5

Confetti filled the air and streamers burst all around the witch and the newbie. The maids’ faces were filled with shock and surprise and a burst of steam shot forth from the machine. From somewhere in the cloud of steam Cryo heard one of the maids stuttering

“W-w-what!? H-h-how d-d-did he…”

To be frank, Cryo thought, I kind of expected this result, so I guess I’m not as surprised as the people around me… Once the steam had cleared, a tall, stoic, dark-skinned man stood before Cryo and Desna. He was much taller than Cryo, and that said something, considering Cryo stood at 6’2” himself. The man had piercing bright red eyes, and his silver armor was lined with a velvet color, almost like the color of blood. This guy looks more like a final boss than a friendly ally Cryo thought. The most interesting thing about this man, that Cryo noticed, was his hair. His hair was like platinum, a bright silver-white color that Cryo could have sworn sparkled in the light. His hair was pearlescent, with his platinum hair appearing to fade into a red velvet color. The man standing before them looked around at his surroundings before turning to the shaking duo in front of him.

“Are you the one that summoned me?” The man’s deep voice seemed to echo around the room, like he was everywhere at once. Although menacing, his voice sounded warm and friendly, like the calloused hands of someone that worked all day to provide for his loved ones.

“Er, yes, sir, I did, my name is Cryo” Cryo stammered

“Very well. My name is Siebold and I am of the tank class, I will protect you from all harm that may come your way master!” The once deep voice changed to a friendly and happy tone and the man, Siebold, seemed almost excited.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Desna” Desna chimed in.

Siebold leaned in to Cryo’s ear.

“Who’s this wacko, master? Is she a friend of yours?” Siebold whispered.

“Yeah she’s a friend I guess, I kind of just met her but she’s been pretty helpful” Cryo responded at normal volume.

“Oh, okay, if she’s a friend of my master she’s a friend of me.” Siebold said back, still whispering.

“You know I command magic right? I can hear every word you’re saying like it was being whispered to me.” Desna said aggressively.

Siebold’s face went white like a ghost and his eyes looked like saucers

“I’m very sorry ma’am, j-just had to m-make sure you were a f-friend” Siebold said.

“You can trust me, I have no reason to fight you.” Desna replied

“Got it, shall we go somewhere to talk? I think a crowd will form pretty soon” Siebold said

Cryo looked around, Siebold was right, already, just minutes after the special unit had been summoned, a lot of villagers were appearing, at a distance, to see what had happened.

“That sounds like a great idea Siebold, let’s go sit at that place over there” Cryo pointed to the “Pork n’ Orc” across the village’s cobblestone street.

“Ugh, I’ve eaten there so much but we might as well” Desna said

“Alright, it’s a plan” Siebold agreed.

Walking across the street through the village square, Cryo could see with his peripheral vision a large amount of villagers staring at his trio with their mouths wide open, like the look Siebold had on his face when Desna told him that she could hear him whispering. Finally making it to the building, Cryo felt uneasy but he opened the large wooden doors anyway. As he was walking in, Siebold asked,

“Hey master, do you feel okay? You seem nervous.”

“Uh, yeah I’m okay, there was just a lot of people out there” Cryo replied, confused as to how Siebold knew.

“Siebold, how did you know he was nervous, I couldn’t tell at all?” Desna asked

“Oh, well you see, summoning gacha units means the gacha units are part of your party, so therefore I can see any status conditions that Cryo may be afflicted with and I can see his health point and magic point values just by looking at him. That’s also why I was more apprehensive of you, because you didn’t appear to be in Cryo’s party.” Siebold informed the two of them.

“Ah, I see, no we aren’t in a party. I’ve never been in one because I’ve always gone on adventures alone. I don’t like being responsible for people.” Desna replied

“Yeah, that makes sense, but Siebold I can’t see your health or ma-” Cryo started his reply

“Are you three going to eat or not?” The angry bartender shouted at them

“Oh yes, we are going to eat, can we sit anywhere?” Cryo asked

“Yeah go ahead, I’ll bring you some menus” The once angry bartender changed his tone when he realized the three were customers.

The three of them sat down and the bartender brought them each a menu, The table was a sturdy mahogany color and the chairs were large and sturdy as well, but despite being made of wood they were comfortable to sit in because of years of wear. Opening the menu, it had only three items on it, bacon-wrapped hot dog, bacon, and beer. Next to the hot dog, a little star said “World famous!”

“So anyway Siebold, I can’t see your health or magic points when I look at you, aren’t we in a party?” Cryo asked.

“Oh, right, sorry master that is one of my skills, I can hide my health and magic from my party members and from anyone that could be using a scouting device to see how powerful I am. I guess it was turned on by default, I’ll turn it off” Siebold replied

“Skill, off” Siebold said

Looking at the knight, Cryo saw two massive bars, one green and one red floating above Siebold’s head.

“Why is one of the bars red? I know green means health but magic bars are blue?” Desna asked

“Wait, why can you see them? You aren’t in our party?” Siebold asked back

“I’m a witch class, I can use magic to see your health and magic, I tried to read you earlier but your skill was on” Desna answered

“Oh I see, Well yes, one of the bars is red because that is rage, not magic. You’ll notice that the bar is empty, that’s because I generate rage while fighting, and consuming it allows me to make my shields last longer and my offensive abilities stronger. Once the bar hits maximum, or 100 rage, I can use a special ability.” Siebold answered

“Desna, how do you know magic bars are blue, you’ve never been in a party before.” Cryo wondered

“Because you can view your own stats as well, just say ‘view on’ and it will appear” Desna answered his curiosity.

“View on” Cryo said

A small menu appeared before him that looked like a well-worn book page. The menu showed his health bar at full and no other bar, along with a message that said ‘NO CLASS SELECTED’

“Hey guys, I am not identified as any class yet, how do I do that?” Cryo asked his friends.

“You have to visit the class selector in the guild hall in this town to choose a class that suits you best, the guild hall is right next to the fountain in the village square.” Siebold answered

“In the guild hall they can also look at more detailed aspects of you and can give you a test to determine your recommended class, that’s what I would do if I were you” Desna said.

“Okay, let’s do it then!” Cryo said with enthusiasm.

“Uh, no, let’s eat first. I haven’t eaten all day and I’m hungry, then we will go back to the gacha and you can use my ticket since you won the bet. THEN we will find out your class.”

“Okay, fine.” Cryo said, slightly defeated

The group ordered food and drinks and ate and conversed deep into the night, Cryo was happy he had made friends, but felt upset that it would be so long before he saw Gig, Yuso, and Shigeto again. Remembering his friends, he was renewed with confidence. Later in the night, he addressed the table,

“Guys, let’s collect the 4 legendary swords and defeat Lokuul!”

End of Chapter///