《Dimension Wave》 Prologue ¡ªLive another life in an alternate universe. Phase II of Project Second Life is live! Now accepting new participants, but hurry¡ªoffer ends soon! ¡°Whaddya think?¡± The characters and background art were so realistic, they almost had me fooled. This feature took up seven pages in this gaming magazine, so it¡¯s gotta be quite popular. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say¡­¡± Two girls¡ªactually, my older and younger sister¡ªshowed up out of nowhere with grins on their faces. They stuck this video game magazine in my face and hounded me over the article. Honestly, I have no clue as to what they¡¯re trying to do. Well, I¡¯d be lying if I said I had no interest in games. But the write-up seems to be about an MMORPG. I¡¯m more of a fan of games like Harvest M¡ð¡ðn and Animal Cr¡ðssing. I like that comfy, casual pace. ¡°Ugh, you¡¯re suuuch a bummer!¡± ¡°I know, right?!¡± ¡°¡­¡± What¡¯s with them? They¡¯re so hyper. Even if it¡¯s me saying, I think we get along well. We game together since both of my sisters are very into it. Well, it¡¯s probably because of my influence on them, considering that I¡¯m the only guy of us three. ¡°So? So? Whaddya think?¡± my younger sister asks me in a cutesy voice. Her excitement is almost annoying, but since she¡¯s my sister, I hold my tongue and continue reading the magazine pushed up against my face. Dimension Wave Looks like it¡¯s an online multiplayer. Skimming through the pages, it looks like players get to work together with allies to fight off enemies. All their weapons, magic, and monsters are pretty typical too. Oh, you can also go fishing. I like stuff like that. It¡¯s nice and relaxing. There are various races to choose from too. Oh? The description seems kinda odd. What¡¯s this? ¡ªContinuing with the well-acclaimed playstyle of the first phase, Phase II of the game will also not allow players to log out until the session has been completed. This further encourages players to fully experience a second life in the game. However, in-game time differs from real-life time. Though each session will require years of in-game time to be completed, it will translate to 24 hours of real-life time. This means that even players who are in full-time employment will be able to enjoy all of the content. We are now accepting new applicants, so don¡¯t hesitate to sign up! Please visit the address below for details. So it says. Oh, that¡¯s right. I remember now. It was about a year ago when they caused a big stir. It was the guy who planned to create a whole ¡°second life¡± thing in a VRMMO world. And as it says in the magazine, months and years in the game will only be just a few hours in the real world. The problem is that people¡¯s demeanors change after playing. I mean, if you spend seemingly years in the game, it¡¯s bound to affect your personality. There¡¯s even this disgraceful bastard who not only got a girlfriend in the game but is still going out with her IRL. Fuckin¡¯ normies! ¡­ I should mention that cost of entry is rather high. Not only do you need special equipment, but the game itself costs a lot. After all, the developers and retailers need to make money. In short, it¡¯s not spare change for a student at the very least. ¡°So? How are you going to pay for it?¡± Honestly, even if you begged Mom and Dad for it, they¡¯ll tell you off¡­ ¡°Heh heh!¡± My older sister remains reasonably excited and brings out an envelope. The Second Life Project is written as the sender¡¯s address. ¡°No, you didn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°I sure did! Here¡¯s the acceptance letter.¡± ¡°How did you get this? Who did you have to¡ª¡± ¡°Remember that tournament I won a while ago? This was the prize!¡± She spoiled the answer but also my joke. The license was a prize for winning a tournament for this fighting game, which was made by another company of the same conglomerate. I¡¯ve read that they¡¯re making a lot of money lately. My sister definitely signed up the tournament just so she could get her hands on the license. It¡¯s almost weird being related with these girls. ¡°Three people can sign up with one of these licenses, ya know!¡± Here is my older sister who¡¯s grinning from ear to ear and my younger sister who¡¯s almost physically buzzing with excitement. ¡°Three people? That¡¯s an odd number, eh?¡± Isn¡¯t it normally two or four? I¡¯ve heard stories of couples who played together and came out with a stronger bond than ever. But I¡¯ve heard that the game made things worse for some people too. In any case, it looks like I¡¯m invited too. ¡­ wait, hold on. ¡°Hey, why don¡¯t we put these up on an aucti¡ªboof!¡± Before I could finish my sentence, my right cheek encountered my younger sister¡¯s fist. ¡°No way, you dummy!¡± ¡°No, hear me out. Selling just one of these would give us enough money for a family vaca¡ªboof!¡± This time, it was left cheek, older sister. ¡°I believe I can leave the whole taking care of Mom and Dad thing until after I become a productive member of society.¡± They sure are loyal to their desires. Well, it¡¯s not the license is mine anyway, so I don¡¯t really have the right to tell her what do with it. ¡°So, who¡¯s player three?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± they simultaneously interjected. ¡°Hmm?¡± The two girls stare at me as if I were speaking alien. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to play too?¡± ¡°Uhh, not really?¡± It does sound interesting, but I¡¯m iffy about VR games. ¡°And plus, I get kinda woozy from VR setups.¡± VR machines and these fully-immersive online games have been sweeping through the gaming industry. Just before, the sci-fi subgenre of cyberpunk was very popular. Fully-immersive online games made a big splash when they first came out as it was almost as if cyberpunk has become reality. A large portion of gamers were very positive about it too. Firstly¡ªand I think a lot of Japanese gamers can sympathize¡ªis that a lot of these physically-stimulating virtual reality games rub people the wrong way. For example, like how retro-styled games with pixel art are still really popular, people are used to gaming through a big TV screen. It¡¯s hard to transition away from that concept. Even though I was born into a world where beautiful 3D games were the norm, I¡¯m sure there were people who rejected the transition from pixel art to low-poly graphics. Well, if that¡¯s the case, I shouldn¡¯t be opposed to these fully-immersive games. Secondly, the games are very affected by the player¡¯s brainwaves. It¡¯s been recently proven that mental output and processing power vary greatly from person to person. In other words, a person¡¯s ability to judge and reason have been proven, which is why fully-immersive VR games¡ªgames that depend on those functions¡ªare heavily dependent on the player¡¯s abilities. To sum it up, there were gamers who were dissatisfied with the apparent unequal starting lines started cropping up. And excluding the small portion of people who physically and mentally fared well, the sales number weren¡¯t so hot. Well, I guess it¡¯s kinda like when touchscreens first hit the market. Those resistive ones weren¡¯t so good and people didn¡¯t love them. But as technology gets better, so will the performance of VR machines, and I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll then be a big hit. Hmm, I swear I¡¯ve heard someone tell me this before. ¡°Y¡¯know, big bro, vat-type VR games have built-in brainwave normalizers so that anybody would be fine, right?¡± ¡°Oh, is that right? I guess that¡¯s why they¡¯re so expensive then.¡± Vat-types could be described as high-performance VR machines. They¡¯re different than regular head-mounted display units hooked up to a computer. Vat-types connect the player by immersing them in a vat full of liquid in which humans can breathe. It¡¯s really something straight out of a mad scientist¡¯s lab. And to speak frankly, the reason why vat-types are invitation-only being because this is tech from the near future¡ªit must cost a whole lot of money to operate. ¡°Well, I get that even I can play, but don¡¯t you two have anyone else you could invite?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a ticket for three people! It¡¯d be a lot more fun to go as siblings, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Yup, she¡¯s right!¡± It seems like the three of us are closer than I thought. The day has finally arrived. The three of us go to the venue by train. Even though my sisters rushed me out of the door, a lot of people had arrived already at the event site. We brought a few things with us, including the license and a USB flash drive that was distributed to all the players. Stored in the flash drive was the data of our created characters. It takes quite a bit of time to customize a character, so they got us to do that ahead of time. I made my macho mountain of muscles about three days ago. Swole characters aren¡¯t ordinarily popular, but I think they¡¯re cool. Humans, Lycanthropes, Elves, Jewels, and Spirits were available choices for your character¡¯s race and I chose to make a Spirit. Spirits don¡¯t have levels, HP, or MP, so it makes them pretty special among MMOs. They had a bit of information on their official site, but I had to figure most of that out by myself. Jewels seem interesting too, but I ultimately decided on a Spirit. I like the unique races. As for my sisters, the older one picked Human and the younger Lycanthrope. I didn¡¯t ask them, but they told me anyway. ¡°Oh, looks like they¡¯re starting to let people in.¡± Even before I had said that, those two were already restless and had begun heading inside. And why am I at the end of the line anyway? Eventually, I handed one of the three passes to a staff member and got in return a key with a blue plastic number tag attached to it. Then, we were split into two lanes¡ªone for men, one for women. ¡°See you later.¡± ¡°See ya!¡± I waved them a simple goodbye before heading into the men¡¯s changing room. It¡¯s pretty big in here. I opened the locker with my number on it and found a set of clothes inside. Before the event, we were told to send in our measurements along with our authorization codes so that they can get it tailored to us. I put my valuables inside, though that consists of only my phone and wallet, and put on the special clothes. It looks like a plugsuit straight out of an anime or something. It¡¯s really elastic. The guys beside me are being awkwardly silent changing into their suits. But even without saying, I can tell they¡¯re thinking of the same thing. I think they used to submerge you in the nude, but after some criticism, they came out with these tailored plugsuits. They even contain emergency life-saving measures. That¡¯s probably one of the reasons why it¡¯s so expensive as well. After changing, I double-checked to make sure my locker was locked and then hurried out the door. ¡°Whoa¡­¡± The vats lined up row by row was really a spectacle seemingly taken out of a mad scientist¡¯s lab. They¡¯re actually pretty big, even though it¡¯s just for one person. It¡¯s as big as my bed at home. ¡°Let¡¯s see, let¡¯s see.¡± There¡¯s a large sticker placed instructing which way to stick the USB flash drive in and how to shut the door. It¡¯s so simple, anyone can get it right with a quick glance. I plug in my flash drive into the port, hopped in the vat, made sure the door was closed, then slowly lied down. There¡¯s still 10 minutes left until it starts. I take the time to think through what I¡¯ll do in the game. The two of them mentioned that they were picking a combat class, but I had other plans. I¡¯d think I¡¯d like to try the fishing activity that was in the magazine the other day. I know it might be a bit weird to just fish in an MMORPG, but the whole point of this game is to live a second life, right? I¡¯ll live it leisurely. I haven¡¯t thought much about what¡¯s after though. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll find a goal while I play. Just as I was thinking about that, I suddenly remember that they had an event called Dimension Wave going on, just like the title. I totally forgot about it up until now. I still have to decide on whether or not to participate, but I¡¯m sure my sisters will. I¡¯d like to at least play support for them. ¡°Oh?¡± Time snuck up on me while I was lost in thought. An announcement played as they started to pump the liquid in. It¡¯s green, I thought¡­ but it was just the reflection of a light inside the vat. On second inspection, it¡¯s actually colorless. The vat filled up in a flash. I¡¯ve subconsciously held my breath, but I can naturally breathe in the liquid. What a shock. I really can breathe. Honestly, I wasn¡¯t actually sure until now. ¡ªReading data 0%???100%. ¡ªData import complete. Beginning brainwave normalizer load test. I can see it. Rather, it¡¯s being projected straight into my brain. A scene prettier than reality appears before my eyes. Lots of people are walking in the streets of this fantasy town. The sound is coming through too. I hear everything from the male voice of the shopkeeper to the noise of shuffling feet and footsteps. In normal VR systems, you get the tiniest hint of lag, even if it¡¯s not much. But in here, not only is it running without so much a hitch, the fidelity is extremely high. That¡¯s specialized equipment for ya. ¡ªTest complete. Game will begin after all processes complete. It¡¯s a weird feeling. The voice goes directly into your head without me needing to use my ears. I was thinking that I¡¯ve totally entered a sci-fi world, but tech in the real world is more advanced than I thought. I guess you could call it being excited, but oddly, I couldn¡¯t calm down and stop looking around everywhere. But right as I do so, everything disappeared. ¡°That can¡¯t be good.¡± I¡¯m not just talking about vat-type machines, but when any piece of electronic suddenly goes black like if you yanked the plug out, it kinda makes me feel weird. It¡¯s like as if the world that I¡¯ve been living it just suddenly disappeared. And then¡ª ¡ªBest wishes to your new life! CH 1 Lurolona, the First City ¡°Huh¡­?¡± I lost consciousness for only a few seconds. Well, if you think of in real life¨Ctime, I was out for maybe only a few nanoseconds. If you believe what the developers say, then from this instant on, time is passing by at two different rates¡ªone in this world and the other in real life. And as explained earlier, I¡¯ll be living in this world until the game is completed. I look around to find an ultra-realistic setting. A Western-style castle peeks out in the distance and white paving stones line the streets. Call it realism or whatever, but if you look closely, the stones even have grime on them, like they¡¯ve actually been trodden on. Around me are other players that have just logged on and reacting the same way. Some are even talking about it; their voices becoming the bustle of a thriving town. I¡¯ve played other VRMMOs before, but never have I experienced anything on this level. That¡¯s probably one of the reasons why we¡¯re directly connected to the servers, though I haven¡¯t really thought about that until now. ¡°Alrighty then, enough with being moved to tears, let¡¯s¡ªhuh?¡± That¡¯s weird. Why is my voice so high? Your voice is among the many things you can freely fine tune in the character creator. I¡¯m sure I made my guy sound cool and stern. Even if I didn¡¯t, I shouldn¡¯t sound like a little girl. Did I mess up the settings or something? ¡­ I¡¯ve got a bad feeling about this. I tilt my head down to look at my body. ¡°I¡¯m definitely a girl. Thanks a lot,¡± I subconsciously mutter out. I¡¯ve got long black hair, a petite body, small hands and feet, and a chest that can be described as ¡°lacking¡±. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s because it¡¯s novice equipment, but I¡¯m wearing a simple white dress. It¡¯s a little breezy down there, as if I¡¯m wearing a skirt again. ¡ªKizuna?Exceed, you have received a new private chat request. Accept? I hear the voice directly speaking to me from inside my head. Though I don¡¯t know who Tsumugi?Exceed, the sender, is. But judging from how awfully similar their name is to mine, I bet it¡¯s the one who set me up. From just having the thought of accepting the chat request in my head, the game goes ding and I hear the girls¡¯ voices. ¡°Hey, Big Bro!¡± ¡°¡¯sup!¡± Both of their voices ring out. ¡°Big Bro? Wait a minute! Your character and your name too! Why¡¯s everything totally different?! Oh, Big Sis is gonna regret it big time!¡± Our older sister¡¯s name is Kanata?Exceed. Whose bright idea was this anyway? All our names are structured the same way¡ªJapanese first name, a symbol, and a random English word? This is some late-stage terminal eighth-grader syndrome shit. ¡°All your older sister ever wanted was another little sister¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted a little sister too!¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡± I reflexively let out a groan, making my character groan out loud too. Now that I think about it, she never did ask me what I was gonna look like. She must¡¯ve edited my character yesterday. ¡°And, y¡¯know?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Since we¡¯ll be in this world for months or even years, I wanted us to all get along¡­¡± ¡°Kanata¡­¡± Seems like she¡¯s got reasons of her own. Wait, I can¡¯t just say whatever and look the other way. She totally accessed my data without permission and changed me into a girl. That means until the game ends, I¡¯m a GIRL¡ªGuy in Real Life! ¡­ that¡¯s just great. ¡°And, y¡¯know¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°¡¯Two sisters and a brother¡¯ is kind of a mouthful, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°¡­¡± What, was that a joke? Anyone else would be steaming mad by now. ¡°Ugh, okay, I get it. Whatever. I¡¯ll live my second life as the other sex.¡± It¡¯s not like it¡¯s the first time I¡¯m getting screwed over by my sisters. Such is life for being the only brother. I¡¯ll hold my tongue. If I get mad, I¡¯ll just spoil the fun for everybody. ¡°What are your plans, Big Bro?¡± ¡°Mm, I was thinking of leveling up my fishing skill, so I think I¡¯ll try it out.¡± ¡°Starting off with a minigame, huh, Big Bro Kizuna?¡± ¡°Big Bro Kizuna¡­¡± ¡­ being called that just does not sit well with me. It doesn¡¯t seem like I have much of a choice though. ¡°I was just gonna go hunt. How ¡®bout you, Sis?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t decided on my equipment yet, so maybe I¡¯ll go take a look in the shops.¡± ¡°So, we¡¯ll split up then?¡± ¡°It looks like it. I¡¯ll phone you guys later¡ªerr, rather, I¡¯ll send you a chat later.¡± ¡°See ya.¡± ¡ªPrivate chat ended. Returning to regular chat. Alright, let¡¯s go fishing like I planned from the beginning. If I remember correctly, it¡¯s a skill I have to learn. By focusing my thoughts, I open up the menu screen and click the ¡°Status, Skills, and Item¡± screen. Name/ Kizuna?Exceed Race/ Spirit Energy/ 1,000 Mana/ 50 Serin/ 500 Skills/ Energy Production I, Mana Production I Items/ Novice Weapon Chest, Novice Energy Potion ¡Á10, Instruction Manual for Spirits I select Instruction Manual for Spirits from my inventory. As soon as I do that, a book about the size of a paperback novel appears in my hands. I flip through the pages and see it written in some foreign language. But for some reason, I can understand it. I think it¡¯s the Spirit language. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± ¡ªUnlike other races, Spirits do not have levels, HP, MP, STR, AGI, INT, MIND, DEX, or LUK. Instead, the stat ¡°Energy¡± replaces them all. The more Energy, the stronger the character. While¡ªwith enough Energy¡ªSpirits can withstand any attack from enemies, be careful that any damage to HP or consumption of MP will result in a corresponding usage of Energy. I see. That¡¯s pretty unique. In short, if I have a lot of Energy, I have a lot of attack, defense, HP, and MP. On the other hand, I¡¯ll be super weak if I don¡¯t have enough. I don¡¯t totally understand it, but let¡¯s see what¡¯s next. ¡ªLike with other races, acquiring or upgrading skills costs Mana. Using them costs Spirit. These are the two things consumed by Spirits. ¡ªPerforming actions will unlock skills, the same as other races. For Spirits, acquire skills by spending Mana once they are unlocked. Acquired skills may have a passive drain on Energy. As such, players can choose to level down skills, refunding 50% of the Mana spent on acquisition. Furthermore, skills will be leveled down at random when Energy goes below +1. It seems like it¡¯s important for Spirit players to manage their Energy. Well, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll learn along the way. I slam the manual shut and put it back in my inventory. Next, I selected Novice Weapon Chest. Lots of different weapons are in the box. They¡¯re all pretty normal-looking and they all have Novice in the name. I grab a one-handed sword. You can¡¯t go wrong with one of these. As soon as I make contact, a simple explanation of the sword pops up. But I threw the sword back in the box without reading the text. Even though there are descriptions of them all on the game¡¯s official site, both Kanata and I reserved our judgement to see how they¡¯re like in person. ¡°Oh?¡± I caught a glimpse of an interesting-looking weapon and take it out of the chest. Weapon/ Novice Gutting Knife Description/ A knife made for field dressing game. ¡ªDetailed description: A weapon made for breaking down game and plants. Causes monsters to drop items upon their death. That¡¯s a brief explanation. If I choose the one-handed sword, I can equip a shield at the same time too. But this one¡¯s more interesting. It even has a bonus effect. I choose the gutting knife. So, do I just grab it with my hand to equip it? I¡¯m not too sure. My status screen lists out stuff like my Energy and Mana, but there¡¯s no equipment section. Well, that¡¯s how you¡¯d usually do it in VR games anyway. Anyway, I must have a rod to fish. I wonder where they sell fishing rods. It¡¯d be appropriate to sell them in a general store or something. I open up the menu and select the map. It¡¯s a grey rectangular building. A sign with the symbol of a bag juts out from the wall. All of a sudden, a lot of people appeared¡ªHumans, Lycanthropes with their dog ears and tails, pointy-eared Elves, and Jewels with blue gemstones embedded in their chest. ¡­ I¡¯m the only Spirit in here. That¡¯s just a coincidence, eh? Inside the general store was a bunch of different stuff. They¡¯ve got restorative potions, seeds, scrap paper, copper, hammers, pots, pans, mortars, pestles, hoes, pickaxes, shovels¡­ and fishing rods. Oh, goodie. But this is just a wooden stick with a bit of string attached to the end. It¡¯s a shoddy rod that look like it¡¯s ripped straight out of a comic book. But how am I going to fish without it? Let¡¯s see how much it is. ¡ª600 serin. Oh, so that¡¯s what serin is. But I¡¯m missing 100 of those. Is there anything I can sell? I have my brand-new gutting knife, Novice Energy Potions, and the clothes on my back. It feels like I¡¯ve got underwear too. I could always buy more clothes later¡­ Seems like Novice Energy Potions sell for 20 serin each. ¡°I¡¯d like to sell these.¡± ¡®I can give you 20 serin for each Novice Energy Potion.¡¯ I¡¯ve heard the shopkeeper¡¯s voice before. From an anime, maybe? His voice actor has definitely voiced a bunch of different characters before. Hmm, whatever. Gotta deal with the matter at hand first. ¡®That will be 100 serin for five Novice Energy Potions.¡¯ I hear a ka-ching as my wallet ticks up to 600 serin. I go grab the fishing rod and come back. ¡®That will be 600 serin for the Shoddy Rod.¡¯ Hey¡­ You can¡¯t call your own products ¡°shoddy¡±¡­ One of the Humans browsing through the shop lets out a chortle. If this is what shops are like in this alternate universe, then I¡¯m never shopping again. Dang NPCs making fun of me. I stop myself from lashing out at the storekeeper and then grabbed my Shoddy Rod. CH 2 After getting my fishing rod, I headed off towards the blue section of the map. Whaddya know? It¡¯s water. Well, technically, the sea. I feel a little weird fishing on the sandy shores, so I found a nice bridge to cast my line from. ¡ª10 minutes later No bites yet. The rod¡¯s description says that fish would be more likely to bite if there were bait on the hook, but it¡¯ll work even without. Unfortunately, I¡¯ve caught squat. But since I¡¯m in a game, I get to daydream while staring off into the blue skies. The smell of the sea is flawlessly realistic. But more importantly, the calm winds and warm temperature makes this a perfect day for fishing. In any other game, the clouds in the sky don¡¯t usually move. Even if they do, they move linearly. Here, though, it seems like everything is affected by the physics engine. The clouds scatter, the grow bigger, and they float with the currents. ¡°Hello, there. You have a bite.¡± ¡°Oh? No kidding.¡± My fishing rods gently tugs and shakes. I pull it straight up. It didn¡¯t even take much strength to simply lift it out of the water. ¡ªHerring obtained. The herring went into my inventory. This Shoddy Rod really can get bites without any bait. That¡¯s a game for ya. ¡°Thanks for lett¡ªoh, you¡¯re gone. Must¡¯ve been in a hurry or something.¡± I wanted to say thanks for letting me know, but unfortunately, I was too late. Maybe they were just passing by. In any case, I cast my line into the water again. ¡°A herring, eh? I think there¡¯s a bit of herring in the cuisine of Kyoto, if I recall correctly.¡± The general store had pots and pans in stock. Maybe I can cook up the fish with a cooking skill. If there¡¯s herring, there might be sardines and mackerel too. And if I get better at this, I may even be able to catch me a tuna or seabream. ¡ªHerring obtained. Another herring? I don¡¯t really mind, but all this herring makes me hungry for one. Maybe I¡¯ll ask Mom to cook some tonight. ¡­ well, I¡¯m staying over at the event hall today, but maybe tomorrow in the real time. I wonder how much time I have left in the game. I¡¯m sure I have at least another day or two of in-game time. But herring¡­ there¡¯s herring roe, dried herring, herring soba, salted herring, smoked herring. Oh, there¡¯s even surstr?mming. Surstr?mming. I¡¯ve seen it on TV before, but I haven¡¯t tasted the real deal. I heard it smells a lot, so I don¡¯t think I¡¯d try it on my own volition. It¡¯d be nice to learn the cooking skill. But what¡¯s wrong with me? All I can think about in this game is herring. I had a lot of time to think, but in the end, I still didn¡¯t have an answer. ¡°I got more bites than I expected.¡± Two more hours have past. I put the whole herring thing aside and ended up catching quite a bit of fish. Seven herrings, three sardines, and a horse mackerel. I don¡¯t mean to mix game with reality, but it wouldn¡¯t be a bad haul if this were real life. And they¡¯re all edible, too. ¡°They even vary in size too, huh?¡± I only caught the one mackerel, so I don¡¯t have anything to compare it with, but the seven herrings are all different size and shapes. ¡°How do I do this again?¡± Honestly, I¡¯ve never prepped a fish before, so I¡¯ll just take a stab at it. I think I¡¯ve gotta get the scales off first. I use the tip of my Novice Gutting Knife to scrape the herring. A few scales fling off the skin of the fish. ¡ªSmall Fish Scale ¡Á10 obtained. Oh, that¡¯s a handy knife. I like it already. I think I can even do the meat and bones at this rate. Alright! ¡°Agh!¡± I got too excited and put a bit too much power into it. I sunk the Novice Gutting Knife into the belly of the herring with all my strength. As I did that, the flesh, the bones¡ªeverything vanished without a trace. I¡¯m inside a video game after all. It was so similar to real life up to now, this is actually a little exciting now. Anyway, I gut all of the fish caught today. In the end, my spoils were 27 Small Fish Scales, 8 Small Fish Bones, 4 Trimmed Herrings, 1 Herring Head, 1 Trimmed Horse Mackerel, 1 Trimmed Sardine. For some reason, the amount I caught doesn¡¯t exactly match up with the meat I got, but oh well. The number of items is nearly four times of the fish. And I¡¯ll have you know that it takes a lot of concentration to cut and trim fish. You mess up a little and the whole thing disappears. It took me nearly 30 minutes to carefully trim the 11 fish. Well, if I acquire the skill, I¡¯ll probably get a buff to it. Speaking of skills, it doesn¡¯t seem like I¡¯ve gained much. I open up my status screen. Name/ Kizuna?Exceed Race/ Spirit Energy/ 1,300 Mana/ 65 Serin/ 0 Oh, what¡¯s this? My Energy has increased without me doing anything. I wonder why. Ah, it¡¯s probably due to that Energy Production skill. This one, right? Skills/ Energy Production I, Mana Production I Energy Production I ¡ú Energy Production II Generates 100 Energy per hour ¡ú Generates 200 Energy per hour Costs 10 Mana to upgrade Mana Production I ¡ú Mana Production II Generates 5 Mana per hour ¡ú Generates 10 Mana per hour Consumes 0 Energy per hour ¡ú Consumes 150 Energy per hour Costs 25 Mana to upgrade Then, I suddenly remember¡­ ¡°Agh, I¡¯ve wasted three hours already!¡± I upgrade both skills to rank II. My Energy drops to 1,150 and my Mana to 30. It seems like it consumed my Energy as soon as I level the skill up. But the more I think about it, the better the fact that my Energy and Mana increases by the hour seems. Perhaps it¡¯d be quicker to level for normal races by hunting? Hmm. Whatever. I¡¯m a Spirit; no other choice for me. I take a look at my skills section again and noticed that there¡¯s Fishing Mastery I written in greyed out characters. I guess it wasn¡¯t a waste of my time after all. Oh, and it doesn¡¯t seem like I get a Mastery for gutting and trimming the fish. I examine Fishing Mastery I and read its description. Fishing Mastery I All actions with a fishing rod receives a 10% buff. I barely just unlocked that skill. But if I acquire it, my Energy per hour drops down to -50. That won¡¯t do. If I screw up just a little bit, it¡¯s possible that I¡¯ll drop dead. I¡¯ll acquire the skill after I upgrade my Energy Production again. And with that, I cast my line in the water again. ¡°Hmm?¡± The moment I casted the line, an incredible force pulled on it. ¡°Oh, no! Eep!¡± Since it came out of nowhere and I was holding on tight to the rod, my body¡ªthis body of a girl¡ªwas pulled along. Perhaps it was a simple matter of a lack of STR, or Energy in the case of Spirits, but when I tried planting myself down, I ended up falling off the bridge. There was a big splash and then the blub blub of bubbles as I fell into the sea. In that instant, I saw a large fish, but it disappeared almost immediately. Damn! If only I had taken Fishing Mastery! That fish that got away was big¡­ well, big enough that I couldn¡¯t fight it. Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m in a game, but I¡¯m able to hold my breath underwater for longer than I normally can. I take a good look at my small Kizuna?Exceed body and get back up on the bridge. ¡°Whew¡­¡± My clothes are wet. I guess that¡¯s a given. Anyway, I looked at my items screen and then my status screen and found out that I lost 30 Energy because of fall damage, I think. ¡°But more important, it took away my rod¡­¡± I think it¡¯s normal for me to be taken aback. I never would¡¯ve thought that I¡¯d lose my starting money, five potions, and my Shoddy Rod in that little time. ¡°Hahaha¡­ you sure have got a lot of nerve¡­¡± That¡¯s it. I¡¯mma catch you and eat you. CH 3 ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± It¡¯s been 10 minutes since then. I sold all the scales, bones, and fish meat I had and bought another fishing rod before returning to my spot. I also bought some bait this time. As a result, I have only 65 serin left in my pockets. In any case, I am definitely going to eat that fish. I¡¯m the type of guy to hold a grudge. Like how I always play fighting games with Tsumugi, who¡¯s really into them. Unfortunately, though, she beats me more than I do her. She¡¯s nothing short of a prodigy at fighting games, even though her best genre is first-person shooter. I know it must look real weird to see a girl laughing to herself. I¡¯m self-aware. But I don¡¯t care. I am absolutely going to catch you. I think I¡¯ve found my calling in this world. It might be a little lame, but I guess I¡¯ll continue to silently fish alone here. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s try out the bait.¡± I bait the previously bare hook. I don¡¯t have any worms, but instead boilies. I gotta put up with the cheapest stuff they have. I would¡¯ve bought something better if only I had the money to. They had fishing lures for sale too, so I¡¯m guessing there are lakes nearby. I cast my rod and concentrate on its tip. I¡¯d love to gaze at the clouds, but I don¡¯t have the time for that! ¡°Gotcha!¡± ¡ªHorse Mackerel obtained. It feels like they¡¯re biting more because of the bait. There can¡¯t really be fish that stupid to go for a hook with nothing on it. I have 30 boilies in my inventory. I¡¯ll have to get more at the general store once I¡¯m out. But the moment when the fish bit, I felt something that I¡¯ve never felt before. Maybe it¡¯s something part of the game that I haven¡¯t noticed before. Or maybe even it was just my imagination. In any case, I¡¯ll keep that feeling in my mind. If it has anything to do with what gets caught or the quality of the fish, it¡¯d be a big catch. Oh, and there¡¯s definitely a quality aspect. When I was selling my items at the shop, they were all priced differently. ¡°Another one¡­¡± I wait a little longer this time. It really isn¡¯t just my imagination. There¡¯s an indescribable aura or ebb and flow radiating from my rod. Maybe it¡¯s something to do with when I should strike. The tug gets harder and softer, but it¡¯s a short amount of time when it tugs hard. ¡°And now!¡± ¡ªSardine obtained. It may be a sardine, but it¡¯s the biggest and freshest one I¡¯ve caught yet. It¡¯s likely that it¡¯s determined when the fish is being caught. This kind of system really fires me up. ¡°Oh?¡± I¡¯ve got a bite, but I can tell by the bend in my rod, it¡¯s not as strong as The Big One. ¡­ or maybe my rod is just too shoddy and just doesn¡¯t perform well enough. It¡¯d be a waste if it gets away. As I did before, I wait for a strong tug before I strike. ¡ªKillerfish obtained. ¡­ huh. All of a sudden, I get the feeling that it¡¯s a monster. I¡¯ve only caught herrings and sardines up ¡®til now. They¡¯re all fish that exist in the real world, so they feel different than this guy. Furthermore, upon placing Mr. Killerfish in my inventory, it starts mashing its pointy teeth. That¡¯s definitely a monster, alright. I guess even monsters spawn in places like this. At least I have a better grasp on things now. I keep on fishing. In the end, I managed to catch 26 out of the 30 bites I had. Four of them got away when I was trying to get a feel for their pull. I think each fish is different in the amount of time I have before they flee. As its name suggests, the bonefish is just like a skeleton. I was pretty shocked when I first saw it. It¡¯s kinda eerie how nothing but bones can live under the sea. ¡°Now then, let¡¯s gut and trim them all, save for a single herring.¡± There¡¯s something I want to test out. I want to see whether selling the fish whole or trimmed earns more. Still, the money doesn¡¯t matter all too much since I need to get that gutting skill anyway. With that, I carefully point my Novice Gutting Knife towards my spoils. ¡°I sure am hungry¡­¡± I got stuck for hours in an endless loop of fishing ¡ú trimming ¡ú selling ¡ú buying bait ¡ú fishing. I found out that selling trimmed fish nets more cash too and I bought better bait with the extra money. What I should do now is focus on catching 100 or more fish to upgrade Fishing Mastery to rank II. But first thing¡¯s first¡ªI have to upgrade my Energy Production. I was so absorbed in fishing that I forgot to eat. They call it the Second Life Project, so there¡¯s gotta be a hunger element in the game. I¡¯m so hungry that it feels like I haven¡¯t eaten the whole day. ¡°¡­ what to eat?¡± Luckily, I have a bit more money than before. I¡¯m not sure how expensive restaurants, but since this is the starting town, it shouldn¡¯t be too expensive. I put away my fishing rod, leave my fishing spot on the bridge, and head down to the middle of Lurolona. The fish is still in my inventory, but they can wait. I want to eat, and I want to eat now. ¡°Ooh.¡± I followed the road to the plaza where we spawned. There¡¯s not as many people here now as before, but there¡¯s still 10 or 20 people hanging out. Among the people are a Human and a Jewel trading items. ¡°Five pieces of copper will be 375 serin.¡± ¡°Thanks. The shops are selling it for so much more.¡± They¡¯re both in novice gear so it¡¯s hard to tell, but it seems like one of them is a merchant and the other a blacksmith. ¡°Little lady over there!¡± The moment they finish trading, the merchant walks over to me. What¡¯s up with him? I look behind me. What girl? ¡°Yes, you.¡± ¡°You talkin¡¯ to me or somethin¡¯?¡± ¡°Yeah. Not much of a lady though, eh?¡± Oh, yeah. I¡¯m playing as a girl right now. It was super weird at first, but I quickly got used to my voice and I totally forgot about it. ¡°No, uhh, stuff happened and now my character¡¯s a girl.¡± ¡°I see.¡± The merchant is quite the pretty boy type. He¡¯s taller than me. Well, at my height right now, I can¡¯t tell exactly how tall people are anymore. In any case, I look up to see his bright blond hair. ¡°So? Something you needed?¡± ¡°You smelled like the sea, so I was just wondering if you had any fish or seafood on you.¡± ¡°Oh. Do I smell?¡± I take a whiff of myself, but I can¡¯t really tell. I did fall into the sea once, so it wouldn¡¯t be much of a surprise if I did. ¡°It seems like it. I went over to the plains once and it smelled like grass over there.¡± ¡°Huh¡­¡± I thought it was just the sea spray that smelled. How complex. It really is a big budget game. ¡°Anyway, do you have any fish or shellfish? I have an acquaintance who¡¯s trying to level up her cooking skill, so I¡¯ll buy it off you at a higher price than what the stores can give you.¡± I placed my right hand by my chin as I pondered. I haven¡¯t processed any of the fish yet, so I have about 50 of them stored in my inventory. Well, it¡¯s mostly herrings, sardines, and horse mackerels though. But since I still haven¡¯t got the skill yet, I¡¯d like to gut them all before I sell them. ¡°Sorry, but I need them too. Maybe next time though.¡± ¡°Is that right? My name is Alto, though you¡¯d find me as Altorese in chat. Though it didn¡¯t work out this time, I¡¯ll buy anything and everything.¡± ¡°Gotcha. I¡¯ll keep it in mind. But you¡¯re already trading so early?¡± ¡°Yeah, pretty much. I buy low from people in the frontlines and sell for cheaper than store prices for people who want things. Then, I¡¯ll go and sell potions high to the people fighting. I¡¯ve made 8,000 serin already like this.¡± ¡°Impressive. You really are a merchant.¡± Speaking of which, I have 2,700 serin. If I were to sell all the fish I have on me right now and buy some bait, I should have about 4,500 left. But still, it¡¯s incredible how the merchant made 8,000 serin just by trading. ¡°Hahaha. Visit Altorese¡¯s Emporium for all your needs! Just kidding.¡± ¡°In that case, sell me a good fishing rod, if you have one on hand.¡± ¡°A fishing rod? That¡¯s a tool. If you have the materials, then it can be made. Shall I introduce you to an acquaintance of mine?¡± ¡°Oh, could you?¡± ¡°Of course! Only if you promise that you¡¯ll buy any materials you need from me.¡± What a silver tongue on him. It¡¯s funny how he¡¯s exactly like how a merchant would be. Some people really do role-play in an RPG. ¡°Alright then, please.¡± ¡°Thank you for your patronage.¡± Even his words are merchant-like. How refreshing. He might just be working in customer service in real life. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll contact you when I get news.¡± ¡°Ah, hold on. I¡¯ve something I¡¯d like to ask.¡± Alto looks at me with a quizzical look. Being so caught up in chatting, I had almost forgotten about it until the end. ¡°Where can I find a restaurant?¡± CH 4 The first meal I had since coming to Dimension Wave was mackerel and herring. Alto got in contact with the girl who is leveling up her cooking skill and I had her grill some fish for me. It might seem like I¡¯m bragging since I was the one who caught the fish, but they were big and delicious. I gave the girl 10 herrings as thanks. Alto was quite happy for the three herrings I gave him for introducing me to the girl. Perhaps herring is the key to friendship. ¡°You seem to be well-connected, Alto. Were you a beta tester?¡± I recall that they were recruiting for the beta test. ¡°Nah, I haven¡¯t played the beta at all. In fact, I think they intentionally accepting only a few people for it.¡± According to Alto, it seems like they did indeed have a beta version of the game, but there were zero changes for the gold release. Not only that, but the company didn¡¯t want beta characters to be mixed in new players, so everyone was reset to level 1. ¡°I see.¡± ¡°I heard there was leaked content.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve heard about that too, though I don¡¯t know the details.¡± They say a beta tester leaked details about the game on an anonymous textboard, including content protected by the non-disclosure agreement. That¡¯s what I read about at least, though I wasn¡¯t there to witness it in real time. ¡°What kind of information was leaked?¡± ¡°Pretty much everyone in the game knows about it, y¡¯know? It¡¯s basically about how Spirits are way underpowered. As far as I remember, though they can get unlimited skills, their stats are the lowest of all races.¡± ¡°¡­ you don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°Speaking of which, what race are you playing as? I haven¡¯t seen any like your kind before.¡± I take an awkward look at myself. From time to time, I¡¯m half transparent. That¡¯s one of the traits of Spirits. ¡°The exact Spirit we¡¯re talking about. They seem pretty unusual, but I just learned that they¡¯re not really strong.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s it. So? What¡¯s it like?¡± ¡°Ehh. I¡¯ve only been fishing up ¡®til now, so I haven¡¯t run into any difficulties so far.¡± Since my status and Energy are one and the same, any slight mistake might put my life into jeopardy. If you think about it that way, you could say it¡¯s pretty weak. It seems pretty well-suited for me if I¡¯m just fishing or crafting in town, seeing how I don¡¯t have to do anything to get more Energy or Mana. Well, I guess Dimension Wave focuses more on the combat aspects though. ¡°I see. Let me know if Spirits are easy to use. I don¡¯t think many people are playing as one because of the leaks.¡± ¡°Yeah, if I feel like it.¡± ¡°Alrighty then, I¡¯m gonna head off. Contact me if you have anything you want to trade with me, okay?¡± ¡°Aye, aye.¡± I respond to his wave with my own. After taking a bow, Alto sets off to find his next customer. ¡°Whew¡­¡± I heave a sigh before opening my inventory to look at the fishing rod that I had Alto¡¯s acquaintance make for me. Wooden Rod +2. It¡¯s made from a flexible stick, silk line, and a copper fishhook. All of these things are from different places, so Alto must have run around quite a bit. Though Alto says the +2 was merely incidental, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case. It¡¯s probably more to do with the crafter¡¯s skill and the quality of materials. When he showed me the stick, line, and hook, it already seemed like they were of nice quality, so I think I¡¯m right. It also costed me 700 serin, but it seems like it¡¯d perform a lot better than the 600 serin Shoddy Rod. And since it was specially made for me, I¡¯ll be extra careful not to let it get stolen away this time. Oh, isn¡¯t it about time my Energy ticked up? Name/ Kizuna?Exceed Race/ Spirit Energy/ 1,320 Mana/ 60 Serin/ 2,000 Skills/ Energy Production II, Mana Production II Energy Production II ¡ú Energy Production III Generates 200 Energy per hour ¡ú Generates 400 Energy per hour Costs 50 Mana to upgrade I¡¯ve got enough Mana now, so I¡¯ll upgrade my Energy Production to rank III. Give it another two hours, and I¡¯ll take Fishing Mastery too. ¡°I¡¯ve got an upgraded skill and rod plus a full stomach. Time for round two, I think¡­ oh!¡± A light bulb came on above my head. I know it¡¯s an old clich¨¦, but in any case, it¡¯s a bright idea. ¡ªThe fish at night will probably be different than the ones at noon, right? If I get pangs of hunger, then surely, I¡¯ll get sleepy too. I can¡¯t risk falling asleep while fishing. At the very least, I¡¯ll take a cat nap at an inn. After deciding on that, I decided to report to my sisters. I select ¡°Chat¡± from my menu. Now that I think about it, I haven¡¯t added them as friends yet. I type in ¡°Tsumugi?Exceed¡± and send them a chat. The game plays a dial tone like a telephone would. I have a feeling this is why Tsumugi mistook the chat to be a phone call before. ¡°Big Bro Kizuna? What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Oh, I was just about to hit the sack. Figured I¡¯d give you a call first.¡± Jeez! I figuratively slam the receiver down. She¡¯d do that too when we game together. We¡¯d play an FPS together and she¡¯d be chatting with Kanata. I¡¯m in the game too, you know? I kept it to myself, but it ticked me off. What¡¯s worse is that she¡¯d top the scoreboard with the highest kill/death ratio. Thinking about it again, it was Tsumugi who got our passes for Dimension Wave. Being surrounded by five of anything would likely be nothing to her. ¡­ I¡¯m still not happy about it, but whatever. Time to look for an inn. I open up the map from the menu. There¡¯s a few places marked with ¡°ZZZ¡± here in town. I take a look at which of the five seem good. Well, this is a game after all, so there¡¯s probably not a huge difference, but the prices differ. In the end, I chose the one in the middle of the pack that¡¯s neither cheap nor expensive. ¡°¡ªThat will be 150 serin for one night¡¯s stay,¡± says the lady who is seemingly the innkeeper. I feel like I¡¯ve heard her voice actress before somewhere. Handing over 150 serin rewarded me with a key. I head towards my room. It seems like you get to use the room for a full 24 hours too. That means I can catch some sleep and go shopping afterwards. I feel like I¡¯m here on vacation. In any case, I look around the inn. Looks like I¡¯m the only one here. Well, today being the first day, it¡¯d be rare for anyone to head to bed to early. ¡°This is it.¡± I arrive at room 101¡ªthe same number marked on the key¡ªand unlock the door. It¡¯s a normal room. It¡¯s quite a bit smaller than hotels in real life. I take a seat on the bed. It¡¯s as soft as the bed in my room. To put it mildly, it¡¯s not nearly plush enough to be a hotel bed. Well, it was only 150 serin to stay here. ¡°¡­ let¡¯s get some shut eye for now.¡± I don¡¯t feel right sleeping in my clothes and shoes. I put my shoes aside and take my clothes off. What was left was a little girl in her underwear. ¡ª ¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡®Well, nothing wrong with taking more off,¡¯ the demon on my shoulder suggests. Just to sate my curiosity, I tried to take my underwear off but to no avail. Well, the game¡¯s not rated R after all, so there¡¯s no way I can do anything lewd. ¡±Tsk.¡± I half-jokingly click my tongue because it¡¯s not like I actually wanted to do anything. It doesn¡¯t really matter anyway and so I lie down as I had originally intended to. I pull up the blanket¡ªagain, just as warm as the one in my room¡ªand closed my eyes. I fall asleep right away as if I had taken sleeping pills. Perhaps they designed the game so that it¡¯d be easy to fall asleep. I¡¯d be quite happy if it were this easy in real life. My thoughts start drifting, and before I realized, my consciousness had drifted away too. CH 5 ¡°Phew¡­¡± I slept remarkably well. It¡¯s been years since I¡¯ve felt this good waking up. People have been talking about virtual drugs recently but seeing how well I can sleep in a game, that¡¯s more than enough reason for them to start selling them. How long was I out for? I opened up the menu to check the in-game clock, which read 10:07 PM. I¡¯ve been asleep for about six hours then. I take a look out the window and see that the sun has already set. ¡°Let¡¯s go get that Fishing Mastery then.¡± Name/ Kizuna?Exceed Race/ Spirit Energy/ 2,820 Mana/ 70 Serin/ 1,850 Skills/ Energy Production III, Mana Production II Energy Production II ¡ú Energy Production III Generates 200 Energy per hour ¡ú Generates 400 Energy per hour Costs 50 Mana to upgrade. Fishing Mastery I All actions with a fishing rod receives a 10% buff. Consumes 100 Energy per hour. Costs 30 Mana to acquire. Unlock requirement: Obtain 10 items or more with a fishing rod. Upgrade requirement: Obtain 100 or more items with a fishing rod. I acquire Fishing Mastery I. Doing so consumes 100 Energy, leaving me with 2,720. Upgrading it to rank II will cost me 60 Mana. With only 40 left, I don¡¯t have enough for it. In any case, I¡¯ve got Fishing Master I now. I¡¯ve been waiting to see what it can do. Well, still, I don¡¯t think I can catch The Big One so easily though. ¡°¡­ sure am hungry.¡± I feel like I just ate before I went to bed. Thinking about it, that was already six hours ago, so maybe it¡¯s time for another meal. I¡¯ll eat the leftover fish I had grilled for me. I take out the Grilled Herring from my inventory. ¡°It¡¯s turned cold. This game even has temperature, eh?¡± When I had it earlier, it was fresh off the grill and piping hot. In that case, if someone were to make stuff like ice cream, it¡¯d probably melt too. Well, who knows? Maybe there¡¯s dry ice or something like that as well. It¡¯s a bit miserable but if I don¡¯t eat this, it¡¯d be going to waste. I can make do. ¡°Now that my belly¡¯s full, let¡¯s go catch a fish or two. Where did I leave my clothes again?¡± Here they are. I just tossed them over by my shoes. ¡°It really is dark. I can barely see where I¡¯m going.¡± Of course, there are no streetlights, but there aren¡¯t even torches around. It¡¯s nigh pitch black. I open up the map from the menu and head towards that same bridge I was on yesterday. I even dropped by the general store since I had forgotten to buy more bait. I can¡¯t believe that they¡¯re still open though. If this were a real person running the store, they¡¯d probably wouldn¡¯t be too chipper at this time of hour. Imagine a clerk working in a convenience store or something¡­ Anyway, I get to the bridge. Unfortunately though, the moon is covered by clouds. I wouldn¡¯t know I¡¯m facing the sea if not for the briny breeze and the gentle crashing of the waves. Perhaps I need a carbide lamp or something of the sort. For now, I¡¯m happy with my big pile of bait as I stick it onto my copper fishhook. I poked my finger three times, causing 10 damage. Then after casting my line into the sea, I feel a weird tug that I¡¯ve never felt before. It¡¯s¡­ rather strong. But this dull bite is just odd. Whatever, though. I power through it and fish it out of the water. ¡ª¡Á¡Á¡Á obtained. Hmm? It¡¯s too dark to read the text. I don¡¯t know exactly what it is, but I put it into my inventory. I¡¯ll know when the sun rises. I bait my hook and cast my rod again. ¡ª¡Á¡Á¡Á obtained. Whoa! I caught something the moment the hook touched the water. They¡¯re really biting. I bought 300 pieces of bait, but now it looks like it might not be enough. Alright! It¡¯s an all-you-can-catch! ¡ª ¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡­ finally, morning. I keel over with my hands and knees on the ground, exactly like the orz emoticon. As for results though, I caught nearly 200. But if felt more like they were looking for me, rather than me actively trying to catch them. I take a look at my spoils. 137 Empty Cans 2 Rubber Boots Crystallization (Unidentified) ¡°What?!¡± What the hell? I got more Empty Cans than anything. Oh, the disappointment! Gimme back the happiness I had! Why are there even cans in this world in the first place? ¡­ but I guess it¡¯s not too surprising after all. What I intended to do was to find out whether I can catch different fish at night, so I can chalk it up as a success. ¡°How much trash are you guys throwing into the ocean anyway?¡± is what I want to say, but I don¡¯t wanna be rude. And not to mention that last thing on the list is totally undead. I bet I can get some good materials from trimming it. It better be good. I begin to gut and trim the fish while clinging on to that glimmer of hope. Probably not the cans though. It took me two hours to finish up. I¡¯m still not getting a gutting skill though. I wonder what the requirement is. Maybe I have to fight with it as a weapon? I plan to keep on fishing though, so I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll go and try that out. But, naturally, the amount of fish I had was proportional to the amount of time needed to trim them. I¡¯m glad I have this convenient gutting knife. It¡¯s just a hunch, but I think I can use it to gut monsters as well. I¡¯ll try it if I ever get the chance to fight monsters. ¡°Alright, now let¡¯s sell it all.¡± I check the clock again to see it read 9:27 AM. I bet someone as diligent as Alto is would be up already. I¡¯ll try and send a chat. What¡¯s his actual name? Altorese, was it? I remember him saying something about Altorese¡¯s Emporium or something. And just like before, a dialing sound effect plays as I wait for Alto to pick up. ¡°Hi, this is Alto.¡± He sounds like he¡¯s full of energy. He¡¯ll be trading all day too, I¡¯d say. ¡°Yo, it¡¯s me.¡± ¡°You sound like you¡¯re the girl from yesterday. No, wait, the guy who¡¯s playing as a girl, right?¡± ¡°Right. Kizuna.¡± ¡°Is that your name? I don¡¯t think I caught it yesterday.¡± Oh, now that he mentions it. I asked him for his name, but I was too embarrassed to let him know ¡°Kizuna?Exceed¡± is my name. Rather, I think I deliberately didn¡¯t tell him. ¡°So? What¡¯s up today?¡± ¡°Ah, I wanted to sell you some items. They¡¯re all fish though, if that¡¯s okay.¡± After exchanging our locations, we ended up deciding to rendezvous at the same place as yesterday. I was gonna hurry on over, but Alto was there already.¡± He has different equipment on compared to yesterday. Looks like he¡¯s doing well for himself. ¡°Yo, Kizuna. You said you had fish, but how much do you have?¡± ¡°Oh, this much.¡± I hit accept on his trade request. According to Alto, we can just trade it over by hand, but since we¡¯re trading in such large amounts, it¡¯s better to do it this way. I place the scales, bones, meat, heads, teeth, fin, and everything else in the trade window. ¡°It seems like you¡¯ve prepped all of them for cooking already, but you still have so much. What a shock.¡± ¡°Prepped for cooking?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do that though?¡± was what I was about to say, but Alto continues. ¡°Yeah, after parting ways yesterday, I found out that if you use a kitchen knife to prep your fish, you get a lot more items that way.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± ¡°And so you have the cooking skill, right, Kizuna? If you need any ingredients, I can sell you some.¡± No, I don¡¯t have a single cooking skill pop up. But I¡¯ll keep that to myself. Since he has so many connections, he¡¯s gotta know somebody that uses a gutting-type weapon, right? ¡°Hey, Alto, this is completely unrelated, but what do gutting weapons do?¡± ¡°Hmm? I¡¯m pretty sure they do extra damage to certain races. But since their base damage is low, not many people use them.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°And sometimes, when you kill the right monsters, they drop different items too.¡± ¡­ don¡¯t tell me I¡¯ve misunderstood my gutting knife this whole time. As far as I know, if I¡¯m being really careful, I can gut and trim fish to get their scales and meat. But it seems like I can use the cooking skill instead. Maybe it¡¯s even more effective that way. In that case, I can probably even earn more money. Naturally, it¡¯ll become common knowledge sooner or later. But before everyone knows about it, maybe I can make tons of money like this. It¡¯s not exactly uncommon for a new game. ¡°What about gutting weapons anyway?¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m using one right now. So that¡¯s it? A peculiar weapon used against certain races¡­¡± ¡°I see. You really like unusual things, don¡¯t you, Kizuna?¡± ¡°Guess so.¡± ¡°Anyway, how does a total of 6,000 serin sound?¡± ¡°That much?¡± Alto says it as if it were obvious. If all he had yesterday was 8,000 serin, that means he¡¯s been making lots while I¡¯ve been chilling. ¡°It takes time to raise your cooking skill, so factor in how much an hour is worth. It¡¯s also quite a lot and then I put it a little below market value.¡± Buy low, sell low. That¡¯s how he resells stuff, he mentioned yesterday. That¡¯s fine then. It¡¯s a lot more than what the NPCs will give me anyway. I accept the trade, hit OK, and received 6,000 serin. ¡°Thank you for your patronage. Let me know if you have anything else to sell.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll holler next time.¡± I take a look at my inventory to see only empty cans left. ¡°Hey, Alto? I have another question. How much do Empty Cans sell for?¡± ¡°Empty Cans? Unfortunately, dirt cheap. You¡¯re better off selling it to a store.¡± ¡°Is that right? It¡¯s caught my attention that these cans are aluminum and steel though.¡± I lower my voice as if I¡¯m letting him onto a secret and his face lights up. ¡°¡­ I see. With a blast furnace, they might be able to turn into ingots!¡± ¡°There are blast furnaces, huh?¡± ¡°Yeah. There are people working on their craft skills who are smelting ores into ingots.¡± ¡°Then can I get you to take a look whether they can do the same with these cans? Of course, I¡¯ve got a lot more, so if it works.¡± We open up our trade windows again and I give him five each of aluminum and steel. It¡¯ll be easy money if I can turn trash into something useful. Even if it doesn¡¯t work out, I can still sell it for some change. ¡°Thank you, Kizuna! Maybe we¡¯ll make a lot with this!¡± ¡°Yeah, if it pans out, get me a slice of the action.¡± ¡°Of course! I¡¯ll hurry and find out then!¡± This being right in his element, Alto rushes off while waving goodbye. It probably won¡¯t even take him an hour. ¡°I¡¯ve got quite a good stack of money now. Maybe I should get some equipment.¡± If I can turn cans into steel, then maybe I can get someone to make me a weapon. But since I don¡¯t even have a single combat skill, I think it¡¯d be better to stick to my light clothing. And for shoes¡­ can I wear these rubber boots? I take them out of my inventory, take off my default shoes, and stick my feet into the boots. ¡°Looks like I really can equip them¡­¡± If I had a raincoat and a yellow umbrella, it¡¯ll complete my little girl getup. Leaving the jokes aside, I should look for an armor shop or a player selling clothes. I take my first steps in my rubber boots. Let me tell you what happened after. My hunch was dead on. Those Empty Cans really can be turned into aluminum and steel ingots. While keeping it a secret from Alto and the smith, I keep on quietly fishing up empty cans and repeatedly hand them over. The three of us made a killing for about five days until players found a source of iron ore. Of course, the ingots made from cans aren¡¯t all that high quality, so we started losing business. After discussing our strategy with Alto, we decided to put it to an end. In any case, we came in hot with out Empty Can method and made a good chunk of cash. With fate bringing us together, I added Alto to my friends list. ¡°I¡¯ll be counting on you for another brilliant idea to make money.¡± I hope he feels the same way. Furthermore, for some odd reason, I can only catch Empty Cans at night. Afterwards, with iron prices going down, Alto made the information public. In the end, pairing the unprofitable fishing skill with smelting and smithing made for a popular money-making strategy. CH 6 ¡°It¡¯s about time to get revenge.¡± I was too caught up in making a killing off of Empty Cans and forgot about my true goal¡ªThe Big One. Even if that¡¯s not my true goal, I¡¯m not about to make picking up cans a career. It¡¯s been a week since and my Energy and Skills have been upgraded accordingly. I might have a chance now. I check my status just in case. Name/ Kizuna?Exceed Race/ Spirit Energy/ 6,340 Mana/ 150 Serin/ 148,540 Skills/ Energy Production VI, Mana Production IV, Fishing Mastery III, Gutting Mastery II, Transmutation I Energy Production VI Generates 2,000 Energy per hour Costs 2,600 Mana to upgrade. Mana Production IV Generates 50 Mana per hour Consumes 1,400 Energy per hour Costs 3,200 Mana to upgrade Fishing Mastery III All actions with a fishing rod receives a 30% buff. Consumes 400 Energy per hour. Costs 400 Mana to upgrade. Gutting Mastery II All actions with a gutting weapon receives a 20% buff. Consumes 200 Energy per hour. Costs 200 Mana to upgrade. Transmutation I Converts items to Energy. Right now, I consume as much Energy as I produce, so I¡¯m only barely scraping by with Transmutation I. Mastery skills are usually unlocked by gaining a certain item count. For Fishing Mastery, it¡¯s based on how many fish you¡¯ve caught. I unlocked Gutting Mastery by obtaining 1,000 items through gutting. I heard from Alto that combat Masteries are unlocked by getting a certain number of kills with the appropriate weapon. I¡¯m not sure whether it¡¯s a little-known fact or that no one fully understands it yet, but it¡¯s rumored that using a gutting weapon that¡¯s effective on your opponent will make them drop special items. Though the low damage of gutting weapons is somewhat of a controversial topic. Well, in any case, it seems like people have figured it out. Even for such a controversy, you still gotta use it to get the drops you need. Right now, I have equipped a set of cerulean, indigo clothes called the ¡°Caterpillar¡±. There¡¯s a superstition among us fishers that one can catch a lot more by wearing dark colors when fishing at night. It seems like fishers in real life have a similar belief. I¡¯m not sure whether it¡¯s true or not, but since I had been fishing a lot at night for Empty Cans, I¡¯m praying to the gods that my dark clothes will make a difference. Anyway, time to get fishing today. By the way, it¡¯s early morning right now. It was at noon when The Big One got away that time. It might just mean that I have a chance at noon again. And later today, the three of us¡­ sisters are planning to get together. I¡¯m definitely catching The Big One. My one week of effort will not go to waste. I fervently fished for 10 hours. I¡¯ve been catching nothing but herring since six this morning. There wasn¡¯t even so much a sign of The Big One. It might have just really been a coincidence that The Big One bit that time. Even if it takes me days or weeks, I will catch you. Mark my words. ¡ªHerring obtained. ¡°Another herring? Odd how there are so many of them today.¡± Upgrading Fishing Mastery is supposed to increase the catch rate of all fish, but for some reason, I¡¯ve caught nothing but herrings today. I stick it in the creel jam-packed with all the other herring. ¡°¡­ the God of Herring must be here with me.¡± Well, I don¡¯t think any god would show up in a video game. Or no, actually. Maybe there indeed are gods in this game¡¯s world. Who knows? ¡°¡­ hmm?¡± A great shadow appears on the surface of the water. I tightly grasp my fishing rod with ever-growing anticipation. Don¡¯t get impatient. Don¡¯t you dare rush this. Be absolute. I¡¯m no longer the same person I was a week ago. No way I¡¯m letting you get away this time. ¡°C¡¯mere, c¡¯mere, c¡¯mere¡­¡± I may be wrought with anxiety, but I focus on the tip of my rod and not the shadow in the water. It¡¯s just as I¡¯ve practiced up ¡®til now. ¡°That¡¯s a bite!¡± It¡¯s the same snatch I felt on that day before I fell into the sea. I plant myself to the ground and brace myself. Then I felt a strong tug directly from the rod. That sensation is a little fuzzier than usual. It gets stronger on every tug with the blips like hit detection or something. But I¡¯m not about to lose at this test of might. ¡°Have at my Fishing Mastery III!¡± Carefully and rapidly does this shift in offense and defense change. It¡¯s the strongest opponent I¡¯ve faced thus far. It truly is The Big One. The battle drew out for another 30 minutes. The Big One was getting tired. Taking the chance, I press on with my attack. My fishing rod creaks and my focus is starting to wane, but since I¡¯m in a game, I think I¡¯ll be alright. ¡°This is the ultimate showdown!¡± The blips continue to pulse through the rod. And then, The Big One flies out of the water¡ª ¡°Ahahahaha! What the heck is that?! It¡¯s huge! A huge herring!¡± With a dissatisfied look on my face, I met up with my two sisters. Strapped to my back is a giant fish. Correction: it¡¯s The Big One¡ªa giant herring. The Big One was just a herring all along! People point and stare at it on my back. It¡¯s rough. I was just about to put it into my inventory when Kanata and Tsumugi showed up. And right now, Tsumugi is taking screenshot after screenshot of me¡­ I guess not so much screenshots, but photographs. All screenshots are saved in the USB flash drive we were given for our character creation. But similarly, I¡¯ve taken a few pictures of the fish I caught. And of course, that includes The Big One. For some reason though, people have been striking weird poses when they see me and the fish¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t laugh at your brother, Tsumugi¡­ pfft!¡± ¡°Speak for yourself!¡± But seriously. Who¡¯da thunk that The Big One would be a herring? And why herring? They don¡¯t seem that tasty either¡­ ¡°Why am I the littlest one?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted another little sister!¡± Kanate is a Human. It¡¯s no surprise she¡¯s pretty since we¡¯re in a game, but her character is actually beautiful. She¡¯s got two very visible protrusions too. Her chest is big in real life, but these are bigger. But it¡¯s not that simple either. There¡¯s jiggle physics. They have a bit of a sag to them. ¡°Me too!¡± Tsumugi is a Lycanthrope. It¡¯s called Lycanthrope, but instead fox ears flop from her heard and accent her character. Her face, though, looks somewhat like her older sister¡¯s. Her breasts are neither large nor small. To be precise, they¡¯re exactly the size of a dating sim heroine. She¡¯s quite a bit taller than me though¡­ about as tall as a middle schooler? ¡°That¡¯s your reason for making me a loli? Oh, but of course.¡± And that leaves me, a Spirit. My body is quite transparent, my chest flat, and all in all petite. I look vaguely similar to those two. Mm. We definitely seem like sisters. I can¡¯t help but to sigh. ¡°¡­ I¡¯d be lying if I claimed I don¡¯t have more I¡¯d like to say, but whatever.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a satisfied sigh at how cute of a little girl you are, right?!¡± ¡°So? How has the past week been for you two?¡± ¡°Totally flew by!¡± I ignored her quip and changed topics. Honestly, we wouldn¡¯t be finished until sundown. ¡°It was super interesting!¡± ¡°Perhaps it¡¯d be right to say that I¡¯ve just settled in.¡± They both begin talking about their past week. Tsumugi, as expected, played the game like a total shut-in. She¡¯s the highest level amongst us. I don¡¯t have levels so I¡¯m not exactly sure but seeing how she¡¯s been hard at work every day, she¡¯s got to be stronger than me, someone who hasn¡¯t even left the beginning area. At least she got together with her pals to beat the first boss to unlock the second city. Kanate plays a bit a bit more reservedly. Unlike Tsumugi who excels at FPS¡¯s and action games, our eldest sister is more of an RPG-type person. Kanate isn¡¯t someone who would be easily defeated though. If my sisters are fighting each other, the younger one would likely fall first. Of course, against a prodigy like her, it wouldn¡¯t be quick or easy. That¡¯s not to say Kanate isn¡¯t playing seriously. Though she hasn¡¯t been at the frontline as much as Tsumugi has, she spent three days finding her perfect weapon, testing each type out. You can even call her a model gamer. ¡°How about you, Big Bro Kizuna?¡± I was met with ice cold stares. Thank goodness that didn¡¯t awaken any masochistic side in me. ¡°Uhmmm, Big Bro? Do you wanna go check out the next town over? There¡¯s a river there. And what kind of weapon are you using?¡± ¡°A gutting knife.¡± ¡°Is it a little on the weak side? Don¡¯t gutting knives get you extra item drops when you kill monsters with them?¡± ¡°Yep, that¡¯s right.¡± I don¡¯t think they truly understand what they¡¯re for. It¡¯s probably just some kind of joke weapon for them. ¡°There are some items you can¡¯t get without one of those gutting weapons. Pass them along to me if you get any, okie dokie?¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°I think there are quite a few of those items too. They trade for quite a lot between players. But since it deals rather low damage, it¡¯s not very popular. Plus, it¡¯s not often you get special drops either.¡± How interesting. Maybe I can gut monsters too. I¡¯ll try fighting monsters tomorrow. I should probably be looking for a new weapon too. I didn¡¯t feel like I really needed one, so I hadn¡¯t been looking for it, even when I was implementing the Empty Can Strategy. And plus, I have to get the appropriate weapon for each monster type. It¡¯s not likely that I can use my Novice Gutting Knife. ¡°Do you want me to getcha some good equips, Big Bro?¡± ¡°There¡¯s the matter of pride when an older brother gets gifted things by their little sisters¡­¡± ¡°Whatcha talkin¡¯ about?! I always lend you items when we game together.¡± She¡¯s right. Sometimes, this game is too realistic, and it gets me confused. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m hurting for money. If you let me know what to get, I¡¯ll pay for it myself.¡± ¡°Even though you¡¯ve only been fishing?¡± ¡°Did you see those Iron Ingots that were for sale until not long ago?¡± ¡°Huh? Yeah. I used some yesterday.¡± ¡°Actually, I was the one who got the materials for them.¡± ¡°Really? What were they? Some guy named Altorese said it was a trade secret or somethin¡¯, so I have no clue about it.¡± ¡°As soon as people found ores, we told everyone about our secret. And that¡¯s why I¡¯m not hurting for money.¡± ¡°So? What¡¯s ya secret?¡± I flashed a smug grin at the floppy fox-eared Tsumugi. ¡°Those ingots were made from Empty Cans, y¡¯know?¡± Seeing the shocked look on their faces is enough satisfaction to last me another week. CH 7 The next morning. I¡¯m gutting and trimming the giant herring in my room at the inn. The Novice Gutting Knife is a little too small for this task. It¡¯s rather difficult, but I slowly and carefully proceeded. If only I had a tuna knife. That would make things a lot easier. I start off by scraping the scales off with the back of my knife. Once every scale was stripped off, I drove the tip of the blade into the belly of the fish, sliding the knife all the way down to the tail in one stroke. And in the end, what I got was¡­ Low-Level Champion Scale, Low-Level Champion Barbel, Low-Level Champion Heart, Low-Level Champion Eye, Low-Level Champion Large Bone, Top-Grade Trimmed Herring, Top-Grade Herring Roe Looks like it¡¯s a female herring. Thanks to the buff from Gutting Mastery II, I was able to get every bit of her. Oh, and afterwards, I¡¯m planning to meet Tsumugi¡¯s smithy friend to make me some equipment. I¡¯ll see if I can¡¯t get some good weapons made from The Big One¡¯s parts. ¡°I could make you a Cetus Longsword,¡± said the blacksmith. They say she made half the weapons currently wielded on the frontlines and that she¡¯s got the skills and popularity to match. Being a Jewel, a red gemstone glitters on her chest. So cool. I mean, guys are naturally drawn to that part anyway. ¡°Where did you get these materials anyway? I¡¯ve seen all sorts of different mats because of my line of work, but I¡¯ve never seen this before.¡± ¡°Umm, I fished at sea for these.¡± ¡°Ah, so you¡¯re the one who made that big kerfuffle yesterday!¡± How big of a kerfuffle was it anyway? ¡°Weapon creation!¡± Her hammer divinely sparkles as she shouts out loud. Almost as if the hammer is infecting the objects around her, the impressive-looking portable forge sparkles as well. She sticks the materials inside and it melts into a gooey liquid. Once it solidifies, she takes it to the anvil and starts hammering with great force. I honestly don¡¯t have much of a clue how blacksmithing works, but it¡¯s interesting to watch. The blacksmith is pretty interesting too. But my focus right now is on fishing and gutting. Some time passes, and my Cetus Longsword is completed. ¡°¡­ that¡¯s a big sword.¡± I mean, it¡¯s called a longsword, but it really is long. It looks like it came straight out of a certain monster hunting game. That¡¯s how big it is. And it¡¯s a gutting weapon too. Crazy. ¡°Oh? It¡¯s got a +. Looks like you¡¯re lucky. They only crop up about once in every ten I make.¡± She hands over my Cetus Longsword +1. It¡¯s lighter than I thought. It¡¯s probably due to my Gutting Mastery buff. ¡°Oh, that reminds me. I¡¯m pretty sure ¡®Cetus¡¯ means ¡®whale¡¯.¡± ¡°Huh¡­¡± Is it a weapon for whales? A weapon to slay whales? I¡¯ll keep it as my secret weapon for now. I also had a Steel Chef¡¯s Knife, Iron Boning Knife, and an Iron Petty Knife made for me too. ¡°Thank you very much!¡± ¡°Naw, it was fun using rare mats. If it¡¯s alright with you too, won¡¯t you swing by when you get your hands on interesting mats?¡± ¡°Are you sure? I don¡¯t really fight or anything.¡± ¡°Hahaha, a customer is a customer. Of course, I don¡¯t smith for any warm body.¡± ¡°I see.¡± How should I put it? It seems like Alto is really different about his role-playing. I should give it a shot too. Maybe like a retired angler or the like? ¡°My name¡¯s Romina. That¡¯s R-O-M-I-N-A.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Kizuna. You¡¯ll find me as ¡°Kizuna?Exceed¡±, the same format as my sister. Feel free to contact me anytime. I haven¡¯t got much right now, but you¡¯ll be the first to know if I find any rare materials.¡± ¡°I¡¯d appreciate that. Not many people got that gutting skill.¡± ¡°Is it that rare?¡± ¡°Definitely. It¡¯s rare, alright. It¡¯d be nice if it¡¯s a 100% drop rate for the special drops, but that¡¯s not the case. It takes quite a long time to upgrade too, I heard. And it¡¯s not flattering, but it doesn¡¯t do that much damage either.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯ll buy any drops you get from your gutting skill. And I¡¯m not exactly broke either. I¡¯ll be waiting for your call.¡± ¡°That sounds great.¡± ¡°Alrighty, see you next time.¡± After our farewells, she teleports away. One of those teleports costs a whole 1,000 serin. I guess it pays well to smith for the front lines. Well then, time for me to go too. With all this excitement, I think I might just head towards the fields to slay a few monsters. But as soon as that thought passes my mind, I notice a stall on the street. It seems like traders and crafters had begun moving to the second city already, but quite a few are still here in Lurolona. A particular stall caught my attention and piqued my interest. Boats. It¡¯s just a small row boat that seats two, but a boat is a boat. The craftsman is a young Jewel girl with a glimmering blue gemstone on her chest. She¡¯s spacing out, staring into the sky. My first impressions of her is that she lacks Alto¡¯s vigor. She¡¯s equipped with cheap clothing that¡¯s locally made here. Maybe that¡¯s her style, but her overalls aren¡¯t very popular. People tend to think of country bumpkins and the like. I don¡¯t really have strong feelings one way or another though. Rather than her clothes, I was fixated on her boats. If I had one of those, maybe I can paddle out and fish. I want one. I need one. ¡°¡­ what?¡± the daydreaming girl weakly mutters out. She¡¯s, uhh, not really good at this whole customer service thing. ¡°How much is that?¡± ¡°¡­ 40,000.¡± ¡°40,000?! Oh, good. I was afraid you¡¯d say something like 100,000.¡± I haven¡¯t seen anyone else selling boats. I can¡¯t really compare how good hers are. 40,000 serin isn¡¯t exactly pocket change, but it¡¯s something I can afford. ¡°Alright, then fork over 40,000 serin.¡± I place the amount in the trade window and a Wooden Boat +3 appears. ¡°Wow, +3? That¡¯s pretty impressive.¡± ¡°¡­ I did pick out the mats.¡± ¡°Oh, do you fuss over the quality of the materials?¡± She¡¯s got a point. Even I¡ªsomeone who simply fish whatever I can catch¡ªnoticed the quality. It¡¯s that obvious though, eh? ¡°But to be able to so easily throw down 40k like that, you rich or somethin¡¯?¡± ¡°Not exactly. I¡¯ve only got a bit.¡± It¡¯s all thanks to my Empty Can Strategy. I¡¯ve earned enough, so I don¡¯t mind spending it. ¡°¡­ that¡¯s what all rich people say. Poor people just complain. Here, as promised.¡± ¡°Did something happen?¡± ¡°Not in particular¡­ it¡¯s just that I keep hearing how expensive my boats are.¡± ¡°Are they expensive?¡± ¡°They¡¯re only enough to cover my costs.¡± ¡°Then they¡¯ve got no right to complain. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Hmpf.¡± Is boatbuilding part of woodworking? I¡¯m not sure what exactly the skill is, but it¡¯s probably something like that. ¡°An oar¡¯s included, so use it.¡± ¡°Oh, thanks. If I need a new one, I¡¯ll be back.¡± ¡°Hmpf.¡± What a mysterious girl. Anyhow, I got my boat. I was thinking of heading out of town to slay a few monsters, but nope¡ªback to the sea I go. CH 8 Going back to beside the bridge, I set afloat my boat. ¡°¡­ it doesn¡¯t go too fast, does it?¡± I¡¯m thinking that there¡¯s probably a skill for it, maybe something like Embarkation or Oar Mastery. In any case, I keep a-paddlin¡¯ out towards the deep blue sea. One hour later. Maybe because I¡¯ve yet to unlock the skill, but I can still see land. Well, actually, it¡¯d be dangerous if I venture too far out. I should probably start fishing here. ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s that over there?¡± Between the land and me is a black shadow flying closer and closer. Upon closer inspection, it¡¯s a bird. It looks it has a pointy beak, but it¡¯s quite a bit bigger than a hawk. ¡­ isn¡¯t it a mosnter? I take out my Cetus Longsword. But¡­ ¡°Shit! Is it too heavy?!¡± I¡¯m quite sure it¡¯s the weight. I immediately store away the Cetus Longsword into my inventory and take out the gutting knife for fowls. Alright! We¡¯re still floating. ¡°Take this!¡± I swing my Iron Boning Knife at the large bird¡ªKillerwing¡ªbut missed. I¡¯ve never battled on a boat before, so it¡¯s a little tricky. The Killerwing takes the chance and comes at me with its prominent beak. ¡°Gah!¡± 50 damage taken. I check my status screen and confirm that I lost 50 Energy. It¡¯s just as I¡¯ve heard; every single stat of mine is managed by Energy. As I¡¯m learn the game, the Killerwing lines up to attack again. Damn, that¡¯s not very fair. I swing my Iron Boning Knife once again. schuk! A sound effect plays as I make contact with the Killerwing. It lost about a third of its HP. And this is even an expensive weapon like the other frontline adventurers use. Maybe the Killerwing is just strong¡­ but whatever. If it bleeds, I can kill it. ¡°Argh!¡± I swing the weapon in my hand for a third time. The fight resulted in me taking 550 damage and earning 300 in return. That¡¯s a net loss. My excuse is that it¡¯s hard to get good footing on a boat. If I were on land, it¡¯d be a whole ¡®nother story. Anyway, I make sure that there aren¡¯t any other birds around me before taking out my fishing rod. I made sure to buy some bait beforehand too. This time, I¡¯m using itty bitty shrimp. It¡¯s a few steps above earthworms and the price to match. Consider it a celebration for being the owner of a brand new boat. With that smug sense of superiority, I cast my line into the sea. And as always, I focus on the tip of the rod and wait. ¡ªSea Bream obtained. Nice, I finally caught one! It¡¯s bit hard, like the time I caught that sea bass. I guess it¡¯s all thanks to my Fishing Mastery III. I fix another piece of bait on the end of my hook and cast my line again. Oof, this one pulls. It¡¯s nothing to the level of that giant herring, but maybe I¡¯m fighting the rockiness of the boat as well. It¡¯s hard to put much strength in. But I¡¯m not about to lose. I muster all my strength. ¡ªBluefin Tuna obtained. ¡°Alright! At long last, a tuna.¡± Maybe it¡¯s because I have a boat. My heart races as I pull the tuna closer. Whoa! The boat almost went under. I forcibly stuff the tuna into my inventory. Moved and filled with a sense of accomplishment, I casted my line again. It¡¯s been one week since. I promptly forgot my goal and fell into a fishing frenzy. In the end, I realized the safest spot for me was where I caught that Bluefin Tuna. I even earned skills for helmsmanship and naval combat. They¡¯re both important skills to have when you¡¯re on a boat. The helmsmanship skill affects the handling of the boat as well as the oar. Naval combat is as the name suggests. Any debuffs from being on a boat gets nullified. I can even get buffs by upgrading it. ¡°But still, I wanna head farther¡­¡± I¡¯ve heard rumors from Alto that other players almost found the boss to unlock the third city. Compared to them, what am I even doing? As if to answer myself, though, I look out into the sea. I want to explore the farthest ends of the seas. There¡¯s got to be something out there. If not, there wouldn¡¯t be so many monsters here. But it¡¯s not something I can accomplish with my current abilities. Not only will I lose Energy if I mess up, but there¡¯s bound to be monsters stronger than orcas and sharks. Getting my Energy up should be my first priority. I¡¯ve even used Transmutation to get Energy from the tunas and sea breams. But the time-based production skills have a limit of 1,000 per hour. I want to live my life as an angler, but I have a long way to go. I¡¯ve got to first step up my game and so I¡¯ve decided to train on land. And not that I really need it, but tuna and sea bream sells for quite a bit of money. CH 9 ¡ªRaphanea Plains I may be two weeks late, but I finally stepped through the gates of Lurolona. A long snaking path leads into an open grassland. I am so late to the party. There¡¯s not a single person around trying to level up here. In any case, I strap my strongest weapon¡ªmy Cetus Longsword¡ªonto my back and head forwards. Before too long, a monster by the name of Common Wolf appears before me. I grip my longsword tightly, jump, and slash. With a delightful swish!, the Common Wolf was literally cut in twain. It disappears upon dying. ¡°Huh?¡± To be able to one hit kill the wolf must mean that my weapon is damn strong. Too strong, perhaps. I put away the longsword and opt for the Steel Chef¡¯s Knife. It¡¯s lighter than the longsword, making it comfortable and easy to use. ¡°There¡¯s another one over there.¡± The monsters in this area aren¡¯t aggressive, which makes sense given how this is one of the first sections of the game. ¡°Hmpf!¡± I slash at the Common Wolf with my chef¡¯s knife. As expected, I didn¡¯t kill it in one shot, but I did take away three-quarters of its HP. However, my delight was short lived as the wolf takes the moment to bellow out a war cry before pouncing on me. ¡°Augh!¡± I¡¯m definitely not used to combat yet, but it¡¯s also my first time playing a VR game. Being pounced on by the puppy-sized wolf is just a little frightening. ¡°Gah!¡± I took 5 points of damage, which for me means 5 points of Energy. I can see how it¡¯s tough trying to accumulate it. There¡¯s a reason why they say Spirits are weak, Let¡¯s try not take any more damage. I thrust my knife at the Common Wolf once again and it makes contact. The clean strike toppled the wolf over onto the ground. ¡°Whew¡­ I¡¯m so glad my weapons are strong.¡± I don¡¯t think it would¡¯ve gone so well if I were using a novice weapon. Not to mention that my Energy level is pretty high. I¡¯m sure that¡¯s why I had such an easy time defeating the wolf. ¡°Now then¡­ let¡¯s try this out.¡± Unlike the first one, defeating the second wolf left its corpse behind. I point my Steel Chef¡¯s Knife at it. I have no qualms about gutting fish, but cutting up a dog is another story. Since the game is rated for E for Everyone, I received Coarse Pelt, Animal Bones, and Common Wolf Meat without having to see anything too graphic. Looks like it works. As long as I carefully cut the animal, I¡¯ll be able to get their items. It might be that no one knows about this because it¡¯s exclusive to gutting weapons. But it wouldn¡¯t be surprising even if everyone knows about it. Whatever. I can hunt monsters and raise my gutting skill at the same time. Since my weapons are pretty good, I had been trying to find a more suitable place to hunt. Upon going deeper into the fields, I encountered a girl fighting these small green men wielding spears¡­ Assault Goblins, apparently. I can tell that she¡¯s taller than me even from far away. Well, it¡¯s not exactly my fault that I¡¯m a little loli. I doubt there are many people smaller than me. ¡­ anyway, back on track. She¡¯s smaller than Kanata but looks more mature than Tsugumi; maybe a high schooler? Yeah, she¡¯s about as tall as the girls in my class. I think I¡¯m right. But that¡¯s not to say it¡¯s indicative of what the person in real life is like. She¡¯s dressed in an indigo kimono with a gold pattern. It¡¯s a very elegant look. Her weapon is a folding fan. According to Kanata who has tested out all weapon types, they¡¯re all-arounders that can attack and defend. But instead of attacking with her fan, she has a flustered look on her face as the Assault Goblin closes in on her. The fan starts emitting a white light, but it doesn¡¯t seem like some kind of offensive skill. Now I¡¯m curious¡­ ¡°Why aren¡¯t you attacking?¡± As the girl notices and calls out to me, the Assault Goblin takes the opportunity to stab her with its spear. She parries the attack with her folding fan in a gorgeous manner. That doesn¡¯t look easy at all. At the very least, it would be hard for me to dodge a spear like that. ¡°Wild Dance, the First: Chain Attack¡­¡± The girl mutters out the name of the skill before continuously smacking the goblin¡¯s head with her fan. Eventually, the Assault Goblin keels over dead. She lets out a big sigh. ¡°You little¡­ what if the goblin had struck me?!¡± The young girl suddenly speaks to me in a much gentler, kinder tone. ¡°I am sure you understand already, but health and experience are directly connected to one another for us Spirits. Thus, I try to avoid receiving any damage when I fight.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Like when I was fighting the Killerwing, I was supposed to get 300 Energy. But since I took 550 points of damage, I ended up losing experience. There are definitely aspects about Energy where it¡¯s inconvenient. And what about her? She¡¯s equipped so nicely, so why is she fighting at a place like this? ¡°Do I catch your curiosity? I lost a bit of Energy the other day.¡± She must¡¯ve understood what I was thinking from me staring at her. ¡°Are you sure you should tell me that?¡± ¡°It is nothing that should be hidden from others.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She was in a party with friends that she got close with on the first day. And with them a few days ago, she was tanking for her party. Since Energy is also HP for Spirits, that means we have a lot more HP than any other race. It seems like that¡¯s how she lost her Energy. I¡¯m sure her folding fan doesn¡¯t help too much either. After seeing how she got weaker, her so-called friends clearly didn¡¯t want her in the party anymore. So that¡¯s why she¡¯s soloing and trying to get stronger right now. ¡°I apologize; listening to a stranger grumble on must be tiresome. I just got a little worked up.¡± She apologizes after telling me her story. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯ve heard about stories like this, but never thought it¡¯d happen to someone I know.¡± ¡°No longer do I consider them as friends, for I am ashamed to even have associated with them.¡± ¡°Do you speak like that ¡®cause you¡¯re roleplaying?¡± ¡°Roleplaying?¡± ¡°Never heard of it? Like to act out a character.¡± ¡°No, I am simply acting as I normally am. Is there a matter with it?¡± ¡°Oh, nah. No problem at all.¡± You don¡¯t see people like her in an MMO too often. Of course, that might be part of her character as well. ¡°Well, in that case, why don¡¯t we get in a party together? We¡¯re Spirit buddies so I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll get to understand each other well.¡± ¡°Are you sure? I have about 20,000 Energy currently.¡± ¡°I¡¯m about the same. In fact, I might be exactly at your level. Do you know of any good hunting grounds?¡± ¡°Yes, but near the second city.¡± ¡°Alright. If you¡¯d like, let¡¯s party up.¡± The girl puts her left hand by her lips as if she is deep in thought before flashing a tender smile. ¡°Let us go together then.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Kizuna. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°My name is Hakoniwa Shouko. I am sure we shall be great together.¡± She gracefully bows to me and I awkwardly bow back. For some reason, though, I am sure we shall be great together sounds like this an arranged marriage or something. CH 10 ¡°Looks like you really did fight on the front lines, eh?¡± I quietly muttered out to myself. Shouko is like a completely different person than before. Now, she fights like she¡¯s possessed. Plus, now that we¡¯re paired up, we¡¯re much safer and more secure. Her folding fan allows her to be defensive while attacking while I complement her by slashing with my Iron Boning Knife. Fighting together is comfortable and easy. ¡°Had you been doubting me?¡± ¡°Just a bit.¡± ¡°How cruel of you.¡± ¡°Oh, but it ain¡¯t like I¡¯m here to test you out or nothing.¡± ¡°Then you believe me now?¡± I nodded with all honesty. She catches the enemies¡¯ weapons between the folds of her fan, and if they¡¯re weak enough, she would twist and snap them. It¡¯s so effective against swords, it might just be a counter weapon. But to do that, Shouko has to take the blow. Her technique flows like a dance without a single hitch. It¡¯s unbelievable to think that she was a beginner at this game just two weeks ago. ¡°What have you been doing up until now, Kizuna?¡± ¡°I had only been fishin¡¯ in the first town.¡± ¡°Oh, fishing? I had some sardines and it was delicious.¡± She shuts her eyes, clasps her hands together, and bows. Uhh, you¡¯re welcome, I guess? Anyway, partying up with Shouko turned out solid. Since we¡¯re both Spirits, we¡¯re always putting our attention into not taking any damage at all. ¡°Do you know about gutting weapons, Shouko?¡± ¡°I have heard that monsters drop additional items upon being defeated.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Now, what to do? Around us lie corpses of Flame Condors. It feels like I¡¯d get some pretty good items if I gut them. More importantly is that Shouko slayed anything that came our way in the fight. In terms of raw skill, she¡¯s definitely better than me. I¡¯d feel safe letting her protect me. ¡­ well, sooner or later, everybody will know, so it¡¯s probably no big deal if I tell her the truth. ¡°I¡¯ve been tryin¡¯ to keep it hush hush, but there¡¯s a hidden effect that nobody knows about the gutting weapons.¡± ¡°Is there? Please, tell me more.¡± ¡°Alright, watch closely.¡± I take my Iron Boning Knife and bone the wing from the carcass. Then, Shouko interjected. ¡°Kizuna. Though they may be monsters, I still have no interest in defiling the dead.¡± ¡°No, that ain¡¯t it. Just watch.¡± It was easy butchering the bird. And in return, I received a Blaze Wing, Burning Feathers, Bird Bones, and Condor Meat. It turned into four different items. ¡°Oh, my! You truly respect life. I, Hakoniwa Shouko, am utmost impressed.¡± ¡°¡­?¡± Shouko pulls a 180 on me. ¡°To take a life is¡­ yes, unavoidable, but it is absolutely admirable that you made sure to waste none of their lives.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s what you mean.¡± What is she, trying to channel her inner monk? That was oddly solemn. No offense, but she seems like she might start spouting off some life lessons or sage advice. I might have casually brushed it off, but she really doesn¡¯t seem like the type to be playing video games. Yeah, she¡¯s got an air of refinement like she belongs at a prestigious all-girls¡¯ school. Well, gamers come from all walks of life, eh? ¡°They never mentioned anything about how you¡¯re supposed to use gutting weapons like this.¡± ¡°I see. This is just my opinion, but it seems like they did a poor job of explaining things.¡± ¡°Whaddya mean?¡± ¡°The description of gutting weapons is as follows: ¡®Weapon description: a type of weapon made for gutting and dissecting plants and animals. Defeating monsters will drop items.¡¯ It seems like their explanation is lacking.¡± She¡¯s got a point. It¡¯s definitely lacking. The description makes it sound like killing the monsters will make them drop items. That may be dependent on where you attack. Like, for example, if I lopped off the Flame Condor¡¯s wing, then certain items will be dropped. In practice, though, that¡¯s nigh impossible. Those birds flap their wings real quick. ¡°I have a good understanding on what you mean, but why do you keep it a secret?¡± ¡°Well, the fewer people know about it, the better it is for me. I¡¯d bet these items will sell for a butt ton, don¡¯tcha think?¡± ¡°But would it not benefit the people if you were to make it public knowledge?¡± ¡°Shouko, would you oh-so-nicely tell the bastards who casted you away?¡± ¡°¡­ I see what you mean. I have no such desires.¡± ¡°You¡¯re quick on the uptake.¡± ¡°I am no saint. There are those whom I have goodwill towards and those not.¡± How surprising. Well, it¡¯s not like I¡¯d voluntarily be nice to anyone I hate. Even though I wouldn¡¯t do anything just to spite them, I¡¯d at least avoid having any contact with people like that. Shouko is about the same as me then, I suppose. ¡°I understand. Let us keep it a secret between the two of us.¡± ¡°That¡¯d really help me out.¡± I¡¯m glad she¡¯s quick to understand. Shouko is a lot wiser than I¡¯d imagined. Maybe she¡¯s a clever girl. Speaking of which, there¡¯s another thing that made me think that. ¡°By the way, do you have all weapon descriptions memorized?¡± ¡°Yes, I am the type to properly read the manuals.¡± I haven¡¯t known her for long, but I feel like I knew that already. It¡¯s hard for me to explain, but she seems like she¡¯s mastered all sorts of things that normal people don¡¯t usually use. ¡°Then, shall we sell some but keep more? Or shall we sell to shops?¡± ¡°If we flood the market, then people would catch on to us, hey?¡± ¡°Yes. Though I feel very fortunate.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± I¡¯d feel pretty unfortunate if I were to be used to fight a boss and then immediately disposed of by my so-called friends. Hell, I¡¯d be crying myself to sleep. ¡°I was able to meet someone of our kind and moreover, that person was you, Kizuna. I should be grateful and thank those who urged me to leave the party.¡± Shouko affixed, ¡®Not that I would actually,¡¯ before letting out a soft chuckle. What a cute, innocent girl. She¡¯s got my heart racing a little. ¡°But Kizuna, you should best speak a little more ladylike¡­¡± ¡°¡­ ugh, jeez.¡± I explained to her that though I look like a girl, I¡¯m actually a guy inside so I¡¯d prefer her treating me like one. By the time we were finished, the sun was setting, and the skies had been dyed a shade of red. As an addendum, hunting together proved to be extremely Energy efficient, incomparable to anything before, and it was all thanks to Shouko. CH 11 ¡ªIlphy, The Second City ¡°So, are you the brother of Tsugumi?¡± After the hunt, we went to the second city as it was close by. Then, while I was in the middle of splitting up today¡¯s bounty, Shouko interjected with a ¡®Perhaps, are you¡­¡¯ about me and Tsugumi. It¡¯s obvious, eh? Our names, I mean. ¡°Ah, yeah. She wasn¡¯t a bother or anything to you, was she?¡± ¡°Not at all. She is a spirited and wonderful girl. We might not have been able to unlock the city without her help in the fight. I cannot thank her enough.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m glad then. When Tsugumi games, she can get a little carried away. We might meet her some time again, so don¡¯t take it to heart if she rubs you the wrong way.¡± I thought they just had fought together as allies, but apparently, they¡¯re acquaintances. Shouko had seen her hunting quite a few times before, so maybe Tsugumi might know of Shouko as well. Anyway, back to the items. If there¡¯s no need or greed system in an MMO, then obviously, someone has to distribute the wealth to the party. There are even some games that randomly gives the items to each party member. Dimension Wave uses a system that I¡¯m familiar with. But unfortunately, we didn¡¯t get any rare items, so I just send her half of the bounty through the trade window. ¡°I apologize for putting you through all this trouble.¡± ¡°Whatcha talkin¡¯ about? I was totally relying on you in combat. This ain¡¯t nothin¡¯ in comparison.¡± ¡°Well, then, you have my gratitude. This small fortune is all thanks to you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s worth partying up just to hear that from you.¡± Thank you, gutting weapons. Speaking of which, as promised earlier, we decided to never mention anything about how the gutting weapons work. You never know who¡¯s listening in. Still, for any other MMO, there would be strategy guides for FAQs online, so I¡¯m sure it¡¯s available somewhere already. But, don¡¯t forget the ¡°second life¡± aspect of Dimension Wave. ¡°Whatcha gonna do now, Shouko?¡± ¡°Let me see. It has been two hours since, so I shall allocate my Mana then go out again. Would you care to join me?¡± I had forgotten about it until she mentioned it. I always forget to spend my Mana. Lemme take a good look at my status since I so rarely open it up. Not to mention, Energy and Mana are both so important to us Spirits. ¡°Hmm¡­ the sun¡¯s setting soon, so is there a particular reason why you¡¯re going?¡± After a short break, we headed out for another hunt. Before I forget, I open up my status screen. It¡¯d be a pain if I forget to use my Mana. Name/ Kizuna?Exceed Race/ Spirit Energy/ 19,740 Mana/ 1,650 Serin/ 109,230 Skills/ Energy Production VIII, Mana Production V, Fishing Mastery IV, Gutting Mastery III, Transmutation I Unlocked Skills/ Energy Production IX, Mana Production VI, Fishing Mastery V, Night Vision I, Helmsmanship I, Naval Combat I, Cleaver I, Speed Gutting I I¡¯ve got seven skills that I haven¡¯t acquired yet. Helmsmanship and Naval Combat isn¡¯t even worth my time looking at it. Night Vision does exactly what it says on the tin. It would be useful for fighting in the dark. I needed to be active for more than 24 hours at night to unlock it. The remaining two weren¡¯t there yesterday, which means I unlocked them today. Let¡¯s see what they do¡­ Cleaver I The basic offensive skill for gutting-type weapons. Deal additional damage when severing bones or joints. Consumes 50 Energy per use. Costs 200 Mana to acquire. Unlock requirement: Defeat 100 or more enemies with gutting-type weapons. Upgrade requirement: Defeat 500 or more enemies with gutting-type weapons. Speed Gutting I A self-buff to gutting-type weapons. For a set duration, grants a self-buff to shorten the required time for gutting. Consumes 100 Energy per use. Costs 300 Mana to acquire. Unlock requirement: Gut 100 or more enemies with gutting-type weapons. Upgrade requirement: Gut 500 or more enemies with gutting-type weapons. Looks like they¡¯re both skills to be used in combat or out in action. Cleaver is obviously a combat skill and I could even say it¡¯s necessary for battle. It¡¯s always been Shouko activating offensive skills and using her Energy up. Gotta thank her for that later. Back on topic, I need Speed Gutting too, don¡¯t I? The biggest problem of today¡¯s hunt was the downtime when I¡¯m gutting. Shouko has no choice but to just loiter around. I¡¯ve got no choice to do it considering the money we make from the items, so this skill will help us out, even if only a little. Of course, it¡¯d be useful for solo play too since it would suck to get attacked in the middle of gutting. Yeah, this is necessary. I acquire the two skills without any hesitation. Luckily, I don¡¯t need to worry about getting both skills since they expend Energy each time they¡¯re activated instead of being a constant Energy drain. It costed me a bit of Mana, but I don¡¯t have enough for any other skills that I want right now anyway. Still, having Energy taking on the role of MP¡ªlike it says so in the manual¡ªis pretty great. I can use my skills as long as I have enough Energy. Having that said though, the less Energy I have, the less effective I would be. It¡¯d be best to avoid recklessly burn my skills. We Spirits really do have to be cautious when in combat. According to Shouko¡¯s experiences, every bit adds up and quickly makes you weaker. Having a large amount of Energy means a lot of HP, so not only would it be natural that we¡¯d be good at tanking bosses, but also be very versatile because of our endurance and attack. The bad part is that we can only expend so much of it. That¡¯s the one bottleneck of the system. Should you be thrifty with your Energy? Should you be extravagant? Well, that¡¯s really the question, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Now then, since we¡¯re here at the second city, let¡¯s fish at the river until it¡¯s time. ¡°Sorry I¡¯m late.¡± I bumped into an acquaintance along the way and lost track of time. Of course, I already let Shouko know I was going to be a little late, but late is late. ¡°Oh, no problem at all. Did you run into problems?¡± ¡°Nah, I ran into an acquaintance is all. I got her use her cooking skills for me though.¡± It¡¯s the same girl who I met through Alto. She told me to hit her up when I go fishing. I gave her three fish in exchange for her time cooking. ¡°A cook, is she?¡± ¡°Yeah. Here, as an apology for being late. I¡¯ve got sweetfish and trout, both salt-grilled. Which will it be?¡± ¡°I shall have¡­ the trout.¡± After a brief moment of contemplation, Shouko received her trout. Though, sweetfish and trout are in season at fairly different times. Since this is a game, I guess time of year doesn¡¯t matter when catching your freshwater fish. Anyway, putting that aside, I asked around for advice since we were going for a night battle. ¡°I asked around a little earlier, but is there anything we have to prepare for this? I¡¯ve mentioned it already, but I don¡¯t have much experience in fights. That means that I don¡¯t know much about rules and stuff at whatever hunting ground.¡± ¡°Right¡­ well, I have brought our light source with me, so we shall be fine on that front. Oh, do you have a coat of some kind, Kizuna? It gets a little chilly at night, so it would not hurt to bring one along.¡± While she¡¯s speaking to me, Shouko clasps her hand together to thank me for the trout. ¡°A coat? No, I don¡¯t have one, I¡¯m afraid.¡± ¡°In that case, would you like to use one of my old ones? It is a little worn down however. It does confer bonus resistance to cold and, according to current findings, that means it keeps the wearer warmer for longer.¡± ¡°Can I really?¡± ¡°Of course. Since I no longer wear it, it has simply been taking up space.¡± Then, Shouko sends over a large kimono-style jacket via the chat window. It¡¯s named the ¡°Powder Snow Haori¡±. It grants a slight cold resistance effect as well as provides defense. Though it looks light, it¡¯s actually got some heft to it. The coat might make me a little sluggish wearing it. I¡¯ll only equip it when it¡¯s cold then. ¡°Does it look okay on me, even though I¡¯m wearing rather Western-looking clothes underneath?¡± I put on the haori and ask for her thoughts. As I mentioned, I¡¯m wearing a black dress called a ¡°Geist Dress¡±. I chose it because it the simplest thing I could make with the best stats, though it looks quite gothic lolita. It seems to be exclusive equipment for Spirits as well. The bonus effect on it lowers Energy damage taken. You can¡¯t get effects like this with anything other than clothing, so it makes gutting weapons all the worse. Looking around, you¡¯ll see guys in light armor with a short sword strapped to their hip. I¡¯m sure one of the reasons why not many people use gutting weapons is because they don¡¯t grant much defense. Well, you¡¯d also likely use gutting weapons for crafting, so there¡¯s another reason why. ¡°If I dare be frank, it fits you better than I had thought it would have. You have quite a fantastical feel to your style.¡± ¡°Better than you¡¯d thought¡­? But, thanks. I¡¯ll take good care of it.¡± Even if I don¡¯t look good in it, the stats are too good to pass up on. That much is common in an MMORPG. ¡°Where are we going anyway? Well, not like I¡¯ve been there before, but we might have a better time fighting if we knew what we¡¯re up against.¡± ¡°You have a point. We shall be going to the Forest of Eternal Darkness, somewhere that can only be accessed at night. Our main target shall be Darkness Lizardmen in there¡ª¡± To summarize her explanation, we¡¯re going to a Darkness Lizardmen hot spot where we¡¯ll do well farming Energy. However, the bastard sword¨Cwielding Darkness Lizardmen are both strong in physical and magical attacks, so they¡¯re not exactly easy either. That¡¯s a reason why rarely do people ever step foot in the forest unless they properly spec their skills for it. Normally, you¡¯d need someone proficient in shields, but we¡¯ve got high enough Energy levels. As well, not only can her folding fan can attack and defend, but it¡¯s very effective at destroying the Darkness Lizardmen¡¯s weapons. That¡¯s why Shouko has chosen the Forest of Eternal Darkness. It makes for a great spot to farm and it¡¯s even doable solo for her. ¡°Are you okay with me and my gutting weapons? I¡¯ve been told that they¡¯re not all that useful. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯d just be leeching off of you.¡± Well, pretty much leeching off her now already, but still. I like to think that I do pretty good damage with my gutting weapons though. ¡°You still have that going for you. There is no way you would not be useful, Kizuna.¡± ¡°I see, that, huh?¡± Of course, she¡¯s talking about gutting. Seeing how we¡¯re going to somewhere not many go, the drops from the monsters there should fatten up our wallets a bit. I could even use Transmutation on it, so it¡¯s not like I¡¯ve got no choices either. ¡°Then I¡¯ll be counting on you from here on out.¡± ¡°Likewise to you.¡± And then right after, in this very conspicuous spot, she bows deeply to me. CH 12 ¡°Cleaver!¡± My Iron Chef¡¯s Knife glows red as I shout the skill name out loud. I begin to spin then use the centrifugal force to cut down the Darkness Lizardman with great strength. Swish! The knife goes cleanly through the Darkness Lizardman¡¯s right hand and, along with the bastard sword it was carrying, it falls to the ground. ¡°I bagged one. You all good there, Shouko?¡± ¡°Completely fine! Wild Dance the Second: Bloom!¡± Once Shouko opened her glowing fan, flower petals dances through the air like some sort of special effect and tear into the two Darkness Lizardman. One of them gets cut down but the other swings its bastard sword at Shouko. She catches the blade between her fan and cleanly snaps it into two. ¡°Recharge¡­¡± As Shouko mutters, her fan begins to glow white. Then, she attacks the Darkness Lizardman by thrusting her fan. She probably didn¡¯t need the helping hand, but at the same time, I stab the Darkness Lizardman with my Iron Chef¡¯s Knife. Our combined efforts take down the monster. ¡°Are you injured, Kizuna?¡± ¡°No, not at all. I did better than I thought I would but fighting two at once might be too much.¡± I did get hit once, but it was nothing. Not to mention, I earned more Energy than I lost, so it¡¯s a net profit. Then suddenly, Shouko¡¯s folding fan glows even brighter. Her offensive skills often need to charge up before they can be used. It can be anywhere from 10 seconds to three minutes. The longer it gets charged, the brighter and more powerful her fan is. While it¡¯s charging, she fights and blocks normally. If I had to nitpick, I¡¯d say that the fan is kinda mediocre at both offense and defense. Most of the offensive skills are area of effect and so it doesn¡¯t do a lot of damage. Plus, it doesn¡¯t block as well as a proper shield would. ¡°Alright, then I¡¯mma gut them up. Cover me, alright?¡± ¡°I have your back.¡± I point my Iron Chef¡¯s Knife towards the Darkness Lizardman I killed. I start with scaling the monster and quietly mutter out a skill. ¡°Speed Gutting¡­¡± It takes a lot less time with the skill activated. Plus, it¡¯s not mentioned in the description, but there are two other effects that it grants you. The first one is that it increases the success rate. That¡¯s why even when I do it so quickly, I get as many items as I would when I gut carefully. The second hidden effect is that the user feels a lot lighter and nimble. I¡¯m guessing attack speed and gutting speed are both calculated the same way. Anyway, I gotta hurry up and butcher all three of them. We might be safe now, but who knows what¡¯ll happen. Clink! The sound of Shouko parrying the enemy¡¯s attack rings out. She¡¯s already engaged in another fight. Enemies are coming quicker than I expected. Gotta hurry this up. We decided ahead of time that when I¡¯m breaking down corpses and there are less than three baddies, then I¡¯ll finish up before helping to fight. I get that it¡¯s my job, but I¡¯m still getting anxious about ignoring Shouko. I gotta do what I gotta do though. ¡°All done. And it looks like you¡¯re fine too.¡± As I finish gutting the three monsters, Shouko lands the finishing blow on the Darkness Lizardman. Needless to say, I go and cut up that fresh carcass too. ¡°How are you doing with your Energy levels?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you using skills more than I am?¡± ¡°I have Energy Production X, so this is no problem to me at all.¡± Two levels higher than me, huh? That¡¯s an ex-frontliner for you. Even her skills are way beyond mine. Meanwhile, I finish up gutting and put the items in my inventory. ¡°Whew¡­¡± I take a deep breath in the middle of this lull. All around us is forest, pitch black. The paper lantern Shouko brought with her is the only light source around. There¡¯s not even a single star to shine down upon us. We¡¯ve set up camp in the cave we found along the way. It¡¯s been two hours since we¡¯ve started, and I think we got the hang of it. ¡°Kizuna, how are you feeling? Are you tired yet?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m good.¡± ¡°Do not push yourself, okay? Even slight mistakes will cost us our lives as Spirits.¡± ¡°This is nothing compared to the gaming sessions I was subjected to by Tsugumi.¡± ¡°I see. Then, shall we continue for another hour?¡± According to Shouko, Darkness Lizardmen are pretty good for experience. We¡¯ve encountered a good number of them and so we¡¯ve got a good number of items too. On the contrary, we encountered no other players to far. And, thanks to Shouko, we¡¯ve been steadily chugging along. The biggest weakness right now is how dark it is. Maybe it woulda been better if I¡¯d taken Night Vision. I have more than 20,000 Energy right now and I¡¯m earning more at a good pace. ¡°¡­?¡± ¡°What¡¯s up? Did something happen?¡± Shouko has an odd expression on her face. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen her like that and so I asked. ¡°No, but I hear something.¡± You hear something? I perk up my ears too. Of course, I don¡¯t have any skills or anything for better hearing, so I don¡¯t actually hear any better. But¡­ Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud. She¡¯s right. Footsteps of some kind. ¡°¡­ over there!¡± Shouko swings her fan at seemingly nothing. But, as she struck something with an audible smack, a somewhat transparent figure appears with a puff of smoke. ¡°Please, hold! I am not thine enemy!¡± A ninja-looking figure clad in all black appeared. I bet he used a camouflaging skill like Hiding or something. And really? ¡°Thine enemy¡±? What a clich¨¦d character to roleplay. ¡°Your lies will not work on me. What are your true intentions for creeping up to us?! Speak!¡± ¡°¡¯Tis a misunderstanding! I am merely trying to escape a boss monster!¡± ¡°A pathetic excuse!¡± Shouko didn¡¯t relent with her hounding, so I¡¯ll cut it short. In any case, Shouko is being very suspicious of this figure in black and so I try to be the liaison. ¡°Well, let¡¯s give him a chance to explain himself. Alright?¡± ¡°If you say so, Kizuna¡­¡± I soothe Shouko¡¯s suspicions as I turn towards the ninja. ¡°So? Why were you hiding from us?¡± ¡°Thou art mistaken; I did not mean to hide from thee. As I have said, I had been chased by a boss monster as I was gathering materials with dark attributes. Unfortunately, I encountered something more than I can tackle by myself and so, I escaped with my camouflaging skill to misdirect the monster.¡± ¡°Hmph. Assuming you¡¯re telling the truth, then where is the boss monster?¡± I have a bad feeling about it, so I had to ask. ¡°It is in front of us, in the cave.¡± ¡°I knew it¡­¡± I had a feeling that might be the case when I first heard his excuse. Nervously, I take a look at the cave, but I can¡¯t see well since it¡¯s so dark. ¡°It is visible for me as I have acquired Night Vision.¡± ¡°I see. Well then, my next question is what do we do about it?¡± This Forest of Eternal Darkness blocks players from using teleporting items, like ¡°Tome of Return¡± to send us back to town. There¡¯s only one path and it leads directly to the cave. And that cave has now been taken over by a boss monster. ¡°What do you take us for?! We will not so simply perish!¡± Shouko is unusually flustered. But she¡¯s right. Us Spirits don¡¯t die. Rather, when we lose all of our Energy, we just get really, really weak. We get sent back to level 1, you could say. Thinking about our situation carefully, it flusters me a little too. If we mess up, then we¡¯ll lose all of the Energy we¡¯ve earned up till now. Anyone got a good idea or anything? ¡°Please, take me with thee. I shan¡¯t perish either!¡± ¡°Hold on. I know why we won¡¯t die, but why you too? Other races have penalties for getting defeated, right?¡± ¡°It is for I am a Spirit.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I applied my palm directly to my forehead. They say there aren¡¯t many Spirits in this game, yet there are three of us in this dungeon with practically nobody in it? Talk about a miracle. ¡°So are we.¡± ¡°Pray tell, are we the same peoples?¡± ¡°I would say that I am very pleased to meet another one of us, but not under these circumstances.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± If we had only met in different circumstances. Well, whatever. We¡¯re still in this together. ¡°However, we should brace for this adversity we are about to face, though I do not mean to force it upon you. It is more so whether we are able to or not.¡± ¡°Yeah, Shouko¡¯s got a point.¡± I don¡¯t think any old plan would work against this monster. No matter how weak it might be, it¡¯s still a boss. I¡¯m not sure if our weapons would be any good against it. I really doubt we¡¯d win in a head-on fight. Not to mention, we can¡¯t rely on ninja boy. Why? Well, he literally was just running away from the boss. ¡°Let me atone for this sin through death!¡± ¡°Hold your horses. Don¡¯t jump to that from the get go.¡± ¡°Oh, little Miss¡­¡± ¡­ little Miss? I mean, I guess I look like a grade schooler. My character, I mean. ¡°It¡¯s Kizuna. Don¡¯t call me ¡®little Miss¡¯.¡± ¡°It is my pleasure. Please call me Yamikage.¡± ¡°¡­ you a ninja or something?¡± ¡°I did not know there were still ninjas.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because we¡¯re in a game¡­¡± ¡°O-Oh, but of course¡­¡± Our introductions were short, but sweet. The guy clad in all black is Yamikage. Quite the stereotypical ninja. We¡¯ve got a tomboyish GIRL, a traditional Japanese lady, and a old-timey ninja. ¡­ god, this is such an embarrassing party. ¡°Is the boss still in the cave?¡± ¡°I see no signs of it moving.¡± ¡°And just to make sure, what¡¯s its name?¡± I then quickly give Shouko a look. She always pays attention to the details, so she¡¯d be useful now. But it doesn¡¯t seem like she understands what my glance at her meant. You could almost see the question mark above her head. No good, huh? Well, we¡¯ve technically only met today. I guess it was too much to expect to be able to communicate through our eyes. And by the way, what I meant was to check with her whether that name is correct or not. Who knows if Yamikage is laying? Maybe he¡¯ll try to monster player kill or something. ¡°¡¯Tis the Lizardman Dark Knight.¡± ¡°The answer¡¯s almost obvious but can the three of us beat it?¡± ¡°That is unlikely.¡± ¡°Aye, ¡®tis an impossibility.¡± It wouldn¡¯t be a boss monster otherwise¡­ It has been decided from time immemorial that boss monsters in MMOs are extremely difficult. Some raid bosses need nearly 10 people at once to be defeated. We might be up against something like that. But it doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re completely out of ideas yet. It¡¯s just that we might have to resort to cheesing the boss. ¡°Whatever. Do y¡¯all have any ideas on what we can do?¡± ¡°Aye. Perhaps we can run past the monster.¡± ¡°You know, you escaped away from the monster by the skin of your teeth, right? Do you really think we can outrun it?¡± ¡°¡¯Tis another impossibility.¡± So, we can¡¯t escape it. Then, Shouko puts up her hand. I look straight at her. ¡°What¡¯s your plan?¡± ¡°How about we have someone act as a decoy?¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be too difficult. But who¡¯d it be?¡± ¡°Since I have brought it up, let me take that role.¡± It doesn¡¯t sound like a bad plan, but I don¡¯t like it. Shouko had already lost a lot of Energy by being defeated by another boss. It¡¯s just my personal opinion, but I wouldn¡¯t like to have that happen to a Spirit buddy. ¡°I¡¯m against it.¡± ¡°Nay for me as well.¡± Surprisingly, Yamikage voted against that plan too. Maybe he¡¯s looking at it from a Spirit¡¯s perspective too. ¡°But why? Is it not our best plan?¡± ¡°If we were to use Madam Hakoniwa¡¯s plan, then let me be the decoy.¡± ¡°Forgive me for being rude, but I believe both you and Kizuna lacks the defense. Besides, I have defensive skills with my folding fan. If I am lucky, then I shall be able to escape too.¡± ¡°But, I had brought this problem to you. I cannot have Spirit comrades sacrifice their¡ª¡± I can¡¯t believe that¡¯s what they¡¯re arguing back and forth about. They¡¯re both so willing to make the sacrifice. ¡°I¡¯m against either of you doing it. Why the hell are you guys so willing to throw down your lives?! What we should be focusing on is how to get all of us out alive, right?¡± Both of them stare at the ground. This would totally be an emotional scene if this were a manga or something. Plus, there¡¯s not much meaning to it if no one¡¯s actually dying. We don¡¯t know if Yamikage is going to accidentally MPK us either, let alone plotting doing so. Our first priority is to think of a better plan. ¡°Oh, right. I forgot to ask, but what skills do you have, Yamikage?¡± ¡°I possess Night Vision I, Camouflage I, and Drain VII.¡± ¡°Drain?¡± That¡¯s pretty handy, eh? But to have it at rank VII? That¡¯s really high. ¡°Do you have a lot of Energy or something?¡± ¡°Nay, such is not the case for me. I am but at around 20,000.¡± ¡°20,000? That¡¯s pretty much at my level then. How the heck did you get to rank VII already?¡± ¡°I am losing 3,000 Energy each hour.¡± ¡­ huh? To put it in other words, Yamikage¡¯s spending Energy just to live? Our skills cost Energy to acquire. But because we can also take as many skills as we want, us Spirits can activate enough skills to be in the red. That¡¯s how Yamikage¡¯s losing 3,000 Energy per hour. ¡°Can you manage to earn anything?¡± I guess you could call this high risk, high reward¨Cstyle gameplay. ¡°I profit about 1,000 every day.¡± So he says with a smug smile. ¡°Kizuna, he¡¯s¡­¡± Shouko is totally worried about his situation. I¡¯m sure Yamikage can manage though. Well, I¡¯d like to believe there are quite a few players who would do something like him. You could even say it¡¯d be the more fun that way. By the way, our Energy levels are 20,000, 25,000, and 23,000 for Yamikage, Shouko, and I, respectively. Shouko also produces the most Energy out of all of us. In that case, Shouko¡¯s plan might be our safest plan, but I wouldn¡¯t never go through with it. ¡°Anyway, we can¡¯t do anything if we can¡¯t see the monster.¡± ¡°Though, I am able to.¡± ¡°Seeing is believing, as they say. I¡¯d rather be able to see for myself. Let me get the skill too.¡± I open up my menu and check under unacquired skills. Night Vision I A skill for nighttime action. Activating the skill will counter any nighttime debuff. Consumes 200 Energy per hour. Costs 200 Mana to acquire. Unlock requirement: Be active for more than 24 hours during nighttime. Upgrade requirement: Be active for more than 168 hours during nighttime. I take the skill and a look towards the cave. Since it¡¯s only level I, it¡¯s still pretty dark all around. But at least now I can see the outlines and silhouettes of the trees and stuff around us. ¡­ and there really is a boss monster there. It¡¯s a humongous Lizardman clad in black metallic armor. In its hands are a massive lance and shield. There¡¯s no way the three of us can beat it. And it doesn¡¯t look like a folding fan can break its weapon either. And, did I mention that the guy is gigantic? Its physical appearance is definitely appropriate for a boss. ¡°¡­ oh!¡± ¡°Is something the matter?¡± ¡°Maybe, just maybe¡­¡± I tell them the plan that suddenly popped into my mind. ¡°Will this truly work?¡± ¡°Probably. It¡¯s an old trick I got from a game.¡± ¡°Aye, but how shall we get its aggro?¡± ¡°I think I might have an idea about that.¡± This pinch we¡¯re in might actually prove to be a good chance for us. CH 13 I¡¯m standing in front of the cave. In my hand is my fishing rod with a sinker threaded onto the line. ¡°Let¡¯s do this then.¡± They silently nod in response and I cast my line. I have fine control over my rod, thanks to Fishing Mastery IV. The hook sinks right into the Lizardman Dark Knight. It probably dealt a point or two of damage, but it can hardly be called an attack. But it did exactly what I wanted it to¡ªpulling its aggro. ¡°It¡¯s comin¡¯! Get ready, everybody!¡± I¡¯m not even sure if I did any damage to it, but it¡¯s rushing towards us at the speed of lightning. If this were any other monster, we¡¯d be instantly destroyed, but¡­ Kaboom! The Lizardman Dark Knight slammed into the mouth of the cave accompanied by a terrible crash. Yup. The Lizardman Dark Knight doesn¡¯t fit through the entrance. There are a lot of games where you can trap monsters by getting them to clip against objects. It¡¯s an easy way to level up, but devs usually patch stuff like this out pretty quickly. Fortunately, it works in Dimension Wave. And it goes without saying that there¡¯s a chance of it not working, but after discussing it between the three of us, we decided to try it out. ¡°Let¡¯s kick its ass!¡± ¡°Understood!¡± ¡°Aye!¡± The rest was straightforward. All we had to do was use the weapons and skills we had to and keep on attacking the trapped monster. I took out my Cetus Longsword and started hacking away at the trapped Lizardman Dark Knight too. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m doing too much damage. My strikes connect with a dull clank. I couldn¡¯t tell from a distance, but now I know that it¡¯s not only clad in armor but also covered in scales. Its defense is accordingly high too. I look over and see Shouko endlessly thrusting and swinging as well. Yamikage has some kind of scroll-shaped magic tome by his mouth and begins chanting. Moments after, a black visual effect appears, and he starts absorbing green orbs from the Lizardman Dark Knight. That¡¯s probably his Drain, a dark magic spell. Shouko and I aren¡¯t using any skills though. We don¡¯t know how much HP this boss has, so it¡¯d be hard to guess if we¡¯d make up any energy expended. ¡°This guy is literally so tough. Can you even win fighting normally?¡± ¡°I have heard talk of a party defeating it before.¡± We strike up a conversation, but our hands hadn¡¯t stopped. ¡°¡¯Tis naught but a rumor, but supposedly, they had tanks occupying the monster while they blasted it with light magic from a distance.¡± ¡°I see. Its physical defense is as high as it looks to be.¡± It¡¯s just a guess, but I don¡¯t think we¡¯re quite fit to fight this Lizardman Dark Knight. The folding fan doesn¡¯t do much damage and Drain is a dark-type skill. Our chances of winning are zero if not for cheesing it. My attacks make an unpleasant clank when I hit it and that¡¯s with my strongest weapon I have. Oh, and if I had to say, I think a metal axe or even a blunt melee weapon would fare much better. ¡°In any case, if it doesn¡¯t make any strange movements, we can just keep on wailing on it.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± ¡°Aye!¡± A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step is what they say. Just gotta keep at it. Thirty minutes later. ¡°I-It¡¯s still standing. How much freakin¡¯ HP does this bastard have¡­¡± If we get too close, it¡¯ll strike back at us. We¡¯re barely managing to outrange it. Especially with Shouko. The range on her fan is short, so she¡¯s gotta occasionally parry its attacks. Not to mention, the AI causes it to try to run away from time to time. Naturally, I summon it back with my fishing rod. Seeing how I¡¯m able to manage that says a lot about how smart the AI is. ¡°Perhaps it has regenerating capabilities.¡± ¡°Nay. ¡®Tis but because our offense is lacking.¡± Well, that¡¯s true, but I¡¯m about average, I¡¯d say. It¡¯s been seemingly forever since we¡¯ve attacked this monster, resulting in its armor crumbling and even scales ripped off. Still, it¡¯s tough mentally to keep this up for a whole hour on a single monster. ¡°Be nourishment for my spirit. Drain!¡± Yamikage¡¯s been spamming Drain endlessly for 30 minutes and now even has more Energy than Shouko. That¡¯s to say, he has about 27,000 right now. The Lizardman Dark Knight sure has a lot of HP. ¡°Whoa?¡± As soon as the familiar green orbs get drained by Yamikage, the Lizardman Dark Knight moved in a peculiar way like nothing seen before. It keeled over with a deafening wheeze. It crumbles and slams onto the ground while luckily, causing no earthquakes. ¡°Hath it finally perished?¡± ¡°Hey! That¡¯s a death flag right there!¡± ¡°Hmm, aye. I have left my younger sister behind in my hometown. Therefore, death must wait!¡± ¡­ god damnit. I like his enthusiasm. ¡°Goodness¡­ whatever are you two doing?¡± Shouko shot a chilling glance over at us while confirming that the enemy is dead. Bosses feign death too. I raise my guard and get closer. ¡°Be wary. It may be feigning death.¡± ¡°Gotcha.¡± ¡°That is unlikely.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Dark it may be, but it is still a knight. I believe it would have more honor than to do something so cowardly.¡± Hmm, she¡¯s got a point. It¡¯s normally the demons and tribals that play dead, I think. Well, I guess the Lizardmen are a tribe, but still, it¡¯s a knight. It should be honorable. More honorable than us, at least. We¡¯re the one who trapped it and cheesed it to death. But ignore that. ¡°As for drops¡­ we obtain a Fragment of Darkness and Dark Spear Splinter.¡± ¡°We may sell those for a hefty sum.¡± It¡¯ll make us a good bit of coin, though I¡¯m not exactly broke. Well, it doesn¡¯t hurt to have more money. According to Yamikage, that two-handed spear is a material and a very desirable one for spear-wielders because of its dark element. ¡°Such is the prowess of a gutting-type weapon, true to what the rumors say.¡± The real issue now is what to do. I glance over to Shouko and give her a look. Honestly, I want to gut it. I don¡¯t think I¡¯d get another chance to gut it. And likely, what we¡¯d get from the monster would be really good for weapons and armor. A side of me is saying to keep the secret but the other side of me really wants the boss loot. ¡°We¡¯re buddies that took down a boss together, so I guess I¡¯ll tell ya¡­¡± There ain¡¯t nothin¡¯ better than boss drops. ¡°If you are fine with it, Kizuna, then I believe it is for the best as well.¡± ¡°Hmm? What is the meaning of this?¡± ¡°Well, just watch. Speed Gutting¡­¡± After chanting the skill, I take my Cetus Longsword and start to butcher up the giant Lizardman Dark Knight. I can¡¯t do anything about the armor and scales broken off of it, but I can harvest the rest of his scales, bones, flesh, teeth, eyes, skin, tail, and even blood. But, for some reason, I can¡¯t make use of what I broke off of it in the fight. It¡¯s like the complete opposite of that certain monster hunting game. ¡°Egads¡­¡± Yamikage mutters out in shock. Since this is a boss monster, I got as much material as I did from the Giant Herring. The Giant Herring must¡¯ve been the boss of its species too. ¡°What on earth is this? Hath the items increased? Doth gutting-type weapons not increase our drops?¡± ¡°It is poorly explained in the manual, but this is the proper way of using a gutting weapon.¡± ¡°Never have I been more surprised in this world before!¡± I can¡¯t tell whether he¡¯s really that surprised or his acting is just overboard, but his words are filled with zeal. Well, even if he tells everyone about this, we can still make plenty of cash if we sell these boss items quick enough. ¡°Then, shall I keep this a secret too?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°It seems as though Misses Kizuna and Hakoniwa were both keeping this undisclosed. As gratitude for saving my life, I, too, shall bring this secret to my grave.¡± ¡°W-Well, I¡¯d appreciate it if you would¡­¡± And to think he had almost killed us. I¡¯m glad he changed his mind. If he¡¯ll keep it a secret, then I really don¡¯t have any problems with him. ¡°However, I doth have an issue to discuss¡­¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°May I perhaps join your party?¡± ¡°¡­ why?¡± ¡°I have been playing alone up till now.¡± ¡°Is that right?¡± Shouko questions him. He¡¯s got such a weird build. It¡¯s no wonder no one¡¯s letting him in their party. ¡°It may hath been on your tongues already, but I have a communication disorder.¡± ¡°¡­?¡± ¡­ what was that? Unfortunately, I had no clue. Some might think his roleplaying is over the top, but I think most enjoy it. At least Alto or Romina wouldn¡¯t have a problem with it. ¡°Many times, I have wished to join a party, but I always end up unable to.¡± ¡°I am sorry to hear.¡± Shouko¡¯s totally starting to let her guard down. It totally reeks of a scam. ¡°Question.¡± ¡°Aye?¡± ¡°You said you have a communication disorder, but you¡¯re talkin¡¯ to us just fine.¡± ¡°Speaking like this¡ªlike a ninja¡ªseems to help.¡± What kind of reasoning is that? At least come up with a better excuse. ¡°Mine heart is pounding as we speak now.¡± ¡°Goodness! Kizuna, let her travel with us. We are fellow Spirits after all!¡± What is this feeling? Like I¡¯m watching my friends getting swindled? W-Well, I guess a party wouldn¡¯t be too bad¡­ hmm? ¡°What did you just say?¡± ¡°We are fellow Spirits after all?¡± ¡°No, before that.¡± ¡°We should travel with her? ¡°Yeah. ¡®Her¡¯?¡± Yamikage¡¯s wrapped up in all black. That¡¯s not something you could tell at first glance. There¡¯s even black cloth wrapped around their mouth, so it¡¯s hard to tell by their voice. ¡°I am embarrassed to show my true face in front of others, but if we are to fight together, then please, look at me.¡± Saying that, Yamikage unravels the black cloth¡­ ¡ªand reveals a beauty girl with silver hair. CH 14 ¡°Please call me Dark Shadow from now.¡± Yamikage blurted out as soon as we returned back to the second city from the Forest of Eternal Darkness. ¡°What.¡± I subconsciously replied before I knew it. What did she just say? We ended up partying together after Shouko suggested we do so. Maybe it¡¯s because of it that we¡¯re all in high spirits right now. This has got to be something to rouse us up too. No one is actually that cringy. ¡°As you wish, Ms. Dark Shadow.¡± I stared blankly at Shouko, who responded to Yamikage with a straight face. I don¡¯t think she understood my Are you serious? expression though. ¡°Gotcha, Dark Shadow. As you wish, Dark Shadow.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Dark Shadow? Why are you so quiet, Dark Shadow? No response, Dark Shadow? Am I rubbing you the wrong way, Dark Shadow?¡± My rapid fire seems to be getting to her. ¡°¡®T-¡®Twas a jest! Please address me normally.¡± It¡¯s because your personality is so not what someone would imagine your pretty girl character to have, is what I would¡¯ve wanted to say. There¡¯s a chasm between the all-black ninja costume and your beautiful flowing locks of silver hair. But, I think it¡¯s pretty cool. She¡¯s not some regular ol¡¯ ninja with nothing but physical attacks. Yammy¡¯s more like a ninja from an anime or something. I dig that. It¡¯s quirky. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. We¡¯re in a party now, but don¡¯t expect us to be fighting enough to cover your hourly minus of 3,000 Energy. Not to mention, I use a gutting weapon and Shouko uses a fan.¡± ¡°Fret not. I have already reduced the level of my Drain.¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t go throwing away your identity either.¡± ¡°I am devoted to my Drain skill. However, as I serve Lady Kizuna, I must be remain useful.¡± ¡°What d¡¯you say?¡± What¡¯s up with addressing me as ¡°Lady¡± all of a sudden? I¡¯m finally understanding what she meant by ¡°communication disorder¡±¡ªshe just blurts out whatever is in her head. I don¡¯t know if I can exactly empathize with her, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯d get in the way of our party. ¡°Oh, and another thing. We were technically fighting together already, but should we get into an actual party together?¡± They¡¯re both saying essentially the same thing, but the way they speak is a little annoying to decipher. And, they¡¯re both really Japanese-y. ¡°Say¡­ I know I can be a little slow, so correct me if I¡¯m wrong, but do you two know each other or somethin¡¯? Is it just me or does it seem like you¡¯ve brought us together?¡± I got two other Spirits to join my party in literally a day. They¡¯re both roleplaying such distinctive personalities with unique skills to boot. To think that we¡¯ll be together from now on kinda makes me anxious. And, of course, anxious in the good way. ¡°It is as you say, Kizuna, that we are brought together by fate. One could even say we were fated to be together.¡± Really? Fate? That¡¯s almost a little embarrassing¡­ Well, I¡¯m not exactly complaining that we have a party exclusively of Spirits. It even makes me feel like we¡¯re better than others. ¡°True as it may be that our population is small, but endangered species we are not.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± ¡°I have been endlessly training mine Drain every day thus far. And so, I have been to many hunting grounds and seen countless of our own kind.¡± ¡°Is that so? I cannot say that I have seen many other Spirits. I could even say that we are rare.¡± Not everyone has read up on Spirits online, so it wouldn¡¯t be weird that those people make up a portion of the Spirit playerbase. Some might even have chosen to play as a Spirit because they¡¯re weak. And I¡¯m sure some chose Spirit because they¡¯re half-translucent and they think it¡¯s cool. And naturally, there¡¯s definitely people who are outspoken about how strong Spirits can be. But I guess you can kinda get the sense on how the situation really is. Yamikage says she sees a fellow Spirit from time to time while Shouko has rarely seen any of us on the frontlines. As for me, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen a single Spirit while I was fishing by the shores of the first city. ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad to have found Spirit buddies I can hang out with, but what are we gonna do from now on?¡± ¡°What do you mean ¡®from now on¡¯?¡± ¡°Hmm, what I meant was like are we gonna hit the sack or whatever. But I don¡¯t mind hearing about what ideas you guys have for the grand scheme of things either.¡± It¡¯s already pretty late in the day. The night view of the town is one filled with people carrying their lanterns. Generally, most lights are out by midnight though. ¡°I am fine with whatever we may choose to do. As the proverb goes: early to sleep and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. And as for the latter, I am personally aiming to return to my former strength.¡± ¡°I am accustomed to acting in the dead of night and thus staying awake until five in the morn is of no hardship for me. Furthermore, I hold no ambitions of mine own and herefore I shall defer to you, Kizuna.¡± Well, that puts me in a bit of a pickle. And why am I in charge anyway? I mean, I¡¯ve been a guildmaster in other MMOs before, but not for a big one or anything. Well, it¡¯s not like I have a goal anyway, so let¡¯s just focus on helping Shouko reach hers. ¡°By the way, how strong were you, Shouko?¡± You are the most skilled one of us though. When we were back at the cave, you¡¯d dodge and parry the boss¡¯ attacks and avoided all damage. That¡¯s the power of experience. Plus, you even detected Yamikage who was cloaked in the shadows. If you¡¯re not gonna give credit to yourself, then I will. Ms. Shouko, you are legit skilled. Whatever. I¡¯ll keep it to myself. Though it¡¯s probably a different story for the numbers and statistics in her status, Shouko is definitely the most skilled player among us. ¡°In that case, since Shouko knows where we should grind, why don¡¯t we let her pick where to go together?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine with that. Thank you for going along with me.¡± ¡°I have no qualms as well. Rather, I look forward to absorbing more souls.¡± ¡°Alright, then it¡¯s a plan.¡± Anyhow, the three of us managed to form a Spirit party. And this is totally an unnecessary tidbit, but that night, I cooked my secret stash of the best herring I had for our dinner. CH 15 The next day. Last night, to celebrate the three of us getting together, I treated them the best herring I had. Our party got real lit and we crashed hard at the end of the night, even though it¡¯s not like we got drunk or anything. ¡°So, what¡¯s this about?¡± I try to remember what happened yesterday. After getting a passerby to cook our top-quality herring, the three of us hung out by the riverbed¡ªlantern in one hand, dinner in the other. We chatted about how we¡¯re all Spirits, Yammy¡¯s communication disorder, how she was anxious about being a bother to others, and even how my sisters forced me to play as a girl. I feel like we got a lot closer. That was fine. I can still remember up to that. But what¡¯s this about? ¡°¡­ zzz¡­¡± ¡°¡­ ¡®tis how¡­ I speak¡­¡± Lying before me are Shouko in her yukata and Yamikage in her underwear. And yeah, I¡¯ve nothing by my underwear on too. ¡°Wha¡­? What did we do last night?¡± This game is rated PG; booze is restricted for minors, so I can¡¯t even blame myself for being under the influence for any mistakes I may have made. And of course, nothing lewd can be depicted in game either. I¡¯ve heard rumors that there are new VR games for adults only, but I really don¡¯t think this is one of them. ¡°Ugh, what time is it?¡± The sun shines through the windows. At the very least, I can tell it¡¯s not morning anymore. I open up my menu and check the clock. It reads 1:24 PM. Jeez, it¡¯s midday already. We¡¯re absolute degenerates to be sleeping in on our first day as a party. ¡°Shouko! Yamikage! Get up!¡± As soon as I shout at them, Shouko sits up with her eyes half-open. Judging by how she¡¯s the only one in her PJs, I¡¯d assume she dragged us all the way here. ¡°G¡¯mornin¡¯, Kizhna¡­¡± ¡°Oh, wake up already¡­¡± Beds really are too OP in this game. I think we got at least four, five hours of sleep. It¡¯s probably a safety measure for dealing with people who stay up and play too much. Anyway, now¡¯s not the time to get sidetracked. ¡°Shouko, what happened last night?¡± ¡°Ev¡¯body looked sho shleepy, sho we headed back to the inn.¡± ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± She¡¯s not conscious enough to speak properly, but I still understood her. It seems like the three of us somehow managed to stagger back here. ¡°It woulda been dangeroush to shtay out there, so I got a big room for ush.¡± I think I got the gist of the situation. But¡­ but¡­ ¡°But why are the two of us naked?!¡± ¡°¡­ ahh!¡± Ah, she¡¯s fully awake now. Shouko looks around at her surroundings before speaking again. ¡°Good morning, Kizuna. Quite the fine morning, isn¡¯t it?¡± What a refreshing smile. ¡°It¡¯s past noon already!¡± The truth was actually awfully simple. Because clothes will wrinkle in this game, Shouko was being considerate and stripped us down. I guess wrinkles are a pretty big deal. But it¡¯s not like there aren¡¯t dry cleaners in town. As long as you have enough money, they can clean anything. And because they¡¯re not expensive either, female players tend to often use them, apparently. ¡°I am truly sorry, Kizuna, Yamikage.¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t be. I should be thanking you instead.¡± ¡°Aye. Had you not taken us safely to shelter, it may have landed us in an unthinkable predicament. We ought to be grateful to you.¡± Yamikage was quite dazed after waking up. She was super embarrassed about other people seeing her nearly naked. She even blurted out ¡®D-Don¡¯t stare¡­¡¯ as if it weren¡¯t embarrassing for us too. Plus, she let her old-timey speak slip. It¡¯s probably a part of her roleplaying. I mean, who actually speaks like that in real life? ¡°But, y¡¯know, I¡¯m a dude, right? You gotta be more careful. I mean, yeah, we can¡¯t doanything in this world, but still¡­ it wouldn¡¯t be right.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. Since Kizuna looks exactly like a girl, the truth had slipped my mind.¡± Yeah, I know, I¡¯m currently a girl, but¡­ I guess I do look obviously feminine and same goes for Yamikage. She didn¡¯t really seem to worry about seeing me naked though. If Dimension Wave weren¡¯t so detailed, everybody looks pretty much the same. Of course, everyone looks good¡ªunlike real life¡ªbut everyone is humanoid in nature. It is what it is. Those two know only know me through the body and voice of Kizuna?Exceed. They should be careful around a guy like me¡­ but it¡¯ll probably be fine if I¡¯m more careful too. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s make up for lost time. Where¡¯re we headed to today?¡± ¡°About that¡­¡± Shouko makes an uneasy face. ¡°As fitting as the Forest of Eternal Darkness was for us, every other place I¡¯m familiar wouldn¡¯t be good for Kizuna. I mean, there would be plenty of people who would see us.¡± She does have a point about her concern. If I were to be honest, it¡¯s not like an absolute must that we keep it a secret. We¡¯d have our priorities backwards if we let something like that stop us from hunting together as a party. We thought about simply waiting until nightfall to head back to the forest, but it¡¯d be kinda a waste. It¡¯s not really Energy-efficient for three people, Shouko said. ¡°In that case, maybe it¡¯s not worth hiding anymore. It¡¯d be impossible to keep it a secret forever anyway.¡± ¡°I understand, Kizuna, but would it not be a shame if we so easily reveal your secret?¡± ¡°Forsooth.¡± Well, I guess so. If this were any other MMORPG, people could just go online and find out how the game works. But in Dimension Wave, most people don¡¯t know even know what goes into forging a weapon. Gutting-type weapons are the weakest, so it doesn¡¯t see a lot of use. But that¡¯s because people don¡¯t know that there¡¯s more than just attacking with gutting weapons, hence why Shouko and Yamikage don¡¯t want to give away this cash cow. ¡°So, what we want is somewhere that¡¯s worthwhile for Energy, money, but also with no one around¡­¡± ¡°¡®Tis quite the list of requirements!¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid we may be a little too greedy.¡± We¡¯re all in agreement about that. It¡¯s almost as greedy as having a six-figure income requirement to even consider marrying someone. It would be weird if such a place existed with nobody there. Not to mention, the chances of being seen by anyone is definitely greater than zero. Hell, we might just be asking for the impossible. In an MMORPG, there are always locations that are popular and locations which are deserted. But if it¡¯s a place where no one goes, it usually means it¡¯s not efficient to grind there. ¡°And somewhere empty too¡­?¡± I¡¯ll admit to being unreasonable. There¡¯s no way somewhere like that¡­ wait a minute. There is a place like that. I didn¡¯t get a good grasp of whether it was Energy-efficient or not, but at least I know the monsters are stronger there than the Forest of Eternal Darkness. But, it¡¯s a little¡ª ¡°Miss Kizuna? Is something the matter?¡± ¡°Did you come up with a good idea?¡± Both of them look at me with anticipation. Their expectations of me might be a little too high after the whole Lizardman Dark Knight battle yesterday. ¡°I can think of a place where there¡¯s no one around but with monsters stronger than the ones in the Forest. Though, I really can¡¯t say so for sure.¡± ¡°What sort of place is that? ¡®Tis an easy decision should we head there directly, no?¡± ¡­ it¡¯s not like I think it¡¯s somewhere we should go, but it seems like Shouko and Yamikage are interested. No, we should decide as a group. I just threw out a suggestion. ¡°The ocean.¡± ¡°The¡­ ocean?¡± ¡°Yeah. I paddled out to the open sea on a wooden boat before we met, right off the coast of the first city. I didn¡¯t have much Energy then, so the monsters were pretty damn strong. I had to retreat, but I¡¯m thinking that there¡¯s three of us now¡­¡± ¡°I can see why you¡¯re unsure.¡± How many monsters are there? Are we strong enough? Will we be safe? There are just too many unknown variables. It doesn¡¯t seem like any of us would be good fighting on water. The monsters are strong too. But because almost nobody has fought them before, their mats are rare to say the least. And assuming that their mats sell, we would do well to go grind there. ¡°There¡¯s another issue.¡± ¡°Pray tell, Miss Kizuna.¡± ¡°My boat¡¯s too small.¡± It would be pushing it trying to fit three people on my Wooden Boat +3 and that¡¯s just for seating capacity. If a monster were to come at us, we would be dead in the water. ¡°Where did you get the boat?¡± ¡°Ah, I found it in a market stall at the first city for 40,000.¡± ¡°Perhaps we could directly contact the seller?¡± ¡°Yeah, if only I knew their name. It was just some random market stall after all¡­¡± ¡°¡®Tis a handcrafted piece, no? The name of the craftsman should be inscribed somewhere.¡± ¡°Wait, really?¡± It¡¯s obvious for MMOs to have the crafter¡¯s name written somewhere. I check out my Wooden Boat +3 in my inventory. There it is. There¡¯s a ¡°Crafted by¡± line in the description. ¡°Sheryl¡±. Surely, there¡¯s gotta be more than one Sheryl. It¡¯s so normal, yet so odd. ¡°I¡¯ll try calling her.¡± I let the others know before selecting ¡°Chat¡± in the menu. Then I punch in S-H-E-R-Y-L. It¡¯d be nice if everything works out well. I bought the boat about a week ago around noon as well. I don¡¯t think she¡¯d suddenly become nocturnal, right? Well, even if my call doesn¡¯t go through, I can try again later at night. Of course, if I were to call her three times and I still can¡¯t reach her, I¡¯ll take the hint that she¡¯s not interested. I could always go see her in person as well. Maybe I should ask her if she knows Alto, seeing how he¡¯s got all sorts of connec¡ª ¡ªSheryl has joined the chat. ¡°Hi, sorry for the sudden call. My name is Kizuna?Exceed. I bought a boat from your store about a week ago.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Huh? No response. Did she pick up? No, wait, this isn¡¯t a phone call. It¡¯s not like I could¡¯ve called the wrong person. Plus, her name was easy to spell, so I¡¯m sure it¡¯s right. ¡°Do you hear me okay?¡± ¡°¡­ yep.¡± ¡°Oh, good. So, I have a question for you. Since the boat I bought the other day fits only two people, I¡¯m wondering if you have anything a little bigger.¡± ¡°¡­ nope.¡± ¡°I-I see¡­¡± I got my hopes up a little, but I guess nothing¡¯s that easy. Back to square one, I suppose. ¡°Alright then, thank you for your ti¡ª¡± ¡°But, if you¡¯ve got the mats, I could make you one.¡± ¡°Mats, huh?¡± ¡°There¡¯s only a single person I can think of that¡¯s bought a boat from me¡­ I think I remember you. Seeing how easily you can drop 40,000, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re able to assemble materials too.¡± Oh, right. If I recall correct, the 40,000 serin covered the costs of the raw materials. I don¡¯t really know what her goals are, but I think I can get her to make me a boat as long as I front the costs. ¡°¡­ it all depends on the size of the boat, too. How big are you thinking?¡± ¡°I¡¯m wondering if you can make me something big enough to seat three people and have enough room to fight on as well.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Umm¡­¡± I know I¡¯m asking for a lot. And materials for a boat, eh? Seeing how the boat I have now costed me 35,000 serin, something three times¡­ hell, even four, five times as big would run me about 170,000. Honestly, in that case, it¡¯d be over my budget. I don¡¯t even have that much money. ¡°¡­ can you c¡¯mere?¡± ¡°Sorry?¡± ¡°Can you come here?¡± ¡°¡®Here¡¯ as in the first town?¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°I could make the trip, but it¡¯ll take a while since I¡¯m in Second right now.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°You want to meet up, right? ¡°¡­ right. And if possible, bring the other two along too.¡± I glance over at Shouko and Yamikage and pause to think. ¡°Can I run the idea through my friends first?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°And in that case, when would be good for you?¡± ¡°Anytime is good. I¡¯ll open my stall at the same place when you get here.¡± ¡ªSheryl has left the chat. I¡¯m still a little fuzzy, but at least we¡¯re a step in the right direction. ¡­ it¡¯s tough speaking with someone who¡¯s so quiet. ¡°How did it go?¡± The two of them ask me. Gotta explain it to them that our plans have changed. ¡°I got ahold of her, but it seems like we gotta help out in crafting.¡± ¡°Whatever do ye mean?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll cover the funds, so don¡¯t worry about that. That¡¯s not the important part.¡± ¡°Then?¡± ¡°We gotta meet the woodworker in person. She says she wants to meet both of you too. I said I¡¯ll leave that choice up to you guys.¡± She said, ¡°if possible,¡± so we¡¯ll see what we can do. I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll force us all to meet her. Well, if you asked me though, I¡¯d like for us to go together. ¡°Then let us go together.¡± ¡°Aye, aye.¡± ¡°Y¡¯all sure? I kinda feel like I volunteered you guys to go already.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure. I don¡¯t so much feel forced by you, Kizuna, but I also have no other plans.¡± ¡°For I am your shadow, Misses Kizuna and Hakoniwa, I will always be behind you two.¡± I guess I should be happy? But at the same time, you kinda sound like a stalker. In any case, our plan now is to head to Lurolona. Even though we said it¡¯d be inefficient, we still went to the Forest of Eternal Darkness that night. We¡¯re just playing it by ear. CH 16 ¡°There¡¯s our stall.¡± Here we are at the First City where I bought my boat last week. The stall is lined with boats that look identical to the one I have. Running it is a Jewel girl with muted blue-grey hair and a marine blue gemstone embedded in her chest. Sheryl is blankly staring into the sky, looking as bored as she was a week ago. ¡°Oh, your point of contact is a lady.¡± ¡°Miss Kizuna has but eyes for the ladies.¡± ¡°¡­ why does it feel like I¡¯m getting bullied here?¡± I go up to the stall, fleeing from their abuse. Sheryl finally looks down and at me. ¡°Hmph.¡± ¡­ what does that grunt mean? Is that her way of greeting people? I¡¯m not sure I follow. ¡°I¡¯m Kizuna; I just contacted you earlier. Brought my friends along like you told me to too.¡± ¡°¡®kay.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Hakoniwa Shouko.¡± ¡°¡®kay.¡± ¡°Yamikage is my name, but thou canst call me Dark Shadow.¡± Both of them introduce themselves to Sheryl. But hey, Yamikage, you¡¯re gonna reuse that old joke? ¡°¡­ okay. I¡¯ll call you Yammy then.¡± ¡°Gah!¡± I cover my gaping mouth. ¡°Wh-Whence did thou hearest that name?!¡± ¡°¡­ what?¡± Great minds think alike, eh? ¡°So, why did you need the other two here if we¡¯re just discuss about making a boat?¡± ¡°I want to know why you need it.¡± ¡°¡­? Why I need it and how many of us there are aren¡¯t really relevant, is it?¡± ¡°Not exactly. You wouldn¡¯t be able to row it solo.¡± That makes sense. It was tough already with my small rowboat, but a bigger one would definitely be worse. ¡°So? What do you need a big boat for?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no reason for me to lie, I guess. It¡¯s because the experience out there is simply enticing.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡®kay.¡± As expressionless as Sheryl is, she somehow seems disappointed with my answer. That¡¯s all I can say on behalf of my party, but I have reasons of my own too. ¡°When I went out onto the sea, I really got into it. Well¡­ putting it like that might be a little strong, but still.¡± ¡°It¡¯s piqued your interest?¡± ¡°Yeah. Since you make them, surely, you¡¯ve been out to sea before as well.¡± ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± ¡°Call me delusional, but I want to find out what¡¯s beyond the horizon. It¡¯s like the wind calls to me. Or something like that.¡± ¡°¡­ hmph. I feel the same. I guess¡­ I could tell you about it.¡± I furrow my brow, wondering what she meant. The other two make the same face too. But almost as if she doesn¡¯t care, Sheryl begins to speak again. Maybe I¡¯m just imagining it, but as expressionless as Sheryl is, she seems to be a little more fired up than before. ¡°I did some investigating on my own and it seems like there¡¯s not really anyone interested in the ocean right now. Everybody¡¯s too focused on reaching the Second and the Third.¡± ¡°Forsooth?¡± ¡°I mean, I¡¯ve only been near the water for about a week, but now that you mention it, I haven¡¯t seen anyone else in a boat.¡± I guess that¡¯s why seabream and tuna sell for so much. ¡°Not to mention, there¡¯s only so much we can do alone in this game. Initially, I swam out to the open sea, but couldn¡¯t progress any farther. There¡¯s probably a set limit for solo players.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s an MMO after all.¡± If you can do everything solo, why bother playing with others, right? Sure, you can do a lot on your own, but they¡¯re selling this game as being different than other MMOs and billing it as a ¡°Second Life¡±. It¡¯d only make sense if you have to interact with other players. And since there aren¡¯t any forums or walkthroughs, if we want anything, we¡¯ll have to delve into it ourselves. ¡°¡­ that¡¯s why I¡¯m looking for rich and powerful people to go out to sea with.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m really not that powerful.¡± ¡°Hmpf.¡± ¡°That said though, Shouko used to be at the frontlines. She¡¯s got the skills to show for it.¡± ¡°What, me?¡± ¡°Aye. For a surety, thou art the strongest one of us.¡± ¡°P-Please, you two are exaggerating. There are so many stronger than me.¡± Shouko is blushing ever so slightly. But I feel the same too. There are tons who are many times better than me. They say that there¡¯s always someone better than you at whatever game you play. That¡¯s not necessarily a good or a bad thing though. ¡­ I¡¯ve certainly experienced my fair share of it in fighting games. ¡°I want to see what there is on the other side of the ocean. No one else cares, but¡­ there has to be something.¡± We do think alike after all. Well, anyone who ventures out there would think the same, I¡¯m sure. But what¡¯s exactly out there? ¡°I couldn¡¯t get very far on a small boat before the currents became too strong. I could make a bigger, better boat if I had the materials, but there are lots of monsters as well. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll just die out there. There¡¯s a limit to what I can do by my own and that¡¯s why¡­ I want your help.¡± Personally, I¡¯d love to help you out. No, I will help, even if the others say no. I¡¯ve got 100,000 serin, which should be enough to cover the costs of building a boat. My concern is whether we¡¯ll be strong enough to slay monsters. I mean, I¡¯m not specced purely for combat. That means we¡¯re back to square one¡ªwe need the other two to join us. ¡°Kizuna!¡± ¡°Wh-What?¡± Shouko grips both of my hands tightly in hers. Whatever does this mean, I wonder? ¡°Let us help her!¡± ¡°¡­ you sure ¡®bout that?¡± ¡°What do you mean? It is such a¡­ wonderful thing to be helpful for others.¡± Hakoniwa Shouko is a lady full of kindness and sympathy. Alright, even if I¡¯m half-joking, I¡¯m glad she wants to help. ¡°You, too, would help, right, Yamikage?¡± ¡°Forsooth.¡± They¡¯re oddly accommodating. I thought Shouko would care more about experience and effectiveness with her being an ex-frontliner. ¡°Well, there you have it. What will you have us do?¡± I turn to face Sheryl and direct the question at her. Honestly, there¡¯s no one else I can get a boat from, so everything will begin with her. ¡°Are you all sure?¡± ¡°Yeah. And the three of us are Spirits as well as you may have noticed.¡± ¡°¡®kay. We¡¯ll need¡ª¡± We¡¯ll need a boat that can fit us three and Sheryl. And if we¡¯ll have to cross currents, then naturally, we¡¯ll need a big boat. These mats are what we¡¯ll need: 500 Treant¡¯s Wood 200 Tough Cloth 20 Iron That¡¯s quite the shopping list. I wonder if we¡¯ll have enough if we pool our money together. ¡°How much of it do you have already, Sheryl?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got 10 Windcutter Ores, 100 cloth, and 200 of the wood.¡± ¡°About half of it, then? I might be able to get everything, depending on the market price¡­¡± ¡°¡­ you really are rich.¡± It¡¯s ¡®cause the cans and tuna were easy money. Anyway, I know who to call when there¡¯s anything to do with the market. ¡°Give me a sec. I know a guy who has connections. Lemme see if he can¡¯t get us the mats for cheap.¡± We made money together on the cans, so I should be able to get a favor from him. More likely is that he¡¯ll say yes because he stands to make a profit here. How often does anyone get such a fantastic chance like this one? ¡°Then let Yamikage and I handle the Treants. It should be quick and easy.¡± ¡°Aye, aye.¡± I don¡¯t know how strong Treants are, but judging by those two, they shouldn¡¯t be that tough. It¡¯d be real helpful if they could get the wood for me. ¡°¡­ lemme help too.¡± ¡°Then why don¡¯t you join our party? It¡¯ll be easier that way, right?¡± ¡°You sure? I¡¯m¡­ only level six.¡± I wouldn¡¯t know whats high or low. Plus, it¡¯s not about what level you are; MMORPGs are about partying and hanging out with the people you like. At least that¡¯s more fun than just grinding for me. ¡°Levels don¡¯t mean a thing. It¡¯ll be a cinch with your help. Right, guys?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± ¡°So long I can use Drain, I have no objections.¡± ¡°¡­ thanks.¡± You have sent Sheryl an invitation to your party. CH 17 ¡°¡­ Full Harpoon.¡± The sinister-looking Treant falls over defeated by that attack skill. Sheryl¡¯s weapon of choice is a harpoon¡ªa fitting choice for combat on the open seas and for spearfishing as well. I think it¡¯s categorized as a spear, but maybe harpoons are a subcategory or something. Since joining our party, Sheryl leveled up four times to level 10 now. ¡°We¡¯ve got about 500 of those Treant¡¯s Wood already, right?¡± ¡°Yes, but some of which are not of the best quality, so we should keep at it.¡± Our whole party were unanimous in that we should use the best quality mats, even if we need to spend a little more money. ¡°I got Alto¡ªone of my acquaintances¡ªto take care of the cloths.¡± Strong Cloth is apparently crafted from the Sewing skill. Getting 100 of them means needing a lot of both money and labor. When I asked him, all Alto had to say is to give him some time and he can fulfill it. He really is a slick merchant. ¡°And the iron too. We¡¯ve gotta be very careful in picking our supply. There¡¯s a lot of crappy iron lately.¡± ¡°What dost thou knowest, Miss Kizuna?¡± It¡¯s because they¡¯re smelted from Empty Cans. Now it¡¯s all comparatively trash since they¡¯ve sourced more iron ore. ¡°N-Nothing in particular. Anyway, we¡¯ve just about got all of the required mats, right?¡± ¡°¡­ yep.¡± Sheryl nods. It¡¯s been a whole day since we¡¯ve met her at the stall. Our method to defeating Treants begin with Shouko engaging them and I just simply chop ¡®em down. They¡¯re not strong monsters by any standards. It¡¯s just that killing 500 of them is quite a lot. ¡°Alright, then. Let¡¯s get some more wood and head back to the First for the time being.¡± ¡°¡®kay.¡± ¡°I was just thinking¡­ you keep saying ¡®¡®kay¡¯. Is that just how you normally speak or something?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°¡­ are you speaking like that on purpose?¡± ¡°Not really.¡± ¡°Not that I¡¯ve anything against it or anything.¡± ¡°¡®kay.¡± That¡¯s just the way she is. I don¡¯t know whether to describe it as curt or to say she¡¯s bad at speaking, but maybe it¡¯s a form of communication disorder different from Yamikage¡¯s. If you chat with her, she seems pretty normal. You get what her point is, but it takes a little more effort to do so. Well, all the other players are looking for the Third City. Anyone who¡¯s looking to venture out to sea now is probably at least a little odd. ¡­ birds of a feather, you could say. ¡°¡­ what?¡± Whoops. She caught me staring. What excuse do I have? ¡°Oh, nothing.¡± ¡°¡®kay.¡± ¡°Anyway, just a bit more to go.¡± ¡°Yep. Kizuna, thanks.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just me, y¡¯know? It¡¯s a team effort. That includes you too, Sheryl.¡± What? That ¡°¡®kay¡± sounded a little more dejected than usual. I guess saying thanks all of a sudden can be embarrassing. Shouko and Yamikage are both showing shining snickers which probably has something to do with making fun of me. I¡¯ve gotta somehow fix that problem. Anyway, what comes next happens two days after we¡¯ve assembled all the materials. We¡¯ve sourced good iron from Romina. And aside from relying on Alto, I also ran between the First and Second looking for some good Strong Cloth. They¡¯ve been very helpful, but it left my wallet a little skimp. Name/ Kizuna?Exceed Race/ Spirit Energy/ 26,430 Mana/ 4,300 Serin/ 16,040 Skills/ Energy Production VIII, Mana Production V, Fishing Mastery IV, Gutting Mastery III, Cleaver I, Speed Gutting I, Night Vision I, Transmutation I Unlocked Skills/ Energy Production IX, Mana Production VI, Fishing Mastery V, Cleaver II, Helmsmanship I, Naval Combat I, City Travelling I I¡¯ve unlocked yet more skills; I guess it¡¯s the fruit of my daily labor. But it¡¯s not like I plan to acquire more skills right now though. In any case, while I was running back and forth between the two cities, the three of them went hunting together. It wasn¡¯t only to help Sheryl grind; the monsters at sea are damn strong. And without me there grinding with them, they don¡¯t need to worry about that requirement either. All three of them are so uniquely specced out. You can¡¯t help but think of us as a party of oddballs. ¡°¡­ Kizuna, and everyone else too, sign this.¡± While I was lost in thought of our skills and builds, Sheryl stood in front of the materials and handed us a piece of paper. I have to say that this feels a little sketchy, but it really isn¡¯t. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°This is a deed of joint ownership, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I have heard not of such a thing.¡± That¡¯s an ex-frontliner for you. Shouko knows the ins and outs of everything. A deed of joint ownership. It¡¯s a title deed for anything that¡¯s high-valued to equally split the ownership between each person. In our case, it¡¯s for the ownership of ¡°Ship¡±. Nobody other than us four can put the ship in their inventory. And if the ship is to be sold, it¡¯ll require the signature of all owners. The money received for it would be equally split between us four too. It¡¯s really like the real thing IRL. ¡°Wow¡­ I didn¡¯t know there¡¯s something like this.¡± Well, it makes sense. If someone were to snatch something valuable and run away with it, it¡¯d piss everyone else off. The craftsmen understand the frustration as well, I¡¯m sure. Anyway, the three of us might be a little ignorant of the details, but we can tell that Sheryl is serious about heading to the sea. This really makes my heart race. ¡°Alright, lemme put my name down then.¡± On the piece of paper was Sheryl¡¯s name already and as soon as took ahold of it, my name was printed on there too. I thought I had to type in my name manually. I passed it to Shouko beside me and afterwards, she passed it to Yamikage. With that, everyone¡¯s name is on the contract. ¡°The ship, then, I¡¯ll start working on it. I¡¯ll contact you when it¡¯s done. Do whatever in the meantime.¡± Sheryl walks up to the pile of materials, fires her skill up, and begins building the boat. It probably doesn¡¯t take too much time, but according to Alto, it takes a few hours if someone were to try to craft it at home. Since the boat is made to fit four and have enough space to move around in, it should be pretty accommodating instead of fitting perfectly. That¡¯s maybe why we have time to go off and do our own stuff right now. But just watching her make it is tough. Someone like me with no skills in boatbuilding should get out of her way. I¡¯ll put some faith in Sheryl and try to relax. ¡°So, Kizuna, Yamikage, what shall we do now?¡± ¡°I have already mended my equipment the other day, so your faithful shadow has no needs.¡± ¡°I was hoping to watch her build our ship.¡± ¡°What a splendid idea! Well, then, let us give Sheryl our support.¡± We stand far enough to not get in Sheryl¡¯s way of building our boat but close enough to gaze at her working. ¡°¡­¡± As always, she lacks much expression. but she took a quick glance at us with a weird look. Ugh¡­ it¡¯s my fault. I¡¯m not physically in her way but I bet we¡¯re messing with her head. No surprise there. W-Well, I¡¯m sure she thinks that we¡¯re all buds together in the same party, right? Maybe we¡¯re getting a little too chummy too quickly, but still. In any case, I prayed. Please, I pray that our presence will not negatively affect how the ship turns out¡­ CH 18 It took about three hours for the boat to be completed. ¡°A four-person boat is quite large, huh?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°Oh? There¡¯s a bow-like thing at the back. What¡¯s that? A ballista?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t you respond with something other than one-word answers?¡± ¡°¡®kay.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Oh, whatever. We should celebrate the launch of a ship, so I won¡¯t pick on her today. ¡­ but just for today. Seeing me menacingly snickering to myself, Shouko looks very confused. For some reason, they seem to have to wrong idea about how I feel about Sheryl. ¡°So, should we hurry to the sea?¡± ¡°¡­ yeah.¡± ¡°¡®tis such an exciting moment! Hereat I am trembling!¡± It sure is. I¡¯m getting super excited too. I¡¯m ready to just burst out at a full sprint to the sea. ¡°Will we be fine being so hasty?¡± Shouko seems to have her doubts. I mean, we are Spirits after all. I get how she feels. Safety should be our top priority. ¡°¡­ you¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°¡­ oh, Sheryl¡­¡± Shouko and Sheryl lock eyes. What¡¯s happening? It feels like they just set an event flag but with just two lines of dialogue?! ¡°Let¡¯s practice first.¡± ¡°Practice?¡± ¡°¡®kay.¡± ¡°What kind of practice?¡± ¡°¡®kay¡± ¡°No, I meant what will we be practicing for?¡± ¡°¡®kay.¡± ¡°Umm¡­¡± Shouko looks over at me, pleading for help. Well, there¡¯s no way they tripped any romantic flags. Just look at their personalities. But anyway, I stepped in as an interpreter for the two of them while we walked towards the ocean. ¡°I¡¯mma launch it.¡± Sheryl takes the sailboat out from her inventory. The boat is big enough for four people; how the hell do you fit such a massive thing in there? Never mind. I shouldn¡¯t be questioning video game logic. There¡¯s probably another dimension where we store our items. Our sailboat drops into the ocean with a bit of a splash. ¡°Oh, right¡­ lemme get that skill.¡± I mutter out to myself as I open my skills menu. Naval Combat I Activates only when on a vessel. Naval Combat II Activates only when on a vessel. Reduces all debuffs when on a vessel and additionally grants buffs. Consumes 400 Energy per hour. Costs 600 Mana to acquire. Unlock requirement: Be active for 84 hours or more on a vessel. Upgrade requirement: Be active for 168 hours or more on a vessel. As soon as I acquired the first rank of Naval Combat, the second rank popped up as I already have it unlocked. The description doesn¡¯t say anything concrete about what the skill actually does, unlike Masteries. If it doesn¡¯t turn out to be that spectacular, I can always just derank the skill and get half of my Mana back. ¡°Shall we, Kizuna?¡± I look around to see Yamikage and Sheryl on the boat already. What is this? A race? ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s!¡± I¡¯m a little more confident in this bigger boat compared to my dinghy before. I jog over and hop on. ¡°She¡¯s solid.¡± I jumped on with quite some momentum, but the boat didn¡¯t rock at the slightest. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ it¡¯s a little embarrassing, but I am just a bit scared.¡± Ah, right. People do tend to get a little nervous around boats. It¡¯s understandable. That rocky, floaty feeling can be scary. ¡°You¡¯ll be alright. I¡¯ve got a bit of experience on the sea, so I¡¯ll give you all the support you need until you¡¯re comfortable.¡± I reach my hand out to Shouko. She takes it with a bashful smile on her face and I pull her on board. ¡°See? You¡¯re alright.¡± ¡°I-I am. It certainly does not seem so bad when I have you by my side.¡± ¡°Hey, people are gonna get the wrong idea if you keep saying stuff like that.¡± ¡°¡­?¡± Hearing her say that almost made my heart skip a bit. It¡¯s scary how Shouko can sometimes get so careless and say stuff like that without any hesitation. It¡¯d be a bigger problem if she realized what she says, but it doesn¡¯t seem like she has the faintest clue. I try to brush it aside by looking over to the two of them over there¡­ ¡°¡®tis the Titanic!¡± ¡°¡­ yep.¡± Yamikage stands at the bow with her arms spread wide. ¡­ the hell is she doing? Sheryl looks like she¡¯s getting carried away by Yamikage and having a little fun too. ¡°Don¡¯t say that! That¡¯s bad luck. If we sink, I¡¯m blaming it all on you!¡± ¡°Hehe.¡± I hear a soft chuckle behind me as I yell at Yamikage. Looking back behind me, I see a smile on Shouko¡¯s face. She always had a nice laugh, but this time, it¡¯s different. I¡¯ve never seen her laugh like this. Shouko looks like she¡¯s having fun. ¡°It¡¯s not something to laugh at, Shouko.¡± ¡°P-Pardon me. I couldn¡¯t help it.¡± ¡°No?¡± ¡°Well, I was just thinking how fun it is to be together with everyone.¡± ¡°¡­ is that right?¡± Fun, eh? That¡¯s the charm of MMORPGs¡ªgaming together with complete strangers. ¡°Up until now, I had been persistent in grinding and becoming as strong as possible. But it seems to fit me better being with you, Kizuna, and everyone here.¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re gonna make me blush.¡± We might be chumps compared to them frontliners. But, the thought of setting sail for the virgin seas makes my heart race. Having people who share the same feeling as I do makes me a little¡­ no, it makes me very happy. And¡­ ¡°But Shouko, y¡¯know I¡¯m not gonna just spend all my time screwing around, right?¡± ¡°I know.¡± I¡¯m excited not only about all the Energy I can get out there, but also because for the possibilities that lie ahead. And thinking about how she was cast away by the other frontliners, I¡¯d like for Shouko to get back the Energy she lost too. Of course, I don¡¯t expect that there¡¯s oughtta be something there, but if I could, I¡¯d like to take the chance to restore her to her former glory. Right now, we¡¯re kinda holding her back, but it¡¯d be nice if the four of us can accomplish something together. ¡°Alrighty! Let¡¯s set sail!¡± ¡°Aye, aye!¡± ¡ªand just like that, we embarked towards the open seas. CH 19 ¡°What a world of difference it is on a sailboat!¡± It¡¯s been great since we¡¯ve set sail. Not only is it better than a rowboat, it¡¯s also a lot easier cutting across the water. That¡¯s what they invented sails for. Sheryl might¡¯ve even taken the Helmsmanship skill. With her on the helm, we get to enjoy the ocean. It¡¯s almost as if we¡¯re on a vacation or something. ¡°The good weather sure lends itself to the experience. I never knew it would be so wonderful at sea.¡± It really depends on the weather, but it¡¯s nice out today. I¡¯m not sure how the in-game engine works but seeing how there are overcast and rainy days too, we got real lucky. I¡¯m glad that Shouko¡¯s enjoying it. We stepped off on the right foot. ¡°Do ya know where the monsters are, Sheryl?¡± I¡¯ve explored a bit already, but I can¡¯t exactly pinpoint where things are yet though. But I remember where to catch tuna. What else do I need, right? ¡°Yep. I¡¯ll start with the easy ones.¡± She calls out while adjusting the sails. It must be tough handling all that. With a rowboat, you need someone to paddle. With a sailboat, you need someone on the helm. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll be fishing to earn us some money. I¡¯ll leave the monsters to you two.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Aye, milady.¡± If there¡¯s a lot of them at once, then I¡¯ll go help. But if there¡¯s only one or two enemies, then the two of them should be more than enough. Though I¡¯d have to say I¡¯m not feeling so hot about our pseudo-ninja and her goofy hand gestures¡­ From the excess materials, Sheryl also made a Rod of Humanoid Timber. Obviously, it¡¯s crafted from Treant¡¯s Wood but from the quality pile, giving it a +1 and making the rod even better. I take it out of my inventory and cast my line. It¡¯s been a good minute since last I¡¯ve fished. I¡¯ve been more involved in combat and business negotiations as of late. The feeling of deep sea fishing while the boat glides through the water is really something else. ¡°How is the bite?¡± ¡°Oh, y¡¯know. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don¡¯t.¡± Well, to be honest, I get more bites than I would in real life. And if you couldn¡¯t guess, that¡¯s one of our guards, Shouko, who¡¯s speaking to me. ¡°It really is as you and Sheryl have said. There is a lot of water out here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why they call it the sea.¡± ¡°Yes, but no, I was not doubting you. I was thinking how there seems to be more and more ocean, almost as if it were endless.¡± ¡°¡­ yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± I can¡¯t help but agree with Shouko who is staring out at the horizon. How far does the water go on for? It¡¯s just a little disconcerting. I¡¯m sure the farther we go, the stronger the monsters get as well. In RPGs of yore, getting on a boat means getting freedom. But take the wrong turn and you end up fighting fiendish monsters who will wipe out your whole party. I¡¯m¡­ fairly sure we won¡¯t run into anything like that. We can always retreat. I could even do it on the rowboat. With Sheryl at the helm of our sailboat, we should have the upper hand. ¡°¡­ enemy sighted. To battle positions.¡± Sheryl suddenly interrupts with alarming news. I hold my fishing rod in one hand as I scan my surroundings. From the northeast quickly drawing near is the dark shadow of a Killerwing¡ªa monster that I¡¯ve faced before. ¡°¡®tis mine time to shine!¡± Yamikage shouts out loud with a smug look on her face. I¡¯m fairly confident in her, but I worry how easily she gets carried away. ¡°On my way! Recharge¡­¡± With a fan in her hand, Shouko steps up to stand off against the Killerwing, doing so with the vigor of gods and demons. Shouko stands as vanguard and Yamikage in the rear. A single hawk should be no match for the two of them. I¡¯ll just stand keep an eye on them so that I don¡¯t get hit. Meanwhile, the Killerwing flies closer and closer. Shouko points her fan at it and Yamikage begins chanting Drain. ¡°¡ª!¡± In a flash, Shouko dodges the Killerwing¡¯s attack while striking with her folding fan. Shouko is as graceful as usual, but¡­ something seems odd. Her strike with the fan proved successful, forcing the Killerwing out of formation. The beast still flies strong and circles in for another attack but only to take on Yamikage¡¯s prepared Drain spell. However, the momentum from her fan strike propelled Shouko to the edge of the boat¡ª ¡°You¡¯re gonna fall!¡± As Shouko follows through her swing, I grab her nondominant hand at the last second. The worried look on her face turns to one of relief. ¡­ man, am I cool or what? No, stay focused, Kizuna. ¡°You alright?¡± ¡°Uh, yes!¡± We were dazed for a moment but Shouko quickly responds and gets back on her feet. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Nothing, just footing¡­¡± Footing? Oh, right. The rock of a boat is nothing like solid ground. I guess I wasn¡¯t affected because I took Naval Combat. Now it makes sense to me as to why Shouko wasn¡¯t at her max potential. ¡ªsplash! That¡¯s the sound of something large fell into the ocean. Following that was the sound of bubbles coming from the water. I whip around and scan the deck. Yamikage¡¯s gone! ¡°¡­Yami fell in.¡± Sheryl¡¯s rational words stresses me out even more. Our fighting members have all been wiped out. ¡°¡­ I¡¯ll go save her. You two take care of the enemy.¡± ¡°Gotcha!¡± After hollering my response at her, Sheryl dives into the sea. I remember her saying something about swimming a lot before she built boats. She probably has a skill or something, right? More importantly right now is the Killerwing though. ¡°Fighting on water is noticeably different than on land, so I¡¯ll back you up until you¡¯ve got the hang of it.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make sure you don¡¯t fall in too.¡± I take out my Iron Boning Knife. It makes sense since Killerwings are birds. It¡¯s just like deboning a chicken. And plus, it¡¯s not like as if it¡¯s a strong monster either. If we get stuck here, then there¡¯s no hope in crossing the ocean for us. ¡°Whoa!¡± I sidestep to dodge the Killerwing¡¯s attack. The open deck makes for easy evasion, unlike before. ¡°Now!¡± ¡°Wild Dance, the First: Chain Strike!¡± Shouko has already finished charging up and activates her attack skill, striking the side of the Killerwing¡¯s torso. I took this opportunity to attack it as well. Since it¡¯s not a strong monster in the first place, the Killerwing falls to the combination of my weapon¡¯s affinity, Shouko¡¯s equipment and prowess, and the damage received from before. ¡°Still¡­¡± ¡°Unfortunately, it is a net loss¡­¡± Because we¡¯re in a party, the 300 experience we got from the bird was equally split between the four of us. Even with the party bonus, we¡¯d still be losing Energy if we use our skills at all. Not to mention, Yamikage must¡¯ve taken some damage falling into the water. ¡°Looks like we¡¯ve got to do some planning¡­¡± And now for the epilogue: I found out that I got a bite while I was busy fighting. It was a herring. CH 20 ¡°Oh, woe¡­ such suffering had befallen me¡­¡± Yamikage cries out loud, still sopping wet from her quick swim. Sheryl successfully rescued her within minutes of her falling in the water. Still, I didn¡¯t think that would happen to her. Something like this happened in the manga adaptation of the Three Kingdoms that I read before. In it, there was a fight called The Battle of Chibi, which took place on a river. I don¡¯t know the real history of it, but though they were hugely outnumbered by the Wei army, it was a victory for the Wu forces thanks to their tactics and strategies. The takeaway is that Naval Combat is a necessary skill. ¡°¡­ you mentioned something about practice, right?¡± Before we set off, Sheryl said to Shouko that we¡¯ll be practicing nearby. Ms. Sheryl, surely, you remember what you had said. She doesn¡¯t answer me, so I look over to find her with her usual blank look on her face. Surely, you remember, right? ¡°How strong is your Naval Combat, Sheryl?¡± ¡°Level 3 with 124 EXP. You?¡± ¡°Not too sure about Levels¡­ but Rank II.¡± Spirits are different than other races. Honestly, EXP and Levels mean nothing to me. My guess is that Level 3 is like a Spirit¡¯s Rank III. I unlock ranks by spending time on boats, but it might be different for levels. ¡°Is it due to that skill that you are able to move so quickly on a boat, Kizuna?¡± ¡°Yeah. I unlocked it by spending 12 hours on a boat. You should consider it too.¡± ¡°12 hours may not seem like a long time, but it is not short either.¡± Shouko seemed pretty pump to acquire Naval Combat too, but she seems just a little dejected after hearing how long it takes to unlock it. It¡¯s certainly true that it¡¯s easier to unlock than Night Vision, but it does take longer. ¡°But how did you fall in anyway, Yamikage? Weren¡¯t you casting Drain?¡± ¡°I, myself, understand not. I had fallen into the sea before I had realized.¡± ¡°¡­ maybe you were too focused on channeling Drain and not on your feet.¡± ¡°Th-That mayhap be the case¡­¡± It takes quite a bit of attention just to keep balanced on a boat. If you shift your attention to something else, like casting magic, it wouldn¡¯t be a surprise that you end up overboard. Does Naval Combat help with that? It¡¯d sure be handy if it did. If it doesn¡¯t, then using magic at all means you¡¯re as good as dead. Of course, it¡¯d be feasible if someone were to support you while you cast spells, but that¡¯s not really realistic at all¡­ ¡°Kizuna!¡± Shouko suddenly calls for my attention, interrupting my imagination. I looked over to see her eyes gleaming as if she was struck by a great idea. ¡°How about you, Yamikage, and I all hold hands in combat?!¡± ¡°¡­ huh?¡± What kind of fighting style is that? Shouko is already kinda held back by us now, but this¡¯ll at least keep her steady. Fortunately, her folding fan is a one-handed weapon. This would also prevent Yamikage from falling in when she uses Drain as well. But¡­ holding hands together like we¡¯re all little kids? Isn¡¯t that super lame? ¡­ like, seriously though. ¡°In that case, why don¡¯t we tie Yamikage up to the mast instead? She¡¯ll be able to use Drain that way.¡± ¡°¡®tis an outrage!¡± ¡°No, you could be like a turret or something. We could mount you up there.¡± ¡° Nay, prithee!¡± ¡°¡­ don¡¯t. You¡¯ll spoil the view.¡± ¡°Oh, fine, I¡¯ll let you off the hook. Only ¡®cause Sheryl said not to though.¡± ¡°Avaunt!¡± Jokes aside, what really should we do? It¡¯s lame, but holding hands would work. ¡°By the way, does that ballista in the back work?¡± ¡°It does.¡± ¡°How would I use it?¡± ¡°Pay up first.¡± ¡°Say whaaaat!¡± That¡¯s a lot to ask for after I paid for all the materials for the boat already. I guess one single bolt costs a lot. ¡°That¡¯s a shame¡­ I guess I¡¯ve no choice but to send you two to the bilge¡­¡± I quietly muttered out. I was checking out below deck earlier and I saw a handpump in the bilge¡­ what do they call that, a bilge pump? Shouko and Yamikage will man the pump while Sheryl and I take 12 hour shifts up top. ¡°You most certainly do have a choice!¡± ¡°Dost thou mean to work us as slaves?!¡± ¡°Tsk! Didn¡¯t think you¡¯d hear me.¡± Even though I muttered out so quietly. ¡°Ugh¡­ fine. It¡¯s super lame, but we¡¯ll do it your way, Shouko.¡± In the end, I gave into her. Well, slave-driving them would be totally nonsensical anyway. ¡°Okay!¡± ¡°I am overjoyed to serve such a great master as Miss Kizuna.¡± Y¡¯all are too selfish. Especially you, Ms. Dark Shadow. Hmm? Sheryl has a creepy and uncharacteristic smile on her face. ¡°¡­ say goodbye to freedom if you screw up again.¡± Damn, you scary, Ms. Sheryl. Anyway, even though it¡¯s a little weird holding hands all chummily, at least I can support both of them this way. It is what it is. ¡°Shouko, can you still defend yourself like this?¡± ¡°I shall try!¡± This time, I¡¯ll be supporting them like how we planned. In my left hand is the defenseless Yamikage casting Drain. If Shouko were to be aggressively attack, she¡¯ll likely lose her balance. Instead, she¡¯ll be standing up front to dodge and parry attacks. After Yamikage casts Drain, I¡¯ll switch to supporting Shouko with weapon in hand. It¡¯s a little tricky but we¡¯re giving it a shot. The enemy is a Brave Bird¡ªa large bird-like creature that¡¯s almost as big as half the boat. I don¡¯t know what kind of attributes it has, but it has a red stripe down it¡¯s body. It¡¯s kinda cool. Last time I fought it, I realized I wasn¡¯t strong enough and I retreated. But this time, with a full party, I think we have a chance. Once Shouko and Yamikage acquires Naval Combat, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll do just fine against it. While I was lost in thought, Shouko has already blocked and sidestepped away from its attack. The Brave Bird turns around and comes back for another lunge at us. I give Yamikage an impatient look as she finishes channeling Drain. ¡°Havest a taste of Drain!¡± A black visual effect quickly flies towards the Brave Bird, hits it, and returns a few pellets of green light to Yamikage. If you think about the damage it deals and the Energy gained from it, Drain is actually pretty strong. ¡°You¡¯re up next, Shouko. Try not to get hit while I¡¯m gone, Yamikage.¡± ¡°Aye, aye!¡± Ugh, I¡¯m getting impatient. If we were on land, we wouldn¡¯t have to take turns to attack; we¡¯d be landing as many blows as we can. But we¡¯re on water now, so that¡¯s too bad. I make my way over to Shouko with my Iron Boning Knife in hand. ¡°You good to go?¡± ¡°Yes. I am well-charged.¡± Her fan glows brighter as Shouko checks on it. Because of how we¡¯re fighting, she has more time to charge up while Yamikage is casting. That means the damage output is also greater. If you think about it, the situation isn¡¯t too bad. ¡°I¡¯ll take advantage of the opening after you land your hit. Let¡¯s do it!¡± ¡°Okay! Wild Dance, the Third: Cherry Blossoms!¡± Her fan changed to a pale pink¡­ to the color of cherry blossoms. Then comes a visual effect of flower petals and Shouko whips open her fan, forcefully cutting through it. What she just did would be best described as ¡°a flash¡±. That line she cut is probably the direction of her attack. It¡¯s probably not the most efficient attack against a singular Brave Bird, but since she charged up that long, it must be really strong. Shouko staggers perhaps from swinging too forcefully. ¡°I gotcha.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Keeping her planted is my job. Shouko immediately turns to face the Brave Bird. However¡­ ¡°Yo¡­ it flew away.¡± I¡¯m not sure if it flees after taking a certain amount of damage, but the Brave Bird suddenly and quickly gained altitude. That giant bird took off in an instant. What, so we wasted all our hard work? fwoom! The sound of metal scraping on metal came from somewhere behind me. I turn my head and see Sheryl¡ªwith her usual emotionless expression¡ªwrangling something at the stern. ¡°We somehow scraped by, eh?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± Sheryl back at it again with her one-word responses. 700 Energy for each of us is pretty yummy, even with the party bonus. The way we are now, of course there¡¯s no way we can slay a lot of them. Still, it¡¯s more efficient than the Forest of Eternal Darkness seeing how every monster here gives us quite a lot of Energy. ¡°So, how¡¯s the ocean for experience?¡± I ask Shouko, an ex-frontliner and knowledgeable about where to grind. I¡¯m sure there are plenty of places that are better, but Brave Birds are one of the weaker monsters out here. She should be pretty happy, right? ¡°¡­ we earned more than I thought we would. It is comparable to what the monsters we fought on the frontline.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. It¡¯d suck if the experience wasn¡¯t good, seeing how we put so much into building the ship and coming up with tactics.¡± ¡°However, this is just the beginning, correct? I wonder what lies in wait ahead of us. To be frank, I would hesitate to call this an easy fight.¡± I get what she means. She said it¡¯s on the same level as the frontlines. But I personally know of at least a few more monsters that are stronger than Brave Birds. That honestly makes me a little anxious¡­ ¡°It¡¯s piqued your interest, right?¡± ¡°¡­ you are right. The great unknown is ahead of us.¡± That¡¯s anticipation. Adventurous, you could call her. It¡¯s the extremely simple emotion of wanting to go find out what you don¡¯t know. And it¡¯s not just me and Sheryl; I¡¯m glad that Shouko feels the same way. We know nothing what lies beyond the horizon, which is why I want to go find out. ¡°Well, let¡¯s go fish the bird out of the water. We gotta make some money back.¡± I told Sheryl the truth about gutting weapons. There¡¯s no reason to hide it anymore since no one else is around. We continued to fight so that I could get them their Naval Combat Mastery. We¡¯re still haven¡¯t realized it yet, but a calamity is inching closer and closer to us. CH 21 It¡¯s been a week since we began our lives as sailors. ¡°I think we can tackle the open seas now. Why don¡¯t we try heading out a little deeper?¡± ¡°Yes, that might not be a bad idea. Lately, I feel more at ease fighting on this ship than¡ª¡± Shouko got serious all of a sudden, cutting her own words off. Then, she turned around and looked towards the First. Wondering what caught her attention, I looked over at the same direction too. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Nothing much¡­ but it is a little curious how the wind blows from both the front and the back.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s odd¡­¡± Sheryl pointed to the sails as she spoke. The sails were fluttering in a very strange way. ¡°Is something the matter, Misses?¡± Yamikage walked over to us from the bow to see what was happening. Just as Shouko and I were about to answer her¡­ something changed. ¡°This spells trouble! Kizuna!¡± Suddenly, Shouko clung onto me as she tightly gripped the sheet. I had no idea what was happening. Screech! It sounded like something was being pushed open. The noise seemed to be piped directly into our ears. Crash! The sound of glass thrown against the ground pierced our ears. Then, in the distance near the First¡­ ¡°Wha¡ª?!¡± Something physically impossible happened before our very eyes. A black line tore open the space in the distance. Then, immediately, the fissure in the sky emitted a shockwave like from an explosion. ¡°Augh!¡± Shouko called out in pain. Reasonable, as the blast directly struck our boat. The sails¡ªrather, the whole boat twisted and swayed. The force was immense. And just like what I¡¯ve seen on TV, waterspouts began to form. In an instant, the seas had turned into a hellscape, tranquil no more. ¡°Yamika¡ª¡± Yamikage, then Sheryl along with her, were sent flying by the blast. I couldn¡¯t make out their screams over the noise. Sure, it probably wasn¡¯t anything more than a death in game, but the way they were thrown in the air¡­ it was traumatic. How long has it been? A minute? Ten? Time felt fuzzy, but it has been some time since the storm settled down. ¡°¡­ Kizuna. Are¡­ are you okay?¡± ¡°Ugh¡­ yeah¡­¡± If I can hear Shouko¡¯s voice, then surely, the storm must¡¯ve stopped already. I took a look at my surroundings and realized we were still on the boat. The sailboat didn¡¯t seem to be damaged, but there was wood and lumber floating on the water. If this weren¡¯t a game, I would say all of this flew from the first city. But because we are in a game, this might have been scripted. ¡°Did you take any damage?¡± Damage? I checked my status screen to find everything fortunately normal. The storm didn¡¯t seem to have affected me. But how she asked the question made me feel like she did take damage. ¡°Are you okay, Sheryl?!¡± ¡°I am fine. I was only hit for about 500 damage, nothing much.¡± ¡°Oh, good. Well, no, that¡¯s not good.¡± ¡°500 Energy is a small price to pay for what happened.¡± ¡°¡­ yeah, I guess.¡± I sighed with relief. Thankfully it wasn¡¯t in the thousands. ¡°But what the hell was that?¡± ¡°Look up, Kizuna.¡± ¡°Huh¡­?¡± Red. I could see nothing but red, as if the skies have been painted over by wine. As if the skies have been painted over by blood. It was an unsettling, ominous shade. I could only stare into the sky speechless. Not just me, but Shouko too. But no, we have more pressing matters at hand. ¡°More importantly are Yamikage and Sheryl!¡± ¡°O-Of course!¡± I saw them get blown away with my own eyes. The water would¡¯ve mitigate some of the blast, but Yamikage can¡¯t swim. She¡¯s probably hurt. But as Spirits, every tick of damage is bad for us. I searched in the distance to where they may have been blown towards, but I couldn¡¯t find them. ¡­ please, I really, really hope they¡¯re okay. ¡°I see them!¡± ¡°Really?!¡± I look over to where Shouko pointed and see a shadow. Then, after acquiring Helmsmanship, I steered the sailboat over there. Enerygy and Mana meant nothing to me. ¡°Are you alright?!¡± ¡°¡­ yep. Yami¡¯s here too.¡± I wasn¡¯t nearly as skillful in helming the boat as Sheryl, but I managed to bring it close to them. It was only then I could see Yamikage in Sheryl¡¯s arms. ¡°Sheryl, take my hand!¡± ¡°Get Yami first.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Shouko extends her hand to Yamikage and then to Sheryl. They were obviously sopping wet. Even Shouko and I were drenched by the splashing. ¡°How¡¯s your Energy level, Yamikage?¡± ¡°¡­ I lost but 2,000. ¡®tis no problem as, with Drain, I earn more than ye. More importantly, payest mind to Miss Sheryl.¡± 2,000 isn¡¯t nothing, frankly speaking. Us Spirits can take it no problem, but Sheryl is a Jewel. I don¡¯t know how much max HP she has. At least she didn¡¯t die, avoiding whatever penalties that may incur. ¡°I¡¯m okay. My HP bar is just red.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not okay.¡± She said she¡¯s fine, but I got her to rest up for a bit and I took control of the boat. For now, we¡¯ll head back to the First. But naturally, I casted my gaze up high. ¡ªDimension Wave. It made a lot of sense to us all. The black fissure in the sky loomed above the first city. CH 22 ¡ªKizuna?Exceed, you have received multiple chat requests. Accept? Kanata and Tsugumi called me while we were on our way to the first city. It¡¯s probably safe to assume that they¡¯re calling about the Dimension Wave thing. I was planning on calling them once we land, but I might as well do it while I¡¯m helming the ship. ¡°Big bro! Are you okay?!¡± ¡°Are you safe, Kizuna?¡± The two of them shouted in my ear at the same time. Though this may be a game, it was still a huge deal. ¡°Yeah, we were at sea, but thanks to Shouko¡ªone of my friends¡ªI¡¯m perfectly fine.¡± ¡°Oh, goodie! Though two of my party members died¡­¡± ¡°¡­ three for your big sister.¡± ¡°That many?¡± My sisters sounded a bit down as they told me their losses. It sucks to have to count your dead teammates, I guess. But still, that¡¯s more deaths than I would¡¯ve guessed. ¡°How are things over there now? We¡¯re still at sea, so I have no idea what it¡¯s like for you guys.¡± ¡°Sea? Like, the beach?¡± ¡°No, like the open sea.¡± ¡°You can go there? How did you do that?¡± ¡°What do you think? How would you cross the oceans in an RPG?¡± It was a little sad to hear them go Oh, I see! I mean, boats or ships aren¡¯t that hard to imagine, right? ¡°Over here, things are¡­ well, a bunch of people are trying to investigate what happened.¡± ¡°What do you mean ¡®investigate¡¯?¡± ¡°Well, the rift opened somewhere between the First and the Second, so maybe it opened up because of something that happened? That¡¯s what a lot of people are theorizing anyway.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Now that I think about it, we had no idea what the name of the game would mean for us, even though it¡¯s clearly ¡°Dimension Wave¡±. Judging from the great fissure in the red skies, it¡¯s very possible that there will be a large-scale raid. We¡¯ll need to do some research on it, regardless of whether we¡¯ll participate or not. ¡°Can you come to the First, bro-bro?¡± ¡°I¡¯m heading there right now.¡± ¡°Wanna meet up at the square where we spawned?¡± ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll chat with you again when I get closer.¡± ¡ªPrivate chat ended. Returning to regular chat. I looked at the Shouko and the others after I hung up the phone. Well, not phone, but chat. ¡°Wh-What?¡± ¡°A call from Tsugumi?¡± ¡°Yeah, and my older sister too.¡± ¡°You have an older sister as well?¡± ¡°Now that you mention it, I guess I never told you guys, huh? The three of us joined the game together.¡± She¡¯s got a point. The three of us siblings are all doing our own things. We could¡¯ve partied together, huh? I guess they left me to my own devices since I told them that I wanted to go fishing from the get-go. ¡°We¡¯ll be meeting them once we land at the First.¡± ¡°I believe it is very important to make sure your family is safe.¡± ¡°Forsooth, Miss Shouko. In that case, do you want to go off alone?¡± ¡°Nah, you guys can come with me. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m in a rush to see them or anything.¡± I¡¯d be lying if I said I didn¡¯t worry about them, but I don¡¯t exactly have to go meet them this instant either. They¡¯re better at games than I am anyway. In fact, I¡¯m surprised that we survived the Dimension Wave. Plus, games love to kill of characters and players too. ¡°¡­ you should go.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯re alright. They¡¯re frontliners. They¡¯re tough.¡± ¡°No. You should teleport back, Kizuna. Gather some intel for us.¡± Hmm, that¡¯s not a bad idea. ¡°In that case, it doesn¡¯t have to be me, right?¡± ¡°You know the most people out of all of us. You¡¯re our best bet for getting info.¡± ¡°Yes, Sheryl is right. I think you would be best suited for this.¡± ¡°Aye. Verily, you are better than me at speaking to people.¡± Well, they¡¯re not wrong either. If I ask Tsugumi, Kanata, Alto, and Romina, I¡¯d be able to get a pretty good grasp of the situation. Though I can¡¯t help but feel like they¡¯re getting me to do the tedious work. Frankly, I so easily agreed to it was because I love my sisters. Maybe I love them too much. ¡°Thanks. Then I¡¯ll head on over first and see what I can learn. Call me when you guys get there.¡± ¡°¡®kay.¡± Any Spirit would usually have a few of these Tomes of Returning. I usually carry three on me just in case I need an emergency escape route, but they aren¡¯t cheap at 1,000 serin each¡­ No, I shouldn¡¯t be stingy. Time is money, as they say. 1,000 serin is nothing compared to Dimension Wave. And so, I selected the item from my inventory and hurried to the first city. CH 23 ¡°¡­ there sure are a lot of casualties.¡± That was my first impression once I returned to the First. I¡¯m not sure if the devs specifically made a post-Dimension Wave Lurolona, but all the buildings in here were damaged or in ruins. The town was completely unrecognizable. It¡¯s a little weird thinking two weeks ago, Lurolona was my base of operations but now, it¡¯s like this. Surprisingly, the people going in and out of town were very lively. Well, Dimension Wave was a pretty huge event. I guess in terms of regular MMO¡¯s, it¡¯d be like a major patch or something. People are probably excited about what¡¯s to come. ¡°Why is it so cold here though?¡± Perhaps because the first city is close to the sea or maybe because it¡¯s the spawn point, but Lurolona is usually pretty warm. It felt like an Indian summer lulling me to sleep. But now, after Dimension Wave happened, it¡¯s rather chilly. Now that I think about it, it¡¯s neat how there are temperatures in games. It¡¯s almost as if I¡¯m in a parallel world or something. Now then, let¡¯s go talk to some people and start gathering intel. First, I should talk to my sisters. Then maybe I¡¯ll call Alto. He probably has lots of information from all his connections. As soon as I figured out my plan, I felt something strange about the air around me. ¡°¡­ is it snowing?¡± It was. Many people around me noticed it too and felt just as weirded out as I did. Snow isn¡¯t anything special in a game, but this reeked of a cataclysm. It¡¯s almost as if this were the beginning of Ragnar?k. ¡°¡­ thanks again, Shouko.¡± I open my inventory and select the Powder Snow Haori. It wasn¡¯t that cold at sea, so I didn¡¯t need the coat, but I¡¯ll definitely need it, now that it¡¯s snowing. Just like how I worn it last time, the haori surely doesn¡¯t match my Western-style clothes but at least it¡¯s very warm. I reached the square where I said I¡¯d meet up with my sisters. I had a feeling that they chose here on purpose. Tough-looking warriors in full suits of armor and high-leveled mages with robes and towering staves were hanging around the square. They¡¯re obviously frontliners. It was odd thinking how Shouko was with them just a week ago. ¡°Now, where are those two¡­¡± I walk around the square in search of my sisters. Compared to our party members who are in regular clothes, these people were absolutely menacing with their swords and armor. But now that I think about it, that¡¯s par for the course in MMORPG¡¯s. ¡°Big brooo!¡± Tsugumi called out from behind. Both of my sisters are using their natural voices in game, so I was able to pick them out instantly. ¡­ it¡¯s a little unsettling to hear their real voices in another universe though. ¡°Hey, Tsumu¡ª¡± Before I could finish greeting her, she ran and dove at me¡ªin armor, not to mention. It wasn¡¯t a full set of heavy armor, but it sure wasn¡¯t light either¡­ medium armor, perhaps? ¡°Whoa!¡± I was afraid I wasn¡¯t able to, but I caught her. Then, I swung her around three times as if we were in some sort of anime. She was lighter than I thought though. ¡°Hehe!¡± Her flapping animal ears showed just how excited she was to see me again. I wanted to pat her on the head, but Tsumugi is taller than I am. Maybe it¡¯s a little weird to pat someone taller than small little me. Gah! How lame! ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Mm¡­ nothing. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay, big bro.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you safe as well¡­ you seem really high-level though.¡± Her armor was black with red accents. It looked like a long armored skirt, both cool and cute. Her weapon was tucked away, but I¡¯m sure she¡¯d look good with anything in her hand. I¡¯m sure people must have lots to say about a regular citizen me with little sister who¡¯s a knight. But hey, we have different objectives, so different equipment is totally normal. ¡°Ahaha, I just turned level 26!¡± ¡°¡­ 26?¡± I didn¡¯t mean to question her out loud. Sheryl is level 21 right now. Since Shouko and Yamikage took Naval Combat, Sheryl had gained quite a few levels too. It¡¯s just a little odd that they only have a 5-level gap between her and Tsugumi, even accounting for how Tsugumi said it gets grindy after level 20. ¡°Something wrong?¡± ¡°N-No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± I brushed it off, but what¡¯s up with that? Like with any MMO¡¯s, grinding must be tough. It¡¯s quick to level in the beginning, but players probably need a lot of exp to level up later. ¡°You must be the brat¡¯s older brother.¡± A party of four drew near as I snapped back to my senses. A Human male spoke to me. Whaddya mean ¡°the brat¡±? She has a name, y¡¯know? Well, Tsugumi is a bit of a brat, but still. The man has brown hair with white streaks and a set of white armor¡ªexactly what you might imagine a hero to dress like in an RPG. He¡¯s probably the party leader. Behind him are a Human female in a robe with a two-handed staff in her hands; a young Jewel male with a magical tome; and a young Elven male clad in light armor. No Spirit? What a shame. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m Tsugumi¡¯s older brother. My name is Kizuna.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard of ya. Tsumugi and her older sister turned you into their younger sister, right?¡± ¡°¡­ more or less. Well, I¡¯m not exactly complaining either.¡± Roz extended his hand. No reason to refuse his handshake. ¡°Correct me if I¡¯m wrong, but you¡¯re a frontliner, right, Roz?¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess. It¡¯s all thanks to Tsugumi and Rei.¡± I¡¯m not sure who Rei was, but probably one of the three behind him. For some reason, my first impression of Roz was that he¡¯s like the protagonist to a dating sim. Three guys and two girls¡ªabout average for RPG¡¯s. It looks like the one with the big staff is Rei who wields light magic; the one with the tome uses four different elements of magic; and the one in light armor wields a bow. Roz is their tank then? Party leader matches his looks too. Oh, and I was correct in my assumptions. I can just tell. Well, it¡¯s definitely good team comp for an MMORPG, so it¡¯s easy to guess. ¡°So, how far are you guys with investigating the Dimension Wave?¡± ¡°I heard that there¡¯s a new location popped up between the First and the Second.¡± ¡°¡­ a special event map, eh?¡± I wonder what¡¯s there. Probably a fight though, I¡¯m guessing. It¡¯d be fitting if a boss monster came crawling out of that fissure in the sky. ¡°We¡¯re guessing something¡¯s gonna happen in three days.¡± ¡°In three days, you say?¡± ¡ªthree days later would mark one month since we¡¯ve spawned in this game. Yeah, that would make a lot of sense. It¡¯s reasonable that the first big event would come after one month. Of course, we can¡¯t be 100% sure, so we should investigate into this some more. But we¡¯ll say it¡¯s in three days for now. That means we¡¯re assuming that there¡¯s gonna be a raid three days later. ¡­ the first thing I can do to help is tell them about gutting weapons. If I let everybody know now, they¡¯ll probably have time to prepare before the boss fight. I¡¯ve earned a lot from keeping this secret already and these guys have been taking care of Tsumugi as well, so maybe I¡ª ¡°Wouldya look at that? Sir Hero¡¯s hanging out with a Spirit.¡± As soon as I was about to tell them my secret, someone calls out to Roz from behind. It¡¯s a good-looking guy with blond hair. Well, nobody¡¯s really ever ugly in a game. ¡°¡­ it¡¯s you guys, huh?¡± Roz seemed to be a pretty cool guy but now he¡¯s got a frown on his face. Well, judging by how they spoke to him, he probably doesn¡¯t want to get involved with those guys either. Behind the blondie was three other people, all dressed similarly to Roz. Probably around the same level and frontliners too, if I had to guess. ¡°Spirits may be a weaker race, but that¡¯s nothing you should be saying to people in their faces.¡± Roz snapped back at him. Was he defending me? I mean, I literally just met the guy and he¡¯s standing up for me. What a good dude. ¡°They completely useless if they so much get sneezed on, am I right?¡± The four of them were laughing among themselves. ¡­ oh, let me have at him, won¡¯t you? These guys look like a bunch of thugs you¡¯d see in a manga or something. I didn¡¯t know people like them really existed. Why did a bunch of normies like them join this game anyway? That¡¯s what¡¯s odd to me. ¡°Did you forget how much she helped with unlocking the second city?!¡± ¡°Spirits are supposed to have lots of HP!¡± ¡°And without her, we would¡¯ve lost.¡± Roz and the blondie argued with each other. Frontliners sure are dramatic. Well, this much is expected in an MMO. High-leveled players just love to argue about experience, items, mobs, and the like. I¡¯ve had my fair share of this before. Hmm? I turned around to see Tsugumi tugging at my sleeve. ¡°They¡¯re people we usually compete with to farm monsters, since our parties are pretty similar.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Their party consists of a tank, a mage, another mage, and an archer too. A typical, effective team. It wouldn¡¯t be a surprise to see them hunting at the same area. ¡°What are they arguing about anyway?¡± ¡°So, in the raid to unlock the second city, a Spirit really helped us out. We would¡¯ve all been wiped out if not for that Spirit.¡± ¡°Well, he¡¯s not wrong in that Spirits do have lots of HP.¡± To be precise, it¡¯s Energy and not HP. But their conversation sounds kinda familiar. ¡°Speaking of which, what happened to her? I haven¡¯t seen her around lately.¡± ¡°Yeah. I haven¡¯t seen her since about a week¡­ a bit more than a week ago. Maybe she left the party.¡± ¡°Huh, is that right?¡± A bit more than a week ago? That¡¯s right when I stopped fishing. ¡­ wait, they¡¯re talking about Shouko. If I remember correctly, Shouko mentioned she there unlocking the second city. There¡¯s a possibility that it¡¯s someone else, but everything seems to line up perfectly. Shouko described them as a bunch of bastards before too. It seemed like her enemies weren¡¯t just the monsters. Her equipment is all set up for avoiding getting hit. If she can¡¯t block, then she¡¯d dodge. That makes sense¡­ since she needs her HP for her party. ¡°Well, Sir Hero, don¡¯t get sucked in by a Spirit, hey?¡± The blondie walked back where they came from. He was pretty pumped up for someone who has ¡°better things to do anyway¡±. Oh, whatever. Right, I gotta tell them something. ¡°Thanks, you guys, for helping me find my good friend.¡± I meant to shout louder, but they didn¡¯t seem to have heard me. What do they call that? Selective hearing? ¡°Sorry about that. I apologize if I¡¯ve ruined the mood for you guys.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s only normal in online games. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true that Spirits are kinda weak too.¡± Other races are better suited to combat. You¡¯d have to really know how to use Spirits to use them effectively. ¡°I don¡¯t agree though.¡± ¡°Is that right? It means a lot coming from a frontliner like you.¡± ¡°They mentioned it too, but we would¡¯ve lost the raid to unlock the second city if it weren¡¯t for Spirits. You guys may be weak against mooks, but definitely the opposite against bosses.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Now that I think about it, Yamikage¡¯s Drain did 3,000 per hit against that Lizardman Dark Knight. She did quite a bit of work there. No other race could¡¯ve done that within two weeks of playing this game, right? And with our HP¡ªor Energy¡ªwe don¡¯t die very easily. Well, I know first-hand just how hard it was to get three weeks¡¯ worth of Energy. Regular mobs aren¡¯t all that bad though¡­ and Shouko seems to like the experience gain at sea too. Whatever. I¡¯ve got better things to do too. ¡°More important is Dimension Wave.¡± ¡°Yeah. What are ya gonna do, Kizuna?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen Tsugumi already, so I guess I¡¯ll check in with my older sister and other friends.¡± I can¡¯t forget that Shouko and them sent me on a scouting mission either. Alto can¡¯t be far off from here either. We¡¯ll learn a lot from Alto, I¡¯m sure. If there¡¯s gonna be a big raid in three days, then I probably should get new equipment too. We¡¯ve got mountains of mats from the monsters at sea. I promised I¡¯d give Romina dibs on special gutted items too, so I should head her way. Three days doesn¡¯t seem like a lot of time to me now. I should be quick and careful with things. ¡°Then, I¡¯mma go look into this some more, Roz. I¡¯ll leave Tsu¡ªI¡¯ll leave my sister to ya.¡± ¡°Bro-bro! I can take care of myself!¡± ¡°You sure about that?¡± ¡°What do you mean?!¡± ¡°Hahaha. Tsugumi¡¯s the strongest of us. She takes care of us more than the other way around.¡± ¡­ that¡¯s a prodigy gamer for you. I headed off on my own as I reflected back on how I treated my sister like she was some sort of dead weight. CH 24 We took it rather easy afterwards. First, I rendezvoused with Shouko and the others and shared with them everything I had learned so far. From Alto, I learned where the location for the raid will be. From Romina, everyone got a new set of weapons. Romina also introduced to us someone who¡¯s an armorsmith and we all got new armor too. Maybe because our mats were from the ocean, we received a lot of blue-colored armor. The mats from birds made our armor nice and fluffy too. Then, we investigated the special map. We¡¯ve learned everything that we can from others, but now it¡¯s time for us to see it with our own eyes. So, the four of us set off to do some scouting. The location was somewhere between the First and the Second. There used to be a huge wall blocking this area off, but now there¡¯s a path that cut through it. The Dimension Wave must¡¯ve had something to do with it. Looking at the map from a distance, we could see the fissure clearly. But right now, there wasn¡¯t a single monster here, making it easy for us to learn the layout of the area. It was mostly flat albeit with a few hills scattered about. There were three paths with two mountains in between each of them. They all seemed to converge towards the tear in the sky. My guess is that during the raid, the monsters would come from the three paths. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if players had to push down each path as well. There are other reasons to have a special map for the raid as well. Firstly, there¡¯s a special chat for the particular instance. Normally, you can only talk to people within screaming distance, aside from the chat function. But in here, party leaders can communicate with other leaders. That¡¯s probably why people in both the First and the Second are trying to find people to form parties of 10. In any case, there are a lot of people waiting to join in on the raid. An incredible number of weapons, armors, and items are being traded every day in the two cities. Alto and Romina seem to be caught up in the frenzy too. I can¡¯t thank them enough for giving me the time and telling me all that they know. Even though we don¡¯t know exactly how many people are planning to join, I can almost assure that it¡¯ll be chaotic. Some of the frontliners were talking about tactics and strategies, but I doubt they¡¯d work very well with the sheer number of people in the fray. The map itself is pretty wide open though. That¡¯s all we could glean from the current situation. I also included my sisters in on my gutting weapon secret but sold the information to Alto and Romina. With that, day two is over. ¡°It¡¯s the third day today, but there ain¡¯t much going on, eh?¡± After we got ourselves all ready for the fight, we came to the map. There was a blanket of snow on the ground, contrasting the red skies up above. The black fissure in the sky didn¡¯t change at all though. Today marks one month since the game has begun, but there was nothing to show of it yet¡­ ¡°¡­ maybe there¡¯s something somewhere else.¡± ¡°Mayhaps there is more than what meets the eyes.¡± ¡°That is certainly possible, but surely, there would be others who have noticed by now.¡± ¡°I mean, Dimension Wave is literally the name of the game. It can¡¯t possibly be a single-player story quest¡­¡± We kept a careful eye at the fissure for hours, but we began to slowly relax. I¡¯m not about to force everybody to be alert at all times, but we really didn¡¯t know whether anything would happen or not. It¡¯s not just us either. There were 12, 13 other parties around us doing the same. There were some people asleep, so maybe they¡¯ve been here for quite a while. Roz mentioned that they¡¯ll have someone on guard at all times too. Some people are really serious about this game. ¡°Lemme check our stats again.¡± ¡°Okay, sure.¡± I¡¯ve opened everybody¡¯s statuses and equipment screens countless times today. Doesn¡¯t hurt to check my own status, skills, and items again. Name/ Kizuna?Exceed Race/ Spirit Energy/ 92,360 Mana/ 7,800 Serin/ 46,780 Skills/ Energy Production X, Mana Production VII, Fishing Mastery IV, Gutting Mastery III, Cleaver III, Speed Gutting III, Naval Combat IV, Transmutation I I gained quite a lot of Energy in the past week thanks to everyone¡¯s help. The monsters at sea were pretty strong, so it was good farming. Oh, and right now, I have the least Energy out of the three Spirits in our party while Yamikage has the most. Her Drain is getting more powerful and efficient so I¡¯m not going to complain, but she uses nothing but Drain. It¡¯s no surprise she has the most Energy out of us. With Shouko being a former frontliner, she knows how to make the most of her Energy. Honestly, it seems like I¡¯m gaining the least out of everyone. Well, even if I had a lot, I¡¯m still using gutting weapons, so I wouldn¡¯t deal too much damage anyway. Since everybody got new weapons, I¡¯ll be using my Cetus Longsword exclusively. Maybe because it¡¯s a custom item, it¡¯s still extremely powerful. All the other gutting weapons are like knives and such, so my longsword is the largest of the class. It should be good for a raid like Dimension Wave. ¡°It¡¯s probably gonna start sometime today, so go get anything you guys are missing. ¡°¡­ I¡¯ve gone already.¡± ¡°Aye, and I thrice!¡± ¡°Unbelievable, Yamikage.¡± We¡¯re still the same as we were. Shouko is always so well-prepared, she hasn¡¯t left once. It¡¯s impressive how organized she is. Maybe I have too much in my inventory though¡­ ¡°Just to double-check with you guys, but with such a large raid, we¡¯ll probably lose each other in the crowd. If that happens, just fend for yourself, alright?¡± ¡°Aye, aye.¡± Still nothing so far though. There¡¯s a lot of people waiting for it to start though. Nobody knows exactly how difficult it¡¯ll be, but with this many people, surely, we¡¯ll clear it. Having triple-checked everything, I shifted my gaze towards the fissure again. Yep. Same old. I couldn¡¯t help but let out a yawn. ¡°Kizuna, don¡¯t let your guard down.¡± I might have encountered by her former party the other day. Their team comp and equipment were definitely good, but something about them rubbed me the wrong way. In my mind, Shouko was definitely in the right and those self-righteous bastards were in the wrong. I don¡¯t get how they ever hit it off in the first place. They seemed like they would be annoying from the start. ¡°Is something the matter?¡± ¡°No, I was just thinking about you and your former party, Shouko.¡± ¡°Oh, them¡­¡± ¡°Judging by what you had to say, they don¡¯t seem like decent people.¡± ¡°Well, they were not so disagreeable in the beginning.¡± ¡°That right?¡± Not that I was super surprised, but I didn¡¯t really expect it. They seemed like just a bunch of punks. ¡°I believe they changed when they were labeled as frontliners.¡± ¡°¡­ no offense to you, but that happens all too often.¡± ¡°None taken. I found that I had to remind them to be more careful with each passing day¡­¡± ¡°And they found you nagging.¡± ¡°Yes. In the end¡­ well, I left their party because of that.¡± And now, they must be feel like they¡¯re on top of the world. I¡¯ve gotta learn from their mistakes. Even when I get better in terms stats and money, I¡¯ll be sure to be better as a person as well. If I somehow make someone feel like they have to quit¡­ that would be awful. ¡°Then, in that case, if I ever stray from my path, tell me, okay?¡± ¡°I believe that you have always done things for others so far. I wouldn¡¯t worry, Kizuna.¡± ¡°Hearing that makes me happy, but I¡¯m human too and to human is to err.¡± ¡°¡­ I understand. From now on, I¡¯ll be sure to correct you.¡± And now, I regret it just a little. Maybe I had been a bit too eager there. ¡°¡­ huh?¡± Something happened ahead of us. The tear¡ªor rather, the dimensional fissure shone with blinding light. Shouko was already alert and vigilant. It¡¯s finally here. Looks like we were on the mark about it happening today. ¡°Wha¡ª?!¡± The party ahead of us shrieked. Immediately, a cloud of dust kicked up beside them. Following that, a bunch of undead skeletons by the name of Dimension Skeleton animated in front of us. ¡°¡­ that¡¯s a whole lot of them. That was all we could see¡ª Skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton, skeleton. A skeleton spawned with each cloud of dust and after, other monsters spawned as well. This is definitely a raid battle. ¡°Kizuna, fall back! The three of us will defend you.¡± ¡°Sure! Huh? Why?¡± ¡°¡­ you¡¯re the leader. Call for reinforcements.¡± ¡°Hey, since when was I the leader?!¡± Oh? Yamikage¡­ is already casting Drain. Drain is a medium-range spell, so it made sense. But does it work against the undead? Oh, well. ¡°Gotcha. I¡¯ll keep you guys updated! Don¡¯t do anything stupid while I¡¯m gone!¡± ¡°Understood!¡± ¡°¡®kay.¡± As the two of them responded, I fell back and selected the chat option from my menu. CH 25 ¡°Yeah, I just wanted to let you know that the event¡¯s started here.¡± ¡°Gotcha. I hope it¡¯s lucrative for you, Kizuna.¡± ¡°You too. Earn lots, okay? See ya.¡± As I ended the chat with Alto, I turned back to my party members. The three of them were already engaged in battle against monsters and the fight was only getting more intense. Other parties were in the same predicament. It was truly like a battlefield. Our reinforcements include my sisters, Alto, and others. We just have to hold out more until our main forces arrive. ¡®I¡¯m telling you, the enemies came out of nowhere! Send backup now!¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s the same over here!¡¯ ¡­ the local chat was a mess. Everybody was in a state of confusion and yelling at each other. There was no way to calmly speak to each other. Now that I¡¯ve finished calling for reinforcements, it was time for me to return my allies. With my Cetus Longsword in hand, I joined the fray. ¡®Compose yourselves!¡¯ A voice boomed across the battlefield. It was so loud that my legs almost gave out. All other party leaders must have felt the spirit from the voice as everyone fell into silence. That¡¯s something that only happens in a VR game. If it were a PC MMORPG, no one would listen. ¡®I believe we have all called for reinforcements. Our duty now is to do whatever it takes to resist the enemy and wait for our comrades!¡¯ That¡¯s certainly not wrong. I look ahead at the monsters. We don¡¯t have enough people on our side, but it¡¯s not a huge deficit. ¡®Engage in a fighting withdrawal! Then, all party leaders shall report on their current situation with their map coordinates. It is utmost important we have a strong grasp on our own forces!¡¯ Oh, I should point out that the map looks like this. pic It wouldn¡¯t be hard to get a sense of where people are with their coordinates. ¡®I shall speak first. I am at C3, in the middle of the action. There is a black tower in construction beyond the hill and the swarm of enemies!¡¯ A black tower? That¡¯s probably a monument us players have to destroy. Well, with the number of monsters in front of us, that¡¯s not something we can do right now, so let¡¯s wait for backup. Alright! Let¡¯s follow that person¡¯s defensive battle tactics. I took a deep breath and shouted as loud as I could. ¡®I¡¯m at B5, right flank. Currently engaged with enemies! I have already called for reinforcements!¡¯ I followed suit and reported our status. The enemies were flooding in from all three paths and everybody was engaged in combat. We have no choice but to go on the defensive until support arrives. ¡®Reinforcements are not the end-all be-all but do hold fast for help!¡¯ The voice booms back at me. I should get back to battle since I¡¯ve finished reporting, though I could¡¯ve done it while fighting. I headed back to my friends and see Yamikage first. She¡¯s at the rear of the party which makes sense. ¡°Cleaver! We¡¯ll form a defense until we get reinforcements. Let¡¯s play it safe, everyone!¡± ¡°Understood!¡± ¡°Aye, aye!¡± ¡°¡®kay.¡± Cleaver connected with a Dimensional Skeleton as I spoke to my friends. It¡¯s a tough situation, but not an impossible one. The people beside us seem to be former frontliners too. We won¡¯t get defeated so easily. ¡°Kizuna, you should focus on wide-area attacks.¡± ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re a huge swarm, but it¡¯s not like I have any other skills.¡± Cleaver¡ªa beginner¡¯s skill for gutting weapons¡ªis a single-target skill. Luckily, it seems to work well at the skeletons, but that kill was but a drop in the bucket. I¡¯m not trying to minimize the importance of a single kill though. Oh, right. I should probably tell the others. ¡®There are lots of ¡®em, so focus on area of effect attacks!¡¯ The other parties probably didn¡¯t need to be reminded, but just in case. ¡°Speed Gutting¡­ Cleaver!¡± I activated both skills in a row. Speed Gutting helps make me feel a little nimbler, so I used it as a self-buff. Every little bit counts, right? Or at least, I¡¯ve no choice but to do so until our reinforcements arrive. ¡°Kizuna, try not to spam¡ª¡± ¡°I can get it back with every kill. What¡¯s important now is to kill as much as we can!¡± ¡°That makes sense. Then, I shall use¡­ Wild Dance, the Second: Bloom!¡± That the biggest advantage Spirits have over the other races. We can keep using our skills with the Energy we gain from every kill. Though we¡¯re weak normally, spamming skills might actually be beneficial to us. Each fallen Dimensional Skeleton gets replaced by another of their kind, but we just have to keep at it. ¡°Keep firing, archers! Rain upon them!¡± Someone, somewhere called out. What a staggering number of arrows. That¡¯s gotta hit at least something. I glance over my shoulder to see a party of archers shouting out their skills. Kanata had mentioned before, but any AoE attacks will not hit allies. Instead, the arrows rained down upon the horde of enemies. Piercing attacks like that don¡¯t work very well against skeletons, but it still did quite a bit of damage. The enemies aren¡¯t advancing as quickly now. Perhaps they¡¯re trying to avoid the arrows. They¡¯re not letting up so easily. ¡°Cleaver!¡± ¡°¡­ Toggling.¡± Even though her specs are split between crafting and combat, Sheryl was fighting as well. That¡¯s the second time she¡¯s used Toggling this week. It¡¯s a skill that does piercing damage and was very effective against fish-type monsters. And here, her skill pierced through three monsters at the same time. ¡°I, too, shall use my special ninja skills!¡± ¡°Special ninja skills? You mean Drain?¡± ¡°Nay.¡± ¡°¡­ what?¡± Normally, Yamikage uses nothing but Drain. It¡¯s strong for us four, but almost definitely trash-tier for other parties. She¡¯s fixated on Drain, but she¡¯s saying she knows other skills too? It must be super powerful. Yamikage finished casting as we take down some more Dimensional Skeletons. ¡°Here be my Circle Drain!¡± ¡­ ¡°Ain¡¯t that still just Drain?!¡± A great purplish black circle appeared on the ground and attacked the skeletons, then orbs of green floated over to her, much like normal Drain¡­ except these orbs are way bigger. The area is huge on that skill. It hit 10 of them at once. I don¡¯t think she has another chance to use this skill. Whatever. If it¡¯s Yamikage¡¯s Drain, it¡¯s gotta be pretty good. ¡°There¡¯s so much I want to say to you, but just keep spamming it!¡± ¡°Verily!¡± Still, that was yet another drop in the bucket. We simply don¡¯t have enough people on our side. This really is a raid battle. I mean, obviously. ¡°Gah!¡± I was busy spamming my skills but left an opening for four attacks on me, totaling 470 damage. A single hit doesn¡¯t do too much, but it adds up quickly. ¡°Kizuna! Wild Dance, the Third: Cherry Blossoms!¡± ¡°Thanks! Cleaver!¡± There are lots of AoE skills for folding fans¡ªperfect for this fight. Shouko took down five enemies at once with that attack. Even with using all those skills, I¡¯ve been gaining just a little Energy. But if I keep getting hit then it means nothing. It¡¯s all thanks to Shouko that I didn¡¯t get a fifth time there. ¡°Kizuna, let us fall back. We are overextended.¡± ¡°Damn! Okay!¡± I took a calm look at our surroundings and as Shouko had said, we¡¯re isolated. Skill spamming is effective and all, but we¡¯ll be screwed if we get flanked from the sides. We fought off the enemies to the left and right as we began to withdraw. CH 26 ¡®Now trickling in are our reinforcements. This is the moment of truth!¡¯ We had been slowly withdrawing and we ended up at D4. The chokepoint here is a great location to defend, but the battle is far from easy. There were different kinds of enemies now too. Dimensional Skeleton Dimensional Vanguard Dimensional Archer Our mages and archers now had to switch their focus on different enemies. The Vanguards wield spears, outputting more damage while giving up less opportunities to be attacked. The Archers were able to hit our ranged attackers too. The situation continued to be dire. Still, we weren¡¯t completely overwhelmed, and backup was slowly popping up. We were able to hold the line thanks to that. ¡°If you¡¯ve finished recovering your MP, then keep firing those skills. Keep an eye on your status, especially archers and mages!¡± A party leader called out loud. Their party were always on the defense, much like us. Archers and mages were critical to holding the line because of their wide area attacks. I bet they found Yamikage real awkward, but it is what it is. Her Drain is simply too useful to tell her not to use it. But that¡¯s all she does! In any case, it¡¯s a matter of time before our defensive line falls. A few of people on our side had already fallen victim to the enemies and they were forced to teleport back. D4 might just be the last standing defense. If we lose our position here, there¡¯ll be no guarantee of being able to turn this around. ¡°Kizuna. Let us make plans before they land a decisive blow on us.¡± ¡°I was just thinking of the same thing, though I¡¯m not sure what exactly we should do.¡± ¡°Then why don¡¯t I push the enemy vanguard back?¡± ¡°That¡¯s too risky.¡± ¡°It really isn¡¯t. I should be able to pull it off since I can spam my skills.¡± She has a point. The rest of our forces are low on MP. The reason why Yamikage can keep using Circle Drain is purely because she¡¯s a Spirit. ¡­ I don¡¯t think any of them would be as willing to volunteer to put their lives on the line. ¡°We might potentially lose all our Energy, y¡¯know?¡± ¡°I have prepared myself for whatever potential consequences.¡± ¡°Alright, then I¡¯m coming with you.¡± ¡°You are?¡± ¡°Remember what I said about straying from my path?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Well, let me add to that. I¡¯ll be correcting you too if you ever make a bad decision.¡± Shouko looked exasperated. She probably didn¡¯t expect to get that sort of reply, so she must be having mixed feelings. ¡°You¡¯d be nuts to charge into the horde alone.¡± ¡°¡­ perhaps. Then, let us attack the enemy together.¡± With a smile on her face, she stepped forward together with me. ¡°We¡¯re a pair of Spirits here. We¡¯ll make full use of our racial traits to charge in and scatter the enemy vanguard.¡± ¡°What?! You two have a death wish!¡± ¡°That or just pretend like we¡¯re a pair of really tough tanks!¡± I dismissed the worried voice over chat and ran in with my Cetus Longsword. A lot of them must have looked down on us Spirits. Sure, we might normally seem weak, but this was where we shine. This was what I can do right now, and I was going to do it. ¡°Shouko, you¡¯ll have to charge up your fan, right? I¡¯ll buy you some time. We¡¯ll probably do okay by chaining up our attacks. You should use something with a huge area of effect.¡± ¡°Okay. Be prepared to see what damage I can do!¡± ¡°Alright! Speed Gutting!¡± Seeing how many of them are over there, we probably won¡¯t get away with just a scratch. The archers were already firing upon us. But we¡¯re Spirits. We¡¯re number one in HP and skill spamming. ¡°I shall engage the enemies. Wild Dance, the Third: Cherry Blossoms! Recharge!¡± She had already been charging up her fan as we headed towards the enemies. In an instant, her skill takes down 10 enemies at once as their comrades crawled over the corpses. ¡°Cleaver! Cleaver! Cleaver!¡± A red graphical effect unleashed as I successively cleaved through the enemies. Given how cleavers are meant to chop through bone, the skill was very effective against Dimensional Skeletons. Be that as it may, I still need more than one Cleaver to slay a skeleton. ¡°Cleaver! Cleaver! Cleaver! Cleaver!¡± The momentum from each activation of the skill spun me faster and faster, eliminating any defenseless moments that I had. ¡°Wild Dance, the Second: Bloom!¡± Shouko was in favor of quantity over fully charging her skills. Because of that, the enemies didn¡¯t die with a single strike. I followed up on the damaged monsters to slay them. If one hit¡¯s not enough, then I¡¯ll just hit them again. ¡°Miss Kizuna! Circle Drain!¡± Yamikage hurried towards us in support. A circle appears beneath the enemy troops. Circle Drain kills a good number of enemies that had been already weakened by our archers and mages. Behind the freshly killed were yet another cluster of enemies. They¡¯re seemingly never ending. ¡°¡­ Toggling.¡± Right after I used Cleaver again, Sheryl takes attacked an enemy that was targeting me. Her skill struck and killed three enemies at once who had been damaged by Drain. ¡°Yamikage, Sheryl¡­¡± ¡°You guys!¡± ¡°¡­ didn¡¯t wanna be the odd one out.¡± Sheryl was expressionless as ever, but the marine blue gemstone on her chest was shining brightly. What are you, some kind of rival from a shounen manga? You totally set a death flag there. But perhaps with us four¡­ ¡°If things do go south, make sure you run! Cleaver!¡± ¡°¡­ I know. Full Harpoon.¡± The four us stood alone in a sea of swords, arrows, and magic in action. I bet some of them are wondering what the heck we¡¯re doing. But because we¡¯re all together, I was having lots of fun. We might have abandoned our plans because of Dimension Wave, but I¡¯m sure we can sail across the oceans if it¡¯s the four of us. I¡¯m absolutely sure of it. Still, only utter fools would charge into a swarm like this if this were a game. ¡°Egads! We have no retreat!¡± ¡°Damn! Did I just jinx ourselves?¡± I looked around us to find that we were completely surrounded. We¡¯ve slowed down the enemy advance but in turn lost all ways to retreat. ¡°¡®tis as if it were us four against the world.¡± ¡°Why did you guys even follow us anyway?¡± ¡°I am thy shadow, Miss Kizuna.¡± ¡°¡­ oh, what? That¡¯s the character you wrote for yourself?¡± ¡°How rude of ye!¡± Well, call me simple, but I¡¯m pretty happy with her character. ¡­ I¡¯m not about to stroke her ego though. ¡°Now then, y¡¯all feelin¡¯ lucky?¡± I kept up my attacks while I spoke to them. Shouko¡¯s got my back, so I can focus whatever¡¯s ahead of me. It¡¯s like this scene is straight out of a romanticized depiction of war. Endorphins must be pumping through my brain right about now. ¡°About what, Kizuna?¡± ¡°Wanna make a bet on how many of us will survive?¡± ¡°¡­ not much of a bet.¡± ¡°Verily.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t actually think we¡¯ll all make it out alive, do ya?¡± ¡°My bet¡¯s on four.¡± ¡°Aye, all of us.¡± The joke would¡¯ve flew past their heads. Their glares would¡¯ve killed me first though. Was that their pent-up frustration against me or something? Well, whatever. I¡¯ll just stop being stupid. It would¡¯ve been real awkward if I had made that joke anyway. ¡°I¡¯m not about to these guys steal all our Energy, so let¡¯s kick their asses!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s!¡± ¡°Aye, aye!¡± ¡°¡®kay.¡± It¡¯ll suck to lose all of our Energy, but we¡¯ll have fun in the process at least. It¡¯s not like the only thing in the game is to be the strongest. Plus, we still have our skills and stuff that can be used as buffer. And just as I made up my mind to attack¡­ ¡°Oh, woooow! Maybe I shoulda been a Spirit too!¡± Someone called out to us. Someone with a very familiar voice. ¡°¡­ Tsugumi?¡± Blazing a trail through the enemies was my little sister. Tsugumi?Exceed was her name in game. Above her pitch-black armor was a circlet on her head and a pair of animal ears peeked out through it. And then, a great scythe. Of course she uses one. But I mean, that¡¯s exactly¡ª ¡°Sorry I¡¯m late, big bro! Here comes my counter attack! Death Step!¡± Four great crashes emanated from her direction. Then, tens of enemies were slaughtered in a moment. That¡¯s exactly¡­ that¡¯s exactly what it¡¯s good for: wide area physical attacks. ¡­ I guess it was a good idea I called their bet. CH 27 The arrival of Tsugumi¡­ and the rest of the reinforcements turned the whole situation around. Our lack of numbers was instantly no longer a problem. Mages and archers were very popular with their wide-area skills. They probably don¡¯t get the chance to use them every day. ¡®Different enemies are showin¡¯ up!¡¯ Things were getting interesting. I¡¯m sure not everybody agrees, but I get the most excited in fighting games when my opponents and I are neck and neck. Stomping or being stomped by the other side isn¡¯t fun at all. That¡¯s why right now, things were interesting. The difficulty is just right. It¡¯s now evenly matched. ¡°¡­ now where¡¯d they go?¡± As our reinforcements arrive, the more chaotic the battlefield became. The noise of metal clashing against each other, the whistling on arrows in flight, and magic explosions create a sea of sound. We advanced and attacked to the sound of shouting voices and death rattles. I expected to lose my party members in this chaos. What are they up to now? Well, obviously, fighting. ¡®This is A6! We¡¯re nearing the towers from the center!¡¯ The people here on the right flank burst out cheering. We met up at a crossroads at B5 and now we¡¯re racing towards the ominous black tower. The path was littered with the remains of Dimensional Skeletons, Dimensional Beasts, and Dimensional Beetles. I cast my gaze upwards at the tower. We must be like ants crowding around this tower of sugar. If my hypothesis is correct, then we¡¯ll win by destroying this tower. We¡¯re at the verge of victory, even though we were at the brink of destruction when the enemies swarmed us. Maybe I should get ready to set sail again tomorrow. Shouko and the rest of them must be gradually farming more Energy right now. ¡°That was¡­ quicker than I had imagined.¡± As the tower fell, ominous orbs of purplish black exploded from the center. There were players who succumbed to explosion and died. I couldn¡¯t see well through the cloud of dust, but there was some kind of boss monster that appeared. ¡®This is A6! The tower exploded and a monster sho¡ªargh!¡± His final moments were broadcasted throughout the map. Things were heating up again. ¡®Its arm¡­ there¡¯s a rift opening up from its arm.¡¯ The dust settled to reveal a monster covered in black hair, swinging his great arms tipped with razor-sharp claws. Many of the men on our side were torn apart by the monster. It definitely looked stronger than the Lizardman Dark Knight from before. Well, it¡¯d be rude to even compare the two. ¡­ even the ones in the heaviest armor fell to the monster. I didn¡¯t want to imagine how much damage it¡¯d do to me. I¡¯d be lucky if a single hit were to deal damage in the thousands, or at least that¡¯s what I assumed. Surely, it wouldn¡¯t be here for long. A crackling of electricity sounded as it pried open the dimensional rift. ¡®Let us attack it at range! Fall back, men!¡¯ It wasn¡¯t long until the arrows and spells started flying at the monster. We had no choice but to do that, even if it meant dealing little damage to it. Oh, most of the vanguard were withdrawing to let the rearguard attack, but there were a few who stayed at the front. ¡°¡­ well, that¡¯s no surprise.¡± Among the ones who stayed were Shouko and Tsugumi. Since most of Shouko¡¯s attacks are AoE, her damage output wasn¡¯t that great. However, her folding fan was one of the lightest weapon classes in the game which¡ªcombined with her light armor¡ªmade her very effective at dodging attacks. She made great use of her skills to attack and dance around the enemy. On the other hand, Tsugumi¡¯s scythe had a lot of range as well. I¡¯ve heard that it was great for mobbing mooks, though I¡¯m not too familiar with them. The downsides are that it¡¯s weaker for single-target attacks and its weight. But the biggest downside is that scythe skills consume an extreme amount of MP. They say scythes don¡¯t get good gas mileage. ¡°Guess I have to go over and help too, eh?¡± Shouko¡¯s striking kimono will probably draw in Yamikage and Sheryl as well. They¡¯ll definitely give me crap if I were to shirk away now. Alright, let¡¯s go! No, wait, hold on. I¡¯ve gotta have a plan if I¡¯m going to go up close to the boss. I¡¯m not happy about it, but I¡¯m not nearly as skilled as players like Shouko or Tsugumi. If I ran in there without any tactics, I¡¯d just be getting in their way, let alone helping out. What can I do? Name/ Kizuna?Exceed Race/ Spirit Energy/ 67,720 Mana/ 8,100 Serin/ 46,780 Skills/ Energy Production X, Mana Production VII, Fishing Mastery IV, Gutting Mastery IV, Cleaver III, Speed Gutting III, Naval Combat IV, Transmutation I Unlocked Skills/ Energy Production XI, Mana Production VIII, Fishing Mastery V, Hate & Lure I, Helmsmanship I, Night Vision I, City Travelling I Hate & Lure I A basic support skill with a fishing rod. An attack with a lure and hook to draw hate from fish or monsters. Consumes 50 Energy per use. The hell kind of skill is this? And when the hell did I kill anything with a fishing rod? I¡¯ve been constantly fishing during the week on the boat, but I don¡¯t remember this happening at all. Hate means that I¡¯ll draw the enemies¡¯ attacks towards me. My light armor can¡¯t be good for it. But if it works on fish as well, that would mean I¡¯d get more bites. I¡¯ve gotta try it next time. I don¡¯t exactly know how I¡¯m going to use it, but I¡¯ll take it this skill just in case. But no! I should be focusing on its arm right now! I¡¯m way too obsessed with fishing¡­ I¡¯ve gotta keep myself in check. ¡°Sorry! I couldn¡¯t stop it!¡± I closed my status screen to see Tsugumi shouting and the dimensional rift opening up in the monster¡¯s arm. His fierce glowing deep crimson eyes matched its gigantic, pitch-black body, standing about five players tall. The most noticeable feature of it was the three heads on its body. It reminded me of a certain dog in mythology. ¡°Whoa!¡± One of its three heads spat a breath of flame at us. I barely dodged its attack since it wasn¡¯t specifically targeting me, but half of the archers were wiped out by that one attack. That¡¯s probably phase two of the monster with its different attack pattern. It happens all the time in games. Shouko and Tsugumi dodged Cerberus¡¯ swipes and bites and were still attacking it. ¡­ I moved up close to its legs, but what am I supposed to do? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever fought anything like this in a game¡­ ¡®¡­ bad news, everyone. It seems since the boss appeared, players who die can no longer return.¡¯ I looked behind me. The entrance at the edge of the map had a black visual effect coming from it. I guess that means that dead players can¡¯t get back into the fight. Well, Spirits had that problem to begin with anyway but no respawning sucks for other races. You¡¯d want to be decked out in full armor for this fight. Shouko, Tsugumi, and others were still attacking Cerberus from melee distance. Those who couldn¡¯t do so were surrounding it firing their bows and spells. ¡°Step aside! Our ranged attack is ready to fire!¡± ¡°Wild Dance, the First: Chain Strike! I can dodge fine, so please just commence!¡± ¡°Yup, yup!¡± How does anyone dodge the spells and arrows falling down like rain? Are we the noobs for not being able to do the same? I remember how in Western FPSes, Tsugumi was able to get headshots with her sniper rifle without even so much visual confirmation of the enemy. Maybe it¡¯s the same concept how she can master spatial awareness in this game too. I hate to say it, but I¡¯m not nearly as crazy good as she is. While some other players ran out of the attack zone, Shouko and Tsugumi kept attacking Cerberus. Someone probably has to draw Cerberus¡¯ aggro at all times. And somehow, the ones who stayed really did dodge left and right, evading the arrows, and kept tanking the boss. Seeing how good she is, maybe Shouko is a bit like a fish out of water to be sailing with us. Another five minutes past and Cerberus swiped with its talons again. I was able to escape it by the skin of my teeth, but Tsugumi couldn¡¯t. ¡°Ah¡­ I¡¯m all out of MP.¡± As she muttered out, Cerberus swung its arm down¡­ ¡­ but no way I¡¯d let it hurt my sister. ¡°I had wondered before, but¡­ do I like my little sister too much or what?¡± After evading its attack, I ran back right into it. I put up my Cetus Longsword to protect us and was sent flying backwards. I would love to have saved my sister from the wicked claws of Cerberus, but unfortunately, I lacked the ability to tank for her. CH 28 Ow¡­ are you kidding me?! 5,000 points of damage with a single hit?!¡± Even though I was in light armor, Cerberus hit me way too hard considering that I was in a defensive stance. I didn¡¯t actually feel any pain, but that much damage was enough to make me wince. 5,000. Raid bosses in other games have a lot of attack too, but it¡¯s almost as if Dimension Wave¡¯s objective was to kill off players. In any case, I couldn¡¯t respawn, so I had better make sure this was the last time I get hit. I turned to face Cerberus again. It would be dangerous if I stayed in this position. Cerberus looked like it was about to attack again. ¡°Tsugumi! If you¡¯re out of MP, then fall back for now!¡± ¡°O-Okay!¡± ¡°Sorry, Shouko, but we¡¯ll have to tough it out for the next little while!¡± ¡°I understand! Tsugumi¡­¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°You were very cool.¡± ¡°¡­ shut up.¡± Tsugumi muttered out as she withdrew from the frontline. Well, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s proud of herself too, but I bet she¡¯s embarrassed to be complimented like that by another girl. ¡°Big bro¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± She moved behind a tank with a shield before calling out to me. Her scythe may be bulky, but her medium armor allowed her to evade and it seems like she didn¡¯t take damage. ¡°Why did you come save me?¡± ¡°Because we need you to deal damage later¡­ or at least that¡¯s my excuse.¡± ¡°I thought so.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m your older brother, I think.¡± I don¡¯t think I¡¯d risk life and limb if it were anyone else¡ªsave for the three girls in my party. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m noble enough to try to save everyone. ¡°But Spirits are¡­¡± ¡°Why are you worrying about it? 5,000 is but a bee sting¡­ well, not really, but¡­ I mean, umm, it¡¯s not a lot either?¡± I wanted to play it cool, but now that I do some mental math, it really was quite a big blow. It¡¯s a game. This much is expected. ¡°That¡¯s right! Spirts don¡¯t let their friends die on their watch!¡± I know exactly how much it sucks to lose Energy, so that¡¯s why I really don¡¯t want anyone to sacrifice their lives. We¡¯ve got to aim for the best and beat the status quo. That¡¯s what it means to be a Spirit! I blurted that out loud, but surely, that¡¯s a good response. ¡°Miss Kizuna¡­¡± ¡°Agh.¡± As soon as I made my excuses, Yamikage popped out from nowhere. I bet she witnessed everything. And I mean everything¡­ Oh, god. That¡¯s so embarrassing. ¡°Miss Kizuna¡­ how wonderfully moving art thy words!¡± ¡°Huh? Huh¡­¡± I questioned her a second time before I fully comprehended what she had said. ¡°I wish to offer myself to the party.¡± ¡°¡­ okay?¡± ¡°Perhaps we could have thy sister join our party.¡± What, are you going to use a support skill or something? There¡¯s lots of different targets for support skills, including self, all, party only, and so on. For example, my Speed Gutting is a self-buff. ¡°Can we do that, Tsugumi?¡± ¡°Yep. Should be possible.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll send a message over group leader chat to let Roz know.¡± There were countless people dedicated to fighting one monster. There¡¯s no way I could pick Roz out from the crowd, but I can use leader chat to contact him. ¡®Roz, I know you¡¯re here! Just wanted to let you know I¡¯m borrowing Tsugumi!¡¯ I shouted out loud and someone shouted back. That¡¯s gotta be him. Then, I opened up the party menu to invite my little sister. ¡ªYou have sent Sheryl an invitation to your party. ¡°She¡¯s in the party now, Yamikage.¡± ¡°Aye, then I shall use my recently acquired skill.¡± Yamikage then casted a skill as she tends to do. It took but a second; much quicker than Drain. ¡°Energy Converter!¡± Greenish white orbs began to flow from Yamikage to Tsugumi once she exclaimed her skill. Honestly, I was a little weird out seeing her use a skill other than Drain. Tsugumi looked in astonishment at her as well. ¡°MP recovery?¡± ¡°¡®tis a skill for all Spirits for transferring Energy to another party member.¡± ¡°What, does it heal HP and MP for non-Spirits, then?¡± ¡°Aye, verily.¡± That¡¯s a pretty handy skill. But why does only Yamikage have it¡¯s for all Spirits? From the discussions on skills with Shouko, she¡¯s never mentioned this one. Maybe it¡¯s really hard to unlock. ¡°So that skill, what are the unlock requirements for it?¡± ¡°¡®tis to gain more than 1,000,000 Energy.¡± ¡°¡­ what did you say?¡± That must mean total accumulated Energy over 1,000,000 from the start of the game. But even then, it definitely takes time and effort to get there, especially considering that Yamikage loses 3,000 Energy each hour. I guess she must have gotten used to it before she even met us. ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly how much Energy it burns but are you okay with it?¡± ¡°I have no doubts as I have been moved by your words, Miss Kizuna. Not to mention, I currently have more Energy than I need.¡± ¡°¡­ alright, then, please.¡± ¡°Aye, aye!¡± Yamikage casted Energy Converter again. It seems like it¡¯ll take at least five times to get Tsugumi back to full MP, but it should get her back to full operating efficacy soon. After three times, Tsugumi was already itching to get back into the fray. ¡°That¡¯s good enough! I¡¯mma join the fight!¡± ¡°Aye, very well. I can cast it at medium range, so I shall keep at it!¡± Tsugumi gave Yamikage a big smile before jumped back to face Cerberus. Shouko had been working extra hard to compensate for the missing Tsugumi. Analyzing its attack pattern, each of Cerberus¡¯ three heads are controlled by different AI since each head attacks a different target. I¡¯m not 100% sure, but it seems like it saves its fire breath to attack the ranged attackers. As it tries to spit fire, Shouko attacked its face to mess up the monster¡¯s aim. Then right after, Cerberus targeted Shouko. Instead of dodging, she aimed squarely for its right arm¡­ ¡°Wild Dance, the Fourth: White Feather Reversal!¡± Shouko caught Cerberus¡¯ attack with her folding fan and activated her skill, dealing a great blow. ¡­ that¡¯s a counter, eh? You see skills like that in fighting games. You can only activate them when your opponent attacks. It¡¯s hard to use since you¡¯ve gotta predict the enemy¡¯s attack, but it usually deals quite a lot of damage. I don¡¯t know how strong Shouko¡¯s was, but I bet it was very powerful too. ¡°Soul Size!¡± Tsugumi joined the battle and attacked all three of the monster¡¯s heads. Does each head have its own individual health bar? I¡¯m guessing each head is separate from the torso too. There might be a separate health bar for its arms too. ¡°Damn! The boss isn¡¯t focusing on anybody! We¡¯ll fall apart like this!¡± It was a tank who shouted out loud. He has a point. Cerberus was switching between Tsugumi and Shouko, then sometimes it attacked other allies with its flames and tail. It makes sense why this was happening, but it wasn¡¯t a good situation for our archers and mages. Archers wear light armor and mages wear robes. Neither have really good defense. We¡¯d be out of luck if they get wiped out by the boss. It¡¯d be awesome if I could draw hate from just even one of its heads! ¡°I¡¯ll try to pull aggro from the head that spits fire!¡± I whipped out my Rod of Humanoid Timber from my inventory. Frankly, this isn¡¯t equipment suited for the battlefield. I moved past the tanks and archers. From a distance, I could see that Shouko and Tsugumi were like acrobats zipping around the boss. If I moved far enough, maybe it¡¯d look like a circus or something. I guess that¡¯s just how much better they are than me¡­ ¡°Looks like the head in the middle is the one that breathes fire¡­¡± Damn! It moves around too quickly but I have to give it my best shot! ¡°Hate & Lure!¡± A blue light glowed as my sinker bounced off Cerberus¡¯ head. It looked over my way¡­ except it was really targeting the archers instead. If it doesn¡¯t work the first time, I just have to try over and over again. ¡°Hate & Lure!¡± I used the skill three times in a row. Hate is accumulative, so luring it from range took quite some time. Whoa! It looks like it¡¯s totally ready to bathe me in flames! I stepped to the side and away from the archers. The fire barely managed to toast me for 1,500 points of damage. I¡¯m glad the other girls can evade so easily, but unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t do acrobatics like they can. However, the effect was great. The archers and mages came out completely unscathed, meaning we still had a chance of winning. Alrighty. Lemme use it once again. This time, Hate & Lure hit its left arm. Crap, it¡¯s swinging right at me. ¡°Fast Shield!¡± ¡°¡­ oh, hey, Roz.¡± Roz tanked for me with his shield skill. Naturally, I was unharmed. It looks like the skill did what it¡¯s supposed to do. ¡°Kizuna, you keep drawing aggro and I¡¯ll cover you. If it targets you, I¡¯ll be able to melee attack it too.¡± A bunch of players drew near with powerful two-handed axes and two-handed swords, all clad in medium armor. It¡¯d be ridiculous to expect everyone to be as acrobatic as Shouko and Tsugumi, I guess. Oh, and it seems that most taunting attacks are melee skills, making Hate & Lure pretty rare. The downside is that its damage is absolutely trash. I think this skill is actually meant for luring fish instead of monsters. Well, I¡¯ve gotta make do. Desperate times call for desperate measures. ¡°Gotcha! Now let¡¯s take down the beast with your powerful skills!¡± ¡°Leave it to us. Let¡¯s go!¡± Arrows, spells, and arms all worked together to take down the boss. This was the beginning of the end of Dimension Wave. CH 29 ¡ª?! It wasn¡¯t clear who landed the final blow, but Cerberus let out as if he had been torn apart. At the same time, a flash of white light blinded everybody in the instance as they braced themselves for the next attack. The light dissipated and revealed white clouds on a backdrop of blue¡­ just as the skies had been before all of this happened. White petals blew across the battlefield; we were now in a field of flowers in full bloom. ¡°We did it!¡± Everybody was in high spirits and some were crying out from our shared triumph. ¡°Good job, team.¡± ¡°Well done!¡± ¡°That was a doozy.¡± ¡°Hell yeah.¡± A victory fanfare played in the background¡ªthis is an MMO, so of course it did. I sat down on the bed of flower as both my¡ªas both Kizuna?Exceed¡¯s body and mind were exhausted. The tension and anxiety I was holding back crushed me all at once now. It was extremely stressful avoiding getting hit as a Spirit. ¡ªThe first wave of Dimension Wave has been defeated! The game popped up a message in my vision. There was also a ranking of who contributed the most. Let¡¯s see where I placed¡­ ¡ªOverall rank #77: Kizuna?Exceed Looks like I¡¯m 77th place among all other players. There were a few other rankings as well. ¡ªTotal damage given rank #1: Tsugumi?Exceed No surprise there. That scythe was great for crowd control. Oh, there¡¯s a ranking for resources contribution as well. Alto and Romina were in the top 10. They did a lot to back us up, eh? Another category was ¡°Everyday¡±. I assume that¡¯s for like activities, like cooking and other roleplaying elements? I¡¯m at #542 for that. ¡°Holy! Look! There¡¯s someone who took 80,000 points of damage!¡± That guy was #2 for most damage received, but who¡¯s #1? ¡ªTotal damage received rank #1: Kizuna?Exceed ¡­ hey, that name looks familiar! I fell prostrate on the ground. Now that I look at myself, my clothes had been unequipped, leaving me in my underwear. Name/ Kizuna?Exceed Race/ Spirit Energy/ 19,550 Mana/ 8,100 Serin/ 46,780 Skills/ Energy Production X, Mana Production VII, Fishing Mastery IV, Hate & Lure I, Gutting Mastery IV, Cleaver III, Speed Gutting III, Naval Combat IV, Transmutation I ¡­ well, that makes sense. ¡°Required level to equip¡­ Energy, in my case¡­¡± I never knew there was a level requirement for my clothes. They got unequipped because I don¡¯t have enough Energy now, I assumed. Guess I don¡¯t have much of a choice but to use my old equipment. I¡¯m glad I kept everything in my inventory. I clicked out of the rankings and looked through other information. ¡ªBuffs and item usage There were patch notes for new skills, equipment, and other changes as well. More weapon types were added too. Something I was just talking about is the new specialization for scythes, called war scythes; dual blades derived from one-handed swords; and katanas from two-handed swords. I can¡¯t tell for sure unless I check with the next one, but I¡¯m sure there are new items and skills that are affected by each Dimension Wave. Oh, hey, it said that fishing rods can now be equipped with reels. I¡¯ve gotta get me one of those. I kept scrolling through the notes. ¡°Racial powers unlocked?¡± That line caught my attention while I was skimming. First off, lemme see what¡¯s in store for Spirits. ¡ªStone of Mediation implemented. A crystal that allows its user to project their soul. Or, at least, that¡¯s what this Spirit-exclusive rock claims to be able to do. Every Stone of Mediation has a different effect. Some may shorten the amount of time needed to produce Energy or reduce skills¡¯ Energy usage. Finally, it looks like we all get something from participating in Dimension Wave. Ranks 1-5, 6-100, 101-1,000, 1,001-5,000 all get different items. And since I¡¯m number 77, I should be getting something pretty decent. I clicked Yes on the dialog box asking me whether I¡¯d like to receive my reward. Then, a slot machine with numbers and fruits on its reels popped up in my vision. After a quick spin, three icons of souls lined up in the center. ¡ªEnergy Blade obtained. It looked so fitting for a Spirit like me, though the description looked far from normal. Energy Blade Weapon type/ Not applicable Attack/ 0 Prerequisites/ Must be a Spirit User must have at least 2 Energy to equip this weapon. The user charges up the blade with Energy then unleashes all of it in one single blow. Beware that all charged Energy will be expended upon making an attack, regardless of its success. All that¡¯s there to the weapon is just its handle. It¡¯s reminiscent of old movies and anime, like how the blade part would only appear if the sword chooses its wielder. It sounds cool and all, but I¡¯ll hold off judgement until I try it out. Personally, I don¡¯t have strong feelings either way. Since it¡¯s a Spirit-exclusive weapon, it¡¯s quite the oddball. I bet it¡¯ll be tricky to use as well. At the very least, it¡¯s not an option for me in my current state. ¡°Kizuna.¡± Shouko showed up just as I had finished stowing away the Energy Blade into my inventory. Just like everybody else, I congratulated her with a ¡°Well done out there¡±. But even though we¡¯ve defeated the Dimension Wave, she looked less than happy. I couldn¡¯t help but worry about her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did something happen?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just that¡­ I overdid it out on the battlefield, causing you to suffer such terrible damage¡­¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s what¡¯s bothering you? Don¡¯t worry about it. The true winners in games are ones who enjoy themselves, isn¡¯t that right?¡± ¡°Still¡ª¡± Shouko seemed to be bothered about me losing my Energy. I had been swarmed by the mob, hurt myself in trying to protect Tsugumi, and nearly lost my life when I was drawing the boss¡¯ aggro. Even if I had voluntarily done all that, she must be feeling guilty about all of the damage I faced. But I knew. I knew Shouko had tirelessly used her counterattack skill to protect me. Still, the fan-type weapon needs to be charged so, of course, she couldn¡¯t block 100% of Cerberus¡¯ attacks. Nevertheless, it was touching to hear that she had been thinking of me the entire time. ¡°More importantly, the sea! I mean, I¡¯d love to head back out onto the water, but with the little Energy I have left, I¡¯ll just be dead weight.¡± ¡°Nonsense. I will help you reach¡­ no, rather, I wish to be by your side and reach beyond the horizon together.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t ask for anybody better. I knew that before, but seeing you out there today, I¡¯m even more sure of it.¡± I can¡¯t forget how graceful of an acrobatic Shouko was when facing Cerberus. And frighteningly, she¡¯s as skilled as Tsugumi. Even though her prowess suits the frontlines much better, knowing her and her personality, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll choose to stay with me. But I know better than to outright ask her to return to the frontlines. ¡°It¡¯s been a long day. Let¡¯s head back to the First and get some rest.¡± ¡°Oh, but¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Shouko pressed her index finger to her lips, cueing me to stay quiet. Then, she looked over at Cerberus¡¯ corpse. I get it now¡­ gutting, eh? I was going to tell Roz and his party about the power of gutting-type weapons, but I didn¡¯t get the chance to do so. I definitely had a hard time keeping cool back there. I mean, it¡¯s only natural to get mad when someone insults you and your friends, right? We made our way over to where Cerberus fell and eyed the other players. Many of them were already teleporting out of the instance since the raid was finished. The thriftier ones were walking home while the frontliners didn¡¯t even bat an eye when they used their Tomes of Returning. Some of the braver ones were even saying how they¡¯re headed off for the next battle. There were still too many people around for me to start gutting¡ªthat is if I still wanted to keep this a secret. ¡°Shall we stay here for a while? It¡¯d be a waste to not enjoy the scenery.¡± ¡°¡­ yeah, why not?¡± The bed of flowers was simply fantastic¡ªboth in the sense that it was beautiful but also unrealistically so. It¡¯s almost as if the devs put it in here for us players to relax after the raid. Well, Cerberus¡¯ corpse lying there kinda spoils the view though. ¡°Miss Kizuna!¡± ¡°Oh, hey, Yamikage. Good work back there.¡± ¡°I thank ye, but I bear exciting news.¡± ¡°Ooh, what is it?¡± ¡°I am now the highest ranked Spirit!¡± ¡°Number one in the Energy rankings, eh?¡± It¡¯s no surprise for someone who has accumulated a total of more than a million Energy. I bet Circle Drain contributed a lot to her growth too. ¡°Where¡¯s Sheryl anyway?¡± ¡°¡­ I have been here the whole time.¡± Sheryl suddenly spoke up from behind me. I had no idea she was with us. It¡¯s almost like she concealed herself or something. Well, I¡¯m probably unperceptive because I¡¯m just too tired. Near the end of the raid, Sheryl was still fighting the mob to not get in our way. It¡¯s boring, but someone¡¯s gotta do it. Or rather, it shows exactly how considerate and attentive Sheryl is. Like that time with the bird-type monster who tried to run from us. She¡¯s always there to back us up and to take care of loose ends. Anyway, it looks like we¡¯re all back together now. ¡°I don¡¯t think I need to explain much, but let¡¯s enjoy the garden here while we¡¯re waiting to do that thing I always do.¡± ¡°¡®Tis a splendid idea!¡± ¡°¡®kay.¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s.¡± I¡¯ll be honest. I¡¯ve never sat around in a park to enjoy the cherry blossoms or anything like that in real life. But perhaps I¡¯m still feeling the adrenaline rush from the fight, this was a little exciting. ¡­ I mean, as exciting as looking as flowers can be. ¡°It¡¯s a little boring to sit around with nothing. I¡¯ll make sure I take up cooking next time, so we can have a picnic or something.¡± ¡°Will it not be straining your Energy reserves, Miss Kizuna?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, but it¡¯s something I should learn sooner or later. It¡¯ll be useful for our voyage on the seas.¡± ¡°That would not be a bad idea. We bring some food on board, but if we run out, we can rely on cooking.¡± ¡°Since we have Shouko and Yamikage as specced purely for combat and Sheryl for crafting. I guess that leaves me as the team¡¯s cook.¡± ¡°¡­ only if you¡¯re okay with it.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll synergize well with my weapon type too.¡± I¡¯ll catch and cook our meals. Now that I think about it, I don¡¯t do much with the fish after I catch them. Why didn¡¯t I take up cooking sooner? The more I think about it, the more sense it makes. Hmm? It sounds like someone¡¯s running up to us. It was Tsugumi and Roz¡¯s party. ¡°Big brooooo!¡± She barreled towards me and squeezed me tightly in her arms. Maybe because I¡¯m low on Energy, but I didn¡¯t have the strength to pry her off of me. ¡°That was some amazing support there, Kizuna.¡± ¡°You too, Roz. Almost all of you are ranked in the top 100, right?¡± ¡°Ah, we were just lucky.¡± ¡°You guys wanna join us? We were just about to celebrate our victory.¡± Roz looked like he thought about it for a quick second. Well, I don¡¯t blame him for being hesitant in front of total strangers. ¡°I hate to say no, but we¡¯ve got to get going.¡± ¡°You guys heading out for more grinding?¡± ¡°Nah, but we¡¯ve gotta figure out our equipment and skills.¡± ¡°Frontliners sure have it rough. Well, good luck with that then.¡± They¡¯re throwing themselves back out onto the battlefield right after a huge raid battle. Honestly, I¡¯m ready to pass out already. Frontliners are just so impressive. Well, I mean, I¡¯ve been in their position before too. I know just how addictive games can be. Roz didn¡¯t look like he was here just to say hi. ¡°Anyways, I was hoping to talk to the girl with the fan.¡± ¡°Yes? What is it?¡± Shouko looked at him with suspicion. He¡¯s gonna ask her to join their party, I bet. ¡°I was wondering if you¡¯d like to join¡ª¡± ¡°No, thank you.¡± She cut Roz off before he could even finish his sentence. Yamikage and Sheryl looked like they wanted to say something but judging by how quickly she rejected him, I don¡¯t think anyone could change Shouko¡¯s mind. It was a bit of a shock, frankly speaking. I wouldn¡¯t have expected her to flatly reject him like that, given how considerate Shouko is. She was quick to understand what he wanted as well. But even for being such an upright and proper lady, Shouko has her brash moments too, I guess. To refuse him like that is not unimaginable. Rosette seemed a little taken aback as well. ¡°But with your skill, you¡¯d be perfect for the frontlines.¡± ¡°I will follow Kizuna no matter what.¡± ¡­ I¡¯ve knew from the get-go that Shouko is like that, but still, that¡¯s super embarrassing for me. I can still remember how politely she bowed to me when we first met. ¡°I see¡­ sorry for trying to poach your party member like that, Kizuna.¡± ¡°No worries. That¡¯s just how Shouko is.¡± ¡°Yeah, I can tell¡­ those bastards have no idea what they¡¯re missing out on.¡± I¡¯m guessing he¡¯s referring to Shouko¡¯s previous party members. It¡¯s easy to judge us Spirits by the rumors that surround us. A lot of people fall into a bad habit of blindly listening to whatever strategy sites or wiki pages instead of seeing it for themselves. It really is a shame for them. I¡¯ve really hit it off with Shouko. Not only is she a great person, she¡¯s real skilled at combat too. ¡°Alrighty, then we¡¯ll be heading off.¡± ¡°Gotcha. I can¡¯t wait to fight alongside you guys again.¡± Roz and his party waved goodbye before teleporting away. But my sister, Tsugumi, is still clung onto me like a koala. ¡°Listen¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s good, bro?¡± ¡°Your party¡¯s gone already, y¡¯know?¡± Tsugumi looked over her shoulder to see no traces of her teammates anywhere. Then, she shook her head and looked at me. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°¡­ big bro, are you guys going to sit here and chill for a bit?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯re planning to do. What about it?¡± ¡°¡­¡± For some reason, Tsugumi was staring straight into my eyes. She only looks like this when she¡¯s really concentrating at her games. She must be thinking long and hard about something. No one¡ªnot even Kanata¡ªcan break her concentration. It¡¯s like Tsugumi gets into some sort of a trance. Shouko gets into a hyper-aware state like this sometimes too. But Tsugumi? She only gets like this when she¡¯s doing something she likes¡­ that is to say when only when she¡¯s gaming. And seemingly as if she¡¯s figured it all out, she beamed with a smile. ¡°Alright! I¡¯ve made up my mind! See ya, big bro!¡± Then, she disappears after using a Tome of Returning. What was that all about? ¡°Anyway. Let¡¯s go enjoy the flowers, shall we?¡± We sat around chatting until everyone around us had left. CH 30 ¡°I bite my thumb at thee, Miss Kizuna!¡± Yamikage shouted out from the deck. We¡¯re back at sea, as we usually are. The only thing different was that water surrounded us in every direction. There was no land at all to be seen. ¡°Oh, picking a fight, huh?¡± ¡°I can take no more squid!¡± ¡°I understand, but Sheryl, you too must give due respect to our bounty.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯m not wasting food. Just repurposing it.¡± The first glance of yet squid again had Yamikage shrieking, while Shouko chastises Sheryl for loading our lunch into the ballista. But there were two others. ¡°Ahaha, you guys are hilarious!¡± ¡°Ugh¡­ why did I sign up for this¡­?¡± Tsugumi had a good laugh, but Alto was far less impressed. How did the six of us sailors end up like this? you may ask. Well, let¡¯s go back to about a week ago, to the day after we beat Dimension Wave. We decided we needed a day off. Actually, it¡¯d probably be more accurate to say that we needed a day to walk to the Second City to research the newly implemented items. By chance, we bumped into Romina and with the warm support from everyone, I had her make me a new weapon out of the parts I got from gutting Cerberus. Romina eyed me with suspicion when I handed the items to her, but she said nothing of it and forged me some proper equipment. I mean, it was only natural that I stood out just a little when I¡¯m the only one with a huge inventory of Cerberus¡¯ parts. In any case, what she came up with was the Cerberus Slaughterer¡ªan unadorned blade that like nothing but an oddly matte black kitchen knife. A weapon forged from the mats of a boss monster that powerful, it should be accordingly lethal. Well, should¡­ ¡­ but I wouldn¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t even have the Energy to equip it. Then, we went shopping to check out the updated weapon types, Stones of Mediations, and other new stuff in the game. Along with a newly purchased reel, I had a beaming smile plastered on my face as Shouko, Yamikage, Sheryl, and I made our way to the Second City. Then, I saw it. ¡ªThe lure. It was glimmering¡ªno, rather, it was glowing. We came across a merchant selling a lure that would glow in the dark. Or better yet, a lure for night fishing. 10,000 serin was its price. As soon as I showed any intent on purchasing it, Shouko immediately tried to stop me. You absolutely cannot buy this, Kizuna. Do not be swindled, she pleaded, but alas, it was to no avail¡ªmy wallet would soon be 10,000 serin lighter. ¡°You are being completely cheated by the merchant! Please, just listen to us!¡± I had no regrets. I still have no regrets because, though it unbeknownst to any of us at the time, I definitely did not make a bad decision. At the end of the day, I went to bed and slept soundly, pleased with a peaceful and successful shopping trip. The next day. After deciding that I should regain my lost Energy, we set off back to our floating home base of a sailing ship. Things were still fine at this point. ¡°We may not risk thee taking damage, Miss Kizuna. Thou art best to rest in the cabin.¡± Maybe I was still tired from all the shopping I did the previous day, I left the deck to the rest of them and went to a nap as suggested. There are two bedrooms in the cabin. But for some reason, I felt a little embarrassed to be the only one sleeping and so, I locked the door before the Sandman visited me. ¡°Gah! Help!¡± A few hours later, I was awoken by the racket outside. I stepped up and out to the deck and immediately understood the situation. ¡­ my fellow party members were engaged in some sort of act of piracy. To sum up the bizarre turn of events unfolding in front of my very eyes, my sister, Tsugumi?Exceed, was about to be thrown overboard. In the water waiting for their meal were three Blue Sharks. Honestly, it seemed like a slapstick routine more than anything. ¡°What the hell are you guys doing?!¡± I snapped to my senses and shouted at them. Shouko was the first to respond. ¡°Executing a stowaway!¡± All of my attention was on them. Something must¡¯ve happened while I was asleep, but frankly, I really didn¡¯t want to know. I just didn¡¯t have much of a choice but to talk things over with them. ¡°Come on! Tsumugi¡¯s my sister! What the hell happened?¡± ¡°Judgement upon stowaways on our vessel!¡± ¡°You stay quiet!¡± ¡°¡­ stowaways are shark food.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a clue what you mean.¡± ¡°Seajacking shall bring demise unto us!¡± ¡°I told you to stay quiet, Dark Shadow!¡± Our arguing brought me nowhere closer to understanding what was going on, but at least I saved Tsugumi for now. I had to coax them out of their frenzy before I could get a good grasp of the situation. Apparently, while I was sleeping, a group of four that were stowed away in the bilge tried to hijack our ship. Our party members engaged the hijackers at the bow and easily rounded them up, as the hijackers didn¡¯t have any naval combat¨Crelated skills. ¡ªAnd then. ¡°Are you for real?!¡± That still didn¡¯t explain anything. Then, they told me they were discussing what to do with the hijackers when one of them called out to Shouko. ¡°Remember how we were allies?¡± He tried to fish for sympathy. It seemed like they were the people Shouko used to run with before coming to us. After seeing how well we did in the Dimension Wave, there were snide remarks about how ¡°the likes of us Spirits¡± must have played dirty. It made Shouko¡¯s blood boil, and so now, the hijackers were being dangled above the water. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to spread rumors.¡± His last words were befitting of a heroin in a dating sim game. With one down, it leaves three. ¡°Goodbye to you two, too.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll kill you in the next Dimension Wave.¡± ¡°Wh¡ªaaagh!¡± They sure can talk a lot of trash. It was a slog to get through what Shouko and the others had to say too, but I had little choice but to listen. Anyway, it turns out that the hijackers found Tsugumi hiding in a barrel, hoping to pop out and startle me. ¡°What a bunch of tools!¡± ¡°Yes, they were quite the characters.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t pretend like you didn¡¯t go crazy either, Shouko.¡± ¡°Sorry¡­¡± I never woulda thought that she would flipped out like this. Tsugumi then began to explain why she was here. ¡°I snuck here because you and your party seemed to be having so much fun, big bro¡­¡± ¡°What, did you have enough of your permadeath run?¡± Unfortunately for you, I¡¯m not hard of hearing It¡¯d be weirder if I couldn¡¯t hear you since I¡¯m standing right next to you. And it¡¯s not like I have super good hearing either. ¡­ not that I know of, at least. ¡°What¡¯s a permadeath run anyway?¡± ¡°¡­ it¡¯s a roleplaying thing in VRMMOs.¡± ¡°Hmm, don¡¯t think I¡¯ve heard of it.¡± According to Sheryl, it¡¯s common in virtual worlds where you can¡¯t voluntarily logout, making it kind of like a ¡°if you die in the game, you die in real life¡± kind of roleplay. The rest of the party would kick you and cut off communication if you die, I assume. ¡°Wait, I didn¡¯t know they were doing that!¡± Well, I¡¯m not about to criticize anyone how they play the game, but I can¡¯t say I¡¯m enamored with the idea. Maybe the frontliners are more dedicated to their role because they play on permadeath rules. Who knows. ¡°If everybody¡¯s okay with it, maybe we can let Tsugumi into our party.¡± ¡°But of course.¡± ¡°We are indebted to your sister for bequeathing us her aid during the Dimension Wave.¡± ¡°¡®kay.¡± ¡°But I mean, y¡¯all just tried to feed her to the sharks¡­¡± None of them could look me in the eyes. Did you think I¡¯d forget about this? Tsugumi joined our party without an apology from any of them. True to their words, the hijackers had been spreading false rumors about us back in the cities. Alto caught wind of it, explained the truth, and seemed to have turned the tables back on them. Glad that someone¡¯s got our back. And those were the events that led to Alto joining us. CH 31 Yet another stowaway, miladies!¡± For the past three days since we¡¯ve brought Tsugumi along in our party, we¡¯ve been traveling back and forth between land and sea, giving our best to grind some levels. But then, yet again, Yamikage interrupted the silence with her shouting below deck. Oh, and by the way, there¡¯s only a few hours left to recap until we catch up with how the six of us ended up like this. ¡°H-Hey, hold on!¡± Name: Stowaway A. Occupation: merchant of death. Age: unknown. The four of us¡ªwell, five now, including Tsugumi¡ªforced yet another to walk the plank. Three sharks would always appear below the waters whenever we did this. Perhaps we were enjoying this a little too much. ¡°So, Stowaway A¡­ or rather, Altorese¡­ what are you doing here?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t pretend like you don¡¯t know me! Whatever! Just help me out of this!¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to, but I¡¯m busy fishing.¡± ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you a lovely catch?! Please, I beg of you! We¡¯re friends, aren¡¯t we?!¡± ¡°Alright, alright. I was just joking. I¡¯m not about to kill you.¡± It¡¯s not like it¡¯s that big of a deal if you were to fall overboard anyway. All there is to it is a death penalty and then you get respawned at your last save point. Maybe it¡¯s just scary because it¡¯s VR. It probably feels too real, like how violent M-rated VR games caught a bit of flak from the media when they first came out. ¡°Tch, another acquaintance of Miss Kizuna¡­¡± ¡°Sorry to disappoint.¡± The plank seemed to be a little too addictive to everyone besides me. In any case, Alto was due for a questioning. ¡°So? Why did you stow yourself away in the cargo hold?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ so Kizuna told me that you guys fell overboard. Well, I¡¯ve been real curious since then, but there¡¯s only a handful of people who craft boats.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you snuck aboard?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll do anything for money!¡± Buddy, that¡¯s not something to be proud of. If anything, it made me want to push him over right there and then. Damn moneygrubber. He likely found out about our seafaring escapades from the rumors¡ªy¡¯know, the rumors spread by the three hijackers we defeated a few days ago. Alto should¡¯ve been able to sort through the truth from the lies though. I guess he must¡¯ve thought this could be profitable. ¡°Assuming that to be true, what are your intentions, Altorese?¡± Shouko looked far from joking around. I mean, fair enough. No one else has met Alto other than me. ¡°Please let me in on this!¡± That¡¯s what he¡¯s like. Alto¡¯s the kind of guy to get all chummy with friends or foes to sell them arms and items. You¡¯d be glad to have him on your side, but his true allegiance is with the coin. ¡°Alright. But keep in mind that the monsters at sea are totally different than at shore.¡± ¡°Bluefins and seabreams, right? And don¡¯t forget the mats from Brave Birds and Blue Sharks too¡­¡± He knew all about the monsters out here without any of us saying a single thing. It¡¯s fair to say he¡¯s done his research before coming here. With a hand to his mouth, Alto put on act for us. ¡°Gutting-type weapons¡­ an unpopulated area¡­ experience¡­ lots of items¡­ spirits¡­¡± Yamikage looked at me worriedly. He¡¯s already figured everything out already, I¡¯m afraid. ¡°I mean, I¡¯ve known about this for a while.¡± ¡°And everyone else too, I assume.¡± ¡°As far as I know, only three including you, Kizuna, though I¡¯m sure there probably are more people who know. Still, you¡¯re one of the few people who wield gutting-type weapons.¡± Buying favors with money, keeping people quiet, and selling information to only a select few is exactly what a merchant of death like him would do. ¡­ hmm, but maybe because¡­ The Cerberus Slaughter popped up in my mind. If we wait until no one¡¯s around to carve mats out of bosses, or perhaps¡­ Supposing that we do keep up with this plan, I¡¯d need to learn some stealth skills. Not a low level one like Yamikage had used before, but something that powerful enough to mask my footsteps. I knew this from the moment I held the Cerberus Slaughter: ¡ªThis is why I can¡¯t give up gutting weapons. Well, whatever. If everybody knows how it works, then there¡¯s no need to keep it a secret any longer. ¡°What say you, Sheryl?¡± ¡°¡­ I trust you.¡± ¡°Gotcha.¡± I figured I should let him about the potential of seas. You know what they say about making assumptions. ¡°Hey, Alto. Let¡¯s talk hypotheticals.¡± ¡°What are you saying?¡± ¡°Right. What we¡¯re thinking is that there¡¯s a new continent on the other side of the ocean. Judging by how powerful the enemies here are, this should be the correct path forward after conquering the first continent. Shouko managed to get quite a bit of experience during the Dimension Wave event, so we should be able to tackle on the enemies on the other side. And that means good loot.¡± Most of what I had said may have been convenient white lies, but even if I don¡¯t know what¡¯s ahead for sure, they¡¯re damn good guesses. Don¡¯t get me wrong¡ªI¡¯m not doing this just to go along with my lies; I¡¯m sure there¡¯s something out there. Though, it wouldn¡¯t exactly be wrong to say that my true motives lie within my dreams and the romance of sailing the seas. Be that as it may, I can count on Alto to invest in this¡­ even if he may have his own hidden intentions. ¡°So? Will you invest in this pipe dream of mine, O Altorese, the merchant?¡± ¡°Of course I would.¡± ¡°It¡¯s almost scary how easily you¡¯re agreeing to this.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t misunderstand. I¡¯m not betting my money on a pipe dream; I¡¯m putting my money on the discerning eyes of yours, Kizuna¡ªthe very ones that knew to turn empty cans into gold.¡± His expectations were high, but the whole can thing was nothing but luck. Well, chalking it up to luck would be irresponsible and I wasn¡¯t about to argue about it either. Still¡­ Alto seemed to have got a little more jaded over this past month. ¡°Well, I suppose it¡¯s a good thing a merchant of death like you would invest in us, but what are your plans going forward?¡± ¡°If I¡¯m a merchant of death, then you¡¯re the biggest loser, seeing how you were #1 in damage received.¡± ¡°Who you callin¡¯ a loser?!¡± ¡°Please, no fighting, you two!¡± And so, we took Alto into our party and things have been going well so far. ¡­ that is if you ignore the dark storm clouds floating in from the east. CH 32 Dimension Wave Chapter 32 ¡ª The Sea of No Return ¡°So, any suggestions what we do next?¡± The next day. We looked like drowned rats, but at least all of us were still on board. Basically, we had been sucked in by the storm and barely made it out alive. That wasn¡¯t the last of our problems though. Our heading and location were all sorts of messed¡­ the map didn¡¯t help either, as it doesn¡¯t how which direction we faced. And maybe we were so far off track, we couldn¡¯t even use a Tome of Returning. But we did know at least the name of this area: The Sea of No Return. ¡°Y¡¯all wanna just respawn?¡± ¡°Alto, you¡¯re suggesting that because we¡¯re Spirits, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You know I don¡¯t mean it like that, bud.¡± It looked like as if what he had just said meant nothing to the bastard. Him, Sheryl, and Tsugumi might not have much of a problem with dying and respawning, but it sure means a lot to us Spirits. ¡°Let¡¯s keep trekking on if we¡¯re going to die anyway! Since we¡¯re going to get a death penalty either way, why don¡¯t we keep going forwards?¡± Tsugumi¡¯s been all smiles since we¡¯ve brought her on board. Maybe that¡¯s how she is, or maybe she¡¯s comfortable opening up to Yamikage and Sheryl and the rest of us. My sister has been so excited about it, I felt like I¡¯d be doing her a disservice if were to even consider anything else. It¡¯s not like Tsugumi¡¯s really into RPG¡¯s in the first place though. MMO¡¯s, and especially VR ones, always devolves into nothing but combat for her. To be fair, VR games tend to be a little boring with action, but since she¡¯s so good at combat, she¡¯ll plow through them using deliberately underleveled characters. Well, it¡¯s fun just watching her, but only because of how excited she gets. ¡°¡­ we don¡¯t even know which way¡¯s forwards.¡± ¡°It¡¯s like we¡¯re trapped in The Labyrinth or The Endless Desert or some other sort of typical RPG dungeon.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡®kay.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s a little surprising, eh?¡± We might be used to how talks, but I guess it was a little tough for Alto who¡¯s just met her. So be it, then. Glad to be useful. ¡°So? What¡¯s surprising?¡± ¡°Yeah, see, I didn¡¯t believe half¡ªactually, most¡ªof what you said about the sea and stuff, but now I¡¯m beginning to change my mind.¡± ¡°And why¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Like you said earlier, being lost in a dungeon would be the typical RPG thing. You know, like you clear the area to get farther, and then at the end, you get some sort of legendary sword or something. Maybe you really are onto something, Kizuna.¡± That¡¯s exactly it. From all the games I¡¯ve played, players usually get bogged down by a difficult bit then get rewarded with a key item that¡¯s important to the story. It¡¯d be nice if there were a walkthrough or strategy guide, but since we¡¯re the first ones playing, we¡¯ll have to fumble our way through this Sea of No Return. If we want to cross the ocean, then we have no choice but to head forwards. We ended up wandering through the Sea of No Return. ¡°Kizuna! Yamikage!¡± ¡°Hmmmph!¡± ¡°Aye, aye!¡± Attacking us were Bladed Mermen and Skyraiders¡ªaquatic and avian monsters, respectively. Defending us were: Shouko, armed with a fan-type derivative weapon in each hand; Tsugumi, with an evolved war scythe; and Yamikage, the one-trick pony. I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d break a sweat with two former frontliners, but the enemies were tougher than I thought. We were likely facing enemies harder than we should be since the storm had thrown us to who knows where. With little Energy, I was no match for them at the very least. ¡°Round Dance, the First: Counterstrike!¡± Shouko twirled around as if she were really dancing while unfolding both of her fans. It may have been a small AoE attack, but it was enough to hit the enemies up close and farther back. I suppose ¡°Round Dances¡± need explaining too¡­ The more these attacks are charged up, the more defense it lowers and the more damage it does, if I recall correctly. They seem to be more offensive than defensive. That being said though, the charge time with Round Dances are much longer compared to Wild Dances, but it also deals a lot more damage. Shouko¡¯s just started using these new skills, but they seem to suit her better. I can¡¯t exactly put my finger on it, but Shouko feels like the type to dodge attacks, rather than to parry them¡ªlike how she performed acrobatics when we fought Cerberus. And not to mention the other day¡­ the day when I bought my light-up lure, I discovered Shouko had yet another talent. She¡¯s just as capable with her left hand as she is with her right¡ªshe¡¯s ambidextrous. She can even write with both hands. Shouko really is hot shit. Jokes aside though, dual wielding isn¡¯t such a surprise and characters usually fight just as well with either hand in normal video games. Skills, of course, are something you activate then you let the system work out how it goes. It¡¯s a different story for autoattacks in VR games, however. I don¡¯t know a lot about the subject, but I¡¯ve heard that handedness has a lot to do with your brain. Going by that, fighting well with both hands in a VR game would probably need a lot of talent. I also remember watching some retro TV show saying how left-handedness can be an advantage in things like sports. With VR games being the product of science experiments, it might be safe to assume they¡¯ve counted for handedness too. Well, that¡¯s neither here nor there though. Oh, and by the way, I¡¯m just another right-handed average joe. ¡°She really blows your expectations away, eh?¡± ¡°You sure you wanna stick around here, Alto? You¡¯re gonna get killed.¡± ¡°¡­ be careful.¡± ¡°So? What kind of expectations are we talking about?¡± I¡¯ll agree that first impressions of Shouko can be a little deceptive. She may seem soft-spoken and well-mannered, but she¡¯s got a violent side to her. Don¡¯t forget that she¡¯s the one who said that offense is the best defense when we were participating in the Dimension Wave. ¡­ it¡¯s almost as if she¡¯s from a different generation or something¡ªalmost as if she¡¯s a general from Sengoku Japan or the Three Kingdoms of China. ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve just remembered. Have you been using your Crystal of Mediation, bud?¡± ¡°¡­ what are you gonna do? Sell it?¡± ¡ªStone of Mediation. The ones purchasable at NPC shops grant one bonus effect. On top of that, it also grants something called ¡°Shield Energy¡± and it works much like an HP gauge like other races have. And, much like an HP gauge, it naturally recovers over time. The only thing about it is that it doesn¡¯t grant that much more health. The weaker ones give about 50 and the best one only gives 1,000 extra points. For balancing¡¯s sake, Stones with low Shield Energy might have a more potent buff and vice versa. I guess it¡¯s up to the player to choose what they want more. I¡¯m gonna go out on a limb and guess that Yamikage chose one that buffs her dark magic. Unlike her, though, my build is all over the place, so I chose a stone that improves my Masteries. ¡°Remember back when we first met, like¡­ I don¡¯t know, a month or so ago? Remember that crystallization from before?¡± Oh, right. I totally had something like that. It¡¯s lost somewhere in my inventory, but I should still have it somewhere. Let me just look for it real quick. Unidentified, huh? ¡°There it is. This thing, right?¡± ¡°You still haven¡¯t identified it yet?¡± ¡°I mean, I got it before the system was even implemented into the game¡­¡± To be fair, I suppose the system just hasn¡¯t been activated until recently. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll find more items that haven¡¯t been patched in too. ¡°Well, how ¡®bout I identify it for you then? I¡¯ve checked out a few items from my line of work, so you could say I¡¯m pretty experienced at it.¡± With the glow in the dark lure, reel, and cooking utensils, I am out dry. These Stones of Mediation might be good, but if they are, then it¡¯s probably too rich for me¡­ What, you think I¡¯m the type of guy to hound my friends over a few bucks?¡± ¡°What, would I be wrong?¡± ¡°Of course! No way I¡¯d ask for money for something like this.¡± ¡°Sorry for assuming. Please and thank you, then.¡± I handed over the unidentified crystal to Alto and he looked at it with a magnifying glass? a loupe? A soft light enveloped the loupe as soon as he muttered ¡°Item identification.¡± Immediately, the jet black crystal turns into a pale blue. ¡°Yep. Looks like you fished up something similar to a Stone of Mediation.¡± ¡°Fishing and gutting are the only two things I do well anyway.¡± Maybe I should try equipping it. It¡¯d be more accurate to say I¡¯m transferring over the soul from the Stone though since they¡¯re kinda like holy artifacts. Beginner¡¯s Crystal of Mediation Shield Energy: 700/700 +2 Fishing Mastery Attracts more attention from nocturnal sea creatures. Looks like this one gives two bonus effects and it gives a lot of shield. That¡¯s really special. Even the name is different. The ones in shops are called Stones and this one is a Crystal. That¡¯s probably because of the skills and stuff though. ¡°Honestly, thanks a bunch.¡± ¡°Any day, my man. You¡¯re always finding ways for me to make money, so don¡¯t even mention it.¡± Our sailing adventure was off to a good start. CH 33 It was our fourth day out venturing on the Sea of No Return. The waters were calm, making for easy experience and loot. That was of course a good thing, but a few problems had surfaced. ¡°We¡¯ve finished all the food that we brought.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡®Kay.¡± ¡°Oh, and we¡¯re also out of bait. Once we eat through the fish I¡¯ve caught, then we¡¯re out of luck.¡± ¡°W-Whatever shall we do?!¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing worse than an empty stomach~¡± We never planned to be on a long voyage. I mean, when I said that we brought food, it¡¯s really nothing more than just simple rations. Well, it¡¯s not like I can¡¯t fish without bait, but it¡¯ll be a little tricky to feed all six of us. My cooking skill isn¡¯t that refined either, so it¡¯s more than likely it¡¯ll result in a few failed attempts. That means we absolutely need to obtain and maintain our supply level. ¡°It ain¡¯t all bad though.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°See, we¡¯ve been without fresh water for a few days and we¡¯re alright, aren¡¯t we?¡± ¡°¡­ I see.¡± ¡°Altorese is indeed correct.¡± It¡¯s true. Water should have been a problem long ago. I remember someone saying that if you go hungry in the game, it might become a problem once you¡¯re finished playing. It probably has something to do with the program that brings us back to real life. As my real life friend once said, Dimension Wave is like a dream that you can vividly remember. There¡¯s something sad about that, but hey, at least playing this probably won¡¯t hurt your school grades too bad, unlike video games. ¡­ Let¡¯s get back on track to the problem at hand. ¡°It¡¯s a game after all. We might feel hungry, but that¡¯s just a virtual thing and we won¡¯t die from hunger. Worst case scenario might actually be overeating.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that far ahead¡­ Well, anyway, let me see if I can¡¯t do anything about getting us more food.¡± In the end, I was thrown back into fishing, which was what I wanted to do from the beginning. No more high-quality bait means that I won¡¯t be able to catch us anything big like tuna but I¡¯ll still be able to get smaller fish. Here was where my shining lure came into play. Since it¡¯s always lit up, I¡¯ve been using it as my light source at night. I also found out that the lure can¡¯t catch me anything during daytime, but it attracts squid at night. Or so says Alto anyway. ¡°Hello, shining squid lure.¡± Makes sense that you need a squid lure for squid. I mean, it looks like a normal lure¡­ except for the part where it lights up. In any case, I could solve our hunger problem with it. Let¡¯s get that squid. Not that I can catch anything but squid at night. In mere days, I caught myself close to 500 of them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. ¡°I bite my thumb at thee, Miss Kizuna!¡± Such were the hurtful words hurled unto me. Even Sheryl needed to vent her frustration of too much squid. That was by shooting them out of her ballista. Day in, day out, it was me, my fishing rod, and squid. Never mind the fact that I had over 1,000 of them in my inventory. What a lure. I still stood by the words I said that day at that time at that location: it¡¯s worth every penny. But there¡¯s something about the Sea of No Return. Not sure what it is, but monsters come out only during the day. Even back at the outskirts of the First City, monsters would come out at night. What, did the devs want to give us a break or something? Seems highly unlikely. In any ordinary RPG, you¡¯d find old clich¨¦d dungeons like The Labyrinth or The Endless Desert where every route takes you down a different path and you can¡¯t get out unless you solve a puzzle. It kinda feels like that. It¡¯s getting close to a week out here at sea and we¡¯re all getting a little stressed. Of course, the fact that we only have squid definitely contributes to it. We¡¯ve gotta do something about this. ¡°Are they biting?¡± ¡°¡­ Oh, it¡¯s you, Shouko.¡± I was a little surprised when someone spoke to me since I get lost in my thoughts while late night fishing. Shouko sat down beside me and gazed up at the moon. The moon¡¯s out tonight¡­ It sure looks bigger in this world than the real thing. Big as it is though, it doesn¡¯t shine very bright. ¡°Nature sure is wonderful.¡± ¡°Something bothering you?¡± ¡°Oh, no¡­ Though I realize this world was created by people, who would think that a single storm would change all of our lives?¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± We were unlucky getting sucked in by the storm, but I didn¡¯t think that would result in all six of us living together on this ship. Up until now, we all had our individual rooms at our accommodation. It almost feels like we¡¯re on a field trip together, at the risk of sounding like I¡¯m taking this a little too lightly. But especially because of that, we must find a way to get through this together. Games are designed to be figured out if you pay close enough attention to the details. If we can¡¯t find the answer, it means we¡¯re not looking hard enough. ¡°Kizuna, you have a bite.¡± ¡°S¡¯alright. Squid aren¡¯t that hard to catch.¡± The tip of my line was bobbing up and down. ¡­ No, wait. That¡¯s no squid. I had tirelessly fished for the past few days, so I know what squid feels like. ¡°Come!¡± ¡ªKathunk! I¡¯ve had a bite like this before and it¡¯s a day and night difference compared to my normal catches. This¡­ this was it. This was the Giant Herring. ¡°No, can¡¯t be. This is more powerful¡­!¡± ¡°Kizuna, it¡¯s pulling our ship.¡± ¡°¡­ Damn! Go get Sheryl for me! I need her Harpoon skills or maybe¡­¡± ¡°On it!¡± I didn¡¯t have the mental capacity to track Shouko as she disappeared under deck. My full attention was on the tip of my fishing rod. The line was connected directly to my cranial nerves. And when I felt it, I pulled¡­ and reeled. The reel, a compatible pairing to deep sea fishing and lures, was a new addition to my rod. It wasn¡¯t too easy to the hang of it, but it provides a lot more leverage. The complex part is casting with a lure. It seems like it¡¯s not too dissimilar to how they work in real life. Anyway, trust me when I say I feel like I¡¯m one with my rod. ¡°¡­ Here, Kizuna.¡± ¡°Sheryl, you think you can use your harpoon and hit where I tell you to?¡± ¡°¡­ Possibly.¡± ¡°Please! I won¡¯t be able to do this alone.¡± I mean, harpoons were originally for spearfishing anyway. It makes for a perfect weapon against a huge sea creature. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t think anyone would be more suited for this job other than Sheryl. ¡°¡­ Where?¡± ¡°Hold on¡­¡± While we attacked and defended, I also tried to locate where the aquatic animal was. My mind and my rod are one. I¡­ should know where it is. It should be like searching through with my mind, probably. Oh, I see. The Crystal of Mediation must¡¯ve pulled its aggro. Maybe that¡¯s why I was able to catch a thousand of them squid. But this¡­ thing¡­ I feel its hatred searing my skin. And it¡¯s¡­ ¡°Right there!¡± A mid-tier skill for Harpoon-type weapons. It was a mid-range combat skill where you throw the harpoon like a javelin. With one hand on the cord, Sheryl chucked her harpoon out with an explosive visual effect. The missile audibly sunk deep into the creature. Reeling it in was instantly easier, but it started moving again. ¡°How many more can you do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°I¡¯m counting on you.¡± ¡°¡®Kay.¡± It wouldn¡¯t sit well with my pride if I let Sheryl do all the heavy lifting. As difficult as it was, I kept on reeling. From time to time, her harpoon would whiz by¡­ It was strong enough to nearly stunlock the bastard. It helped immensely as I tried to fish it up. ¡°Keep it up!¡± ¡°Mm.¡± The battle dragged on, wearing down on our spirits. At least our enemy¡¯s stamina is also being exhausted. But of course. It¡¯s a 2v1. No way we¡¯d lose. ¡°Sheryl, our next bout will end it!¡± ¡°¡­ Aight.¡± With her harpoon gripped firmly, I signaled her to attack with all her might. And our enemy¡­ ¡°¡­ I mean, I get it, but.¡± We fished up¡ªor rather, hunted¡ªa humongous squid. It¡¯s apparent that it¡¯s related to the Giant Herring. Thank you very much. We couldn¡¯t exactly heft it up on board, so we had it towed along with a rope. I mean, I say hunted, but we¡¯re not sure yet if it¡¯s a monster or not. ¡°Kraken¡± wouldn¡¯t be an unfair name for it. ¡­ I mean, Sheryl took it down with her attacks, so I guess it is a monster? Anyway, the harpoon is perfectly suited for fighting sea creatures. ¡°¡­ Kizuna.¡± ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°I think you should gut it soon.¡± ¡°Why do you¡­ Ah, whatever. Gotcha. I¡¯ll do it.¡± I didn¡¯t get the feeling she would answer even if I were to finish asking her, though there was something like a gleam in her eye. I guess shooting squid out of the ballista would¡¯ve been effective, but eating nothing but it is another story. Not to mention that Sheryl had eaten the most out of any of us. ¡­ Maybe she likes squid? I decided it would¡¯ve been wiser to not ask her and just to gut the Humongous Squid in silence. What I got was: Water Deity¡¯s Tentacle, Water Deity¡¯s Fin, Water Deity¡¯s Head, Water Deity¡¯s Arm, Water Deity¡¯s Mantle, Water Deity¡¯s Heart, Water Deity¡¯s Eye, Water Deity¡¯s Shell, Top Quality Squid Ink, Top Quality Trimmed Squid Just like with the Giant Herring, I received a surprising number of items from gutting. Maybe all of them boss creatures are like this, eh? And I suppose it was originally a squid turned water deity? Hmm, I wonder¡­ what kind of weapons I could make with these parts¡­ ¡°Sheryl, we¡¯ll discuss it with everyone else, but have these items.¡± ¡°¡­ You sure?¡± ¡°Why do you question it?¡± ¡°Hm.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any ulterior motives. I just feel like it would be better if you held on to them.¡± ¡°Hm.¡± ¡°Call it a gut feeling. Speaking of which¡­ that was kinda uncharacteristic of what you said earlier.¡± ¡°¡­ Not really.¡± Whatever. Not like it¡¯d help if I hounded her over it anyway. In any event, I handed over all the items I received by gutting the Humongous Squid. We¡¯re still undecided, but it¡¯d be nice if she could make a good weapon out of its parts. ¡°Kizuna! Sheryl!¡± While we were basking in the glory of defeating the Humongous Squid, Shouko called out to us in a less delighted tone. I¡¯ve seen her flustered only a handful of times since we¡¯ve first met. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°The ship is moving by itself.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s what ships do.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t mean it like th¡ª¡± ¡°Kizuna.¡± Sheryl interrupted Shouko as she pointed upwards. Our sails were furled. I looked around. A calm night without so much wind or waves. There was no one using Helmsmanship. And yet, despite so. ¡­ Our ship was traveling at an unnatural speed. CH 34 ¡°What¡¯s with all the ruckus at this hour?¡± Alto sleepily rubbed his eyes. Beside him stood Yamikage and Tsugumi, both of whom were asleep minutes ago as well. Yamikage had adjusted to living on the seas and has been sleeping properly too. Tsugumi was still half-asleep. ¡°The ship is being pulled along by something.¡± ¡°Surely ¡®tis but a wave.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s just a wave, then I don¡¯t know why my Helmsmanship skill isn¡¯t working at all.¡± I was able to keep the ship from capsizing when the storm hit us, but I don¡¯t know why it¡¯s not doing anything now. Was it because I caught the Humongous Squid? That shouldn¡¯t have anything to do with it. But if it is, then my fishing must¡¯ve affected something. I mean, that doesn¡¯t really make sense though. We should¡¯ve only been jostled around a little by the drag of the squid. Maybe we simply triggered a flag for the Sea of No Return¡­ but that would be awfully optimistic thinking. ¡°Be on gua¡ªWhat?¡± I turned around to see who tapped my shoulder. But there wasn¡¯t anyone there. I mean, obviously not. Everybody on board is standing in front of me. To my right are Yamikage and Tsugumi. To my left are Alto and Sheryl. Ahead of me is Shouko. Who would be there to tap me on my shoulder? ¡°Kizuna, what if there were ghosts on the sea?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯d expect you to be a little more scared¡­¡± The lady standing right in front of me seemed as if she could see more than we could. I¡¯m not scared enough to be shrieking out loud, but Shouko looked extremely serious considering the possibility of ghosts and stuff¡­ Well, I know Dimension Wave is only a game, but I wish she would at least pretend to be scared. But someone else was. ¡°¡­ phantom ships.¡± ¡°S-S-Su-Surely you jest, miladies!¡± ¡°Well, I s¡¯pose ghost ships and pirate ships are nautical staples.¡± Neither Sheryl nor Alto seemed surprised. It¡¯s true that MMORPG¡¯s usually have them as dungeons or events. Hell, it¡¯d be more surprising if they didn¡¯t show up on a nautical RPG. And why are you pissing your pants already, Yamikage? ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right¡­ That would explain why the mist and the sudden chilliness too.¡± Visibility had rapidly worsened. The fog, eerie and disturbing, was extremely well done on the developers¡¯ part. Drowsy before, but Yamikage was now trembling. Was she that terrified? ¡°Hey, Yamikage. It¡¯s a little clich¨¦d, but would you let me scare you with a ¡®boo!¡¯?¡± ¡°How! You would be such a knave!¡± ¡°Figured you¡¯d get mad.¡± I don¡¯t think my joke went over very well, but I also don¡¯t think it made much of a difference that I warned her first. ¡°Thy mere suggestion has wrought me with fury!¡± ¡°Fine¡­ then how ¡®bout you, Alto?¡± ¡°No way, Jos¨¦! I¡¯ve got the heebie-jeebies already!¡± ¡°Heh, I never said I was actually gonna do it, but your guys¡¯ reactions was amazing.¡± It might¡¯ve been more fun to push them, but the other three¡­ ¡°Do tell why you are looking at me like that.¡± ¡°¡­ try me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so oopy spoopy, big bro!¡± Yikes. I don¡¯t know what I expected out of my sister, but I really don¡¯t want her to act all cutesy with me like that again. ¡°But in all seriousness, a ghost ship, huh? Sounds like it¡¯ll be tough.¡± ¡°Even during the day~!¡± Well, the whole party¡¯s leveled up a bit and even I¡¯m at about half the Energy I used to have. I¡¯ve also been using Transmutation to get some Energy out of the squid I fish up, but since the skill is only at rank I, it takes quite a bit of time to cast. Plus, since I get about 5-15 Energy per squid, that¡¯s only about 700 Energy per hour. I¡¯ll probably have to keep using the skill to level it up to II, but it¡¯s yet to pop up even though I¡¯ve been at it for a while now. ¡°I-I-Is that the ship, perchance?! Oh, but I am so frightened!¡± ¡°What¡¯s truly frightening is that you still haven¡¯t acquired Night Vision.¡± She probably sleeps through the night, but I¡¯ve had it unlocked for so long already. More importantly, though, I looked over to the direction she was pointing. It was glowing in a ghostly white light, emitting a full body sense of dread. The realism of it all truly spoke to the beauty of VR. The ghost ship was absolutely colossal. Our sailboat was only about 20 meters in length, but we were completely eclipsed in comparison. Sheryl explained that leisure watercraft over 25 feet (approximately 7.6 meters) are designated as cabin cruisers. But this was more like a yacht. It had the space for multiple living quarters and other facilities on board. It was probably, what, ten times bigger us and it had suddenly appeared in front of us. The sails were in tatters and its planks crumbling. If it weren¡¯t for the mysterious white light that it¡¯s emitting, you¡¯d think this ghost ship is just some floating rotten junk. If this were a horror movie, there would be a theremin playing in the score right now. ¡°Yamikage.¡± ¡°Gah!¡± ¡°I¡­ I just wanted to speak to you. No need to be shrieking or anything¡­¡± And just for kicks, I turned to look at Alto and then gazed past his shoulders. He seemed out of it. Whatever it may be, their reactions are top notch. You¡¯ve just gotta have at least one person in your squad like these two! ¡°I think I respect you a little less now, Kizuna.¡± ¡°Whaaat? Just because there¡¯s a ghost ship?¡± ¡°But the look on your face!¡± Haha! Oh, this guy. But I suppose there are more important matters at hand. Like the ghost ship. ¡°Like I was saying, let¡¯s be on guard and prepare for combat. Something like this has gotta have enemies on board.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°¡®kay.¡± ¡°Mm-hmm!¡± The three of them replied with confidence if not enthusiasm. The other two? Cowards. Especially that Yamikage. Get a grip! At least Alto¡¯s got an excuse. He¡¯s been busy trading up till now, so he might be a little underleveled. Yamikage, though, has the strongest stats out of all of us. With her Drain, her numbers are better than even Shouko. But, I mean, if she¡¯s simply afraid of ghosts and spirits, then there¡¯s nothing you can really do about it. ¡°If you two are that bad with ghosts and stuff, you wanna stay behind?¡± ¡°¡­ Stay behind? Here?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± My sisters and I used to always rent horror flicks and watch them together. There¡¯s even new VR horrors where you watch in first-person. I¡¯m not crazy about the genre as a whole though. But enough contemplating. Let¡¯s charge on board. Vrrt! There was a crackling noise. It was a noise I¡¯ve heard merely two weeks ago. It¡¯s here¡­ With a bright flash of light, time and space warped¡ª ¡ªLimited Dimension Wave. A menu popped up with a list of our names. Once past the blinding light, it looked like the dungeon was located below deck. There was no information on the minimap except for each of our locations. Everything else was pitch black. It¡¯s probably one of those hidden dungeons that pop up in games all the time. ¡°Limited Dimension Wave?¡± I muttered aloud to myself, but everyone else was similarly confused by what it meant. Shouko had already readied her weapon. It¡¯s like she¡¯s some sort of disciplined soldier, ready to engage in combat at the drop of the hat. Sheryl was simply looking around with her usual blank expression. Tsugumi had her battle scythe wielded in both hands. Her lower body trembled while her animal ears twitched agitatedly. Alto seemed out of it, just as before. And then there¡¯s¡­ ¡°Eeeeeeeeek! No, it¡¯s too scary! Help meee!¡± There was about one person who was almost repulsively afraid. ¡°Yamikage, it¡¯s alright!¡± ¡°¡­ Kiz!¡± ¡°¡­ Who?¡± ¡°¡­ Miss Kizuna.¡± I have so much to say about her correcting herself, but I can save that for later. I¡¯m not about to ask her what she thinks about me though. But Yamikage. Just what is she? I¡¯m sure if I got to know her, I¡¯d understand her more and guess to how she is as a person. Not her character, but rather the actual player behind the ninja. I mean, of course, it¡¯d be rude for me to pry. In online games like this, you never know who¡¯s comfortable sharing what with whom. This is all just theory, but in my mind, Shouko is from old money, Sheryl¡­ I¡¯m not so sure about, Tsugumi is obvious, and Alto is probably¡­ a little older. You know what they say about books and covers though. ¡°Chill, Yamikage. We¡¯re in a game. Even if there were ghosts, it¡¯s all just a game.¡± ¡°¡­ I understand, milady.¡± From below her, I looked up straight into her eyes¡­ And seemingly calmer now, she nodded in agreement. Alright, with her out of the way, I had to get a handle on the situation. I just had to pay no mind to Dark Shadow holding on to my sleeve. ¡°So, what¡¯s does ¡®limited¡¯ mean?¡± ¡°¡­ With restrictions.¡± ¡°I mean, if we look at it literally, then I suppose it¡¯s a restricted Dimension Wave?¡± ¡°I believe it to mean that it is limited to the current party listed in the information screen.¡± ¡°Ooh, that makes sense¡­¡± This was something I¡¯ve seen more than once in MMO¡¯s. It¡¯s not dissimilar to instance dungeons and party quests. Tsugumi had played one that was all about co-op with your party members. It¡¯s a total clich¨¦, but I¡¯ll bet that we¡¯ll have to clear this dungeon and then defeat a boss. We¡¯ll get quest rewards and boss drops at the end too. And we¡¯re probably limited to doing this once a day or once a week or something. I get it now. That¡¯s probably why it¡¯s limited. ¡°Alrighty. No point to standing around like this. Shall we?¡± CH 35 ¡°Yamikage, are you really okay?¡± It is good that everyone has started exploring the ship, but they¡¯re obviously scared. Even Alto is visibly worried about Yamikage which says a lot. But well, I don¡¯t really get that feeling. The field of view in the ship is bad, and the area we can see is an eerie white color. Moreover, when you touch the wooden walls they feel slippery and cold, more like a haunted house than a ship. If anything, aren¡¯t ghost ships and haunted houses similar? ¡°I am well¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be fine if you just follow me? Isn¡¯t that better than fighting while afraid?¡± ¡°I cannot do such. For I am the party¡¯s mage.¡± Yamikage is also considerate towards her companions huh. Although it is out of character, I feel touched. Alright, Yamikage. One way or another, I will take care of any ghosts that try to attack us. I look towards the front of the party and see Shouko leading the way while on guard. While Tsumugi is covering the rear. Because the passage is narrow, it is impossible to spread out and fight like that. Hence we split our firepower between the front and the back to be ready for any contingency. ¡°We have walked quite a bit, but we have yet to see any monsters.¡± ¡°Indeed. I expected these dungeons to be filled to the brim with monsters.¡± ¡°The map isn¡¯t getting filled in either.¡± ¡°Like a labyrinth¡­¡± Now that she mentioned it, a labyrinth is probably the right word for it huh¡­ The strangely spacious interior of the ship. And the narrow hallways. Seeing as the Naval Combat skill is active this place is obviously a ship. But the map is vast and doesn¡¯t fill in properly. If the path was paved in stone it would be easy to confuse it for an underground labyrinth. As we were chatting while moving along, Shouko noticed a door ahead of us. ¡°Everyone, there¡¯s a door. We don¡¯t know what lies ahead, so please be careful.¡± Everyone nods after hearing the warning. She opens the door and immediately jumps to the side. It¡¯s not like we¡¯ll get shot out of nowhere, everyone seems a bit overly cautious. A few seconds pass without an enemy attacking, so I stick out my head and look through the doorway. The mess hall? I don¡¯t know much about the layout of the ship, but there are multiple chairs and a long table with plenty enough space for multiple people to sit together. Naturally, all of them are shabby, but they don¡¯t look like they¡¯re part of a horror scene. Shouko, Sheryl, and Alto enter one after the other, but when I try to enter next. Bang! The door suddenly slams shut. I put all my strength into trying to open the door, but it won¡¯t budge. ¡°Hey! Are you guys alright!?¡± I yell out and bang on the door. ¡°We¡¯re fine! There ar¨D¡± Shouko¡¯s voice suddenly cuts off, and no matter how much I yelled, there was no response. It is hard to believe that Shouko and Sheryl would lose to monsters. This is probably a trap to split up the players. If a party gets split up in a large dungeon like this, the fighting power gets split up and it¡¯ll become more difficult. Seems that¡¯s why you have to enter one at a time huh¡­ ¡°Brother, why don¡¯t you just send a chat message?¡± ¡°Good idea Tsumugi. However, is it okay to just do so in a game?¡± However, it is a good idea. I open the chat menu and try to send a message to Shouko. ¡°They have Shouko. She said everything was fine and I believe in her.¡± We waited in front of the door for a few minutes, but it showed no signs of opening. This could be a warp trap which means they got sent to a different location. If that¡¯s the case it wouldn¡¯t be a good idea for us to just wait here silently. I believe that on the other side, Alto will talk to Shouko and Sheryl about this as well. He knows a lot about games. They will probably be fine. ¡°Well, shall we look for another passage then?¡± ¡°I shall follow thee¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The scared Yamikage and a happy Tsumugi. Frankly, it feels dangerous for these two to mix. Ah well, it¡¯s fine. Right now we can only try and meet up with the other three. ¡°There¡¯s a passage over there. However, it is darker because there are fewer people now.¡± ¡°It seems the lantern doesn¡¯t work.¡± ¡°Is that not the work of ghosts?¡± ¡°No, it seems like it is set up that way. Yes, that¡¯s right¡­¡± My eyes are drawn towards my fishing rod which still has the shining lure equipped. Maybe I can use this? I took out the fishing rod to give it a shot. I swung it and watched the lure fly. ¡°Oh, I can see it.¡± Well, it¡¯s only the lure that you can faintly see so it looks a bit like a lit-up boomerang. Thump! At the same time, I hear the sound I feel the hook hitting something. I don¡¯t think it was a wall. It sounded more like bone. After all, we¡¯re talking about monsters on a ghost ship. ¡°Yamikage, Tsumugi! There¡¯s something there. Be careful yeah?¡± ¡°Mhm!¡± ¡°I-I, I shall be alright!¡± Uhm¡­ It doesn¡¯t sound like she¡¯ll be alright. But I have to believe. I put the lure away after reeling it in and take out a silver garasuki. [1] It is a rank higher than the previous knife so I should be able to trust it. I hear rattling sounds coming from in front of me as if something is hitting the wood. The origin of the sound becomes apparent right away. It is indeed a monster. A bandana is wrapped around its head¡­ A pirate skeleton. ¡°Eh¡­? I know it¡¯s a pirate, but don¡¯t its clothes look kind of weird?¡± ¡°Doth thee think so?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know! Isn¡¯t that just how they were designed?¡± That being said. The clothes the pirate skeleton is wearing don¡¯t look like the worn-out clothes of a ruffian. Instead, they look more like a worn-out suit, it feels more elegant. Maybe I¡¯m just overthinking this. Even without seeing its name as soon as I saw it, I understood that this is a pirate skeleton. ¡°Oof!¡± While I was lost in thought the skeleton brandished its cutlass and swung it at me. I just barely managed to avoid it. I do have all kinds of Naval Combat skills after all. Now is not the time to be thinking about all these things. ¡°Slicing!¡± This is the second attack skill of the elementary gutting skill. While Cleaver is a heavy attack, this one focuses on cutting specific parts of the enemy. Originally these kinds of physical attacks shouldn¡¯t be effective against skeletons which are made of bones, however, it is better than nothing. ¡°Huh?¡± The pirate skeleton got hit by Slicing which was accompanied by red light and fell easily. I looked suspiciously at the corpse however, it didn¡¯t stir. No way, that¡¯s impossible. If you look at it objectively, I¡¯m the weakest after Alto. Of course, it isn¡¯t fair to compare me to Alto, who mainly focuses on business. However, in the party, my main skills are butchering and procuring food by fishing. So isn¡¯t it strange that it died from just one hit from my butchering weapon? ¡°I finished killing them all~!¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t as frightening as I thought.¡± ¡°Is that so¡­ Is it just my imagination or¡­?¡± Oh well, it¡¯s fine. Anyway, the three of us started exploring the ship. TN: The most painful part about translating this chapter was probably Yamikage¡¯s speech. It sounds quite odd in Japanese and trying to convey this in English is the bane of my existence. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and if you find any errors feel free to point them out. Footnote(s)