An eight-sided dice skipped and jumped across the tile ahead of him. The sounds of hollowed bone pieces clattering along the floor resonated in the ears of everyone present. Takehide stared down at the item, watching as it briefly stood in limbo before rolling onto aside.

"Six tiles," He muttered to himself before collecting the bone piece. Not a single thought came to mind as he went about placing his spear on his back as he held the baby rat carefully in his hands. The tiny creature was silently laying in his hand, hardly moving except for its heartbeat that thumped against Takehide's palm. So, without any further adieu, he took six long strides forward as he moved from tile to tile.

Ahead of the gang was a wide and excruciatingly long rectangular chamber that had a door at the very end. The mosaic of tiles was different from the screenshots of the game he remembered, aside from the sudden break in the center of the room. From what Takehide could see, no one dice could get a person to the other end of the room before six tosses. Though a lot of things were different in appearance, the theme for the most part remained the same. Patience is what was going to get them to the other side, there was no rushing this, or they were likely going to die.

Giving a dutiful glance towards his comrades as he reached his destination, Takehide narrowed his gaze on each of them as they rolled their dice.

"Seven," Rino read to herself as she collected her dice and moved on, hopping and skipping her way over to the predetermined tile as if she were playing hopscotch.

Before he knew it, the girl was standing almost directly beside him. "Remember, patience is a virtue," Takehide couldn't help but titter to himself as he put his gaze forward.

"Of course," Elena rolled her eyes as she rolled her dice and watched as it rolled a two. Pursing her lips, she grabbed her bone piece and jumped two tile placements.

Orson didn't say a word after he had rolled his dice and immediately secured it in his hand once more before casually walking eight tiles. His eyes remained forward, a deep expression of thought on his face.

Eclair looked at the dice in her hand, then gave a glimpse to the rest of the room. She had never seen a dungeon that was like this before, though puzzles were a normal thing to see. Tracking her savior's shadow with her eyes, her gaze was then set on Takehide who was simply smiling to himself.

"Do we have to do this in turns?" Troubled Rino asked as she looked to Takehide, "Takehide-sama?" She wanted his affirmations before they all began rolling.

"No, Rin-tan, not necessarily," Takehide answered her inquiry with a chuckle. "Not from what I remember in the guide anyway…" A sweatdrop formed on his forehead as there hadn't been any written instructions on the walls or anything. 'Different from the game, but roughly the same. I can only assume that not everything is like the game… Perhaps the Dungeon Boss is stronger? Hm. We'll learn when we get there, I suppose.'

Hearing the sounds of bones rolling, Takehide snapped to attention as his teammates all began their trips across the mosaic of tiles that littered the floor of the dungeon. He too did the same, striding to each tile and recollecting the dice only to do it again and again.

Rino still held the egg in its incubation case in one hand and staff in the other as she reached the center rest area. She was the first to make it out of all five of them. Turning on the heels of her brown boots, she set her sights on her friends happily. "I made it!" She cheered, holding her staff up with her dice between her fingers.

"Glad to hear it!" Orson gave the girl a thumbs up as he set foot on the rest spot as well.

"This is pretty easy," Elena yawned contently as she rolled her dice, picked it back up and lazily walked the assumed amount of tiles displayed. "Why would anyone try to rush it?"

Takehide observed the way Elena moved, he had already noticed that when she worked with the team she wasn't fighting at her full ability. 'She only attacked one Black Dog, she didn't even bother using her rapier on the rats. At least she used magic though,' a sigh escaped his lips as he glossed over his own thoughts.

Being the last one to reach the safe zone, the Hero inspected the rat in his hands. A small chuckle escaping his lips as the creature seemed to be sleeping in between his two palms.

"It seems when they're at this age, they can hardly move on their own. I can only picture what this little one can become if I level it," Takehide monologued to himself before looking to his party. Rino was watching him while Eclair was inspecting the edge of the safe zone. Orson on the other hand seemed to be the only one who was standing in the very center with his weapon at attention. Then seated by the edge Eclair was looking at, was Elena who was resting and holding the bone dice up to the light.

Not only were the dice hollow, but the holes that represented the numbers were entirely see-through. It was hard to believe something so fragile looking could be tossed around so much without breaking.

"Hey, Takehide-sama, if we were to break these what would happen?" Elena finally asked.

"Likely the same thing if you were to lose your patience and take an extra tile more," The Spear Hero shrugged at the girl's question. "I wouldn't want to test it out considering what might happen."

"Good point…" Elena lowered the dice before looking to the other members of the group as they were pretty much doing their own thing. Many of them were stretching, since it was likely all of them were going to be moving for a while until they reached the end.

"S-So the fight with the Chimera… We don't need the dice for it, do we?" Rino walked over to Takehide as she had her staff on her back. Having her hands free, she kept the incubator in one hand and the dice in the other.

"Well… I doubt the boss fight is all that different. Though we might find it difficult due to encountering its type for the first time." Takehide's gaze was at the large doors at the end of the chamber they were occupying. "Possibly..."

Opening his submenu, he scanned over his power-up methods. For a while now, he been combining the use of Item Enchantment that comes from the Holy Bow Hero's methods and Energy Transfer from the Holy Sword Hero's prestige method. Takehide essentially turned drops and materials into energy that ultimately went into the same pool governed by the Energy Transfer method.

"Going through your status screen?" Elena pushed herself to her feet and stretched, before laxly approaching the Hero. "Find anything useful."

"Yes, the power-up methods make me rather curious. I only started out with four from the Spear, genuine methods that I believed existed. Then after reading the detailed information from that book, they began appearing one by one in my status submenu." Takehide scanned over the methods listed by the Legendary or Vassal weapon they belonged to. "The whip's power-up method seems to be relatively unique compared to the others. It can actually work on non-heroes as long as I have the permission of the target."

"Oh?" Elena became curious, "What does this method do exactly? Could it help us here?"

"Not so sure," Takehide glanced over at her, "I'm able to sacrifice levels in order to receive a permanent stat growth modifier of choice. It seems to be more of a long-term method."

"So like… Plus ten to your physical attack every time you level up?" Elena caressed a chin, whilst that was helpful in the long run, she didn't see how it was going to be useful here. Takehide had been right, there was no immediate use for that method for the coming battle.

"I'll assume as much," Takehide snickered at her interest in the methods that he could use to become more powerful.

Fancying a grin across her face, Elena placed a hand on the spear that he had on his back. Feeling the weapons blade and caressing the shaft before slowly taking her hand away from it.

"Ah…" Takehide chuckled as she took a sudden jump back at the sound he made. "I think I can hear it purring," The Hero teased as she looked to him with wide eyes before bursting out into a giggle fit of her own.

"Very funny, Takehide-sama." She shook her head and made her way over towards the tiled edge as everyone else gathered there when they were ready.

Just as he made his way towards the edge, the ground began to shake slightly. Directly behind them, a mass of rocks came falling down into the very center of the platform, right were Orson used to be standing mere minutes ago.

"What in the hell…?" Takehide glanced over his shoulder to see a massive stone golem forming up into almost humanoid shape. "That wasn't in the guide…" He frowned slightly as he turned his body around to face the new enemy.

The other members of the group also turned and readied their weapons.

Elena spouted as she pointed her rapier towards the monstrous construct that stood before them. "I'm going to assume this wasn't in the 'game' you were talking about earlier!"

"You're not wrong," Sighed Takehide as he stared at the Golem. There were a number of weak spots that he could think of, but the question was, were they the same?

[ Stone Golem Lv 20 ]

"At least it isn't too high of a level," Takehide uttered as he narrowed his gaze on the status window that showed what it was. 'If only it gave more information, other than the Hit Points that it currently had. Stone and Earth types are typically weak to water… But I don't think any of my companions have water magic. Though Wind might do some damage, right?'

The platform shook as the magical construct stomped forward, heading directly towards the hero. Well over fifteen feet tall, the being brought its thick arms down for an immediate strike as a disembodied roar filled his ears.

A frown decorated Takehide's lips as he rolled to the side, keeping the baby rat close to his chest as he did so. Hearing the spot of the platform he was standing on earlier, he ducked his head down just in time to avoid being hit with debris.

"Takehide-sama!" Rino screamed, not seeing the Hero passed the thick arms of the golem. She could only hug onto the incubator in one hand and aim her staff in the other. "Zviet Air Shot!" She shouted, sending a barrage of swirling wind attacks towards the monster, moving it less than an inch.

"It has high attack and high defense power," Takehide shouted, "Its weakness is its core!"

Orson moved around behind the golem as it was moving towards its aggressor. Approaching Takehide, he helped him up and held out a hand, "Give me the rat, Takehide-sama. It'll only distract you from combat, and a Hero cannot be distracted."

Takehide stared up at the man as he could hear Rino casting magic spells. Tiny pieces from the golem were being knocked away, making it clear that it had countermeasures against magic. "So it seems," was the only thing he could say before placing the baby rat into the open hand of the man.

With both hands, Takehide gripped his legendary spear as he had done earlier. Holding it at a downward slope, he charged in the direction of the Golem that was following his party member. As a Hero, he didn't think twice as he catapulted himself into the air with his weapon raised above his head. Wishing through his hair, he could feel the air gusting over his cheeks and drying his eyes.

"HA!" He gave himself no time to make an expression as his glaive ended spear tore into the animated rock construct. The very force behind the attack caused a piece of the monster's shoulder to explode forward ahead of him. Coming down with chunks of rock he came crashing onto his feet in front of Rino and the others.

"That was amazing!" Elena cheered, not having yet to lift a finger to attack their opponent.

Takehide turned his head to look over at the monster, ignoring the compliment but smirked nonetheless. The health bar above the magic construct was down by a quarter, and it was missing its shoulder.

He didn't bother barking orders, instead, he charged at it once more and leaped towards its torso. Outstretching his spear arm, his hand a few feet away from the blade end, he rapidly and freely stabbed at the monster.

It was large and slow, its movements while lethal to those within range of its arms and legs, couldn't reach him as he remained close to its torso. Clinging to its outer body as he continued to chisel away at its defense.

Rino was casting wind magic, keeping aggro on herself as a distraction every time it attempted to deal with him.

Eclair on the other hand went at its leg with her Knightly sword. Slashing and hacking away at its very foundations. A powerful gaze in her eyes, she saw it to be her duty to aid the Hero despite the danger to herself.

Thrashing its arms side to side, trying to get the human off of its chest, the Golem's arms incidentally scraped along the platform surface. It wasn't giving up, but all it could do was give in.

Steadily the Golem's health dropped and dropped. The moment it hit zero, the rocks that formed around the core crumbled and fell to the ground. An iridescent white sphere came clattering down to the ground as Takehide's feet met the platform once more.

It was defeated and experience points came in quickly. Leveling them up according to the damage against the enemy and growth bonuses that they had accumulated.

Takehide walked over to the small sphere that lay swaying on the ground, leaned forward and plucked it from the ground. 'If I don't destroy it… This thing will come back by the time we get halfway to the boss fight.' He didn't like that idea.

Just as he was about to bisect the orb, the jewel of the legendary spear began to glow hungrily again. 'It wants to eat the core of the Golem? I suppose that can be done...' Holding the orb to the Jewel as if presenting it to a king, he watched as the weapon readily devoured the core.

[ Monster Core Spear Unlocked! ]

[ Monster Core Spear ]

[ Ability Bonus: Monster Modification ]

Blinking at the skill he gained from the core related spear and selected the form from the Spear Menu. Much like the healing potion related spear that could heal minor scrapes and wounds, the spear took shape in the form of a black shaft with a blunted white spearhead with energy arking out of it similar to that of a tesla coil.

"Monster modification…?" Takehide had never seen a skill or ability like this in the game guides for that matter. His eyes shifted over towards the egg held by Rino and then towards the rat. 'Now isn't the time to experiment,' he told himself as he sighed.

"Monster Modification...?" Rino blinked looking over at him, "Sounds like something that Mad Alchemist from Faubrey does, Takehide-sama. I wonder how useful that will be..."

"Mad Alchemist?" Takehide chuckled as he opened his spear selection menu and selected the Dragon Tooth form he had been using to reapply it. His weapon once more turned into the glaive-like weapon given to him by the old man Elhart.

"Once we get back to the Castle Town, you should get the rat registered to you with a Monster Crest. Same with whatever is in that egg of yours when it hatches..." Elena points out as even though she didn't fight this time around, she had some valuable information. "The Slaver that you bought the egg from might be able to do it for a price."

"That guy gives me the shivers…" Takehide tasted the corner of his cheek as he said this before turning to look toward their destination. "Alright, it's time to make our way to the Chimera, unless everyone wants to rest first."

"We can move," Eclair declared as she sheathed her weapon, toying with the dice between her fingers.

'If I remember correctly,' Takehide pinched his chin, 'There should be a chest with something in it… What was it again?' The side of his head gradually met his shoulder as he thought quietly to himself.

Following the sound of rolling dice, his empty sights narrowed on the source. Elena had thrown her dice first and was already taking several steps forward. She didn't have a care in the world.

'Wait, weren't traps supposed to be in here? It's strange how easy the first part went...' Takehide sweatdropped, "Everybody! Take it slow!" He immediately flicked his dice off of his thumb and watched as it hit the ground.

"Take it slow?" Elena blinked as she stopped at the tile after taking a predetermined number of steps.

Takehide took six strides according to the number of his dice as he collected it, "I may not have known about the Golem, but there were supposed to be traps located here. We can't just… Woah!" As he was about to take another step forward a spike shot up in front of him. Nearly falling onto his back, his entire body arched to compensate and his arms flailed to keep his balance.

If he had gone back a tile, he knew the floor had a high chance of opening up beneath him.

Centering himself on the tile, he kept himself from panicking by keeping his breathing shallow. 'I can't panic here. Keeping my cool against monsters and then giving in to an inanimate object? Hell no…' Takehide narrowed his sights and observed his surroundings.

"D-d-d-did spikes just come out from in front of you, Takehide-sama?!" Rino was staring at him from where she stood several feet away. Her lips were parted and giving a light quiver, her eyes scarcely drifting over any and every crack around her.

Traps, they were surrounded by invisible traps!

"Yes…" Sweat trickled down the side of his forehead, his eyes locking with the mage. "Just stay calm and we'll get to the other side in no time. So in the meantime, move slowly but react quickly."

Flushed red in the face, as usual, she nodded stiffly with determination.

From them on they moved slowly. Rolling their dice and picking their paths at a slow pace as no to cause the ground to open up beneath them. Or just like what had almost happened with Takehide, to stab them.

"This wasn't necessarily what I thought a dungeon was going to be like, it's nothing like the one near Riyute Village." Elena's complaint was loud enough for everyone to hear, as she had been adventuring for over a week prior to this mission.

'You're a noble… You could go home whenever you want,' Takehide's gaze danced over the tomboyish form that moved from tile to tile of this mosaic mess.

"It's more like a vault, the more I think about it," Eclair wasn't one to hold back what she was thinking, at least it appeared so. "The question is, what is it holding? Takehide-sama?"

"The reward… The reward… What was the–" Takehide continued to move carefully, watching as a blade shot out of the nearby wall and tore Rino's hat straight off of her head.

"EEEEEEEK!" The high pitch squeal left her, resonating with the sandstone walls. For a brief second, she likely thought she was already dead. Followed by the crashing of the blade into the adjacent wall from which the trap had sprung from. Everyone just stood there quietly, staring at the green mage who was frozen in place from shock.

"That wasn't expected…" Elena gulped down the meager saliva that built up in her mouth, feeling her own neck with her fingers tracing under her collar in the process.

"If we don't fall for our own traps, one of us may fall from another's," Orson breathed slightly irritated but more so uneasy, "Whoever triggered that one should be more careful."

"I don't necessarily think it was triggered by just one person," Takehide clucked his tongue seeing Orson eying the blade that was sticking out of the wall anxiously.

"Keep moving forward," Eclair led them forward as she rolled her dice.

After a few minutes, they were halfway passed the halfway to the doors leading to the boss arena and the treasure room. There was no going back, no return trip from their perspective.

"Ta...T-Takehide-sama," Elena shakily looked over towards the Hero who held his weapon by his side. "Are we not able to go backward?" Her face paled the moment she saw his head shake side to side in a negative to her question. "Seriously...?"

"Ellie-chan, we have to keep going forward," Takehide used her nickname with a stern gaze but a faint smile across his lips. There was no going back. If this Dungeon was anything like the game, the tiles were to fall out from under them if they even so much had tried.

"We should listen to the Hero," Eclair was cautiously watching her step, although just moments ago she had ushered them forward. "If we stop there may be no leaving this place."

Takehide nodded in agreement with Eclair's words and her straightforward character, allowing her to return the gesture freely. Turning and glancing at the tile just ahead of him, his gaze stopped upon the girl in green mage robes. "Rin-tan, how are you holding up?"

"T-Takehide-sama…" She murmured his name as she turned her head to look at him, "I-I-I'm fine," she feigned a smile as she had her eyes centered on him. She didn't want to be perceived as weak, although she had completely failed to hide her shaking shoulders.

'I can't blame her for being scared… She almost lost her head,' Takehide pitched his head downward slightly, "Focus on keeping yourself safe. Protect yourself and the egg. If you can't protect the egg, don't hesitate to leave it behind. It was only a hundred silver. All of your lives are worth so much more than gold itself." If he lost them, he could end up having no one. The cursed Hero who's companions always die, he never wants a name like that.

Hearing their value being given an indefinite number, Takehide could see instinctual smiles crossing all of their faces. Orson's goal was known to be finding his daughters. Eclair wanted to clear her name and once more become a Knight of her Kingdom, to return to her father's land. Rino on the other hand, he knew was an adventurer and she was in it for the money and self-gain, but he was sure it was becoming much more than that. Despite how much her shoulders were shaking and how weakly her legs carried her, she was still pushing herself regardless. It was admirable, to say the least.

Elena, Takehide knew she wanted to turn back, but the fear of death kept her on the straight and narrow. She wanted to live comfortably, but he didn't quite know to what extent. Though as he passed his gaze to her once more, she shared with him a confident flash of a grin.

"We're almost there!" Eclair had her sword in the air as she shouted as if she was commanding a unit of ten men. The confidence in her voice nearly shook Takehide in the sense that she only had a mind full of conviction and certainty that they were going to survive.

A steady half-assed chuckle left his lips, letting his dice roll and soon enough they reached the last platform. One by one, alive, they made it to the end of the chamber without any serious injuries.

Takehide took to studying the frame surrounding the massive door, scouting three unlit torches. "Are we supposed to light these?" He wasn't quite sure if that was the case, placing his hand on the doors. They didn't at all seem to budge, but eerily that was when simultaneously the torches lit themselves aflame.

A shiver passed through them as the doors began to creek open.

The sudden drop in temperature caused everyone's skin to break out in goosebumps and take a step back. Those walls that had a brilliant pale sandstone yellow hue slowly turned a cool blue. Torches from left to right that had lit the entire chamber had become a ghostly white.

"What just…" Rino hugged the egg and its incubator close to her chest.

"Moving forward," Takehide followed the air that flowed through the doors into the arena.

They didn't question his words, treating them as orders, Eclair was the second to follow behind him next to Rino. Everyone kept their weapons out, never daring to put them away. This feeling that emanated from the room was threatening as all hell, but this was something they had no choice but to endure.

Elena lagged behind the three of them, watching their backs as Orson watched hers as the self-appointed rear guard. Soon enough as they entered the next chamber, it was the same ominous coloration as outside; blue light with white torch fires.

"ROOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"

The entire foundation beneath their feet shook. Pieces of pebbles and dust fell from the ceiling, littering the area with loose rocks and dirt.

"What the hell was that?" Elena couldn't help but squeak, holding her rapier straight ahead of her, turning her body to see in different directions. The flimsy two-sided blade whipping about as she moved, she remained carefully enough not to hit her compatriots. "Is it the Chimera?"

"Directly ahead," Takehide, who was ahead of them, stood at a corner of an archway foremost from the door they had just ventured through. His eyes watched as a beast with the body of a lion. It held a majestic posture, its head held up high and its fur had a radiant appeal. That was until one laid their eyes on the head of a goat protruding from its back, and a tail with a snake's head at the end moving widely about.

[ Chimera Lv. 26 ]

"It's still a higher level than us, but it's in a manageable range if we all work together." Takehide pointed out with a light sigh. 'It wasn't really abnormal for monsters to be higher than a player in the game should this be like what I've read. At the same time though, a large group of level tens could potentially take out a level twenty… Thankfully we're treading close to twenty... At the same time, high levels didn't always mean high stats in particular attributes…'

"Orson, Eclair." Takehide inflated the size of his spear, still using the Dragon Tooth form, to a full six feet in length. "Attack the tail, don't let it bite you." It had poison effects, that was the last thing they needed without an antidote. "Rin-tan, Ellie-chan, render support from afar."

"Hold onto this would ya miss?" Orson hurriedly placed the baby rat upon the top of the egg's incubator, before rejoining Eclair at the front, both of them charging ahead.

"UWAH!?" Rino stared down the rat that laid tummy up with its legs flailing.

"Don't get distracted," Takehide chuckled as he held his weapon to the side, pressing the shaft against his back from under his arm.

Immediately placing the incubator down in the corner by the door, Rino didn't bother to let herself hesitate and quickly returned to her previous position. With her staff in both hands, she matched gazes with Elena.

"You know… If you stop reacting to his advances, he'll probably stop teasing you." Elena with her sword at her side put her gaze forward, looking to the Chimera their Hero was running off toward.

"W-Why would I want him to stop?" Rino's face was red hearing her words, "All he's ever been is nice to me… And he cares for us all, otherwise, he didn't have to let that girl leave the party."

Elena only nodded to her response, "I won't lose you know. Just because he seems to adore you, I won't lose."

Rino's face contorted from the declaration before she put her own sights on the monster now. "I… I won't lose to you either!" Grasping her staff with both hands, her eyes glared forward with determination.

Eclair and Orson moved in from the sides, flanking the Chimera from behind as it focused all of its might on the charging Hero.

Takehide ducked and rolled under the swipe of its front paw as it first went to strike him. Gripping the elongated polearm, he tore the blade of his glaive under the striking leg.

"ROOOOOAAAAAAR!" The Chimera caused the ground to rumble, more debris falling from the ceiling. Catching Takehideoff guard the monster swatted its other paw at the Hero once more, causing him to skid across the ground as he had blocked it at just the right moment!

'Such force… But you're not putting me out that easily! I'm not dying here!' Takehide remained standing as he held his polearm diagonally in both hands. His fingers shook from the force that had assaulted his weapon. The very soles of his boots leaving black marks in the sandstone floor from the dark leather. From the corner of his eye, he could see the viper-like snake tail moving into position as the large cat was getting ready to charge.

Orson raised his noble sword staff he bellowed, "RAAAAAAAAH!"

The snake snapped its head to the side just as it was getting ready to join its main head in the assault against the human hero. "HISSSSS!" Without a split second delay, the viper head shot forth towards the man.

Eclair darted to join him, not too far behind Orson as he was bringing his weapon down and sending his blade forward to stab the serpent in the mouth. With a rapid movement, the Knight sent a barrage of attacks towards the tail as she flanked it from the side.

Her sword graced the serpent with its blade, grazing its scales and damaging it. The monstrous tail turned to face her only for the noble sword staff to grievously dig into the creature.

"RRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR!" Withdrew from its assault on Takehide in pain as the blade was embedded within the tough scales of the tail.

In the meantime, Takehide immediately jumped onto the lion's face, as the bleating of the goat head became furious. Flames billowed out of the goat's mouth, scorching the floor where he had once stood.

Pulling on the mane of the beast as it then tried to bite at his legs and fling him off, he kept moving.

Kicking the massive cat in the face, there was no stopping unless he had a death wish. Sweat and heat was coming to his face, a tingling sensation of fear was coming over him. Takehide since his arrival had never fought something this large and powerful.

'Monsters of this size truly have better stats… Good thing I'm not solo'ing this thing…' Going with a party allowed him to take on far more powerful foes than himself. A grin remained upon his lips, however, as he continued to pull and pull his own fear allowing him to do so. 'I will not be eaten!'

The Chimera widely bucked and turned, jumping around the room like a bull. Doing so caused the Sword Staff impaled into the snake to tear through its flesh. Blood mixed with venom spewed in all directions as the snakehead moved in panicking agony.

Splashed with the blood, Orson stumbled back, steam rising from the fluids that covered his armor. "How unsettling…" Uttered the man as he glared at the monster that was now rampaging about the room all the while cringing from the bitter coppery odor of blood.

"Zwiet! Air Shot!"

"Zwiet! Air Shot!"

"Zwiet! Air Shot!"

"Zwiet! Air Shot!"

Bottled in rage, the Chimera's rampage turned to the several gusts of painful swirling winds that smashed into its fur coat. Its goat head screamed, and the lion's eyes cursed the two women firing off wind spells in its general direction.

"Wa-wa-watch it!" Rino couldn't help but stammer as she cried out her words, "You almost hit Takehide-sama!"

"He'll be fine, Rino-san, just keep attacking! If we let up, then the Chimera can focus on hurting him! So keep it distracted!" Elena barked in return, knowing if he died there was no cushy life for her to live. If anything the state was likely to blame everyone including her if he died at the hands of a monster… That is if they survived!

Pressing the Legendary Weapon's blade into the base of the goat's neck, Takehide began repetitively stabbing the monster's throat. The bleating and screams melted into one another, the scent of monster blood permeating the room so much more.

'This smells so bad…'

Continuing to buck and jump about the room, the giant feline failed to remove the pest from its side. Takehide wasn't letting go and like a flee he continued to bite and bite at his prey. Fear was overcoming the beast, causing it to run into the walls of the arena. Smashing its sides and kicking its hind legs up behind itself in effort to rid itself of him.

'You're going to have to try a lot harder than that!' Takehide couldn't bring himself to say much out loud as he focused on staying tightly locked onto the creature's body.

Nothing was working, especially as a competitive number of Air Shots came raining down upon the beast endlessly. The magical beast was doomed, there was no escape. Rage and hopelessness shared the face of tears rightfully claimed by the Chimera. It was going to be killed by fickle human beings, things that it sought to devour and feast upon for intruding upon its liar.

With rapid strikes on its two other heads, Takehide could see the Chimera's health bar going down and down. He was shaving the points off like they were nothing.

Soon enough the viper stopped moving, being dragged along by the lion. The goat was choking on its own blood, gurgling and spewing red crimson left and right, soiling the ochre coat of fur belonging to the lion's head. Becoming sluggish, the monster stumbled forward after being smashed in the side by another barrage of magic attacks. Eclair and Orson refused to cease their assaults, relentlessly coming down on the creature.

"Takehide-sama!" Cried Rino, lowering her staff as the monster went onto its hind legs and fell backward. "Takehide-sama! You have to get off of the beast!"

"Shit! Move, move, move!" Takehide clung to the side of the beast, as his two front-liners Eclair and Orson retreated quickly to avoid being squashed.

With a heavy thud, the Chimera's body impacted the floor with such force that the entire room once again trembled; just as it had done when he had let out a mighty roar. Dust lifted off of the ground, obscuring their view for a few seconds, but there was no movement from the creature. With the Chimera completely still, experience points were rewarded once more as they leveled up.

Their opponent was dead after having taken on several blows from the party.

As the dust settled, Takehide rose from the corpse as he dragged his leg out from under it. "That… Was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be…" A sigh escaped his lips as he turned to look over the dead Chimera. The thing was a few times larger than himself. Despite its level, he was rather happy they could defeat it as they were.

Turning to the wall directly adjacent to the entrance door, his eyes settled on a chest with a plaque that rested beside it. "Hmm…" Putting his attention back on the Chimera, he used his glave and beheaded the three heads of the monster completely from the body.

The party watched on as he absorbed each piece, one by one.

[ Chimera Viper Spear Unlocked ]

[ Chimera Viper Spear ]

[ Skill: Change Spear ]

[ Bonus Ability: Antidote Compounding Up, Poison Resistance (Medium). ]

[ Exclusive Ability: Snake Fang (Medium), Hook ]

"This is definitely going to come in handy…" Takehide grinned as he got another weapon that has a poisonous effect against his opponents. He continued to add the other parts of the Chimera to his hungrily glowing weapon. After the viper, he proceeded to feed the meat and bones to his cardinal weapon.

[ Chimera Meat Spear Unlocked ]

[ Chimera Meat Spear ]

[ Bonus Ability: Cooking I ]

[ Chimera Bone Spear Unlocked ]

[ Chimera Bone Spear ]

[ Bonus Ability: Shadow Resistance (Medium) ]

"Shadow resistance? I suppose that could be helpful against the waves," Takehide wasn't so sure since he never experienced the calamity as of yet. Shadow attacks however didn't sound all too appealing.

Rino, having gathered the items from the corner by the door, hurried over toward the Spear Hero. A wide beaming smile warping over her lips as they had been victorious.

Elena too walked behind her, watching their surroundings alertly, her rapier close at her side. With the death of the Chimera, the chamber they found themselves in had become a bit too quiet.

Takehide, watching from his peripherals as his comrades were coming over to him, continued to feed a large portion of the creature's skin and fur to his spear.

[ Chimera Leather Spear Unlocked ]

[ Chimera Leather Spear ]

[ Bonus Ability: +10 DEF ]

With little to comment he began to feed the rest of the goat head to the weapon, watching as it was devoured. Very little blood or fur was left behind even as the notifications began to appear. The stuff that wasn't eaten Takehide absorbed and added it to his energy pool used for energy transfer and enchanting weapons.

[ Chimera Goat Spear Unlocked! ]

[ Chimera Goat Spear ]

[ Bonus Ability: Magic Resistance Up (Medium), +10 Magic Power ]

[ Exclusive Ability: Fire Blade (Medium) ]

[ Chimera Lion Spear Unlocked! ]

[ Chimera Lion Spear ]

[ Bonus Ability: +20 ATK ]

[ Exclusive Ability: Lion Bite (Medium) ]

Seeing the notifications, Takehide chuckled quietly. "Everything from this creature is useful," he found himself pleasantly surprised. Everything here bolstered his fighting power, even if it was for defense. Each of the new forms gave him unforeseen compared to the mobs he had been killing back at the Castle Town.

Using his weapon, he looted the Chimera's body. Suddenly two weapons appeared in a flash of light, one in the hand of Eclair and the other in Rino's.

Eclair's loot was the Chimera's Fang, a blue steel alloy single straight-edged katana with a gold ornate guard above the hilt crested with the form of a pouncing lion. At the very butt of the hilt though was the embedded insignia of the Spear Hero. The other piece of loot that had appeared within Rino's hand was the Chimera Viper Stave. This magical staff that had a miniature head of the Viper, with a blue orb in its mouth, mounted on a dark-silver shaft etched with a scale-like texture. It gave off an ambient mystical enigmatic aura that only the user could feel.

[ Chimera's Fang ]

[ Attack Up (Medium) ]

[ Chimera Viper Stave ]

[ Magic Power Up (Medium) ]

Looking at her magic staff and then towards the new stave that had appeared, Rino dropped her wooden medium. A small almost indistinguishable smile formed over her lips as she turned towards Eclair, then towards Takehide, "T-This is amazing!"

"This is an upgrade for sure," Eclair admired the blade as she held it out in front of herself. In one hand she took several downward strikes with the weapon, the katana blade whistling through the air.

"Now it's time for whatever was inside that chest," Orson gestured towards the plaque and chest that sat not too far away.

Takehide nodded lightly in agreement, walking towards the destination that he had been intending to go. He first stepped in front of the plaque and stared at the words. Based on what he had learned through Rino, he only got a few words out of it.

Rino who knew he couldn't quite read yet came walking over to the plaque. As she set her eyes on it, she raised a brow. "Forged by the Witch of Kutenrou, this exquisite piece of armor has been sealed away from the light and the shadows. Those who seek it will no longer be found… No longer be found?" Raising a brow, she looked to Takehide.

"I suppose we'll have to figure out why that is, huh?" Playfully sarcastic, he knelt down to the chest that lay beside the plaque and opened the box.

The interior of the plain brown chest inlaid with a quilted velvet red interior. Found folded neatly within the decorated interior was a set of black and red plate Tatami Armor, connected together by small blackened chain links. It was far closer to the design of samurai armor than the attire he had currently been wearing. Picking up the foldable armor, he raised it from its container and examined it. Strangely enough, it was oddly lighter than expected.

With an elaborate design, it covered the shoulders, torso, back, and the thighs. There was even a hood attached to the interior cloth to cover the head to work in tangent with a helmet or mask.

[ Shimmering Kutenrou Tatami Stealth Armor ]

[ Equipment Bonus: +25 DEF, +25 Agility ]

[ Hp Recovery (Small) ]

[ Magic Up (Medium) ]

[ Autonomous Repair ]

[ Exclusive Equipment Ability: Invisibility (Large) ]

"Perhaps I'll be able to enchant this more with my leftover energy reserves…" Takehide glanced up from the armor and back down into the chest, he narrowed his gaze. Inside was a pair of black Kobakama(Short Trousers), Uwa-obi(Sash Belt), and tabi styled boots. "This set has got to be worth at least two or three gold coins… If not more for its special ability."

[ Black Shimmering Kobakama ]

[ Equipment Bonus: +5 DEF ]

[ Red Shimmering Uwa-obi ]

[ Equipment bonus: +1 DEF ]

[ Black Shimmering Tabi ]

[ Equipment Bonus: +5 DEF ]

Without much to lose began removing his already equipped armor once he laid the separate pieces out on the ground in front of him.

Rino hesitantly turned her head away, bringing her knuckles to her lips as she modestly kept her gaze off of him. Her heart shuttered against her chest, especially as she heard the sound of his pants drop. Closing her eyes, she felt Elena's hand on her shoulder followed by a hearty laugh.

"He doesn't really care if you watch," Elena gave her a light nudge, causing Rino to open her eyes.

"Huh… Oh?" Her eyes widened as those words registered and as she looked over, traced over his legs as he was pulling up his new trousers. "T-Takehide-sama, why are you changing here?"

"Eclair, since you're a Knight you are best suited to take my armor if you'd like." He gestured to the items he left on the ground, "Plus you're physically capable of fitting in it." Takehide's eyes fixated on Orson for a few seconds only to cross over towards Rino as he slipped his feet into the tabi boots. "We'll be traveling together, so I don't mind changing in front of any of you…" Almost shamelessly, he shrugged with a grin across his lips seeing her face was overheating like it always did.

"Don't expect me to change in front of you," Elena crossed her arms as she looked him over as he was putting on the Tatami Armor.

"Personal choices are always best left up to the individual," Takehide fixed the hood over his head and fastened the Uwa-obi around his waist.

Eclair gave a look over the armor that he was offering her before she nodded and collected all but the pants. "Once we get to the village, I'll change." She remained her stern self, keeping an erect posture as she gazed over the set. "Then I'd like to have a little spar…"

"We'll be staying in the Mirso Village area for the next few days hunting monsters and getting more information on the Dragon," Takehide informed them as he took a gander at his colleagues before shifting his gaze towards the exit. It was a tunnel that leads back to a hidden exit point in the cave; from his knowledge, there were no traps on the way out.

"Does that mean we won't have to sleep outside…?" Elena sounded hopeful, her eyes beaming brightly.

Takehide just stared at her as she asked this question, "Since it's likely still raining outside… I'd like to avoid any of us getting sick. So perhaps it will be a good idea to find shelter in the Village until that clears up." Narrowing his gaze, the Hero folded his hands behind his back after shrinking his weapon down to the length of a walking cane. He then horizontally placed it on his back, knowing the weapon wasn't going to leave his body.

"S-so… You think the man in the carriage is coming back to get us?" Rino caressed her fingers against the incubator, tempted to let go in order to scratch the back of her neck.

Takehide simply shrugged at her question, "We'll find out when we get outside." With everything collected, he didn't see a reason to stay much longer. So he took hold of the baby rat that squirmed about upon his now intertwined fingers, and made his way through the hidden tunnel.

"Walking in the rain doesn't bother me in the slightest," Eclair followed closely behind with the armor in her arms, her new weapon fixed to her belt beside the other one. "It'll allow us to train our endurance."

Rino was also the second to follow, Elena directly beside her. Orson, like before, chose to be the rear guard and said little to nothing.

Takehide didn't much care for training his endurance, though he was curious of how the others were to hold up. During his training back in the other world, he had done several laps around a track during episodes of pouring rain. Some may say it was punishment for blatantly disobeying his instructors from time to time, but he looked back on it with nostalgia.

'I wonder if I was sent back home… Would it be a time of my choosing? Or directly before death? Making different choices… That'd be paradoxical.' Tracing the wall with his gaze, the Hero sighed to himself in thought.

Unlike the hours they spent traversing a single chamber, it only took fifteen minutes to reach the cave corridor. The moment they reached the end of the tunnel, an apparent dead end in front of them opened as if activated by a motion sensor.

His nose scrunched up at the scent of burnt flesh, as the monster rats were long since extinguished. Though the scent of the dead still filled the air.

Bringing a hand up, Takehide covered his nose, and as did his compatriots. Quickly, the five of them withdrew from the cave, once more leaving faster than they had initially arrived. As they came to the exit of the cave, they were greeted by an empty black sky filled with stars and distant worlds unseen by the naked eye.

'Perhaps If I stay once the calamity comes to an end… I'll make a planetarium…' A grin formed over his lips as he thought about astronomy, a subject he had never actually studied. The only things he was good at was fighting, studying, and cooking. Whilst he was confident in his survival skills, everything either came from reading or experiences. 'Maybe I'll make a lot of things… There is too much missing here…'

"Takehide-sama?" Elena raised a brow seeing his gaze to the sky, to her he had just completely froze up. "Your eyes are getting glossy."

"Hm?" Takehide reached up and rubbed the area next to his eye, feeling the wetness that plagued it. "Oh… I see," lowering his hand he simply smiled at his companions. "Looks like we won't be walking in the rain."

"It's night time, we could take shelter here," Eclair pointed out, "Monsters are more active and dangerous during the night."

"Or we could kill monsters along the way to Mirso Village. Then sleep in late tomorrow before getting back on track," Takehide gave a thumbs up along with his suggestion.

As the leader of the group, all of them looked at him with wide eyes.

"There should be plenty of Usapil along the way, plus some mush and balloons. Whilst their experience is minimal to none, their monster souls and drops will be useful in enhancing my Equipment." Takehide chuckled as he gave the shaft of his weapon a light pat of his hand, keeping the rat safe in the other. "Or we can turn and head towards the Capital if the wagon isn't waiting for us out by the road."

"I doubt the wagon came back," Eclair stared up at the sky before turning to look at the leader, "It'd be irresponsible and unsafe unless he had protection with him."

"No kidding…" Takehide frowned hearing Eclair speak the obvious.

"What is your plan for the class-up ritual?" Elena stepped forward with her arms crossed, looking at the man who was wearing the black dog cloak over his new armor. "They'll know who she is," she gestured towards Eclair.

"There's a high chance they already know, especially if they're monitoring the heroes…" Takehide let out a depressive exhale, shaking his head. "We'll go to Mirso, get your EXP up, and master some of my other spears along the way..." Takehide looked to his Spear then towards Rino, "Can I have a lock of your hair?"

Rino immediately took a step back, "Why do you want a piece of my hair?!"

"Experiment," Takehide reached back and drew his spear from his waist. Holding the shortened weapon out before him, he cocked his head to the side.

Slowly nodding, Rino placed the incubator on the ground and rested her new staff against the cave wall. Leaning down she plucked her magic dagger from her boot, straightened herself out, before cutting two locks of her hair; keeping her hair cut symmetrical in the process. Slowly she reached forward, holding the locks between her fingers, as she brought it closer to the jewel of his weapon.

Hungrily the spear came to life and she immediately dropped the hairs into the jewel, allowing it to feed causing a notification to pop up.

[ Rino (Human) Spear Unlocked ]

[ Rino (Human) Spear 0/20 C ]

[ Equip Effect: Human species growth adjustment (Small) ]

[ Equip Effect: Human status growth adjustment (Small) ]

[ Equip Effect: Human species abilities adjustment (Small) ]

"I can't say this wasn't expected," Takehide changed his spear to the Human Spear. The spear shaft became a silvery ornate form jeweled and floral etching with seated emeralds. The spearhead itself however was a reddish-brown, much like Rino's hair and had a dark tattered green cloth tied just below the legendary weapon's jewel. "Though at the same time it wasn't necessarily expected."

"Hm?" Rino blinked up at him without knowledge of what had just transpired, but at the same time found herself admiring the new weapon. "Is… This based on me?" Her eyes narrowed sharply, her face accompanied by the typical tinge of pink roses, reaching forward to touch the green cloth.

"Apparently I can now modify the growth of humans in my company," Takehide's eyes shifted over the mage as she felt the weapon with her dainty fingers.

"Is the slave seal even necessary anymore?" Orson asked, "Takehide-sama?"

"You're getting double the growth as everyone else," Takehide chuckled at the older man's tone of voice as he seemed slightly bitter. 'Though I haven't ordered Orson to do something he hasn't wanted to do, the very sentiment of having a slave seal appears to make Orson uneasy…'

"Oh?" The older gentleman's eyes widened.

"It does appear to have a stacking effect," Takehide grinned at him as his eyes drooped tiredly. Although he was young, he had hardly noticed how sleepy he was getting.

A laugh left the old man's lips, looking down at the leader of their party. "You really should take some rest instead of pushing forward. It'll do nothing for you or our world if a Hero collapses from exhaustion."

Laughing along with him, Takehide placed his gaze passively upon his team. They all shared the same look of exhaustion. They had been riding on a wagon all day and stood for hours at a time. "You're right… Let us make camp then…"