Oh great. If he knew his partner would be a crotchety old man Kurai would have passed on the quest. He got enough of that crap from his father to last him a lifetime. They even used fancy words that they didn't think other people would know in an attempt to make them seem stupid. Too bad for that bastard he was a well-educated man despite his appearance maybe suggesting otherwise.

Kurai scoffed at Rojin's attempt at insulting him. He'd heard much worse before. “Nice try you old coot. I'm rather happy with how I look. You look like you're about to keel over any second though. You sure you're gonna make it through this if something attacks?”

Seere simply shook his head at the pair exchanging words. He could tell that this was likely going to get worse before it got better. If it did at all. “There is no need for hostilities now. We are all here for the same purpose. If we work together then the night shall be quick.” The demon nodded his head at his wise words. The two humans would do well to just follow his advice and stop arguing.

Not that they expected Kurai to do so. In fact, he responded much like the demon expected. “Yeah sure whatever. Let's just get this over with so I can go to sleep.” He leaned back against the wall of the settlement before sliding down it so he was sitting on the ground. This would be much more comfortable than standing the whole shift. Seere remained on his feet however and diligently kept watch over the area in case anything appeared.

Rojin

What was with these old farts thinking that just cause someone was young they wouldn't pull their weight. Then he went off on him because he threw a few choice words back at the man when he started the whole thing. Kurai laughed when Rojin started his onslaught of M words. At least they were somewhat creative in their insult. Suddenly his mood changed and he spoke with a much brighter tone than before. “Good one. You really like your M's huh? The name's Kurai.”

Despite Seere's calm face, he was getting quite tired of the man's antics. Rojin kept droning on and was starting to get on the demon's nerves. Kurai's rages were obnoxious, but they were short-lived usually so it was tolerable. In most cases. With how long the man was going on it was hard to ignore how irritating they were becoming. “In truth it was happenstance. When he was given his Class I was bound to serve him by the system.”

Kurai grunted when Rojin hit him in the leg, but didn't make any effort to stand up. “Ugh you really like to listen to yourself talk, don't you? If you want to tire yourself out standing and complaining then be my guest. You can be the bait if something attacks. I'd rather sit here and conserve my energy until something shows up.”

As if on cue something could be heard from the treeline nearby. Seere perked up and firmly grasped his spear. “Stop your bickering, fools. You've attracted something to our location.” Kurai took no time to scramble to his feet when he heard the demon's warnings. He knew better than to argue with their instincts by now.

After a few more moments of rustling three goblins came rushing out of the bushes. Two of them had scimitars while the one at the back wielded a crudely made bow. “Damn I was hoping creatures wouldn't be brave enough to attack a settlement like this.” Seere spoke as they held out their hand and took hold of reigns that appeared in the air in front of them. “I'll take care of the front. Kurai will take the back. You may do as you please.”

A pegasus quickly rose from a red pentacle that formed under their feet. By the time it fully appeared Kurai and Seere were on its back. It quickly dashed forward at an increased speed until it was right in front of the goblin warriors.

The summoner dismounted the house and began sprinting towards the one with the bow with his arm outstretched. Kurai pointed a finger gun at the bowgoblin before putting his thumb flat. The motion caused a pentacle to appear in the air behind him and a red bolt of energy to shoot at his enemy. It rolled out of the way and shot an arrow back at the young man that grazed their side. Thankfully his defense was decent so it didn't cause much damage. “Damn now I'm gonna have to replace this shirt.”

Seere's spear shot forward to strike the monster in the shoulder. It swung its weapon up at the demon in return, but their attack was easily dodged. Despite wearing armor the man was still very nimble. However, he couldn't attract the attention of the third goblin that was making its way to Rojin.

De/buffs: N/A
Used: Basic Attack x2 (F-rank PWR damage), Glint In The Dark (20-meter dash at +1 SPD, +10% SPD 1/2)

It seemed like the old man was determined to be crotchety no matter what. Kurai wasn't happy about the situation either, but at least he had the decency to not ruin the mood of others. The old man came in slinging insults from beginning to end and the more he tried to refute them the stronger their resistance became. The only way to deal with someone who was fueled by interaction was to just ignore them. So he did. As much as it pained him to do so.

Before the goblin had the chance to nock a second arrow Kurai launched another bolt from the pentacle in the air. The bowgoblin fell backward and stopped moving once the energy hit its chest. At the same time, Seere thrust their spear into their enemy's throat.

Rojin was right. The attackers were weak. His summon and him were only level 1 so they didn't have many stats. On the other hand, the old man seemed to be much stronger than he appeared. Guess he could back up all those choice words he was using earlier.

Just as the old man said three more goblins popped out of the treeline. One of them rushed at Kurai as the other two attacked the old man. It swung its mace at him and the blow caused him to stumble back a few feet before he regained his footing. “Damn this better be the last of them. I'm too tired for this shit.” He grumbled as he stared down the goblin that struck him. If not for the cooldown on his ability he would have already shot the bastard. Thankfully he had enough defenses to tank a hit or two while he bided time.

De/buffs: Glint In The Dark (+10 SPD 2/2)
Used: Basic Attack x2 (F-rank PWR damage)

Once again the old man was running his mouth and berating him for no good reason. Kurai found it hard to bite his tongue and not fuel Rojin's fuel any further. Anything he could say would just cause more nastiness to be spat at him. As proven by their last statement.

Rojin was obviously much stronger than he was. They must have spent quite a bit of time upping their stats to be strong enough to catch a mace like that. Not to mention they'd already killed two goblins. Even with his increased defense stat Kurai didn't think he'd be capable of such a feat. That was the only explanation as to why they were so much stronger than he was. There was no way they'd be like this normally.

Regardless he'd have to start pulling his weight if he wanted this to be done with. As the goblin he was facing rushed him again, he prepared to dodge. Last time he was caught off guard, but that wouldn't be the case now. When his enemy swung their mace at him again Kurai was able to move out of the way before tackling the goblin to the ground.

He placed his hand over its face and the pentacle floating behind him appeared on his palm. The bolt of energy that came out instantly collided with the goblin's face. The attack didn't destroy its head like Rojin's did, but the bolt still left some burns. It did finish them off though.

Meanwhile, Seere aimed and threw his spear at the chest of the last standing goblin from behind. Rojin didn't need any help, but if he just sat back and let them handle it on their own they'd be berated again. The demon was almost as tired of hearing their constant complaining as Kurai was.

De/buffs: N/A
Used: Basic Attack x2 (F-rank PWR damage)
Cooldowns: Glint In The Dark (Seere 1/3)

Ugh, he just couldn't win with Rojin. Whether he was talking or staying quiet the old man still went on and on. At least it wasn't aimed at Kurai. At first. Admittedly the brutality shown by them scared him somewhat. The way they toyed with and criticized the weak goblin with a smile on their face revealed a more sinister side to them that he cared to see. The system really let some real sickos through. Fuck did that mean his father would show up at some point?

No time to think about that now. Kurai looked over the party screen like Rojin suggested and just as they said the man was level 0. Another weird trick of the system no doubt. It's a sick joke on the old man. Levels were most of the point of RPGs like the system was based on. They were the main way to get stronger in games yet the old man was at level 0. Not even level 1 like what he started at. Yet they were much stronger than he was so maybe the joke was on him.

As he got up off the goblin below him Kurai decided to finally give up on the silent treatment. “Alright fine I get it. You don't need to tell me that I need to get stronger. I managed to gather that on my own thank you.” He remembered that one of the goals of his Class was to desecrate a safe zone of all things. There was no possible way he would manage that without leveling up. Not that he had a way to do so in the first place. How do you even go about finding a teacher to become a supervillain?

Once the three men returned to the gate where they started the night Seere spoke up to prevent any further nastiness. “Summoner, perhaps we should begin our patrols.” After Kurai grumbled something in agreement the demon turned to Rojin and nodded. “We will return if we see an enemy. You may keep watch until the shift is over. Or whatever else you wish.”

With that being said Kurai and Seere split off in opposite directions for their patrol. They circled the encampment until they crossed paths with one another then met up again at the gate. Thankfully the rest of the night passed uneventfully until a pair of guards came to relieve them of their duties.

Kurai breathed a sigh of relief when he got the news. Finally, the night was over and he could rest. As they were guided to where they would rest he tried some small talk with Rojin once more. Maybe it was better he stayed quiet, but who knows? It may not be completely terrible. “So uh... Thanks for your help. I guess.” He was never very good at this sort of thing. “Good luck. Have fun. Don't die.” He muttered before heading into the tent he was allotted for the night.

De/buffs: N/A
Used: N/A
Cooldowns: Glint In The Dark (Seere 2/3)