Today was a fun day for Bob.
Up until now, he was pining for an office job, and when he finally got one, he died on his way to work and woke up in this place. Why the fuck, for all the reasons in this world, would he isekai in another world as a prisoner? Then why did he have the Hero class?
Or was this guy — who Bob isekaid as — some sort of criminal creep? Even though Bob was by no means a hero, he had not done anything to warrant getting imprisoned, yet. Now, here Bob stood, a beautiful woman threatening him with a staff.
'Why the hell is she even asking me if I am a human or demon?' Bob felt a warm liquid roll down the side of his face and he cleared his throat, prepared to die again and start over, "I am human and I have no memory of who I am or why I am here."
She watched him for a second, then heaved a sigh, "I am sorry, but more and more demons have been spawning in this area. I had felt someone spawn here, so I came to investigate. As for what this place is… I don't even know myself. You can call me, Freya."
Bob furrowed his brows. Should he call bullshit? This woman looked dangerously alluring, but a gut feeling told Bob that it was some sort of trap. He smiled, deciding to play along, 'After all, there is a beautiful woman in front of me… telling such pathetic lies.'
Freya's expression quickly changed, and she rushed forward and slammed the door shut behind Bob, her eyes widening, "There is an over-levelled monster coming! Come quickly, we can avoid it if we hurry to safety now." Freya did not wait for his reply, turning to dash into the darkness.
The long slit at the edge of her dress allowed her to move quickly. Bob stood there silently. The woman did not know that the wolf had an agreement with him, and there was no way he would let his shield get locked out in another area and follow this weird woman.
'Lemme just…' he opened the door slightly, then ran after the woman. As they ran, Bob looked around himself, and his heart skipped beats. Doors lined up the walls, and following her through a door would lead them into a room with more doors, 'get lost with this woman?'
Bob and Freya ran until they stopped before a room with a green door. A confused gleam shone in Bob's eyes seeing the green door, but he ignored it as Freya pushed it open and they ran in, "We have not run into a single monster since? Is this area monster-free?"
He looked around, this room was partially illuminated with torches. There were faint red marks on the floor, and Bob's skin crawled. There was no stench, apart from himself, and Bob grew calmer.
"Wow. You are really clueless." She turned to him as if he was some sort of imbecile, then opened her mouth to speak, "The claws of the shadow god do not stretch into all areas in this place. Since I was born, I learned to navigate this area and avoid monsters."
"Since you were born?" Bob joined her as she sat on the ground, dropping her bow and arrows, but he did not release his dagger. He sat a good distance away from her, observing her movement, "I guess you have been here for quite a while."
"Yes. My entire race was banished to death here after going against the shadow god." She sighed, "He banished anyone else who stood against him to dine with the demons here. These abominations feasted on us until we adapted and began to fight back."
Bob paused, 'Why is this making so much sense now? No… wait a second. If she has been inside this place since birth, then she should know what exactly he was and maybe explain things to him.'
"I guess the heroes could not stand his reign…" Bob sighed. If worse came to worse, he would get her under levelled to oblivion. Before that moment, Bob wanted to get as much information as he could squeeze out of Freya's lips!
"Unlike we bottom feeders and slaves, the heroes were at the top of society and were unaffected by his madness. The few that risked their lives to stop him were either killed or banished here." She smirked, turning to Bob, "Do you want to know the rewards for killing a Hero here?"
"Not really…" Bob shrugged under her gaze, lifting his hand and rubbing his chin. After a while, a calmness formed in his gaze and Bob continued, "I wondered, Freya, how long does a demon take to respawn after death? Or does that not work here?"
"In common cases, mere minutes." She rolled her eyes to the side, staring into the darkness, "The demons in this place respawn a bit longer than usual though, because they are already very powerful compared to others. It takes hours for common demons, days for rare ones."
"What about humans and heroes?" Bob asked, drawing a frown from Freya. His heart clenched, a cold sweat forming on his forehead as he furrowed his brows, "It is strenuous fighting with only one life, especially with an endless spawn of enemies."
Freya nodded, sighing with her face growing crestfallen, "Sadly, after witnessing the deaths of the few people around me, I discovered the truth the hard way. Things are no different for the heroes."
'Then… what the fuck am I?' Bob wondered if he was a demon himself, and the thought was not as bad as he'd expected. First things first though, he needed to lose this woman now, "I have one final question. Are demons able to navigate these prisons?"
"How did you know we're inside a prison?" The woman quickly shifted away from Bob, reaching to pick up her weapons, but they were gone! Before she could burst into anger, a sharp howl shattered her steeling resolve, and she turned to the door in horror, "Oh shit…"
The door burst apart, and a big blue wolf darted into the room, his fur pulsing in a bright light. It skidded to a halt behind Bob, growling fiercely. Bob sighed, spinning his crooked dagger, "Hello, weak human. Meet my good shield, Azure Wolf. Before the wolf rips you to shreds, answer my questions."
Freya glared at Bob, her eyes burning with fury. Before he could react, she pulled a sword out of thin air and dashed towards him. In the next second, sparks flew as Bob barely blocked her blade, an intense flare erupting in the air, "You bastard! You were trying to deceive me?"
"Preemptive countermeasures," Bob replied coolly.