Chapter 4 is here. I hope you all enjoy it. Once again, I own nothing lol
Chapter 4: Equivalent Exchange
'The edge of the blade…' Subaru thought to himself. 'It's starting to get worn out.' Subaru's switchblade started to look worn, and didn't seem like it would last much longer. 'For it being such a low rank blade, it definitely lasted far longer than it probably should have. I guess I owe those thugs a lot for fighting me in that first loop. If not, I don't know if I would have lasted as long as I did.' Subaru then looked around, seeing the discarded bodies of the wolves he had killed. He then took a look at his new title: Wolf Slayer
This title is to players who excel at hunting wolves. All stats increase by 40% when fighting beast type monsters.
'This title is very useful. Plus it's my first, so I'm rather proud of it.' Subaru thought to himself, smiling. He then looked at his inventory. He had 2 worn daggers, 34 wolf fangs, a traveler's cloak, and most importantly, a teleportation stone. He could leave the dungeon. But…
"What if I use the stone and I no longer have the option to return here." Subaru said to himself. "I've come so far, I've grown so much. And who knows what items or rewards I could get from killing the dungeon boss. I have to keep going. I have to get stronger." Subaru then pressed on in the dungeon. Though a thought permeated his brain. 'This dungeon. It could be possible it is like other time based events created by the system, like the daily quests. If that's the case, I wonder…' Subaru then realized something 'Some unknown being is controlling me, isn't it? It's trying to make me as strong as possible through daily quests and dungeons like this. And it can't be the same one that gave me Return by Death, because the system itself said it was from an outside source. But if that's the case, who?'
Subaru then looked ahead towards the shadows of the dungeon, sensing more monsters on the other side. 'I don't know if I like being a pawn by whoever gave me this, but I can't complain. I'm getting stronger, and I can feel as if most of my goals are in reach because of this system. If some unknown being wants to push me in the direction of becoming as strong as possible, I don't mind. I've been trying to do that my whole life!' Subaru then dashed and went to kill more monsters.
Subaru realized he was getting stronger as he leveled up, as fighting these monsters was becoming easier. The evidence for this was that they all now had a white label, meaning they were significantly weaker than him. He also didn't have to use his Muscle or Speed techniques as much anymore to kill them, and he was also starting to figure out their attack patterns. All the monsters seemed like they kept respawning, like any rpg video game, so he could keep killing these creatures over and over again and continue to gain more levels. There was a problem though
'Like any RPG video game, the more levels I gain, the slower the exp growth until I fight in a stronger area. I'm not gonna gain any more levels staying here, and my switchblade is not gonna last any longer if I continue fighting these creatures. Still, am I ready to fight the boss down there?' Subaru thought to himself, as he stared at a flight of stairs that led to the boss. His sense stat had increased a lot, and now he could feel the presence of the boss down there. It was strong. He took one look at his stats, and they read out like this:
Name: Subaru Natsuki
Job: None
Title: Wolf Slayer
Element: Shadow
Level: 15
Fatigue: 30
HP: 1105
MP: 200
Strength: 38
Agility: 35
Sense: 24
Intelligence: 24
Vitality: 24
Available Stat Points: 0
'Only one way to find out.' Subaru said to himself, as he walked down the flight of stairs, heading towards the dungeon boss. He walked down the stairs, and realized he was in a train station area, but before he could say anything, a large tail came after him. Subaru had just enough speed to dodge this attack. He looked up, and saw the creature. It was a giant snake, blue with orange patches on its scales. It's name label was orange, reading:
[The King of the Swamp, Blue Venom-Fanged Kasaka]
(Correct translation is actually Kasaka, not Rasaka, and I really like this name a lot)
'I can't believe after all that grinding, its label is still orange.' Subaru thought to himself. He then said, with a determined face, "So you're the one in charge here huh?" The snake let out a giant hiss, and charged for Subaru. Subaru dodged, and tried to cut the snake. But its scales were like iron, only causing the switchblade's blade to break in half. Subaru was shocked at this, and then the snake tried to attack with its tail, but Subaru was able to dodge. (I know Jin Woo had difficulty dodging Kasaka, but Subaru has higher agility than Jin Woo did)
Subaru realized his best bet was brute strength, and decided to throw the broken blade away. The snake bared its fangs, and charged again, only for Subaru to weave away, and punch the snake with a muscle enhanced punch. The snake got hit hard, and Subaru grinned, and said "Yeah, that did a lot of damage. Combining Muscle with my strength stat is the best way for me to deal damage to this thing." Subaru then saw the snake slither over, and tried the same attack again, and Subaru was able to dodge again. Subaru then tried the same attack, but then the snake turned its head to dodge, and then Subaru was hit in the back by its tail, and then was slammed into a wall.
'Of course, it's not gonna be that easy.' Subaru thought to himself as he dislodged himself from the wall. 'This is a dungeon boss, and even though this thing is a monster, it is probably smarter than all the other monsters I've killed so far. Plus it's either slightly weaker than me, or we're equal. I need to find another way to kill it.' Subaru then saw the snake come for him, and he was forced to dodge, but the snake kept coming for him. Its size was giving Subaru problems, but Subaru knew it had a weak spot. He then got an idea, and that involved climbing on top of the snake.
Subaru used Speed to dodge the snake's attacks, and then was able to get on top of the snake's neck. As Subaru was doing this, he thought 'Just like those monsters, this thing does not scare me. It hardly comes close to Elsa. Compared to the fear of dying, of never seeing my parents again, compared to the feeling of helplessness I felt that day watching Emilia's body drop next to me, this is nothing. I couldn't even do anything except become a meat shield in order to protect her.' Subaru would grit his teeth, purple electricity would envelop him, and said in his thoughts 'Compared to the big hitters of this world, I'm nothing. But I now have the opportunity to get stronger, and I will not waste it. I will become stronger!' Subaru then reached the snake's neck, and clamped down hard using his high strength stat and muscle in combination. As he did this, the snake's scales were damaged, and blood was coughed out from the snake's mouth. The snake in retaliation cried out, and thrashed Subaru into walls and the ceiling multiple times. Subaru would continue to hold on though, and just continued his iron like death grip on the snake, hoping to choke it to death.
'This is where investing so much into strength is gonna pay off. So, you stupid snake, die!' The snake kept thrashing, but was slowly losing steam. 'Die'. The snake continued to lose steam, losing the fight it once had at the beginning, and was very close to death's door. Subaru then decided to end it right here, and clamped his grip down even harder, and screamed "DIE!" and then the snake's throat was completely crushed. The snake then died there, its body limp, collapsing to the ground, causing a huge dust of smoke to appear as it impacted the ground. When the smoke cleared, Subaru was sitting on the ground, near the snake's head, breathing heavily.
"I guess this…means I really have… gotten stronger." Subaru said, breathing heavily. That fight had taken a bit out of him, but he won. He then got some notifications:
You leveled up!
You leveled up!
You leveled up!
[Notice: You have defeated the King of the Swamp, Blue Venom-Fanged Kasaka]
For defeating the dungeon boss, you have received the following rewards:
Kasaka's Venom Fang
Kasaka's Venom Gland
Subaru would then look at the new rewards, and was shocked and happy for getting a new dagger. The Kasaka Venom Fang was of higher quality then the switchblade he used, and also had some unique effects, such as 'Bleed', which caused a target to lose a percent of hp every second, and 'Paralyze', which paralyzed an opponent for a certain amount of time. These two skills were extremely useful.
The other reward, the Kasaka Venom Gland, was a bit tricky. It would give Subaru a 20% physical damage reduction, but at the cost of -35 to his strength stat, which was nearly all of it. Subaru decided he would tuck this reward away for later use. He then got another notification, which read:
Congratulations! Your Blade Arts Skill has leveled up from Novice to Intermediate Novice!
Subaru blinked, and was both happy and surprised his Blade Arts skill had leveled up now, as he had been killing monsters for what seemed like an entire day and his skill had not leveled up at all until now. Subaru then figured out why with the following pop up message:
Unique Skills will not level up until after dungeon completion or after Player has fallen asleep after training or fighting with a blade.
"So I have to wait for the unique skill to level up. That's kinda lame, but I guess it's because unique skills are very rare and powerful." Subaru said to himself. He then realized he needed to find the nearest exit, and then all of a sudden, a door appeared that said "Exit". Subaru then opened the door, and the next thing he knew, he was in Beatrice's room.
"What are you doing in here, I suppose?" Beatrice asked. She had been annoyed at the times Subaru could find the right door, but got over it, especially when he visited her to say goodnight before he went to bed. She wouldn't admit it, but she liked Subaru's company. Subaru smiled at Beatrice and was about to say hello to her when he got a pop up notification that shocked him
You have exited the dungeon. One minute in real world time has passed.
'WHAT?!' Subaru thought shocked. How in the hell was this possible? He knew he had been in that dungeon for wayyyy longer than one minute. "Is something the matter, I suppose?" Beatrice asked, a bit concerned. "It's nothing." Subaru said, before trying to think of how this happened later, as he needed to talk with Beatrice. "Now that I'm looking at you, you look different I suppose." Subaru raised an eyebrow, and asked what she meant, and Beatrice just showed him a mirror, and Subaru's eyes widened.
He looked generally the same, but he could see he was slightly more physically built than he already was, but that wasn't the main thing. He realized he was now an inch or 2 taller. 'This is insane. Is it because of my strength stat or me leveling up? Is that why I look different?' There were many questions he had, but Beatrice interrupted his thought process, saying "Seeing as how you're shocked at your appearance, I won't be able to get many answers from you I suppose." Subaru looked at her, and nodded. Beatrice then asked "Why do you look like you got attacked by wolfgarm, I suppose?" Subaru then was taken aback, but then answered "I kinda got into a bit of a training accident, but I'm relatively okay." "You would be wise to refrain from such training accidents. The half elf and those maids would not be happy if something happened to you, I suppose." she said to him. What she didn't say is that she also did not want anything to happen to him as well.
"I'll keep that in mind. I would hate to never be able to see Emilia-tan, Rem, Ram, and of course, your cute face ever again." Subaru said smiling. Beatrice's face turned bright red, and said "Betty has told you many times that she does not need your flattery, I suppose! In fact, Betty would appreciate it if you stopped all together!" Subaru's smile widened, and said "Your words say one thing, but your face tells another story entirely." Beatrice's face became even redder, before screaming "GET OUT!" She fired off magic that sent Subaru flying, but just as he was about to be sent out the door, Subaru was able to grab onto the door, and stay in the room. "It's gonna take a lot more than that to get rid of me." Subaru said grinning.
Beatrice was about to send out another burst of magic until she remembered something. "Actually, stay. There is something important I have to talk to you about I suppose." Subaru cocked an eyebrow, and then Beatrice explained "Bubby told me that you don't know any magic, despite having abilities that seem to require mana. You don't seem to know the origins of these abilities I suppose?" Subaru nodded, and Beatrice said "Bubby thought that the answer to your abilities would be in the forbidden library. So I looked everywhere, but I found nothing about your abilities I suppose." Subaru's eyes widened, and then said to himself 'Wait, she couldn't even find information about my abilities from a place called the Forbidden Library?!' "So are my abilities beyond even your understanding?" Beatrice looked annoyed hearing this, but she had to concede on that point "As much as I hate to admit it, yes. The forbidden library contains vast amounts of knowledge about our world. If there is nothing that can explain your abilities, they are beyond normal comprehension I suppose." Beatrice said.
This got Subaru thinking 'What does any of this mean? Who gave me these abilities? Was it some god? But I would have met them on my way to this world! What is going on?!' Beatrice then said "On the topic of magic, I heard your element was Yin I suppose?" Subaru nodded, and Beatrice said "Since you seem to have no knowledge of magic whatsoever, except your weird abilities, I will take pity on you and teach you yin magic." Subaru's eyes widened, and then he said "Really? You're gonna be teaching me shadow magic?" Beatrice nodded, and said "But of course. Yin magic just so happens to be my specialty in fact." Subaru decided to test this spirit, and said "Wait, so you specialize in debuffs?" Beatrice became annoyed, and said "There is more to yin magic than just these so called 'debuffs'. There are plenty of ways to use it offensively I suppose." Subaru grinned, as he realized he found the perfect teacher.
Subaru would then be told his lessons would start tomorrow, and would then be kicked out the room. Subaru was really excited, as he would now finally learn magic. He did have to wonder who gave him the system. He didn't know if it came from the god of this world or someone else entirely. However, he just knew he would play by the system's rules, and would continue to get stronger. He also had to figure out how the system was able to only cause him to waste 1 minute of IRL time when he was in the dungeon for more than one minute.
'It has to be some space time thing.' Subaru thought to himself. It wasn't too far fetched, as he was teleported to a freaking subway in a medieval environment. It was possible time passed differently in dungeons provided by the system vs the real world. Whatever the case, he was glad because that means he could clear dungeons without getting in trouble with Rem or Ram. He then took a look at his new stats.
Name: Subaru Natsuki
Job: None
Title: Wolf Slayer
Element: Shadow
Level: 18
Fatigue: 0
HP: 2220
MP: 350
Strength: 41
Agility: 38
Sense: 27
Intelligence: 27
Vitality: 27
Available Stat Points: 0
(I know Jin Woo's Strength stat was like 48, which still doesn't make any sense to me, but whatever. I would like to keep my math consistent)
'I've grown a lot, ' Subaru thought to himself. He had come a long way from level 1, and he was stronger than ever. However, it was not enough, and he still had work to do. He would continue to get stronger. He hoped that he would have the opportunity to face another challenge. Little did he know, that challenge would come not even a day later.
Subaru had just entered his 4th day at the mansion, and it was a busy one at that. First, he had increased his agility to 41 from the daily quests. Second, he had started his shadow magic training with Beatrice. And he had learned 2 spells from her. The first spell he had learned was Shamak. After using it for the first time, the first thing he had gotten from this was a magic section in his skills section. The second, was obviously a description for Shamak.
Shamak: Target becomes unable to sense where they are. Target also cannot sense the ground. Mana Cost: 75.
Beatrice had told him that a normal Shamak would be unable to sense where they are, but they could feel the ground. It seems that Subaru's Shamak was more powerful than a normal Shamak, but the question was, why? Beatrice then told Subaru she theorized it had something to do with his mana. When Subaru asked what she meant by this, Beatrice said "When I drained your mana, your mana felt different. After thinking about it for these past 4 days, I've figured it out. Your mana is far more powerful than any normal human's mana. You don't seem to have much of it, but I guess it helps balance some things I suppose." Little did she know, her apprentice's mana reserves had gone up exponentially. If she had known this information, she would have freaked out.
She then said she theorized that since his mana was so powerful, it must have made a regular Shamak more powerful. She was curious to see what his mana would do to a regular minya. Turns out, it had the same effect.
Minya: User fires stake(s) of crystalized magic. Cost: 50 MP + 1 MP for an additional stake (Limit: 25 total)
(The original minya limit was 20 crystalized stakes. Trust me, I counted. I think increasing it to 25 is good. Also, in case the description didn't make sense, the first minya shot would cost 50 mana points, then if Subaru wanted to create more shots, he would need to sacrifice an additional mana point. And his max is 25, so at most, the technique will cost him 74 mana points.)
Subaru would practice these techniques before getting back to work. And this was the 3rd thing that made today busy. Work. He had more duties today, including a shopping trip later today. However, Subaru had gotten better as a butler, and was coming along nicely. He still made mistakes, but he was definitely not the same butler he was 4 days ago. He had gone from slightly below average to average. And that was all he could ask for. Maybe it had something to do with his increased physique.
Speaking of which, he would need to find a new suit soon, because he was starting to get ripped. Like more ripped than before. Subaru theorized it came from either his strength stat or leveling up. He would have to get re-measured once again. He seems to be able to fit better in the suits provided, though they need to shrink a little. Rem, who did his measurements once again, took notice of this. And while she blushed a bit at feeling the muscles of Subaru, she was more perplexed at the growth of Subaru. How could someone grow this quickly? It was, at the very least, a bit suspicious.
Subaru and Rem would take a shopping trip, and Subaru would be introduced to the village's kids. Subaru naturally got along well with them, and was able to strike a conversation about these kids' hopes and dreams for the future, and also played with them too. Then, there was a little girl who approached him with a dog. Subaru decided to pet the dog, but then the dog bit his hand. Immediately, there was an emergency warning from the system.
Emergency Warning: The system has detected a curse placed upon the player that can prove harmful for the player. The curse will now be removed!
Curse removed!
Subaru's eyes widened, as he realized right away that dog, and potentially that girl, had cursed him. That intelligence stat wasn't just for mana after all. Subaru decided that he would have to talk with Rem about this immediately, instead of confronting Meili about this, as he knows that if he starts something right here, the situation could devolve into something worse. He didn't know how the system could remove something like this until he got this pop up message.
Kandiaru's Blessing: The Great Spellcaster Kandiaru has gifted you a special enchantment. As long as you have this blessing, you will always be healthy and strong.
-Temporary Effect: The Will to Recover: Any Damages to the Body will be restored
- Permanent Effect: Longevity. Player is immune to Diseases, Harmful Substances, Curses, and any abnormalities to your status. Regeneration Abilities will increase as you sleep.
(I didn't know whether or not to count curses as its own thing or abnormalities to status. I just went with its own thing since it is something the system can defend against, but wasn't used a lot in Solo Leveling, if at all)
'That's right, this was the reward I got from becoming The Player. I don't know why I never gave too much thought to this, probably because I was busy with saving Emilia, doing daily quests, and working at the mansion. But this Blessing is amazing. Only question is who in the hell is Kandairu?' Subaru thought to himself, before remembering something. The Kasaka Venom. Subaru decided to move away from the kids, and then drank the Kasaka Venom. Just as he thought, he was able to get the 20% Physical Damage Reduction without the -35 strength penalty due to Kandairu's blessing. This was good, as he was probably gonna be in for a tough battle ahead of him.
Subaru then met back up with Rem, and they walked out of the village, and then Subaru decided to explain the situation. "You were cursed? But you removed it?" Rem said, a bit suspicious. Subaru nodded, and said "Yeah. I seem to have the ability to sense and remove curses." Rem was a bit doubtful of this, but it wasn't as if it wasn't unbelievable since the boy had displayed unknown abilities that even Beatrice couldn't find any information about. And sensing curses wasn't unbelievable. But being able to not only sense a curse but remove it was something that was only reserved for great spirits like Beatrice, or extremely powerful individuals like the Sword Saint. "I'm sorry, but before we do anything, I will have to take you to Beatrice-sama." Subaru cocked an eyebrow, but Rem explained "Removing curses is something only reserved for Great Spirits like Beatrice-sama or someone like the Sword Saint. I don't doubt you have strength, nor do I want to think you are lying to me, but removing a curse is just something I cannot believe until I have confirmation, Subaru-kun."
Subaru was about to protest, but relented, as he realized he would have no way out of this. The two of them hurried to the mansion, and then Subaru was able to find Beatrice's room once again, and Rem explained the situation. Beatrice was a bit annoyed, and decided to check Subaru. What she discovered shocked her to her core. "Y-you really d-did remove the curse I suppose." she said, utterly stunned. Rem was shocked too, as this was unheard of. Subaru said "Now do you believe me?" Rem just nodded, now having no choice but to believe him. Beatrice wanted to ask more questions, but had more questions about the person who tried to curse Subaru. Subaru explained it was a dog that belonged to the girl, and then when he was asked to describe the dog, both Rem and Beatrice's eyes widened.
"That could only mean that the dog was a Mabeast I suppose." Beatrice said, and explained what mabeasts were to Subaru. Subaru's eyes widened, and then Beatrice explained to Subaru that it is most likely that the little girl can control Mabeasts. Subaru realized how dangerous the situation was, and realized he had to protect those children. He was about to run out, when all of a sudden Rem grabbed him, and asked "Where do you think you're going?" Subaru said "I'm trying to save that village and those kids from that Mabeast User." "Not alone you're not. It would be dangerous for you to fight those Mabeasts alone, Subaru-kun." Rem said. "The Blue haired maid is right. Even if you have gotten a bit stronger, fighting a mabeast user on your own is foolish I suppose." Beatrice explained. Subaru then asked "So is one of you gonna come with me then?" Rem nodded, and said she would, as part of her orders were to keep an eye on him, and both Rem and Subaru started to make it out of the mansion
They would meet up with Ram, and debrief her about the situation. Emilia would then appear, and knew that Subaru was up to something. So she gave him a blessing of the spirits, and then a pop up message appeared
You have been given a blessing of the spirits: For one day, your luck will increase by 5%
Subaru smiled, and thanked Emilia, and both Rem and Subaru left for the village. Subaru thought it would be easier if he used his speed to dash there with Rem on his back, so he asked Rem. Rem would look at him strangely, and then Subaru immediately blushed in embarrassment and said "I-It's not for what you think! It would just be faster if I used my Speed ability to get us there with you on my back." Rem agreed, and both went to the village.
When they got there, Arlam village was in a frenzy because the children were missing. Subaru and Rem knew the reason, and they also discovered the barrier was broken, which Rem explained was the one thing that kept Mabeasts from entering the village. Subaru realized that it definitely had to be that girl. She must have removed the barrier crystals, which allowed that Mabeast to come into the village in the first place.
Subaru was about to rush to the forest, when Rem stopped him again. "Wait, Subaru-kun. What if this is a diversion to keep us away from the mansion? You can't make that decision on your own with Roswaal-sama away." Rem said. "Then what do you want to do? Go back to the mansion, tighten up security, then let innocent children die because you are concerned about a 'diversion'?" Rem's breath hitched, but then said "I know how you feel, but this decision could prove to be too rash. And something that might get you killed." Subaru was about to retort, but he saw the concern in her eyes. Even while she was somewhat suspicious of Subaru for his growth, she didn't want anything to happen to him, as she had developed some form of a bond with him.
Subaru said "I understand your concern, but I have to go." Rem then retorted, saying "But why? You just met these kids today? Why do you care so much for them and this village?" Subaru's eyes widened, and then he closed them, and said "I know I just met those kids today, but I know those kids' hopes and dreams. Petra wants to become a seamstress in the capital. Lucas wants to be the village's best woodcutter. Mildo wants to make a crown out of the flowers from the fields, and give it to his mother." Subaru's eyes teared up as he said Mildo's dream, something that did not go unnoticed by Rem. "Meina will be a big sister very soon. And the brothers Dayne and Cain are always fighting over who will marry Petra."
Subaru then wiped his eyes and then looked at Rem with determination. "I made a promise to those kids that I would do radio calisthenics tomorrow. And I keep my promises, and make sure others keep theirs too." Rem looked at Subaru, then smiled, and said "Well said, Subaru-kun. I guess I have no choice but to follow you, since my orders are to keep an eye on you." Subaru smiled back, and was about to enter, when Rem said "There is one more thing I have to ask you." Subaur looked at her, and Rem asked "Why do you have a scent similar to that of the witch?" Subaru looked at her very confused, and Rem explained her ability to smell the scent of the witch. Usually she smells the scent and is disgusted, but with Subaru…
"So let me get this straight: you're telling me that I have an aura similar to the witch's miasma, which usually smells horrible, but with me it smells…good?" Rem nodded, and said "My suspicions of you being a witch cultist have been drastically lowered getting to know you these past 4 days, so I feel comfortable asking you this, Subaru-kun." "And what is the witch cult exactly?" Subaru asked. Rem got very angry at the very thought of them, and Subaru then immediately said "I guess they're very bad people, correct?" Rem nodded, and Subaru then asked "And I can only assume you have had a bad experience with them yourself?" Rem nodded again. "You don't have to tell me about it if you don't want to." Rem then said, looking at him with sad eyes "I'm sorry Subaru-kun. It's just not something I like to talk about. I would love to tell you, it's just hard for Rem to talk about."
Subaru then thought back to the times he shared with Rem and her sister Ram. He thought back how he felt a better connection to the twins than his friends back home. He also saw how Rem in a way was like him, a past that she felt was difficult to talk about. It was probably worse than what he experienced, knowing how isekai stories were. The one thing he knew was that he wanted to help, as the eyes she showed him were just like his. So he made up his mind right then and there.
"I can tell you have a sad past like myself, so I know a bit of how you feel." Rem looked up to him with a bit of shock, but knew that something had to have happened to him in the past to give him sad eyes whenever his mother was mentioned. Subaru then continued, saying "So, when this is over, I will tell you about my past, and then you tell me yours whenever you feel comfortable. Call it an equivalent exchange." Rem's eyes widened, and said "But wouldn't that mean you would just tell me your past while I could just never tell you my past? How is that an equivalent exchange?" Subaru gave a sad smile and said "It would at least allow me to get this burden off my chest."
Rem looked at him with a shocked expression before smiling again and said "Then I promise to tell you my past when this is over, Subaru-kun." Subaru smiled back, and said "I'll make sure you keep your promise then." "Not before you show you're a man who keeps yours, Subaru-kun." Rem said, still smiling at him. Both Rem and Subaru then walked into the forest. Subaru then said "By the way, you have a great smile." Rem then said "I'm telling Emilia-sama." Subaru then blushed and said "I-I wasn't…" Then Rem giggled, and all Subaru could do was smile.
Both Rem and Subaru made it to the children. They were still alive, but they were weak. Subaru realized it was probably from the curse, as they had bite marks everywhere. Rem asked "Can you remove the curse from these children?" Subaru then shook his head, saying "I can only remove it from myself." "Then I'll use my healing magic to comfort them. Once they're calm, we'll carry them back." Rem said. "Alright. Then I'll…" Subaru was then interrupted by Petra, who told him that her friend Meili was missing. Subaru didn't know what to do or say, until he had an idea. "Alright then, I'll bring back Meili." Rem's eyes widened "Subaru-kun, what are you.." Subaru then made a shush motion with his hand, and whispered to Rem.
"I'm gonna hold off Meili, while you take the kids back to the village." Subaru whispered. Rem whispered back "Subaru-kun, you can't handle the Mabeast User alone. You don't even have a weapon…" Rem's eyes then looked down and saw that he did have a weapon, and it was unlike anything she had ever seen before. "Subaru-kun, what is that…" "Look, I know you are confused, I get it. A lot of crazy things have happened to me since I came to this world, and I want to tell you so many things. Just let me hold off Meili, and then when you take those kids back to the village, you can help me. Then when this is all over, I will not only tell you my past, but also about where I got my powers from" Rem was about to retort, but noticed Subaru's once black eyes were glowing blue, and they were filled with determination.
"You don't know the threat Meili presents, or when the villagers will arrive. I may not be able to find you, and at worst, you may die" Rem said. "You said you could smell my sweet scent right? Follow that and find me." Subaru said. Rem looked at Subaru dead in the eyes and said "You better come back alive. You now have two promises you must fulfill, Subaru-kun. Although I don't know if this is an equivalent exchange anymore" Subaru smiled and said "I am partially putting my life and the lives of these kids in your hands, so I think we're even." Rem smiled back, and said "Be ready to answer so many questions when this is over." "And I will be ready to answer them." Subaru said, as he started walking away.
"Once the villagers come for the kids, I'll join you. Until then, don't die" . Subaru looked back at Rem, and said "I won't die Rem, because today I am… demonically inspired!" "Demonically inspired? Rem asked. "Yeah. It's the demonic version of divine inspiration." Subaru said. "You like demons, Subaru-kun? Rem asked. Well, gods will just sit there and won't do anything. Demon, they'll laugh with you until the next year about your future plans. Especially for next year! They'll laugh their heads off. So yeah, I like demons!" Subaru said, and then he ran to confront Meili. Rem, for the umpteenth time tonight, smiled because of this boy. As he ran, Rem said to herself "Please come back alive, Subaru-kun."
Subaru would then run, and he found Meili, her legs sticking out with her body buried in a tree trunk. Subaru then walked over, and said "I know you're behind this Meili. You don't need to keep up this act anymore." Meili then emerged from the tree trunk with a pack of mabeasts, and said "What is this? You saw through my charade? And you seem to have gotten rid of my curse? I hate it when my plans fall apart like this, you know. But, my mabeasts do seem to want to kill you. You must have done something to make them angry." The mabeasts howled in fury.
Subaru then brought out his dagger, and said "It's gonna take a lot more than that to kill me, Meili." His eyes were glowing blue, and he was ready for battle. A mabeast charged after him, and Subaru used observe to figure out its level of power. Its name label revealed it was a wolfgarm, and its color label was orange. Subaru charged the creature, and the battle began
That's it. I hope you enjoyed chapter 4. Now, I don't know when the next chapter will be, as my brother passed away and I will be attending his funeral next week. But expect the next chapter the week after.
A lot of questions were addressed in the author's notes, but there were still some things you might have questions for, so I will answer them
Q: Why did only a minute pass in the real world compared to how long Subaru was in the dungeon? A: I will answer you with a modified Doctor Who quote: Wibbly Wobbly, Space-timey wimey, stuff
Q: Where did you get the blessings of the spirits idea? A: It was from another fic that inspired this fic, which was Re:Level (Never) Zero. I liked that fic, but it had some issues. Though I really wish it would update one day.
Q: Are there gonna be other spells that Subaru will be able to make stronger? A: Oh yeah, big time. And not just Subaru. You all might get introduced to the Party system in the next chapter.
Time to answer one question from last chapter:
Lucian Naruto: Will Subaru learn that Puck is a motherfucker?
A: Yes! It will be a process over the 2 month time skip, but Subaru will learn Puck is a Rat. Subaru won't need his growing intellect to figure out Puck is a shithead, that's for sure.
I would like to thank Uzufer for his kind regards to this fanfic. Make sure to review for this chapter, and until we meet again, have a good day. And also, remember to tell your loved ones how much you love them. You never know when they will be gone from your life. Until the next chapter drops, see you then.