Sylfie placed a glowing hand over Ryu, muttering something as the stag charged. She suddenly rolled off of him and notched another arrow.

“Hey, foreigner. You should probably run,” she said calmly.

Ryu sat up to see the stag charging at him with full force, ignoring Sylfie’s presence completely. He scrambled to his feet running and screaming as the stag followed in hot pursuit.

“You’re doing great, nya!” Aurora called after him.

“Easy for you to say!” Ryu panted. He was not used to this much physical activity. Despite his slim build, he was severely out of shape. He spent most days grinding away at World of Glory when he wasn’t working long hours at his local Java Roast. He shook his head. He could think about World of Glory another time when he wasn’t under threat of being gored to death.

Sylfie loosed another arrow imbued with fire. She hit her mark once again, setting the beast aflame. It howled in pain, though the attack only seemed to make it angrier. Eh? Why isn’t my Agility Skill activating? And why is that thing still looking at me?

The stag charged like a raging bull straight towards Ryu who rolled out of the way just as it slammed into a tree. Rows of trunks fell behind the behemoth as it turned around huffing and shaking its head.

The stag’s eyes scanned the surrounding area. Ryu hid behind a rock, narrowing his eyes at Sylfie suspiciously. She was out in the open, without any camouflage, yet the monster continued to disregard her.

Wait a minute. Ryu dug through his pocket again, a small text appearing on his skill card.

[Skill Disabled: Swift Foot]

[Duration: 5 minutes]

[Status Effect Active: Aggro]

[Effect Duration: 5 minutes]

Ryu balled his fists furiously, jumping out from behind the rock.

“You, b***h! What’s the big idea casting [Aggro] on me?!”

Sylfie grinned, causing Ryu to realize what he had done. The stag snorted angrily, breaking through the rock with its antlers and chasing after Ryu again.

“Kill it! Kill it with fire! Do something! Gahhh!”

Sylfie released a maelstrom of arrows, landing each shot deep within the beast’s hide. Still, it continued to charge. Ryu panted heavily. How long would he be able to keep this up? He wished he had never saved the cat. This d*mn cat brought me here to die again! Don’t just sit there! Help me out!

“What am I supposed to do, nya?”

Ryu jumped, grabbing the cat on his shoulder by the scruff. “How did you get here?!”

“I’m a talking, immortal cat, and somehow you’re surprised I can teleport. Humans are weird, nya,” Aurora shrugged.

Ryu made a mental note, so he would remember to feed the cat to the Cerberus if he survived.

“So you’re not going to help then?”

“What for, nya? You can outpace the Hibiscus Stag with [Swift Foot] so there’s no need for me to intervene. Plus, Sylfie is doing a great job on offense. Go Sylfie!” Aurora cheered.

The skill’s been disabled—Hibiscus Stag?

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

[This coveted berry can only be found in the Polar Expanse. It is often used as bait to lure in the Legendary Hibiscus Stag…]

“We’re fighting a legendary monster?!!” Ryu exclaimed. “I’m a godd*mn [Level 0]! I don’t have any attack or defense skills! What did you rope me into?!”

“D-don’t blame me, nya! It was Sylfie who put bait for the stag!”

“So you knew it was bait?!”

“Eh hehe. Sorry, my mistake,” Aurora smiled sheepishly.

Never mind the Cerberus—he wouldn’t feed her to the dog. He would cook her into a stew himself. Aurora looked shocked. Oh, she can read minds too?

“Of course, I can! Didn’t you notice? I just happened to be listening to your thoughts just now! It’s a useful skill to have, especially so I can be wary of devious people like you! You want to eat me?! Do I look like emergency food to you?”

The idea had crossed his mind as hyperbole, but now that he thought about it further…

“Hey! Don’t get any ideas, nya!”

The stag roared, piercing stone and soil with its antlers, throwing them at Ryu and Aurora. Ryu zigzagged through the trees as Sylfie sunk more arrows into the legendary creature.

“Do something different! By the hundredth arrow, you would think that this monster isn’t going to die so easily!” Ryu shouted at Sylfie.

“Be patient! If the stag stabs you it’ll slow down for a little bit. So if you want to be useful—”

“I refuse!”

“Then hang on a little longer!” She notched three arrows at once, all with different afflictions imbued in their arrowheads.

She released her bowstring, letting the projectiles fly. The first arrow drove through the stag’s eyes, blinding it. The second went through one of its knees, causing it to lose its balance. The third simply embedded itself into the stag’s hide without much fanfare.

[Status Effect: Aggro—Disengaged]

[Skill enabled: Swift Foot]

Ryu stopped in his tracks, turning around to witness the Hibiscus Stag thrash about. It crashed into trees and rocks, tearing through the dirt as it bucked wildly. A pink aura suddenly enveloped the beast as a giant hibiscus bloomed on its back.

Ryu’s skill card burned in his hand. His eyes widened when he saw text flashing in red on the card.

[WARNING: Hibiscus Stag health at critical values]

[Boss Health: 10%]

[Berserk Mode Activated: Blooming Radiance]

The Hibiscus Stag charged up a massive amount of energy within the petals of the flower as Ryu made a mad dash away from the Boss, clutching Aurora tightly.

“It’s no use!” Sylfie called after him. “Even [Swift Foot] won’t get you out of the blast radius! We need to defeat it before it explodes!”

Ryu grit his teeth. What was he supposed to do? Punch it to death? This entire day had been a series of disasters, one after the other.

“Hey, Ryu.” Aurora tapped him with a paw.

“Now’s not the time, Aurora. We need to figure out—”

“Were you content with your original life?”

“What? Where is this coming from? Seriously this isn’t—”

“I’m being serious too, nya. If you were really happy with your old life…I can take you back this one time and you’ll never see me again.”

Ryu looked at her incredulously. Just like that? She would send him back to his world? He grinned. He was eager to get back. The prospect of another world was enticing, but when you got down to the finer details of living in a fantasy world like this—it made his own seem like paradise. The decision was easy…wasn’t it?

Ryu bit his lip. What was he waiting for? He watched as Sylfie stood stoic in the face of death. Had he ever been so resolute about anything? His old life meandered and the days passed by without much purpose. Before long, he would wither away into dust, having nothing to show for his existence.

Here, he had been given a chance. A fresh start. He could make something of himself. If I ever reach the kingdom. Still, he wanted to try and make an honest effort to live with purpose. He stared at Aurora with determination.

“I’m staying here.”

“Is that your final answer?” she asked.

Ryu nodded. He was sure this was the right decision. “Yes.”

“Well, that was really stupid. I literally gave you the option to escape. Now you’re just going to die in this explosion.”

“What?! You stupid cat! I thought you were testing me!” he exclaimed, pinching Aurora’s cheeks.

“Ahh!! I’m sowwy!!” Aurora apologized. “L-look!” The cat pointed in Sylfie’s direction with one paw.

Sylfie had drawn back a single arrow imbued with flame. She’s already tried that before! It’s not going to work!

“Burn to Ash and Cinder: [Phoenix Fire]!”