Beginning of the Worst Adventure (II)

After somehow managing to get down from the tower, I step out onto the streets of the city and get my first close-up look at the new world I’ve been thrust into.

Stores selling potions and weapons and monster parts.

Carriages and wagons being pulled by giant walking bird creatures.

People casually using what looks like magic in public.

Yup, this is a fantasy world alright. Everything I imagined and more.

And from today onwards, it is my new home and the stage for my second life.

“So, what’s the plan? What do you want to do first?”

Satanya asks me as she lazily floats in the corner of my eye.

“Hmm, let’s see…”

I think about it for a few moments. What should my first order of business be in this new world? What is the right thing for me to do?

“I got it. I think I’m gonna go to the police station first. Oh, I guess it’d be a knight station here. Or a guard station?”

“In this city, it’s called a Knight Post. But why there? Are you planning to enlist?”

“No, I’m planning to tell them about us Demon Lords. I want to make sure the authorities know what the Demon King is planning.”

After all, who knows what kind of destruction a so-called Demon Lord can cause. It’s not that I’m suspicious about the other people who got summoned with me or anything, but nobody knows what kind of tricks the Demon King may be plotting. In the worst case scenario, all of us may turn evil and end up wreaking havoc on the same level as the Demon King. To prevent that, the authorities need to be informed about the situation as soon as possible, before anything bad can happen.

“You don’t mind, do you, Satanya?”

I ask her, carefully gauging her reaction.

“I don’t mind. But are you sure? Doing so would require you to reveal that you’re a Demon Lord summoned by the Demon King. They clearly won’t take kindly to you. They may even execute you.”

She responds with a voice of genuine concern.

“Well… if that’s what they decide is best, so be it. I’ll leave it to the judgement of the authorities.”

“You’re sure? You’re okay with them killing you?”

“It’s for the greater good. I’m not so selfish that I’d prioritize my own life over the safety of the entire world. That’d just be wrong of me.”

Considering how much destruction the Demon King can cause, I would understand if my very life was simply too much of a threat to this world to allow me to survive.

That said, an optimistic part of me is hoping that immediately coming clean will help show them that I am a good person deep down. There may be some leniency for me in that case. Maybe they’ll let me go and even give me a medal of recognition.

But no matter the outcome, I’m ready to do the right thing. I have to be.

“Haha~ Okay, if that’s what you really want. In that case, I’ll guide you to the Central Knight Post. That should give you a better chance at talking to someone higher-up.”

“Thanks. Lead the way.”

And so, I begin my trek towards the central Knight Post.

With Satanya as my guide, I navigate through the streets of Adamsale and take my first real steps around this world.

As I walk, I end up seeing all sorts of interesting things.

Like a knight casually walking around in full armor.

Or a store advertising something called MagiMail.

Or an old lady casually lifting huge boxes with magic.

There are interesting buildings and interesting foods and interesting creatures.

I feel like I’m repeating myself at this point, but fantasy worlds sure are something to see.

If I manage to survive the Knight Post, I’d love to go exploring the city.

For now, though, I settle for just marvelling at each new thing I happen to pass by. Thanks to that, I end moving at a sluggish pace through the city and force Satanya to patiently wait for me at every corner. Whenever I see something cool or interesting, I can’t help but stop for a few moments to take it in or take a quick detour to check it out.

I keep getting distracted like this, when all of a sudden—

“Hey, hey. What are you doing here, little man?”

“Huh?”

An intimidating cackle stops me in my tracks.

When I pull my head back down to earth to face the source of the voice, I suddenly realize that I’m on an empty side street with no one else around. I must have wandered in here unknowingly while I was busy sightseeing.

All at the same time, three men appear, surrounding me from all sides. They are all big muscular dudes with rough and rugged appearances that don’t match the area. Compared to them, I immediately feel like a twig.

“On your way home from your nice fancy private school, little man? Doing a little window shopping maybe? How nice, how nice.”

“Y’know, we’re just like you. We love to go shopping too. Thing is, it looks like we forgot our coin pouches at home today.”

“Say, why don’t you be a friend and spot us a few hundred Gol? You don’t mind, right, buddy?”

The three men briskly approach, carrying a swagger of cockiness and toughness in their step.

Geez, what a stereotypical collection of hooligans. I feel like I’ve seen their cookie-cutter designs a hundred times before.

This must be some sort of compulsory event. The typical “Quest 1: Repel the hooligans” type of deal. Nothing more than some small fry to establish how strong the protagonist is. It almost makes me yawn.

To be honest, I don’t really care about these guys. They can try and mug me if they want; it’s not like I have any money they can take. The only things I brought with me from my world are this school uniform I’m wearing and the school bag I was holding when I died.

However, even if it doesn’t bother me, they may end up bothering someone else. In that case, I can’t just ignore them. I should teach them a little lesson so they can mend their ways.

Since I’m in a rush, though, I’ll handle this quickly.

“Hah. These small fry sure like to bark. Too bad, you punks. I don’t have any money to give you, but I’ve got plenty of bruises I can hand out. Let me teach you a quick lesson in pain!”

Pow Pow Pow Pow Pow!

“Okay, I’m sorry. Please don’t hurt me anymore. I’ll do whatever you want.”

It took less than a minute before I was turned black and blue and ready to comply.

Darn it, I hadn’t realized. The only ability that the Demon King gave me was that Crest of Greed thing. None of my other stats went up. I didn’t get a protagonist power boost. I’m still the same old weakling who’s never won a real fight before.

“Are you done mocking us? Then hurry up and hand over whatever you have.” The man holding me up by the collar demands fiercely.

“Um, about that… I would if I could, but I actually don’t have any money on me…” I timidly inform him.

“Huh? You can think you can lie to us? You want another beating, little man!?”

“No, no, I’m serious. I’m completely broke. I don’t have anything to give you.”

I’m telling the truth, but it doesn’t seem to be reaching any of them. Perhaps I pissed them off too much with my earlier attitude. They look ready to finish me off.

But what I can do? I seriously don’t have any money to give him. Is there anything I can say to calm him down?

In desperation, I take a good look at the three hooligans mugging me, looking for some clue to my survival, when I notice something particular.

All three of them are badly injured. The one holding me has an eyepatch and stiches on his head. The one to his left is walking around on a crutch. The other is straight-up missing an arm. They all have seriously debilitating disabilities.

Could it be… is that why they’re mugging people? Can they not find honest work because of their injuries? Is this their only way of surviving?

In that case, I can’t help but feel bad for them. They must not actually want to do such things, but they feel they have to given their circumstances. They fell into misfortune and they’re just doing what they can to deal with it. That’s something worthy of sympathy.

Perhaps they’re not actually bad people. Maybe we could even come to an understanding.

“Ah, hey guys. I think we might have got off on the wrong foot. Could we try starting over again?”

I speak to them in a friendly, calming manner as I flash them a warm smile and reaching out my arm for an inviting handshake.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Mamoru, a man with no money. As fellow broke dudes who need cash, let’s get along!”

“Shut your mouth!”

My attempts at reconciliation are immediately met with a mean backhand to my face.

“You think you can mess with us? Shut up and just hand over the money!”

“What’s with that look of pity? You think you’re so much better than us? Don’t look down on us, bastard! You don’t know what we’ve been through. A spoiled brat like you would never know what it’s like.”

“Did you really think we were dumb enough to fall for your lies so easily? Well, look who’s the stupid one now, punk!”

Pow Pow Pow Pow Pow!

Ahh, they’re beating me! They’re beating me into a pulp again.

I have no choice. I didn’t want to resort to this, but I must now rely on my final trump card.

“Help! Satanya, help me! Save me, please!”

“What do you expect me to do? I’m just a voice in your head.”

Satanya watches over me calmly as I get my ass pummeled into a paste.

“Quick. Just give me advice. What can I do to protect myself?”

“You could use the Crest of Greed to turn them into your slaves. They won’t be able to hurt you then.”

“Other than that! Don’t I have any other Skills?”

“Well, you do have one default Skill. It’s called Endure. It temporarily raises your defense and reduces the amount of damage you take.”

“That’s it! Exactly what I need.”

A defensive skill that increases my toughness? It’s perfect for surviving this ass beating then.

“「 Endure 」”

I activate the Skill with all my power and hope.

Instantly, I feel power surging through my body. I suddenly feel tougher and healthier, as if I could do anything at that moment. The sharp pains echoing through my body subside and I can feel my body get a second wind.

So this is what a Skill feels like. It truly is magical.

With it, I have nothing to fear. Hahaha, this beatdown means nothing to me now. I’m invincible!

“Hey, this guy’s using some kind of defensive Skill.”

“Quick, let’s start hitting him harder!”

Oh no, it made things worse!

Pow Pow Pow Pow Pow!

“Uhhhh… please spare me…”

In the end, after getting my ass thoroughly beat into the ground, I’m left a bloody and bruised mess on the ground.

“Umm, guys… I checked his body, and it turns out he doesn’t actually have any money on him.”

“What? So he wasn’t lying?”

“Shit. Shit. L-let’s just go! Hurry!”

Once they realize their mistake, the three hooligans quickly run off and leave the scene of the crime.

“Hehehe… they ran away… that means it’s my win…”

“No. This was clearly your loss.”

“Blegh.”

And thus, my very first combat encounter in another world ends in a complete defeat.