Registration, The Hard Workload, & Dangerous Encounter:
Luna stood up to place an odd crystal ball on the desk. "Alright now let's see if," She paused for a moment and noticed they didn't have enough for the fee. "I'm terribly sorry, but you do not have enough for all three of you to register with the Guild just yet." She informed them feeling a little bad for their situation.
"Oh man, just when I thought we had a break we still come up short in some way or the other." Kazuma complained.
Maximus approached Luna and leaned upon the desk with his most charming look on his face. She stood there wondering what he was going to do or say. "You know I couldn't help but notice those big, gorgeous, luscious golden eyes of yours. Has anyone ever told you how they can catch the light of the golden sun at the right time and angle?" He said to her.
She felt a little relieved about what he said thinking he was going to mention something about her chest like most of the men would. She found herself being entranced by his presence and his words. Maximus noticed that she was beginning to blush a lot and she momentarily looked away innocently.
"Come on doll, I'm sure you can allow a special discount for the three of us for what I did in service to the Guild Hall earlier. Will you allow this to happen for me, I promise I will make it up to you later." Maximus said gently pressing his hand on her chin and motioned her head to look upon him again.
"O-o-okay, I can do that for you. Besides it's the least the Guild can do for you considering what you did for it." She struggled to say feeling his graceful touch and her nerves spiraling out of control.
"Man, Maximus is a natural at swaying women to do what he wants. How is he doing that?" Kazuma wondered as he tried to study what had transpired before him.
"If she thinks she can get a head start at winning him over, she has another thing coming. Maximus is mine and no one else's. I will not allow anyone get in my way to bring all the followers in worshiping me." Aqua glared at Luna with anger and jealousy mounting up.
Maximus took a step back still having his hand on her chin and slowly glided it away from Luna. She couldn't help but wanting his touch to stay on her chin a little longer. She quickly stopped what she was doing and proceeded.
"Okay, all you have to do is place your hand over the ball and you will start your registration." Luna instructed them.
Kazuma jumped ahead of the two and held his hand over the crystal ball. "Alright, I am so ready to begin my quest." He shouted with joy. "I wonder what latent abilities I'll have. Hello to my new life and goodbye to my hermit status.
Some of the guys near the bar heard him screaming and began to laugh and mock him.
The crystal ball shined a dim light and the next moment the contraptions around it spun at high speeds. After it was done it shot a beam of light upon the card below it.
Once finished Luna picked it up began to read his stats on the card she was holding. "Alright, your name is Kazuma Satou; interesting name." She said reading the card further. "Most of your stats are below average, your intelligence is above average, that's good, and your luck is extremely high. I'm sorry but with these stats I would recommend you becoming a merchant than an adventurer." She informed him.
"What?! She's trying to ruin my life as an adventurer." He whispered to himself feeling annoyed. "Thanks, but I still want to be an adventurer." He replied feeling defeated and disappointed of the results.
"Ok, but cheer up once you level up you will be able to change your class for a better one." She said trying to raise his spirits.
"If he thought he was going to get anything higher than what the results say, he truly is nothing more than a dreamer. His frail small body and short frame are sure signs of a weakling. With his intelligence being as high as she claims he could pick up hand to hand combat training quickly. This means he won't have to train for too long before he could handle his own weight. At least I hope that's the case for him." Maximus said to himself. "I wonder what results Aqua will get, being a Goddess and all?" Maximus wondered to himself.
Aqua went next and the results happened much quicker than Kazuma's.
"Oh my, this is incredible!" Luna was shocked at what the results were.
Luna picked up the card and began to read the results. "Your name is Aqua and your stats show your intelligence being below average and your luck is the worst I have seen. But all of your other stats are amazingly high!"
"Does that mean I am amazingly incredible?" Aqua inquired with a confused face which began showing signs of cheer.
"No, incredible would be putting it lightly. With these stats you could start out at a higher-class level either a Crusader, Swordsman, or an Arch-priest!" Luna said with amazement.
"Since you don't have a Goddess title, I will take the Arch-priest to heal my allies." Aqua said feeling accomplished and turned to Maximus.
"Yes, I think that is a great idea. That class overall has a number of healing and support spells that will allow you to aid your allies. The class is so versatile it could even stand on the front lines against the Demon King's armies." Luna said with amazement.
The Guild members all began to cheer for her after what they all heard.
"She's trying to steal my thunder!" Kazuma said to himself and remembered that Maximus hadn't gone yet. "I get the feeling he is going to be amazing as her. This sucks so bad."
Luna turned her attention towards Maximus and everyone piped down waiting for his results. They all whispered to each other as though they were making bets of various kinds.
"Hey, want to wager his strength is max?" A man with a Mohawk said.
"That's kind of obvious, how about he will have only average stats for the rest of them." The man next to him said.
"You're on." The Mohawk guy quickly shot back and many more joined in on the bets.
Maximus held his hand over the crystal ball and a brighter light radiated the entire room and everyone braced their eyes.
"That has never happened before." Luna picked up his card and was extremely shocked by his results. "This is quite the finding," She paused for a moment quivering after seeing the results. "I know the ball never lies, yet this is the highest stats I have ever seen for a new adventurer. Your name is Maximus, such a strong name, and your stats are all extremely high. You and Kazuma have the same level of luck, but everything else is nothing short of incredible. No, that's putting it lightly as well, you are as if perfection itself!" She declared.
Everyone began to cheer for him, more so than Aqua and Kazuma combined.
"Dare I say you would be the more likely to defeat the Demon King and his armies. Not to mention who would have guessed that two people in one day could start off with such high stats and high-class levels." She finished saying.
"Let's hear it for Aqua and Maximus, the "Duo who will defeat the Demon King!" One person shouted. The rest of the room began to cheer for the two of them. Aqua quickly stood by his side her arm wrapped around his and waved at everyone.
"Thank you for all of the praise, you're all too kind." She said with an accomplished feeling.
Luna kept her eyes focused on Maximus who was lightly smiling and waving to everyone. "He is strong and bold when he needs to be as evident from what happened earlier, then be kind, gentle, and charming the next moment. Seeing the display of his strength earlier and feeling his gentle touch moments ago," She paused for a moment to hand him his card and he winked at her with a thumbs up. Luna responded with a starstruck look in her eyes and at the same time began to blush extremely noticeably. "I want to marry that man." She said to herself and began thinking about that event.
After everything settled down and all were back to their usual daily activities Maximus and the others were standing by the same table as before.
"Alright let's go on a quest you two!" Kazuma shouted with joy.
"Hold on," Maximus said shooting down Kazuma's excitement. "We only have fifty-thousand Eris left. True Luna was able to persuade the Guild to cutting the price of admission in half, however we can't go barreling out into the wild right away. From what information and tips everyone gave me earlier, even if we were to buy ourselves the basic gear, room and board at the local hotel, and meals we wouldn't even have enough to last us but a few days. Which means we're going to start this adventure by getting a job." Maximus explained.
"If it's not one thing, it's something else entirely." Kazuma said feeling depressed.
"So, we're going to get a job huh, I think I can work with that. So long as you are by my side, I will do everything to please you, even working hard for a living." Aqua said pressing herself against Maximus' and her arms wrapped around his right arm. "I will not lose you to that little tramp, Maximus and I are meant for each other." She said to herself.
She began to think about herself with their first child in one of the temples she is worshiped at receiving gifts and praises. She also imagined her same image being engraved on stone statues all across the land and the world beyond.
Maximus turned to look down at Aqua seeing the near identical star struck eyes Luna had for him. "What are you doing?" He inquired feeling annoyed.
She showed no signs of responding or recognizing as she was still thinking about that possible future.
"So, what are we going to do then, how will the three of us make any ends meet?" Kazuma inquired with a panicking tone beginning to mount.
"I do remember hearing about random jobs throughout the town when I first was walking towards the Guild Hall. We can work for a time until we have enough to buy some gear. As for rooming, we may be in luck with the local hotel. I suggest we head over there now to reserve our rooms. Another guy told me that they may give us a discount, but there's no telling the price per day. So, we'll have to take that in strides." Maximus informed them.
Aqua was still mesmerized by her ultimate goal of having the entire world worshipping her and still attached to his arm. He was feeling annoyed even more when he looked upon her once again. He stood up and she instantly mirrored him.
"Ok, you can let go now." He said.
"Huh, what are we talking about?" She asked feeling lost.
"He said you can let go of him now, can't you see you are bothering him. What is with you by the way, you've been acting all weird with him for the past hour, ever since he threw those guys out." Kazuma explained.
Aqua quickly shot an intense and evil glare at him. He leaned back with his hands up scared of what she might do. The next moment she realized she was being too clingy and released her grasp from him. Maximus began to massage his arm sensing feeling flowing back. The three of them headed to the hotel to see what rooms were available.
They arrived at the hotel and approached the desk to inquire about a room. To their misfortune they discovered there weren't any rooms available and left feeling down and disappointed. They proceeded to find work in the town that involved construction work. Their first day was helping with the wall. Kazuma struggled to keep up with the intense workload while Maximus seemed to breeze right through it. Aqua was just carefree in her duties and didn't mind sweating hard as she was trying to get Maximus' attention.
Later that night the three of them were able to pig out at the Guild Hall with the large amount of money still left over. They all agreed upon Maximus hanging onto it since he looked the less likely to be picked pocketed from. They were enjoying themselves when one of the guys approached them. Both Aqua and Kazuma feared the worst as Maximus kept his gaze upon the man. Aqua had attached herself to Maximus' arm and Kazuma hid behind him. The next moment the guy smiled with a drink in his hand and they all began laughing and drinking the night away.
After they left both Aqua and Kazuma regurgitated from drinking too much. Aqua's vomit, strangely enough to Kazuma and Maximus' disbelief, was white with various colors. He helped her hold back her hair and once finished the three of them headed for the stables. They were told earlier it was the only place that had room. Maximus was disturbed by the news that nowhere in the entire town had space available and Kazuma shared the same reaction.
Maximus convinced the farmer to let them stay for free in exchange he helped the farmer with the chores. There were only two stalls left empty with the others having horses in them and one other man. Aqua had declared she would only be in the one Maximus was going to sleep in. She blurted out her reason by mentioning what Maximus had told her before they entered the Guild Hall. Kazuma was feeling a little jealous that he was getting all of her attention.
The next morning, Kazuma left to work around the city once again and repeated the same events as the day before. Maximus stayed at the farm to assist with the various chores. Aqua decided to stay with him and mostly sat around admiring him. Later that night they returned to the Guild Hall for dinner and eventually returned to the stables. The farmer was waiting for them and approached Maximus.
"Excuse me Maximus, I was wondering if you could do something rather important for me." The old farmer said to get his attention.
"Certainly, how can I be of use for you in payment for our stalls in the stables." Maximus replied.
"I was wondering if you would be so kind as to watch over my flock for the entire night. Some wolves were spotted some distance from here earlier today and I,"
"I could easily do that for you old timer. Besides it's the least I could do for you." Maximus said to him before he could finish. "But there is one question I have to ask; how is it there are wild animals about? I thought they were driven out of the entire area due to another adventurers involvement." Maximus inquired.
"I don't know why but something has been driving them back of late. Well I'm going to turn in for the night, be safe and if you kill any wolves you should take them into town. There is a man who will give you one thousand Eris per wolf." The old farmer said. He handed Maximus his bow and arrow and a short sword then walked back to his house.
Kazuma and Aqua both were ecstatic and agreed to join him despite being hungover and about to pass out. Kazuma quickly took the sword making Maximus annoyed and he took the bow and arrow. He instructed Aqua to stay near him until it was over.
Not even an hour had past and both Aqua and Kazuma were passed out from their hangovers. Maximus felt even more annoyed and thought them to be stupid to take the job. He sat them up against the barn wall next to him. He would periodically check in on them to ensure they were safe as he made his rounds.
Later that night Maximus approached and began to quickly wake them up. They were slowly rising from their sleep when the two heard heavy footsteps approaching the barn. Maximus had already rounded up the various animals into it after hearing the large creature for the first time, minutes ago.
"What is it, what's going on?" Aqua asked as she rubbed her eyes and began to yawn.
Maximus quickly covered her mouth from making too much sound. "Shh, I'm trying to listen further." He whispered.
She noticed his gaze was toward the directions of the heavy stomping. He turned back for a split moment and within his eyes she saw genuine fear. Both Kazuma and her began to quiver in fear hearing the steps and the heavy breathing. The creature's growl was low as to not give away its position. The three of them were unsure as to what beast was lurking within the cloak of darkness that covered their surroundings.
"Kazuma, how good are you with the bow?" He inquired keeping his voice to a whisper.
"Your kidding me right, I couldn't be able to use one let alone know how to." He whispered back.
Maximus turned to Aqua and she shook her head to the sides.
"The two of them are useless in this situation, so much for support." Maximus said to himself.
The next moment a pair of great big yellow eyes appeared just beyond the range of light produced by the fire. Maximus kept himself in front of the light to judge how large the creature was. For the moment he could only make out the eyes and the outlines of what looked like a lot of hair circling around them. He thought of it as a mane from a lion.
Slowly his eyes were slightly taking in the rest of the creature's form. It's body was long, nearly ten feet at least in length. The three of them heard the flapping of wings and the low growl once more. Maximus took hold of the torch and threw it at the creature. The creature's body was completely visible by the light, revealing its identity, the last piece of evidence that gave it away. Maximus saw the face of a man upon the creature.
Kazuma immediately recognized what he saw. "No way, that's a Manticore!" He said feeling petrified.
Maximus barely heard him and was unfamiliar of the name and wondered about the creature. He quickly grabbed hold of the bow and arrow to let loose a quick shot. The arrow soared through the darkness towards the creature. He instantly picked up the sword and charged after the beast. The arrow found its mark, twisting into the neck, but was unable to puncture the creature. The hair within the mane was too think and it hung there harmlessly. Before the creature could react, Maximus had already swung the sword to aim for its eyes.
The Manticore swung its tail after him and Maximus barely reacted in time to avoid the scaly whip. He had just seen what little light from the fire to warn him of the danger. He raised his sword to deflect the strike and continue to thrust forward. His sword found its mark and dug into the side of the beast.
It roared in pain and swung its right front paw at him and struck Maximus before he could react. The blow was a powerful one that sent him falling back. He heard the sound of his clothing being torn and barely felt the claws nearly hitting his skin. Maximus fell on his back and rolled to his right the moment he touched the ground. He got to his feet immediately and saw his foe turning to chase after him.
Maximus rushed after it, knowing full well it was not the wisest choice, yet he knew he needed to protect his party members. The moment he was next to it he threw multiple combos of punches and kicks all around its body and upon its face. He continued to move the moment after his strike hit there target. His powers were beginning to develop and soon his aura was visible for the others to see. After a full minute of fighting Maximus slammed one last blow striking just underneath the nose. The force broke a large sliver of bone and it pierced the brain, killing it almost instantly. The Manticore fell to the ground lifeless and the rumbling sound of its body hitting the ground echoed throughout the area.
Both Kazuma and Aqua's gaze had stayed fixated on his battle against the massive creature. They had been entranced by the way he charged boldly after it.
Shortly after the fight the light from his aura was diming down and Maximus was controlling the rage of his demonic side originating from his Nephilim's powers. His powers were already filling to the brim of boiling over and he could feel himself nearly losing control.
"Breath, breath, keep it contained. Don't allow yourself to be enveloped by its power." Maximus said to himself trying to hold it all back. "I see a big difference without the Gauntlets of the Archangel, Zadkiel, being in my possession, I might have lost myself a lot quicker when fighting back on my home world, Lorin."
After it was over, he finally forced himself to curb his demonic rage and was back to how he was before the fight. Aqua and Kazuma still reframed from talking to him sensing the ominous power from him. Maximus approached the two and glanced down at them.
"Are the two of you alright?" He inquired of them.
Kazuma nervously nodded his head with a frightened look upon his face and Aqua was still staring at him with an amazed look on hers that was trying to hide the fear within her. She had sensed the demonic aura from him and was unsure how to react.
"When he said there was a curse upon his entire ancestral line, I should have been more careful and looked into it a little more before granting him that relief. Did he have a demon for an ancestor at one point in time and that was why there was a curse to keep all of them from reaching their full potential in terms of power?" She wondered to herself.
Before she could inquire more from him the old farmer arrived with several men from town. They all immediately saw Maximus standing before his party. They soon saw the shock and fearful gaze Aqua and Kazuma had on Maximus.
"What in all the heavens was that sound minutes ago?" The old farmer inquired.
"Hey, look over here." One of the men shouted to get the others attention.
They all turned to see the Manticore lying lifeless on the ground in front of the fence. Several were in disbelief after seeing multiple impact indentions upon the creature and the sword. They all turned to look upon Maximus and when they approached, they saw the heavy bruises on his knuckles.
"No way, did he just kill a Manticore with his bare hands?" The farmer asked out loud with a sense of amazement.
The first light was soon to peak over the rolling hills and everyone congratulated him from saving the farm. Maximus and a few others placed the beast upon a handcart and helped him roll it into town. He was told there was a place to take it and sell its meat and hide for a bountiful price considering its rarity and prestige nature of it. Soon rumors of his deed began to spread around the town like wildfire and everyone was willing to give him a celebration.
Maximus and the other two were at the Guild Hall having a feast and enjoying a relaxing day. Kazuma couldn't help his jealousy be out of control as he sat there watching everyone give Maximus praise.
"Oh, look it's Maximus, he's so brave to take on a Manticore with his bear hands and win, blah blah blah." He said to himself as he continued to watch what was transpiring before him. "If I had his strength or at least a good portion of it, I would be just as amazing as he is."
The day continued on and despite the great accomplishments Maximus was still unable to find a place for them to stay. They went back to their stalls at days end and repeated the cycle as before. On the fourth night Kazuma was lying down in his bundle of hay about to fall asleep when he shot up screaming. "God damn it!"
Maximus heard his cry and took a moment to see what the commotion was about. "Kazuma, is there something the matter?"
Aqua had walked up to his stall rubbing her eyes feeling burnt out from working earlier. "What's the matter, do you need to go pee or something? If so, can't you get Maximus to walk with you?" She took a big yawn and began to act as though she was having a hard time standing up and leaned against Maximus, wrapping her arms around his.
"This is so not fair; I did not sign up for this at all! Tomorrow the three of us should go on a quest instead of working our butts off only to come back and sleep in this stupid barn!" Kazuma shouted.
The next moment there was a loud bang against Kazuma's stall wall. "Hey, why don't you put a sock in it and go back to sleep, I'm trying to get some rest here!" A man shouted.
Kazuma began to panic thinking the guy would walk out on him. "Uh, I'm sorry, I'll keep it down I promise!"
"Alright, tomorrow we'll go see what's available and take one. We have plenty to buy suitable gear and equipment for such a thing." Maximus said. "It's just very disheartening the equipment we will most likely need is so expensive. This would make it hard for anyone to go on quests. Even for a beginner's town for aspiring adventurer's, this is insane. It's no wonder many stay behind for so long before pushing to greater heights." Maximus said to himself.
Maximus turned in for the night after being relieved by a hired hand the farmer had to give Maximus the rest of the night off. Once he laid down on the bundle of hay Aqua took noticed and began to make a move.
"Maximus, I'm feeling cold, would you kindly let me lie next to you to keep warm?" She asked him in a kind manner that he hadn't seen her do before. "This is it; this is my chance to get him to start caring for me and soon after that,"
Before she could continue with her thought, she felt Maximus' large coat fall on top of her. She sat up and noticed that he had covered her up.
"Here you go, this should keep you warm for the night." Maximus said.
Aqua was disappointed he didn't join with her in the hay. She was about to snap at him but noticed he was fast asleep sitting against the wall. "Resist all you want; I will see my plans through no matter what." She said to herself.
The next morning the three of them headed into town to begin their first quest.
