Masaki Kawakami – författare

Life isn’t going well for veteran adventurer Nick. Despite his loyalty to his party, he was betrayed by a teammate who accused him of embezzlement, then kicked out by his mentor. On top of that, his girlfriend dumped him too! Tired, heartbroken, and looking for a drink, Nick chances upon a few kindred spirits who are as jaded as he is. Can these disillusioned heroes put their faith in each other long enough to save the world together…?

Unjustly expelled from his last party, adventurer Nick and his crew of similarly burned adventurers—a once-noble mage, excommunicated priest, and dragonian lady knight—have conquered the slimes of the first beginner labyrinth, and they now set out toward the Goblin Forest. Taking down some goblins? That you can do alone! But trust and teamwork are their only hope to defeat the hordes of hobgoblins and the mighty ogre deep in the woods…Can they really succeed when their strategy relies on Karan the dragonian, who will have to relive her traumatic memories and act as the vanguard with her back to her team once again?

Nick and his ragtag band of jaded adventurers have managed to carefully establish a system of rules that can make them all comfortable despite?the scars of betrayal each of them carries. When a party relies on checks and balances rather than fellowship and love, dungeon delving for the legendary trust-powered Sword of Bonds is the last thing you would expect them to do—but that quest just pays too well for Nick and the crew to turn it down! And perhaps this odd group will find that there is more between them than they imagined...?

Nick and his party have conquered the labyrinth and claimed the holy Sword of Bonds—just about the last thing you would expect of a group brought together by their pasts full of traumatic betrayals! But maybe, just maybe, the party can come to trust each other at least a little bit and to heal the scars of their histories together…That is, if a chance encounter with Claudine, the wicked woman who duped Nick, doesn’t reopen old wounds first!

A party of adventurers, beaten down by a cruel world, tied together not by trust or love but by necessity… A description of Nick and the Survivors that could fit just as well for Leon, Claudine, and the Iron Tiger Troop! So when Nick steps into the ring and raises his fists, he’s grappling with a giant tiger-man…and with the vagaries of character and fate. What led his foe astray? And would one wrong step have sent him down the same path…?

Tiana and Nick’s visit to the casino was only intended as a way to blow off some steam, but when Tiana runs into a certain wealthy young lady getting taken for a ride by her loser boyfriend, she has a chance to show off and do some good at the same time! Meanwhile, Leon stews in his defeat and imprisonment. But the Survivors haven’t seen the last of him yet—he will grasp at any chance, any slight sliver of power, if it will secure his revenge…

Amon Patricia is a powerful Demon Lord who one day finds herself on the receiving end of a vicious attack by the Clan of Light. Fleeing to fight another day, Patricia finds herself in the human world! Looking to blend in, she immediately seeks work and finds herself on the doorstep of the Humming Dining restaurant. She falls in love with their cooking immediately, and now the head chef has plenty more on his plate as he must sate the Demon Lord’s appetites while shaping her into the perfect employee!