[Enemy analysis.]

Axel, Magician of the Crumbling Bandits, Griffin Tamer.

Magician rank: 6th realm of the Beginnings.

My analysis carried over to the real threat. The growling griffin. Remind me never to make a habit of pissing off giant lion birds, okay? Seriously, I couldn’t believe I was actually staring at the real deal!

[Griffin: S-ranked magical beast. Warning, this griffin is capable of surprising even you.]

“Ki—kill him!” Axel commanded, while just barely getting his hands around a ruby dangling from his neck.

[Mini-boss fight begin. Griffin tamer.]

I sighed. The system sadly treated this serious encounter like a fucking video game.

I really didn’t have time for the violence.

“So, are you having the grandest ole time in the dark over there?” I told the fuckwit. There was not even a hint of light from the moon after all.

Something felt off. And I’m not talking about the “bad thing about to happen” off. What were the odds of encountering a court magician and a griffon-taming gang leader with what appeared to be beginner ranks? What the hell did my rank actually mean? Was I a freak? Or just getting lucky enough to encounter total scrubs.

The griffin launched at me only for Wolverine’s Sunlight flash to blast it at least ten meters away.

“Good boy,” I praised. Wolverine’s aura lit up the place, his fury bright and full of heat. I wondered if people could feel it miles from here. Yeah…he didn’t like when anything or anyone attacked me.

I took advantage of the distraction and…with just one step, good god maybe a leap, I was in front of Axel. He could see me now thanks to wolverine’s aura. Despite the wolf running off to fight the griffin, his fury still lit up the place.

Axel trembled but managed to get the words out under my killing intent. “Wh..what do you want? Money, I’ll give you everything I have. Power? You…please let us atone, take us in as your disciples. Don’t….don’t kill me.”

I sneered at this fucker. “You don’t get to make proposals. Also, you’re only alive because you and anyone connected to you should be put to trial and executed. Or maybe I should do it myself.”

“Wait…why is there a master magician—”

“Shut it,” I snapped. He did in an instant. And as much as I hate to mention this cliché, I could in fact smell urine. This idiot pissed on himself.

I snatched away his ruby. I would’ve tossed it to Milia, but she currently battled the griffin with Wolverine, so I pocketed it instead. Then with a flick of my finger, knocked the magician out.

“Well, that was easy,” I said. I turned to Harmony and Lucas. “Watch him for me. Oh and don’t do anything you’ll regret kid. I don’t take kindly to being undermined, especially after being forced from being just a potion maker to this whacky shit show of a national penis size contest.”

I turned my focus onto the griffin. It launched into the air, dodging Wolverine’s Sunlight Flashes and Milia’s vines. Aiming a hand into the air, I pulled in mana and waited. The swan dive finally came, and I released the Supreme Magic Bolt.

The bright ball of magic hit like a truck and once again, the creature was down, but not out. What a tough bastard! It leapt to its feet. And then I felt it. The gathering of mana.

“Milia, Wolverine, get back,” I said.

They did, though Wolverine was more reluctant. The bloodlust from the little guy only strengthened.

“Take this, Milia,” I said, passing her the ruby. “Do you need it to control the griffin?”

“Normally I don’t,” Milia said to my surprise, “but with it enraged like this, my powers won’t get through to it. I will not be able to communicate.”

“Alright, if you can figure out how the ruby works, calm it,” I said. “It’s about to unleash something. Get ready.”

Sure enough, the monster flapped its wings, releasing twin streams of green mana in our direction. No…at me!

“You’re a dick, bird face,” I told it as I moved to dodge. I still took a grazing, which kind of itched, but failed to so much as slow me down. I pulled an incomplete potion from my pocket and tossed it into the creature’s face. “You owe me some silver for that prototype.”

I planned to finish development of that later but utilizing it to hurt an overpowered monster’s eyes seemed like a better use for it.

**

Lucas felt as if his eyes would budge out of his head. Never in the fifteen short years of his life had he witness this level of power. It…it felt unreal, as if the son of Wanda herself swooped in to save the day like the great heroes of his favorite stories. Like many boys of his age, Lucas wanted to be like the real hero, Ramon Thunderblade, a man who slayed dragons or evil magicians that threatened the kingdom. He was the center of every story or play in cities and Kingdom hubs. Unfortunately, a rumor of his personality being that of a noble’s son, saddened Lucas.

Sure, he never met the man, and couldn’t one hundred percent confirm that, however, rumors like this didn’t just spawn for nothing. Ramon Thunderblade, a real great hero, had to have said something, perhaps many times, to move the lips of the servants in the King’s castle or nobles’ manors.

But compared to the stories and the rumors of Ramon Thunderblade, what he witnessed from Nate, was something unreal. People exaggerated tales all the time, but this…this couldn’t be exaggerated. It was real. The glow of his aura, his pressure, the frightening pulse of an untrained killing instinct. What kind of meditating method did he use to obtain such an unreal amount of Ki as someone who looked to be of mid twenty years? The only conclusion that fell into Nate’s mind was that he had to be related to the goddess somehow.

Now, Lucas didn’t actually believe much in deities before this moment. After all, the magicians terrorized the world, and no one came to save the people. Even Ramon Thunderblade ate dinner with most of them.

Despite a lack in any kind of faith, what the boy saw with his very own eyes challenged what he knew about the world. No man, not even the hero, was on record taking down both a powerful magician and its miraculously tamed griffin with his bare hands. No armor. And the strangest thing of all: no spell book. Yet the spell he used could actually affect a creature known to be somewhat resistant to magic. Maybe these people didn’t know much about griffins. Lucas was about to warn them until he witnessed the fighting himself.

Even the wolf’s own mana knocked the majestic creature around as if it were a doll slapped away by a child. The woman with green hair was no laughing matter either.

These three. They were terrifying. Yet…didn’t kill. The shop owner didn’t appear to be interested in fighting, just running the shop with the woman and their pet. A married couple of master magicians. Scary. Frightening. Intriguing.

Lucas looked at Harmony, who’s eyes were also in shock at the battle. She was friends with such people.

For the first time since the attack on his village, Lucas allowed hope to flood through his veins. He chastised himself for it. After all, Nate had no good reason to be kind to a stranger.

His eyes widened again when the mysterious shop keeper dodged claw strikes that would cut an ordinary man into strings of flesh. But it didn’t end there. He countered with just a fist, sending the giant lion-eagle hybrid onto its back. The only person Lucas knew capable of such a feat was the hero.

But even the hero struggled with magic-using griffins, according to gossip and common sense, hence why Lucas emphasized the strength of the rogue magician that attacked their village. Griffin tamers were extremely rare.

Nate looked as if this…battle was but a minor inconvenience for him on the way to the grocer. In fact, after what appeared to be the final knockout punch, the shopkeeper dusted himself off and stared down at the whining griffin with his arms behind his back, perfectly calm, not a single drop of sweat on him.

Nate was by far the most frightening individual Lucas had ever met. Yet…he couldn’t help but think about working at his shop. Perhaps becoming his apprentice or a disciple. Perhaps learning how to be strong for once, protect his loved ones.

**

Hey missy, I would say when I entered a bar, tipping my cowboy hat. Have you ever beat up a griffin with your bare hands? Okay, that’s a dumb pickup line, but you know what I mean. It turned out the griffin’s ability to function fell drastically after a little potion got into its eyes. I felt kind of bad for it but having a lion monster trying to eat your face isn’t pulling any sympathy from me.

Wolverine continued to growl at it, his ears and tail pointed up like daggers, teeth bared with palpable warning. If he could, he’d rip out the griffon’s throat. Did I ever mention how much of a good boy he is?

It took Milia maybe a minute to tame the creature. For some reason, it listened to my commands too. I gaped at her, but she only gave me a mischievous smile before walking over to check on the younger flock. I watched her backside for just a bit then turned to the newest member of the family.

“Let’s see, what to name you,” I said.

“Please don’t give him a name of another animal,” Milia deadpanned.

“Fine, fine, we’ll call him, Feather. With an I.”

“I will bonk you,” Milia said.

“Then—”

“Not George,” Milia interrupted, lightly karate chopping the top of my head.

“How, I mean I wasn’t going to say George,” I said, feigning defensiveness. Milia raised an eyebrow. I folded my arms. “No edgelord names. Pff, I’m calling him—”

“Wingy,” Milia interrupted.

“No way,” I said. “You’re a worse namer than me. At least call him something like Beakwing.”

Finally, Harmony’s laughing and Lucas trying to hold his in, grabbed our attention.

“You two are both terrible at naming,” Harmony said, seeming to wipe a tear from her eye.

“We’re going with Beakwing,” I declared. “It suits the big guy.”

“I like Wingy more,” Milia protested, hands on hips.

Wolverine seemed to facepalm with his paw, making a disapproving or maybe embarrassed sound.

We stared at each other, not giving in before Harmony cleared her throat loudly.

“Shouldn’t we check on their village before there’s any more incidents,” Harmony said. “There are still more bandits, no?”

“Fine,” I said.

After Milia quadruple-tied up the magician and rigged a trap that would go off if he tried to escape using magic, we climbed onto the house-sized magical monster’s back, Beakwing, and off we went, the creature happily listening. The apple that Milia fed him probably helped. We were also likely gentler than his former owner.

Beakwing flew so fast, I was afraid we’d fly off. We made the trip within roughly fifteen minutes.

What we saw, well, I could only describe as a tragic mess. People chained to trees, some in cages, and…a few bodies. The stench hit hard, strong, and I had to do everything I could to keep from blowing chunks everywhere.

Of course there were fucking dickheads to deal with. This scene, the terror in the people’s eyes, the smug expressions on the bandits’ faces. I could be working on my next batch of best-selling potions, not doing the hero’s job for him.

My anger at being pulled away from my corner of peace manifested again. You know, I could use some new special potions for situations like this. There were no instructions for leveling up this class so I had to assume for every successful potion I created, I’d gain some kind of experience? They wouldn’t be all for combat though. But…I needed to know how far I can go so I can do more than just contribute to Kyushu’s economy. I’d make myself fucking rich! Okay, that thought is a cynical joke to distract myself from the scene below. The more I looked, the angrier I grew. I could only imagine how Lucas felt seeing this.

“Stay strong, kid,” I said. “We deal with the leader. Now let’s clean up. Beakwing, pounce, but no killing. There’s enough…d…dead around here.”

I had to compose myself. Shit, I’m from a world of TV, going to work, and eating and drinking with buddies. Now I had to get use to this. Killing, magicians, and the works.

Beakwing took a nosedive, pouncing on the first bandit, cracking some ribs in the process. Honestly, I didn’t give a fuck if that killed him later at this point.

“Milia, Wolverine, are you ready?”

“Ready,” Milia said at my side. Wolverine barked on my other side.

“Let’s finish this so we can go back home.”

Well, it took about twenty seconds to round up the bandits. Milia mostly did all the work, calling vines out of the earth and tripping them. I knock them out with just a finger. Wolverine bit and fired lower intensity Sunlight Flashes at his opponents, which still knocked them out damn near instantly.

After that, I ripped off the locks of the cages, not really caring how it looked. Their eyes were all on me and then looked at Lucas. I spoke up for him.

“He went to get help, so before you thank us, you better thank him,” I said. My voice had a finality in it that couldn’t be denied, almost a challenge, a dare for these people to say otherwise. Milia secured the rest of the garbage with her magical vines.

“I’m leaving it to you to contact any kingdom guards,” I told the village.

I looked around, taking notice of a few men that appeared to be guards, even if they looked uneasy. “You’re professional guardsmen, right? You’ll know what to do better than us.”

The men’s backs straightened. “Right,” one of them said. He directed the other remaining guards to load the bandits onto a wagon.”

“Whatever you do is not blood on my hands,” I told the village. “It’s your right as a village.”

I turned, preparing to hop onto the griffin.

“Wait, who…who are you?”

I turned to see a hard-eyed woman, with a little muscle, gazing at me. Her clothing was tattered, her brown hair dirty, her eyes damn near sullen. If it weren’t for the current circumstances, she’d appear quite beautiful. Bandits were a disgusting lot, and I left my thoughts at that.

“Nate,” I said. “Just a potion maker working near the town of Kyushu.”

The eyes of the villagers all knew I was more than that but said nothing. After all, what could they say to someone who took on a band of nasty bandits, along with its magician, just to rescue them?

Lucas emerged from my side, bowing to the woman, then turned to me.

“This is my master and mentor, Master Nia,” he said.

“Ah, the blacksmith,” I said. “Sorry he couldn’t brag about you, given the situation. This is Milia, Wolverine, and Harmony.”

Nia bowed to us. “We’re unsure how to repay you for what you did.”

“Don’t worry about that,” I said. “Just focus on rebuilding. I’m just a stranger. Feel free to stop by the shop someday.”

I had a couple of health potions in my pocket and used them to take care of the injured. Fortunately, a full bottle wasn’t needed to heal, and with the quality of the potion, they were up and mesmerized within minutes.

“Let’s get going,” I told Milia and Harmony. The stares were already uncomfortable. Revealing my potions to these people brought a type of gaze that should only be reserved for their hero or immediate family. Not some random guy who just happened to be in the area.

We hopped onto the griffin, waved at the villagers, and took off. There was no one to say goodbye to after all, other than Lucas. Which we did, to both him and his master.

“Somehow we made it through all of that without having to shed lethal blood,” I said to my companions. Milia placed a hand on my shoulder in a way that only made her more endearing to me.

“Are you okay with this?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said, then grinned. “I’ll have to send the bill to this world’s so-called hero.”

That response seemed to catch the dryad off guard as she snorted, then burst into laughter. Harmony joined in. Wolverine barked and facepalmed.

I shrugged. “Bullshit aside, it turned out fine for us. We’ve got ourselves a way to travel back and forth without spending days on the road. Honestly, I thought we were going to have to rely on the Kyushu guard to take that two-day trip.”

Thankfully, the guard wasn’t too unreliable. We noticed that they had already rounded up the camp bandits and the magician.

“How do you think they’ll keep him captive?” I asked Harmony.

“We do have a few cuffs and chains that disrupt the flow of mana, cutting anyone detained in them from ambient mana and their core,” she answered.

I nodded. “Good. I imagine we’ll see the city guard in a few days to take them to trial?”

“Probably two weeks, knowing them,” she said truthfully.

I sighed. Now I knew how Shikamaru felt. What a drag indeed.

First, I dropped Harmony off to her house. Not many were out, so the griffon gained no attention for now. After that, we flew back to the grasslands.

As I unlocked the door and stepped inside, I turned to Milia. She seemed slightly taken about probably because I looked as silly as I felt preparing to ask a serious question.

“Would you…like to move in with me?”