krpg (kentusrpg): “The story of volume 4 is finished! Applause!”
*a lonely applause from a single blonde girl* “Pachipachipachi.”
KK (Katsuragi Kenta): “We somehow survived this... It's Rine, right?”
RN (Rine a.k.a. Katarine von Stolzherz): “Hn?”
KK: “We were saved by your dumb luck, right?”
RN: “Did we? Yeah, I was useful!”
MK (Momokawa Kyou): “Rine, you're always useful. You fought most of the demons, then faced the oni, and finally you cut us a way through the moletons... actually, I feel like I was the hindrance.”
RN: “Kyou, you had two people to carry. You did great.”
MK: “...I can't really agree, but thanks nonetheless.”
KK: “Just say that you're flattered and stop squirming like a girl in love, you're making me hurl.”
MK: *monotone* “Could you stop ruining this moment?”
AA (Ara'ainn): “Momo, I have to agree with Kenta-kun here.”
krpg: “I think you all did great. It was harsh, and you had to act with little information; it was a fight against the unknown, one of the most taxing battles there are.”
KK: “I would say that I'm glad this is over, but knowing the whole procedure, the next volume won't be a pony ride either, right?”
MK: “Author-san, I have a suggestion. How about a volume where we don't put our life on the line. Instead we have a lot of fun while finding an easy way to get back to our respective worlds?”
AA: “Could you also include a full explanation of how the hero-system works? Then we can use and abuse it, and therefore be better equipped to handle the next problems you give us.”
RN: “If it's a wish-volume, then I want a date!”
krpg: “It's not a 'wish-volume.' It's just a volume, like all before.”
KK: “Anything you’d like to tell us now?”
krpg: “It'll be fun.”
KK: “In your sick mind, every deathtrap you send us into is fun.”
krpg: “Correct! Plus, there will be more focus on the relationships you all share, and you'll meet a lot of new people.”
MK: “A lot of people... so we're returning to civilization?”
RN: “Is it the city, Goldbrunn, that Haa mentioned?”
krpg: “Yes, and yes.”
AA: “This will become tedious...”
krpg: “Don't worry, you will all do fine.”
KK: “This means that shit is going down...”
RN: “Let's focus on the good side of things. It's a big adventure, where we will have to face several challenges. We might get hurt, we might get broken, but in the end, we'll prevail.”
KK: “Speaking of broken, is Rine's arm still broken in the next volume?”
krpg: “It's not a matter of volumes, but a matter of time.”
KK: “So you cut our combat potential? What a cheap way to artificially make things more intense.”
MK: “It's not cheap Ken, it's lazy and uncreative.”
AA: “What a shameful author, to use tactics like that to keep their readers engaged.”
RN: “Don't worry, I'll be fine.”
MK: “Rine-chan, could you please stay quiet for a bit as we try to convince the hamster to magically heal your arm between volumes?”
RN: “Ah, I see.”
krpg: “No, I won't? She can be glad that she's a hero now. Otherwise, it would become complicated for me as well. You try writing about a character with a broken arm, see how it cuts into your stories. Good thing it's not her dominant arm...”
KK: “Then why did you do it?”
krpg: “Because the oni is really strong when it hits! Rine is already badass for having all of it reduced to just an arm of her choosing.”
MK: “Who's stronger in a fair fight? Rine or the oni?”
krpg: “Figure it out yourself!”
RN: “I think I might be better in general... though it's hard fighting her, her attacks are powerful, so they hurl me around a lot.”
KK: “I've never seen that oni in action, so no idea.”
AA: “I've fought the oni myself... easy to distract, but also brutal. I don't recommend fighting her.”
MK: “As long as we stick together, we're going to deal with her for good.”
RN: “Yes, we fight as one!”
KK: “How about fighting her as four instead? Ganging up on her, while giving her no chance to retaliate, and then bullying her into submission, the true power of teamwork!”
MK: “Don't pull the word teamwork through the dirt, Ken!”
AA: “Even you have to admit that we learned how numbers could sum up badly. You only have a limited amount of attention and resources to deal with them. It’s difficult to fend off several enemies with only two arms, after all..”
RN: “Yes, too many enemies can be very taxing, especially if you lack the means to fight them well.”
KK: “We should try to get some multi-target skills and AoEs...”
AA: “Oh, Kenta-kun's gamer-talk.”
RN: “Ah, could somebody please make notes?”
MK: “It'll just end up as complaints about how we lack an actual tank...”
krpg: “This conversation is all over the place... Well, let's change topics: The Extras of this volume!”
AA: “First a non-canonical one... Another 'Love is gold'-episode?”
krpg: “It could but, while it may be amusing, I want to do something different this time instead.”
RN: “What will it be? A fairy tale?”
krpg: “Nah, I wanted to do something quick and simple. I got some ideas from the readers, but I dismissed them in the end.”
MK: “You're the worst. Asking for people’s opinions and then taking none of them into account.”
krpg: “It has to ring a bell inside of me! Well, they certainly did, though the result is something else entirely.”
RN: “Tell us, tell us!”
krpg: “It's something dear to Kenta.”
MK: “Kenta, stop talking about self-heals and start listening.”
KK: “But what good is a tank, that's wholly depending on the healer? Make the healer's job easier, dammit!”
MK: “Since I'm the healer, you can make my job easier by listening to the hamster.”
KK: “What? He's still talking?”
krpg: “Thank you very much. Well, let's go on to the second Extra: It's about some of Kenta's and Kyou's classmates.”
MK: “Oh, which ones?”
krpg: “Mari, Yuria, and Naomi.”
MK: “Why those three?”
krpg: “Because Kenta did something to them.”
KK: “Hah?”
krpg: “Remember in volume 2, when you were scouting ahead, and found those three and threw their backpacks off a cliff when they were distracted?”
KK: “No?”
krpg: “...*smile*.”
MK: “You monsters...”
krpg: “Finally, the Anniversary Extra, which was released before Volume 4, will be a third extra to get the things organized. So it’ll be after the other two, though it’s the same the long-time readers already know. Then the Afterword, where there will also be a new poll included. This time it will be the favorite adversary, a hero can only be as good as his opponents, right?”
EXTRA 1 – I HATE BEING WED IN THE POKÉMON WORLD!
“Is it me, or does this look different than usual?” Rine asks with a bewildered look, her ember-like eyes showing how confused she is right now.
Well, she's right. Up to now, it was just another day like always: Waking up, and realizing that being in a fantasy world is still not just a bad dream. Trying to wash my face, though it'll never be as clean as back home. Looking around the camp for tracks to learn, and what kind of monsters and people might try to kill us today. Eating Kyou-san's cooking, which might be good in general, but just underlines that I'm in a shitty fantasy world. Then I would go into a bush to take a dump. It becomes quite chilly in the mornings, and I would then have to deal with the feeling of freezing my balls off. Afterward we would start walking great distances while killing some mobs on the way, and trying to stay alive.
Then I would get into another fight with Kyou-san. This time I think it was because I laughed at her when she stumbled over a root. Following that, I would be thrown to the ground by Rine, and then put in an arm lock. She does stuff like that at times. Then I would check what Ara-san is writing down. This time I found out that she's making a list of my swears for “reference.”
Yup, the same day as always. I feel weird saying that's the usual routine. Well, when I found an old forest road and we decided to travel through it, things changed.
First, every fucking tree looks the same now! This is irritating, it looks so wrong on so many levels. For some reason, thick, high patches of grass are growing from the ground, though the trees nearby should take all the water and nourishment, while blocking the sunlight. By the way, the grass also looks exactly the same.
Ara-san's ears start moving suddenly: “Strange... the trees are... different? It's like they're supposed to be here.”
“What do you mean?”
“Usually, trees don't mind where they grow and therefore have no sense of belonging to certain places.”
“Hm... let's be cautious. Rine take the front. I'll take the back. Kyou-san and Ara-san are in the center.” This formation fits if we don't know where the enemies might be, since my sharp senses are the best defense against ambushes, while Rine can carve her way through anything that might be a danger.
“Yes! It really is like being in another world! I'm excited!” …I guess Rine is the only one, who has never crossed worlds before. Well, let's ignore that comment for now.
After walking for some minutes, there is no danger in sight, though something else is hindering our path: “Why is the road overgrown?” This high grass is bonkers.
Well, no other way than to tread through it. The moment Rine moves into the grass, she draws her sword and thrusts it into the patch. “Kenta, there is a monster.” She lifts her sword and shows me her victim.
It's some sort of worm about 30 cm (about 12 inches) long. It's green overall, but has some strange yellow ring-shaped marks on its sides. Huge eyes and a red antenna make up most of its face... Wait a minute, I know that one!
“Katarine-san, there!” Ara-san lifts her hand: “[Fountain Gun]!” She shoots something from the air, a plump-bodied bird, about the size of the caterpillar, with primarily brown and cream colored feathers. “These are some strange monsters.”
“Ken, I feel like I've seen them somewhere before...” Kyou-san, I know.
“Ah, Ara! There is another one!!!” Rine points at the grass, where a slightly larger creature is, its yellow body is chubby and is very recognizable.
Kyou-san tugs my arm: “Ken, is that... wait, you look horrible.” Usually, this would be an insult, but I know how I must look, as an icy chill climbs up my spine.
“Katarine-san, look out, it shoots... lightning slow enough to evade? This kind of attack is certainly out of the ordinary.”
“A lightning shooting monster! I'll take it down!” Rine, please don't. “[Crescent Moon]!” Yellow turned into red.
“That certainly was a sight. Oh, another caterpillar. I'll switch to [Acrobat], since they don't look worthy of a spell.” Ara-san, stop pummeling it with your staff.
“Ken, keep it together.” Kyou-san slaps me lightly, and I realize that I had fallen to my knees. “What is wrong with you?”
“They...”
“Another bird monster, I have it!” Rine jumps into the air, stabbing the one approaching.
“Please...”
“This caterpillar has a big horn on its head. Interesting.”
“No...”
“What's this? Cocoon-monsters? They don't even move, should I kill them nonetheless? Ah, Kenta would say 'Easy XP,' so I had better do it.”
“List-”
Now another one comes into the chaotic mix, some brat, who walks up to Ara-san: “Hey, you looked me in the eyes! Now we're rivals! Let's battle!”
“You're speaking with me? Ah, being so young means that you can't hold in your human desires, which are about to explode, so you plan to have your way with me... poor me.”
“Go, Cater-uargh!”
“...I expected more. Momo, could you take a look at that child? I may have split his scalp.”
“Why are you hitting him with your staff in the first place!?”
“He challenged me.”
“Kenta, the monsters are coming out of nowhere, and there seems to be no end to them. What should we do?”
What you should do!? “For starters... STOP KILLING MY CHILDHOOD!”
Of all the pains I've lived through, this one might be the most personal.
To be continued?
EXTRA 2 – GIRLS-UP!
"Everyone, be prepared!" Shinohara Mari holds her shield in front of her, with both hands clutching it. Her two party members, Kumagai Yuria and Endo Naomi, are standing behind her, with their crossbows loaded and ready to fire.
They're in the Mauerfelsen, a mountain-range west of Feuerburg. They had been called to the Wächter-fort some time ago in order to look for the runaway princess, and had followed her tracks into these mountains.
Then they lost the tracks, and worse they also lost their backpacks, which have all their equipment stored inside them. For some weird reason, the backpacks fell off a cliff, and when the girls finally found a way down to the spot where they had fallen to, they were already gone.
It was most likely kobolds, those bipedal dogs. While they are monsters, they possess some kind of intelligence, which gives them the ability to craft and use tools and weapons. Therefore, it's only reasonable to assume that they know the value of backpacks.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Mari and her friends started to look in one cave after another, trying to fetch their precious magical backpacks, which can't be replaced.
All of the girls are in their [Soldier]-class, their main fighting class. Having several [Soldiers] isn't an issue. Instead, it's practical as all of them have the [Phalanx]-ability, which empowers teamwork and can take effect multiple times. Each of them has the [Forward March]-skill, which increases the [Agility] and [Attack] of a formation if all three of them activate the skill, it's a severe boost in offensive power.
This is why they do it now, three times [Forward March], all of them stacking the bonuses. Mari steps forward, forming the center and front of the formation. She doesn't like this position much, but in the end, she ended up being the one with most [Sword]-skills and the highest [Vitality].
Maybe because she was once part of the softball-club? But a bat isn't a sword...
Incoming sling stones! Mari raises her shield and steps to block them, but she still panics a bit, as the small rocks are more deflected than stopped. Some of them bounce off, others are shifted to the sides, and her shield bucks with every shot as she tries to brace herself against the impact. Even small missiles like those pack more of a punch than she could have imagined before she started using a shield. It had always looked easier in movies.
Four kobolds firing their slings block the path deeper into the cave. Usually, they are intimidating foes, but Mari is used to fighting kobolds by now, so she remains somewhat calm.
"[Splinterbolt]!" Nao uses a skill to take care of all of them simultaneously.
"Ah, not that!" [Splinterbolt] is a powerful crossbow-shot, which shatters the bolt into several splinters, each with the power of a complete bolt, which means that afterward the ammunition is useless. While they own many bundles of bolts, most of them are Inside their backpacks!
Nao, you idiot! Mari already shared all of the bolts she had, they have almost none left!
It's effective though, the force of the bolt-splinters throw the kobolds from their feet. One of them died instantly, and the others are incapacitated.
"I'll get the kill."
"Wait a moment, Mari, it was my skill, so I should get the kill."
"Nao, I need the [Experience] the most! I'm always standing in front of you two, thus I need more levels to feel secure."
"Hey, I need them most," Yuri interrupts, "My level is the lowest!"
It's the same as usual. While their teamwork in itself is splendid, it cracks the moment it comes time to kill off defenseless monsters. Especially now, when they're all so agitated because of the loss of their backpacks, and most especially the events that followed. They had to hunt and eat animals! Gutting them was disgusting, but they had to since all of the provisions they got from the Feuerberg-kingdom were inside their backpacks. There is a definite pattern here.
"Nao! You wasted another bolt! We need to be more careful about them."
"What's the use, if you die by being too miserly! The only reason we can even argue about those kobolds is because I used this skill beforehand, and-!" Her heated words are disrupted as her forehead is struck by a sling bullet.
Mari quickly jumps between her and where the missile came from. Seeing as more kobolds came from deeper inside the cavern, their loud voices must have alerted them. She draws her sword: "[Crescent Moon]!" It's her best skill, a strike so strong that it shoots an energy wave, at least that's how she interprets it.
It slices through three kobolds, but there are more. Their small, dog-like eyes look at them with anger and determination. A couple of them approach the girl, leaving space between each other so they won't be easily targeted by another [Crescent Moon].
Kobolds may be monsters, but they're also smart.
"Nao, are you OK?" Yuri helps Nao up, who looks dazed and unsteady.
Mari is hesitating because she wants to protect those two, but she usually would face off against the enemy. She has no idea what to do if they come from multiple directions.
"[Bouncebolt]!" Yuri, on the other hand, uses another [Crossbow]-skill, her missile hits one of the incoming kobolds, then bounces off, and strikes down another.
Two are coming close! "Aaaaah!" With a battle cry, Mari lifts her shield and pushes it against one, while trying to hack at the second. The one who got her shield against its head, started grasping it, and trying to pull her. Kobolds are small, that's why Mari can resist it, but that weak pull is enough to keep her from moving easily.
The second one is just outside her reach, since she misjudged the distance, and it's about to close and stab her with its knife. "Take this!" It's Nao, with her spear in hand, she had moved behind Nao to support her, and her weapon was wrapping around Mari's arm to strike the kobold. It's the effect of the [Two Rows]-skill, which makes Nao’s attack miss those who are part of her formation.
"Let's use [Iron Veil]!" It's a [Phalanx]-skill, which increases [Defense] and [Vitality]. The two other girls step closer to Mari, as they all instinctively know how to move to benefit from this skill. The hero-system is guiding them.
What follows is a step-by-step retreat while trying to get rid of the kobolds, Mari stands with the shield at the front, Nao covering her with her spear, and Yuri shooting at the kobolds further away, as the slings prove to be the most dangerous weapons. Those stones hurt and can leave ugly marks. The only reason Mari could go on, despite being hit multiple times, is because heroes can move their bodies like normal, even if they get hurt.
"[Steelslicer]!" With this skill, Mari finishes off the last kobold in melee combat. "*Sigh* Finally..."
"Does anyone have a band-aid left?" Nao points at her forehead, which has an ugly blue-black mark.
Yuri looks at her belt pouch. "Not me, what about you, Mari?"
Mari in fact has one, but she keeps it a secret and shakes her head instead. Even something like a band-aid has a vastly improved effect as a hero, so she wants to save them until they really need it. Telling Nao this won't do though, as she's in pain right now, and is always wasteful with their items.
The three girls take a better look at the cave, only to see more kobolds. Some seem to be children, while others may be the sick and old ones, who still clutch their weapons in order to defend the cubs.
Mari exchange looks with Nao and Yuri. This is unexpected, and Mari doesn't know what to do. While those weak adults are about to charge them, they're still practically helpless.
"We should let them go." Nao fiddles with her fingers, Mari is sure that she has similar thoughts, even though they disagree on other things.
"But they're monsters, and we need to defeat monsters to get stronger!" It's Yuri, who is the one saying aloud, what all of us are secretly thinking. Weak as they may, each of them is still worth some [Experience], maybe even the cubs.
What to do?
To get home, they needed to get strong enough to defeat the demon king. They already had an encounter with real demons, and those were scary, so scary! Only the soldiers that escorted them saved them from being killed.
So they should get stronger, and those helpless kobolds are easily claimed [Experience Points].
"Let's try talking with them," Mari suggested. In fact, she hoped that there is no way to communicate, that the kobolds will just attack her so that she can throw off this feeling of guilt when killing them.
That may be the reason why she put the shield first and still had her sword drawn, as she approached. This causes the kobolds to load their slings, point their knives, maces, and other random weapons at her.
Mari's heart is lighter, it's justified self-defense, so she mercilessly uses her skills. Yes, this is right, they're monsters after all. Everything starts to make sense. She's just doing what she's supposed to do. It's a world, where it's killed or be killed.
In the end, Mari even feels good about it and has much fewer qualms killing the cubs as well. They'll only end up hating humans, and continuing their brigand tendencies while killing humans with glee, just like their adult parents.
Yes, they're doing all of humanity a favor by not sparing them. They can also give Yuri most of the kills, as she needs to keep up with them, this is a much less harsh fight than the one before, so they have the luxury of choosing kills.
In the end there are a lot of dead bodies. Blood covers the ground and their clothes. It may be a bit filthy, but Mari is sure that this is how it's supposed to be.
Also, there is loot. Kobolds are monsters, who act like bandits. "Provisions!!!" The former owners are now revenged, so they can keep them right? It's not the packages Feuerberg provides, so maybe merchants? Poor souls, rest in peace.
There are other useful things here, like herbal medicine, and a first aid kit. Nao immediately puts a band-aid on her forehead. "Sigh..." A sigh of relief escapes her lips, while she looks through the tools, clothes, and other loot of the kobolds.
Sadly, while the kobolds have bags and backpacks, there is no sign of their hero-backpacks. "Again, nothing..." Mari has somewhat lost track of time, but they have already been looking for their backpacks for several days.
"...we'll never find them, right?" Yuri is looking down, again speaking the thoughts of everyone.
Even the always positive Nao can't help but grinding her teeth for a second, followed by: "At least we're getting stronger in the process. I mean, getting rid of a group of kobolds by ourselves. This may be challenging, but we'll get our backpacks back!"
They never appreciated them enough before, but the ability to store that much in so little space is a true blessing. Now they're gone, and the three girls have to realize how much they've relied on them.
"At least we can use the kobolds provisions. Let's keep going, ok?" Mari tries her best to smile to her words: "It's like a training camp, we’re good as long as we can eat. Look, we'll just take normal backpacks for now, so it'll be alright."
All three of them put some usual stuff into the backpacks, which are kobold-sized, mostly provisions and medical care. They try their best to ignore the weight and keep looking for more caves.
―○●○―
"How long have we been at it?" Yuri starts gnawing at a piece of dried meat while speaking in a lamenting tone.
"I don't know, about a month?" Nao licks her greasy fingers, finishing up every bit of her meal.
"That long?" Mari does some recounting on her fingers, after putting her bread into her mouth to chew it for a bit. "I guess?"
Seeing girls act like this, it shows how manners aren't important anymore, if you're inside some monster-infested mountains of a fantasy world.
"Shouldn't we try to get back?"
"Try is the right word... I mean, how lost exactly are we?"
"Badly... The only [Survival]-skill I got was [Mountain-climber], still nothing to navigate." Nao also has the [Hunter]-class, so she's the one in charge of orientation and tracking. Too bad that her [Track]-skill is not really helpful with locating their backpacks, as there are few tracks to begin with on this rocky terrain.
The class-distribution among the three is the following:
Mari: [Student], [Soldier], [Healer]
Naomi: [Student], [Soldier], [Hunter]
Yuria: [Student], [Soldier], [Wizard]
None of them had the time to choose a fourth class. Mari is thinking about learning the [Priest]-class, since she made a mistake when she learned [Healer]. She totally thought it would include magical healing. That said, maybe adding [Wizard] to the mix would be more promising.
The problem lies in learning a class, as it takes between two and six weeks to learn a new one, though some also appear in the selection for no apparent reason. A diverse selection of classes is the key to being strong.
In the end, though, going all [Soldier] is the best way to fight, as there is such a great [Phalanx]-synergy there. Nonetheless, Mari would like to round it all up somehow.
Yuri wants to train monsters and make them fight for her. This would be great, but Mari doesn't know for sure if such a class exists.. The chance is high though, Feuerberg has their own tame monsters, the fryons. Nao is still indecisive about her final class.
It’s been about a month... during that time, they had already tried to find their way back to the Wächter-fort to resupply and ask some soldiers for help. However, it's not as easy as climbing a big mountain, choosing a direction based on the sight, and keeping up with it. Even a single path can wind so many times that keeping track of the direction you're heading to can be tricky.
Of course, Mari and the others had some mountain-climbing experience due to their school-life, but back then they just followed tourist's hiking paths. It was nothing like the vast and confusing area of the Mauerfelsen.
They quickly finish their lunch and now comes the ever-occurring dialog.
Yuri (in a whiny tone): "What do we do now?"
Mari (calm): "We can either keep looking or concentrate on finding our backpacks."
Yuri (puppy-eyed): "Do we really need those backpacks?"
Mari (patient): "We could just forget about them, but then we'll lose everything. You've also put your clothes from home in your backpack, maybe a personal thing or two."
Yuri (downcast): "Yes... But is it worth it?"
Mari (looking at Nao): "If both of you are for it, we can go back."
Nao (smiling wryly): "Maybe, we could keep looking for a day or two. I'm sure that I can find the right tracks during that time."
This exact dialog has been repeated over and over again, somehow it made them stay for a month already in these mountains. At times, Mari thinks being a hero makes her feel very stupid, but she just doesn't want to go back yet.
Sometimes she gets a bit homesick, but bounces back after a minute or two. On the other hand, she gets strangely excited thinking about having a wish of hers granted, if she's able to slay the demon king. She's still considering her wish. Being a superstar in sports, even outmatching the men, spontaneously crossed her mind, or maybe she could be insanely rich, so that she doesn't need to worry about anything anymore. World Peace might also be an option or she could wish for Inoue-kun to fall in love with her forever.
"Mari, you're cackling again."
"Ah, sorry." Sometimes, one of them would start to fall into some mad cackling unconsciously. It could be the stress, paired with some strange fantasies. They call out to each other, when this happens, trying to suppress the habit again.
Currently repetition and monotony are their constant companions.
―○●○―
"What is this?" Actually, Mari already knows it's a monster. This one is about the size of an ox, but has a slender frame, similar to a dragonfly, and just furry overall with these insect-like wings.
The reason she's asking is because of the behavior of that monster. First, it flew over the heads of the girls, however, instead of attacking, it just landed some meters in front of them, looking at the girls with its puppy-like eyes.
"How cute!" Yuri exclaims, and Mari has to agree. It may be weird, but the way it holds itself has something adorable about it. It reminds her of a dog.
Even Nao is looking at it warm-heartedly.
"I'll try to befriend it!" Yuri starts approaching this creature. She offers her hand to the beast. "Sh... sh... Everything's good. I'm not dangerous."
The creature cocks its head and slowly gets closer itself. It starts snuggling against Yuri's hand, and the girl slowly starts to pet it with the other. "It's friendly!"
Every caution thrown to the wind, Nao and Mari also get closer and start caressing the soft fur of this creature. This is so different from all those bearingtons, mountain-crawlers, and kobolds in these mountains.
"Maybe I can tame it?" Yuri is giddy thinking about this possibility. The creature nods to her words: "Really? You can understand me?" Another nod. "Do you mind, if I name you?" It shakes its head. "Erm... Pochi? Taro?"
"It's not a dog," Nao chimes in.
"I know... but what are you? A monster... Mon-chan?"
"...seriously? Let's call him Tsubasa."
"Just because it has wings? It's also not a bird."
"Then Uingu."
"It's pronounced 'wing.'"
Mari steps in between the two of them: "Let's go with a real name. How about Ui?" 'Ui' from the very Japanese way to say 'wing.' The creature nods to the suggestion.
"Ui... Ui-chan!" Yuri falls around its neck. "You'll see, Ui-chan, we're going to make a great team." Ui-chan closes its eyes, feeling comfortable.
"Is it a girl?" Nao wasn't sure about its gender.
"Sure she is." There is no evidence, so Yuri just decided it. Mari can't help but think it's too convenient, but she wants to let Yuri have this moment.
So there are friendly monsters as well. Being transported to this world may have distorted Mari's way of thinking. In the end, she ended up believing all monsters are evil. Such a biased way of thinking, she should've known better. Good, evil, and everything is relative, it's a common trope in books and TV.
There is a certain beauty to this world, even mountains like these give her the adventurous vibe. Yes, Mari might actually like this world a bit, nowadays she rarely even thinks of what she left in Japan.
She's sure the same goes for Nao and Yuri. While the current situation looks terrible without their backpacks, the hardship is still giving them the strength and power necessary to overcome their future task of slaying the demon king.
Yes, Mari and her friends are the main characters of this story. This setback is just a challenge to forge them into what they need to be.
Magical moments like befriending a monster is all that Mari needs to recharge her batteries. Her motivation is top again!
"Now we only need to get our backpacks back!" Mari pumps her fists while straightening herself. She can't give up now, she needs to be in her best form! Meeting Ui-chan is a turning point, everything will get better from now on.
For some reason, Ui-chan intensely nods with its head. "What is it Ui-chan?" Yuri asks her. "Do you want to tell us something?"
Ui-chan's body is wriggling, trying to tell the girls something with gestures, but of course, a monster shaped like a dragonfly may not be the best mime around. Mari and the others have no idea what Ui-chan is trying to tell them.
"Sorry, Ui-chan." Yuri pets her new companion, trying to calm it down. "I don't know what you mean. Can you show us?"
The monster thinks about it for a second, then it lowered itself to the ground. "Is it me," Nao mutters, "or does she want us to climb up her back?"
Yes, it looks like Ui-chan is offering the three of them to ride her. "Do the three of us even fit?"
"I think?"
So, in the end, all of them climbed up the back of Ui-chan. The front had Yuri, the rear Nao, and the middle Mari. Then the monster takes off.
Wind is blowing in the faces of the three girls, as Ui-chan starts gaining more and more height. This is the adventure that Mari was looking for, finally! She's giggling, Yuri and Nao are as well.
"Great! How great!"
"Higher, Ui-chan!"
"Wooohooo!"
While all of the girls are cheering, Ui-chan ascends more and more. Riding her feels strange, but as the girls have only ridden the horses of the fantasy world before, they had only limited experience with mounts.
Ui-chan's whole body moves as she flies, her back sidles through the wind, the wings shoot additional air to the riders, and there is a buzzing noise.
From above, Mari could see so much. These mountains are vast, she had an inkling, after being lost in them for a while, but now she could see the tremendous size of this landscape.
Then she sees something down there, it looks like a camp. "Look!" Her words don't carry far, so she repeats it much louder while pointing to it.
"I see it," Nao shouts back: "Maybe we should check it out!"
"Ui-chan, land!" Yuri, who sits at the front, asks their mount to let them down. She does so, by suddenly spinning.
Since Ui-chan doesn't have any harness or saddle, of course, all of the girls are falling from her back. For a second, all Mari could think was: Ui-chan, you asshole!
Mari's head is light, she's in shock. All she could do is to feel how gravity takes its toll. Suddenly an angst wells up in her the moment she realizes that she was dozens of meters in the air before being dropped down, and that only hard rock is awaiting her down there.
She sees Yuri, whose eyes are wide open and tearing up. Yuri is still in denial, she starts bawling: "Ui-chan, please, UI-CHAN!"
Suddenly, Mari feels a hand grabbing her shoulder: It's Nao. In the end, Nao hasn't given up. Mari feels bad about being angry with Nao's habit of wasting ammunition. Nao is such a great girl... She even tries to reach Yuri-chan, but moving in a free fall is harder than movies make it look like. “YURI! MAGIC!!! [WIND PILLOW]!!!”
Nao's voice wakes Yuri up, who change her class to [Wizard]: “[Wind Pillow]!” It's right under them, and it feels like hitting a tensed pillow, but after this initial shock, the fall begins anew. “[Wind Pillow]!”
Using the same spell four times in total, the girls' fall slows down bit by bit. Each time they're stopped, it numbs Mari's senses more and more. It's like being pummeled by a monster. The fourth time, Mari lost consciousness.
―○●○―
What a sight. The self-proclaimed bandit-king Wiho looks at how three humans are falling from the sky, dropped by a charmwinger. Those monsters are dangerous, especially if someone doesn't know about their pheromones, which makes them look cuter and hampers judgment.
It usually hunts people and other monsters. Wiho has lost some of his men to them already, so he doesn't think fondly of those bastards. That's the reason, why he grabs a crossbow and uses his [Sniper] to shoot it through its head, while it tries to reclaim what remains of its victims.
Case closed.
“You, you, and you. Yes, you, Hannes! I want to take a look, so come with me.” Of course, he's the boss, so his underlings followed his orders. Especially, if it's about looting and raping, but they also know, that their king is capable enough to take the steps necessary to keep most of them alive.
By the way, the bandit-king is ruling by being the strongest. He's already in his late thirties, but this only means that he was able to hone his skills to some degree. So using [Skills] like [Sniper] isn't a big deal, he learned five skills! This is a lot for a non-hero.
Scratching his rugged beard, he approaches the fallen people, all of them are knocked out. They're humans, even young girls... ah, black hair, strange skin color! “Hannes, are they...”
“...not the ones I saw... The shrimp isn't there, and the ponytail of the other one was longer...” Hannes had a nasty encounter with a group of youths like them. He got away before being taken out by one of their male companions.
The way he described them, they might be heroes. Wiho knows that Feuerberg has summoned some, and he was sure the ones Hannes met are part of them. Now, these three girls with a similar appearance are here.
While the bandit-king is confident that he can keep some fledgling heroes under control, he can't say the same about his men. That's only natural since, as mentioned before, he rules by might. So, of course, all of his underlings have to be much weaker than him, he wouldn't even dare to send them against Feuerberg's soldiers.
This is bad, so bad.
He could kill them, here and now, but there is no benefit. It's not like he has to fear retaliation from the kingdom, who would know that it was him that killed them? However, if there's no profit, he should consider his options.
Leaving them here would also net nothing.
That means he has to somehow deal with them. The hero summoning was about three months ago, would it be enough to make them too strong to deal with already? Maybe killing them to get peace of mind would be the best option after all.
“We'll take them with us. Hannes, go ahead and get some rope. We'll ask the women to take care of them.” Of course, women also become bandits. While they're usually not as physically capable as their male counterparts, they're often more vicious and brutal. Plus, with the low male ratio, they could more or less pick their partners for lonely nights, though all of them are dirty bandits. Unless of course, they raid a farm or caravan and get some fresh, young, male captives.
For now, the bandit-king wants to have some young, hero-captives. Maybe he'll ask the women to trick the girls, making them believe that they're some sort of rebels against the tyranny of the king of Feuerberg. Yes, they'll go with this.
In times like these, with a war going on between Feuerberg and the demons in the east, and some crazy mercenary companies in the west looking for someone and collecting bounties on bandits on the way, Wiho could use some help.
So maybe making these girls into some fine bandits might be the way to get out of this predicament.
Even the bandit-king needs some friends, right?