'What is this thing...? No wait, it looks kind of familiar, it can't be an actual creature from our world though', William was face to face with the monster that Pamel brought. The monster was a kobold, a short humanoid creature with wolf-like features.
'Maybe it was in a drawing...?', William's thoughts went back to his world from when he was being shown a manga by his friends. 'Right! It's just like a goblin from a manga! But this goblin has fur, so it must be something different'.
"What are you waiting for? You'll be at a disadvantage if you let it get the first move", Regal's voice reached William from the side.
'I know that! But I've never killed anything before!', William clenched his teeth as he readied himself and tightened his grip on the sword.
He knew that if he was stuck in this world, this was nothing more than preparation for the future. He knew... but it didn't make it any easier.
Regal just sighed to himself as he watched William hesitate. He knows what it's like to kill something for the first time, it's not like a person is born ready to kill. However it was something that had originally completely slipped Regal's mind, the point of this was to prove that they were suited for this world, not for William to gain experience killing.
"How about this, if you can land... 3 hits on the kobold, then I shall take care of the rest", Regal made a suggestion to ease the pressure. He didn't care about preparing William for this world, he just wanted to prove his words.
William heard this, but he felt like he was being pitied. He believed that this was all for his sake, so that he wouldn't get injured from fighting an even stronger foe when the time came. He was wrong of course, but he believed it regardless, so he felt like he needed to do this properly, to pay back this strange form of kindness he thinks he has received.
His face turned serious, "It's fine... I can do this".
Of course, because he took his time, the kobold who was originally being wary, decided to make the first move.
It exposed its claws and ran directly at William, causing him to panic in response.
"Kugh!?", he managed to block the attack with his sword, but it threw his body to the side and sent him rolling. The kobold's assault didn't stop, he chased after the grounded William, launching all sorts of pounces and scratches.
William just barely rolls to safety from each attack, one attack managed to get through and graze his arm, some blood stains his school shirt and drips out of his sleeve.
The danger becoming more apparent, William jumps away and regains his balance and stance. This time he will not mess it up. 'Ugh! This cut makes it even harder to move this sword!'.
The kobold didn't plan on giving any room for comfort, it immediately jumped at William. However, unlike before, William was not planning on letting it happen.
He didn't think he could bring his arm around for a swing, so instead he pulled the sword close to his hip and thrusted it forward.
The sword, along with the force of the kobold falling directly into it, pierced all the way through it's chest. William immediately let go of the sword, not able to grip it any longer with the added weight of the kobold, causing the now motionless monster to lay with blood streaming out from it.
"Would you look at that, you didn't even need 3 hits, you killed it in one", Regal spoke, not with a complimentary tone, but with a monotone 'Look at what you can do' voice, as if suggesting 'I told you so'.
William looked at him with furrowed brows and gasping for air. "I was lucky... I wouldn't have been able to pierce it if it didn't jump at me", William denied what Regal was implying.
William was probably the most stubborn of the heroes, he voiced his complaints the most and seemed most set on wanting to return to his world. The other heroes, Hikari especially, were beginning to get excited at the idea of what Regal was telling them.
"You could've done it if you just swung it instead of thrusting, what was the point of those practice swings from earlier, huh?", Regal argued.
"I couldn't! It got my arm, see!?", William complained in response, giving his excuse.
Regal noticed the cut in the fight, but it was nothing more than that, a cut. "You think a slight graze like that will stop you from swinging your sword?".
'Though... he is good at making judgements in battle, especially for his first fight. If his arm indeed didn't allow him to swing, a thrust was a good move. Perhaps he also accounted for the kobold jumping into it, even if it wasn't a conscious thought.'
"Hm... I'm not saying you made a bad decision though, you just need some experience to fix you right up", Regal made a 'thinking' expression with a hand on his chin.
"...", William decided to stop complaining. He instead looked at the corpse of the creature that he killed.
At first he didn't think he could do it, not just that he couldn't win, but that he couldn't kill a living creature. But if he were to be honest, he didn't feel much from this. Maybe words like 'monster' and 'demonic beasts' or perhaps the attitude Regal has shown toward this, made it seem alright.
He didn't know what to think of himself in this moment, but it felt like a turning point for him, like this meant something more. 'Maybe I am suited for this world', he thought in a negative sense. He didn't want to be a killer, but even if others didn't see it that way, he felt conflicted.
Regal knew the type of person William was, he had seem this type before, he knew to some extent what was going through his mind. To Regal however, this is nothing more than the thoughts of a person who has killed for the first time, these thoughts will be insignificant in the future.
He turned toward the heroes, their faces apparent with concern. They thought that it was impressive... but they also thought that they weren't sure if they could do the same. It didn't have the exact effect that Regal wanted, but it at least gave the heroes some insight into what the future holds.
It didn't matter though, the one who needed the most convincing, William, had more or less changed his mind. If one could read William's thoughts, it would seem underhanded. This kill has acted as an event to trap him in this world, like he took a step over the line. Not that this mattered to Regal.
"Well we did what we came here for. That monster was a D-rank just so you know, a single rank lower than that boar from earlier.
If you can win against a monster like that from the start, imagine what you could do with a bit of training.", Regal felt most excited from his own words, he didn't care about the heroes themselves, but he felt interested in their potential.
The other heroes also felt slightly motivated.
"Ah that's right, I'll continue my offer from earlier.", Regal caught the attention of the heroes, William just barely focused as he was still sat on the ground.
"One year.
Stay in this world for one year, if you still insist on returning after one year, then I will make the spell to send you back."
The heroes were beginning to accept their situation, they were mad at Regal earlier, but in response Regal shocked them with the wonders of magic and monsters. And now, they were given some hope again.
Should they argue to leave earlier? Well, now they aren't sure if they even want to leave without experiencing more of what they've seen.
"I'll do it", Eric looked at the other heroes hoping for a similar response.
"Yeah, I'm not leaving until I get to use magic!", Hikari added while clenching her fist in excitement.
Anne took a little longer to respond, but she felt more moved than the others by magic, she just couldn't express it. She was shy, but this new world felt like an opportunity to her.
"Y-yes! I agree", she raised her head with a serious face that didn't suit her at all, she just looked like an angry squirrel.
William saw this and giggled, "Hahaha, I think I can agree with this as well. I don't suppose you would make that spell right now if we asked nicely?"
Regal shook his head with his arms in a shrug.
"I thought so...", this time, William was smiling.
Pamel remained quiet all this time, but he suddenly raised a question that made Regal realise something, "Regal, why are you doing this for the heroes... don't tell me that you are now responsible for them?".
The question sent a shock through Regal. 'That's right... I need to babysit these lot for everything because of that damn king'.
"Indeed", Regal responded with a sigh.
"Then perhaps... if you let one of the heroes get injured, will the nobles not use this against you?", Pamel glanced at William with a slight cut on his arm. It may not be a serious injury, but when you are nobility, anything can be exaggerated.
"If they try anything because of some training, I'll go have a kind chat with them myself, at their residence, alone", Regal spoke with each word having seemingly more intent behind them.
William also thought about something while listening to them, 'Will we be doing this often...?'. The word 'training' felt like it was being put lightly, he could've died.
"Anyway, lets get back, these lot are supposed to stay at the royal castle for a night for some reason...
What was it again?"
"To let us rest and collect our thoughts...", William responded.
"Right that was it, anyway take us back so we can do that"
All of them stared at Regal blankly, he completely disregarded the intention of letting the heroes rest and adapt to their situation. They were basically kidnapped twice and forced to see a demonic beast and monster on their first day.
"Oh that's right... before we go, who were those people from earlier?", William referred to the group from earlier that was hunting the boar.
"Oh them? They were probably adventurers."
William's eyes shined at the idea. 'Adventurers!? Like people who explore ancient ruins and find valuable treasures!?'. It just motivated him even more, it seemed that the idea of adventure only just clicked in his mind.
Regal raised his brow at William's demeanour as he seemed to be sent into a trance.
Then he looked at Pamel again, to which Pamel understood it meant something along the lines of 'get on with it'.
The same 6 layered circle from earlier appeared once again and consumed them within its light.
The next moment they disappeared, leaving only the corpse of a kobold with a sword lodged into it's chest.
They then appeared in the same position within the royal garden where they were originally.
"What a nice excursion that was, now that we got that over with you can ask your questions to... ah! Perfect, there's someone here that's perfect for the job", Regal noticed a woman nearby running towards them as he was speaking.
"You met her earlier, her name was Rosel... Temptress or something, a strange name I know, but she will-", Rosel was now directly in front of Regal with anger plastered all over her face.
'I sense trouble...?', Regal sent a glance at Pamel, who happened to be facing the complete opposite direction. 'You bastard!'.
"REGAL!", Rosel's shout filled the royal garden, Regal, the heroes, and even the maids suddenly jumped in response.
"Uh? You mean me?", Regal was nervously pointing at himself. He wasn't expecting to be scolded, but if there was a woman who could do it other than his own mother, it would be Rosel.
"Who do you think!? Do you even realise what sort of an uproar you caused in the royal castle just by leaving for this short time!? Damn kidnapper!!", Rosel gave off the most dignified look to the heroes when they first met her, but now she seemed particularly scary, even scarier than the demon boar charging at them earlier.