Clyde waited in anticipation after telling them his story. Mortem didn’t appear, no time-freeze, nothing. The surrounding women stared at him, wonder and curiosity in their eyes.

[You have given a trust bond to Alice, Harumi, and Chika. This cannot be taken back. Because all three of them are close friends, you’ve earned a 10% bonus to HP and MP. Your new skill: Trust Bond Skill Mimic is on hold until you’ve read Path of the Mystic. Alert, this skill is required, therefore you will be forced to read it at dawn.]

Clyde glanced out the window and sighed at the wink of the sunset orange sky. There went his sleep-in. A lesson about procrastination, he supposed.

“Are you…” Harumi paused as if searching for the right words. “Do you hate it here?”

The question revealed hopeful gazes.

“No,” Clyde said, causing the women to smile in relief. “This is a strange world, but I don’t hate it.” He left off the, “because of you guys.”

Had to separate himself from the dopey main characters somehow. And saying something like that out of the moment…Not him. Even if it was true. Of course, judging how they looked at Clyde, whether he said that or not wouldn’t have mattered. “We’ve been through a lot in just one freaking week. And speaking of fighting, I know you’re trying to be modest Chika, but could please tell us what you did while we were battling Zeth.”

“You saw?”

“Remember how I said I can sense people’s powers and actions,” Clyde said. He didn’t dare reveal anything about the prompts—there was a limit to how much he’d risk drawing the attention of someone more dangerous than Mortem. Besides, if they knew that the prompts could reveal their secrets or that it kept up with how they felt about him—revealing their internal relationship—embarrassment would become the understatement of the century. He told them the truth of being sent here, Mortem, the Stone and its purpose to kill someone called the Viper, and how deities watched. He left out the gamer talk. “I didn’t sense you. Hell, you weren’t even there for most of it, but you did something. I felt that much.”

Chika looked shocked for a moment then nodded.

“Fine. I’ll tell you. It’s not like it’s a big deal anyway.”

During the boss fight….

Chika was ready to strangle Zeth when he dared to ensnare Clyde with his stupid challenge. She gritted her teeth, opening herself to the massive whirlwind of strength within. She’d end this quickly, save the young man the trouble so he could do whatever ridiculous thing that cat told him.

Oh she hoped this was a trap. She wasn’t a murderer and preferred a lot and a lot and A LOT of love, specifically love-making with Clyde, over violence, but she’d make an exception for Neko. She just needed an excuse.

Abruptly, the silver-haired girl noticed a thin tendril of pulsing blue light leading out a door that wasn’t there before. She knew she could ignore such a thing, help the others—destroy Zeth, but something felt wrong, off. She felt danger, danger for all of them. She couldn’t explain the feeling, but the chills crawling down her spine lurched her into action.

[Chika activated Brief hyper stealth.]

She disliked this skill, as it didn’t work on powerful enemies or hyper-powerful sense of smells. This helped her sneak out of the ballroom, magically unnoticed by friend nor foe.

She ended up darting down a hall, following the blue magic. She let go of the stealth, reacting to her urge to move faster. Faster! Before it was too late.

Oh, please let me make it in time, she thought.

A second door appeared ahead, the blue spectral of magic oozing from beneath it. She placed a hand on the surface, closed her eyes and activated another rogue skill.

[Chika activated Peek.]

With this ability, she saw the room and the monsters inside.

[Chika activated Eavesdrop.]

Now that she could hear the conversation as well as see what was going on, she planned. There were three Lizard guards hastily unpacking what looked like large timer-bombs from crates. One guard song something disturbing to himself.

“If you can’t kill, blow em up, blow em up. If your wife bakes a human pie, kiss her then eat the pie, la la la la blow em up, blow em up.”

“Crock’s toe! Shut the fuck up ya dumb gecko,” one of the other Lizard guards snarled.

“Oh you know you like the song. Blow em up, blow em up.”

Chika deactivated Peek and Eavesdrop, pale. Zeth sat on his high horse as if he was some honorable warrior, meanwhile planning to just bomb them and half of the city. Strange…she didn’t feel like this was an order he’d make. Why would his troops put their master in this kind of danger? They were pretty far to give a fair warning—not to mention the demon lord’s daughter being among the chaos.

Chika didn’t have time to play detective with a bunch of scummy monsters. She burst through the door, armed with a dagger.

The first Lizard guard looked at her as he fell backward, the blade poking out of his skull, blood spraying from the wound like a crimson fountain.

“Crock’s ass! Kill her,” yelled an unseen voice.

The two remaining guards obeyed the overseer, rushing the silver-haired girl. She leapt and landed on top of the closest monster with a single-handed handstand. A quick twist of its head downed it.

The other guard paled, backing way.

“Crock’s ass, crock’s toe, she’s a monster.”

Chika grinned, pink aura radiating around her like the aura of the su. Before the monster could take his next break, she had a second dagger, well a large kitchen knife, plunged into its throat.

A forth lizard guard wearing a red robe appeared. The overseer. He spoke with a voice that sounded like a man struggling with a heavy weight.

“Crock’s toe, worm, I’ll toast ya. You won’t be stopping this operation.”

Chika allowed her foresight to reveal the lizardman’s nature. It showed a little information, but enough for her to keep in mind in case she needed answers later.

Lizard Wizard

Level: 26

Gist: lizard sorcerer monster that specializes in fire.

Chika pulled out her last hidden dagger, sending it flying. The wizard thrusted a hand forward. A fireball leapt from its scaly palm, confronting the weapon, melting it. Exactly what the young woman wanted.

[Chika activated Source hunter.]

The lizard could only scream when she simply appeared in front of him, midair, her hands on his head. A hard twist instantly killed the pest.

[Achievement earned: Defeat two or more enemies in a row using head twists! You go girl!]

Source hunter was the young woman’s newest skill, learned from raising her power level. Within a certain range, she could instantly teleport in front of anyone that used a weapon or casted magic. Source hunter also gave her a fifty percent boost for the next attack.

After making sure there were no hidden guards, she left, deciding it was best not to disturb the bombs, just in case they were sensitive. Some powders reacted badly to air, according to a TV show she once watched. If the dimensional door didn’t vanish, she’d simply call the cops.

Present at Clyde’s apartment….

All mouths were agape, eyes staring at the silver-haired young woman in wonder. Clyde feared and respected her.

“Thanks for saving our lives,” he said, honestly. “But…who could’ve set this up? Any idea, Alice?”

The demoness was frowning, eyes flashing with indignation. Chika nestled next to Clyde.

“I’m not sure,” Alice said, “but I have a suspicion.”

“A suspicion? Who?” Harumi said.

“I think my cousin knows who.” She stood. “I…” She looked at the cake. “Well, after we finish eating—then I’ll go.”

Everyone burst into laughter.