Kenshi Wantanabe sat at a bar and let out a loud groan. “Even with all these overpowered items I still have to wait for cooldowns. I've been clearing out Goblin camps and trolls non-stop for months now and I still haven't cleared them out of the country.” A high ranking Knight of Longinus that had been assigned to keep an eye on the hero by Archbishop Frederick chuckled. “You've done more in a single year than the entire guild has in the past twenty five. Ninety percent is a respectable cleanse and in another six months there won't be a single goblin in the nation. Then we can start expanding to other Kingdoms in the Empire.”
Kenshi groaned. “But clearing out Goblin camps is so boring. I want to fight something that actually has a chance to hurt me. Where the hell are the ancient dragons when you need them? I'd be down to take on a tarrasque at this point. Or one of those aberrations that can fuck with your stats. Something that's an actual threat.” The knight lets out a loud sigh. “Please don't jinx us with world-ending threats.” Kenshi groaned. “I'm just so bored. Who knew a power fantasy could be so boring. Nothing challenges me so it feels like I'm doing chores. I'm just taking out the trash. Where's a demon lord or whatever when you need one?”
The knight tilted his head. “You mean like one of the lords of hell? They are in their realm. They don't come to the mortal realm under normal circumstances. Demons are usually summoned by haratics like that group you took care of before.” Kenshi once again let out a sigh. “That was a fun mission. That monster they summoned managed to actually do damage. Anyway, I guess it's just killing goblins and kobolds until the kingdom is free of the vermin before moving on to the next kingdom until something more exciting happens.”
Kenshi got up from the bar. “After I get a good night's rest.” He then saunders over to an all female adventuring party with each member being a different race and runs his chin. He then points to what looks like an anthropomorphic bunny in the group. “I’ll take the new girl tonight, the rest of you find your own rooms.” He then put his arm around the short person's shoulder and walked with them to a room in the inn. The next morning Kenshi headed out with the female group and the knight trailing behind. The knight commenting on the hero’s behavior. “You know the church would not approve of you having relations with a beast-kin.”
Kenshi waved dismissively. “Having a harem of women of different races is a trope of the genre, I'm just doing my due diligence to create a classic isekai power fantasy. Besides, I'm not hurting anything.” The knight sighed. Kenshi continued his way to a Yggdrasil gate. “So where to next? There can't be that many goblins or kobolds left in the kingdom of Ran.” The knight nodded. “You've made very good progress sir, there are almost no vermin left in Ran. However I've received word of a group of Ork marauders and figured we'd handle them first. Though I doubt they'll be a challenge for you, it would be more difficult than goblins or kobolds for an ordinary person.”
Kenshi groaned. “Am I taking them in alive?” the knight shrugged. “Dead or alive, the kingdom isn't picky. It's likely they'll be executed anyway.” Kenshi nodded. “Good, because taking people in alive is a massive pain. This is why I always turn down bandit camp missions. I'm not killing any people. At least not any humans.” the knight scoffed. “I'd hardly call orks people. They are only slightly above goblins in intelligence. Honestly I wish the empire would let us while them out but many are members of the guild and protected. Unfortunately, the guild is necessary.”
Kenshi nodded. “You can't exactly divert soldiers to clear out dungeons and fight monsters with the wars going on.” The knight shrugged. “They are more cold wars as we hit a stalemate on each side. The stalemate has managed to stay maintained for years now” Kenshi went through the gate with the light taking them as close to the marauder camp as possible. The knight then started leading the group in that direction. “Now the camp looks almost like a temporary settlement, and they'll try to deceive you. So just wipe them out quickly.”
Kenshi nodded, when they got close the knight stayed back with the women as he went forward. The summoned hero whose job it is to rid this world of evil including the stereotypical evil races of fantasy settings. Goblins, kobolds, orks, and demons. Kenshi looked at what seemed to be a gathering of tents of various sizes. Some are quite large. All set up in a cluster with gaps that were almost like roads between them. It looked almost like a town from a glance. Kenshi took out Excalibur Ebony and Ivory and got ready to level the tents without question.
He was the hero, the main character, and the church was the good faction that summoned him here. What was there to question? He was a paragon of virtue by the simple principle that in his eyes he was the magnetic north that a moral compass would point to. He was the main character, the protagonist, and therefore he was the definition of good and could do no wrong. At least that was how he thought as he used the devastating sword smash attacks over and over leaving scars in the landscape as the female orke in his harem covered her face and looked away from the devastation. Even if she believed these were irredeemable members of her race it would still be hard for her to watch.
Several orks tried to fight back, surrounding Kenshi and hitting him with weapons, many of which have elemental enchantments and or are boosted by abilities. However, since it is daytime and the sky is clear and Kenshi was wearing Gawain's armor not a single attack, physical or magical, could harm him. Firebolts, lightning bolts, ice spikes, acid. Nothing could touch him. With a bored yawn Kenshi effortlessly slaughtered every Ork that dared oppose him and turned the entire temporary settlement into cinders and ash.
Kenshi then sifts through the wreckage with the help of the knight to make sure there were no survivors. He lifts a still smoking and smoldering support beam from a tent only to go pale when he sees several small bodies burned beyond recognition. He covered his mouth to stifle a gasp but when the knight saw the corpses he only had a face of disdain. “Seems a group of goblins joined the ork marauders for extra safety. Seems the vermin are trying to adapt and overcome the cullings you've been dealing out. Hiding under the tents of more civilized folk. Even if orks are only slightly more civilized by the smallest of margins.”
Kenshi nodded. “(That's right, these were marauders. It wouldn't make sense for them to have kids with them. These bodies were just so burned up that it was hard to tell.)” He set down the beam. “I think we're clear, let's move on to the next one.” The group traveled to a Yggdrasil gate and jumped as close as they could get to the closest goblin nest before walking the rest of the way. “My lord, don't you think a horse would be beneficial in making this faster? You could easily get a horse and small buggy into a Yggdrasil gate.” The knight pointed out.
Kenshi groaned. “I've tried that and every time the horse dies. Sure, I can use summon stead to call forth a new horse but that wouldn't stop the horses from getting killed in the chaos of battles. I'd have to walk a solid amount of the way either leaving the horse and cart behind or banishing the horse till I need it again.” The knight nodded. “I see. It must be hard having access to so much power.” Kenshi grumbled. “Yeah, I guess there are challenges. Just not the kind of challenges I'd like to have. There's no thrill, no adrenaline. Just responsibility and duty. I feel like a glorified pest exterminator most of the time. There's the rare case where I'll find something that gets my blood pumping a bit but even then it's often short lived.”
The knight nodded. “You should take simple pride in making this world a better place. You've done more in your short time as the summoned hero than most summoned heroes do in their entire career. The only one close to your achievements is your predecessor who has yet to retire thanks to your early summoning.” Kenshi looked at the knight. “You know, I forgot he was still active. I'd like to meet him at some point. Normally summoned heroes can't meet their predecessor because they have died before the next one is summoned.”
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The knight shifted awkwardly for a bit. “It would be unwise to place the Empire's two strongest assets in the same place. The reason the mages tried so hard to summon a new hero early was because a hero can only be one place at a time. Maybe when things are less chaotic it can be arranged but right now we're effectively fighting a war on three fronts even if two of them are basically cold wars. The third war is the one we are fighting. The war against the evils inside the empire. The threats that are already here from monsters and such.”
Kenshi let out a sigh. “I suppose that makes sense. I assume that the other hero isn't as well equipped as me either even if he's been here longer. So he probably doesn't have it as easy as I do.” “(I somewhat regret going as overboard as I did but I might need all this someday if a major threat appears.)” “Let's just get this over with.” Kenshi walked ahead of the group and started attacking the goblin settlement as the others surrounded the area to prevent goblins from escaping.
Kenshi noticed there were a number of kobolds among the goblins. Although unusual they were as simple and expendable as goblins. Just another trash mob for him to effortlessly dispose of. Any scars he made in the earth could easily be fixed with the mold earth spell. The girls block any excuses and even take out a few goblins and kobolds of their own while Kenshi takes out the settlement and the bulk of its inhabitants. Once that is done the knight checks for survivors before the group moves on.
This kept going till Kenshi was out of charges for his Excaliburs, spell slots for his staff, and other resources that made the process faster. Although even without them he had nothing to fear from the goblins, it just took a lot longer to wipe out a settlement without them. So the group went to a bar and inn so Kenshi could wait for his charges to reset again. He sat with a sigh. “Another day, another group of settlements. They say there ain't no rest for the wicked so I guess we can't lay back too long. After a day or two it's back to the grind.”
Kenshi then thought to check his stats since he said the word “grind” but he avoided that with people watching. “(I'll have to check my stats later.)” Kenshi then noticed the muscular and normally stoic ork in his harem was a little fidgety. “Everything alright Toasa?” She jumped a little then looked at him. “I… it's just… I can't get the image of all those orks out of my mind. I get they were marauders that disturbed the peace and did crimes that likely were enough for execution, that doesn't make watching it any easier.” Kenshi nodded. “I don't suppose there's anything I can do to help.” Toasa shook her head. “I just want some time alone is all, so for once I'll request not to be called on to join you in your room.”
Kenshi nodded. “I think tonight I'll take the two elves anyway.” He waved them over and Kenshi paid for the rooms they would need before heading up to his. The next day he decides to give his ladies and himself a mental break and heads to a beach instead of the next settlement. They all swap to swimwear and are allowed leisure time on the beach. They play in the sand and water and just get to have fun for a bit. Kenshi watches them with a smile while wearing only swim shorts and his item ring. If anything happens he can change his gear in an instant.
Watching the ladies in different styles of swimwear running and playing on the beach reminded Kenshi of beach episodes in anime back home. He smiled as he thought about it. “(I suppose taking a break for some fan service is part of the deal too. Can be all action.)” Kenshi then looked over at the knight who was still in full gear. “You can let loose a little too you know.” The man shook his head. “I'd rather stay focused on my job. Although I am just here to help navigate and report back to the church I take my work seriously.”
Kenshi rolled his eyes. “Maybe I should request a female knight. I oddly enough have yet to add a human to my harem.” The knight just looked at Kenshi without a response before turning to look at the ladies. “I personally don't approve of this blatant polygamy, but there are no actual rules against having multiple partners or those partners not being human oddly enough. At least not for normal civilians. Members of the church follow different rules. However, the church overlooks a lot for the sake of the summoned hero. As long as he does what he was summoned to do I guess everything else is secondary.”
Kenshi shrugged. “I'm just rolling with the punches and ticking all the isekai boxes.” The knight shook his head. “I have zero clue what you mean by that. I had never heard the word isekai before I met you.” Kenshi chuckled. “Right, I didn't think of that. Where I'm from it's a word that basically means transmigration. Basically when the story involves the main character or characters being transported to another setting either by getting shifted to another world or time.” The knight nodded. “Ah, I see. And these transmigration stories are popular in your old world?”
Kenshi laughed. “A little too popular if you ask me. But there are definitely benefits to the mechanic in storytelling that are heard to ignore. You get to introduce a potentially completely foreign setting, use a character from a familiar world as a point of reference, and the main character knows as much about the setting and what's going on as the audience. Unfortunately a lot of people end up just creating similar settings with the main difference being in the main character and how they interact with their world.”
The knight nodded again while looking at the women in swimwear. Bikinis and one-pieces of various styles were replicated with the help of Kenshi. “You know, for non-humans I suppose your ladies aren't all that bad to look at.” Kenshi smiled again. “Yeah, you'd be surprised how many people in my old world would have killed for a chance to be with an ork, beast-kin, or elf. Though the way elves were depicted back home weren't as different from humans as these.”
The knight nodded, but didn't respond verbally as he simply watched the harem play on the beach. After a nice full day of mental rest the group returned to the slog of taking out Goblin and Kobold tribes both on the move and temporarily settled. After a while the knight got a call on a messenger stone that the hero was needed for a new mission that was more important. “Looks like you got your wish. Some cult opened a realm tear and we've got demons.”
Kenshi grinned and cracked his knuckles. “Finally, something that might put up a fight. Where to?” The knight points to a spot on the map in Gallia. “Right here, about often days from the capital.” Kenshi grumbled. “That's by cart I assume.” He started walking to the nearest gate so they could start their journey. The knight nodded. “Yeah, but we can leave the horses a bit away or send them away once we are close enough to the cult.”
The group gate hopped to Gallia and then took a cart the rest of the way activating gates on the way there in case anyone needed to come to this area again. The town closest to where the cult was ended up still being a day away from the area. Once in range it was easy to see why the cult had chosen the area. It was a massive stonehenge like structure and at the center a visual rip in reality through which another realm could be seen. Kenshi looked at the knight then the tear and the creatures coming through.
Kenshi gestured to it as he got off his horse. “I thought you said it was a tear to the Nine Hells? That's clearly a tear to Abyss. That means we are dealing with devils, not demons.” The knight shrugged. “Is that not the same thing?” Kenshi pinched the bridge of his nose. “No, not even close. Oddly enough this might be worse than a gate to hell. But whatever, it should still be a cakewalk for me.” He started approaching the stonehenge ahead of the group getting ready to take on the cult. “Do you care if I destroy this landmark?” The knight shrugged. “We can always repair the damage to the land like before. So feel free to go all out.”
Kenshi gripped a sword in each hand before slashing at the air with one and shouting “Excalibur” in an exaggerated fashion. A sword slash of energy moved forward cutting the land and hitting everything in its wake until it went into the rift and did damage on the other side. Kenshi then activated his second sword, sending a second sword-slash into the rift. The devils noticed him and started charging him while the cultists continued chanting. As the lesser devils reached him and started uselessly clawing at him he simply ignored them and started walking in a bit of a circle and using the sword slashes.
After six slashes with each weapon and devils slinging magic and attacking with weapons to no effect, Kenshi ran out of uses on the two Excaliburs and swapped them out for their lesser twins. He then got back to sword-slashing until those ran out of charges and more powerful devils started coming out the rift, some already damaged from the attacks going into the rift. Kenshi put away the swords and took out Marlin’s staff before casting what was basically an ice version of fireball at higher level and bombing the area with cold damage. He continued to cast despite any and all attacks made against him as they could not hurt him as long as it was day time.
The stonehenge was devastated and the cultists were dead, so the rift started shrinking but eventually Kenshi used up all the spell slots in the staff. The knight and the women of the harem started making attacks against lesser devils who started running past Kenshi who was forced to swap to something less powerful and cut down the devils the slow way. When the rift shut one large devil managed to get through right beforehand so Kenshi focused on him. It took 29 attacks to kill but since Kenshi couldn't be harmed it was just a boring slog of any attacks made against him bouncing off.
Once the big guy was dealt with the summoned hero started cleaving through the smaller devils with a sigh. “Maybe I should have swapped armor or attacked at night.” With the devils cleared out magic was used to repair the land. The light elf looked Kenshi over and noticed blood. “Are you hurt?” Kenshi shook his head. “I shouldn't be, so the blood must be devil blood.” When the light elf touched Kenshi’s ear he winced. “(Wait, I took damage? How? When?)” “I'm fine love, let's just go home and rest for a bit.”
The group then started to travel back to the capital of Ran when the knight got a call. “Sir, reports just came in, Tarrasque the living cataclysm has been spotted in Bramble.” Kenshi smiled. “Ah, I see. Well I guess it's a good thing it's getting dark and we won't get there till tomorrow. Let's get going.” With the sudden change of plans the group headed to Bramble.
