Chapter 6

"What are we going to do about this?"

The reasonable question was asked by Mr. Gennady. At the moment, both the yokai and the beastman were in the small shed assigned to the latter, intently studying Killer's status window.

Not long before, an unsuspecting Killer had stepped into the yard, drawn by Zina's shouting, curious to see if she'd brought any food. Within ten minutes, he found himself part of some dubious party without fully understanding what had happened. Yuri decided to strike while the iron was hot—but maybe he should've confirmed that he was, indeed, forging iron.

Zina had gone to the tavern to settle matters with the innkeeper, leaving Yuri and Mr. Gennady to follow Killer into his humble shack to discuss the details.

хХх_KILLER_xXx turned out to be surprisingly talkative and amiable—until the conversation touched on his age or name. Following Zina's lead, the yokai decided it was pointless to ask and resolved to simply call him "Killer." Concluding that questioning him was a waste of time, they instead taught the beastman how to open a status window, granting access to the most reliable source of information about this peculiar individual.

Yuri, who had shed his human form, lost with it the rich array of expressions inherent to a human face. However, his muzzle now bore an uncanny resemblance to a certain meme-worthy fox—a poorly taxidermied specimen whose photos had roamed the internet for years:

"Are you talking about the attributes or that?"

"That."

The mention of attributes was no coincidence. Since Yuri had last opened his own status window, a significant amount of time had passed, and the interface had changed yet again. Attribute stats had appeared. At first, Yuri was elated: "Soon, we'll get to health points too!" Fighting the urge to check his own status window, he skimmed through the race and type descriptions—until his eyes landed on the beastman's class entry. There, he saw exactly what had caught Mr. Gennady's attention.

Yuri was a seasoned gamer who had seen plenty of bizarre things in his time. Yet, sometimes, encountering the latest creation of a deranged game designer, he experienced the same bewildered awe as he had the first time.

The kitsune tore her gaze away from the class entry and looked up at the lion-headed beastman. He returned her stare with a wary, sidelong glance.

"All right, then, what exactly are you?"

"A KILLER!"

A beastman assassin would have been unsettling enough, but it paled in comparison to his current class. From the start of their acquaintance, Yuri had suspected that Killer might turn out to have something other than a practical class.

And based on the beastman's name, he suspected it would indeed be an assassin. Noobs usually switched to the class that had given them the hardest time.

But reality exceeded all expectations:

"You're a beastman."

"The strongest killer!"

"Fine," Yuri struggled to keep calm, "BUT WHY ON EARTH ARE YOU AN ALCHEMIST?!"

Killer was nervous too, deep down realizing he might have messed something up, though he wasn't about to admit it:

"I'M A KILLER!"

The kitsune clutched her head in frustration, sending orange fur flying.

"You're an alchemist! That's your class, no matter what you think you are. God! Why?!"

The bakeneko stepped in to help Yuri, gently patting his shoulder and murmuring, "Easy, easy. What now, should he just go and off himself?" The kitsune groaned in response. Early in their acquaintance with the lion-headed beastman, the yokai had exchanged a few words. In a completely alien and unfamiliar world, it felt inhuman to abandon one of their own to fate—especially someone who clearly couldn't fully take care of himself. And since Killer had agreed to join their group, rejecting him for his uselessness would have been the height of cruelty.

In games, Yuri would just as easily invite players into his party or clan as he would kick them out. In reality, though, he was burdened by the understanding that he could no longer abandon this responsibility, even if it dragged him down. Despite his minor flaws, Yuri was, at heart, a good person.

Killer, meanwhile, wasn't staying quiet and began defending himself, gesturing wildly, making the shack seem like it might fall apart at any moment:

"I read guides! They said there's lots of money! I need gear!"

He, too, had to be calmed down. For a moment, silence reigned. Mr. Gennady, who had spent many years in the army and was thus far more emotionally resilient, thoughtfully asked:

"Yuri, how are alchemists in combat?"

Yuri looked at his companion with the same expression he'd had when staring at the status window earlier.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm asking, how are alchemists in combat? Specifically beastman al—Yuri, why are you looking at me like that? You're the only one here who understands how Grind works. Just give your expert opinion."

The kitsune sighed, then began prodding the status window with a clawed finger, commenting as she went:

Race: Beastman

Racial Ability:

Beast Heritage – You're not just beast-like, you are a beast: +5% to melee weapon damage and +10% to unarmed damage.

"The alchemist's class weapon is a staff. It gives bonuses to mana and magic damage. But if I were Killer, I'd fight unarmed—the Heritage bonus is just too good. An interesting approach would be to hold a staff in your left hand to boost class skill damage, while punching with your right. You couldn't do that in the game, but here..."

The kitsune spread her hands dramatically.

Type: Lion-headed

Type Abilities:

Dominance – A thunderous roar of the king of beasts asserts your authority, challenging everyone around. All enemies within range focus their attacks on you.

Tenacity – Sacrifice your health to replenish mana or morale.

"Classic tank mechanics—except he doesn't tank. Instead, he can funnel his health into fueling his alchemist attack skill. Brilliant. And he'll need to, because mana scales with intelligence, as does damage. And guess what? You don't have any intelligence, Killer, because you're a beastman."

Class: Alchemist

Class Abilities:

Hidden Tools (Lvl 1) – Use magic to summon your alchemical equipment and begin brewing. Potion quality scales with the level of the summoned tools.

Alchemical Circle (Lvl 1) – Master of alchemical transmutation, the alchemist creates an array that transforms everything within its bounds. Enemies in the area take damage every second.

"The best part. An AoE skill. Deals area damage and keeps going as long as it's active. The damage will be pitiful, though, since you've got no intelligence. Anyway, I've just stated the obvious. I have no idea how to combine a beastman with an alchemist."

The kitsune paced across the small open space of the floor, theatrically spreading her arms again. But her tail, swaying from side to side, betrayed her true mood—self-satisfaction. Yuri openly enjoyed being listened to and respected. Heroic murals flashed again in his mind's eye...

"What a dubious party we've gathered," the bakeneko brought Yuri back to harsh reality. She herself seemed deep in thought. Whether she was pondering her soon-to-be-born grandchild, a gender-change potion, or the lion-headed alchemist's role in the party was hard to say.

"Don't worry, I'll kill them all," Killer declared, pounding his chest with such force that the shack shook.

"No doubt," Yuri smirked.

Silence fell again. The bakeneko continued her intense contemplation.

"We need a healer!" Mr. Gennady suddenly announced his groundbreaking revelation.

Yuri made a complicated expression—he knew they needed a healer. Everyone knew they needed a healer. The worst part was that all healers were at least vaguely aware of this fact, and the good ones knew it for sure. As a result, they were insufferable, arrogant, and easily offended.

"True that."

"Hey, do paladins heal?" the bakeneko began. "I mean, Sir M—"

"Absolutely not!"

"Fine, just asking."

"We'll stock up on potions before the fight. They work—I tested mana elixirs myself. And as luck would have it," Yuri glanced at Killer, "we've got someone who can make them."

At that moment, a disheveled and battered demonologist burst into the shed, cheerfully announcing their newfound freedom. At first, the innkeeper had been reluctant to let Zina go, but when she, now equipped with the yokai's money, offered to buy a horse and travel supplies, he radically changed his tune. He undoubtedly made a hefty profit on the deal. However, the innkeeper's wife was visibly distraught, deeply moved by a desire to keep Zina through the power of love.

"Barely managed to… escape," the rugged demonologist concluded while trying to find a place for their enormous hat. It had to be removed just to fit through the doorway.

"Hey, Zina," said Yuri, who had been fascinated by the size of the headgear since they first met, "this hat…"

"Isn't it amazing?" Zina brightened up. "I love it! It makes me look like B."

"Who?" Mr. Gennady interjected unexpectedly.

"B," the demonologist repeated confidently. Realizing this explanation was insufficient, they elaborated, "You know, Vampire Hunter B. From that anime!"

They then enthusiastically began explaining the details of ancient animation from the Land of the Rising Sun to the sour-faced girl.

And so, in less than a day, the dubious duo had turned into a trio and then a quartet. Undoubtedly, great adventures awaited them! The remainder of the day—or rather, the evening—was spent not only uncovering the mysteries of anime but also tackling pressing matters. They discussed: how to quickly return to the Tree of Wisdom for contracts for Killer and Zina, where to go next, how not to mess up at the quest giver, and, most importantly, who smelled like an unwashed dog.

After finally calming Killer and Yuri, they compared their attributes. The breakdown was as follows:

Kitsune:

Strength: 2 Agility: 3 Perception: 2 Endurance: 2 Intelligence: 4

Bakeneko:

Strength: 1 Agility: 5 Perception: 3 Endurance: 2 Intelligence: 2

Demonologist:

Strength: 2 Agility: 3 Perception: 3 Endurance: 3 Intelligence: 2

Lion-headed:

Strength: 5 Agility: 1 Perception: 2 Endurance: 4 Intelligence: 1

"Here's what I don't get," the kitsune said, scrutinizing the lion-headed one closely. "Killer has 5 Strength. That's nearly double mine. But he's ridiculously strong. Either the numbers are lying, or… I don't know."

No one had any ideas. However, Mr. Gennady, with his years of gaming experience, wasn't one to leave a question unanswered:

"Killer's build isn't standard, is it?" he asked. Upon receiving a nod, he turned to the beastman. "When you created your character, did you max out the sliders for muscle tone or something like that to look cooler?"

As it turned out, that's exactly what Killer had done. Obsessed with strength, he had his own ideas about what a powerful body should look like. As a result, he was nearly as wide as he was tall. The bakeneko shrugged:

"It's just the game's mechanics. Maybe for NPCs—or rather, the locals—body builds are strictly tied to Strength. They're based on some standard values. Uh… how do I put this? Basically, they don't choose their builds. But Killer, when creating his character, went way beyond the norm. The local system assigned him Strength stats typical for a body like that at Level 1 but didn't adjust his actual strength based on his muscle mass."

"So, if the stats are literal for the locals but just an overlay for us…?" Yuri mused.

"It's just a theory."

"If that's true, Killer's actual Strength stat is way above Level 1. He's basically a cheater!"

"I'm an assassin," Killer quickly clarified.

"We know. Just try not to mention that to the locals too often."

The demonologist sighed.

"I hinted to the villagers that he got hit on the head with a hammer and, you know, isn't all there…"

Killer's body was indeed covered in scars, one of which severely disfigured his lion-like face.

"Noted."

The last issue of the day was where to spend the night. Killer had no objections to everyone staying with him. Gender dynamics and the finer nuances of human relationships were beyond his understanding. Some could sleep in the hayloft above the chicken coop, which Zina had claimed until dawn. However, complications arose: the innkeeper's wife had gone on the prowl, and the cringe-worthy knight might still be staying at the innkeeper's place.

So, after much arguing and shouting, the solution was to set up tents in the dead of night—surprisingly advanced ones for the local medieval civilization. They were purchased, for an outrageous sum, from the same innkeeper by Zina, who was deeply concerned about her own comfort.

"We'll make it!" Yuri mumbled as he was drifting off to sleep.

"Now that we've got a student and an otaku, nothing can stop us, Yuri!" Mr. Gennady reassured him. "The key is not to rush into danger, not to act like a hero, not to dive into a mob. Stick to that, and we'll be fine. Just like in real life. And this is real life, for crying out loud."