Chapter 6 - Powerlevels

We leave the village called Birkas and walk for around half an hour before

we enter a forest. While the place where I first got sent to was just a vast

plain, the landscape became more and more dominated by trees after I left the

shelter of that enormous tree under which I met the young shepherd. Around

these parts, it's already looking like Northern Europe's deep forests.

Of course, I never went there in my previous life, but I've seen photos of it

before. I've always wanted to go there on vacation someday, and maybe

eventually an opportunity would have arisen if I hadn't died.

So when I think about it, this is a second chance at seeing the world. Albeit

a world filled with fantasy and no smartphones to take photos with. But

maybe it's better this way; I can take pictures with my mind and commit

everything to memory, rather than let things get filtered through automatic

beautification software.

"Gram, prepare the bait. We'll be setting up camp here." Rolan announces

as we find a clearing a few hours into the forest. There's a tiny creek flowing

through it, and it seems to be the perfect place to stay for a while. It's really

idyllic.

I noticed that Rolan sounds like a proper leader when he gives out orders.

Well, he actually is the leader, and I'm sure there is a reason he could gather

these people around him, other than just because of his good looks.

Aside from Luna that is. I'm sure she's mostly here because of his good

looks.

"Sigurd, try out your suggestion. You never know, it might work." He turns

to the bard; apparently, he's trusting the latter to do something. Let's see how

that pans out.

Gram places his massive shield on the ground, then takes out something

wrapped in a sheet. It's the severed leg of a lamb, still bloody and fresh.

Classic bait material.

I approach the shield and only now do I realize how big it is. Gram is

already more than a head taller than I am, so in relation to him, it wasn't that

obvious. I could stand behind this thing, and nothing would be poking out on either side. This thing must be extremely heavy and surely requires two hands

to carry.

So, the tank is really just a shield bearer?

"What is your weapon, Mister Gram?" I'm curious how he fights while

carrying such a massive thing.

"My shield is my sword, Miss Marcott." He sounds proud. I should have

expected this response. "It's enchanted to repel physical and magical attacks,

and it's thick enough to deflect even a ballista shot. I leave attacking to those

I protect with it."

Just like a tank in multiplayer games, his role is to block the damage

directed at the squishy damage dealers such as Rolan and Luna, huh?

"And just in case, he can bash someone over the head with it." The leader

adds while setting up the camp with Luna. That girl's glaring at me for some

reason. Maybe you shouldn't be too friendly with another woman in the

presence of your sweetheart.

At least I'm not wearing my makeshift clothes cut from the tent sheet

anymore. It was sure to stir any man's libido because it resembled a naked

shirt look. The bard was kind enough to buy me a set of clothes from the

village's tailor. The material is rough, and it itches, but I can't complain about

his goodwill.

The outfit itself consists of a woolen long-sleeved shirt and overalls one

can immediately associate with what a farmer normally wears. Considering

this is a farming village, it's to be expected that they wouldn't have the latest

fashion trends available for a city girl like me.

My underwear is something I can only describe as granny bloomers.

Completely unsexy, but at least it covers me up. Then again, I wouldn't mind

going fully naked. It's this medieval society that minds.

The howling of a wolf interrupts my thoughts. So my suspicion that the

name wulfar refers to a wolf-like beast turned out to be true, huh?

But really, it's already here? That was unexpectedly quick. Did it react to

the smell of people or the bait so soon? But it sounds really close. I look

around and find the bard cupping his mouth and howling again. He notices

my gaze, smiles, and winks at me.

Ugh, so annoying.

I don't know whether it's an accurate call or not, but he can imitate a wulfar

with his voice, it seems. I hope that was a mating call and the beast will come running to mount him. Though I do have to admit that he seems to be quite

talented with his voice at least.

If it was just me alone, I'm sure it would have already found me. And

knowing my luck, it would have been in a pack, too. I already had such an

experience before, so I know how to deal with a group attacking at the same

time. Hedgehog Mode is waiting to be unleashed again someday!

But for now, I'll have to play the helpless girl who can only watch as the

humans go about their business. I use this time to practice manipulating the

shape of my body, as Maou-mama told me to do whenever I can. Not only

should I exercise changing my outward appearance, but also learn to control

my insides in subtle ways.

Aside from designating one space for storage and others for varying

degrees of dissolving speeds, I'm currently learning to perform precise

motions, such as taking out objects from the backpack inside my body and

then putting them back in, without actually looking.

About half an hour passes during which I seemingly sit still and in

complete silence, while the adventurer party sets up everything. I've been

successful in shifting things in and out of the backpack inside me. It's

becoming progressively easier to learn new moves, as I get more and more

used to this body.

Gram has set up the meat in something like a bear trap, while the bard has

tried various interpretations of the howl. None have gotten an answer, but

maybe the wulfar is really far away and can't hear it.

I seriously doubt that a predator is going to fall for a trap involving a piece

of dead meat, and I'm fairly certain a wild animal should be able to

distinguish the sounds the bard is making from those of its kind, so the party

will have to begin actively searching for it eventually.

"How did you get to know the others?" I ask Rolan when he sits down at

the camp. Since we'll be traveling together for a while, I'd feel awkward not

to hold any conversations. I'll just kill some time by learning more about his

relationship with the other three here. It should come across as small talk, but

the only thing I'm interested in is why the bard is in this group.

"Well, Runa and I are from the same village. We were neighbors before we

decided to take on this profession." So that's how long they go back together.

No wonder, it's the childhood friend route that came to a good conclusion.

My male childhood friend thought I was a boy until the end of middle school, then he moved away with his family, and we lost contact with each

other. He did say he was going to come back for university, but now I'll never

know. Not like I would have started anything with him anyway since I prefer

girls.

I think maybe the shock of him suddenly moving away caused me to go

down this alternate route...

"We met Gram and Sigurd during our travels. They accepted the same

request from a village as we did due to the guild's mistake, so instead of

falling into a rivalry, we decided to group up. We've been a team since then."

So the bard was traveling with Gram before meeting Rolan. Don't tell me the

bard is actually a damage dealer then? After all, the big man is a tank.

I just can't imagine how they were able to fulfill any quests before meeting

Rolan and Luna.

"It's been three years now, huh? Time sure flies..." Gram states with a

distant look. He sounds like an old man, reminiscing about the past when he

was still a youngster. Well, he does look like an old man.

"We're only getting started. We aim to take down the demon queen one day

so that her corruption of this world ceases and we'll have peace from

monsters." Rolan drops this incredible bombshell with a half-joking but

unexpectedly determined expression. Careful what you say, you have that

demon queen's daughter in your presence.

So he wants to be a hero? The hero? Should I kill him and his party right

here right now?

"I do not think we will get the chance. The alliance army led by Third

Prince Ulterius and Elven Queen Lillian should have reached the demons'

capital a few days ago, and I am sure it has fallen by now." Makes sense that

information doesn't travel that fast in a world without Twitter. The bard just

named two people who I know for a fact are dead already.

At least I assume that this Third Prince Ulterius was the 'human king'

Maou-mama gave me to eat for breakfast the morning I first woke up in this

world, and Elven Queen Lillian was the 'elven queen' my mother ate. Of

course, I don't say that out loud.

But it's quite pitiful. These people believe that whatever army they sent was

able to finish the job. From Maou-mama's behavior, it felt like she only saw it

as a minor inconvenience. It either indicates that she's incredibly powerful, or

that humans are incredibly weak.

The reason I'm coming along with these four is to find out which of the

above two is the case.

"Yeah, you're right. Well, I can't complain if that's true. Even if we're out

of our job then, it's better than having to live with this constant danger."

Rolan seems quite easygoing about giving up his adventurer lifestyle. Must

be because he can always choose to settle down with Luna and become a

hunter, or something like that.

From this conversation, I can gather that the humans and demons are

irreconcilable in their existences. As long as demons exist, humans will face

dangers in their lives. Not that it wouldn't be the case without demons since

they would just start tearing each other apart instead.

During my previous life, I would try to ignore such news when they

appeared on TV, but I was well aware that the rest of the world was far from

peaceful. People suffered in wars for resources and outdated ideologies,

while the so-called developed countries lived in affluence. I was one of those

people living in such a developed country, in peaceful Japan, knowingly

closing my eyes and ears to those matters because they were uncomfortable.

Shaking my head of these thoughts, I return my attention to the

conversation at hand.

"Can you tell me more about the corruption spread by the demon queen? I

was never taught about it." I keep up the appearance of a sheltered noble girl

who never learned about the world.

Maou-mama didn't tell me anything about any corruption, so maybe it's just

human propaganda. It would be a very effective method to make it seem like

her existence can't be allowed. And if that's expanded to say that all demons

spread corruption, then the entire race becomes something humanity could

never coexist with.

"Every demon has an aura of corruption that surrounds them. This has been

known for centuries." The bard is the one who replies. He seems to be quite

knowledgeable if nothing else. "But the far more powerful corruption spread

by the absolute leader of the demons was only discovered during the reign of

the previous demon king. And the current demon queen is on a completely

different level even compared to him. According to people who have been to

cities near the sea facing the Demon Continent, her aura sometimes turns into

a tangible miasma that is deadly to humans."

"Wild animals that are affected by it become more aggressive and sometimes turn into powerful monsters." Gram scratches along the line of his

mustache and explains. The others go quiet, and silence spreads like a blanket

over us. It's safe to assume that they know something about the big man's

statement that I don't.

"With the demon queen's corruption come curses that no magic can revert."

A grim expression on his face, Rolan finally speaks up and continues the

conversation. "There have been more and more cases of children being born

deformed by those curses."

It sounds like radiation. That's the one thing burned into my memory from

our school trip to Hiroshima, where we visited the Peace Memorial Museum.

Inside, I saw the effects of the radiation on the people who survived the

atomic bomb in graphic details. I can understand why humans seek to kill the

demon queen if by just being alive her existence causes the same kind of

effect on people all over the world.

But she is my mother, and I'm just like her. While I wouldn't consciously

wish mutations and slow painful deaths on even my worst enemies, I'm not a

charitable person either. If I have to choose between my own life and that of

people I don't know, I would never hesitate to choose myself first.

It seems the others are taking my silence as an indication that this topic is

too depressing, so they stop talking about it. The mood hangs heavily over

the camp as everyone remains quiet, acting like they are busy with

something.

I fall deep into thought, mulling over everything I just learned.

The wulfar didn't show up at all, and for the past several hours the party

has been in a slump. The sun is going to be setting soon, and we're preparing

to spend the night here. My first full day on this human continent is about to

pass, and while I did meet new people - temporary travel companions - not

much else happened.

Gram and Rolan are about to go off to gather firewood when the bard stops

them in their tracks.

"Shhh, something is coming." He must have really good ears since he

seems to be the only one who noticed; I didn't hear anything at all, and

neither did the others, it seems. The party is instantly on full alert, and I find

myself in awe at their discipline.

I can only act nervous and look around with a hint of anxiety since that's all I'm good for right now. In reality, I'm quite curious about what's going to

happen.

We're hiding behind a fake brush, set up to camouflage the camp, which is

overlooking the clearing with the trap in the middle. The bard silently points

towards the trees on the other side of the trap, and everyone's eyes turn

toward it. The undergrowth is shaking and then parts, to reveal a wolf-like

animal with fierce eyes.

That looks like a vularen, but when I use the severed lamb leg as an

indicator for size, I'd say it's smaller than the ones on the Dark Continent. The

spines on its back are also much shorter, and the color of its fur is different.

While the vularen were dark brown with silver backs, this one has a dark

green coat.

The jungle of Yagrath consists of bigger and older trees than the ones here,

which grow to have a much denser canopy and cause the interior to be quite

dark. There is also less green undergrowth to blend in with over there, so I

guess this one is better adapted to living in this younger forest with plenty of

brushes to hide in. In other words, it must be a subspecies - just like in a

certain monster-hunting game.

In either case, this means that humans are quite weak. They consider one of

these dangerous even when they are in a party of four, so they wouldn't stand

a chance against a pack of vularen. Then again, Maou-mama did say that they

are dangerous to even well-trained soldiers among the demons. I guess that

means my kind is just incredibly strong.

Well, I already knew that from Maou-mama's teachings.

"It's corrupted..." The bard whispers, barely audible to not give away our

location, and Gram's expression grows grim. Rolan and Luna hold their

breaths as they watch the wulfar.

It's almost in range to step into the trap, but hesitates and sniffs the meat.

Then it seems to smell something in the air and turns its head towards our

hiding spot. Its red glowing eyes meet with mine behind the brush.

Ah, I'm sorry, it was me. It seems I have a very special smell which

animals hate.

"We've been spotted. Change of plans." Rolan stands up and draws his

sword. Gram and Luna spring into action as well, the former bringing

forward his shield while the latter raises her staff.

I turn around to see what the bard is doing and find that he's not readying his lute. Instead, he takes something out from under his cloak.

Wait, is that a crossbow? Don't tell me he's actually a ranger. I'm not sorry

for doubting you since you acted like a bard all along! With the crossbow

hidden but the lute carried like his primary weapon, he was really misleading.

In either case, I won't stop calling him bard.

"Be careful not to let it bite you. It may carry a powerful curse!" He warns

the others and fires at the wulfar with his crossbow. It hits the creature square

in the shoulder, causing it to yelp from the pain and jump back in shock.

That looked easier than I thought it would. How can this beast be

considered dangerous even for a party of four, if a crossbow bolt alone can

deal so much damage to it? Then again, I don't know in what way corruption

or curses play into this difficulty ranking.

To be fair, compared to the wolves from my previous world, this one

would be considered impossibly huge. This particular one's about as big as a

lion. And in that same vein, the vularen of the Dark Continent are almost as

big as brown bears. If the theory that this one is a subspecies holds true,

getting bitten anywhere should be quite dangerous since it would have acid

saliva that can dissolve wood very quickly.

Not including the curse, whatever that may be.

I see something like dark smoke rise from the wound caused by the

crossbow bolt. Maybe that's how the corruption expresses itself, by spreading

a toxic miasma around it?

Gram takes the point and charges straight for the wolf with his shield.

Rolan follows behind him and brandishes his sword with both hands. The

bard readies another bolt while the two melee guys engage in close combat.

It's a testament to their courage that they're able to stand their ground even

with the danger of incurring some kind of curse from the corrupted beast.

Luna has begun to chant words in a language I don't understand quietly.

Maou-mama never taught me any magic, most likely wishing for me to learn

it myself, so this is the first time I get to see it from up close. And it appears

that magic requires an incantation in an arcane language in this world's

setting.

The wulfar rushes forward to attack Rolan, but Gram bashes its flank with

his shield. That was a nice hit, and it causes the wolf-like beast to jump back.

It seems to have learned its lesson and begins to circle the two looking for an

opening.

Another crossbow bolt flies at it, but this time it doesn't manage to hit,

whirring past its ear. Still, the wulfar flinches at the sound and using that

moment of distraction, Rolan jumps in for a two-handed slash with his sword.

It grazes the wolf's side, but the cut is shallow, as it's able to dodge just in

time. In response, it lunges at the swordsman but Gram somehow jumps

between the two, and his shield turns into an insurmountable wall against

which the wulfar crashes.

Clearly, the MVP of this battle is the tank!

I turn to look at Luna and find that she's still chanting. A magician who

takes more than half a minute to invoke a single spell is just useless in actual

combat. Even the bard is more useful than her by at least providing a

distraction with his crossbow. Even then, he doesn't seem to be a great shot,

so he might not really be a trained ranger.

When Rolan called this party a ragtag bunch, he wasn't kidding.

A loud yelp draws my attention back to the melee battle. I find that the

leader has landed a powerful strike on the wulfar's flank. It has started to

bleed profusely, and even if left alone, it would only be a matter of time until

it dies.

Then Luna appears to be finished with her incantation, as orbs of energy

manifest in thin air and swirl around her staff. One of the orbs bursts into

flames, one generates sparks, one turns into a sharp looking icicle, and one

more distorts the air around it.

"Elemental Overload!" She's calling her attack! That's so embarrassing!

But the power of her magic is real. The four elements fly out in arcs and

assault the wulfar one after the other. The sparks hit first, electrocuting the

poor creature and rooting it in place with paralysis. It's not enough to kill it,

but the effect is enough to prepare the target for the three other elements that

follow.

The fire sets the beast's fur alight, which is then fanned by the wind,

causing its whole body to burst out into flames. As it draws back from the

pain and stands up on its hind legs, the icicle pierces its chest cleanly, ending

its life in an instant.

From its entire charred carcass, a black mist seeps out and dissipates in the

breeze, before the mortal remains begin to crumble away. After a while,

nothing remains but a dark stain on the grass, leaving behind a patch of

cursed ground.

Or at least that's what I think it is.

This is bad. I'm sure if I got hit by Luna's magic, I wouldn't fare better. If I

get hit, that is. After all, it took her quite some time to chant, so I wouldn't

give her the time to invoke her magic in the first place.

But I have to admit that they have pretty good teamwork. When Luna

called out her spell, Rolan and Gram made way and circled the wulfar to

force it to remain in the center. That way, it wasn't able to get out of the way

of the sparks, which guaranteed that the entire spell hit.

Still, this group wouldn't stand a chance against me. I know that I don't

have any need to dodge crossbow bolts since I can just take them inside my

body. Furthermore, I would eat up the sword along with Rolan, and then

Gram and his shield as well. And in regards to Luna, I could use the bladed

whip to slash at her and break her concentration - if not outright decapitating

her.

Stop it! Happy thoughts! I don't need to treat them as enemies just yet.

In fact, I've decided: I'll travel with them for a while and see more of what

they're capable of. This way, I'll be able to gauge their abilities compared to

those of other adventurers. If I only use them as a reference and they're just

rookies, I'd be getting a wrong picture of the potential of the more powerful

humans after all.

Though, if I were to find that they are among the stronger ones, then

humanity as a whole would be nothing to fear. I mean, I know for a fact that

average humans incapable of magic aren't even worth mentioning. After all,

I'm practically impervious to physical attacks.

Oh, I just realized something: The bard wasn't of much use.

It's almost completely dark when we return to the village. Rolan and Luna

disappear into their rooms on the upper floor of the tavern the moment we

arrive. They both give the very obvious excuse that they are tired after the

fight and want to hit the sack early.

Oh, I'm sure they'll be hitting the sack. Quite a bit so, too.

Gram, the bard and I stay downstairs as agreed on earlier today, to

celebrate the completion of the quest with the villagers. It's loud enough in

here to drown out whatever sounds may spill from upstairs. Well, the big

man's booming laughter is making sure of that in one corner, while the bard's

retelling of their exploits against the corrupted creature is distracting from the world in another.

I'm in the middle, with a huge jug of ale in front of me. This will be my

first time drinking alcohol ever. I'm only seventeen years old, but apparently,

no law to prohibit underage drinking exists in this world. I see a few

youngsters in their mid-teens lifting normal-sized jugs to the big man's jokes

at his table.

So, it's alright for me to drink. And even if it isn't, I don't care!

I take up the jug with both hands since it doesn't look like a human of my

size should be able to lift it with one hand, and begin to chug away.

I might have gotten ahead of myself with this amount. If I were a human,

this would have been enough to make my belly swell. But as I am now,

nothing is visible on the outside. I down the whole jug and suddenly a wave

of cheers runs through the tavern.

Huh, what is it now?

"Wow, the lady is quite the drinker, isn't she?"

"That's incredible, young lady!"

Ah, everyone was watching me.

"You seem to be able to hold your liquor, Miss Marcott." Gram approaches

me with a jug of his own. "What say you we have ourselves a little contest?"

Hey, are you seriously inviting a girl one third your weight - and

potentially half your age - to a drinking contest? If I weren't a Crawling

Chaos, my belly would explode after the second Gram-sized jug. Scratch

that, those aren't jugs, those are buckets!

But the big man makes his look normal-sized.

"Alright." I don't know why I accepted, but I did, and it's too late to back

out now. Another huge jug is placed in front of us each, and we drink on

three, downing it all before putting it down.

"Whoo, that hits the spot." Wiping his mustache on his sleeve, Gram slams

his empty jug. Are you a middle-aged single salaryman or what's with that

cliché line? "You're not half bad, either. Starting to feel the effect already?"

"You wish!" I grin and wave over the second round. Now that he pointed it

out to me, I realize that I'm not feeling anything, and wonder about the

alcohol content in this brew. Am I just drinking the kiddy version? I look to

the tavern keeper, but he's filling our jugs from the same barrel. So that's not

it.

Shrugging, I chalk it up to this convenient body of mine.

Four jugs later, accompanied by loud cheering, Gram retires. He's holding

his belly, and his face is flushed red from the alcohol. I still don't feel

anything though? Don't tell me I can't get drunk?

"Where is she storing all that ale?"

"This lady is a drinking goddess!"

Thank you, thank you.

"Miss Marcott, are you even human?" Gram asks while burping and I

freeze up. He doesn't know, does he? I mean, it does look quite suspicious

how I seem to have just downed my body's weight worth in liquids, and my

stomach didn't even grow. "That's some drinking you only see in an elf!"

He doesn't suspect a thing, so I'm safe.

Well, I might be as beautiful as an elf, but my ears aren't pointy. And an elf

can defy the laws of physics by storing such a huge amount of alcohol in their

bodies without it showing in this world, huh? That's interesting to know.

"You jest, Mister Gram. I'm just a normal human girl." Ah, that was such a

bold-faced lie, I'm surprised at how I can keep a straight face. The villagers

look at me unbelieving, but since there's no other indication for my

inhumanity, nobody suspects anything.

Note to self: Don't do things humans can't.

But I won't give up on eating a lot whenever I can. For tonight, I'll restrain

myself and just consider the ale as food.

The party slowly trickles out following our contest, but not before

everyone had their fair share of alcohol. Gram is lying down on a bench and

dozing off, surrounded by empty jugs and plates of snacks. The bard is

playing some relaxing tunes on his lute, lulling the people around him to

sleep.

At this point, everyone is either heading home or falling asleep on the spot.

This feels like how a party in a fantasy world should be. I wouldn't know

about any in the real world since I never went to one before.

My eyelids begin to feel heavy as I watch the people around me,

illuminated by the candlelight. The last thought that crosses my mind while I

slip into slumber is that it may actually not be that bad here.