"Alright, we're nearly there!"

'About time...'

Earlier this morning, I asked Luna, the counter lady, if she knew any spots near Axel where I could practice my new class. She told me about some old abandoned castle up north where no one went to. The fact that there were towers which I can swing on was also a big plus. Now, I'm walking on a dirt road heading to said castle while Venom's head sat on my shoulder scouting for enemies. Thankfully, we haven't run into any yet.

After a few more minutes of walking, the castle's wall came into view. From the looks of it, it was as tall as a small building back in Queens. Perfect. The gate leading towards the interior of the castle was made of wood and metal- correction. Rotting wood and rusty metal. I tore it down with a single kick.

"This is perfect."

The towers here were as tall as the skyscrapers back in New York and, with most of the castle deformed and destroyed, there were plenty of spaces for me to land on, making this the perfect place I can practice.

I tapped the spider symbol on my chest, activating my metallic spider-armor. Feeling the nanites cover my body, I couldn't help but smile.

"So Venom, any idea on what we should do first?"

'I say we practice using Scythes and Ground Spikes.'

"Scythes and what now?"

'Take out your adventurer card and go to skills.'

I did as he asked and pulled out my adventurer card. Tapping on the skills tab, I immediately noticed two things. First, A new row had appeared above "Awaken". On it were the words "Skill Points" followed by the number four. Second, the skills "Scythe" and "Ground Spikes" were glowing.

Noticing the surprised look on my face, Venom continued on.

'When we killed those bears, we gained enough experience points to level up to level four. As you can see, each time we level up, we gain one skill point. We can use those skill points to unlock more of our skills and grow stronger.'

"So, like an RPG game, then?"

'Pretty much.'

Hmm...based on the amount of skill points I currently have, I can only unlock "Ground Spikes" and "Scythe".

I unlocked both of them before putting the card back in my pocket.

"Alright, we'll start with "Scythe". Ready, Venom?"

'Ready.'

"Alright, Scythe!"

Venom's black substance oozed through my shoulder and rolled down my arm before changing it's shape into that of a curved blade.

Weirdly enough, even though the black goo looked wet and slimy, the scythe on my arm was hard and dry.

Now comes the hard part — finding something to use this on.

Almost everything in this courtyard are either destroyed, or in the process of it. The walls around me were covered in holes, cracks, and burn marks. Several plinths were scattered on the ground, with the statues on them in pieces. The only intact things I could spot around here were two standing pillars and a large fountain in the middle of the courtyard. Both looked weirdly out of place, as though it had just been recently replaced.

Facing the nearest pillar, I raised my scythe-arm above my head and charged towards it while bringing down my arm.

The once intact pillar was now laying on the ground with it's top half cut off.

I have to admit, this is pretty cool.

"Right, well, that's one down. next up is...Ground Spikes."

Now, the skill description said "Summon a wall of spikes to skewer your enemies". The problem is that there isn't any enemies here. Guess that fountain in the middle will have to do. I placed my hands on the ground and focused on the fountain in front of me.

"Ground Spikes!"

The moment those words left my mouth, I felt a familiar feeling erupt from the palm of my hands. It was the same feeling I felt whenever Venom appeared on my shoulder.

Less than a second later, several small, black spikes erupted from the ground, piercing the fountain in front of me.

Said black spikes suddenly disintegrated the moment I took my hands off the ground.

"Okay, that was awesome! What do we do next?"

'That was all I had.'

"Oh...well, I'm just gonna swing around here for a bit, if you don't mind."

'Go ahead.'

"Nice!"

At those words, I jumped into the air and began swinging around the castle.

Man, this never gets old. Swinging around large structures, through narrow passages, and below low arches. It really makes you feel like you're on top of the world. As if you were untouchable. Away from everything and Everyone. As if nothing can stop yo-

WARNING: WEB CAPACITY AT 5%.

All of a sudden, a red warning sign popped up in my suit's hud.

Surprised by this sudden announcement, I missed the target of my next web line, causing me to fall on top of wall, face first.

"Five percent? Seriously? Why didn't you warn me when it was at ten percent?"

I asked no one in particular while picking myself up.

Three percent left, huh? That's not so bad. I can always make more. I just need to buy some more ingredients from...from...crap. Where am I supposed to buy the ingredients I need? Maybe Wiz's Magic Shop has the things I need...no, the shelves there were full of potions and strange devices, pretty sure they don't sell Glycine or Alanine...although, what if they sell something better? This world has magic, right? What if they sell something magical that'll help me make my webs better, maybe even make it indestructible. Hell, maybe I can use their potions to enchant my Spider Armor to make it stronger like in Skyrim...

"I wonder..."

'Hmm...?'

"Oh, hey Venom. Quick question, if I wanted to enchant a piece of armor, where would I go?"

'You simply need to take it to an enchanter, why?'

"I was just curious."

'I see...so, are we done swinging?'

"Well, I ran out of webs, so..."

'We ran out of webs?'

"Yep. I'm pretty sure I spent most of it on Titan, fighting that Thanos guy."

'Hmm...maybe I can help with that.'

"How?"

At that moment, a thin, white string suddenly shot out of my shoulder.

"You can make webs?!"

'Not exactly. I am not able to replicate your webs completely. I can, however, imitate it by using my tendrils to attach ourselves to objects. The downside is the low density. Mine are not as strong as your webs and our tendrils might break easily, especially when in contact with fire.'

"That's good enough for me! Let's try it o- wait...do I need to shout something like "Web" for you to use it?"

'Not exactly, no. I am simply using my tendrils to grab the wall, so, technically, we are not using any of our abilities.'

"Nice! Can you shoot those tendrils of yours from my back?"

'Yes.'

"That's great! Let's go!"

I shouted, jumping off the wall and free falling towards the ground. All of a sudden, I felt something shoot out from my body and pull me backwards.

I looked behind me to see one of Venom's tendrils pulling towards a castle window...wait, no, that's too high! That's too hi-!

*Thunk*

The sound of metal hitting, and breaking, concrete could be heard as the top of the window broke and I came flying in.

The window frame now had a head shaped hole on the top, with the wall behind the window cracked and dust flying everywhere. Sitting on the floor, disoriented, was me.

"Oww...Okay, not the best, but we can work with it, right Venom?"

I rubbed my head as I stood up. The impact didn't really injure me thanks to my suit, but Newton's law of inertia definitely did.

'Yes...we simply need to practice more'

And practice we did. I would swing and let go half way and Venom would shoot out a tendril to pull me back up. We had a few problems here and there, with Venom sometimes missing his mark and ending up with me faceplanting on the ground, but nothing too serious.

"Well, that was fun, but I think that's enough practice for today, wouldn't you say so, Venom?"

'Not yet.'

Venom announced as I brushed dirt off of my suit. I stared at him in confusion and replied:

"Hmm...? Well, what do you want to do?"

'Your divine relic...we should practice with it.'

"Are you sure? You weren't exactly...okay the last time I used it."

'All the more reason we should practice with it. Tell me, do you know what divine relics are?'

"Eris said they were either god-level weapons or something that grants the user a powerful ability or talent."

'Good, then you have a good idea of what they are. As you know, the gods created this world to be similar to video games from yours. These divine relics are basically "cheat items" . That's why we must practice with our divine relic. It will give us a significant advantage when we fight the Demon King."

Listening to his words, I couldn't help but wonder...Eris said they've been sending people here for a long time...if they sent everyone here with a divine relic, how come the Demon King's still a threat? You'd think a bunch of people from my world would've banded together to take down the Demon King a long time ago, but no. I wonder if there's something else going on here...

'So, shall we get started?'

"Wha- Oh, yeah. You ready?"

'Yes. Do it!'

"Alright."

I grabbed my divine relic out of my pocket and pointed it towards the fountain.

"Hellfire!"

A stream of fire erupted from my relic, bathing the fountain in fire. Venom's head recoiled from the flames and let out the loudest, ear blistering scream known to mankind.

'SCREEEEECH'

"Gah!"

Venom's loud screech, forced me to drop my divine relic and cover my ears, lest I let my eardrums burst.

The flames engulfing the fountain dwindled down to a few embers as Venom stopped screaming.

"Venom, you alright?"

'...yes...I am...'

"Well, I think that's enough training for today."

'Not yet. Let's try it one more time.'

"Again? Venom, you sure about this?"

'Yes, I am. What's the point of having a divine relic if we can't use it?'

"Alright, just...be careful."

I picked up my divine relic from the ground and pointed it at the scorched fountain once more.

"Ready?"

'Ready.'

"Right. Hellfi- ARGH!"

Before I could finish activating my relic, I suddenly doubled over in pain, clutching my abdomen. It felt as though someone was trying to rip my stomach open and pull out every single one of my internal organs, one by one.

My vision started to blur as I fought to keep my eyes open.

'Peter?!'

Venom's voice rang out as his blurry head came into view. He proceeded to tell me...something. I didn't hear it, or rather, I couldn't. The edges of my vision was now darkening, my arms and legs began to lose their feeling. I had to physically fight my eyelids from closing.

Then, without warning, the pain suddenly dissipated. My vision started to clear as the numbness in my limbs disappeared. I stood up, shaking, still clutching my stomach.

"What...the hell...was that?!"

'What did your divine relic say?'

"W-what?"

'That divine relic. When you picked it, it was on a piece of paper, correct?'

"Yeah, w-why?"

'What was written on the paper?'

"I-it said something about being effective against monsters, demons, and undead. It didn't say anything about...this."

'That's all it said? It didn't mention anything about mana consumption?'

"Well, now that I think about it, Eris mentioned that this was the God's first attempt at creating a "balanced" relic."

'And...?'

"Well, she said something along the lines of "It's effective against Demons and Undead, but drains your mana very quickly.""

'Figures...'

"Figures what?"

'You know how mana works, correct?'

"Yeah, you use it to cast spells. When your mana runs out, you won't be able to cast anymore spells...wait, did that...experience from earlier occur because I ran out of mana?"

'Yes. That is exactly why. As you said, our divine relic is effective against demons, monsters and undead, but it drains our mana very quickly; combined with our rock bottom magic, this makes using it incredibly risky.'

"I see...what happens if I continue using it after I deplete my mana?"

'Well, to put it simply, you'll die.'

"So, my divine relic's next next useless, then?"

'Not exactly. We'll still be able to use it, just not as often.'

"And here I was thinking my luck was going up. In any case, I think that's enough for today. I'm gonna go eat lunch, is that okay with you?"

'Of course. In fact, when we were swinging around, I spotted a barren spot on top of the wall to our right.'

"Perfect."

I swung towards the spot Venom mentioned and unpacked my lunch. It consisted of one roasted earth lizard and two brown cabbage sandwiches. Now, I know that sounds disgusting, but they were delicious, like, it's almost unfair how food here tastes so much better than the ones back in Queens.

"Hey Venom, you want one?"

I offered him one of my two sandwiches. His head sprouted from my left shoulder and answered:

'Yes.'

I took the second sandwich and held it up in front of Venom. A black tendril appeared from my elbow and pierced the sandwich, bringing it to Venom's mouth.

"Hey Venom, can I ask you something?"

'Sure.'

"This Carnage guy you told me about, is there anything I need to know about him?"

'Just three. The first is, he has all of my powers, only stronger. The second one is that he has absolutely no regard for human life. He will kill without any hesitation. You need to be careful when you face him. Lastly, when we face him, we cannot leave him alive'

I froze at those words. This Carnage guy had the abilities of Venom, meaning he could create tendrils, blades and more, and from the description Venom gave me this guy was either insane or a psychopath. But the last one...

"You mean kill him? Nope. Sorry, not happening. You told me that symbiotes pick their hosts right? Then that means he's human and I most definitely do not want to kill a human being. Those bears back then was the first time I actually killed something. You know I'm not comfortable with killing anything, let alone a human being. Why can't we just knock them out? Or turn them over to the authorities?"

'No. We can't arrest him, or rather we can, but it will only make things worse. Remember, he has all of my powers, as well as decades of experience; if we arrest him he will simply break out and go back to being the Demon King. That is why we need to kill him — to make sure that no one else will be harmed by him.'

"It just feels wrong, scratch that, it is wrong. Killing is wrong. No matter how you look at it, killing people is just...it's wrong!"

'Then tell me, was Captain America wrong to kill nazis during world war two?'

"Well, I mean...he was at war."

'Was Tony Stark wrong to kill those terrorists in Gulmira? He wasn't at war, was he?'

"T-they were killing and terrorizing innocent people!"

'And Carnage isn't? Everyday, hundreds of innocent people lose their lives because of his army. The people here live everyday of their lives in fear because of him. Tell me, how many more innocent people have to die because of him?'

"..."

'You'll get used to it.'

"Used to what?"

'Killing. In this world it's kill or be killed, especially if you're an adventurer.'

"Yeah, I can tell. I just wish I could do something to change it."

'Everyone does. No one wants to live every single day of their life in fear, now, do they?'

"I guess..."

We continued eating...well, I did. Venom ate his sandwich in one bite. I continued thinking about the concept of killing. Now that I died, I know what happens. You die and your soul gets two choices, go to heaven or go to this world, that means if I did kill someone they just get sent to heaven, right? I bit into my sandwich again while enjoying the peace and quiet...Why is the back of my head ting-

*Boom*

A huge explosion suddenly erupted in the middle of the castle, throwing me and Vemom towards a tower to our right. The impact was strong enough to send us flying through two layers of wood, metal bars, and concrete. We fell out of the other side of the tower as Venom quickly shot a web line towards the side of the the tower, swinging us both towards it as I put my mask back up and activated my spider legs, using them to cling to the tower. The right side of my chest was on fire. From the feeling alone, I could tell that I broke a few ribs.

"Oww...that's definitely going to leave a mark."

'Again?!'

Venom practically shouted in my ear as I climbed back up the hole I went through. There wasn't much left of the spot we were eating on, apart from dust, rubble, and charred stone. I scanned the area for anything that could have caused the explosion. Long story short, there wasn't any. Nothing that could have caused the explosion was visible. No monsters, no humans, and no explosive devices. It was the same situation as back at the lake.

'It was the mage back at the guild.'

"What?"

'The crimson eyed mage back at the guild. When the counter lady mentioned a mage that could have caused the explosion back at the lake, everyone turned towards her.'

"Why would she want to attack us?"

'I don't know, but that is our best lead as of now.'

"Yeah, but maybe it was just an accident?"

'One is an accident; two are not'

"Then let's ask her when we get back to the guild."

'Be careful.'

And with that, Venom moved back to my shoulder and started to look for enemies as I began walking back to Axel

Now, normally this would be a peaceful and relaxing walk, but now? It was a nightmare. Have you ever felt like your going to be attacked at any second? No? Well it was beyond terrifying. Even with Venom on the lookout, the air was thick with tension. Every sound and every little movement seemed to be ten times more intimidating. On the bright side though, my chest started to feel better.

We arrived at the guild without any other incident, though we kept our guard up the entire time, and entered to try and find the crimson eyed mage that may or may not have tried to kill us twice. Looking around, there wasn't that much people in the guild apart from...Bingo! The crimson eyed girl we were looking for was at the back along with a boy. She seems to be...to be...

"Venom, are you sure she's the one that tried to kill us?"

'Absolutely. The other adventurers turned to her when they heard the words 'explosion magic'.'

"Venom, she's a kid. She's what, thirteen?"

'You fought multiple robbers with alien tech as well as the Vulture on top of a crashing plane last year. You don't have the right to judge her by appearance alone.'

"Well...I guess we could just ask her, right? Hey miss, did you, by any chance, try to kill us twice these past few days? Definitely not awkward or anything."

Venom, who had his head hidden under my clothes, went back inside my body as I approached the two. Now that I got closer, I could hear them talking to each other.

"That was a great explosion, wasn't it Kazuma?"

"Well, you were a bit lacking in volume. Apart from that, it was great. We even almost knocked down a tower"

Welp, if I had any doubts back then, they were gone.

"Umm, excuse me."

"Oh! Can we help you?"

"Yeah, did you guys by any chance blow up a castle earlier?"

"Yeah, we did. It didn't bother you or did it?"

"Umm...actually it did, I was wondering if you guys wanted to kill me?"

"What?!"

"Well-"

"Ah! Peter-san!"

Luna suddenly ran towards me with a worried expression on her face.

"Yes?"

"I wanted to warn you."

"Warn me?"

"We just received news that a Demon King General was spotted near Axel, specifically near the castle I told you about."

Demon King General? So this world has Generals- wait a minute...does that mean the one that tried to blow us up was the Demon King General? That seems a lot more reasonable than this girl blowing us up. She probably used one of those exploding bottles I saw back at the store on a sand castle or something, I should probably apologize.

"Oh, guess that solves that then. Sorry you two."

"Don't worry about it."

Guess we won't be practicing there anytime soon...I wonder...

"Hey, Luna."

"Yes Peter-san?"

I sat down on a nearby table as the other two went back to their conversation.

"Do you know what the Demon King General is?"

"Hmm...not really, no. But since it's a Demon King General It will probably be something strong. Peter-san I know you have high stats, but a Demon King General is far stronger than you. They have been known to defeat entire armies by themselves."

Yep. Definitely staying away from that. The strongest guy I fought alone was a man in metal wings. If Luna here was telling the truth, then no way in hell could I defeat him. I barely managed to win back then, what chance would I have against something that's able to defeat armies by themselves? Not only that, but also able to create explosions like earlier. Guess I just got lucky that whatever it was, it didn't come after me.

"Don't worry about me, I already got attacked by it I'll just have to find another spot to practice."

"What?! You got attacked? How'd you survive?"

"To be honest, I don't know. But if I had to guess, I just got lucky. As soon as I was attacked they sorta just...gave up."

"Gave up?"

"Yup, it left me alone for the rest of the trip back here. I don't know why, just that it did."

"Interesting...well, Peter-san, could you please tell me all that you know about it's attacks. All information you can give will help the other adventurers if they ever encounter it"

"Well...a far as I know it only attacks by creating giant explosions right next to you...now that I think about it, it was the same situation back at the lake. It blows up the spot beside me then leaves me alone."

"I see...so it was the Demon King General that attacked you. Well, Megumin-san, it looks like I owe you an apology"

She told the crimson eyed girl. For some reason, both of them were looking away from us.

"Oh, uh...don't worry about it, hehe..."

"Oi, Megumin you know it was you who blew him up right?"

The boy quietly hissed at the crimson eyed girl.

"I know! But do you really want to tell him that?"

"Maybe they'll let us off again"

"In that case you do it!"

"Why me?! You were the one that tried to blow him up!"

"Well you were the one who picked the castle weren't you?!"

"You little...!"

So, it was them...I can already hear Venom saying I told you so. Luna left a few moments ago to tend to the register, so I was left alone with these two. And thanks to my enhanced hearing, I heard every single word they said. I wonder if they did it on purpose or on accident...

"Um...hey there, my name's Kazuma, Satou Kazuma."

"Hey, my name's Peter, Peter Parker"

So, his name's Satou. He sat down in front of me while his companion, Megumin I think?, remained in her seat and stared at us.

"Peter-san, I have to tell you something."

Again with the -san. I wonder why they keep saying that.

"Peter's fine, Satou."

"Uhh...right, Peter, I have something to tell you..."

"Your friend was the one that tried to blow me up twice, and not a Demon King General?"

"Eh?! How did you-"

"You two were talking pretty loudly."

"We're sorry! I swear we didn't know you were there!"

"Don't worry about it. Like you said it was an accident."

"Right...we used to practice by the lake until we accidentally hit somebody, so we were forced to pick a spot where no one went. We picked the castle since it was so far away, we didn't know you were there!"

I knew it! I knew it was just accident! I guess my bad luck just follows me around everywhere, huh? He seems like a nice enough guy.

"Are you going to go back to the castle?"

"Nah, you two can keep blowing it up. I'll just find another place to practice."

"You sure?"

"Yup. besides, Luna mentioned a Demon King General was near the castle, so I'll be in danger there even if you two stop. "

"Alright then, pleased to meet you Peter-sa - Peter"

"Hey, why do people keep doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"Adding -san at the end of my name."

"Isn't that just being polite?"

Polite...right, this world obviously won't be the exact same back then so why am I surprised?

"Umm...okay then Satou-san."

"Just call me Kazuma."

"Alright then, Kazuma-san."

"No, no just Kazuma."

"Oh, okay."

"Where are you from anyway? You're the first one I met who doesn't know how to use -san."

"Me? I'm from America"

"America?"

"Yeah, New York to be precise"

This boy, Kazuma, suddenly froze at those words as his eyes widened.

"..."

"..."

"You alright? You've been standing there for several seconds."

Kazuma quickly shook his head and joined several times before answering.

"Oh, don't worry about me I was just thinking..."

"About what?"

"Well, you said you're from America right? How'd you get here?"

"I met a girl named Eris. She said that the people here was suffering because of the Demon King and asked me for help. I accepted, so she sent me here."

"Eris, huh...was she, by any chance, a goddess?"

This is getting suspicious. How would he know that Eris was a Goddess? Should I tell him the truth, or should I just lie to him and say no? He could help us...then again, he could be one of Venom's enemies, he did say he had a lot of them here didn't he? Hmm...yeah, I'm going to tell him no for now. If he is a good guy then maybe, just maybe, I'll tell him the truth. But for now, I'm going to tell him no.

"No, she's not. She's just a girl living in the countryside."

"Really? Huh...how did you get here exactly?"

"I was teleported here by one of her friends."

"What was her friend's name?"

"Is this an interrogation? This is starting to feel a lot like an interrogation."

"No, no, I was just curious, that's all. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

"Okay...what about you? Where are you from?"

"I'm from Japan, in the city of Utashinai if you want to be specifi- hey, where are you going?!"

"Bathroom, sorry!"

I ran over to the nearest bathroom, which turned out to be on the other side of the building, and quickly shut myself in the nearest stall. As soon as I locked the door, Venom emerged from my right shoulder.

"Right. I'm gonna have to stop using my Spider-Man suit for now."

'Why?'

"Why?! He's clearly from my world! He just told me he came from a city named Uta-something, in Japan! You said there wasn't anyone from my world here!"

'I told you I do not have any enemies here. We never said there wasn't anyone from your world here.'

"You should've told me! Dude, I do not want anyone from my world finding out I'm Spider-Man!"

'Who said he came from yours? For all we know, he could be referring to a random country in this world that shares the name Japan.'

"Maybe...if not for two things. First of all, he knows about America. Secondly he knows about Goddesses. It's just like what you said: Once is a coincidence, two are not. Now, there is a chance that I could be wrong here, but he kept asking me on how I got here, meaning he either knew that Eris sent me here, or he was also sent here by Eris."

'Perhaps...but then again, what does it matter if he came from Earth? He doesn't even live in the same country as you. Besides, it does not seem that he wants to harm you. The explosions earlier were an accident and he apologized for it.'

"Well, when you put it that way..."

'He doesn't seem to harbor any hostile intentions against us, and if he did, I'll be here to defend you. If you want to keep your other identity a secret, then do it.'

"Alright...alright..."

I walked back towards our table to apologize to Kazuma for leaving abruptly, only to find it deserted. They probably left. l wasin the bathroom for quite sometime.

"*sigh* Just my luck...I should probably go as well."

Then again, what am I supposed to do? I don't need to find materials for my webshooters, thanks to Venom. And I don't need to find a job, thanks to the two million I earned. Should I continue practicing with Venom? No, too dangerous with the Demon King General nearby...I wonder what it looks like. Luna said it was able to take down armies, so maybe something like the Grim Reaper? Or maybe a dragon, that'll be cool. Deadly and potentially life-threatening, but cool...that still doesn't answer the question of what to do now, though...you know what? I'm gonna go take a quest, see what more this world has to offer.

The Billboard, or Quest board as the other people here call it, was empty, save for a few quests on it. I closed my eyes and picked a random one.

.

A giant bear named Black Fang has appeared in the mountains. Kill it for the reward and bring back the body for double the reward.

Reward:70,000

.

Right...killing...I completely forgot about it, thanks to the cabbage hunt. Venom said that they were just animals. In a sense, I guess he's right. Just think of it like killing insects. They bite you and bring diseases to your home, so you kill them. Yeah...just like insects, just bigger and meaner.

I took it off the board and handed it over to Luna...should I add -san? Kazuma said it was a sign of respect. Should I call her Luna or Luna-san? I'll stick to Luna for now. She took the parchment from me and gave me a map with directions to where the bear was last spotted. I gave her a wave as I walked away and headed for the bear.

'Are you going to kill the bear?'

"Yup. After all, they aren't human beings, right? Besides I kind of want to test out our new abilities."

Venom sat on my shoulder, as usual, as I trekked through a dirt road. A few more minutes of walking and we'll reach the mountain.

"Hey Venom, where do you go?"

'Hmm?'

"When you disappear, you go inside my body, right? Where exactly do you store yourself in? In between my muscles and my skin, or are you, like, suffusing my bones and organs?"

'Magic.'

"That...doesn't explain anything."

'Get used to it.'

"Okay, then. Let's talk about something else instead. How are we gonna...kill this bear?"

'Just stab it again, like we did with the others.'

"So, no new abilities or anything like that? I mean, I'm not complaining or anything, but it would be cool to try out some of your other abilities, like the spikes that come from the ground, or the scythe arms, maybe the sword."

'Fine. We'll attack from the distance using the spikes, then we rush in with the scythes and finish it off with the sword. Happy now?'

"Yessir."

'Good. Keep your eyes open, were here.'

This was the first time I actually went to a mountain. May and I never had enough money for a road trip to the mountains. Now that I'm here, though, it feels weird. The more I climbed up, the colder it felt. I know it's because air pressure decreases the higher, we get, but it still felt weird. The last time I felt like this was when I got on the alien spaceship to fight Thanos, only this time, oxygen doesn't run out and I don't go to space.

The cold wind hit my face as I followed the map's directions and soon came across a gaping hole on the side of the mountain. The entrance to the cave measured six meters wide and fifteen meters tall. I activated my metallic spider suit-

'Turn it off.-'

"What?"

'The lights on the suit. The cave is so dark, even the faintest light can shine as bright as a flashlight in these conditions. So, if you can't turn off the lights on your suit's eyes, sides, and chest, take it off'

"You know bears have night vision, right?"

'Really?'

"Yeah, they have something called tapetum lucidum, which is a shiny layer of tissue behind the retina that reflects available light back to the retina a second time without losing focus, giving them night vision."

'...'

"So..."

'You should still take it off. There's a chance it could be sleeping, and your armor's footsteps might wake it.'

"It isn't. Bears are nocturnal, especially the ones that live near human settlements"

'On your world, they might be, but the bears in this world aren't. There aren't as many humans here as there was on Earth, so the creatures here don't have anything to fear in the day, apart from adventurers like you that hunt them for quests.'

"Fine."

I took my suit off and and entered the cave, softly walking on the damp floor. The more I walked, the bigger the cave become. Soon, the cave expanded so much that it could fit an entire house inside it.

"Wᴏᴡ..."

'Husʜ, ᴡᴇ ᴍɪɢʜᴛ ᴡᴀᴋᴇ ɪᴛ ᴜᴘ.'

"ᴀʟʀɪɢʜᴛ, ᴀʟʀɪɢʜᴛ. ʙᴜᴛ ʟᴏᴏᴋ ᴀᴛ ᴛʜɪs! ɪᴛ's ᴍᴀssɪᴠᴇ! ʟᴏᴏᴋ ᴀᴛ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴇsᴇ sᴛᴀʟᴀᴄᴛɪᴛᴇs ᴀɴᴅ sᴛᴀʟᴀɢᴍɪᴛᴇs, ɪ'ᴠᴇ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ sᴇᴇɴ ᴏɴᴇ ɪɴ ʀᴇᴀʟ ʟɪғᴇ ʙᴇғᴏʀᴇ. ɪ ᴡᴏɴᴅᴇʀ ʜᴏᴡ ʟᴏɴɢ ɪᴛ ᴛᴏᴏᴋ ғᴏʀ ᴛʜᴏsᴇ ᴛᴏ ғᴏʀᴍ...ᴀ ᴛʜᴏᴜsᴀɴᴅ ʏᴇᴀʀs? ᴍᴀʏʙᴇ ᴀ ᴍɪʟʟɪᴏɴ?"

'Wᴇ'ʀᴇ ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴅɪᴇ.'

"ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴀs ᴛʜᴀᴛ?"

A loud rumbling noise suddenly echoed in the cave. I felt Venom retreat into my shoulder as I quickly took a step back and put on my metal suit. The best way to fend off a bear was to hit it in the nose or the eyes, so if I get ambushed by the bear, I just have to find two glowing green eyes and hit them. Simple, right? The snoring began to grow louder as I continued onward. The dripping and splashing of water below my feet now sounded a hundred times louder. It was the same situation as earlier, when me and Venom were walkin from from castle. Except this time, we know what we were supposed to be on guard for. A huge bear, that may or may not be black due to its name, that wants to rip me to shreds.

After a few more seconds of walking, we eventually found the source of the noise. A black mound, twice the size of the hulk, was rising and falling at intervals.

'ᴛʜᴀᴛ's ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇᴀʀ.'

"ᴏʜ ᴍʏ ɢᴏᴅ, ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜɪɴɢ's ʜᴜɢᴇ."

'ʜɪᴅᴇ ʙᴇʜɪɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴀʟᴀᴄᴛɪᴛᴇ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ.'

"ᴛʜᴀᴛ's ᴀ sᴛᴀʟᴀɢᴍɪᴛᴇ. Stalactites are-"

'ᴊᴜsᴛ ʜɪᴅᴇ ʙᴇʜɪɴᴅ ɪᴛ!'

"ᴏᴋᴀʏ, ᴏᴋᴀʏ, sʜᴇᴇsʜ. ɴᴏᴡ ᴡʜᴀᴛ?"

'ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʜᴀɴᴅs ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ғʟᴏᴏʀ ᴀɴᴅ sᴀʏ 'sᴘɪᴋᴇs'.'

"Aʟʀɪɢʜᴛ, ᴀʟʀɪɢʜᴛ...Spikes!"

I felt tendrils gush out from my palm as several black spikes suddenly sprouted from beneath the bear and pierced it. The bear let out a roar that sounded a lot like a scream of pain...poor guy.

The cave shook violently as the bear suddenly stood up, breaking the spikes, and looked at me, anger clearly visible on it's bloody face. I take back what I said earlier. This guy's terrifying.

'Scythes!'

"Wha- oh, right. Scythes!"

Venom's black goo oozed my from my shoulder and began morphing into scythes as I jumped towards the bear, arms raised. As soon as I got near the bear, I sliced downwards, leaving a shallow wound on the bear.

The bear retaliated by swiping its paws towards me, breaking several stalactites and stalagmites in the process. I ducked under it's paw and rolled away from it before webbing it's paw to the cave wall.

"'Sword!'"

The black scythes on my arms retreated into my body and was replaced by two black swords.

"Hey, quick question, where'd you get the name "Black Fang"? I mean, sure you're furs black and all, but you're called Black Fang, not Black Fur."

I yelled at it while charging forward and slashing at one of it's legs. I would have gone for the head, but this was all I could do right now.

The bear swiped at me with one of it's paws, forcing me to jump up and stick to the cave's ceiling. It then roared at me loudly, exposing it's pitch black teeth.

"Ohhh, so that's how you got the name...you should brush your teeth, you know that? I have no idea what you eat, nor do I want to know, but I'm pretty sure having pitch black teeth isn't healt- Hey, whoa! Did you just throw that stalagmite at me? Not cool, dude."

The bear launched another stalagmite at me in response. I caught it with my webs, swinging it above my head and launching it back towards the bear. It didn't even seen to notice it as the bear stood up on its hind legs and raised it's paws in the air.

'It's skin's too thick, we need something to kill it instantly. Try pouring your webbing down it's throat.'

Kill it instantly? Wait a minute, my suit has...

"Activate instant-"

"Light of Saber!"

A feminine voice rang out, followed by a flash of white light. The bear grunted in confusion just before it was cut in half.

"What the...hey, wait!"

The light suddenly disappeared as I spotted a shadowy figure with red eyes. It ran away as soon as I called out to it. Did it follow me? I mean, I'm thankful for the assist, but- wait, does it still count if I didn't kill it?

(lXl)

"I'm sorry, Peter-san, but you needed to kill it yourself."

"Dang it."

I went to all that trouble, and I failed it? Oh, well. I didn't really need the money anyway. I wonder who, or what, that red eyed thing from earlier was.

"Hey Luna, do you know anything about a red eyed monster living in the same cave?"

"Monster? I'm pretty sure the Black Fang scared away most of the monsters inside the cave."

"Weird..."

"Well, Peter-san. I'm sorry, but because you failed the quest, you won't receive any of the reward."

"Don't worry about it. I was just passing time anyhow. See you soon, Luna!"

Weird...I wonder what that thing was. It took out the bear like it was nothing and took off. Did it want to help me or did it just want to kill the bear? It ran the moment I called out to it...I'll look into it tomorrow. For now I'm going to sleep...

"Emergency broadcast! Emergency broadcast! Attention all adventurers, please prepare for combat and report to the main gate of the city!"

"I'm up! I'm up! What's happening?!"

I was suddenly woken up by a loud voice summoning me towards the main gate. Venom's head greeted me as soon as I opened my eyes.

'Put on your suit.'

"What, why?"

'It's an emergency broadcast telling us to prepare for combat.'

"It'll probably just be cabbages again or something, *yawn* give me a few more minutes."

'People could be dying out there.'

"No one's going to die because of a few cabbages."

'Do you really think harvesting season comes every other day?'

"In the few days I existed in this world, I encountered you, giant bears, kids who can create explosions that can blow up towers and, Goddesses. Is it too much to believe that some plants grow faster than others here?"

'The broadcast said 'prepare for combat'. Combat means we have to fight something.'

"Fine..."

I got off the bed and changed my clothes. I should probably start washing them, there's a river near this inn, maybe I could wash my clothes there. I walked down the stairs after putting my clothes on and was greeted by the receptionist.

"Ah! Parker-san, aren't you supposed to be at the gate?"

"It's probably nothing serious, besides there're other adventurers here. They can take care of it for now."

"Eh?! People here are saying that the Demon King General is the reason the emergency broadcast was announced."

The Demon King General? Dammit! I should've listened to Venom!

I quickly rushed out of the inn and ram towards the gate as fast as I could. The other adventurers were already standing there, some of them had their bows drawn while some had swords and staffs at the ready. At the top of the hill was what I can only describe as a knight, riding a decapitated horse, holding his decapitated head on his hand. It was a headless horseman...that was shouting at a kid.

"You don't plan on giving up explosion magic no matter what? Even though I have taken the side of darkness, I was a knight before and have no interest in slaughtering the weak. But if you continue to bother me with such things, I have my way of handling things too."

The head shouted angrily. What was it so angry about?

"Hey, what's happening?"

"That girl over there kept blowing up his castle, now he's here to make her stop"

The girl next to me explained. So, this knight got angry because the girl kept blowing his house up? That's...pretty reasonable.

"We're the ones being bothered, alright!? Because of you staying in that castle, we couldn't even do our work properly! Hmph… You can only act high and mighty now. We have an expert that deals with the undead here! Master, I leave it to you!"

The kid replied…wait, isn't that the girl who blew me up? Headless over there is here because that girl kept blowing up his castle, and the Demon King general was spotted near the castle where I got blown up. So, the castle I was practicing at was…

"I guess it can't be helped–! I don't know if you're a Demon King's General or what, but you're unlucky to come here when I'm around. An undead coming out in broad daylight when your powers are at their weakest; you're just asking to be purified! It's all your fault that I couldn't take on any quests! Okay, are you ready to face the music?"

The blue haired girl behind her stepped forward and extended her hand.

The knight tilted his head slightly to the right.

"Oh, impressive. You're not a normal priestess… but an Archpriest, right? But no matter what, I'm still a Demon King's General. I have not fallen so low that I would be purified by a low-level Archpriest in a place like this. I have my ways of dealing with Archpriests too… But I'll start by torturing this Crimson Demon girl!"

He pointed his finger at the crimson eyed girl. Also what's an Archpriest and a Crimson Demon?

I activated my webshooters and prepared to jump as the blue haired girl began some sort of chant. But before any of us could do anything, the knight shouted:

"I shall predict your death! You will die one week from now!"

The blonde girl suddenly grabbed the crimson eyed girl by the collar and hid her behind her.

"Huh? D-Darkness!"

As the kid stuttered in confusion, the girl's, who's name is probably Darkness, body glowed with a faint dark light.

What happened?

"Darkness, are you all right? Does it hurt anywhere?"

The boy next to- wait, is that Kazuma? What's he doing there? Are those girls his friends?

"… Yeah, I didn't feel anything."

The blonde replied casually.

"That curse won't harm you now. My plans were foiled a bit, but since the camaraderie among adventurers is so deep, this must hurt more… Listen carefully, Crimson Demon girl… If this goes on, that Crusader will die in a week. Hmph, your important companion will be tortured by the horror of death in the meantime… That's right, this is all your fault! In the following week, you will see the pain of your companion and regret your actions! Hmm… Hahaha, you should've obediently listened to me!"

It can do that?

"There… There is such a thing!? That means you have cast a death curse on me, and I must do as you say for you to release said curse! That's what you meant, right!?"

"Huh?"

The headless knight, clearly confused, replied.

"Ugh…! Just a mere curse, don't think you can make me submit…! I won't yield…! But, what should I do Kazuma!? Look at that Dullahan, look at his evil lustful eyes under his helmet! No matter how I see it, he wants to bring me back to his castle and do as he pleases if I want him to release the curse. A pervert that wants me to do hardcore perverted play!"

What. The. Fuck.

"… Huh?"

"Even if you can do what you want with my body, you will never have my heart! I'm going to become a female knight imprisoned in a castle and let the henchman of the Demon King do unreasonable things with me! Ah, what should I do…? What should I do, Kazuma!? This situation is more thrilling than I expected! I don't want to go, but I have no choice! I'll resist to the very last moment, so don't stop me! Well then, I'll be back in a jiffy!"

D-Did that girl just say getting raped was thrilling?

"Huh…? Huh?"

"Stop right there, you can't go! Look how troubled the Dullahan is!"

The blonde began to leave with the knight, before Kazuma grabbed her collar from behind. I could hear the knight breathe a sigh of relief.

"A-Anyway! If you have learned your lesson, stop casting Explosion on my castle! And the Crimson Demon girl! If you want me to release the curse on that Crusader, then come to my castle! If you can make it to my room at the very top, I'll release her curse! But… My minions are everywhere in the castle, and it is full of undead knights. Can you rookie adventurers make your way to me? Hmm? Hmm? Hmm? Hahaha!"

After saying his piece, the knight laughed loudly as he rode his headless horse and went in the direction of the nearby castle…

"What just happened?"

The other adventurers stood stiff with a blank face, clearly disturbed.

"The Dullahan just cursed Darkness-san. She's going to die in a week if the little girl doesn't go to his castle and defeat him"

So she's going to die in a week, I should've done something earlier.

"Hey, where are you going? What do you plan to do?"

The crimson eyed girl began walking away before Kazuma tugged at her cape.

"I'm responsible for this incident. I'll head to the castle and cast Explosion on that Dullahan directly to dispel Darkness's curse."

She replied without turning her head.

"I'll go with you. If you ran into some minions and used your spell, that would end right there. I didn't realize that was the castle of the Demon King's General either, even though I was with you all this time.".

"… Well then, let's go together. But he said that there would be a bunch of undead knights there. If that's the case, then weapons will be useless. My magic will be more practical… So, you have to rely on me when the time comes."

The crimson eyed girl smiled at that.

"I can use my Detect Enemy skill to search for monsters in the castle and conceal myself with Lurk and sneak in. Or we can visit the castle every day and defeat the enemy on each level, one day at a time, before coming back. We'll reduce enemy numbers slowly… And since the time limit is one week, this plan should work."

"Hey Darkness! We'll break your curse! So, don't worry…"

Maybe I should help them...

"Sacred Break Spell!"

The blue haired girl suddenly shot a beam of light towards the blonde. Her body glowed faintly before the light dissipated.

The blonde looked as if she had missed a chance for something and was down; in contrast, the blue haired girl was happy as she said:

"With me around, breaking the curse of the Dullahan is easy! What do you think? I look like a priestess sometimes, right?"

"… Huh?"

D-did I seriously wake up for this?