There were immediate responses after Clyde posted in the group chat. Good thing he left his phone on the charger. Well, it’d be safe in the inventory, unless he died.

Upon meeting up with the others, he nearly chuckled at the hell he sensed deep within their eyes. Chika almost knocked Harumi to the side in her rush to hug the shit out of Clyde.

“I was so frightened for you,” she said. “I felt so powerless when that thing carried you off.”

Neko sighed.

“Took a lot of effort to get some sense into that one’s head. Just blindly going off in a general direction would only serve to get herself killed. We had to trust in your power to get back to us.”

“I admit, even I felt a rise of panic after you were launched off like that,” Toru said. “It woke that one up though.” He pointed at Dark. “Pulled some kind of miracle, unleashing everything he had on his slime captor.”

Harumi looked weary of Alice but approached Clyde anyway. She seemed to glance at him with a healer’s eye, nodding at what she saw.

“Most people don’t come back unharmed, if ever,” Harumi said.

“I’ve had to use this to get out of some of the craziest situations,” he said, placing a finger on the side of his head.

“You sure you have no idea where that redheaded girl went?” Kitome asked.

“No and why aren’t you transformed yet?” Clyde said. The blue-haired girl sighed but complied without complaining.

“Is this what you go through, often?” Dark said, his voice without any of his wannabe edge-lord tones.

“Don’t worry, Toru lost his virginity to a slime too,” Clyde said, “but if it makes you feel any better, I’m willing to pretend it doesn’t count.”

Dark looked like he wanted to argue but stayed silent in defeat. There was no way Clyde would tell him that he got done in by a honeybee girl. Looking back, Alice remained as the best experience, though he’d never admit it. The demoness didn’t need the extra ego.

Dark gazed at Alice. And he flushed.

“Who…I mean…” he couldn’t finish his babble.

“Alice,” the demoness said simply.

Seth nodded.

“Is that your girlfriend, dude, not that I’m asking out of intense jealousy or anything.”

Alice laughed then winked at him. Seth’s blush almost made Clyde protest. Protest for what? He hoped it wasn’t jealousy.

“Enough talk,” Neko said. “We’ve got a door to find and most likely more demon lord minions.”

To Clyde’s surprise, the only monsters encountered were ions and imps. The party mowed through them with ease. Clyde even gained a level out of it, but no new skill. Still, unarmed combat sucked. He couldn’t make killing blows without expending his MP.

“Neko, I need to—”

Alice placed a hand on his shoulder, gaining his immediate attention.

“It’s finished. Remember when I told you to get equipped. I’ve gathered enough demonic energy to form this.” A steel sword surrounded with a reddish black aura appeared out of thin air, into Alice’s grip. “It’s nothing amazing, I’m no demon smith, but it’s better than your old one.”

[You have received Basic Demon Sword level 14. Item class: rare.]

“You are just too amazing,” Clyde said as she examined the weapon. Alice handed him a black sheath with pins and straps for his side.

Harumi rolled her eyes to the young man’s surprise.

“Men and their swords.”

Chika’s jealousy flashed like thunder. Dark looked like he wanted one too, but Alice only stared ahead, smugly.

Another half hour of walking and few encounters and a fair share of complaints, Neko’s cat-like ears perked up.

“We’re here.”

“Near the town hall?” Clyde said.

“Yep andddddd there are guards,” she responded, giving the young man an innocent look as he glared. She stepped forward, probably to give him a lick, but Alice blocked her path.

“We don’t have time for your games, cat,” she said. “If anything happens to my Clyde, I’ll turn you into a rug.”

Neko still held the innocent smile, showing no fear whatsoever to the demoness. Way too much amusement danced in those eyes.

Clyde unsheathed his sword.

“I don’t see anything.”

That’s when the area, yards ahead flickered. He saw two large, heavily muscled lizard-like creatures standing in front of a translucent-blue door. A door that had no building behind it.

“Nya, let’s take ‘em down,” Neko said. “And by we, I mean you.”

Clyde’s glare had no effect on the catgirl. She slipped past Alice in a blur then took one long whiff on the young man.

“You know what I want,” was her whisper before she danced away from the demoness.

Dark sighed.

“Clyde, go kill yourself.”

Clyde gave him a surprised look then laughed. He said nothing else as he led the charge against the guards.

Lizard Guard

Level: 23

Type: demon lord spawn.

Work under: Zeth, Hidden Lotus.

Special: None.

[Your party has entered combat!]

Clyde activated Scatter shot. The barrage of energy balls served as the distraction he needed. The others rushed in to engage the creatures. Hearts, black lightning and even regular lightning seemed to fly in all directions. Alice and Neko remained kept a distance away from the fight, observing.

In what felt like no time, they wiped the creatures. Clyde nodded, giving himself a mental pat on the back for taking no damage despite fighting on the front lines with Toru and Seth. His new sword was incredible! Basic level fourteen? A leveling sword. The gamer inside jumped for joy.

“Well, let’s see what’s inside this fucker,” Clyde said. He waited for a few seconds to see if his trap detection skill would go off, then opened the door when nothing happened.

[Warning: you are about to enter a dungeon. Dungeon type: hall of power. Difficulty: Normal.]

Clyde wanted to relax as it seemed like this was the easiest difficulty he received since coming to this ridiculous world. He wouldn’t let his guard down, knowing damn well that it would probably rise in secret.

A hall of power.

Didn’t feel impressive at all. It was simply a narrow hallway, dimly lit. It eventually led into a circular room made of stone. Three metallic pedestals rested in the center of the area. Three symbols, a rock, a leaf, and a snake were engraved atop of the four-foot-tall hexagon pillars. It didn’t take Clyde more than a few seconds to notice three stony objects on to his left that matched the ciphers. They easily snapped in place.

The pillars shook, sinking to the ground. Moments later, a large glowing white door appeared in front of the party. Something about this door felt right to Clyde. It pulled at his psyche, beckoning him forward. He opened the door and led the group in.

They found themselves in a large ballroom, devoid of windows. The glossy floor felt endless. Ahead, Clyde felt it. A flow of raw…something. Power? A piece of himself? It continued to call for him, feelings of longing and strength and safety and purpose. It was a sweet voiceless whisper that made him happier the closer he got. An enormous sphere of golden light floated several yards ahead. It looked like the sun, but Clyde knew the object. Something that would do more than just help him defeat the viper.

Someone blocked the path. He stood up, reptilian-like gaze on them. Flanking him were two lizard guards.

He was a tall man who looked to be in his early thirties, with blue skin that seemed to faintly glow, and black and silver hair. Dressed in shining silver armor, he gave off a vibe of pure danger.

Clyde analyzed him.

Zeth, leader of the Hidden Lotus.

Level: 37

Type: Demon.

Work under: Demon lord. Left Eye of the demon lord.

Special: Negative Raid Ender. [This attack can inflict heavy damage to affected party members.]

Weakness: Your hostile detection isn’t high enough for this. Shit-for-brains.

Resistances: See above. Ding-dong-head.

Secret: Your hostile detection, luck, and will isn’t high enough for this. Idiot stool.

So this guy is the leader of this Hidden Lotus I’ve been seeing, Clyde thought. He was glad that the system didn’t give him a warning to run like it did with Alice. Unsurprisingly his level stood higher than Clyde’s but at least it wasn’t as untouchable as the abyss.

“I figured you’d eventually show up with your adventurer, Neko,” he said in a smooth voice, “but Princess Alice. What is this?”

Alice simply shrugged.

“I wouldn’t miss your death for anything.”

A flash of rage briefly jolted through his eyes.

“No matter. This is perfect,” the man continued. “Once I kill off these so-called gifted, I’ll take the Omen’s sphere and you back to your father. Of course, you’ll be obeying me, traitor.”

“Before you breathe your last breath from Clyde’s sword, just know that you’ve never had a shot with me.” Alice laughed. “Do you know that I’m compatible with a human? It’s amazing. It means I will never have to worry about becoming a background slave to some egomaniac.”

Zeth shook his head.

“Just like your pathetic mother, liking humans. Disgusting. Enough of this talk. I’ll slice off the head of your Clyde and shove it where it matters.”

A booming blast of rage rushed through Clyde’s veins.

“Fuck you!” he barked. “I won’t be easy meat.”

Zeth looked surprised when he gazed at Clyde, as if for the first time. Then he smiled.

“You…” he laughed. “Guards, kill them. Let’s do this dance, gifted, who is beyond a gifted.”

[Your party has entered a Boss fight!]