Popular NPC in a Gender-Reversed Game

A demon named Amon had appeared at a sealed altar. Upon hearing this, I couldn’t help but feel the gravity of the situation. Though he hadn’t resurrected yet, his rank was "King."

At the same time, Amon was also the lord of Andras and Plauros, the demons I had encountered before.

I had heard that he was among the strongest demons in the Demon Realm, and just thinking about it made me feel tense. I had always thought we’d face him eventually, but I never expected it to happen so soon.

At least he had appeared in the form of an altar, so perhaps it was a bit of luck... though, I was still unsure about how to feel.

After thinking for a moment, I turned to Chaerin and asked,

"How was the altar discovered?"

"You know that public notice from before, right? The one that said they'd reward anyone who found a demon’s altar?"

"Ah, so they found it and got the reward?"

"Uh... no. They found it, but before they could claim the reward, everyone was killed."

"...Huh?"

She continued, explaining that the first people who entered were a party of treasure hunters. They found the altar by chance and didn’t know what was inside.

They were all burned to death by Amon, whose upper body was the only thing visible. One of them barely survived, made it to a nearby village to ask for help, and then died from the severe burns.

"And then?"

"After that, the kingdom immediately sent a hunting party. But they lost about half their people and retreated..."

From her mention of "that kingdom," it didn’t seem like this was something that happened in the Empire.

Anyway, she continued, explaining that they sent more hunting parties three more times.

The first was a group of amateur adventurers. Then they sent soldiers and knights. After that, they assembled a full-fledged team of otherworldly beings, mages, and knights. But all of them failed, and the conclusion they reached was,

"Yeah, we can’t do this with just our forces. And if that demon awakens, we’ll all be doomed..."

Since then, they began recruiting people nationwide.

"They must be preparing seriously. They say the minimum qualification is A-rank adventurer level or higher. And since it’s dangerous, they want everyone to be fully prepared."

"...Hmm."

Her words made me furrow my brow. Although the otherworldly beings’ skills had increased, they were still not common enough for A-rank adventurers to be everywhere. Even if they were powerful, they would eventually hit a wall when they grew strong enough.

A-rank and above were only achievable by exceptionally talented individuals. So, hearing that the minimum qualification was already A-rank made it clear how seriously they were taking this altar.

As I nodded to myself, Chaerin continued,

"Besides, it's forbidden territory, so just getting there is a task. Only the qualified will be allowed through. I barely made the entrance cut myself. The reward for participation is good, so I’m going, but honestly, I don’t think I’ll be able to do much..."

"Forbidden? Where exactly is it?"

"Forbidden" referred to places where entry was restricted, usually because the environment was too harsh or filled with monsters. The forest I live in, for example, is also considered forbidden.

Chaerin answered my question.

"You’ll probably be familiar with the path. It’s near where we went to catch Andras."

She paused to catch her breath before naming the place.

"The Burning Plains. A place filled with scorching heat, burning year-round. And you can only reach it after traveling for over two weeks."

"Wait, what?"

Upon hearing this, I frowned immediately. The environment sounded tough, but there was an even more direct problem: it was way too far.

"We have to go there again...?"

The sheer distance was the issue. I briefly considered backing out this time.

Of course, I only considered it for a moment, and in the end, I decided to go. I had been stuck in the cave for far too long, and it was more comfortable for me to take care of it myself than to leave it to others.

I started gathering what I’d need before setting off. My house didn’t require much preparation, and with my space pouch, I didn’t have to worry about bulky travel gear either.

But the real worry on my mind was Neria, who would be deep inside. As soon as I heard the distance of the journey, it was the first thing that concerned me.

If she didn’t get food from me for over two weeks, she could starve to death. Wait, was it just two weeks?

Considering the round-trip distance and the time I’d have to spend there, it could take months. I couldn’t just leave her alone in the depths of the cave for that long.

Of course, Barbatos was there, but... honestly, Barbatos wasn’t exactly a protector; I’d say she was more of the one that needed protection. I couldn’t trust her.

But I had a plan. I went over to Neria and told her directly.

"I’ll have to be away for a while. So... do you want to stay in my cave for now?"

It wouldn’t be the easiest place to live, but at least she was strong enough to hunt monsters on her own. Sometimes people came by, but if she hid well, they wouldn’t find her.

It seemed like the best solution I could come up with. However, Neria didn’t seem too keen on the idea.

She shook her head and, with a desperate look, spoke to me.

"Can’t I come with you instead?"

"What?"

I was taken aback and stared at her with wide eyes. It was completely unreasonable.

I looked at her and firmly rejected her idea.

"No. It’s too dangerous. There will be tons of people around. Do you want to get caught and die?"

"Don’t worry. I’ll stay out of the way. And I can disguise myself well enough."

"Do you think the people there are the only threat? There could be anything. I can barely look after myself. I can’t afford to protect you too."

"I-I can fight! I’m not asking to be protected. If you take me, I’ll definitely be helpful. Please?"

"........."

I silently glared at her. This little brat wasn’t backing down even with my glare, so I was trying to force her to back off with my eyes.

Apparently, my face had an intimidating effect on people, or so Chaerin said.

But no matter how much I glared, Neria didn’t look away. Her red eyes were shaking, but she remained determined. Her expression almost seemed desperate. It seemed like she really wanted to go.

‘Well...’

Life in the forest probably wasn’t very fun for her. She’d been stuck in the altar for months, so she must’ve wanted to do something.

I took a step back.

"Alright. Then show me your skills."

Just one step.

They said the minimum requirement for this hunting party was an A-rank mercenary, but Neria didn’t have an A-rank badge. Still, if she was close to A-rank adventurer level, it should be fine.

"I’ll just stand here. Try to throw me as far as you can."

I infused my body with mana, giving it strength. My body, which had been resting, now felt alive. I rooted myself firmly to the ground.

An A-rank standard would be someone like Bepuri. Even though he had fallen to me, he was still one of the top adventurers. He was a front-line tank.

Though I was only estimating based on a rough comparison, this little kid should be no problem.

With a determined expression, she prepared her attack.

"Rock!"

Whoosh!

A massive boulder appeared with a single command.

"Spin!"

Whoooooooom!

At her next command, it began spinning fiercely.

What was even stronger than the massive rock was the dense demonic energy emanating from it. I couldn’t help but feel slightly stunned.

"U-uh..."

This little girl was seriously trying to attack me.

She wasn’t messing around and was fully intent on hitting me with everything she had!

I could stop it if I wanted to, but since we had made an agreement, I just stood still.

"Push!"

Like she was showing consideration, the boulder came toward me at a moderate speed and collided with me.

I was sent flying.

"That kid’s hands are really something..."

Well, a promise was a promise. In the end, I decided to take her with me. Honestly, I didn’t expect to be pushed around like that.

How could a 16-year-old be this strong? I didn’t see that coming.

She was definitely not someone who would fall behind in a fight against most people.

I momentarily compared myself at her age.

‘What was I doing back then?’

I think I was running for my life from a guy who was chasing me.

Well, that wasn’t really something to be ashamed of.

‘Maybe Bepuri was too weak...’

Anyway, I turned the fact that I had lost into a joke about Bepuri being weak, and just pushed it out of my mind.

I was supposed to be the one setting the standard, after all, so it was clearly his fault.

Regardless, having lost the bet, I gave Neria a simple warning.

"Don’t rush into things, hide your abilities as much as possible, and don’t take off your hood unnecessarily."

"Yes."

Neria nodded enthusiastically. Despite the way she had forced her way into this, she didn’t seem too excited. Maybe she knew how dangerous it was and kept her guard up.

I decided to believe that she was just being cautious.

After preparing, I took Neria with me to the agreed meeting place.

"Welcome."

"Is this the one?"

Even though she tried to hide her appearance, it wasn’t something that could be hidden from everyone.

I had already warned Chaerin and Hanul, the people traveling with me. I could trust them, as they had hidden my identity before.

Neria and the otherworldly beings awkwardly greeted each other. Chaerin seemed a bit surprised by how small Neria was.

After they greeted each other, Chaerin looked at me with a doubtful expression.

"Can we really trust her? I mean, she’s a manifester, but if there’s a fight, it could be bad..."

"She’s probably stronger than you."

"What?"

She scoffed, thinking it was nonsense, and climbed onto the cart.

I followed without saying much. It wasn’t entirely accurate, but still.

With that, we set off toward the Burning Plains, where Amon's altar was located.