Another month passed full of training. The king called us to the throne room today to give us an important announcement or something. Shady didn’t tell me anything even when I asked why the king wanted an audience with all of us. Since I started training with him halfway through this month, he’s been incredibly boring when it came to conversations. He’s antisocial and a stickler for formalities. He acts very robotic in that sense, but at least he’s a good teacher. After learning how to properly wield a katana and how to wield a one-handed broadsword from Mel, I returned to get lessons from Shady. Once he saw me bring my katana to training, he decided that the best way for me to utilize it was to learn how to fight like an assassin. That was my plan anyways, but it’s nice to have my thoughts reinforced by an expert.
Training went by as usual, learning was something that I’ve always been good at, and with that new title I got, [Fast Learner], my learning speed has grown noticeably higher. Good thing too, because I started getting really bored of all this training really quickly. I had forgotten that I didn’t learn how to fight with weapons for a reason. Training to fight with a weapon gets repetitive fast. The only reason I even do my daily exercises is because I need to in order to drain off excess energy. I did it begrudgingly at first and now that it’s been my routine for hundreds of years? Well, it’s a little hard to shake off. This recent training with weapons is something new however. It was fun at first, as all new things are. But then, the repetitive drills day after day is wearing me down quick. I’ve already gained some new abilities and at this point, I’m contemplating whether I should just make a break for it and leave. It’s not like the king can hold me here anyways. If it comes down to it, I’ll just reveal my real powers and say fuck all. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s boredom.
That said, the past month has been fruitful in gaining the skills I need to build a hybrid style out of. I gained [Stealth lv1], [Dagger Wielding lv1], [Dueling lv1], and [Sneak Attack lv1]. Of course, I didn’t just learn those skills, I also improved them all to lv2 and my [Sword Fighting] and [Kenjutsu] to lv3. I even learned some new abilities to complement them all. [Quick Strike], [Backstab], [Quick Draw], and [Triple Slash] were all abilities I gained while training. All in all, it was nice progress. Nice enough that I want to leave this place already and see what the rest of this world has to offer. Of course, I’ll go see what the king has to say first before I leave. It’s only common courtesy after all. He provided me with such nice accommodations and was a good host. I wouldn’t want to be a rude guest.
My maid, whose name I finally found to be Isabel, is leading me towards the throne room. The sight of her back is a familiar one now, and I’ve grown somewhat attached to her presence. Haha, I grow attached to humans too easily. That was always my weakness I suppose. I remember one of my close friends warning me that getting attached to such short-lived creatures will only end in pain, but I’m too stubborn to listen. I’ve felt that pain enough times that I’ve grown used to it. I really can’t help growing attached. There’s so many exceptional and interesting humans that I can’t simply ignore them all. Them being so short-lived is one of the reasons they are so interesting after all. And it just makes it worst once they die.
Oh well, enough introspection for now, it seems we’ve reached the throne room. I’ll deal with their deaths as they come, it’s no use thinking about something like that when I’m not that attached to anyone right now. Only John and Ali are here alongside the king and Mal. Ah… Mal… I haven’t spoken with her since the little scene from a month ago. I never planned on staying anyways, so maybe it’s for the best? That said, I wonder why King Fred called us here?
“Heroes! You’ve all made wonderful progress in the past two months. You should be proud of yourselves! There has never been anyone who has progressed through training as fast as you three have in triple the time you’ve spent. With that said, I have decided that the best way for you to truly master your newfound skills is to put them to the test! In another month’s time, you three will form a team and become adventurers! There are dungeons in every major city of this country and defeating the monsters within them will grant you experience that you can use to defeat the [Demon King]! Malory will tell you the details of these dungeons once the time approaches, but know this. I believe you all have what it takes to clear an entire dungeon by yourselves once the month is up. Once you three become adept adventurers, our kingdom will be ready to lead humanity against the demons that plague us with their existence.”
Wow, that’s some hate speech you got going there. ‘Plague us with their existence.’ I have this itching sensation in my hands. It’s telling me I should punch someone in the face. Of course, John and Ali buy everything the king is saying. I can’t blame them, they are both impressionable kids after all. Either case, waiting another month sounds like torture. Guess that means my grand escape is happening sooner rather than later. Hm, maybe I should leave tonight. The sooner the better at this point. We all thank the king for such ‘great news’ and then take our leave afterwards.
I tell Isabel to lead me back to my room. With that settled, I think of ways to escape. I could simply gap my way out, but that’s a bit boring. I could casually walk out and deal with whoever I see on the way. That’s something no one would really suspect, and it’ll be pretty funny if I succeed. In fact, if I take Isabel with me, I wouldn’t have to worry about looking suspicious, since she’s shown me where to go these past two months.
Once we reach my room, I commence plan ‘convince the maid to break me out of the castle.’ It’s a simple two, maybe three-step, plan. First, I ask her politely. If she says yes, proceed with leaving. If she says no, then seduce her and get her to fall madly in love with me. Then she’ll beg to come with. Easy as 1, 2, 3.
“Hey Isabel, I’m extremely bored. Can you help me?” I ask with a tilt of my head.
“Of course, my lady!” she says enthusiastically.
Isabel has since grown used to my presence. She hasn’t blushed or stammered for weeks. I’m not quite sure how to feel about that. On the one hand, she was really cute being so flustered around me. But on the other hand, she’s a lot more useful now. She’s also really enthusiastic about serving me, but I’m not sure why that is. And I won’t ever find out once she leads me outside the castle grounds and points me to the nearest city. Maybe she can even get me a map. I’d like to leave everyone here behind, there’s no use in getting attached to people whose goals I don’t agree with.
“Isabel, could you do me a favor? Could you get me a map of this area and its surrounding cities? I want to leave the castle.”
She blinks at me owlishly.
“I’m sorry, my lady, but did you say you want to leave the castle?”
“That’s right. I’m incredibly bored here and I want to explore the world. I’d like you to lead me out so I can do so. I want to become an adventurer like the king said, but I don’t want to wait an entire month for that.”
“I-I’m not sure I’m allowed to do that for you, my lady…”
“If you don’t then I’ll do it myself. And if I do it myself, I’m going to waltz straight out of here and if anyone gets in my way, I’ll have to show them why it’s not a good idea to try and stop me. Either way, the end result will be me out of this castle before night falls. The only difference is, my way is violent, while your way will end peacefully. Of course, if the king asks why you helped me leave, you can repeat what I’m saying right now.”
“I…understand. Please wait here while I go get a map then.”
Wow, that was easier than I thought. Isabel diligently walks out to find the map, leaving me here to gather everything I’ll bring on my journey. I don’t have that much to bring except for my training clothes, the clothes I’m currently wearing, some different change of outfits, underwear, and some money I “procured” during my stay here. It’s a total of 30 gold coins, which is probably a lot. I don’t exactly know how much it actually is since I haven’t seen anything be given a value yet. Until then, I’ll hold on to the assumption that it’s about average. All of my clothing is stored in a bag that I got from Mal. I also take along the Handbook of Common Stats for Dummies that she gave us. I still have plenty of room in my bag for anything else I might end up buying. Along with that, I strap Muramasa to my hip and check to make sure all of my daggers are hidden where they should be on my body. Everything is in place, so now I just need to wait for Isabel.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
She comes back with a map in a short while after I finish packing. Looking at the map she got, there’s the capital city that’s located a few kilometers from the castle. Beyond that are three cities in sporadic distances from each other. I should probably not go to the capital city. I’ll go to one of those three cities and then travel farther. Getting away from the human kingdoms might be a good idea at this point. I’ll buy maps along the way. I could go to the elven kingdoms and try my luck there.
“Thanks Isabel, now let’s go. I’m itching to finally leave this place.”
She just nods at me. I guess she really feels like she doesn’t have a choice in the matter. I’ll make it up to her somehow. I’m pretty sure she has a crush on me, so maybe a kiss…? As I think that, she leads me right past all of the guards easily. They don’t suspect a thing as we make our way to the castle’s front doors. Bold choice Isabel. I can at least recognize the direction we’re going and if we’re heading to the front doors, she’s planning to lead me out of the castle right in front of their faces. I hope she’s not thinking of betraying me, I’ll have to punish her if she thinks she can get away with that.
When we get to the very front doors, the guards tell us to halt. Isabel has a response ready for them it seems.
“Miss Miyamoto was curious about how the castle looks to visitors so she asked me to take her to the front of the castle. She just wants to admire the architecture.”
The guards look at each other and shrug. I guess they think I’m the type of person to actually do that, since they let us pass. Honestly, I am that type of person, but not this time. Sorry boys, but you just let a traitor out from under your noses. She leads me all the way out and off of the castle grounds. No one raises any alarms nor does anyone notice that I’m already so far away. Hahahahaha, we actually did it. And so easily too. That was a lot more fun than I thought. It was a bit anticlimactic, but also entertaining in a, “I can’t believe that worked,” kind of way. I turn to give Isabel a bright grin.
“Is there anything you want? I want to repay you. That was a great show you put on, I still can’t believe they bought it, but it was funny nonetheless!”
“Ah, no I’m just a maid. There’s nothing I could want from you, my lady.”
“Hm… not even a kiss?”
Isabel immediately blushes bright red and stammers out an “o-o-of course not!” Yeah, real convincing Izzy. I just sigh and place a hand on her cheek. She completely freezes and closes her eyes. I smirk as I give her a good, long kiss. I add a little tongue to show my deep appreciation. Standing back, her lips look a bit swollen from my attention and she has a dreamy look on her face. I lick my lips and tell her thanks again. She’s unresponsive, but that’s alright. She’ll snap out of it sooner or later.
With that said, I make my leave and start heading towards the forest. It’s best to stick to the cover of the trees in case of pursuit. Looking at the map Isabel gave me, I go in the direction leading to the capital of Alvera, Einhard. Looks like a fairly large capital, so I’ll stop there and rent a room for a bit. I want to explore and see what the city is like. I’ll stay for a day and then move on.
Hours pass traversing the forest. I use the moon to guide me, as long as the position of the moon is in the east, I’m going the right direction. None of the animals bother me, being a demon has its perks. Most animals with a more primitive brain rely more on their instincts and demonic auras tend to scare the living shit out of most instincts. Because of that, my trip to Einhard is uneventful. It was more a nice stroll with a beautiful scenic background.
Einhard’s walls can be seen from a distance away. The city looks heavily fortified with guards posted on the watchtowers protruding from the walls. I can see one entrance from this side. Based on the map that Isabel gave me, the city has four entrances, one on each side. I’m on the south side, so I head to that entrance. A contingent of guards are guarding the entrance. This… will be a bit difficult to get in.
Coming up to the entrance, the guards stop me and ask for my identification and reason for coming to the city. Hm… well… this world is a bit more thorough with things than I thought. Time to put my persuasion skills to use.
“Hi! I’m sorry but I don’t have any identification on me, I come from a small village that you probably haven’t heard of. I know that the capital has one of the best adventurer’s guilds in the country and I was hoping to make a better living here as an adventurer.”
The guards look at me suspiciously and point out that I’m wearing clothes that look a little too expensive for my story to be true.
“Haha, yeah I got the clothes from my parents. They wanted me to have the best equipment they could get so I have as many advantages as I could when I start my career as an adventurer.”
They look at me suspiciously, but on seeing the weapon and small bag I’m carrying, they decide that what I’m saying is true.
“Before we let you go in ma’am, we’re going to assign a guard to you so that we make sure you aren’t lying.”
Well, I expected that, so I guess I’m starting my adventuring here. Hopefully the king hasn’t sent anyone to find me yet. I’ll just stay and get my adventurer identification and do a few quests before leaving for one of the other cities. The guard should be satisfied with that and leave. The guard they assigned me was an average height guy with an average face, average stature, average everything actually. He’s one of the most average looking people I’ve ever met. He has a serious expression on his face and gives off a by-the-book feel. I sigh internally. This guy is going to be really boring to hang out with.
“Ma’am, it’s getting late, so I advise you to rent a room at one of the inns for the night. I’ll accompany you to the Guild tomorrow and make sure you get all of your paperwork in order. After that, you’re free to go.”
“Thank you for letting me in.”
He nods, and we continue to an inn in silence. That is, until I remember that I have no clue where an inn is.
“So, mister guard. Do you happen to have any inns you could recommend?”
"Right, of course. I’ll take you to one right now.”
And with that, we reach this homely looking inn. It’s called the Warm Flames and has a sign reminiscent of a campfire. Once we enter, the woman who I assume is the hostess greets us with a warm smile. It’s too warm to be faked, so she must actually enjoy her job. A room here is only 10 silver pieces a night, so I have plenty of money to spare. She leads me and the guard, who paid for himself, to two rooms upstairs. The guard goes to his own room and seems to trust I won’t bail on him. Silly guard, I could leave right now and he would be none the wiser. I won’t though. It would be a waste of money and I have no clue where the other inns are. Actually, he might trust me to not leave because he knows I have no clue where anything is in this city. Well played average guard, well played.
The inn room is cozy with a one-person bed and a chair and desk on one side of the bed. There’s a small lamp on the desk and the room is lit by a… lightbulb… This world is pretty advanced for a fantasy world. I check and see what is powering the light and it feels like the “lightbulb” is actually a magic source. This particular magic source holds light magic. So they can mass produce something like this huh? That’s interesting, I wonder where they make these magic sources? What are the proper names for them anyways? I guess I’ll figure that out later when I find someone who is knowledgeable in these subjects. Right now, I want to go to sleep. It’s been an interesting day and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
----------------------------------------
Misaki's Stats as of this chapter:
Name: Misaki Miyamoto
Race: Gap Demon
Gender: Female
Age: 2746
Lvl: 3000
HP: 60,000
MP: 50,000
SP: 30,000
STR: 3,000
DEX: 3,000
CON: 3,000
INT: 3,000
WIS: 3,000
WILL: 3,000
Classes: [Border Mage] [Gap Demon]
Titles: [Demon Queen] [Demon Sage] [World Power] [Mistress of Boundaries] [Hero] [Boundless] [Army of One] [Genius] [Silver Tongue] [Fast Learner]
Skills: [Border Magic lvMAX] [Boundary Manipulation lvMAX] [Martial Arts lv10] [Evasion lv10] [Engineering lv10] [Leadership lv10] [Persuasion lv10] [Intimidation lv10] [Deception lv10] [Detect Magic lv10] [Detect Spiritual Energy lv10] [Detect Demonic Energy lv10] [Detect Divine Energy lv10] [Flute lv10] [Cooking lv2] [Water Magic lv1] [Ice Magic lv1] [Fire Magic lv1] [Wind Magic lv1] [Earth Magic lv1] [Lightning Magic lv1] [Life Magic lv1] [Death Magic lv1] [Chaos Magic lv1] [Order Magic lv1] [Void Magic lv1] [Space Magic lv1] [Time Magic lv1] [Astral Magic lv1] [Light Magic lv1] [Dark Magic lv1] [Illusion Magic lv1] [Purification Magic lv1] [Blood Magic lv1] [Sword Fighting lv3] [Kenjutsu lv3] [Dagger Wielding lv2] [Dueling lv2] [Sneaking lv2] [Sneak Attack lv2]
Abilities: [Teleportation] [All-Seeing Eyes] [Barrier Break] [Aura of Inescapable Void] [Quick Strike] [Backstab] [Quick Draw] [Triple Slash]