None of the dragon heads bothered to roar. Instead, all of them breathed out frosty mists. Lilinsya responded by breathing out fire. The two breaths collided, and the frost breaths melted in an instant. The fire continued to reach the dragon and roasted its middle head. That head lets out a loud roar filled with agony and pain.

   “All right! We’re having a roasted lizard tonight!” Lilinsya exclaims.

   In the blink of an eye, Lilinsya is right in front of the dragon. The head on the left and right stretches out to engage her. As for the middle one, it’s still squirming from the burn it got from Lilinsya’s fire.

   The two heads open up their mouths wide and chomp on Lilinsya. Only to chomp on thin air.

   “Hey, over here!”

   All of a sudden, Lilinsya is floating on top of the dragon several feet away.

   “No, over here!”

   Another Lilinsya appears on the left.

   “No no, it’s here you dumb lizard!”

   This time it’s on the right.

   “Over here!”

   “Hey hey!”

   “Where are you looking?”

   In the blink of an eye, lots of Lilinsya appeared. With a quick count, I counted forty of them. The dragon heads are busy looking at them while twitching their noses. They’re probably trying to sniff the real one out, but can’t seem to do so.

   “Ding ding ding! Time’s up! Since you can’t find the real me, you have to die!”

   All the Lilinsya aim their right index finger at the dragon. Black fireballs appeared from the fingertips. And another. And another. The firing rate is so rapid the dragon could do nothing but roar in pain. The head in the left at least tried to breath out frost mist, but was shot down at once. Eventually, all the dragon heads let out one final roar and turned to dust.

   “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~!!!”

   The sudden shout from all forty Lilinsya surprised me.

   “What? What happened?” I ask worriedly.

   All the fake Lilinsya disappeared in an instant. The real one flies towards me. She then lands right in front of me.

   “I said we’re having roasted lizard, but I ended up killing it before I could take some of its meat!” the Daemon tells me with tears in her eyes.

   “...That’s it?”

   “What do you mean by “that’s it”? Don’t you want to know what it tastes like?” she demands angrily.

   “It’s true that I’ve never tasted dragons before.” I admit.

   “Right, right? You want to know too, right? By the way, that was called a dragon, huh?”

    “Yeah. They were considered quite a big deal back in my world.”

   Lilinsya got even closer to me, her eyes sparkling like gemstones.

   “Does that mean that you have lots of those things flying around? Not just them, but all those monsters we fought back on the previous floors too? How do humans in your world fight them off? Tell me tell me tell me!”

   Once again, she’s exerting so much extrovert energy I have to take a step back.

   “This is as good an opportunity as any, so let me say this. You’re being way too close.”

   Lilinsya tilts her head while looking confused.

   “Am I?”

   “Yes, you are. I’m not good at dealing with people, so I would appreciate it if you can keep your distance and tone down your energetic side for a bit.”

   “What’s the harm? It’s not like I’m going to hurt you.”

   “I know that you won’t, but that doesn’t make things any better. I need more personal space than your average human, okay?”

   “Are you sure you’re not being overwhelmed by my beauty?” Lilinsya asks me with a really condescending and smug grin.

   “No, I’m definitely not. I’m just a socially awkward person.”

   “Huh. So humans like you actually exist. Well, I can teach you how to be more outgoing if you want.” she offers while still grinning.

   “No thanks. The only thing I need you to teach me is Illusion Magic.”

   “Speaking of which, what do you think of my performance just now?” Lilinsya asks with a serious tone.

   Her sudden mood shift took me by surprise.

   “You were very good. I couldn’t tell which one was the real one at all. Heck, even the dragon couldn’t with all three of its noses.”

   “Mine is what the highest form of Illusion Magic looks like. If you master it, you can trick all five of your opponents’ senses. Not even magic tools and Spells used for counter-measures against illusions can see-through it.”

   When I was playing the game, I never bothered to learn Illusion Spell since I loved to bulldoze my way through sheer brute force. All I did was raise my Level and nothing else. Now that I’m here in person, I had to come up with a new approach since my Level was pitifully low. That’s when I chose Illusion Magic. Unfortunately for me, Illusion Magic turned out to be a lot more difficult to master than I had thought initially. I was prepared to grind my Levels the old-fashioned way until I got to meet Lilinsya by sheer luck.

   Then again, I’m not even sure I can learn anything from her. For all I know, she’s a terrible teacher. I guess I have to wait until tomorrow to find out.

   Lilinsya and I continued with our descent. This time, it took much longer for us to get to the next Levels since the monsters here gave even Lilinsya some trouble. Even so, she managed to take down that three-headed dragon which was Level 95. She’s definitely a Marquis, or worse, a new Demon Lord whom I’ve never met before. Once again, hooray for the contract that we signed.

   When we reached the door which acts as the entrance to the ninetieth floor, Lilinsya was looking at the door with a serious expression. Unlike during the previous floors, her playful and curious vibe have disappeared completely.

   “Let’s call it a night.” she tells me without leaving her eyes off the door.

   “Already? Why?”

   “I’m sensing something extremely ominous beyond that door. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t think I want to know.”

   “All right, if you say so.”

   If the ever-curious and battle-thirsty Lilinsya is being this cautious, I don’t want to meet that boss creature either. At least, not before being really, really prepared.

   We ascended three floors before Lilinsya couldn’t take it anymore.

   “Why isn’t there an easier way for us to get back to the surface?” she whined.

   “Stop complaining.” I chide. “At least you have wings. I have to walk on my own two feet.”

   “Just so you know, these wings need muscles to function. Muscles that, you know, also tire me out? Wait, I missed that signboard just now. Which floor are we on now?”

   “The eighty-first.”

   “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~!!! THIS IS TAKING FOREVER!”

   It took us one whole hour to climb all the way back to the first floor. Lilinsya was mostly fine since she could fly, but my legs were killing me.

   “Let’s meet up here again tomorrow night. I’ll wait until eleven o’clock. If you don’t show up until then, I’ll just head home.” Lilinsya tells me.

   “All right. See you tomorrow, then.”

   It was pretty late when I finally got back to Twilight’s Rest, so I went straight to bed after taking a quick bath. When I woke up the next day, the first thing I did after getting changed was checking up on Maya. I knocked on her door gently.

   “Maya? Are you okay there?” I ask.

   I hear some incomprehensible groans coming from beyond the door. I think I heard something about her head about to explode, or something along the line. That vampire girl actually got a hangover from inhaling alcoholic air. I think it’s best if she never touches a drop of alcohol.

   “I’m heading out to train. You just stay in your bed and take a good rest.” I told her.

   More groans that I barely understand. I managed to piece together “got it”, “my head”, and “I want ketchup” from those groans. At least, I think I did.

   I knocked on the door at Ichika’s and Kaede’s rooms next. No one replied, which means that they’ve already left. Well, I guess I’m alone for real today.

   After a simple breakfast of some beef skewers and two breads, I decide to head to Ravenwell for some quests to hunt Daemons. Since I’m meeting Lilinsya tonight, I’m only planning to do some random quests to kill time. Along the way, I bumped into Khriswell, who looked really depressed.

   “Morning, Khriswell.” I greeted.

   “Good morning, Kotaro-san.” Khriswell greets back.

   She bowed as she greeted me, but she didn’t lift her head up. I guess her social awkwardness is the same as ever.

   “You looked kind of depressed. Did something bad happened to you?” I ask her.

   “Please don’t mind me. It’s the usual dilemma for me.”

   “Now that’s something I definitely can’t ignore. Come on, just share it with me. If anything, it might make you feel better.”

   The priestess hesitated for quite some time before finally deciding to spill it.

   “You see, I’m being frustrated at myself for being only useful at healing wounds and nothing else. I kept on trying to train myself to use weapons, cast Spells other than Healing and Support Spells, anything at all. But I have talent at none of those.”

   I always find this weird as well. A regular priest is at least trained in using a staff to defend himself, but Khriswell can’t even use a stick. Is the developer who made Daemon Regalia doing this on purpose to make Khriswell a pure damsel-in-distress character?

   “Hey, don’t look down on yourself. Being a healer is a proud achievement.” I make an attempt to comfort her.

   “I know that. Still, I wish I could contribute to combat somehow.”

   “Hmm…”

   Suddenly, I have a random idea. It might not work, but it’s definitely worth a try.

   “Let’s go to the blacksmith for a bit.” I tell Khriswell.

   “But-”

   “Come on, just humor me for a bit.”

   “...Very well. Please allow me to accompany you.”

   Along the way, I realize that the street is more lively than usual. I keep on hearing the words “Faylight” and “festival”. Ah, so the Faylight Festival is coming soon.

   Allow me to explain. Faylight Festival is an annual event where people of Faypeak celebrate the birth of this world. There’s supposed to be one whole lore about it, but I never bothered. I played the game for the action and the romance, not history lessons. However, I have to care about the festival itself since it falls on the same day as Khriswell’s birthday. In the game, Khriswell finally opened up to Roy after he invited her to walk around with him. If I want to conquer Khriswell, I have to do the same. There’s only one problem. I have a fear of festivals after the last one I went to. The one which marked the beginning of my nightmare and ended with me becoming a shut-in. The one that I went with HER-

   I shake my head several times so that my head is cleared from the thoughts that might give me an episode. There’s no point thinking about it now.

   The blacksmith we visited is the same one Ichika talked to during the very first day we arrived in this world. Inside his shop, there are all sorts of weapons and armors hanging and displayed all over the place. The same blacksmith whom Ichika spoke to is standing behind a counter. I look around and immediately find what I was looking for. Flintlock pistols.
“Which one of these looks nice to you?” I ask Khriswell while pointing at the selections of pistols.

   “Before we even get to that, I have to inform you that I’ve tried to use one of those too, Kotaro-san. I find them even more difficult to use than bows and arrows.” Khriswell informs me.

   “I can teach you a way to use it. For now, just trust me and choose one, okay?”

   “Well, if you say so…”

   Khriswell took a quick glance. She then stretches out her right hand and points at one of them.

   “This one.”

   Compared to the others, this one is quite small, and it definitely has seen better days. The metallic parts are full of rusts, and the wooden handle is molding.

   “Say chief, you got a new one in stock for that?” I ask the blacksmith.

   “Sorry boy, that one and all its siblings are the only ones for sale. They don’t sell at all, so I didn’t bother to make more.”

   “Bummer. Can I at least count on you to clean it and give it a new paint job?”

   “That I can do. Bring it over here.”

   The blacksmith removed the rusts on the gun by using a cloth soaked in some kind of oil. Since the pistol was small, it only took him a few seconds.

   “What color do you want it to be, Missy?” he asks Khriswell.

   “W-White please.”

   “Sure thing-is there something wrong with the floor?”

   “Oh, don’t mind her. More importantly, how long will it take for the paint to dry?” I ask him.

   “I should say around twenty minutes or so. It might not even take that long since the sun is out.”

   The blacksmith went to the back of the shop, taking the gun with him. While waiting for him to be done, there was an uncomfortably awkward atmosphere between Khriswell and I. Neither of us said anything to each other. I guess this is what happens when two introverts are left alone. You can’t possibly imagine how relieved I was when the blacksmith finally returned.

   “Here you go! As good as new!”

   “It IS new.” I remind him pointedly. “It just didn’t look like it because you left it to rot. Literally.”

   The blacksmith laughed awkwardly. “Don’t sweat the small stuff, yeah? Tell you what, have some bullets and gunpowder on the house. I’ll even throw in a holster.”

   “Now that’s more like it. I’ll have a pouch too so that she can store those bullets and gunpowder, thanks.”

   “Coming right up.”

   Khriswell pulls at my sleeve frantically.

   “I don’t have that much spending money, Kotaro-san.” she whispers from the corner of her mouth.

   “Well, I do. I’ll pay for them.” I assure her.

   “But-”

   “Don’t worry about it. Just think of it as a donation to the Church. Hey chief, how much do these things cost?”

   “That’ll be-”

   After the items were paid for, the blacksmith spent the next half an hour or so on teaching Khriswell how to maintain her new gun. He also gives her some warning on things to avoid unless she wants the pistol to be ruined.

   “...and that’s about it.” the blacksmith concludes when he’s finally done explaining.

   Khriswell bows at him gratefully. “Thank you for spending your time just to explain things to me.”

   “No need to thank me. Just remember to come back to me if your gun ever becomes faulty.”

   “I most certainly will.”

   Now that Khriswell has a gun, it’s finally time to begin the experiment. But first, we need to get ourselves a quest. I chose the easiest one there is: to bring back five Essence Gems extracted from Soldier Daemons. For obvious reasons, we’ll only be paid peanuts once we complete this quest, but the compensation matters little. The quest mentioned that they can be found among an abandoned inn called North Wind near the North Gate, so Khriswell and I head there at once.

   “Is it okay if you tell me beforehand how am I going to practice my shooting skill, Kotaro-san?” Khriswell asks me along the way.

   “Sure. Hold on a second.”

   I look around and see a pot several hundred feet away from us. I point at it.

   “Do you think you can shoot that?” I ask Khriswell as I point at it.

   Khriswell looks at the pot and shakes her head immediately.

   “Definitely not.”

   “Okay, then.”

   I stand in front of her. She stares at me in puzzlement before looking away just like she always does.

   “What about me?” I ask her.

   “If you’re this close, of course I won’t have any trouble in doing it-oh.”

   “You get it now? If you can’t shoot something that’s far away from you, you just have to go near it and shoot it in point-blank range. Alternatively, you can goad your enemy to get close to you before aiming your gun at their head. It’s all about using your brain.”

   Khriswell nods her head. “I understand now. What you expect me to train later is not how to shoot my target from a distance, but rather on keeping calm when my enemy is charging towards me.”

   “That’s it. I’ll be standing right behind you in case things go wrong, so take your time in getting used to it.”

   “Yes. Thank you very much.”

   It didn’t take us long to reach the North Wind. How nostalgic. I still remember this place when I first entered it as a new player five months ago.

   “Are you ready?” I ask Khriswell before we head in.

   Khriswell takes a few breaths before nodding her head.

   “Yes. Let us go.”