Early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Kōichi and the other two were up at first light for the sake of that legendary inheritance, though in Aqua's case, Kōichi had to drag her out of bed.
"Ugh... I'm so sleepy... I'm a Goddess, so why do I have to get up this early like some lowly Goblin..." Aqua yawned and rubbed her bleary eyes, still wearing those wrinkled pajamas, which were really just her divine robe transformed. "And that place is really far away! We're going to have to walk forever! Why don't we just rent a carriage?"
"Because we're broke," Kōichi answered with brutal simplicity, handing her a piece of black bread hard enough to break stones. "Eat. We've still got a long way to go. If we get there too late, someone else might dig up the treasure first."
The moment she heard the word treasure, Aqua became half awake on the spot. She bit hard into the bread, producing a sharp crack.
"Ugh... my teeth..."
The three of them gathered their equipment and, following the map, left Axel through the city gates.
The marked location lay in the Misty Forest north of town.
It was shrouded in dense fog all year round, and people said all sorts of dangerous monsters lived there. For ordinary beginner adventurers, it was absolutely off-limits.
But for these three.
"As long as there's money in it, I'd even storm the Demon King's Castle!" Kazuma brandished his newly bought short sword and marched confidently at the front. "Besides, I've got high Luck! I'm definitely going to turn disaster into fortune!"
Reality slapped him in the face very quickly.
Not long after they entered the forest, the mist thickened and visibility dropped sharply.
Worse, the path underfoot turned into thick mud, and every single step took real effort.
"What kind of hellhole is this?!" Kazuma yanked his foot out of a muddy pit and grumbled, "My new boots are filthy already! These are my only boots!"
"Shh."
Kōichi suddenly stopped and raised his staff, signaling for silence.
From somewhere ahead in the fog came a chilling growl.
Then, a few swaying figures emerged from the mist.
They were skeleton soldiers in ragged armor, carrying rusted longswords, with ghostly blue flames flickering in their empty eye sockets.
"U-undead!" Aqua screamed and ducked behind Kōichi. "Why are those things here?! Isn't this supposed to be the forest near the beginner area? How are there high-level monsters in a place like this?!"
"They're probably treasure guardians drawn here by the inheritance," Kōichi said calmly while beginning to gather magic. "Kazuma, get ready to fight! Don't let them get close!"
"Got it!" Kazuma was scared, but he knew this was not the time to back down.
He tightened his grip on his short sword and took up a fighting stance.
"Graaah!"
The skeleton soldiers spotted the three of them and came charging with a roar, rusted swords swinging.
"Since they're undead..." Kōichi curled his lips slightly and looked back at the blue-haired Goddess trembling behind him. "Aqua! Stop hiding! This is your specialty, right? Use that!"
"Huh? That? Which one?" Aqua looked utterly confused.
"Purification! Aren't you the Goddess of Water? Use your holy power and purify them!"
"Ah! Right!" Aqua instantly straightened up, jumped out from behind Kōichi, and struck an absurdly sacred pose. "Hmph! You dare show off in front of this Goddess! Since you are so sincerely seeking death, I shall graciously grant it! Take this! Sacred Turn Undead!"
A dazzling white light burst from Aqua's hands and instantly illuminated the surrounding mist.
The skeleton soldiers rushing toward them were swallowed by the white light, and before they could even scream, they melted away like snow under sunlight, collapsing into piles of scattered bones.
"A-amazing!" Kazuma stared in shock. "She's normally a complete disaster, but when it comes to undead, she really is the real deal!"
"Hmph! Obviously!" Aqua smugly flicked her hair back. "I am the Goddess worshipped by the Axis Cult! Creatures this low-level could be taken care of with just a flick of my finger..."
Before she could finish, a much louder roar suddenly rolled out from deeper within the mist.
The ground began to shake, as though something enormous was approaching.
"Uh... I think there's a bigger one coming too?" Kazuma swallowed hard, and the hand holding his sword started shaking again.
The mist was ripped apart by a violent gust.
Amid the trembling ground, the huge black shadow finally revealed itself.
It was a giant bear, as tall as a two-story building, covered in black fur as hard as rock. Its forepaws were absurdly massive, like a pair of siege hammers.
"ROAR!!!"
The giant bear let out a deafening bellow, and the shockwave hit all three of them like something solid.
"W-what is that?!" Aqua went pale, and even the staff in her hand was trembling. "That's not undead at all! It's obviously alive! My purification magic won't work on it!"
"It's a One-Punch Bear!"
Kōichi recognized the monster immediately.
In the guild bestiary, it had been marked as an extremely dangerous creature.
Just like the name implied, its attack power was monstrous. An ordinary adventurer who took a single swipe would go straight to meet Eris.
"Run! Hurry, run!"
Kōichi shouted and turned to pull the other two back.
But it was already too late.
The One-Punch Bear's blood-red eyes locked firmly onto Kazuma, who was standing at the very front.
"Wait! Why me?!" Kazuma let out a scream of pure despair as that giant claw, big enough to blot out the sky, came crashing down at him. "Isn't my Luck supposed to be really high?! Why does this kind of crap always happen to me?! Help! I haven't even gone to the succubus shop yet!"
"Kazuma!"
Boom!
The giant claw smashed into the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust and shattered stone.
The impact left an enormous crater, and the surrounding trees shook so hard they leaned at wild angles.
When the dust settled, the place where Kazuma had been standing held nothing but rubble and a single boot stuck in the dirt.
"K-Kazuma?! Kazuma!!!" Aqua stared blankly at the crater, and tears instantly welled up. "Waaaah! Kazuma died! Waaaahhh..."
Kōichi stared at that empty crater, and his heart sank.
They were always sniping at each other, sure, but he was still a companion who had started from nothing alongside him.
Just like that... gone?
"Rrrr..." The One-Punch Bear seemed satisfied with the result of its blow. It turned its head and fixed Kōichi and Aqua with eyes full of murderous intent.
"Damn it..."
Kōichi gripped his Red Oak Staff tightly as magic surged through him.
If they could not run, then they would have to fight.
"Aqua! Stop crying!" Kōichi roared. "Now is not the time! If we don't kill this thing, we're both dying here! Use your buff magic! We're avenging Kazuma!"
"A-avenging? Right! Avenge him!" Aqua wiped away her tears, and though her voice was still shaking with sobs, her eyes hardened. "It actually killed this Goddess's follower! Unforgivable! Purification won't work, but I still have other spells! Kōichi! Get ready!"
She raised her staff, and a golden light wrapped around Kōichi's whole body.
"Blessing! Strength Boost! Speed Boost!"
As the buffs stacked onto him one after another, Kōichi felt his power surge explosively, and the staff in his hand seemed to become an extension of his body.
"All right!"
Kōichi took a deep breath and stared at the approaching beast.
"Take this! Lightning!"
A thick bolt of lightning shot from the tip of his staff and struck the One-Punch Bear squarely in the eye.
"ROOOAAARGH!"
The giant bear let out a scream of pain, and its massive body staggered.