Synopsis Sojuro was in his second year of high school when the goddess Athena summoned him and his entire class. They were to go on a 50 reincarnation journeys before returning to their former lives. Sojuro, however, is the only one not granted any skill or blessing after the goddess forgets he was there and grants his blessing to the popular boy. Sojuro is made to go through the 50 reincarnation cycles without any skills and as a result, suffers many horrible reincarnations before returning back to his original world, only to be summoned by the goddess again. However, this second summoning has a surprised installed for both him and the goddess. Testing the water to see if this kind of fiction is any good...
chapter 1 It is my third year of high school and I quietly sit in the back of the class as my classmates chatter away. Unlike other high school classrooms in Japan, where the popular kids talk about fashion, movies, and sports. My fellow classmates are talking about adventures, magic, and quests. You would be excused for thinking that this was a classroom for otaku’s but it wasn’t. The reason they can easily chat away on such things is because everyone in this classroom went on an adventure to other worlds. It all started last year when the goddess Athena summed the entire class. *** “Welcome brave heroes.” That was the first thing she said to us. She was a beauty like no other and I was breathless in her presence. Her red eyes, that blond long hair, and big ahem… melons. She wore seductive clothes paired with golden Jewry with blue gems embedded. After my classmates quieted down, she began to explain where we were and why she had summoned us. We were currently in the heavenly realm, where the goddess and gods lived. Each goddess or god was in charge of 50 worlds. It was their duty to watch over these worlds and guild them towards the proper path, however, every so often some of these words would run into trouble. Demon lords, Evil empires, Religious Fanatics, etc… etc… The gods and goddesses were unable to directly intervene in the worlds, so they summoned heroes from the prime world. That was the name used to refer to our world. It was created by the first god and goddess and was the only one not blessed with mana. It was only from this world that heroes were summoned. Hmm… If that was true, it would explain why there were stories of isekai adventures in the first place. Most authors were probably just retelling their adventures. Oops… Got distracted there… Let’s focus. “Does that mean that we will get to go home?” This question was asked by none other than the class president. As expected, she was calm and collected. I did fancy her a while back but she showed signs of liking Hiroji, just like all the other girls. Hiroji was your typical ikemen. Good looking, good at sports, great at socializing… Did I mention looks? He was my polar opposite. While I am not ugly… I got to admit… I got nothing on his looks. “That is right. You will return to your original world right after your last reincarnation. On top of that, I will grant each of you, a cheat skills that you can use on your journeys.” “Really!? This is like that anime I watched!” “Yeah… This is amazing.” “Let’s go!” All of a sudden my classmates were getting excited and I have to admit, I was too. “Then come forward when I call your name.” I decided to sit down and think. I was going to another world with cheat skills, I need to decide what kind of character I was going to be. There was no guarantee that the class was going to work together on solving the world’s problems. We were going to be reincarnated in different places after all. The goddess said to treat it like a game. The first to solve the world’s problems will receive points. When we asked what we can redeem those points for, she simply replied “Nothing really. All I know is that the system keeps track of your achievements in each world. As far as I know, you can’t redeem the points. They are mostly used for ranking I guess… Ah, what a pain… Don’t worry about it… Just go out there and do your best.” Her carefree attitude worried me there. What do you mean, 'don’t worry about it?' In RPG games, success will often be determined by how well you prepare. A half-baked character will get half-baked results… You have to prepare for any situation. “Wow what a cutie…” When I heard that I looked up. Looks like Hiroji and I are the last ones remaining. “My looks are nothing compared to your beauty goddess.” To think he could even try to pull his one-liners on the goddess. What confidence he had. “I bet you say that to all the girls.” “Doesn’t make it any less true.” “EEEEEE…. You playboy… Here, have an extra skill.” “Thank you, goddess” With a dashing smile, he uttered those words before vanishing. That meant I was the only one left. “Phew… Now I can get back to my beauty nap.” “Eh!” “Eh!!!” We both stared at each other for a minute before she asked, “Who are you?” “Eto… I am Sojuro. I was part of the class you summoned here.” “Huh!” She cried before checking her list once again, “Ah… I was so distracted by that good-looking guy that I didn’t notice your name at the bottom.” It is to be expected. No one ever notices me after all. “No problem. Everyone makes mistakes. Umm… what skill am I getting?” “Eh! Skill?” Her reply troubled me. She looked nervous and her eyes were avoiding mine. “Goddess?” “Well, you see… The thing is… I have no skills to give.” “Eh?” Oi… Oi… What is she saying? “I had only one skill to give per person… and… umm…” “Don’t tell me.” “I may have accidentally given your skill to the good looking guy earlier.” “I knew it!” Crap… Crap… This is so typical of my life. What now? There is no way I am going to a world without a cheat. “Send me back.” “Can’t do that.” “Then let me wait here…” “Your soul can not survive long exposure to the heavenly realm. Are you sure you want to stay?” “This is bullshit… Are you tell me to go on an isekai adventure without any cheats?” “You are saying like it is a bad thing. You must have read light novels where someone is reincarnation without cheats.” “Yeah… And their lives sucked.” “Don’t be such a cry baby… I am sure it won’t be that bad… Off you go!” “Wait!” I shouted as I started my 50 reincarnation cycle and I was right. My lives sucked. Born as a slave. Born as a son of a pirate. Born poor. Born ugly. Born half monster. Born as a slime, etc… etc… etc… In all my reincarnations, I never ran into my other classmates. My first reincarnation was that of a slave. The noble family that owned me was pretty much cruel but I found comfort in the love my sister and mother gave. That was until the demon king attacked. Monsters killed the only light I had in that world and I vowed vengeance. It took a long time but I finally managed to kill the demon king. It did cost me my life, however, i just reincarnated yet again. From what I gathered after we returned. I was the first to die and to be reincarnated . Because of that, every time the others moved on to the next world, I was already out of it. In simpler terms, they were always one world behind me. That is why I couldn’t find a common ground to talk to them about. Their experiences were so different from mine. These words were full of chaos when I was there, but they always described them as peaceful lands. Tch… Some people have all the luck in this world. However, if there was one bright side to all this. It was the fact that It was over. I will never meet that shitty goddess again. “Welcome back heroes.” THE GODDESS AND I MET AGAIN? WTF?
Chapter 2 “Welcome back heroes.” Those were the first words that shitty goddess uttered to us. This pisses me off. She even looks very happy. Why is that? *** It all started a little earlier when Athena was attending a reward ceremony hosted by the first goddess. “All 50 of your worlds have peace and are on the proper path. You have done well goddess Athena.” “Thank you for your kindness first goddess-sama” “You may call me Helen, Athena.” “Eh!?” No way… Being on a first-name basis with the first-goddess. Can this day get any better? “Athena.” “Yes, Goddess Helen.” “Would you like to become a High Goddess?” “What?” The gods and goddesses were divided into 3 levels. Lower, Middle, and High. Athena was currently a lower goddess. Never in their history has a lower goddess been asked if they desired to be a high goddess. Normally the next step would be that of a middle goddess. “For real!? I mean… Do I deserve such an honor?” “You do. You have shown great wisdom in the heroes you have chosen. If you can bring peace to the three lost worlds, then I will allow it.” “Eh! The three lost worlds.” The three lost worlds, was a name used to describe the three worlds that had fallen to evil. A demon lord, an evil empire, and an evil god ruled these worlds. While other worlds were in similar situations. What made these worlds differently was the fact that many goddess and gods had lost their lives trying to save these worlds. Athena was worried. This was a task that even some high goddess had failed, however, she couldn't let his opportunity pass her by. “I accept.” “Then summon your heroes. You need to select the most useful among them as your champion.” “Understood!” *** “Welcome back heroes.” This is bullshit… Why do I have to meet this dumb bimbo again? Ahhh… I want to die… It took me a while before I noticed the audience behind us. We were currently on a stage. This looks like an awards ceremony. “Goddess!” “We are back again? Alright! Another adventure before we graduate.” “Looks like I will have the opportunity to make another harem.” “It is nice to meet you again… Goddess Athena.” “Hiroji… You are as hot as I remember… I mean… Nice to see you again.” My classmates were getting all fired up while I was seriously pissed. Hiroji was working his charm… Wait a minute… Did someone just say harem? Some bastards really do get all the luck “Why have you summoned us?” It was the class president, taking the lead again. “Right. This is the first goddess Helen. One of the leaders of us gods and goddesses. I have been tasked with saving three worlds and I need one of you to be my champion.” “Is that so? And whom will be the champion?” “I guessing, it will be Hiroji.” “The champion or companion as they are sometimes called, are determined by the hero points.” “Eh? hero points.” Looks like the goddess Athena didn’t know what goddess Helen was talking about. “You didn’t know?” “You mean those points we use for ranking the heroes?” Athena asked Helen “Yes. Those are called hero points.” “Hmmm... Well, it doesn't matter much I am sure that Hiroji will have the highest points.” < Hiroji: 0 points > “How can this be?” Athena uttered in surprise. It wasn’t just Hiroji. Every person she checked had 0 points. “How can this happen? Is the system broken?” Athena cried out. “Didn’t you guys defeat any demon lords or overthrow an evil empire?” “We did hear of a demon lord when we first reincarnated, but he died before any of us could reach him.” The class president answered Wait a minute… Don’t tell me. “What about your other recantations?” “There is nothing to report about them. The worlds were peaceful when we got there. We had a simple adventure before dying peacefully at an old age.” The reason those guys had it easy was because I… “What is going here?” Athena said while pulling at her hair “Athena.” “Yes, Helen-sama.” “Isn’t there a hero you haven’t checked yet?” “Eh…” She glanced at my direction before glaring and I naturally glared back. I had no reason to be civil to this bimbo… However, it resulted in a glare down. THE GODDESS AND I ARE GLARING AT ONE ANOTHER WTF?
Chapter 3 The goddess and I were currently glaring at each other. I could feel the sweat on my forehead dripping down. She looked straight at me without blinking. I then saw her lips move. What will she say? Will she apologize for the hell she put me through? “Who are you?” “Eh?” “Eh?” “Oi… Oi… Are you kidding me right now? You stupid blond bimbo… You actually have the nerve to forget me?” “Who are you calling stupid blond bimbo? I am a goddess. A goddess!” “Humph… You are nothing but trash in my eyes.” “Why you…” “Enough” uttered the other goddess “We are wasting variable time. The souls of mortals cannot last long here. Athena, check his hero points.” “Yes.” < Sojuro: 50 points > “No way?” Athena uttered My classmates were equally surprised but I wasn’t. I figured it out a moment ago. After I defeated the demon king in my first reincarnation I went on to solve all the problems in the other worlds before they were reincarnated there. It is not like I wanted to. I always ended up in a life or death struggle where someone tried to kill me. When I was born as a son of a pirate, the evil empire hunted us down because we stole from the nobles and gave the poor. When I was born blind, an evil religious group called it a curse and tried to kill me. Etc… etc… etc… As a result, I was put on the path to kill some evil guy or destroy an evil organization. I may not have had cheat skills, but I still managed to achieve my goals. The cost, however, was always my life. I literally died for the cause. “Goddess Helen. Can’t I just have Hiroji be my champion?” Athena asked “Hmm… Are you sure? You rise to, high goddess is at stake. Are you sure you want to take the chance on an untested hero?” As long as it is not me, she can choose Santa Claus for all I care “This is troubling.” The class president spoke. She is one of Hiroji’s girls. Maybe she doesn’t like the fact that the goddess has taken a liking to Hiroji. “Sojuro” To my surprise, Hiroji called me out. We have never had a one-on-one conversation before, I wonder what he wants to say. Given his cool personality, he might say, "I know you did a lot to make the world we reincarnated into peaceful, however, leave this to me." I definitely see him doing that. The girls will melt at his feet and the goddess will probably praise him. Humph… Fine by me. I don’t need all this drama. Just send me home “Good luck,” he said with a dashing smile. It was like he was trying to charm me or something. Oi… Oi… This isn’t a BL novel, what are you trying to pull here? No, that is not what I should focus on here. He is trying to offload this problem on me while trying to look cool. Does he think everyone won’t see through that? “Hiroji is so cool.” “Yeah… Even though he could do it himself, he is trusting that guy to do it.” “My heart is going Doki-Doki” THE FOOLS FELL FOR IT! And I have a name you know. This is the worst! “Are you sure about this, Hiroji?” Athena asks “Yes. I trust my friend Sojuro. He will definitely help you save those worlds.” Who are you calling friend? “If you say so…” she said shyly “Then it has been decided,” Helen said “No, it hasn’t. I am not agreeing to this!” I shouted but my words were falling on deaf ears. “The first world you will save is the world ruled by the demon king. Once the hero has defeated him, you will restore the balance, Athena.” “Eh… I am going too?” “Then I will send you on your way.” “Wait a moment. I haven’t agreed to any of this.” I shouted, but in an instant, my vision changed. I was in a forest. “So this is the world ruled by the demon king huh.” I turned around and saw the goddess just standing there. I couldn’t believe this. Before I could pull two words together I heard a pining sound. I recognized the sound, as I often heard it when my status changed. I opened my status window and a video began to play back. “Welcome to the world of Kiva. 600 years ago a demon king rose to power after defeating all the heroes who were sent to save the world. I have masked your arrival in this world and created identities for you both, however, the demon king has eyes and ears everywhere, so I suggest you keep a low-key. You find some of this world currency in your inventory. You will also find a map, weapons, and potions. There is also a brief guide on the races and monsters of the world.” “This bullshit! I didn’t agree to this.” I yelled “This is a recording. I am unable to answer questions” the goddess in the video replied. Hmm… Isn’t it odd that she would say that at this exact moment? “Hey human… Don’t be disrespecting the first-goddess like that!” “Shut it, bimbo, before I get the urge to kill you.” “Please be advised that if either of you dies, the other will die as well,” Helen answered “Fine by me. I will just reincarnate…” “There will be no reincarnation… Your death will be permanent?” “Eh?” “That doesn’t apply for me thou… Right, goddess-sama?” Athena asked “It does.” We both just stood there in shock. THE GODDESS AND I ARE ON A DO OR DIE ADVENTURE, WTF
Chapter 4 “Oi… Oi… What is the meaning of this?” I shouted “I am sorry, this is a recording. I am unable to answer questions.” “You have been answering our questions already.” “Eto… You have come to the end of the recording have a nice day.” Just like that, the video vanished. “Tch… She fled.” “I can die!… But why? How?...” “You didn’t know about this?” “I knew that past gods and goddesses died trying to save these worlds, but I didn’t know the details… Hmm… They must have died when their hero died.” She said before glaring in my direction, “Don’t you die on me.” “Huh!? How do you know that it wasn’t the gods and goddess who died on them?” “Please. We are beings of perfection. There is no way that we would make such mistakes.” “Oi… Oi… Did you forget…” just I was going to point out her past mistake a roar came from the forest? The ground began to shake. I could hear a creature walking through the thick forest. It moved closer and closer to us, until it emerged from behind the trees. Standing before me was a large brown bear with a white horn on its head. < Appraisal > I called the skill I was familiar with and it activated. Just in case you are wondering, the < appraisal > is a universal skill for us reincarnations. Along with < universal language > and < inventory >. I only found this out when I returned back to my original world. Doing my reincarnations, I once went to a world where you had to perform a ceremony in order to use the < appraisal > skill. Anyhow, back to the action. Name: Horned Bear Level: 78/100 Title: None Type: Monster Attributes: Wood, Earth HP: 109/200 MP: 56/356 Skills: Claw Slash, Power Up, Wind Roar It was covered in fresh scares. Clearly it was in a fight earlier and lost. However, when I took a closer look at it I realized, “Shit… It looks strong.” I said. It was a gut feeling at this point, however, after 50 hush reincarnations, you tend to trust you gut feelings. “What are you waiting for? Kill it already.” Athena yelled in my direction “Tch…” I searched the inventory for weapons and found a sword. I immediately equipped it and prepared for battle. Now all I have to do is see my own stats and formulate a battle plan. I called forth my status screen… “Eh!?” *** Back in the heavenly realm. Goddess Helen had sent the other students on another isekai adventure. She told them that it was a gift from her to them, however, there was another reason for her kind gesture. “Are sure it was alright to do this?” The voice that spoke was that of her aid. A high goddess by the name of Miao. “Are you referring to the human Sojuro? It saddens me to do this to him, however, we are running out of time. If we do not save those three worlds, a great disaster will befall us all.” “I understand that, but still… Forcing a human to fight on our behalf is pushing it.” “There is no need for worry. I plan on rewarding the human if he successfully saves the three worlds.” “If? Is that the reason you had the others go to another world, rather than return them to their original?” “Too much faith is sometimes bad Miao. The wise always have a backup Should the hero die, we might be able to swap him out with one of the other heroes before Athena dies as well. This will allow us to continue on with the mission... ” Miao sighed but could reprimand her goddess because “You may have made a wise decision there.” “What do you mean?” “I was going through Sojuro’s records in the system. I now know why he had that attitude towards Athena.” She said before handing over a document to Helen. “This is? Eh!?” *** Welcome back, folks. Don’t worry, you didn’t miss the battle between me and the horned bear. No, we didn’t postpone it for another chapter… Right now, I and the bear and playing a game called, catch the weakling. This game involves me running and the bear chasing me. I know what you are thinking. Bears are not well known for their running in some isekai adventures and I must be leaving it well behind. That may have been the case had i not had this handicap. “Why are you running and not fighting? And more importantly… Carry me with the respect I deserve.” I am currently running while carrying the goddess on my shoulder. If you are wondering why that is… It is simple. Take a look at my status… *** Name: Sojuro Level: 10/100 Title: Hero Class: Sage Attributes: None HP: 1800/1800 MP: 2000/2000 Skills: Inventory, Universal Language, Appraisal Cheat Skill: None Devine Protection: Athena *** Did you see It? That is right. No cheat skills and no combat skills. With the level difference between us on top of that. There is no way I can win a fair fight. That’s why. “What are you doing?” Athena shouted as I tossed her into the air. Chance! Just as I predicted the bear stood up. It was aiming to take a bite out of the goddess. Sorry pal, can’t let you do that. My life is currently chained to hers right now. I took this chance to strike at its exposed neck. I hit that spot with all I had. Luckily, that was enough. The bear was now laying on the floor. My plan was a success and it looks like I leveled up, but no new skills appeared. Hmm… This could be a world where certain conditions have to be met before you can learn a skill, or perhaps it’s a world where skills are bought? “Why the hell did you do that? Treating a soon-to-be high goddess like some sack of potatoes… There will be judgment.” “I had no choice… Here take a look at my stats.” “Hmm… Those are some pretty low stats, but nothing you can’t handle with the cheat I gave you.” “Oi… Are you blind? I have no cheats.” “Eh?” “You never gave me any cheats, remember?” “Wait… You are that guy.” “Now that your memory has come back… Give me a cheat.” “I can’t” “What do you mean?” “It takes time for the system to generate skills. We, goddesses, are entrusted with a limited number of skills or cheats as some call them, to give to our heroes. I have already used all the skills I had.” She said with straight face. Her expression didn't change at all. If what she said is the truth then... THE GODDESS AND I HAVE TO SAVE THE WORLD WITHOUT CHEATS? WTF
chapter 5 As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. No, that is not a reference to my location, but my suffering. We were currently walking along a road towards a town. The goddess was yapping all the way there. “Why do I have to walk? Can’t you do something? This is not how you treat a goddess!” I received a message from the first-goddess Helen. It was a text message saying: It has come to my attention that you were not given any skills from goddess Athena. Sadly, any solution will have to wait until you save that world. First-god, Zeus is working on a possible solution, that will allow us to aid you. Do your best! A reward awaits you if you save all three worlds. I can’t help but sigh… What do you mean by reward? What can you possibly give me? No. Scratch that. Shouldn’t you be rewarding me for saving those other worlds after your goddess’s screw-up? Take responsibility, boss lady… “Hey… Are you listening to me?” “Of course not dummy… I’ve got 99 problems, but…” “You are about to say something rude, aren’t you! Have you forgotten who I am?” “How can I? You have been yapping about yourself for the past few hours. I bet if I took you to the demon king, you would yapp him to death.” “You… You!” “Call me when you think of a verb lady…” I said before continuing my walk I had too much on my plate right now to continue this pointless argument. This was a world where past heroes and goddesses had died trying to save. It means that the final boss is no fool. He probably has plans and backup plans to deal with someone like me. He is probably super powerful too. I can only rely on my past experiences to see me through this. There are three ways to solve this problem. One. Assassinate him. No matter how powerful an opponent is, a well-placed sword, or in this case holy sword, would do the trick. Or I can get all the most powerful poisons in the world and mix them to make a super killer poison. Hmm… The super killer poison may have worked on that evil king in reincarnation 33 but I doubt a demon king would fall for it. Plus there is a chance that he has immunity against poisons… Tch… Moving on then… Second. Start a revolution. I once overthrow an evil empire in reincarnation 21 by starting a revolution. If the people are oppressed to the extreme then I might just be able to start something. This plan does seem promising… Third. Earth weapons. In some of my reincarnations, I was able to make guns and weapons of mass destruction. United Nations treaties don't apply to isekai, do they? Anyhow, It takes time to gather the materials but thanks to my blacksmith job in reincarnation 12, I am pretty confident in my capabilities. I also took the liberty of researching more on military weapons when I returned to my original world. Hmm… There is a chance I won’t find the required materials… But I will put this plan down as a maybe. “Hey dummy!” the goddess called out to me “Yes.” “I am hungry.” “Even if you say that… Unless you want to eat the horned bear.” “Don’t be ridiculous… I am a goddess… I need proper food.” “Then just wait… Look! the city is in view.” “Really!?” “Over there,” I said while pointing “Finally… I can bath and be pampered by servants.” “Huh!?” “What is wrong human… You look surprised.” “Oi… Oi… Have you forgotten why we are here?” “Of course not.” “Why do I have a hard time believing that?” “How disrespectful.” “Listen here, bimbo… We are in enemy territory… keeping a low profile is crucial for our survival. Understand?” “Humph…” Well, it is not like we have the money to live in luxury. Once she grasps that she will let it go. We arrived at the city gate and waited outside. There was a long line of people and carriages waiting to enter. While the goddess was busy mumbling to herself, I looked at the people's faces. They were no signs of them being too harshly oppressed which concerned me… Tch… Looks like a revolt is out of the question. I overheard the conversation people were having. I paid particular attention to two people who seemed to be peddlers. “Did you hear? The demon king is planning a huge celebration in the capital soon.” “I heard it was in 3 months.” “Really? I heard it was 9 months.” “Curious don’t you think.” “Yep… This is the demon king we are talking about… All information about him is always accurate to the point that you can’t even sell it.” “One thing is for sure. They say that the beauty he captured long ago will be the centerpiece.” “Really?” “Yeah, I wish I could see the fallen maiden.” “Why don’t we save some cash and head towards the capital?” “Don’t jest. Do you know how much money you need just cross the ocean?” “Nothing wrong with a little daydreaming, right?” “Silly old fool. Looks like we are next… Let’s move” The demon king is planning an event and no one knows the exact date? I am getting a bad feeling about this. “Next!” A guard shouted as the goddess and I approached “Prepare for a status check.” he instructed A quick glance at the neighbors next to us showed them stretching their hands towards the guard in front of them. We copied their action and did the same. The guard stretched his own hand towards us and uttered < Status Check > Must be a skill. It is probably something like an appraisal. Will our identities be exposed? The first-goddess Helen did say that she masked our arrival in this world and created identities for us… But from experience, I have no faith in goddesses… I was nervous inside. I glanced at the goddess and she appeared to be not interested in the situation Is she dumb? Or just absent-minded. Whichever it was, she was clearly not going to be useful in this situation. The guard opened his mouth after reading something that appeared on the screen in front of him. Sojuro and Athena. No criminal records. No children. Married couple. You may pass. “HUH!?” The goddess yelled Looks like she wasn’t absent-minded after all. Considering that she realized from the guards' words that… THE GODDESS AND I, ARE A MARRIED COUPLE. WTF!
Chapter 6 “HUH!?” Those were the first words to leave Athena’s mouth. She had just been told by the guard that we were a married couple. “You think I would dare marry this guy? Take a closer look at my perfection, you moron. I am only with him because I had no choice. If it was up to me I would be back home while he does his job. This is an outrage… I demand to see your supervisor… clearly your records are mistaken…” This dam blond bimbo… What the hell does she think she is doing? Everyone is looking at us. What do I do? Do I run for it? We have clearly been exposed… “You… Come with me.” The guard said to me. We walked further ahead. This is bad… all the other guards are paying attention to me… Shit… “You…” “Yes…” I replied. The guard placed his right arm over my shoulder and shoved me close to him. “You got it rough, don’t you?” “Eh?” “No need to hide it. I can tell. You were probably forced to be with that woman right? I can relate… I got one at home as well. Always nagging this or nagging that… If it wasn’t for the pressure from our parents I would have never married that bitch…’ This guy… HE TOTALLY GETS ME “Yeah… All she did on our way here is yapping about herself… I swear I thought I was going to die for a moment there.” “I know the feeling.” He said before we both burst into laughter. “Should you ever feel like letting loose, head over to birdhouse pub. Tell the barkeeper that Hearth sent you. He will take care of you.” “Thanks… It is much appreciated.” *** We finally entered the city of Cascade. The streets were paved with stones and signs were hanging on the buildings. The place was shrouded with the savory fragrance of food. “Hey… When are we going to eat?” The goddess behind uttered words that I didn’t comprehend. I was expecting an apology but I guess that was just wishful thinking. “Oi… After the trouble you caused, you dare ask for a meal?” “Huh… What are you saying? That guy assumed we were a couple, I had to correct him at once.” “We being a couple was first-goddess Helen’s idea. Why don’t you voice your complaint to her?” “Eh? Helen-sama. Umm… If it was Helen’s will, then I will put up with this humiliation.” “That’s my line…” “Humph… I refuse to take another step until I get something to eat.” I sighed heavily. Dragging her alone will just cause me more trouble than it is worth. I should probably find us an Inn and leave her there. After asking around, I found an inn nearby. As we walked in, we were greeted by a salesgirl. She looked no older than thirteen years old with brown hair and blue eyes. “Welcome strangers to the hovel Inn. The second most popular inn in the city.” She said with a smile. “Second? Why are we in such a place? I deserve first-rate service. Tell us to where we must go for the first-rate service.” “Oi…” I yelled after the goddess went on another of her outburst. Not only was she being rude, but she was also asking for the impossible. Right now our only source of cash is what Helen placed in the inventory, as well as the horned bear. I still don’t know what that bear is worth. For all I know, it is unsaleable. “That would be the winged-snake Inn, but…” the girl froze mid-sentence. In my past experiences, that meant that there was important information that shouldn’t be ignored. I opened my inventory in my mind and found the money Helen had left for us. Unlike popular fantasy adventures, this world uses paper money. I rather like this system. Keeping count of all the gold, silver, and bronze coins you have is rather a hassle. There are currently 20,000 credits there. I take two 50 credits. These are the second-highest notes. This should be enough. I slipped the two notes into her hand, “You were saying?” I spoke, only to have her stare back at me. I know that stare too well. I used to use it in reincarnation 5 when working for tips on the street. 100 credits, is too low huh I slipped her a 100 more and another and another, until 1000 credits were in her hands. The inflation in this world must be crazy “The winged-snake Inn is owned by the winged-snake gang. They run the underground around here. I wouldn’t recommend that place, sir, not unless you are loaded.” “How loaded?” “They charge 50,000 credits an hour for their cheapest room.” “Eh?” “In comparison, we charge 5,000 credits a day…” I have a bad feeling about that place “How are people affording that place.” “Well,” “I am hungry! When are we eating!?” “Tch… We will finish up later. Please prepare a room and a male for her.” “Right away sir. That will be 6000 credits.” Does a meal cost 1000 credits? Sorry, I tried to tip you so low sales girl. *** The room wasn’t that big with a couch and a single bed. There was no bathroom or toilet in the room. There was, however, a communal toilet and bath at the end of the hall. As you can imagine, a certain someone was yapping again. “This is unacceptable… Why can't I have better service?” she yelled “We have no money!” I yelled back “That is your excuse for everything, isn’t it… If I knew it was going like this, I would have never agreed to go with you.” “At least you had a choice… some of us were forced into this situation.” “Humph… You have an answer for everything, don’t you!?” Why you… “I am going out…” “Whatever…” I slammed the door behind me. It seems our argument was loud enough that an old couple peeked out of their doors. I lowered my head and apologized for the trouble we caused. “I remember when we were that wild dear.” The old lady uttered “Yeah… There is nothing wilder than a young couple in love.” “Don’t worry dear, she will come around.” “Until then, just remember to hold your chin up and practice saying yes dear…” “What is that supposed to mean you old fool? Get back into the room.” “Yes, dear.” He replied before winking at me. The old lady closed the door behind her and I was left with nothing but my thoughts. THE GODDESS AND I ARE A YOUNG COUPLE IN LOVE! WTF?
chapter 7 I left the hovel Inn. My destination was the birdhouse pub that the gate guard Hearth recommended. If you want information in a fantasy world, there are three places you can get it at. First, pubs. No matter what world you are in, alcohol has the universal power to make any lips loose. The second, is merchant and adventure guilds. Information is the lifeblood of the guilds. If you are a fantasy lover then you might have placed this first, however, may I point out the fact that in most cases you would have to be a member of these guilds. Either that or end up in a situation where you owe the guilds a favor for the information. I personally rather invite a guild member for a drink and let the alcohol do its thing. The third and last is the underground guilds. You know. Mafias, assassin’s guilds, thieves guilds, and any other shady group that happens to be around. *** I entered the birdhouse pub in midafternoon. When I first came to this world, it was early morning. By Noon we arrived at the city and by afternoon we arrived at the hovel Inn. Alcohol filled the air as it was poured into large wooden cups. There were drunkards here and there, but such a sight is to be expected in a pub, I slowly made my way to the counter on sat down. “You are new here.” A man behind the counter spoke to me. He had white hair and a white mustache. He was cleaning a wooden cup with a cloth that had clearly seen better days. “Hearth sent me,” I replied “Hearth huh? I am John… Here, drink up…” I seriously didn’t want to drink from that cup but I didn’t want to be rude. “So… You are one of us…” “One of us?” As I posed the question, a woman walked behind the counter. She was an overweight woman who wore expensive-looking clothes. She seems to be opening what appears to be a cash register. “Is this all the money you made today, John?” “Yes, dear.” “I am taking some. I need to buy Elizabeth and myself new dresses for the party tomorrow.” “Didn’t you guys buy dresses just the other day?” “Humph… Those are already old.” She uttered before leaving a sighing John. “Yep… I am one of you.” I said He had a wry smile when he heard that. “Sorry to hear that…” he replied. I changed the topic of conversation after some jabs at our partners expense. I needed to know as much about this world as I could. I already knew from the map that I was on the western continent and the capital was on the eastern continent. The demon king had pretty much-conquered everything. Although he hinted at it, rather than saying it upfront. There were pockets of resistance here and there. They called themselves, the white crusaders. Perhaps I should make contact with them in the future. As for the demon king himself. According to John, he appeared nearly 600 years ago out of nowhere. He killed a former hero before beginning a long conquest. Once he had conquered everything, he then declared himself a demon king. Countless heroes have come to try and save the world, only to be killed by the demon king. He did say, however, that the demon king did keep one hero alive. Hmm… I wonder if that is true… Everything about the demon king is presented as fact and little information is presented as rumors. Could this be a ploy on the part of the demon king? If it is, then it is a brilliant one. Any potential hero the goddess sends will have a hard time figuring what is true and what is false. I sighed internally when I realized that. I bid farewell to John and headed for the adventures guild next. Now that I had a general idea of the situation I need to now focus on leveling up and earning money. The people of this world weren’t being oppressed by the demon king which meant a revolt was out of the question. Looks like assassination is the way to go. I could also try and start a civil war between him and his underlings but that idea is pretty wild, to begin with. The adventures guild was a well-kept building in the center of the city. When I entered, many adventures glared in my direction. Classic rookie treatment… Well, my level is pretty low right now… I guess it is understandable. I walked to the counter and was greeted by a cute guild staff member. “Welcome to the Cascade guild, I am Maria.” They jiggled … I was receiving a death stare from the other adventures as I talked to her. She was probably the poster girl for the guild and I can see two big reasons why. Fortunately or unfortunately, I have a way to get those crazy fans off my back. “Hello, Maria. I am Sojuro. I and my wife recently came to this city from a faraway place. I was hoping to register as an adventure.” “Sure thing,” She said before reaching for some forms The death stares I was getting were gone as gossip that I was married spread throughout the guild. "Here we go. Place your thumb right here.” She instructed As I did that, the paper shined and my stats were written on them. *** Name: Sojuro Level: 15/100 Class: Sage Attributes: None HP: 18000/18000 MP: 20000/20000 Skills: Storage *** Hmm… Looks like some of my information had been hidden or changed. Storage must have been added to mask the inventory skill... Looks like the goddess Helen isn’t totally useless. “I will now explain the guild ranking and rules.” I will spare you the boring details and summarize them for you. There are nine ranks, ranging from A-I. Apart from that, there is also the S rank. Jobs or requests are posted on the notice board and you can choose any regardless of rank, however, should fail the request you have to pay the equivalent of the reward. That is one way to discourage fools from biting more than they could chew. I also learned that I can buy skill cards that grant skills from the guild. The price was based on how rare the skill was. This was something I had experienced before with the exception that I could also by level up cards that increased my level. The cards become more expensive as I level up. Maybe the cards store experience points. The higher your level the more points you need. I couldn’t have gotten this information if Maria wasn’t so concerned by my low level. She also exchanged the horned bear for me. It was 12000 credits. Thanks to that, I now have roughly 24500 credits. I waved at Maria as I left the guild. What a nice girl… Oops, the death glares are back… I better get out of here. I returned to the hovel Inn. I heard the salesgirl call for me but I ignored it. I wasn’t trying to be rude but I wanted to check if the goddess was alright before I talked to her. For better or worse, my life is chained to hers. I opened our room door and saw a woman in her underwear standing there. She blushed and I blushed too. “Pervert!” She yelled before I slammed the door shut. “I am sorry!” I yelled before dashing downstairs. “Mr. Sojuro!” The salesgirl said “What is going on here? Who is that woman in my room?” I cried “That was what I was trying to tell you. Your wife left a while ago.” “Eh? Where did she go?” “She went to the winged-snake Inn.” I was speechless… Why would she do such a thing? No… I need to catch up to her first. “Where is this inn?” I asked her *** When I arrived at the winged-snake Inn, my jaw dropped. This place was more like a fancy stone-walled hotel than an inn. I slowly walked on the red carpet while paying close attention to my surroundings. “Are you looking for something, sir?” The person who just spoke to me was dressed as a modern-day butler. “I am just looking for my wife. Don’t mind me.” “Name.” He spoke. “Ah… Sojuro.” “Wife’s Name?” “Eto... Athena.” “We have been expecting you, master Sojuro. Mistress Athena is in her chambers. Follow me.” Every fiber of my being was telling me to run. This was a bad situation to be in… and yet… I couldn’t just leave that bimbo behind. The butler ushered me into a large room on the upper floors. It was an expensive-looking room. Fine food and wine were decked out on a dining room table. The goddess was sitting on a coach as someone rubbed her shoulders. My cheek twitched. There was no way, all of this was cheap. The butler handed me something… I looked at it and went pale. Before leaving he whispered in my ear, “The wing-snake has eyes everywhere. Don’t even think of abandoning your obligation. Husband-sama.” The paper was a bill for 2,000,000 credits. THE GODDESS AND I HAVE A DEBT! WTF
chapter 8 “GET OUT!” I yelled at the person rubbing the goddess's shoulders “HUH! What gives you the right to…” “Unless you got 2 000,000 credits on you, you better shut up bimbo.” I angrily replied… The difference between facing someone stronger than you and having debt is that debt will kill you slowly. Of all the rotten luck… I had to be in debt in a world where money equals skills. We were alone in the room and the goddess was ignoring my glare. “What were you thinking?” “…” Giving me the silent treatment, are you? Before I could speak my mind, I heard a beeping sound. I had received a message from goddess Helen… *** Dear Sojuro, First-god Zeus has found a way to allow Athena to summon your classmates in times of trouble. I am sure this will come in handy in the future. It will take some time before you can use this feature so I ask for your patience. Goddess Helen *** My classmates? Weren’t they sent back home? No. More importantly… “Oi… You can hear me right? Thanks to your stupid goddess over there, we are two million in debt. If you don’t send me the money, we will most likely end up as slaves.” “Who are you talking to” “Athena! Is what Sojuro saying the truth?” “Goddess Helen!” A projection of goddess Helen appeared from my status screen. “What are you doing here?” “Didn’t you hear what Sojuro just said? You owe 2 million credits.” “Huh!? I never did such a thing.” “Oi… Oi… Where do you think you are right now? You think all this is free?” “Of course it’s free… That is what the butler said when I arrived here.” Something is off… That butler did seem fishy but I wonder if that is all there is to it… “What exactly did he say?” “He said, ‘free meals and drinks are included in every room’” “And?” “What do you mean and? This fool assumed that the room was free because of the free meal and drinks? I glared at goddess Helen who quickly averted her eyes from me. “Listen here, you dummy… That was nothing more than a marketing scam aimed at fools like yourself.” “Huh!?” “You pay for the room dummy…” “That can’t be right!” “You think so? Then read for yourself!” I yelled as I tossed the bill at her. “This is… Huh?" “So you can read… That’s a shocker.” “You dare mock me…” “None of this would have happened had you stayed at the first inn we went to.” “Are you serious? The rooms were awful and the food was subpar at best… There was no way I was going to stay there.” “Enough!” goddess Helen yelled. “Hero Sojuro. I am sorry but we cannot help with this matter. I know I am asking a lot but please solve it.” “Huh!?” “As for you Athena… You are to no longer cause the hero problems…” “But Helen-sama!” “Have I made myself clear!?” “Yes.” “Good… I wish you all the best.” “Oi...” and she is gone… What’s up with these one-sided demands… Tch Goddess Athena sniffled. Looks like she didn’t like goddess Helen’s reprimand “It’s not my fault…” she repeated over and over in a low voice Then whose fault is it? I sighed at the hopeless display she was giving. “Oi… We need to think of a way to pay this off before we become slaves.” “Eh? Me… A Slave? What nonsense are you talking about?” She really wasn’t paying attention to earlier huh? “People who can’t pay their debts become slaves. That is just how the world works.” “I can’t be a slave… I am a goddess.” “Tell that to somebody who cares.” “Humph… Why don’t you sort it out? You are the hero after all.” “Because some dummy gave my cheat skill to somebody else.” “You are never going let that go huh?” “Who in their right mind would let that go?” “You are so petty.” “And you are so stupid. If you really had a brain then why don’t you think of a way for us to get out of this.” “Why don’t you just go on an adventure and kill some creature that is worth a lot, while using underhanded tactics.” That’s it!? I have done something like that before. All I need is the right creature and the right tactics and I am back in business… Wait a minute! THE GODDESS HAD AN IDEA AND I AGREED WITH IT, WTF!?
Chapter 9 The operation, 'don’t die or become a slave because of the stupid goddess was a go'. I left that dumb bimbo back at the winged-snake Inn. The bill was for a one-week stay at the inn. Even if we canceled it today, we were still required to the two million credits. I gave that bimbo, clear instructions to stay in the room and do nothing. Food and drinks are already delivered to the room as part of the package. Just to make sure, I also informed the butler of our circumstances. He promised to watch over the goddess and make sure she doesn’t add to our tab. It was weird. Unlike the first time we met, the butler had an unusual interest in me. It was like he was sizing me up. It is understandable thou. I may try to skip town and leave all the debt with the goddess. The butler explained that couples share all debt. Even if the partner who took out the loan dies, the other partner is required to pay it back. I must admit, when I heard this I found the idea of skipping town tempting. However, the goddess will most likely end up a slave as a result. If the person who owns her is nothing more than a pervert who uses her as his sex toy, then there won’t be a problem. On the other hand, if she ends up with some guy who takes pleasure in killing pretty things, then I am in trouble. After careful consideration… Paying off this debt seems to be the only option. The winged-snake Inn probably has eyes and ears in other towns too. I don’t need bounty hunters on my trail. I walking to the Cascade adventure guild to pick up a quest that will pay handsomely. I need enough funds to cover the debt and add to my war chest. Eh? Isn’t that John’s wife? And that must be her daughter… Hmm… That young guy next to them must be her son. They all had red hair… must be a family trait… Wait... wasn’t John’s hair white? How old is that guy? I arrived at the Cascade guild and picked a quest from the notice board before handing it to Maria. “Are you crazy? You just registered yesterday and now you to hunt an earth dragon.” She yelled “Yep…” The adventures started to gossip when they heard what Maria just said. “He wants to hunt an earth dragon?” “You need five rank-B parties to take one of those down.” “He is crazy.” “He has a death wish.” “10,000 credits, he quits and comes back.” “Are you crazy? The bounty is 12 million credits. I rather die than have that kind of debt. 10,000 credits, he quits and runs away.” “10,000 credits, he dies trying.” They all started to place bets on whether I live or died. How nostalgic of my 31 reincarnations. But how are these guys going to determine who won, unless I come back or someone finds my body… there is no way to determine what really happened. I guess it is just for show. “20,000 credit, that he pulls it off.” The girl who just spoke was someone I had met earlier. I accidentally walked in on her at the hovel Inn. She had long silver hair. Red eyes and an amazing body figure. She looked like a swordswoman from the light-white amour she wore and the sword on her hip. “Catherin-san… Welcome back to the guild.” “Thanks, Maria but I won’t be staying long.” “Is that so?” “Yeah… I will be heading back to the mainland soon.” The mainland was the other name used for the eastern continent. It would cost 300,000 credits for a trip across the ocean. For her to spend 600,000 credits… She must be a successful adventure. I used < Appraisal > on her. < Appraisal Blocked > You’re kidding me!? The appraisal was blocked? An appraisal can be blocked if someone has a higher status than me, or if they have an item that masks their identity. She doesn’t seem to be too strong... Does that mean she has an item up to her sleeve? She stared at me before speaking. “You owe me for the show you got last time. You better pull this off.” “Eh? What show?” Maria asked “He barged into my room and saw me naked.” “EEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHH”everyone in the guild yelled “You bastard… You are just some rookie and yet you dare to see Catherin naked… I will kill you!” an adventure shouted before lifting his battle axe. “Wait a minute… It was an accident… And you weren’t naked.” “Ah… So you did have look. And here I thought you were the type not to take a peak… Pervert!” she said with a seductive smile The death glares are growing… I need to get out of here fast… “Your quest has been approved. You may leave now.” Maria said She read the situation and helped me out… What a goddess “He is making eyes at Mary now… Kill him” another adventure shouted I dashed out of the adventures guild. The atmosphere there was too tense for a low-level adventure like me. I raced through the streets. Only stopping to buy skill cards. As I approached the gate. I saw John and Hearth talking to each other. “John. Hearth.” I called out to them “If it isn’t Sojuro. Going out for quest.” Hearth asked “Yeah…” I replied before giving him my guild card Adventures are required to show their cards upon leaving or entering a city. It helps the local authorities know just how much fighting strength is available in the city at any given time. “Are you going with them?” Hearth said as he pointed to a mob of male adventures chasing after me. “No… No… It is a misunderstanding…” I tried to explain “I understand, the older adventures are always picking on the rookies. I will hold them off… Go on ahead…” This guy really gets me… “Thanks, Hearth. Sorry, John but I got to dash. Give my regards to you daughter and son.” “Eh? Son?” As I rushed to hunt an earth dragon i could hear the sounds of angry adventures behind me slowly fading. Hearth must have come through for me... Wait a minute... THE GODDESS IS RELAXING AT THE INN WHILE I CLEAR OUR DEBTS. WTF!?
chapter 10 The earth dragon was a large lizard that walked on four legs. It was as large as a house and had scales so hard, that a normal swords wouldn’t even put a dent in it. The materials were so valuable that the reward to bring one down was 12 million credits. I sighed as I spotted one near the forest. I can’t believe I am hunting an A-rank monster right off the back… Thanks a lot, goddess… I checked my status one more time *** Name: Sojuro Level: 15/100 Title: Hero Class: Sage Attributes: Earth, Air, Water HP: 18000/18000 MP: 20000/20000 Skills: Inventory, Universal Language, Appraisal, Earth Wall, WaterFall, Air Blade, Water Whip, Fire Ball, Cheat Skill: None Devine Protection: Athena *** A quickly began making preparations for the upcoming hunt. It took me a little over an hour to make the preparations, but finally i was done. I slowly approached the sleeping earth dragon before using appraisal on it for the second time. *** Name: Earth Dragon Level: 478/500 Title: None Type: Monster Attributes: Fire HP: 20000/20000 MP: 2506/3056 Skills: Fire Breath *** Looks like its stats are still the same… You can never be too careful against super-powerful monsters or any monster for that matter. Just ask the adventures who tried to kill me when I reincarnated as a slim… I used < Air Blade > to get its attention. The earth dragon had a red underbelly which meant that it was a male. I got that useless information from the brief guidebook, that goddess Helen left in my inventory. The earth dragon woke up and glared at me. It roared before releasing its fire breath. I dogged to the side I used a combination of < Waterfall > and < Earth wall > to shield me from the heat. I quickly got up and ran towards the trap I had set for it. The dragon chased after me. It was probably seeing me as nothing more than an ant it had to squash. Humph… Fool I was running in a zigzag manner and deploying Earth walls in its path. If I had just ran in a straight line, that thing would have caught me by now. Soon we reached the place where my trap was set. I stood there, waiting for the dragon to come after me and as if not to disappoint me. It charged head-on. It was going to use fire breath on me again, however, the dragon’s front legs fell quickly in a freshly made quicksand. This was my chance. I used Earth Wall to raise the dragon's back legs at an angle that allowed its head to fall into the muddy water. I then blocked off its escape routes. Creating Earth walls to its side and behind. It violently thrashed as it ran out of air. I used appraisal and saw its HP dropping. Even in a fantasy world, there is such a thing as choking to death unless you are some kind of undead, immortal, or have some kind of legendary item that prevents death. Luckily for me, Earth dragon lucked any of that. There were just flesh and bones. I had to constantly repair the earth walls it was breaking. At one point, it look like it was going to fall into the muddy water and I had to use the earth wall to keep it in place. Soon enough the thing died. Now comes the next part. I used the < Waterfall > skill to wash off the mud before carefully removing some of the scales around its neck. I was planning on bleeding it out right here. Part of the reward comes from the sale of dragon meat. Adventures usually bleed out the monster the kill if its meat can be sold. I would look suspicious i if i didn't do the same. As the dragon bleed out I began to make plans for the future. *** Name: Sojuro Level: 98/160 Title: Hero Class: Sage Attributes: Earth, Air, Water HP: 26000/26000 MP: 40000/40000 Skills: Inventory, Universal Language, Appraisal, Earth Wall, WaterFall, Air Blade, Water Whip, Fire Ball, Cheat Skill: None Devine Protection: Athena *** Looks like my level and level cap have gone up. The skills I had acquired were basic… I need to acquire more powerful skills in the future if I was going to clear this mission. Luckily the amount of money I would receive from this quest will not only solve my debt but also allow me to upgrade my stats. I should also look into the white crusaders. If they are enemies of the demon king then they can be useful allies. *** I returned to the city but Hearth wasn’t manning the gate. The guard who was on duty gave me a very weird look. Understandably, he would… I was covered in blood and scratches. My clothes were torn here and there. Had I returned in perfect condition, I would have stood out too much. At the very least I need to make it look like it was a death match between me and the dragon. I smeared dragon blood on me and used the sword to cut pieces of clothes. As the guard gave me the all-clear I headed to the guild. “No way!” “I won’t accept this!” “He did it!” The guild was full of noise when I told Maria that I had finished the job. Maria had a surprised look on her. She refused to believe what I had said but as soon as I removed the dragon in the dismantling hall, she could no longer deny my success. I was waiting for the reward to be given to me at the reception desk as the other adventures gossip. The night was fast approaching and I wanted to check up on that useless goddess. There was no telling what kind of problems she may caused by now. “You pulled it off.” The voice that spoke to me belonged to Catherin. “Yeah…” I replied “Thanks to that, I made over 300,000 credits.” “Does that mean that we are even?” “Does this body look like it would sale for a mere 300,000 credits” she replied before striking a sexy pose. Hmm… This is weird. There is something different about her? True I defeated a dragon but her behavior now and before I left doesn’t match the behavior of the person who called me a pervert after I accidentally opened her room. Does she want something from me? “Here you go. Sojuro-sama. Your reward of 14 million credits.” “Eh? 14 million? Don’t you mean 12 million?” “Well, you see… The dragon you brought was in such a good condition, that the material was valued to a higher rate.” Good condition? Ha… I see… Usually, a party would end up destroying most of the materials of the earth dragon as they take it down. Shit… I hope this won’t attract unnecessary attention. “And here… You have been granted the rank of B for your success. Congratulations.” She continued This is bad… I am standing out too much “There are a lot of people who have done what you just did but apart from Catherin-sama, I thought I would never see anyone else do it.” “Eh?” Her last statement got my attention. It meant that I wouldn’t have to worry about attention being drawn to me but it also meant that this world had some super strong people living in it. “Okay… Everybody… Drinks on Him!” Catherin yelled before the adventures shouted in joy “Wait a minute!” i utterd “There is no helping it Sojuro-sama. It is a tradition that an adventure who received a big reward buys the other adventures drinks for the night at the adventures bar. Don’t worry… I have already subtracted it from your reward…” she said before winking at me. You got to be kidding me! I yelled in my mind. I spent the whole night drinking and telling a very over-the-top lie of how I defeated the earth dragon. Catherin kept me company the whole night, much to the dislike of the other adventures. At first, I was angry at Maria and Catherin for putting me in this situation but as the night rolled on and let out some steam… I began to enjoy myself more and more. Of course, the payback would come in the morning with a hangover. Only Catherin wasn’t bothered by it. “As expected… Catherin-sama is strong.” I heard Maria say as she left for home. With a splitting headache, I made my way to the winged-snake Inn. Now that I had the means to pay off the debt I headed straight to do that. Always pay your debts as soon as possible – Sojuro reincarnation rule 25 Not to be confused with reincarnation rule 24 – Never be in debt. The butler who first guided me when I first arrived received the payment in this white room I was currently sitting in. “Would you like something for the headache?” he asked “Depends… How much does it cost?” “Normally it would be rather expensive… but for the hero who will defeat the demon king. I will make it free.” “Eh?” Oi… Oi… Oi… What did he just call me? “Something the matter? Hero-sama” he said before grinning in my direction THE GODDESS AND I HAVE BEEN FOUND OUT? WTF!
Chapter 11 “Something the matter? Hero-sama” the butler said before grinning in my direction How did he know I was the hero? Did that useless goddess open up her big mouth? No. What matters right now is whether I can beat someone like him? < Appraisal > < Appraisal Blocked > Holy Smokes… A normal fool would assume that he has some kind of item that prevents appraisal but I know better… Being beaten badly by a butler in one of my past life made sure of that. This guy is probably strong… For now, I will play ignorance and buy time to think of something. “What are you talking about? Me a hero? Don’t make me laugh.” I uttered casually. His expression turned into a serious one. Gone was his smile as he glared at me. “Defeating an Earth dragon on your first quest as an adventurer…” “That is something other people have done as well…” I cut in. “Yes, but not without destroying the materials to a point that the guild would only pay 5 million credits.” What! I didn’t hear that from Maria… Do your job properly, you useless goddess number three! “Furthermore…” There is more!? “The next time you and the goddess argue… you might want to make sure you are not being spied upon.” “Eh!?” I uttered only to receive a grin from the butler. Shit… there is no escaping this… My earlier hangover was gone and was using my full mental capacity to think of a way out. Wait… The fact that no one attacked me when I returned or right now for that matter must mean that he wants something from me. At the very least i can assume he is not working for the demon king. “Alright… Let’s suppose I am the hero you speak of. What do you want from me?” I asked. “Tell me. Have you heard of the white crusaders?” No way… Don’t tell me… Now that I think about it, this room a white. Too white in fact… I swallowed my saliva before nodding yes. Right now I was hoping that the next words out of his mouth would be the words I was thinking. I would have prayed but after meeting the people in charge of heaven, I am sure prayer would be a waste of time. *** “Achoo” In the heavenly realm. The first goddess let out a sneeze. “Something the matter Helen-sama?” the person who asked her was the high goddess, Miao. “I think someone is thinking ill about us gods and goddess.” “Doesn’t that happen all the time?” “Hmm… I suppose so. Any news on the observation of the demon king?” “None.” The first goddess sighed before speaking, “I was hoping I could provide Sojuro with a little more information.” “Can’t be helped. If we don’t stop our surveillance from time to time, the demon king will get suspicious… Why do you wish to provide information to Sojuro?” “Athena seems to be causing him trouble. I thought providing him with information, might ease his burdens. Even if it is just a little bit.” “I think we are way past easing his burdens Helen-sama. No matter how I look at it, Athena is at fault for making that stupid mistake. On top of that, we forced him to complete tasks that past heroes with cheats failed to accomplish. He is bound to have a great resentment towards us, no matter what reward we may offer.” “What are saying? Miao.” “We may need to make plans to avoid a repeat of the past.” “Hmm…Are you suggesting we make plans to kill the hero Sojuro?” “It pains me to say this but yes. I have no ill feelings towards the hero but if we are unable to convince him of our sincerity then a repeat of the past is very likely to happen,” First-goddess Helen sighed before speaking, “For now no such plans are to be put in motion. As you said, we have greatly burdened the hero. If we add assassination to that list then I fear we will no longer be fit to be called gods and goddess.” “As you wish,” Miao replied before leaving the first goddess A repeat of the past, huh? The first goddess thought to herself before shaking her head in an attempt to prevent her mind from recalling the events of long ago. *** “We are a branch of the white crusaders.” JACKPOT!!! “As you can imagine, we use the winged-snake Inn as a means to raise funds for the rebel army.” YAHOO… REBEL ARMY! WHAT WONDERFUL WORDS HE HAS SPOKEN “We would like you to ask for your aid in defeating the demon king.” “There is no need to ask such a thing. I am here to defeat him after all.” “I am glad to hear that. Hero-sama.” Who would have thought that I would run into a member of the white crusaders in the first city I stopped at? This goes beyond just sheer luck. Hmm…They use this place as a means to raise funds for the rebels. No wonder it is so overpriced. “If it is alright with you. I would like for us to share information and formulate a strategy going forwards.” “I understand…but…” “Something the matter?” Something was bugging me. I was once a leader of an underground group before. Carelessly reveling yourself was a major no-no. Why did he reveal himself to me? “Why did you approach me?” “Someone high up in the winged-snake Inn recommended you… That is all I am allowed to say.” Someone high up? Does that mean I have met them before? Hmm…Don’t tell me…John? John owns a bar. He would most likely be in a position to spy for the organization, furthermore, he was the one who tipped me off to the existence of the white crusaders. Was he trying to see my reaction? I seem to remember that my expression brightened a bit when I heard there was a resistance force fighting the demon king. A barman like John would have easily noticed that. I was lucky to have met him. If I hadn’t argued with the goddess and left for the bar this encounter may have never happened? Wait…It was the goddess who also came to this inn… Had she not done that, It may have been hard for winged-snake Inn to come into contact with me. I don’t believe this... THE GODDESS’S SELFISH ACT HELPED ME AND I CAN’T DENY THAT? WTF!
chapter 12 I was feeling gloomy right now. The goddess's selfish acts turned out to be a big help to us. Seriously…Some people have all the luck… “Something the matter? Hero-sama?” “Umm… No. Please continue.” The butler who had named himself Mr. Smith was explaining to me details about the demon king and the world as a whole. The world of Kiva was once ruled by kings and queens in various kingdoms. Life wasn’t always peaceful but it wasn’t a hellish existence. That all changed 650 years ago when the demon king arrived. His origins are shrouded in mystery. There are rumors that the goddess had sent him. Others claim that he arrived from a lost world. There are even some rumors that he was the creation of a mad king who lived at that time. Rumors about the demon king are always treated as facts in this world, but it seems that some key information is still withheld. Maybe his origins hold a clue on how to defeat him. If that was the case then he would no doubt hide such information. It took him 50 years to conquer everything. Many people have since rebelled against him but none have survived to tell the tale. The white crusaders are just a name on a long list of rebels. However, Mr. Smith voiced his optimism at their chances with my arrival. Apparently, past heroes sent by the goddess refused to work with past rebels. Thy most have felt overconfident in their cheat skill and ended up getting killed. Fools. The white crusaders' origins come from the last kingdom to fall. Its king bravely fought the demon king in a one-on-one duel. With his final breath, he cried out, ‘This black stain you have brought will one day be wiped clean, and turned white.” The white crusaders aim to be the ones who turn the black to white. Their leader is the last surviving member of that kings royal family. Mr. Smith was unwilling to tell me his name or how he looked. That is understandable. The last thing you need is the identity of your leader leaking out. It would probably mean checkmate for the white crusaders. The next bit of information I got turned to be very important. The demon king was going to host a festival soon but no one knew the exact date. I had a feeling that this festival was important. I could feel it in my bones. The demon king had to be stopped before or during the festival. Any later and it will probably be too late. “The festival will be held in 3 months and seventeen days from now.” Mr. Smith informed me. “Do you know the reason?” “We have yet to uncover the reason, however, the demon army is being summoned to the capital in large numbers.” “The army is? But I thought he has conquered everything already.” “That is what is puzzling us. We have no idea who the target is. Perhaps he has finally decided to bear his fangs on the citizens.” Hmm…The demon king has been ruling the world with a hands off approach. People were still going about their daily lives like nothing had changed, Of course, you cannot escape the black-crested flags of the demon king that were everywhere, but apart from that, life was pretty normal. Perhaps he was exhausted from conquering the world that he didn’t do things that would spark revolutions everywhere. It would be easy to crush rebel groups if they appeared one at a time but very difficult if they all appeared at the same time. The white crusaders were the only group opposing him this time around, it is safe to say that a majority of people were simply content with surviving. Mr. Smith must have realized that came to the same conclusion that the white crusaders must have come to. “Should that army be set out to kill civilians? It will be a massacre on a scale never seen before.” he uttered The sad truth was that he was right. The demon army will practically move from town to town killing anything in their path without resistance. The majority of people will probably accept it as fate and not fight back. Those that do will be outnumbered and overwhelmed. It was a disaster waiting to happen. I sighed inwards. What were those useless goddess doing? How could they have let it get this far? I know that heroes and goddesses had come before, but from Mr. Smith's information, they came with a high and mighty attitude and made no effort in understanding the situation. I sighed again. Wait a minute? “Is it true that he has a captured hero?” I asked “Yes. Another hero along with a captured goddess is being held in the capital. The security is super tight. The best we could do is confirm their existence.” “Did you ever make contact with them?” “No. It happened some ten years ago. Our organization was still young back then. By the time we heard about them, they were already captured. From the information, we gathered they launched an all-out attack on the capital.” “Eh? With an army?” “No…Just the two of them…” Okay…Looks like I can scrap rescuing those dummies from my, to-do list. We continued our discussion. I learned that the demon army was ruled by four demon lords. I also learned of the legend of a holy sword and a royal sword. The white crusaders are looking for them both as they believe that defeating the demon king will require one or both swords. I also got wind of a master skill maker. The white crusaders have been unable to uncover his identity but have since found clues here and there. I have to find this person. Perhaps reading my mind, Mr. Smith spoke, “Hero-sama. The white crusaders wish to entrust you with the task of finding the swords and the master skill maker.” “Hmm…Alright…I give it a try.” “I am grateful…” he replied before handing me something. “Should you ever need assistance or wish to communicate with us, show this amulet to a barman and one of our agents will come into contact with you.” Barman!? I knew it… “Sure.” “Now then, allow me to escort you to your room.” As we walked back to my room a question came to my mind. John must have informed them about me but what about the goddess. How did they know she was with me? Hmm…I guess it doesn’t matter. In the end, their network of information must have told them that strangers had arrived… Hmm… Does that mean that Hearth is also part of the white crusaders? “Tell me something. Did you know that the goddess was with me when she first arrived here?” “No.” “Eh? Then why did you offer her such an expensive room?” “I assumed the young lady was from a wealthy family based on the gems she was wearing.” Does he mean those ugly blue gems she wears? “How much are those things worth?” He answered as he opened the door to my room, "I estimate you could get 80 million credits for all of them." “Eh?” I uttered before hearing the goddess's voice “You are finally back, huh? You have some nerve leaving me alone for such a long time. You better have a good explanation for this…not that I am complaining or anything. My life here is heavenly. This place is a good place to spend my time. I have decided to stay here until you finish the mission…hello…are you listening to me?” I don’t believe it… THE GODDESS WAS RICH ALL THIS TIME AND I DIDN’T KNOW! WTF
Chapter 13 “You monster. You creep. You no good for nothing.” The person sobbing like that was the goddess. We were currently on our way to the coastal city of Riven. There were roughly six to seven cities between us and the coastal city. Out next stop was the battle city of Raven. There is another city before that called Heartsworth, but we seem to be going to pass it altogether. When I inquired about the reason they said not to worry about it... they only said that the goddess and I would probably be fine there. In my book, that is a major red flag. “You demon king…” Oi…Don’t call me that… You are seriously setting off some major red flags over here… Looks like my glare has little effect on this dummy. If you want to know why she is acting like this then we have to go to the time we're leaving the city. First I will start with a bonus story… “Where are taking me!” I recognized the voice that was screaming out. It was John’s wife. The overweight woman was being dragged by some ruffians. Her daughter was pulling at one ruffian’s shirt while screaming for them to let her mother go. If this didn’t happen in the hallways of the winged-snake Inn, I would have jumped in to save them. I looked at Mr. Smith who simply shrugged his shoulders before explaining the situation to me, “Her husband came and borrowed 8 million credits from one of our businesses. He put up his bar as collateral, however, in the middle of the night he escaped the city in a wagon with all the bars stockpile of alcohol.” “Eh?” “He and a guard named Hearth both vanished without a trace.” Something was fishy here. Does he expect to believe that story? “You saying he left his wife, daughter, and son behind.” “Son? As far as I know, John has no son.” “Eh? But I saw his wife with a young man sometime back. They were having a meal along with her daughter…” wait a minute…Did I misunderstand that? Maybe he was the daughters’ fiancé or lover. “That man was probably the wife’s lover and the daughter's father.” EH!? Don’t tell me… Mr. Smith simply nodded at my expression. “She was having an affair behind his back. It seems to have begun before they became husband and wife.” “I see…” “She is a fat ugly woman but we will try and fetch the 3 million credit balance from her. As for the bar, we have already found a replacement barman.” He uttered before glaring in her direction, “Foolish woman.” I see. John must have made a plan ahead of time with the winged-snake Inn. Because he is not here, his wife must now take the burden of paying the 3 million credit balance. An organization like the winged-snake Inn which has links to the white crusaders would probably have an easy time finding john if they were serious. Ar~re… Ar~re. If I didn’t know better. I would think the Death God of NTR visited John. After finishing the business I had with Mr. Smith I returned to my room where… “Eh? What do you mean you sold my jewels?” the goddess asked when I handed her some new clothes to wear. She hand just come form taking a 3 hour long spar treatment. “Exactly what I said. I sold them to add to our war chest.” “Eh?” She replied with a puzzled look on her face. “They’re gone.” “Eh?” “I don’t have time for this. Put this on. Our carriage leaves in an hour.” “You bastard…You dare present me with these cheap clothes. I am the goddess you know, a goddess. I deserve the best there is. This is what I get for working with incompetence! Bring back my things!” she cried “Not happening, now get dressed or we will have no choice but to walk to the next city,” I said before leaving her to change into the cheap clothes I bought for her. Now, I know what you’re thinking. I purposely bought cheap clothes for some kind of payback and the truth of the matter is... I didn’t. After receiving the shock information that the ugly jewels the goddess was wearing were worth a lot of money, I went ahead and analyzed every bit of the goddess. Of course not in a sexual way. What I found was disturbing. At first, I was unable to appraise her which resulted in some self-gloating from her before she showed me her stats. *** Name: Athena Level: - Title: Goddess Class: Divinevine Being Attributes: - HP: - MP: - Skills: Universal Language, Hero Link, System Restore, Block Appraisal, Hero Summon, Skill Giver, Appraisal, Divineevin Presence, Divine Protectione Protection Giver *** Not only does she have no level. She also has no HP or MP and Attributes. I was wondering what all this meant and I ran some experiments after a lengthy back and forth bickering with her. Basically, the goddess is no different from a human on earth. She can’t level up and her overall strength is what you would expect from a young woman on earth. This was very troubling. If she was to be hit hard it might result in instant death. Shit…I knew she was useless but now she has become dead-weightadweight… Tch… Likely, thanks to Mr. Smith's assistance I discovered that she can equip accessories. Accessories are magic items that can boost the power someone has or provide assistance in magic casting and create a barrier if needed. The only problem is that these things are expensive. Only rarer skill cards are expensive but accessories are expensive by default. This is because they require rarer material and skills to make. Despite this, they are pretty common because adventure parties would often put aside some savings to buy the equipment for party members. All I needed to do now is buy the goddess some of these accessories to improve her overall protection. I can’t keep watch over her 24/7. Mr. Smith advised me to buy a battle dress accessory in the battle city of Raven. It roughly cost 55 million credits but for that price, you will get a lot of perks. On top of that, you can upgrade it as you go. That is the reason I bought her cheap clothes. Right now, we need to save as much credit as possible. Moving on. You may have noticed from the skill list that there was the < Hero Link >. I suspect that is the skill that links my life to the goddess. When I asked her to see if she could turn it off, she paused for a second before saying, “Can’t be done. It's a passive skill.” A passive skill is a skill that is always active skill like < Universal Language > She didn’t seem to be lying to me or rather, she didn’t see the dangers of deactivating it. HAD THE GODDESS DEACTIVATED IT AND I WAS NEAR. I WOULD HAVE DEFINITELY TRIED TO KILL HER. DON’T YOU WTF ME!
Chapter 14 “You dummy…” And we are back to the present. Any information I may have forgotten to explain is probably not important or too painful to retell. This dummy has been doing nothing but bitching. I can’t tell her that she is so weak that a single blow might result in her death as she might just do something annoying. That’s why I am keeping it under wraps for now. While she did say she wanted to stay at the winged-snake Inn, I couldn’t take the chance that the demon king will not find out about that’s place’s connection to the white crusaders and raid it. Which means the safest place for this idiot is next to me. “You two get along very well.” I couldn’t tell if it was a compliment or a sarcastic remark but Catherin uttered those words to us. She, I and the goddess were all sharing the most expensive coach in the caravan heading to the city of raven. The reason we were in the most expensive coach was so that this idiot didn’t complain about how uncomfortable the ride was. I am pretty sure I would have ended up killing her before we arrived at our destination. I put on a wry smile and answered, “It is not all sunshine and roses” “Ar~re? Spoken like a true husband. You guys must have known each other for a long time.” “Humph…Like I would be caught dead hanging around this guy. What kind of demon sells someones personal belongings without permission? Humph” “Interesting words coming from someone who gave away something that belongs to another person… just because the boy who was standing in front of her had good looks.” “Huh!? What are you talking about?” Oi... This idiot forgot what she did to me, didn’t she?… Catherin broke into laughter after watching our banter… “I hope I find someone to love like you two.” She said I could only respond with a wry smile *** Nighttime had arrived and I was facing a huge pain in the ass… “Why do I have to leave this comfortable carriage for a less comfortable one?” the goddess yelled at me. We were preparing to camp for the night. Usually, when a caravan was preparing to camp for the night, people would be moved to the fast-moving carriages in case of an attack from bandits. The carriage we were on was nice but it was also slow. The caravan had to adjust their speed to accommodate us. This was not with incentives of course. Apart from me and Catherin, 12 adventures guarded the caravan. All of whom were rank C. One rank below us. These adventures were all hired by the carriage company we were using. Under normal circumstances, this level of protection should be enough. These adventures, even without Catherin and I would be able to repel bandits numbering 40 with ease and 70 with difficulty. They could also hold their own with rank C monsters “Sorry about that Athena” Catherin uttered. “This is just how things work around here. You never know what will happen in the middle of the night. A large number of monsters might appear out of nowhere or bandits.” “Humph…That has nothing to do with me. This one will protect me…” she said while pointing at me. This idiot has really forgotten that she didn’t give me any cheats. “I admit, Sojuro’s skills are great... even if I haven’t seen them in action myself, but I doubt he will be able to fight and protect you at the same time." “Then you do it.” “Ar~re…Are you asking me to do a guard job? That will be 10 million credits.” “10 million to escort her to the sea town?” “Don’t be silly Sojuro. 10 million for the night.” “Done!” The goddess yelled “Undone” I retorted, “We don’t have that kind of money to waste…” “Huh!? What about the money you got from selling my jewels?” “That money has a more useful purpose... Just get into the other carriage” “I refuse… I will not lower myself to substandard service…” “Yes you will, or I am going to tell god- I mean, your mother that you are causing me more problems…” “You wouldn’t!” “Try me” The goddess glared at me before pouting. I didn’t find it cute at all. After making sure she was safely asleep in one of the fast carriages I headed to where the adventures had made a campfire. Catherin was already there, drinking while making fun of the other guys that weren’t. “We are duty, Catherin…Done tease us…” One of the adventures uttered A little further away was the carriage we were traveling in. It was there to act as bait. This was a kind of unspoken rule between bandits and adventures. If the number of bandits is too much for the adventures, the carriage will be used as a kind of payment to the greedy bandits. In exchange the bandits would not chase down the fast-moving carriages. The expensive carriage was made from various precious metals. You just need to find a shady blacksmith and melt it down. It was for this reason that the carriage company charges heavy fares to ride one of their carriages. No matter what happens they will still make a profit. “What about you Sojuro? Are you going to leave me hanging?” Catherin’s question towards me, brought me back to reality “I can handle one drink.” “Humph…Sissy” As we talked a felt a chill down my spine. It was like I was sensing danger. It was not the physical kind... more like that feeling you get when some fool is about to raise a red flag. “You should have let the young miss sleep in the expensive carriage… There are no bandits in this area that can overcome the six keepers.” One young adventure boasted Apparently, he was the youngest member of the party called, ‘six keepers’. The fact that at such a young age he was able to become a C-rank speaks a lot about his skills “Don’t get cocky… You would probably piss your pants if the bone skulls attacked.” “Bone Skulls?” I asked the leader of the other adventure party that was with us. They were called 'quest seekers'. “Bone Skulls is the largest bandit group on the continent. With over 400 strong bandits.” “There is a bandit group that large?” “Yeah… Some crazy strong guy named thunderbolt crushed a lot of other small bandit groups and absorbed them into his own.” “Sound scary” “Yep… No one has ever survived an encounter with these guys… but not to worry. I heard that they are currently operating in the cities to the north. Chances of us meeting them is low…” My flags sense was now in overdrive. “This information you heard… How long ago was it?” “Hmm…2 months ago…” 2 months ago! Then rather than call it information we might as well call it gossip… Catherin slapped my shoulder. She must have sensed what I was thinking. “You can’t go through life worrying about every little detail, sometimes you just have to take a chance.” Bullshit… I follow reincarnation rules 6 to 9 6. Always have a plan 7. Always have a backup plan 8. Always have a backup for the backup plan 9. Always have an escape plan. Because plans and backup plans tend to fail These rules have kept me alive in many situations and I am not going to just forget about them. With that, I made some plans in my head for the journey ahead… The only comfort I took to my sleep is the fact that I might not need to use them this early on… “Wake up everyone… we are under attack” I got up in the middle of the night… “Who is the enemy? Monsters?” “No…It bandits…” “How many?” “I count 200 and rising!” “Don’t tell me!?” “It’s the Bone Skulls… The Bone Skulls are raiding us!” “Shit!” I uttered THE GODDESS AND I ARE ABOUT TO BE ATTACKED BY THE MOST POWERFUL BANDIT GROUP. WTF
Chapter 15 “The Bone Skulls are attacking!” The shout woke everyone up. With overwhelming numbers on their side, our only option was to run, but… “A group as large as the Bone Skulls won’t be satisfied with just the expensive carriage…If we turn to run now they will most likely pick us off one by one.” This was Catherin’s assessment of the current situation and I have to agree. Why settle for one thing when you have the manpower to take it all. “What do we do?” The person who asked that was the young adventure from the six keepers who boldly spoke before. He was currently shaking in his boots. He like the rest of us knew that the odds were against us. “Someone needs to hold them here while the others escape,” Catherin suggested “Hmm…Your right. I will stay…” the leader quest seekers uttered before the leader of six keepers interjected… I will spare you the back and forth banter as it was of little importance because, “Even if both your parties were to stay and fight…You will not be able to hold them off long enough for the carriages to escape.” Catherin said. She was right and everyone knew it. “Then what are we going to do?” asked the leader of six keepers. “I will stay and hold them off.” Catherin boldly uttered “We can’t allow that…We were the ones hired for this escort.” The leader of the quest seekers uttered before the leader of the six keepers agreed. “We don’t have a choice in the matter. This is the best decision to be made.” “Do you have an escape plan?” I asked her “Escape?” Oi…Don’t tell me this was one of those suicide missions, she was planning. I sighed when her expression told me that it was. “I will hold them off.” I declared “Sojuro…” she uttered “Unlike you, I have a plan that will allow me to escape with my life.” “Is that so?” “Yeah… Leave this to me.” She looked troubled. She probably thought that I wouldn’t have done this if she hadn’t volunteered herself and she was right. Having her owe me this favor will come in handy in the future. “Alright… I will trust you with this… Don’t go dying on me.” As I watched the carriages speed off, my attention was now turned to the oncoming bandits. Some were on horseback while others ran behind them. This was probably the reason the ones on horseback were moving slightly slower from the normal speed a horse can achieve on this terrain. I took a glance at my current stats *** Name: Sojuro Level: 110/160 Title: Hero Class: Sage Attributes: Earth, Air, Water HP: 26000/26000 MP: 40000/40000 Skills: Inventory, Universal Language, Appraisal, Earth Wall, WaterFall, Air Blade, Water Whip, Fire Ball, Earthquake, Fog, Dash, Rush, Speeder Earth Spike, Stealth, Auto hit, Danger sense Cheat Skill: None Devine Protection: Athena *** For this plan, I would be depending on my < Dash >, < Rush >, and < Speeder > to make me move fast. By overlapping the three skills I should be able to outrun the bandits. I will use < Fireball > and < Earth Spike > while overlapping them with the < Auto Hit > to strike from afar and once they are close enough I will blind them with fog and finish the plan with an earthquake. The radius of the Earthquake isn’t large, so I will have to let them get close to me. Danger Sense should help avoid any unforeseen attacks from the enemy. Right… Let's begin the defense. < Auto Hit > < Fire Ball > < Auto Hit > < Earth Spike > My fireballs and earth spikes flew through the night sky… Some of the more skilled bandits were able to dodge or block the attack, luckily most of them were unskilled. At that point, I felt a chill down my spine. As if someone among the bandits was eyeing me as a pray. I shook it off and continued my attack. The bandits drew closer and closer until < Fog > I poured a lot of MP into that skill. I needed the fog to cover a large area. Some skills effect depend on the amount of MP you supply while others depend on your level like Earthquake. I could still hear the sounds of charging horses. I waited a couple of seconds before finishing my plan. < Earthquake > The shock-wave threw riders off their horses. The bandits' charge was stopped dead in its tracks. When the fog cleared I had visual confirmation of that. Time to make like a banana and split, I thought before my < Danger Sense > skill acitivated. I rolled to my right as an attack came from above me. “You’re pretty good to avoid my attack adventure.” A bold man with a snake tattoo on his face spoke to me. In his hands were two daggers. From the clothes, he was wearing he was probably a thief or an assassin. I held off using appraisal on him because there was no point in doing so. The bandits have stopped their charge and all that is left is for me to do is run out of here. “Time to bleed adventure…” he uttered like some kind of movie villain His skills were impressive but I have been taught by over 15 martial arts fighters in my past reincarnations. That and the fact that his movements were slower than mine suggested his level was not higher than mine. He didn’t seem to have any skills to boost his speed either. Hmm… Now that i think about it, his fighting skills aren't that good. He must be a thief then… I better end this now... Remembering the line he uttered before we began this fight. I decided to reply with a line of my own. “More like... Time for a bit down in your town, and you’re the guest of honor” After I said that ridiculous line I activated my < Speeder > skill and landed hit after hit on my attacker before knocking him away with a kick to his chest. I quickly turned to make my escape when a loud voice called out to me. “Are you just going to run away?” I turned back and found a huge man standing there. He was very muscular, to say the least. He had a large thunderbolt tattooed on his chest. “Let me guess. You must be the leader. Thunderbolt…” “That I am… And you are?” I thought about whether to give him my name or not and decided to do it. A big bandit group like the Bone Skulls probably has ways of finding these things out. “Sojuro. B-rank Adventure…” “Oh… A B-rank adventure took down Cobra… Seems the quality of adventures has improved.” Eh? Aren’t B-rank adventures skilled? Don’t tell me this is one of those worlds where high-ranked adventures are actually garbage with the exception of a few. I had the misfortune of being in one of those worlds in one of my past reincarnations. In that world, highly skilled adventures were scouted by rich nobles which left a gap for the adventure guild to fill. This resorted to them relaxing the requirements for ranking up, as a result, the world was full of under qualified high-ranked adventures. I can only hope that is not the case here. “Let us have a duo…” While I was deep in thought thunderbolt spoke. His eyes were focused on me. I could tell that this guy was a battle freak. He was probably the one who sent shivers down my spine earlier on. “No thanks…” “Humph… have you no backbone?” “I do… And I want it to remain there…” “You coward…” he yelled loudly with his deep voice. I smirked at his frustration… He clearly lacked the speed to catch me. If anything he looked like the power type… “Just be contempt with the expensive carriage over there…” I uttered before beginning my escape when the door to the expensive carriage opened and a familiar voice shouted. “Will you keep it down, I am trying to get some sleep here…” “…EH!?” I was so shocked that I didn’t notice the grin on Thunderbolts' face. What is she doing there? I made sure she was fast asleep in one of the fast carriages… Wait… did she sneak back in when I was asleep? Why didn’t the other adventures stop her? …Shit, I don’t have time for this… I dashed towards her. I was going to pick up that useless goddess and run away. However, my < Danger Sense > activated < Thunder Shock Wave > Thunderbolt swung his massive hammer in the air. I could feel the air compress as a massive shock-wave approached me. < Earth Wall > I tried to block it with the earth wall but it was hopeless. It shattered right before my eyes and I was sent flying. Thunderbolts attack was too powerful. I slowly stood to my feet and glared in his direction. “I like that look… It looks good on you…” he uttered before laughing. “Secure the girl.” He commanded “I watched as the bandits grabbed the screaming goddess…” “This woman is important to you, isn’t she?” he said, “I going to enjoy this…take them both back to the hideout,” he said before walking off. My mind went into overdrive to think of a way out of this, but before it could, my danger sense activated and I felt an arm drop on my shoulder. “Yo… Remember me?” It was the guy with the snake tattoo. “Guess what time it is?” he asked I was out of options. There was no way to save the goddess in my current situation. I could only hope that a situation will appear at their hideout… “Umm… 2:30 perhaps…” I jokingly answered “Payback time.” “Ah…Payback…What a wonderful….Uhhhh” The guy must have used some kind of kidnap skill because I felt a sharp jab on the back of my neck before I began to fall. As I lay on the ground, slowly losing consciousness. I realized THE GODDESS AND I HAVE BEEN CAPTURED BY BANDITS. WTF