That Time I Got Sent to Another World Where All of the Girls Are Super Hot and Super Into Me Because I Am Super Strong and Have Very Powerful Abilities that God Gave to Me Because Me and Them Were Friends When I Was in Grade School and God Is Actually A Loli Who is Also in Love with Me Because I Am A Super Epic Person Who Will Defeat The Demon Lord Who Threatens The Entire World but the Demon Lord Actually is in Love With Me and the Demon Lord is a Super Hot Busty Babe Who is Actually Just Trying to Get My Attention Because I Have a Cellphone That Can Contact the Internet and Can Get Anything Shipped To Me Within 2 Days But I Barely Need It Because I Am Actually the Most Strongest Guy Alive Because I Have Super Strong Powers Like Being Able to Lift Your Mom Really Easily Which is Nearly Impossible Because Your Mom is So Fat But is Actually A Secret Anime Busty Babe Who is Really into Me Because I Am Super Cool and Better Than Your Dad Because He is Super Lame Which I Am Not:

Record 48 - That time I was reincarnated into another world and cleared my first dungeon

"Wha?" Juan asked, before collapsing like a puppet with his strings cut. I blew the smoke from the end of my hand-cannon triumphantly.

"CANDIDATE SLAIN"

!!!~~~~~LEVEL UPPU~~~~~!!!

You are now Level 10 uwu~*!!!

20 Skill Points Gained!

Skill Gained: [Multitask Basics - Lvl 1]

Skill Gained: [Second Wind]

Sword Arte Gained: [Adaptive Strike]

Culinary Arte Gained: [Salvage Abomination]

Candidate Skill Available: [Plus One]

Spell Learned: [Mimic]

You found a Gold Star!

Karma++!

Candidate Slain

MM Advanced by - ERROR (412): Advancement failed points.

Whoah! I gained a TON of levels off of that kill! There were a couple other unusual things in that level up message too. I'd have to ask Kamiko about them later; I didn't really know what an 'Abomination' was, but it sounded useful, at least!

I bowed in respect to Juan's corpse, which was steaming as it slowly shrank back to his normal form. I'd defeated another one of the [Demon Lord]'s [Elite Fours]. I was really on a roll! I turned and gave a thumbs up to my two harem-members.

Bonbon looked confused and shocked, probably because she was starting to realize just how cool I was after that fight. I'd handled myself pretty well, if I said so myself. I'd only died a single time! If my video game experience related to real life combat as I was sure it did, then that meant that I was hitting pretty well above average!

Still... I wasn't in the clear yet. There was still another enemy here. And if his cool appearance and attitude were anything to go by, he was going to be even tougher to beat than Juan!

As if sensing my thoughts, Taro uncrossed his arms and began to clap slowly, the sound echoing far more than an ordinary open-air Boss Patio probably should have provided. Jealous, I learned [Clapping Mastery] using my [Instantly Learn Skill] skill.

"Well done," he said, smiling a fang-filled smile. He still hadn't moved from his position, and his eyes were closed, giving him the appearance of being deep in thought. "You knew that his [Absolute Invulnerability(+ Infinity)] made him immune to any and all attacks within the [System]... so you used an attack from outside the [System]. You're more clever than I thought."

I shook my head. "No," I corrected him, "I just couldn't think of any attack more powerful than a gun."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence, interrupted only by the quiet sounds of Wanda rifling through Juan's pockets. A cool wind blew through the Boss Patio, ruffling my hair. Hm. I'd have to get a scarf or a cape or something to take advantage of moments like these.

"Ah," Taro replied finally. "So you're just an idiot who got lucky."

I blushed, rubbing the back of my head sheepishly.

"That wasn't a compliment."

My hand froze mid-sheep. Huh? If it wasn't a compliment, then... he was insulting me?! That bastard! I hated people who tried to use sly wordplay to get one over on you! Was he trying to pick a fight?

I shook my fist at him, growling. "Sounds to me like you're asking for a fight!" I informed him.

"Oh, no," he replied, chuckling. "That would be a terrible decision."

I stopped to consider it. If he thought it was terrible, then that was probably a good thing, since he was a bad guy and therefore had opposite priorities. But... what if he meant it would be terrible for ME? I could feel my fighting spirit edging away slowly, muttering something about being late for an appointment.

"Oh... oh yeah?" I asked, trying to recover face. "Why's that?"

I braced myself, ready to activate some or most of my skills if he decided to attack suddenly. Taro opened his eyes, fixing me in his crimson gaze. At once, I felt an oppressive spiritual pressure settle over the Boss Patio. A crushing weight had dropped onto me, a churning pressure as if my entire body had indigestion at once.

It looked like I wasn't the only one feeling it. Wanda quickly scurried out of the way, carrying Juan's backpack in her mouth. She dove behind another statue for cover. Bonbon bravely brandished her knife and frying pan, from the safety of the other room, which she'd retreated to at some point. I tensed myself as Taro searched me, his eyes flicking this way and that before narrowing into a sly grin.

"Because," he said, his every word like needles in my back. "My horns got stuck in this statue when I leaned against it."

My mind reeled. If his horns were stuck, that meant that his horns were strong and sharp enough to pierce stone! He was even tougher than I'd thought! However, he'd inadvertently revealed his weakness. By sticking his horns in the statue, he'd immobilized himself! Which meant...

I looked down at my gun, but Taro somehow seemed to anticipate what I was thinking.

"Hey, now," he cautioned. "Let's not get too hasty. We can have a chat. If you pull that piece on me, I'll have to use my Special Move." He narrowed his eyes in warning. "I think you'd probably prefer it if it didn't come to that."

I hesitated. It sounded almost as if this member of the [Demon Lord's Army] was making a threat. I'd been in a hurry to fight him earlier, but a Special Move, huh? I wasn't sure what it might be, but it definitely sounded dangerous. Juan had only had a couple run-of-the-mill extremely OP cheat skills, and I'd barely squeaked by in my victory against him. None of his [Skills] had been lavender, either.

I wasn't sure if it was something about his presence, or a sense I was getting, or just the fact that he was wearing a shirt that you had to button up, but my instincts were telling me not to fight him. I was debating whether or not to ignore them and start blasting anyways, when Wanda, too, told me not to fight him, shaking her head from behind the statue.

"I like talking, Wan!" Wanda replied. "Let's talk!"

She was right. We didn't even know anything about these guys. If I went around killing enemies instantly, I wouldn't get to hear any badass backstories or hints on where to find the next guy to kill.

"Uh, okay," I said. "The most important thing is... where did you get those cool clothes?"

"Abbadon-Crowley Fitch, in Los Diablos."

I took a note of that using my [Mental Rolodex]. I knew girls were crazy about my tracksuit-like generic Isekai outfit, but variety was the spice of life, and nothing said variety like a standard dress shirt.

"Where did you get those cool horns?" I asked next.

He touched them, blinking as if taken off guard. He must have not known he had them, which was weird, considering he'd mentioned them before already.

"These? I got them when I [Evolved]."

"Hmm. Well, thank you. That's a lot to think about. I can't think of anything else to ask, so-"

"Wan!" Wanda interrupted me, extremely rudely. "Who are you?"

Taro chuckled, lifting his fingers and touching the base of his horns like he was tipping a hat.

"Mentaro Iké," he introduced himself. "[Super-Elite Cadre] of the Demon Lord. Friends and enemies call me Taro."

"Yoroshiku," I said, giving a quick bow. (TL Note: Yoroshiku means "cheesed to meet you")

"What have you done with the [Princess] the guards were hiding?" Bonbon demanded, poking her head into the room.

"That's what I wanna know," Taro sighed. "None of the guards had her, and I've scanned this room from top to bottom. I'm starting to wonder if we were given bad intel."

He smiled again, fixing his gaze on me. "Although even if it was bad intel, I'm still glad we came. The [Demon Lord] is gonna want to hear about you."

Huh? What was that supposed to mean? He was going to tell the [Demon Lord] about me? Only good things, I hoped! Still, if I was trying to kill the [Demon Lord], wouldn't it be better to have the element of surprise? I looked down at my gun again...

"Who is this Princess, wan? These men belong to the Pablum Empire, do they not? Emperor Pablo doesn't have any such daughters. Besides, even if he did, the Empire historically calls their female scions 'Empressettes', wan. Don't tell me the Emperor has decided to dip his toes into the kidnapping scene."

Taro shook his head, causing an ominous cracking sound from the stone behind him.

"It's not a who. The [Princess] is just the name of one of the- oop!"

My shot went through the spot his head had occupied a second earlier, ricocheting off the chunk of granite he'd pulled from the statue when he ducked.

Wanda blinked at me in confusion, but also approval at my strategically-sound cheap shot. I spared her a glance, my resolve grim.

"He's going to tell the [Demon Lord] about me. I can't let him do that. If I can keep the element of [Surprise], I'll have a lot better of a chance at defeating the [Demon Lord]. He probably doesn't have [Surprise Resistance]," I explained.

Wanda stared at me, her ear twitching. "Wan! But weren't you going around telling everybody that you beat up one of the [Elite Four] already?"

"That's different."

"Well..." Taro said, "If you're serious about stopping me, I guess I've got no choice but to use my Special Move after all..."

My eyes widened. I'd forgotten about his threat! I'd have to remember to get [Attention Span Basics] later, but there was no time right now! I had no idea what form his attack would take. I activated all of my [Resistance] skills, and turned [Second Wind] on, which would probably let me breathe better in case he used some kind of poison effect.

He stood there, hands on his hips. A menacing aura surrounded him, seeming to darken the very sun somehow. I felt a cold sweat start to form on my forehead. He... didn't have any skills, right? My [Appraisal (but secretly infinite knowledge)] had been pretty clear that he was a basic bitch with no levels at all, so... why was I so afraid?

"What's..." I began, "what's your special move?

"Special Move, wan," Wanda corrected me.

"What's your Special Move?"

He grinned a smile at me, radiating with malevolent energy.

"My Special Move? Why don't you ask my friends?" He nodded towards the door. Instantly, I whipped around, drawing a bead on the door with my [Meteor Storm] spell, ready to let loose at once. Bonbon yelped in surprise and withdrew her head, but... there was nobody else there?

I activated [X-Ray Vision] and [Supervision] to see if maybe the people he was referring to were invisible, a skeleton, or both. Still nothing. Was this his power? To render his allies completely undetectable?! If that were the case...

How many enemies might be in the room already?

"Master..."

I would have to act fast. This room might be standing-room-only full of enemies! I'd have to hit every square inch if I wanted to get them all. What spell would be best?

"Master, wan!"

But... Wanda and Bonbon were still here... Could I trust them to dodge an attack so big? Bonbon might, but Wanda had already proven that she was absolutely pants at dodging explosions.

"MASTER!" Wanda barked. I turned to tell her to heel, but froze when I saw that Taro was gone.

"Oh Kamiko," I whispered, "He can use it on himself..."

"He's running away, wan." Wanda said, pointing out to the hills beyond the ruined wall of the Boss Patio.

... huh? I followed the direction of her finger, and saw a small figure disappearing into the horizon. I activated my [Telescopic Vision] to find Taro, hauling ass across the hills and dales.

"You can probably outrun him, wan. Did you want to track him down and kill him?"

Did I? I searched my heart, and somehow found that I'd lost the urge to end his life. Strange...

"No..." I whispered, shaking my head as I realized the truth. "I want to be like him when I grow up."

Wanda looked at me without speaking. She was giving me the same look she usually gave me when she was totally into me. I patted her on the head, for now. If she wanted to smooch or something, we'd have to deal with that later.

In any case, it looks like the fight had been won. I threw my gun to the side; it'd outlived its usefulness. It was a shame that the [Yellow Dragons] had been fake, but at least I'd beaten an [Elite Four]. That might be enough to get me to [Gold Rank]! Maybe this trip hadn't been so bad after all.

A sudden sound from the other room drew my attention, a clanking of metal and the low grinding of stone. Was this part of Taro's special move? There was a quiet gasp from Bonbon. I drew my blade to be ready. Footsteps followed, and I saw Bonbon's head peering around the corner, her eyes serious.

"Hiro-san..." she said, "you might want to see this."