Ragnarök

by PuddleMan

YGGDRASIL was a dying game, a relic from the past, no longer at the apex of DMMO-RPGs as player numbers dwindled and the once constant flow of game content had long since ceased. However, in one last ditch attempt to revive the game, the Devs released one last expansion; Ragnarök.

19. Chapter 11: The Harem Begins

AN: Hello, I finished school so that's cool. Oh and I've been playing a lot to Tera online as well. anyway, hey look a new chapter, that's pretty epic, right?

Mountains near the Empire

The mountains near the Empire, vast and glorious they stood, acting to separate the human occupied Empire from the demon and dragon infested lands beyond, as well as serving to contain a festering nest of ore devouring beastmen within. It's snowy peaks pierced the heavens, jutting out from the clouds like the maw of a predator, sprouting a legend of how the mountains were constructed from a felled Dragon God from ages long forgotten by some unknown hero.

Being completely isolated from much of the Empire's few cities, there was no normal reason why anyone should venture so close to the border; the packs of roaming [Night Walkers] served to ward off all but the most brave hearted or foolish of men during the pitch darkness of night, and their daytime counterparts, the [Sunscorched Imps] or [Sunscorched Goblins] that boiled alive any who approached during day time. Needless to say, the mountains were strictly off limits to those who had common sense. But to adventurers, and those that pined for glory and fortune? Those mountains were bastions of wealth and fame due to its tendency to birth new hordes of demons every so often and thus it was free money to those in need of a little boost to their adventuring career. Those stronger monsters could easily be avoided so long as a degree of common sense was applied and they only dwelt higher up the mountains, sometimes adventurers could even set up temporary encampments close to the mountain if those demonic guardians were feeling particularly lax in their duties.

Like many others before them, a group of adventurers had accumulated in the forest among the emerald green foliage of the forest that stood at the foot of the demon mountain, and each one eager to partake in the spoils of conquering what many of their fellows would consider to be the apex of monsters. Disregarding the guardians of the mountain, the far more common monsters of the forest were near irresistible - most were bulky demons or abnormal [Goblins] that were adapted to mountain life - tough and incredibly powerful yet all stupid and foolish without their master's guidance. They were easy prey to make a quick buck if attacked strategically. While others were metallic slimes as fast lighting and boasted incredible defences though after only a handful of swings that could connect would bring them down.

The first of the adventurers, sat on top of a particularly large tree branch many meters above the forest floor, and was clad in an emerald green shroud that closely matched the colouration of the dense forest and masking her appearance to most of the less astute of creatures that may be encountered in the forest. In one hand was a short and stocky crossbow of a similarly coloured metal, a flaming bolt already loaded into it to be fired off at a moment's notice while the other clutched a long cylinder and held it firmly over her eye.

Just below the ranger was two offensive classes; a brutish looking woman with gnarled and bloodied hands, tattered cloth lazily hung from her hands and wrists and her gi was in a similar state, and the other, a far more elegant looking adventurer with a long flowing robe over the top of a fancy, yet still practical gambeson with several...unique colour choices and seemingly useless jewellery adorning her outfit and the foil she kept at her hip.

And finally was the sole true backliner of the party, unarmed and standing off way to the back of the rest of her comrades, tending to a meager campsite and stirring a pot of thick broth with a wooden spoon in hand. Unlike her comrades, her appearance was far more refined and gave off an aura of sophistication, unlike the fencer's clearly false class. Even her clothing was a far cry from the other adventurers, what with her flowing dress and impractical accessories, even compared to the fencer, the backliner had clearly overdone it in the accessory department.

"Located the scoundrels yet? I cannot hold back my blade's intense yearning to bury itself into the blackened hearts of man's enemies much longer! I may even become consumed in the blade's fiery hatred towards the unclean and embark on a crusade if you make me wait!" The fencer dramatically flourished her cape and stabbed at the air with her foil, small shards of ice dropping to the floor from the blade's shaft with each thrust.

"Gods, your family is just full of weirdos." The brutish woman spoke, wrapping her hands in a new set of cloth as she did. "Good thing you haven't met your auntie, I'm almost thankful your father's a womanizing bastard who goes after even nonhumans. If he hadn't been, I'd think I would go insane the moment the two of you meet."

"Haha~! A disgraced bastard child I may be, but the strings of destiny tie me and my bloodline together! I shall reunite with my-"

"Shut up, we've got a few of 'em in sight so please get ready." The ranger threw some sort of small dagger down at the feet of the flamboyant fencer to get her to shut up. "There's four of them, [Goblins] I think from the looks of them. Stupid things are just standing there like a bunch of morons."

"Greenskins out here? They refugees from a destroyed nest or have the sunscorched come down for a visit? That's the only reason I can think of why they'd be here of all places and not back in the less hostile forests."

"No, they're all well nourished and healthy looking to me and they lack the features of the local tribes, but they also don't have any sort of gear on them or anything, strange."

"Ho, an easy victory it is then! Let us rid the world of their filth at once!" Exclaimed the fencer woman, merrily marching into the direction where the ranger was looking and flashing the rest of her group a toothy grin, her teeth jutting out sharply unlike those of normal humans.

"U-um...are you sure that it'd be s-safe?" Finally the last party member spoke up sheepishly.

"It's four [Goblins] and we've got the drop on them. How isn't it safe exactly?" The ranger met her concern with nothing but pure vitriol.

"Mhm, just hang back and heal us if things get real bad, understood? It's not like the fight's gonna take anymore than a minute to finish anyway."

"A-ah...o-of course." She weakly answered, lowering her head and joining the rest of the party.

"Huzzah, now off to slay the vile creatures!" The fencer was clearly having a great time larping.

…

Stopping just a little more than a handful of meters away from the green creatures, the adventurer group settled down in the bushes and made to observe their foe.

"They're just standin' there, should be just jump out and attack now?"

"Mhm, look." The ranger pointed at the [Goblins] and passed her scoped crossbow to the other woman. "They're carrying quite the payload of gold. I'd say that they just ambushed some adventurers that were getting back from a mission only a few hours ago. It's the perfect time to ambush them since they're lazing about."

"Agreed." The crossbow was passed back to the ranger.

"Umu, everyone knows their roles so let's hurry this along, I'm getting just a little bit hungry."

Without need of further words, a bolt was knocked into the crossbow, the heavy strings strained to contain the large chunk of bladed metal and the wooden stock bulged outwards slightly due to it's size. From each spike on the bolt, a thin purple fluid trickled down the crossbow's stock and each party member swiftly covered their noses and mouths after only a short while due to the stench. The bolt almost looked like a sword covered in barbed wire, no doubt it would do some serious damage to whatever it hit.

"No mercy I see." The brute laughed.

"Never." The ranger replied, smiling and firing off the horrific bolt. After only a short whistling in the air, the scream of one of the [Goblins] made it more than obvious that the bolt had met it's mark.

"Heh, that prolly hurt quite a bit, while they're distracted, circle round and enclose them in. The wounds of these bolts'll cause a lot of pain so they shouldn't notice you for now."

"Haha! My blade shall once again feast on the innards of-"

"More fighting, less talking!"

Grumbling to herself, the fencer complied and each party member moved to fully enclose the small group of [Goblins] while the ranger fired off multiple more of her spiked bolts.

Their movements masked by the shrill screams of the [Goblins,] it was easy enough for each party member to surround the creatures without their knowledge and begin to slowly approach with their weapons drawn.

"Now!" At once, all the adventurers leapt from their cover and darted for the distracted [Goblins.] The poor creatures never stood a chance.

The fencer's blade danced around the weapons of the [Goblins] and easily thrust it's way through armour, muscle and bone. The brute's fist smashed the creature's skulls to paste while the ranger's bolt dug into their throats and injected caustic venom into their veins from afar. The magic caster was also there, doing something. Most [Goblins] didn't even have the chance to scream out in pain from their wounds as they were soon riddled with far more bolts and killed shortly after.

All in all it was over in a handful of seconds. Even though most normal [Goblins] were superior to humans in strength and speed, their wits and perception were far, far lower than humans, especially outside of cave systems where they normally live.

Retrieving her long blade from the largest of [Goblin] corpses, the fencer whipped her golden hair in the air and tried to strike a heroic pose while shouting: "Hurrah! My blade has once again vanquished evil from this land!" like a moron.

"Well, that was a new record. That was way too easy, guess we've gotten stronger since our last outing." The brute's fists clashed together and produced a hefty thud from the impact.

"It would seem so. Anyway, take their loot and we'll head back to-" Her voice trailed off and her eyes bulged out of her head, straining to see something unseen in the bushes in front of her. Her crossbow was raised, but no accurate shot could be made to due the convulsions in her arms.

"Hm? Did we miss one?" The brute raised her fists, so too did the fencer and both approached where the ranger was staring off to.

"W-wait,I don't think that's a-" But her warning was cut off by a deafening roar from the bushes once the two had approached it. Visceral and furious the roar was, sending a shockwave through the air and stunning the ranger in place.

Both fencer and brute had already smashed into two nearby trees by the time the ranger had even recovered from the shock of the roar, her two teammates sputtering up blood from their wounds and groaning in pain.

"Hey, caster, help them out!" She shouted to the magic caster who timidly nodded in response.

She knocked another bolt into her crossbow and fired into the wall of bushes that obscured the creature's body. Only a pair of pointy green ears and sickly yellow eyes were visible from the bushes, whatever [Goblin] it was, it was definitely far more camouflaged than it's smaller cousins.

"Crap, it's prolly a hob or champion, get everyone healed and retreat!" She desperately shouted again at the caster who was busy healing her comrades. But the ranger's attention was soon fixated upon the larger [Goblin] that was slowly birthed from the green womb of the forest, showing off it's alien body while a new set of smaller [Goblins] emerged from the foliage.

"Wh-what the hell kinda thing is that?!" The brutish woman shouted in fright.

The new creature could only be described as a freak of nature. It's entire lower body was that of an emerald horse while the hooves were replaced by nightmarish claws that scraped the ground and churned worms from their homes endlessly and unnaturally. In it's mouth sat rows upon rows of jagged, yellow teeth more befitting of a dragon than a [Goblin] and the twin feathery wings upon it's back flapped ferocious gales of winds with each beat. Unlike the other [Goblins,] this freak of a creature was at least double the size of even some of the irregularly large [Goblins] that lived in the neighbouring forests, standing at a gargantuan ten feet tall and came with equally impressive musculature. This thing a was freak, a nightmare, and a monster born from the union of a [Goblin] and a mythical creature; it was a [Goblin Griffin]

"Stay calm and focus on the new one! It's likely to be the boss of these [Goblins] so make it your priority!" The ranger shouted out, firing a flaming arrow into the last remaining normal [Goblin,] killing it with a shot to the eye.

"Foul beast, you face the demonic rapier of frost known as [Brünhild,] you may be freakishly strong, but my blade knows no equal!" A frosty stab at the beast's hide soon followed the declaration and a small burst of icicle shards exploded from the contact point, flying off in all directions.

Without even registering that it'd just been attacked, the monster reared back onto it's hind legs and bellowed an intense roar, using all it's weight to fall back down upon the fencer, it's talons eager to dig into her flesh.

Without even being retaliated against, the fencer collapsed, coughing and spluttering up blood and mucus from her lungs. "Damn…s-still can't use it..." She groaned out in pain, clutching her heaving chest.

"So, I see the blade's reputation as demonic holds true then!" Spoke the brawler, grabbing hold of the fencer before the freakish claws of the mutant [Goblin] could tear her apart. "Got any idea how somethin' like that could be born into this world?"

"[Goblins] are known to capture and breed with women not of their species but...but this isn't something I've ever heard of before! They don't breed with other monsters normally!"

"Yeah well, looks like you're wrong cuz this thing is CLEARLY part monster!"

"Con...firmed...con….firmed…" The massive chimera wheezed in a raspy voice, letting out stinking breath as it mustered up it's words. "Demonic blade….confirmed….thief...thief…."

"Oi oi, he's coming fer you again!"

The beast charged, it's speed far contrasting it's giant bulk and again it's raptor-like claws extended, slashing and clawing just behind the brawler, leaving great gashes in the mud with it's fury.

"Some support would do me wonders right now!" She shouted to the ranger, panic overflowing into his voice and seeming more like a desperate plea than an order.

"On it." Answered the ranger, another bolt blazed through the air and smashed into the giant [Goblin's] knees, forcing the creature to howl in a hoarse voice and fall to the floor in pain.

"Hey, mage-girl, your turn now, yeah?" The body of the fencer was flung on top of the mage who quickly began casting her healing spells to try to save her comrade's life.

"Alright, let's finish off the big one-" Before the brawler could speak further, the ground to her left exploded into a cloud of dust and mud and soon after she screamed out in fear and pain, a prairie of claws ripped through her clothing and anchored themselves within her ankle.

Clawing it's way free from the mud, was another vaguely [Goblin] shaped creature, covered in short and thick fur that undulated back and forth, removing dirt and mud from it's body while it's slightly blunted claws heaved the cumbersome body from the dirt.

"From the ground? What the hell are these things?! No sort of [Goblin] can just do that!" The ranger shouted in disbelief, her arrows bouncing off of the new [Goblin's] bodies as yet more of the tunnelling green blights were birthed from the floor.

"Shit, that big one was just a distraction like the gold was to draw our attention away from the true threats! We got baited twice!" Her panic was plain as day, her hands blurred with the speed at which her crossbow was loaded and reloaded again and again, each bolt was enchanted with [Firebolt] and yet did no observable damage to the [Goblins]

"Make that three times." A hushed voice whispered from right besides the ranger, cocky and self confident.

In the blink of an eye, the ranger's crossbow was thrust from her grapes and clattered to the floor and her body was pressed harshly against the aged wood of the tree she was perched in, normally too high up to be attacked by [Goblins] and other monsters.

The newest of [Goblins] was actually far more similar to it's less freakish cousins than the other group of abominations. It was far leaner and wirey than a normal [Goblin] yet it possessed a far more defined musculature and weighty legs like those of an overgrown rabbit. Rather than a pseudo-snout and long nose of normal feral [Goblins,] the new creature's face was far more flat and well kept and a jaw of polished white teeth sparkled brightly in the sun and the unusual blue of their irises stood out from the manky yellow customary in the sclera of [Goblins,] a very unusual creature to be sure.

The ranger could not cough up any words, her windpipe was firmly crushed between the tall creature's hand as he mocked: "Pitiful. A ranger who can't pay attention to their surroundings is useless- you deserve what's coming to you." Surprisingly, the [Goblin] spoke with an air of sophistication and his words were incredibly eloquent, much unlike the usual garble that would come from all other feral [Goblins]

Tighter and tighter the [Goblin] gripped, taking no notice of the desperate kicks and punches made by the ranger until finally, a harsh crunch echoed through the forest and the ranger's body dropped to the floor.

"Fix it." The large [Goblin] barked at a cluster of bushes, causing a much smaller [Goblin] wearing pristine holy robes to sheepishly crawl out from the underbrush, clutching a glowing staff.

When the ranger girl was enveloped in the harsh glow of healing magic, again she was seized by the neck and dragged across the floor, now the [Goblins] had turned their attention onto the final party members.

In vain, the fencer climbed to her feet, thrusting her rapier in the air as the [Goblins] approached.

"Can still move?" The less horrific of the [Goblins] asked. "Even with a soul ripped asunder by magic from the demon blade, you can still stand? How very impressive of you, adventurer, but that blade does not belong to you, so I shall take it and give it back to my master. A thief like you has no place to wield such a weapon, you can't even properly harness it's true powers."

"Th-this sword...w-will not fall into evil's possession! A heroic relic...shall never fall into a demon's clutches!" She screamed out in defiance, blade piercing through the skull of one of the burrowing [Goblins] with ease even in her wounded state and cutting through the neck of another chimera [Goblin]

The creature shook his head. "And there you go, spouting a nonsense myth so you can feel better about murdering our people as you like. We are not evil - we survive the only way we can, just like any other creature. There are no morals in the natural world, fool. Give up. That blade is incompatible with your bloodline so please, give up and submit. It rejects you and your tainted blood, corrupted by the invading magic, you shall die if you keep using that blade, no matter how faint your draconic heritage is, it will not save you. How unlucky you are, if your distant ancestor had not fallen to our magic, you could have been some great hero, wielding magic of the soul at your whim, unfortunately for you, you ancestor was a fool. How does it feel to know that you're condemned to horrific existence merely because of your distant ancestor's folly? "

Right after he had finished speaking, the lanky [Goblin] immediately appeared behind the fencer, and with practiced ease, thrust his outstretched hand right through her abdomen.

It was a nightmare. [Goblins] were not meant to be this strong, maybe stronger than most average adventurers, but nowhere as powerful as these creatures. And that's not even addressing the selection of chimeras among the more pure looking of the [Goblins,] it was a well known fact that [Goblins] would try to breed with anything that they could get their hands on, but their prey normally included weak adventurers or village girls, the unions of which would only yield non-feral [Goblins] which could sometimes be seen in more in the monster populated countries down South or to the far West, never would [Goblins] even get the chance to breed with animals or monsters. Not because they couldn't, a [Goblin] could impregnate or be impregnated by pretty much any creature, it was just that a union between human and [Goblin] had a chance to yield a non-feral [Goblin] or, in some incredibly rare circumstances, a highly intelligent and powerful [Goblin Emperor] or in even more incredibly rare situations, an [Erlking.] Hence why it's far better for [Goblins] to prey on humans due to their abundance and the chances to breed a supremely powerful monster into existence.

And then, the final of the [Goblins] landed with a thump on the ground, scaly green wings jutted from their back and a snake-like tongue rolled out of their elongated mouth. It was at that very moment, that the deluge of tears that had been slowly accumulating in the girl's eyes burst forth. A wyvern. Mere [Goblins] had captured a wyvern and reproduced with it to create a chimera.

The girl didn't even want to be here in the mountains, she was dragged along by her idiotic campanions in serach of glory and wealth and now she was finished. She was either going to die by the hands of the [Goblins] or be made into their plaything. That was it. Normally this would be where the gallant hero appears from nowhere and vanquishes the evil with a single blow and rescues the maidens in despair. Alas, the world was not some fantastical story like the ones she'd often read as a child. Her salvation was nowhere in sight.

The green horrors sauntered over, their prey seized in their grimy hands and sneers ever present on their ugly faces, grinning to themselves with greater glee as her tears fell with their approach.

The hero did not come to rescue the damsel. The creatures seized the helpless girl and dragged her back to their lair along with her friends, her fate being obvious.

---

E-Pespel

The streets of E-Pespel, once a bustling fortress city, now reduced to a mass of writhing red weeds and sulking demonic masses. The innards of the city spilled out among the walls, demons crushed the wooden foundations of downed buildings with their feet, stomping on and erasing the memory of human habitation. No longer were the walls lined with armed guards, eager to repel an invading force. Now the walls were lined with the monstrous forms of the invaders, standing to attention like statues, never moving nor leaving their posts, just as ordered by their masters. However, even though the demons roamed the streets at all hours, the streets were without life, and a grim silence and ominous air hung all throughout the city. Day after day the horrific silence only worsened, spreading among the demonic ranks like a plague until none dared speak and disrupt the silence. Hour upon hour. Day upon day. Week upon week, the streets were dead. Nothing emerged from the jet-black depths of the fortress that sprouted atop the old palace. No undead soldiers made to bolster the guards, no new demons to join the ranks, not even a humble slime looking for ingredients. Nothing. Only sometimes would a massive [Gate] appear from within the windows of the fortress, but nothing more. So, the stagnant forces of the E-Pespel went about their days, supervising their victims, assisting where they could in the rebuilding of homes and sending the worthless to their deaths where fit.

Truly, the city was dead to all outward observers, steely faced prisoners and equally despondent guards shuffling lifelessly through the streets. E-Pespel was well and truly a dead city. However, that is only to the outward observer. Inside the belly of the black fortress, a very different depiction of city life could be seen.

…

The fort's meeting room

"YOU FUCKIN' BASTARD!" A loud screech-like shout shook the very foundations of the fortress, causing all those within to flinch with fear, or sigh at yet another feud between two of the rulers.

The source of the scream was the loudest of the rulers. Clothed in a dandy suit, a very edgy half-mask and a top hat, now with a broken clock attached to it, the source was of course Ulbert with his ever present follower in tow, the goat gripped onto another of the rulers of the fortress.

"L-look, I didn't do anything wrong!" The other monster insisted, his eyes darting around the place and looking for a way to escape unharmed.

His fluffy feathers cascaded down to the floor, letting off a subdued organe glint as they fluttered down, much to the appreciation of Ulbert's little robotic follower.

"Shut up, the fuck did you do to my property?!" A massive cascade of feathers fell to the floor each time Ulbert shook Pero back and forth. "Don't fuckin' touch my shit when I'm gone!"

Nodding along to her master's words, Shizu flicked Pero on the head each time his head flopped in her direction. It was an assault from both fronts.

"F-fine! I used a polymorph spell on her, ok? I thought she'd look cuter as a little girl!" He finally caved in, neck at an unnatural angle due to Ulbert's and Shizu's punishment.

Puffing out her chest, Shizu's lip lifted into an incredibly small, yet highly smug smile upon her success at forcing a confession, almost like one of Ulbert's smug smirks.

"Change. Enri. Back." Ulbert all but spat it out at this friend, tightening his grip further and staining Pero's feathers with a trickle of red.

"C-can't, just wait for it to w-wear off!" He pleaded, talons desperately clawing at his friend's far larger and more menacing claws.

"Hah, actually there is another way." Twin streams of fire blazed from Ulbert's larger claws and the smell of cooked chicken wafted throughout the room while singed feathers crashed to the floor. "Don't you worry none, it's only five more levels lost."

"Enough, you two." The assertive voice of their leader rang throughout the room and a cold, deathly mist crept from underneath the door like a plague infesting the room.

All the blood may well have left Ulbert once the door slammed against the wall, allowing the full force of the black mist to funnel into the room, accompanied by two pinprick, scarlet eyes from within. In response, Shizu automatically saluted in the exact way HeroHero would.

Dropping Pero to the floor, Ulbert crossed his arms and muttered: "S-sorry, Leader." and sat himself down in a random chair.

"*sigh* Control your temper, Ulbert, losing any more levels as we are now would be incredibly dangerous. But that warning applies to you as well, Katsuki; control your urges, please. It's rude to interfere with another's property. Would you like it if Ulbert messed with your harem?" Momonga breathed another sigh, more and more he was becoming the group's father and less of the leader.

"T-true…" The bird finally answered after mulling it over, getting up from the floor and dusting off his bloody feathers.

"Umu, anyway, Ulbert, how was your trip? Did you get everything we require?" The skeleton set down a black slime that was resting within his ribcage onto the table. The creature's ooze compressed until it was the size of a house cat with two large luminous orbs dancing within it's depths.

"Uh, it was raining a lot but I managed. The robot got a scraped knee and started spazzing a bit during a rain storm but everything went ok. Princess wasn't too happy about losing Climb for a bit but we've worked out some stuff for the future. Gonna head back in a few weeks to check back up on her."

"And the gate with the unknown enchantment?" The lich asked eagerly, his inner-collector being piqued by such a strange item.

"Still no luck. I even tried askin' that vamp girl about it in my human and demon bodies and she didn't wanna say a whole lot, other than somethin' about dragons." Ulbert shrugged and reclined into his chair, his ever faithful robot follower grabbing onto the chair to make sure he didn't tip over. "Shizu also had no clue if you're wondering."

The robot nodded along, her hand nearly completely covered up in Ulbert's fur as she supported his weight.

Someone needs a haircut. Momonga thought to himself. Come to think of it, would the bird need a haircut as well? Or would Touch need to molt his exoskeleton?

Trying his best to hide his disappointment, Momonga moved on: "I see, so that corresponds with what little Touch could remember, and from the pieces of armour and the swords he managed to fit into his inventory before being subdued. I'll look into asking her as Momon so long as that alchemist boy hasn't already gone about ruining my character's reputation. If that doesn't work, we'll likely have to bring her in for questioning and have HeroHero or Solution tend to her."

"Woo!" The small slime let out an enthusiastic cry and thrust his fists into the air. "I won't rough her up too much since birdy's got an eye on her though, 'less he wants damaged goods."

"So, that means we're really fighting more dragons then? Woopty doo, we can get spammed by more annoying breath attacks and have more flight-landing cycles to wait through. Just fantastic." The goat groaned loudly.

Momonga too, and presumably the rest of the entire guild were likely sick of fighting oversized dinosaurs with wings. From the serpent of [Midgard] to the lindwurms at the base of the [World Tree,] the game was packed with lizards and it was a gimmick that wore thin incredibly fast.

"We can't say yet, but it looks that way. Those swords definitely come from dragon scales and from what Touch and the mage girl said, it looks like we might be, yes." Momonga said, placing a scaly sword and a handful of armour chunks upon the table from his inventory.

"Oh well then" Pero shrugged and leaned back into his chair, all nonchalont. "Just zap them with your red orb thingy and we're good. No sweat, the status quo will be upheld and we'll be the strongest guy's around and we'll never face adversity."

Clicking his tongue, Ulbert's sneer morphed into a grim smile full of superiority. "Tch, idiot, it'd be naive to assume that'd work every time. We're in a different world so these dragons may not be affected by the orb."

"So we just gotta test it on a new world dragon then….uh, where would we find one then?" A voice from within Momonga's rib cage spoke and two luminous eyes peered out underneath the red orb.

"I'd wager the mountains, but that's something we can keep an eye out for while we do more important things." Since having his robot maid holding onto his chair wasn't the coolest thing in the world, Ulbert took to leaning against the wall like a stereotypical cool guy; with one leg pressed against the wall and the other on the floor.

"Umu, so, what does everyone think should be our next course of action?" Momonga asked, his brain too fried to even think up of a new plan after going through the traumatic ordeal that was recovering Touch, even weeks after the ordeal. Even if it had been weeks since then, the feeling of getting stabbed, burned, and all other sorts of harm were permanently scarred into his psyche.

"Well, I'll take my leave and go back to sort stuff out in the Kingdom so I'll be over there working with the Princess. I'll leave the robot here so she can actually be useful for you guys."

"Hol up for a sec! We just went through hell and back fighting Touch! Why are you going out on your own again?! It'd be better if we stayed home most of the time!" The house cat sized slime puffed it's body up to a not so terrifying three foot tall and formed an x with his slimy tendrils.

"Tell 'em leader." Ulbert immediately shifted responsibility onto his leader, eagerly looking to his skeletal friend in search of answers.

Fwah~ of course it falls to me… for once I know the reason behind our actions.

"Because it makes it harder for all of us to be mind controlled or attacked. I presume that Ulbert, HeroHero, and possibly Touch are going to be present in the city of E-Restize, but they're going to be separated from each other so they can't all be targeted at once. Therefore they can continue their work while also posing no threat to us at all if they get mind controlled again."

"Wait, I'm going as well?" The slime questioned, making an exclamation mark from his own slime.

"Yup." both skeleton and goat said at once, causing HeroHero to deflate onto the floor.

"Oooh, I see. And we should prolly take some [World Items] out with us to prevent any bullshit defeats we could have avoided otherwise, right?"

"Indeed, apart from you."

"Come again? Why not me? You want me to get bullied by other players?" Even though his mask was no longer covering his face, the emotion upon Pero's face was completely still, far betraying the tone in his voice.

"Yes, cuz you're gonna be our bait, idiot." A long claw flicked Pero in the eye, though it bounced off strangely.

"I...I'm bait? B-but why me exactly, surely HeroHero is waaaay better at being bait, right!? Why not someone useless like the slime!?"

"I'm the chef though, I'm important for giving stat boosts and," HeroHero puffed up his chest and placed both hands on his slimy hips triumphantly, now back on the table. "I'm cute."

"What a funny way to pronounce "utterly repulsive." Ulbert immediately spat out, picking up the slime and putting him on the floor out of sight just to spite him.

Ignoring HeroHero's declaration, Momonga laid out a far better explanation: "...It's just because you're the weakest out of all of us in a multi-participant battle. You've been selected so we can defeat you easily if you become mind controlled so it's nothing personal. And it gives us a general idea of the location of the culprit since we'll have you operate far away from the main group. Likely being the Empire so you can also look for Nazarick while you're there."

"The Empire!? Sign me up, that's where my future harem members await!" He took the news of being permanently separated from his friends far better than Momonga had thought he would.

"Oh...well if you're so eager then I guess we don't have any problems. So then, I presume everyone knows what they're doing?"

"Me! I don't have a clue!" HeroHero raised his hand, from the insides of Momonga's ribs where he'd climbed into.

"Your job should be to lure in as many people as you can, same with Shalltear and Solution, understand? You should mainly target scum like criminals, or perhaps even vagrants or orphans and the like. Anyone that will not be missed should be your target."

"Ah, for experiments and the creation of undead then? Got it! Oh, can I use some of them for my alchemy as well? It's hard to come by any sort of ingredients, y'know? I doubt people would wanna trade with a city of monsters."

"Umu, you may use a portion of the humans then. Oh, I've also come into possession of that Nfirea person's home so I shall take you to E-Rantel so you can take all his alchemy ingredients. If you so wish, I can revive Nfirea's grandmother in case you're in need of an assistant."

"Gotcha, leaderman."

"Oi, since most of us are gonna be in the Kingdom, I guess I should send my [Shadow Demons] to another country, right? I was thinking about a mix between having them in the Empire and that Theocracy place. Sound good?"

"Umu, that will do. Furthermore, I'd like everyone to report back to whoever is currently at home every hour, understand? For now I shall remain here and start creating undead, so I'd like it if we can know exactly when someone becomes compromised so we can act swiftly, unlike last time."

"And how do we tell who's who? Pretty sure anyone can just listen in on our [Message] spells so don't we need a password?"

"How about, flat is justice?" Obviously such a thing was on Pero's mind.

"No." Everyone said at once.

"Why not just have it as "umu" since it's easy to remember and leader loves to say it a lot." From within Momonga's stomach came HeroHero's voice and he was met with no rebuttals.

"Ok...it's decided then, the password is going to be "umu." So, we've covered everything we need to so you may all leave apart from the bird."

They left, leaving Momonga and Pero alone in the room, the bird nervously shifting around and mentally preparing himself to get scolded if he needed to.

"So, about this harem of yours."

"Ah...y-yes?"

"You have full permission to pursue it. In fact, I'd like you to involve as many women in your harem as possible."

"Oh!"

"Indeed, I'd like you to become a highly prominent figure in the Empire so your strength and your capacity to woo women should become important. Basically I'd like you to become what I was aiming for the Momon character to be and more. You'll mainly operate under the guise of a powerful adventurer and gain favour from the Empire while bringing in both information and people we can use for undead or for experiments. Preferably women because the vast majority of our captives of male, if we can get a sustainable source of meat, experiment subjects and undead then it will help us greatly. Furthermore, since this world's society is about equal of that to medievil to late renaissance Earth, the women of this world should be...I'd say trained to fall in love with the first man they see? That's assuming that women are pushed into marriage as soon as possible in this world as they were in Earth's past."

"So, I need to be a generic light novel hero who gets mad pussy, right?"

"...Yes, if you want to put it that way and be incredibly reductionist."

"I'm all for it! I mean, I won't get better at talking to people if I don't try, right? Besides, I can always take some charisma boosting items with me if I need to. I'll be fine, promise."

"Umu, just don't push yourself too far, please. I'd rather let you have a panic attack at crucial times."

"I probably won't! Anyway, can I go now? I've got a lot of ideas for my persona cookin' in my head."

Momonga nodded and merrily, the Pero skipped out of the room, humming to himself whimsically and just generally making an ass of himself.

"Alright, I guess I'll go and make some more undead since we've got so many captives left over and maybe train with Clem."

Before Momonga could exit the room, Ulbert rounded the corner with a black slime in his hands, causing Pero to be thrown against the wall in fright.

Completely ignoring Pero's incredibly overdramatic reaction, Ulbert tossed a small ring at Momonga. "Oi leader, catch. I just remembered somethin' we gotta do."

"This is...why are you giving me one of these now of all times?"

"The hell do you think, idiot? Obviously you're gonna wish for something. Hurry up and come outside and Ill tell ya." Ulbert said, his lips curling into a smug smile and wiggling a beckoning finger as he fled downstairs.

Following Ulbert, Momonga, Pero, HeroHero and Ulbert exited the fort, flooded with thunderous roars from whatever trash summon noticed them until they gathered just outside the gates of E-Pespel.

"So, I'm going to go ahead and assume we're summoning something on a large scale?"

"Mhm." Was the only answer Ulbert gave, his smugness reaching unbearable levels. "Guildbase time. I don't wanna live in this shitty city anymore."

"Ah! That...is a very good wish actually. One that we probably should have tried when we first got here now that I think about it…"

"Mhm, would have saved us a lot of effort with all this shit. Coulda just let Rubedo one shot the old man but noooo, let's not waste one of our SIX fuckin' wishes, old bastard."

"Indeed, that would have helped us greatly, but I do think that the battle against Touch has given us a renewed confidence in our abilities, wouldn't you say? If we had let Rubedo or the NPCs deal with the old man, then we'd be ill-prepared to face a powerful opponent in the future and we would look to lean on others."

"No. We got killed like a million times so I don't think it was worth it at all."

"A-ah, I see. Well, I presume that the majority is in favour of using the ring to wish for Nazarick?"

"Yepperoo." Pero flashed a thumbs up.

"Yeah sure, better than living in some cramped fortress. Maybe we can get some halfway decent gear from the treasury as well? OH! And I can use the kitchen as well!" HeroHero began rambling to himself about all the different kinds of ingredients that could be found in Nazarick and listed off numerous recipes that Momonga had no clue what the end result would be.

"Very well, the majority is in favour of using the rings. If anyone has any other wish they'd like to be granted, please speak up."

"Yo, what about our levels? I don't really wanna be below max tbh."

"I doubt that would yield anything but I shall try it out. Anymore?"

"Uh, gear maybe? We're running low on stuff we can use to bash the bad guys with so some new weapons and armour would be great. Or even just raw materials that we can use in crafting would be better than our current stock of stuff."

"That's three wishes already, so we have one more ring left, provided that all these wishes go through. I believe it would be acceptable if we reserved the second ring as a last resort?"

"Go fer it, make sure to lock it up someplace safe so this idiot don't get any dumbass ideas." He jabbed Pero in the gut with two of his elbows.

"Owwie...I don't get dumb ideas! My genius just goes over your head, that's all."

"Mhm, you may be smart, but you're also a pedophile."

"Your point being?"

"Die."

"Already have, goatfucker."

"Well, you wouldn't mind doin' it once more then, right?" Pero's beak may well have been having a mini duel with Ulbert's long halfmask at this point, both their faces pressed up together and each staring dagger into the other's eyes.

"Umu, please stop fighting, I'm using the rings now so please hang tight for just a minute." The great blue hemisphere of blinding magic almost completely enveloped Momonga's body, hiding his form in the bright spell circles.

The seconds almost seemed to crawl by. Tick tock, tick tock each second went. Just watching and waiting for the spell to complete.

Of course, waiting for a single minute was not something Pero could do, so he decided to livin up the place with a question: "So...just a quick thought...do you think Entoma and Touch could breed together? I mean, they're both bugs so-"

"I don't want to think about that, shut up." He was quickly shut up by a swift punch to the gut from ulbert's massive claws.

"Ok…" Pero paused as he swallowed the vomit that welled in his mouth before he opened his beak to speak once more. "What about Entoma and Coc-"

"I said SHUT. UP." Several more punches were made to the beak, each resulting in comicals "oofs" being shouted by the bird until he lay as a bloodied pulp on the floor, somewhere along the lines HeroHero had also decided to join in as well.

"Booooring~"

…

Only a few seconds had passed and Pero was already growing restless, he shifted around and played with his feathers to no avail. He just had to say something annoying.

Taking in a deep breath, he came up with the most annoying thing he could think of. "Ok, but y'know how Demiurge can transform, right?"

"Please stop asking these damn questions." An exasperated groan came from the goat shortly thereafter.

Leaping on his chance to be a complete prick, Pero continued: "Would he be able to turn into a-"

"No, shut up about this shit, PLEASE."

…

Boy oh boy, it sure does get boring waiting for a single minute. Can you guess what the bird did next?

"So...Albedo is a succubus, which is a race that can mate with anything...do you think she could-" He began the song and dance again with a shit eating grin on his face, not like anyone could even tell what emotion was on his face...er, beak?

"The answer is no. One more and I will fuckin' kill you." Of course he was met with the obvious response from Ulbert.

"Ok, fine. But could Rubedo-"

"That's it, you're dead!" Staining the grass beneath the two, Ulbert hoisted the bird up with his claws embedding themselves within the bird's chest and once again the aroma of cooked meat wafted into the air. "Is it really so damn hard to shut up for one minute?!"

A simple "Ahem" was enough to send the bird crashing back down onto the floor, Ulbert wiping off the blood from his claws and standing to attention due to a rather stern look from their leader. just as the brilliant blue had finally died down, signalling the completion of the spell's windup.

"Alright, leader, I think you can do it now." Ulbert sighed, wiping the bird's blood from his four hands.

"Very well then, I hope everyone is on board with this decision, yes?"

No objections came.

"Then I shall proceed." Trying to conserve the precious amount of cash shop items that were left in his inventory, Momonga held the ring up high in the air and slowly waited for the spell to finish it's massive wind up time.

A single second went by, and the great spell circle flared with energy and thus Momonga appealed for his wish to be granted: "I wish to have the Great Tomb of Nazarick be transported into this world!" He added a bit of dramatic flare as he finished off, before realizing his one massive mistake.

Maybe I should have specified where...

To everyone's surprise, the spell circle did not shatter apart like when Ulbert had failed to bring Touch back from his mind control, rather, it slowly faded away after a blinding flash of light and some sort of whimsical jingle that played from the ring.

With the clearing of the blinding light, the entire group's hopes had reached an all time high, now they'd have access to the vast majority of their gear, NPCs and a near impenetrable hom base and very little could prove to challenge the groups aside from a [World Enemy] or hundreds upon hundreds of other players.

But as that light dissipated, those hopes were brought crashing back down to earth. Rather than the grand surface level of Nazarick with it's smaller surrounding tombs filled with treasures, the scenery remained entirely unchanged and their guild base was nowhere to be found.

"Um...where's….where's our base then?"

"So, did the spell fail then since Naz ain't here?" Pero, now completely healed, said from high above ulbert to protect himself.

"No, it didn't fail because the spell circle was unbroken and look," Momonga lifted up the finger that had the wish granting ring upon it. Now a jet-black void was in place of one of the gemstones, with two remaining. "The spell went through without a doubt and even my EXP has dropped. There is no doubt the wish was completed."

"But, if the damn spell went through, where the hell is Nazarick then? How did you cock this up? Even the bird or the slime couldn't mess this up."

"Well, I don't know where Nazarick is but, all I know is that the spell worked. Now, that means that there are two possibilities that I can think of to explain this; 1) Nazarick has indeed been brought into this world but it's location is unknown to us. It may be right behind us, in the ocean, or in some mountains somewhere, all I know is that the spell did not get cancelled. That's the best case scenario for us. And 2) Nazarick is already in this world which...would not be very good for us. I doubt the ring would be able to know whether or not a guildbase has been ripped from the game and made into a reality so the ring may have just gotten confused. And lastly, it's just a glitch from YGGDRASIL. The first two are obviously the most likely but we should not fully dismiss the latter one just yet. YGGDRASIL was built out of tin foil and bubblegum after all so it's glitches may have manifested in this world similar to how they acted in game."

"Well...let's just hope it's not the second one. I think if I had to fight against the entirety of Nazarick, I'd cry."

"Indeed, but we cannot know for certain until we find Nazarick ourselves."

"And that's the plan moving forward then? We just look to see if we were the first one's to summon our base?"

"On top of our usual information gathering, yes, I believe that it would be the best course of action as of now. Challenging that Demon Lord will have to wait until we can be certain of victory, is everyone ok with this course of action."

"Uh, can't we just use our guild rings to teleport right into Naz?" Pero shot his hand up into the air. To be fair it was actually a good question coming from the bird. They could just bypass a pain in the ass search by just teleporting right into their new home. The prospect of disturbing Touch while he was in his state wasn't the most safe nor sane or option available to the group.

"Do you want you barge into Touch's room and demand the rings then?" A mocking laugh came from the goat, shutting the bird up right then an there.

"Alrighty then, let's go and do our thing while leader does some more wish making. I think I'll puke if I have to hear the bird's questions anymore."

"Umu, then it is decided. While Nazarick should be our first priority, I urge you all to not make things obvious to those that are watching us, understood? We cannot let them know that we've tried to summon our guild base here, unless you'd like for them to find it before we do."

With the plan set, the group vacated the area and quickly returned back into their fort while Momonga stood out in the field, all alone and spamming any useful wish he could think of.

---

Pero's room

Pero's room was much the same as it always was. That being a complete hellhole covered in crusty tissues, random items he couldn't be bothered to put back into his inventory, and many other miscellaneous items. And sat upon his bed, surrounded by an ocean of filth and trash, sat the Bird, his feathers clean and fluffy as always despite his living space's horrid appearance.

"Woooo~ Finally all that's done!" The birdman stretched out onto his once pristine bed, causing the harsh sound of crunching to emanate from the bed in response to his weight being pressed down atop the yellow covers. Truly it was disgusting.

Displaced all around the floor was numerous pieces of clothing, useless gear that was either cracked to pieces or was completely drained of their enchantment.s the battle with Touch had taken a massive toll on the bird's inventory, only a handful of his bows were in operable condition and far less had their enchantments still on them. On his bed were a vastly smaller collection of clothing; a fist full of black rings such that his level may be reduced to better blend in with the locals, a long cloak with a fiery decal covering much of the coat which boosted fire damage and granted a massive resistance to fire attacks at the cost of taking extra damage from ice, a similarly decaled gambeson top with the same effects but with added resistance against melee strikes, horrifically garish golden gauntlets embedded with six gemstones that each had a separate defence spell infused, simple dragon leather boots that provided a mix of elemental resistances as well as poison immunity, and finally the old reliable [Nerd Slaying Blade] in a custom made sheath to prevent any of it's fluids from leaking onto people nearby. It was slightly different from what he'd initially decided on but the gear provided a good mix of resistances for the frail bird, though if this was back in the game he'd be foolish to equip such a dysfunctional loadout since he'd low stats would mitigate any resistance given by his gear. All of which, other than his blade was only around level 70 - 120. To add the final cherry on top, he took out a pair of glasses from his inventory. Their effects were similar to his mask - allowing him to see in much greater clarity than normal, grants [Night Vision] and [Heat Sense] at the cost of MP and they also power up all [Eye] skills he had at his disposal.

"Righto...what do I do now then? Like, I could just leave right now but…" He had just died a few times but days prior so he was entitled to a little….stress relief. "I'll go and have a poke around, this is usually about the time that the female NPCs bathe so-"

"Uwah~ Pero-san is creepy." A monotone voice came from behind his door.

Ok, you're calling me -san now? Come on, I'm friends with the guy that made you! Shouldn't I get some respect?

But before Pero could begin to calm his nerves, the door was flung open and he was brought face to face with a very groggy looking Ulbert who was of course accompanied by his companion robot.

"It's the middle fo the fuckin' night, the hell are you banging about for? You've been chuckin' your gear all around the damn place for HOURS!"

"U-uh...d-don't you...y'know, not ne-need to sleep though?" He stammered out, the piercing gaze of Shizu crippling his abilities to talk for fear of his life, the barrel of a pistol just barely visible from poking out from her clothes.

"Not to get rid of physical fatigue, no. Mental fatigue is a whole 'nother thing though. Can't you just shut the hell up for half an hour while I sleep!?"

"Uh, I-I finished l-like...ages ago, i-idiot." The piercing glare intensified upon Pero's insult and he sank further back into his room.

"Whatever, get your ass to the Empire if you're done then. Go and register to be an adventurer or whatever equivalent they have other there and start snooping around if you can. My [Shadow Demons] are already in the Emperor's palace and a few other places so you're not without guard. Leave."

"U-uh, sure.' He weakly answered, finally Shizu's glare was lifted and his nerves could return to him once she began to drag Ulbert away from Pero's room.

"Hey wait a minute, you two sleep together?" Pero couldn't help but ask, hoping that his friend hadn't just taken a prospective harem member away from him.

"..." He was met with a glare from both of them and he rightly shut up.

"Ok, I'll get dressed and head out for a few weeks or months or however long."

"Get me some sewing supplied while you're there. I've got some shit I need to make."

"Making stuffed toys again are you, o' fearsome Demon God?"

"Pft, no. I've got something much better in the works."

"Ah~ So you're finally workin' on a fursuit are you? I knew you'd embrace your inner fur-"

"[Widen Magic - Phoenix Flower]"

"WOAH THERE!" A spray of trash exploded all over the room as a result of Pero diving out of the way of a massive shotgun blast of fiey pellets, both he and the goat almost puking at the acrid stench of burning trash and bodily fluids and a host of other sorts of unknown substances.

"Just get me the supplies. Oh yeah, the slime's also made a new weapon using his alchemy and a transmog spell so test it out while you're adventuring, 'kay?"

"Sure, sure. Have fun making your stuffed toys."

With a smug laugh to himself, Ulbert disappeared back into his room with his robot following close behind him, provoking a hint of jealousy to surge within Pero's chest. It sure would be great to have a cute girl follow homes around everywhere like that. Alas, Pero would have to make due with his loneliness for just a bit longer. Cucking his friend, while something that Pero couldn't help but think of from time to time, likely was the worst thing he could do other than slap Touch in the face so he forbade those thoughts for now.

"Oi, got somethin' for you." A small slimy head poked out from the corner of his door and Pero was pelted with a collection of small ball-like objects just a few minutes later. His squishy face providing great relief to the bird who'd just had a brush with death three times in the same day.

"What're these? You giving me candy or somethin'?" He played with one of the strange capsule with his talon, the dull grey surface provided no hint as to what it's purpose was.

"No, they're drugs. Take them whenever you feel like you're having a panic attack or something, ok? Each has a boost to your charisma stat and comes with the [Lion's Heart] spell so you'll be a-ok if you take one. Oh but they only last like a few minutes since these are mass produced. Just don't get addicted." He put heavy emphasis on the last part, concerning the bird greatly.

"Ah, cheers." He couldn't help but dwell on the possibility of getting addicted though.

"Mhm, just gimme any sort of addictive substance you can find in the Empire, Ulbert said you need something to anchor your harem to you so I figured I'll help you out."

"You're ok with me drugging women to have them become dependent on me?" He asked, pocketing the drugs and vowing to repay his friend in as many addictive substances and body parts as possible.

HeroHero shrugged and ate up some trash on the floor, making sure to avoid any crusty landmines in the assorted piles. "I eat people on the regular, so I don't really care about morals anymore. It'd be a tad hypocritical for me to get upset over this when we literally torture our captives and me and a few others eat people alive, right?"

Still mowing down the horde, HeroHero shot some sort of object from his expanding mass of slime towards the bed while speaking: "Oh yeah, I also made a weapon from the scraps I had in my inventory, take it, it'll be useful if you get in a scrap and don't wanna nuke the country."

A clunky mass of iron dropped onto the floor, sliding from the bed due to it's obscene length weighing it down. It was a mystery as to how it fit inside the cramped confines of HeroHero's slime.

"Oh...that sure is...a weapon." Pero sagely nodded, not having a clue what he was looking at.

"Ah, so you don't know then. Basically, it's a modified [Howitzer Bow] I made from scrap. Like your [Hou Yi's Bow] but...more explosive and with a bigger AOE. Make sure to use it and gimme feedback, I ain't a smith so I dunno if it'll work."

Pero gave an enthusiastic thumbs up and thanked his friend profusely.

"Mhm, well I'm gonna go now. I've got a lot to do in the Kingdom, so buh-bye~" Finally done consuming all the trash in Pero's room, the slime slithered away, leaving only manky yellowed tissues to lie on the equally stained carpet.

Ok then, time to roll out!

Dressing himself in his garb and bidding farewell to the few guildmembers who are awake so late into the night, Pero opened up a [Gate] and walked through it, dragging his feet in disappointment that his midnight peeping session got cut off before it could even begin.

---

The Empire

He stood just at the gates to the Empire in the pitch blackness of night, revealing the cool breeze that ruffled his feathers while he slowly approached the walls of the city. Tall and grand yet not as fortified as those of E-Pespel or even E-Rantel for that matter, yet they still did their job.

Well, I woulda liked to use Ulbert's poly body for this since...yeah, but since he's already gone and used that body , I'll just go with my own. I gotta look into using poly to fix my uh, issues down there or else this harem thing is gonna turn into a "Let's all bully Pero for having a small dick convention" just like the guild.

Reluctantly, he assumed his human body and approached the fortified gates where the sounds of fighting were at their apex.

Guess this'll be some good practice with my magic and swordplay. Whooo, let's use a charisma buffing item for now and see how I act. Once it wears off I'll try to emulate the behaviour without a crutch. Hope that'll work.

He popped the small item into his mouth and rushed off towards the clattering sound of metal and quickly the sight of numerous guards being swarmed by a small horde of green bodies, each equipped with such low tier gear, it was a wonder that the items even held together while being used.

Just some trash greenskins, nothing too hard for me. Now it's time to flex on these noobs!

Swinging his blade in a swooping arc, the short blade of the nerd slayer spilled the first [Goblin''s] innards onto the floor, accompanied by a loud shriek from the short creature. Not hesitating for a second, Pero cut down another green menace with equal ease, cutting through the weapon it tried to attack him with and slicing it in two.

Not satisfied with just melee combat, a small ball of flame ripped through the majority of the green horde, coming from Pero's hand he instant he shouted: "[Firebolt]"

In only a handful of seconds, the horde that number fifteen was reduced to four with only three actions made by Pero, a pretty good flex in his opinion that left the wounded guards gawking at his might. But he could do better, far better than that.

The largest of the [Goblins,] a bulky seven foot wall of muscle sauntered it's way from a group of bloodied armour, a long, scaly tail whipping at the floor with each step and a massive club in it's hand.

Erm, [Goblins] aren't meant to have tails nor be that big, right? Is this specific to this world or something? Never in all my years of facing [Goblins] have I seen this kind at least. Whatever, it'll die just as easy as the rest.

"W-wait! You-...you can't fight that thing!" One of the surviving guards latched onto Pero's arm, attempting to pull the bird away from the massive creature.

Brushing off the frenzied guard, Pero prepared his blade.

Need to make it quick, this buff will only last a little longer. Flexing time.

Ducking out of the way of the creature's first swing, Pero stabbed straight upwards, gutting the creature's club and twisting his blade to dislodge the weapon from the strange [Goblin's] hands, disarming it in a single move not through skill, but through sheer power.

And then, dancing around a frantic fist and a whipping tail, Pero leapt up up into the air and held both his hands out, unleashing a spell: "[Thundercrack]"

A blinding flash enveloped the world and the giant [Goblin] crashed to the floor, face covered in a black fog and the sound of burps and gurgles of melted flesh gradually cooling the cold night time air.

Hand over mouth to not puke from the smell, Pero smugly grinned to himself. Admittedly it was pretty cool that he could do something like that, though the impressiveness was kinda lessened by the fact he was utterly relying on HeroHero's buffs to even be functional in front of strangers.

So, this is what I should be like all the time. I'm pretty cool when I'm not dying from my anxiety!

"A-amazing!" One of the guards began the praise train.

"Holy shit, what kinda freak are you!?" Another continued the train and Pero ate up all the praise offered to him.

"Nice job, you really saved us back there." A gruff man's voice came from behind him and Pero flinched as he felt a rough hand slap against his shoulder heartily.

"Er, y-yeah. I guess I did." He nervously rubbed the back of his head and took advantage of his newly instilled confidence. "Do...do you know what kinda of thing this creature was? Never seen one like it before."

The gruff guard stroked his thick beard and gave an honest answer: "Same here. Ain't nothin' like the usual demons or greenskins that we usually find at night. A few have started cropping up recently, coming down from the mountains and harassing the villages and cities just recently. Look to be demons from a glance but they always roam with [Goblins] so it's hard to say. Some are more monstrous than that one though, strange ain't they?"

"Y-yeah." He made a mental note to report back his findings and he pocketed a small sampel of the creature's flesh to have Momonga experiment on in the future.

"So, you some sorta worker or adventurer then? Ain't never seen a man quite like you just appear out of nowhere. Mah name's Walldrod by the by, nice to meet ya." Pero was met with a heavily calloused hand being thrust towards him which he hesitantly met with his own, far daintier hand and gave a weak handshake.

"Er, w-well, kinda, I th-think? The name's..." It was already getting hard to get his words out, the buff was definitely not going to hold much longer, he couldn't even think up of a convincing name, so he gave up and offered no name. "M-my name's not what's i-important right now."

Oh god I sound like one of those edgy OCs LuciFer used to make!

"True that, I'll get these injured men back 'ome. Here ya go." Before he could leave, Pero's face was pelted again with small metal objects. "Thanks for helpin' us out here. Take care now, y'hear?" With that, the gruff man returned to his more heavily shaken up men and lifted them back to their feet and took them off towards the gates.

Pocketing the dim silver coins, Pero breathed a sigh of relief. He'd just barely made it in time.

Times up, gott run off soon.

But wow...that was something. I kinda get why Touch likes to play the hero all the time; getting praised for being waaaay stronger than everyone else is pretty cool. I'll do these guy's one last favour before running away. I can't have this place getting invaded by [Goblins] while I'm still living here.

He could go even further beyond and flex even harder on these scrubs while his buff was still in effect.

"[Mass Cure Wounds]"

He flicked his hand into the air and a green glow enveloped the few surviving guards, their wounds losing their redness and sealing themselves in seconds which of course, caused another heap of praise to be dumped on Pero.

Mhm, that's enough for now. I think reviving any of these guards would be going too far and I need to get out of here ASAP!

Already feeling the surge of anxiety welling within him, Pero made the best call possible and made to retreat from the guards before he could be bothered by them any further.

I'll keep that big guy in mind, he might be able to give me some information about other things.

Flipping up his hood, Pero ran off through the city gates and quickly ran into the first inn he could find, threw some coins at the very confused innkeeper and bolted into the cramped room he'd been given before collapsing onto the cheap bed.

This sucks. This really sucks, I could only act normally for like three minutes at most!

Ok, soooo….what do I do now? I don't wanna go and register myself at the guild or anything since they're just gonna interrogate me and walking around at night is gonna be mega sus of me. I guess I'll just let Ulbert's summons skulk around for a while and just go to sleep for a few hours since I can't even search for those two girls I saw in the Empire ages ago.

Without anything of any worth to do, the bird relaxed into the cheap bed of his room and closed his eyes, the sounds of distant fighting permeating even this far away from the walls.

Guess demons are mainly nocturnal then? That'll really explain why I haven't seen any when I'm looking around using the [Mirror of Remote Viewing] or somethin'., though then there's these special [Goblin] things I just saw. What's up with them anyway? Looked like a generic hob from the game but with added bits on it, does that mean someone else is making chimeras or is this just a natural thing that rarely happens?

Oh well, it's bed time for me, no point in thinking about this stuff when good ol' leader'll figure it out in a jiffy.

…

The next morning, Pero awoke with nought but a problem. After a brief panic when he made eye contact with the innkeeper and was asked how he slept, Pero was ready to begin his first day of doing...that thing he was meant to be doing that he totally remembered what it was.

Uh...what was I doing again? Huh...guess I'll go and find those girls then.

Dressing for the day in his only set of clothing he had brought with him, the bird bolted pass the innkeeper and other guests and crashed through the inn's shoddy wooden door, falling out in the streets like a madman.

There was just one major problem. He didn't have a map of the Empire, let alone a map of this city.

Ooooh no. Oh dear God no. How...how am I gonna get around without a damn map? Stopping time isn't something I'd like to do so just what the hell do I do?

Do I walk around like an idiot, or do I try to ask someone for directions? But directions to where exactly? What would I say? Would they even give me an answer or would they think I'm weird? Would their answer even be the truth or would they just lie to get rid of me?

Shit, think you damn idiot and stop worrying about all this!

Why didn't I bring at least one NPC with me!?

And as he stood there in a panic, the entire world began to close in around. The crowd became more dense, the air grew thin and his knees buckled and time slowed to a crawl. He was entirely enclosed in a towering wall of bodies.

But then, as those worries slowly began accumulating, his body jerked forwards with the passing of a particularly big passerby and his mind may well have just exploded.

He was already breathing in a deep lungful of air, but now this was only redoubled, his chest heaved with each attempt to take in as much air as possible, but it was never enough.

A snicker of laughter from some unseen location among the crowd, no culprit in sight nor anything to judge who or what the laugh was directed to. Even so, he knew it was aimed at him. The idiot stood in the centre of the street, panicking like a madman, it had to be aimed at him. He was being laughed at. And then another, fainter than the first, but still the definitive sound of laughter came again and only proved his suspicions. He was definitely being laughed at.

It was choking. The saliva in his mouth clogged his throat and prevented breathing and his coughing and spluttering only worsened his distress, he was humiliating himself in a self perpetuating way. Each cough only increased his shame, and as his shame increased, so too did his coughing and panicked flailing increase for the cycle to repeat itself.

Sh-shit...this sucks. I REALLY should have asked to bring one of the NPCs along with me, at this rate I won't even be able to get up, let alone speak to those girls.

Maybe forcing things to change so quickly wasn't the best of choices. I won't get better if I throw myself into crowds like this so gradual change should be the way going forward.

As he sank deeper and deeper into his own despair, a loud, shrill ringing blasted apart his ears from within his own mind. Instinctively he put his hands to his own head, and a voice greeted him.

"Umu, you didn't check in with me." The voice of his leader smashed through his despairing thoughts like a knife through butter and a wave of relief enveloped the bird to know that he wasn't truly isolated in the Empire.

"Oh thank God…" he let out before he could even think, the joy was hard to bottle up. "Sos for not checking in."

"Umu, it's fine, I knew you'd forget at least once. We've had a slight change of plans as well so I was going to [Message] you regardless. I want you to take over every single location you can through whatever means you can. I don't care if it's through brute force or if you operate in the shadows, secure as much money, equipment and people you can. Ah, and Ulbert is heading your way as well since he's notice a few of his demons being destroyed in your area, please keep an eye out for anyone suspicious."

"Great, just lump more work on me, ain't this better suited to a walking nuke like Touch or Ulbert though? I'm not very good at CC. but fine, I'll do my best and keep an eye out as well."

Pero could just hear the shrug through the magic. "I'm not asking you to do it now, but I'd like it done before we have our next large scale battle, please."

"Fine, I'll slave away in some foriegn country while you sit on your ass and make undead and build yourself a harem, sure~"

"I don't have a har-"

*click* Pero hung up before he could get an answer.

His spirits renewed by that short conversation, eh had enough presence of mind to swollow another of HeroHero's deus ex machina pills and went on his merry way in search of those two women who he'd marked as his.

...

A while later

The searching didn't take long. He had been using the [Mirror of Remote Viewing] and his own little portal thingies to spy on people for quite a while so he'd been getting used to tracking down people.

Peering just around a corner of an alleyway, Pero stared directly at his prey. His heart fluttered as the two youngish looking girls came into view. Each with their own unique charms yet still appealing to Pero's unique tastes. However, a twinge of rage engulfed him as those two bastards that accompanied the two girls approached. Both blond and cheery faced, Pero did his best to quell the urge to leap out and take the girls away from his competition. Especially that swordsman with the twin blades. Just the way he and that half-elf laughed and joked together only worsened the bird's jealousy.

Bastards. I need to make my move before it's too late. That half-elf girl is definitely sleeping with that blond sword guy, tch, always goin' in each other's inn rooms at night. Oh well, it's a chance to cuck someone so I guess that's fine...well, assuming that I'd even be able to cuck someone with...my issue...

Before he'd even realised it, he was staring right into the eyes of the blonde magic caster. Pero flinched upon meeting gaze with the bright blue eyes of the young girl. To his own surprise, he was not met with the crushing weight of anxiety, nor did his throat clog with thick spit and force him to splutter on the floor, no. A wave of calm hit him, and the residual effects of his anxiety soon began to fade away into the background, though they were not quelled entirely and his hands were a tad clammy. The girl's porcelain skin portrayed an undeniable air of elegance, yet the harsh browns and stains of her lightly armoured robes portrayed a much different picture about the girl. Perhaps she was noble, forced to adventure for money, or perhaps she was just a peasant girl who'd won the genetic lottery. Either way, the girl's beauty was plain and clear.

However, the other girl did not have the same effects of the far cuter noble looking girl. At only a glance, the fires of anxiety within Pero ignited once again and he shifted uncomfortably as her gaze met his own. While with an admittedly cute face and a body-type matching Pero's...unique tastes, her sneer reminded the bird far too much of Ulbert's and so his unease was magnified. Like the rest of her comrades, this girl too was clad in standard adventuring gear and the likes, he speculated her to be a rogue or sniper due to the patches of exposed fabric peeking out from beneath leather folds and the relatively well kept nature of her equipment. However the girl's most notable selling point was the swaying locks of purple hair she had, making her look more out of video game than even Pero and co.

Ok, there they are! There...th-they a-...a-are….Calm down, man! You're stronger than they are! What can they even do to you...nothing! You're a level 200 for God's sake...level 195? No, I died a few times so maybe 180? Whatever, I'm stronger than them! They can't hurt you so just go out there and….AH! I can't, I can't, I can't! What if I get rejected? What if they think I'm a creep? What if the plan fails? Wh-what if they can see through my polymorph?This entire identity will have it's reputation tarnished! I'll ruin the plan, I can't do this, I just can't. But I'm already here, if I don't come back with anything then I'd have wasted everyone's time and then...then...DO IT! Katsuki j-just do it! Breath, breath, just like how HeroHero showed us to….phew.

Don't eat the pills. Don't eat the pills. DO NOT eat the pills.

Surprising even himself, he didn't fuck this one up. In fact, in an act greatly betraying his normal disposition, he actually got up from his creepy little hideout and slowly sauntered his way over to the table where the party sat in merriment.

Now that he'd actually made it to the table, he found that his throat may well have just walked right out of his body for try as he might, not a single coherent word could be produced.

It was a rather pathetic display. A fully grown man choking right in front of a group of people likely to be younger than himself while they all shot each other questioning looks.

Having enough of the crushing silence, one of the blond men may well have just shot Pero right there and then with the action they took next. That action? Putting their hand on his shoulder and gently asking: "My good fellow, are you in need of assistance? Have you been met with a terrible curse that restricts your capacity to speak?"

The ligh blue of the priest's eyes were near mesmerizing, deep and rich, stern and authoritative yet possessing an air of gentleness and kindness to them. If were was gay, WHICH HE IS DEFINATLYE NOT, he way well have fallen for the priest there and then. But then again, HE'S NOT GAY and he ONLY likes traps so it's totally straight.

He wanted to shoot himself right there and then, but no, he couldn't run and it's not like shooting himself would even kill him anyway. He was in it for the long haul.

Swallowing what felt like the entire pacific ocean, he made a loud coughing sound to clear his throat and thrust the friendly priest back into his seat, provoking an ear grating noise of metallic plates clashing and the priest's holy mace crushing the brick beneath the table. "Ahem..." Spit it out, Katsuki! "F-forgive me but…"

Before he could stammer out anymore, he was questioned by the half-elf girl and cringed at the sheer venom in her tone, almost mistaking the girl for Ulbert when her face contorted into a vile sneer: "The hell are you?"

"I-I uh, y-you...I w-wanna…I-I wanna...joi-join you!" He finally managed to state his purpose after trying so much. Good job, Pero.

"Excuse me...but who exactly are you? I'd be more than happy to add you to our ranks but, we don't really have a gauge of your strength or even who you are." The leader of the group spoke up, his admittedly handsome face bearing a cheery, if not mildly suspicious smile upon it and Pero glanced down at his waist, sure enough one hand hovered over the grip of a weighty sword.

"F-forgive me, my name is…" He paused just as he was about to say his username, only for the party leader's grip to tighten on their blade.

Shit, I didn't even come up with a cover name! AGH! Why is she looking at me? Shit I can't think if she's doing that, think, think, THINK! SAY THE FIRST WORD THAT POPS INTO YOUR HEAD!

"...Hentai." He'd really done it now.

AAAHHH! NO! I'm so sorry Momonga, I've failed! Oh god I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm so dead!

Take a pill now!

Ignoring the sensation of caving in his own teeth, Pero slammed another pill into his mouth and quickly swallowed it.

"Excuse me? I didn't quite hear that." The blond swordsman cocked an ear in Pero's direction, his partners also with looks of intrigue on their faces.

"My apologies, I said my name was Hen-Tai...j-just shorten it to Hen though, saying a long name takes too long for me when in battle." He assured them, hating himself for choosing such a name. At least he was better at naming things than Ulbert was, what sort of man names their demon god persona Ariel? Madmen, that's who.

I want to cry, how the hell did Suzuki come up with his name!? I'm not cut out for this...ah! Touch, rescue me!

"Ah, of course, Hen-san, I'm the leader of this little group: Hekkeran. So, I'd rather just get to the point, I need to tell how strong you are before letting you join us, so, we'll duel right here if that's alright with you. Ah, no [Martial Arts] or spells or anything, this is only a test of raw abilities."

This guy is just letting me join, like...now?The hell- OH! My charisma items and the buff! That's why he's being a moron and trusting me; I've got a maxed out charisma stat! This makes things way easier on me~

It sure is easy when everyone blindly trusts you!

"Sure thing! A word of warning, I'm pretty strong." Pero twirled around and drew his sword, a thin trail of aphrodisiacs splattered onto the floor. The knowledge that he wouldn't be judged by others no matter how ridiculous he acted or spoke was incredibly reassuring.

"En garde!" Hekkeran thrust one of his twin swords for Pero's gut, not knowing how to properly deflect the stab, he used his far superior speed and strength to sidestep the stab and cut deep into Hekkeran's sword. The blade was cut clean in half in a single downward stroke and the shattered blade dropped to the floor.

"A-amazing!" He heard the cries of the blonde mage girl, full of reverence for our bird hero and he grinned to himself at just how easy it was to earn favour with these people.

This shit's like in a visual novel! All I have to do is exist around these people and eventually they'll love me! This is gonna a breeze if this keeps up.

What happened!? I was trying to deflect it! Eh, whatever, as long as those cute girls are impressed with me, I don't really care! This guy's women will become mine! I swear upon the very name of Ainz Ooal Gown itself, I will NTR the shit out of this guy!

"Impressive, it seems you're not just average warrior!" His opponent declared while getting his shit completely rocked by a complete novice who'd swung his sword about four or so times in his entire life.

But...I'm meant to be a magic caster...whatever, just roll with it I guess.

Hekkeran attempted to slash at Pero's chest, only for it to be sidestepped with little effort. Taking the opportunity to actually attack, Pero gracelessly swung his blade, being parried by Hekkern. Not deterred by his predictable fighting style, Pero kept swinging his sword with reckless abandon, each strike would impact Hekkern's blade rather than his body with a weighty thud his strikes did very little in the way of attaining him victory.

Countless swings were taken by Pero, each one that impacted Hekkern's sword would send out a cascade of yellow sparks along with the screeches on metal on metal - neither party could really get an advantage and so the dance of dance continued on and on. Well, Pero obviously could wipe the floor with Hekkeran regardless of how skilled the blonde swordsman may be because of his inflated stats, but you don't learn by just using brute strength.

Ok, now...um, how do I finish people off? Ah, stabbing hurts, I should try stabbing him!

Trying his best to copy what Hekkeran had done, Pero thrust his sword towards his opponent's gut. It was incredibly predictable, Hekkeran simply raised his sword and deflected the blow, the slickened sword of Pero glided across Hekkeran's blade, sending Pero to the floor with a thud. This actually worked out in Pero's favour as he jammed his foot into Hekkeran's leg, buckling his knee, not wasting a moment, Pero leapt up from the floor and grappled Hekkeran, sliding his blade to Hekkeran;s throat.

Holy shit I won! I did it! Get fucked nerd! Ahem, well, guess I'm an adventurer now so thats-...wait...He took a good look at his opponent's neck, only to see nothing. Same with Imina, Arche and Roberdyck, none had any sort of adventuring plate on their necks at all.

They don't have those necklaces that Suzuki and Lupusregina got, ain't that illegal? These guys are adventurers, right? Oh no...did I just fuck something else up?

"Damn, you really weren't lying when you said you were strong, huh? Welcome aboard, Foresight then, Hen-san. You know, normally people always try becoming an adventurer before joining up with Workers, but I won't turn down a strong party member, I'm sure you'll raise our chances of survival tenfold!" He was dragged out of his thoughts by a slap on the back, causing him to let out a pathetic "eep" like sound in fright.

Huh? W-workers? Oh...did I mess up? They're not adventurers but, like, knockoffs of adventurers? God I hope they're the same thing just with differing names.

Oh well, I've already gotten this far and found some cute girls so...I may as well see where this goes, right? It'd look pretty bad if I just up and left after all this so I may as well stay with these guys.

"Whatever, as long as he earns his keep, I couldn't care less." the half-elf sounded incredibly disingenuous, like Ulbert whenever he goes into a swearing tirade; sickeningly forced and incredibly lame sounding in their attempt to sound aloof.

"Imina! Don't be rude to our new party member! Think of all the requests we'll be able to complete with someone this strong around. You mustn't be so harsh to someone that could save your life one day." Arche scolded her teammate with an authoritative tone much in the same way a mother would scold her child, or like how Pero's own sister would scold him for using rent money to buy more hentai games.

"Indeed, it seems our friend here is a blessing from the Gods, we're truly blessed to have such fortune!" The religious looking blond man had instantly taken a liking to Pero for absolutely no good reason, his cheery smile provoking Pero's insides to churn in discomfort. The powers of charisma enhancements are terrifyingly effective on those with weaker minds it seems.

What the hell are they talking about? I've literally just met these people, I ain't your friend, blondy!

"Right so...uh, w-what now?" Now he was a member of the group, it was time to find out just what exactly his first quest with them would be.

"Ah yes, my apologies Hen-san, we actually were discussing a potential request before you introduced yourself. So, as our new member, I need to inform you of the request, please bear in mind that we won't force you to come with us on this request. I'd rather not see our team's newest and strongest member fall in battle so soon into his career." The praise was almost sickening, he'd just met Pero and was heralding him as the most powerful of all of them with no shame at all, and the bird cringed at looking at the genuine admiration on the entire party's faces.

Shut up and tell me. Ugh, this guy is the worst...what was the word Suzuki liked to use, ah! Sycophant, this guy is one of those through and through.

"So, what ARE the details?" he sat down in the only empty chair, scooting it back a few feet to not get too close to any of the Workers.

"Nothing too extraordinary; we're simply raiding a [Goblin] encampment in a cave system to the North-East of the Empire near the mountains, along with two adventuring parties from the Kingdom. Normally this would be dealt out to one powerful adventuring team or sometimes several, but our client has a special interest in this encampment and the hired adventurers are just to act as a decoy to get the adventure guild off our clients back." He smiled bitterly and cleared his throat, whatever was coming likely wasn't too pleasant sounding. "Our client's daughter ran away from home just a few months ago without a trace and they suspected she became an adventurer or worker. And...well, an adventurer closely matching her description, and the rest of her team went missing after they had embarked on a [Goblin] slaying quest. We think she was kidnapped by [Goblins] a few weeks ago, and it is our mission to retrieve her and kill as many [Goblins] as we see and to make sure the hired adventurers don't wind up dead. You see, our client is...rather poor if you will, so he can only afford to pay the promised bounty for this mission and not the fee that the adventurers guild would charge for the healing of his daughter, so he had turned to us workers as an alternative. The hired adventurers are far cheaper than paying expensive medical bills and it makes him look less suspicious to the guild, worker's aren't very well liked over in the Kingdom if you didn't know." Hekkeran concluded, leaving Pero half-asleep by the end of the explanation.

[Goblins]. Great, more greenskins to fight. I had enough of this stuff in YGGDRASIL with that damn [Orc] guildleader guy, always harassing me and calling me "shiny face". But hey, it's a pretty good opportunity to get this guy killed and take his girls though...well, [Goblins] are pretty pathetic in a fight though so maybe not.

Thankfully he'd taken the time that Hekkeran took explaining to mentally prepare himself to speak: "Hm, fairly simple and easy enough. I'll do it, I guess. But, why are you guys bothering with trash like goldins? Wouldn't weaker groups be better suited for this job? Or are we taking on some tougher variants like an [Erlking] or a gaggle of [Redcaps] maybe?" By the time he'd finished speaking, he had only just realised something; he actually spoke clearly to strangers! Congrats.

Woah that came out way better than I thought.

After picking up his jaw from the floor, Hekkeran offered up a question to the bird. "Um...there may be [Hobgoblins] but...I am unfamiliar with those other kinds of creatures you mentioned, Hen-san."

"Same, ain't never heard of those things." The half-elf spoke up as well, a look of confusion plastered across her features.

Good, I doubt I'd be able to protect all these guys from an [Erlking] with the way I am now, no way am I taking on a level 150+ monster with these noobs in tow.

The [Erlking] was a level 150 mini boss commonly found in forest based dungeons. Irl it is known as the king of fairies and stalker of children from Germanic lore, but in YGGDRASIL, it is the negative karma equivalent of the far easier to battle [Oberon] boss. Capable of killing with just a touch, the [Erlking] is an instant death specialist like Momonga, but with an instant death effect permanently attached to it's physical attacks that has a 100% death rate.

"So it;s not gonna be too much trouble then? Good, [Goblins] have some nasty variants to them." He found himself reclining back into his chair as if he was back home. Knowing his life was no longer in danger and that these people were complete idiots did wonders to soothe his anxiety.

"Not too much trouble? I-It's a goblin extermination! Those green skin bastards are tough as nails!" The half-elf shouted out in disbelief, slamming his fist down onto the table and generating a terrible thump, shocking the life right out of the bird.

They are? They used to spawn at like level 3 - 30, right? That only increased by around twenty or thirty after the last update, these guys that weak?

He coughed a few times to gather up his thoughts before speaking again: "Forgive me but...the goblins near where, uh, I, um, grew up weren't strong at all. We actually used to go out and bully any local [Goblins] we could find when me, and my friends got really drunk, we used to pin 'em down and spam our weak spells on them to test out how much damage we could deal." A flood of old memories surged through his mind, specifically those when he first started playing YGGDRASIL where, as an archer class, he'd have to constantly pick off far weaker enemies than normal as his build was solely reliant on teammates to function...teammates he didn't have for many months of playing. Until he met his guildmates of course, when he did meet them, oh boy, those [Goblins] never knew what hit them, especially not when HeroHero decided he wanted to melt things as his main gimmick. They made pretty good punching bags since they were incredibly abundant in most worlds and they could be used to test how much damage skills or magic could deal due to their neutral resistances across the board. Fun times.

He was met with horrified looks all around.

"I-I see. Well, you must have been fortunate to grow up where [Goblins] were weaker than most people. Here it's...different. [Goblins] are still one of the weakest of monsters, but they're far stronger than an average person and could give most equally equipped adventurer's a run for their money in a one on one situation." The priest actually spoke for once, though that damned smile didn't waver ONCE as he spoke.

Can't even 1v1 a gob? Shameful, but I guess that's only because [Goblins] and all those weaker mobs like [Imps] have way weaker stats for their actual levels. Man, imagine what this place would be like if the Devs just inflated a monster's stats to correspond to their new levels after the update...yikes. Thank God they only did that for non-starting area mobs or this world would be REALLY in trouble.

"So, er...when do we depart? I can go anytime you want."He shifted around uncomfortably under the piercing gaze of the smiling holy man.

"Confident are you? We'll, our time of departure depends on you. Originally we were going to take the rest of today to prepare ourselves and then headout the next. If you need any extra time to-" Pero cut Hekkeran off by shoving his hand right up into the air like a school student.

"Not a chance, we better not waste any time. [Goblins] are known for treating women...ahem, poorly so we better hurry up and save this girl."

Ah~ Those little bastards, always stealing women and NTRing the hell out of them~ Shame it ain't Orcs though, if was hoo-boy~...anyway, back to securing my harem.

"You have a point, Hen-san. Goblins are notorious for treating women poorly, the less of them out in the wilds, the better. Vile creatures they are."

"That they are, green skinned bastards. The world would be better off without them."

Heh, you're all fools! You know not the glory of the greenskins, you know not their plight, the reason as to why they breed with humans and elves! Such a tragedy indeed and definitely not an excuse to have a bunch of rape fantasy hentai! Not at all!

"Shall we depart then?" Pero asked, incredibly eager to run away from Roberdyck's still smiling gaze.

"Of cours-" Again Hekkeran was cut off.

"Just a moment. Hen-san, you also claim to be a magic caster, correct? I can already sense a great deal of magic coming from you but, I'd like a quick demonstration of your highest tier spell if that's ok with you." Arche was the one to interpret this time, and it was something that completely and utterly horrified Pero.

"A-ah of course!" He couldn't really refuse thought, horrified or not.

….

He couldn't say no, afterall it would be incredibly suspicious for him to claim to be a powerful magic caster and then refuse to prove it. Obviously, using his most powerful spells would be pointless, he only needed to cast a third or fourth tier spell to impress his party. So, with his task being simple for once, he agreed to prove his power and was brought outside of the city gates, a wooden dummy in the shape of a [Goblin] was provided by the guards for the job.

Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit, the damn buff already expired and I can take another while they're staring at me like a bunch of idiots!

Hooo, ok, it's literally just a trash spell and nothing more. Just cast [Fireball] and call it quits.

Just [Fireball,] just [Fireball,] just…[Fireball...], maybe widen it just for some flair...

"[Widen Magic - Fire Wall]"

Crap.

In classic Pero fashion, he cocked things up. Instead of a simple [Fireball] spell, the produced spell was nothing short of a cataclysm compared to it's younger brother fire spells. Being a top-tier sixth tier spell, the resulting blast of magma that exploded from the ground far surpassed anything the group of workers had likely seen before. For a diameter of fifteen meters around Pero, the ground was reduced to ash and bubbling liquid rock. Even though it's name would imply it to be a defensive spell, [Fire Wall] was more of an area denial spell and was commonly used to restrict the angels by which one could be ambushed from.

Oh. I royally cocked this up, didn't I? Guess I'm gonna stand out a lot more than I had hoped.

"A-amazing!" The blonde caster shouted with an ecstatic grin on her face like that of a child being presented with the most wonderful of gifts.

"A magic caster and a potent swordsman….you're a real monster, Hen-san. Now wonder you beat me." To his side came the revenant voice of Hekkeran.

Oh God please no! I'm not some Garry Stew light novel protagonist, please! I don't need more of your praise!

"A-ah...nope! I'm sure with-with enough effort, y-you'll...uh, be as strong as me one day!" His words came out far more arrogant than what he'd wished. He essentially just told them that it'd take the other magic caster a long time to even just be on par with his magic, let alone his overwhelming physical prowess.

"Well, it's reassuring to know that we've got such a powerful team member. Though, are you sure you're ok taking on this request? Wouldn't you prefer something far more challenging and join up with a stronger party?" Hekkeran couldn't help but ask, though the near pleading look in his eyes was almost pitiable. It was clear Pero was greatly wanted within the party.

He waved his hand dismissively and assured them: "I'm a-ok here." in a shaky voice, trying to find a way to brush off what he'd just done.

"Mhm, now our preparations have been completed, shall we be off?" The quiet paladin spoke for the first time in hours.

"Yes, Hen-san, are you ready to leave?"

"S-sure."

With that, our socially anxious hero set off to go and kill some trash mobs.

…

With the sun shining bright at ti's apex in the sky, the group trudged through a maze of dense green, the sun penetrating through the anorexic leaves of the twisted trees and cooked the muddy footpaths that were carved out by adventurers so long ago. The forest almost seemed to recoil away from their path, tree trunks bending and branches making sure their leaves dare not disturb the Worker's path, leaving a clearly visible network of paths to spread through the forest like a network of tumours within a body.

"Hey so….er, I don't wanna sound materialistic but...y'know, how much am I getting paid?" Now that he'd thought about it, it was pretty stupid of him to not ask this before he accepted to take on the request. Not like it mattered all that much since he was planning on tagging along regardless, having money is just nice. He knew how much the party was getting paid, just not how it was going to be split up exactly.

"Ah, not at all, I completely understand. Your but depends on how well you perform, with 15% of the total pay at a minimum just like everyone else other than Arche."

"Oh...uh, why is she an e-exception?" Normally he'd be fine walking around some low level forest with a bunch of noobs he could kill with a sneeze, however there was just one very small problem for the bird.

"It's...family related issues." Arche weakly answered, clearly it was a touchy subject for her and her hands tightened their grip, causing Pero to nearly cry out in pain at having his entire arm crushed by the girl.

How the hell did it even end up like this.

"Ah, those...sisters." He let out unconsciously, making him seem very, very creepy. What else is new?

For God's sake.

Pero just fucked up again. Obviously he'd been keeping tabs on the girls of his party for a while now so he'd become pretty familiar with both of their circumstances, where they weant on off days, what they ate, etc. However, of course neither girl actually knew what Pero was doing so it was very strange for him to just automatically know about Arche's sisters and her parent's frequent purchasing of random items.

"Ah!" Arche flinched in surprise. "How could you guess?"

Shit. He could just feel the spaghetti pouring out from his pockets and mouth.

"Uh...uh...mhm…" He scrambled to think of literally anything other than grunts. "Well...you...I...er y'know…"

"Ah, he is a man blessed with both swordsmanship and unparalleled magic, it seems our friend has also been granted a keen insight by the Gods." Roberdyck may just have become the new king of idiots with what he just said, but Pero thanked the amount of skill points he'd wasted on extra stats like Luck.

Come to think about it, our extra stats are pretty busted in this world. Like, Luck and Charisma could prolly just let you do anything in this world so long as they were high enough.

"Ye-yeah, mhm." Pero nodded along, thankful that he was surrounded by complete idiots. "Did a lotta...lotta prayer to God/s."

"Ah, it is as I thought; you are a fellow holy man as well then, yes?" He recoiled in disgust when he felt the cold steel of Roberdyck's gauntlet rubbing against his shoulder.

Shit, is this guy coming onto me? He wanted to vomit. Sure he liked traps in a TOALLY NONGAY WAY, but Pero was NOT gay so the thought of gettin even slightly close to the priest was repulsive.

"Uh...s-sure?"

Guess I'm also a priest now. Why do these guys just think I'm an omnipotent God?

"Ahah! Wonderful! It is always refreshing to meet another true follower of the Four Gods! May I inquire as to which God you are most devoted to? I myself cannot bear to choose but one God to devotedly worship, unlike most of my fellow holy men but I'm always interested in learning which Gods my comrades have chosen." The rubbing did not cease, in fact, it probably increased, not like Pero was paying attention to it because he is NOT gay and definitely NOT into men AT ALL.

"Um...uh…" Turns out, he wasn't out of the woods just yet.

So, not actually knowing the names of the Gods worshipped in the Empire, Pero said the name of the first God that came into his head: "Uh, Moloch."

Ah shit, that's Ulbert's fire God.

"Oh! You're from the West then?" the half-elf near immediately blurted out, her grip also tightening on Pero's other arm, crushing him between two vice grips on both sides.

Hol up. Hold on a second. Excuse me? Did I just luck out and say the name of a God actually worshiped in this world? Well, I guess it's not that unlikely since other players were already here and an edgy God like Moloch was pretty popular among Ulbert's fellow pyromancers. Even still, that...concerning that a God about child murder is worshiped.

"Yeeeeah….?"

"So, yet another foreigner lookin' to become an adventurer/worker then. Gotta, quite a few of you have been popping up lately." Hekkeran said, face showing an unknown emotion when he turned around to see three of his party members completely fawning over the newcomer.

Roberdyck's chimed in from behind Pero in his normal low voice, smile finally slightly faded: "Indeed, I believe the Kingdom also has an incredibly powerful foreigner working as an adventurer as well. This may be presumptuous of me, but would you happen to know each other? It just seems odd that two powerful foreigners would crop up only a month or two apart."

"Urk!" He felt his stomach drop to the floor and unconsciously let out probably the worst possible sound in this situation. Definitely not making him look sus.

Oh damn it. God damn it! Ok, gotta just spit out whatever comes to mind and hope for the best. These idiots will prolly eat it up if I can keep my cool.

"Actually I-" He was just about to give another bullshit explanation, but luck was on his side. Due to his acute senses, he'd found his way out of the situation.

Screams. Inhuman and deathly, the screams were almost out of a nightmare in their ferocity.

Found my way out!

Motioning for the party to follow him, he led them deep into the dull brown depths of the forest where the clamorous cries increased in volume with each hushed footstep.

Settling down what sounded like only a few ten or so meters away from the source of the sounds the group sat and waited.

Though barely visible, the image of a rather frail boy flashed in and out from a group of trees and bushes, an emerald creature equipped with scaly wings and long, lashing tail darting around the young man. Dotting around the area, many more similar creatures led on the floor, their bodies sizzling and gurgling and letting off wispy towers of smoke.

"[Instinct]" Pero activated one of his [Hunter] skills, allowing him to see the stats of all monsters in greater detail than what simple analysis spells would offer, though in less detail than his [God's Eye] skill.

Shit. Was all he could think of as he observed the boy duelling with the final creature. How the hell is that guy keeping up with one of those freaks?

"We need to he-" Arche was just about to push her way past the rest of their group to assist the young man, though she was quickly signed by an uncharacteristic death from Pero.

Nestling further ahead into the bushes, Pero reached his hand out, preventing Arche and the other workers from advancing to assist the young man...and to get a good feel of the girl's chest while he was at it.

"Just watch for now." he ordered in a far more serious tone than normal, seemingly no trace of anxiety about him. "I ain't havin' you die when you're still ripe." That came off far more creepy than he'd thought it would.

The boy, dressed in stained grey robes dashed to and fro among the foliage, nimbliny weaving around each attack made upon him and countering with his own. Faintly, the sound of clattering glass could be heard with each movement, coming from beneath the boy's robes.

It was a miracle the boy could see at all, a long mass of hair nearly completely covered his eyes and the mud-caked, leathery confines of the armour he wore with his robes surely didn't allow for easy movement.

Oh shit it's that Carne guy. What was his name, Nfirea Bareare or something.

"[Acid Ball]" The green ball of acid, normally a long ranged attack, was fired off directly into the [Goblin's] face, Nfirea ducking under the rusted blade and mashing his hand directly into the creature's face and casting his spell again.

Yo, that guy's got some moves. He's thin as all hell but it's pretty clear he's done this before.

With a tight grip on the creature's face and using his larger body, the boy slammed the far smaller creature down into the floor, a trail of smoke and fleshy liquid following along.

The boy collapsed onto the floor next to his kill, panting and wheezing obscenely with his hand gripped upon his chest. Each breath caused the boy to nearly throw back his chest with the massive amount of air that his body was trying to take in, but he'd soon exhale all that air, only to inhale another lungful shortly after.

Poor physical health, yikes. This guy needs to take care of himself some more. Should I bother using some magic to heal him? He's Ulbert's chosen hero so I guess I need to make sure he doesn't die before he meets up with the other heroes.

Despite his looks, man's toughened up waaaay too much for my likin'. That level is...too high for just a kid adventuring on his own.

Removing his hand from Arche's chest, Pero led his party out of the bushes and into the boy's small camp, completely ignoring the collapsed boy and leaving him to be picked up by Imina and Roberdyck.

A small tent tucked away to the far corner of the camp, a campfire with blocks of wood strewn around it's perimeter lazily and another tent that oozed the wretched stench of rot and chemicals. Barren was the only word that could describe the campsite, definitely not enough space to accompany multiple adventuring parties. It'd only took but a mere minute for the party to have placed their belongings and dedicated who was to guard at night.

Eagerly waving his hand and rapidly approaching the small boy who sat at the campfire, stirring some sort of glass bottle that caused the blond swordsman to pinch his nose just to remain conscious. Hekkeren bean was the boy tossed the glass bottle into a pile of similar bottles, it's purplish contents sloshing noisily through the glass. "Ah greetings, as you may have guessed, we're the Empires party, so I guess we're comrades for now. I'm the leader of this group, may I ask where the rest of your party is?"

The boy pointed to himself and gave no other clarification and he took up a mortar and pestle and began grinding a purple grub robotically, causing both Arche and Imina to let out girlish giggles at the bizarre boy.

Grumbling, Nfirea relented some more information. "The other's abandoned. The Swords of Darkness, I think. Don't ask me about why."

Ah, Suzuki;s lot then? Good to know that our heroes are already networking together, shame they;re not here, that magic caster of his is someone I REALLY wanna meet sometime.

"I-I see...well, I'm Hekkeren, the half-elf other there is Imina, Roberdyck-dono is the priest, Arche-san is our magic caster and Hen-san is our resident powerhouse and jack-of-all-trades." Hekkeren finished off with an expectant look, clearly prodding the boy to introduce himself.

Of course he got no answer, the boy ground the grub into a thin paste and poured the paste into a glass bottle filled with a clear fluid.

"And you are…?" Hekkeran pressed the mute boy, but was met with nothing but silence and a disgruntled grunt from the boy while he continued to work.

Yikes, man's changed since Carne alright. Oh well, it's good for me that he's less chatty than back then, I may just get on with the new edgy Nfirea. Let's have a looksie at his classes and stats then.

[Instinct]

Mhm, got that acid class Ulbert gave him, now level 10 so that's good. [Survivor] at level 4 is good for his survivability, [Evil Slayer] at level 7 is an odd class but I guess he does kill negative karma monsters all day, and...eh?

He double checked Nfirea's classes.

[A-Avenger?] Shit he's got a secret class. Ooooh shit. Level 5 [Avenger] already. Well, Ulbert is gonna have a fun time fighting this...thing. How the hell does someone even get that class maxed out in so little time?

So all in all, he's levelled up twenty six times since I last saw him which is pretty solid, and his stats are? Let's see.

He looked at the list of stats for Nfirea.

This kid is a freak of nature. Was all Pero could think of and he immediately closed the window.

Well, Ulbert knows how to pick heroes, that's for sure.

"It appears our friend here is afflicted with a [Silence] curse. Young man, if I may have permission, I would like to appeal to the Gods to have your curse lifted."

"Hush cultist. A simple prayer won't fix anythin', never has and it won't start fixing anything now." The half-elf brushed her religious friend aside. The priest was promptly restrained by the half-elf who dragged the eager holy man back towards the campfire.

"C'mon, no need to be rude! We're comrades as of now so at least introduce yourself to us." The half-elf huffed, wrapping an arm around teh young boy and drawing him close, pointing to the rest of her party. "He's Hekkeren, I'm Imina and the mage other there is Arche, now, you introduce yourself, right? We may be workers, but we still have some etiquette."

Pero felt a twang of disappointment in his heart at being ignored by his soon to be harem member. In fairness, he literally hasn't had an actual conversation with any of the workers so that was probably the reason why he was ignored.

"Nfirea…' the thin boy groaned after a long sigh and placed his alchemy equipment onto the floor. "I'm Nfirea Bareare, and I'm silver ranked, gold ranked as of next week." He finally muttered, a deathly look in his eyes and a stare that was a far cry from his former self.

Ah, that was his last name. Mhm, I need to make sure he grows up into a nice and strong boy, so I should prolly make things hard for him. Well, he's already pretty damn strong for this world's standards so maybe I should make him into even more of a freak.

Aha! Suzuki said somethin' about his talent letting him use any item, right? I'll go ask HeroHero to make somethin' special for this lad once I've finished up here. Hm, thinking about it, could this could use the old man's gear? Maybe a guild weapon? Prolly should test that later on.

"You, er, don't look like much of an adventurer. I assume you're a magic caster?"

"No. I can do both magic and melee combat." The boy assured, though his weak frame definitely contradicted such a lofty claim. "I'm more of a mage, but I taught myself how to fight up close, I'm better than most silvers, and some golds at that."

Though he claimed to be able to fight one the front lines, the way his clothes, bagged in a way that revealed just how thin and meek his body was, and the small dagger upon his hip, despite his claims, showed he had little intention to fight up close and had melee combat reserved as a last ditch effort like all other magic casters. No amount of training could make up for a weak body and shoddy weapon unless you were blessed by the Gods or had some sort of cheat power. But he must have something going for him since he's a purely solo adventurer that managed to climb the rankings so quickly. Maybe he really is the protagonist of some generic light novel? Who knows?

"Sure thing kid, just don't push yourself too far, you're thinner than most girls are, most would be jealous of your slender bod." Imina ruffled his hair and walked off to join Arche at the campfire, leaving the bowl cut edgelord with a faint blush on his face.

"Well, I'll go and clean our gear. Hen-san, you're alright with guarding the camp for the first shift?"

"Mhm, I'll stay watch with the boy here." He said, sitting himself down next to Nfirea and popping another of HeroHero's pills as he watched Hekkeran fade into the darkness.

Pero addressed Nfirea with firm conviction, not even bothering to come up with small talk now they were alone: "You're gonna die if you keep things up, kid."

Of course, the boy flinched in surprise and Pero caught him before he could fall, almost revelling in talking to someone more vulnerable than he.

"I know you wanna get stronger or whatever to avenge someone or another, but this ain't gonna work for you. Your body is already falling apart and you're a shell of a man. Pushing yourself in this state will not benefit you." By the looks of it, it was completely true. The boy's body was nowhere near a healthy weight and just watching his earlier fight, he was in no shape to fight for extended periods of time.

"I...won't get stronger otherwise. I just need to push past my own weakness for now." A hushed whisper escaped his lips and Pero strained to hear his words.

Sighing, Pero met the boy with a stern tone, almost like a father would: "No you don't. Forcing change when you're not ready for it will do more damage to you in the long run than if you just bear with your problems for now. Radical change doesn't happen overnight, you need to work on these things slowly or you'll really do some damage to yourself. Stop while you can."

"...but-"

He flicked the boy's head. "No. The path to improvement is a long one, get some rest and get ready for tomorrow, ok? Don't overwork yourself, if you do, all the progress you've made will be for nothing." With those final words, Pero slipped away from Nfirea and made his rounds of the camp before engagin in some stressful, if not welcomed conversation with his party members and somehow even earning himself a few laughs from the girls with his not so funny humor.

That night, rather than a cowering mess in his bed, Pero went to sleep with a smile on his face and the yearning to speak to his party members some more.

…

The next morning.

The next morning was incredibly uneventful, Pero of course did his absolute best to stop Nfirea from spouting edgy nonsense but other than that, nothing had happened. With a sack full of his emergency drugs, the group set off on their adventure, coming outside of the maw of a cave system, after just a few minutes, tribal decorations dotting the mouth of the cave and trees.

Wasting no time, Arche, Imina and the rest quickly tore down the rotten, mud soaked door that sealed the cave system from the outside world with Pero and Nfirea watching from afar. With no sign of [Goblins] in sight, the party quickly entered the dingy depths, quickly advancing through the cramped throat of the cave and squeezing through narrow passages for minutes on end.

Not even being cautious of traps? These guys clearly haven't had much experience in hunting [Goblins] or [Kobolds,] idiots. The shadows of caves can easily hide small passages and ditches without you even noticing it! Like right there!

Diving for Hekkeran's back, Pero ripped the adventurer from making his way through a dense wall of silky threads that lay just in front, much to the worker's surprise.

"It's , uh, trapped." Was all Pero could explain, pointing to a far thicker thread tha ran parallel to the ground around ten centimetres from the floor, standing out from the spiderwebs slightly.

"Bastard [Goblins,] I couldn't even see it." Twin swords swung blindly in the darkness, confirming that everyone around Pero who wasn't called Nfirea was a complete bumbling moron.

Then pay attention to your surroundings next time. Why is everyone I meet a complete dumbass?

Near automatically, Pero spun around on his heel and thrust his blade into the darkness to his left and a horrific squeal came from the pitch-black.

Heh, knew it! The spiderweb trap was too obvious, so an ambush was waiting in passages that were hidden by the shadows. Nothing can get past my years of experience of GAMING!

"H-how did you even know it was there! Can you see in the dark or something?"

Yes. "N-no, [Goblins] just work this way. They love their traps so I planned ahead."

"I see...so you've become accustomed to the behaviour of [Goblins] through trial and error in the past then? By learning common behaviour, you can more effectively hunt them in the future, correct?" Nfirea asked, coming to his own conclusion before Pero could even speak further.

"Sure?" He really didn't have to learn anything though. YGGDRASIL liked to have the same couple of generic tile sets with slight variations for it's mass produced dungeons made for lower level players so Pero just had the basic strategy of [Goblins] nailed into his mind.

"Get ready. Cave systems are cramped so sound waves travel far faster and longer than outside. More [Goblins] will soon approach due to the screaming of the one Hen-sama just killed." Nfirea immediately answered in his usually dry tone.

Now's a good time to make sure Nfirea is strong enough to even be a hero, I'll hang back for now.

"I-I'll guard the...the, uh, I'll guard the rear in case of another ambush!" Was the best excuse Pero could come up with.

"Yes! Hen-san, please do!" The other allowed him to skip the battle without any protest.

Slipping off into the shadows and casting a camouflage spell on himself, he tiptoed his way past the group and took out an item from his inventory. The item in particular was a [Champion's Belt] which was designed for farming creature's en masse. In short, the belt would immediately cast the [Taunt] condition on all creatures in it's range and would draw their agro to the wearer of the belt. Securing the belt onto Nfirea's clothes, Pero added in one of his [Hunter] skills to make sure the [Golboins] came to attack. "[Cruel Eye]" which had the exact same effect as the [Champion's Belt] but was greatly amplified and the target of the drawn agro could be selected. Of course Nfirea was the target of the agro. And finally, he topped things off with a [Shockwave] to REALLY make sure the [Goblins] knew the party was looking for a fight.

The preparations completed, he slipped back behind the main force and whistled along to the tune of stampeding footsteps that came from the bowels of the earth.

Surprisingly, the one to coordinate the group was not Hekkeren, but was the frail Nfirea.

"[Corrosion]" An emerald green net of acid clung to the walls of the cave, covering up the spots of potential ambush Pero had identified earlier and tied a long thread of thin wire just behind the spell.

Ah, so he saw as well then? Gotta say, the kid's got some good instincts, has he been adventuring alone all this time?

"Watch the nets. [Goblins] are crafty so a multi-angle assault is guaranteed." Nfirea ordered in his usual dry voice.

"Magic girl, cast [Continual Light] on the archer's arrows. Archer, fire three arrows right at the end of that corner. It'll blind anything that comes round it and will leave them open to attack since cave dwellers are sensitive to bright light."

Ah, a smart plan you got there. However, you're still a tad naive. [Golbins] are stupid, but they take precautions...sometimes.

"Priest, head to the front lines and act as the vanguard for now. Your gear is the most expensive so the [Goblins] will be enticed by you if any make it past the trap. The swordsman should only act once you're being attacked, understand?"

Each of the party did as ordered by Nfirea, giving Pero a few confused looks but the preparation went without a hitch.

The thundering footfalls of the green menace were near deafening now, in only a minute the clamour had grown from a hushed whisper to an earth shattering roar from below.

"Ok, fire as soon as you see the first one round the corner."

"Got it!" Imina answered, a split second later her first arrow bored it's way through the child-like skull of a [Goblin]

"Preist, buff her."

Robberdyke did as instructed and cast a handful of buff spells that served to increase the storm of arrows that buried themselves into green flesh. Being blinded by the [Continual Light], being tripped by the duel tripwires and being assaulted by arrows was more than enough to cut down the horde.

Good commanding skills so far, though the vanguard aren't doing a whole lot. Maybe I should give them slings or bows so they can help out in the future. He noted to himself to try to teach archery to Arche and only Arche since it'd be a waste to teach dead men how to fight.

Oh well, this is just a bit too easy for them, guess I gotta make things worse.

Clicking his fingers, Pero intended to hurry up the horde and froe even more to emerge from the coke point with a skill: "[Sleight of Hand]" that could freely redistribute [Hate] values, and therefore agro, to any target that couldn't resist the spell. Of course he made the two males workers to be the targets of the increased agro.

Instantly, the thunderous stampede multiplied in zeal, pushing past the hail of arrows and entanglement themselves within the emerald green wires.

Oh, the wires held fast? Guess Nfirea is higher level than I'd thought.

[Goblin] upon [Goblin] piled up in a mass of bodies, their feet and ankles sliding back down the slope and the putrid stench of burned flesh clawed it's way past the green mound of bodies. Pale skinned creatures, furred ones, scaled ones, even [Goblins] with monstrous tails and wings and claws amassed into a vile clot in the cave system's passages.

"Vanguard, as soon as they start burning up, get up front." Nfriea ordered again, withdrawing a small vial from one of the pouches on his belt. The vial arched through the air and spilled it's content out onto the pile of crippled creatures, many more dirty feet crushing their crippled brothers in a bid to reach the summit of the mountain.

"Arche-dono, a fire spell please." He said, handing the small girl a cloth with some sort of greenish stain where her mouth would be. "Put it on or die."

"R-right, [Fire Bolt]" She fired off the spell after fixing the piece of cloth to her mouth.

Like a virulent infection, the flames spread from [Goblin] to [Goblin,] consuming the pile in a mantle of fog and a choir of screams

Oh! That was a pretty good idea, I might need to copy that for the future. Who'd thought I'd learn something from this? However, is using fire in such an enclosed space really safe? Pero thought to himself, making sure his hand sealed his mouth and nose from the thick clouds of purplish gas and prompting the rest of the party to follow his lead.

Both Hekkeren and Roberdyck cut down the choking horde, spraying foamy spittle and blood onto the walls as each creature climbed their way through the fire and flames and gas, masks of notably poorer construction than Arche's tied around their mouths.

All in all this guy's got a good sense on how to use people effectively I'd say. But… His thoughts trailed off as he saw the frail mage bolthing towards the pile of [Goblins] and right past the vanguard.

Yeah, mages and commanders aren't meant to do that. Overconfidence in one's abilities is a bitch. Once you're slightly strange, that's when your ego goes waaaaay too big for your own good. Probably.

"[Gale]" A small gust of wind blew back the pile of melting flesh back down the slope, crushing those from below and sealing shut the entrance with a fiery blaze and toxic haze. In accordance with his spell, the gas that lingered on the floor of the cave was also swept up and funnelled down the slope, pooling like a vile, stagnant swamp and Nfirea stood proud over the pile of corpses.

"Sure that's safe? I can't imagine a pool of gas and burning bodies would bode well for us or any other parties."

"It's fine." Nfirea assured, removing his mask and walking back towards Pero, staring right at him. "The gas was never a danger."

But just as he got his words out, the acid net closest to the boy snapped in half and a dull green creature leapt from the darkness. Without any time to react, a thin shaft of metal stuck out from the boy's shoulder, a thick layer of purple, similar to the colour of the gas, trickled down the blade's shaft.

"Bastard!" The half-elf fumbled an arrow into his bow and shot right through the creature's skull, killing it one shot while the entire group rushed to Nfirea's side.

Quite impressive, only one got the chance to attack him. Well, not really since I already murder all the ambush squads earlier but...a pretty good showing for his first time.

All right, Nfirea's time in the spotlight is over...guess I gotta assert myself as the strong protagonist now, woopty doo. Gotta heal him first.

Holding out his hand over the boy, Pero began to cast his spell, but found his hand colliding with the hard walls of the cave.

"No, I'm fine." Ripping out the thin blade form shoulder, Nfirea stumbled back to his feet, holding out his hand onto the wall to support his trembling legs. "I won't get...stronger if I just rely on a healer. My body will recover from the poison and I'll...develop immunity to it."

"Er...y'know, a dead body won't get stronger, right?" Pero sat the boy right back down after consuming yet another of Herohero's buff items.

"An overly reliant fool also won't get stronger." The boy met back, again staring daggers right into the bird's eyes.

Yeesh, I go out of my way and expend one of my valuable buff items to heal him and this is how he shows his gratitude? Man, puberty is hitting this guy real hard. This guy's just chock full of hate, perhaps giving him an item that multiplies [Hate] and inflicts a bunch of status effects wasn't the best of moves on Ulbert's part. Gonna be a pain in my ass if he keeps acting like a brat.

Shrugging, Pero decided it was time to put the edgy brat in his place and remind him just who held the role as a generic light novel protagonist and soon after, his keen sense picked up on two more sets of footsteps, each louder and more hefty than those of normal [Goblins]

Since the kid is out of commission, guess I gotta help him out and kill these guys for him.

Before he'd realised it, his entire field of vision was encompassed by rippling green muscle and matted patches of filthy hair. Not hair like normal unkempt body hair, no. More like, thick, wiry hair one may find on an animal. Long strands of spittle rained down from an open maw, wetting it's already disgusting fur.

Ah, a [Troll]-[Goblin] hybrid. Nice and easy.

"[Magic Arrow]" A small amber arrows flickered into existence, orbiting around the creature as more and more clones of it amassed into a sphere of blinding light, totalling eleven arrows in total, denoting that Pero could cast up to the eleventh-tier of magic, or just super-tier magic tot normal people.

And he cast it again: "[Magic Arrow]" and eleven more arrows came.

And then again: "[Magic Arrow]" and eleven more came again.

As well as granting the spell innate armour penetration, the Devs also gave [Magic Arrow] one other buff. And that was the ability to continuously channel the spell to create more and more copies of the spell until sixty six instances of [Magic Arrow] had been cast. Still, the spell was nearly useless in actual combat outside of grinding due to it's stupidly low damage. However, sixty six spells, even from someone with a single dedicated magic class like Pero would be more than enough for most things in the New World.

Maybe that was a little excessive, but I need to show off a little.

He clicked his fingers to release the spell.

…

The myriad projectiles erupted from the floor in a hailstorm of amber fangs. The arrows pierced into the creature's body with ease, jerking it's body back and forth as the hundreds of piercing arrows bored into it. In seconds, the storm of arrows ceased, leaving it' body as nothing but a few strands of flesh kept in place by the projectiles that smashed it's skeleton to bits.

Wow, YGGDRASIL never would've had this level of gore...Hm, I think I've seen this scene before in one of those mangas me an' Suzuki used to read together, Ah~ Good times.

As Pero allowed himself to slip into remembering the times he'd spent with his degenerate friend, a harsh scream cut through his thought like a blade through butter.

Initially thinking one of his harem members was at risk of dying, Pero leapt into action...before he immediately stopped once he saw who was screaming.

The blond swordsman, swinging like a madman upside in the clutches of a similarly freakish hybrid, screaming his head off was the source of womanly cries.

Oooooh no~. Looks like I won't be able to make it in time. Such a shame. He pretended to be all out of MP and energy and began panting and wheezing like an idiot, even sitting down on the floor next to Nfriea to further sell his act...even though he completely dodged all manner of spells and arrows that were fired off by both Arche and Imina with absolutely no difficulty whatsoever.

That was, until the blond swordsman was smashed against the cave walls and the creature turned it's eyes upon the two harem members.

Oho, suddenly my energy has been renewed!

Slipping past the body of the first [Hobgoblin,] Pero snapped his second to last cash shop item and drew his [Howitzer Bow,] almost causing the cave to come crumbling down on the entire party with the resulting explosion.

Cradling the girl in his arms, Pero gave her a once over, before his face immediately exploded into a fiery red of embarrassment the moment his buff wore off.

"Uh...glad you're safe?" He muttered under his breath, letting the girl slip from his arms.

Pero stepped aside as the green brutes fell to the floor, making sure he avoided getting any blood or guts on him when their torsos split from their waist and he turned to address the group. "Uh, r-remember, [Goblins] like distractions in their traps." He said, far more calm than what he'd thought and he immediately moved his sword behind his neck, creating the harsh scream of metal on metal to shriek within the cave.

"As seen here." Cutting right through the body of another attacker, Pero gripped onto their long red cap and decapitated them there and then.

Damn, so this place is actually pretty high level since a [Red Cap] is lurking about. Well, it's only one so it shouldn't be too impossible for these guys to clear with some help.

"Th-that's a legendary [Red Cap,] is it not!?" The blonde mage was thoroughly ecstatic upon seeing the long scarlet hat of the [Goblin]

Pero could only muster up a shrug and a hesitant nod, his buff wearing off again.

These buffs...man o man this is getting REALLY annoying to keep eating these pill things.

"We- uh...we should d-dwell on these things," He paused to think up some words. "Let's just...k-keep on going."

A kidnapped girl to save, the group shovelled away the bubbling remains of the freakish [Goblins] and ventured further and further into the unknown, eventually coming to a fork in the road, thankfully, Pero had actually thought up of what to do.

"Nfirea, you split off with everyone else, ok? I'll handle the stronger [Goblins] and rescue any captured women I find. You and the main force need to pick off all the weaker [Goblins] and explore the rest of the cave to pick off any straggler, is that alright with you?"

"Fine." the boy grunted and had already begun running down the opposite path.

He's a real show off. Hard to believe he was the meek little beta I met back in Carne. He's actually lookin' like a light novel protagonist. Shit, he might steal my harem from me.

"B-but Hen-sama, will you really be ok by yourself? What if-"

"I'll, I'll be fine." He said, disappearing around a corner and breathing a massive sigh of relief to himself and collapsing onto the floor.

Holy shit this is too stressful! Even with those buffs from HeroHero's food, this is too much for me...

Opening the bag that contained his lifeline, he ground upon seeing that only eight of the items remained.

Nowhere near enough for this expedition, let alone a prolonged stay in the Empire...yeah, I already messed things up and I'm gonna have to go back to HeroHero asking for more way sooner than I'd like.

Further and further done the bird ventured in the depths of the gloomy cave, every now and then listening in to the distant sounds of fighting and screeches of [Goblins,] or sometimes dirtying his own blade by massacring what few creatures even dared approach himm. It was actually pretty easy once he removed the ring that suppressed his magic and MP, allowing the bird to leisurely stroll to the heart of the cave system, coming to halt when confronted with a shabby wooden door and the hushed groans of several animals, people included.

Opening the door with a loud creak, he poked his head into the room and was assaulted by the horrid stench of...of whatever the hell he was smelling. Breathing in a few more breaths of the stagnant air, Pero was quick to identify at least one of the smells: "Ah, nut. Fantastic." He suppressed the urge to puke from realising the main source of the stench and it was soon apparent just who was producing such a smell. But that wasn't all Pero noticed, strangely, wooden poles jutted from the floor and walls and even ceiling at random intervals all over the room like teeth in a monster's maw.

A collection of flesh with a single green creature slowly fidgeting around atop it was the most primary suspect of the smell. Rather than the pale skin of a damsel in distress like how Pero envisioned, the creature that was being assaulted by the [Goblin] had thin brown hair covering it's body with the torso of an armless woman sat atop it's legless horse-like lower half.

Fuckin' a centaur are we? Gross, I may be into a lot of shit, but horse genitalia ain't pretty in the slightest, hard pass for me. Not like I'm speaking from experience or anything. Nope. Not at all. He mentally congratulated the [Goblin] for it's dedication for propagating it's race before Pero moved to observe the others bodies.

A strange anthropomorphic creature bearing features that looked like a mix of a weasel and a mole with long, thick arms and blunted claws that were likely meant for digging. And another, a [Gryphon] lay on the floor, it's stumps where it's legs once were grinded across the floor while the creature groaned in pain, it's wings secured to the wall by spears. Many other creatures made up the pile of breeding stock, a [Troll], [Ogre], [Vampire] and even an [Imp], each without their limbs to flee as well as a handful of women and many more varieties of monster and animal alike.

Holy shit this is right outta a guro manga! Is this one of Ulbert's experiments or something?

Mhm, pretty safe to say that these guy's ain't' operating on just instincts. Someone's gotta be telling these guys to do this, most likely.

There was just one other creature in the room that drew Pero's attention. A full thirty meters of coiled scales and two one grand wings poked the jagged edges of the cave's ceiling. A single lizard-like eye bored right into Pero's soul while the creature's snake-like tongue flicked in and out of it's bloodied mouth and it's liquidy, almost molten surface churned ceaselessly, particularly in the stomach region, as if it was a slime monster. However, it was undeniably a dragon. An actual dragon, Pero's 130 in his Luck stat was definitely coming in handy.

"[Instinct]" He peered at the stats and levels of the dragon.

The hell is a [Mercury Dragon]? Whatever, it's only level 50 so it's not that big of an accomplishment to capture this thing. Looks like we found our test subject though, moving on.

But there was just one other thing that caught Pero's interest, a handful of women. Of course, each was horrifically disfigured and were covered in...fluids, but Pero's interest was peak so he cut the sole [Goblin] in the room in half and made his way over to the unconscious girls.

Good chance to bolster my harem or fame, I guess.

However, luck was not on the side of Pero, all but one of the women's bodies were wrecked of rot and decay, their bodies growing black and thin as a result of the moldy room and abuse they'd suffered. The only remaining girl however, was just right for Pero: blonde, flat as can be and pretty short.

Smiling to himself at securing yet another member for his harem, he made sure to properly heal the girl up before waking her from her slumber.

"Uh...you awake?" He asked in a voice that was supposed to be tender, though he flubbed the execution a bit.

"N-...ngh?" Wearily, she opened up her bright blue eyes, her pupils rapidly expanding such that she could see in the gloomy depths.

Not really knowing how he should go about this Pero just kinda waited for the girl to come to her senses, casting a camouflage spell on the bodies of the other women so she'd feel just a little bit better, though he did not for a second stop stroking the girl's surprisingly silky, blonde hair.

Ah, I just noticed that everyone has blonde hair and blue eyes in this damn world. I know it could just be a coincidence but, could a neonazi have made a wish or used the snake necklace to make everyone Aryan or something? Eh, prolly not, nazis are retarded, but I doubt they'd waste a wish on something so stupid. Still it's odd that most people are Aryan in this world.

"My...my team m-members...where…are" A hushed whisper pushed it's way past her trembling lips and Pero leaned in closer in case he missed something.

"Erm, dunno, definitely not here." Pero shrugged, lying through his teeth but the girl didn't seem to pick up on his obvious lie.

"So...those green vermin got to us then? Hah...how pitiful" She groaned, caressing the scars across her limbs. "So then , galant hero, speak thy name!" It was as though the trauma she'd suffered by being taken captive by monsters and abused all but vanished and she proudly stood up by herself., jabbing a finger right into Pero's chest.

"Uh, H-Hen, I guess."

"Aha, a poor name indeed!" The girl all but shouted out, nodding to herself sagely before speaking again, her lip trembling and tears welling in her eyes even as she tried her best to seem confident in her near-crippled state. "Now then, hand over my demonic blade that you recovered from these beasts!"

"Um...your...your what?" He said, dumbfounded and wondering if Touch or Ulbert had secretly used polymorph just to fuck with him.

Her eyes went wide in surprise and her peppy attitude immediately tanked, she slumped her shoulders and crashed back down to the floor. "My...my demonic blade it's...it's an incredibly powerful weapon that's enchanted with an unknown spell. Please...please take it back from those creatures!"

What the hell is wrong with this woman! Are we all just magnets for broken people? Momonga's got the annoying blonde girl, Ulbert's got another, now I've got one! What's wrong with blonde people in this world!?

"Yup, I'll, uh, I'll get th-that for ya. Mhm, yup."

"But, those things! Those ghastly things still lurk within the shadows! With my blade, they'll surely be unstoppable! It's dangerous to go alone-"

"Mhm, that's all well and good, but you need to leave, like, now. I've got some friends further up the cave and most of the greenskins are dead, you need to leave before the boss notices us."

"I-I...ok. Please, keep safe, Hen-sama." The girl gathered her bearings and, with a set of clothing provided to her by Pero, ran off up into the caves, her only companion being a short blade handed to her by Pero.

He nodded, surprised he could muster up a full, coherent sentence to a female without needing to resort to HeroHero's buffs.

Drawing his sword and making sure the prisoner had ventured far enough up the path to be safe, he dived towards the sole remaining [Goblin,] aiming for a sneak attack.

With the utmost of care, he made sure to make no noise at all in his approach, casting several camouflage and stealth spells on himself to render himself undetectable.

Sure enough, the lanky [Goblin] showed no signs of noticing him, tending to it's blade just the same as it did. Now in range, his blade plunged forwards, aimed at the back of the creature's throat.

Surprisingly, the choking groans of a dying beast did not come. Nor did the soft sound of bone and muscle being cut through by a blade come either. No, the sound of clashing metal exploded from all around, causing Pero to shed his polymorph and flap his wings backwards in surprise.

Crap.

He hadn't even seen the [Goblin] swing it's blade, let alone move at all. His reduced levels both from the aftermath of dying a few times and because of his level suppressing items meant he was far from his normal strength. Pre-emptively, he shed one of the rings to give himself an easier time in the battle, hoping that it was enough. He was here to learn after all, not win through brute force.

Oh dear, things ain't gonna be easy. God damn it, let me maintain the status quo and just give me an easy victory! I'm meant to be the strong man, not you!

Whatever, ain't gonna improve if I don't struggle every now and then.

"Sneaky, aren't you?" The [Goblin] chuckled to themselves, twisting his blade idly and letting the light from the torches catch it, sending an annoying beam of light directly into Pero's eyes though it was not enough to blind him.

"Gotta say...you're the first sign of trouble I've had from generic mobs." Pero mocked back, making sure to play close attention to the [Goblins] incredibly shiny blade and meeting eyes with his own reflection.

Magic blade that removes buffs front the looks of it. Might be levels 60 through 120, depending on what it can remove. Damn, I'm at level 75 with my items, so this may be quite troubling as I am now.

"So, what's a high level mob doing in this place then? Looking to become a [Goblin Emperor] are you?"

"Hmph, not at all. I lack the hubris necessary to think of myself as above others. I serve my lord and I'm content with such, I have no intention to rule others when I'm better suited to serve."

Well, ain't you just an eloquent bastard? At least you're an idiot and told me that you're weaker than an emperor. So, he's either gonna be a [Goblin Champion,] [Goblin Paladin] or a [Goblin Trickster,] better not be the latter. That'd also rule him out being a [Nilbog] thank God.

"Well, your lord must not value you all that much if you're out here lookin' after some trash [Goblins,] right?"

"Tch, provocation may work on the ferals, but I assure you, I am different from my brothers. Your cheap insults upon my lord will have no effect on me. I oversee an important experiment on my lord's behalf, I know I am valued."

Damn, there goes that plan. Oh well, it's pretty obvious who's in charge of this guy since there's only like two people we need to be scared of in this world. Demon Lord sure is a pain in our asses, can't wait for that guy to die.

"Still, you're a [Goblin] in a Demon Lord's army. Like, you ain't exactly the crème of the crop, no? So that tells me that you're the weakest and most expendable of the Demon Lord's forces since you're out here with little to no guards, poor gear and nothing to really do other than "oversee.""

He did not get an answer.

"So I was right then? You're actually just some fodder trash to be thrown away, right? Maybe you're out here just to grab attention and to be killed in order for information to be gathered about your master's opponents, right? The only reason your boss sent you here was to die, not to oversee anything. Your entire existence is to be a distraction to your master's enemies while those stronger and smarter than yourself fight the real battles." That came out far too close to home than Pero'd like to admit. He knew he was playing a sacrificial role, but it allowed him to get a harem so he didn't mind it too much.

"I have nothing to say to the likes of you." The creature finally answered. "If I am to be a sacrifice to my lord then I shall be just that. It is an honor to die for my lord, Pa-" Not letting him finish, Pero darted forwards and made a slash at the [Goblin,] clashing steel with the creature once more.

"Tch, cowardice is the mark of a-" But again, Pero swung his blade while the creature tried to monologue like a boss in a game, clashing again and again with mutant creatures.

"Sorry, you're waaay too open when you talk, so I just had to attack you." He laughed in the [Goblin's] face, meeting each of it's swings with one of his own, slowly stepping backwards more and more due to the creature's higher strength and finding himself flinching in fear every time the creature's blade got too near to him, only worsening his concentration and weakening his fighting abilities.

Jeez, this thing's better than I am up close. Kinda scary actually.

"[Blind]" Clicking his fingers together, a blinding flash of light flickered from the Bird's hands. A low tier spell that would never be used before the final update, now that all lower tier spells had been buffed to be more useful, the [Blind] spell was actually pretty good when grinding against fodder due to it's now massive AOE, low MP cost and incredibly quick cooldown.

Unfortunately, Pero wasn't fighting just any kind of fodder; he was fighting fodder with a slightly ok weapon. The blade flashed in response to the spell and vomited out an even intenser light back into Pero's eyes.

MIRROR BLADE! WHY DOES IT HAVE A MIRROR BLADE?!

Desperately, he swung his sword in front of him, hoping to deflect any attack while he was blinded. However, he felt his sword knock the [Golbin's] blade off course from his shoulder, and right into his chest, yikes. The blade dug through his chest with ease and an agonising pain ripped through his body. Not deterred by having a blade literally impaling him, Pero quickly swallowed another pill before his anxiety from, y'know, getting stabbed and fucking up massively, could claim him.

Pushing back the excruciating pain of being impaled, Pero focused his mind on the fight, yes getting stabbed and hurt, but his HP was still far above 75%, and so his cast [Teleportation] retreated back into a corner for a brief reprieve.

"[God's Eye]" He activated his most powerful [Eye] skill, allowing him to view literally everything. Yes, everything. The [God's Eye] skill allowed him to see everything about his target so long as they didn't have the necessary resistances to negate such skill. The [Goblin's] stats, extra stats, races, skills, classes, everything was on display in front of Pero. The most concerning of the listed stats, was the creature's level: level 127. Without a doubt it was the strongest non-player Pero'd directly fought, even the demons he had to defend Carne against were only around level 90 - 100 or so. As he was, he was by far at a physical disadvantage, but his agility was far higher and due to his incredibly small MP, a magic shootout was out of the question, that's not touching on the fact one wrong spell could cause the entire cave system to crumble on top of him.

So, he just used [Grisly Wounds] and [Savage Blow,] guess that means this guy is a hit and run type who uses bleed damage to deal most of his damage. Damn, blooding REALLY hurts so this guy is gonna be in some trouble. Don't wanna use my arrows just yet, won't improve if I just negate all challenges with brute force.

With the gnawing, constant pain of his weeping wound, Pero felt his mind slip gradually and was unable to keep a consistent train of thought.

"[Cure Wounds]" With the casting of a healing spell, the massive gash in his chest slowly sewed itself shut until it was only the size of a scrape. However, the still gushing scarlet waterfall brought yet another wave of anxiety to hit Pero.

That's right, I ain't got any debuff removing spells. Crap, need to end this quickly before I bleed out.

Deactivating his [God's Eye,] his blade was held out in front of him while he slowly approached, making sure to not provoke anymore blood from pouring from his insides with sudden movements and he assumed his human body once again.

"You continue to fight? Are you not aware that movements only increase the amount of blood lost?"

"Yeah, I-I know that." He said, paying close attention not to trip over the many wooden poles that jutted out from the floor.

The hell are these things anyway? Just meant to make me move about more to cause me to bleed out maybe?

But as he approached, the true reason behind those wooden spikes was made very clear to the bird.

In the blink of an eye, the [Goblin] before him disappeared from view, and whistling of wind cut through his left ear and yet another wave of agony smashed into him. The sudden shock froze him still for a second, freezing his blade in place and halting any action he could take.

Thankfully his blade managed to deflect the mirror blade cutting right through his neck, though his ear dropped to the floor along with a cascade of blood and a scream of pain.

There wasn't even enough time to recover from the pain, the [Goblin] disappeared from view again and another cut was made to Pero's arm, again he flinched from fear when he noticed the creature's dissapance and thus allowed himself to be taken by surprise.

T-teleportation by...he's using those poles to teleport. God damn it!

"Is there an issue? I do believe you'd called me a sacrificial pawn to be used? How pathetic, being unable to beat even the most disposable of pawns." The [Goblin] spat a wad of thick saliva on Pero's face, teleporting again and cutting through his back and disappearing just as fast when the bird tried to counter.

Eating another of the buff pills, Pero had enough clarity to swing his blade behind him just as the [Goblin] disappeared again, causing a jet of blood to spill from his arms and only managing to swipe at the air with his weapon. However, that was his fatal mistake, he'd braced himself to be struck again, yet he was taken completely off-guard just as he'd gotten used to the [Goblin's] movements.

Rather than another streak of pain, he felt the sensation of his belt being ripped from his clothing and he caught a glimpse of the pouch containing HeroHero's buff pills being torn away from him.

Shit no, I need those!

"Buffing yourself mid-combat, have you no shame? One must prepare themselves before the battle, not during it!" A wry grin spread across the [Golbin's] face, revealing the mangled yellow beneath it's lips while it crushed the pills in it's hands.

Just that one act completely annihilated the bird's lifeline, now he'd have to manually keep a calm mind while bleeding out and facing a foe who could appear anywhere around him. It was hell. He couldn't even remove the items that suppressed his own level since the [Goblin] could just teleport close to him and cut him in two while he removed the rings. He'd have to fight as a low level against a high level opponent, unable to use his magic or his bow or anything.

He collapsed onto the floor, his only lifeline was lost, and the churning tide of anxiety burst forth from his only method of controlling it was crushed before him.

His shoulder was jerked backwards the passing of the blade, then his other shoulder, his hest, neck, legs and all other parts of his body were violently thrown around with each passing of the teleporting [Goblin.] He'd given up. He fucked things up yet again, and was probably gonna waste yet more of his levels by dying again. At least Momonga and the rest of the gang knew where he was so his revival was guaranteed. But the shame of dying to such a pitifully weak creature and from failing a basic task again due to his actions weighed heavily upon him.

Ah...sis, Suzuki, everyone...guess I'm dead again. Just, make sure to revive me, please.

He resigned to his fate and closed his eyes, trying his best to ignore the torturous pain of being sliced apart from all angles.

But as the [Goblin] continued their attack, Pero's mind unconsciously picked up on a pattern.

His left shoulder jerked forwards again, then the right, then his legs from the front, and finally his chest from the back again. Again and again it was the same pattern. Left shoulder, right shoulder, legs, back, repeat.

This guy...really thinks he can beat me with such an obvious strategy? Come on, if you're gonna try to kill someone, at least make your main method of execution harder to avoid.

Well, since he knew the pattern of attack, he may as well try to counter it, right? What's the harm in trying? It's not like he can make things any worse than they are, so he may as well take the risk.

Without even thinking, he jerked his neck out of the way, allowing the shiny jagged blade to slip by him, his hands gripped onto the cloaks [Goblin] and hurled him away.

Nah, like hell am I giving up now. Especially not when this guy sucks at fighting. Ok, three, two...one...now.

As if reflexively, his blade whirled behind him, embedding itself into something thick and muscular, accompanied by a howl of pain.

Gotcha. Since that worked, you should then teleport right in front of me.

Faster than even the [Goblin] could teleport, Pero blade thrust directly in front of him. Mere instants later, it again found itself within the gut of his opponent.

Wow, again, huh? It's just as I thought, this guy is way too predictable to lose to. This is gonna be easy.

"You...what did you do? You couldn't keep up with me just a while ago! What happened?"

From his hands streamed a double flame, vibrantly eating into the wooden markers on the floor and freeing the bird from his oaken cage.

"Y'know, I never thought I'd ever get to be like this, at least not without the help of others." A smug, Ulbert-like smirk spread across his face.

"Th-the hell are the talking about!?"

"I found some confidence. Sorry, this is gonna sound real presumptuous of me but, you can't win anymore. Now that my mind is clear, I've realised something about your plan of attack."

"A-and that is!?"

"It sucks. You zip around in a linear fashion and only use the same route over and over again, that tells me that the majority of these wooden poles are dummies, no? Otherwise you'd at least use them once. So, I just need to burn down the excess ones so I can get a good lock on to your main path. My memory ain't great, sorry."

"You-...you assume I need these? What if I've-"

"No lying to me, please. These are the only ones with magic in them, I know since I used [God's Eye] to see which ones were enchanted or not earlier on. Oh yeah, this flame is so weak that it'll only burn through non-enchanted gear btw since it's a first tier spell, so even if you have hidden some back ups around this place that I couldn't detect, I'll know where they are due to the fire."

"GRAAAGH! Shut up!" A wild gale of blades clashed against Pero's own sword, each slipping off the liquid covered blade harmlessly.

Even as the [Goblin] spammed their teleportation, it was easy enough for Pero to keep up.

Exactly the same path as always. Three teleports to the left, two diagonally to the right, three forward and then-

Spinning on his heel, his blade clashed with the shiny blade of the [Goblin]

And one behind me. Predictable.

"You operate under a veneer of confidence yet when pushed onto the defensive, your façade cracks. It's only understandable why you're the sacrificial pawn. Your mentality is weak and easy to abuse, hence why you've been cast out from the main forces."

"SHUT UP, YOU KNOW NOTHING!" Yet more desperate swings came, each stronger than the last and Pero was nearly swallowed up in the never ending flurry of blades.

But now his mind was calm, each attack was shallow and poorly aimed, if he'd just meet each hit with his own and let the blade slip past him rather than meeting each blow with a far stronger attack, he'd have enough time to gradually weave in his own counter attacks.

A shriek of metal exploded, copying Touch's own moves Pero relaxed his grip and let his foes' blade whistle past him and giving him ample opportunity to return the blow for one of his own.

In the exact same way in which he'd been impaled a few minutes prior, Pero's blade feasted on the ribcage of his opponent and pierced through the other side, covered in the thick blood of the [Goblin]

"Hurts, right?" Pero made no effort to hide the venom in his voice and he wiggled his blade. "Dunno how long my adrenaline's gonna last so, let's end this right now, kk?"

"Y-you-" The [Goblin's] body freed itself from the cold steel and he gripped his chest in the new location he'd teleported to. "You think you've won? You're gonna bleed out even if you kill me, so know that you'll-"

Too tired to care for any villain's monologues, the [Nerd Slaying Blade] clattered on the farthest wall, just barely skimming the [Golbin's] face before it teleported away, and a faint sound of twigs snapping could be heard just slightly after.

"Hah, like an open book." Pero chuckled to himself, the massive barrel of the [Howitzer Bow] pressed firmly against the [Goblins'] chin just behind Pero's shoulder.

He drew the [Howitzer Bow] with all his might and activated another skill: [Dead Eye] which granted a single attack 100% accuracy, thus, there was no more teleporting bullshit to be had. The effects of which granted 100% accuracy to a single attack, thus making it par extremely well with explosive, low accuracy weapons such as the [Howitzer Bow] as even the explosion would be granted 100% accuracy, and thus all splash damage would be consigned into a single laser beam-like attack.

Sliding under another attack, Pero again pressed the awkward bow directly against the underside of the monster's chin, and fired his shot.

An intense ringing permeated Pero's world and he gripped the sides of his head in pain. The cramped confines of the cave only amplified the massive explosion of sound that came from the bow, almost shattering the bird's eardrums due to its intensity.

HeroHero wasn't kidding when he said this bow was powerful!

Shielding himself from the spray of blood and brain bits, Pero sighed with relief. As a super-long range specialist, fighting this close was always stressful since back in YGGDRASIL, he'd just be bullied into oblivion every time anything above level 100 even sneezed when close to him.

Well...after all this effort, everyone else better be alive, or I'm gonna throw a tantrum like never seen before, even Hekkeren and Rubber Dick better be alive after this!

Welp, let's go and see if Nfirea managed to channel the inner protagonist in him.

His mind exhausted, Pero, after rummaging around through what few possessions the creature had and securing the supposed demonic blade, quickly met back up with his party and resurfaced from the cave system that was likely the biggest pain in the ass for him in recent and breathed in the first glorious lungful of fresh air in ages.

Fifteen women, nine monsters and a bunch of animals. Yeah, these [Goblin] bastards were really keen on crossbreeding, weren't they? Well, I should thank them since I can take my pick of the women and it earned me brownie points with my party and the adventurers we rescued. Today's been pretty good, if not stressful. I've earned some rest for the week.

Though he still had energy to spare on going for a few more trips back into the nearby cave systems, the way Nfirea and the rest of his party shambled out front he [Goblin's] lair like a pack of zombies meant the only option was to turn in for the night and make there way back to Arwintar.

Oopsie, musta pushed them too hard. Oh well, I'll report back with Suzuki and we'll head back to Arwintar. I'm sure Nfirea's got a [Shadow Demon] tailing him so it should be fine to split up for now.

"C'mon you lot, le's go home!" He triumphantly cried out, being the only one with their spirits intact.

The prospect of sleeping in an actual bed was far too tempting for the bird, and so he urged the adventuring group to push themselves through the forest while the sun was still covered in a veil of black clouds until they reached the war-torn walls of Arwintar.

After a more than comfortable stay in his inn for around a week, only sometimes daring to go outside to perform some more routine requests...and after a brief panic attack upon seeing the bill for his room, Pero was up and eager to earn more brownie points with his harem members and take on a real challenge. Sifting through the accumulated coin on his desk, he went about allocating his earnings for the past few requests and yet more coins thrown at him whenever he helped out the guards with their troubles. But the rather cramped confines of the desk were becoming tiring, assorted gifts from those he'd help out were really starting to pile up now and it was getting annoying to sort through all the the different boxes of whatever so he just kept chucking new boxes into the pile with the thought of "tomorrow when I'm less busy, I'll definitely sort that pile out"...of course that tomorrow hadn't come in quite a while. Even the two other companions he'd picked from the [Goblin's] nest hadn't bothered to clean up the place, not even moving from their position in the bed he'd been so kind to give them and mumbling something about "family" or "oh god please save my sister" or something. Turns out that girl Pero'd met back in the caves wasn't actually as outgoing as she seemed, collapsing into a wreck when he kindly showed her the state of her friend's bodies. How rude.

"Right...fifty gold coins for HeroHero's alchemy ingredients, seventy for Ulbert's sewing stuff and all those ore he bought, a hundred and eighty plus fifty plat coins for Momonga's purchase of another mansion…" He hefted eight sacks full of gold coins from his side on the table to the edge, leaving only three loose coins on his side of the table and took a small chocolate from one of the many opened boxes, eating it with a smug grin. "And...and three gold for me."

I think sis would have a heart attack to see me with this much money! Ah...if only I could just send all this coin home, might just be able to get her out of the mess mother and father got us into. Eh, prolly not, knowing how they are, they'd prolly just dump more debt on her now that I'm gone. Tch, that's the one thing Suzuki and Enji have got going for them at least...it would sure be nice to not have scum for parents.

Hang tight sis. Either I'll come to you, or you'll come to me. Unless I die again, then I guess I won't see ya again. Huh...better not take any more risks now that I think about it.

Taking another small chocolate from a different box, he leaned back into his chair and groaned to himself while he lovingly fondled a long rapier to his side, stroking the icey blade like he would often do to himself. But it's not gay to do that though since it's just a sword so it's not gay. "Kinda reminds me of bein' back home to be honest….minus the obvious person that is. Those idiots better stop racking up finances, or at least have Suzuki go out adventuring again! I don't wanna be the sole breadwinner for an entire city!"

Pocketing the last three coins, he dressed and finished eating the artery clogging sweets before heading out for the day, eager to taste whatever would be given to him next. Such were the perks of abusing buff items to inflate your charisma stat to absurd levels. Who'd have thought that a stat dedicated to influencing one's summons would actually be useful?

Just as he stepped through the main reception and had waded through the relatively thick crowd of pompous nobles and high ranking Workers, he was brought face to face with a rather scruffy looking young man.

Hoh, a quest giving NPC, how convenient.

"Ah, you wouldn't happen to be Hen-sama?" the young boy spoke in a rather sheepish voice, an envelope gripped in his hand though his eyes seemed to hold a kind of reverence for the worker before him. From the fanciful seal that held it shut, Pero could already feel a small wave of dread gnaw at him, he'd likely need to meet someone important or something like that.

"That's uh...that's me." He answered with a proud smile on his face. Sure he still fumbled a bit, but his confidence had grown considerably, though that was mostly due to the pitiful nature of the boy, allowing Pero to feel superior to the young man, just like with Nfirea.

"Ah, good, good. I know this may be intruding on you during your rest but, I come bringing a few invitations for you. Here's the first, someone seems to have taken a great deal of interest in your magic and would like to meet you." Another, smaller envelope was brought from the heavy leather bag and was thrust into Pero's. "And the second, from the Furts, I believe. You're acquainted with the family's daughter, I think." Another envelope was quickly placed into Pero's hands. It's gaudy golden outside and far too fanciful seal just oozed tackiness.

Scanning over both invitations, Pero breathed a heavy sigh from the depths of his soul.

I know I'm meant to be this super great guy and all but, can't people just leave me alone? Sheesh, I can'r even get paid so it's just piling more stress on me for nothin'! Gotta find a way out of meeting with those people.

"And here's the last one. Normally you would be directly summoned by the Emperor himself for such a task to uphold secrecy but, due to his recent absence, I have been entrusted to deliver this letter to you as the official Imperial Courier." The mottle white paper was thrust into the bird's chest, but after reading it, absolutely nothing was said about just what he was being invited to or what he was even meant to be doing.

"Uh, I...I- this doesn't say anything though?" He was confused to say the least. Was he just being pranked? Perhaps this was only a distraction before he was assassinated? Those worrisome thoughts he'd thought he'd conquered began to swell up within him again, doubt upon doubt piled up higher and higher.

And then those doubts were quelled the moment the young courrier opened his mouth, pulling Pero in close and waiting for the noise to pick up again: "You see, a new dungeon has been recently discovered just outside of the Empire's territory, and Worker teams and Adventurer teams have been commissioned to enter said dungeon by the Emperor. Gather your team and make your way to the Southern most village in the Empire's territory in two weeks."

"A...new dungeon?" Those doubts immediately began rising up from within. The timing was just a bit too perfect for this to be a coincidence.

Oh no.

---

Outskirts of the Empire, days before.

Under the veil of night, a lone wagon could be observed, unhurriedly, trailing down a muddy path, dying the surrounding grass brown with soggy, thick mud that was soon washed away by the thunderous, never ceasing rain. That damned infectious rain that would always hang over the Kingdom had expanded it's grasp and had begun to plague the Empire's lands.

Manning the horses through an opening in the damp cloth of the wagon sat a burly man, brimmed hat spilling cold water all over his gaudy, yet paradoxically cheap looking clothes whenever it's capacity reached it's limit. And just within, hunched over a rancid conical flash filled with purplish paste was a boy, eyes covered in a long bowlcut of hair and clad in battered leather armour and robes. A silver plaque hung from his neck, catching the moonlight every few seconds through the opened back of the wagon.

"So kid, where did you say you wanted to be dropped off after this? The Royal Capital, right?" The burly merchant spoke in a sickeningly fake upper-class accent.

"No, E-Rantel is fine." The boy met back, not looking up from his diligent work on the flask.

"You sure you don't wanna head to the capital? Not one for competitions then, aye?" Laughed the merchant back, letting slip his obvious peasant background through his dialect.

"There's competitions going on?" The boy nearly immediately asked, his shocked eyes peering through his hair like a frightened animal and his boyishly infused voice penetrated through his incredibly fake hushed way of speaking.

"Hah! Guess you've been livin' under rock and workin' on those potions ya got. Basically, due to E-Pespel's fall, the King has requested the treasures kept in the cities be recalled and administered to those who can use them like adventures and heroes. Thought you might wanna see if you're fit to use any of the old equipment from the Demon God's time and such. Y'know, that suit of armour used by the Thirteen Heroes' Leader is up for grabs."

A legendary item to be sure. The armour worn by the leader of heroes' something that even baffled the most skilled of Dwarven craftsmen, earning itself the title as a cursed item that was constructed by some outer God to spite craftsmen with it's divine superiority. Of course that's likely not true. It's just a particularly well made suit of silvery armour that can even fend off dragon fire with ease, no doubt it's wielder deserved their title as a champion of the entire world. Nfirea recalled all he could about the armour, getting just a tad giddy at the thought of wearing such a piece of history and feeling his nemesis and rescuing his beloved like out of some fantasy stroy he'd been told when he was younger.

Since they're offering up sacred treasures, that means that Ariel's already posing this much of a threat. It's...worrying. But I should thank him, with my talent and those relics, I may just pose a threat to Momon, or even Ariel himself with some more training.

Just the thought of it, using those relics from heroes long dead to conquer the newest demonic threat and avenging the loss of his loved one was enough to send the boy into a deluded state, focusing on concoating as many strategies as he could to deal with his demonic rival.

"Hmph, Royal Capital it is then. Drop me off after I've completed my current quest, please." The boy said after a brief pause and immediately went back to stirring whatever vile concoction he was brewing.

"Ah, and I've heard that even the legendary [Bifröst] staff is bein' offered. As a magic caster, I'm sure you're excited now, hm?" The talkative merchant piped up again, obviously not being able to bear a string of silence for more than a few seconds, earning him an annoyed groan from the boy.

Nfirea offered no actual response, his attention solely trained on the faint sound of rapidly approaching footsteps coming from all around the wagon and the blaring alarm in his ear from his detection spells triggering. Sighing, he deactivated any stealth spells he could cast and went into full mana conservation mode in preparation for a battle.

I was correct then. That damned Ariel, he did something to me, didn't he? Why must I also attract more monsters? Even when I take my precautions, they always find me. It's almost like he's trying to train me.

"Hey, old man get ready-" He was cut off by an intense pain in his face and his entire world was sent reeling as the sound of a gargantuan explosion ripped through his ears and the figure of the old merchant faded from view.

The sounds of breaking glass emanate from all around and the rank smell of chemicals leaked from Nfirea's portion of the wagon, the chemicals bleeding out into the open air and mixing with the smell of freshly spilt blood.

Explosions means that it's either bandits with high tier equipment or magic, or monsters wire fire magic. Tch, nocturnals are the most tricky.

Groaning inwardly, Nfirea leapt from the wreckage, and wringed out his chemical sodden robes while he cast a basic [Night Vision] spell to identify the attackers.

He sighed again, locating a stray arm - presumably from his employer - laying next to the charred remains of the horse and he wiped a red smear across his arm to get the blood from his mouth.

So, that means demons or wizards, and I don't even have any potions to let me sneak out of here. A perfect opportunity to get stronger if you ask me, thanks, Ariel. I'll be sure to pay you back after all this.

He couldn't help but hide his grin. The once terrified, cowering boy who'd relied on others was dead, and now rather than shying away from danger and relying on others, Nfirea jumped at the chance to take another step towards killing that damned demon, or even that Momon person who'd colluded with the demon that took his life from him. An inescapable situation would surely yield either tremendous developments in his tactical knowledge or provide another surge of power like back in Carne.

He didn't even need his [Night Vision] to see just what kind of monster he was facing and before he knew it, his knees gave out and he sat on the floor, reduced to his once weak state from but a mere glance from the creature that stared back at him.

Cloaked in a fiery shroud of hellfire, the brute demon stood far larger than a normal man. Clad in black and red scales with a long, fire-tipped tail lashing behind it like an excited puppy while it's bat-like wings flapped eagerly, Nfirea knew this kind of demon all too well. It was the same kind of demon that destroyed Carne with only one, terrifying difference from the first. The [Evil Lord Wrath] stood, a thick chunk of iron wrapped around its neck with a winding trail of chain leading off into the distance, almost as if this cataclysmic demon was nothing more than a guard dog for it's master.

No...not yet… He wasn't anywhere near strong enough to face Ariel nor his demons, he could barely even make it to silver rank without nearly dying and now he was expected to fight a Demon God. It was impossible.

And that's when he felt a cold trickle down his left cheek. Then his right cheek. Without even realising it, the boy was weeping in fright.

Even though he resisted his fate as hard as he could, it seemed he was destined to be nothing more than a helpless, crying boy that needed saving.

"Ah, we're just in time, quite lucky." A faint voice could be heard over the roaring flames that burst from the Wrath, though Nfirea paid little attention, his eyes trained on his slowly approaching death.

Meeting gaze with an emerald green mask, Nfirea couldn't even muster up enough strength to stand and he watched as the white cloak of the stranger whizzed around the demons, almost mocking them for their weakness.

"Pathetic lesser creature, this one is my prey." The masked figure spoke with vile contempt for the Wrath beneath their heel. By the way they fiddled with the mask, it was obvious they were altering their voice, but Nfirea was unable to pinpoint just why they needed to do such and with such a frequency.

"Greetings, Nfirea-kun!" The stranger bowed from atop their prey flamboyantly, a now far happier voice emanating from the mask. "Forgive the intrusion but, it's too early in your journey to battle such threats, are you perhaps an idiot? At least try to run away from these kinds of odds rather than sitting down, cleaning up others' messes isn't my forte."

He paid no attention to whatever the figure was saying nor did he even try to wipe away the thick layer of gore that'd landed on him from the Wrath's body, Nfirea once again fell into the depths of despair and inadequacy. It'd happened again. All he could do was watch as the some kind of demon that'd destroyed Carne was torn to bloody ribbons in front of his very eyes by yet another mysterious powerhouse that was saving him.

Jawed tentacles, dagger-tipped spider legs, thrashing tails and all other sorts of limbs flailed in a macabre dance of death. Ripping, tearing and crushing every ounce of demonic flesh their hundreds of limbs could find.

"Umu, I've got a good haul tonight. Ah, would you like one perhaps? Maybe a Wrath's tail or wings maybe? Or would you rather have an [Abyss Demon's] skull?" A handful of fleshy bits stained the stranger's gauntleted hands and a fiery pattern of scarlet trailed up their robes.

Nfirea shook his head, not really understanding what he was being offered. It's not like he'd even know how to use demonic body parts in alchemy either so it was a waste of time to accept the bodyparts.

"Ah, not one for body modification? Very well then." the stranger clapped their hands and clicked their fingers, at once the field of body parts were eaten by a black void in the floor. "More for me then."

"H-how…"

"Eh? That was just a simple [Gate,] or are you asking how I killed those demons? If you're asking the latter, may I ask if you are familiar with the term "critical hit" by any chance?"

He shook his head.

"I see. Well, a critical hit is just an attack that can deal three times to one hundred times the normal damage that an attack may deal. They just happen randomly so it's mostly down to luck when they appear. I just so happen to be very lucky, that's all. Without them, I'd prolly be dead by now; Wrath's are pretty tricky to fight an' all." They nonchalantly said, retracting all their numerous limbs back into the recesses of cloth.

"Just who...who are you?" The boy whispered in a hush voice, not actually expecting to get an answer.

"Hmmm…" The stranger stroked their chin from under their mask, leaping down from the pile of gore and sitting down right next to Nfirea with an elegance betraying their presumably horrific biology. "Good question. My existence is...complicated shall we say. I can't quite answer your question, my apologies. The dragons wanted me to be the Demon Lord, so I guess you can call me that for now, if you'd like. Though, I remember being called an actor at one point so you can call me that as well."

"…I see..." He couldn't really believe it, but he didn't really have an alternative to believe in. It was probably easier to believe that he was saved by the Demon Lord themselves rather than yet another mystery person who appeared from nowhere like Momon.

Nfirea almost let out a girlish shriek when a new, low baritone voice boomed from beside him. "Eh? No shocked remarks to be made or anything? I just told you I'm the scourge of the world, ain't you even a little bit shocked or angry? I've murdered a lot of people, y'know?"

Recovering from the shock, he asked an honest question: "That may be so...but, may I ask one thing of you?"

"Shoot." A young male's voice answered him this time.

"Are you Ariel's master?"

"Oh, that Ariel person I've heard about? No, he's not one of mine." He shook his head and led down into the plush grass. "I've only got a handful of guildbases with functioning servants so I can't say if he's an NPC of another guild, but I do know that he isn't one of mine. Why do you ask such?"

"I see...so he was acting alone then. Then you're not the one I should be angry at since Carne was his fault." Nfirea tried to make it seem like he knew just what the hell an NPC was, nodding along dumbly, still not fully grasping the situation he'd found himself in.

"Fufufu, how strange. Normally this would be where you attack me in a blind rage just due to my nature as a demon, you're a strange man. Ah, you probably can't talk properly due to fear or something so I'll get rid of it for you. [Indomitable Will]" The Demon Lord snapped their fingers and a wave of clarity enveloped Nfirea. "I can alter my appearance if that'd make you more comfortable?"

Nfirea found himself unable to speak as his lips were sealed shut by the armoured hand. "Shhhh. To be honest I just wanna show someone that I can do this. So don't answer that and let me show off." Not waiting to get a response, the white robes of the Demon Lord vanished, leaving behind the visage of a man clad in jet black armour and a long, scarlet shoulder cape. "Ta-dah~" The copycat Momon gave a thumbs up...Nfirea didn't respond. "That's a no go? Then let's try somethin' else."

In an instant, the Momom disguise faded away, then another familiar face appeared. With his ever present smirk and strangely glowing orange eyes, Nfirea's fists bawled upon seeing the smug face of that damn Ariel again. But then that disguise vanished as well, cycling through a number of other monster; a jet-black slime, a fleshy pink slime, some sort of giant monster clad in bright red armour, a birdman in bands of golden decorations, and finally, what looked like a child's doll dressed in bright yellow military clothes, only holes being present on it's face instead of a mouth or eyes.

"Nein, mein freund?" They dryly asked in a tongue unfamiliar to the boy. "Fine, default look it is." With a click of their long, thin fingers, the military clothes morphed back into the white robes and green armour the Demon Lord was originally dressed in.

"That being said, you could have attempted an attack on me while I was altering my appearance, no? I play the role of scourge of mankind afterall. I thought you would have leapt at the chance to kill me when my guard was down." Another new voice joined the fray, calmer yet higher pitched than the last and with the slight air of exhaustion to it.

"You've done nothing to me to warrant such. Nothing directly to me at least."

"Ah, so you're that kind of person then. Not a personality befitting of a hero but then again, I'm yet to find a truly righteous person in this world. So, how about our deal then? We have a mutual interest in this new demon's death so why not help each other out?"

"If...if you can help get revenge on Ariel then...I agree."

"OHO?! Really now? You'd deal with the devil even though my kind brought you so much misery? How very interesting! You understand that a deal with me is irreversible, yes? Once you agree, a contract will form and your soul shall be in my possession. Are you ok with that?"

"I don't care...if you can help me kill him and let me see Enri again, I don't care about anything else."

"Then, the pact is sealed. Welcome to the ranks of the Demon Lord's army, partner. Oh, and congratulations," The Demon Lord pulled out a mottle white parchment with a fanciful seal sealing it shut. "The Emperor cordially invites you to participate in the exploration of a new dungeon we've found. Once you've collected the Kingdom's treasures using that talent of yours, I'll come find you and take you on a real adventure, deal? Last chance to pull out."

"...deal." Grasping the polished green gauntlet, Nfirea sealed the deal with the devil.

"Very good. Now, I was going to have you become an [Avenger,] but it seems you've beat me to it. So, I've got a different kind of power you'd be interested in. This item, along with the gear you'll earn from the Kingdom, will make you near unstoppable." In the clutches of the Demon Lord, a tiny toy-like object shone amid the gloomy moonlight. "That'll mark you as mine and when the time comes, it shall fulfil my end of this bargain."

In the blink of an eye, Nfirea was sat alone in the dusky grasslands, the wonky blades swaying to and fro in the light breeze. Taking all that he could recover from the destroyed wagon, Nfirea set off into the night, determined to complete the quest he'd been given by his original employer, and by Demon Lord...oh and also claim a few of the Kingdom's treasures while he was at it.

---

AN: Hi, that was the chapter and it was way longer than what I thought it was gonna be since I'd forgotten how little of it I'd actually written when I picked this back up again lol.

Anyway, here's a fun fact for you all: the word goblin is spoken 129 or so times in this chapter. Jesus.

So, let's talk about plans for the next chapter so leave if you actually care about spoilers or somthing.

I was gonna have this chapter ALSO contain a mini adventure to the super mysterious and not obvious dungeon but, no. I'm not writing something over a hundred pages long so fuck that. It'll likely take up it's own chapter which I'm not thrilled about but I think the chapter that was meant to come after this could do with some pushing back since I'm still hoping that maybe volume 15 will come out but...not looking like it so i'm gonna just have to guess the movesets of all the Theocracy people so aaaaaahhh being creative is hard :(

Uh, also how about the Demon Lord getting killed haha just a thought. Prolly gonna happen in like two or three chapters since I don't want any oc outstaying their welcome. Same with gessenvult and the dragons, prolly gonna murder them in a couple chapters time and end things off so I can do some re-writes.

K bye - Puddle