A/N: I'm back guys! Sorry for the super late update. I just got the time to write this fic now that my second semester of college have ended. I will try to update as much as possible during this semester break. Anyway, enjoy!

"Wiz! I'm leaving now!"

"Alright! Be back before the shop opens okay!"

I leave the shop right after finishing breakfast. Wiz told me to get some stuff before heading to the guild. Speaking of Wiz, she got home around midnight last night and for some reason, she seems exhausted. I offer to make her something, but she declined it and head straight to bed.

I arrive at the bazaar and waste no time looking for the stuff Wiz told me to get. After a few stops at some stall, I recheck the list Wiz gave me to make sure I got it all. "Olive oil, tea leaves, cheese, sugar." After I make sure everything checks out, I make my way to the guild.

The guild has been lively as ever. I greet some of the adventurers and the guild staff that I knew, most of them are customers of the shop. Then I notice Luna also aware of my arrival. "Oh, Fajar. An unusual sight to see you here. How's work with Wiz?" She has been a customer at Wiz's, so even she knew I worked there. "Just the same as always. Actually, I'm here looking for Kazuma." I tell her.

"Oh, Kazuma just walks in a moment ago. I'm sure you can find him at his usual seat." I thank her and proceed to find Kazuma. And indeed, he's at his usual spot, enjoying his breakfast. He's alone though, no Megumin in sight. "Yo Kazuma!" I call him, and he turns around to see me. "Oh, Fajar! What's up?"

I took the seat opposite to his. "Nothing much. I like working at the shop, but I miss adventuring more. Where's Megumin?" "She's-" "Kazuma!" Kazuma almost choked on his food when someone shouts out his name. I look at the source of the voice and just as I thought, it's Megumin.

"You ready for our second explosion practice today?" She exclaims, holding up her staff. "Calm down, Megumin. It's still early. At least let Kazuma finish his breakfast first." I say, sweatdropped. "Oh Fajar! Didn't notice you there." Is she even serious? I decide to ignore that and go straight to my reason to come here in the first place. "Anyway... Mary and I will be joining you guys today. Is it okay with you guys?"

As I said that, I can swear Megumin's eyes literally glow and I can see the excitement written on her face. Kazuma on the other hand, let just say he's willing to be anywhere in the world but here. "Wonderful! Finally, I can show the beauty of explosion magic to someone who actually interested in it!" She exclaims, while the last part seems to be directed to somebody, namely Kazuma.

Suddenly Kazuma slowly lifts up his head. Clearly, he just got an idea. "Say, Megumin... Since Fajar will be following you, so there's no need for me to be there, right? Fajar can carry you back to the town." He says with a smile. Before I can argue, Megumin cuts in. "Nope, you still need to be there. I want you to rate my explosion and compare it to yesterday's explosion." I sigh in relief, while Kazuma is obviously annoyed that his plan didn't work.

"Well, I meet you later then. I need to be back at the shop. See you guys later." I leave the two and heading back to the shop.

*KO*NO*SU*BA*

The shop is empty by noon, which means there shouldn't be much of a trouble for Wiz to handle the shop on her own. "Sorry again Wiz for leaving you alone here," I say as I come downstairs after changing into my adventurer outfit.

Wiz, who is packing some sandwiches into a basket, just wave it off. "It's okay Fajar. I know how much Mary loves magic. This can be a good experience for her. She wouldn't be here long so better if she enjoys her staying here." she says.

I walk out to the shop part of the building and Mary has already waiting for me. Wiz changes her into some more suitable clothes, a long sleeve shirt, a pair of overalls pants and a boot. As I walk into the shop, Mary seems amazed. "Wow..." Right, it's the first time she sees me in my complete gear. I just chuckle at her amazement.

"Fajar, here. I pack some sandwiches for lunch. I also make some extras for your friends." Wiz hand me the basket as she enters the shop. "Thanks, Wiz. That's so thoughtful of you. Now let's get going Mary. I'm sure Megumin and Kazuma have already waiting for us." We bid Wiz farewell as we leave the shop and head to the town's gate.

Just like I expected, Kazuma and Megumin already there. As they noticed our approach, Megumin waves her hand at us. I just smile while Mary eagerly waves back. "Hey cool mage lady!" she cheers.

Megumin seems surprised at first before tugging on Kazuma's sleeve. "You hear that Kazuma?! She calls me cool!" "Yeah yeah," Kazuma reply blandly. "Sorry for making you guys waiting. Anyway, Mary, I forget to introduce you to these guys. That girl is Megumin, and that guy is Kazuma." I introduced them to her.

"He-Hello. I'm Mary." For a girl who's scared of strangers, she is doing quite well with these two. Probably because she already met them yesterday and she really likes magic so much that she face her fears.

"Hi Mary! Ready to go and experience the beauty of explosion magic?" Mary nods at Megumin question. Surprisingly, Megumin is quite good with kids. That's a bit of relief for me though. "Okay let's go! Lead the way Kazuma!" "Oi, since when I become your guide?!"

We are already far from the town, and according to Megumin, we will arrive at the practice site shortly. "Big bro Fajar?" I look down at Mary, who's holding my hand while we're trekking through the forest.

"Yeah?" "You're an adventurer too right? Are you a swordmaster like Daddy? You wear armour just like he did when he does his training." I just chuckle at her assumption. "Hahaha, I wish I am. No, I'm not like him. I am a berserker." She looks at me, confused.

"What's a berserker?" She asks. Well, it's a rare class so I'm not surprised she doesn't know about it. But now I'm puzzled about how to explain it to a kid. "Well... I think I can put it as I charge to the enemies first so it is easier for my friends to fight them." I explain to her in the simplest way possible. She listens to my explanation, amazed. "That sounds cool!"

"We're here guys!" Suddenly our conversation halt to a stop when Megumin announced our arrival. I look around the area, and it is surely far away from the town so we wouldn't get any sound complaints from the townsfolk. But the most outstanding trait of the area is the huge, old-fashioned castle on the hill in front of us. The castle look kind of sturdy, except for some obvious scorch marks on the building, which are most likely...

"Let me guess, that castle is your target," I ask, as I point at the castle even though I can already guess the answer. "That's right! The castle is abandoned and a large target for my practice. It's also very sturdy! It still stands strong even after-" "Yeah yeah. Save the explanation for later and start your chanting. We need to be back before dark." Megumin gives me an unimpressed look after I cut off her raving.

I took Mary's hand, who's still dazzled by the castle and walk to a nearby tree. "Do your magic while we watch from there. Oh, here Mary. Put these in your ears. I don't want Brad to kill me if you accidentally rupture your eardrum." I hand the little girl a pair of makeshift earplugs, which I made with a piece of cork and clothes. She takes it and put it on as I say so.

"I'll join the-" "No Kazuma! You need a front seat view so you can rate my explosion!" I guess Kazuma really regrets his life choices now. Actually, I think he constantly regrets every moment of his life in this world.

I take a pack of sandwich from the basket I'm carrying and offer it to Mary. She accepts the sandwich delightfully. I took and unwrap another pack for myself and began to eat it. "Whenever you guys ready!" I shout from where I sit. I can see Kazuma looks at me, eating a sandwich happily away from the explosion, with envy.

Megumin nods her head, steadying her staff and start chanting.

"Darkness blacker than black and darker than dark, I beseech thee, combine with my deep crimson..."

I look at Mary, and she's already jumping from the thrill. She's really into it, every word chanted, she passionately repeats them.

Magic circles start to appear around Megumin and the castle. Magical auras flooded the area. Even I can feel the immense power in the spell.

"Strike forth! Explosion!"

* BOOM *

"Kazuma~ I'm hungry~"

"You already ate two sandwiches!"

"I use too much mana earlier~"

I just laugh at Megumin's grumbles as we walk back to the town. After the massive explosion earlier, Megumin collapse from mana exhaustion and Kazuma have to carry her back to the tree we are sitting under. Mary eagerly cheers Megumin, saying things like "You're so powerful" and "That is so cool", which the latter smugly puff up with pride.

The two have some sandwiches, which in Megumin case Kazuma had to feed her, much to the two awkwardness. After we finish lunch, we head back to the town with Megumin on Kazuma's back, which bring us back to now.

"Maybe if you don't overdo it to impress a kid you wouldn't feel as hungry," I say, teasingly. Megumin just pouts while Kazuma having a hard time not laughing.

"Well, Mary is a special guest. Of course, I have to" She pause, suddenly. "You guys hear that?"

At first, I don't actually get it, but then a ruffling noise caught out attention.

We all turn our focus to the thick bush near the side of the path. Slowly emerging from the bushes are...

"Grrrrr... Rawr! Rawr!"

"Ro-Rookie killer?! Why they're here?" Megumin panicked as a pack of black, feline-like monsters emerge one by one. They have the appearance of a lion save for the dark color, but about the size of wolves. The glowing yellow eyes and menacing fangs are enough to strike fear into the hearts of any unfortunate soul to encounter them.

And those unfortunate souls are us.

I take a look at our situation. There are around six, maybe seven of these beasts around us, not counting those who might still be in hiding. Megumin is too exhausted to even move and Kazuma, although with a sword I doubt he can stand against these beasts, as their name was not just for aesthetic purpose. And there's Mary.

This leaves us with no choice but...

"Kazuma! Take Mary and Megumin back to the town! I'll hold them off!"

I let go of the little girl hand and use my power to create a pair of hook sword* on both of my hands.

"Are you insane?! There's a bunch of them! And there's only one of you!" Megumin nods as Kazuma state the obvious.

"I know that, but trust me! From the moment I meet you the only thing that I ask for is your trust. So I need you to trust me now! Just go!" My hand tighten the grip on my sword, ready for any incoming attack.

Kazuma seems troubled for a moment before he gave up. "Alright, alright! We will go. Let's go, Mary!" He takes the little girl's hand and began to move, but Mary refuses at first.

"Are you going to be okay?"Heh, good to know she's worried about this reckless idiot. " I will. Remember what I said earlier? I'm a berserker." I say smugly.

That relieved the girl even a little and she ready to escape along with Kazuma. "Make sure you come back in one piece or I'll make sure Aqua put a bar tab under your name!"

I can only chuckle at Kazuma attempt at a threat. "You got it, Leader."

Kazuma begins their escape but one of the rookie killers noticed it and try to make a jump to block them. "Oh no you don't!" I use the sword to hook the beast's jaw and whip it away from those three. The beast crashes onto a tree, and its' friends didn't seem happy.

They began to growl more furiously showing their fangs. I tighten my grip on my sword as I expected an all-out attack. One beast leapt onto me, trying to catch me off guard. I dodged and slashes its back with my sword. Another try to attack me from behind, but I duck and stab it in the chest with the sharpened back point. 'Three down.'

As the beasts see their brethren fall one by one, they began to act more cautiously around me. Now that I've seen as a threat, another beast comes out from its' hiding, and from the size of it, I assume that one is the leader. Now with a total of four of these creatures, excluding the ones that already down, there's no way of knowing which one going to make a move first.

Suddenly, one dash around me, caught me off guard. It pounces from my side and rising its paw with its' sharp claw extended, swinging it in full force. I barely manage to fend it off with my sword guard, and I almost lose my balance from the hit. I roundhouse kicked it on the face, sending it almost flying and crashes with another one. 'Damn, I really glad I put a lot of point onto my strength stat.'

I'm glad I managed to defeat two of them, but now I'm sure I just pissed off the other two, especially the leader. Then, both of the remaining beasts split up onto both sides. "SHIT!!!"

I ready my sword for their attack, unfortunately, both of them leap towards me at the same time from both side. 'Is this where I messed up?' I thought to myself as both beasts leapt at me, and time passes slower in my life...

... when I feel something switched inside me.

My body moves on its own, linking both swords at its hooks. I don't know why I did it, but it just felt natural. With the now connected sword, I swing the swords above my head, acting like a whip. The swing manages to slash both of the beasts with the crescent guard, instantly killing off both of them.

I drop the swords, and my hands are trembling. Whatever just happened, it put a lot of strain onto my body.

"Wh-What just happe-ARGGHHH!!" Suddenly something big pushes me onto the ground, and I felt an agonizing pain on my shoulder. I look around and one of the beasts already have its fangs into my left shoulder. "WHAT?! HOW THE-" I noticed there's a wound on its mouth. It's the beast that I hooked its jaw earlier.

"YOU PIECE OF- ARGHHH!!!!!" The beast put more pressure onto my shoulder, and blood already gushing out like a river from the wound. With all the strength I have left, I take my sword with my right hand and stab it in the eyes. The beast howls in paint and let go of my shoulder.

I immediately retreat from it and ready for any incoming attack. The beast stares at me, growling with fury. I don't have much energy left and I don't know how to defeat this one. My left hand is out of the question to be used, and I can barely lift my right hand. I glance at the wound on my shoulder, and it is far from healing. "Dammit! Rapid healing my ass!" I cursed under my breath.

For a moment, none of us makes any move. Both of us are already severely injured, and the beast for sure didn't want the same fate as its brethren. Suddenly, the beast pounces, determined to avenge its pack or die trying. As I make my own move, my legs betray me and refuse to move. I trip on my own leg and fell as a result. " Shit! "

My face meets the ground, and I can hear the beast inches closer towards me. I am already too exhausted to move as I close my eyes, accepting the inevitable. I am ready for the hell that I'm about to receive.

But instead,

" Light of Saber!"

A voice, most likely a girl's, shouted. From the corner of my eyes, I can see it. A beam of light shoots through the beast, instantly killing it. The beast drops dead in front of me. I muster all of my strength to get up and look at my savior, but my eyes felt heavy, as I am lying in my own pond of blood. Any normal human would already be dead with this much blood lost, but I know better than I am far from normal. But that doesn't stop me from losing my consciousness. The rookie killers are already dead, and I can feel the adrenaline rush starting to settle down. At the very last moment, I heard a soft, yet panicking voice said, " Are you okay mister? W-wait, d-don't pass out now! I will get help! Hang on!" Despite her orders, my body can't hold on any longer and as her blurry figure vanishes from my sight, my consciousness leaves me.

'Ughhhhh... My head hurts...' is the first thought that crosses my mind my consciousness returned.

I try to get up, but my body refuses to move. 'Huh? ' That's strange. The last thing I remembered is that I am lying on the ground. So what's this soft thing supporting my head?

I muster all of my strength to open my eyes. "Oh, you're awake?" An unfamiliar voice speaks.

I finally I managed to open my eyes, and I greeted by a pair of crimson ones. "I'm glad." The girl said with a relief of sigh.

Wait. A girl?

I've finally grasped my situation.

There's a girl that I don't know in front of me, and my head is resting on her thighs.

"Woah!" My body, which can't even move a finger earlier, jolt up from the awkward position and shocking the girl in the process.

"So-Sorry for doing this without permission! Yo-You passed out and I don't know what to do!" The girl quickly apologizes.

Meanwhile, I'm still trying to process the situation. What with this cliche first encounter anime scene?!

"T-Then I should take my leave then!" The girl quickly gets up and starts to leave. I finally snap out of my musing as I realize she's leaving. "Wait!" Luck is not on my side, as she instantly disappears in the shadows.

"Dammit. I didn't get to thank her. Heck, I didn't even get her name." I just sigh, disappointed as I look around for my swords. I found them near the beast's remains, and I pick them up as I make my way back to the town. "Ughhhhh... My whole body hurts." I complained to no one.

After about almost half an hour walking, I finally get out of the forest. And in the distance, I saw some familiar face.

"Fajar!"

"You alright dude?!"

Kazuma, Megumin, and surprisingly Wiz running towards me. I didn't have the energy to shout back, so I just show them a thumbs up. I can see a glimpse of doubt as they glance over my exposed shoulder.

"We're worried as hell dude!" "Yeah! Where's the rookie killer? I'm recovered enough to blast them away!" "What happened to your shoulder?" "Why are your shirt covered in blood?" Kazuma and Megumin both bombarded me with questions.

"Now, now. I think Fajar can answer that later. I think it's better we get him home first." Wiz says, stopping the continuous question directed to me. I try to walk on my own, but I almost trip on my own foot before Kazuma catches me. He places my arm around his neck as he hoisted me up with his shoulder.

"You better not try to walk on your own stupid!" Megumin scold me as she hoist my other arm (although she had a hard time because of our height difference) and we walk our way home back to Axel. '(Sigh) What an exhausting day.'