The First Quest Part One:

Maximus and the other two were making their way through town to look for gear they need. To their dismay not much equipment was left. Maximus was annoyed that the status hadn't changed after being told to return to see if anything would be made or had been traded in. They were able to get a pair of used short swords for him and Kazuma. Aqua didn't see anything she liked and decided not to get anything.

"Hey, Aqua, aren't you going to grab something for yourself?" Maximus asked after seeing her beginning to walk away.

"Hmm, no, they don't have anything that would be befitting for a Goddess such as I. I'll stop by another time to see what they have. Besides, as a Goddess I will not need such mortal weapons to defeat my foes, my raw strength is more than enough." Aqua said confidently.

"I'm not so sure about that, I get the feeling that she's going to be totally useless in this quest." Kazuma said to himself not wanting to say it out loud in front of Maximus for fear he might scold him.

"I need to show him that I am capable of pulling my own weight in this upcoming kill quest. Just how he defeated the Manticore with his bare hands, I will fight with mine. Once I do, he will see me as someone who is worthy of him." She said to herself thinking about her master plan once again.

"So, what kind of quest are we going on again?" Kazuma inquired of Maximus.

"The farmer said Giant Toads are beginning to frequent the entire area. Apparently, this time of the year is their mating season and they need plenty of food to have the energy to lay their eggs. The farmer put in the request with the Guild and after discussing with him in detail earlier we only need to kill five of them in a span of three days." Maximus informed them.

"That doesn't sound so bad at all." Kazuma said and paused for a moment.

"There's more to this than what I have explained thus far." Maximus said with a concerned tone.

The other two leaned in a little closer to hear what else he had to say on the matter.

"According to the farmer, goats are their most preferred meal and it's not unusually common for farmers, young children, and even new adventurers to go missing during these times. We should take extra precautions on this quest as well, because from what I gathered some people believe the saliva they produce has a paralyzing effect. Though I rather not take the chance and find out. Also, I talked with Luna from the Guild and she said we can take the toads we kill back here for a little extra reward with the meat merchants." He finished explaining.

Aqua had an angry feeling come over her after hearing he had chatted with Luna. "That big chested harpy thinks she can ruin my plans, well she has another thing coming!" She whispered to herself turning off to the side with her right fist clinched and raised to her head.

"Huh, did you say something Aqua?" Both Kazuma and Maximus inquired of her.

"No, I didn't." She quickly turned around to face them with a carefree smile on her face.

"Alright then, I know I haven't been able to teach the two of you anything since we got here, but let's go over the details for this quest." Maximus paused and waited for them to listen. "Because they tend to hide in the forest for cover when hunting their prey, I will circle around the forest and chase them out of it. If they are susceptible to sensing danger that's beyond their capabilities, they will flee. Once you see one kill it quickly and try not to let it escape. With that said should you find yourself outmatched in any way, make a break for the town as fast as you can run. Is that understood?" He explained and the two of them nodded.

"Alright then, let's get to it." Maximus said.

"You can count on me." Aqua cheered with a smile.

"Yes, my first quest and it's going to be awesome! I wonder just how bad these 'Giant Toads' can really be, they can't be that bad." Kazuma said to himself with confidence.

The three of them marched out to the nearby forest and after they arrived Maximus began to circle it in order to chase any of the Giant Toads out.

"Alright, if I can just concentrate on focusing my aura to make my presence known to them, they will escape quickly." Maximus said to himself.

He started to focus his efforts as well as trying to seek out any prey they were after. His aura began to become slightly visible, like a mirage floating out of him and almost immediately the birds quickly flew away from his location. He waited a little longer to see if any sign of the toads would appear. The next moment he heard the loud echoing of a giant creature landing upon the ground.

"I hear you, what ever creature you are. Time to give chase and let the quest begin." Maximus said with a smirk on his face.

Both Kazuma and Aqua heard the sound of a heavy creature making its way to them. The rumble of every leap rippled into the valley they were waiting in. Kazuma was beginning to sweat and fear crept up his spine.

"Just how big are these toads anyway or did Maximus find some other giant creature instead." Kazuma wondered.

His knees were shaking uncontrollably and his nerves were getting out of control for him to handle.

Aqua seemed unfazed by the commotion that was transpiring before them. "Is he losing his nerve already, if that's the case; I cannot wait for him to see these things once they are out of the forest." She laughed to herself thinking of how he will react once he sees them.

The two had agreed on splitting up in order to not get caught together. The next moment a Giant Toad appeared out of the forest leaping into the air with all its might. The amphibian had a desperate gleam in its eye, experiencing fear as though for the first time.

Holy crap, that thing's huge!" Kazuma shouted in astonishment and began to fear for his life.

Kazuma began to panic and somehow managed to spin around and began to run away. The Giant Toad seemed to instantly switch from being fearful to wanting to chase after him. The animal was beginning to close the gap with the next leap and Kazuma almost lost his balance. Fortunately for him, he managed to quickly regain his posture and continued to run away just as Maximus had instructed prior.

Aqua stood a distance away from him bending over laughing uncontrollably at his near futile attempt to escape. "Kazuma, you should seriously see your face right now, it's totally red." She said and continued to laugh.

Kazuma turned to her direction and had an angry thought shoot through his mind. "If I get out of this alive, I'll kill her for this!"

Maximus approached Aqua wondering what she was doing and soon saw Kazuma some distance away. She instantly noticed him and turned to face him.

"Maximus, don't you think this is too funny watching him run away after all the times of him saying he wanted to be an adventurer?" She giggled out loud pointing at Kazuma.

"No, it's most certainly not funny at all." Maximus replied.

He continued to watch Kazuma for a few more moments and noticed he was doing nothing special in order to turn this around.

Maximus turned back to Aqua. "By the way, I've been thinking about something," He paused for a moment and Aqua looked up at him. "How come he doesn't have any one thing that would aid him on his journey?" He inquired.

"Oh, that's because I didn't give him anything to take with him for his journey." She answered after collecting herself from laughing.

"How come?" Maximus said feeling a little bad for Kazuma's predicament.

"He was taking too long to decide, so I just sent him on his way without anything for him to take." She briefly explained to him and turned towards Kazuma.

"Wait seriously," Maximus said and noticed she was ignoring the subject.

"Oh, Kazuma, if you really want me to save you, all you need to do is call me 'Lady Aqua'." She shouted to tease him.

"Save me Lady Aqua!" Kazuma shouted in desperation.

The next moment another toad jumped out of the forest and headed for the two of them.

"Huh, that was too easy." She said crossing her arms and wasn't acknowledging the other toad.

"I'll take this one." Maximus said and charged for it.

He quickly focused a small amount of his power and with lightning speed he appeared before the creature, burying his sword into its head. The two were amazed at what he just did.

"Maximus, that was amazing, you picked a good choice to be a swordsman." Aqua shouted out to him. "I will get you to like me more every day, I swear." She thought to herself.

The toad stopped chasing after Kazuma and turned to notice Aqua wasn't moving. She turned back towards Kazuma's direction.

"Kazuma, if you really want me to intervene calling me Lady Aqua is not all, once we get back into town you have to join the Axis Sect and worship me three times a day." She said.

The toad landed in front of her and quickly swallowed her whole before she could react. It lifted its head and she slowly slid down its throat.

Maximus had noticed what was going on and both he and Kazuma charged after the creature.

"Ugh, that idiot." Maximus grunted in anger.

With the same lightning speed, Maximus appeared before the toad, opened the mouth of the creature and with his sword impaled through the ceiling of its mouth. He quickly reached down towards Aqua. At the same moment he couldn't help but noticed her exposed buttocks and wondered why she didn't have any underwear on. He wrapped his arm around her waist and jumped out of the toad before it fell lifeless to the ground.

He gently lowered her down and saw her face having a depressed look on it. Her entire body was covered in the foul putrid stench of its thick saliva. She was on her knees crying and began to latch onto Maximus. He cringed from the smell of the toad's saliva as she hiked her hands up his chest.

"Thank you, Maximus, for saving me." She struggled to say.

"Your welcome," Maximus patted her on the crown of her head. "Next time, try to be more aware of what's going on." He said with a little concern and she took notice.

"He's actually caring for me, pretty soon he'll fall to his knees and worship me seriously instead of pretending." She said to herself.

"Look, it's clear that these things are way beyond the two of us, why don't we go back into town and call it a day while Maximus handles the rest." Kazuma said feeling overwhelmed.

The next moment Aqua shot up standing on her feet. "No, I can't go back, not like this!" She protested to Kazuma. "Besides, what will my followers think of me if they see me all covered in this stinky slime! How can my status as a Goddess be taken serious if people found out that I was bested by some lowly toad!" She explained.

Maximus and Kazuma both sighed and before they realize, Aqua was charging at another toad that was close by, roaring as she ran. "I got to make this up somehow so that I can show Maximus just how great I am." She said to herself.

"How dare you disgrace a Goddess in front of her followers! How dare you bear your fangs at us; how dare you challenge me! You shall know despair in the depths of Hell foul creature!" She shouted with anger in her voice.

The next moment a bright light ignited in her right fist that soon turned into a ball of fire.

"God Blow!" She said as the fiery light engulfed her right fist. "A devastating attack, one that carry's a Goddess fury and sorrow, whoever it strikes shall perish!" She proclaimed.

Whoa, look at her go!" Kazuma said with amazement.

Maximus stood there and wondered how it would turn out and remembered how the other toads bodies felt.

She threw her fist forward and slammed against the belly of the toad. The ripples of the blow instantly dispersed the moment she struck her foe. She stood there frozen for a moment and innocently looked up lightly giggled.

"You know, up close you're actually kind of cute." She said with a small smile forming.

Kazuma gasped from the after effect seeing that nothing happened.

"I had a feeling that a blubbery feel such as that creature's body would not be so easily harmed by any blunt object." Maximus said out loud and Kazuma turned to face him.

The next moment the toad quickly bent down and swallowed her whole.

"Oh no, Aqua!" Maximus shouted and charged after the creature.

After he freed her from the toad and slayed the creature, she broke down even more than earlier and proceeded to thank Maximus graciously once more.

"You are starting to have a knack at getting yourself into trouble today." Maximus said looking down upon her feeling sorry. "You two wait here while I go get the handcart to put these amphibians on to sell back in town. It doesn't look like anymore are coming out right now." He instructed them.

After gathering the three toads together the other two joined him and they began to return to town. The three of them were silent not even a peep was coming out of them. Maximus noticed that Aqua was hunched over feeling depressed.

"You know, if you want, you can wash up by the river before we get to town. That way you won't feel embarrassed when we arrive." He said to her.

"What, out in the open with the two of you staring at me, I don't think so!" She snapped at him with her hand pointing out at him and a stream of slime almost hit Kazuma.

Kazuma was unfazed by the slime and kept pace with a pervy thought entering in his mind. He couldn't help but wondered what her measurements were and how she would look without any clothing on. He began to daydream for a moment of the two being alone in the river. "Wait, why would I want that, she's such a pain." He said to himself.

"Oh, so you don't mind that your supposed followers will be okay with finding out you were bested by a toad and were covered in some thick icky substance?" Maximus said with a smirk on his face.

She looked back at him with an angry look in her eye and turned back walking forward. "Hmph."

"Alright, I was only suggesting that since you made such a big fuss about it after the first time you were swallowed whole. Not that it would matter anyway since no one would believe you are a Goddess to begin with." Maximus said.

The three of them returned to town and Aqua stopped by the bath house to wash up while Kazuma and Maximus proceeded to the merchants square to sell the meat. They both headed to the bath house in order to wash up before the night was over. The three wounded back at the guild for a supper.

"Oh, Maximus, I see that you have returned from your quest, did you finish it all in one day?" Luna inquired still feeling a little shy towards him.

"Not quite, we unfortunately only found three in the forest on the northeast side of town. I was wondering about the quest my party and I are on," Maximus paused for a moment.

"Oh, what do you want to know?" She inquired.

"Are five toads really enough to cull their population during their mating season?" He asked.

"Well no, to effectively quell their numbers it would be preferable to eliminate at least fifteen of them in total. Unfortunately, not enough adventurers go on kill quest like these and so, we are left with the very inexperienced to try to handle these matters. Also, it's preferable to allow higher level adventurers to these matters, but as I mentioned before no one wants to." Luna explained.

Maximus sighed feeling frustrated because of the lack of enthusiasm the adventurers have. "To think with so many of them being of higher level they would just rather sit around and do nothing. Why would they do this at all? Surely there's an explanation for this, but there's no point in wondering what it could be." He thought to himself.

"But we do appreciate your willingness all the same. Sorry that I said something to upset you." Luna said feeling as though she had said something to upset him.

Maximus turned his gaze back to her. "Oh, don't worry, you could never say anything that would upset me so easily." He began to reach into his pocket and pulled out some money. "By the by, here is the rest of the registration I said I would make up to you." He placed the money in her hand and she was surprised.

"Oh, you didn't have to pay the rest so soon, what about your situation." She said.

"Go on and take it, I overheard some of the higher ups saying they were talking about disciplining you for allowing the three of us to register at half off. So, I gave them a stern talking to, told them not to bother you, and promised I would pay the rest up front and here you go." He said with a smile. "Also, I must ask your pardon for putting your job on the line like that, I apologize for doing such a thing. It's not my place to act so disrespectful for others livelihood, but I did it for the young kid. He wanted to become an adventurer so badly you could see it in his eyes." He explained.

"Oh, well, thank you so much for that. I will take you up on that offer of making it up to me one day." She said winking at him with a smile and a glitter of light in her eyes.

The two waved goodbye and Maximus returned to his party members. Aqua had an annoyed look on her face as she was boiling with jealousy.

"The nerve of that heavy chested harpy, trying to steal my Maximus away from me. If she thinks she has the upper hand in this game, she has another thing coming." She declared to herself.

She stopped for a moment and remembered her ultimate goal while thinking about him. "Maximus is so gorgeous he might as well be perfection itself. Those bulky yet lean muscles, his beautiful golden hair upon his head, the strength that well surpasses one-hundred men, and those mysterious purple eyes. Not to mention his tall stature, he will be the perfect candidate in order to achieve my newfound goal."

She began to laugh a little as she continued. "Forget the Demon King, I will have him help me bring the 'True Child of Light' into this world and all will worship me once my child has defeated the Demon King. With Maximus' strength and my beautiful looks and charm, he will be glorious!" She shouted in her head with excitement.

"Uh, Aqua, what are you doing?" Kazuma asked looking at her with a confused look on his face that was moving to being embarrassed.

"I agree with Kazuma in wondering why you are standing on the bench and table in that pose?" Maximus inquired.

Aqua was so involved with her thoughts she hadn't realized she had her right foot on the bench and her left foot on the table. Her right hand was above her heart and left arm was stretched behind her at a forty-five-degree angle. Her face had a satisfying smile that quickly melted into an embarrassed look.

"Uh, nothing." She said instantly sat down and began to stuff her face with the toad meat they had ordered.

"What a dork you are. Now I'm getting embarrassed just sitting here." Kazuma said looking around wondering if anyone saw her act.

"Despite all her helplessness and silly behavior, she has a certain charm about her. She's just quite a bit unrefined and immature for someone who calls herself a Goddess. But maybe there's potential for growth." Maximus paused from his thought and soon began to think further. "Wait, did I just catch myself at the beginning of starting down a path to liking her. No way, I mean, she has great looks, a fine body, but her personality is that of a child or an adolescent teenager. Why would I even begin to fall for someone like her?" He wondered to himself.

Both Kazuma and Aqua began to discuss about the food they were eating and how much a delicacy it was in the area.

Maximus continued his thought process. "Could it be her helpless nature is causing this to happen. I mean, I can't help but feel as though she needs a lot of oversight but can that really be enough to have someone be drawn towards another. I have heard about other relationships starting because both parties were complete opposites to each other. Not to mention they both have something the other lacks. But what does she have that I don't?"

"By the way, I've been thinking that we should look into recruiting some more party members. What do you two say to that?" She inquired of them.

"It would help in some ways, but I feel as though we probably won't need it with Maximus in our party. Although, it would be nice to have one or more balanced members on the team, unlike you." Kazuma said.

Aqua stood up slamming her hands on the table in anger. "What is that supposed to mean, I am a valuable member of this party and capable,"

"You're a useless Goddess who got eaten by two different toads in one day." Kazuma snapped back at her.

"Uh, you weren't supposed to say anything. You two did swear to me you would keep that to yourselves." She said feeling worried someone might have overheard them. She turned to look behind her and saw no one within earshot. "Maximus, you don't think I'm useless like Kazuma does." She asked him with her eyes on the verge of crying and her face puffing up from the sad expression.

"I don't think you are totally useless," Maximus responded and paused for a moment. "Besides, you were able to be good bait for me to kill those toads." Maximus said without thinking it through.

"There you see, Maximus knows that I have… some… value…" She paused for a moment and let his words ring through her mind.

Kazuma couldn't hold back the laughter that was boiling to the surface and began to laugh uncontrollably.

Aqua quickly grabbed hold of Maximus' coat and began to complain about what he said. "What do you mean by that, were you using me as bait the whole time? Is that what you truly think of me, just bait for our kill quest." She continued to cry loudly with tears flowing out of her like waterfalls that never ends.

Maximus finally placed his hand over her mouth to get her attention and from making more ruckus. "Look, that's not what I meant, I don't think you are totally useless. If that were the case, you'd be unable to sustain yourself no matter what situation you find yourself in." He said.

He released her from his grasp and she stopped her whining.

"Besides, I'd say your more helpless than useless." Maximus finished his thought.

"That's pretty much the same buddy." Kazuma said to himself. "As far as the idea of adding another party member, who's even going to join up with a couple of losers like us, not counting Maximus of course?" He inquired.

"Heh, just leave it to me." Aqua said with renewed determination. "Just you wait Maximus, I'll get us a party member that is excellent for us. Someone who will balance the party out and when I do you will see just how great I am and will give me more attention. I'll overlook your opinion of me and make you change the way you see me." She said to herself.

Maximus found himself thinking about Aqua once more and noticed her determined smile on her face.

"No, don't think too much into this at all concerning her and what she may possess that I don't. I need to defeat the Demon King and wish myself back home the moment after I was taken by Aqua. From there I can get back to protecting my world from the last four Demon Lords." Maximus said to himself.

Later that night Maximus spread a blanket on top of the haystack within the stables they were unfortunately still staying in. Aqua gleefully jumped on it and was excited like a child getting a new toy. She pulled another smaller blanket over her and saw Maximus was once again sitting against the wall. She felt annoyed that he would choose to sit on the uncomfortable stone floor. At the same time, she felt admiration towards him for doing such a thing and not force himself to sleep in the same spot as her.

"Maximus," She said to get his attention and he looked up toward her. "Would you kindly lie with me; I'm feeling a little cold here." She said with a welcoming gesture. "This is it; this will begin to have him be with me more." She thought to herself.

"Aren't you warm enough with those blankets?" He inquired feeling a little annoyed.

"Yes, but I will feel much more comfortable if you are lying next to me." She replied.

Maximus sighed in frustration and laid on his back next to, but not against, her.

"Now get some sleep, we've got to finish our quest and find a new party member on the morrow." He ordered her and went to sleep.

Kazuma was peaking around the corner and felt a little jealous of Maximus but then shook the thought out of his head. "Wait, I should not be jealous of him because she is so annoying and yet so hot." Kazuma crept back into his stall and began to sleep the night away.