"LIGHT OF SABER!"

"CHAIN LIGHTNING!"

Mentally crossing my fingers that we would soon be done, if only because I had no idea just how disgusting it would be when Yunyun showed me what she had selected for our first quest, I released a sigh of relief as my companion said the words I had been hoping to hear for the past half hour.

"That was the last of them."

Casting my gaze towards the nearest mound of smoking amphibian, idly noting that it, and its 4 equally dead companions, smelled oddly enough like KFC, I allowed a satisfied smile to spread across my face at completing my first quest.

"Then lets get to the guild and celebrate. I don't know about you, but I think we deserve a little relaxation after what we went through."

My words caused Yunyun to eagerly nod her head in agreement before she reverted back to her usual shy demeanor, I couldn't help but think back to just how important this quest was.

Not just because it would give me the necessary funds, minus the eris the Luna would deduct from my reward thanks our under the counter, to start supporting my new life.

But also because it had given me a chance to better understand my abilities, while also getting used to the mechanics of this world since it ran more on Skyrim and Diablo characteristics than 5e.

My spells were powered by my mana reserves, which thanks to my guild card I knew they were quite high. However, they somehow appeared to somewhat follow DnD rules, with my ability to cast high leveled spells still limited by how many 'slots' I had left.

But I had high hopes that increasing my MP the next time I leveled up would increase how many times I could cast these spells between long rests.

Not to mention that I was also looking forward to seeing if I could do something about my physical capabilities.

Having the ability to cast magic was a wonderful thing. But I didn't intend to remain a glass cannon for the rest of my life.

"Yo…you know, since you did technically do the most work, I..I would be happy if you take most of the reward."

Pulled out of my musings thanks to Yunyun's tendency to downplay her contributions, I shook my head to show just what I thought of her offer.

"I might have been the one to do the most damage, but you were the one to put an end to most of the frogs. Especially that first one."

Allowing a slightly teasing smirk to appear on my face as I watched Yunyun's expression morph into disgust, I wisely nodded my head in agreement as she voiced her understandable position.

"Ugh. Please don't mention that. Even if I managed to avoid getting caught in its mouth, I was still close enough to smell what it would have been like if I did."

Having also caught a whiff of frog's breath, I could only agree that it would be worse if she had actually gotten caught in its mouth.

However, I couldn't help but tease her just a little bit.

"That would explain why you blasted it 5 times, at point-blank range I might add, with your Light of Saber spell. Gotta admit, I didn't think you had it in you."

….

Face turning red at the reminder that she had briefly lost her composure, though in her mind it was justified considering she had avoided a fate that went beyond just smelling bad, Yunyun could only stutter as she tried to return to the previous topic of conversation.

"An…anyway. Are you sure about splitting the reward? It…its no trouble if you want to keep most of it. I.."

"You are an equal member of this team. Which means we split the reward 50/50."

Taken back by the firmness of Sarlor's tone, the Crimson-Eyed Demon could only nod her head in acceptance.

Which earned not only a tired from her companion, but also an explanation.

"We finished this quest as a team Yunyun. While I am confident that we both could have done this solo, it would have been more difficult and would have increased the risk to our well-being. So because we both played a part in lowering the chances of being eaten, we both deserve an equal share of the reward. Nothing more, nothing less. Though in future, I do reserve the right to give you more of my share if I feel that your contributions were greater than my own."

While she nodded her head in acceptance of this argument, Yunyun couldn't help but fixate on the last part of Sarlor's attempt to encourage her feelings of self-worth.

'You…you want to keep going on quests with me?"

She had been hoping he would, but she hadn't dared to assume that it would happen considering the amount of more experienced adventurers at the guild.

But, as was becoming a common event lately, her concerns proved to be unfounded.

"Of course. I mean, it would probably be a good idea to bring in more members. Because I don't know about you, but I only intend to invest just enough improvement points into my physical capabilities to ensure that I don't collapse after some light jogging."

Giggling at Sarlor's description of his non-magical abilities, for even if he was exaggerating it wouldn't be the worse thing if he did in fact spend some points increasing his endurance, Yunyun found herself voicing her agreement with her companion.

"Well…we definitely wouldn't need to add another magic user since we already have that covered."

"And we definitely don't need someone with musical talents since I started off as a Bard. Though I will probably need some practice since it has been a long time since I played a musical instrument."

Tilting her head in confusion, since even if he had previously claimed to have musical talents Sarlor still didn't look the type to play a flute or lyre, Yunyun raised a finger to her chin as she verbally mused on what would benefit their party.

"We could probably benefit from having a thief or fighter join us. Maybe a general adventurer if they're experienced enough to not be a burden."

Frowning with more than a hint of self-loathing due to her hypocritical judgment, Yunyun was once again surprised by Sarlor's thought process.

"Honestly that last one wouldn't be too bad since sometimes having a large variety of skills is just as useful as having a limited number of highly proficient ones. However, if they lack the cunning to properly use what they have, my take is we'd be better off without one."

Nodding her head to show her agreement, Yunyun felt herself slightly fidget as Sarlor proved to be much more assertive than she was.

"Anyways, that's a decision for another day. Preferably when we've reached the point where the addition of a third party member is completely necessary. So lets head back so we can celebrate."

Pulling out her card to ensure that they had gained the necessary points to prove that they had completed their quest, noting that she had gained more points than expected, the 13 year old Crimson Demon voiced her agreement with this plan.

For after a tiring, and almost disgusting afternoon of slaying giant frogs, nothing sounded better than collecting their reward and relaxing until they went out again.

….

He liked to consider himself a reasonable person, with only simple wants and desires.

A steady source of income that was sufficient to suit his life style.

The respect of his colleagues.

And perhaps 1 or 3 girlfriends who had no issue with his healthy interest in the female form.

Unfortunately, his companions had the irritating habit of dashing his expectations.

Darkness was a gorgeous woman. With a nice body to compliment her pretty face. But her interests were far too extreme for his tastes. Even if the buxom blond crusader was more interested in receiving damage than dishing it out.

Something that was painfully evident when they could have really benefited from a fighter who could give a punch as well as she took it.

Megumin was cute in a childish way. Not that he would ever admit it since there were already some untrue whispers about him being a lolicon. And she was intelligent.

But her commonsense was nearly 0. Mostly related to her refusal to branch out her magical abilities so she could be more useful, but also because her personality gave him a clear understanding as to why so many people found his chuunibyou phase to be irritating.

But even the explosion loli, and the masochist crusader paled in comparison to the pain the ass that was Aqua.

She was undoubtedly attractive. Possessing a body that, while not as curvaceous as Darkness or the busty receptionist, was nevertheless model quality. With her short skirt giving everyone a good show whenever she ran or bent over.

But beneath all this she was little more than a whiny bra..

"Kazuma, Kazuma! I'm gonna need you to give me a couple thousand eris."

Angrily sighing at this interruption to his inner monologue, Kazuma fought to keep his irritation under control as he shot the blue-haired goddess a glare.

"What for?"

He probably already knew what it was, but for some reason he was willing to give Aqua the chance to prove him wrong.

She didn't.

"There's this really really good wine that the bar is offering for a really cheap deal. But they aren't willing to put it on my tab so…"

"So you want me to fork over some of my well-earned money to cover for something that makes you even more useless than usual? Yeaaahhh that's a no. Sorry not sorry."

While it felt good to insult the useless goddess, doing so reminded him of the gender imbalances of his party.

"YOU STUPID NEET! I WORKED HARD ALL DAY TODAY! A GODDESS LIKE ME DESERVES TO HAVE SOMETHING OF HIGH QUALITY TO RELAX!"

"She does have a point Kazuma. Wishing to enjoy a relaxing beverage after a hard day's labor is more than acceptable."

"Don't be stingy Kazuma. Better to spend your money on an evening with friends than waste it on some stupid hobby."

While he knew that it wouldn't exactly help his case, Kazuma nevertheless shot down each of his teammate's arguments.

"First of all, I already spent most of the day with you since someone has to drag your sorry ass back home after you paralyze yourself by doing the magical equivalent of rubbing one out."

Ignoring the crimson-eyed loli's infuriated squawk of protest, Kazuma turned his attention, albeit somewhat reluctantly, to the blond knight whose expression was more eager than apprehensive.

"Secondly, I don't want to hear from you about the proper way of relaxing. Your idea of a quiet night in probably involves rope, a ball gag, and probably some quickly melting candles."

Tuning out the excited moan of the otherwise perfectly attractive blond, the Japanese teenager pointed a finger at the most useless girl of them all.

"And you. You say you've been working hard all day? Well when I left, you were fast asleep, clutching a giant bottle of booze like its your boyfriend friend. And when I came back hours later, guess what? You were still asleep with TWO bottles of booze."

Even though he hated dealing with the consequences, he still enjoyed calling out Aqua's bullshit in the most destructive way he could find.

Bracing himself for the soon to be unleashed water works, which was probably the reason why she had earned the title of 'Water Goddess' in the first place, Kazuma's attention was focused onto something much more pleasing to the eye than a crybaby deity.

"Megumin! At last I have found you!"

….

While she accepted Sarlor's idea to find a table so that they could enjoy their first completed quest, leaving him to fill out the necessary paperwork of what they experienced while out in the field, Yunyun's attention immediately became focused as she heard the familiar squawk of her rival.

Her self confidence having received a much-needed boost from her companion's penchant for treating her as an equal partner, she had marched confidently over to Megumin's table before announcing her presence.

But it wasn't the confused stares of the blond or blue haired girl, or the openly leery boy, that caused her to falter.

It was her rival's reaction to her declaration.

"Who are you?"

Although this wasn't the first time, and she suspected that it would not be the last, that Megumin reacted to her greetings with an overall lack of enthusiasm, this was perhaps the first time where she pretended that she didn't know who she was.

"Yo…you know who I am Megumin! We come from the same village, went to school together. AND we are locked in a continuing epic feud to determine which one of us is the most skilled Crimson Demon."

"Yeah, that's not wrining any bells."

Glaring at her fellow Crimson Demon, who had the audacity to calmy sip her beverage while denying their association, Yunyun found her attention directed back towards the sole male of the group as he proved himself capable of being interested in more than just her chest.

"You're a Crimson Demon too?! That's brilliant! This one isn't exactly working out too well. So I'd be happy to exchang…"

"WHAT THE HELL KAZUMA?! YOURE REALLY GONNA REPLACE ME WITH THIS FLABBY CHESTED KNOCK OFF?! I"LL HAVE YOU KNOW I'M 10 TIMES THE MAGE SHE WILL EVER BE! AND SHE KNOWS IT!"

Becoming teary-eyed as a result of Megumin's decision to go from denying their friendship to outright insulting her, Yunyun struggled to think of an adequate comeback to her enraged-looking rival.

Only to be silenced by a voice that she knew was in her corner.

"I thought you said you didn't know Yunyun little girl? If you have no previous association with her, how can you make the claim that you are her superior?"

Turning her head to make sure that she wasn't imagining it, Yunyun wasn't sure if she should be afraid or in awe of Sarlor's challenging smirk since he had inadvertently provoked her rival.

"L…LITTLE GIRL?! I"LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I AM A WOMAN OF THE MATURE AGE OF 13! ONE WHOSE MASTERY OF THE MAGICAL ARTS FAR EXCEEDS THAT OF…"

"How many spells?"

….

I know I really shouldn't.

But I somehow found great enjoyment in putting this loudmouth brat in her place.

Mostly because she was bullying my extremely introverted companion. But also because I enjoyed calling out people on their lies. Something that I would probably enjoy even more in my new life since I had the potential to turn people into either animals or smoldering piles of ash.

Thus I looked forward to the answer this brat would give to my question.

If only because it would provide me with further opportunities to tear her down.

"I…it doesn't matter. I am capable of performing the most powerfully awesome spell that makes even the gods tremble. So.."

"So that means it's probably a low number. Gotta say, you're not exactly doing a good job at trying to convince everyone here that you're the superior Crimson Demon."

"Not to mention that one is as flat as a cutting board while the other one jiggles. I know which one I would prefer to have on my team."

While I had noticed that Yunyun's figure was more…pronounced, I was uncomfortable pointing this out because she was well below the legal age limit.

However, before I could give a grunt of agreement to the boy's argument, my mind was thankfully directed to a less insulting question.

"Where did you get that staff? It looks kind of familiar."

Briefly glancing at my staff of power, which in my mind had always looked like the staff wielded by the character played by a deceased actor whose later career was marked by being cast as a charismatic traitor, I felt my eyes widen as I heard a voice I honestly hadn't expected to hear again.

"Stop showing interest in another guy's staff Kazuma and give me my money."

….

Holding out her hand to accept her well-deserved offering, for even if there table had been joined by potential worshippers it was a deity's habit to let them wait until they decided to acknowledge them, Aqua felt her frown deepen as the shut-in Neet continued to be insolent.

"For the last time, use your own money. Oh wait. You don't have any money because you choose not to charge people for the one thing your good at."

Clenching her fists at that last remark, for she had told him countless times that her performance tricks were something that she would never demand payment for, adoration yes but never money, the blue-haired goddess felt her divine patience run out.

"Your such a useless Neet Kazuma! All you do when you're not being mildly useful is cast your perverted gaze on women's bodies and drag poor innocent goddesses into a life of hardship and suffering! The least you could do is support me since my presence here is because you thought I was your meal ticket."

She expected this argument to win her the support of both her party members, and the two newcomers, in her war against Kazuma's disrespect.

It was bad enough that no one voiced their support for her position.

But it was worse to hear someone indicate that he favored Kazuma over her.

"….did she mock your death as well?"

Casting a look of betrayal at the slightly pointy-eared human who would dare suggest that she was capable of such a thing, idly noting that he looked somewhat familiar, Aqua let out a squeak of indignation as Kazuma and the newcomer proceeded to ignore her.

"Actually she di…wait. You mean your also..?"

"Apparently so. May I ask how it happened to you?"

"It…it involved a pretty girl and a moving vehicle. You?

"I was in a basement when an earthquake hit."

"That's a rough way to go. Was it quick or.."

"Luckily I was awake one moment, the next being judged by her."

While she had taken to sulking after it was obvious that she wouldn't be able to convince Kazuma to fork over the necessary cash to get her favorite bubbly, the words 'basement' and 'judged' caused a spark of recognition to go off in her head.

"Wait a minute! Your that basement nerd! How are you here?! Did they send you to rescue me after they realized that they can't function without me? Well all I can say to that is if they want me back, they're gonna have to throw in some benefits thanks to all the suffering I endured while dealing with the perverted Neet."

Her earlier depression forgotten thanks to the belief that she would soon be restored to her rightful station, Aqua felt her eyes once again fill with unshed tears as she heard his reply.

"I'm afraid not. And to be honest, I can see why your…organization temporarily suspended you. Maybe they'll make it a permanent thing since that angel I dealt with seemed to be far more competent at her job than you."

….

Doing his best to keep his jealousy under control, for not only had this guy managed to luck out when it came to companions but he had also managed to get a useful 'cheat item' after his first death, Kazuma was largely unsurprised by Aqua's reaction.

"You…you…YOU SHITTY BASEMENT DWELLER! YOU THINK THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE SOME POWER NOW YOU CAN.."

"Silence."

He wasn't sure which was better.

The fact that there existed a spell that could put an end to the ranting of the useless goddess. One that he could learn thanks to his class.

Or the fact that the guy wasn't finished with his verbal smackdown.

"A handy little spell, even if it wasn't in the official list last I checked. However, it pales in comparison to what I could have done. However, the next time YOU annoy me little girl or take out your feelings of inadequacy on my good friend Yunyun, I must just be persuaded to cast a longer lasting spell on you. One that would not only put a stop to your empty boasting but also your ego-inflating ability to cast a nuke. Now that I think of it, considering you almost killed Yunyun and I with your carelessness, 30 days without the ability to cast your favorite spell might be just the thing to cure you of your delusions."

While enjoying his teammate's look of fear, as well as the potential possibility of a month free of carrying a helpless loli on his back, Kazuma decided to intervene.

"As much as I would appreciate that, can you maybe hold off on that until Megumin does something really stupid. I mean, I know she's not much to look at. Especially when compared to the cutie behind you."

Ignoring the squawks and squeaks of outrage coming from the two girls, he continued.

"But apart from myself she's the only member of the party who can consistently deal damage when she means to. Which means that my offer to join our party is still op.."

"Kazuma. I think maybe that it would be more polite to first discuss changes to our party before deciding on them yourself."

Shooting the frowning crusader a look, Kazuma wasted no time in refuting that idea before continuing with his sales pitch.

'Well maybe if my party members weren't constantly putting us in danger because they lack common sense, I would consider giving them a vote. But you seem like the type of guy who thinks before he acts. So I'm sure that.."

"Thank you, but I am going to have to, respectfully, decline."

….

ANNNND gonna stop here for now.

If only because if I don't I won't be able to stop XD.

Pleased to see that this story is gaining interest. Hopefully my handling of the meeting between the two parties went over well.

I believe I got the personalities of each character more or less correctly since this is still early in the main story, so not too much character development.

To those who question as to why so much time has passed despite the OC being sent to the world literally a few moments AFTER Aqua and Kazuma had been sent, will be addressed.

Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this.

Plz review. No flames.