I'm back! I apologize for not posting for a month, but my brother passed away. Yeah, I definitely needed a break after that. Anyways, on a lighter note, here is chapter 5. Once again, I don't own shit LOL

Chapter 5: A New Player

Subaru watched the wolfgarm leap towards him almost in slow motion, but made no move to dodge. He waited, and waited for the monster. Subaru then turned briefly to Meili with blue glowing eyes filled with determination, before turning them to the creature. Then, as the beast closed in on him, he used speed and muscle to deliver a hard slash to the creature's neck with Kasaka's dagger, killing it instantly. He then gave Meili another look that said "Is this the best you've got?"

Meili must have gotten the message, because she said, "Don't think you can underestimate me," before sending the rest of her wolfgarm swarm at him. However, there were two problems with this: firstly, Subaru had the weapons and skills to handle a mere pack of these beasts by now. Secondly, Subaru's title of Wolf Slayer gave him a 40% boost to his stats when fighting beast type creatures.

Subaru killed twelve wolfgarm in total, allowing him to rise another three levels. One would not be able to tell whether or not Meili was impressed or just stunned, as someone who could handle so many wolfgarm at once had to be pretty strong. And the skills he displayed doing so were completely unknown to her. Who was this man?

"I've gotten rid of your beasts. You got anything else?" Subaru mocked, trying to anger her into making a mistake. He'd seen plenty of stories where villains who got provoked would make a critical blunder. Now, this could end up biting him in the ass, but he was confident after slaughtering all the beasts, so really, what else could this child throw at him?

Meili, however, did not seem fazed by the insult. Instead she gave him a smile, then snapped her fingers. The puppy that had bit him in the village came ambling out of the darkness. However, as he gazed at it in confusion, it started to grow, and grow, until it grew into what one would call a juggernaut, as it was far larger than the beasts he had fought earlier…but not even close to the size of Kasaka. However, there was one thing he noticed that made a drop of sweat pour down the side of his face: the name label of the beast in front of him was a bright red.

'Shit,' he thought, as the beast roared at him.

Meili smiled still, and said "I will admit, you definitely have proved to be an extenuating nuisance. But I can't have you derail my plans. I really hate it when my plans are derailed. So, I guess this is goodbye, because I doubt that you have the stamina or strength to take this down."

Subaru knew he was not in a good position at all. He had a glimmer of doubt creep into his mind. Should he run and try to get help? Was there anyone who could handle a beast like this? Was he gonna die here? So many thoughts creeped into his mind, until…

"Subaru-kun!" A familiar voice called, and a morning star was thrown at a creature, hitting it in the side. Subaru looked back, and saw Rem, ready to fight.

Meili sighed. "Well, it seems some backup has arrived. My plans keep getting derailed. I really hate that, see? However, you two don't stand much of a chance against my giant wolfgarm."

Subaru knew that she had a point, having wasted a bunch of stamina fighting that pack of Wolfgarm. With Rem, the odds increased in their favor, but it was still gonna be a tough fight. However, he had to try. He then called to Rem "Rem, do you have anything you can use to fight this thing?"

Rem looked at Subaru, a bit hesitant, before saying, "I do, but it causes me to lose myself."

He studied her out of the corner of his eye for a moment. Her words made it obvious, of course, but with all his experience with anime, she could only mean one thing; that this form would drive her berserk. "...If anything happens, I'll stop you," he promised

The bluenette blinked at him in surprise, but then smiled again, sadly. "You need to be careful with giving a young maiden so many promises, Subaru-kun." She set her expression in a determined, stone glare and stepped towards the juggernaut wolfgarm. As she did so, a glowing pink horn began to sprout from her forehead, a spire of pure energy. She began swinging at the wolfgarm over and over again with her morningstar, the massive spiked ball kicking up a powerful wind as she whirled the chain around her, smashing into the beast hard enough to cave in their sides and tear massive chunks off its body. Subaru joined in with strikes from his dagger. He then tried his effects from the dagger, hoping to paralyze the creature even once, or make it bleed, but the wolfgarm seemed to be able to resist the poison.

Subaru then saw the face Rem had, and the best way he could describe her was 'demonic.' Her mouth practically split her face in two, definitely wider than was humanly possible, and her pupils had grown to practically overtake her entire iris, and she was laughing a high, mad, cackling laugh. This must have been why she liked his "demonically inspired" phrase so much. Was she an actual demon, or something else? Those questions would have to be answered later, as Subaru noticed the wolfgarm about to smack Rem with its paw. Subaru decided now was the time to use his new technique, Minya, and fired twenty-five minya crystals at the creature.

The juggergarm took multiple hits from the crystals at the side of its body, right around its stomach, leaving small shards inside the skin as they exploded. The creature put its eyes toward Subaru, was about to charge at him, but Rem was still flailing her morning star at the creature, and landed another couple powerful strikes at the creature, this time pounding heavily near its neck and upper body. Subaru knew he had to do something, as Rem was a sitting duck. Even though she was landing direct hits on it and was doing some damage, the juggergarm was still standing, and Rem was definitely not gonna be able to take a hit from that thing's paws. Or, worse case scenario, her head would be bitten clean off.

"REM!" He called out to her. He sheathed his dagger and ran towards the bluenette. The creature was about to crush her with its paw, but Subaru pushed her out of the way, and took the hit.

Rem fell on her butt from Subaru's push, gasping in surprise, shocked out of her berserk state. Her horn vanished abruptly and then, as she blinked dazedly, her pupils shrinking back to a healthy dilation, she saw to her horror that Subaru was trapped beneath the creature's paw. "Subaru-kun!" She considered using her horn again. If I can just save him…!

Subaru had other ideas, as he stabbed his blade into the leg of the juggergarm. The creature howled in pain, and Subaru then used Muscle to get the creature off of him, grabbing the beast's leg and throwing it off, causing the creature to land on its back, legs in the air. He noticed that his health was dropping, but more importantly, he was losing stamina. He wasn't sure if he and Rem could beat this creature, at least like this. 'I need to move faster. If I can overwhelm this thing with both power and speed, I can maybe slow it down or even beat this overgrown dog.' Good thing he had Speed in addition to Muscle. Also, good thing he thought of that strategy right away, because the juggergarm had just gotten back up.

Subaru used a combination of his skills, Speed, Muscle, and Minya to try and do damage on the Juggergarm: hard punches that would crack open anyone's skull or leave nasty bruises, minya crystals that continued to stab into the creature in a constant barrage, and speed helping him land cuts on the monster.

Rem watched all of this in awe, barely able to keep track of his movements. Incredible…he's so fast! When did he become so strong? she wondered. But then she bit her lip. No…more importantly, how long can he last? No one could keep fighting that long against a creature like this, and it was only a matter of time before Subaru ran out of steam.

Subaru kept going, slashing, firing off magic, punching, but it was not enough, as while the Juggergarm had taken damage, Subaru just did not have enough steam to continue fighting at a high level, and was slowing down, and then the Juggergarm, just as Subaru was dashing towards it for another attack, hit Subaru with the underside of its paw once again, and Subaru this time was sent flying into a tree, hard enough to break it. He was lucky the tree fell away from him, and not on top of him, otherwise he would probably have been crushed.

"Subaru-kun!" Rem cried out, starting forward. She knew that if she didn't do anything, Subaru would die. But what could she do? All she was was her sister's replacement. That was all she was. She had to carry on while her sister's potential was robbed from her. If Ram was in her position, she would fix this. She would save Subaru. But she wasn't; she couldn't hope to achieve something like this, and all she had to blame was herself, because she wasn't good enough to ever be like her sister. All she was was Rem.

Subaru, meanwhile, was still reeling from the impact of getting smashed into a tree. 'Damn it, I'm so low on Stamina. I'm low on mana, and it's not regenerating fast enough, and I just lost a chunk of my health from this thing.' He raised his head painfully, and saw the Juggergarm stalking slowly towards him, before it stopped and bent its hind legs, ready to pounce on him.

'Unless I can magically restore my stamina and mana, this might be a res…WAIT!' The beast then, as it was about to pounce Subaru, was hit by a morning star on its side, near where the ribs should be. The beast quickly found the origin of the morning star, Rem, her eyes staring towards the beast in anger for even daring to hurt Subaru. The beast roared, ready to attack its new target, until a minya crystal smacked into its head, though unfortunately, no shards managed to penetrate it. The beast looked back to where Subaru was lying on the ground, and saw him standing, looked more at the very least more energized

"Hey you overgrown dog, are you ready for round 2." Subaru smirked cockily. The beast roared, and Subaru then called out a trick he had not used yet. "SHAMAK!" The beast was surrounded by a black, shadowy mist, and the beast lost its senses, helplessly trying to find its target. It couldn't find anything for that matter, because the shadowy mist put in a black like void, and made it even lose where it was standing. Then, over and over again, it was hit with slashes from something it couldn't even sense, and if one looked closely, it started to bleed, and then it was paralyzed. It seemed to have reached its limits, and it could no longer withstand the effects of Subaru's dagger. The Juggergarm wobbled a bit, struggling to stay standing. To Subaru, it looked like it was almost down for the count. All he needed was to land a good hit, like a boxer looking for a knockout.

Subaru then leapt up into the air, as the Shamak spell ended, and then called out "MINYA!" and fired another twenty-five minya crystals at the juggergarm, a bunch landing inside the juggergarm's head. The beast wobbled, and stumbled, and then collapsed forward. Subaru then went up to the creature, and cut right into the jugular of the creature, and watched as blood poured out from the beast, and then the beast finally crystallized from the Minya, turning into a purple like statue, and then shattered. Then, he got the notification he was waiting for

You have defeated Juggernaut Wolfgarm

You've leveled up!

You've leveled up!

You've leveled Up!

You've leveled Up!

Subaru smiled, as he was now at level 25. However, he couldn't admire it for long, as he got another notification

You have reached Level 25. You have now unlocked the Party System. Details will be available in your inbox.

Subaru's eyes widened, and wondered what this could mean. However, his thoughts would be interrupted by Rem launching himself towards him, hugging him. She said "You made it out alive! Rem is so glad, Subaru-kun!"

Subaru smiled, and said "Hey, I promised I would make it out alive. I am a man of my word, after all." What was left unsaid was that he very well could have died if it wasn't for that status recovery he had saved up. And the only reason he had that saved up was his perverted tendencies. He couldn't help it! Who wouldn't want to be healed by a beautiful girl like Emilia?

Rem looked at Subaru, and then said "Hai!" with a bright smile on her face.

'She has a great smile.' Subaru thought to himself.

"Although, Subaru-kun, I must ask: How did you restore your energy like that?" Rem asked curiously.

"Well, that is related to the secret I'm going to tell you, along with my past. It will explain everything." Subaru said. Subaru then realized something. "Hey, where Meili?"

"She slipped away as you beat the beast. Rem will go look for her." As Rem was about to leave, Subaru stopped her.

"Sorry, but my father raised a gentleman, and as a gentleman and a friend, I cannot let you go alone. I'm sure you can take care of yourself, but Meili could ambush you if she is still in the forests with her Mabeasts. Plus, maybe we should check the village first to make sure it's still in one piece and if the kids are alright"

Rem nodded in understanding, and both Subaru went back to Irlam Village. The village was okay, and it seemed that Meili really had just escaped. Hopefully letting her slip away wouldn't come back to bite them. Ram and Emilia were in the center of the village, and they went up to greet Rem and Subaru, who recounted what happened.

"I guess I owe you my thanks for making sure no harm fell to my sister, Barusu." Ram said

"It was nothing. We're coworkers, and most importantly, friends, right?" Subaru asked, a little hopeful

"Ha!" Ram said, turning her head away, but if one looked closely, you could see a small smile. Subaru noticed it, and all he could do was grin.

"That was still really reckless of you Subaru to fight that thing head on, especially after fighting so many wolfgarm!" Emilia said, pointing at him and had a serious expression on her face

"Well, you might have a point there." Subaru said, nervously rubbing the back of his head. "It was a hard fight, and I wasn't sure if I could win. I'm just glad Rem was there to help me."

"Rem is reliable and strong, isn't she Barasu?" Ram said, looking smug and proud at her sister.

"That's not true Nee-sama! If you were in my place, you would have done more than I did." Rem refuted.

"Maybe, but that doesn't matter." Rem looked at Subaru, and Subaru continued. "Maybe your sister would have done better fighting alongside me, maybe she would have done worse. We'll never know that for sure. The important thing is that you were there fighting alongside me, and you helped me beat that monster. You even bought me enough time to recover after I had gotten smacked into a tree. Thank you Rem. I couldn't have done it without you." Subaru said, a wide and bright smile adorning his face.

Rem looked in shock, and then her eyes looked to the ground, unsure of what to say. Ram initially had a frown on her face, but then her eyes widened, as she realized those words had affected Rem in a way. If you looked closely, you could see a faint glimmer of hope start to form in the pinkette's eyes. She then decided to say something since Rem was obviously not going to say anything

"I will search the perimeter, and see if there are any traces of the assassin. Barasu, you and Rem will go back to the mansion. I can only imagine that you are both exhausted after your fight." Ram said

"I should go with you to…" Subaru tried to say, but was cut off.

"No, you will go to sleep. A growing boy should get his sleep." Emilia said

"But…" Subaru tried to say

"No buts mister! That is final!" Emilia ordered, her serious expression still on her face. It was really cute in Subaru's opinion.

"Fine." Subaru said, and both he and Rem headed back to the mansion.

On the way, both he and Rem discussed telling each other about their pasts, and both agreed to do it tomorrow morning, as Rem admitted she was a bit tired. Subaru agreed, and the two of them would head back to the mansion, wishing each other goodnight. Subaru would then also note to thank Beatrice when he could, as she had been busy attending to the children who had been cursed. He then went to sleep.

The next morning, Subaru woke up, and he was surprised to see Rem was waiting there, sitting in a chair. Subaru knew what she wanted, but was surprised to see her here already.

"Rem, why are you here so early?" Subaru asked

"Forgive me, Subaru-kun. I had taken care of mine and your morning activities, and I had waited for you to wake up. We both agreed to talk about this in the morning after all. I also wanted to make sure you were alright, and I'm happy to see you are. I've been waiting for you to get up for 10 minutes." Rem answered, blushing a bit

'She even took care of my morning activities for me. She must really want me to hold up my end of the promise. No, she must really want to talk about her past. Maybe this is something she has been holding in for awhile, and doesn't discuss it much with anyone. I can see it in her eyes, especially since I'm the same way.' Subaru thought to himself.

"It's alright Rem. Now, do you want to get down to business? We don't have to do this right away if you don't want to." He said, a bit concerned for her.

"I appreciate your concern for Rem, Subaru-kun, but I'll be okay." Rem said.

"Alright. Do you want me to start, or…" Subaru asked.

"No, I'll go first. Last Night brought some painful memories about my sin back, and I think you at least deserve to know why." Rem said.

"What do you mean?" Subaru asked. He had wondered why Rem had reacted oddly to the praise and gratitude he and Ram gave her, but figured he would get answers about it tomorrow.

"Well…" Rem began. She would then tell Subaru about her past. How she and Ram were actually demons, how she and Ram were nearly killed as babies because they were twins, how Ram stopped it by showing how much of a prodigy was, how Rem would be pushed into the background because she wasn't as good as her sister, how even when she accomplished something like cooking, it would be expected because she is Ram's sister, how she had nightmares at times of people saying it would be better if she didn't exist, how she had resigned herself to never being as good as her sister and virtually had given up, how her race was killed off because of the Witch's Cult, and how it was her fault her sister had lost her horn because she had looked at her and smiled at her for a fraction of a second. All the while, Subaru would do things to comfort her, such as put his hand on her shoulder whenever she seemed like she was struggling to say something and hug her when she cried. Which she allowed.

When she was finished, she had waited for Subaru's reaction to the entire thing, and Subaru had realized something very shocking: Rem was very much like him. He had nearly thought about retreating into being a clown, and had been always compared to his dad, so he could understand her pain better than anyone. Hell, he might have even given up completely and didn't bother to try to achieve anything just due to the pressure of it all, it's not like he hadn't had those thoughts before. But it seemed that while his dad had made sure to slap that shit out of his head, Rem and Ram's parents had not. Ram probably tried, but most likely couldn't get through to her. Subaru knew that he might not be able to say anything that would completely fix Rem's issues. But he knew he had to at least do something. Good thing he knew what to do. "The first step towards healing is talking it out with a person you trust." the words his dad had said long ago to him ringing in his head.

"You know, surprisingly, we might not be so different." Subaru said, with a sad smile on his face. Rem looked at him shocked, and Subaru started telling her about his past. How he had always been compared to his dad, how his mom had fallen into a coma, and how he had wanted to work hard and be his best self because he had convinced himself it would bring his mother back. All the while, Rem did her best to try and comfort Subaru.

Subaru then continued saying "I was so consumed into being the best I could be academically and athletically, I had forgotten about some of the bonds I had forged over time. I had friends, but I never bothered to open up to them as much as I could have, because I was so obsessed with achievements, whether it be sports or academics. I wasn't alone, but at the same time, I was alone, because I was in my own world, just only concerned with bringing my mother back, that I had forgotten about the little things in life. I thought as long as I continued achieving, my mom would wake up, but in reality, I had just isolated myself for nothing. It didn't help that deep down I felt that these people were only my friends because of who my father was, not because of who I was. And the worst part is I only started realizing this recently."

When Subaru had finished, Rem looked down, her eyes shadowed. After what felt like 10 seconds, she tilted her head back up, with a look of warmth aimed at Subaru, said "Forgive me Subaru-kun. I might not be as good as Nee-sama when it comes to things like this, but I have to try, right?" Subaru then smiled, and Rem said "Rem doesn't know who your father is. Rem only knows who you are. And even though Rem has only known you for less than a week, I can tell you are a great person. You work hard, you're strong, and you are very kind to the people in your life, including me. You say that you felt like you are not good enough because of who your dad is, but Rem thinks that you are more than good enough, and I'm sure he would agree."

Subaru then had tears come out of his eyes, before he wiped his eyes. He then smiled at Rem, and said "Thank you Rem. I had heard those words a lot from my dad, but they never did anything to diminish that fear. In fact, I feel like it made me feel worse at times. But your words, they helped me a little."

"It's the least I can do, Subaru-kun." Rem said, beaming a smile at him

Subaru then decided to find the words to say to Rem. She helped him, someone she had only known for less than a week, now it was his turn. "Rem, I can't fully understand what it is like to witness the death of your entire clan, but I can understand feeling like you're not good enough. And all I will say is you are, at least to me, and your sister. You helped save my life, and helped me fight that beast. I couldn't have beaten that thing on my own without you."

Rem then said "But, if Nee-sama was there, if she had her horn, she would have done way better than me. Rem is nothing more than her replacement."

"You are hardly that at all. In fact, there are things that you do better than Ram. You're a better cook and a better worker than her from what I have seen. Hell you also pack a punch with that morning star, even without your horn, so I know you're strong too." Left unsaid was Subaru also thought, well, knew that Rem had a bigger bust than Ram. Probably a good idea to not say that.

"But, if Nee-sama had her sister she would be better in those areas than me. I'm sure you would think so as well." Rem said, still adamant on feeling like she was nothing more than a replacement.

"But I don't know that version of your sister, I only know you, and what I know is that you are good enough, and that you're more than her replacement., And please stop calling yourself that, it's too sad." Subaru said, a sad smile on his face. "I'm sure your sister wouldn't ever want to view yourself that way at all, am I correct? "

"That's…" Rem had wanted to retort, but now she was no longer sure of her answer.

"Look, I don't know much about being a demon. I said I like demons, but I don't have experience as one. However, you have the horn, right? Be her horn. Be demons together. You're sisters, and more importantly twins after all, so you shouldn't have any problems doing that." Subaru said, smiling at her. "And never think of yourself as a replacement. No one could ever replace you."

"But…" Rem tried to argue, but no words left her mouth.

"Where I come from, Demons are always said to laugh whenever you talk about next year. So laugh Rem. Wipe that sad look from your face and laugh about the future! Laugh and make up for all the time you've missed looking back at the past. I'll do it with you, since I know I've done that myself. We'll start by talking about tomorrow." Subaru said

"Tomorrow?" Rem asked

"Yes, talk about tomorrow. You can talk about what type of breakfast you're gonna make, or whether you're gonna put your shoe on your left or right foot. No matter what it is, you can talk about it because you have a tomorrow. How about it?"

"I'm very weak compared to you, and I will have to lean on you a lot more…" Rem said, unsure about all of this, and maybe still feeling the guilt inside her.

"Trust me, you're selling yourself short. I think you're very strong." Subaru said. He wasn't lying either, as he saw Rem's name label was orange. "Plus, I'm not that strong compared to other threats I've faced off against. I'm still not even close to where I want to be, and I'll probably still need your help even if I reach the strength I wish to attain. After all, I'm still not the best emotionally, and I may fall back into old habits. So if you need to lean on me, I don't mind. Just please let me lean on you."

Rem's eyes widened. "An equivalent exchange." she uttered.

Subaru nodded and said "This exchange will allow us to lean on each other as we move forward. You stop me from falling into my old habits, and I'll show you how great you actually are. But first, we'll laugh and talk about tomorrow with our arms over our shoulders!" Subaru said beaming at her. "It's been a dream of mine to talk about next year with a demon as we both laugh, after all."

Rem looked at Subaru in shock, then as her eyes watered, she smiled at him "You're demonically inspired."

"Right?" Subaru said with a wink.

Rem then had tears fall down her face as she laughed, and Subaru went up to her and gave her a hug. Their problems weren't going to disappear just like that. But they had taken their first step towards healing through talking about their pasts with each other. In doing so, both had somewhat dispelled the darkness that had consumed them. A lot more had to be done in order to completely destroy the shadows of their pasts, but as long as they leaned on each other, maybe they could at long last do it.

Subaru had hugged Rem for what felt like 5 minutes, before he released the hug as Rem's tears dissipated. He had one other thing on his mind, and that was telling him about the origin of his powers. Initially, he had thought to remain a bit vague about how he acquired the system, because he wasn't sure if it would trigger the penalty of Return by Death. However, as he looked up the details of the party system, there was a change in those plans

Those in the party are not affected by the penalty of Return by Death and can speak freely about their deaths with other players.

Subaru knew that the implications of this were astronomical. He would not have to keep this secret to himself. He could talk freely about his deaths with other people. All he just had to do was invite them to become a player like him. However, there was a problem: he had to do this with someone he trusted. Good news, he had people he trusted in this world. Emilia, Beatrice, Ram, and Rem. He actually trusted Rem the most at this point because of how he had gotten to know her a bit along with her sister, and she had helped him fight that beast. Plus, he had just spilled his past out to her, so why not?

However, Subaru knew that being a party member would subject someone to the same rules of the system. It was a commitment, and he knew that Rem was committed to her duties as a maid. But, he also knew the system wouldn't cut into them too much, if at all. However, if Rem didn't want to become a new player, he would understand. But he also knew that something like this would change her life: thesystem had changed his life after all.

"I think I should now talk about the origin of my powers now, and how I came here, as it is all related. Before I do, I need to do something first." Subaru said.

Rem looked at him curiously, wondering what he meant, and all of a sudden, a pop up message appeared right in front of her face.

You have been invited by the Player Subaru Natsuki to a party. If you accept, you will become a Player. Do you accept? Yes/No?

"Do you see a pop up message asking you if you want to be invited to a party?" Subaru asked.

"I don't fully know what that means, but yes. Subaru-kun, what is this?" Rem said.

"This is part of my powers. Let's just say you have to see it to believe it." Subaru said.

"What does becoming a Player mean?" Rem asked, still mystified by what was happening.

"Basically, if you become a player, you in short will have the opportunity to become strong like I have. I was not as strong as I am now 5 days ago. In fact, if I had fought those wolfgarm 5 days ago, I would have died." Subaru said.

"Is there a catch to this?" Rem asked. Something like this had to be too good to be true.

"Yes. You have to do a specific set of daily exercises every day, or you will get punished by the system. You will have to go into dungeons created by the system and fight all sorts of monsters. You can get rewards such as the dagger I got, but the battles will be tough." Subaru said, holding up his dagger.

"So that's how you got that dagger." Rem said in wonder. "How much will this cut into my duties?"

"Well, I was in a dungeon for about two hours, but when I came back into the real world, only one minute had passed." Subaru said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Wait! That was why you had come back all beat up! You didn't overdo your training, you fought monsters!" Rem exclaimed in realization.

"Guilty." Subaru said sheepishly.

"What monsters did you fight?" Rem asked, her tone sounding a bit dangerous.

"Just some wolf monsters, some monkey monsters, andagiantfiftyfootsnake." Subaru said that last part fast, but Rem was still able to understand what he said. She stared at him with a big pout on her face. It was incredibly cute if he had to be honest. After what seemed like a minute of silence, "Sorry." Subaru said apologetically.

Rem sighed. "Can you invite more people to this 'party'?" she asked

"Not until I reach a certain level." Subaru answered. Which was level 40. Just to invite one more person, he needed to gain an additional 15 levels. Quite the hassle, but maybe there was a reason for it. "I can only invite one person right now. I want it to be you."

Rem's heart fluttered a bit. She then asked "Are you sure you want it to be me? I know you like Emilia-sama, and Nee-sama probably would be a better choice."

"Like I said, don't sell yourself short. You're great, amazing even, in your own right. Plus, while I do feel something for Emilia-tan…"

"I know. You're not exactly good at hiding it." Rem said smiling.

That made Subaru chuckle. "But out of everyone in this mansion, there isn't anyone I trust more than you. I will warn you, once you accept, you can't back out. So if you don't want this, I will understand. This is just the only way I can fulfill that promise properly, and plus, I think the system will really help you like it has helped me. Plus, you won't lose time to do any of your duties. I know how much you take your job seriously, after all"

Rem looked at Subaru with wide and stunned eyes, and then her face became determined. It seemed like she had made her choice. "An equivalent exchange then." Subaru stared at her with a confused expression. "I accept this system under the condition that you allow me to fight alongside you, Subaru-kun. If we want to lean on each other, then sharing this system might be our best option, right Subaru-kun?" 'And maybe, I can get closer to Subaru-kun this way!'

Subaru smiled at her, and said "Right."

Rem smiled back, then said only 2 words "I accept."

You have successfully formed a party

Welcome New Player, Rem

On that day, those 2 words would change the life and destiny of Rem forever. On that day, a new chapter in the lives of Rem and Subaru would begin. What that would entail, well, that is for another time.

Well, I'm back. Again it has been a while, but I was dealing with the sudden loss of my brother. In fact, I might have used part of my experience with that to write this chapter, but regardless, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Time to answer some questions.

Q1: Was the Juggergarm stronger than the second monster Jin Woo faced?

A1: Yeah, but it kinda evened out because Juggergarm is technically a beast type monster, so wolf slayer is active, giving Subaru an advantage.

Q2: Why didn't the emergency quest trigger for Subaru when he was fighting Meili?

A2: Because I didn't know if the system would include or exclude Meili in that quest, and I don't think it is a good idea for Subaru to go through a crisis about whether or not he should kill a child.

Q3: What are Rem's stats going to be?

A3: I don't know what her exact stats are gonna be, but I do know her level is gonna be 21 or 22. That's where you guys come in, so give me your suggestions for Rem's stats. Also, keep in mind, Rem's mana is gonna evolve to be like Subaru's.

Q4: Will you explain more about the party system in the next chapter?

A4: Yes

Q5: Will Rem and Subaru be in a dungeon together soon?

A5: Yes, and it will be of my own creation. Hint at boss monster: Ogres vs Orcs

Q6: Will Rem and Subaru get together soon?

A6: Yeah, probably during the 2 month timeskip at some point. I can't wait to write that.

Q7: Why was the Juggergarm able to resist Minya's effect initially?

A7: Same reason it could resist Subaru's dagger effects.

I had initially wanted to title this "The First Step Towards Healing", but it didn't fit. Ah well, this is a good chapter title as well. That's about it, I hope you all had a great day, and I'll see you whenever the next chapter comes out. Probably in 2 weeks. See ya!