It was warm. Really warm. Light, too, almost as if it weighed nothing. I stared at the sheath, marveling at the design. The blade pulsed once again, this time blinding me. When the light died out, I found myself in a world of white.

  "What?!" I looked around in a panic.

  "Really? You? What the hell.”

  Eh? I turned to see a familiar-looking woman. Her long blue hair flowed past her back, and her ample chest was held up by her arms as she crossed them.

  “I guess you are kind of cute.” She grumbled. “I can’t blame her for that. But really,” she glared at me. “It’s those eyes of yours.”

  “Huh?” I was dumbfounded and didn’t know what to say.

  Who was she? Where was I? Why was she talking to me like that!? Was she an older version of Lilith with a more enormous rack?

  “I guess, just this once, I’ll let you draw me for free. Just so they know I did choose you.” She walked up to me. “But after that,” she leaned down to make eye contact. “You have to make a deal.”

  “Who the hell are you? Sukuna?”

  “Who?” She frowned as she placed a hand on my chest. “Eh, I don’t care. Let’s just get this over with.”

  "Who are you?" I asked as a warmth filled my chest. She only looked at my hand, and my gaze followed it to the dagger. "Ah, I see." My eyes met hers. "You're-"

  "Rei," I said as I pulled her from the sheath.

  The blade was obsidian black and had runes etched on it. Those runes shone a golden light as I stared at them before slowly fading.

  "What?" Caz stiffened as he stared at me, and I heard Lilith gasp to my left.

  "Huh?" I looked up at him, a sweat bead appearing on my cheek.

  Did I say something wrong?

  "What did you just say?" He asked, his voice shaky.

  "Er...Rei." I replied nervously. "Why?" Tears began to flow down his cheeks as he stared at me in awe, not answering my question. "Er... Lilith, is he o-" I cut myself off as I saw her holding her hands over her mouth while tears fell from her face as well. "D-did I do something wrong?" I asked sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I told you I shouldn't use the bla-"

  "No. No. It's not that." Caz hiccupped as he wiped away the tears. "Rei...that was my wife's name." He looked at the dagger. "It really is her."

  "She chose ya." Lilith grabbed my hand.

  "D-Did she?" I stuttered as I awkwardly pulled my hand away. Lilith’s grip on it tightened.

  GORILLA STRENGTH! Wait, no. I’m just weak…

  “Ya know,” her face closed in on mine. “I wouldn’t mind,” she rested a hand on my cheek, and her face was illuminated in a vibrant yellow light. “If you-“

  Nope! I stepped away.

  “Hey…”

  "Well then," I reached into my coat pocket and grabbed the bag of coins before pulling out a handful and handing them to Caz.

  I refused to let Lilith speak to and egg me on with her…flirting. I doubted it was that. I knew she was only trying to goad me into reacting, and I wasn’t one to fall for those types of games.

  "W-what is this!" Caz exclaimed as the coins fell into his hands.

  "Your payment," I answered bluntly. "What else would it be?"

  "Forty-nine, fifty!" Lilith exclaimed. "Fifty gold coins!" She finally looked at me in awe.

  "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

  Is there something on my face?

  "This is...way too much!" She replied. "Most legendary weapons cost fifteen or twenty gold!"

  "Hngh!"

  "Did'ja just croak?" Lilith chuckled. "Ya can take some back."

  That'd look so uncool, though!

  "I didn't do anything," I scoffed, trying to play off my mistake. "I gave you fifty because that's what you deserve. In fact," I reached into the bag and pulled out fifty more. "T-this is for taking me back there to train me." My body felt hot and flustered as I rambled and gave away more money. "Also, because she's special to you, and I'm taking her."

  What am I doing!? I kept trying to act cool and play off my mistakes, but it only led to a worse outcome.

  "KYA!" Lilith squealed in excitement. "Pa! Do ya know what this means?" She looked over at her father, who had his arms crossed, eyes closed, and a smile on his face.

  "Yep. This should help us keep the shop open a while longer." He looked at his daughter.

  "Keep it open?" I repeated.

  Shit, I said that out loud. I knew I was in for a dialog.

  "Don't worry about it." Caz waved his hand dismissively. "It's nothing a customer needs to worry abo-"

  "We're almost outta business." Lilith interrupted him, freezing me from where I had tried to sneak off.

  "I-Is that so?" I laughed sheepishly as I quickly turned to face them.

  Caz grumbled about his daughter before sighing heavily and replying. "Well, our smithing shop isn't as famous as I'd like it to be. We aren't getting many customers, so we aren't getting much money."

  "Ah," I replied ambivalently.

  I mean, that's how it works, right? No customers, no money, no shop.

  “We're a newer shop in this area," Caz continued, ignoring my blatant disinterest. "We set up here a few years ago after Rei passed. It was her dream to own a smithing shop in the capital. But since there were other smithing shops before us that people had gained trust with, we haven't had much of a client base." He sounded disappointed, but he also had a look in his eyes that said he wasn't surprised.

  "Well, it ain't over yet, Pa!" Lilith said. "With what he gave us, we can stay open longer! Plus, Maw wouldn' want us ta give up."

  “Yeah, you're right. We have to keep our spirits high." His eyes ignited with passion.

  I see. I closed my eyes. I like these two. They remind me of myself when I play video games.

  There were times when I wanted to give up. Where I felt stuck, like I wouldn't move up or get better. But I kept at it and never faltered and grew from that. I was sure they would as well.

  Caz waved me off and told me I could stay a while longer if I wanted before making his way to the back. I, of course, didn’t. Especially not after he left me with Lilith. I turned to the door again, reaching for the handle.

  "Ya gonna become an adventurer?" Lilith asked.

  What is she doing? Making small talk? Just let me leave!

  I was going to ignore her, but Rei vibrated violently on my back, where I had her sheathed. The sudden vibration felt more like a shock than anything else, and my hands were thrown up as I squeaked.

  Fine! I turned to Lilith.

  “I am,” I responded.

  I hated it. Small talk, I mean. What was the point of it? Small talk, by definition, was talk used to fill in awkward gaps or pauses. And Lilith, as the one who initiated, was basically admitting she felt uncomfortable.

  I knew it was because of the incident earlier that caused that discomfort, so why wouldn’t she just let me leave? Wouldn’t that have been better than forcing conversation?

  "I figured it'd be fun to fight things and get stronger." I kept it short and sweet.

  "Get stronger, huh?" I narrowed my eyes at the smirk on her face. "How strong are ya?" Was she getting cocky? Did she want a challenge?

  Like that’ll happen. I’m level three. Of course, she’d best my ass. Sadly, my competitive side still didn’t like to be looked down on.

  "...." a sweat bead appeared on my cheek as I replied. "Not very. My level is still pretty low."

  "Really? I'm level twenty-five."

  "Cool." I didn't care. Was I supposed to be impressed? Should I have given her a cookie?

  "Yea. I had ta practice mah skills at weavin' an makin' good armor an weapons. So, that gave me quite a bit of experience. Though I haven' leveled up in a while since then." She laughed meekly.

  "Cool," I repeated. Rei vibrated harshly, making my back arch. “Er! I guess you’ve been hard at work then, huh?” I smiled meekly.

  "I have!" She beamed a smile. “It's made me pretty strong, even though I'm not an adventurer."

  I knew it. She’s-

  Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

  "Are you trying to say you're stronger than me?" I asked with a frown.

  Isn’t she, though? Nah, I bet I could still win. I’ve fought plenty of high-level enemies in games before. I may only do chip damage, but if they can’t hit me, I won’t lose.

  "Oh, I don't know," she shrugged. "Maybe jus' a little."

  "Oh really?" I leaned over the counter and slammed my hands down with a smirk. My eyes glowed softly as they locked with hers.

  I always love a challenge.

  "Ya wanna' test that theory?" I mocked her accent. I watched as she shivered before replying.

  I hope that didn’t piss her off.

  "Heh," She smiled. "Bring it on, city boy!" She began walking to the back. I followed after her.

  "Oh boy." Caz sighed exasperatedly as we walked past him. He saw the fire in both our eyes and knew what was going on.

  “The rules are simple. Hand-to-hand only.” Lilith explained.

  “That’s it?”

  “No groping.”

  “Aww, and here I was, thinking I’d have some leverage on you.” I shrugged. “Oh well.”

  Anytime I was challenged to anything, I locked in. You could say it caused a shift in my personality, but I didn’t see it that way. I saw it more as the real me finally having a reason to show himself.

  “Perv.” She puffed.

  “Uh-huh. You ready?" I asked as I got into a clumsy fighting stance

  I probably look stupid! I don’t know shit about martial arts! I should have paid more attention when my dad forced me to do MMA as a kid!

  "When you are," she replied as she got into her stance.

  Her arms raised protectively over her face and placed her leading foot ahead of her. She looked like a professional boxer, and I immediately began to regret my decision to accept the challenge.

  Was I about to get my ass beat by a girl? Did that sound wrong to say? I’m not sexist! I’m a man!

  "You sure about this?" I asked. "I don't want to hurt you."

  Fall for the bait!

  "Oh?" She stepped forward and tapped her fist to mine. "Try me."

  “Hngh!”

  Dumb luck!

  I had somehow managed to dodge a jab from her fist. As clumsy as my dodge was, I ended up tripping over my own feet, managing to evade her cross punch. I hit the ground and quickly rolled to face her, getting lucky again as she slammed her fist to the ground where my head had been.

  She’s trying to kill me! I knew it! This is revenge for falling into her chest!

  “Wow, yer good at dodgin’,” Lilith remarked as I rolled away and returned to my feet. She quickly closed the distance and unleashed a combo on me, all of which I somehow managed to dodge.

  Jab, cross, hook, backhand, swipe, overhand.

  NOTICE:

  You have adapted. New skill unlocked.

  Skill name:

  Martial Arts LV.1 (Passive)

  What is-Wait! My eyes widened. I wanted to question the messages that had appeared in my HUD, but I was too focused on the fight. And after receiving the aforementioned skill, I saw my opening.

  Executing an overhand left you open for a counterattack. So, I did just that and threw out a jab to gauge the distance and see what combo I could attempt to execute.

  “Eh?” Lilith grabbed my arm and jumped before wrapping her legs around my arm and neck. As she fell, I went with her.

  A flying triangle choke! I hadn’t expected her to know grappling, too. Not that I cared. Oh yeah. I drooled as she squeezed her thighs around my face. Wait, no! Bad Sion!

  “Caught ya," Lilith grinned as she loosened the grip on my arm and pulled me closer with her legs so our faces were close together.

  Calm down! Calm down! It’s just a sleeper hold; there’s nothing sexual about this! Mmm. Nothing except these thighs. AH! I did it again!

  "Y-yo-you’re pretty s-st-strong, aren’t you?" I stuttered.

  Gah! Be still my beating heart!

  "Hmm,” she hummed. Her head cocked slightly as she stared at me with narrowed, judgmental eyes. “I thought ya’d be stronger than that. Yer pretty weak.” She chuckled as she unwrapped me and stood back up before reaching a hand out to me. I stared at it for a while, hesitating to take it. Ultimately, I did what any man who knows his worth does…I caved. "Plus, ya really don' know hand ta hand combat." Lilith giggled as she lifted me.

  “I know a little,” I grumbled.

  “Mostly dodging. If ya want," Lilith grabbed my hand and lifted it. "I can teach ya sometime."

  "Oh?” My eyes glowed as I stared into hers. “One on one?" I let slip a joke.

  Notice:

  Charm’s effect has activated.

  Eh?

  Lilith’s face flushed red as she shivered.

  "S-Sorry! It was a joke! It just slipped; I didn't mean it!" I waved my hands in immediate surrender. Where was a white flag when you needed one?

  "Huh?" Her face twisted in annoyance.

  She's pissed! Quick, use retreat!

  "I-I'm really sorry!" I took a step back. "Really. I-I d-"

  SQUEE! My boots squeaked as I tripped over my own feet.

  “Careful!” Lilith reached for my hand to catch me, but she tripped forward, and both of us went crashing to the ground.

  Ahhh. Heave-WHAT AM I DOING!?

  My hands had…well, let's just say it was instinct. I didn’t want to do it; my hands did it on their own.

  "Ahh! I-I'm sorry!” I quickly pushed away from her and got to my feet. She did the same.

  Don’t tell me…Is my luck stat actually lower than the average person!?

  “I have really bad luck! I'm really not doing this on purpose!" I feebly attempted to defend myself.

  "Oh, I see what yer doin'," she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me into her chest again. "Ya wan' me ta coddle ya in my chest and rub yer back, donchya? Haha, just kid-"

  "Yes!" I blurted from my safe space between her breasts. My eyes were filled with determination as they met hers, but also an alien glow that I was unaware of.

  "H-Huh?" Her face flushed.

  Notice:

  Charm’s effect has activated.

  Okay, that one was on me. But seriously! What is this Charm ability!?

  "A-Ah! S-Sorry! I was- I was thinking to myself aloud! I mean...I totally didn’t mean that. See, where I’m from, it’s common to joke around with people like that.”

  “Well, jus' so ya know,” she smiled. “Here, it’s not common. We only do it with someone special.”

  “Yeah, sorry. I messed up and shouldn’t have joked like that.” The best retreat was always a humble apology. Lower yourself before them. Make them know you’re less than them. Then, out of a power trip or pity, they’d let you go…Normally.

  “Yer not the one who started it,” she puffed her cheeks.

  “It doesn’t matter. I was in the wrong for going along with it.” I knew that trick.

  It was a test. She was seeing if I ever thought I had a chance, and if I played into it, she’d say something like, ‘Egh. You meant that? I was just joking! You’re revolting, and stop looking at me like that!’

  “Yer not listenin’, are ya?” She sighed. “So it’s really not me,” she smiled happily as she let me go. “It’s you.”

  I’ve heard that plenty of times before.

  "It always is.”

  She grumbled something under her breath before we made our way awkwardly back to the front of the store.

  "Be sure to stop by again sometime!" Caz called as I began heading to the doors.

  "Will do," I replied with a wave.

  "Wait!" Lilith called to me before I stepped out. I sighed internally and turned around to look at her. "What's your name?" I blinked slowly at her several times before replying.

  "Sion. Sion Barzahd." I answered as I stepped out the doors and back into the streets, signaling the start of my adventure.