So, I edited the last chapter to include skill descriptions. If you want to look at those then they are there~ Please enjoy this chapter... u-u I tried to get it out last week but failed :c sowee I will try and come out with a second chapter before Sunday (may or may not actually happen *cough* busy af *cough cough*)

~~~~~

I yawned loudly, the pale light of the early sun shining down on me. “Ah, thanks,” I said, as a feminine looking guy put down a cup of water in front of me. He was wearing some ancient style Chinese clothes (Hanfu? Or wait, Chinese? I tried to recall more, but failed), that slightly resembled a kimono, and a fan was tucked into his stash.

Cheng Fu

Tactician Lv.12

| Cunning | Lotus of the Misty Lake | Shadow’s Reflection | White Mask | Silver Tongue |

Uwah. I immediately knew that I could not trust this guy. I mean, from the first and last titles, who would dare believe in his words? Not me.

He smiled sweetly, but it only sent chills down my back. No, even if you’re beautiful doesn’t mean I’ll be tricked.

That aside, he had the same feminine like beauty that both Miki and Ludan possessed. He leaned more towards the elegant style of beauty that Miki was. His hair was long, and pure black, like that you would see on a traditional Asian beauty. It fell down his back unhindered, reaching below his hips. His facial features, though delicate, still had a distinctly male feel to them, and radiated beauty. His hair stood out against the pure white of his hanfu, which was lined in gold thread and glittering under the sun.

In short, he was gorgeous. Drop dead gorgeous. I will not be lead astray by you, incubus!

I turned my eyes back to Yun Hua. I won’t be led astray by you, either! I thought, glaring daggers at Yun. He was currently bare chested, his chiseled muscles glistening with sweat. I feel at this moment, all the fangirls in the world would swoon as they watch him swing his sword. More accurately, his practice sword strapped with weights. I would not want to try and lift that.

It was currently two days after arriving here from Astarne, and we were waiting on an answer from Suisen’s courts before beginning travel to the capital, Sensui (real good naming there, eh). Yun finally stopped swinging his sword and leaned it up against the tree he was practicing under. I swore I could hear the wood creaking under the weight of that thing. He walked over to the table I was sitting at and downed all the water in the cup in front of me.

Ah, so that was for you?

I let it go. After all, I didn’t want to get beat up by him again. I’m not masochistic after all. No, really, I swear I’m not! It’s true I’m telling you!

“I’m bored.” I said bluntly, as I stared at Yun. More accurately, Yun’s abs. Those were some impressive abs.

There was no answer. “I’m bored~~~” I said again, looking up with puppy eyes to the cold hearted Yun.

He snorted. “We’re going to eradicate a bandit hideout tomorrow.” Oh? Ohhh?

“You can tag along.” Yun-sama! The warm hearted Yun-sama! I take back all the bad things that I may have ever said about you! Eh, what, I only ever commented how handsome he was? No, no, there should’ve been some bad things in there too.

… Anyways! I was all sparkly heart eyed as I worshiped Yun in my mind. Of course, not a word of it left my mouth. That’d be creepy, after all. I mean, he’s that cold hearted Yun. Wait, no, he’s warm hearted. Eh? Cold- no, warm- no, eh? I began to confuse myself.

Whatever! I’ll just look forward to tomorrow!

-----

“You’re giving this to me?” I asked, staring at the beautiful bow in my hands. It was a beautiful bow, and despite being a traditional one, had the shape and curve of a modern styled one. The limbs appeared lined in mithril, curving in like sharp blades. I could use this as both a ranged and close combat weapon, I noted as I touched the edges, cutting my finger ever so slightly.

I was also handed a quiver of arrows, with mithril tips and bodies, and plated metal where the feathers should be. I hear that a master archer would be able to enhance their arrows with mana, or even completely replace metal arrows with mana arrows, but I had yet to reach that point.

Fufu, it seemed that showing off my archery skills in front of him last night had been the right move after all! I tilted my head. But how was I supposed to carry this on my back? One wrong move and I’d have a gaping wound from the bladed limbs.

“Yeah. You can’t be going around killing bandits with that.” Yun eyed the rusty beginner’s dagger that was sheathed at my hip. Ehehehe.

“Yeah, but I can always summon a familiar.” I said, not even knowing why I was trying to find fault with his kindness.

The icy eyed man shrugged. First new armor, now new weapons. Ehehehe. Isn’t Yun actually a total softie? That’s right! I discovered new armor when I had woken up this morning! When I had put it on, I discovered that, and I insert a dramatic gasp here, it actually covered my body decently! No, I mean like, you know in some games and art, they depict female armor as barely covering anything? Clearly that would never work out in a real battle, but still. I was shocked when I realized the armor actually covered the things that needed covering.

Not only that, but it still looked attractive. Then again, I would dare say with this appearance even rags would look like brand named clothes. The only problem was probably the coloring. It was a pure snowy white, from the hood down to the leather boots. The leather was lined with pale blue embroidery, which formed elegant designs similar to that on the bow. In other words, it was most likely a set. Either way, I knew I would stick out like a sore thumb.

I eyed Yun’s attire. It had the same pale blue lining as my armor, but instead of white and blue, it was black and blue. Only his greaves and gauntlets were made of metal and even those where the same pitch black as the leather he wore. Two swords were strapped to his right hip. I got the feeling I expected katana (no idea why), but from the outer appearance, they were sabres… with a fantasy design. The hilt was a black color, but the guard had a black base with a blue glow. Truly unique. He… would probably stand out as well.

I realized that soldiers and knights always wore revealing armor. After all, they had no need to blend into the environment. But for even the ranger to have eye catching clothes was a bit…

Well, let’s just be grateful for the new stuff. New shiny stuff… for free to boot! I couldn’t stop myself from grinning lecherously. Wait, that’s the wrong word. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling brilliantly. Yeah, that’s better.

“Oh, right, those cost a lot so you better kill a lot of bandits to make up for it.” He said flippantly as we walked out of the inn we had stayed at for the night.

No free lunch, eh? Well… I paused for a moment, realizing I still had yet to kill a single person in this world (or my old world to my knowledge). I had become comfortable with the sight of corpses (note, the room full of butchered summoners did wonders), but actually killing I had yet to experience, so I didn’t know how it would go down.

… Meh. Whatever. My thoughts can wait until after it happened. Yun stopped before the platoon of soldiers, who were standing at attention. Their iron and leather armor were shining a bit brighter than they had been the other day, probably due to the cleaning routine before a fight I had heard about.

Yun’s cold gaze swept across them, making them shiver with the fear and anticipation of an upcoming battle. Even if they were only bandits. Cheng’s snake-like smile was hidden behind a fan, and the troupe members were gazing at us from the distance. Ludan was even further away than that. I got the feeling that he was keeping his distance from me after I had dragged him into the fight between me and Yun. I winked at him, waving goodbye as I left with the troop. I think I saw him flinch a bit, but that was probably just my imagination. I’m not that scary after all.

I was panting and sweating. Gods was this leather armor making me hot and sweaty. I was sticky all over, hair clinging to my face. “We, uh, there yet?” I asked, bending over and pushing up against my cramping stomach as the troop took a rest.

“Not yet.” Yun said. This bastard hadn’t even broken out in a single sweat yet.

“The same answer for the seventh time,” said a giggling Cheng. This bastard hadn’t broken out in a sweat yet either. He was lightly fanning himself and appeared like he was taking a peaceful walk in the garden and not a hike up the mountain.

“...” I stared dead eyed at the feminine man.

“«Khari»” I said, and my little fairy familiar appeared. “«Restoration»”

All my fatigue disappeared, and my sweat was gone. My armor was no longer soaked and dirty, appearing like it had been this morning. Hmph, I can look beautiful and flawless just like you guys, I thought with a snort.

“Alright, let’s go.” Yun said, and the soldiers immediately stood up, their armor clanking loudly as they did so. I also stood from my seat on the rock and followed behind Yun. Khari sat herself down on my shoulder, humming to some unknown tune as we continued on our way through the thick forest. Not only was it a mountain, but it was a mountain overgrown with trees and greenery. I wanted to cut down every single damn branch that hit me in the face as I proceeded onwards. It didn’t help that I had decided to carry the bow in my hands instead on my back, lest for the chance it’d cut me had I made the wrong move.

Two more hours later, I had used Restoration at least twenty times by now. I was swatting weakly at any bug I saw, and it was a wonder I hadn’t run out of mana by now (thank the gods that my OP Khari’s Restoration spell includes MP regeneration).

Yun stuck out his arm, bringing the entire troop to a stop. I straightened up my back, my dead eyes turning sharp. Finally! We were finally here!! After five hours of constant questions, had we finally reached the bandit’s hideout?! It’s already afternoon, like damn! We woke up at dawn to do this, and now I’m sleepy as hell, with an empty stomach to boot!

Actually, I lie about the empty stomach. Khari’s restoration spell is a means of “turning back time” for the person it’s used on. So in other words, I feel the same as I felt at the very beginning of the day after every time I use it. Apparently most people couldn’t use it more than a few times, since it was a high level spell, but I had no trouble in repeat casting it. Is this the power of an otherworlder showing itself?

Yun made some simple gestures with his hand, and the soldiers silently split, moving through the woods with an eerie silence. I was shocked at how they could move without their armor giving them away.

Pointedly looking at me, Yun then prowled, nay stalked, nay… there was no word to properly describe the way he slipped through the greenery. I followed him, and though I was sufficiently silent, it could not be compared to the elegance and dignity he had as he walked without making a sound. He stopped, pointing at the entrance of a cave. Uwah, how cliche. Two bandit guards were standing there, glancing out at the trees and bushes. They hadn’t noticed us yet.

I stared at their clothes. Hm, I felt something was a little off. Rather than the clothes I was expecting (rags and animal pelts), they were wearing pretty decent armor. Granted, they still had on animal pelts and roughly tanned hide, but it was a lot more… wealthy?, then what I had expected.

Were they perhaps a big bandit group? Hm. With a motioning of Yun’s hand, I was already up in a tree.

“«Eagle’s Eye»,” I muttered under my breath. My vision went out of my body and up to the sky, looking down on everyone. It resembled the sight that one would see as they play a third person RPG. Yun glanced briefly in my direction, jerking his head toward the guard on the right. I nodded in understanding, locking onto the man. Alright. I got it. Breath in, breath out.

My purple eyes were sharp, the faint light of a lock on cross inside the irises as they narrowed at the men. A deadly expression filled with blood lust. I took out a silver arrow from the quiver strapped to my back, and nocked it on my bowstring, drawing it back. I synchronized my breathing to the loud beating of the heart. I pulled it back until it went taut, and I couldn’t pull any further.

Release. It whizzed through the air, flying straight and true… WAIT DON’T MISS! The arrow did not fly straight into the neck of the man like I had thought it would, and instead just missed his cheek. I, uh, forgot to mention that my accuracy was still only at 90%...

Yun was there to back me up though, and before the time to blink had passed, they were both on the ground bleeding from their throats. He was staring at me with a dead look in his eyes. My eyes wandered elsewhere as I hummed a silent tune.

I jumped down from the tree and landed without a sound, walking up to Yun.

“You missed.” He said, his voice as dead as his gaze.

“...” I stuck my tongue out at him as I picked up my arrow.

He sighed, and turned away, putting his back to the stone wall of the mountain as he peered into the cave. I leaned against the wall next to him, staring at the sky. I wasn’t gonna try and peer around the guy or else I feared that I would fall on my face and become the laughingstock of the troop.

He slid into the darkness of the cave.

“Oof!!”

“Wha-”

“Gah-!”

There were various sounds but they all ended with the thump of a body falling to the ground. He came back out. You could barely see the blood on his sword, the black blade showing nothing. Only where it glowed blue could you find traces of the red liquid, which appeared purple under the light of the sword. He did a fancy motion that splattered the blood onto the ground, and in one smooth move, wiped the rest off with his thumb before sheathing it.

It was a move in Kendo, Iaido, and other Japanese martial arts that used the sword, known as Chiburi.

I wondered what Kendo and Iaido were.

He beckoned everyone inside. We followed like sheep being lead to the slaugh- er, that’s wrong. Don’t wanna jinx our incoming battle.

The steps of the soldiers were completely synchronized. Further in, when the darkness started to deepen, torches began to appear. Yun and the others didn’t take one, so I didn’t touch them either.

“Huh, is someone-” Before the bandit could even finish his words, he was riddled full of arrows and throwing daggers. This time my arrow actually hit, and right through the eye too. I looked at Yun with a triumphant smile, pushing away the fact that I had just killed a man to the back of my head.

He snorted, and continued on. Man, can’t even acknowledge my great skillz huh?

We only encountered small bandit groups along the way, none exceeding more than five members. None getting a chance to even scream. When we reached a fork in the road, Yun finally sent out scouts, one for each path.

Waiting~ Waiting~~ Waiting some more~

After what seemed like ages (a minute), one of them came back. He reported several empty rooms.

More waiting. It didn’t seem like the other scout was coming back. Yun’s brow had furrowed into a deep V as he glared down the right tunnel.

… Is that a rumbling? I stared at the ground and saw small pieces of dirt and rock bouncing around. Definitely a rumbling. Yun’s head turned sharply back, “Retreat!” he yelled, just as an arrow came flying at him.

I jumped in front of him, knocking it down with the blades of my bow. “Retreat! Retreat!” The message passed along the soldiers quickly and we all began backtracking, even as more arrows began to shoot toward us.

“«Mirror of a Thousand Reflections»!” The barrier couldn’t cover up to the edges of the tunnel, but it was enough. All the arrows that flew at us were immediately sent back, and screams of pain could be heard, along with the familiar thump of a corpse meeting ground.

“«Rain of Blades»!” I said, knocking one arrow onto my bowstring. It may seem like an odd skill name at first, but it wasn’t. Although it’s true capabilities could not be shown in this cramped tunnel, it would still be effective.

Rain of Blades

Beginner’s Lv.5

Requires the Archery, Multishot, and Mana Reinforcement Skills

Costs 500 MP

Releases a single, mana enforced arrow that splits into several blades, raining down on a targeted area. Each contains the base damage of a flying sword.

My bow glowed a bright blue, and as it shot outward, it split into multiple streaks of light, each one appearing more like a sword’s blade than an arrow. It entered the darkness and more screams resounded, bouncing off the walls to reach me. It gave me a headache.

The light at the end could now be seen. Five hundred feet. Four hundred.

“«Penetration»,” I whispered, and my arrow began glowing with a bright white light. As it left the bow, there were no other noticeable effects. The arrow had been blessed so that it could pierce through at least seven bodies before losing its momentum.

Penetration

Beginner’s Lv.7

Requires the Archery and Mana Reinforcement Skills

Costs 100 MP

Releases a single, mana enforced arrow that turns into a blinding light which pierces enemies. Can pierce through up to seven bodies

I shot a few normal arrows as well, though blindly. No one could see in this darkness without a torch or skill though, so I hoped that at least a couple might hit someone. Hah, me wishing for my arrows to kill a person. It was despicable. I gritted my teeth and continued to run back, stopping only to shoot another arrow.

We finally reached the outside, and Yun immediately ordered us to disperse through the forest. We would be using the vegetation to our advantage. I climbed up a tree as fast as a monkey and peered through the bright green leaves.

“«Reflection»,” I said, and immediately a shield of water appeared around me. No, to be more accurate, it was a shield, but more of an invisibility cloak. It combined my light and water affinities to manipulate the light waves and render me invisible. I came up with it while Yun was taking care of the bandits. After all, the fact that, as an archer, I couldn’t hide in the forestry with such pure white clothes, worried me.

Reflection

Beginner’s Lv.1

Requires high affinity with the water element

Cost 300 MP upon activation, and 10 MP/s until deactivation.

Creates a thin shield of water that surrounds the caster. Reflects light to match the surroundings and render the caster invisible.

I was surprised that a spell that I only made based on my gut actually worked. Quite amazing, really.

Yun stood a few feet outside the opening of the cave. Uwah, what courage. Then again, I wasn’t worried for him. That bastard beat me black and blue three days ago.

His hand was resting on the hilt of one of his swords as he waited patiently for the bandits to arrive. Arrows began to whiz out, and he knocked them all down. He was so fast that his blade had only turned into a black and blue blur. Like the bruises he had inflicted on me. Actually, no, the image was cooler than that, but I still had a grudge you know? Just because you gave me all this cool stuff doesn’t change the fact that you beat me up, okay?

I prepared an arrow. Hmmm, I could use Rain of Blades another time. Now that we were in a wide open area, it’s true prowess could be shown.

Warriors came out, roaring barbarically. They were dressed similarly to the guards that we had first taken down. “«Rain of Blades»,” I said, taking the initiative before Yun could kill them all.

I aimed towards the sky, slightly angling my bow toward the direction of the enemies. The blue light shot up, and up, and up. It finally began to dip down, splitting in four. Then in four again. Then again. Soon the sky was filled with tens upon tens of blue blades, and they all crashed down upon the bandits.

Some managed to get their shields up in time. Others didn’t.

Still more people rushed out. I tilted my head. I had always thought that their armor was slightly off, but the way that they ran at Yun only made the uncomfortable feeling that I initially had increased. Their steps were just as synchronized as that of Yun’s troops, and they split up into even teams, going at Yun in a pincer formation.

What sort of bandits knew military tactics?! Not any ordinary ones, that’s for sure!

Such things, though, could only crumble in the face of strength. And that was what Yun was. Strength.

He drew one sword, then the other. Twirling them in his hands, his left held the blade normally, while his right used it backhandedly. A left dominant ambidextrous swordsman. He dropped his knees so that he was closer to the ground, his left blade covering his upper chest and neck, and his right blade protecting his lower abdomen. He lunged forward, going straight at the place where the group had split. The two bandit squads turned, and rushed toward him. They got closer, and closer, and closer.

His foot dug deep into the earth, and he lept into the air, flipping as they collided into each other. When he had done half a rotations, with his head facing the ground, he swung out a blade. It glowed whiter and whiter, an arc of lightning landing in the chaos. Screams went up with flames and odor of burning flesh.

They had all turned to ash, only their armor remaining as pieces of melting iron.

“...!! Dammit! All men charge!!!” A gruff voice shouted, and a wave of at least fifty people emerged, all aiming for Yun. I snapped out of my trance.

“«Penetration»,” the arrow sang as it cut through the bandits’ armor like butter and killed seven people in a single second.

“Men, to arms!” Yun said, slashing at the speed of light. Each slash flashed bluish white and was accompanied by lightning and flames.

Streams of gray armored men rushed out from the trees, sieging the animal clothed bandits. It was an amazing sight, they way they suddenly popped out. Was it a stealth spell? Was that it? That’s right, I still need to learn one of those. First thing I’m doing when I get back to town is to ask someone to teach me a stealth spell.

I unleashed normal arrows after normal arrows, steal killing everything. Pfft hahaha, the feeling of riding on another person’s coattails was actually fairly satisfying. I could practically see my EXP shooting sky high, along with my level.

Screw taking the hard way out. Who even does that anymore, when you can take it nice and easy? I feel like there maybe some backlash later on if I didn’t put in any real effort (I do though, I swear!), but oh well. For now I was overcome with an intensely smug feeling that I didn’t really pay attention to my other frivolous thoughts.

The last boss has come! A pretty boy came out of the cave, a blank look on his face. He had wild fiery red hair, and daemon eyes. A pair of what looked to be Mouflon horns, curling down first, then up in a circle, towards the back, before finally curling even further upwards to point to the sky. He had on minimal cloth armor, almost as if he had come straight out of an eastern fantasy tale.

Hiki

??? Lv.??? | ??? Lv.???

| God | Souryuu | Tales of Misery | ??? | ??? | ??? | ??? | ??? | ??? | ??? |

I felt like he was familiar. Somehow. His face, that name. I ground my teeth in frustration, trying to remember who he was as I squinted at him. His sparkling visage was comparable to all the other handsome men and women I had met. If I had to say, he looked like Ludan, but with lighter colored hair.

Ah. Ahhhh!!! AHHHHHHH!

“AHHHHH!!!!!!!” I said, bolting straight up as I pointed at him. And hit my head on a tree branch, falling out, rolling some, before landing on my butt in the clearing before the cave. Everyone was staring at me. This is embarrassing.

The man, Hiki, was looking with wide eyes. The most amount of emotion he had shown since he came out of the cave.

“Hiki!!” I said, pointing at him. Yun looked at me with a puzzled expression that said, so what?

“Hiki!!!!!” I exclaimed again, as if the name should have some other meaning.

“...” Hiki was silent, his mouth opened as if he had the need to say something. “Luna?” He asked, tilting his head.

“Oh my god, it really is Hiki!!” I stared at him and he stared at me.

Now let me explain what was going on. Hiki was not a person that I had known before coming to this world. No, rather, he was a game character! I believe I had once mentioned the fact that I had been playing a game before coming to this world. I was unable to recall any details, but after seeing Hiki here, a flash of a faint memory hit me, slowly becoming vivid and clear.

The game had been a popular VRMMORPG known as “Misery”. In it, one could capture various gods and monsters and tame them, making them their servants. Sort of like a certain legendary Pok*mon.

And I had been one of the top players! That’s right! I was a no lifer who spent thousands upon thousands of hours on this game (and various other games), and had reached the pinnacle! My pok*mon- er, I mean my familiars- had all been top tier gods and guardian beasts!

Hiki had been one of them!

Hiki, known as one of the Seven Gods of Misery, was a serpentine demon god with the ability to control water and known as the “Dragon King”. His offensive power was the greatest among the Seven Gods of Misery, yet at the same time, he was said to be one of the more temperate gods. As a result, he was sought out by many of the players. In the end, he became mine though.

In the end, he became mine though.

Yes, that needed to be said twice.

That being said, even if he was one of the more temperate Misery Gods, he was still… I didn’t want to recall our epic battle. Uwah, that sneer still remains in my head as a traumatic memory~~

Hmm, I wonder why I was able to remember such a thing though. Despite the fact that everything else remained fuzzy. No, rather than that, why was Hiki here? He had been an advanced AI in the game, but he wasn’t real.

I was confused. Very confused.

“Luna… Luna-sama!”

“Bugufuuuu!” The breath was knocked outta me as Hiki suddenly pounced on me. My head hit a rock, and I saw stars.

Wahh, what a nice river. I see the old ferryman grandpa!

Hah! Wait, now’s not the time to be dying!

“You know this guy?” Yun asked, glaring at me. His sword was still drawn and he eyed the guy suspiciously.

“Rather than know…” I said, furrowing my brow and unsure how to respond.

“I’m Luna-sama’s servant.” Hiki said with that blank look on his face. Nay, it was more like an “isn’t that obvious” type look on his face. Not helping. NOT HELPING.

*Tting*

«You have obtained the Fourth God of Misery, “Hiki”, as your soul bound guardian»

«Soul Bound Guardian - A Guardian Beast that has transcended the limits of just blood contracts. The contract between you and your Soul Bound Guardian can never be broken, even through death. You cannot use the skills of your Soul Bound Guardian as your own.»

STILL NOT HELPING.

“Master? You’re the bandit chief’s master?” Yun had this deadly look on that was scaring me.

“No! No, no! It’s that… well... “ I glanced at the people who weren’t otherworlders. I gently motioned Hiki to get off and stood, going to Yun.

“Well, you know games right…?” I said, in a low voice.

He raised an eyebrow.

“Well you see, I just remembered this, but I normally play a game where you capture different things like gods and holy beasts. He’s a god I captured.” I said.

“That guy is?”

“Yeah.”

“A god?”

“Something like that.”

“...”

I looked at Yun with innocent eyes.

He sighed, finally sheathing his swords.

Hiki was standing there looking clueless like a small child. That blank look is pissing me off! Just because you can act like you don’t know anything-!!

Ah, it feels nostalgic. I wonder why. Although I had grasped my basic memories about the game, I didn’t recall anything in any more detail. For some reason, I could name every single god and beast I had captured though… Former Luna, just how obsessed were you with this game…?

“Men, back to the village.”

Ah, does this mean I have to walk all the way back again?