" Ulysses asked.
"I have my reasons for not wanting to visit Nobility." Darkness' gaze drooped to the floor.
"Y-yes! No more f-frog h-Blegh!" Aqua interjected. "Frog hunting! I-I'm sick of being covered in d-disgusting slime…"
"Very well, Miss Darkness; It was a pleasure working with you. I do hope we can travel together again sometime." Ulysses gave her a warm smile.
Darkness nodded along with him.
"If you ever take on a quest that could be dangerous or has a high risk of capture by the enemy, please feel free to call me. I will join in a moment's notice." She offered.
"I will be sure to do that."
Darkness gave a short bow before turning and walking from the two.
"What an odd lady." Ulysses smirked.
"W-w-what makes you say that?" Aqua put her hand on the wall to try and stand up straight.
"She just has a peculiar way of wording things... That's all."
"All I'm saying is: if you watched how much you drank, you wouldn't be as much of a burden right now." Ulysses seethed as he stepped over a twig on the dirt road.
From what they've gathered, Lord Alexei's Manor was about an eight hour journey on foot.
"Who're you callin' a burden?" Aqua asked, her head dug into Ulysses' shoulder.
"Aqua… I'm carrying you like a field bag right now…" Ulysses stated, matter-of-factly. "I think this is literally as close to the definition of 'burden' as we can get."
"Hmph…" Aqua raised her head, shielding her eyes from the sun. "I'll…" She dropped her head back into his shoulder. "I'll argue about it later…"
Ulysses was silent for a few moments before he finally spoke up.
"You should stop drinking so much. It's unheal…" Ulysses trailed off as he noticed something he'd never seen before.
In only a small area, the clouds immediately darkened and it looked like a storm began to brew just under it. Orange, green and blue lights began to twist together before a huge boom resounded and the lights shot directly downwards in a beam, decimating whatever was on the other side of the hill, obscuring Ulysses' view.
"What in the world was that!?" Ulysses shouted, nearly dropping Aqua who also directed her attention to all the ruckus.
"Th-that… that was a high level spell!" Aqua proclaimed, squinting her eyes to protect them from the light of day.
"Should… should we investigate?" Ulysses asked.
Aqua dropped her head back into his shoulder.
"Yeah… let's go say 'hi' to whoever just cast one of the most powerful spells known to the mages of this world."
"Alright, Alright, fine…" Ulysses sighed. "You don't have to be so sarcastic about it."
"Sarcastic?" She rose her head slightly just to drop it again. "I wasn't being sarcastic. If someone can cast a spell like that, we should invite them to join the retinue of the Holy Aqua… I'm sure they'd be ecstatic…"
"Oh… I'm sure they'd become a right zealot seeing Aqua, the Goddess of Water, being carried like a child." Ulysses huffed.
"Well… maybe not that last part, but I assure you they'll have zeal when they realize who I am."
Ulysses looked back over to where the explosion came from and saw a young, brown haired man wearing a silky green suit. On his back, there was a girl, with a staff in hand and a ridiculously large hat, being carried in the exact same way Aqua was.
"Hey, look over there, Aqua!" Ulysses used his head to gesture.
"Huh?" Aqua squinted to see the two. "Hey, see! Carrying people like this isn't that weird…"
"Perhaps they were the ones to cast the spell?" Ulysses asked.
"Good observation, dummy. Go invite them to join our party." Aqua chuckled and dropped her head once more.
It seemed the other two people were walking back towards Axel, the town that Ulysses and Aqua had just come from.
When they were finally close enough to talk, Ulysses was the first to speak.
"Good Morning, sir!" He said with a smile. "I saw quite the spectacle over this hill! Was it perhaps you that cast it?"
Now that he was close, he could see that the girl was covered in slime… they must've been Frog hunting. The boy also had odd looking Tribal tattoos on his hands and neck that, while subtle, seemed to emanate a soft, white light.
"Uh, no. That'd be-" The boy was interrupted by the girl in his back.
"It was I who cast it!" She proclaimed, placing a hand on her chest. "I am Megumin! An Arch-wizard, a top tier mage, a fearsome warrior! She who hails from the Crimson Demons Clan!"
"Yeah… she was the one that cast it." The boy finished.
Ulysses stared at Megumin for a moment.
"I'm sorry... but what wa-"
"You're a Crimson Demon?" Aqua mumbled, just loud enough to interrupt Ulysses.
"That I am! A genius amongst a clan renowned for geniuses!"
"And eccentric flair... They are also known for that." The boy added.
"Well... it's good to make your acquaintance, I guess." Ulysses scratched the back of his head. "I am Ulysses Michael Civettius, though, just Ulysses is fine."
"Hi, I'm Kazuma."
"This girl on my back is Aqua." Ulysses clicked his tongue as he finished.
"Ah, What's wrong with her?" Kazuma asked.
"She's currently suffering from a hangover." Ulysses winced as Aqua slapped him on the back of the head.
"Refer to me with dignity!" Aqua whispered.
"Hmph." The boy shrugged. "She's currently suffering from terrible Skill Point distribution." Kazuma referenced Megumin who began shaking his shoulders.
"Hey!" Megumin interjected. "I've applied my Skill Points properly, thank you very much! I wouldn't have been able to cause an explosion of that size unless I had!"
"Whatever, anyways, we're hea-" Kazuma's eyes widened as his eyes rested on Ulysses' belt. "I-is that a Pistol?"
"Hm? Ah, yes! It is!" Ulysses smiled. "It's my Service Pistol more specifically! I wasn't aware that guns were common… around here…"
"W-well, they aren't" Kazuma blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't dreaming. "I don't think guns have been invented on this world, yet!"
"On… this world?" Ulysses raised an eyebrow.
"By my own holy name, you're both from Earth!" Aqua frustratingly called out, without raising her head. "Quit beating around the bush, already."
"You're from Earth!?" Ulysses and Kazuma said at the same time.
"What is 'Earth'?" Megumin chimed in.
"Uh." Kazuma flashed a glance back at her. "I'll... explain later." Kazuma nodded. "Where are you from?"
"The Austrian Empire. Bruntál to be specific."
"The Austrian Empire?" Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "Wait… what year was it when you died?"
"1816." Ulysses took a step back. "Why?"
"Oh… shoot!" Kazuma chuckled. "I died roughly 200 years after you."
Ulysses eyes widened at the revelation. "W-what? How?"
"Oh… yeah… that…" Aqua sighed.
"What!? What is it?" Ulysses furrowed his brow over his shoulder.
"I… kinda let your soul wander for awhile… normally I'm good at getting to deaths right away but I forgot about you so you were accidentally lined up with the 2000s deaths instead of the 1800s deaths."
"You what!?" Ulysses felt his muscles flex as he was tempted to buck this girl off of his back.
"... Sorry…" Aqua meekly said before digging her eyes into his shoulder a bit deeper.
"Aqua, how can the very gods themselves be so-"
"Hey, uh..." Kazuma spoke up. "Before you start arguing, I'm gonna take Megumin back to town." He gestured with his head to the, now very confused, Arch-wizard on his back.
Ulysses took a calming breath.
"Y-yes. That'd be for the best."
"Well, if you find your way back to Axel, I'd be happy to share a drink with you and maybe chat about earth for a bit." Kazuma gave him a reassuring smile.
"Really? I-I mean, Sure! I'd be happy to!" Ulysses cheered up a bit.
"I look forward to it." Kazuma gave a nod before beginning to walk away. "But I ain't payin' for the drinks!"
"Hey, Kazuma." Megumin leaned in. "What is Earth, exactly?"
Author's Note:
Ah, man. I'm starting to get behind on my work schedule, haha! Hopefully I can pump out chapter 5 next week but If I don't post then you'll know why.
To Gunboat Diplomat: Y'know, I really enjoy your comments on each chapter! They lift my day!
To aiykwan07: Thanks! I'm glad you've joined us!