Artyom’s eyes went wide. Despite how miniscule the fire in the woman’s hand was, he could feel its heat from several feet away. What’s more, its residual magical energy was almost unnoticeable, meaning that it was incredibly efficient.

Xerica was a very powerful spellcaster.

The man from Earth could also see the cords of muscle flex in Daisy’s form. From her build, he would have expected her to be more specialized in kicking, but even her comparatively skinny arms and torso had a wiry mass underneath that coiled in a way beyond anything human.

While Artyom didn’t have much to go off of for the other two, he knew they must be at a similar level.

Whether it was thanks to the blessings of the System or a lifetime of hard work, maybe even both, Artyom knew that these women were dangerous. And even with his gear and skill set, he still didn’t have any levels. His kit was meant to even the playing field of a level disparity, not a complete lack of them altogether!

Not to mention the… possible kid from Earth standing right there, who’d likely get caught in the crossfire.

Artyom could try to grab him and run, but who knew how far he could get? Maybe he could call Gus for an emergency extraction for the two of them? But… he didn’t want to bring someone who wasn’t actually from Earth back to headquarters.

No, what Artyom needed was time. Time to figure out what this kid’s deal was, and what to do about it all. It would take more time than he could make for himself in this conversation. Several ideas on how to stall this out came to mind, and were quickly shot down due to either how dangerous or utterly deranged they were. As the other two women began to reach for their own weapons, Artyom came to a sudden epiphany.

“I didn’t come here to start trouble,” he said. “I came here to join you all in the hero’s party.”

The four ladies froze and stared at him with wide eyes.

“You what?” asked Daisy, gritting her teeth.

“That sounds awesome!” shouted Tommy from behind him.

“What do you mean by awesome?!” exclaimed the blonde, her face starting to turn as red as Xerica’s hair.

“I mean, he seems like a cool guy,” said the hero with a shrug. “You should’ve been here when he was talking about all the cool things he’s done. He fought off an entire army by himself and saved a ton of people, I think he’s perfect for us!”

“Tommy,” said Xerica, turning to him with a disappointed look. “Think about this first.”

“Oh come on. We already have five girls and I’m the only guy around here, I think having another one around would make things more fun!”

“Hold on, five?”

“I… think he’d be a good fit,” came a brand new voice from the back corner of the room.

Artyom immediately jumped back and turned, getting himself some distance from the other four while positioning himself to be facing this new potential threat.

It was another woman, this one with brown hair and a set of leather armor that had seen plenty of action. At her waist was a belt with many pockets, some holding knives and others various glass vials and metal tools.

“How am I only just noticing her?” thought Artyom as he channeled the magical energy for a Gravity Lance.

“It’s not your decision to make, Neitra,” said Ecole, the indistinct woman with green hair.

“Yeah, why don’t you disappear back into your corner?” sneered Daisy.

The brown haired newcomer, Neitra, stood tall. She didn’t budge from her spot, yet still looked away from the group.

“Hold on, I’m the hero, and I want him to join us!” exclaimed Tommy, grabbing everyone’s attention.

The four other women looked at the hero, obviously trying to temper their disappointment into more innocent pouts, but Tommy stood firm.

The room went quiet as the battle of wills took place. Though to Artyom, it looked more like a battle of tantrums. The sheer absurdity of what he was witnessing made Artyom slowly relax and release the magic flowing into his hand.

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Eventually, one of the sides broke the silence.

“Oh fine, we can have another member,” said Xerica, the woman in the flame-styled dress. “But we need to be sure this new guy can keep up with us.”

“Alright!” exclaimed Tommy, jumping up and pumping his fist. “I’m sure he’s strong enough!”

“But to make sure, let’s give him a test.”

The four women turned to each other knowingly and nodded before looking back at Artyom.

“Our current mission is to retrieve the Goddess’ holy armor that will make Tommy strong enough to fight the Dark Lord,” said the redhead.

“Sounds standard enough,” thought Artyom while nodding to the group. “But let me guess, they’re not all in one place?”

“But each piece of the armor has been scattered across the kingdom, and the next piece on our list is in a nearby dungeon.”

“So you want me to retrieve it for you?”

“My my, how smart,” said Xerica with a wry grin as she licked her lips.

It took all of Artyom’s willpower to not burst out laughing at a scene straight out of some anime, but his lips still slightly curved into a smile. Xerica’s own smile grew in turn and Artyom swore he saw something dark in it for an instant before it disappeared.

“It’s in Crystal Kobold Crossing, just to the North of this town. We’ll be sticking around town for a few more days, so if you can retrieve it by then, you can join our team.”

The man from Earth nodded. “Is there anything I can expect out of this place? Is it filled with monsters, and if so, how strong are they? How about any puzzles, do I need any specific knowledge to be able to solve them?”

“Relax, the dungeon was supposed to be a vacation,” said Ecole, the woman with the green hair. “You’re supposed to have taken on an entire warband by yourself, right? You can probably clear this place in your sleep.”

“If it’s that easy, why bother testing me at all?”

“Aren’t you listening?” asked Daisy. “She said supposedly. I don’t buy your story so you have to at least prove it’s not a complete lie.”

Artyom felt a vein in his forehead begin to throb, but he slowly took a deep breath to let it settle. These four were really rubbing him the wrong way, but even if they were a roadblock to his real goal, they were at least a small one.

“Alright, I’ll do it,” he said.

“Oh!” softly exclaimed Lensa, the blue haired one in the back. “Before you go, let me impart the goddess’ blessing on you. Under her protection, you’re sure you’ll succeed.”

Something about her demure expression reminded Artyom of a certain other priestess, and something she’d told him. Back in his tent after slaying the Bog Walker, Skeya had mentioned Artyom’s lack of levels could be fixed with the goddess’ blessing.

He wasn’t able to obtain it back then, but maybe now? If there were still evil armies wandering around alongside whatever the Dark Lord had in store for Tommy, he’d need all the power he could get.

“Sure, what do I need to do?” he asked.

“Just stay where you are and accept the blessing into you.”

Artyom did as instructed as Lensa began to chant. A faint aura of energy began to coalesce around her, before compressing into the size of a soccer ball and floating over to Artyom. The orb only felt a little bit like magical energy to Artyom’s senses, the rest likely made up of whatever divine spells were powered by.

The ball stopped just in front of Artyom.

“You’ll have to accept it,” repeated the blue haired woman. “Accept the goddess into your heart.”

All of Artyom’s instincts screamed at him not to lower his defenses, but a pang of guilt brought forth by memories of a tear-streaked trio of adventurers worked them loose. He immediately felt a jolt go through him as the blue orb entered his body and filled him with a rush of energy and strength.

“May the goddess watch over your journey,” said Lensa with one final nod.

“I hope she makes him fail,” said Daisy.

Artyom ignored her and smiled at Lensa. “Thanks.”

“I’m glad to be of help,” she replied. “But the actual effects won’t take place until exactly tomorrow at noon. That’s the tradeoff for this particular blessing.”

“And if you do manage to find the piece, we’ll be waiting at the Saffron Lodge in the upper ring of the city,” said Xerica, who then turned back to the hero. “Now Tommy, let’s enjoy the rest of this party. And maybe I’ll enjoy you after.”

“What about me?!” shouted Daisy.

“You’ll get him for his twentieth birthday in a few weeks,” said Xerica with a bored expression before wrapping an arm around the hero and walking out of the room.

Artyom raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything more and just shook his head. “Generic” wasn’t enough to describe the kind of anime this felt like; a few more choice words would have to be appended to the description.

With the hero found and his next task at hand, there was nothing else for Artyom to do at the party. Besides, if he spent any more time around those four, he would need a drink. But for tomorrow he would need all his wits about him.

So instead, Artyom bid his farewell to the hero and left the manor. He made his way past the gate and down the dimly lit streets, letting the day’s events play out in his mind, and forming a plan for tomorrow.

As he approached the middle-class district, he felt a sharp headache. Maybe interacting with those four was just that exhausting. But then how was Artyom supposed to deal with them when he properly joined their party?

A surprising number of Earthers at TOAL headquarters claimed eating anything with too many artificial colors would do weird things to you, and Artyom was willing to believe them after today.

He soon made his way back to the inn and fell asleep almost instantly when he fell onto his bed, not even waking up when his phone began to ring.