Chapter 39: Together
Although Alex told Remia to stand on his left, he didn't start a battle with his strongest style; one-handed swordsmanship. It wasn't because he thought he would overwhelm enemies regardless of the style.
In fact, if his enemies proved to be a challenge, Alex could use it to form a deeper bond with Remia.
Actions said more than words. However, Alex still didn't plan to leverage their plight. He had other reasons for going for two-handed swordsmanship.
The reason was simple; the hungry demon.
The system told him about one hungry demon, so the group of humans from the Harlo City probably wasn't aware of the demonic existence in their ranks. And even if they were, Alex wouldn't show his strongest skill from the get-go.
He clenched the hilt with two hands, then waited for his enemies to come.
"I will help," Remia whispered.
Alex nodded, "I can fight them head-on and slow them down. What about you?"
He knew that Remia was not a mage or a warrior. She had more of a crafting class that had helped the Deathwill Castle in the past. She had blessed the castle with her nature, enhancing both its looks and defenses.
She was a weak woman.
'No, she used to be a weak woman,' Alex corrected his thoughts.
Immediately after he did, Remia's voice rang out in his ears, "I am not sure about new poison skills and whether I can use them… so I can only help you stop them for a short time."
Alex brightly smiled, "That's great! I count on you, Remia. Now, I feel more confident in our survival. My swordsmanship is strong, but I still find it hard to fight against many individuals at once."
"You can count on me!" Remia's smile brightened as if the sun had just reared.
She clenched her hands, feeling the warmth coming out from the bottom of her heart. In recent years, it was rare for others to rely on her. It was worse when it came to fighting others.
Her techniques weren't suitable for battles. And then, Remia joined one of the human kingdoms despite her mother's warnings. In fact, her mother once told her that she would regret that choice and her life would turn worse.
After her mistakes, Remia took a different path once again. She didn't decide to stay in her home and enjoy life as a princess, but took her life into her hands and went outside once again, this time, to get her independent strength.
Therefore, Alex's words encouraged her greatly.
[You have connected to the forest!]
'I connected really fast!' Remia inwardly exclaimed.
Her tone was filled with content. Sometimes, it would take her much more time to connect to the unfamiliar forest. During that time, she was as vulnerable as level one NPC.
But for some reason, she connected in less than three seconds.
And then, Remia used her skill, "Flexible Roots!"
From the ground, countless roots rose! For a moment, they reminded Alex of zombies coming out from their graves. Those roots were thin but strong. And as they coiled around hoodlums, their power utterly stopped them!
Only one person was left intact!
Remia's eyes widened, "So strong?"
Alex grinned, "Well done, Remia. I won't waste any of your mana!"
While Remia stood overly shocked by her display of strength, Alex whispered a few good words into her ears. Although it might look like he was deliberately cheering her on, he naturally enjoyed her progress and strength.
And then, Alex naturally didn't waste any time!
Holding his sword tightly, he rushed forward. His new weapon, Ice Breath, sparkled as Alex utilized his [Chilling Slash].
Speaking of his weapon, Ice Breath looked like a normal sword made out of blue steel. Its appearance was far from its description, meaning that no one would think of its origins as mysterious breath.
[Critical Strike!]
[-650 HP!]
[You have slowed down your enemy by 3%!]
Those effects would stack and increase with more slashes. But as Alex looked at his first enemy, he immediately dropped an idea of utterly slowing them down.
They were weak.
He inflicted a few more slashes, then thrust his sword in.
"AHHHHHH!" The first hoodlum cried out while dropping backward.
He landed on his bottom. Then, his eyes immediately went up as Alex was way stronger than they thought!
He couldn't even react to Alex's moves!
And then, he looked around.
Remia's branches were still holding his buddies back. No one could break free, even after using their power-up skills!
They thrashed and groaned in nature's embrace.
But as the first enemy fell, Remia let the second enemy go.
He immediately pounced at Alex.
Alas, Alex already knew who would pounce at him. Remia simply told him. Thus, he was well prepared for the enemy's charge.
The second fool had a sword in his hands, but even that weapon didn't help him with Alex.
He simply parried all his attacks, then brought him onto the ground!
One by one, Alex and Remia slowly destroyed the enemies that had their eyes on them from the very beginning.
"You are the last one," Alex uttered coldly.
The last human raised his eyes at Alex and replied, "You made a wrong choice by not killing them."
To this last enemy, Alex was naturally more cautious. After all, this last one should be the hungry demon. And after his words, Alex was sure of it.
"You are the lucky one, aren't you, Remia?! You found a strong bodyguard for yourself! Hehe!" the demon revealed his true nature.
From a male in his early twenties, he became a humanoid existence whose skin was withered. His height shrank, and he looked like a small gray goblin. Only his red eyes stood out, but it was probably the source of his demonic strength!
Remia trembled, "You were after me?"
"Why would I care about some catman with three golds and a unique sword?!" the hungry demon howled.
Before he exerted more of his strength, Alex threw a thrust.
Alas, the demon's aura blocked him off.
'Two-handed style won't do much here,' Alex thought.
But that little move gave too much room for the demon goblin.
He extended his hand toward one of the unconscious humans, then used a skill on them. That human flew toward him, then the goblin sucked his vitality.
All human NPCs fell prey to this skill.
[You have received 1240 EXP!]
[You have received…]
[You have received…]
Alex saw a few messages telling him about the humans' deaths. Those messages left him conflicted since Alex had reasons to think of this world as the real one.
Naturally, the demon goblin didn't give time for Alex to think about the fallen.
His small form rose, and he became two and a half meters tall monster. His small limbs became thicker and more muscular. His whole appearance screamed of a battle mode where he would dominate his enemies.
The hungry demon sneered, "Remia. You have two choices. Work with us and help us find the Deathwill Castle or die. In either way, we will find his location!"
Alex narrowed his eyes, 'So they are after Remia due to her connection with hypocrite… But aren't there demons already? How come they don't know the location?'
[Elias Deathwill's Diary - I naturally dealt with a few hungry demons before I left the castle to my daughters and my successor. I confirmed that the seal worked seamlessly!]
'Seal… They want to break the seal!' Alex connected the dots.
The existence of those demons was still a big mystery, but they were in important locations. One of those locations was the land where Elias Deathwill threw his castle to.
Those demons knew how powerful that land was. After all, the skeletons that were Elias' enemies came out from the ground.
They became Alex's enemies, helping him level up significantly. There could be much more undead enemies, so no wonder those hungry demons would want to use or become closer with them.
Alex raised his voice, "That lady is with me. And this time, I won't let anyone die."
"Shut up, catman! You are insignificant!" the demon goblin roared at Alex.
Alex smiled faintly, "Let's follow the same pattern, Remia."
"Y-Yes…" Remia, who had been scared like never before, nodded belatedly.
She felt hopeless and weak. That had been how she usually felt while recalling the events from the future. Only today did she feel better and valuable, yet the sudden appearance of the demon goblin had shattered her happiness.
She was the reason Alex could die as well. It couldn't get any worse for her, could it? Remia looked down sadly, her eyes tearing up.
But as Alex said those words, he grasped the sword with one hand. He drew his companion's attention, compelling her to look at him.
Remia found his back oddly familiar as if he inadvertently followed someone's style! And the more she locked, the faster her heartbeat became.
Alex reassured her, "We will surprise him."
"We?" Remia whispered back.
"Yes. We will kill him together," Alex nodded decisively.
[The Demon Goblin Lv. 35 HP:??? MP:???]
He was a powerful opponent.
He hid his stats and exuded so much pressure that it was hard to breathe. That only escalated after the goblin took the first step forward.
The ground shook.
"Kill me? If you manage to kill me, then good job! Haha! I will come back! I've become one of them, one of the hungry demons! Our hunger is more insatiable than those shitty players! Their power will be ours!" he felt overly proud of being one of them.
He stomped once again, "But can you really kill me? You two little pests?"
