The scent of fresh greenery coupled by the scene that unfolded after I opened the window were stimulating my senses. The chirping of birds in the comfort of their trees and the faint smell of sweetness blending in the Morning Breeze. I initially thought that being suddenly transported in this world only brought trouble, but after I saw this scene, it might not be that bad at all. In moments like this, one can only stop and appreciate the unfolding scene in front of them, and that’s what I’m doing right now. I can now prove that–

“Hans! You awake?”

I can now prove that good things hap–

“Hans! Wake Up!”

I can now prove that good things happen after bad th–

“Hans! Wake Up Already! We need to head to the Guild Building today.”

I can now prove that good things happen after bad things occur based on my experie–

“Hans! If you don’t wake up, I will break your door!”

“Oh, Come On, Eri! I’m in the middle of my Monologue right now! Can you stay quiet for just a moment?”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying, and I don’t care. If you don’t open the door, I will break it!”

“Fine! Stop shouting, I’m coming now.”

I went towards the door and open it. What I saw is Eri in her usual stern expression. Surrounding her are the other occupant of the inn that were drawn by Eri’s shout.

I quickly let Eri inside and went outside to apologize for the ruckus. The bystanders seem to understand what happened and quickly dispersed after I explained what happened but they somehow thought that Eri and I were couple. I didn’t pry more into that topic because I know that if I do, the conversation will continue and its content will be more personal.

After dispersing the crowd, I went inside my room only to find Eri looking nonchalant after causing a ruckus outside.

“So? Why are you being so loud this early?”

“As I said before, we need to go to the guild building today to register.”

“You seem to be awfully excited to become an adventurer… Are you perhaps wanting to become one even before you became a Demon King’s General?”

“No! not because of that.”

“Then why are you so enthusiastic about going to the Guild Building?”

“First of all, I would like to avoid human contact. That’s why I want to leave this town as soon as possible. Second, because I would like to start the adventure that you’re talking about last night. If it means that I’ll get stronger, then I’m down with it.”

“Oho… So you really are looking forward to our adventures, huh. You’re like a kid in her first field trip. Fuhuhuhu.”

“What’s with that condescending laugh?! And what’s with the ‘Kid and her First Field trip’ thing? Stop mocking me!”

“I’m not mocking you. In fact, I’m also looking forward to our various journeys in the future. But for now, let’s head to the Guild Building. And will you please go out of my room? Let me prepare myself privately.”

“Ok. But don’t go back to sleep. If you do, I’ll throw you outside the window.”

“Ok, ok, I got it. Now, would you mind?”

Eri left my room and I started preparing myself. After I finished preparing, the two of us head towards the Guild Building.

On the way towards the guild building, we passed towards different kinds of people. Different Ages, Gender and Races all cohabitate in a single town. Usually, in most of the fantasy novels that I read, there are discrimination towards different races, mostly the Beastmen. But looking at the diversity of people in here, you can definitely see how different races view each other, Equal and with respect to one another. Because of that, this can be described certainly as a peaceful one. And in a world, that’s full of picturesque sceneries, a peaceful town with cohabitating races is all that I can ask. Even I don’t want to ruin this picturesque world with bloodshed, you know. But I highly doubt that my partner feels the same.

“Hey Eri, I was just wandering… What are your thoughts about this world?”

“What’s with you?”

“Just answer my question.”

“Well, I’ll admit that this world is beautiful… But human still needs to be remove out of the picture. It’ll be perfect after that.”

See! That’s what I’m saying. I can’t let this Demon indiscriminately kill other humans.

“Maybe I’ll need to put a leash on you.”

“Don’t you dare!”

“Oh, am I perhaps thinking out loud?”

“Yes, you are. And don’t you dare do that to me. I’ll kill you if you do that to me.”

“Okay, okay. Chill. That’s just me thinking. I won’t put a leash on you or whatever. But don’t do anything stupid like killing a person or… Committing a Massacre.”

“I won’t do that! What kind of image do I have in your mind?”

“Umm… Someone that will kill a human if she were left behind?”

“I admit that I might do that. But still, I will not just to that indiscriminately. Don’t worry, the only people that I’m going to kill are those that is involved in killing my mother and contributing to my suffering.”

“Am I, perhaps, in your list too?”

“Hmm… Who knows? And why are you asking me that? You know that I won’t be able kill you, right?”

“Yes, that’s true… But still, having a comrade stab you in the back is just… a sad thing to experience.”

“If that’s the case, then you don’t have to worry about it. Not yet…”

“Hey! What’s the meaning of that!”

I chased after her when she said that. And with that, we reached the Guild Building.

----------------------------------------

“Hey, Izuna, were here. Apparently, Eri is really excited about registering to the Guild.”

“I’m not!”

“Oh, Hans, Eri. Please wait a minute, I’ll just finish this appointment. I’ll join you later.”

Eri and I sat on the table near the counter and waited for Izuna to finish her appointment. After she’s done, she went towards us.

“Hans, Eri, Are you two ready?”

“Of course! And Eri seems to be overly enthusia–”

I was interrupted with a hand chop in the head.

“How many times do I need to tell you to stop with that description every time a guild activity came up.”

“Hahaha, sorry about that… It’s just so fun teasing you.”

“You really are trying to get yourself killed, are you?”

“Cut it out! You two better not start a fight in here. I don’t know what will happen to the Guild Building if the two of you were to fight seriously.”

“Don’t worry about that, Izuna. I’ll be sure to end it with a single strike to reduce the damage to the property.”

“Oho… So, you’re implying that I’ll lose?”

“Well, have you won against me before?”

“I’ll win this time, for sure!”

“I wonder about that.”

“Stop it now, will you. We have a lot to do today so can we just go start?”

“Ok. We’ll resume it later.”

“Agreed.”

“Ok. Now that we are all calmed down, let’s now start your examinations. Follow Me.”

We followed Izuna towards a room at the back of the guild with a crystal ball in the center.

“Hey, are we going to do fortune telling or what?”

“I don’t know why you associate the situation we are currently in right now to a fortune telling, but I assure you, this has nothing to do with it. The crystal is a tool to determine your overall strength and magic power. This’ll be used as a basis to determine your rank and level.”

“Oh, okay.”

“So, who will be the first?”

“I think it’s really fair to let Eri be the first one because she’s so exci–”

“One more word and you’re dead.”

“Ah… Nevermind.”

“Ok then. Eri, put your hands in the crystal.”

Eri put her hands to the crystal. After a few seconds delay, the crystal ball began glowing dimly. What shone in the crystal are Dark Violet and Black, and the colors are really clear.

“As expected of a Demon General.”

“What did it say?”

“Well, the crystal determined that you have a high affinity on lightning and Dark Magic. And the Magic strength is not to be trifled with. You really are so powerful, Eri. And your level is… Oh! You’re in the 300’s! Only a handful of Adventurers had made it past the 300-level mark! Besides the Legendary Heroes, there are only 13 other Adventurers that made it past 300. I should be surprised by now but the fact that she’s a Demon King General make it so anti-climactic.”

“So? What exactly is my level?”

“You’re level 312. That qualifies you to the Rank A status!”

“Only A? I think that my stats qualify me to become S-Rank.”

“While it’s true that your rank is certainly higher than a normal adventurer, it can’t be compared to those that belong to Rank S. The weakest person that poses Rank S Title is at level 423. Meanwhile, The Demon King is believed to have reached passed the 500-level mark. By the way, a normal adventurer usually caps towards level 200. That is the reason why the range of the level between Rank A and Rank S is significantly large compared to the other level. You can become a Rank A Adventurer when you reach level 100, but you need to reach level 400 to become Rank S.”

Stolen story; please report.

“I feel like there’s so much information being dumped in my face just now. So basically, I’m really strong, right?”

“Yes, you’re strong. Not as strong as the Demon King and the Legendary Heroes but you’re still stronger than most of the adventurers.”

Eri looked so proud right now, looks like she’s trying to mock me by showing me her smug face.

“You really are a sore loser.,Eri. You don’t need to show your smug face to me right now. I’m still technically more powerful than you, you know?”

Eri just walked pass me and shrugged.

“Well, now that Eri’s done, shall we proceed to you, Hans?”

“Sure!”

I went towards the crystal ball and put my hands on it.

Suddenly, the crystal ball emitted a very bright light filled with colors of the spectrum, enough to make the room look like some kind of ethereal Disco Party Room.

I looked at Izuna and what I saw in her face is sheer amazement. If I were to recall what Izuna said earlier, our strength and magical power is determined by how bright the crystal shone. And if I were to use what Izuna said about the color of the crystal when Eri touched it, I can conclude that I am able to use all types of magic. Looks like I have become a more bugged character than what I am right now.

Eri looked at me with amazed expression as well. Looks like even her can’t deny how awesome I really am. I looked at the crystal and I saw a number in it, 9999 to be exact. Izuna looked like she can’t believe what she’s looking right now. She looked at the Crystal and became more stiffed than usual.

“Your level… It’s over 9000!”

Izuna’s still trying to process what she’s seeing while Eri has her Palm on her face. She then looked at me.

“I know that you are strong. But to be as strong as this, you’re pretty much a God, you know. I feel sorry for my fellow comrades and the Demon King for trying to fight with this absurd monstrous individual.”

“I am surprised too, you know! I know that I am really strong… But to have a result like this?! I don’t even know what to feel right now.”

I removed my hand on the Crystal Ball and the light instantly disappears. What I saw in the side of the Crystal Ball’s stand is Izuna lumping in the floor while murmuring something.

“This is unbelievable, it can’t be true. Yep, that’s right, it’s just a Dream. Definitely a dream. There’s no way a human can become that strong. Yep, it’s just a Dream. I’ll just pinch myself to wake up.”

Izuna pinched herself only to feel the pain of the pinch.

“Ouch! That hurts… Wait, I’m still here. So, everything is true?”

“Yes, it’s true as it can be. I don’t know what happened to myself, but apparently, I am a really powerful being.”

Izuna rushed in front of me and started shaking me.

“Why are you being so calm about this! You currently are the strongest being in this entire world right now, you know?! In fact, I don’t even know if the gods can handle you. You’re a Rank X Being, and I’m really relieved that you are on humanity’s side. I don’t even know what would happen if you were to become our enemy. We might as well prepare ourselves for a one-sided annihilation.”

“You’re overexaggerating.”

“No I’m not. I really need to report this to the higher ups. They need to know about you, Hans.”

“Please don’t.”

“Why not, you will be recognized everywhere as a new Legendary Hero.”

“I don’t care about that. We just want to travel, to go on an adventure. That’s what we are going to do after this. And a unnecessary title would be a pain in the ass.”

Izuna calmed herself down and then start speaking.

“I understand. I’ll prepare your Guild Cards so you can start your adventure today. And also, I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

“If we were in need of help, can you come to our aid?”

I looked at Eri who is known to hate Human. But right now, she’s just averting her gaze. Looks like she was trying to say that she can’t do anything since I’ve already made up my mind to do it. I looked at Izuna again and gave her a reply.

“Sure! Anytime you need us, just call us.”

“Thank You, Hans.”

Izuna leaped towards me and as I catch her, she wrapped her arms around me and hugged me. After a few second, she separated from me.

“Once Again, Thank You.”

After that ruckus, we went back to the Guild Building and Wait for our Guild Cards. After receiving it, we said our goodbyes to Izuna and started our journey without any destinations. After all, the purpose of this journey is to be strong.

“And now, at last, Our Journey Begins.”

…Or so I thought.

It would’ve been awesome if that were to happen. But reality is harsh and its portrayal of your dreams were far more boring, and flat-out bland.

----------------------------------------

This is what really happened.

I put my hands in the crystal and it didn’t light up.

Even as we waited for a few seconds, the Crystal doesn’t seem to be glowing soon.

“Huh? It seems that it wasn’t responding to you. Looks like the crystal broke. But it’s still working a minute ago.”

“What’s the matter?”

“The crystal is not emitting any reactions with your touch.”

“Is it broken?”

“I don’t know. It appears to be functioning properly when Eri touched it.”

Izuna touch the crystal to see if it is functioning. The crystal shone Green color with a slight touch of Blue. A number “74” appeared inside the crystal.

“The crystal is not broken. Can you try touching the crystal again, Hans?”

“Sure.”

I touched the crystal and still, there seems to be no response whatsoever. Izuna is being confused right now, Eri, on the other hand appears to have no care.

Suddenly, a number appeared inside the crystal. Izuna and Eri saw the number and both of them was even more confused.

The number that appeared is ‘1’.

“This can’t be true.”

Eri looked at me with confusion in her eyes. Looks like even she can’t comprehend the current situation.

Suddenly, I remembered what the old geezer said to me.

“One of the limitations that comes with the ability I gave you is you would stay on level 1. It is not because you are broken. It is because the level reading mechanism in our world would not identify your ability, add to that the fact that you won’t be able to use the magic that exist in my world. Because of that, the readings will stay level 1. You will be treated badly because of your status.” Is what he said.

I sighed.

“I knew it. So this is what the old geezer meant, huh?”

Eri approached me.

“What’s the meaning of this?”

“As you can see, looks like I am just level 1 and has no affinity for magic.”

Izuna was still confused on what I just said.

“Wait. My mind’s still trying to process what just happened. So, you really are just a normal person?”

“If you look at what my stats is, you can say that I’m undoubtedly a normal person.”

“But how come you defeated the Demon King?”

“Because I’m strong?”

Izuna paused for a moment then she looked straight to me.

“So that’s what it is.”

“Huh?”

“You’re just lying to me the whole time.”

“Huh?!”

“Eri is certainly powerful, but you, on the other hand, is just a normal being.”

“So, what are you trying to imply?”

“I’m trying to say that you are a shameless fraud that takes advantage of your partner’s strength.”

Izuna looked more serious now.

“I’m not a fraud. And I truly defeated the Demon King by myself.”

“I won’t believe you unless you have a proof. Until then, I will not allow you to register to this guild. Forget about the promise, It’s bullshit anyway.”

Eri came near me and look at Izuna.

“If I were you, Izuna, I would stop judging Hans based on what that crystal said.”

“Eri, are you being forced by him to tell lies?”

Eri appeared a little pissed off.

“Do you think that I will accompany a human, let alone a weak one, just because he paid me? Don’t underestimate my resolve, Human. Even if you are Izuna, I will never hold back if you insult my resolve.”

Eri looks like she’s going to strike Izuna at any moment. I need to stop this.

“Both of you, stop! I understand each of your sides. Eri doesn’t want her resolve getting trampled. On the other hand, Izuna thinks that I’m lying. So how about we have an unofficial duel. You and me.”

Izuna swiftly replied.

“Sure. If I can expose your lies with that, then I certainly will agree with your idea. If you win, I will let you join the Guild and I will be your personal contact in the guild. If you lose, I will make sure to prevent you from getting a guild card everywhere.”

“Hans, just do it moderately.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be over in a flash.”

“Now you’re just underestimating me.”

“Don’t worry. Hans will never underestimate someone. Unless the person is a true trash.”

“You seemed to highly value Hans’ skill, huh.”

“I just stated the obvious. Besides, if he won, it will not be as thrilling as it should be.”

Izuna looked at me.

“So, shall we begin?”

“Okay.”

“But let’s not do it in a cramped space. There is a large plain in the outskirts of the town., We can conduct the duel here, and no one will be bothered.”

“Do what you want.”

We went towards the outskirts of the town and found really beautiful plains stretched towards the horizon.

“This’ll be the right spot.”

“So…What are we going to do now?”

“Eri will act as our mediator. No fatal attacks shall be used.”

“Let’s just get this over with.”

“I couldn’t wait any longer”

After saying that, Izuna suddenly appeared in front of me and tried to stab me. Looks like she’s really serious now. I can feel her bloodlust overflowing. The person in front of me is very different to the Izuna that I know.

Izuna is really fast. Even though I managed to dodge every strike, she’s still not losing her speed. I managed to escape her strike zone after I pushed her and thrown her balance off.

“You’re really fast.”

“Thank you. But that is to be expected if you were to fight a Wind Magic User.”

“That’s what I thought. So, green means Wind. Then I assume that you can also use Water Magic, am I right?”

“Yes, although not as adept as the ones who mainly use it… Why am I even telling you this, I’m here to fight you, not to talk to you.”

“You’re the one who answered my questions, why blame the talk on me?”

“Because you asked a question on the first place!”

“You could’ve just ignore it.”

“Aaah! Just focus on the duel!”

Izuna once again dashed towards me. But this time, I am not trying to avoid it.

I caught the blade that Izuna’s swinging in my hand. It took her several seconds to understand what had just happened. But after she processed the current scene, she looked surprised about it.

“Wha-!”

“Now, now. Just take it easy. I’m not even at my full strength yet.”

“How!”

“Because I’m strong, I said that already, right?”

I released the knife from my grasp and took a few steps backwards.

“Now, Izuna, let me demonstrate what my real strength is.”

I started dashing randomly in the field. It seems that I was so fast that even a Wind Magic User couldn’t catch up with me. Izuna tried to get hold of me but she couldn’t. Meanwhile, I’m just poking her whenever I see her blind spot, and it seems to be working. Izuna is getting irritated because of the continuous poking.

“Stop it! Take it seriously, you Dumbass.”

“Okay, sure.”

I stopped in front of her while smiling.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m showing you my strength.”

“You’re just making me a fool!”

“But you told me to-”

“Take this seriously!”

“But if I do that-”

“You better not pull any stunts like that again. Here, I am trying my best to defeat you, and you are just toying with me. That’s really insulting!”

I kind of understand what she’s feeling the more I think about it. Why? Because it happens to me all the time.

----------------------------------------

I always felt inferior to Mira and Eric. I don’t know how it started, the only thing I know is that I’ve felt more and more inferior to the two of them as the time goes by. They are athletic, crowd-pleaser and more importantly, loved by everyone. I’m not jealous, I’m just disheartened by the fact that they are loved by everyone and my love for them is but a little piece in the puzzle. Me on the other hand is a loner who only talks to his classmates when necessary. Only has 2 friends and nothing more. Every time the three of us walks home, there will be instances that they will be called out by their friends and I would be left hanging. That’s insulting, but I have no rights to stop them. That’s why I understand Izuna. The more I make fun of her while she’s working hard, the more it becomes insulting. Just like when Mira and Eric inadvertently show me how having friends is easy, the more it felt more insulting to me because I can’t do it.

----------------------------------------

“Are you sure?”

“What happened, you’re dead serious all of the sudden.”

“I’m sorry for being a douche earlier. Don’t worry, from now on I’m going to face you seriously.”

“That’s more like it!”

I heightened up my senses to be able to detect everything that’s happening around me. I focused my eyes to Izuna alone. Right now, she’s the Enemy, not a Friend.

I Imagine the exact sword that I used to defeat the Demon King’s Generals. A Wakizashi with Gold-squared guard. I held it on my left hand and walk straight to Izuna, not averting my gaze from her.

“Wait, what’s happening? What’s with this devilish atmosphere?!”

I stare directly at Izuna, never averting my gaze, and when I reached a certain distance between us, I stopped.

“W-wait! This is not going to end well for me. Please, I surrender! I’m not going to-”

She stopped speaking when she noticed that I am at her back while the blade on my left hand was pointed at her neck. She was shocked and looked pale.

“You’re my Enemy right now. I will not hesitate to destroy those that tries to disrupt me and my plans.”

Eri walked towards me and pat my back.

“You better stop it now. You’re taking this too far.”

I let go of Izuna and she slumped in the floor.

“Ah, looks like I took it too far. I apologize, I just don’t want to insult her.”

“Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to her.”

“Uhm… Izuna, I apologize for taking it too far.”

She didn’t reply.

“Oh looks like she lost her consciousness. Are you perhaps a Demon pretending to be human?”

“Ha ha ha. Nice Joke Eri.”

I sighed.

I lifted Izuna and carried her on my back and we return to the Guild Building and lay her in a sofa in the rooms at the back of the guild.

Izuna woke up with jumbled memories about what happened. After Eri told her what happened, she inadvertently tried to distance herself from me, but since the room is small, she couldn’t really do it. We let her rest while we made up some excuse for her supervisor.

While Izuna is sleeping, Eri and I went to the marketplace to buy essential items for our travel like: medicines, Items for personal hygiene, mats for outdoor sleeping etc.

After shopping for supplies we head back to the Guild Building only to saw Izuna on the counter. When she saw us, she waved her hands and called out to us. After we reached the counter, Izuna pulled something under it and gave it to us.

“There you go.”

“What is this?”

“That’s your Guild Card. That card has many functionalities. You can use it as identification when entering a new town, A way to store your gold in our vault, Monitoring your leveling status and more.”

“Nice! Now, we can start our adventures properly!”

“Yes, let’s go now.”

“Wait! Before you go, I just want to say… Thank You. Thank you for trusting me. I promise I won’t break it, no matter what happened.”

“Good, Thanks for understanding our situation.”

“Now go! I wish you both good luck with your travels and exploits. Visit me if you have time.”

“Sure! But you’ll never know when. In that way, it’ll be exciting.”

“Hahaha, just go.”

After we said our goodbyes, Eri and I went towards the Town Entrance.

“Eri, this is it.”

“Yes.”

“This is the start of our adventures, Eri!”

“And I’m going to get stronger!”

“Yeah, we will both become stronger.”

After a brief exchange, we took our first step towards our new adventures. New people to meet, new things to see, new experiences to feel. I look forward to all of this.

“Hans!!!”

Or so I thought

“Hans!!!”

Eri and I stopped and looked at the source of the voice. It was Izuna who’s running towards us.

“Hans! Sorry to bother you, but we need help.”

“For what?”

“A huge Demon Force is heading towards this town. We can’t defend ourselves alone if that happens.”

And…

“We are going to be killed at them.”

There…

“We need your help!”

Goes…

“Please, Hans, Eri.”

Our…

“We beg you!”

Adventures…

“Please! Help us save this town!”

Yup. There goes our Adventures.