With the red sun in the sky of the morrow, sounds of rustling leaves accompanied by lively chirping fill the forest. Fresh water in form of a river streams down and disappears far in the distance behind mountainous landscape. A peaceful, refreshing morning as most would call it. Unfortunately, the Demon girl is not included in this ´most´ we're talking about;
“It´s already morning because of this bastard” she complains with a sleep-deprived face, a twisted corpse of a bulky man in front of her which she glares at with despise. He was more stubborn than expected, spending the whole night squeezing information out of him has left her drained.
“At least it was worth the time” the girl tries to convince herself while sighing. “He said the village was that way, right?” Grabbing her belongings she leaves the body behind and starts rustling her way out of the forest.
After a short while she comes to a paved road, clearly very old and yet in perfect condition. It stretches way beyond the horizon. Putting a hand to her forehead, she squints her eyes at her destination in the distance. ´This... is a village? It looks weird. Humans really are weird´ she concludes before wrapping herself in her robe and upping her pace. Shortly, the Demon finds herself just a few steps away from the Human settlement. There, a man stands in full clad armor, guarding the entrance. As he notices a figure approaching, the soldier immediately raises his spear; “Hey! Who are you? State your business!” he shouts. The Demon can't help but slightly jerk ´Ugh, are all Humans really like that?´
***
The girl winces. She glances up at the man with tears beginning to form in her eyes “I-I´m sorry. I was told to come here, my parents will come later…” she whispers, casting her gaze down.
The soldier comes to his senses, quickly pulling back his weapon and instead getting on one knee to match the girl's height. “N-No, I´m sorry as well, sorry for scaring you. I shouldn´t have shouted at you. It´s just... it was really stressful the last few days” the soldier apologizes, shaking his head before continuing “Say, why did your parents send you here alone? I can't let you in before I can confirm who you are, you know?”
“We... We were attacked by a monster on our path, they said I would only be in their way…”
The soldier´s expression turns serious “What monster are your parents fighting? Since when and where? Do they have experience in battle?” he bombards her with questions
“U-Uhm” the girl stutters “I-I don´t know, a few hours ago it came from the forest over there,” the girl says and points down the road with her finger “I never saw Ma or Pa fight before, b-but... I´m sure they will manage because they said to not come looking for them…”
The man slowly takes in the words as a complicated expression forms on his face. ´The monsters in the Illenia Forest are stronger than your usual bunch. Can´t compare them to a Dungeon encounter, but still... Traveling the Highway doesn´t come without risk. She looks... dirty, poor. A refugee? Maybe they didn´t have the money to hire an adventurer or guard? I see, so they at least wanted to save their daughter…´
”So that´s how it is, I´m sorry” he mumbles more to himself than to the girl
"Why?” the girl tilts her head
The man jerks hearing this question, he didn't expect her to catch that “U-Uh. No, it´s nothing” he stutters before clumsily trying to change the topic “Girl, I will let you enter but only under one condition. Do you see this building over there?” he points into the village
She slowly nods
"Go there, they will take care of you until your parents come. We soldiers will go search for them, okay?”
The girl nods again
“And here, this is a gift for you”. The man takes a small pouch from his belt and puts it into the girl´s little hand "Welcome to Varen"
She lifts her head, a happy look of surprise on her face “Thank you!” she smiles at him
The soldier returns her gesture, although his is a sad smile. He ushers her into the village as he notifies his colleagues through a |Communication Device|. The girl waves at him before disappearing between the buildings.
***
“It went just as Ma and Pa said it would, he even gave me something. Maybe Humans aren´t so bad after all?” the little Demon chuckles as she opens the pouch she got. But there´s only a bunch of clinging coins. Disinterested, she pours them into her bag and throws the pouch away.
She lets her gaze wander upon the bustling streets. ´So many people… but, they´re all so weak´ she thinks to herself. The lines of the many buildings look weird to her, she is used to living in a cave after all. However, not exactly knowing why, this sight slightly reminds her of her first home world. It's just like the Demons´ Domicile in her memories but only on a much smaller scale.
Other than that, there are many things she hasn´t seen before; lanterns, stalls, signposts leading to various shops, the many humans... Honestly, the Demon is slightly overwhelmed, she finds it loud if anything. She wanders around aimlessly, naturally not listening to the soldier and staying far away from the building he pointed her to. She takes in the new sensations until she´s lured in by an appetizing aroma wafting in the air. She doesn´t even realize how she followed the meaty smell until she finds herself in front of a small stall where a Human draws her attention:
“Hello there little one, here for some skewers? They´re 3 Coppers each”
“Coppers? What´s that?” the girl asks curiously.
“Hm? You don´t know? You didn´t learn about currency yet?”
The girl only tilts her head before:
“Ahhh”
Before she finally understands
“You mean money, right? These coins or whatever. Why didn´t you just say so?” she asks annoyed.
“Uhhh” The stall vendor makes and raises a brow “Yeah, whatever, three Copper coins for a skewer. You want one or not?”
“Sure”. The girl rummages through her bag and takes out three coins, passing them to the vendor.
“Woah hold on there, that´s silver not copper. How many skewers do you expect to get with this?”
Looking at the coins, the girl feigns as if she realized her mistake and smiles innocently before retrieving her hand; “Oh right, sorry. That was silly of me, here you go” She changes the coins out.
´They all look the same though... Maybe the color is a little different. What difference do Humans even see there anyway?´ the girl rolls her eyes and hands three different coins to the vendor. She gets it right this time.
“Thanks”. Grabbing the money and handing the girl a skewer, the vendor´s hand is slightly cut by her claws “Ah!" the vendor draws back "Careful, you got some sharp nails there”
“Hm? Yeah, they´re pretty handy, no?” the Demon replies and smells her food.
“Not even a sorry?” the vendor sighs, trying to ignore the pain “Anyways, look, I could've just robbed you of three silver. You have to learn about money or else people will– Hey! Where are you going?!”
The Demon, not interested in the vendor´s rambling, bites into the skewer and just turns around, disappearing into the crowd. “Mmm, that´s pretty good!”
The meat doesn´t survive for even a minute longer. She pets her belly, satisfied.
“Now, where is this Adventurer´s Guild?”
--
For a while the little Demon continues wandering around, curious to the daily antics of Human life. Many villagers throw the girl strange glances because of her… untypical behavior, but they seem to not care enough about it to step in.
Eventually, after for the umpteenth time asking for directions, she finds herself in front of a rough-looking building. A metal plate with a sword and spear attached to it hangs over its entrance. ´This should be it´ without any care in the world, the Demon swings the door open and confidently takes a step in.
Eyes from all directions fall onto her, some confused, some irritated, and some just lose interest. She looks around, inspecting the somewhat filthy room before fully entering and making her way to what she presumes to be the counter.
(The heck?) (What´s this girl doing here?) (Who brought their child dammit?) the few people sitting and drinking murmur, but she simply ignores them and continues toward the female receptionist. The woman forces a smile at the girl.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Suddenly, one of the adventurers gets up with the loud sound of his armor cluttering. He wobbly walks up and steps in between the counter and the girl and crosses his arms “The fuck you want here?” he more threatens than asks while staring down at her. The girl meets his eyes, sensing the obvious hostility he emits. She appraises the man:
Name Henrik (Condition: Drunk) – LV: 32 Class Swordsman – LV: 22 Stats
HP
MP
244/244
52/52 Vitality 81 Strength
----------------------------------------
Intelligence 87
----------------------------------------
36 Endurance 77 Agility 74
Skills
Normal
2 Active [Slash] Passive
[Minor Swords Mastery]
----------------------------------------
Slash
Skill
Type: Active Explanation:
Enhances a single swing.
If weapon connects: Damage is increased severly.
If weapon does not connect: A wind pressure attack is launched in a straight line to hit a target out of range.
Minor Sword Mastery
Skill
Type: Passive Explanation: A tool assisting with the handling of sword-like weapons. Skill is proportional to |Skill´s| Rank.
Swordsman
----------------------------------------
Rarity: Normal
Bonus:
(per Level-up)
----------------------------------------
Vitality +2
Strength +3
Endurance +2
Agility +1
[Skills] granted: [Sword Mastery], [Slash] General Information: A starting class for individuals who pursue the way of the sword.
Deciding that he's not worth her time, the Demon tries to go around him. But he won't let her. He takes a big step to the side and blocks the way once more.
“Dun fucking ignore me brat. If you got nothin´ pack your shit and leave” Henrik spouts. The others turn around to the scene, yet remain seated. They don´t approve of Henrik´s approach... but also don´t want to bother with a kid in their guild. It would be better if she left, so they just watch.
Bad choice. Very, very bad choice.
The Demon´s face darkens ´How are there so many Humans that are so… irritating?´
“Piss off” she warns him, though the adventurer doesn´t move a muscle; “The fuck didja say to me?”
“I said piss off, get out of my way. Are you too stupid to understand?”
Henrik´s face twists in anger “Now listen you small shit” he grabs the girl hard with one hand, yanking her to him as she flails around... Or at least that´s what he intended.
*Splat*
The adventurers who were seated until now immediately get out of their chairs. “Eh?” Only Henrik doesn´t seem to realize what happened. He turns his head, shifts his gaze to look down. A hand lies on the floor. No... not a hand, his hand. “AAAH! WHAAAAAAAA!”. Seeing the girl´s blood-dripping claws he releases a frightened yelp as he stumbles back. In a panic, he reaches for his sword.
But before he can do anything, he feels the air leave his lungs. A hand gouges his throat: “You´re loud” the girl says calmly as she pulls her hand out. Henrik´s body stumbles a few steps back, then stays still for about a second before falling to the ground devoid of any life.
[Enemy at least 20 levels above your own]
Experience multiplier: x2
*646 Exp gained*
Silence casts on the room, nobody dares to move or even make a sound.
“Monster!!”
An adventurer´s shout shatters the quiet. As if in union, freed from some invisible shackles, everyone jumps up and draws their weapons. The receptionist grabs a small crystal ball and disappears beneath the counter. The Demon stares at the Humans: “Look, this guy was about to get rough so I had to do something. But I didn´t come here to fight, so if you just lower your weapons and–” “Fuck off!” she´s interrupted “You think I´d fall for your bullshit?!” is the answer she receives before being charged. Roars and multiple magics are shot her way.
The girl takes her time to sigh before spinning her body, dodging projectiles from all directions with dancing movements. The next moment she bends backward so far that her hair almost touches the ground, a spiraling fire beam soars a few centimeters over her face and hits the wall behind with a loud explosion. Due to how bright the magic was, the adventurers lose sight of the girl for just a fraction of a second moment, but that´s enough for her. She dashes, cracking the wooden floor and jumping on the nearest adventurer, butchering him with three quick slashes of her claws.
[Enemy at least 20 levels above your own]
Experience multiplier: x2
*530 Exp gained*
She throws the dead body at the adevnturers running at her, using it as a shield to intercept their sword and spear strikes. Then, with a single clean swoop of her hand, she penetrates their armor and cleaves through their bodies like a knife would through butter. Nothing happens for a moment. She looks at her hand, dripping with red, as the adventurers´ bodies split in half and collapse.
*182 exp gained*
*178 exp gained*
*193 exp gained*
“Don´t let you guard down! Don´t rush in because she looks like a little girl! If you´re caught you´re dead meat!” an adventurer dressed in a robe shouts as she prepares her magic. She was the one to shoot the fire beam earlier. The girl eyes her before accelerating once again and grabbing a round table on her way. She lifts it, spins and throws it at the magic-caster woman. The adventurer barely reacts and manages to deflect the wooden mass with her cane, breaking it. But the minimal gap in attention is enough for the Demon to suddenly appear in front of her; The adventurer gasps and tries to release magic at close range, but the girl easily flicks the glowing staff to the right. Another fire beam is instead shot at her comrades. The girl smirks at the |Elementalist| before penetrating her chest, the Demon's hand crushes the woman's heart and reappears from the other side of her body.
[Enemy at least 30 levels above your own]
Experience multiplier: x3
*1233 Exp gained*
"F-Fuck" the woman spits some blood before falling to the ground, the Demon on top of her. “3 left, huh?” She says in a cold voice that sends chills down the adventurers´ backs. The monster in a small girl's skin slowly rises as they all retreat a few steps. They have lost their strongest fighters, or more like they were mercilessly massacred. Forget winning, they have to somehow escape with their lives.
Or at least that´s what they think before the doors suddenly burst open; “We received an emergency call?! What happened here?!”. Soldiers rush inside the building. The receptionist who was in hiding until now lets out an exhausted breath “Finally…” she sighs in relief with wet eyes
[Spearsman: LV: 45]
[Shielder: LV: 49]
[Swordsman: LV: 56]
…
[Berserker: LV: 102]
´Shit´ the Demon gulps.