[Your party has entered combat!]
"They're all sitting at level thirteen," Lumina said, cracking her knuckles. "Great for, Hiro! This is where you can rack up some real experience."
Hiro's eye twitched as she struck her pose and launched into the full transformation routine. It was a full twenty seconds of swirling light, ribbons, and sparkles that turned her uniform into that over-the-top stellar outfit.
Hiro definitely put it into the same category as "unskippable cutscenes".
For whatever bullsh*t reason, the enemies just… waited. They stood there like polite audience members waiting for the awesome character animation to end.
When the transformation glow finally faded, one of the pumpkos actually clapped its vine hands.
"Bravo. That little flash of skin was a nice bonus," it rasped, voice like dry leaves scraping concrete. "Smells delicious. So hungry. Come here, girl."
It flicked a black, slimy tongue at her.
[Enemy used Taunt!]
[Lumina is enraged.]
On cue, Lumina's face went nuclear red. She blurred forward in a fury, unloading a storm of punches and kicks. They bounced off the pumpkos like she was hitting truck tires.
100 Attack, 0 Damage.
"Ah, shit," Hiro muttered, already moving. "She's gonna get herself grabbed if we don't step in."
Kaito and Hanako were right behind him, without him even needing to say anything.
Fighting with a party felt different. Player positions mattered and timing clicked in new ways. He'd have to figure out how to sync up properly, not just swing his sword around wildly. He closed on the nearest pumpko, blade flashing with Vital Thrust, then spun into a Roundhouse that actually staggered it.
Hanako stepped up beside him, hands raised as a building charge crackled between her fingers. The air hummed in response.
Hiro's jaw damn near hit the pavement at the result of her attack.
[Hanako has invoked Lightning Cascade!]
Bright bolts snapped from her palm, branching streaks that lit the alley like a storm. They slammed into one pumpko, then started arcing between the others. The things howled in response, bodies jerking as the high voltage locked them in place.
[All enemies stunned!]
Kaito bellowed something that made Hiro feel as though he took like a shot of meth straight to the veins.
[Kaito used Battle Cry!]
[Party attack boosted by 15%. Party fighting spirit increased by 20%.]
The rush flooded Hiro in a hot, electric kind of way that was making his blood sing in joy.
He whooped along with the others, and suddenly they were just laying into the stunned pumpkos. Fists, feet, blade, magic were landing clean with a few strikes being criticals. The creatures crumpled one by one, vines twitching their last moments.
[Battle completed. Victory! Reward: 400 EXP and $220.]
[Congratulations, you have reached level 7! Stats increased!]
[New skill unlocked: Spirit Barrage – fire a spread of energy projectiles.]
[You have earned 3 free points to distribute among your stats. Choose wisely.]
Hiro couldn't help the grin. There was the gamer crack.
Free stat points.
He could already picture dumping them all into one thing, and seeing the result. Or he could save them for now and play it smart.
"We're not clearing the board yet," Kaito said, scanning the dark street ahead. "A pack like that wandering around means their boss is probably close. Likely some low-ranking officer in the Demon Lord's forces."
"The Demon Lord's army," Hiro echoed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Tell me you're not seriously talking about charging an entire demon army head-on."
Lumina snorted. "Duh, no. We go for the Demon Lord himself eventually. But thinning out his lieutenants first? Makes the endgame less of a suicide run."
Hiro shrugged. "Not the dumbest strategy I've heard. And if it keeps dumping levels on me, I'm in."
They pressed on through the quiet streets, dodging the occasional police cruiser that rolled by with searching spotlights, taking down stray imps and another loose cluster of pumpkos.
The cops bothered Hiro more than the monsters. With sh*t spawning nightly, they were out here writing parking tickets or whatever, accomplishing f*ck all.
What if Demon Lord had people inside city hall? Puppets pulling strings while normals slept?
Then, he spotted her.
A petite blonde sitting alone on a bus stop bench under a flickering streetlight, twin tails bouncing as she demolished a chocolate bar like it owed her money.
In any other city, no big deal. Here, with monsters treating the night like an all-you-can-eat buffet and missing persons popping up on the news, mostly just homeless with some overtime workers too, it screamed trouble.
Hiro raised a hand, motioned the others silent, and nodded toward her. They fell in behind as he approached.
"Hey," he said, keeping his voice low. "It's not safe out here after dark. You should head inside."
She ignored him completely, focused on licking chocolate off her fingers.
Hiro tried again. "Seriously, monsters are—"
Nothing. She didn't respond to them at all.
Just more enthusiastic munching. Frustration began welling up. He turned to the group. "F*ck it. If she gets her ass ate, I don't want to be here when it happens. Though, watching her murder that candy bar is making me crave those cupcakes you brought, Hanako."
The girl shot to her feet like someone flipped a switch, eyes suddenly huge and sparkling. "Cupcakes?"
Hiro blinked, turning back. "Yeah…?"
"I want cupcakes."
"There's a convenience store two blocks—"
"Give me cupcakes." She stepped right into his space, close enough that he caught the scent of her sweet perfume mixed with lingering chocolate. "And I'm broke. Boss sucks at paying on time."
Hanako smoothly inserted herself between them, protective vibe strong. "Who are you? Anyone with half a brain wouldn't be sitting out here alone unless they could handle themselves."
"I WANT CUPCAKES." The blonde paused, her gaze dropping to Hanako's bountiful chest, then glaring like it was a personal offense.
She reached out without warning and poked one of Hanako's breasts. Her finger sunk deep into the soft, heavy boob before pulling back. In response, it bounced back in a slow, exaggerated jiggle that sent ripples through the fabric of her shirt while also defying gravity in a hypnotic sway.
The blonde's eyes burned with envy as she stared. "Not fair."
Hanako's eyes widened in confusion, but Hiro caught the envy loud and clear. He took a casual step back, pretending he hadn't noticed anything worth noticing.
Lumina wasn't so subtle as her stare screamed jealousy.
Then, the blonde straightened, striking a dramatic pose. "I am one of the many eyes of the great demon lord!" She jabbed a finger at them. "Remember that. Especially you, you cow."
Then, she grabbed her boob and disappeared into the dark.
It was much too fast for a normal person.
"Sh*t! Grab her!" Hiro lunged, but she was already gone, as if she'd teleported the second she turned. "Dammit. I should've analyzed her first."
"Nice work, Melons," Lumina drawled, slow-clapping. Kaito just gave his trademark blank stare, though Hiro caught him glancing at Hanako a beat too long.
Nobody commented. Which was a smart move.
They picked up the pace after that, their tension thicker. Hiro snagged a random stick off the ground and a scrap of newspaper, trying to craft something with his Crafting interface on a whim.
There was nothing since he had no viable recipes. He'd hit a store tomorrow, maybe grab the basics and start experimenting.
Crafting could be his ace. If he didn't master it, The End would steamroll him.
A few blocks later, another group of pumpkos shuffled into view. They were a smaller pack this time.
However, farther down the empty street stood something bigger: a hulking metallic version of them with a body plated in dull iron and eyes burning red like hot coals.
The regular ones dropped fast under coordinated hits.
[Congratulations, you have reached level 8! Stats increased!]
Hiro analyzed the obvious boss.
Armored Gourdbeast
Level: 25
Type: Monster
Affiliation: Hostile Detection too low. Damn, level up already, birdbrain.
Special: Same. You're embarrassing yourself.
Weakness: Big shocker! Nothing there yet.
Resistances: See above.
Secret: Stats insufficient. Weak, weak, weak.
Hiro swallowed the urge to flip off the prompt. "This one's packing heat."
Kaito cracked his neck, grinning for once. "Good. Anything less would be boring."