《Shatei Kyokufuri Yumi-Ojisan》 CH 1 I quit my job at the company. It was a company that made retro-style games, which was quite unusual in this day and age. But you couldn¡¯t go against the tide forever. After all, the world was currently obsessed with the countless full-dive VR games that were the result of gathering all the VR technology into one. It was the great age of VR! There were so many companies that made games, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that they all made VR games. Of course, this always resulted in people asking the question, ¡®wouldn¡¯t so many VR games result in splitting the user base?¡¯ And well, the answer is, yes. However, users were like tuna. They tended to migrate. Whatever game was the current trend would be the one they latched onto. And when they became bored or dissatisfied, they would move on to the next thing. Like this, they never stopped moving. They talked and shared with many people at all times. Yes, these days, it wasn¡¯t so much about the game, but the interactions you had through them¡­ In such an age, no one was interested in retro games that didn¡¯t even have proper online vs modes. Well, perhaps there was a small niche. That¡¯s why our company even existed. But things were harsh. There were too many people now who were satisfied with watching ¡®let¡¯s plays.¡¯ Of course, one could just blame us for not being able to evolve with the times. In any case, that brought about my early retirement. I thought that it would look cooler than being straight up fired. But there was also the feeling that, maybe I had never been that useful there to begin with¡­ People think that making retro games is easy, but if anything, it¡¯s quite the opposite. It was kind of like the move from pixel art to 3D. You needed great skill to go against the tide. Not someone like me, who just wanted to wallow in the past. ¡°Yes, from today, I am just another wandering fish.¡± I said as I pulled out the latest VRMMORPG from its bag. It was called ¡®Next Stage Online.¡¯ It was made by¡­no, nevermind. Perhaps it was because I was in the same industry, but thinking about the company too much would get in the way of my enjoyment. In any case, I had bought the hardware and the game as a set. I boasted a capsule-type VR machine in my house. Well, I say ¡®boast,¡¯ but it wasn¡¯t even that expensive. ¡°Huh? Where do you put the game in?¡± In spite of owning it, I had been so preoccupied with my job that I barely paid it any attention. Thankfully, it meant that I had a decent amount of savings. And so even when I was unemployed like I was now, I could sit back and enjoy a game. If it came down to it, perhaps it wouldn¡¯t be too bad becoming a pro-gamer or streamer. People used to have a lot of opinions about that, but it was considered a real profession these days. It would be pretty cool to go from game developer to professional gamer. ¡°Ah, it goes in here.¡± I put in the software. Alright, now to power it on. Rrrrrrr¡­ Did they call it a deep base? That sound that made you feel a machine was running. The little kid in me couldn¡¯t help but feel excited. Well, I had plenty of time. I wanted to enjoy a game without thinking about anything else. CH 2 And so I used the capsule VR machine to dive into the world of Next Stage Online. The first thing that appeared before my eyes was outer space, only it was blue. Occasionally, stars would drift like rows of 0s and 1s. Huh, it really did have the feeling of being in cyberspace. ¡®Welcome to the world of Next Stage Online. First, please decide on a name. You will not be able to change your name once it is decided.¡¯ I see. There was the initial setup. This was something that hadn¡¯t changed from older games. For some reason, I had thought the game would start immediately. A name¡­alright. Since my name was Nagai Kyuji, why not ¡®Kyu-jii¡¯? Because the ¡®jii¡¯ looked like ¡®oldman¡¯? No, I was overthinking it. I wasn¡¯t young, but I wasn¡¯t that old either. I was young at heart. The details didn¡¯t matter. ¡°I¡¯ll be ¡®Kyuji.¡¯ ¡®Certainly, Kyuji. Next, you must choose the appearance of your character. You will later be able to use facilities within the game to alter your appearance. At a price, of course.¡¯ So, it wasn¡¯t permanent. However, these superficial changes that had no effect on your success in the game were always the ones to cost money. Regardless, I would create a character that I would want to use for a long time. Man or woman¡­ Better go with a man. Now, I was confident in being able to create a cute girl, but being her was another thing. Besides, I had once heard that doing such a thing could start to affect your personality in the real world. It was not the kind of thing one should plunge into without some thought. Instead, I would create an older, rugged type of man. Hmm. They had a lot of options. It would be easiest to autocreate, and then use that as a base and make changes from there. Thankfully, they even had ¡®rugged¡¯ as one of the options in autocreate. And so I touched it. Hmm. What appeared was quite promising. A sleek, muscular physique, with dull, brown hair. But he had a shaved jaw, which gave him a refreshing look. It wasn¡¯t bad at all, but I made a few adjustments. His eyes should be less severe and his jaw less wide. Yes, now it was closer to Japanese tastes. Nothing flashy, but that was they key to having a character that you wouldn¡¯t get bored of. ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± ¡®Very well. You will now be sent to the world of Nextaria.¡¯ ¡°Huh? Already? I thought this game had a job system and¡­¡± ¡®You will learn about that when you arrive.¡¯ If that¡¯s what the guide said, I just had to follow. Well, this time, my adventure was beginning. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô The darkness faded away, and I could see again. Apparently, I was in a city park. There were several other players here on the grass, swinging their weapons. Were they rookies like me? After all, this game hadn¡¯t been out for a full month yet. So there were likely a lot of new players. ¡®This is the park. While you are in the city, you can use your weapons and skills to your heart¡¯s content. Your attacks will not hit other players. However, as they will be seen, you should avoid using anything you wish to keep secret.¡¯ I see. So it was a place to test newly bought weapons and skills. On closer inspection, not all of them had starter equipment like me. Some had impressive looking swords or were flaunting glittery magic. Nice. I had heard that looking at other players¡¯s equipment was great fun in online games. It made me want to get something good soon, and attract envious glares. CH 3 ¡°Haa¡­ha¡­! Wait for me!¡± My body¡­doesn¡¯t move like I thought it would! Was I always this slow?! The girls were chasing after the monster on light feet. And they cut through them like it was nothing! Was it youth? Was that it!? In the first place, how were your actual physical abilities related to the game? Were my reflexes so bad now that I was incapable of controlling my body well? If I wasn¡¯t wrong, there were some VR games that were supposed to be able to measure your physical fitness through neurotransmission, and players whose results were bad might experience slower movement or shortness of breath in the game¡­ I wasn¡¯t sure what system this game used, but it apparently wasn¡¯t pleased with the way I was controlling my character. Well, I haven¡¯t exercised in quite a long time¡­ Luckily, the company I used to work at was very old fashioned, and I had to walk to work every day. Had I worked from home, I might have found walking alone to be quite hard. No, that was an exaggeration. My apologies to all those who work from home. ¡°Mister Kyuji. The enemy is going towards you!¡± ¡°Hah¡­ha¡­ They¡¯re leaving it to me!¡± Well, it was very kind of that monster to come this way. But as it was a rabbit monster, it was quite fast. It had horrible front teeth and looked terrifying, which meant I would feel no guilt when killing it. ¡°Haayaaa!¡± I swung my one-handed sword. It missed its target and cut through the air instead. Then the rabbit¡¯s teeth sunk into my neck. ¡°Aaaggghhhh!!!¡± Th-the pain! Well, I¡¯m sure it didn¡¯t hurt nearly as much as a real bite! But pain is pain! I don¡¯t care how much realism people want in this day and age. This was going too far! ¡°Fireball!¡± A fireball then slammed into my neck. But this one¡­didn¡¯t hurt! Apparently, there was no friendly fire in this game. So someone in my party had saved me. ¡°Th-thanks¡­¡± ¡°Mister Kyuji, did you forget to turn off the sensation of pain in the settings? It will hurt quite a bit if you leave it on default.¡± ¡°Pa-pain settings? I didn¡¯t know¡­¡± I immediately opened the window and went to settings. Currently, the pain gauge was at seven. Who the hell would want to raise it above that¡­ Maybe I should ask. ¡°These pain settings. Are there any merits to keeping it high?¡± ¡°Hmm. I heard some veteran players say that it raises your other senses too. And that allows them to move with more precision. But I don¡¯t know much about that. Still, they say that all the best players have it on the highest. That¡¯s why event rankers are always screaming.¡± ¡°I-I see¡­¡± How barbaric¡­ To think that the latest technology was being used to make humanity revert to a state of barbarism¡­ No, perhaps I was just being judgmental. I¡¯m sure this game had its good points too. ¡°Well, fighting and screaming at the same time might make you feel like you¡¯re in some kind of battle manga world. I suppose I can see the appeal. Not that I¡¯m going to do it.¡± ¡°Hehe. That¡¯s true. The best players really are fantastic and cool. But yes, I wouldn¡¯t do it either.¡± CH 4 I selected ¡®Archer¡¯ in the window and switched jobs. Since this was still the beginning of the game, you could switch as much as you wanted. ¡°Woah¡­this¡­¡± After seeing my status, I understood why it wasn¡¯t very popular. The stat distribution just seemed very middling. Especially compared to Mages. ¡ô Status Name: Kyuji Job: Mage Lv: 1/20 HP: 20/20 MP: 20/20 Attack: 3 Defense: 3 Magic Attack: 22 Magic Defense: 16 Speed: 6 Miracle: 0 Skill: None It was like a magic version of the Warrior. You were skilled with magic attacks but had low HP. However, high magic defense meant you could deal with magic attacks. It was easy to understand. As for the special skill, ¡®Miracle,¡¯ when activated, it raised the force and effectiveness of magic. Furthermore, there was also a chance of it cutting down your MP depletion to 0. And while I didn¡¯t have much trust in skills that only triggered if you were lucky, its effect was still powerful. And then you had the Archer stats. ¡ô Status Name: Kyuji Job: Archer Lv: 1/20 HP: 50/50 MP: 50/50 Attack: 15 Defense: 8 Magic Attack: 10 Magic Defense: 6 Speed: 11 Range: 0 Skill: None Inferior to the Warrior in physical. Inferior to the Mage in magic. The only thing it had was speed, but it wasn¡¯t much ahead either. In the first place, this was an action game. There was no turn-based battle system. So the effects of raised speed were ¡®being faster on your feet¡¯ and ¡®feeling lighter.¡¯ While it meant you could move faster and it would be easier to dodge attacks, it was really up to the player¡¯s skill, to be honest. In other words¡­it wasn¡¯t as meaningful to someone like me. My final hope then¡­was the unique status, ¡®Range.¡¯ And so it was with a feeling of desperation that I read out the description. ¡°Your range is extended by 1 meter per point¡­ That¡¯s it?¡± Well, it was pretty easy to understand. The other statuses tended to blur just how things were calculated. Hmm. Nevermind that. So, how was it? Was this good? Bad? In this game, you received ¡®upgrade points¡¯ when leveling up. And you could use these points to raise your status. You received 5 points for every level up. In other words, if I put all of them into Range, the number would go up by 5. Which would extend my shooting range by 5 meters. 10 levels would extend it by 50 meters¡­ However, this was just a number that was added to the abilities that your weapon already had. So if I was using a weapon that already had incredible range, I might be able to attack things that are hundreds of meters away. CH 5 The area outside of the town was rich with hunting grounds. That being said, the places that a level 1 solo player could go were quite limited. And so I searched the map for a low level hunting ground and eventually arrived in a forest. The first thing that made an appearance was the wild rabbit monster that had tormented me earlier. But I had enough neck biting for one day. And so I calmly aimed with my bow and¡­ Kiririri¡­shu! Zhunk! The arrow went right into its little head. The rabbit turned into particles of light and then disappeared. There was no blood. In terms of gore, this game also allowed you to adjust the settings. And so I put them on the lowest. You could say I wasn¡¯t a fan of it. Looking at blood made me feel weak. Still, that bunny had given me so much trouble, and now it was down in a single shot. Yes, clearly the bow was a good fit for me. I suppose getting a headshot made up for the lack of force. ¡°I just need to continue like this and level up.¡± Level up to get upgrade points and increase my range all at once. I could just raise it little by little, but I wanted to feel the difference clearly. That seemed like it would be more fun. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°Haa¡­haa¡­! Some of these monsters are dangerous¡­!¡± Is this really a hunting ground for beginners!? Why is this bear so big! I couldn¡¯t help but turn around and run away. Bears were supposed to chase after people who ran, and so this would be a horrible tactic in real life. However, there was nothing else I could do, as it already saw me as an enemy! Not only that, but bears were apparently very fast! It was catching up! And while there was no penalty for dying yet, it would look bad for me to lose without having resisted at all. So, I might as well try! Kiririri¡­shu! Shu-shu! Zhunk! Zuk-zuk! I didn¡¯t aim for the body that was thickly covered in hair. I unleashed three arrows. In the eyes, which were always a weakness, and in that gaping mouth that was trying to eat me. And just like that, it lost a third of its HP bar with every shot, and the bear vanished with a burst of light. Alright, I looked pretty amazing now, I have to admit. If only I had been like this when in that first party. ¡ªBeep! You have gained the skill, ¡®Infight Arrow.¡¯ ¡ô Reason for acquiring. ¡®Dangerous Shooting¡¯ Killed an enemy at point blank with a ranged weapon. Oh, I got a new skill. And it sounds pretty cool, too. I also got to level 5, so it¡¯s a good time to use my points. However, this is a dangerous place to be. While I had managed to save myself, things would not go so well if another bear took me by surprise. Was there somewhere safe that I could go? Besides, I still wasn¡¯t convinced that this place was for beginners. Let me check the map again. ¡°Gah! Alright, it was for beginners. But for beginner parties¡­ Damn it.¡± Even if you were a beginner, there was a huge difference if you weren¡¯t doing it solo. It was no wonder the enemies felt stronger here. CH 6 While I continued to be chased by monsters, I was able to arrive safely in the town and logout. And like that, my awareness returned to the real world. However, once stuff like eating, sleeping and using the bathroom were out of the way, I wanted to play again. But I held off. It was time to use the old information terminal to surf the net. Of course, I wanted to look up Next Stage Online. It wasn¡¯t that I wanted to check the Wiki and move according to it. It was just a general curiosity about how others were doing. Obviously, it was fun thinking up ways to do things by yourself, but part of the fun of gaming was seeing the progress of friends and talking about what you¡¯ve been doing. However, it was harder to do that face to face these days. There were so many games out there, and even if you had gamer friends, they may not be playing the same games as you. And so one must rely on the internet for such needs. On the internet, you could find communities of people who are playing the same game as you. However, I was a little intimidated when it came to message boards. Perhaps it was my own prejudice, but I always thought of message boards for online games as being chaotic. It was one thing to comment about your dissatisfaction with management, but players forcing their playstyle onto each other and other fighting was disheartening to see. I decided to look up a guide first. And so I looked up ¡®Next Stage Online guide¡¯ and several sites popped up. I tried the first one. ¡°¡­Not much information yet¡­¡± The others were the same. Well, it was no wonder. The game hadn¡¯t even been out for a month, so the Wiki still needed time to grow. However, there was one thing I learned. The ¡®archer¡¯ job really was unpopular. And this was evident as there was the least amount of information about it. The skills and even weapons. Blank. Strangely, there was a decent amount of information about the boomerang. Was there some passionate fanatic out there? Or was it because it had relatively high attack power out of the ranged weapons? The answer to this question was connected to one of the reasons that the job was unpopular. Apparently, ¡®bows,¡¯ ¡®guns,¡¯ ¡®shurikens¡¯ etcetera were difficult to aim with. The boomerang alone could be used as a melee weapon if you missed and the enemy got close to you. So that was why it was more popular¡­ But if that¡¯s the reason, you were better off as a warrior with a sword. Still, it showed that there were fans out there willing to spend all this time to update the site. It was a big world. The odd thing was, I hadn¡¯t felt that the bow was particularly difficult to aim with. Judging by the comments, your stats did not help you when shooting with the bow or gun. And so it required that you actually have good aim. Was that true? I had never learned archery in my life, and yet I was hitting my targets quite well¡­ Was it a coincidence, or a bug? Some of the comments were very heated. I was quite sure that if I posted, ¡®oh, the shooting was easy for me,¡¯ they would take it very badly. And so I clicked out of that section. In any case, I found another piece of information that was very interesting. It concerned the acquiring of skills. During my old warrior days, I had acquired a skill called ¡®Empty Wave Slash¡¯ because I ¡®kept doing practice swings even when in combat.¡¯ However, according to the site, you could also acquire it through ¡®dealing damage by the wind pressure of a swung weapon.¡¯ In other words, there were multiple ways of getting the same skill. This game had a lot of mystery in terms of skills. And so I would have to experiment and discover things along the way. It was possible that I might one day acquire a skill that no one else had. The only one¡­it had the best ring to it. Now that my excitement had reached its peak, it was time to return to Next Stage Online. The world of Nextaria. If I had to summarize my findings, it would be, ¡®it¡¯s better to think about it yourself, rather than ask others¡¯¡­ Maybe. CH 7 This time, I planned to go even deeper into the woods. The enemies that were closer to the edge were too easy, and there was a higher chance that I¡¯d be seen by other players. This was a hunting ground designed for full parties, and while I wasn¡¯t even at the recommended level, there was no penalty for being here. Besides, I just thought of it as a way to easily enjoy a thrilling fight. There didn¡¯t seem to be any downsides. ¡°Now, let¡¯s do this.¡± That being said, my strategy would remain the same. Climb up into a tree, wait for the enemy, and ambush them from above. Hey, this wasn¡¯t cowardice. There was a huge difference in level, and the enemies could one-shot me! Still, it was rare for enemies to get very close to me with this style. And my arrows were strong enough to take them down. At most, they would die in 3 to 5 shots. What was scary, was that there were some enemies whose weak spots were very small. The worst were the thin, long and fast snake-type monsters. They had small heads and slithered, making them difficult targets. If that wasn¡¯t bad enough, they would also climb up the trees and spit poison. Thankfully, I had stocked up on healing items with the money from my last adventure. I had considered picking up some weapons and armor, but figured that anything that I could afford now was likely to be of questionable quality. Perhaps it was best to rely on item drops from monsters. ¡°Level 7, huh? Put the points into Range and¡­that¡¯s 35 now. And with the Beginner¡¯s Bow, that¡¯s a max reach of 50 meters. Things are looking good!¡± I was getting more skills. It was good progress. It wouldn¡¯t be very fun if you became too strong as soon as you started. Heh. I preferred to take things slow. Rustle¡­rustle¡­ I could hear something. It was definitely a new monster. But I didn¡¯t see anything on the ground¡­ ¡°Ah, woaaahhh!!!¡± It was just what I had been afraid of! A spider monster had been living at the top of this tree! And it was already quite close to me! Damn it, I hate bugs! You could turn down the gore in this game, but there was nothing you could do when it came to arachnophobia. They weren¡¯t going to swap the character models for you or anything. Tsk¡­and this one was incredibly detailed! The hairs and the eyes were so realistic! ¡°Don¡¯t come any closer¡­! Ah, ah¡­!¡± I lost my balance and fell from the tree branch! But then again, it allowed me to create some distance between us! ¡°Infight Arrow!¡± Giririri¡­byuu! Zhunk! Thud! The arrow pierced the spider just as I hit the ground. The one saving grace seemed to be that bugs didn¡¯t have the highest endurance. While I had hit my hip, I also took some damage. But as long as I was alive, it was nothing that some items couldn¡¯t fix. ¡ªBeep! You have acquired the skill, ¡®Archery I.¡¯ ¡ô Reason for acquiring ¡®The first step in the way of the bow¡¯ Have a moderate amount of experience with the bow. [Archery I] +10 for attacks and range when using a bow. Apparently, I had been rewarded for going against something I hated. This one was a passive skill. It was simple, but also useful. Not the flashiest skill, but I was glad to have it. CH 8 ¡®Immobile Sniping Stance.¡¯ I needed to stay in one place for 30 seconds in order to activate it. And so I stayed still, and when 30 seconds had passed, the words ¡®Skill can now be activated¡¯ appeared in my vision. So it wasn¡¯t automatic then. And it didn¡¯t deplete your MP either. Well, it would suck if a skill with such a demerit activated automatically. ¡°Immobile Sniping Stance!¡± A blue aura then surrounded me quietly. So, if I attacked like this, my range would be increased by three times. As my status was 35 and my bow 15, my current maximum range was 50 meters. And then Archery I added an additional 10 meters for a total of 60. This meant that I should be able to hit 180 meters now¡­ Kiriririri¡­shu! I couldn¡¯t even hear the sound of the arrow landing. That¡¯s how far away the tree trunk was. Well, I was now stranded here for the next 30 seconds. However, it wasn¡¯t like I couldn¡¯t move at all. For instance, it was like being trapped in a circle that was just slightly wider than your body. You could not move out of this circle, but your arms could, and you could even move your legs. However, I would not be able to lie down. This would be dangerous if I missed my target and the enemy detected me. 30 seconds just seemed like a flash during everyday life, but it was an eternity during combat. If I was trying to hit a monster that was moving, they could easily escape if I couldn¡¯t move for 30 seconds. On the other hand, I would die if I was in a situation where I had to run. Conclusion! It was very powerful, but could lead to self-destruction if you aren¡¯t careful! While difficult to use, I was sure that there would be situations where it would be impossible to hit my target without it. And though there were demerits depending on the situation, having options in terms of attacks meant that I was that much stronger. ¡°Still, I have a nice selection of skills now.¡± ¡ô Status Name: Kyuji Job: Archer Lv: 7/20 HP: 50/50 MP: 50/50 Attack: 15 Defense: 8 Magic Attack: 10 Magic Defense: 6 Speed: 11 Range: 35 Skill: [Archery I] [Infight Arrow] [Bound Arrow] [Immobile Sniping Stance] I couldn¡¯t help but feel brought as I looked at the four skills side by side. ¡°Hmm? There¡¯s a ¡®!¡¯ on the item page.¡± Aside from your stats, there were pages to show your items and money. The ¡®!¡¯ mark was on the tab you used to change pages. And so I touched it. ¡°Let¡¯s see here¡­ You have acquired a weapon that is compatible with your current job!?¡± Indeed, there was an unfamiliar bow in the weapon section. It was called a ¡®Spider Shooter.¡¯ Judging by the name, it was probably dropped by the spider monster I had killed. Well, might as well take a look. ¡ô Spider Shooter Type: Bow Attack: 20 Range: 30 Weapon Skill: ¡®Web Arrow.¡¯ [Web Arrow] Unleash an arrow that deploys an adhesive net. Can be activated 8 times a day without depleting MP. That sounded pretty good? Obviously, it was superior to the ¡®beginner bow.¡¯ That one only had a 7 in Attack. And this also had double the range. CH 9 First, there is one thing that you must never do when fighting a gorilla. And that is ¡®letting them know your position.¡¯ If they knew where you were located, they would close in on you. And that huge body could catch up very quickly when it ran. You could not be naive and just shoot it straight on. Thankfully, I had a useful skill. ¡°Bound Arrow!¡± I avoided the gorilla and aimed for the trunk of a tree that was behind it. The arrow then bounced off and hit the gorilla. Now it would assume the arrow had come from the other side. However¡­it didn¡¯t do any damage! Would I have to shoot hundreds of Bound Arrows in order to kill it¡­? On the other hand, it was so ridiculously weak, that the gorilla was still sleeping. Well, it was my chance to hit it with a chain of attacks. Kiriririri¡­shuu! Shu! Shu! After I hit it with about twenty more, the gorilla suddenly shuddered. Was it finally waking up? At this point, I would have to make the arrows bounce more than once, so they didn¡¯t hit it right away. It would be pointless if it saw the arrow come from behind and bounce off of the tree. However, the more it bounced, the farther the arrow traveled. And that meant the force would be weakened. Still, I was able to chip away a quarter of its health. I just had to be patient. Thankfully, the gorilla was still confused about what was¡­hmm? Now he was holding something. A black clump of¡­ ¡°No¡­¡± But I was right. The gorilla picked up a big piece of its excrement and flung it in the direction that an arrow had come. I could hear a tree crashing as the dark pieces went flying. The force was incredible¡­ I didn¡¯t want to get hit by that. No, I wouldn¡¯t want to get hit even if it didn¡¯t pack that much of a punch! The world in this game was so realistic in its recreations. I didn¡¯t want to think about what it would feel like to be covered in that! I better kill it quickly¡­ ¡°Ah¡­! The tree I was using to bounce the arrow is gone¡­!?¡± I would have to choose a different tree. This time I would attack it from both sides. I shot the arrows diagonally from the gorilla so that they hit the trees that were next to it. By doing this on both sides at nearly the same time, it will assume that there are two enemies. However, the gorilla reacted by throwing more of its excrement. And it soon tore down the tree to the right. And without even a pause, he flung towards the left in order to take out that tree as well. If this continued, it was only a matter of time before it came flying at me¡­ It still had a little over half of its HP left. I could risk revealing my position and spam In Fight Arrows at it, and it still wouldn¡¯t be enough. So, what to do¡­ The gorilla leaned on one leg and pulled an arm back, ready to throw again. ¡°I know! Now¡¯s my chance! In Fight Arrow!¡± Giriririri¡­ Byu! Zhunk! A powerful arrow slammed into the gorilla¡¯s knee. Joints were already weak, but it had all its weight on it now. That meant increased damage! Furthermore, it lost its balance and collapsed on the ground. Additional damage! A big chunk of its HP fell away. And now for the follow up attack¡­! ¡°Web Arrow!¡± My newly acquired weapon. This skill had a spider¡¯s web. The adhesiveness would cause the gorilla to stick to the ground. And once it couldn¡¯t move, I just needed to shoot it! ¡°In Fight Arrow! In Fight Arrow! In Fight Arrow!¡± CH 10 [VRMMO] Next Stage Online General Thread Part1245 1: Anonymous Runner A general thread to discuss ¡®Next Stage Online.¡¯ While most subjects are allowed, party requests, complaints, trolling and bragging have their own threads. The next thread will be created automatically. 2: Anonymous Runner >>1 Me. 3: Anonymous Runner But it¡¯s an automatic thread. What does that even mean? 4: Anonymous Runner Whoever manages the message boards(being serious) 5: Anonymous Runner I¡¯ve been playing every day since it started, but I¡¯m still not bored. However, some parts are really tough for people who hate exercise. You have to be able to move with agility in order to beat strong monsters. It¡¯s not just about your status. 6: Anonymous Runner Yeah, it¡¯s pretty realistic in that regard. Your physical capabilities really matter. 7: Anonymous Runner But I see a lot of weak-kneed players flailing their weapons in the advance guard. 8: Anonymous Runner >>7 Well that can¡¯t be helped. No one has experience swinging weapons in real life. 9: Anonymous Runner The advance guard can still do damage, even if swinging a sword is all they do. They¡¯re useful even if just to distract the enemy. And sorcerers can hit enemies pretty easily with their skills. The problem is archers. 10: Anonymous Runn >>9 I can¡¯t hit anything with a bow. Lol But I started practicing with a gun, and am pretty decent now. I suppose it¡¯s because I have some real life experience with them. Shurikens and Kunais aren¡¯t that bad either. 11: Anonymous Runner I can tell that boomerangs have adjustments. The force of it is quite different from real life. But even then, it¡¯s too hard to use those things during combat. I doubted anyone would use such a thing, but apparently you can find any kind of person on the internet. 12: Anonymous Runner What¡¯s most sad is that it doesn¡¯t even do that much damage once you master it. 13: Anonymous Runner Well, I¡¯m sure there will be adjustments made eventually. Or not. Who knows? 14: Anonymous Runner If they support the rear guard too much, then everyone will go there. But I suppose that won¡¯t matter much to the advance guard. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô 357: Anonymous Runner Hey, hey. The gorilla that my party was after was killed by someone else. Boss monsters take time to respawn, so we had to disband. 358: Anonymous Runner >>357 I heard rumors about that gorilla. Who the hell would want to fight that thing? You probably stink. 359: Anonymous Runner >>357 Yeah, something smells. 360: Anonymous Runner >>358 >>359 I don¡¯t stink! We didn¡¯t even fight it! Someone else did! CH 11 Under X Battle Royale. It was an event that only players who were under level 10 in their starting job could participate in. As the name implied, this was a battle royale. Participants fought each other until there was just one person left standing. There would only be one winner. Usually, in these kinds of games, you would end up fighting about a hundred other people. But this time, every player that wanted to participate would be thrown into the same map. The exact numbers weren¡¯t given, but it was said to be in the tens of thousands. Obviously, there would be an entirely new map made to accommodate all of these players. An event map that was cut off from the world of Nextaris would be prepared. No information about this map had been disclosed. And you could not see it in advance. As soon as the battle started, players would be randomly thrown into the map and fight each other as it slowly grew smaller. There were three key points to winning. The first was play style. Try to survive by avoiding combat as much as possible? Or keep killing enemies until you¡¯re the last one standing? I didn¡¯t know which was better. But I knew what I would do. I would fight by the rules I made for myself for this event. The second was equipment and skills. You could only use the equipment that you were wearing. You could not change once you were on the map. And you could not bring items with you. But you could use all of the skills you had acquired. As the limit was level 10, the number of skills you acquired up until then would be very important. People who only followed others in order to get a share of the experience points would not have as many skills. As for me, I was aware that I had a little more than most. The last thing was collecting event exclusive items. Most battle royale games had you pick up guns and armor along the way, but in this one, you started out with your own armor and weapons. Instead, you could gather ¡®Healing Chips¡¯ and ¡®Status Boost Chips.¡¯ There was even a ¡®Special Action Chip.¡¯ The ¡®Healing Chip¡¯ was obviously for HP, MP or status effects. The ¡®Status Boost Chip¡¯ gave you a boost to your stats during the event. The ¡®Special Action Chip¡¯ allowed you to do a special action just once. According to the official site, there were chips such as the ¡®High Jump Chip,¡¯ ¡®High-speed Dash Chip,¡¯ ¡®Invisible Chip,¡¯ and ¡®Barrier Chip.¡¯ All of them were very powerful. And whether or not you could get them would greatly affect your chances in the game. Collecting items was not part of my playstyle, but I had to make an exception there. ¡°Well, the event should be starting soon.¡± Players who had applied to participate had to standby in a town. If they went out into the field, they were automatically disqualified. It seemed like a useful feature. Someone might go out, thinking they would return quickly, but make more progress than they had expected. It would suck if you were about to fight a boss and were suddenly sent back. ¡®To all players that are participating in the Under X Battle Royale. You will be warped to the event map within 100 seconds. Please make sure that you are properly equipped.¡¯ The system voice echoed in my head. Apparently, there were other players around me that were participating, as I could see them suddenly shudder. Good, I could see who would be my rivals. Still, I decided to check my equipment and status just in case. None of it had changed since my battle with the gorilla. ¡ô Equipment Head: ¨C Right Hand: Spider Shooter Left Hand: (Spider Shooter) Arms: Fists of the Forest Sage Torso: Beginner¡¯s Shirt Legs: Beginner¡¯s Pants Feet: Beginner¡¯s Shoes Accessories: -, -, ¨C I¡¯m sure players who saw this would want to ask, ¡®Why are you still wearing beginner equipment?¡¯ CH 12 The unleashed arrow moved as if it were being sucked towards its target. And then it slammed right into the exposed head. In just one hit, the player burst into light and disappeared. ¡®1 kill! First kill!¡¯ Rang the system voice in my head. Yes¡­I defeated a player! To be honest, I had felt that it wouldn¡¯t feel very good to shoot someone, game or not. However, I was wrong. This really was just a game. And it felt damn good! I remembered the battle royale games I used to play a long time ago. The feeling of elation over killing someone was just the same. Terrible aim, awkward controls, sloppy shoot outs¡­ Still, I was happy that I was able to take someone down. The feeling was the same even in a VR game. ¡°I better grab the spoils of war!¡± A treasure chest appeared in the spot where the player had been killed. It contained whatever that player had been carrying. In other words, it was empty. He had only just warped, and so there hadn¡¯t been any time to pick up any items. I had gotten a little carried away, and forgotten. Also, you weren¡¯t able to take their equipment. If your painfully acquired armor and weapons could be taken so easily, no one would participate in the event. The only thing you could take were their chips. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t want to stay out in this field any longer¡­¡± The field was surrounded by mountains. If I wanted to make the most of my range, I would do good to get to higher ground. And so I would climb the mountain while remaining cautious of enemies. If I found any enemies, I would kill them if I could. That was the rule I set for myself. If I let enemies go, I might bump into them later while on the move. Then I would be at a disadvantage. My range would mean nothing if it came to a close quarters fight. And I wouldn¡¯t be able to defend myself against an ambush. And so I would find their position first, and kill them before they saw me. This general strategy was something I wanted to continue until the end. ¡°Ah, there¡¯s a building¡­ There doesn¡¯t seem to be any enemies here. I suppose I should gather the items then.¡± There were in fact, four of the log cabins on the side of the mountain. And since the doors were closed, they had likely not been raided yet. But then again, they could have easily been closed. And so it was merely a guess. I flattened myself against the outside wall and peered in through the window. There were several chips scattered on the floor. It seemed unlikely that they were there as bait. This was because it would be much more beneficial to buff your status up during the beginning of the game, rather than risk losing them by playing tricks like this. And so I decided that there was no harm in it. I opened the door and stepped inside. But I left the door ajar. Now, anyone who came later would know that someone had gone inside, and they would be too cautious to enter. Then I grabbed all of the chips. There were 2 [Attack +10] And 3 [Inherent +10] So that was 5 status boosts chips in all. ¡®Inherent¡¯ was for stats that were unique to your job. So that would be ¡®Spirit¡¯ for Warrior, ¡®Miracle¡¯ for Sorcerers, and ¡®Range¡¯ for Archers. I suppose that was all you could expect to find in a building of this size. I even checked the second floor. It was time to go to the next¡­ No, there was someone in the forest! ¡°Damn it. When there are tens of thousands of players, you won¡¯t be alone for long¡­!¡± I had been lucky enough to spot him from the window by accident. It was a man, and he was staring at the open door. CH 13 ¡®5 Kills! 6 Kills!¡¯ Man, the encounter rate was crazy. Was everyone avoiding the flatlands and running to the mountains, where there were more buildings and obstacles? We were all thinking the same thing then. However, a lot of players seemed to move away once they found me. But this seemed less to do with any perception of Archers, and more about a natural instinct to avoid combat in general. While normal battle royale games were all about players fighting each other, when it came to VR games, it really felt like you were there in person. And so there was more of a resistance against going out and attacking others. Well, as for me¡­ I was shooting such players in the back one after another, and racking up kills¡­ ¡°Phew. There is no mercy in war¡­ I always wanted to say that.¡± And like that, I managed to survive and reach the top of the mountain. Here, there was a stone tower. The entrance was closed. And there were also chips scattered around it. That meant I was the first one to arrive. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll use this as my sniping spot¡­¡± And so I opened the door and went inside. But this time, I closed it behind me. The interior of the tower was also scattered with chips. I gathered them while making my way up the spiral staircase. The top of the tower offered you a beautiful view of the entire mountain. And it also offered you an amazing spot to snipe at people. ¡°But first, I should check these chips.¡± I had gathered 47 chips in all. 30 of them were status boosters, 13 were for recovery, and 4 were special. Among the status boosters, there were some rare +20 and +30 ones, aside from the usual +10. And when all added together¡­ Attack +70 Defense +30 Magic Attack +40 Magic Defense +10 Speed +80 Range +200 Apparently, I had a lot of luck when it came to Range. After adding the status chips to my base stats, and then activating ¡®Immobile Sniping Stance,¡¯ my Range would exceed 1,000 meters. In other words, I could shoot someone who was a kilometer away. Well, it would be very difficult to actually hit my target at that distance, but I would do my best. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t pick up any chips for status effect recovery. But there were a lot for MP recovery, which was nice. Because most of my skills depleted my MP. As for the special action chips, there were 2 ¡®High Speed Dash,¡¯ and 1 ¡®Short Warp,¡¯ which allowed you to warp a short distance, and then there was ¡®Magic Mine,¡¯ which let you place invisible mines on the ground. I actually had two ¡®Magic Mines,¡¯ but one exploded when I tested it. What I learned was that while it was rather weak, it made a terribly loud sound. In order to make use of that, I set it down by the entrance. It wouldn¡¯t kill anyone, but it would act as an alarm, letting me know if someone came in. The last thing I needed was for someone to sneak inside while I was shooting. ¡°Now, I¡¯m all prepared. It¡¯s the start of my killing show¡­I hope.¡± I looked down at the mountain from the top of the tower. I saw a player who was foolishly moving in an area with few trees. Kiriririri¡­.shu! I couldn¡¯t hear the sound of the arrow hitting my target. However, the player soundlessly fell to the ground and burst into light before vanishing. Only the ¡®Kill!¡¯ notification rang in my head as I looked for my next target. Kiririri¡­shu! Shu! Shu! I would often miss, because of the distance. But the players just became frantic, not knowing who was attacking them, and so it wasn¡¯t hard to take them down with the next shot. The problem was players with high defense and players who could remain calm. There were some who were quite sharp, and immediately determined where the arrow was coming from and were able to hide. CH 14 The stone tower stood in the center of the ever shrinking area. Unlike the wooden buildings, this place was strong and could not be destroyed with skills. And I was the long-range archer who had this place all to myself. ¡°Hmm. They definitely hate me. I¡¯d hate me if I were in their place.¡± Still, it wasn¡¯t as if I could change places either. The tower was now the only building left in the area. If I got down, it would mean allowing the others to get close. Even though I stuck out here, I had to protect my position to the end. Ugh, the area just got smaller again. There must have been something lucky about this tower, because it was still safe ground. Now even more players would be desperate to get in. Kiriri¡­shu! Shu! Shu! Shu! Shu! I shot down everything that stepped into my vision. If they were too hard to take down, I shot them again. If I missed, I shot them again. In Fight, Bound, Clear, Web¡­ I used all of the arrows in my arsenal. ¡ªBeep! The ¡®Archery I¡¯ skill has evolved to ¡®Archery II.¡¯ ¡ô Reason for Acquiring. ¡®Beginning the Way of the Bow.¡¯ Became more proficient with the bow. [Archery II] +20 to Attack and Range when a bow is equipped. I had assumed there would be another level because of the number¡­and here it was. It was good timing too. Now I could kill more enemies. Kiririri¡­shu! Shu! Shu! Shu! Shu! The number of players went down surely and steadily. This would likely not continue for too long¡­ Still, I couldn¡¯t let my guard down. It was unusual, but in this game, the number of remaining players was not displayed. And so I had to stay on my guard until the last second, until the announcement of victory. ¨CBeep! You have acquired the new skill, ¡®Multi-shot.¡¯ ¡ôReason for acquiring ¡®Your arrows have hit many enemies¡¯ Killing many enemies with a ranged weapon in a short amount of time. [Multi-shot] Hit multiple targets at once. Range is as far as the eye can see. Number of targets is up to 10. Now this was a very powerful skill¡­! It was like the game was telling me to win! ¡°Lock!¡± The players in my vision suddenly turned red. I guess these were the targets of Multi-shot. ¡°Multi-shot! Eat this!¡± Kiririri¡­shu! Multiple arrows were unleashed at once, but there was only one sound. The 10 arrows all hit a player and took them down. But it didn¡¯t use too much MP, and it did a lot of damage. I could still use it! ¡°Multi-shot!¡± Kiririri¡­shu! I took down 9 enemies with my second try. And so I took aim at the one that got away and with another Multi-shot¡­ No, they were gone. I looked around but there were no other players. So I just needed to take down this last guy, the one in the mud green gear. Then I would win! ¡°Concentrate¡­concentrate¡­¡± I aimed at his head and unleashed the arrow. However, he easily hit it out of the air with a whip. It was a green, slime-like whip that wriggled around. It was pretty impressive. But there was something else that made this guy stand apart from the others. Perhaps I wasn¡¯t the best judge of such things, being a beginner, but he had the movements of someone who was accustomed to playing VR games. Even if he hadn¡¯t been playing NSO for very long, he must have had plenty of experience with others. Basically, I saw no openings at all. I had no idea how I could defeat him. So I had no choice but to spam arrows at him! Even if the damage was low, I could chip away at him from far away. That was my fighting style! ¡°ARRRGHHH!!¡± I couldn¡¯t exactly create a rain of arrows, but I unleashed an obnoxious amount over him. It was a matter of perseverance. If I could just get one arrow through that stretchy slime whip, I would gain the advantage all at once, and more arrows would get through. On the other hand, if he kept pressing forward and reached the tower, I was finished. Even if I used skills and changed the trajectory of arrows, he still blocked them. Even the Clear Arrows which were supposed to be invisible were blocked. With studying, exercise, games¡­your instincts were honed when you reached the heights. I felt like that was what happened with this guy. But that didn¡¯t matter. I would keep shooting! Kiririri¡­shu! Zhunk! I heard the faint sound of an arrow piercing something in the distance. After that, arrow after arrow began to sink into him. ¡°Now it¡¯s over!¡± The last arrow hit him right in the head. He shouted with rage as he disappeared into light. You were strong¡­ Clearly a stronger player than me. However, I had the superior position and some luck. ¡°I¡­win!¡± Zhunk! Zhunk! CH 15 [VRMMO] Next Stage Online General Thread part1337 1: Anonymous Runner A general thread to discuss ¡®Next Stage Online.¡¯ While most subjects are allowed, party requests, complaints, trolling and bragging have their own threads. The next thread will be created automatically. 2: Anonymous Runner SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITT!!!! 3: Anonymous Runner That pro gamer team that likes to ruin games¡­ 4: Anonymous Runner Not a single person was able to to survive, or get any rewards. Lol 5: Anonymous Runner Fuuuuu¡­ Haha. 6: Anonymous Runner Scum. 7: Anonymous Runner There is a different thread for personal insults¡­ Still, it¡¯s funny how confident they were, and then they lost so badly. Lol 8: Anonymous Runner Lmao. 9: Anonymous Runner Sorry, it really is too funny¡­ 10: Anonymous Runner >>1 I haven¡¯t been here for a while? Can someone tell me what¡¯s happening? Did management do something? 11: Anonymous Runner >>10 Recently, a pro gamer team came into NSO and joined a beginner event. And they were so confident about annihilating the rankings¡­ 12: Anonymous Runner >>10 This pro team called ¡®Mad Slime¡¯ announced that they were joining NSO. And they said they would take it easy on players by messing with beginners first. But they were wiped out without a single one of them making the top 4. Not only that, but they didn¡¯t earn any rewards, like ¡®most kills.¡¯ 13: Anonymous Runner >>10 This group was pretty famous for causing chaos in different games. So it¡¯s like the hammer of justice finally got them. 14: Anonymous Runner >>10 Yeah, it really feels like the gaming gods were watching. 15: Anonymous Runner >>11 >>12 >>13 >>14 Thanks. I get the gist of it now. I¡¯m glad that it wasn¡¯t something that management did. 16: Anonymous Runner Is Mad Slime really just a bunch of noobs? I don¡¯t know how they can be a famous pro team. 17: Anonymous Runner >>16 They have a reputation for a reason. Besides, they acquired pretty good skills and equipment for being under level 10. To be honest, I didn¡¯t expect them to lose this badly. Of course, I¡¯m happy they did. Because we get to dogpile on them. 18: Anonymous Runner People here were expecting a great defeat. We¡¯re talking about beginner jobs, below level 10. Amateurs. Some of them hadn¡¯t even filled their equipment slots yet. 19: Anonymous Runner It just means that there are gamers all over the world that just haven¡¯t been recognized yet. Mad Slime gets attention because they are famous and hated, but there were a few other mid-level teams. And yet the top 3 were all unknowns. 20: Anonymous Runner Well, you¡¯ll have really low stats if you¡¯re below level 10. The chances of dying will be higher and there will be more accidents. And most beginners don¡¯t really know what to do in a battle royale, so you¡¯ll see a lot of strange movements. Though, I hope no one thinks I¡¯m defending them. 21: Anonymous Runner In the first place, it¡¯s easy for even pros to make mistakes in battle royales. They just got too confident, that¡¯s all. 22: Anonymous Runner >>21 Correct! 23: Anonymous Runner >>21 Exactly. 24: Anonymous Runner To be frank, all the other threads are full of talk of the high class battle royales. So there really wasn¡¯t much point to all their posturing. They might have at least gotten the attention they were so desperate for had they done it in a battle royale after getting their second job. 25: Anonymous Runner Well, they were still playing at a high level compared to most of the beginners. But the person who won clearly understands a battle royale. Gather as many resources as you can and keep your kills at a minimum. Hardly any wasted movement. A pro gamer perhaps? 26: Anonymous Runner The first runner up was just lucky. All they did was run away. 27: Anonymous Runner But what about the 3rd guy? Was that a bug? What¡¯s with that kill count. CH 16 It was the next morning after the battle royale, and of course, I logged into NSO again. Now that I thought back on it, I had really become so passionate, just like the protagonist in a comic book. But after a good night¡¯s sleep, I was cool-headed again. There was still anger about losing, but there were also several things I now understood after giving it some thought. The first, was that I wasn¡¯t on the wrong path. I was able to get the most kills due to my ability to attack from a great distance. I had only lost because I allowed the enemy to get too close to me. These two did not contradict each other. It wasn¡¯t as if my playstyle had proven to be ineffective. If anything, you might say this defeat only further proved how correct I had been. Increase my range so that I can attack without worrying about counterattacks. It was with this rationale that I would continue to train today. ¡°So, I guess I should use those NSO medals that I acquired.¡± These NSO medals could be exchanged for all kinds of things in the shop. Not only were there skills and equipment, but cosmetic items and rare skins as well. In my case, I wanted to pursue strength over appearances, and so I would choose skills and equipment. ¡­But when I actually arrived at the shop, it turned out that choosing things to trade in was quite difficult. I was the type who wanted to keep rare items. Even if there was little point in keeping them, knowing that I wouldn¡¯t get any more made me save them until the very end. I would have more opportunities to win NSO medals in other events, but they were still very difficult to get. As for the rate, it was about 50 medals per skill. And so even though I had 200 of them, I couldn¡¯t just use them without thinking. Hmm. This was very difficult indeed¡­ Perhaps it would be better to wait. It was as I was thinking this while scrolling through the catalogue. I suddenly saw an amazing skill at the bottom. ¡°Can I have this skill and this skill?¡± It was a good thing that I had gone through the entire list. There were two skills that I decided on immediately. And even losing 100 medals was not going to make me feel regret. It was perfect. The next thing I needed to strengthen was equipment. In the last event, I had prioritized comfort, and so went out to fight in my beginner equipment. However, there was no way that I could continue to do this. It would be best to get some new equipment early on, and get used to wearing it. And so I had hoped to use the remaining 100 medals to get new equipment, but it was not enough to get a whole set. Even if I kept using the gorilla fists for my arms, there was still my ¡®head,¡¯ ¡®body,¡¯ ¡®legs,¡¯ and ¡®feet.¡¯ And there were 3 slots for accessories. It seemed like it would be a better idea to save the medals and get my equipment somewhere else. Somewhere else¡­ In other words, searching the field based on information found on the net. It wasn¡¯t that I was relying on guides, but I just happened to have stumbled upon it. Last night, even after logging out, I lay in bed and read about NSO. I was mainly reading comments related to the battle royale. And it was then that I saw something about being able to acquire equipment if you went to a certain area of the map. Apparently, this was something discovered recently, and I wasn¡¯t sure if it was even true. Still, it was the kind of thing that you wanted to put to the test. It reminded me of being a kid and hearing my friends talk about hidden tricks within games. I had the time, so it was worth trying. If it turned out that I was fooled, I would have a good laugh and a fond memory. And so I decided to go to the spot that had been pointed out. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°It should be around here¡­ But I don¡¯t see anything that sticks out.¡± I was in a fairly dark mountain area. All the monsters that came out were easy enough to kill. So at least this wasn¡¯t some kind of trap to lure in beginners. CH 17 (Note from translator-san: a few changes had to be made to skill/names. Sorry for the confusion.) I was now back in town after being led to the forest due to false information. It was a lot faster when you had Warp Arrow. I had considered doing a class change right then and there, but was too scared to leave myself vulnerable in a field that I wasn¡¯t familiar with. Besides, a second job wasn¡¯t something so unusual that it was better to hide it. In fact, most day-1 players would have reached it by now. Though it was apparently a little different once you reached the 3rd job. So, I decided to sit down on the park bench and do this fancy class change thing. The player was not able to decide which job they would change into. The game would make that decision based on your playstyle up until that point. However, I had a good idea of what it would choose. ¡°Class change!¡± ¡®Class change confirmed! Your class has changed from ¡®Shooter¡¯ to ¡®Archer¡¯!¡¯ It seemed that I had gone from having a job that was vaguely about shooting, to one that mainly used bows. It wasn¡¯t much of a change, but it was a big step. And so I decided to look through my status. ¡ô Status Name: Kyuji Job: Archer LV: 1/30 HP: 75/75 MP: 75/75 Attack: 30 Defense: 16 Magic Attack: 20 Magic Defense: 12 Speed: 22 Range: 100 These numbers excluded the boost I got from skills and equipment. First, I was happy to see that ¡®Range¡¯ had remained my unique status. I had already used 20 levels worth of points for it, and it would have been a great waste if it was changed now. Aside from that, there was nothing particularly interesting about the status distribution. However, it was nice to see that everything had been raised. There were some other changes. The skill [Bow Arts II] ranked up to [Bow Arts V]. What was most notable about this, was that the +20 boost to attack and range was now a +50 boost. Furthermore, I had acquired a new skill, ¡®Satisfying Shot.¡¯ [Satisfying Shot] A chance of increasing the damage of an arrow. Probability will increase with the player¡¯s level. There you go. An attack buff skill that was based on chance. In other words, it was like a critical hit. As archers were seen as being dexterous, they tended to get these kinds of skills that increased the chance of a critical hit. Still, you couldn¡¯t really depend on something that was by chance, and so I felt a little conflicted by it. Even if it did activate and I was victorious because of it, it would feel like I had merely been lucky. Well, there was no point in complaining about it. I would enjoy myself more if I just accepted things as they were. In my case, my attack ability was quite low, so I had to shoot multiple arrows. The more I shot, the higher the chance of getting a critical hit. And so I suppose that I could consider it a good match for me. Now, there was one last thing that had changed. This one was quite surprising. The bonus points I received from leveling up went up from 5 to 10. Yes, it was doubled. You would grow twice as quickly on your second job. In that case, it was time to put all 10 points right into ¡®Range¡¯! And with that, my Range went up to 110, without buffs. ¡°¡­To be honest, I haven¡¯t gotten that much stronger.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but mutter it out loud. It was my honest feeling. And it wasn¡¯t exactly unexpected. The hurdle for getting here had been incredibly forgiving. Anyone could have done it if they put in enough time. That meant a decent number of people would have become ¡®Archers¡¯ as well. CH 18 Data.16 Old Bowman, Blown by the Wind When I was a kid, I often wished that I could ride on clouds and walk on rainbows. Who would have thought that such old dreams would come true for me at this age¡­ I suppose that¡¯s one of the good things about VR games. At the same time, it was also frightening. ¡°Thi-this is so high¡­¡± My mistake was looking down in order to be sure of the situation that I was in. The incredible height made me feel dizzy, and I nearly fell over. It had been awhile¡­since I last felt that sensation of sweat pouring from every pore. Perhaps being so realistic was not always a good thing. Well, as for the clouds, there was nothing here in particular. No kingdoms or monsters. Either it hadn¡¯t been implemented yet, or being able to ride clouds was nothing more than a little easter egg. I lay on top of the cloud, spread eagled. It was soft and fluffy. I felt like I could fall asleep immediately. Well¡­I might have if this was a bed that was on the ground¡­ ¡°There sure are a lot of clouds today. I wonder if I can reach any of the higher ones?¡± I could see scale clouds floating in the higher regions of the sky. They floated with what seemed like just the right amount of space between them, and were like platforms in an action game. A boss level, to be precise. There was a cocoon-like cloud in the center of the scale cloud cluster. That was where a boss would typically jump out. KYOOOOOOooooo!! The cocoon exploded. Something had jumped out of it and was now flying between the clouds. Could it be a floating castle¡­ No, that speed¡­ A bird? Both guesses were wrong. It was¡­a dragon! It¡¯s scales were the color of the sky and it had large wings, a long neck, and a slender body. In spite of the sleek build, it was a western dragon. ¡°It-it looks so cool!!¡± No matter how old I became, I still thought dragons were cool. They were just cool and powerful beings. Just the design itself was awesome. When weapons, magic, or emblems used dragons, they felt more special. Boss dragons were intimidating, and classic heroes often had the power of dragons within them. Even if they were just side characters, they were memorable for their visuals. Sometimes they flew through the sky as a method of transportation, opening up the world for exploration. What I was trying to say was that dragons were wonderful. All boys liked dragons. That was all fine and well, but what was I supposed to do about the current situation? The dragon hadn¡¯t noticed me yet. As long as I didn¡¯t attack it, it would probably leave me alone. It was surely stronger than any monster or player that I had faced up until now. So pretending that I didn¡¯t see it and running away was not a bad idea. Three days had already passed since I started the game, so there would be penalties for dying. You would be forcefully sent back to the last town and would lose some of your money. Furthermore, your status would also be temporarily decreased. This meant that it would be difficult to go back immediately and get your revenge on the monster that killed you. Even normal exploration would become dangerous. ¡°Still, I want to fight it¡­¡± If my guess was correct, this dragon was an incredibly rare monster. It only appeared in the sky during days with strong winds and many clouds. Besides, I might be able to acquire dragon armor if I win. I too wanted to be that protagonist who had the power of a dragon! What man would run away when there was a strong enemy in front of him? ¡°Come at me, dragon! I¡¯m your enemy!¡± My first arrow slammed into the dragon, and just like that, the great battle had begun. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°Haa¡­ha¡­it¡¯s so strong!¡± No matter how many arrows I fired off, I couldn¡¯t tell if I was doing damage. There were two reasons for this. The first was because the dragon never appeared to be in any pain when I hit it. The second was that there was no visible HP bar. Perhaps this was something unique to special, rare monsters. Not showing the damage made the battle more immersive. But it was hard when you couldn¡¯t encourage yourself and say, ¡®just a little more and I have it!¡¯ ¡°I hope that this dragon is also weaker to attacks when flying¡­!¡± The scale clouds that worked as platforms were quite interesting. If you wanted to rise while stepping on it, it pushed you up like a trampoline. And if you wanted to go down when stepping on it, then you would slip right through it. It really did remind me of action games. It was clear that you were supposed to use this method to dodge the dragons attacks while fighting it. And I was able to use Warp Arrow on top of this, so it was easy to move around. Being solo was also a plus in this instance. If there were four of us scrambling around, people were likely to bump into each other and fall off. It would be the kind of battle that could ruin friendships. As for the dragon, it had three kinds of attacks. There was ¡®Roar,¡¯ which would temporarily stun you if you were too close. And ¡®Air Breath,¡¯ which was when the air expelled from its mouth caused shockwaves that erased the cloud you were standing on. And then there was ¡®Charge,¡¯ where it targeted you and charged in a straight line. Roar and Air Breath were easy for me to dodge. This was because Warp Arrow was such a good match for this battlefield. On the other hand, ¡®Immobile Sniping Stance¡¯ was the exact opposite, and I couldn¡¯t use it here. It was not possible to stay still for 30 seconds in an arena that demanded you to jump around all of the time. Still, the real problem was ¡®Charge.¡¯ With this attack, it moved away from me once before locking on and then swooping down towards me. Dodging it meant escaping to another cloud after it had locked on. So what was the problem? To put it simply, the hitbox was much too large. Not only that, but shockwaves would erupt all around the flying dragon. If I was hit by them, I would be knocked right off of the cloud. And since you could not see the shockwaves, it was easy to misjudge the distance. You might take damage even after you escaped to a different cloud or warped, so it was necessary that you kept moving. In fact, I had been blown away a few times and had to make an emergency return by using Warp Arrow. I just considered myself lucky that I wasn¡¯t thrown into the enemy¡¯s hitbox. And since Warp Arrow was my life saver, I had to focus on MP recovery. I recovered it even though it meant missing an opportunity to attack. It required patience, but when fighting against powerful enemies, it was important to have a pattern. In this dragon¡¯s case, you had a good opening for an attack right after the ¡®Charge¡¯ move. It would move far away from the scale clouds and take a short rest. That meant it would be out of range for most players, but my arrows were able to reach it. This was the only time I could attack. And so when the dragon was nearby, I kept hopping around and running away. I would under no circumstances hit it. Being hit once would mean an instant death, and so I carefully moved from cloud to cloud and only attacked when there was no chance of a counter attack. That was the style I took. After slowly chipping away at it with my attacks, something finally changed. The amount of scale cloud platforms decreased, and the dragon¡¯s charge became faster. Clearly this was a different phase. It¡¯s HP was dropping! ¡°If I can get this far, I can definitely win!¡± Jump, shoot, jump, shoot¡­ The increased speed of the ¡®Charge¡¯ forced me to use more stamina. Sadly, when it was this fast, my body could not keep up¡­! A shock wave took me in the legs, and I lost all sensation. This¡­was a partial decapitation state! As I had turned depatications off in the settings, my legs were still there. However, had I had it on, my legs would have been gone. I would need a regeneration potion, which was separate from an HP recovery potion in order to heal this. It was very rare and not sold in stores. So I didn¡¯t have one. In other words, I could no longer jump. Well, I could warp¡­but it was no use. With my physical abilities, it was only a matter of time before I died if I kept trying to run away. In that case, there was nothing to do but keep shooting it until the end¡­! I would show the dragon that Immobile Sniping Stance was where I really shined! Kiriririri¡­shu! Shu! Shu! A rain of arrows fell over the dragon. The dragon locked onto me and prepared to charge. And then the giant blue body rushed towards me¡­ At that moment, my vision was suddenly filled with light. CH 19 Data.17 Old Bowman, Standing in the Clouds My-my vision is filled with white¡­ Did I lose¡­? ¡°Uh¡­ Am I still¡­on top of the clouds!?¡± I held my bow ready and searched for the dragon. It¡¯s not finished yet! Was that light earlier a new type of attack!? ¡°¡­No, maybe it is finished.¡± All of the clouds, except for the one I was standing on, had disappeared. Only the clear blue sky spread out before me. It was as if the sky was confirming my victory. Even the wind was calm and peaceful. I tried to stretch my back then, but realized that my legs wouldn¡¯t move. The decapitation was still in effect. I needed to return to the town and heal as soon as possible. While healing on the field required rare potions, it could be done cheaply if you returned to the town. ¡°So¡­where is the town?¡± Clouds moved. And when I looked down, the scenery was completely unfamiliar to me. Even when I opened the map, nothing was displayed. The first town and the surrounding area would not appear on the map unless certain requirements were fulfilled. Some RPGs allowed you to see maps of places that you were visiting for the first time, but this game seemed to be a little more retro. So now I had no idea where I should descend. I did consider that taking the penalty and dying would be the fastest way to return, but I had just survived a powerful enemy. I wanted to continue on until the end. However, perhaps it was too much to ask when I couldn¡¯t even use my legs¡­ Uh¡­but falling to my death was also a frightening idea¡­ As I continued to argue with myself, the cloud continued to drift. And then, as if it was being led, it reached a certain area. ¡°Are those¡­mountains?¡± They were tall, circular mountains that looked like pillars that supported the sky. They reminded me of oil drums. The cloud I was on was being pulled towards them. The mountains connected to the ground at a right angle, and it would surely be impossible to climb them. So perhaps you were supposed to approach them on clouds, just like I was doing? Eventually, the cloud hovered over the strange mountains. And when I looked down, I could see lights coming from houses. ¡°Woah¡­there¡¯s a town in such a high-up and remote place?¡± Well, it looked like I really was supposed to get down from here. It was as if the cloud was telling me this. And so I aimed with my bow and unleashed ¡®Warp Arrow¡¯ into the ground. In the next instant, I had warped close to the mysterious town. That was fine and all¡­but then I remembered that I couldn¡¯t use my legs. At this point, I had no more MP and used up all of my recovery items. And if I couldn¡¯t use Warp Arrow, I had no choice but to crawl. Well, the town wasn¡¯t too far. I should be able to make it. ¡°Ohh! A guest from the sky! How unusual! Hmm, but you are injured! Let me help you!¡± And so as I got closer, a kind NPC picked me up and carried me to an inn. While a beginner like me could hardly tell the difference, the NPCs in this game were supposed to be rather unimpressive. They had a very limited range of dialogue and actions. And so this NPC would have been programmed in advance to come and help wounded players. ¡°Where am I?¡± ¡°Where are you? Why, this is the ¡®Hidden Windcloud Settlement¡¯! It¡¯s rather out of the way, but you¡¯d be surprised at how comfortable life is here! There is even a way to descend from the Windcloud Mountain, and we actively trade with other towns.¡± You could have a proper conversation if they had answers to your questions. Otherwise, it was just short replies. Furthermore, you could not attack NPCs. In the first place, outside of parks, you couldn¡¯t even use skills within a town. I heard that this included using your fists to attack people as well. In other words, it would be quite difficult to cause mischief. Though, I did hear about people looking underneath NPC¡¯s skirts. This involved crawling on the floor and looking up. Obviously, such behavior was a good way to anger female players. Furthermore, management might intervene if you blocked people¡¯s path as well. Well, it wasn¡¯t surprising. Most boys seemed to look when there was a 3D model in front of them. Perhaps it was some kind of instinct¡­ In any case, this was not time to be thinking about that. I had learned that this town was called the ¡®Hidden Windcloud Settlement¡¯ and that the mountains were the Windcloud Mountains. The problem was getting back to the original town. As this was also a town, I could just make it my new base and go on adventures and participate in events from here. However, I was a little lonely¡­ There were no other players here. And so I missed the lively town that I started in¡­ In MMOs, it wasn¡¯t just about parties, guilds, and friends. Part of the fun was in seeing the outfits of other players, listening to conversations, and other casual interactions. It reminded you that you weren¡¯t alone in this world. I had learned that this was what made online games interesting. However, it was also exciting to go adventuring to places that were undiscovered. It was time to organize my thoughts. It was possible to fast travel between towns. In other words, warping. However, there were requirements that needed to be fulfilled in order for this ability to be unlocked. As the first town was already unlocked, I just needed to fulfill the requirements for this one, and then I would be able to move freely between towns. And so I would try and finish that before logging out for the day. But I felt as if I was forgetting something¡­ ¡°Ah!? I didn¡¯t check my rewards for hunting the dragon!¡± I had been so desperate for new equipment that I even clung onto information that turned out to be false. And yet I forget when I finally acquire it¡­ I was either going senile or the joy of winning had erased my memory. Indeed, there was no reward greater than the emotion you felt. That being said, one did want something that lasted. They say that you usually get a full set after killing a rare monster, so what could I have acquired? ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ ¡®Proof of the Windcloud Dragon¡¯?¡± It looked like some kind of emblem. The dragon I just defeated was on it. Was it categorised as an accessory? Or was it just an item¡­ ¡°Aaahhh!? Is that¡­the Proof of the Windcloud Dragon?¡± ¡°Oh!?¡± The NPC had dialogue related to this emblem!? Now that I thought about it, this was the ¡®Hidden Windcloud Settlement.¡¯ It must be related to the dragon then. ¡°So-someone! Go and call the elder! The person with the proof of the Great Windcloud Dragon has appeared!!¡± He said as he went off somewhere. Great Windcloud Dragon¡­huh. Was that dragon venerated here? But I¡­killed it. CH 20 Data.18 ¨C Old Bowman, at the Hidden Settlement ¡°What a pleasant surprise to have you here. I am the elder.¡± ¡°Ahaha¡­ Uh, hello.¡± As I had likely killed something that was a guardian of sorts to this settlement, I felt a little cautious towards this elder. What if he suddenly attacked me? However, it turned out to be a needless fear. The people of the settlement knew that even if the Windcloud Dragon was defeated, it would rise again. Yes, in this game, monsters would eventually return after dying. I wasn¡¯t sure about the requirements or time, but even rare monsters were not an exception. Because of this, the NPCs recognized its defeat as part of the ¡®Windcloud Dragon Resurrection Legend.¡¯ The Windcloud Dragon appeared on days with strong winds and many clouds. And after bestowing challengers with the mark of bravery, it would turn into clouds and winds and drift away¡­ That was the story. I had known that the game was popular due to the degree of freedom in adventures, and being able to fight other players, but it was quite detailed in its setting as well. And so they had a custom here to welcome any who had the dragon¡¯s proof with them. Because of this, the requirement for fast travel was fulfilled, and I was now able to warp to other towns. I would have had to complete other objectives otherwise, which meant that I had saved a lot of time. Furthermore, I was able to stay at an inn and have my legs treated for free. If they were doing all this, maybe making this place my base wasn¡¯t so bad after all? ¡­However, it turned out to be free only for the first time. Though there were discounts after that. Well, I suppose it was necessary to maintain game balance. In any case, I did what I had to do. So it was time to check the rewards and log out for real this time. I had played for quite long already. Now, what did I get outside of the proof¡­ ¡°You who holds the proof of the Lord Windcloud Dragon. Will you listen to my request? I can wait if you don¡¯t have time.¡± ¡°I¡¯m very sorry. But this isn¡¯t a good time¡­¡± ¡°Very well. I will be right here, so come and talk to me when you are ready.¡± It was possible to put quests on hold, even as they were being brought to you. And putting them on hold did not make matters worse in any way. You could do them when you wanted or ignore them entirely. These were just characters who did what they were told¡­ That being said, I felt a little bad about checking my items right in front of the old man as he sat there and waited for me to talk to him. Perhaps I should try using that ¡®service.¡¯ And so I logged out. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°Alright, maybe it¡¯s time to finally check the official site.¡± After finishing up my other work, I rolled onto my bed. And then I accessed the official Next Stage Online website on my console before sleep overcame me. My business did not involve the pages explaining about the game. There was a ¡®My Page¡¯ for players who were already playing the game. This was great, as it allowed you to see your characters current status, skills, equipment and items. Furthermore, you could see how many monsters you killed, as well as learn about them. There was even intricate data such as how far you have traveled. And so it was easy to spend time looking at this page even when you weren¡¯t diving into the world of Next Stage Online. And so I would use this service to check my newly acquired items. My current equipment¡­ No, the equipment tab in my item box¡­this one. ¡ô Windcloud Haori Type: Torso(Haori) -Windcloud Blast- Create a powerful blast of wind in a specific direction. The stats were so powerful¡­! But out of all the different types of equipment, it had the most important function, as it protected the torso. And the design was incredibly cool. It was made of blue cloth with white cloud patterns. And there were lines throughout it that represented wind. This was sure to get people to turn their heads when I walked through town. And while the Windcloud Blast skill was quite simple, it seemed like something that would have many different uses. At least, it was unlikely to be a bad match for someone who used arrows. ¡ô Windguard Hakama Type: Legs(Hakama) Defense: 40 Magic Defense: 60 Weapon Skill: Whirlwind -Whirlwind- Greatly decreases falling speed. Reduces total weight. It was the same ¡®legs¡¯ category as pants. The numbers weren¡¯t as good as the haori, but the skill was quite interesting. I would have to test it out first, but did this mean that I could use Windcloud Blast to create a wind and then ride on it? As for ways to use it during combat, I guess reducing fall damage was the most obvious. How cool would it be if I could land perfectly after falling from a great height or being knocked into the air from an attack? ¡ô Cloudcrossing Tabi Type: Feet(Shoes) Speed: 80 Weapon Skill: Floating Cloud -Floating Cloud- Creates a cloud that you can ride. Make up to three per hour. Disappears after five minutes. The ¡®feet¡¯ category was more for raising speed than defense. And since ¡®clouds¡¯ were like the symbol of freedom and lightness, the speed boost was quite impressive. Or at least, that¡¯s what I thought. My knowledge of equipment was not extensive enough to make comparisons¡­ The skill was also quite simple. It sounded like I would be able to make the same kind of cloud platforms that I stood on during the fight with the Windcloud Dragon? However, there were strict restrictions. Otherwise you could make endless clouds and go anywhere. That being said, it meant I could stay in the air for fifteen minutes. That was great. I couldn¡¯t wait to put it to the test. Ah, it was so exciting. It was a childish analogy, but I did feel like someone who had gotten a new toy, but wasn¡¯t allowed to play with it yet. I just couldn¡¯t wait to log in again. And so I decided to sleep. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô The next day, I logged in and found myself at the ¡®Windcloud Hidden Settlement¡¯ inn.¡¯ Obviously, you started in the spot that you logged out of. In other words, the elder was still sitting there and staring at me. And while I wanted to test out my equipment, I felt bad about leaving him hanging. Perhaps it would be best to at least listen to the quest details first. ¡°Um, what is it that you wanted to ask me? I have some time now¡­¡± ¡°Ohh! You will listen to my request!? It is quite simple! I want you to climb up Mount Windcloud and destroy the evil, monstrous presence that plagues us! The Hundred-Eyed Demon Lizard!¡± ¡°Hundred-Eyed Demon Lizard¡­?¡± Was that like a frilled lizard? I really had no idea. But a hundred eyes¡­ I suppose that meant it was a lizard with a lot of eyeballs. And in action rpgs, a bow was your number one friend when attacking an enemy¡¯s eyes. There would be enemies with lots of eyes that you had to attack a certain number of times. Then its actual weakness, a single large eye would be exposed, which you could attack to deal some great damage. Repeat this about three times and you could kill the boss. It was the old fashion way to kill bosses with lots of eyeballs. ¡°Will you accept this quest?¡± ¡°Yes, I will.¡± It was the right foe for an archer. And I wanted to see how that old strategy would work in the latest VR game. Besides, using the Windcloud set for the first time while protecting the Windcloud Settlement did not sound bad at all. CH 21 Data.19 ¨C Old Bowman, Facing the Strange Monster The place that the elder led me to was the edge of the Windcloud Mountain. Once we passed a wooden fence, the steep cliff was all that was ahead. If you fell, there would be nothing to break your fall. It would be a straight journey to the bottom. ¡°The ¡°Hundred-Eyed Demon Lizard climbs up these cliffs. And I want you to kill it before it reaches us.¡± In other words, the quest was about defeating the enemy before it crossed the defense line. Battles with time limits made me nervous. You really felt the pressure as the enemy got closer and closer. Besides, how were you supposed to attack an enemy climbing up a straight wall, when you were up here? Perhaps it would be fine for the rear guard, but it would be nearly impossible for the vanguard. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about a place to stand. We have used a secret art in order to prepare a special cloud for you.¡± I see. I would be able to fight then. Unlike normal clouds that would drift away, the clouds here could be controlled by shifting your center of gravity. Lean to the right and you would move right. It was the same with the left. And if you wanted to go down, just squat a little. If you want to go up, stand straight with your back stretched. It was possible to control it quite intuitively. ¡°It¡¯s like a Kintoun.¡± And so I rode the cloud, crossed the wooden fence and moved away from Windcloud Mountain. The enemy had yet to appear. ¡°Good luck!¡± The elder said before disappearing. It wasn¡¯t a glitch. The area had now become isolated as a ¡®battleground.¡¯ This was because this battle was part of the quest. With the bosses that normally existed on the field, like the gorilla or Wincloud Dragon, you had the freedom of fighting or running whenever you wanted. But it was different with quest bosses. Once you accepted it, the event would continue, depending on the results of the fights. It didn¡¯t matter if you won or lost. The ¡®battle area¡¯ was surrounded by an invisible wall, so you could not use the cloud to run far away or return to the settlement. You had to win or lose¡­ The fight must continue until you reach either outcome. ¡­Well, that made things sound more gruesome than it was. It was also to prevent the involvement of people who were not part of the quest. That wouldn¡¯t be a problem if they were party members who were doing the same quest, but if you were a complete outsider, you wouldn¡¯t even be able to watch the fight. As these quests had story elements as well, this was a good way to avoid spoiling players. ¡°Hmm? The sky has suddenly become darker¡­¡± The sun descended and the moon rose. However, it was covered by clouds. Instead, countless red paper lanterns appeared around the Windcloud Mountain, illuminating the entire place. As I was now isolated, they were able to make these kinds of dramatic changes. Zu¡­zuzu¡­zuzuzu¡­ A sound that I found difficult to describe suddenly came from the darkness below me. Apparently, it had arrived. The Hundred-Eyed Demon Lizard. It was black as a shadow and had numerous eyes. It started to climb up the face of the cliff. At the same time, I saw the red eyes that covered its body. They were so eye-catching, it was like they were begging me to target them. However, while monsters with lots of eyes were hardly unusual, it was certainly much more unsettling to see on in VR. People who had trypophobia would not be able to handle it. Not only that, but it was a proper reptile as well, which could be rough for people who hated such creatures. The monsters in this game were really designed so that you felt like you had to kill them no matter what. And I meant that as a compliment. ¡°Lock! Multi-shot!¡± Kiririri¡­shu! The arrows hit ten of the eyes. And the eyes closed after taking damage. Like this, it was easy to keep track of which eyes you had to shoot. And once I had hit all of them, something should happen. ¡°Lock! Multi-shot!¡± The targets were large and its movements weren¡¯t too fast. There was no reason for me to miss. And so I just needed to attack repeatedly. After spamming ¡®Multi-shot¡¯ for a while, the change occurred. Gyugigigi¡­gigigi¡­gigi¡­! The lizard let out a shriek, and then it started to stagger backwards. And then it thrust out its long tongue towards the sky. There was an especially large eyeball on the tip. ¡°Its weakness¡­!¡± These eyeball type bosses showed their weakness after you attacked all of their eyes¡­ It was true even here. ¡°Windcloud Blast!¡± Byuuooooooo¡­! A blast of wind shot down as if to push something. The lizard retreated even farther. But that wasn¡¯t the only effect of this skill. The arrows rode the wind, and their force and range increased! ¡°All-out Rapid Fire! In Fight Arrow!¡± ¡®All-out Rapid Fire¡¯ wasn¡¯t a new skill. I just felt like saying it. In any case, I had to keep shooting while its weakness was still exposed! After a while, the lizard pulled its tongue back in and returned to climbing up the cliff. Furthermore, smaller enemies that looked like eyeballs with bat wings had suddenly appeared everywhere. There were around thirty of them. However, they would all become victims of ¡®Multi-shot.¡¯ Not only were they weak, but they looked like the kind of enemies that would take extra damage since they were flying. And so I just needed to repeat the same attacks. Shoot the eyes around the body that had opened again, and then shoot at the tongue that came out after that. The lizard continued to retreat, without being able to make any progress in its upward climb. Eventually, it went all the way back to the ground. However, at this point, its attack patterns changed. The lanterns that floated around the mountain suddenly disappeared all at once, and instead, the lizard¡¯s eyes started to glow red. And so I prepared to escape. If the eyes were glowing, it was obvious what was going to happen. Eye beams. Numerous red lights cut through the sky. As they were beams, you didn¡¯t have much time to move out of the way. And so the cloud I was riding on was nearly cut in half. However, they were easy enough to dodge once you got the hang of it. Once the lizard¡¯s eyes fixed on me, it was a signal that a beam would come shooting towards my head. However, if I was in a spot where our eyes wouldn¡¯t meet, I could dodge the attacks easily. After surviving the new attacks, I just had to repeat the same actions. But repeating the pattern three times was not enough to defeat it. This was a quest that you could only accept after defeating the Windcloud Dragon and acquiring the proof. And so the lizard had a hefty amount of HP as well. Furthermore, most strong enemies in MMOs were supposed to be fought with a party. And since I was solo and lacked firepower, it would take some time, even when boosting my attacks with wind. Without realizing it, I was walking down the road of hardship. ¡°Still, I somehow made it.¡± The black shape that looked like a lizard¡¯s shadow started to turn white. Then it dispersed into light. The dark clouds in the sky faded away and the blue sky returned. I¡­win. As there was an obvious pattern, it was easier than the Windcloud Dragon. However, these long battles were tiring. I would have to get some rest after telling the elder about the results. That being said, it was such a strange boss, that I was sure it would drop a rare item¡­but it didn¡¯t. I didn¡¯t even earn any gold. Were all quest bosses like this? It was a little disappointing¡­ Well, in any case, I had to go and tell the elder and finish up. ¡°Elder. I was able to defeat the enemy.¡± ¡°Yes, I know. I was quite impressed at how you handled the test.¡± ¡°Thank you¡­ Uh, test?¡± ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry to have deceived you!¡± The elder bowed his head and explained everything. As this settlement was on such elevated land, it was isolated from the outside world. At some point they started to trade with other towns. However, villainous people who had heard of the legend of the Windcloud Dragon had come with ¡®fake proofs¡¯ and tried to take advantage of the settlement¡¯s tradition. And the outside world had such high skills when it came to forgery. How were the people of the settlement supposed to tell them apart? And so they decided to treat the visitors as guests for a day and then have them defeat a terrible beast. And if they succeed, they would be accepted¡­ This terrible creature was in fact a type of large familiar that was being controlled by the people of the settlement. In other words, it wasn¡¯t an actual monster. So that¡¯s why there weren¡¯t any drop items or gold. And since it was made by people, it was weaker than the Windcloud Dragon. It all made sense. ¡°I understand the reason now. And I¡¯m not angry. I feel a lot better now that I know. Well, I¡¯ll be leaving¡­¡± ¡°Please wait!¡± ¡°Ye-yes?¡± ¡°We do more for those who have the true proof. It¡¯s not just a discount at the inn!¡± I see, it was still just a discount. It wasn¡¯t like you could stay for free after the test. ¡°First, please accept these two items!¡± ¡°This¡­Windcloud equipment!¡± ¡°Yes. I think you have already acquired the ¡®Haori,¡¯ ¡®Hakama¡¯ and ¡®Tabi¡¯ from the Lord Windcloud Dragon, and we are supposed to choose the rest and hand it to the person who has the ¡®proof.¡¯¡± In other words, the Windcloud Dragon dropped the same thing no matter who defeated it, but the equipment you received at the settlement was different depending on the person. In my case, it took into account that I was an archer. ¡ô Cloudpiercer Archer¡¯s Glove Type: Arms(Glove) Attack: 35 Defense: 15 Range: 50 Weapon Skill: None ¡ô Windstream Scarf Type: Head(Scarf) HP: 30 MP: 70 Weapon Skill: None The Archer¡¯s Glove was to protect your fingers when shooting. It was made of very tough leather and covered three of your fingers. While it would be comfortable enough when using the bow, any other movement would feel very restricting. In spite of appearances, the gorilla fists were quite comfortable for subtle movement. And while it didn¡¯t affect range, it was also superior in terms of defense and skills. But I couldn¡¯t ignore the increase in attack power here. There was also the fact that it was light, even though that part wasn¡¯t included in its stats. The gorilla fists were so big that they could act as a shield, but that meant they were also quite heavy. Advantages and disadvantages. I would probably end up alternating between the two depending on the need. Then there was the scarf. It was long and flowed in the wind. Even just standing there, it looked very cool. And I hadn¡¯t even known that head gear affected your HP and MP. As I used and recovered MP all of the time, it was pretty great to have it raised. ¡°Thank you for the wonderful equipment. I will use it well. Now¡­¡± ¡°One moment, please! There is still more¡­of the Windcloud equipment.¡± ¡°What!?¡± ¡°Allow me to take you to the treasure room. There, I will give the last item.¡± So it wasn¡¯t just five items to complete the whole set? I wonder what the last item could be¡­ CH 22 Data.20 ¨C Old Bowman, Windcloud of Change ¡°The last item that we give is always something that will suit the person. I hope you continue to have that courage that helped you face the Lord Windcloud Dragon. We wish you luck¡­¡± ¡°Thank you¡­!¡± I accepted the last item from the Windcloud set that was kept in their treasury, and thanked the elder before descending the Windcloud Mountain. The center of the Windcloud Mountain had a hidden elevator that was the result of some lost civilization¡¯s technology, and it could be used to easily go up and down the mountain. Once I was back on the ground, I decided to test the power of my equipment against the surrounding monsters. It¡¯s power¡­was more than I expected. Unable to hold in my excitement any longer, I used fast travel in order to return to the first town, and immediately went to the ¡®Colosseum.¡¯ Here, I would test to see how my new armor held up against other players¡­! By using fighting tickets that were distributed every week, you could enjoy different kinds of PVP battles at the colosseum. This time I would be joining the one called ¡®Battle Colosseum,¡¯ which had the most basic rules. The person who defeated the most players within the time limit was the winner. It was this simplicity that made it the most popular. If it was a battle royale, it wouldn¡¯t end until there was only one person left standing. And since the objective was to survive, people would often run and hide, which meant it would take longer for the game to end. There were many factors outside of combat, and you had to keep your guard up. On the other hand, there was nowhere to run and hide inside of the colosseum. It was a non-stop battle as people tried to get as many kills as possible. Games ended quickly, and even the longer ones were at the mercy of the time limit. And so unlike the larger events, you could participate regularly without worrying too much. It was a good place to practice PVP. By the way, it was also possible to spectate at the colosseum, though not many people did it. The reason was simple. Many matches were happening simultaneously, and they ended within a few minutes. The colosseum was a facility in the town, but it was really just a lobby for matchmaking. The actual battles took place in a separate map that was cut off from the rest of the world. Since this was a game that was played by tens of thousands of people, the PVP matches happened at the same time, and the rooms were broken up afterwards. And while there were rewards for getting into the top, the hurdle for participating was low, meaning there wasn¡¯t much excitement. ¡®Matchmaking is complete. 100 players have joined.¡¯ The battlefield looked like an ancient colosseum, and players started to appear inside of it. There wasn¡¯t much space between players once all 100 had appeared. And since there were no obstacles, it was as if the battle would begin the moment you locked eyes with someone. It would be tense from the very beginning. And so I quickly gathered information before the battle started. The ground under my feet was white clay, which would be easy to move on. The sky was covered in a dome-shaped barrier so that you could not escape. However, as it was quite high up, you would still be able to fly over the colosseum. As for the participants, the matching-system had ensured that they were all at a level close to my own. In other words, players who had gotten their second job but hadn¡¯t leveled up much. That being said, they weren¡¯t beginners. They had overcome the starter job. This was the point where you could see some individuality in their equipment, and some started to stick out during combat. And so there were more than a few who immediately looked for prey to pounce on. The ones near to me seemed to have especially vicious looks. Yes. They were targeting me. I suppose Archers were still seen as easy targets. And in my case, I was wearing a set made of cloth. So perhaps I looked even weaker. But the Windcloud set was very comfortable and easy to move in thanks to how light it was. The design was also quite cool. Well, maybe it looked drab compared to the shiny metallic armors and flowing robes that the others wore. Even my weapon looked a little poor compared to the huge greatswords and staves that were encrusted with gems. ¡®Battle starting in 10 seconds!¡¯ But I knew the power of this equipment I had worked hard to earn. Don¡¯t let me down now, Windcloud. And of course, the last piece. The Windcloud Bow! ¡®¡­Zero! Battle Start!¡¯ As soon as it started, the nearby players swarmed towards me. Players with ranged weapons should be killed in close combat¡­ They followed that theory. ¡°Windcloud Blast! Whirlwind!¡± The wind would blow upwards. I activated the weight reduction skill, ¡®Whirlwind,¡¯ which caused my Hakama to puff out like a balloon as I rose into the air. This was why it was called Windguard Hakama. ¡°Floating Cloud!¡± I created a cloud in the air and stood on top of it. I knew that this cloud wasn¡¯t the ¡®movable cloud¡¯ that the elder had made, but was like the clouds used during the fight against the dragon. However, anything from below would go right through it, so it didn¡¯t function as a shield against attacks. That being said, once I was camped up here, it would be a lot harder to attack me. This was where putting all your points into range really helped. The players buzzed below me. Some of them weren¡¯t even fighting. They just looked up and stared. I had hoped that they would just fight each other so that their numbers would go down¡­ Well, I guess I had to do it myself. And so I used the Windcloud Bow¡¯s weapon skill¡­no, charge attack. ¡°Bow Shower!¡± It was what you would expect from a bow¡¯s arcane charge attack. That¡¯s what ¡®Bow Shower¡¯ was. The players on the ground were hit by the rain of arrows, and burst into light as they disappeared. ¡ô Windcloud Bow Type: Two-handed weapon(Bow) Attack: 100 Range: 80 Weapon Charge Attackl(Bow Shower) -Bow Shower- Create a rain cloud around the bow that unleashes arrows like rain. Cooldown: 5 minutes. The difference between skills and charge attacks was the ¡®cooldown.¡¯ You could spam skills if you had enough MP, but with charge attacks, you had to wait for some time before you could use it again. In the case of ¡®Bow Shower,¡¯ the cooldown was 5 minutes, which was on the long side. However, it was quite powerful, and held the potential to change the tide of battle in an instant. The best thing about Bow Shower was that it was a wide area attack. A cloud would appear around the bow, and from it, arrows would shoot down like rain. It was the fate of rapidfire skills to be weak when it came to individual shots. And when you fired rapidly, it was difficult to target weak spots. This meant that you couldn¡¯t really take down the HP of players with high defense. On the other hand, it was a dangerous skill for players who mainly prioritized dodging. ¡°Seems like I got quite a few of them.¡± I had destroyed the players with low defense. My kill count was 38. And while I hadn¡¯t succeeded in annihilating all of them, there were quite a few players who were on the ground, barely alive. And so I picked them off with normal shots. Well, nevermind that. This was just PVP practice, and the problem here was those that were still in perfect shape, and those who saw that my arrows would be weak, and used high-power skills to blow them away. To be honest, killing 38 with my charge attack was almost too perfect. It was likely because it was my first time using it. If this was during a proper event, players would have been on their guard and might have been able to deal with it. For better or worse, Bow Shower¡¯s effects were simple. And so if you saw it once, it wouldn¡¯t be too hard to deal with it the next time. And there was also the cooldown. Unlike skills, I would have to plan ahead when using it. ¡°Rise Rock!¡¯ One of the players activated a skill that made the ground rise high into the air. I see. Like that, you might be able to reach me. ¡­This was bad. ¡°I guess it was never going to be so easy as picking everyone off from up here.¡± There were even players who could double or triple jump in the air. And there was probably magic that allowed players to fly for a limited time. And since I had broken the fight, they were all glaring at me with malice. It was both frightening and exhilarating. A player¡¯s skill would not improve without real fights. How to defeat a powerful enemy? How to break through a skill you¡¯re seeing for the first time¡­ The next event was a ¡®3 team capture the flag¡¯ event. And If I wanted to participate, I had to put myself in harsh conditions and train. The rules hadn¡¯t been published yet, except for one piece of information. There was no division by rank. And so I would have to fight in the same field as the top players with their 3rd jobs. CH 23 BBS.3 ¨C NSO General Thread [VRMMO] Next Stage Online General Thread part1522 1: Anonymous Runner A general thread to discuss ¡®Next Stage Online.¡¯ While most subjects are allowed, party requests, complaints, trolling and bragging have their own threads. The next thread will be created automatically. 2: Anonymous Runner >> 1 Thanks. 3: Anonymous Runner What a shitty event!!! 4: Anonymous Runner Ranks aren¡¯t divided? Has management gone mad? 5: Anonymous Runner People are so angry here recently. lol 6: Anonymous Runner I guess only players with a 3rd job or going to survive in this event¡­ 7: Anonymous Runner Poor noobs. 8: Anonymous Runner Well, it¡¯s your own decision if you want to participate. If you don¡¯t like it, then don¡¯t join. 9: Anonymous Runner What exactly are we going to do? 10: Anonymous Runner >>9 It¡¯s going to be announced this afternoon. 11: Anonymous Runner Well, if you think about it, since there will be people with their second and third jobs, as well as beginners, they will probably be split into three balanced teams. Then everyone fights to take over each other¡¯s base? 12: Anonymous Runner >>11 13: Anonymous Runner >>12 You¡¯re exaggerating. It depends on the situation and who is fighting who. In the end, they are still humans. As for beginners¡­may they rest in peace. 14: Anonymous Runner Even the third jobs have weaknesses. Some players are good when solo while others rely on people to support them. 15: Anonymous Runner If all of your allies are weak, then it¡¯s just a matter of who has the highest combat ability, but in group battles, buffers and de-buffers will be very important. Even beginner buffers can make a difference if you have a lot of them. 16: Anonymous Runner Huh? Maybe it¡¯s not so unbalanced after all? 17: Anonymous Runner Well, if it¡¯s tens of thousands vs tens of thousands, then the strength of individuals won¡¯t matter as much. Perhaps it¡¯s less about jobs and stats, and about having leaders who can command large groups of people. 18: Anonymous Runner So the time for me to use my skill as an internet strategist has finally arrived¡­ Sorry, but your lives are in my hands now. 19: Anonymous Runner >>18 No way. 20: Anonymous Runner >>18 I bet you¡¯re just good at running away. 21: Anonymous Runner >>18 I doubt anyone will listen to you. 22: Anonymous Runner >>18 I bet you¡¯ll be all alone in the corner. 23: Anonymous Runner >>18 I bet you¡¯ll die as soon as it starts. 24: Anonymous Runner >>18 You¡¯re being torn apart. lol 25: Anonymous Runner Well, I guess we just have to wait for official information. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô 721: Anonymous Runner Hey! The info is up on the official site! 722: Anonymous Runner Woooooooaaahhh!!! 723: Anonymous Runner Finaaalllly!! 724: Anonymous Runner I can¡¯t check it from where I am. Someone give me a summary. 725: Anonymous Runner Time acceleration in the game!? A weeklong war game?! 726: Anonymous Runner What? They can accelerate time within the game? In other words, a few hours in the real world will be days in the game? 727: Anonymous Runner They said that three hours is a week. That¡¯s how much time we¡¯ll be taking each other¡¯s bases. 728: Anonymous Runner The map is so big. lol The battle royale map doesn¡¯t even compare. 729: Anonymous Runner And so the bases we have to capture are going to be ¡®Fortresses.¡¯ But they seem to be very far away. So traveling between them will take awhile. We¡¯ll like a marching army. Thanks. 730: Anonymous Runner Each team will start with 10 fortresses. And the team with the most at the end will win. 731: Anonymous Runner But there is one main fortress, and if it gets taken over, you¡¯re finished. So you have to think about defense and not such focus on attacking. 732: Anonymous Runner And as expected, teams will be a mishmash of different jobs. And the number of third, second and first jobs will be distributed evenly. 733: Anonymous Runner I guess we¡¯ll just have to pray that we¡¯ll have good 3rd jobs on our side. 734: Anonymous Runner This seems a lot more fun that I was expecting. I thought it would be a really random battle, but there are special rules and it seems well balanced. 735: Anonymous Runner I thought it would just be players, but there are monsters too. And by defeating them, they might join you or help strengthen your base and comrades. 736: Anonymous Runner What are AI warriors? Apparently it has something to do with killed players coming back? There¡¯s too much information for me to follow. 737: Anonymous Runner You can strengthen bases by reinforcing walls and adding cannons. 738: Anonymous Runner Woah, I have a feeling this is going to be very complicated. At least there¡¯s still time. I better start studying the rules¡­ That being said, it might be quicker to learn as I play. 739: Anonymous Runner Just like the excitement reaches its peak before a game¡¯s release, an event is most exciting when you¡¯re thinking of strategies. 740: Anonymous Runner I just hope the actual event won¡¯t be a disappointment. 741: Anonymous Runner Don¡¯t be bitter when I beat all of you. 742: Anonymous Runner >>741 As if I¡¯d lose to you! 743: Anonymous Runner >>741 Seems like the kind of person who would hold a grudge. 744: Anonymous Runner >>741 Seems like the kind of person who will die without beating anyone. 745: Anonymous Runner This again(bored). 756: Anonymous Runner lol It really is more exciting to go against other players. Ultimately, humans just want to fight¡­ ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô The message boards were excited about the new event. On the other hand, Kyuji had logged out and was just about to look up the new information. CH 24 Data.21 ¨C Old Bowman, Before the Battle ¡®Three Army Turf War.¡¯ That was the name of the event. While the battle royale that I had participated in had been held a number of times before, this event was completely new. And so both veterans and rookies were very excited. You needed to apply beforehand in order to join the turf war. I had already applied a short while ago through the official website, and had just received an email telling me which team I had been assigned to. It was the ¡®Red Boar¡¯ team. Aside from them, there was the ¡®Blue Deer¡¯ and ¡®Green Butterfly.¡¯ Using boars, deer and butterflies was rather odd. While this game had eastern elements in it as well, it was mostly a traditional, western fantasy. Which I didn¡¯t mind, since it all looked very cool. During the event, you would have to put the emblem on your gear so that it was visible. That way, we would easily be able to tell who was a friend or enemy. As I planned to wear my Windcloud Haori, I would place the emblem boldly on my back. Having something on the back of a haori just looks really good. But a red boar on a blue sky wasn¡¯t the best match. No, that was an understatement. But¡­I was still going to do it! Looking a little lame because of your emblem placement wasn¡¯t going to affect my power. More important was the ¡®participate as a guild¡¯ part. Even though I was new to online games, I still knew what guilds were. They were when players got together to form teams. There were different reasons for doing this, but in general, players with the same motive or philosophy would come together and build a guild. Playing with like-minded people would make the game more fun. Not only was it a good communication tool, but it would be easier exploring fields and getting through quests. There was a guild exclusive chat room, and you could make an emblem and have a base. So there were several other advantages as well. Then why wasn¡¯t I in one? To be frank, I found it too much of a hassle to deal with other people. While it was a game, you were still dealing with real humans on the other side. You have to help A because they aren¡¯t getting far in the event¡­ B hasn¡¯t logged in for a while. Did something happen? Just because C isn¡¯t here right now, doesn¡¯t meat you can all talk shit¡­ Yeah, I better stop there. There was no point in imagining such things¡­! However, it wasn¡¯t completely delusional of me. That was the scary thing about games. Perhaps it wouldn¡¯t be the case if everyone in the guild was just there to have fun. But there could be a lot of tension if they were a professional gamer team. Once you got to that level, you were much like a sports team. If you did bad in the rankings, then the atmosphere would worsen as well. It was to avoid such uncomfortable relationships that many professional gamers play freely without sponsors now. They earn money through winning tournaments and through ads on video sites and promoting new games. Or sometimes they participate in tournaments by helping teams who have lost a member for some reason or another. I¡¯ve heard of instances where such people have led a team to victory and received nearly half of the reward money. There was no license required to call yourself a professional gamer, but you needed the right skills in order to be stable on the job. However, it did seem pretty cool. Like you were a lone wolf. An outlaw. Maybe I would call myself a pro gamer. I was unemployed now, after all. In fact, while I didn¡¯t understand why, I seemed to have a knack for using the bow. Was it a natural gift or was it just a good fit for me by coincidence¡­ In any case, I intended to make good use of the skill. My reflexes had also improved since I started the game. It seemed that people did grow when put in harsh condition. Even at this age¡­ Progamer Nagai Kyuji, once again¡­ No, why am I getting carried away. I was still angry about finishing 3rd in the previous event. And so I was thinking of strategies to improve my results this time. Let¡¯s get back to that. About joining guilds. If you join a guild, the entire guild would be in the same team. In other words, if there were 100 players in a guild, all 100 of them would be on the same team. Though, that would all be taken into account in the player distribution in order to ensure balance. Regardless, it would still be an advantage to have large guilds on your side. The larger guilds had more capable players. It was just like how it was in human society. Besides, this was a turf war, and being able to move in a unified, large group was a necessity. And so a large guild would be more functional than a bunch of smaller ones. Well, this was all just wild fancy¡­I mean, speculation. Now, as for this whole ¡®turf war¡¯ business. Of course, these turfs were ¡®fortresses.¡¯ There were 30 of them distributed evenly throughout the map. Each team would start with 10 of them, and we would for fight them over the coming week. In order to take one, you had to eliminate all of the occupants first. Then it will become the fortress of whatever team is inside. To put it simple, you had to drive everyone out and occupy it. However, it was different with the main base. Regardless of you driving out the enemy or not, you have to destroy the ¡®Core Crystal¡¯ in order to take the fortress. And once you did, that team would be annihilated, and they would lose all of their other fortresses. If that happened, it was game over. The balance would not shift once one team had lost all of their bases. And so the main base was the one that you couldn¡¯t lose at all cost. In conclusion! When attacking, invade the fortress and drive them all out. When protecting, stay put and don¡¯t run away. It¡¯s game over if you lose your main base. There were other more detailed rules, but I couldn¡¯t remember them! But I would probably learn them as I played through the event. In any case, it was starting tomorrow. I had done my best during the first event, the battle royale, and so I wanted to end this one on a high note. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡®To all players who are participating in the ¡®Three Army Turf War.¡¯ You will be warped to the event map in 100 seconds. Please make sure you have the right equipment.¡¯ It was the same kind of announcement that played during the battle royale. And so I checked my equipment and status, just in case. ¡ô Equipment Head: Windstream Scarf Right Hand: Windcloud Bow Left Hand: (Windcloud Bow) Arms: Fists of the Forest Sage Body: Windcloud Haori Legs: Windguard Hakama Feet: Cloudcrossing Tabi Accessories: None Most people would probably have a thing or two to say about this. ¡®Why aren¡¯t you using the Windcloud armor for your arms?¡¯ It was simple. I wanted to use the weapon skill, ¡®Black Smog.¡¯ There was no doubt that there would be group battles in this event. And not just on a scale of ten or a hundred. It could be over a thousand in some cases. It was on these enemy armies that I would throw shi¡­I mean, ¡®Black Smog¡¯¡­ This devilish plan had been on my mind for a while. Not only that, but I now had ¡®Windcloud Blast.¡¯ So after using Black Smog, I could use a blast of wind to push it far away¡­ I wanted to try it. The mischievous child in me was screaming. It would probably get some attention online, but I was just using the skills provided to me in the game. There was nothing wrong with that. I had to be confident¡­! Next, I checked my status. My level didn¡¯t go up as quickly compared to my first job, but this was more than enough considering how little time had passed. ¡ô Status These numbers were the result of the equipment and Bow Arts V skill. As I had put everything into Range, it was the highest. But the others weren¡¯t bad, thanks to my equipment. Well, putting everything into Range was my own doing, and it wasn¡¯t like the game was going to conveniently give me range-related equipment. And so as long as I collected good equipment, my other stats would go up. That being said, the 100 points I got for the first 20 levels, and the 120 I got for the 12 levels on my second job, were all used for Range. And so my attack and defense were likely inferior to people who had maintained a balance while leveling up. When it came to battle formations, the rule I made for myself was to ¡®stay in the rear guard.¡¯ As long as I was fighting as part of a large group, I could not step out into danger. It was easy to forget since I played solo, but archers were supposed to stay in the back. While the vanguard were doing their best in the front, I would chip away at the enemy from behind them. Besides, I was confident in my ability to kill. ¡®10¡­9¡­8¡­¡¯ Oh, I guess I don¡¯t have enough time to check my skills. Well, I already checked yesterday, and not much has changed since I tested them at the colosseum. In general, my strategy should be the same. In general¡­ ¡®Zero!¡¯ In a flash, the town disappeared around me, and a stone fortress was now in front of us. I was standing among a huge crowd of players. The battle had begun. CH 25 Data.22 ¨C Old Bowman, Relied on a Little We were currently within the defensive walls that surrounded the fortress. The walls were made of stone. But as for whether it could stand powerful magic and physical attacks¡­I wasn¡¯t too sure. If we wanted to strengthen it, we had to defeat the monsters within the event map and earn points. Furthermore, you would also be able to acquire them by defeating enemy players¡­I think. Perhaps I should look at the rules again. You could check them at any time by opening your window. Hmm. Hmm. Yes, you really could get them by defeating enemy players. However, I doubted any of them would be attacking this early into the event. They were probably exploring the area around the forest and hunting monsters in order to rack up points¡­ WC for War cost. ¡®The entire map will be displayed for one hour after the start of the event. You will not be able to see the map when the hour is up. You will have to learn of the war situation on your own.¡¯ The map appeared in front of my eyes. The map distribution looked like a pie chart that had been divided into three equal parts. We of the Red Boar had the 10 fortresses at the bottom. Blue Deer had the ones on the top left, and Green Butterfly had the ones on the top right. What I noticed first¡­was that there was a Blue Deer fortress very close to the one we were currently in. Well, I suppose it was actually quite far away. They wouldn¡¯t attack us immediately, but we would still have to be careful. This place would be much harder to defend than the fortresses farther in. And so we needed more WC¡­ ¡°Apparently, I¡¯m the only 3rd in this fortress.¡± A player raised a banner into the air. There was no wind, and yet it was moving. The embroidery of golden thread glimmered. And in his other hand, he held a round shield that was covered in jewels. His armor was metal, but looked pretty light. ¡°I¡¯m Hatake. You can all call me ¡®Hatake-san¡¯ or ¡®Hata-san¡¯ if you want. As I just said, I¡¯m a 3rd. My job is called ¡®Flag Magician.¡¯ I¡¯m good with casting wide-area buffs. And so I¡¯ll be commanding this fortress.¡± Hatake ran his hand through his hair. Well, he certainly fit the stereotype of the narcissist, blonde Sorcerer. I suppose one of the fun things about MMOs was that you could be any kind of character that you wanted to be. And now that I thought about it, this was the first time I actually learned another player¡¯s name. I had heard names when joining other parties near the beginning, but I don¡¯t remember any of the players at all. And while the cat girl had left a deep impression on me during the battle royale, I didn¡¯t know her name. Not only was Hatake quite memorable, but he fought with a large flag, which made him stick out. ¡°Hmm. You! Dandy older man!¡± ¡°Ah, are you talking about me?¡± Hatake pointed at me. Had I been staring at him too much¡­? ¡°While everyone else looked uncertain, you were standing very confidently. And I can tell that it¡¯s from experience, and not because you are foolish! You will lead a group who will be sent to explore the west side of the fortress! Hunt down monsters and earn us some points!¡± ¡°What!? You want me to be the leader!?¡± ¡°Yes. As I¡¯m the only 3rd here, then it must be a 2nd who takes the sub-leader position. But don¡¯t worry. There will be other groups who will also be sent out to earn points. You will not be shouldering all of the responsibility.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I will do my best.¡± ¡°Good. Now I, Hatake, and the other players in my guild, will defend the fortress. So you will always have a place to return to. You can rack up points without worry.¡± Defense? Is that really necessary at this stage¡­? But then again, it would be the end of us if we left it open and it was invaded, so perhaps I shouldn¡¯t complain. I suppose we should just leave things to Mister 3rd then. ¡°Alright, I guess we better go. Our disadvantage will only increase the longer we wait. We should get points as soon as possible.¡± The others agreed with me, and so those who were quickest on their feet began to leave the fortress. And while they had been divided into a group under me, they didn¡¯t actually have to follow my orders. This wasn¡¯t a real war. It was a game. Everyone was just here to have a good time. Besides, I wasn¡¯t the type to give out orders left and right. I didn¡¯t want to be a leader. However, if I cared about our side winning, then I would have to do my best in this role. I especially wanted to help 1sts who were participating in an event for the first time. As for combat, my record was quite good. And so there was no point in being self-deprecating. I had to be confident. During this event, at least, I would be that reliable older guy. Though¡­I didn¡¯t know how long it would last. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô Kiririririri¡­shu! Zhunk! The wild rabbits with their vicious front teeth used to make me suffer so much, but they were nothing to fear now. My neck was protected by a scarf, and so it wouldn¡¯t even hurt if I was bitten. Well, I suppose making new 3D models was hard. Especially since these creatures were all animated so realistically. I didn¡¯t want to know how much effort that took. ¡°Tha-thank you! You saved me¡­¡± Said a young 1st with a bow of his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me. But these rabbits are quite vicious, so be careful. I¡¯ll be able to protect you if you¡¯re within range of my arrows, but not when you¡¯re alone.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be careful!¡± Good answer. It felt great to help other people. And so I continued to help players like him while hunting down monsters. One thing that I realized after coming out of the forest, was that it was located in the center of a prairie. But the grass was short, which made it easy to walk in, and the enemies could not hide. Besides, there were watchtowers, so unless people were really letting their guard down, we should be able to see any approaching enemies quickly. This ¡®west forest¡¯ we were in had relatively weak monsters. And while that meant we didn¡¯t get that many points, the 1sts were able to have their own roles. It took some time, but since everyone was working, we eventually hunted down all of the monsters in the area. Surely that was enough? Well, this was the first event of its kind, and so no one really knew how much was required. ¡°Alright, I see that everyone is still alive. Let¡¯s return to the fortress.¡± Some answered, some nodded, while others showed no reaction but obeyed. Others ignored me and went off¡­ There were many different reactions. However, that was fine. This loose connection meant I didn¡¯t feel too much pressure as a leader. Some came to thank me again for saving them. And it made me genuinely happy. And I accepted their gratitude willingly. ¡°Hopefully, things will continue like this to victory¡­without any trouble.¡± However, that wish was quickly crushed. The news came after we had all returned to the fortress and were discussing how to use the points. ¡°Mister Hatake!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Enemies have been spotted near the horizon! As for their number¡­there are too many to count!¡± ¡°Oh, dear. They are really charging at us in full force as soon as the game begins? How crude of them.¡± ¡°According to the report of our fastest scouts, the enemy is Blue Deer!¡± ¡°Of course, it is. Their fortress is the closest.¡± ¡°And the enemy is being led by a 3rd¡­ We think that it¡¯s Buckler from the Straight Knights¡­!¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± The air in the room changed as soon as the name ¡®Buckler¡¯ was mentioned. I guess I was the only one¡­who had no idea? What kind of player was this¡­ ¡°Buckler¡­huh? Alright, I, Hatake, command you all! We are abandoning this fortress and running away!¡± CH 26 Data.23 ¨C Old Bowman, Resists 30 minutes before the shocking report. We were all talking about how to use the points we had worked hard to earn. War Cost¡­ We had known about it from before the event, but its use had not been revealed. Now that the event had begun, Hatake, who had volunteered to be leader, had the authority to manage the points. And after seeing the management window, he had decided to prioritize collecting them. I had seen it as well, and realized just how prominent they would be. You could make different kinds of healing items, strengthen the walls of the fortress, and install cannons and barriers. It was also possible to summon a large variety of golems. And when attacking, you could accelerate your marching. And so gathering these points was important. Hatake¡¯s decision had been correct, and he had been right in thinking that the enemy wouldn¡¯t attack immediately. However, this ¡®logical thinking¡¯ was not enough when it came to this enemy General they called Buckler. And now that his predictions had turned out to be wrong, Hatake was acting very defeated. He lost the will to fight, and was already preparing to retreat. ¡°Hatake¡­ Perhaps it¡¯s not my place, since I¡¯m just a 2nd, but why are you so scared of someone who is a 3rd just like you?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m a Buffer¡­ I just strengthen the people who are going to fight¡­ In other words, I need to be surrounded by reliable players or there is no point!¡± ¡°I know that you¡¯re nervous about cooperating with players you don¡¯t know, but what about the other members of your guild?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ Still, not all of them appeared in this fortress. Even though we are all on the same team, it seems that your starting point is random. And the guild members that are here with me¡­are not the best fighters.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­probably true about the enemy as well. They are likely worried about how unreliable their players are¡­¡± ¡°Even if that is the case, Buckler is strong enough on his own. After all, he¡¯s a Heavy Armor¡­a vanguard of the Straight Knights. He is a shield that allows the others to fight. While we both support our comrades, we¡¯re practically the complete opposite¡­ I just wave a flag in the back¡­ I¡¯m not confident that I can protect everyone¡­¡± His spirit was completely broken. And so he waved his great flag as he ran away. The other players followed after him. Even the ones that had hunted together in my group were running. ¡°You should run too, Mister Kyuji!¡± They suggested. But I didn¡¯t feel like it. While I prefered these loose relationships with other players, it was times like these that I wished for stronger bonds. If we really couldn¡¯t win, then running away was the right decision. In Hatake¡¯s case, he was a buffer, so it was probably better for him to join the others and increase his fighting force. They were retreating without taking any damage, so they just needed to strengthen themselves and return to take back the fortress. After all, within the event, one hour was a full week. In any case, this upcoming battle would just be the actions of a single player. I¡­if I¡¯m being honest, I thought that we could win this fight. But no one believed me. It was hard to explain it to them in a way that was completely logical, but most of my thought process was based on logic. At least more than half. It wasn¡¯t because I had become arrogant after beating the Windcloud Dragon. First, Hatake and the others immediately felt that just because their prediction had been wrong, that we were immediately in a disadvantageous position. And they also didn¡¯t believe that they could win against an amazing player from a famous guild. But was that really the case? I didn¡¯t know if I could drive the enemy back. But if I was right, then even though I was alone, I should be able to do a decent amount of damage. What would help me do that was the points we had gathered. And the fact that no one knew how to take a fortress just yet. Clash and crush them. I¡¯ll just do what I can. The enemy army was still far away. In fact, they were marching quite slow. Why was that? I didn¡¯t know why, but it was a good thing for me. In the meantime, I would think about how I would use the points. As Hatake wasn¡¯t going to manage them anymore, I now had the authority. Apparently, each fortress handled it independently. When players came back to the fortress after hunting down monsters, the points would immediately be saved to the fortress. ¡°Since you have to protect your base, I suppose strengthening the defenses is the most important thing to do.¡± And so I was about to just dump all of the points into strengthening the walls, but then I paused. ¡°No, maybe the walls aren¡¯t important.¡± After all, I was going to fight with my ranged weapon. This meant that I would lose the moment that they got close to the fortress. There would be nothing that I could do. I would have to give up. And so there was no point in preparing for that. ¡°Instead, I¡¯ll install more cannons and golems in order to keep them away.¡± For now, I¡¯ll save points by just having cannons in the direction that the enemy was coming from. And I would then raise their level. You could upgrade them three times, and after thinking about it, I decided to max them out. It was times like this that it hurt that there was no information. Like raising them to Lv 3 being pointless or inefficient. Or Lv 3 being incredibly overpowered, and it being stupid to not level them up. Normally, you could just look up such information. There were also a large variety of golems, and I wasn¡¯t sure which to use. We were vastly outnumbered. As these golems would take the place of the vanguard, who would stop the enemy¡¯s advance, I would have to be careful when choosing. First, I summoned Guardian Golems. While they were slow, they were incredibly tough, and well suited for guarding. Since you could level them up, I did that as well. Once the golems were all killed, the enemy would flow towards me. Next, I summoned the Cannon Golems, who had two cannons equipped to their shoulders. They would stand behind the Guardians, slightly in front of me, and help with annihilating the enemy. And lastly, I added the Rapid Golems as a finishing touch. Unlike the other two types, they had low durability, but were light and fast. And my hopes were that they would run around and cause chaos in the battlefield. After that, I just needed to cast buffs on myself. You could also use the points to increase the abilities of players. Normally, you would be doing it to many players at once, but now it was just me. And so I was able to save quite a bit. As for what the buffs did¡­ They gave my stats a x1.5 boost. Perhaps management had felt that double or triple was going too far. The top players would become way too strong. ¡°Hmm. That should do it. I¡¯ve done everything that I can.¡± I muttered as if to convince myself. Now I just had to wait for the enemy to get within range. It was the same as always. While this was a game, I never would have thought that shooting people dead would be part of my usual routine. I slowly drew the bowstring. Of course, I was targeting the enemy general, Buckler. Now, to unleash the arrow and begin the battle¡­! CH 27 Data. 24 Old Bowman, Blockade The unleashed arrow drew a parabolic curve as it headed straight towards Buckler, who was in the front line. So, how will you react, 3rd¡­! ¡°¡­¡± He didn¡¯t do anything. The arrow hit his armor, but that was all. It was a normal arrow, and he was only barely within range. It was not enough to deal any damage. To be honest, I completely expected this. This was an advanced player, and not someone who could be defeated by just shooting at him normally. Next, I targeted the players around Buckler. Even if it didn¡¯t work on the best of players, my arrows should have some effect on the others at this distance. ¡°Lock! Multi-Shot!¡± Arrows flew at 10 different players. Perhaps I could take down their numbers just a little¡­ ¡°Energy Barrier III!¡± Buckler thrust out both of his hands out towards the arrows. And then an orange, rectangular barrier appeared. It¡¯s huge¡­! All 10 of the arrows were blocked. But this too, was not particularly shocking. Yes, of course, the vanguard would have a barrier skill or two. It may have been a little larger than I would have expected, but it wasn¡¯t enough to protect thousands of players at once. I would be able to shoot down the players that were farther away from Buckler. However, the thing that really should be taken note of, was how slow they were. I finally understood why. It was none other than Buckler¡¯s fault. He was sacrificing speed in order to increase their defenses. his equipment was hard, but heavy. Not only that, but he had to stop when activating barriers. And the other players could not leave him and continue to advance. After all, he was the top player of a famous guild. He was likely also the one who had thought of this strange strategy for charging. This was the first event of its kind, with no established strategies for success. And as a high-level player, most people would listen to him. Judging by all of this, I knew that the enemy army had started marching before gathering much War Cost. There was no way that they started marching after. Because¡­long-distance warp skills were banned in this event. That didn¡¯t mean that there was a punishment for using it. You just couldn¡¯t activate it at all. This rule hadn¡¯t been announced beforehand. I had only noticed it after the event started. I had tried to show off and use ¡®Warp Arrow¡¯ to teleport, but it didn¡¯t work, and I ended up getting laughed at. And so if you wanted to move quickly, you either had to accelerate with points, or use speed buff skills repeatedly. In any case, if Buckler was going to move towards this fortress at such a speed, then they would have had to act quickly. There would be no time to hunt down monsters¡­I think! ¡°Windcloud Blast!¡± I directed a wind at the enemy army. It didn¡¯t matter how much effort they put into coming here, it was time to leave! ¡°Black Smog!¡± I threw a couple black spheres onto the ground. They exploded and the smoke spread out. Then the wind pushed it towards the enemy. Even their barriers would not be able to stop it! ¡°Cyclone!¡± ¡°Wind Blast!¡± ¡°Breath of the Earth!¡± ¡°Whirlwind Spear!¡± It wasn¡¯t Buckler who reacted, but the other players. They came together and activated skills to create wind, pushing the black smoke towards us. Oh, right. Even if I was the only one in the event who could throw excrement, I wasn¡¯t the only one who could make wind¡­ But this was no time to act disappointed. The stench and the smoke was coming back to me! It was a powerful wind that was a combination of multiple skills. And so even Wind Blast would lose to it¡­! Gi¡­.gigigi¡­don! The Cannon Golems fired, causing a violent wind that dispersed the smoke. That was close. My trump card nearly became the end of me¡­ I guess using bad smells was not, in fact, the key to victory. No, it was the golems that I summoned with the points everyone had collected. Currently, they were automated and had their own AI for movement. And so they acted without me having to give out orders. However, they had cannons like the kinds on tanks, so shouldn¡¯t they be able to reach the enemy already? Perhaps they only react when they are attacked? That would explain why they reacted to the smoke, but not the enemy. I wished that I could change their setting to ¡®search and destroy.¡¯ In any case, I wanted them to shoot down anything that came within range. ¡°Uhh, let¡¯s try opening the Golem management window and change their settings¡­ Ah, so you can order them to fire.¡± There was a mode where you could order them to target something and fire at your command. I could use it to figure out their maximum range. ¡°Take aim!¡± A red, circlular effect appeared on the ground. It showed where it would land if they fired. And so I moved it forward. Huh, it could actually go quite far. It easily reached the enemy army. So the AI settings really were wrong. And so I switched to a mode where they would attack without question as soon as the enemy were in range. Now all of the Cannon Golems and the fortress¡¯s cannons would attack all at once¡­ But they didn¡¯t. This feeling¡­ It reminded me of when I tried to make a game when I was younger, and the characters wouldn¡¯t move as I had planned. It was annoying. I didn¡¯t know what the problem was¡­ ¡°No, I do!¡± It was all in the range. The range. The Golems were affected by the range of the player controlling them. ¡°Control of all Cannon Golems and cannons to me!¡± Numerous targets appeared on the ground. I moved all of them to the enemy. ¡°Fire!¡± With thunderous booms, the cannon balls flew. Buckler put up ¡®Energy Barrier III.¡¯ For a defense skill he could use repeatedly, the strength and range was impressive. But that was still not enough to cover thousands of players. The other players also activated skills to protect themselves. As a result, nearly all of the cannon balls were shot down. However, one or two¡­managed to land, and explode near the players. Several of them went flying, and screams erupted. Not bad¡­! In any case, I had to take down their numbers as much as possible. Both the Cannon Golems and fortress cannons had long cooldown times after firing. And so I started firing my own arrows to cover them. I chipped away at the players that were not under Buckler¡¯s protection. And as soon as the cooldown was finished¡­ ¡°Fire!¡± The enemy was frantic. Fewer of the cannon balls were hit this time, and they did more damage as they fell. I hoped that they would continue to fall like this, but it would not be that easy. Soon, certain players would try to do ¡®something.¡¯ And if I allowed them, I would be defeated. And so I had to beat them first, no matter what¡­! CH 28 Data.25 ¨C Old Bowman, the Lonely Struggle ¡°Tsk¡­! If this continues, our fighting force will just get smaller!¡± ¡°We have to get rid of those golems first!¡± ¡°And that archer is obnoxious¡­ Someone needs to crush him!¡± ¡°We should send out a team to charge into the fortress!¡¯ ¡°Sorry, Mister Buckler! But we¡¯re going out there!¡± The time had arrived. The enemy were afraid of the cannon fire, and they had gathered closely around Buckler. However, once they decided that he was not enough to protect them all, some of them started to charge on ahead. This decision¡­was probably the right one. As long as the cannons were shooting at a long distance, there would be a time lag before they hit the ground. And the enemy were also able to see where they were targeting. And so they could quickly move out of the way. That wasn¡¯t difficult for players who were used to the game. The only reason that many of them hadn¡¯t done this sooner, was because there were so many players. This wasn¡¯t exclusive to MMOs. When you played with strangers as part of a team, people hated it when you charged out alone and died. And since so many of their comrades were dying around them, it would take a lot of courage to move forward. They wouldn¡¯t do it unless they were hard pressed and felt that it was necessary. ¡°Windcloud Blast! Whirlwind! Floating Cloud!¡± I jumped on top and took up position on the cloud. ¡°Bow Shower!¡± Arrows fell down like rain over the charging players. At the same time, I gave the order for the fortress cannons to fire. I even had the Guardian Golems, who were waiting as the vanguard, move forward and join in the attack. It¡¯s not that I was trying to provoke them with some overkill. I wanted them to know what would happen if they ¡®moved away from Buckler.¡¯ That way, the remaining players would continue to walk slowly with their general. What would be the most scary for me was¡­ ¡°Spread out to the sides! Surround the fortress and attack!¡± Buckler¡¯s voice sounded. And the enemy army began to spread out to the right and left. ¡°Tsk¡­! So they realized¡­!¡± In the end, it was just me who was here. And if they surrounded the fortress, I would not be able to deal with all of them. It was such a big weakness, but I had thought that the enemy wouldn¡¯t realize¡­ But why now? Was it a guess? No, it¡¯s not¡­! He must have assumed that we were trying to make the fortress look like it was empty in order to lure them in. And then our forces would come out from behind them and attack. But he would be able to protect his comrades as long as they were close by¡­ And so Buckler had not ordered them to spread out at first. He was a famous player, and capable of making calm and clear decisions. Surely he would not have assumed that everyone here would have fled and abandoned the fortress just because they heard his name. Unfortunately, that was exactly what had happened¡­ No. There was no point in thinking about those who ran away now. It had been my own decision to stay here and fight. Now, how should I deal with the enemy that was moving to the sides? This fortress only had cannons at the front. I had opted to make a small number of them and upgrade them instead. And I still stood by that decision. There would be no point in wasting the points on golems and cannons. The golems moved quickly when I gave the order, but they became slow when the AI controlled them. The AI seemed to always be the part in any game that let players down. However, it was also not possible for me to control all of them. The enemy was no longer concentrated in one place, and I would not be able to hit them without giving out precise orders. Besides, I had to concentrate on shooting. It was too much to think about. And so while it wasn¡¯t ideal, I had to rely on the AI here. Still, the only enemy that they could stop were the ones that charged head on. The ones that were trying to go around were too far from the fortress. And so I had to stop them with my bow¡­! Should I make some of the golems advance? Perhaps their cannonfire would be within range then. However, the AI was so slow that the enemy would get close very quickly¡­ What should I do¡­! ¡°Mister Kyuji!¡± ¡°Huh!?¡± My name was called out of nowhere, and I turned around to see a few dozen of my comrades. Most of them were the beginners who I had helped during the hunt. But a few were also 2nds like me. ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t think we can win. And we really did run away for a while!¡± ¡°I want to enjoy the event longer, and hate the idea of being killed off quickly¡­¡± I was so grateful for those words. Of course, there was something. ¡°¡­Yes! Too much, in fact!¡± ¡°Uh, but don¡¯t make us go and face Buckler, okay!?¡± ¡°I know. I¡¯ll deal with him.¡± ¡°What!? Can you beat him!?¡± ¡°Well, maybe. I have a plan. I want you guys to take care of the enemies that are going around to the sides. You don¡¯t have to defeat them all. Just try and keep them away from the fortress. I want to be able to focus on my fight with Buckler.¡± ¡°We can do that!¡± I would leave the other enemies to them. They could also control most of the golems and cannons. While we were still at a disadvantage, there was a ray of hope. Now I could take on Buckler. He was a 3rd. I had only seen one skill as he walked, but I was sure that he could do so much more. However, the same could be said about me. I had had high expectations for Black Smog, which ended up being a misfire, but I still had my trump card. This was also for the comrades that had come back to help me. I would make it happen. Giant killing¡­! CH 29 Data.26 ¨C Old Bowman, Trump Card Now I didn¡¯t have to worry about enemies going around to the sides. Of course, the people who had returned were not enough to defeat all of our enemies, but they would be able to slow them down. Ultimately, if we just continued to fight like this, we would be crushed by their overwhelming advantage in numbers. The only way we could win was to force the enemy to retreat. And in order to do that, I had to kill their chief, Buckler, no matter what. The fastest of the enemy had already reached the Guardian Golems. A few of them were destroyed, but there were still plenty of Cannon Golems and Rapid Golems left. I wanted to defeat more players and use the points to make more golems, but you were unable to strengthen your fighting force with points once battles erupted around the fortress. If you could, it would give the attackers too much of a disadvantage. So it couldn¡¯t be helped. In other words, it would be over when our current fighting force was gone. ¡°Clear Arrow!¡± I used the invisible arrows to take down the scattered players one by one. In this chaotic battlefield, there was no one who could dodge invisible arrows. Clear Arrows were weak, and so they wouldn¡¯t always take someone down in one hit. But that wasn¡¯t a problem. Being pierced by an arrow would mean they could not move as quickly, and so the AI controlled Golems would be able to deal with them easily. And so I ignored those that survived, and targeted more healthy players. With this strategy, I steadily chipped away at their fighting force. I couldn¡¯t even begin to defeat Buckler until I did something about the surrounding players first. In the first place, he was someone who specialized in defense in order to protect those around him. And so seeing his comrades drop like flies should make him frantic. He was still just a dot in the distance. The people who he was supposed to protect were not nearby. That meant his powerful defense skills were meaningless. If I were in his shoes, I would want to join the others on the battleline as soon as possible. Buckler felt the same. And so he started to remove some of his heavy equipment in order to raise his speed. This included his great shield, which was a rather strange piece of equipment for someone called Buckler. In NSO, equipment was incredibly important. My ¡®Windcloud Bow¡¯ added 100 Attack and 80 Range. But a 3rd¡¯s equipment could be adding as much as 200 to their stats. And so taking them off would make him significantly weaker. This was what I was waiting for¡­! ¡°All out rapid attack! In Fight Arrow!¡± I continued to unleash the arrows. Buckler had removed all of his armor, and was now just wearing his black inner garments. This was just something players wore in order to keep the game¡¯s rating down. It had no defense ability to speak of. In other words, he may as well have been naked. How many arrows would it take to¡­ ¡°I never would have guessed that your fighting force was so small, archer! And our reaction was delayed as a result! I feel bad for my comrades who died without understanding what is going on!¡± Buckler thrust out his left hand. There was a small, circular shield equipped. It was¡­a real buckler. However, he had already had a great shield equipped. This event was like the battle royale and you could not bring any sub-equipment. So you should only be able to use what you were wearing when it started¡­ ¡°Could it be¡­that he had it from the beginning? Shields in both hands.¡± Dual-wielding shields!? The big armor and great shield had distracted me, and I hadn¡¯t noticed. Still, why did he need two shields¡­? I could maybe understand two great shields, but surely that small buckler wasn¡¯t going to do much for defense. ¡°Hexagon Shield!¡± Multiple small, hexagonal shields appeared in the air around Buckler. ¡°Grrr¡­! That¡¯s right, I had forgotten. My shield type skills change in strength depending on my defense status! And so they shattered my shields so easily! Hahaha!¡± But due to hitting the shields, their trajectory was altered. A few of them just scratched Buckler¡¯s body, and did very little damage. It was no wonder that he was laughing. ¡°That being said, you¡¯re quite a skilled archer. I¡¯ll likely get hit by a deadly blow if I just stay here. It¡¯s not really my style to go moving around, but I can¡¯t stay here while the others are fighting. And so I will start moving!¡± Buckler began to run. So his equipment really did have an effect that was slowing him down. He was now running on very light feet. However, it wasn¡¯t like he had on any buffs or that his stats were great. It was just that he was at minus zero earlier. A wolf type monster was still faster than him. ¡°In Fi¡­ Huh!?¡± Buckler charged right into a Guardian Golem. As the golem was so big, I could no longer see Buckler at all. I see. So he was going to hide behind golems as he slowly got closer to me. However, I have something for that. Bound Arrow¡­ ¡°Grrrr!!¡± ¡°¡­Huh?¡± The sound of an explosion rang behind me. It was hard to believe, but the Golem had been blown away, and was now stuck in the wall of the fortress. It was like something out of an old battle comic¡­ ¡°Ah! I meant to hit you, but it looks like I missed! Well, I never really liked bothering with details like finding the precise angle!¡± Where the hell did that power come from¡­ Buckler hit behind a different golem. This time, I would use Bound Arrow and¡­ ¡°Grrr!!¡± ¡°Again!?¡± This time, the golem shot straight upwards. While the golems were durable, they were incredibly heavy. And it was unable to withstand the fall damage and was destroyed. And then Buckler moved to the next one. I was so stunned that I wasn¡¯t able to unleash Bound Arrow. No, I would do it this time! ¡°Bound¡­ Bound!?¡± I see, he was making things ¡®bound¡¯ as well¡­! The buckler that he had equipped on his left hand had a skill that flung things into the air. And he was using it to blow the golems off of their feet. And while this alone did not do much damage, crashing against walls and falling from the sky did. Because he specialized in defense, his own attacks could not do much damage. He could only do it through making them crash. And even if they didn¡¯t take damage, it would still be a very helpful ability, as he could push aways enemies from his party. So this was the power of a large guild¡¯s 3rd. And the reason why he had two shields. However, I now knew how he fought. And the person who showed their trump card first would lose. This long fight was about to come to an end. ¡°Charge Attack ¨C Bow Shower!¡± I used the charge attacks just as Buckler blew away the golem and showed himself. You might be able to block some drops of rain from hitting you, but not all of them. It was the same with this charge attack. ¡°Charge Attack ¨C Stream Shield!¡± A swirl of water appeared in front of Buckler. The ferocious stream of water caught the arrows and sent them away. ¡°Rain is absorbed by the ground and flows away as a river! I knew you would try and use a charge attack now that the cool down time is up. We¡¯re both specialized players. And I can tell that you¡¯re troubled by your lack of attack ability.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true.¡± ¡°Right! Right! And so I was waiting for you to use it! Because you can¡¯t do much damage to me with just your skills! Now I just need to kill you and deal with the other rabble. But I¡¯ll try and leave the golems. They will be useful to us once we take over.¡± ¡°What!? Is that right? I-I didn¡¯t know that you can use them¡­ It would be terrible if we lost our golems after leveling them up so much¡­¡± ¡°Yes, yes. Quite terrible¡­ Huh? Wh-why¡­ What?¡± Buckler¡¯s body started to transform into glowing, white particles. There was a single arrow deep in the left side of his chest. It wasn¡¯t an ordinary arrow. The fletching looked like blue dragon wings, and the arrowhead was thin and as sharp as possible. ¡°Wh-what is this arrow¡­? When did it hit me¡­? I know that you can shoot invisible arrows¡­ However, such skills are usually too weak. Even though I am not wearing armor, it should not be a lethal blow¡­¡± The Windcloud set had a bonus effect. This effect wasn¡¯t just activated when you were wearing it, but it was like a ¡®blessing¡¯ bestowed on anyone who acquired it. You just had to acquire the full set once, and then it could be activated regardless of what you were wearing. The true proof of the Windcloud Trial was carved into your body. ¡°Charge Attack ¨C Sky Tear.¡± It was a high speed arrow that outran the wind and tore through the clouds¡­ CH 30 Data. 27 ¨C Old Bowman, After the Battle [Sky Tear] Unleashes an ultraspeed arrow. Has great piercing ability. Cooldown: 3 minutes. To put it simply, this skill¡¯s strength was that it was fast. And so it hit its target at a speed that left other arrow skills in the dust. Players who have fought against me and were used to the speed of normal arrows would not be able to react in time. It¡¯s piercing ability was both a strength and a weakness. In order to pierce through hard materials, it¡¯s point was sharpened to the absolute limit. However, that also meant that the wound it inflicted was small. And so it was possible that if you missed their vital organs, the amount of damage would be less than an ordinary arrow. It could turn into a weak Charge Attack. Perhaps that was why the cooldown time was also shorter than Bow Shower. That being said, 3 minutes was still a long time if you were fighting. But I didn¡¯t know what would have happened if Sky Tear had missed or been blocked. There had been several openings where I had a chance to use it. Since Buckler wasn¡¯t aware of this attack, he had no way of dealing with it. But I was sure that if I missed him, and he found out about it, he would have done something to protect himself. Like giving up on trying to hunt me, and putting his armor back on¡­ So with all of that considered, I only had one chance to attack. And so I had lured Buckler in as much as possible so that I wouldn¡¯t miss. Well, he was still quite far away for the average archer. ¡°In any case, we won now¡­¡± Not really. While I had defeated the strongest enemy, Buckler, the army remained. Had I defeated Buckler a little earlier, then maybe the enemy would have lost the will to fight and left. But now they were filled with blood lust as they charged. At this point, Buckler was just another player. What about my friends to the sides? I was in charge of the front, and there were significantly fewer enemies now. It was too big a change, considering that my focus was on Buckler. So that meant most of them had rushed to the sides of the fortress. I felt bad for the others¡­ ¡°Mr. Kyuji! Are you alright?¡± ¡°Yeah. I guess¡­you guys are as well?¡± One of them came running towards me. His face looked quite happy. It was not the expression of defeat. ¡°Ah, I thought that there were just too many of them at first. But their method of attack was surprisingly sloppy. Maybe it¡¯s that much harder when there are so many of you? Also, the Golems helped a lot. They sure are really strong if you upgrade them!¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s true. I¡¯m sure it was difficult when the enemy flowed towards where you were, but you did well. Thank you.¡± ¡°Huh? Did they flow to where we were? If anything, it felt like there were fewer than there should be. I came here because I was worried that you were having to deal with more of them¡­ But I guess I shouldn¡¯t have!¡± Then where had the enemy gone? Does this mean that a lot of them ran away while we weren¡¯t looking? It wasn¡¯t as if I hadn¡¯t seen any players running away at all, but I didn¡¯t think there would be so many¡­ ¡°But more importantly, Mr. Kyuji! Let¡¯s hurry up and drive the rest away. Then we can gather the ¡®memory¡¯ of the killed players! I¡¯ll leave the front side to you!¡± ¡°Uh, yeah¡­¡± Yes, there were still enemies players left. This was no time to stand around thinking. Besides, it was a good thing that there were unexpectedly fewer enemies remaining. My comrades and the golems must have worked very hard. ¡°Windcloud Blast! Black Smog!¡± Black Smog was very effective against scattered enemies. ¡°It stinks!! Get out of here!¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t unleash that over here!¡± ¡°Eghhh¡­! What a skill¡­to use¡­!¡± ¡°It¡¯s getting everywhere¡­ This shit¡­¡± ¡°We can¡¯t push forward anymore! We have to retreat!¡± It was pandemonium within the black smoke, and the players began to flee. I continued to shoot arrows into their backs. While I wouldn¡¯t be able to annihilate all of them, I wanted to bring down their number as much as possible. While it was necessary to do for my team, I felt a little bad when killing helpless players¡­ And so I wasn¡¯t shooting as enthusiastically as I might have, and my speed began to slow down. No, this was no time for that. In the last event, I had been killed when I let my guard down. ¡°¡­Huh?¡± Still, there are a lot fewer of them now? I hadn¡¯t even been shooting that much, and yet the drop in enemy players seemed dramatic. Wait, maybe someone used a skill that dealt continued damage? There were status effects like poison. That would explain why players were disappearing even though not that many were being attacked. ¡°Alright, now we just need to gather the ¡®player memories¡¯ from the battlefield, and then it¡¯s over.¡± These were items that were dropped by dead players. You could take them back to your fortress and revive the dead player by using points. This wasn¡¯t an unusual system, but it got interesting after that. In a way, it was like ¡®Shogi.¡¯ You could revive fallen enemies and add them to your fighting force. Of course, the revived player would not be controlled by the original person. It was an AI that was replicating the player¡¯s appearance and skills. After all, if they were controlled by the actual player, there might be treachery or purposely bad playing. AI might not be as good as the player, but at least they had the same stats. And so the AI warrior of a 3rd would be a great asset. Someone like Buckler would be useful by just standing near the front and creating a wall. We definitely had to take it. ¡°It¡¯s a little far away, but we should get his memory before the others¡­¡± The most important thing should be done first. And so I dashed towards Buckler¡¯s memory and put it into the item box. My comrades also saw that the enemy had retreated, and so they started to gather the memories as well. Hmm¡­some of them had died. There were fewer of them compared to when they first arrived. But it was thanks to their work that we had been able to win. I only hoped that we could continue like this and win the entire event¡­ But¡­ ¡°Huh? Are they disappearing?¡± It seemed like the player memories scattered over the battlefield were vanishing over time. Did they really disappear after awhile!? No, some of the memories that had appeared after Buckler¡¯s death were still there. So it wasn¡¯t about time¡­ ¡°Everyone! Have you noticed that the memories are disappearing?¡± But no one answered me. When I looked around, they were all gone. I didn¡¯t want to think about it¡­but was this a bug? It wasn¡¯t a connection error. This event would go on for three hours, and you were able to temporarily log out without any penalty. After all, there could be unexpected trouble or just bathroom breaks. And so you could log out while the player still remained in the game. It was the same if there was a disconnect. The body would remain within the game. So this was either a bug or¡­ Za¡­za¡­! ¡°Cloud Blast! Whirlwind!¡± I thought I heard footsteps coming from behind me. And so I reflexively rose into the air. Shu¡­! Shu¡­! I heard the sounds of something cutting through the wind where I was just standing. Something had been swung twice. And it sounded¡­familiar. ¡°Floating Cloud!¡± I looked down from up in the air. There was some kind of beast¡­on the ground! ¡°Aha! I failed this time!¡± Suddenly, out of nowhere, a girl with cat ears had appeared. It was as if she had been invisible a moment ago¡­ ¡°So it was you after all¡­ I had a feeling that something bad was going to happen.¡± Her hair seemed longer now, and her armor was different. But there was no way that I would forget. The player who killed me during the battle royale! There were no invisibility chips in this event. In other words, she had acquired that power on her own. But I had realized it, and dodged her attack. We had both become much stronger¡­! CH 31 Data. 28 ¨C Old Bowman, Black Shadow Below me was a cat who was sharpening her nails. She was a player who specialized in speed. I would be carved up the moment that I returned to the ground. ¡°Once more, Floating Cloud!¡± I used Floating Cloud again in order to make a platform so that I could move towards the fortress. I had used one during the previous battle, and was using one right now to stand on. While Floating Cloud was a powerful skill, it had restrictions. You could only use it three times in one hour, and they only lasted for five minutes. And I needed to make it back to the fortress¡­! I used the elasticity of the cloud to launch myself into the air and land on the next one. And without losing any momentum, I jumped from there to the fortress. ¡°Ugghh¡­! Alright, I was able to land on the defensive wall¡­¡± Now I would be able to shoot from here without worrying about the time limit. The problem was that the cat girl had not moved from her position. I had assumed that she would come in for a followup attack¡­ Also, while my equipment had changed a lot, she also looked quite different from before. She used to look a lot more simple, like a standard, early neko-mimi type from an rpg. Now, she was more of a ¡®kuro-neko.¡¯ Her entire set looked very gothic. Which only made the white glimmer of her nails stick out even more. The reason that the number of enemies had decreased so rapidly¡­yes, it must be because of her. She had pretended to be one of them and then become invisible when she killed, so that no one would notice. There could not be a better way to take advantage of the chaos of battle. Not only that, but she wasn¡¯t just killing the enemy, ¡®Blue Deer,¡¯ but also Red Boars as well. And in this event, it was impossible to kill teammates¡­ So that meant that she was from the third army, the Green Butterflies! But I couldn¡¯t understand why she had traveled so far to this specific battlefield. However, now that I knew she was here, I couldn¡¯t just ignore her. ¡°Charge Attack¡­¡± ¡°Hey, this event¡­ It¡¯s really boring, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Huh¡­!?¡± She was suddenly talking to me¡­! And it was the words that hit hardest to players who were playing seriously¡­! Not only that, but it brought back horrible memories of when I worked at a game company¡­ ¡°Do-do you think so? I¡¯ve actually been enjoying this event¡­ Uh, do you have problems with balance¡­ Is that it?¡± I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the players that I killed felt it was ¡®lame.¡¯ After all, they had died without being able to put up much of a fight¡­ Even I thought the game was a little rough in terms of balancing systems and the rules. However, that was how most games were like. Games were new worlds made by the hands of people. And if the real world wasn¡¯t perfect, then the game world would not be perfect either. There would be inconsistencies and people would complain. But there was one thing I could say as a former developer. Be open-minded¡­! And please just buy the game¡­! Play it¡­! ¡°No, I don¡¯t really care about the balance.¡± So it wasn¡¯t that¡­ I had gotten war flashbacks for nothing. ¡°I don¡¯t like events like this, because an individual¡¯s strength hardly matters. Everything depends on how eager my teammates are, and matching is a matter of luck. I can¡¯t really control anything that leads to victory. Don¡¯t you agree?¡± ¡°Uh, well, that¡¯s not wrong.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s why the battle royale was amazing¡­ I was able to use all of my own strategies and win! Had I lost, it would have been my fault alone. And winning was all because of me! I know some people prefer these large scale battles because they don¡¯t have to accept responsibility for losing. But I¡¯ll never understand that.¡± ¡°Then why did you join this event?¡± ¡°Because I want the rewards.¡± ¡°Oh, right.¡± ¡°And since I¡¯m here, I¡¯ll do my best. My aim is to get to the top of the individual ranking. That¡¯s the best and surest way to win the most rewards for myself.¡± And so she came all the way out here on her own. It was true that if she was with teammates, the number of personal kills would go down. But wasn¡¯t it scary to sneak into an enemy army while you were alone? Besides, weren¡¯t you supposed to have your emblem on your armor? ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking, old man.¡± She turned her back to me. And when she raised her hair, I could see a tattoo of a green butterfly on her neck. ¡°I bet you didn¡¯t know that they could be placed on exposed skin? Of course, you¡¯re not supposed to be able to do it if your hair covers it. But that can be ignored if you just change your hair after placing it on.¡± In other words¡­it was a trick. Now that I thought back on it, there had been others I had killed who had the emblems on their skin. It was actually quite popular¡­ People would put them on their cheeks, foreheads, thighs¡­ But surely covering it with your hair like that was practically breaking the rules? While it would be exposed if she moved around, it would be difficult to catch during battle. Well, I suppose it was management¡¯s fault for allowing it¡­ It was pretty impressive that she had discovered it. And even in this event, she knew exactly what she needed to do, and was playing seriously. While she seemed young, perhaps she was a pro gamer¡­ ¡°Well, now that I told you, I¡¯m going to go and hunt down what remains of Blue Deer!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to fight me?¡± ¡°Regardless of the player¡¯s strength, 1 kill is just 1 kill. So there is no point in taking someone like you on! See ya!¡± ¡°Right, uh¡­see¡­ Wait a second!¡± Tsk¡­why was I even talking to her¡­! The conversation had been about the game from the perspective of a user, and so I had started to listen out of an old habit. I wasn¡¯t even a developer here¡­! It wasn¡¯t as if her opinions were any use to me! ¡°Wait¡­!¡± I aimed with my bow, but she had already vanished. But I now understood why she had talked to me in the first place. Turning invisible was a powerful skill, and so there would obviously be limitations. She had been buying time so that she could use it again. However, I doubted that what she said was a lie. ¡°Black Smog! Black Smog! Black Smog!¡¯ It spread out everywhere. Being invisible didn¡¯t mean you were invincible. Your hitboxes were still affected. Besides, there was also the smell. ¡°Aggheeeghhh!! It stinks! How did you know!?¡± If she wanted to go up in the rankings, then taking over a fortress would be the fastest way to do that. After all, this was a turf war. And there was no way she would ignore a place that was so underprotected. She just needed to kill me, and then it was hers. ¡°Bow Shower!¡± I knew that she was inside of the smog, but I didn¡¯t know her precise location. And so this skill was very useful. As she was likely putting most of her points into speed, I hoped that it would be a fatal blow¡­ ¡°Well, I wonder what will happen¡­¡± By the time the smog had cleared, she was nowhere in sight. But there was no player memory on the ground¡­which meant that she had escaped. Well, while I had made mistakes, like talking to her in the first place, I had wanted her to survive¡­I suppose. After all, there was something important that I wanted her to do. Which was to hunt down the rest of the Blue Deers. She wasn¡¯t the biggest threat when protecting this fortress. It was the Blue Deer players who would call for help from the other fortresses. When AI players died, they turned into memories once again. And if that memory was collected by their team, the original player would regain control. In other words, there was a big possibility that they would come in full force in order to retrieve Buckler. However, this system wasn¡¯t absolute. It would be harsh to have players who were killed near the beginning wait three hours as they thought about returning. And if the original player was absent, then they would become AI warriors. However, Buckler was a famous player from a great guild. That¡¯s why I wanted her to kill all the survivors. And even if some escaped, if they spread news about an invisible enemy, it might help keep others away. After all, it was difficult to tell which team she was on. People were likely to just assume that she was part of Red Boar. Yes, I had high hopes for what she would accomplish. ¡°Change golem and cannon controls to AI. And put golems in patrol mode¡­¡± The surviving golem started to move in the area surrounding the fortress. If the cat girl was still targeting me and showed herself, then they would react. Furthermore, I used the points from the newly killed players to create a dome-shaped barrier around the fortress. Now if someone tried to scale the walls and enter, the barrier would be in their way. Apparently, the barrier would also make a loud noise when cracked, so I would know immediately that we were being attacked. ¡°Now¡­we won!¡± The realization now washed over me. As did the fatigue. Hunting enemies for points, the invasion, fighting Buckler and then talking with the cat girl¡­ Yeah, it was no wonder I was mentally drained. But there was something that I had to do before taking a break. ¡°Use the player memory and bring back the enemy players as AI warriors!¡± And like that, the guy who was just fighting for his life earlier was now summoned with his armor and shield. I had picked up other memories on the way as well. And so I revived them too. And then I had them patrol the area along with the golems. Even though they were slower, they were reliable. As Buckler¡¯s defense stats were the same, he would have trouble defeating normal players, let alone someone like the cat girl. I suppose I should use them and continue to protect this place. Or¡­ The event had only just started. If I had a moment to catch my breath, I should use it to make my next move. Still, that cat girl¡­ It was the best reaction I had gotten to Black Smog yet. I doubted that I would forget the sounds of her retching for a long time. Without Black Smog, I would not have been able to drive her away, so I was just glad that I had the gorilla fists with me. CH 32 Data.29 ¨C Old Bowman, Becoming a Tactician After a short rest, the first thing I did was to make adjustments to the defensive fighting force. The players who came to help me¡­were all gone. Some of them had already died during the battle with Blue Deer, and it seemed like the cat girl had finished off the rest. It was when you were sure of victory that your guard was lowered the most. The great Buckler had been defeated, and the army routed. And it was when victory was all but assured that they were targeted. In that state, it would have been nearly impossible for them to avoid being killed by someone who was essentially an assassin. I had only been able to deal with her because it wasn¡¯t my first time¡­ Now that they were gone, there was nothing for me to do but continue to fight so that their efforts would not be wasted. As for the golems, the guardian types had the biggest casualties. However, unlike players, you could fix this problem with points. Golems that were completely broken would disappear, but if they were still intact, it was cheaper to repair them instead of making new ones. And so I repaired what I could and made new ones when there wasn¡¯t enough. Thanks to the battle, I had plenty of points. The problem was that I didn¡¯t know what to expect next, and so I wasn¡¯t sure what I should strengthen. Perhaps I should just focus on defense alone. Or should I prepare to attack an enemy fortress if a good opportunity arose? The way you would use your points would change greatly depending on what you wanted to do. And so for now, I used what I needed and saved the rest. There were no signs of the enemy attacking, but there were also no signs of my comrades returning. I stayed there alone and thought about how to use the points. And like that, the first day ended. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô The morning of the second day. I had been a little anxious about sleeping in a game, but it wasn¡¯t any different than sleeping in real life. Actually, I was surprised that I was able to sleep at all when I didn¡¯t know when the enemy might attack. I guess it showed just how tired I was. Regardless, I decided to start the day by checking the status, equipment and skills of the AI warriors I had created from the player memories. After that fight, I had AI Buckler and some others defend the surrounding area, and then I went out and gathered any memories that the cat girl had left. Ultimately, I had created about 80 AI warriors. I wasn¡¯t sure if that was a lot or not enough. The memories were one of those items that were sucked towards you when you got close. And so it wouldn¡¯t be hard to gather memories of fallen comrades as you retreated. Quite a few of the Blue Deer players had escaped, and so they likely had more memories than the cat girl. Well, it was also possible that they too had been turned into memories and were being carried to Green Butterfly right now. In fact, what was going on at the other fortresses? Were Red Boar doing well, or were they being pushed back? What about the other teams¡­ I wanted to go and find out. But I was the only one in this fortress. If it was taken while I was absent, it would mean that all our hard work was for nothing. And I wanted to avoid that. And so I continued to check the AI warriors as planned. Everyone sure put a lot of effort into character creation. And they all had different equipment. After all, this was a game where equipment was dropped by monsters with different rates. And when it came to skills, there was hardly anyone who had the exact same one. As the AI warriors could be ordered just like the golems, I took a look at their skills. If you lose, then people can see all of your secrets. It was a rather savage system, and yet it was very enjoyable looking at other characters. I spent half the day just doing that. ¡°I think I better do something soon¡­¡± I had gotten through the battle against the odds. But if I wasted this time now, any advantage I had would start to fade away. However, no matter what I tried to do, I would always be alone. Was there a way that I could do something without leaving the fortress¡­ ¡°Ah¡­!¡± I could control the AI warriors and golems. Of course, that meant making them travel. However¡­how far could I make them go? Would it be possible to make them go out hunting and rack up points? I decided to test it at once. I took control of one Rapid Golem and gave it the order. The golem ran out until it was barely visible. ¡­So, they could go out pretty far. Could this too be related to my range? Perhaps management had done this to make up for the demerits of being an archer. Not only that, but I felt like it wasn¡¯t just my base range, but the boosts were affecting it as well. And with my range, it was possible that I could send them out to hunt. However, in order to do that, I would need eyes. ¡°Oh, I should be able to control them remotely with this.¡± It allowed you to use points to customize golems and AI warriors so that you could see what they were seeing through a window. I tried testing it on one of the Rapid Golems, and a single window opened up in front of me. I was looking at myself. Which was proof that it worked, since the golem was facing me. And so I customized five others in the same way. There was no point in making too many if I couldn¡¯t handle all of them, but I would be in trouble if I only had one and it was defeated. ¡°So, I guess I¡¯m prepared to send the scouts out now?¡± I would only be using Rapid Golems, as they were fast. The Guardian and Cannon Golems would take too long to get to their destination. I also created a group of AI warriors that were all 2nds. 1sts already had lower stats, and with the added restrictions of being controlled by AI, they were difficult to handle. Well, some people might think they were useless then¡­but numbers were still important. If the enemy did attack the fortress, it would look more intimidating if you had a large row of people. And so I would carefully use what limited personnel that I had. ¡°I¡¯ll be giving one of the Rapid Golem orders and make the others follow¡­ Now they should fight any monsters that come close to them.¡± I was sending them to the same western forest that we had gone to on the first day. The monsters were weak there, and so it was perfect for a test drive. ¡°Alright, off you go!¡± I watched them from the view window and dispatched the scout team. Hmm. It was a good thing I had chosen ones that were fast. And while AI Warriors were rather clumsy when it came to movement, they also weren¡¯t affected by stamina. In other words, they could keep running without getting tired and slowing down. And so simple traveling like this was easy. When they arrived at the forest, I saw that the monsters had respawned. Was it because this was a new day? I looked at each window and had them attack the weakest monsters. Once the Rapid Golem I was controlling attacked directly, the others joined in. Like that, they explored the forest and I ordered them to kill any monsters they found. Now that I thought about it, wasn¡¯t there an old game like this? You dragged your comrades with you and defeated enemies, and then you gathered materials and increased the number of comrades. ¡®A Meganewashi is looking at you as if it wants to join you.¡¯ ¡°Huh?¡± A new window suddenly popped up. Clearly, it meant that a monster wanted to join me. Now that I thought about it, there were certain monsters in this event that would join you after being defeated. We didn¡¯t meet any monsters like that on the first day, so I suppose we were lucky today. As the name implied, it was an eagle. It had large eyes and a black pattern on its face that made it look like it was wearing glasses. Also, there was a feather sticking out of its head. It seemed like a good natured creature. Should I accept it? And so I touched ¡®Befriend¡¯ on the screen. ¡®The Meganewashi has joined you! This monster has 2 special abilities.¡¯ A large window appeared in front of me. It showed a vast, vibrant forest. This was one of the Meganewashi¡¯s abilities, ¡®Eagle Eye Transmission.¡¯ It sent you an image covering a wide area. Maybe that feather on its head was like an antenna. And the other was ¡®Item Recovery.¡¯ But in this event, I suppose that meant ¡®Player memories¡¯? The Meganewashi was able to recover them for you. ¡°Well, this has been a successful hunt. I suppose I should bring them back now.¡± As I looked at the wide view from the Meganewashi, I could see that they had gone much deeper into the forest than last time. This was a game, and so logic dictated that the deeper you went, the stronger the monsters. And so I wanted to bring them back before I lost any of them. Somehow making others fight made me more nervous than fighting myself. You had to think more when switching between multiple views and giving out orders. And so when it came to very serious fights, I would have to go out myself. Realizing that now was quite valuable¡­ ¡°What is that?¡± The question spilled out of my mouth. There was something at the edge of the Meganewashi¡¯s vision. In the far distance¡­ ¡°A-a dinosaur¡­.?¡± There was a dinosaur in the middle of the forest. A 3D model of a triceratops that was so realistic that you¡¯d think it was made for research purposes. And it somehow looked at odds with its surroundings compared to the other monsters. Like someone had just placed a model in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps they hadn¡¯t created the map for it yet, but just decided to put these models here anyway¡­ That¡¯s what it felt like¡­ This event was rather hodgepodge in some ways. I didn¡¯t want to imagine¡­what things were like at the office. Anyway, it was clear that it was strong. And the quality of the model was high. Maybe I should go out and fight it¡­? No, I should gather some information first. And so I ordered one of the golems to approach the triceratops. Once it was reasonably close, the triceratops started to charge at it. It was quite fast, and when seen up close, I saw that it had three dangerous-looking horns on its head. Perhaps this had been a bad idea. I immediately called all of my scouts back to the fortress. However, the triceratops was sure to catch up with them¡­! Just then, something strange happened. No, it wouldn¡¯t be that strange for game veterans. The triceratops stopped as if there was an invisible wall in front of it. It moved its legs, but it could not go forward. The triceratops continued to charge in one place for some time, and then it quietly returned to its position. Enemies often chased the player in games. However, they could not just chase the player forever. And so they are made to give up after there is a certain distance between you. However, it had been a while since I last saw a game where it was this noticeable. So, the triceratops could not cross that line. In that case¡­could I do it? My ideal fighting style was to snipe at people from a distance where they could not retaliate. Up until now, I had mostly fought with the fear that I would die if I let my guard down even a little, but had the time finally arrived¡­!? CH 33 Data.30 ¨C Old Bowman, The True Worth of Range I left the defense of the fortress to the Golems and AI Buckler, as I rushed towards the western forest. While there was a risk to doing this, I wanted to test this method with my own hands. ¡°The textures are quite impressive when seen up close¡­this triceratops.¡± Of course, I had never seen a real one since they were extinct, but it looked like a perfectly believable, living and breathing triceratops. I had a Golem standing just outside of its movement range as a marker. And from here, I would try shooting at it. Kiriri¡­shu! Clink! The area around its head was hard, and ordinary arrows just bounced off. Clearly this monster had very high defense ability. However, there was nothing to fear. The triceratops did not move even after it was attacked. Apparently, it didn¡¯t react to attacks that were outside of its range. Yes, this was it. This is what I wanted. The feeling of finding an exploit that uses range¡­it¡¯s perfect. And so I continued to shoot arrows and carve away at its health. As it was hard, it would take a lot of time. It was definitely not an enemy that you were expected to fight solo. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve had my fun. Now it¡¯s time to have the AI warriors help me.¡± The AI Warriors had ranged weapons as well, and so I brought them under my command and extended their range so they could attack. The HP began to decrease faster. Now it wouldn¡¯t take as long. Normally, I wouldn¡¯t be able to fight like this without any retaliation. Both monsters and players would do anything they could to get close and kill me. However, I couldn¡¯t forget the strength of attacking from far away. This fight made me remember what I had initially set out to do. Thank you, triceratops. Good bye, triceratops. ¡®The triceratops looks like it wants to join you.¡¯ ¡°Ah, I knew it.¡± It was clearly a special monster, and so I had thought that it was likely. Of course, I chose ¡®befriend.¡¯ ¡®The triceratops has joined you! This monster has no special abilities.¡¯ Now that was a surprise. I suppose its hardness and charge attack were its only weapons. Well, perhaps it was only natural that this prehistoric creature wasn¡¯t using magic attacks and abilities. In any case, it had a lot of impact for a new recruit. It didn¡¯t need special abilities, I just needed to use it in a special way. Like riding on it. And so I tried climbing onto its back. Hmm, it didn¡¯t move in protest and was rather comfortable. I would ride it back to the fortress then and hunt monsters on the way. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô The fortress was safe. And there were no traces of it having been attacked. Perhaps this place was isolated from both friends and enemies. The fruits of our labor this time was a decent amount of points and about 20 befriended monsters. This was mostly thanks to an encounter with a large pack of monsters on the way back. And if I had to choose which of them was the strongest, I would choose the triceratops. While it had no special abilities, its legs were fast and powerful, allowing it to easily carry multiple people. I had even thought of a certain strategy that would make use of it. Next was a few Aero Raptors. They were the monsters I had encountered as a pack. And while they were also based on dinosaurs, these had more fantastical designs. And they had the special ability ¡®Wild Air.¡¯ It raised the speed of everything within range, regardless of them being friend or foe. It was a good ability for when you were moving in large numbers. And then there was the Meganewashi. In a way, perhaps this eagle was actually the strongest. It showed me the field from up in the sky. And in my case, my range allowed me to give them orders in a wider area, which meant I could send it very high into the air. And like that, I was able to see the entire map. First, Blue Deer had attacked Green Butterfly early on as well. Only they succeeded, and the blue territories were encroaching into the green. Green Butterfly was now focusing its efforts on taking back the fortress. And Blue Deer were likely fighting back. This resulted in an opening for Red Boar to attack from the center. The center of the field was where the fortresses of the three sides clashed. And here, Red Boar invaded in Blue Deer¡¯s direction. They had taken two fortresses already. However, that¡¯s as far as they went. Currently, it looked like all three groups had gathered to the center in a deadlock. I raised Meganewashi¡¯s altitude a little and looked at the center of the battlefield. The scene below was insane. There were red tyrannosauruses breathing fire, thunder magic in the shape of dragons, wind magic in the shape of tigers. They rammed into each other without restraint. The tyrannosauruses were likely tamed monsters, and I suppose the rest were magic skills from 3rds? Now my fight with Buckler looked very boring. Well, it had still been quite a fight. Yes, it wasn¡¯t boring, it was refined. And having survived such a refined battle, I realized what I needed to do. If they were in a stalemate and it looked to continue for a long time, I would just have to come in from the side. The reason that my fortress was secluded was because it was located at the far edge. And everyone was moving to the center. If you won at the center, the enemy¡¯s position would be unstable, and you might as well have won at that point. And so I had to move. From here, I would go to Blue Deer¡¯s main base and attack. And then the enemy would have to split up their forces in order to stop me. That will make things easier for my friends in the center. While it was very likely that I would fall, it would be a necessary sacrifice for our side to win. At the very least, it would mean more than if I joined them in the center battlefield. I was not confident that I could make any difference in all that craziness. An Archer quietly targets his prey. And now, I would move from defence to invasion. I would attack their fortress with my AI warriors¡­! CH 34 Data.31 ¨C Old Bowman, March Forth It was the third day, right before dawn. I started the march towards the neighboring Blue Deer fortress. The fighting force accompanying me included all of the AI warriors and all of the Rapid Golems. Speed was the most important in this plan. And so I didn¡¯t bring the Cannon or Guardian Golems, who were still slow even with buffs. However, I did bring Buckler, who was not very fast. But I had him ride on the Triceratops¡¯s back. In a way, this was the dinosaur¡¯s special ability. It could carry heavy things without being slowed down. The Aero Raptors were fast, but they were small. And so they would not be able to move if you put something heavy on top of them. And so I made them carry light players and buffed their speed with the special ability ¡®Wild Air.¡¯ And with the Meganewashi, I scouted out the fortress that we would attack. Their attack on us, the main battle in the center, the attack from the cat girl¡­ All of those factored into its current state. Its defenses were light. However, that didn¡¯t mean there was no one there at all. There were watchers on the walls who immediately told the people inside that they were under attack. And so I started the assault without hesitation. First, I rained down magic and projectiles over the dome-shaped barrier that covered the fortress. It had not been buffed much at all, and so it broke easily. Next, I cast Black Smog into the fortress. The black, odorous fumes filled the inner walls, and frantic players started to run outside. After that, I just had to kill them. Though, there were some admirable players who braved the stench and remained inside. But I dealt with them by sending the shocking pair that was Buckler and the Triceratops into the fortress. I didn¡¯t go out to the front. Instead, I fought while staying with a group of AI warriors who were 1sts. In this army, Buckler and the Triceratops drew the most attention. And then it was the AI 2nds who rode the raptors. The rest looked like leftovers and would be seen as the least dangerous. And so I pretended to be an AI and hide among them. Of course, I was the only one shooting at such a far distance, so they would eventually notice that I was different. As soon as I died, this army would not be able to operate. And so I had to do this in order to live as long as possible. ¡°There¡¯s no time to waste. To the next one¡­!¡± When you take a fortress, you also receive all of their points. However, this one had used up almost all of it. And there were no Golems. They had likely used everything for the frontline. And so we had just defeated a few players, and I could not strengthen my fighting force much at all. You needed to kill more than one enemy in order to create a single AI warrior. And so I just used the points to restock on healing items. My fighting force maintained its previous state as we continued onward. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô The next fortress we would be attacking was closer to the center of enemy territory. If we could get past this one, we would have access to the main base. However, as this was a key point, the defenses were much stronger than the last fortress. Not only that, but this region had a lot of good hunting places for gathering points. So it was also an important ¡®attack zone,¡¯ where they hunted and created a fighting force that they could send to battle. And so the battle was long and hard. The only saving grace was that there were no 3rds present. It was no surprise that other people were taming monsters as well. The parrots were probably going to send messages and requests for reinforcements. If we got attacked from both sides, we¡¯d be done for. Especially if there was a 3rd among them. There was no way that we could win. We didn¡¯t have a fortress or much points here. I hid behind the great shield that was Buckler and the Triceratops and continued to unleash arrows. After I had taken their numbers down to a degree, the enemy started to retreat. But it wasn¡¯t that they were admitting defeat. As they knew they were getting reinforcements, they were probably going to return to their main base and prepare for a counter attack. Just as I had expected, when I entered the empty shell that was their fortress, there were no points left and only a few player memories to be found. While it was understandable that the points would be going to the battlefield, the retreating players would have had to go around and gather all of the memories. That meant once again, I was unable to strengthen my fighting force. And if reinforcements were coming, we would not be able to hold this fort. After all, we didn¡¯t have the necessary Guardian and Cannon Golems. ¡°Well, I knew that this was a possibility from the start. I just have to keep fighting.¡± And so I took our remaining fighting force and marched on towards Blue Deer¡¯s main base. But what awaited us in our path, were the soldiers who had retreated and the soldiers who were already there before. To be honest, I had thought that the fortresses deeper in would be less protected. After all, the real important battle that would determine the overall outcome was happening in the center of the map. So surely there wouldn¡¯t be much point in stationing fighters here. But I had forgotten something important. This event was all about points. You hunted for points in the back where it was safe, create your fighting force, and send them to the frontlines. The fortresses in the back had a very important role. And even though they were being left behind to get points, they could easily fight defensively if necessary. So that¡¯s why there were so many players in the last fortress. That would mean that the main base would have even more¡­ Still, I would fight until the very end. I had decided this already. But when I arrived at the main base¡­it was surprisingly undermanned. ¡°Well, this¡­I think we¡¯ll be able to get through them after all¡­¡± Wa-was this for real? The last fortress had been so strongly protected, and so it was unthinkable that there would be so few at the main base. There must be some reason for it. But I couldn¡¯t understand what it was. And yet here I was. Invading the fortress¡­ There was no need to wipe out everyone inside of the base. You just had to destroy the ¡®Core Crystal¡¯ that was deep within. And once I did that, all of Blue Deers bases would belong to Red Boar. The balance of power would collapse. In other words, it would practically be the end of the event. Would Blue Deer really allow that¡­? I felt that it would not be difficult to reach the Core Crystal now. It was like they were asking me to put an end to the event¡­ And so it was with conflicting emotions that I reached the blue crystal. Who would have guessed that this would happen¡­ And why did I feel like this as I aimed with my bow¡­ Kiririri¡­shu! Kiiin! There was a high-pitched ring as the arrow pierced the crystal. Well, I suppose one shot wasn¡¯t going to destroy it¡­ My hands were shaking. I had never felt so nervous during a game before¡­ I-I would finish this¡­! The event was supposed to go on for a week, but I would end it in three days¡­! But there was a small voice inside saying, ¡®don¡¯t do it¡¯ as well. However, most of me was screaming to take hold of this victory. The rest didn¡¯t matter. If shining victory was right in front of you, you reached out for it. Like a moth to the flame¡­ I could not resist the fires of triumph¡­! Kiriri¡­shu! Crack! The crystal shattered and my vision was filled with white. And when I could see again, the crystal was gone. It was finished. A lot of things had finished. Well, I actually felt quite good about it. Victory¡­ Well, it wasn¡¯t confirmed just yet, but it might as well be. And I had brought us closer to it with my own hands. So of course, I felt good. However, it still bothered me how unprotected the base was. It just didn¡¯t feel like something that was possible. ¡°Oh? If it isn¡¯t that dandy old man! So you¡¯re alive!?¡± A man who had the answer to my question had suddenly appeared. Someone I had forgotten about. ¡°You¡­Mister Hatake! I¡¯m surprised to see you alive as well.¡± ¡°Of course, I am. It was just a strategic withdrawal¡­!¡± Hatake had lost heart when he heard Buckler was coming, and he had run away. He was a 3rd Flag Magician who was good with buffs. But, why was he here¡­? CH 35 Data.32 ¨C Old Bowman, Fated Reunion ¡°I can see¡­that you¡¯re wondering why I¡¯m here!¡± Hatake looked at me with an expression that said, ¡®I¡¯m right, aren¡¯t I?¡¯ I wasn¡¯t sure if I was annoyed by it or not. ¡°I want to ask you the same question, but I¡¯ll answer you first! I¡¯ve been planning to take down the main base with just a small elite group! Of course, we ended up just assaulting them from the front, and were nearly destroyed!¡± There were several players behind Hatake. They were likely from his guild. But I could tell from their equipment that they were quite skilled. If they had been attacking the main base from a different direction, it would explain why the defense had been weak from the direction I was moving in. ¡°I¡¯m not much different. I attacked this place in order to decrease the fighting force that Blue Deer could send to the central battlefront. Of course, I hadn¡¯t thought that I¡¯d be able to take it down¡­¡± ¡°Really? But didn¡¯t you stop Buckler¡¯s advance?¡± ¡°Yes, I guess. But it was only because some of my comrades returned, and also all of the points we gathered.¡± ¡°Then this result is the most natural thing. After all, I, Hatake, helped you do it!¡± It seemed more like a coincidence¡­ But I suppose he wasn¡¯t entirely wrong. ¡°Now, that¡¯s quite enough celebrating. Our victory isn¡¯t set in stone yet. We should return to the frontline.¡± ¡°Yes, I suppose we should.¡± ¡°However, we only have one Mach Horse left. But we will give it to you, old man. Take it!¡± ¡°Huh? Well, I appreciate the offer, but I feel like I¡¯ve done enough for now. I¡¯m not exactly motivated to rush to the battlefield and¡­¡± ¡°No, I want you to return. It¡¯s my personal request.¡± ¡°I see¡­ And why is that?¡± ¡°I think¡­that Green Butterfly have started a final and desperate march towards our base. While they¡¯ve been attacking us and Blue Deer, there was this sense that they were saving their fighting force the whole time.¡± ¡°And you think they are using that now to attack our main base?¡± ¡°Yes, I do. Green Butterfly can¡¯t win by slowly fighting through the last remaining days. And so they would have to take a chance like this. All or nothing. No, perhaps this was always their plan¡­¡± As long as you took down the main base, it didn¡¯t matter how many fortresses the enemy had left. Now that Red Boar had taken all of Blue Deer¡¯s fortress, the only way that Green Butterfly could win was if they took Green Butterfly¡¯s main base¡­ ¡°So this might be the last and biggest battle. That¡¯s not something for a coward like me. But a dandy old player like you¡­! So please, will you take the Mach Horse and dash off towards the battlefield?¡± I wouldn¡¯t be a man if I refused him after hearing all of that¡­ And if what he was saying was true, then that meant we could still lose the final battle, after everything I had been through. I didn¡¯t want that to happen. And so I got on top of the Mach Horse and looked up my next destination. ¡°Old man! And take my strongest buff as well! Full Enhance!¡± A yellow¡­no, a dark orange aura enveloped my body. My hair seemed to prickle up, and I felt that I had become stronger. ¡°This buff is so powerful that I can only use it once a day! It greatly increases all of your stats!¡± He had said that his team was nearly wiped out, and yet he had been saving this¡­ But I didn¡¯t point it out. Considering what I knew about him, he had probably been too indecisive and then missed his chance. However, as it seemed quite effective, I would thank him. ¡°Thank you. Since I¡¯m being given the opportunity, I will do my best during the final battle.¡± Then I put the horse into a dash and headed towards the next battlefield. The last battle in this turf war. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°Hey, Hatake.¡± ¡°What?¡± One of the guild members called to him. ¡°What you said earlier. Do you really mean it?¡± ¡°Yes. If that old guy was able to defeat Buckler alone, that means it would have been a walk in the park if I was there. So in a way, I was being cowardly. But on the other hand, it was because I led our fighting force to the fortress near the center that we were able to push upwards at the frontlines. And this ambush succeeded as well. So even though I was cowardly, the results show that I wasn¡¯t wrong.¡± ¡°Hatake¡­ I¡¯m surprised at how thoughtful you can be¡­¡± ¡°Why? In any case, it¡¯s true that he would be of more use in the battle. His combat abilities are simply superior, and we already know he can achieve a high kill count.¡± ¡°But¡­can I say one thing?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You Full Enhance thing¡­ Just like that giant hero of light, it only works for three minutes, right? It¡¯s sure to be gone by the time he reaches the battlefield. And yet you did it anyway?¡± ¡°¡­You now, if even just his legs become faster, it will save time, right?¡± ¡°But the buff only works on one person. So the horse¡¯s speed won¡¯t change unless you enhance it as well¡­¡± ¡°¡­Really? Are you saying that I¡¯m in fact, a thoughtless, useless player!?¡± ¡°Well¡­I might add that you¡¯re also quite lucky¡­but yes.¡± ¡°Bu-but, I did mean to try and help him! You believe that I wasn¡¯t messing with him!?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask me that¡­¡± ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°Huh? The aura is gone¡­¡± And I had been enjoying dashing through the field while sparkling¡­ How embarrassing. Well, if it was something he could only use once a day, and greatly boosted all of your stats, then it was not likely to last for very long. However, he was probably being sincere, so I would accept it. Still, I had not expected to meet Hatake again during this event. He always launched me into these crucial situations. I doubted he was a bad person. Surely¡­ And while I didn¡¯t want to be friends with him, he was amusing for brief interactions. CH 36 Data.33 ¨C Old Bowman, Can¡¯t Help It The last battle¡­was even more desperate than I imagined. Green Butterfly had sent their entire fighting force to go and attack Red Boar¡¯s main base. And they had started doing this very early on¡­ I learned about this later, but the parrot-type monsters that had flown off after we took the fortress were indeed monsters who sent messages to the other fortresses. Blue Deer had sent these parrots not to just their own fortresses, but also their enemy, Green Butterfly as well. It was easy to assume that upon hearing the messages, Green Butterfly would think that Red Boar would take down Blue Deer¡¯s fortress. This turf war was supposed to last for a week, and the team who had the most fortresses at the end of the event would win. However, if one team took a main base and then took possession of all of that team¡¯s fortresses, it would then become incredibly difficult for the remaining team to catch up. And so Green Butterfly attacked Red Boar¡¯s main base in order to lure away the army that was attacking Blue Deer¡¯s main base. If their own base was being attacked, they could not spare time to attack the other ones¡­ However, Blue Deer¡¯s main base was taken down by just Hatake¡¯s guild and me and my monsters and AI warriors. Ultimately, Green Butterfly now had no way of winning unless they took down our main base. On the other hand, it meant that we just had to survive their attack, and then we would win. And so the two powers clashed head on. Due to a delayed reaction, Red Boar started with a disadvantage, but unlike Green Butterfly, who had to march towards the base, we just had to defend. We just had to prevent our main base from falling. And so small groups were sent to launch guerrilla attacks in order to delay the march, and in the meantime, we gathered our forces to the main base. Green Butterfly started to lose their momentum, and fell apart completely in the battle at Red Boar¡¯s base. As I felt that the only thing I needed to do was protect the main base, I headed straight for it on the Mach Horse. And during the final battle, I spammed arrows over the enemy and contributed to their demise. While it wasn¡¯t some dramatic appearance where I swept in and saved my comrades in the nick of time, it wasn¡¯t bad. I was able to rack up kills while sniping from behind a powerful advance guard. This was the way I was supposed to fight. And so I didn¡¯t stick out. At that time, anyway¡­ After that, we attacked Green Butterfly¡¯s main base, now that they had lost their primary fighting force. And the event ended with Red Boar¡¯s victory. The problem was what happened after that. Once the event was finished, the players who were killed were allowed to return to the map. It was so that everyone who participated could see the final results together, and find out which players did the best. It sounded fun, right? Like a peaceful moment before the curtains fall. Once it was over, no one held any grudges and we all got along¡­ Well, that¡¯s not what happened. VRMMOs were not a gentleman¡¯s sport. It was a beastly sport where the latest technology was used to bring out the most base of instincts. Well, at least I had fun¡­ But not everyone did¡­ And so screenshots of the final results were spread everywhere online as proof of how badly balanced the event had been. And the screenshot that got the most attention, in a bad way¡­was a screenshot of the event MVP. A big picture of my face, name and job were projected onto the sky. Of course, it was my face, name and job within the game. Well, it wasn¡¯t as if the backlash was directed at me personally. In fact, the players of Red Boar were very happy when they saw the announcement. However, a lot was still said about how a 2nd had stolen the spotlight in an event that was expected to center around 3rds. Furthermore, a 2nd had also taken the title for most kills. As for that player, no image was shown, but it wasn¡¯t hard to guess after seeing the name. She had won during the battle royale. In other words, she had gotten the MVP, while I had the most kills. This time it was reversed. Well, I suppose that worked as a revenge? It seemed like we were advancing through the game at a similar speed, and if there was another large event, we would likely clash again. Though, I didn¡¯t know when there would be another one¡­ This was because NSO had done two in a short span already. And given how much backlash there was this time, management had announced that they would take more time to balance and plan the events. In the first place, there were rumors that the next NSO update would add lots of new features for solo players. And so it was already obvious that events would not be coming as regularly. Still, it was important to look like you were listening. During this great age of VR games, it was like there were at least five different controversies happening at all times. If anything, there were people who said that it was best that people were passionate. That kind of fire could attract more players. But as for me¡­I wanted things to settle down as soon as possible. This was because the screenshot was reposted so many times, that even searching for ¡®Next Stage Online¡¯ or ¡®NSO¡¯ started to bring up my character¡¯s face¡­! And so I was now quite famous. People would point at me when walking around in towns in the game. And they would approach me and ask to take photos. Being the center of attention. The talk of the town¡­ I had never experienced such a thing before. But well, I suppose that it didn¡¯t feel bad to have people who were happy to see you. That being said, I still had to reject a lot of offers to join guilds and pro gamer teams. I intended to continue enjoying this game while staying solo. It wasn¡¯t that I would never get involved with others. I just wanted the freedom to go in any direction that felt fun. Like a cloud in the wind. Now, the next update would have a great effect on the fate of this game. So what kind of new features would they implement? I had a feeling that NSO would continue to excite me for quite some time. CH 37 BBS.4 ¨C NSO General Thread [VRMMO] Next Stage Online General Thread part1854 1: Anonymous Runner A general thread to discuss ¡®Next Stage Online.¡¯ While most subjects are allowed, party requests, complaints, trolling and bragging have their own threads. The next thread will be created automatically. 2: Anonymous Runner AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!! Burn! Burn! Burn it! Hey! Hey! Hey! 3: Anonymous Runner The threads aren¡¯t losing any momentum! 4: Anonymous Runner Even those who aren¡¯t playing are attracted by the fire. 5: Anonymous Runner Is it really such a big deal? The event¡¯s balance was a little off. That¡¯s all, right? 6: Anonymous Runner >>5 I wouldn¡¯t say it was just ¡®a little off.¡¯ 7: Anonymous Runner >>5 Shut up if you haven¡¯t played it yourself. 8: Anonymous Runner >>7 It¡¯s those people who are making the biggest fuss. lol 9: Anonymous Runner It¡¯s too boring an issue to be the cause of such an uproar. You can freak out when there is money trouble, or sudden shutdowns, numerous bugs or when it¡¯s impossible to log in. 10: Anonymous Runner >>9 The VR gaming world is a frightening place¡­ 11: Anonymous Runner The battle in the center and the final battle were actually quite great. 12: Anonymous Runner I don¡¯t like the emphasis on points. That being said, relying too much on player abilities would result in inequality as well. 13: Anonymous Runner The map is too big. 14: Anonymous Runner In the first place, it¡¯s ridiculous to have turf wars and strategy in a VRMMO! 15: Anonymous Runner But ridiculous events made on impulse are what¡¯s so interesting about this great age of VR. 16: Anonymous Runner You can¡¯t maintain balance when players of every class are mixed together. Tens of thousands participated in the event. 17: Anonymous Runner Maybe they should split them up like an FPS. Though, I suppose it would be a different game then. 18: Anonymous Runner This will likely be a one off event. 19: Anonymous Runner Is the balance really that bad? Aren¡¯t they usually like this? 20: Anonymous Runner >>19 It¡¯s true that balancing a game with that many players is difficult. But just how these 2nds were able to take MVP and other titles¡­ 21: Anonymous Runner People complain if only 3rds can accomplish anything. But they complain when 2nds do well. You can¡¯t please everyone! 22: Anonymous Runner >>21 I won¡¯t complain if I do well. 23: Anonymous Runner >>22 Lol. You¡¯re terrible. 24: Anonymous Runner Yeah, there would have been backlash if only 3rds could do well. So I don¡¯t see why it¡¯s a problem that some 2nds excelled. In the first place, those two did great in the previous event as well. 25: Anonymous Runner The winner of the battle royale, and the player with the most kills. Not too many people talked about it, though. 26: Anonymous Runner Yeah, people were more focused on the confident pro gamers, and not so much the results of the event. 27: Anonymous Runner It was a pro team called Mad Slime, right? They didn¡¯t do much this time either. 28: Anonymous Runner Isn¡¯t this Nekoko Strange a pro gamer too? A real veteran. 29: Anonymous Runner >>28 You¡¯re probably thinking of a different ¡®Strange.¡¯ Though, they are apparently related somehow, but not much is known. 30: Anonymous Runner Nekoko is a rookie. A new star that has recently appeared in the game world. 31: Anonymous Runner She has reflexes like a wild animal. Must be pretty young. 32: Anonymous Runner So the pros are getting beaten by kids and old men now. 33: Anonymous Runner >>32 I like that old bowman. 34: Anonymous Runner 35: Anonymous Runner I teamed up with that old bowman once. lol It was a while ago. His reflexes seemed slow and I thought he would quit soon enough. And now look how far he¡¯s gone! Hahaha. By the way, I¡¯m the one who told him to use the bow. 36: Anonymous Runner >>35 Lies. 37: Anonymous Runner >>35 Really? I was with him during the last battle, and he was amazing. He was constantly hitting his targets with precise movements. But I don¡¯t think he¡¯s very good with running. 38: Anonymous Runner So the old guy isn¡¯t a pro, right? There¡¯s like no info about him. 39: Anonymous Runner >>38 I asked him, and he said he was working at a company until recently. 40: Anonymous Runner >>39 He just shares that, huh¡­ 41: Anonymous Runner >>40 Well, he didn¡¯t say which company, so he¡¯s safe! 42: Anonymous Runner He got the MVP, so he must have contributed a lot to his team. 43: Anonymous Runner >>42 He basically destroyed a 3rd on his own, and then took down their base. No one contributed more imo. 44: Anonymous Runner 45: Anonymous Runner >>42 Yeah, he did really well. And yet people are posting his screenshot everywhere as if it¡¯s his fault the event was bad. lol Well, it¡¯s not really a laughing matter. 46: Anonymous Runner That old guy is undoubtedly the MVP, but the pictures are too good to share. 47: Anonymous Runner There¡¯s something very nonchalant about his expression. Why does he look like that? 48: Anonymous Runner He usually looks a little more serious. I wonder why they used that picture¡­ 49: Anonymous Runner Well, he¡¯s the new face of NSO, so the event had some meaning after all. 50: Anonymous Runner >>49 Yeah. 51: Anonymous Runner It was a success in terms of getting people to talk. And I was able to run wild beginning to end. 52: Anonymous Runner Now it¡¯s up to management to see if the people who came to look will end up staying. We¡¯ve been hearing about new features for a while that have yet to be implemented, so they must be taking their time with it. 53: Anonymous Runner Grow cards, scramble, unison¡­ I like that there will be three new features at once. 54: Anonymous Runner Apparently, it¡¯s going to make exploring the field a lot more fun. You couldn¡¯t ask for more as a solo player. Events aren¡¯t the only thing in MMOs! ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô And so without his consent, Kyuji had been declared the new face of NSO. CH 38 Data.34 ¨C Old Bowman, Update NSO had a massive update. After the unusually long maintenance was over, I was one of the first to rush back into the world. Three main features had been added¡­ ¡®Grow Card,¡¯ ¡®Scramble,¡¯ and ¡®Unison.¡¯ While the names had been released earlier, the details had only been published very recently. The turf war had taught me the importance of having a good grasp on the rules, and so I read through them so thoroughly that I almost bore a hole through them. The Grow Card was a card that could be equipped as an accessory. There were examples on the official site. They were not long like tarot cards, but looked more like trading cards that would be easy to handle. There were numerous types of Grow Cards. Indeed, there was as much variety as any other equipment. The biggest difference was that they ¡®grew.¡¯ This happened when certain conditions were met. And the effects of the card would become stronger. I didn¡¯t know if it offered status boosts, or affected skills and special attacks. Apparently, it varied greatly depending on what card you got. But these kinds of collection elements¡­were quite appealing. Most boys and girls liked to collect things. Grow Cards were not items that could be acquired during events or by using NSO coins. You had to kill special monsters in the field and conquer special dungeons. And there were apparently times when you could win them through clearing ¡®Scrambles.¡¯ These Scrambles were quests that appeared suddenly. You didn¡¯t know where or what would happen. But players who happened to be there would try to beat them. There was no penalty for failing, but you had a chance of winning special items or Grow Cards if you succeeded. These Scrambles happened on the field. However, as the conditions for triggering them were unknown, there was no point in joining a party to try and complete them. They weren¡¯t something you went out adventuring for, but just an added ¡®emergency state¡¯ that you could enjoy. Apparently, the difficulty was also adjusted, so solo players would have nothing to fear. And the rewards would also be the same if you were in a party. So if you really wanted to look for Scrambles, you might as well just go traveling around solo. That¡¯s what I intended on doing. Lastly, there was Unison. It was easy to explain. They were just ¡®Friendly Monsters.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t as if you could make every monster your friend. It only worked with some of them, and we still still didn¡¯t know which ones. I suppose that meant we were supposed to explore and find out. The difference between friendly monsters and players was that there was no sense of reservation. Which was perfect for a solo player like me. Not only that, but as a bonus for my contribution in the turf war, Unison was released to me without accepting any quests. So now I just needed to meet one¡­ Well, that was probably the hard part. There were also other bonuses from the turf war, like 500 NSO medals and the MVP medal. I had won NSO medals during the battle royale as well, and they could be traded in for items. But 500 was so much that I wasn¡¯t sure how to spend it. I would have to think about it later. The MVP medals weren¡¯t for trading in. They were similar to gold or silver medals. And while they didn¡¯t boost your status, they could be equipped. Mine looked pretty cool, as it had my name, event ranking, and Red Boar¡¯s emblem carved into it. However, I did not equip it, unfortunately. People already approached me all of the time. I would stick out even more with this thing dangling around my neck. Still, it was nice to have proof of all my hard work. Bonuses for events should be like this. It shouldn¡¯t be exclusive and overpowered armor or items. These things were just for vanity, and no one would care if they couldn¡¯t acquire them. Especially for this particular event, I was happy that it was this way. Had it been something that created a big gap between players¡­ No, nevermind that. Back to the main subject. The three new features were a spice to make exploration more enjoyable. Up until now, there was leveling and rare monster drops as far as reasons to explore, but now there was more of an incentive to gather friends and go to places that no one else had. Ah, that¡¯s right. There were also adjustments made to the balance of skills and equipment. But it wasn¡¯t being talked about as much. There was a certain message board that was very popular in the NSO community, but I was too scared to look at it. But apparently, people were talking about nothing but the three new features. Oh, and that photo of me that was still being posted around¡­ Well, in any case, being able to make adjustments was one of the advantages of online gaming. However¡­while people would be happy if it was just bug fixes, they were less happy when they were nerfed. While there were various reasons for it, the overall effect was to lower the value of what they acquired. But there didn¡¯t seem to be any backlash this time. Which was surprising, since it happened so easily. I suppose that meant that the adjustments were minimal. I myself didn¡¯t have anything really out there, and so I was unlikely to be affected. But I decided to look just in case. ¡ô Status Name: Kyuji Job: Archer HP: 105/105(+30) MP: 145/145(+70) Attack: 180(+185) Defense: 131(+100) Magic Attack: 20 Magic Defense: 147(+135) Speed: 102(+80) Range: 400(+180) ¡ô Equipment Head: Windstream Scarf Right Hand: Windcloud Bow Left Hand: (Windcloud Bow) Arms: Cloudbore Archery Gloves Body: Windcloud Haori Legs: Windguard Hakama Feet: Cloudcrossing Tabi Accessories: None While you gained skills during events, you didn¡¯t get experience. And so I didn¡¯t level up. As for differences in my equipment, I just changed the gorilla fists, which had served me well, with the Cloudbore Archer Gloves. If I was going to be traveling through the field, it would be better to dress lightly. I also checked my weapon skills and charge attacks. There were also a few other things that weren¡¯t equipped. Fists of the Forest Sage¡¯s ¡®Black Smog.¡¯ Spider Shooter¡¯s ¡®Web Arrow.¡¯ Hmm¡­ I didn¡¯t see any differences after the update. Perhaps they were slower if you counted the frames, but I wouldn¡¯t notice such a thing. In any case, there seemed to be no visible nerfing. I was relieved. To be honest, I had been a little worried about Black Smog. Now there was just the skills and charge attacks. My weapon skills were stronger, so if those were fine, these should be as well. Skills: [Bow Arts V] [Satisfying Shot] [In Fight Arrow] [Bound Arrow] [Clear Arrow] [Burning Arrow] [Multi-shot] [Indomitable Sniper Stance] [Sniper¡¯s Eye] Charge Attacks: [Sky Tear] [Warp Arrow] Good, good. Nothing had been removed. And the skill effects seemed to be the same. As for the charge attacks¡­ ¡°Oh, what?¡± That was strange. One of the skills was now in the charge attacks. Strange¡­ Strange¡­ [Warp Arrow] Warps the player to the spot where the arrow lands. Cooldown: 3 minutes. While the effect was the same, there was now cooldown time. You used to be able to use it in quick succession, but now I could make instant noodles between shots. It didn¡¯t change the fact that it was incredibly useful, but I could no longer use multiple shots for emergency escape. It would now be a trump card that I would have to save¡­ But I had been expecting something like this, so it wasn¡¯t much of a shock. Especially since it was still powerful. You might even say that it sounded more powerful now. It was like they acknowledged how great one of my favorite skills was. ¡°Now, I¡¯m finished with that. Perhaps I can go out on an adventure now.¡± I had decided what I wanted to do. And that was, of course, to enjoy the new features. But since the Grow Card, Scramble, and Unison were all quite random, it wasn¡¯t something you walked around for the express purpose of trying to find them. And so I would do something else at the same time. And that is¡­to fill in the map. In this game, only the area around the first town was filled in. If you wanted to see the rest, you had to explore the area and fulfil different requirements. Aside from the first town, the only area I had filled in was the Windcloud Mountain region. And so the map was nearly all white. In this game, it was possible to fast travel between towns. However, you needed to visit each of those towns at least once in order to unlock that feature. So I could currently only warp between the first town and the hidden Windcloud town. That made my world quite small. First, I would fill in the south side. The reason was because of the sea. I had gone to the forests and mountains, so the sea should be next¡­was my carefree excuse. ¡°I hope that I¡¯m lucky enough to encounter these new features.¡± And so on light feet, I rushed out of the town. CH 39 Data.35 ¨C Old Bowman, to the South ¡°Well, I arrived without anything happening.¡± I had not encountered anything related to the new features before arriving in the southern port town of Tonami. The blue sky and blue sea met at the horizon. The air here was different compared to the first town and the Windcloud mountains. It smelled of the sea. And it was also a little warmer. In this game, the natural climate changed dramatically depending on where you were. There were places that were hot and some that were cold. Surely there are volcanoes and snowy mountains as well. But I was at the sea now. There were a lot of things to do in a new town, but I wanted to get a good look at the sea first. The white sandy beaches were calling me¡­or so I thought. ¡°Wh-what is this¡­!¡± Numerous players were lying on the white beach¡­ And they weren¡¯t doing it in order to get a tan. They were soaking wet and looked exhausted. I suppose asking them directly would be the fastest way to solve the mystery. And so I went down to the beach and approached a player who had just got back up. The young man looked at me with surprise, but was willing to listen to me. ¡°What the hell¡­is happening here?¡± I was so stunned that my vocabulary failed me. ¡°Try going into the sea. And go as far as you can. Then you will get your answer¡­!¡± And then he left without saying another word. Hmm. While I had a bad feeling about this, after hearing that, I felt that it would be a little pathetic to keep asking instead of finding out for myself. The sea¡­eh? Of course, I had been to the beach in real life. Though, not that many times. And I could swim just fine. I used to go to the pool regularly for health reasons. But that didn¡¯t last too long¡­ Well¡­I wasn¡¯t afraid of the sea or water. That was for certain. Indeed, the idea of monstrous deepsea fish scared me, but this game provided you with weapons to face such things. I suppose I will go into the water then, just like the player said. And so I walked through the beach and into the water. I paused once the water was up to my shoulders. And then I dove. I had already done some research on how water would work in this game. You should be able to breathe even when underwater. After all, recreating the sensation of drowning¡­could have problems¡­ But as it was something so outlandish, my body would automatically try to hold my breath. ¡°Calm down¡­try talking¡­¡± I opened my mouth, but there was no sensation of water entering it. At this point, my reflexes finally adjusted. ¡°Now that I think of it, there isn¡¯t an oxygen gauge either.¡± I had heard that in most VR games, you could breathe underwater, but there was a time limit. But I suppose this was one way that NSO was different. On the other hand, there was tangible resistance from the water, so movement was more tiring than on dry land¡­ The water was still shallow here, and there were only pretty fish around me. I was just thankful that there were no monsters. Now, that young man had told me to go as far as I could. I suppose that meant I was to head out to the open sea. I did want to see what beautiful sights the sea had to offer, as well as dive deep where the sunlight didn¡¯t reach. As buoyancy was rather weak here, I was not pulled upwards to the surface. I could go forward by just walking down the slope that led out to the sea. And so I started to walk without thinking too much about it. There were other players around me who were swimming and having a good time. But I decided to move away from them. Perhaps it was my instinct as a solo player. Once I was deep enough that the surface felt like it was far away¡­I encountered it. My first sea monster¡­! ¡°I see¡­ No wonder that player had guided me here¡­!¡± The enemy monster looked like an eel. When it slithered out of a gap between two boulders on the ocean floor, I shouted in surprise. But I didn¡¯t have the same disgust for fish that I had for bugs. I was just a little surprised, and quickly pulled out my bow and started to attack. And then I noticed the ¡®difference.¡¯ The usual sounds of the bow, ¡®kiriri¡­¡¯ and the arrow cutting through the air as it flew, ¡®shu!¡¯ were gone. It¡¯s not like they didn¡¯t fly at all. But their force was definitely weakened, and the range was also shortened. I was sure that the other weapons were the same. You could not swing around a sword as easily, and if your magic wasn¡¯t related to water, then¡­. ¡°Sky Tear!¡± Even this high speed arrow that cut through winds and clouds was no exception, but it seemed to be less affected compared to the other skills. This was likely due to its shape, which reduced resistance in the water as well. However, at least I knew why there were so many players being washed up on the beach now. They had all gotten over-confident and dove too deep. And then they were killed by some fish monsters. It seemed that if you were killed in the sea, then you respawned on the beach. I would¡­rather not follow in their footsteps. I knew now that fighting in the water like this would be a bad idea, and so I decided to retreat before being sent to a watery grave. Besides, it was likely that the port town held the secret of fighting underwater. ¡°Windcloud Blast!¡± Making wind underwater caused lots of bubbles to rise. I guess both the wind and clouds were weakened in the sea¡­ But it was enough for what I needed. ¡°Whirlwind!¡± The bubbles were blocked by the haori and I was pushed up to the surface. Once my head was out of the water, I would use Warp Arrow to teleport back to the beach. Go¡­.gogogo¡­! The waves suddenly became faster. And just as I was about to break out from the surface, a current caught me and I was dragged back down. Is this the beginning of a Scramble? Indeed, I had wanted to encounter one, but not in the water. Of course, you weren¡¯t forced to do them, so I could run away. In that case¡­ No, this wasn¡¯t a Scramble. It was definitely a state of emergency, but the thing that came towards me now was¡­ ¡°A dragon¡­!¡± And not a western one, but a Chinese dragon. The way that its long body twisted in the water reminded me of how the Windcloud Dragon had flown in the air. This one was likely just as strong, if not stronger¡­! There was no way that I could win in the water. I struggled in order to escape, but the dragon glared at me, and then it unleashed a terrible tidal breath. While the Windcloud Dragon ignored me until I attacked, this one was different¡­ In the first place, it had a much more violent aura about it. And unlike the other time, I didn¡¯t feel like I had even the slightest chance of winning. What was it with these dragons? Was there so big a difference between each type? Unable to do anything, I was enveloped in its breath, and my vision went black. CH 40 Data.36 ¨C Old Bowman, Hit by the Waves When I woke up, I was lying down on the sandy beach. It was the very thing I had hoped to avoid. Well, I suppose it was just like me¡­ But the southern country sun felt nice over my chilled body. And there was a pleasant sense of unity, lying there with all of the others. It wasn¡¯t bad. ¡­No, nevermind that. I got up and returned to the port town. While there was nothing that I could do about the dragon now, I had to find some way to fight decently in the water. Besides, there were also the requirements to fill in the map. My guess was that just like with the Windcloud Mountain, one of the NPCs would have the answer. ¡°Hey, you.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± I approached an old man with strikingly long, white hair and beard. He looked like some sage. ¡°You are soaking wet¡­ Were you wrecked by the sea?¡± ¡°Uh, yes¡­ A dragon.¡± ¡°A dragon! So you have already encountered the Bluesea Dragon!? That would be a very difficult fight if you haven¡¯t taken the proper steps first¡­¡± ¡°Well, I was just swimming and minding my own business¡­¡± ¡°Well, if it is in a foul mood¡­it will attack anything in the area. Surely there are times when you act the same?¡± ¡°Uh, I¡¯m never quite that moody.¡± In fact, people say that I¡¯m the quiet type. Of course, that often meant that they thought I was a push-over¡­ But more importantly, this man seemed to know about the dragon. I should ask him some questions. ¡°Does each dragon have a unique personality?¡± ¡°They are just like humans. They are individuals. And while the Bluesea Dragon is known to be skittish, the Greenforest Dragon and the Windcloud Dragon are relatively calm. The Ragefire Dragon and the Thundercloud Dragons are violent in temper¡­and so on.¡± So there are many types of dragons¡­ Well, this is a fantasy world, so it wasn¡¯t really surprising. That being said, if the Windcloud Dragon is considered to be one of the quieter ones¡­ ¡°But wait a minute¡­ Are you not wearing the legendary Windcloud Dragon armor?¡± ¡°Uh, yes. I am.¡± ¡°Truly! So you have already finished one of the dragon trials!? How did you do it?!¡± ¡°H-how? Uh, I used my skill to ride on a cloud. And then I just happened to see the dragon, so I challenged it¡­I suppose.¡± It sounded rather stupid when put into words like that. ¡°I¡­see. Unlike the Bluesea Dragon, it is actually more difficult to battle the Windcloud Dragon, if you take the standard steps. But in your case, you were brave enough to go up into the clouds on your own.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering, what are these ¡®standard steps¡¯ you¡¯ve been talking about¡­?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really know what they are myself. However, if you do them, the dragons will fight you in a place that is more to your advantage. So in your case, the dragon would have likely come down to the mountain to fight you.¡± ¡°That would have definitely been easier¡­ No doubt about it.¡± ¡°But their attacks will also be more aggressive, and their health will likely be higher. The Windcloud Dragon requires ¡®courage¡¯ from its challengers. And so if someone challenges it in the sky, where they will have a disadvantage, the dragon accepts that they have courage and goes a little easier on them.¡± ¡°Is that right¡­¡± Having steady ground under your feet would make it easier to fight, but the dragon will have more HP and do more damage. But if you fought in the sky with unstable footing, then it would hold back a little. So that was why I was able to win against such a powerful looking dragon. ¡°Still, it is hard to believe! Because fighting in the air would still be harder than fighting on land, wouldn¡¯t it!? To think that you were able to finish that trial¡­¡± ¡°Well, it was a combination of luck, ability and range. So, if I take the necessary steps, will I be able to fight the Bluesea Dragon on land?¡± ¡°No. You would still need to fight it in the water. What the Bluesea Dragon demands from challengers is ¡®sincerity.¡¯ But all that means is that if it sees that you are sincere, it will stop being angry and go back to its usual strength. And that is not something you can beat in your current state.¡± I had been able to beat the Windcloud Dragon because my arrows did extra damage to flying creatures. But in my current state, my attacks were going to do significantly less damage instead. It was a joke. ¡°Oh, I seem to have gone off track there. Back to the main subject.¡± The conversation we had just had was only for players who had killed a dragon in the past. NSO had a lot of detail put into such things. ¡°You¡­ Don¡¯t you want to learn ¡®Bow Arts¡¯ that will work underwater?¡± ¡°Can I?¡± ¡°Yes! However, you will need to overcome many trials first! Now, I will give you this card!¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­a Grow Card!¡± It read (Sea Bow Art ¨C Form Zero)¡­! I did not expect to get one so quickly¡­! ¡°There are 7 forms for Sea Bow Arts! Just like the seven seas! Seven forms that are the power of life in the sea!¡± ¡°S-seven?¡± When it came to special attacks with a bow, I thought there were just fast arrows, rapid fire arrows, and shooting like rain. But there were seven when based on creatures of the sea¡­ I was very interested in this. How did they come up with them? What if they were all similar, with just slight differences? ¡°Yes, I would very much like to acquire these Sea Bow Arts.¡± ¡°Of course, you do! Of course, you do! First, you must equip that card.¡± And so I set the card in my equipment slot. ¡°Good! Every time you complete a trial, you will gain a new form, and the card will be overwritten. First¡­¡± ¡°Hunt down a monster?¡± ¡°No, you won¡¯t be able to do it. Your body is too weak right now.¡± ¡°¡­Ah!¡± That¡¯s right, there is the penalty for dying after being killed by the Bluesea Dragon. My status had decreased by nearly 70%. It would slowly return to normal, but take a whole day to go back completely. I couldn¡¯t fight like this¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The first trial will be easy, even for someone in your state. Even someone weaker than you could do it.¡± And then the sage pulled out a fishing rod from nowhere and handed it to me. The sea and a fishing rod¡­well, it was obvious what I would be doing. ¡°Fishing! You will fish! You must catch a fish that is larger than the size that I decide, and you will pass! And you will acquire Sea Bow Art ¨C Form One!¡± So there it was. A mini game. It was one of the most common types of mini games. Usually, they were quite simple. You just had to push a button at the right time. But in some games, there were a large variety of fish, or they sold for a high price, and you could end up spending a lot of time on it. However, this was NSO. What kind of ¡®fishing¡¯ would await me here¡­? CH 41 Data.37 ¨C Old Bowman, Sea Bow Art Trial And so I took my fishing rod and headed to the pier. There were other players there who were enjoying themselves fishing. Their fishing lines were in the water, and they waited quietly for something to bite. Yes, the fishing in this game wasn¡¯t some kind of simplified minigame. ¡­It was real. There wouldn¡¯t be a reaction within a few seconds, and then all you had to do was press a button to catch a great fish. There would be a lot of waiting. And there was no assurance that you would catch anything. But it wasn¡¯t too bad. Of course, some might ask what value there was in having realistic fishing in a game. But there was a market for games that had greater realism. Besides, fishing in the real world had even more hurdles. You might have to travel, buy fishing gear, and there was the issue of what to do afterward. I wouldn¡¯t be chopping them up and eating the fish. I suppose you could just release them¡­ But I had memories of going fishing with my father, and it was fun even if we didn¡¯t catch anything. As an adult, you thought about too many other things, and it sapped all the fun out of it. However, I am different now. And I had all the time in the world. I am ready to stare vacantly into space for the whole day¡­! And so I threw the fishing rod so that the hook flew far out. ¡­It went a little farther than I had intended. Could it be that my status was affecting it? Well, perhaps I would be able to catch something bigger farther out. So it wasn¡¯t a bad thing. I just needed to catch something that was over a meter long, and then I would complete the trial. ¡°Still, this fishing rod¡­is kind of weird.¡± The rod, line, and reel were all very modern. It didn¡¯t really fit into a fantasy world. Furthermore, there was a rope attached to it that went around my waist¡­ ¡°Excuse me. You wouldn¡¯t happen to be¡­Mister Kyuji?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah.¡± The player next to me asked me hesitantly. He had a character that was older, just like me. ¡°I¡¯ve heard all about you.¡± ¡°Thanks. Did you want to take a photo?¡± ¡°No, not really¡­¡± ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s just that people are always asking me¡­ It¡¯s getting to my head.¡± ¡°No, no. I¡¯m sorry that I gave you that impression!¡± The trouble with talking to other older men was that we were too polite. ¡°So, uh, what did you want?¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. I saw that you threw the line so very far away. But from what I heard, doing that will result in catching something too big to reel in. And you will get dragged into the¡­¡± ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± It really was important to get to the point immediately. I was already dragged into the sea. C-calm down¡­! To be honest, I had predicted that this would happen the moment I tied the rope around my waist. And now it had happened, so calm down¡­! I could breathe underwater, so there was no need to panic. It¡¯s not like I would encounter the Blue Sea Dragon here. Apparently, that dragon usually swam far out in the sea, and rarely came this close to the shore. In other words, I was incredibly lucky or unlucky to have met it¡­ In any case, I gripped the fishing rod again and started to reel myself in. I would pull myself towards whatever it was that had taken the bait. ¡°Woah, it¡¯s huge¡­¡± It was a sunfish. But seeing them close up also made me feel a little scared. Why did they look like this¡­? They did not look like something from planet earth. ¡­Hmm, I seem to be basking in old memories a little too much lately. And I wasn¡¯t even the type to become sentimental when visiting the sea. ¡°It¡¯s time to use my Sea Bow Art¡­!¡± It wasn¡¯t like I couldn¡¯t use the Zero form at all. It was a special form and an exception. ¡°Sea Bow Art ¨C Zero form¡­Harpoon!¡± The arrow transformed into a harpoon. That was the primary weapon in games when you were underwater. Usually, it would be a gun of some sort, but since I used a bow, the arrow just turned into the harpoon. This way, I could avoid the decrease in range and power that affected my other skills underwater. ¡°I¡¯ll weaken the sunfish with this.¡± And so I shot three harpoons at it. They all struck the sunfish, and it stopped moving around. It¡¯s quite weak¡­this sunfish. Then I just left the hook in its mouth and pulled it back to the surface. And since I couldn¡¯t drag it all the way to the shore, I deactivated Harpoon and then shot a Warp Arrow at the beach. Like that, I could appear on the sand with my sunfish in the blink of an eye. There was quite a stir around me, but I ignored them and went to the sage to make a report. ¡°I caught it.¡± ¡°Indeed! I can already tell that it is several meters long. What a wonderful sunfish! You have passed the first trial!¡± To be honest, it didn¡¯t really feel like fishing. But if he was satisfied, then that was fine. Besides, it had still been hooked. ¡°Now, will you accept the second trial? Of course, it¡¯s still early, and so it is not very difficult!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± If it¡¯s an easy one, better to finish it off quickly. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô The second trial was ¡®Turtle Jet.¡¯ This was also a type of common mini game. You rode on top of a big turtle and moved forward by shifting your center of gravity. And if you gathered enough rings of light that floated above the water, you would clear the stage. While it wasn¡¯t particularly hard, it was all about getting the best time. The sage¡¯s requirement was that I complete Turtle Jet on normal difficulty in under a minute. There were players who had already done it in 30 seconds. So it should be easy¡­ That¡¯s what I thought. ¡°Woooaahh!?¡± My feet slipped and I fell into the sea. Just standing on top of the turtle was difficult¡­ The shell was so slippery, and Turtle Jet wasn¡¯t about riding waves like a surfer. A living turtle was using its flippers to propel itself forward like a jet ski. And there was a lot of vibration¡­ Still, the other players seemed to be doing well, and having fun. Turtle Jet¡­it really was something. Ultimately, while I had started in the afternoon, I didn¡¯t clear it until the evening. The sunset beach looked quite romantic, but I was too exhausted to enjoy it at all. Well, I did feel that I had improved. And that was a good feeling. ¡°Now you have cleared the second trial! Well done! It will be getting dark soon. So you should do the third trial on a different day.¡± ¡°But, what is¡­the next trial?¡± ¡°Hitting targets underwater. You will be using the Zero form to shoot at targets that are set under the water.¡± ¡°Ah, in that case, I think that I can finish it now.¡± This was a mini game where you tried to hit as many targets within a limited time, and rack up the highest score. There were moving targets, vanishing targets, and targets that would deduct points if you hit them. However, they were not nearly as fast as actual enemies you fought. And so I just shot at them like I always did, and was able to get the necessary score with ease. However, I also hit a few of the targets that I wasn¡¯t supposed to. I had developed a habit of just hitting everything that entered my vision. It was the result of being in so many fights where letting your guard down for a second could result in your death, and so it couldn¡¯t be helped. ¡°Now I¡¯ve passed the third trial.¡± ¡°Aye¡­indeed. I thought you were a clumsy man, but it seems that you are not. Humans are rather mysterious, aren¡¯t they? Well, that is all for today.¡± The sea was starting to get dark. There was something scary about the sea at night. It looked like it would swallow you up, and you would never return. I didn¡¯t want to go into it either. ¡°From the 4th trial on, combat will always be involved. So be ready.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± And then the sage left. I stared at the dark sea for a while. Yes, it was frightful how it seemed to pull you in. But there was also a beauty that made it hard to look away. There were fires on the beach, and I could see people enjoying some night fishing. As for me, I would log out and get some sleep¡­ ¡°¡­Huh?¡± Just as I was about to look away, I saw something like a red shooting star pass through the water. Was it the reflection of a shooting star in the night sky? No, it had been too bright a light for that. ¡°I-is there a monster in the sea¡­?¡± It felt as if something was looking at me from the water, and so I quickly moved away from the beach. CH 42 Data.38 ¨C Old Bowman, to the Deep Sea ¡°Now, the 4th trial begins!¡± The 4th trial began early the next morning. According to the sage, I was to kill two ¡®Mach Tuna¡¯. This monster was not particularly rare, and could be found easily if you went offshore a little. However, they will start swimming at a tremendous speed once you attack them. And they didn¡¯t just run away, but they would attack you by charging. The attacks weren¡¯t that powerful, but any attack can be dangerous if you get hit enough times. So, how to deal with an enemy that is constantly moving as it attacks you¡­ That was the issue. And it was easy enough. When charging, the tuna had to swim straight towards me. That meant it was easy for me to hit them with Harpoon. Their defenses would be at their lowest right before an attack. And so I succeeded in hunting the two Mach Tuna, and reported to the sage. He looked surprised. ¡°It seems that you are quite good at these sorts of trials¡­¡± ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô The 5th trial was also a battle with a sea monster. It was called a Devil Starfish, and true to its name, it was a giant starfish with a poisonous color. It would attack me from every side, trying to get the coral at my feet. Yes, it was a defense mission. I had to protect the coral from the starfish for 10 minutes. And I already knew that being a dedicated archer was a good fit for defending. And so I shot the starfish down, one after another as they attacked. ¡°Well, it would be a waste not to use my new Sea Bow Arts as well.¡± I would have no problem if I just used Harpoon, but since there were 7 forms, I thought that I should use them. After all, someone had gone through the trouble of creating them. ¡°Form two. Jellyfish!¡± The arrow that was unleashed was slow. It moved in the water like some kind of jellyfish. But that wasn¡¯t the only reason that it was called that. There were thin, long streaks of light that stretched from the back of the arrow. They were like tentacles, and poisoned anything that they touched. Not only that, but the length of the tentacles was affected by the player¡¯s range. That meant that if ¡®Immobile Sniping Stance¡¯ was activated, a kilometer long tentacle would be floating in the water. So it was much like setting a trap. However, there were clear disadvantages as well. First, it was weak. And easily pushed away by the current. If you used it against players, they could easily deal with it by using skills. Still, it would be valuable against monsters like this one, who just charged at you. And so the Devil Starfish continued to get poisoned, and their HP carved away. ¡°Because of their color, I had wondered if they would have high poison resistance¡­ But I¡¯m glad that they didn¡¯t.¡± While it was powerful, there were other monsters who did have resistance. And so I would need to be careful with how I used it. In any case, I killed off the weakened Devil Starfish and finished the 5th trial. I learned later that there really were starfish that ate coral¡­ Which was surprising, as I just assumed that they just lay around on the ocean floor with their arms stretched out. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô The 6th trial was also a battle with monsters. This time, I was supposed to steal an egg from the nest of ¡®Axehead Sharks.¡¯ Just the name made me want to stay far away. And unlike the previous fight, I would be the one who was moving around. Just as the name implied, these sharks had heads that were shaped like an axe. And the heads were very hard. It acted both as a protection for the rest of the head, and also a weapon to defeat enemies. And there were several of them circling the nest. ¡°I guess I should pick them off from far away first¡­¡± If I charged into them now, they would shred me into pieces. I had to get close in order to steal the egg, but I could kill the enemy from a distance. This is where my range came in handy. ¡°Form Four. Marlin!¡± The skill was based on the marlin. A large, carnivorous fish with a sharp and extended upper jaw. It was decently powerful and fast. But most importantly, easy to use. And with it, I smashed the tough Axehead Sharks¡¯ heads. The sharks recognized me as an enemy, and moved towards me at once. Unsurprisingly, they could swim very fast. And I wouldn¡¯t be able to kill them all before they reached me. ¡°Form One. Thousand Needles!¡± This one was based on a type of puffer fish. It allowed you to shoot small arrows in every direction at once. However, each one only did a little damage. And like In Fight Arrow, its range was also short. It was just something to stagger enemies that were coming closer, and not something used to kill. However, it became much more when combined with Form Five. ¡°Form Five. Shark!¡± This skill was combined with the king of the sea. And it homed in on any enemy that I had damaged. This was its way of mimicking the way that sharks could smell blood and were lured towards it. But the homing effect ended if 30 seconds had passed since you damaged the enemy. Furthermore, the homing effect wasn¡¯t activated by damage dealt by the sharks. Otherwise, it would never end. And so the arrows that had turned into sharks attacked the enemy that had been hit by ¡®Puffer Fish.¡¯ Of course, this skill was named after sharks, and was suitably powerful. Still, there were some that managed to survive. And as they tried to bite me, I killed them with Harpoon. After that, I succeeded in taking their eggs from the nest. Now there was only one trial left¡­! ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°Now it¡¯s finally the last trial. You will have to acquire the ¡®Sea God Stone¡¯ from the bottom of the ocean trench.¡± ¡°The bottom of the ocean trench¡­that sounds very deep.¡± ¡°Bah, the monsters there aren¡¯t too impressive. However¡­it¡¯s very dark. And some people can¡¯t handle that. You would do best to go with some friends.¡± ¡°Friends¡­¡± Were there other people doing the Sea Bow Arts trials now¡­? But the sage quickly continued as if he knew what I was thinking. ¡°The Sea God Stone is a material you will need in order to have a certain person create a map. Apparently, it can be crushed and melted in a special liquid in order to make ink. And yes, others are diving into the sea trench as well. In order to fill in the map. If you wish to fill in the map as well, you should use the Sea God Stone that you acquire. After all, you only need to show it to me to pass the trial.¡± I didn¡¯t expect him to tell me how to fill in the map as well.. This sage really was helpful. And so I bowed and then headed for the sea trench. Like he said, there were indeed a lot of other players gathered nearby. But it was rather strange once I thought about it. The Sea God Stone was at the bottom of the sea trench. So there was no point in gathering around here¡­ ¡°Ah¡­so that¡¯s why.¡± The sea trench didn¡¯t become deeper gradually. It was like a tear that ran across the ground. And while it was under water, it took some courage, like jumping off of a cliff. You couldn¡¯t even see the bottom. It was completely black. Even I was intimidated by it. The other players were the same, and those who were solo wasted no time in joining parties. While each player could only pick up 1 Sea God Stone, you were able to take the stones from fallen comrades. In other words, if you were in a party of four and three of your comrades died, then you would get 4 stones. As long as that person survived and returned to town, then the stones could be given to the other players, and they could all complete the quest. No one would want to dive down here multiple times, and so joining a party seemed like the best idea. And so I agreed to join the three players who saw me and immediately asked me to join. They were all 2nds and had aquatic equipment. It seemed likely that they would be saving me most of the time. ¡°Now, let¡¯s go.¡± And so the four of us dove down in the shadows. Then I and the other players were surrounded by glowing jellyfish. They were bright enough that we could see each other¡¯s faces. ¡°I never expected to be in a party with the famous Kyuji!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like fighting, so I¡¯m counting on you!¡± ¡°I¡¯m good at fighting in the water, so I can protect your back!¡± I really had become famous. While remaining humble, I thanked them. But it was so dark down here. If I couldn¡¯t see the enemy, then my arrows wouldn¡¯t¡­ ¡°Ah¡­!¡± There was a red shooting star in the darkness. It was the same one I had seen last night¡­! Not only that, but it appeared multiple times. ¡°Everyone. Be care¡­¡± ¡­Perhaps this was fate after all. There was no one around me now. CH 43 Data.39 ¨C Old Bowman, Red Meteor The sage had said that the enemies down here would be weak. And I doubted that he would trick or lie to me at this point. This enemy¡­must be a monster that isn¡¯t usually here. While my three party members had already been killed, I recalled something we had talked about before coming down here. Now that Unison had been added, unique monsters would start appearing in different places. These monsters were special and strong. They would be great if you could befriend them, but otherwise, they would be very dangerous enemies. Now that there were new elements to field exploration, you could also say that things were more dangerous¡­ ¡°So this is a Unison monster¡­?¡± The red meteor passed by my feet. At the same time, all sensation in my left leg vanished. It was the status effect ¡®Loss¡¯ ¡­The last time I experienced it was against the Windcloud Dragon. This was clearly no ordinary monster. However, I was starting to understand what it was. After Unison had been implemented, I thought about what kind of monster I wanted to befriend. I searched online and looked at various animals. This was because most of the monsters were based on real animals. At first, I looked for large carnivores that could be an advance guard, but then I started to wonder if there wasn¡¯t a creature that was like an ¡®arrow.¡¯ And while I wasn¡¯t particularly hopeful, I kept searching¡­and there was one. A fish that lived in the sea, which stabbed people and sometimes even killed them¡­ It reacted to light and charged at me. As I could still move my right leg, I kicked the glowing jellyfish that was swimming close to me. The jellyfish drifted away, while still glowing. And then the red meteor shot after it. Yes, it was reacting to the light. The glowing jellyfish seemed like they were helping us at first, but they were actually guiding the enemy. If I had to guess, they lured the enemy so that it could kill their prey, and they would eat the leftovers. That was how they coexisted. Well, dead players disappeared, so it was more of a ¡®setting.¡¯ ¡°I better fight back then¡­ Form Six ¨C Sardine!¡± It was a skill that caused countless arrows to appear around one arrow. Compared to Bow Shower, it was easier to aim. But the area of effect and duration were inferior. Just as the red meteor got close to the jellyfish¡­I shot it! As there was no sound, it was difficult to tell if I had hit anything. But for just one second, I saw the red light blink. Hoping that I had actually hit it, I used ¡®Shark¡¯ to home in on it. And just like that, ¡®Shark¡¯ disappeared into the darkness as if being pulled by something. Alright, so it is working¡­ I unleashed Shark before the 30 seconds was up, and waited to see what would happen. The red light disappeared. If it was a Unison monster, then it would appear in front of the player after being defeated. ¡°¡­Here it is!¡± The red light floated towards me. It no longer had the speed of a meteor. So I succeeded in defeating it. As the jellyfish were following it, I was able to get a good look this time. The long body and sharp, jutting mouth¡­it was clearly based on a garfish. However, it was a monster. So there was one thing that differentiated it from the real thing. ¡°It¡¯s a machine¡­¡± The black body had that sheen that could only come from metal. And there were red lines that ran through it. This color combination always looked cool. While people generally thought of fish as being weak, this one was covered in armor and looked quite solid. And the way that its black fins moved in the water reminded me of a crow. ¡®Do you want to register the Ravengar as a Unison?¡¯ I immediately clicked ¡®yes.¡¯ Currently, you could only take one of them with you, but you could register multiple ones. But even if I could only register one, I would probably still take this guy. It felt like fate. Still, a black monster fish that is attracted by light¡­ The childish side of me was very excited. ¡°Oh, this is no time for that.¡± I could check the details about the Ravengar later. My comrades who had been killed were now waiting for their Sea God Stones. I had to hurry up and take them so I could return. It was comforting to have the Ravengar with me now. It hunted down any monster that came nearby. Well, that just showed how weak the other monsters here were. So the sage hadn¡¯t been lying. ¡°Alright, I picked up 4. Now it¡¯s back to the surface!¡± In this game, the water pressure was the same no matter where you were. And so I didn¡¯t have to think about anything while going back up. Once I was back up, I immediately moved to the town and brought my party members back to life. They were truly happy when I handed the Sea God Stones to them. And while they invited me to continue questing with them in order to fill out the map, there was someone that I had to show this stone to. And so I said goodbye to them and rushed back to the sage at the beach. ¡°You finally¡­finished the trials! There is no more that I can teach you! You did very well!¡¯ I looked at the ¡®Sea Bow Arts ¨C Form 7¡¯ Grow Card that was completed. The card depicted the sea and a lot of fish on it. ¡°But it would be reckless to challenge the Bluesea Dragon just like this. You need to become stronger in a more general sense.¡± ¡°I see. Still, you know a lot about dragons. Could it be that¡­¡± ¡°As if! I¡¯m just a curious old man¡­ There are people like me all over the place. So if you ever need to challenge a dragon, you should go and talk to them. Hohoho¡­!¡± The sage laughed as he walked away. In any case, I had acquired the Sea Bow Arts and the item that would fill out my map. Now my adventure at sea is finished¡­ I was a little sad¡­ ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°In order to rewrite that special map that you have, you¡¯ll need the Sea God Stone and the Dragon Palace Stone.¡± ¡°What?¡± The young man looked like some kind of muscular surfer, not someone who would draw maps. But this revelation was what truly surprised me. I had to acquire two stones¡­! So that was why the people I had been in a party with had wanted us to finish the quest together¡­ I had assumed that it was finished. And there wasn¡¯t really any reason to go with them just to make a report¡­ While I felt a little bad, there was no point in thinking about it now. Apparently, this Dragon King Stone lay in the depths of the ¡®Dragon King¡¯s Underwater Shrine,¡¯ which was a dungeon. But if I was going solo, there was no rush, as I didn¡¯t have to move at the same pace as the others. That meant it was time to look into this new friend, the Ravengar. ¡°Gaar! Gaar!¡± As for the first thing that I learned. The way that it cried was so typical¡­! CH 44 Data.40 ¨C Old Bowman, Unison Check Now, the first thing that I wanted to know about the Ravengar was¡­whether or not it could go up on land. Like a certain famous monster game, the Unisons in this game could be taken out or put away at will by the player. What would happen if I took it out now¡­ ¡°Go! Ravengar!¡± Particles of light gathered together and formed the shape of the Ravengar. Yes, it worked on dry land as well. The most typical way to make a fish monster appear on dry land, was to make them hover in the air¡­! And this game was no exception. However, its movements were considerably slower than in the water. Like a certain well-known robot game, these monsters had ¡®terrain adaptation.¡¯ As Ravengar was a fish, its water adaptation would be an ¡®S.¡¯ But it would likely get a ¡®B¡¯ on dry land or in the air. ¡°Well, I¡¯m just relieved that it can come out at all¡­¡± I had tamed it on a whim, and so it would have been terrible if it could only fight in the water. While the sea appeared in many games, they were rarely the main area of exploration. Unless the sea was the main theme of the game. ¡°I¡¯ll look at the status next.¡± And so I changed the status window to the Unison page. ¡ô Unison Status Name: Ravengar Race: Fish/Machine Lv: 30/100 HP: 120/120 The biggest difference from players was the existence of ¡®race.¡¯ The Ravengar was both a fish and a machine. Apparently, this affected which kind of equipment and skills could be acquired. In most cases, the Unisons wore armor that was specific to their type, and there were not many items that they could share with the player. They could be equipped with 5 items, and they weren¡¯t separated into categories like ¡®Head¡¯ and ¡®Hands.¡¯ After all, there were some monsters that didn¡¯t have the same parts as humans. Slimes didn¡¯t have arms or feet, for instance. The next thing I focused on was that it didn¡¯t have any unique statuses. Warriors had ¡®Spirit,¡¯ Sorcerers had ¡®Miracle,¡¯ and Archers had ¡®Range.¡¯ I was the player I am now thanks to my unique skill. But Unisons didn¡¯t have one. Well, there were so many different kinds of Unison Monsters, and it would be too much trouble to give them all their own unique status. And they would probably end up being similar anyway. On the other hand, they were supposed to be able to learn new skills and special attacks, so I would have to look into it later. Their level could go up to 100, and with each level, they could earn 10 strengthening points. The Ravengar was currently at level 30, so that meant it had 300 strengthening points. Speaking of which, the Unison¡¯s strengthening points were distributed automatically. So in the end, monsters of the same type would all have the same status. There were no differences in personality or size. If you wanted them to have any individuality, it would have to be through equipment and skills. Personally¡­I was all for it. If there were differences in strength between the same types of monsters, then you would have to pick them very carefully. It would be one thing if it was a game where you were just looking at them through your screen, but it didn¡¯t really fit VR games, where there was the illusion that you and the monster were in the same world. In any case, the status numbers seemed a little high? Together, its HP and MP was 200. I only had 150. And the total of Attack, Defense, Magic Attack, Magic Defense, and Speed was 500. Even if you took the 300 strengthening points out, that was still 200. The total of Archer was just 100. Apparently, these Ravengars just had really high stats. It¡¯s stats were currently above my own. Unisons were better versions of players¡­no, not really. Unison monsters were only given 10 strengthening points until they reached level 100. 2nds also received 10 points, but there were also 3rds. And so the amount of strengthening points you would receive would likely increase as well. Besides, players could also equip more armor. There were 10 equipment slots in all, which was twice as much as the Unisons. This was a big deal, as equipment was very important in NSO. Also, the monsters were controlled by AI, which made their movements a little awkward. Well, I wouldn¡¯t know until I tested it out. ¡°Now I¡¯ll just check its skills and learn the rest in actual combat.¡± ¡ô Skill Direct Dart Charge into the enemy. Poison Resistance V Machine Body Reduces physical damage by 10% ¡ô Special Attack Red Meteor Repeatedly charges at high speed like a meteor. Cooldown time: 10 minutes. Ocean Sphere Creates a sphere of water around itself. Effective for 3 minutes. Cooldown time: 10 minutes. ¡°Some of them are simple to understand, and some aren¡¯t.¡± Straight Dart was simple. It just charged. And Red Meteor as well. It repeatedly charges really hard. Machine Body is also easy to understand. Its physical attacks become stronger. Poison Resistance V meant that if the Ravengar was poisoned, it had a 50% chance of nullifying it. So if it was unlucky, it would just get poisoned. But if that happened, then there was an extra insurance-like effect that halves the damage. As for Ocean Sphere¡­I wasn¡¯t really sure. I would have to test it out. ¡°Ravengar. Ocean Sphere!¡± Water started to appear all around Gar. And then Gar was locked in a nice sphere of water that looked like a capsule. However, this has a cooldown time of 10 minutes, just like Red Meteor? It¡¯s not as if this water would affect attacks, and it didn¡¯t need the water to breathe. Well, perhaps it could act as a shield against fire attacks. ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Gar suddenly started to cry and then swim around in the air. Not only that, but the seawater capsule was moving with Gar in the center of it. ¡°I see. So with this, it is able to move just as it does in the water for 3 minutes.¡± Now the 10 minute cooldown made sense. While it was activated, the Ravengar was a fish in water. It had decent defense against physical attacks and its movements were fast. And so even if an enemy attacked at a close range, it would not die easily. However, it would be reckless to have the usual Gar fight on the surface at close range. Its movement was too slow, and it would be an easy target. But all of its skills seem suited for close range combat¡­ I would like to use equipment and new skills to make it so that it can attack enemies from far away. Regardless, it would be best to see it in action first. Then I¡¯ll know what is needed. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the Dragon King¡¯s Underwater Shrine.¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡¯ It was there that I would be able to acquire the Dragon Palace Stone that I needed to fill out the map. Getting through this dungeon would be a good way to finally end this southern sea adventure¡­! Thanks for reading! Shatei Kyokufuri is now getting daily chapter releases on Patreon, so consider joining if you¡¯re interested. It would really help the site. Thanks! CH 45 Data.41 ¨C Old Bowman, Underwater Temple Dungeons were hidden all around the map. To be precise, ¡®dungeon entrances¡¯ were hidden all over the map. The dungeons themselves were in a different dimension from the world that we normally adventured in. As there were mild puzzle-solving elements and treasures to be found, if it was part of the ordinary map, then it would just be solved puzzles and empty chests once someone finished them. Even if they made the puzzles and treasure chests reset over time, popular dungeons would have hundreds of people visiting them, and they would fight their way through. It would make exploration a lot less fun. And so multiple identical dungeons were prepared, and you could enter them with your party. Like this, you could enjoy dungeons that no one else had stepped foot in. ¡°That being said, they sure put a lot of work into the exterior.¡± The temple building was just the entrance to the dungeons. But it was incredibly beautiful, and would look good in screenshots. It wasn¡¯t so much a building that had sunk into the sea, but a building that had been made to stand on the ocean floor. Light shone down from the surface and sparkled. Well, it was time to go in. While my goal was to complete the dungeon, I also wanted to test out the Ravengar, and so I would go slow and at my own pace. There were no time restrictions for the dungeons. I stepped through the large, open doors, and seamlessly entered the dungeon area. While there were a few players outside, there was no one within. Furthermore, the inside of the temple itself was not entirely filled with water. ¡°Well, water dungeons have a reputation for being annoying¡­but I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Just as I was thinking this, I saw that there was already what looked like an ominous ¡®boss door¡¯ up ahead. Though, there was no platform leading up to it. I could only see it, but could go to it. I suppose I was supposed to explore the place and solve puzzles in order to make a clear path to it¡­ ¡°Unless¡­¡± I unleashed Warp Arrow. And like that, I arrived in front of the boss room in an instant. Ah, so it is possible¡­I thought. But then I found out that you needed a ¡®special key¡¯ in order to enter the room. So they had thought about this beforehand. Besides, the most frightful thing about exploring a dungeon is when you choose the correct route first. Maybe there was a treasure chest in the direction of the dead end, or a special event¡­ People who think such things will turn back and run through the dungeon in every direction. And they won¡¯t stop until they explore everything¡­ I would do the same thing. This was the Ravengars first time out, and so it had to be a good one. After waiting 3 minutes for the cool down to end, I used Warp Arrow to return to the other side so that I could start exploring the proper paths. The puzzles here seemed to be the classic type of raising and lowering water levels. There were switches that altered the water level, which opened up new areas. As for the monsters, they were similar to the ones that were in the sea. However, there were also some humanoid monsters that you wouldn¡¯t see out there. As they were agile both on land and in water, they were incredibly dangerous. And sometimes, they would throw their weapons at you. Well, they didn¡¯t reach me anyway, as I would attack from a distance. And the Ravengar was quite useful as well. As it had to get close to every enemy that it attacked, it would have to take some damage, but it seemed unphased as it swam around. And when it came to battles between fishes, they both had the same demerits of sluggish movement on land. But since the Ravengar had high stats as it was, it never lost. It could even win against the humanoid monsters if it was 1 on 1. Furthermore, monsters had different weaknesses and strengths when it came to dealing with certain attacks. As Gar was a fish, it was strong against water attacks. However, when it touched an electric jellyfish that was hiding in a group of monsters, it took a lot of damage. Since it was a fish and also a machine, it was very weak to electricity¡­something like that. Also, Gar would go pretty far away from me when fighting. If I missed an enemy, and it moved far away, Gar would often go out and challenge it alone. And then it would return after taking damage. While the Unisons were not supposed to be able to move too far away from the player, it was possible that this too was being affected by my range, just like during the turf war. The golems and AI warriors in that event might have been a test for the implementation of the Unison. If I wanted Gar to fight close by, I just had to switch the command to ¡®fight near the player.¡¯ However, that didn¡¯t work for me, as my fighting style involved keeping the enemy as far away as possible. That would mean that while I was shooting, Gar would have nothing to do but swim around me. In the end, I returned the setting so that it would fight any enemy that it saw. And I soon learned the advantage of this fighting style. The AI controlled Gar was more sensitive when it came to detecting enemies and attacking them. In other words, it could act as a wide-area sensor for finding enemies. What was the most scary thing for me, was an enemy getting close without me noticing. And Gar was good at reducing that risk. It would sometimes attack enemies that it shouldn¡¯t fight, but that could be forgiven. And I could just help it with long-range attacks. While it seemed like we weren¡¯t the best fit, things were actually working quite well. As proof of this, I was able to acquire the key to the boss room without ever being in real danger. And like that, we entered the boss room. ¡°Ah, so it¡¯s filled with sea water¡­¡± In other words, both the Sea Bow Arts and the Ravengar could be used to the fullest. The boss was a giant squid called a ¡®Soldier Squid.¡¯ It had 10 tentacles, each wielding a different weapon. I decided to make most of the occasion and take it down with Form Seven. No, maybe there wasn¡¯t enough room¡­? ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± ¡°Ah.¡± But even the chain of attacks by the squid and its numerous weapons was not enough to hit the Ravengar, who was now in the water. And it¡¯s body, which looked squishy and difficult to cut, could not withstand Gar¡¯s charge attacks and high piercing ability. It was practically powerless. And so the Soldier Squid was quickly dispatched by the red meteor. After the squid exploded into light, one of the fragments turned into a stone. I put away the Dragon Palace Stone, which I had come here for, and then we used the warp circle that had appeared on the floor in order to get out of the dungeon. For being the last adventure I¡¯d have at sea for now, it was a little easy. But I suppose it wasn¡¯t bad¡­ As I thought of such things, a strong wave crashed against me, and I was slammed into a reef. ¡°Ouch¡­ These waves. Is it the Blue Sea Dragon again?¡± But my guess was wrong. The words ¡®Large Scale Scramble¡¯ appeared in front of me, and then there was the sound of an alarm, as if to alert me of danger. ¡®Poseidon Kraken has appeared! All players nearby should hunt it with everything they got!¡¯ First a squid, and now an octopus! And ¡®large scale scramble¡¯? It¡¯s no wonder the waves were so violent now. I¡¯ll be washed away if I don¡¯t find something to hang on to¡­! As for the other players¡­ There had been many at the port town and in the sea. Did this mean that the Poseidon Kraken was so strong that we all had to work together in order to defeat it¡­? CH 46 Data.42 ¨C Old Bowman, Facing the Sea God These large-scale Scrambles were like natural disasters. They weren¡¯t activated as a result of specific players. They were frightful events that came out of nowhere and attacked players. There were no requirements for participating. And there was no penalty for running away. It was up to the player if they wanted to fight or not. Of course, I would face it. Well, I wanted to¡­but I couldn¡¯t get out of the water! If I let go of the rock that I was clinging to, who knew where the current would take me¡­! ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± As the Ravengar was a fish, it could swim freely in the sea. It was also quite big, so maybe it would be able to swim if I held onto it¡­? That would mean that the skill I had thought was useless in the water would actually come in handy. ¡°Ravengar! Ocean Sphere!¡± Ocean Sphere was the skill that created a sphere of water around Gar. While it had seemed pointless at first, it actually shut out the strong current, and would create calm waters around me. And so I was able to let go of the rock and grab onto Gar with ease. ¡°Now take me to the shore.¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± The raging waves were nothing now. We shot towards the sandy beach like an arrow. And there, I was able to see the enemy clearly for the first time. On the horizon, there were 8 giant octopus tentacles rising towards the sky. Each one was wielding a trident, and they writhed in the air as it came closer to us. There was heavy rain and great waves. It seemed like we were witnessing the end of the world. While I wasn¡¯t too familiar with the mythology, it reminded me of Cthulhu. But this was just a game. The world wasn¡¯t ending, and the enemy was not a monster from myth. As long as we keep our calm, we should be able to defeat it. Well, it would still be difficult¡­! First, we should attack the tentacles. The main body was hidden underneath the water. It was likely that you had to destroy its arms before it showed its body, which was its weak spot. ¡°Bow Shower!¡± Arrows joined the pour of rain. As the wind was strong, many of them missed their target, but a few still pierced into the tentacles. It seemed that its defense ability was not particularly strong. In that case, I could shoot from far away and¡­ OOOOOoooo¡­Oooooo¡­! Was it the sea? Or the cry of the monster? There was a low, echoing roar. It was as if the air was shaking around us. And then a wave that dwarfed all of the others rose high into the air. It was big enough to swallow up the whole beach and more¡­! I would have to attack and erase it first. ¡°Sea Bow Arts ¨C Form Seven¡­Whale!¡± I didn¡¯t shoot directly at the great waves, but at the water in front of it. This skill would be submerged once in the water, and then shoot back up to the surface like an upper punch. Its hitbox was huge, just like a whale, and it had a lot of power. However, you were limited in terms of places that you could use it. However, it was perfect for being a defensive wall that stopped giant waves. However, one whale was not enough to stop a wave that could erase an entire beach. And so¡­I hoped that the other players would do something. ¡°Glace Mur!¡± ¡°Wind Breaker!¡± ¡°Meteor¡­!¡± A wall of ice rose up in the sea. There was a violent gust that changed the direction of the wind. And a punch that had all the impact of a meteor. After being hit by this barrage of unique skills, the great wave could do nothing but fade away.. So there really were a lot of them¡­these strong players. I couldn¡¯t allow myself to be left behind. That being said, I did have an advantage when it came to attacking the tentacles, which were still very far away. The other players either had to wait for it to come closer, or adventure out into danger in order to get close. Or that¡¯s what I thought. But the situation changed rapidly. The Kraken started to attack the beach with the tridents that it was holding. That meant the tentacle holding the trident would come close. But some brave players who could not wait for the enemy to attack, stepped forward and did something shocking. ¡°Glace Terre!¡± ¡°Rise Grand!!¡± The sea began to freeze, creating platforms to step on. And like that, they were able to get as close as they dared and attack the enemy. While the tentacles were big, they could not maneuver very effectively, and seemed to have trouble dealing with players that were close by. I was very impressed by their work, but would continue with my own style. As I had range, I targeted and shot at the enemy from the beach. Quietly, I racked up damage. While we seemed scattered, we were all working together. Adhering to your own style helped everyone. And in no time at all, we destroyed 4 of the 8 tentacles. Amidst the raging storm, there was an atmosphere of hope. We could do this. It would be easy. Even I thought the same thing. That is, until the Poseidon Kraken¡¯s head came out of the water. It¡¯s head was¡­like an octopus with a crown. To be honest, it was almost cute. Not exactly mascot material, but a monster that could potentially be quite popular. And amidst this slackened atmosphere, the Kraken fired off black lasers. However, it was so powerful that it could kill you instantly if you didn¡¯t move. So, of course, they ran. And then the ink lasers would follow them, meaning that other players got caught up in the attack. They would die if they stopped. But they might hurt others if they moved. It was a terrible attack indeed. And it chipped away at our fighting force. Things were especially bad for the people on the sea, as the platforms they stood on were very small. And obviously, there was a penalty for players that died during these large-scale Scrambles. Your status was reduced to nearly 70%, and you would not be able to challenge the Kraken again. You could act as support or healers, but there were limitations. Some players would have just run away. In that case, what happened to the difficulty? The Scramble difficulty depended on the number of participating players. But if the difficulty was decided at the beginning, then it would put them at a great disadvantage if a lot of players ran away without doing anything. Has management done something about this? Prepared something to help us¡­perhaps not. This was NSO¡­ GYYAAAAOOOooo¡­!! There was a deafening roar, as if to deny my thoughts, and then it appeared. From the sea¡­! ¡°The Blue Sea Dragon!?¡± Now there was an unexpected helper¡­! The Blue Sea Dragon turned its back to us and faced the Kraken. Then the dragon bared its fangs at the god of the sea¡­! CH 47 Data.43 ¨C Old Bowman, Drawing the Blue Sea The Poseidon Kraken immediately noticed the arrival of the Blue Sea Dragon. And so the ¡®ink laser¡¯ that it used to target the players moved over to the dragon, and it started to attack. In return, the dragon unleashed its own ¡®tide breath.¡¯ The two high-pressure currents exploded like fireworks made of droplets. It had already been an incredible fight, but things were really getting out of hand¡­ We might as well have been in a monster movie. Just watching them sent chills down my spine. However, it would be a pity to waste this opportunity that the dragon had created. The tentacles were still targeting the players, but the ink was focused on the dragon now. Which made it a lot easier for us to move! The other surviving players started to move in order to destroy the tentacles while the dragon remained. There were four tentacles left. And so I supported the other players by targeting the same tentacles, and we tried to destroy them as quickly as possible. 3 left, 2, 1¡­0! Once all of the tentacles were gone, the ¡®ink laser¡¯ and ¡®tide breath¡¯ battle ended as well. The two giant monsters become calm for a moment, as if it was cool-down time. The Blue Sea Dragon had done well. But we could take it from here¡­! ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Now that there were no tentacles left, Gar returned to my side and started crying. That¡¯s right. You also did well. I had been a little scared about letting the AI move around freely, but even the monster who was named after Poseidon, had not been able to kill my Ravengar. Well, perhaps it was because the difference in size was so big, that none of the Kraken¡¯s attacks landed. ¡°Ravengar! You were a red meteor!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± I sent Gar towards the Kraken in order to hit it with a charge attack. The other players also moved in, as if this was our chance to take it down. I used my strongest charge attack¡­wait, was ¡®Bow Shower¡¯ really my strongest? ¡®Sky Tear¡¯ was a thin, sharp arrow. And so it wouldn¡¯t be too effective on large monsters. A bigger target meant that all of the arrows would land with ¡®Bow Shower,¡¯ so it had to be the right one¡­ It made me think¡­ I didn¡¯t have a charge attack that was simple and dealt explosive damage. Perhaps that was something to consider in the future. ¡°Please go down with this! Bow Shower!¡± As the Kraken was weakened, the rain also lost its power. And then countless arrows flew. There was barely any wind now, and the target was so big. It was impossible to miss! At the same time, the Ravengar would attack the Kraken from under the water. And the other players would launch their own special attacks. ¡°Glace ¨¦p¨¦e Rapi¨¨re!¡± ¡°Wind Blade Windmill!¡± ¡°Spiral Rock!¡± ¡°Big¡­! Bang-bang!!¡± The special attacks of those who had been able to fight at the front without dying, were very flashy. And they all hit the Kraken¡¯s weak spot, the main body. OOOoooo¡­Ooooo¡­Ooo¡­ The Poseidon Kraken unleashed a fountain of ink towards the sky before shrinking down a little and then bursting into light. The rain stopped, and light started to shine through the clouds. The winds became calm, and the waves quiet. It was as if the sea had signalled that the fight was over. And the players who had fought until the end were rewarded. As for how good the reward was, there was a system in place that rated your contribution to the fight. So players who didn¡¯t run away, but didn¡¯t really fight either, would not acquire anything. In my case, I was given a new skill. ¡ô Trident Arrow A special arrow with a three-pronged head. It had the holy power of the sea within, and was effective against water and fish type monsters. Acquiring something that was effective against the thing you just killed¡­ It was rather typical. I didn¡¯t know how rare this reward was, but I was pretty sure that I wasn¡¯t the person who had contributed the most. The players who had continued to fight on the sea had been doing amazing things. And so I was satisfied as long as they received good rewards. People should be rewarded for their hard work. I wanted it to be like that in real life, as well as in games. And then you could get a good cycle going. ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Could it be¡­that you got a reward too? ¡ô Red Flash Fires a red laser from its mouth. Has long range and great piercing ability. This was the long-range attack skill that I was searching for! Ah, what a great surprise. I am more than satisfied now. I had assumed that my sea adventure had ended after the underwater temple, but then a crazy last boss slid in. But the results were great. Not only because of the rewards, but it was interesting being able to see the other players¡¯ fighting style, and how they all worked together. The person who used ice magic was especially memorable. They had light blue equipment, which made it easier to tell what kind of player they were. But there was also something icy, that would keep most people away. Yes, like ice. Was it a part of their role-playing, or were they just like that¡­ There really were a lot of interesting people in online games. In any case, if they were enjoying the game, that¡¯s all that mattered. And with this sense of satisfaction, I should return¡­no, not yet. I had almost forgotten something. Something that was the most important. I had to fill in the southern map. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°Hmm. The Dragon Palace Stone and the Sea God Stone¡­ Very well. I will crush and mix them with a special liquid, and then draw the map! The map of the blue sea!¡± My map only had the area around the first town, near the center of the continent, as well as the area around the Windcloud Mountains. But now, the south part has been filled in. I had started this very light-heartedly, and yet it felt so rewarding. I was overtaken by the urge to fill in the rest of the map. ¡°Now, where should I go next? No, first I have to think of what I¡¯m going to do with these.¡± The NSO medals¡­ You acquired them during large events, and they were on the rare side. But as I was frugal, I only used a little at first, and saved the rest. Apparently, the update had added some items that you could trade the NSO medals in for. They were¡­equipment and skills for the Unisons. The Unison¡¯s equipment and skills could be acquired through monster drops and actions during combat as well, but it was apparently more difficult than it was for players. However, using the NSO medals meant you were guaranteed to get them, so they were in high demand now. And so even though I liked to save things, I could not ignore the opportunity. The Ravengar was already strong, and so giving it proper equipment would be like giving a club to an ogre. First, I would find out what I could trade the medals for, and acquire it. Then I would decide on my future direction. There wasn¡¯t likely to be another event for a while. So there was no rush. I could take my time and strengthen both myself and Gar. It would be nice to return to the first town, with its lively air. And so I decided that I would trade in the medals there. But before fast traveling, I gazed at the sea one last time. It wasn¡¯t that I felt sentimental. I could return to this port town whenever I wanted. That is¡­not that I filled in the blue sea map¡­ CH 48 BBS.5 ¨C NSO General Thread [VRMMO] Next Stage Online General Thread part2020 1: Anonymous Runner A general thread to discuss ¡®Next Stage Online.¡¯ While most subjects are allowed, party requests, complaints, trolling and bragging have their own threads. The next thread will be created automatically. 2: Anonymous Runner >>1 Thanks. 3: Anonymous Runner Thanks. The new content is great. 4: Anonymous Runner This thread is off to a good start! We are finally back to the peaceful NSO! 5: Anonymous Runner My Unison is really cute. Which is great, because I can¡¯t have a pet in real life! 6: Anonymous Runner I keep spending all my medals in order to buy fancy new equipment for my doggie! 7: Anonymous Runner I was wondering why they sent us medals as a compensation for nerfing skills, but I guess this is the reason. 8: Anonymous Runner The opinions and reaction forms must have been worse than they were expecting. But sending people medals before the update was bound to cause confusion, as no one knew what to use them for. 9: Anonymous Runner So they were aiming to compensate us at this time. 10: Anonymous Runner Compensate? But I didn¡¯t receive any NSO medals? Give me my medals! 11: Anonymous Runner >>10 They sent NSO medals to players who were nerfed during the previous update. When it came to skills that were acquired through trading in medals, you were given back all the medals you spent. As for skills acquired through normal playing, the amount of medals you received depended on how much they nerfed the skill. 12: Anonymous Runner By increasing the number of ways to spend the medals, they could recover them quickly after distributing them. Pretty smart. Did management hire someone capable recently? 13: Anonymous Runner Well, it¡¯s no wonder they took so much time on it. The Unisons are so well done that players seem to be happy now. While you can¡¯t have a conversation with them, they have great animations and interactions. I can watch them for a long time and not get bored. 14: Anonymous Runner And their status isn¡¯t too different from the player, so they will be very useful in battle. And so it won¡¯t hurt to use medals on them. 15: Anonymous Runner You¡¯re only talking about the Unisons, but the Scrambles are interesting too. The Grow Cards aren¡¯t as interesting, but they aren¡¯t bad either. 16: Anonymous Runner >>15 I fought a Kraken at sea! I wasn¡¯t able to contribute all that much, but I got a small reward. 17: Anonymous Runner The large scale scrambles are a fight against cataclysm class enemies, huh? I saw some videos, and it looked crazy and fun. 18: Anonymous Runner The only downside is that encountering them is luck based. But I guess it can¡¯t be helped. If they let us know in advance, a ridiculous amount of players would flock to the area. 19: Anonymous Runner The old bowman was there! And he had this black fish with him! 20: Anonymous Runner The old bowman always appears in the shadows of big events. Well, this time it was some guild member that drew the most attention. 21: Anonymous Runner >>20 The ice girl and the earth guy were crazy. They had a lot of guts to go out into the sea like that while creating platforms. 22: Anonymous Runner >>20 It¡¯s the guys from the Reborn Gloria Order. They¡¯re a group of veteran gamers. The girl is especially well known. Her name is Kyuka. I don¡¯t know the guy very well. 23: Anonymous Runner Huh? I thought that they disbanded? 24: Anonymous Runner 25: Anonymous Runner In the first place, they are a group who just want to enjoy the game, so they are a little different from other professional teams. 26: Anonymous Runner There is still a leader, but everyone is equal in position. They are quite unusual. You might say they are all eccentric. 27: Anonymous Runner I don¡¯t care if they are eccentric, as long as they follow the rules. 28: Anonymous Runner It¡¯s good that players who can attract more attention are joining NSO. 29: Anonymous Runner The fact that the three new additions are good should help revive the game. 30: Anonymous Runner Are they not going to do any more events? 31: Anonymous Runner The layout of the official website keeps changing, so it seems like they are preparing something. 32: Anonymous Runner Well, of course, they are preparing something. So they¡¯ll be ready when the time comes. 33: Anonymous Runner Perhaps they¡¯re afraid of ruining this great atmosphere with a new event. 34: Anonymous Runner But the beast inside of me wants it. A heated event that burns like the sun¡­!! 35: Anonymous Runner >>34 Well, they always result in flame wars. 36: Anonymous Runner >>34 I¡¯ve been burned. 37: Anonymous Runner >>34 I don¡¯t want events like that for a while. Bring on the lukewarm events. 38: Anonymous Runner >>37 So you still want events! 39: Anonymous Runner The events give players a sense of unity. It¡¯s something you can¡¯t really take away from online games. 40: Anonymous Runner Are you watching, management!? Give us some events!! 41: Anonymous Runner >>40 People will freak out again if they find out that management is watching this thread. It¡¯s better if they don¡¯t! ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô The message boards were excited about the new features. And there were some players here and there who wanted new events. Leaving the heated part aside, the moment that their prayers would be answered¡­was not far away. CH 49 Data.44 ¨C Old Bowman, Spending Spree I was back in the starting town after a long absence¡­and just learned that it was called ¡®Falsto.¡¯ And I could be wrong, but it seemed like there were more people now. But I welcomed the idea of new players coming in. Games were similar to real life, in that they would slowly die away if new life was not born. The problem was whether or not the new life will be able to grow¡­ No, I shouldn¡¯t think about such things. I had my own goals to achieve. There had been a lot of people at the Medal Shop, but once you were inside of the building, you could check the catalog from any part of the store. And so I found an empty corner to hide in, and tried to choose things to trade in without causing a scene. I had 668 NSO medals in all. 108 of them were leftovers from the battle royale. 500 were from getting MVP during the turf war. And 10 were from winning the battle colosseum where I had tested my windcloud equipment. I had forgotten about the colosseum medals. It was probably because I was so satisfied with how strong my equipment had been. Furthermore, I had been sent 50 medals as compensation for my skills being nerfed. I hadn¡¯t actually been too bothered by it, and continued to enjoy the game. But I suppose it was different with other players, and it made sense that management had planned something. In any case, I was glad to receive more medals with this timing. So, 668 medals sounded like a lot. And one wouldn¡¯t be wrong for thinking this. I doubted there were many players who had this many medals. However, if you were going to trade them in for a skill, you would need at least 50 medals. Strong skills required even more medals. And I also wanted to trade them in for some equipment. I haven¡¯t even used one of the Ravengar¡¯s equipment slots yet. The Unisons had 5 in all. And so I wanted to use most of them at the very least. I took my time. 2 hours. I studied the catalog and took a walk through the town as I thought about it. In the end, I used 500 NSO medals and acquired 4 equipment items and 3 skills. First, let¡¯s look at the equipment. ¡ô Equipment I: Remora Shooter II: E Generator III: Additional Energy Tank IV: Missile Pod V: __ ¡ô Remora Shooter (50 NSO medals) Type: Fish Unison(Crossbow) Attack: 40 As the Ravengar was a fish, it could not hold any weapons. And so I added a Remora-shaped crossbow option that followed it, like those things from shooters. This remora didn¡¯t have its own AI, and so the Ravengar would control it. Crossbows were treated the same as bows, and so it could use bow skills. But it was equipment specifically for fish type Unisons, and so the player couldn¡¯t use them. The reason that I chose it¡­was because it looked interesting. It wasn¡¯t that powerful, and bows and crossbows were practically the same. At least if I had gotten a magic attack, the roles of the two would not overlap. However, when I had tested it out, it was amusing to have the remora follow from the back. And I was impressed. Like this, you could have a fish carry a weapon¡­ And so I had no regrets¡­! ¡ô E Generator (100 NSO medals) Type: Machine Unison MP: 50 Weapon skill: Energy Recovery Energy Recovery was essentially the MP regen that you saw in a lot of games. Your MP recovered gradually as time passed. As it would be a great hassle to keep track of both of our MP, I wanted the Gar to be able to move independently as much as possible. ¡ôAdditional Energy Tank(50 NSO medals) Type: Machine Unison MP: 100 Energy Recovery depended on your max MP. ¡ôMissile Pod(100 NSO medals) Type: Machine Unison Attack: 65 Charge Attack: 8-mount Missile ¡ô8-mount Missile Fires 8 missiles in a row. Cool down: 3 minutes By equipping it, it will be able to use ¡®8-mount Missile,¡¯ which was a long-range charge attack. And so I would have it focus on this attack whenever I didn¡¯t want it to get close to the enemy. The missiles weren¡¯t launched randomly, and so all 8 of them flew towards the enemy that you targeted. This meant it wasn¡¯t really a wide area attack, but would do a lot of damage to a single enemy. Next was the skill. As I had considered attack ability while choosing the equipment, I mainly turned to support effects with the skills. ¡ôCaltrop(50 NSO medals) Scatters sharp metal scraps around the area. They were tools that ninjas were supposed to have used to stop their pursuers. And this skill scattered them around you. And so I would have it use this skill whenever the enemy tried to get close to it. ¡ôEnergy Shield(50 NSO medals) Creates an energy shield that follows the skill user. After activating, a shield would follow Gar, and so even if it moved very fast, the shield would not be left behind. While it was very convenient, it¡¯s durability was just moderate. And it was also rather small. A shield that was less for blocking, and more for parrying before running away. By the way, the buckler skill was ¡®Energy Barrier III.¡¯ And though you had to stand still while using ¡®barrier,¡¯ it was stronger and had a wider range. Among the skills that I could trade medals for, there was ¡®Energy Barrier,¡¯ which was the skill before evolving to III, but I just chose ¡®Shield,¡¯ as I didn¡¯t think it made sense for Gar, who was all about moving around quickly. ¡ôMagic Jamming(100 NSO medals) Reduces magic damage by 30%. I used 100 medals. This skill was to cover its weakness, which was magic defense. Since it wasn¡¯t a charge attack, it could be used repeatedly, but it also consumed a lot of MP. In fact, one of the reasons I had raised the MP with the equipment was so I could use this skill without having to worry. Gar moved around in a wide area by itself, and so there would be times when it would get hit by magic without me noticing. And if this skill was activated during such times, it could avoid taking a lethal blow. That being said, I didn¡¯t know what would happen if it was hit by thunder magic, which was it¡¯s ultimate weakness¡­ Well, it was because I didn¡¯t know, that I had to play safe. There had been some other options, like ¡®Additional Armor,¡¯ which raised defense, or ¡®Great Booster,¡¯ which raised speed. And I had also considered increasing its long-range attack variations with skills, but in the end, I decided on this configuration. I wanted to try and make Gar an all-rounder. Of course, in games, that usually meant being a jack of all trades and master of none. That wasn¡¯t really a good thing. However, specializing in something meant having obvious weaknesses. I wanted Gar to grow into a Unison who could move anywhere freely and fight in any situation. Besides, I was a specialized type, and there were a lot of enemies and situations I wasn¡¯t suited for. So if Gar was able to distract the enemy, it would give me a chance to turn things around. That was my hope. And so the final stats were¡­ ¡ô Unison Status Name: Garbow(Ravengar) Race: Fish/Machine Lv: 35/100 HP: 120/120 MP: 230/230(+150) Attack: 280(+105) Defense: 100 Magic Attack: 60 Magic Defense: 70 Speed: 145 ¡ôSkills Poison Resistance V, Machine Body ¡ôCharge Attack Red Meteor, Ocean Sphere It would unbalance the enemy with its speed and skills that are unleashed through ample MP, and in the end, take down the enemy with sharp attack ability. It turned into a character with so many options that I wasn¡¯t sure I could use it right. And so I hoped that the AI would do all the work for me. And there was one other big change. Up until now, I had called it Ravengar, but I decided to call it Garbow. The reason was that ¡®Ravengar¡¯ wasn¡¯t really a ¡®buddy¡¯ name. Well, there¡¯s that one popular anime about monsters, and they just call their buddies by their monster name. But that is clearly done for advertising purposes. Children would be confused if the names were different in the anime and game¡­ The name Garbow might sound random, but I had actually put a lot of thought into naming it. First, I kept ¡®Gar¡¯ because it sounded very unique, and I didn¡¯t want to lose it. And then I added ¡®bow,¡¯ because that was the weapon I used. ¡°Not bad, right? Garbow.¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Now, I finished my spending spree and used up 500 medals¡­ He was stronger now, and so it was time to decide on my next goal. As I had filled in the south part of my map, it would make sense to fill in the north, west, and east sides. But I wanted to go and explore the southern region first. While I had filled in the south part of the map, I had really only seen the port town, a small village along the road, and the sea. And when I looked at the detailed map, there were lots of interesting markers, landscapes and buildings. I had gone through all the trouble of having it drawn, and so it would be good to rely on it and go adventuring. ¡°First¡­I¡¯ll go to this Mirror Rock Cave.¡± There was a cave with shiny, sharp rocks jutting out depicted on the map. Did such a place really exist? And so I allowed my curiosity to lead me as I left the first town. Ah, I think it was called Falsto? Well¡­I¡¯m just going to call it ¡®first town.¡¯ That¡¯s easier to remember. CH 50 Data.45 ¨C Old Bowman, The Mirrorstone Cave Of course, I would head to the Mirrorstone Cave on foot. It was very convenient to be able to look at the map while walking. Not only was my destination indicated on it, but so was the direction that I was facing. And so there was no way that I could get lost. As I walked leisurely and with nothing to worry about, I recalled something that was important. What is¡­going on with my level, anyway? I quickly opened up my status window in order to check. I was Level 12 before going to the sea, but now it has gone up to 20¡­! So it went up 8 levels¡­ Besides that, my skill ¡®Bow Arts V¡¯ was now ¡®Bow Arts VI.¡¯ Well, perhaps it wasn¡¯t really a surprise. I had fought a lot of monsters during my Sea Bow Arts training, and I even fought against Garbow before he joined me. And Garbow is a very rare monster. So I would have gained a lot of experience from it. On top of that, we had gotten through the underwater temple, and even fought the Poseidon Kraken. Yes, all of that stuff would have resulted in me gaining 8 levels. And my skills would also advance one step. Now the 30 level max of the 2nd job didn¡¯t seem too far away. If I raise it to the highest level, will I be able to get to 3rd, just like how it was with my beginner job? It would be easiest if I had an opportunity to talk to players who were on their 3rd job, but it also felt right to just find out myself. Hmm. In any case, I had 80 strengthening points from those 8 levels, and so I would put them into Range. Now my base Range is 300 meters. Combined with my equipment and skills¡­it was around 480 meters. I didn¡¯t like making calculations, but it helped me walk faster, and I reached my destination in no time. When I looked at the map, I could see that my current location was on top of my destination. There was no doubt about it. This was the ¡®Mirrorstone Cave.¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s pretty¡­and just very shiny.¡± There were stones everywhere that reflected the light, just like mirrors. And if you weren¡¯t careful, the light would hit you directly in the eye¡­! ¡°Maybe I should have brought a pair of sunglasses¡­¡± Though, I didn¡¯t know if sunglasses existed as equipment here. However, NSO had plenty of items that didn¡¯t fit the aesthetic of the world, but were still useful. And so they probably did have them. Even the fishing rod I had used was rather realistic. ¡°¡­And now the enemy has come to greet us.¡± A tattered robe was floating in the air with a pale light. I believed they were called Hollow Ghosts. When you think of ghost-type monsters, you assume that physical attacks won¡¯t work on them. But with Hollow Ghosts, the robes were their main body, and so you could hit them with ordinary attacks. That being said, it would be difficult to hit flowing cloth with an arrow. If you just hit the edge, it would push the cloth away without piercing it. ¡°Burning Arrow!¡± I hadn¡¯t used Burning Arrow in awhile. Kiririri¡­ Shubo! Bang! An explosive wind greeted the enemy that floated in the air. But as it was light, I had a feeling that it was being pushed instead of damaged. However, the fire was effective. The fire spread through the robes of the Hollow Ghost, and it disappeared. ¡°But it took so long to take down one, that I¡¯m now surrounded.¡± There were several Hollow Ghosts around me now. If I continue to deal with them one at a time with Burning Arrow, a few of them will get close to me. And so I used a certain skill in order to prevent them from getting closer. ¡°Seabow Arts ¨C Form Two¡­Jellyfish!¡± ¡­Nothing happened. Oh, right¡­ This isn¡¯t the sea. Hmmm. While all of the skills were powerful and unique, the bad thing about the Seabow Arts was that they were limited in terms of location. If only I could create a sea at will. But such a thing isn¡¯t¡­it is possible. ¡°Garbow! Ocean Sphere!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± And like that, a sphere of sea water appeared around Garbow. I dove inside and then activated the skill. ¡°Jellyfish!¡± It came out¡­! A jellyfish was swimming inside of the sphere of water. While it was still inside, Garbow charged into the group of Hollow Ghosts. As the robes were their bodies, they did not like moisture. Once they had absorbed the water and become heavy, the Hollow Ghosts were stuck to Ocean Sphere and could not escape. And then the Jellyfish¡¯s tentacles wrapped around them and poisoned them. Once Garbow had all of the enemies inside of the sphere. I activated Red Meteor. And the entire group of Hollow Ghosts were wiped out. It would probably be best to have Garbow equip the Seabow Arts Grow Card. There was some equipment that players and Unisons had in common. And if the Grow Card was one of them, then I would have Garbow carry ¡®Seabow Art ¨C Form Seven.¡¯ ¡°Alright, you can equip it¡­!¡± I took the thing that the sea sage had given me, and then gave it to Garbow, who was a sea monster and a fish. It was rather moving¡­ Or maybe not? But if we ever went adventuring in the water again, I might have to equip it. I would keep things flexible in that regard. Equipment could be changed easily. Now, time to go farther into the cave. The map would automatically fill-in for any area that you had been to. This made me want to walk around until the whole map was completed. There were several places that were so slippery that I fell. Still, I continued to explore the cave. It wasn¡¯t too big, nor did it extend far underground. Eventually, my map was neatly finished. I walked through all of the paths and missed nothing. I even touched the walls, wondering if there were hidden doors. But there was no way to tell. And so I had no choice but to head back. ¡°¡­Oh, I can see the entrance from here.¡± The layout of the cave was not particularly complicated, and it was mostly flat. So even from the back, I could see the light shining in from the entrance. If I shot Warp Arrow from here, I could go outside in a second. While I was feeling a little disappointed, I used Warp Arrow to bridge the gap that wasn¡¯t even that far. Just then, a new monster appeared in the line of fire. It looked just like a Hollow Ghost, but it was holding a large oval-shaped mirror in its center. And my Warp Arrow was sucked right into the mirror. As if it was falling into water¡­ ¡°So it absorbs projectiles¡­ I¡¯ll have to wait for 3 minutes before I can use it again. So it will be faster if I just walk¡­ Garbow. Go and kill that¡­¡± Suddenly, the scenery around me changed. I was in a fairy tale-like world with lots of white and red. And the sensation just now¡­ It meant that the warp effect had been activated. But I thought the Warp Arrow had been absorbed and nullified by the mirror¡­ ¡°Could it be¡­that I¡¯m inside of the mirror?¡± CH 51 Data.46 ¨C Old Bowman, The Mirror Dungeon Who would have known that there was a sprawling world inside of the mirror that the monster was holding¡­ Warp Arrow never ceased to surprise me. In any other game, it would have likely been the cause of many glitches. And so I was quite impressed with the developers. However, in this particular case, I doubted that this was some kind of hidden secret. After all, the Mirror Stone Cave had been too empty. My guess was that this world inside of the mirror was the main one. The Mirror Ghost that carried the mirror was a monster that hadn¡¯t appeared while I was still exploring. This was likely because it didn¡¯t come out until you fulfilled some kind of requirement. And the requirement¡­was to explore the entire dungeon. That seemed the most likely, as it had appeared after I had checked everything and was about to leave. In any case, I felt lucky to be able to come here without any prior information. And so I would gladly explore it. But first¡­ ¡°Send Garbow back once¡­and call him again.¡± I had left Garbow outside of the mirror, so I sent him away once before summoning him. From what I understood, you could do this with Unisons at will¡­so¡­ ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Good. I was able to do it. We were currently inside of a room. There was a door leading to the outside and even a bed and desk. If you ignored the bright red and white colors, it was rather homely, and a very different atmosphere to the fields and dungeons I had been in up until now. The size of the room was also just slightly larger and more fancy than the average house. So there wasn¡¯t much space to walk around in. This meant that my Range might not be very useful here. In which case, Garbow would have to make up for it. I opened the door and stepped outside. Inside the mirror. Red and white. The fairytale aesthetic¡­ What those words reminded me of was ¡®Alice in Wonderland¡¯ and ¡®Through the Looking-Glass.¡¯ People tended to get them mixed up, but there were two stories about Alice. I had learned this recently myself. Aside from the idea of traveling through a mirror, this world looked a lot like Wonderland¡­I think. Well, I didn¡¯t actually know too much about it¡­ But Alice appeared in many other works, and even without the characters, there were many stories that were heavily influenced by the books. I had once tried to read them thinking that they could be useful in game development¡­but I didn¡¯t get far. I wasn¡¯t much of a reader to begin with, and old fantasy novels tended to have very poetic prose. They were quite different from modern novels where events were just written down plainly. And so when I thought of Alice, I thought of a story about a pretty girl with blonde hair and an apron dress. Which was probably close to what a lot of other people thought of. Heh¡­hehe¡­ The laughing voice of a girl. Perhaps the reason that I felt she was laughing at my thoughts was because I was aware that they were quite laughable. Regardless, no matter how much I walked and how many staircases I climbed, the scenery never seemed to change. There were no main entrances or exits, and I never came out onto a roof. I tried opening some of the doors, but they all led to rooms that were identical to the one I had appeared in. Heh¡­ Hehehe¡­ The laughing came again. At first I thought that it was just for the atmosphere, but perhaps it was a hint for escaping? And so I opened it cautiously. ¡­There was no girl inside. However, there was a table and a playing card. An ace of spades. On the back side, there was an emblem that was designed to look like a key. I see. That was easy to understand. If it was the whole deck¡­that would be too many. Perhaps I needed to collect all 4 aces and then they would become the key to escaping. And the girl¡¯s voice was the hint. If I followed the voice to the right room, then I would find the cards. ¡°Hmm¡­? There¡¯s something written on the book next to it.¡± This was the first time I had found a readable book in this game. There would often be bookshelves inside of buildings, but those books could not be read, let alone removed from the shelves. ¡°Uhh¡­Bloody Mary, a ghost that lives inside of the mirror¡­¡± Was this information about enemies in this world? No, I hadn¡¯t seen any enemies here at all. Perhaps it was a boss that you¡¯d have to fight before escaping? In any case, I would have to be very careful as I continued¡­ ¡°¡­¡± When I stepped back out into the hallway, a woman who was covered in blood was standing there. Our eyes met, and then she slowly started to walk towards me. So, this was Bloody Mary. Perhaps she appeared because I had acquired the card. In any case, that was close. However, I had a bow and Garbow with me now! And so I could attack it! ¡°Bow Shower!¡± I would get rid of it by using my most powerful charge attack! I didn¡¯t want to look at it anymore¡­! ¡°¡­¡± However, all of my arrows went right through her. Co-could it be¡­that this was an enemy that you really just had to run away from¡­? You have got to be kidding me¡­ ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Garbow activated Ocean Sphere and then Red Meteor. However, both the meteor and even Garbow¡¯s charge went right through her. So I really do have to run¡­ Huh? For some reason, Bloody Mary was soaking wet. And this was on top of being covered in blood. At this point, the fear I felt was starting to weaken. However, why had she been affected by Ocean Sphere? When all of the other attacks had gone right through her. ¡°Could it be¡­!¡± I switched weapons. I went from the Windcloud Bow to the old Spider Shooter. ¡°Web Arrow!¡± It could create a sticky net. Just as I wanted, the Bloody Mary was caught in the net and could no longer advance. While she could nullify all attacks that dealt damage, anything else, like ordinary obstruction skills still had an effect. ¡°Here¡¯s our chance, Garbow.¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Garbow really was a big help. Had he not created Ocean Sphere, I would have had to run around without discovering its weakness. And if I just ran around, I would not have been able to calmly make decisions. And so it would have taken me even longer to escape. That being said, it was too early to let my guard down. The Bloody Mary was incredibly powerful, and it started to tear up the net that was wrapped around it. It seems that it was losing its stickiness due to the blood that flowed out of her. This meant that it was impossible to hold her in one place for long. In that case, I needed to hurry up and find the other 3 cards. Heh¡­hehehe¡­ Here¡¯s the next one¡­! I burst through the door and rolled into the room. ¡°Ah.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Someone had beat me to it. Not only that, but it was one of the few people I knew in the game. A certain girl I held a grudge against. Her claws weren¡¯t out now, and she held 2 aces in her hands. It was Nekoko Strange. I did not expect to meet here in a place like this¡­ CH 52 Data.47 ¨C Old Bowman, Once Again I didn¡¯t point the bow at her directly, but I stayed on my guard. There was no resentment or hatred. I simply recognized her as a powerful enemy that I needed to be wary of. Besides, it¡¯s rude to underestimate someone¡­ ¡°Hey, hey. Surely you don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to go around killing players when we¡¯re not in an event! I mean, it¡¯s not even possible!¡± Nekoko waved her hands. Now that I thought about it¡­was that really the case? ¡°Hmph. Look here. I¡¯ve been doing my best to hurry up and get out of this place. So don¡¯t bother me!¡± Nekoko started searching the area around the table. During the events, she had seemed like a cat with ruffled fur. But she was different now. There was something odd. Like she was just an ordinary girl. Apparently, she was also searching for the cards. ¡°If you¡¯re looking for the cards, I have one. An ace of spades.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. Could you hold onto it? The exit will appear once the 4 aces are collected. To put it simply, it won¡¯t matter if each ace is held by a different player.¡± ¡°I see. So it¡¯ll be quicker to just spread out with strangers and search for them. Still, you sure know a lot. Have you been here before?¡± ¡°It was written in a book I found in another room.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t know that, and yet you admitted to having a card. What were you going to do if the rules said that only one person could escape after they collected all of the cards? What if I was lying when I said that ¡®I couldn¡¯t,¡¯ and it was actually possible for players to fight each other in this space? In a small room like this, I have an overwhelming advantage.¡± ¡°Ah. Hehe¡­¡± That was true. But if there were such special rules applied to this place, she would have come for my neck before even starting a conversation. Her fighting style was all about speed and taking the enemy by surprise. The fact that she was turning her back to me and searching for cards meant that she had no intention of fighting. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°Probably the same as you, old man. I went straight into the mirror that the monster was holding. My mistake was trying to leave here in a rush with a high-speed skill after being exasperated by how empty the place was¡­well, it wasn¡¯t really a mistake. In a way.¡± So it was practically the same as me. You didn¡¯t need a special skill like Warp Arrow, but just had to charge forward and you could enter the mirror. Well, I wasn¡¯t sure how many people would actually try and do it¡­ ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. I¡¯m being chased by something called a Bloody Mary¡­ Do you know about it?¡± ¡°I do know. They¡¯re dangerous, and will start chasing you after you find your first card¡­! I really hate enemies like that where they¡¯re immune to attacks! It¡¯s stressful when all you can do is run!¡± ¡°Well, I understand how you feel.¡± ¡°Look, I wouldn¡¯t mind if this was a horror game and running away was part of the concept, alright? Because it wouldn¡¯t be very scary if you could just defeat such enemies. But this is a traditional fantasy MMORPG! If it¡¯s invincible, wouldn¡¯t that make it the strongest creature in this world? So that bloody woman is stronger than all the bosses I¡¯ve fought! After all, my attacks do nothing!¡± Well, typical RPGs often had enemies that could only be defeated through special methods. I remember having them in games I worked on as well. But there were some people who really didn¡¯t like them. But please don¡¯t be so harsh¡­ Creators like to change things even if they are not desired¡­ It would be boring if all enemies could be defeatedly normally¡­that¡¯s how you started to think. However, we couldn¡¯t directly say such things to users. So I¡¯ll change the subject. ¡°But¡­don¡¯t you have the ability to turn invisible? So what is so scary about an enemy that chases after you?¡± ¡°¡®Invisible Cat Walk¡¯ is a skill that allows me to become invisible while running my fastest. As the floor is flat here, I could run fast, but you would be able to hear my footsteps. Mary is sensitive to sound, so I can¡¯t run past her, and I would have to slow down when moving through doors. So it¡¯s not easy just because I have that skill.¡± ¡°You can only turn invisible when running!?¡± ¡°Running my fastest. I¡¯ll become visible again once my speed drops a certain amount. And so speed buffs won¡¯t mean anything. The required speed is just raised after the buff. And so I have to attack while running. The only reason that we met during the turf war was because I had been looking for a flat area where I could run around. I won¡¯t be able to run if the ground is uneven or if there are obstacles.¡± It had such demerits¡­ As for running at full speed, I wouldn¡¯t last 10 seconds¡­ ¡°I was lucky then. Because I encountered a great army that was trying to launch an attack. So I didn¡¯t need to be invisible and could blend in with them. We were all strangers to each other, so no one would notice that another face had appeared. I made sure that my emblem was covered. And even if they did see it, I don¡¯t think many people would attack a cute girl who was acting like one of them. They would just assume they made a mistake or that it was actually a tattoo that happened to look similar.¡± ¡°But it seems really risky. It¡¯s not like you can damage your teammates in this game, so some players might have attacked you to make sure.¡± ¡°Well, even if they did, I¡¯m good at running, right? Besides, you won¡¯t accomplish anything if you aren¡¯t willing to take risks.¡± ¡°You say it like it¡¯s nothing¡­ Well, I suppose the results speak for themselves.¡± ¡°Exactly¡­ I¡¯ve been doing well¡­ Until now! It was already a difficult skill to use, but it got nerfed because it drew so much attention!¡± Ah¡­ So she was hit by that as well. Now she could only be invisible for 10 seconds, and the cooldown was 3 minutes. She must have been very pissed off to even tell me such important information. ¡°What annoys me even more, is how inconsistent management is! They said there wouldn¡¯t be any compensation. I didn¡¯t complain, as I thought it was rare for a company to have an actual spine. But now they are giving it to us! 100 NSO medals! It¡¯s not bad! But it makes me mad! Perhaps I should have sent in a complaint!¡± ¡°Just take it if they¡¯re giving it to you. Oh, you know? A long time ago, paper trading cards used to be quite popular, but once a card that was just released got banned for being too powerful, and there was no compensation. So things have definitely improved since then.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s because people complain more now. I can understand why people complain and so management is forced to react. But I don¡¯t like the idea of a game that changes every time someone complains¡­ Games that are a little irrational and unfair are always more interesting. A lady that I really respect once said, ¡®purify the water and the fish will disappear.¡¯ And then there will be no fish for this cat to eat.¡± I could tell that she was young by just talking to her. But she had very established ideas regarding games. She must really like them. To be honest, I had driven her back quite terribly during the turf war, and so I thought she might be holding a grudge. Running your fastest means taking in deep breaths. Which meant inhaling a lot of Black Smog. However, she didn¡¯t really touch on that at all. And since she was clearly the type to vent her frustrations, she was likely not that bothered by it. I suppose she wouldn¡¯t hold grudges as long as it was a serious, honest battle. ¡°Hmm¡­ Ah! That bloody woman is coming closer¡­!¡± ¡°Huh? You can tell?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the effect of a skill called ¡®Immobile Extra Sensory Stance.¡¯ As long as I am staying still, my sight, hearing and sense of smell are enhanced. My ears can hear the sounds of dripping blood.¡± Nekoko pointed to her cat ears, not her human ones. She really was thorough with making her character. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of this room! I found the 4th card! The exit should be underground!¡± She had 3 cards in her hands. So along with mine, we now had the 4 aces. And I could feel that the card was being pulled towards the ground. It was telling us where we needed to go. ¡°We¡¯ll cooperate until we get out of here! I don¡¯t want to be chased by that invincible woman anymore!¡± ¡°Ah, alright.¡± It wasn¡¯t just horror games, but I also disliked blood. I just felt weak when I looked at it. I had turned gore off in the settings, so I couldn¡¯t see any wounds, but the dripping blood alone was something I didn¡¯t like to see. And so I would accept the help of this cat¡­! ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± That¡¯s right. I had Gar as well. Now that we had found all 4 of the cards, ordinary enemy monsters started to appear. And Bloody Mary was also faster as she chased after us. We had to get to the underground as soon as possible¡­! CH 53 Data.48 ¨C Old Bowman, Battle Line Cooperation It¡¯s done often in movies and comics, but fighting indoors is actually quite tough¡­! After all, it¡¯s so cramped, and enemies will often stand in your way when you try to move. It was all the worse due to my own fighting style¡­ Kiiiiiiiii!! A rabbit type monster attacked me. It was the same as the one that bit my neck a long time ago. I suppose they wanted to put rabbits here because of the Alice theme. But weren¡¯t they also used during the turf wars? They sure got around¡­ Though these ones were at least wearing clothes so they looked a little different. ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Garbow took down any enemy that got too close. And Nekoko killed the enemies up ahead and made a clear path. As for me¡­ ¡°Web Arrow!¡± I focused on slowing down the Bloody Mary. That being said, she had powered up and could not tear apart the webs with ease. It was a different kind of scary now. She was just scary as a powerful enemy¡­! ¡°The stairs are up ahead! Don¡¯t trip and fall!¡± I couldn¡¯t shoot arrows while going down stairs. And so I lowered the bow and dashed down the stairs. Then the scenery which had been looping around us suddenly changed. I could see the entrance now. While it was closed and I doubted we could just leave, this was clearly the first floor. However, the card was still pulling towards the ground. So our destination really was the underground. ¡°The stairs to the underground are over there! Hurry! Hurry!¡± Nekoko was just too fast¡­! It was no wonder, as I¡¯m sure she put a lot of points into speed, but I was in danger of being left behind. She skipped multiple steps when running. ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Garbow would also not be able to keep up with Nekoko unless Ocean Sphere was activated. But considering the cooldown time, I decided to save it. It was just a feeling, but I didn¡¯t think we would be able to just reach the exit and leave immediately. ¡°We arrived! But now the card is being pulled to the side¡­¡± As this mirror world was a giant mansion, the basement was also huge¡­ And so we followed the direction that the card was leading. There was no need to go on a detour and look for treasure. Because all of the doors here were locked. If our pursuers followed us down here, there would be nowhere to hide¡­ ¡°Ah! It¡¯s here! This door opens!¡± As Nekoko slowly opened the door, I stood behind her and raised my bow. ¡­But nothing attacked us. Maybe we would be able to just leave? We entered the room and closed the door. I heard footsteps coming from outside¡­ So our pursuers hadn¡¯t given up. ¡°A mirror. There¡¯s a huge mirror here.¡± It looked like we were in a storage room, and it was very dusty. However, there was a single full-length mirror that was a head taller than me and was squeaky clean. If a mirror brought us here, then perhaps a mirror would take us out. A fitting, happy ending if you ask me¡­ Is what I thought, but then I saw two shadows standing in front of us. The shadows were of¡­me and Nekoko. So these shadows were this world¡¯s boss. ¡°Sky Tear!¡± I¡­shot Nekoko¡¯s shadow. If she could turn invisible while running, I would take her down before she could run. That was all. ¡°Oh? So you do know what you¡¯re doing, old man!¡± Nekoko was slashing at the neck of my shadow. As if to recreate a certain past scene. ¡°I¡¯ve done it before, so it¡¯s easy. Haa¡­ If only I could defeat that invincible woman with such ease¡­¡± She was still going on about that. I was both exasperated and amused as I smiled. And then, the great mirror began to shine. And just like that, our vision became completely white. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô When my vision returned to normal, we were back in the Mirrorstone Cave. As for the Mirror Ghost that was the reason we had gotten lost in the mirror world, it floated in the air as if to confirm that we had returned, and then it vanished. So it was more of a gimmick than an enemy monster. A device to take players to the mirror world after they finished exploring the cave, and an exit when they returned. ¡°Phew¡­ Being chased by that invincible woman¡­ I thought it was going to be a lot of effort for nothing, but it seems like it wasn¡¯t the case!¡± Nekoko had opened her status window and was looking through it. People who were used to games would always check their status and items when something happened. In my case, I was just satisfied with clearing an event or quest, and often didn¡¯t check the rewards until later. Well, that was my style, and I was fine with it. ¡°Yes! I have a new Grow Card¡­! Uh, but why is it a Bloody Mary card!?¡± It was normal to get cards that were related to their location, but in her case, it wasn¡¯t very desirable. As for me¡­ ¡°I got a Grow Card as well. Uhh¡­ Mirror Alice Reflection.¡± The card had two blonde girls depicted on it. I immediately checked to see what effect they had. ¡ô Mirror Alice Reflection Creates a clone of the player. You can order it to move or perform simple actions, but it has no attack ability. Disappears upon taking damage or when you create a new clone. Th-this is a decoy skill¡­! You would look like a real professional if you could use this kind of skill. And since I was a sniper who would normally want to hide his location, I could make good use of it. I¡¯ll equip and test it right away then. ¡°Decoy. Come out!¡± And then a clone that looked just like me appeared. The face and equipment were modeled after you on the moment you activated the skill. So if you changed your equipment afterward, it would not be reflected on the decoy. As for actions, it could aim with the bow, raise both arms, wave its hand, crouch, etcetera. It was very simple stuff. You could also make it walk or dash, but it would get stuck on obstacles. And it could not do anything so complicated as move out of the way. Hmmm. Now that I thought about it¡­using a decoy might be a bad idea for me. For better or worse, too many people knew my face. Heh¡­hehehe¡­ It wasn¡¯t the sound of Alice laughing¡­ It was Nekoko. ¡°You¡¯re looking at the effects of your new equipment right in front of me. Aren¡¯t you afraid of being exposed?¡± ¡°Well, I was just too curious.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a bad trait. And I admire players that stubbornly persist in their playstyle¡­ You remind me of this older lady who I respect so much. I guess you really are a ¡®gamer.¡¯¡± ¡°A gamer¡­ I never really thought about it.¡± But considering how much I had been playing after quitting my job, society would likely call me a gamer. Or perhaps they would call me something much worse¡­ As grim thoughts entered my mind, I received something from Nekoko. ¡°A friend request¡­?¡± ¡°Just so you don¡¯t misunderstand me, this doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re going to be buddies and form a party. If anything, it¡¯s a¡­a suggestion that might help us continue to be free and stick to our styles¡­¡± Hmm¡­I don¡¯t understand. But it sounded nice enough. And so I would react accordingly. ¡°I¡¯m listening¡­¡± I said in a low, hard-boiled voice¡­ But she ignored me. Well, perhaps it wasn¡¯t surprising, given her age¡­ And so I decided to listen to her normally. CH 54 Data.49 ¨C Old Bowman, A New Step ¡°With MMOs, they try to build relationships between players as a strategy for having people continue to play for a long time.¡± Nekoko started to talk quietly. ¡°It¡¯s like how things work at companies. They want to create an environment where you don¡¯t want to inconvenience others. It will be too troublesome to bring it up, or you feel bad. And so you can¡¯t quit.¡± Ah, I get it¡­sort of. But that hadn¡¯t been my experience. Whenever I wanted to quit, the other side would usually start acting like they knew it was coming, so things went smoothly¡­ No, this was no time to reminisce on the past¡­! ¡°That¡¯s why management releases content that is exclusive to friend parties or guilds. But there are also players who want to access that content without being bound to anyone else. And so I¡¯m preparing for when that content is actually implemented. A guild for people that want to relax and play solo, but can unite only when there is some special reason for them to¡­ I¡¯m going to make a Ghost Guild.¡± ¡°That sounds like a grand idea. In other words, it¡¯s a guild of people who only come together and cooperate when they have to?¡± ¡°Yes. Isn¡¯t it annoying to have to find strangers to join up with every time there is an event? It¡¯s not so bad if it¡¯s just ordinary field exploration and quests, but there are high difficulty events too. It won¡¯t be easy to gather strays who are capable players. And so I want to gather stubborn players with the same problem as us beforehand. Sounds interesting, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Hmm¡­I understood what she meant. The only thing that made me anxious was when they would send me friend requests so that we could ¡®play together again!¡¯ I could readily accept if it was just a one time thing, but if they expected to party up regularly, then it made it difficult for me to answer them. I felt bad, but I didn¡¯t want anyone to bother me while I played alone. After all, it was clear that I was able to play so recklessly because I was solo. Once you were friends, you could send messages and requests. You could just refuse them, but doing that also made you feel bad. And so I avoided any friend requests. If you reject one, then it becomes difficult to accept others. He rejected me, but became friends with that player¡­they would say. I suppose I had become worried about what others would think. However, I didn¡¯t think it would matter if someone like her was treated differently. I doubted she would send invitations unless it was serious. And I felt that I would be able to reject her easily if I didn¡¯t feel like doing it. So in a way, maybe we were like friends. Or a fatal attachment? Normally, I felt that you added people as friends if you knew them in real life, or if you met someone in the game and became close. It might be an outdated way of thinking, but instead of just adding everyone and having shallow connections, I would rather build relationships with a few people who I didn¡¯t have to worry about offending. After all, I wasn¡¯t the kind of person who would coldly organize their friends list and remove people because it was getting too crowded. ¡°Well, I¡¯m still figuring it out, so it¡¯s not like I¡¯ve actually set up a guild within the game. I may have sent the invite to you as if I¡¯m going around and scouting for players, but you¡¯re actually the first person I talked to about it. In the first place, we can¡¯t really predict what the NSO management will do next. But I have a feeling they¡¯re going to shove something into the game out of nowhere.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. They¡¯re really quiet right now, but that¡¯s why I feel like something is coming. So, about the friend thing¡­¡± We did have similar play styles, and had an odd connection. And I even related to some of her views on games. And so I didn¡¯t mind changing a little and accepting. ¡°I¡¯ll gladly accept it. And I¡¯ve never accepted a friend request before.¡± ¡°I see. Thanks. Alright, I¡¯m going now. I still hate that it¡¯s based on that invincible woman, but I want to go and test this new Grow Card.¡± ¡°Yeah, thanks. You really helped me.¡± ¡°Well, until we meet again on some battlefield¡­bye!¡± Nekoko started to run¡­and then disappeared. Judging by what she said, if we were on opposite sides, she would seriously try and kill me just as before. Well, I preferred it that way. And so I would have to train so that the next time we met, she wouldn¡¯t be able to kill me instantly. This was Nekoko. She would not continue to rely on a skill that had been nerfed. She would surely find a new strategy that no one would expect. ¡°Well, I better go too then.¡± I opened the map window. And then I heard a ¡®beep!¡¯ and a ¡®!¡¯ icon appeared in the corner. It was a notification that appeared when you received a message. Surely she wasn¡¯t inviting me already, so maybe it was a message from management? I quickly touched the ¡®!¡¯ icon in order to check. ¡°Let¡¯s see. Information on a new event will be announced in three days on the official site, popular video sites, and on stage within the game¡­? And it will be live?¡± This¡­was a recent and terrible habit within the game industry. Announcing an announcement. Well, I guess it¡¯s not too bad if it¡¯s in three days. But sometimes it would be months in advance¡­ That being said, this was unusual for NSO. Perhaps they wanted to get the word out quickly and attract attention because there hadn¡¯t been an event in awhile. And if they want to attract so much attention, they must be confident that they can deliver. So they hadn¡¯t become shy after the reaction to the previous one. Yes, they were coming. I would definitely check the official site on the day of the announcement. CH 55 Data.50 ¨C Old Bowman, In Front of the Screen Morning¡­ After getting out of bed and washing my face, brushing my teeth and getting dressed, I prepared a simple breakfast and then sat down in front of the computer. Three days had now passed, and the time for the information reveal of the event had come. As it would be streamed live on the official site and other video sites, I decided that I would just watch it through a screen in the real world instead of in-game. By the way, it was currently 7 AM. A bit too early for a true gamer. However, I was still used to my previous schedule. ¡°I still have some time left, so maybe I¡¯ll watch some videos.¡± I had decided to watch the stream on a site that I visited regularly. As I waited for the stream to start, I could browse through other channels. Recently, the quality of personal computers and camera equipment has gone up, and so many people are uploading impressive videos. When I was still a developer, I would often check out trailers from other companies or would watch animal videos as a way of relaxing. But these days I just played this one game. So I haven¡¯t been watching videos much at all. In any case, I decided to check some gaming related channels. GrEed SpUnky CHAnNels Charin-chan Channel/Medallion Online Official Hatake-san¡¯s Hatake(field) MacocoTV NecocoTV Fortress of the Righteous Chivalric Order Dorothy¡¯s Magic Research Reborn! Gloria Warriors! Alain Justima There were numerous channels related to the game¡­ That being said, some of them sounded familiar. Like, ¡®Hatake-san¡¯s Hatake? What is that¡­? If the purpose of that name was to attract attention, it was certainly working. ¡­In any case, it seemed like it wasn¡¯t a channel about Hatake-san and his farm. After all, these were all game channels. It appeared that it was a channel about him and his friends gathering together and having fun. I wonder if the channel name was some inside joke. But judging by what I knew about him, he probably just liked the sound and the strangeness of it. And Necoco had a channel as well. Among professional gamers, there were those who made money by entering tournaments, and there were those who uploaded videos and streamed. She was likely the latter. As I looked through her videos, I saw that there weren¡¯t that many. So she really was someone who had appeared recently. Ah, there was a video of me being killed during the battle royale. It had quite a lot of views¡­ Both of us had become more famous after that, so I suppose people came to see it. That being said, how did they record VR footage? The video of me being killed was from Necoco¡¯s POV, so was there a way to save that as a video? If that was the case, then you would have to be careful how you moved while playing. If you spun around too much, people might get motion sickness while watching. I started to think about uploading videos as well. I hadn¡¯t thought of it before, because playing the game was so fun. It would be simple enough if you just uploaded the whole thing. But editing would take a long time. And I hadn¡¯t really studied the process of posting videos. Well¡­while I had my savings, it would be better to have a source of income. And so I¡¯d have to move forward in a constructive way. Now, there was a channel similar to Necoco¡¯s channel that was called ¡®MacocoTV.¡¯ Was this that person she kept talking about? ¡­It seemed like a fairly old channel. And there were a lot of videos. Ohh. There were Let¡¯s Plays of retro games that were very rare now. The games I had been making were just made to look like retro games, but they had all the useful features of modern games. Real retro games were rougher and some might say, less fair. These days, there were extensive tutorials and difficulty settings, as well as helpful items that you could use without any demerits. Some hardcore gamers felt like games were getting too easy. But I was fine with it. You have to attract people who have never played games before, or people who don¡¯t have much time, or the industry would start to die. This wasn¡¯t about disregarding the hardcore gamers. If anything, it was about trusting them. While you may all complain, you won¡¯t abandon games so easily. Well, recently there were also a lot of games with high difficulty modes to satisfy such players. So you could do both at the same time. Because even if a beginner can¡¯t beat the hardest difficulty, it would be seen as expected. And while some may be frustrated if they couldn¡¯t beat a game on normal difficulty, you just needed to add words like ¡®Oni¡¯ or ¡®Ultra¡¯ to suggest that they are supposed to be hard, and then it will be fine. It was a good strategy. ¡­Damn it. I had a bad habit of getting carried away in my thoughts. This channel had posted Let¡¯s Plays of retro games for quite a while, and then after a break, had come back with VRMMO videos. As Necoco said that she respected her, I expected to see VR games. And I could see that the channel started to gain popularity at this point. It was a little sad, but the difference in views between retro games and VR games was like night and day. The name of the game was¡­ ¡®Ta-da! The NSO Official Channel Live Stream is about to begin-nyon!¡¯ ¡°Woah!?¡± As I had been opening a separate window, the sudden sound from the stream surprised me¡­ This happens quite often. Also, is that how they wanted to start it? It seemed a little random? And what¡¯s with the ¡®nyon¡¯? ¡®Famous in some corners! But I think there are 125 times more people who don¡¯t know about it than do! Medalion Online¡­ I¡¯m the artificial intelligence idol that is famous in these parts, Charin-nyon!¡¯ Did I open the wrong page¡­ ¡®As I already said, I¡¯m originally a different game¡¯s idol/mascot/chief of advertising, but because I also work solo as an idol, it was decided that I would collaborate with Next Stage Online-nyon.¡± I see. In spite of saying that they were going to wait for a while, they had suddenly announced this event. And now it turns out they were collaborating with a different company. I suppose it was already planned and they couldn¡¯t just call it off because the previous event hadn¡¯t gone very well. After all, it was a different company¡­! That being said, the girl on screen was definitely unique. She had long, blonde pigtails and many accessories made of golden medals. It didn¡¯t really match with her youthful face¡­ Regardless, unlike the NPCs of NSO, she was a highly capable AI. And she had thinking ability that matched humans and much stronger computational processing power. There had been a time when it was the latest technology, and it seemed like every company was creating their own AI as a way of attracting attention. But these days, due to the expense and other issues, the number of new ones being made has fallen drastically. They were like a new race that were created by advancements in technology. A new territory that humans had stepped into. This was the kind of SF being I used to dream of¡­only she didn¡¯t really feel like it. Perhaps it was because of how they made her character. I felt like the creators had outdated tastes¡­ Like making her say ¡®nyon,¡¯ for instance. However, at least it made her less intimidating. ¡®But that¡¯s enough about me. I¡¯m going to tell you all about the event now-nyon! First, look at this!¡¯ What appeared on the screen was a large map of the world of Nextaria. Pins made of light were being pushed into it. There were 12 in all. ¡®As for the name of this event! It is Zodiac Maze! While the name sounds very grand, it¡¯s really like a stamp rally! You must go to all 12 points and clear trials in order to collect medals-nyon!¡¯ Details appeared on the screen. While it was called Zodiac Maze, not all of the trials were dungeons. Some of them seemed more like mini games. But you wouldn¡¯t know everything until you actually went there. However, there were some hints. Each point was named after the zodiac. ¡®Furthermore, if you clear the trials with good scores, there will be other prizes aside from medals-nyon! This won¡¯t be a commemorative event item with little use later on, but an item that is already in NSO but is rare due to being very difficult to acquire-nyon!¡¯ So they would give us an item that was usually very difficult to get. Did she also help plan this event? If that was the case, she was definitely capable of seeing from the user¡¯s point of view. For a user, a rare item was the best kind of reward. ¡®And that¡¯s not all! Players who finish all 12 trials and acquire the 12 medals will be given the right to take on a final trial-nyon!¡¯ A new light appeared close to the center of the map. And the words ¡®Serpent Palace¡¯ appeared. ¡®Those with 12 medals can come to the Serpent Palace for a final battle against me-nyon! And if you are victorious, you will be given an equipable medal with special powers-nyon!¡¯ So she could fight as well. AI were amazing. That being said, that was a lot of content. 12 trials + final trial. The event will have to be pretty long for us to have enough time to go through it all. Well, it wasn¡¯t a problem for someone like me, who did nothing but play games¡­ ¡®We have set the event period to be quite long, so you can take your time with the challenges. If you think one trial is hard, then try a different one, or finish quests that are unrelated to the event and then come back later-nyon.¡± Yes, she really did understand. In spite of calling herself the idol/mascot/chief of advertising, maybe she was part of management as well? When she first came out, I had rather rudely thought, ¡®what the hell is that!?¡¯ But now I was looking forward to the event. ¡®If you want to read further details, then check the official site-nyon! Well, it¡¯s a simple event, so I think I explained most of it-nyon! After this, there will be an in-game concert on this special stage-nyon! It will also be live-streamed, so please watch it-nyon!¡¯ Well, I suppose I¡¯ll watch the concert and think of strategies for the event¡­ Wait, when did it start anyway? While the explanation had been easy to understand, did she forget the important part? But Charin had already started to sing. AI weren¡¯t perfect¡­ In any case, I would wait for the official site to update. Surely it was just that she forgot, and it wasn¡¯t that they hadn¡¯t decided on an actual date yet¡­I hope. Surely, yes. Must be¡­ CH 56 BBS.6 ¨C NSO General Thread [VRMMO] Next Stage Online General Thread part2103 1: Anonymous Runner A general thread to discuss ¡®Next Stage Online.¡¯ While most subjects are allowed, party requests, complaints, trolling and bragging have their own threads. The next thread will be created automatically. 2: Anonymous Runner >>1 Thanks, thanks. 3: Anonymous Runner >>1 It¡¯s me-nyon! 4: Anonymous Runner Nyon-nyon-nyon-nyon Nyon-nyon-nyon-nyon Nyon-nyon-nyon-nyon 5: Anonymous Runner >>4 STOP IT 6: Anonymous Runner >>4 It gets stuck in your head¡­ 7: Anonymous Runner >>4 One wrong step and you¡¯ll be seen as trolling. 8: Anonymous Runner (Tragic news)I missed the announcement because I thought it was the wrong channel. 9: Anonymous Runner >>8 Same. But the livestream was archived, so it was fine. 10: Anonymous Runner Some parts of the concert weren¡¯t free. So you¡¯ll have to buy a ticket to see it! 11: Anonymous Runner >>10 So there really are AI idols out there. I don¡¯t really know much about that culture. 12: Anonymous Runner >>11 Charin was originally just an AI that supported the game¡¯s management. The management was so worthless that she even had to create lecture videos for beginners as a way of dealing with complaints. 13: Anonymous Runner >>12 Oh¡­ 14: Anonymous Runner >>12 Sounds like a black company. 15: Anonymous Runner Well, Medallion Online is a game with a post apocalyptic setting, where you can take items from players that you kill. That¡¯s still fun in its own way though. 16: Anonymous Runner >>15 Because it¡¯s just beginners who get their stuff stolen. But things have changed a little recently. 17: Anonymous Runner I remember playing Medallion a little. But was Charin always like that? She was definitely wearing medal accessories, but I don¡¯t think she was designed after the zodiac. And the whole collaboration is based off of it too. What¡¯s happening? 18: Anonymous Runner >>17 Marketing. It¡¯s clearly a new strategy to sell her as an idol to a wider audience. 19: Anonymous Runner >>17 A new character that not only represents a game where you collect medals and get stronger, but is about collecting stars and creating constellations. 20: Anonymous Runner Huh¡­ How romantic¡­ 21: Anonymous Runner In any case, it¡¯s clearly a character who has had an identity crisis. 22: Anonymous Runner Well, yeah. Otherwise you wouldn¡¯t end up talking like that. 23: Anonymous Runner To think that this thread would be filled with a discussion on a different game¡¯s character¡­ 24: Anonymous Runner >>23 Well, it¡¯s not uncommon in online game threads. We like to say things like ¡®this game is shit compared to that other one¡¯, or ¡®it¡¯s not that bad.¡¯ 25: Anonymous Runner The grass is always greener on the other side. But when you actually play them, you¡¯ll have complaints with just about any game. 26: Anonymous Runner And yet people continue to travel. Until they find the paradise that is their ideal game¡­ 27: Anonymous Runner Running won¡¯t get you to any paradise. Quitting because you don¡¯t like something is outdated. Even if you hate it¡­continue! 28: Anonymous Runner >>27 That makes no sense. lol ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô 325: Anonymous Runner Let¡¯s talk about the event. I feel like it was very safe. 326: Anonymous Runner I don¡¯t know whose idea it was, but it¡¯s a good thing that it¡¯s not PvP. Even if it¡¯s well balanced, you can¡¯t avoid the tension that results from it. 327: Anonymous Runner Right now, PvE is safer than PvP. Instead of having players fight each other, have them defeat monsters and dungeons, and everything will end peacefully. 328: Anonymous Runner Still, the developers must be exhausted after making maps for 12 dungeons. 329: Anonymous Runner >>328 They aren¡¯t all dungeons. My guess is that at least half of them are mini games that are related to constellations. 330: Anonymous Runner >>329 That seems hard in a different way. 331: Anonymous Runner That being said, you can¡¯t avoid the 12 constellations once you choose that as a theme. On top of that, there¡¯s the Ophiuchus thing as well. I hope it all works out alright. 332: Anonymous Runner I¡¯m also curious about the rare items. They are items that are already in the game, but are difficult to acquire. What could they be? 333: Anonymous Runner >>332 Items that are dropped from rare monsters. Or items that are hard to find on the field. Or maybe it¡¯s an item you only get during special quests? 334: Anonymous Runner 335: Anonymous Runner I¡¯d be happy if it was materials that allowed you to upgrade your weapons. I really like my current weapon, so I want to strengthen it so that I can keep using it. 336: Anonymous Runner Well, the medal you get for defeating Charin at the end is supposed to be equippable. I wonder what its effect is? NSO medals are usually just traded in, so I have no idea what it could be. Maybe someone who has played her game would know? 337: Anonymous Runner >>336 Medallion Online has medals for skills and equipment. So there are infinite possibilities with a single medal. In other words, there is no way for anyone to know what kind of effect the medal will have. 338: Anonymous Runner This is the first collaboration event for NSO. I do wonder if things will go smoothly¡­ If things go bad, they may cut their ties forever. 339: Anonymous Runner >>338 I doubt it. That other game has also had their events destroyed by people using hacks and bugs to acquire items. So they won¡¯t be too harsh when judging other games! 340: Anonymous Runner >>339 The great age of VR is filled with terrible people¡­ 341: Anonymous Runner But still¡­when is this event going to start? ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô The date was announced on the official site one week after the livestream. And so gamers waited with excitement. As they imagined themselves overcoming the 12 trials and challenging the final boss¡­ CH 57 Data.51 ¨C Old Bowman, The Twelve Labyrinths On the day of the event, I logged into the game as usual. Just like the announcement, it would start at 7 AM. This wasn¡¯t the best time for the majority of working adults, but this event wasn¡¯t about speed or competing with others. If anything, it might be easier to work your way through it once more information had come out. Of course, I meant to be one of the first, and walk down the path of thorns. ¡°That being said, the location of the final battle, the Serpent Palace, is the same as the first town¡­ But I wonder where they will make the stage, since the buildings are so close together?¡± This question was answered as soon as the event started. A giant disk had appeared in the sky above the town. And the twelve constellations were depicted on its base. While I couldn¡¯t see the top part of the disk from where I was standing, my guess was that it would look like something from ancient Greece. So that¡¯s the Serpent Palace. A place that was modeled after the Ophiuchus constellation. In order to go there, you had to overcome the trials and collect all of the medals. There were 12 medals in all. Of course, there were also 12 labyrinths where the trials took place. Aries Labyrinth, Taurus Labyrinth, Gemini Labyrinth Cancer Labyrinth, Leo Labyrinth, Virgo Labyrinth Libra Labyrinth, Scorpio Labyrinth, Sagittarius Labyrinth Capricorn Labyrinth, Aquarius Labyrinth, Pisces Labyrinth So, which one should I start with? The places that were the closest to this town would likely be crowded. I instinctively wanted to avoid places with a lot of players. That being said, traveling far away would be troublesome. I wanted to dive into the event as soon as possible. It was because my curiosity and motivation were so high that I wanted to choose a labyrinth that was close and yet still wasn¡¯t crowded. What about the Cancer Labyrinth that was located near the sea? As I could fast travel to the port town, it was close enough for me. But¡­for some reason, I had the feeling that it was the place a lot of players would choose as a warmup. So what were my other options¡­ Alright, I decided! ¡°The Aquarius Labyrinth it is.¡± It was on the Sacred Mountain Kikuri, which was just barely in the map for the surrounding area of the first town. The fact that it wasn¡¯t based on something living was interesting to me. But I doubted it would be the first choice for many people. Of course, this was all just a guess. ¡°It looks like the other players have decided on which Labyrinth they will go to as well.¡± I started to see other players walking out of the town or opening up their maps and fast traveling. While this event would be long, and we weren¡¯t fighting other players, I couldn¡¯t help but feel impatient. And so I ran as I left the first town behind me. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô Sacred Mountain Kikuri, where the Aquarius Labyrinth was located¡­was very crowded. Well, it was probably like this everywhere, since the event had just started. However, it was a lot of excitement for a weekday morning. But these days, there are many different ways to work. So it wasn¡¯t as if everyone worked from the morning, even on a weekday. Perhaps management knew this, and started the event in the morning. If they started at night, when more people were playing, then it could result in the servers being overloaded. In any case, it seemed like there were no problems for now. There was no lag or connection errors. And so I could take on the trial without worrying. But, how did one start it? In such times¡­it was best to go with the flow, and follow the direction where other players were headed. ¡®Yes! Yes-nyon! Over here, I am passing out the explanations on the rules and items you will need for the trial-nyon!¡¯ There was a glorious fountain that didn¡¯t seem to really match a holy place like this. And in the center, sitting like a statue of some goddess, was the sponsor of this event. The high performance AI, Charin. Her hair and clothes were different compared to the livestream. her ponytails were gone, and her long blonde hair was gathered together and ran down over her shoulder. She was wearing a white cloth wrapped around her like some kind of angel. And she was carrying a water pitcher on her shoulder. Yes, it was the image of Aquarius. Apparently, she had a different outfit for every labyrinth. This was something that would make her fans very happy. ¡®First, have a glass!¡¯ A glass cup appeared in front of every player. Not quite a beer mug, but it was rather large. And quite heavy. ¡®Now, the rules are simple! Near the half-way point of the Sacred Mountain Kikuri, you will find a rocky area where holy water flows out-nyon! Use your glass to carry the holy water and bring it back while spilling as little as possible-nyon!¡¯ I see. While it was a labyrinth, it wasn¡¯t like an ordinary dungeon. This was practically recreation. ¡®However! The holy water you bring back must be a certain amount or more! The water will be poured into my glass, and I will judge whether or not you pass the trial by seeing if it reaches the line carved into the glass-nyon!¡¯ There was a red and gold line in her glass. The red was the passing line. You would receive a medal. The gold line above it was the extra prize line. You would receive a medal and an extra reward. The rules really were simple and direct. ¡®There are two other things! You may not cover the top of the glass-nyon! Not with your hand or with any skill-nyon!¡¯ Well, that would defeat the purpose of the challenge. So it was a limitation that made sense. ¡®Furthermore, you can attach the glass to any part of your body or equipment! So players who dual-wield their weapons will not be at a disadvantage-nyon!¡¯ To test this, I tried pressing the glass into my stomach. Woah. It really did stick to you and was completely stable¡­! I¡¯ll be able to keep the water in while shooting with my bow. ¡®That¡¯s all for the rules-nyon! Now, now. Do your best and bring me the holy water-nyon!¡¯ And like that, the players who had been listening to Charin all started to climb up the mountain. As there were so many of them, I thought that I would wait a bit before heading up. But then new players started to appear and gather around Charin. Once she finished talking, a new group of players would be unleashed into the mountain. It would keep repeating. And so I had no choice but to go with the crowd. Thinking this, I started to climb up the mountain. However, the higher I got, the fewer people there were around me. It wasn¡¯t that they had been defeated by monsters. As the mountain was very big, people just naturally started to spread out as they climbed. So I too climbed the mountain as I wanted, and then after a while, I discovered the area where the water was flowing out of a rock. Apparently, there were several spots where the holy water flowed from. Charin hadn¡¯t said that there was only one spot. I filled the glass with holy water and fixed it to my stomach. There, it wouldn¡¯t get in the way when I used the bow. And in emergencies, I could curl up and protect it. ¡°There is no time limit, so the key would be to descend carefully and not rush.¡± The glass was designed so that the liquid wouldn¡¯t spill from it too easily. So if it did spill, it would mean that you made a mistake. As long as you kept it level and moved slowly, the glass and water would not betray you¡­! That being said, there were also monsters on the mountain who would try and stop you. There were even traps that had been set. And I saw a few players spill their holy water after getting caught in nets that sprung out of the ground. Was there a safe route where I could avoid traps and monsters? It would be easy if I could fly¡­ Or could I? ¡°Now that I think about¡­they didn¡¯t forbid me from using Warp Arrow.¡± I might have just won this. I climbed up onto a rock that jutted out, and looked down towards the base of the mountain. From here, I could shoot Warp Arrow towards the fountain where Charin was waiting. And there was no shaking or impact when warping. ¡°Warp Arrow!¡± Kiririri¡­shu! Chun-chun! What should have been my victorious arrow, had been snatched out of the air by a sparrow that suddenly flew out from the trees. It was holding the shaft of the arrow. With Warp Arrow, the effect was only activated when the arrowhead hit a certain spot. And so it wouldn¡¯t activate now¡­! After flying for a while, the sparrow spat the arrow out in disgust. And then I warped away. Into a lake¡­ I was soaking wet, and the glass was filled with lake water. I see¡­ So you could try to warp, but they had ways of stopping you. Still, there was water in the glass. Maybe I could just say that it¡¯s holy water¡­ ¡®Too bad! That is just lake water now-nyon! Unfortunately for you, the eyes of an AI cannot be fooled-nyon!¡¯ ¡°Woah!?¡± Charin had suddenly appeared in front of me. I see. Because she was an AI, she knew what was happening in the whole game at all times. And she could duplicate herself and talk to individual players. There was no one more fitting to be able to manage a VRMMO where tens of thousands of people were playing at once. ¡®By the way, you can use the glass as many times as you want, as long as it doesn¡¯t break. If it does break, you¡¯ll have to come back to the fountain and get a new one-nyon!¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s uh, very generous of you.¡± Charin disappeared when she was finished. The trial might be a little more difficult than it first appeared. Well, I suppose that made it more interesting. I just need to take my time and keep trying until I make it¡­ Was the reason that these ¡®protagonist-like¡¯ lines appeared in my head, because my mind was getting younger? ¡°Now, time to get out of this cold lake and try again¡­!¡± And so I dashed up the mountain as if to warm up my chilled body. CH 58 Data.52 ¨C Old Bowman, Water Carrier Trial As I started on my way back to the spot where the water flowed from, I checked the glass to see if there were any cracks in it. If there were no cracks in it, then I could just fill it with water and use it again. However, she had explained that if it was destroyed, I would have to return to the fountain and get a new one. While walking up the mountain, I noticed that there were several sparrows waiting in the trees. They were the same as the one that had taken and discarded my Warp Arrow. Sparrows were something that you never really thought about, but it felt like there was no getting past them now. And I doubted they were there only to block Warp Arrows. There must be other players who had skills that would allow them to warp. In any case, I suppose walking on your two feet was the best way¡­ As I was thinking about this, I arrived at the holy water spot once again. ¡°Huh? Is this¡­the same spot?¡± The water that was coming out was definitely holy water. While I had wondered if I could use lake water earlier, there was actually a difference. The clarity was noticeable at a glance. You didn¡¯t even need an AI to make the distinction. I had mostly been joking when considering it. ¡°Hmm. The shape of the rock is different from the previous one. I guess I might have reached a different area, even though I thought I was going in the same direction.¡± There were no actual paths on this mountain. If an amateur started climbing a mountain without thinking, then it would be no surprise if they ended up at a different spot every time. Well, as long as I got holy water, it didn¡¯t matter. I just needed to take it and keep climbing back down until I found a sign that would direct me back to the fountain where Charin was. ¡°Now, time for my second attempt.¡± And so with very careful steps, I started my descent. This time, I came out into a grassy field. The grass was long and came up to my knees. As I could see other players walking up ahead, I at least knew that it wasn¡¯t some kind of swamp that you could sink in. While the wind would create rustling sounds in the grass, there was no signs of anything lurking within it. Alright. Time to make my way through it. ¡°Slowly, slowly¡­ But going too slow feels unnatural, and might cause me to fall. Normal¡­normal¡­woah!?¡± My foot got caught on something and I fell forward. Of course, all of the holy water was spilled. Tsk¡­a trap¡­ Not only that, but it was a ¡®grass knot¡¯¡­! An old-fashioned trap where you created a loop by tying blades of grass together. To think that I would be caught in such an old trap while playing in a new world that was created by the futuristic technology that is VR games¡­ It was definitely a rare type of experience. However, I have to try again! Thanks to the fact that I was both lighter and had better reflexes in the game than in real life, I had been able to catch myself as I fell, and so the glass on my stomach hadn¡¯t shattered. Still, the process was bound to become painful the longer it took. And so I would have to recover quickly. It was back to filling it with water¡­! ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô I¡¯ve had a decent amount of experience fighting great monsters and skilled players up until now, but it seemed that I wasn¡¯t very good at finding and avoiding traps. With monsters and players, there were move sets, and my instincts helped in predicting their movements to a degree. However, traps had no will. They just lay there. Quiet and motionless. Even if you are on your guard, they are still difficult to detect. Ultimately, I got caught on all sorts of traps. Sometimes it would be a net tripping up my feet, or a pitfall, and even a log dropped from behind me. It was terrible. The worst one of all was when some little bird came and drank half of my water. I was just at the last brief stretch before reaching the fountain with Charin, when a small bird came down for a drink. Normally, you should drive it away so that you¡¯d have as much water as you could. However, not only was the bird so cute, but I had more than enough holy water at that time. And so I allowed the bird to drink. However, in spite of its tiny size, the bird took half of my water with its first sip. That amount of water should not have been able to fit inside of it¡­ And that¡¯s when I realized that the cute bird was just another trap. I quickly shooed it away and prayed with desperation while offering the remaining water to Charin. But Charin shook her head mercilessly. ¡®Toooo bad¡­ You are just a little short of the passing line-nyon. AI do not make mistakes when measuring-nyon! Do your best and try again-nyon!¡¯ So it was with a feeling of desperation that I started to climb the mountain again. And after filling the glass with water, I went back down, this time without being too cautious. The unlevel ground, monsters and traps. I was used to it all now. I made use of all of my experience up until now to make a calm descent. And so I was able to go back to Charin without any accidents. That being said, it didn¡¯t mean that I hadn¡¯t spilled anything at all. Water just spilled without you even realizing it. Still, I was sure that it was enough to reach the passing line. I hope¡­ Glug-glug¡­the holy water was poured from one glass to the next. It passed the red line in Charin¡¯s glass. And then¡­it passed the gold line as well. ¡®Oh! Amazing-nyon! You not only reached the passing line, but the reward line as well! Congratulations-nyon!¡¯ Yes¡­! While I didn¡¯t shout with joy, a quiet, shaking feeling of happiness filled me. Just like water¡­! ¡®As for your special prize¡­here! ¡®Sacred Mountain Water¡¯-nyon!¡¯ What she gave me wasn¡¯t equipment or a healing item. Was it¡­crafting material? It seemed to be an item that could be combined with other items or simply sold for money. So it shouldn¡¯t have been an item where you could select ¡®Use¡¯ on the field, but I was able to do it here. Not only that, but it was something I could use on Garbow. ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± ¡­And so I tested it. I used Sacred Mountain Water on Garbow. ¨CBeep! Unison Garbow has acquired the new skill ¡®Holy Splash.¡¯ ¡ô Holy Splash Unleashed bullets of holy water. Effective against ghost and demon type monsters. I see. Using the item allowed them to learn a new skill¡­! These kinds of skills would always be useful in the future. After all, there were plenty of ghost and demon type monsters out there. And so Garbow had become even more reliable. ¡°Now, I¡¯ve got my reward, so I suppose I can go to the next¡­¡± ¡®Wait a minute-nyon! I still haven¡¯t given you the all important proof that you beat the trial. The Aquarius medal-nyon!¡¯ ¡°Ah¡­!¡± I can¡¯t believe that I almost¡­well, no. It was very like me to forget. And so I accepted the medal gratefully and inspected it. ¡®This¡­is the Aquarius medal!¡¯ There were small star-like jewels in the center that shone as they made up the constellation. And on the back, there was an engraving of a goddess holding a pitcher. This¡­looks so cool. Regardless of the event, I wanted to collect all 12 and put them on display. Why don¡¯t they sell these in the real world? ¡°Now¡­ Time to think about which labyrinth I should go to next.¡± The most obvious choice was to go to the one that was the closest to Sacred Mountain Kikuri. It would mean less time taken traveling. Though, this meant going out into an area where my map wasn¡¯t filled in. But that wasn¡¯t really a problem. During the event, the locations of the labyrinths were indicated with glowing pins, even if they were in unfilled parts of your map. And you could see your current location, as well as an arrow that showed you where to go. So even if you weren¡¯t familiar with the terrain, you could still just travel to the labyrinth in a straight line. ¡°And the closest labyrinths are Pisces and Capricorn¡­ I think I¡¯ll go to Capricorn then.¡± Pisces was sure to be a trial related to fish, and have water. I just went to the sea recently, and had been dealing with water a moment ago. And so I would get away from water for now, and challenge the Capricorn Labyrinth¡­! CH 59 Data.53 ¨C Old Bowman, Capricorn Trial The Capricorn Labyrinth was in a mountainous area with jagged cliffs. It seemed that they were staying on theme by having the labyrinth in a place where goats would live. However, it was very troublesome for players who had to head there. We had to move along cliff sides that were so steep that you would plummet straight down without anything to grab on if you happened to fall off. It was scary in a completely different way than being up in the clouds. Both I and the other players were getting cold feet¡­ With a sidelong glance at such players, the goats that lived on the mountain would put their feet on the smallest protrusions in the cliff as they hopped upwards. Well, as this was a game, they were more goat-type monsters. But wild goats were known to have similarly amazing physical ability as they climbed mountains. Goats were often portrayed as ignorant characters, but they were quite impressive. ¡®Now, now! The Capricorn Labyrinth is this way-nyon!¡¯ A chill had run down my spine after seeing a few other players fall. But the real trial started here. Charin was dressed like a girl from the Alps who happened to have a goat head. And behind her, we could see an ancient ruin carved into the mountain. ¡®Welcome to the Capricorn Labyrinth-nyon! As it is a labyrinth, this time you will have to go through an actual dungeon-nyon!¡¯ While the Aquarias trial had been different, this one seemed to be a traditional trial. As for me, I preferred it this way. ¡®However! This is an event dungeon! So there are several rules that set it apart from normal dungeons! The first! Is that only 2 players can enter it at a time-nyon!¡¯ They were limiting the number of people¡­? In the first place, dungeons existed in separate spaces so that each party was in a different dungeon. And so you would not encounter other parties once inside. But what was the point in bringing it down to just two players? How small is this dungeon? ¡®Rule 2! Every player must take one white goat with them-nyon!¡¯ ¡°¡­What?¡± According to Charin¡¯s explanation, this trial had a story. Like the nursery songs, the white goat would eat any letters that arrived, and so we had to go directly to the black goat that lives in the dungeon in order to meet it. Players would have to protect the white goat from danger and deliver it safely. Leaving aside the strangeness of a goat that lives in such a place, I now understood why they limited the number of players. The white goat was treated as a player. Or to be more precise, they were like a guest Unison. In this dungeon, a Unison was considered a player. A party could be up to 4 players. And since each player needed to escort a white goat, a party of 2 players plus 2 goats would automatically become a party of 4. ¡®The trial is about bringing the white goat to the black goat. So obviously, if the white goat is killed, you fail the trial! And you will be warped out of the dungeon-nyon! But there is no penalty for failure, so you can try as many times as you want-nyon!¡¯ No penalty¡­huh. I felt like making you start from the beginning was a penalty in itself, but I didn¡¯t say it. Still, if Unisons were treated as players, that meant that Garbow would use up one slot. So if I teamed up with another player, I wouldn¡¯t be able to use Garbow, and there would be 2 goats with us. ¡®By the way, the requirement for a reward is a SECRET-nyon! Well, I think you¡¯ll figure it out when the time comes-nyon!¡¯ Charin finished her explanation and the players started to enter the dungeon. Apparently, you would meet your white goat once inside. I had a bad feeling about this¡­ ¡°Mehh.¡± I met it as soon as I entered the dungeon. In the first great hall where there were still no monsters. The white goat was waiting there. ¡°Mehh.¡± It really was just an ordinary white goat¡­! The kind that immediately came to mind when you thought of goats. It wasn¡¯t an unusual foreign breed or a monster. And now I had to protect it while making my way through the dungeon. ¡°Mehh.¡± ¡°¡­I guess I have no choice.¡± I couldn¡¯t even check the white goat¡¯s status. However, there was an HP gauge right above its name, which was ¡®Mister White Goat.¡¯ If that gauge went to 0, then I would fail. And I would have to start again. There was no point in standing around, so I started walking. ¡°Oh, enemies¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t keep my eyes on the white goat the whole time. As this was an ancient ruin made of stone, the enemies seemed to be mostly Golems and other stone related creatures. I knew a lot about Golems. They were slow but incredibly durable and powerful. No good for close quarters combat. And so I had Garbow focus on shooting while I used Burning Arrow to cause explosions¡­ Ding-ding-ding¡­ It was the sound of a bell. Speaking of bells¡­ ¡°M-mister White Goat¡­!?¡± The goat was charging into the Golem!? Why!? Ma-maybe¡­it had just enough attack skills that made it react to the enemy¡­? My guess was right. In spite of looking very weak, the white goat rammed its body into the Golem. Of course, it did no damage at all. And then the thick, stony arm came swinging down over my white goat. ¡°Garbow! Red Flash! And I¡¯ll do¡­ Sky Tear!¡± A red beam that had high piercing ability shot out from Garbow¡¯s mouth. I also used something with good piercing ability, Sky Tear, and shot through the Golem¡¯s core. It stopped moving after that. Then it turned into light and disappeared. The white goat was fine. No, it had lost some of its HP. Was it a repercussion from the charge¡­? These were one of the most annoying types of missions in games. ¡®Protect an NPC character that you have no control over.¡¯ They were especially common in simulation RPGs. The NPCs were always so weak and died easily. And if not, they were so strong that they killed all the enemies, robbing you of experience and items. On top of that, your rating would change depending on whether they survived or not. It could be really difficult. Thankfully, this was a VRMMO RPG, and wasn¡¯t too bad. I had good range. And so I could usually kill enemies before the goat could even start to ram into them. Also, I could order Garbow to stick close to the white goat. So even if it managed to charge, Garbow could act as a shield. This dungeon had a lot of rock-type enemies, and they tended to use physical attacks instead of magic. And Garbow had high physical resistance, so there was no need to worry even if he was hit. ¡°Mehhhh!¡± Bleated Mister White Goat, as if to show his enthusiasm. That wasn¡¯t good news for me. But he wouldn¡¯t understand if I tried to explain. And so I took the goat and the fish and continued my exploration of the Capricorn Labyrinth. CH 60 Data.54 ¨C Old Bowman, With a Goat ¡°Mehh!¡± Mister White Goat rammed into another monster, diminishing its own HP. When there were enemies coming from different directions, I couldn¡¯t kill them all at once. And so the goat would get excited and attack them¡­ Maybe I should try and heal it. It¡¯ll be over if it dies. ¡°Mehh!¡± But as I thought this, a white aura began to appear around the goat. It was a different aura than when it charged. At the same time, I could see a rippling effect appear at its feet, like droplets on a watery surface. What is this¡­? ¡°Ah, its HP is recovering¡­!¡± Mister White Goat¡¯s HP gauge was completely full again. And Garbow, who had taken a little damage as well, was also healed. So it was a wide-area healing skill. The ability to heal multiple people at once was a valuable skill to have in any game. Especially late-game in RPGs. You might not stand a chance if you don¡¯t have such a skill. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re stronger than you look? Mister White Goat.¡± ¡°Meehhh!¡± Said the goat confidently. And then as if to further prove his point, he displayed a number of other new skills. He seemed to recover MP when eating grass that grew in different corners of the ruins, and upon finding walls that looked like they would be impossible to reach, he would climb up and retrieve items. He could walk through narrow paths and pull levers to open doors as well. While the goal was to escort the goat and keep it alive, it seemed like there were also a lot of areas where you wouldn¡¯t be able to get through without it¡­? Well, in my case, I could use my range in order to solve most of the problems. And I¡¯m sure there were other players who could also solve such problems without the goat. Also, it had surprisingly high defense ability. It wouldn¡¯t die from just one punch from a Golem. It only charged into enemies when it was strong, and when its HP was low, it would run away and focus on healing. So it wasn¡¯t acting recklessly. However, it still took a little damage when it attacked. And so ideally, it would wait behind and heal me and Garbow when we needed it¡­ Well, humans shouldn¡¯t be so egotistical as to force their ideals onto animals. Mister White Goat wanted to fight too. ¡°Now, we¡¯ve gone down a lot of stairs already. Surely the next one should take us to the 10th floor?¡± ¡°Mehh!¡± Mister White Goat seemed to agree. What if it really did understand what I was saying? Besides, it kind of seemed like the goat knew the layout of the dungeon. ¡°But now that I think about it, this is where its friend, the black goat, lives. So it¡¯s no wonder that it knows¡­¡± ¡°Mehh!¡± Yes, the white goat did know. In front of the staircase that led to the 10th floor, waited three ¡®Metal Golems¡¯ that were different from any of the Golems we had encountered up until now. They were like mid-bosses before the main boss. Upon seeing this, I went as far back as the straight passage would allow, and readied my bow. Nothing but Sky Tear would be able to pierce such a hard-looking Golem. Garbow could charge and use Red Meteor, but I was a little afraid of the Golem¡¯s power. Due to past experiences, I was not one to underestimate them. I would rather chip away at their health from far away. ¡°Sky Tear!¡± I shot at the first Golem. They had cores inside of their chest, and if you pierced through it, you could take them down in one hit. I succeeded on my first try, and the Metal Golem vanished. At the same time, the remaining two recognized me as an enemy, and started to move. However, as they were now made of metal, they were even heavier. And so I was sure that Sky Tear¡¯s cooldown time would end before they could reach me. There was enough distance between us¡­ ¡°Meehh!¡± ¡°Huh? It¡¯s going to charge at this distance!?¡± Mister White Goat began to run towards the Metal Golems. But these were two Golems were much stronger than the previous ones. Surely it would be killed if attacked by both¡­! ¡°Garbow! Help him!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Garbow activated Ocean Sphere, shot past the white goat, and then unleashed Red Meteor at the Metal Golem. The sharp ringing of metal hitting metal echoed through the ruins. But the Golems were tough. While they took damage, it was not enough to sink them. However, one of them now had its core exposed! ¡°Burning Arrow! Rapid Fire!¡± I aimed at the core and shot a series of explosive arrows. While destroying the cores meant killing the Golems, they were not necessarily brittle. If anything, they may be harder than the rest of the body¡­ I continued to shoot arrow after arrow and somehow managed to take down another one. There was only one left now¡­ ¡°Gaaarr!!¡± Garbow had been blown away. While it had good physical defense, it wasn¡¯t high enough to resist the impact of a punch. And then the Golem started to swing at the goat. It would be crushed if I didn¡¯t do something¡­! ¡ªBeep! You have acquired the skill ¡®Drill Arrow.¡¯ ¡ô Acquisition Reason ¡®The arrow that stands on stone.¡¯ Killing multiple stone-type enemies with arrows. ¡ô Drill Arrow Unleash an arrow with an arrowhead that spins like a drill. Effective against rock and machine type monsters. It¡¯s been a while since I last acquired a skill like this. And just in time! ¡°Drill Arrow!¡± Kiririri¡­Shu! Kyuuiiin!! The arrowhead rotated rapidly as it pierced into the right side of the Metal Golem¡¯s chest. And then it dug deeper and deeper in. And in just a few seconds, the Drill Arrow shot out the other side. So it had easily pierced through that steel body¡­ Now all of the Metal Golems were defeated, and no one stood in our path to the 10th floor. ¡°Couldn¡¯t they just make those three Golems the boss¡­?¡± ¡°Mehh!¡± The white goat replied energetically. Well, maybe they were. Maybe the only thing on the 10th floor is the black goat? And just taking the white goat there means I finished the labyrinth? But if that¡¯s the case, then what is the requirement for getting the reward? As I wondered about this, we reached the 10th floor¡­which was a great hall. It looked like it could be a boss arena¡­ ¡°Meeeh!¡± The white goat started to run towards something. A black goat¡­ ¡°Buuoo¡­?¡± ¡°Meeh!?¡± ¡­A black goat¡¯s head was on a human body. It was a Baphomet demon. Mister Black Goat had fallen to the dark side¡­! Was this¡­a surprisingly cruel end to the story? ¡°It looks like Old Black Goat has studied black magic too much, and he himself has turned into a demon¡­! But he might return to normal if knocked unconscious! Please help me fight!¡± ¡°Okay¡­ You can talk!? Mister White Goat? Why didn¡¯t you talk before¡­¡± ¡°He has the demon and beast attributes. If you have skills that are effective against them, use them!¡± He ignored me¡­! My honest question¡­! C-calm down¡­ These kinds of surprises were common enough in this game. Besides, Baphomet was a famous demon. But if it was put here as a boss, it won¡¯t be weak. And this was a great hall. There were no obstacles to hide behind or high platforms to shoot from. Perhaps I could use Floating Cloud, but Baphomet had wings. While I wasn¡¯t sure if this story made any sense, I wouldn¡¯t let my guard down during this fight¡­ CH 61 Data.55 ¨C Old Bowman, Goat vs Goat ¡°Buuoooo¡ª!!¡± The black goat had turned into Baphomet, and it could no longer be reasoned with. It was openly hostile to the white goat, who was supposed to be a friend, and was ready to fight. That made it easier to attack it without holding back. But I was sure that it would do the same¡­ First, I had to move away. We were in a dome-shaped hall. And so I ran to the wall that would put me at the farthest distance from the Baphomet. And then I switched my weapon to Spider Shooter. ¡°Web Arrow!¡± The sticky, spider web-like net hit the Baphomet. Now it would not be able to move freely. It had wings, and I hadn¡¯t put any points into Speed. If it came to a chase, then I would be caught for sure. And so I wanted to keep it in place while I could. ¡°Buooooo¡­!¡± After exhaling deeply, the Baphomet started to talk in an unknown language. While I couldn¡¯t understand what he was saying, it was probably some black magic incantation. As proof of this, the net around it started to lose its stickiness, and then it melted away and fell off of him. ¡°I guess Web Arrow isn¡¯t enough to stop him¡­ But slowing him down is enough! Garbow! Use Holy Splash!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Holy Splash. The skill I had acquired from beating the Aquarius trial. It was effective against demon-type monsters! These kinds of special skills were usually not very high-powered, and so they only showed their true worth when used against specific enemy types. But Holy Splash dealt quite a lot of damage to Baphomet. Perhaps it was due to Garbow¡¯s high status with attacks. Either that, or maybe fish were secretly stronger when it came to water-based skills. In any case, I would leave the attacks to Garbow. And so I kept my distance and fired arrows to slow it down. ¡°Buoooo¡­!¡± Once again, Baphomet started to chant in an unknown language. And then both Garbow and I were surrounded by a deep blue aura. At the same time, I realized that attacking Baphomet seemed to do next to nothing to his HP gauge. An attack debuff¡­ Black magic. And then Baphomet went on the offensive. This time, he unleashed some orthodox fire magic, ¡®Great Fireball.¡¯ While I could erase it with Bow Shower, I decided to use a smarter method. ¡°Garbow. Ocean Sphere!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± A spherical sea appeared around Garbow as he slammed into the Great Fireball. Of course, it was the fire that was erased. Without slowing down, Red Meteor was activated for a followup attack. However, due to the debuff, even this trusty special attack did not do much. Since I didn¡¯t know how long it would last, I had no choice but to keep attacking. ¡°Buoo! Buo! Buo!¡± Something that looked like dripping, unhardened cement started to rise around Baphomet. ¡°Buooo¨C!!¡± Baphomet¡¯s cry was the signal, and the stuff began to spread all around the room. And at quite a speed¡­! However, I had been playing for a while, and my reflexes were¡­not good enough! I knew that I had to jump in order to avoid it, but my timing was off¡­ I had always hated jump ropes¡­ But there was no time to dwell on the past. As soon as the stuff hit me, it hardened, and my legs were fixed to the ground. It really did act like cement. ¡°Buo! O! O!¡± Baphomet laughed upon seeing me captured. And then it charged. As Garbow was floating, it was not caught. However, the effect of Ocean Sphere had expired, and his movements were now sluggish. And since he had just used Red Meteor, he would have no sure way of stopping Baphomet¡­! ¡°Warp Arrow!¡± The arrow nearly hit Baphomet as it shot past him and hit the wall. And so I succeeded in escaping at the last moment. ¡°Sky Tear!¡± I immediately shot at Baphomet¡¯s head. For a second I wondered if I might accidentally kill Mister Black Goat, but he turned out to be fine. There were different kinds of weaknesses. Sometimes you just needed to destroy one part and they would die, and sometimes it just meant dealing extra damage. ¡°In Fight Arrow! Rapid Fire!¡± This time, I wasn¡¯t targeting his head. I aimed at the wings coming out of his back, and cut them off. Now Baphomet would not be able to fly¡­! And then I targeted his knees. Previously, when I had battled a gorilla, I had been able to win by shooting its knees. But fighting so much since then had made me forget those early days. Now that Baphomet could not move so quickly, Garbow and I focused our attacks on him. ¡°Please wait!¡± ¡°Huh!?¡± Just when its HP gauge was nearly empty, the white goat started talking again¡­! Now that I thought about it, what was it doing during the fight? I hadn¡¯t noticed its presence at all while fighting¡­ ¡°I want to deal the final blow with my white magic! It has a purifying effect, and so it should bring better results than a normal attack! Of course, you can still do it your way if you want¡­¡± Huh. It was quite obvious that this was related to the requirement for the reward¡­ Anyone could see that. And since I realized it, I would ask him to deal the final blow. ¡°Alright. You can do it, Mister White Goat.¡± ¡°Yes. Just give me a little time!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± A magic circle appeared around the white goat¡¯s feet. There were 12 numbers around the circle, just like a clock. And then the ¡®1¡¯ started to glow. Surely¡­he wasn¡¯t asking us to fend off the enemy until they were all glowing¡­? ¡°Thank you!¡± W-wait a minute. Baphomet only had a millimeter of HP left. That meant I couldn¡¯t attack him to slow him down¡­ And while his HP wouldn¡¯t recover, he was able to regrow certain parts of his body. New wings sprouted out, and his knees were healing. Furthermore, after the HP loss, a red aura had appeared around him, and he was visibly angry. And this anger was clearly directed towards me. Had it been directed at Garbow, I could give the order to stop attacking, and then just focus on healing him¡­ In-in any case, I¡¯ll try glaring back at Baphomet. Maybe he would recoil¡­ ¨CBeep! You have acquired the skill ¡®Intimidating Eyes.¡¯ ¡ô Acquisition Reason ¡®Shooting Glare¡¯ Continued to glare at a hostile enemy without attacking them. ¡ô Intimidating Eyes Intimidate enemies when your eyes meet, temporarily stopping their movement. The effect is weaker if you¡¯re far away. S-so it really did give me a skill¡­ I guess I should test it out¡­! ¡°Intimidating Eyes!¡± I glared at Baphomet. ¡°B-Buoo¡­¡± It was clearly afraid. Now, just stay there and don¡¯t move¡­ I thought, but the effect didn¡¯t last forever. You had to look away and wait a while before activating it again. But while I could only stop someone for a few seconds, it was still a powerful skill. And the requirement was quite easy, and would be something that people with other jobs could acquire as well. And yet I hadn¡¯t seen anyone else use it. And it wasn¡¯t something difficult to use, like a bow¡­ In any case, I focused on using this new skill, Intimidating Eyes, while using Web Arrow and Warp Arrow. And with Garbow covering me, we were able to buy enough time. ¡°Now I¡¯m finished! White magic, Saint Goat!¡± The white goat unleashed a powerful shining light. My vision turned white for a second, and when I could see again, the Baphomet had returned to a black goat. ¡°Meehhh!¡± ¡°Meeehh!¡± The two goats jumped around happily. I tried not to think about how it had suddenly stopped talking. We had made it through¡­this dungeon. ¡®Congratulations-nyon! You¡¯ve conquered the Capricorn trial-nyon! And you even fulfilled the requirements for the reward-nyon! As I¡¯m sure you already know, the requirement was having Mister White Goat use his magic to defeat Baphomet! And so your reward is¡­ ¡®Mister White Goat¡¯s Letter Paper¡¯-nyon!¡¯ Charin handed me some paper that had the two goats depicted on it. As NSO didn¡¯t have an actual mail system, it was likely a crafting material. ¡­Ah, just like the Sacred Mountain Water, it had a ¡®Use¡¯ option. And it could be used on me. Without hesitation, I selected ¡®Use.¡¯ ¡ªBeep! You have acquired the skill ¡®Letter Arrow.¡¯ ¡ô Letter Arrow This skill has two effects. ¢Ù Enter a text or voice message into the arrow before shooting. Players will be able to see the message through inspecting the arrow. ¢Ú Unleashes an arrow that analyzes information on monsters. Finds out and records information such as ¡®attributes¡¯ and ¡®skills¡¯ after hitting an enemy. ¢Ù¡¯s effect was simple to understand. It was a letter fixed to an arrow. It would probably be useful for sending messages to the advance guard if I was in a party. Because if I wanted to make use of my range, I would definitely find myself moving away from the others. ¢Ú¡¯s effect was an ¡®investigate¡¯ type skill. It would display information about monsters. Since I was starting to acquire more skills with special attributes, it was perfect. Being able to know an enemy¡¯s skills beforehand was also great. Even if I didn¡¯t know what effect their skill had, the name alone would be a hint. ¡®And here is the Capricorn medal-nyon!¡¯ The Capricorn medal looked a lot like the Aquarius medal. There were jewels on the front side that were in the shape of the actual constellation, and on the back, there was a realistic depiction of a goat. Yes, it looked so cool that you¡¯d want to collect them¡­ Still, there were 10 left. So the road ahead was long. I had cleared two trials today, and it would be evening soon. And so I wanted to return to town and logout. Both trials were very interesting, but I also felt quite tired¡­ I hadn¡¯t even decided which labyrinth I would take on next. I suppose it would be natural to go to the closest one, which was the Sagittarius Labyrinth¡­ Of course, Sagittarius meant¡­archery. And because that was my field of expertise, it also made me a little tense. People recognized me now. And so they would expect me to do well with that trial¡­ In a way, it was the most intimidating one. So, what should I do¡­ Well, I will decide on that tomorrow! CH 62 Data.56 ¨C Old Bowman, Appears at the Firing Range I arrived¡­ This is where the Sagittarius Trial would take place. It was just a vast field of grass. And here, firing ranges for all kinds of ranged weapons had been set up. I almost felt like I was at a fair. ¡®Now, everyone! Grab your favorite weapon and enjoy hitting the targets-nyon!¡¯ Charin was wearing a hakama and carried a Japanese bow. That being said, her hair was still blonde, so she looked more like a foreign tourist than someone from the archery club at school. The trial was based on the Sagittarius constellation, and was simply about hitting targets. Aside from guns, there were bows, darts, shurikens, boomerangs, daggers, hatchets, javelins and slings. Players could freely choose what they wanted and take on the trial. While there were adjustments to the rules depending on what weapon you chose, in general, you received more points for hitting the center of the target. You would throw or fire repeatedly, and if your final score crossed a certain line, then you would receive the Sagittarius medal. As for the special reward, you had to complete an ultra difficult stage that was unlocked after getting a passing score. In any case, there was no reason to think too deeply. Just aim at the center. ¡°So, which weapon should I use¡­¡± Well, it wasn¡¯t much of a question. Of course, I would use the bow. What could I even use if not the bow? And so I waited in line at the archery range. As there were a lot of targets lined up next to each other, multiple players could take on the trial at once. However, if there were too many players there, you would have to wait a little. It made me a little nostalgic. The archery range was always quite popular during festivals. ¡°Um¡­ Are you Mister Kyuji?¡± ¡°Yes, I am.¡± Well, I wasn¡¯t surprised. One of the reasons why I hesitated to use a bow at first, was because I knew that I would draw attention if I waited in line. There were other weapons like guns that seemed a lot easier, so anyone who used a bow for this trial was likely using them as their main weapon during adventures. And if they were archers, then they were even more likely to be aware of me. Because people who threw axes and had no interest in bows would have forgotten about me quickly. At this point, even the turf war seemed like it was a long time ago. ¡°Kyah! So it really is you! I¡¯ve heard about your exploits!¡± ¡°Ahaha¡­thank you.¡± ¡°They say that you killed a monster during a large-scale Scramble at sea, by yourself¡­!¡± ¡°No, no, no! Who the hell said that!? They¡¯re exaggerating!¡± ¡°Oh, you are so modest!¡± We had only won due to the help of other players and the Blue Sea Dragon. In no way had I accomplished that alone. At what point had the story changed¡­? ¡°Oh, how insolent of me to be standing in front of you, Mister Kyuji! You can go ahead!¡± She said, stepping aside. And the players waiting in front of her noticed me. ¡°Ohh! It¡¯s that old bow guy! You go on ahead!¡± ¡°Woah! It really is him!¡± And before I knew it, all of the players who had been waiting in line were offering me their position. Though, I think there were a few who were thinking, ¡®I don¡¯t know who this old man is, but I¡¯ll just go with the flow¡¯¡­ Well, it wasn¡¯t that I didn¡¯t feel grateful¡­but I couldn¡¯t accept it either way. ¡°Please don¡¯t mind me. We should all just go by the original order.¡± They seemed to agree, and they returned to their spot in the queue. Things went smoothly after that. And after a little more smalltalk, my turn finally came. I stood in front of the target and calmed my breathing. With monsters, you had to shoot with a feeling of nervousness because you could die if you didn¡¯t shoot. So it felt really different to be able to shoot in a completely safe environment. In any case, these targets didn¡¯t move like monsters did, so it should be much easier. There would be no problem if I just shot like I always do. The target was about 60 meters away and 100 cm in diameter. You were allowed to shoot 4 arrows. You would receive 100 points for hitting the center, and less the further your arrow was from it. The passing line was a total of 280 points. In other words, if you got more than 70 points with each shot, you would be able to pass. ¡°Alright¡­let¡¯s go!¡¯ Kiririri¡­I pulled the bowstring and unleashed it with a shu! And with a ¡®suton!¡¯ the arrow landed in the center. I repeated this 4 times. I didn¡¯t need a break in between shots. I just shot one after another. As calm as if I was just breathing¡­ ¡°¡­Oh. Surprisingly, I didn¡¯t miss any.¡± I thought that being in an unfamiliar place would affect my aim, but I had hit the center every time. I didn¡¯t really know why, but archery just seemed to be a good fit for me. ¡°Amazing! I knew you would do it, Mister Kyuji!¡± ¡°Uh, huh!?¡± A round of applause erupted from the archery range. Apparently, they had all stopped to watch me. I had been so focused that I didn¡¯t even notice the change in sounds¡­ But the fact that I wasn¡¯t sensitive to my surroundings showed that I still needed to grow. ¡°Uh, thank you!¡± I wasn¡¯t used to being praised like this. And so I just waved my hand and left. It felt weird. I wasn¡¯t some kind of idol. But I would feel bad if I left without saying anything. Regardless, I would likely think back on it with embarrassment¡­ But it couldn¡¯t hurt¡­being an old idol once in a while. ¡®Well done-nyon! It seems like no one can match you when it comes to the bow-nyon!¡¯ Charin appeared out of nowhere. Huh? So she recognized me? ¡°Thank you. So remember me.¡± ¡®AI are just like humans, and we remember players who leave an impression-nyon! Especially since all of the versions of me are connected-nyon!¡¯ I see. They are all the same Charin then. So it was no wonder that someone with a strange playstyle, like myself, would be remembered. ¡®Now, the medal¡­ But before that, will you take on the ultra difficult stage for a chance to receive the special prize-nyon?¡¯ ¡°Yeah, of course.¡± I would receive the medal along with the special reward. It would feel good to receive them after everything was done. ¡®Well then, I¡¯ll take you to the ultra difficult stage-nyon!¡¯ The place that Charin led me to was a¡­stable. Co-could it be¡­ ¡®As you may have guessed, you will be shooting on horseback-nyon! Yes, the combination of human and horse! Surely it is the perfect way to end the Sagittarius trial-nyon!¡¯ Neeeighhh! The horses seemed to agree with Charin¡¯s words. But I¡¯ve never ridden a horse¡­! No, maybe I have¡­? It was¡­during the turf war. I had ridden a horse-type monster called a ¡®Mach Horse¡¯ that Hatake had let me borrow. But Hatake had left such a strong impression that I forgot about the horse. However, and perhaps I wasn¡¯t actually qualified enough to be making such observations, but¡­riding the Mach Horse was nothing like riding a real horse. That monster had been designed for comfort when riding. It was much faster than a bicycle, but there was hardly any shaking. It almost seemed to slide through the field as it took me to the base. Besides, I then got off and started shooting on my feet. So I had no experience shooting from atop a horse. And I doubted that this horse¡­would be quite as comfortable. This was NSO. While things were simplified a little, I was sure that they had prepared a very realistic horse-riding experience. But I had never ridden a horse in real life¡­! CH 63 Data.57 ¨C Old Bowman, Sagittarius Trial In any case, nothing would start until I chose which horse I would ride. After all, I had to shoot from horseback. I would have to perform this stunt of aiming and shooting while riding on a horse. According to Charin, the course was about 200 meters in a straight line, and there were three targets lined up. This time, it wasn¡¯t about points. You had to hit the circle in the center of the target to pass. However, you would fail if you missed even one of the three targets. I had been allowed to see a replica of the target in advance, and the center was about the same size as the part of the previous target that got you 100 points. In other words, the target wouldn¡¯t be harder to aim at. That is, if you ignored the part where I had to be on a horse. ¡°Hmm. I don¡¯t know much about horses, so I have no idea which one will be faster. No, perhaps I should pick one that is slower and more stable¡­?¡± Well, I suppose I would have to go by instinct then. As our eyes had met, I chose a chestnut horse. It was already saddled once you took it out of the stables, and so the player just needed to get on top of it. And even if you didn¡¯t know, a tutorial window opened up, and so you just needed to follow it and you would be able to get up on the horse. The tutorial also said that the horse might attack you if it was in a bad mood, but my chestnut steed seemed to have a quiet personality. Now, I should practice a little first. ¡°Uhh¡­go!¡± Unlike real horses, it would understand spoken orders. The horse moved into a trot. There was already a lot of swaying, and it hurt your butt¡­ ¡°Ru-run!¡± The horse rushed forward at full speed. ¡®Use your legs to hold on tightly to the horse¡¯s body, and your hips to stabilize your upper half-nyon!¡¯ ¡°Understood¡­!¡± I tensed my legs and clamped them around the horse. Indeed, there was less shaking after that. But I still didn¡¯t feel that I could aim with my bow. And so I had to move my hips along with the horse and try to minimize the amount of shaking for my torso at the least. Alright, it was getting better. Now I had to hold up the bow. It was a special Japanese-style bow, and one of the larger ones in the game. However, since my old Windcloud Bow was also in that style, it wasn¡¯t much of a departure. It felt pretty comfortable in my hands. And while the arrows were also a little different in design, it was nothing to worry about. In other words, the only problem was the horse. ¡®Why don¡¯t you try the actual challenge now-nyon? You can do it as many times as you want, so there¡¯s no pressure-nyon!¡¯ That was true. There were things that you couldn¡¯t see until you tried. And so I told Charin that I would do it, and then I waited in front of a large gate made of wood. I couldn¡¯t see what was on the other side, but it was likely the course. ¡®10 seconds before opening!¡¯ 9, 8, 7¡­ As the countdown started, I grew more nervous. ¡®Zero! Open!¡¯ At the same time that the gate opened, the horse dashed ahead at full speed. Hey, wait a second! It was way faster than it was during practice! ¡°Ah, there he is!¡± ¡°The old bowman is coming!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll do it in one shot!¡± ¡°No one else has been able to do it on their first try!¡± So there were even spectators watching from outside of the course¡­ But horseback archery was usually performed during ceremonies and rituals, so maybe this was the right way to do it? That being said, they were asking a lot from me with these expectations¡­! And I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about it¡­! The first target was getting closer and closer. It would be closer than it was during the first trial. I stabilize my body and¡­shoot! Kiririri¡­ Shu! As I was a little late, I had to bend backwards in order to cover for it. It was a good thing that I didn¡¯t fall off, but I wasn¡¯t sure if I had even hit the target or not. And before I knew it, the next one was closing in. This time I shot¡­quickly! Kiririri¡­ Shu! Yes, the timing was good. Kiririri¡­ Shu! I hit it¡­! Now I just had to hope that all of them had hit the center. ¡®And now for the results! Mister Kyuji¡¯s results are¡­¡¯ Charin paused for dramatic effect. However, the audience reaction had given me a good hint¡­ ¡®All arrows hit the center! You pass-nyon!!¡¯ ¡°Phew¡­ That¡¯s good.¡± Part of it was being able to meet their expectations, and part of it was that my butt couldn¡¯t take being on this horse any longer. Had I failed this time, I would have probably waited a while before doing it again¡­ But then again, there was also a part of me that wanted to ride the horse for longer. Humans were complicated creatures. ¡®Now-now! It¡¯s time to give you the Sagittarius medal! There is no one more fitting to receive it-nyon!¡¯ The Sagittarius constellation was depicted on the front, and the legendary centaur with a bow was on the back side. ¡®And here is your special reward! It¡¯s the ¡®Star Arrow¡¯-nyon!¡¯ Well, that was an easy to understand item. ¡­Huh? This item didn¡¯t have a ¡®Use¡¯ option. Not for me or Garbow. So¡­was it just a crafting material then? It seemed unlikely, but I had no choice but to store it away for now. So, thanks to it being my strong area, I was able to finish it quickly. Though, it had also made me quite nervous¡­ The sun was still high in the sky. So I might as well finish the next labyrinth today as well. ¡°If I continue in this order, the next would be the Scorpio Labyrinth. A scorpion, huh¡­ I don¡¯t have a good feeling about that. I wonder what kind of labyrinth it will be¡­?¡± ¡°Unlike this place, the Scorpio Labyrinth is a real dungeon. There is only one special rule. You have to enter it as a 4-player party. So even if you try doing it solo, you¡¯ll be randomly matched with other solo players.¡± ¡°You¡­ Hatake?¡± ¡°Why is that a question? I look exactly the same as the last time we met, old man.¡± It was Mister Hatake, the ¡®Flag Magician¡¯ who was also a 3rd. I had only interacted with him during one event, but he had been quite the memorable character. And was troublesome in some ways. Why was he here¡­ ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing, but I will admit it. I went into the dungeon with members of my guild, but I alone failed. They got through, but say that they don¡¯t want to do it again¡­¡± Ah, so that was why¡­ I had an idea of what he was going to suggest. ¡°Please! Can you help me take on the Scorpio dungeon!? I cast buffs, so there is no point if my comrades aren¡¯t strong! And I don¡¯t know anyone else outside of the guild!¡± While Hatake sounded desperate, he did not lower his head. Not that I wanted him to. But I was impressed that he could make a request with such earnest vigor while keeping his back completely straight. I would probably be bowing repeatedly in his shoes. Of course, that was completely unnecessary. We were just playing a game. And if it was just one dungeon, then I didn¡¯t mind working with him. It was probably better for me as well, as I wouldn¡¯t have to be with a player I didn¡¯t know at all. But if he asks me to join his guild¡­then I would refuse. CH 64 Data.58 ¨C Old Bowman, Scorpio Trial ¡°I don¡¯t mind. If I¡¯m going to team up with four people anyway, then I¡¯d feel better if I was with someone I know.¡± ¡°Ah! You don¡¯t know how grateful I am, old man!¡± While that matter was settled, we still needed to take on the Scorpio Labyrinth as a party of four. And since matching was random, we would still have to play with people that we didn¡¯t know. Was Hatake worried about that at all? If this trial required four players, then it would be quite hard¡­ ¡°Did you hear that! He accepted my request!¡± ¡°Tsk. I didn¡¯t think that I¡¯d lose to you¡­it¡¯s more humiliating than I thought.¡± Said a person with short blue hair, who had appeared from behind Mister Hatake. There was something cool and androgynous about him. The character had been created to feel slightly boyish. And I had seen him before. ¡°You¡­were with Hatake during the turf war, weren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yeah. Unfortunately, we¡¯re in the same guild. My name is Petta, and in spite of appearances, I¡¯m a woman. Both in game and in real life. My job is ¡®Trumpeter¡¯ and I¡¯m a 2nd.¡± Well, I had assumed she was a he during the turf war, but I was wrong. In any case, what kind of job was ¡®Trumpeter¡¯? It didn¡¯t sound like something that had branched off from ¡®Warrior,¡¯ ¡®Sorcerer,¡¯ or ¡®Shooter¡¯¡­ ¡°I knew you would be curious about my job, seeing as you¡¯re a famous player that everyone is talking about now. As you might have guessed, it¡¯s not a typical class-change. It¡¯s a special class that can be reached by raising your first job to the limit and then fulfilling certain requirements. Though, in my case, I just happened to pick up the right item.¡± I didn¡¯t know about that system¡­ But ¡®Special Class¡¯ had such a nice ring to it. ¡°By the way, even if you¡¯re already a 2nd, if you have fulfilled the requirements, you can change your class to something else. As your level will be the same as before, you can¡¯t keep changing your class in order to raise your level and become stronger. And since skills are generally dependant on jobs and weapons, you¡¯re likely to get more of them if you continue with the same one.¡± I see¡­ So you could change classes horizontally as well then. If you weren¡¯t allowed to change it later on, then the special class system would be wasted. According to Petta, having a special item allowed you to switch to a special class, but not many would happen to have such an item. And so if you couldn¡¯t change it later, only the luckiest people would be able to become a special class. ¡°So¡­what kind of job is Trumpeter?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but ask. It was rather rude, as it was like asking someone to reveal their secrets, but my curiosity regarding something as cool as special classes was too strong. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t tell you too much. But I suppose¡­I¡¯m good with sound attacks¡­and buffs¡­¡± ¡°Oh? Buffs eh¡­¡± But didn¡¯t Hatake do that as well? That was probably why she hesitated to say it. During the end of the turf war, their guild had sent their best to go and attack the enemy base. And so there were two buffers there¡­ It made me wonder about the guild composition. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I didn¡¯t choose Trumpeter because I wanted to support others. It was just that I learned those skills after choosing it. The real reason is that I like the idea of attacking with ¡®sound.¡¯¡± ¡°Attacking with sound¡­?¡± ¡°You know, how sometimes in RPGs, you can use musical instruments as weapons? In other words, they are attacking with sounds. And I thought¡­you¡¯d be very powerful if you could do the same thing in a VR game¡­ After all, it¡¯s an attack that you can¡¯t see.¡± ¡°I suppose¡­¡± It was definitely an interesting idea¡­! Just like I had thought to make use of the vast VRMMO maps by increasing my range and picking off enemies from afar, she had seen the advantage of invisible attacks in a game that was close to real life. Usually in RPGs, the battle ability of people who fought with musical instruments was quite low. However, if it was real, then you couldn¡¯t block sound with a shield, and you wouldn¡¯t know how wide of an area the attack had. So¡­it could be very strong? ¡°So you and Hatake are in the same guild?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re here. Is that because you also failed the Scorpio trial?¡± ¡°No, I cleared it on my first try. But he cried and begged me to come.¡± Petta said, pointing at Mister Hatake. I could imagine that. At the same time, it told me that she wasn¡¯t the type of person to ignore those in need. ¡°But I was worried if it was just her. After all, she¡­¡± ¡°Hey! Keep your mouth shut!¡± ¡°Why? He¡¯ll find out as soon as we enter the dungeon anyway.¡± ¡°Then you can wait until then!¡± ¡°Fine¡­ Alright, old man! Let¡¯s go to the Scorpio dungeon!¡± The conversation ended just as something concerning had been brought up¡­ Yes, perhaps Hatake really was a force of nature that threw me into harsh situations. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô The Scorpio Labyrinth was in the desert. As the scorching sun shone over our heads, we slowly made our way over the sand. ¡°Old man! I¡¯ll explain the special rules to you so we can enter as soon as we arrive!¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°First, the entrance is a pyramid. It¡¯s a wonderful sight, you¡¯ll want to take plenty of screenshots.¡± I wished he hadn¡¯t said that¡­ Now the surprise was sort of ruined¡­ ¡°As for what Charin looks like¡­¡± ¡°Ne-nevermind that. Tell me about the dungeon.¡± ¡°Oh, really?¡± I would be really annoyed if he told me that much. After all, I was actually looking forward to seeing how she would be dressed in each area. ¡°As I keep saying, it¡¯s limited to a party of 4. And Unisons count as one player. I didn¡¯t know that you had one¡­put it¡¯s perfect! Now there are four of us!¡± ¡°Uh, great¡­¡± Garbow wasn¡¯t out right now. I felt bad about making him swim over a desert with the sun shining down. ¡°Now, the requirement for getting the medal is that you¡¯re alive after killing the boss at the end.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very simple.¡± ¡°All of it is relatively simple. That¡¯s what makes it so dangerous. As for the special reward, there are monsters called ¡®Hell Stingers¡¯ in the dungeon. And you have to kill 5 of them before clearing the dungeon. And players who are killed by Hell Stingers¡­cannot come back to life. In other words, you won¡¯t receive any medals at that point. Even if the rest of the party finishes the trial!¡± ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s how you¡­¡± ¡°I was stung¡­! It was quite impressive, really¡­ And it was straight to hell in one shot¡­ No, that was a figurative expression. They can¡¯t actually oneshot you, so don¡¯t worry. However, it¡¯s true that they are much stronger than the other monsters.¡± So¡­you received a reward for killing a lot of strong monsters. Yes, they were very simple rules for an rpg. ¡°Oh, there¡¯s the pyramid.¡± Petta pointed. And there it was, just like the spoilers said. Well, it was still an impressive sight even if you knew what to expect. As for Charin¡­she had tanned skin, and revealing clothes with golden accessories inspired by Egypt. But even with a different hairstyle, she had the same golden hair, which looked odd. These kinds of clothes suited black hair, in my opinion. ¡®The rules here are simple! Be alive during the moment that the boss falls-nyon! Kill 5 Hell Stingers and you¡¯ll also get a special reward! Now, off you go to the pyramid-nyon!¡¯ ¡°You heard her. It¡¯s off to the pyramid!¡± Hatake said as he pulled me inside. Just like the exterior, the inside was made up of stone walls, forming an expansive labyrinth that stretched out before us. If this was an old action movie, the floor would fall out and we¡¯d be in danger of falling into a pit of sharp stakes. And there might be hidden passages and long corridors where we¡¯d be chased by boulders¡­ In any case, there was no time limit, so we might as well take it slowly. ¡°It¡¯s this way, old man! We went this way last time, so we know it¡¯s safe!¡± ¡°I-I see¡­¡± But was it really? What if the shape of this dungeon changed randomly? As if in answer to this doubt, the wall near Hatake suddenly crumbled. And what appeared from the other side¡­was a giant red and black scorpion. ¡°Ah, look! This is a Hell Stinger! You¡¯ll fail if it kills you! And so¡­please help me!¡± I knew¡­that this would happen. And well, I was prepared to deal with it. ¡°Petta, can you cast some buffs? The scorpion looks very tough¡­and¡­¡± ¡°Ahhh! I just hate these bug monsters¡­! Don¡¯t you know? Scorpions are related to spiders¡­! They¡¯re so gross¡­! I shouldn¡¯t have come back, no matter how sorry I felt for him¡­! I don¡¯t want to have to fight them again¡­! I-I¡¯m not ready¡­¡± ¡°What¡­¡± Now¡­this, I had not expected. CH 65 Data.59 ¨C Old Bowman, Scorpion from Hell While she came off as being a tomboy, Petta could be surprisingly girly¡­ Actually, disliking bugs had nothing to do with being a girl. After all, I hated them too¡­! However, scorpions weren¡¯t as bad as others. These scorpion-type monsters, called Hell Stingers. They were indeed scary, but it was quite different from the repulsion felt by bugs. I was simply the fear you feel from being in front of a powerful enemy. At the same time, there was something cool about the black and red armor that covered their bodies. Besides, these were stylized monsters, and didn¡¯t really feel like real-life creatures. That was the thing with bugs. They looked cool if you took the basic design and made them more fantastical¡­ Like mechas. However, Petta seemed like she hated bugs no matter how unrealistic they were. You sometimes met people like that. Hatake was wielding a flag, which was his weapon. It was a long pole with some cloth attached to it, so it would have a lot of reach, like a staff. But he also seemed to be shrinking back, and I doubted that he would be much use in a fight¡­ As always, I would have to get through this with Garbow¡¯s help. Kishaaaaa! The Hell Stinger let out a strange hiss, and at the same time, the tip of its tail opened up, revealing what looked like a syringe. A purple bullet of energy appeared and started to swell up. And then it was fired in my direction. So it had ranged attacks¡­! ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Garbow moved to cover me. It activated Energy Shield, which created a small shield of energy, and blocked the bullet. ¡°Garbow! Holy Splash!¡± This was a desert dungeon, and so I had thought that water attacks would be effective on the monsters here, but I was wrong. The Hell Stinger absorbed the water. Just like a dry desert¡­ ¡°In that case, let¡¯s try 8 missiles!¡± It was a special attack from ¡®Missile Pod,¡¯ which I had rarely used. It would send 8 missiles right into the enemy. Since it was based on a modern weapon, its power was undeniable. And so even something as hard as the Hell Stinger took damage. ¡°Drill Arrow!¡± Kiriririri¡­shu! Kyuuuuin! The Hell Stinger¡¯s armor was like rock. Maybe this skill would be effective. The rotating arrowhead hit the scorpion¡¯s head. And just as I had suspected, it drilled through the armor and pierced into its body. However, it would still not disappear. It was no wonder you had to kill 5 of them to get the reward. This thing was so tough that it might as well have been a boss¡­! ¡°Uhhh¡­I think I¡¯m getting used to it¡­¡± Petta stood up on shaking legs and then brought the trumpet up to her lips. ¡°Break Melody¡­!¡± And then she played the trumpet whose sound you could not see. However, upon being bathed with her music, the Hell Stinger writhed on the ground and then burst into light before disappearing. So this was the power of sound¡­! ¡°This skill can ignore any defenses and deal damage. However, as its attack ability is quite low, I¡¯m better off using normal attacks on enemies with low defense. Phew¡­! Now that disgusting thing is finally out of my sight¡­!¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s about the only useful sound attack skill that Petta has!¡± Hatake had been quivering with fear a second ago, but he seemed fine now. It was impressive how quickly he could change. ¡°Tsk! You have a big mouth for someone who didn¡¯t do anything¡­ Anyway, thanks, old man. I¡¯m sorry you had to see us like that.¡± ¡°Not at all. I hate bugs too, so I understand how you feel.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that. I knew there was something special about you during the turf war, and it seems like I wasn¡¯t wrong.¡± ¡°Right? I told you that I had a good eye for finding people!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not giving you credit for that! Come on, let¡¯s do ¡®it!¡¯¡± ¡°Hmph¡­ Right, ¡®it!¡¯¡± It¡­ What was ¡®it¡¯? But they started to move before I could ask. Hatake struck the ground with the end of his flag as he advanced. Click-click¡­puu-puu¡­click-click¡­puuu-puu¡­ Were they trying to make music? ¡°Ah, I better explain this to you, or you¡¯ll think we¡¯re crazy. Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯re doing this as a way of finding traps.¡± According to Petta¡¯s explanation¡­ The floor traps were activated by any kind of shock applied to the area. And so hitting the floor could cause them to activate before you reached them. As for the Hell Stingers in the walls, just like earlier, they came out when a player passed by. However, by blasting the walls with sounds, they would come out earlier, and so you could avoid being ambushed. So, though it may have looked strange, their actions had proper meaning. Thanks to them, we were able to avoid several traps in the ground. However, we weren¡¯t attacked by any Hell Stingers after that¡­ But we needed to kill 5 in order to get the reward. ¡°They become more common the deeper you go. There are 5 floors in this dungeon, though the last one is the boss room, so I guess there are only 4 that you can explore.¡± ¡°In other words, the 4th floor will be the best place to encounter Hell Stingers.¡± ¡°Yes. So we can look for Hell Stingers after we reach the 5th floor and are ready to take on the boss. If anything, that would be ideal. Because it¡¯s not like they will stop appearing after we kill 5 of them. So it will be a waste if we kill 5 in the beginning.¡± It was certainly different when you had someone with you who had already beaten it once. Basically, it was best to be able to reach the 4th floor without fighting too much. ¡°Ah! Look, old man! It¡¯s the stairs that lead to the next floor!¡± At the end of the passage was a huge staircase. Petta had also explained that the location of the stairs changed randomly every time you entered. While there weren¡¯t many floors in this dungeon, each was quite vast. And so if you were unlucky, you might be wandering inside for a long time. ¡°Now that we can see the stairs, we should just dash through instead of wasting time!¡± Hatake started to run forward. It was such a typically conceited move. And to no one¡¯s surprise, he was ambushed by a Hell Stinger that broke through the walls. ¡°HEELP MEE!¡± Somehow, I had known this would happen. And I answered with an attack. ¡°Sky Tear!¡± This charge attack had great piercing ability. It easily pierced through the Hell Stinger, dealing damage and causing it to stagger back. In the meantime, Hatake ran back towards us. ¡°Petta. Use that skill¡­¡± ¡°Hehe¡­ I wonder how long it will take me this time¡­for my fingers to stop shaking so that I can blow this trumpet¡­¡± Uh. So she needed to mentally prepare each time¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t worry old man, I¡¯m here! And I am burning with hatred for that scorpion! Now is the time for you to witness my true power!¡± Hatake raised his flag. His class was Flag Magician, and they were good with buffs. If he cast an attack buff on me, it would make it a lot easier to face the Hell Stinger with its hard shell. However, would Mister Hatake really be able to fulfill his role here¡­?! CH 66 Data.60 ¨C Old Bowman, Golden Dead King ¡°Old man! Take this buff!¡± Hatake waved his flag and then a beautiful, blue aura surrounded me. ¡°Defense Enhance! Now you won¡¯t have to worry about its attacks! So, go and defeat that horrible scorpion!¡± Hmm. Not quite what I had in mind. It was true that the Hell Stingers had powerful attacks, and so enhancing my defenses seemed like a good decision. But my defense status was low from the beginning, so raising it wouldn¡¯t mean much. They say that offense is the greatest defense, and it would have been better to buff my attack ability so that I could kill it quickly. And so I would have to slow down the Hell Stinger in order to ask Hatake to cast a different buff. ¡°Intimidating Eyes!¡± Even scorpions had eyes. After being hit by the effect of the skill, the Hell Stinger stopped for a few seconds. It was such a powerful skill that I couldn¡¯t understand why more people weren¡¯t talking about it. ¡°Old man, what skill was that!?¡± ¡°Uh, it¡¯s called Intimidating Eyes, and you can freeze enemies by looking them in the eye.¡± ¡°I know that skill! After all, I have it too! But it usually doesn¡¯t work at this range, and even when it does, they barely stop moving at all! In other words, it¡¯s a sort of useless skill!¡± ¡°I-is that right?¡± The effect of Intimidating Eyes weakened the farther away you were from the enemy. Because it didn¡¯t have much range¡­ Could this be another skill that was enhanced because of my status? Perhaps my range being so long meant that the area of effect was widened and so the effect was also stronger. Who would have thought that increasing your range would come with such a bonus. ¡°Mister Hatake. Cast an attack buff on me while there¡¯s still time.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right! Let¡¯s hurry up and take this scorpion down so we can advance!¡± Hatake waved his flag, and this time I was surrounded by a red aura. And I immediately felt that my attack power had gone up. ¡°Drill Arrow! Rapid Fire!¡± The effect of the buff was instant. After being hit by multiple arrows, the Hell Stinger was annihilated. This was the second one. As long as we worked together, they were nothing to fear. That¡¯s why they wanted a party of 4 to go through this dungeon. That being said, you failed the trial the moment you made a mistake and died by them. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°Attack Enhance!¡± ¡°Break Melody¡­! Ugghhh¡­!¡± ¡°Bow Shower!¡± We worked together to shower the monster with attacks. It was a giant worm-like monster called a Mongolian Death Worm that broke out of the wall. It was based on a creature that is alleged to exist in the real world. That being said, there sure were a lot of scary monsters in the desert that evoked hell and death. ¡°I¡­really hate this dungeon¡­ Everything is so gross¡­ And we¡¯ve already had to kill 10 Hell Stingers¡­¡± Petta was covered in wounds. As she stated, we had been unlucky enough to encounter 10 Hell Stingers, meaning we killed twice as many as we needed to. They didn¡¯t just come out of the walls, but would jump down from the ceiling or pop out from a corner like someone from an old romantic comedy. You could never let your guard down. ¡°Still, we¡¯ve found the stairs leading to the boss floor! Now I can finally get a Scorpio medal! And a special reward too!¡± In spite of everything, Hatake seemed excited. He was like the eye of the storm. While everyone else was tossed about around him, he was not affected. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s brace ourselves and take on the boss.¡± We climbed the stairs and reached the 5th and final floor. It was a square, well, pyramid-shaped area. And the floor was covered in sand. This might make it difficult to walk. ¡°Ah, the coffin just moved!¡± There was a golden coffin in the far back, and it started to shake. Then the lid was blown off, and out came a mummy that was wrapped in gold bandages. The Gold Mummy. While I usually thought of mummies as being skinny, this one was muscular and tall. It was something more likely to appear in a thrilling action movie than a horror. ¡°Alright, alright! I¡¯m completely fine when it comes to enemies like this!¡± Petta said as she raised her fist into the air. While this enemy was a mummy, it was so wrapped up that you couldn¡¯t see what was inside. And so it wasn¡¯t really scary. However, the size and golden wrappings did make it intimidating. Surely it was powerful and tough as well¡­ Maybe I should find out. ¡°Letter Arrow!¡± It was a skill that allowed you to see information regarding enemy monsters that you hit. You wouldn¡¯t be able to learn everything, but you could learn what attributes they had and the names of their skills, which could lead to finding their weaknesses. The Gold Mummy just stood there and took the arrows as they came. ¡ô Gold Mummy Attribute: Spirit/Rock Skill: Gold Fist, Sand Blade, Bind Band Commentary: An ancient king of the desert. A great lover of shining golden treasure. So much so that he ordered for his body to be wrapped in golden bandages when he died. On the other hand, he was gifted with great size and martial arts ability in battle. That was a lot of information¡­ But it gave me an idea of its combat style. It would fight us with close quarters combat. And this Gold Fist sounded a lot like a charge attack¡­ ¡°Hatake, Petta¡­I¡¯ll share the information with you.¡± You could share information from Letter Arrow with other party members. Now, how would we fight, since there was no clear advance guard in this party¡­ ¡°I guess I¡¯ll just attack.¡± After receiving buffs from Hatake, Garbow and I switched to attacking. This Gold Mummy had the spirit and rock attributes. In other words, Drill Arrow and Holy Splash would be effective. Kiriri¡­shu! The rotating arrow and holy water bullet shot towards the mummy. The bandages unraveled from the mummy¡¯s arms, and it swung them like whips, knocking my attacks out of the air. I see. There was no point in being effective if they couldn¡¯t even reach it¡­ ¡°Break Melody!¡± BUOOOOOO!! She had blown so hard that the sound that resulted was horrible. However, Petta seemed to have finally found her groove. You could not block an attack you couldn¡¯t see. Even his bandages wouldn¡¯t help now. However, as Petta had said previously, the cost of ignoring an enemy¡¯s defense was very low power. ¡°Then how about a different sound! Burn Melody!¡± She sounded even worse than before. And the thing that was unleashed¡­was a musical note. Those symbols that look like tadpoles. And the black round part was blinking red like some kind of bomb. ¡°Most of Petta¡¯s sound skills are like this¡­ You can ¡®see¡¯ the sound! It¡¯s only Break Melody and normal attacks that are special!¡± Mister Hatake explained. You could see the sound¡­huh. Well, at this point, it was just a normal ranged weapon then. ¡°While these sounds can be seen, they still have features that are unique to ¡®sound.¡¯¡± After being unleashed, the musical note moved quickly. Even the agile Gold Mummy was unable to dodge it. And this time, it carved a chunk out of the HP gauge. ¡°Not quite¡­the speed of sound, but it¡¯s one of the faster ranged weapons. Besides, ¡®sound¡¯ echoes! This skill doesn¡¯t ignore an enemy¡¯s defenses, but it can ignore the defense stats of equipment. Because it echoes on the inside!¡± While Break Melody ignored all defenses, Burn Melody ignored defenses of equipment and dealt damage. Though the Gold Mummy was wrapped in tough-looking gold bandages, it was a mummy inside. And so no matter how big it was, it should easily crumble. And so being able to have your attack echo inside of it would do a lot of damage. It really was interesting to watch other players fight. Everyone had their own style and ideals. ¡­But there was no time to get distracted. The Gold Mummy started to create small mummies, ¡°U-um¡­ Should there really be this many?¡± There were dozens of them now. And they all attacked us at once. It was like a scene out of a monster movie¡­ ¡°Bow Shower!¡± I used a rain of arrows to decrease their number. As they were not bound in gold bandages, they were easy to kill. However, it seemed that they would continue to spawn until you killed the actual boss. Perhaps I should lure the small mummies away, and then use Warp Arrow to get behind the Gold Mummy and then ambush it with Sky Tear¡­ ¡°Warp Arrow!¡± ¡°Full Enhance!¡± ¡°Sky Tear!¡± ¡­Something was sandwiched in between my skill combo. ¡°Ah, you shouldn¡¯t have warped! That just wasted my most powerful buff!¡± Apparently, Hatake had cast Full Enhance on me, but as I had warped out of his range, it had been cast on himself instead. Now that I thought about it, he had used Full Enhance on me once before. And he had said that it could only be used once a day. In exchange, it enhanced all kinds of stats, making it a very powerful buff. But it didn¡¯t last very long¡­ ¡°Well, if it¡¯s on me, then I might as well use it. I¡¯ll deal the final blow!¡± And then Hatake charged at the Gold Mummy. He was fast¡­! The buff was working! ¡°Flag Rush!¡± He used the flag like a spear, and stabbed the enemy multiple times. Even though he was attacking over the golden bandages, the boss¡¯s HP started to drop. That was how effective the buff was. Thanks to my Sky Tear, Petta¡¯s Burn Melody, and Garbow, who ignored the small mummies and continued to target the Gold Mummy, it had lost a lot of HP already. But just as I thought Hatake could end it with his attacks¡­ The Gold Mummy swung its great arm and slammed it into Hatake, sending him flying into the air. Hatake crashed into the wall. However, he wasn¡¯t killed. The buff had raised his defenses too. And the Gold Mummy¡¯s attention was still directed at him. If I used this opportunity to shoot at its back¡­! ¡°Damage Boost!¡± Hatake shouted, and the last of the Gold Mummy¡¯s HP was carved away. And like that, it vanished, taking the small mummies with it. What kind of attack was that¡­ ¡°I did it! I thought it would be a dud, but it was quite useful after all! It¡¯s a special skill that allows you to increase the damage you dealt to an enemy, after the fact. But I didn¡¯t really understand it. And so I didn¡¯t use it, knowing that Petta would just laugh at me!¡± Was there anything he couldn¡¯t buff¡­? I sometimes forgot that he was a 3rd, which meant he was ahead of me. And I admired his dedication to a single talent. The only issue was that he didn¡¯t seem to be too aware of it himself. It was like he wasn¡¯t completely sure how to even use the buffs. His style relied so much on luck¡­ Well, in any case, we had cleared the Scorpio Trial. And so I felt gratitude towards my party. CH 67 Data.61 ¨C Old Bowman, Under the Flag ¡®Congratulations on beating the dungeon-nyon!¡¯ Charin appeared. ¡®Since none of you were killed, you will all be presented with a medal-nyon! Ah, actually, we can¡¯t give it to Mister Fish and players who have already got one, so it¡¯s two players to be precise-nyon!¡¯ And so Hatake and I were given the Scorpion medals. As always, it had the constellation made of jewels. And on the back¡­was a realistic scorpion. It looked pretty cool to me, but Petta probably hated hers¡­ ¡®And¡­ Oh, what a surprise-nyon! You defeated 10 Hell Stingers-nyon! But the special reward is still the same-nyon! Rules are rules, okay-nyon?¡¯ The special reward was simply Gold Nuggets. Its effect was also simple. It sold for a high price. There were few items that were this simple. However, I had never lacked for money in this game. In this world, the monetary unit was NS. There were various ways of acquiring it, but the best was to kill monsters. And since I had been doing little but defeating monsters, my money kept increasing. You could also sell the items that monsters dropped. I would also sell old equipment that was inferior and didn¡¯t have any special skills. Especially if I didn¡¯t like the way they looked or they didn¡¯t have any particular sentimental value to me. Crafting items were also easy to acquire, and I had no idea how to use most of them. And so I kept most of them just in case. However, if I acquired too much of one material, I would sell it as well. As for what you could do with all of this money called ¡®NS¡¯¡­there wasn¡¯t much. Well, I was able to buy loads of recovery items for my adventures. After all, neither Garbow or I had recovery skills, so it was our lifeline. However, that was about it as far as using money. It seemed like other players used money for ¡®strengthening their weapons,¡¯ but in my case, the Windcloud set was rare and already very strong. If you wanted to make strong equipment even stronger, then you needed rare materials. And I had yet to find materials that could be used with the Windcloud set. Well, it¡¯s not like having too much money saved up was a problem, and I had no complaints in regards to the Windcloud set. They were my main set that worked perfectly with the current event. I liked them, and relied on their weapon skills and charge attacks, so I planned to continue to use them and enhance them eventually. However, there was no need to worry about strengthening them now. ¡®You will be warped to the entrance of the pyramid! Good work-nyon!¡¯ In a flash, our surroundings changed to the desert. So now I have 4 medals. As there were 12 labyrinths, this meant I had cleared a third of them. ¡°Thanks, old man! I was able to get a medal because of you!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. You helped me a lot as well.¡± We had helped each other. At first, I had thought that I made a big mistake joining this party, but in the end, I think that things went smoother than they would have had I been solo. ¡°Here¡¯s something to show my gratitude! Please accept it!¡± What Hatake sent me was¡­ A friend request. ¡°Uh¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to feel undeserving, just because I¡¯m a 3rd! After all, you¡¯re stronger than me, old man!¡± ¡°Uh, thanks.¡± ¡°It¡¯s to show my appreciation! Of course, it¡¯s not an invitation to our guild or anything. Just a personal connection! After all, if we let you in, then everyone would start to rely on you! I understand your playstyle pretty well. But then again, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯ve been up to after the turf war!¡± As I had survived even when alone during the turf war, Hatake must think that I was good when playing solo. And he wasn¡¯t wrong¡­ But during that event, I hadn¡¯t been solo by choice. Though I didn¡¯t see why I should point that out now. ¡°Could it be that you¡¯ve never accepted a friend request? Should I teach you how to do it?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ve done it recently.¡± And so I accepted the request. Now there were two player names on the list. Like Necoco, I had met Hatake a number of times, even though it was a coincidence. And he was someone who was easy to understand. And while there were some things about him that were rather unique, he understood my playstyle. I had no reason to refuse. Hatake had the expression of someone who thought there was no one in the world who would reject a friend request from him. I just wasn¡¯t a match for that kind of confidence. If you wanted to broaden your human connections, it was better to advertise yourself rather than be withdrawn. Once that was done, I glanced over to Petta. She had been quiet for a while now¡­ ¡°Ah, I only add people I know in real life. Sorry.¡± It couldn¡¯t be helped if she assumed that I had wanted to be added, given how the conversation was going. But now I look like some sad old guy who was rejected by the cool younger players, when it wasn¡¯t my intention! Still, it was good that she too was able to clearly state her opinion. I had been trained to say everything in a roundabout way, and was quite envious of that. ¡°Regardless, you really helped us. The members of our guild actually tried to help Hatake clear the dungeon a few times, but we couldn¡¯t. I think we were just lucky the first time. And so we had decided to just do it later. After all, it was taking too much time and there is the penalty for dying.¡± Is that right? When it was first brought up, Hatake had said that the others had already beaten it and couldn¡¯t bother to do it again. So I had been slightly worried that there was some friction within the guild. ¡°We post videos of our guild online, and Hatake is the most popular. It¡¯s because he¡¯s fun to watch regardless if he succeeds or fails. And so we all rely on him. He isn¡¯t disregarded or anything. But the composition of our guild is just a mess, which has been making the trials quite difficult.¡± ¡°Well, while a lot of game videos feature skilled players, there is definitely room for people who barely make it.¡± ¡°Right!? That¡¯s why we have to clear these high-level events on our own! While you helped us this time, we¡¯ll do the rest as a guild. I doubt we¡¯ll be asking for your help any time soon. So don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°I¡¯m also quite busy, since I¡¯m a popular gamer.¡± ¡°But you¡¯ve only started a short while ago! Well, maybe that¡¯s why you¡¯re busy.¡± Well, it was nice to see that the two got along. The conversation then moved to the next trial. ¡°Which labyrinth are you going to go to next, old man?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been choosing the closest ones, so the next would be the Libra Labyrinth.¡± ¡°Ah, we¡¯ve already cleared that one. But it¡¯s not the kind of trial that is easier just because you have a lot of people. Though, I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t have any trouble with it!¡± ¡°After all, it was still pretty easy for us. Maybe you can clear it in just one hour?¡± I get anxious when people say something is difficult, but I also get anxious when they say it is easy. You could never win with this personality. Besides, I had a feeling that it would be surprisingly difficult anyway¡­ That being said, I didn¡¯t ask for spoilers. It was better to discover things for myself. ¡°Well, goodbye then! Thanks for everything, old man!¡± ¡°We might need your help again one day. So we¡¯ll be counting on you!¡± ¡°Yeah! Let¡¯s do our best.¡± I separated from the two and headed to the Libra Labyrinth. The sun was starting to set, bathing the ground in red light. As I had already finished 2 trials, I would have normally returned to the first town and logged out. But things were different this time. There was a sort of non-spoiler but kind of a spoiler piece of information that Hatake had told me as a show of gratitude. ¡®The next trial takes place in a town, so you¡¯ll save time if you logout inside of that town.¡¯ And that town¡¯s name was ¡®Manimani Hills.¡¯ Something about it smelled of money¡­ CH 68 Data.62 ¨C Old Bowman, Libra Trial ¡°I see. This really does make me think of money.¡± It was said that monsters became more active during the night. And so I rushed into the town of Manimani Hills. To put it simply, it was a high-end residential area. Compared to the first town, each building here was luxurious and on a different level. Almost all of them were made with stone. And they were huge. And together with the lights that started to appear with the setting of the sun, they created a wonderful night view. If not a million dollar view, it was a million NS view. ¡°I guess this really is the town where the trial takes place¡­¡± Players were running through the night town and gathering in one area and then scattering afterwards. Charin was likely in the center of it. Hmm¡­ I wanted to at least know what the trial was, but if I found out, then I would want to start it. So I would have to control the urge and log out for now. I had already played a lot today, and needed to rest my mind and nerves. A true gamer couldn¡¯t go without sleep. But, maybe if it was just a little¡­ No, no, I can¡¯t¡­! ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô The next morning, I logged in and appeared in Manimani Hills. Even though it was early, the town was filled with wandering players. As it was a popular game, there were lots of players, no matter the time of day. And now I would join them. I joined the flow of players and started to run. And we soon arrived in front of a brick building. It¡­looks like a courthouse. This trial was based on the Libra sign. And when I think of scales, I think of lawyer badges¡­ Surely, this trial isn¡¯t going to be a court battle¡­!? It would make sense, since Hatake had said that going in larger numbers wasn¡¯t going to make it any easier. Perhaps you had to do it solo. Charin¡¯s costume also seemed to confirm this. Her blonde hair was in a ponytail, and she wore glasses with a red frame and a tight skirt¡­ This time, she actually looked the part. ¡®Welcome to the Libra Trial-nyon! I¡¯m just going to get this out of the way, but this isn¡¯t about a turnabout trial-nyon!¡¯ Well, of course. They wouldn¡¯t want to get sued. ¡®There is another game for people who want to do that, so go and play that-nyon! Ah, now I¡¯m advertising another company¡¯s game!¡¯ I could hear others muttering, ¡®I love those games¡­¡¯ in the back. I felt the same. ¡®This trial is¡­about guessing item prices-nyon!¡¯ Question marks seemed to appear over everyone¡¯s heads after hearing this. Mine as well. ¡®The rules are simple! When you sell items that monsters drop, you get money, don¡¯t you-nyon? And the sell price is always the same-nyon. If it¡¯s the same item, you can sell it for the same price no matter the time or location-nyon! Are you following me?¡¯ Everyone nodded. ¡®I¡¯m going to set a certain price now-nyon. And all of you will then go out into the town and pick up items that, when added together, have a sell price that matches it-nyon! If you get it right, then you¡¯ll win both the medal and the special reward! If the difference is within 500 NS, then you will only get the medal-nyon!¡¯ Well, this wasn¡¯t all that original either¡­! As I thought of such things, she continued to explain the rules. The only items you could use during this trial were items dropped from monsters in the area. And there was a clear line that had been drawn on the field so you knew how big the ¡®area¡¯ was. Furthermore, it had to be items picked up during the event. So items you already had did not count. ¡®The price I am setting¡­is 10,000 yen¡­not! 10,000 NS-nyon! Now, the trial begins-nyon!¡¯ After hearing this, the players started to scatter. But as this was not a competition with other players, there was no need to rush¡­ Or that was what I thought until I went out into the field. ¡°There are so many people¡­¡± It was no wonder. After all, you could only go out hunting in this area around the town. Normally, it would not be considered a small area, but it sure felt that way during an event with so many players hunting at the same time. Of course, this meant they had to fight over monsters. In NSO, if a monster was defeated by multiple players, the drop items and money was distributed based on the amount that each player contributed. In other words, someone couldn¡¯t just come in and deal the final blow to a monster that was already weakened, and take the item drops. However, if you could acquire a lot of items, then this event would be easy to beat. Because you could look up the price of each item. You could try selling them or just looking it up online. And based on that information, you could choose items that have an exact total of 10,000 NS. Of course, I¡¯m sure that Charin was aware that could happen. And so it had been made to be a little more difficult. The real difficulty of this trial was not really about finding items with the exact price in order to perfectly balance the scale. It was about being able to hunt monsters. After all, Hatake and Peta had said that it was easy. Hatake would just need to cast buffs on Peta, and she could use ¡®sound¡¯ to deal damage to monsters through wide area attacks. Even if it wasn¡¯t a lot of damage, as long as it was enough of a contribution, then they would receive drop items. Like this, she just needed to walk around the hunting ground and blow her trumpet as the items came in. Depending on the situation, this could result in fights with other players. However, it seemed that such behaviour was practically expected for this trial, so it was probably fine. But I wasn¡¯t capable of such sly hunting methods. However, hunting was a good match for someone with a bow and long range. The two had told me that it should be easy for me. And I wasn¡¯t about to prove them wrong¡­! CH 69 Data.63 ¨C Old Bowman, Money Hunt ¡°Windcloud Blast! Whirlwind! Floating Cloud!¡± The wind hit me, pushed me up, and I rode the clouds. I had succeeded in positioning myself right above the hunting grounds. Now I just needed to shoot any monsters I saw on the surface. If possible, I wanted to avoid taking any prey that other players were already fighting. And so I would target monsters that had just spawned on the field. With my range, I would be able to shoot them as soon as they appeared. Kiririri¡­shu! Zhunk! A lot of the monsters had body parts that shone like metal, or had jewels embedded into them. This was Manimani Hill, and even the monsters were rich. After all, it would normally be incredibly difficult to reach 10,000 NS by selling materials that monsters dropped. I would occasionally sell items that I didn¡¯t need, and even when selling dozens at a time, I never got close to 10,000. Pon, pon, Shuppon! The items that the monsters dropped would fly towards me automatically and be stored in my inventory. This system made hunting on the field a lot easier. In comparison, gathering items during the turf war had been very difficult. At the same time, I also got items from the monsters that Garbow was killing on the ground. As he was killing every monster in sight, it was possible that he was being a nuisance to other players¡­but he was a fish, and so I hoped they would forgive him¡­ Now, let¡¯s look at the items that I gathered. ¡°Woah. They are mostly precious stones¡­ If anything, I¡¯m worried that I¡¯ll exceed 10,000.¡± Looking up the prices would be the safe way to go about it, but I thought that I might as well go by instinct on my first try. And so once I had used Floating Cloud three times in an hour, which was the limit, I returned to the ground. Floating Cloud lasted for 5 minutes, which meant I had been hunting for 15 minutes total. Still, I had been able to get more than enough items. As short as that time was, I had been able to concentrate, and never missed any shots. Now I just need to select enough drop items to make 10,000 NS, and then give them to Charin. ¡°Yeah, I want to experience the excitement of going by instincts first.¡± And so I selected 4 ¡®Sapphire Fragments¡¯ and 2 ¡®Ruby Fragments¡¯ and submitted them to Charin. ¡®Ohh! While you could have gone the easy route, you decided to do it normally. I¡¯m impressed-nyon! As for whether the prices match up¡­they do not-nyon!¡¯ That was quick¡­! While there were other players waiting in line, there was no feeling of suspense at all. ¡®However, there is still hope-nyon! If the difference is within 500 NS, then you will be awarded the medal-nyon! As for the price of your items, Mister Kyuji¡­ Eighteen thousand! Way off!¡¯ Tsk. I guess precious stones really were more expensive¡­ And so a small miscalculation could push you way off. My guess had been that the Sapphire Fragments were 2,000 NS each, and the Ruby Fragments were 1,000 each. So, if it is 18,000, maybe I was right about the sapphires, and the rubies were about 5,000? Then I wonder how much these Emerald Fragments cost? I had thought that rubies were the cheapest, and emeralds the most expensive, but maybe it was the other way around? Thinking that I could do it this time, I selected 4 ¡®Sapphire Fragments¡¯ and 2 ¡®Emerald Fragments¡¯ and waited in line before submitting them to Charin once again. ¡®Oh!? Ohh!? Could this be¡­a perfect match¡­!?¡¯ Did I do it¡­!? No, it can¡¯t be. Surely she would hold back more and¡­ ¡®It is!! A perfect match! Exactly 10,000 NS!¡¯ As Charin was shouting, the other players started to look in our direction. Now that I thought about it, I hadn¡¯t heard her be so loud while I was waiting. But since you could simply look it up, there should have been plenty of other players getting a perfect match as well¡­ ¡®I only shout when I know the person did it through pure guesswork-nyon! Otherwise, I¡¯ll be shouting all day-nyon!¡¯ I see. That made sense. Still, it was a good thing I had used precious stones. As they were expensive, they were easy to use. You didn¡¯t have to worry about having 1 or 10 NS difference. ¡®Now here is your Libra medal!¡¯ It had the Libra constellation on the front and a picture of a scale on the back. The scale was realistic and carefully depicted. While most of the medals had living creatures on them, they did not go the lazy route because it was just an object. ¡®And the special prize, ¡®Wings of Judgement¡¯-nyon!¡¯ ¡­What is this? A stick with wings growing out. I put the reward and the medal away and started my journey to the next labyrinth. If I continued on the same order, the next was Virgo. It was the closest one. In the first place, there were some people who said that the libra scale was something held by the virgo goddess of justice. Perhaps the reason that Charin¡¯s Libra costume had lacked fantasy elements was because it would have too many similarities with Virgo. In any case, would this old man be able to clear the goddess¡¯s trial¡­? I was starting to get worried. Well, this game was still mostly focused on combat. And so it would probably involve fighting in some way. ¡°That¡¯s right. I should check our levels. It might have gone up again.¡± My level was¡­25. I was nearing the end of my time as a 2nd. All of the strengthening points went straight to Range, which resulted in a total of 350 meters. Adding the effects of equipment and skills, I would be able to shoot incredibly far without using Immobile Sniping Stance, which had a demerit. As for Garbow¡­he was at a nice level 40. With Unisons, their points were distributed automatically upon leveling up. And so I had to check it regularly. But just as I opened the status window in order to see them in more detail, I felt my body lift off the ground. ¡°¡­Woah!? Ahhhh!!¡± I slid down a steep slope, and landed hard on my butt at the base. There was fall damage¡­ It must have been quite a drop¡­ One should never check their status while walking. That being said, I had been walking in the forest. But where was I now¡­? But when I opened my map, I realized the shocking truth. ¡°I¡¯ve been walking in the opposite direction of the Virgo Labyrinth¡­¡± I had gotten the direction mixed up while I was thinking and walking. This could easily happen when you were in a forest where the scenery never changed. While this was fine, since I was in a game, my life would be in danger if this was real life. Checking your map regularly was really important. However, this terrain sure was strange. There was something like a crater, and the ground at the bottom was burnt. Had a huge meteor fallen here? ¡°Ah¡­ So you found it-nyon.¡¯ ¡°Whoa!?¡± Charin suddenly appeared. She was dressed like Little Red Riding Hood from the story, but the fur of a beast was also visible in certain areas. ¡®Welcome to the hidden constellation labyrinth. This is the Lupus constellation. The Beast Trial-nyon!¡¯ CH 70 Data.64 ¨C Old Bowman, Beast Trial Hidden constellation? Beast Trial¡­? I thought there were only 12 labyrinths that were based on the zodiac? In the first place, what is the Lupus constellation? ¡®It¡¯s a constellation that is close to the Libra constellation-nyon! And so the labyrinth is also close-nyon!¡¯ I see. So that was why I was able to find it while wandering off in the wrong direction when I was supposed to be heading towards the Virgo labyrinth. I suppose walking while doing something else wasn¡¯t always a bad idea. Except in real life. That was dangerous. ¡°This trial¡­ What is it exactly?¡± I had too many questions to ask, and ended up asking something vague. ¡®The Lupus constellation isn¡¯t part of the zodiac-nyon! And so this is a hidden labyrinth-nyon! It¡¯s completely optional and there are no medals-nyon! It will have no effect on the last trial, which is a battle against me in the Serpent Palace-nyon!¡¯ There was no Lupus medal then¡­ But that would have been so cool. ¡®Ahh! You look so disappointed-nyon! I understand how you feel, but this is just a little bonus content-nyon. You can¡¯t expect it to be the same as the main 12 labyrinths-nyon.¡¯ Indeed, this area looked very plain compared to the other labyrinths. They were pyramids and firing ranges or dungeons with a lot of detail. But there was nothing but a blackened crater where I was standing. It really was just a small bonus. Besides, if it so happened that one of the main labyrinths was subpar, then people would say it was because they wasted resources on this hidden one. Why are you putting so much effort into that one¡­? Or they will say that the Lupus labyrinth was the ¡®real¡¯ 12th labyrinth etcetera¡­ Eventually, they¡¯ll start ranking the labyrinths based on how bad they are, creating a new constellation caste system. The ones at the bottom will be the new bullied kids at school¡­ Well, I didn¡¯t think there were many kids playing NSO, so I wasn¡¯t worried there. But things would get heated on the message boards. And the adults on those boards acted no different from children. Well, the actual labyrinths seemed to be well-made, and I hadn¡¯t heard of any complaints yet. ¡®However! There is still a special reward-nyon! You will receive two presents that are even rarer than what you get in the normal labyrinths-nyon!¡¯ ¡°Two of them!?¡± ¡®It¡¯s to make up for the medal-nyon! You will receive one item for finishing the trial! And then another one if you fulfill certain requirements-nyon!¡¯ So you got an item instead of a medal. While the medals looked cool, they were just like getting a stamp in a stamp rally. It was nice to collect them, but they didn¡¯t do anything. But an item was different. Even if you didn¡¯t know what they were used for, they were in the game, which meant that they had some purpose. If you wanted to get stronger, then a labyrinth that gave you more items was better. ¡°So, what kind of trial is this?¡± ¡®I will tell you once you accept the trial-nyon! This one is very difficult-nyon. If you fail and die, you will be penalized-nyon.¡¯ ¡°Re-really?¡± Up until now, Charin would always explain the trial to me before I accepted it. And that allowed me to move strategically¡­ ¡°I suppose you won¡¯t tell me¡­how hard it is?¡± ¡®Hmmm. You might be able to finish it-nyon. But the boss is incredibly strong¡­ I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll be able to do it in time¡­¡¯ Charin muttered while glancing at me. I suppose this was her idea of a hint. My guess was¡­a survival battle with a time limit. If she thought I could finish it, but wasn¡¯t sure if I could defeat the boss, then beating the boss wasn¡¯t the requirement for clearing the trial. There would be a strong boss, and running away and surviving was enough to win. But if you did defeat the boss, then you got a reward. ¡°Well, I was lucky enough to find this hidden labyrinth, and it would be against my principles to run away without trying. Besides, this is a long event. I don¡¯t mind getting the penalty at least once. I¡¯ll accept this Beast Trial. Is that alright?¡± ¡®Of course-nyon! I was just giving you a warning. We actually want you to play this shoddy¡­slightly simpler trial-nyon! Now, you will be warped to the place!¡¯ ¡°¡­Warped?¡± In the previous trials, we might have entered dungeons, but there was no warping¡­ As I thought of such things, I was warped away to a huge grassy field. I had plenty of experience fighting in grass fields, but the atmosphere here was different from usual. I don¡¯t know. It sort of felt like a place where two samurais would fight a decisive battle as the wind blew through the grass. The sky was covered by clouds, and lightning would occasionally strike down. The air smelled damp¡­like it might rain soon. This battlefield had a clear dangerous atmosphere, but what I noticed more than anything, was that there were numerous dogs walking around. There were at least fifty of them close by. Were they friendly¡­? ¡®The Lupis constellation is based on Lycaon, who earned the wrath of the omniscient and omnipotent Zeus, and was turned into a wolf-nyon. Though, there are also stories that say his family was destroyed and that Lycaon was turned into a wolf as he tried to escape-nyon.¡¯ ¡°Huh¡­ I didn¡¯t know that.¡± Mythology was very useful when making games. You could almost say that they were indispensable. Just thinking about the number of characters that have been made who were based on gods and historical figures¡­ One must always be thankful to those who came before. If you were respectful, then they might even forgive you for turning them into girls¡­ Maybe. ¡®I only know because I looked it up for this event-nyon. There are so many myths and it¡¯s all so complicated-nyon!¡¯ ¡°I agree whole-heartedly.¡± ¡®Now! You have earned the wrath of Zeus and have been turned into a wolf, and he is trying to kill you-nyon!¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s a lot of suffering¡­¡± As I mused on this, my head started to feel itchy. And when I touched it¡­there were dog ears there!? My arms and legs¡­good. They are the same. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t be able to use my bow. Though a gorilla¡¯s were fine, as they were more dexterous¡­ ¡®You will now fight against Zeus-nyon! And you will pass the trial if you can survive for 15 minutes! Defeat Zeus, and you will receive a special reward-nyon! While the difficulty is adjusted for solo players, it still won¡¯t be an easy battle-nyon!¡¯ I had been expecting a strong enemy, but not the greatest god with the power to control lightning¡­ I guess the burnt crater was supposed to be where the lightning had crashed. While it seemed lazy, it was actually a hint as to what the trial would be like. I had fought against a monster called Poseidon, and it had also been very strong. And so while this one had been made weaker for solo players, it was still an enemy where I had to consider the fact that I would likely die¡­ ¡®By the way, the dogs were put here to represent Lycaon¡¯s 50 children, even though he was the only one who was turned into a wolf-nyon! They misinterpreted it! But it¡¯s such mistakes that increase the scope of myths as they get passed on-nyon!¡¯ You often hear about how new and mysterious monsters are born through misunderstandings. A lot of people didn¡¯t care too much about facts. ¡®In any case! These dogs are your friends-nyon! They will fight on their own, so you can use them as decoys! Now, let the Beast Trial begin!¡¯ As Charin disappeared, the ground started to shake so much that I was thrown into the air. I immediately learned what had caused it. A giant god had come down from the sky. ¡°Uh¡­this might be too big¡­¡± He was so big that I couldn¡¯t see his face, as the clouds were covering it. ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± That¡¯s right. I had Garbow with me. I wasn¡¯t alone. And there were the dogs¡­ Bark! Bark! Bark! The dogs started to run towards Zeus¡¯s feet. He was so big that it was the only part of him they could attack. But this was a god. And those feet wouldn¡¯t stay still. One after another, the dogs were kicked into the air before disappearing. ¡°¡­¡± So this is where people use the word ¡®stunned.¡¯ I was a little wiser now. ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Yes. Gar was with me But he was a fish and a machine. Surely he wouldn¡¯t like electricity¡­ ¡°¡­Are you alright? Can you beat it?¡± Garbow could not talk. And Charin would not give me any more advice. And so I had to answer the question myself. ¡­Can we do it? ¡°We can!¡± I shouted. With renewed motivation, I drew my bow at the god. CH 71 Data.65 ¨C Old Bowman, God of Thunder and the Meteor The first arrow that I unleashed hit Zeus right on the left side of his chest. While this was god in a virtual world, the actual shape was no different from a human. And so I had instinctively aimed for the heart¡­ So what would happen? I couldn¡¯t see its HP gauge. It had been the same with other ultra rare monsters, like the Windcloud Dragon. In any case, the heart was way too high up. Perhaps I should target a weak spot that is lower¡­ This was a strong enemy. I could not hesitate to act. And so without thinking, I aimed for the crotch. Kiririri¡­ Shu! As this was not a mature game, he was wearing clothes. That being said, he would surely still react to being hit. This was a male god, after all¡­ However, Zeus showed no signs of noticing it. But perhaps for the amorous Zeus who fathered so many children, it was less a weakness and more of a strong point¡­ Regardless, all Zeus was doing now was slowly walking towards me. He did not attack at all. Which I was thankful for, but it was also creepy¡­ Goro¡­ Goro-goro-goro¡­ Thunder¡­! The sky was covered in black clouds. The only reason that it was bright enough to see Zeus clearly, was because of the constant flashes of lightning. And just now, one of them had struck the ground. It had hit a short distance away from me. However, it was more than enough to demonstrate how powerful it was. A crater that looked like the first one I saw was newly made here. While I wouldn¡¯t know for sure unless I was hit, I was pretty sure that Garbow, who was weak to lightning, and I would die in one shot¡­ No, I had to think positively. While it may be over if we were hit, Garbow¡¯s weakness had nothing to do with it. The result would be the same either way. Besides, I now knew how Zeus attacked. Zeus was so big that his movements became slow. But in exchange, he could summon lightning from the sky and attack. If I was being honest, my greatest fear had been that he would fight at close quarters. But if it was ranged weapons against ranged weapons, then I had a chance to resist. It also helped that he didn¡¯t carry a weapon. The Zeus from mythology had numerous powerful weapons, but the one here was simply enveloped in white cloth. That being said, it is impossible to dodge lightning after you¡¯ve seen it. So what I had to be careful of¡­was that rumbling sound. I had heard before the last crash of lightning, but it sounded like it was still far away. And so if the sound was far, then the lightning must be far away as well. And if it was close, it would hit close as well. Thankfully, Zeus was so big that I never missed when hitting him. I would continue to attack while focusing more on my hearing than sight. ¡°Bow Shower! Sky Tear!¡± As the time limit was 15 minutes, it was best to use my charge attacks quickly, or I wouldn¡¯t be able to activate them as much due to cooldown. And I couldn¡¯t forget to reactivate them immediately when they were available. My opponent had so much HP, and I had so little firepower. The amount of times I could use special attacks would determine the outcome of the battle. It was the same with Garbow. I used powerful charge attacks first, such as Ocean Sphere, Red Meteor and 8-mount Missile. While I was specialized for Range, Garbow¡¯s stats were specialized for attacks. As he was so vital when it came to fire power, I should be more careful when using him. But just this once, I was going to take a chance. There was no doubt that Garbow could do the most damage when fighting close quarters. And so I had him charge at Zeus¡¯s legs¡­! While Garbow looked like he was flying in the air, he was closer to a hovercraft. And so he could not go very high up. That meant he could only target the legs during close quarters combat. Well, Zeus wasn¡¯t fast enough to kick Garbow while Ocean Sphere was activated. And I had also noticed that the lightning didn¡¯t strike anywhere close to Zeus. Sometimes the places that looked the most dangerous were actually the safest. However, this was only while he had boosted speed through Ocean Sphere. Once the effect wore off, I would bring Garbow back in. Regardless, there was no point in thinking about the future when you were fighting an enemy with no HP gauge. Just dodge the attacks in front of you and focus on hitting the target with every shot. The goal was invisible, but it existed. In marathons, the goal was so far away that you couldn¡¯t see it, and so all you can do is continue to go forward one step at a time. And even if the road is long, you will eventually get there. ¡°The only problem is, can I survive until then¡­¡± As the lightning struck in random places, I had to focus on dodging at any moment. That would often interrupt my attacks. It was all about your luck. Like praying to a god¡­ ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô There was a timer in the corner of my vision that showed I had 3 minutes left. Both Garbow and I were still alive, as was Zeus. However, his appearance had started to change. His clothes were in tatters¡­ I didn¡¯t know if it was quite necessary, but I was glad that we were dealing damage. However, his attacks were also growing more vicious. Lightning struck at a faster rate, and three would fall at the same time. Not only that, but there would be explosions of electricity after they hit. Because of this, several of the attacks had grazed me. Thankfully, my equipment was good with magic defense, and so they didn¡¯t result in mortal wounds¡­ ¡°Garbow! Come back!¡± Now that the effect of Ocean Sphere had expired, I called Garbow back. I usually had to do it a little earlier, since Garbow moved so slowly and it would be dangerous. But I had been too busy dodging the lightning, and my order had been delayed. Goro¡­goro-goro-goro¡­ The sound was quite close, but as long as I backed away a little, I shouldn¡¯t be¡­ Ah?! Garbow was on his way back and moving straight towards me¡­! At this speed, it will hit him¡­! However, I could not send Garbow away like I usually could on the field. Perhaps it was because this was the trial grounds, and they had restrictions in place. ¡°Garbow! Straight Dart!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± It was Garbow¡¯s charging skill that I rarely used. If I used it repeatedly, it would be faster than just swimming. But¡­Garbow was unable to dodge the lightning. He still avoided a direct hit, but the ensuing explosion reached him. ¡°Are you okay!? Garbow!¡± He was clearly not in the best state. And it had barely even touched him. Electricity attacks really were his mortal enemy. I quickly used a healing item to recover Garbow¡¯s HP. I had less than 2 minutes left now¡­ What I should have done was ignore Garbow, since he hadn¡¯t been able to do that much damage, and focus on attacking now that my charge attacks had entered cooldown. However, I had chosen to help him without really thinking about it. It¡¯s not as if you would lose your Unison if they were killed. They would be the same once resurrected, but I didn¡¯t feel like abandoning him. ¡°I don¡¯t have much time left, but Zeus¡¯s clothes are torn up. Which is great, but also not great. In any case, let¡¯s do our best, Garbow!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± ¨CBeep! Your bond points with your Unison have reached a new level. You can now use ¡®Combination Charge Attack.¡¯ Came the announcement in my brain. What¡¯s a ¡®bond point¡¯? There hadn¡¯t been any points like that in my status. Was this¡­masked data? Numbers that were hidden from players¡­ Just then, Garbow scattered into separate pieces. I was dumbfounded. But this was no time for that! ¡°What the hell!!¡± And then the pieces of Garbow started to combine with the Windcloud Bow¡­!? The bow had been a blue and white color, like the wind and clouds, but it was now covered by red and black armor! ¨CBeep! You have acquired the combination charge attack, ¡®Meteor Bow.¡¯ This was too much information. I wanted to calm down and think¡­but I had no time. There was less than a minute left now. Ah! I¡¯ll test it out then! ¡°Meteor Bow!¡± What was unleashed then, were numerous arrows that shone red. Bow Shower didn¡¯t even compare when it came to the number of arrows, and with the speed of Sky Tear, they hit Zeus. It was as if the power of Garbow¡¯s Red Meteor was now inside of the arrows¡­ I only had a little bit of time left. This was my only hope¡­! Without thinking about the falling lightning, I just unleashed the arrows. It was like my body wasn¡¯t mine anymore¡­ My arms were moving so fast that they were a blur. 5 seconds remaining. 4, 3, 2, 1¡­ ¡°¡­It stopped?¡± The timer never reached 0. Just when I thought that Zeus was starting to squat, he kicked off the ground and disappeared into the sky. The thunder clouds vanished and a blue sky appeared above. Did I¡­win? ¡®Congratulations-nyon! I didn¡¯t think that you¡¯d actually defeat it-nyon!¡¯ Charin appeared with a burst of confetti. Confetti was nice in virtual worlds, because you never ran out of it and it disappeared when it hit the ground¡­ Such pointless thoughts went through my mind. But there were more important things to think about. ¡®I knew you would survive, but I thought that you didn¡¯t have enough firepower to defeat it in time¡­ But then you acquired the combination attack! What a surprise-nyon!¡¯ That¡¯s right. I was able to win thanks to Garbow. Though, was he alright? He fell apart and combined with my equipment¡­ ¡°Huh? Where¡¯s Garbow?¡± I had thought that he went back in, but he wouldn¡¯t appear after being summoned. Co-could it be that¡­ ¡®The combination attack is the power of your bond. After activating, the Unison uses all of its power and will be unable to do anything for a while. Kind of like the cooldown for your charge attacks-nyon.¡¯ In exchange for incredible power, the Unison won¡¯t be able to help for some time after¡­ And so having them fight normally would probably be the better option if it¡¯s a drawn out fight. But it could be a good trump card when you needed a quick burst of firepower. I would have to look into the details of it later. Still, Garbow really helped me. I would have to thank him when he came back. He didn¡¯t understand words, so it was more self-satisfaction than anything, but that was fine. ¡®Well then, you will be warped back to the field you were in! And you will also get the reward-nyon!¡¯ And so I was warped from the sunny fields of grass to the blackened crater. Now, what reward would I get for defeating a god¡­? CH 72 Data.66 ¨C Old Bowman, AI¡¯s Advice ¡®As I said before the fight, there are 2 rewards! Here they are-nyon! The first is¡­ ¡®Dark Wolf Fang¡¯-nyon!¡¯ The Lupus constellation¡­ As it was a Beast Trial, the reward was a wolf fang. It was black like its name, and much larger and sharper than that of an ordinary wolf. As I had just heard stories about Lycaon, I wondered if this fang was burnt after being struck by lightning. Now that I thought about it, those friendly wolves¡­had not been very useful during the fight against Zeus. Well, I suppose it was ridiculous to expect wolves to defeat a god. As for this item¡­I had no idea how to use it. There was no ¡®Use¡¯ prompt, and so it didn¡¯t seem to be an item that gave you a new skill. It was just a plain fang, so it wasn¡¯t an equipable or consumable item. I suppose it was another crafting material then. These sorts of items were starting to pile up in my inventory, so perhaps it was time that I seriously looked into what I was supposed to do with them. And so I put the Dark Wolf Fang away and asked Charin for the next item. ¡®And the second one is¡­ Judgement Lightning-nyon! While it looks like it will shock you, it won¡¯t do anything. So don¡¯t worry-nyon!¡¯ The thing she gave me¡­was some kind of ore that was filled with electric energy? It was a mysterious item that could possibly be described as solidified lightning. And while it didn¡¯t electrocute me, my body was likely to misunderstand, seeing as how much it buzzed with electricity. In any case, I would see if I could use it. Hmm. As it really just looked like a mass of electricity, I had thought that maybe I would get a lightning-related skill, but it was not the case. I could not use it on Garbow or myself. And it couldn¡¯t be equipped either. In other words¡­it was also a crafting material. While I was sure that it would come in handy eventually, it was quite annoying to have something and not know what it¡¯s for. Perhaps Charin could tell me, but since she was with management, she was probably not allowed to give me such information. And so I would continue my adventure in order to find the answers on my own. ¡°This one was quite fun as well, Charin. Thanks for the items. And the hint.¡± ¡®You are welcome-nyon!¡¯ I thanked her and left. My destination was the same as before. I would go to the Virgo Labyrinth. ¡®Could it be¡­that you are going directly to the next labyrinth?¡¯ Charin¡¯s voice called out from behind me. I turned around in surprise. ¡°That¡¯s the plan¡­¡± ¡®Your equipment¡­looks like it¡¯s taken a lot of damage-nyon!¡¯ ¡°What!?¡± I looked at my body carefully. Indeed, there were burnt spots all over the Windcloud set, as well as places where it was torn. I hadn¡¯t realized that it had taken so much damage over time¡­! There had been times when Zeus¡¯s lightning singed me, but I hadn¡¯t realized how much of an effect it had. ¡®The damage to your equipment isn¡¯t just about how powerful an enemy¡¯s attack is, but what type it is as well-nyon! There are attacks that can one-shot you but have almost no effect on your equipment-nyon!¡¯ I recalled the Blue Sea Dragon that I had fought¡­well, been killed by. Its ¡®Tide Breath¡¯ had sent me to my grave in one hit, but it hadn¡¯t affected my equipment. In other words, Zeus¡¯s lightning just happened to be an attack that did have an effect. ¡®If it¡¯s just a little damage, then it¡¯s not reflected on your outfit. This isn¡¯t because it would be too much of a hassle to make it look tattered¡­but that players would feel bad if every little mistake made their equipment look worse-nyon.¡¯ I had heard that showing damage was a lot of work in both 3D games and animation. These days, even robot cartoons were in 3D, and I felt that they lacked impact in terms of damage compared to 2D. Considering all of that, the damage in NSO was actually quite impressive. It made me want to hurry up and repair it once I realized it. ¡®Your equipment is in danger! It will break if you don¡¯t repair it-nyon! Broken equipment can be prepared by craftsmen with the right materials, but it¡¯s much more expensive-nyon! You should have them fixed before they break! That is part of the basics-nyon!¡¯ While she was an AI from a different game, she sure knew a lot about this one. However, I too had some knowledge about repairing equipment. The thing was, due to my combat style of using ranged attacks, I had been able to avoid taking damage for the most part. And so there had been no need to repair anything. But¡­even though it was necessary now, I still couldn¡¯t do it. ¡°I understand how to fix your equipment. However, this Windcloud set can¡¯t be repaired in the first town or the port town. I think it¡¯s probably because I lack the right materials¡­¡± ¡®That¡¯s 50% right-nyon.¡¯ ¡°Huh?¡± ¡®Of course, materials are important-nyon. The Windcloud set is very rare! That means you need rare materials as well-nyon! At the same time, you¡¯ll need the help of a skilled craftsman as well-nyon!¡¯ ¡°A skilled craftsman¡­? It can¡¯t just be someone from the first town?¡± ¡®No-nyon. It must be one of the brilliant craftsmen who live hidden in various lands across this world. Without them, rare equipment cannot be repaired, restored, evolved or enhanced-nyon!¡¯ ¡°I-I see¡­¡± Up until now I had just assumed that I lacked the necessary materials, but it was really that I hadn¡¯t met anyone who could handle the items. ¡®Well, since I¡¯ve told you this much already, you should know that you can combine crafting materials to create new items-nyon. Of course, if they are rare items, then you must go to a special craftsman to have them combined-nyon!¡¯ ¡°So these items that I don¡¯t know how to use. They might also be reborn into powerful items under the right hands¡­ Are you really allowed to tell me that?¡± ¡®Well, I can¡¯t be giving you any special items, but this amount of information is fine-nyon! In the first place, quite a lot of people know about the special craftsmen already-nyon. However, they just don¡¯t have rare enough materials or equipment to go to them-nyon. But you had the opposite problem!¡¯ ¡°Thankfully, I seem to have pretty good luck. On the other hand, I tend to encounter some insane enemies¡­¡± ¡®Hehehe. And here is some information, since you¡¯re so lucky-nyon! If you want to look for a good craftsman, try going to the western Foggy Mountains. You are sure to find an amazing craftsman in mountains that are covered in fog-nyon!¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s really good information¡­ Uh, you¡¯re sure about it?¡± ¡®Yes, most likely! Of course, it¡¯s up to you if you believe it or not! Bye-bye!¡¯ Charin disappeared. The loud forest suddenly grew quiet. At the very end, she had cast some doubt on the information. Either it was mischief, or she didn¡¯t want to make it too obvious¡­ In any case, I would believe her words. I would go to the Foggy Mountains. Otherwise, my Windcloud set might get destroyed in the other trials. This Zodiac event was going to be a long one. So there would be no problem in taking a slight detour. After all, the host of the event had given me some advice¡­ CH 73 BBS.7 ¨C NSO General Thread [VRMMO] Next Stage Online General Thread part2387 1: Anonymous Runner A general thread to discuss ¡®Next Stage Online.¡¯ While most subjects are allowed, party requests, complaints, trolling and bragging have their own threads. The next thread will be created automatically. 2: Anonymous Runner >>2 Thanks. 3: Anonymous Runner >>1 Thanks-nyon. 4: Anonymous Runner These threads move fast, as the event is so long. 5: Anonymous Runner By the way, has anyone finished gathering all 12 and challenged the Serpent Palace yet? 6: Anonymous Runner >>5 No one yet. 7: Anonymous Runner >>5 I¡¯d be scared of anyone who finished it already. 8: Anonymous Runner Besides, some of the dungeons take a long time. 9: Anonymous Runner >>6 >>7 Thanks. In other words, no one knows what the Serpent Palace is like yet. 10: Anonymous Runner How many medals have you guys gathered so far? 11: Anonymous Runner >>10 2! 12: Anonymous Runner >>10 13: Anonymous Runner >>10 I have 1. Got a problem with that? 14: Anonymous Runner I have a Unison that I can ride, and still only have 4. And I¡¯ve been doing the easier ones, according to info I found online. 15: Anonymous Runner It would be pretty amazing if someone gathered 6, as they would be halfway through. 16: Anonymous Runner But the event is so long so there is no need to rush. 17: Anonymous Runner >>16 You always think that, and then run out of time. Besides, some of these trials are hard. 18: Anonymous Runner There are some trials that have nothing to do with stats, equipment or skills. lol It¡¯s just a bunch of mini games! 19: Anonymous Runner Pisces, Aries, Sagittarius, and Taurus were like a different game. If you happened to not be good at them, you had to train. 20: Anonymous Runner Pisces was simple, but not for everyone. Aries really depended on who you matched up with. Things would get messy if you kept being put in rooms with skilled players. 21: Anonymous Runner The Taurus one was pretty fun. Because it¡¯s a game where you have enhanced abilities compared to real life, and it¡¯s fine if you die. Though, there is a penalty! 22: Anonymous Runner By the way, I saw the old bowman at the firing range! He cleared both the challenges in one try. The crowds went wild. 23: Anonymous Runner >>22 Wish I could have seen it. 24: Anonymous Runner >>22 It would take a lot of talent to do the riding challenge in one try. That¡¯s incredible. I tried two days in a row and have yet to succeed. The horse riding was shockingly realistic. 25: Anonymous Runner >>22 He was like an idol. I couldn¡¯t help but clap. 26: Anonymous Runner Someone heard that he was on his 3rd medal during the Sagittarius trial. So he¡¯s probably on his 5th or 6th by now? 27: Anonymous Runner >>26 That¡¯s an MVP for you. 28: Anonymous Runner I¡¯m glad this isn¡¯t a competition where you fight over medals. I don¡¯t have much trouble with the mini games, but the dungeons are tough. The goat just keeps fighting the enemies! 29: Anonymous Runner There was even a thread made for complaining about the goat. Lol But it can¡¯t be helped. 30: Anonymous Runner The area was so crowded with the Libra trial¡­ The hunting grounds were the real challenge. 31: Anonymous Runner And yet they had increased the monster spawn rate just for the event. Of course, it was pretty low around Manimani Hills to begin with. But it was known as a good spot to hunt for monsters who dropped expensive materials. 32: Anonymous Runner My friend was so mad that the place has become well-known now. But I was just angry that he knew of such a place and hadn¡¯t told me. 33: Anonymous Runner >>32 lol 34: Anonymous Runner 35: Anonymous Runner >>32 I guess you weren¡¯t real friends¡­heh. 36: Anonymous Runner The Gemini trial is also quite stressful. You really need to use your head. 37: Anonymous Runner >>36 It¡¯s confusing¡­ It¡¯s closer to a puzzle game. 38: Anonymous Runner The Aquarius trial was also quite challenging. I was having so much trouble that I added a little lake water into the glass and showed it to Charin, but she knew immediately. I¡¯ll never forget her exasperated expression. It sent chills down my spine¡­ 39: Anonymous Runner >>38 Charin is so busy already. Don¡¯t make her job any harder. 40: Anonymous Runner So, I guess Scorpio, Virgo, and Leo are the relatively normal trials? 41: Anonymous Runner >>40 Cancer was also pretty normal. Just ignore the crab part. 42: Anonymous Runner >>41 Why! It¡¯s based on mythology! 43: Anonymous Runner Yeah, the Cancer one was a simple trial. Maybe too simple. 44: Anonymous Runner I thought it was pretty challenging 45: Anonymous Runner The Scorpio trial was great, wasn¡¯t it? 46: Anonymous Runner >>45 Me? Are you talking about me!? 47: Anonymous Runner >>45 Look what you did. 48: Anonymous Runner It¡¯s been a while since we had a nice, calm thread. And it seems like there are more new people recently. It¡¯s a good trend. 49: Anonymous Runner >>48 Having new people come into these threads is a bad trend. 50: Anonymous Runner Everyone just focuses on the game when it¡¯s fun. People only post here when something bad happens. 51: Anonymous Runner >>49 Sorry. I meant new people within the game. 52: Anonymous Runner Thanks to the event period being so long, you could join the game now and still have time to clear all of the trials. 53: Anonymous Runner I¡¯m impressed that each trial is actually related to the Zodiac. 54: Anonymous Runner >>53 It¡¯s because they are seriously thinking about it while making them that they¡¯ve turned out so well¡­ 55: Anonymous Runner Management and Charin are doing a good job. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô While many players enjoyed the early parts of the event, Kyuji finished 5 trials. Aquarius, Capricorn, Sagittarius, Scorpio and Libra, and so he acquired 5 medals. He also cleared the hidden Lupus ¡®Beast¡¯ trial as well. But his Windcloud set was damaged during the battle. In order to repair his equipment, Kyuji put the event on hold and decided to go and search for the craftsman who lived in the western mountains, as Charin had suggested. CH 74 Data.67 ¨C Old Bowman, To The West After returning to the first town while still wearing my damaged armor, I started my search of the Foggy Mountains towards the west. Charin has said that there would likely be someone there who could repair rare equipment. Of course, this person was an NPC. I had no idea if there were crafter players who could do the same thing. But even if there were, this game had such a strong focus on combat most of the time, so I wasn¡¯t sure why anyone would want a job where you could make items in exchange for low combat ability. Besides, monsters tended to drop good equipment quite often. Now that I think about it, maybe there weren¡¯t any players with such a job¡­ Well, nevermind that. What was important was the location of the Foggy Mountains. Charin had just said that it was to the west, but the map was so vast that I needed more to go on in order to find it. However, she did say that it was a tall mountain covered in fog. The kind of place you would expect a hermit to live. In other words, I needed to search for a tall, foggy mountain in the west. And so I used Warp Arrow to get on top of the clouds, much like I did when meeting the Windcloud Dragon. If you want to find a tall mountain, then you should get up onto high ground. After that, it didn¡¯t take long to find what I was looking for. It was to the west of the first town. A mountain range that was covered in white fog. In fact, the fog was so thick that I couldn¡¯t even see the mountain peak. Also, the clouds and fog did not drift, and seemed to be stuck around the mountain. There was no doubt in my mind that this was the Foggy Mountain. So, how should I head over there? I could just ride the cloud¡­ That would have been easy. But it wasn¡¯t realistic. First, clouds went wherever the wind took them. And they occasionally broke off into smaller pieces. Eventually, they might become too small to ride, and I would fall off. And so I wouldn¡¯t try to cheat, and would go by land. There were small villages that acted as road stations, and you could heal and buy recovery items or log out there. Not only that, but monsters would rarely appear on the actual highway. If you were wounded or it had become nighttime, then finding a main road was a good way to increase your chances of survival. It was definitely best to use them if you were heading to an area that you¡¯d never been to before. After all, they would connect to somewhere. So you would always reach a town. Going on a wandering journey without roads was also cool, but that was something I had been enjoying already during this event. With a few exceptions, the Zodiac Labyrinths were not in towns, but on the field. And so even if you tried following the closest roads, you could still end up in forests without paths, and would become lost. Though, I had been able to find a hidden trial, thanks to that. But now I had to repair my equipment. This time I would take the safe road and avoid fighting with enemies as much as I can. After deciding this, I left the first town and started my journey down the highway. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô It seemed like NSO was becoming more popular recently, and there were more players seen on the field. As they all ran down the roads hurriedly, I enjoyed the scenery and walked at a leisurely pace. Every once in a while I would find a cloud that was the right size, and then warp so that I could see the direction I needed to go when the road branched out. Like this, I eventually reached the town of Dapan, which was near the foot of the Foggy Mountain. As it was so close to a fog-covered mountain, the air here was quite chilly. The exact opposite of how I felt when arriving at the port town. As for the look of the town¡­it seemed to be Chinese fantasy. I didn¡¯t see many other players. If there was a good craftsman here, then there should be a decent amount of people too¡­ Unless¡­it wasn¡¯t this town? No, there was only one road that stretched out in the direction of the foggy mountain¡­ Or could there be a town that wasn¡¯t connected to the road? In any case, I would search the area. Perhaps it was as Charin said, and there weren¡¯t enough people with rare equipment and materials. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. Maybe I should take Garbow out here.¡± And so I summoned Garbow, as the cooldown for the combination attack had already ended. The cooldown had actually ended while I was still traveling, but it would attract attention from other players if I summoned him then, and there was also the possibility that he would attack monsters outside of the road. And so I had waited. ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay, Garbow. Thanks for helping me back there.¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± As always, I had no idea if he actually understood me. All Unisons understood words that were related to battle commands and skill activation, but it was unknown if they understood anything else. However, I was relieved to see that there was no change after his body had come apart earlier. Since I was able to use it again, I decided to check out the new skill. ¡ôMeteor Bow They say that with card games, the cards with short, simple text tend to be the strong ones. And it seemed to apply here as well. While it unleashed numerous arrows, each arrow was quite powerful, and so it would be effective even against enemies with high defense ability. I wasn¡¯t sure if the cooldown time was long or short. I suppose it was the right amount of time considering its power, but it felt long when I considered the fact that I wouldn¡¯t be able to use Garbow for a full hour. In any case, it meant that I could basically only use it once during a battle. After all, I doubted that I¡¯d be fighting the same enemy for over an hour. Even the Windcloud Dragon had not taken that long. ¡°I¡¯ll continue to count on you, Garbow.¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± And so with Garbow in tow, I started to explore the town. In conclusion, while we found a lot of pandas, but we did not find a skilled craftsman¡­ Still, there were pandas in all sorts of places here. They leaned against the walls of buildings and ate bamboo leaves, or rolled around on the ground and nearly tripped me over. Pandas were related to bears, so letting them roam freely seemed a little dangerous¡­ But this was a fantasy world. But there were still no skilled craftsmen. There were normal ones, but they weren¡¯t able to handle the Windcloud set. Tsk¡­so it wasn¡¯t this town then¡­ As it was a full mountain range, the area was quite vast. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if there was another town. Hell, there could be a town in the middle of the mountains. ¡°There aren¡¯t many craftsmen who can fix your equipment. However, perhaps the person who lives in the Phantom Fog Peak, which is at the top of the mountain¡­may be able to do it.¡± It was an ordinary craftsman who gave me the answer. I felt a little bad about calling him ¡®ordinary,¡¯ but they had to be differentiated somehow. ¡°Can you tell me more¡­about this person!?¡± ¡°Sure thing. I normally would not want to introduce you to another craftsman. But this is someone I can¡¯t compare to¡­¡± Apparently, his name was Yu Shanyu. And he lived near the top of the mountain, in an area where numerous, sharp, rocky hills stood. And while he would occasionally come down to the town, he only accepted jobs from people who climbed up to meet him. ¡°As the name implies, the Phantom Fog Peak is thick with fog and gets very little light. And there are also vicious monsters that live in the area. And once you reach the top, you will be inside of the clouds. No one else would live there by choice, but he is eccentric. Well, I also live near the base of the same mountain, so I can¡¯t talk about other people!¡± According to him, there were no other towns in the area. Furthermore, this Yu was the only person who lived at Phantom Fog Peak. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s not like I¡¯ve confirmed this with my own eyes, so I could be wrong. And the mountain is large, so perhaps someone else is living there in secret.¡± ¡°Well, thank you.¡± So Charin had told me of a craftsman that would be easier for me to find. It would have been rather sadistic of her, if I had to wander through the entire mountain range during my search, but if there was only one town, and I could find information in that town, then you could say that it was a simple, one way road to the craftsman. ¡°The only problem is, this one road seems rather dangerous¡­¡± Even though I questioned other people in town, no one could tell me what it was like in the mountain that was covered by fog. In other words, I would be going into the unknown. If this was real life, climbing a mountain you weren¡¯t familiar with and without a map would be like suicide. However, this was a game. And such dangerous adventurers were part of the fun. As I had recently been taking on trials with proper rules for the event, there was something quite exciting about going into uncharted territory like this¡­! CH 75 Data.68 ¨C Old Bowman, The Foggy Mountain Range ¡°Here, here. Over here, Mister Panda!¡± While I was excited to explore some uncharted territory, I ended up accepting a certain quest first. It was a quest that would unlock fast travel for this town of Dapan. Well, isn¡¯t that a good thing? Some might wonder. Indeed, it was. There was no reason that I shouldn¡¯t unlock it. However, it wasn¡¯t really something that I needed either. Even if I was killed in the mountains, I would just be sent back to Dapan town. It would be like how I was sent to the beach of the port town after the Bluesea Dragon killed me. You would be forced to return to the last town you were in. It would be a massive time waster if I were sent back to the first town, but if it was Dapan, then I could take on the mountain again, which was a short distance away. But unlocking it meant having an instant route to the first town from Dapan, so I had accepted the quest thinking that it was a good idea¡­ ¡°M-mister Panda¡­ It¡¯s a bamboo leaf¡­¡± This quest was about finding and bringing back a woman¡¯s lost panda after it had escaped. The town was filled with pandas, but this one had a heart pattern on its back. And so I had to find it and bring it back to the woman¡¯s house. But as many of the pandas were lying on their backs or leaning against walls, it was difficult to even see if they had a pattern. I managed to find it after spending a lot of time searching, but the panda was so big and round that I couldn¡¯t pick it up. I wonder¡­if I had put all my points into Attack, would I have been strong enough to lift it? Unfortunately, I had no such power, and so I had to buy the item, ¡®Bamboo Leaf¡¯ and try and lure the panda back to its home. However, this was very hard. While it had shown interest and followed me at first, it soon became satisfied with eating the leaves that were growing throughout the town. Even then, it would eventually become interested in the leaf I was holding again, but after some time, it became tired and lay on the ground. Still, it was hard to become angry when they looked like that. It was so cute that it was no wonder they were used in diplomacy. That being said, I was still reaching my limit in terms of patience, and so I used my trump card. I would use Garbow, who was specialized in attack and had power to push it. Besides, Garbow had a somewhat intimidating appearance at first glance. He was a fish that was so sharp it could pierce a human, and was also a mechanical weapon. And while he looked cute to me now, even I had been scared when I first met him as an enemy. With a light prick from Garbow, surely even the panda would start moving again. Well, a light prick from Garbow might actually still hurt. So I would use its cry to try and scare it first. ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± The panda was alarmed at the sudden appearance of a crying fish, and started to walk again. After that, I was able to take it back to its owner without having to poke it. And in spite of the fact that it had not been eager at all to return, it immediately fawned on her when they reunited. They really were mysterious creatures. Well, humans could be like that too. Now that I had finished the quest, I could now fast travel to this town full of pandas. At the same time, the area around Dapan was filled in on my map. This was something I had realized recently. There were quests that filled in a wide area of your map, and quests that merely unlocked fast travel. With Tonami, it had filled in a lot of the southern land, and fast travel was unlocked as well. It was because of this, that I had been able to find the ¡®Mirrorstone Cave¡¯ near the top, and my adventure there led to an encounter with Necoco. Finishing a quest that filled in a large part of the map gave you information about places you¡¯ve never been to, which expands the places you could adventure in. In cases like this, where it was the opposite, the town appeared on the map as a symbol where you could fast travel. It would be no good if you unlocked fast travel to a town, but it was surrounded in black because the rest of the map wasn¡¯t filled in. You would be like, ¡®what town was it?¡¯ and it would be simply inconvenient. The Hidden Windcloud Settlement was also in an area where the map wasn¡¯t finished, and so it looked like a tall mountain was in the center of black terrain. However, you could still tell at a glance where it was and what kind of place it was. As it¡¯s a little confusing, in short¡­ Large towns had NPCs who would fill in a large part of the map. And you also get to unlock fast travel as a bonus. Small towns and villages allowed you to unlock fast travel, and as a bonus, filled in a small part of the surrounding area on your map. In fact, the area this time was very small. There was barely any information once you reached the foot of the mountain range. So, I would really have to go on this adventure without any information. Well¡­from tomorrow. That panda¡­took up so much time. But it was so cute. And so I didn¡¯t really care if it felt like a waste of time. ¡°You should never rush. I have plenty of time.¡± I muttered to myself. I would take on the mountain in the morning. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô Early the next morning, I made good on my word, and started my climb of the mountain. At first, it was just an ordinary mountain path. Actually, why was there a path if it was uncharted land¡­? Well, I knew the answer to that question already. But I hadn¡¯t thought about it until I saw a sign near a cliff. The sign read: When visiting my workshop, climb up this cliff. ¡ªYu Shanyu. That¡¯s right. While he only accepted jobs from people who came up the mountain, it would not do if no one came at all. He could not make money without any work. Realizing this obvious fact, I started to climb up the cliff as directed. It might have been easier to use skills like Warp Arrow or Floating Cloud, but from where I was, I couldn¡¯t see the top of the cliff. And so I would just climb as much as I could, and use a skill to cover the final stretch. However, Cloudpiercer Archer¡¯s Gloves were not very flexible. And weren¡¯t really good for movement outside of drawing a bow. Since I was in the mountains, I suppose it would be best to switch to the gorilla¡¯s Fists of the Forest Sage. ¡­Hmm. Yes, these were much better. And they were very furry, which helped keep my fingers warm. ¡°Very nice. Those gorilla gloves. I think you wore them during the battle royale as well.¡± ¡°Uh, yeah¡­ Huh!?¡± Before I knew it, there was a monkey-type monster right next to me. Not only that, but it was carrying a silver-haired boy with damaged armor on its back. The boy was completely still, almost as if he was dead. This was all so unexpected that my brain almost stopped working. Which nearly made me fall off, but I somehow managed to regain my posture. ¡°I suppose this isn¡¯t a good place to talk. We¡¯ll do that once we reach the top of the mountain.¡± And then the monkey went ahead of me and climbed up the cliff. Monkeys sure are fast¡­ Wait, this is not time to be impressed! What was even happening here¡­ And how cruel to make me wait until I reached the top. No, I would catch up with that guy and get an explanation for all of this¡­! CH 76 Data.69 ¨C Old Bowman, An Unexpected Companion And so I chased after the monkey¡¯s red buttocks and climbed up the cliff. I felt that I was actually moving at a good pace, but a human could not match the physical abilities of an animal. Especially when it comes to mountain climbing. And so the gap between us continued to widen. Not only that, but we were soon surrounded by fog. I would lose sight of it¡­ It was just as I started to give up, that the monkey¡¯s red butt disappeared suddenly. And it¡­wasn¡¯t because of the fog. It had likely reached the top. ¡°Floating Cloud!¡± I created a cloud under my feet and moved from the cliff to it. And then I unleashed Warp Arrow so that it created a mountain-like arch. Like this, it should land on the ground above. After a brief pause, my body warped away. And then I felt solid ground below my feet. Apparently, my plan had succeeded. The monkey was moving on ahead while still carrying the boy with silver hair. There was a sign here as well, and it instructed visitors to go straight ahead. The path here was just well-trodden dirt, but it was still easier to walk over than places with grass and rocks. Still, the monkey continued to move at an impressive speed. Well, I suppose it was in its ideal habitat, so it was no surprise. If I wanted to catch up, I would have to use Warp Arrow. While it sounded like I was cheating, this wasn¡¯t an actual race. I just wanted to talk¡­! ¡°Warp Arrow!¡± Once the cooldown time was over, I shot Warp Arrow so that it would land ahead of the monkey. After warping, I stepped aside so that I wouldn¡¯t look like I was obstructing its path while calling out to it. If it ignored me, I would think of something else. ¡°Um¡­¡± The monkey stopped. So, what should I ask first? There were so many things I wanted to know¡­ But then the monkey opened its mouth. ¡°That warp skill¡­sure is useful. It¡¯s no wonder you got the MVP during the turf war. No, it was actually banned during the turf war. So that¡¯s unrelated.¡± The boy with silver hair woke up and then stood on his own feet on the ground. So he really was a player. Then the monkey¡­ ¡°As you¡¯ve already guessed, the monkey is a Unison. Gochu, the Magic Monkey.¡± Well¡­it¡¯s not quite a ripoff name, but it¡¯s close. ¡°Ukya!¡± The monkey called Gochu bowed its head. It no longer talked. In fact, the way it had talked earlier was exactly like how the boy talked. So he must have been using some method to have the monkey talk for him. ¡°And I am Satomi. A Unison trainer. In spite of the name, I am male.¡± This name was also a little too similar to a certain trainer¡­ ¡°And I am¡­¡± ¡°I know. You¡¯re Mister Kyuji, a 2nd Archer. The MVP of the last turf war. And you had the most kills with 158 during the Under X battle royale.¡± ¡°Well, ahahaha¡­¡± ¡°Your style involves putting everything into Range. You have incredible accuracy and can easily take down enemies at a great distance. People say that you are making good progress on this event as well. You are quite well-known.¡± I was known to that degree then¡­ It was tough being famous. Those were words I never thought that I¡¯d say. ¡°Besides, I fought in the same event as you.¡± ¡°The same event? Was it the turf war? But there were so many people, and I don¡¯t remember every face¡­¡± ¡°Well, I was there, but we didn¡¯t meet. However, I was talking about the battle royale. You were 3rd and I was 2nd. And Necoco was 1st.¡± ¡°Ah¡­!¡± While I didn¡¯t remember the name, I did remember the player. Because I had gotten 158 kills and was 3rd, and yet someone with 0 kills had been 2nd. And that person was right in front of me now¡­ ¡°That time, I just decided to run and hide. I told myself that I would only fight when there were two other people left. And so I gathered chips and used my skill to hide. Of course, in the end, Necoco ambushed me and slit my throat.¡± Satomi made a cutting gesture over his neck. I see. So he had died just like me. ¡°Some time after, Necoco made a certain proposition to me. She wanted to make a guild for people who are a little different. A Ghost Guild.¡± ¡°Ah, she talked to me about that as well. ¡°And did you accept?¡± ¡°Yeah, I did. She is right about there being quests and events that we won¡¯t be able to do alone, and I thought it would be interesting to have a guild with relaxed connections for such a time.¡± ¡°I see. That is a logical decision. I¡¯m sure it will be easier than having to work with a guild you know nothing about. However, I am still undecided.¡± Satomi looked at me as if he really wanted me to ask, ¡®Why is that?¡¯ ¡°Uh, so what¡¯s stopping you¡­¡± ¡°Because I am worried that I will not be able to keep up with her passion for games, that runs deep inside of her. You can say that my style is to put all my points into ¡®Raku(Ease)¡¯.¡± ¡°Raku¡­ Do you mean Luck?¡± ¡°Very amusing, but no. I¡­just want to play with ease!¡± ¡°Huh¡­!?¡± The conversation had suddenly shifted in a strange direction¡­! Satomi continued with a smug expression. ¡°Playing with ease is a wonderful thing. If the results are the same, then you should take the easy route. It¡¯s common sense.¡± ¡°Well, perhaps.¡± ¡°For instance, during the battle royale. I hid without fighting and still got 2nd place. I can take it easy and still get great results. Look, I¡¯m not saying that your playstyle is wrong, Mister Kyuji. In fact, deep down, we probably think in the same way.¡± Indeed, my style of putting everything into Range was due to wanting to kill enemies without moving too much, or not wanting to be hit by counter attacks. So you could say that I just wanted to take things easy. ¡°However, taking it easy isn¡¯t always easy. Well, it was simple enough with the rules during the battle royale, but the basics of MMOs involve getting stronger over time. And so I couldn¡¯t do much during the turf war. However¡­I have found my savior!¡± Satomi petted Mister Monkey¡­I mean, Gochu. ¡°It was the implementation of the Unisons! I was lucky enough to encounter Gochu, and tamed him. And became a Unison Trainer, which is a special job! My fighting style involves leaving everything to him. All I have to do is give orders and support with skill and items. That is what a Unison Trainer does!¡± Satomi said all of this in one breath. ¡°That being said, it is still not easy to take things easy. Monster battles here are not like a sport. In NSO, it¡¯s more like a battle to the death. And if a Unison dies, then the trainer will be dead meat. It won¡¯t go like the anime I¡¯m inspired by.¡± He straight up admitted it¡­! Well, if it was a job that involved letting your Unison do all the fighting, then his own combat abilities would be very low. And so if they died, your fate would be to follow them¡­ It was like you were one mind and body. In any case, the Unisons were implemented after the turf war, so this new job, ¡®Unison Trainer¡¯ would have been implemented at the same time. That was quite recent. And yet he has already changed classes and seemed to be using it well. He must really hate fighting his own battle. Those who were able to persevere with their own style tended to be strong. ¡°As it is a recent job, there are more special systems and skills than the beginner ones. Since I have the utmost respect for you, Mister Kyuji, I do want to give you some information¡­ But I suppose now is not the time.¡± ¡°Yeah, it would seem like it¡­¡± We had been surrounded by some thick fog. And it wasn¡¯t just fog. I could hear the growling of beasts from within. ¡°Monster Scan.¡± Something like a light was unleashed from Satomi¡¯s hand, and he moved it through the fog. Once this was done, a window opened up in front of him. ¡°These are Mist Tigers. As they have the special ability of being able to turn into mist, magic would be more effective than physical attacks.¡± So it was a skill like my Letter Arrow, which allowed you to learn about monsters. But as Unison Trainer was a job that specializes in dealing with Unison Monsters, perhaps his was much better in terms of ability. In any case, while we could see the mist, we couldn¡¯t see the tigers. He was able to learn about monsters that were in range, even if he couldn¡¯t see them¡­ ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m not really good with magic¡­ But I do have exploding arrows.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. In that case¡­¡± Satomi closed his eyes and became silent. And then, his body¡­became transparent! At the same time, Gochu¡¯s eyes opened wide. ¡°I¡¯ll be the main fighter then. Gochu is a monster known as a Magic Monkey. And as the name would suggest, he¡¯s good with magic attacks.¡± Satomi¡¯s voice came from Gochu. ¡°Is this some kind of possession skill?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m just erasing my body and hitbox with a charge attack called ¡®Unmoving Invisible Stance.¡¯ It used to be treated as a skill, but it was nerfed, as it was too powerful during PvP. The effect wears off if you move or the time limit is up.¡± So he had also experienced being nerfed¡­ Well, it made sense. Such a skill would be too powerful. ¡°I control Gochu by using a different skill, but I¡¯ll tell you about that later. Right now, I have to hunt down these tigers. I want to kill all of them before the invisibility wears off.¡± Through Gochu, Satomi wielded a long club-like staff. I suppose it was like a magic staff. ¡°Flame Lotus!¡± Flames rose up explosively in the shape of a lotus flower. The beautiful red flowers of fire blazed through and erased the fog. And then the Mist Tigers appeared. ¡°Can you get them now?¡± ¡°Yeah, leave it to me!¡± And like this, I fought alongside the odd pair that was this player and his monkey. CH 77 Data.70 ¨C Old Bowman, Mystified After materializing, the Mist Tigers looked like white tigers with black and white fur. Real tigers were scary enough, but as monsters, these were larger and more vicious. I felt chills as they surrounded us¡­ While the ones in front were easy to shoot now that we could see them, I also heard growls coming from behind. They had us from all sides. ¡°Garbow! Guard our back!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± I summoned Garbow, who had been away while I was climbing. And then I activated his speciality, Ocean Sphere. I would have him charge into the fog. But it wasn¡¯t like I had made him charge without thinking about anything. After all, fog was water vapor. And so I thought that if Garbow touched them while being surrounded by sea water, they would materialize. And I was right. Once they appeared, Garbow would charge into them or unleash light beams and missiles. Unison monsters had better stats than average monsters. And so unless they were fighting against a boss, they would rarely lose. ¡°So this is the Garbow I¡¯ve heard so much about. It¡¯s impressive that it can fight so much on land in spite of being a fish-type monster.¡± ¡°Ah, even a Unison Trainer thinks so? Garbow is specialized for attacks and makes up for the firepower that I lack. He also has good physical defense and is strong against poison. And he has both ranged and close-quarters skills. His only weaknesses are lightning and that he becomes slow after the effect of a charge attack ends. But he¡¯s still a reliable buddy.¡± As this was about Garbow, I couldn¡¯t help but boast honestly. ¡°Still, my Gochu is also no slouch. While I¡¯m currently controlling him through Monster Link, he is actually smart enough to fight while protecting me on his own. I¡¯m only hiding now because my equipment is in a terrible state.¡± ¡°Yes, yours is pretty bad too. I have to be careful, as mine is close to breaking completely.¡± ¡°Your armor set, Mister Kyuji¡­I¡¯ve never seen it before. It must have been from a very rare monster. Well, so was mine. And while I might have made a mistake during the Cancer trial, I¡¯m glad that it wasn¡¯t destroyed completely.¡± ¡°The Cancer trial.. I haven¡¯t gone there yet.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t spoil it for you.¡± ¡°Still, isn¡¯t it difficult to complete trials while relying on your Unison? Besides, there are probably times when they are banned¡­¡± ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be a problem. Unison Trainers have special permission to take their Unisons anywhere.¡± Special permission, huh¡­ Well, I suppose it made sense. It would be like taking away an Archer¡¯s bow. ¡°And so I used this right to have Gochu clear the Sagittarius trial.¡± ¡°What? ¡­Even the archery from horseback?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. While it wasn¡¯t on his first try, he was still able to do it. As Gochu is a monkey, he¡¯s better at throwing stones or axes than using bows. But you look more like a star player with a bow. And since I also upload videos, I care a lot about appearances.¡± A monkey shooting arrows from atop a horse¡­ ¡°That being said, there are times when I can¡¯t leave everything to the Unison. And so I make sure to have high-grade equipment in case the worst happens. And while Monster Link is activated, some of my stats can be shared with the Unison, so it would not be a waste to raise them as well.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ve increased my Range so that the enemy won¡¯t be able to attack me, but it doesn¡¯t always work out. So I don¡¯t make compromises when it comes to equipment and skills.¡± ¡°Yes, it isn¡¯t as easy as it looks, right? However, people should put in the effort if they want to take it easy. I don¡¯t agree with the idea that taking the easy route is wrong.¡± Satomi continued to fight the Mist Tigers while inside of Gochu. While shooting the other tigers down, I watched their movements, and they did not seem uncomfortable at all. I didn¡¯t know how he was controlling the monkey¡¯s body, but it couldn¡¯t be easy for a human to move as a monkey so perfectly. Even though there were similarities, biologically, the overall structure of their bodies was very different. Was it talent? Passion¡­ ¡°Satomi. It seems like more of them are gathering even as we fight. There is no end to them.¡± ¡°Tsk¡­ Yes, it seems to be the case. I¡¯m going to blast away the mist with a charge attack and then we can move on ahead.¡± And then Gochu began to spin his staff above his head. As for me, Garbow began to break apart and then combined with my bow. ¡°Charge Attack ¨C Fire Rock Flower!¡± ¡°Combination Charge Attack ¨C Meteor Bow!¡± Boulders that burned red like meteors rained down, as did shining red arrows, and they blew away and erased the mist. This time, the Mist Tigers turned into particles of light and disappeared. ¡°Now¡¯s our chance. Apparently, Mist Tigers attack people who stand still after becoming lost. So they won¡¯t surround us as long as we keep moving.¡± Satomi returned from his invisible state as Gochu picked him up. And then we ran. As I had used the combination charge attack, I wouldn¡¯t be able to summon Garbow for an hour. It would be quite dangerous if the tigers surrounded us again. While it was a powerful attack, the demerit was heavy¡­ On the other hand, Satomi hadn¡¯t really reacted at all to it. It was as if it was something he had seen many times already¡­ He probably had the same ability as well then. Players that were odd but had their own style were the ones to catch Necoco¡¯s eye. However, that was only if they had the skill to back it up. And so he must have more tricks up his sleeve¡­ I had gotten excited and showed mine¡­ The most powerful one that I had recently acquired. Well, that was just like me. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°Damn it¡­why does the craftsman live in a place like this¡­!¡± ¡°I agree¡­! A craftsman has to accept jobs in order to live¡­ But why would anyone want to come all of the way out here¡­!¡± We were climbing yet another cliff. ¡°We¡¯re almost at the top¡­! You can do it¡­!¡± I tried not to think about it and avoided looking up. But I was also nearing my limit¡­! It was just as I started to consider taking a chance and using Warp Arrow to shoot up, that my hand reached the top. ¡°I did it¡­! I¡¯m at the peak¡­!¡± But what was waiting for us there, was an unexpected sight. As this was a craftsman who lived in the middle of nowhere, I expected a simple cottage. Though, on further reflection, it did make sense for someone so skilled to have a proper workshop. So a simple cottage wouldn¡¯t do. However, this surpassed even a ¡®proper workshop.¡¯ It was really a small town. A glittering town that was like a small paradise. Wait a minute¡­had we climbed so high up that we reached heaven¡­!? ¡°I am quite sure that this is our destination¡­ We followed the signs, after all¡­ In any case, I am exhausted! I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s the wrong place, I¡¯m going to get some rest¡­!¡± And so Satomi entered the town. Yes, calm down. If anything, things were rarely what I expected in this game. The craftsman was surely here. I just needed to find him and have my Windcloud set repaired¡­! CH 78 Data.71 ¨C Old Bowman, The Craftsman in the Sky ¡°Gahaha! So you came all the way out here to this isolated workshop!¡± It did not take long to find Yu Shanyu, the brilliant craftsman who was said to live in Phantom Fog Peak. While the rest of the town was filled with dazzling lights, there was one building that looked plain and substantial. And when I entered it, an old man with a white beard appeared. The long, flowing beard was that of a typical sage. And when I talked to him, I understood who he was immediately. The workshop was filled with tools related to smithing, as well as sewing. In fact, it was overflowing with things, as if to say that he was capable of handling anything. Aside from Mister Yu, there were also several women working there, who were all beautiful. And since they were all wearing robes like heavenly maidens, it made me think that this place really was some kind of paradise. ¡°Ah, so you¡¯ve noticed? Yes, they are heavenly maidens! Troublesome thieves who have come down from the heavens in order to steal my work!¡± ¡°Oh, you! You¡¯re the one that asked us to become your apprentices! And you¡¯ve made us work so much¡­¡± While they seemed to have some complaints, it sounded like they really were heavenly maidens. There was a world above the clouds in Nextaris, and some kind of race lived up there. And since they descended quite often, Phantom Fog Peak became a sort of checkpoint, since it was right between the sky and the surface. That was why the place had developed so much. Mister Yu had helped them create the buildings, and been rewarded. After that, he settled down here, and those who were outcasts in heaven began to live here as if hiding. And like that, Phantom Fog Peak eventually grew into a town. ¡°We are children who were born between the heavenly races and humans. But both worlds were not comfortable to live in¡­ So we are grateful to our master, who looks after us. However, there is so much work¡­¡± I understood the desire to complain about work, but it also made me feel awkward. After all, I had come to bring them more work. Still, were they really so busy when the workshop was so isolated? Satomi seemed to be wondering about this as well, and so he asked Mister Yu the question. ¡°We came because we wanted you to repair our equipment. Are you too busy? Also, where are these other requests coming from?¡± ¡°From heaven, of course! While it¡¯s difficult for the surface people to come up here, it¡¯s only a drop from above!¡± ¡°I see. So it was merely our ignorant assumption that you wouldn¡¯t get much work. But you actually have a shop right near your regular customers.¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± And he was probably getting paid well from the people above. It was no wonder that he wouldn¡¯t bother to come down very often. Besides, his apprentices were pretty, and seemed to be attached to him. ¡°That being said, I won¡¯t drive away customers who came all of this way to see me! I will fix all of your damaged equipment! Besides, I¡¯ve been quite bored lately!¡± ¡°Hmph! Master Yu! You should help us if you¡¯re bored!¡± ¡°But all of that work is something any average craftsman can do! But this here, only I can do it! Finally, a challenge!¡± I was glad to see that Mister Yu was enthusiastic about it. I thought he was going to refuse us at first, and had been very worried. ¡°I¡¯ll start with Warashi¡¯s equipment.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Satomi, not Warashi.¡± Mister Yu looked at Satomi¡¯s equipment carefully. ¡°Ohh¡­ This is a strange kind of clerical robe¡­ It¡¯s protected with holy power and seems like it is stronger than it appears. Yes, I understand why the surface craftsmen would have trouble with it.¡± ¡°Can you repair it?¡± ¡°Of course, I can! This is a workshop with heavenly maidens! We have all the holy materials you could hope for! Though, it will cost you a lot.¡± ¡°I have money. Please do it.¡± ¡°Alright, I accept the job! Now, let¡¯s look at the old man¡¯s equipment¡­¡± Mister Yu started to check mine next. It felt a little awkward to be stared at so much¡­ ¡°Ah, it has the power of the dragon! The great guardian of the sky who controls wind and cloud. The Windcloud Dragon!¡± ¡°Th-that¡¯s right.¡± ¡°It¡¯s durable and yet flexible. And strong against magic. A wonderful set¡­ The skills of a dragon live within it¡­¡± ¡°Can you fix it?¡± ¡°With my capabilities, it can be done! However, I will need materials¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°With my well-trained eyes, I was able to take a look at your inventory, and you have nothing that would be useful in repairing it!¡± He¡­can look into my inventory¡­ I suppose that was the power of a veteran craftsman¡­ But more importantly, I didn¡¯t have the materials!? ¡°Don¡¯t look so grim. What I need is a material called ¡®Cloud Strand¡¯ which is dropped by the Cloud Spiders that live in the cloud sea nearby. It is light and elastic, while also being strong. When repairing something from a dragon that lives in the sky, you need materials from monsters that also live there.¡± I nodded. It made sense. Needing appropriate materials to repair something wasn¡¯t only normal in games, but it was similar in real life. You wouldn¡¯t repair an expensive brand item with cheap materials. ¡°That being said, the cloud sea, huh¡­¡± ¡°Aye, that¡¯s right. The Phantom Fog Peak is surrounded by a sea of clouds. I will take you to the Cloudsea Beach, where there is a small boat. Take it and travel through the sea. After a while, you will see an island. And on this island, you will find the white spiders in the trees that you must hunt down.¡± As this place was on a tall mountain, it was also surrounded by a sea of clouds. And there was a beach, and if you went out by boat, you could reach an island¡­ How very whimsical. Well, at the end of the day, it was just a fetch quest. ¡°I¡¯ll help you too, Mister Kyuji. Since it looks like my equipment can finally be repaired now. And also, I kind of want to go out and see the cloud sea. Besides, I¡¯ll be able to collect some new monster data.¡± ¡°Monster data?¡± ¡°Yes. My skill, Monster Scan allows me to collect data and compile it in a kind of encyclopedia. Well, it¡¯s pretty much the case with any kind of skill that involves examining something¡­¡± Now that I thought about it, my own Letter Arrow was like that. I could look at that information any time after hitting something. It would be helpful if I ever fought the monster again. ¡°My skill is quite good, and aside from attributes and skills, it even tells me what items they will drop. So if I¡¯m ever in a situation like this, where I lack materials, I can search for the material in the encyclopedia and it will tell me which monsters to hunt.¡± ¡°So you don¡¯t have to log out and look it up online every time¡­ That is nice.¡± Even if it was MMO¡¯s before the time of VR, hell, even with offline games, gathering materials could be a hellish experience. Especially if it was an underpopulated or lesser known game. Looking it up online may not be very useful, and you¡¯d have to continue to wander around¡­ ¡°And so I make a point to hunt monsters whenever I enter a new area. It¡¯s better to have a lot of data. Besides, you gain a good advantage when you know about monsters¡­ Well, I will stop boring you now.¡± I didn¡¯t mind at all if people wanted to tell me about their hidden abilities. Anyway, we might end up fighting together in the Ghost Guild one day, so I didn¡¯t want to pry. ¡°This is purely a calculated move on my part, as it will be easier for me to collect data if I tag along with someone else. And so you don¡¯t have to worry about me complaining if I get killed or my armor is destroyed.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure that I can use an ally, so regardless of your reasons, thanks.¡± Mister Yu then guided us as we headed to the beach. On the way there, he told us that this town was referred to as Sky Town. ¡°Hey, you.¡± ¡°Uh, what is it?¡± ¡°That bow¡­are you going to use it now?¡± ¡°Yes. Since we¡¯re going to go and hunt some monsters.¡± ¡°Then I suppose I shouldn¡¯t tell you now¡­¡± He said to himself knowingly. Uh, now I was curious¡­ From what I could see, the Windcloud Bow wasn¡¯t damaged. So there shouldn¡¯t be a problem if I use it¡­ I shook my head and pushed it aside. If he was going to tell me later, it likely wasn¡¯t important. Because the sky town was above the clouds, it was necessary to go down a little in order to reach the beach that connected to the cloud sea. And while I nearly tripped going down the slope, we eventually arrived at our destination. ¡°Woah¡­ It really is a beach.¡± When I tried touching it¡­it was just sand. However, the sea that spread out from there was not a blue sea, but white clouds. Could we really go through it on a boat¡­? But then again, I regularly ride on clouds and fight¡­ ¡°This is the boat that you¡¯ll be using. And just to be clear, if you fall off and drown, you¡¯ll eventually sink through the clouds and plunge down to the ground below! Keep that in mind!¡± Mister Yu said with a grin. And then he went back up the slope we had come from. ¡°So it looks like we really do have to ride this little boat, Mister Kyuji.¡± Satomi had already pushed the boat into the clouds and got in. Gochu had finished resting, and was now holding the oars. I cautiously stepped in as well. The boat creaked and swayed. At the same time, the clouds rippled like actual water. But there was no sinking sensation. It seemed to be fine. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go. Gochu, I¡¯m counting on you.¡± ¡°Ukikya!¡± And like that, the small boat moved through the clouds. CH 79 Data.72 ¨C Old Bowman, Cloud Sea As we rode the boat over the pure white clouds, I started to feel like I had died and was being sent to heaven. Without much thought, I opened my status window. Hmm¡­ I am alive, at least. Also, the Bow Meteor cooldown would end soon, so I would be able to bring Garbow back. I closed the window. As the silence was unsettling, I would try to start a conversation with Satomi¡­ ¡°So, how did you find out that there was a workshop here?¡± ¡°Miss Charin gave me the information. Though, I already knew that there were special craftsmen out there. But I was never able to find them on my own.¡± ¡°So she told you about it¡­ Same here. Only I didn¡¯t know about their existence at all. Still, Charin sure talks a lot, huh? It almost makes me worry that she¡¯s saying too much.¡± ¡°She¡¯s originally from Medallion Online, and was quite famous for talking a lot. While she¡¯s known to be nosey with the average player, she is also quite friendly to players that ask for help.¡± ¡°Huh, that¡¯s interesting.¡± ¡°While everything she does now is just barely acceptable in terms of her job, she used to outright give items to people who were in trouble, and it became sort of a problem.¡± ¡°That is¡­bad. Though, I can understand the feeling.¡± ¡°Giving items was banned, but they turn a blind eye to most verbal help. After all, it¡¯s not like she has too many opportunities to talk to players to begin with. It is either talk to the developers or the players¡­that¡¯s it for options. And even that is only during this collaboration event when it comes to this game. So it¡¯s no wonder she becomes talkative.¡± Being an AI was pretty hard, I suppose. I knew about them and how they worked at different companies, but my opinion on them had changed a little after meeting one. Such experiences really were important. That being said, while Satomi talked very politely, he seemed quite young. Perhaps it was also due to the appearance of his character. And yet he was very knowledgeable about the VR world. But then again, maybe it was because he was young that he knew so much. After all, the youth of today had VR from when they were born. I had made a conscious decision to keep my distance, but it was no wonder that people who were raised with it would know a lot. Still, it was enjoyable enough for me, even though I was learning as I played. ¡°I can see the island now. It¡¯s so white that it would be easy to miss¡­¡± It was white. Like an uncolored coloring book. Even the ground, trees and grass were white and fluffy. After disembarking, Satomi seemed to be suprised by the texture. I had plenty of opportunities to step on clouds, so I was completely used to it. ¡°Monster Scan¡­ Yes, there are Cloud Spiders in the area. However, they are cowardly creatures, and will run away when an enemy gets close. Furthermore, they have a high physical defense form, so it may be difficult to take them down with arrows.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so.¡± I unleashed an arrow at a Cloud Spider. It was a long spider who was perched quietly on a tree that was still far away from us. They couldn¡¯t run if they hadn¡¯t even seen us enter the white forest yet, and they wouldn¡¯t be able to enter their defense form. In other words, ranged attacks made hunting them easy. Not only that, but there was no need to see the bugs up close¡­! ¡°I see. Yes, this long Range is like your essence, Mister Kyuji.¡± ¡°Well, there are times where it¡¯s not much use to me. But that¡¯s life.¡± I was starting to sound like a weary old man¡­ While I was thinking of such things, the items that the Cloud Spiders dropped started to fly towards me and go into my inventory. So there were 2 Cloud Strands and 1 Cloud Spider Leg¡­ A spider leg¡­ Uh, I¡¯d try not to think about it. It wasn¡¯t even a material that I needed. Right now, I need 25 Cloud Strands. That¡¯s how much I needed to repair the entire Windcloud set. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve been able to hunt so calmly¡­¡± And so I searched for Cloud Spiders with my vision that was enhanced through Sniping Insight, and repeatedly shot them down. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°It¡¯s a surprisingly small island.¡± I changed my sniping position while walking through the island. And then we reached the other side in no time. From there, we made a full circle of the coastline and reached the starting point again. It really was a small island. There were only a few types of monsters, and they weren¡¯t very strong. Thanks to that, I was able to gather all of the Spider Strands that I needed. Though, it also meant getting a lot of legs¡­ ¡°Well, since we both accomplished our goal, let¡¯s go back. There is still night time above the clouds, and I don¡¯t want to be out at sea when it gets dark.¡± And so we returned to the spot where we left the boat. ¡°Huh? It¡¯s gone¡­¡± We had pulled it up onto land, so the waves shouldn¡¯t have been able to take it¡­ But after exploring the area, just to be sure, we found scattered fragments of the boat. It had been destroyed by someone. ¡°¡­I suppose it means that we have an enemy lurking on this island.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± We sounded like detectives who had just realized that the culprit was close by. However, this was then immediately rejected. There was no enemy hiding. The island itself was the enemy. Without making a sound, a giant head with a great jaw and long neck emerged from the sea¡­ And then it slowly turned around to look at us. And glared. ¡°Monster Scan¡­! To think that I would be tricked like this¡­ This island itself is a monster! Seacloud Turtle Dragon¡­ We¡¯re on its back. On the shell!¡± The ground under our feet shook. If we were on top of the monster, that meant the distance between us was 0¡­! That would mean my long range was pointless¡­ No, that was not the case. ¡°How should we fight it, Mister Kyuji?¡± ¡°I have an idea. But for now, let¡¯s get away from its head!¡± ¡°Understood!¡± And so we dashed to the other side of the island, which we now knew to be the shell of a turtle dragon. CH 80 Data.73 ¨C Old Bowman, Cloudsea Turtle Dragon The Seacloud Turtle Dragon¡­which I will just call Turtle Dragon, breathed out clumps of clouds as its attack. However, they were not very fast and looked rather weak. Also, it had a proper HP gauge above its head. So it had the special ability of concealing its HP gauge and avoiding Monster Scan when it pretended to be an island, but it was likely not as strong as the Windcloud Dragon or the Bluesea Dragon. Those were special dragons. ¡°It seems like it lures in players in order to kill the monsters that started nesting on its back¡­ That is the lore. And we did a good clean up job for it.¡± ¡°Well, it was necessary, so I¡¯m not going to complain. Besides, that also tells us its weakness.¡± In other words, this guy can¡¯t get rid of the enemies on its back by itself. Like how some people can¡¯t scratch their back. And this was a turtle with a huge shell and likely short arms. Kind of like how it¡¯s always dark right under a lighthouse¡­ Well, maybe not like that. But sometimes being too close was the same as being too far. The Turtle Dragon was no longer attacking us with its cloud breath. It was because we were now out of its range. However, my arrows could still reach it! ¡°Trident Arrow!¡± It was a skill I acquired when defeating the Poseidon Kraken in the south sea, but I hadn¡¯t had any opportunities to use it since, as I had been away from the sea. This skill was effective against water and fish type monsters. And Satomi had told me that the Turtle Dragon had the water attribute. Now, I could attack it from safety¡­or so I thought. But unlike humans, turtles had tails on the other side of their shell. And this tail was longer than the neck. It shot out of the cloud sea and lashed at us like a whip. ¡°Ukyakya! Ukyaaa!!¡± Gochu had tried to block the tail with his staff, but was blown into the air. While it wasn¡¯t as powerful as those other special dragons, it was still a dragon. There was no way that it would be weak. Perhaps I should crush the tail first¡­! ¡°Mister Kyuji, you should continue to aim for the head. We¡¯ll deal with the tail.¡± And like that, Satomi¡¯s body turned invisible. It was the effect of Unmoving Invisible Stance. While the restrictions were even more harsher than Necoco¡¯s ¡®unmoving¡¯ skill, it was still powerful as it made you invisible and erased your hitbox. He activated this while taking control of Gochu through Monster Link. His style of fighting involved defeating enemies without lifting a finger. And so I could turn my back without worrying. Just as I faced the dragon¡¯s head again, the ground started to shake. The Turtle Dragon had started to move in order to stop me from shooting¡­ Thankfully, there were plenty of trees growing on the shell, and so I had something to hang onto. And so while it had stopped one attack, I wasn¡¯t flung off into the sea¡­ ¡°Gah¡­!¡± But Satomi crashed into a tree. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°I just can¡¯t get used to how soft the ground is. Besides, it also exploited the weakness of this skill¡­ While it erases my hitbox, it doesn¡¯t fully apply to collision detection.¡± ¡°I see¡­ Otherwise you would fall right through the floor¡­!¡± ¡°Exactly. It¡¯s been a consistent weakness even before the skill was nerfed during the update. If a hole opens under where I am standing, I will fall. In other words, the invisibility will be deactivated. And it¡¯s the same when the ground shakes.¡± Now I understood why the skill was even allowed. It had seemed so powerful that I wondered why it was in the game. But management must have decided it was not a problem because there was such a clear weakness. The people making the game were the ones that played it the most. And so sometimes they would get bored and start raising the difficulty. As they were making the game, they knew about the weakness from the beginning. That being said, most players wouldn¡¯t know about it, so it wasn¡¯t much of a weakness. And so it had been nerfed later on. It was good that management was flexible. Sometimes when you work on the same game for so long, you miss things that seem like they should be obvious¡­ ¡°Mister Kyuji. We¡¯re still going to follow the same strategy. We¡¯ll stop the tail.¡± ¡°But the enemy will target you first now. And then Gochu will have to protect you and won¡¯t be able to attack.¡± Not only that, but Gochu used fire magic. ¡°Still, the plan is the same. I¡¯m going to burn it¡­with a combination charge attack. Besides, it wouldn¡¯t be fair if I didn¡¯t show you one of my trump cards.¡± ¡°Ukya-kya-kya!¡± Gochu stood behind Satomi. And then it started to emit a fiery aura. ¡°It¡¯s not easy to use it, but in the current situation, it should be fine¡­ HAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!¡± Satomi started shouting suddenly. And then Gochu¡¯s body turned into flames which spread to Satomi. As the two burned, the Turtle Dragon¡¯s tail approached them¡­! What the hell was happening¡­ I could do nothing but watch¡­! ¡°Combination Charge Attack! Katenroooooou!!¡± The aura of fire around them shot up into the sky! Just like a castle¡­! And the aura slammed right into the Turtle Dragon that came to crush Satomi from above. Furthermore, the flames started to rotate at an incredible speed, turning the whole tail into a ball of fire. Such firepower¡­! And like that, the tail was knocked back by the force of the fire, and it sank limply back into the sea. I doubted it would return for a while. ¡°Phew¡­ I fulfilled my role. This combination charge attack has a feature where the force becomes stronger if you raise your voice, kind of like a certain game that was popular a long time ago¡­ On the other hand, it only does damage to things close by and right above you. That makes it difficult to use¡­ It¡¯s not easy at all.¡± ¡°Still, it must make you feel like a hero from an anime or manga! I wish that I would awaken to a similar power.¡± ¡°I¡¯d give it to you right now if I could. But you would have to give me Meteor Bow. That one is clearly easier to use.¡± ¡°Um¡­I think I¡¯ll pass on that. Well, I just need to attack the head now. So leave it to me.¡± ¡°Thank you. Gochu is in cooldown now, so I won¡¯t be able to do anything.¡± But I had a feeling that this wasn¡¯t true. Still, he had shown me an interesting skill, so now it was my turn to finish off the dragon. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s head went down¡­¡± Now that it wasn¡¯t able to attack, the Turtle Dragon¡¯s head went back into the water. That was a turtle for you. They were smart. However, I had a friend who was good at fighting in the water. ¡°You¡¯re up next! Garbow!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± After returning from his Meteor Bow cooldown, Garbow was unleashed into the sea. And then a few moments later, the Turtle Dragons head reemerged with a depleted HP gauge. Garbow¡¯s attacks must have been too much for it. But now it was at the mercy of my arrows. After that, the Turtle Dragon would repeatedly move in and out of the water as I chipped away at its HP. ¡°And the final blow! Trident Arrow!¡± A three-pronged arrow cut away at the remainder of its HP gauge. The Seacloud Turtle Dragon fell, and then its body started to turn into light and disappear¡­ In other words, the platform we were standing on started to vanish¡­ ¡°I had a feeling¡­that this would happen.¡± ¡°Too bad the turtle wasn¡¯t nice enough to take us to the beach first. We had no choice but to defeat it. Also¡­I can¡¯t swim.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The ground below was becoming more and more transparent. Not only that, but I could see sharks swimming in the water around the turtle as it faded away¡­ Like they were eating the dead creature. How was I supposed to get out of this. And when I was with someone who couldn¡¯t even swim¡­? ¡°You two! Hold onto this!¡± ¡°You¡­ Mister Yu!?¡± Mister Yu was supposed to have returned to the workshop, but he was now riding on a cloud in the air. Apparently, it was the heavenly maidens behind him that were controlling the cloud. And they were grumbling about something¡­ ¡°Really¡­ This isn¡¯t a taxi¡­¡± So they had taxis in the world above¡­ But there was no time to think about that. Satomi had gone completely pale, like he knew he was going to drown. I pushed him onto the cloud and then contained Garbow. And then I also rushed onto the cloud. At the same time, the Turtle Dragon turned into light completely and disappeared. The sharks below seemed very disappointed as they circled the water a little and then dispersed. ¡°You saved us, Mister Yu.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it! In the first place, I¡¯m the one who sent you two to that monster!¡± ¡°Uh¡­ You knew about it? About the island¡¯s secret¡­¡± ¡°Sorry, sorry! However, those Cloud Spiders are the best way to collect Cloud Strands, and the easiest way to get them is to go on that monster¡¯s back and defeat it!¡± The easiest¡­huh? I suppose it was true, but couldn¡¯t he have given us a little head up first¡­? Well, there was no point in complaining about it now. ¡°Besides, there is great meaning in the fact that you defeated it! To be precise, with the materials it dropped!¡± ¡°Turtle Dragon materials?¡± I was so concentrated on escaping that I hadn¡¯t noticed. Uhh¡­ ¡®Shell of the Windcloud Turtle Dragon¡¯ seemed to be the new item I acquired. ¡°With that, your Haori can evolve! Leave that and your bow to me!¡± ¡°The haori can evolve¡­? And my bow!?¡± He was moving ahead very quickly! So it wasn¡¯t just about repairing now, but evolution? In other words, the Windcloud set will become even stronger¡­!? CH 81 Data.74 ¨C Old Bowman, The Power of a Master Craftsman ¡°So, what¡¯s this about my equipment evolving¡­!¡± Once we were back at the workshop, I asked him about it before he could become evasive. It was the same with the Turtle Dragon. He would not offer more information if you just sat back and waited. If I wanted to know something, I would have to keep asking¡­! ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will talk to you seriously when it¡¯s about work. Equipment evolution¡­is what it sounds like!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. I¡¯m just joking. Basically, you use specific materials in order to remake equipment into something more powerful.¡± ¡°You mean¡­it turns into something else entirely?¡± ¡°It depends. Most of the time it will mean superior performance and more skills within a weapon, but there are also times when the way that it¡¯s used is changed dramatically. So to be honest, it all depends on the equipment.¡± ¡°And so how will it be for my Windcloud Bow and Windcloud Haori? If they were to evolve by using this Cloudsea Turtle Dragon Shell¡­¡± In spite of it being a shell the size of an island, the actual item was small and easy to carry around. Not as small as those pet turtles you keep in tanks, but still smaller than a tortoise. ¡°No, only the Windcloud Haori can evolve with that. A different material is used for the Windcloud Bow.¡± ¡°A different material?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s the Dark Wolf Fang!¡± That was¡­the rewards for beating the Lupus trial from the hidden labyrinth. I remember that the large black fang evoked the idea of a wolf being struck down by lightning after infuriating Zeus. But I didn¡¯t see how it was related to the Windcloud Bow¡­ ¡°As for your other equipment, you don¡¯t have the right materials! And so I will merely repair them, as you initially requested. As for the evolution, you are the owner and have the right to decide. So, what will you do?¡± ¡°¡­Would it be possible for me to first see their capabilities after evolving?¡± ¡°Of course! With my ability, I can make it appear very easily!¡± And then two windows appeared in front of me. They both contained information about the Windcloud Bow and Windcloud Haori after evolving. ¡°Th-this is¡­!¡± After seeing this, I immediately made my decision. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting, Satomi.¡± ¡°No, if anything, that was very fast.¡± Satomi was waiting outside of the workshop. I personally didn¡¯t care too much if he learned about my new evolved equipment, but I wasn¡¯t going to force him to see it if he said that he wouldn¡¯t. ¡°He says that everything will be finished in 4 days.¡± ¡°It takes that long¡­?¡± ¡°As it¡¯s rare, he needs that much time to repair and evolve it. And in my case, there are 4 items that need to be repaired and 2 that will evolve, so it will take time to finish everything. He also took away a lot of materials. He only sent me off to get the Cloud Strands because he didn¡¯t have enough, but there was also plenty of stuff he needed that I already had. Still, he didn¡¯t take anything too rare.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the cost of repairing something that will get damaged anyway¡­ It really makes you want to avoid getting hit. Of course, my style involves taking 0 damage to begin with, but I feel bad for people who fight as an advance guard.¡± ¡°Indeed. But everything in this game, from equipment, skills, experience, materials and money is acquired through fighting monsters. In order to get all of that, you have no choice but to repair your equipment.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s true that everything that doesn¡¯t have a clear use starts to pile up anyway. And they wouldn¡¯t want to make the game so that players have too much materials and money stocked up. It¡¯s because you don¡¯t have enough of something that you go out adventuring.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. And if the cost of repairing equipment is higher, then there will be more tension when fighting. It reinforces my idea that it¡¯s best to attack from a distance where the enemy can¡¯t launch a counter attack.¡± ¡°I see¡­ But what I find truly surprising is that once you¡¯ve dropped off your Windcloud set here, you¡¯ve practically returned to the beginner Mister Kyuji.¡± ¡°Ahaha¡­really?¡± I scratched my head awkwardly. I was currently wearing my beginner equipment, which felt very nostalgic now. Of course, I had gone on many adventures up until now, and had picked up decent equipment that monsters dropped. But they weren¡¯t a complete set. If you only cared about stats when equipping them, the overall look would be pretty lame. In that case, while plain, I thought that I would rather wear the beginner set for now. Besides, I had some fond memories attached to it. ¡°Still, this Spider Shooter is a good bow, even now.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s what you say, Mister Kyuji, then I won¡¯t argue with you. In any case, I have to talk to Mister Yu about my repairs as well¡­¡± Satomi was holding back laughter as he entered the workshop. But I really did think that it looked good on me¡­this beginner set. However, I could also admit that it wasn¡¯t very good in terms of stats. And so until the Windcloud set returned, I would concentrate on the trials that didn¡¯t involve combat. ¡°Um¡­do you have a minute?¡± It was one of the heavenly maidens from the workshop. They took on the jobs that ordinary craftsmen could do, and so she asked me if there was anything she could repair or evolve that wasn¡¯t rare. I looked at the window that appeared and searched for something. But the Windcloud set was more than enough for me, and doing something to my other equipment would require materials. I didn¡¯t want to upgrade something mediocre and run out of materials that I might need later on¡­ ¡°Ah, could you evolve this one?¡± ¡°Yes, certainly!¡± And like that, she ran back into the workshop. I heard ¡®finally, some decent work¡¯ being muttered from within. But I pretended not to hear it. Now, I wonder how long it would take to evolve ordinary equipment. ¡°It¡¯s finished!¡± ¡°It is!?¡± Apparently, it was just rare equipment that took so long. I accepted the Spider Shooter: Cloud and checked it. ¡ôSpider Shooter: Cloud Type: Two-handed Weapon(Bow) Attack: 40 Range: 50 Weapon Skill: Web Cloud Arrow Web Cloud Arrow Unleashes an arrow that creates a sticky cloud net. Can be activated 9 times a day without using any MP. Compared to the Windcloud Bow, it was certainly a downgrade, but the Spider Shooter was a good weapon that I still used occasionally because of the weapon skill ¡®Web Arrow¡¯ that allowed me to slow down enemies. And now, through the use of Cloud Spider Legs, which were a by-product of the previous hunt, I have been able to evolve it. The bow used to have black hairs on it like a spider, but now they were white and fluffy. It was still gross-looking at a glance, but it was actually quite soft and comfortable to hold. And so I preferred it like this. As for the stats, both Attack and Range had been raised by 20 points. Of course, the biggest difference was the skill, ¡®Web Cloud Arrow.¡¯ And so I decided to test the effect in the testing ground they had right next to the workshop. It was kind of like a small park where you could test weapons and skills. ¡°Web Cloud Arrow!¡± The head of the unleashed arrow was round like a sphere. The original Web Arrow was the same, and the sphere would explode when it reached the enemy, and a net would spring out. The difference here was the size of the net. Previously, when using it on a monster that was human-size, you would have to target the knees or the rest of the net would not reach the ground, but now it would be able to cover someone completely. That meant it could be effective against larger monsters as well¡­! Not only that, but the number of uses had increased from 8 to 9, and that was without using MP. I had thought that the limit was 8 to make it the same as the number of legs a spider had. 8 was a lot already, but 9¡­ ¡°Mister Kyuji. I¡¯m finished.¡± ¡°¡­Huh? Oh, that¡¯s great!¡± ¡°It¡¯s also going to take a little time to repair everything. Though, not as long as yours¡­ What are you going to do now? I¡¯m going to explore the mountains a little more. Even without my armor, I should be able to get by as long as Gochu is with me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking about continuing with the non-combat trials. Oh, but I¡¯m not actually sure which ones those are¡­¡± ¡°I can tell you of one that I know of if you want?¡± ¡­Hmm. What should I do? I suppose if he could do it without spoiling everything. ¡°Alright. Could you just tell me the name and not what you have to do?¡± ¡°The name of the labyrinth is¡­Pisces. It¡¯s the Pisces trial.¡± Pisces. And no combat¡­ I had an idea of what that might mean. And perhaps it wouldn¡¯t be bad as my first trial for returning to the event. Very well. The next trial will be the Pisces labyrinth! CH 82 Data.75 ¨C Old Bowman, Pisces Trial ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to go down the mountain now.¡± The Pisces labyrinth was west of the first town. In other words, as the town of Dapan was at the foot of the Foggy Mountains, which were also in the west, it would be best to go from there. I had already unlocked fast travel to the sky town¡­well, it had been done before I knew it. Turns out that the requirement was just ¡®make a job request that involved something rare at the workshop.¡¯ After all, once you asked him to repair or evolve something that was rare, you would be required to return later and retrieve them. So the requirement made sense. Still, it was shockingly considerate. And so there was no need to climb up that foggy cliffside. I could just warp from other towns. From now on, if I ever found any promising materials, I would show them to Mister Yu. ¡°I¡¯ll also return to the event soon enough, so perhaps we¡¯ll meet again.¡± ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s hope we can both clear all of the labyrinths. Oh, and the final trial as well.¡± Today, the clouds around Foggy Mountain were on the thin side. ¡°The best players should reach it in a few days. And then I¡¯ll be hearing all about it even if I don¡¯t want to. Well, at least we aren¡¯t too far behind.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been getting about 2 a day, and now have 5 of the medals. But the fast players probably have at least 10 by now¡­¡± ¡°The pro gamers must be excited to be the first to find out the secrets of the Serpent Palace. That¡¯s the way to get the most attention and become famous. So both the veterans and the newcomers will work hard.¡± ¡°The first, huh¡­ While I can see the appeal, I think that I prefer to go at my own pace. Besides, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll even be able to finish it unless I get a little stronger¡­ It¡¯s just a feeling. So I¡¯m going to work on my skills and equipment as I make progress. Also, leveling. I will probably max out my 2nd job soon.¡± ¡°Sounds like a good idea. It¡¯ll only slow you down if you hurry and end up breaking your equipment again. Also, about the Ghost Guild, I think that I¡¯m going to accept Necoco¡¯s offer.¡± ¡°Oh? You are?¡± ¡°Yes. I realized that there¡¯s nothing easier than for people to live by helping each other¡­ In other words, I also have to help others. And since she invited me, she must see something in a player like me. So I think that I¡¯ll do what I can.¡± Satomi had been hesitant about joining the Ghost Guild due to being intimidated by Necoco¡¯s passion for the game. I had just joined because it seemed interesting. But I suppose Satomi just wanted to enjoy the game and relax, and felt that it might not be for him. ¡°Well, the idea is that we¡¯ll come together if there is any content that is exclusive to parties and guilds. So we can think about it when the time comes.¡± ¡°Heh¡­that¡¯s true. Well, see you later.¡± ¡°Yeah, later.¡± I opened the map and selected Dapan. My body was enveloped in light and in the next second, I had arrived in the town filled with pandas. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô From there, I walked down the main road and towards the pin on my map which indicated the location of the Pisces labyrinth. And while I was walking, I noticed something. The pin was actually located inland. All the other labyrinths that seemed to be related to the sea were near the beach. But this one that looked like it could be related to fishing was near the center. But I got the answer to my question soon enough. ¡°I see¡­ So that¡¯s why¡­¡± A river. A great river had been altered into a fishing pond¡­! The large boulders were removed, and there were man-made differences in level and areas separated by nets. And inside, fish were swimming. As it was still part of a river, the fishing pond was very long. So there would be plenty of space even if there were a lot of players there at once. And so I decided to get a fishing rod and start the trial. Oh, I had to learn the requirement for winning and getting the special reward first. ¡®Hey-heey! The fish will be scared if I talk too loud, so this time I will speak at a normal volume-nyon.¡¯ This Charin¡­just looked like a fisher. There was nothing fantastical about her. A vest with a lot of pockets, waterproof pants, and boots¡­ She even wore a cheap looking cap on her long blonde hair. Still, it wasn¡¯t bad, seeing a girl put on clothes that would usually be seen on guys. ¡®In a way, this trial is the most simple-nyon. You will use the fishing rods that I¡¯m going to give to you, and catch some fish here. That¡¯s all-nyon. The pond won¡¯t run out of fish, so don¡¯t worry-nyon. You will receive a medal if you catch a fish that has a rarity level of 4 or more stars. The special reward is for players who catch something with the highest rarity level of 5 stars-nyon.¡¯ That really was simple. On the other hand, this fishing pond was exclusively for the event. So just because you caught a lot of fish, they could not be sold for money or used as materials. In other words, catching anything that was 3 stars or lower was meaningless¡­ ¡®Fishing is very simple-nyon. Just raise the rod quickly if the float sinks¡­ That¡¯s it-nyon. You¡¯ll know if you catch something big, because of the way the water surface will splash. But as long as you don¡¯t drop the rod, you should be able to catch it-nyon. In other words, this trial is just about reflexes-nyon.¡¯ ¡­What!? I had a feeling she had said something frightening¡­ But was it just me? This was a VR game with the most recent technology, and yet it was just like an old fishing game with timed button presses¡­ But the fishing I did at the southern sea was so realistic¡­ ¡®Yes, yes. Just like that certain famous relaxing game-nyon. Just one button press once the float sinks! The timing of that moment is all that matters. It could be a killifish or a coelacanth, and the result will be the same-nyon.¡¯ ¡­Well, this is an interesting trial you directed me to, Satomi. It was a trial that would test how much I had grown. Your reflexes were not as fast when you aged¡­ It was the unavoidable truth. However, I was sure that I had improved since starting the game. And I felt like I was now a part of this world. So perhaps I would show them. My true capabilities now that I have adapted to this game¡­ CH 83 Data.76 ¨C Old Bowman, A Battle With Yourself ¡°¡­!¡± Splash¡­ There was nothing caught on the fishing hook when it came out of the water. ¡°Ha¡­ Haa¡­!¡± I swallowed back the ¡®Help me!¡¯ that threatened to come out of my mouth. If I said that, it would be like I haven¡¯t grown at all. And there was no doubt that I had grown. After all, I had succeeded in catching one 4-star fish. It was a catfish known as a Medallion Great Catfish, and it had seven medallion-like patterns on the sides of its body. However, ever since I had caught it, I hadn¡¯t been able to catch any 5-stars, let alone any 4-stars. And it wasn¡¯t because I was so unlucky that there were no big ones nearby. Because there was a surefire way to complete the 5-star challenge. And that way¡­was to continue catching fish with perfect timing. Once the player casts their line, the shadow of a fish that targets that bait alone will appear. This fishing pond was special in that it looked like there were a lot of fish from far away, but you couldn¡¯t see any when you got closer. This was to prevent players from fighting over fishing spots. Because if there was a large shadow in the water, then everyone would want to cast their line there. The current system meant that fish would appear for individual players. Though, there were still players wandering around. Either it was to try and break their unlucky streak or the belief that there was a hidden spot where you could catch bigger fish. In any case, once you saw the shadow approach the hook, you just had to wait for it to bite. And when the float went down, you pulled the rod up swiftly. The faster you are, the more likely you will be to catch a rare one the next time. In other words, if you catch a small 1-star fish, then you will be more likely to catch a 2-star fish the next time, and so on. However¡­there were so many distractions. This trial was like a battle with yourself but also a battle with others. ¡°YEEEEEEESSS!!! I caught a 5-star!!!¡± ¡°Huh¡­!?¡± Splash¡­ There was nothing on the hook that I pulled out of the water. And a short distance away, someone was celebrating their catch of a huge 5-star fish¡­ Well, I would clap for them¡­ Everyone else was. Though, they were probably fuming inside¡­ This was one of the traps that messed up your concentration¡­ The cries of joy. As everyone was so desperate to catch a 5-star, they couldn¡¯t help but shout when it happened. However, it was terribly distracting for me to hear sudden screams everywhere. And if it happened just as the float sank¡­well, I was destined to fail. However, it¡¯s not like I could ask them to be quiet¡­ Because I knew that everyone, even me, would do the same¡­! ¡°Tsk¡­focus¡­focus¡­!¡± I threw the line. I had been on a good streak and caught a 3-star, but now I was back to 1. However, I would not let it get to me. Things would turn around soon¡­ ¡°Oh¡­!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but gasp. This shadow was big! Could it be¡­ That I was lucky enough to get a 4-star? I had to catch it¡­ Now, come¡­! ¡°Yes!!¡± Splash¡­ But there was nothing on the hook that emerged from the water. ¡°Alright! I caught a 4-star!¡± The person next to me had been the one to catch it. ¡­I had gotten our floats mixed up! As they were all borrowed, the designs of the rods and floats were the same. And it was so easy to get them mixed with other people¡¯s! Especially after you became distracted! There were even times when someone thought mine was theirs. This ¡®mix up¡¯ was another dangerous trap¡­ But the most dangerous trap¡­was myself. ¡°It-it¡¯s getting harder to focus¡­¡± Even when I tried, there were times when my mind would become dim, like a fog had come over it. And when that happened, my timing was awful. Getting a 2-star was fine, but once I reached 3-stars, my timing was off and I could rarely reach 4-stars. My ability to focus must have been crazy as a child¡­ I had lots of memories of finishing action games that were too hard or uninteresting for me now. You can understand complex puzzles and stories as an adult, but I felt that I was definitely better at simple 2D action games when I was a kid. I listened to the murmur of the water and thought of such things to give my mind a rest. And then I cast the line again and stared at the float. I repeated this over and over until I realized that it was already night time. I had no trouble seeing the surface of the water, thanks to the lanterns by the river, but I was overcome with fatigue once I realized the time it was. As I had made a habit of logging in during the morning and logging out during the night, my body started to feel tired at night. Heh. Like a child who goes home when the sun comes down. However, I intended to stay a little longer¡­! If I managed to have a good streak but still failed after that, then I would give up for the day. ¡°Huhhh¡­hahh¡­¡± I kept my eyes open so I wouldn¡¯t lose sight of the float, and took in a deep breath. And the rest of the world seemed to fade away, and all I could see was the float, the water, and the shadow of a fish. The float sank, I raised the rod, repeat¡­ The simple process was repeated with precision over and over. How many times have I done it? I hadn¡¯t failed yet. And I won¡¯t¡­this time! ¡°Ah¡­!¡± I raised the rod without thinking, and there was a ridiculously large fish attached to it. I fell back and nearly got crushed by the thing. ¡°Wh-what is this!?¡± It was huge. Probably not a fish you would see in Japan. And it had a giant golden medal stuck to its forehead. Like a decoration on a general¡¯s helmet¡­ Just as I thought this, the fish disappeared. Ha-had it escaped¡­! ¡®I took the liberty of taking it since you appeared to be in pain-nyon! That was a Medallion Pirarucu! Obviously, a 5-star-nyon! And so¡­here you are!¡¯ She handed me the Pisces medal. It seemed like I hadn¡¯t gotten one in a while, but it had a similar design to the others. The face had the constellation made of jewels. And the back had a picture of two fish. Why were there two fishes? People from long ago were mysterious. ¡®And here is the special reward, ¡®Magic Fish Fossil¡¯-nyon!¡¯ Woah, what is this¡­ Well, it was what it sounded like. A fossil that looked like fish bones stuck in a rock. But how was I supposed to use it? I couldn¡¯t use it to learn a skill, and I couldn¡¯t equip it. But if it was related to fish, then perhaps it can help Garbow¡­ I will have to ask Mister Yu. Of course, I am tired now, so that would have to be tomorrow. ¡®Hey, hey! Would you like to take a commemorative picture with the fish? Of course, there is no extra charge-nyon!¡¯ ¡°Hmm. I don¡¯t see why not.¡± And so the two of us held up the giant Medallion Pirarucu and took a photo. It was a good photo. But since Charin was dressed like a proper fisher and I was in beginner gear, it looked like she was the one who caught it. It seemed like I was just the local guide who helped the pretty beast hunter catch a monster fish for her tv show. In any case, I had cleared the greatest trial, so it was all good! CH 84 Data.77 ¨C Old Bowman, Child of the Clouds The next day, I logged in like always and warped to the sky town. This was to find out if the Magic Fish Fossil from the Pisces trial could be used as some kind of material. I didn¡¯t see Satomi in the town. He was either out exploring the mountains or he had logged out or gone some place else¡­ Well, players were constantly moving around busily. And so I didn¡¯t think much about it as I entered Mister Yu¡¯s workshop. If you wanted to know how to use a certain material, you just needed to ask the heavenly maiden at the front desk. If it could be used for something, then a window would open up. As for the Magic Fish Fossil¡­it had quite a lot of uses. Apparently, it was used to craft equipment that was based on fish. But none of them seemed particularly good¡­ As I scrolled through the page, the category changed from player equipment to Unison equipment. Perhaps it would be good to create something new for Garbow. While all of Garbow¡¯s equipment slots were currently full, ¡®Seabow Arts ¨C Form 7¡¯ had not been getting much use. As the area around Garbow was sea once he activated Ocean Sphere, activating a sea exclusive art was not really a problem. However, the actual sphere was quite small. The Form 2 Jellyfish floated inside of the sphere of water, which worked well because it poisoned any enemies that got too close to Ocean Sphere, but the others were all just normal ranged attacks, meaning they disappeared once they left the water. This would be fine in close quarters combat, but in that case, the charge type skills and firing skills like Red Flash would be more than enough. And so I wanted to find something completely different and equip it. Something to increase Garbow¡¯s movement patterns that wasn¡¯t an attack. Once I decided on this, I narrowed down the list to items that could be equipped by a fish and machine type Unison. And I quickly found what I wanted. It wasn¡¯t something especially rare, but to us, it was perhaps even more valuable than any rare equipment out there. And so I asked the heavenly maiden to craft it. While waiting for its completion, I went around the sky town and bought recovery items and enjoyed the view from high places. And then I returned to the workshop just as it was finished. It was called, ¡®Garra Rufa Pod¡¯! The name sounded more like some kind of spell than equipment. However, one look at the weapon skills would tell you what it was used for. ¡ô Garra Rufa Pod Doctor Fish Unleashes a pod that contains a magic fish with healing abilities. Replenishes target¡¯s HP. Yes, this equipment had a healing skill. Up until now, I had been relying on healing items during combat, but while I could heal myself and Garbow, Garbow could not heal me. But now, if there was ever a time where I couldn¡¯t do it, I could rely on Garbow to do the healing. Furthermore, Garbow would not be able to heal himself, which meant he would be able to fight on his own for much longer. There will be less instances of him fighting at a distance and coming back all messed up. Of course, there were some concerns. First was that the amount of HP recovery depended on your magic magic attack status. And with Garbow, magic attack and defense had been ignored in favor of attack and speed. So the amount of HP recovery would not be high. However, my own HP was quite low to begin with, so it shouldn¡¯t be too much of a problem. That being said, taking time to heal meant taking away time from attacking. Though, since it was a skill and not a charge attack, you could use it repeatedly. Well, as long as your MP lasted, anyway. I wanted Garbow to be a well-rounded Unison, but he was the best at attacking due to his stats. So healing stuff was more like insurance, and so I would continue to have him prioritize attacking. If I changed his order to be more balanced, he would probably just start using support skills and charge into the enemy less. That was because Garbow could do so much more now. Anyway, it was time to check Garbow¡¯s status after equipping the Garra Rufa Pod. Also, a Garra Rufa was the real name of a doctor fish. They were known to eat dead skin off of people, but I had never experienced it. ¡ô Unison Status Name: Garbow(Ravengar) Race: Fish/Machine Lv: 43/100 HP: 120/120 ¡ô Skill Poison Residence V, Machine Body Straight Darts, Red Flash Holy Splash, Caltrop Energy Shield, Magic Jamming ¡ô Charge Attack Red Meteor, Ocean Sphere ¡ô Combination Charge Attack Meteor Bow ¡ô Equipment I: Suckfish Shooter II: E Generator III: Expansion Energy Tank IV: Missile Pod V: Garra Rufa Pod And I equipped Seabow Arts Form 7 on myself. Because there were quite a lot of occasions in this game where I had to do something with water. It had been the case in the cloud sea as well. Garbow was strong in the water. And so I equipped the Seabow Art Form 7 as a kind of lucky charm, as I would be the one whose main skill would be sealed in the water. Now, I would be fine even if there was a trial where I was suddenly pushing into the sea¡­! ¡°Alright, time to go to my next destination.¡± I had done what I came to do here, and I knew what to do next. I would take on the Aries labyrinth, as it was the closest to the Pisces one. While fishing, I had learned that it wasn¡¯t a combat trial. A player had been muttering next to me, saying that maybe they should do that one first, since the Pisces one was proving to be difficult. But I had been so focused on my fishing that I didn¡¯t really remember any details. I just knew that it was ¡®against other players, but it was not combat.¡¯ That was the one thing I knew. Also there was something about sheeps and racing¡­ Well, I would have to go and find out. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô Ultimately, it was just as the information suggested. It was against other players but not in combat. And there were sheeps and racing¡­it had all of that. However, it wasn¡¯t exactly what I had imagined. First, there weren¡¯t as many players here compared to the other trials. And these players were staring at something intently¡­it was a huge electric billboard. On the screen, you could see players riding on flying sheep as they raced through the sky. ¡°Oh, here they come!¡± As the players pointed, a group of sheep flying at a great speed appeared in the sky. They flew low, barely staying off of the ground, and then disappeared into the forest. ¡®This trial is the Cloud Sheep Race! You will ride on the backs of the sheep-type monsters known as Cloud Sheep, that are fluffy like clouds. And then race through the sky, mountains and forests-nyon!¡¯ Here, Charin was dressed like a pit babe. It was the exact opposite of the more manly fisherman style, and showed a generous amount of her curvaceous form. The only thing that was related to sheep were the patterns on her clothes and the horns on her head. The horns were quite long and curled. And so you could at least tell that she was the Aries Charin at a glance. ¡®Up to 12 people can participate in one race! They will take place in a separate dimension, so don¡¯t worry about things getting crowded-nyon! You will receive a medal if you are in the top 6! And people in the top 3 will receive a special reward-nyon!¡¯ So that¡¯s why there were fewer people here. Upon hearing her explain further, I learned that if you did well in the race, you could acquire a rating based on points that built up. The group of sheep riders we had seen earlier were the top 12 in the ratings. They alone had the special privilege of being able to race on the field that we usually explored. That was the only real bonus to the rating, but people like to draw attention, and so there were players who had become obsessed with the races and forgot all about the other trials. I would be satisfied as long as I got the special reward, but I was a little worried about having to race against other players. I had a decent amount of experience with racing games, but not in VR. Though, it did seem fun to be able to experience such speed without the fear of injury¡­ That was about all I could say. Still, a lot of these really did have anything to do with how you normally played NSO. Management would want to attract new players, and so this event was probably created as something they could enjoy. But in a VR race, all of the equipment and levels I had gained meant nothing. Depending on the situation, a total newcomer might beat a veteran. That would be quite fun and a reason to continue playing the game. Though, the veteran would not find it amusing at all¡­ Well, I would still try to enter the races. ¡°I will enter the race!¡± I said. And the words ¡®matching¡¯ appeared in front of me. Now I just had to wait. To be honest, I was quite excited to experience a VR race for the first time¡­! I would stop thinking about medals and rewards for once. The whole point of games was to have fun. It didn¡¯t matter if it was a race or fishing. ¨CBeep! Matching complete! Now, the race will begin¡­ ¡ªChoose your Cloud Sheep! ¡°Oh?¡± There was a row of interesting looking sheep in front of me. But not only were they different in appearance, but also ability¡­!? ¡°This is¡­surprisingly deep.¡± With limited time, I began the process of selecting my Cloud Sheep for the race. And then it hit me. I¡­sure rode on clouds a lot¡­ CH 85 Data.78 ¨C Old Bowman, The Aries Trial There were 8 sheep in front of me. Red, blue, yellow, fat, clear, armed with guns, burning, mecha¡­ And if you selected a sheep, then their status window would open up. I chose the sheep with red wool because it had the kind of sharp face you¡¯d expect from a protagonist. And then more information was displayed. -Red Star Sheep Skill: Dash Charge Attack: Super Dash Disturbance Resistance: Low Characteristic: Very fast While smart use of its dash will allow you to dodge obstructions, it will require expert steering and the instincts to read an enemy¡¯s attacks. ¡­Was all of this detail necessary? There were explanations like this for all 8 of them? Matching had already finished and the race would start in less than half a minute. I didn¡¯t have time to read all of them, so I would just have to use this one for my first race¡­! I selected the Red Star Sheep and climbed onto its back. And then I grabbed the horns like they were handlebars. It was actually quite comfortable to sit on. Unlike the horse, they were not going for realism here. This was good for my butt, as I had a feeling I would be racing many times. ¡ªGoggles on! I put on the goggles that had suddenly appeared in my hand. There were three gauges that appeared on the lenses. ¡®Disturbance Resistance¡¯ ¡®S Gauge,¡¯ ¡®SS Gauge.¡¯ ¡ªYou will be moved to the course! And so the sheep and I were warped to the starting point in a grassy field. Aside from me, there were 11 rivals, and they were all waiting in a straight line. I didn¡¯t know how skilled they were, but they were all looking up ahead and nowhere else. Unlike me, who was looking around everywhere. That suggested they had already experienced this race a few times. There was a light floating in the sky, and it suddenly turned green. The race had started¡­! ¡°Go!¡± But my Red Star Sheep¡­did not budge. It wasn¡¯t engine trouble. Sheep didn¡¯t have engines. ¡°Uh, like this¡­?¡± I tried turning the horns like a handle. Then my sheep started to accelerate. The right horn was to accelerate while the left horn was the brakes. The sheep didn¡¯t seem to mind when its horns turned, so at least it didn¡¯t hurt. There was also a rear view monitor between the horns. I guess I was supposed to keep track of what was behind me. Though, there was no one behind me now. After all, I was dead last. But then again, there were three laps in this race. And the distance was long. So it should still be possible for me to catch up with my rivals. Especially since this Red Star Sheep was supposed to be so fast. ¡°I think I¡¯m getting used to this¡­!¡± I was able to maintain a high speed without going off course. Though, this wasn¡¯t a real circuit, as we were completely surrounded in nature. The course was surrounded by a wall of light. If you went out of bounds, then you would slow down. And if you went too far out, you would be teleported back into the course by a mysterious power. In any case, getting into the top would be a pipe dream unless you could run without going off course. ¡°¡­Hmm?¡± I saw a¡­ ¡®Roll of Hay¡¯ floating in the air. It was dried pasture grass that was rolled up and kept for food in the winter¡­ A small version of that was floating in the air up ahead! When I touched it, it was absorbed by the sheep. And then the ¡®S Gauge¡¯ and ¡®SS Gauge¡¯ rose a little. These 2 gauges were likely for the ¡®skill¡¯ and ¡®charge attack.¡¯ Which were Dash and Super Dash respectively. After getting a few more rolls, the gauge filled up, and so I decided to try and use Dash. This was done by pushing a button on the left horn. ¡°Uggghh¡­!¡± Fire blasted out of the sheep¡¯s buttocks, and for a few seconds, it accelerated so fast that I nearly fell off. While I only barely managed to stay within the course, the effect itself was what I had expected. It was a simple acceleration¡­ Maybe not the best item for this kind of race, but it was still pretty great to get a boost. It was just a matter of using it well. Experienced players knew how to use acceleration effectively. But the charge attack¡­can¡¯t be used yet. The S Gauge didn¡¯t need to be filled to use the skill, but the SS Gauge was different. And so I had to maintain the highest speed while also making sure to gather all of the hay. The sheep dashed through the field and entered the forest. You had to avoid the trees here. While you wouldn¡¯t be thrown into the air if you crashed, you would still stop. Thankfully, there weren¡¯t too many trees in the course. With a little more practice, I should be able to dodge them without slowing down. We then exited the forest and reached the mountain and climbed up the slope towards the top. Round boulders would roll down towards you, so I had to dodge them while accelerating. At this point, I had no trouble with steering. It was just a matter of finding my rivals and unleashing the SS Gauge at the right timing in order to catch up with them! At the top of the mountain, the course turned into a rainbow bridge that stretched out. And then I saw the others at the halfway point on the bridge. In order to brave the rocket-like acceleration, I leaned forward and held the horns tightly. The sheep looked as composed as ever. It would definitely look surreal to someone who didn¡¯t know what was going on. However, for me, it was the most heated moment of the race. You really couldn¡¯t do any steering while using Super Dash. Perhaps you could manage to make a gentle curve, but not any sharp turns. But the rainbow bridge was a straight line. And so I just needed to keep it steady and accelerate. The back of my rival on the yellow sheep was closer and closer and then¡­I passed it! Yes! I was no longer dead last! I would continue like this and enter the top 6, so I can get the medal! The sheep then moved onto their homeground, which was the clouds. Most players might be a little scared of the extreme height, but the clouds were practically my home away from home now. If anything, it filled me with excitement¡­! Besides, speed tends to change people. I now felt like I could get 1st place! ¡°Faster! Fast¡­?¡± I was losing speed in spite of not touching the brakes. At the same time, something popped up on the goggles. What¡¯s ¡®Magnet Power¡¯¡­? I found out soon enough. On the back monitor, I could see that the yellow sheep was shining. It was likely their charge attack! It seemed to have the ability to pull others towards them like a magnet¡­! Now the yellow sheep was gaining on me. But I had underestimated it. The yellow sheep activated its skill. It unleashed sparks all around it. The Red Star Sheep could withstand it for a while, but once the Disturbance Resistance gauge was empty, we spun around and then stopped. The yellow sheep dashed past us. It¡¯s still¡­not over. The Red Star Sheep got back up and started to accelerate once again. We weren¡¯t that far apart¡­! The race had only just begun¡­! ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô Ultimately, I finished in 10th place. I did learn some techniques, like how after passing the yellow sheep, I used Dash just as the sparks flew in order to avoid it. However, there were other sheep. Some would shoot at me with vulcan cannons, while others dropped boulders to make the road narrower¡­ I would have to learn all their characteristics in order to make progress. That was the only way to improve. We were long past the time where people believed that playing games for so long would make you stupid, but I did think that playing without thinking at all could have that effect. However, it wasn¡¯t the case if you played to improve in order to beat your friends or defeat a powerful boss. Because you were studying. Maybe you weren¡¯t making calculations and memorising, so it wouldn¡¯t help with your grades, but you wouldn¡¯t become dumber¡­ That¡¯s what I believed. And so I entered the next race and waited to be matched. Once I was able to select a sheep, I would try and learn their features. This race was not easy enough to win if you just played without thinking. There was enough depth that I wondered if they were thinking of selling it as a standalone game¡­! CH 86 Data.79 ¨C Old Bowman, at Full Speed I read the descriptions for all of the sheep, and used all of them in a race. It is difficult to describe features fully in a game. And so there would be times when the description is not at all like what you experience when using them yourself. The sheep were the same, and I knew that actually controlling them would allow me to understand their strengths and weaknesses. As there were eight sheep, that meant running eight races. To be honest, the idea that I would clear the trial before riding all of them¡­was definitely in the corner of my mind. However, that did not happen. While there would be beginners like me in the races, there were a surprisingly large number of players who had been racing for a while. Though, the fact that they got matched with me suggested that their rating hadn¡¯t gone up much at all. But they were still fast compared to the beginner players who barely knew what they were doing. They were more than enough to raise the hurdle for completion. In any case, I had memorised the features of each sheep. They were all unique, so once you got used to controlling one, it became uncomfortable to move onto the next. I definitely thought that it was best to stick to one sheep and practice. After riding them, the one I thought was the most difficult was the Bomb-bomb Sheep. ?Bomb-bomb Sheep Skill: Bombshot Charge Attack: Superbound Disturbance Resistance: High Characteristics: Slow but sturdy The skill involves shooting exploding balls of wool, while the charge attack blows away rivals that you touch. You will recover quickly even after being hit. It had orange fur and a round body. And since its disturbance resistance was high, being scratched by skills and charge attacks meant its gauge wouldn¡¯t be affected, and it wouldn¡¯t easily spin off course. But if it did spin, it recovered quickly. Its weakness was something fatal in a racing game, as it was slow speed. If you just ran normally, you would definitely lose. You needed to use the skill and charge attack to accelerate. Make use of the high resistance to use the explosive wind created by your own bombs to accelerate. The charge attack involved the wool growing so much that it turned into a rounder form. And if it bumped into rivals in this state, they would be thrown into the air. Depending on the direction they flew, you could knock them out of the course. But the best way to use it is to accelerate by using obstacles. Your rivals could be blown away because they moved, but the obstacles in the course were a different matter. Instead, you would be blown away. And you could control which direction you went in order to advance¡­ But this was all very difficult for me. I was mostly just watching others and looking surprised at the creative ways they used the skills. I hadn¡¯t been able to use the technique yet. Besides, due to my first sheep being one built for speed, I felt stressed having to ride a slower one. ?Vulcano Sheep Skill: Fire Smoke Charge Attack: Magma Rock Disturbance Resistance: High Characteristics: Good at disturbing. Magma Rock stays on the course for a fixed amount of time. Very effective when placed on narrow roads. But as the sheep itself is wide, be wary of self-destruction. While it did little damage, Fire Smoke robbed others of their vision, while Magma Rock hurled a meteor-like rock at your rivals up ahead, blocking their path. This was a sheep specialized in disturbing others. That being said, there were no roads narrow enough to be completely blocked by Magma Rock. But it did deal damage, so you would start spinning if you go close to it when trying to pass it. Especially if you were a large sheep with a large hitbox¡­ And so in spite of the warning, I self-destructed. In that case, perhaps a small sheep with better handling would work for me? Thinking this, I tried the Ghost Sheep. ?Ghost Sheep Skill: Clear Body Charge Attack: Invincible Disturbance Resistance: Low Characteristics: Good at dodging. Can dodge attacks with its small form and Clear Body. Invincible allows it to ignore some of the terrain while running. Clear Body made the sheep invisible as long as your gauge wasn¡¯t empty. During this time, you were immune to attacks. Invincible was self explanatory. The disturbances had no effect and you could even run through trees in the forest. It would be easier to catch up with rivals if you weren¡¯t dodging attacks. The speed was also quite high and it was easy to handle. However, the skill and charge attack were too defensive for my liking. As you had to decide the timing for activating Clear Body, you would have to observe the enemy and be able to read their moves. If you can¡¯t read it and just stay invisible, then you¡¯d be wasting your gauge. And running while constantly observing the enemy was hard. Though, if you were good, then you could get through all attacks and run freely¡­ In that case, what about the all-rounder who could attack and defend, the Aurora Sheep? ?Aurora Sheep Skill: Ice Shoot Charge Attack: Aurora Barrier Disturbance Resistance: Moderate Characteristics: Balanced type. Has Ice Shoot, which slows down enemies, and Aurora Barrier which protects you from attacks. No obvious weaknesses. As the gauge depleted quickly, you could not use the skill many times, but Ice Shoot could slow down enemies if you could hit them. Aurora Barrier was a barrier that covered the sheep¡¯s back, and for a short time, reflected any skills or attacks that hit it. It was powerful, but not effective for attacks that came from the front. Next was the rather interesting Electro Sheep, who had caused much pain on my first race. ?Electro Sheep Skill: Spark Charge Attack: Magnet Power Disturbance Resistance: Moderate Characteristics: Strong during chaotic moments Has a skill that electrocutes those around it, and a charge attack that pulls rivals towards it. But you must be careful, as that includes people behind you. I had experienced this effect first hand. Spark unleashed electricity in the area and Magnet Power pulled other sheep towards you. What surprised me after using it was that Magnet Power affected all the sheep that were in the course. So the distance between everyone was forcefully shrunk, which made things more chaotic. Then there was the Gun Sheep, which was about as easy to understand as the Red Star Sheep. ?Gun Sheep Skill: Vulcan Charge Attack: Gatling Gun Disturbance Resistance: Low Characteristics: S gauge fills quickly Overall, it¡¯s abilities were average, but you could race aggressively. But since the damage was low, you had to be able to shoot continuously while running. A sheep with moderate speed and low resistance might sound weak, but the fact that the S gauge filled quickly meant it didn¡¯t have to save its skills. Vulcan shot bullets rapidly, but the Gatling Gun was even faster. If two damage inflicting skills collided, then the strength of the rapid fire would win and erase the other. The sheep that stuck out the most was the Mecha Sheep. It was¡­ ?Mecha Sheep Skill: Missile Charge Attack: Laser Beam Disturbance Resistance: High Characteristics: Highly capable but difficult to handle. Good at disturbing and also withstanding attacks. While fast, it¡¯s bad at making sharp turns and the S gauge replenishes slowly. Its skill was to launch a homing Missile, and Laser Beam was an odd attack that went right through the walls of light around the course and stretched straight out. In other words, the laser could hit sheep that were way ahead on the course, and screw up the order. I was hit by it twice. Their high defense made them difficult to deal with, but when I used it myself, it didn¡¯t feel too strong, which seemed to always be the case. It was the fact that it reacted slowly to everything that made it hard to use. Now, as for what sheep I ultimately chose¡­ It was the Red Star Sheep. The reason was that I could just concentrate on my own running. At first, I had continued to ride on sheeps with powerful skills. While racing, the thing that was the most threatening for me was attacks from my rivals. And I thought that I couldn¡¯t win unless I attacked them as well. However, I realized that doing this meant that I was focusing on trying to attack them to a degree that I was slowing down. But I was attacking them in order to pass them, so there would be no point if I had to slow down. It¡¯s much easier to hit a target if you¡¯re not moving. Just like with a bow, if the enemy was already moving, it would become even harder to hit them if I started moving as well. And so I would stop. Stop¡­and shoot! But that wouldn¡¯t work in a racing game. In that case, it would be better to just not hit at all. And so I was determined to ride the Red Star Sheep and rush through the track¡­! The signal turned green. It was the start of the race! This track was the same as the first one. One of the reasons that I didn¡¯t get bored was that there were multiple tracks. And since I was good at this particular one, I was aiming to place 3rd at the very least¡­! That being said, I wouldn¡¯t pressure myself. I would fill up my gauges while grabbing hay rolls and stay in course. I would drift at curves in order to make sharp turns. And when the road was straight, I would use Super Dash. I would use the skill where appropriate and always keep my gauge full enough to use Dash at least once. This was that I could accelerate and recover what I lost if I was ever hit and ended up spinning. In the end, I would be doing the same thing even when attacked. Turn tight to decrease the distance as much as possible and accelerate at the right spot. Fishing was about silence, and the race was about movement. The two trials were like the exact opposite. However, they were both a battle with yourself. Do not get distracted by others and follow your instincts. I can do it¡­! There were two in front of me and the sheep in the back monitor were small. At this distance, even Laser Beam and Magnet Power would not allow them to catch up¡­! We dashed towards the goal. ¨CYou placed 3rd! Congratulations! While it was close¡­I had done it! I finished the trial! ¨CHere is the bronze medal! You can go to Charin and trade it in for the medal and the reward! A bronze medal was put around my neck. ¡­Perhaps it was rude to think this, but compared to gold and silver, bronze didn¡¯t really put you in a celebratory mood. It was the result of my efforts and a wonderful thing, but when I saw the player in front of me who rejoiced over their gold¡­I wanted one too. Was it during the battle royale? When I started to think that I wouldn¡¯t be satisfied unless I was number one¡­ Once everyone reached the goal, we were automatically returned to the field. I just needed to hand Charin the bronze medal and my goal was complete¡­ ¡°I want to enter the race!¡± No, I wouldn¡¯t feel like I cleared it unless I got 1st place! I would win with my Red Star Sheep! ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô Ultimately, I was able to get 1st place. As I had already cleared it with the bronze medal, it felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. And so I was able to complete a perfect run and win before reaching the double digits in the number of races. ¡°Alrighhhttt!!¡± I shouted a little childishly. Speed really did change people. After returning to the field, I took pictures with the medal around my neck and even bit it when no one was looking. Besides, I had never in my life received a gold medal. Many other people were receiving gold medals, as it was an event, but I was still happy. Now I was supposed to hand it over to Charin¡­but it was a little sad to have to part with it right away. It won¡¯t be coming back either. And so I wanted to hold onto it for a little longer. I had become too absorbed, and now there were stars shining in the sky. ¡­I¡¯ll keep the medal for now and log out. Then I¡¯ll give it to her tomorrow. It¡¯s not like it¡¯ll make a difference, but¡­ I raised the medal so that it was next to the Aries constellation in the night sky. I had overcome another trial. There were now five remaining¡­! CH 87 Data.80 ¨C Old Bowman, Taurus Trial The next day¡­ I had calmed down after a night of sleep and would no longer begrudge having to give away the medal. I had my photos and memories anyway. ¡®Yes-yes! I see you have the gold medal-nyon! You can take it off now-nyon!¡¯ There was no need to give her the gold medal. You just needed to equip it so that it was visible. Apparently, you did have to give it to her at first, but there were so many players asking to keep it that they changed it. In fact, they even returned the medals to players who already submitted theirs. This would have been tremendous work if humans had to do it, but it was simple with an AI. ¡®Here is your medal!¡¯ She gave me the Aries medal. It had the constellation on the front and a wooly sheep on the back. This one was more cute than cool. ¡®And here is the special reward! ¡®Cloud Sheep Wool¡¯-nyon!¡¯ So the reward was wool from the cloud sheep. No matter how many times I touched it, it felt amazingly soft. Also, since it¡¯s related to clouds, does that mean¡­? I would have to go to Mr. Yu¡¯s workshop. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô I showed the heavenly maiden at the front desk the wool, and its uses appeared in a window in front of me. ¡­I see. So this was material that allowed you to evolve the Cloudcrossing Tabi! Currently, it was the third day after I had requested that my windcloud equipment be repaired and evolved. So I would actually be able to take them now. But I prefered to get everything at once when it was all finished. If I asked them to evolve the Cloudcrossing Tabi now, I would have to wait an extra day¡­but that was fine. It¡¯s not like there was any other option for me. ¡°Please do it.¡± And so I made the request. I was to come back two days later during the afternoon. ¡°Certainly! Ah, we give this to customers who make lots of requests. The ¡®Peach of Immortality¡¯!¡± She pulled out the shining peach as if just remembering this. ¡°Our master is very fond of them. If you give him one, then one of your requests will be finished in an instant! The power of the peach gives him energy and drive!¡± In other words, it was a time-saving item, huh? It was used in a lot in games that involved making something. While it was useful, they were usually difficult to acquire. So, should I really use it here¡­? No, I think that I¡¯ll save it. There might be another trial without combat. And I might take a few days to clear it. In that case, there would be no point in having rushed. If the remaining trials were all about combat, then I would use it. Now that I had more than half of the medals, I was starting to think of the final battle. However, I still didn¡¯t know anything about the Serpent Palace. Though there was no need to rush, it would not be a bad idea to try and do things swiftly. Now, I had finished what I needed to do, so it was time to head to the next trial. It was the closest one from the Aries labyrinth, which was the Taurus labyrinth. This was one that I didn¡¯t know anything about. And so¡­I was looking forward to finding out. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô I expected Taurus labyrinth Charin to be dressed as an American cowgirl or in cow print clothes. However, she was wearing a flashy costume with lots of gold accessories. There was a sword in one hand and a red cloth in the other. At this point, I had an idea of what the trial would be. ¡®Welcome to the Taurus labyrinth! Here, you will be bullfighting-nyon! But not ordinary bullfighting-nyon!¡¯ Matador Charin said exactly what I was thinking. ¡®First, you cannot defeat your opponent, Mister Bull! It¡¯s not because he¡¯s invincible, you just can¡¯t defeat him-nyon! You will receive a medal if you can survive for three minutes battling him! Survive for five minutes and you will receive a reward-nyon!¡¯ In other words, run around for five minutes. If it wasn¡¯t completely invincible, maybe I could stop it with skills. However¡­there was a simpler method as well. It wasn¡¯t something that all players could do. But I and some others had a way¡­ Stay in the air. The bullfight would take place in a field surrounded by fences, but there was also a dome-shaped barrier so you couldn¡¯t escape into the sky. The ceiling of the barrier was not too high, but high enough for a bull that could barely jump. If I stayed up high enough, then I should be safe. ¡°If only I had my Cloudcrossing Tabi¡­¡± The weapon skill ¡®Floating Cloud¡¯ allowed you to make cloud platforms in the air. One cloud lasted for five minutes, so you would be able to clear the trial easily. Even now, my strategy was being used in one of the bullfighting rings. A woman who looked like a witch was riding on a broom that was suspended in the air. If she could also stay there for five minutes, then all she needed to do was wait. It seems like they hadn¡¯t really thought this trial out¡­or not. MOooooooooo!!! The bull trampled the dirt with its front legs with fury. Then it pierced the ground with its horns before lifting them into the air. A part of the ground came out and shot through upwards like a bullet. Caught completely off guard, the witch was not able to dodge it. And just like that, she fell down and was pierced by the horns of the waiting bull. ¡°Gah¡­!¡± Came the final cry as she turned into light and disappeared. Still, it was a good thing that I didn¡¯t bring the Cloudcrossing Tabi¡­! If I had them, I would have been over confident and immediately started the trial, which would have resulted in me meeting the same fate as her. First, I would watch other players and put together a strategy. Perhaps I¡¯ll find something that will give me a hint. There was one ring in particular that had a lot of players watching. Surely that meant there was something impressive going on. ¡°Ah¡­¡± In the center of the ring, there was a man who stood steadfast and without dodging, blocked all of the bull¡¯s charges with his shield. It was Buckler, a 3rd from the Straight Knights guild¡­! He was able to maintain this for the full five minutes, and won the medal and the reward. The spectators showered him with applause and praise. His shield and armor were different from before. They looked thicker and more durable. However, I would never forget the face. It was Buckler. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Kyuji.¡± Buckler said as he walked towards me. So he hadn¡¯t forgotten about me. ¡°Yeah. I haven¡¯t seen you since the turf war, Mister Buckler. I¡¯m honored that you remember my name.¡± I just said what I felt, but perhaps it came off as sarcastic¡­? I was a little worried, but Buckler just laughed and replied. ¡°Of course, I remember it! You are a top player and one of the faces of this game. If anyone doesn¡¯t know you, they must live in a hole.¡± ¡°Uhahaha¡­ Well, uh, thank you.¡± I couldn¡¯t be too modest here. After all, I had defeated him once. So to lower myself would mean to take him down as well. ¡°Oh, I see that you knew that half-assed armor would only get in the way of this trial, and so you came in your light beginner gear! Especially since there is a risk of destroying your main set! I¡¯d expect no less from the man who beat me!¡± After being praised this much, I couldn¡¯t say that it was a coincidence or that I had been regretting not bringing my other equipment a moment ago¡­ ¡°And I hear that you¡¯ve collected a lot of medals too! I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll reach the final battle soon, but I might get there first!¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m really no match for a professional. Are you trying to be the first to reach the Serpent Palace?¡± ¡°Of course, I am! However, there are a lot of other strong players! So there is no guarantee that I can do it! Hahaha!¡± A lot of other strong players¡­huh. It was a good thing that this event didn¡¯t have PvP. ¡°Well, in any case, you¡¯ll have a chance to meet those players eventually! After all, it¡¯s the battles between people that are the most exciting! If I ever have the opportunity of fighting you again, I will not lose! And so you better be ready!¡± Buckler said before leaving. As always, he had a tremendous presence¡­ If I fought him now, could I win, even with the Windcloud set? During the turf war, I had just been helped by the event system, and could not say that I won based on my own ability. So if I were to face players like Buckler in the future, and the conditions were completely fair¡­ Yes, I did need to become stronger. And that was a good thing. The desire to move forward becomes a great motivation to play the game. Well, not that I lacked motivation right now¡­ If anything, recently I had spent a whole day on one trial, so perhaps I was getting too absorbed. This time, it was a bullfight where you didn¡¯t defeat the bull. I¡¯d keep it cool and continue to dodge the danger and clear it. Well, I too could make no guarantees¡­ CH 88 Data.81 ¨C Old Bowman, Challenging the Wild Bull I entered the fighting ring and faced the giant, vicious bull¡­ But I had not really thought of a definitive strategy of beating it! After speaking to Buckler, I watched many other players fight and tried to come up with a plan. However, the winners were all players who used defensive skills to block the attacks or had the speed to run away. Even if they couldn¡¯t stand in one place the whole time like Buckler, shield-type skill that could momentarily block the bull¡¯s attacks would still be very effective. It was the same with speed. If you could run faster than the bull, then there was no fear of being rammed into. Other players had to lure and dodge it like a real bullfighter. Some even used powerful attack skills to erase the force of the bull¡¯s charge. However, compared to those who relied on defense and speed, these players tended to fail and be pierced by the horns a lot more often¡­ This was bad, as I relied on ranged weapons. It seemed that ranged skills were no good for stopping the movements of a bull. Warp Arrow was what helped make up for my lack of mobility, but it had been turned into a charge attack and could no longer be used repeatedly. And since Unisons weren¡¯t allowed in this trial, I couldn¡¯t rely on Garbow¡¯s physical defense either. I had no skills to make barriers or increase my speed¡­ And so these two remaining skills were my only hope. ¡°Intimidating Eyes!¡± It was a skill that allowed you to stop the movement of enemies for a few seconds when your eyes met. If they flinch for even a split second, then it will work and they won¡¯t be able to run. And without speed, the force of its charge should decrease greatly. MOooooooo!! Did it work? Or not? In any case, it was not effective enough for there to be a noticeable difference. These kinds of skills would usually not work on enemies that were much stronger than you. However, this one should work even if it is¡­! ¡°Web Cloud Arrow!¡± The cloud net spread out and stuck to its body. As parts of it would also stick to the ground, the bull was fixed into place. Web Cloud Arrow was the weapon skill of the evolved weapon, Spider Shooter Cloud. And it allowed me to trap large enemies. Now, it was just a matter of what was stronger. The adhesiveness or the bull.. MOooooooo!!! I could hear the net tearing apart. As expected, one hit was not going to be enough to win¡­ Then you could just shoot more¡­ Most people would think that. And I would have done it had I not watched other players fight already. This bull had a hidden ¡®fury gauge.¡¯ That¡¯s what I decided to call it, anyway. In other words, this bull became angrier the more you stopped its charges. And its power and speed would rise. Repeatedly stopping it or escaping into the air would cause the gauge to fill up to the max, and then it would unleash an unavoidable attack. But it was easy to prevent the gauge from filling up. You could do it like Buckler, and allow the bull to charge as much as it wanted. Or you could run around and let the bull chase you. But neither of those options would work for me, so I had no choice but to stop it. Stopping it too much would lead to death, but I would die anyway if I didn¡¯t. It was quite the dilemma¡­ ¡°You can do it, old man!¡± ¡°Uhahah¡­thanks¡­¡± There was an oddly heated atmosphere about the fighting ring. Many players were cheering me on. I had hoped they wouldn¡¯t recognize me with the beginners gear, but then I had talked with Buckler. So it was only natural for them to realize who I was. At this point, I was more worried about betraying their expectations than failing the trial¡­ MOoooooo!!¡± The bull tore up the net and started to charge at me. Tsk¡­ I don¡¯t want to use Warp Arrow yet¡­! ¡°Web Cloud Arrow!¡± Just as I unleashed the skill for the second time, the bull thrust its horns into the ground. Thi-this movement¡­! The frightful death flashed through my mind. But by then, I was floating in the air with pieces of the ground. This wild bull¡­ It can even tear up the ground while you¡¯re standing on it¡­! At this point, I hadn¡¯t taken any damage yet, but the horns were waiting right below me. I would die if I fell on top of them. However, if I used Warp Arrow to land somewhere else, it would just charge right at me again. Or it would use the ground attack. There was no safe place down there¡­ But I didn¡¯t want to be killed without doing any¡­ Aha! ¡°There! Warp Arrow!¡± Kiririri¡­Shu! Petta! I unleashed the arrow, and in the next second, I was on top of the bull¡¯s back. As I could see its tail, I was hugging it with my head towards its rear. Yes. The only place in the ring where you could avoid being hit¡­was on the bull¡¯s back! After all, even this bull could not charge at its own back! Now that it had lost me, the bull began to run around the ring. While it understood that there was something on its back, it was so angry that it didn¡¯t think to get rid of me by ramming itself against the walls or rolling in the dirt. So its anger was working to my advantage now¡­! There was also the fact that the Web Cloud Arrow net was still stuck to its back. Thanks to this, I could stay on while riding on its back like I was in a rodeo. Well, it still¡­rattled¡­my head a lot¡­! When were these five minutes going to be up¡­! ¡°That old guy is amazing!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think of doing that!¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to copy him!¡± ¡°It¡¯s no wonder he was MVP!¡± As I was shaken violently around, I could hear the people cheering. In any case, I was impressed that anyone could watch me like this and want to copy it¡­! After some time, I finally heard the count down. Counting from 100 seemed a little long, but as I had no other way to know how much time was left, I was quite thankful. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1¡­! ¡°ZERROOOO!!¡± The spectators cheered and the bull became calm. And so I deactivated Web Cloud Arrow and fell onto the ground. The world still seemed to be shaking around me¡­ But I doubted that I could have beaten it any other way, and the people seemed to be entertained. So everything was alright¡­ I quickly left the ring so that the next person could enter. Other players surrounded me and wanted to shake my hand. But then they saw how groggy I was, and stepped back. How wonderful of them¡­ ¡®Ah! That was some great rodeo-nyon!¡¯ After I had caught my breath, Charin came to give me the medal. The Taurus medal¡­ The constellation was on the front, and a ferocious bull was on the back. It was so lively that it looked like it would jump out of the medal and attack me. ¡­Damn it, I shouldn¡¯t have said that. Now I am starting to feel dizzy again¡­ ¡®And here is the special reward! Aura Filled Beef-nyon!¡¯ She gave me a tough-looking block of meat. Not only that, but it had an aura around it¡­ It did not look very tasty. But how was I supposed to use it? In any case, it was clear that it was a rare item, and so I put it away. Now I had 8 medals. There were 4 left. Which meant 4 trials. The Gemini labyrinth, Cancer labyrinth, Leo labyrinth and the Virgo labyrinth¡­ I knew that the Cancer one involved fighting. Satomi had said that he had ruined his armor due to a mistake he made in the Cancer labyrinth. And I had a feeling the other three were strong as well. I had been lucky to finish this trial early today, so I would go around and learn about the remaining trials. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°It¡¯s time¡­¡± The remaining 4 all involved combat or dungeons. And so it would be reckless to take them on without proper equipment. But if I used the Peach of Immortality, I could speed up the work of one day, meaning I could retrieve everything tomorrow afternoon. Now that the event was almost finished, it was time for me to use the new powers of the Windcloud set¡­! CH 89 Data.82 ¨C Old bowman, Overcoming Difficulty Mister Yu only worked on one order from a player at a time. He could accept multiple orders, but would only start the next one after finishing the previous order. I had asked him to repair 4 pieces of equipment, and to evolve 2 pieces of equipment. And then I made an additional order after that. As the Windcloud set was rare, and due to the damage, it would take half a day to repair and nearly a day to evolve. 4 x 12 hours = 48 hours = 2 days, 3 x 24 hours = 72 hours = 3 days. So that would take 5 days in all. And the Peach of Immortality could make him finish one piece of equipment immediately. As evolution was what took the longest, that meant I could save a whole day. It had been vaguely on the back of my mind, but the system was quite simple. And so once again, I was troubled over whether I should use it or not. If it was just one day, it seemed like a waste. So maybe I shouldn¡¯t use it? But then again, maybe it was because it was just 1 day that I could use it without worrying too much? Though, if it¡¯s rare, then wouldn¡¯t it be best to save it? The holy maiden did say that there were other ways to acquire them. It wasn¡¯t only a bonus for repairing a lot of equipment. Hmm. I will¡­use it! It was possible that in the future I would have to ask him to repair and evolve something that was really rare. But when that happened, I could search for another peach. As the last three trials felt a lot like mini games, there was a part of me that wanted to hurry up and return to boss battles and dungeons. While playing in ways that were efficient was one of the spices of games, it was also good to just play the way you want at the moment. And so I handed the heavenly maiden the Peach of Immortality so that she could give it to Mister Yu, who was working in the back. Now the last thing I ordered, the Windcloud Tabi, would finish evolving, and all of the requests would be finished. ¡°Master! Someone has gifted you a Peach of Immortality!¡± After she disappeared into the back of the workshop, I heard an indescribable shout from Mister Yu. Wa-was he alright? That¡¯s supposed to be a shout of joy¡­right? As I stood there confused, the heavenly maiden returned smiling. ¡°Now, all of your orders are complete! You can take your equipment now!¡± They were immediately sent to my item box. I finally got them back. The Windcloud set! I thanked her and left the worksop. That being said, the only things that would be different were the Windcloud Bow, Windcloud Haori, and Windcloud Tabi. The others were now as good as new, but their abilities were the same. So I only needed to check the equipment that had evolved. First¡­was the bow! ¡ô Blackwind Dark Cloud Bow Type: Two-handed weapon(Bow) Attack: 140 Range: 100 Weapon Charge Attack: Arrow Storm Arrow Storm Dark clouds are unleashed from the area around the bow, and arrows will fall like violent rain. Cool down: 5 minutes. It¡­was black now¡­! The Windcloud Bow had been based on such calming imagery as clouds and wind. But now it was much darker. The black made the entire weapon look sleeker, and it was definitely cooler now. And while it was dark, it did not look evil. Dark clouds were merely another natural phenomenon, and there was no malice in it. Well, maybe the people who got wet when it rained would disagree¡­ With 100 Attack and 80 Range, its total was 180, which meant it had gone up 60 points through evolution¡­ Combined with the abilities of the charge attack, it was a great upgrade. I was probably the happiest about the cool down being the same. Had it been increased, it would have affected my combat rhythm. When it came to attack ability, the combination charge attack, ¡®Meteor Bow¡¯ had severe demerits. And so I relied on Bow Shower, which was now Arrow Storm, because it could be used more casually. Still¡­it really was black. The kind that excited the child in me. I wanted to keep looking at it, but I set it aside for now. There was still other equipment that was waiting for me. Next was the torso equipment, the haori! ¡ô Windcloud Battle Haori Windcloud Blast Create a powerful blast of wind in a specific direction. Turtle Formation Auto-activates by consuming MP whenever you take physical damage. Reduces physical damage by 30%. This¡­it now looked like the kind of haori that a general would wear! It continued to have the blue sky and white cloud pattern from the Windcloud Haori, but now there was gold lining and black added to the design which made it look more like you were ready for battle. Previously, it had looked closer to ordinary clothing. That meant it was comfortable and relaxing, but this one looked like it would help keep me motivated. That being said, it didn¡¯t feel any heavier than before. So it had also inherited the lightness as well. It had 45 Defense and 75 Magic Defense, so the evolution had greatly raised its defense ability. And this showed in the added skill as well. Turtle Formation¡­ An auto-skill. Garbow¡¯s Metal Body had a reduction rate of 10%, so it was quite impressive. However, unlike Garbow, who could use it as many times as needed, this one used MP. In a way, you could say that it was my MP gauge that was taking damage. Because it would reduce even the smallest amount of damage from attacks, it was possible that I might lose all of my MP. But since you could turn the skill on and off, I would have the option of not using it when fighting weaker enemies. Though, it then wouldn¡¯t activate if I was ambushed by a powerful enemy out of nowhere. So there were still disadvantages¡­ And lastly, there was the equipment for my feet. The tabi. ¡ô Sheep Cloudcrossing Tabi Type: Feet(tabi) Defense: 20 Speed: 90 Floating Cloud Herd Creates 9 clouds that can be ridden at once. Can be activated 3 times in an hour. Disappears after 5 minutes. At a glance, it didn¡¯t look too different. There was fur on the outer rim, and that was all. The big difference was inside. After putting them on, your feet were enveloped in its softness, and it was incredibly comfortable¡­! It was like the embrace of a wooly sheep! And it wasn¡¯t just nice to the touch. This wool was able to absorb impact as well. So when I jumped, the impact to my legs was weaker than before. And as far as its status went, the defense had also gone up. It used to be 0 Defense and 80 Speed. So in combination with the haori, my defenses seemed very high now. As for the skill, this was also much better than before. I could create 9 clouds like a real herd. However, the rules meant they absolutely had to be close together like a herd. You could put them in a line of varying heights in order to create stairs, for instance. But as long as they were close together, you had freedom in how they were placed. Up until now, I could only make 3 in one hour, so that meant I could only jump between them and dodge attacks for a very limited amount of time. However, with 9, activating it once would be more than enough to hop around and escape. It would be much easier to use now. Lastly, I decided to check my status after equipping everything. ¡ô Status Name: Kyuji Job: Archer Lv: 28/30 HP: 105/105(+30) MP: 145/145(+70) Attack: 275(+245) Defense: 171(+155) Magic Attack: 20 ¡ô Equipment Head: Windstream Scarf Right Hand: Blackwind Dark Cloud Bow Left Hand: (Blackwind Dark Cloud Bow) Arms: Cloudbore Archery Gloves Body: Windcloud Battle Haori Legs: Windguard Hakama Feet: Sheep Cloudcrossing Tabi Accessories: Sea Bow Arts ¨C Form 7, Mirror Alice Reflection Skills: Bow Arts VII, Satisfying Shot, In fight Arrow Bound Arrow, Clear Arrow, Burning Arrow Trident Arrow, Drill Arrow, Letter Arrow Multi-shot, Immobile Sniping Stance, Sniping Insight, Intimidating Eyes Charge Attack: Tear Sky, Warp Arrow Combination Charge Attack: Meteor Bow Before I knew it, Bow Arts had risen from VI to VII. Now my Attack was +70 and my Range was +70 when equipping the bow. When adding up the numbers from equipment and skills, my total Range was 600 meters. I have come a long way¡­ I also had a large variety of skills now, and my equipment was very powerful compared to the beginner set. There were also weapons skills and charge attacks that didn¡¯t appear on my status, which really made me feel how much I had grown. That being said, I was still only a little bit higher than the middle when it came to NSO players. I wasn¡¯t even a 3rd. And my history with VR games was still short. In order to get stronger, what I needed to do now was to take on the labyrinths. And so my next challenge was the Gemini labyrinth¡­! CH 90 Data.83 ¨C Old Bowman, The Gemini Trial ¡®Welcome to the Gemini labyrinth-nyon! Here, you will take on a dungeon-nyon!¡¯ There were two Charin¡¯s standing in front of a black and white castle that was the dungeon¡¯s entrance, and they were explaining the contents of the trial. One was wearing a black dress and the other wore a white dress. Their hair was worn in side tails, which were on opposite sides, as were their accessories. But their hair color was the same, as it was the usual blonde. ¡®First, this is a solo-only dungeon-nyon! While you can use your Unisons, there are some areas inside where you can¡¯t summon them-nyon! And so they will be forcefully banished, so be careful-nyon!¡¯ ¡®But being solo makes me anxious-nyon¡­ And the whole point of playing MMOs is to work together with friends¡­¡¯ ¡®If that is what you¡¯re thinking, then I have news for you! When you enter the dungeon, the most reliable ally will join you-nyon! Together, you will cooperate and solve puzzles while defeating powerful enemies-nyon!¡± ¡®Reliable ally¡­? I don¡¯t really understand, but I¡¯m relieved-nyon! And what are the requirements for the medal and special reward-nyon?¡¯ ¡®Obviously, the requirement for the medal is finishing the dungeon-nyon! But if you want the special reward, you¡¯ll have to finish it after acquiring the 2 medals hidden inside, ¡®Castor¡¯ and ¡®Pollux¡¯-nyon! You likely won¡¯t be able to find them if you try and take the shortest route through the dungeon!¡¯ ¡®So that means you¡¯ll have to take detours sometimes-nyon! Also¡­are there any special requirements for defeat?¡¯ ¡®Aside from player death, you will fail if your reliable ally is killed-nyon! And so you will have to be careful-nyon!¡¯ ¡®Woah. That¡¯s so unfair-nyon!¡¯ ¡®You¡¯ll find out if it¡¯s fair or not once you go inside of the dungeon-nyon! Now, since you know the rules, it¡¯s time to enter the dungeon-nyon!¡¯ ¡­Well, there it was. As there were two Charins, the explanation was very lively. The thing that was most notable to me was that you needed 2 medals to get the special reward. While looking for treasure in dungeons was quite common in regular RPGs, it was unusual in this game. I wonder how they had hidden them¡­ Also, this business about a ¡®most reliable ally¡¯¡­ As far as companions went, I was immediately reminded of the white goat in the Capricorn labyrinth. Well, the trial¡­had begun. And so I braced myself and stepped foot into the black and white castle. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô Not only was the exterior black and white, but everything inside was also in a uniform black and white. The floor was covered in black and white tiles, and there were large mirrors hanging on the walls. Could there be hidden passages inside of the mirrors¡­? However, it would be no easy task to go around and check every single mirror. And I didn¡¯t think management would add such a ridiculous gimmick. Regardless, I decided to touch the closest mirror anyway. When I stood in front of the mirror, I noticed the presence of ¡®me.¡¯ There was another me reflected in the mirror¡­! I turned around, and there he was. So¡­the most reliable ally¡­was me! Wait, wait. This was confusing. To put the situation simply, there was a man standing behind me who was a complete copy of me in terms of face, body and equipment. Perhaps he was similar to the AI warriors during the turf war. They copy a player¡¯s current specs and an AI controls them. If this was the ally that Charin was talking about, it made sense that I would die if it died. After all, it was me. I had been very surprised when I saw its reflection in the mirror, but it was nothing now that I understood what was happening. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was really the most reliable ally that I could have, but I would try to clear the dungeon with it. When I walked, ¡®I¡¯ walked as well. However, it wasn¡¯t like we were perfectly synchronized either. And if I gave out an order, it would obey me willingly. It really did feel like I had an extra Unison. And so I continued to make my way through the dungeon while occasionally glancing over my shoulder. As this was a dungeon, there were also monsters. I was excited to finally get back to fighting¡­or so I thought. But then the other me defeated them before I could do anything. As the other me also had the evolved weapon, Blackwind Dark Cloud Bow, the enemies in the first levels of the dungeon were no threat at all. Because the castle was black and white, and the monsters here were all based on chess pieces. And so giant stone statues that looked like knights and soldiers would attack us, but we were able to crush them without difficulty. Hmm. I wasn¡¯t quite sure if it was that the enemy was weak, or that we were too strong. My firepower was being doubled now, and this was supposed to be a solo dungeon. And since a lot of the content I took on was meant for a part, it was no wonder that solo content would feel lukewarm. It might sound like I am boasting, but from an outside point of view, I was an MVP player who was wearing rare evolved equipment. And if it was so difficult that I was having trouble, then a lot of people wouldn¡¯t be able to beat it at all. Well, I guess I didn¡¯t mind an easy trial once in a while. I left the combat to Garbow and ¡®me,¡¯ and I focused on finding secret passages and rooms. Like touching the walls and mirrors¡­ Hmm. There was nothing¡­ It would be the worst if we start a boss fight before I¡¯ve found anything¡­ As I thought of such things and looked into the mirrors, I realized that something was odd. ¡°This¡­there is a hallway that you can only see in the mirror¡¯s reflection.¡± When actually looking at it, it was just an ordinary wall, but in the mirror, there was a hallway leading out. I see. So the truth was in the reflection then. After walking down the passage and turning a corner, there was a door. It seemed very likely that this was where the medal was hidden. I made sure that Garbow and the other me had caught up, and then I put my hand on the door knob. There was a ¡®beep!¡¯ sound, and a window appeared in front of me. ¡ªThe Mirror Puzzle area is behind this door. ¡ªYou cannot take your Unison with you. ¡ªFurthermore, skills, charge attacks and items are banned. ¡ªKeep this in mind when opening the door. So this is the place that Charin was talking about. But it wasn¡¯t just the Unison. It felt like it was banning everything about me¡­ But I guess it couldn¡¯t be helped if it¡¯s a puzzle. And so I put Garbow away and opened the door. I was enveloped by light and before I knew it¡­I was in a different hallway. There was a great platform at the end of it, and a small treasure chest was sitting on top. I was sure that the medal was inside. I wanted to take it as soon as possible¡­but there was no floor in front of me. Instead, there was an unless, gaping drop. As for how to get across this gap¡­ The hint seemed to be the mirrors that covered the right side of the wall¡­! In the reflection of the mirrors, I could see platforms that hovered over the pit. If the reflection was the truth, that meant there were places I could stand on, I just couldn¡¯t see them. And the other me was beyond the mirror as well. In this area, he and I were synchronized. So I would have to control the other me so that he walked on the platforms in the mirror and reach the treasure. First, I would look at the reflection carefully and take the first step on the air. ¡­Alright, it did feel like I had stepped on an invisible platform. Next, since there was a passage stretching out to the right¡­ ¡°No¡­!¡± That was close¡­ If it was going to the right in the mirror, that meant it was to the left in real life. Reverse. Reverse¡­ I needed to remember that. But as long as I take my time, I should be fine. Besides, I could just extend the tip of my foot out a little and make sure there is a floor¡­ However, such hopes were immediately dashed. Once I was one third of the way through, the platforms behind started to crumble. ¡°Ah¡­so that¡¯s how it is¡­¡± While the destruction was slow, it happened steadily and surely. The platform that I was on would also break eventually. And so I had to stay calm¡­! It should be easy as long as I remembered it was reversed. Right is left! Left is right! And like that, the dangerous brain training began. CH 91 Data.84 ¨C Old Bowman, namwoB dlO Go to the left and take a few steps back, one to the left, rush forward, and then to the right¡­ I looked at the mirror and moved carefully but swiftly. The trick was to stop and think hard then move quickly once you decide the direction you have to go in. When I have to go to the right, rush forward as soon as the decision is made in my head. ¡®Move while you¡¯re thinking¡¯ sounds cool, but it was too difficult for me. It didn¡¯t matter what kind of person you were, multi-tasking meant you were concentrating less on a single task. And so sometimes it was more efficient to do one thing at a time. Well, I wasn¡¯t sure if it would work for me now¡­ Because the platforms were collapsing behind me at a fast pace¡­ ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right!¡± A clever person is just a crafty person. And I had thought of something that was a little crafty. While skills, charge attacks and items were banned, my weapons were still equipped. The Blackwind Dark Cloud Bow was close to a Japanese style bow, as it was part of the same set as my clothes. What I mean to say, is that it was a lot bigger than a western bow. And so I could use it like a staff to find the next platform! Tap-tap-tap¡­ Alright, even the weapon could touch the invisible floor! It was such a simple trick that I wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if they put countermeasures in place, but perhaps the developers had been in a good mood when making this trial. While tapping the floor might make me look like some grandpa, I couldn¡¯t care about such things right now. I had to hurry before I was dropped into the pit¡­! ¡°¡­Ha!¡± I realized that I was both using the staff and looking at myself in the mirror¡­! Being so worried had made me double check. Which just meant I was doing twice as much work. I had to be courageous and keep going with this exploit! Tap-tap-tap¡­ I avoided looking at the mirrors. They also showed me how fast the platforms were collapsing, which made me even more frantic. I thrust out with my staff until I found a platform and then¡­walked! A little more¡­one more step¡­! ¡°Phew! I got across!¡± I had managed to reach the treasure chest. As for the platforms¡­it had really been a close one¡­ Now, to see what was inside of the treasure chest¡­ ¡°Alright, I got the Castor Medal!¡± The medal shone so much that it was almost blinding. It was named after one of the two brightest stars in the Gemini constellation. But even though I had acquired Castor, I would still not get the special reward unless I acquired Pollux as well. So it was too early to celebrate. I put the medal in my item box and then I was automatically warped out of the area. I would have been very annoyed if they made me return in the same way, so I was grateful. Now, I would continue to move on while also checking the mirrors. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô The monsters that appeared after that were still weak. Thanks to this, I could focus on finding any hidden secrets. While there were many floors in this dungeon, each floor was on the small side. Reaching the next floor was just a matter of climbing some steps. As the outside was a castle, I had assumed that there would be a lot of branching paths, but it was not the case. There were rooms here and there, but no mechanisms or tricks. But instead of being relieved, it made me worry that I had missed something¡­ I continued to check the mirrors, but did not find any hidden passages. As we had climbed six flights of stairs, we must be on the 7th floor. I doubted it would be much longer if this was a solo dungeon, and so perhaps the 10th floor was the boss room? Surely the hiding place of the Pollux medal can¡¯t be too far from here¡­ ¡°Another small room¡­ Ah!¡± I had gone in thinking there would be nothing there again, but there was a giant mirror that reflected the entire room. Yes¡­there was no doubt about it! But the furniture itself was the same as any other room. There was a bed, table, closet, bookshelf¡­ It had everything that a NPC from an RPG would have in their room. It was the same in the reflection as well. It just showed everything normally. Hmm. There must be something¡­ ¡°Ohh¡­!¡± As I looked at the books on the shelf, it came to me. There were five books with covers of a different color in the reflection! And when I touched them, I saw that they could be pushed back like a button. I pushed them until I could hear a click. And then the bookshelf slid to the side and a hidden door appeared¡­! ¡°While it¡¯s a classic, it¡¯s quite exciting to do it in person!¡± I put my hand on the doorknob and then the familiar warning appeared. ¡ªThe Mirror Puzzle area is behind this door. ¡ªYou cannot take your Unison with you. ¡ªFurthermore, skills, charge attacks and items are banned. ¡ªKeep this in mind when opening the door. I had been expecting it¡­but still. Well, I now have a bow staff, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. I opened the door and was enveloped in light. And before I knew it¡­I was in a corridor again. This time¡­there was no bottomless pit waiting there for me. Well, there actually was. Only there was a narrow sort of platform that would allow you to walk across. Not so narrow that you would have to keep perfect balance on it. It was wide enough for an adult man to walk without trouble. There was no wind here and the ground didn¡¯t shake. And since you could see the platform, you wouldn¡¯t step in the wrong place and fall off. It seemed easy enough¡­ But I didn¡¯t move. I would inspect things carefully first. This time, there were also mirrors all over the right side of the wall. And I could see the other me in them. However, this time, the floors were exactly the same. And since the mirrors were supposed to show the truth, this platform couldn¡¯t be fake. That was nice. But then where was the challenge¡­? I had questions, but I wouldn¡¯t learn anything unless I tried. And so I started walking on the platform that was in front of me. And then the ¡®me¡¯ in the mirror did the same. So far so good. I continued to walk. The change happened right when I was a third of the way across. A monster appeared in the mirror. It was a bat-type monster that looked rather weak. And so I took aim¡­and unleashed the arrow! Kiririri¡­shu! Cling! The arrow bounced off. Not the bat¡­but the mirror. The enemies in the mirror could only be defeated by the other me in the mirror! Uhh¡­since left and right are reversed, and the bat is on the right side of my reflection, I aimed with my bow to the left¡­and rapid fire! 1, 2, 3 shots¡­ And then 4. I finally hit the bat. It really was weak, as it went down in one hit. However, this was difficult¡­ It wasn¡¯t just that left and right were reversed, but I had to find the right angle so that the other me would be able to hit the enemy. It was very confusing¡­! But I couldn¡¯t just ignore the enemy and keep moving. Because both I and the other me were synchronized. If he was hit by a bat and stumbled, then I would stumble as well. Even as I thought of such things, more bats appeared. This time there were two at once. At the same time, the platform started to crumble behind me. Oh, so they were bringing that back¡­ In any case, I can move forward as long as I defeat the enemies. And this time, I could see the platform. As skills were banned, I took down the bats with ordinary arrows. The bats didn¡¯t come close immediately, and they would sometimes just hover in the same place for a while. And so I kept aiming and shooting and didn¡¯t worry too much about missing. Kiririri¡­shu! Zakku! One of the arrows hit it Alright, I can do this¡­! I took care of the last remaining one and then rushed ahead. A giant bat appeared next, but this might have been an attempt at raising the difficulty, it was just a bonus for me. Every time I defeated them, the bats became bigger as if growing more desperate. But even if they had more health, a larger hitbox was a weakness. Besides, arrows did more damage against flying enemies. I was good at defeating large enemies that flew towards me. Still, this would be scary for someone who fought in the vanguard¡­ Having to fight something in close-quarters that you couldn¡¯t directly see was horrifying. If you let your guard down and got hit, you would be knocked off and sent into the abyss. In other words, bows were the best because you could kill them before they got close. The combat element in this puzzle was strong, but that ended up being to my advantage. And so I was able to reach the treasure chest before the platform collapsed completely. As for what was inside¡­ It was the Pollux medal! It was the brightest star in the Gemini constellation, and was therefore so bright that I could barely look at it¡­! I quickly put it away in my item box. Now I had finished the requirements for the special reward, and could clear the dungeon without regrets. I would go straight to the final floor! CH 92 Data.85 ¨C Old Bowman, Black and White King I continued to climb higher and higher within the black and white castle. I just needed to defeat the boss now, but checked all of the rooms and large mirrors, just in case. Sometimes I would find hidden items, but they were mostly healing items that were not very good. They would still be a welcome relief measure for people who were out of them, but I had stocked up on healing items, so I wouldn¡¯t need to use them. However, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to have some extra. And so I took everything that I found. ¡°Now, we¡¯re almost there.¡± I open the great door at the top floor of the dungeon. The first thing that entered my vision was the chessboard-like floor. And there were two stone statues waiting in the back of the room. One was all black, carried a great sword, wore a crown, and was unleashing a black aura. The other was all white, carried a great sword, wore a crown, and was unleashing a white aura. So the most important piece in chess, the king, was the boss¡­! But unlike normal chess pieces, the black and white kings were in the shapes of humans, and had arms and legs. And so they walked on their own legs and swung their swords as they approached. But stone statue type monsters were always slow on their feet. Perhaps it was their fate. However, this boss room wasn¡¯t very big. And in spite of that, the enemy were large, and there were two of them. It would be difficult to run around and keep my distance. If possible, I wanted to defeat them without moving around. ¡°Letter Arrow! For two!¡± First, I needed information. Satomi had told me that I should make a habit of using it before a battle. In my case, I tended to remember the existence of the skill near the end, and so I would frantically record the information right before defeating the monster. Because I was the type who wanted to eliminate the threat in front of me as soon as possible¡­ As I thought of such things, the two arrows hit their targets, and their information was displayed in a window. ¡ô Black King Piece Attribute: Darkness/Rock Skill: Black Crucifix Sword, Dark Aura Explanation: King of the black chess pieces. A sub-type of Golem that was ordered to protect the castle. Must be killed at the same time as the White King Piece, or he will continue to resurrect. ¡ô White King Piece Attribute: Holy/Rock Skill: White Crucifix Sword, Holy Aura Explanation: King of the white chess pieces. A sub-type of Golem that was ordered to protect the castle. Must be killed at the same time as the Black King Piece, or he will continue to resurrect. So they were rock-type Golems. Needing to kill them both at the same time to prevent them from resurrecting was about what I¡¯d expect from a Gemini trial. I suppose the way that I was supposed to do this, was to work with the other ¡®me¡¯ and kill one enemy each. But if it¡¯s a human and an AI, then the movements won¡¯t match up. If fought normally, the more agile human player would likely defeat the boss first. That meant I would have to slow down my attacks so that the AI could catch up. But that was too troublesome, and I would rather use brute force. And so I stood next to the other me, and then targeted both of the kings. I had just one order. And just one charge attack to use¡­! ¡°Arrow Storm!¡± ¡®Arrow Storm!¡¯ The charge attack of my new weapon, Blackwind Dark Cloud Bow. Dark clouds appeared around the bow, and then arrows were unleashed in the area like rain. At the same time, I unleashed a chain of high speed arrows. The power of one arrow was very different from Bow Shower. That used ordinary arrows, but the weight of these were clearly different. The two kings were pushed by the force of the arrows, and could not move forward. And numerous arrows pierced into the hard stone bodies. As more and more arrows hit them, they pushed the other arrows in deeper, and cracks started to appear all over the statues. And then in the end, the two crumbled at the same time. ¡°That was¡­amazing¡­!¡± While it was a solo dungeon, the boss was defeated so easily¡­ It really showed the power of my evolved bow. ¡®Congratulations on clearing the dungeon-nyon! Well, maybe it was too easy for you?¡¯ As the two kings disappeared into light, Charin appeared as if to replace them. I took out the Castor and Pollux medals from my inventory. They were just as shiny as before, and I couldn¡¯t look at them. I quickly handed them to Charin, who put them in her pocket. ¡®So you got the two medals-nyon! Now, here is your medal-nyon!¡¯ I accepted the Gemini medal. The constellation was on the front, and two boys were depicted on the back, shoulder to shoulder. They carried a bow, a harp, and a club. ¡®And here is the reward for getting the two medals! It is the¡­uh, Fusion Twin Arrow!-nyon!¡¯ She gave me a strange object that looked like a black arrow and a white arrow that had been twisted together into one. Like a piece of modern art. Well, as it was an arrow, it would probably help me in some way¡­ ¡®Now, time to warp out of the dungeon! Good work-nyon!¡¯ My body was enveloped in light. It was goodbye for the other me. I couldn¡¯t say that I would miss him, as it had been a little uncomfortable. However, he had been a reliable ally, and it was still a unique experience. I would say that it was time well spent. Thank you, ¡®me¡¯! ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô As I had returned to the field, I would see what this modern art object was capable of. Could I ¡®Use¡¯ it¡­ I could! And I could use it on myself. It¡¯s been a while since I last figured out an item¡¯s use so quickly. And so I quickly selected ¡®Use.¡¯ What kind of power would this strange object give me¡­ ¨CBeep! You have acquired the skill ¡®Arrow Fusion.¡¯ [Arrow Fusion] Select two skills that are related to arrows and create a skill that fuses them together. MP depletion is the same if you had used the two skills. Some skills cannot be fused. Fuse¡­the effect!? I understood what it meant¡­but it was hard to imagine. And so I would have to test it in some isolated area. ¡°Arrow Fusion!¡± With Arrow Fusion, you could select the two skills with your mind, but also with your voice. And so I picked two random skills and then activated them¡­! ¡°Burning Bound Arrow!¡± I fused Burning Arrow, which exploded upon impact, and Bound Arrow, which bounded until it hit an enemy, and this created a bounding, exploding arrow. Wh-what an interesting skill¡­ The possibilities when it came to strategy had increased immensely! I would have to test this skill more and think of powerful combinations¡­! CH 93 Data.86 ¨C Old Bowman, Fusing ¡°Arrow Fusion! Drill Trident Arrow!¡± Fusing Drill Arrow¡¯s rock and machine attributes and Trident Arrow¡¯s water and fish attributes resulted in Drill Trident Arrow, which had 4 attributes. Well, I doubted there were monsters that were weak to all four, so it wasn¡¯t the most meaningful fusion. The really amazing one was¡­ ¡°Arrow Fusion! Burning Arrow Storm!¡± The arrows that came down like rain were also exploding¡­! Not only was it powerful, but it was very flashy and cool. Even in movies, it was rare to see as many explosions as this. The thing to note was that fusing did not erase their cool down time. During cool down, I could not activate Burning Arrow Story, or the original Arrow Storm. As Burning Arrow was just a skill, fusing it with a charge attack didn¡¯t mean you couldn¡¯t use it after that. Unfortunately, I was not able to fuse Meteor Bow with anything. Furthermore, Multi-shot, which allowed me to shoot up to 10 enemies at once, could not be fused with Arrow Storm. Well, unleashing Arrow Storm 10 times would mean 10 times the force and range, so it was no wonder that it wasn¡¯t allowed¡­ Well, it didn¡¯t change the fact that I had acquired a very exciting skill. Now I would be able to enjoy thinking of different combinations every time I got a new arrow skill. By the way, the skill names were just names that I had thought of on my own. It was too much trouble to say both names, and it also looked bad. I planned to do the Cancer labyrinth next. Besides, there was the class change to a 3rd job. The last dungeon had been designed for solo players, so the items were weak and you didn¡¯t get much experience. And so I was just shy of reaching the next level, but fighting monsters on the field a little should make me reach the max level for being a 2nd. I could test out my new skills in combat and enjoy leveling up¡­! ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°That took more time than I was expecting.¡± Even though I was taking on monsters that could be killed quickly while solo, my level took a while to go up. Ultimately, it was probably better to engage in ferocious battles against strong enemies. Kind of like in the world of battle manga. Still, it was a good thing that I only needed to go up 1 level. Now, time for the class change¡­! ¡®Your current job level is maxed out. It is now possible to class change to a 3rd.¡¯ Here we go¡­! I shouted excitedly. ¡°Class change!¡± ¡®Your class has been changed! Archer is now Bow Master!¡¯ I went from a job that uses bows to a job where I was a master with bows. It was maybe not the most memorable name, but it sounded reliable, and I didn¡¯t hate it. Now, to check my status¡­! ¡ô Status Name: Kyuji Job: Bow Master Lv: 1/50 HP: 130/130 MP: 120/120 Attack: 80 Defense: 40 Magic Attack: 30 Magic Defense: 20 Speed: 30 Range: 400 Skills: Bow Arts X, Satisfying Shot, Arrow Fusion, Efficient Movement In fight Arrow, Bound Arrow, Clear Arrow Burning Arrow, Trident Arrow, Drill Arrow Letter Arrow, Multi-shot, Immobile Sniping Stance Sniping Insight, Intimidating Eyes Charge Attack: Sky Tear, Warp Arrow Combination Charge Attack Meteor Bow This was my status without the boost from equipment or skills. Shooter and Bowman were balanced, but could also be considered jacks of all trades, while Bow Master focused on physical damage. The numbers were all high compared to the 2nd job, and if you added all of the numbers together, it would be 100. It was like taking one piece of rare equipment and putting it into my body. The Bow Arts skill had gone from VII to X. It had gone up three levels when I rose to Bowman as well, so perhaps it happened with every class change. With the boosts, I now had +100 in Attack and +100 in Range. While it wasn¡¯t like the flashy skills I used during battles, it was still an important support skill that I couldn¡¯t live without. The new skill that I acquired was Efficient Movement. I had acquired Satisfying Shot the last time, so it seemed that new skills also came with a class change. [Efficient Movement] Reduces MP depletion for skills and charge attacks by 10%. +50 to Speed. Boring¡­! However, it was definitely a skill that would benefit players of any job and in any situation. And the small bonus that was the Speed +50 wasn¡¯t too bad either. Now that I think about it, the only stat that Shooter had that was superior to the others was Speed. Because of this, I never had any complaints concerning speed, even from the beginning. And once I got the Windcloud gear, I even felt quite light. Perhaps I had been best with the gift of speed from the beginning. Furthermore, the strengthening points you get from leveling up have risen from 10 to 15. It had been 5 to 10 when going from a beginner job to 2nd, so it made sense. Of course, I put these points into Range. To summarize the things that changed¡­it was that my defenses had been raised over all. All of the 3rds that I knew were very unique, and I had assumed that I might be like that when I arrived there as well. But I was still me. No. Even though we were all 3rds, perhaps there was a big difference between me and Hatake or Buckler. That difference being normal jobs and special jobs¡­ Clearly Heavy Armor and Flag Magician were not jobs earned through normal class change. Especially Flag Magician, which was odd, because it was a magic job, but he only used buffs, and otherwise dealt physical attacks with a flag. Most players would be confused if they landed on such a job while playing normally. But I knew that if it suited you, that it could be very strong. I guess my next goal would be to become a special 3rd. What made me a little worried was that I couldn¡¯t think of a special job related to bows¡­ There were plenty that were related to swords and magic, but bows were usually a supporting weapon, so perhaps it couldn¡¯t be helped. Well, NSO didn¡¯t care about the norm, so I will just have to hope that they will do something new. Now, I am fully ready. It was time to go to the next trial, the Cancer labyrinth! CH 94 Data.87 ¨C Old Bowman, Cancer Trial ¡®Can-can-cancer! Welcome to the Cancer trial-nyon!¡¯ The port town of Tonami by the south sea that I had visited a short while ago. The place of the trial was at a close by beach. Here, Charin¡¯s appearance was rather extreme in its simplicity. She wore headgear that was shaped like a crab, and gloves that looked like red pincers. I suppose the only reason she wasn¡¯t wearing a red body suit was because management had mercy or it was her own pride¡­ In any case, she was able to maintain her dignity as a popular idol¡­! ¡®The rules are very simple! You just have to defeat the huge boss-nyon! There is no dungeon, so it¡¯s just fighting-nyon! And since the battle will take place in another dimension, you won¡¯t have to wait in line-nyon!¡¯ If the whole trial was just a boss fight, then the Cancer elements will have to be in the boss. So that suggested the boss would be a giant crab. It was also likely to have the water attribute, so using Trident Arrow effectively might help give me an advantage. We were also allowed to use Unisons during this trial. For Garbow, the sea was his homeground, and so he would have ample opportunity to go wild. ¡®Obviously, the requirement for acquiring a medal is to defeat the boss! And the requirement for the special rewards¡­will be told to you after you are warped to the battlefield-nyon! We want to surprise you all-nyon!¡¯ Charin was being rather stingy with information now. And so we knew nothing other than the fact that it was a huge boss fight. That being said, with NSO, hearing that management wanted to surprise us now filled me with dread. Did that mean everything else wasn¡¯t meant to be surprising¡­? While I was a little concerned, I warped over to the battlefield. The place was an inclosed bay, like a ring of sand around the water. This meant that I could attack the enemy from different sides¡­ ¡°¡­Oh, hello.¡± As my eyes met the player next to me, I said hello. Apparently, this trial was a raid boss¡­! Aside from this player, there were numerous others standing around the beach. ¡®Ta-da! Are you surprised-nyon? 100 players have been selected at random and will now have to work together to take down the boss-nyon!¡¯ Charin had appeared in the air. Yes, I would say that I was surprised. But not that surprised. Unless, there was more in store¡­ ¡®While the requirement for the medal is defeating the boss, you have to be alive when the boss is defeated-nyon! Also, the requirement for the special reward is¡­ Hah!¡¯ Charin snapped her fingers and a gauge appeared in front of us. Right now, it was empty. ¡®This is the contribution gauge-nyon! Your contributions during the fight will be calculated and be reflected in this gauge! Those who are able to fill up their gauge will receive the special reward-nyon! In other words, people who let others do the work in defeating the boss will not receive it-nyon!¡¯ I see. With these rules, you could still win without doing much work. And so the requirement for the special reward had to take that into account. ¡®Ah, yes, yes! There is no penalty for dying, so please don¡¯t hate your teammates if you lose! Now, do your best-nyon!¡¯ Charin disappeared and then the water¡¯s surface started to bubble. As expected, a giant crab, Karkinos, appeared. It was the name of the grab from the Cancer myth. Karkinos was a rather wretched crab. And when Hydra, who lived in the same swamp, was being defeated by Hercules, it had tried to come out in support but was crushed to death. With the Cancer constellation, the weak impression wasn¡¯t due to works that came later that were based on it, but it had already been there with the original mythology. While being part of the 12 constellations made it important, why had the people of ancient times given it such a story? I doubted this mystery would ever be solved¡­ Well, that was enough thoughts for the crab. It was time to fight. Karkinos was huge. So big that it didn¡¯t look like bullying when 100 players were fighting it. I decided to stay out of the way of other players and shoot at a distance. But right as I was about to unleash my arrows, I noticed that the surface of the water was bubbling. JAAAAAAAAAA!!! What emerged from the water was the nine-headed monster, Hydra. Oh, in the myth, it was Karkinos who came out to help Hydra, but this time it was the other way around. It definitely was a surprise that we had to fight a giant crab and a giant snake. Was this what Charin was talking about? The difficulty would rise significantly if there were two bosses. But we still had 100 players¡­ SPLAAASSSHHH!!! This time, something huge fell out of the sky and into the sea. It rose from its knees and then pointed at the players with its bow and arrows. Could it be¡­ Hercules? Wait, wasn¡¯t he supposed to be their enemy? Had they completely misinterpreted the myth? Hercules unleashed a fiery arrow. Players went up in flames and dropped like flies. So there was no mistaking it. He was our enemy. In this trial, we had to defeat 3 giant bosses¡­! Now this was a surprise. Hercules aimed with his bow again. But I couldn¡¯t allow him to continue to chip away at our numbers¡­! ¡°Burning Arrow Storm!¡± Countless exploding arrows hit Hercules¡¯s giant body. The fused charge attack was effective even on someone who was half god, and he fell to his knee on the sand. However, he was still not defeated yet. The other players took advantage of the opportunity and focused their attacks on him. If we could only decrease the number of enemies¡­ ¡°Woah¡­!¡± The Hydra had spat its poison. As it was very large, its aim was not great. So I was able to dodge it. But I still wished it would stop attacking people in the rear guard. While I was thinking this, Karkinos started to blow bubbles at me. It seemed like I was being targeted a lot, in spite of being the farthest away¡­ Could it be that all of their hate was directed at me? Perhaps they were made to target the player who inflicted the most damage. If that was the case, then this was very bad¡­ I had to isolate myself from the other players in order to make use of my Range. And so there was no one here to defend me. If I used Warp Arrow to go back to the others, they would also get hit by the attacks. For now, I would just run from the attacks and once the others could start focusing on their attacks, there would be more players who could deal heavier damage than me. And the enemies¡¯ target would change to them. And so I used my skills to run around. A combination of Warp Arrow, Floating Cloud Herd and Intimidates Eyes was enough. However, even then, escaping from the attacks of three giant bosses was a difficult task. Little by little, I was being pushed to the brink. Were the others not attacking enough¡­!? It seemed like I was the only one being attacked¡­ ¡°Huh!?¡± Then came the biggest surprise of the day. Our numbers had gone down dramatically! Well, even as the bosses targeted me, they would be thrashing out at players and kicking them. Is that how they died? It seemed a little too simple, but I had an idea of why that might have happened. It was because there was no penalty for dying in this trial. In other words, if you weren¡¯t doing well, or were unsatisfied with your comrades, you could lose on purpose. And they could even take off their armor before getting hit, so it wouldn¡¯t be damaged when they died. They could simply decide to lose over small things, like the hope of teaming up with better people or the boss patterns being less harsh. Well, even with that considered, it still seemed like our numbers had dropped too much¡­ Why was that? After all, I wasn¡¯t the type to look up information on trials. So while I didn¡¯t know, I did feel a little bad¡­ That being said, there were still players who were fighting seriously. And so I would also continue to fight without giving up¡­! Even if it wasn¡¯t the most efficient way to fight¡­! Just then, the three bosses unleashed their ranged attacks at the same time, which meant that I was targeted from three different directions. I could use Burning Arrow Storm, as the cool down had ended. I could even use Meteor Bow, though it would mean that Garbow wouldn¡¯t be with me after that. However, that would still not be enough to deal with all three. And I had just used Warp Arrow, which would usually allow me to dodge them. Even if my gear was good, my own defense stats were bad. And since I had already taken damage, just two of those attacks would be enough to kill me. Then there was only one thing to do. ¡°Meteor Bow!¡± The arrow that resembled a red meteor shot passed the three attacks and slammed into Hercules. His health had dropped quite low, thanks to everyone¡¯s work, and so he was defeated. Now there were only two bosses left. Yes, this didn¡¯t do much for me, but I wanted to at least help those who could still fight¡­ Karkinos¡¯s bubbles and Hydra¡¯s poison breath hit me, and I died. And then I was sent back to the field¡­ Or so I thought. But my body and consciousness was still on the battlefield. I suppose since I had allies, I wouldn¡¯t disappear, as they might resurrect me. Well, surely that wouldn¡¯t happen at this distance¡­ I will run out of time and disappear regardless¡­ ¡®You have fulfilled the requirements for a special class change. You can now change to a special 3rd class.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t move my body. However, I had definitely heard that voice. CH 95 Data.88 ¨C Old Bowman, Time of Awakening A class change at this timing¡­? Not only had I just done it recently, but wasn¡¯t I dead¡­!? And a special class at that. It must mean the requirements had to be very special¡­! ¡°Class Change!¡± If it was possible, then I would do it! ¡®Class Change approved! Bow Master is now Sagitarius!¡¯ My body¡­could move! HP, MP, and equipment have all recovered! I didn¡¯t understand what was happening, but it seems that the special class change has revived me¡­! I wanted to check my status immediately, but the fight was still going on. As long as there were players giving their all in this fight, I had to do the same. But the cool down was still in effect, and so I couldn¡¯t rely on Garbow¡¯s help. In that case, I would use a fused charge attack! ¡°Burning Arrow Storm¡­?!¡± The numerous arrows that were unleashed were enveloped in a shining aura! This effect hadn¡¯t been there before I died. I didn¡¯t know what effect it had, but it at least seemed like it wasn¡¯t something that made it weaker. Now it was just the lead in this Cancer trial, the giant crab Karkinos¡­! Karkinos¡¯s HP had also gone down considerably, but since it had such a hard shell, ordinary skills would not inflict enough damage. ¡°Exploding Sky Tear!¡± I fused Burning Arrow and Sky Tear together. Like this, it would pierce through the hard shell and explode once inside of the body. However, as the arrows themselves were thin, the explosions were on a small scale. And since Karkinos had been set to be rather tough, it was not enough to take it down. Besides¡­it seemed like it was slowly healing itself? As it was the main attraction, perhaps it had an HP regen ability. They really were trying to get rid of the weak impression people had of crabs¡­ But there was no time to think about that. If there were fewer players, that meant less fire power. Once the HP regen started catching up with the amount of damage our attacks could inflict, it would be over. Even before that happened, the mood would change to that of giving up, and more players would quit. It would be best to take it down quickly¡­ That¡¯s it¡­! This was after a class change. I must have acquired a new skill. And so I quickly scanned through the list. ¡­Huh? There were no new ones¡­ ¡°Oh, there is a new charge attack!¡± So a special class change was actually superior to a normal class change! The charge attack was¡­ ¡°I¡¯m Arrow!¡± I was so excited that I activated it without reading the description. In NSO, you could guess the effect of most skills and charge attacks by just seeing the name. And so it was a little odd that I couldn¡¯t tell what this one was. But it was a charge attack and was sure to be strong. However, I felt a little regret over my actions. Because I¡¯m Arrow¡­literally turned me into an arrow. My body was enveloped in a golden light as it rotated at a high speed. My vision spun and all I could hear was the sound of myself cutting through the wind. I could not tell which way was up or down. And by the time I had regained my five senses, there was a great hole in Karkinos¡¯s shell, and I had slammed into an invisible wall that surrounded the battle area. So I flew like an arrow¡­ My Range had been reflected as well, as I had traveled a great distance. And the force¡­was incredible. Karkinos turned into light and disappeared. The remaining players were all cheering and celebrating our victory. I couldn¡¯t join in, as I was at the far edge. But it made me happy to see them like that. ¡®You really are strong-nyon! I was surprised while watching-nyon!¡¯ Charin appeared. There was something that I wanted to ask her. ¡°Isn¡¯t it you who made me this strong? You always give me great items as rewards. Not only that, but I get skills that suit me or items to evolve my gear. This special class change as well. An item you gave me was the trigger.¡± Remembering this, I checked my item box and saw that Star Arrow was gone. This was the special reward that Charin had given to me after the Sagitarius trial. There were likely a lot of requirements to class change over to Sagitarius. However, I was sure that having the Star Arrow was one of them. ¡®I give rewards that fit each player. So it¡¯s not like you are getting special treatment-nyon. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m too mature to do stuff like that now-nyon.¡¯ ¡°Is it because of management?¡± ¡®Of course-nyon! After all, I was created to help support the running of another game. But since things weren¡¯t going very well, I started to work as an idol and help support other games-nyon! Leaving my own game aside, I wouldn¡¯t act so freely in a client¡¯s game-nyon! As. Much. As. Possible!¡¯ ¡°S-sorry¡­¡± ¡®Well, I¡¯m not surprised you wondered that. If an online or social game suddenly starts showering you with special items, most pros would start to get suspicious that there is some kind of catch. After all, they aren¡¯t doing it out of kindness or gratitude towards players-nyon! They are doing it for their own profit-nyon!¡¯ ¡°In other words, having players become rapidly stronger will benefit them¡­¡± ¡®Exactly-nyon! Well, I can¡¯t say anymore than that-nyon. They will get angry at me-nyon. But if I were to give you a hint¡­¡¯ But you just said you couldn¡¯t say anymore¡­. Charin sure did talk a lot. ¡®With sports, isn¡¯t it more entertaining to watch the best compete?¡¯ ¡°Well¡­that¡¯s true.¡± ¡®In any case, here is your medal!¡¯ Charin returned to her work mode. It had the Cancer constellation on the front and a crab on the back. Looking at it now, crabs were actually kind of scary in appearance. Props to the ancient people who first caught them and decided to take a bite. Not only that, but now people look at this creature and think it looks delicious. That was how strong food culture was. ¡®And your contribution gauge is full-full! Your special reward is ¡®Monster Crab Shell¡¯-nyon!¡¯ I suppose it was something that would make me or Garbow stronger. This system of being able to become stronger after overcoming trials really helped to motivate you. You would play longer if you were motivated, and would spread the good word. It seemed that would be enough reason for management, but apparently, there was something else as well. As long as everyone was happy, then that was fine. I would become stronger, whether management wanted me to or not. There are now 2 trials remaining¡­! Alright, I would check the stats for my special 3rd job, Sagitarius, and then continue into the final stretch. CH 96 Data.89 ¨C Old Bowman, Conclusion and Resolve After returning to the field, I sat down on the beach where there was no one else, and opened my status. ¡ô Status Name: Kyuji Job: Sagittarius Lv: 3/50 HP: 160/160 MP: 140/140 Attack: 90 Defense: 40 Magic Attack: 40 Magic Defense: 30 Speed: 50 Star Area Range: 415 Skills: Bow Arts XII, Satisfying Shot, Arrow Fusion, Efficient Movement In fight Arrow, Bound Arrow, Clear Arrow Burning Arrow, Trident Arrow, Drill Arrow Letter Arrow, Multi-shot, Immobile Sniping Stance Sniping Insight, Intimidating Eyes Charge Attack: Sky Tear, Warp Arrow, I¡¯m Arrow Combination Charge Attack Meteor Bow Sagittarius was the special 3rd job. Which felt quite familiar to me, as I was currently playing an event that was based on the Zodiac. It was said that constellations were created when god raised the dead into the heavens. In other words, you would have to die once in order to gain the job named after a constellation. ¡­It made me wonder about the other requirements. Was there a way that I could find out? I touched different parts of the status window until my finger landed on ¡®Job: Sagittarius,¡¯ and a small window popped up. Sagittarius. Like the archer that shines brightly in the sky, you will shoot arrows of light at enemies at a great distance. With superior Range and Attack, it is a special 3rd job that only players who have a lot of skills and charge attacks related to bows can acquire. -Class Change Requirements- Have the Star Arrow item Over 250 Attack Over 400 Range Over 10 bow skills Over 2 bow charge attacks Bow Arts is above 10 Die while fulfilling all of the above requirements. *Status boosts from skills and equipment are counted when fulfilling the requirements. Well, that was a thorough and perfect answer to my question¡­ The requirement when it came to Attack was quite easy, but you would have a difficult time reaching the necessary Range with just boosts from weapons and skills. You would likely not reach it without putting a considerable amount of strengthening points into it. As you were an archer constellation, you needed to be able to shoot as far as the stars in the sky. Well, not that 400 meters was enough for that¡­ The skill related stuff was even harsher. I had been using the bow ever since I started playing the game, and I still barely made it. Especially rank 10 in Bow Arts. Bow Arts X was something I had just reached as a bonus for class changing to Bow Master. If the game continued to be played, then there would be others who would reach it as well. However, currently, it was something that only players who spent their whole day using a bow could reach. The death requirement was also difficult. If you knew about it, you could kill yourself and suffer the penalty. And if your status relied on boosts from equipment and weapons, you could use something like poison, which would chip away at your HP without destroying your armor. There were items that were highly poisonous and would do the job quickly if used. But surely someone who didn¡¯t know would not even try it. In a way, that was the hardest requirement. I suppose you could say that if someone never died during combat, then they were strong enough. And so there was no need for class change for a while¡­ Another thing I didn¡¯t really understand was the Star Arrow. In conclusion¡­it was surprising that I had managed to do it. Even though Charin had helped me a lot. I would not forget to be grateful for that as I used Sagittarius. Well, that was enough about the job. I should look at the other stuff. The new charge attack was I¡¯m Arrow. I had experienced the effect already, but I wanted to know more. [I¡¯m Arrow] Become an arrow and pierce the enemy. Cooldown: 3 minutes Hmm. Very easy to understand! Not only was it very powerful, but it meant that I could move while also damaging whatever I came in contact with. Perhaps it wasn¡¯t as easy to use as War Arrow, but that had its own weaknesses as well. It had no attack ability. Warp Arrow could break through walls or erase enemy attacks. In fact, it would just warp me right in the middle of the enemy¡¯s attack. While I¡¯m arrow may not be good for getting me to a desired location, it had tremendous attack ability. I could go through walls and kill enemies while moving. By using these two long distance transfer skills, my mobility would go way up. And the cooldown was also quite fast¡­ Though, I didn¡¯t know if I would want to experience that spinning again so soon. Furthermore, Bow Arts X had become Bow Arts XII. I think it was less about matching the 12 constellations¡­and more of a special bonus for the special class change. As for my status, it didn¡¯t go up as much as it did when going from 2nd to 3rd. While it was a special class change, you didn¡¯t become that much stronger compared to when the number became bigger. ¡­I guess it¡¯s time to talk about that thing¡­ What is Star Area Range? It has ¡®range¡¯ in the name¡­ I touched the words ¡®Star Area Range¡¯ in my status and the details were displayed. ¡®¡®Star Area Range¡¯ is a fixed status of Sagittarius. Your range will be increased by its current number x 0.5, and the force, speed, and control of arrows is improved.¡¯ So the fixed status of a job that you couldn¡¯t change into without Range, has an effect that makes its Range shorter than normal¡­ I had a feeling that this would happen. Management knew. The time had come for me to reach a certain conclusion in my adventures. In terms of pure range, this ¡®Star Area Range¡¯ was inferior to the original ¡®Range.¡¯ Normal Range increased by 1 meter for every point, but with Star Area Range, it was 0.5. In other words, my range would be halved. On the other hand, the more points I put into it, the force, speed and control¡­which I wasn¡¯t really sure about, but the overall attack ability would improve. I had been putting all of my strengthening points into Range in order to prove my theory that ¡®in VRMMOs with massive open fields, you could be the strongest if you chipped away at enemies from a distance where they couldn¡¯t launch a counter attack.¡¯ So, had I been right? My conclusion¡­ Yes, I was very strong. However, there wasn¡¯t much meaning in increasing it too much. And fire power¡­was also important! It¡¯s true that the field in VRMMO¡¯s are big. With my current range, if I activated Immobile Sniping Stance, I could take down monsters on the field without being struck back. Yes, the weakest monsters¡­ But with dungeons and boss fights¡­the area was restricted. The recent battle with the white and black kings in the Gemini labyrinth was a good example. Range was not too useful when fighting in closed off spaces. However, it was very useful during PvP. Had I not had great Range during the battle royale, I would not have gotten the most kills. I would not have done much and would have never caught Necoco¡¯s eye. I would not have learned more about her. It was the same with the turf war. If I couldn¡¯t attack enemies until they were close to the fortress, then they would have been able to surround me and it would be over. The range of control for the ally monsters and AI warriors would have also been smaller, and I wouldn¡¯t have been able to attack the enemy base. I would have been the idiot who ignored Hatake¡¯s suggestion and stayed behind. And there would be no MVP for me. Well, I think I would still enjoy playing the game, like I was now. But I wouldn¡¯t take back all of the things that I had experienced. Those experiences, adventures and people I met were irreplaceable. None of them were things that I could lose. However, I had been wondering for a while if there was any point in continuing to extend it. Long range¡­no, it was ultra range. Was there really a place where this would be useful? Having a range that was far superior to others was a good strategy. I would never abandon that. But I wasn¡¯t sure that I could keep up this pace if I relied on Range alone. In a way, ¡®Star Area Range¡¯ was a lifesaver. My Range would continue to grow, just more slowly, and the abilities of the arrows would be enhanced¡­! As the bow was my only weapon, it made sense to raise my arrow abilities instead of my attack status. And in the future, if it turned out that I did need more Range¡­I could class change back to Bow Master. It was possible to go back to classes that you had before. And since the numbers of Range and Star Area Range were connected, my Range would continue to increase. Perhaps it would come in handy during a new event. This class change had now offered me a new option of switching. I would fight with these two pillars, Range and Star Area Range! ¡°So, I was able to find the answer¡­to this question I had been asking myself.¡± There was no change in appearance for Sagittarius. While my arrow glowed brightly, I myself did not shine like gold. However, there was a difference that was even bigger for me than the status and skills. Attacking enemies from far away in order to defeat them without getting hit. That concept I would not change. But the distance between me and the enemy depended on the battle situation. Like this time, large enemies had wide-area attacks that I couldn¡¯t avoid. However, at least I didn¡¯t have to fight them close-quarters. I had the freedom of being able to always move around and still keep the enemy within range of my own attacks. And so my biggest weapon would continue to be Range. ¡°This will be a new start for me.¡± I said to no one in particular. With this resolve in my heart¡­my adventure would continue. CH 97 Data.90 ¨C Old Bowman, Leo Trial ¡°Now, to the next trial¡­¡± I thought, but then realized that it was already evening. And so I decided to just find out what this ¡®Monster Crab Shell¡¯ was, and learn about Star Area Range¡¯s ¡®Control¡¯ and then log out for the day. First was Monster Crab Shell. This¡­appeared to be an item that Garbow could ¡®Use.¡¯ And so I tried it out. ¡ªBeep! Unison Garbow has acquired the new skill, ¡®Energy Scissors.¡¯ [Energy Scissors] Cut through enemies with a mass of energy that is shaped like scissors. As it was related to a crab, I understood why they would be shaped like that, but Garbow didn¡¯t have any arms. So, how was he going to use it¡­? ¡°Garbow! Energy Scissors!¡± Two scissors that glowed red appeared around Garbow. ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± With this cry, Garbow shook his body around, and the two scissors sliced through the air in front of him. I see. So these scissors that were made of a mysterious energy could be controlled with the mind. We didn¡¯t have many cutting attack type skills, so it should be useful. Next was this ¡®Control¡¯ that was written in the Star Area Range description. Surely it wasn¡¯t some kind of adjustment that would improve my accuracy¡­? To test it out, I unleashed an arrow at a nearby boulder. Kiririri¡­ Shu! Zhunk! It hit just fine. Kiririri¡­ Shu! Zhunk! As I wasn¡¯t really aiming carefully, it ended up hitting a different boulder. Apparently, this ¡®Control¡¯ had nothing to do with your accuracy. So, what was it then? I doubted there was any information online yet, so I would have to figure it out. In the first place, where is the word ¡®Control¡¯ commonly used? I hear it a lot in¡­baseball. Like straight control in targeting the four corner strike zones or controlling a curve ball to get a strike¡­ In other words, controlling the trajectory of the ball. So with arrows¡­would that mean controlling the trajectory of the arrow? Could I control the arrow with my will after unleashing it? Surely not¡­ Kiririri¡­ Shu! Zhunk! It curved¡­! It wasn¡¯t a sharp curve, but it was still a curve¡­! So ¡®Control¡¯ really was the ability to control the trajectory of an unleashed arrow! However, when would I use this? If I¡¯m going to curve an arrow to hit an enemy, wouldn¡¯t it be better to just aim at the spot where they would move into instead? As for targeting blindspots, it did not curve sharply enough, so it would be better to just use Bound Arrow. Attacks that can only be done through curving¡­would be attacks that made use of range. If I was shooting something that was close, then there was little time for controlling and so it would barely curve. However, if I was targeting an enemy that was far away, the arrow would stay in the air longer and be able to curve more. From the enemy¡¯s point of view, it would be more difficult to know who had unleashed an arrow that was curving. There were likely other uses, but that was all that I could think of for now. A special 3rd job really was impressive. So many things have changed¡­! New powers and old powers I had experience with. I would have to be able to use them both or I would not be able to compete with the ¡®strong players¡¯ that Buckler was talking about. In any case, I would log out for the day. Tomorrow, I will take on one of the last two remaining trials, the Leo labyrinth! ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô The next morning, I woke up more refreshed than usual. I felt as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. But there were still trials left, and the final battle against Charin, so I couldn¡¯t let my guard down. Pro gamers for shooters and fighting games would often say that it took awhile to get back into a game if they haven¡¯t played it for a few days. And so it was best to continue to play a little every day. And that¡¯s what I did with NSO. No, I was actually just playing it a lot¡­ Today¡¯s trial was the Leo labyrinth. The name was easier to remember compared to the other labyrinths, which was nice. ¡®Hey-hey-hey! The Leo trial is right over here-nyon!¡¯ Here, Charin was dressed¡­similar to a certain well-known musical about lions. She wore a headpiece that had a lion¡¯s mane, and there was a tree branch in her hand and her clothes was just a cloth wrapped around her. Well, at least it covered everything that needed to be covered. ¡®This trial is very traditional! You will hold a torch in one hand and explore a cavernous dungeon-nyon!¡¯ According to the myth, lions lived in caves. If we had to use a torch, that would suggest we would have to fight in dark and narrow areas. ¡®The requirement for the medal is also very traditional! You just have to defeat the boss that lives at the end of the dungeon! But people who want the special reward will have to defeat the secret boss-nyon! The secret boss is in a different place and can only be accessed with a key-nyon! And that key will be hidden somewhere in the dungeon-nyon!¡¯ In any case, we would have to walk around and explore. You¡¯d only get the medal if you defeat the normal boss, but you will get both the medal and the special reward if you kill the secret boss. That meant I only had to find and defeat the secret boss. ¡®The torch is already in your item box-nyon! It won¡¯t burn out or break, but it is not actually hot and cannot be used as a weapon-nyon! Now, let the cave exploration traditional adventure begin!¡¯ I took out the torch from the item box and then entered the cave with Gorbow. It was so dark that you wouldn¡¯t be able to see anything without a light¡­ And it was quite narrow. While my head wasn¡¯t in danger of hitting the ceiling, if I was attacked by enemies on both sides, it would be difficult to run past them. So I would be forced to fight and cut open a path. After all, I couldn¡¯t use my bow, since I was holding the torch. It wasn¡¯t like the glass cup in the Aquarius trial, where it stuck to your body. But since it wasn¡¯t hot, maybe I could hold it in my mouth? ¡°Ah, Garbow can hold it.¡± It should be possible if Garbow could understand my command. ¡°Garbow, can you hold this with your mouth?¡± I held the torch sideways and held it close to Garbow¡¯s mouth. Garbow bit it and held it firmly. I had been scared that it would break at first, when I saw the flash of sharp teeth, but this torch could not be destroyed. ¡°Good Garbow! Now, let¡¯s go!¡± I had Garbow take the lead and watch for enemies. I would watch our backs. There were a lot of split paths in this cave. There was one right now, and so I went to the left. If there was a monster in the right path, then it might come chasing after us. I did not want to be attacked from behind in a dark cave. And so I illuminated the cave every few seconds by unleashing an arrow. Yes, thanks to Star Area Range, the arrows had a glowing aura around them. Click-click-click¡­ Footsteps echoed in the cave. They weren¡¯t mine. Tabi shoes did not click like that. Something was walking around inside of the cave. And it didn¡¯t seem to be an animal. The rhythm was not that of something that walked on four legs. It was bipedal. And the legs seemed to be short. It was coming closer¡­ ¡°Goo! Goo!¡± Garbow cried. It was muffled because of the torch in his mouth, but this was the sound he made when acting hostile. ¡°Garbow! Attack!¡± I would leave the front to him. As the sounds had been bouncing off the walls, I hadn¡¯t noticed it at first. But they were coming from behind as well! Kiririri¡­ Shu! As the arrow flew, the light shone on the enemy. They were small, ugly creatures with green skin. And there were so many! Classical monsters in fantasy¡­! ¡°Goblins¡­!¡± We were surrounded by numerous goblins! However, these enemies should not be a threat to us now. I was only scared because it was so dark. Right now, all I had to do was shoot them down with arrows of light¡­! CH 98 Data.91 ¨C Old Bowman, Offense and Defense in the Cave ¡°Multi-Burning Arrow!¡± Multi-Shot, which could hit up to 10 enemies at once, and the exploding Burning Arrow were fused together and launched into the group of goblins. As the cave was narrow, the 10 arrows could not be avoided, and their shoddy armor could not save them. After being hit by the arrows, the goblins were annihilated. And they lit up when being hit by the blast, which helped illuminate our surroundings. I was having no trouble here by chaining skills together. But what about behind me? When I turned around, I saw that Garbow was scattering pieces of metal that I hadn¡¯t seen before. ¡°I-is that¡­Caltrop!¡± As the name suggested, it was a skill that scattered things on the ground. I had traded NSO medals for that skill quite a while ago, but since it was never used, I had forgotten all about it. And since the passages were so narrow here, they were guaranteed to deal damage. Garbow attacked the goblins that had stepped on the caltrops and became slower. He would slash through them with the newly acquired Energy Scissors, or shoot them up with Red Flash. He was wreaking havoc. Unison Monsters were rare monsters, and so their abilities were on a different level. And so we were able to destroy the horde of goblins in less than 3 minutes. If only all of the enemies here were this weak. But I was sure that they would get stronger the farther we went. The torch could only illuminate so far. I would have to be careful to catch any sounds of enemies moving through the cave¡­ Thankfully, Garbow was floating, so there were no sounds of footsteps, and the tabi that I was wearing didn¡¯t make much noise either. And so if there was any sound, I knew it was an enemy and moved on ahead. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô Goblins, slimes, and orcs¡­ We shot through the fantastical monsters until we reached an area where the walls of the cave changed color. In dungeons like these, the changing walls meant that you were now in a deeper area. And so I was cautious of stronger enemies, and explored the cave corner to corner, including all the branching paths. What I was looking for was the key to the secret boss room. If I didn¡¯t have that, I wouldn¡¯t be able to take on the secret boss and get the reward. While it meant more enemy encounters, I had to continue the search. ¡°Hmm¡­?¡± I saw light leaking from the corner up ahead. And when I cautiously took a look, I saw that in front of the passage stood a monster with a giant shield. It was an Ogre. And there was a shining treasure chest behind it. It seemed very likely that the key to the secret boss room was inside of that chest. The way it shone was different from the treasure chests that had common consumable items. The problem was how I would defeat the ogre. The shield was made of thick metal. And so shooting it with arrows from the front¡­should do the trick. I just needed to use Sky Tear and shoot it in the head before it notices me. Well, here goes¡­ ¡°No, wait a minute¡­¡± I stopped myself just as I was about to move out into the passage. There was a fused charge attack that I wanted to test. And so I changed my plan. ¡°Bound Arrow Storm!¡± Bound Arrow, which bounced off of walls, was fused with Arrow Storm, which unleashed numerous arrows. As my arrows were currently glowing, thanks to an effect from Star Area Range, it looked like rays of light were reflecting off of everything as they shot through the enemy from every angle. The arrows should bounce a great deal in this narrow cave¡­ That had been my thought. But it was even more spectacular than I was expecting. While the ogre¡¯s shield was thick, it was just one layer. It could not block all of the arrows which were coming from every direction, and so this was a very sensible method of attack. In just a few seconds, the ogre fell and disappeared into light. This fused skill¡­it was practically a trump card in small spaces like this. I was quite satisfied at having found a new combination, and then I opened the shining treasure chest that was behind the ogre. As expected, it contained the key to the secret boss room. It was a poisonous purple and had a lot of thorns on it. The design conveyed that it would open a door to a very dangerous battle. ¡°Now, I just have to find the door to that room¡­¡± Phew¡­ I let out a sigh. While the enemies weren¡¯t strong, it was a very human thing to start feeling down when you are in a dark, cramped space for so long. I wanted to return to the sunlight. However, I couldn¡¯t rush myself either. Just as I used sound to tell where the enemy was, they too could listen to the sounds I made. A good Adventurer should be able to explore caves without making too much noise. Garbow understood this as well, and did not make a sound unless I talked to him or we encountered an enemy. As we quietly made our way through the dungeon, the color of the walls changed once again. The goblins here had better weapons and armor, and their bodies were also bigger. With the help of fused skills and Garbow, I took down the enemies in our path and finally found the boss door. But my joy was short-lived. There was no keyhole in the door. In other words, this was the door to the normal boss room. If I went in there and beat the boss, I would only receive the medal. But I wanted the special reward, and so I just had to defeat the secret boss. And so I turned on my heels and continued the search. Likely, the secret boss room was close by¡­ As I thought this, I found a passage where the walls were completely black. A real black, where the light didn¡¯t reflect off of. But I boldly walked through, and this time, found the door to the secret boss room. It was the same kind of poisonous purple as the key, and was covered in thorns. And there was a proper keyhole. I inserted the key and turned it until there was a click. The cooldowns for the charge attacks were finished now. I could use them in this state. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Garbow!¡± ¡°Goo! Goo!¡± Thinking that the boss battle might be fought in the dark, I had Garbow continue to hold the torch. However, what awaited us on the other side of the door, was the bright rays of sunlight. ¡°Uhhh¡­!¡± It was blinding¡­! And then my eyes adjusted to the brightness¡­ This looked like a man-made savanna. It was surrounded by a concrete wall, so I was reminded of a zoo that I went to as a child. That¡­must be the boss. A giant lion was relaxing on top of a tall rocky mountain. It was very fitting for a Leo trial. It wasn¡¯t in a low, hostile stance or anything. It was just looking down at me. Like some kind of king. A lion kin¡­ Nevermind. Silently, I held my bow ready. While it was high above, it was still within my range. I could shoot it right through the head and¡­ ¡°¡­!?¡± Just as I was about to shoot the lion in the forehead, our eyes met and my body couldn¡¯t move. This was just like¡­ Intimidating Eyes! GRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAARRR!! The lion roared. And then a female lion appeared from within the grass. Now that I thought about it, it was the female lions that did the hunting. And they also hunted in packs¡­ This enemy was not alone. It was the most troublesome kind of RPG boss. The type that calls its friends¡­! CH 99 Data.92 ¨C Old Bowman, King of the Beasts In any case, I had to be able to move my body if I was going to do anything. If this was similar to my skill, Intimidating Eyes, then the effect should wear off in a few seconds¡­ ¡°Woah¡­!¡± My body was suddenly able to move again. At the same time, the arrow I had nocked was unleashed. It shot towards the boss lion on the rock. Paaaoooonnn! Out of nowhere, an elephant monster appeared and shot the arrow down with water from its trunk. The water pressure must have been tremendous, as while it was an ordinary arrow, it was currently strengthened with an aura of light. Also, its savanna friends had increased a little too much. It wasn¡¯t just female lions that the boss lion could call. But it was even calling lions, giraffes and zebras as well. Had they all looked like cute animals, I might have felt bad about killing them. But they were all designed as frightening monsters. While there were some exceptions, most of the enemies in NSO were made to look vicious and something you would want to defeat. Now, there were two ways to deal with a boss that called its friends. Ignore the others and kill the boss, or kill the friends first and then take on the boss¡­ If the boss is weak and can be defeated quickly, or the allies are weak, and you could ignore them, then you might pick the first option. As I hadn¡¯t attacked the boss lion yet, I didn¡¯t know if its friends could heal it, but I already knew that a lot of them were able to attack. Not only the female lions, but rhinoceroses and hippopotamuses were charging at me as well. Thankfully, their movements were simple, and I had Garbow, so they weren¡¯t a threat. As they were based on animals of the savannah, there were a lot of physical attacks, which meant that Metal Body was able to reduce a lot of the damage. Perhaps it would be best to let Garbow handle them, and I could take on the boss lion. I looked at the boss lion and aimed¡­ Wait, I won¡¯t be able to move if I look at its eyes! But it was difficult to aim at the lion without meeting its eyes, because it was staring at me. Apparently, I was quite gifted with the bow, but even I couldn¡¯t hit a target without looking at it properly. Then what about I¡¯m Arrow? Our eyes wouldn¡¯t meet if I was spinning, but I would still have to look at the enemy before shooting it. It was still an arrow, after all¡­ Alright, how about this. I would also stop it with Intimidating Eyes! Glare back with my sharp, intense eyes! ¡­Hmm, no. The boss lion just yawned, so it could clearly still move. On the other hand, I couldn¡¯t move at all. Either it was because the lion was stronger than me, or had a superior skill¡­ Well, it was really a matter of what was scarier. Being stared at by a lion or some old man. I¡¯m sure being stared at by a strange old man is scary in its own way, but it¡¯s still better than being stared at by a lion. You could at least talk to humans¡­ No, this was no time to be thinking about such things. In the end, that lion was the dungeon¡¯s boss. This would never end unless I defeated it¡­ In order to shoot it without meeting its eyes¡­I will have to curve the trajectory. Instead of looking at the lion, I¡¯ll look at a space close to it and shoot. Kiririri¡­ Shu! I didn¡¯t hear anything. Did I miss? That¡¯s right, I just don¡¯t have to see its eyes. So I can look at the lion¡¯s butt instead. This should be easy¡­ ¡°¡­!?¡± The lion turned its body and our eyes met. Should I kill them first¡­? No, Garbow was doing just fine. I had to target the boss. This time I unleashed the arrow so that I wasn¡¯t looking at the lion¡¯s body. Kiriri¡­Shu! Chi¡­! I heard the sound of it grazing something. Alright, I was slowly getting the hang of it. Once I was able to hit it consistently, I would use a skill or charge attack¡­! Kiririri¡­ Shu! Zhunk! Yes¡­! I was now able to hit while changing the trajectory of the arrow. ¡°Burning Arrow!¡± That being said, if I used an Arrow Storm fused charge attack, I would not be able to resist if the enemy suddenly got close to me. And so I would chip away at its HP with an ordinary skill. And so I decided to use Letter Arrow. Perhaps I would find its weakness. ¡°Letter Arrow!¡± ¡ô King Lion Attribute: Wild Beast Skill: Eyes of the Beast King, Bond Roar Description: King of the beasts who lives in the savannah. Eyes of the Beast King definitely sounded like a stronger version of Intimidating Eyes. And Bond Roar must be a skill to call its friends. As far as any other information¡­there was ¡®He will show his true strength when many of his friends are hurt.¡¯ In other words, the lion wouldn¡¯t move until a certain number of the others were destroyed. And so I should deal as much damage as I could before that happens. GRRRRRAAAAAARR!! The boss lion roared and then jumped down from its rock. So, Garbow had already defeated that many¡­! Reliable as always! I would have to ensure that his efforts did not go to waste. Once the king was on the ground, it was just an ordinary beast. I¡¯ll hit it right as it lands¡­! And so I aimed at the ground under it and closed my eyes. ¡°Burning Arrow Storm!¡± The king of the beasts didn¡¯t have wings. It could not move in mid air. And so I heard the moment that the boss lion fell to the ground and was exposed to the storm of arrows. When the chain of arrows died down, I opened my eyes. The boss lion and all of its friends were gone. While I had said there were two ways to deal with these kinds of bosses, there was actually a 3rd way. Attack all of them at the same time¡­ Getting rid of its friends while racking up damage on the boss. It was the easiest way. ¡®Congratulations on defeating the boss-nyon! Hey, the savannah is burning!?¡¯ Charin appeared and then looked surprised. My Burning Arrow Storm had caused it to catch on fire. Now I look like the villain¡­ ¡®Well, I can easily erase fire-nyon.¡¯ Charin snapped her fingers and the fire disappeared and the trees and grass returned. I didn¡¯t want to accept the medal in a burning wasteland, so I was thankful. ¡®Now that things are back to normal, here is your medal-nyon!¡¯ The Leo medal had the coolest design of any of the medals I had acquired up until now. The constellation was on the front, and there was a realistic lion depicted on the back. It was no wonder that it was called the king of the beasts. Among all wild animals, there was something regal about lions. ¡®And your reward is ¡®Eyes of the Lion King¡¯-nyon!¡¯ What she handed to me¡­was two eyeballs. Well, I had an idea of what it was. Getting parts from monsters that you defeated was normal in games, but it felt a little grim in VR games. Don¡¯t worry. This is just a game. Nothing sad happened to an animal in real life. These eyeballs would surely help make me stronger¡­ ¡®Now, you will be warped out of the dungeon! Good work-nyon!¡¯ The first thing I did when I was outside of the cave was stretch my back and arms. While I had been bathed in plenty of sunlight during the boss fight, it had not been relaxing due to a certain lion staring at me. Now, there was only one trial left! It was time for the Virgo labyrinth! CH 100 Data.93 ¨C Old Bowman, Virgo Trial Before heading towards the Virgo trial, I checked to see what Eyes of the Lion King was for. Hmm. Apparently, it was an item that I could ¡®Use.¡¯ And so I selected ¡®Use.¡¯ ¡ªBeep! Your skill, Intimidating Eyes has evolved into ¡®Eyes of the Beast King.¡¯ Th-the skill evolved¡­!? So it wasn¡¯t like Bow Arts where the number at the end just went up. The name of the skill had changed! And this was the skill that the lion king had! I had to check the effect right away¡­! [Eyes of the Beast King.] Intimidate those who meet your eyes with the power of a lion, temporarily freezing their movement. It is more effective when activated while standing still. It is less effective the farther away you are from your opponent. While the effect was generally the same, it sure sounded more cool. Also, the part about being stronger while standing still was new. The king of the beasts was intimidating because he stayed still without moving around. It was great that I had acquired a superior version of a skill that could be used in mostly the same way. While it was not likely to work on dungeon bosses or anything stronger than me, I was grateful to have something that could stop weaker monsters, as I fought at a distance. And so I will continue to use it. Now that I thought about it, what would happen if I used it against a player? Did it work on players who had a lower level than you, but not on those who were higher? But as this wasn¡¯t a PvP event, there was no way for me to find out. Perhaps I should visit the Colosseum when I have time, as you could casually enjoy PvP over there. Now, I had finished checking it out. It was time to head to the final trial. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô There was no proper order to tackle the labyrinths. I had done the Aquarius trial first, but it would be the last for some. And this Virgo trial would have been the first trial for others. However, the setting for the Virgo trial, the Four Season Phantom Tree, certainly had the atmosphere of a ¡®final trial.¡¯ While the giant tree with branches stretching out in all directions looked very fantastical, what was growing on the branches was different on each side. One side had the cherry blossoms of Spring. One side had the green leaves of Summer. One side had the red leaves of Autumn that fell endlessly. And one side was covered in the white snow of Winter. So each side represented one of the seasons. You would never see such a sight as this in real life. I had come here once to find out if there were any combat elements, but was still impressed with it. After taking it in for several minutes, I finally felt like listening to what Charin had to say. Like I said before, I already heard about the trial¡­but it was quite complicated, and so I didn¡¯t remember everything. In order to check again, I would listen to Charin one more time. Here, Charin was dressed like a goddess. Pure white wings sprouted from her back, and she was wearing a light pink dress. No matter the trial, her golden hair was always the same, but it now cascaded in gentle waves. She was always pretty, but was even more so than usual now. Furthermore, she held a sword in her right hand and a stalk of wheat in her left. ¡®Welcome to the Virgo trial-nyon! This trial may seem complicated, but it¡¯s actually very simple-nyon! From here, all of you will go inside of the Four Seasons Phantom Tree! There are dungeons inside! And just like the outside, they are based on the four seasons-nyon!¡¯ So the last trial was a dungeon. That was better than ending on a mini game. ¡®As there are four, each dungeon is not very long-nyon! However, you will have to clear all four in order to acquire the medal-nyon! Each dungeon has its own boss. And you cannot leave unless you clear it or declare defeat! And then you will have to start again from the first dungeon-nyon!¡¯ So you couldn¡¯t clear one and then rest before tackling the next one. In order to acquire the medal, you had to go through and finish all four at once, and defeat four bosses. ¡®The requirements for the special reward are quite tough-nyon! Every boss drops a ¡®seasonal flower¡¯ upon dying. If you pick it up, then a flower will grow on your head-nyon! So if you defeat all four bosses and pick up the flowers, you will have four flowers-nyon! In order to receive the special rewards, you have to keep all those flowers blooming on your head and return to the central floor-nyon!¡¯ Blooming. That would suggest that after the flowers bloomed, they could die. As I suspected, Charin started to talk about how the flowers could be damaged. ¡®The seasonal flowers will die if attacked by the enemy-nyon! So the petals won¡¯t fall off if you shake your head or bash it against the wall-nyon! Furthermore, it will be able to withstand being grazed a little! However, it will die without mercy if the attack hits it directly-nyon! And there is no way to revive it, so be very careful when defeating the bosses-nyon!¡¯ That meant that players who wanted the special rewards would have to redo the dungeons if the flowers were damaged¡­ The dungeon entrance was a great door in the trunk of the tree. There was something very fantastical about a man-made door in a tree, which was the product of nature. The players were then swallowed up by the open door. I was one of them. And like that, the challenge of the Four Seasons Phantom Tree dungeon began. As it was a dungeon, players were separated in their own dungeons. The only one here with me was Garbow. I climbed the spiral staircase made with the roots of the tree, and then I reached the center floor that Charin had talked about. The floor was shaped like a circle, and there were four doors in each direction. The pink door for Spring, the green for Summer, the red for Autumn, and the white for Winter. I had to defeat the boss that was at the end of the dungeon so that a flower would bloom. Once I had all four, then I was to return to this floor. It was different from the dungeon where I would receive the medal as soon as I defeated the boss. Yes, this seemed like it would be very difficult¡­ My final trial. So, which season should I start with¡­! CH 101 You couldn¡¯t get a peek at what was on the other side of the door. ¡°Perhaps it would be best to not overthink it.¡± A flower would bloom on your head if you defeated a boss, and you had to protect it while fighting. Considering this, it would be most efficient to leave the easiest dungeon for the last. However, it was my first time here, so I didn¡¯t know which was easy and which was difficult. And so I just decided that for my first time, I would go in the order that they occur in nature. I opened the pink Spring door. What awaited me inside¡­was a blue sky, white clouds, and a field of young grass. There were lots of cherry blossom trees growing, and a warm breeze carried the petals in the wind. I see. This is why it was called a phantom tree. While the dungeon was inside of a tree, it felt like you were outside¡­ Well, that was the setting. As the dungeon was in its own dimension, it could look like anything. But usually the dungeon would look similar to its entrance, be it a cave or castle. So this one was certainly different, but it was impressive that there was a proper reason for it. NSO looked random a lot of the time, but once in a while, they put a lot of thought into it. I was cautious of my surroundings as I moved on ahead. While there were no enemies in sight¡­the field seemed quite strange? There were numerous trees around me that were lined up so that the field was separated into squares. And when I tried to go through the trees, I was stopped by an invisible wall. It reminded me of a roguelike where the dungeons were randomly generated. The ones where you moved through a map that was made up of square rooms and narrow passages. And so if I tried to leave the square field, I had to pass through a narrow passage that was barely wide enough for one person to pass through. Once I was through the passage, I came out into another square field. Yes¡­so it really was similar to a roguelike dungeon. The enemy monsters that appeared were trees that walked around on their roots. A Treant. The cherry blossoms on their heads were in full bloom, just like an afro. That was fine. While they looked quite bizarre, they were just like any other monster. What was different¡­was that if I didn¡¯t move, they wouldn¡¯t move. If I stood still, then the Treant would stand still as well. And if I took a step forward, so would the Treant. Then I started opening and closing my status window. And then the Treant suddenly rushed towards me at a frightening speed. In this dungeon, they used a turn based system. So if I took an action, the enemy would act to the same degree. Though, it wasn¡¯t strictly 1 action for 1 action. If I moved several times at once, the enemy would suddenly become faster. So perhaps it was more of a pseudo turn based system. Because of this, Garbow was a lot less active than usual. Normally, he would start wandering around if there were no enemies. But now he stayed behind me. This was more proof of how this place worked. If you wanted to clear this dungeon with ease, then you had to do it in fewer actions. Also, as the enemy didn¡¯t approach unless I moved, I just needed to defeat them while they were still far away. For instance¡­with a bow and long range. Kiririri¡­ Shu! Zhunk! The rules of this dungeon really suited my style! The scariest thing for someone who fights with ranged weapons is not realizing that someone has approached and being ambushed by them. However, that couldn¡¯t happen with these turned based rules. As long as I knew where the enemy was, I could take my time aiming and hitting them. Ah. If all dungeons and bosses were like this, I might be the strongest¡­ Or not. This was no time to fantasize about such things. Regardless, it was rare for the rules to be so much in my favor, and so I was sure that I would clear the dungeon with ease. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô In this dungeon, you used warp panels to move to other floors. They looked like over-designed manholes. And when you stepped on them, they teleported you to the next floor. And so I easily destroyed the monsters in my path and warped three times. Once I reached the 4th floor, I found an especially large manhole¡­I mean, warp panel. This¡­must mean that I had reached the boss. I had plenty of HP and MP left. And I was fully stocked with recovery items. And my charge attacks weren¡¯t in cooldown. Charin said there were 4 bosses, so each one shouldn¡¯t be too strong. Besides, if the same turn based system was used during the boss fight, then I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about warping and then being killed immediately. And so I stepped on the panel and warped to the boss floor. ¡°¡­Hmm?¡± I came out into a dark area. It wasn¡¯t pitch black like a cave, as there was a sky and a shining moon. And in the far back there was a large cherry blossom tree. It was illuminated by the moonlight¡­no, the tree itself had a pale glow to it. And under the cherry blossom tree, stood a solitary knight. He rode a white horse, had a bow in one hand and a crown on his head. His name was¡­White Rider. So it was one of the horsemen from Revelations. ¡°Letter Arrow!¡± ¡ô White Rider Attribute: Angel Skill: Conquest Arrow, White Apocalypse Description: One of the four horsemen from Revelations that appear at the end of the world. As the first horseman, the White Rider is the lord of ¡®conquest.¡¯ The arrow that robs opponents of their freedom and the agile white horse are a great threat. So a duel between archers¡­ What a coincidence. I suppose it¡¯s the Conquest Arrow that robs you of your freedom? But what does that mean, exactly? Does it stop your movement like the boss lion in the Leo labyrinth? Or¡­ ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Garbow cried. And then, he took the arrow that had been unleashed in my direction. Damn it. I had been concentrating too much on the enemy information. Still, the turn based system was in effect, and there was no follow up arrow from the White Rider. In that case, I could have Garbow fight in the front, while I would attack the boss from the back. It¡¯s worked for us many times. Arrows were a physical attack, so it shouldn¡¯t hurt Garbow too much¡­ ¡°¡­Garbow?¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Garbow started squawking at me. Damn it¡­ Garbow was right in front of me. If I attacked the White Rider now, then it would be Garbow¡¯s turn, and he might hit me with a charge attack. And I would die. Even if he returned to normal after being damaged, Garbow was much stronger when it came to fighting in close quarters. I would likely die immediately. In that case, there was only one thing to do¡­! ¡°Meteor Bow!¡± Garbow was taken apart and combined with my bow. Alright! Now I could use a combination charge attack! I didn¡¯t open my status to see if I could use it, so it was based on luck. But it seemed that the goddess of victory had smiled down on me. The White Rider was swallowed up by the meteor-like arrow. It was just one of four bosses, and should be set to be quite easy¡­and yet I had used it. I had not expected to use my trump card on the first dungeon. I suppose the last trial was always going to be the hard one. It would be boring if it wasn¡¯t¡­ I thought, and then chuckled. It seemed like I couldn¡¯t make up my mind if I wanted it to be easy or difficult. Well, I was being sincere either way. I picked up the cherry blossom that the White Rider dropped and then a big flower bloomed on my head. It looked more like a hair ornament that was designed to resemble a flower than an actual flower growing there. Not really something that suited an old man¡­ Or, maybe it wasn¡¯t that bad¡­? Well, in any case. Now there was Summer, Autumn and Winter left. Like I had already decided, I would tackle them in the proper order. So it was off to the Summer dungeon! CH 102 Data.95 ¨C Old Bowman, Season of Scorching Heat I went through the dungeon, defeated the boss, and had a flower bloom on my head. So, how do I get back¡­ As I wondered this, a warp circle appeared in the center of the boss floor. Management was merciful, and so you could return in a second. And so I stepped on the warp panel gratefully, and returned to the central floor. Next was the green Summer door. But there was one problem. As I had used the combination charge attack, Garbow was currently in cool down. While I should be fine in the dungeon even if I was alone, I was a little worried about facing a boss without Garbow. The Spring dungeon¡¯s boss was one of the four horsemen from Revelations, so it would make sense for the other three to be the same as well. Like war, famine, and death. In terms of combat ability, they sounded like they would be stronger. Not only that, but I had to protect the flower on my head, which would make Garbow even more important as an advance guard. That being said, I didn¡¯t like the idea of waiting on the central floor for a full hour either¡­ 1 hour was nothing when you were absorbed in a game, but 1 hour of doing nothing was painful. It would be reckless to take on the boss without Garbow. But I couldn¡¯t wait an hour. Then, maybe I should just tackle the dungeon first? I would still be relatively safe, and didn¡¯t have to waste time. As this was similar to a roguelike, the paths were mapped automatically. If I mapped out the routes to each boss room, then I could smoothly take on the bosses once Garbow returned. This seemed like a brilliant idea! I had planned to clear them in the proper order, but something unexpected had happened. However, being able to adapt to different situations was the mature way to play games. Though, I didn¡¯t really like when that was expected of me at work. I wasn¡¯t always able to adapt to surprises¡­ Ah, but I was doing pretty well in this game so far, and it has been full of surprises. NSO was strengthening me in a way. It was with such thoughts that I opened the Summer door. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°Ah, it¡¯s hot¡­¡± It was the Summer dungeon, after all¡­ It reminded me of that summer day¡­ No, I have honestly never experienced a day that was this hot¡­ Even if it is VR, I would rather avoid unrealistic experiences in this vein. However, realizing that the sweat wasn¡¯t real made it less uncomfortable. On the other hand, there was one thing here that I couldn¡¯t stand, even though I knew that I was just in a game¡­ Miiiin-min-min-miiin! Miiin-min-min-miiin! The sound of the cicadas was so loud! In the first place, I hated the bugs due to how disgusting they looked. But they became unbearable when you added all the noise. And I had a feeling that they weren¡¯t even this loud in real life. I didn¡¯t know what it was like in the past, but these days, they are also able to control the number of bugs through technology. Leaving that aside, the concept for this dungeon seemed to be an exaggerated summer. Now that I think about it, there had been an excessive amount of cherry blossom petals in the previous one, which made it like an exaggerated spring. However, more petals than usual was just pretty. It didn¡¯t bother me. Well, it would suck for whoever had to clean it up in real life, but it was nothing but a picturesque scene within a game. But this exaggerated summer meant blistering heat, loud cicadas, and¡­giant bug monsters! ¡°Ca-calm down¡­! They won¡¯t come to you as long as you move slowly¡­!¡± I wouldn¡¯t have minded rhinoceros beetles and the like. But these monsters were based on bees and centipedes¡­! While their designs were stylized, the instinctive fears were still awakened¡­! I had to search for enemies with every step. And eliminate them on sight. Search and destroy¡­! But the bug monsters were quick. It seemed like they had 2 actions while I only had 1. And there were so many of them. If I didn¡¯t deal with them quickly, I would get surrounded. I didn¡¯t want to think about getting killed in a swarm of bugs¡­! In any case, I couldn¡¯t move without thinking. One step, one step, attack, attack, one step, one step, warp panel¡­ To be honest, the enemies were actually quite weak. Most of them would go down in one hit if I used an arrow skill. However, I just really hated bugs. And Garbow, who usually fought in the front or protected my back, wasn¡¯t here. And then there was a flower on my head that I had to protect¡­ All of these elements were making me more nervous. Especially the flower on my head. Normally, I never wore anything on top of it. And that little discomfort was surprisingly big in terms of wrecking my focus. Having to protect meant that I was always on edge. I had almost never been hit in the head during my adventures up until now, so I only needed to carry on as I always did. But the added pressure made me overthink it. Thanks to this, by the time I found the warp panel for the boss floor, a lot of time had passed. Twenty, thirty minutes¡­ No, it might have been closer to forty minutes. I opened my status window to see how much longer Garbow¡¯s cooldown would last. ¡­I could summon him already. In other words, it had taken over one hour to finish this short dungeon¡­! I would never forgive those damned bug monsters¡­! Still, while it had taken a long time, the sense of relief at having gotten through safely was still stronger. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go, Garbow.¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± I summoned him again and then warped to the boss floor. It was a grassy field where the even sun shone down with fiery red light. The heat wasn¡¯t so bad here, and there was even a cool breeze. The cicadas were still loud, but there was something melancholic about a summer evening. And in the far back, there was a tree with vibrant green leaves. Below it, was a knight astride a red horse. And he was carrying a greatsword. The Red Rider¡­ So he was one of the four horsemen after all. I felt a mixture of awe and fear. But it was still easier for me to fight someone like this than those bugs. Those things could damage you mentally by just existing¡­! ¡°Letter Arrow!¡± ¡ô Red Rider Attribute: Angel/Fire Skill: War Flame Sword, Red Apocalypse Description: One of the four horsemen from Revelations that appear at the end of the world. As the second horseman, the Red Rider is the lord of ¡®war.¡¯ The great sword that has the power of fire boasts tremendous force and range in its attacks. I just glanced through it while preparing for the enemy¡¯s attack. I would not make the same mistake as last time. I would use a skill to cancel out its attack! The Red Rider swung its great sword through the air. A blade of fire stretched out from it and flew towards us. ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Garbow activated Holy Splash. The holy water extinguished the fire blade. Wide area attacks seemed like they would be difficult to deal with, but they were actually more manageable than high power attacks that were focused on a single spot. You just need to erase them where you were standing. ¡°Trident Sky Tear!¡± I had been using Burning Arrow a lot, but since it had the fire attribute, I decided to combine Trident Arrow, which I acquired at sea, and Sky Tear. The highspeed arrow shot through the Red Rider¡¯s head, but it was not enough to take it down. The Red Rider started its next attack. He created a giant ball of fire and threw it at us. Was this Red Apocalypse? I had a feeling that something insane would happen if it exploded¡­! ¡°Garbow! Use Ocean Sphere!¡± A ball of water for a ball of fire! The fire ball hit Garbow, who was enveloped by the sphere of sea water. The water began to fizzle loudly as they collided. However, it was Garbow who won in the end. ¡°Red Meteor!¡± The Red Knight was illuminated by a red setting sun as the red meteor rushed down. So much red was bad for the eyes. However, I kept mine open and continued to attack. ¡°Meteor¡­¡± Ah, no, no¡­! I had gotten so carried away that I was about to use a meteor charge attack combo. But I couldn¡¯t allow Garbow to enter cooldown once again! ¡°Trident Arrow Storm!¡± A trident arrow that was enveloped in a sea-like aura slammed into the red knight. The Red Knight was a lot tougher than the White Rider, but even he could not withstand a chain of charge attacks. And so he disappeared into light. And in his place appeared a seasonal flower. A sun flower. I picked it up and a second flower bloomed on top of my head. I must look really stupid now. While I thought that maybe one flower wasn¡¯t too bad, it would be very embarrassing to appear in front of other people with two flowers popping out of your head. It was a good thing that this was a solo mission. Now, it was just the Autumn and Winter dungeons. I was getting very close to acquiring the Virgo medal! CH 103 Data.96 ¨C Old Bowman, Golden Season The Autumn Dungeon was next. What waited for me beyond the red door were trees with red leaves and pampas grass swaying in the wind, as well as a light blue sky with scale-like clouds. It was completely different from the Summer dungeon. A comfortable temperature that was not hot or cold. The only bugs I could see were a few dragonflies. Most of the monsters here were based on edible plants, such as mushrooms, potatoes and chestnuts. Perhaps they were depicting seasonal foods. Aside from that, there wasn¡¯t anything notable about the dungeon. The attacks were typical and there were no gimmicks. I was just walking through a comfortable climate. It was like I was having a picnic. Not only that, but my luck with the map seemed to be strong. I just walked a little after warping and then found the next warp panel. Thanks to this, I was able to warp to the boss floor without any trouble at all. Surely this wasn¡¯t done on purpose, as a way of expressing how comfortable the autumn season was? ¡­I was probably overthinking it. Well, for me personally, the Autumn dungeon was the easiest one so far. Had I known what it would be like beforehand, I would have saved it for last. And then it would be easy to protect the flowers on my head. No. I should wait for the final boss before jumping to such conclusions. It was entirely possible that the boss alone would be ridiculously hard. I then warped to¡­a path between rice fields in the countryside. All around me stretch rice paddies that had been harvested. And in the far back, I could see a tree that had shed all of its leaves. And underneath it stood one of the horsemen from Revelations. The Black Rider. He was on a black horse and held a scale¡­ In other words, Famine. However, there was no hunger status in this game. In roguelikes, you sometimes need to eat in order to avoid hunger. It could be a matter of life and death. But NSO was a MMORPG that focused on combat. While there were edible items, they were for recovery. It felt like you were ¡®using¡¯ them more than ¡®eating¡¯ them. The previous two had skills that were easy to understand, but I had no idea how this one would fight¡­ ¡°Letter Arrow!¡± ¡ôBlack Rider Attribute: Angel Skill: Famine Plague, Black Apocalypse Description: One of the four horsemen from Revelations that appear at the end of the world. As the third horseman, the Black Rider is the lord of ¡®famine.¡¯ He controls a horde of locusts that eat everything, and is good with attacks and debuffs. Famine, plague, locusts, food shortage, disaster, and empty fields¡­ The various words were like a warning. Something terrible would happen the longer this enemy was left alive¡­! ¡°Garbow! Red Meteor! Missile Pod! Straight Darts! Red Flash! Holy Splash!¡± I made him use all of the powerful charge attacks skills. The Black Rider raised the scale into the air. And then a foggy, black aura burst out from the ground. Well, it would have been fine if it was just an aura. But going by the skill and description, they had to be bugs! I really wished that they would stop attacking me in this way¡­! I¡¯m not some comedian who constantly has to face something they hate at every filming location¡­! Besides, I¡¯m all alone, so no one can even enjoy my reaction¡­! ¡°Multi-Burning Arrow! Burning Arrow Storm! Exploding Sky Tear! I¡¯m Burning Arrow!¡± I used a chain of Burning Arrow fusion charge attacks and skills, as they seemed like they would be the most effective. I even used I¡¯m Arrow. However, as I hadn¡¯t decided on which to focus on, the Black Rider or the horde of locusts, the attacks were scattered. Resulting in the worst outcome. They were both fine¡­ And so I used Warp Arrow to fall back as if fleeing. What could I do now¡­ ¡°Ah, Windcloud Blast!¡± Windcloud Blast created a strong wind in the direction that you chose. My opponent seemed to understand this as well, and so he switched his attack method. This time, he threw a black ball of energy at me. So this was Black Apocalypse then. According to the description from Letter Arrow, this would weaken my status if I was hit by it. ¡°Windcloud Blast! Whirlwind! Floating Cloud Herd!¡± I used Whirlwind to become lighter and then used the Windguard Hakama to rise up into the air. Then I hopped around on the nine clouds made by Floating Cloud Herd and dodged the enemy¡¯s attacks while unleashing my own. The bugs could not fly this high. Wind and height¡­ With these two countermeasures, I was no longer afraid. I continued to dodge the bullets of black energy while meting out my own attacks until the Black Rider fell. The horde of fog-like locusts also disappeared, and I let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps I was overreacting to the bugs. But I couldn¡¯t help but hate them. I¡¯m sure that I will continue to fight desperately in the future¡­! As for the flower that the Black Rider dropped¡­ It was a red leaf. A red maple leaf, to be exact. ¡­It¡¯s not even a flower. It was indeed something that made you think of autumn, but it wasn¡¯t a flower. Well, compared to cherry blossoms and sunflowers, there wasn¡¯t a flower that really made you think of autumn. Red spider lilies and cosmos¡­people would have different opinions on that. But for me, all it meant was that I had another weakness on my head. As long as it wasn¡¯t huge or heavy, it didn¡¯t matter if it was a flower or a leaf. Though, there was something a little sad about a dead leaf on an old man¡¯s head¡­ But I decided not to think about it. A warp panel appeared now that the boss was defeated, and I stepped onto it in order to return to the central floor. I now had three flowers on my head¡­ One of them wasn¡¯t a flower, but it was easier to call it that. I had to protect them and clear the final dungeon. And if I could return to this floor, I would get the Virgo medal and the special reward. And that would mean I had finished all twelve of the zodiac labyrinths that made up this event. The only thing left would be to go to the Serpent Palace that floated above the first town¡­ I was starting to feel nervous. At first, twelve trials had seemed like a lot. But now it felt like it was over all too quickly¡­ Well, maybe not that quickly. But it did feel pretty short. Though, I did know that it was because I had been going through them at a quick pace. I couldn¡¯t help myself. I was having that much fun. Wait, it was too early to talk like it was all over. I still had a trial left. For most plants, winter was a season of death. Perhaps there would be something there that would cause my head plants to wilt. ¡°I can¡¯t let my guard down¡­!¡± I muttered to myself. And then I opened the white Winter door. CH 104 Data.97 ¨C Old Bowman, Season of Silence ¡°¡­It¡¯s cold!¡± I shouted as soon as I stepped foot into the Winter dungeon. While I had been expecting it, being exposed to the cold wind so suddenly, caused me to shout out in alarm. The wind against my face felt especially icy¡­ The structure of the dungeon was generally the same as the others, but while the walls had been made of trees up until now, they were made of snow here. I suppose it would look ridiculous if you couldn¡¯t walk through trees that had shed all of their leaves. But there was a feeling of oppression with the densely packed snow. And my face was so cold¡­ And my fingers¡­ Why was it just those parts that were so cold¡­? It was simple. Because those were the parts not covered in armor. Around my neck, I had the Windstream Scarf. The Windcloud Haori was specialised for protection, and so it was thick and warm. And the Windguard Hakama was made of windproof material. After all, this gear was supposed to spread out like a parachute as wind blew from below, allowing you to rise into the air. The Cloudcrossing Tabi were filled with wool, which kept my feet warm, even when I walked over the packed snow. They were called the Windcloud set for a reason, and were stronger than any cold wind. However, my hands were equipped with the Cloudbore Archery Gloves, which needed to have the fingers exposed for the precise work of drawing a bow. So it could not be helped¡­was what I would say, were it not for the fact that numb fingers would make shooting arrows even more difficult. And so I decided to pull ¡®that¡¯ out again. ¡°I¡¯ll change to ¡®Fists of the Forest Sage¡¯¡­¡± These gorilla fists had been with me for a long time. They were thick enough to protect me against the cold, and my fingers could still move with accuracy even though they were thicker. I would rely on them for the Winter dungeon. Now that I had my gear sorted out, it was time to go. My face was still exposed, but I had no goggles or caps to wear. This was one thing that really couldn¡¯t be helped¡­ The map was still that of a roguelike, but there were several ¡®snow huts¡¯ scattered around as obstacles. But why snow huts? Because while they looked like snow huts, the insides weren¡¯t hallowed out. So you couldn¡¯t go inside. They were just in the way. On top of that, they were very big, and would block my arrows. As it was winter, there were no bug enemies. Instead, there were carnivorous monsters like wolves and bears, that you would expect to see in northern lands. In terms of pure combat ability, they were definitely more of a threat than the bugs. There weren¡¯t many of them, but they were tough and powerful. And they weren¡¯t slow either. So just like any other enemy for me, I could not allow them to get close. Still, these snow huts really did get in the way¡­ There was even a bear that was hiding behind one. That really caused me to panic¡­ Let me see if I can break them. ¡°Burning Arrow!¡± The explosion caused the distant snow hut to collapse, and a bear appeared from within. It was larger than the other bears in the map, and its eyes were glowing red. On top of that, there was a dark red aura around it. This¡­ It wasn¡¯t just a bear monster. It was a bear monster that was furious at having its hibernation interrupted. It was like when developers slightly changed the abilities and color schemes of a character in fighting games. Well, I had a feeling the change in abilities were a little more than slight here¡­ GUOOOOOOO!!! I unleashed an arrow at the angry bear. It was tough¡­ Its defense ability had been raised considerably. Not only that, but it started to destroy other snow huts as it approached me. Thanks to this, the number of angry bears who had their slumber disturbed began to increase. On the other hand, fewer obstacles meant that it was easier to shoot my arrows. So it wasn¡¯t really a problem¡­! ¡°Burning Arrow!¡± ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°Haa¡­ha¡­ Finally¡­¡± I found the warp panel to the boss floor. Those bears were worse than I thought! Especially since the snow hut debris that flew towards me would deal damage¡­ I was shocked when some of it scraped the side of my head and my HP went down. Thankfully, it didn¡¯t hit the flowers. But it was a close call¡­ And so I wanted to hurry up and clear the dungeon before I got attacked by more bears. The last battlefield of the four seasons dungeons was a white field. It really was just white as far as the eyes could see. And in the middle of it was one frozen tree. It was sparkling under the sunlight. Just like a white flower. I had never seen a tree covered in ice like this before. And underneath, stood the last of the four horsemen from Revelations. The most famous, Pale Rider. The one who rode a pale horse and was followed by Hades¡­ There was one obvious attack I could think of¡­ Instant Death. And so I would have to be even more careful than usual against this knight who was lord over ¡®death.¡¯ ¡°Letter Arrow!¡± Just as always, I used Letter Arrow. If you know your enemy and know yourself, in a hundred battles you will never be defeated. But I¡¯ve fought well over a hundred battles. So perhaps the odds weren¡¯t that much in my favor anymore¡­! ¡ô Pale Rider Attribute: Angel Skill: Shadow of Death, Pale Apocalypse Description: One of the four horsemen from Revelations that appear at the end of the world. As the fourth horseman, the Pale Rider is the lord of ¡®death.¡¯ He is accompanied by a shadow that causes instant death if you touch it, and he swings a great scythe that harvests lives. So it was instant death after all¡­ But there was no need to panic. In every game, you can¡¯t become the strongest with such skills! There are many restrictions and they are difficult to use. At least¡­for the player. But they often seemed unfair when bosses used them. So maybe I should panic a little¡­ In any case, I should keep my distance¡­ It was as I thought such things that the Pale Rider activated his skill. A black shadow appeared right next to him. It looked like a human, a beast, an angel and also a devil. ¡°Hades¡­brings forth death¡­¡± The Pale Rider talked! I guess they had to give you a heads up about the instant death thing. A lot of players didn¡¯t have probing skills like I did. Now, apparently I would die instantly if I touched the Shadow of Death. But my attacks should still be effective, I think. After all, it would leave those in the advance guard in a terrible position. My guess was that it didn¡¯t count if you touched it with weapons or attack skills. Surely it should have a weakness where it would stop moving after you¡¯ve inflicted a certain amount of damage. Because you would die if you missed. ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t apply to me, because I can attack at a distance¡­!¡± And so I used Warp Arrow to escape to the edge of the battle area. I also had Garbow activate Ocean Sphere and quickly move away from the Pale Rider and the Shadow of Death. There would be no close quarters combat today. While the shadow was slow, I thought it would be cruel to demand that Garbow attack it while also running away. Unison AIs were not that skilled. Now that I was far away, it was time to shoot! The black shadow really stuck out on top of the white snow. So I never lost sight of it. As for the Pale Rider¡­it didn¡¯t move? I see. It was the boss and so it wouldn¡¯t make sense if it charged ahead of the Shadow of Death. And the players would want to separate the dangerous shadows from the boss. In my case, I was glad that it didn¡¯t charge at me. Because I could calmly shoot it like I was doing now! ¡°Burning Arrow Storm!¡± I was targeting the Pale Rider. I didn¡¯t know for sure, but my instincts were telling me that while you could slow it down, the Shadow of Death was a skill that couldn¡¯t be erased completely. And so I was better off attacking the main body¡­! The Pale Rider twirled the great scythe and blocked the arrows. At the same time, pale bullets of energy shot out from its body and knocked the arrows out of the air. It was surprisingly dexterous¡­ But It shouldn¡¯t be able to block all of them. The exploding arrows chipped away at the Pale Rider¡¯s HP. ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± It was Garbow¡¯s cry of hostility. But the Pale Rider was far away and not within range of Garbow¡¯s attacks. As survival was the main priority this time, I had kept him close by. Garbow wasn¡¯t supposed to cry if he couldn¡¯t attack¡­ ¡°Hmm¡­?¡± The Shadow of Death was a lot closer than I had thought. So it¡­grew faster as time passed. If I took too long, it would start chasing me around with swift instant kill attacks. Should I have Garbow attack it? No, I had a better idea¡­! ¡°Change weapon! Spider Shooter Cloud!¡± My other main bow, Spider Shooter Cloud, might be able to slow it down with Web Cloud Arrow. I shot the sticky web at both the Shadow of Death and the Pale Rider. And then I learned something. Web Cloud Arrow was also durable against slash attacks. The Pale Rider swung its scythe in order to cut through the descending webs, but it was unable to. Instead, its arm just became more tangled. Now it could no longer stylishly swing its great scythe. The Shadow of Death also tried to tear through it with its claws, but failed and fell over. But it continued to flail around, which caused snow to stick to it so that it became like a snowball. Apparently, cloud spider webs were very effective against the rider of death and death itself. Very good, Web Cloud Arrow! It was easy to take down an enemy when their movement was restricted. And so the Pale Rider was destroyed shortly after, and it disappeared into light. At the same time, the snowball¡­the Shadow of Death, also disappeared. The seasonal flower then appeared as if to take their place. It was a ¡®snowflake.¡¯ So they weren¡¯t even using plants now. Well, some people did call snowflakes ¡®snow flowers,¡¯ so it wasn¡¯t really surprising. Now I had four flowers blooming on my head. It was the completion of an old man who looked rather extreme! I got onto the warp panel enthusiastically and returned to the central floor. There, Charin was already waiting for me. ¡®The time has come¡­nyon.¡¯ She said softly. CH 105 Data.98 ¨C Old Bowman, Through the Labyrinth I fell into a defensive stance. Charin seemed different from usual. Surely, there wasn¡¯t going to be a preliminary fight right here¡­? ¡®D-don¡¯t be so afraid-nyon! I just thought that I would act a little differently towards players who have finished all of the trials-nyon!¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s a relief.¡± If we fought in the central floor that was even smaller than the boss floors, then my defeat would be guaranteed. Charin coughed once and then returned to her normal voice. ¡®Well then. First, I will give you the Virgo medal-nyon!¡¯ And so I accepted the final medal. The constellation was depicted with gems on the front. And in the back was the maiden. She was more beautiful than cute, and there was a noble air about her. Now I have all 12 of the constellation medals! The only thing left to do was to fight the AI girl in front of me¡­ But I didn¡¯t feel too excited about it. While Charin was a high power artificial intelligence that was created through futuristic technology, the more I interacted with her, the more she started to seem like an average girl who was trying to be taken seriously. It was only a short while ago where I felt very enthusiastic about fighting. But now that I could fight at any time, I felt hesitant. I was that kind of hopeless old man. Besides, Charin was very pretty. Most of the monsters I had fought had looked quite scary. I didn¡¯t know how serious I could be. Shooting a monster through the head was different from shooting a girl in the head¡­ Ah, but I had been doing plenty of that during the battle royale and the turf war. Once you were actually thrown into a battlefield, age and gender didn¡¯t mean anything. You just had to fight and give it your all. I would not fight in a way that was half-hearted. ¡®Have you solved your little dilemma?¡¯ ¡°Ah, so you knew?¡± ¡®It was written all over your face-nyon! You were conflicted about fighting me!¡¯ It was that obvious, huh¡­ Was my face always so readable? But my goal was to be cool and have a poker face¡­ ¡®Well, I can understand how you feel-nyon! It¡¯s only natural that you wouldn¡¯t want to attack a tremendously popular and beautiful AI idol. But don¡¯t worry-nyon. Once the fight starts, your head will be filled with thoughts like, ¡®how am I going to beat her?¡¯¡¯ ¡°Ahaha¡­ I hope you go easy on me then.¡¯ ¡®Unfortunately, I cannot do that, as things must be fair. So you better brace yourself. I suggest you use the special prize to strengthen yourself as much as possible before the fight-nyon.¡¯ The special reward was a metal fragment called ¡®Blade of Judgement.¡¯ It looked like the blade of a knife or short sword after being broken. Now that I thought about it, there were other materials that had ¡®judgement¡¯ in their name¡­ It was the ¡®Judgement Lightning¡¯ from the Lupus trial and the ¡®Wings of Judgement¡¯ from the Libra trial¡­ Even veteran craftsman Yu had not known what they were used for. But now that I have three of them, perhaps they could create some new items. I should visit the workshop once before taking on the final battle. ¡®Now, now! I will explain the rules of the final battle-nyon!¡¯ ¡°Huh? Here?¡± ¡®Of course-nyon! It¡¯s a secret that only those who gather all of the medals can hear, so it¡¯s best to tell you here, where there is no one else around-nyon! Well, I¡¯m sure the information has already spread online¡­ But rules are rules-nyon!¡¯ ¡°So, there are other players who¡¯ve already fought you?¡± ¡®Of course, there are-nyon! The speed at which content is created and then consumed by professional gamers in this great age of VR is astonishing-nyon! Everyone is desperate to get attention-nyon!¡¯ Well, that made sense. While I played every day from morning, with short breaks, I still stopped at night. I wasn¡¯t like those people that played through the night. Staying up all night was a little too severe for me¡­ Maybe when I was younger¡­ It would only make me play worse, so I wasn¡¯t going to sacrifice my sleep. ¡®Still, as for how many have finished it¡­ I could count them on one hand-nyon.¡¯ ¡°Huh? Really? Do you mean parties or players?¡± ¡®Players-nyon.¡¯ Charin had five fingers on one hand. Being an AI didn¡¯t mean having more fingers. As a party could have up to 4 players, only about 1 party had cleared it¡­ There may be a small party or solo players who did it too, but I¡¯m sure it was a lot more difficult than the other 12 trials. ¡®In fact, adjustments will likely be made depending on how many people are able to clear it early on. So it¡¯s the highest difficulty right now! A difficulty suited for the real professionals of this great VR age-nyon! Difficult games get a lot of people talking, and the players who finish it will be talked about as well. So it benefits us both-nyon.¡¯ The ¡®real¡¯ professionals, huh¡­ That sure sounded cool. I wanted to be one of them as well. It was only a moment ago that I wasn¡¯t feeling very excited about fighting Charin, but now I can¡¯t wait for it. The heart of an old man changes just like the heart of a maiden, or the mountain weather. ¡®Yes, yes! Those are the determined eyes that I wanted to see-nyon! Everyone looks like that when they become absorbed in a game-nyon! Whether you¡¯re a young child or an elderly person, girls and boys, everyone is the same-nyon!¡¯ Apparently, it showed on my face again. However, I agreed with what Charin said. Regardless of what was happening in real life, everyone seemed the same when they were enjoying a game. ¡®Cough. It¡¯s time to get back on track-nyon. The final battle will take place in the Serpent Palace that is floating above the first town! A path will open up for the players who have collected all 12 medals-nyon! As for how it will open, that¡¯s a surprise! But beware, you must stand right underneath for it to open-nyon!¡¯ ¡°Right underneath¡­ In other words, you have to be in the center of the town in order to enter the Serpent Palace?¡± ¡®Exactly-nyon!¡¯ That was likely to draw a lot of attention¡­ There were a lot of people in that town, so it would cause a scene if I appeared at the stage for the final battle. The idea of having to see their faces if I come back after losing. But I suppose it was the price of fame. It could not be helped. ¡®The requirement for victory is defeating me! You will fail as soon as your whole party is destroyed-nyon! You will still receive a prize if you die, but someone in your party survives and wins! But it is a surprise! That information has yet to have been leaked! These professionals are different. They don¡¯t tell secrets-nyon!¡¯ ¡°The rules are a lot simpler than the other trials¡­ Ah, so there aren¡¯t limitations to how many times you can try?¡± ¡®Exactly-nyon! You can challenge me as many times as you want, and lose as many times as you want! But there is still a penalty for dying, so be careful! Depending on the situation, your equipment might be ruined as well¡­ But don¡¯t blame me-nyon!¡¯ So the penalties and repairing of equipment were essentially like a cooldown. ¡®Also, there are other rules. Aside from what you¡¯re wearing, you can take up to 10 types of items with you, and have 10 of every type of item-nyon! I call it the baggage restriction-nyon!¡¯ ¡°Baggage restriction¡­?¡± ¡®Before challenging me, you can set 10 types of items specifically for the fight-nyon! For instance, you are currently using two different bows depending on what the situation calls for, but if you want to continue to do that in the fight against me, you have to put the other bow in the set-nyon! Equipment that isn¡¯t in the set will not be equippable even if it¡¯s in your item box-nyon!¡¯ So I had to decide in advance what items to use in the fight. Since anything that was already equipped didn¡¯t count, I could leave the Windcloud set as it is. The only other things I might use were the Spider Shooter Cloud and the Fists of the Forest Sage. The remaining 8 slots could be filled with recovery items. As you could only take 10 of every type of item, that meant I was also quite restricted¡­ But there were healing items that had different names, so I would have to see how many I could fit in. ¡®Hehe. I see that you¡¯re already making preparations in your head. As for anything else you should know of¡­I suppose the Unisons-nyon. You can use them as they are considered a party member-nyon!¡¯ So Garbo will lend me a hand then. That was big¡­! ¡®Hmm, I guess that¡¯s it? The item restriction is the only different rule. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll figure it out, since you overcame all of the other trials-nyon! Now, I¡¯ll be waiting for you in the Serpent Palace-nyon! Bye-bye!¡¯ Charin disappeared and I was warped out of the dungeon. It was night outside, and the Four Seasons Phantom Tree was lit up. I would have just stood there and stared at it in awe¡­if I were the version of me who hadn¡¯t finished all of the trials yet. Now, I had to go to the workshop in the sky. I just didn¡¯t feel like logging off yet¡­! CH 106 Data.99 ¨C Old Bowman, Night Before the Final Battle ¡®Judgement Lightning,¡¯ ¡®Wings of Judgement,¡¯ and ¡®Blade of Judgement¡¯¡­ Just as I suspected, the way to use these three items was to combine them. Once I learned this at Yu¡¯s workshop, I quickly requested that he do it. It would take 24 hours to complete. In other words, the items that would be created would be just as rare as the Windcloud set. However¡­I still didn¡¯t know what it would be used for. The item wasn¡¯t equipment, and there was no description of how to use it. Was it something that allowed you to learn a skill, or a material that would evolve your equipment. Or something else¡­ What I did know was that it wasn¡¯t a recovery item. Such items always told you what kind of effect they had. For instance, like the ¡®Aura Jerky¡¯ I had just received at the workshop. It was an odd health recovery item that had been made through combining the special reward from the Taurus trial, the Aura Beef, with some herb-type materials. ¡ô Aura Jerky. HP will recover slowly every second for 3 minutes. Can use the item again after 5 minutes. In other words, it added a HP regen effect to the player. Not only that, but it could be used repeatedly. Kind of like how beef jerky could be chewed many times and still be tasty. If it worked for 3 minutes and could be used every 5 minutes, that meant that it would only not be in effect for 2 minutes. I didn¡¯t know how much it actually healed you yet, but it seemed like it would allow me a broader range of strategies in battle? If I used the Aura Jerky in such cases, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about minimal damage for at least 3 minutes. It wasn¡¯t a huge upgrade, but did solve one small problem. However, it also took a long time to complete. Perhaps because it was dried meat, it took even longer than rare equipment. I suppose it was during times like these where you were supposed to use the Peaches of Immortality. However, I couldn¡¯t say that I wanted the Aura Jerky so bad that I cared about how long it took¡­ Anyway, I have finished my business here, so I should log out¡­ Is what I thought, but then decided to check out the first town. I wanted to see the area right underneath the Serpent Palace that was floating in the sky. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô Traveling between towns was instantaneous, thanks to fast travel. Still, the town really was crowded. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was because there were more new players recently, or it was just a popular spot, but it was great to see that it was so lively. In any case, I would use the less crowded back alleys and head towards the Serpent Palace. I was scouting today, and did not want to stick out. And so I weaved through the narrow and hidden streets. The town was brimming with details, and there were many streets that players could walk through. A lot of them would be easily missed if you were just playing normally. But I was rather good at finding such things. As I continued on my way, I got a good grasp on the general location of the Serpent Palace. ¡°There are so many people¡­¡± The plaza had been modified to suit the event, and there were now large windows facing outwards from all sides of the fountain. As for what was being displayed there¡­it was a battle! Someone was fighting someone¡­ But once my mind registered this, the screen went blank. And then something shot down from the Serpent Palace like a meteor. There were four of them¡­ ¡°T-that¡¯s a player¡­!¡± Players who were damaged in both body and equipment were falling from the battle stage¡­! And one of them looked familiar! ¡°Buckler¡­!¡± He was perhaps the strongest of the players that I knew, and yet he and his party were unable to beat Charin!? He was part of a famous guild called the Straight Knights, and so his comrades would not have been weak¡­ ¡°Tsk! That girl¡­ She¡¯s really done it now!¡± Buckler got to his feet and looked up at the Serpent Palace with a laugh. Not because he was confident, but because there was nothing he could do but laugh. As for his other party members, they just lay on the ground with their arms and legs spread out and did not get up. Even I could hardly believe what I was seeing. I had assumed that they would be among the handful of players that had cleared it. ¡°Is that you¡­ Archer Kyuji?¡± Buckler¡¯s eyes widened. I had thought that I was hidden in the crowd, but he still found me¡­ And since he was pointing, I had no choice but to go out¡­ ¡°It¡¯s been awhile. I think it was during the Taurus trial.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ I didn¡¯t think that our next meeting would be while I was thoroughly embarrassing myself! Hahaha!¡± Buckler laughed. He wasn¡¯t as intimidating as before. As I wondered what to say to him, he spoke first. And it was something very important. ¡°Kyuji! This is not someone you can beat solo! Not this time!¡± ¡°It¡­looks like it.¡± ¡°Ah, so you¡¯re a 3rd now¡­ Well, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve been one for a while. However, that is like the minimum requirement! If you¡¯re a top player!¡± Being a special 3rd was the standard. A top player would be expected to go even higher¡­ Apparently, this battle was a lot more harsh than I had thought. Was I delusional then¡­? I wanted to find out. Of course, I understood the situation. 4 players who were special 3rds and had more experience than me, had worked together and still lost. So there was no way that Garbo and I could win. But I still wanted to challenge her! I wanted to know how far I could go with my own style! ¡°¡­Hahaha! Perhaps I shouldn¡¯t be giving you advice, seeing as you beat me! Well, forget what I said then! Do whatever you want as long as you follow the rules! That¡¯s how you enjoy a game!¡± ¡°Buckler¡­ Thanks. I¡¯ll remember that.¡± ¡°Heh. But I told you to forget it¡­ Ah, well! When you do fight, thrust both of your hands up towards the sky!¡± And so I did as he said. And just like that, the 12 medals flew out of my item box and began to spin around me. Then my body floated up and started ascending rapidly towards the Serpent Palace. Like a meteor shooting through the sky. This was supposed to be the night before the battle. My items at the workshop weren¡¯t even complete. However, it was best to fight when you wanted to. And so now, the decisive battle would begin! CH 107 Data.100 ¨C Old Bowman, Ophiuchus Battle After becoming a meteor that rose into the sky, I shot past the Serpent Palace once, and then started to plunge down. The surface of the Serpent Palace was right below me. I could finally see the part that wasn¡¯t visible from the ground. In the center, there was a square stage that was made of pure white stone. And in the four corners were pillars that looked like they were from a Greek temple. Furthermore, on the outer rim, there were small recreations of mountains, hills and other natural terrain. I had landed right on the stage. It wasn¡¯t a crash landing, as my speed had slowed down right before, and I was able to land on one knee. ¡®So you came just as you are then. Well, I did expect it.¡¯ The person waiting for me there¡­was Charin. But she was different from usual. Not just her clothes and hair style, but her physique and face were also different from the Charin that I was used to seeing. But more than anything, she didn¡¯t say ¡®nyon¡¯! However, there were still traces of the old person. Like in the voice. So¡­what was this? ¡®I was created as the face of Medalion Online. The original Charin was very different from the latest one, and she was nothing but a classic pretty blonde girl who was featured on the packaging.¡¯ ¡°So this is¡­¡± ¡®Exactly! The original Charin! The origin!¡¯ ¡°Origin¡­¡± ¡®The latest version of me has been altered to attract attention. That means more provocative clothing, and being taller and more voluptuous, as well as saying ¡®nyon¡¯ in order to be more memorable! Even the constellation elements were added later, after I noticed the common point between the gameplay involving collecting shiny medals and collecting shiny stars in order to make constellations!¡¯ Indeed, the Charin in front of me was a typical pretty character. She was thin, and her hair was more of a realistic twin tail. She wasn¡¯t as alluring or unique. Yes, a much more forgettable character, that was for sure. However, the current Charin was maybe a little too unique¡­ So perhaps this old Charin was a better fit for a final boss. ¡®I support management, answer complaints, create tutorial videos for new players, dance, sing, work in other games, and continue to adapt to changes. Do not think that you can beat me! While I may look like the old me, my insides are new!¡¯ So, the fight was finally going to begin¡­ Or so I thought. But then Charin stuck up two fingers and made the peace sign. Was that an attack¡­!? ¡®Before we fight, I have to explain to you about 2 additional rules. First, there is a time limit, which is 30 minutes.¡¯ ¡°What!¡± They¡¯ve added a time limit now¡­? While 30 minutes sounded like a long time, it was different when it came to boss fights¡­ ¡®If I cannot defeat you in 30 minutes, then you win. In other words, this is a rule to restrict me. A long, drawn out fight will mean it will be harder to get an opening for attack, so it¡¯s like a handicap for me. Though, it hardly matters this time, since it will be finished in 5 minutes.¡¯ ¡°¡­¡± ¡®The other rule is also to restrict me. I have 13 constellation weapons, and will be able to use the Ophiuchus one at any time. However, the remaining 12 weapons can only be used depending on the number of party members there are. If I am fighting one person, I can use 3. If there are two then I can use 6¡­etcetera. Since you and your Unison make up two, I can use up to 6 weapons.¡¯ ¡­She seemed so different. I didn¡¯t expect her to come off so much cooler just by dropping the ¡®nyon.¡¯ Her attitude was also extremely confident, and I understood what people meant when they said that they didn¡¯t feel like they could win. However, sometimes, that realization that you could win comes out randomly in the middle of a battle! ¡®Those are the 2 additional rules. The rest is the same as before.¡¯ ¡°Yeah, I prepared my items. So I¡¯m ready when you are.¡± ¡®Very good. But you still won¡¯t be able to win. You may be strong in PvE, but you have some fatal flaws when it comes to PvP.¡¯ PvE. Player vs Environment. Games that had enemy NPCs that were like monsters. Normal adventuring in NSO was like that. PvP was Player vs Player. Like with the Battle Royale and Turf War. Charin was saying that my fighting style was flawed in PvP. ¡­To be honest, I had an idea of what she was talking about! ¡®The battlefield is this entire Serpent Palace. So you can get off of this stone stage if you want. As for what position to start at, you can also decide. My starting position is on this stage¡­so why don¡¯t you go to that rocky mountain over there? You can start fighting with some distance between us.¡¯ Charin pointed to the outer area of the Serpent Palace. If I wanted to make use of my Range and shoot someone who was in the center of the stage, then there was no better position. That showed how much she understood my style. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do that then.¡± And so I didn¡¯t argue with her. I didn¡¯t think about possible traps. If I was stubborn and tried to start from a different position, I would only be at a disadvantage. Besides, I had been eyeing that rock from the beginning. Perhaps I could win if I camped there¡­ ¡®Alright, you will be warped!¡¯ And so I was teleported to the top of the rock. Yes, it gave me a good view of the stage and there was nothing blocking my line of sight. Charin would probably start running towards me as soon as the fight began. If she took the shortest route, she would have to go through the forest and cross the river. If I couldn¡¯t take her down before she reached the bottom of the rock, then I would use Warp Arrow to escape to a different highground. It was a rather boring and crude strategy, but that¡¯s the only way I could make use of my Range. No matter how high my stats or how strong my weapons, it would be pointless if I couldn¡¯t attack. I just needed to survive for 30 minutes in order to win. And so I had to chip away from a distance! ¡®Are you ready? The battle will start in 10 seconds!¡¯ Charin¡¯s voice echoed around the Serpent Palace. And then the countdown started. 10¡­9¡­ I could even hear the voice coming from the ground below us. That¡¯s right. You were able to watch the battle from the fountain plaza as well! I wished that I hadn¡¯t remembered that¡­ People watching it live added even more pressure. I was nervous¡­ But I couldn¡¯t allow it to get the best of me now! ¡°Yeah, come at me¡­!¡± I roused myself with my own words. And then the countdown went to 0. ¡®Battle Start! Here I come! Collect Boots Pisces Ver.NSO!¡¯ The armor around Charin¡¯s legs changed. They were now boots that were covered in fish scales and splashing water patterns on them. ¡®Jump! Like the Pisces constellation!¡¯ Charin then disappeared from my vision. No, she had moved an unbelievable distance with just one step! She had lept and was moving right towards me! However, that meant that for a moment, her feet were not on the ground. ¡°Burning Arrow Storm!¡± I fired off a storm of arrows right into her trajectory. They were as fast as bullets and would be impossible to dodge. And so Charin charged right into the numerous exploding bullets! ¡°Alright! The first hit!¡± And it was a big one! It was great that I was able to make this quick decision and use my trump card so early when I had the chance. Clearly my fighting sensibilities had been polished through all this fighting¡­! No, I wouldn¡¯t praise myself any more than that. Even I knew that she was far from defeated. I needed to unleash a follow up attack¡­ ¡®You have one flaw¡­ You are completely lacking in caution towards counters. It¡¯s quite common in players with these skills.¡¯ The storm of arrows¡­was being sucked in! Towards the two swords that Charin was wielding¡­! ¡®Synchro! Like the Gemini constellation! Collect Sword Gemini Ver.NSO!¡¯ Once all of the arrows were absorbed, the two swords glowed. Charin didn¡¯t take any damage as far as I could see. Had she really nullified the attack completely¡­!? ¡®But someone with your style should be especially cautious. After all, if one returned the same attack as it is, then the range would also be the same. It will reach you even if you¡¯re far away! Collect Burst Burning Arrow Storm!¡¯ Her blades lit up even more brightly and then unleashed numerous arrows. This¡­ She really was returning Burning Arrow Storm right back at me! My trump card had backfired¡­! CH 108 Data.101 ¨C Old Bowman, Ophiuchus Danger ¡°She¡¯s certainly not holding back¡­!¡± So this is what it looked like when you were hit by Burning Arrow Storm¡­ The arrows that filled the sky really did make you feel despair. However, this was my move. And I knew its weakness. ¡°Floating Cloud Herd!¡± I created 9 clouds and positioned them in the shape of a rhombus. As you couldn¡¯t create a straight line with them, this was the positioning that would allow me to move the farthest. And so I jumped on the clouds and escaped the storm of arrows! ¡®As I said before, this is your exact skill! And so I can also change the direction that they shoot!¡¯ Charin twisted her torso and made the arrows rain down as if chasing me. Yeah, I knew about that as well. After all, it¡¯s my charge attack! ¡°Now, Garbow! Red Meteor!¡± I had Garbow wait at the bottom instead of climbing the mountain. And he now activated his charge attack. Burning Arrow Storm and the original charge attack, Arrow Storm, had two types of arrows that it unleashed. The arrows that shot out from the dark clouds that appeared around the bow, and the arrow that the player unleashed. There wasn¡¯t any difference in force, effect or accuracy. After all, the movement of shooting with a charge attack was ¡®automatic.¡¯ In other words, once I activated the charge attack, my body was shooting the arrows automatically. It was like arrow-type skills and Sky Tear would change the arrows into something special after being activated. I could decide on the timing that they fired, and cancel them, though I wouldn¡¯t get the MP back. However, with skills like Bow Shower, Arrow Storm, and Meteor Bow, my arms would not be free once I activated them. This was because in order for you to be able to shoot arrows at such a speed, the game had to take control of your body. Especially with something like Meteor Bow. My arms were practically a blur. It wasn¡¯t possible for a human to do such a thing. And so the game did it for you. That was both a good thing and a bad thing. This time, it was a bad thing for Charin. If she could return the attack as it was, then that included the demerits. In other words, both of her hands were tied! She would not be able to stop Garbow¡¯s charge attack! ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Red Meteor hit Charin and inflicted damage. As the counter effect was already on a different charge attack, it did not activate. And so it was a clean hit! ¡®Ouch..! You two have certainly been through a lot together to reach this point. And so instead of shrinking back, you even launched a counter attack.¡¯ ¡°Thanks for the compliment¡­!¡± I continued to attack even as we talked. There was no guarantee that she would wait while we were talking. Besides, Charin had a time limit. I was currently attacking Charin from the clouds that I had created with Floating Cloud Herd, but she was quite close to me now. And with the leaping ability of her ¡®collect boots¡¯ or whatever, she would easily be able to reach me up here. I wanted to keep my distance¡­but that would mean moving away from Garbow. Warp Arrow only warped me away. If I were on the field, I could dismiss Garbow, warp, and then summon him again. But this was a boss fight in a closed space. Charin said that a Unison counted as one party member, so you could not dismiss them during a battle. But I may not have any other choice¡­ Without an advance guard, her boots would allow her to bridge the gap between us in an instant, and even if I used Warp Arrow or I¡¯m Arrow to escape, the cooldown would limit me very quickly. I had to take a chance here! ¡°Warp Arrow!¡± My next destination was a stonehenge-like structure on top of a hill. The height here offered me a good view of the stage. I could see Charin clearly and she was within range. ¡®I see. Good decision. If you were fighting someone else, that is.¡¯ Charin switched her weapon. From dual blades to a whip¡­! ¡®Unlike your average monster, I have intelligence that matches humans! Collect Whip Ophiuchus Ver.NSO! Bind him like the Ophiuchus constellation!¡¯ I had assumed that she would bring out a shield to block the arrows. But it was a whip! What was she going to do with it? Even as I wondered this, I continued to attack. However, Charin just hid behind trees or used her boots to jump and dodge the arrows. I was having trouble hitting her¡­! I was in good condition and knew that my aim was good. Charin was just skilled enough to dodge them. ¡®Monster AI are made slow on purpose! After all, if they weren¡¯t, they would be faster than you and would always be able to take the best actions!¡¯ I knew that. RPG monsters didn¡¯t always make the best moves. It would make them too strong and predictable. Occasional random actions made the game more interesting. It was something that had always been in games and continued to this day. ¡®But I am an advanced AI, so I will take all of the best actions! Just like you or any other player!¡¯ Charin tangled Garbow with her whip. She had targeted him after Ocean Sphere¡¯s effect wore off and he was slower! ¡®I feel a little bad, as it¡¯s like bullying a child AI¡­but it¡¯s my job! Sorry, little Garbow! Thunder Whip!¡¯ A current of electricity shot through the whip and towards Garbow¡¯s body! She knew his weakness¡­! ¡°Meteor Bow!¡¯ Garbow¡¯s body broke apart and escaped the whip¡¯s clutches. And after it combined with my bow, I unleashed the meteor-like arrow! It blew away the tree and rocks that Charin was standing behind! ¡®Your combination charge attack is quite strong. Perhaps it¡¯s good enough to defeat your average boss monster. But it¡¯s hardly a decisive attack when used against me or players that can beat me.¡¯ ¡°¡­Really?¡± Charin was carrying a great shield now. She must have used it to block Meteor Bow. Well, I had not really expected to defeat her with it. ¡®Collect Shield Virgo Ver.NSO! Protect me, like the Virgo constellation!¡¯ Charin raised the great shield as if to show it off. And then an arrow pierced through her back and came out the left side of her chest. ¡®Huh¡­?¡¯ ¡°I thought shooting through your heart might kill you, since you¡¯re humanoid, but I guess not! Yes, you really are different from other boss monsters! Though, a real human would have died!¡± The charge attack I used was Ricochet Sky Tear. It was a combination of Bound Arrow, which bounced off of objects, and Sky Tear, which had high speed and piercing ability. Meteor Bow was an emergency escape as well as a smoke screen. When the charge attack was finished activating and I was able to move again, the glowing arrows had not disappeared yet. Of course, Charin was hiding behind a shield and could not see me. And then I unleashed the fused charge attack. I needed an obstacle to make it bound, but since everything had disappeared around Charin due to Meteor Bow, I had to make it bound off of something that was far away. Thanks to this, even something fast like Sky Tear was able to hit at the perfect timing. Charin had been completely off guard. ¡®Tsk¡­! Uhhh¡­!¡¯ Her face turned quite red. That was fine. I wanted her to get emotional. And so I had even said something to provoke her. It was all a plan¡­to win! There was something I learned. Charin was a monster. I couldn¡¯t win with conventional tactics. She had used 4 weapons now. So there were 3 left. I couldn¡¯t deal with all of them by myself! And, so whether I win or lose, in the next few minutes¡­or seconds, I would end this. I can do it! This fight will be over! CH 109 Data.102 ¨C Oldbowman, Ophiuchus Conclusion Charin¡¯s shield vanished and she charged at me with just her boots. Apparently, the shield was quite heavy, and affected her mobility. ¡°Burning Arrow!¡± The ground of the Serpent Palace was made to be natural, and was covered in soft dirt. And since the explosions had created holes everywhere, your footing would be unstable. But she would have to kick off the ground when jumping. So the uneven ground would mean that she couldn¡¯t jump as far! Now that she wasn¡¯t as fast, I just had to attack! At first, my eyes were not used to Charin¡¯s speed, but now I could manage to follow her movement. Though, it was less about my eyesight being improved and more about being able to read her movements. As she was mainly jumping, her trajectory was generally in a straight line. And so I could guess where she would land and shoot my arrows. Kiririri¡­ Shu! I hit her. I could hit her! However, it was just one out of many shots. I would still miss, and sometimes she would knock them out of the air with her whip. Even while moving at that speed, she could see my arrows. That was an AI for you. They had inhuman eyesight and reflexes¡­! She was closer to me now. Without an advance guard, it was impossible to stop her. And so¡­I would give up! ¡°You¡¯re a last boss, alright¡­ I don¡¯t think I can win while solo¡­¡± I lowered my bow and relaxed my body. ¡®Then accept your fate quietly!¡¯ Charin¡¯s dual blades appeared again. The swords had round glass that were the same size as the medals set into the handguards. They shone when absorbing a charge attack or countering. But now, there were numbers on them. And the numbers were getting smaller. It was likely¡­the cooldown! That¡¯s what I wanted to know. Because if she could spam that counter, then my plan won¡¯t work! Charin was approaching. Her facial expression had never looked more severe. Come¡­just a little more¡­ I¡¯ll take you down with a ¡®prohibited technique.¡¯ ¡°In Fight Arrow Storm!!¡± In Fight Arrow, which grew stronger the closer the enemy, and Arrow Storm, for a fused charge attack¡­! While it went against my personal style, it was the first arrow skill that I acquired. It had helped me out many times before. If I shot it at such a close distance, even Charin wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand it! Arrow Storm was a charge attack that unleashed numerous arrows like a storm, but since its area of effect was so large, it wasted a lot of arrows when used against one person. However, at such close range, I would be able to hit the target before the arrows spread out. For me, fighting at close range was like a ¡®prohibited technique.¡¯ And so no one would be able to predict it¡­I think. Charin discarded her blades at the last moment and jumped right over me. As it really was in the last possible moment, her legs did not escape the attack, and arrows pierced into them. She may not be able to stand now. But it was too late. I had taken a chance and lost¡­! ¡®Hunt! Like the Leo constellation! Collect Axe Leo Ver.NSO!¡¯ A virtical flash. My head, neck, chest, waist, down my legs, the axe was swung. As I had allowed her to get close, I had to take her down or I would lose. The battle would be decided in a second. If I could get a clean hit, then I would win. If she dodged it, then I would lose. Well, that was really just my own speculation. It was possible that my attack wouldn¡¯t have killed her anyway¡­ Charin was a special boss, so her HP gauge was invisible¡­ Ah, it made me more angry than I thought it would¡­! Because I had seen the possibility of doing it solo¡­ Part of me thinks that I should be happy. I had done well. But right now, I am more angry with myself. My body started to glow. In a moment, I would fall towards the ground below, just like Buckler and his party. ¡°How did you know what I was going to do?¡± ¡®I didn¡¯t. At least, not until the very last moment. After all, I was very angry and was going to just chop your head right off.¡¯ ¡°Ahaha¡­that¡¯s horrifying¡­¡± ¡®But when our eyes met, I sensed an intensity that I hadn¡¯t seen before. It wasn¡¯t the eyes of someone who had actually given up. And then I remembered. You¡¯re not the kind of player to do that. Even if you knew you were going to lose.¡¯ ¡°I see¡­ That means I could have won, if I pretended to be a more pitiful old man.¡± But I was at the point where there was no hiding my ability. I had probably been showing off without even realizing it. My ability as someone who used to develop games¡­no, as a gamer¡­ Well, it didn¡¯t matter. Because I still lost¡­ And so I fell down like a meteor. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡®Phew¡­I managed to win!¡¯ After telling him that he couldn¡¯t win so many times, I would have been an embarrassment to high-power AIs if I lost. A solo player had already beaten me, and I did not want there to be a second one. It was different from losing to a party of four from a famous guild. Still, a lot of players are challenging me now. The Straight Knights had the right idea, but the way they fought was too predictable. Their formations were so clear that once their mobility was disrupted, they were unable to recover. That was something the old guy did a lot. It was impressive how he kept thinking of different strategies while always being pressed back¡­ Though, I was most surprised by his accuracy. Near the end of the fight, he had calmly kept up with my speed when using Collect Boots Pisces. I had shot back his arrows as well, and though it came down like rain, I wasn¡¯t able to direct it at my target that quickly. Because of this, I couldn¡¯t attack the man in the clouds, and ended up getting hit by Garbow¡­ Leaving aside how awkward it is to unleash arrows from a sword, there is no doubt that he is better at handling them than an artificial intelligence like me. He was close to the ¡®real deal¡¯¡­ Even then, it would still be very difficult for him to beat me with that style. In order for the rear guard to make use of their true power, they needed a brilliant advance guard to match them. Unless he realizes that he won¡¯t make it any further with just Garbow, he will not be able to win. And his surprise strategy will not work again. An AI won¡¯t be hit by the same technique twice! ¡­Hmm? Same technique? Now that I thought about it, I think he had used Arrow Storm fused charge attacks twice. But didn¡¯t they have a 5 minute cooldown¡­? In other words, we had fought for more than 5 minutes. I had declared that it would be over by that time, so I had broken my word¡­ ¡®Hehe. Really¡­that old man is unbelievable-nyon!!¡¯ CH 110 Data.103 ¨C Old Bowman, Hit by Reality Again I fell from the sky and landed heavily on my butt. It was a rough fall, and my speed hadn¡¯t decreased much, so I wasn¡¯t able to land in a cool pose¡­ Well, that didn¡¯t matter. I had been defeated, so landing in a cool pose wouldn¡¯t mean anything. However, the people who had been watching me fight still cheered and clapped for me. You did well. I¡¯m impressed. That was so close¡­ The warm words entered my ears. To be honest, in my heart, I still felt regret over the fight. But it would be bad to ignore them. And so I smiled and thanked them. Shortly after, other challengers arrived and the attention was moved away from me. And so I was able to be alone. There were a lot of things that I needed to do. The first was repairing my equipment. Charin had cut through me with her axe, so my gear was also severed. The Windstream Scarf around my neck, the Windcloud Battle Haori around my torso, and the Windguard Hakama around my legs were split into two. This might take a long time¡­ On the other hand, the Cloudbore Archery Glove and Sheep Cloudcrossing Tabi were fine. The axe went through my body, so my hands and feet were spared. Similarly, my weapon, the Blackwind Dark Cloud Bow, was also fine. So I had three items that I needed to repair¡­ I suppose I should go to Mr. Yu¡¯s workshop then. As for materials needed for repairing them, I had gathered extra materials the last time, so I would be able to do it immediately. I would log out after finishing with repairs. My excitement had gotten the better of me, and I had gone into the final battle, in spite of it being night time. But then again, it was a constellation event, so it felt right to have the last battle at night when you could see the stars. Not that I had any time to look up at them during the fight. When I looked up now, I could see the twelve constellations, as well as Ophiuchus. In real life, you would not be able to see all of them at the same time. It was a nice view¡­ After fixing my gear and accepting the results of combining the ¡®Judgement¡¯ items¡­would that be enough to beat Charin? I wouldn¡¯t be able to use the same tactics again. As I was now, would the addition of new equipment, skills and charge attacks really make it possible for me to win¡­? No, the question had been answered during the fight. It was finally time to rely on that ¡®countermeasure¡¯¡­! I opened the status window and clicked on the ¡®Friend¡¯ tab. ¡°Ah, there you are.¡± ¡°Wahhh!¡± I shouted after feeling something poke me in the back. ¡°Y-you don¡¯t have to look so scared! You ended up scaring me as well.¡± ¡°Uh, I was just going to contact you, so it was more of a shock, okay?¡± ¡°Hmmm. I guess people who act alike also think alike.¡± It was Necoco Strange. I suppose she was¡­a comrade? This girl was the opposite of me in many ways, but we did have similar ideas when it came to games. And I had promised to become a member of her ¡®Ghost Guild¡¯ for events where we couldn¡¯t make it while solo. Yes, I was going to rely on the Ghost Guild. Unless I got some kind of overpowered skill by tomorrow, there was no way that Garbow and I could beat Charin. I was just lucky in the last fight. I had been able to think of good ideas and my skill with the bow had been on point. But I doubted it would go so well the next time. And Charin would have more experience and would have learned a lot. ¡°I¡¯m here as well.¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re here too, Satomi.¡± ¡°Yes. I saw people were talking online about how the old bowman was taking on the boss. So I thought I¡¯d log in.¡± ¡°Hahaha¡­ So they are talking about it.¡± Satomi was the boy I had met on my way to Mr. Yu¡¯s workshop. He was a rather mysterious player who wanted to play the game in the easiest way, and therefore fought through his Unison as a trainer. He had also been invited to Necoco¡¯s Ghost Guild, and I had adventured with him for a short while. Now that I think about it, we hadn¡¯t added each other as friends¡­ I thought that it might be a little awkward coming from an old man, and had avoided it¡­ ¡°Still, is it just me, or do both of you have worse equipment than before?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just as you say. I tried challenging her solo and was beaten to a pulp. My equipment is being repaired now, so this is just temporary.¡± ¡°So even the great Necoco and Satomi couldn¡¯t do it¡­¡± ¡°If anything, you¡¯re trying too hard, Mr. Kyuji. Out of all of us, you¡¯re the one who isn¡¯t suited to fighting solo. But you still nearly gave as good as you got.¡± ¡°Oh, I wouldn¡¯t go that far. I died in a little over 5 minutes. And I don¡¯t know how much of her HP I had taken away.¡± ¡°I was killed in just 3 minutes.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ We-well, such things do happen!¡± So I wasn¡¯t the only one losing¡­ Well, obviously. There were many NSO players, and less than 5 had cleared it. I was just part of the majority¡­ But I wanted to be in the special minority. ¡°In any case! I¡¯m now declaring the establishment of the Ghost Guild! Well, it was already made. However, I will begin the process of inviting members in.¡± I received the guild invitation message from Necoco. ¡°¡­That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°Yes! Now the Ghost Guild is in action!¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­a lot simpler than I expected.¡± ¡°These days, it would be quite a problem if making a guild wasn¡¯t a simple process.¡± ¡°I¡­suppose.¡± Regardless, the Ghost Guild had been realized now. And Satomi and I were friends. So there were 3 guild members. If we included Garbow, then it would be a party of 4. Normally, 4 was the max for a party. But we would be able to fight as 5. Because as a Unison trainer, Satomi had the special ability to ignore the limitation when summoning his Unison. And since the special ability only allowed you to bring in 1 Unison, he fulfilled a very important role. As the name implied, a Unison Trainer was a job where you relied on the combat ability of your Unison. So there would be no point if you couldn¡¯t summon them. So this special right was necessary for solo dungeons and bosses. Previously, when I was making my way to Mr. Yu¡¯s workshop in the foggy mountains, Satomi said that he used this right in order to have his Unison, Gochu, clear the Sagitarius trial. As it was a solo trial, I had dismissed Garbow during it. However, as Satomi could use the special right during mini games as well, he had left it to Gochu. The power of that right was amazing. However, it was only given to him because the combat ability of a Unison Trainer was so low. Having 5 when the limit was 4 might sound very good, but there wouldn¡¯t actually be a big difference in terms of combat ability. The player and Unison were 2, but were essentially 1 player together. ¡°Now, as for the future direction of the guild¡­ Well, we can¡¯t start anything until our equipment is repaired. So everyone must go and do that at once! And when we are all finished¡­we will take on the boss again!¡± ¡°What!? So soon? Since we went through the trouble of forming a guild, we should strategize and plan beforehand¡­¡± ¡°Do you really want to do that?¡± ¡°¡­Uh, right. The concept of the Ghost Guild is to be a place where we can fight without worrying about relationships and what others are doing. Okay, forget everything I said¡­¡± ¡°Well, I do understand what you mean, old man. Charin is strong! I only lasted for 5 minutes as well¡­ And so I don¡¯t think that cooperation and strategies will work here. If we don¡¯t plan ahead, we¡¯ll be harder to read. The Ghost Guild is all about unexpected strength based on uniqueness!¡± I nodded quietly in agreement. I could not help but feel the same way. However¡­she wouldn¡¯t forget what I had said first¡­ Was this how Buckler felt as well? It was difficult to get someone to forget what you¡¯ve said once. ¡°Another reason for us to hurry is that if more players beat her and as time passes, the fight¡¯s difficulty will be lowered. I want to beat her at the highest difficulty. While it¡¯s not the same as doing it solo, I want to beat her like my aunt did¡­!¡± ¡°Huh!? Your aunt is one of the people who beat the boss? And solo!?¡± I was shouting in surprise a lot today, it seemed. However, I couldn¡¯t help it. So that was the person who had beaten Charin while solo¡­!? ¡°Ahh, so you don¡¯t know about my aunt. I¡¯m pretty sure the video of the fight is already up on her channel, so you should take a look. It may not be useful, but you¡¯ll be impressed.¡± Indeed, how could I not be impressed at the sight of someone beating Charin while solo? I would very much like to see it. As soon as I finish repairing my equipment and logging out. ¡°Can you tell me the channel name?¡± ¡°It¡¯s MacocoTV¡­ Her name is Macoco Strange. My aunt is the world¡¯s strongest bumerang wielder!¡± Macoco Strange¡­ The name was similar to Necoco and easy to remember. Alright, I would watch the video so that it will reignite the fighting spirit in me that was starting to fade! ¡°By the way, my channel is NecocoTV, so please subscribe to that as well!¡± CH 111 Data.104 ¨C Old Bowman, Viewing It would take 30 hours to repair all of my equipment. In other words, that was 10 hours for each item. I thought it would take longer, as they had been cut in half, but it was actually shorter than last time. I suppose it was because they were cut so cleanly in half, rather than the entire thing being burnt? You just had to reconnect them? ¡­Obviously, it wouldn¡¯t work like that in real life, but this was a game. The sooner it finished, the sooner I would be able to challenge Charin again. So it was fine. Ah, that¡¯s right. As I had already made a different request for the ¡®Judgement¡¯ items, I would have to wait until those were finished. Since that was supposed to take a full day, it would take 2 days for everything to be complete. In the meantime, I could continue adventuring with other equipment, or I could watch other players fight and think of strategies¡­ In any case, after separating from Necoco and dropping the equipment off at the workshop, I logged out. It had been a long day¡­ I was exhausted, but there was still something that I needed to do. I needed to watch the video that Necoco told me about. Her aunt, the pro gamer¡­ Macoco Strange. The channel was MacocoTV. It was a very straightforward name for a channel. ¡°Search, search¡­¡± I quickly found the channel that I was looking for. And since it was trending at the moment, the particular video appeared at the top. NSO Charin Origin: Solo battle(Boomerang) Read the simple title. The thumbnail was just a random scene and there was no colorful font used to make understanding the content easier. This kind of lack of attention to detail seemed unusual for a pro gamer who uploaded videos¡­ I suppose this person didn¡¯t really care about getting a lot of views. Someone who would rather spend their time playing games instead of editing¡­ It became clear as soon as I played the video. There was no opening, it just started right away. Unedited footage without subtitles. The first thing I saw was a woman with long red hair. She wore a red and black gothic style dress with armor on top. She looked both beautiful and powerful. ¡®¡­In your case, you and your Unison are treated as 2 players, so I will use 6 weapons.¡¯ Charin explained the additional rules. So she explained it at this time to all players. Macoco had a crow-type Unison with her, so the situation was similar to me. In fact, Garbow was called a Ravengar, so even our Unisons were alike. And so I felt a sense of familiarity. ¡°Um, can I make one request?¡± ¡®Oh, a request? I do not go easy on players just because¡­¡¯ ¡°Could you use all of your weapons? All 13 of them.¡± ¡®¡­Huh? What!?¡¯ ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for those limitations to be put on you. And I hate that it feels like you¡¯re holding back. Besides, it¡¯s a waste that I can only experience half of all the weapons you have.¡± ¡®Th-there were others who asked me to use fewer of them, but no one has asked me to use more-nyon¡­ Ah, I¡¯m so shocked that I said nyon¡­!¡¯ ¡°It won¡¯t affect anyone but me, so surely it can be allowed? I¡¯m not asking for any special reward if I beat you. I just want to fight you on a higher difficulty, that is all.¡± ¡®We-well, that is true¡­ No one has beaten me yet, and as long as I allow other players to experience all of my weapons as well, then it will be fair¡­ Though, I doubt anyone else will make that request¡­¡¯ ¡°So it¡¯s fine then! Thank you!¡± Now that negotiations were finished, she returned to the explanation. After hearing about being able to choose the spot to start the battle in, Macoco declared that she would start in the forest. However, the forest was right in front of the stage that Charin stood on. So it wasn¡¯t about moving away from Charin. She just wanted to fight in the forest¡­? Even during the countdown, she didn¡¯t move a muscle. She just stood with her arms crossed and waited. ¡®Battle start! Here I come! Collect Boots Pisces Ver.NSO!¡¯ Charin¡¯s first move was to use the boots in order to close the distance between them. The forest Macoco was in was right in front of her. She could reach it in a few steps¡­! The first weapon that Charin chose was the dual blades she had used on me. And then she attacked from the front, as if to test her opponent. As for Macoco, she blocked it with the round shield that was equipped on her right arm. While the shield was surrounded in a pale, glowing aura, it was rather thin, and yet it did not break. It might be rarer than it appeared. Furthermore, Macoco moved to counterattack with the weapon in her left hand. Actually, it was too curved for that. It was something else¡­that¡¯s right! Necoco had told me what it was. A boomerang! She was using a boomerang as a melee weapon and trading blows with Charin with it¡­! No, if anything, Macoco was pushing forward. Her gaming sensibilities were not normal. Was this what the ¡®real deal¡¯ looked like¡­? Charin seemed to realize that close quarters combat would put her at a disadvantage, and she moved away. And that was when Macoco threw the boomerang. It was the circular one she had been using as a shield. However, it seemed to miss, and went flying off far behind Charin. This was the perfect chance, and Charin switched her weapons. There was a gun in her right hand and in her left¡­there was a long cylinder that covered her hand up to the wrist. ¡®Collect Pistol Scorpion Ver.NSO! Collect Cannon Aquarius Ver.NSO!¡¯ Projectiles! Since she had 13 weapons, I expected her to have at least one ranged weapon, but not 2¡­ And there could still be more¡­ ¡®Unleashing 13 weapons just means I can deal with a wider range of situations! As someone who only has a boomerang, you¡¯ll just be at a bigger disadvantage!¡¯ ¡°I don¡¯t know about that? Boomerangs are multi-purpose weapons. They can do it all¡­and more.¡± The boomerang that looked like it had missed suddenly changed course and shot towards Charin¡¯s back. As if it was being pulled by a magnet! It was going to hit her¡­! ¡®Come out, Virgo shield!¡¯ A familiar shield appeared on Charin¡¯s back. So she could equip it like that as well¡­! ¡®I know all about your magnet boomerang! You use it all of the time in PvP!¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s why I used a different attack this time.¡± The boomerang went right through Charin¡¯s body. It was a dummy! So there shouldn¡¯t be any damage¡­ ¡°I threw a dummy boomerang. It¡¯s simply a skill that creates phantom boomerangs. And the one that hit your stomach is a clear boomerang. It¡¯s invisible.¡± I-I see¡­ As boomerangs returned, enemies always had to be aware of their trajectory. So you could put pressure on an enemy by using dummies¡­ It wouldn¡¯t work with arrows. Having fake arrows would just make an enemy feel lucky by getting hit and not taking any damage. And by making her weapon invisible, she could cause even greater confusion. The thing you can see is fake, while the thing you can¡¯t see is real¡­ And the more time they had to think, the slower their movement would become. However, invisible skills usually did less damage. This strategy alone would not carve off enough of Charin¡¯s HP. It was then that Charin took out a new weapon¡­ No, could it be! ¡®I guess I have no choice but to use it against you¡­ Collect Helm Capricorn Ver.NSO! Collect Robe Aries Ver.NSO!¡¯ She even had armor¡­!? A helmet with the curled horns of a ram and a large robe that enveloped her whole body. The robe was also made of soft sheepskin. It would probably absorb any shock. Had she used it during our fight, then I might have lost even faster. Thinking this, I understood what Macoco meant about feeling like Charin was holding back if she didn¡¯t use all of her weapons. However, Macoco was now paying the price for that declaration. With the added armor, Charin no longer had to care about small damage. And boomerangs were not high power weapons. If Charin attacked you with swords, axes, and cannons, she would probably beat you without taking any damage. She hit skill with skill, and braved charge attacks with charge attacks¡­with rare decisiveness and reflexes. And she had the physical ability to put it into action, but she was still being pushed back. How was she supposed to win from here¡­? But in spite of my concerns, Macoco still had the same facial expression. ¡°¡­Very good. Fighting an AI like you that surpasses humans really brings back old memories. I also understand that I have to go all out in order to win.¡± ¡®Huh. So you¡¯re saying you have been holding back?¡¯ ¡°Well¡­a little. Let¡¯s go, Crowkus Jr.!¡± ¡°Caw! Caw!¡± The Unison monster had been perched quietly in a tree and watching. But it now beat its wings and flew towards Macoco. Like Garbow, this crow had a machine-like body. And in the next second, it did something very surprising. ¡°It¡­transformed?!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but shout! The crow Unison had transformed into a giant boomerang! ¡°Curse of Wings NEXT!¡± It was larger than Macoco, but she swung it as if it weighed nothing, and threw it towards Charin. ¡®No way!?¡¯ Normally, you could only use up to 2 weapons at the same time. In NSO, there were only 2 weapon equipment slots for your right and left hands. In order to ignore this, Macoco turned her Unison into a weapon. No, she had chosen a Unison who could become a weapon! After that, the battle was¡­one sided. Not only did she have 3 boomerangs now, but Macoco¡¯s fighting style changed. Instead of using her boomerangs like a sword or shield, she would repeatedly throw and then catch them. Macoco maintained this state where the three boomerangs were constantly moving through the air. Throw, catch, throw, catch¡­it was like a dance. Furthermore, she activated skills for each boomerang. Aside from being decoys or invisible, they could be on fire or poisonous. The variety kept increasing. What impressed me the most was the way she used ¡®in-fight¡¯ type skills with a shorter range. With boomerangs, shorter range meant that they returned to your hand sooner, so by using these skills, even if the movement of throwing was the same, the trajectory could be altered greatly. Suddenly, there were so many more things that Chain had to be aware of, and her reactions were delayed. Charin had 13 weapons, but with 3 boomerangs and expert play, she was being pushed to the edge¡­ So this was the aunt that Necoco respected so much¡­! ¡°Hellfire Ash Whirlwind!¡± A dark red whirlwind that could burn the sky was what brought the match to a close. Charin admitted her defeat, and began to talk to Macoco in a friendly manner. And that was where the video ended. There was no closing message or requests for the viewer to subscribe to the channel. Not even a fade out. It just stopped abruptly¡­ That was strangely refreshing. Still, I then realized that as lazy as the editing may have seemed, it cut off right there so you wouldn¡¯t know what the reward was. That told me a little about this pro gamer called Macoco. It was an interesting video, and I was very impressed. While I wouldn¡¯t be able to copy it, there was a lot that I could learn. Alright. I would rewatch it several times and try to find an answer for myself¡­! CH 112 Data.105 ¨C Old Bowman, Examine First, while there were a number of differences between me and Macoco, there was no point dwelling on gaps when it came to physical ability and combat sensibilities. It was plain to see that her power was the result of hard work. Her movements were so smooth. It was like the virtual world was a second home to her. That was not something you could gain overnight. Besides, there were other things for me to examine. Macoco was constantly pushing ¡®decisions¡¯ onto her opponent. The most obvious was through the ¡®Dummy Boomerang.¡¯ When this one skill was thrown, her opponent had to decide whether it was real or fake. And then several other skills were added on top of this. She increased the number of boomerangs in unexpected ways so that the enemy was forced to deal with the infinite amount of decisions she could create. That was her strength. My brain would burst if faced with all of that, but Charin was an AI that could get by with processing power. However, the problem was that she just focused on getting by, and not launching a counterattack. They say that offense is the best defense for a reason. When I think back, I was the one constantly being forced to make decisions while fighting Charin. Ever since Burning Arrow Storm was bounced back at me. As Charin¡¯s weapons continued to increase, I had to move while thinking about how I was going to deal with them. And so Charin was able to see my reaction and change her weapon before attacking me. And even towards the end, it was only because Charin had become frustrated and lost her cool that she didn¡¯t just finish me off with a ranged attack instead of coming up close. With that fight, Charin was in the lead at all times. So, knowing all of that now, what could I do to take the lead? ¡­I have no idea. The only thing I had was range. However, if Garbow was all I had in the advance guard, then there was no way to maintain my distance from the enemy. For that fight, it seemed that I really didn¡¯t have a choice but to follow along and react to her attacks until I found an opening. That was why I had come to the conclusion that I needed to take her on with some friends. If I am stronger while solo, then I will also be stronger in a party. If I could look after myself, then I would be able to pay attention to others. And that might lead to prompt cooperation and good strategies. Now, what did I need in order to become stronger as a solo player? Obviously, since the scariest thing for me was allowing the enemy to get close, I needed a skill that would keep them away. As Web Cloud Arrow was just shooting a web that was essentially an arrow, it could be erased if hit with projectiles or magic. And in Charin¡¯s case, she could shoot them down with her gun or cannon, or even burn them with electricity through her whip. As the web was made of cloud and spider¡¯s web, they were weak to heat¡­ Was there a simpler way to keep them away from me¡­ Like a barrier or wall? It would be very useful if there was a barrier that I could shoot through, but would stop their attacks. Simply creating a high wall might not be a bad idea either. I had seen how effective high walls were during the turf war. So, even if such skills did exist, how would I go about acquiring them? Well¡­playing a word association game and praying, I suppose. For instance, if you want barrier skills, hunt monsters that have those skills¡­ If you want to build a wall, then perhaps Golems or other rock-type monsters¡­ Find them, fight, defeat, and gather items. That¡¯s what it would boil down to. Up until now, I had thought that I had been able to acquire great skills at the right time, but perhaps it still wasn¡¯t enough. Having more skills meant more options. In the future, when adventuring normally, outside of events, it might be a good idea to choose destinations based on what ability I wanted. It was a good thing. There was still so much to do in this game that I had grown fond of! No, stuff that I actually wanted to do¡­ There were plenty of games that had a lot to do, but they were just boring. And so it was great that this was something that I couldn¡¯t wait to do. However, I found no answer to the problem of getting through the upcoming fight with Charin. There was no way that a little adventuring in the next 2 days would lead me to an amazing skill that would allow me to beat Charin. Right now, I couldn¡¯t think of any plan other than leaving the advance guard to the other two. ¡°¡­I¡¯ll go to sleep then!¡± I had used my head more than usual today, and so I was tired¡­ As someone who understood the joy of being able to sleep when you wanted to sleep, I abandoned everything and slept. The future me would surely work it out! ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô Me from 2 days ago¡­I failed¡­ I groaned as I stood in front of the workshop in the morning, right as the repairs would be finished. I had put on some random armor on my head and torso and gone out exploring in the field. However, I had not found anything in particular. It seemed like they would fall into my lap when I wasn¡¯t thinking, but then become scarce once I start looking. Was this what they called a greed sensor¡­? Well, that could be part of it, but the event was clearly the main reason. I had gotten used to this system of acquiring something useful after finishing a trial, and so I felt empty when I didn¡¯t get anything during ordinary exploration. I was being trained¡­by Charin. My last hope was this ¡®Judgement¡¯ item then¡­ And it was now time to go and get it. With a feeling of determination, I entered the workshop and accepted the item. I wouldn¡¯t demand that it be something that would allow me to win. But I did want it to be something that was useful¡­! ¡°Please be good, Arrow of Judgement!¡± ¡®Judgement Lightning,¡¯ ¡®Wings of Judgement,¡¯ and ¡®Blade of Judgement.¡¯ The thing that resulted from combining the 3 items was an arrow that unleashed lightning. Wings of Judgement had been the item that was the most strange to me, but now I saw that it was in the shape of an arrow without an arrowhead. So if you added the blade and the thunder, you would get the ¡®Arrow of Judgement.¡¯ In any case, it wasn¡¯t an equippable item. Was it a usable item? Or a material¡­ ¡°I can use it! And on myself¡­!¡± I had a feeling that it would give me a new skill¡­! And so I selected ¡®Use.¡¯ ¡ªBeep! You have acquired the new charge attack ¡®Indra¡¯s Arrow.¡¯ It-it was a¡­charge attack!? Not only that, but it had an impressive sounding name¡­ So, god has not forsaken me after all. I would try using it then! [Indra¡¯s Arrow] A single arrow will rise high into the heavens and be struck by powerful thunder before falling to the ground, causing an explosion of electricity over a wide area. While it will shoot higher, have greater force and a wider area the longer your Range, the activation time will also increase. Cooldown: 10 minutes. So you didn¡¯t shoot directly, but made a mountain-like arch¡­ It seemed like shooting it would be rather tricky, but thankfully, the explosive nature meant that precision wouldn¡¯t be too necessary. Range affecting power was a welcome effect, but I couldn¡¯t forget that this also meant that it would take longer to come back down. If it took too long, then it would be easy for enemies to move out of the area of effect. And while the explosions would cover a wider area, there was still a limit to how far it would go. So this charge attack would require some thinking to use, but it was still promising. And at least I had a new option in terms of attacks. I was just happy that I had acquired a new power before our rematch with Charin. While we were going as a party, I felt that Charin would be disappointed if I showed up with the exact same equipment and skills. ¡°I guess I should go to the first town now.¡± The time for the battle was approaching. And I wanted the Ghost Guild¡¯s first battle to be a victorious one! CH 113 Data.106 ¨C Old Bowman, Start of the Ghost Guild ¡°Now, let¡¯s go over our roles once again before the fight!¡± We were having a strategy meeting in front of the fountain plaza in the first town. Not that there was much of a strategy. We just wanted to decide what everyone¡¯s roles would be beforehand, or things could get very rough. First, Necoco would be the advance guard. She would get up close to Charin and inflict damage with her attacks. And so her role was to limit Charin¡¯s movement and keep her away from me. Satomi and his monkey Unison, Gochu, would be the middle guard. As Gochu was a type of monster known as Magic Monkey, he was great with magic skills. He would support Necoco while knocking down any ranged attacks that flew towards me. And then there was the rear guard, me! My role was simply to continue attacking Charin from the back. They insisted that I was to continue attacking Charin, even if it looked like they were in danger. Offense was the greatest defense. If I continue to damage Charin, the advance guard and middle guard may find an opening to pull themselves together. Furthermore, Garbow was to stay in front of me, and buy me some time if Charin was able to get close. I had actually wanted Garbow to be with Satomi and Gochu, but while Garbow¡¯s speed was adequate for ordinary monsters, it was not enough to match Charin. So he would wait there as a final line of defense, and depending on the situation, use the healing skill Doctor Fish in order to support the middle guard. That was really all that we decided on. And so we weren¡¯t really aware of what kind of skills everyone had. And while Charin would not be able to read us, we could also not read each other. What would happen¡­I was looking forward to finding out. ¡°Apparently, the people in front of us are finished.¡± Satomi pointed up at the sky. The players looked bigger and bigger as they fell from the Serpent Palace and down to the fountain. It was a party of four who I didn¡¯t recognize, but judging by how good their equipment was, they were likely experienced players. Though, their equipment looked quite worse for wear now¡­ Solo players like us tended to come out without taking too much damage. Since we were fighting as a party this time, we would probably look like that if we lost¡­ No, we were going to win. There was no point in thinking about defeat. Now, our time has come. Currently, only 1 party could take her on at a time. And so you sometimes had to wait after entering. But there weren¡¯t many players challenging her at this time, and since it would often take a while to fight her again, due to repairs, there was usually not much of a wait at all. In other words, something unusual happened today. According to Charin, once there were more challengers, each party would fight her in separate spaces, just like with dungeons and certain boss fights. But by then, the difficulty would likely be dropped as well. And so we wanted to clear it before that happened! I raised both hands into the air. The players that had gathered around the fountain plaza became very excited. There were even more people than last time, and so their cheers were louder. Why were there so many people gathered here? Because the only place you could watch the fights in real time¡­was in the plaza. There were no livestream or official video uploads. As the pro gamers wanted to get views on their own videos and increase their subscribers, it would be no good if the videos went up first. However, as management wanted to make spectating part of the game, they allowed players who were logged in to view it in real time. And since there was no rewind, they would have to wait for the player to upload the video later if they wanted to watch it again. If they played well, then there was a good chance that the spectators would want to watch it again, and the views would go up. More views would help advertise the game and bring more players into NSO. So it was a win-win situation. However, there were also times when management would use footage from players that didn¡¯t upload videos. In my case, I would just leave it to Necoco and Satomi. And so the three of us flew up to the Serpent Palace. I then landed in the same place as last time. It was the square, white stone stage in the center. ¡®Oh, my! What an unusual combination we have here.¡¯ Charin said with wide eyes. Well, it was the first time we were fighting together. This was the strongest enemy we had ever gone up against, and yet we had no experience as a party. It was rather audacious. ¡®Well, I hope you didn¡¯t form a party with such naive hopes that it will be easier with increased numbers.¡¯ ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± No one had a rebuttal. After all, to put it bluntly, we did think that. Who would have thought that we weren¡¯t even aware of each other¡¯s skills¡­! ¡®Ah, that¡¯s right! Just to confirm, you do know that there is such a thing as friendly fire in this fight?¡¯ ¡°What!?¡± I was the only one who was surprised. I didn¡¯t remember her saying anything about that before¡­ ¡®I¡¯m sorry! I might have forgotten to tell you! But it¡¯s written in the ¡®Event Rules¡¯ if you check ¡®Help¡¯!¡¯ I opened my status window and tapped on ¡®Help.¡¯ ¡°Ah, you¡¯re right.¡± There was a new Help section for the zodiac event. Aside from rules concerning the trials, there were also rules about the final battle. Apparently, they were added every time that Charin explained the rules to you in front of the labyrinths. So for the final battle, it was probably added when I talked to her after the Virgo trial. While I could remember rules after hearing them once, there were probably players who would forget the requirements for the special reward while dungeon crawling. And so having a Help would be very useful. Indeed, the rule that Charin talked about was written in it. But since I generally fought solo, Charin had probably forgotten to tell me rules that were specific to parties. Well, I did have Garbo, but I¡¯ve never hit him with an arrow. Not since we first met as enemies¡­I think. Even if I knew that I wouldn¡¯t hurt him if my arrows hit, it would still be a waste. And so even when we separated into advance and rear guard and fought, I was careful to not hit him. However, Necoco was much bigger and faster than Garbo¡­ While I hadn¡¯t hit her when we were in the mirror world together, the situation was different this time. In the first place, why did they have to add such a stressful system here? ¡®Management is running tests to create a more realistic battle system. If your attacks hit comrades, it will create more tension when using wide area and high power attacks. Which should be more entertaining for you.¡¯ Well, perhaps. In battle manga, if there was an enemy pair, and enemy A had powerful attacks, while enemy B had high defense, then you would defeat them by making A attack B. Up until now, such strategies would not have worked in NSO. And you could also be like, ¡®just shoot me along with the enemy!¡¯ ¡­That might be more entertaining to watch. It seemed like management was putting more effort into getting people to watch the game. But it would definitely make the people who are fighting feel more nervous! ¡®Currently, this new system only applies to this fight. Remember that! And sorry for not telling you soon!¡¯ ¡°No, nevermind. I was so carried away at the time that I didn¡¯t ask you.¡± I sort of felt that with my momentum, I could take down any enemy. But it was important to confirm everything. She was an AI, but had a personality based on humans, so she still made mistakes. More importantly, I needed to know what Necoco thought. ¡°Necoco. My¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I can dodge your attacks as I fight. And even if you do hit me, ignore it and keep shooting at Charin. I¡¯ll be angry if you forget to do that.¡± Necoco looked like an angry cat whose fur was fluffing up. If we lost, it would take time to repair our armor again. And the difficulty might be lowered. And all she cared about now was being able to clear it on the same difficulty as this aunt that she respected so much. ¡°Satomi-kun¡­¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be close to Charin, so it¡¯s fine. Also, just call me Satomi. Adding the ¡®kun¡¯ will just create a delay in communications.¡± ¡°Right¡­¡± He was clearly nervous as well. I recalled that while we were waiting, he had muttered, ¡®I don¡¯t mind videos, but I hate being focused on during live streams.¡¯ It was a lot different from video, where you could edit out any embarrassing moments. Was there anything I could do to make the two youngsters feel less nervous? But if I asked them, they would surely just say, ¡®defeat Charin.¡¯ In that case, I would do just that. I had the least amount of experience as a gamer, and had not accomplished much in my real life either. But it seemed like as things were now, I would be able to move the most naturally. I had lost the first event to Necoco, but somehow won against the impressive dragon, and became famous after the turf wars¡­ A lot had happened, and I wasn¡¯t really afraid of failure now. Who cares if someone watches you lose? Who cares if they laugh at your failure? Perhaps I was able to think this way because I had experienced a lot in my short time with the game, as well as living a long and average life. But it was too early for these two. And so I just said, ¡°We can win. With this party.¡± ¡°¡­Yes!¡± ¡°Of course¡­!¡± And then the real final battle began. CH 114 Data.107 ¨C Old Bowman, The Real Final Battle ¡®Now, just like the last time, you can choose where you want to start!¡¯ As for this, we had decided in advance. I would start on the rocky mountain, same as before. And I positioned Garbow right at the bottom. Satomi was in front of him, a short distance away, and Necoco was even farther out. This formation seemed like the best way to keep Charin away. It meant that I was being relied on, so the responsibility was great. However, I was strangely calm. ¡®Hoho. This formation makes your intentions very clear! Are you sure you want to do it like this?¡¯ ¡°We¡¯re fine!¡± Necoco replied. Charin nodded and then started the countdown. The 10 seconds passed by quickly. ¡®Battle Start! Now, let¡¯s see how long your new party can last! I won¡¯t be holding back!¡¯ Hmm. Charin had fought many parties at this point. And so it was clear to her that we lacked experience. ¡®Since there are 4 of you, I will wear all of my armor!¡¯ Charin equipped her boots, robe, and helm. This was the full Collect Zodiac set. And her weapons were the dual blades. They seemed to be her basic weapon. As Charin approached, Necoco dashed forward and then vanished. Invisible Cat Walk was a charge attack that allowed her to become invisible as long as she was running at top speed. She was good at using this to get close to an enemy and slashing their neck with her sharp claws before they noticed her. Satomi also disappeared at nearly the same time. He was using a charge attack called Unmoving Invisible Stance, which not only made him invisible, but erased his hitboxes when he stayed still. His fighting style involved using his Monsters Link skill to control his Unison, Gochu. While Monsters Link was activated, Satomi¡¯s status overwrote Gochus¡¯s, meaning the fire magic he was unleashing now was very powerful. While I was happy to have them with me, as they were both invisible, it did make me feel a little lonely on the field¡­ I could only see Garbow and Gochu, so it looked like I was the Unison trainer. However, I did know that they were there and fighting! And so I would continue to shoot my arrows! ¡®Your coordination isn¡¯t bad. People always tend to focus on what they can see. By erasing the advance and middle guard, the remaining rear guard attracts the most attention. But it¡¯s not as if the advance and middle guard are not there. This way of creating confusing situations would be very effective in PvP¡­ However!¡¯ Charin hopped forward and then stepped hard into the dirt with both feet. In the next instant, the ground started to ripple¡­! Just like water! Was this a charge attack from the boots¡­!? ¡®I¡¯ve dealt with all those attacks when you fought solo! While you may be coordinated, you are all continuing to use the same tactics! You cannot beat me like that!¡¯ As the ground rippled, their charge attacks were deactivated. Necoco could not run at full speed when the ground was moving, and since Satomi was moved by the ground, he could not remain invisible. As the two stood there, stunned, Charin began her attack. ¡°Explosive Sky Tear!¡± It was a fused charge attack, Burning Arrow and Sky Tear. ¡®I can read your movements!¡¯ Charin blocked the arrow with her dual blades. However, I too knew she was going to do that. She would probably use the Collect Sword effect to send it right back to me. In the meantime, Necoco and Satomi recovered. I had bought them some time, and if she used the effect of Collect Sword, then that meant the advance guard didn¡¯t have to worry about being countered. I would also be able to use an Arrow Storm fused charge attack without it being returned, but considering Necoco and Satomi¡¯s position, I would have to be careful so that I didn¡¯t hit them. Perhaps the best way would be to do what I did last time, and make it rain arrows where I knew she would land after jumping towards me¡­ I moved while constantly thinking ahead. In order to avoid the Explosive Sky Tear that would come back, I lay down on top of the mountain and prepared my next¡­ ¡®Come, Axe!¡± Charin defied my prediction and put away her dual blades. And then she brought out an axe and held it like a baseball batter. The axe blade was enveloped in golden light and grew larger¡­ She was going to swing at Necoco and Satomi with it! ¡°Spider Shooter Cloud! Web Cloud Arrow!¡± I changed my weapon and unleashed the skill. In that stance, she would not be able to avoid the sticky net! ¡°Old man! Don¡¯t forget our promise!¡± Necoco shouted as she shook on the rippling ground. It wasn¡¯t to assure me, but more of a warning. She probably had a plan then. In that case, I just had to do my job! Charin was charging up for an attack, and so I continued to shoot at her. But her expression did not change at all when being hit, and the arrows barely made a scratch. However, there was probably a different reason for this. They didn¡¯t want Charin, who was a pretty girl character, to be covered in blood and wounds¡­ So the attacks were likely more effective than it seemed. I just had to keep shooting¡­! ¡®Charge Attack ¨C Lion King Nimbus!¡¯ The giant blade of light mowed down everything around her. It was such a fast and sharp swing, that the light could still be seen, which made it look like a ring of light was around her. Of course, Necoco and Satomi were within range of it. But¡­I couldn¡¯t see them. ¡®Ughhh¡­!¡¯ Charin fell to her knees. Five slashes appeared on her neck. Like she had been scratched by claws¡­ ¡°I wanted to hide this. At least, during a fight where there was a large audience¡­ But I had no choice.¡± Necoco reappeared¡­looking very different. She had two tails, and her arms and legs were much more catlike. And her eyes were lined with red. She looked like¡­some kind of yokai! ¡°Yokai Transform: Nekomata¡­ It changes your race from human to Nekomata!¡± So this was Necoco¡¯s trump card¡­! She went from being a cat girl to a cat monster¡­ ¡°Since Charin killed us so quickly last time, we didn¡¯t show our full power. Well, not that I think it would have been enough to win on our own. So it worked out in the end.¡± Satomi was alive as well! He appeared after the ring of light faded. He was talking while bent backwards, as if doing the limbo dance. Had he dodged the attack like that? Being able to instinctively dodge a swing by bending your body. It was like something from a movie¡­ ¡°This is my secret move, Auto-Battle Mode, which allows me to fight without thinking, for the ultimate relaxation. I can talk, but my body is not my own now. I wonder what will happen next?¡± Auto battle existed in a lot of games. But it was a skill in NSO!? That was very unusual indeed¡­ But definitely interesting¡­! I didn¡¯t know much about either skills, but it was their trump cards, so they must be very powerful. However, being powerful always meant big demerits¡­ And so I held back my excitement and calmed myself. The fight had only just begun. CH 115 Data.108 ¨C Old Bowman, Desperate Battle of the Ghosts Still, being able to change your race was certainly impressive. You could only make humans in the NSO character creator, so everything else could only be seen as monsters. To think that you could change into them with a skill¡­ In the case of Nekomata, the change wasn¡¯t so dramatic that she looked like a demi-human. It was more like a high-grade cosplay. However, it was clear that her physical abilities had gone way up. My guess was that status-wise, her Attack and Speed had risen. Furthermore, she was now able to perform special actions. Specifically, a double jump! A move that was common in action games but impossible in real life. Even in NSO, ordinary players could not do it. But Necoco could jump in the air twice. That meant kicking off of the ground, and then jumping in the air twice after that. Not only that, but her body was accelerating at the same time, so she became invisible like when using Invisible Cat Walk. So she could jump around an enemy without being seen, and launch a chain of attacks like some kind of ninja. This evolved invisible attack made it seem like she was toying with Charin. However, she quickly noticed its weakness. While she was invisible and fast, in the end, Necoco had to come close in order to claw at her. So if she ¡®placed¡¯ an attack in the way, then Necoco would get caught in it. ¡®Collect Wand Libra Ver.NSO! Judge! Like the Libra constellation!¡¯ Charin¡¯s new weapon was a long stick that had round gems attached to each end. Every time she waved this wand, spheres of light appeared in the air. The spheres were suspended, without floating up or sinking. They were like aerial magic mines that exploded when any shock was applied to them. Obviously, they exploded when hit by arrows, so I had to be extra careful as I continued to shoot. Well, the arrows were thin, and thanks to the effect of Star Area Range, I could slightly alter their trajectory after unleashing them. So it wasn¡¯t too hard to shoot through the spheres and hit Charin. However, it was a different matter for Necoco. She may have been slim, but it was not possible for her to slide through the mines, attack, and then move away. And so she would hit the spheres and be blown into the air, or use all of her jumps and become visible near Charin, which resulted in her being hit by the staff. And Charin¡¯s attacks were merciless. She would target the head in order to do more damage, and would also attack the legs in order to prevent her from jumping. When it came to ordinary close-range combat, Charin was much stronger. And so, while it would be harder, Necoco had no choice but to try and ambush her repeatedly. In the meantime, Satomi and Gochu were supporting her. Satomi¡¯s Auto Battle Mode reminded me of old AIs. It would sometimes move strangely, like going close to the mines and then backing away and wandering around. It wanted to attack Charin, but must have decided that it couldn¡¯t go through the spheres and attack her. However, it was especially quick with reacting to attacks, and so even when Charin targeted it with her guns and cannons, it was able to dodge them with agile footwork. Currently, AI Satomi¡¯s main role was healing. As he had a job that relied on Unisons, he had numerous healing methods. And so if Gochu or Necoco were even a little bit hurt, he would react immediately and heal them while dodging attacks. Perhaps this was the ideal kind of healer. On the other hand, Gochu continued to eliminate the bothersome spheres of light with skills. I could tell that he was attacking in a way so that the explosions would hit Charin but not Necoco. As he was a monkey-type Unison, he was very intelligent. Even the movements were similar to that of a player. ¡°¡­Our pace is pretty good.¡± To be honest, we were doing great, creating patterns and facing Charin. Attack, heal, support¡­the wheels were turning smoothly. The spheres of light was a powerful offensive and defensive skill, but Charin was also trapped inside and unable to move around. Ultimately, our main objective of keeping her away was being accomplished. If we could maintain it, then her health should eventually be depleted¡­ If it continued¡­ Necoco looked like she was getting impatient. And while Satomi looked expressionless, I could tell that he was gritting his teeth more than before. My guess was that her Nekomata form and his Auto Battle had time limits. And so their desire to finish this quickly was showing on their face. Soon, one of them would do something risky¡­ It was just as I thought this. Necoco was the one to move. She purposefully became visible in front of Charin, and then her body was enveloped in a golden aura. The aura¡­was shaped like a dragon! ¡°Thunder Claws!¡± There was a flash of light that looked like thunder. And then the wand that Charin was using for defense went flying off into the air. ¡°I¡­I¡¯m numb¡­!?¡± As she could not block the whole attack, the lightning shot through Charin¡¯s body and paralyzed her. Now was our chance¡­! However, Necoco had also returned to human form, and she could not get out of the area surrounded by spheres of light. If she didn¡¯t get out, she would be hit¡­! ¡°Don¡¯t worry! Keep attacking even if you hit me!¡± ¡­That¡¯s right. I couldn¡¯t keep letting these youngsters remind me! In this last battle, if you won, then even the killed party members would get the reward. While it might not feel good to sacrifice her, this was how you played the game! ¡°Meteor Bow!¡± My strongest charge attack¡­with something added to make it even stronger! With Star Area Range, I could change the trajectory of an arrow after unleashing it. In that case, surely it should be possible to unleash numerous arrows over a wide area, and then make them gather together. ¡°¡­I can do it!¡± While they wouldn¡¯t be focused on one exact point, they were still moving towards the center. I hoped that it would do more damage and continued to shoot! The remaining spheres of light all exploded, and Gochu was activating his fire magic skills, so the field was a mess. I couldn¡¯t even see Charin anymore. However, after this many attacks¡­ Meteor Bow was deactivated, and Gochu ran out of MP and became quiet. The smoke cleared from the field, showing the ravaged ground. But neither Necoco or Charin were there. ¡°Did we do it¡­?¡± While it wasn¡¯t a perfect victory, it was still one way to¡­ ¡®That was close¡­ I thought I was going to lose¡­¡¯ ¡°What¡­!?¡± Charin appeared on a different part of the field! Her helm, robes and boots were in tatters, but she was alive¡­! But, how had she escaped from that¡­!? CH 116 Data.109 ¨C Old Bowman, The Shining Star in Cyberspace It wasn¡¯t my 13 Collect Zodiac equipment or my own ability that allowed me to escape. And it wasn¡¯t exactly luck either. In a way, it was by necessity that I¡­Charin, appeared in front of the players, in a state where I could still fight. In conclusion, I was saved because of Necoco¡¯s honest personality. ¡®Don¡¯t worry.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t her being thoughtful, it was just the truth¡­ From the beginning, she had no intention of being taken down with me! She had a hidden method of escape¡­! And that method was Drill Claw! It was an attack where her claws rotated like a drill. Normally, a skill like that would only be effective on rock-type monsters, but it had a hidden ability that allowed the player to dig into the ground like a mole. As she was surrounded in spheres of light, and as arrows rained down like meteors, Necoco had found her escape underground. It was clearly her intention to leave me there, paralyzed, ensuring that they all survived for a complete victory. But thanks to the fast reaction time of AIs, I was able to defend myself with the wand. And while my armor was damaged, it survived. Because of this, the paralysis time became shorter than Necoco thought. Once I could move, I had three options. The first was to counter the old man¡¯s Meteor Bow with Collect Sword Gemini Ver.NSO. The Collect Sword had already absorbed Exploding Sky Tear, but I canceled it without sending it back. Of course, there is a cooldown if you cancel, but at that point, I could already use it again. If the counter succeeded, then I could kill the old man and Satomi and Gochu. Then I just needed to take down Necoco, as her movements would be slower. It was the option that felt like the clearest path to victory¡­ But there was a big flaw. The Collect Sword could only counter one charge attack at a time¡­ And so while my own spheres of light were exploding all around, and as Gochu¡¯s fire magic flew everywhere, it would be difficult for me to hit the old man¡¯s Meteor Bow alone with my blades. If I accidentally absorbed something else, I would not be able to erase Meteor Bow, and my defeat would be certain. Another option was Collect Shield Virgo Ver.NSO¡¯s charge attack, Cosmos Guard, which would block the attack from the front. I had used it to block Meteor Bow in the previous fight, and so it would probably work against the charge attacks they were using now as well. However, all it did was raise the durability of the shield, and erase the effects of attacks that touched it. As it wasn¡¯t effective on anything outside of the shield, I would not be able to do anything about the arrows that came from the side and curved towards me. And this skill also did not have a counter attack. I would be weakened after stopping the attack. And even if Garbow was away due to the cooldown, I would still have to fight against four others in that state. There was a good chance that I would be pushed into defeat¡­ And so I chose the third option¡­ To go down the hole that Necoco dug, and escape! I held the Collect Shield over my head like an umbrella as I ran to the hole, and even while being hit, I slid inside. Then I killed Necoco as she finished digging and popped back out of the ground. And that is how I am standing here now. The only enemies left were the old man and Satomi¡­huh? Satomi was gone!? ¡°I don¡¯t know how you escaped, but this is still the end for you!¡± Satomi had thrown his arms around me from behind! Since when had he¡­ Ah! ¡®It¡¯s because of Auto Battle Mode!¡¯ ¡°Exactly. Right before the effect ended, my body suddenly moved towards the other side of the battlefield. That was proof that there was an enemy remaining in that direction. Because Auto Battle Mode will react to enemies that even the player cannot see¡­!¡± Indeed. So he detected my survival immediately and moved around to my back¡­! As for an attack that he could unleash at this distance¡­! ¡°Combination charge attack! Katenrooooooou!!¡± This combination charge attack with Gochu involved shooting out a fiery aura from his body and burning the enemy with it! And it had this strange effect, where it did more damage if you shouted! ¡®That¡¯s a surprisingly sloppy attack, coming from you! And I still have my Collect Sword!¡¯ It didn¡¯t matter if it was a combination charge attack. I could still absorb it with the sword! And so the fiery aura started to get sucked into the blade. ¡°Burning Arrow Storm!¡± ¡®Collect Burst Katenrooooouu!!¡¯ I knew that the old man would try and attack me! As combination charge attacks were generally more powerful that fused charge attacks, the arrows would not break through the fire and reach me! And since I was holding Satomi¡¯s arms so he wouldn¡¯t let go, he would get hit right back with his combination charge attack! Touch an idol¡¯s body and you will get burned! Now the only remaining enemy was the old man¡­! When Katenrou was finished activating, I had to immediately hold up Collect Shield. The only attacks the old man had left were Sky Tear and I¡¯m Arrow. So it was very possible that he could combine them and come shooting at me as an arrow! He also had Warp Arrow left. So I didn¡¯t know which direction he would come from¡­! Right now, Burning Arrow Storm was making a lot of noise, but once it settled down, I would listen carefully and find out which side he would come flying from, and activate the shield¡¯s charge attack, Cosmos Guard! Now that my armor was damaged, I could not get hit by a fused charge attack. If I did, I would lose¡­! Now, Burning Arrow Storm and Katenrou were about to finish. The next moment would determine the outcome of the battle¡­! ¡°¡­Ahhh!?¡± The-the old man suddenly appeared through the explosion and grabbed onto me! Why was he able to move here¡­!? Burning Arrow Storm had only just finished¡­ I had only just finished activating Katenrou, and wasn¡¯t able to switch back the shield yet! Could it be that while they were both charge attacks, Katenrou just remained activated for longer¡­? No, but even then¡­ ¡°Sorry. I would have attacked you from behind, but it was easier to warp with precision this way.¡± ¡­Ah! So he had fused Sky Tear and Warp Arrow! In other words, Warp Sky Tear! By accelerating Warp Arrow, he was able to warp before the final Burning Arrow Storm arrow landed! Due to the explosion, I wasn¡¯t able to hear the Warp Sky Tear arrow hit the ground, and the smoke covered everything¡­! But, why did he need to wrap his arms around me¡­!? And also¡­we started spinning around¡­!? ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô It was a ridiculously risky move, but it seemed like it had paid off. Garbow went into cooldown after the combination charge attack, Necoco disappeared, and Satomi had burned up. My mind went blank. And so I wondered if I couldn¡¯t do something with Burning Arrow Storm. I had no other ideas for my next move. But in the end, by having my allies die so that I was solo again, I was able to regain my calm. And realizing what I had left and the situation they had created for me, I thought of a crazy plan. Something I would usually never do¡­ A zero distance attack. Upon seeing Satomi use Katenrou, which he had previously said was hard to aim, I was impressed at his method for dealing with that problem. And perhaps I could combine it with a different charge attack¡­ But there were limits to arrow fusion. In general, powerful charge attacks could not be combined with skills that increased the number of arrows. I couldn¡¯t multiply myself by fusing I¡¯m Arrow and Arrow Storm, and I couldn¡¯t warp in multiple places by fusing Warp Arrow and Multi-shot. However, if it was two charge attacks that created one arrow¡­you could combine them. In other words, it was possible to fuse Sky Tear and Warp Arrow to create Warp Sky Tear. And the fused charge attack I just activated was I¡¯m Arrow + Indra¡¯s Arrow! I had turned into an arrow, rose high into the air, and come back down, while enveloped in the power of lightning¡­! My entire body would now deal a tremendous amount of damage. Whatever attacks Charin was capable of would do nothing to me now. In fact, I was holding her arms down, so she wouldn¡¯t even be able to attack. While I might have looked like a degenerate¡­it was to win! The burden of victory was all on me! I would defeat Charin with this¡­! This¡­uh, what should I call this fused charge attack¡­ I¡¯m Indra¡¯s Arrow was too straightforward, and didn¡¯t sound cool. A special name that was appropriate for the final battle of the constellation trials¡­ And a name that immediately told you what the charge attack was¡­ ¡°Starrrduustaarrooooooww!!¡± Like the stars that shine in the sky! Charin and I rotated at a high speed, becoming a light that rose high into the air. CH 117 Data.110 ¨C Old Bowman, the Answer! The world was turning¡­! We shot out from the Serpent Palace and rose higher and higher¡­! Wait a minute. They didn¡¯t have a barrier for preventing people from flying too far up? Or was this charge attack an exception, as it had to go up once before coming back down? ¡­That was likely it. Indra¡¯s Arrow was stronger the higher up it went. So it wouldn¡¯t be fair to limit it with a barrier. Well, perhaps management hadn¡¯t thought that someone would use it in order to launch themselves into the air like this¡­! No, what I really should be concerned with right now, was that this was taking longer than I expected. Did I¡¯m Arrow or Indra¡¯s Arrow have a hidden effect that increased your range!? The Serpent Palace was already pretty high up, and so our distance from the ground was incredibly far now. We were probably closer to being in space¡­!? It wasn¡¯t a joke. The horizon looked round! We were so high that I could see that the world of NSO was realistically shaped like a sphere¡­ The sky had become a deeper blue. Were we in outer space now? Was this a bug¡­! ¡°¡­Ah.¡± For just one second, our movement seemed to stop. Between the sky and space, we were free from gravity and rotation. That¡¯s what it felt like. Like a zone that you could reach when achieving the height of something? Everything seemed so clear. I could see the continent that I adventured in. The south sea where I met Garbow. Even the foggy mountains that I visited often. Though, I couldn¡¯t see them clearly. On the other hand, the Windcloud Mountains were clear and tall. And though I wasn¡¯t sure, there were other places that looked familiar. I had traveled a lot during the twelve trials¡­ I had not adventured nearly enough¡­ Then I felt my body jolt as I was grabbed by gravity once again. I started to spin again, this time with my head facing the ground. Ah¡­this was bad¡­ ¡°AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!¡± Where had the quietness gone? I screamed unabashedly as I fell. Like stardust captured by gravity¡­ ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡®Damn it. I did not expect to be defeated like that-nyon!¡¯ We had won. In other words, the Stardust Arrow had taken Charin¡¯s HP down to 0. It had been the most desperate fight I had been in so far. Though there were five of us, the others were defeated or went into cooldown, so I ended up all alone. But in the end, I had jumped through the explosion and lost a lot of HP. Well, my equipment was still protecting me, so there was no danger of dying. On the other hand, my equipment was blackened¡­but that was like a mark of honor. Besides, it would look bad if I was untouched, while Necoco and Satomi¡¯s armor was ruined. I had only been able to defeat her because of how hard those two fought. In terms of contribution, I hadn¡¯t done all that much. I just got the flashiest part. ¡®And by a party that was just thrown together with no coordination!¡¯ She was now the ordinary Charin, not the origin version or the cosplay versions. After seeing all the others, I thought she looked best this way. It was a conclusion that I¡¯m sure that all of her hardcore fans had reached a while ago. In the end, normal was best¡­ However, she seemed a little irritated? Well, maybe not. She was always supposed to have a tendency of showing her emotions. ¡®But¡­ That was probably why I lost. You may be a messy party that ignores common sense and ideas of cooperation and all that, but you were somehow still connected¡­ That¡¯s what it felt like-nyon.¡¯ A miraculous fusion of unique solo players¡­that was the Ghost Guild. The reason we had gathered was because we had similar play styles, and that connection during the fight was what had led us to victory. Including the Unison, the whole party was just moving with the goal of winning, and in the end, a surprising kind of cooperation had been born. ¡®For being such wonderful players who overcame the trials and won the final battle, I present to you the ME medal-nyon!¡¯ Three medals came down from the sky and flew towards us. On the front of the gold medal was a picture of the symbols of the twelve constellations, which was proof that we had finished the entire event. There were also illustrations based on each trial, so looking at it brought back a lot of memories. And on the back¡­ What was this? For some reason, there was a ballista that had nothing to do with the event¡­? ¡®That medal isn¡¯t just a souvenir-nyon! It¡¯s an amazing medal, where just having it allows you to activate a ¡®Miracle Effect¡¯ that exceeds skills and charge attacks-nyon! That¡¯s why it¡¯s called a ME medal-nyon!¡¯ ¡°Exceeds skills and charge attacks¡­ Like, in what way? And just having it? So it doesn¡¯t need to be equipped?¡± ¡°The difference between it and skills or charge attacks is¡­ Well, it¡¯s stronger but has strict limitations, I suppose. It¡¯s not something that is completely different-nyon. And yes, it does not need to be equipped-nyon. I did consider making it equippable, or having a new equipment slot just for medals, but we settled on this. It¡¯s a collaboration item, so it shouldn¡¯t act too important-nyon.¡¯ I see. This was supposed to be a collaboration event. I had forgotten, as it wasn¡¯t too different from the usual NSO. ¡®Also, I thought that during times like this, when there are limits to how many items that you can bring with you, it will be difficult to decide whether or not to bring the ME medal with you. Well, it¡¯s also difficult to decide how these collaboration items should be handled. They are like limited items, so they can¡¯t be too important, or people who start playing later will get angry-nyon.¡¯ ¡°You can always do another event. A second collaboration.¡± I said light-heartedly. However, I knew full well that it wasn¡¯t as easy to do as a normal event¡­ But Charin looked pleased by this. ¡®Indeed-nyon! As long as there is a demand, we can do it many times over-nyon! I have no problem with that! It can be any time!¡¯ Charin said as she waved her fist. ¡®Ah, that¡¯s right! The design and effect of the ME medals are different for each player-nyon! That¡¯s one of the reasons that they are difficult to handle¡­¡¯ ¡°What!? So Necoco and Satomi¡¯s medals are different from mine?¡± I glanced towards them, but they swiftly hid their medals. While I understood that I was wrong for taking a peek, we were comrades. They were medals that we had acquired through working together. Surely we could just show them to each other¡­? ¡°No, old man. We¡¯ll be enemies during solo events, so we shouldn¡¯t show more than we have to.¡± ¡°But, maybe just this one time?¡± ¡°I understand how you feel, but no! I want to keep it as a secret trump card. Besides, you should have seen how surprised you were when you saw my Nekomata¡­ Right, Satomi?¡± ¡°His reaction to seeing my Auto Battle Mode was also pretty amusing. I¡¯ll never be able to see such an expression again if he knows everything¡­ And so I cannot show it. I¡¯m only half-joking.¡± Half¡­ ¡°I think we are all better off not completely understanding each other. People who want to enjoy online games alone don¡¯t want to have to be considerate of others, but also don¡¯t want others to have to be considerate of them.¡± ¡°Ah, I suppose.¡± ¡°And so it¡¯s better to not know. If you know everyone¡¯s skills, charge attacks and weaknesses, you¡¯ll start to worry about things other than yourself, and others will worry about you. If we¡¯re going to think and move as a group, that might make sense. But it is not our style.¡± Satomi was right. If I knew about all of their skills, then I would always be thinking about when they were going to use them and how I could cover for their weaknesses. It wasn¡¯t as if I didn¡¯t have enough trouble thinking about when to use my own trump card. If I just continued to do what was best for myself, then it would ultimately benefit the rest of the party¡­ That was fine for us, wasn¡¯t it? But still, I couldn¡¯t help but be curious about what kind of medal they had acquired¡­ I would just have to hope that I would find out one day, and wait¡­ No one likes an old prying man. ¡®Cough! Now, I¡¯ll be returning you all to the surface-nyon! The event isn¡¯t over yet, and there are hidden labyrinths-nyon! Well, they are just bonuses, so there are no rules about them being close to each labyrinth-nyon! But you might find them when you¡¯re out adventuring, so hope that you are lucky!¡¯ I had also found one of them after getting lost. They seemed like the kind of thing that you would never find if you were actually looking for them¡­ ¡®Stars that shine! Lead the victors to the future!¡¯ Our bodies were surrounded by light. Were we going to be moved to the ground now? ¡­How many times today have I been enveloped by light and turned into a star? ¡°Well, we won¡¯t see each other for awhile, Mr. Kyuji. But after this trial and battle, I know what I have to do now. I want to be stronger, so I won¡¯t have to rely on you as much the next time that we get together.¡± ¡°If anything, I relied on you and Gochu for most of it. I only survived because you were in the front. Otherwise, she would have got to me eventually, no matter how far away I was. That was a painful lesson I learned when fighting against Charin. I also need to get stronger, so you two don¡¯t have to sacrifice yourselves during an attack.¡± ¡°I intend to get stronger too! While I may have finished the star trials, my aunt is farther than the stars. I can¡¯t even see her back yet¡­ But one day, I will catch up¡­and surpass her! We¡¯re going to battle, and I¡¯ll win!¡± I had seen the video of her aunt fighting. She seemed so far away that I didn¡¯t even feel like saying something encouraging, like ¡®you will be able to catch up!¡¯ However, I didn¡¯t know enough about Necoco to jump to any conclusions. She was young, and the possibilities were endless. And maybe¡­it was the same for me? ¡°Well, just continue to play and have fun. And things will work out!¡± ¡°What is that? Is that supposed to be encouraging?¡± ¡°No, that was for me!¡± And then our bodies floated up. It was time to return to ordinary adventuring. ¡°Thanks, you two. Until next time!¡± ¡°Bye-bye! It was fun!¡± ¡°See on the next battlefield.¡± And so the Ghosts spread out on the surface, searching for new power. One fight had ended, and a new one had begun. CH 118 BBS.8 ¨C NSO General Thread [VRMMO] Next Stage Online General Thread part2800 1: Anonymous Runner A general thread to discuss ¡®Next Stage Online.¡¯ While most subjects are allowed, party requests, complaints, trolling and bragging have their own threads. The next thread will be created automatically. 2: Anonymous Runner >>1 Thanks! That was amazing! 3: Anonymous Runner >>1 Thanks. That was so fast lol 4: Anonymous Runner The last thread went by so quickly. 5: Anonymous Runner I thought they had lost once it was just the old bowman. 6: Anonymous Runner The guy who was slamming his charge attack. lol That was me. 7: Anonymous Runner >>6 Well, it did look like he was panicking when he unleashed it. I had no idea it was part of a plan. That¡¯s an MVP for you. 8: Anonymous Runner The last skill was so cool¡­ I didn¡¯t think he had been saving such a trump card. 9: Anonymous Runner It¡¯s amazing how much someone can change in a short amount of time¡­ 10: Anonymous Runner >>9 Did he really change that much? 11: Anonymous Runner >>10 Of course. Were you even watching? 12: Anonymous Runner There were so many self-destruct type attacks. lol Was that their plan? Or was it improv? 13: Anonymous Runner >>12 14: Anonymous Runner >>13 Yeah, it was all him. 15: Anonymous Runner >>13 Old Bowman is the strongest! Old Bowman is the strongest! Old Bowman is the strongest! 16: Anonymous Runner >>13 He was amazing. I wish I could be like that¡­ 17: Anonymous Runner >>13 He¡¯s one of the best known NSO players for a reason! 18: Anonymous Runner You guys should talk about the other members for a change. 19: Anonymous Runner >>18 Don¡¯t you think they would have been able to win with just one casualty if the cat girl didn¡¯t dig that hole? 20: Anonymous Runner >>19 Oh 21: Anonymous Runner >>19 Hey 22: Anonymous Runner >>19 You¡¯re going too far 23: Anonymous Runner >>19 Maybe that was why they were able to win! 24: Anonymous Runner >>19 What a dogpile. lol 25: Anonymous Runner The old guy is the MVP. Next is the monkey. 26: Anonymous Runner >>25 The trainer did his best. The healing alone was very important. 27: Anonymous Runner 28: Anonymous Runner It must be nice to be able to use Auto Battle Every healer would want that ability. Healing can be very troublesome, but it becomes automatic. 29: Anonymous Runner While they were very messy, they did feel like a balanced party. Advance, middle and rear guard. Physical, magic, healing, ranged. There were no gaps. 30: Anonymous Runner >>29 They don¡¯t have a tank. They were saved by the fact that Charin used the shiny spheres that killed any mobility. If they were up against another party, they would need someone to block attacks and protect the archer. 31: Anonymous Runner >>30 The cat is too weak to accept attacks, and the monkey is a sorcerer. And the trainer¡¯s status would be low. Yes, they¡¯ll have trouble in the future without a shield. 32: Anonymous Runner In other words, they have plenty of room to grow. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô 315: Anonymous Runner Now there are 8 players who have finished it. Macoco and VRHAR are on a different level. They moved like they would be able to beat Charin no matter how many times they fought. I think the Old Bowman party would lose if they fought again. 316: Anonymous Runner They have momentum but not enough stability. While they did well enough, VRHAR is still better on average. 317: Anonymous Runner VRHAR is definitely more stable. They move with machine-like precision. 318: Anonymous Runner What¡¯s this VRHAR you guys are talking about? 319: Anonymous Runner >>318 Valhalla. They are a pro team and the strongest guild of NSO. Their top 4 were the first party to beat Charin. 320: Anonymous Runner >>318 How did you not know that? 321: Anonymous Runner 322: Anonymous Runner >>321 VR and AR. They are a group of cyborgs that have mastered both, so they are VRHAR. The H is for human. 323: Anonymous Runner >>322 I didn¡¯t know that there was such a guild. They sound stuck up. 324: Anonymous Runner >>323 Well, people online tend to hate players with such characters, but they¡¯ve proven themselves in other games. So they have their fans. 325: Anonymous Runner You can¡¯t copy their movements. They really are like cyborgs. Well, I can¡¯t copy Macoco either. Or the old bowman. 326: Anonymous Runner >>325 You can¡¯t copy anyone! 327: Anonymous Runner At this point, copying any player that beat Charin is impossible for us ordinary players. 328: Anonymous Runner People in this thread would probably lose to the weakened Charin as well. 329: Anonymous Runner >>328 You¡¯re exaggerating! They won¡¯t even be able to clear all of the trials! 330: Anonymous Runner >>329 How sad¡­ ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô 796: Anonymous Runner Still, just watching the Charin fights is quite fun. I¡¯ve been in the fountain plaza for the past few days and haven¡¯t gone adventuring at all. 797: Anonymous Runner >>796 Me too. 798: Anonymous Runner >>796 Same 799: Anonymous Runner High level play is really worth watching. While this event was Charin vs players, I would also like to see a player vs player event. 800: Anonymous Runner With the battle royale, you were rewarded for just hiding, and there were too many people during the turf war that it was chaos. It would be nice if there was something like a tournament. 801: Anonymous Runner Are you going to participate in it? You better. Since it¡¯s an event. 802: Anonymous Runner >>801 Of course, I am. Though, I have no chance of winning¡­ 803: Anonymous Runner >>801 It would suck to have so many people watch you lose¡­ 804: Anonymous Runner >>803 No one has any expectations for you anyway. 805: Anonymous Runner >>804 I have expectations for myself! I don¡¯t want to see myself lose pathetically! But it¡¯s fun to see other people lose! 806: Anonymous Runner >>805 You¡¯re terrible. lol 807: Anonymous Runner >>805 I hope you lose! 808: Anonymous Runner >>805 An example of a typical poster here. 809: Anonymous Runner Even if there is a tournament, none of you will get past the preliminaries. You won¡¯t even be shown at the edge of the screen. You will all be gone. 810: Anonymous Runner >>809 What a merciless but true response. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô And their battle was talked about online. Even their haphazard fighting style was interpreted as calculated, and they were rated highly without Kyuji¡¯s knowledge. As Management had expected, users were excited as they watched the videos. Like this, people became absorbed by content involving battles and spectating¡­ CH 119 Data.111 ¨C Old Bowman, Night Field ¡°It¡¯s completely dark now¡­¡± The sun in the world of NSO had sunk. Only the light of the moon and stars illuminated the area around¡­ Ever since that morning after the final battle, where I had fallen into a deep sleep after becoming more tired than usual, my daily rhythm shifted slightly. I wouldn¡¯t say that day and night had been reversed. However, I did wake up later than I did while I was still working, and I also went to bed at a later time. It was probably not a good thing, from a health perspective, however, the desire to play the game was stronger than the desire to sleep. Even if I used an alarm clock like I used to, I would always just fall right back to sleep. Similarly, I would have trouble falling asleep if I tried to go to bed early. I meant to fix it if it got any worse, but I suppose this much of a shift was not really a problem. After all, thanks to this shift, I would likely be able to see parts of NSO that I had not seen before. Such as¡­the night. I had always logged in during the morning and logged out at night, and so I didn¡¯t know what NSO was like at night. There was information out there about how monsters were stronger and appeared in larger numbers at night, but I had never experienced it. After all, the shadows of night were the mortal enemy of archers. Apparently, I had a knack for using bows. And so I didn¡¯t have much trouble with shooting enemies that I could see. However, when it came to shooting enemies that lurked in the dark¡­that was another matter. I didn¡¯t have eyes that could see through the dark like some nocturnal animal, or supersonic waves that told me the location of something, like a bat. Not being able to see far meant that my Range was useless. You couldn¡¯t shoot what you couldn¡¯t see. Also, while it was a little embarrassing, I just did not like the darkness. I didn¡¯t even like the night in the real world. Seeing the darkness just made me feel depressed. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t like horror games¡­ I did like looking in the dark setting or backstories, but when it came to actually playing it¡­ Just knowing that I would see something horrifying if I continued was enough to kill my motivation¡­ So, the night just wasn¡¯t a good fit for me or the way I fought. Then why was I currently in the middle of a dark field at night? ¡­It was all a mistake. While I had finished it, the zodiac event was still continuing. More people were taking on the final boss now. The difficulty had dropped, and multiple parties could now fight simultaneously. However, the number of winners was still low. Even now¡­it felt surprising that we had made it. Who knows what would happen if we fought again. It had been a really close call¡­ No, nevermind that. It wasn¡¯t the time to think of such things. I had taken Charin¡¯s advice and decided to run through the fields and search for the hidden labyrinths. However, this was no easy task. And so I thought that they must be in a more hidden location, and so I entered a cave that I found by accident. The result was¡­nothing. It was a long cave, but there was nothing inside. But as there were normal monsters inside, it ended up taking a long time to get through¡­ It was with such thoughts that I stepped out of the cave, only to see that the sky was dark. Not only that, but unluckily, this was an area where I hadn¡¯t gotten the map yet, so it was all black. And so I didn¡¯t know how to get to the main roads, which were relatively safe, even during the night. And since you could only fast travel from town to town, I could not warp out of the field. So, what should I do¡­ If I wanted to log out, I should search for the road, which would hopefully lead me to a village. While villages only had the bare minimum facilities, it was possible to log out and fast travel to a town. On the other hand, you couldn¡¯t warp to a village from a town, but villages were really just a small relief measure that allowed players far away from a town to heal, buy items and log out. It wasn¡¯t actually impossible to log out when not in a town. However, if you did, your body would remain there without a conscious, so would likely become prey to some monster. But I had only just repaired my equipment after the Charin fight, and so that wasn¡¯t an option for me. And so I would try and find a village while relying on my memory. Grrrr¡­! I heard the growl of a beast. Multiple beasts. And they weren¡¯t too far away. While Garbow lived in the deep sea, he did not have night vision abilities. So it was no wonder that he didn¡¯t let out his usual hostile cry. ¡°Torch, torch¡­¡± It was a good thing that I had bought a torch, just in case. And so I took it out of the item box and selected ¡®Use.¡¯ And then a flame that almost looked white began to burn up. It seemed so much hotter than the torch I used during the trials¡­! And it was also a lot brighter! That¡¯s when I saw the wolves. The black fur and the glimmering red eyes¡­ The bodies were large and muscular. It was like their eyes were telling me that they were stronger than the wolves that appeared during the day. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Garbow.¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± With Garbow in front of me, I fought with my back facing the cave. While monsters had been in the cave as well, I had killed most of them. So they shouldn¡¯t appear for a while. As my back was safe, I just had to focus on what was in front of me. As a solo player, I could not allow myself to be attacked from all sides. Kiriri¡­shu! Zhunk! The arrows were unleashed one after another. I had stabbed the ground with the torch. If I could see the enemy, the rest was easy. While the enemy was fast, they weren¡¯t nearly as fast as Charin. But, these guys are tough¡­! ¡°You can¡¯t walk out here half-heartedly.¡± I finally killed all of them and caught my breath. While I wouldn¡¯t lose, had I been fighting in a less ideal place, I would have had a difficult time. And if they were a bear or gorilla type monsters¡­ Well, while the thought was scary, I actually wanted to fight them. Was I becoming obsessed with fighting? In any case, for now, I would just try and reach a village. I needed to be prepared if I was going to go hunting. Like I said before, going out half-heartedly could have disastrous results. ¡°Ah, I can¡¯t forget the torch in the ground!¡± I had thought that it was strangely bright, and realized that I had forgotten to put away the torch. As it was expensive, it would be a big waste to only use it once and then lose it. ¡­Huh? It was still bright, even after putting the torch away. There was a light in the sky¡­ ¡°¡­¡± I had no words. There was an airship flying overhead. I could see vague, glowing figures in the craft that flew with a patchwork envelope filled with gas, like some kind of ghost ship¡­ A ghost airship¡­! CH 120 Data.112 ¨C Old Bowman, Ghost Airship This Ghost Airship¡­was it an enemy? There was no visible HP gauge, and since Garbow wasn¡¯t crying, it seemed unlikely¡­? But for what purpose was it flying up there? Since it¡¯s an airship¡­can you ride on it? I had so many questions. However, they didn¡¯t do anything to acknowledge me. They did not stop, but continued to drift away slowly, like the wind. In other words, they were just just passing by. It was a coincidence that had nothing to do with me. ¡­However, I would definitely regret it if I just let them go. I wanted to get on that airship somehow. It was quite shabby-looking. So there were places where there were no walls and you could see the passenger seats. That was perfect, as I could hit it with Warp Arrow. ¡°Floating Cloud Herd! Windcloud Blast! Whirlwind!¡± The wind carried me up, and I stepped on clouds in order to rise even higher. As it was an airship, it wasn¡¯t flying too high up. However, if I missed, I would have to wait for 3 minutes. And so I got as close as I could and¡­shot! ¡°Warp Arrow!¡± The arrow went through the gap in the walls and landed inside. And then my body warped into the mysterious Ghost Airship. When I was inside¡­I was scared¡­! There was something intimidating about being in an airship where the floor creaked. The floor was made of wood¡­ And there were gaps, which allowed cold air to seep through¡­ In the first place, I was not a fan of horror. It made me wonder why I had ever gotten into a Ghost Airshop where human souls were floating around. Creak¡­creak¡­creak¡­ I walked through the creaking passages until I arrived at the front. And there¡­I saw that there were other players! They sat on torn, leather seats. And after looking at me once with wide eyes, they turned away as if nothing had happened. Yes, they were players, not monsters. Garbow didn¡¯t react to them, and they were clearly surprised to see me. After the Charin fight, more people looked surprised or would shout after seeing me¡­ Still, the people here were strangely quiet. While some were likely here as a party, none of them were talking to each other. It was more comfortable that way for me, but I couldn¡¯t help but wonder. Was there some kind of rule here, where you would be thrown off of the airship if you talked? Did the ¡®combat¡¯ here involve trying to make someone talk? Perhaps NSO was now about mind games¡­ ¡°Alright! I¡¯ve finally found you, Ghost Airship!¡± Someone new had come aboard. Someone with no notable features¡­as rude as that sounded, it really was just an ordinary young man. It was the default male that you could make in the character creator. The kind of student you would see in textbooks. The design that was discarded for being too plain to be the protagonist¡­ He was still handsome, and not someone that you would dislike. But there was nothing memorable about the design. ¡°Ah, you are Mr. Kyuji! I forgot to thank you back then!¡± ¡°Back then¡­?¡± I don¡¯t remember¡­ ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry! You¡¯ve beaten so many players and enemies now. So you would have forgotten someone like me! Especially since I have a face like this¡­¡± ¡°Uh, sorry¡­¡± Why was I apologizing¡­! Still, I got it now. I rarely even talked to people. And so I would not have forgotten someone who talked like this. If I did meet him before, it must have been a time when we didn¡¯t have time to talk¡­ In other words, as enemies during the battle royale¡­ Still, I wasn¡¯t sure. I had defeated too many players. Especially during the turf war, where the combat had been so random¡­ ¡°Well, that¡¯s enough talking. Let¡¯s wait quietly. I think that we¡¯ll arrive at our destination soon enough.¡± ¡°So, you know where this Ghost Airship is headed?¡± ¡°Of course! I¡¯ve been on it, arrived, been dropped, and returned before. Though, it did take a long time¡­ Well, we don¡¯t know when or where this ship will actually appear. But the last stop is always the same¡­ The Ghost Float.¡± ¡°Ghost¡­float¡­?¡± ¡°Oh, I guess you don¡¯t look up spoilers online, Mr. Kyuji! If I say anymore, I will be robbing you of a wonderful experience. So I will be silent!¡± Ghost Float¡­eh? To be honest, I was quite relieved that there was a destination, and this ship didn¡¯t just wander endlessly. That would have been terribly disappointing. Still, he sure talked a lot for someone who didn¡¯t even introduce himself. While it was a little odd, I suppose people did occasionally forget to introduce themselves. And so I would take a seat as well and wait. The Ghost Ship rose into the air and accelerated. ¡°This time¡­¡± ¡°Ahh¡­! I can¡¯t wait¡­¡± ¡°I hope this one is challenging¡­¡± Well, that was ominous¡­ While I was worried, I stood up. That was when I heard people scream around me. Did they think that I was some blood-thirsty player¡­? But it wasn¡¯t like I was able to kill them on the field, so there was no need to worry¡­ Regardless, all these strange feelings were blown away once we landed on the Ghost Float. ¡°What is this¡­?¡± The ground was made of patchwork tattered cloth, and it was soft as if it was stuffed with cotton! The trees and grass were colorful and cartoonish! But more than anything¡­the island was floating! It was a hanging sphere made of patchwork cloth¡­! A ghost island¡­the Ghost Float! Everything about the design felt so exaggerated¡­! The atmosphere was so different from the NSO I had experienced up until now, that I couldn¡¯t help but feel excited! But, I will control myself¡­! First, I had to take in my surroundings. I was currently in the dock. There were several other ghost airships. They gather players from all over the lands and bring them here, before setting off to pick up more. The players that arrived would then move from the dock to the town. Nice¡­very nice¡­ It was a place where you wanted to just stop and look around, even if you didn¡¯t have any destination in particular. I very much wanted to unlock fast travel here. But where could I accept the quest to unlock it? And I also wanted to explore the field around the town as well! Sometimes human curiosity trumped rational thinking¡­! The street that stretched out from the town was lined with fancy lamp posts. And it led to the kind of forest that you would expect a witch to live in. I loved this kind of classical atmosphere! However, there weren¡¯t too many people there. In new areas, when you were headed somewhere, it would make sense to use the main roads, as there were fewer monsters to be seen there. And yet, aside from me, I could only see two boys walking further ahead. Considering how many people had been in the town, there should be more people on the field as well¡­ ¡°Wh-what!? Ahhhh!?¡± The boys in front of me fell to their knees. And then someone jumped out as if to deal them a mortal wound. It was¡­a player! But why was a player attacking them!? ¡°You see them sometimes¡­ Beginners who don¡¯t know that this is a ¡®versus field¡¯¡­¡± The player swung a sword at the boys. I didn¡¯t really really understand what was happening, but it seemed like you were allowed to do it!? But while my mind was confused, my body had already pulled out my bow and was ready to attack. CH 121 Data.113 ¨C Old Bowman, Versus Field Aim for the head? Or the heart? No, I didn¡¯t want to kill a player without fully understanding the situation. And so I would aim for the weapon! Kiriri¡­shu! Clang! The arrow hit the sword. The impact caused it to fly out of the player¡¯s hand and land behind him. But while I was able to disarm him, I couldn¡¯t let my guard down just yet. I would also have to rob him of movement! ¡°Web Cloud Arrow!¡± I changed my bow to Spider Shooter Cloud, and then fired off the sticky web. He looked like he was still in shock over losing his sword. And so he did not resist as he was tangled up in the web and fell to the ground. ¡°My-my sword¡­ What the hell is this sticky stuff!? How did this happen!?¡± ¡°Um, could you tell me why you were targeting these kids? Actually, I want to know why players are allowed to attack each other.¡± I said as I approached the man. Apparently, this Ghost Float had its own rules. And I wanted him to tell me about it. ¡°Wh-what? Who are¡­ah!? Ahhhh! You¡¯re¡­Kyu¡­something. That amazing player!¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m really an amazing player, but I am called Kyuji. So, why are you¡­¡± ¡°I-I¡¯ll talk! So please don¡¯t kill me! It¡¯s really hard to get back up here!¡± ¡°Hard to get back¡­? Alright, if you could tell me about that, as well as the other things that I asked, that would be great. Ah, I¡¯ll remove the webs now.¡± It would be rude to keep him bound up if he was willing to cooperate. If he was just attacking the other players because the rules allowed it, then he wasn¡¯t really in the wrong. So I could treat him normally. ¡°Ah, thank you. Phew. That was scary¡­¡± Now that he had completely lost the will to fight, he told me all about the Ghost Float. First, nearly the entire floating island was a ¡®Versus Field,¡¯ which meant that players were allowed to kill each other. Player attacks were effective on other players, and there would be a penalty when you died. Of course, your armor could be destroyed¡­ Apparently, these rules were explained on signs throughout the town and field. I must have missed them somehow¡­ In RPGs, you often check signs and talk to NPCs a lot in the beginning, but by the time you reach the middle, it becomes too troublesome to do. However, this explained why there weren¡¯t many people walking on the roads. The roads were paved so they would be easier to walk on. That meant it was flat and there were no obstacles nearby or places you could hide. Not only that, but while the floating island was generally quite dark, this place was bright, thanks to the many lamp posts. So it was the perfect hunting ground. ¡°But even though you are allowed to kill other players, is there a reason to go out and actively hunt them? For instance, would you receive a lot of experience points?¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t receive experience points at all. And you cannot take their equipment or items either.¡± ¡°So what is the point? You¡¯ll just earn hatred and nothing else¡­¡± ¡°Yes, you could say that! But it¡¯s fun! Just like the rest of the game! It¡¯s fun to fight others with everything you got! In the Colosseum, there is no penalty or equipment damage. It feels too casual. It¡¯s much funner to fight each other when in a situation where you have something to lose! I¡¯m sure that you understand?¡± ¡°I do understand¡­that you were about to ambush two kids¡­¡± ¡°Gah¡­!¡± The man looked away. As for the boys, they had already returned to the town. They hadn¡¯t known about the Versus Field, but once they heard the explanation, they went off saying, ¡®then let¡¯s go and kill some people as well!¡¯ Kids were so cruel. ¡°Ac-actually, I haven¡¯t even fought a player yet. Even though I hid and waited, everyone looked so strong that I didn¡¯t have the guts to go out and attack them¡­ I told you earlier, that it¡¯s hard to get back here, right? That¡¯s because you cannot respawn in the Ghost Float town if you are killed.¡± Well, that was certainly different¡­ Usually when a player was killed, they would be forced to return to the last town they were in. ¡°If you haven¡¯t unlocked fast travel, you will not be able to return, unless you are lucky enough to see the Ghost Airship passing by again. Not only that, but the requirement for unlocking fast travel is quite severe. In fact, I believe only a handful of the players running around now have done it. I haven¡¯t unlocked it myself! That¡¯s why I targeted someone I thought I could beat!¡± While it wasn¡¯t against the rules, it wasn¡¯t a really good motive either¡­ However, I wasn¡¯t the kind of person to be judgmental of someone else¡¯s playstyle, so I didn¡¯t say anything¡­ But it apparently showed on my face anyway. The man frantically corrected himself. ¡°Wait! Wait! I¡¯m not like you. It¡¯s not just about purely enjoying the combat! But player vs player videos are really popular right now! And it¡¯s mostly your fault!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°The Charin battle! Macoco and VRHAR¡¯s super play was like something from a far away world, but the way that you and your team fought, it was something many players wanted to copy. But they cannot beat Charin. And so they have started to search for opponents that they can beat. There are many prank-like videos being uploaded now of players being ambushed!¡± ¡°What¡­¡± Prank videos were always popular at any age. And the more extreme ones tended to get a lot of attention. Well, if that was the kind of area this was, then I would accept it. The problem was, how would I avoid such players while I explored this place¡­ ¡°Thank you. I understand the situation now.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it! Meeting you has changed the way that I think. Yes, it¡¯s not cool to look for and fight people who are weaker than you! So from now on, I will be someone who kills players who kills other players. A player killer killer! A champion of justice! That way, people won¡¯t send me hate online!¡± ¡°Uh¡­good luck then.¡± The man looked very enthusiastic as he left. Killing player killers, huh¡­ I might have to do something like that, if I wanted to survive on this Ghost Float. In any case, I should have Garbow summoned at all times. While he wouldn¡¯t warn me about other players, AI were never surprised, which was good for ambushes. Also, I would have to listen for any sounds. Perk my ears and search the area¡­ ¡°Ahhhhhhhh!!¡± I heard a scream that shook my eardrums. ¡°Ah, if it isn¡¯t Mr. Kyuji! Have you¡¯ve forgotten me again?¡± The person who was attacking the guy I was talking to a moment ago, was the plain-looking man I had met on the Ghost Airship. He was wielding a whip. As for the other guy, he had already been hit, so his armor was cracked and his body was disappearing. In other words, he had been killed¡­! ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I didn¡¯t introduce myself before. This¡­is who I am.¡± Suddenly, his clothes changed to a bright, green suit. At the same time, the whip started to wriggle around like slime. ¡°I¡¯m Slime Man, from the pro gamer troll team Mad Slime. I owe you one¡­ Well, I am very pleased to have been blessed with another opportunity to fight you! I would very much like to record your defeat and post it on our channel as proof of our revenge¡­!¡± ¡­Shit. In spite of everything that was said, I still don¡¯t even remember him! But that whip seemed familiar. And so I should know. But I didn¡¯t. I felt bad¡­ He was even acting for his video, but I didn¡¯t know what to say¡­ However, I understood that he was a skilled player, and that he intended on fighting me. In that case, I would fight him with all of my power. Surely I could use it against him. The Miracle Effect, Ballista¡­! CH 122 Data.114 ¨C Old Bowman, Ballista ¡°Miracle Effect¡­!¡± ¡°Now, the performers have arrived!¡± ¡°¡­Huh?¡± Three other players gathered around Slime Man. It was a mixed group and they all wielded different weapons. However, they all wore the same flashy green color. ¡°We had actually planned to scatter out and wait before surrounding you¡­¡± ¡°But who would have thought that you¡¯d ignore that fascinating town and go straight out to the field¡­¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t have any time to prepare! It¡¯s no wonder they call him Kyuji of the Star¡­ He brings terrible luck!¡± Uh, what were they talking about! Well, nevermind. I just hoped they didn¡¯t spread that nickname any farther¡­ It was probably from that charge attack I used in the final battle¡­but I hated it. ¡°Yes, yes. Let¡¯s not waste any more time talking! It will only make editing the video harder!¡± ¡°S-sorry, leader.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, leader.¡± ¡°Forgive me, leader.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m the leader! We wanted to ambush you from all sides, as that would be the most effective way of taking you down, Mr. Kyuji. But you ruined our plan by going out into the field! And so we switched back to the first plan!¡± ¡°First plan¡­?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s that plan! Wait, what plan?¡± ¡°Make use of our superior numbers and attack from the front!¡± The three now had a satisfied ¡®Ahh¡¯ expression. It had been obvious just by looking at them, but these four were comrades. So they had intended to defeat me as a party¡­ Well, that was no surprise! If they recognized me as an enemy, then there was no reason to challenge me while solo. I had underestimated them. At this point, I could not take them on light-heartedly. While this Slime Man was strange, he was likely strong. And with these reinforcements, I was clearly at a disadvantage. If all four of them activated a charge attack at the same time, Garbo and I would not be enough to handle them. When all was said and done, NSO was a pretty balanced game, and so if these charge attacks hit each other, of course the superior numbers would win. Unless it was some exception, where some of them happened to be weak or not for attacking¡­ However, that was unlikely, given that they were a professional team. And so I couldn¡¯t expect them to accidentally use a charge attack that didn¡¯t deal damage¡­ If there was one thing that I could hope for¡­it was the power of this ME medal. The miracle effect. Perhaps it was capable of wiping out 4 ordinary charge attacks. Erase the charge attacks and deal damage. Then use Warp Arrow to run away. It was possible. That would then open up other options for me¡­! In order to do that, I had to make them believe that I was serious about fighting them as well. First, I would use Meteor Bow to attack all four of them. As combination charge attacks were more powerful than normal charge attacks, if they wanted to kill my attack and deal damage, they would activate all three of theirs at the same time. Furthermore, if they wanted to deal a lot of damage, they would aim to activate all four at the same time. If their four charge attacks were to erase my Meteor Bow, then I would activate Ballista. Their attacks would be weakened after erasing my Meteor Bow, so then my attack would reach them¡­! And if I could defeat them then that was good. If not, I will either unleash a followup attack or run away. So, it was time to put it into action! This was my best chance, as they were now all gathered in one place! ¡°Meteor¡­¡± ¡°Um! Excuse me, old man!¡± ¡°¡­Huh!?¡± Wh¡­at¡­ There was someone behind me!? They were waving as they came closer! And it wasn¡¯t a player that was just passing by! The Slime Man was waving back! Did they have a different party waiting? So they were that big of a guild¡­ And I was a target that they really wanted to defeat. When I thought about it, making money through games had become normal in this great VR age. And now, a famous player who was walking around solo. Defeating such a player was a sure way to attract attention. I had given them a perfect opportunity. Was I now too confident in my own ability¡­? Did I think that I could defeat any player¡­? ¡°Ah, I knew it! You¡¯re Mr. Kyuji, right?¡± ¡°Huh? Ah, yes.¡± ¡°Wow! So I finally met you!¡± The female player was clearly waving at me now. Not only that, but she was wearing something strange. It was like a black nun outfit with armor on top. Was she a nun or a knight¡­ In any case, it wasn¡¯t the same green that the Mad Slimes all wore. ¡°Um, are you friends with that green man over there?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t know him. Who is he waving to then?¡± I glanced over to the Slime Man. Ah, his face was bright red. Yeah, it must be pretty embarrassing¡­ I had done it a few times in real life when out in the town. ¡°Surely you should remember the faces of all of our guild members! Why did you wave at her, leader!¡± ¡°I just thought it was a fan¡­ But since we¡¯re filming now, I waved for her to wait¡­¡± ¡°Clearly someone like Mr. Kyuji would have more fans, leader!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t forgive you¡­! Embarrassing me like this! And for having friends that we didn¡¯t know about¡­!¡± This was ridiculous¡­ Besides, I didn¡¯t know this person either!? ¡°Um, this place will become a battlefield, so you should¡­¡± ¡°I know. That¡¯s why I took out my weapon. They won¡¯t wait for us.¡± Before I knew it, she was brandishing her weapon. It was giant steel gauntlets and a spiked ball and chains. ¡°Would you believe me¡­if I said that I was the 4th member of the Ghost Guild?¡± ¡­I did not expect to hear that name here. Was it true or a lie? I could not decide right now. However, an armored advance guard was exactly what we needed now¡­ Besides, she wore armor and a nun outfit, and carried a unique weapon. She was the kind of person who you would expect to join. But more than anything, I wanted it to be true, due to the situation¡­! ¡°As for whether I believe you¡­that can wait.¡± ¡°Well, I thought you would say that.¡± I held my bow up. The Slime Man was about to make his move. ¡°We will defeat you! Everyone, move according to plan! Slime Wave!!¡± Slime Man¡¯s whip lashed out, causing great waves to erupt. The wide-area attack was huge¡­! However, it was not that fast. And more than anything, the dark green mucus acted as a wall, and so Slime Man could not even see us¡­! If I was solo, I could easily use Warp Arrow to escape¡­ ¡°Oh, don¡¯t think that you can escape!¡± The trio had appeared on top of the wave. They were riding on the waves by using long shields like surfboards¡­! While this attack looked like a joke, it was actually quite sensible. As I said before, the great green waves blocked the Slime Man¡¯s vision. And so the three others watched from the top of the waves and attacked any players that tried to escape the waves. They would not be able to move after being attacked, and then they would be swallowed up by the waves and killed. Even if that didn¡¯t happen, it was dangerous to be attacked by three players who were high up in the air. As I thought. They aren¡¯t just some weird group of players¡­! ¡°Giant Star!¡± The woman threw the spiked iron ball at the waves. The ball started to grow larger until it slammed into the wave! ¡°A normal charge attack? How weak!¡± ¡°After all, this is the leader¡¯s most powerful combination charge attack!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t cancel it out with just one ordinary charge attack!¡± That was some good information they gave us! So I could kill it with Meteor Bow, and the surfers would fall to the ground¡­ ¡°Oh? Did you not know? This is the end.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± The great waves started to become smaller¡­! At the same time, the hammer started to sink into the ground. Could it be that this ground¡­ ¡°Hurry up and run away from the waves! You will fall! Didn¡¯t I tell you that holes will easily open up in this ground!?¡± ¡°Huh? Did you?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve never been on this island before¡­¡± ¡°Leader has been here several times, but I can hardly believe that I¡¯m here!¡± The iron ball returned to its normal size, and there was now a large, gaping hole in the ground. And so the three players fell head first into the hole. ¡°S-sorry, leader.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, leader.¡± ¡°Forgive me, leader.¡± I guess they really were just some weird group¡­ ¡°Tsk¡­ This is why I didn¡¯t want to bring them to this island where it¡¯s mainly PvP!¡± Slime Man was still activating Slime Wave. However, the new slime that was created was just being sucked into the hole in the ground. I guess the demerit of the attack was that it stayed activated for a long time, could not be canceled, and he could not move. So it was kind of similar to Meteor Bow. ¡°Now! Now! Finish him off with it, Mr. Kyuji! Your Miracle Effect!¡± So was she really on my side? ¡­In any case, I would deal the finishing blow to the Slime Man. To be honest, this was not the situation to use the Miracle Effect, which I had not shown to anyone yet. But this was like a farewell present to him, and for me as well. In the future, I won¡¯t have to hesitate when using it, just because I hadn¡¯t shown it to anyone yet. ¡°Southern Cross Ballista!¡± It was like a giant launcher from a robot anime. A mechanical bow that carried an arrow that was longer than I was tall¡­ That was the Southern Cross Ballista. I held the two grips that were in front of me and pulled with all of my might. The great bow that extended to the left and right started to bend. The force was not focused on the arrow, and it was ready to fire. Normally, I would then have to aim with it¡­but it was not necessary. Because the target had not moved at all. ¡°Fire!!¡± ¡°Too slow! My charge attack stopped just a moment ago! An arrow can only hit a single point! All I need to do is hop to the side and¡­¡± Spaaaan! The Slime Man was torn in half by the arrow. As this was not something very family friendly, his body quickly turned into light and disappeared. The arrowhead of the Southern Cross Ballista was cross-shaped. It was very long and glowed with light. And so anyone who tried to dodge it would end up being split into two. However, had it been an ordinary arrow, he would have been able to dodge it. Fight in order to be the last person standing¡­I really was a gamer. ¡°You did it! Mr. Kyuji!¡± Who knows what would have happened had this mysterious person not appeared? Perhaps I would have lost. While she had saved me, I still did not trust her. ¡°Thank you for helping me. So, you said that you¡¯re from the Ghost Guild¡­¡± ¡°I lied.¡± ¡°¡­¡± This Ghost Float¡­was really not what I had expected. CH 123 Data.115 ¨C Old Bowman, The Phantom Fourth So, how should I fight? Her weapon was a chain and spiked ball. The chain extended farther than I thought, and the iron sphere could also be enlarged with a skill. But more than anything, she had the ability to wield this vicious-looking weapon. And so I had to create some distance first¡­ ¡°W-wait a minute! I am not your enemy, Mr. Kyuji!¡± ¡°But you lied about being part of the Ghost Guild¡­¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not completely a lie¡­ I¡¯m trying to get in! I want to join the guild as the phantom fourth member!¡± Well¡­that wasn¡¯t really surprising. There were actually quite a lot of people who felt the same. After the Charin battle, the name of the Ghost Guild had spread throughout NSO. Of course, that meant there were waves of people who begged to join the guild. However, the Ghost Guild was not a group of close friends. Necoco shut out any requests. She intended to take her time and search for interesting players who were passionate, and had the right ability and temperament. Of course, Satomi and I agreed to this. In other words¡­we were not currently looking for new members. In the first place, as the founder, Necoco was the main authority, and I didn¡¯t have the right to accept new members. While I might be in her debt, I could not allow her to enter the guild. Of course, there was a possibility that we could invite her later. However, not right now¡­ It would be like betraying my comrades, who were no doubt out adventuring right now, and turning people down. And so I told her this honestly. ¡°Why do you want to join the Ghost Guild¡­?¡± ¡°I like ghosts¡­and things related to the occult. So I thought we could talk about that¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± She thought the Ghost Guild was a guild for people who liked ghosts¡­! Necoco and Satomi were a lot more modern, and would probably have no interest in such things¡­ No, wait a minute. This was a good thing. It would go smoother once I fixed this misunderstanding. When she knew the real meaning of Ghost Guild and what we stood for, she would be satisfied and leave! ¡°You don¡¯t see many people who are fans of the occult these days. However, our guild is actually¡­¡± That was a habit I had. The habit of softening my words before getting to the subject at hand. However, I chose the wrong words this time. My slightly rude words ended up lighting a fire within her. ¡°So you don¡¯t know about VO!? If anything, the occult is a pretty big deal now!¡± ¡°V¡­O?¡± ¡°The virtual occult! Indeed, it¡¯s true that technological advancements¡­have made belief in ghosts and UMAs decrease¡­ It is¡­a very sad thing¡­ But now that space development is underway, there are wealthy groups that are seriously searching for UFOs and aliens¡­¡± She kept talking¡­ ¡°And thus a new concept for the occult was born¡­ VO. The virtual occult! Even in this new world created by humans which we call the internet! There are unsolved mysteries! High-power AIs, star frame, the god-layer web. And cyborgs. Virtualians¡­! There are too many to mention here!¡± Indeed, the internet was a dark and deep place. Maybe not as dark and deep as space, but perhaps it held more mysterious than the deep seas and polar regions. In spite of it being something made by humans¡­ So I understood why she was so excited. However, the Ghost Guild was not exciting! It¡¯s a place with awkward people who don¡¯t like to socialize! ¡°My biggest interest is the Virtualiens!¡± ¡°I-I see¡­¡± That being said, she didn¡¯t seem like she wanted to accept the truth now. She was so excited, and wasn¡¯t really listening to me. ¡°Yes! That¡¯s what they call humans who, through neural stimulation from experiencing new technology such as VR and AR, awaken to unknown abilities! One person who I know of who is close to a Virtualien, is Macoco Strange! She is very mysterious¡­ I want to talk to her in person¡­ And so I need to get close to her first¡­ Ah, um, it¡¯s not like I started this game in order to meet her or anything!¡± I feel like I¡¯ve opened Pandora¡¯s Box. Maybe¡­I should call the police¡­ ¡°However, they call this the great age of VR. And so I decided that in order to encounter the occult, I must jump into these VR games! Ultimately, online games are just human relationships, and if lots of humans gather together, then mysteries will be born!¡± ¡°Well, everyone has their reason for playing¡­ As long as you aren¡¯t breaking the rules¡­you can do what you want. That being said, this Virtualien thing is pretty interesting. Though, I don¡¯t know if I believe it. Besides, our guild isn¡¯t really interested in¡­¡± ¡°What are you talking about!? I¡¯m pretty sure that you are one too, Mr. Kyuji!¡± ¡°What!?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you remember? That feeling of suddenly being able to do something when starting the game. A feeling that you¡¯ve never felt before¡­ Modern VR is about tricking the brain and making you believe things that are impossible. Surely it¡¯s only natural that such a thing will awaken a power inside of you?¡± ¡°¡­Uh. It will take a little more than that to convince me. But I do think it¡¯s amusing and exciting.¡± ¡°I-I see¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­ This is the first time I¡¯ve talked to someone about it, and I got a little too enthusiastic¡­¡± Suddenly being able to do something, huh¡­ It¡¯s not like it didn¡¯t ring any bells¡­ However, this talk of Virtualians and making them sound like heroes was too much! I needed to take in a deep breath and calm down. We were both overheated. ¡°As this was my first online game, I was afraid of playing with others, and so I was solo the whole time. Even during this event, I got all of the medals while solo. But then I couldn¡¯t beat Charin¡­ And so I decided to wait until she was weakened¡­¡± ¡°What? You completed all of the trials by yourself?¡± ¡°Yes. I suppose I was lucky. My weapons, equipment and job were all suited for solo play¡­¡± A chain and spiked ball that had range and great destructive power. And armor that would block most attacks. And judging by her nun clothes, she likely had healing skills as well. But as for her actual playing ability¡­ ¡°So did you play a lot of offline games¡­?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not much of a gamer at all.¡± Maybe she was the real Virtualien¡­ Did she suddenly awaken? To an insane power¡­ I could feel a bottomless talent¡­ Not only that, but out of all the players I had seen, she seemed the best suited to join the Ghost Guild. And there was also the fact that she was a heavily armored advance guard¡­ However, it was still not something that I could decide on my own. I suppose I would send Necoco a message later. That I had found a promising player¡­ Her name was¡­ I hadn¡¯t heard her name yet. ¡°Um, what¡¯s your name¡­¡± ¡°Ah, I haven¡¯t even introduced myself in spite of talking so much! I am so very sorry! I am called Anne-marie Gothnoir!¡± That was quite a name¡­! She definitely sounded like someone who was new to online games. Experts generally had shorter or less serious names¡­ But hers was pure fantasy. ¡°But you can just call me Anne. Now, do you have any plans, Mr. Kyuji?¡± ¡°Indeed¡­ I was going to unlock fast travel in this Ghost Float town.¡± ¡°Then why don¡¯t we go together? They tell you the requirements in the town, so I already know¡­ But to be honest, I think it will be difficult if you only have your Unison with you. After all, you will have to travel all over the Ghost Float.¡± So similar fights to the last one might happen over and over¡­ I was too good a prey for these hunters. If they uploaded a video of them beating me, they would get a lot of views and revenue. And this person, who had a chance to defeat me, was now offering to help. I had no reason to refuse. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go together then.¡± ¡°Yes! What an occultic development! I¡¯ll be counting on you as well!¡± With Garbow and Anne, we would be able to stand against a party of 4. And like that, my cooperation with the mysterious and armed nun began. CH 124 Data.116 ¨C Old Bowman, The Four Marks ¡°Still, there does seem to be a lot of special rules on this island¡­¡± ¡°Yes. But if it wasn¡¯t the case, the whole island would eventually fall apart in the air.¡± The hole that Anne had made with her iron ball began to close up, like a healing wound. If holes like the ones she made didn¡¯t close up, then the Ghost Float would eventually break apart. Because there were more battles here than the normal field¡­ Powerful attacks on the ground would result in such damage to the terrain. I would have to keep that in mind. In fact, during the fight against the Slime Man, I had been thinking about using Stardust Arrow to run far away. Had I done that¡­I would have been a laughing stock. That power would have definitely created a big hole in the ground. And I would have gone right through the island and towards the ground below. ¡°That being said, people sure stare a lot when I¡¯m walking through the town with you, Mr. Kyuji¡­ Is it always like this?¡± ¡°Well, it is these days. But it does seem a little worse than usual¡­¡± Perhaps it was because while some were just looks of surprise and recognition, other looks were that of a hunter looking at prey¡­ Even if you couldn¡¯t fight in the town, the fight had already begun¡­ However, I also thought that Anne was part of the reason that people were staring as well. While she was on the plain side, she was still pretty, and the nun outfit suited her. But then she wore this thick armor on top, and wielded a spiked iron ball. She was also quite tall. The same height as me, which made her even more intimidating. She must have spent a lot of time creating her character. And so that alone attracted attention. ¡°But even if a lot of players become our enemies, we have nothing to worry about as long as you use your Miracle Effect, Mr. Kyuji!¡± ¡°No, it actually has severe restrictions¡­ I won¡¯t tell you the details, but I don¡¯t think that I¡¯ll be using it again today.¡± ¡°What!? Is that so!?¡± Besides, I¡¯m sure it wasn¡¯t just mine. The other Miracle Effects were probably very powerful as well. And they too would have restrictions put on them. In the case of Southern Cross Ballista, I could only use it 3 times in one day. Specifically, once between midnight and 8 AM, and then once between 8 and 4 PM, and again between 4 PM and midnight. As I don¡¯t play between midnight and 8 AM, I suppose it would be more accurate to say that I could only use it twice. While I didn¡¯t mean to be rude¡­I couldn¡¯t waste it on these scrubs. It was a trump card that I had to save for times when I really needed it. Furthermore, activating it wasn¡¯t a sure path to victory. And it was also difficult to aim. As there was a stand that was fixed to the ground, as well as a pillar with joints connected to the launch device, there was a lot of freedom when it came to horizontal movement. However, there were limitations in angles when it came to shooting up and down, as you had to pull the grips back. It was not possible to aim right above you, and so it would be best to seal an enemy¡¯s movement before firing. And you had to fire once you activated it, or the effect would not end. Of course, missing still counted as one shot. So it would be more nerve-racking than any shooting I had done before. That was the medal that Charin had given to me¡­ ¡°So I won¡¯t be able to rely on you the whole time then!¡± ¡°Sorry. But as I¡¯m in a party, I can¡¯t tell you about the effects of a trump card¡­¡± ¡°Not at all! Of course, you can¡¯t! It¡¯s not like I can prove that I¡¯m not an enemy spy, so you must be careful!¡± It wasn¡¯t that I was suspicious, but I hadn¡¯t even told the others in the guild. There had to be an order to such things¡­ Or was I overthinking it? As I wondered about such things, we arrived at the fortune teller¡¯s mansion, which was our destination. Anne said that this was where we could accept the quest for unlocking fast travel. As she had already heard everything, I went inside alone. In the center of a room that was illuminated by eerie light, there was a crystal ball. And on the other side, there was a small woman with a veil that covered everything but her eyes. ¡­A classical fortune teller. ¡°Come in. Take a seat.¡± ¡°Thank you¡­¡± She had a calming voice. She then placed her hand over the crystal ball, and it began to glow brightly. ¡°I can see it now.¡± ¡°That was quick¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t help but make a jab at the NPC. So, about that quest¡­? I wouldn¡¯t have minded hearing my fortune in real life. But in a game¡­ ¡°In the not distant future, in some place else, your experience and true ability will really be put to the test.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± ¡°Do not be afraid. You are strong, and have allies. However, your enemy¡­is not someone you can beat if you stay the same as you are now.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°And so I will give you this.¡± I was given¡­a Grow Card! An equippable card that grew if you fulfilled the requirements. ¡°Travel around the Ghost Float and stamp the four marks that are hidden throughout the forbidden areas onto this card. Once you are finished with this, return to me and you will awaken to a new power and be accepted by this land. That is your fortune. Now, you must pay the fee.¡± She charges you¡­ Well, I had enough with me, so it was no problem. Still, the fortune was rather convincing, in a way¡­which was a surprise. But it was probably just part of the beginning of the quest, and she said the same thing to everyone¡­ I would keep that in mind. Sometimes, casual remarks could be a hint. However, she did say that it was somewhere else. So perhaps she wasn¡¯t talking about my adventures on the Ghost Float¡­ Ah, nevermind. I was with someone today. And so I couldn¡¯t get lost in thought in the same way that I did while solo. Just as I was about to leave the mansion, I noticed that there was a sign hanging on the door. It read, ¡®View detailed rules in the help section.¡¯ I see. So forgetful players like me won¡¯t get lost. I would definitely check it later. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting.¡± ¡°No, no. Not at all! So, did you get the card?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m supposed to get four marks¡­so it¡¯s like a stamp rally.¡± ¡°Exactly! It¡¯s a horror stamp rally where you go through all the scary spots on the island! You can go in any order that you want, but the Bone-ted Mansion is the closest from here.¡± ¡°Haunted mansion¡­¡± ¡°No, ¡®bone-ted¡¯! That part is important!¡± ¡°So-sorry¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a giant abandoned mansion that is filled with bones and skeleton type monsters! Let¡¯s go there tomorrow!¡± ¡°Huh? Tomorrow¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s too late today!¡± Oh, right! It was already night on the field when I encountered the Ghost Airship, and ended up here by accident! So it would also be night time in real life¡­ And so Anne and I agreed on a time to meet up tomorrow and then we logged out. If you logged out in a town, then you could continue later from the same town. That rule should remain the same, even in the Ghost Float. And this place could also be explored during the morning. Though the scenery itself was always night, I was glad that we could still go. I would start playing in the morning, like I always do. And since you could read the Help on the site after logging out, I would also have to remember to check it. ¡°Testing my experience and true ability¡­huh.¡± The words of the NPC fortune teller¡­ I felt like I was always being tested, but I guess it wasn¡¯t the case. What could be waiting for me¡­ I was scared. But on the other hand, I could not help but feel excited about these prophetic words. CH 125 Data.117 ¨C Old Bowman, Bone Ruins The stamp card, or Grow Card that I was given was (Exorcism Bow Art ¨C Unmarked). It could be equipped like an ordinary Grow Card, but there was no effect yet. The skills would be unlocked as I traveled around the Ghost Float and got the card stamped. Fast Travel would be unlocked once I completed the card. Completion was when I had all four stamps and returned to the fortune teller. Until that happened, the effect of the card could not be used outside of the Ghost Float. Furthermore, if the player is killed in the Ghost Float before completion, the item would be destroyed. In other words¡­you had to go back to the fortune teller and get a new card that would have to be stamped all over again. So that¡¯s why not many people had not unlocked Fast Travel. You had to travel through dangerous areas where players were killing each other, and then gather all four stamps. Unlocking Fast Travel meant exploring the entire Ghost Float. Well, there were games that didn¡¯t allow you to warp until you did everything in the field, so it wasn¡¯t really strange¡­but it was still difficult. ¡°No, perhaps I should say¡­that it is worth playing.¡± I was able to wake up early today. I would finish what I needed to do and start my morning adventure. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°It really is always night time here.¡± It was night at the Ghost Float, just as it was when I logged out yesterday. While NSO was synced with real time, this place was special. Was it cut off from the rest of the field we were usually in? I then met up with Anne, who knew the answer to this question. ¡°Yes, this is a separate space. And so this island cannot be seen from the ground. You can only reach it after getting onto the Ghost Airship. There are several places like this in the great sky, and they are called Celestial Worlds.¡± ¡°I had a feeling that might be the case. I once flew up really high, but didn¡¯t see any islands like this.¡± ¡°During the final battle! I saw that in the video that Necoco uploaded!¡± Both Necoco and Satomi had uploaded videos of the fight. Due to that fight and the list of people that beat Charin, which appeared on the official website, the name of the Ghost Guild had spread, causing more players to want to join. Another thing that had spread was knowledge of Miracle Effects. This was because the difficulty had dropped, and more people were able to beat Charin. When there weren¡¯t so many of us, we tended to hide it. But that was just a decision individuals made, thinking that keeping it a secret would be more exciting. Necoco and Satomi had edited the rewards out of their videos, but at this point, players were likely just showing everything. It was understandable to want to show it after fighting so hard. And so many players know about the Miracle Effect now. It was public knowledge that I could use it. However¡­it wasn¡¯t like eventually everyone would be able to use it as well. While the Charin fight¡¯s difficulty had been lowered, it had been ridiculously difficult to begin with! Only top players were able to get the ME medals, and they would continue to be difficult to acquire. On the other hand, it meant the strong would continue to get stronger. And so while I wanted to play at a leisurely pace, I could not be idle. First, I had to get these ¡®four marks¡¯ and acquire a new Grow Card. ¡°Let¡¯s form a party before going out into the field.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± If we were in a party together, then we wouldn¡¯t take damage when hitting each other while out on the field. While it wasn¡¯t something I was very concerned with, it would at least eliminate any worry about Anne betraying me. From here on, I could trust only Garbow and Anne. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± And like that, the horror stamp rally began¡­ ¡°There you are, Kyuji! Fight me!¡± ¡°No, fight me! Come on!¡± ¡°Get out of the way, you bottom of the barrel gamers! I¡¯m more famous than you!¡± ¡­The place felt even more lawless than I thought. This was what happened the moment you stepped out of the town. Yesterday, when I had just arrived, hardly anyone knew that I had come here. And I¡¯m sure that they also stayed away because they were afraid of that Slime Man¡­ In any case, here, power was the only thing that mattered. And when in Rome¡­ I would follow that old saying. ¡°Let¡¯s take them down then. It will be very annoying if they follow us.¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± ¡°If we kill them all, they won¡¯t be able to return to the Ghost Float for quite some time!¡± As they were arguing with each other, now was the perfect time! I¡¯d send them to their graves with a sudden charge attack! ¡°Burning Arrow Storm!¡± ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°Ha¡­ Ha¡­ We finally made it¡­!¡± A giant western style mansion loomed over us! It was made of bones, so it was clearly the Bone-ted Mansion! While it was supposed to be a terrifying place, the exterior wasn¡¯t so bad. If anything, it reminded me of a theme park attraction¡­ Still, there really were too many of these player killers¡­ We were even attacked by players who seemed like they didn¡¯t usually do such things. Perhaps for people who just played as a minor hobby, being able to fight a famous player for a bit was something worth suffering the penalty for dying. Of course, there was also something creepy about all their excited talking as they attacked me. Because they charged without any fear of dying¡­ Regardless, we were all able to reach our destination safely. But we would have to move like this three more times¡­ No, I wouldn¡¯t think about that right now. ¡°Let¡¯s go inside then.¡± ¡°The inside of the building is also a versus field, so we will have to be careful!¡± The mansion looked like it was built for giants. If it was this big, I could make use of my Range, even if we were indoors. The first floor we came into was the entrance. Like the exterior, it looked like a classical western mansion. It was perfect for a horror game. ¡°Huh? There is a table in the middle¡­¡± A note had been left on the table that Anne found. It read, ¡®The mark is on the top floor.¡¯ I picked it up and turned it over, but there was nothing else written on it. So that was our only hint¡­ ¡°In any case, let¡¯s go up the stairs and try to reach the top.¡± ¡°No, wait a minute! There is something like an elevator over there! It will be so much easier!¡± Indeed, the thing that she was pointing at did look like an elevator. There were ¡÷¨Œ buttons, and it seemed to be working. However, the elevator didn¡¯t really match the house¡­ For a second I wondered if it was a trap, but after remembering how huge the house had looked from the outside, I dreaded the idea of going up by using the stairs alone. I had never seen an instant death trap in NSO, so it was probably alright. I decided to agree with Anne¡¯s suggestion. Gata¡­gata-gata-gata¡­! In conclusion, it was a trap. I pushed the ¡÷ button and got in the elevator. But there were no buttons inside. The door closed in an instant. And right when I feared that we were locked in, the elevator began to descend. But the rattling was just because the elevator was shabby, and not because we were falling quickly. Still, the sound made me feel more anxious as we descended. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry¡­ If I didn¡¯t suggest that we take the easy route¡­¡± ¡°No, I wanted to as well, so I have no right to blame you.¡± Climbing stairs did more damage to the body than other types of exercise¡­ Your knees and lower back would hurt, and you would become out of breath. So of course we would use the elevator. It¡¯s management¡¯s fault for exploiting the instincts of an old man. ¡°¡­Miss Anne.¡± ¡°Just call me Anne!¡± ¡°I think you should ready your weapon.¡± ¡°What!?¡± I had misunderstood as well. This was not a dungeon. Because if it was, there wouldn¡¯t be any other players here as well. The whole party would be warped to a different area¡­ It wouldn¡¯t be a ¡®versus field.¡¯ However, this was a ¡®versus field.¡¯ And so when the elevator doors opened¡­ ¡°Bound Arrow Storm!¡± ¡°Bound Speed Star!¡± As the doors opened, a player practically clawed their way in through the gap, before being destroyed by the numerous arrows and iron balls. And then the group that was waiting on the floor was assaulted by the bounding arrows and iron ball as well. So they had been waiting here, knowing that we would come down¡­ How very sly of them! ¡°Little Garbow and I will move to the front! You stay near the elevator and support us, Mr. Kyuji!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Two advance guards¡­ How wonderful. Now, it was time to make our way up to the highest floor from the lowest floor! CH 126 Data.118 ¨C Old Bowman, Shoot Through ¡°Burning Arrow!¡± ¡°Gaaaahhhh!¡± And then another player went down. We went through the elevator hall and towards the next floor above. We would only take stairs now. I didn¡¯t trust elevators. ¡°They are waiting above again, Mr. Kyuji!¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard being popular¡­those words have never been truer¡­¡± The mansion had so many places that you could hide. Not only that, but the walls and floors were thin, so there were numerous people who would break through them and attack us as we walked down the hallway. Just like the terrain of the Ghost Float, the walls and floors regenerated after being destroyed, so there was no situation where we couldn¡¯t go up the stairs. However, being ambushed from places that I couldn¡¯t see was quite a problem for me. While Anne would generally stay in the front, as she had high defense ability, it couldn¡¯t always be like that. And so the only way for me to survive was by shooting quickly and taking the enemy down. By concentrating more than usual on shooting faster, I was able to hit them in vital spots before they could reach me. Even if they got close, I had to keep attacking without being afraid¡­ Through doing this, I acquired a new skill, ¡®Quickdraw¡¯! Quickdraw The time it takes to shoot a ranged weapon is sped up. ¡ô Reason for acquiring Rapid Fire Destroyed enemies with continuous quick shooting. At a glance, it seemed like a passive skill, but it was actually a high-speed shooting skill that you had to activate. Unlike the skills that changed arrow types, it affected my actual movement, so I could use it with arrow type skill without Arrow Fusion. Of course, by combining it with charge attacks, I could unleash attacks with high firepower in an instant. While it wouldn¡¯t make them stronger, it meant that I now had a way of dealing with ambushes. And I also got 1 more skill. This one wasn¡¯t flashy or strong. It was almost a worse version of a charge attack that I currently had. It was a skill that I acquired through continuously shooting for a long time, as waves of player killers attacked us. The name was Gattling Arrow! Gatling Arrow Unleashes arrows rapidly for a few seconds. ¡ô Reason for acquiring. Continuous firing. Shooting at enemies over a long period of time. In other words, it was a smaller version of Arrow Storm. It only activated for 3 seconds, and the arrows were fewer when compared to the charge attack. However, there was no cool down time, so it was easy to use. ¡°Bound Gatling Arrow!¡± In order to bring out the enemies that waited behind the corner, I used Bound Arrow and Gatling Arrow together. Several arrows bounced off the wall and disappeared around the corner. And then I heard the screams of the players. There really were so many of them¡­ Because there were player killer killers in this mansion as well. They targeted players who were waiting to ambush people like me. As the ambushers were so focused on their prey, they were slow to realize that they were being targeted as well. In fact, I had seen such a party being ambushed from the back and were completely destroyed. This really was a chaotic mansion¡­ You could only trust your own party members. ¡°Anne, take the front position!¡± ¡°Understood! Fusion charge attack, Bound Daybreak Star!!¡± Anne was very skilled when it came to handling her spiked iron ball and chain. She could enlarge it to block passages and shield us, or wrap it around something and then shorten the chain in order to move. The charge attack Daybreak Star was a physical and magic attack that dealt damage depending on which status was weaker, Defense or Magic Defense. It was likely an effective charge attack because she was a special 3rd, Armored Sister, who had high Attack and Magic Attack. It was impressive that a beginner could become a special 3rd¡­ But then again, I was new to VRMMOs and had done it quite quickly¡­ And since Ann had cleared the zodiac trials, Charin must have given her some kind of reward as well. It was natural to think that both of us had become stronger because of that. ¡°So you can use fused charge attacks too.¡± ¡°Yes! When I used a strange item that Charin gave me after the trials, I acquired the skill, Star Fusion!¡± So I was right¡­ Charin had said it herself, that she distributed different items depending on the player. Was the ¡®not distant future¡¯ that the fortune teller talked about related to how Charin wanted all players to become stronger? ¡­But more importantly, I noticed that Ann answered any question that I had. I couldn¡¯t help but be curious about her job and skills, and ended up asking questions. And she always answered perfectly. The fact that she wasn¡¯t on her guard put me at ease, and I started talking more casually. ¡°Still, Mr. Kyuji, the top floor still feels like it¡¯s far away¡­¡± ¡°Well, it took quite a long time to reach the 1st floor from the elevator¡­¡± The idea that we still had a long way to go was like a heavy weight on my heart. Everyone who wanted the stamp would try to reach the top. So there would be even more enemies waiting there¡­ If it was just a dungeon with one floor, we could break through the walls and move in a straight line¡­ ¡°No, we could break our way upwards¡­!¡± ¡°Huh? What do you mean?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s use I¡¯m Arrow and fly through the ceiling!¡± ¡°Ohh! That is a splendid idea!¡± ¡°Ah, but I can¡¯t take you with me¡­¡± ¡°What! You can just hold me like how you did during the Charin fight! As we are a party, we won¡¯t do damage to each other even while in the versus field!¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± I was about to wrap my arm around her¡­but suddenly felt a little embarrassed¡­ With Charin, I had been desperate, and it was the only way to ensure that the sacrifices of my teammates didn¡¯t go to waste. But it felt a little awkward to hold some woman who I had only recently just met. Still! I was a gamer. ¡°Alright! Hold onto me!¡± ¡°Very well. Excuse me¡­¡± Anne put her arms around me from behind and locked them tightly together. ¡°Or should I be in the front?¡± ¡°No, I want you to attack our surroundings as we spin. As this is a pure charge attack, I¡¯m Arrow, it will be canceled out if another player hits us with a charge attack while we¡¯re flying.¡± ¡°Oh, I see!¡± When fighting Charin, I had fused it with Stardust Arrow. But if we did that now, we would then shoot right back through the floors and end up in the bottom again. I also considered combining Sky Tear and Burning Arrow, but Sky Tear was so fast that it would be difficult to control, and Burning Arrow¡¯s explosion would destroy any ground that we¡¯d need to land on. And so I would use I¡¯m Arrow alone! ¡°I¡¯m Arrow!¡± ¡°Giant Shine Star!¡± Anne unleashed a strong-sounding charge attack. The iron ball expanded and unleashed a blinding light¡­! And then through I¡¯m Arrow¡¯s high-speed rotation, the iron ball also began to swing rapidly. It was now more demolition than self-defense¡­!! We broke through the ceiling, turning the players above us into dust as we flew up in a straight line. Would there even be a floor on the top for us to land on¡­? CH 127 Data.119 ¨C Old Bowman, Bone Giant ¡°Anne! I need you to pull in the iron ball when we slow down!¡± ¡°What!? Did you say something?¡± I was talking close to her ear, but the sounds of the building being destroyed were too loud for her to hear me. And so I explained it to her in a louder voice. ¡°I need you to pull the iron ball back once I¡¯m Arrow loses its momentum!¡± ¡°But why!?¡± ¡°To put it simply, we won¡¯t have any place to land!¡± My plan was to go as high as we could with I¡¯m Arrow, and once I had reached my Range¡¯s limit and slowed down, I would use Star Area Range to change my trajectory a little in order to land on the floor. But if the iron ball hit it, a large hole would open in the ground. Besides, if the iron ball created a hole that was too big, I would need to make a sharp turn in order to land on that floor, but it wasn¡¯t possible to do that with Star Area Range. And so I wanted her to rein it in so that the hole would be small. ¡°Well, I think I understand!¡± Anne made the iron ball shrink and then pulled the chain in. Alright, now we shouldn¡¯t have any trouble landing. Now it was just about how far up we could go¡­ Just then, I felt the sensation of hitting against something. It was a ceiling that we couldn¡¯t break through. The ceilings and floors of this mansion were weak, but there was one part that was hard and could not be destroyed. It was¡­the outer walls. You couldn¡¯t break any of the walls that would let you go outside. This was so that the entrance would be the only way to get inside. So no matter how much destruction was happening inside, the mansion itself would not collapse. It maintained its appearance of being a pretty attraction. Going by this logic, this must be the highest ceiling¡­in other words, the roof. ¡°¡­There.¡± As we landed, I summoned Garbow and held my weapon ready. Apparently, there were no player killers waiting for us here. Perhaps they had been scared and ran away from the sounds of us tearing through the walls and floors. If that was the case, it really had been worth going with this dangerous plan. ¡°Now, if this is the highest floor, the stamp should be¡­¡± It wasn¡¯t here¡­ But I had a feeling that it would be the case. They wouldn¡¯t leave something so important in a place where the floor could easily break. It would fall through the floor. Perhaps it was kept in a special room with durable walls and floor. Anne and I stayed on our guard as we started to move. The player killers had really disappeared. Perhaps they thought it was more interesting to film the mansion being destroyed? Well, I was glad, since we had been fighting so much already. ¡°Ah! There are stairs over there!?¡± Indeed, there was a staircase in the direction that Anne was pointing. But weren¡¯t we already on the highest floor¡­? We hadn¡¯t been able to break through the ceiling¡­ The answer was simple. There was a special floor above us. We climbed up the stairs and opened the great door and came out into a grand hall that looked like it was a chapel. In front of us, a giant stained glass shined in the light. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful¡­¡± Bagi-bagi-bagi-bagiiii!! Before I could bask in its beauty, it was blown away¡­along with the roof of the mansion! Some kind of giant white hand had torn off the roof! As I had instinctively moved out of the way, I was able to avoid being injured, but it was still very shocking! And I had just said something about how the exterior never changed no matter how much of the interior was destroyed¡­! The fact that it was destroyed now meant that we were in a separate ¡®battle area¡¯ that was cut off from the rest of the field. Other players could not come in. They wouldn¡¯t see the broken roof from the inside or the outside. And so the thing that appeared was only visible to us. A giant skull looked into the building as it placed a hand on the broken walls¡­ It was something immediately recognizable to anyone with a little knowledge¡­ ¡°Gashadokuro¡­!¡± A simple giant skeleton and a name that sounded like a boss¡­ This was a famous yokai that was often used for enemies. In fact, given that it was a mansion of bones, I didn¡¯t expect the boss to be anyone else but Gashadokuro. Though, there was the fact that this wasn¡¯t a Japanese style mansion. But that was NSO for you. ¡°Letter Arrow!¡± I hadn¡¯t fought a boss in a while, so I decided to check it first. ¡ô Gashadokuro Attribute: Ghost Skills: Soul Crush Attack, Grudge Utterance Explanation: A yokai that is made from the souls who died with regrets. With unbelievable power that you would not expect from a body that is just bones, it will drag the living into the world of the dead. It has especially strong grip strength, so you must be careful that it doesn¡¯t grab you after it uses curses to bring down your defenses. As it was a ghost type, that meant that Garbow¡¯s Holy Splash should be very effective. I didn¡¯t have any effective skills myself, but at least my Range would help keep me away from it¡¯s powerful grip. As for Anne¡­ ¡°Mr. Kyuji! Could you leave this part to me? I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯ve been relying on you too much up until now!¡± ¡°¡­Uh, sure!¡± She was a nun of the church. And this was a giant evil spirit boss. It was a big target that moved awkwardly. She would be able to hit it easily with her iron ball. ¡°Saint Cross Stars!¡± The iron ball that Anne unleashed split into seven pieces. They then formed the shape of a cross and slammed into the Gashadokuro¡¯s face. A huge chunk of HP disappeared from its gauge. Clearly her attacks were effective¡­! ¡°Be gone, evil spirit! I will purify you!¡± The holy violence and retribution continued¡­ Gaaaaaooooo¡­ It was fast. Much faster than I was expecting. The Gashadokuro let out a final scream. It almost sounded sad¡­ Even a powerful yokai was no match for this¡­nun with incredible equipment¡­ Well, since we had to go around and defeat 4 bosses, I was very thankful to Anne for making the first one easy. While I had been supporting her, it already felt like she was bullying the boss, so I was a lot more laid back than usual. Boss battles were more fun when against a strong enemy where you didn¡¯t feel bad for them. Well, maybe it was almost entertaining to see it being bullied like this¡­is something that I would never say, as people would be put off. ¡°Thanks, Anne. I already knew it, but you really are strong!¡± ¡°Not at all. At least not compared to you, Mr. Kyuji!¡± ¡­What would happen if Anne and I fought? I felt like I would lose when it came to close range and mid range combat. On the other hand, Anne wasn¡¯t very fast, so I should be able to win with long range combat¡­ But this was no time to be thinking about such things. The Gashadokuro¡¯s item drop was sucked into my item box, so I would switch gears and stamp my card. A table had appeared for this very purpose. ¡°That¡¯s 1 down!¡± I pressed the stamp that had a depiction of the Bone-ted Mansion, and then the (Exorcism Bow Art ¨C Unmarked) turned in(Exorcism Bow Art ¨C 1 mark) At the same time, the card skill ¡®Exorcisms Barrier¡¯ was unlocked. While the Grow Card was called Exorcism Bow Art, the skills didn¡¯t seem like they were related to bows. I was curious about the effect, but once I had pressed the stamp, the area began to change until we found ourselves back in the ordinary mansion. So we would once again have to be wary of other players. Your guard was usually the lowest right after a boss fight, and professionals would try and take advantage of that. ¡°Let¡¯s be careful. We¡¯ll have to do it all over again if we die here.¡± ¡°Yes! By the way, the next terror spot is the Bloodwind Sarayashiki. Please remember that!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± I said cheerfully. However, I didn¡¯t understand anything about that name¡­ Though, Japanese horror felt more scary to me, because it was a culture that I was familiar with. My current equipment was all Japanese style, so it would at least match¡­ I would look like the protagonist who is running around. Ah, but I was able to fight. Being able to fight in horror games made them less scary. And I had buddies. That was another thing that lessened the scares¡­ Yes, as I wasn¡¯t a fan of horror, it was a good thing that I¡¯m not going solo! ¡°Bound Arrow Storm!¡± The attack rained down on the players who predictably waited to ambush us, and then we made our way to the next terror spot. CH 128 Data.120 ¨C Old Bowman, Mansion of Blood There was an area in the Ghost Float called Dark Night Street, that had a distinctively Japanese style. And in a corner of that area, was a samurai residence. This was the Bloodwind Sarayashiki, where the second stamp was located. Sarayashiki¡­was an old yokai story. Over time, many versions of the story came to be, but to put it simply, a woman named Okiku broke one of ten important plates, and was killed after being thrown into a well. Once she was a ghost, she would count the plates, ¡®one¡­two¡­¡¯ but would never be able to count to ten. But if you heard her count up to nine, then you would go mad or die or be attacked¡­ All kinds of bad things would happen to you. In other words, it was an instant death attack¡­! I had a gamer¡¯s brain, where I had to compare everything to games. Now, we had gotten rid of all the player killers who continued to attack us, and reached our destination. It really was atmospheric¡­this mansion. It was surrounded by black walls, and you needed to go through a gate and courtyard in order to enter the building. As both the land and building were small compared to the previous mansion, exploration should be a lot easier. On the other hand, I wasn¡¯t sure if I would be able to make any use of my Range. I would try and not allow myself to be taken by surprise if enemies and ninjas jump out of the walls and floor¡­ With a loud creak, the gate opened. Once Anne, Garbow and I were inside, the doors closed automatically. At the same time, the large, bright moon in the sky was covered by clouds, and the area became a lot darker. This place¡­was similar to a dungeon. So it was unlikely that any other players were here. Exploring a terrifying, closed off area with a few people. That was how these places worked, I guess. Indeed, it would ruin the sense of horror if there were many players here battling it out. ¡°Torch, torch¡­¡± I took out the very bright torch that I had used before. The pale flames shone brightly through the shadows of the night, and seemed to give me courage. ¡°What!? That torch is so bright! It¡¯s so much brighter than the normal torch that I use!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be in charge of the torch then. This torch is too hot to have Garbow carry it. So you should be the advance guard like before.¡± Anne fought with a two-handed weapon, so carrying a torch would get in the way when she was fighting. Yokai and ghosts were likely to appear here, so things would probably go smoother if the nun did the majority of the fighting. And I would have Garbow guard my back. As the enemies here were monsters and not players, he would alert me to the appearance of enemies with his cry. And if it was necessary, I could use the heat of the torch and Eyes of the Beast King to stagger any weak enemies. Intimidation type skills were not very effective on players, but there would be no problem when against monsters. ¡°So, where should we start? The courtyard is quite big and I think it will be worth exploring the whole thing.¡± ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right¡­¡± As this was the Sarayashiki, we should check any wells. And wells were made outside. So we should probably explore the area outside of the mansion first¡­ And so we walked through the garden, which was covered in pebbles, and made our way towards the back of the mansion. With every step, the light shone on the trees and stones as they appeared from the darkness. A few times I nearly flinched, thinking that they were enemies, but managed to hold it back. There was no sign of any enemies here. The only thing that I could hear was the cold wind¡­ ¡°One¡­¡± The voice rang as if someone had whispered into my ear, and I jumped up. However, Anne had the same reaction. She wrapped her arms around herself as she shook. She was a fan of the occult, but was easily scared¡­? ¡°Ar-are you alright?¡± ¡°Ye-yes¡­! I¡¯m just so¡­happy¡­!¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°I visit a lot of haunted places¡­! Of course, only where I¡¯m allowed to enter, as I don¡¯t want to break the law¡­ But I¡¯ve never experienced anything like this¡­! I know that it¡¯s not real, and it¡¯s not the least bit scary¡­! But being able to hear something that I shouldn¡¯t be able to hear¡­even if it¡¯s in a game¡­it¡¯s so wonderful! So¡­occultic!¡± Hmm. She was further into it than I thought. Occultic¡­she said it like it meant romantic. In any case, I was glad that she wasn¡¯t scared. I didn¡¯t even like such places within games, so it was great to be with someone like her¡­! ¡°Two¡­¡± The countdown continued. As the voice was right by my ear, I couldn¡¯t tell where it was actually coming from. But it must be close by. I doubted the sounds were just to create an atmosphere. We needed to find it quickly¡­! I started to run as we went to the back of the mansion, and then I found a well that was built under a maple tree. And right next to it, was a semi-transparent woman. She was sitting on the ground and counting plates. ¡°Three¡­four¡­¡± It was difficult to attack someone who looked so sad¡­ Uh, was she even an enemy? Garbow didn¡¯t react, and I couldn¡¯t see an HP gauge. Perhaps there was some kind of gimmick here¡­ ¡°Fiiiiiivvveee¡­siiiixxx¡­¡± The voice became more emotional¡­ Maybe this really was dangerous. However, if she wasn¡¯t an enemy, something bad might happen if we attacked her. ¡°Mr. Kyuji, what should we do!¡± ¡°Just¡­leave this to me.¡± In the first place, in some versions of the story, you just had to wait for her to reach 9 and then shout ¡®10!¡¯ and she would be satisfied and disappear. And so I wanted to test it here. If it didn¡¯t work¡­that just meant we probably had to fight a powerful enemy. And that wasn¡¯t really a bad thing! ¡°Seevveeeennnn! Eiiighhhhttt!¡± Her voice grew louder. Now, come on, ¡®nine¡¯! ¡°¡­¡± She was really going for that dramatic pause¡­! Or was she just catching her breath¡­? ¡°Niiiiiiiiiinnnnnnne¡­.!¡± There! Now, just wait a few seconds and then¡­ ¡°Ten!¡± ¡°Ten!¡± ¡­Huh? Did we harmonize? Since she counted to ten as well¡­did that mean she hadn¡¯t lost any to begin with!? Even though it was an old yokai story, I didn¡¯t expect them to change it this much¡­ ¡°I have all ten¡­¡± The ten plates were lined up on the ground. ¡°Uh¡­ Can we borrow those sta¡­plates? I¡¯ll return them immediately¡­¡± ¡°These sta¡­plates are important to my master. I cannot let you borrow them¡­¡± She knew they were stamps! Hmm, this made things even more troublesome¡­ ¡°However, I may let you borrow one if you bring me another plate¡­ A replacement plate is hidden somewhere in this mansion¡­ I will now unlock the front door for you¡­¡± I see. So our goal this time was to find the 10th plate. So had we not talked to her here, the mansion door would have been locked, and we would not have been able to go inside. We would have wasted some time had it not been for Anne¡¯s suggestion. ¡°I have unlocked the door¡­ The plate has a large ¡®+¡¯ sign written on it, so you will recognize it at a glance¡­ If you bring it to me, I will let you borrow the stamp¡­¡± So she wasn¡¯t even pretending now¡­ Well, it was a good thing that we knew the location of the stamp, and the requirement for getting it. ¡°There are countless evil spirits haunting the mansion¡­ Please be careful¡­that you don¡¯t share their fate¡­¡± And then Okiku faded away. She must have returned to the well. ¡°Anne, Garbow. Let¡¯s keep our guard up and go.¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± ¡°Yes! Ah, evil ghosts haunting a samurai mansion that is rich with historic detail¡­ How very occultic!¡± Anne¡¯s excitement right now gave me more comfort than any weapon could. I couldn¡¯t help but think this as I hesitantly stepped foot into the mansion. CH 129 Data.121 ¨C Old Bowman, the Search for a Plate ¡°Uooooo¡­¡± ¡°A ruffian¡­¡± ¡°I won¡¯t forgive you¡­¡± The mansion really was a nest for evil spirits. And since it was a samurai residence, many of the ghosts were warriors¡­ Well, they looked like deserters. They appeared out of nowhere, swinging their swords and muttering something. It was all very surreal, but they also had characteristics that were very dangerous. First, they appeared ¡®close¡¯ to me. If you heard the painful groan, you knew they were coming. And within a few seconds, they would appear within sight. And since this mansion was not particularly large, unless you were in a long hallway, they would appear very close by. But since I had acquired the skill Quickdraw, I was able to deal with them approaching suddenly. However, that was where their next characteristic, ¡®physical attack resistance¡¯ troubled me. Physical attacks were rarely effective against these barely visible ghosts without bodies. While Anne¡¯s iron ball was a physical object, it was fine because she had effective skills. And so did Garbow. But I didn¡¯t have any¡­ Well, not exactly. I had acquired Exorcism Barrier through stamping the Grow Card. Like the arrow type skills, it created arrows with a special effect. But this arrow wasn¡¯t just to shoot, but it could also be used by throwing it on the ground! ¡°Exorcism Barrier!¡± And then a dome-shaped barrier appeared around the arrow at my feet. It was semi-transparent and glowed with a blue light. It allowed attacks from within to go through, while blocking attacks from the outside. In other words, as long as the barrier was up, you could unleash one-sided attacks! It was especially durable against the ghost attacks, as you might expect from something called Exorcism Barrier. It was a safe space within a horror game, and felt as comforting as a save point. However, it also looked quite thin, and so I wasn¡¯t sure how it would hold up against players or more powerful monsters¡­ I had a feeling that it would shatter loudly like glass. As it was a skill and not a charge attack, I didn¡¯t have to think too much before using it, but I decided to assume that it would generally not be enough to block enemy charge attacks. Also, I could only make one barrier at a time. ¡°The exploration is going smoothly thanks to the barrier!¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­!¡± If I had the barrier up as we searched for the plate with the ¡®+¡¯ mark, then I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about my back. That was the scariest thing, after all¡­turning around. It did occur to me that I was ruining the horror atmosphere¡­but I didn¡¯t care. Recent games had invincible modes for people who aren¡¯t good at fighting. And so why shouldn¡¯t horror games have a similar mode for people who just want to enjoy the story¡­! ¡°In any case, it¡¯s been a while, but we still haven¡¯t found the plate yet¡­¡± ¡°But we¡¯ve found a lot of other plates¡­¡± Red, blue, yellow¡­ We had gathered 7 other colorful plates. As you could put these plates away in your inventory, they must have some kind of use¡­ I thought as we continued to explore. And then I found a stand that was clearly supposed to be a display for the plates. ¡°But what order should we line them in?¡± ¡°¡­Well, they seem to be the colors of the rainbow. So let¡¯s start with red.¡± Ultimately, that was correct. From the left, we lined them in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple. Then the mansion began to shake loudly. Some contraption somewhere was moving¡­ Such mysterious contraptions were common in horror games. And so we decided to search for the place where it had moved. From the foyer, you could now see that the wall at the far back of the hallway had disappeared, and there was now a long staircase that led underground. Hmm¡­ Underground¡­ I didn¡¯t want to go down there, but it would likely lead to the plate that we needed. And so we went down the stairs with Anne in the lead. Now, what horrible thing would be waiting for us¡­ A prison? A mysterious ceremonial altar? A research facility? The answer¡­was none of them. ¡°This place¡­is a dojo?¡± Was this well-worn wooden floor that of a kendo hall? It wasn¡¯t too odd, since this was a samurai residence¡­but would there really be a plate here? Just then, the dojo suddenly grew brighter. I didn¡¯t know what the lightsource was, but it just grew brighter. And I then noticed that ¡®something¡¯ was sitting in the back that I hadn¡¯t been able to see before with just the torch light. While it was wearing armor and a helmet and a sword was resting at its side, it was not human. It had green skin, webbed hands and feet, and a beak¡­ It was a kappa¡­! A warrior kappa¡­! Ah! Is that what she meant by plate¡­!? As I was surprised by this revelation, the kappa stood up and unsheathed the sword. It was the same height as a human. Humanoid enemies tended to be intelligent and move quickly. I would have to be careful¡­! ¡°Letter Arrow!¡± I had to acquire information on the enemy first¡­ Is what I thought, but the kappa cut Letter Arrow down with a swipe. This guy¡­was good! ¡°Daybreak Star!¡± Without a moment¡¯s delay, Anne unleashed her charge attack. The kappa blocked it with a thick wall of water. The iron ball quickly lost its momentum after hitting it. Furthermore, the kappa continued to create more and more water. And like that, the dojo began to flood¡­! ¡°Exorcism Barrier!¡± Alright, now the barrier would block the water! While the dojo had flooded, it was safe within the barrier. Since it was possible to breathe underwater in NSO, I wouldn¡¯t have died. But I didn¡¯t want to fight a kappa in the water¡­! Pishi¡­! A crack appeared in the barrier. The kappa was swimming in the water at a great speed and slamming itself into the barrier, damaging it with every hit. However, I too had a buddy who was stronger in the water! ¡°Garbow!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Garbow began to swim so fast that it was difficult to follow him with my eyes. And so began the high-speed battle. The kappa was strong, and it used its sword to parry Garbow¡¯s attacks. However, it had clearly slowed down as well. Now I would be able to shoot at it¡­! ¡°Seabow Arts¡­Form 4, Swordfish!¡± I would use it here, my Seabow Arts! They were special skills that showed their true worth in the water. You could use them by equipping the Grow Card, but since I hadn¡¯t fought in the water for a long time, it was off duty for a while. I did not expect to bring it back in the underground dojo of a samurai residence! Swordfish had the simple effect of raising piercing ability and speed. And so I shot it several times at the kappa who was fighting Garbow. The kappa then started to swim faster again in order to avoid being hit, but it was too late. ¡°Form 5 ¨C Shark!¡± Shark was a homing arrow that targeted enemies that you had damaged. You could avoid it by escaping my range or hitting it with an equal attack, but it was not easy to escape my range, and if it tried to cancel it out, then Garbow would have an opening to attack. This was perfect cooperation¡­ Garbow really was strong in the water! ¡°The final blow, Garbow! Red Meteor!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Just as it was bitten by Shark and its movement stopped, the charge attack slammed into it directly. Perhaps due to being able to flood the battle arena, which would be a huge disadvantage to the player, the specs of the kappa were not that high. ¡°W-wonderful¡­¡± Muttered the kappa as it turned into light and disappeared. The water that had filled the dojo now vanished, and the drop items went into my inventory. Among them was the plate with the ¡®+¡¯ mark on it. ¡°That was amazing! Both you and little Garbow! The water killed the momentum of my iron ball. I really don¡¯t like fighting in the water¡­¡± ¡°Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. I too would not have been able to do anything with the help of Garbow and my Seabow Arts. Well, I¡¯m just glad that I didn¡¯t embarrass myself. You did all of the work last time.¡± In any case, it meant that all of my adventures had been worth it. It was a good thing that I had Seabow Arts! Now that the boss was dead, the regular enemies stopped spawning, and so we left the mansion and went back to the well and handed the plate to Okiku. ¡°Ah¡­thank you¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­ I did know that this isn¡¯t really a plate¡­¡± Yes, she did. But I just thanked her and accepted the stamp. And then a lid appeared over the well, which would be a good table for stamping the card. ¡°Now that¡¯s two!¡± The stamp that I pressed depicted the mansion, the well and a faded Okiku. Now (Exorcism Bow Art ¨C 1 mark) became (Exorcism Bow Art ¨C 2 marks) And I acquired the new skill, ¡®Demonbane Attack Blade.¡¯ This also didn¡¯t sound like it was related to arrows¡­ I just hoped that it was like Exorcism Barrier, and allowed me more strategic variety. ¡°Now, the next terror spot is the Snake and Scorpion Tunnel! Let¡¯s go!¡± Tunnel¡­huh. Cramped, dark and lonely. You can only see ahead and would be instilled with fear over what world you would be connected to on the other side¡­ The fact that you would be trapped if the back and front were closed off also made me feel claustrophobic. However, in the end, you just had to make it out the other side. The rules were bound to be simple, so maybe we could just run through without thinking too much¡­? CH 130 Data.122 ¨C Old Bowman, Serpent Tunnel ¡°Still, that kappa sure was cute! I once tried to catch a kappa by attaching a cucumber to a fishing rod and hanging it over a lake!¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­amazing.¡± Anne¡¯s stories were amazing in more ways than one. And so I listened to her as we made our way to the 3rd terror spot, the Snake and Scorpion Tunnel. There were considerably fewer player killers now. If you had not unlocked fast travel, then you would not be able to return to the Ghost Float after dying, and even if you could, you would be weakened as part of the penalty, so they had no chance of beating us. So the more we killed, the safer we could travel. That meant we could concentrate on preparing for the terror ahead. Just a short while ago, a ¡®road¡¯ had appeared at my feet. It was a concrete road that cars would drive over. And it was connected to the tunnel up ahead. The Snake and Scorpion Tunnel¡­ That was carved above the entrance. It was wider than I was expecting, and looked quite modern. The one that I had been imagining was just wide enough for a single car to go through, and was old and no longer in use. And so this was a little surprising. There were even white lines still visible on the road. And so I could tell that there were two lanes. The inside was illuminated with orange light. It reflected on the dirty concrete walls, creating an atmosphere of danger. While it was more modern than I expected, it wasn¡¯t a new tunnel. These days, the walls and lights are white. And as I expected, we could not see the other side of the tunnel from the entrance. Pitch black darkness stretched out ahead. This tunnel¡­was very long. So, where was the stamp, anyway? Surely there were players who entered from the other side as well? So was the stamp in the middle? I had other questions, but there was nothing to do but go on ahead now. That was NSO. Just keep going and you will find the answer. ¡°Hehe¡­ Even though I know that it¡¯s just a game, these kinds of tunnels are so exciting! Because you don¡¯t see places like these very much these days! They don¡¯t even exist in the cities!¡± ¡°Around the time that these full dive VR games entered the market, the whole country began redevelopment. Well, even if that wasn¡¯t the case, I wouldn¡¯t go anywhere near a place like this¡­ But you¡¯re perfectly fine, Anne?¡± ¡°Yes! I like dark and cramped places!¡± She was brave and didn¡¯t fear anything¡­ I couldn¡¯t wait to get away from this tunnel. First of all, it felt odd, walking in the middle of the road. Perhaps it was because it was so realistic, but it felt like we were doing something wrong¡­ Also, I wondered if cars would appear behind us. Surely there wouldn¡¯t be any cars in NSO. But I couldn¡¯t help but look behind me every now and then. ¡­But nothing appeared. Not just cars, but monsters as well. Goooo¡­ It was just the wind rushing through the tunnel. However, once we were about 200 meters in, the air suddenly changed, and the entrance to the tunnel looked like it was far away. The entrance then closed up, and the lights began to flicker¡­ This was likely similar to the mansion. We had entered a separate area¡­! Anne and I stood back to back and waited for the enemy to appear. The enemy came¡­from the direction of the entrance. It was a black giant snake that slithered towards us from the shadows¡­! It looked a lot like the lizards I had fought in the Windcloud hidden settlement. In the blackness, two red eyes glowed ominously. ¡°Explosive Sky Tear!¡± The unleashed arrow slammed into a red eye. The snake let out an angry hiss, and stopped moving for a few seconds, but then it started to slither towards us again. Its eye was already healed¡­! I couldn¡¯t see an HP gauge, so it must be a special enemy! ¡°Anne! This¡­might be one of those invincible enemies!¡± ¡°What!? What should we do!?¡± ¡°For now¡­we should run!¡± Enemies that you could do nothing but run away from. They were the kind I hated the most¡­! Not only that, but this one was quite fast! I hadn¡¯t experienced anything like this since meeting the Bloody Mary in the mirror world. How had I managed to escape back then¡­ ¡°Spider Shooter Cloud! Gatling Web Cloud Arrow!¡± I kept shooting the sticky nets. It should be a good combination with a snake that slithered on the ground¡­! However, when the black snake touched the net, it began to burn and then disappear. Was the black fog around it actually fire¡­!? Let me check¡­ ¡°Letter Arrow!¡± Shhaaaa!! This time it unleashed a black breath. And Letter Arrow burned up before it could reach it. The arrow had a special effect if it could hit its target, but it dealt no damage at all. And so it could be easily erased with another skill. This really wasn¡¯t an enemy that you could fight without thinking¡­ ¡°Gatling Letter Arrow!¡± Shaaaaaa!! Hmm. While there were more arrows, it didn¡¯t matter if they had no attack ability. I needed to think harder. Besides, there wasn¡¯t much time left. The snake was getting closer! ¡°Saint Cross Star!¡± The seven iron balls that Anne unleashed went through the black breath and smashed into the snake. The snake staggered, giving us a big opening. So the more damage you did, the bigger the opening. ¡°Thanks, Anne!¡± ¡°Not at all! While I may have power and durability, my speed is lackluster, and so I have to slow down the snake, or I¡¯d be in trouble!¡± As she wore armor and wielded a heavy iron ball, her moving speed was slow. In the first place, my archer job was built for speed, and I was wearing the Windcloud set, which allowed me to move lightly and freely like the clouds. So there was bound to be a big difference if we ran side by side. ¡°Mr. Kyuji! Could you pick me up and fly, like you did at the mansion!?¡± ¡°I see! That¡¯s a great idea!¡± While the snake was still staggered, I picked up Anne and dismissed Garbow. ¡°I¡¯m Arrow!¡± I flew straight through the tunnel! As always, my vision spun around me, and I couldn¡¯t tell what was going on. But as long as we were moving towards the right direction, that was fine. Rip¡­riiiip¡­! What¡­? The sound of something being ripped¡­ And then I felt something hitting my body. However, I¡¯m Arrow couldn¡¯t be canceled after being activated, and we were still moving just fine¡­ Gan¡­! Kiiii¡­!! We had hit something that was too hard to break¡­! And with a loud clang, I¡¯m Arrow¡¯s momentum began to weaken. ¡°¡­Woah!¡± The effect was deactivated, and I could see again. What we had hit¡­was the wall of the tunnel. We were not able to turn a corner and crashed into the wall. So that¡¯s what that sound was from¡­ I suppose because it was a tunnel with snakes, it had to curve a lot. There would be so many accidents if cars drove through here. That meant that even when the cool down was finished, I may not be able to use I¡¯m Arrow again¡­ Shhhhaaaa¡­ I could hear the distant hissing. While we were far away now, it would catch up soon enough if we stayed still. ¡°Anne, let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Yes! Ah¡­!¡± Numerous black hands stretched out of the ground. So that¡¯s what had ripped when we were flying¡­! I had heard stories about people driving through mysterious tunnels, only to see unfamiliar handprints on their car after coming out the other side. But it seemed like these hands would do more than that¡­ Besides, the arms were rather¡­muscular¡­! ¡°I¡¯ll open a path! You just concentrate on running!¡± ¡°Understood!¡± I had just acquired a skill that was perfect for this situation. Up until now, I had to rely on charge attacks for wide area attacks. However, with this¡­ ¡°Demonbane Attack Blade!¡± It was the 2nd Exorcism Bow Arts. Two arrows were unleashed, and there was a glowing thread between them. This tight thread was what acted as a sharp blade. While there were limits, if the two arrows were far apart and at the right angle, you could create a very large blade. And so the dark hands were sliced up and then disappeared. It really was a demon killing blade¡­and very powerful! Instead of being a singular point, it was a line. And that should be useful in future fights! ¡°Let¡¯s go before we¡¯re swallowed up by the darkness¡­!¡± As the hissing sounds of the snake echoed behind us, we started to run. CH 131 Data.123 ¨C Old Bowman, Escaping the Shadows The black hands that stretched out from the ground continued to grow on the road. Having to defeat them before moving forward was really slowing us down. And so we would have to cut through them while moving, but neither Anne or I were particularly good with fighting and moving at the same time¡­! ¡°Windcloud Blast!¡± And so I made a wind to push us. Perhaps it would help increase my speed a little. ¡°Ah! That¡¯s great, Mr. Kyuji! I can use this skill if there is wind at my back! Rolling Star!¡± Anne¡¯s iron ball was enlarged, and then cut off from the chains. The spikes also retracted, so that the giant ball looked like a¡­ ¡°It¡¯s a big rolling ball! If we push this and advance, we can crush all of the hands that are in front of us! Now, let¡¯s push it together!¡± ¡°A-alright.¡± And so we stood together and pushed the ball. Gggg¡­it was just as heavy as it looked¡­! Indeed, no one would even think of trying to push it if they weren¡¯t getting some help by the wind. However, that also meant that it did plenty of damage. And so the black hands were easily crushed! ¡°Mr. Kyuji! There is a sharp turn to the right up ahead!¡± ¡°The right¡­got it¡­!¡± It was difficult to turn once you gained some momentum. The winding tunnel meant that we couldn¡¯t move in a straight line. It wasn¡¯t just I¡¯m Arrow, but Warp Arrow would also not let me travel too far in this place. Well, Warp Arrow only allowed me to warp, so I wouldn¡¯t have been able to use it anyway. There was no point if only I escaped and left Anne. ¡°Mr. Kyuji! There is a turn to the left!¡± ¡°Lefttt¡­! Wha¡­?!¡± Something grabbed my foot as it dug into the ground! We were not able to turn in time, and the ball crashed into the wall. ¡°Above¡­!?¡± When I looked up, I saw that there was a strange creature stuck to the ceiling. My first impression was that it was a scorpion¡­ This was the Snake and Scorpion tunnel, after all. Everyone tended to hate those two creatures. However, when I looked more closely, I saw that it was like no scorpion that I knew of. It¡¯s pincers looked more like over-sized human hands, and the stinger that was at the end of its long tail was also in the shape of a hand. It had extended it to grab me¡­! Furthermore, there was also a human face where its head should be. It looked like a death mask¡­and was very unpleasant! These kinds of monsters, where they had human parts mixed in, were particularly disgusting to me¡­! ¡°Mr. Kyuji! Don¡¯t just stand there!¡± ¡°Ah, ahh¡­! But don¡¯t you tend to freeze up when seeing stuff like this¡­? Like, you can¡¯t take your eyes off of it¡­¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m actually completely fine! Humans, bugs or snakes!¡± She wasn¡¯t just brave. She wasn¡¯t scared of anything! I¡¯m not sure if liking the occult and horror was really a fitting hobby for her¡­ Well, maybe that¡¯s why she jumped into the world of VR. She needed some new stimulation. ¡°Just erase whatever scares you¡­! Demonbane Attack Blade!¡± And then the scorpion on the ceiling was shredded to pieces. Alright, with this skill, I could kill them with one hit! ¡­However, the scorpions kept appearing, just like the black hands. ¡°Burning Arrow Storm!¡± With the numerous exploding arrows, I scorched the ceiling over a wide area. It would be safe for a while now, but I¡¯m sure they would return before the cool down was finished. And so I would have to think of a different countermeasure¡­ ¡°In any case, let¡¯s go!¡± We pushed the metal ball and hurried on. The hissing of the snake was getting closer¡­! ¡°Exorcism Barrier!¡± Instead of throwing the arrow at my feet, I shot it in the direction of the snake. As the snake was very big, the tunnel would feel quite cramped. If I set a dome-shaped barrier as an obstacle, it would be more than enough to slow it down. The Exorcism Barrier had resistance against evil enemies like ghosts and demons, so it shouldn¡¯t break too easily! I returned to pushing the iron ball immediately after shooting. And every once in a while, I would turn around and create another obstacle with Exorcism Barrier. And then return to pushing the ball¡­! By repeating this, we should be able to gain some distance¡­! ¡°Mr. Kyuji! The enemies on the ceiling are back!¡± ¡°Already¡­! In that case¡­Floating Cloud Herd! Cluster Formation!¡± Floating Cloud Herd, the skill that created 9 clouds. I brought them together to create one big cloud. And with Windcloud Blast pushing it, we dove underneath. ¡°Alright. The scorpions above are not that smart. They won¡¯t attack us if we are hidden in the clouds!¡± It was a good thing that they were small fry AI¡­ If this was a strong boss AI, it would have arrived at the simple solution of crushing the entire cloud. ¡°Ah, look over there! Thanks to the cloud, the black hands aren¡¯t appearing in the ground anymore!¡± As Anne said, they went back into the ground as the cloud passed over them. On the other hand, the ones that weren¡¯t covered were moving around just fine. Apparently, it was the orange light of the tunnel that made them come out. And if you blocked the orange light, the monsters would not come out. In other words, if I shot down all the lights¡­ No, I could test that after I used up Floating Cloud Herd. Besides, with the lights, it would be completely dark, and that wouldn¡¯t make things much better for us. Even though I had a good torch, it wasn¡¯t enough in this long tunnel. Furthermore, we didn¡¯t know how long this tunnel was, or what gimmicks awaited us up ahead. It would be unwise to rob ourselves of vision just to get rid of some weak enemies. And so we hid in the cloud and ran. ¡°Hmm¡­we¡¯re still not there!¡± There was nothing worse than running a marathon and not being able to see the goal¡­! Just how long was this tunnel¡­! Shaaaaa!!! The hissing was really close now. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it was right behind the last corner¡­ Also, the snake was likely getting faster over time. We had reached our limit in terms of running away¡­ In that case! ¡°Anne. Let¡¯s use our charge attacks here and stop it! Once the cloud disappears, we¡¯ll have to stop and deal with the weak enemies. And so it would be best to deal a lot of damage to the snake and slow it down as much as possible!¡± ¡°Understood!¡± The time that the snake stopped was proportional to how much damage you inflicted. If we unleashed all of our charge attacks at it here, we might be able to buy ourselves a few minutes! SHHHHAAAAA!! The snake¡¯s head appeared from around the corner¡­! ¡°Saint Cross Star! Giant Daybreak Star!¡± ¡°Exploding Sky Tear! Burning Arrow Storm! Meteor Bow! And for good measure¡­ Miracle Effect! Southern Cross Ballista!!¡± Charge attack, fused charge attack, combination charge attack and miracle effect¡­! I¡­could do all kinds of things now. The names were long and reminded me of a battle manga¡­ I couldn¡¯t help but think this in spite of being in a pinch. We hadn¡¯t even defeated the enemy¡­ Huh? Shaaa¡­ The giant black snake turned into light and disappeared. The drop items were automatically sucked into our item boxes. ¡°¡­So the snake can be defeated.¡± I thought that it wasn¡¯t supposed to be¡­ Had we dealt too much damage to it? There were bosses that you were supposed to lose to, but if you somehow won, you would hear special dialogue or acquire secret items. Perhaps this snake was like that. ¡°In any case, what a relief¡­¡± ¡°Indeed! I was getting a little annoyed by how much it chased us! Enemies must be defeated!¡± ¡°I agree!¡± Now that the weak enemies no longer appeared, we could walk through the tunnel leisurely. The light for the exit was visible now, but we just walked without using I¡¯m Arrow. I felt like doing that. ¡°Ah, there is a table near the exit!¡± They had thoughtfully placed a table in the center, and the stamp was on top of it. This might be the only time I ever stamped something on a table that was in the middle of the road¡­ I thought as I picked up the 3rd stamp. ¡°3rd one down!¡± I stamped the card. It depicted the tunnel and the black snake and shadowy hands within. Now Exorcism Bow Arts 2 marks turned into Exorcism Bow Arts 3 marks, and I acquired the new skill, Seal Demon Bind. Surely this skill would also make me stronger. ¡°Now! That¡¯s enough adventure for today! We gathered 3 in just one day!¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a good time to stop.¡± The Ghost Float was always dark, so it was easy to lose track of time. Besides, she had used up Southern Cross Ballista, which could only be used three times a day. So it was the perfect time to bring this adventure to an end. ¡°By the way, the last terror spot is the Z Hospital! I wonder what it will be like¡­I just can¡¯t wait!¡± Z Hospital¡­? If it¡¯s horror and set in a hospital with the letter ¡®Z¡¯¡­then I think I know what the enemy will be. And I was probably right¡­! I really don¡¯t like things that are grotesque¡­ However, I had such things turned off in the settings in my status window, so I would just have to trust it¡­! CH 132 Data.124 ¨C Old Bowman, Hospital of Death The next day, I found myself walking under a dark, cloudy sky in the morning. This area wasn¡¯t so much night time, but a humid, lazy afternoon. Weeds grew everywhere, and unknown fragments littered the abandoned land¡­ And yet there was a ¡®road¡¯ that made it clear that someone had passed through here many times, and it stretched out to a certain building. ¡°So¡­this is the Z Hospital.¡± The rusty iron fences had a small gap in them. Just wide enough for one person to pass through. Someone was in a place where they had no business being in¡­ That was what it seemed to suggest. As this was one of the terror spots you were supposed to go to, it only made sense for someone to be here. Besides, it really helped with the atmosphere. And so we passed through the gap and went inside. The shape of the building was that of a general hospital. There were no visible fantasy elements, which made it feel right for a horror setting. After all, the interior would have a labyrinth-like structure. I had been sick in a hospital once, and remember getting lost inside. Well, maybe I had started wandering around because I was anxious¡­ ¡°Ah, this place isn¡¯t actually called the Z Hospital, but the Yomotsuhirasaka General Hospital! It¡¯s written right up there!¡± ¡°So it¡¯s just commonly called the Z Hospital¡­¡± Yomotsuhirasaka is the place between the world of the living and the dead. In other words, enemies that are between life and death would appear here¡­ They wanted to make it very obvious! Zombies! We would be fighting zombies here! Zombie movies were their own genre independent from horror now, and continued to be established even in this century of scientific discovery. That¡¯s how great they were as monsters. As for countermeasures¡­I couldn¡¯t think of any! Because zombies could be anything and anything could be zombies! In general, zombies were corpses that were reanimated by curses, or people who were infected by a virus. But these days, they could be part machine or inorganic objects as well. Well¡­I didn¡¯t know a lot about them, as I didn¡¯t care for them. But it was a big genre where anything could happen. That was my understanding. As someone who hated them¡­! ¡°Anne¡­ I suppose you¡¯re fine with zombies as well?¡± ¡°Hmm. I would say that I am fine, but not hugely fond of them. After all, I am not a big fan of splatter films.¡± ¡°Huh, is that right?¡± ¡°After all, what living human would not be scared at the sight of someone being harmed! Blood rushing, limbs flying and entrails falling out¡­ It is only natural to feel fear and disgust!¡± ¡°I suppose so.¡± ¡°The occult that I like is not so much about fearful things I wouldn¡¯t want to happen to me, but about the excitement and idea that the world would be more interesting if they were true. Like ghosts, yokai, UFOs¡­ Of course, perhaps it might not just end at being interesting if all that was real. Some of the works are even more dangerous and grotesque than zombies. But if they were friendly, the world would be a much bigger place! That¡¯s what I mean!¡± ¡°Yes, I understand!¡± ¡°VO¡­the virtual occult is like that! If this technology made by humans results in people awakening to mysterious abilities, that would be so interesting! And so I want to believe in Virtualiens! Besides, I think there is a really good chance that they do exist!¡± ¡°I hope you¡¯re not talking about¡­me?¡± ¡°Yes! You are indeed one candidate! I¡¯ve enjoyed adventuring with you, and think that Virtualiens help make the world a funner place!¡± ¡°Uhuh¡­ Well, if say it¡¯s fun, then I won¡¯t protest too strongly.¡± But she was likely the only one to see me as some kind of evolved being. The truth was I was just some guy who quit his job in order to play games all day. ¡­Though, perhaps that was a kind of evolution if you think about it! It was with such thoughts that we invaded the hospital. The glass of the automatic doors were shattered, and the sensors were also broken. I walked carefully so as to not get cut. Now, where would the zombies start jumping out¡­ ¡°Hmm? The computer at the reception desk is on¡­?¡± While it was a very old type, it was still a computer. I had never seen a computer in NSO before¡­ There was only one icon on the desktop, which read ¡®Entry Reception.¡¯ I used the mouse to click around the screen, but nothing happened. ¡°I guess we have to click this icon then.¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s try that.¡± Click¡­gyun! In the next instant, we were warped to a different place. It was a¡­nurse station!? ¡°Oh! The matchmaking finally finished! Hello there!¡± A large man who was at least 2 meters tall waved his hand at us. What power¡­ On top of that, his equipment was made with weathered leather and furs, which made him look like a veteran Adventurer. ¡°Oh! I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Oliver! I¡¯m with the New Gloria Warriors! They call me Greataxe Oliver! But just call me Oliver! We will be comrades for now! Haha!¡± And his voice was so loud¡­! In any case, he had introduced himself, so I better do the same¡­ ¡°I go by Kyuji. So you can just call me that.¡± ¡°I am Annemarie Gothnoir! Just call me Anne!¡± ¡°Anne! And¡­Kyuji? Are you that old bowman people talk about!?¡± ¡°Ah, yes¡­I think so.¡± ¡°Indeed! It¡¯s an honor to meet you! I would have rather fought you in a duel. So it is unfortunate that this is a place of cooperation!¡± Comrades, cooperation¡­ While his passion was overwhelming, I did not miss those words. ¡°Um, cooperation¡­?¡± ¡°Ah! I should explain! Though, I¡¯m not really good at it, so it would be better if you read the manual over here. But to put it simply, 7 players are supposed to fight off the zombies that try to enter this nurse station. And if you survive for a certain amount of time, then you get the stamp!¡± Hmm. I didn¡¯t know if there were more detailed rules, but he did summarise it well enough. It was the typical zombie siege then. Super markets were maybe the more popular setting, but hospitals were up there. It had both medicine and food. ¡°And since there are seven of us including the Unisons, in 20 minutes, the battle for survival will begin! So you should read the manual and learn the rules while you can!¡± ¡°Thank you. By the way¡­where are the other three players? I don¡¯t see them in the nurse station¡­¡± ¡°Ah, my mates have gone off to explore the rest of the floor! This is the 10th floor, which is the highest floor. So we can assume that the enemy will climb up the stairs from below! We must first know where the stairs are and think of the best way to fight them. And if necessary, set up some traps! Also, there are special rules concerning items, so we must prepare for that as well!¡± ¡°I see. You sound like you¡¯ve fought in this hospital many times already?¡± ¡°Not at all! This is my first time! But I¡¯m a pro gamer! While this may be a different game, one zombie shooter is much like another! Haha! And so you have no need to worry!¡± Apparently, I was quite lucky with the players that I encountered. I had been a little overwhelmed at how strongly he came off at first, but I knew now that he really was a good gamer. And yet he had said that it was ¡®an honor¡¯ to meet me. And I had just enough pride to not want to let him down. With these siege battles, if one person fell, the whole thing could collapse. And so I had to understand all of the rules first. Oliver seemed like the kind of person who wouldn¡¯t care too much if you caused trouble a little, but that was why I had to be careful. ¡°Now, with 20 minutes, I can practice swinging 1000 times! Because it¡¯s about quality, not quantity, so I can¡¯t rush it!¡± ¡­Still, he was a strange person. ¡°This is so exciting, Mr. Kyuji! While I did say that I¡¯m no fan of zombies and splatter, it is rather exhilarating to mow them down in hordes! Hehe¡­I can¡¯t wait to use my weapon!¡± Anne was already swinging her iron ball around. ¡­She was also quite strange. I kind of hoped the other three were a little more¡­normal. CH 133 Data.125 ¨C Old Bowman, War Council The manual that Oliver was talking about was written on paper, which was unusual for NSO. But the setting was usually revealed to you in pieces through scattered documents in zombie games, and I suppose it was the same here. I looked through it carefully before returning it. ¡°Alright, I understand the rules now.¡± First, the goal was to survive for 2 hours. And if one player out of the seven survived until the end, everyone would be able to stamp their card. And so some people might sacrifice themselves willingly¡­ The enemy zombies would come from outside of the hospital. However, that was about all that was written. And so it didn¡¯t mean that they would politely come in from the front entrance. And even if they did, the hospitals had so many doors that blocking all of them wasn¡¯t a realistic option. So, how should we stop the zombies? The answer¡­was the stairs. We were in the central hospital ward, which had two staircases. In order to move between the floors, you had to use these stairs. While real hospitals would have elevators, this one did not. And so if we tried to escape to the upper floors, the zombies would use these stairs to follow us. So as long as we held the stairs, the zombies could not go up. Split into two teams and defeat the zombies on the stairs¡­ That was likely to be our plan. Furthermore, there were also special rules regarding items. While you could bring your equipment and ME medals, you could not bring healing or other consumable items. The HP and MP recovery items that were so important during siege battles could only be obtained through searching for them within the hospital. And so Oliver¡¯s friends were currently searching for the places where they were dropped. You could only pick them up after the battle started, but it was best to know the locations beforehand. In other words, they would have to pick them up and fight at the same time. So there would be two teams to protect the stairs, and a third to gather items¡­ All seven of us would have to work hard or we would all die. ¡°Hey, Mr. Oliver!¡± ¡°Huh! Ah, Grey! Did you find something?¡± ¡°Yes! Oh, are these the people who are going to fight with us?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! The Japanese-style bowman is Kyuji, and the armored nun is Anne!¡± ¡°What!? Is it that famous Kyuji!?¡± ¡°It is!¡± Oliver answered. Grey was a boy who wore work clothes and a helmet. His eyes seemed to shine as he looked at me. The Charin fight had a great effect¡­ ¡°I¡¯m Grey Suelo! I recently joined the Gloria Warriors! It¡¯s nice to meet you! I saw your fight against Charin! It was very cool!¡± ¡°Thanks. Uh, it was a pretty desperate fight. But it seems like a long time ago now¡­¡± His eyes really were shining¡­ I suppose I should say something. ¡°Wait! Let¡¯s hear your report first, Grey!¡± ¡°Ah! Of course¡­¡± Thankfully, Oliver changed the subject. Well, he was prioritizing the sharing of information, but it still helped me¡­ ¡°The report. Every entrance on the first floor showed the times when the zombies would start flooding in. With the largest entrance in the central ward, they will start coming in as soon as the survival battle starts, but with the back entrance, it will be 20 minutes later, and then 30 minutes later for the west and east wards.¡± ¡°I see¡­ So as time passes, the number of zombies will increase¡­!¡± ¡°Well, the times were only written for those 4 entrances. We found no hints for the other entrances.¡± ¡°Hmm. While it¡¯s good we know where they will be coming from, we can¡¯t say for sure that those will be the only places! They could break the glass and climb through the windows¡­ They tend to do that! In any case, we must watch those 4 entrances and assume that enemies will come from other entrances after the 30 minutes are up! Anything else to report?¡± ¡°Yes! The west and east wards have 5 floors, and there were various items there as well. However, you will have to go through the 1st floor of the central ward in order to reach them, so if it¡¯s after the first 30 minutes and the zombies start appearing from the west and east entrances¡­¡± ¡°Anyone who goes to get items will not be able to come back¡­! The initial plan was to have four people fight at the central entrance and have the other three gather items from each ward. But now we¡¯ll have to send Kyuka and Canaria to the east and west, because they¡¯re the fastest!¡± ¡°Central, back, west, east¡­ If zombies really do come from all of the entrances, we¡¯ll be surrounded. At that point, we¡¯ll have to move the main battlefield to the staircases¡­¡± To put it simply, there were two wards aside from the central one we were in. They were independent from this one, and so there were no connecting passages. The only part where they were connected was on the first floor, and so players in those wards would have to gather items from all five floors and then go back to the first floor in order to return to the central ward. And since zombies would come in from the east and west entrances after 30 minutes, people on the 1st floor would be attacked from all sides. You could not fight with any stability in that situation.. At that point, we would have to retreat once and move to the stairs, where the enemies movements would be limited. In other words, if there was someone who had gone to the west and east wards and not returned yet, we would either have to keep fighting in this disadvantageous situation and wait for them, or we would have to abandon them and go up the stairs. So, why don¡¯t they just return early before the 30 minutes were up? That was the clear answer. However, as we could not bring our own healing items here, gathering a lot of them would lead directly to victory. I used a lot of MP recovery items myself. I just bought a lot and used them without really thinking about it. But I couldn¡¯t do that here. If we didn¡¯t gather items, I would eventually not be able to use my skills. And so that¡¯s why Oliver and Gray were talking about sending their fastest friends to go and gather them. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right! Kyuji and Anne! I have one question¡­are you two confident in your speed?¡± Even Oliver¡¯s questions were asked in a loud voice¡­ ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that I¡¯m slow, but I¡¯m also not confident in my speed. I would describe myself as a little above average.¡± ¡°I am slow! And I am confident in that!¡± ¡°I see! In that case, we¡¯ll hand the items then! You two can focus on killing as many zombies as possible!¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Leave it to us!¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go down to the 1st floor then! This nurse station is just where we are warped, but we aren¡¯t required to protect it or anything! The battle that is about to begin is not tower defense, but about survival!¡± And so I, Ann, Garbow, Oliver and Gray all rushed down the stairs. Just as we were about to reach the 1st floor, I saw a woman who was sitting down on the stairs, and another leaning against the railing. Apparently, they were the last remaining members of the group. ¡°Kyuka! Canaria! It¡¯s almost time!¡± The two looked our way and then their eyes widened when they saw me. One had light blue hair and her gear and lips were all in cold colors. She probably had skills related to ice¡­ In fact, there was something about her that seemed familiar¡­ In the first place, I felt that way about all of the members of the New Gloria Warriors¡­. Maybe it was at the south sea¡­? The other had her bright green hair tied into a ponytail. Her gear was¡­kind of like a school uniform-style idol costume? I didn¡¯t really know much about idols¡­ ¡°Heh¡­I did not expect to meet a top player here¡­¡± Muttered the woman with blue hair who leaned against the railing. She had a low but clear voice. ¡°I¡¯m Kyuka. Some people called me Iceflower Kyuka. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Pleased to meet you too.¡± While there was something put on by the way she talked, it didn¡¯t feel wrong either. I suppose it suited her. Like Oliver, she seemed to have a lot of experience with games. ¡°Ah, um!¡± Next, the girl who was sitting called out to us. While she had been relaxing with her legs spread out at first, she closed them and sat up straight. ¡°I¡¯m Canaria In Bloom! While I¡¯m new in the guild, I¡¯m a pretty successful internet idol! Um¡­have you heard of me?¡± ¡°¡­S-sorry¡­¡± ¡°No! Not at all! I don¡¯t mind! In fact, I have nothing to really boast about aside from how long I¡¯ve been doing this. And I¡¯m practically just a karaoke singer! Things haven¡¯t been going well recently, and so I thought I¡¯d make some money as a pro gamer instead!¡± ¡°Uh, I really don¡¯t know much about the idol world, and so I wouldn¡¯t have recognized someone really famous either. So you really don¡¯t need to self-deprecate on my behalf.¡± ¡°Y-you¡¯re very kind¡­¡± If anything, I would be surprised if someone didn¡¯t do the same after hearing all that. It wasn¡¯t kindness. It was just normal to stop someone from saying any more. ¡°Haha! Sorry about that! So this is the New Gloria Warriors! Now, you take the west, Kyuka! And Canaria will get the items in the east ward! You can choose where to start, so I suggest you start in a corner on the 5th floor!¡± ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°Yes! I will do my best!¡± Kyuka created blades of ice under her shoes. She would slide on them over the floor as if she was an ice skater. Canaria also wore roller skates on her feet. With smooth footwork, she headed to the east. ¡°Gray, you get the items on the 1st central floor! We¡¯ll be abandoning this place in 30 minutes, so we¡¯ll need you to get the items every time we go up to the next floor!¡± ¡°Understood!¡± Gray dashed away. Now it was just me, Anne, Garbow and Oliver. ¡°If we fall here, the whole plan will crumble! So let¡¯s burn brightly and fight, my comrades!¡± ¡°Yes, of course!¡± ¡°I will crush them all for you!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± The 20 minutes of preparation time was almost up. And then, from nowhere in particular, zombies began to appear and walk slowly towards the hospital. CH 134 Data.126 ¨C Old Bowman, of the Dead The first zombie was pressing against the glass of the hospital¡¯s automatic doors. As this hospital was a battle area that was prepared for us to fight in, it wasn¡¯t the exact same structure as the hospital in the field. Perhaps they called this version the ¡®Z Hospital.¡¯ While this one also had no patients or doctors anywhere, the actual state of the building was better here. In fact, it could almost be used as a normal hospital. Though, I wasn¡¯t sure if that would be the case in a few minutes¡­ The second zombie was now pressing into the glass. The automatic doors were surprisingly durable, and it showed no signs of breaking yet. If anything, maybe we should just attack first? ¡­No, the goal here was to survive. And so we should stay calm and kill time. Bam! Bam! Bam! They started to increase at a faster rate. Apparently, they were not going to take things slowly. They were in a rush, in spite of being dead. Crack¡­! Lines began to appear on the glass doors. They grew larger and larger, and then with a loud crash, the glass shattered into countless pieces. Vvvv¡­vaaaa¡­! The zombies were so real looking that you could almost smell them as they groaned. Their tattered bodies were a sickly green, but as the blood and decapitations were turned off, they were not too grotesque to look at. That did give me an advantage! Currently¡­there was only one type of zombie. While there were small differences in appearances, they were all standard, humanoid zombies. Kiririri¡­shu! Zhunk! They went down in one hit if I shot their heads. Headshots were effective on zombies. ¡°Ah! You¡¯re just as good as they say! I¡¯ll have to work hard so as to not fall behind!¡± Oliver¡¯s weapon was a greataxe, just like his nickname suggested. It was as long as he was tall, and it created deadly shockwaves over a wide area when he swung it. As heavy weapons had longer wind-ups for every swing, I thought that he might not be a good match for a horde of zombies, but I was wrong. Anne was also fine. Her holy spiked ball and chain was the perfect weapon to kill zombies. If it was these numbers, she could just swing it around randomly and that would be enough to deal with them. 5 minutes, 10 minutes¡­the number of zombies pushing in began to increase. The glass walls next to the doors began to break, and so the area where the zombies could enter was widened. But we were still fine. We had two high fire-power players. And so the zombies continued to drop like flies and disappear into light. Grrr¡­rrr¡­! Finally, a non-humanoid zombie appeared. Not only was it fast and hard to kill, but it had a strong jaw and did a lot of damage. A wolf zombie! This was an especially dangerous enemy for Anne and Oliver, who swung wide with every attack. And so I would prioritize killing it¡­! ¡°Ah! Thank you! I don¡¯t like getting into tricky fights!¡± ¡°It¡¯s difficult to hit fast enemies with the iron ball, so I am grateful!¡± They were quite happy about it. It felt good to use your power to help others. Currently, I was able to save my MP, and things were going smoothly. ¡°Mr. Oliver! I finished gathering the items from the 1st floor!¡± ¡°Gray! Alright, now distribute them to everyone!¡± ¡°Understood!¡± Gray took the items out of his item box and distributed them. There were HP, MP, and status healing items, and I received 4 to 6 of each type. As there were four of us, that meant there were quite a lot of items to be found in this hospital. ¡°Mr. Oliver, should I join the fight now?¡± ¡°No, not yet. You must set the traps, Gray! Especially around the stairs! And when you¡¯re done with that, go and gather the items on the 2nd floor! We can hold the frontline for now!¡± ¡°Understood. Ah, I should give you this. And you too, Mr. Kyuji.¡± Gray handed me an earpiece. It was small, with an SF design that brought me back to my childhood. ¡°Now you can contact each other when far away, as long as you¡¯re on the same floor. I won¡¯t need it, since I¡¯m going to the 2nd floor. I hope that it is useful for you two.¡± ¡°Thanks, Gray. Having a means of communication should make a big difference in our survival.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just fulfilling my role! Good luck!¡± Gray dashed up the stairs. What a reliable kid¡­ In order to make sure that his efforts didn¡¯t go to waste, I would have to use the items wisely. ¡°Kyuji! It will be 15 minutes soon! We¡¯ll have to start thinking about splitting up and guarding the stairs!¡± ¡°Already¡­!¡± Once 20 minutes had passed, the back door would open, and zombies would start coming in through there. And one of the two staircases was closer to the back door. While it made sense for the two staircases to be set far apart, I couldn¡¯t help but feel that it was done here to make the game harder. ¡°And so I have a suggestion! Can you and your buddy take care of that one? According to the rules, a Unison is treated as 1 player, so your buddy will listen to our orders as well! However, when it comes to very precise directions, only you can do that!¡± Indeed, I was the only one who knew all of Garbows skills and characteristics. So it made sense for me and Garbow to be one team, and Anne and Oliver to be the other. ¡°I understand. We¡¯ll do our best to protect the staircase near the rear exit.¡± It was fine. Garbow and I had overcome many trials together already. If anything, I was worried about the other two. They were the same kind of heavy attack player. That meant they had similar weaknesses, which would make it hard to adjust to certain situations. ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking! Since we¡¯re the same type of player, an enemy might appear that both of us won¡¯t be able to deal with, right? Don¡¯t worry! I will just change my type!¡± Oliver put away his greataxe and held his fists up like a boxer. And just as a wolf zombie jumped at his throat, he knocked it down with a punch. Like that, he took down the fast wolf zombies with his fists¡­! ¡°I used to only fight with a greataxe, but I started to punch with my fists in order to make up for my weaknesses! Axe style and punch style. Heavy and light. High firepower and high speed. These contrasting styles are my weapons! So don¡¯t worry about us!¡± Yes, I remembered it now¡­! I had seen them during the Poseidon Kraken battle at the south sea! At that time, Oliver had been using his punching style. Kyuka and Gray had used skills to create platforms on the water. But because they weren¡¯t stable, he couldn¡¯t swing his greataxe. So he was able to adjust depending on the situation¡­interesting! Now that I saw that there was nothing to worry about, I left them and headed towards the staircase with Garbow. Vooooooooaa¡­! Wh-what!? It was a powerful roar that was different from any I had heard up until now. Had a boss appeared at the front entrance? No, the voice was coming from the direction of the east ward¡­ ¡°Gaaaahhh! I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry for being such trash that I can¡¯t even complete this one job!¡± It was¡­the internet idol, Canaria. She was furiously shooting across the floor on her roller skates Her face was no longer that of an idol¡­ ¡°Gah!? Mr. Kyuji!? I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry!¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Um, I was going around and collecting items without really thinking, and accidentally pulled a mysterious lever! And then a strange door opened up and this crazy zombie came out!¡± VOOOOOAARRR!!!! ¡°Woah!?¡± Canaria jumped behind me as if she was hiding. The thing that had been chasing her¡­was a zombie so tall that its head touched the ceiling. It looked like a¡­ ¡°Oh¡­a Gorilla Zombie¡­¡± The giant chest, muscular arms and fists¡­ Even though it was a zombie, I could still tell. It was a gorilla¡­! CH 135 Data.127 ¨C Old Bowman, Another Gorilla Fight It felt like a long time ago that I encountered a giant gorilla in the forest. Back then I had been a beginner player in NSO. And now that I was counted among the top players, I was fighting a gorilla once again. Life sure was interesting. ¡­No, I didn¡¯t want to compare this to real life, so I would stop thinking like that. Currently, 17 minutes have passed since the start of the survival battle. At the 20 minute mark, the zombies would start coming in from the back entrance. There were already some zombies pressed against the glass. And I did not want to face them while fighting this giant at the same time. I would take it down within 3 minutes! Even if I had to use a charge attack! ¡°Mr. Kyuji! Stop it from moving first! It¡¯s very fast! It will catch up even if you move away!¡± The gorilla had appeared right after Canaria. In other words, as fast as she was, she could not lose it¡­! ¡°Gatling Web Cloud Arrow!¡± I followed her advice, changed my target and shot the sticky nets at its feet. As I had fused it with Gatling Arrow, the number of nets should be enough. I could make the entire giant sticky! Voooooooooooaaarr!!! While the nets themselves hit it, the gorilla started to tear them up with tremendous strength. So they could only stop it for a few seconds¡­in that case¡­ ¡°Seal Demon Bind!¡± The three unleashed arrows surrounded the gorilla zombie. These were special arrows that didn¡¯t do any damage. They would fly straight through players and monsters, and they could not be canceled by other skills. Instead, they pierced into the ground and created a magic triangle! VOooo! Voooaarr!? The magic triangle unleashed light that looked like thunder. Alright, it was working! As the name suggested, it was a binding skill. Any enemy that was inside of the triangle would be put in a state of paralysis, and it would deal continuous damage! While it was similar to Web Cloud Arrow in that it stopped enemies, Web Cloud Arrow wasn¡¯t effective unless you hit the enemy directly. And it also disappeared quickly. On the other hand, Seal Demon Bind was more of a trap. While it wouldn¡¯t do anything unless an enemy came inside, you could still set it anywhere. The triangle itself glowed quite brightly, and so enemies would probably know that they shouldn¡¯t go in. That meant their movements would be restricted, and it would be easier to hit them with Web Cloud Arrow. However, there was some time between the arrows hitting the ground and the completion of the magic triangle. And so in order to have it activate at their feet like it did now, it was necessary to slow the enemy down once. Yes, while the two skills looked similar, they also covered each other¡¯s weaknesses. On top of that, the effect would not apply to me if I entered the triangle, and I could make up to three at the same time. Three stamps to get a triangle that I could make three of¡­it was easy to remember. ¡°Now, before the effect wears off.. In Fight Arrow Storm!!¡± While the enemy couldn¡¯t move, I slammed my most damaging charge attacks at it at close range. Even a hidden boss like this could not stand against this many arrows¡­is what I thought. But I was wrong. The gorilla zombie¡­came out looking like a pin cushion, but did not disappear. The zombies here did not have an HP gauge. It wasn¡¯t about atmosphere, but the fact that you wouldn¡¯t be able to see anything if every zombie had a visible HP gauge above them. And so it wasn¡¯t clear how much damage I was doing with my attacks. However, if I wasn¡¯t able to defeat it with these attacks, it meant that I would have to use combination charge attacks and miracle effects¡­! Indra¡¯s Arrow wasn¡¯t effective indoors, so I¡¯d have to use I¡¯m Arrow to¡­ ¡°Wind Blade¡­!¡± ¡°Huh!?¡± It was Canaria¡­! She had slid around to the gorilla zombie¡¯s back and was holding dual blades that glowed green. They reminded me of glow sticks that were used in concerts! ¡°Windmill! Air Style!¡± Canaria leapt into the air and did a rotating slash, cutting off the gorilla zombie¡¯s head. The wonderful sharpness and trail of light in the air looked so cool that I became speechless for a moment. ¡°¡­Oomph! Phew! Thanks to you, I regained my courage, Mr. Kyuji¡­! Thanks for helping me!¡± ¡°No, I just did what anyone would do. I¡¯m glad that you¡¯re alright. So¡­how many items were you able to get?¡± ¡°I finished the 5th and 4th floors, but it was while I was on the 3rd floor that the gorilla woke up¡­¡± ¡°I see¡­ It¡¯s too bad that that happened when things were going so well. Still, we have 30 minutes left, so could you continue gathering the items? Just while there is still time.¡± ¡°Th-that¡¯s right¡­ But I¡¯m worried that I might mess up again. What if we traded roles¡­?¡± ¡°No, gathering items means going in and out of rooms. You have to be quick. While I have a skill that allows me to cover long distances, I can¡¯t use it repeatedly, and it won¡¯t allow me to make turns either¡­ It won¡¯t be efficient if I do it. Only you can do it. And so I must insist¡­¡¯ ¡°Only¡­I can do it¡­? Fine, I¡¯ll do it! I will do my best with what I have! See you later!!¡± Canaria dashed away into the east ward at top speed. It really was difficult dealing with youngsters¡­! I couldn¡¯t keep up with their constantly changing emotions. Well, perhaps she was an extreme example¡­ Pishi¡­pishi-pishi¡­! Oh, the glass over here was starting to crack as well. I¡¯ll have to hold this place until Canaria returns. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Garbow!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± There were no openings when Garbow and I worked together. Advance guard and rear guard. With our usual style, we annihilated the zombies. In general, the zombies used physical attacks. Though some also spat poison. Regardless, Garbow was resistant to both. Thanks to this, I was able to focus on my own attacks. First, I set Seal Demon Bind three times so that they could not get close, and then I used Exorcist Barrier. And then I used Demonbane Attack Blade to cut down their numbers. It wasn¡¯t called Exorcist Bow Arts for nothing. It was perfect for fighting against zombies. Thanks to this, I was able to save MP and charge attacks. Spamming strong charge attacks was no way to survive here. 27 minutes passed. In just 3 minutes, zombies would come in from the east and west sides. ¡°Mr. Kyuji! I¡¯m back!¡± Canaria had returned safely! Now we could move to the stairs at any time. There were more mutant versions of the zombies now. Some had long whip-like tentacles for arms. Others would shoot at us, and others had hard shells¡­ Many of them would not go down in a single hit. Were Oliver and Anne alright¡­? I pushed the button on my ear pieces and talked to them. ¡°This is Kyuji. I¡¯ve reunited with Canaria. Over.¡± ¡®¡­Ah! Sorry! We¡¯ve been a little busy here and I forgot to contact you!¡¯ I could hear the zombie groans on his side. So they were struggling? Perhaps they were going up against a rare monster¡­ ¡®Kyuka hasn¡¯t returned yet! We don¡¯t know why! We¡¯re going to stand our ground for a little longer! You should retreat to the staircase! Over!¡¯ Not returned yet? Kyuka was more experienced than Canaria and looked strong. Even if she did release the gorilla zombie on her way, she should be able to defeat it by herself¡­ But I had no way of knowing. I didn¡¯t know how long the other two could manage, and was there any reason to¡­ ¡°Things aren¡¯t really going as planned.¡± And so the first 30 minutes were up. CH 136 Data.128 ¨C Old Bowman, Wave of the Dead So, what should we do? As Canaria had returned, there were now three of us. It would be possible for us to continue fighting here for a little longer without retreating to the stairs. Of course, it would still be much more dangerous than quietly drawing back. To be honest, I wanted to speak with Oliver again and decide. However, even though he seemed to be in a more desperate situation, he was also clearly enjoying himself. I could tell that the idea of letting us retreat while he stayed and fought until his friend returned was getting him fired up. And I didn¡¯t want to dampen his¡­enthusiasm. In that case, I would just have to move on my own. ¡°We¡¯ll retreat to the staircase!¡± If they¡¯re in a pinch, then it is even more important that we keep the battleline stable here. Any hesitation could lead to being damaged and killed, which would decrease our fighting force. And so we would quickly fall back to a place where it would be easier to fight. ¡°Garbow! Miss Canaria!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± ¡°Just call me Canaria, please! It¡¯s a waste of time to be adding the ¡®miss¡¯!¡± The two dashed up the stairs first, and I covered them while retreating myself. It was a dog leg staircase, with a wide gap in between that was perfect for shooting zombies from above. However, the staircase itself was also wide. The zombies would not be climbing it politely, two by two¡­ If they were close together, then as many as ten could come towards us at once. Furthermore, there would be zombies behind them. And so I could imagine them climbing right over the zombies who were staggered after being hit, and push towards us continuously. Besides, the difference in levels would make it difficult for the advance guard to fight. ¡°Uh, Laser gate¡­?¡± Things that looked like enlarged metal detectors in airports were set in front of the staircase. When I touched them, a control panel appeared and asked me if I wanted to activate them. As everyone had gone through the gate, I pressed ¡®Activate¡¯ without hesitation. Vvvvvrrrrmmm¡­ I heard the whirring sound, and in the next instant, several thin laser beams appeared. The oncoming zombies hit the lasers and sizzled loudly as they were sliced up. I see. So this was a reliable advance guard¡­! Oliver had been right to prioritize the setting of these traps. ¡°Look, Mr. Kyuji! There are a lot of other useful items here! Like this! It¡¯s an anti-zombie weapon!¡± Canaria was looking through a trunk that had been placed on the landing, and had pulled out a submachine gun. Indeed, that did seem like the perfect weapon to use against zombies¡­! Zombies in fantasy settings were created by curses, while zombies in sci-fi settings were created with viruses, but in both cases, modern firearms seemed like the best weapon against them. However, there was already a ¡®Gun¡¯ weapon category in NSO, so maybe Canaria wouldn¡¯t be able to equip it¡­. ¡°Woah!? This gun is a special item that anyyone can equip. And it combines with your current weapon for increased power and attributes!?¡± Hmm, that was nice of them to design it that way! But I would stick to my bow. It was still a ranged weapon, and it was possible that I would be no good with a gun anyway¡­ And so I let Canaria use the submachine gun. She seemed very happy as she combined it with her own weapon, the Cyalumeblade Lime, and unleashed a rain of wind bullets at the zombies. ¡°Ahahaha!! This is amazing! What a great stress reliever!¡± She would start shooting at us at this pace¡­ In any case, it was a good thing that Canaria could shoot now. The laser gates would not be able to stop the zombies forever. It used ¡®energy¡¯ every time it sliced up a zombie, and so once the spare batteries that Gray left us were depleted, then it would just be a useless object. And so it would be best if we could kill the zombies before they even reached the gate. Because it didn¡¯t use energy for just being activated. Not only that, but if it was hit by too many attacks, then it¡¯s durability would go down and it could be destroyed. Currently, there were no zombies that were smart enough to try to do this, but who knows what would happen in the future. As the lasers did not stop our own attacks, it made sense for players to actively attack the zombies from the other side. In the meantime, I was still worried about the others at the front entrance. Perhaps I should go through the safe 2nd floor and see how they are doing¡­ ¡°Canaria. Could I leave this to you for a short while? I want to check the front entrance¡­¡± ¡°Ahahahahahahahahaha!! Yes!!¡± I had never heard a ¡®yes¡¯ that made me feel so anxious before, but since I would also be leaving Garbow here and on ranged attack mode, they should be fine. And so I went up the stairs towards the 2nd floor. There were no zombies on the second floor, which meant that Oliver had not died. So, maybe it really was a rare, powerful zombie¡­ Dadadadadadadada!! ¡°Woah!?¡± As I went down the stairs towards the 2st floor, numerous bullets were unleashed at my feet. Thanks to some tap dancing-like foot work, I wasn¡¯t actually hit, but that would have been quite the handicap to receive if I was¡­ ¡°Well, it looks like I was right about something dangerous appearing.¡± There was a muscular zombie that had gatling guns on both arms. It was going wild on the central floor. We had not seen anything like it near the back entrance. ¡°Exploding Sky Tear!¡± Charge attacks for strong enemies¡­! The highspeed arrow pierced its head and exploded, causing everything from the neck up to be blown away. And yet it was so tough that this could not kill it. Still, the headless zombie was definitely slower. And the other two took advantage of this. ¡°Axeblade Slash Wave!¡± Oliver¡¯s axe unleashed a black cutting shockwave that severed both of the zombies arms, making it impossible for it to use its gatling guns. ¡°Saint Cross Star!¡± Anne unleashed seven iron balls that crushed the zombies. After these attacks, the gatling zombie finally turned into light and disappeared. ¡°Thank, Kyuji! There will be more amazing zombies like that, so keep using your charge attacks! Haha!¡± The fact that he described it as ¡®amazing¡¯ showed how much he was enjoying himself. That was fine. But there was something else that I wondered about. ¡°So, it seems that Miss Kyuka¡­is not back yet.¡± ¡°Yeah! But I doubt she would die that easily, so she¡¯s probably fighting some awesome zombie somewhere! I don¡¯t want to abandon her this early, so we¡¯ll stay here for as long as we can!¡± I agreed with Oliver¡¯s decision, but I did wonder how long they could hold. I suppose it was all about luck whether something like the gatling zombie appeared at this phase. It was possible that they would all die if they didn¡¯t retreat soon. But I wouldn¡¯t want to abandon a friend at this point either. I just wanted to know that she was actually alright¡­ I wonder if she would reply if we shouted very loudly¡­ ¡®¡­Kyuka here. Anyone listening?¡¯ Kyuka¡¯s voice sounded in my ear piece¡­! She must have found one in the west ward. And you had to be on the same floor in order to communicate with them. In other words, Kyuka had returned to the 1st floor! ¡®I¡¯m stuck on the 1st floor in the west ward. I know that I messed up by going over time¡­but I need help now. Over.¡¯ ¡°This is Kyuji. I¡¯ll head right over. Over.¡± ¡®Aa-are you sure? Aren¡¯t you in the rear guard¡­ Over.¡¯ ¡°I have a good charge attack, so it will be fine. Over.¡± ¡®Thanks. Well¡­I¡¯ll be waiting then. Over.¡¯ Then I turned back to Oliver. He gave me a thumbs up and smiled. I had made the decision on my own, but he was okay with it. Perhaps he knows about I¡¯m Arrow. It was a charge attack that allowed you to attack while traveling long distances, so it was perfect for rescuing. There was a long hallway on the route to the west ward, so that¡¯s where I would use it. ¡°I¡¯ll be going then! Good luck over here!¡± The entrance to the west ward was already open, but there weren¡¯t as many zombies there. It was probably because they were fighting Kyuka. I did not want anyone to die at a time l CH 137 Data.129 ¨C Old Bowman, Rescue Arrow Even though I was alone, the normal zombies were no match for me. I shot them down and entered the long hallway that connected to the west ward. ¡°There are a lot of them here¡­!¡± I turned the corner and saw a group of zombies. If a player like Kyuka was trapped, then there was a high possibility that there was a special enemy. The safest strategy to take here was not jumping with I¡¯m Arrow, but use long range attacks to bring their number down first, and then use Warp Arrow to get close to Kyuka. Then I could hold her and use I¡¯m Arrow to escape. Running away would mean turning our backs to the zombies. But I¡¯m Arrow dealt damage to anything it touched, which would protect us. ¡°Burning Arrow Storm!¡± There was no friendly fire in this battle. And so I could shoot my arrows without worry, even if Kyuka was surrounded by zombies. The numerous exploding arrows killed one zombie after another¡­until there were hardly any left. Huh? So there wasn¡¯t a strong zombie? Then why had she been struggling so much? ¡­I guess I would have to ask her. ¡°Warp Arrow!¡± I shot towards Kyuka all at once. As she knew that I was coming to help her, she was relatively calm, but a little surprised by Warp Arrow. ¡°Sorry. I lost my right arm in the fight. And there were no limb recovery items in this ward¡­¡± So she couldn¡¯t use her right arm¡­! It was no wonder that she was struggling. If it happened to me, I wouldn¡¯t be able to use a bow at all. I would be completely defenseless. As her main weapon was a rapier, she was able to switch to her left hand and continue fighting. ¡°I¡¯m sure that Gray or Canaria found a recovery item for you.¡± Now that I thought about it, Canaria hadn¡¯t distributed her items yet¡­ And so I didn¡¯t know what she had found¡­ Well, it was my fault for not asking. ¡°Now, let¡¯s retreat. In order to do that¡­I¡¯ll need to hold you¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Just do it.¡± ¡°Very well¡­I¡¯m Arrow!¡± I held Kyuka and flew through the hallway in a straight line. We hit the corner wall, slowed down, and then ran the rest of the way to the central ward. There were more zombies there than before. Oliver and Anne were not able to keep up, and the zombies were flooding into the floor. ¡°Kyuji here. Mr. Oliver, I was able to rescue Ms. Kyuka. Prepare to retreat!¡± ¡®Understood! Things are starting to heat up! Over!¡¯ So there was no time to talk¡­ I needed to help them! The front entrance was filled with zombies when we arrived. Not just the weaker ones, but there were also many special zombies as well. The worst were the zombies that carried chainsaws. The sound of them alone was enough to make your legs go weak. Of course, they also cut through flesh in ways that swords and axes couldn¡¯t compare to. And so I had to disarm them quickly! ¡°Seal Demon Bind 3-shot! Exorcism Barrier! Gatling Webcloud Arrow!¡± I bound the strong-looking zombies and protected my team mates with a barrier. As the weak zombies were always close together, the sticky nets were especially effective. The first net covered numerous zombies and made them roll on the ground like a ball. ¡°Demonbane Attack Blade! Rapidfire!¡± Many of the skills for Exorcism Bow Arts were treated differently, and could not be combined with other skills, and so I just fired them rapidly. And that was enough to deal with enemies that could no longer move. Once we had decreased their numbers enough, everyone retreated up the stairs. There were laser gates installed here as well, and so we activated them immediately. And like that, things were settled at the front entrance. ¡°My mistake caused you all a lot of trouble. I¡¯m really sorry¡­¡± Kyuka apologized. However, no one blamed her. Besides, in the end, everyone had survived, and we had bought some time before the time limit. I was more interested in the reason. ¡°Was there an extra dangerous zombie in the west ward?¡± ¡°Yes. It came out when I pulled a lever. Multiple times.¡± So it was the same mistake that Canaria made¡­! And multiple times!? Was she that clumsy? ¡°The first time that I pulled a lever, a bookcase slid open and revealed a hidden room. There were several great healing items inside. And so I started to think that pulling levers would lead to healing items.¡± ¡°I see¡­ Yes, it would be normal to think that after it happened once¡­¡± ¡°In fact, there were other times when it was the case. However, there were also quite a few traps¡­ And more time passed as I fought the zombies. Many were quite strong, and one took off my arm. It was my mistake¡­¡± While that might be the case, the important thing was that she survived and was gathering items. Who cares, as long as it ends well¡­ I was pretty sure that I would be pulling the levers myself if I was in her place. However, I didn¡¯t really know how to say this to her. She did seem quite disappointed in herself¡­ ¡°¡­However, I think that it was still worth the trouble you all went through. Because I got every single item there is to get. Especially since I got a certain item that is vital when trying to survive in a zombie attack.¡± Kyuka was suddenly very excited. Was it really that good of an item¡­!? ¡°Look. It¡¯s a rocket launcher!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡­Yes, rocket launchers were often seen as being the best weapon against zombies. However, with waves of numerous zombies pushing at us. Would one shot of a rocket launcher really change that much¡­? ¡°Ooh! That¡¯s amazing, Kyuka! That¡¯s why you¡¯re the subleader!¡± ¡°Wow! That¡¯s so cool! We practically have already won now that we have this!¡± But Oliver and Anne were very excited, and so I decided to follow along. It was true that it was a powerful weapon, so it would surely be useful. ¡°With this rocket launcher, we can take care of strong zombies with one hit. It will be great during emergencies.¡± ¡°Right? And so I will entrust it to you.¡± ¡°What!?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one who saved me. Besides, I¡¯m not used to using ranged weapons. So I¡¯d want a professional like you to use it.¡± While I might have been a professional with a bow, I had never used a rocket launcher before¡­ Still, I couldn¡¯t argue against the logic that someone who used ranged weapons regularly should use it. And like that, the possible trump card that was the rocket launcher, was put into my hands¡­ ¡°Ah, by the way, Kyuji! How are things on the other side!? Canaria and your buddy are there, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Ah!¡± I finished what I came to do, and so I should hurry up and return¡­! Oliver had received an item from Gray that would heal Kyuka¡¯s arm, and it was healed immediately. Now they would have no trouble guarding the staircase. Kyuka distributed the items she collected in the west ward, and then I drew back and went up the stairs. I could no longer hear the sounds of the submachine gun that she had been firing off so cheerfully¡­ I hope that they were alright¡­! ¡°AHHHH!! Please don¡¯t break the gate!!¡± Canaria was still alive and well. However, there were now zombies that swung giant iron hammers attacking the laser gate. So, the smart ones had finally appeared¡­! ¡°AHhhhhhh!!¡± That was Gray shouting now! It was coming from above, even though there weren¡¯t supposed to be any enemies there¡­ ¡°Things are getting heated¡­¡± It was just as the 1st hour of survival was almost up. CH 138 Data.130 ¨C Old Bowman, Chaotic Battleline While Gray¡¯s shouts worried me, I had to help Canaria, who was struggling in front of me first. She had likely let go of the submachine gun because it was out of bullets. Normally, guns in NSO didn¡¯t run out of ammo. Just like my bow had an infinite supply of arrows, bullets were also infinite. However, the firearms in this hospital were different. You had to find spare ammo or a submachine gun would run out very quickly. And in Canaria¡¯s case, she had probably wasted no time in using everything¡­ ¡°Canaria. I¡¯ll put the submachine gun ammo in the trunk for you.¡± ¡°Ah, Mr. Kyuji! Thanks! Now I can shoot again!¡± ¡°Well¡­try not to waste it¡­¡± ¡°Ahahahahaha! Okay!!¡± And then the submachine was unleashed on the zombies once again. Her aim seemed a little better than before. Kyuka had shared quite a lot of bullets with us, so it should last for a while. I should go and check up on Gray while I can. I doubted that his scream had reached the front side. ¡°¡­No, maybe I should at least tell them what had happened.¡± If there were enemies on the upper floors, that meant they might be attacked from the other side of the stairs. It could greatly affect their chances of survival. While the earpiece only worked on the same floor, what about using it on the staircase¡­? ¡°This is Kyuji. Can you hear me, Mr. Oliver? Over.¡± ¡®¡­Oh!? I see! So this can be used on the stairs as well! Over!¡¯ Alright, it worked. I suppose since we were both on stairs that connected the first and second floors, it was treated as the same floor. ¡°I heard Gray screaming from the floor above, and so I¡¯m going to go and help him. Did you hear it too? Over?¡± ¡®Gray!? I didn¡¯t hear that! He must have been much closer to you then! Understood! We¡¯ll be careful of ambushes from above! You should be careful too! Over!¡¯ ¡°Yes, we will be. Over.¡± Thankfully, he was quick to understand. He immediately realized the possibility of enemies attacking from above. Still, at some point, I had become the commando¡­ There were too many advance guards here, and so I had to move a lot to cover for them. It was a lot of pressure. Well, it also felt good to be relied on¡­! I dashed up the stairs two steps at a time at first, but stopped because it made my joints hurt. And so I went at a normal pace while being watchful of my surroundings. And then I reached the 3rd floor. ¡°¡­There are no signs of fighting near the stairs.¡± So is it the 4th floor? Or had he moved after screaming¡­ ¡°Hey! Gray! Are you all right!?¡± ¡­.Ahhhh¡­ There¡­! It was this floor! It sounded like he was far away, so he must be in one of the rooms. In any case, I would head in that direction. ¡°Gray! I came to help you!¡± ¡­He¡­here¡­! There he is¡­! ¡°Seal Demon Bind!¡± I chose a skill that wouldn¡¯t affect Gray if he was hit by it. Gray was released right before the magic circle opened, but the lightning wasn¡¯t unleashed from it. The enemy had seen me and escaped¡­! ¡°Kyu¡­ji¡­! It¡¯s¡­still here! be careful! It stays invisible even if you hit it!¡± ¡°Got it! That magic circle is safe, so just heal yourself for now!¡± I also used Exorcism Barrier and waited. But I couldn¡¯t hear any breathing or footsteps, which was one way to find an invisible enemy. And it didn¡¯t attack me or do anything to reveal its position. Perhaps it was waiting for the effect of my skill to wear off¡­ It was a smart monster. However¡­! ¡°Bound Arrow Storm!¡± Countless arrows bounded around the room. As this was a waiting room with a lot of chairs, it wasn¡¯t as effective as when used in a narrow cave. The arrows would spread over a wider area in a place like this. But that was fine. If they spread out this much, at least a few of them would hit the enemy. And then I would be able to tell where it was¡­! ¡°There! Gatling Webcloud Arrow!¡± The white net covered the invisible being. At this point, it might as well have been fully visible! ¡°Gatling Burning Arrow!¡± Still, the invisible enemy did not show itself. But it did turn into light that faded away, so there was no doubt that I had killed it. ¡°Th-that was amazing, Mr. Kyuji! You killed an invisible enemy so easily!¡± ¡°Well, I would have likely died if I was attacked without warning. It¡¯s because you told me about it. But I suppose it took you by surprise?¡± ¡°Yes. As I move alone, I was careful about sounds and special traps, but it just came out of nowhere.¡± An invisible enemy attacking without any signs or warning¡­that was odd. It seemed a little unfair to me. So there must be a secret as to why that monster is invisible. Perhaps it actually came in from the entrance on the first floor, and climbed up here without anyone noticing it¡­ It was possible, since it seemed to move independently, unlike the other zombies who immediately attacked the player in front of them. That being said, they really could have given us more of a hint¡­ ¡°So there really wasn¡¯t a moment where it stopped being invisible?¡± ¡°Yes, it never did. Even I thought that it would, if I just used my defense skills and waited long enough¡­¡± ¡°Hmm. In any case, I suppose we just have to keep hitting it then¡­ I could always just attack it with arrows, which would mark it, but in your case¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry! Now that I know what to do, I have a skill that should be effective! Spread Gem!¡± Numerous gem-like fragments spread out from Gray¡¯s hand. They sparkled prettily in various colors, but were sharp enough to pierce monsters if they made contact. Yes, it would be perfect for marking them. Vo¡­vo¡­voaaagghh¡­. I heard a strange groaning sound, and then a pale zombie appeared in the midst of the flying gems nearby. And it hadn¡¯t appeared from the shadows. It just seemed to materialize in thin air! ¡°This might be the invisible bastard¡­!¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t think that my skill hit it! And yet it was scared enough to show itself!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s take it down then!¡± It wasn¡¯t a threat now that we could see it. And so the two of us took care of it in an instant. ¡°Is there a big difference between this skill and the skills you used to fight it before?¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ah! Yes, yes. Spread Gem is a magic skill that deals damage based on Magic Attack!¡± I see. So that zombie¡¯s weakness is magic. And so if you use magic skills near it, it will stagger and show itself even if it wasn¡¯t hit. But Oliver and Anne used physical attacks. And so did Garbow and I. On the other hand, Kyuka and Canaira were magic users. So that was why the invisible zombies had been able to go right past us. ¡°I should have at least one magic skill¡­ That being said, you seem to use physical attacks, Gray. So I¡¯m surprised you have a magic skill.¡± ¡°Actually¡­it¡¯s just a coincidence. All the skills I get are for close quarters combat. And so I wanted to increase the ways that I could react to things, so I used my NSO medals to acquire it. It was only later that I realized it was a magic skill. But it didn¡¯t do much damage¡­ The fact that it¡¯s so shiny means it can distract enemies, but it¡¯s not one of my main skills, and so I often forget that I have it¡­¡± ¡°Ah, I understand that. You often forget old skills when you keep getting more¡­¡± Both of us were very forgetful then¡­ In any case, I had been able to save Gray, and we now knew how to deal with the invisible zombies. It was most likely that they had come up from the first floor, and so now that Kyuka and Canaria had returned, they wouldn¡¯t be able to get past us again. As Gray would continue to gather items, I had to rejoin Canaria and hold off the wave of zombies¡­ Crack-crack-crack¡­! Kiiiiii¡­! ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± The sound of a glass window breaking and a strange voice¡­ Ahh, so we had visitors from above as well¡­ CH 139 Data.131 ¨C Old Bowman, Attacked from Above and Below Kiiiiiii!! ¡°Woah!? They¡¯re here already!?¡± The thing that ran down the staircase¡­no, flew down, was a crow zombie. Its eyes glowed red and its body was huge. However, since they had come from the upper floors, I had guessed that they would be bird types. And my arrows did extra damage to flying targets! Kiririri¡­shu! Shu! Shu! I was able to take down the three crows with ordinary arrows. ¡°Woah! You can even hit flying targets!?¡± ¡°Well, once you get used to it. As I¡¯m generally solo, I have to be able to handle any type of monster.¡± The crow zombies were not really a threat to me, but the fact that enemies were now coming from above was quite the problem. These crows were just the beginning. As time passed, their numbers and strength would go up. And so this strategy of sending one person to go and collect items could no longer be used so casually. ¡°I think we better retreat once and think of a plan.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± And so Gray and I went down to the second floor. But we then bumped into Canaria and Garbow, who were going up the stairs. ¡°Wh-why are you here?¡± ¡°Ah! Mr. Kyuji! We¡¯re running because they destroyed the laser gates on the first floor! And since there are no laser gates on the second floor, I thought we should go to the third¡­¡± ¡°W-wait a minute! Did you tell the people at the front?!¡± ¡°Huh? I didn¡¯t tell them. It¡¯s not like I have an earpiece¡­¡± Either there wasn¡¯t one in the east ward, or she hadn¡¯t been able to find it¡­! It was my fault for not asking earlier. If I was heading to the 3rd floor, I should have given my earpiece to Canaria. ¡°Sorry, that was my fault! But let¡¯s return to the second floor now! If the zombies flood the second floor, then the others will be attacked from both sides on the staircase!¡± ¡°Ah! That¡¯s true! Let¡¯s go back!¡± And so Canaria and I went down in order to stop the flood of zombies. Gray stayed in order to set the laser gates on the third floor. Laser gates could be made through gathering materials. He had not been able to make them on the second floor, as there were not enough materials there. But the materials he found on the third floor would now allow him to set the gates on both the back and front sides, and so he rushed off to do just that. If the gates at the back side were destroyed, it was likely that the same was about to happen in the front as well. The battle line would move right past the second floor and to the third floor. This time, instead of attacking the zombies from the landing, we would attack them on the third floor as they came up the stairs. ¡°Tsk¡­! We can¡¯t push them back¡­! It was all we could do to suppress their numbers as they rose. We could not push them back. That meant we would not be able to contact Oliver, who was still on the stairs. That being said, if one of us went directly to where Oliver was, we would not have a sufficient fighting force, and the zombies might flood into the third floor. We just had to pray that they would come up to the second floor on their own¡­ ¡®This is Oliver! Are you there, Kyuji? They turned our gates into rubble! Since there are no gates on the second floor, I¡¯m thinking about retreating to the third floor while fighting them off! Over!¡¯ Oliver contacted me just in time. And so I quickly explained the situation to him. ¡®I see! In that case, we¡¯ll buy Gray some time so he can set the gates as we make our way up! Over!¡¯ And so we avoided the worst fate of being attacked from both sides. We too slowed down the enemies movements and bought time as we retreated. And then Gray¡¯s laser gates were activated, and the crisis was averted momentarily. Still, we could not relax. We were quite dependent on the laser gates now, and in order to make them on the floor above, he would have to gather materials all over again. And while he had been able to make the first ones through gathering materials on just one floor, this time, it took both the second and third. So it was possible that for the third floor¡­he would have to explore the fourth, fifth and maybe even sixth floors. But zombies were breaking windows and invading the building now. So sending someone up there alone was a big risk. That being said, decreasing our fighting force on the front line would mean the gates would be more likely to break quickly. So, what should we do¡­ As Gray and I wondered about this, Canaria muttered something. ¡°Well¡­maybe we don¡¯t need to rely on the gates so much?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a pretty weak player who does rely on them, but Oliver, Kyuka and Gray¡­ And you, your fish and that nun lady surely don¡¯t need to rely on them?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I think that this is a really strong team that could defeat zombies, even if you fought without thinking¡­ I hope that I¡¯m not being presumptuous!¡± ¡°No, I think it¡¯s close to the truth.¡± As this was a zombie survival challenge, I thought that we needed to fight in a certain way. However, aside from the fact they were zombies, this really wasn¡¯t that different from fighting any other kind of enemy. The item we really needed to survive¡­was the weapon that was already in our hands. My trusty old bow¡­! And my friends. That should be enough to survive. I wasn¡¯t saying this because I had become tired of thinking so hard¡­! I contacted Oliver and told him of the ¡®one floor plan¡¯ that I thought of after listening to Canaria. ¡®I see! Not bad at all! To be honest, I prefer to just swing my weapon around instead of overthinking things! Let¡¯s go with that plan! Over!¡¯ Alright, he agreed. And so the ¡®one floor plan¡¯ would begin! ¡­Well, it wasn¡¯t anything big. To put it simply, we would move so that all of us were always on the same floor. Three would defend the front stairs, three the back stairs, and one person would gather items on the floor. We would maintain this formation. Oliver, Anne and Kyuka would continue to fight at the front. I, Garbow, and Gray would fight at the back. As she was fast, Canaria would gather the items. Generally speaking, the six defenders would do nothing but fight. Canaria would use the earpiece Gray found on the third floor and would run around the floor. If she encountered any enemies, she would defeat the ones she could and run away and ask for help if she couldn¡¯t. She would give us warning in advance so that we knew an enemy was chasing her. If we were prepared, we should be able to defeat enemies even if they were really strong. And once the enemy was killed, Canaria would go back to exploring. If the laser gates were destroyed, or if she finished collecting all of the items, we would move on to the next floor. The exception would be if we had enough materials to create new gates. In such cases, someone would go ahead and set them up first. While we didn¡¯t have to rely on them to win, it would be arrogant to not use them at all. We would use what we had, but not rely on them completely. That was the idea behind the plan. One hour passed. And then 10 minutes, 20 minutes¡­ And then it was an hour and a half since this started. We continued to fight until we had retreated to the seventh floor. However, no one had died yet, and we still had plenty of healing items left. Once there was only a little time left, I would be able to use combination charge attacks and miracle effects more freely. Yes. We could win. Just as we all started to think this, the world on the other side of the windows was covered in darkness. At first, I thought that it had become night time for atmospheric purposes. However, when a giant eyeball appeared in the sky, I realized that I was wrong. The entire hospital¡­was surrounded by something¡­! ¡°A lot of horror games turn into action games during the final boss¡­ And it looks like this is no different¡­!¡± When there were 30 minutes left on the clock¡­the final battle began. CH 140 Data.132 ¨C Old Bowman, Fire Off When an enemy with a giant eyeball appears, the player must target that eyeball. And the best weapon for that is a bow¡­ And so I followed my instincts and unleashed an arrow at the eyeball that was on the other side of the glass window. ¡°Gatling Burning Arrow!¡± The exploding arrows broke through the glass and shot towards the eyeball. After taking damage, the eyelids closed over it. And then¡­the attacks began. The glass windows all over the hospital shattered, and writhing, rotting tentacles invaded the building¡­! ¡°Rise Rock Wall!¡± Gray slammed his weapon, which was a pickaxe, onto the ground, creating walls of rock that would cover the shattered windows. However, the walls were not enough to stop the momentum of the tentacles. ¡°Mr. Kyuji. What should we do!?¡± ¡°It seems like there is no way to stop the tentacles from getting in. And we can¡¯t destroy them either! We have no choice but to crush the eyeballs!¡± There were fewer normal zombies now¡­ Because the tentacles were blowing away the zombies with their attacks. They weren¡¯t so much monsters as a stage gimmick¡­! And so everyone began to run around in search of the eyeballs. My guess was that they would be somewhere between the first floor and tenth floor of the central ward. While there were fewer of them, fighting the zombies while running up and down was not easy. You could not break the walls and floors of this hospital, so I couldn¡¯t use I¡¯m Arrow to go through it speedily. I just had to run on foot¡­! The number of tentacles kept increasing, which meant less space for us to move in. However, the eyeball only appeared in places that we could go. In other words, it was both harder and easier for us now. ¡°Oomph¡­!¡± I jumped over a tentacle that lashed out like a whip. Well, the more tentacles there were, the more severe the attacks. I was starting to feel that things weren¡¯t getting easier after all. But the worst thing of all, was that I lost contact with the others. Once the battle line had retracted all of the way to the seventh floor, we had finished gathering most of the items, and everyone had an earpiece. So I had gotten used to talking to them even when separated. And so I felt even more alone now. ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Only Garbow was nearby. As these rotting monsters had to be defeated in a special way, it was likely that Garbow¡¯s AI would not be able to deal with them. And so I brought him with me. Juru¡­gujuru¡­ju¡­ I heard sounds that were difficult to describe. It signaled that the tentacles were going to attack¡­! ¡°Woah¡­!¡± A thick tentacle shot out from the floor and into the ceiling. And while it scratched my back, I was somehow able to dodge it! I had to continue to make my way down and find the remaining eyeballs¡­! ¡°Ah! Damn it! Garbow!¡± If it had scratched my back, that meant that it might have hit Garbow, who was right behind me! Even if it didn¡¯t, the thick tentacle had separated us¡­ ¡°¡­You can do it! Garbow!¡± I looked ahead and continued on my way. It was fine. Garbow would surely be able to fight on his own. I learned about it later, but Garbow didn¡¯t react to enemies like the tentacles where there was no point in attacking them. In other words, he knew where to attack. So he would be fine¡­! I rushed down the staircase all at once. We had roughly assigned different floors to each person, but players who had crushed all the eyeballs on their floors were told to go to the other floors, just in case. I had already checked all of the windows of floor six and seven. And if everyone else had done the same¡­ However, the tentacle attacks did not end. And the area that we could move in kept getting smaller. However, the paths weren¡¯t blocked off completely yet. In any case, I had to check the windows for the eyeballs. And if they weren¡¯t there, continue to go down. I repeated this until I returned to the first floor¡­! ¡°I didn¡¯t see anyone¡­could it be¡­¡± No, this was no time to be thinking about such things. I just had to crush the eyeballs, defeat the monster, and survive¡­! ¡°Eyeball¡­eyeball¡­it¡¯s not here!¡± There were no eyeballs left in the areas we could move in! Vvvuu¡­voooaarr¡­! Tsk. Even now, the normal zombies were coming in from the entrances¡­ While the tentacles killed them instantly, they kept coming until the end¡­ ¡°¡­Ah, the entrance is open.¡± Yes. The entrance had been open from the beginning, and even now it was connected to the outside without being covered. The sun was still up and light was shining down on the entrance. It was so obvious. Why hadn¡¯t I noticed it before¡­! ¡°The entrance is the exit!¡± Ever since the battle started, strong zombies flooded in, and so it was a place of danger. I didn¡¯t even think about going out from there. And even if I did, I would have just been surrounded and killed. Besides, we started in the nurse station on the tenth floor, which was the farthest place from the entrance. We found out that there were items on the tenth floor, and so thought of the strategy of retreating while fighting. Of course, that was correct. Though, it had taken away the option of escaping through the place that used to be the most dangerous in the end. I had seen that the flow of zombies had weakened once the rotten monsters started to appear. And we couldn¡¯t think flexibly enough to come to the conclusion that we should escape from the entrance¡­! The requirement for victory was to survive for two hours. But we had thought of it as surviving for two hours ¡®inside¡¯ the hospital. I had forgotten while I was fighting! ¡°But there is no need for regret¡­!¡± As long as one of us survived until the end, everyone who participated would be able to use the stamp. And so all I needed to do was escape from the entrance now and survive! I shot the weak zombies down and dashed out of the entrance. After running for some time, I was far enough to see the entire hospital. And so¡­I turned around. ¡°I see¡­so that¡¯s where the last eyeball is!¡± The last eyeball was outside¡­! An extra large and evil-looking eye was stuck to the outer wall of the hospital! I would shoot it down immediately with a ballista¡­ ¡°No, with this! The rocket launcher!¡± The final and strongest trump card against zombies that Kyuka had given me. Even though some people called me an old bowman, I would use this for the finale of this zombie survival! It was just like the submachine gun that Canaria was using, and so anyone could fuse it with their weapon and use it. I fused the rocket launcher with my Blackwind Dark Cloud Bow. It turned black and was now many times more dangerous. And then I held it up like they did in games and movies¡­! ¡°Goodbye, rotten bastard!¡± And I pulled the trigger. With a strong recoil, the rocket shot out and flew towards the eyeball as if being sucked. Explosions, flames, sounds, smoke¡­and the final scream of the monster¡­ As the particles of light appeared, signaling the death of the monster, the bell also rang to tell us that two hours had passed. So¡­this battle of survival had ended with our victory! CH 141 Data.133 ¨C Old Bowman, Encounter with a Departed Spirit ¡°I had no idea that you were supposed to run away at the end! Well done, Kyuji! I was nearly crushed inside there! Haha!¡± ¡°Ah, it came to me by accident, really!¡± After the two hour zombie survival was finished, all of the players were returned to the nurse station once again. The tentacles had disappeared, and the hospital went back to its original, clean state. Several stamps lay on a desk, and so everyone stamped their cards without hesitation. ¡°Now that is¡­four!¡± Obviously, it depicted the hospital and the various zombies that had appeared. While they had been frightening while we fought them, their depiction here was stylish and amusing. Now ¡®Exorcism Bow Arts ¨C 3 Mark¡¯ became ¡®Exorcism Bow Arts ¨C 4 Mark¡¯, and the Grow Card was¡­not finished yet. It wasn¡¯t finished until I showed it to the fortune teller who had given it to me. If I was killed right now, my Grow Card would be destroyed, and all of my hard work would have been for nothing. And so I had to be more careful now than ever before¡­! The fourth skill, Demon Purification Light, might come in handy here. ¡°Still, I don¡¯t know what would have happened had Mr. Kyuji not gone outside. Those tentacles seemed like they would have filled up the hospital and killed us all before the two hours were up!¡± Gray said with a look of sincere relief. In fact, he actually had been killed in the hospital by the tentacles. ¡°I fell down the stairs in a panic and took damage before the zombies killed me¡­ I¡¯m sorry that I couldn¡¯t be more useful during such an important moment¡­¡± Said Canaria¡­ Well, she had been on roller skates, after all¡­ Good children should not copy her. And adults with slow reflexes. ¡°I discovered that you could freeze the tentacles in order to slow them down. ¡­But it was only at the last minute. Sorry I wasn¡¯t a bigger help. I¡¯m very grateful to you.¡± In other words, through sheer desperation, Kyuka had discovered a way to stop them, but she was already surrounded at that point, so it had little meaning. I had told her many times already that she had been a great help, but her pride meant that she was still angry at herself. ¡°It really was a good thing that I decided to do this stamp rally with you, Mr. Kyuji! As for me, I enlarged my iron ball in order to protect myself from the tentacles, but ended up getting sandwiched between it and the wall!¡± Anne and the others all talked about their failures while fighting the rotten monsters. ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Garbow couldn¡¯t talk, but he must have done his best as well. This victory would not have been possible without everyone¡¯s work. ¡°I don¡¯t think I would have been able to clear it if I wasn¡¯t with this team. I feel very confident in saying that, even though it was chance that brought us together.¡± I said, aware that I probably looked like I was trying to sound cool. But everyone agreed. ¡®Let¡¯s meet again some time¡¯¡­ And with those words said, Anne and I separated from the New Gloria Warriors. This was apparently their second stamp, and so they headed off to the next terror spot. We had to return to the town and show the fortune teller our cards. This is what they meant by the adventure not being over until you returned. Player killers were likely still targeting us. ¡°Still, that hospital was the only really difficult one!¡± ¡°Oh, you think so too, Anne? While it was possible to fight them through brute force and just run away at the end, you really wouldn¡¯t know that if it¡¯s your first time. So I think a lot of teams would probably lose¡­¡± ¡°Hmm. So that quest was hard for you?¡± ¡°¡­What!?¡± It wasn¡¯t Anne who replied! Someone was within listening distance¡­! As I held my weapon ready and waited, someone appeared a few meters away. He had the face and body of someone between childhood and adulthood. Blonde hair that flowed in the wind but was not too long, and blue eyes. The armor was white with gold lines mixed in. He looked like some prince from a fantasy world. ¡­Had I seen him before? There was something familiar about his face. ¡°I¡¯ll ask you again. Was that hospital difficult for you?¡± ¡°¡­Yeah. It was. You should try it too.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve already cleared it. I finished the Grow Card and can fast travel to this Ghost Float whenever I want. That¡¯s why I¡¯m a little surprised that you struggled with it. Well, perhaps disappointed is a more fitting word. To think that you are part of the Ghost Guild who beat Charin on the same difficulty as us.¡± Beat Charin on the same difficulty¡­? In other words, before she was weakened. There were only a small number of players¡­! ¡°Ah, let me correct myself a little. Yes, that hospital is more difficult compared to the other spots. However, considering that it unlocks fast travel to a town in the sky¡­ It¡¯s below average. The celestial world is above the surface world in more ways than one. The quests to unlock fast travel are much harder than the ones below. In a way, unlocking fast travel to a celestial town is like a status symbol.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your point¡­?¡± ¡°The hospital isn¡¯t especially hard. It¡¯s that the other spots are too easy. All you need to reach the Ghost Float is a little luck and the ability to get on the ghost airship¡­otherwise, the difficulty is low.¡± ¡°I see. I understand what you¡¯re saying now. However, surely you didn¡¯t come all this way to see us just to say that?¡± ¡°Yes, that is true. I came here to fight you. I want to know just how good you are. After all, you are one threat to us.¡± The weapons that he took out¡­were two guns! So he was someone who also used ranged weapons¡­! ¡°My name is Nord. I¡¯m from the VRHAR guild, and my position is EinHerjar-Ein¡­ In other words, I¡¯m the Guild Master. Now, let¡¯s have a little top player battle. That is¡­if you can survive long enough for it to be called a battle.¡± CH 142 Data.134 ¨C Old Bowman, Departed Spirit VS Ghost The prince with blonde hair and blue eyes¡­Nord, challenged me to a fight. But he didn¡¯t point his weapons at me. Was he that confident? Was it arrogance or did he want me to go first? Was he aiming to counter¡­ ¡°Ah, if you lost HP or MP, you should heal yourself now. I don¡¯t need to take you while you¡¯re unprepared. In fact, I¡¯ll give you healing items if you need them.¡± ¡°How considerate of you.¡± My HP and MP were fine, and I wasn¡¯t under any status effects. Luckily, none of my charge attacks were in cooldown either. I was in the perfect condition¡­ Regardless, he was clearly provoking me But I¡­couldn¡¯t think of anything to say back. Well, that was fine. ¡°I¡¯m good.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s start in 5 seconds.¡± I nodded silently. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1¡­ ¡°Exploding Sky Tear!¡± ¡°Twin Hollow Light!¡± The highspeed arrow that I shot towards his head¡­barely grazed his cheek! It wouldn¡¯t cause an explosion like this¡­ His reflexes¡­ No, perhaps he had predicted that I would use Sky Tear as my first move and so he moved his head!? Not only that, but Nord launched an attack at the same time. While he missed this time, the two bullets flew close to my shoulders. I had to be more careful with him¡­more so than any player I had fought before. Even though I didn¡¯t know much about the world of gaming, I knew a little about VRHAR. The first time that I found out about their existence was in the comment section of the Charin fight video that Necoco uploaded to her channel. That was quite recent¡­ Regardless, their name had been brought up many times. As most of the comments were comparing them to the Ghost Guild, it was a mess of varying opinions. VRHAR was stronger, Ghost Guild was more explosive, it was a chaotic mixture of hostile and well-meaning comments. However, I had acquired some useful information from it all. Even though I was just quickly scrolling through the comments, I could tell that the majority of people felt that VRHAR were stronger. And most of this was based on the fact that VRHAR had cleared the Charin battle first. Yes, they were four of the five who had cleared it before us. The other was Necoco¡¯s aunt, Macoco Strange. It really was a small world. All of us were now connected¡­ Well, I did not want to be connected to someone like the person in front of me! ¡°Yes, there is something remarkable about your aiming ability. I will be at a disadvantage if we shoot at each other from this distance¡­¡± He did not sound sincere. He clearly wanted me to move back. Of course, my speciality was shooting at long range. So I would have liked to do it, but there was no way that Nord wasn¡¯t expecting me to. He must have a way of dealing with long range attacks¡­ Besides I didn¡¯t want to use Warp Arrow or I¡¯m Arrow just yet. ¡°Exorcism Barrier!¡± ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s how you react. Then I will use a shield too. Parasol Bullet!¡± A shield that looked like an umbrella shot out of one of his guns. It was made of transparent energy, and would block my attacks. ¡°While I cannot shoot with this gun while this is activated, it more than makes up for it with its features.¡± As the gun and shield were combined, he could move it in any direction and use it while moving. It did seem easy to use, but the weakness was also clear. ¡°Gatling Burning Arrow!¡± It was the size of an umbrella, which meant it only protected a limited area. And so I could aim outside of the umbrella, and then use Star Area Range to curve it so that I could hit his body! Even if it couldn¡¯t curve enough, the explosion should deal a little damage! ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t know about this attack.¡± ¡°That¡¯s how cautious I¡¯m being around you.¡± ¡°What an honor.¡± With the gun that didn¡¯t have a shield, Nord aimed¡­behind his own back! ¡°Blast Shot!¡± A powerful wind shot out! Through using the power of the wind, Nord pushed himself forward in order to dodge the curving arrow. And without losing momentum, Nord¡¯s Parasol Bullet crashed into my Exorcism Barrier, causing a strong flash of light. ¡°Blinding your opponent is quite effective against human players. Flash Bullet!¡± ¡°Tsk¡­!?¡± Blinding flashes of light erupted all around Exorcism Barrier. A barrier could not block light¡­! ¡°¡­!? Bullets from below!?¡± Several bullets were flying out of the ground! The barrier didn¡¯t cover the underground as well. Did Nord know about this, or was he testing¡­ In any case, this was probably a fusion of a drilling skill and a bullet curving skill¡­! ¡°Burning Arrow Storm!¡± Even though the bullets were moving through the ground, he was still on the surface. And so I rotated on the surface and unleashed arrows like rain. The explosive wind blew away the sources of the lights, and when I could properly see again¡­Nord was nowhere to be found. ¡°¡­Above me!?¡± ¡°Good answer!¡± He already had the higher ground! And Exorcism Barrier had worn off. But even if it hadn¡¯t, that skill would not have been able to stop a charge attack¡­! ¡°Daybreak Star!¡± ¡°Woah! Blast Shot!¡± In order to dodge the spiked iron ball that suddenly came flying, Nord created some wind for an emergency landing. ¡°You¡¯ve been ignoring me this whole time.¡± Anne said as she swung the ball in a circle around her. Nordo remained calm as he replied. ¡°My purpose here is to test Mr. Kyuji¡¯s ability, not to get involved with unrelated players. Please step away.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do that! Mr. Kyuji and I are friends! I will not stand by while he is attacked!¡± ¡°And yet you watched us silently for quite a while.¡± ¡°I thought that Mr. Kyuji could beat you on his own!¡± ¡°I see. So I looked pretty strong to you.¡± ¡°¡­Yes!¡± It hurt a little to think that I had disappointed her¡­ Still, it couldn¡¯t be helped. That¡¯s how much better Nord was. I was not confident at all that I could beat him alone! ¡°Well, while I had no intention of hurting you, I will fight back if you attack me. And I won¡¯t call you a coward for fighting me as a pair. It would be ridiculous for me to suddenly challenge you out of nowhere and complain about fairness. You can use the help of friends or Unisons if you like.¡± ¡°Are you sure? I want to complete this Grow Card, and I have no pointless pride, so I¡¯ll take any help that I can get.¡± ¡°I do not mind. Though, heavy-weight mid-range players are no match for me. Same with a Unison that is stuck in its second evolution, so I doubt they will be of much help. And¡­you can run away if you want. My purpose is to test your strength. If you run away before I can test you, that would mean my defeat.¡± Hmph. This player knew no bounds¡­ Though, fixating on fighting with my current ability would not bring any good results. And there was the Grow Card. I didn¡¯t want it to get destroyed and do the zombie survival again. Maybe I will just run away. In a way that will surprise him¡­! CH 143 Previous post: My Beloved Dog is the Strongest in Another World ¨C 77 POSTED 1 HOUR AGO Data.135 ¨C Old Bowman, Those That Stand On Top Using a skill to escape was simple. Nord was likely very much aware that I would try and use a skill to escape. The important thing was to make an opening. If it was three against one, I should be able to make one for a few seconds¡­ ¡°Quickdraw¡­Bolt Net Shot!¡± An electric net was unleashed at Anne and Garbow. He had fired it while barely even moving, and it was impossible to dodge. While Anne swung the iron ball in an attempt to cancel the attack, the electricity just traveled through the ball and chain and hit her. Garbow also tried to destroy the net with Missile Pod, but even when scattered, the net continued to be electric, and so it touched Ocean Sphere and went through the water. ¡­But, I ignored all of this! ¡°Meteor Bow!¡± ¡°What!?¡± If my opponent is strong and smart, then I should just be relentlessly stupid. After saying that you would fight 3 vs 1, you would not usually use a combination charge attack that would mean dismissing your Unison right away. And so¡­I would do just that! And since he had just fired, I had an opening, as small as it was! Furthermore, I would use the characteristics of the Ghost Float. Here, the ground was soft and you could easily make holes in it. And so while aiming at Nord with Meteor Bow, I could get rid of parts of the ground and limit his movement. Nord wasn¡¯t actually flying, but using the power of the wind to hover. And so he wouldn¡¯t be able to move as much if there was no ground for the wind to hit against. ¡°Blackhole Bullet!¡± ¡°What¡­!?¡± Nord unleashed a whirl of blackness. And the red glowing arrows from Meteor Bow started to get sucked into it¡­! It really was a blackhole that even sucked up light! Not only that, the blackhole had a strong gravitational pull. So I could feel it pulling my body, which made it difficult to move¡­! However, it seemed to be the same for Nord as well. He wasn¡¯t moving, and he didn¡¯t shoot. So the blackhole sucked in everything equally. ¡°Anne! Can you move?¡± ¡°While I still feel numb, I should be able to manage¡­¡± ¡°Alright. Open a big hole in the ground. Over here!¡± ¡°What!? I thought you were going to do it over there!?¡± ¡°No. The iron ball will get sucked into the blackhole, and the chain will pull you in as well. Right now, here and there are separated by a wall of super gravity.¡± ¡°I-I understand! Giant Star!¡± Anne¡¯s iron ball opened a big hole in the ground, and we were thrown into the air. That was fine. I could not resist the pull of the blackhole¡¯s gravity when I was standing on the ground, but when the force of the fall was added, I could move downward. ¡°Floating Cloud Herd!¡± After I had fallen enough, I activated the skill. The clouds then caught me and Anne. I could just use Windcloud Blast to escape, but in the end, I needed to use a certain skill in order to be able to return to the Ghost Float. And so I would use it before Nord could launch a followup attack¡­! ¡°Anne. We¡¯ll escape with Stardust Arrow. I¡¯ll need you to cover me.¡± ¡°Understood!¡± In the Bone-ted Mansion, I had held Anne and used I¡¯m Arrow, but this time I would use Stardust Arrow, which was the result of fusing it with Indra¡¯s Arrow. By fusing two charge attacks together, I rotated, and Anne too swung around her charge attack. It was not possible for a single player to break through this violent hitbox! ¡°Stardust Arrow!¡± ¡°Saint Cross Star!¡± We turned into stardust of holy judgement. And like that, from below, we broke through the ground of the Ghost Float and rose high into the air. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°While I did say that he could run away, I didn¡¯t expect him to do it so boldly¡­¡± Nord held his guns as he watched the star rise into the sky. ¡°Miracle Effect, Dark Matter¡­ No, it won¡¯t hit them at this distance.¡± ¡°Ahhh¡­ So you let him get away, Nordy!¡± ¡°¡­Gullinkambi.¡± A man appeared from the bushes as Nord put away his guns. He had a triangular bandage on his head, wore an apron, and held a hammer. And while he was on the good-looking side, there was something cheap about him. He looked like a university student who enjoyed DIY and playing during his days off. He then put an arm around Nord¡¯s shoulder with a familiar air. ¡°So, do you know how strong he is?¡± ¡°Well, I saw a glimpse.¡± ¡°Huh. So you failed? But that was his most famous charge attack wasn¡¯t it? The one he used to beat Charin? Why didn¡¯t you have a countermeasure ready?¡± ¡°Because I didn¡¯t need one. That move is just self-destruction when used on this Ghost Float. And I thought that Kyuji would know it¡­¡± ¡°Hmmm? Why is it self-destruction?¡± ¡°You fall back down after flying up. And when you do, you do incredible damage to whatever you hit¡­¡± ¡°Ah, I see! So he¡¯ll tear through the ground of the Ghost Float and fall to the land below!¡± ¡°Exactly. Though, he would still be able to recover if it was just that. The worst case scenario would be if the game doesn¡¯t recognize it as a landing, and he goes right through the Ghost Float and is forced into a plummet towards the surface. That charge attack is always doing damage, even when he¡¯s not falling.¡± ¡°¡­What do you mean?¡± ¡°During my fight with Kyuji, his Exploding Sky Tear hit scratched my cheek. That fused charge attack is supposed to explode when it hits something. But it didn¡¯t¡­ In other words, there is a clear difference between a hit and a scratch. So, with something as powerful as Stardust Arrow, hitting the brittle ground of the Ghost Float might be recognized as a scratch.¡± ¡°I see! It won¡¯t be recognized as ground because it¡¯s too weak. So it won¡¯t break his fall at all¡­ Yes, if the effect ends at the ground of the Ghost Float, he will still be able to use Floating Cloud or Warp Arrow to return, even if he makes a hole¡­ In other words, you won, Nordy!¡± ¡°But this wasn¡¯t about winning or losing for me. I just wanted to fight him once now, for the future. I planned to stop the fight once I had seen enough. And considering his Grow Card, I do feel a little bad for him. Well, if he really does fall all of the way back down, that is.¡± ¡°Then you should have just told him from the beginning that you wouldn¡¯t kill him!¡± ¡°Kyuji shows his true worth when he¡¯s desperate. It was the same during the turf war and the Charin fight. There is no point if I can¡¯t draw that out of him. Well, simple provocation was not enough to do that, especially when he had the Grow Card¡­¡± ¡°People with the same job and age are usually affected when you provoke them¡­ But I guess it¡¯s different when the person is just an old guy who wants to enjoy a game¡­ Are they just more mature?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t have as much pride and doesn¡¯t fixate on things. Such people have a wider view of the world¡­ I have to say that he could be the next big threat after Macoco. He is completely different compared to the Kyuji that I first met. Back then, he was just a player that would nod at any playing advice that I would give.¡± ¡°Ah, that thing you do whenever you start a new game. You join a beginner party and bully the new players. Why do you do things that make people hate you?¡± ¡°Because once in a while there are people who improve like that. And I invite such people to come and join us. The best personnel are in places where you have to really look for them. Kyuji was like that, but I missed it. The result is that he now stands in our way as a threat.¡± ¡°Well, it looks like you have your own way of thinking, Nord. But I think that if you said things a little less insultingly, people would hate our guild a little less¡­¡± ¡°If you want to be the best, then you have to be prepared to be hated. Besides, pretending to be a good person only means it¡¯s harder to recover if you ever end up in a scandal. Pro gamers with an online presence should always be taking a little heat.¡± ¡°Is that so? But people coudn¡¯t like me any more than they do now. I¡¯m especially popular with women and children. They say that I¡¯m the moral compass of VRHAR.¡± ¡°Perhaps I should leak information about how you¡¯re dating three fans at the same time.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Don¡¯t do that. Please.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like you haven¡¯t been exposed about five times already. I have no idea why anyone still gives you a chance.¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s like a lottery! They sell because everyone thinks that they will be the exception and win. In other words, they think they¡¯ll be the one who can make me loyal. And if it turns out to be true, they not only get someone as awesome as me, but can prove that they were better than all their rivals. So it¡¯s worth a shot, I think.¡± ¡°¡­A surprisingly thought out response¡­ Well, I think that¡¯s enough pointless talk for now. Let¡¯s go back to town.¡± ¡°Yes, I need to edit the footage of the fight!¡± ¡°We won¡¯t be posting this fight.¡± ¡°What!? Then why did you even fight!?¡± ¡°I already told you. It was to test Kyuji¡¯s power. Uploading a video will only spoil the real fight. It will ruin things.¡± ¡°The real fight¡­ Was that leak real? Other pro gamers seem to be making preparations as if it is¡­¡± ¡°I think that it¡¯s very likely. The timing is also perfect. The zodiac event was so long, so people that finished it quickly are becoming bored. That being said, if they released information about it too soon, then it would affect the concept of the zodiac event, which is to play slowly at your own pace. Because everyone would be frantic if they knew about the next event¡­¡± ¡°Of course! Because you can win actual money! And each winner will receive 2.5 million! That means a party of four could make 10 million! This really is the great age of VR! The gaming dream! A crazy battle is going to begin!¡± ¡°And so they leaked it in a way that only people who are addicted to finding new information will find out. Of course, rumors will still spread quickly. I¡¯m sure there will be an official announcement eventually. About this tournament to decide the strongest party in NSO¡­¡± ¡°And we have to win, don¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Obviously. If we can¡¯t show our best during this fight, then we have no right to call ourselves pro gamers. That¡¯s why I¡¯m gathering information now.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re especially cautious about Macoco and Kyuji.¡± ¡°Compared to other players, yes¡­ Leaving Macoco aside for now, I have to say that there is still a large gap between us and Kyuji.¡± ¡°Is it his playing?¡± ¡°The opposite. He¡¯s grown so much as a player. He can even aim better than me. But his weapons and skill are not at the same level¡­ His equipment is just a plain Windcloud set. And his Unison hasn¡¯t reached its 3rd evolution. He has little variation when it comes to charge attacks, and few of them have evolved.¡± ¡°Hmmm. You noticed all that during a short fight, eh?¡± ¡°Also, he doesn¡¯t seem to have much information. Most of the skills I used were the same ones I used during the Charin fight. And yet he reacted as if he¡¯d never seen them before. It seems like he doesn¡¯t watch our videos.¡± ¡°That annoys me a little! We beat her faster than anyone, so he could at least watch it! But maybe he¡¯ll do just that, now that you fought him? And he might see what it is that he lacks? Perhaps this fight will result in further growth for Mr. Kyuji¡­¡± ¡°That all depends on him. I myself have gained something through the fight. Now, let¡¯s return and tell the other members.¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Gullinkambi pulled some materials out of nowhere and crafted a large tent. When it was finished, he and Nord went inside and shouted. ¡°Fast Travel! First town!¡± And then they and the tent vanished. CH 144 Data.136 ¨C Old Bowman, Where the Stardust Lands As I thought, there was no follow up attack from Nord. Well, even if there was, it would be difficult to tell, when we were spinning like this¡­ In any case, we had succeeded in escaping. The problem is¡­where would we land? To be honest, perhaps the reason that Nord had let us go was because Stardust Arrow wouldn¡¯t be able to land on the Ghost Float, and so we¡¯d just self-destruct. Holes would easily open up in the Ghost Float when you dealt any damage. And if it was something as high power as Stardust Arrow, we would likely create a huge hole and fall straight through. As long as the effect of the charge attack was still present, we wouldn¡¯t take any damage when we landed. However, I would then have to find another Ghost Airship in order to return to the Ghost Float. And finding one was just based on luck. So it was possible that I wouldn¡¯t be able to return for months. And so we must¡­land on the Ghost Float! I had set a target even before flying up. It wasn¡¯t a tall mountain. The mountains in the Ghost Float were like cloth that was rising up. They were hollow. That¡¯s why it would be so easy to fall through. But, what about the town? This was no good either. I had tested it in a town on the surface once. An experiment to see if I could direct Warp Arrow at a town in order to warp there¡­ In general, you could not use skills and charge attacks in town. However, what about if you started them outside and ended them in the town¡­ The answer was that the landing point would be moved and you would land right outside of the town. In other words, I could not use skills to move through town! And so if I targeted the town, we would just be pushed to the side and land on the field anyway. It wouldn¡¯t change anything. As for places used for quests, like the mansions, tunnel and hospital, the results could vary. It would be quite a gamble if you wanted to land safely. Well, the spot that I chose was also a gamble. But¡­it seemed like a safer one. In any case, I couldn¡¯t change my course now. And so I flew towards the landing point that I chose, which was the balloon that held up the Ghost Float! There were four of them. And if they could be destroyed, then the Ghost Float would tip over and the players would fall off. In other words, they must be indestructible. So I should be able to land on them with Stardust Arrow! But if it turned out that we couldn¡¯t land on them¡­well, I would think of something when the time came! ¡°Don¡¯t let me down¡­!¡± We shot towards the balloon¡­! I immediately felt a tight, sinking feeling, and then Stardust Arrow¡¯s momentum started to weaken. And then in the next instant, we bounced back up and then fell on the ground near the balloon. ¡°My plan worked¡­I guess.¡± I was happy and very relieved. Now I would be able to finally finish the Grow Card. ¡°Anne. Are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine! Still, he just started attacking you out of nowhere! Well, he was hardly the first person to do that here. But he was clearly on a different level than the rest!¡± ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t even think some of the other player killers knew who I was. It felt like they were just attacking me because I drew attention¡­ As for this Nord, he clearly knew me well and had thought about this fight. He was so confident. Compared to the others, I didn¡¯t sense much of the same combative spirit.¡± ¡°Yes. I felt like a fish whose value was being measured at a market. It made me quite angry, actually¡­¡± ¡°Still, Nord is the guild master of the number one guild in NSO. So perhaps he¡¯s the closest to these Vurtualiens that you¡¯re so interested in?¡± ¡°Hmm. It¡¯s not quite the same. They are like those people that had instructors teach them baseball as young children, who then later did well in the little leagues and highschool baseball. Then they were drafted, became pros, and went on to the majors. While they have done wonderfully without a doubt, it¡¯s not very surprising. It¡¯s exactly what most people expect the road to being a major is like.¡± ¡°I see. And Virtualiens are people who may have played a little baseball in the past, but suddenly awaken to this ability and are able to play as good as professionals.¡± Basically, it was someone like me¡­ ¡°Yes! Virtualiens are like a sudden mutation. An unknown being who has evolved! The surprise of their sudden appearance is similar to ghosts!¡± The Ghost who suddenly appears and surprises people, and the chosen Einherjar who became strong through experience¡­ Indeed, from VRHAR¡¯s point of view, this Ghost Guild party had suddenly appeared and cleared a battle on the same difficulty as them. So it was no wonder they were so surprised¡­ They would want to know more about this party. That¡¯s why he wanted to meet me and test my power. And since it happened on a field where players were allowed to attack each other, I had no reason to be angry. His provocative words didn¡¯t bother me either. After all, I had heard much worse things be said by others on the Ghost Float¡­! There were a lot of people who looked like they should have mohawks and ride motorcycles¡­ Besides, the fight with Nord had given me some valuable information. The most important was about how Garbow had stopped at his 2nd evolution. In other words¡­Garbow would be able to turn into something else? While I was in the middle of a fight, those words had made me feel very excited. I had seen other things that I lacked as well. So I decided to view the whole encounter as something very beneficial. ¡°Now, let¡¯s return to the town. Nord had called himself EinHerjar, so maybe we¡¯ll be attacked by a Zwei or Drei. Maybe there is even a Zero. Or was it Null? But Zero sounds cooler. I quite like these kinds of naming schemes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s your reaction after that fight? You really are something, Mr. KyujI!¡± ¡°Ahaha¡­ Well, I¡¯m just a kid at heart!¡± Nord, VRHAR¡­ While I hadn¡¯t been in the mood this time, due to my Grow Card, I would like to fight him more boldly one day. CH 145 Data.137 ¨C Old Bowman, The Peak To Aim For ¡°Phew! For a moment I didn¡¯t know what was going to happen, but we finally completed our Grow Cards.¡± ¡°Yes! What a crazy adventure that was! But I had fun!¡± After the encounter with Nord, we were able to arrive in the town safely without being attacked by any other enemies. And so we immediately showed the fortune teller our Grow Cards, and the stamp rally of terror was ended. Now we could fast travel to the Ghost Float town, Hollow Front, whenever we wanted to! Still, that fortune teller had said something very suggestive when handing over the Grow cards. But she didn¡¯t say anything when they were completed. ¨CIn the not distant future, in some place else, your experience and true ability will really be put to the test. ¨CDo not be afraid. You are strong, and have allies. However, your enemy¡­is not someone you can beat if you stay the same as you are now. I still remembered the words clearly. I somehow felt that they would come true¡­ ¡°¡­Hmm? Seems like a friend sent me a message.¡± And I only had two friends. Out of those two, Necoco was the most likely. Let¡¯s see¡­ An emergency guild gathering!? She said that she wanted us to meet as soon as possible, so I should tell her what time was good for me. As I had nothing to do, I sent, ¡®I can go now.¡¯ ¡°Did something happen?¡± Right, Anne was here. Could I take her to the gathering with me¡­? I had told Necoco about her in a message a little while ago. And she said that she would look into it eventually. But Necoco seemed quite busy on her own adventures. ¡°An emergency guild gathering. I might have to go right now.¡± ¡°Ah! In that case, I should probably take my leave!¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m just making sure right now. But I have a feeling.¡± After all, it was rather odd that she would call us together at this time. If it was just about a new member, then she could send us messages. And since the new event hadn¡¯t been announced yet, there was no need to talk about that. And so I had a feeling¡­what happened to us was somehow related¡­ It wasn¡¯t a good feeling. But I told Necoco that I was with Anne. Her reply was rather surprising. ¨CDid she fight with VRHAR too? ¨CThen you should bring her as well. So I was right. I didn¡¯t know why Necoco knew about the fight, but it was clear that this meeting had to do with VRHAR. Shortly after, Satomi contacted her and said that he could meet up immediately, and so Anne and I fast traveled to the first town. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°The VRHAR members that came to me were Einherjar Drei, Vier, F¨¹nf, and Sechs¡­ In other words, from number 3 to 6.¡± ¡°Four of them!?¡± We gathered at the observation platform in the first town and listened to Necoco. VRHAR had appeared in front of her. Not only that, but it was also in a versus field, where players were allowed to fight each other¡­ ¡°And so¡­what happened?¡± Considering she was outnumbered, I could not ask if she had won. ¡°I drove them back.¡± ¡°What!?¡± ¡°With my aunt.¡± ¡°Ah, of course! So that¡¯s why the four of them had to attack you at once¡­¡± ¡°I was only saved because my aunt thought it would be nice to play together once in a while. She almost never invites me. She is a veteran gamer, and I could feel the will to kill!¡± Will to kill¡­ I could feel it a little when facing a player during a fight. But if you would make a player feel it while far away¡­that was like a special ability. Well, I wasn¡¯t going to ask about that. ¡°Two of them came to me. Sieben and Acht. So that¡¯s 7 and 8.¡± ¡°So two went to Satomi¡­ But I only got one¡­¡± ¡°And what was the number?¡± ¡°Eins¡­1. He said that he was the guild master of VRHAR.¡± ¡°If he¡¯s 1, then he must be the strongest. Strong enough to not have to rely on the others¡­ Or perhaps the others were hiding somewhere. Considering what everyone has said, it seems that 2, Zwei alone was missing.¡± ¡°We wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape if there was one other person there. Were you okay, Satomi?¡± ¡°¡­Yes. I somehow managed. Just look at how clean my equipment is.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s true.¡± Yes, Satomi¡¯s equipment wasn¡¯t damaged at all. Not only that, but while there were hints of the old set, it looked much fancier now. I had to start thinking about updating my own set. The Windcloud set was no longer considered special compared to other players. However, I had grown attached to it, and so I didn¡¯t really like the idea of changing it to something else. That left equipment evolution. I would very much like to evolve the set. Speaking of evolution, there was also Garbow. But I didn¡¯t have any leads for that¡­ I would ask Satomi about it later. He was a Unison Trainer, and would surely know something. In any case, there was a more important matter to discuss right now. ¡°So it looks like everyone met VRHAR, but managed to come out just fine. Did you want us to gather here so we could talk about that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just that. The reason that I brought you all here was so that we could talk about the next event.¡± Necoco glanced at her surroundings. There weren¡¯t many people on the observation platform, and no one was close to us. They were all near the fountain plaza and watching the Charin fights. As the difficulty was lowered, more people were taking her on, which meant more battle to watch. ¡°There was a player called ¡®Talkative Edda¡¯ from VRHAR. Drei¡­as the one with the number 3, she was very capable. But she also had a loose tongue¡­ And because she told us so many interesting things, my aunt and I didn¡¯t even feel like defeating her, and so we let her go in the end. As for what she told us¡­it was about the next event!¡± ¡°Why does a mere player have information about an event that hasn¡¯t been announced yet?¡± ¡°There are information networks for people in the know. According to Edda, the event that will be announced after the zodiac trials end is the ¡®1st NSO Strongest Party Tournament!¡¯ And there is going to be a prize with real money!¡± ¡°Money¡­ As it¡¯s the great age of VR, they are going to do something crazy like give a million to each player, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°25 million per player. So a party of four will make 100 million. And that¡¯s real money.¡± ¡°Huh¡­ 25 million yet, eh¡­? 25 million? ¡­25 million! Do you really mean 25 million yen!?¡± ¡°Yes! That¡¯s how much money you will get if you win! Of course, the money is nice and all, but I care more about winning in a tournament that costs so much to host! It could be a defining moment in a pro gamer¡¯s career! And so I have to win! Will you all¡­fight alongside me?¡± ¡°Of course! I don¡¯t have an income now, so I¡¯ll fight my hardest!¡± Oh, I just said it¡­ I should have said that I was fighting for honor or something, but now it looked like I was just after money¡­ I had just meant to show that slacking off was not something that I would ever consider, but now I just looked lame¡­ Still, I was sure that in times like this, a gamer old man with no income was more reliable than a rich one. There was more at stake. ¡°I too won¡¯t settle for anything less than winning. If I want to call myself a pro gamer, then I won¡¯t pretend that the money doesn¡¯t mean anything. It¡¯s both money and glory. I will have both of them¡­!¡± Satomi was usually very calm, but even he could not hide his excitement. I didn¡¯t even know when it was going to happen, but I was already feeling impatient for it to begin¡­! ¡°The direction of the Ghost Guild will not change! We will continue to adventure while pursuing our own ideas of strength, and only gather together when necessary! Even when a cash prize is on the line, we will not change our style! But, if there is something we must all aspire to be before the event, it is to become the strongest player! And so we must train ourselves in order to reach that goal!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Um¡­I was wondering if I could join you¡­¡± Ah¡­I had completely forgotten that Anne was here¡­! We were in our own world and getting all fired up. ¡°So you¡¯re the promising candidate that the old man was talking about. Hmm, I know! Why don¡¯t you play with me for a while? I want to see what you¡¯re capable of. I¡¯ve been having trouble finding the right player, so the chances are pretty high for you!¡± ¡°Yes! Thank you so much!¡± And so it was decided that Anne would go with Necoco, and then the meeting ended. Now, I would have time to talk to Satomi. About a Unison¡¯s 3rd evolution¡­! CH 146 Data.138 ¨C Old Bowman, The Road To Follow When it came to asking Satomi about a Unison¡¯s 3rd evolution, another question came to my mind. In the first place, when did Garbow have a 2nd evolution¡­? I didn¡¯t remember such a thing happening. And so I had to ask Satomi about evolution in general. ¡°The evolution of a Unison¡­is quite like that other popular monster game. When they level up, their appearance changes and they become stronger. But there are times when leveling up is not enough, and you also need certain items.¡± ¡°There are times¡­ But did your Gochu not evolve?¡± ¡°Yes. Gochu had already reached his 3rd evolution, Magic Monkey, when we met.¡± ¡°I see¡­!¡± In other words, Garbow had already reached the 2nd evolution that was Ravengar when I saw him. Indeed, it wouldn¡¯t be unusual to see evolved monsters out in the wild. Garbow had already been level 30, so evolving once was no surprise. But now Garbow was at level 60. ¡°My guess would be that there is something aside from leveling that is required for Garbow to evolve. But I don¡¯t know what it is, and there is no information about it online. And I don¡¯t think it¡¯s realistic to search everywhere.¡± ¡°I see¡­ But there are players out there, who managed to evolve their unisons without leveling?¡± ¡°Yes. There have been several reports of that. But those are completely different Unisons, so the thing that is necessary for Garbow is¡­ Ah!¡± ¡°Wh-what is it¡­?¡± ¡°Now that I think about it, some of the reports said that ¡®the Unison led me to the item necessary for evolution¡­¡¯ And the place was always near to the location where they first met¡­!¡± The place that Garbow and I met¡­the south sea! So if I took Garbow there, then he might find the item that we need. ¡°But I adventured in that area with Garbow for quite awhile after taming him, and he never did anything like that¡­¡± ¡°He would need to be a certain level as well. So perhaps he won¡¯t react to the item until he reaches a high enough level.¡± ¡°Well, that would explain why he didn¡¯t react to anything¡­!¡± I thanked Satomi for this valuable information, and then left the first town as well. I was headed for the south sea. However, first, I would visit Mr. Yu¡¯s workshop in the sky. As I wasn¡¯t able to go to other towns while on the Ghost Float, I had quite a lot of materials saved up from defeating monsters. It would be great if one of them would allow my Windcloud set to evolve, but ghosts and zombies didn¡¯t seem like they would be related to it¡­ ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°Oh! I can¡¯t believe it¡­!¡± The heavenly maiden at the front desk in Mr. Yu¡¯s workshop showed me a screen with some surprising results. The three parts of my Windcloud set that haven¡¯t evolved yet. All of them could now either be enhanced or evolved. So the materials I got from the Ghost Float were just what I needed. I was a very lucky man. And so I made requests for enhancements and evolution, and handed over my equipment. They were the Windstream Scarf, Windguard Hakama, and Cloudbore Archery Gloves. It would take nearly three days to complete. But¡­I wouldn¡¯t rest and wait for it. I would continue my adventures as always. While I couldn¡¯t dress like this during PvP or events, it should be adequate enough for exploring the field. More than anything, we had all sworn to strive to become the strongest. And so I didn¡¯t want to waste any time. I generally liked to play at my own pace, but I didn¡¯t want to be a pathetic old man who used that as an excuse to hold the others back. So for now, I would play the role of a cool older man. Now, it was time to fast travel to the port town of Tonami and explore the south sea. I had been in the dimly lit Ghost Float for so long, so I missed the heat of the sun¡­ ¡°Oh? I just received a message from management¡­ What!?¡± The title was very straightforward. ¡®The 1st NSO Strongest Party Tournament!¡¯ Hey, I thought they were going to keep this secret for a little longer? In any case, I doubted that announcing it so early had been part of their original plan. It must be because the information had spread too much. And people were starting to speculate. And so they likely had to just announce it to avoid confusion and misinformation. As for the rules of the tournament¡­hmm. It was just like what Necoco had heard from that VRHAR member. So there really wasn¡¯t anything new here. Apparently, they would announce the rest one week after the zodiac event ended. Now, there was no longer any doubt that the leaked information from VRHAR was real. There really was going to be a big game where a party could win 100 million yen all together¡­! While I didn¡¯t know what the rules were yet, there was no harm in getting stronger as a single player. This event was likely PvP. After all, VRHAR had wanted to test the members of the Ghost Guild. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to win¡­unless you¡¯re confident that you can beat everyone¡­¡± The die had been cast. And so Next Stage Online became even more heated as players strove to attain unheard of wealth and fame. CH 147 BBS.9 ¨C NSO General Thread [VRMMO] Next Stage Online General Thread part2947 1: Anonymous Runner A general thread to discuss ¡®Next Stage Online.¡¯ While most subjects are allowed, party requests, complaints, trolling and bragging have their own threads. The next thread will be created automatically. 2: Anonymous Runner >>1 Thanks! 3: Anonymous Runner >>1 Thanks! So the leak was real after all. lol 4: Anonymous Runner Where are all the people who called it fake! 5: Anonymous Runner I always believed that it was real. 6: Anonymous Runner What a huge fail for the people who thought it was fake. lol 7: Anonymous Runner You say leak, but it was just one comment. I believed it, even though it lacked details. But I can understand why others were skeptical. 8: Anonymous Runner I heard that the leak was mostly just connecting dots from hints that were in the game. But what were the hints? 9: Anonymous Runner >>8 Maybe there was hidden text in the current event. 10: Anonymous Runner >>8 Apparently, there were cryptic messages hidden throughout the trials. And if you connect them, it would show information about the next event. But there are a lot of trials, and no way to actually confirm if the information is right. And many people weren¡¯t even able to complete the trials in the first place. 11: Anonymous Runner Only the most obsessed people would have bothered to do that. And so it was best to just wait for an official announcement. 12: Anonymous Runner 13: Anonymous Runner >>12 It¡¯s 25 million. That¡¯s hard to believe. NSO has never awarded people with real money before. 14: Anonymous Runner >>12 I would expect nothing less from this board. 15: Anonymous Runner People would insist it was fake, even after others found the hidden messages. 16: Anonymous Runner >>15 Some people here are just really stubborn! 17: Anonymous Runner They clearly have nothing better to do, so why don¡¯t they spend their time trying to confirm the leak instead? 18: Anonymous Runner >>17 They are too busy replying to this thread. 19: Anonymous Runner >>18 Typical Human trash 20: Anonymous Runner >>19 That¡¯s a little harsh Human failure is more like it 21: Anonymous Runner >>20 Human failure! 22: Anonymous Runner >>21 Good. 23: Anonymous Runner >>22 ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô 654: Anonymous Runner So, this is the first NSO event with real prize money. 655: Anonymous Runner I guess this game must be doing really well. Of course, perhaps they are just taking a big risk in an attempt to attract more attention. 656: Anonymous Runner I don¡¯t know the rules yet, but I suppose it will be PvP. Like e-sports. 657: Anonymous Runner With such a high reward, other pros will likely want to join in. Of course, they likely won¡¯t have enough time for this specific event. 658: Anonymous Runner >>657 The pros that are already playing must be very happy. They can earn the title of the very first champion. 659: Anonymous Runner >>658 And then you can become the face of the game. 660: Anonymous Runner >>659 Well, this game already has a face. 661: Anonymous Runner That old man will participate without a doubt. As well as many other famous players. 662: Anonymous Runner Even without the reward, a lot of people will want to become famous through the tournament. You will be able to call yourself the strongest and it will be official. 663: Anonymous Runner Everyone likes being the strongest, regardless of age or gender. So it¡¯s no surprise. 664: Anonymous Runner I¡¯m sure there are also a lot of unknown players who have been hiding their strength up until now. 665: Anonymous Runner >>664 So they ignored previous events in order to hide their cards. 666: Anonymous Runner This could be the most heated battle in NSO yet. Of course, it¡¯s not like we¡¯ll have anything to do with it. 667: Anonymous Runner >>666 Hey, speak for yourself. I intend on winning this! I want that money! 668: Anonymous Runner I guess even the people here are serious now. When 25 million is on the line, even a dog will become a wolf. 669: Anonymous Runner The time has come to show what you can really do¡­ 670: Anonymous Runner While the rules haven¡¯t been announced, it¡¯s clearly going to be parties of four fighting each other. So we should think of strategies. 671: Anonymous Runner Well, what would you use the 25 million for if you won it? 672: Anonymous Runner >>671 Savings account 673: Anonymous Runner >>671 Yeah, it¡¯s not quite enough to live lavishly for the rest of your life. I would maybe celebrate once and then save the rest. 674: Anonymous Runner >>671 I¡¯ll upgrade all the electronics in the house. 675: Anonymous Runner >>671 676: Anonymous Runner >>671 Well, I¡¯ll go out and eat some meat and then think about the rest later. 677: Anonymous Runner >>671 It will become living expenses. 678: Anonymous Runner >>671 Hmm. I can¡¯t think of anything. So I¡¯ll save it. 679: Anonymous Runner Why are you all talking as if you already won¡­ 680: Anonymous Runner And most just want to save their money. How boring. 681: Anonymous Runner >>680 Why would you expect anything more from these people? 682: Anonymous Runner >>680 Everyone here is poor 683: Anonymous Runner >>680 I¡¯m not worthy of having big dreams. And so I can¡¯t say much! 684: Anonymous Runner You are all hopeless 685: Anonymous Runner [Tragic news] Everyone here is likely to lose pathetically again. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô The NSO community was shaken by this sudden news. It almost didn¡¯t feel real, and so they talked about it as if it was a joke. However, it felt more real as the days passed, and a week later, everyone was preparing for the event. But the truly strong players had been preparing even earlier than that in order to become the strongest of all. CH 148 Data.139 ¨C Old Bowman, to the South Again I hadn¡¯t been to the sea since the Cancer trial. It was there that I underwent the class change to the special 3rd job, Sagittarius, after the battle. Considering that I had also met Garbow at sea, it seemed to be a place that resulted in important encounters for me¡­ But I was wasting time here being sentimental. I had to hurry up and get into the water. Garbow showed no signs of change as we stepped onto the beach. And so I wanted to go someplace where there were no other players. After all, my current equipment was a little mismatched. My head was covered in the Goat Skullmet, which as the name implied, just looked like a goat skull. I had acquired it in the labyrinth with the white and black goats. It looked rather satanic, but had decent stats. ¡ôGoat Skullmet Type: Head(Helm) HP: 55 MP: 30 Weapon Skill: None My arms were protected by metal gauntlets called ¡®Finger Scorpio.¡¯ They were strange gauntlets, in that they only protected your fingers. As for the weapon skill, it shoots out poisonous needles from your fingertips. In other words, it wasn¡¯t a really good fit for my combat style. But I equipped them because of their stats. ¡ôFinger Scorpio Type: Arms(Gauntlets) Attack: 60 And around my legs was the ¡®Bone Skirt¡¯ which was made of layered bones. I had acquired it from the Bone-ted Mansion in the Ghost Float. ¡ô Bone Skirt Type: Legs(Skirt) Defense: 40 Magic Defense: 45 Weapon Skill: None In NSO, there was no male or female exclusive armor, and so you could wear anything. And so if the strongest armor just happened to have a more feminine design, then the next event would be overflowing with crossdressers. Well, there wasn¡¯t really such a thing as a set that was the strongest in NSO. And even if there was, it wouldn¡¯t be something that anyone could get. ¡°In any case, I¡¯d like to get out of here before someone takes a picture and spreads it.¡± And so I entered the water and walked on the ocean floor. Today¡­there was no Blue Sea Dragon. While it had helped us during the Poseidon Kraken fight, it had once killed me on sight. And so unless it was an emergency, I would rather not meet it. Now, I switched Garbow¡¯s orders to ¡®Free.¡¯ Like this, he should go off and find the necessary items for evolution¡­ ¡°¡­Gar!¡± He reacted¡­! Garbow began to swim through the water along the coastline. This was surprising, as I thought he would go straight to the deepsea where we first met. As he was swimming at a pretty slow speed, I had no trouble keeping up with him. This was good, as I would not be able to match his speed when under water. After swimming for some time, we suddenly arrived at a place where the water cut into the shore. Was it a harbour? Instead of going back on land, Garbow entered this port-like area. After advancing a little bit more, the scenery began to change. Instead of sand, there was gravel under my feet, and the water was flowing from up ahead with no change. The seaweed was also different, and the monsters¡­ ¡°Are we¡­in a river!?¡± There was no doubt about it¡­! Garbow was swimming up a river! Like a salmon! This was unexpected. We weren¡¯t going deep into the sea at all. We were going upstream on land¡­ There are plenty of stories about people adventuring on the ocean floor, but not so much a riverbed. Well, the strength of the current and clarity of the water would be an issue if you thought realistically, but even from a fantasy point of view, it just wasn¡¯t very exciting. However, you could breathe underwater in NSO, and aside from movement being a little slower and weapons and skills weakened, there wasn¡¯t really a problem. Walking in the water was something that could be experienced casually. The water was quite clear here, and as it wasn¡¯t very deep, the sunlight shone through it beautifully. But how far was Garbow going to go? In the first place, was he okay in freshwater? Well, it seemed doubtful that they even differentiated between seawater and freshwater in this game. But I did wonder, since he was based on the garfish. Ah, but Garbow was also quite big and thick, so perhaps he was closer to the alligator gar. They were freshwater fish that lived in rivers. Thinking this, it was not all that surprising that Garbow would swim upstream in order to evolve. ¡°Still, the fish here are getting bigger¡­¡± Arowana, catfish, pirarucu, freshwater stingray, and freshwater sharks were swimming around lazily. It seemed like they had just shoved all of the large river fish into this area. There were even some fish that I had never seen before. Perhaps they were undiscovered fish? I¡¯m sure Anne would know all about them. Unfortunately, I was alone now. But none of them showed any signs of hostility towards me, and so I ignored them. Garbow was usually very sensitive towards other monsters, but he was being very quiet right now. It really did seem like he was moving towards something that was top priority. ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Garbow was crying¡­! He did this to intimidate. So there was an enemy! The other fish seemed to detect something as well, as they began to swim away. I made sure that I had my Seabow Arts Grow Card equipped and then readied my weapon. Without it equipped, I would be helpless in the water. GAAAAAAAAARR!! GAAAAAARR!! It sounded like Garbow¡¯s voice, but was much lower¡­ It was likely angry at us. Garbow seemed to shrink back a little after hearing it. Was this enemy a similar type to Garbow¡­ ¡°No, that shape¡­!¡± While the enemy did have the same kind of long, sharp snout as Garbow, it also had four legs! And it was much larger than Garbow, as well as being in a pack¡­ It wasn¡¯t an alligator gar. It was a real alligator¡­pack! We were surrounded by what was likely the strongest freshwater creature¡­ A fish could not beat a large reptile. As a mammal, I would have to fight for Garbow! Nevermind the fact that alligators eat mammals like gnus and the fact that we¡¯re inferior to fish in the water! CH 149 Data.140 ¨C Old Bowman, King of the Riverside When it came to my fighting style underwater, the seven forms of Seabow Arts was everything. As I was surrounded from all sides, Form One, Thousand Needles would be the most effective, as it shot out needles in every direction¡­ But it also didn¡¯t do a lot of damage. I doubted that it would do much against monsters like alligators, who had tough skin. That being said, I would get torn to shreds if I tried to fight them one on one¡­ ¡°¡­Ah! Maybe I could fuse Seabow Arts!¡± Skills involving barriers, creating blades and setting traps were too special for fusion, but aside from the fact that they were used in the water, most of them were quite simple. And so if I could fuse them, it would really open up new possibilities for me when it came to underwater combat¡­.! ¡°Trident Arrow and Thousand Arrows¡­ Thousand Trident!¡± ¡­It worked! Small fork-like tridents shot out in every direction. However, fusing skills would not result in enough force to defeat these alligators. And so I would have to keep attacking nonstop! ¡°Seabow Arts ¨C Form Five fusion¡­Shark Arrow Storm!¡± ¡®Shark¡¯ homed in on any targets that had taken damage! And even if Thousand Trident only scratched the alligators, they wouldn¡¯t be so lucky when attacked by a pack of sharks¡­! ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Garbow also attacked the weakened alligators and brought their number down. Alright. I would be able to deal with them now¡­ ¡°Gah¡­!?¡± It came flying¡­the alligator! It was shooting at me like an arrow while rotating¡­! Even their special attacks reminded me of Garbow¡­! No, more importantly, there were a lot of alligators who had taken no damage¡­ The smaller alligators had been easy to kill, but there were plenty of larger ones left. This wasn¡¯t the fault of Shark Arrow Storm, but because Thousand Trident was too weak. While it homed in on enemies that took damage, it also meant that it ignored enemies who hadn¡¯t. And so the enemies that dodged the first attack or canceled it out with skills didn¡¯t even have to avoid the second attack. That being said, it was still true that there were arrows flying around everywhere, and so the alligators had waited for them to die down before charging. They really were smart¡­! Now that I had used Arrow Storm, the only attacks I had left that were better were Meteor Bow and Southern Cross Ballista¡­ But using Meteor Arrow meant losing Garbow and halting the exploration. And Southern Cross Arrow created a large launching platform that would be hindered by the water. I doubted that I would be able to aim at the alligators who swam so quickly in the water. In that case¡­! ¡°Come back! Garbow! Go! Seabow Arts ¨C Form Four fusion¡­I¡¯m Marlin!¡± We just had to escape from the water! This was a river, not in the middle of the ocean. If I combined the speedy Marlin with I¡¯m Arrow and flew, we would be on dry land in no time. You shouldn¡¯t fight an enemy on their own turf. Lure them into your own¡­! Splash! We shot out of the water! I would fly as far as I could, and once the effect ended, I would land on Floating Cloud Herd and watch them from above. GAAARRRRR!!! ¡°What!? Woah!!¡± Something bit into my left left!? And then I started rotating in a different direction¡­! I went from I¡¯m Arrow¡¯s drill spin to doing cartwheels¡­! ¡°Gah! Grr¡­! Ah¡­¡± I heard a terrible sound and then I was thrown onto the grass. Even the tall grass here was not enough to cushion me. ¡°¡­I can¡¯t feel my left leg.¡± As I had turned off most gore effects in the settings, it looked like I still had a leg. But in fact, there was no leg there, and so I couldn¡¯t move it. I had experienced this loss of body parts before during the fight with the Windcloud Dragon. I needed a regeneration potion or some other item in order to fix this. And just like before, I didn¡¯t have such a potion with me! As it was possible that I could lose limbs during the tournament battle, I really had to find a way to make some¡­ I wouldn¡¯t be able to shoot if I lost my arms. But losing a leg was also bad. These strong enemies have been really teaching me lessons a lot lately. As for the enemy that tore off my left leg¡­it was the alligator. It had scales that were black like a crow. It practically looked like a dinosaur. Perhaps it had been based on some prehistoric ancestor of alligators. Considering how large its mouth was, I should probably be thankful that it only took one leg. And due to the violent spinning, I had been flung off far away enough from the ancient alligator. I had not expected this boss-like alligator to be waiting for me up on dry land. But I got off pretty lightly considering I had been ambushed. I might have died in one hit had I just walked normally out of the water. ¡°Gar! Gar! Gar!¡± ¡°What is it, Garbow?¡± He was crying much louder than usual. And he seemed so excited, like he was about to attack¡­ ¡°Wait, is it because that thing has it? The item you need for evolution¡­¡± ¡°Gar! Gar! Gar!¡± It sounded like Garbow was replying to me. ¡­So I would do what I could in the situation! From what I could see, this savanah was quite far from the main road. I wouldn¡¯t be able to reach the nearest town by using Warp Arrow just once. Besides, I might be hunted down by some other monster when I landed. In that case, I should kill this ancient alligator and then travel with the evolved Garbow. That would be safer. What did it matter if I didn¡¯t have any legs? I¡¯ll be a cannon! This was all for Garbow¡¯s evolution. And so I would stay put with Garbow and fight! CH 150 Data.141 ¨C Old Bowman, Break the Shell ¡°Letter Arrow!¡± GAAAARRRR!! My first shot, which was Letter Arrow, was destroyed by the ancient alligator¡¯s roar. Furthermore, the ground around the alligator began to rise up. So even its roar did damage¡­ This was bad¡­ ¡°Gatling Burning Arrow!¡± Hmm. This time it didn¡¯t roar. In other words, that attack could only cancel out weaker attacks. And so the exploding arrows hit the unmoving alligator directly! ¡°¡­It¡¯s tough.¡± But the black scales of the ancient alligator were practically unharmed even after being exposed to a shower of arrows. Its HP gauge had barely moved. At this rate, Arrow Storm would hardly deal any damage either¡­ ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Now it was Garbow who attacked. It was the golden combo of activating Ocean Sphere while swimming quickly and using Red Meteor¡­! GAARRRR!! GAAARRRR!! A mysterious power caused the ancient alligator to float up into the air. And then its great jaw opened wide as it rotated at a high speed! And then it began to fly like a meteor¡­! If there was such a thing as ¡®Black Meteor,¡¯ then this would be it¡­! The two monsters roared at each other and then crashed. Sparks flew every time they collided, and the shockwaves shot towards me¡­! ¡°Gar¡­Gar!¡± The collision of the meteors ended with Garbow being pushed back. Ultimately, the ancient alligator seemed to have higher specs¡­! I had to find a way to cover Garbow¡­ However, my strongest attack, Southern Cross Ballista, required that I dig my heels into the dirt and pull the grip back. It was possible to shoot while standing, but that would mean that the platform had to lean upwards, which meant the arrow would also point up. I may be able to shoot birds in the sky, but not the alligator on the ground. ¡°Gatling Web Cloud Arrow!¡± And so I would rely on the professional¡­! The sticky net hit the ancient alligator. However, instead of sticking to it, the net just slid onto the ground. Was the alligator enveloped in some kind of mucus¡­? Tsk. Those scales were so irritating¡­! What was its weakness? Magic skills¡­? Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t have any. And so I needed it to have other weaknesses as well¡­! GA-ga-ga-gaarrrr¡­! The ancient alligator opened its mouth wide and began to charge a black energy within. It looked like it was going to shoot out a beam¡­ Why is it allowed to do that if it¡¯s an ancient creature? The triceratops could only charge at me¡­! Black electricity crackled around the alligator¡¯s mouth. It was obvious that it was going to shoot soon¡­! ¡°Exploding Sky Tear!¡± A high speed arrow shot through the black energy and exploded inside of the alligator¡¯s mouth. And then the alligator closed its mouth and swallowed the energy. There was the muffled sound of an explosion immediately after, and then black smoke began to rise out from the alligator¡¯s body. ¡­Ah! So this was the kind of boss where you make them eat a bomb. If you can¡¯t attack them from the outside, you have to wait until they open their mouth so that you can throw a bomb inside. Once you know it, they become very easy to defeat¡­! ¡°Let¡¯s go! Garbow!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± In any case, if it opened its mouth even a little, I would fill it with my strongest attack skills. And I also had garbow use Missile Pod, which was a charge attack that was perfect for this purpose. Now that I thought about it, the alligator opened its mouth quite often. If I attacked it every time, I could even control its movements. And so the ancient alligator¡¯s HP gauge continued to decrease until it was less than fifty percent¡­ That¡¯s when it happened. ¡°It won¡¯t open its mouth any more¡­? It suddenly decided that it was going to stay silent. Up until a moment ago, it was roaring regularly and tried to shoot its beam whenever there was an opening¡­ How was I supposed to win now¡­! Not only that, I could no longer restrict its movement with my attacks, so it was getting closer and closer to me! ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Garbow moved in between me and the alligator. As Garbow had high physical defense, he may be able to survive the attacks¡­ GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRR!! Just as I thought this, the alligator jumped into the air and began to spin. It¡¯s tail lashed out like a whip and hit Garbow¡­! Garbow flew off into the air and crashed into the ground. Cracks appeared in his armor, and sparks flew from the exposed parts inside. I had seen Garbow pushed into desperate situations after being hit by electric attacks before, but I had never seen him take so much damage from a physical attack¡­ Garbow was in danger because I tried to fight in this state¡­ ¨CBeep! Unison Garbow has acquired the new skill, Electric River. ¡ô Reason for Acquiring Broken Shell Received great physical damage. What¡­was this? I was pretty sure that Unisons could only learn new skills through using items¡­ But this was just like when players learned new skills¡­! Could Unisons really learn new skills this way as well!? ¡°Garbow! Use Electric River!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Garbow was in a terrible state but floated up into the air and unleashed the electricity from his mouth! So by having his shell broken, he was able to use an attack that used to be his weakness¡­! The current of electricity slammed into the ancient alligator. It too seemed to be weak against it. And its mouth opened wide as it was electrocuted¡­! ¡°Garbow! Bite my leg and support me!¡± I wasn¡¯t sure if Garbow would even understand this order. However, I was lucky. Garbow bit the part of my left leg that I could still feel, and then he moved his tail furiously and swam in order to support my weight. Like this¡­I could shoot! ¡°Now it¡¯s over! Southern Cross Ballista!¡± The arrow of light went through the ancient alligator¡¯s mouth and pierced its body! The alligator staggered back and then turned into light before disappearing. The drop items went into my inventory automatically. And I saw that there was something called Black Alligator Leather. This was likely the item that I needed to evolve Garbow¡­! ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll use it right now¡­ Hmm?¡± Wait¡­his voice sounded hostile. I quickly looked around and saw that alligators and other monsters had come out of the water and were moving towards us. We were in the middle of a savannah. So there were plenty of hunters looking for prey¡­! That¡¯s why I needed Garbow to evolve here! And so I would use the item! ¡°Garbow, evolve!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± ¨CThe Unison has reached the required level. ¨CYou have used the evolution item Black Alligator Leather. ¨CAll requirements have been met. ¨CBeep! Unison Ravengar will now evolve into Ravenalligate. CH 151 Data.142 ¨C Old Bowman, Unison Evolve He looked like an¡­alligator! Garbow had evolved from a Ravengar into a Ravenalligate, and had grown four legs that stood heavily on the ground! ¡®Gar¡¯ was no longer in his name, but monster evolutions were always like this. They often turned into something that you weren¡¯t expecting, and so the fact that Garbow still had features from his old form¡­ Well, he actually looked the same, only with legs now¡­ ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± His voice also sounded lower and more powerful. And I was glad that he still said ¡®Gar.¡¯ I would have been a little annoyed if he started saying ¡®alligate¡¯ or something like that. ¡°Garbow! Bite my leg again and support me!¡± There were still alligators in the river, and other wild beasts lurked on dry land. Now that I could barely move, I was a sitting duck. And so I stood up once, created a platform in the air with Floating Cloud Herd, and then used Warp Arrow to get on top of it. Now their fangs would not be able to reach me. Of course, that meant that Garbow would be targeted instead¡­but that was fine. I hadn¡¯t checked his status yet, but had seen that he gained 2 charge attacks and 1 skill. ¡°Garbow! Attack the enemies in the river first!¡± As I had fought the alligators before, I knew how many there were and their abilities. As long as we got rid of them, Garbow and I could escape through the water. I doubted the savannah beasts would follow us into the river and sea. ¡°Charge attack¡­ Kurokogairu!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± And like that, five duplicates of Garbow appeared. They had black bodies and red eyes, and reminded me of the lizards I fought in the hidden Windcloud settlement, or the snake in the tunnel. They were shadowy and clearly not real if you looked closely. But as the real Garbow was also black, you could get confused if they were all moving around. These clones could also take damage, and so they would disappear if attacked enough times. Their abilities were only a fifth of the real Garbow, and they could not use charge attacks. Otherwise, they were the same. With this charge attack, I could use strategies that would normally be impossible while solo! Even though they were just one fifth of Garbow, the attack stats were impressive. ¡°I have to do what I can to support him as well¡­ Oh?¡± It was then that I noticed something important. Thanks to growing legs, Garbow was now able to move quickly on dry land! He wasn¡¯t quite as fast as when he was swimming, but he was no longer an easy target like before. And yet he could also float in the air the same as before. So he floated in the air and dodged enemy attacks, then fell while slamming his tail down for a drop attack, crushing the enemy¡¯s body. He was already using the new skill, Flail Tail very well. It was a simple skill, much like the one that the ancient alligator used to crack Garbow¡¯s shell, but judging by the way that he used it, his AI seemed to have improved¡­! ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± There was just one new charge attack left. It was probably the strongest one¡­ And it was called, ¡®Crimson Death Roll¡¯! He opened his mouth wide and rotated at a high speed while charging. His bared teeth acted like a blender that shredded the enemy to bits¡­! ¡°GAAARRR!!: Garbow bit one alligator that had especially tough scales, and then twisted its body in a flash. Yes. If he bit into something, the force of his rotation would affect the target, resulting in enough power to severe its flesh. Real alligators used the death roll¡­but when a rare monster that has undergone a 3rd evolution uses it, it becomes this powerful¡­! And like that, all of the river alligators were dealt with. Now it was just the beasts that the clones were keeping in check. Lions, tigers, cheetahs. They all looked terrifying, but they were no match against Garbow as he was now. Garbow floated up into the air and activated Blue Ocean Sphere, which was an enhanced version of Ocean Sphere. The sphere of water looked a little more blue, and it¡¯s ability¡­was not that much better. The important part was that the cool down had been shortened. What used to be 10 minutes was now 5 minutes! This was much better than some half-assed upgrade. After all, the charge attack was now twice as efficient¡­! And Ocean Sphere wasn¡¯t the only thing that had been enhanced. Now, as Garbow had taken care of the rest of the enemies, I would scout out the area from the sky. It was possible that all of the fighting had attracted other monsters¡­ I think¡­ Gashan. Gashan. Gashan¡­ I heard metallic sounds that did not seem very natural for a savanna. And so I activated my Sniping Insight skill and looked in the direction that the sounds came from. Gashan. Gashan. Gashan¡­ ¡°¡­A mecha lion?¡± While the sounds were out of place, it was at least modeled after something that would live here¡­ Their metal bodies swayed as the sunlight reflected off of them. And like that, an army of mecha animals came towards us. Why were they here¡­ Well, now that I think of it, Garbow is a mechanical fish, so he is similar to them. Was that somehow related to this¡­? CH 152 Data.143 ¨C Old Bowman, Out of Place Mechanical Beasts ¡°Garbow, Electric River!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± The mecha animal army that appeared suddenly was¡­weak to lightning attacks. They were also weak to heat, and so my Burning Arrow was enough to deal with them. While they had certainly surprised me with their appearance, the alligators had been a bigger threat as enemies. Now, just because things were settled here, it didn¡¯t mean we could stick around in the savannah. I still couldn¡¯t move my leg, so I wanted to get to the nearest village as soon as possible. Because the savannah was in the southern area, I had already unlocked the map. So I knew where the next village was located. ¡°Help me reach this point on the map, Garbow.¡± ¡°Gar Garr!¡± As I could not walk, I had to move by riding on Garbow¡¯s back. I hadn¡¯t realized it while fighting, but he really had grown a lot in size. If I sat on his back and grabbed onto the protrusions on his back, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about falling off. And he didn¡¯t shake too much, so it was comfortable. He also cried and let me know if there were enemies nearby. So I decided to take a look at Garbow¡¯s status as we moved. As he had evolved, it should have changed quite a lot¡­ ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± New enemies already¡­!? I frantically looked around, but what I saw was a mecha rabbit. ¡°¡­Ah! It ran away!¡± It hopped away like a normal rabbit. I would lose sight of it if we didn¡¯t do something. ¡°Garbow! Chase after that rabbit without attacking it!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Sometimes curiosity trumped efficiency. And this was one of those times. If we chased after the rabbit, we might reach a new world¡­ In NSO, such fairytale-like things happened often. For instance, there had been a world in the looking glass. Garbow was able to keep up with the rabbit¡¯s speed. And so he would likely be able to follow it all of the way. I would check his status while I could. ¡ô Unison Status Name: Garbow(Ravenalligate) Race: Fish/Machine Lv: 62/100 HP: 180/180 MP: 120/120 Attack: 255 Defense: 185 ¡ô Skill [Poison Resistance V] [Machine Body] [Straight Darts] [Red Flash] [Holy Splash] [Energy Scissors] [Electric River] [Flail Tail] [Caltrop] [Energy Shield] [Magic Jamming] ¡ô Charge Attack [Red Meteor II] [Blue Ocean Sphere] [Crimson Deathroll] [Kurogairu] ¡ô Combination Charge Attack [Meteor Bow] The status did not include bonuses from equipment. It was nice to see such strong base numbers like this. The skills were also stronger, and he now had more charge attacks. Crimson Deathroll had a cooldown time of 8 minutes, while Kurokogairu was 10 minutes, which was great. His AI was smarter now as well, and he could probably take on the average player. However, we weren¡¯t going to be fighting average players. We were going to be fighting the best. And so I needed Garbow to become even stronger. If we follow this mecha rabbit, then perhaps we would be able to find some kind of hint¡­ That being said, it could also just be running aimlessly around the savannah. And I would be wasting my time. It was already nearing evening. The red sun was falling towards the horizon like a scene from some movie. I didn¡¯t want to be wandering around when there were carnivorous monsters everywhere. Clearly knowing what the threat was made it scarier than the horror spots in some ways¡­ ¡°Hmm¡­? I can¡­see something!¡± It looked like a pyramid at first, but on closer inspection, it was a trapezoid with a flat top. The suspicious structure looked like an altar to conduct rituals. And as I stared at it, I lost sight of the rabbit. However, this was likely our destination anyway. The altar had looked like piled stones from far away, but up close, I saw that it was made of metal. There were detailed patterns engraved on the surface, suggesting that some advanced civilization once ruled this savannah. Yes, a civilization advanced enough to create mechanical animals¡­ ¡°Well, I suppose I should try climbing to the top.¡± It was human instinct to want to climb to the top of tall buildings. They say that idiots, smoke, and snipers like tall places¡­ And so I had Garbow float up to the top. ¡°Woah¡­! This is quite a view!¡± Half of the savannah was bathed in the red of evening, while the other half was being swallowed up by the darkness of night. It was the brief moment between day and night, when a red sky turned into a starry sky.. I felt both awe and a little worried. The feeling of needing to go home when the sun came down was something from my childhood that I still felt. ¡°Well, perhaps it¡¯s because I still live like that.¡± I muttered to myself and chuckled. And then I realized that I had to hurry up and search this altar. Tonk-tonk¡­ I hit the altar with my bow. Yes, when I was a kid, I always used a tree branch to tap things when exploring the neighborhood¡­ Go-go-go-go-go¡­! ¡°Wh-what¡­!?¡± The altar was¡­shaking! Before I could understand what was happening, the top of the altar that I was standing on began to descend! So this wasn¡¯t a ritual altar, but a way to travel underground!? I held my weapon ready and waited. The elevator showed no signs of stopping, but no enemies appeared either. And now that I thought about it, I had ridden an elevator in NSO before. In the Windcloud Mountain where I found the Windcloud set. There had been a similar elevator inside. According to the person that lived there, it was moved through technology from a lost civilization. In other words, this place might be related to the Windcloud Mountain¡­! The elevator started to slow down. We would be arriving shortly. Now, what will it be, a demon or a snake¡­ I fought both in NSO, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Except, this was NSO. The thing that awaited me underground¡­was a city where machines lived. CH 153 Data.144 ¨C Old Bowman, Underground Machine City With a loud clang, the elevator stopped completely. What spread out underneath the altar was a city where machine humans lived. Everywhere there were gears and steam and loud, complex machinery that I didn¡¯t understand. The atmosphere was very steampunk¡­ While most of the residents looked like humans, some looked entirely machine-like as well. For a second, I wondered if I would be attacked if I went inside, but as I wasn¡¯t able to use my skills, it meant that this was a non-combat zone. I guess I should try talking to someone¡­ And so I approached a girl who looked close to a human. ¡°Um, excuse me. This place¡­¡± ¡°Woah!? It¡¯s unusual to see a real human here! This is the underground machine city, Machinestatt!¡± While she was surprised, she was also friendly. And she also confirmed that game-wise, this place was treated as a city. That meant that I could log out safely, treat wounds and purchase items. That would be a life saver. ¡°Woah!? The alligator with you has a machine body! And it looks very advanced¡­! Perhaps it¡¯s an original mecha animal that was made during the time of the ancient civilization!¡± ¡°Original mecha animal?¡± ¡°Yes! Mecha animals can multiply just like normal living creatures, but their roots lie with these originals! I think that this alligator must be an original! They have superior abilities and so we could only dream of ever being like them!¡± So Garbow was supposed to be one of the first mecha animals made with some ancient civilization¡¯s technology, huh? That would explain why he was much stronger than the other mecha animals in the savannah. With machines, newer models were supposed to have better performance, but with robots, sometimes the prototypes were the strongest. That wasn¡¯t realistic? Well, this was a game. And so it was just following the format of robot cartoons! ¡°Do you mind if I ask you a few other questions?¡± ¡°What do you want to ask?¡± ¡°You said something about it being rare for humans to be here. Is that true?¡± While the altar had been in the middle of the savannah, it was still large and stood out quite a lot. So other players would be able to find it and realize that there was an underground city. However, I didn¡¯t see any other players here. ¡°Yes, it is rare! Of course, we do get visitors sometimes, but there are not many! The reason is probably because there are requirements for the elevator to activate!¡± ¡°Requirements?¡± ¡°And you fulfilled two of them! The Windcloud set and the mecha animal!¡± ¡°Hey, wait. I understand the mecha animal, but why the Windcloud set? It¡¯s true that the elevator moved after I tapped it with my bow, and there was a similar elevator in the Windcloud mountain but¡­¡± ¡°Exactly! We know that there are a few other cities away from here that have the same technology! And having equipment with the name of those cities is the key to moving the ancient devices!¡± Wh-what¡­!? The Windcloud set is the key to moving them¡­? So it was also because of the Windcloud set that I was able to move the elevator in the Windcloud mountain. If you impressed the Windcloud Dragon enough, it would put you on a cloud and lead you to the Windcloud Mountain. However, if you didn¡¯t realize this and got off of the cloud, you could still use the Windcoud set and go up the elevator to the top in order to reach the settlement. ¡°Thank you for telling me that. I have one more question¡­ Do you know the requirements for unlocking fast travel?¡± ¡°Fast travel¡­ah! You mean that warping ability that flesh and blood humans use! I am in charge of giving people permission for that. So I will give you permission! There are different requirements, but in your case, you have done a great job in raising one of our kind!¡± I see. So if you brought a high-level and evolved machine-type Unison with you, they would unlock fast travel right away. I suppose if this was a plant city, then players with a plant-type Unisons would have an advantage. Now I had learned everything that I wanted to. And so I thanked the machine girl and continued on my way in order to fix my leg and explore the city. ¡­It really was amazing! There were stores where you could use NSO medals to buy skills, as well as stores where you could buy machine-type materials and items! Furthermore, there was even a workshop with an amazing craftsman like Mr. Yu! There was so much stuff compared to the first town, and it would really help expand my tactics during battle. The machine materials would be useful when strengthening Garbow¡¯s equipment. Mr. O was called the ¡®Eight-armed Octopus,¡¯ and was able to deal with rare items as well. Things would be a lot more efficient if I split the work between those two. So Garbow¡¯s kin were here, and it was deeply related to the Windcloud set. It seemed like this place would become very important for me! And then there was something that drew my interest more than anything else¡­ ¡°Machine God Windhole¡­¡± On the outskirts of Machinestatt, there was a cave that was closed off by a thick gate. Apparently, they were locking up heartless killing machines inside of it. While it would be incredibly dangerous, there were mechanical creatures deep within who had undergone unique evolutions. And if you beat them, you could acquire rare items¡­ ¡°This is practically ording players that want to become the strongest to go¡­!¡± I had already received permission to open the gate. Now, it was time to uncover the darkness of the ancient civilization¡­tomorrow. It was already night time when I arrived at Machinestatt, and so I might have to stay up all night if I entered a high difficulty dungeon now. While players who wanted to become the strongest might think nothing of staying up light, sleep was the one thing that I would not deprive myself of¡­! And so I would take on the killing machines¡­tomorrow! CH 154 Data.145 ¨C Old Bowman, Weapon Residence The next day, I recommenced my adventure in the underground machine city of Machinestatt. And I started by using 50 NSO medals to acquire a certain skill. It was called Thunder Arrow! Simply put, it was a skill that unleashed an electric arrow. The Machine God Windhole dungeon that I was about to take on would have machine-type monsters inside. Having a skill that would take advantage of their weaknesses would help me survive. Besides, I was sure that the skill would help me on future adventures and PvP. Electricity was both useful and dangerous. ¡°Gate Open!¡± And so the gate to the Machine God Windhole opened, and I stepped foot inside. The gate was immediately closed behind me, and I was surrounded in darkness. ¡°I¡¯ll need a torch for this¡­¡± Relying on the pale light of the torch, I started to walk forward. As for the monsters¡­nothing came out. And in spite of the dungeon¡¯s name, the place just seems like an ordinary cave. Was it really just a simple dungeon without any branching paths¡­? Just as I thought this, I saw another gate in front of me. I see. As there were dangerous weapons sealed in here, they had to have multiple gates. ¡°Gate Open!¡± What was on the other side of the gate¡­was a mostly white, modern-looking facility. ¡°It¡¯s eerily quiet¡­¡± The only thing I could hear were the occasional whirring of fans¡­but there were no enemies. However, this was a dungeon. So they were definitely here. I felt¡­like I was being monitored. Probably because there were cameras on the ceiling. ¡°Another gate, huh¡­¡± This one wasn¡¯t large like the others. It was a small gate that blocked the path ahead. And there was a lock that required a keycard in order to open it. So I would have to search for that if I wanted to continue¡­ But there were so many rooms here, and searching through them all would be backbreaking work. Every room had the same desk and computers. But the screens were black, and tapping the keyboards didn¡¯t do anything. So there were no gimmicks there¡­ ¡°¡­Ah, here it is! Of course, the key would be in a drawer¡­¡± They always were, in exploration games. Unless they were realistically hung on the wall, they were usually in some drawer. Now I could use it to go on ahead. Biiiiiiiiiiiiii!! ¡°Whoa!? What¡¯s that!?¡± Alarms were going off everywhere! Why do the enemies always come out just as you find an important item! With a loud whirring sound, the door of the room opened automatically and then a four-legged mecha with a gatling gun on its back jumped inside! ¡°Gatling Thunder Arrow!¡± I shot at it before it could shoot at me. The electric arrows had the desired effect against the machine. And the mecha was destroyed after one hit. However, the alarms did not stop. ¡°I guess we will have to continue to fight from here on out¡­!¡± However, I was more used to fighting loud enemies, rather than exploring a quiet underground facility, and so it was better this way. Though, it makes me sound like some kind of maniac¡­ ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°Ah, I¡¯m so glad that I got Thunder Arrow¡­!¡± The mecha enemies had come out like zombies. I had to find a keycard for every floor, go through the opened gate and go down an elevator to the next floor. And every time we descended, the waves of enemies grew stronger. And yet, Thunder Arrow took those waves of enemies down in a flash! Furthermore, the mechas were moving through narrow hallways, and so the electricity easily traveled from one enemy to the next. Thanks to this, we were able to take them down over a large area. And I was also able to collect a lot of drop items from them. The power of electricity really was amazing¡­it was mankind¡¯s treasure. ¡°At this rate, we¡¯ll reach the bottom floor in no time.¡± While the puzzle elements, like searching for keys, sometimes slowed us down, we continued to make our way down through the ancient facility. Enemies did not attack us while we were in the elevator, so they were moments of respite. And then as soon as the doors opened, the mechas would come out as if they had been waiting for us. I was now used to this, and so cleaned out the floor and searched for the next floor. After repeating this many times, and I started to attack reflexively as soon as the doors opened, we reached a floor where we weren¡¯t greeted to a warm welcome by the mechas. And the elevator did not let us go any lower. So this was the bottom floor. ¡°It¡¯s another dark cave¡­¡± I took out the torch and walked forward cautiously. If we were ambushed, I would throw the torch at the enemy and then shoot them. Now that I had the high speed shooting skill, Quickdraw, I could pull off such moves. However, no wild and aggressive mechas appeared in front of me. ¡°Is this a dumping ground for them¡­?¡± There was something beautiful about broken mecha. They had fought until they fell apart. And now they were discarded like this, with no reward¡­it was rather sad. Not just mecha, but any place that was filled with things that were thrown away made my chest tighten¡­ However, these mountains of discarded mecha were likely not put here to make me feel sad. This was¡­the boss. Gacha¡­ Gacha-gacha-gacha¡­ Gacha-gacha-gacha-gacha!! The entire floor was filled by a blinding light. Then the mountain of mecha began to move and then it transformed into a monster. It was a great eight-headed snake from Japanese folklore¡­the Yamata No Orochi! Gagyaaaaaa!! First, an ancient alligator, and now a mythical snake. And one that was made from the remains and hatred of discarded machines. Was it science or supernatural¡­ I didn¡¯t even know what I was saying now. It was made up of so many different parts that I was sure that this time, electricity would not take it down easily. But strangely, I wasn¡¯t worried. After all, I had a reliable mecha animal with me¡­! CH 155 Data.146 ¨C Old Bowman, Carcass Orochi ¡°Drill Letter Arrow!¡± The opening arrow shot was Letter Arrow, which gave you information about the enemy, fused with Drill Arrow, which raised piercing ability and was effective against machines. Normally, Letter Arrow wouldn¡¯t do any damage, but by fusing it with an attack skill, it was now harder to cancel out! As I intended, the arrow slammed into the Yamata No Orochi, and showed me its information. ¡ô False Machine God Yamata No Orochi Attribute: Machine/Ghost Skill: Yatenkou, Tear Apart Description: A gathering of weapon remains that are filled with hatred. Weapons are the result of having the will to kill, and these are stronger than most. So much so that it can nearly match a true god. In order to avoid being hit by the varied attacks, you must prevent the eight heads from coordinating. A false god made up of machines¡­! Just reading the description made me think I was going to lose, but its attributes were ¡®machine¡¯ and ¡®ghost,¡¯ which meant that Garbow and I would be able to exploit its weaknesses. Besides, it was so big that it wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge my arrows. And so I doubted that I would have much trouble when dealing damage. The problem was whether or not I could survive its attacks. We were just two. That meant that each of us had to deal with four heads. The longer that the fight took, the more dangerous our position would be. And so I would use that charge attack immediately! ¡°Garbow! Kurokogairu!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Garbow created five clones. Now with both of us and the clones, it was 7 vs 8! So I just needed to fight 2 of the heads! ¡°Ah, now that I think about it, I have a clone skill as well.¡± To be precise, it was a dummy from the Mirror Alice Reflection Grow Card. Unlike Garbow¡¯s clones, it didn¡¯t attack, and disappeared easily when attacked by the enemy. And so I wasn¡¯t quite sure how to use it, but perhaps I could try it now¡­ ¡°Dummy!¡± Hmm. It really did look exactly like me. While it had no attack ability or durability, it was indistinguishable from me. It was probably supposed to be used to confuse opponents during PvP, but I would always forget to make use of it. Besides, would it really work against a boss monster? ¡­Oh, some of the Yamata No Orochi heads were looking at it. So even the boss monster couldn¡¯t tell the difference. That was good to know. I would spread the dummies out randomly as we fought. ¡°Alright¡­! Garbow, let¡¯s start with attacking it with lightning!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± And so Garbow and his clones unleashed Electric River. And at the same time, I activated my charge attack. ¡°Thunder Arrow Storm!¡± Electricity, lightning, thunder! The floor was filled with crackling flashes of light! The attacks proved to be effective against the Orochi, and all of the heads were staggered. But that wasn¡¯t enough to take them down. The Orochi quickly recovered and fired off numerous missiles from its body¡­! Perhaps they had a homing ability, as the missiles flew straight towards me after leaving a trail of smoke behind them! ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Garbow and his clones activated Red Flash. Red lasers shot from their mouths and hit the lasers. Then I would use lasers as well! ¡°Demon Purification Light!¡± It was the last skill I acquired from the Grow Card, ¡®Exorcism Bow Arts ¨C 4 Mark.¡¯ Its effect was very simple. A blue laser-like light would shoot from your bow! Unlike a normal arrow, which shot once and was done, the lasers continued to fire off for a few seconds. And they continued to do damage, so you had to keep aiming at the enemy. And so I moved the lasers back and forth and shot down the missiles. Hmm¡­but I still couldn¡¯t shoot them all down¡­! ¡°Exorcism Barrier!¡± I created a dome-shaped barrier. This skill was effective against enemies that weren¡¯t ghost types as well. Though, not as effective¡­! After being hit by several missiles, cracks started to appear in the Exorcism Barrier. Some of Garbows clones had disappeared now, but the remaining ones continued to attack the Orochi with Electric River. ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± And then the real Garbow activated Crimson Deathroll when it saw an opening. He bit into one of the eight heads and tore it off! Just as before, it was an incredible destructive power¡­! I was thankful that Garbow was an ally and not an enemy. GAGYAAAAAAAAAA!!! The Orochi cried. The remaining seven heads opened their mouths and began to charge energy. That move¡­it was going to unleash a beam! And it looked like a pretty big attack¡­! No matter how much I attacked them, they wouldn¡¯t stop charging! Perhaps this was the Yatenkou that was in the information from Letter Arrow. Usually the skill that was displayed there was a powerful one. ¡°Then I¡¯ll use a big attack too! Southern Cross Ballista!¡± The Orochi didn¡¯t move while it was charging. And so I could target it as much as I wanted. I tried to attack as many of the heads as I could while waiting for them to fire! This way, I could shoot and cancel out the beams and attack the heads¡­! Gagyaaahhh!! Thick beams shot out from the seven heads! ¡°Fire!!¡± At that moment, I had good reflexes. The ballista hit the beams and sparks flew¡­! As for which one won¡­it was the ballista, of course! Garbow¡¯s support played a big part as well. More of the Orochi heads were destroyed, until there were only four left. Now it was only at half its original strength. At this point, I just had to keep my guard up and take out the rest slowly and steadily. The coordination between Garbow and I was superior to the coordination between the four heads! Though, the power of lightning did do most of the heavy lifting¡­still, it was all our power! CH 156 Data.147 ¨C Old Bowman, The Blade that calls Clouds ¡°¡­In the end, it was quite dangerous even after there were fewer heads.¡± We were able to destroy the false machine god, Yamata No Orochi. While there were fewer heads, they started moving wildly without any coordination, which was annoying. There are times when thoughtless attacks can be more difficult to deal with. In the case of the Yamata No Orochi, I felt that it was more difficult when the heads moved on their own. One shot a beam, another a missile, and another would bite¡­ Hmm. It really had been terrible. Still, we won in the end! I would check the drop items and then return to the elevator. ¡°Uhh¡­ The most rare one is probably this. ¡®Machine Blade ¨C Amano Murakumo.¡¯¡± As it was something that the Yamata No Orochi dropped in the original myth, I had expected to get it. But this was a sword, and I used bows, so¡­ Oh? ¡°This is a material item. It¡¯s just a blade without a handle. So it¡¯s not a sword.¡± In this game, boss monsters rarely dropped entire weapons. Because each player used different weapons, it would be more convenient to acquire items instead. Even special monsters like the Windcloud Dragon hadn¡¯t dropped any weapons. I received the bow at the settlement that I visited after. There were exceptions with weapons that weren¡¯t particularly rare. Like how the weak spider monster had dropped the Spider Shooter, monsters sometimes dropped normal weapons. However, even those weapons could evolve with the right materials, so they could also be useful. In my case, I sold weapons that I didn¡¯t need. ¡°Murakumo¡­ Cloud, huh? It would be nice if it went with my Windcloud set and made my bow stronger¡­¡± I muttered. At the time, I had no idea that those words would come true¡­ No, I was actually about 70% hopeful. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°This is the definition of great luck¡­¡± After returning to the underground machine city, I visited the master craftsman, Mr. O. I showed the ¡®Machine Blade ¨C Amano Murakumo¡¯ to the android at the counter, and what was displayed on the screen was¡­an evolution for the Blackwind Darkcloud Bow. So it would make my bow stronger¡­! C-calm down¡­you have to think about this first. Now that there were two craftsmen that I could hire, I needed to split the work between them in a way that would be efficient. First, Mr. Yu would finish the three pieces from the Windcloud set the day after tomorrow. As the Blackwind Darkcloud Bow would take three days to evolve, it would make the most sense to ask Mr. O to do it. And I also wanted to make some new gear for Garbow with the materials that I gathered from the Machine God Windhole. And so I should split up the work evenly between them¡­ No, I hadn¡¯t even decided what I was going to make for Garbow yet. After all, I had acquired so many machine-type material items from the weapon cave. So there were a lot of things that I could make. I would take my time and think¡­about how to make him stronger. Thinking about such things was fun. First was his weapon. He currently had a crossbow equipped, but that was because I was going to have Garbow use Seabow Arts. So I could change it into something else entirely¡­ Because having both player and Unison use arrows would limit the kind of enemies we could deal with¡­ And I should change his armor into something with more powerful weapon skills¡­ However, his current gear increased his MP, which was very nice¡­ Missile Pod was one of his main attacks, and he also had ranged weapon type charge attacks¡­ After evolving, Garbow had gained Clone and Charge, which made him even stronger with close range combat. So I should probably do something to help improve him with long range combat¡­ Ah, but since I wanted Garbow to be well-rounded, maybe I should try something completely different¡­? There was some gear that looked useless at a glance, but could be surprisingly effective during PvP¡­ What should I do¡­ Hmm¡­ ¡­ ¡°¡­Huh!?¡± I suddenly returned to myself and looked at my watch. It showed that it was currently night time. Damn it, this is what it was like to play and forget the time¡­ There was also the fact that it was underground, and so it was easier to lose track. But choosing new equipment really was fun¡­! I could do it all day. Especially since this time, there was a potential enemy with Nord. Would such strategies work against a player who was above me? He used guns, which were a bad match for me. Could I really stop him like this? With a clear enemy in sight, it was easier to strategize. If they were the strongest in NSO, then we could be the strongest if we beat them. It was because of VRHAR that the vague goal of being the best was now more clear. ¡°Well, we¡¯ll be the new strongest once the event is finished!¡± ¡­It was a little embarrassing when I said it out loud. But that was the plan. There was no need to fear. In the first place, I had become MVP by accident once. And so as long as I did my best, I should be fine. I would probably sound cool if I could say such things with conviction to the youngsters. Maybe I should practice? ¡°Surely I have better things to do¡­¡± I joked to myself and then organized the things that I needed to do. First, I had an idea of what I wanted Garbow¡¯s new equipment to be. And I would split the work between Mr. Yu and Mr. O. I had already asked Mr. O to evolve my bow. And so I had a different bow to use in the meantime. It was also possible that my equipment could break during the event. And so it would be a good thing to familiarize myself with my other bows as well. So, as for what I was going to do now¡­I needed to get a regeneration potion. It was a special potion that allowed you to regrow any lost limbs. Without this, I would become useless during PvP after losing a single arm. Everyone would be so disappointed in me. I wanted to avoid that. However, regeneration potions weren¡¯t sold in stores. So I had to acquire them in some other way¡­but I didn¡¯t know how. I could just look it up online, but I decided to ask my friends, as they may know some secret method. And so I opened the window and composed a message for one of the other guild members. While this was a game, I was still asking for someone¡¯s time, so I tried to be polite¡­ ¡°All right¡­¡± And then I sent the business e-mail to Satomi. CH 157 Data.148 ¨C Old Bowman, Secret Medicine Search The reason that I didn¡¯t send the message to Necoco instead, was because she seemed to be busy with searching for new members for the Ghost Guild. Besides, I thought that Satomi was likely to be more knowledgeable when it came to that kind of information. I waited a few minutes after sending the message and got this reply. ¨CYou don¡¯t need to write so formally. My business email was dismissed with one sentence. Well, I was doing it half-jokingly, so I didn¡¯t really care. The thing to note was the answer to my question. First of all¡­Satomi was surprised that I still didn¡¯t know how to make a regeneration potion. So it really was something that normal players figured out as soon as possible¡­ He basically told me that I was not normal. However, that made me sound more like an outlaw, which was cool¡­I think. ¡­Yes, yes. Better finish reading. Apparently, you could acquire regeneration potions by gathering materials and giving them to a craftsman. It could be an ordinary craftsman from the first town, and it could be made instantly. So I didn¡¯t need to go through the hassle of collecting materials every time I needed one. However, they could be expensive to make, compared to other potions. But it seemed like a reasonable trade off to me. As for the important materials¡­they were scattered around the lands. You could acquire them in easy dungeons and on the field, so it seemed like management were using the desire for regeneration potions to make players explore vast areas. That being said, there were ways to get all of the required materials in a single dungeon or area. ¡°Of course, that would be the more difficult way¡­¡± Satomi recommended the ¡®Riboribo Forest¡¯ to the south. I sent a thank you message to Satomi and then logged out for the day. I was rather tired after thinking so much about my equipment¡­ ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô The next day, I went to the Riboribo Forest that Satomi told me about¡­ Ukya-kya-kya-kya-kyaaaa!! Hiii-hii-hi!! Gego-gego-gego¡­gero-gero¡­ Aho-aho-aho¡­aho! ¡°I haven¡¯t even gone in and it¡¯s already terrible¡­¡± I could hear the cries of mysterious animals! There was a metal barbed wire fence wrapped with vines, and a rusted warning sign written with red letters¡­ You could tell at a glance that this was a dangerous area. What kind of man-eating creature lived here¡­ However, it wasn¡¯t a place with special rules, like a versus field. After past experiences, I always read the signs carefully now¡­! ¡°But there is no obvious entrance, so I guess I have to go through the small break in the barbed wire.¡± I climbed over the fence and stepped foot into the forest. At the same time, wild birds scattered through the air while screeching in a way that was difficult to describe. Biiiiiiiiii¡­ Something was moving towards me. Even after hearing its cry, I couldn¡¯t imagine what it was. ¡°It¡¯s better to run from the unknown¡­!¡± But just as I started to run, the thing appeared at my back. BIIIIIIIIIII!!! While its cry was ridiculous, its appearance was simple¡­ The monster was just a giant tarsier! Though, it was called an ¡®Eyebeam Monkey¡¯! In other words, its attack would be¡­! BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!! ¡°It shoots beams from its eyes!¡± A pink beam of light shot towards me! As its eyes were very big, the beam was large and had good range¡­! And since it was a monkey, it was also very light on its feet! Running wasn¡¯t a good idea, and hiding would be impossible. It was time for a counter attack! ¡°I¡¯m counting on you! Shot Crossbow R!¡± ¡ô Shot Crossbow R Type: One-handed weapon(Crossbow) Attack: 50 Range: 25 Weapon Charge Attack: Shotgun Arrow. I was using a crossbow! Type R! I think the R was supposed to be for Rapid. The R types were one-handed weapons, so it was possible to have two and dual wield them. Of course, doing so does not mean you can use the charge attacks twice. For instance, if I activated Sky Tear, it would only be unleashed from one of the crossbows. ¡°Now, will it hit¡­!?¡± I pulled the trigger at the monkey. The arrow flew and scratched the side of the monkey. ¡°Hmm¡­while it wasn¡¯t a complete miss, it feels a little awkward compared to a bow.¡± I suppose it was because I wasn¡¯t used to it. Still, I did feel that it wasn¡¯t a good match for me¡­ But I will try a little longer. Shu! Shu! Shu! Shu! I continued to fire rapidly and use skills. Normally, compared to bows, crossbows had extra force but could not be fired rapidly. If I had to compare them¡­ Force: Crossbow > Bow > R type Range: Bow > Crossbow > R type Rapid Fire: R type > Bow > Crossbow Looking at it like that, the R type looked rather weak, but it really was fast when shooting, and you had an infinite amount of arrows that reloaded automatically. All I needed to do was to pull the trigger. So it felt pretty well balanced. However, my aim seemed to have taken a hit¡­ Perhaps I really was better off with an ordinary bow. ¡°Burning Shotgun Arrow!¡± Shotgun Arrow was the weapon charge attack, and it shot out small arrows like scattered bullets. While the cool down was only 20 seconds, the range was quite short, and you wouldn¡¯t do much damage unless you were very close to the enemy. In my case, I had very high Range, so I did decent damage even at a far distance. However, it was definitely inferior compared to my trump card, ¡®Bow Shower.¡¯ It was important to switch weapons when it fit the situation. And so I won the battle against the Eyebeam Monkey and gathered the dropped items. Now, the next monster is¡­ Oh, wait a minute! I was here to gather materials. There would be no point if I just fought monsters the whole time. I reread Satomi¡¯s message and then continued to explore the forest of mysterious beasts. CH 158 Data.149 ¨C Old Bowman, Scorching Forest Bounce-bounce-bounce! Uh, and another strange one has arrived¡­! It looked like a typical fantasy slime monster, but its fighting style was a little different. It would never come close, but would shoot its liquid at me like some kind of sniper. And its name was Sliper! So this enemy was the same as me! However, I wouldn¡¯t lose if this was just a normal sniping battle. But the Sliper would use its body to bounce around from tree to tree, which made it difficult for me to aim at it. And yet, the Sliper had ridiculously good accuracy¡­ ¡°Well, this will be good practice for PvP¡­!¡± Hitting a monster with an arrow was a lot different from hitting a player with an arrow. Especially with veteran players, they would have superior dodging ability. And so even if it was a hopping slime, I wanted to have a hundred percent accuracy. ¡°Thunder Arrow!¡± The electric arrow hit the slime with a zap. While slimes had decent defense against physical attacks, they were weak against fire and thunder. And so if you got a clean hit, you could oneshot them, which felt very good. However, this was the Riboribo forest, and killing some monsters smoothly didn¡¯t mean that I could relax. Because the field itself¡­could attack you¡­! Paaaan! Paaan! ¡°Tsk¡­! Again!¡± There were white mushrooms on the ground called Flashrooms, and they flashed a blinding light if disturbed. While it was only for a second, it was bright enough to completely rob you of sight. It would be a disaster if I stepped on such a thing during battle. The only saving grace was that it didn¡¯t deal damage. It was just a light¡­ ¡­On the other hand, you could also pull them out of the ground and gather them as items. The materials that I needed for the regeneration potion could also be gathered like this. You just grabbed things on the field and they turned into items. Well, the Flashroom wasn¡¯t a material that I needed, but since they kept bothering me, I just tore them out whenever I found them. This was one thing you could take a lot of, and other players wouldn¡¯t complain. ¡°Uh, the last material I need is¡­the Bonbon Mushroom.¡± Riboribo and Bonbon. This sure was a delightful place. However, this last material proved to be very difficult to find. But it seemed like it was the most important one. ¡°I guess I should go deeper in¡­¡± I had plenty of time, and the enemy monsters weren¡¯t giving me much trouble. And so I went deeper into the forest in order to search for the Bonbon Mushroom¡­ ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°Scorched Forest¡­Lifeflame Jungle.¡± Read a partially burnt sign. Apparently, the area up ahead was slightly different. There was more red in the trees and plants, and the air was a lot hotter. The monsters were also more red, and some used fire attacks. And they also had better fire resistance when it came to defense. So I wouldn¡¯t be able to rely on Burning Arrow anymore¡­ ¡°But I have a feeling that I¡¯ll find the mushroom here.¡± There was something about the color red that made me think of vitality. The mushroom that I wanted was probably a bloody red as well. And so I would carefully make my way forward. ¡­There were a lot of tasteless decorations everywhere. Not outright traps, but words written in blood and things like skulls. It made me think of silly ideas¡­like cannibals in hidden jungles. Kiririri¡­shu! ¡°Huh¡­!?¡± That wasn¡¯t an arrow shot by me! I reflexively jumped to the side, and an arrow pierced the ground where I had just been standing. Someone was targeting me¡­with a bow! But this wasn¡¯t a versus field, so players weren¡¯t able to attack each other. In other words, there was a monster that used a bow¡­? Kiririri¡­shu! When I looked in the direction that the sound came from, I saw that someone was hiding behind a tree. So it was a player? Most monsters wouldn¡¯t hide immediately after attacking. Hyu! Hyun-hyun! Now it was throwing rocks¡­!? And they were coming from different directions! I was being targeted by multiple enemies, and there seemed to be a lot of them. This couldn¡¯t be a party of four. There had to be¡­5, 6¡­maybe 8? ¡°I better find out¡­!¡± And so I purposely allowed one of the rocks to hit me. There was a mild pain as I took damage. ¡°Seal Demon Bind! Three times!¡± I created the magic circles right in their path. They would freeze any enemy that entered them. The target¡­got caught immediately. Hiiiii-hiiii-hiiii!!! It was a monkey¡­no, a baboon! Its body was covered in red hair that looked like burning flames. It raised its voice like a mad man and tried to escape from the magic circle. But I would kill it before it could escape! ¡°Thunder¡­! Woah!?¡± The other baboons started to attack me! While I was busy dodging their attacks, the other baboons destroyed the ground under the magic circles and saved their friends. They¡­had a sense of comradeship! When one of them was in danger, they split up into different roles and moved at the same time. That made them much more intelligent than any monster I had fought up until now. And so¡­ ¡°This will be good practice for fighting against parties¡­! CH 159 Data.150 ¨C Old Man, Raging Baboon There were eight baboons in all. Once I was able to observe them calmly, I saw that there were small differences in appearances and weapons. Some even used magic. Satomi¡¯s Unison, Gochu¡­was called a Magic Monkey. Perhaps they were related? In any case, there could be other Unison Trainers other than Satomi in the tournament, and so I would likely have to battle against Unisons. It would then be best to learn how to fight monsters with high intelligence¡­! ¡°Garbow! Kurokogairu! Focus on one enemy at a time and bring their numbers down!¡± ¡°Gaar! Gar!¡± If they fought one on one, Garbow¡¯s clones would not be able to win against a baboon. And so it was best to have all five of them move with Garbow and destroy the enemy one at a time. With group battles, it was important to focus on bringing the number of enemies down. Of course, the enemy understood this and acted as a group as well. But if they gathered into groups, my charge attacks would be more effective¡­! ¡°Thunder Shotgun Arrow!¡± The spreading arrows scattered the group of baboons. ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± The clones used Red Flash and Garbow used Red Meteor II on a single baboon. Use your charge attacks to kill an enemy in one shot when you have the chance¡­ It was a good decision. Now there were only seven baboons left. ¡°Let¡¯s continue at this pace, Garbow!¡± ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°Alright! Good work, Garbow!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± The less there were, the easier it was to take down the next target. After killing the first baboon, it did not take long to kill the rest. Well, it wasn¡¯t like we were really losing in numbers to begin with. Kurokogairu was a ridiculously powerful charge attack. Hiiii-hiii-hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!! ¡­Hey, hey. Has a different group appeared now? But Kurokogairu was in cooldown. Am I back to difficult fights so soon then? I held my crossbow and looked around. The cry was louder than the earlier baboons, and it sounded more angry. Did they understand that their comrades had been defeated¡­? However, the voice echoed everywhere, and I couldn¡¯t tell where it was coming from¡­ ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Garbow made the decision on his own, and activated B Ocean Sphere so that I was inside of it. At the same time, a great fireball shot towards us and slammed into the sphere of water. While the sphere of water evaporated immediately, the great fireball was also erased. I didn¡¯t take any damage, but if the attack was powerful enough to erase B Ocean Sphere in one hit, then this monster couldn¡¯t be the same as the baboons we just fought. ¡°Exploding Sky Tear!¡± I targeted the trees that the boss was about to jump onto. Without the platform, the boss crashed down on the ground. Hi-hi-hi-hi¡­! Was it laughing or angry? The baboon¡­the raging baboon, had veins popping on its face as it bared its fangs. This one had fur that was an even brighter red, and it swayed in the air like real fire. It was likely due to high body temperature. Like the bonito flakes that dance above a hot okonomiyaki¡­ ¡°Trident Shotgun Arrow!¡± If it was hot, then I just had to cool it down. With Trident Arrow, which had the power of the sea¡­! ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Garbow also joined in with a water skill, Holy Splash. However, the baboon caused an explosion by slamming its giant axe into the ground, which blew away our skills. While water was its weakness, the boss was smart enough to understand that and keep it away. As a baboon, it was light on its feet, and so I wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat it as long as it could move around freely. That being said, using Web Cloud Arrow against a fire enemy was pointless. Southern Cross Ballista was also no good against fast enemies, and I would lose Garbow if I used Meteor Bow. And I couldn¡¯t use Arrow Storm, because the Blackwind Darkcloud Bow was currently being upgraded. At least Shotgun Arrow spread out, and was able to deal some damage even as the baboon moved around. However, this baboon boss was the kind that got angrier the more you damaged it. So damaging it slowly would just put me in a worse position. In any case, I would have to just wait until the cool down for Kurokogairu ended. Once I am able to use that charge attack again, I could really test how Garbow and I could cooperate now. If the advance guard is stronger, the rear guard will become stronger as well¡­ Garbow¡¯s evolution reminded me of my original fighting style. Attack from a distance where the enemy couldn¡¯t counter, so that it¡¯s a one-sided battle until they go down¡­! With Kurokogairu and the new skills I got from the Machine God Windhole, that old style would make a return! CH 160 Hiiiiiiiiii-hiiiiiiiiiiii-hiiiiii!!! The baboon unleashed multiple great fireballs. This was a strong boss monster who could launch strong attacks at both close and long range. It was so quick and didn¡¯t leave an opening. Yes, the strongest enemies always had a tight guard. And so I had to make the opening myself! ¡°Garbow! Kurokogairu!¡± I activated the charge attack as soon as the cooldown was finished. Holy Splash put out the great fireballs. Steam rose around and hid both Garbow and me¡­ Now, here was my chance! ¡°Garbow! Oil Shot!¡± It was a new skill that was acquired through using a material item from the Machine God Windhole that was called ¡®Machine Oil.¡¯ It made Garbow and his clones spit out a brown oil. It looked like something robots would do as a joke, but in this game, it was a proper combat skill. However, if that was it, then this skill would be overpowered. And so there were weaknesses as well. First, the oil dried very quickly. It wouldn¡¯t be slippery after a few seconds. It also didn¡¯t deal any damage. It was just an obstruction skill. And it was also useless against flying enemies. Because they wouldn¡¯t slip if they didn¡¯t land¡­ Well, after saying all of that like this, it sounded like it wasn¡¯t that great of a plan after all. But it was not the case. If the oil dried quickly, then the clones just needed to work together to spit oil on it constantly. Furthermore, as the oil was flammable, that meant that fire attacks would do more damage. I could make one of my main skills, Burning Arrow, have even greater firepower. And even though it was useless against flying enemies, that wasn¡¯t a big deal for an archer like me. If an enemy took to the air in order to avoid the oil, I could just shoot it down. Hehehe¡­. While not perfect, the plan worked well in different ways. I think I will call it the Oil Panic Plan¡­! Now, after hiding in the steam, I succeeded in hitting the baboon with oil. From here, the baboon continued to slip. And so I just needed to target from a distance and¡­ Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii¡­!!? ¡°¡­Huh!?¡± But before I could attack it, the baboon was erupting into flames¡­!? Was it because Garbow and his clones had launched follow up attacks¡­? No, it wasn¡¯t that! It was the baboon¡¯s rage that caused the oil to light up! The baboon was so angry that it was going to ignite, and the oil just sped up the process! So¡­it was almost self-destruction! I wasn¡¯t even able to test out my new strategy¡­ Well, I intended on testing it out on different enemies anyway, so I suppose it didn¡¯t matter. More importantly, I learned that it could be effective to use Oil Shot if the enemy had fire type skills. Learning how to use skills was part of growth. ¡°Now, the baboon¡¯s drop item is¡­ Hellfire Ragefur. That¡¯s some sweltering fur¡­¡± I put away the item that was flaming red fur, and searched for the last material that I needed to make a regeneration potion, the ¡®Bonbon Mushroom.¡¯ No matter how many strong enemies I defeated, this adventure would be a failure if I didn¡¯t get the materials that I needed. Now that I had killed the boss, the normal baboons stopped appearing. And so I wanted to find it now and leave¡­ ¡°¡­Ah! There it is! It¡¯s very small and red.¡± I found a red, heart-shaped mushroom growing near a tree. Yes, this must be the Bonbon Mushroom. However, one wasn¡¯t enough, and so I needed to find more of them. I wonder if there were any rules for what places they grew in¡­ ¡°¡­Hmm? The tree that was near the Bonbon Mushroom had several leaves that were burning. While the other trees had fiery red leaves, they weren¡¯t actually burning. So there must be something different about this tree¡­¡± It turned out that I was right. I was able to find other trees that had leaves that looked like they were on fire, and there were mushrooms at the bottom. I picked them and put them in my item box. Alright, now I had all of the materials I needed to make the regeneration potion. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Garbow¡­ I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t like this heat, since you originally lived in the sea¡­ Let¡¯s go back¡­¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Garbow activated B Ocean Sphere so that it enveloped me. It was very cool inside, and I felt quite refreshed. Furthermore, Garbow was faster like this than when walking on four legs on the ground. And so if I rode on top of him, we could stay cool while making our way through the forest quickly. I hadn¡¯t used it in the beginning, as there was a need to look at the ground and search for plants and mushrooms. And so I had forgotten all about being able to move like this. ¡°Thanks, Garbow. This is a great help!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± I got onto Garbow¡¯s back and we left the scorching forest behind us. The three Windcloud items I gave to Mr. Yu would be finished soon. My preparations for the party tournament were going smoothly! CH 161 Data.152 ¨C Old Bowman, Windcloud Transcendence ¡°I really do feel more secure when I have the Windcloud set with me.¡± Today, I picked up all three of the Windcloud items that I had left with Mr. Yu. And I wasted no time in checking to see how they changed. First, my headgear, which had evolved from Windstream Scarf to Windstream Snake Scarf! I had used materials like ¡®Snake Shadow Soul from the black shadow snake in the Ghost Float. ¡ô Windstream Snake Scarf Type: Head(Scarf) HP: 60 MP: 100 Weapon Skill: Defense Instinct, Auto Repair It looked like the kind of red scarf that a hero would wear. And in terms of design, it had not really changed much. In fact, most of it seemed identical. The only part that was different were the two ends of the scarf. One side tapered off sharply, and the other¡­looked like a snake¡¯s head. So it had taken after its name and evolved into a snake scarf. However, it was stylized enough so that even people who disliked snakes wouldn¡¯t mind wearing it. As for the stats, they had simply been raised. While I always bought a lot of recovery items, there was no harm in increasing my max MP. The biggest features were the two weapon skills, Defense Instinct and Auto Repair. (Defense Instinct) Automatically defend against attacks. Does not react to attacks that destroy equipment. (Auto Repair) Equipment damage is automatically repaired. Effect does not activate if equipment is destroyed completely. If an attack came towards your head, the scarf would move like a snake and defend you. And any damage it took would slowly repair over time. That made it sound like you would be invincible, but the scarf¡¯s durability was not that high. It would be able to block skill attacks twice at the most. So if it took any more damage, it would be destroyed and not react any more. You would have to wait a long time for it to be repaired. Of course, it could not block charge attacks to begin with, so it wouldn¡¯t even react to those. Furthermore, as this was headgear, it only reacted to attacks towards your head. While there were limits, I was glad for the effect that guarded the head, which was a weak spot for all players. And more than anything, it was great that the skills were activated automatically. Because it¡¯s difficult to think about defense when you are attacking. Next was my leg equipment. The Windguard Hakama had evolved into the Windguard Warrior Hakama! For the evolution, I had used the Warrior Cloth item that was dropped from the warrior kappa in the Ghost Float mansion. ¡ô Windguard Warrior Hakama Type: Legs(Hakama) Defense: 80 Magic Defense: 80 Weapon Skills: Whirlwind, First Wind Sliding Feet In terms of design, this one hadn¡¯t changed much either. What used to be a pale color had become a little darker, that was all. As for the numbers, they seemed more balanced compared to before where it was focused on Magic Defense. And of course, I was curious about the new weapon skill, First Wind Sliding Feet. (First Wind Sliding Feet) Ultra high speed movement over short distances. You will be left wide open if you use it three times in a row. A short distance was about 2 meters. And the speed would be too fast for the eye to follow. When moving, inertia and kickback were ignored, and you could move without changing your stance, as if sliding across the ground. If it was combined with Quickdraw, I could use it to move around enemies that tried to fight me at close range, and shoot them in the back. While I could control the distance and location with my mind, it would take some learning. I would have to practice a lot before the event. This offered me the mobility that I severely lacked, and so I needed to be able to master it¡­! Lastly, there was gear for my arms. Cloudbore Archery Gloves had evolved into Cloudbore Archery Gloves G! It was clear that there was a difference between evolution and strengthening. Evolution required specific equipment with specific materials. While strengthening was just having the right materials. Any equipment could be strengthened. By adding this ¡®Strengthening Plan¡¯ to equipment, you could raise its stats and add skills without changing its appearance. This time, I had used Strengthening Plan G! The G was for¡­gorilla! I had used the nostalgic Fist of the Forest Sage, that the gorilla had dropped, and Droppings of the Forest Sage, which was from the gorilla zombie at the Z hospital, in order to do this¡­! ¡ô Cloudbore Archery Gloves G Type: Arms(Gloves) Attack: 35 Defense: 50 Range: 60 Weapon Skills: Black Smog Stream As I said before, it looked exactly the same. Its color didn¡¯t change just because of the materials that I used. The whole point was that you could upgrade something without changing the way it looked. However, the change in numbers wasn¡¯t as good as an evolution. (Black Smog Stream) Unleashes a black smoke that has a terrible stench. Can continue to unleash it through using MP. The abilities of Black Smog had been enhanced considerably. Previously, you had to throw black ball-like droppings¡­ And when it exploded, the smoke would spread out everywhere. But Black Smog Stream just shot out the smoke in a straight line. You could shoot it out of both arms simultaneously, and since they were affected by your Range, I would be able to shoot them very far. That meant that if I swung my arms around, I could cover a wide area with the smoke in an instant¡­! MP would deplete as long as it was activated, but it wasn¡¯t a great amount. On top of that, it was a skill, so there was no cool down after using it. For some reason, management seemed to be treating this skill favorably¡­! While it didn¡¯t deal any damage or ignite like oil, it was clearly still an ¡®attack¡¯ skill! Well, I wouldn¡¯t push the issue¡­ We were right before a great NSO event. And two of the reliable pieces of equipment that I had used up until now had been combined. This was very exciting for me. ¡°I¡¯m counting on you, my equipment. Until that time when I can grasp glory¡­!¡± The bow was like the leader of the Windcloud set. And so once it was finished evolving, the set would be complete. As for other things that I needed to prepare¡­the skill charge attacks. Through items that I had gathered on my adventures, they too had evolved even further! CH 162 Data.153 ¨C Old Bowman, Skill Evolution You could acquire skills by using items. And you could also acquire them through fulfilling special requirements. And these skills could then be evolved through the use of items. There were also some skills that evolved on their own as you used them, such as Bow Arts. But in general, most skills would not evolve without the player doing something. Through my adventures, I had acquired some of the required items for evolution. At the same time, I had also succeeded in getting items that would give me new skills. The first new skill was Flash Arrow. You could acquire this skill by using the Ultra Flash Mushroom item, which was created through collecting a lot of Flash Mushrooms in the Riboribo Forest. [Flash Arrow] Shoot an arrow that unleashes a strong flash upon landing. In other words, it was a stun grenade. I could use it during PvP to blind an enemy and ambush them or run away. It should have many uses. Of course, it still did no damage, so one shouldn¡¯t get too confident with it. The second skill was ¡®Heat Ray Eyes.¡¯ I acquired it through using the ¡®Light Focus¡¯ item that the Eyebeam Monkey had dropped in the Riboribo forest. [Heat Ray Eyes] Unleash a scorching light ray from your eyes. Yes, eye beams! It sounded like a joke, but it could be an important method of attack if you lost your arms and legs. And I could also use it while holding my bow, so it was definitely something that was important. It was kind of like a robot¡¯s vulcan cannon. A lot of them had vulcan cannons attached to their heads, even if they specialized in hand to hand combat and didn¡¯t hold any ranged weapons. And so even if I specialized in a bow, I should still be able to shoot beams from my eyes. The damage wasn¡¯t too great, and so it would hardly be the deciding factor in a battle, which was another thing it had in common with the vulcan cannon. Now, it was time to look at how my old skills had evolved. The first was¡­one of my primary skills, Burning Arrow. It had evolved into Inferno Arrow! The item that I used was ¡®Hellfire Rage Hair¡¯ from the boss baboon in the Riboribo Forest! [Inferno Arrow] Unleash an arrow that burns with the flames of hell. Creates small explosions upon impact. It was the same description as before, only now ¡®hell¡¯ had been added. It also did more damage, and the fire was a little darker. Otherwise, it was used exactly the same way. And so I would be able to continue using it like before. The second skill was¡­Drill Arrow. It had evolved into Drill Arrow Kai. The item that I used was ¡®Destruction Drill,¡¯ which one of the weapons from the Machine God Windhole had dropped. [Drill Arrow Kai] Unleashes an arrow whose head rotates like a drill. Spins faster and deals more damage compared to before. Effective against rock and machine type monsters. So it was the same skill, only more powerful. The type of monsters that it was effective against was also the same. However, the next skill had changed quite a lot. And¡­in a fairly good direction too. [Shin Immobile Sniping Stance] Your Range is tripled if you stay still for over 15 seconds. The skill that I acquired when I first started the game had now evolved¡­! The item that I used for evolution was ¡®Sniping Nucleated Cell,¡¯ which was from the Slipers in the Riboribo forest. Previously, the text had said ¡®Your Range is tripled if you stay still for over 30 seconds. If you attack while in this state, you will not be able to move for the next 30 seconds.¡¯ Not only did I have to stay still for 30 seconds to activate it, but I would have to stay still for another 30 seconds afterwards, which is quite a big weakness. Still, the ability to triple my Range was very appealing, and I had used it quite a lot early on. But recently, I had no trouble targeting enemies without the boost in Range, and so I had fewer opportunities to use it. There was also the fact that enemies were stronger, and there weren¡¯t many situations where I could stay still for that long. But now that it was the ¡®Shin¡¯ version, the demerits were completely gone¡­! I could move more like a sniper who shoots and then runs in order to change positions. I had not thought that one of my oldest skills would suddenly become my most powerful at this point. If it was a party battle, then there may be moments where I could stay still for 15 seconds. And so I would put it to good use¡­! ¡°Now, this is my current list of skills¡­¡± Skills: Ultra Bow Arts I, Satisfying Shot, Arrow Fusion, Efficient Movement In fight Arrow, Bound Arrow, Clear Arrow Inferno Arrow, Trident Arrow, Drill Arrow Kai Letter Arrow, Gatling Arrow, Thunder Arrow Flash Arrow, Multi-shot, Quick Draw, Heat Ray Eyes Shin Immobile Sniping Stance, Sniping Insight, Beast King Eyes Charge Attacks: Sky Tear, Warp Arrow, I¡¯m Arrow, Indra¡¯s Arrow Combined Charge Attack: Meteor Bow I almost felt emotional when looking at it¡­ The list of skills represented all of my adventures up until now. Furthermore, there were also weapon skills and charge attacks from my equipment, and the miracle effects from items and medals. It made me feel very strong, but perhaps that was arrogant. I needed to become much stronger¡­ Ah, that¡¯s right. There was also a big change in the Bow Arts skill, which always evolved on its own. Bow Arts was now Ultra Bow Arts. [Ultra Bow Arts I] +130 to Attack and Range while bow is equipped. There were 13 levels for Bow Arts, but after that, the number was reset and you started at 1 with Ultra Bow Arts. ¡°¡­What should I do now¡­¡± There was still my bow and Garbow¡¯s equipment left, but it would take more time for those to be finished. And the announcement broadcast for the 1st NSO Strongest Party Tournament was now a few days away. Well, I would do what I always do. Go on an adventure. And so I left the sky town and went out towards a new field. In search of a new power. Until the day finally came¡­ CH 163 Data.154 ¨C Old Bowman, Like It Used To Be Morning¡­ After getting through my morning routine, I turned on my computer nervously. The day had finally arrived. They were going to announce the details for the 1st NSO Strongest Party Tournament. It was 7 in the morning¡­almost! The broadcast would start at 7 exactly. They had announced the zodiac event at the same time as well. As I was a healthy gamer, I could wake up early without any issue, but it would be annoying for gamers who played late into the night instead of during the day. ¡­Still, I felt quite restless. Perhaps I should kill time by watching videos or listening to music¡­ No, I wasn¡¯t in the mood for that. This time, I would just wait quietly¡­ The comment section for the livestream was very lively. As the countless words moved, I could occasionally see ¡®Kyuji¡¯ and ¡®Ghost Guild¡¯ appear among them. There had been some PvP elements during the zodiac event, but it was just a racing game, which wasn¡¯t the usual way that people competed in MMORPGs. This time, it would be more similar to the battle royale or turf war. So it was no wonder that I or the Ghost Guild would be mentioned, as we had done well in PvP and the Charin fight. Of course, it also meant that I felt a lot of pressure. Not that it made me want to act like I was famous, or play in a way that would entertain the audience, but it did strengthen my desire to win. It wasn¡¯t because of pride¡­but what was it? Do everything that I can possibly do, and give it my all. And if I still lose, then that was fine. But if I lost because of something like not preparing a ¡®regeneration potion,¡¯ which was a popular item that most players had, then that would be awkward. People who were rooting for me would be disappointed, and I would have regrets. At least if I lost because some hardcore player had an ultra rare item, or if it was against a veteran who had decades of experience¡­I could accept it. I would just try harder next time¡­ ¡®Tadaa! It¡¯s the start of the official NSO livestream-nyon!¡¯ ¡°Woah!?¡± As I had become lost in thought, the sudden voice from my computer startled me¡­ I think this happened last time too¡­ Only this time I recognized the voice, and wouldn¡¯t make jokes about the way she ended her sentences. ¡®Some of you already know about me! Well, most of you do! I am the AI idol Charin, who presided over the zodiac event as part of a collaboration with NSO-nyon!¡¯ The familiar AI idol had appeared on my screen. It was surprising what a person could get used to. The bold appearance and speech had taken me aback at first, but it seemed normal now. ¡®Ah¡­ My event was so long, but it¡¯s now time for it to end-nyon. Just like how the stars fade away when the sun rises, you will no longer be able to see me in NSO¡­ In other words, it¡¯s time to say goodbye¡­ Unless you come to visit me in my own game¡­¡¯ Charin said while looking at the camera. I see. So now that the event is finished, she won¡¯t appear in the game anymore¡­ ¡®So, this is bye-bye-nyon!¡¯ That was quick! Charin hopped to the side of the screen and disappeared. But then she hopped back in from the other side. It was like an action game where both sides were connected¡­! ¡®So¡­that was a little joke¡­ Because I, Charin, will also be presiding over this event, the 1st NSO Strongest Party Tournament!¡¯ Oh, now that was a surprise¡­! The collaboration event must have been received very well, or they just didn¡¯t have anyone better to do it. In any case, I was glad that we didn¡¯t have to say goodbye to Charin just yet. ¡®That¡¯s enough of that nonsense. It¡¯s time to talk about the event! First, the requirement for joining is that you are a party of four! Ignoring your chances of actually winning, anyone can join, including level 1 beginners! As long as you aren¡¯t solo or in a party that has fewer than four-nyon!¡¯ The bar for participating was lower than I thought. I suppose because it was so difficult to win, they didn¡¯t care if tens of thousands of people gave it a try? However, that would mean that it would take a very long time to decide the winners¡­ Unless they split people up depending on their level. ¡®There will be no separation of classes based on ability. And so all parties will fight under the same conditions-nyon!¡¯ ¡­I see. It was an event to find the strongest, and so they weren¡¯t going to make things easier to accommodate weak players. Besides, management would want to give the prize to players who have been here for a long time, rather than allow some beginner to win the fortune and glory. ¡®Now I will explain to you about parties-nyon! While there can be up to 4 players, you can bring 1 Unison as a 5th player! So you can choose to have a Unison fill that slot or not! You don¡¯t have to bring one if you don¡¯t need them! Furthermore, Unisons that are added to a party through the special privilege that Unison Trainers have do not affect the 5th slot!¡¯ In other words, I could bring Garbow with me to the fight¡­! And Satomi¡¯s Unison wouldn¡¯t be affected. Both Garbow and Gochu could fight with us. I had been wondering about this ever since Necoco started to look for a 4th member, but it was all cleared up now. Changing his equipment and increasing his skills had been worth the effort! ¡®About the items next. Just like the fight against me, there will be restrictions-nyon! You can bring up to 10 types, and 10 of those types of items! Both equipment and consumable items take up a slot, so think carefully-nyon!¡¯ This was expected. If you could bring too many health items with you, people would constantly run away and heal, which would ruin the pacing. In order to keep fights quick and exciting, they needed some kind of restriction. ¡®Also! I¡¯m sure that you all want to hear about the rules of the battle¡­but we won¡¯t be announcing them until the day of the event-nyon! It¡¯s supposed to be a surprise! If you have any complaints, talk to the developers-nyon!¡¯ She was quick to shift the blame¡­ Well, I suppose it made sense, since she was just fired by them. Still, not explaining the rules wasn¡¯t exactly a pleasant surprise¡­ ¡®One thing that I can say is that they won¡¯t be like the strict, special rules during the turf war! The whole point is to have the preliminaries be simple so that we can quickly trim down the number of players for the final selection¡­oh! I wasn¡¯t supposed to say that! Well, who cares! I might as well tell you-nyon!¡¯ It wasn¡¯t a very convincing slip of the tongue, but had she not given us more information, the live stream would have gotten a lot of downvotes. I suppose she understood such things¡­as an AI idol. ¡®The final battles will be 1 party vs 1 party¡­so 4 vs 4. The party that defeats every player of the other party will win.¡¯ So she was going to explain the rules after all! ¡®But the preliminaries will be a little different-nyon! It¡¯s still PvP, but the rules will be simple so that players will be eliminated quickly, until we have the desired number of parties left¡­ Understand-nyon?¡¯ Ah, so it¡¯s ¡®that¡¯ thing that is deeply related to the Ghost Guild. ¡­I think? ¡®Ah! Damn it! I¡¯ve been yapping so much that the livestream is about to end! Uh, the preliminaries will start in 2 weeks! It will be a lot smoother if you sign up to enter before then! Also, it¡¯s been decided that the zodiac event will be extended 2 weeks, so that it ends when the preliminaries start-nyon! So don¡¯t give up on getting the ME medals! I¡¯ll take you on any time-nyon!¡¯ She was talking very quickly now¡­ I had assumed that she was just acting, and management wanted her to announce all of that information all along, but maybe it really was a mistake¡­? What was crazy was that I could believe it, since this was Charin. Perhaps the AIs were already rebelling¡­! ¡®You can check the official site for more details-nyon! Now, bye-bye! ¡­Ah, I finished in time.¡¯ The livestream ended. The comment section was blowing up. Whether it was intentional or not, Charin was entertaining to watch. It was just an announcement, but now everyone was excited. The fight would start in two weeks¡­ It now felt so much more real. ¡°I can¡¯t wait¡­!¡± I had been thinking all kinds of things before the livestream, but the words that came to mind when it was finished was: Yes, I just need to enjoy myself. With that pure feeling that I had when I first logged into Next Stage Online. CH 164 BBS.10 ¨C NSO General Thread [VRMMO] Next Stage Online General Thread part2947 1: Anonymous Runner A general thread to discuss ¡®Next Stage Online.¡¯ While most subjects are allowed, party requests, complaints, trolling and bragging have their own threads. The next thread will be created automatically. 2: Anonymous Runner >>1 Thanks-nyon! 3: Anonymous Runner >>1 Yes, thank you. 4: Anonymous Runner So it finally came¡­ The big wave! 5: Anonymous Runner I¡¯m glad that Charin is still here. 6: Anonymous Runner >>5 Just as I was starting to feel sad about her leaving, she came right back. Well, I¡¯m not mad! 7: Anonymous Runner And I¡¯m glad that they extended the time for the zodiac trials. Because I haven¡¯t finished them yet. 8: Anonymous Runner >>7 Even if I can¡¯t win at the tournament, I at least want the rewards for the labyrinths. Apparently, you receive items that allow the player to become stronger. 9: Anonymous Runner So they purposely gave out those items to prepare players for the tournament. 10: Anonymous Runner >>9 Management wouldn¡¯t be so kind to players for no reason. 11: Anonymous Runner Since they¡¯re calling it the ¡®1st¡¯ one, I suppose this will be a recurring event. 12: Anonymous Runner >>11 Well, the more tournaments there are, the more important the title of 1st champion will be. The glory will be carved into NSO history forever. 13: Anonymous Runner >>12 That¡¯s amazing! Everyone should want to carve their name in history! 14: Anonymous Runner Hmm¡­maybe I should carve my name then¡­ 15: Anonymous Runner >>14 You sound like a vandal who is going to scribble on some historic monument at a tourist location. 16: Anonymous Runner >>15 I get it, but that¡¯s really rude. lol 17: Anonymous Runner The prize is 100 million and the chance to scribble on history! 18: Anonymous Runner In any case, this is a great festival! I hope everything goes well! ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô 135: Anonymous Runner So, who do we think is going to win? 136: Anonymous Runner >>135 Well¡­it¡¯s obviously going to be me¡­! 137: Anonymous Runner >>135 Me, of course. 138: Anonymous Runner >>135 It¡¯s me. 139: Anonymous Runner >>135 If we¡¯re being serious, then VRHAR. 140: Anonymous Runner >>135 The Ghost Guild with the old bow guy! 141: Anonymous Runner >>135 Boomerang lady. Macoco. 142: Anonymous Runner Well, clearly it will be those that were able to beat Charin on the hardest difficulty. 143: Anonymous Runner >>142 But there are also some promising players who beat her after the difficulty was lowered. Like Mad Slime and the Gloria Knights 144: Anonymous Runner From what we know about the rules, you¡¯ll only get one chance. So things could be affected by how you feel that day, or who you happen to be up against. I¡¯d feel bad for anyone who is sick on that one day. 145: Anonymous Runner >>144 Staying healthy is part of the fight¡­ 146: Anonymous Runner >>145 It¡¯s like sports¡­ Well, it is, since it¡¯s esports. 147: Anonymous Runner Hey, all of you. The rules for the preliminary. Is it what I think it is? It starts with ¡®B.¡¯ 148: Anonymous Runner >>147 Ah. 149: Anonymous Runner >>147 Those who know the truth will be erased. 150: Anonymous Runner >>147 Goodbye 151: Anonymous Runner Everyone knows! It starts with a ¡®B¡¯ and ends with an ¡®E¡¯! 152: Anonymous Runner >>151 Ohhh! 153: Anonymous Runner >>151 Battle. Wait, I don¡¯t get it! 154: Anonymous Runner There is only one thing it could be, considering Charin¡¯s hint. So even people in this thread, who rely on pure luck will still have a chance. 155: Anonymous Runner >>154 But only people who work hard every day will have a chance. There is no way that people who spend more time here than in the game will be able to make it¡­ 156: Anonymous Runner >>155 No, they can! You can do anything with some luck! I¡¯m going to go and try to increase my luck right now! 157: Anonymous Runner >>156 Or you could just play the game and increase your level? 158: Anonymous Runner People in this thread always work hard in the wrong direction¡­ ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô 866: Anonymous Runner While I won¡¯t be able to win, I¡¯m still looking forward to the event. It¡¯s the most exciting one so far. 867: Anonymous Runner >>866 I agree. But I¡¯m going to try my best to win. And not do it just as a joke. 868: Anonymous Runner At first I wanted the money, but now I just want to get the best results that I can. Though, I might change my mind if I saw the money in person! 869: Anonymous Runner The main battle will be directly against the strongest players, so you won¡¯t be able to win with luck alone. I¡¯ll need to close the gap as much as possible before the day arrives¡­ 870: Anonymous Runner If anyone in this thread wins, you¡¯ll have to say this during interviews, ¡®I was able to win because of all the posters on message boards rooted for me!¡¯ 871: Anonymous Runner >>870 No way! 872: Anonymous Runner >>870 That would be an eternal stain on NSO It would interfere with their business. 873: Anonymous Runner >>870 Why should I embarrass myself in the end like that? 874: Anonymous Runner >>870 Don¡¯t worry, no one from here will win¡­ No, I can¡¯t say that. Let¡¯s all believe that we have a chance and do our best. 875: Anonymous Runner >>871 Alrigght!! Let¡¯s do this! ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô The road to the ¡®strongest¡¯ that everyone dreamed about. The gate to it would open in just two weeks¡­ CH 165 Data.155 ¨C Old Bowman, Road to being the Strongest Two weeks after Charin¡¯s livestream¡­ We members of the Ghost Guild had gathered at the first town. The final members were me, Necoco, Satomi, and¡­Anne Marie! After much consideration, Necoco had made the decision to accept Anne Marie Gothnoir, the Armored Nun, into the Ghost Guild. ¡°Once again, thank you. I look forward to working with you all!¡± I had heard about it a short while ago, but hadn¡¯t actually seen her like this for some time. Every member had been playing solo and focusing on strengthening themselves. Of course, that included me¡­! I¡¯m sure that it would be revealed little by little, just how much stronger they were, and what powers they had acquired¡­! ¡°That being said, this town¡­is too crowded!¡± I understood why Necoco said that. There were more people gathered here in the first town than ever before. Participants really just needed to register as a party of four, and then wait in some town or village until the date of the event. In other words, there was no reason to choose the first town¡­other than feeling attached to it. If I was alone, I might have gone to the hidden Windcloud Settlement, but this place was easier since it was the four of us. Also, just like during the boss battles against Charin, you could watch the event from the fountain plaza. And so a lot of players who weren¡¯t going to participate but still wanted to watch would come here. Speaking of watching, apparently, for this event, you didn¡¯t have to come to the first town. You could watch it on your computer or mobile devices. It did require signing up to a paid channel, but you could switch camera angles, follow specific players, and rewatch archived videos as much as you wanted. Clearly, management was putting a lot of effort into that area. Well, they were letting go of 100 million in actual money, after all. Yes, yes. There was also one big piece of information related to the Charin fight. Just like with that fight, the rules allowed you to hit your allies. This was not just to make the combat more realistic, but to restrict charge attacks that were powerful and affected a wide area. Charin did not announce this rule herself, but it was added to the help page later on. Last time, Charin had forgotten to mention this rule as well. Perhaps she could be forgettable. She was an AI, but had a personality, and so such things could happen. In my case, I was constantly forgetting things. ¡­Maybe it was because I was getting old? No, never mind. ¡°¡­Do you think we can win?¡± Satomi muttered. ¡°I think that we can do it.¡± I muttered back. I wasn¡¯t really thinking, and said it calmly. It was the casual remark of someone who believed that victory was in arms reach. Still, it was enough to encourage the others. ¡°Yes, yes. We can do it!¡± ¡°We just have to keep knocking down anyone in our path until we win!¡± Necoco and Anne said excitedly. As the two had been adventuring together, they were now quite close. ¡°Yes. I shouldn¡¯t have asked that in the first place.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s no surprise that you would wonder. And it¡¯s good that we can reconfirm our goal.¡± While I hadn¡¯t been thinking when I said it, I would pretend that there was a deep meaning to it. The others all seemed more relaxed. But I was worried that maybe I looked tense now. ¡°Now that we are participating as the Ghost Guild, we have no choice but to try and win! And so we will keep fighting until the very end!¡± Shouted Necoco, and everyone shouted ¡®Yes!¡¯ and raised their fists into the air. Sometimes I wondered what I was doing, getting mixed up with all of these youngsters. But I was Kyuji. And I didn¡¯t really feel embarrassed about fighting shoulder to shoulder with young people who were chasing their dreams. During the upcoming battle, I would be fighting as ¡®Kyuji,¡¯ one of the top players. Thinking like that didn¡¯t actually change anything, but it felt necessary to me. ¡®Ding-dong! As it is now time to start the preliminaries for the 1st NSO Strongest Party Tournament, participating players will be warped away-nyon!¡¯ Charin¡¯s voice echoed around the first town. In the next instant, we were warped to an area I had never seen before. ¡®Welcome! All of you players who want to be the strongest! I am Charin, the hired host, announcer and AI Idol-nyon! That¡¯s enough introduction for now. Let¡¯s go over the rules once more-nyon!¡¯ And then Charin began to read the rules. Going over the rules again was a kindness towards the players, and would prevent people from complaining later on. This time, she even explained about friendly fire. But there was no new information, so it really was just a review. In the first place, they had yet to explain how they decided which players would go to the finals¡­ It was just as I thought this, that Charin finished her explanation. ¡°Now, I will take you all to the battlefield-nyon! Your last question¡­should be answered once you see it-nyon!¡¯ We warped again and the scenery changed. At first, I didn¡¯t know where we were. However, once I saw a certain building¡­it came to me like lightning. ¡°It¡¯s the field where we had the battle royale¡­!¡± The stone tower that stood on top of the mountain¡­! The vast grass fields¡­! There was no mistaking it! This was the field of the first event that I participated in. The Under X Battle Royale! CH 166 Data.156 ¨C Old Bowman, the First Battlefield ¡®It looks like a lot of you realize it now, but I¡¯ll just make it clear! The preliminaries will be a battle royale! All the parties that entered will be placed on this map and have to fight for their survival-nyon!¡¯ Charin¡¯s voice echoed in my brain. Just as she had hinted at, the preliminary would be a battle royale. Like this, they would be able to cut down the numbers quickly until they had the number of parties that they wanted. And if you were lucky, you could take down much stronger enemies, which made things more exciting for those who watched. However, it would all be over in a flash if you got killed, which was scary¡­! With these rules, your whole party could be annihilated in an ambush, and it could all end like that¡­! ¡®Only 64 parties will move to the finals! In other words, it will be decided as soon as there are only 64 parties left. However, the final rankings will affect how you are paired up in the tournament, so it will be to your advantage to continue fighting without letting your guard down until the end-nyon!¡¯ Just 64 parties¡­!? There were tens of thousands of players, and thousands of parties. But they would be cut down to 64 in just one battle¡­! ¡®Furthermore, consumed items, destroyed equipment, and cool downs for charge attacks and miracle effects will be reset during the finals! So you can fight to the fullest without worrying about the next battle-nyon! Furthermore, there is no ¡®chip system¡¯ like during normal battle royales, so don¡¯t worry! Now, let the battle royale¡­begin!¡¯ It finally started! First¡­we had to strategize. We were 4 players and 2 Unisons. Garbow and Gochu. As Garbow didn¡¯t cry out when he saw players, he couldn¡¯t be used for scouting. At least, that was the case for the old Garbow¡­ ¡°Garbow. Gazer Fish.¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Gazer Fish was one of the charge attacks that were included in Garbow¡¯s new equipment, Multiple Fish Pod. ¡ô Multiple Fish Pod Type: Water and machine type Unison Attack: 110 Magic Attack: 70 Weapon Skill: Doctor Fish Weapon Charge Attack: Missile Fish, Gazer Fish [Doctor Fish] Unleashes magic fish with healing abilities inside of a pod and heals the target¡¯s HP. [Missile Fish] Shoot 16 fish-type missiles. Cool down: 3 minutes. [Gazer Fish] Unleashes 8 small fish with large camera eyes. The fish mechs will move around on their own and notify the Unison when they spot targets that can be attacked. After that, the Unison can decide whether the mechs will attack or chase after the target. Cool down: 5 minutes. Multiple Fish Pod was the evolved form of Goldfish Pod, which was used alongside Missile Pod and Garra Rufa Pod. Doctor Fish¡¯s abilities were much the same. As Garbow¡¯s magic attack was weak, the recovery ability would be low, but it was still insurance. Missile Fish felt similar to Missile Pod¡¯s weapon charge attack, 8-mount Missile. While it could shoot 16 missiles, they did less damage, so it wasn¡¯t much of an upgrade as a whole. In terms of firepower, it was maybe a 50% boost. Gazer Fish was a new charge attack that unleashed 8 scouting mechs. The mechs would wander around on their own, and Garbow would alert me if they found something. As was written in the text, the targets had to be ¡®attackable.¡¯ In other words, they would react to players if you were in an area where players could be attacked. It seemed very useful at a glance, but it took some thought to use it right. First, Garbow couldn¡¯t talk¡­! And so even if he found an enemy, he couldn¡¯t tell me the precise location. After finding an enemy, Garbow would first look in that direction. And then he would let out a hostile cry, and I would have to guess the distance of the enemy by how loud he was. If he cried loudly, then the enemy was far away, and if he cried quietly so that the enemy won¡¯t hear, then that meant they were close by. If the enemy was far away, I would order the mechs to continue to follow its movements, and if it was close by and noticed us, then I would attack it by having the mechs self-destruct. ¡­So, it could be a rather complicated charge attack, but being able to detect enemies from every side would be a big advantage during a battle royale. And so I listened for Garbow¡¯s cry as we made our plans. ¡°How should we move? Since there are only 64 parties going to the finals, I feel like it wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea to avoid fighting and focus on our survival.¡± As someone who had experienced the first battle royale, I knew how important that was. In spite of getting the most kills, Necoco came in 1st place with 5 kills, and Satomi was 2nd with 0 kills. I ranked in at 3rd. It would be smart to hide quietly until there were fewer players, rather than go around fighting and attracting attention. The problem was, everyone would be thinking this¡­ During a battle royale, the field would slowly grow smaller, and you would take damage if you remained outside of it. If too many parties were crowded in a small area, things would become chaotic, and luck would be a bigger deciding factor. And so if you are confident in your own strength, it might not be a bad idea to actively go out and cut down the number of players¡­ Hmm. I wasn¡¯t sure what the answer was! ¡°If there is one thing that I can say¡­it is that it¡¯s dangerous to move while you are uncertain. Whether our luck is good or bad, we have to move as a united party, or things will fall apart.¡± Everyone nodded silently at Satomi¡¯s words. And our conclusion was¡­ ¡°¡­So we¡¯ll barricade ourselves in that tower.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± One of the reasons that I had been able to get the most kills was because of that stone tower. It was strong, and would be difficult to break when attacked. And you had a good view of the whole mountain from the top. If we camped up there, we could survive while picking off the enemy. I had already proved that it would work. And so many other parties would likely be moving towards it. We were guaranteed to encounter enemies on the way. I wasn¡¯t proud of it, but people recognized my face. And so they would be the ones to be surprised if we bumped into each other. I would take advantage of that and kill them in a flash¡­! ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Garbow let out his hostile cry! It was quite loud, which meant that the enemy was still far away, but the entire party immediately grew tense. ¡°There will be no time to stop and talk from here on out.¡± ¡°Yes. We¡¯ll have to stay on our guard constantly in order to be in the top 64.¡± We looked in the direction that Garbow had cried and stepped into formation. As the tough one, Anne was in the front, where she would draw the most attention. Necoco hid in the shadows and waited for an opportunity to ambush. Gochu was behind Anne and would focus on magic attacks. Satomi would mostly be the healer. Garbow guarded me, but he could take the other positions if the situation required it. And I would shoot from the back while watching our surroundings. As this was a battle royale, other parties could join in during a fight. And so I had to be aware of a large part of the field at all times. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Machine God Bow ¨C Heaven Wind Murakumo¡­!¡± It was already time to show the power of my new bow! CH 167 Data.157 ¨C Old Bowman, Wind from Heaven Garbow¡¯s voice started to grow smaller. I didn¡¯t know if they knew we were here, but the enemy was definitely moving in our direction. ¡°I will look¡­ Cat¡¯s Eye Power¡­¡± Necoco glared in the direction where the enemy was. Her eyes glowed white, just like a cat¡¯s during the night. ¡°I see them¡­! There are two behind the tree where the trunk splits into two. And there is one up in the tree and another a short distance away behind some rocks. They haven¡¯t noticed us yet¡­!¡± After this report, Necoco closed her eyes tightly. It was probably a skill that allowed her to see through things between blinks. Just thinking about it made my eyes hurt. ¡°You can deal with the guy in the tree. I want you to use a wide range attack to take the tree out at the same time. As for the one in the back¡­I¡¯ll take him out once he is surprised by the first attack.¡± ¡°Understood¡­!¡± For now, Anne, Satomi, and the Unisons would hide. Necoco went around to the enemy¡¯s back, while I targeted the tree from behind some bushes. In this field, objects could be destroyed. And so if it was a powerful charge attack, you could knock down trees and kill players¡­! ¡°Charge Attack ¨C Heavenly Wing Arrow Storm¡­!¡± This was the weapon charge attack of my evolved bow, Machine God Bow ¨C Heaven Wind Murakumo! Just like Bow Shower and Arrow Storm, it unleashed numerous arrows! ¡ô Machine God Bow ¨C Heaven Wind Murakumo Type: Two-handed weapon(Bow) Attack: 200 Range: 140 Weapon charge attack: Heavenly Wing Arrow Storm [Heavenly Wing Arrow Storm] Dark clouds will erupt around the bow, and unleash a storm of arrows. Cool down: 5 minutes. The number of arrows was increased, as well as speed and damage of individual arrows. And yet the cool down was the same! It was easily a superior version of Arrow Storm! And more importantly, the stats of the bow itself were great! Attack was now 200, and the Range was increased. Even a player with high defense would not come out unharmed if they were hit with arrows from this bow¡­! ¡°My aim was perfect¡­!¡± The countless arrows fell on the tree and tore it to pieces. And the two players who were hiding behind it were¡­not torn to pieces. One of them was an advance guard with heavy armor, and even in an ambush, had a shield up for protection. But the player who was up in the tree wore light armor, and had been able to quickly escape to a different tree. And so I only killed one¡­ That wasn¡¯t a satisfying way to debut my new charge attack, but it showed just how good these players were. I shouldn¡¯t think that they would be easy to take down. When I am alone¡­that is. ¡°Thunder claws that shred the sky¡­ Raijin Zekku!¡± After being surprised by the attack, the player stuck his head out from behind the rocks, and then it went flying into the air. Necoco was good at sneaking up behind people and cutting off their heads. But she had polished this skill even more, and she was now so fast that I couldn¡¯t even see her claws move. It really was just like thunder¡­! ¡°Uniting heart and body with the Unison¡­Unison Maestro.¡± Satomi had chosen a staff with a ring on it as his new weapon. It was often used by monks. He too attacked the enemy and showed off how coordinated he and Gochu were. I felt rather bad for the players who were surprised by the ambush, and were then subject to such smooth attacks. ¡°Advance guards should fight each other!¡± Anne said as she threw her metal spiked ball at the heavily armored player. He seemed to be the party leader, and even when his team mates were dead, he remained calm and attacked with precision. And his shield looked like a rare item¡­. No matter how many times he blocked Anne¡¯s metal ball, it would not get damaged. Normally, it would have made the most sense for Satomi and Gochu to fight him with magic attacks, but Anne had acquired a new power! ¡°Sticky Star!¡± The iron ball stuck to the shield! Anne then pulled it back, and tore the shield out of the player¡¯s grasp. ¡°Su-such a thing is possible?!¡± ¡°Sorry about it! I can be very tenacious!¡± She swung the iron ball again and this time hit the player with it. And then Anne¡­began to swing it while the player was still attached to it! ¡°If you get dizzy easily, you might as well give up now!¡± ¡°I¡­give¡­up¡­!¡± The player said as he turned into particles of light and then vanished. The party was annihilated¡­! ¡°Ah, that went better than I expected.¡± ¡°I was so nervous that they would notice us before we could ambush them¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m still not used to being the first one to attack.¡± ¡°I hope that guy isn¡¯t throwing up now¡­¡± Well, it seemed like everyone was nervous for the first fight. Boosted stats, new skills and gear, a plan we agreed upon¡­ All of that would bring us closer to victory, but it wasn¡¯t a guarantee. And so when we did win, the joy was enough to make us shake. This fight had been over in an instant. We defeated them before they even had a chance to respond. It was the ideal way to do things¡­! If we could continue like this, we could win. ¡°Now, let¡¯s head to our destination. It¡¯s not safe here.¡± We started to move while leaving some space between us, and looking in different directions. There were thousands of enemies¡­so perhaps there was no such thing as a safe place. And so we had to go. To that tower, which was probably the reason that the Ghost Guild was born. CH 168 Data.158 ¨C Old Bowman, Sniper ¡°¡­Ouch! One up in the tree at 10 o¡¯clock!¡± ¡°Understood!¡¯ ¡°He¡¯s quite far away. Can you hit him?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± On our way to the tower, we encountered many players. As a party, we had decided to hunt down any enemies that we found, but there would be a great risk in chasing after enemies that were far away. And so I would be the sniper who shot down the distant enemies. And even then, I wouldn¡¯t kill the whole party. Just the ones who I could see. In a party of four, losing just one member would be a huge loss. You could say that it was more than enough in terms of weakening them. ¡°¡­Wind God Sky Tear.¡± You couldn¡¯t see the wind. And so by the time you were aware of it, it was when it had already touched you. This was the evolved version of Sky Tear, and it was a wind arrow. A high speed arrow that would shoot through you before you knew what was happening¡­! [Wind God Sky Tear] Unleash a high speed arrow that has the power of the wind god. Great piercing ability. Inflicts damage after halving the target¡¯s defenses. Cool down: 5 minutes. Not only did the name sound cooler, but it had an added effect that was perfect for me. The demerit was the longer cool down, and the fact that it would be harder to control now that it was faster. It also had a smaller hit box. While the charge attack was more suited for headshots now, it was also easier to miss. And so the skill of the user would really be tested. What had I don¡¯t to make it evolve into such a powerful charge attack¡­? Nothing really. In the first place, Sky Tear was given to me as a bonus for collecting the full windcloud set. And evolving the charge attack required evolving the windcloud set. To be specific, I just needed to upgrade every piece of the set. And so I had fulfilled the requirements without actually trying to. ¡ô Status Name: Kyuji Job: Sagitarius Lv: 22/50 HP: 220/220(+60) MP: 240/240(+100) Attack: 455(+365) Defense: 270(+230) Magic Attack: 40 Magic Defense: 190(+160) Speed: 140(+90) Star Area Range: 1060(+330) ¡ô Equipment ¡­Looking back at them like this, my equipment really had become stronger. It was because of them that I wasn¡¯t a horrible player in spite of putting all of my points into one stat. Speaking of range, Star Area Range was now over 1000. As Star Area Range¡¯s effect halved my actual Range, it was only around 500 meters¡­but that in itself was crazy¡­ And if Shin Immobile Sniping Stance was activated, it would be increased by three times. So I could shoot a kilometer away. Of course, it was rare for me to be in a position to hit an enemy from 1 kilometer away, but if I did ever camp in such a location, I would be unbeatable¡­ ¡°¡­Let¡¯s go, Mr. Kyuji. It seems like the last party we attacked decided to retreat instead of fighting back.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Well, running instead of fighting seemed like the right choice when you couldn¡¯t even see the enemy. I sometimes did see powerful players who just swung their weapons and charged in the direction of oncoming arrows, but that made them good targets. ¡°Still, that tower is quite far away. I¡¯m not even joking¡­¡± ¡°Since there are more participants now than during the battle royale, they probably increased the size of the map. The mountains also seem to be higher.¡± ¡°I see. So that¡¯s why it¡¯s taking us so long. At this rate, there might be other parties who have already reached it.¡± ¡°Yes. You might have to fight in the opposite position as last time, Mr. Kyuji. Of course, I will continue to hide.¡± ¡°And I¡¯ll be doing the same thing as last time as well. It really is fun to sneak up on enemies and kill them! I love seeing their expressions of surprise!¡± ¡°I¡¯m jealous of all of you. I wasn¡¯t playing yet during that battle royale.¡± Our nerves started to calm down as we talked. Some people might think that we were letting our guard down. However, we were all looking in different directions and remained watchful as we talked. It just showed that our concentration was incredibly high. ¡°¡­They are coming up behind us. They haven¡¯t noticed us yet, but they are close.¡± ¡°Anne and I will annihilate them before they can get closer. Mr. Kyuji, can you do the flash?¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Satomi and Anne would take care of the close and mid-range enemies. While I was good at sniping and Necoco was good at stealthy assassinations, we lacked the firepower of players who put a lot of points into Attack and Magic Attack. And so Necoco and I would support the other two this time. ¡°Gatling Flash Arrow¡­!¡± I unleashed a stun grenade-like flash arrow at the enemy party. While it didn¡¯t deal any damage, it would blind them for a while. ¡°Charge attack ¨C Firerock Flower!¡± ¡°Charge attack ¨C Meteor Star!¡± Both of them were attacks that dropped huge objects from the sky like meteors. While we hadn¡¯t assigned everyone a role, this party was functioning very well. Like a machine where all of the gears moved together perfectly. If we kept this up, we could easily take the tower even if there were already enemies there¡­that¡¯s what I thought. Until ¡®they¡¯ appeared. ¡°Hahahaha! This field! And to think that we¡¯d meet again at this tower¡­ It must be fate! I won¡¯t let you say that you¡¯ve forgotten me this time, Mr. Kyuji!¡± We had finally arrived at the stone tower. And the person waiting for us on the top was¡­ ¡°Hmm¡­ Uh, Mad Slime! Mad Slime¡­ Slime¡­Slime Man!¡± ¡°Correct! Good! I see that it takes two fights for you to remember a name! Though, it did take you a while to get to it, but I¡¯ll let it slide!¡± Slime Man was the green whip wielder who I had killed during the Under X Battle Royale! And he had ambushed me on the Ghost Float in the name of revenge. To be honest, he was quite amusing, which made me less nervous than I should be. Because he was not to be underestimated. Especially since he held a one-sided grudge against me. There was a possibility that he would forget the prize and glory, and focus on defeating me alone. And I did not want to get caught up in a self-destructive attack that was purely driven by emotion! In a way, this was the last kind of enemy that I would have wanted to meet during a battle royale¡­! CH 169 Data.159 ¨C Old Bowman, Slime in the Tower ¡°So this is the Mad Slime I keep hearing about. You¡¯ve sure attracted some unwanted attention, Mr. Kyuji.¡± Satomi said with an exasperated expression. ¡°Well, he is connected to you and Necoco too¡­¡± ¡°Exactly! Because I¡¯m the hero who came in 4th during that battle royale! I even got a respectable 13 kills! In a way, I might have become the 4th member of the Ghost Guild¡­!¡± This was the kind of person who just said whatever popped into their head. He had already been in Mad Slime during that time. ¡°Ahh! To think that there was a phantom fourth member of the Ghost Guild¡­!¡± ¡°Anne, don¡¯t take him so seriously¡­¡± ¡°Oh! Now that I look at you, aren¡¯t you the nun who knocked the performers off of the Ghost Float!? So you two were connected from the beginning¡­!¡± ¡°Hehe. What would you do if I said you were correct?¡± ¡°Grrr¡­! No! If anything, it¡¯s a good thing that I can get my revenge on both of you at the same time! And the performers have been waiting for this moment too!¡± ¡°No, I would have prefered not to meet them.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t even get to the finals if we die here.¡± ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have come to a place that draws so much attention¡­¡± Slime Man¡¯s comrades did not seem very excited¡­ ¡°Tsk¡­! We have no choice! We tried to take the tower, and it was easier than expected! And so we can¡¯t run away now! That would be pathetic! Abandoning an advantageous position and retreating is just shameful as a gamer!¡± They were wasting time with this ridiculous exchange¡­ Oh! What if that was their plan!? As they had the advantageous position, it didn¡¯t matter how much time passed. On the other hand, we were at the bottom of the tower, where the fight would most likely take place. Without a doubt, we were currently in the worst position¡­! ¡°All of you. Let¡¯s hurry up and get rid of them. Other parties will be coming soon.¡± Well, it was my job to get rid of enemies that were in high places. But as I didn¡¯t want to destroy the tower, I couldn¡¯t just unleash strong charge attacks. So what strategy should I use¡­ ¡°I know what you are thinking! You think that you can drive us out and take the tower!¡± He talked as if he was a detective, but I didn¡¯t know why a player would come all of the way here if that wasn¡¯t their motive¡­ As I thought of such things, Slime Man continued. ¡°No-no-no! That is impossible! We will put a stop to your plans with our new combination charge attack¡­! Come! Slime Barrier!¡± A thick, green slime began to flow out from the roof of the tower. Instead of dripping down, it stuck to the sides of the tower, creating a sphere around the members of Slime Man. ¡°This is Slime Barrier, a combined charge attack with my Unison, Kokepoyo the moss slime! You can¡¯t see in and we can¡¯t see out! Your attacks won¡¯t get through easily, and neither can ours! In other words¡­ It¡¯s the perfect way to buy some time!¡± ¡°Wh-what¡­!?¡± I could understand why it would block our attacks or prevent us from seeing inside, but why block their own attacks¡­? How could they even use this, aside from battle royales where buying time meant surviving longer¡­? Now, calm down¡­! Every skill and charge attack had a limited time of effect. And so even the hardest barriers would disappear eventually! ¡°By the way! It also stays activated for a very long time! So you¡¯ll meet some other parties while you wait!¡± ¡­Slime Man. Even if he wasn¡¯t the strongest, he was still dangerous. Like he said, if we waited here, we would get attacked by others who were on their way. And so we had to break through the barrier somehow¡­! ¡°Mr. Kyuji. He did say that we won¡¯t be able to break through it ¡®easily.¡¯ In other words, we just have to try our hardest. Let¡¯s all use our charge attacks at the same time.¡± ¡°Got it!¡± The four of us would unleash our most powerful charge attacks at the barrier! ¡°Inferno Arrow Tempest!¡± ¡°Thunder Sky Sever Claws ¨C Dual Claws!¡± ¡°Unison Maestro¡­Flame Rock Flower ¨C Double!¡± ¡°Giant Daybreak Star!¡± The attacks were perfectly in sync. And so they hit the barrier at practically the same time. And yet¡­we could not destroy it! Not only that, but there wasn¡¯t even a scratch¡­ It would only jiggle¡­! ¡°Hahahahaha! I won¡¯t say that was a completely wasted effort! I¡¯m sure you know why your attacks aren¡¯t very effective?¡± I could hear Slime Man laughing in a high-pitched voice. He was not holding back at all. This was because he was confident that we would not be able to break through the barrier like this. In other words, it was no use unleashing a chain of ordinary charge attacks. ¡°An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth¡­and a combined charge attack¡­for a combined charge attack.¡± Both Satomi and I had Unisons with us, but Satomi relied on his Unison during combat. And so Garbow and I would break through it. By using our own new combined charge attack! CH 170 Data.160 ¨C Old Bowman, Starcrush Arrow ¡°Combined charge attack?! Isn¡¯t it a bit early for that?¡± Necoco protested. As using a combined charge attack would result in a long cool down for your Unison, it would be a significant blow to our fighting force. Garbow was our scout, and could also make clones. I wished that I didn¡¯t have to use it, but there was a reason that I didn¡¯t have a choice this time. ¡°I think that the barrier can only be destroyed by one hit of a charge attack that deals tremendous damage at once. For instance, instead of using 4 attacks that do 50 damage each for a total of 200, it¡¯s better to use one attack that does 100 damage¡­ See?¡± ¡°In other words, any attacks that are lower than the requirement are nullified. So unless you can exceed that line, you can hit it a hundred times and it will be pointless!¡± ¡°Yes, exactly! If that barrier was purely something with high defense ability and durability, I don¡¯t think that it would have come out unscathed after being hit by 4 powerful charge attacks. But if there was some kind of nullifying effect, it would make sense. After all, those attacks weren¡¯t even treated as attacks¡­!¡± My Inferno Arrow Tempest was a combination of Inferno Arrow and Heavenly Wing Arrow Storm. You could call it a fused charge attack that was a pure evolution of Burning Arrow Storm. Necoco¡¯s Thunder Sky Sever Claws was a thunder cutting attack. And Dual Claws were a skill that allowed you to use a charge attack twice in a row while ignoring the cool down. In other words, it could make Necoco¡¯s charge attacks twice as powerful. The demerit was that the cool down was also doubled. It seemed like a pretty bad demerit, but as the charge attack¡¯s cool down was short to begin with, and lacked power, Necoco would grumble that her attacks only did decent damage after she used Dual Claws. Unison Maestro allowed Satomi to use his Unison¡¯s skills and charge attacks. As for Anne¡¯s Giant Daybreak Star¡­ It was a fused charge attack that she had used a lot on the Ghost Float. It was big, heavy, and strong! That was enough! And so it was ridiculous that the barrier had taken no damage after being hit by all of them. It must be nullifying all damage that was under a certain level¡­! ¡°But can¡¯t we just go and attack from inside of the tower before you resort to combined charge attacks? That green slime is just covering the outside, so we should be able to go up the stairs and¡­¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s too dangerous. They would know that we would try to attack them from inside. After all, they can¡¯t see what we¡¯re doing because of the barrier. So the only thing they can focus on is the stairs.¡± ¡°Ah! That¡¯s true!¡± Even when I was a beginner, I had been cautious enough to place mines near the entrance of the tower. And so I doubted that pros like Slime Man would have no security measures. Clearly, the correct thing to do was break in from the front¡­! ¡°I¡¯ll destroy the barrier. The rest of you, prepare to take over the roof as soon as the barrier goes down.¡± They all said ¡®understood.¡¯ ¡°Garbow! Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± The first combined charge attack was Meteor Bow. I had unlocked it during the zodiac event, when we were doing the hidden beast trial, and our ¡®bond points¡¯ had reached the necessary level. The second combined charge attack likely needed more bond points and for the Unison to have finished their 3rd evolution. I think that the reason that he didn¡¯t learn the second one right after his 3rd evolution was because the required bond points had gone up. And so it was necessary to rack up more bond points after he evolved into Ravenalligate. ¡°Combined charge attack¡­!¡± This time, Garbow did not fall apart and combine with my bow. Garbow transformed completely and he himself turned into a single arrow¡­! ¡°Armageddon Arrow!¡± It was the exact opposite of Meteor Bow, which unleashed numerous arrows like meteors. This only shot one arrow, and it did not glow and was not particularly fast. Instead, it was thick and rotated at a great speed, which caused it to grow hot from the friction with the air, making it glow red. Due to the effect of Star Area Range, I could not make it curve. And I could not combine it with other skills by using Arrow Fusion. And it could not be canceled once released. The arrow was like the will of a stubborn man, and was my strongest trump card that could crush even the stars¡­! The height of our efforts, Armageddon Arrow! Paaaaaan! The Slime Barrier popped! Well done, Garbow! Leave the rest to me! We¡¯ll go to the finals together¡­! ¡°Huh!? I didn¡¯t expect you to break the barrier so quickly!¡± Slime Man¡¯s voice echoed from the top. I replied in a loud voice. ¡°A barrier like this won¡¯t even buy you any time!¡± ¡°Hmph¡­! The timing was just a little unexpected! I knew it would break eventually! It¡¯s four against four! The battle has only just begun!¡± ¡°Is that right?¡± ¡°Huh¡­? Ah!?¡± Slime Man screamed. Yes. There was no one around me now. This was our plan. Necoco would use her claws to climb up the walls of the building and enter it as soon as the barrier was destroyed. Then she would assassinate one of the members of Slime Man. Just as all attention moved to her, Satomi, Gochu, and Anne would climb up the stairs loudly in order to distract them. Like this, the enemy would have to look in two directions at once. If they were hesitant while facing Necoco, then only a silent death would await them. The quick reflexes that came from her young age meant that she would attack before they had time to utter a word. And then, my job was to distract the most dangerous member of Slime Man! I just needed a few seconds. I just wanted to avoid having Necoco and Slime Man clash head on. I rated him highly as a player. And so I had purposely provoked him so that his attention would be on me. ¡°Let¡¯s end this here! Slime Man!¡± CH 171 Data.161 ¨C Old Bowman, In the Tower Again ¡°Tsk¡­! I won¡¯t let it end here like this!¡± Slime Man¡­threw himself off of the tower! It wasn¡¯t suicide. After all, he had ¡®slime¡¯ in his name, and they were monsters known for their elasticity. And so he would surely have a skill that would make use of it in order to break his fall. Instead of staying in a tower where there were three enemies, it was better to go down where there was only one. Especially since I didn¡¯t like close quarters combat. He would have seen this as his best chance¡­! But, he underestimated me! ¡°Gatling In Fight Arrow!¡± Even a normal person could follow the speed of someone falling. And so it would not be hard for me to hit him with an arrow. From what I could see, Slime Man was wearing light armor! And so he wouldn¡¯t come out unscathed if he got hit by multiple In Fight Arrows at mid-range! Twist! Twist! ¡°Huh¡­?¡± But Slime Man¡¯s body started to turn and twist. He fell to the ground as a green blob. And then he exploded! Dis¡­gusting¡­! I had never seen a player die like that before¡­ ¡°It¡¯s a dummy!¡± When I looked back up to the top of the tower, there were numerous Slime Mans jumping off. It was hard to comprehend, but I had to quickly aim with my bow and attack! Slime Man meant to hide among them and escape! ¡°Super Multi¡­Inferno Arrow!¡± Super Multishot was the evolved form of Multishot. The number of arrows that could be shot had gone up from 10 to 20. It wasn¡¯t as accurate as when just shooting one arrow, but it was more than enough when trying to cut down the number of dummies! ¡°Now, let¡¯s see if we can hit the right one¡­!¡± I continued to fire and the number of dummies decreased. If I killed the main body, then it would disappear with particles of light, so it would be obvious¡­ However, I was starting to lose my confidence. Besides, it didn¡¯t look like I would be able to defeat all of them. These dummies¡­were way too elastic and tough! ¡°He really is a dangerous man¡­¡± But then the dummies suddenly stopped spawning. I had defeated many of them, but at the same time, many had been able to escape into the forest. And from what I could see, I had not defeated the real one. However, that was only within range of what I could see. It was possible that he had died in the tower, only it was at an angle that was out of my line of sight. In any case, I better go up there. It was dangerous to stay down here by myself. ¡°This door and stairs¡­ It really is the same as that time.¡± It wasn¡¯t even that long ago, and yet I already felt a little nostalgic as I reached the roof. Necoco, Satomi, Gochu, and Anne were all in good shape, but they looked grim. ¡°Sorry. I think we let him get away.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to apologize. I¡¯m in charge of shooting, and yet I let quite a few dummies escape.¡± It would be difficult for Necoco and the others to target dummies who were falling off of the tower. I had been given the role of dealing with such things. And so they shouldn¡¯t be apologizing to me. If anything, I was impressed that Slime Man had a hidden trump card that allowed him to escape from danger like this. If you wanted to be in the top in a battle royale, then running away was a good strategy as well. And he multiplied like a real slime, which was quite clever. ¡°Well, aren¡¯t the results all right? We still got them out of the tower, which was the plan.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, Mr. Kyuji! Who cares if one of them got away! That¡¯s nothing compared to the hundred players we¡¯re going to kill now! It¡¯s nothing!¡± Sometimes Anne said frightful things. But, maybe she was right¡­. ¡°100 might not be enough. We might need to defeat 1000¡­¡± That was the conclusion after calming thinking about it. It wasn¡¯t as ridiculous as it might seem. Regardless, the party became very excited at the declaration that we would kill 1000 players. ¡°Indeed! If we¡¯re going to kill 1000, then we can at least let one person go!¡± ¡°It¡¯s possible that this one person will cause trouble for us later, but thinking about it now will only negatively affect our performance. We have to do what¡¯s best for us now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Mr. Kyuji! I don¡¯t know why I said it would be just 100 at first!¡± ¡°Ah, haha¡­ Anyway, I¡¯ll just do my best.¡± That was the only answer I could give now as she looked at me expectantly. It felt a little embarrassing when talking face to face¡­ But there was no time for that. Everyone started to move into their positions. Satomi, Gochu, and Anne went down the stairs in order to guard the entrance. Last time, my only line of defense was a mine that I picked up, so this was a big upgrade. Of course, my job was to look down from the top of the tower and hunt any enemies. It didn¡¯t matter who they were. I would shoot any player that came into range. As for Necoco¡­she was my guard. She could stop ambushes by turning invisible, flying, and various other methods, as well as watch my back and look for other prey. Back then, the player who had ambushed me was not watching my back. It was reassuring, to say the least. They say that you never know what will happen in life, and that is certainly true. I never would have guessed that I would be forming parties with others and participating in events like this. ¡°Now, I¡¯m ready. From here¡­¡± ¡®I hope that¡­I can put on a killing show.¡¯ Last time, I think I had muttered something like that. That sounded like me. I wanted to be cool, but I couldn¡¯t. I was just an ordinary person. But it wouldn¡¯t suit the current moment. ¡°From here¡­it will be my killing show!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Yes, this really was quite embarrassing! But¡­I didn¡¯t hate it. I had lived a plain life, and wanted to continue to live leisurely¡­ Just a normal person like me had changed quite a bit. Usually, all it takes is a few words to make such a thing happen. I told myself this as I held up my bow. CH 172 Data.162 ¨C Old Bowman, Center of Attention Again I would target players who were in areas with fewer obstacles. In a battle royale, you wanted to move in areas where there were plenty of places to hide. And so if a player was not doing that, there was a good possibility that they were a beginner. And beginners tended to have weak equipment. So if I targeted their heads¡­I could kill them in one shot! Kiririri¡­ Shu! As the targets were far away, I could not hear the sounds of the arrows as they hit. However, the players still fell silently on the ground and disappeared into light. Their party members would see this and stop in surprise. Now they were also easy targets¡­! Kiririri¡­shu! Shu! Shu! One and then three shots. All of them pierced their heads, killing the enemy in a single hit. They did not even have enough time to comprehend how they had been defeated. I felt a little bad for them, but someone else would have got them soon enough, if they were going to move like that. But there were also players who were completely different and were already within range. And they did not show themselves. The moment I thought I could see them, they would hide behind something. And they were slowly approaching me. Veteran players could always stay calm. Even if they were hit by an arrow, they would just react with an ¡®oh,¡¯ and then quickly hide again. Then they would use an item to heal and then start moving. And so it was hard to finish them off, but I kept trying¡­ ¡°Mr. Kyuji! They¡¯re at the bottom of the tower!¡± ¡°Again¡­!¡± I had allowed the enemy to get close. And so a ferocious battle of ranged attacks ensued between the entrance of the tower and the bushes. Satomi and Gochu launched fireballs, and Anne swung her iron ball at the enemy, but they seemed to be struggling. At such times as these, I had to stop sniping and help them. ¡°Inferno Arrow Tempest!¡± I unleashed numerous arrows over the bushes where the enemy was hiding, and scorched a wide area. Once they were clearly visible, it would not be very difficult to defeat them. It would be ideal if we could just burn the entire forest in the area, but management had put safety measures in place so that we couldn¡¯t do that. The trees in this area would grow again very quickly after being destroyed. At a speed that would be impossible in real life¡­! And so the players moving towards the tower would always have a place to hide. These stealthy beasts would be constantly coming for our heads. At the same time, we were hunters, and we would also be targeting them. ¡°¡­There! Wind God Sky Tear!¡± It shot through the player¡¯s head, along with the tree he was hiding behind. Poking his head out for just a second had been his downfall. Once I knew how tall they were, I could get a good idea of where their head would be behind the tree. Hmm. He was still moving in spite of being shot through the head¡­ As this was such a big event, there were a lot of players who were confident in their defense ability. And so I unleashed a follow up attack before he could heal. And it was only after I saw that he was dead that I looked elsewhere. ¡®316 kills!¡¯ That was already double what I did last time¡­! I had been thinking about my kill count at first, but I was too busy after I reached 100. There were so many players now who moved as if they knew that I was camped up in the tower. Still, I didn¡¯t want to let the others down, and I continued to focus on shooting. And this was the result. ¡°¡­Not too bad.¡± While the map was getting smaller, the tower was still inside. However, it was more towards the edge, so I doubted that we could stay here until the end. But that had not come yet, and so there should be no problem with staying here and shooting a little longer. And after the last great ambush, the number of enemies approaching started to fall. It would be nice if I could take a short break now¡­ It was important to rest if you wanted to be in the best condition to shoot. ¡°Necoco. Are there any enemies behind¡­¡± ¡°Sky Claw Thunderbolt¡­¡± Her claws moved faster than the eye could follow as she cut through the air. A second later, a winged player appeared out of nowhere. While their helmet was slashed open, they were still alive! And in order to go after the retreating player, Necoco jumped off of the tower! ¡°¡­Dual Claws!¡± This time, her claws slashed through the wings as if she was determined to knock the player out of the air. But even after the player lost the ability to fly, Necoco continued her relentless attacks! ¡°Thunder Sky Sever Claws ¨C Dual Claws!¡± As the player fell, they were stuck by a cutting bolt of lightning! And so they turned into light and disappeared. ¡°Lightning Speed!¡± Necoco kicked off of the air and returned to the top of the tower. And then she sighed. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have to use so many charge attacks to defeat one person¡­¡± ¡°He looked really strong, so I think you made the right decision. And thanks for protecting me. It would have been game over if I was alone. Just like the first time.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear you say that! Now, this is still just the beginning! We have to assume that the remaining players are all strong from this point on!¡± ¡°Really¡­!¡± There would be an announcement when there were only 64 parties left, but that time had not yet come. In a normal battle royale, it wouldn¡¯t end until you killed all of your opponents, but in this one, you just had to survive until a certain point. There were probably players out there who were just hiding nervously. ¡®Hide and Seek to become the strongest¡¯¡­ Well, that didn¡¯t sound too bad¡­ It could be cool and fun in its own way. Well, we had chosen to do the opposite. Stick out and kill our rivals. And so we would hold the tower for as long as we could. ¡°Old man! A few parties are coming this way! But they aren¡¯t attacking each other in spite of being close¡­ So they must be working together!¡± ¡°They formed an alliance in order to take us down¡­ It would be difficult to attack the tower while having to watch your own back, so that¡¯s smart of them.¡± ¡°What should we do?¡± ¡°While they are cooperating now, they are still enemies. The alliance should fall apart easily if we can split them up.¡± ¡°And how will we do that?¡± ¡°Well¡­you know. Anyway, let¡¯s get them!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right about that!¡± CH 173 Data.163 ¨C Old Bowman, Killing Show The enemy were 12 players from 3 parties. They must be pretty experienced to have reached these stairs without losing a single member. In any case, I would use this first! ¡°Indra Thunder Shock!¡± Indra¡¯s Arrow was a charge attack that created sparks as a thunder arrow shot up high into the air and then fell, while Thunder Arrow just shot the arrow normally. Combined, they created a super-charged electric attack! To be honest, I wasn¡¯t sure if there was much point to combining thunder with thunder! However, it sounded like it would become stronger and it felt sort of special. Especially the name. ¡°Now, I should buy some time until it falls.¡± Indra¡¯s Arrow took effect when the arrow came back down and hit the ground. But since I had so many points put into Range, the arrow flew up so high that it could take a minute or two to come back down. Even though it was a powerful, wide-area attack, the enemy would still have a chance to get away. Well, usually¡­ But it was different in a battle royale. First, as they were fighting in order to drive us out of the tower, they would want to stay in the area as much as possible. And since every other party was their enemy as well, there would be a lot for them to think about while fighting. The attacks from the enemy in front, the possible attacks from the enemy in the back, and they could even be betrayed with the parties they teamed up with¡­ When there is so much to consider, people tend to forget the least important things. ¡°Here it comes¡­!¡± An arrow flashed with lightning as it fell from the heavens. It was like something out of legend¡­! The arrow fell into the forest, where the enemy was gathered. A great dome of electricity exploded, and the lightning preyed on everything in the area! The overwhelming attack was an assault on the eyes! And the sound felt several times louder than actual thunder as it hit my ears! And the damage, which rose with the arrow, attacked their HP! ¡°It¡¯s just as incredible as always.¡± The ground was burned and there was a great depression in the middle. It looked like a meteor had fallen and made a crater. As Indra¡¯s Arrow could be dodged without taking damage if you were calm, it wasn¡¯t always the most useful charge attack. But its damage was one of the highest. And so no one who was hit was able to survive. However, there had been some players who were quick to make a decision and had the speed to run away. It must be fun to increase your ¡®Speed¡¯ to that degree. Having powerful attacks were meaningless if you couldn¡¯t hit the person. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll just have to do my best and hit them.¡± The number of players who had dodged Indra Thunder Shock was, 1, 2, 3¡­ Huh? Wait, why are there so many players near the tower now? There are even more than before¡­! ¡°They were waiting for my charge attack cool down¡­!¡± With powerful charge attacks, you could tell they were being activated even if you were far away. And so they had been watching us, and planned to attack after we had used the attacks¡­! ¡°Everyone, this will be the critical moment!¡± The map was getting smaller. And it was possible that the whole map would eventually be within my Range. Many players would want to take me down before that happens. And so they kept coming! Perhaps it was a bit rude, but they looked like zombies from a movie. The trouble was that they weren¡¯t as weak or dumb as zombies. And their methods of attack were at the same level as us. Swords, spears, axes, magic, bows, guns, shurikens. Having to deal with players with so many kinds of weapons was backbreaking work¡­! The saving grace was that these players were all enemies to each other. And since plenty of them were opportunistic, they would change targets away from us if they saw a strong-looking player, and ambush them from behind. I had seen it happen a few times. In the end, even if they got us out of the tower, only one party could be inside. So it made sense to get rid of any rivals during the chaotic battle. ¡®400 Kills!¡¯ Which enemies to target and which to leave¡­ The battlefield required quick decision making, which gave me a headache. However, every time I felt that my brain was being overloaded, it felt as if my weakened brain would be revitalized and grow. ¡®500 kills!¡¯ Compared to when I first started, I had simply gotten used to playing in VR. However, that wasn¡¯t the only reason that I had improved. I had acquired new things and changed. ¡®600 kills!¡¯ ¡°Godwind Sky Tear!¡± I shot an area in the sky where the clouds swayed. And then something like a bird fell out from the clouds. As there were no monsters in this map, it would be a player. The player had probably meant to rise high into the air and then attack the tower from above. But I shot them before they could descend. It was more by instinct, then thought. Like I suddenly had the urge to shoot there. This feeling¡­was it what athletes called the ¡®zone¡¯? ¡®700 kills!¡¯ I could do this. 1000 kills was possible. However, strangely, I didn¡¯t feel excited about it? ¡­Ah, that¡¯s right. While it did get us closer to the finals, it didn¡¯t actually matter that much for this battle royale. In a battle royale, only 1 party could win. And I knew it by instinct. As more enemies died, only the strong would remain. And the strongest top 64 were still on the field. ¡®800 kills!¡¯ ¡°Phew¡­ I think I better take a break¡­¡± The enemies were much fewer now. I doubted that I could return to being as focused as before, but I needed to be aware of my surroundings as much as possible. ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t let your guard down! From here, it¡¯s going to be¡­ Woah!?¡± Suddenly, giant wings flew towards me. It wasn¡¯t a bird. But it wasn¡¯t a player with wings either. It was¡­a boomerang that was in the shape of wings! And I had seen this boomerang before¡­! CH 174 Data.164 ¨C Old Bowman, Strongest 64 ¡°Old Man! Hurry up and run into the tower!¡± It took me a few seconds to understand what Necoco¡¯s words meant. Clearly my fatigue was showing¡­ My body felt heavier as I moved and tried to slide through the door that led into the tower. However, I was too late. The boomerang drew an arc as it flew through the air. And then it suddenly transformed into a woman. I had no idea what was going on. What was the effect? Did it make player and boomerang swap places, or was that a dummy? However, I knew who the woman was. ¡°Macoco Strange¡­!¡± ¡°Ah, this party¡­¡± The red-haired boomerang wielder and veteran pro gamer. She was Necoco¡¯s aunt and her hero. A freak who had fought solo against Charin, who was using all of her weapons, and still won¡­ And now she was within striking distance! I had no choice but to run! People moved the fastest when there was no reason to hesitate! ¡°Unfortunately, I cannot let you go! Chain Boomer-¡­!¡± I heard the clash of metal hitting against metal. Necoco had launched an attack on Macoco. ¡°Satomi! Anne! To the roof¡­¡± But they were not there. Of course, the Unison, Gochu was not there as well. But why¡­ ¡°The distance between the top and bottom of the tower was too big. And you could not cooperate smoothly with each other. It¡¯s surprising you even made it this far.¡± At the same time, I heard a cutting sound at my neck. Ah, this feeling¡­I remembered it. Someone had severed my head. While my head wouldn¡¯t fall off of my body and hit the ground, there was still a vague sensation. It was a mortal wound. I had been killed. And once again, it was by a player with ¡®Strange¡¯ in their name¡­! ¡°It¡¯s a good party. I hope that we¡¯ll be able to fight again in the finals. Perhaps things will end differently¡­¡± Her voice cut off then. My body had turned into light and disappeared. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°Huh!? We¡¯re 6th place!?¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that it was announced¡­ You must have been really concentrated!¡± ¡°Ah, uh¡­ I guess!¡± The shocking truth was revealed to me by Anne after we returned to the mysterious space. I had just been feeling very disappointed, thinking that we had been defeated in the preliminaries. I see. So there had only been six parties left on the field at the time¡­ And among them was Macoco. The others must have been very strong as well. Now that I knew the truth, I really felt alive again. Yes, I was starting to feel very happy¡­! ¡°Now, let¡¯s all celebrate being able to go to the finals! Right!? Don¡¯t look so serious, Necoco!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Necoco looked so defeated that it was like there was a great weight on her shoulders. The fact that Macoco had caught up with me meant that Necoco hadn¡¯t been able to stop her. Of course, I had no intention of blaming her, but I suppose it didn¡¯t matter to her. ¡°This is no good at all¡­ I have no chance of winning if I can¡¯t even beat my aunt¡­.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. It¡¯s a tournament. So you might win without even fighting her.¡± ¡°Even if that¡¯s the case, I can¡¯t win unless I defeat the person who beats her¡­¡± ¡°With fighting, it¡¯s all about compatibility. It¡¯s not just about raw strength. And so the person who beats your aunt won¡¯t necessarily be unbeatable for us. Besides, we¡¯ve only lost to you aunt once. So we might win next time. We¡¯re just getting started! It¡¯s too early to get depressed about it!¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re right. I¡¯m sorry. I just lost a little of my confidence. But I¡¯m fine now.¡± She didn¡¯t really look fine. But that couldn¡¯t be helped. ¡°Ah, it seems like the preliminaries are finished now.¡± The live feed that was displayed in the air disappeared, and the final rankings came up. 1st was¡­ Gaming Crocks? I had never heard of them before, but I could hear other players muttering things like, ¡®The Gaming Crocks!?¡¯ ¡®So they lasted after all¡­¡¯ ¡®Tsk. It¡¯s going to be a tough fight.¡¯ So they seemed to have a good reputation. ¡­Huh? So someone already beat her aunt? That did give me hope¡­! ¡°See, Necoco. It¡¯s too early to give up¡­¡± ¡°Wh-why is my aunt 2nd place!? She shouldn¡¯t have lost to a guild that relies on superior numbers¡­¡± I suppose she was rather shocked¡­ Perhaps she felt conflicted to see her hero get beaten. However, I was indeed curious about how they had beaten her¡­ ¡°I became solo near the beginning.¡± ¡°¡­!?¡± She was right here! Ignoring the fact that she had once again taken me by surprise, I listened to what she had to say. ¡°Battle royales really are difficult, aren¡¯t they? You have to be aware of everything, and manage your items. And I usually don¡¯t think much when using items, so I run out very quickly.¡± ¡°But! Surely you could have made up for all of that with the way you play!¡± ¡°No, no. It was pretty severe. There were four people left, and they targeted me after I had defeated another party and wasn¡¯t on my guard. Well, I don¡¯t really care about the rankings during the preliminaries anyway. It just means that I can¡¯t lose after this.¡± She really was an easy-going person. While I wouldn¡¯t call her indifferent, she showed no signs of nervousness at all. She didn¡¯t even seem to be happy about going to the finals. It was more about the excitement about being able to fight¡­ A strange person. So¡­the preliminary rankings didn¡¯t matter. I suppose she was right. While it was supposed to give you some advantage in terms of how you were paired up in the tournament, it wasn¡¯t really a reflection of the party¡¯s actual strength. In the end, it was all about luck! That being said, I was curious about which parties were in the top. And so I would look at the rankings from 1 to 64. ¡­There were several players that I recognized. While part of me was happy, I was also nervous at the possibility of having to fight them. Also, 64 parties wasn¡¯t much at all. They had cut off so many players. ¡°Now, who is the 64th that barely made it in¡­ Huh!?¡± The party that was at the bottom of the ranking was¡­VRHAR!? As Nord¡¯s name was there, this should be the real party with the best members¡­ Why was such a strong guild there¡­? CH 175 Data.165 ¨C Old Bowman, Feeling of Trouble ¡°Hey, everyone! Here we are! The party that ended as number 1 in the ranking!¡± Some of the other players began to shout and cheer. So these were the Gaming Crocks¡­ I didn¡¯t feel the same sense of awe that I got from Macoco or Nord. However, it was true that they were number 1 in that fight. There was a saying about how wise eagles hide their claws. So we would have to be careful with them¡­ ¡°Since we¡¯ve returned to this place last, that means the final tournament bracket should be displayed soon! All of you! Keep your eyes peeled!¡± ¡®Aye!¡¯ some of the players answered. Even though they were rivals, it was nice that they were enthusiastic. ¡°Now¡­ You were supposed to have some advantage if you did well. And since we are 1st, that means our first opponent is 64! So, where is the sad party who barely slid in at the last moment?¡± ¡°It¡¯s us, Murasai.¡± The man called Murasai was the leader of the Gaming Crocks. And the person who appeared in front of him was¡­Nord! The blonde-haired, blue-eyed, androgynous, beautiful prince with the gun! The guild master of VRHAR, the strongest guild, and our nemesis¡­! ¡°What kind of joke is this, Nord? How did you end up as 64th?¡± ¡°Yes. It was deliberate on our part. Not only is it announced when there are only 64 parties left, but friendly fire is allowed in this game¡­¡± Murasai¡¯s eyes widened. So did mine. Nord had deliberately ended at 64th¡­! And the reason was¡­ ¡°You¡¯re all players who survived for the finals. And so you seem to understand our motive. It¡¯s true. We wanted to crush whoever came in at number 1.¡± In this event, you could watch the battles as they happen. In other words, after every battle, information about you spreads all over the world. The more battles you fight, the more others will know, and your opponents will find ways of dealing with you. And so they had chosen the strongest enemy for the first fight, when there was the least amount of information available! ¡°Hmph. You always like to play tricks, Nord. However, that just means you have to fight us blind? It¡¯s not very advantageous!¡± ¡°Indeed. But I like to get the annoying stuff out of the way early on. Like finishing your homework first and if there is something I don¡¯t like for dinner, I¡¯ll eat it before anything else.¡± ¡°I see. So you must be very scared of us then!¡± ¡°¡­If I¡¯m being honest, we made this move because we thought a different party would be 1st.¡± Nord turned to look at Macoco. ¡°I did not expect you to be 2nd.¡± ¡°It¡¯s no surprise. You all overestimate me. I¡¯m just some lady who likes to play games.¡± ¡°And that is what is frightening. Besides, we¡¯re playing a game right now.¡± ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t want to fight you right away, so I¡¯m glad that it was avoided.¡± ¡°You really got us. 2nd is the farthest from us now.¡± As they were talking, the bracket for the final tournament appeared! Indeed, Nord and Macoco would not face each other until the end! As for us¡­it was possible that we could face Nord during the final battle, and Macoco at the semi-final battle. ¡°In other words, we might have to defeat both of them if we want to win¡­¡± It was a frightful thought, but on the other hand, we had gotten into a spot where we didn¡¯t have to fight them until the end. ¡°Ahh¡­ The parties I want to defeat the most are so far away. We have the worst luck. For a second, Nord and my eyes met. Did that mean we were amongst the parties that he wanted to defeat¡­? ¡°Stop thinking about the future as if you¡¯ve discounted us already! There will be no future for you! I will declare it now! We will knock VRHAR out in the first round!¡± Many players muttered in surprise at this. Even I raised my voice. ¡°You¡¯ll be seeing the pathetic headlines on the internet by noon. ¡®VRHAR, out in the first round.¡¯ Be ready for that!¡± ¡°Well, that would get more attention than if we won. However, I think the writers will be forced to write a more boring and predictable article.¡± ¡°Hmph! You¡¯ll see! The first battle of this tournament will cause quite a stir!¡± After a 30 minute break, the battle between Gaming Crocks, who were 1st in the battle royale, and VRHAR, who were 64th, began. And then one by one, the other battles would follow until there was a winner. As our turn would not come for a while, we could take it easy for now. ¡°I suppose I should find out who we¡¯re going to fight.¡± Uh, we¡¯ll be going up against 59¡­Mad Slime CORE!? That was a familiar name, only it looked a little different now. And Slime Man¡¯s name was not in there. In other words¡­ ¡°It¡¯s a different unit within the same guild!¡± There were no rules that said only one party could participate from a guild. So unless they were some kind of unofficial fan club, these were players of Mad Slime as well! Damn it. They really stuck to you and would not get away, just like a slime¡­ ¡°But CORE does make them sound like the stronger version. But in anime and manga, it was usually the one with the unmarked name that came first. It was the same with artist groups. So I guess they were the original?¡± ¡°Actually, the CORE group is the main one.¡± ¡°Really¡­?¡± Satomi always seemed to know what I was wondering. But there was something odd about his voice this time. But before I could ask him¡­the answer became clear. CH 176 Data.166 ¨C Old Bowman, Sticky Connection ¡°So our first opponent is the party that my younger brother is in. That¡¯s unfortunate. He¡¯ll start hating me all over again!¡± The man had spiky blonde hair and wore chain-like accesories over a small leather jacket. It was like some kind of outdated delinquent style, but he did seem familiar¡­ Wait, did he say younger brother!? ¡°I told you already. We shouldn¡¯t talk about real life family relationships within online games.¡± So he is Satomi¡¯s brother! It wasn¡¯t that he was suddenly treating me as an underling, or that Necoco and Anne were actually men! ¡°I don¡¯t see the problem! It¡¯s not like people will know our true identities!¡± ¡°But there were a couple of times when you neary called me by my real name! You still don¡¯t know how to separate VR and real life completely!¡± ¡°Shut up¡­ Ah! Look, if I accidentally expose your real name, then you can do the same to me. Do we have a deal?¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll just sink together! And think of the trouble you¡¯ll cause for our parents!¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right¡­ I wouldn¡¯t want to trouble mom and dad¡­ Fine then. Here, you are Satomi! And I¡¯m Core!¡± ¡°Obviously.¡± ¡°So, what about you, underling? Doing well? Actually, you seem to be doing amazing!¡± Ah, he was treating me like an underling! But I¡¯ve never even met him¡­ ¡°No, we have met before.¡± He read my mind¡­! ¡°While I¡¯ve changed my appearance quite a lot, I intended for there to be some traces left¡­ You know, when you first started out. We were in a party together once.¡± ¡°Ah¡­!?¡± I remembered! He had insulted my play style and pushed me to the brink mentally before suggesting that I try being an archer! So he was Satomi¡¯s brother! While it was a small world, why was it always the strange ones I seemed to be connected with¡­ ¡°And look where being an archer has got you! Aren¡¯t you glad that you didn¡¯t quit!?¡± ¡°Yeah. Thanks.¡± ¡°Hehe. There is no need to thank me. To be honest, I was just in a bad mood that day and took it out on you. I regretted it later, and so I made that suggestion as a way of looking a little concerned.¡± Hmm. Was he just honest or a ruffian¡­ Probably both! ¡°And so¡­ Everything you have now you acquired by yourself. You don¡¯t need to thank anyone! It¡¯s because of you! If you¡¯re a man, then you should have a more haughty attitude about it all!¡± ¡°I-I see.¡± ¡°Yes! Yes! Alright, see ya! I¡¯m leaving! ¡­Oh! That¡¯s right! I came here to do some reconnaissance! To gather some information on the Ghost Guild, who is our first opponent!¡± ¡°First¡­ So you¡¯re a member of Mad Slime CORE?¡± ¡°Exactly! I¡¯m Core, the leader of the pro gamer group Mad Slime! So just call me Core!¡± ¡°Alright, Mr. Core. Do you know Slime Man?¡± ¡°Of course, I do. He¡¯s a squad leader in our guild!¡± ¡°Squad leader?¡± ¡°We have quite a lot of members, so we separate everyone into squads. And we have leaders for the squads, and they have the authority to choose which direction they will be active in. But since Slime Man has become more famous, there are people who assume that he¡¯s the real leader. But they are wrong! Because I, Lord Core, am the real leader of Mad Slime!¡± Slime Man was just a squad leader!? The others had called him that, but I had assumed that they were just going or something. But given that he appeared to dislike being called that, perhaps he enjoyed having people think that he was the leader of Mad Slime¡­ Really, he was an amusing person¡­ ¡°Well, I suppose it¡¯s because of my personality. I don¡¯t post regular videos or play on any fixed schedule. So I¡¯m not very famous as a pro gamer¡­ Even with tournaments, I tend to forget to enter, so I was pretty lucky to get into this one.¡± He was certainly very careless for someone important¡­ In any case, one thing was clear now. While Core and Satomi were related, their personalities were completely different. They probably fought a lot as kids. No, maybe even now¡­ ¡°¡­Ah!? I¡¯m the one who is sharing information! Damn it! Tell me something, Satomi!¡± ¡°There is nothing that I can tell you. I have no intention of revealing information about myself, and I don¡¯t know much about my comrades. We don¡¯t share any information about skills or charge attacks with each other.¡± ¡°Ahh¡­ That seems like a strange way to fight, considering how paranoid you are. What made you change?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you know me well enough to actually recognize if I¡¯ve changed.¡± The atmosphere suddenly became awkward. Clearly, they did not have the best relationship. ¡°Oh, fine then. You always liked to keep your little secrets. I never expected to learn anything from you¡­ I¡¯ll ask the other members!¡± Core pointed at Anne. ¡°Wh-what is it!? Do I look like someone with loose lips!?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just that no one really knows anything about you, so I¡¯m curious. Am I wrong? Everyone else in the finals is at least well-known to some degree, for better or worse.¡± ¡°This is my first time playing an online game. And so I am not famous like those other pros.¡± ¡°A beginner who plays like that¡­ Is your character based on how you really look?¡± ¡°I have obviously changed my face! But my body is similar. I heard that it¡¯s harder to move if you change your physique.¡± ¡°B-but¡­you seem very, uh, tall?¡± ¡°Yes, I am this tall in real life. Ah, but perhaps my chest is a little smaller. I read that it will get in the way if it¡¯s too big or heavy.¡± ¡°I see.. Thank you for the good information¡­!¡± What was wrong with this brother¡­ ¡°Alright! That¡¯s enough information gathering! I¡¯m leaving! Goodbye! You better be ready to face me later!¡± Core left. Without getting any useful information. But perhaps he didn¡¯t care about that to begin with. And his real motive was¡­ ¡°Satomi. You sure have an interesting brother.¡± ¡°Interesting¡­perhaps. But right now, we¡¯re just enemies¡­ We will meet on the battlefield next time. And I won¡¯t hold back.¡± He didn¡¯t even try to hide his hostility. I had never seen Satomi like this before. The relationship between real siblings who lived together since birth, was much different and deeper than relationships in games. ¡°The first battle will start soon. Let¡¯s all go and watch.¡± We were surrounded by relationships and grudges. And one had just been created between Gaming Crocks and VRHAR. It was a battle between two strong guilds. So how would it end? And who would take the glory of victory¡­ CH 177 Data.167 ¨C Old Bowman, The Finals Begin ¡®Now, I will explain to you the detailed rules for the finals-nyon!¡¯ Charin reappeared before the tournament began. It was kind of crazy that there were still unexplained rules with so little time left. ¡°Though, that does make things more interesting¡­!¡± I muttered as if confident and unfazed. ¡®That being said, none of the rules are complicated-nyon! The condition for victory is to annihilate the opposing party! The time limit is 30 minutes! If neither party is annihilated by then, the party with the most survivors will win! If they are the same number, then it will be sudden death! You will have to keep fighting until someone dies-nyon!¡¯ ¡°Oh. Things should move at a good tempo then.¡± When it came to sudden death, you would be able to use the map, which would show the positions of friends and enemies alike. So the battle would not be prolonged because of any running and hiding. However, this did not apply to situations where you used effects from skills to hide, so stealthy strategies will still work. Furthermore, clones and dummies appeared on the map as well, so it would not expose the real player. If anything, it would help confuse the opponent even more. That being said, it would be better for our party if we defeated the enemy before entering sudden death. I was a sniper, and so I would not be able to shoot once my position was compromised. Unless someone like Anne protected me, I would be at a great disadvantage in head-on fights. I had to attack from a distance where there could be no counter attack. And kill them before they discover my position. My basic strategy would not change here. ¡®There are several fields where the battles will take place, and they will be selected at random-nyon! They will range from forests, rivers, mountains, ancient and futuristic cities! But don¡¯t worry, none of them have any special gimmicks that can turn the tide of battle-nyon! And there are obviously no traps or monsters either-nyon!¡¯ So the field will change for every battle¡­ On top of that, the starting point would also change. Sometimes you might spawn near the other party members, and sometimes you will be scattered out. Regardless, you would still spawn at a decent distance from the opposing party. But it would still be possible to run into them before reuniting with your comrades. A lot of that would be based on luck¡­and so some people might say that it wasn¡¯t fair. But I thought that if anything, it was more fair this way. For instance, say there was one type of field and it was flat. As there aren¡¯t many obstacles, it would be difficult to hide or launch an ambush. But someone like me would not be able to make the most of their power without a high platform. On the other hand, parties that were good with head to head clashes would have an advantage. With high firepower and high defense, it would be easier to use brute force. And so if it was the same field the whole time, this party would have the advantage until the final fight. And the same thinking could be applied to the spawn points. If you always started the battle at the same place, then players who could attack the spot immediately would have too much of an advantage. For instance, players who have increased their range¡­ Yes, this was to stop me¡­! If I knew where the enemy was, then I could camp up on Floating Cloud Herd and attack them. And even if they ran away, I could monitor their route. Things would be too easy for me! Well, perhaps it was too egotistical to think that the rule had been made for me alone. But it was true that it was restricting my movements. ¡®And lastly! The items used and cool downs for charge attacks and miracle effects will be reset after every battle-nyon! So there is no need to save them for later! You can fight each battle like it¡¯s the last-nyon!¡¯ That was good to hear. It would hamper us if we had to keep thinking about the future while fighting. Focus on what¡¯s ahead of you! That was the best. ¡®Now, now! It¡¯s time for the first battle of the tournament! Gaming Crocks VS VRHAR! And the field that was selected is¡­the Holy Forest!¡¯ A forest bathed in mystical light appeared on the viewing monitor. It was the kind of forest you¡¯d expect to see giant deers and spirits¡­! ¡®Both parties to the battlefield!¡¯ More screens appeared so that they could show individual players. This way, you could watch all of them. This battle¡­I could not just watch it without thinking. I had to get as much information about VRHAR as I could¡­! ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô Thinking back now, the outcome had been obvious even before it started. I was focused on trying to learn more about VRHAR. In other words, without really thinking about it, I knew that Gaming Crocks were going to be defeated. ¡°8 minutes¡­¡± So in the end, VRHAR had won. And they finished in 8 minutes. And not one of their members had died. Not only that, but the only member of VRHAR that had actually fought was Nord. The other players had just wandered around the field. They hadn¡¯t even drawn their weapons. There was one member called Gullinkambi, who played a silent flute the whole time, but it didn¡¯t seem like an actual attack. ¡°While it wasn¡¯t an attack, it must have been sending information to Nord, and supporting him somehow¡­¡± I felt that my guess was right. But I had no proof. I hadn¡¯t expected to learn everything about them in just one fight, but I expected more than this¡­. I didn¡¯t even see the Unisons. However, I would not be discouraged, and would continue to watch all of their battles. I wanted to learn as much as I could about potential opponents. And like this, we continued to watch the fights to gather information. But¡­they were also very entertaining! Sometimes they were one-sided, and other times they were excitingly neck and neck. At some point, I forgot my original purpose and became an ordinary spectator who was enjoying the battles. To the point that I almost forgot that I was participating in it too¡­ However, I had more of an athlete¡¯s readiness than I thought. And so when the time drew near, my focus started to shift to that naturally. ¡°Are you all ready?¡± My comrades who were striving to reach the top all nodded quietly. It was about to start. CH 178 Data.168 ¨C Old Bowman, Groundbreaking Snake ¡®And now for the 23rd tournament battle! It¡¯s Mad Slime CORE vs Ghost Guild! And the selected field is¡­the futuristic city!¡¯ Numerous skyscrapers appeared on the viewing monitors. Roads stretched and winded through them as drones flew in the air. It was what humans once thought the future would look like. Though, a lot of futuristic cities had buildings that were designed with safety and efficiency in mind. The bolder designs were saved for tourist attractions. Still, these buildings sure were tall. I thought of snipers who shot through the gaps between buildings. But at the same time, there were a lot of things to hide behind. With so many blind spots, it would be easy for an enemy to get close. Hmm. Even with the others protecting me, it would be best for me to stay in the back as support. It was easy for snipers to be targeted by assassins. ¡­Alright then. That was about all I could think about now. ¡°Let¡¯s go and win! We will accept nothing but victory!¡± As the oldest here, I called out to the nervous youngsters. Obviously, our battle would be compared to the many entertaining battles that had played out already. As people wanted to enjoy a show, that also added to the pressure¡­! ¡°There¡¯s no reason to think too deeply. Just think about winning. That should be enough to make it as entertaining as possible¡­!¡± I was mostly saying this to convince myself, but the others agreed. If we did what we came to do, there was no need to feel embarrassed regardless of anything else. And if we did lose, there would be an article on the net about how the ¡®Ghost Guild was defeated in the first round,¡¯ that¡¯s all. ¡­Though, I would hate that! ¡®Both parties to the battlefield!¡¯ And so the Ghost Guild was warped to the futuristic city. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°¡­Woah!¡± So, where¡­did I spawn? Apparently, it was on some road. But it was in a very high place¡­ As this was made to be a battlefield, there were no guardrails, and so you could walk off the edge of the road and plummet to the bottom¡­ And so I hesitantly walked to the edge and looked down¡­ ¡°It¡¯s a¡­junction!¡± A junction where several roads joined together in mid air! It must be so amazing to look at from the outside, or drive across¡­! Especially at night time. The lights from the cars would look like shooting stars that moved in different directions. It was nice that it wasn¡¯t just cool buildings, but the place was designed to be useful for people as well! There were plenty of objects that were just cool to look at, but there was something great about things that were the result of maximum efficiency! Well, this was still from someone¡¯s imagination, and wasn¡¯t exactly minimalist, but the junction was still so¡­ Ah, this was no time to be thinking about that! I couldn¡¯t see any of my party members! Was this going to be the pattern where I had to start the battle while the whole party was scattered!? I had to find them as soon as possible¡­! That being said, I was also in a great position that offered a view over a large area. And it would be a waste to abandon it. There were no tall buildings close to me, so my line of fire extended far. It would be best to unite with the others here¡­! ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± ¡°Oh! Garbow! You were nearby!¡± While the Unisons also warped in random locations, the Unisons themselves knew where their comrades were, and so they would move to the closest player after being warped. And so it wasn¡¯t necessarily the player who they were attached to. So Garbow being close to me was pure luck! Garbow had already activated B Ocean Sphere as he moved towards me. Was it lonely being by himself? ¡­It would have been nice if it was something so cute, but I doubted it. He wasn¡¯t rushing towards me in order to jump into my arms. He was being chased by someone¡­! Or else he wouldn¡¯t have used such a powerful charge attack already! ¡°Exorcism Barrier! Sniping Eye!¡± I activated the barrier to protect myself against a surprise attack, and then I looked towards Garbow¡¯s back. But Garbow was the only thing on the road. And he was moving straight towards me. There was no sign of anyone else. Though it was possible that they were invisible. I suppose I should use Seal Demon Bind traps or try to burn it with Demon Purification Light¡¯s lasers¡­ Gagagagagagaga!!! ¡°What¡­!?¡± Suddenly, the road in front of me tore apart, and something like a giant snake jumped out! No, on further inspection, it wasn¡¯t a snake! Chains? Blades? Wires? ¡°It¡¯s a whip sword!¡± A weapon made by connecting separating blades with a wire! The road had been destroyed from below by a giant version of it! Now I would be separated from Garbow¡­! ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite some speed!¡± But Garbow had reached this side before the road collapsed completely! As B Ocean Sphere was still activated, I quickly grabbed onto him so that we could escape! Now that the enemy was so close, it was better to run¡­! ¡°Tsk! Damn it! My aim was a little off! As I was attacking from below, I couldn¡¯t see the exact location!¡± The person had attacked, missed, got angry, and then started making excuses¡­! Annoyances aside, this was the voice of¡­Core! So my first encounter was with the leader of the enemy party¡­! CH 179 Data.169 ¨C Old Bowman, Fight on the Junction ¡°Tsk! I won¡¯t let you get away!¡± I could hear Core¡¯s voice coming from below. He had been able to get this close to a sniper, so there was no way that he was going to back off now. It was clear that he would chase after me, tenacious as a snake, and with eyes for nothing else¡­! However, I did not want to fight under these conditions. Now that he was this close, the correct thing to do was to run. In that case, wouldn¡¯t it be best to use Warp Arrow or I¡¯m Arrow and create some distance between us all at once? The answer was no. It was possible that there would be an enemy where I landed, and he would still be able to see my trajectory and figure out my location. Besides, according to the rules, I could not dismiss Garbow. That meant he would be left behind if I used Warp Arrow. Furthermore, you were able to attack your comrades here, which meant he would likely die if I took him and escaped with I¡¯m Arrow. Damn it. I just had to start in such a disadvantageous situation¡­or had I? Now that I thought about it, with Garbow here, we had the advantage in numbers. After the 3rd evolution and new gear, Garbow¡¯s specs were close to an average player. Obviously, that was not good enough to take on Core alone, but I was here too. Surely¡­we had the upper hand? ¡°Maybe I was being too cowardly¡­!¡± After all, there were some who thought I was a candidate to win. I was a feared player in my own right. And so it would not be bad to sometimes proudly fight back when a strong enemy approaches! ¡°Garbow! Stop!¡± We were far enough now. I would start my own attack! My target was Core, the Mad Slime leader! Currently, he was running straight down the road! ¡°Let¡¯s do some testing. Gatling Inferno Arrow!¡± I unleashed a chain of arrows that burned with hellfire. How would he defend himself? Or would he dodge it? It would give me an idea of his fighting style. ¡°Oh! So you finally grew a spine! But that¡¯s not enough! Coil Bellows!¡± The whip sword surrounded Core and began to rotate at a high speed. And so the arrows were blocked by the rotating blades and were not able to reach Core. I see¡­ So he blocks attacks! Then there was a simple way of dealing with him. Unleash so many attacks that he won¡¯t be able to block all of them! ¡°Big Thunder Arrow!¡± I fused Thunder Arrow, which I hoped would electrocute him even if cut down, and Big Arrow, which was a new and simple charge attack that shot a single large arrow. This huge, electric arrow would not be easy to cut down! ¡°That¡¯s a big one! But not enough. Bite Bellows!¡± The tip of the chain whip transformed into a snake head. Core extended it straight so that it bit the edge of a different road. ¡°I can escape like this as well!¡± Core flew through the air as the chain whip retracted. He probably meant to land on that other road¡­but I wouldn¡¯t allow him. I knew Big Arrow¡¯s strengths and weaknesses. Its strength was that it was powerful and big, and could be shot casually, as the cool down was only 1 minute! Its weakness was that its size made it easy to see and dodge. While I still didn¡¯t know much about core, it was not the kind of charge attack that players in the finals should have trouble with. However, even if it was simple, it was still a charge attack. If you wanted to block it, you needed to use a defense charge attack. And if you wanted to cancel it out, you needed to use an offensive one. He might have to show one of the tricks up his sleeve¡­ And even if he didn¡¯t¡­he would still try to use one of his skills to get away. The road was not very wide. And so he would have to jump to another road in order to dodge the arrow. Yes, my aim had been to lure him into the air! ¡°Garbow! Missile Fish! And I¡¯ll¡­Thunder Arrow Tempest!¡± An attack that unleashed enough arrows to block out the sky! Even if you had the ability to move in the air a little, it would not be enough to escape this overwhelming attack! ¡°¡­You really are amazing. A completely different person from before. An actual top player. It¡¯s wonderful.¡± It sounded like an admission of my power and his own defeat¡­ However, he was smiling as if highly amused. ¡°Charge attack, Anaconda Bellows!¡± This time, it wasn¡¯t just the tip of the sword, but the entire sword transformed into the mouth of a snake! A huge mouth¡­! And it was gaping wide so that it could swallow a standing player! ¡°Swallow! Anaconda!¡± All the arrows and missiles in the area were sucked into the anaconda¡¯s mouth¡­! Was this a specifically anti-ranged attack method of defense!? ¡°Tsk¡­! That wasn¡¯t enough. Oh, well! Spit it out! Anaconda!¡± The mouth closed and then opened again. And a thick, green bullet of energy shot out! It was a counter attack that was enhanced by all the attacks it swallowed before¡­! ¡°Garbow! Activate Sunfish Bow!¡± Garbow¡¯s new weapon was Sunfish Bow! I had actually been considering a weapon that wasn¡¯t a bow, but I had to choose it due to the name! A giant bow floated around Garbow, and it was in the shape of a sunfish. I had always thought that sunfish looked a little like a bow¡­sort of¡­ ¡°Target the enemy charge attack! Fire! Sunfish Arrow!¡± The arrow that the Sunfish bow unleashed didn¡¯t even look like an arrow. It was no wonder, as it was surrounded by a sphere of light that looked like the sun. It was so bright and big and¡­slow! The arrow was even slower than Big Arrow. And the activation time was also long. Which meant it could blind the enemy and act as a shield. The charge attacks I normally used were quick and disappeared almost instantly, but having something that was the opposite had broadened my options! Juuuuuuu!! The Sunfish Arrow crashed into Core¡¯s unleashed charge attack, and killed it. While it was slow, it was powerful! I would continue to unleash follow up attacks while using the Sunfish Arrow as a smoke screen! CH 180 Data.170 ¨C Old Bowman, Allrounder Power ¡°Garbow! Gazer Fish!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Gazer Fish, the charge attack that spread out small mecha fish that had large camera eyes. Their main purpose is to act as scouts, but they could also be used as aerial mines! They would find out an enemy¡¯s location and then explode when they got close, in order to block its path. With the rules of this tournament, I would not always have the opportunity to shoot from far away. Part of it was because the fields were random, but it was also because people were careful around me. The parties that were really here to win would have ways of dealing with long ranged attacks. And I wasn¡¯t being conceited for thinking that. And so, I also had prepared a few ways to deal with their countermeasures. One of them was to rule the space where the battles took place¡­! ¡°Kurokogairu!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± A giant sun that acted as a shield, scattered mines, and then some clones¡­! The space here was ruled¡­by Garbow! Unfortunately, as someone who specialized in Range, I could not be an all-rounder. I had raised Garbow to be able to adapt to all kinds of situations from the beginning, so I pushed a lot onto him¡­well, I trusted him a lot. That was my style. Of course, I had not expected to be separated from my party in the tournament like this¡­ But if my luck had been worse, I would have had to fight Core completely alone¡­ ¡°Gazer Fish, scout out the area with the clones! Attack enemies on sight!¡± If we defeated Core, who was the leader, then we would gain a great advantage. Now, this time, I would not let him get away¡­ On the other hand, if he did run away, it would be easier to target his back¡­ ¡°Hundred Cracks! Sting Bellows!¡± Core launched an attack through Sunfish Arrow! A sting attack that was so fast I could barely see it was rushing towards me¡­! Tsk. So he had realized that the blinding sun would be an obstacle for me as well! ¡°Bring the Sunfish Bow over here! Sunpower Guard!¡± There was another use for the Sunfish Bow other than having it swim in the air. You could grip its fins and hold it up as a giant shield. It was a weapon that could both attack and defend! ¡ô Sunfish Bow Type: Water Unison exclusive bow Attack: 150 Defense: 30 Magic Defense: 30 Weapon skill: Sunpower Guard Weapon charge attack: Sunfish Arrow Sunpower Guard was a skill that created a circular energy shield around the user. The warm golden light would be effective against both physical and magic attacks. Apparently, they were called sunfish because their round bodies looked like a ¡®sea sun¡¯ when floating in the water to get some sunlight. And so they were called sunfish¡­ I understood why sunflowers were called that, but sunfish¡­too? Well, I suppose the naming sensibilities of people were different. Back to the main topic. While activated, Garbow¡¯s MP would continue to diminish, but Garbow also had the MP Regen skill with his new equipment, Ultra E Generator, which covered him. ¡ô Ultra E Generator(E Tank Tandem) Type: Machine Unison MP: 220 Weapon Skill: Ultra Energy Regen It was an upgraded version of the E Generator he used to use. As the name implied, the weapon skill Ultra Energy Regen replenished your MP at a faster rate. And it also raised your maximum MP. If your max MP is higher, than the more MP you¡¯ll recover over time. ¡°He¡¯s managed to block it¡­! But, if he can block it with a defense skill, that means this isn¡¯t a charge attack in spite of being so powerful¡­!¡± My guess was that Sting Bellows was just a skill that quickly shot out the whip sword for a thrust attack. And it must be the effect of some other skill or charge attack that he is able to activate it so many times in a row without waiting¡­! Necoco had something similar. There must be quite a lot of skills that allow you to multiply the effect of skills and charge attacks. Under this chain of piercing attacks, Garbow¡¯s clones and the Gazer Fish were destroyed one after another. And so Sunfish Arrow was annihilated, and Core appeared from within the light. ¡°That crocodile sure is useful! I didn¡¯t even think that Unisons were worth considering, but I was wrong. Now it does feel like 2 vs 1¡­ Which isn¡¯t great for me!¡± ¡°¡­!¡± It was Core¡¯s expression. His mouth. And some kind of instinct. I immediately used First Wind Sliding Feet, which was a skill that allowed me to move a short distance at a great speed. Just as I moved to a spot that was 2 meters away, a water bullet flew towards the place I had been standing! ¡°A new arrival¡­!?¡± ¡°Well, it is party vs party, isn¡¯t it?¡± I saw a figure on a road that was above the junction¡­! The round silhouette suggested they were wearing something like a raincoat? Well, their appearance didn¡¯t matter now! I was now being attacked from both sides! ¡°The charge attack I targeted you with first was Big Bellows! While all it does is make my sword bigger, it also attracts a lot of attention when pointed at the sky. So much that anyone in this field will be able to see it!¡± So the first attack wasn¡¯t just an ambush, but also to tell his friends his position! ¡°I raise my blade towards the heavens and tell them to gather! That¡¯s what a party leader does! A guild master!! Now, Gela! Let¡¯s take this old man down! It¡¯s not cowardice! It¡¯s a pincer attack!¡± ¡°Okay! Bye-bye old¡­ Woah!? Ouchhh!!¡± The raincoat player called Gela suddenly caught on fire! ¡°Being visible anywhere on the field means your enemies will see you too. I¡¯m sure you were expecting this.¡± ¡°Of course, I was. I knew you would come like a fly to the flames¡­Satomi.¡± Satomi had appeared, riding on a cloud in the sky with Gochu¡­! CH 181 Data,171 ¨C Old Bowman, Chaos Battlefield ¡°Satomi! So you were able to unite with Gochu!¡± ¡°Unison Trainers¡­no, Unison Masters, have the right to be able to warp to the same place as the Unison they bring with them.¡± I see. So that¡¯s how it was. While I didn¡¯t like to treat them as objects, for their jobs, Unisons were like weapons. And so if the rules had to tear them apart, it would be no different than having me warp in a different place as my bow. It would put me at too much of a disadvantage. ¡°Hey-hey-hey-hey Satomi! Why don¡¯t you come down and fight? While my whip sword can extend pretty far, it¡¯s not meant to be used for long-range combat!¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I took to the sky, even if it meant revealing that I could fly on the very first fight!¡± Satomi seemed a lot more heated when it came to fighting his brother! Brothers at that age tended to be very competitive¡­ ¡°Phew¡­! I finally extinguished it¡­! Now, sorry to interrupt your heated exchange, but that¡¯s what I do best! I¡¯ll knock you out of the sky!¡± The girl in the raincoat, Gela, had a water gun as her weapon! While it looked like a toy, she was not to be underestimated. If the water was shot out at a high enough pressure, then it had the power to even cut through metal. And since this was a game set in a fantasy world, it was more than possible that it could do more damage than a bullet! ¡°I won¡¯t let you¡­! Windgod Sky Tear!¡± The highspeed arrow shot towards her head, but then it slid off the hood of her raincoat, and did not pierce through it. Was the surface of that raincoat¡­coated in something that reduced friction!? ¡°Woah, scary! I knew you would try and target me! Eat this, Fountain Missile!¡± A backpack appeared on Gela¡¯s back, and water bottle rockets launched one after another! After rising high into the sky, they changed direction and began to rain down¡­! ¡°Exorcism Barrier!¡± In general, the more shots you fired, the weaker the individual shots. And so the barrier didn¡¯t budge even a little after several rockets hit it. I could continue my attacks towards Gela. ¡°I already know that fire is effective against that raincoat! Gatling Inferno¡­¡± Craackk!! The moment that I held up my bow, the whip sword broke through the barrier! Garbow then moved in between us and activated Energy Shield III. It was the advanced version of Energy Shield, which I had bought with 50 NSO coins in the past. It was a skill that allowed Garbow to create a shield of energy that followed him. I had thought that it was similar to Sunpower Guard, but it was actually quite different. The Sunfish Bow didn¡¯t actually follow Garbow closely. While it would not move too far away, it still swam around as if it had a will of its own. And so there were times when I would try and activate the shield, only to see that it was in a completely different place. And while it had come to me when I called it earlier, there were also times when it just ignored me¡­ I didn¡¯t think that it was necessary to make its behavior so similar to an actual sunfish, but I had no choice but to just work around it. Having great weapon skills, charge attacks and high stats was more than enough¡­! ¡°Stop spacing out! I¡¯m the star of the show here! Me, Core!¡± The whip sword extended out and began to writhe! It was like watching an actual snake move violently around¡­! There was nowhere to run in the barrier. And so I had to get out¡­! ¡°Unison Maestro¡­Fire Scatter!¡± ¡°Woah!? This again? Ah, it¡¯s hot!!¡± Now it wasn¡¯t water bottles coming down from the sky, but fiery flower petals! Was it Satomi¡¯s new attack¡­!? ¡°Tsk! First its water and now its fire¡­ Is this a battlefield!? Ah, it is a battlefield!¡± Core retracted his whip sword in order to defend himself. He was surprisingly the cautious type¡­ I thought that he would enter the barrier in order to get close to me. It would also allow him to stop the attacks from the sky. It was two birds with one stone. And since I had predicted it, I had been ready to activate Stardust Arrow, which was my strongest attack for close range combat, as well as Garbow¡¯s Crimson Deathroll¡­ Crack, crack¡­.crack¡­! ¡°Ah.¡± The barrier was collapsing! It had withstood the water bottle missiles and even an attack from the whip sword had only broken a part of it, but it was at its limit now¡­! That¡¯s why Core had retreated! However, that made things easier for me now. I just had to reactivate the skill¡­! ¡°Mr. Kyuji! Let¡¯s take on one each! It will be easier to move like that!¡± ¡°Satomi¡­!¡± Perhaps he was right¡­ While I had been fighting for a while now, I was still being sandwiched by Core and Gela. That hadn¡¯t changed. Though there was something comical in their attacks, they had no intention of letting me get out of the pincer attacks. With Core in the front and Gela in the back¡­ Instead of having to think about both and fight, it would be best to leave one of them to Satomi so that I could focus on one of them. I hated multi-tasking! ¡°Let¡¯s do that!¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll defeat Core!¡± ¡°¡­Got it!¡± There was something different about Satomi today. And while I was worried, I decided to put my faith in him. At the very least, I would defeat Gela, so that they could continue their brotherly brawl! ¡°So, this is just what Core wanted after all¡­ Oh, well! If he wants to teach his little brother a lesson so much, I won¡¯t get in the way! Come at me, old man!¡± ¡°My pleasure¡­!¡± CH 182 Data.172 ¨C Old Bowman, Umbrella and Raincoat I just had to defeat the enemy in front of me¡­ By switching my mindset to that, I felt that the scenery around me had become clearer. It was a bit late and inefficient for that, but never mind. When I focused on her, I saw that she looked quite young as she stood there in her raincoat. She held a water gun in her hand, and wore matching boots. If she wasn¡¯t talking, you might mistake her for an actual child. I had heard that there were a lot of battle VR games that didn¡¯t allow you to create younger characters, in order to avoid ethical criticisms. ¡­But not NSO. Well, they did at least have age restrictions for who could play, so it wasn¡¯t completely lawless. VR games were a little too stimulating for kids under a certain age. ¡°Her attacks use the water attribute. So I should use electricity! Gatling Thunder Arrow!¡± I unleashed a chain of thunder arrows at Gela-tin. I would push hard. As she also used ranged attacks, I could imagine what her strengths and weaknesses are. On top of that, I had Garbow. That would give me a great advantage¡­! ¡°Uhh¡­ In spite of talking big, going up against the famous old bowman is¡­ Argh! Come out! Kasako!¡± Gela-tin pulled out an umbrella from her raincoat and opened it so that it blocked all the arrows¡­! I see. So she was saving it. Indeed, the water gun seemed like a one-handed weapon, and so having a one-handed shield in the other hand would result in better balance for attack and defense. And the umbrella could also be used as a weapon if necessary. Anyone who ever played with an umbrella as a sword would know this! It was an all-rounder weapon that could even be used in close-range combat¡­that¡¯s what an umbrella is! ¡°Kasako. We have to stop this old man so he doesn¡¯t get in the way of Core and Satomi¡¯s fight. So let¡¯s fight as if we just need to buy some time.¡± ¡°Kassakasa!¡± The umbrella talked!? Was it a Unison that could be equipped¡­? No, calm down. It wasn¡¯t all that unusual. Macoco Strange also had a Unison that could transform into a boomerang, which was a powerful weapon. Now it was 2 vs 2¡­ So, would she come closer¡­? ¡°¡­¡± But Gela-tin and Kasako¡­did not move! While it might seem odd for me to not take advantage of this, it would also be easier for me to wait, as the cool down for the charge attacks I used against Core would finally end. But she would know that as well¡­ What was she thinking¡­? ¡°¡­Ah!¡± I see. That¡¯s why¡­! She knew that even if we fought, she would not be able to beat me! And so she would not be the first to attack. Instead, she would focus on defense and buy time. If this was just us fighting, it would be a waste of time, but since it was a party battle with a time limit, the rules dictated that the side with the most survivors would win. And so she believed in her comrades. As long as she could slow me down, her other party members would defeat the others and lead their team to victory¡­! That¡¯s why she didn¡¯t attack no matter how long I waited. And so there was no point in waiting for her to move. ¡°Garbow. Let¡¯s attack now!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Gela-tin shuddered at this declaration. Now, the first attack I had decided on was¡­ ¡°If you¡¯re not going to fight, then we¡¯ll go and help Satomi!¡± I turned away from her and ran! ¡°¡­What!? Hey-hey-hey-hey! Weren¡¯t you listening to them earlier!? They¡¯ll hate you for getting in their way!¡± ¡°Like I care! This is a place for serious fights! Not for personal grudges from real life! Besides, I¡¯m unemployed, so I¡¯m going to raise my chances of getting that 25 million!¡± ¡°Why are you so childish!? Tsk¡­! I guess I have no choice but to attack then! I don¡¯t want Core to hate me!¡± Gela-tin jumped down from the high road of the junction. ¡°Parasol Parachute!¡± The handle of the umbrella Unison called Kasako began to move and clutch tightly around Gela. Now that her hand was free, she pulled out another water gun from her item box. ¡°I¡¯m good at attacking the ground from the sky! No rain can stop this operation!¡± So she was going to shower me with water bullets from the sky. However, when it came to attacking things in the air, that was something I was good at! In the first place, I had said all of that as a way of luring her into the sky! And now she was descending slowly in a parachute, which made her an easy target! And so I turned around and prepared to shoot her. ¡°Hmph! Did you really think that I was fooled by your wooden acting? Well, it¡¯s not like you could get past my rain attacks anyway! Yes! Mushroomcopter!¡± Kasako, who had been acting as a parachute until a moment ago, was now rotating furiously like the propellers of a helicopter! Now that she had this propelling force, Gela-tin started to shoot towards me! ¡°Thunder Arrow Tempest!¡± Numerous arrows that were formed by lightning attacked Gela-tin and Kasako. A helicopter was not that agile. And she could not weave through the storm of arrows! ¡°I told you that I¡¯m invincible! Kasako! Peace of Mushul Powder!¡± The white powder from Kasako surrounded Gela-tin! As soon as the arrows touched it, they lost their momentum and fell to the ground¡­! ¡°It¡¯s a charge attack for defense! While the spores don¡¯t cause any damage, it is still good with nullifying enemy attacks! Especially with attacks like yours, where there are lots of small projectiles! And it also lasts for a long ti- Ahhhhhh!!¡± Thunder Arrow Tempest was just a smokescreen. My real purpose was to have Garbow move under her and use Crimson Deathroll! The spores would not be enough to stop a single, high firepower attack, and the raincoat didn¡¯t protect her from below! And so Gela-tin took great damage on her legs, so that red X marks appeared on them. This had been added to show that she had lost the use of them, as some players had any depictions of gore switched off. Indeed, up until now, it was difficult to tell, which would be an advantage to players who had it switched on. ¡°Damn it¡­! Regeneration potion¡­!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let you!¡± HP and MP recovery potions could be used easily during combat. However, special items like recovery potions took nearly 10 seconds to have an effect. And it wouldn¡¯t activate if canceled midway, and you could not use skills or special attacks either. So you would have to hide somewhere or have your friends guard you while using it. It would be reckless to use it right in front of an enemy. ¡°Grrr¡­! Sorry, Core!¡± ¡°Garbow! Electric River! Gatling Thunder Arrow!¡± After being hit by the chain of thunder attacks, Gela-tin disappeared into light. The umbrella and raincoat that protected against rain was nothing when it came to lightning. ¡°That¡¯s one down¡­!¡± Whenever a player died, the information was immediately shared with the others. As this was directly linked to their chances of victory, the news could cause Mad Slime Core to change their strategy¡­ Logically speaking, I probably should go and support Core. As the battle started, the two brothers had gone down from the junction and disappeared into the city. But I could still hear the sounds of them fighting. If I wanted to go, I could¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you, Satomi.¡± It was not good to interfere in a personal battle between men. And so I would search for a different target¡­! CH 183 Data.173 ¨C Another Perspective: VR Brother Fight ¡°So Gela-tin was killed¡­ That old man really is strong. I shouldn¡¯t have forced her to fight him. Still, I¡¯ll end this fight in style to make up for it! So stop hiding!¡± They were in a residential area within the futuristic city. It was filled with rows of plain buildings that were about as individualistic as blocks of tofu. And amidst it all, stood a player with his trade-mark spiky, golden hair, Core. He swung around his whip sword loudly and shouted to the brother who was hiding somewhere. ¡°Do you think that if you wait long enough, your friends will come and defeat me for you!? Is this your style of ¡®taking it easy¡¯ then? What a joke!¡± Core¡¯s voice echoed against the walls of the buildings. However, there was no other sound that could be heard. ¡°I know that you¡¯re still in this area. I can even drag you out if I want to. Now, come out! Do I have to teach you how to fight, like I did a long time ago?¡± ¡°Teach¡­? I never asked you to teach me anything.¡± Satomi¡¯s voice echoed through the residential area. It was very loud, and since it echoed everywhere, it was impossible to tell where it was coming from. ¡°Tsk, some kind of skill¡­ What are you saying! You would never have finished those games without my help!¡± ¡°Finishing games was never my main objective. What is important to me is to be free and have fun! You wouldn¡¯t know, because you only care about efficiency!¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right! I used to get games early so that I could beat them and then sell them on release day! I don¡¯t like to do things slowly! You should keep moving efficiently!¡± ¡°Nevermind that. I¡¯m not here to attack your personal playstyle. Just don¡¯t push it onto others!¡± ¡°No! I do think that you have a point, but it¡¯s impossible to not say something when watching others! Even livestreams that I watch to kill time cause me to go crazy! And if it¡¯s my own brother¡­I¡¯m not going to stay silent!¡± ¡°I just want to play the game and have fun! It¡¯s not about ideals or anything! Sometimes I will think about efficiency, and sometimes I¡¯ll waste time. Doing what you want at the moment is the ultimate way of taking it easy¡­and having fun!¡± ¡°I see. So that¡¯s why you¡¯d say strange things about Max Fun.¡± ¡°A minor pro saying that their playstyle is ¡®to have fun¡¯ will be buried in this great age of VR. But to put it more bluntly, Max Fun is a great advertisement!¡± ¡°Awesome! That¡¯s my younger brother!¡± After exchanging this many words, he had a good grasp on his location. And so Core swung his sword whip in order to destroy the building that Satomi was hiding behind! ¡°Big Bellows!¡± Buildings were weak. After one hit of the enlarged sword, it crumbled like tofu. However, Satomi was not amongst the rubble. Instead¡­ ¡°Oink?¡± ¡°What!? What is this!?¡± It was a round, balloon-like pig! The pig was snorting loudly and was not only unaffected by Core¡¯s attack, but seemed oblivious of the situation! ¡°But there are no monsters in this field¡­ Or is it an object?¡± ¡°Oink! Oink! Oinkkkkkk!!¡± Suddenly, a gust of wind shot out from the pig¡¯s snout. The wind pressure was so strong that it could break your bones, and so Core activated a defense skill. ¡°Coil Bellows! Ha¡­haha¡­ What the hell is this pig!? Huh¡­!?¡± But then followup attacks were unleashed at Coil Bellows. This time, it was a furious stream of water! And then from a different direction, a burst of flames hit him! After being hit from three directions at the same time, his skill reached its limit! ¡°Gaaaahhh!!¡± Core¡¯s defenses failed. But Satomi continued to give out orders! ¡°Gochu! Buffi! Kapaparuto! Keep hitting him with charge attacks!¡± Gochu was the familiar monkey that used magic. The balloon-like pig was Buffi. And Kapaparuto was a cool military kappa that wore sunglasses. Satomi had summoned three Unisons at once! ¡°Fire Kindling Seed! Ultra Air Cannon! Guerilla Stream!¡± Rapidfire of flame bullets! Compressed air shot through cannons! A sudden violent stream! The three charge attacks shot towards Core! ¡°Huh? What a wonderful trump card¡­ No, Miracle Effect!?¡± Core¡¯s whip sword began to shine in the colors of the rainbow¡­! ¡°So I¡¯ll answer them with my own Miracle Effect then¡­ Yurlungur.¡± He swung the blades in a circle. And after hitting each charge attack, they were annihilated¡­! ¡°What¡­!?¡± ¡°This is my Miracle Effect, Yurlungur! Normally, you¡¯re not supposed to tell what the effect is, but I don¡¯t care! Because it¡¯s not like you¡¯ll be able to do anything about it!¡± Now that Satomi had appeared, Core¡¯s blade shot towards him! ¡°Buffi! Unbreakable Balloon!¡± Buffi moved between them and then its body inflated like a balloon. The rainbow blade bounced right off. And then Buffi staggered and fell to the ground. ¡°That much HP even when using a defense charge attack¡­!?¡± ¡°Of course! Because I know your weakness! Same with the charge attacks! It¡¯s easy to kill them if you know their weaknesses! When attacking, Yurlungur automatically switches to the most effective attribute. It¡¯s an amazing Miracle Effect!¡± ¡°So that¡¯s how you were able to cancel out three at once¡­¡± ¡°Exactly! If you thought that by using three Unisons at once, you could unleash an attack that I would be unable to deal with, you underestimated me! You¡¯re too green! My sword can cut through anything!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it too early to declare that? I haven¡¯t shown all my hands yet either¡­!¡± ¡°Oh, I look forward to seeing them. Neither of us use one shot highpower Miracle Effects, but special continuous ones. So it¡¯s just a matter of which runs out first¡­ Let¡¯s put it to the test then!¡± ¡°Gladly!¡± CH 184 Data.174 ¨C Another Perspective: Light Piercing the Rainbow The three Unisons and rainbow-colored blades crossed paths repeatedly. Yurlungur was a Miracle Effect that added a buff to your weapon, and so the whip sword could continue to unleash skills and charge attacks as usual. The blade would constantly transform in order to hit an enemy¡¯s weakness as it writhed on both the ground and in the air. This was the strongest battle art of Core, the leader of Mad Slime¡­! However, there was something about this fight that was bothering Core. (Satomi doesn¡¯t move¡­) He gave out precise orders to the three Unisons, and healed them while standing his ground. And while he seemed to be quite busy at a glance, Core was not convinced. (Why doesn¡¯t he move farther back? Unison Masters are the weakest job by themselves, and yet he¡¯s staying within reach of my whip sword. Surely he realizes that this increases the burden on the Unisons¡­) Satomi was maintaining the same distance to Core at all times. If he was just giving out orders, he could do that farther away and while hiding behind something. And so it was odd that he was putting himself in danger like this¡­ (And while he is healing, he isn¡¯t attacking. I already know that he has attack skills that don¡¯t rely on the Unisons. And yet, he doesn¡¯t attack even when there is an opening¡­) While Unisons were their weapons, it wasn¡¯t like the masters had no combat ability of their own. And so they would have attack skills to help support their precious Unisons¡­ But Satomi would not attack. He was close enough to Core, but showed no signs of attacking. Why was Satomi doing this¡­? (Perhaps it¡¯s a demerit of Miracle Effect¡­ He was summoning three Unisons at once. However¡­it¡¯s possible that they will be dismissed if he moves too far from them. On top of that, maybe the Unison Master isn¡¯t allowed to attack. And they can only use items to heal¡­ ) After thinking about this, it seemed rather convincing. In order to confirm his suspicion, Core tried to move in order to escape being surrounded by the Unisons. ¡°Ah¡­!? Wait! Are you going to run away in the middle of a fight!¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s nothing wrong with running from others in this game!¡± Satomi was clearly a little frantic now. And then he started to dash towards Core in order to close the gap. Core saw this and chuckled. It was enough to prove that his guess had been correct. (Thinking while running is a lot harder than thinking while standing still. And so I¡¯ll make Satomi run here and dull his ability to make decisions! After all, I¡¯m much more athletic than him!) Core continued to fight while moving. He would try to lead Satomi into making mistakes. But even if he didn¡¯t, he could still buy some time. Both of them had time limits on their Miracle Effects. And if they fought without those effects, Core would surely be stronger¡­ That was what he believed. (When one player summons three Unisons, their fighting force goes from one to four. So they have four times as many moves. But my effect is just to strengthen my sword¡­ And so I highly doubt that his effect will last longer! In the first place, he activated his before me!) And Core knew that Satomi understood this. And so Satomi would surely take a great risk before the Miracle Effect wore off¡­ Knowing when the moment came could be the deciding factor in this fight. (My guess would be that it lasts for three to five minutes. Mine lasts seven minutes, like the seven colors of the rainbow! And so I¡¯ll take him down as soon as he loses the Unisons! And then I can go and hunt down his friends!) As Core had guessed, Satomi¡¯s movements started to change after three minutes. He had brandished his weapon, which was a staff. (Oh, he is probably going to have them all attack at once just before disappearing¡­ My guess is the Unisons¡¯ charge attacks remain even after they are gone. So I¡¯ll have to deal with attacks from four different directions¡­ Well, that¡¯s easy!) Satomi charged his staff with light and then charged at Core! At the same time, the three Unisons prepared to attack! ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking, little brother! Let¡¯s go, Machine God Sword ¨C Amabami Oomuragaki! Yamatano Oojabara!¡± The rainbow-colored sword split into eight! Each was thinner than usual, but they all moved independently! ¡°As I said before, my swords will cut through anything!¡± Three of the blades crashed into the Unisons¡¯ charge attacks! The remaining five¡­all shot towards Satomi! ¡°Well, you only have to defeat the master, after all.¡± Core said lazily. However, Satomi¡¯s expression did not change as he charged into the swords! ¡°Scatter!¡± And with unbelievable reflexes, he escaped being dealt a fatal wound! While he lost his left arm, had a deep wound in his right leg, and lost everything below his left knee, he continued to move forward with his staff! (What are these reflexes¡­!? Surely Satomi shouldn¡¯t be capable of such a¡­huh!? Auto-battle Mode!?) Satomi had used this charge attack during the Charin battle. As the name suggested, it was a charge attack that left the combat to an AI. However, normally Satomi would never use this mode to attack an enemy when he would take so much damage. Because there was no way that he would have enough strength to defeat the enemy even if he got this close. The AI would reject it, as it was a meaningless action¡­ In other words, Satomi currently had ¡®something¡¯ that would allow him to defeat Core. ¡°I don¡¯t mind taking damage either! Return blades!¡± The three blades that had hit the Unison charge attacks now shot towards Satomi. While their attack ability was now lowered, they were not able to cancel out charge attacks, but Core¡¯s instinct was telling him that he was in danger if he didn¡¯t stop Satomi. ¡°Now¡­ What?!¡± The Miracle Effect should have ended, but the three Unisons returned to Satomi and blocked the blades! Gochu was one thing, as he was treated as a player, but the other two were there as well! ¡°I¡¯m a Unison Master. They are my power until the end.¡± Satomi¡¯s shining staff hit Core in the chest. A crest of light spread out over his body and Core¡¯s HP dropped rapidly. ¡°This¡­Is it an instant death skill!? Tsk!¡± Core made the decision quickly. Understanding that he could not be saved, he had all eight blades cut into Satomi. At this range, the three Unisons would not be able to stop all of them. And so Satomi also lost his HP. ¡°If we both go down in a fight¡­then as the older brother, I am defeated. Since when did you have an instant death attack? Surely it can¡¯t be activated that quickly?¡± ¡°Before I activated the Miracle Effect ¡®Unison Trinity.¡¯ I won¡¯t tell you about the effect, as there will be future fights, but it¡¯s probably not far off from what you were thinking.¡± ¡°Huh¡­ Like having to be within a certain area as the enemy you want to instant kill for a certain amount of time, or not being able to attack while preparing it?¡± Core said with a laugh. Satomi chuckled as well. ¡°No comment. But let¡¯s just say that it was possible through the cooperation of my Unisons.¡± ¡°I see.¡± The conversation stopped there, and the atmosphere became a little awkward. ¡°¡­Do you really hate getting advice in this game?¡± ¡°How would you feel if the entire game, up until the final boss, was a tutorial? And you can¡¯t switch it off?¡± ¡°I¡¯d capitalize off of making videos off of it and then curse the developers and sell it!¡± ¡°That¡¯s how I feel.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t hate a moderate amount of tutorials and help. But they have to think about degrees, the developers.¡± ¡°¡­Right.¡± And then Satomi and Core turned into light and disappeared. It was the 23rd battle in the tournament. Mad Slime Core: 2 remaining. Ghost Guild: 2 remaining. CH 185 Data.175 ¨C Another Perspective: Cat Treasure ¡°What!? Why is Core getting killed so quickly! The leader is supposed to set a good example for the others! Damn it. That¡¯s not very manly of him!¡± ¡°So Satomi took down the leader¡­! He also died while doing it, but that¡¯s still quite an accomplishment¡­!¡± It was in the natural park area of the city. Trees, grass, and flowers were managed by AI, and there were fountains, benches and a course for walking or jogging. It was in this once peaceful place that Necoco Strange and Mad Slime CORE¡¯s Jelly Jeller were battling. ¡°So it¡¯s 2 vs 3¡­! You were the one who taught me how scary the disadvantages of numbers could be¡­ Hmph!¡± ¡°You can give up and surrender if you want!¡± Said Necoco, but Jelly laughed confidently. She wasn¡¯t going to give up¡­ And Necoco already knew this. Because all she needed to do was to defeat Necoco in order to turn the tide of battle. And during this current battle in the park, Jelly had the upper hand. ¡°I just need to defeat you and then it will be 2 vs 2! Besides, I need to kill at least one of you if I want to taunt Core about dying!¡± Jelly¡¯s weapon was a shovel called ¡®Kirakira Zakuzaku Shovel,¡¯ which she now shoved into the ground. And then golden rocks shot out of the ground under Necoco¡¯s feet! Necoco used her high agility to dodge them quickly and hide behind an obstacle. This obstacle she was hiding behind was also a glowing gold and translucent. And it was crackling with electricity¡­! ¡°Rise Jewel Thunder¡­ You can¡¯t crush this jewel!¡± Rocks like this one had grown all around Necoco and Jelly. As they were translucent, you could not hide your location by being behind them. Furthermore, they were made of durable material and had both the thunder and earth attributes. As someone with low firepower and with the thunder attribute, Necoco could not break them! ¡°The enveloping electricity clashes with your thunder, lessening its power, and then nullifying them completely with the earth attribute¡­! Surely you understand all that?¡± ¡°Of course! Muscle Lady.¡± She was wearing a colorful work suit and had a gaudily painted helmet on her head. And her weapon was a shining shovel! However, Jelly¡¯s physical appearance was just as striking. She was over 2 meters tall, with a healthy tan and bulging muscles. She had a large chest, short hair, and a face that had a boyish charm¡­! ¡°Muscle Lady¡­huh? It has a nice ring to it. I wouldn¡¯t mind being like this in real life, but people don¡¯t really like it, and it limits what clothes I can wear! And I¡¯m still a young lady who gets sore muscles on the same day!¡± ¡°Huh, so the soreness comes a lot more slowly when you age.¡± With a swift movement, Necoco moved around to Jelly¡¯s back and charged at her! ¡°Apparently. Not that I¡¯ve ever experienced it!¡± Jelly quickly made a stone wall and then drew back. As there were so many obstacles in the area, Necoco could not move at top speed, and so she could not become invisible. This was the worst kind of enemy that she could fight¡­! ¡°Hey, why don¡¯t you be the one to give up? I¡¯ve been told to save my skills and charge attacks.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do that. But don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t get a chance to waste them!¡± ¡°¡­What do you mean by that!?¡± ¡°Up until now, I¡¯ve just been measuring your ability! And now I know how much I need to show¡­in order to beat you!¡± ¡°Hmph! A bluff! Core told me all about you! In order to deal a lot of damage, you need to boost the thunder attribute and chain attacks with your claws! But my equipment is stronger than it looks, and my defense skills are more than enough¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s true! But I teamed up with all kinds of people in order to find a new member for our guild. And each time I had to play in special ways, so I have plenty of skills that don¡¯t fit my usual style!¡± ¡°Wh-what!?¡± ¡°Eat this! Claw Missile!¡± ¡°Tsk¡­! I¡¯ll use it then! Princess Jewelry Box!¡± Five jewel walls shot around Jelly as if to protect her. And then a lid appeared on top, creating a pentagon-shaped box. This charge attack was resistant to both physical and magic attacks and would be very difficult to break. ¡°Come! Claw Mis¡­ Wh-what? That light¡­¡± The ground under Jelly¡¯s feet started to glow, and then there were a series of explosions! It was so sudden that she didn¡¯t have enough time to use her defense skills, and so she took the damage directly. However, the charge attack remained, and Jelly still had HP left. Core had made her stock up on expensive HP recovery items. So she just had to use them now¡­ ¡°Blue Electric Claws ¨C Dual Claws¡­ Cool Shock!¡± The blue electricity shot into Jelly¡¯s neck¡­! Necoco had dug a hole in the ground and entered the jewelry box. Jelly had seen videos of Necoco doing this, and it had left an impression. And she knew that the floor was the weakness of Princess Jewelry Box. However, the explosions had clearly occurred while Necoco was above ground. If Necoco had disappeared, she would have known she was underground, and would be able to unleash a counter attack at the ground. But the unexpected explosion had thrown her off¡­! ¡°As a parting gift, it would be nice if you could tell me how you did that¡­¡± ¡°¡­Claw Missile.¡± ¡°So you won¡¯t tell me. Well, we may fight again.¡± Necoco was speaking the truth. The explosion was one of the effects of the Claw Missile skill. The name of the effect that she didn¡¯t use was Missile Style. It was an attack that launched your equipped claws like they were missiles. The claws would regrow a few seconds later, but you would not be able to use any other claw related skills in the meantime. And though it was short, in a way, it put everything in cool down, which made it a difficult skill to use. The other style was Mine Style. You buried your claws in the ground like mines and then detonated them when you wanted. As you were able to cut them off one at a time, you could set them in the ground while keeping some. However, there were no marks for where you buried it, and the explosions were small in scale. If you set all ten of them close together and detonated them all at once, it would deal similar damage to a charge attack, but it would be quite a feat to accomplish during combat. While it had seemed that Jelly was pushing her, she was actually being made to move in the way that Necoco wanted her to. In spite of appearances, she had a more reserved personality, and had a habit of backing down when the enemy became aggressive. And like this, Necoco pretended to be running away as she secretly buried the Claw Missiles and executed her bluff just as Jelly stood on top of them, luring her into using a powerful charge attack. The stronger a defense ability was, the more they tended to restrict your movement. And since Princess Jewelry Box trapped you into a small box, Jelly was not able to escape from the mines. ¡°Damn it! I hate losing without being able to contribute at all¡­ Even Core had it better! I guess that¡¯s why he is our leader! He¡¯s a real man after all!¡± Jelly said as she disappeared. Now there was only one member of Made Slime CORE left. (You were really strong. You had an advantage over me. However, you lacked the experience¡­! But why did a pro gamer group let someone so inexperienced into their main team? Hmm. Well, given how they have people like Slime Man, maybe they just take in anyone who looks interesting?) As Necoco tilted her head to the side, she thought of a certain possibility. (No, perhaps Satomi¡¯s brother put her in specifically to beat me¡­? She had all of my weaknesses down, and had a lot of information¡­ Was it all because he didn¡¯t want to lose to his younger brother¡­? No, surely not! I¡¯m overthinking it!) As an only child, Necoco couldn¡¯t really imagine what their relationship was like. And so she pushed it out of her mind and sighed so that she could head to the next battle. She was the one who had founded the Ghost Guild. And she felt that she had to work harder because of that. (Hold back and beat a new player¡­ While it makes sense, it¡¯s not very satisfying. But I will continue¡­! It¡¯s my responsibility! It doesn¡¯t matter how I win!) Necoco started to run. For the glory of the ghosts¡­! ¡°Now! Where is my next opponent?¡± ¡®The fight is over!!¡¯ ¡°What!?¡± ¡®As all of the players of Mad Slime CORE have been annihilated, the winning party is¡­Ghost Guild! Congratulations on making it to the second round! The surviving players will now be warped to the waiting area!¡¯ ¡°The person who defeated the last player was¡­Anne! In other words, we each killed one player¡­! It looks like I have a good eye for recruiting after all¡­!¡± Necoco felt that a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. (Still, Anne swings around such a heavy weapon, and yet I didn¡¯t hear the sounds of her fighting at all¡­ I wonder how she won?) CH 186 Data.176 ¨C Old Bowman, One Down ¡°Huh? It¡¯s over already?¡± As I searched for the next enemy, it was announced that the battle was over. The results were 3 vs 0. The Ghost Guild had won. Apparently, Satomi had died taking down Core, which meant it might have been a total victory for us if I had helped him¡­ No, I wouldn¡¯t think about such things now. There is no difference between winning with everyone surviving and just one of us surviving. You moved forward in the tournament with every win, no matter how close it was. And no matter how well you fight, one loss means you¡¯re out. ¡°That¡¯s one down¡­!¡± As soon as our victory was decided, all the tension left me. We would have to do this five more times and win every single one in order to achieve glory. That¡¯s why it was something that had value. ¡°Now, I should go back to the waiting area and rest until the next battle.¡± Besides, I wanted to celebrate our victory with the others! ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°We did it! We won the first round! Yes!!¡± After we had gathered together, it was Anne who was the most excited. In the first place, she didn¡¯t have much experience with PvP, and so she wasn¡¯t used to the excitement of beating another player. So it was no wonder that she was on such a high. Whether it¡¯s a fighting game, puzzle game or shooter, winning against another player could become addicting. It was different from fighting an NPC. ¡°It ended with you, Anne. How did you do it?¡± ¡°About that!¡± ¡°Ohh! There you are! Hey! Let¡¯s go and talk to them!¡± It was the four from Mad Slime CORE. They seemed rather cheerful considering they had just lost. Well, except for one of them¡­ ¡°Uuu¡­ I¡¯m so sorry¡­¡± ¡°Stop crying Ashido. There¡¯s no need for you to be sorry, as it would have been impossible for you to turn things around at that point. We¡¯re all at fault!¡± ¡°But¡­ It¡¯s the way that I died that is so lame¡­ I¡¯ll be a laughing stock online¡­¡± ¡°No you won¡¯t! It will take a lot more than that to become eternally famous on the internet! If anything, you¡¯ll be completely forgotten in no time!¡± ¡°You¡­I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re encouraging me or mocking me¡­!¡± A large man who wore a hood and carried a bazooka on his back was crying uncontrollably. Judging by the conversation, this was clearly the last surviving member of Mad Slime CORE. The one that Anne had beaten. ¡°Ah! That¡¯s the guy I defeated! Well, it really just a coincidence¡­!¡± ¡°A-a coincidence¡­?¡± ¡°I received information that you were all fighting the enemy, and so I was getting quite nervous, knowing that my time was coming! And so I started swinging my spiked ball around as I walked, in order to prevent an ambush!¡± ¡°I see. It¡¯s true that no one would be able to get close to you if you were swinging that around. And so, uh¡­did he get caught in it¡­?¡± ¡°Wait! Even I am not that stupid! Don¡¯t get me wrong! In the first place, my weapon is a bazooka! I don¡¯t need to get close to someone in order to ambush them!¡± ¡°S-sorry¡­ Anne, could you continue?¡± ¡°Ah, well, there isn¡¯t much else to say. As I was swinging it around, my hand grew tired, and I accidentally let go of the chain! And then the iron ball went flying off and hit that guy¡­!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! It hit me by accident! I was completely hidden and aiming with my bazooka. She wasn¡¯t even looking at me when the iron ball came flying in my direction, so I couldn¡¯t dodge it! How was I¡­supposed to predict that!? Right?!¡± But the members of Mad Slime CORE were trying to hold back their laughter. They really did seem like an amusing group¡­ ¡°And it hit me in the worst place! While it wasn¡¯t an instant death, it crushed my right arm! So I couldn¡¯t use the bazooka, as it¡¯s a two-handed weapon, and she was quick with the followup attack, which was very powerful! Why!¡± ¡°The followup attack was mostly just reflexes! I was so shocked that I moved without thinking! I did a lot of damage because I was using a skill that gives you a boost the more you swing it. I had thought that it was a questionable skill, as it takes a long time to get fired up, but it was quite useful this time!¡± ¡°Tsk! So luck was on your side this time! Because you¡¯re a nun!¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a costume.¡± So now we know the truth of Anne¡¯s fight. An unfortunate accident¡­that led to a quick followup attack and victory. While she lacked experience, Anne¡¯s battle instincts had led her to fight in the best way, which is what made her strong. ¡°Well, regardless of any of that, we were still defeated in the first round. You¡¯ve really done it! I have nothing else to say to you. A loser shouldn¡¯t be giving a winner any advice, and I¡¯m not going to add more pressure by asking you to win for us. Just fight in your own way and win. Besides, I can still enjoy the benefits of a family member winning 25 million.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not giving you a single yen.¡± Satomi said flatly. And then they both laughed. ¡°You could at least buy me lunch then! Also, you better check out your next opponent!¡± So saying, Core and the others left. Our next opponent¡­was already decided. Because they were the people who won the battle before ours. As our battle was coming up, I had been quite nervous while watching them, and so I remembered their name clearly. They were called¡­G¡¯z. Apparently, they were a party made up of grandfathers¡­! CH 187 Data.177 ¨C Old Bowman, War Council for Dealing with Old Men How did I know they were actually old grandfathers when this was just a game? Because they were making it loud and clear¡­! This was a group of old men who were bored and befriended each other online. And they formed this team in order to enjoy the game together. Apparently, they were quite active and even making a profit. So they could be categorized as a pro gamer team. In general, the best pro gamers tended to be young. I even heard that with some famous teams, you are required to retire once you pass a certain age. But it was the opposite with the G¡¯z. You couldn¡¯t get in unless you were old enough¡­! Of course, I wasn¡¯t even near the required age. In fact, I doubt I¡¯ve even met any other players that were as old as them. In a way, the next battle would be a battle with the unknown¡­! ¡°The key to victory is doing enough research. So let¡¯s watch their last battle.¡± Satomi opened up a window and went to the battle archive page. This was a feature that only participants could access, and it allowed you to rewatch battles after they were finished. And so players watching on the monitors in the first town, or on their computers or phones could not rewatch the battles at this point. ¡°They won their battle 2 to 0. So it was actually a close call. And so they showed a lot of their abilities. As for the party composition, there are three physical type advance guards, one magic type rear guard, and a dog type Unison called Koromaro. And this Koromaro is also a strong advance guard.¡± ¡­Why so many advance guards? That was 4 to 1. While our party wasn¡¯t the most conventional either, we still had two advance guards, two rear guards, and Garbow, who was an all-rounder type. Were they each so strong individually that it didn¡¯t matter if they weren¡¯t balanced¡­? ¡°By the way, they are still a relatively new team, so it¡¯s possible that they don¡¯t fully understand party balance. Well, in NSO, balance doesn¡¯t always make your party better.¡± ¡°Th-that¡¯s true¡­¡± While they may not be veterans, they had still won the first battle¡­! I was an amateur to VRMMOs at first, but was doing pretty well. So it could be the same for them. ¡°Now let¡¯s look at the members individually. First, there is the leader, Jiji.¡± They chose names like I did¡­! Clearly the ¡®ji¡¯ was from ojisan. I suppose I had been right to think like that¡­! ¡°He is the only rear guard and magic user. But is an attacker and not a healer. The long, white beard and tall pointed hat might make him look like a great wizard, but this is someone who plays it safe. A lot of the time, he would run away from an enemy and attack them from far away.¡± Even his fighting style was similar to mine¡­! Yes, it was hard being in the advance guard once you got older¡­ Well, recently, I¡¯ve been fighting in close quarters, as it was necessary¡­ ¡°Next is the advance guard, Yushia. I¡¯m not sure why it wasn¡¯t simply Yusha(hero).¡± Was it a reference to really retro games, or a typo¡­ ¡°His weapon is the classical sword and shield. And his movements definitely feel a little more youthful compared to the others in the group. However, it seems that he has grown in a magic warrior kind of direction, and so he doesn¡¯t seem to deal much magic or physical damage. And his defense isn¡¯t really impressive either. He has no defining features¡­¡± If there was one job after hero that I wanted to be, it was magic warrior¡­! So I understood how he felt! It sounded so cool! But it was also true that in games, they tended to be a jack of all trades and master of none¡­ Tsk¡­ You were adventuring in a world of swords and magic. So why should you have to choose just one¡­! Not that I didn¡¯t quickly abandon the sword and choose a bow! ¡°The third is Shishou. His weapon is a katana, and he wears a haori hakama. He looks like an old samurai who is hiding, but still more than capable.¡± I was also wearing Japanese style clothes, so I felt a connection there. And even his face had the look of an old, seasoned warrior. He looked strong¡­! ¡°As for him, he was killed without really doing anything, so we don¡¯t have any data. But from what I saw¡­the way he held and swung his sword looked pretty clumsy.¡± Oh, well¡­! He was probably not used to swords, let alone games! It wasn¡¯t easy for the modern person to get used to both those things¡­! When I first picked up a bow¡­it actually went pretty well. But that was the exception. ¡°Lastly, we have Koharu. It sounds like a woman¡¯s name, but as you can see, this is a ronin-style man with a beard. He uses a odachi that is longer than he is tall.¡± While it was a different kind, this guy was also similar to a samurai¡­! But this katana looked so rough and cool. ¡°There were a couple of times when he stumbled around like some kind of drunk. Turns out he wasn¡¯t playing a character, but it was due to the weight of the sword. Obviously, if he can barely walk with it, then he won¡¯t be able to swing it either. However, he does have a charge attack that aids with his movements, and he is suddenly able to swing it around quickly. You¡¯ll need to be careful when this change occurs.¡± In a way, that change seemed to be very fitting for the character¡­ One moment he is stumbling around, and then he suddenly cuts at you like a master swordsman. This Koharu was the most dangerous member of the G¡¯z. ¡°Last is the Unison, Koromaro. It looks like a normal shiba dog, but its power is incredible. It can break the ground with its paws, and kill players with a pounce. In fact, it killed three players in the first fight.¡± Is-is that so¡­! I had been watching the fight in real time, and still had trouble remembering much about the individual players. So this was the reason! Koromaro had done most of the work during the first fight¡­! ¡°But Koromaro is not very bright. And that is even more dangerous. While Gochu and Garbow will protect players that are in danger, Koromaro does not care. It will continue attacking and killing enemies even if a player is about to be killed. In spite of its adorable appearance, it will chase its prey until it catches it. The other party was destroyed because they didn¡¯t understand how it moved.¡± The idea of an old man helping a dog sounded like the beginning of a heart-warming story, but this was more like a monster B-movie. I had been feeling a mixture of relief over winning the last battle, and anxiety over the upcoming one. But I feel refreshed now. ¡°Looking at them like this, it seems that Koromaro is the only threat. But there is still a lot we don¡¯t know about the other players. And so we must not let our guard down while fighting them. But looking at them as a whole, they should be weaker than Mad Slime CORE. So we should be able to win if we keep calm and do our best!¡± After the battle with Core, there was something more child-like about Satomi compared to before. But I agreed with what he said. It was hard to believe that these old grandfathers were stronger than Core and the others. However, people had a way of surprising you¡­ Just like I had surprised many strong enemies, these old men could also grow, and they held many possibilities within. My mind was filled with different scenarios and countermeasures. I would not underestimate them. And we would win. If I was fighting older men, then my youth could be a weapon¡­! CH 188 Data.178 ¨C Old Bowman, No Rules for the G¡¯z There were fewer battles in the second round. And so we didn¡¯t have to wait long until it was our turn. Other recognizable players were moving ahead, and so I wanted to follow them as well! ¡®And now for the 12th battle in the 2nd round! G¡¯z vs Ghost Guild! The chosen field is¡­the Legendary Plateau!¡± That meant it would be an area that was elevated over flat land. And when I looked at the monitor, the battlefield did have that appearance. There were several plateaus, so if I camped on one of them, I would be able to shoot down at the ground or at the other plateaus. As it would be the perfect position for me, I wanted to get up there as soon as possible¡­ ¡®Both parties to the battlefield!¡¯ And so the Ghost Guild warped away to the Legendary Plateau. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°And the starting point is¡­the flat land.¡± It would have been a great advantage to start on the plateau, but with my Range and Warp Arrow, it didn¡¯t matter too much. However, it would be scary if there was an enemy where I warped. Most of them were the advance guard, and so I could be killed in an instant if I appeared close to them. Especially if it was their Unison, Koromaro¡­ Rustle-rustle-¡­rustle¡­ The bushes were moving¡­! Tsk. Was I going to meet the monster so soon¡­! ¡°Ah, Mr. Kyuji! We warped close together then!¡± It was Necoco, not a dog that appeared from the bushes. But just as I sighed with relief, the other bushes started to shake as well. ¡°Gar Gar!¡± ¡°Garbow! And¡­you¡¯re all here!?¡± The entire party had warped close together! But I don¡¯t think it was because we were lucky¡­.but that we were all supposed to start in the same area this time. ¡°If we¡¯re all together, then they are as well¡­¡± Being together meant we could cover each other, but it also meant that there was a danger of us all dying in a single battle. That being said, it still didn¡¯t make sense to spread out when we were already here. Because it would be over if one of us encountered the whole enemy party. ¡°It might be better to wait a little before using Warp Arrow. There are more trees on the field than I thought, which means there are plenty of places to hide. On the other hand, as there are no obstacles on the plateaus, people will be able to see you from below.¡± The enemy must have done some research on me. And so if I shoot carelessly, they could find my position easily¡­ For now, it might be wiser to move quietly on the flat ground and try and ambush them. ¡°In any case, I¡¯ll scatter the Gazer Fish so they can scout the place. Garbo. Gazer¡­¡± ¡®Members of the Ghost Guild!!¡¯ A booming voice seemed to shake the air as it echoed around us. ¡®We will not run or hide! Let us fight boldly, one on one! Now, we each will climb one of the plateaus, red, blue, yellow and black, and there we will wait for you! So send one player to each!¡¯ ¡°So they¡¯re just making their own rules now¡­!?¡± I knew that getting older didn¡¯t mean you got more flexible, but this was quite surprising¡­! On this battlefield, you had the option of securing a high platform or hiding below. But now they were just shouting at us to go to the plateau! Besides, this was a party battle. So why should we ignore everything and fight solo¡­! ¡°What should we do? I don¡¯t think they are being reasonable¡­¡± ¡°¡­They¡¯ve really done it now. Had they asked us after we already attacked, it would sound like they were just making an excuse, and we could ignore them. But since they did it right as the battle started, the viewers will expect us to accept it.¡± ¡°But! These aren¡¯t the rules established by management. So can¡¯t we just ignore them and kill them one by one?¡± Anne was being the realist here. If all we cared about was winning by the rules, then she was right. However, the thing that flashed through my mind after hearing her words was that it might look like we were ¡®bullying the poor grandpas.¡¯ And it was likely that the people who were watching would think the same. ¡°This is a negotiation that is using honor as a shield. We¡¯ll have to go along in order to avoid looking like a group that ignored and bullied the poor guys. Of course, it won¡¯t affect the prize or trophy if we don¡¯t, but it could affect our reputation¡­!¡± ¡°I agree that we have no choice but to accept. But if we do it here, won¡¯t there be a lot of other parties doing the same later on? There is sure to be other parties that will have an advantage by challenging us while solo. Especially you, old man.¡± I see. Like Necoco said, if they wanted to kill me easily, then it would be best to do it when I was solo and there was no advance guard. But I had a feeling that the G¡¯z weren¡¯t even considering that. It was all speculation, of course, but I thought that they were just trying to recreate the situations from classic manga, where the protagonist and friends take on the enemy generals. The great sorcerer, hero, master, ronin. They wanted to experience something they dreamed of, but was impossible in real life¡­ That was what VR was all about. ¡°While I understand your concerns, Necoco, there is no need to worry. No one likes a rehash, and so we could ignore future challenges. And it¡¯s the ignored that will look bad.¡± ¡°That¡¯s probably true. Alright. Then let¡¯s accept the challenge from these old men!¡± ¡°The problem is who will go to which plateau. Which player to which color¡­¡± ¡®We will now announce your opponents!!!¡¯ ¡°¡­?¡± ¡°¡­?¡± ¡°¡­?¡± ¡°¡­?¡± We could hardly believe our ears. What? They were going to decide that too¡­? ¡®At the red plateau, Odachi Ronin Koharu! And his opponent will be Thunder Blackcat Necoco!¡¯ They were even assigning us nicknames¡­! ¡®And at the blue plateau, Sly Hidden Blade Shishou! And his opponent will be the Phantom Master Satomi! While it is a 1 vs 1 duel, as he is a Unison Master, he will be granted special permission to use his Unison!¡¯ The fact that they just barely avoided crossing the line was somehow even more infuriating¡­ ¡®And at the yellow plateau is the Golden Hero Yushia! His opponent is Madstar Sister Annemarie! Furthermore, as the Destruction God Koromaro is on this plateau, you would be advised to take Star Crushing Ancient Weapon Garbow with you!¡¯ Now they were trying to separate me and Garbow¡­! If you weren¡¯t the original partner, then you wouldn¡¯t know their skills and charge attacks, which meant you couldn¡¯t make use of their full potential¡­but they probably didn¡¯t know that. After all, Koromaro moved independently¡­ ¡®And at the black plateau is Great Sorcerer Jiji! And his opponent is the Old Bowman Kyuji!¡¯ Why am I the only one without a cool nickname¡­! I don¡¯t know. I would be too embarrassed to think of one myself, but I wanted a cool name¡­! Old Bowman is nice and all, but just this one time¡­ No, calm down. There was something else that bothered me. While they were the ones choosing the opponents, it didn¡¯t seem like they were giving themselves an advantage at all. Necoco specialized in speed, but they sent her against someone with a huge sword. Koromaro dealt physical, destructive attacks, and they sent it against Anne and Garbow, who had great defense. And I was up against someone who used ranged attacks¡­. Only the Satomi and Shishou combination was unknown to me, but it looked like the G¡¯z would be at a disadvantage overall. Perhaps they really were only interested in an honest fight. Though, their methods were quite forceful¡­ ¡°That¡¯s right, Mr. Kyuji. What if you waited for them to all take position on the plateaus, and then you used a cloud to camp above them and sniped them all from there?¡± ¡°Are you¡­angry?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just joking. Let¡¯s fight them head-on¡­and defeat them.¡± I wouldn¡¯t have believed it was a joke if things hadn¡¯t been so advantageous for us. However, since they had given us such an advantage, we couldn¡¯t back down now. This was a battle to protect our honor! CH 189 Data.179 ¨C Old Bowman, Battle on the Plateau ¡°¡­You came!¡± ¡°Yes. All alone, just like you asked.¡± I had arrived on top of the plateau with a combination of Wincloud Blast, Whirlwind and Floating Cloud Herd. I would save Warp Arrow for now. If it turned out that the G¡¯z were going to break the rules they had created, then I would have to use Warp Arrow to escape or to go and support my other party members. ¡°Then let us start this battle¡­!¡± While he sounded like an old sorcerer, there was something awkward about it. Like he was copying something from fiction but it didn¡¯t sound right in real life. This old man who carried a staff in front of me was likely just an ordinary old man when not playing. However, he was currently the ¡®Great Sorcerer,¡¯ and nothing more. I would not¡­hold back! ¡°No, first I must add one more rule!¡± ¡°What!?¡± ¡°Obviously, you will lose if your HP reaches 0, but you will also lose if you fall off of this plateau! That would make things more interesting, wouldn¡¯t it? After all, the terrain is so perfect for this!¡± ¡°¡­Fine. I don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°Hohoho. I¡¯m glad to see your honesty! Now¡­I won¡¯t waste any more time! Great Magic, Ten Star Magic Bullet!¡± Ten shining spheres appeared around the old man. They all had their own color, so it was possible that they had a different attribute. So I should combine skills that wouldn¡¯t be affected by them¡­! ¡°It ends here! Farewell, young man!¡± ¡°Young man¡­eh? I haven¡¯t heard that in a long time. Drill Arrow Tempest!¡± It was a fused charge attack that combined Drill Arrow Kai, which had high piercing ability, and Arrow Tempest. With superior numbers, they annihilated the ten magic bullets and shot towards the old man! ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate me! This attack is nothing¡­Great Magic, Ultra Severance Magic Wall!¡± At a glance, it was hard to tell if there was even a wall there. But the arrows were clearly hitting something and falling to the ground. It was an invisible barrier¡­ And I wouldn¡¯t be able to tell how far it extended. But¡­! ¡°Hohoho! You can¡¯t do anything now! This is an invincible wall. No attack will go through! However¡­my attacks can go out¡­ Gah!?¡± Something pierced into the old man¡¯s hand that held the staff. It was also invisible, but I knew what it was. ¡°An invisible arrow¡­! But how¡­!? Gah! Gooh?!¡± And then two more arrows pierced into him. Two actions had brought me to this attack. The first was using Star Area Range to alter the paths of the arrows unleashed by Drill Arrow Tempest and have them spread out. By doing this, my range of attack was widened, and I could find out how far the invisible wall extended. The second was the activation of the fused skill Clear Bound Arrow. By avoiding the wall and unleashing the arrows, I made them bounce off the ground and target the old man. However, he would be able to tell that I was targeting him if I shot them normally. And so I used some camouflage¡­ Right after Drill Arrow Tempest was finished activating, I used Quickdraw to speed up my firing, and unleashed the arrows as if it was still part of the same attack. However, Bound Arrow was already a weak skill, and it would be even weaker if fused with Clear Arrow. And yet¡­it was necessary to shoot it! ¡°An invisible attack for invisible defense! That was well done! However, it¡¯s not over yet! I have a hidden healing magic that¡­¡± A giant arrow of fire pierced the body of the old man. Everything had just been in preparation to hit him with this Big Inferno Arrow. The invisible barrier was more tall than it was wide, and so I thought that it would be difficult to hit him with a ranged attack from above. With normal Range¡­that is. In order to make use of that sense of safety that the height of the barrier would have, I used Clear Bound Arrow to distract him. In the meantime, I unleashed Big Inferno Arrow into the sky. It drew a great, mountain-like arch and went over the invisible barrier and hit the old man¡­! ¡°Ugh¡­it¡¯s strong! I¡¯m impressed you can think of your next move so quickly! I did some research on you beforehand, but can barely keep up with all your actions! You are quick in both body and mind! You really are quite young!¡± But the old man was still alive. Part of it was because Big Arrow didn¡¯t have that much firepower to begin with, but it was also because his level and equipment was quite high. I had heard that they were still relatively new to gaming, but he must have played a lot of NSO¡­! ¡°The elderly have a lot of spare time, you see. And so I¡¯ve played this game a lot and have gathered equipment and raised my level. But that¡¯s not enough to win. It¡¯s very deep¡­¡± ¡°Your party is strong enough. You got through the preliminaries and won the first round. That makes you amazing players. And you¡¯re already in the top 32 parties¡­¡± ¡°We only got through the preliminaries because we scattered and ran around and I survived by chance. And we beat the 1st round because Koromaro was in a bad mood, and we were lucky. I haven¡¯t killed a single person yet. I have nothing to show.¡± ¡°Well, they do say that luck is a skill too.¡± ¡°Hohoho¡­ Thank you. For playing along with an old man. I¡¯m sure that you¡¯re more than capable of killing me in an instant. But this will now be a pleasant memory for me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about¡­¡± ¡°Yes! If there is one thing I have, it¡¯s knowledge. Um¡­what was her name again? I forgot it, but that girl who is doing the announcements. When you fought her, you used Stardust Arrow¡­ You could have used that to attack the entire plateau from the start. Especially after I added the rule about how you would lose if you fell off. You could have also used the ultra high speed arrow, Wind God Sky Tear. My reflexes would not have been enough to dodge it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Some people may be angry with you. You held back in a serious fight¡­ But I am grateful! You gave me time to fight! It was fun! I am satisfied! I was just starting to think that it¡¯s time to withdraw from games. And this will be a good way to end it¡­ You should be proud as a winner!¡± ¡°Then as the winner, let me say this¡­ I haven¡¯t been holding back at all! You seem to know a lot about me, but I didn¡¯t know much about you. If anything, using Stardust Arrow, which is difficult to control, at that point would be the careless way to fight.¡± ¡°Wh-what¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the same with God Wind Sky Tear. It would be unwise to use it when a charge attack fused with Drill Arrow didn¡¯t do anything. And so I didn¡¯t want to use it yet. Especially since Garbow isn¡¯t with me now. It¡¯s only normal that I would become more cautious.¡± ¡°I-I see¡­¡± ¡°And let me say one more thing. It¡¯s too early to be going on about how being defeated will be a good memory! You¡¯re talking like the game itself has ended, but it¡¯s just the beginning. The more you play, the better you become, and the world will open up. And so¡­you must continue. The road goes on.¡± ¡°¡­I see. That¡¯s true! While I¡¯ve played a lot of NSO, I¡¯m still new to the world of games! And since I already bought the expensive VR machine, I better make use of it until I die! Thank you, Kyuji. I will become stronger! However, I¡¯ve been completely defeated this time. Now, finish me off!¡± ¡°Wind God Sky Tear!¡± A highspeed arrow shot through the old man¡¯s head. And so he turned into light and disappeared. While I had said that I wasn¡¯t holding back, it was true that I had prioritized talking with him over having a swift victory. But I couldn¡¯t just kill him right there. Perhaps it was because I felt something about how I was on my way to becoming like him. ¡°In any case, I won¡­! I¡¯m sure the other plateaus are also¡­¡± It shouldn¡¯t take long before I would know the results. The others were younger and more talented than me, after all. CH 190 6-8 minutes Data.180 Another Perspective: The Youngsters ¡°Damn it! That was too fast, young lady!¡± Necoco¡¯s claws shredded Koharu the odachi wielder. While using skills and charge attacks, Koharu could also move swiftly, but Necoco was still fast, and had superior reflexes. So in terms of stats and playing ability, it was a hopeless fight from the beginning. (Satomi said that I have to be careful about the moment when his unsteady movements suddenly become sharp, but I have already fought against the likes of Charin, who was not only fast at all times, but had the inhuman ability to make decisions instantly¡­!) And so for Necoco, Koharu¡¯s movements might as well have been in slow motion. After she had carved away enough HP, she aimed for the neck in order to deal the final blow¡­! ¡°Young lady, do you know why I have such a feminine name like Koharu?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s the name of my dead wife.¡± ¡°Raijin Zekku!¡± The claws moved at a speed that was too fast to follow, and cut open Koharu¡¯s neck. There was no hesitation in Necoco¡¯s movements¡­! ¡°Tsk. I thought girls were supposed to be weak to these kinds of touching stories?¡± ¡°It was too out of nowhere and not really the right time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true!¡± ¡°Besides, you could be lying.¡± ¡°Indeed! Indeed¡­¡± But then Koharu disappeared without being able to explain the truth. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t hold back either way. I¡¯m not here to negotiate.¡± ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°To think that I would lose to two, and not even four¡­ I have clearly lost my edge¡­¡± On the blue plateau, the samurai, Shishou, was already fading away. Satomi didn¡¯t even have to use Unison Trinity. He defeated Shishou with an ordinary combination with Gochu. ¡°Why¡­didn¡¯t you use your real power¡­?¡± ¡°Obviously, it was because it¡¯s better to save it for later. I¡¯ve only activated Unison Trinity once. And so the merits and demerits are not completely revealed yet. So I won¡¯t use it if I don¡¯t need it to win.¡± ¡°So I¡­looked that weak to you¡­!?¡± ¡°You looked nervous upon seeing me and Gochu.¡± ¡°Tsk¡­ It cannot be helped! I cannot face two enemies at once¡­!¡± Shishou¡¯s character of a master samurai was already crumbling. But he was also laughing a little. ¡°Oh, well. I don¡¯t mind losing to a talented youngster¡­ You can carry on my dreams and teachings¡­!¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t teach me anything¡­¡± ¡°Farewell, student!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t recall being your student¡­¡± Being remembered after death¡­ And so Satomi was practically forced to inherit the master¡¯s will! ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°Koromaro-chan! Wait!¡± ¡°Bark!¡± Anne and Garbow were on the yellow plateau as they faced Hero Yushia and the Destruction God Koromaro¡­ However, Koromaro was obeying Anne¡¯s order and ¡®waiting.¡¯ ¡°Wow! What a smart doggy. Now please continue to wait there.¡± ¡°Ruff!¡± ¡°Hahaha! Damn it, Koromaro¡­so you only listen to women!¡± Yushia could do nothing but laugh. After all, the strongest member who had led them to the second round was now neutralized¡­! ¡°You didn¡¯t know about this?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right! The normal monsters out on the field don¡¯t have gender, and we rarely fight against players! And since we all scattered during the preliminaries, I don¡¯t know how Koromaro was fighting! And all of the enemies in the first round were men! We had no way of knowing! Ahahaha!¡± ¡°Well¡­I feel bad for you then. However, I must show no mercy. I¡¯m only a nun in appearance!¡± Anne began to swing her spiked iron ball round and round. Garbow also prepared to attack. Yushia was just laughing. He sounded like a Demon King now¡­! ¡°Fuhahahaha! If I had been lucky enough to draw a man, then Koromaro might have helped me win. But I suppose the goddess of fate has abandoned me!¡± ¡°What? You drew lots to decide your opponents?¡± ¡°We did! We weren¡¯t choosing combinations that would give us an advantage! To be honest, I doubted we could win no matter what the combination, and so we left it to fate! This game has a feature that allows you to make decisions based on lots or coin tosses, so that you won¡¯t fight when forced to make decisions as a party!¡± ¡°Huh. I didn¡¯t know that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the type of person who carefully reads the manual! Well, perhaps you¡¯re supposed to call it ¡®Help¡¯ now¡­¡± ¡°Saint Cross Star!¡± ¡°Kind Shield!¡± The seven holy iron balls were blocked by a cream-colored aura! ¡°It¡¯s 2 vs 1 now¡­ Are you not going to run away?¡± ¡°Aye, this is like a boss fight for the hero¡­ I cannot run away! Now, come! I will defeat you with my power!¡± ¡°Very well! Garbow, uh¡­Meteor Bow! Ah, this was Kyuji¡¯s combination charge attack! What other ones look strong¡­¡± ¡°W-wait! How about we fight 1 vs 1 without Unisons¡­¡± ¡°Hmph! You do have a lot of demands!¡± ¡°I cannot deny it¡­¡± As Anne had fought a lot on the Ghost Float, where players would ambush her and use dirty tactics, she had grown into a rather severe player when it came to fighting. And then she had met the biggest enemy on the Ghost Float, VRHAR¡¯s guild master, Nord. And she had to run away after being rescued by Kyuji. After that, she adventured with Necoco and was finally chosen as a member of the Ghost Guild. As Anne usually talked very calmly, it could be hard to read her emotions. However, within her chest, a strong sense of camaraderie and the passionate soul of a gamer was starting to be born. ¡°I cannot lose!¡± The battle between Anne and Yushia ended very quickly. Indeed, she did not even require Garbow¡¯s help. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for having demands until the end! Thank you! It was fun! But¡­I do wish that I could have won like a cool hero¡­! I want to¡­become stronger!¡± ¡°You want power?¡± ¡°Yes! Yes!¡± ¡°Then I know a good place where you can train. It¡¯s called the Ghost Float¡­ You should try to look for it!¡± ¡°I will! I shall train there so that I can beat you next time!¡± While they had gained a lot of attention as a gathering of very old men, the G¡¯z were seen mostly as a joke, and not actually strong. However, they would continue to adventure and train, and would one day grow into players that could fight boldly and hold their own against the young. But that would not happen for quite some time. ¡®Battle finished!!¡¯ And so the 12th battle of the second round, the G¡¯z vs Ghost Guild, ended 4 to 0, with the Ghost Guild victorious. CH 191 Data.181 ¨C Old Bowman, Awakening After returning to the waiting area, we were greeted by the sounds of applause. There would usually be scattered clapping when a party returned, but it was louder this time. But why¡­? ¡°Now that¡¯s a party led by an MVP! You listened to the ridiculous demands of the enemy and still achieved total victory!¡± ¡°What? Core!? You¡¯re still here!?¡± ¡°Still here¡­ Now what do you mean by that, old man! Don¡¯t you know that you can stay here even after losing!?¡± ¡°I-I see¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s the right of those who make it to the finals! We get to watch in these special seats, and can view the archive as much as we want! So why wouldn¡¯t we stay here? Why would we want to watch amidst the chaos in the first town?¡± ¡°I would think that it would be more exciting where there are a lot of people watching.¡± ¡°That is true! It¡¯s more fun to watch baseball in a packed stadium than an empty one. Though, I do hate the waiting lines for the stores and bathrooms! Okay, I misspoke! Going out in public after a fight will attract too much attention. And not the right kind if you lost!¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s true.¡± ¡°But back to the subject at hand. Uhum¡­ But this really is a party led by an MVP! You listened to the ridiculous demands of the enemy and still achieved total victory!¡± ¡°Ridiculous demands? Well, it was certainly a surprise, but I wouldn¡¯t go that far¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s because things went well for you. But normally, you would never just jump onto the enemy¡¯s platform like that. It¡¯s ridiculous.¡± ¡°Well, if you say so. But¡­¡± ¡°Wait, wait, I¡¯m not saying you are wrong. Just that it isn¡¯t done in the world of competing. But as a pro gamer, I would definitely accept such a laughable challenge. It makes things more interesting!¡± ¡°I suppose that¡¯s true. If I was a spectator, I would want to see someone accept their terms and then beat them.¡± ¡°What? Isn¡¯t that why you did it!? The 25 million prize and the will to take this first step as a pro gamer!¡± ¡°¡­Ah, that¡¯s right. If we win the prize, we would be making money and be defined as pro gamers by default!¡± ¡°So you weren¡¯t thinking about that!? Hey, now. An unemployed person like you who plays games all day but doesn¡¯t even think about making money off of it¡­¡± ¡°Tsk. That¡¯s quite a low blow¡­ Wait, why do you think I¡¯m unemployed? I do play for long hours, but that¡¯s not enough to¡­¡± ¡°Why? Because you told Gela.¡± ¡°That was a bluff¡­¡± ¡°According to Gela-tin, you are good at bluffing, but not good at telling lies about yourself on the fly! And you seemed oddly fired up. So you were probably telling the truth, thinking that she wouldn¡¯t notice.¡± That was very perceptive of her¡­! I just couldn¡¯t beat a woman¡¯s intuition. ¡°Well, while you may have not been conscious of it, I think you are starting to realize it. That you are a pro. The ¡®Kyuji¡¯ in your heart made you accept the challenge naturally. Am I right? The Kyuji that worked miracles during the turf war and Charin fight. I can¡¯t imagine that guy crushing, one by one, the grandfathers who just started playing the games.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re saying¡­that without realizing it, I¡¯m starting to ¡®act¡¯ as Kyuji?¡± ¡°Acting, or doing what people expect. Maybe they are expectations that you yourself have, or your friends. Don¡¯t you think so? You care about looking your best and making it an entertaining battle.¡± ¡°Ah, I do think that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re waking up as a pro. You are starting to see yourself from the outside. It¡¯s only natural, as a human. When you go up in a company and have subordinates, you have to be sure that you¡¯re not embarrassing yourself as their superior. It¡¯s the same with a pro sports team. You have to act like a veteran when someone young comes in. It¡¯s the same in games. You change when you become stronger. You can¡¯t help it.¡± An awakening¡­huh. It was true that I cared more about what people thought. Who wouldn¡¯t, once they became famous? No one wanted to be a disappointment to others. You would rather receive praise and applause. That¡¯s all it was. The reason that we accepted the terms of the G¡¯z¡­was because it would look cool. Ah, I suppose I really was acting as the ideal ¡®Kyuji.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t the kind of character that would reject the old men and then annihilate them. Someone who fights head-on and wins¡­! I¡­Kyuji¡¯s actions were not wrong. And so I would fight in the same way if it happened again. ¡°Let me give you some advice as an old pro. Don¡¯t overthink it! You are Kyuji. Not someone else. What you think is what Kyuji is. And I am Core! I would have done the same as you if I was in your place.¡± ¡°A punk like you would listen to the demands of some grandpa?¡± ¡°No, no. This is a fight. If the enemy is asking for a duel, and I bring all of my goons, then I would be a bad punk! But I am all about justice! Besides, they weren¡¯t strong enough to beat us, even if our party was split up. If that wasn¡¯t the case, then I may reconsider¡­¡± So much for justice¡­ Still, listening to Core had made me learn a little about myself. My conclusion was, ¡®All is well because we won while looking cool!¡¯ Now, I better turn my mind towards the next fight! ¡°And the next opponent is¡­someone I know.¡± I was the MVP during the turf war. But it wasn¡¯t because of my power alone. I was helped by the actions of a certain player. Someone who would inconvenience you without realizing it, but was still popular and hard to hate. It was tiring being with him, but when I was, I would remember what his appeal was¡­ ¡°The Paradise Parade party, led by Flag Magician Hatake¡­!¡± CH 192 Data.182 ¨C Old Bowman, Power of Fate So Hatake was our third opponent¡­! He had a strength that was different from merely being a skilled player, or having good equipment, or great party members. It was like things tended to revolve around him. He had incredibly good luck. And while his words and actions made him look like a narcissist, he was actually very modest. It was just his luck that made him stick out¡­! And because I knew this about him, in a way, he was even more intimidating than VRHAR¡­! They were good at the game and had strong gear, and I¡¯m sure the others were brilliant as well, but I didn¡¯t know more than that. And so I couldn¡¯t fear them any more. But if I imagined Hatake seriously trying to win¡­ I could not imagine a scenario where the goddess of victory did not smile down on him! ¡°There are significantly fewer battles in the 3rd round, so we have to check the archives quickly.¡± And so we watched Hatake¡¯s previous battles. Petta, who was with us during the Scorpio Labyrinth trial, was also there. She had short blue hair and was strikingly androgynous. And just as before, she seemed to have her work cut out for when it came to dealing with Hatake. But in the end, this was leading them to victory. His luck was so strong that actions that seemed meaningless would result in victory¡­ It was scary because I had witnessed it first hand¡­ ¡°You seem worried, Mr. Kyuji. I heard that you were in a party with this player, Hatake. Do you know any of his weaknesses?¡± ¡°Hmm. He actually has quite a lot¡­ I don¡¯t think he¡¯s that skilled. He¡¯s often wide open and hesitates during fights. But¡­he¡¯s still strong. Somehow.¡± ¡°Yes, there are people who are like that! They are strangely lucky, and have perfect timing! Perhaps they were born under a lucky star!¡± In my opinion, Anne was in the same category as that. But she seemed to be unaware of this. Just like Hatake was also unaware¡­ And so he didn¡¯t actually act in a way that relied on his luck. It wasn¡¯t done consciously¡­ Well, perhaps it was the lack of greed that attracted good luck¡­ ¡°This is the guy who was with you during the turf war, right?¡± ¡°Mmm¡­ Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± ¡°So this Hatake isn¡¯t the only person that is really lucky. After all, you were the MVP in the end. In my opinion, you are even luckier than he is¡­ It was because of luck that you were able to fend me off while alone¡­ Or maybe I¡¯m just being a sore loser.¡± Necoco was talking about the time that we faced each other during the turf war. Indeed, I was all alone then, but had realized that the invisible Necoco was going to ambush me. And I suppose it was luck that I had been able to avoid it and chase her off. If I had been killed there, my fate might have been quite different. I may not be standing here right now. ¡°Well, what I¡¯m trying to say is, we also have good luck! If we think that we can win, then we can win! At this point, I¡¯ll use whatever I can, even if it¡¯s spiritualism!¡± ¡°I think of it in more simple terms. There is no need to think about luck. Just believe in your own experience. That should be stronger than anything.¡± Necoco and Satomi were right. This was no time to be afraid of someone being ¡®lucky.¡¯ And so I would tell the others everything I knew about Hatake and Petta. It could be any small detail. It would surely help lead us to victory! ¡°But I¡­ I do believe that luck exists.¡± After our meeting, Anne brought the old subject back again. That¡¯s right¡­ She was all about the occult¡­! ¡°I think that luck is an absolute number, and does not increase or decrease just because you use it. Like a stat in a game, where good things will be likely to happen if it is high, and bad things will happen if it¡¯s low. But it doesn¡¯t deplete like MP. It¡¯s similar to your Attack and Defense. And in order to raise it¡­you need specific equipment or actions!¡± She sure talked a lot¡­ ¡°The reason why there are so many lucky charms sold in this century of science, is because humans instinctively know about this ¡®Luck¡¯ status, and that it can be raised. In order to sell something, you need to make people believe that it has value. Well, a lot of people do sell things that are fabrications, but such things will not last. The reason that the luck business has continued for so long is because there really are ways to increase one¡¯s own luck! But, and I hope that I¡¯m not exaggerating, most of the items out there are rubbish. Ahh¡­where is the real star of luck¡­ Everyone wants to know, but there are no answers¡­ How very occultic!¡± Damn it. I had only caught fragments of that¡­ But she looked like she was going to continue talking. I had to wrap things up quickly¡­! ¡°I see. In other words, what will raise our luck is¡­our comrades!¡± How romantic¡­ The questionable line had sprung from my mouth. Anne looked puzzled¡­! ¡°I-indeed! There are many times when you want to connect with people but never do. And trying to force it with money will just invite misfortune! But good connections will make you happy! Life is all about what kind of people you meet¡­ I remember someone important once said that. So you may be onto something with this idea that connections are what leads to good fortune! Very good, Mr. Kyuji!¡± Alright, I had wrapped things up and also raised the party¡¯s morale! I hadn¡¯t been really thinking while saying it but perhaps this was the truth. However, luck was not enough to win. And it was the same in games. You needed to be a skilled player with the right stats and abilities. Even if you were lucky enough to be able to dodge an attack, the damage would still be calculated when you were hit, and it would be over when it reached zero. There was no luck involved with that. I was the Old Bowman. I would twist fate itself and shoot my arrows¡­! ¡®And now the 6th battle of the 3rd round! Paradise Parade VS Ghost Guild! The chosen field is¡­ Jumbo Athletic Park!¡¯ On the monitor, there was a giant slide, jungle gym, swing¡­and obstacle courses made of wooden platforms hanging from ropes, and nets that you had to climb. Even someone as old as me thought it would be fun to play on them, as long as no one was watching. So it would be a dreamlike place for children. On the other hand, there were no areas that were really high, or durable structures that you could hide behind. It wasn¡¯t the best environment for me¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mr. Kyuji! I will be your shield if you need one!¡± ¡°Anne¡­ Thanks. I¡¯ll be counting on you!¡± I couldn¡¯t forget that I had reliable advance guards. Besides, if there were no durable walls, that also meant that there was nothing to stop my arrows. If I stayed on the offensive¡­I could do this! ¡®Both parties to the battlefield!¡¯ And so the Ghost Guild warped to the athletic park. CH 193 Data.183 ¨C Old Bowman, Death Flag I scanned my surroundings immediately after being warped. Apparently, this was the sandbox area of the Jumbo Athletic Park¡­the Jumbo Sandbox! It was so big that you could film a desert scene for a movie! I suddenly had the impulse to make a large sand castle, but we were fighting now. It would be difficult to walk in the sand. So I should try and move to a different location as soon as possible. ¡°Ah, there you are, Mr. Kyuji!¡± After finding Anne, it didn¡¯t take long to reunite with the others. Apparently, this was another instance where the whole party warped close to each other. Was this good luck or¡­ ¡°If we are going to fight with Kyuji in the center, I think that we should start at that jumbo slide on top of that hill.¡± ¡°But doesn¡¯t their leader, Mr. Hatake, know Mr. Kyuji quite well?¡± ¡°Yes, he does. We keep meeting in places that really leave an impression¡­¡± ¡°Then perhaps we should do what he wouldn¡¯t expect, and camp somewhere that is lower?¡± We continued to discuss our strategy. While the idea of surprising the enemy was appealing, it was clear that with this party, having a good view of the battlefield would be a great advantage. Instead of risking everything on such a plan, it was better to do the obvious thing and fight the enemy head-on. However, since we were fighting other players, everything could turn on its head depending on how the enemy reacted¡­ ¡°¡­You cannot predict Ms. Hatake¡¯s movements. And so fighting in a way that we aren¡¯t used to will only make things worse. And so we should stick to what we do best and secure a high vantage point!¡± Everyone nodded at this final decision. This was the 3rd battle, and so everyone was warmed up and could move well. But the nerves were still there. Because the more we won, the clearer the once blurry goal would become. And simply offering words of encouragement would not be enough to ease the tension. It might just add more pressure. In any case, we just had to move as planned¡­! ¡°Now, let¡¯s go in the usual formation¡­!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± That was Garbow¡¯s hostile cry. But I couldn¡¯t see any enemies. In other words, the scattered Gazer Fish had caught something! ¡°There¡¯s an enemy¡­!¡± The whole party became tense. As Garbow¡¯s cry was quieter than usual, the enemy must be close by¡­! We all held our weapons ready and looked in the direction that Garbow was facing. ¡­Here it comes! It was Hatake¡­and he wasn¡¯t alone! Just as their entire party came into view, they all unleashed charge attacks at once! ¡°Flag Magic¡­ Lightning Trooper!¡± ¡°Genocide Melody!¡± ¡°Linked! Sound Cutting Cymbal Yoyo!¡± ¡°Shaking Earth! Ground Ramming!¡± It wasn¡¯t like them to fight with such brute force¡­! And their expressions were so stiff. There were no relaxed smiles to be seen¡­ Tsk. In any case, if they unleashed four charge attacks at once, then it was better to counter than escape! So we would unleash four as well! ¡°Inferno Arrow Tempest!¡± ¡°Lightning Tiger Ball!¡± ¡°Unison Maestro¡­ Fire Flower ¨C Double!¡± ¡°Saint Cross Star!¡± The eight charge attacks¡­did not slam into each other. Because something quite strange happened instead. ¡°Miracle Effect. Death Flag!¡± The four charge attacks that the enemy unleashed continued forward. And the four charge attacks that we unleashed¡­did a U-turn and went towards Satomi! ¡°What¡­!?¡± We froze, unable to understand what was happening. And then it was all over. We heard the announcement that Satomi had been killed¡­! At the same time, this meant that the Unison Gochu was also gone. All at once, our fighting force was weakened¡­! ¡°Everyone! Hide behind the obstacles!¡± But Necoco and Anne were already moving before I had opened my mouth. Of course, they were! I too quickly hid behind a great log that was sticking out of the ground. I needed to understand what had happened. The reason that the attacks had turned around was because of the miracle effect that Hatake had shouted. Death Flag. If I were to guess, all of the attacks then move towards the person with the flag¡­? If this was the case, there was nothing that we could do. And we would all be killed! No, wait. This was a miracle effect. And miracle effects had very long cool down times. It would definitely be longer than the 30 minutes that a battle would take. In other words, he won¡¯t be able to use it again! What we needed to do was not let Satomi¡¯s death scare us, and continue to fight¡­! ¡°Old man! It¡¯s an honor to be able to fight against you! Normally, I would be no match for a player like you! But just this once, I am going to beat you! By using this Death Flag repeatedly!¡± Hatake sounded very confident. He really was serious this time¡­ Given his personality, I had thought that he would talk to me in the waiting area. But he hadn¡¯t done that. There was no sympathy or banter here¡­ It was a serious battle between men¡­! But never mind that. Did he say he was going to use the miracle effect repeatedly!? Was such a thing possible!? ¡°Do you know of the item, Ultra Cool Chestnut? If you use it, you can immediately end the cool down of a charge attack or miracle effect!¡± ¡°W-what!? There is such an item!?¡± ¡°There is!¡± I was speechless¡­ In the meantime, Necoco joined the conversation. ¡°I have that item too! But just one! And that was with luck. It¡¯s so rare that most people wouldn¡¯t even be able to get one of them. And so no one puts it into their item set. If you have space for an item that shortens cool down time just once, then you¡¯re better off using that space for equipment that has a charge attack. It will broaden your options and can be a backup if your main equipment breaks!¡± ¡°That would be true, if you only had one Ultra Cool Chestnut, little kitty! But I happen to have 10 of them! They were just in my item box before I knew it. I don¡¯t even remember how I got them.¡± ¡°N-no one is that lucky!¡± ¡°And so I placed them in the valuable item slot! You are allowed to have 10 of the same item! If I can ignore the cool down 10 times¡­ Even I can beat someone like you¡­!¡± I see. Hatake had a really high opinion of me. And so he was taking this very seriously. He saw me as someone who was strong¡­! ¡°Since I owe a great debt to you, I wanted to know how you were going to lose! As one pro to another! Besides, I have to shout ¡®Death Flag!¡¯ when using it, and you have to be within range to hear it clearly. And so I¡¯m not telling you because I¡¯m underestimating you or anything!¡± This wasn¡¯t the same Hatake who mistook a strong charge attack as something useless¡­! If I didn¡¯t think of something soon, we would all die¡­! ¡°Now, take this! Death Flag!¡± It was activated¡­! A flag would appear on the head of the player who was targeted! It had been that way with Satomi earlier. Who would it be this time¡­ I looked at Garbow, Necoco, and Anne. None of them had it. So, was it me then¡­!? But when I touched my head, there was nothing there¡­ I looked at Necoco but she shook her head and gestured that there was nothing. ¡­And a light flashed through my brain. ¡°Everyone! Use a fast charge attack! Windgod Sky Tear! Garbow, Tentacle Laser!¡± ¡°Thunder Sky Sever Claws ¨C Dual Claws!¡± ¡°Mach Shooting Star!¡± The charge attacks were unleashed without aiming, and they shot as if being pulled in a certain direction. And then they crashed into an obstacle. At the same time, one member of the enemy party, a tanned, muscular guy with sunglasses, died according to the announcement! ¡°The death flag¡­doesn¡¯t differentiate between friend or foe!¡± Now we were equal. Apparently, we were lucky as well¡­! CH 194 Data.184 ¨C Old Bowman, Charge Attack Dance ¡°Hey-hey-hey! You didn¡¯t say anything about the death flag affecting us too!¡± Petta was furious¡­! So the others didn¡¯t know!? That was a surprise, as I had assumed they were using the Miracle Effect with the knowledge that they were at risk, but believing in their own luck. Still, it was best to let them fight for now. I might be able to hear something useful about the effects of Death Flag. My guess was that everyone within range, regardless of them being friend or foe, was a target for having a flag grow out of their head. And then all of the attacks would be drawn towards them. But if there were some other rules that dictated who was chosen, I wanted to know. Otherwise, it would just continue to be Hatake trying out his luck. ¡°Sorry, but I kept it from you all on purpose.¡± ¡°Wh-why! We¡¯re comrades!¡± ¡°But wouldn¡¯t you all become anxious if you knew? I looked at the comments on our last prank video, and people were saying that you looked too nervous and were giving it away. They were starting to think that it was fake.¡± ¡°Th-that¡¯s¡­true¡­¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t really tell, to be honest. But I suppose viewers are a lot more sensitive to such things. And so in order to make the enemy believe that the miracle effect would only target them, we needed to have perfect poker faces.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Still¡­ Even if we did look nervous, it¡¯s not like they would be able to tell the effect. So you could have still told us in advance.¡± ¡°But that old guy is a really good player! I think¡­he would definitely notice!¡± He was certainly exaggerating¡­! I would not have guessed that the Death Flag could affect them as well, just because they looked nervous! Besides, this was a battle with a great audience, so it wasn¡¯t even strange that they would look anxious¡­ We all were! ¡°He is strong! The only way that I can beat him is with my luck! I don¡¯t really know if my luck is that strong, but everyone says that it is. And so I must rely on it¡­! And this¡­chaos is the only way! Death Flag!¡± He ended the conversation with Petta by using the Miracle Effect again¡­! We all looked at each other¡¯s heads and then made an ¡®X¡¯ with our arms to show that the other player was safe. In other words, the death flag wasn¡¯t on any of us. So¡­it was on the enemy again! We needed to use our charge attacks¡­! That being said, I had already used Arrow Tempest and Windgod Sky Tear! Charging with I¡¯m Arrow was too dangerous, and Indra¡¯s Arrow would take too much time to fall¡­ ¡°Gatling Inferno Arrow! Garbow! Use Missile Fish!¡± ¡°My ranged charge attack is¡­ah, Claw Missile!¡± ¡°Uh, how about Rolling Daybreak Star!¡± As we were using too many charge attacks, it was getting difficult to deal a lot of damage. That being said, if it was a clean hit, it should be enough to kill someone who was a lightly armored rear guard¡­! ¡°Miracle Effect¡­ Sound Society!¡± With Petta in the center of the party, five lines wrapped around them and numerous musical notes began to dance on top of them. While a few arrows managed to slip through, most of the attacks were erased by the notes. I see. Defense skills with no attack ability were not affected by Death Flag. We would need to use Miracle Effects to break through the defense of that Miracle Effect, but should we really use them here¡­ After all, the defense effects would wear off with time. And they would not be able to go on the offensive now that the Death Flag had grown. So it might be best to wait and save our Miracle Effects¡­ ¡°Thanks, Petta! Wait. This time, I¡¯ll make it grow on one of them! With my luck¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t do it. It won¡¯t work. You¡¯ve always been like this. Your luck abandons you when you think about it too much. If it was so easy, you would be a billionaire and nothing would be able to stop you.¡± ¡°B-but, this is the only way¡­¡± ¡°Hatake! You are enough! Don¡¯t do something that you aren¡¯t used to. You are strong as yourself! I¡¯ve told you to act like a leader or do your best because you¡¯re the most popular on the team, but there is no need to take it so seriously! That¡¯s our job!¡± ¡°¡­Hmm. Fine. I was just thinking about how I don¡¯t like to think too much while moving. And so from here, I will go back to how I always am and¡­ Death Flag!¡± What!? It sounded like he was going to stop using it!? Was it a bluff!? No, no¡­! They would be in control again¡­! I had to find out who had the flag¡­! It wasn¡¯t on Garbow. And it wasn¡¯t on Anne. But Necoco¡­ ¡°Ah.¡± Necoco¡¯s head¡­there was a small golden flag between the cat ears. So it works out for him once he stops overthinking it¡­!? That¡¯s ridiculous¡­ ¡°I did it, Petta! I listened to your advice and it worked!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant¡­ But you are amazing. My Miracle Effect is about to wear off. So you¡¯ll have to make up for it!¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Then the charge attacks came¡­! As we had used so many attacks, there was nothing left for defense¡­ ¡°Invisible Catwalk!¡± Necoco jumped out from behind a wall and dashed! ¡­And then she disappeared. ¡°Hey, hey. Now we won¡¯t know where to attack!?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry! The effect of the Death Flag is still activated even if you can¡¯t see her! So just keep attacking randomly!¡± ¡°No! Don¡¯t do that!¡± It was the third member of Paradise Parade, who had been quiet up until now. He had an Arabian turban around his head and carried golden cymbals. His name was Cymba Dot. ¡°She is clearing trying to lure the attacks towards her and then hit us with them! It would be possible with her speed!¡± He had a feminine voice¡­! Well, it wasn¡¯t unusual these days, especially in the great age of VR. If there were people like that in real life, then there would be characters. It made him more memorable and he looked strong¡­! ¡°But if we don¡¯t attack, we¡¯ll be the ones who are targeted!?¡± ¡°Focus on the sounds and the dust! If she¡¯s running at full speed, she won¡¯t be able to hide¡­!¡± Cymba¡¯s body flew into the air. And then his head¡­was cut off from his body¡­! It was clear that Necoco had attacked him, but I thought that I had gore effects turned off!? In-in any case, now there was one less enemy¡­ ¡°I see! You can pass on the death flag by touching someone! And it will work on a dummy made with a charge attack skill!¡± Cymba appeared from the smoke. So the thing that had been decapitated was¡­a doll! ¡°Ninpo ¨C Body Replacement Technique! I saw the flag move over to the dummy! Your special Miracle Effect¡­might be more useful than it seemed at first, Hata-chan!¡± He was also¡­a ninja!? But his weapon was cymbals¡­!? The fact that such combinations were possible showed how much freedom there was in NSO, but he was also amazing for thinking of such a thing¡­! ¡°Ahhh, this is no time to be stunned by my appearance! What is really amazing¡­is my technique!¡± Up until now, Cymba had been silent and had only used sound skills with the cymbals. In other words, this person was strong enough to have plenty of tricks that they could save for later¡­! ¡°While testing your luck is fun, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s time for a real fight? After all, we are in the top 16!¡± CH 195 Data.185 ¨C Old Bowman, Group Battle Top 16¡­huh. Now that I thought about it, we had come quite far. There were only three battles left then. So we only needed to win three more times and we¡¯d be the winners¡­ Well, we had to get through this current battle first! ¡°That¡¯s a nice charge attack you have there! But a charge attack that can nullify attacks is not likely to be able to be used repeatedly!¡± Necoco deactivated Invisible Catwalk and showed herself. And then she launched an attack on Cymba. ¡°There is no need to use it repeatedly! I only blocked that attack as a test. It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t dodge it! And you should know that I could have even countered it if I wanted to! Now, eat this! True Shadow Clone Shuriken!¡± Cymba threw the cymbals in his hands. Wait, those were shurikens!? As I looked on in surprise, the cymbals separated so that they covered a wide area¡­! ¡°If I can attack over a wide area, it doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re invisible or not¡­!¡± I had to help Necoco¡­! And so I grabbed the Sunfish Bow that was floating next to me and aimed at Cymba. ¡°Sunfish Arrow!¡± A giant ball of light shot out and turned into a shield to block the attack! I knew that these spreading type charge attacks were weak to more focused charge attacks. Because I often had my own arrows spread out¡­! ¡°Thanks, old man!¡± Necoco hid behind the ball of light until the shurikens passed her. Now, how should we move from here¡­ There were 3 enemy players left, and 1 Unison. Hatake, Petta, Cymba, and a parrot called Paroro. We were also 3 and 1 Unison. Me, Necoco, Anne, and Garbow. While both sides had lost a player, the fight had only just started. And so it was too early to say which side was winning. The problem was that we were all concentrated in a single place¡­! Up until now, it had always been 1 vs 1, so we weren¡¯t used to these kinds of group battles. And more than anything, the Ghost Guild¡¯s very own philosophy meant we weren¡¯t good with cooperation. It¡¯s true that sometimes, it worked out surprisingly, and we cooperated and defeated enemies. But I was still worried. If possible, I wanted to separate the enemy and target them individually. But Satomi was the smart one who would have a good idea in such situations, but he was gone. And so the rest of us would have to think of something¡­ Huh? Anne is gone now¡­!? I scanned the area. Surely¡­she isn¡¯t dead. No, she wasn¡¯t. Her head was poking out of a pipe that was coming out of the ground. However, when had she moved over there? I was sure that she had been hiding behind a different pipe¡­ Could it be¡­that they are connected underground? Just like in that other famous video game¡­ But that was ridiculous. But this was NSO! Thanks to Anne and the pipes, I thought of a good plan. However, if told it to her through voice, then the enemy would hear. And so¡­I had to use Letter Arrow! This skill had two different effects. One was to learn about monsters, which was how I usually used it. The other was¡­as the name implied, record words or sounds and send them! And so I would use it to tell Necoco and Anne about my plan. While using Clear Arrow so the enemy didn¡¯t see it¡­ The enemy would also be thinking about their next move now. And while Cymba¡¯s wide area attacks were restricting our movement, friendly fire was turned on in this battle, and so Hatake and the others could not easily step into the shuriken storm. In other words, Cymba was also restricting their movements as well. And I was pretty sure it was being done deliberately. Hatake clearly wanted to use Death Flag again. His main ability was with buffs, but he was abandoning that to rely on his luck. And so Cymba was buying some time so they could calm down. Because he was strong, he could win if some buffs were cast on him¡­ That was probably the idea behind this. At the end of the day, Hatake was popular. And so everyone naturally started to fight with him in the center. After all that, perhaps Hatake would finally change the way that he fought. Maybe we didn¡¯t need to worry about Death Flag any¡­ ¡°Death Flag!¡± ¡°¡­Huh?¡± Perhaps I was hearing things¡­ No! A small golden flag had appeared on Garbow¡¯s head! I thought that I was starting to understand the way Hatake thought, but I was wrong¡­! ¡°But, Garbow can¡­ Kurokogairu!¡± Cymba had said it earlier. You could touch someone and move the flag to them. And it didn¡¯t matter if it was a dummy! So I could move the flag to a clone with Kurokogairu, and then we could use Blue Ocean Sphere to move away. Perhaps the enemy has already unleashed their attacks. We had to move quickly¡­! ¡°There you are!¡± ¡°What!?¡± Petta was targeting us. She must have predicted that the target would try and rub the flag onto someone else! But even if she did that, all of the attacks would go to the dummy now that the flag had appeared¡­ ¡°High Attack Enhance!¡± Hatake cast a buff on Petta. Did she really mean to attack¡­!? ¡°Sonic Blast¡­ Woah!?¡± A sticky iron ball hit Petta¡¯s body. This¡­was Anne¡¯s Sticky Star! ¡°Shit! What is this disgusting thing!¡± ¡°Why are you able to use a skill so quickly!? As the Death Flag was on the dummy a moment ago, there would have been a danger of all the attacks being pulled over there¡­!¡± ¡­Ah! Indeed, the dummy was gone! The plan was likely to use a small skill to find the position of the enemy with the flag, and then destroy it, obstacle and all, with a large skill. The good thing about this plan was that even if it was on Garbow, the attacks wouldn¡¯t be wasted. They already knew about Garbow¡¯s clones because of the fight with Mad Slime CORE, and it would be possible to kill a dummy even with the small skill. Because it would be a waste to kill a dummy with a charge attack after being buffed¡­ Still, Anne¡¯s attack had been quick. You would have to unleash the skill at the same time that Hatake and the others used small attacks to destroy the dummy, or it would be difficult to stop Petta¡¯s attack like that. However, it should also have meant that there was a risk of attacking your own comrades¡­ ¡°Sticky Star is just a skill that sticks to enemies! Even if it hits them hard, the stickiness absorbs the impact and there is no damage! In other words, it has no attack ability at all! It isn¡¯t affected by the Death Flag! I see¡­! Just like with the effect of defense abilities, no-damage effects also go right past Death Flag. That¡¯s why Anne had been quick to move. Because she wouldn¡¯t be affected by Death Flag either way¡­! ¡°And now I will swing it around and hit it against the ground! It should also be impossible for impact or fall damage from hitting something to be pulled by Death Flag!¡± And so Anne began to swing the iron ball while Petta was still stuck to it. It was a cruel but sure way to kill¡­! ¡°Pe-chan! How terrible¡­! I will help you!¡± ¡°Your opponent is me!¡± Necoco moved in front of Cymba. Anne would defeat Petta. In that case, I had to¡­ ¡°E-everyone! What should I do¡­!¡± I¡¯ll take down¡­Hatake. CH 196 Data.186 ¨C Old Bowman, True Ability ¡°What¡­why do you look like you think it¡¯s over¡­! It¡¯s¡­only just begun!¡± Petta shouted, even as she was being spun around. She had a lot of guts, that was for sure¡­! ¡°This¡­is no time¡­to be saving¡­! Combination charge attack¡­!¡± And then¡­Petta and her parrot Unison combined!? ¡°Angel Descent: Trumpetter.¡± Anne¡¯s iron ball stopped its rotation. No, it was stopped¡­by the wings that grew from Petta¡¯s back! ¡°Ah, damn it! Since the iron ball is stuck right on my back, I can¡¯t fly away!¡± ¡°Tsk¡­please stop moving like that! Just be quiet and let me slam you onto the ground!¡± ¡°A mere nun should not antagonize an angel!¡± ¡°As I said before, I¡¯m only a nun in appearance¡­!¡± And then the tug of war between Anne and Petta began. The fact that a combination charge attack was even struggling against Sticky Star suggested that the flight ability was merely a bonus. It¡¯s real ability lay somewhere else¡­! The design of the trumpet had changed, making it most suspicious¡­ What should I do? The enemy had used a combination charge attack, so maybe I should risk it as well? ¡°Combination charge attack. Armageddon Arrow!¡± Both the enemy and my comrades looked shocked as I suddenly unleashed it. It was no wonder¡­even I was surprised! Why had I done such a thing? It was to end this group battle that was completely unbalanced! My target was¡­Petta, who was still stuck to the iron ball! ¡°So it¡¯s me! Well, I don¡¯t even care anymore! Echo, the sounds of the end. Now, I will undo the final seal¡­¡± And then six angels descended around Petta. Each of them was carrying the same trumpet as her. ¡°Apocalypse Melody!¡± The six of them¡­no, seven, including Petta, began to play their instruments. The sounds had colors that shone like a rainbow, and they took shape and clashed with Armageddon Arrow. Like this, Petta¡¯s trump card was depleted, and the mysterious parrot Unison was also taken out. Now it was just a matter of what was stronger, armageddon or apocalypse¡­ ¡°¡­It¡¯s a draw!¡± Sound clashed against object and reverberated. By crashing into the high speed arrow that was Armagedon Arrow, Apocalypse Melody flew around everywhere randomly, hitting obstacles, enemies and friends alike as if it was rain. So she had shot it making it look like it was for self-defense, but it was actually a wide area attack. And now I was the one who was in danger¡­! But Armageddon Arrow was still shooting towards Petta! ¡°Shit! Hurry up and shatter, iron ball¡­!¡± Anne was still trying to hit Petta against the ground with it. Even when the reverberating sounds hit her, she did not let go of the chain¡­! However, the iron ball was at its limit. After being hit by so many sounds¡­it shattered into pieces! With the connection gone, Anne was thrown to the ground, and so was Petta, who was unable to kill her momentum. ¡°Tsk¡­I lost one of my legs.¡± A red ¡®X¡¯ mark appeared near her left knee. It had probably been destroyed by Armageddon Arrow. However, she still had the wings on her back. If you could fly, then there was no need for legs¡­! ¡°Hehehe! It looks like you got carried away, old man!¡± ¡°Phew¡­ A little warning before smashing two great attacks together would have been nice¡­ I was so surprised I nearly dislocated my back.¡± Hatake and Cymba popped out from the ground. So that¡¯s where they had been hiding¡­! I had completely lost track of their positions. ¡°Ninpo. Mole Conceal Art! It¡¯s not a flashy skill, but being able to hide in the ground in an instant can be very useful for emergency evasions!¡± ¡°We knew about the nature of Petta¡¯s combination charge attack and the randomness of the sounds. And so we hit right away! Well, I was just following Cymba¡¯s lead¡­ But everything turned out well in the end!¡± ¡°On the other hand, you people were too slow in running away! And your gear is in tatters! I¡¯ll put you out of your misery now!¡± ¡°Thunder Tiger Ball!¡± But then Necoco intercepted Cymba as he moved to destroy Anne. Thunder Tiger Ball was a simple charge attack that launched a ball of lightning, but it had great power and speed, on top of affecting a wide area, which made it easy to use. Even then, it was not good enough to hit a fast ninja. Cymba dodged it easily and then switched his target over to Necoco. ¡°So you were alive, kitten. I was wondering why there was no announcement! I thought you would be killed in the storm of sounds, but I suppose you were underground as well!¡± Necoco¡¯s Drill Claw was a skill that allowed her to spin her nails at a high speed and dig into the ground. After she used it during the Charin fight, it became one of her most famous skills. However, for someone who had been underground, she seemed to have taken a lot of damage. Especially with her armor¡­! ¡°Didn¡¯t you learn last time that things will go into the hole if you don¡¯t block it afterward? This time it was the sounds. They probably reverberated a lot down there. And even if you can recover your HP, you won¡¯t be able to fix your gear¡­ Oh, your cat ears are gone!¡± ¡°Tsk¡­!¡± ¡°In the first place, you were already losing while the situation was equally favorable for both of us. So there is no way that you can win in this situation¡­ Huh!?¡± Windgod Sky Tear stabbed into Cymba¡¯s neck. It was impressive that he could move so precisely in spite of talking so much. His voice echoed all of the way to me, and it was difficult to hit him. ¡°What¡­what¡¯s this!? An arrow¡­the old man!? But, how¡­where was he hiding¡­ Gah!¡± The fact that he stopped talking was proof that I got a clean hit. From this distance, it was hard to aim at a target even while using Sniping Insight. And so it was good that I could tell that it was a clean hit. Now, it was time to pursue the other enemies. ¡°Ah¡­! Hatake, Cymba! Over there¡­ Gahh!?¡± As Petta was using her wings to fly, I should do extra damage if I could hit her. So even an average skill like Thunder Arrow would deal great damage. ¡°I see¡­! It looks like we forgot something very basic¡­!¡± Ah, embarrassingly, I had forgotten as well. The reason that I never ran away from 1 vs 1 fights was because if I ran away and encountered an enemy, I would die a wasteful death. The result was that I adventured without really making use of my long Range, and relied on skills and charge attacks to kill enemies. I had improved so much that it was possible to do such things. However, now that I thought about it, I knew the positions of all the enemies this time. In that case, there was no reason to face them and fight head on. I should just use Warp Arrow to reach a high platform! ¡°Um, that really far away jumbo slide¡­ The old bow guy is on top of it!¡± No¡­I wasn¡¯t the old bow guy. I¡¯m the Old Bow Man with Maxed Range! CH 197 Data.187 ¨C Old Bowman, Fixed Artillery ¡°Inferno Arrow Tempest!¡± Numerous arrows that were enveloped in dark red flames shot out across the battlefield. At this distance, I could shoot as much as I wanted without fear of counterattacks. I saw that Anne was moving away while the enemy still wouldn¡¯t notice her, and so I had also moved to a high platform so that I could attack with a charge attack and take them by surprise. In order to do this, I needed a smoke screen that would be truly shocking. And so I had the idea of unleashing Armageddon Arrow. The result was that it was even better than I had expected, but it also did great damage to my teammates, which I was very sorry for. Of course, I had not known that Petta could turn into an angel or use this insane charge attack called Apocalypse Melody. It meant that she too was someone who was capable enough to fight while also holding back for the time being. However, combination charge attacks were very risky, as your Unison would go into cool down when it was finished. If I was solo, then losing Garbow would only put me in danger. However, since I was in a party, I could be putting everyone in a disadvantageous position. And so I did feel that I had been a little reckless this time. I would have to take it as a lesson learned. But for now, I had to think of the current battle alone. Now that I have taken position up here, victory will be ours no matter what! ¡°I let my guard down! It¡¯s too much that I cannot even laugh! But I still have a countermeasure¡­! Ninpo ¨C Tatami Flip Art!¡± Cymba stomped hard on the ground, and then a tatami appeared out of nowhere! The skill didn¡¯t just flip a tatami, but summoned one. However, I didn¡¯t think that a tatami mat would be very durable as a wall¡­ ¡°Flip tatamis! And flip projectiles! That¡¯s what it means!¡± The arrows that hit the tatami mat did a 180 degree turn and shot back at me¡­! I see. This definitely was a countermeasure. If my arrows were being reflected as they were, then the range would also be the same. And so they could definitely reach me! ¡°Shit. I have to change the tide of battle while I can still fly¡­! Echo Melody!¡± ¡°They taught me rather harshly so that even I can deal with the old man¡­ Rise in Revolt!¡± The other two also used reflecting type skills¡­!? Apparently, the entire party was wary of me. I suppose it was an honor¡­! ¡°However, no one knows more about my arrows than me! Ha!¡± And so I slid down the jumbo slide! The slide twisted and turned many times, and was very long. Its angles were also sharp and it was very fast. As I had targeted the enemy with precision, it would hit me if they were reflected back. On the other hand, they wouldn¡¯t hit me if I escaped! And so the slide was perfect both for attacking and escaping! That being said, the end of the jumbo slide was far below. If I slid down all of the way, it would be quite difficult to get back up. And so partway down, I hit the brakes and stood up. And then I began to run back up the slide! Running up a slide¡­ I had done that a lot as a child¡­ However, that was only in a small park where there were hardly any other people. You wouldn¡¯t be able to do it on a big slide like this, as a lot of other people would be sliding down. Kids, don¡¯t copy this at home! ¡°Actually¡­this is very tiring¡­!¡± I would not be able to get back to the top immediately¡­! Oh, well. I would take pauses to cover my teammates and then start climbing when I have a chance to¡­! You can do it¡­ Necoco, Anne! ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°Well, look at that. The old man is playing on the slide! We shouldn¡¯t have allowed him to run so far away, but I suppose we can take out the others while he¡¯s struggling over there. So it all works out for us in the end!¡± Cymba sounded like he was in a good mood, but deep inside, he was annoyed at having allowed Kyuji to escape. The impact of Death Flag had been so great that Kyuji himself forgot to fight in the way that he knew best, so it was no wonder that Cymba would forget as well. However, as a veteran who sometimes led the party, Cymba had a strong sense of responsibility that he could not shake off. (Hata-chan accepted an old and lonely gamer like me. While it was to balance out a guild that had too many people that were accepted based on uniqueness, I am still grateful¡­) Hatake¡¯s guild was a complete mess, so much so that he once had to rely on Kyuji¡¯s help in order to clear one of the trials for the zodiac labyrinths. After that, he tried to bring in players who could fight and add stability. Because if they were going to struggle during that event, then they would surely struggle even more in future events. And so Cymba thought that as a result of that, he was invited to join. But it was not the truth. Because they had not yet found a stable member who could fight. So, why was he invited to join¡­? It was because he too was someone so unique that it would be hard to find a better match for the guild! Yes, just by being an Arabian, feminine ninja character, he had been invited. While Cymba had misunderstood the intent, there was nothing calculated about their relationship. In fact, it was unlikely that the word ¡®calculated¡¯ even existed in Hatake¡¯s dictionary. (Wait for me, everyone¡­! I will lead us to victory! Now, it¡¯s time to strike back!) Just then, a hole opened up under Cymba¡¯s feet. ¡°What!? Ahhhhhh!!¡± It was so sudden that he couldn¡¯t even enter a defensive stance as he fell heavily on his haunches. ¡°You were saying something earlier about plugging holes so that things don¡¯t fall in afterwards¡­ Was that about the Charin fight?¡± It was Necoco who waited in the bottom of the pit. She had used Drill Claw to dig through the ground and avoid Kyuji¡¯s Inferno Arrow Tempest, and then moved right under Cymba¡¯s feet. ¡°Th-that¡¯s right! It¡¯s a famous story! Had you self-destructed instead of digging a hole and running away, Charin would not have been able to use the hole and escape. Then you could have won that battle much easier¡­!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe you would say that to my face!! Something that¡¯s been bothering me all of this time¡­! You¡¯ll pay for this!¡± ¡°Ahh!¡± And inside of the hole, the fury of the cat exploded¡­! CH 198 Data.188 ¨C Another Perspective: Wounded Beast ¡°Beast Claw Chain Attack!¡± A chain of desperate scratch attacks assaulted Cymba. It was impossible to dodge them in the narrow and dark pit. He had no choice but to try and block them with his weapons. (Tsk¡­ I can¡¯t make use of my speed while in this hole! So I have no choice but to resort to exchanging blows. But I dislike this sort of filthy way of fighting!) Cymba¡¯s real job was the special 3rd job ¡®Sonic Ninja,¡¯ which allowed him to move with the speed and power of sound and unleash his attacks. Sound attacks were invisible, echoed, and had special features like the ability to pierce armor, but in terms of pure firepower, they were not very strong. And while the cymbal-shaped shurikens were easy to throw, they weren¡¯t the best weapons to fight with. In that case, perhaps he could use sound attacks at close range¡­ But there was a problem. The attacks would echo everywhere in this small space and could kill him as well. So he would be limited to attacks that didn¡¯t have an echo effect. Necoco had been enraged as she pulled Cymba into the hole. But she was also acting with careful thought. However, there was one hole in her plan. (But you will be held back by the speed limit as well¡­kitten!) Yes, Necoco was also a classic speed type. The very memorable Invisible Catwalk could only be activated when she was running at top speed. But the pit was so small that she wouldn¡¯t even be able to walk fast. As for firepower¡­as had been pointed out during the Mad Slime CORE fight, she needed thunder buffs and Dual Claws or she would be below average. In Cymba¡¯s mind, Necoco had wanted to push the enemy into a corner so badly that she had pushed herself into the corner as well. (In a battle of pure strength, your attack status will decide everything¡­ Neither of us are very strong there, but between us¡­ I should have higher attack ability! Because of the difference in speed! The kitten is faster! If she excels in one thing, then it should be the opposite for everything else!) Cymba smiled. His eyes were getting used to the darkness. Now he would go in for the attack. ¡°Sonic Vibration Blade!¡± Through high-speed vibrations, the edges became sharp like blades. ¡°And Sonic Metal Light!¡± And then the surface of the cymbals began to shine like a diamond. Through this diamond coating, he raised the durability of his weapons. ¡°It was a good idea to drop me into a pit! But we are so alike! If anything, your weaknesses are enhanced down here! Now eat this!¡± The muscles on Cymba¡¯s arms began to bulge out¡­! It was a general purpose charge attack that could be activated regardless of what kind of weapon he had¡­! A simple effect that allowed him to hit the enemy with force alone¡­! ¡°Ikiri¡­Dachiii!¡± ¡°Thunder Claws¡­¡± Necoco¡¯s claws thrashed upwards and easily blocked the cymbals that came down. Not only that, but the sheer power of it caused the cymbals to fly out of his hands and fall to the ground. ¡°Wh-what is this power!? Even if it¡¯s not the best charge attack, I used two buff skills¡­¡± ¡°¡­Dual Claws!¡± There were two levels to Necoco¡¯s charge attack. And so the counterattack that came slashed into Cymba¡¯s body. However, it wasn¡¯t his neck, but his torso. The hardest part of a player who still had armor that was in a good state. Not only would this fail to be lethal, it shouldn¡¯t even be close¡­ ¡°Th-this makes no sense! You are clearly stronger than you were when the battle began¡­! A charge attack like that shouldn¡¯t have taken so much of my HP and my armor¡¯s durability¡­!¡± It was clear to anyone with eyes. With just one hit, there was a deep cut in Cymba¡¯s armor, and it no longer functioned as protective gear. His HP had also been reduced dramatically, and he would not be able to fight unless he recovered it. ¡°What did you do!? Tell me¡­ Nevermind! My fate is already decided! I have nothing to say or hear! Do it!¡± ¡°Thunder Claw!¡± Claws enveloped in thunder slashed at Cymba¡¯s neck. Thunder Claw was a basic skill, but it did a lot of damage. And it was enough to take away the remainder of Cymba¡¯s HP. ¡°The sudden rise in attack ability¡­ I think I know the reason. But I won¡¯t say it. So there is no need to tell me, kitten. Women should have their secrets¡­ Also, I¡¯m sorry. For digging into that old wound¡­¡± ¡°I know in my head that it cannot be helped that people bring it up¡­! It¡¯s only natural for people to make jokes when a professional makes a mistake. I understand that¡­! But my heart rejects it! And I have to be more calm¡­!¡± ¡°Hehehe¡­ The heart of a girl is a strange thing¡­ It seems that you are striving to be a cool and dry player like Macoco, but you¡¯ll never catch up by doing the same thing. You must find your own style, little kitten¡­¡± And then Cymba turned into light and disappeared. ¡°Ah! Sorry, Hata-chan and Pe-chan! I¡¯ll be rooting for you, so do your best!¡± Only his voice echoed in the pit. Cymba had been strong. Perhaps even stronger than Necoco¡­ The reason for his defeat was that he was slow to realize the effect of the fixed status ¡®Wild Life¡¯ that was a part of Necoco¡¯s special 3rd job, Beast Gladiator. Wild Life was similar to ¡®Spirit,¡¯ which was the fixed status for warriors. And your Attack, Magic Attack, and Speed stats rose the more damage you took. And while they could rise tremendously, your Defense and Magic Defense dropped instead. A wounded beast could be the most dangerous in combat, but it was still a dangerous power that could quicken your death. Furthermore, there were special settings for Wild Life. Normally, this effect of becoming stronger after taking damage would disappear if you healed your HP. However, it did not with Wild Life. Just like how healing a wound doesn¡¯t erase the fact that there was a wound, you could heal your HP and your attack ability against a target would continue to rise in proportion to how much damage the target inflicted on you. And if the target was in a party, then it affected the whole party. So if you took damage from one of them, then your attack ability against the others would also rise. In this case, as Necoco had taken great damage from Petta, her attack ability against Cymba had also increased. Wild Life¡¯s effect would slowly decrease and eventually disappear if she did not take damage from the target, or in turn, deal damage towards the target for a long time. A peaceful time makes you forget your anger. Furthermore, there were limits to how high or how low your stats could change, and so the strengthening or weakening was not infinite. There wasn¡¯t likely to be a player here who would have been able to guess all of these conditions. However, it would not be widely known that Necoco Strange had a method for making up for her low firepower. Up until recently, she had been targeting necks in order to hide her weakness, but now she was boldly attacking torsos. This was one of the difficult elements of being watched during a tournament. (He was so strong¡­! And since I showed one of my trump cards, a part of me can¡¯t be too happy in spite of winning¡­ But, I will be happy! Because I won! I¡¯ll think about the next fight when the time comes¡­I think¡­) Necoco was starting to be affected by Kyuji¡¯s optimistic way of viewing things CH 199 Data.189 ¨C Another Perspective: The Angel and the Nun From the moment that Necoco dragged Cymba into the hole, a different battle began on the surface¡­ ¡°Tsk! So you had a backup iron ball¡­!¡± ¡°It¡¯s because my weapon breaks easily!¡± Anne put away the spiked iron ball that was destroyed by Apocalypse Melody, and took out a new one from her item box. Bows, guns and staffs were harder to break, as they did not directly come in contact with the enemy, but it was a different matter with swords, spears and axes, which not only hit enemies, but were likely to come in contact with skills and charge attacks. Because of this, you could not forget to have a backup handy. On top of that, Anne¡¯s spiked iron ball¡­which was called a ¡®Star Sphere¡¯ due to its shape, was even more breakable than close-range weapons like swords or spears because of its structure. The giant ball itself was durable, but the chain was not. If an attack hit the chain and it was severed, then she would not be able to swing it anymore. And a lot of her skills would become useless. This meant that she could not allow enemies to get within the circle drawn by the iron ball. Of course, Anne¡­sort of understood this. She couldn¡¯t quite explain it in words, but her body seemed to understand it. An instinctive player¡­. That was why she was strong in spite of lacking experience. On the other hand, Petta was a player that moved after a lot of thought. The androgynous and cool player often came off as frank and dry, but she just had a personality that made her overthink things. Even in real life. And the reason for this was Hatake. As they were old friends, after witnessing the carefree way that Hatake lived for so long, she realized that she had to take the role of the brakes. In general, Hatake could do whatever he wanted and it was fine. However, it was when he succeeded too much or became nervous that things started to go south. His luck would turn on him and he would go through a bad streak. And so Petta would have to pull him out of it. That¡¯s why she wondered. Was this the right thing for him¡­ And should she always stick close to his side¡­ (This nun is strong¡­! She doesn¡¯t have any experience, so I assumed she was just brought in to fill up an empty slot, but this is bad¡­ And since her first win was luck, and the second was immediate death, we have no information! Surely she is still hiding something¡­!) Petta continued to fly with her wings at a low altitude as she dodged Anne¡¯s attacks. These wings were the result of the combined charge attack, Angel Descent: Trumpetter, and it only lasted for¡­14 minutes. It seemed like an incredible ability, but in fact, she could not fly very high and the wings were weak. If anything this effect was just a bonus, and the main effect was Apocalypse Melody. In the first place, humans didn¡¯t have wings. And so it would take some practice to be able to fly well with them after they grew. Furthermore, if you had to attack and dodge while in the air, perfect control would require more than average amount of effort. However, Petta was able to do it. She did it in order to support Hatake. (I received a good buff from Hatake. And so I should have no trouble when it comes to firepower and durability. I just need to defeat her while it still lasts¡­) A flying arrow scratched Petta¡¯s leg. Yes. She was also exposed to the attacks of Kyuji, the archer. Currently, Hatake was using his skills to stop the arrows, but some of them curved and bounced and got past him. In spite of shooting them in such strange ways, they still hit their target. (Damn it¡­! I saw that he was an impressive player at the scorpio pyramid, but he¡¯s improved since then¡­! I can¡¯t fight while being targeted by such a monster! We need to defeat the nun and cat quickly so we can focus on him¡­!) And so Petta fought a desperate battle against Anne. She slipped past the swinging iron ball and closed in¡­! ¡°Gemini Stars!¡± The iron ball was on one end of Anne¡¯s chain. However, there was also a small, decorative iron ball on the other end¡­or there should have been. But when Anne shouted, that iron ball also grew large and spikes appeared. ¡°Mach Star!¡± As the iron ball shot towards her, Petta twisted her body in an attempt to dodge it. But even if she was hit, she could not back down now¡­! In the end, Petta lost her remaining right leg, but she managed to survive! ¡°I got you¡­! Melodius the Ripper!¡± She blew into her trumpet and swiftly moved her head from side to side. The invisible sound attacks cut the chains of Anne¡¯s weapon¡­! (Even if she has another one, she won¡¯t be able to take it out in time! I¡¯ll slam her with follow up attacks and it will be over! And though she¡¯s an advance guard, her armor is in tatters¡­ And this is my strongest sound attack¡­!) ¡ªCymba Dot of Paradise Parade is eliminated! The announcement suddenly rang in their heads. ¡°Thunder Sky Sever Claws ¨C Dual Claws!¡± Blades of thunder pierced into Petta¡¯s back. After losing its wings, the angel¡­fell to the ground. ¡°Shit¡­! Cymba didn¡¯t make it then¡­! However, I still have my arms! The music can continue¡­¡± ¡°Chain Punch!¡± The chain was wrapped around Anne¡¯s fist as she dealt the finishing blow. Petta barely had any HP left after being hit by Necoco¡¯s charge attack while she was still under the effect of Wild Life. And so her body turned into light and started to disappear¡­ ¡°Sorry¡­Hatake¡­ I wasn¡¯t able to do much¡­¡± ¡°Full Enhance.¡± As if to answer Petta¡¯s words, Hatake activated a charge attack. Full Enhance would enhance all of his abilities for three minutes¡­ ¡°You don¡¯t need to say that. You did well, Petta.¡± ¡°But I left you alone¡­!¡± ¡°Yes. I am¡­still here.¡± His expression wasn¡¯t tense like at the beginning of the fight. But it wasn¡¯t his usual relaxed expression either. However, Hatake was smiling. CH 200 Data.190 ¨C Old Bowman, Ghost Bond Hatake¡¯s body was enveloped in golden¡­no, a dark orange aura! He had cast it on me during the turf war. Full Enhance! While it enhanced all of your abilities, the effect only lasted for a short while. On top of that, you could only use it once a day¡­! I wasn¡¯t aware of just how much it boosted everything, given that the cool down was worse than even a combination charge attack¡­ While the enemy party was down to just Hatake now, we could not let our guard down. He was¡­someone who could make miracles happen. That being said, it was still true that we had a numerical advantage. And so it was not necessary to employ some kind of surprise tactic. We could just use brute force! ¡°Big Clear Arrow!¡± While Clear Arrow had the demerit of weakening your arrow, Big Arrow was a charge attack. Even if the power was reduced a little, it would be difficult to make them bounce with the reflect skill. No, even getting the timing for reflecting them would be difficult because you couldn¡¯t even see them. While hitting Hatake with one of them would not be enough to take him down, it could create an opening that Necoco and Anne would not miss. And once they went in for the attack, the game would be over! However, as the invisible arrows shot towards him, Hatake did something surprising. He swiftly moved as soon as I fired, and launched a close-range attack against Ann! ¡°No¡­!¡± Hatake shouldn¡¯t have been able to tell the timing of my arrows¡­! After all, I was very far away from him. It would have been obvious had we been close enough for him to see me. However, it shouldn¡¯t be possible unless you have an eyesight enhancing skill like Sniping Insight¡­ ¡°Ah! Eyesight¡­enhance!¡± So Full Enhance was the reason for it¡­! Indeed, since it was ¡®Full¡¯ it would be strange if it didn¡¯t enhance something that an ordinary skill could! And more than anything, it meant that Hatake could monitor my movements at this distance¡­! And that showed how calm he was¡­! Right now, Big Clear Arrow had pierced into the ground where no one was standing. However, Hatake seemed to flinch for a split second. ¡­Huh? Was he surprised¡­? Could it be that it had only looked like he was dodging it, but was in fact only thinking about attacking Anne¡­? ¡°Tsk¡­ Calm yourself! He is all alone. So it makes sense that he would try and destroy Anne first, as she is the closest¡­!¡± I can¡¯t be distracted by his pace. We just needed to make it past the 3 minutes and the effect would wear off. And there would be no doubt of our victory! There was no need to take risks now. Just limit his movements and buy time¡­! And so I held my bow ready and aimed at Hatake. But I couldn¡¯t shoot. ¡°I see. He¡¯s moving in so that I might accidentally shoot her¡­¡± With his increased speed, Hatake had moved close to Anne and started to attack with his flag. At this range, her star sphere would be useless. And so while Anne could do nothing but defend herself, Hatake pushed in and with vicious attacks, constantly changing position. I really wanted to help her, but I couldn¡¯t hit him at this distance when he was moving so fast¡­! One of the disadvantages of long range was that there was a brief lag before you hit your target. And at nearly 500 meters distance, it would take a few seconds for the arrow to land. Up until now, there had always been a decent amount of space between enemy and ally, so I didn¡¯t have to worry about shooting the wrong person. Anne would swing her weapon and keep the enemy away, while Necoco dragged enemies into holes, so I never really had to support them. It would have been difficult to do that anyway, while worrying about Hatake, Petta and Cymba. And so I was grateful for that. However, Anne and Hatake were much too close now. Besides, he was so fast. And I could not predict where he would be a second later. There was nothing that I could do¡­! But Anne¡¯s HP would not last much longer¡­! ¡°In that case, I will sacrifice myself, just like a nun might!¡± And then Anne threw her arms around Hatake as he attacked her! ¡°Necoco! Get us both¡­!¡± ¡°Raijin Zekku!¡± For a second, Necoco disappeared, and then she reappeared in a different spot. Raijin Zekku cut through the enemy at a speed that the eye couldn¡¯t follow¡­! This charge attack was like a close-range version of my own Windgod Sky Tear, and it had cut into Hatake¡¯s neck. ¡°Uhhh¡­ To think that I lost due to inferior power¡­.!¡± Anne had been shaken off and their places had been reversed! In spite of being a Flag Magician rear guard who mainly buffed others, with Full Enhance alone, he had more power than even an advance guard¡­! And so it was Anne whose neck was cut. Her HP went down to 0 as she died. ¡°Target him when it wears off! It¡¯s too difficult to damage him in this current state¡­!¡± Anne was thinking about the battle even during her final moment before disappearing. As she had said, it would be difficult to damage Hatake now¡­ It was hard enough hitting him when he was so fast, but even if I could, his defenses would have been boosted considerably. Necoco followed Anne¡¯s words and began to use her own speed to distract Hatake. And while he was not fast enough to easily catch up with her, as she had put everything into speed, she was also not able to shake him off¡­! And then he would read her movements and catch her. And then they would fight. But in this state, Hatake had the firepower and would have an advantage¡­! This was bad¡­ But I thought of something. I just hope I can make it in time¡­! ¡°Necoco. I came to help you!¡± ¡°What!?¡± Hatake turned around in surprise. What he saw¡­was me jogging towards him! I was jogging like an old man, but that was very ¡®me¡¯! Unless you knew about the Grow Card ¡®Mirror Alice Reflection,¡¯ which had a skill that let you summon a decoy, you would be stunned for a few seconds. On top of that, I was using Letter Arrow to send my voice. So it would not be strange for him to think that I was jogging towards him¡­! Of course, Necoco was also shocked. However, she was the only player here who knew about Mirror Alice Reflection¡¯s effect¡­! After all, I had acquired it while adventuring with her. And she had witnessed me using it. Furthermore, it was after acquiring this card that I first heard about the Ghost Guild. Please remember¡­Necoco! ¡°Blue Electric Claws ¨C Dual Claws¡­ Cool Shock!¡± Necoco¡¯s charge attack slammed into Hatake after he stopped moving. The blue thunder¡­pierced his body! CH 201 Data.191 ¨C Old Bowman, Fate and Miracle ¡°¡­He really is tenacious!¡± Even though he was hit directly by a charge attack, Hatake¡¯s body would not disappear¡­! Now that I thought about it, Flag Magician had a lot of close-combat skills. In the first place, a flag was already similar to weapons like clubs and staffs, so perhaps his status wasn¡¯t actually too different from the advance guard? Or maybe Hatake just distributed his strengthening points freely¡­ In any case, it looked like the struggle would not end here. ¡°I¡¯ll be making the first move¡­!¡± ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°Gah! It¡¯s not¡­over yet!¡± ¡°No way¡­! Blue Electric Claws are supposed to¡­!¡± Necoco was about to reveal its effect, but stopped herself. Blue Electric Claws was a charge attack that dealt damage while ignoring the target¡¯s bonus stats that were from skills. There were a lot of players in the advance guard who activated skills in order to raise their durability. So for someone with weak firepower like Necoco, this was one of the few ways to deal good damage to such enemies. And so she did not use it often, and saved it for crucial moments. And since she could only inflict the damage through her nails, it meant that she had to get close to the enemy. That was another reason why she was so cautious. But this time, all of the requirements should have been fulfilled. And it was a clean hit¡­ But Hatake was still alive! ¡°I didn¡¯t think you would have such a trick up your sleeve, old man¡­ But it¡¯s over now! Jumble Flag Rush!¡± A storm of flag thrusts assaults Necoco! They were fast and random, which made them difficult to dodge. And Necoco¡¯s claws were not suited for blocking enemy attacks. Necoco tried to dodge them with her reflexes alone, and while she managed to protect her vitals, she was still hit a number of times. But her defenses were not very high, and her equipment was on the verge of breaking. And so Necoco lost a lot of her HP¡­! (What should I do¡­! I could run away and heal, or try to avoid getting hit and attack him again¡­! Healing would be the thing to do if I want to buy some time. And I should attack if I want to end this. He doesn¡¯t have much HP either, and it¡¯s likely that I could kill him with a single charge attack now. But if I fail¡­ No, this is no time to hesitate¡­!) Necoco decided to retreat. Ultimately, Hatake would not have a chance of winning once the effect of Full Enhance wore off. And so instead of risking danger, it was better to buy time. But this decision¡­no, perhaps either decisions, were the wrong ones. ¡°Ultra Damage Burst!¡± Hatake said. And then Necoco¡¯s HP went down to 0. Ultra Damage Burst was the evolved form of Damage Boost, which the Gold Mummy boss had used during the Scorpio Trial. It was an attack that increased the damage of attacks that had already been inflicted. And not that it had changed from Boost to Burst, the damage could also spread to the area surrounding the target player. That meant you could damage multiple enemies that were close together. And if the enemy was a player, it would damage their gear. The only drawback was that it could only increase the damage that Hatake had inflicted. In the first place, it was his role to cast buffs as the middle guard, and so this charge attack would only be used when the advance guard was being pushed back. That was why he hadn¡¯t had an opportunity to use it up until now. And so though Necoco had heard about Damage Boost from Kyuji, she had not been cautious about it. Well, seeing is believing¡­ It could not be helped that within such a tense battle, she would forget about a charge attack that she had only heard about once. Besides, the scary thing about it was that once you realized it, it was already too late. ¡°It looks like it¡¯s up to you once again¡­! Sorry, old man!¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re still here¡­! But, why is that arrow so¡­! Bari-bari-bari-bariiiiiii!!! A thunderous roar that seemed to crack the sky¡­! And when he looked up, there was a giant arrow that was enveloped in lightning! This charge attack that fused Indra¡¯s Arrow and Big Arrow had been unleashed quite a while ago! While it was enveloped in lightning and looked flashy as it fell, it did not attract much attention while it was rising. And since Hatake was focused on his fight with Necoco, it was no wonder that he missed it. Especially since Kyuji was so far away. ¡°This is indeed¡­an incredible wide-area charge attack¡­! To think that he doesn¡¯t care about hitting his comrades¡­! Or had he done it knowing that I would defeat the kitten!? He would! That old man! It seems that I am no match for him after all¡­ Hatake made a final bet. Full Enhance was wearing off. He would not be able to escape the thunder arrow and reach Kyuji in time. The charge attack had such a wide range that even attempting it seemed reckless. And so he woud¡­ ¡°Haaa¡­! Death Flaaaaaag!!¡± He shouted. The name of that miracle effect¡­! It affected everywhere that your voice reached. And you couldn¡¯t nullify it by just plugging your ears. The area of effect was as far as the voice vibrated in the air. Kyuji was far away. So far away that he doubted that he could reach him before Full Enhance wore off. It was his last chance. Would it reach him or not? And who would Death Flag choose? Who would win this bet¡­ No, it didn¡¯t even work to begin with. ¡°The old man is¡­gone!?¡± Kyuji was no longer on the jumbo slide. And no matter where he looked with his enhanced eyesight, he could not find him. ¡°Could it be¡­that he not only predicted that I would beat the kitten and attacked, but he even knew that I would use Death Flag¡­? He must have warped away where my voice didn¡¯t reach, and then left that charge attack, which was timed and positioned to hide his own location¡­¡± Yes, Kyuji was very afraid of Death Flag. The moment that Hatake had survived Blue Electric Claws, he had fused and unleashed Judgment Arrow, which was the result of fusing Indra¡¯s Arrow and Big Arrow. After that, he had activated Warp Arrow and escaped to a place where Hatake¡¯s voice wouldn¡¯t reach. If he was using Shin Immobile Sniping Stance, then he would be able to attack even if he was that far away. This was what Kyuji had predicted. If Necoco was destroyed, then he would become the next target. And then Hatake would take a chance and use Death Flag. After all, the reflect skill would not be able to deal with a charge attack. On the other hand, if you were lucky, Death Flag would be able to repulse any attack. It would be like turning the long range into 0, and was greatly advantageous for Hatake. However, his prediction was a little off, and Hatake did not rely on Death Flag until the last possible moment. Regardless, the conclusion of the battle would not change. ¡°You really are amazing, old man! You were also so calm during the turf war¡­ And now I know why! You have talent! Yes, and I was the first person to see it in you!¡± And then the miracle effect ¡®Southern Cross Ballista¡¯ slammed directly into Hatake. Among the audience, there were some who felt that this attack was overkill. However, even at this point, Kyuji was not certain of his victory. Until the end, he had a high opinion of Hatake, and continued to fear him. That is why he used this miracle effect. He wanted to defeat Hatake and lead the party to victory so much that he used his special trump card, which he had not used once during the tournament. If he was killed, then the entire party would be out¡­ In order to face this pressure and Hatake¡¯s luck, Kyuji had used a miracle. ¡®Battle over!! As all members of Paradise Parade are dead, the winning party is¡­Ghost Guild! Congratulations on making it to the next round!¡¯ CH 202 Data.192 ¨C Old Bowman, Hair¡¯s Breadth After Charin¡¯s announcement, I was immediately warped back to the waiting area. The results of the battle were 1 vs 0. We had won by a hair¡¯s breadth. ¡°Mr. Kyuji! I¡¯m so glad that you¡¯re alright!¡± Anne, who had arrived ahead of me, said as she came flying. I didn¡¯t mind being embraced by a woman, but her power and weight nearly knocked me off of my feet. ¡°That was brilliant, Mr. Kyuji. I¡¯m just sad that I could only watch¡­¡± Satomi said apologetically. He had been chosen by Death Flag in the beginning and died immediately¡­ Of course, I wasn¡¯t bothered by that. At that point, it was completely based on luck¡­! ¡°It was Death Flag, so it couldn¡¯t be helped. If someone else was chosen, they would have died as well. And I don¡¯t think any of us could have predicted such a thing. Hell, even the other enemy members didn¡¯t know the details about Hatake¡¯s power¡­¡± Saying that out loud made it seem even more absurd¡­ And while we had won, the whole battle really had been moving at Hatake¡¯s pace. ¡°And so we had to rely on you again, old man¡­ It was the same during the Charin fight. I get killed so easily¡­¡± Necoco also looked a little upset. This time, she had defeated Cymba and also assisted in taking down Petta. And she had even helped stop Hatake, so I don¡¯t think that we could have asked any more from her¡­ Well, I could understand why she felt apologetic for dying before the battle was over, and could only watch. But the fact that I had survived until the end was proof that we were functioning properly as a party. My whole concept was to be a rear guard who was not attacked by the enemy, and so if I was killed first, then it would mean the total collapse of the advance guard. But because that didn¡¯t happen, I was able to survive until the end during the Charin fight, as well as this one. It was because of them that I had survived, and so I had a duty to finish the fight. ¡°I only survived because you all protected me. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to do much on my own. It was because people were fighting in the front.¡± I knew what it was like to be solo and go up against strong enemies¡­ The fight against the Windcloud Dragon had been especially reckless, and that was before I had Garbo. Well, it was still quite fun¡­ ¡°In any case, right now, this party is functioning perfectly. So let¡¯s keep going. Our next opponent is¡­¡± ¡°Hey there, old man! It¡¯s me! Let¡¯s commend each other on a great battle!¡± Hatake was walking towards us now. But the other party members weren¡¯t with him¡­ ¡°I¡¯m just here by myself. As the tournament continues, the wait between battles becomes shorter. So I won¡¯t stay long. I¡¯m not even sure what I should say to you¡­¡± Then why did you come¡­ But I held that reply black and just waited for him to speak. ¡°While I did say that I had no way to beat you other than relying on luck, my teammates said that I need to be more confident. They said that I put up a good fight and am strong enough. And perhaps that is true.¡± ¡°I agree with them. You are strong, Hatake. To a fearful degree, even¡­!¡± ¡°You think so? Well, if that¡¯s what you say, then it might be true. Then I will be more confident from now on¡­ Oh, but I don¡¯t feel like I can! I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll forget all about this tomorrow! But maybe that¡¯s not necessarily a bad thing? After all, I was always being myself when I did the best against you! So maybe if I continue like this, I¡¯ll be able to win the next one¡­! I just got a little too excited this time!¡± ¡°Yes, being yourself is when you are the strongest, Hatake.¡± ¡°So you agree¡­! Yes, I feel much better now that I heard that! Well, I should be leaving soon! But I will be cheering you on during the next fight! As for your next opponent¡­ah, that¡¯s right. If I was the first person to see your potential, then he was the second person. Well, maybe the correct way of saying it is that you showed me your potential!¡± Our next opponent was¡­Buckler¡¯s Straight Knights! It almost seemed like fate¡­that I should fight him after Hatake. No, perhaps not. With his ability, it was no surprise that he made it this far into the tournament. And our clashing together was not fate, but inevitable. ¡°I¡¯m sure you already know, but he has become so much stronger compared to before. Hell, I would probably run away from him!¡± Did he want me to remind him that he had run away last time¡­! I didn¡¯t know if I had the courage to say that¡­! ¡°In any case, you¡¯ve also become a lot stronger! And so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to drive him off like the last time!¡± Oh, so he was just continuing the conversation! He didn¡¯t want me to joke about it, and was oblivious! He really was an unbelievable person¡­ But nevermind that¡­ It was true that Buckler was a very strong enemy. And even if I was able to drive him away during the turf war, that was due to the specific systems that were in place. You could say that I was inferior in terms of pure ability. But¡­what about now? We would find out soon enough. The time for a rematch¡­was at hand! CH 203 Data.193 ¨C Old Bowman, Rematch with the Knights Though teams were dropping and there were fewer and fewer remaining, the tournament continued smoothly. But perhaps it only felt ¡®smooth¡¯ to those players who remained. Because for the audience, things were getting more exciting than ever as they neared the finals. And the closer it got, the more nervous we became. And the waiting times only got shorter. And yet things continued. Smoothly¡­ ¡®And now, the 3rd battle of the quarterfinals! Straight Knights VS Ghost Guild! The chosen field is¡­ Castle Town!¡¯ A classic fantasy town appeared on the monitor. It was actually similar to the first town, except that one didn¡¯t have any grand castle, and the buildings were quite plain. Like it would only be the second or third biggest town in the kingdom. On the other hand, this was more like a royal capital. There was a wide main street and dim alley ways. And since the buildings were close together, you would be able to jump from roof to roof. As for me, it would probably be best to camp on top of the castle, where I would have the best view on the map. But I suppose the enemy would try and stop me before I could do it¡­ Well, I was looking forward to finding out what would happen. I had checked the archives and done my research on the enemy party. I just had to do what I could and then go with the flow¡­! ¡®Both parties to the battlefield!¡¯ And so the Ghost Guild warped to the castle town. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô After warping, the first thing that entered my eyes was¡­the castle that loomed in the distance. My current location was the center of the main street that stretched out towards the castle. In other words, the place that stuck out the most¡­! Not only that, but when I looked around, I could not find any of my teammates. This time, we had been scattered all over the map¡­! ¡°In any case, this is a bad place to stop and think.¡± With this pattern, it would be dangerous to suddenly warp towards the castle. Because it was likely that an enemy was already there. For now, I should try and get on top of a roof. But it would be a waste to use Warp Arrow so soon, so I would use those wooden crates, that practically begged me to step on them. ¡°The crates look a lot bigger up close¡­ Ooomph¡­! Ha¡­!¡± In games, the character can climb tall buildings with a press of the button or tilt of the stick, but it¡¯s not as easy in VR games¡­! After I managed to climb on top of the boxes, I hopped up onto the roof. Thankfully, the distance between the roof and the box was not too harsh¡­! Now, from the looks of it, this field was not as big as the Jumbo Athletic Park. That meant that it would be easier to encounter enemies, but I still couldn¡¯t hear any sounds of fighting. Either no one had found anyone yet, or they were waiting for a chance to take them down silently¡­ ¡°I see you, archer! Your time has finally come!¡± ¡°¡­!? Buckler!¡± It was definitely Buckler who was standing with his hands on his hips on the main street! While his equipment was different compared to last time, his outlandish style, which involved thick armor that covered his massive body and ¡®dual-wielding¡¯ a small and large shield respectively, had not changed. He was the main shield of the Straight Knights. Heavy Armor Buckler¡­! ¡°I¡¯m sure that we¡¯ve both been through a lot since then, but there is no need for words. We will understand everything if we just fight!¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true¡­!¡± What should I do? How should I fight¡­! Last time, I had defeated Buckler by hitting him with Sky Tear after he had taken off all of his armor. But there was no way that he would take it off this time. And would my arrows do any damage when he was this protected¡­!? ¡°It¡¯s worth testing out¡­!¡± There was still a good distance between us. And so I would shoot a normal arrow as a test. I doubted that it would be effective, but it may give me an idea for what strategy to take¡­! Kiririri.. Shu! Parii! What? There was a high-pitched ring as if something had shattered. And then a blue light effect appeared around Buckler¡­ ¡°You¡¯re not well-prepared, archer¡­! Ultra Bounder!¡± I heard the voice coming from right next to me. And before I had time to react, I was punched¡­and when flying into the air! ¡°Ga¡­!? Wh-what just¡­!¡± Regardless, this was bad! I was¡­flying towards the castle walls! ¡°Wh-whirlwind!¡± Whirlwind had an effect that reduced your weight¡­! Now I could soften the impact of a crash, but I couldn¡¯t avoid the crash altogether! I wanted to use Windcloud Flash or Floating Cloud Herd, but it was difficult to adjust your direction and position while you were flying! In the end, my back just slammed into the wall. I was reminded of a battle manga as the wall caved in¡­and then I fell towards the ground. ¡°Floating Cloud Herd!¡± I created a platform in the air and managed to avoid receiving fall damage. My HP gauge was¡­half empty now. I would have been in danger without Whirlwind¡­ And so I healed my HP with an item and then looked for Buckler¡¯s position. ¡­As I thought. He had warped! In a flash, he had warped up to the roof where I had been standing! And the requirement for the warp was likely¡­guarding against an enemy¡¯s attack at the right time. That sound and the blue light effect was to show that he had succeeded. ¡°This is a terrible enemy to go up against¡­¡± Buckler¡¯s weakness was that he couldn¡¯t move quickly due to his heavy armor. It was because he didn¡¯t come close, that I was able to deal with him calmly during the turf war. However, he was now able to use his attacks as a trigger and bridge the gap in an instant. Now I would no longer be able to test different attacks and find a way to defeat him¡­! However, I was also sure that his warp wouldn¡¯t succeed every time. These kinds of actions require perfect timing. And no matter how much you practice, you are bound to fail eventually. The problem was, with Buckler¡¯s defenses, failing to block and taking damage might not mean that much. Through sacrificing mobility for high defenses, he had erased the demerits of failing. He had a clear advantage¡­! ¡°What¡¯s wrong, archer! Aren¡¯t you going to shoot me?¡± Even though he was far away, I could hear Buckler¡¯s voice clearly. I had thought this during the turf way as well, but he had a very loud voice¡­ It was a good thing that he didn¡¯t have Death Flag. ¡°What do you think about my Parry Warp? I equipped it specifically to deal with your long range. The timing gets more severe the farther the distance to warp, but that doesn¡¯t matter to me! I practiced for a long time so that I can deal with attacks from any distance! This is what true playing skill looks like!¡± Apparently, there was no point in hoping or relying on his failing. So, that did limit my options. ¡°I won¡¯t request a one on one dual in advance, just like your opponent during the second round. I will catch the person I want to fight on my own and won¡¯t let them escape! Create the situation that you want by yourself! That is a pro!¡± Create the situation you want¡­huh. Those were good words. I would learn from them! And so I ignored Buckler and activated Floating Cloud Herd once again. And then I climbed up the clouds that were arranged like a spiral staircase so that I could reach the top of the castle! ¡°Are you ready, archer? Now, try and hit me!¡± ¡°Yes! I will do just that!¡± And so I pulled the bowstring and¡­shot one of Buckler¡¯s friends that was fighting in the distance! ¡°Wh-what!?¡± Buckler¡¯s eyes widened. It was simple. It wasn¡¯t that the enemy in front of me was just immune to my attacks. But attacking him meant he could warp and then hit me¡­ So it was better to ignore him and pick off the others first! That was how a pro fought! CH 204 Data.194 ¨C Old Bowman, My way of being a pro ¡°I¡¯ll support all of you!¡± The first person I set my eyes on was ¡®Sweeper.¡¯ A witch-like girl with glasses who was fighting against Satomi. While her weapon was a broom, her actual fighting style was that of an orthodox rear guard magic user. She was attacking Satomi and Gochu by launching balls with various attributes at them. And so I unleashed an arrow aimed at her head¡­! Kiriri¡­Shu! My aim was off a little and the arrow sunk into the witch¡¯s shoulder. At this range, and since the enemy was moving, you could not get a perfect headshot without a little luck. Still, it was more than enough for support. While the enemy would be surprised by the arrow that came flying suddenly, Satomi would recognize it as my aid. And that difference would give him an opportunity to attack¡­! Satomi had been getting pushed back at first, but he was now attacking harder. He too was a player that mainly used projectiles, and so he maintained a certain distance from the enemy. Thanks to this, I didn¡¯t have to worry about accidentally hitting him. I just needed to keep shooting, and then we could take one enemy down at this early stage¡­! Just then, the witch turned and glared at me. As I had been continuously shooting from the same direction, she would know my location. But the sudden stare was enough to make me flinch. However, I was merciless today. And so I would not stop attacking¡­! ¡°Arrghhh!!!¡± Suddenly, her broom enlarged as she twirled it around, and all of the projectiles that were shooting towards her were all hit back¡­! My arrows were no exception, and they shot towards me and just barely passed to my side. Th-that was close¡­! Thankfully, they had flown in a slightly different direction. But if this was a normal instance of hitting the ball back to the pitcher, then they would have gone right into me. Was it the effect of using the broom like a bat? It felt like the power and speed of the projectiles had increased after bouncing off of it¡­ That¡¯s right. What about Satomi¡­ Good. Not only was he fine, but he had managed to get closer to the witch while she was swinging, and was not attacking her at close range with Gochu. But now that they were close, the chances of me accidentally hitting him were higher. And so I would leave Satomi for now, and go support someone else. ¡°¡­I don¡¯t see much movement. Buckler was walking on the roof. He was slow. Very slow. However, would someone like him rely so much on a single skill? Surely he must be hiding something else¡­ He would likely use it once I became desperate while supporting the others, and had forgotten all about him. So I didn¡¯t need to worry about it yet, but I had to keep him in mind. I could not forget¡­! ¡°Who else can I reach from here¡­ There is Necoco.¡± Necoco was fighting against ¡®Slasher,¡¯ who was a speed-type bandit who fought with a special curved two-handed sword that was called a shotel. At a glance, they looked like a player who was good at close-quarters combat, but the blade actually unleashed slash attacks, so they were mostly a mid-range player. Necoco also had charge attacks and skills that unleashed slash attacks, but she generally prefered to fight at close range, especially if it was an ambush. And so the differences in styles here was making the fight seem a little awkward. Necoco seemed to sense this as well, and she would repeatedly close in on the enemy and then retreat before she was able to target any vitals. It was clear that she needed support¡­! Just as I saw that Necoco had moved away from Slasher, I began to shoot my arrows. I had known Necoco longer than anyone else in the party, and as soon as she saw the arrows, she began to move in a way that made it easy for me. She stayed away from the enemy most of the time, and focused on attacking only when my arrows had made an opening for her. Like this, the chances of friendly fire were reduced greatly. ¡°Impressive¡­!¡± Slasher did not have any reflect skills for projectiles. In that case, the two of us together should be able to win¡­! ¡°Ah¡­¡± A gut feeling. Not some kind of prediction, but just a gut feeling that rose within me¡­ That¡¯s right. For a second there, I had forgotten all about Buckler¡­! I quickly looked to the top of the roofs to see where he was. However, he was nowhere to be found. Instead, I heard the sounds of heavy clashing, shattering and footsteps coming from below. When I looked down from the castle, I saw that a giant metal sphere was rolling towards me. I had no proof as of now, but I was sure that it was Buckler! Indeed, heavy characters would often roll up into a ball in comics or games in order to move quickly. However, would he really be able to climb up the walls of the castle like that? ¡­It seemed like he would. After some time, Buckler arrived at the castle, and just like I had suspected, he continued to roll and climb up the wall. So much for the laws of physics¡­but this was no time to complain. This was a game, after all, and so ignoring the laws of physics was practically a necessity. But the people playing were still people who went about their normal lives afterwards, and so were the people making the game. And so changing the norms too much would just make the game difficult to play, which would help no one. And so aside from the skills and charge attacks, the game was on the realistic side. For instance, with weight¡­ ¡°I¡¯m here, archer! Now, it¡¯s time to finish this¡­ Huh!? Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!¡± I had created a pitfall for him on top of the roof! That being said, I had just fused Drill Arrow Kai and Big Arrow to make Big Drill Arrow, and then shot it into the roof. After the previous battles, I knew that it was possible to destroy the buildings here. I didn¡¯t think that Buckler¡¯s sphere form actually ignored gravity, but he could choose to either break or roll over anything he hit. And so he was powerless against a hole. He could not go against gravity, and could only fall. But while I had bought some time like this, it was still true that I had let Buckler into the castle. He might climb back up in a surprising way, so I likely wouldn¡¯t be able to continue supporting the others from the roof. However, this was still a great sniping point¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll take a chance then¡­!¡± I would stay here for as long as I could, and cooperate with the others to take down the enemy! CH 205 Data.195 ¨C Old Bowman, Run through the Battlefield ¡­So, who should I take down first? For me, a person with slow movement and weak defenses would be the best, but the only person that seemed to fit this description in the enemy party was the glasses witch, Sweeper. Aside from the fact that she had a reflect skill for projectiles, I was a good match for her. Range did the talking during fights between rear guards more than any other combination. However, she was no amateur. After I attacked, she moved so that both her and Satomi were behind a great building. Now it would be difficult to target her. So, what about Anne? She was currently in the plaza in front of a church, and fighting a black robed monk called ¡®Crusher.¡¯ The monk was wielding a spiked mace. Two of them, in fact! They moved as if beating a drum, and challenged the power of Anne¡¯s star sphere. And while he was a power character, he had plenty of speed as well, and tried to move close to Anne whenever there was an opening. He had a bald head, which was something you didn¡¯t see much now that implants and hair restoration technology had advanced to the point where people were only bald by choice. And he could make his scalp shine brightly in order to blind his opponent¡­which made him even more intimidating in appearance. It was usually the skilled players who didn¡¯t take their character design too seriously¡­ Oh, this was no time to be distracted by his shiny head. As for whether I should support Anne during this fight¡­I better not. Crusher seemed like the most skilled within the enemy party. He was aware of me even before I noticed him. And he continued to glance in my direction as if following my movements. If I wanted to target him, it should be when I can focus solely on him. Any half-hearted support could just ruin the rhythm of Anne¡¯s fighting. And so the enemy I should target was¡­the thief who fought Necoco with a shotel, Slasher! Going against Necoco meant he could not spare a moment to focus on me. He seemed relieved that Buckler¡¯s attack had stopped me from shooting. Sadly for him, the break would be short-lived! ¡°Gatling Web Cloud Arrow!¡± Instead of dealing a little damage with weak attacks, it was better to stop his movements with a sticky net and allow Necoco to finish him off. With a ¡®this again¡¯ expression, Slasher tried to run away. But Necoco would not allow it. With precision, she moved ahead where the enemy wanted to go, and chased him into spots where it would be easier for me to hit him. Good movements¡­! Necoco was even more dexterous than before! ¡°Let¡¯s finish you off! Seal Demon Bind!¡± Seal Demon Bind was a skill from the Grow Card ¡®Exorcism Bow Arts ¨C 4 Mark,¡¯ and it created a magic triangle on the ground where the arrow landed, which bound any enemy that entered. While Web Cloud Arrow wasn¡¯t effective unless it hit an enemy directly, this skill could be placed anywhere for a while. In other words, you could place it on the ground and chase an enemy into it. And once they were inside, even a strong enemy would not be able to move for a moment. That would be long enough for Necoco to deal a fatal blow¡­! Dogooooooo!!! ¡°What!?¡± Something broke through the castle roof and flew out! Well, since I was aware of the other three enemy positions, there was only one person who it could be¡­! ¡°You always had such a flexible imagination, archer! I didn¡¯t expect to be greeted with such an old trap like a pit! However, that¡¯s not enough to shake me off!¡± ¡°Tsk¡­!¡± It was Buckler who came flying towards me¡­! He had probably used a skill that made his shield bounce. And since he hadn¡¯t done anything like that during the turf war, the bound effect must have evolved. Now, it was time to run! ¡°It¡¯s true that it¡¯s difficult to shake you off! However, I won¡¯t be caught so easily either!¡± I used Floating Cloud Herd twice in order to escape from the castle and down to the town. Now I could no longer use Floating Cloud Herd during this battle, but I still had Warp Arrow and I¡¯m Arrow. I would have to think about how I would use them¡­! ¡°As I thought, he can¡¯t chase me while I¡¯m up in the clouds.¡± Buckler was using his rolling skill again as he chased me on the ground. Since I had been using clouds ever since the Windcloud Dragon fight, I was able to walk normally. Now, I had safely reached the town. And from the rooftop, I can support the others again¡­ ¡°How dare you try and pick on a young girl, you old man!¡± It was Sweeper, the witch, who came out of the back alley while riding a strange broom that looked like a gun with wings! ¡°Gunship Broom! Hornet¡¯s Nest!¡± Damn it! This strange effect was likely to be a Miracle Effect¡­! Using a Miracle Effect was the safe way to block it, but I could also try and escape with a charge attack¡­ No! ¡°Unison Maestro¡­Fire Kindling Seed!¡± I had seen this during the Mad Slime CORE fight. Satomi and Gochu were riding on a cloud and intervening! The burning seeds that were fired like machine gun bullets hit Gunship Broom! The impact moved the reticle so that the thick beam that was fired ended up missing me. And gave me a chance to attack! ¡°Inferno Arrow Tempest!¡± Rear guards were usually not very tough, so being hit by this charge attack directly should deal heavy damage! Not only that, but my opponent had already lost their stance. So she could not even jump back or run away¡­! However, Sweeper¡¯s reaction was unexpected! ¡°There¡­! Broom Storm!¡± While she had lost her balance, Sweeper began to rotate at a high speed until she created a tornado! And while the arrows were not swallowed up and destroyed in it, instead, they changed trajectory and then flew off behind me. It would have been dangerous if they came straight at me like before, but like this, I could still target her again once the attack was over¡­! ¡°Wait, or not!? Her aim is¡­!¡± She was making the arrows shoot towards the person behind me. Buckler¡­! Even if she was directing them, they were still my arrows. So if he used Parry Warp, then he could warp right next to me! This was what Sweeper was trying to do from the beginning¡­ No, the first hit must have been serious. It would have been fine if she could take me down with it, and if not, she had prepared another attack¡­ The Straight Knights really were not to be underestimated¡­! But it wasn¡¯t over yet! ¡°Warp Arrow!¡± I unleashed the arrow towards a certain spot. And then Buckler did a normal guard instead of Parry Warp at the arrows. Even though he was confident in his defense, Inferno Arrow Tempest was one of my main charge attacks. It would do some damage. But would not inflict a fatal wound. He could recover with a healing item. But I still wanted to hit him once first. ¡°Hahaha! I won¡¯t be able to warp if you warp off to a place like that!¡± Buckler said with a laugh. It was something I had barely been able to do in time, and so I had hoped that he would be more phased by it, but¡­oh, well. I was currently on top of the cross that was on the roof of the church! In other words, there wasn¡¯t much to step on. I could barely even stand myself, so there was no space for another person. If you tried to warp, then you would be caught by gravity and fall. Of course, I wouldn¡¯t miss that opening, and you might even be attacked by Anne, who was fighting below. And even someone like Buckler wouldn¡¯t want that. ¡°Still, I did get you away from the castle, and use¡­Warp Arrow!¡± ¡­Ouch. He was right. In other words, I still didn¡¯t have an advantage. CH 206 Data.196 ¨C Old Bowman, Deciding Factor of Victory ¡°I don¡¯t know about that.¡± Necoco joined my conversation with Buckler. ¡°It¡¯s true that you got him away from the castle and made him use Warp Arrow. But why are you so satisfied? There are things that you lost in the meantime.¡± ¡°Hmph. What could you be talking about¡­¡± Buckler stumbled on his words. No, he was interrupted. It was echoing in my head right now¡­ The announcement that one of his teammates had been killed¡­! ¡°Thanks, old man. I was able to defeat the first one because of you.¡± Necoco had been able to push Slasher to the brink and defeat him! Now it was 4 vs 3! The battle¡­was moving in our favor! ¡°Let¡¯s keep going! Satomi!¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s about time!¡± Right now, nearly all friends and foes had gathered in this area! Necoco had rushed here after defeating Slasher, and Satomi had pursued Sweeper. Anne had already been fighting Crusher near the church, and I had been chased by Buckler. So we were all here¡­! Except the enemy was one person down. That could be the deciding factor! ¡°Unison Trinity!¡± Satomi used a Miracle Effect to summon two more Unisons. Gochu the monkey, Buffi the pig, and Kapaparuto the kappa all used fire, wind, and water attacks respectively. And most of their charge attacks were ¡®magic attacks¡¯ that were calculated by the Magic Attack and Magic Defenses stats. While Buckler was strong against both physical and magic attacks, he was still more on the physical side, and magic attacks had been more effective against him in previous fights. I was physical, and so was Necoco and Anne! And so Satomi was quite important, as the sole person who mainly used magic. Also, while most people relied on items to heal in NSO, Satomi was also our healer. The party relied on him a lot. And we relied on him now as well¡­! ¡°I won¡¯t let you do that¡­! Forbidden Ground of Pain!¡± Declared an enemy player, Crusher the monk. And then my body suddenly grew heavy! And then I lost my balance and fell from the church roof and onto the ground¡­! ¡°Gah¡­! What is¡­¡± He had not used this skill during any of the previous battles¡­! My guess was that it was a Miracle Effect, but I wasn¡¯t sure. However, if it was able to throw all of us onto the ground at once, it must be something very special! Because this attack had affected all the players that were within a few meters range of Crusher. Even his own party members¡­ ¡°Hey, you baldy! Why are you hitting me with that!¡± ¡°It¡¯s your fault for not running away in time. I told you in advance.¡± ¡°Grrr¡­! My Miracle Effect hadn¡¯t worn off yet, but now it¡¯s wasted!¡± ¡°Hehehe! Well, just sit there quietly and watch!¡± So Sweeper¡¯s Gunship Broom had been a Miracle Effect after all. It must be similar to Petta¡¯s combined charge attack, Trumpetter. The flying ability was just a bonus, and the main purpose was the attacks that could be used while flight was activated¡­ In Sweeper¡¯s case, it would be the cannon beam. Judging by what she had said, she could have likely unleashed it a few more times. But now the barrel was pointing away, and she wouldn¡¯t be able to target anyone. As for Buckler, he too was a prisoner of this enhanced gravity. He was already heavy to begin with, so now he could barely even move. But it hardly mattered. Cause I still couldn¡¯t defeat him in this state¡­! But the worst thing of all was that Crusher himself was not affected by this! If this continued, we would just be waiting as he went around and killed us one by one¡­ We had to do something! ¡°Whirlwind!¡± If it was an effect that strengthened gravity, then maybe if I made myself lighter I could¡­ No!? While I could crawl a little, I couldn¡¯t stand up¡­! ¡°Unfortunately for you, Archer, this isn¡¯t an effect that increases the gravity within a certain space.¡± What¡­!? But now that I thought about it, that did make sense. I had been standing on the cross on the church roof. So if gravity was pulling me downward, then I could have been impaled by the cross¡­ However, I just rolled down to the roof and fell onto the ground. As if the ground was sucking me towards it¡­ I see¡­! So it was just an effect that pulled people towards the ground¡­! This was terrible¡­! That means that any arrows I unleash will also be pulled down! ¡°You are quick to understand. I knew that you were dangerous. And so I would like to snuff you out first¡­ However, I¡¯m too scared to get close to someone who has that great skill that stretches up to the sky¡­! And so I¡¯ll leave you for last!¡± And then Crusher headed towards Satomi! Tsk. Wasn¡¯t there anything that I could do¡­? And maybe I shouldn¡¯t just believe everything he said, and try shooting an arrow¡­? No, Necoco just unleashed Thunder Sky Sever Claws, and it was pulled towards the ground and vanished before reaching anyone. If that was what happened to thunder, then there was no way that my arrows wouldn¡¯t be affected¡­! ¡°Gar¡­ Gar¡­¡± ¡°Huh!? Garbow?¡± All of a sudden, I could hear Garbow¡¯s cry. It was very quiet. But not because it was far away. As if it was being blocked by something¡­ ¡°Ah¡­!¡± The manhole¡­! I had thought that the circle drawn on the ground was just for decoration, but it was a manhole! And I could hear Garbow¡¯s voice coming from it! This map seemed a lot smaller than the Jumbo Athletic Park, and the reason for that was there was an underground area you could travel through¡­! When I put my ear to the ground, I could hear the sounds of water, so it was likely a sewer area! Either Garbow had started down there or had entered it for some reason. And when Unisons were alone, they traveled towards the player they were the closest to. And since we were all together now, it made sense that Garbow would come here. So, I had a lot more options now. Garbow¡¯s combined charge attack, Armageddon Arrow had not only overwhelming destructive power, but a propelling force that was unstoppable. And so it should work even in this space¡­ The problem was, who should I target with it? Crusher, the person who made this space¡­ Buckler, who was the most dangerous¡­ This would be the real deciding factor! CH 207 Data.197 ¨C Old Bowman, Decision There were obvious advantages to targeting Crusher. He was the one who was creating this space that sucked things, and he was the one who was able to move freely in here. And even if the effect wasn¡¯t deactivated after he was killed, no one else was able to move, so we could all just wait on the ground until it wore off. The problem was that it was possible for him to dodge Armageddon Arrow. Unlike Meteor Bow, the speed of the arrow was not that fast, and so an experienced player would be able to dodge it. If I wanted to be certain of hitting him, then I would need someone¡¯s help. But I couldn¡¯t consult the others in this situation. It would be obvious if I tried to do something now¡­! So, what about targeting Buckler? Defeating him won¡¯t help me escape this area, but it was also a great chance to defeat him as well. After all, he was currently unable to move his shield. While it was possible to move your hands and feet, a giant shield like Buckler¡¯s could not be held up in front of you. Small weapons or something that was part of you, like Necoco¡¯s claws were one thing, but the force that sucked things to the ground was stronger for things with more mass. In other words, he could not use Parry Warp right now¡­! So there was no need to worry about him getting close to me. In the first place, did the Parry Warp even work against all kinds of attacks? It was one thing if it worked against normal charge attacks, but surely it would be overpowered if it worked with combined charge attacks and Miracle Effects as well. Not only that, but given the fact that he had used it repeatedly, it was likely a skill¡­! If Warp Arrow was a charge attack and yet Parry Warp was a skill, then there had to be some catch. Some restrictions to make up for the lack of cool down¡­ But there was no time to figure out what that was¡­! ¡°Armageddon Arrow!¡± I would target¡­Buckler! Garbow flew out of the manhole and transformed into a single arrow! My body moved on its own, drew, and unleashed the arrow without hesitation! Surprisingly, it wasn¡¯t as affected by the sucking power as I thought. And like that, it went straight towards Buckler¡­! Crusher¡¯s eyes widened as he saw this. ¡°Wh-where did that Unison come from¡­! Tsk¡­I¡¯ll deactivate¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t waver! Maintain the effect!¡± ¡°V-very well!¡± Buckler shouted as Crusher was about to deactivate the effect so that he could use his shield. ¡°Invisible Armor!¡± Buckler¡¯s body was enveloped by a platinum aura¡­! However, that was the only change, and Buckler was still stuck on the ground. And then Armageddon Arrow slammed into him. ¡°¡­Well, I knew that I would have to use it against you. The strongest Miracle Effect that a tank can have!¡± Buckler was unharmed! Even his armor wasn¡¯t damaged¡­! This Miracle Effect made you invincible! ¡°It really is a powerful effect¡­¡± Being invincible has always been the strongest effect in games. There was a very famous 2D action game where even the music changed when you became invincible. Which was notable, given that back then, they did not have much space, and fitting a single song in it would have been difficult. However, I knew that becoming invincible didn¡¯t solve all your problems. Even though he was invincible, Buckler was still not able to escape! ¡°Hurry up, Crusher.¡± ¡°Yes, of course!¡± While you could touch enemies without dying, you could still die from stage gimmicks. Like falling to your death. So it would often be wasted in stages with a lot of unstable platforms¡­ And so there must be effects that Buckler¡¯s Invisible Armor couldn¡¯t nullify. It was ironic that his friend¡¯s Miracle Effect was one of them¡­ But this was no time to be amused by such things! I had been played by Buckler and lost Garbow in the process¡­! And now, Crusher was about to kill Satomi¡­! As the Unisons would die with him, he was targeted first. ¡°Repose of Souls Crush!¡± Crusher¡¯s mace swung down towards Satomi¡­! ¡°Go! Go! Mach Rolling Star!¡± ¡°Gaah!?¡± Anne unleashed her iron ball at Crusher, causing him to fly into the air! ¡°Yes! I did it! It isn¡¯t as effective against skills that are already on the ground!¡± I see¡­! As Necoco and I used projectiles, they disappeared as soon as they hit the ground. However, Rolling Star was a skill where she severed the chain and retracted the spikes so that the ball alone moved. It was already touching the ground. And if she unleashed it at a high speed, it could maintain its speed even with the force that pulled it down! ¡°I¡¯ll keep hitting you with these!¡± Crusher wasn¡¯t able to respond in time, and he was hit by the second ball as well. Immediately after, the sucking effect on the ground wore off. ¡°D-damn it¡­! I am out of the area¡­!¡± Apparently, in order to maintain the effect, Crusher needed to be inside of the space. Now we could finally move freely! ¡°I guess I can¡¯t beat you with tricks, archer!¡± That¡¯s right¡­! But if I was free, then so was the invincible Buckler¡­ ¡°Heh. Then there is only one thing to do¡­¡± Run away! CH 208 Data.198 ¨C Old Bowman, Strategic Retreat While I had just used Warp Arrow, Buckler¡¯s original speed was already much slower than me. And so it should not be too difficult to escape him by just running through the town¡­ ¡°Still, I didn¡¯t even realize that I would be able to move around in that space by just rolling! After all, it¡¯s not every day that you get hit by a friend¡¯s skill! I wasn¡¯t able to test it out!¡± Crusher¡¯s Miracle Effect wouldn¡¯t usually work on his allies. Because friendly-fire was only enabled during certain events, like the Charin boss fight and this tournament. So it was true that testing it would be difficult. Had he known that he could just roll¡­the outcome would have been very different. ¡°Well, Armadillo was in cooldown, anyway! Until a moment ago¡­!¡± Buckler had transformed into a sphere with a platinum aura! So this rolling ability wasn¡¯t a skill, but a charge attack¡­! However, he was able to activate other charge attacks while using Invisible Armor¡­ That was impressive! ¡°Big Web Cloud Arrow!¡± I unleashed a giant, sticky web onto Buckler. As he had been affected by his own team mate¡¯s Miracle Effect, invincibility shouldn¡¯t protect him from stickiness either¡­! Besides, since it was fused with Big Arrow, it would be as strong as a charge attack¡­ ¡°It doesn¡¯t work!¡± Buckler rotated swiftly and tore the web to shreds with his power! He was too heavy to be stopped by webs¡­! ¡°Seal Demon Bind!¡± And so I used a magic triangle to stop Buckler¡¯s movements! However, the time that he was stopped was so short that it was barely noticeable! ¡°Right now, I am invincible! Literally!¡± ¡°Tsk¡­!¡± Should I use I¡¯m Arrow and escape¡­? No, it will be even easier for Buckler to move if I used it. The enemy was very afraid of Stardust Arrow, which was the result of fusing I¡¯m Arrow and Indra¡¯s Arrow. I had used it during the Charin fight, where I had held onto her while rising high into the sky before slamming her down to the ground. Not only was it powerful in itself, but there was fall damage added to it. Even someone like Buckler would likely die under those circumstances. If I wanted to defeat Buckler myself, then that was the only way to do it. And so I wanted to make sure that I was ready to use it at any time. I would have to find a different way to escape! ¡°Whirlwind! Windcloud Blast!¡± I made my body lighter and allowed the wind to carry me up into the air sideways! It was more difficult than going straight upwards, but by doing this, I could reach higher ground in an instant! My attempt paid off, and I rolled onto the roof of a house. ¡°You are certainly light on your feet¡­ However!¡± My relief did not last for long. Buckler began to destroy the house itself! As the walls and pillars fell, the roof began to collapse loudly¡­! I needed to jump onto the next roof quickly! Thankfully, the buildings on this map were close together. And so I didn¡¯t need to be too athletic to be able to jump from one building to the next. I kept moving, at a similar speed to when on the ground. As for Buckler, he continued to destroy the buildings¡­! But this was fine. This state of invincibility was not going to last forever. It would end once its time was up¡­! However, it wasn¡¯t as if Buckler was not aware of this. ¡°Damn it¡­! I was led here¡­!¡± By choosing which buildings to destroy, Buckler had been controlling my path! I was bringing Buckler with me to where my friends were fighting. No, it was the other way around¡­! Buckler was rounding us up, and had brought me here with him! And he was still invincible¡­! ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô Going back a little, during the time when Crusher¡¯s Forbidden Ground of Pain was deactivated¡­ The others had become free again, and returned to fighting the enemy¡­ ¡°Ah, the bald man¡¯s sucking has stopped! Now we are free!¡± Sweeper, the glasses witch, got to her feet and held up her broom. As the effect of Gunship Broom had worn off, it had returned to looking like an ordinary broom. ¡°Raijin Zekku!¡± ¡°Ahh!¡± While Sweeper had her guard down, Necoco¡¯s claws had slashed her neck. She had disappeared as soon as the effect was deactivated, and then unleashed the charge attack¡­ Necoco had known that it was the best moment to launch an ambush, and had been preparing for it. ¡°Now that¡¯s two down¡­! We need to find the next¡­¡± ¡°Big Broom Homerun!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± But Sweeper was not dead, and she now swung a gigantic broom. Necoco ducked reflexively and managed to dodge a full on hit, but the wind pressure still knocked her off of her feet, and she slammed into the wall of a house. ¡°Gah! Tsk¡­ Ah! You¡¯re quite tough for a rear guard¡­!¡± ¡°Not tough enough! But that¡¯s why I was able to survive!¡± ¡°I see. So it¡¯s some Spirit-related effect then.¡± ¡°What!? I didn¡¯t say anything about that!¡± Necoco was talking about an effect that allowed you to have 1 HP left if you took damage that would have killed you, providing that your HP was full before getting hit. This effect didn¡¯t work if you were tough. You had to be weak enough for all of your HP to be taken away. ¡°But that¡¯s strange. You were slammed down to the ground while riding a broom, so you should have taken fall damage as well. And I didn¡¯t see you use any healing items¡­ But if your HP isn¡¯t full, then the effect shouldn¡¯t have been activated. What is going on?¡± ¡°Haha! In the first place, who even said that it wouldn¡¯t activate if your HP isn¡¯t full? Perhaps it¡¯s an effect that activates if you have a certain amount of HP left!¡± While she had just revealed the existence of her skill, Sweeper was still right. There were a lot of games with this effect, and it made sense that the conditions would vary between them. ¡°Indeed. In any case, the results will not change.¡± Necoco gripped her hands, which were now clawless, into tight fists. In the next instant, the ground around Sweeper exploded! ¡°GYYAAAAA!! Why is it exploding!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I was just standing around after defeating you. I was making preparations to smoke out the other enemy that was on this battlefield!¡± It wasn¡¯t just Sweeper who was blown away by the explosion from the Claw Missiles that were placed on the ground like land mines. Chameleon, who had white skin and a red cross pattern had also been blown away too! ¡°Chameleon¡­ So that is your Unison!¡± The fifth member of the Straight Knights, who had not shown itself once in the fights up until now, was finally revealed! CH 209 Data.199 ¨C Another Perspective: Invisible Experience ¡°I-I¡¯m surprised that you noticed our Fixer¡­! When she¡¯s always invisible¡­!¡± The Unison was a Nurse Chameleon, and as its name suggested, it specialized in healing. The color of its skin and the patterns on it resembled a nurse¡¯s clothes as well, but that wasn¡¯t what should be focused on. This Unison was invisible by default. In other words, it wasn¡¯t using a skill to become invisible. And so it had to take damage in order to show itself¡­ Was this such a big deal? ¡­Some players might think that. But it was a big difference. If it was invisible by default, that meant it would stay like that even if its MP ran out or no matter how much time passed. It wouldn¡¯t be restricted with time limits and cool downs like Necoco, who had to use MP and then run her fastest. It was just always invisible. And so ever since the event started, no spectators had seen Fixer at all. In cases where you used a skill to become invisible, people would be able to see you when warping to a field where skills couldn¡¯t be used. But not with Fixer. And while you would be able to see her after dealing enough damage, it was difficult to hit an enemy that you couldn¡¯t see. Besides, the Nurse Chameleon didn¡¯t have many attack skills, and had a very gentle and non-aggressive personality. If there was an enemy that could die after one more hit, and an ally that only taken a little damage, then the Nurse Chameleon would still prioritize healing. And so it was difficult to detect her presence. If she did attack, you could at least try and counter. But if she didn¡¯t, then you wouldn¡¯t even know that she was there. The other parties that had fought against the Straight Knights had all thought it odd that they couldn¡¯t find her, but they had not realized that she was following Buckler the entire time and healing him. And if you didn¡¯t know about her, it would just look like Buckler was really tough, and that he seemed to recover quickly even if you were dealing damage to him. Furthermore, unlike monsters, a player¡¯s HP was not displayed above their heads, which also helped hide Fixer¡¯s healing. As long as they weren¡¯t regrowing limbs, it was difficult to tell by someone¡¯s appearance that they had healed. Yes. Fixer was hidden in many different ways. However, Necoco had realized her presence. ¡°I noticed, because I use invisibility as well. People always try to find my position, and use many different methods. And so I also learned how to figure out if someone is invisible.¡± ¡°How to tell¡­if someone is invisible?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to tell you all my secrets, but footsteps are one way. I could hear the squishy sounds that were clearly different from other players.¡± ¡°Re-really¡­? I didn¡¯t notice anything¡­¡± ¡°And the biggest reason is¡­you. I could see that your eyes were always following something! You can see it, can¡¯t you? It would be ridiculous if you couldn¡¯t see your own team mate!¡± ¡°Grrrrr!!¡± Sweeper pretended to be sweet, but she was actually quite vicious. However, she would still feel bad about attacking a teammate who was healing her, and so she adjusted her movements based on where Fixer was positioned. And that kindness was her downfall. ¡°Now, that¡¯s enough talking¡­!¡± Sweeper had already been low on HP, and it was while she was being healed that she was hit by Claw Missiles. And so she had lost what remained of her HP, and her body was already disappearing. And so was Fixer, who was on the ground next to her. As it was an invisible healer, it would surely be weak to attacks¡­ That was what Necoco had determined. However, once they had disappeared completely, the only death that was announced was Sweeper¡¯s. Necoco felt a chill run down her spine. ¡°What the hell am I doing¡­!¡± While the way that Fixer had disappeared was the same as when a player died, it was actually the effect of ¡®Great Actor¡¯s Fake Death.¡¯ With these Nurse Chameleons, after they show themselves when taking damage, they would slowly turn invisible again. But this charge attack allowed them to turn invisible in a way that resembled a dying player. To be precise, its body would start to glow, and then slowly turn into particles of light that fade away¡­ Of course, it was just turning invisible and not actually disappearing. So you could still attack it. If you wanted to defeat a nurse chameleon, then you had to keep attacking it even if you think it¡¯s dead. However, this act was considered quite rude during PvP. Besides, the nurse chameleon really did look like it was dead. And Necoco had not felt like attacking a small animal that had fallen limply to the ground. So her kindness had also been her downfall. She had let her guard down. But Unisons were rare monsters, and so it was not strange for people to not know how to deal with them. Humans couldn¡¯t always choose the best decisions, and they sometimes made mistakes. People might tell you to not make the same mistakes repeatedly, but making mistakes repeatedly was normal. (It cannot be helped¡­ I just need to find it again and defeat it¡­ I found it once, after all¡­! Now, I have to go and help the others!) Necoco managed to rouse herself, and then went off to support the others. After the fight with Sweeper began, she had become separated from Satomi, Anne, and Kyuji. However, there had been no announcement, so that meant they were all alive. So they were not at a disadvantage¡­! If anything, things were moving in their favor! ¡°We just have to keep going¡­¡± What Necoco saw when she reached the next battlefield was Crusher, who was fighting 1 vs 5 against Satomi, Anne and the Unisons. And then there was Buckler, who was rolling towards them while still covered in a silver aura. CH 210 Data.200 ¨C Another Perspective: Inexperienced Bond The battle between Satomi and Crusher also began right after Forbidden Ground of Pain was deactivated¡­ The effect of Unison Trinity was still active. On top of Satomi¡¯s three Unisons, Anne had also joined him, making them a fighting force of five. And Crusher was all alone¡­ It seemed like this would be over quickly. However, once things got going, it became apparent that Crusher had the upper hand. How did this happen¡­? Both sides understood the reason. ¡°Basically, you lack training¡­! You wanted to hide information regarding the Miracle Effect so much that you didn¡¯t fight PvP until the tournament! I suppose you thought it would be enough to fight monsters in secluded places, but there is no way to get used to fighting other players without actually fighting other players!¡± ¡°Tsk¡­!¡± He was right on the money. Satomi had been afraid of others finding out about his Miracle Effect, and having the information spread online. And so he had not fought a single player before the tournament. He had used Unison Trinity for the first time during the first battle when up against Core. And since Unison Trinity had never been seen before, Satomi had been able to push far enough so that it ended in both of their deaths. However, Crusher was now fighting Satomi with knowledge of Unison Trinity. Of course, no matter how much of a veteran player you are, you would not understand everything after seeing it just once. Still, it was a big difference compared to not knowing about it at all. ¡°To be blunt, your coordination is bad¡­! Surrounding me and attacking from all sides is fine. However, you crumble easily when your timing isn¡¯t right, and you even end up hitting each other¡­ This is proof that you¡¯ve only been fighting monsters with limited move sets, instead of players who are unpredictable!¡± It was exactly as he said. Crusher was moving in a way that was purposely complex and hard to predict. And the Unisons were confused. On top of that, Anne had joined them. But the Ghost Guild had not practiced so that they could move together. And so while sometimes their emergency cooperation worked well, sometimes it did not. And this was one of the times where it did not. ¡°In spite of being teammates, you seem too reserved. Don¡¯t you think you would be better off alone?¡± ¡°That might be. But up until now¡­!¡± Satomi stopped trying to surround Crusher and formed a line instead. At least now they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about friendly fire. Though, now that all of the attacks were coming from a single direction, it was easier to dodge or cancel them out. But Satomi¡¯s side had a numerical advantage. If they unleashed five charge attacks at the same time, then there was no way that one player could deal with all of them! ¡°Unison Maestro¡­Flame Rock Flower ¨C Double! Ultra Air Cannon! Guerilla Stream!¡± ¡°Shine Daybreak Star!¡± In reaction to this, Crusher placed his hands and knees on the ground and lowered his head. ¡°Land of Metempsychosis.¡± Immediately after, the ground surrounding Satomi rotated 180 degrees so that their backs were now facing Crusher. Not only that, but even their charge attacks rotated 180 degrees and flew in the opposite direction as Crusher¡­! It happened so suddenly that Satomi and the others could not comprehend, and they remained frozen. ¡°I can¡¯t block all of that alone. And so I just made them go somewhere else.¡± Crusher had predicted that they would use brute force eventually. And his way of dealing with it was to change the direction of the enemy, as well as their charge attacks. As it wasn¡¯t about clashing with the enemy¡¯s attack, and just rotated the ground they were on, it was able to nullify any powerful attack, making it a very useful trump card. ¡°While you are good at surrounding an enemy, it also didn¡¯t work out for you here. But spreading out doesn¡¯t work either¡­ There is nothing you can do. Now, it¡¯s time to die!¡± Crusher moved towards Satomi¡­! But then Anne intercepted him! ¡°A quick reaction¡­! I see. So this is what they call an instinct-type. However¡­!¡± While she was quick to realize what Crusher was going to do, she was slow in swinging the hammer and maintaining the right distance. And so he got up close to Anne and swung his mace! ¡°Repose of Souls Crush!¡± Anne blocked the attack with the armor on her arms. That was a heavy armor-type advance guard for you. One or two hits wasn¡¯t going to shake her. But this was almost unnatural¡­! ¡°If your heart quiets down, your body will sink¡­ That¡¯s not a bad analogy!¡± Repose of Souls Crush had an effect that increased the weight of the person who took damage. And so the reason that Anne wasn¡¯t knocked off her feet in spite of it being a powerful attack, was because the effect had increased her weight. When this happened, not only was the force increased, as there was nowhere for it to escape, but it also trapped you. Just when it looked like escape was impossible, Satomi returned to himself and came in to support. Crusher detected this immediately and withdrew. ¡°Phew¡­ While I can deal with five of you at once, it gets a little harder when I have to start killing¡­ Fights really are about numbers. I suppose it¡¯s time for me to rely on a partner as well.¡± And then, Crusher and Buckler were standing side by side¡­! CH 211 Data.201 ¨C Old Bowman, Frightful Being This was bad¡­! I had been trying to lure the invincible Buckler away from my comrades, but now I had taken him with me! The announcement rang, notifying me that Necoco had taken one enemy down, but it seemed like Satomi and Anne were still struggling against Crusher. I had known that Crusher would be a tough enemy, but not this tough¡­ Still, we had the numerical advantage. We just had to end Buckler¡¯s state of invincibility¡­! ¡°¡­Only, I¡¯m not sure how to do that!¡± Due to Buckler destroying so many buildings, there were no more places for me to jump onto! I suppose I just have to move on the ground¡­? No, Buckler will be able to crush me to death if I do that. But, now that I¡¯ve used up Floating Cloud Herd, I cannot make cloud platforms anymore. As for moving with I¡¯m Arrow¡­ No. It wasn¡¯t the time to use that charge attack. In the first place, there is no point in me running away. If I ran, Buckler would prioritize the destruction of my friends. Once they were gone, he could take his time dealing with me later. Distance meant nothing to him when it came to a rear guard with no advance guard. Even during the turf war, I had not been able to win with range alone. I needed the golems who made a wall in front of me. Otherwise Buckler and his army would have been able to attack the fortress smoothly. In PvP, whether or not the rear guard could do anything depended on the advance guard. And the advance guard depended on the rear guard to support them. And so I could not run away now. I had to protect my comrades from Buckler and Crusher¡­! Just now, the last house in the area was destroyed. And since I had been standing on it, my decision was¡­! ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô After Buckler had destroyed the last house that Kyuji was standing on, Kyuji landed on the ground and started to run. It was only the last building in the block. The last building that was close enough for Kyuji to jump on without using a skill. There were other houses in the distance, and so the chase would begin again if he went to them. And the effect of Invincible Armor would wear off. Buckler was not someone who would miss this chance. ¡°Armor Purge!¡± Buckler used a charge attack to take off all of the armor that he was wearing! The pieces of armor flew off like bullets! Not only did they catch Kyuji by surprise, but his friends as well. And they were hit one after another. But it wasn¡¯t powerful enough to kill¡­! ¡°Armor Set!¡± And then the pieces of armor fragments went flying back to Buckler! At the same speed at which they shot off. In other words, they inflicted the same amount of damage again¡­! After being hit twice by the charge attack, the Ghost Guild took a lot of damage. When he looked across the field, Kyuji, Necoco, Satomi and the Unisons were gone. After seeing this, Buckler waited for the announcement. As they had a Unison that could fake death, they could not relax until the announcement confirmed it. (Necoco, defeated by Buckler. Satomi, defeated by Buckler. Crusher¡­Crusher!? And defeated by me!?) When the announcement came, it revealed the death of his comrade. Indeed, it was easy for Armor Purge and Armor Set attacks to hit your comrades as well. However, Crusher knew about these charge attacks, and Buckler had told him how to deal with them. In general, the strength of physical attacks were determined by your Attack status, but with these two charge attacks, it was Defense that decided it. In other words, it would be so much more powerful when Buckler used it. That being said, these atypical charge attacks usually had a low base strength, so even with his status, they weren¡¯t as strong as most charge attacks. That was why Buckler had used it twice without any time in between. If two shots were fired and they were a direct hit, it would be enough to kill players with low defense. Furthermore, after using Armor Purge, your status would drop in accordance with the armor you lost. It didn¡¯t matter this time, as he was in an invincible state, but that was why he would always have to activate Armor Set in order to retrieve them immediately. Crusher knew all of this information. In fact, he had even told him the timing. He would activate Armor Purge once all of their enemies were in the same area. And so if that happened, Crusher was to move away from Buckler and use a defense skill to reduce the damage. After that, he would turn around and activate a defense skill. This way, he could also reduce the damage of the armor flying back, and survive. It wasn¡¯t complicated at all, and he was not someone to forget or make mistakes. In other words, Crusher had been stopped by someone. ¡°But¡­who¡­? Ha!?¡± Buckler realized it then. There had been no announcements after Crusher¡­! A certain man had disappeared, but his name was not announced! ¡°Hahaha¡­hahaha!! I¡¯m now afraid of what this archer will evolve into¡­!¡± Kyuji¡­was floating in the air! Right before the destruction of the last house, he had used Whirlwind and Windcloud Blast to push himself up into the sky. Of course, as he could not make clouds, there was no platform to stand on. The wind was not stable, and so he would bob up and down. Normally, he should not be able to shoot in that state. And yet, Kyuji¡­had hit him. He had helped in the killing of Crusher! And the Kyuji that had descended and ran on the ground was a dummy made with Mirror Alice Reflection. As he had just used it in the previous battle, Buckler was aware of it, but there had not been enough time to tell them apart. Had the running Kyuji been the real one, then he would be able to get up onto a roof again. Besides, thanks to Crusher, all of Kyuji¡¯s friends were gathered in one place. And though he was a veteran, the situation had looked so perfectly prepared for him, that he got ahead of himself. Now the only Straight Knights that remained on the field were Buckler and the Unison, Fixer. And the only Ghost Guild member was Kyuji and¡­ ¡°Hmm!? What¡­!¡± ¡°Oh? I didn¡¯t think a player like you would be phased so easily. You didn¡¯t even activate Parry Warp.¡± Anne-marie! While her armor was in tatters, she had not been defeated! ¡°Well, I cannot help but be surprised! It just means that I lack experience as well. However, you made a mistake to not use a charge attack when you had the chance¡­¡± No¡­! It wasn¡¯t that Anne had forgotten to use it. She had purposely chosen a skill instead. The one that added adhesive power to her iron ball. Sticky Star! Right now, the great shield and iron ball were stuck together! ¡°Your great shield¡­is mine!¡± And then she pulled the chain with all of her might and wrenched the shield from Buckler¡¯s grasp! CH 212 Data.202 ¨C Old Bowman, True Trump Card ¡°Sticky Deactivate!¡± As soon as she wrenched it away, Anne deactivated Sticky Star. Like this, the great shield flew off into the air and towards the edge of the field! Invincible Armor¡¯s weakness was obstruction! Even if it could nullify damage, it was weak against gimmicks¡­ That¡¯s the way it has always been! And then the silver aura faded away, showing that the invisible effect had worn off. He could no longer retrieve the shield. And since the invincibility was a Miracle Effect, he could not use it again. Now it was their chance to strike back! ¡°I¡¯ll take the other shield too!¡± Anne activated Sticky Star once again. She was going for the other shield, which was an actual buckler! As for Buckler¡­he thrust out his shield towards the iron ball! ¡°Ultra Bound!¡± And then the iron ball bounced right off! It moved with such incredible force, that the chain slipped from Anne¡¯s hand, and the iron ball went flying off into the distance. The sticky power and bouncing power had clashed, and the bouncing power had won¡­! However, Anne had done more than enough! ¡°Grrr! ARGHHHH!!¡± And then the Inferno Arrow Tempest that I had unleashed slammed into Buckler! In order to use Parry Warp, he had to block the attack with his shield with perfect timing. But he had already used the shield to deal with Anne. In other words, there was no risk of him parrying my attack! Like this, I would attack whenever Anne made an opening for me¡­! In order to do that, I couldn¡¯t be floating up in the air, and had to fire with my feet firmly on the ground. ¡°Energy Barrier V!¡± As soon as I landed, Buckler created a dark blue energy barrier. The giant barrier was like a wall that separated us. However, it was not enough to stop my arrows. If it was a wall, then I just needed to make my arrows go over it! ¡°Gatling Inferno Arrow!¡± The inferno arrows went over the barrier and rained down on Buckler! ¡°Reactive Hexagon Shield!¡± Several small, hexagonal shields appeared in the air around Buckler. The shields reacted to attacks automatically, and would guard him. And so the arrows bounced off and never reached Buckler¡­! Not only that, but the shields had an interesting effect. When blocking an attack, they would explode, causing the attacks to be blown away. That¡¯s what you call ¡®reactive armor¡¯¡­! The arrows did not disappear, but pierced the ground instead. However, they had no attack ability at this point. Surely this meant they would fade away eventually¡­ Huh? Huh!? There was some kind of chameleon-like creature near Buckler! It was white and had a red cross pattern. It looked like a nurse¡­ Apparently, it was taking damage from the stray arrows. But there were no wild monsters on the field¡­ In other words, it was the Straight Knights¡¯ Unison. It seemed like it was already on the brink of death, but I had to make sure that it died¡­! ¡°Fixer¡­! Tsk. You¡¯re usually much better at dodging¡­! Is this because of the archer¡¯s accuracy¡­?¡± Judging by what Buckler said, that chameleon was called Fixer. And since it had been hidden this whole time, it must have some powerful concealment ability. I was lucky that my arrow happened to hit it. ¡°Gatling Drill Arrow!¡± Then I unleashed a chain of Drill Arrow Kai that had high piercing ability. I targeted Buckler while also hitting Fixer! ¡°Hexagon Shield Link! Cover above!¡± The hexagonal shields began to stick together in order to create a single large barrier. Now my arrows couldn¡¯t reach Fixer¡­ However! ¡°Go! Go! Mach Rolling Star!¡± Anne equipped a backup star sphere and made iron balls roll! Fixer must have been healing itself, as it was lively again. It then disappeared in order to escape. However, it was hit by numerous iron balls. And then its death was announced. ¡°Grrr¡­ Fixer. I won¡¯t waste the HP you gave to me¡­!¡± So it was a healer after all. And it had appeared at the worst time¡­ I had managed to hit Buckler directly with a charge attack, but he was probably completely healed now. However, he couldn¡¯t heal the damage to his equipment. And no matter how hard Buckler¡¯s equipment was, it would not go unscathed after being hit by a fused charge attack. Buckler¡­was definitely weaker! And Anne¡¯s Mach Rolling Star was breaking the Energy Barrier V that blocked my way! Now I had a clear path ahead of me¡­ It was time to finish this with that charge attack! ¡°Inferno Windgod Sky Tear!¡± A fusion of Inferno Arrow and Windgod Sky Tear. With this high speed arrow, I would end things like I did during the turf war¡­ ¡°Here¡­!¡± But to the highspeed Inferno Windgod Sky Tear, Buckler succeeded in using Parry Warp. And so he warped right behind me. ¡°You got ahead of yourself, archer! You should never have come down! Now I will use Ultra Bound Dribble¡­!?¡± ¡°Stardust Arrow!!¡± I could not defeat a man like Buckler with the same strategy. That¡¯s what I believed. He would ensure that he could deal with Sky Tear, which had taken him down before. And so he would use Parry Warp and get his revenge for that time¡­! But if I knew when he was going to warp, then there were ways to dodge him. So this time, as soon as I heard the sound that signaled a successful parry, I activated First Wind Sliding Feet. First Wind Sliding Feet was a weapon skill from the Windguard Warrior Hakama equipment, and it allowed you to move swiftly for a short distance. With this effect, I moved around Buckler after he warped, and then locked my arms around him. And then we rose high up into the air! CH 213 Data.203 ¨C Old Bowman, Giant Star Fall I had been thinking about it the whole time. During the turf war where I first fought against Buckler, the reason that I had been able to win was because of the golems, who were my advance guard, and my returned allies. That¡­was correct! It was the unmistakable truth! And so I was worried about fighting Buckler without the unique systems of the turf war in place. He was without a doubt the more experienced player, and he was good at fighting people like me. There was no point in fighting him while too far away for him to counterattack, if my attacks weren¡¯t even effective. Back then, my attacks had worked because Buckler took off his armor. But that was only due to the turf war battlefield being a certain way, and he didn¡¯t usually take it off. And so I felt that I would be forced to fight in a way that was more disadvantageous this time. But that in itself was a mistake. Right now¡­I had more reliable companions than during the turf war! The golems and the people who returned were reliable, but not as much as Necoco and the others. And even if we hadn¡¯t adventured together for that long, I knew Necoco, Satami, and Anne. No, I didn¡¯t know about their private lives, but I knew their stance towards games, their favorite style, and personality. And so I had more trust in them. So why had I thought I had less of an advantage when I was fighting alongside them? I was in a much better state than during the turf war! And so I would not lose to Buckler! However, it was also true that I had been pushed to the brink and struggled. And the reason for this¡­was clear! ¡°You really are¡­no! Buckler, you¡¯re strong! Much stronger than before!¡± ¡°I could say the same for you! KyujI! You¡¯ve defeated me again!¡± ¡°But who knows¡­about the next time!¡± There was a second of weightlessness after we rose into the sky. And then we plunged back towards the ground like stardust. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡®The battle has ended!! As all of the Straight Knights have been defeated, the winning party is¡­the Ghost Guild! Congratulations on making it to the semi-finals!¡¯ After defeating Buckler with Stardust Arrow, Charin made the announcement. I had said what I wanted to Buckler. And so he would likely not talk to me when I returned to the waiting area. Fighters did not need many words. But maybe he would still offer some congratulatory words if we won. That¡¯s right¡­ We were getting close to winning! But why did I feel a little scared? It was supposed to be a good thing, but even I was starting to get anxious about it. The closer you get to the prize money and glory, the more blurry it gets. And the feeling of just wanting to win becomes clear. I didn¡¯t want to end this fight as a loser. Perhaps that was all it was. ¡°That being said, the money is also¡­¡± While blurry, it was still a lot of money. And as an older person, it almost didn¡¯t feel real. The idea that you could win in a game and receive money. In fact, I did feel that it was an appropriate amount for the people who got through these vicious battles¡­but it was still hard to imagine it coming to me. Even with so many advancements in technology, money was still important. It was something you needed in order to live happily. I couldn¡¯t be like those selfish protagonists from comics and saw that winning was enough, and that I didn¡¯t need the money. If I can take it¡­I¡¯ll take it! That is what adults do¡­! I thought of such things after the fight. But perhaps I was still nervous. ¡®Now, the surviving players will warp back to the waiting area!¡¯ Said Charin, and I was sent back. When I returned, I felt as if the welcoming applause was louder than last time. While it couldn¡¯t be helped due to the composition of our party, I felt bad to be the one who attracted the praise every time. I was only able to win because of the others. However, no one wanted to hear that, and I doubted that Necoco and Satomi even cared about such things. They were stoic gamers. ¡°Very impressive, Mr. Kyuji. And you did brilliantly as well, Anne. That was quite a surprise victory.¡± Said Satomi as he appeared. He wasn¡¯t bothered about dying, and was calmly thinking back on the fight. From here, we would be fighting even stronger enemies. And so it would be impossible to have a perfect fight where no one died. There was no point in being bothered by such small details. Hell, maybe I would be killed in the beginning and have to watch the whole fight¡­ No, I couldn¡¯t let that happen! Besides, there were only two fights left! I would never get over it if I died immediately in the semi-final and final¡­ Of course, I wouldn¡¯t blame my friends if it happened to them, but I would feel terrible enough to press my head into the ground and beg for forgiveness if I died that quickly¡­! Don¡¯t try and stop me¡­I need to do this until I¡¯m satisfied¡­! I¡¯m doing this because I want to¡­! Well, there was no point in simulating defeat. I needed to start thinking about the next fight. Once the next four battles were finished, it would be the first of the semi-finals. And then it would be our turn. ¡°Satomi. Can you bring up the archived videos of our next opponent?¡± ¡°Ah, but due to the tournament composition, it¡¯s the winner of the next fight who will be our opponent.¡± ¡°Is that right¡­ That¡¯s different, as all our other opponents were already decided. I suppose I will have to pay extra attention while watching this one.¡± ¡°I doubt it will be a long fight, so try not to miss anything.¡± Necoco said suddenly. She had been quiet up until now. At first, I had worried that she was feeling disheartened, but I was apparently wrong. There was a different reason for her quietness. Because the leader of one of the parties in the next battle was Macoco Strange, from AUOratorio! Necoco¡¯s beloved aunt¡­! CH 214 Data.204 ¨C Old Bowman, Occultic! ¡°So¡­ What kind of person is this Macoco Strange anyway?¡± Watching videos of the Charin fight and the preliminaries showed that she was someone to be feared, but as someone who didn¡¯t know much about the world of pro gamers, I didn¡¯t have any other information. If I understood her personality, fighting style, and stance towards the game, it should give me more of an advantage. And so I wanted to hear as much as I could. After all, there was someone directly related within our party¡­ ¡°Then I will explain it to you!¡± I expected Necoco to speak up, but it was Anne who joined the conversation. Now that I thought about it, Anne had been talking about how Macoco was someone close to being a Virtualien¡­ In other words, this related to her interest in the occult. And so in a way, she might know more about Macoco than Necoco. ¡°Macoco is an old veteran in the world of VR games. In fact, she¡¯s been played before people started saying ¡®Great VR Age.¡¯ She was well known just as VR games were starting to catch on. And while she mostly plays VR games, she used to also upload videos of retro video games as well.¡± Oh, she was really going in deep¡­ A retro game fan, huh¡­ Maybe we would get along. ¡°However, Macoco is not a famous person. She was a small gamer that only a few people knew about. That is, until she met AUO¡­!¡± ¡°AUO?¡± ¡°Ancient Unfair Online. It¡¯s another full-dive VRMMORPG. It was discontinued a long time ago. But it was known for being incredibly free, and management barely knew what was happening in the game¡­! There were unique skills and equipment, and human-like NPCs! This was because management was mostly left to AIs, so humans were just there to support them. It felt very fresh and futuristic. It¡¯s been 5 years since it ended, but no game has matched the freedom found in AUO!¡± ¡°Hmm. Now that I listen to you talk about it, I feel like I heard the name before¡­ When was it¡­ I think it was on the news¡­¡± ¡°You must be thinking of the AUO forced logout incident! There was an external attack that caused a malfunction that forced players to logout. Of course, such things are quite common in the Great VR Age.¡± The Great VR Age¡­sure was crazy. ¡°But what is impressive is what happened after! They weren¡¯t able to fix the problem even after five years! That is why the game hasn¡¯t returned! But no one will flat out say that it¡¯s done¡­! There are rumors about the staff being erased by the AI, or it being opened to an exclusive player base. But I think they are just too lazy to announce that it¡¯s ended. The staff just tossed it out and ran¡­! Yes, that happens a lot these days!¡± I was getting worried about this¡­age of VR. ¡°In the end, people still wonder why the service was unable to return. AUO was such a detailed game, and so a few bugs and less players was not enough to end it. There were plenty of hardcore fans let, and they would have still been making a profit.¡± ¡°For a company to stop a profitable game¡­there must be some insane reason that we don¡¯t know about¡­¡± ¡°Exactly! And people continue to debate about it to this very day! Perhaps the game was destroyed from the attack, or the servers exploded or the game has been taken over¡­! But the theory that I believe is a little different from these popular ones!¡± Those were the popular ones¡­!? They sounded ridiculous to me. But I suppose the ridiculous was normal these days? I was really living in incredible times¡­! ¡°I believe that the AIs became independent! Ultimately, it was them who ran the game, with the humans just supporting it. And the attackers were also human¡­ The AIs must have become cautious, and so they established the game as its own independent world!¡± ¡­Well, now the other three didn¡¯t sound so outlandish anymore. Yes, there was a sense of romance in that theory. It was occultic and very science fiction. Still, they had stopped the service of a profitable game, so the reason could be something completely unexpected. ¡°In fact, there were a few players and NPCs who tried to fight back when the troubles started to appear in the game! Because management was just sitting back and watching! If AIs have hearts, then surely it would be no surprise that they would move away from the humans!? Ah, how occultic!¡± ¡°That is indeed an interesting story, but¡­ Um, where does Macoco come in?¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right! When people were being forced to logout of AUO, she was one of the last players to stay within the game! And so some people think that she knows the truth! On top of that, Macoco, who had been very active up until then, went silent for half a year. That made her even more mysterious! People think that she was fighting alone within the game, or restored the world within. We can say whatever we want because she doesn¡¯t refute it!¡± She alone had remained while everyone was logged out¡­huh? That would get you a lot of attention. But if Macoco wasn¡¯t saying anything, how would people know she was the last one¡­ Also, none of this was any help to us! Damn it, it was interesting to learn about something known in the occult world, but we needed something that would help in the upcoming fight¡­ In the end, not only would I have to watch this fight carefully, but I had to ask the person who was actually close to Macoco¡­! CH 215 Data.205 ¨C Old Bowman, Cat Girl¡¯s Resolve ¡°Necoco. What can you tell us about your aunt and her party?? This time, I had to specifically ask Necoco. ¡°As you know, my aunt fights with a boomerang. It¡¯s a ranged weapon that deals physical attacks. Its most distinct feature is that it draws an arch through the air and returns to the player¡¯s hand. It¡¯s possible to knock it out of the air by attacking it, but it will have to be very strong to prevent it from returning. Veteran boomerang users can use multiple boomerangs at once, and they alter the trajectory so that it¡¯s difficult to dodge them.¡± During the Charin fight, not only did she have a large boomerang that was a transformed Unison, but two others as well¡­ It had been like a dance, and a rear guard like me would die easily if they were in range of it. This time, I would have to stay as far away as possible so that it would be one-sided attacks. As I was also using a ranged weapon, I had looked up the characteristics of other ranged weapons. And boomerangs were among the weapons with higher attack power. Furthermore, they could be used like swords in your hand, which meant they could also be used in close range combat. On top of that, Macoco had used an effect during the preliminary where she and her boomerang switched places. It wasn¡¯t like Buckler¡¯s Parry Warp, where he needed to wait for me to attack. And so it was possible for her to close a gap at will. So it would not be realistic to read her movements and use Stardust Arrow. In any case, I needed to remember to stay away from her at all cost. As long as I could maintain a distance, I should do well as an archer. My max Range would be much farther, and with boomerangs, you had to wait for them to return before you could attack again. While with a bow, I could shoot rapidly no matter how many arrows miss or get knocked out of the air. And so I had more opportunities to hit. However, depending on her status, ordinary attacks might be meaningless. If I couldn¡¯t deal damage without using charge attacks, then it wouldn¡¯t be enough that I had more moves than her. It would be like the Buckler fight¡­ ¡°Do you know anything about strength point distribution or jobs? Also, skills and charge attacks¡­¡± ¡°Uh, hmm. I don¡¯t¡­¡± Ah, maybe I shouldn¡¯t have asked that. Her aunt was a veteran pro gamer. And so even if it was a relative, she was not likely to pass over such information easily¡­! That was the pride of a professional¡­ ¡°I think she was actually going to tell me all of that when we were adventuring together. But my pride got the better of me and I said that she didn¡¯t have too¡­¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Well, I suppose they both wanted to fight without knowing. I could understand that. Especially since this was someone that she really looked up to. Still, Macoco didn¡¯t even mind¡­ Was she so confident that she could win? ¡°Oh, but I have an idea about her strength points, just by watching how she moves. I think she is balanced but leans towards Attack¡­! In other words, pretty normal!¡± Indeed, most people would try to spread it out but have a little extra in Attack¡­! Anyone who had a little experience with games would think of doing that. A balance type might be playing it too safe, but there were risks to having obvious weaknesses. And so while having solid durability and speed, you would want to extend attack ability, which was necessary in games about defeating enemies. It should result in a character that wasn¡¯t flashy, but was able to deal with any kind of situation. ¡°My aunt takes this classical style and does something revolutionary with it. When she attacks, you take more damage than you expect, and when you attack, it does less damage than expected. She moves faster than you expect, and she¡¯s harder to deal with than you expect¡­! Unfortunately, there is no one in this party who can beat her 1 vs 1.¡± ¡°So, what about 2 vs 1¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I want you to leave her to me.¡± Everyone was surprised by Necoco¡¯s words. She had just said that it wouldn¡¯t work like that. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not delusional. I don¡¯t think that I can win either. But if two of us take her on from the beginning, then that means the other two will have to take on three of them. That would put you at a disadvantage. We should start by making it a goal to kill one person, and the person who kills someone first can join me in the battle against my aunt.¡± Well, that was certainly a more simple strategy. And if we could do it, it seemed like we would have a better chance of winning. The problem was¡­if Necoco could survive that long by herself. ¡°¡­¡± But I decided to not ask her about that. After all, I thought that more than anyone, Necoco wanted to know the answer to that. She didn¡¯t know if she could survive that long. But she had to if we wanted to win. And it was clear that she wanted to know how close she had gotten to the person that she admired. ¡°Fine. We¡¯ll leave Macoco to Necoco! But don¡¯t do anything reckless. You¡¯re just trying to buy time until someone can join you.¡± ¡°Thank you. You won¡¯t regret this!¡± ¡°So, what kind of players are the other three?¡± As we had to defeat the others, information about them was important as well. If they were the friends of Macoco, they must be pretty amazing as well¡­ ¡°In my opinion¡­¡± Necoco glanced around and then whispered. ¡°They¡¯re not very strong. It¡¯s just my aunt¡­¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± CH 216 Data.206 ¨C Old Bowman, Strange Maidens ¡°The first is Vera Velvet. She¡¯s the one with black hair and straight bangs.¡± I looked for Vera on the monitor that showed the players right before the fight. ¡­Ah, there she was. Her short stature and the length of the hair¡­gave off a mischievous impression. She was wearing safari style shorts that were black and gold. And she had pilot goggles on her face and a red scarf around her neck. The appearance was overall boyish, but her movements were that of a woman. ¡°While she wields a whip, that is only a sub weapon. She is a¡­Unison Master.¡± Yes, Vera was a Unison Master just like Satomi. In other words, the other team would have two Unisons with them as well¡­! ¡°Her Unison is a Forest Turtle called Mannen II. As you can see, it is a great, fortress-like turtle Unison. You might think it would be slow, but it has tank treads instead of feet, so it¡¯s actually quite fast. However, it¡¯s still a turtle, so its reactions should be slow. And so it wouldn¡¯t be able to hit enemies if you ordered it around normally, but Vera is very sharp and thinks ahead while controlling it.¡± ¡°So she can predict what will happen¡­ The other players sound pretty strong after all.¡± ¡°Vera is indeed fast at giving out orders. But a lot of it is on a whim or impulse. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s so much of a prediction, but the idea that it would be a waste to not attack while you can.¡± ¡°In other words, it¡¯s more of a shot in the dark¡­?¡± ¡°Yes. Vera might be a pro gamer, but she cares more about having fun than being good. I don¡¯t mean to be rude, but she¡¯s more of a joke player. Even when she is trying to be serious, which is why it¡¯s entertaining, I think¡­¡± When you think of pro gamers, you definitely think of people who were very skilled, but in this great age of VR, you were a pro as long as you made money. And so it was fine to have people like her. A new kind of gamer for this age¡­! ¡°Due to the way we warp, we won¡¯t know who we will have to fight against, but I think Satomi should fight Vera if he can.¡± ¡°I agree. If my opponent is also a Unison Master, then I will have an idea of what she is capable of. And more than that, their Unison is a fortress that is specialized in defense. So it would be best if someone who can use magic attacks deal with it. However, I would have liked more detailed information about this Unison. There wasn¡¯t a lot of info on Forest Turtles when I searched. Not even monsters that are similar.¡± ¡°Unison monsters are already rare, and Forest Turtles are among the rarest. That¡¯s what Vera said. I don¡¯t know how she was able to tame such a Unison, but she told me quite a bit about its skills and status. I mean, she was boasting about it to me at rapid speed¡­¡± ¡°Well, as long as she was the one that wanted to tell you, I don¡¯t see how there is a problem.¡± ¡°Yes. So, where should I start¡­ There was so much information, that it was actually confusing¡­!¡± And so Necoco told us about Vera and Mannen¡¯s more memorable skills and charge attacks first. I tried to remember everything, but I couldn¡¯t actually think of a way of dealing with a defense type like that. It was too big for me to wrap my arms around and had decent speed. That meant Stardust Arrow wouldn¡¯t work. I suppose Southern Cross Ballista might do something. However, instead of taking chances like that, it would be better to run around like I did during the Buckler fight. I could support the others and then let Satomi deal with it. ¡°The second person is Yuri Jahana. She is a priestess with long blue hair. And she uses talismans as weapons.¡± This Yuri had a calm personality and even moved slowly. And she threw talismans, meaning she had ranged attacks. After unleashing numerous talismans into the air, she could control them so that they slashed through the enemy, or paste them onto skin in order to stop your movement. She could also make them freeze in the air so that they would shield her. It seemed like they could do anything¡­ However, she was still not able to make the most use out of this ability yet. If anything, she seemed quite inexperienced compared to most players we faced during this tournament¡­ ¡°Yuri is a priestess in real life as well, so she does not play the game very much. It¡¯s just a little hobby and so her movements are not as smooth as the others. But not playing long also means that I haven¡¯t adventured with her much, and I have almost no information to give.¡± It¡¯s pretty amazing that a hobby gamer was able to make it this far in such a big event¡­! Apparently, Macoco didn¡¯t care about having a strong party, but took in old friends. ¡°Since we don¡¯t know much about her, I think it¡¯s best to just use brute force. And so Anne should fight against Yuri.¡± ¡°A nun vs a priestess! Both jobs are very occultic with a hint of eroticism, and so I had trouble choosing, but ended up going with nuns, because of their power! I will not lose to this priestess!¡± I was thankful for Anne¡¯s decision. Had she not been an advance guard with great firepower and durability, the balance of our party would have been terrible. ¡°And the third person is Achile Alstar. The one with the braids. She kind of looks like an average village girl. But she fights with two crossbows that are also gauntlets. Her aim is amazing.¡± It was hard for my eyes to even follow the girl with two braids as she dashed through the battlefield. However, in spite of her movement, she was still hitting her enemies. Her accuracy was ridiculous¡­! She was clearly the second strongest in the party after Macoco! ¡°Now that I think about it, Achile is the only one in their party that I haven¡¯t met in real life. I have played with her a few times in the game, but there was never anything we could talk about that we were both interested in. Well, we could talk about my aunt, but whether it was the latest games or food, we were always at odds. I think she must have been raised in a very unique environment. But she was still cheerful and fun to be around¡­¡± I was getting more confused as to how they had formed a party¡­ But then again, that was the thing about online games. You could meet people that you usually wouldn¡¯t. At least, it was evident that their party was really enjoying playing the game. Once the explanations on the other party members were finished, we decided to concentrate on watching the battle. Necoco would occasionally explain about the various skills and charge attacks as our eyes tried to keep up with what was happening on screen. The battle¡­ended in just 17 minutes. Macoco and Achile survived from AUOratoria, and the opposing party was annihilated. A 2 to 0 result was not bad at all, but the other team had not been able to do anything against Macoco, and there was a big gap between the parties that was not just about numbers. After seeing this battle, I understood even more why Necoco wanted to fight Macoco alone. AUOratoria¡­was practically a one-person party. The others were just average. Only, they were unique enough to be unpredictable a lot of the time. If we had two go against Macoco from the beginning, and left two others to face the remaining three, then there was a chance that this unpredictability and their superior numbers could help them win. But we were still the better fighting force. If it was 1 vs 1¡­we probably wouldn¡¯t lose. So in order to raise our chances of winning, Neococo had decided to face Macoco alone. I was glad that we were able to respect Necoco¡¯s will. But there was also some anxiety that I could not ignore¡­ Was it even possible for her to hold her aunt back? Well¡­we would know the answer soon enough. CH 217 Data.207 ¨C Old Bowman, the Strange Town of Mist ¡®And now, the second battle of the semi-finals! Ghost Guild vs AUOratorio! And the chosen field is¡­Undead Town!¡¯ When you hear of undead in a fantasy world, the first thing you would think of is zombies. And so I also thought it would be the kind of ruined city that was overflowing with zombies. But the undead town that appeared on the screen was covered in mist, like a beautiful English town. The buildings and roads may have been built a long time ago, but were somehow not aged. Perhaps that was why it was called ¡®undead.¡¯ Now, as for sniping points¡­it would be the giant clock tower in the center. If I was able to climb it, I would be able to shoot my arrows towards anything in the field, as there were no other buildings that stood out, I would also be an easy target. That being said, if I chose to be on the roofs of any of the other buildings, Macoco¡¯s boomerang, Achile¡¯s crossbow, Yuri¡¯s talismans and the cannons on Mannen¡¯s back would all be able to reach me. I would not be able to make use of my Range¡­ The enemy were all using ranged attacks! Ah, but the boomerang could be both, and depending on how you used it, the talismans could also deal with close-range attacks. In the previous fights, Achile had attacked at zero range, and Mannen had used its giant body to charge into enemies. Thinking of it like this, they were all well-rounded. In a way, I was also moving in that direction, in terms of maintaining what made me unique while also being able to deal with all kinds of situations. With specialized players, they were below average when it came to things they weren¡¯t specialized in, and so they would struggle if the enemy took advantage of that, and that would lead to defeat. And while it may sound cool to stay true to who you are, it was better to have all sides covered if you wanted to win. And they understood that well. They were more seasoned¡­! Was it rude to call girls seasoned? ¡®Both parties to the field!¡¯ And so the Ghost Guild warped to the Undead Town. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°It looks like¡­I¡¯m not off to a good start.¡± I had warped into a dim alleyway. There were plenty of dark places in this old town. But warping here didn¡¯t mean anything. When I said that this was a bad start, it was because my comrades were not close by. So it might be rather difficult to meet up with them or fight the enemy we had been assigned. Of course, we knew that this could happen. Battles rarely went the way you hoped. And so you had to use your own ability and change the flow. In any case, the first thing to do was to avoid getting killed right away. Every enemy here was dangerous! But somewhere in this misty town, was the most powerful boomerang user¡­ ¡°It¡¯s so suspenseful, the atmosphere of the map is mysterious¡­¡± While not quite a serial killer, these were mass player killers, so it enhanced the mood. Now, I better leave this alley, which looks like it could be the scene of a crime. It was too early to use Warp Arrow or Floating Cloud herd, and so I used the same combination of Windcloud Blast and Whirlwind that I had used in the previous fight, and jumped up onto the roof of a building. ¡°Tsk. The mist is thicker than I was expecting¡­¡± I only realized it once I looked down at the town from the room. The mist hadn¡¯t seemed too bad when looking at the monitor, but it obstructed your vision quite a lot. If this was how bad it was, then being in the clock tower in the center would not allow me to shoot targets that were far away¡­ However, this map was perfect for Necoco, who was good with assassinating people¡­ ¡°What!?¡± The cry of a crow suddenly echoed. This was not Garbow¡¯s cru. It was a¡­raven¡­ Macoco¡¯s Unison. Crowkus Jr.! ¡°Wh-where!?¡± It was hard to see its black form in the dimly lit town. And so by the time my eyes caught sight of Crowkus Jr., it had flown so far away that I could no longer hear it. But it was still within range¡­! Besides, the mist was moving, and there were times when it would become clear. And it was happening now! I could see Crowkus Jr. clearly! If I defeated it, Macoco would not be able to use her 3rd boomerang. That would cut down her fighting power considerably. I will take it down now¡­ ¡°No, wait¡­!¡± Instead of shooting it, I followed after Crowkus Jr. while maintaining enough distance that it didn¡¯t attack me. Unisons had a tendency of going to the closest ally player when they were separated from the rest of the party. In other words, if I followed Crowkus Jr., I would be able to find the location of one of the enemy players! And since Unisons could not talk, it wouldn¡¯t be able to say, ¡®I think I¡¯m being followed!¡¯ So the player would not realize that I was there. I would be able to ambush them¡­! I moved from roof to roof¡­and did my best. Because a flying bird was very fast¡­! But I did not want to lose it¡­ ¡°Ah, it landed on the ground¡­!¡± Crowkus Jr. plunged to the ground suddenly. It must mean that someone was there¡­ And so I silently moved into a position where I could look down without being seen, and then peered over. ¡°It just had to be¡­¡± It was Crowkus¡¯s real partner, Macoco Strange¡­! She had already put the Unison on her shoulder and was moving away. I would lose them if I didn¡¯t do something¡­ ¡°I better brace myself for this one¡­! Invisible Godwind Sky Tear!¡± I combined Clear Arrow and Windgod Sky Tear to create an ultra high speed arrow! It wasn¡¯t very powerful, but it was a good charge attack to use if you wanted to be sure that you¡¯d hit your target. Even a seasoned gamer would not be able to dodge it! And once she was staggered, I would shoot another and¡­crush her with Southern Cross Ballista! ¡°¡­! Boomerang Change!¡± Macoco¡­sensed the ambush! She then held the circular boomerang up like a shield and blocked the arrow! Tsk! To be honest, I had a feeling that this might happen. But I hadn¡¯t expected her to have a defense charge attack that could block a fused charge attack so easily¡­! The boomerang really was a well-rounded weapon¡­! After that attack, Macoco had a good idea of my position, and she looked in my direction. I couldn¡¯t help but be intimidated and take a few steps back. ¡°Gaah!?¡± Something had pierced my right thigh!? This was¡­ Invisible Windgod Sky Tear! I see. So this was the effect of Boomerang Change¡­! I had thought that the name was odd for a defense charge attack, so this was why! Boomerang Change¡¯s effect was to turn the attack that it touched into a boomerang! And so my attack turned around and came back to me. If I had not taken a few steps back, it would have hit me in the chest. Perhaps it would have even pierced me in the heart¡­! ¡°Sometimes it pays to be a coward¡­!¡± One of the weaknesses of Sky Tear was that unless it pierced you, it did low damage, and the wound would be small. On top of that, it had been fused with Clear Arrow. So I didn¡¯t lose much HP, or my leg for that matter. I could move just fine¡­ It would be terrible if I couldn¡¯t! Now, Crowkus Jr. had grabbed Macoco with its feet, and carried her up in the air towards me! It was like it was carrying its prey, but if this was how she flew, then I doubted there were any time limits. There were no weaknesses aside from it looking stupid¡­! And since she was being held by the shoulders, her hands were free to wield the boomerangs! Th-there was no opening¡­ ¡°Thunderbold! Kick!¡± The black shadow smashed through the building and flew through the air¡­! Necoco, enveloped in thunder, had kicked Macoco away! CH 218 Data.208 ¨C Old Bowman, Boomerang Terror ¡°Woah! That was a shock!¡± While she said this, Macoco had properly blocked Necoco¡¯s kick with her circular boomerang. Not only that, but the boomerang was glowing, which showed that she even had the time to use a skill. Her reflexes were incredible¡­! However, Macoco was now separated from Crowkus Jr., and she fell towards the ground. This was my chance to attack¡­! ¡°Kaa! Kaa!¡± ¡°Woah!?¡± Instead of going to help the falling Macoco, Crowkus Jr. charged towards me! At a glance, it seemed like he was abandoning Macoco, but in fact, if he wanted to help her, it was best to stop me from attacking. Was it really able to think ahead like that¡­? In any case, Crowkus Jr. was a lot faster now that it wasn¡¯t carrying anything. I had to hit it once and stagger it! As it was a bird, I did more damage when it was in the air. So even a scratch would deal decent¡­ ¡°Tsk¡­! I can¡¯t even scratch it!¡± It was no ordinary raven, but a monster. And so its intelligence and speed were both at a ridiculous level. I don¡¯t think anyone has ever dodged my arrows so smoothly before¡­! However, Crowkus Jr. was also clearly dodging them desperately, and wasn¡¯t able to get much closer. I had a feeling that if this continued, I would get used to tracking it and be able to land a hit. But Macoco would return before that happened! I wanted a little more time¡­! ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± ¡°This voice¡­ It¡¯s Garbow!¡± Garbow became a red light that shot through the air as he crashed into Crowkus Jr.! And just like that, the two Unisons fell into the river that flowed through the field! ¡°Garbow!?¡± While the water wasn¡¯t murky, it was quite dark, and so I couldn¡¯t see what was happening inside. And since the current was strong, I would likely be washed away immediately if I went inside. I was sure that both Garbow and Crowkus Jr. had fallen in. But I no longer knew their positions¡­ No, I can¡¯t be shaken by this! Garbow had dragged the enemy into the water. Like a real alligator, he would kill his prey in an environment that he could move well in¡­! I knew more than anyone how strong Garbow was inside of the water. And so I would believe in him! ¡°Old man! Hurry up and get out of here! I¡¯ll deal with my aunt!¡± ¡°¡­Alright!¡± Even though we had already settled on this strategy, I hesitated for just a second. The reason was that I still wondered if she could really handle Macoco by herself. I had already made up my mind before, but now that I had actually faced Macoco, I knew just how strong she really was. And so I couldn¡¯t help but hesitate. And there was another idea. What if both Necoco and I fought her? Perhaps we could defeat her more quickly? She had amazing reflexes and used skills to dodge our attacks. However, it wasn¡¯t like it was impossible to hit her. Maybe we could do it if we were together¡­ I had a faint hope. However, I realized that this was wrong quite quickly. ¡°Aghh¡­!!¡± Something that I couldn¡¯t see had cut my right shoulder¡­! And while I hadn¡¯t lost an arm, it took away a decent amount of HP, and my haori was damaged! What the hell was that¡­!? ¡°Wa-was it the boomerang¡­?¡± The slash attack had seemed to come from behind. In other words, even as Macoco was being blown away, she had used a skill to make one of her boomerangs invisible. And she had unleashed it while disguising her movements in the air. And made it curve so that it would hit me while returning to her¡­? Ah, even I didn¡¯t understand it¡­! But there was one thing that I did know! ¡°Warp Arrow!¡± This was not a place for someone to be when they were hesitating¡­! And so I decided to follow the plan and leave it to Necoco. I would fulfill the role that had been given to me! ¡°Good luck, Necoco!¡± ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°¡­I still haven¡¯t heard any death announcements.¡± Macoco muttered as she caught the invisible boomerang. ¡°If both the returned arrow and invisible boomerang hit him directly, the old man with low defense should not have been able to survive¡­ In other words, he had dodged both attacks. I suppose that¡¯s why you chose him.¡± Macoco said to Necoco, who was hiding somewhere. After unleashing Thunderbolt Kick, Necoco had not followed with more attacks. The reason was that though it was meant to be an ambush, Thunderbolt Kick had been blocked with the boomerang. Had Macoco not been able to block it, and had her stance collapsed as she flew, then Necoco would not have hesitated to unleash a follow up attack. However, Macoco had been able to throw the boomerang at Kyuji even while being attacked. And so she knew that charging at Macoco then would just result in being driven back. Besides, Necoco¡¯s goal wasn¡¯t to defeat Macoco. She was supposed to buy time and wait until the others arrived. As she understood this very well, she did not continue to attack¡­ That was half the reason. The other half was simply that she was scared, and her body would not move. She had thought that she was resolved, but one¡¯s resolve tended to get shaken when put to the test. But Necoco¡¯s fear only lasted a second. For just a second¡­she was afraid to fight the person that she looked up to. It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t want to hurt someone who she respected, but more of a worry that her attacks wouldn¡¯t work against Macoco. Yes, this was the first time that Necoco was seriously fighting against Macoco. And so this battle would be completely different from the times that they gathered together as friends and played. While Macoco still had a relaxed expression, for a second when being kicked, she had looked at Necoco with the sharp expression of a warrior. She had seen this expression on her aunt in videos many times, but when it was directed at her, Necoco felt like her aunt could see right through her. Had all of the players felt like this when being defeated by her aunt¡­? For some, that might have been enough to lose the will to fight¡­ But Necoco was different. Respect and fear¡­and the will to fight! Even though there had been a conflict deep within, the fire was still burning inside of her! ¡°Necoco, come out. If you don¡¯t¡­I¡¯ll just target a different player!¡± Macoco turned around and started to dash. If you were really strong, there was no shame in showing your back to an enemy. When a weak person did it, it meant they were running away. But when you were strong, it just meant you were allowing your enemy to escape. ¡°I won¡¯t let you do that, aunt! I promised everyone that I would stop you here!¡± The fact that Kyuji had run away made their strategy clear to Macoco. And so telling her didn¡¯t change anything. Still, she shouted it as a way of reminding herself about what needed to be done! ¡°Just how much stronger has my little niece become? Well, I still won¡¯t go easy on you.¡± Macoco said with a slight smile. However, her eyes were not smiling. CH 219 Data.209 ¨C Another Perspective: Romance and Reality During the same time that Necoco and Macoco had bumped into each other¡­ ¡°Giant Star! Giant Swiiiing!!¡± Anne was swinging her enlarged iron ball and knocking down buildings. By flattening the ground around her, she would smoke out the small enemies that scampered around¡­ ¡°Bitz Arrow Twinshot!¡± The bolts shot through the air like thunder and grazed Anne¡¯s body. Achile Alstar had gotten past her Giant Star, and she scattered crossbow bolts as she tried to get closer to Anne. In spite of the youthful face and small frame, there was a smoothness to her movements. She was clearly used to fighting¡­! ¡°Gemini Stars!¡± Gemini Stars was a charge attack that created another spiked iron ball on the other side of her chain. So while it was only for a limited time, Anne was able to wield two iron balls. In other words, twice the attack ability¡­ Well, not quite. Though the new iron ball could use skills, it could not use charge attacks. ¡°Shine Star!¡± While pulling her main iron ball back, she used a skill on the second ball in order to block the bolts. The iron ball itself was quite large even without skills, and so while it didn¡¯t cover her entirely, it was more than enough to guard her. The problem was that it was too heavy for precise movements. Also, the person she was fighting, Achile, happened to be a player that was good with tight turns¡­! ¡°I got this! Bitz Arrow ¨C Zero Shot!¡± Zero Shot was a skill that was similar to In Fight Arrow with more peaky features. In exchange for having nearly zero range, it raised the power of the arrow greatly. At the same time, it had the special effect of being able to fuse it with other skills and charge attacks. Not only that, it did not just add to the attack power or effects of the fused skills or charge attacks, but granted special buffs related to the skill as well¡­! This time, Bitz Arrow had been fused with Zero Shot. It was an enveloped version of Kyuji¡¯s skill, Thunder Arrow. Blitz Arrow prioritized speed over power, and so it moved just like lightning. Even if it wasn¡¯t on the same level as Sky Tear, most people would not be able to follow it with their eyes. And by fusing it with Zero Shot, a speed buff was added. Achile was originally a rear guard, and had low durability. If she was hit by someone like Anne, who was all about power, she would not get out lightly. And so she raised her speed in order to dodge the iron balls, and get up close. Because Anne was not good when it came to close quarters combat! ¡°Tsk¡­! Chain Punch!¡± If she couldn¡¯t guard herself with the two iron balls, that just left the chain¡­! Chain Punch was a skill where you wrapped the chain around your fist and punched the enemy. But it was mostly a joke skill, both in terms of appearance and effect. It did not do much damage, and was not enough to block Achile¡¯s attacks¡­! In the end, Anne was hit by Zero Shot and went flying into the wall of a building! ¡°Grrr¡­! The buildings have already been fixed¡­!¡± She had knocked them down with Giant Star, and yet they were back as if nothing had happened..! Yes, in the Undead Town, the buildings were reconstructed no matter how many times you destroyed them. From the mist to the obstacles. This really was a town that was suited for assassins. ¡°I¡¯ve been blessed with a rare chance to fight Macoco, a person virtual occult maniacs look up to! I can¡¯t lose here without being able to do anything¡­!¡± ¡°What!? You know Macoco too!?¡± Achile chased after Anne, but stopped before unleashing a follow up attack. ¡°N-no, I don¡¯t know her personally! I¡¯m just a fan!¡± ¡°And uh¡­what¡¯s this virtual occult?¡± ¡°Oh, that!¡± In spite of them being in the middle of a fight, Anne started to explain to her about the virtual occult. At the same time, she talked about the AUO incident. To put it simply, she liked Macoco because she was the only person who might know something about an unexplained incident, and because she was so skilled at the game that people thought she was a Virtualien. ¡°I see, that¡¯s why. People think about the incident like that¡­ Well, Macoco doesn¡¯t like talking about it, so I didn¡¯t know¡­ Well, that fight¡­ Hehehe¡­¡± Achile started muttering to herself. Perhaps she was happy about something, as her body swayed back and forth. Well, she tended to do that a lot, and was often restless. While she looked like a pro when she was playing, she talked and acted like someone who was a beginner. Like a country bumpkin who had just come out to the city¡­ Anne thought she now understood why Necoco had called Achile a ¡®strange girl.¡¯ At the same time, she felt her occultic soul being stirred¡­something was happening to her. ¡°Um! I think we should continue fighting then!¡± She would not be able to concentrate if this continued¡­ And so she had to seal her occultic soul and ask Achile to resume fighting. She could not ambush someone who had listened to her speak. However, Achile said something very surprising. ¡°You said that you feel a sense of romance in the occult, yes? I believe it is a curiosity towards the unknown.¡± ¡°E-exactly!¡± ¡°But what if tomorrow, you found out what someone, who was unknown, really was. And they talked to you as a neighbor as if nothing happened¡­ Could you still love them?¡± ¡°¡­! Do you mean¡­!¡± Dogooooo!!! Anne¡¯s words were interrupted by the sounds of a building being destroyed! Pieces of the structure went flying with a cloud of smoke¡­ And then the person who appeared from within was¡­! ¡°Oh? Now isn¡¯t this a great place to be?¡± But she was supposed to be fighting with Necoco. Macoco Strange! CH 220 Data.210 ¨C Another Perspective: Cat God Cat Beckon ¡°Ma-Macoco!?¡± ¡°Ma-Macoco!?¡± Anne and Achile¡¯s voices harmonized. The sudden intrusion. And it was Macoco no less. So their reaction was natural. Not only was she a special person for these two, but she was much stronger¡­ Her sudden appearance changed the situation greatly! ¡°I guess that¡¯s enough talking for now¡­!¡± It was 2 vs 1, and so there was no question about it. Anne had to run away. On the other hand, Achile and Macoco moved to kill Anne together. ¡°Macoco! Together we can¡­¡± ¡°Actually, I was hoping that you¡¯d do something about the enemy that is behind me!¡± Macoco was holding the boomerang in her hand without throwing it, and running. Someone as good as her should have been able to throw it even if she was retreating¡­ But the others quickly understood the reason for this. ¡°Thunder Sky Sever Claws ¨C Dual Claws!¡± The unleashed thunder slash attacks came at Macoco¡­! ¡°Butterfly Boomerang!¡± Every time she swung the boomerang in her hand, blue light flew from the blade. They looked like small butterflies, but they were actually boomerangs made of energy. The dancing boomerangs spun rapidly and gathered around the flying thunderblades like moths to a flame. And then, they covered the blades entirely as if eating them until they were dead¡­! Still, Macoco was refusing to throw her weapon, the boomerang. Butterfly Boomerang was just the unleashing of energy. She would have been able to throw it as soon as the energy was released, meaning she could attack again immediately.. However, she stubbornly kept it in her hand. ¡°Achile! We¡¯ll target the cat!¡± ¡°Ca-cat!? Which cat!?¡± There were three¡­cats here! One was Necoco Strange after changing her race to Nekomata through an effect from Yokai Transform: Nekomata. In this state, your attacks and speed stats were raised, and you could jump in the air twice. Furthermore, you looked more like a cat than usual. The other two were a red cat and a blue cat that were created through Necoco¡¯s Miracle Effect, ¡®Cat God Cat Beckon.¡¯ The red cat was the ¡®Sun Beckoning Cat,¡¯ while the blue one was the ¡®Shadow Banish Cat.¡¯ And they both had their own effects. ¡°The red one! The one with the boomerang stuck to it!¡± Macoco pointed to the red cat. Indeed, there was a boomerang stuck on it. As if being pulled by a magnetic force¡­ Yes, this was the effect of the Sun Beckoning Cat. It pulled in projectiles so they stuck to its body! Not only that, but its pull was so strong, that you would not be able to retrieve it if it was an ordinary skill or charge attack! In other words, the boomerang Macoco was holding now was not the one she used against Kyuji, but a weaker backup. And as long as the Sun Beckoning Cat was there, she could not throw it! ¡°Boomerangs don¡¯t fly that fast, so it¡¯s able to catch it with the flat part of the blade, but it won¡¯t be so easy with bolts! They are too fast, and you can shoot as many as you want, so it doesn¡¯t really matter!¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­!¡± If you don¡¯t catch the boomerang after throwing it, then you can¡¯t move on to the next attack. However, arrows and bolts were infinite. And so wasting one or two or even ten was not a big deal. Even if they were caught, you would not run out and could continue shooting! ¡°Miliardo Arrow Twin Shot!¡± Achile directed her gauntlet crossbows at Necoco and activated the charge attack. As the name implied, it would unleash a million arrows¡­ No, not exactly, but it would seem like it when they came at you like a rushing storm. If Kyuji¡¯s Bow Shower or Arrow Storm were wide area spreading attacks, then Achile¡¯s Miliardo Arrow was focused on one point. While you could only deal damage in a small area, it was much more efficient if you were only attacking a single enemy. The force that they were fired at was also very strong, and so it could also be used to push back at an enemy attack. ¡°Blue Cat!¡± Against this wave of arrows, Necoco put her blue cat forward. The blue cat¡¯s effect was the opposite of the red cat. In other words, it could blow away projectiles! The numerous arrows bounced away as if being repelled by an opposing magnet. Sadly, they only bounced off, and it was not a counter that sent them back to the enemy. On the other hand, it had the power to block a charge attack head on. But in the end, both cats were only effective for intercepting attacks. Usually, you would want to take these two cats and go in for a close quarters attack, but as Miliardo Arrow was too strong, the blue cat could not move forward¡­! And these two were not like Unisons who could move around freely. They were closer to optional drones in shooters. They could not move too far away from Necoco, and Necoco could not move away from them. In other words, as long as the blue cat was being pushed back by the charge attack, Necoco could not move¡­! ¡°I see an opening! Giant Daybreak Star!¡± On the other hand, it also meant that Achile could not move either. Anne started to swing her iron ball, and then she threw it towards Achile! Now she could take her down¡­is what she thought. But the most dangerous player on the field was right there! ¡°Circular Boomerang!¡± The circular boomerang that Macoco was using as a shield transformed so that the blades had jagged teeth, and then it started to spin rapidly! It was like a buzz saw that targeted Anne¡¯s neck¡­! However, she could still guard herself if she immediately deactivated the charge attack and pulled the iron ball back by force! ¡°¡­¡± But Anne did not deactivate the charge attack. It continued to shoot towards the immobile Achile! ¡°I see. Well, you do have guts.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an honor to be praised by you.¡± Anne knew from the beginning that she would be attacked by Macoco. And yet she had prioritized defeating Achile. The reason was simple. Because she knew that Necoco had the ability to face Macoco. When appearing on the battlefield, Macoco had clearly been running away from Necoco. If it was 1 vs 1, she should be able to manage¡­ In that case, Anne thought that it was important for her to do her best and take out any enemy that would get in their way. But Macoco and Achile¡¯s connection was deeper and stronger than expected. If it was 2 vs 2, they would be at a disadvantage, as she and Necoco had not known each other long. And so she had to defeat Achile, even if it meant sacrificing herself¡­! ¡°Arrghhhhh!!¡± The Circular Boomerang cut through Anne¡¯s neck! But Anne was tough! Even when hit in her weak spot, one attack was not enough to sink her! And Macoco knew this. She spun around and swung the other boomerang she was holding! ¡°Beam Blade Boomerang!¡± And then a red blade shot out and slashed Anne¡­! At the same time, Giant Daybreak Star crushed Achile¡­ Or it should have. ¡°It looks like my attack caused you to miss, so that the iron ball hit the ground next to Achile. Also, now that you¡¯ve been killed, your attacks won¡¯t have hitboxes. Even if the after shock hit Achile, it wouldn¡¯t be able to damage¡­¡± Due to the dust in the air from the iron ball, she could not see Achile. However, Anne knew that Macoco was right. She was more than capable of attacking while also keeping track of the iron ball¡¯s trajectory. ¡°You really are an occultic person, Macoco. When listening to Achile talk about you¡­ No, her mere existence assured me of it. Still, we will not lose this battle¡­!¡± As Anne disappeared, the announcement of her death rang. And then¡­came the announcement for Achile¡¯s death. ¡°¡­! That means they died at the same time¡­ Had I read the situation wrong?¡± Macoco muttered as she dodged the burning meteorites that fell from the sky! She had seen this attack before. ¡°To think that there was another person here¡­!¡± ¡°You are a special player. Everyone is focused on you. And so¡­even a player like me has a chance to launch a surprise attack.¡± It had been Satomi who had dealt the final blow to the damaged Achile while they were hidden in the smoke! ¡°According to our plan, I should have attacked Vera. However, since I encountered you by accident, I couldn¡¯t just back away. Or Anne¡¯s efforts would have been wasted¡­!¡± ¡°I knew that you were planning to attack us individually. But now that you¡¯re here¡­ I won¡¯t let you escape, alright?¡± ¡°Yes, I know that. Unison Trinity!¡± Satomi summoned the three Unisons and then attacked Macoco¡­! This wasn¡¯t an action based on emotion. Necoco¡¯s miracle effect had a time limit. And it would be difficult for her to face Macoco once it ran out¡­ However, as long as it was activated, she was more than a threat. And so Satomi had decided that now was the time to take Macoco down. Yes, now that they both were using miracle effects, this was their greatest chance¡­! It was different from Anne, who had believed in Necoco¡¯s strength alone, but this was the answer Satomi came up with when considering their chances of winning! ¡°Now, it¡¯s time to open the zoo. Well, there are some yokai here as well.¡± ¡°Very interesting. I haven¡¯t been to the zoo in a long time. Unfortunately, my crow is not with me!¡± Necoco, Red cat, Blue Cat, Satomi, Gochu, Buffy, Kapaparuto vs Macoco. The 7 vs 1 fight was about to begin! CH 221 Data.211 ¨C Old Bowman, Exorcism Arrow and Talisman ¡°Evil Defeating Talisman Festival¡­!¡± Yuri Jahana, a member of the enemy party, unleashed countless talismans from her hand! It was a good thing that it was her that I encountered after using Warp Arrow¡­! Out of the entire enemy party, she was the least experienced. In fact, she had been so surprised to see me, that her attack had been delayed. Thanks to that, I had enough time to react¡­ That being said, wasn¡¯t this number of talismans excessive? Talismans were categorized as ranged weapons, and so throwing them was normal¡­ But why so many!? Not only that, but they had a ¡®homing¡¯ ability, and there were limits to how much I could run in order to avoid them! ¡°Exorcism Barrier!¡± If I can¡¯t dodge them, I¡¯ll block them! Furthermore¡­! ¡°Demonbane Attack Blade!¡± Since I might not be able to block all of them, I would cancel the attack! Two arrows shot out at once, and the blade that was fixed between them shredded up the cloud of talismans. If I continued to shoot like this, I might be able to reach Yuri! ¡°Rapidfire, Demonbane Attack Blade!¡± ¡°Disaster Prevention Talisman Festival!¡± This time, she connected numerous talismans to create a large shield. The blades of light were stopped by the shield, so they did not reach Yuri. In that case¡­! ¡°Demon Purification Light!¡± A pale, thin laser beam shot out from my bow. What made this skill special¡­was how long it was effective. You would not do much damage from hitting the target a little, but if you continued to hit it with the laser, then the overall power was comparable to a charge attack¡­I think! I haven¡¯t actually used this skill for that long, so I didn¡¯t know. In the first place, using a laser was very different from shooting arrows, and it was actually quite difficult to keep it fixed on the target¡­ That being said, this time, Yuri was staying still, and so I was able to hit her. The talismans that guarded her started to burn away, and then the laser got through! And then it burned Yuri, who was behind them¡­! ¡°Gah¡­!¡± Yuri abandoned her shield and began to move. ¡°Divine Talisman Festival!¡± This¡­was a skill that let her move by riding on numerous talismans that slid across the ground! ¡°Seal Demon Bind!¡± A magic triangle would appear where the arrow landed, and you could trap an enemy inside. So I just had to set one in front of her and she would fall right in. Because the faster you moved, the harder it was to change direction. ¡°Woah¡­! Retreat, retreat¡­!¡± Surprisingly, the sliding talismans suddenly started to move backwards. By doing this, you could fall back while still facing the enemy. It was certainly a useful skill¡­! ¡°Yes, you¡¯re too strong an enemy for me, old man¡­ But I will not give up¡­! Great Rain Dance Talisman Festival!¡± And with that, she threw numerous talismans into the air. They gathered together and formed a giant cloud! Judging by the name, it was quite obvious what would happen next¡­ She was a priestess who used talismans, so I had also used exorcism bow skills, but now I had no choice but to rely on charge attacks! ¡°Thunder Arrow Tempest!¡± And so the rain of talismans clashed with the storm of arrows¡­! And the winner was¡­my arrows! But it wasn¡¯t enough, and I dealt a followup attack without pause! ¡°Big Inferno Arrow!¡± ¡°Uh, ah¡­! Disaster Prevention Talisman Festival! Five layers!¡± But five layers of talisman shields was not going to be enough to stop a giant, burning arrow. And so Yuri was pierced by the arrow, and a great chunk of HP fell away¡­! As for the reason that she didn¡¯t die, was it because the shield had taken some of the damage, or was it her armor¡­? In any case, I just had to remain calm and deal the final blow. I fired off a few more skills until Yuri¡¯s HP dropped to 0. ¡°Sorry, everyone¡­ You told me to run away from him, but even that was too hard for me¡­!¡± They were treating me like some dangerous person¡­! I had seen Macoco as a monster player, but perhaps I was viewed in a similar way by other parties¡­ No, no. I¡¯m not that good at the game. I can¡¯t get delusional. But if we wanted to beat Macoco, perhaps I had to make those delusions a reality? Modesty was not going to be very useful at this point¡­! ¡°Maybe I should be delusional! Like how they say that if you lie a hundred times, then it will become true¡­!¡± ¡­No, that didn¡¯t seem right? Nevermind! In other words, I just needed to make my ideals a reality! I defeated one player now, so I can go and help Necoco! ¡°Now that I think about it, is Garbow alright¡­?¡± I had no idea what happened to them after he dragged Crowkus Jr. into the river. Unisons were optional when it came to putting them in your party. And so they weren¡¯t included in the final number when deciding which party won a battle. So if the entire party died except for the Unison, that party would still lose. However, they also had high combat ability, and the presence of a Unison could be the deciding factor in a battle. And there should be an announcement when they die, so I suppose Garbow was still fine¡­ But I was getting worried. But there was no guarantee that I would be able to find him if I went looking. And so I would just have to hope that he would unite with us while we fought against Macoco. After he defeated Crowkus Jr., that is¡­ CH 222 Data.212 ¨C Old Bowman, Turtle, Crow, Alligator and¡­ ¡°Why am I the only one who can¡¯t find the enemy¡­¡± Vera Velvet of AUOratorio was riding her Unison, Mannen II, through the wide open street. ¡°It¡¯s already been announced that Yuri and Achile have died. It¡¯s past the midway point of the battle, and yet I haven¡¯t encountered anyone yet¡­¡± Why was that¡­ She wondered. And Vera had an idea. After all, moving was very inconvenient for her. Mannen II was a giant monster called a Fortress Turtle, and so it was limited in terms of what roads it could walk through. And so even if she heard something, she could not always head in that direction. Sometimes, she just destroyed the buildings in order to make a path, but then the buildings would rebuild themselves while they were walking, and they would get stuck inside. And so she would have to use her cannons in order to get out, and she would take damage from the explosion. ¡°And if I destroy too many buildings, I might hit my comrades and injure myself. In the end, I have no choice but to move slowly¡­ No, wait! I know! If moving is a pain, then I should just stay still!¡± Vera ordered Mannen II to stop right in the middle of the road. And then she quietly waited. ¡°If it¡¯s a fortress, it should act like a fortress! As long as Macoco is still left, there¡¯s no need to worry! We¡¯ll just stay right here!¡± Vera was quite satisfied with her strategy. However, Vera also had a personality that meant she didn¡¯t like staying still.. ¡°This is¡­getting very boring¡­ In the first place, is it really right to stay still during a battle with a 30 minute time limit? Right now, there are two of us against three of them, so we would lose once time is up¡­ But Macoco is strong enough to kill all three of them.. Ah, what should I do? Maybe I should move more boldly.¡± Vera became restless. It was just a matter of time before she started to move¡­ But then, two dark shadows appeared in front of Mannen II. ¡°That¡¯s¡­Junior and the old man¡¯s alligator! I¡¯m surprised that both Unisons are still alive! alright, I¡¯ll kill the alligator so that Junior can return to Macoco!¡± And so that was the end of her plan to stay still! Vera attacked Garbow! ¡°It looks like a machine-type! Eat this! Armor Piercing Bullet!¡± The cannons that were mounted on Mannen II¡¯s shell fired, unleashing shell-shaped cannon balls! These were specialized in piercing armor, and would be particularly effective against enemies with the machine attribute¡­! ¡°Big Inferno Arrow!¡± Just then, a giant arrow came flying from the opposite side and hit the cannonball, canceling out the attack! ¡°Wh-what the!? ¡­But there is only one archer in this field!¡± As she answered her own question, the person who appeared in front of her was Garbow¡¯s true partner. Kyuji! ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô While I should be prioritizing supporting Necoco, I couldn¡¯t just ignore my buddy when he was in trouble. Besides, this was Vera Velvet. The last member of the enemy party, along with Macoco. And I knew that Necoco and Satomi were still alive. It had been announced that Satomi had defeated Achile. I wasn¡¯t sure what he was doing after that¡­but he had likely gone to help Necoco. Because there was no one else for him to fight, since he wasn¡¯t fighting Vera. And so I would defeat Vera for him! ¡°Let¡¯s go, Garbow!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± She was hiding inside of the shell of Mannen II, which boasted high defense ability. In that case, Armageddon Arrow was the only way to break through. The problem was, she also knew this. And Armageddon Arrow was not very fast. Not only would she be able to use a charge attack to reduce the damage, she would even be able to dodge it. However, on this field, Mannen II could not move freely. In other words, it would be difficult to move quickly and dodge the arrow. So what I needed to be careful of was the use of powerful charge attacks or Miracle Effects to cancel it out¡­! ¡°Miracle Effect! Unison Soul!¡± ¡°Huh!?¡± A Miracle Effect already¡­! What effect is it¡­ ¡°Golden Mannen II!¡± ¡°Woah¡­!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but raise my voice¡­! Mannen II was now a shiny gold! Well, it was a pretty typical way of showing that something had become stronger, but this was a VR game. And so it was a little overwhelming to see a giant mass of gold shining like that¡­! It was no wonder that people saw gold as so valuable during ancient times¡­! There was something magical and compelling about gold! ¡°I¡¯ll tell you something before you die! This Miracle Effect¡¯s effect is¡­status enhance! Nothing more and nothing less! I just become stronger! I don¡¯t need to do anything like increase the number of Unisons! I prefer to trust the one I have!¡± Quality over quantity¡­ I see. So she was the opposite of Satomi. However, I was bad at handling multiple enemies at once, so I was actually grateful for this¡­! CH 223 Data.213 ¨C Old Bowman, Machine Battle ¡°Eat this! Guided Armor Piercing Bullet!¡± A part of Mannen¡¯s shell opened up, and a small missile-like shell was fired. ¡°Gatling Thunder Arrow!¡± The weakness of attacks that involved numerous projectiles was that each shot was fairly weak. And so if I also shot a lot of arrows and aimed carefully, I should be able to cancel the attack¡­! ¡°No, it¡¯s hard! This shell¡­!¡± Well, it was a turtle¡¯s shell, after all.. But the biggest reason was the Miracle Effect, Unison Soul.¡¯ When your status rose significantly, your skills and charge attacks would also become stronger¡­! ¡°Garbow! Tentacle Laser!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± And then part of Garbow¡¯s armor opened up, and eight tentacle-type cannons came out and unleashed thin, red lasers at the missiles. Tentacle Laser was the weapon charge attack of the newly equipped Octopus Cannon, and it had high piercing ability. It also had the special effect of being controllable after Garbow unleashed them. There was no better charge attack to deal with numerous lasers coming at you! ¡ô Octopus Cannon Type: Water attribute Attack: 100 Defense: 25 Magic Defense: 25 Weapon charge attack: Tentacle Laser It also raised your durability a little, which was nice. In fact, a Unison¡¯s equipment was not always reflected in their appearance, and there were times when they only showed when a skill or charge attack was being activated. Garbow¡¯s weapon, ¡®Manbow¡¯ was not summoned at all times, and so it was usually stored away. Because of this, it was more difficult to destroy a Unison¡¯s equipment. Well, it would be too much to have to think about their equipment, as Unisons often moved around on their own¡­ So I was grateful for that. ¡°I¡¯m not done yet! Now it¡¯s time for the Turtle Beam! So, Ultra Electromagnetic Turtle Spin!¡± Once again, Mannen II¡¯s shell opened up, and the sub-cannons within unleashed their beam. There were eight sub-cannons, and they were positioned so that they could fire in every direction. Furthermore, Mannen began to spin while unleashing bolts of lightning. And then the beams began to rotate as well! And these weren¡¯t the kind of beams that shot once, but they lingered. As the turtle spinned, the beams lashed around like whips and tore down the buildings as if they were heavy. I guess they were beam whips¡­! ¡°And here¡¯s another whip for good measure!¡± Vera¡¯s head popped out from the top of Mannen¡¯s shell. It was like she was in a tank¡­ ¡°Wild Tiger Whip!¡± The whip that was enveloped in a giant tiger effect, began to lash around in the air and then shoot towards me! I see. Like this, I had no idea from which direction I would be attacked. However¡­! ¡°From a quickdraw to¡­Inferno In Fight Arrow!¡± In the end, the timing for an attack came straight at me! And so I quickly fired off arrows at it, changing the course of the whip. Her attack was likely a charge attack. It was difficult to cancel those, even with a fused skill. And so I would just change its trajectory¡­! ¡°Sh-shooting a whip, eh? You really are dexterous¡­¡± Vera was a little stunned. Now this was my chance! No matter how strong your Unison was, it was over if the Unison Master was defeated! ¡°Woah, he saw me! Good bye then!¡± ¡°What!?¡± She disappeared into the Mannen II again with shocking speed¡­ I suppose I had to defeat the Mannen II after all. That being said, I still haven¡¯t found an opening to unleash Armageddon Arrow! ¡°I can¡¯t focus on attacking unless it stops spinning¡­! Garbow. Blue Ocean Sphere!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± With this enhanced mobility, I had Garbow move close to Mannen II and use high-power, close range skills to destroy the cannons! I would still save Kurokogairu. In this battlefield filled with beams and thunder, they would be wiped out easily. ¡°Oh! Are you sure you want to use that? Lightning goes through water, so you are making your hitboxes bigger!¡± So, she knew Garbow¡¯s weakness and was going to envelop Mannen II in thunder¡­ Like this, if Garbow charged into them, they would both take damage. No. Due to the difference in durability, Garbow might even die from it. However, that was only if it was the old Garbow! ¡°Garbow. Crimson Death Roll!¡± ¡°What!? You¡¯re still going to charge!? That is Unison abuse!¡± ¡°Not really!¡± ¡°Hmm!? What is that horn!?¡± Yes, right now, the horn of a unicorn was growing from Garbow¡¯s head! This was the fifth and last of the new gear, Earth Unicorn Horn! ¡ô Earth Unicorn Horn Type: General purpose Attack: 15 Defense: 15 Magic Defense: 15 Speed: 15 Weapon Skill: Mystic Lightning Rod Mystic Lightning Rod Reduces lightning damage by 50%. Automatic activation. It was a way of dealing with Garbow¡¯s weakness to lightning, so the other features were not important. It wasn¡¯t a weapon, or armor. It was like an accessory, but when added up, it raised your numbers by 75, which was rather impressive. And so by equipping this, Garbow¡¯s weakness was¡­not exactly overcome. Garbow had both the water and machine attributes, and both were weak to lightning. So even if you could reduce the damage by 50%, he was still weak against it compared to most monsters. Especially since he had low magic defense, he could not be hit by lightning magic. However, Mannen II dealt physical attacks. So even if lightning was a weakness, it should be reduced to just a reasonable amount of damage¡­! Right now, the spinning turtle clashed with the alligator! They were machine-type Unisons with a lot of weapons. And so the sounds of metal hitting against metal were so loud that you wanted to cover your ears. For a few seconds, sparks flew and there were explosions. In the end¡­neither took any lethal damage. However, several of Mannen II¡¯s cannons had been destroyed, and it could no longer unleash its beams. Even the caterpillar parts were damaged, so its mobility should be affected. And since both were vital for Fortress Turtles, it was probably possible to heal them with items. But it was enough to stop its movement temporarily. ¡°Tsk¡­! A cute girl is inside, so you shouldn¡¯t be so rough¡­ Oh, well¡­ I¡¯ll heal you now, Mannen II! Huh? Where did that old man go¡­ AH!?¡± ¡°Armageddon Arrow!¡± I didn¡¯t understand how, but Vera could see what was happening outside of Mannen II. And so, she was always able to comment on what I was doing. But due to the vicious vibrations from Garbow¡¯s charging, she was unable to keep track of me for a moment. And so she had not noticed that I moved in, and she missed her time to escape. ¡°I can¡¯t miss at this distance. And so I¡¯ll hit you by shooting right through your Unison!¡± CH 224 Data.214 ¨C Old Bowman, The Real¡­ No matter how strong Mannen¡¯s defense ability was, it took some damage to its HP and shell during the earlier crash with Garbow, and so it could not withstand Armageddon Arrow. And I had shot the arrow so that it went through the center of the fortress-like shell. It wasn¡¯t that I knew Vera¡¯s precise location, but if Mannen¡¯s insides were similar to a tank in structure, then Vera should be there¡­! First, Mannen¡¯s HP was carved away completely, and its body disappeared. And then Vera appeared from within the fading light. But her body was also fading¡­! ¡°You two are a better combination in spite of you not being a Unison Master¡­ Well done! I must admit my defeat! Still, I did everything that I could¡­! It was delivered just fine¡­!¡± What? What did she do¡­? She said that it was delivered, but I hadn¡¯t seen her use the cannons to launch anything¡­ As I thought about this, an announcement rang in my head. Satomi had been killed by Macoco. At the same time, there was the loud sound of an explosion, and buildings being destroyed¡­it was close by! ¡°Macoco is just like you, and usually plays solo. Before she met me in a different game, she just cooperated with NPCs and defeated strong enemies. And so I can say this¡­the fight has only just begun! You¡¯ll see the real Macoco Strange come out now¡­!¡± And then Vera disappeared completely. At the same time, the buildings on the street crashed down, and something flowed in with the bricks and rubble. One of them was Necoco Strange, who was covered in wounds. And the other was¡­ Macoco Strange, who had a pink aura around her¡­! And in her hand, she held a giant, black boomerang! I believe it was called Curse of Wing NEXT¡­! It was Crowkus Jr. after being transformed! In other words, Crowkus Jr. had survived Garbow¡¯s underwater attacks and returned to the surface to reunite with its master¡­! So monster players had monster Unisons¡­! Vera must have been talking about Crowkus Jr. then. Garbow had been chasing Crowkus the whole time, but Vera got in the way. And then I helped him¡­ If that was how things went, then it wouldn¡¯t have been impossible for me to have encountered Crowkus Jr. and attacked it. It was just a few second¡¯s difference. The shifting of the mist¡­ And that difference had been enough to allow Macoco and Crowkus. Jr to reunite! It was like giving an ogre its club¡­! And while I felt quite intimidated by her presence, I had to calm myself and figure out what that aura was! ¡°Necoco! What effect does that aura have?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Necoco!¡± ¡°¡­Huh!? O-old man!? Since when were you here!?¡± ¡°A while ago! In fact, you¡¯re the one that came here¡­¡± Her concentration was so heightened that she couldn¡¯t even hear me at first¡­ That was how powerful the enemy she was facing was. This might be the moment where I had to take the lead. ¡°That pink aura is from a Miracle Effect. It¡¯s called Special Sakura Butterfly! It raises your status and gives you the ability to fly. Also¡­it creates energy boomerangs!¡± ¡°In other words, she¡¯ll have more than three of them¡­¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± ¡°That¡¯s insane¡­ I have a feeling that your aunt is no longer human.¡± Ah, I shouldn¡¯t say such things¡­ There was no malice behind it, but it just spilled out from fear. But I could have chosen my words more carefully¡­ ¡°Right? That¡¯s why she is so mysterious¡­and why I look up to her. Someone my age can¡¯t help but get excited.¡± She was the age where you dreamed of being someone special who could do incredible things. And there was someone ¡®real¡¯ who was like that close by. It was no wonder she looked up to her aunt and strived to be like her. Though, it wasn¡¯t like Necoco wanted to be an exact copy either. After all, they had completely different weapons, and their combat style was also different. Necoco wanted to catch up, but in her own style. As an older person, I wanted to encourage her¡­but being older also meant there was a reality that only I could see. ¡°Blossom Boomerang!¡± A pink boomerang appeared and swayed ominously. But the boomerang itself was not that strong. However, having more of them meant more attacks. And it also meant she had more skills at her disposal. In the end, I would not be able to keep up, and would get crushed¡­! ¡°Inferno Arrow Tempest!¡± I had to be the first to act. If I was forced into reacting to every attack, I would be overwhelmed by decision making. I learned that during the Charin fight¡­! ¡°Galaxy Cyclone!¡± The giant black boomerang was thrown and began to spin rapidly! It created a huge tornado, sucking in and nullifying all of my arrows. Necoco had been using Invisible Catwalk to vanish in order to get close to Macoco, but the wind killed her speed, and the effect was gone. This ambush had ended in failure¡­! ¡°Feilong Boomerang!¡± This time it was a slithering boomerang that was thrown. The way that it slithered in the air certainly reminded me of a long, easter dragon, but ¡®Feilong¡¯ also had a different meaning. This boomerang left a trail behind it, and this trail also dealt damage. And it would continue to stay there for a fixed amount of time. So not only did they get in the way of my attacks, but they affected Necoco¡¯s mobility¡­! A long body that ruled the sky¡­ The Feilong! As an adult, I could see the reality. Necoco and I¡­could not win against Macoco. CH 225 Data.215 ¨C Old Bowman, Cannot Win So many skills, charge attacks, and strategies would not work here. Macoco would use her experience and instincts to reflexively deal with all manner of attacks¡­! However, it was difficult for me to continue to rely on my reflexes. Eventually, I would not be able to keep up with the much younger Macoco and Necoco¡­ I had to find some way to turn the tide. But Macoco¡¯s attacks wouldn¡¯t even give me time to think¡­! If this continued¡­ ¡°Not yet! Don¡¯t give up hope, old man!¡± ¡°¡­Of course!¡± Necoco was more calm than I thought. Well, it wasn¡¯t so much calmness, but a kind of ultra focused state¡­ You could say that she was ¡®in the zone.¡¯ Right now, there was no fear or adoration towards Macoco. Everything was about defeating the powerful enemy that stood in her way! ¡°I¡¯m not going to hold you back!¡± That¡¯s right¡­! The battle was going in the direction that we had predicted. First, we would defeat the other players, and then take on Macoco with two players or more¡­ That¡¯s what we were doing now! It was 2 vs 1¡­! The only surprise was not being able to get rid of Crowkus Jr., but time would fix that. After all, this boomerang effect was from a combination charge attack. And those always had time limits¡­ In other words, the mere fact that time was passing without either of us being hit, was in itself, a great counter attack. In any case, if we could only survive, that most dangerous black boomerang would disappear¡­! And so I told myself that I just had to get through this part. And like this, I supported my spirit that was breaking. Not yet¡­ The fight wasn¡¯t over yet¡­! Even if these skills, charge attacks, and strategies weren¡¯t effective, I would use them to buy a little more time! I couldn¡¯t give up when Necoco hadn¡¯t! That would look bad¡­! Old men always wanted to look their best around youngsters¡­! This battle of surviving by sheer will. How many seconds, minutes, did it last? But the black boomerang¡­would not disappear! Surely, it was supposed to disappear¡­!? Was it just that the effect lasted for a very long time¡­ Tsk¡­ I wouldn¡¯t be able to attack back unless her amount of moves decreased¡­ ¡°Shenron Boomerang!¡± ¡°¡­! Old man!!¡± ¡°Ah¡­!¡± Wanting the black boomerang to disappear so much had caused me to focus on it and little else. And now, a boomerang with the aura of a golden dragon was so close to me that I would not be able to dodge it. It was over¡­ ¡°I¡¯m Arrow!¡± I turned into an arrow and shot high up into the air! While Shenron Boomerang scratched my body, as I was also enveloped by a charge attack, it was not a lethal wound. However, since it had been an emergency evacuation, I didn¡¯t know where I was going¡­! Not only did I¡¯m Arrow make my entire body spin rapidly, but it was very difficult to tell where I was and adjust my trajectory¡­! Furthermore, since the field was covered in mist, I could barely see. Not that it would have mattered much, as this was my first time on this map, and so I didn¡¯t even remember the terrain well. But it made everything a lot more difficult. Still, I wanted to fall as close to my original spot as possible! I couldn¡¯t leave Necoco there alone¡­! Gann! Gari-gari-gari-gari¡­! What? I was falling while scraping against something hard¡­? Eventually, my rotation slowed down, and I was able to see my surroundings. This was¡­ ¡°I¡¯m on the central clock tower¡­!¡± So the clock tower had stopped I¡¯m Arrow! The clock tower was like the symbol of this map, and so it was more durable than the other buildings. Thanks to this, I wasn¡¯t as far away from Necoco as I feared! Now I should be able to¡­! ¡°What!?¡± It appeared while slicing through the mist. The black boomerang that I had been so concerned with was now even bigger as it shot towards me. This must be a ¡®Big¡¯ type charge attack, much like Big Arrow. They had short cooldown times and were powerful. But more than anything, their appearance was overpowering¡­ And so the enemy would always recoil. Just like I was doing now¡­! This was bad. It was those times where your mind moved rapidly right before death¡­! I should not be thinking about pointless things now, but figure out a way to avoid death. But I couldn¡¯t think of anything¡­! I¡¯m Arrow¡¯s effect had ended. I was falling. As for Warp Arrow or Floating Cloud Herd, skills that would help my mobility, I had used them during the fight with Macoco. In that case, I would use Whirlwind to make myself lighter, and the Wind Blast to push my body¡­! It was no use¡­! The giant boomerang was creating wind currents of its own! Making my body lighter would just suck me in¡­! As for a charge attack that could cancel it¡­I had none! Even if I used a similar skill like Big Arrow, hers was made with a combined charge attack, which meant it was much stronger. The only thing I had that could match it was Southern Cross Ballista, but I couldn¡¯t use that while falling in the air! The only thing I could use now was¡­! ¡°Inferno Arrow!¡± Hit the boomerang with exploding arrows and use the blast to move even a little¡­! Compared to death, the explosions were nothing. But my body barely even moved away from the blast¡­! I had only delayed my death by a fraction of a second at best! The blade of the boomerang was right in front of me¡­ Just then, the boomerang suddenly stopped. At the same time, Charin¡¯s voice echoed through the field. ¡®Time up! As 30 minutes have passed, the victor will be decided by how many players remain! AURatoria, 1! Ghost Guild, 2! And so Ghost Guild wins-nyon! Congratulations on making it to the final battle-nyon!¡¯ It ended in a surprising way. CH 226 Data.216 ¨C Old Bowman, Forget Time The battles were 30 minutes¡­ The battle had been so ferocious that I had forgotten all about that rule. Well, even before the battle, it wasn¡¯t something I put much thought into. After all, none of our battles, or the others we watched, had ever continued until the time limit. And yet, it was because of this rule that we won. The great black boomerang would have shredded the clock tower that even I¡¯m Arrow couldn¡¯t scratch, and I would have been cleaved into two. Just a few seconds more¡­ No, just a fraction of a second longer, and we would have lost the battle¡­ If I had died, then the remaining players would be 1 vs 1. And then it would be sudden death, where the battle would continue until one player died. If that happened¡­then the result would be obvious. ¡°While we did win, it doesn¡¯t really feel like it¡­¡± When the battle ended, so did my fall. I was now floating lightly in the air. I would have to wait for Charin¡¯s warp in this state. Just floating here¡­ ¡®Now, the surviving players will be warped back to the waiting area!¡¯ After we were warped back to the waiting area, we were greeted by the passionate cheers of the spectators. However, I couldn¡¯t rejoice in the same way as previous battles. But since it would be rude to ignore them, I smiled back. We were just saved by the rules of the game¡­ That was my conclusion. As players, we weren¡¯t anywhere near her level¡­ Well, that was going too far. But there was clearly a difference in ability. If it was 1 vs 1, I wouldn¡¯t win even if I fought her 100 times. But a win is a win, and it was a rule that was in place from the beginning. So this was no different from real sports. So there was no need for me to feel so small¡­ Though, that didn¡¯t change the fact that I felt conflicted about it. Could I really go into the final battle in this state¡­? ¡°Ah, there you are. Hey, Necoco! Hey, old man!¡± The person who was calling to us was¡­Macoco Strange! I had assumed she was a cool and stoic person, so I didn¡¯t think she would meet us as soon as the battle was over¡­! ¡°Wh-what did she want¡­¡± ¡°Ah, it sounds kind of strange when I say it out loud, but it¡¯s been a while since I enjoyed playing so much that I forgot about the time.¡± ¡°Ah, huh¡­¡± She seemed very different all of a sudden¡­ She used to have this enlightened look about her, and had been mostly serious during the battle. But now she was laughing. It wasn¡¯t the laugh of a dry, mysterious woman, but of a carefree girl. ¡°Had I known that there was so little time left, I would have attacked with fewer breaks in between and killed you all.¡± She said it so nonchalantly¡­! ¡°But I doubt that I would have been able to remember. It was so fun fighting you both, and you kept me pretty busy.¡± ¡°You¡¯re being modest¡­ You looked completely composed the entire time.¡± ¡°Really? Well, I¡¯m not all-powerful, so I was actually quite frantic, you know? I think that my facial muscles have slackened recently, so it just doesn¡¯t show on my face.¡± ¡°¡­Really?¡± ¡°Really, really. I don¡¯t like having to deal with you when you disappear, Necoco. While I can still sense your presence a little, it¡¯s scary when you can¡¯t see your enemy. Also, I was surprised with your shooting sensibilities, old man. Most players would start missing once I apply pressure with my boomerangs. But your accuracy remained on point. Some people say that I¡¯m a monster, but I think that if anyone is a monster, it¡¯s you.¡± ¡°Ahaha. Hehehe¡­¡± I had no idea if she was joking or¡­ And so I didn¡¯t know how to respond¡­! But even if she was joking slightly, I didn¡¯t think she was lying. She clearly felt threatened by Necoco¡¯s invisibility, and my shooting ability as well. Perhaps we had been pushing back more than we thought. Well, she still pushed and punished us even more¡­ In any case, my impression of Macoco Strange had changed. She too was just someone who liked games. She just happened to also be very good, and loved boomerangs. ¡°Aunt!¡± ¡°What!?¡± ¡°What!?¡± Necoco had been silent up until now, but she suddenly raised her voice. And so both Macoco and I were surprised. ¡°Wh-what is it, Necoco?¡± ¡°I¡­what did you think of my playing?¡± ¡°I was surprised. You¡¯ve improved a lot since the last time we played together. I think you¡¯re actually better than me when it comes to making quick decisions?¡± ¡°Re-really!?¡± ¡°¡­Sorry, I was exaggerating a little.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°I do wish that I could say that. But, it would be rude to twist the truth as well¡­so I take it back. It¡¯s true that you¡¯ve grown, but you haven¡¯t caught up to me yet. You need more experience.¡± Well, that was no surprise¡­ The two of us were still losing. And I¡¯m sure that Necoco knew this as well. Still, she seemed a little shocked to hear it so bluntly. And she looked a little depressed. Macoco became frantic when she noticed this. This aunt and niece were¡­pretty awkward. ¡°No, I should not be saying such things when I¡¯m the loser here! That was just my personal opinion. Besides, you proved that you have the better party. So have more confidence¡­okay?¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± But saying we had a great party was not that encouraging for Necoco. We had won in spite of being weaker than her. It was because of the whole party and the rules that we were saved. In a way, Necoco¡¯s plan to hold back Macoco had failed. After all, both Anne and Satomi had been killed¡­ Now that I had heard what Macoco had to say, I was feeling better about having won, but Necoco felt differently. But it was no good for her to be so gloomy now. After all, we had to¡­ ¡°Hmph. There¡¯s no reason to be so sad just because you lost to me. Of course, I am stronger than you! You can¡¯t beat me so easily!¡± The aunt¡­was saying something again¡­! ¡°If I was someone who you could catch up to with just a little effort, then you wouldn¡¯t have looked up to me in the first place, would you? Look¡­it¡¯s awkward for me to say this, but¡­.you look up to me because I¡¯m so much stronger¡­¡± ¡°¡­Hehehe, that¡¯s right. You¡¯re not the kind of person that would lose to someone like me!¡± ¡°Ye-yes! I won¡¯t lose!¡± ¡°But didn¡¯t you know? There are other reasons that I look up to you as well.¡± ¡°Oh? Like what?¡± ¡°Like that!¡± Necoco said as she flung her arms around her aunt. Macoco hugged her back, but she had a puzzled expression. Well¡­this was a relief, at least. Perhaps it was because the person in front of me was not as special as you¡¯d think after hearing how they talked about her in the virtual occult. Those kinds of rumors really were unreliable¡­ ¡°Were you surprised? That¡¯s the real Macoco.¡± ¡°Wh-who said that!? Where did that voice¡­¡± ¡°Below! Look down!¡± ¡°Woah!?¡± When I looked down, I saw Vera Velvet. While she was quite short, it was quite rude to not notice her at all¡­ ¡°Old man¡­! You¡¯re not as dense as I thought!¡± Vera gave me a thumbs up. She seemed very happy for some reason. And since she complimented me, I wouldn¡¯t apologize. ¡°So, what do you mean that¡¯s the real Macoco¡­¡± ¡°Macoco was never as cool as some think. She was more loud and cute. However, after the AUO incident, she stopped playing games for a while and became closed off¡­ She seems cheerful now, but up until the fight, she looked like she had left her heart somewhere far away.¡± ¡°And so she¡¯s back to her old self now?¡± ¡°It looks that way. I haven¡¯t seen Macoco laugh like this in a long time! The battle with you two must have been very fun for her! Wounds from a game can only be healed with a game!¡± As for me, I hadn¡¯t been able to enjoy it like that. But I didn¡¯t mind hearing that someone else had fun. If anything, I should feel proud? But leaving that aside, something smelled occultic¡­ What was this about being hurt after the AUO incident¡­? ¡°¡­It¡¯s better if you don¡¯t ask, old man.¡± ¡°I-I didn¡¯t say anything.¡± ¡°It¡¯s on your face! But you have another battle to fight, so you shouldn¡¯t be thinking about other things! Take the win first! The Ghost Guild must win! I¡¯ll be rooting for you!¡± Vera said what she wanted to and then left. Perhaps she just wanted to share the joy of seeing the old Macoco Strange again with someone. But that was a surprise. Anne usually jumped in whenever there was talk of something occultic¡­ It was when I thought this that I noticed that Anne was talking to a member of the other party. Achile Alstar. I didn¡¯t know what they were talking about, but when they were finished, Anne had a satisfied expression on her face. I usually wouldn¡¯t ask about what two women were talking about, but since I was so curious this time, I took the plunge. Her answer¡­was an occultic one. ¡°When learning of the unknown, I think that you do lose a sense of romanticism. However, knowing something can lead to a new unknown. If you don¡¯t know, then you won¡¯t know that you don¡¯t know. And so I will continue to pursue, and not be afraid of learning. And so I am able to love the new neighbor.¡± ¡°¡­What the hell¡­¡± That was the only thing I could say. No, I had an idea of what she meant, but I could not think of the right answer. Still, it looked like the two had become friends. She had fought Achile during the battle, and it was nice when something like that could lead to a friendship! When I thought of it like this, I felt that everyone looked more happy now than when we first met. The atmosphere¡­was that of a happy ending. Satomi and Core had reconciled, Necoco was now closer to her aunt, and Anne made a new friend. As for me¡­well, I wasn¡¯t satisfied yet. Well, I¡¯m sure that once the battle started, the others would all feel the same. The most important thing still remained. The tournament to decide the strongest party in NSO¡­the final battle! If we win, the glory and great prize money would be ours¡­! Of course, our opponent was the strongest guild, VRHAR! CH 227 Data.217 ¨C Old Bowman, Pure Battle Did VRHAR and I have a score to settle¡­? I suppose we did, but it wasn¡¯t a big deal. I had been attacked once, but was able to run away, so nothing was lost. If anything, I had learned more about their leader, Nord, from that fight than any fight during the tournament. Yes, even after seeing all of their battles, there was still a lot about VRHAR that was mysterious¡­! And so the fight on the Ghost Float had benefited me. I was able to actually experience the power of this player called Nord. That being said, it was not enough to come up with strategies on how to deal with him and his party. Currently, what I knew about them was what weapons they used, but I wasn¡¯t sure what kinds of things they were capable of with those weapons. I had little contact with them, and so little information. But they were still high-ranking players. And yet we had to win¡­! In a way, this situation might be the best way to purely enjoy a fight. Taking on a boss after doing your homework was fun in its own way, but the feeling of excitement towards the unknown¡­ To borrow Anne¡¯s words, there was a bigger sense of romanticism. Furthermore, not knowing them well meant there were no distractions. In the first battle, Satomi had to fight his older brother. And so in order to oppose his older brother, who tried to force his more efficient playstyle onto him, Satomi had gone in the other direction. The gulf between them was deep, and I could feel that Satomi didn¡¯t want to lose. Thankfully, they had made up after the fight. As for the second battle against the team of old men, there had been a lot for me to think about after the fight. Had I not quit my old job, I might not have started playing VR games even by the time I was their age. I wouldn¡¯t have met any of the people I was playing with now, so my life would have been different. And would I have been as receptive as they were, when coming into contact with this new culture¡­? I couldn¡¯t help but wonder. So they were a vision of what may have been my future. Well, even if it would be like that, I think I would find some other way to enjoy my life. But since I was enjoying myself now, I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little emotional when I thought of a different future. It reminded me that ¡®if¡¯ was a dangerous theme if you thought about it too much. With the third battle, it was a battle of people that were related to me. When it came to Hatake and Buckler, I even knew their personality and strengths, so I had to be thinking constantly while fighting them. And then the semi-final battle was against Macoco, who had a strong connection with Necoco. Even though Necoco had put everything else out of her mind, I¡¯m sure she also had a lot going through her head up until that point. It was obvious now that I looked back. Compared to the other battles, there would be a lot less to think about while fighting VRHAR. We just needed to fight¡­and defeat them! And after we beat them, there would be no sense of guilt, like there may have been with the others. Though, it would be the same for them. They would not hesitate to defeat us. In a way, there was a kind of trust there. If anything, they seemed to think that it was obvious that they would win and everyone else would lose. That was how capable they were. But we would not be defeated. Had we lost to Hatake, Buckler, or Macoco¡¯s parties, we would have been sad, yes. But I think we would also be happy for their success. But if we lost to VRHAR¡­I would be a lot more upset! At this point, we didn¡¯t need words of encouragement like, ¡®You lost but did well,¡¯ and ¡®the enemy was just too strong.¡¯ The only thing ahead of us was victory¡­! ¡°I don¡¯t think there is anything for us to say to each other before the fight. We have no information, so it¡¯s not like we can plan ahead.¡± Necoco, Satomi, and Annemarie nodded at my words. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to use brute force then. Look at every moment, think, and do what your instincts and body tell you to do. Well, I guess that sounds haphazard, but it¡¯s fine.¡± They all nodded quietly. There was no need for long speeches here. I had talked during the early parts of the tournament as a way of easing the tension, but by now, everyone knew what we were facing. ¡°I want to win! Let¡¯s win!¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± ¡°Of course!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get them!¡± What was going to start now¡­was a pure battle! ¡®And now for the final battle of the tournament! VRHAR vs Ghost Guild! And the chosen field is¡­ Serpent Palace Kai!¡¯ Serpent Palace¡­Kai? The Serpent Palace had been used during the Zodiac trials event. It was where the final boss fight took place. A floating field surrounded by white, Greek pillars. There was also a forest, lakes and even small hills on it. Right now, the Serpent Palace that showed up on the monitors also looked like it was recreating the natural scenery with lots of variation in the terrain. On top of that, the field itself was larger, and instead of a starry sky, a shining sun and blue sky hung above it. Last time, it was 4 players vs Charin, but since it would be 4 vs 4 this time, they had to make the map bigger. Well, after that quick analysis¡­what should we do? As we were somewhat familiar with the map, it would be easier to move around in. But it was the same for VRHAR as well. And they had defeated Charin before us. At this point, it was fifty-fifty¡­ There really was no point in thinking too deeply about it. After all, we would not be able to predict how the battle would play out from here¡­! ¡®Both parties to the battlefield!¡¯ And so the Ghost Guild warped to the final battlefield, Serpent Palace Kai! ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô The warp ended, and I could see again. Now, our location was¡­ ¡°¡­Tsk! This is bad. We¡¯re in the center!¡± The center of the Serpent Palace was a platform that could be seen from any location on the map. Not only that, but we were all clustered together this time! It was like we were asking the enemy to target all of us at once! We needed to hurry and escape to the forest¡­! ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Garbow let out a hostile cry. As he had now scattered out the Gazer Fish scouts, the volume of the cry was telling me how close the enemy was! They were already¡­within eyesight! Four players were holding their weapons as they shot towards us and unleashed their charge attacks! Should we counter or run? Everything was happening so suddenly that I hesitated for a moment. Even though I knew that it could be my downfall, I couldn¡¯t help it. After a short delay, my answer was ¡®counter.¡¯ However, even if we could cancel the charge attacks, the blast would still ensure that we were at a disadvantage¡­! Still, I aimed with my bow! But just then, all of the enemy charge attacks turned upwards as if being pulled. And then they passed right over our heads. I didn¡¯t know what had happened as I looked up. What I saw was¡­ ¡°E-earth¡­!?¡± There was a sphere that looked like a miniature earth. It was floating above the Serpent Palace! It wasn¡¯t that far from the ground. In fact, you could feel the gravitational pull coming from it. And so any flying skills or charge attacks would be affected by it. So that earth¡¯s pull had changed the trajectory of VRHAR¡¯s attacks! But who put that there¡­ Could it be a new stage gimmick added to ¡®Kai¡¯? ¡°What do you think? It¡¯s my Miracle Effect, Mother Earth!¡± ¡°Anne¡­! Since when did you have that?¡± ¡°Hehe. Actually, I got it near the end of the event when I soloed Charin after she was nerfed! But I didn¡¯t know how I was going to use it, so I ended up saving it until now!¡± While she was weaker, she beat Charin by herself¡­ Anne really was more capable than she appeared. Perhaps she had the most potential out of us all. And it was a good thing too, as she saved us¡­! ¡°Counter!¡± VRHAR seemed to be cautious of the sudden earth that had appeared. And so they only unleashed weak attacks as if to test the effect. And those attacks were also affected by the gravitational pull! This was our chance to attack the enemy! ¡°Inferno Arrow Tempest!¡± The storm of arrows I unleashed¡­did not go where I had intended! They were affected by the pull from below and from above, and the arrows were too light to resist¡­! Of course, I knew they would go off course a little. But I thought that since I had unleashed so many, at least half of them would go towards the enemy. However, the majority went off in the wrong direction, and the others were slowed down so much that the enemy was able to dodge them with ease. This environment¡­was worse than I thought! Still, I was able to read the flow of the wind a little now, and so I could keep that in mind when shooting. However, reading the gravitational pull was difficult. It was going to take a lot of time to get used to it¡­! In any case, I had to shoot and shoot and shoot until I could do it without thinking. I had to hurry, or the enemy would try and get closer to us. No¡­they already are! ¡°Tsk¡­! My arrows keep floating! They¡­huh? I¡¯m floating too!?¡± My feet had left the ground and I was being pulled upwards! It wasn¡¯t just me, but everyone in my party as well! It was like we were cows being abducted by a UFO¡­ It was going to be cattle mutilation¡­! The pull of the earth had become stronger! VRHAR were shocked once again, but they started to attack us with ranged skills. They may have been the most powerful guild, but it didn¡¯t mean they always knew how to handle a skill they had never seen before. But the bullets did not hit us. And we could not hit them. We just had to wait until we landed on the small earth. And just like that, the battle moved up to the next stage! CH 228 Data.218 ¨C Old Bowman, Clashing Power ¡°In spite of making it through several desperate battles, she still saved a Miracle Effect like this¡­ This Annemarie Gothnoir really is the most unpredictable one in the group.¡± Nord muttered. Even though they were the most powerful guild, it was not as if VRHAR knew everything. While more players took on Charin after she was weakened, most of those fights were not interesting to watch. Besides, a lot of them were happening simultaneously, and so even if the monitors in the fountain plaza in the first town used split-screen, they could not show all of them. Eventually, they had just stopped showing the fights, and so it became difficult for outsiders to know the results. Anne had not uploaded any video, and since she was solo, no information had leaked.. So only Charin knew that she had that Miracle Effect. On top of that, VRHAR had not thought much of her. And so they didn¡¯t put much effort into gathering information. Many players had wanted to join the Ghost Guild, and some of them had impressive resumes. And VRHAR had assumed that it would be one of those players that would be chosen as the fourth member. But they were wrong. Nord had fought with Anne briefly on the Ghost Float, and he did not think that she was ready. In fact, she had been very easy to manipulate, so he hadn¡¯t been wrong. What was astonishing¡­was that she had grown at a tremendous speed. Once the tournament began, Nord had to change the way that he looked at Anne. ¡°Hey, hey! Nord-chan! Why are we floating up too! What¡¯s happening here?!¡± One member of their party, Gullinkambi, was flailing his arms and legs around. As he said, the four members of VRHAR were also being pulled towards the small earth. Kyuji¡¯s party landed on the earth first, and they had gone to the other side, where Nord could not see them. If they wanted to launch an attack, they would have to land as well¡­ ¡°Edda. Fix us to the ground. If we¡¯re going to be the most cautious towards Kyuji, it would make sense to get up close and attack. But that sphere was made by an enemy Miracle Effect¡­ And we should not be fighting on their turf.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, understood!¡± Talkative Edda said as she raised a hand. She was small and used a thick book as a weapon. And on her head was a nightcap with a pompom on the end. And she was wearing loose-fitting, comfortable clothes. There was an overall sleepy air about her, but now her eyes opened wide. It had the kind of intensity that would make you want to look away. ¡°Gravity Spell!¡± A gravitational field appeared around Edda, and Nord and the others were pulled back to the ground. Now they didn¡¯t have to worry about floating upwards. ¡°Should we destroy it¡­?¡± Asked Skald, as he unsheathed the greatsword that was on his back. He was slender, but still muscular, and looked intelligent. There was always a ragged cloth that covered him from mouth to toes, and he only talked when it was necessary. He claimed that this, and his wildness, was his prime appeal. ¡°¡­No, we won¡¯t do that. If that is a replica of the real earth, then magma will come out if we crack it. And we don¡¯t want that to fall on us while we¡¯re restricted by gravity.¡± ¡°I see¡­ So, what should we do¡­?¡± ¡°Our options will be limited if we stay right under the sphere¡­ However, if we move away, the enemy that is on the other side of it¡­ Kyuji is now at the highest point on this field, so it will be easy for him to shoot at us¡­¡± ¡°I can fly up there and knock them down? Right? What do you think?¡± ¡°¡­Yes. The others in the party were also surprised when they saw it. So go and attack them before they have a chance to collect themselves. But don¡¯t be reckless. Just shake them up a little.¡± ¡°Yes! Yes! All right! Fly Spell! Fly up to the star¡­ Huh? Oh? Hmm? Is it coming closer to us?¡± By the time they noticed the change, the earth was moving quickly. Towards the ground¡­! And from the other side, they heard Anne¡¯s voice shouting¡­! ¡°Huh!? How am I supposed to control this!? I was just focused on hiding it, so I haven¡¯t practiced at all!!¡± And so the newly created earth began to fall and then explode as it hit the ground!! ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°Uh, Floating Cloud Herd!¡± Just before the earth hit the ground, I created clouds under everyone¡¯s feet. While Floating Cloud Herd could make up to nine clouds at the same time, I rarely used it outside of travel. At least now, we could avoid being annihilated by our own Miracle Effect. We would never have been able to live that down if we lost like that¡­ But, would our luck extend to the enemy being wiped out as well¡­? No, it wouldn¡¯t¡­ ¡°Ah, re¡­really!?¡± There was an announcement. One from the enemy team, a player called Skald, had been killed by Anne! Uh, he was the guy with the big sword¡­I think? He looked like an attacker that would be good with close quarters combat, so it was a big deal that we defeated him so early¡­! And maybe it wouldn¡¯t be the only announcement¡­ ¡°¡­No, I guess it was. Here it comes!¡± Numerous black bullets flew through the dust! This was an attack from the dual pistol wielding Nord¡­! They were being shot from multiple directions, and I couldn¡¯t tell where he was located! However, it would also be too dangerous to land without being able to see anything! And so I killed the bullets with my arrows and waited for the dust clouds to clear. If possible, I wanted to use a skill to clear the dust all at once, but I was kept too busy just trying to protect myself from the bullets¡­! Just then, the smoke rose into the air, and countless pieces of paper shot towards us! Was this also an attack¡­!? ¡°Ha! Ha! Haa!¡± ¡°What?!¡± A girl burst through the storm of paper and kicked Necoco three times! However, Necoco managed to parry all of them! ¡°To see through my Kick Spell¡­ Amazing! Amazing! Punch Spell!¡± This time a fist slammed into Necoco¡¯s stomach! Judging by her weapon and armor, she was the one they called Edda. But her appearance had changed a little. Her hair was now golden and her ears were long and pointy. Just like¡­an elf! ¡°Gah¡­!¡± Necoco lost her balance and fell off of the cloud! ¡°Necoco! Tsk. This is bad¡­!¡± Due to being distracted by Edda, I was not able to react to Nord¡¯s bullets in time! The cloud I was standing on was hit, and then it disappeared¡­! The bullets also hit me and chipped away at my HP¡­! I-I have to use Floating Cloud Herd again¡­ ¡°No, I¡¯m going down to the ground!¡± Floating Cloud Herd had no defense ability. And so staying up here just made me an easy target for Nord. On the ground, large debris from Mother Earth was scattered around, and so there were plenty of obstacles to hide behind. Thankfully, there hadn¡¯t been any magma inside, so it would not be dangerous. Furthermore, Edda and Necoco were fighting in the air and slowly moving away from us. In other words, the only enemy below was Nord, Gullinkambi, and that huge hippo Unison! And I had Garbo, Satomi, with his three Unisons, and Anne! While I didn¡¯t know anything about the hippo, the enemy was a gunman and piper. They did not seem like they had high firepower. And so it would not be bad for us to use brute force here when we had the superior numbers¡­! There was also the option for me alone to stay in the air and snipe at the enemy. But if I did that, the debris from Mother Earth would still be in the way. Players like Nord would likely hide behind them while fighting. In the end, both in games and real life, it was best to hide from snipers. And so I decided to descend. Once I was on the ground, I could move away so that my range would give me an advantage! ¡°These attacks are weak enough for me to deal with while falling¡­¡± However, once we decided to fall, we were met by an even fiercer storm of bullet fire. So Nord had been holding back. He had purposely shot bullets that I could cancel. That way we would think it was safe, and would be lured into coming down. Had he showered us with such bullets from the beginning, we would have likely retreated. I still had Warp Arrow, and Satomi could fly on his cloud. Garbow couldn¡¯t fly, but Straight Darts could be used repeatedly to propel him forward, which would allow him to slide across the sky while falling. Anne was the only one who might have difficulty escaping. But perhaps if she was alone, she could use Floating Cloud Herd to move out of the way. However, once we were swallowed by the storm of bullets, it was impossible for all of us to escape! In any case, I had to protect myself and reach the ground¡­! I can do this. I had to believe it! In fact, maybe I could kill the attack! ¡°No! This¡­!¡± While the storm of bullets had looked like a random attack¡­it was targeting Anne! At least sixty percent of them were going towards her! And the rest were split between me and Satomi! So she was getting more than twice as much as me¡­! That was very impressive control¡­ And though Anne had high durability and used her spiked iron ball as a shield, it would be difficult to survive this¡­! ¡°Giant Daybreak Star!¡± I see. Making the spiked ball larger enhanced its ability. Now she should be able to stop the bullets. That¡¯s what I had thought. However, instead of thinking about herself, Anne threw the giant iron ball towards the ground! CH 229 Data.219 ¨C Old Bowman, Limit ¡°¡­So that¡¯s how they want to do it.¡± In order to dodge the iron sphere, Nord activated Blast Shot, which unleashed a gust of wind from his gun barrels. If he controlled the direction of the wind from the two pistols, he could even fly and increase his speed a little. And so Nord used this to move out of the iron ball¡¯s range, and then he continued his attack on Anne. ¡°Rainy Bullet!¡± It was a skill that fired bullets like rain. Normally, it was not an attack that had much power, and you could not control the trajectory of the bullets. However, due to a buff from the party member Gullinkambi, its abilities had been enhanced greatly. Gullinkambi was not the most skilled player in VRHAR. However, he was very good when it came to offering support to others. The sound skills he used with his flute weapon could create scouts, buffs and even defend himself. And he didn¡¯t attack if he didn¡¯t need to. Nord had taught him to be cautious, and focus on supporting until it was absolutely necessary to act. ¡°First one down¡­hmm?¡± After seeing that Anne had gone down, Nord noticed that Kyuji had disappeared. Had he not been able to withstand the rain of bullets? No, there was no way¡­! ¡°Grrr¡­! I see that you¡¯re able to make such severe decisions now¡­ Attacking while sacrificing a friend.¡± An arrow was piercing Nord¡¯s right arm! The arrow was Inferno Windgod Sky Tear¡­! Had it gone through his head, it might have been instant death. But Nord had dodged it just in time, and so got away with just an arm injury. Just by seeing that Kyuji was gone, he was able to assume that he had used Warp Arrow. But it was also impressive that Kyuji had also been able to see that Anne had thrown the iron ball as a diversion, and to temporarily stop the gunfire. The iron ball would block Nord¡¯s view, and in the meantime, he would use a dummy with Mirror Alice Reflection to switch places. And then Kyuji had used Warp Arrow to escape to the ground. When continuing his attack, Nord had scanned the entire scene, and seen Kyuji, but that was just a dummy. And then he was focused on Anne after that, so he didn¡¯t notice Kyuji¡¯s disappearance immediately. Yes, even for someone like Nord, it took a lot of focus to continue to shoot a player who was falling. The fact that Kyuji could be thinking about other things and still hit his targets meant he really was a monster, like Macoco said. ¡°Still, we¡¯re now even. The battle is just¡­ No, it won¡¯t last much longer now.¡± ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°I missed¡­? No, he dodged it?¡± I had been aiming at his head when unleashing the arrow. It felt like I would hit him. But just the smallest movement of his body had saved him. And Nord hadn¡¯t been reacting to seeing an arrow. He had instinctively felt that he was being sniped at, and moved¡­ ¡°This won¡¯t be easy after all¡­ Still, at least I got one of his arms.¡± Surely that was worth Anne¡¯s sacrifice. Even if he was a brilliant player, he was significantly weaker after losing an arm! ¡°Let¡¯s keep going, Satomi! Garbow!¡± While being protected by the three Unisons, Satomi also got through the storm of bullets and landed on the ground. Garbow was also not really affected by the bullets, as they were all physical attacks. With the Unisons, we still have the numerical advantage! It was possible to use a rare healing item to fix any wounded limbs, but it took time, and it would be canceled if you attacked, or took damage before it was complete. And so we couldn¡¯t give him a chance¡­! ¡°Big Inferno Arrow!¡± Could he cancel a powerful charge attack with just one gun¡­! ¡°Baou, I¡¯ll need your help for now.¡± ¡°¡­Baou.¡± Nord then hid behind the Unison hippo¡¯s body! Nothing about this hippo suggested that it had the will to fight¡­ While it followed Nord the whole time, it never did anything to attack the enemy or protect other party members. Its movements were slow and sleepy. Though, it did have sharp eyes. It also had a crown and fancy clothes, which suited it, strangely. And so its appearance and attitude reminded me of a fat king from a fantasy story. However, what would it do when arrows were flying towards it? What trump card was it hiding¡­? ¡°¡­Baou.¡± It did¡­nothing! The arrows could not pierce its skin. Instead, the toughness of the fat caused them to bounce off! Even the reddish-black flames did not burn it! And it was looking at me as if it hadn¡¯t even noticed the attack¡­! ¡°So normal high-power attacks are meaningless! In that case¡­Gatling Thunder Arrow! Garbow! Electric River!¡± Hippos made me think of the water attribute, and so maybe it would be weak to thunder? ¡­Ah! It gritted its teeth a little! It still wasn¡¯t moving, but it was clearly an improvement! If only I knew the most effective attack¡­! ¡°Garbow! Kurokogairu!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± Five clones came out of Garbow¡¯s shadow. If they worked with Satomi and his Unisons, they could surround Baou, and Nord would not be able to hide! And then we can move in and attack! ¡°Parallel Parsol Bullet!¡± Colorful umbrellas shot out of Nord¡¯s left pistol, and they created a barrier around him. It was an enhanced version of Parasol Bullet, which I had seen at the Ghost Float! However, its strength was its ease of use, and the durability hadn¡¯t been that high¡­ And this one looked like it had evolved to increase its numbers, rather than its durability, so I doubted it could stop multiple charge attacks. So we would continue to press forward! ¡°Gatling Thunder Arrow! Garbow, Electric River!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± ¡°Fire Kindling Seed! Ultra Air Cannon! Guerilla Stream!¡± We targeted Baou, while Satomi targeted Nord! Now we would take them both down at the same time¡­ ¡°What¡­! It¡¯s perfectly fine¡­!?¡± While smoke was rising from Baou¡¯s body, he was still in good condition. And he would still not move! Did he hate moving so much¡­! But what was most surprising, was that we had not been able to destroy the Parallel Parasol Bullet barrier! Satomi and his Unisons had all been unleashing charge attacks! His Unisons were almost as strong as a player, and yet Nord had stopped them with a single defense skill! No, that wasn¡¯t right. It¡¯s true that a defense charge attack was stronger, but balance¨Cwise, it shouldn¡¯t have been able to block three. There must be some kind of trick¡­! ¡°¡­Hmm!?¡± There was a man playing a flute while looking at Nord from behind the debris! That was¡­Gullinkambi! The other VRHAR player! I was so focused on the fight with Nord that I had forgotten about him¡­ But now that I knew, I would not let him get away! While I couldn¡¯t hear anything, it was clear that he was casting buffs with the flute! ¡°Gatling Inferno Arrow! Garbow! Tentacle Laser!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± But when the attacks were directed at him, Gullinkambi¡­did not run. A high-pitched note came from the flute, and he stood his ground! Biiiiiiii¡­clang! Clang! Our attacks hit an invisible wall and then disappeared. Was it a¡­sound barrier? So his defenses were quite impressive as well¡­! ¡°Mr. Kyuji, it was the buffs after all.¡± Now the umbrella barriers were being destroyed by Satomi and his Unisons! It was now clear that Gullinkambi had been casting buffs on Nord¡¯s charge attack. And when the attacks moved to him, he started to buff himself. In other words, Nord was no longer protected! ¡°I¡¯ll focus on Gullinkambi! Garbow will target Baou, so you can deal with Nord!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± ¡°Understood!¡± I could see the enemy¡¯s hand now¡­! And we could fight them properly. Even if they were the strongest party! ¡°Now, it¡¯s time to rejoin the fight. Compressed¡­Air Bullet!¡± ¡°Ukyaa¡­!¡± Gochu was¡­shot through the head! But I didn¡¯t see any bullets¡­! It was so fast, and yet so powerful¡­! But that wasn¡¯t the only thing that was surprising. Nord¡¯s right arm¡­was back! So he had healed it while hiding behind Baou and using his barriers to buy time¡­! However, that shouldn¡¯t be enough to get around Satomi¡¯s cover. So it was likely that Gullinkambi was buffing his attacks as well. There was that storm of black bullets, for one¡­! Nord had stopped shooting them and dodged Anne¡¯s iron ball, and then continued shooting them immediately. In other words, it showed that it was a skill with no cooldown. We could not allow a buffer who could make a skill that dangerous roam free¡­! Furthermore, while Nord had his arm back, his other pistol was still on the ground where he had dropped it. So it didn¡¯t change the fact that his attack ability was halved! So maybe Satomi and the others could still manage¡­ ¡°Please survive¡­!¡± I continued to shoot my arrows at Gullinkambi. However, they were just blocked by an invisible wall. And even when I used Bound Arrow to shoot from different angles, there was no crack in his defenses¡­! Even if he was casting buffs, this was ridiculous! Still, it meant that he was succeeding in buffing himself. As for Satomi and the others¡­ ¡°Gah! Ha¡­ha¡­¡± Now that Gochu was out, it looked like they were struggling against Nord¡­ And Garbow and his clones had still not defeated Baou! Baou continued to stand there without attacking back! Upon seeing this situation, Nord went to pick up his fallen pistol. And then Satomi moved forward! He held up the staff that was his weapon¡­and charged into Baou! ¡°I thought you were preparing something. So it was the instant death skill you used against Mad Slime CORE.¡± Nord held up his pistol and shot at Satomi! And then Buffy and Kapaparuto moved in between them! They would protect Satomi at all costs! Yes¡­now Satomi¡¯s attack would reach him! ¡°Baou is a King Hippopotamus. Not only does he have a higher status than most Unisons, but he won¡¯t obey the orders of players. He is also slow in both mind and body. However¡­¡± Baou, who had been still this whole time¡­suddenly stood up! ¡°They will move when death is close. And¡­¡± With a speed that did not match its size, it dodged Satomi¡¯s instant death attack! ¡°It can be fast when it wants to be. Furthermore¡­¡± Without losing any momentum, it then charged into Satomi from the side! ¡°Their counter attacks are incredible. And in the end¡­¡± Satomi lost all of his HP in one hit¡­! ¡°It¡¯s difficult for a human to beat a hippo.¡± And then baou sat heavily on the ground again. I-I didn¡¯t even have time to help him¡­ It was just too fast¡­! ¡°You were right to use an instant death attack on Baou. In terms of status, he is the best in our party, and so conventional methods would take too long. Besides, I have seen your instant death attack and learned. And so I would have been more likely to dodge it.¡± ¡°Haha¡­ I didn¡¯t have to take all of that into consideration¡­ I¡¯ve never fought on such a stage as this before. So my mind goes blank if I¡¯m not careful¡­ And I start to shake¡­ I just wanted to take Baou down so that Kyuji could shoot¡­¡± ¡°¡­I see. Because if it came down to two shooters, he would have the upper hand?¡± ¡°Yes, exactly.¡± Satomi said. And then he disappeared. Now it was just me, Garbow, Nord, Gullinkambi, and Baou¡­! ¡°Well¡­let¡¯s put those words to the test then.¡± And then Nord jumped out from behind Baou¡¯s body! ¡°Scatter Thunder Bullet¡­Triple!¡± Small thunder bullets spread out! ¡°In-Inferno Arrow Tempest!¡± I was hardly even thinking anymore, but there was nothing else that I could do! With this chain attack, Garbow¡¯s clones were wiped out, and Garbow himself took damage. And while some bullets got past my arrows and chipped away at my HP, I was still able to survive¡­! Nord had also been hit by some of the arrows, and his armor was burned. It was the first time he took proper damage since losing his arm¡­ ¡°We won¡¯t give up yet, Garbow!¡± ¡°Gar! Ga¡­gaga¡­!¡± ¡°Garbow¡­?¡± I had thought that Garbow survived the thunder bullets, but there were several holes in his back! Did that mean they were shot from above¡­!? No, it was¡­from below! It was those drill type bullets that burrowed in the ground. I had been hit by them on the Ghost Float¡­! That¡¯s what he used! I had known about the existence of that skill, but had not been able to do anything¡­! Drill-type skills were especially effective against machines. And since it was after Garbow had been hit by thunder, he could not withstand it. And so for the first time, I saw Garbow fade away and disappear. In the past, I had always used a combined charge attack to allow him to escape during a pinch¡­ ¡°Tsk¡­!¡± There was no time to grieve! There were still two enemies and a Unison to deal with! I had to do something¡­! But what¡­ ¡°It¡¯s checkmate, Mr. Kyuji¡­¡± Just then, thunder shot out from Baou, who was behind Nord. Even Nord was so surprised that he turned around. I should have targeted him then, but I was also surprised. Baou was killed, and his body disappeared¡­ Immediately after, Nord¡¯s body was slashed by something I couldn¡¯t see! No, even if I couldn¡¯t see, I knew who it was. ¡°There was no announcement about Edda being killed¡­Ms. Necoco.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a little trick.¡± Necoco Strange¡­! She had been both an enemy and an ally. But I had never thought she was so reliable as she was now! ¡°The battle has just begun, old man!¡± ¡°¡­Right!¡± I answered. But I was feeling something else. Battles between the best were usually over in an instant. And this battle will be over soon¡­ That¡¯s what I felt. CH 230 Data.220 ¨C Old Bowman, Quick Firefight ¡°As for me, I¡¯m glad that all my targets are gathered in one place¡­¡± Just then, Edda¡¯s death was announced. There were times when the announcement was delayed a little, but considering the time it would have taken for Necoco to reach us, there had to be more to it. She had definitely used some kind of trick..,. While I had to focus on the fight, I couldn¡¯t help but be curious¡­! ¡°I suppose the most likely explanation is that you used the claw missiles. However, that wouldn¡¯t work unless you made sure that Edda couldn¡¯t move.¡± ¡°Exactly. I robbed her of movement, buried the claw missiles, and then detonated them with a short delay. Aside from the ¡®Metamorphosis Elf¡¯ Miracle Effect, her combat style mainly relies on skills. As she doesn¡¯t use charge attacks, there are no cooldowns, so there are no waves in her combat ability. However, she doesn¡¯t do much damage either, so I was able to get up close and play a few tricks!¡± ¡°Well, Edda always talks too much, and probably revealed all of her own tricks¡­But we knew that. That¡¯s why Gullinkambi and I have been fighting without her.¡± Now that it was certain that Edda was dead, it was just me, Necoco, Nord, and Gullinkambi left. If it was 2 vs 2, we still had a chance¡­! ¡°Necoco, can you use that movement binding skill on them?¡± ¡°No. Paralize Eye Power has too short a range. It¡¯s more of a joke skill. You have to be close enough that you can kiss them. Though, if you succeed, then you can make them completely powerless.¡± Close enough to kiss them¡­ Yes, that would be difficult to do with Nord. He had pistols, meaning he could deal with you at close range as well. ¡°Alright. You target Gullinkambi then. He¡¯s an insane buffer, who can enhance skills so they are like charge attacks. He has lots of defense skills and my arrows barely did any damage. But close quarters combat might¡­¡± ¡°Got it. You want me to get that guy with the red face who is panting!¡± ¡°Yeah¡­what?¡± As Necoco said, Gullinkambi¡¯s face was red and he looked like he was in pain! But he hadn¡¯t been moving much at all. So why were his shoulders heaving like he was out of breath¡­? ¡°I see¡­!¡± The reason that his skills were so powerful¡­ It was because they were only effective while he was blowing his flute! Just like how the cooldowns allowed them to make charge attacks more powerful, skills could also have their abilities raised by having limits in place. My Floating Cloud Herd could only be activated three times in an hour. And there was the demerit of them disappearing in five minutes. But it was because of that, that it was such a useful skill. Similarly, it was because of this limitation of them only being active while he was playing, that the buffs were so powerful! Having to blow into the flute every time to activate a skill must be hard. And he would not be able to maintain the effect unless he kept blowing. So that was why he was out of breath! ¡°No¡­Nord¡­ I can¡¯t¡­keep it up while getting hit¡­! Sorry¡­! I can¡¯t protect you¡­¡± ¡°You did enough. Leave the rest to me, Gullinkambi.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m going to go all out¡­!¡± Gullinkambi switched his weapon from the flute to a small hammer. He was going to do something¡­! ¡°Gatling Inferno Arrow!¡± If he discarded the flute, then he would not be able to make sound barriers! Just go down quietly then¡­! However, Gullinkambi fell to the ground and dodged the arrows! ¡°Oh? So crouching low really does make it harder for ranged attacks to hit you¡­ Huh. That¡¯s why they practice crawling in the military¡­ How very¡­interesting!¡± Clang¡­ Gullinkambi hit the ground with his hammer. And the ground rippled like liquid and caught Necoco and my legs! ¡°It-it¡¯s shaking¡­! But!¡± I aimed at Gullinkambi again and shot my arrows. While my footing wasn¡¯t stable, the arrow went straight towards Gullinkambi and pierced his body! ¡°No way¡­! How can you aim in this situation¡­ You¡¯re scary. And so I¡¯m going to leave you to Nord¡­!¡± Gullinkambi grabbed his flute again and held it to his lips! This¡­he was going to blow! ¡°Melody For You!¡± A rainbow-colored arrow shot towards Nord! I couldn¡¯t allow it to reach him¡­! ¡°Big Inferno Arrow!¡± Cancel arrow with arrow¡­ But it didn¡¯t work! It must be a Miracle Effect then¡­! And so the arrow reached Nord, and his body began to glow in the colors of the rainbow! ¡°End game¡­Dark Matter Bullet.¡± The black stream was unleashed from both pistols, and the whole area was swallowed up. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô ¡°It¡¯s over¡­¡± The Miracle Effect ¡®Dark Matter Bullet¡¯ had the simple effect of unleashing dark energy from a bullet. Unlike Kyuji¡¯s Southern Cross Ballista, it could be controlled after activation by moving the guns. And for a fixed time, the energy would continue to flow. Because of this, it was possible for him to rotate his body so that he drew a circle with his guns, covering everything. However, while he had freedom after activating it, the actual power was inferior to Southern Cross Ballista. If they shot at each other from the front, it would be Nord who would lose. However, it was a different story if he was under the effect of Gullinkambi¡¯s Miracle Effect, ¡®Melody For You.¡¯ In NSO, being enveloped by an aura meant a status boost. If the aura was close to gold, then your status would be raised considerably. And if it was rainbow-colored¡­strategies you wouldn¡¯t normally use would now be possible. Melody For You allowed you to sacrifice a chunk of your own HP in order to raise another player¡¯s status more than double. And it would affect their skills and charge attacks as well. In the case of Dark Matter Bullet, the unleashed energy would be twice as thick, and twice as fast. The range was also doubled. Normally the attack would have just thrashed at everything in the area, but now it was carving out the ground around him and altering the terrain. Of course, Kyuji and Necoco were gone. Once the field was nearly flat, Nord stood in the center of it. In order to hear the announcement of his victory¡­! Necoco¡¯s death was announced. And then¡­ Shu! Zhunk! ¡°¡­!?¡± An arrow¡­was stuck in Nord¡¯s shoulder! ¡°It¡¯s not possible¡­!¡± He turned in the direction that the arrow had come from. In the far distance, Kyuji was standing on a boulder! ¡°H-how did he escape! Was it Warp Arrow¡­! Still, there wasn¡¯t enough time for him to¡­! I calculated everything with that attack¡­!¡± However, Kyuji was still alive! There was no announcement! There was only one thing for Nord to do¡­ ¡°Get close¡­and shoot!¡± ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô It could have ended right there¡­! But thanks to some luck and good ideas, I managed to survive¡­! As Gullinkambi was gone, the rippling effect on the ground was deactivated. However, since my legs had been inside of the liquid, I was stuck in it once it regained its solid state. It really was a well thought out attack¡­! He restricted our movement so that we would not be able to escape while Nord was unleashing all of that energy. And I didn¡¯t know if Warp Arrow would work if I was fixed to the ground. That was why Necoco used a charge attack to cut off my legs, so I would not hesitate. As children were watching this fight, it didn¡¯t look like they were actually severed, but they would no longer function like actual legs. And once I was free, I used Teleportation Windgod Sky Tear, which was the fused charge attack of Warp Arrow and Windgod Sky Tear, and escaped to the far off mountains¡­! It really was in the nick of time. In the first place, you only warped once the arrow landed. So you couldn¡¯t move while the arrow was still in the air. And the enemy¡¯s attack had been very fast, and I would have likely been caught in it if I was delayed by a split second. The only reason that I made it in time was because of Necoco¡¯s swift actions, Quickdraw, and the energy pressure from Dark Matter Bullet¡­! I twisted my body as far as I could and unleashed Warp Arrow in the opposite direction. Because of that, the arrow was affected by the energy pressure from Dark Matter Bullet, and accelerated¡­! I had used the enemy¡¯s attack to survive. And while Nord was still shooting Dark Matter Bullet around, I used a regeneration potion to heal my legs. And once the effects of Dark Matter Bullet and the Melody For You buff ended, I started attacking again. There was only one thing for me to do¡­ ¡°Shoot¡­so that he can¡¯t get close to me!¡± CH 231 Data.221 ¨C Old Bowman, Finish the Fight My equipment was in tatters to the point of being unrecognizable. There was something else swirling violently around Dark Matter Bullet¡¯s black energy, and it dealt damage just by grazing you. My armor was shredded, and some of the metal parts of my bow were melted. The hakama that protected my legs were in an especially bad condition. They looked like shorts, since Necoco had cut them. As if it was the middle of summer¡­ And so there was no longer anything to protect me from attacks. That was why I could not allow him to get close to me¡­! On the other hand, Nord would be desperate to get close no matter what. See? He was moving already¡­! Kiririri¡­ Shu! There was no need to use any fancy skills. The strong ones just left you open if you missed, and he would be able to use Blast Shot to bridge the distance. But it would be difficult for him to use Blast Shot if I continued to shoot arrows. Because that was a skill where he could unleash a blast of wind from his pistols and accelerate his speed¡­! Kiriri¡­ Shu! Shu! I used Quickdraw to shoot in rapid succession. In short, this skill shortened the amount of time it took to nock an arrow, draw, and unleash. But it also shortened the time you had to target an enemy. And so I didn¡¯t use it if I wasn¡¯t in a hurry. As it would be pointless if I missed. But now, I was hitting him. The state of extreme concentration¡­what they called the ¡®zone.¡¯ Like drops falling into a smooth water surface¡­the arrows flew. And landed. Nord was doing his best to kill the arrows, but several of them got past his bullets. And so the number of arrows that pierced his body increased. However, the same could not be said for bullet wounds on me. There was no risk for me if my attacks were canceled, but there was for Nord. This was the damage born from the difference in range. The essence of putting all your points into Range, which allowed you to attack from a position where the enemy couldn¡¯t counter. However, through my fighting, I had learned that this theory didn¡¯t mean you were invincible. Even as Nord was being hit, he continued to move forward. And then, he moved out of the area that he had flattened, and reached the area where there were still trees and lakes left. This was very bad. I didn¡¯t know how deep the lake was, but if he dove in and managed to heal himself, all of my attacks would have been for nothing. ¡°Stop¡­please¡­¡± Even though I prayed in desperation, my body continued to move calmly. I couldn¡¯t allow him to enter the forest¡­ This was someone who had survived my arrows this long by using his guns. If he had obstacles to hide behind¡­! ¡°Stop¡­Nord¡­!¡± Even though he was covered in arrows, Nord dragged his body and moved forward¡­! He was swaying, ensuring that I could not hit his head¡­! ¡°Ensuring¡­? No, I will hit you¡­!¡± I calmed myself again, and shot with a quieted heart. Kiririri¡­ Shu! Nord suddenly stopped. And without saying anything, or even falling to his knees, he disappeared. And so the end of the vicious battle came without even the sound of an arrow landing. It was quiet. ¡°¡­¡± While I understood the fact that we had won, my emotions had not caught up with it. My heart felt like it was empty. Suddenly, I remembered Vera Velvet¡¯s words. ¨CBut up until the fight, Macoco looked like she had left her heart somewhere far away. Was this what that felt like¡­? ¡®The battle is overrrr!!¡¯ ¡°Woah!?¡± ¡®Since all VRHAR players have been annihilated, the winner of the 1st NSO Strongest Party Tournament is¡­Ghost Guild-nyon! Congradulations!!!¡¯ Charin¡¯s voice was so loud it seemed like she meant to destroy my eardrums. Still, it brought me back to the present. And then, the joy began to well up from deep within me! Still, I would celebrate once I reunited with the others. We had all won this victory together! That being said, it was a surprise that I didn¡¯t even use Armageddon Arrow, Stardust Arrow, or Southern Cross Ballista in the very end. The finishing blow was just normal arrows¡­ ¡°No, perhaps that is a good thing. It¡¯s very me¡­I guess.¡± Before returning to the waiting area, I thought about all my adventures up until now. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô After that, what awaited me after Charin returned me to the waiting area was¡­intense cheering. Necoco, Satomi, and Anne jumped on as if they meant to attack. And they rapidly unleashed words of praise. I was happy, but it was also a little embarrassing¡­but I was still happy. That¡¯s what it was like. After things calmed down a little, we were called by someone from management, and we took a photo. Of course, since this was in the game, it would be used in articles about the winning team, and advertisements for the game. And so the professional photographer told us to look our best. But we were all nervous. It took a while to take the photo, but I got through it without anyone getting angry at me. However, my party members had to do something nerve-racking after a nervous battle, and they were at their limits now. Necoco burst into tears, and Satomi collapsed on the ground as if his soul had left his body. Anne was speaking so quickly that it sounded like some kind of alien language. Or maybe it actually was¡­ Leaving that aside, I wanted to take a group photo with all of the players we had fought up until now. But it was likely to take a while for Necoco and the others to calm down, and the other parties that made it to the finals were busy talking to each other. And so, I waited a while before suggesting that we all take a photo together. Normally, I wouldn¡¯t have been so aggressive about something like this, but I felt different today. Now, I had to call these people, even though they looked like they would ignore me. ¡°Nord!¡± It would not feel right if our last opponent in the tournament wasn¡¯t in the photo. I had to keep VRHAR here somehow! ¡°What is it, Mr. Kyuji? We¡¯re only here because we had to take a photo as the runner-up party.¡± ¡°I..see¡­ Uh, do you want to take a photo? We¡¯re going to take a photo with all of the parties that made it to the final round¡­¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t really fit my character, so I decline.¡± ¡°Uh¡­! Well, if it doesn¡¯t fit your character as a pro gamer, that certainly makes it harder for me to ask. I wouldn¡¯t want one little screenshot to ruin your reputation or anything¡­ Even if it¡¯s just a game, it¡¯s good to be consistent¡­ For both players and creators.¡± ¡°Creators¡­ Indeed. I did hear something about you working at a company before. Was it a game company?¡± ¡°Oh, you did all of that research? Well, I¡¯m the one who revealed it when someone asked¡­ Uh, yeah, I was. But we ignored trends and just made retro games.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mean to be rude¡­but that doesn¡¯t sound profitable.¡± ¡°Yeah, and so I quit. But the company is still around, which is a relief.¡± ¡°So you quit making games and jumped into the world of a game.¡± ¡°Exactly! I did not think that once I was finished entertaining people by making games, that I would then entertain people by playing them. But the culture of gaming has been good to me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Still, there is only so much you can do when playing by yourself. You have to have rivals and people to compete with, or events like these would be boring.¡± ¡°Well, there is little that is more exciting than a battle between people. In both fiction and sports.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m glad that it was you who was the last enemy to stand in our way. We know each other, and you¡¯re someone I wouldn¡¯t be embarrassed to be defeated by. Of course, I still didn¡¯t want to lose! That¡¯s why it was fun, scary, and I assume, very entertaining to watch.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­Well, I¡¯m not sure why I¡¯m saying something so obvious to someone who is a pro gamer! Of course it would be interesting for two strong parties to fight! And I probably sound very smug now¡­ Sorry! I thought there would be some kind of winner interview, and so I thought of different things to say, but I was only asked to say a few words¡­ I was going to say it to my comrades, but they were already so overwhelmed, and I felt bad for them. And so I told you, since you seemed to be the most calm person here.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that you are smug, and it doesn¡¯t inconvenience me that much to listen.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear you say that. I won¡¯t force you to take the group photo. Besides, you listened to what I had to say. It¡¯s best to stay in character¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°The group photo.¡± ¡°A-are you sure?¡± ¡°While my motto is to be the ¡®child who is hated and feared by the world,¡¯ I do think you have to respect your predecessors.¡± ¡°Uh, I haven¡¯t been playing as long as you¡­¡± ¡°But you¡¯ve been entertaining people with games for longer. And so this isn¡¯t against VRHAR¡¯s motto. One or two photos is nothing.¡± ¡°Thank you! We¡¯ll take a photo once Necoco stops crying, Satomi gets his soul back, and when Anne becomes human again!¡± Necoco and the others recovered quickly enough, and so we didn¡¯t keep Nord and the others waiting long. First, we took a group photo of all the parties we fought against, and then a photo with all the parties that reached the finals. At that point, Nord and his party had already left, and so they did not interact with the others. That was VRHAR¡¯s style. In a way, they were like me, and wanted to perfect their own unique style. And then we would take photos with individual players who asked, and enjoyed talking with each other. Even after we were warped out of the waiting area and returned to the first town, the spectators cheered for us and offered words of congratulations. So it wasn¡¯t until late into the night that I logged out. But I was still so excited that I couldn¡¯t sleep. Still, eventually, that excitement faded away, and things returned to normal. So, what should I do next? Yes, I should do something new. CH 232 Data.Final ¨C Old Bowman, His Name Is Kyuji About one month later, the prize money was sent to my bank account. While I had worked quite a lot, the salary at a small company that made retro games was not going to compare to having 25 million suddenly appear in your account. In this day and age, you were guaranteed to have the minimum necessities of food, clothing and shelter, even if you didn¡¯t have an income. But if you wanted to live more comfortably, you did need money. And so this 25 million was a big deal for me. I would use it wisely. That being said, even 25 million wasn¡¯t enough to live off of for the rest of my life. I still had to earn more for when I was old. As for how I would do that¡­I had already decided. ¡°Video editing sure is hard¡­¡± I would become a pro gamer. Well, I was already a pro gamer now that I had won a prize in a game tournament¡­ But in terms of direction from now on, I was going to focus on video content. And would occasionally enter prize contests. The old pro gamers would play the latest game as soon as they were released, and polish their skills, earn prizes at tournaments, get sponsors, and then move on to the next tournament. But I wasn¡¯t flexible enough to keep adapting to the latest game. It would take me a long time to get used to it, and so I would want to focus on a single game and post videos for it. And I would just rely on ad revenue from views. You could get sponsors from doing that as well, but I thought it would also be quite intimidating to be suddenly backed by a major corporation. In fact, I had a few offers already, but I was courageous enough to reject them. To be honest, as I had just come off a win, things were going very well. But I didn¡¯t want to get carried away and bite off more than I could chew¡­ That¡¯s what I told myself. It was from here that my ability as a pro would really be put to the test. If I was able to maintain this popularity, and they asked me again¡­ Then I would follow my heart. After all, there was a part of me that screamed, ¡®Why are you throwing away this chance?¡¯ ¡®Aren¡¯t you underestimating this job?¡¯ ¡®Do you really think you can make money like that!?¡¯ And maybe that was true. Regardless of what the future holds, it is true that you should take what chances you are given. The old me would have jumped on the idea of having a stable income. So, why had I chosen the less stable¡­or should I say, adventurous route? It was because of my comrades. They were all wondering about the same thing. Necoco was still in junior highschool, so she wasn¡¯t sure that her parents would allow her to be more active as a pro gamer. Such things happened, even in this age where being a pro gamer was quite normal. But I suppose they were worried about their daughter¡¯s future¡­ Apparently, they were an old-fashioned family, and didn¡¯t have much trust in these newer occupations. Which made me wonder. After all, Macoco was from the same family, and yet she was a pro gamer. Perhaps there was some complicated relationship there¡­but that had nothing to do with me. But if there was one thing that I could say, it was that Macoco had clearly been a strong influence on Necoco within the family. Perhaps kids always looked up to the outlaw¡­! Ah, I did ask Macoco about sponsor contracts. But she said that she didn¡¯t have any. ¡®My feelings of motivation come in waves, so sometimes I don¡¯t want to work at all. Someone like that should not be representing a brand.¡¯ That was her answer. And I agreed with her. Her influence was a big reason that I decided to turn down the offers this time. I still didn¡¯t know how much I could do. And so my anxiety was bigger than any relief I might feel over having a stable income. I needed to probe a little further. Satomi wasn¡¯t as young as Necoco, but he was still at an age to be thinking about his future. Well, at least he had an older brother to give him advice, whether he wanted it or not. As long as he listened to some of it, he should be fine. Too much advice might lead to another fight between them, but that¡¯s what brothers did. At least with those two, any clashes would lead to them bettering themselves. Ah, yes. Since I had asked Macoco, I was going to ask Core as well¡­but I changed my mind. He had a way of talking that really made you feel pressured, and I might get pushed into doing something. In fact, it had been his words that made me consider being an archer, even though it wasn¡¯t a popular class. So I was grateful, but wanted to find answers for myself. Anne had never been one to post videos, but she created a channel, and was already uploading content. About the occult¡­! Even now, she continued to play the game, but all of her videos were not gameplay, but explanations on the virtual occult and new theories she had. And they were rising in popularity! I suppose there was demand for that kind of thing. Even at my age, there were many worlds I didn¡¯t know about. While I had only met all of these people through the game, if I were to meet any in real life, I would probably want to meet Anne. Was she a red-blooded human, or a tentacled alien¡­ Hmm, occultic! But maybe it was best to leave that as a mystery. In any case, this meant that except for one person, we were all undecided about what to do. And since I was the oldest, I wanted to set a good example. And that led to the current decision. Well, I had just decided to go at my own pace and not be influenced by others. In a way, it was what I had been doing up until now. But avoiding any change could also be difficult. Besides, my combat style had changed greatly. To live was to fight, and the longer it went, change was demanded. Just like how Range wasn¡¯t enough, and I had to increase my firepower, I would likely have to adjust a few times as I continue to work. That¡¯s why I needed this ¡®axis¡¯ that was moving at my own pace. Range had been my ¡®axis,¡¯ and I had acquired skills and charge attacks around it, as well as making Garbow a balanced, all-rounder. If I didn¡¯t change with this thick ¡®axis¡¯ in the center, then I would go off course. And I would lose sight of what I was supposed to do. Be yourself¡­as I made a video with that in mind, it came out very amateurish. Yes, doing only what you want to do is not the best way to entertain people! However, it was also the best I could do at this time¡­! Besides, now that I was well known, I could get more views than the average newcomer. And people would probably laugh at this video. Well, it was normal to be laughed at at first. I had been insulted a lot when I first started NSO. But had I followed the voice in my heart that said, ¡®Online games are scary¡­¡¯ and quit then, I would have gained nothing. And so I didn¡¯t mind being laughed at, if I was doing my best. I would level up eventually¡­I think. Besides, it was important for professionals to be able to make compromises. You could try to make something that is a 10/10, but have to be able to forgive a 6/10 as well. That¡¯s what I read on a site for beginners. And I think my video is a 6/10! ¡­Really? Maybe it was 4//10? No, it wasn¡¯t bad for a beginner! And so, I had to stop myself from opening the editing software again¡­! As I wanted to do things properly, I had bought some expensive software, but I was currently only able to use the features that were in freeware. I had finished the video, but I still wanted to change it¡­! Compromise, compromise¡­compromise! Too much tinkering could ruin the data! Ah, that happened once. And I was saved by an automatic backup that I don¡¯t remember enabling. I was thankful then, that I had bought the expensive video editor. ¡°That¡¯s right. I should do some other work! There were still things I hadn¡¯t done yet¡­¡± I haven¡¯t decided on a name for the channel¡­ And since I just completed the video, it means I barely made any progress in the last month¡­! Right after winning, a lot of people asked, ¡®aren¡¯t you going to post videos?¡¯ and I had declared, ¡®I will!¡¯¡­ Now, I don¡¯t even want to look at the message boards¡­ Yes, to commemorate our win, I had checked the NSO General Thread just one. I had always been scared of it, but it was blowing up right after the tournament, and most of the comments about us were positive. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô 80: Anonymous Runner The old bow is strong!!! 81: Anonymous Runner My hands have never been so sweaty while watching someone else play. 82: Anonymous Runner I thought he was going to lose for a minute, but he turned it around! 83: Anonymous Runner I always knew he could do it. I¡¯ve been saying it ever since the battle royale¡­ 84: Anonymous Runner It was a fitting fight to end the tournament. Good game, VRHAR. 85: Anonymous Runner Both weren¡¯t even human near the end. 86: Anonymous Runner The strongest vs the strongest. 87: Anonymous Runner The battles were great. It was definitely worth paying to see. 88: Anonymous Runner Yeah, a lot of the battles were great. A round of applause for the participants. 89: Anonymous Runner Both parties did well. It was so exciting to see the players drop like flies. 90: Anonymous Runner Crush each other before they show their true strength¡­ That¡¯s a battle between masters. 91: Anonymous Runner It¡¯s a success, considering this is the 1st one. I kind of thought it would be a failure. 92: Anonymous Runner I¡¯m glad Kyuji was there. ¡ô¡¡¡ô¡¡¡ô Hmm, great! But I also feel restless! Obviously, I didn¡¯t want to be bashed, but it was awkward to hear so much praise as well. And so after that, I would continue to ignore the message boards. Besides, they were probably hating on me again, if they haven¡¯t forgotten about me entirely¡­ All right. In order to turn things around again, I will decide on a channel name today! First, most pro gamers will use their own name. ¡ªKyuji. That was kind of boring. Now that I think about it, most people use English so it will be easier for international audiences to search for their name. ¡ªKYUJI. Maybe that was too cool. It looked more like a lifestyle channel. It lacked that gamer feel. Besides, I wasn¡¯t sure if NSO was even sold abroad? I could change it if I ever play games that are also popular outside the country¡­ Hmm¡­I know! People online called me ¡®Old Bowman,¡¯ so I should just use that. ¡ªOld Bowman Kyuji. It wasn¡¯t bad¡­it sounded fun. I wanted to make a channel that made people smile¡­ But I also wanted a little coolness as well. ¡ªShatei Kyokufuri Old Bowman Kyuji. Yes, it looked a little cooler with some kanji. Maybe this was it? ¡­But it was too straightforward. It was a logical name that did describe me, but¡­I wanted a twist. Having your design and name be just a little on the lame side, like having a flaw, would result in leaving a bigger impression. The ¡®old man¡¯ part is supposed to do that, but these days, it wasn¡¯t really unusual to have that in your name. It was the same with Kyokufuri. It was common. I wanted a twist that said ¡®me¡¯¡­ Something cool and lame at the same time¡­ ¡°¡­Ah.¡± Or maybe this was trying too hard? If anything, it sounded like someone was introducing you. It would be lame if I said it myself¡­but that¡¯s why it was good! I¡¯ll go with this. I can change it later if people hate it. And so I put in the information required to create an account, and then typed in the channel name at the end. Hmm. Yes, it was lame and a little long. But it was fine. You should start by being true to yourself¡­ ¡ªShatei Kyokufuri Old Bowman, His Name is Kyuji CH 233 After Data.1 ¨C Old Bowman, Once Again I had quit my job at the company a while ago and became a pro gamer. They made retro games, which was quite unusual these days, and I went from that, to making money by playing the latest game¡­ Either this was a great change, or not much of a change at all. Yes, in the end¡­my life was just a game! This was the great age of VR! There were numerous game companies, and they were all making VR games. In other words, everyone was playing VR games. And pro gamers had to be at the forefront of them. Those who could entertain the masses with a unique playing style stayed, and the others faded from memory¡­ It was survival of the fittest, and there was always someone else who would take your place. In this great age of VR, being a pro gamer was a common occupation¡­! Hmm, that¡¯s an exaggeration¡­ Well, in any case, I had yet to be forgotten in this world. The VRMMORPG Next Stage Online had become very popular, and there was a tournament to determine the strongest party. And our party had been victorious. That was a little over a month ago. The excitement had settled down, but people still remembered that fight. And so I was not forgotten. Not yet¡­ As for uploading videos, it was going slowly. Information moves quickly in this world. And I had taken a month to post a video, which was very late. Still, it had good enough ratings, and so I was satisfied. NSO recorded your adventures automatically, and you could download whatever scenes you liked. Not only that, but there were first person and third person camera angles, as well as long distance and bird¡¯s eye angles. But such a great service was¡­not free. Apparently, the monthly subscription was not enough to cover the costs of saving so much data. So, why was I able to use this feature? The answer was that I had chosen this course from the beginning. I didn¡¯t really read the details, but just saw the words ¡®safely save data!¡¯ and ¡®helping your gamer journey!¡¯ and so I chose the Premium Perfect Pro course and started playing. Of course, it actually said, ¡®safely save recorded data!¡¯ and ¡®helping your pro gamer journey, such as posting videos!¡¯ In fact, it was useless if you weren¡¯t going to be a pro gamer. Paying more here was not going to make it easier to level up or find rare equipment. And so if you weren¡¯t going to post videos, you would just be wasting your money. Thankfully, due to the way that things turned out, I was grateful to my past self for making this mistake. But I would have to be careful in the future. Now that I think of it, there had been another event in the past that made me feel like I had to be better at reading instructions¡­ But it looks like I still have a ways to go! Now, I had the powerful weapon that was recordings of past adventurers. And so there was no lack of content for me in terms of videos. As there were too many silences, I would add subtitles and edit it down a little. And then I would have a decent enough video. Seeing my old self was both embarrassing and nostalgic. Thanks to that, the work of editing became quite fun for me. However, I could not just rely on old adventures. Viewers would want to see what happened to Kyuji after winning the tournament. The past was the past, and my playing was both amateurish and not very flashy. What we needed was ¡®now¡¯¡­! That being said, as for whether or not I could move like I did during the tournament¡­the answer was no. At first, I thought that I was rusty, as I had spent so much time with video editing, that I hardly had any time to play anymore. But I was wrong. It was the opposite. It was that I was stronger back then. In other words, through facing superior players like Macoco and Nord, I had been able to draw out a power that exceeded my own limits! I had once heard of a phenomenon that through running with someone who is faster than you, you can run faster. That phenomenon had occurred to me. In order to get back to that place, I would have to encounter a strong enemy again. However, the boss monsters on the field and dungeons were easily defeated. I don¡¯t know¡­they were not exciting. And so I had to rely on old footage. And I could not find a way out of this rut. When it came to strong enemies, there were dragons, but it took a lot of luck to find them. In fact, I hadn¡¯t encountered any rare monsters recently. Either I was unlucky, or I had been too lucky in the past¡­ Tsk! If I can¡¯t find a strong enemy, I had to use some other way to find something interesting! As a pro, I couldn¡¯t just pray that something like that would come my way! ¡­Every time, I started with this positive attitude, but haven¡¯t moved on from there. To be honest, as a player, and unrelated to videos, I just wanted a solid goal. Yes, an adventure that would make the heart burn with excitement¡­ Gogogogoogogogogg¡­!! ¡°Oh? The volcano again¡­¡± A volcanic mountain erupted to the north. So I had drifted far away from the first town again. What I meant by this, was that recently, I had taken to riding on clouds while thinking. Even now, I was lying down on a cloud and staring up at the sky. And before I knew it, I would drift off somewhere. Right now, I was to the north. There were harsh mountain ranges, and there were volcanic mountains that were active here. Hot air would blow when they erupted, so I would probably be pushed back to the south if I stayed still. So I could return to the first town without doing anything¡­ ¡°Still, it really is hot. This wind¡­ I feel like I¡¯m going to burn up¡­ Hmm¡­? Burn¡­?¡± If my heart won¡¯t burn, then maybe I should go to a place that is burning¡­? At the very least, I should be able to experience a heated adventure! Though, my heart might not be the only thing that burns¡­ ¡°Windcloud Blast! Push the wind against the current!¡± The cloud I was currently on was a natural cloud, not one made with Floating Windcloud Herd. And so it did not disappear in five minutes, but the wind could easily cause it to change shape. But now, it was best to go on a cloud I was used to riding. ¡°Windcloud Herd! Now, let¡¯s go to the volcano!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± And so on a whim, Garbow and I went towards the mountain. It was the beginning of a new adventure¡­! CH 234 After Data.2 ¨C Old Bowman, Burning ¡­But first, I should check my status and equipment again. It had been a while since I last entered a dangerous area, and so it would be best to have a grasp on how strong I really was. Especially since I had a lot of skills, it was easy to forget about some of them. ¡°Status open!¡± ¡ô Status Name: Kyuji Job: Sagitarius Lv: 24/50 HP: 220/220(+60) MP: 240/240(+100) Attack: 455(+365) Defense: 270(+230) Magic Attack: 40 Magic Defense: 190(+160) Speed: 140(+90) Star Area Range: 1060(+330) Skills: Ultra Bow Arts I, Satisfying Shot, Arrow Fusion, Efficient Movement In fight Arrow, Bound Arrow, Clear Arrow Inferno Arrow, Trident Arrow, Drill Arrow Kai Letter Arrow, Gatling Arrow, Thunder Arrow Flash Arrow, S Multi-shot, Quick Draw, Heat Ray Eyes Shin Immobile Sniping Stance, Sniping Insight, Beast King Eyes Charge Attacks: Sky Tear, Warp Arrow, I¡¯m Arrow, Indra¡¯s Arrow, Big Arrow Combined Charge Attack: Meteor Bow, Armageddon Arrow Miracle Effect: Southern Cross Ballista ¡ô Equipment Head: Windstream Snake Scarf Right Hand: Machine God Bow ¨C Heaven Wind Murakumo Left Hand: (Machine God Bow ¨C Heaven Wind Murakumo) Arms: Cloudbore Archery Gloves G Torso: Windcloud Haori Legs: Windguard Warrior Hakama Feet: Cloudcrossing Tabi Accessories: Seabow Arts Form Seven, Mirror Alice Reflection, Exorcism Bow Arts ¨C 4 Mark. Well, not much had changed since the tournament. You don¡¯t get experience from PvP events, and so my level hadn¡¯t gone up much. If there was a big difference, it was that now, if a player was carrying a ME medal, the Miracle Effect was displayed in their status. ME medals were special items that you didn¡¯t need to equip or consume. As long as you had them, you could use the Miracle Effect. Many of them had been used during the tournament, and some of the battles had relied on them entirely. And so players who didn¡¯t have one yet were now more desperate than ever. However, as they were a type of collaboration item, you couldn¡¯t get one whenever you wanted. If Charin, the idol and AI manager of a game called Medallion Online, were ever to collaborate with Next Stage Online again, then players would have another chance of acquiring the ME medals. Charin herself was a friendly AI, so I think she would do something about it. ¡°I should check Garbow as well.¡± There was a lot that Garbow could do as well. If I didn¡¯t have a good grasp on his capabilities, then I wouldn¡¯t be able to make the most of his power. And so I would check his status even more thoroughly than my own. ¡ô Unison Status Name: Garbow(Ravenalligate) Race: Fish/Machine Lv: 68/100 HP: 180/180 MP: 1340/340(+220) Attack: 650(+375) Defense: 265(+70) Magic Attack: 225(+85) Magic Defense: 210(+70) Speed: 245(+15) ¡ô Skill [Poison Resistance V] [Machine Body] [Straight Darts] [Red Flash] [Holy Splash] [Energy Scissors] [Electric River] [Flail Tail] [Caltrop] [Energy Shield III] [Magic Jamming] ¡ô Charge Attack [Red Meteor II] [Blue Ocean Sphere] [Crimson Deathroll] [Kurogairu] ¡ô Combination Charge Attack [Meteor Bow] [Armageddon Arrow] ¡ô Equipment I: Sunfish Bow II: Multiple Fish Pod III: Ultra E Generator(E tank) IV: Octopus Cannon V: Earth Unicorn Horn Garbow also hadn¡¯t changed too much since the tournament. Without Garbow, who had high firepower and was good at ambushing, I would not be much of a solo player. That was how much of a reliable buddy he was! Hmm. But the more I look, the more I see how ready I am. I was fully stocked up on healing items. I really was prepared to fight. ¡°All right, this time, we¡¯re going for real! To the volcanic mountain!¡± ¡°Gar! Gar!¡± During the inspection, the wind I made with Windcloud Blast had pushed us closer to the mountain. The closer we got, the more overwhelmed I felt. However, I knew that nothing would come from running away. I would keep moving forward and only leave when it got dangerous! ¡°Ah, it stopped moving¡­¡± I guess that meant that the hot wind from the volcano was equal to the strength of Windcloud Blast¡­ So I would not be able to go any farther on this cloud. Did I have to go on the ground, then¡­? Not really. Because I had a powerful charge attack. ¡°Warp Arrow to warp to the volcano!¡± It was crazy to think that this was once just a skill that could be traded in for NSO medals. Even now, when it was a charge attack with cool down time, Warp Arrow was still among the best. From the moment I acquired it, all the way up to the strongest party tournament, it had served me well! No, I was actually not allowed to use it during the turf war? Well, in any case, it was definitely a powerful charge attack that had supported me most of the time. And I hoped it would help me again¡­! ¡°It will be dangerous to just charge into the crater. And so I¡¯ll warp near the midway point, where I¡¯ll be able to stand safely.¡± Kiririri¡­ Shu! The arrow shot straight down to the surface of the mountain, and I warped there in an instant. By the way, as long as he wasn¡¯t summoned, Garbow would warp with me as well. He had been treated as a fifth member during the event, and so I wasn¡¯t able to summon or dismiss him. But on the field, I could just dismiss him whenever it was dangerous, or I wanted to warp. ¡°Grr¡­ It¡¯s really hot¡­! A lot hotter than the tropical forest I went to before¡­!¡± However, this was just a game, so I could breath fine. And I could also move¡­ Huh!? ¡°My equipment is¡­burning!?¡± I hadn¡¯t even touched any fire, and yet the Windcloud set was on fire! The tabi, hakama, haori, gloves, scarf and¡­ even the bow was burning!? And my HP was taking a hit¡­!? ¡°This is bad¡­! Stardust Arrow!¡± The field itself had enough firepower to burn all my equipment¡­! But since they couldn¡¯t actually make the player feel that much heat, you didn¡¯t realize how bad it was! That was the trap¡­! I had no idea it would be like this just by entering¡­! I had to escape into the air¡­ If there is enough time¡­! Just then, the volcano erupted again. As the smoke rose into the sky, the magma flowed, and rocks flew¡­ I was unlucky enough to be caught in the smoke, and the temperature rose even further. While Stardust Arrow was strong enough to cancel out a powerful enemy attack, this was nature, and it could do nothing to resist the head. And so my armor burned up and my HP turned to 0. Yes, the real adventure started from here. The new battle within the flames¡­!