That Time I Got Sent to Another World Where All of the Girls Are Super Hot and Super Into Me Because I Am Super Strong and Have Very Powerful Abilities that God Gave to Me Because Me and Them Were Friends When I Was in Grade School and God Is Actually A Loli Who is Also in Love with Me Because I Am A Super Epic Person Who Will Defeat The Demon Lord Who Threatens The Entire World but the Demon Lord Actually is in Love With Me and the Demon Lord is a Super Hot Busty Babe Who is Actually Just Trying to Get My Attention Because I Have a Cellphone That Can Contact the Internet and Can Get Anything Shipped To Me Within 2 Days But I Barely Need It Because I Am Actually the Most Strongest Guy Alive Because I Have Super Strong Powers Like Being Able to Lift Your Mom Really Easily Which is Nearly Impossible Because Your Mom is So Fat But is Actually A Secret Anime Busty Babe Who is Really into Me Because I Am Super Cool and Better Than Your Dad Because He is Super Lame Which I Am Not:

Battle 2.4 - That time I was reincarnated into another world and faced off against a cult

"We can't let them finish that ritual!" I shouted. I had no real context for what kind of ritual they were doing, but these guys were wearing dark robes. That means they probably belonged to one of the evil religions! Usually, those rituals were either summoning something really powerful and evil, or imbuing somebody with all kinds of cool edgy powers. If I interrupted their ritual... I might be able to intercept that power-up for myself!

I quickly ran down the hall, coming to a deep pit which plunged several stories down. A stone spiral staircase wound around the edge of the pit, providing a way down for losers. I leapt into the pit, using the opportunity to hit a wicked 1080 on my skateboard, before activating [Blaze Ollie] and slamming into the ground, instantly killing four cultists who were busy playing a board game in the center of the pit.

A pair of torches framed a tunnel that lead to a larger chamber. It was a bit too far to see without activating my vision [Skills], which would ruin the ambiance provided by the glowing and flickering purple lights in the chamber. The chanting had gotten louder, which either meant I was closer, or that the god they were worshiping was hard of hearing.

Hmm... I paused at the edge of the tunnel, craning my ears to listen in to their chants. I'd probably want to wait until it sounded like their chants were reaching a climax if I wanted to interrupt at the most opportune time. I brushed off the dust, cobwebs, and blood splatters that had accumulated on my clothes from my jaunt through these gross cata-tombs.

A rhythmic thumping sound broke my concentration, and I turned to see Wanda sliding down the stairs, drifting around the spiral staircase while using a dead cultist as a bobsled. She picked up speed as she progressed, until she was practically riding on the wall, her eyes wide with adrenaline and her tail wagging furiously.

She made it to the bottom and backflipped off her Bob the Sled, sending the cultist's corpse shooting towards the wall, where it exploded into flames and shrapnel. She landed nimbly on the ground, then stumbled a bit, catching herself on the wall and giggling furiously. Bonbon came running down after, whisper-shouting my own name at me.

"Hiro-san!" she called. "Something weird is going on!"

"Don't be rude, Bonbon," I chastised her. "Wanda didn't have an actual sled, so she was just making the best use of what was laying around. Recycle, Reduce, Reuse."

She opened her mouth, seemed to think better of it, then shook her head. "No, that's not, uh, what I meant. I'm leveling up like crazy for some reason! I've already leveled twice since we came in here!"

Huh? She leveled up? That was weird. I appraised her using my [Appraisal (but secretly infinite knowledge)] skill.

Name: Bonbon A. Petit

Active Title: [Enterprising Cook]

Faction: King Presley's Elvish Nation

Race: Elf

Level: 8

EXP: 110/850

Skill Points: 85

Gold Stars: 5

Gacha Coins: 0

HP: 950/950

MP: 260/260

SP: 195/195

FP: 2/2

Attributes:

Stranth: 21

Dexterity: 40

Swoleness: 23

Magic: 50

Karma: 150

Mojo: 17

Luck: 28

Skills:

[Walking Mastery - Lvl 3] [Hustling Mastery - Lvl 1] [Cooking Mastery - Lvl 7] [Burning Resistance - Lvl 4] [Slashing Resistance - Lvl 3] [Pain Resistance - Lvl 2] [Stabbing Resistance - Lvl 1] [Food Critic Basics] [Enterprising Chef] [Kitchen Hands] [Knife Supremacy] [Speak with Animals] [Speak with Plants] [Stealth] [Improved Dexterity] [Beautiful - Lvl 10] [Double Chop] [Triple Chop] [Conga Line Basics - Lvl 1] [Aura (Food Preservation)] [Elf Ears] [Elf Eyes] [Immortal] [Magic Conscription] [Culinary Magic] [Magic Perception] [Magic Casting] [Divine Cookery] [Princess] [Secret Princess] [Fated]

Titles:

[Cook] [Enterprising Cook] [Scion of the Kitchen] [Trendsetter] [Chosen of Flavos] [Princess] [Rogue] [Elf] [Teammate]

Culinary Artes:

[Short Order Chef]

[Crunch Time]

[Precision Serving]

[Unbreakable Apron]

[Acquire Taste]

[Perfect Flip]

Trendsetter Artes:

[Mill Rumors]

Spells:

[Create Food]

[Unburn]

[Bestow Flavor: (Spicy)]

[Bestow Flavor: (Sour)]

[Bestow Flavor: (Good)]

[Fistful of Spice]

[Purify Food and Drink]

[Freeze]

[Revitalizing Aroma (Fresh Bread)]

What the?! She actually had leveled up! But... I was the only one killing people! Shouldn't I be the one leveling up?

"Wan!" Wanda added, "Me too! Only one level, but I'll take it, wan!"

I frowned and appraised her as well (using the same [Appraisal (but secretly infinite knowledge)] skill).

Wan Sudiri

Active Title: [Slave]

Race: Animal-ears-person-folk (Dog)

Level 15

EXP: 110/1700

Skill Points: 79

Gold Stars: 4

Gacha Coins: 0

HP: 1750/1750

MP: 130/130

SP: 600/600

FP: 3/3

Attributes:

Stranth: 48

Dexterity: 53

Swoleness: 41

Magic: 12

Karma: -160

Mojo: 1040

Luck: 78

Skills:

[Jumping Mastery - Lvl 4] [Running Supremacy - Lvl 2] [Climbing Mastery - Lvl 4] [Swimming Basics - Lvl 8] [Parkour Basics - Lvl 2] [Crawling Supremacy - Lvl 1] [Cooking Basics - Lvl 2] [Punching Resistance - Lvl 6] [Slashing Resistance - Lvl 2] [Stabbing Resistance - Lvl 4] [Crushing Super-Resistance - Lvl 2] [Climate Resistance - Lvl 3] [Fish Resistance - Lvl 3] [Surprise Invulnerability] [Pain Resistance - Lvl 7] [Emotional Damage Resistance - Lvl 4] [Acid Resistance - Lvl 1] [Shame Super-Resistance - Lvl 9] [Alcohol Super-Resistance Lvl 8] [Drug Invulnerability] [Cringe Invulnerability] [Disable Resistances (Self)] [Fisticuffs Mastery] [Kung Fury] [Claw Supremacy] [Bite Mastery] [Tail Whip Basics] [Stunning Blow] [Fury Slash] [Berserker] [Fishing Basics] [Enhance Natural Weapon] [Surprising Claws] [Pantomime with Animals] [Wan] [Dog Hearing] [Dog Smelling] [Smell Like Dog] [Dog Vision] [Dog] [Language: Animal-Ears-People-Folk Language] [Pickpocket Supremacy] [Mugging Mastery] [Conga Line Basics - Lvl 1] [Sexpert] [Beautiful - Lvl 7] [Perfect Hair] [Extend Sensation (Drugs)] [Enhance Sensation (Drugs) [Extend Sensation (Alcohol)] [Enhance Sensation (Alcohol)] [Enhance Sensation (Sex)] [Enhance Sensation (Blood Sport)] [Greater Addiction] [Improved Stranth] [Greater Dexterity] [Lesser Magic Casting] [Lesser Magic Perception] [Lesser Magic Conscription] [Taboo Magic] [Lesser HP Regeneration] [Lesser MP Regeneration] [SP Regeneration] [Mental Coloring Book] [Binocular Vision] [Double-Ear] [Expert Hearing] [Sniff Supremacy] [Gluttony] [Lust] [Icon of Hedonism] [Avarice - Lvl 4] [Cruelty - Lvl 3] [Lesser Humility] [Nihilism] [Lesser Monologue]

Titles: [Animal-Ears-Folk-People] [Hunter] [Cute] [Doggirl] [Addict] [Icon of Hedonism] [Nihilist] [Monster Slaughterer] [Animal Killer] [Human Killer] [Slime Killer] [Thief] [Heretic] [Dog] [Slave] [Martial Artist] [Beast Warrior] [Parkour Amateur] [Teammate]

Spells:

[Create Flame]

[Create Water]

[Create Drugs - Schedule I]

[Create Alcohol]

[Create Illusion]

[Healing - Lvl 3]

"Wha?" I asked nobody in particular. Why were my harem members leveling, but not me? Had something changed? I guess I had let them join my party, but did having a party mean that I gave them my experience? I'd have to think about this in depth. I crossed my arms and scratched my head, as the chanting in the other room began to grow even louder.

"Oh no..." Bonbon gasped. "Hiro-san, we need to hurry!"

I waved her off. This was too important for me to worry about some dumb cult right now. If they were getting my EXP, then they might get stronger than me, soon! That wouldn't do! Wanda was a higher level than me already, and at the rate Bonbon was leveling, she'd catch up soon! I had to figure out what was happening.

Wanda shrugged and unsheathed her claws, nodding her head down the tunnel. "Wan! Hiro seems to be thinking about something. Are you truly going to interrupt such a rare event?"

Bonbon glanced over at me and sighed. "I didn't expect to be killing cultists when I set out on my journey. I kind of assumed it would mostly be about cooking."

"Wan!" Wanda laughed, grinning a smile. "It's just like cutting meat, wan. We're all just meat eventually."

Bonbon frowned, furrowing her brow as she glanced over at the doggirl. "...you're pretty morbid sometimes, Wanda-san."

In response, Wanda just laughed and charged into the room. Bonbon followed after, while I sat and thought about the situation, my brain moving at a blazing 5000 feet per hour. I think I might have narrowed it down... After some wiki-walking in the Wikisekaipedia, I realized that while [Parties] shared a bit of EXP, it shouldn't be anywhere so severe as what was going on here. But it did mention that sometimes [Skills] can effect it!

I'd narrowed it down to a few of my skills. Either my [EXP Boost] DLC perk, or [EXP Share], or possibly my [Small Business Owner] title. I could deactivate them and find out, but... if I chose wrong...

I swallowed, hard. If I chose wrong... that'd mean I'd be leveling up slower. I didn't know if I could risk that. But leaving it on was equally worrying. After all, if it shared EXP, what if it also shared the cool edgy powers I was going to get from interrupting the... wait a minute.

A chill went down my spine. Where had Wanda and Bonbon gone? My head shot up and moved so that my eyes were looking at the direction of the room. They'd snuck away somehow! Were they trying to fight without me?! This... wasn't good! Who knew what might be happening in that ritual chamber!

I raced for the room as fast as I could, listening in a panic to the sounds of fighting coming from the last chamber. The chanting was reaching a crescendo, and I knew in my heart that I had to move faster. I had to get there in time. Bonbon... Wanda... wait for me!

I had to make it in time to interrupt the ritual! If I didn't... then Wanda or Bonbon... might get the cool edgy powers instead of me! Losing out on my EXP was bad enough! I was determined not to lose this.

For the first time since I'd come to this Badass Isekai LitRPG Fantasy world...

I had something worth fighting for:

More power.