『Futile Combat』

The Warrior wasn't going to back down even as Jack had taken up a defense, if not an offensive, position with his right hand ahead and his left hand behind. His confidence was intense, a deadly aura emitting from him. It was clear that the Warrior also intended to kill him, just as he had intended to eventually remove his head from his shoulders.

So he began to prepare by keeping his other hand out of the attacker's view, that was all part of his goal, and to be more precise he was using the tactic of being out of sight and out of mind.

His hand was being charged with negative energy, while his right hand was beaming in positive. If he were to combine such powers together, merge them, he'd create lightning.

Or if he just attacked with one of them, he'd do immense damage against the warrior. He doubted the human had all that much of magical resistance. If anything he was probably a strength-dexterity build.

Each step the man took, was precise and heavy enough to spring himself forward in the heat of battle. He was shortening the distance quickly, but that wasn't due to his agility, he wasn't fast.

Jack hadn't observed the differences in strength when it came to the cards, what the numbers actually meant for the stats. So he couldn't really estimate the level of power behind the swing.

Yet he could tell how fast it would swing, what his target was going to be, and how quick his response time will be. Based on his own stats, he may as well be well above this being, but he didn't know the warrior's job class nor his level.

He found this rather amusing though, the way the man strode across the grass, his weapon at his side ready to slash at him. This stranger was all too eager to cut him down before he could 'cast' a spell even though he already had what he needed.

A Mage was always prepared, thought to himself, but that was something he learned in his previous life despite the fact that it did not keep him alive. Being killed from behind, overwhelmed by one's enemies, it left a bitter taste in his mouth. At least it wasn't another truck.

Once the warrior was within three meters of him, Jack then lunged forward, using his agility to his advantage. Unlike the warrior, Jack was not bulky and his clothing was free moving rather than stiff like armor.

This was the last thing that the warrior expected. His eyes were wide, his mouth was agape, he must've thought Mages don't engage in direct physical combat.

Taking a panicked stumble backward, catching himself before Jack could swipe his glowing fingers across his abdomen, the warrior watched as they had ultimately swapped locations.

Jack was now standing over the downed female dressed in a red and gold robe, a strange wizard hat and an assortment of legwear. He had to say though, her slender form was adorable. Perhaps she would be more interesting than Chris? Letting out a self-serving chuckle, his gaze flickered back over towards the Warrior who was glaring at him as they moved into another offensive stance with both hands on their hilt and one leg behind the other. He was going to come in heavy this time it seems.

"You think because you've switched our grounds, you can get away with my prize? Heh! I'll cut you down, and make you watch as I take all of her firsts!" The man spouts as if to encourage fear or disgust.

While Jack gave very little response to this man's words, let alone let him antagonize him into attacking again, neither of them was expecting the scrawny little mage laying on the ground to say something unconventional.

"Hah! You think you can have any of my firsts! I'll give them to ArchMage-dono before I let you have them!" The girl snapped abruptly with a wild grin across her lips as if she was putting the man down by saying so and empowering her 'knight' in shining armor. "Mage-dono, I'll do anything Erotic or otherwise with you if you save me from this conniving fiend! Do not falter, for I am Megumin of the Crimson Demon Clan!" By the time she finished shouting out her lines, her eyes were glowing a bright crimson red with excitement.

Lowering his right hand slightly, Jack looked back towards her for a few seconds. Both of the men were looking at her, neither having expected her input from this other than a cry of objection.

"Are you... Trying to make me compete for you, little red-eyed devil...?" Jack's phosphorescent emerald eyes just fixated on her face as her own crimson hues were beaming enthusiastically right back at him. She didn't seem to be taking back what she had just said.

He had never had someone say such things, even if it was to deter or encourage someone.

Was she putting her own virginity and purity on the line... Was she pure? His eyes were stuck on hers even as the warrior had gotten back on task and began running towards him once more.

Jack though was not truly distracted, he could hear the warrior's approach. It was similar to before, but he was becoming angrier and at the same time more confident than before.

Just as he passed the three meters mark, he turned his head to face the warrior once more. There was a flat grin across Jack's lips as if he was expecting it, even as the Warrior failed to let out a battle cry, he had already been heard, smelt and felt. It was too late however for the man to stop, so he let out a swing once he was just over three feet away.

"It seems a true failure meets the expectations of others, am I right?" Jack didn't dodge, instead, he brought his other hand in front of himself enveloped in an unnatural black shadowy glove. With two fingers intercepting the point of the sword, he completely stopped the weapon's momentum, then with his other hand bisected the blade and grasped it within the next second.

"What the hell did you just do!?" The warrior growled, throwing the hilt of his broken weapon aside, as Jack maneuvered light on his feet. His eyes locked on the sword's blade which was grasped by the mage's thumb, middle and index fingers.

"Iron blade... Not even steel. If you thought a blade of this caliber would do anything against me while I still have my wits, you are sadly mistaken," Jack mocked him detrimentally, causing him to lash out with his arms reaching for a grasp at his throat.

"I'll kill you! I've never lost against Mage and I never will!"

"Your arrogance is unfounded," Jack uttered as he felt the man's hands clasp around his throat. It was too late anyway, those hands weren't strong enough to kill him immediately. Without falling back, he shoved the blade up through the bottom of the Warrior's jaw and into his brain. He was killed instantly, following Jack's previous claim that he would make his death painless.

Callously Jack shook his head, as the muscular arms dropped to their sides, he pressed the two hands together on the blade as he let the corpse fall to its knees. "Goodbye," were the only words he said before his fingers touched and a burst of lightning exploded from them. With the blade being used as a conductor, near-instantly the body was vaporized from the inside out, destroying all but the man's belongings which clambered to the ground.

Megumin laid there with her eyes wide open, seeing how he had just defeated the man who was going to ravage her. She was stunned, amazed, bewildered. It was as if he had killed for her even though he was already going to do so prior to her offer.

"Magnificent! Though not as good as explosion magic, but worthy of my praise!" Her eyes trailed over his clothing, then back up to his face, her stomach began to growl lightly. "As a token of goodwill, I will do you a favor and join your party! Rejoice for you will have my power!"

A few days ago she had gone off on a journey, a journey to the Town of Axel, in order to become an Adventurer and make money for herself. So far, the past few parties had betrayed her, often leaving her behind or kicking her out of the party after their first job.

Jack's hands were arching with electricity as he just stared down at her for a few seconds after hearing her choice of words, raising a brow at the sound of her stomach growling as well. "Black lace..." His eyes narrowed on her panties as he was looking over his shoulder at her.

"D-DON'T LOOK! Are you a wolf just like the other man!?"

"Seriously?" Jack, unlike her, remained entirely calm as he would kneel down and start studying the warrior's personal effects. When he came across the registration card, he incinerated it into nothingness with the magic reaction surrounding his fingers.

Blinking as he was no longer paying attention to her directly, Megumin just watched as he was looting the Warrior's staff. "Does that mean I... I can join your party?" She squirmed as much as she could on the ground, but she hardly moved at all due to the lack of energy to do so.

"Yes," his eyes trailed over to the girl who lay there, "Just remember the promises you are now obligated to follow through with."

The crimson red glow from her eyes faded and immediately exploded onto her face. Promises, the words that she had spurted out at the moment, that she had said that she would give to him.

"N-no! I-I was just excited! I didn't mean I'd do it righ--" Megumin was beginning to sputter, clearly embarrassed that he was bringing that up.

Jack just stared at her with an empty look on his face, his emerald eyes glowing almost demonically. "It doesn't matter when you deliver, it only matters that you do, unless... A cute girl such as yourself is a liar," there was a hint of teasing in his tone, but he wasn't trying to be cruel.

Her words held weight, and if she wanted to have things go her way, she needed to realize and follow through with the importance of those words. She shouldn't just spout out nonsense if she didn't really mean it... Right?

"I do not lie..." Megumin rubbed her face slightly against the grass, briefly averting her gaze.

Jack finally shed his callous exterior and gave a warm smile. "Don't give me that," the electricity on his fingers came to a stop as he stopped channeling power into them.

"Are you going to carry me back to the Guild?" Megumin's eyes fluttered on back to him, her fingers twitching slightly. Her panties were still exposed and she was becoming a bit more nervous. He had called her cute, even after taking her words seriously. "You're not going to leave me out here, right? Please don't abandon me! I won't be able to survive until the next sunrise!"

That warm expression he was giving her didn't falter, "If I accepted you into my party, why would I abandon you?" His tone was of course rather rhetorical, it wasn't meant to be answered.

Thankfully at least, these words brought a happy smile across her lips rather than one of panic. "Can you fix my skirt?"

Jack's eyes traced down her slender form to her black lace-trimmed panties, before raising a brow. "Have you ever thought of wearing leggings?" Shifting over onto his feet before stepping on over to her with the pouch in one hand, he turned her onto her back before straddling over her legs. Dropping the pouch down beside her, he reached down and fixed the skirting beneath him.

Blinking up at him with her arms laid out from her sides, her eyes danced about his face. "What... Are you anyway? Are you a demon?" A cheeky grin formed over her lips, thinking she was correct.

"No, I'm an Oni," Jack responded with a snicker of his own, sitting her up and taking her chin into his hand. He was six foot and she was about four foot ten inches tall. "You're pretty smol. Are you mischievous Imp trying to seduce me?" His thumb traced right below her lower lip.

"I am surely not an Imp, I am one hundred percent human, I am Megumin of the Crimson Demon Clan!" She snapped up at him with great vigor, though still paralyzed from the neck down due to her overuse of Mana.

"I know who you are, you've already said it..." He listened to her stomach growling again. "I'm going to assume you haven't eaten...?"

Her eyes drifted away as she finally murmured, "I haven't eaten for three days..."

"I mean, heh, humans can survive for more than a week without food and about three days without water," Jack was mostly aware of this from his previous life, as a lot more information was available on the internet.

Here, he didn't even know if there was a library available in Axel, but there were likely some magic books for sale at Wiz's place or another shop. His eyes looked over her adorable expression as she stared up at him now, his hands grasping at the sides of her face, his fingers hidden behind the long strands of her hair.

"Mind if I take one of the firsts?" He inquired as to his eyes traced over her lips before trailing back over to her reddish-brown eyes, his horns retracting into his head as if they had never been there.

Megumin stared at his bare forehead now that he was no longer horned, only to then look at his lips when he asked about one of her firsts. So as she swallowed shallowly, she nodded whilst locking eyes with him. It wasn't as if she could say no, what would he do to her if she was a liar? Would he even take no for an answer? She had just been attacked by a man who was going to violate her. Now she was being held in the arms of her savior, in his hands, with him wanting to kiss her as to steal one of her firsts.

This was all because of her own folly, she is the one who only used explosion magic, and she knew it. The only thing that was in her mind now though, was how he had saved her. Not only had he used magical prowess, but also a more martial approach.

Mages and Wizards, even their prestige job classes such as her own, typically stayed still and chanted spells. While there were skilled ones capable of doing spells without a chant, she had never observed someone bend magic energy like him.

Despite all the overwhelming facts that lead her to this state however, she did not recognize the greatness of his magic. She had once been saved by an ArchWizard who used explosion magic, so she will continue to believe that it will be used to save others as well!

"It--" Before she could finally respond, Jack pressed his lips against hers and her eyes widened. They began to glow a deep crimson as he stole what she had first offered.

His lips were warm, somewhat damp and slightly chapped, the embrace was pleasant for a first kiss. Honestly, it wasn't something Megumin expected as her eyelids partially drooped, the glow becoming a bit more intense as her heart raced.

When he slowly drew his lips away from hers, she had this dazed look on her face as if steam was radiating off her head. "Hm... You ate wild parsley earlier," Jack kidded as he proceeded to tuck his arms under hers, picking her up as he stood. He then rested her buttocks upon his arm and her arms draped over his shoulder.

A smile formed over her lips as she finally came to, resting her head on his shoulder, "You can tell?" She asked, referring to the fact she had eaten wild parsley earlier to hold herself over.

She was light, so he had no problem carrying her with one arm. He had collected her hat, placing it on her head, and then stuffed her stave into his sack, picking that up as well before marching back towards the town of Axel.

"Yes, I can tell," Jack replied after a few seconds as he rested his eyes on the wall surrounding the town in the distance. They were a while away, but it served as a time to get to know her a bit more.

Plus, having someone who can use magic with such force, seemed to be a good addition. For the most part, though, he was happy he was no longer alone.

"Do you have a place to stay in town?"

"I've... Been staying in the stables. What about you?"

"I've been staying at an Inn where the beds' smell of mildew and the eggs are overcooked. I believe... Perhaps we'll share a room until I get more permanent housing somewhere else?" Jack was planning on getting a storefront like Wiz's that doubled as a house on the second floor or so.

A house such as that would serve as a way for him to sell things, rather than going from stall to stall in the market place, or going into other stores. If he could sell wares created from his hunts, and rare items rewarded from quests, now that would make it all the better... Especially with his superior knowledge from the other world, there was a lot he could do, but he already noticed there was plenty that had been improved upon from other reincarnation.

He could only assume he was not alone, especially after his encounter with the one known as Chris. Jack had accepted her invitation to join the Order of Eris, not entirely sure what it was other than a sect that worshipped a Goddess of Fortune and Luck.

It was a benefit for himself it seemed, for the most part.