We walk out to the horse stables of the borrowed castle with Gero so that we could depart. Gero leads us to a carriage that doesn’t look like it has been in used in several years… I am worried that it won’t carry all of us safely.

“So do you use horses to carry the carriages, or is there a type of demon you typically use?” I remember in some RPGs large birds or cow-like creatures were sometimes used in the stead of horses.

gero gero gero “I unfortunately have no record as to what a “horse” is, the creatures used to pull carts and carriages commonly is what is known as an Ina. A large member of the canine family, it is very obedient to whoever has last fed it. When in possession of an Ina it is wise to keep a muzzle on it in order to stop it from eating something off the ground, returning it to a state of being wild.”

Large dogs huh… I’ve got to say I didn’t see that coming. I don’t see any of those large dogs in the stables. How are we going to pull the carriage?

“Do we have an Ina?” I ask as I look around some more

gero “Unfortunately we do not have an Ina, as I was unsure when Maou-sama would be summoned. Today I will be making the cart move”

Does he intend to move it with magic? Or has he managed to make it move under its own power like him? We all get in the carriage except for Gero who is loading our luggage.

gero “The town is half a day’s journey away, we will not be stopping to camp along the way. Would you like me to put a hunting expedition on the agenda?” Gero says as he walks to the front of the carriage

“No thank you, I won’t be able to fight very much until I have some gear. However, plan one or two for the journey back”

gero “As you wish Maou-sama” Gero says as the front of the cart lifts up.

Gero is now holding the front of the cart like it is a rickshaw

“Wait, you couldn't mean to-“is all I get out of my mouth before Gero takes off like a bullet.

The cart is bouncing on every rock it hits; the imps and I are flying all over struggling to keep inside.

“Gero!” I desperately yell

“Yes, Maou-sama?” Gero says calmly, but loudly enough that it can be clearly heard over the extreme rattling of the cart

“Stop the carria-oohf!” I cry out as I hit the bottom of the carriage once more knocking the air out of me

“As you wish Maou-sama” Gero says as he turns completely around and catches the cart bringing it to a dead stop.

I hit my head rather hard on the carriage as it stops. I get out of the carriage and sit on a nearby rock while I nurse my wound.

“Gero!” I demand angrily

“Yes Maou-sama?” Gero replies.

Somehow even without a face to show an expression I can still see that he feels guilty. It’s obvious that he knows he did something wrong, but I can see he is quite confused as well.

“From now on we use proper transportation!” I demand once more, my anger waning without a proper target

My head pangs hard with pain, my hand reflexively went to nurse it again. I’ve decided. Healing magic is a priority. If a monster had attack us, rather than getting hurt in the cart, we would probably die before we made it somewhere to get fixed up… now that I think about it, does this world even have proper healing facilities? It seems to be a variation of the mid-ages. I think that back then a large gash on a leg would require amputation in order for the person to survive. I shudder at the thought.

“Gero, get me a map. Plans have changed and I want to plan out a route. Imps, start throwing out anything that we don’t need… leave one bag of fine clothes”

The clothes that were packed for me just look so nice and it feels like it would be a shame to throw them away at the first issue we came across.

gero “Would Maou-sama like an explanation on how to use inter-dimensional storage?”Gero says as he splays the map before me on the ground

Inter-dimensional storage? I wonder if he means that I have a hammer-space?

“Please include an explanation about what inter-dimensional storage is as well” I say as I look over the map.

gero gero “As you command Maou-sama. The inter-dimensional storage is a space created by the 3rd Maou, for the sake of storing items during travel. Its use is exclusive to those who perform the binding ritual.”

So… I am not the only person who can use it. I’ll need to be careful about who I give access to it.

“Note: The Inter-dimensional storage has also been referred to as “Inventory” by past Maou. The space is proportional to the amount of magical energy held by its owner. Under the conditions that the magical energy flow is cut off, the items within the storage simply cease to exist.”

As Gero continues his explanation, he began to mark key points on the map, such as monster locations and where we currently are, on the map. He does so by touching his index finger to the map, when he does a blue dust like stuff seems to seep into the cloth. I want to ask him how he is doing it, but I don’t want to interrupt his explanation

“I would like to carry as much of the luggage in our cart as we can so please explain the binding ritual so that we can proceed as soon as possible” I say as I look over the map.

We don’t seem to be very far from the village we were headed to. I wonder what Gero meant by “half a day”? Did he overestimate the time it would take?

Out of nowhere I start to feel a kind of bloodlust towards us. I notice the forest either side of the carriage and begin to wonder about our safety

“You simply need to recite the incantation the first time, when you do so, perform a hand motion. This hand motion will summon the Inter-dime-”

“Just call it my “Inventory”” I interrupt.

I am getting a little impatient, and I don’t have a good feeling about where we have stopped. I want this done as soon as possible.

gero “As you wish Maou-sama. The incantations to create the hand gesture are as follows: Arc, Meta, Demi.”

I think for a few moments. What kind of gesture could I do that would feel natural, but at the same time I wouldn’t do regularly? I mean I don’t want to go to my inventory every time I give people directions…

Would a swiping motion work? I am used to getting new menus in games by swiping upwards on touch screens, and I doubt I will ever perform the motion in day to day life… Screw it, if I keep thinking about it like this then I will never come up with something I like.

“Arc-Meta-Demi” I recite, as I do a magic circle swells beneath me.

gero “Now perform the gesture you wish to bind the magic to” Gero explains.

I follow this instruction and swipe my finger from where I would think a menu would possibly appear downward. When I do, to my actual surprise, a menu comes down just as I had imagined it. Inventory is a tab at the top along with a few other menus. Status, Party, inventory, Skills, Pets, and Journal are what written on the tabs. I feel a rush of strength drain from me, and I no-longer can keep myself standing. I fall to the ground looking to the sky. I try to speak or move to no avail.

gero “Please wait patiently whilst your mana regenerates back to a point where you can move again” Gero says whilst attempting to bow at me on the ground.

I’ll be honest he is really beginning to annoy me with these things. I am going to have to start asking about side effects of the things he offers to help me with.

The screen has not disappeared, and it is opened on the status tab. It displays my current health and mana, as well as my current stats. It also shows a diagram of my body that seems to be some kind of 3d model.

I see my MP bar as it is labeled quite slowly going up. Looks like it is going to take somewhere near 20 minutes to fill back up. I wonder how long it will take till I have enough to move again.

My health has taken a bit of damage. Looks like about 20 percent% of my health got knocked down by the cart. There isn't a number anywhere on or around my health bar indicating how much there is, just a bar that’s filled to about 80%. My MP however displays “7/200” and is filling up slowly. I take a look at the rest of my stats.

Level: 1

Attack: 80

Defense: 80

Intellect: 80

Wisdom: 80

Speed: 80

Dexterity: 80

…That’s odd; all my stats are the same. Does this make me able to do anything, or bad at everything? I suppose it does give me the freedom to choose what kind of fighter I am going to be since my stats don’t have a particular bias. I wonder if I will be able to choose how my stats grow at all?

I worry about the possibility of whatever was pointing the bloodlust at us. A bit of time goes by without anything eventful happening. I suppose I may just be imagining things.

I still can’t move, but my MP now displays 120/200. It was at about 50/200 when I finished looking over my stats… I am getting a bit annoyed at the fact that I can’t check my other menu windows.

I would like to check the status of my imps as well. To my surprise as the thought crosses my mind the menus switches over to the Party screen. I’m happy and all but I wish these surprises would just cut it out already, I’m getting tired enough to sleep for a week and I’ve not even made it to the first town.

I see three members not including myself in the party list. At the top of the list is “Bik- Half imp leader” where the next two are simply “half imp”… Should I allow the other two imps to name themselves as well? ... I worry that I am going to be walking around with people toting names I would be embarrassed to say if I do. Maybe I should allow Bik to name them…

Each member has their HP and MP displayed on the list, with nothing else other than a button with a small magnifying glass on it next to them. I desire to press on the button but doing so doesn’t make it open. As I focus more intently on doing so however it opens up a menu displaying their stats in full. It seems as though just the desire to do something isn’t enough. I will need to concentrate in order to move through these menus if I don’t have my hands available. I begin by looking at Bik’s Stats.

Level: 1

Attack: 15

Defense: 15

Intellect: 15

Wisdom: 15

Speed: 15

Dexterity: 15

Skills: Small Fireball(S), Teleport

Wow this is more than 10 percent isn't it? Did he get a bonus to his stats when he was created? This could work out in my favor considering I don’t plan to absorb him back into me. I am amazed he can already use magic as well. Excited, I look at the other two imps' stats, which seem to be identical to one another.

Level: 1

Attack: 10

Defense: 10

Intellect: 10

Wisdom: 10

Speed: 10

Dexterity: 10

Hmm they don’t seem to have any skills, I wonder if it’s because I used more power on Bik? Whatever, I am still ecstatic that they are as powerful as they are… Though I seem to still be several times more powerful than all of them, and I feel like I couldn’t even take on a wild dog on my own.

How in the world did the previous Maou’s monsters ever level up without help? Suddenly I feel all the power rush back into my body, and I can move again. I look at my MP bar “200/200” is displayed. I had to wait for all of my MP to return to be able to move again? That could really be dangerous, I'll need to keep that in mind when using magic in the future.