“Follow me!” commanded Alex leading the way. “This is the shortest route to the village!”

Everybody was confused. Why did their appointed leader act like he was already familiar with the topography of this place, even though he was just summoned in this world less than a day ago.

“Salieri, cast Prisa on us! We got no time to lose!” ordered Alex without a pause.

“Si, Senor! Wait, how did you know my move?” Salieri looked baffled. Nevertheless, he obeyed Alex’s order and played his violin to buff the party, causing them to move faster. “I haven’t told you I’m a Bard!”

“Yeah, come to think of it, you guys never gave me a proper introduction,” said Alex. “We will do that on the battlefield later.”

It didn’t take long for the party to reach the village. The flames engulfed the village, but judging from the damages, the demons hadn’t been rampaging for long. Alex was relieved to see the course of history had slightly changed.

“Alright everyone, listen up! Civilians are our number one priority! Once we secured the villagers, then we can focus on the offensive!” told Chrono to his squad. “Stella, what do your elf eyes see?”

“Uh, err, villagers are running about. We must split up if we want to save them all,” answered Stella nervously. She was surprised that Alex knew about her special eyes which could see better than other races’ eyes.

“I have a better plan,” proposed Alex. “Salieri, do us a favour and play Senuelo to lure the demons here. Simultaneously, Pandora will follow up with Synchysi to cause disarray in enemies’ ranks, making them less harmful for a while.”

“Gremio, Rasheed, and Stella, you three are in charge of scouting the area and rescuing the survivors. Bring them to Helene. She will set up her barrier, Empodio, to protect the civilians and tend the wounded,” continued Alex who showed how fluent he was with his plan.

“Sir Hero, I hate to burst your bubbles, but I don’t think my barrier will hold against this number of demons,” Helene looked concerned. “I haven’t practiced it yet enough to use it with confidence.”

“Chill, babe. Your Empodio won’t have even a dent nor scratch, for I will stand in between you and the demons,” replied Alex confidently. “The only reason your barrier is needed is only to make the folks feel safe. That’s it.”

“Kid, are you telling us you will take on the entire army?” Gremio almost couldn’t believe what he heard. “They may be small fries, but at your level currently, you will be overwhelmed! And don’t get me starting on their numbers!”

“You worry too much, old man,” retorted Alex while signalling the Bard. “Sal, music!”

Dumbfounded as he was, Salieri obeyed the Hero’s order. An enchanting tune filled the air as the flamboyant musician played his violin. Like a cobra invited by the charmer, the demons started to change their course to the source of the melody, leaving the villagers alone.

“Pan, if you may,” said Alex to Pandora, gesturing her that it was her time to shine.

“Alright, Alex, but only because I found you so irresistible,” flirted Pandora lightly. As foreign whisper escaped her luscious lips, the enemies started to act strange, as if their minds were somewhere else.

“Rescue party, off you go,” instructed Alex. “Helene, you can start preparing your barrier now.”

Although they still haven’t acknowledged Alex as their leader, but their sense of duty made them rush past the demons and started locating the survivors.

“Guess I’m the final piece, then,” mumbled Alex to himself. “Eisen, let’s go!”

The sword didn’t talk back like it used to be. From the moment he got his hands on the sword, Alex kept trying to communicate with it. In his first journey, he had no clue at all that Eisen was a one-of-a-kind sword with a soul in it. He just realized that fact when he was about to face Samael. Only thanks to Eisen that Alex could manage to best the Demon Lord in the final battle.

“You’re still stubborn, huh? Fine, we can try again after we slay these accursed beings,” remarked Alex as he charged the demon troops.

Like a veteran, Alex cut the foes with ease because he retained his skills and abilities from his past journey. Sure, his enemies were weakened thanks to the Witch’s de-buff, but still his skill successfully managed to captivate the beholders.

“Magnifico!” praised Salieri almost unconsciously in his mother tongue. Helene could only look in awe behind her barrier, while Pandora kept licking her lips, excited to see her new toy in action.

The salvation trio came back joining them, followed by the villagers. Like what Alex predicted, some of them were hurt.

“Pan, lift your spell and assist Helene with the medical treatment,” ordered Alex. “You three, good job guiding the villagers to safety. Keep searching for the survivors, and while you’re at it, try to put down the fire!”

“Rasheed thinks that is dangerous,” protested Rasheed who seemed unease with Alex’s decision. “If Pandora stops assisting Alex, Alex will be weak.”

“Heh, Alex thinks Rasheed must listen what Alex says,” responded Alex while mimicking Rasheed’s talking style.

What Rasheed was worrying about looked like it would come true. When Pandora released her curse, the demons started to gang up on Alex. But when they were about to jump in, they witnessed how fluid Alex’s movement was. The demons couldn’t even get close to him. Swinging around that chunk of iron was a great deal, too. With a single blow, numerous demons were sent flying to their demise. Rinsing and repeating, Alex eventually was out of enemies.

Handclaps and praises from the villagers celebrated that one-man victory. Alex was supposed to be happy and receive the positive feedback, but he was somehow sick to see the gullibility of the people.

“Pathetic, if you have the energy to yell like that, you guys have the energy to fight back too!” scolded Alex. “I’m not asking you guys to be superheroes, but at least you can try not to go down without a fight! I will make men out of you guys! Let’s get down to business, to defeat the foes!”

“Since it’s late and I am sure you guys need time to recover, we will start the training regime tomorrow early in the morning! You will be divided based on the potentials lurking inside you. It’s kind of like Village’s Got Talent or something like that,” decreed Chrono.

Just when they were about to see their leader in a new light, the rosters gawked to hear another outrageous stuff coming from Alex. They couldn’t help but to think, how in the world can these hillbillies be transformed into soldiers who would be able to stand toe to toe with ghastly troops of demon army?