“Master, I worry we aren’t going to accomplish very much.” Carmine sighed. “This place is very large, and finding enemies will take time. At best, I might gain a level or two.”

“That’s true…” I nodded, reaching into my Inventory and pulling out a mysterious vial.

When Raissa saw it, she made a noise, her eyes widening in fear. She was the only one present who was familiar with this particular concoction. After all, she had been following my party when we last used it. As for Shao, she wasn’t in the party yet, let alone Carmine and Salicia. It was something Miki and I had cooked up. She hadn’t been working on her alchemy a lot lately, but I still had enough leftovers for when I needed it.

“M-master…” Raissa shook her head, tears starting to form in her eyes.

“So, what I was thinking is, perhaps we should just forgo this whole thing. I already have the Knight job. The first skill appears to be Basic Swordsmanship. So, I already have a heads up from before. I promise I won’t just stand around. I’ll fight back. With Master’s bonuses, I feel I could do better fighting.”

“Uh, huh…” I dropped the vial on the floor.

“What’s that?” Ruby seemed to notice Raissa shaking her head desperately while I was fiddling with an odd vial.

“So, how about I just go home and sleep!” Carmine continued. “I mean, being well-rested is important for a fight, especially a fight of endurance. I know that it sounds like I’m being lazy and just want to take the day off, but I’m committed to Master’s cause, I swear!”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“I hear ya…” I smashed the vial with a crack, and then created a spark and set it on fire.

A mist began to rise up into the air as it burned.

“So-so? We can go home?”

“I’ll think about it after you take care of the monsters coming toward us.”

“Oh? There is a monster coming?”

“A few…”

I checked my Map as every hallway around us started filling with red. Soon, there was a dead spot of no red where we were standing, and just about every hall leading to us was red.

“Master… you don’t have Terra… she can’t build walls and redirect traffic…”

Carmine’s eyes narrowed competitively at the mention of Terra. After just being turned into a Knight, she was starting to feel valued, so hearing about the other tank in the group set her off. The biggest reason she hadn’t been fighting learning offensive skills was exactly because of her competitive feelings toward Terra.

“I can do anything that that woman can do!” Carmine snapped at Raissa angrily.

Rumble…

“Hmm?” Shao looked around curiously, “Is the ground shaking?”

“What… is happening?” Ruby asked, a frown forming on her face.

“It’s okay, Carmine has got this. I believe in you!”

“Y-yes, Master!”

“No monster will get passed my knight!”

“N-never!”

“So, go out there and cut down every monster! Show them your resolve!”

“I will! Master is my muse, for you, I’ll fight this battle! Watch me!”

With a big smile on her face, Carmine leaped out into the front of the group, brandishing not just her shield, but her sword as well. Fire shot from her eyes as she was completely energized. Then… the forms started emerging from the darkness into the light of the hallway. As more and more forms came, Carmine only had time to shout one thing before the horde struck.

“Master is the devil!”