The Thankful Welcome, First Meetings & A Bet:

Maximus was not surprised that a few people had been fighting as they had all stopped to see who had caused another commotion. Before the two were three unsavory looking men with a young boy in a green and black track suit. The three of them showed signs that they had been in a brawl with the kid. The young lad was limp and nearly unconscious with bruises upon his face. His left eye was swollen and his nose was bleeding profusely. He saw a young woman with blonde hair lying on the ground with a large bruise on her right cheek.

Maximus had a death stare focused upon the thugs in the hall and was upset that not a single person was helping the boy out. He and Aqua walked up to them and he continued to stare them down. He noticed that Aqua was still by his side and turned back to the closest one to him.

"So, three big strapping and disgusting mongrels against one helpless young boy, who looks as though he's a beginner adventurer. What could the problem here be I wonder? He either must have done something so heinous to that young lady on the floor that it takes three of you to hold him down or," Maximus paused for a moment raising his left hand pointing to the ceiling. "The three brave mongrels are asserting their dominance in order to solidify their seats as number one and considering that no one else is doing anything about it I believe you might hold some sway over this Guild Hall." He finished.

The three of them dropped the boy and walked up to Maximus.

"What's it to you anyway, you looking to start some trouble with us? Because the way I see it we run this guild and will welcome whoever we want to. Now if you are wanting to join our little club, then you better forget about it." The thug said smiling with his awful decaying teeth showing.

Maximus quickly sized up the three thugs.

"Listen, I have had a rather emotional day. So, whatever your bad blood is boiling up within you, and I'm very well sure it's unfounded, I would appreciate enormously if you leave this town in peace and never return here ever again." Maximus said with a smile and tilted his head.

"You better get out of here fella or you will get hurt." The thug said with a sinister tone.

Maximus nodded his head and step back away from them. "Very well then, since you insisted."

Both Aqua and he took another step back when one of the thugs grabbed her arm.

"Hold on, we never said that you can leave." He said laughing.

Maximus instantly grabbed the man's wrist. "I insist you let the woman go or that hand will never touch anything again." He said with an intense gaze that was starting to make the man feel unnerving.

The other two men grabbed his shoulders and before they could continue Maximus squeezed down on the wrist, crushing it with extreme ease. He pulled Aqua close to him, wrapping his right arm around her and lifted her off the ground. He dipped down and spun to his left ducking underneath the arm of the thug on his left. He effortlessly moved him out of the way for Aqua to pass by unharmed. He grabbed hold, with his free hand, the man's jaw and maneuvered his right leg behind his opponent's legs. He then threw the man down to the ground landing headfirst onto the cobblestone floor. The crunching crack of the back of his head echoed loudly.

Maximus quickly swung his left arm back and slammed it against the other man's neck. At the same time, he positioned his left leg behind the man and threw his body to the ground. The thug landed on his head and the same echoing sound filled the large room. Maximus finished facing the last of them who was still gripping his broken wrist. To everyone in the room it had all happened within an instant.

Maximus pointed at him with a lifeless stare that made the man shiver in fear. "Get out of this town and never return."

The man quickly ran out of the open doors screaming as though he had seen a ghost. The people within the Guild Hall began to cheer for him. Aqua was feeling dizzy and was unaware of what was going on. He let her go and helped up the young woman and the boy to sit on the stools near the bar.

"Thank you so much mister for your help, if not for your intervention this young boy might have met his end." She said feeling grateful for him.

Maximus took in her outfit and noticed she was wearing a revealing shirt and short shorts.

Maximus nodded and gave her a thumbs up and she replied mirroring him. She continued on with her day as she headed back to her desk to the left.

"Oh man, so much for me getting a lot of attention to start my adventure. Why did I think to spout out that nonsense of taking on the Demon King and become the "Mightiest Adventurer of All Time" crap? I should have known something like that could happen to me. Punks like those guys always pick on the losers." Kazuma said out loud to himself.

"Hey kid," Maximus said to get his attention and grabbed his shoulder. "How are you holding up?" He inquired of the young boy.

"I'll be fine in a little while; I just need to rest." He started to fall to the side.

"Whoa, don't fall asleep on my buddy." Maximus said holding him up. "Tell me what your name is and how many fingers am I holding up."

He looked up and saw Maximus spinning around in front of him. "My name is twelve and you have Kazuma fingers up." He said with heavy eyes and a stupor tone.

"Can anyone heal this boy before he falls asleep!" Maximus shouted to everyone and instantly a mage approached. "You need to heal him quickly or his concussion will grow worse." He ordered the mage.

"Right, heal." She said and after a few moments he was completely healed of his injuries and his mind returned to normal.

"Kazuma, how is your vision?" Maximus inquired.

"Wait, how do you know my name and you have two fingers up this time. What just happened?" He inquired of everyone.

"You got your head rocked pretty good and hard kiddo." One of the adventurers said.

"So, what shall we do about these two punks?" Another asked.

The two men Maximus had dispatched were lightly twitching and there was still life left in their eyes. Maximus approached and grabbed them by their arms. He walked toward the doors dragging them behind him.

"We get rid of them properly," Maximus said and paused for a moment to turn to another adventurer near him. Aqua was still at his side making sure to follow his earlier instructions. "How far is the nearest gate from this location, be exact."

"It's about six hundred meters to the east gate from here. Why do you want to know?" The man asked.

"Because of what I am about to do." Maximus replied. He looked out the door and began to judge his strength earlier. "My strength is far more than what I first thought when fighting those thugs, not to mention my speed is quicker as well. I know this isn't what I normally am like, however I need to master this as quickly as possible and this is the perfect setting for now." He said to himself.

"So, what are you going to do with them?" Aqua inquired of him.

"This angle will do, now let's see how far they can fly, step back Aqua." Maximus said.

The next instant he took a step forward pulling his right arm back and thrusted it forward. The first body was launched with such force and speed that rivaled a falcon's speed when diving down on its prey. Maximus took another step and launched the last man towards the gate. Near instantly both bodies landed far past the gate that happened to land on the third thug escaping by horse. The force of the impact rivaled a boulder falling from the side of a mountain.

"I wonder how far those two flew just now?" Maximus said massaging his wrists.

Everyone was astonished at what he could do. Aqua couldn't help herself but keep her gaze upon him. He stood there so tall and defiant looking with his gaze focused in the direction he threw the two men. She also felt more drawn towards him than before.

"He's definitely the one who will defeat the Demon King and release these people from his torment." She paused thinking for a moment before continuing. "I want his babies," She blurted out barely over a whisper.

"What did you say Aqua?" Maximus asked not catching what she said.

"Uh, uh, nothing just saying that you are very amazing and so strong. I mean you were great. What were we talking about again?" She panicked trying not to sound so obvious but was failing miserably.

Maximus laughed a little as she approached him leaching onto his arm. She wanted to inspect him closer feeling his muscles on his arms.

"What are you doing?" Maximus asked feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Just checking to see if you are injured." She replied acting immature. "Yep, you are okay." She shouted.

"Well that's just great, everyone is now praising him for what happened earlier. If I was half his size, I would have no problem handling those thugs." Kazuma stopped for a moment as he recognized Aqua standing next to Maximus. "Wh-what?!" He shouted pointing at her.

Both Maximus and Aqua turned to look at him and wondered what he was shouting about.

"What are you doing here, how did you come here, and didn't you recognize me earlier?" He shouted.

The two gazed at each other for a minute and she finally recognized who he was.

"Oh, I remember you." She paused to lean up to Maximus. "He's the boy who died so pathetically, the one I was telling you about before you appeared before me." She briefly explained and began to laugh uncontrollably.

"You know it's not funny to make fun of someone's death in public. Now then, we need to get registered so we can become adventurers." Maximus said and proceeded to the nearby desk to gather information on where to register.

"Wait, he didn't laugh at me like Aqua was doing?" Kazuma said to himself. "Wait up, I was wondering if I could join you and maybe the two of us can form a party. I'm sure it could be beneficial for both of us. I should let you know that I know a thing or two about being an adventurer."

"Don't you mean the three of us? Also, why should we bother about letting you join us, what possible thing could you contribute to our party?" Aqua asked with a snotty superior tone.

"Look I know how these adventuring things are handled. You register with the guild, find yourself a place to stay, get equipment, and start going on quests. I could give you pointers about all of this." Kazuma explained.

"Alright, in return I will teach you how to defend yourself so that next time you won't need to rely on someone else to save you." Maximus said.

He turned around to face Kazuma and Aqua was surprised he would let him in. She was going to protest but decided it would be best not to.

"That will go double for you Aqua." Maximus said looking over in her direction.

"Huh, why should I have to learn how to fight? Isn't this kind a thing something you two should have to worry about? I'm a Goddess after all, I shouldn't have to fight anyone. Everybody should be bowing before me, worshiping me, and spoiling me rotten!" She protested.

"You will learn this whether you like it or not!" Maximus snapped at her and she quickly stopped pouting.

"Well, how about we get to registering with this guild and get underway." Kazuma said. "I get to learn some fighting skills before I go on my very first quest. I will eventually become the awesome guy who could take down anyone bigger than me next time. Ha haa, this is actually starting to go my way since I crossed paths with him." Kazuma said to himself with a big smile.

Maximus continued to walk up to the desk and saw the young woman from earlier.

"Hello and welcome to the Guild, my name is Luna how can I help you today?" Luna said and soon noticed Maximus.

Her gaze was fixated upon him and she began to feel nervous being in his presence. It wasn't because of his strength or his tough demeanor he was giving off. It was his gentle touch she had felt when he helped her up. She began to blush feeling an overwhelming fondness towards him.

"Are you doing ok, your not too banged up, are you?" Maximus inquired.

Her ears rang with the kind tone he had inquired about her well being and the look of concern in his eyes focusing on her.

"Uh, no, I'm fine, thank you for asking." She said casting her gaze downward feeling an overwhelming shyness come over her.

"I'm glad to hear that you are ok. I was wondering if me and my party could register to become adventurers." Maximus said.

"Oh yes, I can certainly help you with that. All you three need is the registration fee and we could get you started from there." She said with excitement meeting potential newcomers.

"Wait, there's a registration fee?" Kazuma asked and turned to Aqua and Maximus. "Hey, would either of you happen to have any money?"

"Huh, I didn't have time to grab my purse because somebody decided to bring me along without warning." Aqua said feeling frustrated at Maximus.

Maximus turned around and looked at the two of them with an embarrassed look on his face. "I had a feeling I should have taken those mongrel's purses. Oh well, I guess we are going to have to find another way to get some money." He said scratching the back of his head.

"You are so useless aren't you." Kazuma said feeling annoyed.

"Hey, don't call me… I mean the both of us useless." Aqua shot back.

"I agree with her, considering our situation you should have known there would be a fee to register to become an adventurer." Maximus snapped at him.

Kazuma was speechless for a moment. "Hey, don't try to pin this all on me…"

"Yet you claimed you had working knowledge of how this all works or were you just lying through your teeth. I usually pride myself in planning far in advance for certain situations, this was one that I was completely unaware of." Maximus fired at him standing there with his arms folded across his chest. Aqua stood next to him mirroring his posture and nodding her head.

"Well, you should have taken their money off of them so that we could have registered." Kazuma snapped back.

"That was before we had been notified of this fee. Surely you can't expect everyone to think past the unknown in a world they do not yet fully understand." Maximus fired back.

Kazuma tried to think of something clever to say but decided not to but heads with them any further seeing how futile it was.

The three of them sat at the table near the bar with their heads leaning down. The next moment one of the waitresses approached them.

"Are the three of you ready to order?" She inquired.

"No, we're going to need another minute." Kazuma quickly answered.

"Oh, ok." The waitress said and walked away.

Aqua was sitting there wondering what she could do to improve their situation. She looked up and happen to see an old man wearing religious clothing. She saw this as an opportunity to ensure Maximus would be hers.

"Well, I guess it's my turn gentlemen." She said standing up and turned to face Maximus. "Maximus I would like to make a little wager with you. Care to take my bet?" She inquired of him.

Maximus turned to look at her and wondered what she could be thinking with the childish smile that was forming on her face. "What kind of wager are you proposing exactly?"

"Oh, just that there's a member of the Axis Cult that worships me over there. I bet that I can get him to believe I am the Goddess everyone knows me as and that he will donate money to our cause." She said leaning closer to Maximus. "If I win, you will have to join the Axis Cult and pray to me three times a day, deal?"

Maximus looked over and thought that there was no way it was going to work. "Alright, you're on." He responded.

"Aren't you going to make a wager with me as well?" Kazuma inquired feeling left out.

"Silence shut-in-neet, you're not even worth betting against." She quickly responded.

Kazuma became annoyed by her reply and turned away. "Useless Goddess."

Aqua began to walk to the religious member all the while thinking to herself. "Once I get him to join the religion and worship me, I will eventually move to force him to do whatever I want. Next, I will repay his dedication by giving myself to him for one night and I will carry his seed within me. We will have a powerful child who will bring everyone back to me, the true Goddess of this world. It will be brilliant."

The next moment she remembered that he had not placed any bet against hers and turned around. "Uh, Maximus, what are you going to wager against me?" She said with her eyes closed and a smile on her face.

"I'm confident you can succeed in this endeavor." He said with his arms folded across his chest and eyes closed.

"I wonder if he is planning something just as equally detailed as my plans." She said to herself.

"You realize she's basically going to make you a slave to her whim, right?" Kazuma said to Maximus.

"I sensed that the moment her eyes first set upon that man of the cloth over there. Not to mention what she had said when I was getting rid of those thugs." Maximus responded.

Meanwhile Aqua approached the old man.

"Hello kind sir, what is your denomination? I am Lady Aqua the Goddess who is worship by the Axis Cult and I am in need of your assistance. Would you kindly donate money so that my followers and I could register with the Guild to become adventurers?" She proclaimed to him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I am part of the Eris Order. I believe the Goddess Eris is the junior to Lady Aqua. I couldn't help but noticed you and the other two were coming up short with the registration fee earlier. I will be glad to give you money and hope that it helps you on your journey." He informed her pulling out four pieces of Gold Eris coins.

She couldn't help but be shocked by his reply in believing she wasn't the Goddess.

"Think of this as a moment of fate that brought you to me. May the Goddess Eris' blessings be upon you. Oh, and you should also not pretend to be someone you are not, no matter how devoted member you are. " He said with a smile on his face.

Both Maximus and Kazuma couldn't help but overhear the short exchange and giggled for a few moments. Aqua returned to the table they were at devastated that she wasn't recognized to be the Goddess of her denomination. Her eyes were beginning to be filled with tears as her plan to make Maximus hers was falling apart before her very eyes.

"I find out that not only was he from a different order, but from my fellow Goddess' order of this world. He also recognized her as my junior and that he was kind enough to us some money." She began to cry more.

Maximus approached and grabbed her shoulders and she looked up at him with a sad look on her face trying to hold back the crying.

"Since you were able to get one of the conditions met, I believe the both of us can place a condition upon each other." Maximus said.

The moment after he had spoken to her a light of happiness quickly filled her eyes.

"Before you choose, make sure you think this through. You only get one of the two things you wagered earlier." Maximus said.

Aqua stood there for a moment thinking carefully of what condition she could place upon him. "Alright, you have to pray to me three times a day and since it's already past morning and just after noon, I believe you owe me a prayer." She said to him. "This will be perfect, he will eventually become a member this way, even if it will take a long time." She said to herself smiling inwardly.

"Very well," Maximus knelt before her and she was surprised by his actions. "Oh, Goddess Aqua, please allow our journey to be filled to the brim with much success. Amen." He said before her. Maximus stood up and took hold of her shoulder. "Now you have to do something for me."

She gulped the saliva that was forming in her mouth. "Is he going to want me to…" She stopped what she was thinking and wondered if he will have her do something that was a part of her plans for him.

"I'm going to need you to beg me for forgiveness," He paused for a moment.

"Huh, what do you mean I should be begging you for forgiveness? What did I ever do to you to warrant such a thing?" She questioned him with anger mounting in her voice and she began to shake his coat back and forth.

"Did you forget that you had me die by your hand just so that I could come to this world against my will and eventually clean up the mess you and the other Deities are too lazy to clean up yourself. So, you have to beg for my forgiveness three times a day, morning, noon, and night, until I feel like you have earned it." Maximus explained feeling his anger mounting because of her forgetting what she did to him.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I am wanting to get registered to be an adventurer. So, why don't we do that and you two can finish this later." Kazuma chimed in between them.

"There's no way I am going to beg you everyday, three times a day, just to satisfy your needs." Aqua shot at him turning around and crossing her arms in protest.

"Fine, then you will not get another prayer from me ever again." Maximus responded and walked with Kazuma to the registration desk.

"Huh, wait a minute, ok, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please will you ever forgive me of committing such a horrible crime upon you." She pleaded holding onto his coat and being dragged across the floor.

"That's not the worst attempt, but cry all you want, I won't forgive you so easily. I will make you rue your actions." Maximus said to her.

The three of them approached the desk and readied themselves for their adventure to begin once again. Luna was leaning over washing the desk and noticed their return. Her eyes turned towards them, more so Maximus and wondered what Aqua was trying to apologize to him about.

"Oh, I take it the three of you are ready then?" Luna inquired.

The three of them looked at each other and back at her to respond in unison. "Yes, we are."