Serpent

Even though her body was covered with bruises, Alice still tried to stand up. For now, all she have to do is try and try.

“What is he mean by middle class?” Mizuri jumped onto a big rock while casting.

“ Daiissen-waza: Yami o hakai suru gesshoku kakyū!” A burst of fire shot towards the jaws of the snake that was trying to devour Alice. “Keep that dirty mouth of yours away from my friend.”

Mizuri returned to casting the same skill, throwing fireballs continuously giving Alice time to escape from the place.

“Thank you”

“It's still too soon to thank you, get out of there!” Mizuri must stop the attack, if it continues, her energy will be wasted.

Because of that the big snake immediately hit its head back towards Alice who was careless. Luckily Mizuri's warning awakens her from that recklessness and manages to dodge.

“This Monster is at the same level as the floor boss monster, supposedly, this monster can be defeated if we are together with some others. At least 10 people” nevertheless, Alice still tried to find a loophole from the snake.

Every strong creature, definitely has a weak point, at least one.

“Mizuri, give me some time, distract the monsters!”

“I don't know what your plan is, but I'll try! Dai ni waza: shinsō of mushibamu hibana!”

Mizuri jumps from one rock to another while spreading hot particles to attract the monster's attention. Now Alice could observe the situation more calmly.

“First, the monster's scales are very hard, besides, its sense of smell and vision are so sharp that when I'm behind it, that damn snake will directly attack me.” Alice touched her chin.

“Wait, vision?”

A thin smile was implied on her lips. If its skin is hard, its smell is sharp and its vision is just as sharp, why doesn't he just aim for the soft parts?

The eyes and the inside of the mouth are the weak points of the huge snake.

"Hey! Are you done with your mind? I'm almost out of energy!” Mizuri kept jumping on every rock. “Sure! Mizuri, blind the monster! Use your hot particles and focus the attack on his eyes!”

“I'll try! Dai ni waza: shinsō of mushibamu hibana! Okō no hari”

The particles that numbered in the thousands changed shape into thousands of sharp needles that pointed at the two eyes of the monster. Pierced him with an unimaginable sense of heat.

“good! Destroy that damn snake from the inside!” Alice clenched her hands vigorously.

“Spread out, my fire!” little fingers stretched, the needles spread in the body of the monster, tearing flesh and bones, organs, and boil the blood.

The instant the monster stopped moving and fell, the inside of its body was completely burned out, leaving behind a shell of hard scales. “we can take a little of this snake's scales."Alice pulled out 2 pieces of snake scales and put them in a bag. I didn't know these scales were so heavy.

However, they were finally at the end of the journey. Entering the cave where the snake came out, sure enough there are 2 bells lying on a stone that looks like an altar.

“Finally.."Mizuri smiled happily, yet a moment later,

Bruk!

She fell and was unconscious. She expended too much energy to unleash her magic.

Her eyes were slightly open, she could faintly see Alice's worried face as she called out to her, although she could not hear her, her hearing seemed to have ceased to function.

In the end, Mizuri lost consciousness. Fell asleep calmly, with a winning smile implied on her lips.

Cold.

'why— they look at me like that?’

‘What's my fault?’

'Why— am I tied up?’

“Your Majesty.. Father..! Please let me go..!” her soft tone made no one have the heart to do this cruel thing to that innocent girl.

But sacrifices are still needed.

The man— just looked at her with a pitiful look, said goodbye to her, for the last time.

'Why— I was banished?’

'Is this already the fate of a Miko? Like Mother'

'Do I— have to die?' she was thrown into the abyss, fell from a great height, fell into the depths of the river and the Rapids.

"Mizuri, you should be sleeping” but that cold— yet-warm voice changed everything.

She thought death was ahead of her, but she met the man.

The man is already transforming her, giving her warmth.

“!” she awoke from her sleep, a strange dream, she muttered.

She fell asleep in a comfortable bed, not on the rocks anymore. Two people she had only known a few days back were standing by the window of this room.

Kaiser and Alice.

“I told you, Mizuri is sick and you even smoke, it's not good for Mizuri!”

“huh? I smoked with the window open and sat right in front of that window, so I guess that's okay, right?”

The two of them are always fussing over trivial matters.

Mizuri fell asleep after using so much energy, she couldn't remember how she got out from inside that Dimensional Gate.

“Oh? You're awake, thank God, you've been asleep for 2 days” Alice realizes that Mizuri has woken up from her sleep.

Two days? Quite a long time. “How was the test?” Mizuri tried to sit down,

The exam went smoothly, they both passed and the 5 injured people they found earlier managed to survive even though they were eliminated.

In addition, Alice has also created a new weapon, for her and for the Kaiser, from the hard scales of yesterday's huge snake mixed with Mithril steel.

However Mizuri is a Caster, she does not need a sharp weapon, even the fan she often carries is not a magic catalyst, but just an ordinary hand fan.

With the two of them graduated, Kaiser can now form a team with them and enter the Dimensional Gate no longer alone.

“Alice, What about your parents?”

“My parents? I bickered with them for a while, but in the end they gave up and let me join the Dimensional Guild. They're troublesome parents, anyway.”

As daylight finally arrives, Kaiser walks out of Alice's apartment, giving Mizuri time to rest.

He looked up at the sky, smiled slightly as he smoked his cigarette, “friend, I finally have someone who really considers me a friend.”

“Are you sure about that, son of a criminal?”

The voice sounded familiar to Kaiser's ears. "Charlotte. Do you hate me that much?”

“I have to keep my good name, if I was nice to you, the story would be different, maybe people would look down on me, just like it happened to your two new friends.” Charlotte walked, left the Kaiser, what does that mean?

What does it mean?

Two friends? What are Alice and Mizuri?

They were both considered inferior just for being friends with the Kaiser?

Kaiser clenched his teeth, squeezed his cigarette with anger,

“it's always been this way— why would I join a guild and try to stop monsters from destroying this rotten world..?!”