Entering the smithy, I found it to be a cozy place, almost like a home. We sat down on some couches where a small coffee table was placed in the middle. The kukri schematic was placed on the table and I negotiated the price with a wicked smile.

I managed to get the price lowered to 45 gold through a 25% "discount". The dwarf sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Alright, now that the price is settled..." The dwarf turned around and called out to a familiar person. "Lisa, I think this would be a great job for you!" Lisa? As in, the Lisa from Everwind?

The familiar silhouette walked over from the back of the shop. The dwarf handed her the blueprint and she examined it before she looked at me. She nodded with a smile and went to work on the kukri. I just sat there shocked. If she was here, then did Everwind get attacked or was it just coincidence?

We left the shop to the sound of a hammer pounding metal and decided to find an inn. we headed to the Adventurer's Guild where I started hearing a familiar voice at the reception counter. It was Kudo turning in materials from a request. After receiving the money, he turned around to find me standing there.

"Hi, Michael! How have you been since we last met two years ago?" He came over waving and I put my arm around him. He was wearing Mithril plate armor with a sword and shield strapped to his back. It was pretty nice to see him wearing actual armor instead of his school uniform.

"Where are the girls?" He answered without hesitation.

"They're at the inn. Want to go there?" I accepted his offer since we were already looking for an inn to stay at. Making our way to the southern area of town, the inn was a wooden two-story building with a vibrant atmosphere.

We entered and I promptly looked for the innkeeper. He was approaching us and I quickly requested for two rooms. I paid him enough so that we could stay for two months. Placing the keys in my hand, I handed one over to Lance as the innkeeper walked back behind the bar. Kudo then tapped me on the shoulder.

"The girls are sitting down at that table over there. Wanna catch up with them?" I shrugged.

"Sure, why not?" Kudo then lead us to a table where three familiar girls were sitting. We pulled chairs from nearby empty tables and sat down. I started to catch up with Kudo's harem and told them of intense battles, including the recent lich one, and other small moments that happened over the journey here. I noticed that all of them were wearing quality armor and had weapons to match. They all got upgrades it seems.

The girls told their own stories too, and it quickly became dark outside while we conversed. Deciding to retire for the night, I headed up to my room first and went inside. Taking off my armor and coat, I was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt and cloth pants. I went downstairs to the bar to ask the innkeeper where the bath was.

He directed me to the back of the inn which had a mixed bath. Though I found it a little bizarre that a mixed bath was included in an inn like this, I didn't mind. It was still a bath. Wrapping a towel around my waist, I got in the empty bath and soaked in the warm water. Relaxing, I closed my eyes and dreamt of Earth again.

Opening my eyes, I heard people talking around me. It was the others. Lance, Rose, Jane, and the harem. I didn't even bother to leer at the harem girls' bodies since I already had Jane. Fukasawa then pointed at me and shouted something about dueling tomorrow. I smiled and nodded, to which she said something about definitely beating me.

We had more conversations in the bath until everyone collectively got tired. It was getting late and everyone headed to their rooms to get some sleep. Jane pushed her bed over to make another makeshift double bed where she cuddled with me. I hugged and we both dozed off peacefully.

Waking up, I changed into a different set of clothing and equipped my gear. I wanted to do a few quests to kill time waiting for the kukri. I went to wash my face while Jane was getting dressed and waited for her outside. She came out one she was ready.

"You know, I don't mind if you look, Michael." I placed my hand on her head and simply patted it, making her temporarily forget what she was saying. After realized my intentions, Jane started lightly hitting me with her fists. An action I found adorable.

"Do you two need some time or..." I heard Lance ask while Rose just stared.

"No no. Let's head to a tailor first. I need to get something made. Then we can head to the Guild and grab a few requests." Jane then hopped in front of me.

"I know where we can find a high-quality tailor. Also, don't you have to duel with Fukasawa today?" Along with directions for a tailor, Jane reminded me of the thing that slipped my mind. Thanking Jane for reminding me, I patted her on the head more which she gladly accepted.

We headed downstairs and found the harem sitting there. Kudo then got up and told us that we would be dueling at the guild. Apparently, I had to duel the entire harem since they were curious to see if they could take me on. I wasn't sure if this was overestimating my own strength, but I wanted to take them all on at once in a 1v4.

Kudo went back to the group and told them about my proposal. They all nodded with wicked impressions. Maybe they were more in the mood for a fight? All of us quickly made our way to the Adventurer's Guild where they made an announcement about the 1v4. Heading to the Guild's arena, Lance, Rose, and Jane were told to head to the spectator seats, which left me on my own.

I went into a separate doorway that led to a room with entrances to different areas. It had an infirmary, betting station, and a concession shop. There was already a large number of people here either buying food or betting on the match. I found a resting area sat down to assess the harem's abilities. I still had a few hours after all.

The most dangerous one would probably be Kudo. I'd ignored it until now, but he actually had rings for all three girls. Three stat bonuses from three girls specializing in different roles, he was sure to be an all around large threat. Next would be a toss-up between Fukasawa's agility and Mary's pure magical might.

I didn't want to imagine the potentially massive amount of spells Mary could have currently at her disposal. Fukasawa's high agility was no joke either. She was probably much faster than me at this point. Last would be Miya, their healer. She would most likely be the least dangerous due to being the harem's support.

I would most likely have to somehow take out Miya first, though that would require me to somehow get past the other two. An idea popped up in my head. It was crazy but it just might work if they were inexperienced enough.

The match time came, and I got up to head out. Taking my sword off its hook, I rested it on my shoulder and walked out into the arena. The massive roar of the crowd cheering was heard and I simply marveled at the huge arena. It was much bigger than I thought.

It was probably 1/2 kilometers by 1/2 kilometers. There was plenty of space for a large battle. Standing at my designated position, I stared at the harem located across from me. Miya just smiled, Mary looked indifferent, Fukasawa gave a threatening thumb across the throat, and Kudo waved. A smirk formed on my face as I felt a little bit of excitement. This would certainly be a fierce battle. I looked around and spotted Jane and the other two sitting in the front row of seats. I waved a little at them to which they waved back.

A countdown commenced and the crowd shouted out the numbers. As it neared zero, I summoned my conjured shield and held it defensively. I secretly prepared some ice magic and waited for the countdown to hit zero. As soon as it did, I conjured a 200-meter wide blizzard that caught the harem within.

Speeding through the snow, I went for Miya's position and sure enough, I found her. I quickly shield-bashed her which sent her flying around 100-meters away. That definitely knocked her out. The blizzard faded leaving me with the three others. Magic quickly flew towards me which I deflected with my shield.

My danger sense flared up and I sidestepped, barely dodging daggers aimed at my back. I responded with a swing of my own which Fukasawa dodged. Kudo then appeared and took a stab at me, which I blocked with my conjured shield. Thinking it was an opening, Fukasawa lunged at me with her daggers ready to strike.

She's forgotten one thing though. Once the daggers neared me, I deflected them with a flick of the wrist and countered her attack, sending her reeling. I then pushed Kudo back and bashed him with the shield. He became slightly disoriented and this allowed me to land a direct blow on his torso, knocking him back a good 10 or so meters.

"NOW! MARY!" A barrage of varied elements of magic rained down on me. I couldn't possibly avoid all of them, instead choosing to hunker down and raise my shield above me. I felt the impacts on and around me, escaping this unscathed was a pipe dream.

After waiting out the barrage, I unsummoned my conjured shield and started to use my own magic. While Fukasawa and Kudo were recovering, I exchanged spells with Mary while rapidly closing the distance. Once I got close, she blinked away with a short teleport. I closed the difference even faster since there was most likely a cooldown to go with such a good escape ability.

Sure enough, there was. I threw a gut-punch that just barely knocked her out. Now that Mary was out of the equation, I only needed to deal with Kudo and Fukasawa. That was when I felt a blow to the back of my head. I quickly turned around and retaliated with a kick, hitting Fukasawa right in the gut and knocking her out cold.

Kudo then rushed at me and made a quick, accurate swing. I blocked it. This swordsmanship could be considered almost perfect, which was good for me. It would be much more predictable this way. Sure enough, I managed to push him back through pure swordsmanship alone. Finally, I ended the fight by disarming him and placing my sword at his throat.

"Heh. I don't know how you manage to do it, Mr. Adkins. It's my loss." I placed my sword on my back and the match was concluded. Turns out around eighty percent of the crowd had bets on the harem and the ones that bet on me made massive amounts of money. Including Jane, Lance, and Rose of course. I left the arena, meeting with the others at the request boards.

"Man. That fight was amazing, Michael. You are seriously a powerhouse." Lance congratulated me while patting me on the back. Jane handed me a pouch of coins saying that it was my share of the gold earned. There were over 600 gold coins which made me hug her and almost scream with joy. Now I could definitely custom order an expensive dress shirt.

After registering a few requests, we left the Guild in search of the tailor Jane mentioned.