(Y/n's POV)

I hate this country. They sing praise to these stupid heroes, while trashing on those who actually do the work.

We made are way to the throne room, and the look on the King's face definitely made up for the trip.

King: I see you are still alive...

Y/n: Damn you sound overjoyed to see me

A soldier carrying a glass ball, held it up and a projection of the battle Naofumi had with the wave boss played.

He waved off Naofumi and muttered a "congratulations" to him.

King: How did you get so strong? Your stats shouldn't allow you to do anything like this, and don't try to lie to me hero!

Naofumi: If you want to know so bad why don't you come over here and beg

Naofumi pointed to the ground in front of him and glared at the King. He didn't seem to happy that he was being shrugged off after he won the wave.

King: How dare you! I am the King!

Y/n: Do you ever shut up? Do you think we give a shit?

Naofumi: If I wanted to I could kill you and walk out of this place unharmed

Men surrounded us with weapons drawn. I wasn't planning on playing nice and responded by summoning Xykus and having the girls ready to attack.

Y/n: Oh please attack me! Do it! I'll fucking destroy this entire damn castle!

Naofumi: Let me make myself clear. I'm only corroborating with you to clear the waves, so I can return home when this is done

King: If I can't punish you for your crimes, maybe I'll have those slaves of yours pay the price

Now he's done it. I could feel Naofumi's killer intent radiating from him. The King was helping my case in recruiting Naofumi so much easier.

Naofumi: Use all the dirty, underhanded tricks you want! I will protect my party through it all! You'll never take anything from me again! I dare you to lay a finger on them! I'll chase you to ends of the earth and make you regret ever being born!

The King recoiled in fear. I loved that look in his eyes. He looked like he was about to shit himself.

Before anything else could happen the doors bursted open and a short blue haired girl with several guards came into the throne room.

???: What is going on in here?! Why is everyone fighting?!

Y/n: Who are you?

King: M-Melty? What are you doing here?

Melty: Mom sent me after she heard what has been happening here

Y/n: Oh great another brat from the royal family

Melty: Excuse me?!

The girl seemed shocked that anyone would talk so rudely to her. She was certainly not gonna have a good time talking to me.

Melty: Let's all just calm down, before anyone does something they'd regret

Y/n: Nah I'd have no regrets if I ended the lineage here

Melty: W-What.. How could anyone be so heartless. You and the king shouldn't be fighting in a time of crisis, without the financial support of the Kingdom how could you keep fighting

Y/n: That is so funny I forgot to laugh. What do you mean financial support? I don't think we have the same definition

Naofumi: Stop Y/n, let's just get out of here

Y/n:...Fine

I followed behind Naofumi as we left without another word.

(Timeskip)

We were currently standing in Erhard's shop. He wasn't to happy about our conduct with the King, but didn't push it. Naofumi waved him off and continued to inspect random items around the shop.

Naofumi: I'm thinking about visiting Shieldfreeden or Siltvelt. Raphtalia and Filo are ready for class upgrades

Erhard: I recommend going to Shieldfreeden, both are Demi-Human countries, but Siltvelt have a radical view on Demi-Human supremacy

Y/n: Wait what's a Class Upgrade?

Naofumi: Wait you don't know?

Y/n: Not like I was around to be told things

Naofumi: Once your companions reach level 40, they need to get class upgraded to raise their cap

Y/n: I see. Fu and Yu are both pretty close to it then

Naofumi: Well by the time we reach it, they should be at level 40. We should head out now, so we have some time before the next wave

Erhard gave Naofumi some gifts, before we left. He handed Raphtalia a new sword and a magic sword, that lets her hit creatures with no physical body, and Filo a pair of power gloves that increases her strength. He offered me some gear, but I turned it down since it would be a downgrade.

As we were loading up the carriage with supplies for the journey, a flash of light caught my attention. It wasn't a normal light, and was blinking in a pattern. I looked around and noticed no one else saw it, so I decided to check it out.

Y/n: I'll meet you at the entrance to the city, I have something to do before we leave. Fu, Yu, stay with Naofumi

Fu/Yu: Alright Master!/Come back soon Master!

Naofumi: Alright, we'll be waiting

I nodded at him, before I walked off. I cut through a few alleys and streets to where I saw the flash of light. An arrow was etched into the wood and pointed to the top of the building. It was a small bell tower, that seemed to be abandoned. I opened the door to the building slowly. The inside was ran down, spider webs and dust were caked around.

Y/n: Undead Eye

I scanned the room and saw no signatures in the building. Even though I didn't sense anything with my skill, I couldn't help but feel like I was being watched.

Y/n: I know you are there, come out

My hunch was right, and a masked man landed in front of me. His body was covered by a cloak, hiding anything he had on him. He held his hands up and showed his palms to me, to indicate he wasn't hostile.

???: Hello Y/n, you don't know me, but I know you

Y/n: That's creepy

???: Yes it is

Y/n: Who are you?

Origin: You can just call me Origin

Y/n: That's a weird name

Origin: That's rude

Y/n: You were clearly signaling for something, no one else seemed to notice it, so I take it you wanted me

Origin: I expected you to notice. There is something very important that you must do

Y/n: Why should I do anything you tell me to do?

Origin: You will just have to trust me when I tell you. The Crowned Princess of Melromarc is in danger, her sister is planning on assassinating her tonight. Save her Y/n

Y/n: Why should I save anyone from this awful Kingdom? They can kill each other for all I care

Origin: She must live for you to get your revenge, she can easily be used and influenced. She must not die tonight

Y/n: And you expect me to do this and trust that what you are telling me is true? You do realize how crazy you sound right?

Origin: As a sign of good faith, I will give you this scroll. It has two spell that you can learn upon reading it.

I grabbed the scroll and eyed it cautiously. I didn't sense any ill intent from the man. Nothing seemed wrong with the scroll, and it had no extra hidden spells attached to it. I opened it up and the letters on the scroll started to glow. They eventually moved off the paper and onto my arms to be absorbed by my arms.

I was surprised to learn what the skills were, and also something I hadn't seen before as well.

Skills Unlocked

Cursed Flame - Inextinguishable purple fire that curses the targets. The curse slowly kills the person and resurrects them upon death.

Death's Embrace - A passive skill that lowers the moral of those effected by it. If the person loses the will to live, a Spector of the user will harvest their soul.

Feature Unlocked

Soul Well - A dimension that stores harvested souls. Harvested souls can be resurrected at anytime, or combined to create stronger souls. Consuming souls will temporarily boost the users stats.

The masked man simply stood there. I was unable to figure out his motives, but decided to trust him. He was kind enough to give me these skills, and so far hadn't showed any hostility. The moment I sense any from him, I'll kill him before he can do anything.

Y/n: So where can I find the Princess?

Origin: The girls personal guard are being payed off. They will leave their posts tonight and an assassin will enter her room and kill her in her sleep

Y/n: And how are you sure of this?

Origin: You will just have to trust me. You have seven hours until she dies, if you don't get involved

With that the man glowed purple and vanished. A small purple crystal was left in his place. I picked it up and a info screen popped up. It had was a time counting down from seven hours, and info about the castle.

6:59:42

Melty can be found on the east side of the castle. Her room will be the 3rd window up and 2nd one from the northeastern tower. The easiest way in is climbing in through it. The assassin is a highly trained and a rouge Shadow. She will arrive 15 minutes before this timer ends. If you aren't there when it runs out, then Melty will already be dead.

Origin

I didn't know you could leave messages on items. Besides the info on the mission, this seemed like a good skill to try and learn. It would make planning out things and recording info a lot easier.

Y/n: How am I suppose to explain this to Naofumi?

(Timeskip)

(3rd POV)

Naofumi: Y'know drugs are bad right Y/n?

Y/n: I swear to you I'm telling the truth!

Naofumi: You know how hard that is to believe?

Y/n: I know! I know! But that's what the guy said, he even gave me some skills

Naofumi: How are you so sure it isn't a trap?

Y/n: If it is, then I'll just kill them, but if it's not I can use this to my advantage

Naofumi put his hand to his chin and thought hard about it. He was worried about it being a trap and didn't want to risk putting his party in danger, and didn't like the idea of staying here any longer then he had to.

Naofumi: Sorry, but I don't want to risk it. If I want to get Raphtalia and Filo their class upgrades and level them up before the next wave, I need to get there as soon as possible.

Y/n sat in the carriage as Naofumi ordered Filo to move. He was also unsure about this, and agreed with Naofumi, but his brain also kept telling him to do it. If he saved the Crowned Princess, he could use that influence to extort them.

Y/n: I'll catch up with you guys, Stay with Naofumi in case anything happens girls!

Naofumi: What?

Naofumi looked behind him and saw Y/n jump out of the carriage and run back towards the city.

Fu/Yu: Master!?

Both girls were about to jump out, but were shocked by the slave crest. Both of them cryed in pain as they kept trying to leave, but eventually gave up. Raphtalia looked at Naofumi for help as she tried to calm down the girls, but he didn't know what to do. He was dumbfounded as he looked at the crying girls, and only one thought was in his mind. He was definitely going to punch Y/n for this headache the next time he saw him.

(Y/n's POV)

If it's a trap then I shouldn't risk the girls in it. I don't know what these royal bastards might try. I looked at the timer again, and saw that I had 5 hours left. The timer honestly wasn't actually really helpful besides knowing when the assassin enters the room, and if the princess died.

Not like I could just sneak in now, or scout out the place easily with how many guards were around, and the sun hasn't fully set yet. He decided to wait in a secluded area around the walls, and practice some small magics.

The fire magic he was gifted, could actually be very versatile if he learned to combine it with some of his other skills. The second skill also seemed like it could be pretty busted depending on what the stat boosts are.

I was able to learn basic skills by combining Cursed Purple Flame and Magic Manipulation.

Skills Unlocked

Cursed Flame Sword - Spawns a flaming sword above the user

Cursed Flame Shield - Spawns a flaming shield in front of the user

Cursed Flame Enchant - Enchants target gear with Cursed Flame

It wasn't anything crazy, but with the current time constraint and not trying to draw attention, it  was all I could do. Once I have time to mess around with it, we will see what kind of skills I can create with it.

The sun had finally fallen, and I started to make my way towards the area. The timer still had just over 1 hours on it. I ran up the steps to the castles main courtyard. Only a few guards were on standby and they were focused on the nobles that were currently leaving the castle.

I snuck by and ran towards the direction the message had said. The tower I was looking for was actually behind a guard barracks, that had stairs leading down to another smaller courtyard with the tower. The problem was this area was much more light up compared to most of the main courtyard. A small patrol just left the barracks, holding some torches.

It was only 3 men, but they happened to be heading straight towards me. There was also 2 standing by the entrance of the barracks, and they would see me if I killed the 3 coming towards me. I had to kill all 5 at the same time...

Y/n: That bastard gave me a fucking timed stealth mission.... And he gave me a fire skill... What an absolute dick

As soon as the guards got close enough, I used my scythe to cut all 3 of their heads off in one swift swing. I quickly summoned 2 Cursed Flame Sword, and launched them at the ones outside the barracks. One of them got impaled to the wall, while the other accidently dodged to attack to cower in fear.

I resurrected the guards and had them surround the man. The last one looked at me in fear, unable to udder a single word. It seems he's the first person to trigger my Death's Embrace passive. I watched as a Spectral version of myself appeared over him, and reached into him. He pulled out a colorless orb, it vanished along with the Spector, and a +1 was added to the Soul Well. As much as I really wanted to mess around with these skills and theorize what they could do, I have to continue with this lame timed stealth mission, that I was given. Thought this was a good learning experience cause I did notice that the bodies that get their souls harvested, can't be resurrected as a corpse. I ordered the others to grab the body and jump off the small wall that lined the courtyard.

I made sure they all were hidden from sight, before I started running down to the smaller grove next to the barracks. It had a small fountain at the center of it, surrounded by a field of flowers. I looked around and saw no guards around, but something felt off. Just then I heard rustling behind me. On instinct I moved my head, as an arrow flew past me, just barely cutting my cheek.

Itsuki: What do you think you are doing criminal?

Y/n: I'm the criminal, when you just tried to kill me?

Itsuki: I saw you kill those guards! The King has been alerted, and the other heroes will be here soon

Y/n: You guys sure are annoying. Can you give me like a few minutes, so I can save the Princess?

Itsuki: I can't trust you around her, you aren't going anywhere

I wasn't going to get anything through his thick skull. The only way to solve any issue I have with these idiot heroes was through violence. I activated my Decay Aura, the flowers around me withered away, and the bushes shriveled up. Itsuki jumped back, as the circle of death around me continued to grow.

I charged at him, bringing my scythe down, he blocked it wish his bow. I could see his legs were shake as he barely held back the attack. Bits of his armor chipped away as the Decay Aura ate at his health.

Y/n: I won't waste my time to kill you this time, I'm already on a time crunch as it is. Can we reschedule this fight?

Itsuki: Of course not!

Itsuki shot a few more arrows at me, as he ran away to create some distance. The other two heroes showed up as he retreated, a squad of guards also following behind them.

Motoyasu: You are beyond saving villain!

Ren: I will stop you Y/n!

Y/n: You guys really want to die, don't you?

Itsuki: Heroes always win in the end Y/n

Y/n: You guys really need to grow up and face reality too

Motoyasu: Meteor Thrust!

Ren: Meteor Slash!

Itsuki: Meteor Shot!

Y/n: Cursed Flame Shield!

The attacks collided with the shield and exploded. Ren jumped from the cloud of smoke and tried to slash me. I dodged a stab from Motoyasu from behind me, and caught an arrow mid flight from Itsuki.

Y/n: You idiots are so predictable. A monkey could read your attacks coming from a mile away

Honestly Itsuki was the biggest threat to me. They may be predictable, but they can still land a shot if I'm busy fighting someone else. Knowing who to target first, I rushed towards him.

Y/n: Cursed Flame Enchant

A few of the guards tried to get in my way, but met a swift end as I cut them down. Their wounds bursted into fire. My Decay Aura ate away at the ones that survived the attack.

In the heat of the moment I grabbed a fireball one of the mages shot at me, and used Magic Manipulation to absorb it.

Skill Unlocked

Mana Absorption - Absorb Mana from your surroundings and add it to your own reserves

I grabbed the mage by his face and shot a point blank Magic Missile into him. Death's Embrace triggered on the ones standing next to him.

I used the dead mage in my hand and blocked a strike from Ren. I kicked Motoyasu in the gut as he ran at me, and brought my knee to his face.

I blocked another attack from Ren, but suddenly fell to my knee as I felt several arrows hit me. It broke my guard and let Ren's sword cut my arm. Motoyasu snuck in a stab to my chest.

Y/n: Ranged players are also a pain when supported, even if your supports suck ass

I pulled the arrows out of my leg, and used Multi-Missile and Cursed Flame Sword to push Ren and Motoyasu back. I didn't feel like playing this game anymore, so I did the logical thing to do.

Y/n: Alright, blowing this place up

I combined my Magic Missile and Cursed Flame on the spot, in the hopes it would give me a new skill. Lucky for me, it did.

Skill Unlocked

Cursed Missile - Do I really need to explain?

Cursed Multi-Missile

I shot several of them around me, sending fire all around and destroying the rest of the flower field. The flames were making it hard for the other heroes to get close. A few arrows flew past me, but they were off target thanks to the heavy smoke created the fires and explosions.

Y/n: Xykus, fly me up to that window

Xykus spawned, and took off as soon as I jumped on his back. Not wanting to waste anymore time, I decided to just fly straight through the wall.

I heard a feminine scream cry out, as I crashed through the wall. I checked the timer and it said I had 9 minutes left, and the only people in the room was me, the Princess, and a maid.

I rushed the maid and cut her head clean off before she could react, blood splattered across the Princess next to her. I kicked over a bookshelf to block the door.

I looked over at the Princess, her eyes widened as she looked down at the blood on her hands. I could already sense what was about to happen next.

Melty: AHH-mphhh

Y/n: Shut up, she was literally going to kill you

I held the princess down as I inspected the maids body. I found a knife strapped to her, and a vial of poison in her hand.

Y/n: This doesn't seem like something a Maid would have an I right?

I could hear muffled voices behind the door, and banging on it as Guards tried to break in. I let go of the girl and ran over to her bed, cutting a piece of its fabric off.

Melty: H-Hey wai-mphhh

Y/n: Nope, you are unsafe here. Be glad I'm even saving you. I'd be plenty happy to have also denied this job

She struggled against me as she tried to free herself from my grasp. I threw her on Xykus's back and hoped on myself. Just as the guards finally got in, we took off flying into the night sky.

I got to hear something that made me very happy. The pained scream from a certain piece of kingly trash.

Trashy King: MELTYYYY!!!!!!