Somewhere far away in a place beyond the skies of this world where no man can reach.

A god sat in his divine realm, watching an online livestream of an idol concert on a holographic screen, his eyes glued to the performance.

"There’s no one who can ever be as great as Terasu-chan she’s so perfect," he said while being entranced by her every move.

And after the stream almost came to an end he he absently muttered something unexpected.

“I wonder how Kazuki is doing…”

“Ara~?”

!!!

And in a sudden panic, the god’s relaxed demeanor shattered. As he remembered his duty to watch over Kazuki quietly.

He was indeed the Kami-sama Kazuki met after his death. Under the request of another god, he was meant to keep an eye on Kazuki quietly after Terasu-cha’s concert came to an end on the day Kazuki was reincarnated.

Sigh…

“Let’s just see what he’s doing… and hopefully he’s not dead…”

Another divine holographic screen pops out just from a wave of his hands but unlike the High-quality livestream of the idol, this screen had nothing but static white noise and buzzing.

While looking at the screen he said to himself, "Ara~? I can’t see him?" his brows furrowed, confusion and concern filling his voice. "That’s never happened before… unless..."

“He’s dead…”

With shock and confusion, he came to a realization as he began talking to himself in a growing state of panic. “I knew he wouldn’t be able to handle that special place. That’s why I made sure he’d be transported out the moment he died! He should’ve ended up near Emeraldorr’s borders, with his memories of that place wiped clean…”

“But if I can’t track him… that means he died there too…”

“Maybe it was the demons who got him…”

“I should’ve kept an eye on him…”

In frustration, he sat down in his divine seat and said, “Gah! I messed up this one… and now the other guy is gonna be all mad about this… and if he shares this with the council, I’m screwed... I’ll get demoted for sure.”

…

[Somewhere Around Emeraldorr]

Forty minutes had passed after the trio booked themselves into an inn.

Feeling worn out with a drained face, Kazuki sighed.

“(Some good life Kami-sama promised.)”

At that exact moment, far beyond…

“Achoooo!”

“Ara~? That’s rare.” Kami-sama said, perplexed by the sudden sneeze, unaware of Kazuki’s frustrations or the fact of him being alive.

Afterward, Athena said to Kazuki with a concerned tone, ( ( “Kazuki-sama would you like to turn on cheats to stop feeling the pain you got from Miss Isabelle’s beating?” ) )

Although Athena’s intentions were pure Kazuki felt more pain by the last part of what she said.

He replied, (“Nah… I’m good Athena… for some reason, I feel like I need to remember this pain and beating for sure.”)

Meanwhile, Kazuki, Isabelle, and Rogu made their way toward the town's exit, ready to take on the A-ranked quest challenge Omulgg had thrown their way.

As they walked, Kazuki collided with someone carrying a large bundle of bread loaves. Both let out a startled, "Ack!" as they stumbled back from the impact.

“… Ugh… “ they both groaned.

And so as I got up after colliding, I looked upon the person who collided with me, and to my surprise he looked familiar. Not that I knew him personally but because of his features, they were similar to people from my world.

I quickly offered him a hand, and I said to him, “Hey, are you okay? Sorry about that, I didn’t see you.”

The young man looked around 18 years old with a timid posture. He was flustered but smiled as he took Kazuki’s hand he said.

“I’m sorry too. I was in a hurry and wasn’t paying attention. Our party just finished a bunch of E-ranked quests, and we finally made enough money for food and an inn for the next few days.”

I chuckled as I responded, “Ah, I get it. I know that feeling all too well.”

(Because we might be in the same situation soon…)

But something about the young man’s appearance stood out to me was it because he looked Japanese? I couldn’t help myself but ask, “Hope you don’t mind me saying this, but you look... different from most people around here. Why’s that?”

The young man scratched the back of his head, clearly nervous. “Ah... yeah. I get that a lot. I’m actually one of the summoned heroes from Livenia.”

(I was quite amazed to hear that he’s one of the summoned heroes of Livenia, but at the same time he looks quite feeble.)

Before I could say anything the young hero smiled awkwardly and said, “Sorry, but I have to run. My party’s waiting, and they’re probably on the verge of fainting from hunger.”

So I reacted with a nod and said, “Ah, sure. Let’s catch up another time, Hero-kun.”

The young hero smiled, waving as he hurried off. “I’m not much of a hero compared to the others, but yeah, let’s chat if we meet again.”

As he ran off, I and the others waved back, watching him disappear into the distance.

“Hmm… he wasn’t really a bad kid…” Isabelle said to me as she broke the silence.

I was caught off guard as I blurted out,

“Wha!?”

Then she says, I mean that’s what you were thinking after he left right?

I was shocked to hear that because she was right about it so I asked, “How’d you know?”

She answered, “Well I’ve picked up a thing or two about you ever since we got together.”

Isabelle shrugged, with a smile on her face. “I’ve picked up a thing or two about you since we’ve been together.”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

I chuckled awkwardly while scratching behind my head again. “Heh… I guess you have.”

[At Town’s Exit]

“Hah! You guys finally showed up. Thought you'd chicken out and run away with your tails between your legs!” Omulgg exclaimed as soon as he spotted us approaching.

(Looking at him, I noticed he’d brought even more men he showed off back at the guild.)

(“Athena, keep an eye on our surroundings.”)

( ( “Understood.” ) )

Belle crossed her arms, glaring at Omulgg. “We’ll see who’s running with their tail between their legs soon enough.”

“Why, you little!” Omulgg snarled, but before he could drag this out any longer, I cut him off.

With an exasperated sigh, I said, “Let’s skip the excess drama and get straight to it. Give us the quest details.”

Omulgg laughed loudly. “Hah! Fine by me. The quest is simple all you gotta do is kill the Red Tusk Behemoth in the woods north of here. Bring back one of its tusks as proof. If you manage that, we’ll split the reward 50-50. But if you fail? You’ll forfeit your adventuring licenses, effective immediately.”

He grinned viciously. “Well, not that it matters because if you fail, you'll be dead anyway! HAH HAH HAH!”

(God, this guy’s a real piece of work…)

I turned to Belle and Rogu as I said, “Let’s get this over with and claim our sweet reward.”

Rogu looked frowned and annoyed as he responded, “Wait a second. Why are we only getting 50% of the reward? We’re the ones doing all the work here.”

He had a point, but I shrugged replying. “True, but technically this isn’t our quest, and it’s not even in our rank bracket.”

Still, 130 gold coins isn’t bad for us.

According to Athena’s research, every quest has a fee and maximum reward limit based on its rank. For example, an E-rank quest’s max reward is 25 gold coins, while for other ranks:

D-rank: 50G

C-rank: 80G

B-rank: 150G

A-rank: 300G

S-rank: 500G

S+ rank: 5,000G

S++ rank: 50,000G

I hope we can reach the S++ Rank soon it gives such a sweet reward.

Even though I keep asking Athena why there hasn’t been a hack for money, she always replies with the same thing saying, that certain cheats require specific conditions or requirements to unlock.

(And the requirements for it are reaching a million gold coins…)

Sigh... even though I’ve managed to avoid leveling progression like everyone else, now it seems I can’t prevent cheat progression. And then there’s the whole issue of me not being able to use or tap into the essence of magic.

But for now, we’ve got another priority to focus on.

We made our way to the checkpost, showing our freshly registered adventuring licenses to the guard, who barely glanced at them before waving us through.

…

Omulgg-sama, “What if they succeed?”

“Don’t be stupid, proceed with the plan right away. We have the perfect bait.” Omulgg said.

Then he continued, “Even if they’re strong enough to beat a level 80 Red Tusk Behemoth, they still can’t beat the Level 120 Superior Tusk Behemoth, for that, you have to be S Rank or above not even the so-called heroes of Livenia have dared to take on that monster.”

“Ha ha ha, it’s going to be fun and messy.”

…

[Arriving At Northern Woods]

We’ve reached the woods faster than expected thanks to Athena’s knowledge and sense of direction. Thankfully because of that, we didn’t have to waste our gold buying the map. Although Belle questioned if I truly was going in the right direction but even so judging from Rogu's expression he probably knew that I was going in the correct direction.

As we entered deeper into the forest, Isabelle spoke up, her voice cautious. “Something feels strange about these woods… like there’s something malignant lurking.”

Rustle… rustle…

I would’ve asked Athena to scan this place or have done it myself after what Belle said, but the rustling sound coming from the bushes immediately got our attention.

And from it popped a small, adorable horned rabbit.

(Not that it was harmless of course since it was a level 50 monster.)

I guess we got ourselves something to cook tonight, maybe I’ll hit a spice shop after we get our reward.

Devour!

Going further inside the woods hoping to find Behemoth’s lair.

But then after a few more steps, I saw an alerting look on Belle and Rogu’s faces, noticing a sudden change in Belle and Rogu's glances.

Then suddenly Athena echoed into my head,

( ( “Kazuki-sama, there are multiple people keeping an eye on us proceed with caution.” ) )

(Huh? So Omulgg’s henchmen arrived this quick?)

( ( “Yes, there are Omulgg’s party members but also… demons are also keeping an eyes on us from a distance at the moment.” ) )

(Hmm… I guess that’s why those two got that alerting to look on their face, but it kinda makes sense why there would be demon spies since they’re a week close before they launch their surprise invasion.)

I decided to break the tension, giving Belle and Rogu a subtle signal. “So, where do you think the Behemoth went? I bet Omulgg’s dumbass used more muscle than brain when he gave us the details.” My smirk widened.

Belle caught on immediately as she replied, “Oh, yeah! That idiot’s all talk, no bite.”

Then Rogu added with a smirk, “Yeah, let’s take that easy reward from that coward. Bet that wannabe tough guy’s gonna grovel like a dog when he sees us bag the Behemoth.”

From the shadows, one of Omulgg’s henchmen, hidden within the trees, gritted his teeth and whispered to himself, "Those fucking assholes..." as he heard our words.

(I was hoping these unnecessary insults would piss off his followers so they can show themselves.)

Pew!

(And I guess it worked…)

Pew… Pew… Skrrrrtrrrtrrrtrrr…

An arrow was shot right near my foot as the hidden goons showered a barrage of arrows upon us. But we three have been synchronized with each other so we knew what to do next without any verbal plans.

And so, Belle, Rogu, and I scattered and began dodging all the arrows while moving in the spots where demons were also hiding so that it would hurt them.

…

Pew!

ARGHHH!!!

A loud cry was erupted by someone in the spot where Rogu was dodging arrows, most likely because one of the demons got hit.

(I guess Rogu is good at that unlike me I have to rely on Athena, even though I could pinpoint the exact location of someone if I actively use my skills. But the difference between me and Athena is that ever since I left the dungeon, I have to focus a bit harder which lowers my speed to react to things. On the other hand with Athena I just have to rely on coordinates she sends through her voice inside my mind, like an indicator.)

As expected, the demons were alerted, but even Omulgg’s followers seemed surprised to hear someone other than us screaming in pain.

The demons, who were now fully enraged showed themselves as they retaliated. They launched their assault toward every concealable spot, obliterating trees and bushes as they revealed themselves.

WHROOOOOOOOOOM!

One of Omulgg’s goons, now visible, cried out in pain as a demon's attack struck him. “Aghhh…”

“You filthy mortals! How dared you tried to attack us… We’ll show you our wrath!!” One of the demons roared.

One of the goons, clearly panicking, shouted back, “Damn it! Why the heck are demons here?”

Suddenly, the battle between demons and Omulgg’s followers escalated into full chaos, with both sides fighting each other fiercely. Omulgg and a few of his stronger lackeys, however, were nowhere to be seen since they had gone to lure the Superior Tusk Behemoth toward us.

The demons showed no sign of hesitation or falling back, even the guy who got hit by the arrows was fighting while his left thigh was bleeding.

Although Omulgg is pretty strong but most of his followers were filled with mixed ranks from B to E. I’m not sure if they hold any advantages.

Then one of the henchmen who was leading the followers said, “Boy’s let’s band up and defeat these nasty demons and you guys help us too since we came to help you.”

(The heck? Came to help us? How shameless can they be?)

Rogu immediately replied back, “Why should we help you, you were literally shooting arrows at us a moment ago. Now that you’re in deep trouble you want our help?”

Then with an evil smirk he says to them, “Deal with it yourself losers.”

The henchmen, now filled with frustration, barked back, “Why you little piece of shit! Boys, kill them all!”

And so the fight between demons and Omulgg’s followers raged on.

Sigh… I’m glad it didn’t ended up becoming a three-way battle I guess we can just watch them tear each other apart.

A few of the humans and demons were already on the ground as blood was flowing from their lifeless bodies…

But then all of sudden the ground began to shake as we all heard a massive roar incoming.

The Superior Tusk Behemoth had arrived.

It was a giant Behemoth that looked much more terrifying than any description of Red Tusk Behemoth. It was fierce as Athena called it a “Superior Tusk Behemoth.”

!!!??

Everyone was in shock as they looked at the monster, but Omulgg’s remaining followers showed a joyful face as they began praising Omulgg, believing their leader had brought a beast to save them from the demons.

“Ha ha ha! Prepare for your deaths, newbies… uh…” Omulgg paused mid-taunt as he finally noticed the carnage his men dead or dying, demons wreaking havoc, and now the Behemoth who wasn’t actually under his control.

(Guess we’re nearing the finale of this mess.)

But before anyone could react, a voice came from the shadows. “Ara~ We’ve been searching for him for a while now, but I guess he was hanging out with you mortals. Thanks for making our job easier.”

A female demon emerged from the woods, her frizzy lime-green hair standing out, along with her tanned skin, small horns, and a well-worn set of armor. Her tone was mocking.

Omulgg, enraged, shouted back, “Bitch! Who do you think you are?!”

In a flash, the demon closed the distance between them and, with a swift movement, sliced off Omulgg’s arm.

“Arrrghhhh!” he screamed, falling to the ground in pain and terror.

The demon sneered, wiping her blade clean. “Me? I’m Captain Inena of Demon Lord Muza’rn’s army. Call me a bitch again, and I’ll take your tongue next.”

(This scene feels oddly familiar…)

Omulgg’s men, once filled with confidence, now had terror plastered across their faces.

This Inena girl is clearly on a different level than Omulgg.

But considering a captain is stronger than an A Rank adventurer it means she’s most likely equivalent of an S rank.

Wait… does that mean General Hellfernia will be strong as S++ Rank or above?

Do these people even have a chance of surviving in the upcoming war?