“Fufufufufufu.”

As the little mage chuckled.

“L-lin, Stop! W-why are you so calm in this very tense situation!”

So our journey continues with me being teased by a magical girl for more than half of the trip. But it’s not really that bad…

“Fufufufu, we’re almost to the capital Aia-san, aren’t you excited!”

“NO I’M NOT!”

“Oh, so you do admit I’m a fearless mage in the region, you should be lucky.”

Even though she mentioned something about a blood thirsty monster like any other, I still can’t tell if she’s telling the truth or not.

We’re half way to the city, but there’s this one question I’ve wanted to ask her.

“Uuuhhhmm… Lin? Can I ask you something?”

“Yes?”

The little sorcerer gave off a smug face.

DON’T GIVE ME THAT LOOK!

“Uuhm… I’m concerned, since you’re a boss, shouldn’t you be back at the boss area?”

The little sorcerer tilted her head, looking at me in a curious manner.

“EeHyaahh… it’s not like that I don’t want you to go back… but… who will the players fight?”

“Oh that! Remember the little Icon that pops on my head? That’ll let me know if someone is coming; I could just fast travel back and fight them.”

Right I forgot, fast travel exists. Even though I’m new here and the devs won’t allow me to have the full map. I’m still the World Handler and the World Handler’s job is to check every nook and cranny in this world.

“Fufufufu! The fools won’t even know what hit them. My anonymous arrival will stager them long enough for me to eradicate their lives! And soon the region will know the most powerful sorcerer- Waaahaahaahaha!”

She’s doing her thing again…

Moments later, we finally reach the entrance to the city, which the entrance hub is appeared to be in shambles. A mist radiates the area, pieces of armor scattered, craters, ditches and holes were made, and some blood stains are smeared across the gate. Seeing this makes me want to fast travel back to the first town.

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“Here we are Aia-san! Paradise!... Aia-san?”

The little mage noticed that I’m about a few blocks away from her.

“Y-you go ahead! I’ll just wait right here.”

I gave off a nervous smile.

“Don’t tell me you’re just going to give up on your job… “

“N-n-n-n-n-n-no it’s not like that!”

“Come on ya’ coward!”  

The little mage grabbed on to me, dragging me towards the gate.

“L-l-l-l-l-lin! STOP! T-t-t-THERE HAS TO BE ANOTHER WAY! A-a-a-a-ANYTHING BUT THE GATE!”

I desperately squirm and tried to claw my way out.

“WE ARE… GOING…. THROUGH THE GATE…. SO I CAN….GET…..  MY FREE…. ENTRANCE GIVEAWAY!”

All of a sudden, a loud roar emits the entire hub. Both Lin and I were staggered by the unsuspected sound. Precipitously a huge shadowy figure appeared right in front of us, as it lumbers closer and closer.

“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!”

I embraced Lin for dear life.

“A-a-a-Aia… w-what are you … d-doing… I c-can’t… Breath-…!”

WE’RE DEAD! WE ARE SO DEAD... wait? What I am saying!… I’m an A.I. and She’s a boss… we can’t die… but… still…. We can get really really hurt!!

The beast made it into our line of sight, and what I saw is an adversary that you don’t really want to mess with. The creature towering right in front of us is a Minotaur, equipped with chain mail, gauntlets, and a halberd. The beast glared at me straight in the eye, as I let out one more scream, turtling close to Lin.

“KYAAAAAAHHH!!! LIN! SAVE ME!”

“Jeez! Way to go in making an entrance Blockhead!....”

As Lin faces the monster.  

Wait… did she just talked to the monster?

“Oh, sorry little one, I Didn’t see you there… hmmmm oh now I recognize that adorable face! Wick Ling! It’s been a while!”

Looking around a bit, the huge bull nurtures the little sorcerer.

“DON’T CALL ME THAT! AND STOP PATTING MY HEAD YOU OVERSIZE LIVESTOCK!”

“Eh?....eeehhh?!”

Lin finally calms down, heavily breathing while the bull looks down with a soft smile. Even though he looks like a menacing monster that could tenderize you in seconds I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS TO ASK.

“Done with your little tantrum?”

The huge bull chuckled. While the grumpy mage pouts and glares at him. Meanwhile I approached Lin and asked.

“You said he was a blood thirsty monster!”

“Well he IS!”

“Well technically ma’am I am…. but in occasion.”

“Eeeh?”

“Well… recently there was this young lad who passed by, He did put up a fight, almost broke the gate in the process. Here have a look.”

The Minotaur pulled out the PDA, showing us the player info.

“Hmmm… Isn’t that the same guy who effortlessly wrecked Lin?”

“That intro skipping son of a- LET ME AT HIM! I’LL HAVE MY REVENGE!”

“Whoa there little one! You know I can’t just let you rampage through the city.”

The Minotaur stops her in her tracks, via his hand.

“S-SAYS THE MONSTER HIMSELF! RRRMMMM L-LET ME THROUGH!”

While the sorcerer is occupied, I decided to check the Minotaur.

“Uuhhmm… excuse me? W-who are you exactly?”

“Oh! Where are my manners! Silly old me… The name’s Morosear. I’m the City’s monster and gate keeper; but you can call me Moro-sama”

Now that I have the full name, I can dig into his Info.

“Morosear the Mad” is apparently the ACTUAL first boss in the game… so that makes Lin a mini boss!... or the tutorial boss… as a huge brute, he pacts a lot of armor and HP and also deals significant amount of damage. To make up for his strength, he’s apparently slow and vulnerable to magic.

Morosear is kind of a good example of a first boss. His purpose is to teach new players when to engage and evade in a fight, but one false move could lead to a fatal punishment.

His info depicts his in-game personality as a rampaging monster… but his actual personality… he’s a pretty nice person.

“Check!  Thanks for the info Moro-sama! Oh and my name is Aia. I’m apparently the new Handler for this world.”

“Ah yes, I heard about you, little one. I’m assuming you have business in the capital, that’s why you seek entry, is it not?”

“Yes, yes we are.”

“Can we go already? All this talking is making me hungry.”

The bull chuckled at the little mage’s response.

“I see you’re already friends with Wicky here.”

“Mmmmrr... I told you not to call me that…”

As Lin grumbles and pouts.

“Hehe, A Friend of Lin is also a friend of mine. And by that I grant both of you entry to the city.”

Moro raises his Halberd, knocking its rod down to the concrete floor. The ground quakes as the bloody Gates open, giving us a glimpse and entry into the shining City.

“Woah! It looks beautiful! T-thanks again Moro-Sama!”

“Yeah yeah… thank you for the entry… blah blah… come on, Aia-san! Let’s get our entry loot.”

The Minotaur gave off a soft smile, seeing us both glimmer with excitement.

 “Hehe, you know? You both look like a really good couple.”

And by that quote, both our faces suddenly turned red along with an intense blush.

“Or is it called a couple? Hold on… old Moro is thinking… hmmm a group of adventurers... pair? No… couple…. P- pa… party?... OH YES! That’s right! You both look like a really good party!”

“E-..eeeeeeh!?”      

“S-SINCE WHEN THE HELL DID YOU DEVELOP A DIRTY PERSONALITY YOU OVERSIZE MEATLOAF!”