“There, now be a good boy and behave!” scolded Helene lightly after she successfully pulled Alex far enough from the hall. “While waiting for the king’s mood to be better, why don’t you have a stroll around? But please, come back before dark. We have a feast coming up. Hopefully you could reconsider your decision by that time.”

Alex looked around. Everybody left already as soon as they left the hall. Seemed like everybody was preoccupied with their own agenda.

“Yeah, I think I will do that,” agreed Alex, his steps taking him outside the palace.

Just after walking through the castle gate, he was welcomed by the bustling atmosphere of the capital. Tough-looking guys lining up in front of the guild, drunkards yelled at each other even though it was still too early to be drunk, old ladies bargained the greens as if their lives depended on it, all was so refreshing. It was hard for Alex to accept the fact that this lively scenery was destroyed in one night by his nemesis.

Across the space where the children were playing around, Alex could see the shoddy-looking building. That was Chuck’s workshop, the blacksmith who always backed Alex and the party with his reliable weapons and armors. Alex decided to pay him a visit.

“Excuse me, anybody’s home?” greeted Alex in front of the workshop. Responding Alex’s call, from the back, a fairly fat old man in his 40s came out.

“Nah, just looking for some old friends,” replied Alex enigmatically. His eyes scanned the weapons hanging around, looking for a certain sword. “Hey, I like that sword you got!”

Chuck looked at the corner where Alex was pointing his fingers to.

“That? That thing was too big to be called a sword. Too big, too thick, too heavy, and too rough. It was more like a large hunk of iron!” replied Chuck harshly.

Alex was well aware of that. He also realized that Chuck gave him that sword before as a cruel joke, lying to him that the sword was a legendary one. Alex had a really hard time mastering that sword due to its size.

“I’m busy right now! Take this sword and get lost!” yelled Chuck, while handing over the sword and pushing Alex out of his workshop.

Along his way back home, Alex couldn’t stop himself from smiling for he had been reunited with his trustworthy sword, Eisen. In this world where light swords are common, Eisen stood out like a sore thumb. Even Alex cursed Eisen for being a fake legendary sword. But during his mission, Eisen became an inseparable partner for Alex, slaying countless demon and establishing its status as legendary sword.

By the time he arrived, Helene was already waiting for him.

“Sir Hero, I hope you enjoyed your free time. The feast is almost ready, so please follow me. I will take you there,” welcomed Helene warmly. Alex just nodded. He was too starving to comment.

Both of them made their way to the dining hall. There, they found everybody was already on their seat. King Romeus and Princess Remina were sitting on the head of the table, while the party members sat on the remaining seats.

“Here comes the main star of tonight!” welcomed King Romeus. Looked like he already forgot about the incident earlier during the day. “Maids, tell the chefs to start cooking. We will begin the feast!”

“Now you have a seat,” ordered the king. Alex went to his assigned seats while wondering what kind of foods would be served.

Alex didn’t even have the chance to land his butt on the chair, because a messenger joined them abruptly.

“Your Majesty, reporting! The village located in the western border was under attack from the hordes of demon! Awaiting your order!” reported the messenger.

“By Arceus! What a bad timing!” responded the king. “Hereby I pronounce this dinner to be postponed. Alex, this will be your first mission! Take your members with you and head towards the village immediately!”

Alex froze up. He recalled before in the past, that village was completely obliterated. They were winning at the beginning. But as soon as they left the village, an even greater number of demon army came back to avenge their fallen comrades. They couldn’t do much since they were unprepared. They were lucky enough just to escape with their lives.

“Damn, the greenhorn must be pissing his pants right now,” mocked Gremio. “Can’t blame him though, I bet he never wielded a weapon before. I mean, look at his silly choice of sword.”

Gremio’s remark woke Alex up from his thought. He concluded at this moment; the safety of the villagers was the number one priority. He would concoct a plan along the way.

“Comrades! The time is nigh! Let’s make our way to defend the village!” commanded Alex full of charisma to his compatriots. Seeing that, King Romeus was a bit relieved for he thought that finally Alex came to his senses. Little did he know that the sole reason behind Alex's change of heart was caused by his concern for the villagers' wellbeing.

“Hmm? Where did that change of attitude come from?” wondered Salieri. “I thought he was not confident with our abilities before?”

“Rasheed thinks Hero is naïve,” judged Rasheed. “Maybe Hero is angry because he is hungry.”

“What a shame to have an indecisive hero,” added Stella. “After underestimating us, now you expect our cooperation?”

“Easy, guys. As people say, seeing is believing,” calmed Pandora. “It’s a good chance to let him witness our power and perhaps he will show us some respect later.”

Alex was unfazed with their sharp comments. His brain was busy hatching a countermeasure in order to change the outcome of the future battle. Little by little, he planned to change the course of history. He wouldn’t let the second chance granted by Goddess Sureya slipping away from his grasp. With that in mind, he rode on his horse, followed by the 6 members of his party. They are marching towards their very first official battlefield.