《Sucked into a Fantasy Game》 Chapter 1-Summer Break The school bell rang as students walked through the school yard, moving to their classes. Kiyomi was gazing out the window with dull eyes, apparently bored. Her long, black hair hung loosely behind her. Sako went to Kiyomi¡¯s desk by the window and slammed her hands on the desk. ¡°Hey, hey, heeeeey!¡± Kiyomi winced at the sudden noise as she turned her head to Sako. ¡°So loud. Ugh,¡± she mumbled. ¡°Ready for the teeeest?¡± ¡°The what? Oh, that. Meh.¡± Kiyomi shrugged her shoulders. ¡°You didn¡¯t study? Again?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s whatever.¡± ¡°But you¡¯ll fail the class!¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡ª¡± ¡°Take your seats, everyone,¡± the teacher at the front of the classroom spoke. The students found their seats and settled down. ~~~ Everyone walked out the door, one by one, chatting to one another. ¡°So, how was it?¡± Sako asked, walking beside Kiyomi. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°IT WAS FUCKING HARD.¡± ¡°Really. I wonder why,¡± Sako deadpanned. ¡°Well, how was it for you?!¡± ¡°Easy peasy!¡± She raised her thumb. ¡°I didn¡¯t even study.¡± ¡°Tch. Fuck you. Like really, how are you always in the top 5 in class?¡± ¡°Ahahaha!¡± ¡°Whatever. I¡¯m going home to start the new game today.¡± ¡°¡¯Kay! I¡¯ll call you later about it!¡± Sako waved as Kiyomi walked ahead. ~~~ Sako yawned as she walked out of the bathroom, moving to the living room. She sat down cross-legged in front of the large, glowing flatscreen TV and glanced to the digital clock beside it. 11:59 pm. 12:00 am. The lights were off. She dialed Kiyomi¡¯s number on her smartphone, set it on the carpeted floor beside her, and put an earpiece into her ear that was connected to the phone via Bluetooth. Kiyomi¡¯s phone rang once. ¡°What.¡± ¡°It¡¯s officially summer break! You ready to plaaaay, bestie~?¡± ¡°Play what?¡± ¡°Qurecynthia. You said you¡¯d play with me.¡± It had come out last week and Sako was curious about it. Kiyomi was always the one to play these types of games, and Sako typically wasn¡¯t interested, but this one had caught her eye. She wanted something new for a change. Change was good! Change was great! ¡°Ugh. Don¡¯t make it sound weird.¡± Sako giggled. ¡°My bad. So, yeah?¡± ¡°Yeah, gimme a sec. Gotta piss.¡± ¡°Oki!¡± She stayed on the line. After a short while, Kiyomi answered. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m at the main menu.¡± Sako was at the main menu too. ¡°Um¡­ What do I pick?¡± She went through the list of classes with her handheld controller. Too many to decide on. This was harder than an end-of-year exam. ¡°Pick something you think you¡¯ll like.¡± ¡°Something I would like? Um¡­ Maybe not Warrior¡­ not Priest ¡­ Paladin ¡­ Archer¡­ Assassin¡­ Wizard?¡± ¡°Yeah, Wizard should be good. They¡¯re versatile and flexible, especially Light and Dark ones. Since we¡¯ll play together, we could go with two classes, or sub-classes, that have great synergy.¡± ¡°What¡¯re you going with?¡± ¡°Dark Wizard,¡± Kiyomi replied. ¡°What¡¯s a good class to pair with that?¡± ¡°Light Wizard. It¡¯s somewhat related to Dark.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with that then.¡± Sako selected Light Wizard. A bright, white light flashed from the screen, too bright for her to look at it, so she shut her eyes. ¡°Ack!¡± Some kind of mysterious force pulled her closer to the screen then sucked her in. ¡°WHAAAAAAAA!¡± Chapter 2-Starting at the Adventurers’ Guild Sako woke up, sprawled out in a vast, green meadow. Kiyomi was standing not too far away, looking at her¡­ game menu in front of her face? A little, digital interface box with words and symbols that she couldn¡¯t read unless she got closer. She groaned, holding her head. It ached. ¡°Kiyomi, are we¡­?¡± ¡°Yep, seems like we¡¯re in-game.¡± ¡°¡­Huh¡­?¡± Sako had to think on that. ¡°How¡­? WHAT?! How do we get out?!¡± ¡°Fuck if I know.¡± Sako tapped the logout button on her holoscreen. It didn¡¯t work. She sprang to her feet. ¡°WHY ARE YOU SO CALM ABOUT THIS?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind it to be honest. I hate IRL. So many exams and responsibilities, then there¡¯s work. I¡¯m sick of it. Sick of all of it. I didn¡¯t even know what I wanted to do after I graduated.¡± She pointed at Kiyomi. ¡°Yeah? Well, unlike you, I have a life that I need to get back to! I have PLANS.¡± She began pulling on her own hair, frantically looking around and seeing nothing but grass and trees. ¡°No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! MOM¡¯S GOING TO MURDER ME!¡± Once she got back anyway. Then she realized something. ¡°Wait. Hold on¡­¡± She took a mirror out of her pocket and looked at herself. Same high school uniform. Same short, white hair. Same high knee socks. Kiyomi had on her uniform too. Long, black, and loose hair down her back. Neatly trimmed bangs covering one of her bored but aggressive eyes. Light build and about Sako¡¯s height. ¡°AAAAAAHHHHHH!¡± How was it possible for their avatars to reflect what they looked like IRL? She mumbled. ¡°This is crazy. Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy¡­¡± ¡°Hey, calm down. Don¡¯t wet your panties. Start by reading the starter guide in your inventory.¡± Kiyomi lifted hers¡ªa small book¡ªto show Sako her own. ¡°It¡¯s not a bad read. It¡¯ll probably take around 6 hours to read the whole thing.¡± ¡°6¡­? 6?! I DON¡¯T WANT TO SPEND 6 FUCKING HOURS READING A FUCKING BOOK ON THIS STUPID GAME!¡± Kiyomi froze in disbelief. Sako rarely swore. Sako whispered to herself, looking away. ¡°I almost had a boyfriend¡­ almost¡­ almost.¡± She shot Kiyomi another glare. ¡°ALMOST. WE WERE SUPPOSED TO GO ON OUR FIRST DATE NEXT WEEK.¡± A relationship wasn¡¯t official until after the first successful date. Kiyomi shrugged. ¡°Who needs boys anyway¡ªor girls.¡± The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. 7 hours later They sat under a tree reading their guides, and they had changed into a wizard robe and hat they found in their inventories. Sako looked up and closed the book. ¡°Done.¡± It would take some time getting used to all this though, especially the fact that in her visual field, there were a few small icons as if she was looking at a screen, like her name, HP, and MP bars in the upper left corner and some icons at the bottom left, including inventory and menus. But she could hide all the buttons if she wanted. Kiyomi had taught her how to set up her user interface too. She looked to Kiyomi who was still reading. ¡°How are you not done?¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to memorize some stuff.¡± She blinked at her. ¡°You? Memorize?¡± If only Kiyomi had applied that effort to her studies IRL. 5 minutes later Kiyomi closed the book and stood up. ¡°Make a party then invite me.¡± Sako did just that and sent her the invitation after pressing some buttons on her UI. Kiyomi pressed the accept button on her UI. ¡°Are you sure I should be leader? You¡¯re better at this stuff.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be fine. You¡¯re a natural-born leader. You got this. If anything, I¡¯ll give you advice.¡± Kiyomi wasn¡¯t the type to lead but watch from the shadows instead. Literally. Sako on the other hand had been the class rep, so she had a pretty good idea how to lead others¡­ except this wasn¡¯t class. Kiyomi opened a map she had gotten from her inventory and looked at it. ¡°It¡¯s best we go to the nearest town and get some info.¡± She pointed straight ahead. ¡°That way.¡± Maybe they would learn of a way to get home. They would need money and higher levels too to survive until then. ~~~ They reached the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. As they walked in, lads and lasses sat around tables, having conversations and laughing. Some played pranks. One was running around, chasing another man for pranking him. A few eyes went to Sako and Kiyomi as they reached the front desk. A charming, young woman stood behind it with a smile. Bright blonde hair with bright golden eyes. ¡°Welcome to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild! What can I do for you?¡± Sako wasn¡¯t sure. But Kiyomi spoke up. ¡°Do you have a quest board or something?¡± The woman pointed to the far side of the room at a board with papers tacked onto it. ¡°We sure do! But you¡¯ll need to register first.¡± ¡°Oh, right. Yeah, that.¡± She reached down behind the desk for something then stood up again to hand two forms to them. They filled out the forms and handed them to her. She glanced at the forms then looked back up at them. ¡°Good!¡± After reaching under the desk again, she handed them two name pins marked with ¡°Rank F¡±. ¡°You girls will start at F, so look for F-tier quests.¡± They nodded and made their way to the board, passing groups of people at round tables. ¡°Goblins?¡± Sako looked to Kiyomi after eyeing the board. There were quests all the way up to triple S-tier. They had a long way to go. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the only thing we can do as level 1s.¡± Sako took down the post and carried it to the desk before handing it to the receptionist. Kiyomi followed. ¡°We¡¯ll take this.¡± ¡°Wonderful!¡± ¡°Hey, girls!¡± a man called from a table. ¡°You wanna join our party?¡± At the table sat two men and one girl who all smiled cordially. Sako looked above their heads at their levels. Level 3, Level 3, Level 2. Before she could give a yes, Kiyomi beat her. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Aw, why not?¡± One man asked, frowning. ¡°You sure?¡± Sako whispered to her. Kiyomi leaned to her and whispered back. ¡°Don¡¯t trust anyone.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Sako started. Kiyomi grabbed her wrist and led her out the door. Chapter 3-Slime King The two stood out in the open fields outside of the town where they had just accepted the quest from. There was a nest of goblins in sight a little ways away. They might have a problem though. Because they were wizards, naturally, they specialized in long-range attacks, which meant that had to kill their enemies before they got too close. ¡°We should¡¯ve thought this through,¡± Kiyomi groaned. She too realized now. Having a frontliner like a warrior or tank would be convenient. But because they didn¡¯t have one, taking damage was unavoidable. Their slow cast times only made it worse. And they weren¡¯t strong enough to one-shot anything yet. But their cast times should improve as they levelled at least. Sako swiped the air, opening her UI to look at her stats:
Sako Kosetsu Level 1 Info ??
Strength 50 000 Affects physical power; attack damage, lifting ability against Weight, and Carry Weight.
Vitality 5 Affects HP and Defense.
Intellect 20 Affects damage of magic attacks, MP capacity, and MP regen. rate. Also affects overall wisdom.
Agility 50 000 Affects physical speed and perceptive speed.
Dexterity 50 000 Affects deftness in minor tasks and movements, especially with the hands. Also affects accuracy of projectiles.
Endurance 50 000 Affects stamina and stamina regen.
Resistance 5 Affects resistance to status ailments and elemental damage.
Charisma This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. 20 000 Affects charm, leadership, and persuasive skills.
Luck 70 000 Affects drop rate by a small amount and crit chance.
Class: Light Wizard
¡°Why are some of my stats so high? Is this normal for a wizard?¡± Kiyomi looked at her to examine her stats. Surprise and wonder struck her. ¡°Oh. You¡¯re great at martial arts, aren¡¯t you?¡± Sako thought for a moment, going back to some memories. She had won many tournaments against other schools regardless of who she went up against and despite being just a high school girl. It had been an extraordinary talent. ¡°Good point.¡± Instead of using magic spells for now, she would try her bare hands, just to see how well her skills would match up against monsters. Daunting, but she was confident. She tossed her staff aside. Before it hit the ground, it vanished, returning to her inventory. She didn¡¯t need to hold back either: these weren¡¯t people. ¡°Ready?¡± ¡°Ready,¡± Kiyomi replied, holding her staff out, ready for their assault. She glowed with a blue aura. Sako charged forward and threw the first punch to the first goblin she had her eyes on. Her punch knocked its head off clean. It landed on the grass. She looked down at her bloodied fist and screamed. ¡°EW, EW, EW, EW, EW!¡± It had some green sludge on it mixed in with the blood. So disgusting. She changed her mind. She didn¡¯t want this. With her clean hand in the air, her staff appeared in her grasp. She needed to wash her hand off right now, but she had no water. They needed to end this quickly so she could go back to town and wash herself in a nice, long bath. The goblins, now angry, rushed at her. She ran away. They chased her. ¡°SOME HELP WOULD BE NICE RIGHT NOW, KIYOMI!¡± Sako ran around trees, then in a wide circle, then around rocks, then around more trees¡­ ¡°What a pussy.¡± Kiyomi sighed, unsurprised. She watched the whole ordeal for a good while. Since Sako had her hands full, she couldn¡¯t fire any spells, so it was up to Kiyomi. She pointed her staff at all of them including Sako. A black magic circle appeared before Kiyomi. ¡°Shadow Barrage!¡± Little, black orbs flew from the circle and knocked a few goblins down, but there were still too many. Sako headed straight for the forest, still managing to keep a good distance between her and the horde. The goblins followed. Kiyomi ran after them. ¡°Idiot! Not that way!¡± She heard but didn¡¯t have a choice but to keep going. No matter what route she took, they would follow. They ended up in a glade with Kiyomi far behind. When Sako reached the center of the clearing, she stopped, but unlike the goblins, she wasn¡¯t panting. She felt like she could keep going, except she realized her mistake: slimes began poking out from behind the surrounding trees. A huge, green ball fell from the sky and landed in front of her and the goblins. Sako glanced at its HP bar above its head. Slime King, Level 20
HP: 10 000
MP: 5000
Not good¡­ Physical attacks wouldn¡¯t work very well against it, according to the starter guide. The goblins stepped away slowly, about to run back out of the forest. But as they turned their backs to run, dozens of tentacles shot out of the slime and wrapped around each of them. The tentacles flung them around the forest while they screamed. And once they landed on their backs and heads, the smaller slimes bounced towards them and easily overpowered them with their large numbers, hitting them relentlessly everywhere until they either died or passed out. While the slime was busy with the goblins, she turned her back and sprinted she across the glade to where she had come from. A tentacle swung around the glade horizontally, heading to her, but she ducked just in time for it to pass overhead. Its agility was 40, so she would be fine evading the attacks. She stopped, having an idea. Slimes were weak to fire. Pointing her staff at it, she started a spell. ¡°Drown in fire and be purged, white flames of Cention!¡± A cone of fire rushed from the staff and hit it, but the spell¡¯s power was nowhere near enough. The slime¡¯s body absorbed it. It bounced towards her. Sako ran away and reached the trees, speeding through the path and leaving it behind. It wouldn¡¯t be able to fit through the trees, so she was safe. Kiyomi came into sight. ¡°TURN BACK! TURN BACK NOW!¡± ¡°What? What did you see?!¡± ¡°BIG SLIME. SMALL SLIMES. GOBLINS GONE! YUCKY SLIME TENTACLES!¡± With a look of surprise, Kiyomi turned back and ran alongside her, and they eventually made it out of the forest. By the time they came out, she was panting. Sako still wasn¡¯t panting. ¡°Maybe we should look for more goblins somewhere else?¡± Sako asked. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± She spoke between pants. ¡°They¡¯d all laugh at us¡­ if we went back with nothing.¡± Chapter 4-Luna Forger Later in the day, they found a much smaller group of goblins, so they managed to kill them easily with quick surprise attacks and return to town with their cores as proof¡ªgems that every monster had. Much like a heart. The bigger the monster, the bigger the core. They gained some levels too and unlocked their Unique Skills. They walked into the Guild and up to the desk. There were still some people around. Sako set the gems on the desk before the woman along with the quest paper. ¡°There.¡± ¡°Well done! Thank you!¡± She reached under the counter and brought up some silver to hand to her. Sako took the coins with a smile and looked to Kiyomi who seemed like she was about to pass out, hunching her back and leaning on her staff to support her from falling over. She must¡¯ve been exhausted. Sako wasn¡¯t too tired, and she wasn¡¯t dying like Kiyomi. ¡°Want to find an inn for the night?¡± The sun had gone down. Kiyomi nodded. ¡°Here.¡± Sako moved in front of her, turned her back, took Kiyomi¡¯s arm, and wrapped it around her own neck to support Kiyomi as they walked. Sako turned to the woman. ¡°Thanks!¡± She waved, ¡°Take care, girls!¡± They went out the door. The moon was out, casting a faint light on the quiet, empty streets. A cool breeze lingered in the air. As they passed an alley, a girl screamed. ¡°Go see what¡¯s up. I¡¯ll catch up,¡± Kiyomi said. Sako nodded and left her, running into the alley. There were four men standing around the girl who was on the ground, all Level 12s. They paused and looked at her. ¡°Sorry, am I interrupting something important?¡± Sako asked. ¡°Obviously. Keep walking! You didn¡¯t see nothin¡¯!¡± one said. She caught sight of the girl¡¯s bra; the girl didn¡¯t have a shirt on. That wasn¡¯t a good sign. Before they could draw their weapons, Sako was already airborne. Her foot landed in one face, her elbow in another face, a backhand to another. She punched the last one in the jaw. He fell, out cold like the rest. She reached a hand out to the girl. Once the girl took it, Sako helped her to her feet. The girl sniffled. Her voice was shaky. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Are you a player or an NPC?¡± Sako asked. She couldn¡¯t find any icon to indicate any difference between the two. ¡°Player.¡± Her hair was long and pink, tied into a side ponytail. And she had freckles sprinkled across her nose and cheeks. Sako nodded. ¡°You mind if I take a look at your stats and skills?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± She pulled the girl¡¯s stats up on a holoscreen.
Luna Forger Level 3 This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Info ??
Strength 4 Affects physical power; attack damage, lifting ability against Weight, and Carry Weight.
Vitality 7 Affects HP and Defense.
Intellect 25 Affects damage of magic attacks, MP capacity, and MP regen. rate. Also affects overall wisdom.
Agility 7 Affects physical speed and perceptive speed.
Dexterity 7 Affects deftness in minor tasks and movements, especially with the hands. Also affects accuracy of projectiles.
Endurance 7 Affects stamina and stamina regen.
Resistance 7 Affects resistance to status ailments and elemental damage.
Charisma 10 Affects charm, leadership, and persuasive skills.
Luck 3 Affects drop rate by a small amount and crit chance.
Class: Water Wizard
Skills Description Mastery (%)
Water Daggers Summons semi-solid daggers made of water. 1
Water Blast Shoots a blast of water at the target. 1
Dispel (aquatic) Negates or evaporates water. 1
Unique Skill: Tsunami Summons tidal waves of great magnitude from nothing. 1
Luna was 2 levels below her and seemed about her age. ¡°Is there anything I can give you in return?¡± ¡°Oh, no, no. It¡¯s fine, really.¡± She smiled as her stats faded away. ¡°Anyway, I should get going.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Luna lowered her head. ¡°I¡­ feel bad¡­¡± Tears began streaming down her cheeks. ¡°Okay, okay! Please don¡¯t cry!¡± Sako held her hands out. ¡°Um, can I have a hug? Is that enough?¡± ¡°No.¡± Luna sniffled. ¡°Two hugs?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Another thanks?¡± ¡°No.¡± She sniffled again. ¡°A pat on the head?¡± ¡°No.¡± Another sniffle. ¡°How about¡­¡± She lifted her head to look at Sako. ¡°Hardcore BDSM?¡± Hardcore WHAT? Sako grimaced in disgust. ¡°How about no.¡± She burst into bawling, holding her head down in her hands. ¡°You don¡¯t think I¡¯m pretty ENOUGH!¡± Wow, this girl has issues. Which one of us would even dom¡ªWHY AM I THINKING ABOUT THIS?! Sako groaned. ¡°Look, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m just¡­ not into girls.¡± At least¡­ I don¡¯t think so? I don¡¯t think so¡­ Well, she¡¯s not my type at least¡­ This might as well be a college-level exam question written in English because she couldn¡¯t figure out this girl. Luna should get dressed too. It was chilly out, but she was apparently too busy denying all of Sako¡¯s offers to notice that. Luna continued her bawling. ¡°How about this,¡± Sako began. She lifted her head from her hands and looked at her, wiping her nose with the back of her naked arm. ¡°I¡¯ll trade one of my skills for one of yours. Sound good?¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°My Unique Skill is Skill Swap. So, if you want¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do it!¡± Luna beamed. Why¡¯s she so eager¡­ ¡°Your Dispel for my Light Blast?¡± Unique Skills couldn¡¯t be traded. ¡°Yeah!¡± ¡°Give me your hands.¡± Once Sako held both her hands, she leaned into her, resting her forehead against Luna¡¯s. She mumbled the incantation. They both glowed as Sako felt a pulse leaving her body through one hand and another pulse coming into her body through her other hand. It was done. She stepped back, smiling. The glow faded. ¡°Thanks. Satisfied now?¡± Luna nodded, happy as ever. Sako waved. ¡°I might be around.¡± Luna waved back. ¡°Add me.¡± After adding Luna to her friends list, Sako turned away and walked out of the alley. Where is¡­? She looked left and right on the empty street. There was a body on the ground. She rushed over. Kiyomi was sleeping peacefully. Couldn¡¯t even make it to the alley. ¡°Up you go then.¡± She crouched and put Kiyomi¡¯s arms around her neck then got up and started walking down the street with Kiyomi on her back. She knew where to find an inn. Chapter 5-Pillow Fight Sunlight pooled into the room through the windows. Now that Sako thought about it, she could use Skill Swap as a useful trading tool. She sat up in her bed and looked across the room to Kiyomi¡¯s bed. There was a large gap between their two beds. They were in separate corners. ¡°Ki, it¡¯s morning.¡± Kiyomi was sleeping soundly, half-covered in her sheet. ¡°Kiiii! Uuuup!¡± She flung a pillow. It landed on her. No reply. Sako grunted, got off the bed, and walked to the bathroom to take a shower and brush her teeth. When she came out in a white shirt and pants, Kiyomi was still in bed. Rolling her eyes, she went and rolled Kiyomi off the bed. Kiyomi landed on the wooden floor with a thud. Nope. Still asleep. Snoring too. She sighed, went back to her bed, and collapsed on it. 40 minutes later Kiyomi sat up slowly on the floor with a yawn in her oversized pajamas. The room came with spare clothes, which was how she had gotten her pajamas. Sako was lying on her back, looking up at the ceiling. ¡°You could¡¯ve woken me up.¡± ¡°I tried.¡± ¡°You could¡¯ve tried harder.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to be too mean.¡± Pushing Kiyomi off the bed had been mean enough for Sako. Kiyomi moved to the bathroom sluggishly. ¡°Alright, sunshine.¡± She shut the door behind her. While Kiyomi was fixing herself, Sako had some time to plan their next move. How to get home¡­ It would probably be best to find an info broker, someone like that. Because it would be bad to be going around asking anyone after telling them the fact that they were from a different world. People would think they had lost it, the NPCs anyway. And it would grow extremely tedious. They would eventually draw unnecessary attention too. But how important was it? Should it be top priority, or should they at least get to a decent level first with decent gear in case they ran into unexpected danger? Level 5 was still extremely weak, especially because the max level was 1 000, according to the starter guide. And expenses¡­ Half an hour later Kiyomi stepped out of the bathroom in full black, shirt and pants. All their clothes were the courtesy of the innkeeper. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Sako kept her eyes on the ceiling. ¡°What do you think we should do next after breakfast?¡± ¡°Have a look around town to see what it¡¯s like out there and try and find an info broker.¡± ¡°Yeah, I was thinking that. But we wouldn¡¯t have any money to pay them.¡± ¡°It¡¯s still a good idea. If we find them, we could ask for prices then go and get the right amount to buy the info. We¡¯ll know exactly how much to aim for.¡± ¡°But how do you know they won¡¯t move to a different location once we get back?¡± Sako rolled over onto her stomach, looking at Kiyomi as she went to the bed and sat. ¡°Because stationary proprietors don¡¯t just suddenly get up and move arbitrarily without telling their customers while still being in business, at least not usually. They¡¯d lose customers because no one would know where to find them. And they would have to rebuild their reputation if they move to a foreign environment. But this is assuming the brokers here follow a traditional marketing model.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Sako up, surprised. ¡°How come you know so much?¡± ¡°That¡¯s common sense actually. But I¡¯ve played a lot of video games, especially MMOs with complex, multi-faceted economies. I¡¯ve also done research on theoretical and practical economies with their potential implementations in said games as well as their short-term and long-term impacts.¡± ¡°Jeez. You could¡¯ve used all that big brain power and effort to get yourself a boyfriend.¡± She scoffed. ¡°Like I need one.¡± ¡°Oh wait. Or is it that you¡¯re too scared to try?¡± Sako giggled, holding her stomach. ¡°Shut up!¡± Kiyomi flung a pillow. She yelped. The pillow hit her in the face and knocked her down flat. She sat up again, holding it with both hands as a shield. ¡°Haha! The fact that you¡¯re mad proves I¡¯m right.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not!¡± ¡°Riiiight.¡± Kiyomi flung another pillow, but it bounced off Sako¡¯s shield. Sako stuck her tongue out. ¡°Try again!¡± ¡°I sure will!¡± ¡°Prove it!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± ¡°Come on! I dare ya!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it!¡± ¡°Then do it, nerd!¡± Kiyomi ran over and dived onto the bed, but Sako fell flat and rolled away so Kiyomi wouldn¡¯t land on her. ¡°Wait! I have an important question!¡± Kiyomi paused as she sat up. ¡°What.¡± Sako turned smug. ¡°Are you into girls then, or¡ª¡± She flushed, grabbed a pillow, and lifted it, about to hit her in the face. To save herself, Sako lunged herself at Kiyomi, wrapping her arms around her slender waist. Her weight and momentum forced Kiyomi down on her back. Then Sako took the chance to climb onto her and straddle her stomach before pinning her arms down with her own hands. After leaning down to her face, she smirked deviously. ¡°I win.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just ¡¯cause you have fighting experience!¡± Kiyomi glared. ¡°Whaaat? Little old me? It¡¯s not like I used to be in the military. I only know a tiny bit of martial arts.¡± ¡°Liar. Quit being so modest.¡± Sako giggled. ¡°Modesty is good!¡± ¡°Modesty is bad! Now get off. You¡¯re heavy.¡± ¡°What?! I only have like 1 more pound than you. You¡¯re just weak.¡± ¡°At least I¡¯m not an airhead sometimes!¡± Kiyomi sneered. ¡°You saying I¡¯m an airhead?!¡± ¡°Oh noooo! Never! Not my dear, sweet Sako!¡± Sako grunted. ¡°How am I an airhead? I got good grades in all my classes, while you barely passed them. Sometimes, you¡¯d even get big, fat zeros. Yeah, don¡¯t think that I wouldn¡¯t sneak a peek at your papers when you weren¡¯t looking.¡± ¡°Tch. Outside of school and fighting, you don¡¯t know a damn thing about the world. Maybe a little, but not much.¡± Kiyomi spat on her cheek. ¡°EUGH!¡± She shut her eyes and released Kiyomi¡¯s arms. ¡°WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?!¡± ¡°Hehehe. Works every time.¡± She shoved Sako off her. Sako grabbed a loose sheet and wiped Kiyomi¡¯s spit off her cheek. When she opened her eyes, Kiyomi was leaning back against the bedhead, content with a simple smile. ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± Sako was ready to go downstairs to order breakfast from the innkeeper. Some aspects of the game felt so real. It was all so weird: the fact that they could shower, brush their teeth, and get hungry in a video game. Chapter 6-Kondor Vance After they got dressed in pants and turtlenecks¡ªcourtesy of the innkeeper because she insisted that they should be decent¡ªand headed out, they walked along the busy streets, passing merchant stalls under the noon sun. Unequipping their robes had reduced their Intellect by a negligible amount. They weren¡¯t going to battle, so the reduction didn¡¯t matter for now. ¡°You want to join a guild once we reach Level 10?¡± Sako asked, looking to Kiyomi beside her. Level 10 was the minimum level required. ¡°Normally, I¡¯d say no, but that¡¯s a wise option. If we expand our connections, we¡¯ll have an easier time getting the info need. And if we make friends, they might even tell us stuff for free¡­ But¡­¡± ¡°But¡­?¡± ¡°¡­I¡­¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Kiyomi hung her head. ¡°What?¡± She mumbled. ¡°How¡­ How do you make¡­ friends again?¡± ¡°It¡¯s easy. You just go to someone, say hi, and give them a biiiig smile! Make sure you look really cute too!¡± Sako leaned towards her ear to whisper. ¡°And if they¡¯re your crush, throw in a sexy wink.¡± Kiyomi stepped away, alarmed with wide eyes. ¡°That¡¯s easy for you. Your Charisma is pretty high, mine¡¯s not.¡± ¡°Yeah, but who cares about numbers. You¡¯re still pretty.¡± Kiyomi¡¯s hair had a distinct shine in it under the sun. And even though her dark eyes made her somewhat unapproachable, they didn¡¯t hinder her potential charm. Kiyomi blushed. ¡°This is a game of numbers, idiot.¡± They stopped when a slightly taller young man in leather armor up to his neck approached. His orange hair completely clashed with his whole outfit. Not the best fashion sense. He stopped before them. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m terribly sorry to interrupt you. I mean, I hope I¡¯m not interrupting. Well, no, it¡¯s obvious I¡¯m interrupting, but I won¡¯t take up your time for too long, I promise!¡± He was trembling. ¡°Can we help you?¡± Sako tilted her head. ¡°Yes¡­ Maybe. I-I think so.¡± He looked down at the cobblestone ground. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ I saw¡ªand I wasn¡¯t stalking, I promise! I saw you girls, and I wanted to ask one of you something.¡± Kiyomi looked at Sako. ¡°Good job, you¡¯ve attracted a weirdo to us.¡± Sako grinned anxiously. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m more interested in you, Miss Kiyomi.¡± Her eyes were burning daggers into him. ¡°I don¡¯t know you, so use my last name only.¡± ¡°Oh! I¡¯m sorry, yes, of course, Ayano. I¡¯m so sorry. So¡­¡± ¡°What.¡± ¡°Do you¡­ maybe want¡­ maybe want to make a party with me? You can be leader of course.¡± Sako was impressed with his bravery. ¡°You examined my stats from far away to find my name like some creep, but you didn¡¯t bother looking at the fact that I¡¯m in a party already? ¡°I saw, but I just thought¡ª¡± Stolen story; please report. ¡°You thought I would just up and abandon my friend here?¡± ¡°Aw, that¡¯s so sweet,¡± Sako commented. ¡°Shut up,¡± Kiyomi snapped at her then looked back at him. His eyes teared up. ¡°Fuck off and go kill¡ª¡± Sako tapped Kiyomi¡¯s shoulder, frowning. ¡°Hey now. Don¡¯t be like that. He¡¯s been so nice and respectful to you, and you¡¯re treating him like this? Did he do anything to deserve your attitude?¡± Kiyomi turned her head away. ¡°What should you say?¡± she asked. ¡°¡­Sorry.¡± ¡°To him, not to me.¡± Kiyomi turned her head his way. ¡°Sorry.¡± He blinked away the tears. ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. It¡¯s my fault. I¡¯m sorry for bothering you. I should¡¯ve known better.¡± He turned to leave. ¡°Do you mind if we add you?¡± Sako asked. He stopped and turned back around. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°No, she¡¯ll add you, not me,¡± Kiyomi said. ¡°Oh. That¡¯s okay too, I guess.¡± The disappointment was heavy in his voice. Sako swiped the air to open her UI on a few holoscreens. Once they popped up, she pressed a few buttons and his name appeared on her list. ¡°There!¡± ¡°Thank you so much.¡± He managed a small smile and left. They resumed walking down the street. ¡°Check his stats,¡± Kiyomi said. Sako did that.
Kondor Vance Level 40 Info ??
Strength 60+25 Affects physical power; attack damage, lifting ability against Weight, and Carry Weight.
Vitality 60+25 Affects HP and Defense.
Intellect 40+7 Affects damage of magic attacks, MP capacity, and MP regen. rate. Also affects overall wisdom.
Agility 40+40 Affects physical speed and perceptive speed.
Dexterity 40 Affects deftness in minor tasks and movements, especially with the hands. Also affects accuracy of projectiles.
Endurance 53+9 Affects stamina and stamina regen.
Resistance 44 Affects resistance to status ailments and elemental damage.
Charisma 40 Affects charm, leadership, and persuasive skills.
Luck 47+10 Affects drop rate by a small amount and crit chance.
Class: Warrior
¡°Warrior class,¡± Sako said. ¡°Really?¡± Kiyomi checked. ¡°I wonder then if he knows he should be wearing plate armor, not leather.¡± ¡°Is plate armor only for warriors?¡± ¡°Usually for melee classes.¡± ¡°Oh. I don¡¯t understand why his Agility is so high though in bonus. Wouldn¡¯t it make more sense to go more for bonuses in Vitality, Strength, and Endurance with his gear?¡± ¡°Yeah. Leather armor gives you higher Agility. He¡¯s weird.¡± ¡°Or broke?¡± ¡°Or broke. Or an idiot.¡± Kiyomi shrugged. There were so many people and small places, like alleys, to cover. They couldn¡¯t do it. They stopped at a water fountain in the center of town. ¡°We should split up. We¡¯ll cover more ground that way. Rendezvous back here in 3 hours?¡± Sako asked. ¡°That would be a smart idea, but I don¡¯t want a certain airhead getting lost,¡± Kiyomi replied. ¡°I have a minimap.¡± She pouted. ¡°Fine. 3 hours.¡± 3 hours later Kiyomi sat on the fountain edge alone. She hadn¡¯t found anyone remotely useful. The sun¡¯s soft, orange half-light was dying. 1 hour later It was night. Kiyomi lay on her stomach on the edge with one arm and one foot dipped into the water, her other half on the opposite side of the fountain and dangling above the ground. She moved her hand around in the water, playing with it. Yet another hour later She sat how she had initially sat then stood up and screamed. ¡°SON OF A¡ª!¡± ¡°Hiya!¡± Sako skipped up to the fountain. ¡°YOU¡ª!¡± ¡°Meeee!¡± ¡°WHERE¡ª!¡± ¡°I can explain! There was a cat, and then another cat. I didn¡¯t know cats existed here. So anyway, I followed the first cat, and then that cat led me to the second cat. And then the second cat¡ª¡± ¡°Get to the point.¡± ¡°I got some interesting info, though I¡¯m not sure how useful it is.¡± Kiyomi looked around. ¡°Is it sensitive?¡± ¡°Part of it.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it back at the inn then.¡± They went back to the inn. Chapter 7-Vell Noxford When they returned to their room, they locked the door and sat on their respective beds, facing one another. In the dim light from the candle, Sako began. ¡°So, this is what happened from the top¡­¡± Earlier No matter how many blocks Sako passed, she couldn¡¯t find anyone who seemed like an information specialist. She asked around to no avail. The sun was setting. A black cat came out of an alley and stopped when it saw her. It blinked its red eyes at her. She blinked her blue eyes at it. As it went across the street, she followed it. So adorable! She needed to pet it! It turned and disappeared around a corner. ¡°Hey, come back!¡± She followed it. Once she turned the corner, the black cat wasn¡¯t there, but another cat, white with red streaks, stood still, eyeing her. She neared it bit by bit. ¡°Mraow!¡± It ran into a nearby alley. Voice sounded from the alley¡ªa conversation. She poked her head in. A group of Adventurers¡ªabout 30¡ªwatched in silence as a man had his sword through another¡¯s man¡¯s chest. The suffering man was fancily dressed in rich colours, obviously expensive. The assailant pulled his sword from his chest. The man dropped his sword and collapsed, blood pooling out of his body. The squad was well-armed but beaten-up and exhausted. Their levels and stats were maxed out. The assailant¡ªa burly man who looked to be in his prime¡ªturned to the rest. ¡°There¡¯s not much point to staying in this prison. We¡¯re done. Let¡¯s log before they catch up. We won¡¯t get another chance like this.¡± A lady in robes lifted her staff and a portal appeared in the wall. Sako stepped into the alley. ¡°Wait!¡± She trembled at the sight of the corpse, but she needed to have courage and get the info she needed. She hoped he wouldn¡¯t kill her too. They all paused and looked at her. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Sorry, I was kinda eavesdropping. Did you say ¡®log¡¯? As in log out of the game?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± the assailant replied. ¡°Can I ask where you¡¯re going? Me and my friend are looking for a way out too.¡± ¡°New York. Where do you need to go?¡± ¡°Tokyo.¡± The assailant looked to the lady. The lady shook her head, frowning. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we can¡¯t help. This is a one-way, single-use portal.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Sako hung her head. Even if they allowed her to follow them, she would never leave Kiyomi behind. And they seemed to be in a hurry, so it wasn¡¯t like they could leave the portal open forever. ¡°Thank you anyway.¡± She bowed. ¡°Do you know how we could get home? Is there a similar portal like that we could make?¡± ¡°If you defeat the Demon Lord, sure, but we just did that, and it¡¯ll be quite a while before she¡¯s revived.¡± ¡°How long?¡± ¡°A long time.¡± It was hopeless. ¡°There¡¯s no other way?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the only way we¡¯ve found. There could be others.¡± ¡°Okay, do you know of anyone we could ask about this stuff?¡± He thought for a moment then looked at his companions. ¡°Do you guys remember his name?¡± ¡°Vell. Vell Noxford,¡± a man with his hand in a cast and a bruised face said. ¡°Vell Noxford,¡± the assailant repeated to her. ¡°He has a lot of info on a lot of things, but he¡¯s far in the East. We¡¯re in the West, so you¡¯ve got a long way to go. But if you plan on heading there, make sure you¡¯re maxed.¡± ¡°Do I have to be?¡± ¡°Yes, there¡¯s a guardian at the border of the East. And if you¡¯re even 1 level lower than 1 000, you¡¯re basically dead because there¡¯s a lethal mechanic, but I can¡¯t explain that now. We need to go.¡± ¡°Wait, what about this guy?¡± She pointed to the dead man lying in blood. ¡°He¡¯s the prince of the kingdom. Honestly, he was innocent, but we had to kill him to complete a major quest and to help forge the portal. You should run before they catch up.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°The guards and the Captain of the Guard. Do not fight him. He¡¯ll one-shot anything.¡± The lady spoke. ¡°Why are you telling her all this for free? You should charge her. Time isn¡¯t cheap.¡± He looked to her and smiled as he shook his head slowly. ¡°She reminds me of my little sister.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Sako asked. He turned to her again and sighed, maintaining his smile. The smile of a loving big brother. ¡°Yeah.¡± His smile dropped. ¡°But she¡¯s¡­ dead now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be. You didn¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°HALT, CRIMINALS!¡± A voice barked at the end of the alley. Guards blocked one exit. One heavily armoured man overflowing with magical energy blocked the other end of the alley. He must be the captain. ¡°Move!¡± The assailant shouted at his comrades. They rushed through the portal before him in a single file. He reached into his outer coat pocket, pulled out a ring, and tossed it to her. She caught it. ¡°What¡¯s¡ª?¡± ¡°Use it to fly! Take care!¡± He dived through the portal. It shut behind him. Sako slipped the ring on her finger. Fly?! How?! Guards stormed into the alley from both sides, approaching rapidly. They all had all sorts of buffs on them, so she couldn¡¯t take them out easily, at least not alone. She jumped, but instead of landing, she shot off high into the air. Now ¡°And then I had trouble flying, so I flew around everywhere and got lost. That¡¯s why it took so long.¡± ¡°So, they¡¯ve probably put a bounty on your head now. Great.¡± Kiyomi sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s leave the town early tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Where are we going?¡± Sako asked. Kiyomi stared at a physical map she was holding. ¡°Luthyia. That¡¯s the closest town. Three days by carriage. I can¡¯t use teleportation since I¡¯ve never been there.¡± Sako groaned. ¡°So long.¡± ¡°I know. If only they had planes here.¡± She leaned over to the nightstand by her bed and blew out the candle. Chapter 8-Road Trip At dawn the next morning, they left, hidden in a closed carriage¡ªthe only exit being at the driver¡¯s end¡ªbefore the guards gained enough sense to start watching the gates. The sky was sunny and blue. It would be a boring three days of nothing but travel. The driver wasn¡¯t talkative either. Sako was sitting opposite of Kiyomi, reading a book the innkeeper had given her. Something on mathematics. Now Kiyomi had ample time to think and plan ahead. She did a wave in the air with her hand and her holographic UI popped up. There was a small, 2D, full-body picture of her holding her staff on the holoscreen. She had high base Intellect presumably because of her skills and vast knowledge of games. This meant that she would progress much faster in terms of skills. The ¡°Evolve¡± button glowed in the bottom corner of her UI. Typically, one¡¯s first Evolution was only possible at Level 500+ (the second and final one being at Level 1 000) because at least 1 of the user¡¯s primary stats respective to their class had to have a base number (number without extra points, bonuses from gear, buffs, etc.) of at least 500. But since Kiyomi had far surpassed that once she had reached Level 5, she met the requirement (her Intellect levelled and advanced at a much faster rate). Each Evolution gave a 500 boost to all stats. She pressed ¡°Evolve¡± twice. Fully Evolving unlocked all of her skills and spells¡ªwell over 400, including passives, and increased her base stats. All her skills were at 100% mastery, and she gained the title ¡°Archmage¡±. On top of that, her mana had grown exponentially, and she gained brand new skills that didn¡¯t belong to her class by default. She glanced at some of the info in the tables.
Kiyomi Ayano Level 5 Info ??
Strength 1 006 Affects physical power; attack damage, lifting ability against Weight, and Carry Weight.
Vitality 1 007 Affects HP and Defense.
Intellect 301 000 Affects damage of magic attacks, MP capacity, and MP regen. rate. Also affects overall wisdom.
Agility 1 008 Affects physical speed, and perceptive speed.
Dexterity 1 008 Affects deftness in minor tasks and movements, including stealth and especially with the hands. Also affects accuracy of projectiles.
Endurance 1 006 Affects stamina and stamina regen. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
Resistance 1 010 Affects resistance to status ailments and elemental damage.
Charisma 1 009 Affects charm, leadership, and persuasive skills.
Luck 1 007 Affects drop rate by a small amount and crit chance.
Class: Dark Wizard
Skills Description Mastery (%)
Silent Spellcasting (passive) Words are not required for spellcasting. 100
Obsoleto Incantest (passive) Incantations have become obsolete. 100
Superior Intellect (passive) The user is well acquainted with all spells in possession. 100
Keen Sense (passive) Able to detect anything within a very large radius. 100
She read the first 4 passives then skipped to her Unique Skill.
Skills Description Mastery (%)
Unique Skill: Skill Share The user may share any and every skill and their effects with the target and vice versa with the target¡¯s consent including Unique Skills. Max targets allowed at once: 100. 100
Mastery affected cast times and cooldowns. She looked to her inventory. Only the same beginner staff, some gold, food, and water. She needed a much better staff. That was one of the most important items to get right now. The better the staff, the better the accuracy of her spells, and she was less likely to land a Glancing Hit (which significantly reduced crit chance, damage, and effects from the staff or spell used). Fortunately, she could equip higher levels since staves could be equipped based on Intellect, not one¡¯s overall level. But where to get a staff¡­ No one would make it for her or give her for free. She needed a good staff for high-level content, but she could only get such a staff as a drop from high-level content. This would be hard. Of course, she could just do it the boring way and level slowly like an actual noob, but she wasn¡¯t into that; she didn¡¯t have the patience. Sako probably had it, but Kiyomi didn¡¯t. So, for their next big move, they needed to power-level, but it would be tricky. Although she wasn¡¯t keen on joining groups with strangers, she and Sako might have to. But she highly doubted any high-level players would even sneeze at them. They might have to prove themselves somehow if given the chance. Maybe at the next Guild¡­ But she needed a staff to match her element too, and not just anything. In her current state, she couldn¡¯t fight at her full potential. ¡°Ugh,¡± Kiyomi grunted. The last thing she wanted to do was be a leech. That would be so uncool. There were elemental mechanics, but because her alignment was Dark, she didn¡¯t have to worry about those. The same went for Sako. Dark and Light were advantageous against one another and neutral to the rest: Wind, Water, Fire, Earth, and their sub-elements. The downside, of course, was that she couldn¡¯t easily do bonus damage, except against Light, but there were ways around that. Kiyomi tapped a button to close the UI, wiggled her staff, and cast Shroud to summon a black magic circle above and below her. Same for Sako. A black cloak appeared on each of their avatars. These cloaks would cloak most of their character details from everyone else, so no one could see their stats without special means. Only their levels and classes were open. Sako didn¡¯t notice. Kiyomi began chewing on a celery stick. Not the best taste, but it was food. ¡°Sako, catch.¡± She tossed one to Sako. Sako didn¡¯t look up. The stick bounced off her head and fell on the floor. Is the book really that interesting to her? Kiyomi hated reading, unless it related to video games. She looked to the driver. ¡°Hey, coachman, you know anything about Luthyia?¡± He replied with a country accent without taking his eyes off the road, a wheat straw in his mouth. ¡°From the few times I been there, I can say there¡¯s this peculiar lady sometimes. Wanders about town like she ain¡¯t got nothin¡¯ to do ¡¯round those parts. Always with them vegetables, ¡¯specially carrots.¡± ¡°What does she look like?¡± ¡°Got some long bunny ears. You¡¯ll see when you get there. Can¡¯t miss ¡¯em.¡± Kiyomi¡¯s biggest question was whether she was an NPC or a player. ¡°Do you know if she¡¯s an NPC?¡± ¡°A what?¡± ¡°Never mind.¡± The fact that he hadn¡¯t a clue what Kiyomi was talking about meant he was an NPC, since NPCs wouldn¡¯t know the difference. Chapter 9-Luthyias Adventurers’ Guild They reached the town in 3 days as predicted¡ªby the end of the 3rd day when night fell. Sako stepped into the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Kiyomi followed. Unlike the previous Guild, this one wasn¡¯t lighthearted at all. The place was empty, quiet, and dimly lit, a few small candles in the corners of the room. They walked right up in a straight line to the front counter where a professionally dressed woman sat behind it, her head down on the counter as if taking a nap. ¡°What. What do you want¡­¡± She mumbled. She had neatly combed-down, long, pale blue hair, very pale skin, and was in a tuxedo. Sako started. ¡°You remind me of a moody bartender. Can we call you Ms. Bartender?¡± ¡°No,¡± she replied. ¡°Aw. Please?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Please?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Please?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Please?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Please?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Please?¡± She grunted and lifted her head at last, her face sour. ¡°Do whatever you want, girl.¡± Sako jumped cheerily. ¡°Yay!¡± It actually worked?! Kiyomi was impressed at Sako¡¯s persistence over the trivial matter. ¡°Now, what are you two here for?¡± Her eyes glistened with an intense, crimson light. She had bags under her eyes. ¡°To register with the Guild of course!¡± Sako replied. ¡°And why do you look so tired?¡± Ms. Bartender looked down to the empty space on the counter between them and two separate blue flames ignited. The flames vanished and left two paper forms for them to fill out, a quill by each one. ¡°I¡¯ve been overworked because we¡¯re understaffed. The Guildmaster is not exactly friendly, so it¡¯s been¡­¡± She let out a long yawn ¡°¡­impossible to keep new staff members.¡± ¡°That must be rough. I wish I could help,¡± Sako said as she and Kiyomi filled them out and handed the papers to her. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ whatever¡­¡± Her face was bored as ever. As she took them into her gloved hands, they went up in flames. Not even ashes remained. She saw the look of concern on Sako¡¯s face. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t destroyed them. They are being safely kept in a vault upstairs. Sako¡¯s look changed to one of satisfaction. Kiyomi had her doubts. ¡°I have two options for you now. You may either start at F rank and climb your way up the ladder, or you may partake in a practical examination to determine where each of you should start.¡± Kiyomi looked to Sako. ¡°Practical?¡± Sako nodded. That would be quicker. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Kiyomi looked back to Ms. Bartender. ¡°Practical.¡± ¡°Good choice. It¡¯s better.¡± A standard bunny girl was sipping wine from a wine glass next to her, visibly older. Maybe 25-ish. Her eyes were carefree and content. Her bust was modest, and her loose, blonde hair stopped at her ass. She hadn¡¯t been there a second ago. Kiyomi¡¯s heart nearly fell out of her chest. Ms. Bartender was unfazed as if she was used to random girls popping up. When Kiyomi shifted her eyes from her to the bunny girl again, the girl was eating a carrot. What had she done with the glass? Where had she gotten the carrot? The bunny girl swallowed her food. ¡°Don¡¯t mind me.¡± Ms. Bartender resumed. ¡°I¡¯ll inform the Guildmaster upstairs.¡± She vanished in a sharp, blue flame. Sako and Kiyomi remained alone in the room. Kiyomi looked to Sako quizzically. Sako shrugged with her typical, simple smile. After about a minute, the same blue flame ignited at her spot behind the counter, and she reappeared. ¡°He will be down shortly.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± Sako bowed. Ms. Bartender took up a book and started reading as she sat on the stool at her spot. ¡°So, uh¡­who was that lady?¡± Kiyomi asked Ms. Bartender. ¡°A woman in a bunny suit.¡± She didn¡¯t lift her eyes from her book. No shit. ¡°Obviously.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s so obvious, why did you ask?¡± She continued reading. ¡°I meant her name at least.¡± ¡°Good question.¡± Her eyes continued along the page. Ugh. Eventually, an elf came down the stairs beside the counter. He was dressed like a noble¡ªfancy, gold-trimmed clothes and a gold hair ornament attached to one side of his head. His smile was faked, eyes bloodshot and weary. ¡°Welcome to the guild!¡± He opened his arms. Sako turned to him and bowed. ¡°Thank you so much for having us! You can call me Sako!¡± ¡°Uh-huh,¡± Kiyomi replied. Why those clothes? ¡°I heard from Elora here that you wanted a practical, is that right?¡± He gestured to Ms. Bartender. ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Sako replied. ¡°I¡¯ll be your opponent then. 1 on 1 or 2?¡± Sako looked to Kiyomi. ¡°1,¡± Kiyomi replied. Sako turned her head to him again. ¡°1 on 1 it is then.¡± ¡°Alright. Follow me.¡± He turned and walked to a door by the stairs. ¡°Wait. You never told us your name.¡± Sako replied. True. It was bad manners, but Kiyomi couldn¡¯t care less. If she wanted, she could just pull up his stats, but Sako cared for the traditional courtesy apparently. He froze as if he was caught in the middle of a criminal act. Slowly, he half turned to them with a sheepish smile. ¡°Ah¡­ yes, that¡­ I¡¯m¡­ Guildmaster Folduin¡­¡± Elora turned her page. Kiyomi looked at him carefully, focusing. His info came up before her eyes. No one else could see it but her when she brought it up mentally like this.
? Level ? Info ??
Strength ? Affects physical power; attack damage, lifting ability against Weight, and Carry Weight.
Vitality ? Affects HP and Defense.
Intellect ? Affects damage of magic attacks, MP capacity, and MP regen. rate. Also affects overall wisdom.
Agility ? Affects physical speed and perceptive speed.
Dexterity ? Affects deftness in minor tasks and movements, especially with the hands. Also affects accuracy of projectiles.
Endurance ? Affects stamina and stamina regen.
Resistance ? Affects resistance to status ailments and elemental damage.
Charisma ? Affects charm, leadership, and persuasive skills.
Luck ? Affects drop rate by a small amount and crit chance.
Class: ?
Fucking useless. He hid everything on purpose. She didn¡¯t know how he did it. ¡°Nice to meet you, Guildmaster Folduin!¡± Sako bowed again. He forced a chuckle. ¡°Wonderful. Let¡¯s get going.¡± They followed him through the door and ended up in a massive, empty arena. He turned to them. ¡°You¡¯ll each be fighting me here. Whoever passes out or forfeits wins.¡± ¡°Sounds simple enough. I¡¯ll go first!¡± Sako said. Chapter 10-Kiyomi vs the Guildmaster Folduin stood at one end of the arena, Kiyomi at the other end. Her biggest concern was the accuracy of her spells that needed a target. AOEs would probably be fine though. ¡°You got this, Ki!¡± Sako cheered from the sidelines. She could be a cheerleader. ¡°Begin,¡± Elora spoke from beside Sako, barely audible. To get a head start, Kiyomi had applied her buffs beforehand. And her cloak hid her current effects so she wouldn¡¯t be caught (her cloak masked all her stats except her level and class. Same for Sako). No one had said cheating wasn¡¯t allowed. Her MP bar gradually went down but went back up again. It went down a quarter then up to full again. Then to half. Then slowly back up. He was draining it somehow, but it seemed she didn¡¯t need to worry about the fluctuation since her high regen countered it. A soft ringing sounded from her right and the sound of a pebble rolling along the concrete. Instinctively, she looked to the right to find the source but there was nothing. A distraction? ¡°ROB!¡± Kiyomi looked back to find a large, purple hand flying towards her. A shield appeared around her to block it, but the hand went right through¡ªthrough the shield and into her chest. It hadn¡¯t penetrated her flesh or even just her clothes. Some sort of metaphysical attack? Inside of her chest tingled. The hand came out and retracted to Folduin. Physically, she felt fine, but something was lacking. She felt an emptiness. While mentally running through the list of skills she had, she noticed 100 skills were missing. No¡­it couldn¡¯t be. Folduin smirked. ¡°You son of a bitch! Did you really just¡ª¡± ¡°Ha! You catch on fast!¡± Folduin lifted his hand into the air. ¡°Shards of annihilation, divide the skies and shower! Enka!¡± Thousands of black shards rained down from the sky¡ªeach one about the size of her body. ¡°Eeglia!¡± With his other hand, he shot black streaks of lightning in her direction. Kiyomi¡¯s instincts told her to block everything with a shield or jump out of the way since she had the agility, but either one would be too mundane and simple. She had a better idea for something aggressive. He had the audacity to steal 100 of her spells, most of which were high-end, so she wouldn¡¯t mind taking a limb or two off him. And his class was likely Thief or something else that was just as shady despite his spell usage. His demeanor said it all. She thought of a perfect counter. Vector Shift. It would let her change the vector of any Dark spell. The lightning bent and ran back in his direction. The falling shards redirected their path to him. A huge serpent sprang up from a magic circle beside her. For now, she would put it on standby. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. He shrieked and dashed away from the lightning. ¡°HEY! YOU CAN¡¯T DO THAT! THAT¡¯S NOT FAIR!¡± ¡°OH LOOK WHO¡¯S TALKING,¡± Kiyomi countered. ¡°Umbrella of Heaven!¡± He held up a black stick. It grew into a black, starry umbrella wide enough to cover a good portion of the arena. The shards shattered once they fell onto the umbrella. He tossed it aside, and it vanished. That was another one of her fucking spells. ¡°BE ORIGINAL. JEEZ.¡± With a quick motion, she pointed her staff forward as a signal. The serpent lunged forward, though slanted, across the arena, mouth open to eat him. Her accuracy was way off, but since the serpent understood the intent, it curved to adjust itself in her intended direction. ¡°Grant me providence, WALL OF OBSCURITY!¡± He slammed his staff on the ground with a click. A black wall shot up before him. It was too late for the serpent to stop, so its whole body ran into it, swallowed up by the darkness inside the wall. The wall sank back into the ground. What annoyed her the most was that Folduin¡¯s mastery of her spells was near perfect. He still had to say the words aloud with a few seconds of cast time, meaning he couldn¡¯t cast anything instantly with just a thought like she could. And the spells weren¡¯t as potent and up to her standards. Her MP bar started dropping rapidly. He must be using Mana Drain passively. She pulled a celery stick from her pocket. Fortify. Vector Shift. Ribbons of Darkness. Zero Sign. Once she threw the stick in midair, it hardened, turned obsidian, and grew about as big as a whale. With Vector Shift, it went even faster. Black ribbons emerged from his shadow behind him. Zero Sign cloaked its location, so he wouldn¡¯t sense it. The ribbons enveloped him, binding him in place and prevented him from evading. ¡°NEGATION!¡± A black dome covered the arena to nullify all the spells. Negation override. The dome popped at Kiyomi¡¯s command. The spells continued. He screamed. ¡°CLOAK OF ASTIUS!¡± A black cloak appeared on him, much like hers and Sako¡¯s that they were using to hide their stats. The difference was that the cloak he wore had a purple glow. Folduin turned into goo and fell into the ground. The giant stick flew past and crashed into the wall. BOOM! She was surprised he still had some mana left after casting all that. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be out of mana now?!¡± Canceling his cancellation left her MP bar at half, but after some seconds, it filled back up. If he turned into goo¡­ he would likely¡­ She looked down at her shadow. It turned the same purple with the glow. Even if she moved from her spot, as long as her shadow followed her, she couldn¡¯t avoid his next attack. In that case¡­ Disconnect. She stepped away from her shadow, narrowly missing a black column of flame that shot up from it. The heat was intense. ¡°I almost had you!¡± Folduin stood at his initial spot again. It was obvious now that he used a lot less MP for stolen spells. Such a pain. He wasn¡¯t a Thief. Thieves weren¡¯t this adept at spellcasting. Chaotic Spellweaver. That must¡¯ve been it. In that case, she had the perfect solution. Black Door. A simple black door appeared next to her. The door gave her access to a few unique spells. The options emerged in her mind. Unfounded Chaos, Tier 10. About 100 hands of every color possible burst through the door and stretched towards him. ¡°NEGATION!¡± The black dome reappeared, but the hands ignored it. Kiyomi was sitting on a black chair she had conjured up. Yeah, he¡¯s not getting out of this one. ¡°SHADOW EATER!¡± He held his hand out, palm faced at it. A shadow far larger than the hands combined with eerie, glowing eyes rushed out of his palm. ¡°DEVOUR!¡± He closed his palm into a fist. The shadow opened its mouth. The hands spread apart. Some wrapped around the shadow and squeezed it tightly. The rest of the hands continued their course and grabbed his limbs, draining all his MP and stamina and reclaiming her spells. ¡°AAAAHHHH! OKAY! OKAY! I GIVE UP!¡± A blue flame came up from the center of the field and morphed into Elora. ¡°That¡¯s time,¡± she said in an unenthused voice. ¡°Can I go back to sleep now?¡± Chapter 11-Sako vs the Guildmaster Sako stood roughly at the same spot Kiyomi had stood. Folduin was around his spot too where he had been in Kiyomi¡¯s match. Sadly, she couldn¡¯t Evolve yet like Kiyomi because she didn¡¯t have a naturally high intellect for her class, but it was fine: she was more used to using her fists and feet than spells. And she didn¡¯t have many useful spells unlocked anyway. Maybe I should¡¯ve gone with another class that would¡¯ve fitted my martial arts¡­ What a mistake. Too late to change it now.
Sako Kosetsu Level 5 Info ??
Strength 50 008 Affects physical power; attack damage, lifting ability against Weight, and Carry Weight.
Vitality 13 Affects HP and Defense.
Intellect 28 Affects damage of magic attacks, MP capacity, and MP regen. rate. Also affects overall wisdom.
Agility 50 008 Affects physical speed and perceptive speed.
Dexterity 50 008 Affects deftness in minor tasks and movements, especially with the hands. Also affects accuracy of projectiles.
Endurance 50 008 Affects stamina and stamina regen.
Resistance 13 Affects resistance to status ailments and elemental damage.
Charisma 20 008 Affects charm, leadership, and persuasive skills.
Luck Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. 70 000 Affects drop rate by a small amount and crit chance.
Class: Light Wizard
She took her combat stance. ¡°Begin,¡± Elora mumbled from the sidelines. ¡°ROB!¡± Folduin shouted. It was the same trick he had used on Kiyomi. The same hand flew towards Sako, but she couldn¡¯t care less. She barely had a handful of skills at her level that she didn¡¯t even intend on using. She would wait for his next move. The hand reached into her and retreated, leaving her with a slight chill. After a moment, he was dumbstruck. ¡°WHAT IS THIS?! IS THIS ALL YOU HAVE?!¡± Sako grinned. ¡°Yep! And for a Guildmaster, you sure are uncouth. Shouldn¡¯t you be setting an example for your adventurers?¡± ¡°And what do you know?! I never wanted to be Guildmaster!¡± Elora cracked a smile with tired eyes. She found the whole thing funny. ¡°Why not quit then?¡± ¡°BECAUSE!¡± ¡°Because¡­?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask me questions, girl!¡± ¡°So¡­ you love your job then?¡± ¡°DON¡¯T BE SILLY. I CAN¡¯T JUST QUIT.¡± Wow. Issues¡­ Sako remained steady and focused, waiting for him to make his next attack. Folduin eyed her carefully. Silence¡­ He realized Sako was waiting, so he began, lifting his hands. ¡°Rippling waves of chaos, I summon. Bring vanquish to all obstacles! Burn!¡± First, there was purple electricity zapping around the sky, then it all concentrated directed above the field, coming together and merging. The streaks formed a ball, and bit by bit, the ball expanded until it became a massive ball of dark purple energy¡ªso large and bright that it could¡¯ve been mistaken for the sun. She was impressed: the magical energy it contained was incredible. ¡°Sako!¡± Kiyomi called from beside Elora. ¡°That¡¯s Void magic! It¡¯ll eat any physical matter, so don¡¯t touch it!¡± Sako nodded. Throwing her fists at it was out of the question then. Unless¡­ The field had an invisible barrier over it too, so there wouldn¡¯t be any collateral damage. ¡°Guildmaster, isn¡¯t this a bit much for her?¡± Elora projected her voice with something like a microphone so that it reached across the entire arena. ¡°Nonsense! She simply needs to forfeit. But even if she doesn¡¯t, I don¡¯t intend to kill her.¡± ¡°Alright then!¡± Sako pulled her right arm back, having a plan in mind. ¡°Do your worst!¡± ¡°I like your spirit! That¡¯s the spirit of an adventurer!¡± He grinned. He threw it at her. The sphere came down quick as falling raindrops. She threw her fist up with every bit of her strength. The resulting shockwave from her fist scattered the condensed energy, blowing it apart completely. There wasn¡¯t even an explosion but instead a harsh, sharp SWOOSH of wind. Everyone¡¯s jaw dropped, except Kiyomi¡¯s. She was the only one smiling. ¡°How¡­¡± Folduin started. ¡°Let¡¯s see your next attack!¡± Sako went back into her combat stance. ¡°Fine then.¡± He pointed his staff at her. ¡°Alval Risio!¡± His staff shot out a dark purple beam¡ªenough to envelope a whole dragon. Sako sidestepped it, letting it strike the wall behind her. Folduin turned his staff and swept the beam along the wall towards her. She skipped along the wall to avoid it. When the beam stopped, she stopped. ¡°Sword of the Night God, perish my enemies!¡± A portal formed in the sky and a vast sword came out¡ªpure black and surrounded by an aura. It could easily crush her. ¡°A long time ago, this very sword was made by the powerful hands of the Night God! He used it to wipe towns, countries, even continents. This is the genuine deal!¡± Sako looked up at it. She blinked. ¡°DODGE THIS!¡± The sword came down at her. It emanated tremendous power. The air was thick, almost stifling. Even the air was affected: it turned dead cold. She lifted a hand and caught the point between her two fingers then tossed it aside as if she had grown bored of it. It hit the ground with a THUD, turned to light particles, and scattered. She looked back to Folduin, frowning ¡°Hey, Mr. Guildmaster, you¡¯re not holding back on me, are you?¡± Folduin froze and turned pale. It was hard for him to speak, but he managed after a moment in a small tone. ¡°¡­Of course I am¡­ I wouldn¡¯t want you to die or anything as I said earlier...¡± He forced a short laugh. Elora and Kiyomi stared at him, unamused. ¡°Oh don¡¯t look at me like that!¡± He scowled. ¡°I said I wouldn¡¯t, so I didn¡¯t.¡± He turned to Sako. ¡°And you, you haven¡¯t landed a hit, so we¡¯re not done yet. ¡°Just one hit?¡± Sako asked. ¡°Yes, if you can land one hit, I¡¯ll forfeit.¡± Sako appeared in front of him and swung her fist, but he leaned his head to one side just in time to miss the blow. The shockwave from her fist left a large, deep hole in the wall behind him. He jumped away, eyes wide. ¡°ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!¡± ¡°Of course not. I thought you¡¯d be able to handle it.¡± She grinned. Folduin cleared his throat and recomposed himself. ¡°Well, yes, as you can see, I handled it just fine. That¡¯s enough.¡± ¡°But I didn¡¯t land a hit.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. You¡¯ve demonstrated your abilities enough already.¡± Chapter 12-Mod Aelis After the test, Elora went back to her spot behind the counter with Sako, Kiyomi, and the Guildmaster in front. By then, the place was livelier. More adventurers had arrived, now sitting and talking around the tables. ¡°F! You¡¯re both starting from F!¡± Folduin furrowed his brows. They got a few curious looks from some tables. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± Though Kiyomi wasn¡¯t surprised. ¡°I¡¯m fine with that!¡± Sako beamed. ¡°Are you an idiot?¡± Kiyomi mumbled to Sako. ¡°Nope, I¡¯m just glad for the fight I got.¡± Sako was quite content. ¡°But it was a little bit disappointing.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lucky I didn¡¯t set you both at G.¡± ¡°Now Guildmaster¡­¡± Elora chimed in. ¡°No, F. That¡¯s final.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just bitter because you lost to us. You had to forfeit twice. Not just to me, not just to Sako, but to both of us.¡± ¡°Yeah, what a sore loser, am I right?¡± A woman¡¯s voice sounded behind Kiyomi. Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch. Kiyomi looked around. Bunny ears. Bow tie. Pantyhose. A casual, cute face. Munching on a carrot. Bunny girl. ¡°Oh don¡¯t you start with me now!¡± Folduin snapped. Kiyomi wouldn¡¯t take her eyes off her for suspicion that she would disappear again before she had the chance to examine her stats. ¡°I¡¯m not starting anything.¡± The woman shrugged. ¡°Can we at least be allowed to choose any quest from any rank?¡± Sako asked. ¡°Alright. But if you die, it won¡¯t be my problem.¡± ¡°You really are a heartless Guildmaster,¡± the woman said, though she wasn¡¯t in the least bit concerned. ¡°I like your clothes by the way,¡± Sako said to Folduin. The bunny girl snorted. ¡°Those things? I saw him the other day. He beat up a noble, stripped him naked, and ran away with everything.¡± ¡°Mind your own business!¡± ¡°I would if you gave me fresh carrots like I asked for.¡± ¡°I gave you carrots!¡± ¡°No, you gave me stale carrots that you had found on the side of a street. Don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t see you.¡± ¡°Well, where am I to get fresh carrots?!¡± ¡°At a place called the market. Ever heard of it? Have you ever been outside to see the grass and the sun, Cystenn?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you get the carrots yourself, since you know where the market is.¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°I¡¯m too busy.¡± Folduin clicked his tongue in irritation. Kiyomi looked at her stats on her holoscreen¡­
Moderator Aelis Level --- Info ??
Strength Incalculable Affects physical power; attack damage, lifting ability against Weight, and Carry Weight.
Vitality Incalculable Affects HP and Defense.
Intellect Incalculable Affects damage of magic attacks, MP capacity, and MP regen. rate. Also affects overall wisdom.
Agility Incalculable Affects physical speed and perceptive speed.
Dexterity Incalculable Affects deftness in minor tasks and movements, especially with the hands. Also affects accuracy of projectiles.
Endurance Incalculable Affects stamina and stamina regen.
Resistance Incalculable Affects resistance to status ailments and elemental damage.
Charisma Incalculable Affects charm, leadership, and persuasive skills.
Luck Incalculable Affects drop rate by a small amount and crit chance.
Class: Senior Moderator
¡°Is Cystenn his actual name?¡± Sako asked. ¡°Oh, so he hid even that from you?¡± Mod Aelis was amused. ¡°Heh, Cystenn, you¡¯re better suited for the Thieves¡¯ Guild, and you know it.¡± ¡°Yes, well, it¡¯s too late for that now. I¡¯m stuck. I can¡¯t just magically find someone to take my spot. Not just anyone can be Guildmaster.¡± He groaned. ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Elora said. ¡°We asked the Arts and Trades Commission, but they don¡¯t seem to have anyone suitable to fill his position at the moment.¡± ¡°Pffft. All they¡¯re good for is taking people¡¯s taxes apparently. A worthless bunch.¡± Mod Aelis set her eyes on Kiyomi. ¡°Peeking at my stats, are you?¡± Kiyomi¡¯s stomach twinged. ¡°You know?¡± ¡°I know a lot of things. I figured you were looking. It¡¯s a common habit. You seem very focused on me too, so that¡¯s a dead giveaway.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just that you¡¯re¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s talk about that upstairs.¡± Mod Aelis made her way to the stairs, passing Cystenn and Elora. ¡°Well, good luck with your work, Guildmaster.¡± She waved a goodbye and headed up the stairs. ¡°We¡¯ll pick this up later!¡± she called back to them. ¡°Always cutting me off in the middle of a conversation,¡± Cystenn grumbled. ¡°At least she waved this time,¡± Elora said. Kiyomi went up the stairs after her, leaving Sako behind. Sako realized. ¡°Huh? Wait for me!¡± She turned to Cystenn and Keisner. ¡°Um, excuse us!¡± Sako bowed then speedwalked up the stairs to catch up. Kiyomi and Sako followed Mod Aelis into a room. She waited for them to come in before shutting the door. Then she went and sat on a chair by the open window. Kiyomi sat on a chair in a corner. Sako sat on the bed after she took her shoes off, leaning her back against the wall. ¡°You both have impressive stats.¡± Mod Aelis sat upright, stiffly like a corporate executive ready to do business. ¡°I¡¯d like to see you in battle sometime.¡± She cracked a smile. ¡°You can see them?!¡± Kiyomi asked. ¡°I can see anyone¡¯s stats if I want to, even if they try to hide them.¡± Moderators had that perk apparently. Kiyomi and Sako looked at one another to confirm if Kiyomi should go ahead and ask her questions. Sako nodded. ¡°I assume you have plenty of questions for me.¡± ¡°We do,¡± Kiyomi replied. ¡°Actually, I want some tea first with a carrot flavour.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be serious¡­Where the hell am I supposed to get that?¡± ¡°Do we even have teacups and a kettle here?¡± Sako asked. ¡°Yes, there¡¯s a kitchen in the other room, but we don¡¯t have carrots.¡± Mod Aelis groaned. ¡°Can one of you go get some carrots for me, please? Fresh carrots. Then we can talk.¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± Kiyomi stood up lazily. ¡°I¡¯ll follow Ki.¡± Sako got up. ¡°Exercise and sunlight are good!¡± ¡°It¡¯s night, dummy. And I rather sit here and rot.¡± Kiyomi sluggishly dragged her ass to the door. ¡°If you want, I can carry you.¡± She held her hand out for Kiyomi to take. Kiyomi glanced at her then looked away with a blush. ¡°I have feet. I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Good luck out there. Try not to be too long. I¡¯ll pay you when you get back.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah. Whatever,¡± Kiyomi mumbled. Chapter 13-Questions, Questions, Questions It was about midnight. Mod Aelis took a sip from her teacup and set it down on the table next to her. ¡°So, I bet you have tons of questions for me.¡± ¡°Why are you dressed like a bunny girl?¡± Sako asked. ¡°There¡¯s a limited-time event going on in town, so as a mod, I¡¯m wearing it to promote the event. It¡¯s not a requirement of my job though.¡± ¡°Event?¡± Kiyomi asked. ¡°Yes. Feel free to have a look. Check the Events Page if interested. It¡¯s basically to celebrate the king¡¯s birthday this week.¡± Kiyomi pulled up her inventory on her holoscreen. Surprisingly, there was a scroll in it. She closed her interface and opened her hand to summon it. Then she unrolled it and read. Greetings citizens of the Kingdom of Aria, This week be a celebration of King Lancestor¡¯s birthday. Hence, it is to be acknowledged as a special week of this year. He is to be turning 35, and so, His Majesty¡¯s royal attendants will be hosting a festival at the royal capital. They will as well be hosting a banquet for all lords and ladies at His Majesty¡¯s palace. Additionally, the second princess, Princess Vanescka, has requested that the theme be rabbits (as she is quite fond of them and has thus sought an opportunity such as this to issue her request). As such, do your best to accommodate her request earnestly. And so, good denizens, be merry and stand alongside us as we pray for our king¡¯s health and longevity in the years to come. Sincerely, The Head of the Royal Secretariat of the Throne Loyal. everlasting, distinguished subject The Honorary A-Se-Dau Le Francia Q. Bailelline Kiyomi looked up from the scroll with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Is the secretariat always this pretentious and stiff?¡± Mod Aelis chuckled. ¡°Just Le Francia. ¡®A-Se-Dau¡¯ is an exclusive title, so I understand why she flexes it. She¡¯s the only one in the entire kingdom with it. Always flexing.¡± She shrugged. ¡°That sounds like a nice title,¡± Sako commented. ¡°It is,¡± Mod Aelis replied. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re deviating,¡± Kiyomi cut in. ¡°Why are we stuck in the game? How did we even get pulled in? How do we get out? What happens if we die?¡± ¡°Firstly, bear in mind that I¡¯m also a victim trying to figure my way out of this. On top of that, I still have my job to do, which is making sure that things are in order as the admins requested, even if I¡¯m stuck in the game. Lately though, I haven¡¯t been able to contact them, so I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on from their end. As for why you¡¯re stuck, eh¡­ call it a game bug, but technically, it¡¯s much more than that. You see, HQ was tampering with simultaneous dimensions and portals and whatnot, lots of advanced sciencey stuff that our era isn¡¯t ready for. I won¡¯t bother getting into it. It¡¯s long and complicated.¡± She leaned towards them and lowered her tone to a whisper. ¡°And not exactly legal¡­ And they might¡¯ve stolen stuff from the Japanese government, but you didn¡¯t hear it from me.¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Uh¡­ okay¡­¡± That didn¡¯t sit right with Kiyomi. This woman didn¡¯t have any screws loose, right? ¡°Why are you looking at me like I have some screws loose?¡± Mod Aelis sipped her tea. ¡°It¡¯s hard to swallow,¡± Kiyomi replied. ¡°Well, that¡¯s the story.¡± Another sip. ¡°The admins are, I hope, trying to resolve this. I know them. They¡¯re not stupid people.¡± ¡°Pressing X to doubt,¡± she mumbled. ¡°Honestly, I can¡¯t think of a way to get out at the moment¡ªnot without the admins.¡± Sako spoke up. ¡°I got some intel from someone. There was a group actually that claimed they had defeated the Demon Lord. They went through a portal back into the real world.¡± Mod Aelis seemed intrigued. ¡°Oh? Why didn¡¯t you follow?¡± ¡°They were going to the US. We live in Japan. Plus Kiyomi wasn¡¯t with me at the time, and I wouldn¡¯t ever dream of leaving her.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make it sound romantic and cheesy, jeez,¡± Kiyomi grumbled. ¡°Teehee, sorry!¡± Sako stuck her tongue out. ¡°Hmm¡­ okay¡­¡± Mod Aelis paused to think carefully, looking up at the ceiling for an answer. ¡°Oh, also, they told me there¡¯s a guy named Vell Noxford in the East, and that he might know something, but we have to be maxed levelled first to go in safely.¡± ¡°No, he can¡¯t help.¡± Mod Aelis lowered her cup. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Kiyomi asked. ¡°I went there myself, multiple times. He just didn¡¯t know. He¡¯s not God.¡± Everyone fell silent for a while. Kiyomi broke the silence. ¡°Is there any way to speed up the Demon Lord¡¯s resurrection?¡± ¡°Oh, Queen Fraxxenus? She¡¯s already here.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Kiyomi and Sako shouted in unison. ¡°The last party didn¡¯t exactly vanquish her properly, so she ended up coming back much earlier. And she is pretty angry right now. Sako, that party must¡¯ve been the one you saw.¡± ¡°¡­So¡­ do we go and fight her?¡± Sako folded her feet on the bed. ¡°If you want to die, sure. Oh, by the way, if you die here, it¡¯s safe, and you won¡¯t die permanently, but there are different degrees of penalty for dying, the harshest being losing all your items in your inventory. It all depends on where you are and what you fight. Just be careful.¡± Sako nodded. ¡°So, was she really that angry?¡± Kiyomi asked Mod Aelis. ¡°Yeah. I paid her a visit a few days ago to see if she was okay, and she wanted to take my head off.¡± ¡°You¡­ wanted to see if she was okay¡­?¡± This puzzled Kiyomi. ¡°Yes, part of my job is to tune things. I adjust things if they need repairing, buffing, nerfing, et cetera at my discretion.¡± ¡°How about you nerf her so we could win?¡± ¡°Not a chance,¡± she instantly replied. ¡°That¡¯s against the game rules. And I¡¯d like to keep my job. I love my job.¡± ¡°So, you rather get stuck in-game? What kind of logic is that?! Don¡¯t you have a life to get back to?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°OH COME ON, REALLY?! You heartless¡­¡± After a pause, Kiyomi sighed in defeat. Pestering her or arguing wouldn¡¯t do anything. It was worth a shot anyway. She really wasn¡¯t all that concerned for herself but was doing this for Sako¡¯s sake as she hated seeing her upset. ¡°That¡¯s not a bad goal to shoot for though, but dangerous still. We¡¯ll all be stuck in-game indefinitely, so you might as well put the time to good use. Increase your levels, learn stuff, go to the festival and meet new people, have fun, and when you¡¯ve hit max level and gained powerful gear, you might stand a chance against her. There¡¯s about a handful of people in the world right now who probably have a decent chance. Probably. She¡¯s not a joke.¡± Sako yawned. Kiyomi was tired too. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s time for bed.¡± Mod Aelis waved. ¡°Get some sleep. I¡¯ll be around once in a while.¡± Kiyomi sluggishly nodded. Too tired to think anymore¡­ Chapter 14-The Festival at the Capital The capital was huge and enclosed within walls, and in the center of the town was the king¡¯s palace. The streets were filled with people at merchant stalls. There were balloons tied up everywhere and at every corner. Scarce and scattered bits of confetti rained down from the sky. Even guards marched about in colourful armour ¡ªtoo colourful and silly that it had taken Kiyomi a while to recognize them as guards. They looked like walking pieces of hard candy from a distance. It was noisy as Kiyomi and Sako walked through the crowded streets. ¡°Coming through!¡± They stepped out of the way as a carriage passed them. Sako had insisted on coming, hoping they could make some friends. She might be right: if they make friends, they could become useful allies later, so long as they didn¡¯t betray them. She was in awe at everything around her. The smells of the different foods¡­ Kiyomi was paranoid, so she constantly maintained the buffs she had on her, which forced her to refresh them every half hour. It got annoying, but at least she only had to think of the buffs to reapply them. She would prefer having enchanted gear she could passively gain protection from. But still no money¡­ They needed to go adventuring for money and levels but it all that would have to wait. A girl with pink hair dashed towards them from behind. An unexpected attack? ¡°Sako,¡± Kiyomi warned. As they both turned around to face the girl, she dived for Sako and wrapped her arms around her waist. Sako shrieked as the force knocked her down. She hit her head on the pavement. ¡°AH!¡± ¡°Oh Sako! You¡¯re here! I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re here!¡± The girl was on top of Sako, making it hard for Sako to get up off her back. Sako was holding the back of her head, trying to endure the headache. Kiyomi was at a lost. It looked like Sako knew her, which was why she hadn¡¯t tried to stop her. Either Sako knew her, or this girl was a stalker ¡°¡­And you are¡­?¡± ¡°Sako¡¯s girlfriend of course!¡± ¡°Her what?¡± Kiyomi didn¡¯t get that. Even if it was true, she would be bad at the job: Sako was writhing and groaning on the floor with a terrible headache, yet this idiot, the culprit, wasn¡¯t in the least bit worried. ¡°How about you help your ¡®girlfriend¡¯ up.¡± Kiyomi felt bad for Sako. Having to endure random tackles from strangers could get really annoying. Maybe it was due to her charisma. The last time she had seen it from Sako, it was 20 008. I sure as hell wouldn¡¯t want that much. Sako mumbled weakly. ¡°Luna, please¡­ could you get off me?¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Oh, right.¡± Luna got up off her. Sako slowly stood up but was unsteady on her feet. ¡°You okay?¡± Kiyomi asked. Sako nodded. Kiyomi pulled up the girl¡¯s stats on her holoscreen to confirm her name: Luna Forger. ¡°You know her?¡± ¡°She¡¯s the girl from the alley I helped the other night.¡± Kiyomi looked the girl up and down. ¡°What¡¯re you doing in the capital?¡± Sako asked. ¡°I¡¯m here for the king¡¯s celebration of course!¡± Luna was a bit too excited. Her eyes were bright red and overflowing with joy. ¡°Can I walk with you?¡± Sako took 2 steps back as Luna was in her personal space. ¡°Sure.¡± She forced a small smile. ¡°¡­And¡­¡± Luna looked down at the ground with hesitation. After a while, she gained the courage and looked into Sako¡¯s eyes again. ¡°Can I¡­ hold your hand?¡± She chuckled and held her hand out. ¡°I guess¡­ I don¡¯t mind.¡± Luna instantly took it. Kiyomi had her doubts. The emotion in Sako¡¯s reply sounded¡­ almost¡­ fake. ¡°Sako, if you don¡¯t want to, you don¡¯t have to.¡± ¡°Haha, no, no! It¡¯s fine, really! Thanks for worrying though.¡± ¡°There you have it. If she says it¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine.¡± Luna grinned. Kiyomi left it at that, and for a good while, they walked through the capital. She remained quiet in her thoughts as Sako and Luna chatted away about every trivial thing under the sun. ¡°I don¡¯t know much about fighting, and you seem pretty strong for your level, so I¡¯m wondering if you could teach me sometime.¡± Their locked hands swung back and forth. ¡°In private,¡± Luna added. Kiyomi rolled her eyes. In private or not, she would watch them as she wasn¡¯t about to let some stranger catch Sako off guard with anything. And if it meant spying on them for Sako¡¯s safety, she would. Sako looked to Kiyomi for approval. Luna followed Sako¡¯s gaze. ¡°Whatever,¡± Kiyomi replied. Sako¡¯s and Luna¡¯s conversation continued. ¡°I used to go to school too before I got stuck in the game,¡± Luna said. ¡°Oh, what¡¯s your plan now?¡± Sako asked. ¡°Dunno. I don¡¯t feel like going back now.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t get to see you anymore.¡± Kiyomi wanted to vomit. This felt like a romance movie. ¡°What¡¯s next? Kissing, foreplay, and then fucking?¡± Luna looked at her in utter shock. ¡°How did you read my mind?!¡± Unbelievable. Kiyomi walked on ahead of them. They could have their alone time. She knew Sako¡¯s magic signature by now, so she could always find her wherever she was in the capital. Or she could just message her from her friends list. She heard Sako laughing behind her. ¡°Don¡¯t joke about that!¡± But now that Kiyomi was alone, she wasn¡¯t sure what to do. Social events weren¡¯t her thing. She would just look awkward, but she wandered around anyway. About 1 hour later Something felt wrong¡­ A massive figure flew around high in the air, heading towards the capital. She turned around and could hardly make out the figure. But after mentally activating a telescopic spell, her vision zoomed in, and she got a clearer look. A high-level dragon. Not just any dragon. This one seemed leagues above regular ones. She could tell by its magical energy and potent aura. Probably an elite mob. Level 500. Before she moved, geared-up people ran past her towards the gate. Guards and adventurers probably. She sensed a horde of something beyond the walls too¡­ Chapter 15-Invasion, I A guard stood in the center of the town square being bombarded with questions from the surrounding crowd. ¡°How bad is it out there?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll do something, right?¡± ¡°Is it anything you can¡¯t handle?¡± ¡°How long until we can go out again?¡± ¡°WHERE ARE THE ADVENTURERS?!¡± The guard raised his hand. ¡°Please, please! Calm down, citizens. We will protect this town with our lives. I swear to you, no harm will befall you.¡± ¡°THEN WHY AREN¡¯T YOU OUT THERE? DO SOMETHING!¡± The guard ignored that outburst and went on: ¡°The adventurers and guards are organizing and preparing themselves. We will solve this issue shortly. In the meantime, please stay put. I assure you, Chelsea, the captain, will prevail.¡± ¡°How strong is she?¡± A man from the crowd asked. ¡°As strong as an A-rank adventurer,¡± the guard answered. ¡°You¡¯re all in good hands.¡± The people marveled at his answer. They were in awe. Many even smiled. Kiyomi left the crowd and followed Sako¡¯s magic signature. She turned a corner. When she found Sako, she and Luna had their arms linked. ¡°This isn¡¯t the time for a date.¡± ¡°Oh? Jealous?¡± Luna smirked. Kiyomi ignored her. ¡°Sako, what¡¯s the plan?¡± ¡°I say we help however we can,¡± she replied. ¡°What¡¯s in it for us though?¡± If there weren¡¯t any rewards waiting for them, Kiyomi was less inclined to help, especially when there was already help: the situation should be fine with the guards and adventurers around. Maybe. She didn¡¯t live here in the capital, so she couldn¡¯t care much. ¡°Do we always have to get something?¡± Sako frowned. ¡°It would do you some good to be nice and selfless for once.¡± Kiyomi stayed quiet, unconvinced. Sako pointed to her. ¡°As leader of the party, I¡¯m ordering you to fight alongside me and help defend the capital! I¡¯ll not take no for an answer.¡± Kiyomi had seen this coming. If Sako was going to do it, she might as well join in to back her up. ¡°Damnit.¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re the dominant type. Lucky for you, I¡¯m into that¡­¡± Luna moved her lips closer to Sako¡¯s¡­ If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°U-um¡­¡± Sako flushed. ¡°This really isn¡¯t the time for that.¡± She unlinked her arm from Luna¡¯s and stepped away. ¡°Anyway. We¡¯ll be heading off. It¡¯s best that you stay here. Sorry.¡± ¡°Why? You think I¡¯m weak?¡± ¡°No shit.¡± She would hold them back. Kiyomi also didn¡¯t want to continue tolerating her. ¡°But both of you are weak too! You¡¯re level 5s.¡± ¡°Yeah, but the thing is¡­¡± Sako didn¡¯t know how to continue. ¡°The thing is,¡± Kiyomi picked up, ¡°our levels don¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°What does that mean?! I don¡¯t want my Sako dying¡ª¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have the time to explain.¡± Kiyomi looked to Sako. ¡°If you¡¯re going, let¡¯s go. Do you want buffs?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± She moved to her, put a hand on her shoulder, and mentally cast Skill Share to share all her buffs. Sako took on a radiant glow. Kiyomi still had the problem of accuracy, which was why it was best for her to be as close as possible to her target for many of her spells. She cast flight on herself, which enabled Sako to fly too. Sako bowed to Luna. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll come back to you. I promise.¡± Luna hung her head with something in her eyes Kiyomi didn¡¯t quite get. Her eyes were calm, yet it was as if they held a subdued rage. After a while, she lifted her head and smiled. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll be waiting, dear.¡± She waved as they both lifted off into the air. In the distance, a woman in a crisp, white uniform with a white cape and long, white hair flew through the air and hovered high above the horde of monsters approaching the town gates. ¡°WEAPON ART: FULL BATTALION!¡± She pressed her gloved palms together then opened her arms. A trumpet sounded thunderously, and countless magic circles appeared across the sky. Blades fired from all of them, raining down on the monsters¡ªa ruthless barrage, quick and abundant as rain. Most of the monsters were around level 380. Each blade landed on a head and killed instantly. The monsters with wings rushed towards her, but she manifested a sword in one hand despite already having a sheathed one at her side. With one firm stroke of her blade to each target, they fell one by one. That must be the captain the guard had spoken of. Kiyomi pondered on it as she and Sako stood on a roof and watched. This woman was knightly¡ªsmooth, clean, professional movements. Efficient and sharp with each swipe of her blade and turn of her body. Keen senses. Precise and deft as if rehearsed. Guards fought off the enemies at the wall. They couldn¡¯t move out any further, or they would risk getting hit by her Weapon Art. Kiyomi remembered reading something on Weapon Arts in the starter guide. Weapon Arts were essentially ¡°special attacks¡± that were unique to each weapon, but only Epic and Legendary weapons had them. What was truly special about them was that they didn¡¯t use the user¡¯s mana or energy as fuel. They were entirely independent. There was a Weapon Art meter that had to be filled up to activate the Art for each weapon. Once the user participated actively in combat, their meter would gradually fill up with time. And each enemy defeated would fill it up a lot quicker. Swords continued raining down, unending. The dragon approached the captain from behind. She soared past it, meanwhile driving her blade into it as she went¡ªstarting from the mouth down to its tail. As she cut through the tail, the dragon split in two and fell. ¡°Impressive,¡± Sako commented. ¡°Not bad,¡± Kiyomi said, knowing she herself could¡¯ve done better. She used Telescopic Vision so they could see her clearly. The horde didn¡¯t stop. New monsters came and replaced the old ones, only to die and be replaced¡­ More dragons appeared from airborne portals and headed her way. Kiyomi knew Chelsea couldn¡¯t keep this up for long, not alone up there despite being at Level 612. She was constantly fighting off a swarm of dragons. She swung her sword and occasionally fired energy blasts from her free hand. But her MP was going down bit by bit. ¡°We should help. Come on.¡± Sako went up into the air with Kiyomi following. Chapter 16-Invasion, II By the time Kiyomi and Sako reached Chelsea, Chelsea was panting and at quarter of her MP. ¡°And you are?¡± Chelsea asked. ¡°You¡¯re Chelsea, right?¡± Sako asked. ¡°Indeed,¡± she replied. Chelsea¡¯s hair had a golden glow. Her eyes were courageous and bold. Confident. ¡°I¡¯m Sako.¡± Then Sako gestured to Kiyomi. ¡°She¡¯s Kiyomi. You seem to need some help, so¡ª¡± ¡°HAHAHA! A couple of Level 5s willing to assist me.¡± Her face grew serious. ¡°I wish I had some real assistance.¡± ¡°Where are the other adventurers?¡± Sako asked. ¡°Some are fighting alongside the guards, helping them to defend. But we¡¯re short. The Guild said over half are out doing quests. And the Knights of the Round are out on foreign business.¡± Which meant that whoever planned this assault had executed it at the perfect time when the capital was vulnerable. Chelsea¡¯s Weapon Art was still going: blade after blade after blade¡­ The blades landed in the soil, stuck upright, then after a second or two, they dissolved, making way for other blades. Kiyomi looked down at the battle. The guards were struggling. They were gradually being beaten back and couldn¡¯t make much progress forward even if Chelsea¡¯s Art stopped. They were forced to stay on the defensive as the monsters attacked. The raining swords weren¡¯t enough to penetrate everything. ¡°No offense, but your guards are pretty weak.¡± ¡°Says the Level 5 Dark Wizard,¡± Chelsea retorted. ¡°Pffft.¡± That was to be expected though: the guards were around Level 300, so tackling Level 380 mobs would be difficult. Kiyomi eyed Sako. ¡°Deal with the ground units. I¡¯ll stay up here.¡± Sako nodded and flew down. Kiyomi and Chelsea floated back-to-back. ¡°Hey! I can¡¯t just let you go and get yourself killed!¡± Chelsea called after Sako. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine!¡± Sako waved back. ¡°You don¡¯t trust us at all, do you?¡± Kiyomi kept her eyes on the dragons emerging from the portals in the air. ¡°No. Why would I?¡± That was fair. At least she was a sensible captain. ¡°Do you have accuracy buffs?¡± ¡°I do have one. What¡¯s it to you?¡± ¡°Can I use it?¡± In a half chuckle, Chelsea replied, ¡°You really don¡¯t know a thing about combat, do you? You should know that you can¡¯t simply use other people¡¯s spells.¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°I need your consent.¡± Kiyomi¡¯s said firmly. ¡°There¡¯s no point. I said¡ª¡± A small, swift blade came from a random direction, so quick Chelsea couldn¡¯t react. Kiyomi¡¯s hand reached in front of Chelsea¡¯s neck. She caught the blade between two gloved fingers. The tip was coated in a fluid. Likely poison. It was a good thing she had put on gloves earlier in anticipation for something like this. Chelsea froze with a sweat drop running down her cheek. ¡°I¡­ didn¡¯t see that.¡± ¡°I know you didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want your thanks. I want your consent.¡± ¡°Heh. You¡¯re adamant.¡± The dragons roared and charged at them haphazardly from all directions. ¡°Consent.¡± ¡°I consent.¡± Ping. A notification came up in front of her eyes. She had access to all of Chelsea¡¯s long list of skills. Mentally going through them, she found the accuracy spell and activated it: Perfect Aim. Now, she could follow up with any number of spells without having to worry about accuracy. She discarded her staff. It faded and went back into her inventory. Flames of Revelation. Black fire ignited and surrounded the two then expanded and engulfed all the dragons at once. The dragons stopped, roaring as they burned and disintegrated into ashes. Chelsea turned around to Kiyomi and stared at her in disbelief. ¡°What was that¡­¡± More dragons poked their body parts through the portal. Kiyomi lifted a hand and closed it into a fist. Forced Unsummon. The portals shut, and any parts that had made it through were cut off, and the dismembered parts fell. ¡°There¡¯s more at the east gate. Sako will be alright.¡± That was way on the other side of the capital. ¡°¡­Sure¡­¡± Chelsea nodded slowly and tailed her as they flew across to the other side. ~~~ Nothing could stop Sako. Each swing of her fist and foot took out at least 50 monsters. If the punches and kicks didn¡¯t kill them, the shockwaves did or any makeshift projectiles like other monsters she would throw. She fought right in the middle of the Weapon Art, narrowly avoiding the falling swords and occasionally caught one to use on an enemy in the moment. She mainly dealt with the bigger and resilient ones who withstood even several of the falling blades. Ogres, golems, serpents, and wolves of colossal sizes, cyclopes, orcs, elementals, griffins attacking from above¡­ Nothing mattered. She blew everything to bits, even the blades that landed and stuck up from the ground before they had a chance to vanish. The shockwaves made craters and trenches left and right. For a battle this simple and straightforward with thousands coming at her, she kept her fighting pattern simple. It was predictable, but her speed far outclassed everything, which meant she couldn¡¯t be interrupted. So ultimately, her predictability didn¡¯t matter. But every now and then, she would pivot backwards with her kick and sweep it in a wide arc to hit multiple targets at once and bump up her kills per minute¡ªor KPM. She kept track of every kill, every little movement around her, every muscle twitch, breath, footstep, groan, smell, heartbeat¡­ as if she saw everything. Her knuckles burst through flesh easily. Thousands and thousands of different monsters, yet they all their sizes and shapes felt the same. Each body she hit felt like flimsy paper. By the end of it, the landscape was scattered with corpses and blood. The swords had stopped falling. ¡°That was a good warmup!¡± She had gained quite a bit of levels from that too, which meant more skill points and skills. ¡°You call that a warmup?!¡± Chelsea shouted from behind her as she approached with Kiyomi. ¡°You took just shy of an hour to defeat roughly 50 000?!¡± ¡°I know right? A bit slow. I was aiming for 20 minutes¡­¡± Sako hung her head with a groan. ¡°I just need a bit more training, I think.¡± Kiyomi seemed to be deep in thought. Chelsea was jumpy. ¡°What do you mean ¡®more training¡¯?! You could demolish a whole kingdom with that strength!¡± ¡°You really think so?¡± Sako thought for a moment. It just might be possible¡­ Chapter 17-In the Throne Room Kiyomi and Sako kneeled before the king in the center of the room as he sat on this throne. Chelsea had insisted on taking them to the king. 50 guards lined the whole room on either side of them and facing their direction, evenly split and parallel¡ªfrom the King Lancester¡¯s sides down to the door. They stood at attention, weapons sheathed. Their helmets hid their faces. Chelsea stood at attention by the king¡¯s side as a mannequin. A girl with a large, round pair of glasses stood on his opposite side in a relaxed manner, probably because she wasn¡¯t part of a military force for the kingdom. She looked like a secretary¡ªdressed studiously in a gold-trimmed, black wizard robe with the look of a bookworm. Her hair was a bob cut¡ªdark brown and neat, well-combed. She was reading a book. Then she held the book in one hand and began scribbling something down with her other. A finely crafted, black sword levitated close to her, engulfed in an aura¡ªa magic sword. Those were rare. Everyone except her was quiet and still as rocks. After a moment, she shut the book and looked off to a far side of the room away from everyone. A portal appeared where she was staring. She walked towards it leisurely, about to leave. ¡°You could at least give a farewell before your departure, Le Francia.¡± He gave her a mildly disgruntled look. A slight annoyance lingered in his tone. Le Francia stopped before the portal. ¡°I could. But perhaps another time.¡± Before she took another step to the poral, someone yelled. A guard stepped out of line. ¡°SUCH INSUBORDINATION SHOULD NOT GO UNPUNISHED!¡± He drew his sword and pointed it at her. Everyone turned their heads, including Le Francia. ¡°SETTLE DOWN, SOLDIER!¡± Chelsea shouted. ¡°But¡­¡± After some thinking, he sheathed his sword, went back in line, and resumed his stance as a statue like the rest of his peers¡ªhands at his side, feet together, looking straight ahead past the girls to the opposite, identical line of guards. Le Francia was a bit surprised. ¡°I appreciate your sincere loyalty to His Majesty. Retain that quality, even in dire times. Always remember your duty. Be steadfast and strong. The same goes for all of you lest your kingdom falls!¡± Together, all the guards, including Chelsea, put their right fists to their left breasts¡ªa salute. ¡°Ma¡¯am!¡± She turned back to the portal before her and stepped through, followed by the sword. The portal closed. Is the atmosphere always this tense? Kiyomi wondered. Le Francia¡¯s behavior puzzled her too. An awkward silence filled the air. She was fighting the urge to check everyone¡¯s stats in the room. It would be rude to just suddenly pull up a holoscreen and read off it. She could also check the stats by visualizing them on each person, which would bring up the stats to her eyes for only her to see, but they wouldn¡¯t be as detailed as the standard holoscreen. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. King Lancester¡¯s eyes now rested on the two of them as he sat upright, dignified and confident. He was a fairly young man and not even middle-aged. Neatly trimmed, blonde hair with a crown on top of his head. He wore a cloak, gold-trimmed and black like Le Francia¡¯s robe. It seemed to be something like a dress code for royalty or high positions. His blonde beard and mustache were neat, sharp, and cleanly shaven. ¡°My honored guests, please forgive that. She is just a little upset about an earlier matter. Now, I heard from my captain that you both helped in annihilating the invading monsters. Is this true?¡± Sako glanced to Kiyomi, wanting her permission to answer for both of them. Kiyomi nodded at her. Sako looked back at King Lancester. ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± His face lit up with surprise. He took some time to find his next words. Soft sounds of awe erupted around them. Some guards leaned to one another, mumbling. ¡°I am thoroughly impressed at your astounding achievement,¡± he continued. ¡°Thank you for your aid. I do not know how we would have managed to counter such an enormous horde without you.¡± He looked to his side to Chelsea. ¡°How large was this horde again?¡± ¡°Just about 100 000,¡± she replied. ¡°That is quite a feat¡­¡± He fell silent in his admiration. The mumbling around them got louder. ¡°Are you adventurers?¡± ¡°Yes, we are,¡± Sako replied. ¡°In that case, out of curiosity, may we see your adventurer¡¯s IDs?¡± Sako stiffened and bit her lip, looking to Kiyomi for help, but Kiyomi was just as embarrassed with cold sweats. ¡°They are¡­¡± King Lancester raised an eyebrow. ¡°They are what?¡± Maybe we should lie and tell him we lost them in the fight. That was a decent idea. She leaned over to Sako. ¡°Just lie about them, simple.¡± ¡°What?! Are you crazy?!¡± Sako whispered back. ¡°Let¡¯s just show him. You know I don¡¯t like lying, especially if it¡¯s someone as important as this guy.¡± ¡°Is there an issue with my request?¡± he asked. They resumed their initial positions. ¡°No, no! We were just¡­ discussing the decision¡­¡± Sako forced a smile and showed her teeth. Her eyebrows betrayed her; they were tense. Whenever she smiled with her teeth, she looked downright awkward, like a drug dealer trying to convince you that his drugs were good for you. ¡°In that case, Chelsea.¡± He glanced to Chelsea. ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± She made her way down a few steps, taking her time. The click of her heels echoed in the room as she walked across it. She walked with a refined gait, befitting royalty. And with each click that brought her closer to the two, the fear inside Kiyomi grew more and more. Chelsea reached them and held her hand out. ¡°You may stand.¡± They got to their feet. ¡°Your IDs, please.¡± Half of her bangs were professionally clipped back to one side of her head, exposing her forehead. The other half rested just above her eyes, evenly trimmed. Kiyomi reluctantly pulled it out of her pocket. Sako did the same. They both handed them to her. Once she got them, she turned her back and returned to King Lancester¡¯s side then stood exactly as she was before. ¡°What are their ranks?¡± King Lancester asked. Chelsea held them up before her eyes and stared at them. Her eyes widened. ¡°This doesn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°What? What is it?¡± The king asked. ¡°Their ranks¡­¡± At last, she lifted her head, appearing as if she had just woken up from a bad dream. ¡°They¡¯re F.¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± Chapter 18-Lunch in the Main Hall King Lancester sat at one end of the long, rectangular, oak table filled with assorted foods and drinks. He had dismissed his men and had called for lunch for 4 in the main dining hall¡ªthe 3 of them and Chelsea. She sat near the king with her knife and fork, poking, cutting, and chewing her food in small bites with refined manners. The king did the same. A few chandeliers hung down from the ceiling, shining warm, orange light. Kiyomi and Sako sat near the opposite end beside one another. For a few long minutes, they all sat and ate, the only sounds being the clinking of utensils on white, ceramic plates. Sako scarfed a lot down, but Kiyomi was a light eater, so unlike Sako, she hadn¡¯t taken much. Sako had a mountain of food. King Lancester put down his fork and knife on his empty plate and wiped his lips with a cloth napkin. ¡°So, would you mind explaining your ranks? I¡¯ve never heard of any adventurer of lowly rank capable of such astounding feats.¡± Kiyomi glanced to Sako who continued scarfing, apparently expecting Kiyomi to answer for both of them. She sighed. I might as well be the party leader at this point. She looked to King Lancester. ¡°Our ranks are extremely inaccurate because of our spiteful Guildmaster. He basically got mad because he lost to us, so he decided not to judge our abilities fairly.¡± Chelsea, now finished too, took a sip of water from her glass while listening to her explanation. ¡°Hm, he sounds like quite the awful man. Not very professional either, is he? In that case, I will reissue more accurate versions of your IDs. Is that acceptable?¡± ¡°Yes, thank you,¡± Kiyomi replied. ¡°Yep, thanks, king!¡± Sako looked up with a mouthful of food then look down and dug into her food again with her fork. ¡°I also owe you an explanation for the invasion, if you are willing to listen.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Kiyomi replied. Actually, she was bored already and only agreed out of courtesy. She wanted to walk out and go learn more of the mechanics of the game, not this useless lore. ¡°Our¡ª¡± Kiyomi got up. ¡°Actually, I just remembered. There¡¯s something I need to do.¡± Who gave a crap about lying to the king? As long as she wasn¡¯t caught, there wouldn¡¯t be consequences. King Lancester nodded. ¡°Then I¡¯ll inform your friend, and she can fill you in later.¡± Kiyomi nodded and walked around the table and reached the door before bowing. ¡°Thank you, Majesty.¡± Then she went out. She made her way down a corridor filled with long, vertical windows along one wall that let in bright sunlight. Where¡¯s the exit? Should be around the corner¡­As she reached the center of the corridor, a portal appeared before her¡ªso close that she nearly stepped into it. She took a step back and the point of a blade lunged out. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. CLINK. Her invisible forcefield deflected it and sent it flying in another direction. The sword steadied itself and now floated upright, blade pointing down, hilt pointing up. A familiar sword, obsidian. It hummed with great power, sparkled too. A thick, dark aura blazed around it like a wild flame, but emitted no heat. It flew up to the ceiling swiftly, spun around a few times, and dashed down. CLINK. CLINK. CLINK. It struck her shield, bounced off, and jabbed at it again and again. CLINK. CLINK. CLINK. CLINK. CLINK. CLINK. CLINK. CLINK. CLINK. The strikes were heavy and diligent with malicious intent. Kiyomi was puzzled¡­ ¡°Can¡¯t you see you¡¯re in the way? Move.¡± A girl¡¯s voice came from the portal. Her voice was even with a hint of irritation. She had a posh accent. Kiyomi took a few more steps back to allow space. Le Francia stepped through. ¡°Tch.¡± She walked past her, going down the corridor. The sword calmy drifted to her and returned to her side. The portal shut. Kiyomi turned around. ¡°Who are you exactly?¡± She stopped, though didn¡¯t turn around to face her. ¡°Is that imperative to discuss now? I¡¯m occupied with¡­¡± After a pause, she switched to another topic, ¡°If you have such a high interest in me, go to the library. You can gather information on me in precisely 128 books.¡± She marched off. ~~ Kiyomi pulled a book off the massive library shelf, went to an empty table, sat, and opened it. She went through the contents, looking down the list. A¡­ A-Se-Dau. She flipped to the page number. Damn. I should¡¯ve looked at her stats while I had the chance. Another time then. She would read just a few paragraphs: The current A-Se-Dau of the Kingdom of Aria is Le Francia Q. Bailelline. Firstly, the A-Se-Dau is a position granted to an individual by a representative of God, such as an archangel. This individual, conditionally, can possess supreme power over the entire kingdom, surpassing even the king himself. However, there are many caveats. For example, if neither the king nor the queen is fit to rule (like due to death or unjust rulership), the A-Se-Dau must take the throne at once to prevent a power vacuum, even bypassing the rights of all heirs to the throne. This individual will hold onto the throne until a suitable replacement is found. In terms of an heir, he or she must prove himself or herself as deserving of the throne through a long and rigorous series of challenges. The throne must be earned to ensure that the kingdom has an adequate ruler. As another example, in a state of emergency whereby the kingdom is in danger and all authoritative figures, including those of royalty, cannot stop its impending doom, the A-Se-Dau must seize control at once and do all that is possible to avert the doom. Power must then be restored to the king, queen, or whomever had the right to the throne before the crisis if possible¡­ The A-Se-Dau is always exempt from the king¡¯s rule as long as his or her actions will ultimately benefit the citizens or at the very least not harm the citizens¡­ The holder of this position essentially acts as an independent, political entity that is in power but usually does not overlap with the current royal rulership¡­ ¡°Huh¡­¡± Kiyomi closed the book, got up, and went back to the shelf to return it. Now, what was next on her agenda again¡­ Oh, she hadn¡¯t checked her stats and levels yet. And then raids¡­ Maybe? Or maybe that would have to wait. She still needed to figure out some stuff. ¡°I keep getting sidetracked¡­¡± Chapter 19-Queen Fraxxenus Stats Kiyomi messaged Sako and told her to meet her outside the palace walls when she was done talking with the king. Meanwhile, she fiddled with her UI and the buttons on the menu then started reading the Demon Lord¡¯s stats and abilities that Mod Aelis had sent to their inboxes the other night. The info was incomplete though as Mod Aelis had said she was still working on revamping the explanations in the DL guide to make it easier to understand, and she would send all the info much later when they were ready to confront her. It would also take a while for the revamping since she was busy with her many other tasks all over the game. Maximum number of players allowed in each encounter: no limit. But the typical amount is 100 to avoid overcrowding.
Queen Fraxxenus Level 100M Info ??
Strength 100B Affects physical power; attack damage, lifting ability against Weight, and Carry Weight.
Vitality 100B Affects HP and Defense.
Intellect 100B Affects damage of magic attacks, MP capacity, and MP regen. rate. Also affects overall wisdom.
Agility 100B Affects physical speed and perceptive speed
Dexterity 100B Affects deftness in minor tasks and movements, especially with the hands. Also affects accuracy of projectiles.
Endurance 100B Affects stamina and stamina regen.
Resistance 100B Affects resistance to status ailments and elemental damage.
Charisma -100B Affects charm, leadership, and persuasive skills. Exclusive effect: Drives Terror into everyone alive after the start of the fight. Terror: Drains everyone¡¯s stats by 99%.
Luck 666B Affects drop rate by a small amount and crit chance. Exclusive effect: Continuously warps Causality. Causality: Able to decide what happens and what doesn¡¯t happen. Can be negated.
Class: Demon Lord
Skills Description
Note: The fight should typically last about 1 hour and 20 minutes. For a perfect speed kill, 1 hour.
Magic Immunity (passive) Her Mark grants her immunity to all magical attacks.
Mark of Fraxxenus (passive) A power that is unique to the Demon Lord. Her Mark transcends all in the mortal world and can¡¯t be overridden. Her Mark also cancels attacks that are based on the enemy¡¯s max HP.
Otherworldly Blessing (passive) Always has elemental advantage, while all opponents always have elemental disadvantage. Elemental advantage increases damage (magic and physical) and crit rate significantly and reduces the chance of Glancing Hits.
Demon Lord¡¯s Will (passive) Damage from physical attacks is reduced by 99%.
Conditional Regen. (passive) Gradually recovers to full health and replaces missing body parts whenever HP drops down to 90% or less.
Tail Swipe (demonic) Swings her tail to strike and injure the target, depleting its HP by 95%. Applies Bleed and Poison for 30 minutes. Or swipes her tail across a really wide area as an AOE, depleting all targets¡¯ current HP by 95%. Applies Bleed and Poison for 30 minutes.
Tail Jab (demonic) Thrusts her tail to penetrate the target. Applies Paralysis for 1 hour and 59 minutes. Guaranteed critical hit.
Wing Swipe (demonic) This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Swipes a wing when in melee distance to strike the target and stun for 30 minutes. Guaranteed critical hit.
Contemptuous Tongue Irritably clicks her tongue, generating a wave of Dark Energy. The Energy disperses in all directions and prevents everyone from receiving buffs for 10 minutes. Anyone within melee distance is blown away. Additionally, everyone becomes Marked, preventing them from dispelling the effect.
Mana Thirst When out of MP, raises a hand and steals 50% of current MP from all sources if possible.
Sealed Fate At the start of the fight, all party members die instantly from the Demon Lord¡¯s gaze. Or: if at the moment of death, and if there are survivors, all party members die instantly from the Demon Lord¡¯s gaze.
Supreme Presence (passive) The closest party member becomes infected with her Mark. The party member has their max HP instantly burned off by 30%. As the fight progresses, their max HP continues to burn at a rate of half of her highest rage %. The max HP burned off can¡¯t be regained even if the rage drops. At 90% rage for example, the max HP burned off would be 45%. If the rage decreases or the victim steps away, the max HP burned off can¡¯t be regained. The new max HP value also becomes the real value for attacks that deal damage based on the victim¡¯s (not the enemy¡¯s) max HP.
Icy Trickster She smirks. ¡°Careful!¡± The ground freezes and creates the Slippery effect. Can¡¯t be melted or broken. Anything on the frozen ground will also freeze even after casting for the duration of the fight. She is able to walk on the frozen ground.
Dimensional Block (passive) At the start of the fight, her Mark automatically prevents anyone from teleporting for the remainder of the fight. She will target anyone who attempts to teleport by firing a Marked, unavoidable, unstoppable beam from her finger aimed at the heart. The beam may split into multiple beams depending on the number of targets.
Summoned Arsenal Conjures a Marked forcefield around her that can¡¯t be rendered ineffective for 30 seconds. Summons a Marked book with detailed information and diagrams of everyone¡¯s gear and items. ¡°Let¡¯s see here¡­¡± Quickly skims through the book, gaining a deep understanding of the content then summons anything as a copy from the book at her discretion. Duration: indefinite.
Borrowed Power She chuckles. ¡°I¡¯ll be borrowing this now!¡± Extends her hand toward the target with the highest attack power. Steals the skill that uses the most MP. If there are several, steals one at random. Uses the skill immediately with a cost of 0 MP (and locks onto a random target if a target is needed) then returns it to the target, putting it on a 6-hour cooldown. Cooldown continues even after finishing the encounter.
Reversal Taunt ¡°I¡¯m smarter than that!¡± When taunted, dashes towards the provoker and swings a fist that penetrates all types of defenses and knocks the target back. Applies a stun for 30 minutes. Cleanses the Provoked status from herself and taunts the party member with the lowest attack power, forcing the target to only use basic offensive skills while under Fear. Fear results in 50% less damage. Duration: 30 minutes. Scales up to 10 targets depending on party size.
Unbridled Fury Produces a deafening roar, draining all MP from all sources. Applies MP Block and prevents MP recovery from all sources for 1 hour.
Supreme Queenship ¡°KNEEL!¡± All combatants are forced to drop to one knee. For targets who have succumbed to this move, leisurely walks over to each one (while being invulnerable due to her Mark) and taps their forehead, cursing them with her Mark. After 60 seconds, all heads affected will explode, causing instant death. Victims can¡¯t be revived through usual means.
Undivine Immortality (passive) Her Mark prevents her from being killed in a single hit. Any attack with a one-shot potential will be reflected to all party members with an infinite damage multiplier, meaning that all party members¡¯ HP and defences will become irrelevant.
Fair Fight ¡°Let¡¯s have a fair fight.¡± With the help of her Mark, flicks her tail and places a curse on everyone¡¯s inventories and characters, preventing them from equipping weapons until she equips one. All currently equipped weapons will be unequipped. Additionally, may sometimes select a handful of combatants to fight for a short time, excluding everyone else from the fight by erecting a Marked barrier. This occurs only when there is a large party (20+).
Chaos Field Flies into the air. Her horns glow, building up Dark Energy. Points her hand down at the center of the arena and summons a dome that quickly expands and covers the whole arena. The skills and stats of everyone in the dome will be randomly switched for 5 minutes. Descends into the dome, having immunity to its effects due to her Mark.
Darkness Incarnate Dimensional Block is disabled during this time. Materializes up to five mirages proportionate to the number of players. Each mirage lasts for 10 minutes. All mirages have 30% of the Demon Lord¡¯s stats and constantly regenerate. Meanwhile, she is invulnerable as she channels a devastating ball between her horns above her head. After 10 minutes, she releases the ball into the ceiling. It bursts and scatters Dark Energy, annihilating everything.
The Lord¡¯s Order ¡°Don¡¯t disobey me!¡± With a pointed finger, Marks the player with the highest attack power and forces a command onto them. This player acquires an overall stat increase by 5000% and is forced to attack the player with the lowest HP for 10 minutes. The target penetrates all types of defences. If the Minion gets defeated, either by Knockout or depleting the HP to 1 (Minions can¡¯t be killed), regains 50% of their max HP but is stunned for 20 minutes. The number of targets increases up to 20, proportionate to the party size.
Sword of the Queen: Fraxxenus Summons her iconic sword Fraxxenus that is capable of cutting and piercing through anything regardless of distance.
Absolute Intent ¡°Now you have done it! Now you shall face the fury of the QUEEN!¡± Occurs at 90%+ enrage. Occasionally empowers her intent with her Mark for a short time. Her intent becomes absolute. Her actions can¡¯t be blocked, silenced, stunned, or otherwise interrupted in any way. All applied debuffs become Marked. Marked debuffs ignore cleanses. Each instance of activation lasts 5 minutes.
Undivine Blessing (passive) Periodically transfers all debuffs from herself to all party members every few minutes.
Containment Reversal ¡°YOU THINK YOU CAN CONTAIN ME? I¡¯LL CONTAIN YOU!¡± If somehow bound to one spot for more than 5 minutes, or is constantly bound too quickly, she breaks free with her Mark and waves a hand, increasing the gravity around everyone exponentially, eventually making it nearly impossible to move for 20 minutes.
Stun Reversal ¡°Tch!¡± If somehow stunned for more than 5 minutes, or is constantly stunned too quickly, she breaks free with her Mark and strikes the last culprit with her tail and stuns for 20 minutes while Marking the culprit. While Marked, each attempt to free the stun will double the remaining duration. After 5 failed attempts, the Mark instantly kills the culprit.
Grand Theft This occurs occasionally when there is a constant upkeep of buffs, especially if some combatants have over 20 buffs at once for a long, uninterrupted period of time. ¡°You cowards!¡± Her tail smashes the ground, causing an intense earthquake. Everyone¡¯s buffs are then transferred to her. The duration of stolen buffs is tripled. Fortifies her Dark Energy and gains a shield that is twice her max HP for 10 minutes. Although the stolen buffs can be stolen back, there is a penalty: the Demon Lord spitefully takes the chance to absorb 90% of the culprit¡¯s current HP, adding it to her own and applying a Marked Heal Block for 10 minutes. Marked debuffs ignore cleanses.
Unique Skill: World¡¯s End After awakening into her full potential, she flies up into the sky after breaking through the ceiling and opens her arms. She charges a tiny Dark Energy ball before her for 10 seconds. After 10 seconds, the orb falls and hits the ground. ¡°Death to all!¡± The Realm implodes, leading to its explosion afterwards and ultimately, its end. All safe-zones and damage resistances are ignored, if there are any. The Demon Lord snatches everyone¡¯s possessions, keeping them permanently unless defeated in a subsequent encounter. Condition: Rage meter must be at 100%. Meter typically builds to 100% after 2 hours of being in combat. It is ill advised to drag out the fight for this long.
Rage meter: Throughout the fight, her rage will gradually climb. There are numerous factors that affect the progress of the meter. Exchanging witty remarks and cheeky comments with her can help to control the meter; mind games can be an effective way to lessen, stall, and even increase the meter. What in the fuck¡­ Kiyomi thought. Chapter 20-Just a Simple Checkup Flashback In one corner of the world, there was the World Gate that led to the Demon Realm. This massive portal stood in the center of a square concrete platform, surrounded by 4 equally tall pillars of stone. Aelis walked through the blizzard and deep snow with ease then stepped onto the platform. Usually, one needed a special, hard-to-get key, but she could bypass that. She pulled out her reliable screwdriver and got to work: as she tapped the point against one side of the hard frame, (the edges of the portal were locked into a frame like a picture in a picture frame) a screw appeared right where she had tapped. Once she twisted the screw a little with her screwdriver, the portal lit up, blowing out a continuous, gentle stream of cool wind. Colors swirled around inside the frame. She stepped through. Her surroundings warped, and she found herself at the main doors of a dungeon. She waved her hand to open a holographic interface before her eyes. The map of the whole dungeon appeared¡ªall 1 000 floors, though condensed and simplified. Expanding part of it, she tapped ¡°F 1000¡± with a finger for a shortcut. Her surroundings blurred and twisted again, then she stood at the end of Floor 999 before a pair of black doors that led to Floor 1 000. With her screwdriver again, which was quite the reliable cheat tool, she tapped one of the doors. Once a small screw came up, she twisted it a bit. The double doors opened slightly. Aelis pushed them wide open and stepped in. The doors slammed shut behind her. The room was dim, and she could hardly see anything. But after taking a few steps forward, the entire arena lit up with bright lights. ¡°YOU SHALL DIE BY MY HANDS! I¡¯LL DEVOUR YOUR UNRIGHTEOUS SOUL AND KEEP YOUR HEAD AS A TROPHY!¡± a voice yelled from behind. Did she say that line to everyone? Aelis turned around. Queen Fraxxenus dashed down from the air in not even half a second, swinging her iconic sword. Raging, red flames engulfed it, which could surely melt through anything in the game. And the blade itself could easily slice through the strongest armors, even Legendary armors, regardless of their enchantments and buffs. The sword bounced off Aelis¡¯ head. Aelis blinked. The hit had felt like a weakly thrown rubber band. ¡°Relax, I¡¯m just here for a simple checkup. Calm down.¡± ¡°I WILL TAKE AFFECTION FROM NO ONE! THE WORLD SHALL PERISH AT MY HAND AND DROWN IN EVERLASTING DESTRUCTION! YOU WILL RUE YOUR PATHETIC EXISTENCE!¡± ¡°You¡¯re just sour that you lost to the previous group of adventurers. Quit being a sore loser.¡± Queen Fraxxenus reminded her of someone, but who? Aelis couldn¡¯t remember the name. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°I didn¡¯t lose.¡± She growled with glowing, red eyes. Her stare could disintegrate anything if she stared long and hard enough. And suddenly, she couldn¡¯t find Aelis who had disappeared. She looked around¡­ ¡°Hold still.¡± Aelis popped up behind her. But before Queen Fraxxenus could react, Aelis took hold of the base of her left horn, pulling on it gently, which tilted her head slightly to her left. Queen Fraxxenus shrieked. Her face reddened from the touch. ¡°Stop¡­ touching my¡­ w-weak¡­ spot¡­¡± She was paralyzed. Her tail fell flat on the ground too and couldn¡¯t move. ¡°Just a moment.¡± She put the screwdriver near her left horn and tapped it very softly. Queen Fraxxenus groaned. ¡°Does it hurt?¡± ¡°A little¡­¡± ¡°Just hang in there.¡± A red screw materialized on her horn. The lower half was in, while the upper half stuck out. Several more became visible. They were all sticking out. She fingered a few. They wobbled. Yes, they were definitely loose as she had thought. ¡°Mmm¡­¡± Queen Fraxxenus moaned. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re enjoying this now?¡± ¡°Shut up and do your job!¡± Aelis began with the first screw, twisting it until it was down in her horn tight. She went to the second¡­ ¡°Aaahhh¡­¡± ¡°You seem to be enjoying this alright.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean. Shut¡ªAH!¡± Aelis rubbed her hand along her horn, then she thumbed at the base to pull up her stats on a small holoscreen. The numbers and bars were mostly fine and normal. ¡°Everything seems okay...¡± She continued reading. ¡°Except you seem to be a little bit injured, and you won¡¯t heal for some reason. Must be a bug.¡± She could fix that. She released her horn, but Queen Fraxxenus still needed time to recover before she could move again. From another holoscreen, she tapped a cotton swab icon in her inventory to transfer one into her hand. ¡°Nonsense! As if any mortal fool could ever match my power and leave a mark! Do you not understand who I am?! I AM THE DEMON¡ª¡± She flinched with a squeak when Aelis parted her long, red hair to expose her nape and touched the purple bruise on it with the gel-covered swab. ¡°There¡¯s Magic Gel on it, so give it 10 minutes and it¡¯ll heal up.¡± Magic Gel was really rare, and if it was found on the market, it was pretty expensive, but Aelis had an unlimited quantity. Entire guilds would player-kill just for some. She let her hair go. After 10 minutes, she rechecked the small holoscreen by Queen Fraxxenus¡¯ horn. Good, she regained the missing 0.5% of her HP. ¡°There. You¡¯re healthy again.¡± Now she had 100% of her HP again, which meant she could do far more damage; she had a passive that allowed her to do 5 times her base damage at full HP. The paralysis was gradually wearing off. Queen Fraxxenus slowly straightened her head and turned around to Aelis with a flushed face. ¡°Um¡­¡± She couldn¡¯t meet her eyes but instead looked down at the floor. ¡°I¡­ suppose I¡¯ll let you live this time.¡± Aelis smiled. ¡°You¡¯re welcome¡± ¡°But only this time.¡± She chuckled and bowed. ¡°Understood, my queen.¡± ¡°Are you mocking me?¡± She glared at her. ¡°No, no, nothing like that.¡± ¡°And why are you in a bunny suit?¡± ¡°Oh, I should change out of this, you¡¯re right. It was for an event.¡± Queen Fraxxenus raised an eyebrow questioningly. Aelis made her way to the door. ¡°Anyway, see you!¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± Chapter 21-Luna is BACK! Afternoon Kiyomi tapped a button and closed her holoscreen when she noticed Sako stepping through the palace gates beside her. ¡°What did he say?¡± Kiyomi asked as Sako closed the gate. ¡°So, remember when Mod Aelis said the Demon Lord was cranky?¡± ¡°Yeah, and?¡± ¡°She ordered one of her generals to go out on a rampage as a retaliation. He razed Esuria. That¡¯s a continent waaaay in the south. Or was a continent. Then he flew all the way up north where we are, probably looking for something interesting to destroy next. Something caught his eye in Essenhire¡ªthat¡¯s the kingdom next to us. So, he stormed into the king¡¯s palace and headed to the treasury, leaving a trail of chaos and fire. Then he took a red hair clip and walked out.¡± ¡°What¡­ A hair clip?¡± Sako nodded. ¡°It turned out that one of the adventurers from that last set who had defeated the DL gave it as a gift to the king since his daughter wanted it. So, her general had then taken that and walked out, probably to return it to the DL. Another nearby kingdom, Lamentine, accused King Lancester of the destruction and said that it was his fault, that he had plotted it all with his band of adventurers¡ªthe same adventurers I saw. The group had spent most of their time in Aria, so Lamentine figured King Lancester had made them go to Essenhire to give the hairclip to lure in the DL¡¯s general. And then Lamentine was afraid that her general would come after them next, which was why they summoned all those monsters and plotted an invasion on the capital, thinking that destroying Aria would stop King Lancester from making any more schemes against them. Aria and Lamentine had already been on bad terms, so something was bound to happen eventually.¡± That was a lot. Kiyomi was surprised Sako remembered all that. ¡°And King Lancester said he had gotten all the information from various eyewitnesses, cameras¡ª¡± ¡°They have cameras here?¡± ¡°They have these floating orbs, you know, like crystal balls. The orbs record stuff and take pictures. Where was I¡­ Oh, and he also got info from his elite mages. Apparently, they can use special spells to recall past events at certain places. I don¡¯t know exactly how it works, but yeah.¡± ¡°What else?¡± Kiyomi asked. ¡°He said his spies in Lamentine told him Lamentine was planning another attack. And there¡¯s where we come in!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the reward?¡± ¡°Lots of gold and gear.¡± ¡°How much gold?¡± ¡°Five hundred thousand.¡± ¡°And gear?¡± ¡°He let me take a look at the items, but¡­ uh¡­¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°They aren¡¯t so good.¡± ¡°So they¡¯re pretty trash and not even for wizards.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Kiyomi thought for a moment, wondering if the tedious quest would be a waste of time. The gold was good, but not the gear¡­ And she didn¡¯t like lore and interacting with people. All that was perfect for Sako though. She herself preferred grinding away for hours, killing stuff alone. Plus she wouldn¡¯t have to listen to people bitching and sending death threats to one another. ¡°Well, that¡¯s your problem. Good luck.¡± ¡°Aw, come with me, please?¡± ¡°It sounds tedious and annoying.¡± ¡°But the gold¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll grind for it myself. We¡¯ll split up and make more progress that way. If anything, message me.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Sako frowned. ¡°What about the rewards for fending off that invasion earlier?¡± ¡°Oh, right. I collected for both of us.¡± Sako swiped open her UI and pushed a few buttons. Ping. Kiyomi opened hers and tapped ¡°Accept¡± to the trade request. The trade window opened. Sako put in 10 million gold. ¡°That¡¯s half of what I got.¡± ¡°Cool.¡± Kiyomi tapped ¡°Accept¡±. She tapped ¡°Accept¡±. Their boxes closed. ¡°Here.¡± Sako handed her a card. Kiyomi took it and stared at it. There was a picture of herself along with her info. Rank: D. What? She lifted her head. ¡°What¡¯s your rank?¡± ¡°D,¡± Sako replied. She slowly shook her head in disappointment. These people must be brain-dead. They deserved at the very least, an S. She knew that much. The next time she saw Mod Aelis, she would ask her to modify them to accurately reflect their abilities because with these garbage grades, endgamers wouldn¡¯t take them seriously. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit off?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s off. They¡¯re all idiots.¡± ¡°Chelsea gave them to me. But I¡¯m surprised she agreed with the grades so smoothly.¡± ¡°Chelsea¡­¡± Chelsea of all people. She had been there and saw exactly what they did. ¡°I¡¯ll ask Mod Aelis to fix the IDs later.¡± They couldn¡¯t accurately measure someone¡¯s abilities and assign a proper grade. For fuck¡¯s sake. But then again, they weren¡¯t teachers. ¡°He also invited us to a banquet tomorrow.¡± ¡°Which I¡¯m not going to.¡± Sako frowned again. ¡°It¡¯ll be rude if you don¡¯t show up.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t care. Tell him I have stuff to do. Important stuff.¡± ¡°Ugh. Why are you always like this?¡± ¡°Why are you always like this?¡± ¡°Because I like people.¡± ¡°Well I don¡¯t.¡± Kiyomi turned her back. Quick, light footsteps sounded behind them. ¡°Sakoooooooo!¡± That voice¡­ That annoying voice. Fuck. Kiyomi knew who it was. Reluctantly, she turned around just in time to see Luna throw her arms around Sako¡¯s waist and bury her face into her stomach. Luna looked up into Sako¡¯s eyes. ¡°I searched everywhere for you but couldn¡¯t find you! It¡¯s been so many hours now. You didn¡¯t answer my messages. And I started thinking that¡­ maybe you¡­ left¡­ me¡­¡± A hint of sadness crept into her tone. She buried her head into her stomach again to hide her tears. You obsessive crybaby. Kiyomi thought. ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay. Stop crying, I¡¯m here.¡± Sako was stroking Luna¡¯s hair to calm her down. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. We got caught up with talking to the king and¡ª¡± Luna looked up at her. ¡°The king?! You must be really wonderful if he allowed you to see him. I just knew you were someone special.¡± Sako laughed nervously. ¡°Thank you¡­ How about I make it up to you by taking you to the banquet tomorrow evening?¡± ¡°WHAT? YOU GOT INVITED TO THAT?¡± Sako nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t mind. He¡¯s a pretty generous guy.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go! I¡¯ll definitely go!¡± Thankfully, Luna would be Sako¡¯s problem, not Kiyomi¡¯s. Kiyomi had a long day ahead of her tomorrow¡­ They found an inn and stayed the night. Chapter 22-Teatime The sun shined its bright light through the windows. Kiyomi opened her eyes and sat up in bed. When she looked over to Sako¡¯s bed, she saw Luna snuggling up to Sako. Sako had allowed Luna to stay the night since she felt bad for leaving her hanging yesterday. They were still asleep. Typical. She had predicted this. Same shit, different day. Oh well. After standing up and doing a long stretch, she got ready and headed out. ~~~ First thing to do: sell all the cores and drops she had gotten from those 50 000 monsters the other day. Once she teleported back to Luthyia, she went in through the doors of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and headed up the middle path to the counter. No one was behind the counter. She tapped the service bell. DINGGGGG¡­ After a long, quiet while, Elora appeared in a blue flame. ¡°Hi¡­ Welcome to¡­¡± She let out a long yawn. ¡°What do you want.¡± This time, she was in pajamas, holding a pillow under one arm with a sleep mask pulled up to rest on her forehead. Her eyes were half-closed as if she was about to pass out and fall over. Her hair was unkempt. I have cores. Can you buy them from me?¡± She nodded slowly. ¡°How many?¡± ¡°Roughly 50K.¡± ¡°¡¯K. Hand them over¡­ and I¡¯ll¡­¡± She closed her eyes, lowered her head, and leaned forward, nodding off. She jolted upright, eyes open and caught herself from falling. The cores had automatically gone to Kiyomi¡¯s inventory with each kill. She opened her inventory on her holoscreen, pressed a picture of a box, and it appeared on the counter between them. It was roughly the size of her fist. When Elora took it up, a portal opened next to her and she tossed it in without looking, and then it closed. ¡°Don¡¯t you count those?¡± Kiyomi asked, not out of concern but curiosity. ¡°The box has 50 604 cores.¡± She was impressed, especially because Elora was practically half-asleep. This bartender-lady was better at her job than that scoundrel of a Guildmaster. ¡°Sounds right.¡± ¡°The Guild hereby issues an award of 5 100 802 gold as the final amount for this transaction.¡± Ping. She checked her inventory. Her coin stack went up from 10 million to 15.1 million. ¡°Thanks. See you later.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ~~~ Second thing to do: check her level and carefully allocate her skill points. Sako would sell her drops, do her skill points later, and sort her inventory all on her own time. Kiyomi figured that anyway. 20 minutes later outside the Guild Ping. With a waving motion, Kiyomi pulled up her screen. The message icon in the corner glowed. She tapped to open it. Sako: HEEEEEEELP! LUNA WON¡¯T STOP CLINGING TO MEEEEEEEE! Kiyomi: sry not my prob gl tho Sako: I hate you. Kiyomi: ik Maybe it¡¯s a bad idea to leave those two alone. I did tell myself that I¡¯d watch them¡­ Sako was an airhead, which was bad¡­ She looked up at the clear, blue sky, deep in thought¡­ But the problem was, if she watched them constantly, she wouldn¡¯t get anything done. She had places to explore and grinding to do. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. She rechecked her stats to make sure she had done all of them correctly:
Kiyomi Ayano Level 221 Info ??
Strength 1 222 Affects physical power; attack damage, lifting ability against Weight, and Carry Weight.
Vitality 1 266 Affects HP and Defense.
Intellect 301 260 Affects damage of magic attacks, MP capacity, and MP regen. rate. Also affects overall wisdom.
Agility 1 267 Affects physical speed, and perceptive speed.
Dexterity 1 267 Affects deftness in minor tasks and movements, including stealth and especially with the hands. Also affects accuracy of projectiles.
Endurance 1 265 Affects stamina and stamina regen.
Resistance 1 226 Affects resistance to status ailments and elemental damage.
Charisma 1 225 Affects charm, leadership, and persuasive skills.
Luck 1 223 Affects drop rate by a small amount and crit chance.
Class: Dark Wizard
Third thing to do: check the rest of her drops in her inventory and see if she could find anything useful to sell or wear¡­ ~~~ Luna wouldn¡¯t let go of Sako¡¯s waist. ¡°Luna, please¡ª¡± ¡°We¡¯re alone! ALONE! Do you know what that means?!¡± Luna¡¯s eyes were wide open, and her grin was the biggest Sako had ever seen from her. She could hardly contain her excitement. ¡°How about I get some honey tea from the innkeeper downstairs? Then we can have a niiiice talk about lots of stuff! Okay?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, whatever you want, just let go, please.¡± Luna let go and went to the door with a spring in her step. She opened it and went down the stairs. This girl must be crazy, Sako thought. But honey tea sounded wonderful. 10 minutes later Luna came back and set the tray down on a small table, which she had requested from the innkeeper at some point, before going back to the door to shut it. She turned the lock. Click. ¡°Why did you lock it?¡± Sako took her seat at the table. ¡°Because I don¡¯t want anyone hearing our private conversation!¡± Luna sat opposite of her. Sako chuckled. ¡°It must be pretty intimate then.¡± ¡°Of course it is.¡± Luna looked down at the table shyly. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ not like I want the whole world knowing what I want to do to you.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± What does that mean exactly? She looked back at her and nodded then poured some tea into a teacup and handed it to Sako. Then she poured herself a cup. Sako took it and set it down, staring at it. It was pretty and golden like honey. But¡­ ¡°Hm? Aren¡¯t you going to drink any?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just that¡­¡± Luna sighed. ¡°It¡¯s just that you don¡¯t trust me. I know, I know.¡± Sako eyed her, surprised that she was able to figure it out. And she was calm, like she had expected this. She reached over and took Sako¡¯s teacup before taking a sip. ¡°It¡¯s hot, so I can¡¯t gulp it all down right away, but I¡¯ll finish it.¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Her tone was heavy with sadness. Sako watched her. Luna sipped again and again, watching Sako. When she put it down, about a third was gone from the cup. ¡°So, what¡¯s your favorite color?¡± ¡°Yellow.¡± ¡°Really? Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s bright and lively like the sun. It reminds me of myself, how I like to be: cheery and friendly.¡± ¡°I bet you like sunflowers too.¡± ¡°I do. I used to pick them whenever I could and put them in a jar with water at home. And then Mom would get a little mad because I had too many in my room. At least 30.¡± Luna laughed and drank from Sako¡¯s cup again. ¡°30?!¡± Sako nodded, smiling. ¡°What¡¯s your favorite color?¡± ¡°Red! It¡¯s wild and aggressive.¡± Like your personality. ¡°Like my personality,¡± Luna joked, smiling. What¡¯s embarrassing about this conversation that she doesn¡¯t want other people to know about? Is she stalling for something? ¡°Luna?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Luna had halved the cup by now. ¡°What¡¯s embarrassing about this topic?¡± ¡°Oh nothing. I just haven¡¯t brought up the real juicy stuff yet! Why? Do you want me to bring it up now?¡± Luna smirked. ¡°What? No! That¡¯s not¡ª¡± ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t know you were that type of girl, Sako. I thought you were innocent, but it seems you have some experience. That will be¡­ helpful.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say I had any experience,¡± she pouted. ¡°Do you want some experience?¡± ¡°No thanks.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She shrugged. Chapter 23-Naptime Sorting through her inventory was tedious even with filters and the ¡°Select All¡± and ¡°Delete Selected¡± buttons. But at least Kiyomi¡¯s inventory held all the drops from the monsters she had killed. Most of the drops were useless with some requiring other classes, so she went back to Elora and sold them. That added another around 3 million gold to her stack, making it about 18.1 million in total. Good, I don¡¯t have to worry about money for a while. She went back into her inventory.
Ashen Branch Main Hand (2h)
Rarity Rare
Required Base Int 436 / 1 000
Magic Accuracy 547 / 1 000
Element Darkness
Special Effects None
Weapon Art None
Stat Bonuses Int: 700
Enchantments None
Charge 100%
Description A long, wooden staff, formed from the branches of an ashen-gray tree with the top containing small branches that intertwine.
Using a staff of her own element gave a small bonus to her damage and accuracy too. It seemed decent for a midgamer, so she equipped it. That was the best one she had in her inventory. She moved on and equipped other gear.
Sorcerer¡¯s Modest Cap Head
Rarity Rare
Required Base Int 501 / 1 000
Element Darkness
Special Effects None
Stat Bonuses Vit: 22 Int: 66 Agi: 34 Dex: 29 End: 20 Res: 30 Luk:16
Enchantments None
Charge 100%
Description Dark blue cap sprinkled with light blue swirls around it. Not too wide, not too slim. Good for keeping the sun out of your face.
Duskwoven Robe Upper and Lower Body
Rarity Rare
Required Base Int 537 / 1 000
Element Darkness
Special Effects None
Stat Bonuses Vit: 242 Int: 632 Agi: 375 Dex: 300 End: 241 Res: 298 Luk:198
Enchantments None
Charge 100%
Description A light-gray robe that is thin and long. It does not protect well against the cold, but it is light and allows good mobility.
Very Uncanny Magical Shoes Feet
Rarity Rare
Required Base Int 577/ 1 000
Element Darkness
Special Effects None
Stat Bonuses Vit: 19 Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Int: 69 Agi: 71 Dex: 30 End: 19 Res: 29 Luk:17
Enchantments None
Charge 100%
Description The color changes according to the environment. Glows in the dark. If in the dark for a long while, instead of glowing, it lights up and ¡°blinks¡± random colors in a random pattern at its discretion
Spellcaster Gloves Hands
Rarity Rare
Required Base Int 466 / 1 000
Element Darkness
Special Effects None
Stat Bonuses Vit: 18 Int: 65 Agi: 40 Dex: 50 End: 15 Res: 20 Luk:12
Enchantments None
Charge 100%
Description Simple, cotton, fingerless, and black. Magical!
Night Cloak Back
Rarity Rare
Required Base Int 524 / 1 000
Element Darkness
Special Effects Makes you slightly harder to see in the dark from a distance.
Stat Bonuses Vit: 16 Int: 70 Agi: 32 Dex: 37 End: 18 Res: 25 Luk:19
Enchantments None
Charge 100%
Description Covered in scattered, white dots; it resembles the night sky.
Boring Shadow Ring Ring
Rarity Rare
Required Base Int 500 / 1 000
Element Darkness
Special Effects None
Stat Bonuses Vit: 2 Int: 7 Agi: 3 Dex: 3 End: 2 Res: 3 Luk:2
Enchantments None
Charge 100%
Description It¡¯s black¡­ and boring. That¡¯s all you know.
Onyx Pendant Neck
Rarity Rare
Required Base Int 600 / 1 000
Element Darkness
Special Effects None
Stat Bonuses Vit: 1 Int: 6 Agi: 4 Dex: 2 End: 1 Res: 6 Luk:4
Enchantments None
Charge 100%
Description A black pentagon shape with a silver eye in its center.
Plain Black Studs Ears
Rarity Rare
Required Base Int 357 / 1 000
Element Darkness
Special Effects None
Stat Bonuses Vit: 1 Int:4 Agi: 1 Dex: 1 End: 1 Res: 2 Luk:1
Enchantments None
Charge 100%
Description ¡­Plain black studs.
There. All geared up. I¡¯m not forgetting anything, am I? She pondered and ran through her mental checklist¡­ Oh, she needed supplies¡­ ~~~ By now, Luna had finished Sako¡¯s cup and had started on her own cup. Her cup was nearly empty. ¡°Do you want me to finish the rest of it?¡± There was about a cup left in the glass teapot sitting on the tray. ¡°No, I¡¯ll take the last bit.¡± Sako lifted the teapot and poured the remainder into her cup. After putting it back down, she drank some from her cup. The air was quiet. So quiet. Luna stared at Sako as Sako occasionally sipped from her cup. ¡°Why are you staring at me?¡± ¡°You¡¯re pretty. That¡¯s all. I like looking at you.¡± ¡°¡­Okay¡­¡± She looked to the window, hoping to find some comfort in anything she could set her eyes on that wasn¡¯t Luna¡¯s face. After a few sips and about a minute, she glanced back to Luna¡­ who was still gazing at her¡­ ¡°Do you have to look at me?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she said with a simple smile. Silence¡­ Silence¡­ They stared at one another. Sako sipped until her cup was almost done. ¡°This is some good tea.¡± ¡°Good! I¡¯m glad you like it! That makes me so happy, more than you know.¡± As Sako lifted the cup to her mouth, ready to empty it, she dropped it. The rest spilled onto the table from the overturned cup. She felt dizzy. ¡°Are you okay? You don¡¯t seem very well.¡± Luna frowned. ¡°Why¡­ do I feel¡­¡± She leaned to one side and fell off her chair, collapsing onto the floor. Her body went limp as she lay on her back, looking up at the slowly turning ceiling. ¡°Heh. You almost had me there. I thought I¡¯d have to drink all the tea myself, letting all my planning go to waste.¡± ¡°What¡¯s¡­ in¡­ it?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t see your stats since you were hiding them from me, so I didn¡¯t know what potency to buy. So, to be safe, I bought the strongest, an Ultra Stat Reduction Potion! And then I mixed it in with the tea on my way up here. What¡¯s great is that you can¡¯t taste it. And it sure costed gold, but it was worth it!¡± Luna went down on the floor on all fours and crawled over her. ¡°I also added my spit, ehehehe¡­¡± ¡°How¡­¡± ¡°Hm? You mean how am I not affected?¡± ¡°¡­Yes¡­¡± Luna slowly shook her head. ¡°Tsk, tsk. It never crossed your mind to check my stats, did it? If you did, you would¡¯ve seen my Immunity buff that I had gotten from drinking an Immunity Potion. You¡¯re not very smart, are you? Or maybe I should appreciate that. It saved me the trouble of having to make up a convincing reason for why I had drunk one, if you ever asked. I like when my girls are stupid. I don¡¯t have to explain a thing to them.¡± Sako opened her mouth, trying to say something. Luna put one index finger to Sako¡¯s lips. ¡°Shh. You better save that energy for when you need to scream in pain!¡± She frowned again. ¡°I sure wouldn¡¯t want you going silent on me when I start breaking your bones one by one. That¡¯s an important part, you know? I can¡¯t get off properly if you don¡¯t scream and beg for me to stop. And that precious face twisting in fear and pain! Just the thought is making me wet already¡­¡± She blushed. The thoughts in her mind were jumbled, and she couldn¡¯t find her sentences. ¡°And I also added some Paralysis, so you won¡¯t be going anywhere any time soon. I kinda want to put a gag in your mouth too because then no one would hear you and come running, but then I wouldn¡¯t get to hear those beautiful screams.¡± She paused, looking up at the ceiling. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She looked back down at her. ¡°What do you think is better?¡± Sako tried to force her body to move, but she felt disconnected from it and so had no control. She made a small, incomprehensible sound, unable to shake her head. ¡°Yeah, the gag.¡± Luna opened her inventory, pressed a few buttons on the holoscreen, and a gag appeared in one hand. She put it in Sako¡¯s mouth, wrapped it around her jaws and head, then tightened it. ¡°There we go! Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take things slow, okay? I¡¯ll start with poking holes in you, then I¡¯ll move on to bending those fingers until they snap!¡± She pulled a pocket knife from her pocket and drove it down into Sako¡¯s shoulder through her robe. Sako bit down on the gag as the pain surged through her. When Luna pulled it out, blood streamed out, reddening the fabric that covered her shoulder. She plunged the blade into Sako¡¯s stomach next. Sako twitched and her vision blurred as she dug her teeth into the gag, grinding them against it. Tears welled up in her eyes. She felt lightheaded, and it was hard to breathe. Her head was throbbing with pain. Luna pulled it out, leaned down to her stomach, and took a long, deep sniff of her blood. The area gradually turned red, soaking her robe in blood. ¡°It smells so good. I¡¯ll make sure to lick it all up soon so it won¡¯t go to waste.¡± She rose, kneeling over Sako with her hands now around her neck, squeezing it. ¡°See? Isn¡¯t this fun? I can¡¯t wait to feel those fingers¡­¡± From Luna¡¯s shadow on the floor behind her, another shadow rose out of it, towering over the two with glowing, white eyes. It grew hands and swung a fire extinguisher against her head. Just as it struck, a big, red number popped up in bold. A solid Critical Hit. Luna flew across the room, hit the wall, and fell. Her green HP bar dropped from 100% to 4%, a red bar. She didn¡¯t get up. The extinguisher vanished from the shadow¡¯s hands¡­ Chapter 24-Idle Time The three girls sat in the inn room: Kiyomi and Sako each sat backwards on a chair, feet apart around the chairbacks with hands resting on top. Luna sat in front of them on the floor, tied up in black rope Kiyomi had summoned. HP: 7% and recovering very slowly. She was leaning against the wall, head down. Once her HP reached 10%, she half-opened her eyes and looked up at them. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Sako asked. Luna shook her head the slightest bit. ¡°Groggy?¡± She gave a short nod, looking drowsy and ready to pass out again. ¡°You should be pissed at her, not concerned,¡± Kiyomi said. ¡°Yeah, but you gave her a pretty good hit, so I¡¯m not. If I¡¯m being honest¡­ well¡­ seeing that Critical Hit was¡­ um¡­¡± Sako pulled her eyes away from her and stared down at her own shoes. ¡°Satisfying?¡± Kiyomi asked. After some long seconds, Sako nodded subtly. She smiled because she knew that deep down, Sako had a dark side. Everyone had a dark side. ¡°And you¡¯re ashamed of it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not something to be proud of.¡± ¡°Sako,¡± Kiyomi said. Sako looked her in the eyes. ¡°It¡¯s fine to hit people like that sometimes, even IRL. If they piss you off, do something about it.¡± They all stayed quiet for a good while longer, deep in their thoughts. Sako was carving things into her wooden chairback with something Kiyomi couldn¡¯t see from her short distance: a few arm¡¯s lengths away. She was obviously bothered about stuff. Luna still looked like a lifeless doll. Kiyomi wasn¡¯t sure where to start with her solo grinding. ¡°Where did you get the fire extinguisher?¡± Sako continued her carving, eyes locked onto her handiwork. ¡°It¡¯s one of those odd spells that¡¯s totally unrelated to my class. One of the extra ones. I have a subsection called ¡®Odd Spells¡¯ with random but fun and cool spells.¡± She nodded. ¡°I think I¡¯ll change my class later.¡± ¡°To what?¡± ¡°Dunno yet. This class doesn¡¯t suit me.¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll support whatever you choose. Take your time and think about it.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Her reply was automatic and plastic, but Kiyomi wouldn¡¯t start on that. Sako looked like she wanted time for herself. They sat there again for minutes¡­ Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Tick¡­ Tick¡­ Tick¡­ Tick¡­ Tick¡­ Tick¡­ Tick¡­ Tick¡­ Tick¡­ Tick¡­ Tick¡­ Tick¡­ There was a wall clock up in one corner. ¡°I miss Mom,¡± Sako said. ¡°Yeah, your mom was nice.¡± ¡°Unless you mentioned my sunflowers.¡± Sako chuckled weakly then her face grew sad again. Kiyomi had lost her parents, murdered at two separate times on the same day. It hadn¡¯t been a coincidence. From then on, she had gone to live with her aunt, hating the world. ¡°Sunflowers¡­¡± Those were too bright for Kiyomi¡¯s taste. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯re we waiting on again?¡± ¡°For Luna to recover. I want to ask her a few things.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you just buy a Recovery Potion and use it to heal her instantly?¡± Kiyomi asked. ¡°Ah, but then I wouldn¡¯t get the peace and quiet I¡¯ve been wanting all morning.¡± Then she realized what she had said. ¡°O-oh, please don¡¯t tell her I said any of this by the way! It¡¯s, um¡­ not like I hate her or anything¡­ I don¡¯t hate her, I swear¡­¡± Kiyomi held her head down, trying to contain her laugh. This was rich. So rich coming from Sako, the nice girl. She couldn¡¯t wait for the day Sako would finally punch someone in the face. What a sweet day that would be. She looked over to Luna. 11... 12¡­ Critically thinking about Luna, most people with a brain would ditch this lunatic by now. But this could work to their advantage. They could keep her as a tool for when they needed an extra person for certain things, like to deal with the mechanics of a boss or use her as a decoy. And the perfect way to hook her in was to use Sako as bait. But the trickiest part would be for Sako to maintain a distant friendship with her, making sure Luna kept a constant interest in her so that when the time came, she could call on Luna. Maybe if Sako promised her sex, which wasn¡¯t even possible in-game, she would come running. Classic bait-and-switch. And then if Luna died somehow, that wouldn¡¯t be their problem. And it wasn¡¯t like she wouldn¡¯t respawn at the nearest spawn point. 19¡­ 20. ¡°Are you any better?¡± Sako asked Luna. ¡°¡­A little¡­ better.¡± ¡°Do you want 10 more minutes?¡± Luna nodded a bit. Her HP was regenerating at a rate of 1% every three minutes. 10 minutes later 23%. ¡°What¡­ do you want,¡± Luna asked in a low, sulky tone. She was probably still suffering from a headache. ¡°You just had to tie me up.¡± ¡°Yep,¡± Kiyomi replied. ¡°Hey, can I ask you some stuff?¡± Sako asked. ¡°And what if I say no?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll knock your HP down with a bigger fire extinguisher,¡± Kiyomi said. Luna grunted. ¡°Why¡¯d you do it?¡± Sako had a tiny edge in her tone. So subtle that Kiyomi had nearly missed it. Luna didn¡¯t answer. ¡°Please, Luna.¡± Sako¡¯s tone was patient and emotionless. She still wouldn¡¯t answer. Sako got up from her chair and crouched down to Luna¡¯s level. She lifted a hand, about to slap her. ¡°Do your worst.¡± After pausing with some reluctance, Sako sighed and lowered her hand. Violence was pointless if it didn¡¯t intimidate her. She stood up and sat back on her chair, how she had been sitting. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ give you a kiss if you answer me.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°On your forehead.¡± ¡°No. Somewhere else.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°On my mouth.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t get to choose¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll choose what I want.¡± ¡°Luna¡­¡± ¡°Give me two kisses now, and I¡¯ll tell you. A long one on the lips with your tongue in my mouth¡ª¡± ¡°No, one kiss after you tell me, and I get to decide where¡ª¡± ¡°Then I¡¯m not cooperating. Do what I say and¡ª¡± ¡°SHUT UP. THAT¡¯S NOT HOW IT WORKS. I SAVED YOU, AND THIS IS HOW YOU TREAT ME? BY DOING THE VERY SAME THING I SAVED YOU FROM? I HAVE DONE EVERYTHING WITHIN REASON THAT YOU HAVE WANTED FROM ME, YET YOU CAN¡¯T DO ONE SIMPLE THING FOR ME? WHAT KIND OF RELATIONSHIP IS THAT?¡± Sako got up, lifted her chair with a hand, and flung against the window. The glass shattered as the chair flew out and fell onto the street below. Luna¡¯s eyes went wide with astonishment and fear. Even Kiyomi had flinched at that. Tick¡­ Tick¡­ Tick¡­ Tick¡­ ¡°Fine,¡± Luna replied in a small tone. Chapter 25-Snack Time Kiyomi had fed Sako a Recovery Potion. They stared down at Luna from their chairs intently, ¡ªSako on a black chair that Kiyomi had conjured up¡ªstill sitting backwards on them. Kiyomi had soundproofed the room with a spell this time just in case. Luna was still tied up on the floor like a helpless rabbit, and Sako¡¯s eyes were vicious and watchful, like a waiting predator. Kiyomi would stay out of this one, sitting further away from the two. In fact, she wished she had a snack. ¡°I just thought¡­ it would be fun for both of us.¡± Luna chose her words carefully. ¡°I didn¡¯t plan on causing any serious pain¡­ I mean¡­ except for breaking your bones¡­ and the stabbing¡­¡± When Kiyomi glanced at Sako, she was trembling and restraining herself. Yikes. Wrong answer. Luna realized her mistake too and tried to fix it. ¡°It¡¯s not like you would¡¯ve died¡­ and¡­ I planned on healing you after with a Recovery Potion¡­¡± Another wrong answer. No, Luna, try again. ¡°And¡­¡± Luna was thinking, trying to find something else. ¡°Even if you died, you would come back, and it¡¯s just a game¡ª¡± Kiyomi hadn¡¯t seen when Sako had gotten up. Sako had moved so swiftly. Kiyomi only saw when she swung the chair against Luna¡¯s head with one hand. The number that came up was huge, in size and damage, in a black and bold font. The blow sent her across the room until she hit the wall and fell on the floor with a loud thud. Her HP dropped from 25% to 0%. Kiyomi had felt that. It made her shiver. That Critical Hit had been well over 1 million. The average endgamer would struggle to get remotely close to half of that damage in several hits even while constantly critting to weak spots with elemental advantage and having an Attack Increase with a Defense Break on the target. She had done her research and used a calculator, so she knew. Sako made slow steps across the room to Luna¡¯s body. Kiyomi¡¯s eyes were stuck to Sako. She was on the edge of her seat. What would Sako do next? The situation was horrible, absolutely horrible: she didn¡¯t have snacks. I wish I had snacks... She wondered if she could convince the innkeeper downstairs that it was Luna who had broken the window. Sako opened the holoscreen to her inventory and tapped a few buttons on it. It closed and a glowing flask of Recovery Potion appeared in one hand. She kneeled by Luna¡¯s body and put it to her mouth before tilting upwards, pouring the liquid into her mouth. Luna¡¯s HP came up above her head. Her HP went up to 50%. The bar vanished. She opened her eyes, looking around and confused. Her eyes settled on Kiyomi. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Sako murdered you with a chair,¡± Kiyomi replied. That was her favorite part. ¡°Oh¡­¡± As Luna turned her head to Sako, Sako put her lips to her forehead. ¡°W-what are you doing?!¡± Luna said. She removed her lips. ¡°There¡¯s your kiss.¡± Her tone was flat, passionless. ¡°Um¡­ thanks¡­ I¡­ wasn¡¯t expecting that.¡± If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°I know.¡± Sako stood up. ¡°I¡¯m a girl of my word, so you can still come to the banquet this evening if you want.¡± Luna was skeptical. ¡°This isn¡¯t a ruse, is it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not Kiyomi.¡± True, true. ¡°So, it¡¯s¡­ like a¡­ date?¡± Luna asked with a little hope in her tone. ¡°Call it whatever you want.¡± Sako didn¡¯t care anymore. ¡°Can we make Luna pay for the chair and the window?¡± Kiyomi asked. ¡°What?! Why me?!¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s your fault obviously,¡± Kiyomi replied. It wasn¡¯t actually. ¡°Right, Sako?¡± ¡°What? It¡¯s not her¡ª¡± ¡°Just let her pay for them. She hurt you, didn¡¯t she?¡± Sako thought about it then looked down to Luna on the floor. ¡°You¡¯re paying.¡± ¡°OH COME ON, REALLY?! Don¡¯t you have money?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯re broke,¡± Kiyomi replied. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll pay, but I want another kiss first. And untie me.¡± Sako sighed, holding in her mild irritation. She moved across the room, picked up Luna¡¯s bloodied knife, and walked back to Luna. Her footsteps were slow but firm on the way back, and she held the knife like a calm, experienced killer who was waiting for the chance to stab her victim. Luna noticed her threatening posture. Sako walked stiffly with a grim gaze in her eyes. Like someone thirsty and desperate for something¡ªsomeone willing to kill anyone without a second thought. ¡°Please don¡¯t stab me.¡± ¡°Like how you stabbed me?¡± Sako asked. Luna lost the courage to reply. Once down on both knees, she cut the rope. Reluctantly, she moved her lips to Luna¡¯s forehead again. When they were inches away, Luna quickly lifted her arms to grab Sako¡¯s head, but Sako was faster: Sako caught her wrists. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ nothing¡­ just¡­¡± Luna turned her head away, looking in another direction and sweating bullets. That would¡¯ve been a good attempt to kiss Sako on the lips if Luna¡¯s Agility had rivaled Sako¡¯s. While still holding Luna by the wrists to prevent her from trying again, Sako kissed her forehead. ¡°Sako, do you have any snacks?¡± Kiyomi asked. Sako took something from her inventory and tossed it at her. ¡°I got it from lunch yesterday.¡± Kiyomi caught it with both hands. An ice-cream sandwich. ¡°Thanks.¡± She unwrapped it and started munching. So good! She hadn¡¯t asked earlier because she hadn¡¯t wanted to interrupt the juicy scene. Sako let go of one of Luna¡¯s wrists, now dragging her towards the door by the other wrist. ¡°Wait, where are we going?¡± Luna asked. She didn¡¯t answer. ¡°You won¡¯t throw me down the stairs, right?!¡± Luna tried to pull her arm free from Sako¡¯s hand. ¡°I just might if you don¡¯t shut up.¡± She opened the door with her free hand and dragged Luna down the stairs. Kyomi followed, refusing to miss even a moment of this. Sako marched up to the counter to a middle-aged lady in an apron. ¡°Good afternoon.¡± ¡°Good afternoon, dearie!¡± The old lady gave a friendly smile then frowned when she saw Sako¡¯s disgruntled face. ¡°You seem a bit down.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because my friend here broke something upstairs. She tossed a chair right out the window.¡± Sako sighed and hung her head. ¡°I told her not to do it, but she didn¡¯t listen. And then she overreacted and yelled at us for a petty matter.¡± ¡°Aw, that¡¯s awful! Is that what the shouting was about earlier?¡± Sako nodded slowly. Kiyomi was dumbstruck. Sako lying?! The world must be ending. She took another bite from her ice-cream sandwich. ¡°Is it okay if I ask what the matter was about?¡± ¡°I¡­ rather not say. It¡¯s a very personal matter that I¡¯m not comfortable telling others about,¡± Sako replied. The old lady nodded understandingly with much sympathy. ¡°That¡¯s alright then. I respect your privacy.¡± ¡°But she had a change of heart and apologized to us. She¡¯s even willing to pay for the damage and the chair.¡± Sako looked at Luna. ¡°Right, Luna?¡± ¡°¡­Right¡­¡± Luna took a few gold coins out of her skirt pocket and set them on the counter. ¡°This should be enough, right?¡± The oldy lady nodded and smiled. ¡°Thank you.¡± The reason Luna had taken it directly from her pocket rather than going to her inventory on her holoscreen was that she had them in a quick slot rather than fully in her inventory. Kiyomi figured that anyway. It was the only explanation. That¡¯s that then. Kiyomi was satisfied with the ending. Chapter 26-The Banquet Oh, right. They still hadn¡¯t joined a guild. To join a guild or not to join a guild¡­ Kiyomi had to think hard on this. She hated socializing. Doing big bosses and raids with other players were okay and all because no one really had the time to make small talk and banter when enemies were trying to kill them. But joining a guild to build wholesome and meaningful relationships and have solid connections that could last a lifetime? Nah, fuck that nonsense. Plus they could betray and disappoint you at any time. There were likely other Lunas running around too. Just the idea of being near other people¡­ Kiyomi shivered at the thought. Though, Sako was a different story¡­ They were standing at the back of the room by a table of food. Sako in a short, yellow dress that she had luckily found as a drop from the 50 000 monsters she had killed during the invasion. From an¡­ angry sunflower¡­?... or some silly thing like that, she had said. Kiyomi had on a tuxedo she had gotten as a drop from an Elite Classy Vampire, which was also from the invasion. Half of those monsters were weird. The tux reminded her of that bartender lady actually. No, the woman behind the counter. Elora. Right, that was her name. The room was spacious with a well-polished floor, high chandeliers, and many guests around who talked among themselves, occasionally sipping from their wine glasses at their tables. The tables unsurprisingly had fine white tablecloths. King Lancester hadn¡¯t shown up yet. Sako was here for chatting, smiling, giggling, and food, but Kiyomi had one goal in mind, which was why she had changed her mind to come with Sako before her big grind. Where is Le Francia¡­ She hadn¡¯t appeared either. Her numbers. Kiyomi was dying to see her numbers. She could overlook Le Francia¡¯s off-putting demeanor. That didn¡¯t matter. She prayed that she wouldn¡¯t have her stats hidden. Luna was clinging to Sako¡¯s arm as usual, having their arms linked, which was why Sako seemed disgruntled. ¡°Sako, dear?¡± Luna whispered. ¡°What,¡± Sako whispered back with a slight irritation, looking around the room and hoping no one noticed their awkwardness. ¡°Can we do something later? Just us?¡± Sako looked at her, smiling. ¡°Sure. I¡¯d love to. I can tie you up with rope if you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°Yes, please do!¡± Luna was looking forward to it. ¡°And I¡¯ll do it niiiice and tight, just for you, so you can¡¯t escape.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes! And feel free to hurt me as much as you like! And make me scream for you!¡± ¡°Of course! I¡¯ll do exactly that by bashing your head with a chair again! Don¡¯t worry! You won¡¯t even feel a thing, I promise!¡± Luna froze. ¡°¡­What¡­¡± She turned pale in the face and suddenly looked sick. ¡°¡­I change my mind. Forget it. I¡¯m going to the bathroom.¡± ¡°No problem! Try not to come back!¡± Sako waved at Luna as she ambled off with her head down. The atmosphere felt better already. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Chelsea spotted them from across the room and made her way over, still in her uniform and matching cape. Her long, white hair hadn¡¯t changed either. ¡°I¡¯m elated to see you¡¯ve both made it.¡± She grinned. ¡°I¡¯m glad to be here!¡± Sako replied. Kiyomi nodded in agreement, simply going along with the mood. ¡°About the other day,¡± Chelsea began, ¡°I don¡¯t understand how you girls tore through all those monsters like paper.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah! I wanna know too! I saw it! THAT WAS SO FUCKING COOL!¡± A girl came racing up to them in a dress shirt and pants with the shirt out rather than tucked into her pants. She looked like a preteen. Long, messy hair, and blonde like the king¡¯s. ¡°Princess Vanescka! No running or swearing! Why can¡¯t you be a proper lady for once?!¡± A maid speedwalked over and caught up. ¡°Do you have any decency?! Your lack thereof is frustrating!¡± ¡°I¡¯m a girl, not a lady. Or did you forget again?¡± Princess Vanescka asked the maid then turned back to Chelsea, Sako, and Kiyomi, whispering, ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯s very smart. We need a new one.¡± ¡°I heard that.¡± The maid¡¯s eyebrow quivered. ¡°No, you didn¡¯t,¡± Princess Vanescka replied to her. ¡°You¡¯re just tired. Go have a nap. Isn¡¯t that what you old people do all the time?¡± The maid clenched her teeth, her eyebrow twitching a few more times. Her glare was fierce. She was actually far from old. Looked pretty young. Late twenties if Kiyomi were to guess. Princess Vanescka looked at Chelsea. ¡°Hey, cap, any idea why she¡¯s mad at me?¡± ¡°Because you said something rude again, princess.¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°What? How¡¯s it rude if it¡¯s true? I think she¡¯s just sensitive.¡± ¡°¡­Right¡­ Sure, princess¡­¡± Chelsea replied. What a weird tomboy, Kiyomi thought. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet both of you.¡± Sako smiled and bowed. ¡°Likewise, girlie,¡± Princess Vanescka said. ¡°So, you gonna tell us the deets?¡± Le Francia still wasn¡¯t here yet, assuming she would be anyway. Sako could do the talking for the both of them as Kiyomi didn¡¯t have any interest. ¡°Sure!¡± Sako replied. ¡°Uhhh. Well, there wasn¡¯t much to it. I just hit stuff really fast and hard because of¡­ prior experience. Same goes for her.¡± She pointed to Kiyomi. ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Chelsea nodded, pleasantly surprised. ¡°What, that¡¯s it?! Come on, girlie, you gotta tell us more!¡± ¡°Settle down, princess. It¡¯s best not to pry too much,¡± Chelsea said. ¡°Please go back to your room. I¡¯ll personally bring you a brand-new stuffed rabbit later.¡± Princess Vanescka hesitated. ¡°Fine. But make that 20 stuffed rabbits.¡± ¡°20?!¡± Chelsea asked. ¡°Please be reasonable for once. Someone will complain about this. Okay, look, I¡¯ll get¡­ um¡­ 7. 7 is a better number, right? That¡¯s more than 20¡ª¡± ¡°You think I¡¯m stupid?! Make that 25!¡± ¡°Wait, no. Okay, let¡¯s settle it at 18¡ª¡± ¡°What¡¯s that? 30, you say?¡± ¡°No, no, 25!¡± ¡°Oh, 40? I¡¯ll take that offer.¡± ¡°My lady, please¡ª¡± Chelsea tried. Princess Vanescka put her hands on her hips authoritatively. ¡°Captain Chelsea, are you defying an imperative request of the Second Princess of the Kingdom of Aria, Princess Vanescka Elle Marzenwick?¡± She sighed melodramatically. ¡°I expected better from the captain of all people. Perhaps the captain isn¡¯t as good as people have said. I think we need to replace her.¡± Chelsea groaned in defeat, on her hands and knees at this point. ¡°Fine, my lady, 40 stuffed rabbits.¡± ¡°I heard 50,¡± she added. ¡°Please, no more. 50. Just 50,¡± Chelsea begged. ¡°Alright. 50.¡± Chelsea sighed in relief. ¡°But,¡± she started again, ¡°I want these two to bring them to my chamber.¡± Princess Vanescka pointed at Sako and Kiyomi. ¡°With pleasure!¡± Sako replied. Kiyomi had butterflies in her stomach. Fuck, I didn¡¯t sign up for this. Now she was trapped with no way out. Chapter 27-Princess Vanesckas Room The maid had left to do chores, and Chelsea had gone back to her duties. Kiyomi and Sako followed Princess Vanescka to her room. The armed guard at her door saluted her. His full helmet covered his face. Princess Vanescka stopped before him. ¡°You, get me some warm, strawberry milk and a bowl of marshmallows from the kitchen. Make sure the milk¡¯s temperature is just right for my tongue. Measure it. And I want tea biscuits. Make sure they¡¯re fresh and crunchy. Not too big to fit in my mouth and with lots of cream in the center. Break them into little pieces if you have to.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± He saluted and went off down the corridor. Princess Vanescka led them into her room. ¡°Take your shoes off and close the door behind you.¡± Kiyomi and Sako took their shoes off and set them neatly by the door then closed it before walking further in, though they also could¡¯ve unequipped them from their inventories. The room was filled with various stuffed animals, which untidily sat everywhere: on the bed, floor, bookshelves, some pinned to walls, spilling out of her closet¡­ The sheets on the bed were unkempt too. She went over to her bed, climbed onto it, and sat on the edge then gestured for Kiyomi and Sako to sit on the floor. Jeez, you could¡¯ve offered your guests chairs, Kiyomi thought as she sat down, crossing her legs. There were two chairs in a far corner of the room on the other side of Princess Vanescka¡¯s bed. She could¡¯ve conjured up some chairs, but she didn¡¯t want to seem weird. She opened her inventory, pressed a few buttons, and selected all 50 stuffed toys. They appeared as a pile and fell out of her hands, scattering along the floor. ¡°Is here okay?¡± ¡°Yes, on the floor is fine,¡± Princess Vanescka assured. Kiyomi dropped the remainder on the floor beside the rest. How did I get dragged into this¡­ ¡°So, spill it. What¡¯s your secret for all those monsters? That was about 100 000, yet you both managed to blow right through them. I watched you,¡± she pointed to Sako, ¡°then I went to watch you,¡± then she pointed to Kiyomi. There was no hiding it now. ¡°We¡¯re from another world,¡± Sako replied. ¡°When we got here, our skills from the previous world translated to our current skills.¡± ¡°What were you previously?¡± Princess Vanescka swayed her dangling, bare feet. ¡°Students,¡± Sako replied. ¡°Do you know how we can get back?¡± ¡°Nope. Not a clue. I¡¯ve only heard of those things in stories. Didn¡¯t think they were true.¡± Sako sighed and had figured that would be the case. ¡°Daddy told me that he had told you about the problem with Lamentine, so I¡¯m not gonna go into the deets. You gonna help us?¡± Ugh. Selfish and unsympathetic, Kiyomi thought. Though she shouldn¡¯t expect much from a self-centered brat. ¡°I sure will,¡± Sako replied. ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± Kiyomi replied, ¡°but Sako will be more than enough to match an army.¡± Even without Kiyomi¡¯s buffs. ¡°Oh? I can¡¯t wait to see that.¡± Princess Vanescka smiled. In a few minutes, someone knocked on the door. ¡°What?¡± Princess Vanescka said. The door opened and Le Francia stepped in, holding a tray with a teapot, an empty teacup, a bowl of marshmallows, and a saucer with broken up pieces of biscuits. She glanced at Kiyomi and Sako. ¡°Where¡¯s the guard I sent?¡± ¡°He was summoned to tend to other duties, so he asked me to bring them in his stead. I owed him a favor anyway, so I agreed.¡± Le Francia set the tray down on a nearby coffee table. They continued talking¡­ Kiyomi wouldn¡¯t waste this chance. She made a quick wave at Le Francia. Her stats came up on a holoscreen before Kiyomi.
Le Francia Bailelline Level 30 500 Info ??
Strength 11 236 Affects physical power; attack damage, lifting ability against Weight, and Carry Weight.
Vitality 19 482 The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Affects HP and Defense.
Intellect 90 412 Affects damage of magic attacks, MP capacity, and MP regen. rate. Also affects overall wisdom.
Agility 30 327 Affects physical speed and perceptive speed.
Dexterity 30 395 Affects deftness in minor tasks and movements, especially with the hands. Also affects accuracy of projectiles.
Endurance 31 491 Affects stamina and stamina regen.
Resistance 100 002 Affects resistance to status ailments and elemental damage.
Charisma 9 000 Affects charm, leadership, and persuasive skills.
Luck 10 009 Affects drop rate by a small amount and crit chance.
Class: Elite Royal Voidcaster
Voidcaster¡­ Ooh. That¡¯s so cool. She could be a high-tier mini-boss. But what sucked was that Kiyomi couldn¡¯t see her skills unless Le Francia allowed it, since she wasn¡¯t an official boss in the game. Once Le Francia gave that, the system would allow Kiyomi to take a peek. Unless¡­ She wondered if there was an item or skill that allowed the user to see everything about a character even if the character¡¯s details were hidden. She would have to research that. And she doubted Le Francia would be generous enough to consent¡­ And it would be awkward to ask. Of course, Kiyomi could easily top her stats with her buffs, especially because they scaled off her Intellect. The floating sword beside Le Francia caught her attention next. It didn¡¯t seem like her main hand. A sword typically wasn¡¯t the style for a voidcaster. A voidcaster was similar to a wizard in that they cast spells too. The difference was their specializations. She looked up and realized that Le Francia and Princess Vanescka were quiet, now looking at her quizzically. Sako was pressing buttons on her own holoscreen. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Princess Vanescka looked back and forth between the two of them. ¡°Just¡­ looking at stuff,¡± Kiyomi replied, though Princess Vanescka seemed unconvinced. Le Francia poured the milk into the cup from the teapot. ¡°Can I have some milk too?¡± Sako asked. Le Francia looked at Princess Vanescka for permission. ¡°Do whatever you like.¡± Princess Vanescka crossed her legs. ¡°I¡¯ll get another cup.¡± Le Francia made her way to the door, opened it, walked out, and shut it behind her. Kiyomi couldn¡¯t help it. She had to look at Princess Vanescka¡¯s stats next.
Vanescka Elle Marzenwick Level 0 Info ??
Strength 1 Affects physical power; attack damage, lifting ability against Weight, and Carry Weight.
Vitality 1 Affects HP and Defense.
Intellect 1 Affects damage of magic attacks, MP capacity, and MP regen. rate. Also affects overall wisdom.
Agility 1 Affects physical speed and perceptive speed.
Dexterity 1 Affects deftness in minor tasks and movements, especially with the hands. Also affects accuracy of projectiles.
Endurance 1 Affects stamina and stamina regen.
Resistance 1 Affects resistance to status ailments and elemental damage.
Charisma 1 Affects charm, leadership, and persuasive skills.
Luck 1 Affects drop rate by a small amount and crit chance.
Class: Princess
¡°You¡¯re a weird one,¡± Princess Vanescka said. ¡°Can¡¯t help it,¡± Kiyomi mumbled. She scrolled down past the table and found a sweet surprise.
Unique Skills Description Mastery (%)
Heed My Royal Decree, Commoner Bends any target (that is not royalty) within sight to her will, making all affected targets her loyal subjects. All affected targets must obey her at a cost of 0 MP with 0 cooldown time. Lasts 30 minutes but can be extended up to 12 hours. Max targets allowed: 10 000. This skill will only work within the kingdom¡¯s territory. 100
I Think Not, For I Am Royalty (passive) Has unconditional and absolute invulnerability. Can¡¯t be harmed or debuffed in any way. This passive can¡¯t be negated by any means. 100
Plushie Power! Summons a plushie of any kind and size for 0 MP with 0 cooldown time. This plushie grants her double her primary target¡¯s Agility and Endurance and increases her Critical Damage to 2 000%. Guaranteed Critical Hits. Can never glance. Damage scales according to her target¡¯s max HP and 100% of their total Attack Power. 100
What in the hell? And who the fuck had 3 uniques and no other skills? She didn¡¯t even know Level 0s existed. The combination of her stats and skills was ridiculous. ¡°Why do you look so shocked?¡± Princess Vanescka asked. ¡°¡­Nothing¡­¡± Kiyomi replied as she stared at her. Le Francia came back after some time with another teacup and poured some milk into it before giving it to Sako. ¡°Thank you very much!¡± Sako took the glass with both hands and began drinking. Anyway, Kiyomi got the answers she had been looking for¡ªmostly, except for Le Francia¡¯s skills. And now she could start her solo grinding while Sako did the quest. She got up. ¡°I¡¯d love to entertain you some more princess,¡± not really, ¡°but I have stuff to do.¡± ¡°Aw.¡± Princess Vanescka frowned. ¡°Alright. I guess I can¡¯t keep you forever.¡± Chapter 28-Rika Kazutani To start off her grinding, Kiyomi wanted to see if a skill or item existed that would allow her to see the stats and skills of whatever target she examined. That would be incredibly useful because it would allow her to come up with counters against the skills. And once she could counter, any battle she chose would almost be a guaranteed victory. She headed to the capital¡¯s library as a starting point and spent a few hours there. Most of the books had lore about the world. After searching for a long while, she went and sat down with several books and skimmed the pages. One after another. She opened and flipped through a book. Nope. Another one. Nope. Another one. Nope. Another. Another. Another. Nope. She shut it and sighed. I¡¯d have better luck asking a random player for help. Speaking of players¡­ Kiyomi pulled up her UI with a quick hand gesture and messaged Sako. Kiyomi: u have anyone in mind who might know about spying on someone¡¯s skills Sako: Try Kondor. Kiyomi: ¡­ Sako: ¡­ Kiyomi: no one else?? Sako: Nope. Sorry. I haven¡¯t made many friends yet apart from these NPCs. Kiyomi swiped down, closing the UI. She had a feeling Vell might know, but he was too far away right now. Someone close by¡­ Kondor was a noob. Luna was a noob and a lunatic¡­ She got an idea though she didn¡¯t like it since it might involve talking to people¡­ ~~~ She teleported back to Luthyia, stepped into the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, and walked up to the counter. It was packed with players of all sorts who were talking among themselves. It was noisy. She had come at the right time. Elora¡­ wasn¡¯t there? Kiyomi leaned over the counter, and to her surprise, Elora was sleeping on the floor with a pillow tucked under her head, an eye mask over her eyes, and covered in a bedsheet. It was a real head-scratcher how she managed to sleep soundly in all this noise. She conjured up a black bucket of cold water¡ªanother one of her Odd Spells¡ªand tossed it over the counter and onto her. ¡°GAH!¡± Elora squirmed then sat up and lifted her eye mask to look around frantically. Her sleepy eyes came to rest on Kiyomi above her. ¡°Can you help me?¡± Kiyomi asked. ¡°¡­What? With what?¡± Her tuxedo and hair were drenched. Covering her mouth, she yawned. ¡°Do you know where I can get a skill or item that lets me see everyone¡¯s stats and skills even when they hide it?¡± ¡°A what? Um¡­ I dunno¡­¡± She lowered her head, about to fall asleep. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Do you know anyone who might know?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ some guy¡­ named Vell¡­¡± ¡°Apart from him. Anyone else?¡± ¡°I think¡­¡± Elora sluggishly scanned the room of adventurers. She pointed in a direction behind Kiyomi. ¡°That girl. Rika Kazutani. She¡¯s very experienced.¡± Kiyomi looked to where she was pointing. A girl was sitting at a table with a group of guys in dark robes and an animated skeleton standing next to her. Her hair was bright green with flowers in it. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, we can¡¯t do it,¡± one of the guys said to her. ¡°Aww, but why?¡± Rika asked. ¡°Because we need more people. Minimum 40 more, all S-ranked at least. You haven¡¯t been listening to a word I¡¯ve been saying,¡± another guy told her. ¡°No, no, noooo! I¡¯m pretty sure we can win. You won¡¯t know until you try again.¡± She grinned. ¡°Just be confident, and we¡¯ll do fine.¡± ¡°What? You think we¡¯ll win with the power of positivity? You can go on, but I¡¯m not following you and getting my ass handed to me again after dying 18 times.¡± ¡°Kaz, what do you think?¡± She turned her head to a bigger, bulkier, and older man on the far side of the table who had been quiet for the longest while. ¡°We can¡¯t do it. It¡¯s that simple,¡± he replied. ¡°Felix?¡± She looked at the younger lad next to him. ¡°They¡¯re obviously right,¡± he replied, ¡°especially Kaz. He knows his shit.¡± ¡°No one¡¯s with me on this?!¡± Rika looked at them all in disbelief. ¡°Girl, you are on crack,¡± another said as he sat back in his chair folding his arms. Kiyomi walked over to the table. Just play it cool. ¡°Hey.¡± She glanced at them all once then focused on Rika. ¡°Do you know anything that players can use to see all the details of any target?¡± They all looked at her. One of the guys looked at Rika. ¡°You know this noob?¡± Rika shook her head then looked Kiyomi up and down. They stared at her in wonder¡­ ¡°So, none of you¡¯ll answer then?¡± Kiyomi asked. ¡°Uh¡­ There¡¯s one place I know off the top of my head,¡± Rika replied. ¡°And that is¡­?¡± ¡°Wait. You have to help us first.¡± ¡°With what?¡± ¡°Our raid team.¡± One of the guys slammed his fist down on the table. ¡°Are you really still on that, Rika?¡± ¡°Shh. Calm down. Drink some water.¡± She waved her hand at him dismissively. ¡°You¡¯re really going to let a noob handle this with us?¡± Felix asked. ¡°Well, we don¡¯t know what she¡¯s capable of yet¡ª¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m not having this.¡± One of them got up and walked out the door. A man sighed. ¡°Make that 41.¡± Rika looked at her holoscreen before her eyes, reading Kiyomi¡¯s stats¡ªwhatever she could see anyway. She wouldn¡¯t be able to see everything since she had Shroud on. After about a minute, she looked up. ¡°Can I see your ID?¡± Kiyomi summoned her ID into her hand and gave it to Rika. Rika read the card for a few moments. Suddenly, she looked disgusted. ¡°Yikes, not even a C-rank.¡± One of the guys snorted. ¡°Not even C. She¡¯s wasting our time.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ Sorry, but¡­¡± Rika didn¡¯t know how to put it, but the message was clear. Kiyomi couldn¡¯t see any numbers on them. Their stats were hidden. Typical and annoying. All she knew was that their levels were in the 600s. Basically midgamers. ¡°And what¡¯re your ranks?¡± ¡°S¡¯s,¡± Rika replied. ¡°All of you?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Rika nodded. ¡°Tell you what, if I can beat all of you at once in PvP, you let me join you on the raid and then you tell me where I can find the thing I¡¯m looking for.¡± She was curious now about the raid boss and the loot. They all looked baffled. ¡°Nah, she doesn¡¯t mean that,¡± someone said. ¡°No, I think she does,¡± Rika said. ¡°That¡¯s big talk. Reeeaaally big talk,¡± Kaz said. ¡°There is no way she can take all of us on,¡± Felix said. ¡°Not even a C, only a Level 221, and she hasn¡¯t even seen our gear, stats, or skills. Like really, how dumb can you get?¡± Kiyomi wanted to murder him. She sighed and turned her back. ¡°Well, your loss. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll all do just fine without me.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Rika said. Kiyomi turned around. ¡°Let¡¯s have the PvP match. You against the 9 of us.¡± Side Chapter: Seasonal, I Sako and Kiyomi looked out the window and up at the sky. ¡°Why¡¯s it snowing?¡± Sako asked. ¡°Because it¡¯s December?¡± Kiyomi replied. That didn¡¯t help Sako. ¡°So, is there a scientific explanation for the crystallization like how there is in the real world?¡± ¡°How should I know?¡± ¡°I thought you knew everything.¡± Kiyomi rolled her eyes. There were already blankets of snow outside on rooftops and on the ground. Ping. A message? They both made a swipe in the air and pulled up their UI. The message icon glowed on Kiyomi¡¯s holoscreen. She tapped to open it and read. Greetings All, Grab your snow gear, don your Santa hats and stockings, and prepare yourselves because starting tomorrow at 7:00 game time, there will be a new season-exclusive quest! Yes, a quest only available until the end of the month. More info to come. Stay tuned! At the bottom was Mod Aelis¡¯ name and signature. ¡°So, are we doing it?¡± Sako asked. ¡°Of course.¡± Kiyomi had her hopes up. She couldn¡¯t wait to see the quest reward. Quests and monsters were all that mattered for getting good stuff. Shops only had low-quality, low-leveled, and useless gear and items¡ªexcept for little things like regular consumables: potions, ingredients, food, herbs etc. She headed to the door. ¡°Let¡¯s head into town and see if we can find out what everyone¡¯s up to.¡± This was a time-sensitive case. They had to act now. If they could eavesdrop and find out from other players what their plans were, they could be one of the earliest teams to complete the quest when it was released. Then they could sell the reward on the Auction House to make a crap ton of gold before the price dropped. The item would be extremely expensive on release, no doubt and as long as it was tradeable. Supply and demand. ~~~ They went through the streets, looking left and right to glean information from nearby conversations. Kiyomi wondered if they actually needed snow gear. Would the environment be cold, icy, and snowy? But where would she even get¡­ ¡°Yo, I think we oughta get some winter shoes fo¡¯ tomorrow, jus¡¯ in case, you know?¡± a man said to his two friends in front of a shop. ¡°Aight. Let¡¯s go, bro,¡± one of the two replied. Kiyomi stopped some distance away on the sidewalk to avoid being noticed. Sako continued walking towards them, oblivious. She was about to ask for directions to the shop or something silly. She grabbed her wrist and yanked her back. ¡°What¡ª?¡± ¡°How about we not talk to people for once, hm? No time to make friends. Just follow them.¡± This wasn¡¯t the time for unnecessary conversations. Conversations could get long and annoying. ¡°Oh, yeah. That could work too.¡± She nodded. They followed the men to a store down the street, slipped into the store, and looked around. The three guys were doing the same. Kiyomi decided quickly, took the most expensive type after analyzing the stats, paid for them, and walked out, handing Sako her pair of boots. The boots had significantly higher stats than the ones they were wearing. The boots appeared on their feet once they tapped some buttons on their holoscreens. Kiyomi began moving again with Sako following behind. Where to next¡­ She looked around. ¡°Do you want me to pay you back?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Awww, you love me that much, don¡¯t youuuu?¡± ¡°What. I never said that.¡± She threw her arms around Kiyomi¡¯s neck, pressing her chest against her back. This forced Kiyomi to stop. ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t remember that day at the inn!¡± ¡°What day?¡± Sako put on her best seductive voice. A warm, soft, sexy one. ¡°¡®Oh noooo¡­ never¡­ not my¡­¡± She whispered the last part, letting her hot breath tickle Kiyomi¡¯s ear. ¡°...dear¡­ sweet Sako¡­¡¯¡± Kiyomi stiffened as the memory came back to her. A bright redness rose in her cheeks and across her nose. ¡°I never said that¡­¡± ¡°¡®My Sako who I love forever and ever¡­¡¯¡± Sako ended with a high, long moan. ¡°Mmm¡­ aaaaah!¡± Somehow, that flipped a switch inside Kiyomi. She didn¡¯t know what she felt. It made her tingly just for a moment before she came back to her senses. ¡°Th-that was sarcasm, dumbass! And I never said that last bit.¡± ¡°Oh, so you do remember saying the first part? Hahaha!¡± ¡°...No¡­¡± Kiyomi broke free of her hug and turned to meet her eyes. ¡°Lie all you want, but I know the truth!¡± She threw her arms up in the air dramatically. ¡°I¡¯ll tell the whole world!¡± People around were looking at them. Kiyomi flushed even harder, trying to avoid their eyes. ¡°Sako, you¡¯re embarrassing us!¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not like it¡¯ll kill you.¡± Kiyomi stormed away from her. She followed and caught up to her, giggling slightly. Kiyomi didn¡¯t say a word while they walked for several blocks. ¡°My friend taught me that at school.¡± ¡°Taught what.¡± That could¡¯ve been anyone. To Sako, everyone was her friend, even if they hated her guts. Kiyomi was only half interested, knowing that Sako was about to say something stupid again. ¡°How to flirt of course!¡± ¡°You can¡­ flirt?¡± Kiyomi eyed her skeptically. ¡°Yep. Learned it before we got here. She said it works on boys and girls. And it sure got you good.¡± Sako smirked. Kiyomi couldn¡¯t hide her blush. ¡°Shut the fuck up,¡± she mumbled. She laughed, proud of her effort. ¡°And that¡¯s how I got a boyfriend! She said, ¡®You have to sound like you need it badly¡¯. I still don¡¯t know what ¡®it¡¯ is though. When I asked her, she told me to figure it out, since I¡¯m ¡®smart and all¡¯.¡± ¡°Right¡­¡± Except her smartness only applied to academics. That girl had only meant book smart. No doubt. And that sarcasm had gone over Sako¡¯s head. That all explained her extremely high Charisma now. That had been a head-scratcher for the longest while. It made sense, especially since Sako learned things quickly and well. ¡°Sako, you¡¯re very¡­¡± Stupid wasn¡¯t the right word ¡°...Impressionable, you know that?¡± She was wet clay. Or a sponge. Both. ¡°What? Really? How?¡± Kiyomi didn¡¯t answer and walked on quietly. ¡°Tell meeeee,¡± she whined. ¡°Figure it out. You¡¯re smart, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Hmph,¡± she grunted. ~~~ ¡°What if they¡­ uh¡­ make us fight some big, ol¡¯ yeti?¡± One chubby woman sipped from her glass and set it back down on the wooden, round table. ¡°Nah, this gon¡¯ be special and o-rig-i-nal. Someth¡¯n¡¯ bigg¡¯r like a¡­ dragon?¡± a man replied next to her. ¡°Thaz not¡ªHIC¡ªor¡¯gin¡¯l.¡± Several more sat at the table in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. They were drunk. Surprisingly, Elora was awake and standing at the counter, alert. She looked around the room, making sure everything was in order. She had said Cystenn had been allowing her to get more sleep recently, especially since he had hired more staff who shockingly hadn¡¯t quit on him¡ªyet. Something about seeing the error of his ways or whatever. Next thing you know, he goes right back to his old ways next year. Kiyomi wouldn¡¯t be surprised. People never truly changed. Never. She was sitting around a corner table. The lights over this section of the room were very dim. She preferred the dimness over the brightness. It was nighttime and players had filled all the seats under the warm, orange lighting of the hall. Everyone was excited. It was the perfect place to be. Kiyomi had her UI open, typing away occasionally after catching some info with her ear. So far, she had a lot of notes about the possibilities. She made sure to pay close attention to the high-level players. They should know their shit better than anyone else. But the game was still only a few weeks old, so there weren¡¯t many precedents¡ªquests in particular¡ªanyone could use to try and anticipate the one coming tomorrow. Sako was busy talking, smiling, and making friends at another table full of guys. They were captivated by her words as she spoke cheerily. She then told some sort of joke, and they all laughed. A bit of apprehension creeped into Kiyomi¡¯s mind, but she pushed it aside and refocused on her typing. In a few minutes, a bottle broke on the floor. Everyone fell quiet. She stopped typing and looked up from her screen. Two men stood up. ¡°She said she¡¯s coming with me.¡± One man said to the other. ¡°What?! Hey, I said I would consider dropping by sometime¡­¡± Sako chimed in. ¡°No, she was talking to me and said she would join my party and keep me company,¡± the other man snapped and shoved him. ¡°I¡­ never said any of that¡­¡± Sako mumbled. No one was paying her any attention. She gave up and stopped talking. ¡°Hey, back off, pal!¡± A third guy got up from the table to support the second who had been pushed by the first. He caught him just in time before he fell. ¡°Or what?¡± A fourth got up, glaring at the third. ¡°Shut up and stay outta this!¡± The third punched the fourth in the jaw, and he fell over onto his back on the floor. The fifth and last man got up. He was tall, stout, and hairy. Basically a bear. His stomach hung out a little. Actually, he could¡¯ve easily overpowered a bear with his meaty, bare hands. His voice was deep, and his beard was big and bushy. He narrowed his eyes at the three standing men. ¡°You wanna fight like little girls? Take it somewhere else. I¡¯m here for fun.¡± He spat on the floor before them. ¡°Are you saying we¡¯re girls?!¡± ¡°Yeah, basically,¡± the stout one replied. ¡°You too stupid to get that?¡± ¡°At least we ain¡¯t no FAT PIG!¡± one retorted. Now all three of them laughed. The fourth one on the floor joined in on the laughter weakly as he propped himself up on his elbows. There were a few giggles around the room. ¡°WHAT?!¡± The fat pig¡ªer, sizable man looked about. Everybody stopped. He turned back to the men and lifted the thick, hefty table next to him with one fucking hand. Sako stepped away discreetly to another table of people¡ªwho were eagerly watching and waiting as if this was a movie¡ªto stay out of the mess. If only Kiyomi had a camera to record this. All she could do was check their stats. And to her excitement, all their info was on full display. No surprise, really. They all looked like they had nothing to hide. No shame. Only pride. Full of arrogance. Their levels were maxed¡ªLevel 1 000. The four men wore Epic-grade gear. The larger one had Legendary-grade. They all had considerable stat bonuses on every stat. These people were mad. Endgame gear so early? How the fuck¡­ She was envious. Unlike these madmen, she ate and got her eight hours of sleep. And also wasted time with Sako. No, actually, it wasn¡¯t a waste of time. She loved having Sako around and hearing her dumb thoughts and¡­ ANYWAY. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. The four men stood up with close-combat, bladed weapons drawn. The man swung the table at them. One of them easily sliced the table in two with his hefty sword. The two halves fell on the floor. Kiyomi glanced at Elora. She sensed an evil energy emanating from her. Elora looked like a bloodthirsty demon who was ready to mow down countless souls. Yikes. The Guild would have to spend money to replace that table. It looked pretty expensive too. Kiyomi looked down at her own table and rubbed her fingers along it. It was genuine mahogany. All the tables were mahogany. Sako saw the enraged Elora then flashed Kiyomi a sheepish grin. She mouthed a silent ¡°sorry¡± at Kiyomi. Kiyomi shook her head slowly in mild disappointment. Well done, Sako, well done. Silly Sako. The scene was amusing nonetheless. ¡°Ah, so ya got an actual brain in there, do ya?¡± A pair of weighty gauntlets appeared on the stout man¡¯s hands. He was ready to throw ground-shattering punches. The men readied themselves, taking their stances, blades pointed at him. ¡°My money¡¯s on the big one!¡± a fellow on the far side of the room shouted to everyone. ¡°You been drinking too much! No sense in that head, eh?!¡± someone else shouted back from the opposite side of the room¡ªKiyomi¡¯s side, a few tables away. ¡°You shad uuuup!¡± He swayed in this seat. ¡°I got plenty o¡¯ sense, unlike yo mama!¡± He flung a bottle across the room and hit the fellow. He shrieked as the bottle broke against his head, causing it to bleed. ¡°YOU TAKE THAT BACK!¡± He flung a bottle back across the room but hit the wrong guy at a different table. The guy growled. ¡°Watch where yer throwin¡¯. Yer lookin¡¯ fer a fight, buddy!¡± ¡°And what if I don¡¯t, huh? You gonna whine and cry about a little bottle? Be a REAL man!¡± Glass bottles were thrown back and forth. More and more people began throwing when any strays hit them. Some people ducked under tables for cover. Strays bounced off Kiyomi¡¯s forcefield. The main event started. All five of them tussled. Blades clashed against defensively raised gauntlets. They yelled spells and cast the elements. One got in the way of another and soon, the four were fighting themselves as well as the bear who threw more and more tables. Sako carefully crawled under chairs and tables. Once she reached Kiyomi¡¯s, she slipped under the table and came up into the seat beside her where she was safe behind the forcefield. Kiyomi eyed her. ¡°Soooo, what¡¯s next, bestie?¡± Sako put an arm around her with a simple smile because nothing was going on. Absolutely nothing. Everything was fine! ¡°Welp, I got all the notes I could, so we can go now.¡± As soon as Kiyomi got up, an assertive voice penetrated the air and hushed everyone. ¡°YOU CALL YOURSELVES ADVENTURERS?¡± They all stopped and directed their attention to Elora who was a different person. ¡°ALL I SEE ARE SENSELESS ANIMALS THAT ARE NO BETTER THAN THE ONES IN THE WILD.¡± ¡°But ma¡¯am¡ª¡± someone spoke up. ¡°BUT NOTHING. I¡¯LL BE DEDUCTING FUNDS FROM ALL THE CULPRITS TO PAY FOR THE DAMAGES. LOOK AT THE WALLS, FLOORS, AND FURNITURE!¡± She gestured at the room. There were various spots of different colors on the walls and floors from the drinks people had thrown. The cracks and holes in the walls and floor, broken tables, and broken chairs made the place even uglier. ¡°You can¡¯t do that! That¡¯s not fair. They started it.¡± ¡°Yeah, that ain¡¯t fair, lady!¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± Others began to mumble. ¡°Are those objections? Should I increase the charge?¡± They held their breaths. No one made a sound. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought. It will be done.¡± Players checked their inventories. ¡°She really did it?!¡± one man asked. ¡°Pfft. Must be a bug. As if these NPCs can do jack,¡± a second man answered. ¡°Haha! It¡¯s real. Get your eyes checked.¡± A third laughed, since he was innocent. ¡°What do you mean get my eyes checked?! You think I¡¯m blind?!¡± ¡°Totally.¡± They glared at one another. Another fight was about to begin. Elora cleared her throat loudly. They remembered her presence and didn¡¯t bother. Kiyomi was off the hook. She didn¡¯t do anything wrong. Sako was as happy as ever, so she was apparently innocent too. No violence meant no penalties. She still had an arm around her, now humming and rocking both of them gently to a rhythm in her head. What¡¯s with this girl? Despite knowing Sako for a few years, she still managed to puzzle her sometimes. She hadn¡¯t drunk anything, so she was definitely sober¡­ ~~~ At 6: 55 a.m. game time, Mod Aelis messaged everyone with the essential info about the quest and its rewards. The first 100 players would get some bonus rewards from her. As some players had predicted, the quest-holder was the first princess of the kingdom, Symphony Elle Marzenwick¡ªVanescka¡¯s older sister. According to Mod Aelis¡¯ short description of her, she was 19 with a musical knack for playing every instrument. A maestro. Kiyomi and Sako were already at the palace gates, waiting around with some other players. As time passed, the crowd size and chattering increased. At 7, an orchestra started in the courtyard as the gates opened despite no one¡¯s presence . People made their way in, double file, passing the courtyard and in through the open double doors of the castle entrance where the music was louder. Christmas ornaments decorated the spacious room. Guards stood by the walls and saluted together with candy canes in their hands. Their armor was Christmas-themed¡ªred and green. They looked less like guards and more like dressed-up dolls. After a while, the music stopped, and all was quiet except for a violin. ¡°This is embarrassing. I want my sword back,¡± a guard mumbled. ¡°You¡¯ll get it tomorrow,¡± the guard beside him replied. The first guard sighed. At the center of the main hall stood a blonde girl in a black dress. She stopped playing her violin and turned around to everyone. The violin and the violin bow dissolved in the air, turning to light particles then scattered and vanished. Her face lit up when she saw everyone. ¡°Good, you are here as requested! Symphony has a tiny favor to ask. Nothing much!¡± Why did Kiyomi doubt that¡­ ¡°She is in the process of crafting an exquisite flute, one that will produce the most magnificent sound! But she simply cannot take on such a difficult task without your assistance.¡± She frowned. ¡°She has toiled away for several weeks, reading all sorts of books, and at last, she has finally discovered a wonderful method!¡± Her smile returned. ¡°Symphony plans on forging the fabled Aorian Flute, a flute said to contain vast power (and elegance)! As such, she requires Aorian Energy that can only be collected from an Aorian wyvern¡¯s heart.¡± ¡°So, you want us to kill Aorian wyverns?¡± someone asked. ¡°Precisely! She merely needs at least 1 million hearts, some of which will be used as its energy source. She will also provide you with a replica. Though it will be an inferior version unfortunately as she cannot replicate such an unparalleled greatness so easily.¡± 1 million what¡­ ¡°A minuscule number for such skilled, strong adventurers, yes?¡± Symphony asked. People talked among themselves. Sako gave a thumbs up to Kiyomi with her usual confident smile, quietly saying, ¡°We can do this!¡± ¡°1 mil¡¯s too many! These wyverns are Level 10 000!¡± ¡°That¡¯s sum craaaazy amount, fam.¡± ¡°Is Aelis really gon¡¯ make us do dis?¡± ¡°Thas a lotta work.¡± ¡°Aelis clownin¡¯ on us.¡± ¡°What do Aorian wyverns look like again?¡± ¡°They look like chameleons.¡± ¡°Ohhh, right, right. Gotcha.¡± Symphony took all the responses as a yes. ¡°Symphony has faith in you all, and she wishes to see you soon again, adventurers! Adieu!¡± She waved. Everyone was teleported out and back at the front gates to the courtyard, which was now closed. The talking got louder. ¡°We should party up. It¡¯ll make things easier.¡± ¡°Yeah, we need really big parties for this one, boys. If we party, it¡¯ll only take us about three weeks.¡± ¡°Good plan.¡± Kiyomi and Sako slipped out of the crowd. They should do just fine as a duo. ¡°Based on my notes from last night, there should be a wyvern nest near the top of the Crescent mountain. It¡¯s way up north. The quickest way is to fly there. Can you fly by the way?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± Sako was as ready as ever. She put a ring onto her finger and admired it. ¡°Haha! Hey! It¡¯s like I¡¯m proposing to myself.¡± Her weirdness came back. ¡°Ew.¡± ¡°What? Should I propose to you instead?¡± Kiyomi ignored the bad joke and levitated into the air. Sako followed suit. They went off. ~~~ It was cold and windy but Kiyomi¡¯s forcefield shielded them and kept them warm. They had on Winter Goggles so that they could see through the snowstorm¡ªanother idea from her notes. At a certain point, they had to stop flying and keep going on foot: at a certain altitude, there was a magical wind current that they couldn¡¯t fly past. It disrupted their magic. The snow boots prevented them from slipping on snow as well as ice no matter how steep the mountain was. While they climbed, Kiyomi knocked away any flying monsters that came their way with projectiles. Kiyomi kept track of the time and checked once in a while. It took hours. They reached the top. The ground was an ice rink. Wyverns slept everywhere on it. They were huge. Wyverns flew in from the sky and roared at the intruders. Many yellow eyes opened around them. Heads raised. Wyverns got to their feet, ready to eat them. A nearby one opened its mouth and leaned down. Sako jumped and drove her fist up under its chin, sending it high into the air. On its way down, she jumped again and kicked it so hard that it flew off the summit and plummeted. As time passed, players climbed up the mountain side and stepped onto the summit with their snow boots and started their own fights with wyverns around them. Kiyomi¡¯s Fanatic buff made it much easier for the both of them. But even with that, it took a lot of effort and persistence. Despite being a wizard, Sako didn¡¯t use spells. They would lessen her DPM (damage per minute). She was more comfortable with her martial arts. Countless wyverns came in from the sky from sunup to sundown. Players around them fought and eventually fled when they had enough. None died because Sako kept redirecting her attention to protect people even though no one ever asked for her. She would pull or push them out of the way and sometimes hit the wyvern lethally when it was about strike. Her efforts dropped her DPM. By nightfall, it was just Kiyomi, Sako, and the endless wyverns that kept coming down from the sky. Kiyomi spammed AOEs when she could, especially explosions. Sako spammed punches and kicks¡ªsimple but effective. Kiyomi blocked the breath attacks with her forcefield. Sako used her as a shield then dove back out when possible to continue her physical attacks. The sun rose again. The wyverns didn¡¯t stop, neither did Kiyomi and Sako. ¡°We have a mil!¡± Sako yelled over the raspy roars and hissing fires and acids. They stood back to back. ¡°Alright, we¡¯re leaving!¡± Kiyomi yelled back. She felt weary, but they couldn¡¯t rest here or drink a Stamina Recovery Potion. She quickly grabbed Sako¡¯s hand once she stopped throwing her punches. They teleported and appeared at the base of the mountain where they had started. They were panting. It had taken twenty-one hours of nonstop fighting. Kiyomi pulled up a calculator on her holoscreen and did the math. About 48K kills per hour. Not bad, but they could¡¯ve done better if a certain airhead hadn¡¯t played hero. Blip. That was an odd sound she heard. She wondered where it had come from. After checking the world chat, she saw their announced achievement: [Sako Kosetsu¡¯s party is the first to acquire 1 million Aorian hearts from Mount Crescent!] Perfect. Now they would be targets. Which dumb admin had made this chat system? And she couldn¡¯t seem to teleport or fly. Something in the area was preventing that. A spell? For now, they would have to walk until they reached out of range or find whatever was causing that. Likely someone. ¡°Can we rest?¡± Sako asked. Kiyomi gulped down a green liquid from a bottle. Her stamina bar refilled quickly. Her MP automatically recovered rapidly. She gave the bottle to Sako who was sitting on the snow-covered ground. ¡°No. Here.¡± She nodded gratefully and finished the bottle. Her bar recovered too. ¡°Keep your guard up.¡± Kiyomi started moving again. Sako followed. They only made a few footsteps to the forest before dozens of people came out of it with devious smiles. They must¡¯ve been waiting for hours for others to descend from the mountain so they could PK them for the hearts, since they were too scared to go up the mountains themselves. Sako waved at them. ¡°Morning!¡± No one waved back. She turned to Kiyomi. ¡°Any reason why they¡¯re not waving back?¡± ¡°They¡¯re PKers.¡± Was she being this dense on purpose? ¡°Yeah, that makes sense,¡± she replied. A few checked their holoscreens. One shouted. ¡°Oi! They¡¯re low levels! We can take ¡¯em!¡± Sure. Kiyomi was at full strength, and she was in a hurry. There were only two things to do: tear through their numbers and sprint through the forest until she could tele out. ¡°Hand them over and we won¡¯t kill you,¡± a stern man said as he approached. He was hairy and big. His eyebrows were thick. Kiyomi recognized him. He had been at the Guild. The bear of a man. The four men who he had fought stood behind him as support. Sako pointed at the men. ¡°Hey, weren¡¯t you all fighting that big guy the other night?¡± One of them answered, ¡°Yeah, but we¡¯re teaming up for now for the hearts. Just for now. We mean it though. We won¡¯t kill you, only her.¡± All five looked at Kiyomi. What? Am I not pretty enough or something? ¡°It¡¯s funny though,¡± a girl spoke up from the backline a distance away where the bulk of players waited. ¡°How did a couple of low-levels get all those so quickly?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± The bear looked her way. ¡°Dunno. Cheats? Doesn¡¯t matter.¡± This guy wasn¡¯t very bright. ¡°Hey, let¡¯s talk this out. We have extra hearts. You can have those instead.¡± Sako eyed Kiyomi for permission. ¡°No way in hell. They can fuck off,¡± Kiyomi snapped instantly. And it wasn¡¯t as if they would be satisfied with a few extras anyway. ¡°You¡¯re scared, little girls too weak to kill the wyverns. I get it. You¡¯ll only go up the mountain, piss and shit your pants, and run back down crying.¡± She grinned. Sako was visibly uncomfortable at that comment. ¡°THEM¡¯S FIGHT¡¯N¡¯ WORDS!¡± someone shouted. ¡°YEAH!¡± more shouted in unison. The bear¡¯s glare failed to intimidate Kiyomi. As for Sako, Kiyomi understood she feared hurting them badly from self-defense. She didn¡¯t take hits, only gave them¡ªas expected of a glass cannon. ¡°W-what?! Are we fighting for real?!¡± Sako backed up. They all ran at the girls, screaming with weapons. Kiyomi lifted her staff and black meteors with dark tails rained down. Some screamed in horror as they got crushed. Some jumped out of the way. One fell on the bear man but broke into small chunks and fell around his unscathed body. His HP didn¡¯t drop. What was he made of? ¡°Don¡¯t kill them!¡± Sako exclaimed. ¡°Can¡¯t be helped.¡± Kiyomi couldn¡¯t care less. They¡¯d respawn. And if they lost gear on death, served them right. People ran at Kiyomi with melee weapons. Volley of Shadows. While swaying her staff, human-sized, black spheres flew up and out of her shadow on the ground and rained down onto them. The adventurers screamed as they got annihilated. Now the bear man was left. Sako kept dodging his punches. Eventually, he jumped back to make distance between him and Kiyomi and Sako. He pointed his hand to them. ¡°WEAPON ART¡­!¡± In a burst of speed, Kiyomi closed the distance and socked him in the jaw using the head of her staff. No time for this crap. THUD. He fell on his back, HP at zero. ¡±Did you have to?¡± Sako asked. ¡° Yes.¡± She pictured the map in her head and all the available locations. She could teleport now. Grabbing Sako¡¯s hand, they left and appeared at the palace entrance. The gates to the courtyard opened for them. Symphony was playing a steady, calm tune on her violin not too far away. She saw them and stopped. ¡°Ah, you are back!¡± Her violin and bow dematerialized again, freeing her hands. ¡°We have the hearts!¡± Sako said. ¡°Splendid work! Symphony shall take them then.¡± She extended her hand. The stacks of hearts in their inventories disappeared. They appeared in Symphony¡¯s hand as a multicolored bright ball of energy. Gradually, the sphere shaped itself into a fancy flute that she then lifted to her mouth and played. The exquisite, addicting tune was to die for. Every note was hit flawlessly with passion at a fast tempo. As she danced around with it, musical notes emerged from the flute and drifted around in the air. After a few minutes, when there were enough flying notes, they joined and formed into the shape of the same flute and floated down for Sako to catch. ¡°Thank you.¡± Sako grinned. ¡°Oh no, no, thank you, adventurer.¡± Symphony curtsied while her own flute levitated. ¡°Farewell now. There is much musical work to be done.¡± She waved. Sako waved back as she and Kiyomi walked back out through the gates. They went to the Auction House, sold it, and got 50 million. Sako split it in half and traded Kiyomi. Ping. Kiyomi checked her messages. It was from Mod Aelis. Good job, adventurers! You¡¯ve earned a few bonuses. See the attached. A weapon was attached. Sugarcane scythe:
Description Minty fresh decapitation. For critical strikes aimed at the head, decapitate the enemy. Causes a fountain of various Christmas candies to shoot out, healing nearby allies. The damage is 1 if the weapon does not land as critical, but critical strikes are 30 times as effective as a Legendary-grade, max-leveled, melee weapon.
So, garbage, and they couldn¡¯t wield it. But because it was rare, the value was high. There was another reward: a generous amount of Magic Gel. This could be useful. Blip. Kiyomi checked the chat. Another team had just collected 1 million hearts. So, there were other players out there with exceptional abilities too. Interesting. Chapter 29-Kiyomi vs Rikas Team The 9 of them stood at one end of the arena, Kiyomi at the other. They were scattered in strategic positions, a standard one: tanks making up the vanguard and the ranged classes in the back. The squishy damage-dealers¡ªmelee and ranged¡ªstood directly behind the tanks for protection. The tanks had a shield in one hand¡ªtheir offhand¡ªand a mainhand weapon, like a sword or wand. Backline ¨‹ ¨‹ ¨‹ ¨‹ ¨‹ ¨‹ ¨‹ ¨‹ ¨‹ Frontline 1 tank had a shield and sword, and another had a shield and an oversized lance. The third had a thick, two-handed sword though still seemed tanky in his big armor. They were all in heavy plate armor and helmets. 1 damage-dealer in the middle line had a halberd and another next to him had dual-wielded swords. The other 2 were archers in leather gear. And the 2 in the back were for support, no doubt, holding staves with floating spellbooks while in robes and wizard-like hats. Solid team, but Kiyomi wasn¡¯t impressed. It was so basic and predictable. Rika was in the back as a support and potentially a sub-DPSer, judging from her aggressive-looking gear she had switched to: it had scattered red skulls along the torso and shoulders. And she had a blood-red glow. The key to winning was speed: cast speed, cooldown time, reaction speed, and improvising at the last second. Precision too, but speed was king. A number appeared in the center of the arena. 3. She wondered how her accuracy would hold up. Her staff wasn¡¯t the best. Point-blank range and avoiding a Glancing Hit debuff should help. At least she wouldn¡¯t get a Glancing Hit by natural means due to her elemental neutrality. Though, the same applied to them. 2. She would try and make this fight 3 minutes tops. 1. But how tanky were those tanks? She could use heavy, anti-tank spells? Or be counterintuitive and use those to one-shot the backline. START! Kiyomi applied her buffs with a glow that boosted all her stats immensely in half a second with 1 spell: Fanatic. And while they were applying their buffs by saying words and incantations, she emerged behind a support in the backline from his shadow on the ground and swung her black umbrella right through his neck and sliced. His head fell off and hit the ground. Umbrella of Heaven. Good for protection and decapitations, since it was sharp like a blade. They looked behind them. ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Scatter!¡± a tank yelled. They scattered over the arena and made distance. Kaz, a Dark Knight tank with a large shield charged at her. This should¡¯ve bought time for the rest of them to recompose themselves. That seemed like the plan. Rika, the surviving support, summoned an army of skeletons that filled the whole arena. At least 200 with a few giants. The giants were Level 600. The skeletons were Level 500. Kiyomi wouldn¡¯t bother tackling Kaz. It would be time-consuming. She lifted her staff with 1 hand and opened the umbrella above her head with her other. Black Lightning. Black lightning rained down on every inch of the field. The forcefields they put up weren¡¯t enough to counter the sheer number of bolts that fell from the sky. Even Kaz was taking some damage. It chipped away at his HP, but he kept running at her. The DPSers lost about half their HP as they stumbled around, narrowly dodging and parrying some with their blades and, surprisingly, their bows. Rika was desperately trying to negate the damage and out-heal it, but she couldn¡¯t do it alone, not without the second support Kiyomi had killed. Once the lightning stopped, which had obliterated the army and left black, scorched spots all over the place, she sidestepped Kaz and flew forward to the rest with a burst of speed, though it wasn¡¯t her top speed. Felix intercepted, blocking her umbrella¡¯s swing with both his long, curved swords. He was a swift DPS in light plate armor. Black and short hair, resolute eyes, a slim build. He gritted his teeth as Kiyomi pushed him back bit by bit. ¡°Is this it?¡± He smirked. ¡°Not even close,¡± Kiyomi replied. She turned into a shadow and melted onto the ground, wearing her Cloak of Astius, and emerged behind him from his own shadow and stood still on it. He froze in place and couldn¡¯t move. ¡°What did you just do?!¡± As she stuck her umbrella into the ground on his shadow to hold him in place, she stepped away from a few arrows that came from the 2 archers. ¡°Hang in there, Felix!¡± Rika shouted. Numerous more came down from overhead. Thousands. Wall of Obscurity. A black, floating, thick wall appeared above her and blocked everything then vanished. A few portals opened up beside her and golden chains came out to restrain her, but she countered with her own black chains that emerged from her shadow on the ground and tied the chains up. Her chains multiped and rushed towards the other tank who had summoned the golden chains. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. When the chains wrapped around him and immobilized him, huge spears made of bone flew down from the sky¡ªRika¡¯s attack. So many that Kiyomi couldn¡¯t count them. Shadow Eater, do your worst. Kiyomi pointed her palm to the swords. Her shadow from under her moved up her body and sprang from her hand with its mouth open, eyes glowing and larger than everything else combined¡ªeven the giants Rika had summoned earlier. It ate all the spears and came back down in an arch, about to land on her opponents. They used defensives, like shields and counter offensives. Counter offensives weren¡¯t bad if they were done right. The DPSers were sitting ducks. The support was scrambling. Rika was in a panic, unsure of what to do. The tanks yelled and cast their AOE shields with varying levels of damage reduction. The archers, trying to remain calm, readied their arrows in their bows, though seemed reluctant and unsure of where to aim. Shadow Eater bounced off the shields but was relentlessly bashing its large head against them. They couldn¡¯t take much more. ¡°Where do we aim?!¡± One of the archers shouted. ¡°At her!¡± a tank yelled. Sure, not a bad idea because they sure as hell couldn¡¯t cheese through its 12 million HP bar and heavy Defense. ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I¡¯m coming!¡± Rika was on her way over to the corner of the arena where Kiyomi had decapitated her first victim. She started her incantation to resurrect him. ¡°Death Grasp!¡± Another Rika from behind Kiyomi lunged her hand forward, which was covered in a black aura. It was smart to use a doppelganger, since it stole Kiyomi¡¯s attention to buy more time for the other Rika to resurrect the dead support. Kiyomi sidestepped, letting Rika¡¯s momentum push her past her. ¡°Oh, is that supposed to insta-kill me? That¡¯s a good one too.¡± She summoned a fire extinguisher and slammed it into her head. Rika grunted as she fell on the ground, face down near Kiyomi¡¯s feet. Critical Hit. She lost 70% of her HP just to that. She flung the extinguisher with a lot of strength to the other Rika right as she finished the incantation. With that speed, she had no time to counter. It hit her head and she collapsed. She lost about the same amount of HP. More colourful arrows unsurprisingly fell onto her from above but bounced off her blue forcefield once she put it up. ¡°If you have your Weapon Arts, use them now!¡± Kaz yelled from the far side of the field where he had tried to attack Kiyomi. Good plan, except they were still busy with Shadow Eater¡­ unless they could still manage. ¡°WEAPON ART! GOD¡¯S GLORY!¡± The support that Rika had resurrected shouted as he sat in his corner and pointed his staff skywards as. A white magic circle spanned across the arena ground. Everyone except Kiyomi glowed. Those who were unconscious woke up. They all healed back up to full HP with over 20 buffs on each of them, including Invulnerability and Immunity. It was as if the fight had just begun. What a pain. She wouldn¡¯t even bother reading what buffs they had. They didn¡¯t matter. Rika got up beside her. ¡°Death Grasp!¡± She lunged forward with her aura-covered hand at Kiyomi. Kiyomi stepped out of the way. When Rika moved past her again, Kiyomi grabbed her collar from the back and flung her aside into the wall across the arena. It didn''t matter which Rika was the real one. ¡°Have you learned nothing?¡± She sighed in disappointment. ¡°WEAPON ART! UNENDING RAIN!¡± an archer shouted. Countless arrows came down from the sky. She was already in her forcefield, so the arrows bounced off as usual. The damage from each arrow was insignificant, not to mention her shield automatically refreshed every 5 seconds. Oh wow. How original¡­ And Shadow Eater ignored everything, continuing its bashing against their shields. Impressive. They were managing to hold their own against it. Just barely though. ¡°WEAPON ART! IFRIT!¡± the other archer yelled. From an orange circle on the ground, the ifrit emerged, twice the size of Shadow Eater with red, glowing markings all over its body. Ooh. This could be a challenge. But she could just unsummon it. She had the mana¡­ Nope. ¡°Shadow Eater, devour everything!¡± Shadow Eater glanced at her then grew even bigger than the ifrit. Its mouth opened wide. The ifrit shot a beam of blue fire from its mouth. Shadow Eater swallowed it and began sucking in everything like a vacuum. The ifrit went into its mouth and disappeared down its throat. It sucked in and gulped down everyone¡¯s buffs. Now it had many blue icons above its head, indicating the buffs. It shut its mouth and waited for more orders. ¡°What? How¡¯s that fair?!¡± the archer asked. Kiyomi facepalmed, ignoring him. She had meant the players too. Okay, maybe not yet. I still want to see more. Now that Shadow Eater stopped attacking. Those on the defensive dropped their shields to attack it. The 3 DPSers who had been waiting behind the tanks got their chance to attack¡ªthe 2 archers and the halberd-wielder. They shot various projectiles, like energy blasts and energy balls, but the shadow¡¯s body absorbed it. The halberd¡¯s blade penetrated the skin, but it was a ball of goop with eyes, so physical attacks didn¡¯t matter, but this guy was too dense to get that. They continued attacking. Meanwhile¡­ ¡°WEAPON ART! IMPENETRABLE FORTRESS!¡± Kaz yelled from his end of the field. His body glowed with a wild, fluctuating aura. His HP increased considerably¡ªabout 20 times his original HP. ¡°WEAPON ART! UNDEAD LEGION!¡± Rika followed suit from her end. There was only one copy of her now. Many portals across the arena open. Lots of skeletons marched out, equipped with weapons and armor. Kiyomi scanned their levels above their heads. They all seemed to be Level 670, which was Rika¡¯s level. So, they scale to her level. Hm¡­ Kaz, along with the army, rushed at her, full speed. She formed a fist, which then took on a dark aura, fortified with Dark Energy¡ªan aura like Rika¡¯s Death Grasp, but with a deep tinge of purple. She swung her fist to Kaz. Kaz lifted his heavy shield and blocked, but the force sent him across the field until he hit the wall hard. His HP dropped to 10%. ¡°Try again.¡± Not bad. B for effort, since you survived. ¡°Shadow Eater,¡± she called it. Shadow Eater looked at her. It knew what to do. It opened its mouth, inhaled all the skeletons, and swallowed them. Rika stood there in shock. Kaz was down. Felix was still frozen in place with her umbrella stuck into the ground on his shadow. He was the most pathetic one of them all. Shadow tendrils. Tendrils came up from his shadow, grabbed him by the ankles, and flung him into Rika. Rika and Felix shrieked when Felix crashed into her. They fell over. Kiyomi looked around the field. They were all panting hard, stamina and MP bars drained. In a few seconds, her MP and stamina bars went back up to 100%. ¡°Are you done yet?¡± Kiyomi asked them. It wasn¡¯t that they were incompetent, and some of their attacks were potentially OP. But Kiyomi simply had better stats, tactics, and lots of wisdom on gameplay in general. Felix got up. ¡°I¡¯m not done with you!¡± Kiyomi was impressed that he had enough stamina to sprint across the arena to her. But when he lifted his hands to swing his sword, he froze in place. He struggled to move and grunted. ¡°What kind of weird crap is this now?¡± ¡°Psychokinesis,¡± she replied as she looked to one side of the arena. The force flung Felix in that direction. He crashed into the wall. ¡°Alright,¡± Rika said, lying on the floor and panting like the rest. ¡°We¡¯re done.¡± 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Chapter 30-Kiminarus Stats When the match was over, everyone was automatically teleported back to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild at the table. Kiyomi stood and the rest sat at their initial spots. They stared at Kiyomi in puzzlement. Some in embarrassment, especially Felix. He wouldn¡¯t talk. Kaz was amused, smiling. Rika was staring in utter admiration. Felix looked down at the many scratches in the table, finding it hard to keep eye contact with her. While the rest were quiet and trying to find their words, the noise and chatter continued around them from other adventurers at other tables. ¡°You gonna stop staring or what?¡± Kiyomi asked. ¡°Can you join our guild, please?¡± Rika asked. ¡°You¡¯ll totally love it!¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m good.¡± ¡°Aw. Can you at least think more about it?¡± she pressed on. ¡°No.¡± Saw that coming from a mile away. But she knew that if she joined, she would have considerable weight in the guild¡¯s strength against anything¡ªPvE and PvP. ¡°We¡¯ll make you Vice Guild Master,¡± she tried again. ¡°The spot is open.¡± Kiyomi sighed. Does this girl have a brain? ¡°25% of the guild¡¯s collected weekly tax?¡± She¡¯s really trying hard, huh. But at least Rika understood that Kiyomi¡¯s worth was extremely high. ¡°Give it a week,¡± Kaz said. He had taken off his half helmet. He was bald and beardless with a thin, neat line for a moustache and tanned skin. ¡°You should,¡± Felix spoke up, though still kept his eyes down on the table. His eyebrows were sharp. 25%... Hmm¡­ ¡°How many members do you have?¡± ¡°509 and still rising slowly,¡± Kaz continued. ¡°Total weekly collected tax?¡± ¡°3 million.¡± So, Kiyomi would be getting 750 000 gold for doing nothing. That was a hefty amount. Damn, this is a tempting offer. Anyone with a brain would jump at this chance. She could join for now then have Sako take her place when she was done with the king¡¯s quest. ¡°To put that into perspective, the average midgamer typically makes around 100 000 per week¡ªgive or take depending on what they do¡ªwhether through questing, PvEing, merchanting in the Auction House, doing a trade like Crafting or Smithing, or other things. If they¡¯re good, 200 000. If they¡¯re great, closer to 300 000. Decent endgamers could make a few million, but it takes them a lot of effort and skill, and even then, the drops aren¡¯t always guaranteed because of RNG and dying.¡± ¡°Charlotte won¡¯t like this,¡± a guy mumbled, worry in his tone. ¡°It¡¯s fine. She¡¯ll get over it,¡± Rika replied. Kiyomi relinquished. ¡°1 week.¡± Their faces lit up with smiles. ¡°You¡¯ll have a great time,¡± Kaz said. I doubt it. I could make myself scarce and continue doing my own thing. ¡°What about the raid?¡± She still wanted to get in on that. ¡°We need 40 more.¡± ¡°Add me and send me the info for the boss.¡± They both opened their holoscreens. Kiyomi accepted his request, then opened the info on the boss he sent. She scanned through it¡­
Kiminaru Level 20 000
Attack Damage (on average before dmg reductions) 1 200 000
Health 10 000 000
Defense 4 000 000
Mana 18 000 000
Stamina 18 000 000
Resistance 94%
Accuracy 96%
Critical Rate 100%
Critical Damage This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. 500%
Element Water
Type Sea Monster
Location Wayener Cavern; Ranta
Description During the war between the Sayoran Empire and the Xaxton Empire, the highly revered warlock Yen of the Xaxton Empire summoned this serpent from another plane of existence as a last attempt to win the war. But then he saw no way to win, and so, he hid the snake by casting it down into the cavern deep underground between the empires, hoping to return one day to exact vengeance onto his enemies. And now, this translucent, black snake awaits his return.
She looked up at everyone. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°What do you mean ¡®that¡¯s it¡¯? That thing will one-shot us if it hits. Read all the skills in detail and you¡¯ll understand. I know you¡¯re strong, but this is designed for a 50-man team, not 10.¡± Kiyomi looked again.
Skills & Phases Description
Master of the Sea (passive) Kiminaru is immune against all water-based attacks.
Naga Assault At the start of the fight,100 nagas emerge from the lake, surrounding players from all sides. Each has 10 000 HP. To move to the next phase, all nagas must be killed within 30 seconds or the corpses of the ones killed will rot and despawn, leading to a repeat of the phase.
Kraken Assault The corpses attract the Colossal Kraken with 2 million HP. It will constantly grab players and stun them. They may be freed by severing the tentacle or stunning it. [See Tentacle Barrage next] __________________________________________________ Once down to 5% HP, a total of 50 000 damage must be dealt within 10 seconds to daze the kraken. If unsuccessful, it becomes enraged and sucks everything into its mouth, resulting in an instant death while regenerating to full health. If successful, its mouth stays open for another 10 seconds, providing the chance to plant a thunder elemental ore inside of it, which can be found at the bottom of the lake near the sleeping Kiminaru. (It is advised to avoid waking him this early, or he will become furious and eat all intruders.) Shortly after planting the ore, it explodes, depleting the remaining HP.
Tentacle Barrage After 30% of its HP is destroyed, water-based tentacles erupt around the arena. They must either be frozen or electrocuted to take damage. After 60% is destroyed, the kraken temporarily becomes enraged and roars. All tentacles permanently gain an additional 200% attack speed. More tentacles spawn.
Juvenile Kraken After 90%, the Colossal Kraken roars again then temporarily retreats underwater and summons tornadoes in its place. At the center, a Juvenile Kraken appears with half of the Colossal Kraken¡¯s stats. Once defeated, the Colossal Kraken returns with 50% HP. [See Kraken Assault next]
Invader Purge Kiminaru¡¯s voice sounds from below the water as he notices the invaders. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± 200 naga warriors and naga sorcerers surface on the lake and must be defeated. Each has 20 000 HP.
Freezing Point Starting on the Invader Purge phase, the air becomes very cold. Stats will decrease to 25% of the full amount. Players attuned to the water element instantly freeze. This effect persists.
Water Barrage Occasionally, and starting on the Invader Purge phase, 50 huge spheres of water float up into the air from the lake. After 2.4 seconds, they rain down onto everyone simultaneously for AOE damage. This effect persists.
10 would be more than enough actually. She just needed electric spells. ¡°Do you have any electric spells?¡± Kaz shook his head. ¡°Our biggest mistake was going in without them.¡± ¡°Pfffft. We don¡¯t need those,¡± Rika said. Felix rolled his eyes at her then shook his head slowly as if she was an idiot. Well, Kiyomi didn¡¯t blame him. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll try and figure something out.¡± She needed to go find someone with electric spells and persuade them to join the team.
Mirage After 3 minutes, whether or not the warriors and sorcerers have been defeated, a ten-headed hydra with 4 million HP breaks through the left wall of the cavern. After a long roar, 10 mirages of itself appear around the arena, impervious to all damage and can¡¯t be defeated. Each head of the real hydra has 800 000 HP. All mirages deal water damage. If a target is immune or highly resistant to water-based attacks, the mirage attacking that target will analyze the target to find the target¡¯s greatest elemental weakness and use that element.
Water Surge For basic attacks, each mirage spits water at its primary target at regular intervals.
Water Cannon For each mirage, after every 10 attacks, it shoots a powerful, continuous stream of water from its mouth for 30 seconds.
An Eye for an Eye If any mirage is stunned or bound, all other mirages will become enraged and begin attacking the culprit, stunning with every attack. Enrage increases damage and attack speed by 20%.
¡°Hmm¡­¡± Kiyomi looked up again. ¡°So, we can¡¯t one-shot it apparently.¡± She had hoped for that. They looked at her as if she had lost it. ¡°What?¡± They didn¡¯t reply. Kiyomi read the last bit.
Final Stand ¡°Amusing, but you are still no match for me.¡± After the hydra has been defeated, Kiminaru finally shows himself and rises from the water with an army of nagas, each having 100 000 HP. He is covered in a thick coating of water. He sticks his tongue out and wraps it around the nearest target then swallows them whole, resulting in instant death. All basic attacks are AOE water attacks. The further the target, the more damage they take. His water armor and helmet must be destroyed with electric or ice attacks as they are highly resistant to every other element. Tip: Freezing the armor slows down Kiminaru¡¯s attack speed. Breaking it while frozen does considerable damage. ¡°You are persistent.¡± Once his HP drops to 7 million, with his willpower, many tidal waves rise from the lake and crash down onto everything for 2 minutes. ¡°You are about to see true power!¡± Once his HP drops to 5 million, 200 pillars reaching up to the ceiling appear around the room simultaneously. If they are not all destroyed within 3 seconds, they will pour out water to fill the room and drown everything. While in the water, he is empowered and now deals 5 times his base damage. His Critical Damage also increases by 500%. Additionally, 20 sharks appear that are almost as big as Kiminaru. These sharks are immune to all damage except electric damage. ¡°I will not lose to silly mortals!¡± Once his HP drops to 1 million, and if the water is present, it gradually becomes colder. After 60 seconds, the temperature reaches absolute zero and kills everything. ¡°I have been¡­vanquished.¡± Once killed, his corpse falls to the ground. Any remaining water evaporates.
¡°You know, theoretically, it¡¯s even possible to duo this,¡± Kiyomi said. ¡°But I don¡¯t have anyone reliable enough.¡± No one except Sako. Sako was a fast learner and was quick to adapt to situations. She was busy with that quest though. ¡°Or crazy enough,¡± Felix added. ¡°Sure,¡± Kiyomi replied. Chapter 31-Troubled Treasurer ¡°YOU DID WHAT?¡± Charlotte¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°I offered her 25%,¡± Rika replied. ¡°I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME.¡± ¡°Then¡­ why did you ask?¡± ¡°Tch. Please tell me she did not accept it.¡± ¡°She did.¡± Charlotte turned away, facing the window. She was behind the desk, and Rika was across the room. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, nooooooooo! The Acting Guild Master is going to kill me! Especially because she was ultimately responsible for the finances of the guild. She was the head treasurer. Okay, don¡¯t panic, don¡¯t panic. You can fix this, Char, you can fix this. You can fix this, yes, you can. You¡¯re a brilliant girl. ¡°She¡¯ll also be the Vice Guild Master.¡± Charlotte spun back around to Rika. ¡°WHY WOULD YOU MAKE SUCH ABSURD OFFERS WITHOUT OUR CONSENT?! AND TO A RANDOM LEVEL 221 D-RANK?!¡± ¡°I had to be convincing.¡± Rika shrugged. ¡°And she¡¯s really good. If you don¡¯t like it, fix it yourself. It¡¯s your problem now, dumbass. Anyway, I¡¯m off to do something else so I don¡¯t have to see your face.¡± She turned and walked towards the door of the office. Charlotte wanted to throw something at her. ¡°Fine, go! You¡¯re useless as always!¡± Rika shut the door behind her. The way she always flipped to a different personality behind closed doors always irritated Charlotte. It was as if some demon possessed her. How do I fix this?! She began pacing back and forth across the room, nibbling on her thumbnail. She couldn¡¯t just increase the tax to compensate for the 25%. Everyone would question that. And the tax percentage on everyone¡¯s earnings was at an optimum point. No one was complaining, and she didn¡¯t want to ruin that. If the guild as a whole would be willing to grant that 25% payout on a consistent basis, the guild would have to find revenue elsewhere to keep itself up and running because right now, it ran primarily on taxes. But she couldn¡¯t think of where else to get revenue. And she also couldn¡¯t simply revoke her access to that 25%¡ªnot on her own; she didn¡¯t have the legal or physical power. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Wait¡­ do I need legal power? The 25% hadn¡¯t yet been officialized, so she could do whatever she wanted within reason including kicking her out. But then the girl could just complain to the Guild Master and tell everyone that she had been promised 25%, and then Charlotte would be in trouble. She would look bad. She doubted that a physical confrontation would be effective to deter her. What was the difference between their levels and skills? If Rika had told the truth, then this girl must be exceptionally good, so fighting was off the table. But still¡­ a Level 221 D-rank? Difficult to believe. She would have to get help from the Acting Guildmaster, but of course, she would have to inform him first. No, she wanted to handle this matter privately. The Acting Guildmaster was busy enough already. Charlotte wanted him to trust her. She wanted to prove that she was competent in his absence¡ªthat she didn¡¯t need him for every little thing. And if she ever managed to impress him, that would be a dream come true. She imagined his stern, rigid voice. I thought you were better than this. Can¡¯t I trust you with 1 simple thing? Worthless treasurer. Can¡¯t you do this on your own? Did I make the wrong choice in choosing you? If you can¡¯t do this by yourself, I¡¯ll get someone else to take your place. What was worse was that she would have to include that unusual 25% disbursement in her biweekly financial report. She couldn¡¯t sweep it under the rug and write it off. It was huge. No, no, no, no, no, nooooo! I need a solution! The guild had a 10 million gold stockpile in its bank account that it could use in case of emergencies, so the guild wouldn¡¯t be going broke anytime soon. But she shouldn¡¯t rely on the stockpile. And a fundraiser was only a temporary solution. Or maybe the guild didn¡¯t have to find revenue from somewhere else. What if Charlotte flipped that? The D-rank could instead receive that 750 000 from elsewhere¡ªa place that was still affiliated with the guild. From an adjunct, a source connected to the guild but wasn¡¯t an essential part of it. Something auxiliary and in the background¡­ And then she remembered. There were several sources. The guild had a few small businesses on the side, ran mainly by hired NPCs: ore mining, fishing, enchanting items, buying stocks at low prices to sell at higher prices, crafting and smithing mid-level gear of all kinds, hunting, woodcutting, tanning hide, and potion brewing. Charlotte took the calculator from the desk, put in a few numbers, and got her answer. The total weekly net profit for those was currently at 910 000. She would take the 750 000 from that amount then. The Acting Guildmaster hardly cared for money. As long as the guild was alive and well, he left all that stuff to whoever was assigned to it. So, it was all up to her and the deputy treasurers to handle it. And once that 750 000 came from those sources, Charlotte wouldn¡¯t have to include any of that in her report since it wouldn¡¯t be an essential matter of the guild. But the other businesses, if they did reports, would likely include it in theirs. But those reports wouldn¡¯t reach the guild and would instead reach the proprietors who ran the businesses on the guild¡¯s behalf. And then Charlotte would have the option to request a copy of each report, but of course, she couldn¡¯t care less. She just wanted the problem out of her hair. Ah, she could rest easily. But only for now; granting the position of vice was a different matter she would need to address later. Chapter 32-To the Barracks Sako slowly opened her eyes and sat up in bed. The wonderful sun came in through the window and lit up the room, making it all nice and happy! Happy, happy, happyyyyy! Today would be a great day! She couldn¡¯t wait to get started! Great sleep, nice, warm bed with lots of space! Comfy pillow! She was tempted to go back to sleep and sleep away the day! She couldn¡¯t help but smile, stretching her arms up to the ceiling. ¡°Aaahhh!¡± Luna was sitting upright in a corner of the room on the floor where the sun couldn¡¯t reach. Feet cocked up as she hugged them. A face with a dead expression. Bloodshot eyes with bags under them, looking right at Sako. Her pink hair was ruffled. Those eyes were thick with envy and bitterness. ¡°Fuck off,¡± she mumbled. ¡°Well, good morning to you too, sweetheart!¡± she replied. Luna¡¯s eye twitched. Sako frowned. ¡°Did you sleep well?¡± Luna didn¡¯t reply. ¡°Oh, I guess you didn¡¯t, did you? That¡¯s a shame. I wish I could¡¯ve done something about it for you. Maybe that goodnight kiss on your forehead would¡¯ve helped. Oh well.¡± She shrugged. It sure sucked to be Luna right now. Sako was having a blast! She was full of pent-up energy! Last night, Luna had tried sleeping in Sako¡¯s bed with her and had asked for a goodnight kiss, but Sako then threatened her with a chair again, so Luna gave in and decided to sleep on the floor in a far corner of the room as far away from Sako as possible. Not once had Luna complained about the cold and discomfort while Sako was under a warm blanket in a soft bed. The princess had been kind enough to get Sako a room in the palace for however long she needed one, since she had been a great help in the invasion. Luna had simply tagged along because she had nothing better to do with her time apparently. Sako would begin the quest today. She and the princess had talked about it in detail. It¡¯s probably a good idea to sort out my gear and inventory first though. And then do her skill points. It all took a while. And a lot of thinking. She went to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in Luthyia after getting Kiyomi¡¯s help. And when she was done, she would text Kiyomi to teleport her back to the capital. Elora wasn¡¯t at the counter, but there was a service bell on it. She tapped it. DINGGGGG¡­ Elora showed up in a dull, blue flame, yawning with a hand over her mouth. ¡°Can you¡ª?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll buy your cores and whatever else you have.¡± Another yawn, long and soft. ¡°How¡ª¡± ¡°Your friend was here earlier, so I figured you are here for the same thing. Can we hurry up? I want to go back to sleep.¡± Sako handed her a box with her cores and unwanted gear. Elora took them and tossed them carelessly into a nearby portal. She nodded and mumbled, ¡°Guild awards 6 mil gold.¡± Ping. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The gold in her inventory went up to about 16 million. Before she could say thanks, Elora, barely with energy, said, ¡°Have nice day¡± and disappeared in her blue flame. ~~~ Sako sat on the floor, her back leaned against the bed while Luna was sleeping on the bed on her stomach. She had stolen the bed during the time Sako had been at the Guild. Now to distribute her skill points. She opened her interface and paused, not understanding any of it. I¡¯m a Light Wizard, so where do these points go? Not a clue. She messaged Kiyomi. Sako: Hey, Ki, can you help me with my stat points? Kiyomi: yeah examine me then copy my stats That was a good idea. She did just that. 20 minutes later. There! Done! Her stats were almost identical to Kiyomi¡¯s. The only difference was that Sako was 4 levels above her, so she had a bit more to spend. But she used her discretion and added them to strength. Strength was okay for a wizard¡­ right? Well, it didn¡¯t matter. She would likely change her class soon anyway. Next, she looked at Kiyomi¡¯s gear to know what to equip and which stats to look for. Done. A knock sounded at the door. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s open,¡± Sako answered. A little girl came in, dressed in a white and purple dress with a purple rose on the side of her head. Some leaf blades stuck out of it. Her hair was also covered in a white headband made of cloth. Her dress exposed her shoulders, giving her a little allure and charm. But her pouting ruined her divine appearance. ¡°So, Lamentine¡¯s planning on another attack today, this time with its own soldiers. Get your ass ready.¡± It took a while for Sako to recognize Princess Vanescka in that outfit. She looked so neat and civilized for once. ¡°Why do you look like that?¡± ¡°Daddy forced me to wear this crap,¡± she grumbled. Sako giggled. ¡°What.¡± ¡°You look nice!¡± ¡°Whatever. Just be with the guards and do what you can.¡± Sako nodded, following her out of the room, down the hallway, and then down the stairs to the front double doors. Luna wouldn¡¯t be of any help, so she would leave her to sleep away. Ping. A message. She opened her interface. Kiyomi: do u know anyone with electric spells Sako: I could ask Kondor? Kiyomi: fine Sako messaged Kondor. Sako: Hi, Kondor! Do you have any electric spells? Kiyomi needs someone with some of those. Kondor: Hi! Sorry, I don¡¯t have any electric spells. But I know someone who does. Sako: Great! Can you send me their name, please? I¡¯ll send it to Kiyomi. Kondor: Sure. His name¡¯s Razor Edge. Sako: Whoa! That¡¯s his name?! Kondor: Not his real name. He changed it with gold. Pretty expensive though. Sako: Oh. Well, thanks! Kondor: No problem. How¡¯s Kiyomi? Sako: She¡¯s off grinding. Kondor: Oh! Tell her I said hi! Sako: Will do! See ya! Kondor: ?? Sako went back to Kiyomi. Sako: I got a name from Kondor: Razor Edge. He also said to tell you hi. Kiyomi: cool, ty When Sako looked up from her screen, she realized the princess was way ahead of her. She had to jog to catch up. ¡°Where are we going?¡± ¡°To the barracks,¡± Princess Vanescka replied. ¡°Follow Chelsea¡¯s lead.¡± Once they made it past the courtyard through the gates and reached the barracks, Chelsea caught sight of the two. She froze, puzzled. ¡°Hi, little girl, are you lost?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not lost, damnit!¡± ¡°Actually, it¡¯s Princess Vanescka,¡± Sako said. ¡°What?! But she¡¯s so neat and civilized!¡± ¡°Are you saying I can¡¯t be ¡®neat and civilized¡¯?¡± ¡°Eh¡­ well¡­ So, what brings you here, princess?¡± Chelsea forced a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t just change the topic. Ugh. I just wanted to bring Sako to you since she didn¡¯t know where the barracks were. There. You can handle the rest. Do your job.¡± Princess Vanescka turned away. Chelsea saluted her. ¡°Right.¡± The princess walked back to the palace. ¡°So, what¡¯s the plan?¡± Sako asked. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you in a bit,¡± Chelsea replied. Chapter 33-Military Preparations Sako, Chelsea, and a few men in uniform stood around a table, which had a marked-up geographic map splayed out on it. The map showed the field between Lamentine and Aria that was about to become the war zone. ¡°They¡¯ll be coming from the east, possibly the northeast and north too.¡± Chelsea moved her index finger across the map, pointing at the locations. ¡°They have about 5 times as many troops as us, but if we split up, we might be able to pull this off, but I¡¯m still thinking on how to do it. We haven¡¯t developed all the details yet.¡± Sako looked down at the map. ¡°I think I understand.¡± They all turned their eyes to her. ¡°Really?¡± Chelsea asked, surprised. ¡°What exactly does a little girl like you understand?¡± one of the men asked then looked at Chelsea ¡°Do we even need her to participate? She¡¯s not trained for warfare.¡± ¡°Yes, what can she accomplish?¡± another asked. ¡°Allow her a chance. You¡¯ll see,¡± she replied. ¡°See what? See her meet a quick death?¡± ¡°Excuse me,¡± Sako cut in. ¡°I have a plan.¡± They looked at her. ¡°But we¡¯ve barely started! How could you possibly know what to do?¡± Sako reached across the table and pulled in a few markers of different colors. The map was new and unmarked, apart from the red arrows indicating the direction of the enemy. She took up a marker and pulled the cap off. ¡°Don¡¯t ruin the map with childish drawings,¡± one man said. ¡°Relax,¡± Chelsea said with a calm expression. ¡°Position your units here, here, here, here, here, and here.¡± Her hands moved across the map with the marker. While she explained, she switched markers occasionally. ¡°Ranged units, here.¡± She drew some green circles then switched markers. ¡°Melee units, here¡±. She drew some purple circles and some dots then switched. ¡°Magic units, here¡±. She drew blue, squiggly lines and a circle and switched. Create a wall to protect the units.¡± She drew a black line. ¡°Your magic units are likely mid range. That¡¯s why it¡¯s best to have them near the edge by the water. The blue lines are different from the blue circle in that the lines represent how their magical energy should be focused. Try to have narrow, concentrated, and condensed attacks for more powerful effects, unless the enemy scatters. ¡°The magic units are there mainly just in case the enemy decides to cross the water, but I don¡¯t think they will, since it would be too much of a hassle, especially if there are sea monsters. If there aren¡¯t sea monsters, consider summoning some.¡± She drew X¡¯s. ¡°Your ranged units will be all the way back here, so if they can¡¯t shoot far enough to hit, arm them with ultra long-range spells and scopes. Turn them into snipers: highly accurate, slow and powerful shooters. They should always aim for weak spots when possible. Let this group focus on these directions, and this group can focus on this direction.¡± She drew green arrows. ¡°Their main job will be to support the magic and melee units.¡± ¡°Wait, why can¡¯t we also turn the magic units into snipers?¡± Chelsea asked. Sako answered. ¡°Although the magic units have the potential to be decent snipers, they might not be able to use their full potential if they¡¯re too far back from the enemy. Not all of the spells in their arsenal can snipe a target or reach a unit in need. They should be versatile, dynamic, and flexible units capable of adapting quickly to any situation.¡± The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°What about the transport gates?¡± Chelsea asked again. ¡°That¡¯s why you should have melee units here to surround the large one. And make sure all the units block all the edges of the forest to prevent the enemy from coming onto the road.¡± She added gold dots. ¡°This is the largest gate, hence the large dot.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± someone mumbled. ¡°Can¡¯t we make small melee circles around each gate in the forest to surround them as we¡¯ll do with the large gate?¡± someone asked. ¡°That¡¯s a very viable option; however, try to avoid scattering your units too far from each other, especially because of the trees blocking everyone¡¯s view. They need to stay close to one another so that they can quickly relay information back and forth as needed. Flares work too. The enemy might disrupt any communication spells used. Bear that in mind. ¡°Also bear in mind that we¡¯re playing defensively, not aggressively. We don¡¯t have enough numbers to simply use brute force. We have to observe, analyze, and counter accordingly.¡± ¡°We have engineers too who can sabotage. Where do we put those?¡± another person asked. Sako took up an orange marker. ¡°Because, and I¡¯m assuming, they¡¯re extremely short ranged, put them here.¡± She drew some squiggly, orange lines. ¡°But be careful. They¡¯ll be vulnerable and weak as they won¡¯t have any firepower or defenses to effectively counter if ambushed. That¡¯s why you¡¯re going to compensate with high-grade stealth spells. Make sure they stay hidden as they work in silence. In fact, ensure the melee units are conspicuous enough to draw the enemy¡¯s attention. So, the engineers can sabotage the bridge when the enemy is crossing by using explosive spells to collapse the bridge so that they fall into the water where the sea monsters are. That¡¯s an example. ¡°And of course, you¡¯ll want reserved units nearby as reinforcements, so¡­¡± she drew small circles in a few areas, purple then green. ¡°There.¡± ¡°Oooh. I like that,¡± Chelsea commented. ¡°As I said, you could do an easy one and destroy the bridge while they walk across it,¡± Sako continued, ¡°but that would be too easy and predictable. They¡¯ll see it coming.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± One of the men sounded disappointed. ¡°I thought that could work.¡± ¡°It might work. I don¡¯t know. It depends on how skilled their strategists and tacticians are. But to be safe, always treat them as a really smart opponent. And when they fall short of your expectations, that fall becomes your advantage because you prepared for the worst.¡± ¡°Ah, I see. Yes, yes.¡± The same man nodded. ¡°What about air units?¡± ¡°If they have air units, by some stroke of luck, you cannot ignore them. They take priority. The melee units are the exception. They could disregard the air units and hold their defensive positions, since they wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything about the matter. They would be counting on the magic and ranged units for protection and prevention. So, your ranged and magic units need to be ready. If you don¡¯t have any air units to counter, you need to strike them down before they make full use of their air supremacy.¡± They stared at her, surprised. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for how I spoke earlier,¡± one man mumbled. ¡°Agreed,¡± another said. ¡°I as well¡­¡± a third came in. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Sako smiled. ¡°Well, now we have most of it figured out.¡± Chelsea breathed easily, smiling at Sako. ¡°If this plan goes well, I¡¯ll personally reward you.¡± ¡°Oh, no, no! You don¡¯t have to, really!¡± Sako replied. All of this was just simple planning based on her knowledge of logic, physics, psychology, and geography. One of her hobbies IRL had been reading science textbooks. And she had more or less guessed the scale of the map¡ªthe distance on the map that corresponded with the distance on the actual ground. Kiyomi had taught her well about strategy games IRL too. From what she had seen so far, the game closely mirrored the real world, so she figured the laws of the sciences weren¡¯t too far off from the real world. Though Kiyomi would¡¯ve planned it a little differently. ¡°No, I¡¯ll ensure that you receive something. A knight repays all her debts!¡± She saluted. ¡°Well, if you insist¡­¡± Chapter 34-Young Luna, I Luna was sitting up in bed, back rested against the wall. That bitch Kiyomi. Luna¡¯s failure had started when she had shown up and ruined her and Sako¡¯s intimate moment at the inn. There was no doubt in her mind now: they weren¡¯t ordinary. Just the other day, they were Level 5s, and now, they were over Level 200? And Kiyomi was very clever. That hit with the fire extinguisher had been well calculated. She had appeared exactly in her blind spot. She was a difficult opponent. And although she wasn¡¯t here at the palace now, what was to say that she couldn¡¯t pop in at any time? Luna was lost. She didn¡¯t know where her Sako had run off to. She just fucking left me here. What the fuck am I supposed to do now? Luna needed someone to beat senseless so she could calm her nerves. Maybe strangle or stab them to death. But sadly, there wasn¡¯t anyone around. The princess would be a perfect target, especially with her low level and stats¡­ except her skills scared the living shit out of Luna. It was best to find another target and not piss her off. I should get my levels up. A Level 3 Water Wizard won¡¯t cut it. Gaining levels would make it much easier to have her way with people. But she couldn¡¯t level nearly as fast as those two. They were insane. She needed a cheat or something. There¡¯s no way in fucking hell I¡¯m staying as a side character either. I¡¯ll take the stage by storm. Eventually. She missed her Sako¡¯s twisted face. I need to see it again. And the smell of her fresh blood. She wanted to lick it all up¡ªto savor the taste in her mouth. Back in her school days, she used to beat up her bullies. She had sent them to the hospital. And once they had gotten out, she sent them back. Again and again. It all had felt so good, especially when she would drag the girl bullies off to a private room. She had gotten kicked out of a few schools, but she made it back in. Her parents had been wealthy, so they threw lots of it at the schools. With each entry, she had grown more violent and could never fully satisfy herself with the girls in the girls¡¯ bathrooms. Killing had never been allowed. Such bullshit. The most she had been able to do was knock them unconscious, and then she could do almost anything she wanted to the bodies. Mom and Dad had been so busy working overseas, so they hardly knew anything. Whenever they had come home, they only stayed a few days, and during those days, Luna acted normally, which dispelled any suspicions, if they had any. Though eventually, they had caught on, and Luna couldn¡¯t cover it all up. They had sent her to 11 therapists. Waste of time and money. Nothing had worked. Duct tape had been her best friend: strong, resilient, and reliable. She would take up all the rolls of tape she could get her hands on whenever she found them around the school. Once she had taped up her girls properly, they couldn¡¯t get out no matter what. She had loved it whenever they begged her not to hurt them. And the crying had been a big kink, and still was. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Most of the boys had been scared of her, which worked to her favor. Most of them had never asked her out. For the ones who had mustered up the courage, she broke 2 to 4 of their limbs. Boys were irrelevant. They had inflated egos and smelled bad. And what they had in their pants never excited her. ~~~ ¡°Luna, take your medication,¡± Mom said. ¡°It¡¯s good for you.¡± ¡°Listen to your mom,¡± Dad said from the kitchen sternly. Luna put the pill in her mouth and pinned it under her tongue then took up the glass from the kitchen counter and drank the water. She went to the bathroom, locked the door behind her and spat the pill into the toilet before flushing it. They think I¡¯m crazy. There¡¯s nothing wrong with me. Grown-ups didn¡¯t know anything. They were stupid and annoying. Her grades were fairly decent, but that was due to her tutor, a senior girl that was a few grades above her. She was a great tutor and didn¡¯t care about Luna¡¯s bad rep and tendency to get into trouble. They spent a lot of time together. Having lunch, playing around with the instruments in the music room and laughing about their poor musical skills, hiding all the balls before gym class, buying snacks after school at different places¡­ Luna wanted to do things to her. Usually, when she reached home, she would fantasize about her. Poking a cold, sharp blade against the girl¡¯s skin and imagining her scream. Her scream would be as beautiful as she was. Or just downright plunging her knife deep into her to make her squirm in unbearable pain. Eyes wide and bulging. Tears streaming out of her frightened eyes. Luna always finished when she thought about killing her. Strangling or slitting her throat would be hot. So fucking hot. Then she would change the bedsheet. One day late after school, Luna was in the music room, waiting for her. She sat in front of the grand piano and started a song. Slow and steady with a gentle passion. Soft, long notes. Her tutor came running and swung open the door with a look of surprise. ¡°You¡¯re playing that?!¡± Luna nodded, smiling without looking her way or stopping. The song had to go on. A beautiful moment shouldn¡¯t end abruptly. So, she continued her singing alongside the piano. She had a great voice but had never been interested in singing until now. ¡°But¡­ how¡­?¡± Luna had practiced this song for about a month. She remembered everything. It had been hard; she had sacrificed a lot of her free time to practice in private. The lyrics were about the moon and its loneliness in the night sky. How it remained fixed and could never achieve any sense of true fulfillment. A solemn song. Her tutor herself had never mastered the song despite her tedious efforts. Many of the notes were complex and tricky, as she had proven 2 months ago when she fumbled over the keys at the entrance ceremony in front of everyone, especially the first-years. She had sat there for 5 long minutes to remember the other half only to give up and awkwardly leave the stage in silence. And as she made her way offstage, she slipped on a marker that had been carelessly flung there earlier and fell. There had been some suppressed snickering in the crowd, and once she recovered and left the stage, the laughter grew. No one could have contained it anymore. And even in the following weeks, there had still been talk about it. But Luna understood how to handle the keys; she had the fingers, determination, and quick memory. The knack for the piano. She tapped her foot accordingly with the fluctuating tune to maintain rhythm. And if she ever made a mistake, she could simply blame her tutor for being a distraction jokingly. Then they could laugh it off and move on. But her tutor never laughed again. Chapter 35-Young Luna, II As Luna played the notes on the grand piano, she reveled in her ability to make the notes so perfectly. Her tutor must be happy and proud of her. Maybe Luna would get a hug too, or even better, a kiss¡­ Maybe they could¡­ start¡­ being a¡­ A teardrop fell from her tutor¡¯s chin. She remained stiff at the door. Luna slowed her pace. She wasn¡¯t sure whether to keep going. Did I do something wrong? Her tutor slammed the door and stormed off down the corridor. Luna stopped and went after her. She called after her, but her tutor wouldn¡¯t stop. Even while speed walking, she couldn¡¯t keep up, so she began jogging. Her tutor didn¡¯t look back. Luna followed her all the way down the stairs and to the school gates. ¡°Wait! Can we talk about this?¡± She finally stopped. Luna stopped a little distance behind her. ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­ didn''t mean to¡ª¡± She spun around. ¡°Didn¡¯t mean to what?!¡± Tears flowed freely down her cheeks. ¡°I just wanted to impress you¡ª¡± ¡°Well, you didn¡¯t.¡± Luna didn¡¯t know how to reply. And if she tried to wipe away the tears, her tutor might slap away her hand. These weren¡¯t the type of tears she wanted from her. Not tears of sadness. ¡°I wanted to forget about it. I wanted everyone to forget about it, and when they finally forgot, you, ever the clever one, brought it up again.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡ª¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Find a new tutor. I¡¯m done with you.¡± Yumiko turned away. ¡°But¡­ Please¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about moving for a while now. I¡¯m going to another city tomorrow. And I found a girlfriend there recently.¡± ¡°You¡­ what¡­¡± Luna couldn¡¯t swallow that. ¡°I know that you¡¯ve liked me for a while now, so I thought it was good to tell you so you would stop getting your hopes up. Bye.¡± She walked off. Rain poured, but she didn¡¯t move from her spot for what felt like an hour. She was so trapped in her thoughts that she didn¡¯t feel the cold sinking into her skin. She didn¡¯t hear any falling raindrops. I didn¡¯t know. I just didn¡¯t know¡­ I should talk things out with her. No. Luna should give her some space despite wanting to see her badly. She knew where Yumiko lived. She used to go over to her house sometimes to hang out. But going there now would only make things worse. But she¡¯s leaving tomorrow. I need to see her before then¡­ but¡­ Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. She broke down, crying on her hands and knees. But soon, she couldn¡¯t hold it back and let everything out, bawling hard. She should just kill herself so she wouldn¡¯t have to deal with this. Yumiko hated her now, so she had nothing to live for. It wasn¡¯t a bad idea. Yeah¡­ Just do it¡­ She had her knife in her pocket, and it was sharp. It should be an easy job¡­ She didn¡¯t know how long she had been crying for. Eventually, she realized the concrete she was kneeling on was wet. Why was it wet? Why was she wet? Why was she at school? What was I just thinking about? I was sad¡­ Why? All Luna knew was that she had the overwhelming urge to play with her tutor. Play fun, little games! And if her tutor wasn¡¯t interested, Luna would simply encourage her! I love you. I want to show you how much I love you. You will take my love. Accept it. I want to stuff all of it into you and keep you all to myself. And if you break, I¡¯ll fix you and make you good as new. And then break you. And then fix you. And then keep breaking you until you die. And that would be where the real fun began! And then she would continue until she grew tired. Luna¡¯s tutor lived alone, so it would be easy giving her all the love she had in her! ¡°I can¡¯t wait to penetrate you deeply with my love.¡± She fingered her knife in her pocket, taking her time as she walked in the rain. She had duct tape in the next pocket and a taser. Luna had her way and thoroughly satisfied herself. She left the body on the floor in the apartment in a total mess with all sorts of fluids. In due time, sirens blared and lights flashed. The amount of money Dad threw at everyone to bail her out was ridiculous. Damn ridiculous. So ridiculous that Luna had to wonder if she was really worth that much to him. He was a lawyer with many connections, so his knowledge of the legal loopholes and his reputation helped too. Mom and Dad were furious, but they also felt sorry for her. Luna didn¡¯t understand why. What the big fuss was about. People died all the time. It was natural¡­ And lovely. On a school night, she went to bed early, but after lying down for a good while, she couldn¡¯t sleep. She got up and went down the stairs for a glass of water. When she reached the bottom stair, she stopped. Mom and Dad were talking in the living room. If she went in now, they would see her and stop talking. They would save the conversation for another time when she wasn¡¯t around. She wanted to hear it. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Don¡¯t cry. We¡¯ll figure something out,¡± Dad said. Mom sniffled. Her voice was hoarse and heavy. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do anymore.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. Just give it time. We¡¯ll sort this out. At least she¡¯s taking the meds.¡± ¡°She¡¯s¡­¡± Mom mumbled. ¡°What?¡± Mom started crying again in small fits. ¡°What?¡± ¡°SHE¡¯S NOT TAKING THEM.¡± ¡°But¡­ how do you know?¡± Dad asked. ¡°I see them sometimes. Under the carpet, under the couch, in the toilet, in the closet¡­¡± They both fell quiet¡­ ¡°It¡¯s hopeless,¡± Mom continued. ¡°Whenever I go and search her room when she¡¯s not home, I always find at least 20 pills under her bed.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I¡­ I don¡¯t know where we went wrong with her.¡± Dad¡¯s voice was shaky. He sounded as if he was about to cry too. ~~~ Luna sighed. I miss her. What was her name again? She couldn¡¯t even remember the first letter. But at least she had Sako. Yes, yes, yes. Sako. Her Sako. Hers alone. Sweet Sako. Sako, Sako, Sako. She didn¡¯t ever want her Sako to leave her like her tutor did. Sako. Her Sako. Sako, Sako, Sako. And she would make sure that wouldn¡¯t happen. She needed to catch up to Sako and that bitch¡ªor hopefully surpass them¡ªso that she could reclaim what was hers. Sako Kosetsu. Chapter 36-Razor Edge Kiyomi: sup, need u for our raid team. u down or wat He took about 10 minutes to reply. Razor: wat raid we doing Kiyomi: kim Razor: yo fr? Kiyomi: yeah Razor: u have team size? Kiyomi: we r going w/ 10, ur 11 Razor: ¡­ Kiyomi: wat Razor: u need exactly 50 Kiyomi: nahh, we r good, just need u to attack w/ electric Razor: wats ur lvl and rank Kiyomi: 221 D Razor: WAT Kiyomi: wat Razor: im not wasting my time wth u Kiyomi: rofl the rest r s-rank w/ higher lvls Razor: still not doing it Kiyomi: do it Razor: wats in it for me Kiyomi: loot obviously Razor: i want more than that Kiyomi: ill give u my own loot too and ill give 10 mil even if we lose, promise Razor: k we can try, but u better give Kiyomi: yeah ofc, ill give after we try Razor: k, meet u at luthyia adv guild in 20 min ~~~ Rika with her team, Kiyomi, and Razor sat at a table. Elora was sleeping behind the counter as usual. Razor eyed all 10 of them carefully. As an Assassin, it wasn''t a surprise that he was in black, though he had small touches of purple in some places to show his electric element. His hair was silver, and his mouth was covered with a scarf. ¡°Make me the leader. None of you know what the hell you''re doing.¡± If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Alright.¡± Rika opened her UI and pressed a few buttons. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Kaz asked Rika. ¡°He''s a Level 900 S-rank. I trust his judgment.¡± A crown icon appeared next to his name on the party list. ¡°Good,¡± Razor replied. ¡°Now, I don''t know how we''re going to pull this off with 11 of us.¡± He thought for a moment. ¡°Let''s start with introductions. Tell me what you do and what your strengths and weaknesses are. Then we can make a plan around that.¡± Kiyomi nodded. ¡°Sounds good,¡± Rika replied. ¡°I''ll start. I''m an experienced Assassin with high attack power, crit damage, crit rate, and Agility. I prefer evading over blocking. Most of my physical attacks are electrified, and my primary weapons are daggers. I like using a lot of debuffs including DoTs. I¡¯m not a frontliner, and stealth and surprise attacks are my greatest strengths. I''ve killed a lot of things, so I''m pretty good in combat.¡± DoTs meant damage-over-time abilities. ¡°And your weaknesses?¡± Kiyomi asked. ¡°Don''t have any.¡± She found that hard to believe. But his lie didn''t matter because she would find out during the fight from his fighting style. Actually, she already had ideas. If he really used debuffs, then Immunity and Cleanses would be perfect counters. Even regeneration if the regen rate was high enough to out-heal the over-time damage from his DoTs. And there was high resistance¡­ They went around the table, taking turns. ¡°I''m Rika, a Dark Necromancer. My biggest strengths are animation and resurrection. I mainly play support. I can be a backup DPS, but I''m not very good at that or fighting at close range. I prefer to handle buffs and debuffs in the background and let my minions do the fighting. Fighting is such a pain.¡± ¡°Kaz. I play a Dark Knight. I mainly tank most of the damage to protect the team and keep the enemies¡¯ attention on me. My damage is really low compared to everyone else¡¯s, and I¡¯m bad at long range, so I need to get in close either to the enemy or to the team to be effective sometimes. I hate taking Defense Breaks and attacks that counter high Defense or just outright ignore it.¡± ¡°Felix here. Big, close-range DPS with twin swords. I roll with Elemental Duelist, a mid-ranger. I can¡¯t be too far back, but I also can¡¯t be in the frontline too much. I¡¯m weak to long-range attacks. But I can almost always counter effectively in close range. I dish out both physical and magical damage. Don¡¯t get in my way, and we¡¯ll get along fine.¡± He glared a little. Who was left spoke up. Then all eyes fell to Kiyomi expectantly. She was the last. She thought about it. Should I be totally honest? Of course not. That would be stupid and naive. The fact that she had even considered it meant Sako¡¯s good personality was rubbing off on her. Just a little bit. The trick to a good lie was sprinkling in some truth. ¡°I¡¯m a Dark Wizard, and I¡¯m still new to the game and trying to find my way around. Sort of a noob.¡± That was true, except for the combat aspect of course. ¡°Sort of?¡± Razor eyed her disdainfully. ¡°You are a noob.¡± Kiyomi wanted to PK his ass just for that comment. But that wouldn¡¯t help anything. The fact that he was a Level 900 S-rank was commendable, since the game was still fairly new. He must¡¯ve busted his ass grinding for those levels. 900 levels in a matter of days? Maybe a week? Had he slept? Pretty hardcore. She looked back at everyone else. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m decent at spellcasting. And I don¡¯t have to say the words to cast the spells.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bullshit me,¡± Razor cut in. ¡°No, we saw it. It¡¯s true,¡± Rika replied. ¡°Oh.¡± He accepted it. Hang on a minute. He¡¯s trusting her and not me? Do I look like a thief or something? Okay, probably¡­ ¡°I¡¯m better at support than offense, and I¡¯m really weak against short-range attacks and surprise attacks. My Resistance and Vitality are really low, so I try to avoid debuffs and damage in general.¡± Razor pulled up a holoscreen and stared at it. ¡°Why¡¯d you hide your info?¡± Her spell Shroud was active. ¡°I¡¯m just¡­¡± She looked down at the table coyly. ¡°You know¡­ insecure¡­¡± ¡°Fair enough.¡± Good. He bought it. Kiyomi looked up and realized that everyone else had doubt all over their faces. They didn¡¯t buy it at all. That was to be expected. A weak, insecure girl who had easily beat all their asses in PvP? Likely story. Luckily, Razor didn¡¯t notice everyone¡¯s looks, as he was busy staring at his holoscreen. ¡°All right. Here¡¯s the plan.¡± He looked up at everyone. Chapter 37-To Battle! Sako stared up at the horse for 5 minutes in the stable. The horse stared back at her. She blinked. ¡°Uh¡­ hi?¡± He blinked and neighed casually. She had no clue how to ride him. His nametag said ¡°Nero¡±. Can¡¯t I just walk on foot? She had the speed and stamina to easily outrun a horse, but it was smarter to save her energy for the battles. So, she went to Chelsea, and Chelsea taught her and demonstrated how she should mount her horse. Within a short time, she got it. She went back to her horse, and after putting on the saddle and fixing it, she mounted the horse and used her heel to kick its side gently and get it to move. Her maneuvering skills were amateur, but they worked well enough so that she wouldn¡¯t fall off. She rode slowly out of the stable and met up with Chelsea and the princess. Chelsea¡¯s posture on her horse was different: back straight with both hands gripping the reins tightly. Sako copied her professional posture. This should help. ¡°...Well, this is one thing I can¡¯t allow!¡± Chelsea snapped at Princess Vanescka. ¡°Cap, you¡¯re not stopping me, so quit it. As the princess, I¡¯ll do what I want.¡± ¡°But your father¡ª!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t care. Not listening. La-la-la-la-la-la-la!¡± Princess Vanescka covered her ears. ¡°RESTRAIN HER!¡± Chelsea barked. Two soldiers stepped forward and each held one of her arms. ¡°What¡¯re you doing?!¡± the princess looked at them angrily. ¡°Sorry, princess, but the captain is right. It¡¯s not safe to follow us,¡± one fully armored soldier replied. ¡°You¡¯re not even in armor,¡± the other soldier replied. ¡°And the king would be most furious.¡± He was right: her dress and flip-flops weren''t suited for combat. ¡°I¡¯m giving you until the count of three!¡± the princess said. ¡°Take her back to the castle. If I lose my job, so be it.¡± Chelsea¡¯s voice was cold. Her safety was top priority. ¡°One.¡± ¡°Please, princess.¡± A third guard stepped forward, breaking away from his group¡¯s formation. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Two.¡± ¡°Take her to the castle already!¡± Chelsea ordered. ¡°R-right!¡± The two that held onto the princess began hauling her off. ¡°Three. MY WORD WILL BE YOUR LAW!¡± Her voice pierced through the air as her eyes shined with a purple light. The soldiers glowed purple and put her down then saluted her. ¡°Ma¡¯am!¡± The entire battalion behind them glowed with that same color. The troops saluted. ¡°At your service, princess!¡± Sako subtly trotted up next to Chelsea. Chelsea, sweating a little, was quite unamused. ¡°Yeah, I saw this coming¡­¡± she mumbled. She had expected this, but her disappointment was still heavy. At least she had tried to do her job. ¡°She does this all the time.¡± ¡°Horse. Now.¡± The princess made her request to a nearby soldier though didn¡¯t look at him. ¡°Right away.¡± A soldier left her side and came back a few moments later with a horse. She climbed on and looked at Sako. ¡°Come on, girlie.¡± She looked ahead and tugged the reins, starting to move ahead. ¡°Right!¡± Sako replied and followed behind her. She glanced at Chelsea apologetically then moved forward. The troops¡ªon foot and on horseback¡ªfollowed. Chelsea didn¡¯t say anything and instead followed. It was best not to make the princess too angry. ~~~ Swords clashed, arrows flew, and the air was filled with cries and the clashes of metal. Of course, Sako avoided killing anyone. She only had to tap them with her fingers and her strength was enough to knock them out. She moved too quickly for anyone to see as she snaked her way through the ranks. Adventurers, who were other players, battled on both sides. Lamentine had apparently offered the same quest too. Adventurers or not, no one stopped her. Chelsea cut through everything with ease. As for the princess¡­ well¡­ her job was far easier: she sauntered around the battlefield, barking orders to every enemy troop who came her way. It only took one word for them to fall under her control. Any arrows that headed her way only bounced off her invulnerable figure. But eventually, she had to resort to whacking a handful of soldiers with plushies, who shockingly managed to withstand her whacks, though with difficulty, since they wouldn¡¯t obey her. Those soldiers must¡¯ve belonged to Lamentine¡¯s royal family. As to who exactly were behind those helmets, Sako couldn¡¯t tell from her constantly moving position around the field. She didn¡¯t have the time to check either. Air units flew overhead, too high up for Sako to reach. Then she remembered the ring she had gotten from the assailant. She could use it to fly. There was also a mysterious airship shooting them down. But before she could put it on and find out what was going on up there, loud gunshots rang in the air from a far side of the field. Sako followed the sound. Soldiers from both sides fell quickly as a pair of girls ran through them: a tall one whose black hat shielded some of her purple hair from the sun and a slightly shorter one with blue hair who wore a hood. The taller one held a shotgun, blasting away everything in her sight at short range, while the shorter one was more calculating and quiet as she fired arrows from her crossbow. She held a small shield too. They compensated for one another¡¯s blind spots, looking and firing where the other didn¡¯t, which allowed for a flawless 360-degree awareness. From the moment Sako saw them, she knew they were players. Actual players. Living and breathing. It was something in the way the two girls moved. They didn¡¯t only have skill but also a distinct existential awareness. They were aware that this was a game, not life. Maybe it showed in their casual attitude. They casually took lives left and right with their gun and crossbow, as if they were just here to play something fun. No fear. No hesitation. No guilt. As if this was just a game. Being in the game itself with these characters, characters she could stand alongside and even measure her height against and hold their hands, made it feel too real for her to ignore. They weren¡¯t pixels. They had flesh and could die permanently¡ªthey weren¡¯t players. They were real. And she felt a sense of guilt for not doing anything about it. The pair of girls reminded her of Luna, and by God, they irked her. Chapter 38-A Flying Paige In the distance, giant plushies marched across the battlefield, swinging their limbs and knocking screaming troops into the air¡ªthe princess¡¯ doing. Eventually, giant chimera¡¯s emerged to attack the plushies and balance out the odds. As Sako sprinted to the two girls, their eyes met. The moment they turned their heads and saw Sako with utter surprise, she knew that they knew she was one of the biggest threats on the field. The hat girl rotated just in time to point and pull her trigger at Sako¡¯s face once Sako reached point-blank range. The bullet zipped out of the barrel, but even while inches from her face, Sako tilted her head. The bullet flew past her ear. She caught the shotgun by the barrel, yanked it from her arms, and threw it behind her. The hooded girl next to the hat girl pointed her crossbow and fired an arrow. Sako caught it with a hand, flung it to one side, and kicked the crossbow out of her hands. It flew far up into the air. It wouldn¡¯t be coming back down for now. The hat girl swung a fist. Sako caught her extended arm, turned away, and flipped her onto her back on the ground. She didn¡¯t bother twisting the arm to break it, as she was soft like that. The hat girl sharply groaned in pain. While Sako faced away, the hooded girl thrust a dagger at her vulnerable back. Without looking back, Sako shifted out of the way, reached behind her, grabbed the girl by the wrist, then flung her skywards. The hooded girl flew across the sky until she vanished. Sako came to her senses as her anger subsided. Okay¡­ That was a bit extreme¡­ She glanced at the hat girl who was recovering. She scrambled to her feet and shrieked in a panic. ¡°WHERE DID YA THROW PAIGE?!¡± That accent¡­ ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a good question¡­¡± A pang of guilt hit Sako in the stomach. ¡°Sorry, my bad¡­¡± She didn¡¯t have the first clue as to where they could find the poor girl. ¡°Recall!¡± The hat girl yelled. Her lost shotgun manifested into her hands. ¡°Wait!¡± She aimed. BANG! Sako dodged the bullet. ¡°Here me out!¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. BANG! She dodged another. ¡°Please?¡± BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Sako dodged and dodged and dodged. That was an impressively fast shotgun. ¡°Can we just¡ª?¡± BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! She continued evading. No reload time?! And what was this speed?! After about a hundred shots and a hundred dodges, the hat girl ran away to make distance and reload safely, yelling, ¡°YA AIN¡¯T SEEN THE LAST O¡¯ ME!¡± Sako couldn¡¯t chase her. She had more pressing matters, like completing the quest with minimal damages and casualties. She resumed blitzing through the ranks, incapacitating every enemy troop in sight. ~~~ Amanda loaded ¡¯er shotgun as she sprinted through the forest. ¡°Tch. That villainous wretch. Ah¡¯ll get ¡¯er. Ah¡¯ll get ¡¯er good!¡± She ran ¡¯cross the Uttsio bridge, headin¡¯ east to the mount¡¯ns. Once she found a good slope, she began climbin¡¯ after dismissin¡¯ ¡¯er weap¡¯n to ¡¯er inventory. She hoped Paige was alright an¡¯ had landed safely. It wouldn¡¯t make no sense to go lookin¡¯ fer ¡¯er without knowin¡¯ where ¡¯xactly she was. But she had faith in ¡¯er. A long while later¡­ Amanda reached the top an¡¯ carefully trod ¡¯cross the mount¡¯n ridge to a perfect central spot with a solid foothold. She reckoned this was a convenient vantage point overlookin¡¯ the field. Layin¡¯ flat on ¡¯er belly, she equipped ¡¯er sniper rifle an¡¯ looked through the scope ¡¯cross the lake to the wall an¡¯ magicians on the far side. Past ¡¯em was enemy bases with reserved melee units. There was a reason why she was so inclined to kill soldiers from both sides, especially the enemies: money an¡¯ exp. They gave a lotta exp an¡¯ gold. An¡¯ if she finished the mission successfully, the reward would be even more gold. She couldn¡¯t ignore that. ¡¯Er powerful sniper rifle made all their HPs irrelevant. A solid headshot, an¡¯ they was down. It did ignore Defense after all an¡¯ had extremely high Critical Rate an¡¯ Critical Damage. As far as she knew, only Vanescka could withstan¡¯ ¡¯er bullets. She was a hard pickle in a tight jar, which was why Amanda would avoid ¡¯er. Paige would agree too that Amanda should continue the quest without ¡¯er. Amanda fingered the trigger an¡¯ activated a spell. ¡°Ultra-Long Range.¡± The rifle glowed. Its effective range increased, an¡¯ ¡¯er scope allowed ¡¯er to see longer distances¡ªall the way ¡¯cross to the sea. The gun¡¯s speed an¡¯ power was so great that no person could dodge or block it. These hella expensive bullets could penetrate some o¡¯ the toughest tanks an¡¯ outrun some o¡¯ the fastest classes. She searched fer the vermin¡­ ~~~ A powerful bullet zipped through the air, whizzing over the head of every soldier below its path and headed right for the sea. The magical bullet gained even more speed despite the air resistance. As Sako threw a soldier a good distance away, she sensed it. Looking in its direction, she felt a distinctly sharp and small object, cutting through the air and condensed with a massive amount of magical energy. She calculated the trajectory. It was supposed to be headshot, and it surely would¡¯ve killed her. She leaned all the way backwards, arching her back, and supported herself with her hands on the ground behind to form a bridge with her body. Once the bullet flew past, she sprang back up. The distance was too much to see exactly where it had come from. The general direction was the east though. Maybe the mountains. But she didn¡¯t have the time to figure that out. Back into the fray she went. ~~~ Amanda removed ¡¯er eye from the scope an¡¯ looked at the field with ¡¯er own two eyes. ¡°...What in the hell did ah jus¡¯ see?¡± Chapter 39-Shots from the Mountn Range ¡¯Er target dodged 112 bullets from ¡¯er sniper rifle, hardly givin¡¯ a crap ¡¯bout ¡¯em. She would dodge then go back to fightin¡¯ somethin¡¯ else. ¡°What in the hell! This is ridiculous!¡± Amanda didn¡¯t know what to do no more. She needed to find another way. An¡¯ fer some reason, there was an airship in the sky, hoverin'' above the coastline. She took ¡¯er binoculars from ¡¯er inventory an¡¯ had a look through ¡¯em at the ship. There was a girl wearin¡¯ glasses an¡¯ fancy robes like she was some super smart wiz. She had a book too, lookin¡¯ real studious. An¡¯ she was jus¡¯ standin¡¯ there on the deck, lookin¡¯ down at everythin¡¯ like she was above everybody in the world. Like a god. She had a sword floatin¡¯ ¡¯roun¡¯ ¡¯er too. The airship was shootin¡¯ down Lamentine¡¯s units from the sky. ¡°Not if ah can help it.¡± Amanda loaded ¡¯er rifle an¡¯ put ¡¯er crosshairs in the center o¡¯ the girl¡¯s head. Ah ain¡¯t ¡¯bout to fail this time. She ain¡¯t no god. She fingered the trigger an¡¯ focused. Is she an NPC? Well, that don¡¯t matter anyway. It wasn¡¯t like their lives mattered much in some game. She was ¡¯bout to shoot that arrogance outta ¡¯er head. ¡¯Er finger pulled the trigger an¡¯ let the bullet soar. As the bullet neared the girl, the sword flew in front o¡¯ ¡¯er an¡¯ deflected it with a swing. The girl looked Amanda¡¯s way as if she spotted ¡¯er hidin¡¯ place on the mount¡¯n. Amanda¡¯s heart jumped. ¡°That ain¡¯t possible...¡± The distance was far too much to see without binoculars er somethin¡¯. An¡¯ yet, she felt the urge to move to another spot. Yeah. She would do that jus¡¯ in case. That missy gave ¡¯er the chills. Didn¡¯t like ¡¯er one bit. She jogged far ¡¯cross the mount¡¯n ridge to a different spot then resumed ¡¯er position on the groun¡¯, belly in the dirt, an¡¯ looked through ¡¯er scope again. The girl wasn¡¯t lookin¡¯. Good. Jus¡¯ one clean shot should do it. She locked onto the girl again with ¡¯er crosshairs¡­ Before she could pull the trigger, the girl looked ¡¯er way again. It wasn¡¯t a coincidence. That girl knew. Somehow. ¡¯Er gaze was condescendin¡¯ as if Amanda was jus¡¯ dirt under ¡¯er feet. ¡°Ah ain¡¯t no dirt.¡± She fired the bullet. The animated sword deflected the bullet again, while the girl gazed at ¡¯er disdainfully an¡¯ adjusted ¡¯er glasses with a hand. ¡°Blasted hell.¡± That was an NPC alright. No player had that much Intellect an¡¯ Resistance. An¡¯ ¡¯er class wasn¡¯t a player class. Amanda didn¡¯t recall ever seein¡¯ that class name on the list o¡¯ classes to choose from. ¡¯Er class was somethin¡¯ akin to a Chaotic Spellweaver but a more dangerous version: Royal Elite Voidcaster. Ping. She got a message. Openin¡¯ up ¡¯er inbox, she read Paige¡¯s message: ??. That made Amanda gladder than a sunbeam. Paige was all good. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. She closed the UI an¡¯ glanced through the scope again. No point tryna hit the same targets jus¡¯ to fail again. Now she wanted to take out some o¡¯ the ranged units on the far west near the coast, but then she realized a tall, gray wall was blockin¡¯ ¡¯er view. In the wall was little, window-sized holes with alert heads pokin¡¯ out an¡¯ lookin¡¯ ¡¯bout. It didn¡¯t make no sense to shoot ¡¯em. Killin¡¯ some annoyin¡¯ mages wouldn¡¯t bring down the wall. What in hell was she supposed to shoot then, air? ¡°Ah¡¯ve shot ¡¯nough air already,¡± she grumbled. She glanced down the mount¡¯n past the trees an¡¯ to the lake. Lamentine¡¯s forces was crossin¡¯ on a boat to the wall. They was prolly gonna go climb over it. ¡°Is that¡­ safe?¡± she wondered aloud. It was prolly jus¡¯ ¡¯er anxiety. She hadn¡¯t shot nothin¡¯ yet, so it was gettin¡¯ the best o¡¯ ¡¯er. It should be all good. The water had been quiet all along. Not a critter¡ª Somethin¡¯ big leaped up outta the water. Real big an¡¯ whale-like. It jumped into the air, opened its giant mouth that had many teeth, an¡¯ came down onto the boat, makin¡¯ a splash in the water an¡¯ goin¡¯ underneath. The water fell still again as if nothin¡¯ had happened. Those boat-riders was gone. Oh mah stars¡­ Amanda raised ¡¯er head from ¡¯er scope. Had she been drinkin¡¯ too much again? Nah, she only had one shot this mornin¡¯ after breakfast. Just one. Yessir, she was real sure¡­ ¡­ She thought ¡¯bout it again. Jus¡¯ to make sure, she took out ¡¯er liquor flask from ¡¯er pocket an¡¯ tossed it down the mount¡¯n. She went back up north again on the mount¡¯n, passin¡¯ the bridge so the wall would stop blockin¡¯ ¡¯er view o¡¯ everythin¡¯ on the groun¡¯. After gettin¡¯ comfy on ¡¯er belly again, she peered through the scope at the airship. That glasses girl was eyeing ¡¯er suspiciously, lookin¡¯ right back at ¡¯er scope. It was like Amanda couldn¡¯t escape ¡¯er gaze now, since she had given away ¡¯er position. ¡°Ah, shit.¡± That was one big fish she couldn¡¯t fry, but she also couldn¡¯t jus¡¯ ignore ¡¯er now. That girl could attack at any minute. The glasses girl suddenly grabbed ¡¯er levitatin¡¯ sword an¡¯ pointed it at Amanda. What¡¯s she doin¡¯? The air felt different, like somethin¡¯ was suckin¡¯ it in. Like a vacuum. When she looked above ¡¯er head, she saw it: a growin¡¯, black ball startin¡¯ to pull in stuff ¡¯roun¡¯ it. If she didn¡¯t get ¡®er ass outta here, she was screwed. She unequipped ¡¯er heavy sniper rifle with a quick thought, which sent it back to ¡¯er inventory, got up, an¡¯ ran like hell was chasin¡¯ ¡¯er. The blackhole followed, but it was slow, so Amanda could outrun it. She slid down the east side o¡¯ the mount¡¯n away from the war. One way or another, ¡¯er side was gonna win, an¡¯ she was gonna get those sweet quest rewards: exp an¡¯¡ªmore importantly¡ªa fat stack o¡¯ gold. It stopped followin¡¯. ~~~ Le Francia gazed at her assaulter, who now fled the scene and vanished from her sight behind the mountainside. She had no trouble seeing across vast distances due to the active telescopic spell on her eyewear. ¡°Hmph. Nothing but an insignificant commoner. A pest.¡± She pushed her lowered glasses up the bridge of her nose. Side Chapter: Seasonal, II Good morn, morn, morning, ¡¯Cynthians! Today''s the day of hearts, kisses, and chocolates, and Symphony needs YOUR help to get them. Pay her a visit at the palace in two hours for more details. Mod Aelis Kiyomi looked up from her holoscreen. Another seasonal quest. She and Sako could handle this, even if it would likely be another grand challenge. I''ve had enough of wyverns. She didn''t want any more. And they had killed so many that they had both earned the title ¡°The Wyvern Slayer¡± in a bold and gold font. Sako walked out of the bathroom, naked, drying her hair with a towel and humming. Kiyomi accidentally caught a glance of her full body in detail then averted her eyes and turned her back to stare out the window. ¡°Put your clothes on,¡± she mumbled, slightly irritated. Sako chuckled. ¡°Right, right. I''ll get to that.¡± Now, where should she start with the preparations¡­ ¡°But not just yet!¡± Sako threw her arms around Kiyomi, pressing her bare, petite chest against her clothed back. ¡°What the hell?¡± She couldn''t escape her grasp. ¡°Clothes first.¡± ¡°No! Huggies first!¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± Kiyomi gave up. It was just an innocent hug anyway. Sako wasn''t the lewd type. If you were to give her a hundred jokes with lewd subtexts, they would all fly over her head. She giggled at the fact that Kiyomi had given up so easily. ¡°I love youuuuuuuu.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± Kiyomi uttered. ¡°Do you love meeeeeeee?¡± She was reluctant to say it aloud. ¡°...Yes¡­¡± ¡°Then say it back.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Do it.¡± Sako¡¯s time was firmer. ¡°No.¡± Her tone wouldn''t shake Kiyomi¡¯s resolve. ¡°Aw, why not?¡± Her warm breath tickled Kiyomi¡¯s ear. ¡°I don''t want to.¡± ¡°What if I do this¡­¡± Sako kissed her cheek. Kiyomi bit her lower lip, trying to keep her composure, but she could already feel a hotness in her cheeks. She hadn¡¯t expected that. She was odd and random like that sometimes, kissing people, especially when her mood was through the roof. Kiyomi was mostly used to her weirdness by now¡ªthough sometimes, Sako still managed to catch her off guard. It reminded her of a time IRL when it had been one of Sako¡¯s birthdays. She had gone around kissing pretty much everyone in the class that day. Naturally, everyone had freaked out and confusion brewed, and by the end of the semester, at least 10 people¡ªboys and girls¡ªhad crushes on her. ¡°Don¡¯t do that,¡± Kiyomi mumbled and looked around self-consciously to reassure herself that they were alone in the bedroom of the inn where they had privacy. ¡°At least not now. I¡¯m trying to think.¡± ¡°Aaahhh,¡± Sako smirked. ¡°So, you like my kisses?¡± Kiyomi broke free of Sako¡¯s hold, turned around to her, and swung her fist instinctively. Sako ducked and avoided it then stood up. ¡°Awww, Kiyomi¡¯s too socially inept to get a boyfriend, so she¡¯ll have to settle for meeee!¡± ¡°WHAT? NO!¡± Kiyomi¡¯s redness worsened. She didn¡¯t love her that way. ¡°Whaaaat?! So, you can get a boyfriend?! Or maybe a girl¡ª¡± Sako ducked to avoid another punch, giggling. ¡°Shut up!¡± Soon, Sako¡¯s childish laughter filled the room as she enjoyed her own stupid joke. ¡°Ah, a girlfriend sure would be better, wouldn¡¯t it? Think of all the things you could¡ª¡± Kiyomi shoved Sako down on the floor, grabbed a pillow from the nearby bed, and threw it down at her. Sako rolled out of the way as the pillow hit the ground where she had been. ¡°Too slow!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll show you who¡¯s too slow!¡± She turned to grab another pillow from the bed. By then, Sako was already up on her feet. Before Kiyomi could launch another attack, Sako shoved her onto the bed. She stumbled back and fell on the bed, flat on her back. ¡°Just returning the favor!¡± Sako said while she ran back into the bathroom and shut the door. Kiyomi sat up. ¡°You coward!¡± Now she couldn¡¯t get her revenge. Fine then. She would wait until Sako came back out. ¡°Ahaha! I¡¯m fine with that!¡± she replied from the bathroom. Socially inept¡­ Whatever. People are trash anyway. In a few minutes, Sako came back out fully clothed with a devious smirk. Kiyomi began her ruthless attack, throwing pillow after pillow. Sako deftly dodged all of them and ran at her. She couldn¡¯t react in time. Sako grabbed her and wrestled her until they both fell on the ground with Sako on top of her. ¡°Haha! I win!¡± She acted like the dominant type sometimes, but only when it came to playing around. ¡°Whatever,¡± Kiyomi mumbled. ~~~ Sako, Kiyomi, and the rest of the adventurers who were interested in the special quest waited at the palace gates. There was some chattering as usual. And, same as last time, when 7 came, an orchestra sounded in the empty courtyard as the gates opened. Everyone made their way into the castle through the double doors and now stood in the main hall. The large room was decorated in pink and red colors. Guards stood by the walls and saluted together, this time holding a big, heart-shaped box in one hand. ¡°Ugh, not again. So embarrassing,¡± a guard mumbled. The guard beside him replied. ¡°Just be patient.¡± The first guard sighed. At the center of the main hall stood a familiar blonde girl in a black dress. This time, she wasn¡¯t playing a violin but the Aorian flute instead. It dissolved in the air, turning to light particles then scattered and vanished. ¡°Good, you are here as requested, again! Symphony has another tiny favor to ask you adventurers. Nothing much this time, she promises!¡± Symphony smiled. She wasn¡¯t fooling anyone this time. ¡°I¡¯m not buying that,¡± a player next to Kiyomi said. ¡°I¡¯m with ya there, buddy,¡± someone not too far off replied. Her smile faded. ¡°There is a certain lad whom Symphony wishes to court, but alas, he will not acknowledge her unless she gifts him with the finest quality of chocolates in generous amounts. He has a sweet tooth, you see. Only then will he bestow to her his heart and a loving kiss of appreciation. She has a group quest for you all that ought to be completed by the day''s end, for tomorrow, he will depart in his chariot, and Symphony wishes to see him with a gift before then. There are a few locations that she needs you to visit in order to acquire some crystals that she will then use to make the chocolate. Symphony will mark these locations on your minimaps and world maps.¡± Kiyomi heard a click in her head. She pulled up her holoscreen with a flick of her hand and looked at the map. Sako beside her did the same. Kiyomi couldn''t count all the blue dots. There were so many. It would be smart then to split into small teams and spread out across the world, working their way outwards to the closest points from their current location. ¡°We got this!¡± Sako gave a thumbs up to Kiyomi. ¡°Let''s split into small teams,¡± a girl told the group. She had common sense apparently. ¡°Good plan,¡± someone else replied. Players began talking among themselves to form groups. Kiyomi and Sako took the time to think. Sako stared at the ceiling in thought, a habit of hers. ¡°Hey, girls.¡± A group of mostly men walked over. ¡°Wanna join our party?¡± They grinned. Kiyomi and Sako replied simultaneously: ¡°No.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Sako looked at Kiyomi. ¡°No?¡± ¡°No,¡± Kiyomi repeated. They worked best as a duo. Playing with any more people would ruin their smooth team dynamics. She and Sako were close, so close that most of the time, they predicted one another¡¯s moves and adapted accordingly in the fight. She knew Sako¡¯s fighting style well, which was at times critical for acting efficiently in extremely short time frames when damage¡ªor a lack¡ªwas important. She also knew Sako¡¯s weaknesses and how she typically tried to compensate for them. Between them, they pretty much did high-speed mind reading that none of these idiots would ever be able to keep up with. ¡°Aww, why?¡± A girl from the group asked. Kiyomi ignored her and turned back to face Symphony in the center of the room, who was patiently waiting for everyone to reach a verdict. Sako chuckled and gave her usual apologetic smile. ¡°Sorry, looks like that¡¯s a no.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± the girl replied, disappointed as she hung her head. A big guy walked up to them from the group. He was tall and looked down on them. ¡°No offense, but if there are monsters out there, you wouldn¡¯t last five seconds, not with your low levels.¡± The disdain in his eyes only showed his ignorance. Kiyomi ignored him too. She didn¡¯t talk to idiots. After staring long and hard at them, he turned his back and walked away with the rest of his sad party. After a few minutes, everyone else turned to Symphony. ¡°We¡¯ll all do it,¡± someone spoke up for the rest of them, which included Kiyomi and Sako. Many of the players nodded. Symphony smiled. ¡°Very good! Symphony will mail you some more information.¡± The words ¡°Quest Accepted¡± flashed in front of everyone then faded. Kiyomi heard a ping. She swiped open her UI, checked her mail, and read the details. Each location on the map was different, so the obstacles for each place would vary, including the monsters. They would likely have to kill monsters for the ingredients that Symphony would use to make the chocolate. The ingredients were listed. ¡°And do not fear, adventurers!¡± Symphony caught everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°You can do this! All you need is ten!¡± She showed all her fingers and thumbs. ¡­Ten? A boy breathed out easily. ¡°Oh, just ten items.¡± ¡°Yeah, what a relief. I thought it would be something crazy,¡± his friend next to him replied. Everyone¡¯s mood softened. They were relieved. But not Kiyomi. ¡°By the way, Symphony means ten million Kerium crystals,¡± Symphony corrected herself. ¡°But that should not be a problem for you!¡± The number in figures appeared in the quest details on Kiyomi¡¯s screen. Everyone froze and gawked at her. Kiyomi wasn¡¯t surprised. ¡°But¡­ those are so hard to get,¡± someone said. ¡°ARE YOU KIDDING ME, GIRL? WE GOTTA GO KILL ONI FOR THOSE CRYSTALS!¡± some guy cried. ¡°Symphony has faith in you!¡± Symphony kept her smile. ¡°BUT THEY¡¯RE LEVEL 50 000!¡± the same guy cried. ¡°Teamwork makes the dream work!¡± Symphony replied. Kiyomi doubted Symphony was listening. ¡°Symphony¡¯s right! We can do this!¡± Sako encouraged everyone and threw her arms up in the air. She got a few curious looks her way. ¡°Hm? You think so?¡± one bearded guy asked, wearing a helmet with the visor up. ¡°Of course! If we all work together!¡± she replied. ¡°I think she¡¯s on to something,¡± a short girl wearing an orange hat said, smiling as she walked over to the girls and the guy. ¡°Oi! Don¡¯t listen to some random low-level! I checked her stats!¡± one man chimed in from a corner of the crowd some distance away near the wall. A few people checked their holoscreens, presumably to look at Sako¡¯s level. They all lost interest after a moment and shifted their attention elsewhere. ¡°Eugh, low-level,¡± the short girl mumbled in disgust and walked away, moving further into the crowd until Kiyomi couldn¡¯t see her anymore. Wow. The community was so hateful towards new players. Or was this how people were in general? Sako frowned, standing alone. Kiyomi approached her and put an arm around her neck in a half hug. She pulled her in close until their heads almost touched. ¡°It¡¯s alright. We¡¯ll just have to flex.¡± She didn¡¯t usually get all close and touchy, but Sako needed some comforting. ¡°I like when you hold me like this. Heh. I get to see your true feelings.¡± Kiyomi flushed and moved away from her. ¡°Shut up.¡± Sako was obviously feeling better now, so they didn¡¯t need to continue hugging. ¡°Anyhow!¡± Symphony¡¯s voice rose above everyone else¡¯s. ¡°Symphony wishes you good luck! She hopes to see you again soon! Check your mail for details! And your reward is a surprise!¡± After a friendly wave, everyone was teleported back outside in front of the palace gates. Players talked and tried to figure this all out. And now, the quest was a race against the clock. ~~~ The quest was harder than the wyvern one mainly because of the shorter deadline. Everyone took off and would do their own thing in their groups. Many of them had agreed to split up for wider coverage. The blue dots indicated all the locations of the oni, so Kiyomi and Sako had many options. Kiyomi tapped two horses in her inventory. They appeared¡ªone for her and one for Sako. She hopped onto hers. ¡°Thanks.¡± Sako did the same. They rode off. ~~~ They stopped before a cave and got off their horses. Kiyomi looked at her minimap on her holoscreen. They were standing in a blue dot. ¡°This must be the place.¡± As they walked into the cave, it lit up with hanging lanterns on the walls. In each lantern was a fireball. Kiyomi silently cast Fanatic on Sako and herself. The cave led to a large, empty room that only had more lanterns mounted against the walls. It was quiet, and the air was cold. Kiyomi noticed a pile of bones in one corner. Apart from that and footprints leading up to the ceiling, there was nothing here. Nothing on the floor, nothing on the ceiling. And she didn¡¯t sense any energy. It all puzzled her. ¡°Should we head back?¡± Sako asked. ¡°Yeah.¡± A waste of time. Symphony got her information wrong. They didn¡¯t have the time to sit and question it. They needed to keep moving. There were so many other dots on the map to check. Before they could turn to walk back to the entrance, a figure in red robes appeared out of nothing behind Sako, katana drawn and swinging in a horizontal motion to her neck to cut her head off. Its red face mask had an angry face. Its long hair was white. Two horns stuck up from its head. One smooth, quick stroke of its blade in silence. Although Sako didn¡¯t turn around to look, she ducked, crouched, and swept her foot across the ground to knock it off its feet. It jumped backwards, avoiding her foot. ¡°Wow, that was close,¡± Sako said casually as she stood up and glanced at the oni. That surprise had nearly given Kiyomi a heart attack. Her heart was pounding. Sako didn¡¯t seem bothered at all. ¡°You¡¯re weird, you know that?¡± Kiyomi commented. ¡°No, you are, Ms. I-Love-Sako-But-I-Won¡¯t-Admit-My-Feelings-For-Her.¡± She grinned. ¡°I will murder you.¡± Kiyomi clenched her teeth, unable to hold back the redness in her cheeks. ¡°Teehee!¡± The oni split into ten figures. They all breathed out an intense fire. Sako dashed behind Kiyomi for protection. The fire clashed with Kiyomi¡¯s forcefield. Kiyomi felt the massive weight of the fire against her magical, transparent forcefield, but she managed to block it entirely. The combined fires were like a river: they split and flowed around and above Kiyomi¡¯s forcefield on both sides like water. Eventually, the fire filled half the cave and then the whole cave, bathing everything in a literal sea of fire. Kiyomi couldn¡¯t see anything but fire in her cool bubble. Sako was just as lost: she looked around in bewilderment. It lasted for minutes. Meanwhile, Kiyomi checked the game guide on her holoscreen and skimmed through to find info on oni. She now understood why oni were Level 50 000. Once the fire calmed down, the oni merged into one figure again. So, these were fire oni, the most common and easiest ones to find in this region. Then would water be their weakness? Exploiting a monster¡¯s weakness would be best, since they really needed quick, easy kills. ¡°Hey, I think we need water.¡± Sako looked around at the sizzling, smoking, charred walls. Kiyomi was surprised. Sako had the same thought. ¡°So, you do have a brain after all. Huh.¡± ¡°Hey, that¡¯s mean!¡± Sako pouted. ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± It was supposed to be mean. Water¡­ Who had a water element? She couldn¡¯t think of anyone. ¡°Do you know anyone with water?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Sako checked her friends list. Kiyomi did the same. Oh wait. There was no point. She didn¡¯t have friends. Just Sako. While they thought about it, the oni persistently hit the forcefield from every direction with impressive speed, wielding its fiery katana, all to no avail. Every time the blade hit, immense fire splashed out of it. The constant strikes were barely audible though as the bubble was thick and so blocked out most of the sound. They hardly noticed the oni anymore. ¡°There¡¯s Luna?¡± Sako proposed. ¡°No way.¡± Kiyomi didn¡¯t want to put up with her again. ¡°But I don¡¯t know anyone else who¡¯s a water type.¡± They could pay a random player who had a water element¡­ No, Kiyomi didn¡¯t want to pay anyone. She preferred to save her money. She also didn¡¯t like the thought of inviting a stranger into their party. Duo forever. But still, they needed someone they didn¡¯t have to pay, at least not with money. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Money¡­ Luna¡­ ¡°Alright. Ask Luna.¡± Kiyomi gave in. ¡°You¡¯ll pay her in kisses.¡± ¡°Sounds good¡ªwait, what?!¡± ¡°Kisses. You. Pay.¡± ¡°On second thought, let¡¯s find someone else.¡± ¡°Why? Don¡¯t you like kissing people?¡± ¡°Luna is¡­ a different case. One kiss, and it¡¯ll only encourage her.¡± Sako had anxiety all over her face. ¡°Nah, I prefer Luna.¡± Kiyomi had her mind made up. ¡°But you just said no¡ª¡± ¡°What? I can¡¯t change my mind?¡± ¡°No¡ªI mean, yes, but¡ª¡± ¡°Sako, do you have a better idea? Do you want to pay someone?¡± ¡°...No.¡± ¡°Yeah, I thought so. Or we can move at a snail¡¯s pace if you¡¯d like, but then we wouldn¡¯t get much done.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we just hit it really hard?¡± ¡°You can try.¡± Once the oni paused its attacks, Kiyomi dispelled the bubble. Sako rushed at it and drove a punch into its face and sent it flying into the cave wall. She shrieked in pain. Her knuckles on one hand were bleeding a lot. She was down to 40% HP. The oni¡¯s HP hadn¡¯t lessened. Kiyomi checked its info on her holoscreen. It reflected damage and had immunity to everything except water. Perfect. They both couldn¡¯t do any jack. She sighed. There was no way around it. Pay a random water user, or get Luna for free. Sako drank a Recovery Potion. The bleeding stopped, and her HP went back up to max. ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± she grumbled. She texted Luna for help. 5 minutes later. ¡°She said to meet her at the Adventurers'' Guild.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Kiyomi teleported them. ~~~ Midday Sako followed Kiyomi to her usual spot in the corner of the Guild where the lights were dim. They sat together. There were some scarce players sitting at different tables around the room, but it seemed most were out hunting the oni. Elora wasn¡¯t at the counter. She was probably behind it taking a nap on the floor. Luna came in through the door only moments later and looked around until she saw them. ¡°SAKOOOOOOO!¡± Her face lit up as she ran over to them, or Sako rather. Then she threw her arms around her for a hug. Sako¡¯s face turned pale as she forced a smile. ¡°Hi¡­ Luna¡­ Good to see you¡­¡± ¡°Very good, I¡¯m sure! I missed you. Did you miss me? ¡°I¡ª¡± ¡°I thought about you a lot.¡± ¡°Oh¡ª¡± ¡°I was going to text you, but I didn¡¯t want to be annoying.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay¡ª¡± Luna pulled away from Sako to sit beside her, on the opposite side of Kiyomi, so Sako was in the middle. ¡°So, how have you been?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been¡ª¡± ¡°Do you want some high-quality time with me?¡± Luna was hardly giving Sako a chance to talk. ¡°That¡¯s not¡ª¡± ¡°I love your eyes.¡± Luna stared into them, leaning towards her. Her nose nearly bumped against Sako¡¯s. Her social skills were worse than Kiyomi¡¯s. Sako grabbed Luna¡¯s shoulders and pushed her back gently. ¡°We need your help with something. Could you help us?¡± ¡°In bed?¡± ¡°No, with oni. What does a bed have to do with anything?¡± Luna giggled. ¡°I could show you.¡± ¡°Maybe some other time, but right now, we¡¯re in a hurry, since we¡¯re doing the special event.¡± ¡°Oh? And what¡¯ll my reward be?¡± Sako anxiously glanced at Kiyomi. Kiyomi nodded. ¡°A¡­ kiss.¡± ¡°Oh, I can work with that¡­¡± Luna licked her lips. Her eyes had an intense hunger. The seductive tone in Luna¡¯s reply made Kiyomi shiver. Sako was even more disturbed. She looked like she wanted to run away. While turning her head and eyeing Kiyomi again, her eyes said, ¡°Help me¡±. Kiyomi gave a bright, encouraging smile, an eager nod, and a thumbs up as if to say, ¡°You can do this!¡± Sako gave her a fuck-you look and looked back at Luna who hadn''t taken her eyes off her. Her expression softened. ¡°Anyway, Luna¡ª¡± ¡°I love it when you say my name. Can you say it again?¡± ¡°Luna.¡± ¡°Again.¡± ¡°Luna.¡± ¡°Again.¡± ¡°Luna.¡± ¡°Again.¡± ¡°Luna.¡± Luna moaned gently as she put a hand between her closed legs. Her face was completely flushed. She was in total ecstasy... and looked like she was about to cum. This girl had no shame whatsoever. None. If that alone could make her horny, Kiyomi didn¡¯t want to imagine what Sako¡¯s kiss would do to her. Could players actually fuck? Kiyomi hadn¡¯t actually confirmed it but had just assumed they couldn¡¯t. She didn¡¯t have anyone to confirm it with. She wouldn¡¯t use either of these clowns next to her. Plus, stupidity and craziness were contagious; it was best not to catch them. ¡°Can we please talk about the quest now?¡± Even though Sako was smiling, she looked like she was suffering so much on the inside. Her smile couldn¡¯t fully hide all of her disgust. ¡°Of course. Anything for you.¡± Would Luna jump off a cliff too if Sako asked her to? Kiyomi would love that. ¡°Right¡­ so¡­ um¡­¡± Sako tried to collect her thoughts. Kiyomi would help. ¡°Since we¡¯re fighting fire oni¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me. Didn¡¯t ask.¡± Luna didn¡¯t even look at her. Kiyomi wanted to hit her with her staff. ¡°Luna, don¡¯t be like that. That¡¯s rude.¡± Sako frowned disapprovingly. ¡°Fine¡­ Sorry.¡± Luna mumbled as she lowered her head. ¡°Listen to Kiyomi.¡± ¡°...Okay.¡± She shifted her eyes to Kiyomi for once. Kiyomi started again. ¡°Our crit chance will be much higher with water, which is good. And we¡¯ll be good with our Accuracy, since we¡¯ll be using their elemental weakness¡ªelemental weaknesses give a natural Accuracy boost. Since they¡¯re immune to everything except water, we¡¯ll be relying heavily on you¡ª¡± ¡°SAKO RELYING ON ME?! I KNEW THIS DAY WOULD COME EVENTUALLY!¡± Luna squirmed in her seat excitedly and squealed in pure joy as she rocked her feet. Kiyomi waited patiently for her to calm down before continuing. ¡°I¡¯ll use Skill Share on all of us so we can use your skills, including the locked, untrained ones..¡± Kiyomi would be able to use them at full Mastery. Luna nodded eagerly, smiling. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do anything. Just make yourself available.¡± Kiyomi only needed access to her skills. As long as Luna was alive and nearby, Kiyomi could do the rest. ¡°Make myself ¡®available¡¯ to Sako?!¡± Luna flushed at the thought. ¡°I¡­ I can do that¡­¡± She twirled a lock of her hair around her index finger while staring down at her lap, too shy to look at anyone. The girl needed a doctor. ~~~ They went back to the cave. Sako had invited her to the party. Kiyomi waved her staff and cast Skill Share. She waved it again and cast Fanatic, even on Luna. Luna¡¯s stats shot all the way up, though were still below Kiyomi¡¯s and Sako¡¯s. They each had a white aura and emitted white sparkles. Luna was surprised at the sudden massive surge of power she felt inside her. ¡°What is this?!¡± she asked Sako. ¡°Fanatic, Kiyomi¡¯s favorite buff,¡± Sako replied. ¡°Really?! It¡¯s like being high and sober at the same time!¡± Luna would know this of course. As they all walked alongside one another, Sako in the middle again, Luna quickly glanced at Kiyomi. ¡°Thanks, I guess,¡± she said in a reluctant, low tone and focused on Sako again. Kiyomi smiled. They walked into the cave. It was empty again as expected. ¡°Where is it?¡± Luna looked around. ¡°Hiding.¡± Kiyomi closed her eyes and mentally ran through the long list of Luna¡¯s skills. ¡°So, we just wait?¡± Luna asked. Twenty oni fell from the ceiling above from all directions, their katanas raised over their heads as they prepared their powerful vertical slashes. Their swords blazed with fire. Sharknado. Kiyomi tapped the ground with the bottom of her staff. From the ground, a water tornado shot up around them and caught the oni mid air. The oni went around and around in the violent, spiraling current filled with giant sharks. Just being in the water chipped away at their HPs. The sharks chewed on them. Big damage numbers popped up in bold with every crunch. Most of the crunches did Critical Hits. The sharks ate through their HP bars like butter. After some crunches, they swallowed the bodies and disappeared along with the tornado. A few crystals appeared in her inventory as drops. She tapped the icon to see the details: rarity: very common. That was good. The crystals were guaranteed drops. That shouldn¡¯t make things frustrating then. ¡°Quick and easy.¡± It really was worth bringing Luna along. Luna stared at Sako the whole time with a lustful look in her eyes. Sako clapped her hands rapidly. ¡°Quick and easy!¡± ~~~ They ran around to the other dots on Kiyomi''s minimap, killing more oni and collecting the crystals across different terrains. They mainly focused on the fires but occasionally went after lights and darks if those weren''t too far out of the way. Kiyomi empowered all of Sako¡¯s attacks with Water Empowerment, another one of Luna¡¯s spells, so Sako¡¯s physical-based attacks became water-based. Each punch and kick splashed water and did AOE water damage. Kiyomi spammed AOE water spells from a distance. Luna tagged along and stood safely beside Kiyomi, gawking and admiring Sako¡¯s incredible fighting prowess, who was fighting ahead of them. Oni came at Kiyomi and Sako in high numbers, but with a constant barrage of water attacks, most of which hit critically, they tore through their HP bars with ease, even the elite ones. Kiyomi conjured up countless Water Spears in the air with her staff and threw them down at the oni. Sako was in the middle of the raining Spears, but Kiyomi wasn''t worried. Sako had anticipated the attack. She deftly stepped out of the way constantly, narrowly avoiding them as she continued her attacks in the middle of Kiyomi¡¯s AOEs. Once they defeated the countless ones in the caverns nearby, which took some hours, they flew up into the sky and headed to another blue dot. Luna flew close to Sako, linking their arms. Kiyomi had helped her to find the flight spell. Sako said nothing but just looked straight ahead, following Kiyomi¡¯s lead. She looked troubled. As they neared another dot, Kiyomi looked below and swept her eyes along the wide, green field. Lots of players in various parties held tight, defensive formations as oni surrounded them, which were at least ten times their amount. They scrambled, screamed, and barked orders at one another.¡± Oni of different elements were gradually slashing their numbers down. ¡°DON¡¯T PANIC! STAY TOGETHER!¡± a man yelled at everyone. He was the same guy who had told Kiyomi and Sako they wouldn¡¯t last five seconds. ¡°WE¡¯RE TRYING OUR BEST HERE! QUIT YELLING!¡± the short girl with the orange hat shouted back, not too far away from him. She held her spear, ready to attack. The tanks were intimidated, trembling as they lifted their shields and cast their forcefields. The DPSers didn¡¯t look very confident in their DPS. At least most of them had enough sense to shrink away and stay behind their tanks. The supports looked left and right, wondering what to do¡ªif they should either wait until everyone attacked or was attacked. Kiyomi stopped midair, having a clear overhead view of the conflict. She would love to wait until they all died first before going in to finish the job, but she knew Sako wouldn¡¯t allow that. ¡°We should help,¡± Sako said as Kiyomi had predicted. ¡°I can¡¯t just stay here and let them die.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so heroic!¡± Sako ignored Luna¡¯s compliment. Kiyomi sighed. Sometimes, Sako sucked the fun out of things. ¡°Fine.¡± Personally, Kiyomi would¡¯ve charged these sorry players everything they were worth. But of course, Sako would rescue them all for free, ruining her plan. As the three of them flew down and landed, Kiyomi realized one problem: the oni were all different elements¡ªFire, Water, Wind, Earth, Light, Dark, Electric, and Chaotic. Kiyomi summoned the starter guide and skimmed through the pages until she found info. The Chaotic element was the rarest to find among monsters, and it was the most difficult to deal with. She looked up from the book and eyed the field. Someone in white robes shouted and pointed her staff at a few Chaotic oni. ¡°WEAPON ART: SPEARS OF JUSTICE!¡± Kiyomi checked the girl¡¯s stats for her class. Light Priest. A white circle appeared in the sky about as wide as the field. Spears of pure light rained down onto everything. The spears that landed on the players healed them, and those that landed on the oni of the regular elements did damage. From far away, a Chaotic oni, covered in thick, dark aura, took one step towards the girl. In a burst of speed, it appeared before her. It cut her head off with its sword, and in one motion dashed past other players then stood still. Ten heads fell to the floor, then the bodies fell. A guy looked behind him. His eyes widened at the bodies. ¡°AAAAHHHH!¡± The oni¡¯s blade sliced his head off next, silencing him. His head fell, then his corpse. The swords continued falling from the sky. The ones that landed on the Chaotic oni seemed to only empower them: Kiyomi sensed their power rising. Yep, those were a problem¡­ Sako was busy on a far side of the field, back turned, and pummeling other enemies. And naturally, Luna simply stared at her in admiration, loving the sight. Kiyomi felt like barking orders at everyone too, but she thought again and changed her mind: they were about as useful as a sack of potatoes. An ultimate, omni-elemental attack would solve this all efficiently, but she doubted anyone here had that, given their incompetence. The orange girl and big guy were arguing about their next course of action as everyone else was either fighting or dying around them. They couldn¡¯t agree on anything. That right there was a special brand of stupidity. She looked around for survivors, hoping to find someone useful to use. A trembling girl with long, brown hair sat on the ground, looking at everything. She didn¡¯t know what to do. She was dressed in robes and a large wizard hat. Likely a support. Kiyomi checked her class on her holoscreen. Dreamcaster. What, could she put everyone to sleep then? That could be useful. She walked up to her. ¡°Hey.¡± She looked Kiyomi¡¯s way and shrieked but then calmed down once she realized that Kiyomi wasn¡¯t a monster that was ready to kill her. ¡°I want your consent.¡± She got straight to the point. ¡°C-c-consent?!¡± Her face went full red. ¡°Yes, consent.¡± ¡°W-why?!¡± She started scooting away on her butt. ¡°I don¡¯t have time to explain this.¡± Kiyomi neared her again. ¡°Just say it.¡± ¡°OKAY, FINE! I CONSENT. JUST HURRY UP AND TAKE MY VIRGINITY. WE¡¯RE ALL GONNA DIE ANYWAAAAAAAAY!¡± She lifted up her robes, showing her green-striped panties. ¡­That¡¯s not what I was after... And personally, Kiyomi would¡¯ve gone with full black. She got a ping in her head. She pulled up a new list of abilities, skimmed through them, and stopped at the Unique Skill section. The skills weren¡¯t what she had expected, but they weren¡¯t bad, especially the unique.
Skills Description Mastery (%)
Unique Skill: Spirit Spear Summon the godlike Spirit Spear from the metaphysical plane An?a. The Spear ignores all elemental affinities, never misses the target, and does Real Damage. Real Damage ignores all types of damage reductions, including Defense, and the damage cannot be reduced from debuffs like Glancing Hit or passives. 44
The 44 wasn¡¯t an issue. Any spell she used would automatically scale to 100% because of her passive skill, Superior Intellect. So, basically, the Spear would act as a true neutral element that was outside of the elemental circle and so couldn¡¯t be elementally countered at all. It bypassed any elemental immunities while having 100% Accuracy. Pretty OP. The tip of her staff glowed. Unique Skill: Spirit Spear. The sky turned black and split open into a rift. The glowing Spear flew out and into Kiyomi¡¯s hand. It vibrated and pulsed with so much power. The orange girl and big guy stared at her. She pointed it at a Chaotic oni heading her way. Black streaks of energy rushed out of the tip, ¡ªmuch like lightning¡ªutterly silent and swift. The streaks ate the oni¡¯s whole top half down to the waist in an instant. The lower half fell and turned to ashes. Players around her stared in disbelief¡ªthe ones who could afford to and didn¡¯t have their hands full with monsters. Other oni shifted their focus and ran at her, sensing their new threat. Kiyomi pointed the spear again and swayed it across the field, spraying them all with black lightning¡ªshe would call it ¡°lightning¡± anyway. One sweep across the field eradicated most of them. She pointed it at a few more that were in combat with Sako. Luna was well out of the way sadly. Hardening her grip, she fired streaks again. Without looking in Kiyomi¡¯s direction, Sako jumped out of the way as the streaks zapped the oni. Kiyomi blasted a few dozen more, and that was it. The numbers had hardly been crits, but they had been high nonetheless. She dropped the spear. It scattered into tiny energy particles and faded. ¡°What was that?¡± The big man approached her. The short girl followed, equally shocked. Kiyomi pointed at the girl who was still sitting on the floor, trembling. ¡°That was her spell.¡± They looked at her confused. ¡°I don¡¯t have the time to explain. We have an event to finish. If you¡¯re not on board, that¡¯s fine. I can do it without any of you.¡± She turned her back. She didn¡¯t have the patience to try and enlighten their small minds either. ¡°We owe you one,¡± someone behind her said. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Kiyomi replied. She had no interest in them, except the girl with the Spirit Spear. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s fine!¡± Sako skipped happily over to Kiyomi, Luna by her side. ¡°Good work! We all did great!¡± she shouted at everyone. Those who survived cheered and high-fived one another. Some supports healed, revived, and resurrected where they could. ¡°I¡¯m heading out. We¡¯re not done yet.¡± Kiyomi took a step forward. ¡°We can¡¯t do it. The sun¡¯s already setting,¡± a guy said. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s too late now,¡± someone replied. She turned towards everyone, seeing their disheartened faces. ¡°I said, I¡¯m not done yet. There¡¯s time. If you want to sit on your asses and cry like babies, do that, but I plan on finishing this event before midnight.¡± She glanced at the girl she had borrowed the OP Spear from. ¡°You. You¡¯re coming with me.¡± The girl shrieked. ¡°NO, NO, NOOO! PLEASE! I¡¯M NOT READY FOR SEX!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not why I called you!¡± Kiyomi snapped. ¡°Just follow me.¡± She got to her feet and reluctantly made her way over to Kiyomi. ¡°We¡¯re borrowing her,¡± Kiyomi told the big man and short, orange girl. ¡°Um¡­¡± the man looked at the orange girl next to him. The orange girl shrugged. ¡°Sure,¡± he finished his sentence. Everyone watched as Kiyomi, Sako, Luna, and the girl took off into the air. Kiyomi had put the girl on her back so she wouldn¡¯t fall mid flight. The girl had her arms around her neck, clinging tightly. ¡°So, where are we going?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± Kiyomi followed the rest of the blue dots on her minimap. Instead of landing, she summoned the Spirit Spear and fired streaks of energy while she flew across the sky. This was a far quicker and easier solution. The Chaotic oni dropped significantly more crystals, so she focused on those. Sako didn¡¯t bother landing to attack, since Kiyomi just one-shotted them from above. By 11:30 pm, they got all the crystals they needed and teleported back to the capital. As they landed under a street light, Kiyomi allowed the girl to slide off her back to stand on her feet. ¡°Thanks, you really made it easy for us. You actually had some use after all.¡± She was a little impressed. ¡°We literally couldn¡¯t have met the deadline without you.¡± Sako smiled. Even though all the girl had done was watch Kiyomi zapping tiny targets way below on the ground with the Spirit Spear from the sky. Luna had become obsolete, but at least she had been quiet and stayed out of the way. ¡°N-no¡­ I didn¡¯t do anything special.¡± She blushed. The four of them walked back to the palace not too far away. Symphony was already outside the gates waiting around beside two guards. She smiled when she saw them. ¡°Symphony assumes you have successfully completed the quest?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Sako replied. ¡°Wonderful! Symphony shall collect them then.¡± She opened her hand, which had an open coin pouch. All the crystals from Kiyomi¡¯s inventory icon in the lower right corner of her field of vision flew into the pouch (she had the option of whether to show or hide icons in her vision). Crystals from Sako flew into the pouch too. Eventually, the pouch swelled until it looked plump. ¡°And now for your rewards.¡± Kiyomi¡¯s cash stack increased by 5 mil. Symphony walked closer to Kiyomi. Much closer. She was much prettier up close. Much prettier¡­ Kiyomi reflexively stepped back to regain her personal space. What was she doing? Symphony closed the gap again in a swift motion and put her lips against Kiyomi¡¯s for a long while. The other girls sounded shocked. Kiyomi froze and couldn¡¯t process this. Her lips were soft, her breath sweet. Symphony broke the kiss and stepped away. Kiyomi couldn¡¯t find it in herself to get angry: for a second, she turned gay. Symphony went over to the girl with brown hair and kissed her lips too. Then Sako¡¯s. Both were stunned. ¡°HEY! YOU CAN¡¯T DO THAT TO MY SAK¡ª¡± Symphony shut Luna up with a long kiss. She stepped away from all four of them. ¡°The rest of the adventurers out there will also receive a monetary reward.¡± Then she lowered her voice. ¡°But not this. Shhh.¡± She put her index finger to her lips, smiled, and continued in a hushed voice, ¡°It does not count if Symphony osculates others of the same sex.¡± What kind of rule was that?! ¡°Anyhow, you have her appreciation, diligent adventurers.¡± Symphony curtsied. ¡°Bye!¡± Sako waved as they walked away from the palace. They exchanged goodbyes with the brunette as she went her separate way. The three continued walking alongside each other, Sako in the middle as usual. ¡°Sako, where¡¯s my kiss?¡± Luna asked. ¡°O-oh¡­ right¡­¡± Sako replied. ¡°You could just back out,¡± Kiyomi advised. ¡°Fuck off. Nobody asked for your opinion!¡± Luna glared at Kiyomi. Kiyomi shrugged. ¡°No. I¡¯m a girl of my word.¡± Sako would never. ~~~ Sako had serious doubts about this. She had turned her back to Luna, sitting on the edge of the bed by the wall and staring at it. Luna was humming while doing whatever behind her on the other side of the room. She wanted some alone time with Sako, so Kiyomi had allowed that and went off to do some grinding. Sako had thoroughly searched her for dangerous stuff and found nothing. But that wasn¡¯t what scared her. ¡°Relax. I won¡¯t hurt you.¡± Luna, smiling, came over and handed her a bottle of apple juice. Sure. Maybe some nice, cold apple juice would calm her down. Sako took it without looking at her, uncorked it, and drank it until the bottle was empty. ¡°Wow, thirsty, huh?¡± Luna sat beside her. Not as thirsty as Luna. She put the empty bottle on the nightstand and mustered up the courage to look straight at Luna. ¡°So, just a kiss, right?¡± ¡°About that¡­¡± She got up, walked to the door, and turned the lock. Click. This felt familiar. Sako got up. ¡°Why¡¯d you lock the door?¡± ¡°No reason!¡± She smiled, approaching Sako. Sako backed up until her back was near the wall. ¡°Don¡¯t run, please. You¡¯ll only make this harder.¡± She attacked like the animal she was. She shoved Sako against the wall. Sako hit the back of her head against the wall. Luna pushed her lips against Sako¡¯s, not giving her a chance to recover from the headache. She forced her tongue into Sako¡¯s mouth, tilting her head at an angle. Sako put her hands on Luna¡¯s shoulders, but she felt weak. She couldn¡¯t shove her away. Her body started feeling hot, and her face was flushed. Luna separated their lips. ¡°Mmm¡­ You taste good,¡± she whispered. ¡°Could you be gentle¡ª¡± She grabbed Sako by her collar with both hands and pulled it as she backed up, walking Sako forward and nearer to the bed. She shoved her down on the bed and got on top of her. Everything was spinning slightly around Sako. Luna kissed her again, put a foot between her open legs, and moved it up. She began grinding her knee against her crotch. That forced a moan from Sako. She lifted her head and left a string of spit between their lips. ¡°Come on, you can do better than that, right?¡± Luna grinded her knee vigorously against her crotch. Sako moaned louder. Satisfied, Luna resumed the kissing and mixed their spit together, moving it back and forth between her mouth and Sako¡¯s. She lifted her head and stuck her tongue out, letting the mixture fall down in a thick line into Sako¡¯s open mouth. ¡°Swallow it.¡± Sako swallowed it to avoid choking. Luna lowered herself and connected their mouths. This time, Sako needed air because Luna was pressing their noses together. She put her hands to Luna¡¯s chest and tried to push her away but couldn¡¯t. Though, if Sako couldn''t breathe, Luna couldn¡¯t either, so Luna would have to pull away eventually. Sako just had to stay conscious. She couldn¡¯t even move her head to either side: Luna was locking it in place with her hands. Her vision blurred. Luna fondled Sako¡¯s breasts, brushing her tongue against Sako¡¯s tongue. ¡°Mmm¡­¡± She tilted her head rightwards, allowing Sako to breathe again¡­ ~~~ Morning came. Sako stumbled out of the room, unsteady on her feet. She was about to fall over. Her vision dimmed then cleared. Luna was a fucking animal. An untamed and thirsty animal. They had gone at it for 12 hours. No sleep. And during all that time, Luna had been taking the lead. Her endless stamina absolutely baffled Sako. That hadn¡¯t just been kissing. That had been foreplay. Luna had touched her everywhere. At one point, they had somehow rolled off the bed, but Luna just continued on the floor. Sako had gotten up and tried to climb back onto the bed, but Luna yanked her back down on the floor and was all over her again in an instant. And at one point, she had chickened out and made a run for the locked door, but Luna caught her and hauled her away from it. ¡°We¡¯re not done yet!¡± Luna had said. ¡°I-I feel so violated¡­¡± Sako mumbled. How¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s do it again sometime, okaaaay?¡± Luna said happily Sako slowly turned around and stared at Luna wide-eyed as she got off the bed. HOW IS SHE NOT TIRED?! It would make more sense if Sako had higher endurance over Luna, but it was as if her in-game stats hadn¡¯t made a difference. Maybe because I¡¯m not out fighting or something? What was stamina? If it was physical endurance that excluded that erotic activities, then that was dumb. So dumb. She was sure that she had high stamina, but Luna was a different breed. It was as if Sako¡¯s stats hadn¡¯t mattered. Even her strength had felt less than Luna¡¯s, based on the way Luna had wrestled and manhandled her. Thankfully, that hadn¡¯t been actual sex. She wouldn''t have been able to handle Luna¡¯s roughness without passing out in the middle of it. And she had felt unusually aroused. ¡°Oh, by the way, I had put another Ultra Stat Reduction Potion in your juice when you weren¡¯t looking! This time with an aphrodisiac!¡± Luna admitted. Sako froze. Oh. Of course. That made perfect sense now. Not once had she thought about checking her own stats, so she had completely missed that. Luna wouldn¡¯t have given her the chance anyway. But that didn¡¯t explain her endless stamina and enthusiasm. Maybe she had drunk something to enhance her stamina. ¡°Heh. I can¡¯t believe you fell for it again! Oh wow, Sako, you¡¯re so easy to fool!¡± Luna stood in front of her and stuck her tongue out. ¡°Thanks for the tongue action!¡± Sako wasn¡¯t the violent type, but Luna knew exactly how to awaken a dormant rage buried inside her. She knew what buttons to press. Sako wanted to take her by the neck and fling her down the stairs, but she didn¡¯t have the energy. Clever son of a¡­. Not even Luna''s spit-covered bite marks all over Sako¡¯s neck had fully healed yet. ¡°But¡­ I had searched you.¡± ¡°Yeah, you had. But you hadn¡¯t searched the room, had you?¡± ¡°...No¡­¡± ¡°If only you had searched the cupboard. But nope! You just thought I was much more important to search! I¡¯m flattered, really. Hehehe.¡± But when had she put them into her juice? She remembered that before they had started, she had turned her back for a couple minutes. That had given Luna the chance. Sako felt like an idiot. No, she was an idiot. Now she had to wonder how to get rid of Luna. If she didn¡¯t, Luna would ruin the rest of her day. Chapter 40-Abyssal Sphere The sky was at last clear of enemies. Now, she could redirect her attention to the ground conflict. Le Francia, standing on the deck of her airship, gazed at the warzone below her. All the dynamic combatants were ants. And Kosetsu was evidently no soldier: she failed to kill and instead merely rendered the enemies unconscious. An appalling performance. She was unsuited for war: the very same unconscious soldiers would later become a threat again once they woke. Additionally, the remaining enemies who were conscious and fighting still outnumbered the kingdom¡¯s forces by a significant amount. In fact, she could see a pushback: enemy ground units were gradually overwhelming the allies, allowing them to steadily advance and claim ground. Despite Kosetsu¡¯s efforts, she could not be everywhere at once; in spite of her speed, it still took time for her to sprint across the massive field while dealing with every issue that came into her ever-changing trajectory. ¡°I will put a proper end to this.¡± She pointed the black broadsword towards the battlefield below at the chaotic confrontations. ¡°Abyssal Sphere.¡± The sword vibrated within her grasp and a singularity formed in the midst of the soldiers locked in combat. The soldiers closest to it were torn apart instantaneously by the gravitational force¡ªallies and enemies. The singularity expanded and developed into a growing black hole. ¡°My comrades, your sacrifices shall not be wasted. Be proud that you have served the kingdom well, and that I am pleased with you,¡± she mumbled. Lamentine would not escape the growing void of inevitable doom. ~~~ Flying arrows shot by the sniper archers changed directions and got sucked into the black hole as it slowly moved across the battlefield. ¡°WHAT IS THAT THING?!¡± an allied soldier shrieked. ¡°DON''T JUST STAND THERE!¡± Another began running. Soldiers from both sides screamed and tried to run away. But eventually, the black hole swallowed them along with horses and nearby outposts. Sako stopped dead in her tracks, panting and staring at the terrifying thing in the distance. It was coming slowly in her direction. ¡°What¡­¡± The soldiers near her stopped too and stared. She was at a loss. A black hole wasn''t something she could just punch or kick. She took a quick look through her list of spells in her UI on her holoscreen. They weren''t helpful at all, especially with her low Intellect. As the black hole neared the melee soldiers that were fighting the enemy troops by the biggest teleport gate, mages near the wall yelled their incantations and cast spells to counter it, but nothing worked. Sako wished Kiyomi were here. She would easily be able to handle this, since she was versatile in different situations and could think critically when the moment called for it. Sako could only do physical damage. Sure, as a Light Wizard, Sako had spells too, but they wouldn''t be nearly as effective as Kiyomi''s, at least not at her current level. Sako: Are you busy? I could use some help. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Kiyomi: yeah omw w/ team to raid Sako: Alright. Well, she tried. She couldn''t figure out who had made that black hole. And where did the girl with the strange accent go? She had to be responsible for this. First bullets, likely from a sniper rifle based on the far distance, and now this. Sako understood the girl''s frustration, but this was overkill. It was a mess: thousands of soldiers flew up into the air and into the hole, vanishing forever. Sako couldn¡¯t do anything. She was powerless. The anxiety in her stomach settled when Princess Vanescka casually came up to her on horseback. ¡°You can do something about that, right?¡± she asked, pointing at the black hole. Honestly, she didn¡¯t see how Princess Vanescka could help, but she hoped she could help. Somehow. Princess Vanescka stared at the problem. She was calm as if this were one of her typical days inside the palace. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She swept her eyes over the land slowly: from left to right at everything, considering something¡­ In some areas, while some soldiers stared at the danger, others took the chance to land cheap but effective blows at the distracted soldiers, which caused fights here and there to resume, but not everyone could ignore the oncoming danger. Many were too baffled. ¡°So¡­ what do you think?¡± Sako asked the princess. ¡°I think¡­¡± She stopped. It was hard for her to decide on a course of action. Sako understood why. This problem was the hardest challenge to deal with. She couldn¡¯t see a way around it. ¡°Hmm, yeah. More strawberry milk.¡± ¡°...What?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t choose between strawberry milk and chocolate milk. But I¡¯ve decided. I¡¯m feeling more for strawberry.¡± Sako didn¡¯t understand¡­ ¡°Actually, why not both? A glass of strawberry milk and a glass of chocolate milk. Sound good?¡± The princess looked at her for reassurance. ¡°Oh, but then I don¡¯t think I could finish two whole glasses. Maybe half of each then...¡± She paused again, deep in thought as she looked off to one side. ¡°Oh,¡± she met Sako¡¯s eyes again, ¡°what if you drink the rest for me?¡± She didn¡¯t want to waste any. She nodded slowly with sweat drops running down her face. Sure. Anything to get her to shut up about it. Weren¡¯t they in the middle of a war? ¡°The soldiers¡ª¡± Princess Vanescka put two fingers to her mouth and let loose a penetrating, high whistle into the air. Moments after, a girl rode up on horseback behind them and stopped. ¡°My princess,¡± she greeted, head lowered into a bow. Her skin was a smooth, flawless, soft brown. She had on simple robes and a cloak, apparently not armed for combat. Her hair was short and brown with cat ears on top. She had a distinct, sharp accent. One akin to British. She kept her eyes on the chaotic scenery as she spoke. ¡°A glass of chocolate milk. A glass of strawberry milk. Warm. Go.¡± ¡°Right away.¡± She turned her horse around and galloped towards the palace. ¡°She¡¯s my royal attendant. ¡° She glanced at Sako before looking back to the field at the distant fighting and panicking. ¡°She was busy running errands for me during the banquet, so you didn''t meet her.¡± Sako nodded. ¡°So, about that¡­¡± She gestured at the black hole that was far away, now heading in a different direction. ¡°Just leave it.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Her loyal subjects needed her. They were screaming and dying. ¡°That¡¯s just Le Francia being Le Francia. I trust her.¡± ¡°But¡ª¡± Princess Vanescka waved her hand dismissively. ¡°Listen, girlie, sometimes, you have to make sacrifices to get the job done. I didn¡¯t force anyone. They signed up for this.¡± Sako stared at her in disbelief. This girl was nothing but cruel. Chapter 41-Le Francias Spectacle Sako couldn¡¯t stand for this. She turned and bowed to Princess Vanescka. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ve changed my mind. I can¡¯t stand here and enjoy the scenery while drinking milk with you. I need to do what I can.¡± Princess Vanescka shrugged after a sip from her full glass of chocolate milk. ¡°Alrighty. You can do whatever. I¡¯ll just be here then.¡± The moment she said that, Sako sprinted ahead, back into the conflict towards the agitated soldiers, black hole, and airship. For a long time, Princess Vanescka watched the action unfold in the distance. The blackhole was a guaranteed way to win. Her attendant was standing not too far away behind her by their horses, holding a tray that had the full glass of strawberry milk. She had forgotten to tell her attendant to only bring half of each, so naturally, her attendant had brought two full glasses. Princess Vanescka approached her and patted her shoulder with a hand. ¡°Enya, my good pal! You¡¯ll help me finish all of this, right?¡± She smiled brightly as she set her chocolate milk down on the tray next to the strawberry milk. She couldn¡¯t even get it down to half. ¡°After all, we don¡¯t waste milk of all things, do we? Milk is the most important of all the things in the kingdom!¡± ¡°...Er¡­ that is¡­ correct, I suppose¡­¡± ¡°No matter how cold it gets, yes?¡± ¡°...Yes¡­¡± Enya¡¯s right ear twitched. ¡°Good! Then you¡¯ll help me finish!¡± Princess Vanescka took a few sips from the glass of strawberry milk and set it back down on the tray. ¡°There, all done. I¡¯m full.¡± She had taken too long to drink from the glasses. As a result, they were now cold, which took away her appetite. Enya groaned miserably. ¡°Your cruelty truly is limitless.¡± Princess Vanescka¡¯s cold scraps were the worst. ~~~ Kingdom of Lamentine, the Capital, Throne Room The king sat on his throne, crossing his legs. His advisor stood next to him. They both listened as one of the king¡¯s generals, in full battle armor, stood before him and frantically spilled out the latest news about the events on the front line. ¡°A sizable, obscure ball in the sky swallowing up soldiers indiscriminately. Hm¡­¡± The king trusted his general, so he knew it was no lie. Though still, he was curious and had to see it for himself. Do you have a visual?¡± A robed fellow stepped forward and lifted his staff into the air. A screen formed with moving pictures. There it was, a terrifying disaster. Chaos spread everywhere as this mysterious hole in the sky dominated everything. ¡°So, they¡¯re even sacrificing their own soldiers. What is this madness?¡± Barbaric. Absolutely barbaric. The king had thought King Lancestor to be generous and compassionate. It was unlike him to stoop to such a brutal, merciless tactic. It seemed that even the kindest people would execute ridiculously desperate measures when backed into a corner. ¡°Bring it out. We¡¯re not about to fall to these scoundrels.¡± ¡°A-Already?!¡± His general¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Don¡¯t make me say it again.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty!¡± He saluted, turned around, and hurried out the door. ~~~ Kingdom of Aria, the Capital, Throne Room The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°What madness is this?! I didn¡¯t order this mess! Who is responsible?!¡± King Lancestor glared at his messenger in front of him. ¡°I-I¡­ don¡¯t know.¡± The trembling messenger, a young lad, took a few steps back and retreated behind Captain Chelsea who remained calm. King Lancestor¡¯s fierce eyes moved to Captain Chelsea, expecting an answer. ¡°Le Francia.¡± She didn¡¯t hesitate. ¡°Oh, of course. No one else in the kingdom would be capable of manifesting such a grand level of foolishness. My men are not cheap and expendable. Go and persuade her to end this rubbish. Force her if you must.¡± Captain Chelsea saluted. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°By the way, where is Vanescka? She¡¯s been scarce as of late.¡± Captain Chelsea stiffened and turned pale, and she looked ill. It was as if a severe illness had just befallen her. She failed to answer. ¡°Well?¡± King Lancestor tapped his foot impatiently on the floor. ¡°She¡¯s¡­ on the¡­¡± ¡°On the what? Out with it.¡± ¡°...Front line¡­¡± King Lancestor stared at her for a minute then turned his head to a listening guard at his side. ¡°Did I hear that correctly?¡± ¡°I believe so, my lord.¡± ¡°Repeat it to me.¡± ¡°¡®She¡¯s on the front line¡¯.¡± King Lancestor narrowed his eyes at Captain Chelsea. ¡°It seems I need to reconsider my selection for the Captain of the Guard.¡± ¡°Please, Your Majesty! We really did our best to restrain her,¡± Captain Chelsea pleaded. ¡°You¡¯re telling me that none of you can restrain, or at the very least convince, a 12-year-old to stay indoors?¡± ¡°To be fair, Your Majesty, this is Princess Vanescka,¡± the guard by his side cut in. ¡°She is highly unusual.¡± King Lancestor thought for a moment then sighed. ¡°A fair point, but return her to me nonetheless.¡± He couldn¡¯t quell the anxiety within himself about his own daughter¡¯s safety, even though she had the gods¡¯ divine protection and blessing. ¡°It will be done,¡± Captain Chelsea replied. ¡°Those are your two tasks. Le Francia and Vanescka. Dismissed.¡± Captain Chelsea saluted, turned away, and walked out. ~~~ Kiyomi walked behind Rika¡¯s team and Razor as they headed towards the docks. Rika gave the ferryman some coins. He nodded and guided them onto his sloop. The sailboat was small, but it managed to fit all 11 of them. Once he lifted the anchor and untied the boat from the post, the boat went off, starting to glide across the water with the wind pushing the sails gently. ¡°How far out is it?¡± Kiyomi asked. While standing at the front of the boat and looking out into the sea, Razor replied, ¡°It¡¯s deep underwater, locked behind a barrier. We¡¯ll have to dive down there.¡± He would be spearheading the operation. Part of the plan was to have Kiyomi sit this one out until they needed her help¡ªif they ever needed her help. Razor had no faith in her, not even for playing a minor support. Kiyomi was fine with that, though if she had to later join in, her concern would be that her attacks might glance. She didn''t have the Accuracy she wanted, and no one had any Accuracy spells. They just might be screwed¡­ Elemental weaknesses gave a natural Accuracy boost, but that was only 40%. So, even if Kiyomi, for example, managed to spam Razor¡¯s skills through Skill Share, not all the attacks would hit as they should. She had done the calculations: her gear only gave her 30% Accuracy against Kiminaru, so that would be 70% with Razor¡¯s attacks. But she would be more comfortable with 90. Accuracy was especially important for big bosses with high damage, though not only for debuffs; every non-Glancing Hit had a chance to stagger, especially heavy hits. Glancing Hits had no chance to stagger. And staggering was almost essential to giving the team protection from lethal damage through preventing it. It was like a temporary stun. ¡°We''re here.¡± Razor walked to the center of the boat and took a stick of gum from the ferryman. The ferryman handed out the rest. Kiyomi took hers. Chewing gum? She copied everyone else and chewed on it. She heard a faint blip. She checked her status bar on her holoscreen and noticed a blue icon with bubbles in it. ¡°It¡¯ll make you breathe underwater,¡± Rika explained from nearby. Oh, that made sense. Once everyone was ready, they leaned over the side of the boat, fell into the water, and sank. They swam down and headed into a cave, passing a white barrier then resurfaced into the air and stepped onto the dry ground. ¡°Are we ready?¡± Razor approached the glowing barrier to the chamber. ¡°Ready as we¡¯ll ever be!¡± Rika answered. Everyone drew weapons, cast spells, used items, and applied buffs. Chapter 42-On the Airship When Kiyomi went into the cave, she conjured up a black chair by the wall and sat. The rest of the team went further in, closer to the center by the lake to start the fight. Some of Kiyomi¡¯s best spells relied on her shadow. Once it was present, she could use the spells, including Shadow Eater. She looked to the ground, hardly able to see her shadow. Well, as long as she would get her team¡¯s consent when it really mattered, she could just use their spells, especially Razor¡¯s; his own mattered the most. But it was too early to tell whether her team was reliable. A wide circle of nagas spawned and surrounded them. There weren¡¯t any safe spots, so the closest ones began slithering Kiyomi¡¯s way. The further ones didn¡¯t notice her, thanks to her Night Cloak that made her a little harder to detect from a distance in the semi-darkness. Kiyomi opened black puddles under the approaching nagas. They sank into the puddles and vanished. The holes shut. Problem solved. That trick worked with weak mobs. She resummoned her chair and sat again to watch. Rika summoned her skeletons, which easily outnumbered the nagas. The giant ones crushed some of the nagas under their feet. Razor went all over the place and killed each naga with just one cut from his dagger. He cut down the numbers with impressive speed. Everyone else spread out, going heavy on their AOE attacks and hitting as many as they could because they knew they only had 30 seconds. And if they didn¡¯t kill all 100 nagas by then, the phase would restart. Kiyomi thought about Chelsea. Her Weapon Art would be ideal here. The team had good AOE Weapon Arts too though from what she had seen during the PvP match. The Arts would help, but the issue was time. It was hard to fill up a gauge before 30 seconds unless they killed an absurd amount and popped a long chain of skills that was faster than one could consciously think. ¡°WEAPON ART: SHOCKWAVE!¡± Razor yelled. Wow, that was quick. Kiyomi was amazed. He had knocked down a good portion. He plunged his dagger into the ground below him and dispersed a shockwave in a wide radius around him, hitting most of the nagas. The other DPSers with the tanks¡¯ help and Rika¡¯s skeletons finished off the remainder with their blades at close range. Arrows rained down from the air to add damage. The last of the nagas fell. Corpses littered the ground. ¡°Yeah! We made it through phase 1!¡± Rika happily jumped. ¡°Don¡¯t celebrate yet.¡± Razor looked around, keeping his guard up. Everyone fell quiet and stayed vigilant. Phase 2 was about to start¡­ ~~~ ¡°Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink! Keep going! ¡± Princess Vanescka watched as Enya forced the chocolate milk down her throat from the glass. Enya gradually lifted the bottom as she downed it. She lowered the empty glass. ¡°See? It wasn¡¯t so bad, was it?¡± She grinned. ¡°Now for the strawberry!¡± Enya dropped the empty glass and covered her mouth. She wanted to puke. ~~~ Nobody moved. Sako stood at the edge of the airship. She had used the ring to fly up onto the deck. The hat girl from earlier stood at another end of the ship, pointing two long revolvers¡ªone at Sako and one at Le Francia who stood at the center. Chelsea floated in the air not far away, sword drawn at Le Francia. Her cape flapped freely in the wind. ¡°If ah had a third one, you¡¯d get one too.¡± The girl kept her eyes fixed on Le Francia while she chewed on something. But they all knew that remark was for Chelsea. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Can¡­ we talk this through?¡± Sako didn¡¯t know why she had bothered asking. It was a habit. As expected, they all ignored her. Sako took one of her usual combat stances: hands up and apart, fingers curled slightly inwards, forming a half-fist to help limit the strength of her blows, feet apart. She was ready to get semi-aggressive. Le Francia adjusted her glasses with a hand. Her sword casually revolved around her protectively. She held a book in one hand. The girl fingered her triggers. Chelsea glanced at the girl. The girl glanced back at Chelsea and even turned her head towards her. Le Francia followed suit, eyes on Chelsea. Sako¡¯s intuition told her not to look at Chelsea, so she remained still as a mannequin, eyes straight ahead at the girl. She focused on the girl¡¯s gun barrels, unsure of why she and Le Francia were looking at Chelsea. ¡°So¡­¡± Everyone was still. The only sounds were distant screaming and clinking far below on the field with the whirring of the blackhole. Curiosity nibbled at Sako. Don¡¯t look. Don¡¯t look. Don¡¯t¡­ A minute passed¡­ Another minute passed¡­ Another¡­ Sako gave in and turned her head to look at Chelsea. BANG! The bullet left the gun barrel. Sako had fallen for it. She shifted her face in line with the bullet¡¯s trajectory, caught it between her teeth, and spat it at Le Francia, full speed. Le Francia didn¡¯t react as if she had seen it coming. CLINK. Her sword deflected it to Chelsea. CLINK. Chelsea deflected it to the girl. CLINK. The girl deflected it back to Sako with one gun. Sako ducked. The bullet zipped over her head. Enough of that plan. It wouldn¡¯t work. And how the girl had managed to deflect that with her gun was beyond her. The girl focused both guns on Le Francia and emptied them. Le Francia looked her way. The sword stretched, morphed into a black wall between Le Francia and the girl, and absorbed the bullets. It turned back to its original shape and flew at the girl. While Le Francia had her eyes off Chelsea, Chelsea took the chance and swooped down from the air and swung her blade at her neck. Le Francia pulled a dagger out and parried. The girl knocked the sword away with one of her guns. The sword came back to stab Chelsea. Chelsea flew back, avoiding it. It followed her as she flew higher and higher into the air. With Le Francia¡¯s back turned and unguarded, Sako closed the distance and swung her half-fist. At the last moment, a portal opened between Le Francia¡¯s back and Sako. Sako couldn¡¯t stop her momentum in time, so she fell in. The portal opened by the girl and Sako¡¯s half-fist went right into her side. The girl cried out as Sako hit her into the air. She went across the ship and crashed into one of the masts and fell. ¡°Sorry!¡± Sako shouted. Chelsea was busy with her own sword fight with Le Francia¡¯s sword. Le Francia tossed her dagger at Sako. Sako caught it by the hilt and threw it over the side of the ship. A deafening DING sounded from around them. Everything changed. The distant whirring stopped. Le Francia¡¯s sword dropped from the sky and hit the ship¡¯s deck. All the life and magical energy it had earlier was gone. Chelsea fell from the air. When she fell on her feet, she rolled across the deck to roll out the impact and help her landing. Her blade fell near her. Le Francia¡¯s expression turned tense. She looked annoyed. She went to the gunwale where Sako had tossed the dagger overboard and looked down at the field, scanning the area. ¡°Did they actually¡­¡± She mumbled to herself. The girl lying on a far side of the ship hadn¡¯t gotten up. Sako had questions. Last time she checked, her Agility was higher than Le Francia¡¯s, yet Le Francia had been able to counter her easily. It was a mystery to be solved later. And as for what had just happened¡ª Everything began tilting to one side. Sako and Chelsea slid across the deck. Le Francia took up her sword, plunged it into the board under her feet, and held onto it tightly to avoid sliding and falling. Chelsea had the same idea. Sako free fell to one side and crashed into a cabin door, smashing her head against the glass. The glass window on the door shattered on impact. The unconscious girl''s body slipped across the deck and bumped into Sako''s feet. The wind around the slanted ship turned violent. The air pressure grew intense. She took a minute to collect her jumbled thoughts while holding her head in her hand. She had a heavy, throbbing headache. Once her head cleared a little, she lifted it. ¡°What''s going on?!¡± she yelled to Chelsea who was across the deck. ¡°We''re falling!¡± she replied. ¡°Why?!¡± ¡°I think the engines failed! There''s no magic!¡± Sako looked at the ring on her finger and tried to summon the magic in it and fly, but it didn¡¯t work. Uh-oh¡­ Chapter 43-Kraken Assault Fail Bubbles appeared on the surface of the massive lake in the middle of the cave. The kraken shot up, roaring and failing its limbs. Razor glanced around and barked orders. ¡°Tanks, defensive positions!¡± The tanks went ahead of Razor, spread out, and lifted their shields. ¡°Kaz, provoke on my signal!¡± ¡°Got it,¡± Kaz replied. Razor turned to Rika and the other support. ¡°Supports, you¡¯re backline! You know your job!¡± ¡°Yep!¡± Rika backed up with her partner until they reached the cave wall far away from the action. ¡°DPSers!¡± Razor called to Felix and the rest. ¡°Yeah, yeah, we know. Quit yelling.¡± Felix walked over to Razor with the halberd guy. The archers stood back, nearer to the supports, bows taut with magical arrows. Razor was confident. Kiyomi couldn¡¯t wait until he failed¡ªuntil they all failed. ¡°You guys good over there?¡± ¡°Shut up! You¡¯re useless!¡± Felix snapped then looked back at the kraken. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. I am useless.¡± Soooo useless. ¡°Easy, man,¡± Kaz said to Felix behind him. ¡°Don¡¯t take her side on this!¡± Felix yelled at him next. ¡°Come on, guys, no fighting.¡± Rika frowned. ¡°Just do your best!¡± Kaz didn¡¯t reply and focused on his job. ¡°First, we¡¯ll deal with the tentacles!¡± Razor, coated in an electric aura, raced towards a giant, flailing tentacle. The archers fired at the airborne tentacles, leaving little marks on them. The halberd-wielder and Felix hacked and slashed at the tentacles closest to the ground where they could reach on one side of the cave away from everyone else. Rika and the other support constantly scanned the room and quietly cast their spells on the tanks and DPSers to try and make things a little easier for them. They gave out buffs and heals to keep things smooth. Razor by far was doing the most damage. And his speed was nothing to sneeze at. He jumped from tentacle to tentacle, dodging attacks and jumping out of the way when the tentacles came at him. With only a few quick stabs on each tentacle, his DoTs took effect: poison, bleeding, and occasional passive electric damage from being grazed by his dagger. ¡°Kaz!¡± he called to Kaz on the ground below while he himself landed on the kraken¡¯s head. ¡°PROVOKE!¡± Kaz shouted. The kraken turned to Kaz. All the tentacles came at him. Rika cast a spell to cover him in a dark aura just in time before they hit. The second and third tanks rushed over to help block the violent swinging of the tentacles. And this would be a tricky part. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The tentacles were too many and came from every direction. They couldn¡¯t block them all. They put up forcefields, but not even those lasted long. Ultimately, they couldn¡¯t find an opening to fend off the tentacles effectively. And once the shields broke, Kaz took a solid hit to the head. He stumbled forward and fell on his face. ¡°What the FUCK WAS THAT?!¡± Rika yelled at Kaz who was still down on the ground. The other two tanks glanced behind them at Rika to comment, and that was their biggest mistake. Tentacles wrapped around them, lifted them into the air, and swung them around a few times then bashed them into the cave wall over and over¡­ ¡°Seriously?!¡± Rika went on. Meanwhile, Razor stayed focused and plunged his dagger down into the kraken¡¯s head and sent a surge of electricity into it. The kraken flung the tanks into the wall, screamed, and shook its head, trying to shake Razor off. Razor pulled out his dagger and jumped off. The archers continued shooting arrows at any openings. They knew better than to fuel Rika¡¯s frustration. All three of the tanks had 0 HP. ¡°You guys are USELESS! You can¡¯t tank a few hits for the team?!¡± ¡°Not now, Rika!¡± One of the archers turned around and snapped at her at last. ¡°What?! You¡¯re gonna defend their useless asses?!¡± And the bickering between her, the other support, and the two archers began¡­ Felix and the halberd guy were too busy way up front by the kraken to care about anything else. Razor continued his flawless, graceful movements. Not a single Glancing Hit. Kiyomi envied him. Between Razor, the halberd guy, and Felix, they held their ground and whittled down the kraken¡¯s health, though they still had a lot of damage to do before getting it down to 70% HP for the next phase. And now that the other tentacles were free without a target, they attacked them. Not even Razor could dodge all of them, plus his stamina bar was low. In an instant, all three of them got hit by at least 8 tentacles. The tentacles knocked them flat on their backs. Their HP bars dropped to 0. Kiyomi wouldn¡¯t bother calling to Rika and the rest. Those four were too caught up in their quarrel to notice the tentacles coming at them. The tentacles rammed them into the wall. Other tentacles hammered them repeatedly into the ground, even though the initial hit had already killed them. They didn¡¯t get up. No one got up. Kiyomi rose from her chair and sighed. She would do what she could with her lousy Accuracy. ~~~ The falling airship was approaching the seashore, just outside the warzone. Sako wiped away the running blood from the side of her head with the back of her hand as she clung to the cabin door handle. More blood ran down. Her HP bar dwindled at around 70%. She pulled a Recovery Potion from her pocket. An item wasn''t physically in her pocket unless she wanted to retrieve something in particular. She drank it. The empty bottle vanished. The bleeding cut on her temple along with the blood on the side of her face disappeared, and her headache stopped. While still holding onto her sword fastened into the tilted deck to prevent her from sliding across it, Le Francia reached into her inner pocket, pulled out a blue bottle, pulled the cork off with her teeth, and gulped it down. Her empty MP bar filled back up to max. After tossing the bottle on the deck where it then rolled across, she mumbled something Sako didn¡¯t catch. A spell. Her eyes glowed blue. The gravity around the ship shifted. The air pressure calmed, and the ship gradually straightened itself. Everything began to float up from the deck. SPLASH! Everything fell on the deck. Sako landed on her feet. The ship landed in the water and rocked for a minute then steadied. Le Francia pulled her sword from the deck, which was brimming with magical energy again. A portal opened next to her. She went towards it. ¡°Wait!¡± Chelsea called after her. She was just getting to her feet. Le Francia paused but didn¡¯t turn to face her. ¡°We will converse another time, captain. I have a particularly annoying matter to address.¡± She stepped into the portal. The portal shut. Chances were, she was going to find who had been responsible for the magic outage. The unconscious girl by Sako¡¯s feet hadn¡¯t woken up yet. After a moment of silence, Sako spoke. ¡°What now?¡± ¡°Help me find the princess. King Lancester wants her back inside.¡± Chelsea replied. ¡°Right.¡± Sako nodded. They flew off the ship and headed to the shore. Chapter 44-Duo Team Fanatic. A white aura erupted from Kiyomi¡¯s body. The aura and surrounding sparkles were so bright that the whole cave lit up. All of the kraken¡¯s tentacles came at her at once, but they bounced off her forcefield while she walked towards Razor. She kneeled beside him, pulled down his scarf to expose his mouth, opened it with her fingers, and poured the Recovery Potion into it. The tentacles didn¡¯t stop bashing her forcefield around them, but she ignored the attacks and the kraken¡¯s roars. After a few moments, Razor opened his eyes slowly. ¡°Listen. We¡¯re going to do this. You and me.¡± ¡°What?... How?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll use Skill Share, then you share your skills with me.¡± Kiyomi would take the lead and duo with Razor, since everyone fucked up. She wouldn¡¯t bother reviving the rest. They would get in the way. ¡°We¡¯ll coordinate our electric attacks and alternate aggro when needed.¡± Which meant Kiyomi would hold the kraken¡¯s aggression for a while, then Razor would hold it for another while, and they would keep taking turns. Razor slowly sat up, staring at her skeptically. ¡°You know, the fact that I¡¯m holding off all these tentacles means I¡¯m capable, don¡¯t you think so?¡± The tentacles around them continued their relentless assault on Kiyomi¡¯s shield. ¡°Fine. Use my skills.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll hold aggro first. Cut off the tentacles.¡± He nodded. When she dropped her shield, he dashed off. Kiyomi got an idea but was unsure if it would work. Hopefully, she would have the mental fortitude for this. She let go of her staff. It floated out of the way. With open arms, she concentrated on the tentacles swinging towards her. She mentally counted them then formed fists tightly as if gripping something imaginary. They froze midair. She had locked them in a solid, psychokinetic grip. They felt hefty and squishy, but as long as she maintained concentration, she could keep them still. Razor jumped from tentacle to tentacle, severing them with a long, electric blade. The screeching kraken tried to wiggle its remaining limbs free from Kiyomi''s grip, but her strength prevailed and locked them in place. If she and Razor did this smoothly, they might not need a Stagger. His DoTs wouldn''t stagger anyway, and with his numerous, swift but small hits, the stagger potential was low. This meant that if they wanted a Stagger, it would be up to Kiyomi, but for one person to stagger such a huge target was a tall task. And then Glancing Hits¡­ Oh boy¡­ Razor sliced off the last of the limbs. Kiyomi released her mental grip and lowered her arms, dropping the severed parts on the ground. Without limbs to retaliate, it was vulnerable. ¡°Hard DPS!¡± She grabbed her floating staff and cast Fanatic on Razor. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Simultaneously, they activated Overcharge. They had the same idea. Electricity erupted out of Kiyomi. Her hat and robe morphed into a gel-like, semi-solid Light Armor. She had on a half helmet made of electricity with constantly moving electrical streaks like her armor. The helmet came down the sides of her head and left her face exposed. She mentally summoned her stats before her eyes. From the numbers, her Defense had dropped by half, but her Attack Power had doubled. Her staff went back to her inventory. Instead of fingers, she had large, purple claws that nearly reached the ground. They too sparked with electricity. She sprinted forward and sprang high into the air with the help of an electric burst under her shoes. She came down onto the kraken¡¯s head next to Razor with an outstretched hand and sank a clawed hand into it. Razor stabbed his claws into the area below him repeatedly. The kraken shrieked and fidgeted. Kiyomi sailed across the kraken in a streak of electricity, dragging her claws along its skin and leaving glowing, purple lines. She stopped midair and thrust her claws against the skin on the side of its head only for them to slide sideways as if it were a slippery surface. The white words she had hoped she could avoid popped up: GLANCING HIT. She tried again. GLANCING HIT. Again. GLANCING HIT. Three in a row? Her staff¡¯s Accuracy had transferred to her claws, since she was still in a way wielding it in order to use Skill Share to borrow Razor¡¯s Overcharge. The damage numbers were miniscule. That 70 felt more like 50. Stupid RNG. She continued stabbing away at the skin, alternating hands. Finally, she got in a long chain of consecutive hits. This would take a few minutes though, especially because of the Glancing Hits. At least they had time. Phase 2 wasn¡¯t a DPS race. ~~~ Kingdom of Lamentine, the Capital, Town Square A portal opened in the middle of a street. A carriage headed its way. Le Francia stepped out of the portal. ¡°OI! YOU¡¯S IN THE WAY, LADY!¡± The driver yanked his reins, trying to stop the horse from running into her. The horse whinnied loudly, but it was too late. She looked around and paid no mind to the irrelevance. Her floating sword by her radiated light. Two portals appeared on either side of her. The horse and carriage ran into the portal between them and emerged through the next portal on her opposite side, resuming its trip down the street. Now for the palace. She marched in the direction of the palace with her loyal sword hovering behind her. The massive estate with elegant gates was hard to miss. And she had been here years ago as an ambassador to form a peace treaty, which promptly crumbled in mere months. King Ascalon had dared to disrupt her efforts with a magic-draining device: the Chiming Bell. She had already found and snatched it from the culprit in the warzone before she had gotten here. But possessing it hardly quelled her annoyance. He had pulled a foul tactic, and so, he deserved nothing but the wrath of her blade. It would be unwise to continue holding back. She was done with the role of a cautious, astute mouse. Rushing headlong to land a decisive strike at the most critical point would be most effective. And then, she hoped, Lamentine¡¯s next head would be more sensible. If the other countries came after her in hot vengeance, so be it. She despised the kingdom for the political hostilities it had demonstrated over the course of recent years. Refusing a fair share of the nearby natural resources, including the mines, coercing neighboring countries into imposing unreasonably high tariffs against Aria for its stubbornness, manipulating the international market, and bribing the Arts and Trades Commission into overlooking their embezzlements of international loans were only a few of its crimes. She had to end this now for her own sake and sanity. Although, she was already gaining suspicious looks from the guards scattered about the streets. They were scanty as expected. Everyone was focused on the war, and so, they were presumably supporting it in whatever way they could. Even if a thousand adversaries came at her, she wouldn¡¯t submit. The only solution left was violence. Chapter 45-Bloodlust After drinking mana potions to recover their MPs, Sako and Chelsea flew over the battlefield. The blackhole had disappeared because of the magic outage, so that problem was fixed. Now Sako was following Chelsea as she searched for the princess while holding the girl from earlier in her arms. They still didn¡¯t know where that loud ding had come from. Some remaining soldiers surprisingly still had the resolve and energy: they were locked in weak scuffles with their injuries and fatigue, tripping and stumbling over one another. In a nearby tower, wizards sipped potions, getting their MPs back up before shooting from their safe spots again. They resumed firing projectiles across the field at unsuspecting enemy troops. Sako and Chelsea landed next to Princess Vanescka on the field once they spotted her and her attendant¡­ who probably needed a doctor, since she was lying face down on the grass. She wasn¡¯t moving. Luckily, they were far away from the battles. ¡°What happened?!¡± Chelsea gawked at the princess¡¯ attendant. ¡°She just had a bit too much milk. She¡¯ll be fine.¡± Princess Vanescka waved her hand dismissively. Chelsea looked unconvinced but moved on anyway. ¡°Your father wants you back at the palace.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m bored out here anyway, and Enya isn¡¯t exactly helping. She¡¯s pretty useless right now.¡± Chelsea stared at the princess quizzically. ¡°She¡­ forced me to drink too much¡­ cold¡­¡± Enya mumbled from the ground and couldn¡¯t even lift her head. Chelsea¡¯s stare changed to an accusatory one. ¡°What?¡± Princess Vanescka shrugged. ¡°Milk¡¯s good for you.¡± ¡°But¡­ she made me fetch more¡­ from¡­ kitchen¡­ A lot more¡­¡± ¡°Well, duh. I wanted different flavors to taste.¡± Princess Vanescka looked down at Enya at her feet. Chelsea raised her brow. ¡°Did you make her drink all that milk?¡± ¡°Of course not! I drank some.¡± Princess Vanescka folded her arms in defiance. ¡°You mean¡­ barely half a mouthful from each glass,¡± Enya weakly corrected her with a mumble. ¡°I¡­ just changed my mind and got tired of the rest¡­ and yeah¡­¡± Princess Vanescka tried to find the right words to counter. Chelsea spotted a tray not too far away on the grass with at least 10 empty glasses on it. Shock hit Sako¡¯s stomach once she saw them too. Whoa, that¡¯s a lot. Chelsea sighed, unsurprised. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Chelsea knew better than to waste time arguing. She seemed quite used to this. ¡°I have a single-use teleporter if you want,¡± Sako handed Chelsea a teleporter¡ªcourtesy of Kiyomi. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Chelsea asked. ¡°Yeah, I can get around just fine. It¡¯s better if you take it, especially since Enya can¡¯t move.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± She smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll take custody of that girl if you¡¯re okay with that.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Sako handed the girl over to Chelsea. Chelsea put her over one side of her shoulder. Sako hadn¡¯t bothered using a Recovery Potion on the girl in her arms for fear of waking her because if she woke, she would be trouble. Chelsea crushed the Teleport Gem in her hand. A magic circle appeared under their feet. ¡°Thanks for helping,¡± Chelsea said. ¡°I have a feeling Le Francia¡¯s at the capital trying to wrap it up. See if you can catch up with her and stop her from doing anything rash.¡± ¡°Thanks, will do!¡± Sako replied. ¡°See ya, girlie. Drop by sometime. You would be useful to me.¡± Princess Vanescka had her hands on her hips as if she were a boss. She had a cool but still authoritative aura despite being the smallest. Sunglasses would suit her. Sako waved. The four of them, along with the tray, teleported away in a flash of light. She opened her interface and pulled up her map to find the capital. She had one Stamina Potion left, so she could afford to sprint all the way there. ~~~ Kingdom of Lamentine, the Capital, North of the Town Square, the Palace Gates As Le Francia neared to the gates, a voice called from behind her. ¡°You there! Let¡¯s see your ID!¡± Footsteps came at her. The four armored guards at the gate in front noticed the approaching guards behind her. That fact alone warranted their suspicions. They drew their swords. Two scattered. The six behind her spaced out evenly and blocked her exit, completing the circle to lock her in. She wasn¡¯t surprised as she hadn¡¯t made any effort to conceal her abnormal magical presence. ¡°ID!¡± A portal appeared. Rather than stopping, she stepped into the portal before her and stepped out of another portal on the opposite side of the gates, heading to the large double doors. ¡°QUICKLY! ALERT THE ELITES!¡± ¡°RIGHT!¡± Beyond the gates behind her, some guards fled the scene to fetch reinforcements; the rest swung open the gates and stormed in, heading for the intruder. Le Francia took hold of her floating sword with one hand. VROOSH! One poke at the doors was all it took for them to vanish along with a huge chunk of the wall that had supported them. Her sword had sent the missing chunk to another dimension. In the hall were a few frozen and alarmed maids. The footsteps behind gradually became louder as the guards gave chase. She turned to face her pursuers. It would be wise to subdue these guards before the reinforcements arrived. Once she pointed her sword skywards, a dark portal appeared above the guards. They screamed while the portal sucked them up into the air and swallowed them then shut. Le Francia turned back to the palace again and stepped inside. She looked at a nearby trembling maid. ¡°Where is the king?¡± ¡°W-what business have you with His M-Majesty?¡± Her eyes were wide as she shook like a leaf in the wind. She aimed her sword at the maid. ¡°You will show me the way.¡± The maid squeaked and hurried across the room. ¡°Right this way!¡± The rest of the maids in the room dared not to move as Le Francia traversed the room. The maid guided her through a few rooms before she reached a set of double doors. ¡°Leave now.¡± Le Francia was satisfied. ¡°Tell no one of this.¡± The maid bowed and scurried off down the hall. With mental effort, the doors caved in under an invisible pressure and collapsed in pieces on the floor. And what lay beyond the entrance on the throne across the room was her despicable adversary. Chapter 46-Lightning Spear! Floating before the kraken, Kiyomi lunged a Lightning Spear into its face. The tip poked out from the back of its head. Its HP bar dropped to 70%. In order to hold things, she had to swap her finger claws for her actual hands. The cave shook and water tentacles shot up from the ground, scattered around the cave. Kiyomi turned around and pointed another Spear to shoot a continuous electric current from the tip and swung it halfway around the room¡ª180 degrees along the west side. Razor, still standing atop the kraken¡¯s head, shot Lightning Balls from his dagger and finished off the rest on the east side They refocused their attention to the kraken and landed a long barrage of attacks. Kiyomi continuously slashed it with the Spear, even with the occasional Glancing Hits. Once the HP bar fell to 40%, the kraken roared even louder. The cave shook again and more tentacles sprang up and replaced the destroyed ones. Kiyomi and Razor had to be quicker this time because of the increased attack speed. While the tentacles swung towards them to strike, they repeated their moves: swipes with the Spear¡¯s electric current and electric Balls shot from his dagger. Then they hit the kraken again with swift, relentless strikes. After the HP bar hit the 10% mark and another roar, Razor hopped off the kraken¡¯s head as it sank underwater. Kiyomi flew all the way back from the water to the south wall. Razor ran and followed suit. They made it just in time to avoid the giant water tornadoes as they burst out of the water. A freezing spell would be nice, but neither of them had that. When the tornadoes died down and fell back into the water, a smaller kraken emerged. Kiyomi flung the Lightning Spear at it. The Spear dissolved when it connected. A low damage number popped up along with two words above it: GLANCING HIT. She grunted. Razor observed her failure next to her but didn¡¯t comment. She couldn¡¯t tell what he was thinking. He lifted his hand over his head as if he held something invisible. ¡°Lightning Spear!¡± A Lightning Spear materialized in his hand. That was the ability she had used from his arsenal. He flung the Spear. It pierced the kraken and went right through, leaving a large, clean hole with a large chunk of its HP gone now. Of course he could do it better. Of course. She wondered if he had copied her simply to show her up. She couldn¡¯t read his expression with his scarf covering his mouth and nose. The kraken screeched and stretched its tentacles across the cave towards them. They were long, so they could reach anywhere in the cave. Because Razor had done a higher damage, the kraken would focus on him, so the next tactic was to switch aggro to Kiyomi by doing greater damage to give him another window of time for more damage. Actually, with her Glancing Hits, she feared that tactic might fail, so she would do the same thing with the previous kraken. ¡°Same as before. I¡¯ll hold the tentacles and you attack.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Razor nodded. Once Kiyomi reached her hands out and locked the tentacles into place with a psychokinetic grip, Razor went for it. ¡°Lightning Spear!¡± He flung it and made another hole in the kraken. The kraken screamed. ¡°Lightning Spear!¡± He threw. Another hole. More screaming. ¡°Lightning Spear!¡± Another hole. Shrieking filled the cave. ¡°Lightning Spear!¡± Hole. Shrieking. ¡°Lightning Spear! Lightning Spear! Lightning Spear! Lightning Spear!...¡± Damn, he was really exploiting this method because of his short cooldown and large mana pool. Kiyomi¡¯s Fanatic boosted his stats, including Intellect, which increased his MP capacity. Lightning Spear was a minor, basic spell, hence the short cooldown, but when paired with Fanatic, Overcharge, and elemental advantage, you could easily cheese through targets with the silly damage. By now, the kraken was riddled with holes and on the verge of death. Kiyomi let it go and lowered her hands. ¡°Lightning Spear!¡± Razor threw one more. Once it struck the kraken, the kraken turned limp, leaning over, and fell back into the lake with a splash. The Colossal Kraken resurfaced. Its HP bar was back up to 50%. Its tentacles had also regenerated. This time, they both focused on damage and improvised, following their combat intuition rather than using a plan. They went heavy on the Spears, Claws, and other electric attacks while scattering. Whenever tentacles approached, they slashed them off with electric blades. Its HP bar finally hit the 5% mark. A second bar came up under the HP bar: 0 / 50 000. One toss of a Lightning Spear from Razor filled it up instantly. The kraken froze, stunned with its mouth open. ¡°I¡¯ll dive.¡± Kiyomi had 10 seconds to retrieve the thunder elemental ore. Fanatic gave her the Agility she needed. ¡°Okay,¡± Razor replied. She rushed to the lake, jumped in, and swam down while holding her breath. Little lights lit the bottom of the lake, which let her see everything clearly. The glowing cores were scattered along the floor. Kiminaru was right below her, sleeping. The closest core was on his head. The rest were some distance away. She would take the risk and get the one on his head. The moment she grabbed the core, he opened his eyes and looked up at her. How dare you! She heard his bellowing voice in her mind. That was her cue to run. He opened his mouth to eat her, but she teleported out of the lake, now floating above the kraken, and dropped the glowing, purple cube into its mouth. She swayed her staff and conjured her forcefield as the core¡¯s energy released and exploded inside the kraken. The kraken blew up. Its pieces flew in every direction. Razor had retreated some distance back. For now, the lake was calm. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Kiminaru¡¯s voice echoed throughout the cavern. Lots of naga warriors and naga sorcerers emerged to the lake¡¯s surface and began swimming out of the water to approach them. Likely 200 as she had read. Kiyomi and Razor each conjured up a Lightning Spear, pointed it, and shot out an electric current, sweeping it across the room as they had done before. They backed away from the approaching nagas as they thinned the numbers. The air was gradually turning colder and colder. Kiyomi noticed her stats dropping, but it didn¡¯t make sense to drink a Recovery Potion; her stats would drop again. Their damage numbers were dropping significantly. A 25% stat loss was noticeable but that was where Fanatic shone: even with 25% less damage, the numbers were still far bigger than any average hit. ¡°Looks like Fanatic is gonna carry us.¡± ¡°I hope so,¡± Razor replied. He didn¡¯t seem surprised, probably saving his questions until after the raid. As they killed the last few nagas, massive balls of water flew up from the lake and headed towards them. Kiyomi wiggled her staff and summoned her shield around them as a dome. The water balls hit and splashed around them. She dispelled her dome with another wiggle. Then the hydra came. It broke through the west wall. Chapter 47-Hydra Phase A large, red bar appeared above the ten-headed hydra: 4 000 000. Its deafening roar shook the cavern. 10 copies of itself appeared around the room near the walls, surrounding Kiyomi and Razor. They retreated to the center of the cave and stood next to the lake and away from the hydras. Since the copies were immune to damage, there wasn¡¯t any point attacking them. They couldn¡¯t afford to mess up here. Kiyomi conjured her dome around Razor and herself¡ªshe could shape her forcefield how she liked. All the hydras shot. Their water projectiles splashed off her shield. ¡°I got an idea.¡± Razor eyed the copies. ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± ¡°You distract the copies. I¡¯ll handle the real one.¡± Kiyomi thought for a moment and worked it out in her head. Yes, that could work. ¡°Alright. Focus on attacks. I¡¯ll cover you and do the stuns.¡± By stunning one mirage, the rest would attack her. She would hold aggro that way. Razor and the real hydra would fight their own battle. ¡°Okay.¡± Kiyomi waited a few seconds after the projectiles hit her shield and lowered it. Razor dashed out and headed to the wall where the real hydra had crashed through. Some of the mirages looked at Razor, about to shoot again. She released her staff and mentally moved it while it hovered. With her two hands stretched forward, she made fists and brought them together side by side. Shizunari. She moved her fists apart, making a dagger between them the further she separated them. At full length, she took the floating blade by the hilt in one hand. Shizunari was a long dagger that was especially good for stuns based on its description. But its damage was miniscule. Before any mirage shot at Razor, Kiyomi rushed to the opposite side of the cave and plunged her blade into a hydra copy. ZZZZT. The blade sent an electric spark through it. It flinched at the hit, lowered its heads, and froze as if it had fallen asleep. All the other hydras turned their heads and glared at Kiyomi. Kiyomi put up her dome in time to block the barrage of water attacks from their mouths. Not a second passed between hits. All she had to do was stun occasionally and tank the hits. She would glance from the other mirages to the stunned one to make sure to stun it again when it recovered. Just opening a small hole in her barrier to poke the mirage a few times to re-stun it was a good move. Stun, block, wait, repeat. Water Cannon, Water Surge, Water Barrage. Didn¡¯t make a difference. Everything splashed off her dome. Once in a while though, she had to move to another hydra because of the Stun Resistance that had built up in the previous mirage she had stunned repeatedly. She had the easy part. Razor had to focus on the real hydra¡ª10 heads¡ªand watch out for the Water Barrage. Still, his heightened Agility and Dexterity should help him evade. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ~~~ Sako sprinted through the gates of the capital and stopped in the town square, panting. That had been a big distance to run. She pulled her Stamina Potion from her pocket and gulped it down. Once she emptied it and refilled her stamina bar, the empty bottle vanished. Guards ran about, giving orders to one another. A colorful team of geared-up combatants ran past her and headed to the palace gates. Their levels were higher than the average guard around. Sako sneaked behind them, following discreetly. They stormed into the palace. One looked at the rest behind him. ¡°Find her!¡± ¡°On it, chief,¡± one of the rest said, and they scattered. She followed behind two of them as they moved through the palace. They ended up at two broken-down double doors that were in pieces on the floor. The two armored, bulky men marched in. Sako slipped in after them. ¡°Let him go! You''ll face us now!¡± One of them scowled to the figure who was standing across the room by the throne, holding a man by the neck with an arm. A bloodied crown was at her feet. Dead guards littered the room. Sako hid in a corner behind a pillar in the corner at the back as they moved a bit closer to the figure. The figure in her black robe turned her head to the men. ¡°You''re far too late.¡± She flung her victim''s corpse aside. Blood pooled out of him. Shock and fear struck the two men. That took Sako by surprise too. ¡°What have you done to our king?!¡± One of them quivered in anger. ¡°Are you honestly too stupid to figure it out? I can¡¯t tell.¡± Le Francia was calm. ¡°You won''t be leaving here alive! We¡¯ll decapitate you here and now and leave your flesh and bones to rot in the graveyard where vultures will pick you clean in the sun until you¡¯re an unsightly, reeking mess. They¡¯ll pluck out your eyes and bury you in dung for months.¡± One man drew his heavy greatsword. Wow, pretty detailed stuff there, pal, calm down. Sako shivered and tried not to imagine it. The other man pointed his spear, which sparked with magical energy. A portal opened behind Le Francia. She turned her back to them, about to go in. ¡°You won''t get away!¡± The spearman threw his spear at Le Francia. Le Francia¡¯s floating sword moved behind her and knocked it away. ¡°Tch!¡± The man scowled. Both men charged at her. She put one foot in the portal then the next and disappeared. The portal began closing. Sako made a beeline for the portal and dived in too just in time before the portal closed. She would rather not go through the trouble of trying to find a Teleport Gate somewhere else in the capital. Plus, chances were that these men would be hostile to her if she stuck around. And running all the way back wouldn¡¯t be fun. ~~~ The portal opened in a hallway. Le Francia stepped out. Sako flew out and landed on her face next to her. ¡°Ow!¡± They were back in Aria at the palace. She kept walking, ignoring Sako¡¯s presence. Sako recovered and got to her feet. ¡°Wait! I have questions!¡± So many questions. Le Francia continued her steps down the corridor. ¡°Can you at least talk to me?¡± She called after her. Le Francia stopped, back still turned to Sako. ¡°Begone. I do not converse with commoners.¡± She resumed walking. Sako was defeated, unsure of how to continue the conversation. She could tell that begging wouldn¡¯t help. Maybe Le Francia would come around later. She would leave her be for now and check on the prisoner. But which way to go? Sako glanced at both ends of the long corridor then went to the end opposite to Le Francia. If she wandered around enough, she should meet someone who could help her navigate. Chapter 48-Final Stand, I Their Overcharge was still active. A small hole in Kiyomi¡¯s dome opened, enough to push the dagger through. She poked the mirage beside her. ZZZT! An electric spark ran up its body, and it froze. Another stun. The other clones scattered around the cave spat water at her relentlessly, like a heavy downpour of rain. On the far side of the cave, where Razor was tackling the real hydra, he was a glowing, purple blur. He bounced from head to head to head to head, maintaining his high speed. Although his hits were light, each having little damage, they were quick and numerous. All his hits were adding up. His DoTs were whittling down the heads¡¯ HP bars simultaneously while the heads spat water at him. Whenever the Water Barrages came, he paused his attacks and put up a bubble-shaped forcefield¡ªhe would use Kiyomi¡¯s Forcefield skill through her Skill Share. As minutes passed, each head drooped down as its HP zeroed. Once Razor killed the tenth head, all the heads rose back up and roared. Now he had to cut down that 4 million HP on its body. He continued his moves as before: jumping, jabbing, slashing, dodging¡­ When the hydra¡¯s body HP bar hit 0, Razor jumped out of the way, avoiding being crushed as the hydra fell over on its stomach. The mirages faded away and the cavern turned quiet. Kiyomi took down her forcefield. ¡°Nice job.¡± Razor nodded from across the cave. He kept his combat stance as he eyed the lake¡ªa dagger in each hand raised defensively. She raised her staff at the ready too. Almost done. Homestretch. Just the giant, talking snake left. A familiar voice sounded everywhere. ¡°Amusing, but you are still no match for me.¡± Kiminaru¡¯s head popped out of the lake and rose all the way up until it nearly touched the ceiling. Nagas also began sliding out of the water. He shot his tongue toward Kiyomi, since she was closer to him. Kiyomi made a big leap back and avoided it. His tongue struck the ground where she had stood and left a crater before retracting into his mouth. Razor would focus on the nagas, and Kiyomi would find a way to break Kiminaru¡¯s water armor. ¡°WEAPON ART: SHOCKWAVE!¡± He plunged his daggers into the ground and dispersed a shockwave that spread across a wide area, killing most of the nagas¡ªthe same method he had done in the first phase. While he ran around, finishing off the rest with slashes, Kiyomi put up her barrier and skimmed through Razor¡¯s list of abilities on her holoscreen. She couldn¡¯t spam Lightning Spear while blocking Kiminaru¡¯s attacks. Even from blocking and being within close proximity, he hit like a truck: she felt the hits and heavy vibrations against her shield. Her shield renewed every few seconds, which was why she could tank the hits continuously. And it burned through her MP bit by bit, but she had plenty. Something with a lot of impact. More impact meant more Stagger potential. Ice spells weren¡¯t an option¡­ Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. She found one:
Skills Description Mastery (%)
Discharge Channel electrical energy inside you for 20 seconds before releasing a devastating, unidirectional streak of lightning through your selected limb (hand or foot). 90
20 seconds was a long time. Thankfully, she could use a skill while maintaining her shield. She would charge the skill, drop her barrier, and throw it. She tapped a button to close the holoscreen and began charging the energy in her free hand¡ªshe had her staff in one hand. ¡°Stun in 20 sec!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Razor killed the last few nagas, summoned Shizunari, and waited while Kiyomi held aggro. Kiyomi tanked Kiminaru¡¯s explosive water projectiles it spat from its mouth. Her charging hand vibrated as the energy built up in it. At 20, he dashed to Kiminaru. He was too far away to be in the attacks¡¯ AOE,¡ªopposite to where Kiminaru was facing¡ªso he didn¡¯t need to dodge. Once he sank his daggers a few times into its side, Kiminaru flinched, went limp and fell over. Before Kiyomi dropped her forcefield, huge water balls from the lake rose up in the air. Razor put up a barrier. They all fell down and splashed everywhere. She dropped her barrier, stretched her hand forward, and fired at his head. As Kiminaru recovered and got up, the lightning struck him. The word STAGGERED popped up by his head, and he fell over again. They had 30 seconds. They rushed their attacks in a relentless barrage, aiming to get his HP bar down to 7 mil. Kiyomi spammed Lightning Spears. If it ain¡¯t broke, don¡¯t fix it. No time to think of another spell. Razor got in close and did a flurry of swift, melee attacks with his daggers, applying his DoTs. In 15 seconds, Kiminaru¡¯s armor and helmet cracked and burst, but they couldn¡¯t deplete the HP in time. After 30 seconds, he rose and towered over them again. He rotated and sprayed water back and forth onto them like a fire hose. They erected their forcefields. Thank God for Kiyomi¡¯s shield. It made defending much easier. Kiminaru focused on Razor, raining down his attacks on Razor¡¯s shield, which couldn¡¯t give Razor an opening to strike. He was stuck defending, so Kiyomi would attack next. Kiyomi lowered her shield, charged another Discharge and zapped Kiminaru. It ate a chunk of his HP but didn¡¯t stagger. The high damage caused Kiminaru to turn around and start attacking her. She put up her shield just in time to block the assault. ¡°Again!¡± Now free from the attacks, Razor lowered his shield, moved in, and stabbed Kiminaru with Shizunari again and again and again¡­ ¡°It won¡¯t be easy! He has Stun Resistance!¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright. Keep going!¡± They just needed one more stun. Big mobs typically had Stun Resistance, meaning every time you stunned, its resistance to stuns and binds increased. The resistance made it harder to stun the next time. This was probably to prevent players from cheesing through everything with stuns. Eventually, Kiminaru fell down with a thud again. His recovery would be quicker, so they had to make this count. She dropped her shield, switched to electric claws, and went in to deal melee attacks. Razor copied. When Kiminaru rose back up, Kiyomi landed another hit with a claw. That hit knocked his HP to 7 mil. And now for the tidal waves¡­ Chapter 49-Final Stand, II ¡°You are persistent.¡± Not a second passed before the tidal waves sprang up from the lake around Kiminaru and crashed down onto Kiyomi and Razor. They held their positions inside their shields and waited for the waves to stop. This was a simple part. When the waves subsided, they resumed their attacks and did what they had done before: alternating aggro, stunning, and staggering. Kiminaru¡¯s HP bar above his head sank to 5 mil. ¡°You are about to see true power!¡± This wouldn¡¯t be so simple. ¡°You have Shockwave?!¡± Kiyomi shouted at Razor standing on the opposite side of Kiminaru. ¡°Still on cooldown!¡± he shouted back. ¡°Ideas?¡± ¡°Use your spells! You shouldn¡¯t need high Accuracy against the pillars!¡± In that case¡­ Numerous pillars shot up around the room.
Skills Description Mastery (%)
Volley of Shadows, Tier 100 Launch a volley of 100 shadows from your shadow to deal substantial damage, ignoring Defense and all damage reductions. Always crits against Light targets. Receives a 100% Critical Damage boost. The cooldown is reset if the target is killed. Will not activate if your shadow is not present. Note: Each shadow from the volley hits once. Therefore, the ability hits 100 times. 100
Her staff sank into her shadow, freeing her hand while small shadows rose out of her shadow. She stretched her hands upwards above her head, moving the shadows to the ceiling then crossed her hands, making an X. The shadows scattered and flew everywhere at once. In one second, each shadow destroyed a pillar in one hit. This reset her ability, so she uncrossed her hands. With that, the airborne shadows destroyed the rest in another second. The ability reset again, so she pointed one hand at Kiminaru and threw them at him. About a third of them landed solid hits. The rest splashed against his skin like water. GLANCING HIT. GLANCING HIT. GLANCING HIT. GLANCING HIT. GLANCING HIT. GLANCING HIT. GLANCING HIT. GLANCING HIT¡­ He didn¡¯t even flinch. She sighed and resummoned her staff from her shadow below her. Shadow Eater would be useless here. A blue, glowing aura surrounded him. His attacks would be heavier. Another stun would be great here, but they had already used up their chances. Trying to stun again at this point would be too difficult and wouldn¡¯t be worth the effort. Kiyomi and Razor put up their shields while sharks jumped out of the lake at them. She summoned an MP Potion and drank. Her MP bar refilled. The empty bottle vanished Razor did the same. Once the sharks bounced off and fell on the floor, she lowered her shield, pointed a hand, and fired an electric spark that went from one to another and spread until the spark zapped all of them. They disintegrated. Kiminaru opened his mouth wide, about to fire something at her. Oh, crap¡­ Blocking attacks now was impractical, since his base damage just quintupled, and especially with that 25% stat reduction. And considering the crit damage to multiply his damage on crit hits¡­ She couldn¡¯t do it. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Need another plan!¡± Razor yelled. He knew that if she went down, the whole fight would be for nothing because he wouldn¡¯t be able to finish it. ¡°I¡¯m working on it!¡± Maybe using Shadow Eater to eat the attacks¡­ She wasn¡¯t sure how well that would work. Eater, stand by the west wall and absorb all attacks from Kiminaru. Her shadow slid towards the west wall and stopped before growing into a massive, black blob the size of Kiminaru. Kiyomi was standing by the north wall, Razor, the south, and Kinimaru, center. So, Shadow Eater stood perpendicular. Kiminaru fired a Water Cannon several times larger than a hydra¡¯s. It was bigger than a hydra¡¯s head. Half way towards Kiyomi, the water stream bent sharply westwards and went into Shadow Easter¡¯s vacuum mouth. Apparently, the damage potential was irrelevant when it came to eating attacks. Kiminaru stopped and turned to Shadow Eater and opened its mouth again to fire another Cannon. That should buy them a few seconds. Kiyomi and Razor dropped their shields and closed in for more melee damage. Instead of using the claws from Overcharge, she put them away and summoned Rasenko¡ªa heavy katana that specialized in damage at the expense of speed. But she could afford to leave herself vulnerable for now. Holding it in both hands, she slashed deep into his skin. After a good bit of slashes, Kiminaru flinched, which disrupted his Cannon, so he stopped firing at Shadow Eater. They got in a few more slashes with their blades, then Kiminaru turned to Kiyomi, since she had done more damage than Razor¡¯s daggers and DoTs. ¡°Keep going!¡± Kiyomi yelled as she backed up and dismissed Rasenko from her grasp. She would act as bait again. Razor continued his damage. When Kiminaru fired at Kiyomi again, Shadow Eater sucked in the water again. But this time, he didn¡¯t bother turning to Shadow Eater, seeing the pointlessness. Instead, he lunged his head down, mouth open to eat her. She sidestepped his bite. He lifted his head and turned to Razor. Kiyomi ran back up to the lake and resummoned Rasenko for more slashes. Razor continued his attacks. Shadow Eater sucked in the Water Cannon again before it could hit Razor. Another flinch from Kiyomi¡¯s attacks. They all repeated their moves. His bar dropped to 1 mil. ¡°I will not lose to silly mortals!¡± The pillars hadn¡¯t gotten the chance to flood the cave with water, so there was none. They didn¡¯t need to worry about the absolute zero mechanic. They kept at it until Kiyomi jumped into the air, landed on Kiminaru, and plunged Rasenko into his head. She jumped off as he collapsed. ¡°I have been¡­ vanquished.¡± ¡°Good fight.¡± Razor walked over to her. ¡°Good fight.¡± Kiyomi nodded. Rasenko faded away from her hand. Many of Razor¡¯s skills involved summoning unique bladed weapons. They deactivated Overcharge. A big treasure chest that reached Kiyomi¡¯s waist appeared in front of her in sparkles, and one before Razor. She swung open the lid and scanned the contents inside. Better be good for all the effort I put in. A pile of gold: 10 million. 2 Magic Gel. An exp bubble. A full gear set: armor, accessories, and a bow. Avarincian Set. Epic grade. Kiyomi wasn¡¯t keen on it. Its element was Water too, so it wouldn¡¯t be helpful. ¡°Anything good?¡± Razor asked. ¡°Avarincian set.¡± ¡°Oh, pretty good.¡± ¡°Gonna sell it.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°My element is Dark, not Water.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡± ¡°Not for free.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll give you 1 mil for the set.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not getting scammed today, buddy.¡± His element was electric, so he didn¡¯t need it either. Plus, assassins didn¡¯t use bows. He wanted to buy it off her for a cheap price and sell it higher in the Auction House. ¡°2 mil.¡± He put up 2 fingers. ¡°50.¡± He grunted. ¡°You¡¯re out of your mind.¡± Probably. But her efforts weren¡¯t worth 2 mil. She had pulled off a feat that most couldn¡¯t. And of course, she and Razor would be keeping all the loot, since they had done the work. She squeezed the exp bubble in her hand. It broke, and she jumped from Level 221 to 250. ¡°Let¡¯s revive the rest and head back to the guild to talk about it.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± They went around the cave, kneeling down and feeding everyone else Recovery Potions. Chapter 50-High School Days, I Kiyomi didn¡¯t have any friends. Some internet friends here and there from online games she played, but no one special. She hardly talked to her neighbors who lived beside her. They were annoying and loud. There was no one her age anyway who she could bond with. At lunch time, she always sat on the school roof. If it was raining, she stayed inside and sat on the steps leading up to the roof instead. Sometimes, others came to the roof, but they rarely bothered her. For the few who tried to approach her once in a while, she sent them away. Her parents were elite spies working for the government who helped to crack down on illegal drug trades. They never told her about it, but she did a lot of snooping. They loved her, she thought, but they were always busy¡ªhardly time to talk to their only child. One day, they said they were going to the supermarket and that they loved her. They each gave her a kiss on her forehead. Then they went out and never came back. The next day, her aunt came to take her in. It was obvious that her aunt knew. She didn¡¯t look the least bit surprised, like she had expected their disappearance. And when Kiyomi asked if she knew what had happened to them, her aunt said they were on a long trip and wouldn¡¯t be coming back for a long time. They never came back. They had died. Someone had done it. Being a spy was a dangerous job after all. The spy cartoons and movies on the TV said so. She overheard her aunt on the phone too¡ªthat they had died hours apart. Her aunt, who was well-off, had her own children, so Kiyomi didn¡¯t get much of her attention. She said that she would send her to college, since she had the money, but Kiyomi didn¡¯t believe her. Her parents had lied about coming back. Her aunt had lied about them coming back. None of her aunt¡¯s kids¡ªher cousins¡ªwould play with her. People were liars. They had all lied about loving her. Her uncle was a sick drunk who hardly came to the house. And whenever he did, he offered her liquor behind her aunt¡¯s back. She tried it once but didn¡¯t like it. It was bitter. No life skills. Video game addict. Hardly any motivation to pass high school. Hell, she didn¡¯t know what she would do after she graduated¡ªif she managed to graduate. But she had a few years¡ªshe was only in her first year. One day, at lunch, she went up the stairs, opened the door, and went onto the roof. It was quiet and empty, just the way she liked it. She limped over to her usual spot in the corner¡ªshe had sprained her ankle earlier in PE. I should¡¯ve done my stretches first. The sky was full of dark, gray clouds. It was going to rain, so she would eat quickly and head back in. Minutes after she sat down and dug into her lunch, which her aunt had made, a few boys came up to the roof, talking among themselves. About ten. They were tall, some well built. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, man, I need some cash real quick,¡± the boy in the front said to another. Then they caught her and stared for a bit. ¡°Hey, got some cash I could borrow?¡± He came over with his entourage. By ¡°borrow¡±, he meant take. She knew these boys. They were in detention every time she went there. They took extra lessons to try and pass their classes. Their uniforms were crushed with their shirts out of their pants. Ties undone or not done properly. Messy hair. Typical ruffians. Kiyomi shook her head. She had some left, but she was saving up to buy another game next week. Her aunt gave her lunch money every week, a little too much. ¡°Come on, just a little bit?¡± He took a step closer. The rest surrounded her. The roof was fenced in. No one could fall off, so there was literally no escape. Kiyomi ignored them and took another bite with her chopsticks. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m talking to you.¡± He took another step. The rest of his crew approached too. They tried to look friendly, but their smiles came off as mischievous. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°I don¡¯t have any.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me.¡± He spat in her food, grabbed her by the collar, and began shaking her. She dropped her box lunch, and the food spilled onto the floor. He raised a fist and swung at her face. A black figure flew over Kiyomi in the air, landed on the fence next to her, sprang off with outstretched feet together, and jammed them into the boy¡¯s face. He flew across the roof as it landed on its feet in front of Kyiomi. A perfect dropkick. Some of the boys shrieked. ¡°Hey, you okay?!¡± Some ran over to check on his bruised face. He was out like a light. Kiyomi had hardly seen the movements. A girl stood in front of her, arms on her hips. Waist-length, white hair. Her uniform was a black blazer and matching pants. ¡°Come on, boys, again? That¡¯s like the tenth time this month.¡± The rest of the boys gawked at her. ¡°But our friend just needed some money, ma¡¯am!¡± ¡°Then he should ask the office to help his financial situation.¡± Her voice turned soft but dark. ¡°I don¡¯t tolerate bullying.¡± She checked her wristwatch. ¡° One of you will be reimbursing Ayano by the end of the week for today¡¯s lunch.¡± ¡°Y-yes, ma¡¯am!¡± they said in unison. ¡°You have 15 minutes left for lunch. Get moving. And take your friend to the nurse¡¯s office.¡± They bowed and hurried through the door and left the roof, some helping their injured friend to his feet to walk him out. Once they were alone, the girl turned around to Kiyomi. She had a few pins on her uniform above her breast. One had ¡°prefect¡± on it. Another pin had her full name: Sako Kosetsu. ¡°You¡¯re a prefect¡­ Kosetsu?¡± ¡°Yep! Sure am! A first-year like you though. And call me Sako. Are you okay? Can you make it through lunch?¡± Kiyomi nodded. She had managed to eat enough food before those boys had come along. ¡°Let¡¯s go for a walk, hm? I¡¯ll ask the janitor to clean up the mess on the floor for us. He owes me a favor anyway.¡± She nodded but was hesitant to walk on her bad foot. ¡°Can you walk okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± She didn¡¯t need her help. After a few steps, she felt a sharp pain in her ankle. She clenched her teeth and fell forward. ¡°Whoa!¡± Sako caught her. ¡°Careful. Always ask for help when you need it.¡± She helped Kiyomi stand upright again and put an arm around her as support. Kiyomi flushed. ¡°Um¡­ thanks for¡­ all this¡­¡± she whispered. She wasn¡¯t used to thanking people or people being this close to her. She¡­ kinda liked Sako¡¯s sweet scent. Her perfume was nice. ¡°Mm-hm.¡± Sako walked her carefully off the roof and down the stairs. And now they ambled through the hallways. ¡°Hey, is violence okay, especially for someone in your position?¡± Kiyomi didn¡¯t mind the violence. If anything, she preferred it, but for a prefect to use it was weird. Sako laughed nervously. ¡°I really shouldn¡¯t. They¡¯d chew me out if they found out, so keep it a secret.¡± ¡°Then why did you use it?¡± She dropped her smile. ¡°If I see someone I can help, I¡¯ll help in the most efficient way I can. And I¡¯d be lying if I said bullying has never made me angry. So, in a way, I fight to take out my pent-up anger.¡± That surprised Kiyomi. To think that someone as upstanding as this prefect could ever think like this. ¡°I have a little sister, Kimiko, in elementary school. She was always getting beat up by her classmates. Whenever she came home from school, one way or another, she was a mess, covered in dirt and stains. I was so busy with classes, clubs, sports, and tournaments that I didn''t have time to do anything about it. Everyone was always counting on me, so I couldn¡¯t just leave them hanging. Mom told her to tell the boys to stop bothering her, and she even called the school and asked them to talk things out. Everyone talked things out. The boys said they would stop, so they did. We all thought it was over. Then a week later¡­¡± Her voice faltered. Tears ran down her cheeks. ¡°One of the boys was angry and told Kimiko she should¡¯ve kept it a secret because talking only made it worse for her. I don¡¯t know what happened that day. Kimiko didn¡¯t tell me. But when she got home, she was bleeding. Mom was still at work. I was inside and I heard something at the door. When I opened it, she had collapsed in her own blood. I called the ambulance, and they took her to the hospital. But even today, she has a nasty scar on her stomach that she¡¯s too ashamed to show anyone.¡± ¡°What happened to the boys?¡± Kiyomi asked. ¡°They transferred to another school. I¡­ couldn¡¯t do¡­ anything. Nothing. That¡¯s why I do martial arts, sports, and workout¡ªso I can take action when I can. I may not always be able to help people, but when I can, I want to make sure my help counts.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± She didn¡¯t know how to make her feel better. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡­¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Got any plans after high school?¡± Kiyomi tried to change the subject. ¡°Mom wants me to go to one of the top universities, so I have to study hard. You?¡± ¡°Dunno yet.¡± Her aunt didn¡¯t really care whether she went to college after high school. ¡°I¡¯ll take you to the nurse¡¯s office. They continued walking in silence, and not once did Sako look at her, as if looking would resurface some hidden shame and guilt inside her. Sako bit her quivering lower lip the entire way, struggling to hold something in. Chapter 51-High School Days, II It was their second semester of their first year now. Kiyomi started spending more time with Sako the more they hung out. They spent lunchtime together, and even went home together after Kiyomi waited for Sako to finish her extracurricular activities. She would play phone games as she waited. Sako became so notorious for her fighting prowess and sudden appearances in the middle of conflicts that her reputation spread, and the seniors took interest. People knew her. She was popular. And of course, everyone kept all the fighting they all did a secret from the faculty and Student Council. No one wanted to be a snitch. Snitches were uncool. If anyone needed help, they went to Sako. The seniors never intimidated Sako. No one did. She kicked their asses too if they deserved it. Their ages made no difference. Despite her aggressiveness, her fighting style had a stunning grace, like an elegant, white swan gliding across a still lake under the moon. Sometimes, Kiyomi pictured that whenever she saw Sako in action. She didn''t write poetry, but fuck. Her moves were refined, confident, and smooth. She had speed, strength, knowledge, physical flexibility, and adaptability¡ªshe adapted to her situation and improvised when she needed to. Her flexibility and knowledge of martial arts were what gave her an edge over most boys: they tended to rely on strength, sometimes speed too, but she remained 20 steps ahead. It wasn¡¯t just her own training that gave Sako her skills. Her dad was a soldier, and he taught her well. No hesitation. Always go for the target. If the target began retreating, chase after it and put it down for good. Her kicks felt like ¡°cinder blocks¡±, someone said one time after leaving the nurse¡¯s office. She had the habit of finishing her fights with a powerful kick to the head. No one ever saw it coming. It just happened. She didn¡¯t pull her punches for the girls either. Everyone got the same treatment. Kiyomi and Sako took some classes together this semester including PE, so they changed together in the locker room. Kiyomi always got the chance to see Sako¡¯s muscles for the few seconds she had her shirt off. She tried not to make her staring obvious and just looked occasionally. She had abs too. One day, they got to the locker room earlier than everyone else, so it was empty. Sako caught her staring as she took her unbuttoned shirt off. ¡°Do you¡­ wanna feel them?¡± Kiyomi¡¯s heart jumped, and she looked away. ¡°...Sort of¡­¡± ¡°You can.¡± She paused to give her a chance. Kiyomi looked at her arms. Even just looking at them, she could tell they were toned and tough, built from years of experience. ¡°Don¡¯t be shy.¡± She moved closer and felt her arms. ¡°And¡­¡± ¡°My abs?¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°Girls like to feel them a lot, so I know what to expect by now.¡± Sako cracked a smile. ¡°Oh.¡± Kiyomi flushed. Thankfully, they were alone. She ran her hand over Sako¡¯s stomach. It was tough like steel. She was impressed. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ tell anyone about this.¡± She burst out laughing and wiped a tear from her eye. ¡°Of course not.¡± Sako wasn¡¯t just a musclehead. Her grades were outstanding, and she even tutored Kiyomi and helped her pass her classes. At the end of the school year, a bully had enough and told the Student Council. He didn¡¯t care about incriminating himself. His spite for Sako was greater than his fear of admitting that he too had been in the wrong during his scuffle with her and even before when had been harassing a girl who had run to her for help. Naturally, he became an outcast, and people couldn¡¯t trust him with anything. During final exams, the president called Sako into her office. Kiyomi eavesdropped by the door. ¡°Someone reported it?¡± Sako stood before the prez¡¯s desk. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°You were fighting in broad daylight, so of course there were witnesses! How dense can you get?!¡± ¡°Pretty dense, I¡¯d say,¡± the vice prez mumbled from his seat in the corner on the couch as he sipped his tea. ¡°Um¡­¡± Sako tried to find a plausible defense. ¡°He looked sketchy¡­ and he was stalking this girl¡ª¡± ¡°Kosetsu! You can¡¯t turn violent simply because of that. Even if things turned physical, you don¡¯t solve violence with more violence! You talk things through.¡± The prez glared from her chair behind her desk. ¡°But talking doesn¡¯t solve anything.¡± There was a hint of gloom in her tone. She hung her head, staring down at her own shoes. ¡°We¡¯re talking now, aren¡¯t we? Are you saying that our conversation is pointless? Should I just slap you with a harsh penalty and send you on your way?¡± ¡°I¡¯d appreciate it if you didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s try to reason through this together. I can¡¯t have you going around attacking bullies. You¡¯d be no better than them, and you¡¯d be setting a bad example for prefects and students. Next thing you know, we have fights breaking out more frequently because they saw a certain prefect.¡± Part of Sako regretted her actions earlier, but part of her also thought the boy had deserved the kick to the face, which then knocked him out cold. She thought about it in the long silence that the prez allowed for her to reflect. Mom wouldn''t be proud of her, so she wouldn¡¯t tell her. But¡­ what would Dad say? ¡°You know what¡­¡± She lifted her head, walked up to the prez¡¯s desk where the prez sat, and looked the prez straight in the eye. ¡°I¡¯d do it again.¡± Instantly, she replied. ¡°You¡¯re no longer a prefect. Get out.¡± Sako pulled the pin from her shirt, put it on the prez¡¯s desk, turned around, and walked out. At the start of the second year, she continued strong, and her popularity spiked. Many feared her. Many saw her as reliable. They came to her for advice on many things¡ªfrom academics, clubs, and sports to friendships. But then midway through the semester, someone had it out for her. Someone made an anonymous report. Neither Kiyomi nor Sako could figure out who or why. Maybe out of envy. Maybe the same boy from last year. They asked around, but no one could tell them the culprit. The principal slapped her and some bullies with a 3-week suspension, non-negotiable. Kiyomi reached out to her, but Sako never answered any of her calls or messages. She wanted to go over to her house and check on her, but she didn¡¯t want Sako to yell at her and tell her to go home, so she gave her space. After those 3 weeks of silence, Sako came back as a different person. She was much quieter and kept to herself. She pushed everyone away and started ignoring most of what Kiyomi said whenever they talked. In fact, Kiyomi did most of the talking. Kiyomi found her sitting on a desk in an empty classroom one evening after school. Sako was staring out the window at the sunset. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you have stuff to do?¡± She had forgotten her textbooks, that was why she had come back. Sako mumbled something back, keeping her gaze on the orange sunset. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I quit.¡± ¡°Quit what?¡± ¡°Everything.¡± Kiyomi walked up to her desk and sat next to her. ¡°Do you want to talk about it?¡± They hadn¡¯t had a good talk in a while. Because Sako was moody recently, Kiyomi was back to playing video games alone. She waited patiently, but Sako didn¡¯t reply. She didn¡¯t know how to fix this. Sako wasn¡¯t a video game character with chat options. Silence lingered in the air. She mustered up the courage and tried again. ¡°There¡¯s this cool movie out. We can go weekend¡ª¡± ¡°Why are you always so fucking clingy¡­¡± Sako mumbled. ¡°...I was just offering¡­¡± She stayed quiet. After 10 long minutes of digging through her mind for the right words, she gave up and went home. That deep, bleeding wound stayed inside her for the rest of the year. They stopped talking. In their third year, Sako gradually came around. She had cut her hair and was almost as peppy as she used to be in her first year. She had mellowed out: she was meek, polite, honest, and never chose violence. She had lost her spine and was a mere shell of her former self. A weak pushover who apologized to everyone for everything. She didn¡¯t even defend herself and instead took the hits. Honestly, this new Sako annoyed Kiyomi. She couldn¡¯t respect her as much as she had back then. Sako wasn¡¯t as attractive anymore. Because of this, Kiyomi found it easier to be less clingy and more independent. But she was still happy to have her around most times; her love for her was the same. Rarely, she caught Sako frowning, and whenever she asked what was wrong, Sako said, ¡°Nothing¡±. Eventually, Sako and a boy started hanging out. Her friends had given her advice, so she had gone with it, and it had worked. Day after day, they became a bit closer. Kiyomi was happy for her, but also sad, since Sako didn''t spend as much time with her anymore. ~~~ Kiyomi missed Sako¡¯s old self. She longed to see that side of Sako again¡ªwhen she would take a stand and fight her enemies without a second thought with that intimidating but admirable and unwavering ferocity that used to break through everything in its path. Sako had been the epitome of coolness. But then all her resolve had melted away. Murdering Luna with that chair had been the best thing Kiyomi had seen from her since their first year. That dangerous rage had been a small spark of her former self¡­ That had been why she had enjoyed seeing her lose her composure¡ªlose that tameness and timidness that confined her nowadays. Chapter 52-High School Days, III Sako¡¯s room was pitch black in a thick sea of silence. The room was cold; she didn¡¯t have the energy to get up and close the window to block out the chilly nighttime breeze. She sat on the floor, resting her back against the side of her bed, wrapped up in a sheet. No appetite for dinner. Her rage from earlier had melted. She glanced at the glowing clock across the room. 3 a.m. Sleep didn¡¯t matter. Food didn¡¯t matter. Zt, zt! Zt, zt! Her phone beside her lit up every now and then. Kiyomi, no doubt. So annoying. She only added to the big pile of notifications that had stacked up throughout the day. It was stuck in her head. Suspension. How. Why. Unbelievable. Absurd. Ridiculous. Stupid. Unfair. It was the last thing she deserved. No energy to get up and brush her teeth. She hadn¡¯t showered for 4 nights now. Who cared. Wasted smiles. Wasted efforts. Wasted love. No one appreciated her. No one was grateful for her helpfulness at school. No one cared. Not the Student Council. Not the teachers. No one had vouched for her¡ªprobably scared of being dragged into the punishment. She hated them all. Sako should just quit. I¡¯m quitting everything. She was done. Done with the noise, friends, clubs, training, and expectations. I can¡¯t do this anymore. Quit her life. Just lie in bed all day under her sheet in utter solitude. No one would miss her anyway. They were probably happy she had left school. Yes, she had broken the boy¡¯s face by driving her heel into his jaw, but it had been his fault for pushing her to such extremes. She had her own injuries though, which she had already treated; the bruises on her arms would heal in due time. Who in his right mind would bring brass knuckles to a simple school fight? Mom had asked what had happened, and Sako had said that she had just fallen down the stairs. But she hadn¡¯t managed to fool Dad. He had known from a glance and simply told her to get some rest after ruffling her head with a flicker of pride in his eyes. ¡°You did good,¡± he had said. In that moment, his praise had made her feel a bit better. It was true: she had ended the fight with a solid punch to his stomach¡ªnot her usual way of ending a fight, but a win was a win. But now, in the darkness, alone with her thoughts, she wondered if things could¡¯ve played out differently. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. No. She had Dad¡¯s approval. That was all that mattered. No one else mattered. And yet she couldn¡¯t stop thinking about it: the aftermath of the fight and the sharp feeling she had had in her stomach when they had called her to the office. The soft ticking of the wall clock as she had waited in fear for what had felt like her impending demise. The dense, cold air. The dark thoughts of endless possibilities rushing through her frantic mind. Her jittery heart about to burst. And then the news had come down on her like a hammer. It had crushed her. Shattered her will into splinters. Maybe she had been wrong. Fighting was bad. Violence was bad. That was what they had said at the office with their threatening scowls. But¡­ that would mean that Dad was wrong. She loved and trusted him, but¡­ No, he had to be right. He was a soldier and always so confident whenever he taught her. He was a pro at dealing with conflicts. Violence solved a lot of things in life. Sometimes, words just didn¡¯t get through to people, especially if they too were looking for a fight. If they want a fight, you give them a fight they¡¯ll regret. Break their will to fight, and if you have to, their bones. His words. Many people had come to fear and revere her after seeing her skills, and she had loved that validation and reveled in it. But now¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do,¡± she mumbled. She now understood why some grown-ups drank: to forget about their sadness and anger at the world. Mom didn¡¯t drink, so there was no liquor she could find, but Dad had a secret stash somewhere in the basement. Sometimes, she saw him coming up the stairs unsteadily, holding a bottle in his hand with an indescribable scent on him. Sako got up and sneaked down into the basement while everyone slept. After flicking on the lights, she scoured the place and came to a locked cabinet. She yanked at it a few times. It didn¡¯t budge. No keys anywhere. She sighed. Fuck. She went back up the flight of stairs then back up another flight, walked into her room, and collapsed onto the bed. Dad had said it was okay to swear sometimes. Mom had disagreed, so Sako never swore in front of her. Dad always laughed when she did it in front of him. She got up, took her phone up off the floor after feeling for it in the darkness, and began scrolling through her notifications, curious. Kiyomi: u dont have to reply to me but jus know that im here for u She swiped the message off the screen and opened her email and found a short email from the prez. Upon your return to the school grounds, I highly recommend that you adhere to the school rules; ¡°be a good girl,¡± as some may say. Was she trying to provoke her? She clenched her teeth, renewed with anger, but then calmed down and gave up. Maybe the prez had a point. If she stopped being so eager to jump into fights, she wouldn¡¯t risk getting another suspension, or worse, expulsion. Even being passive aggressive would be better. And using nicer words without swears might help to calm a hostile situation. I¡¯m sorry, Dad. Sako couldn¡¯t side with him anymore. Let¡¯s see how far I can get with being a ¡°good girl¡±. Chapter 53-Different The high noon sun lit the cloudless, blue sky. A large bird swooped down in a loud screech and snatched up a caterpillar as it rushed past a tree branch over Luna¡¯s head. A few leaves floated down and landed on Luna¡¯s head. Luna, sitting against the tree, glanced up but just missed it. She looked back down to her holoscreen in front of her, scanning her Water Wizard skills. Oh right, she still had Sako¡¯s ¡°Light Blast¡± from her Skill Swap unique skill. She had no use for that sadly. But she loved having it. It was like having Sako with her! After running through her long list of locked skills, she decided: the skills of a Water Wizard weren¡¯t that impressive. She needed something that could absolutely decimate Kiyomi¡¯s Dark Wizard class. An effective counter. Even if she somehow managed to catch up to those Kiyomi and Sako in levels, she needed a surefire way to outclass them. She ran through the list of classes. Wizards¡­ Necromancers¡­ Those basic classes¡­ Spellweavers¡­ Then she got to the locked classes, and one in particular caught her eye: Chaos Manipulator, an elite class. After reading through some of the abilities, her jaw dropped. No wonder it¡¯s locked. And there was a long list of demanding requirements. Shit. She thought about it. Alright. She decided that she would commit herself to getting it: grind, unlock the class, grind again then have a sweet reunion with Sako. Her Sako. Sweet Sako. Sako. Sako. Sako. Sako. Sako. Sako. Sako. Sako. Sako. Just thinking about her began to get her excited¡­ The things Luna could do to her once she got her hands on her¡­ Luna found herself salivating at the thought and swallowed her spit then wiped the drool off her chin with the back of her hand. She checked the quest log and scrolled through the list of quests she had to do. It was a long questline, but she would do it. Anything to get to play with Sako again. The questline had prerequisites though, so she had to meet those requirements first. It would be a real pain. She got to her feet, pulled up another holoscreen, and stared at the world map. The prerequisites to start the questline included leveling up a few side skills and doing some miniquests and tasks for NPCs. Great, she had to interact with people. ¡°Ugh.¡± Although they were just NPCs, they looked real enough. The recommended level to start the questline was 700. Fuck that. She wasn¡¯t going all the way up to 700. If it turned out that she really needed the levels, she would find some other way when the time came. Luna scanned her map for Fishing icons with drops and drop rates and found a few ideal spots. Making money off fishing at the same time wouldn¡¯t hurt. The closest ideal spot was a lake, Daychill Cove, a little south of Aria¡¯s capital in an open field. She would need a horse to travel around too. Even if she unlocked Teleport Gates by arriving at the locations once, not every place had a Gate, so a horse would be convenient. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. She went to the Auction House, bought a cheap horse, saddle, and reins, and tapped the horse icon in her inventory to summon the horse in a flash of light. She skimmed through the manual that came with the horse. After skimming, the small book vanished from her hands and riding was suddenly clear as day to her. She put the saddle on it, strapped on the reins around its head and muzzle, and climbed on. It was like riding a bike for the first time. She started off slow and steady in a trot then moved a bit quicker when she was more confident. ~~~ The doctor in his lab coat sat in his office chair, his face grim as he tried to force out the heavy truth. He looked at Mom and Dad who sat in their own chairs next to Luna across the room. Mom was already weeping on Dad¡¯s shoulder. Dad put a hand around her, trying to comfort her. He blinked back the tears and remained strong as he looked back at the doctor. The door in the corner was closed, and everything was still and quiet. Luna couldn¡¯t for the life of her understand why they all looked as if the world was coming to an end. Mom cried sometimes when things were super tough. But now, even Dad was struggling not to cry. He was a stout, tall, and confident man, always ready to take on the world with a smile, even in tough times. But this time, he wasn¡¯t smiling. The fact that a big, grown-up man who knew how to be positive no matter what life threw at him was crying meant something was very wrong. Luna felt uneasy. She glanced between the doctor and Mom and Dad, but couldn¡¯t figure it out. The doctor didn¡¯t say anything. He sighed as he stared down at the clipboard in his lap. The fear was eating at him, gnawing at his very soul. The words were stuck in his throat, too weighty to cough up. He managed one word without looking up. ¡°She¡­¡± ¡°Is it that bad?¡± Dad¡¯s voice was so soft and hushed. He was also looking down in his own lap. The doctor nodded. ¡°Yeah.¡± Mom bawled her eyes out. Her high voice drowned everything in the room. ¡°Tell us,¡± Dad finally met his eyes when Mom calmed down. ¡°Luna is¡­ schizophrenic, which is the reason for her psychotic episodes.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the cause¡­¡± Dad continued. ¡°The illness is complex and could be as a result of many factors. But her genes are largely responsible. Her brain has a chemical imbalance, and she has an abnormal brain development. We also noticed irregular brain waves. We¡¯ve concluded all of that from the EEG test.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± Luna asked. Dad turned his head and stared at her for a long minute. It was as if he was looking at a stranger¡ªsomeone he had never seen before in his life. She had never seen so much pain on his face. ¡°It means you¡¯re¡­ different.¡± ¡°Is that bad?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re alright. We¡¯ll work things out.¡± Dad never smiled again. ~~~ Sometimes, I play with my new friends, and they fall asleep by accident. I don¡¯t understand. Why do they fall asleep by accident? Why? Even when I¡¯m gentle and I give them my love, they fall asleep. Sometimes, they never get up again. I don¡¯t get it. I don¡¯t get it at all. I don¡¯t get tired so easily, so why do others fall asleep by accident? It¡¯s not always nighttime, so I don¡¯t get it. Nighttime is for sleep, yet they fall asleep in the daytime too. Something is wrong with them. Wrong with them. They need to be fixed. Fixed. Yes, fixed. Fixed. Something is wrong with them. I don¡¯t get it at all. Chapter 54-Report Sako wandered down the hallway and found Princess Vanescka¡¯s room. As she approached the room, she heard two familiar voices. ¡°On your hands and knees.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°Do it.¡± ¡°Yes¡­ princess.¡± She poked her head into the room and found Princess Vanescka sitting with legs crossed on Enya¡¯s back, who was down on the floor on all fours like an animal. ¡°But¡­ I¡¯m not a chair¡­¡± Enya protested. ¡°You are now.¡± Princess Vanescka flipped the page of a book she was reading. ¡°Hey, excuse me.¡± Sako grinned and waved as she stepped into the room. Princess Vanescka looked up from her book. ¡°Hey.¡± Enya looked up at her with pleading eyes. ¡°Any idea where I could find your father?¡± Sako eyed Enya apologetically. She couldn¡¯t rescue her from Princess Vanescka¡¯s intimidating authority. ¡°The throne room. Go back the way you came and follow the hallway to the next wing.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± She nodded. That was the way Le Francia had gone. ¡°Come back later. I¡¯m not done with you.¡± She got back to reading. ¡°Right.¡± Sako bowed, stepped out, and headed for the next wing. Eventually, the hallway guided her into the throne room where King Lancester was sitting on his throne. Chelsea was down on one knee in front of him in the center of the room. Le Francia was sitting in her own chair on another side of the room, staring at Chelsea as Chelsea gave her report. Apparently, she had no obligation to kneel to anyone in the whole kingdom. In fact, Sako couldn¡¯t picture it in her head. Like the king, she had a regal presence. Even on just a chair, rather than a fancy throne, she gave off a sense of royalty equal to the king. The difference between the two was that she seemed aloof and unconcerned, like she was too good to be here and had better things to do, ¡ªmaybe daydreaming too¡ªwhile King Lancester listened intently to Chelsea, hanging on to every word that came from her lips. His ears craved information. As the current monarch, he had a kingdom to protect. ¡°...I think they used a Chiming Bell,¡± Chelsea continued. King Lancester¡¯s face lit up with surprise. Sako was lost. Le Francia was unfazed. The king spotted Sako coming in. Chelsea followed his eyes and turned her head to the side of the room where Sako stood. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Le Francia¡¯s eyes followed. Sako froze as all eyes fell on her. She bowed stiffly and looked to Chelsea for help. What was the proper procedure? Chelsea patted a spot on the floor next to her. Sako went over and kneeled beside her. ¡°That¡¯s alright, both of you may rise.¡± They rose to their feet. ¡°So, a Chiming Bell?¡± King Lancestor asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Chelsea answered. ¡°Where was the caster?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± ¡°What did they look like?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± ¡°Any idea where they fled to?¡± ¡°...I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± ¡°Anything at all?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± ¡°Hm¡­¡± That wasn¡¯t the answer he wanted. His interest in her dropped. The room fell quiet. Chelsea hung her head in shame. She definitely had her shortcomings but was trying her best. Poor girl. ¡°Here is my surmise, people.¡± Le Francia cut in. All eyes went on her. She was bored at this point. Her floating sword rocked back and forth idly by her side. After polishing her glasses in her hands with a piece of cloth, she put them back on and tossed the cloth aside. Before the cloth hit the floor, a portal opened below it, caught it, and shut. ¡°The miscreant was in hiding nearby, likely cloaked by a particularly advanced spell that not even I could detect. He rang the bell, which caused a widespread mana outage, drank a mana potion to restore his own mana, and then fled the scene. Presumably, he used a sort of transportation spell. While everyone was empty on mana¡ªenemies and allies alike¡ªI spotted a mage on my way to Lamentine¡¯s capital soaring high in the sky over everything at high speed, full of magical energy. A normal mage would¡¯ve missed him. He was a non-combatant.¡± ¡°Where is he now?¡± King Lancester asked. ¡°My sword cut him to pieces.¡± He frowned. ¡°I would¡¯ve preferred to capture him, especially since he had no combat prowess.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She thought about her own error. ¡°Yes, we should¡¯ve captured him for interrogation and torture then killed him.¡± A sweatdrop ran down his worried face. ¡°No¡­ just capture¡­¡± ¡°Then kill him? What would be the point of that?¡± ¡°...Never mind¡­¡± He gave up. ¡°The enemy is retreating,¡± Chelsea said. ¡°Good.¡± He smiled at her. Finally, some good news. ¡°And Ascalon?¡± His gaze went back to Le Francia. ¡°Gone.¡± ¡°You killed him, didn¡¯t you¡­¡± ¡°Indeed, I did. The queen also met her end.¡± Lancaster and Chelsea simultaneously sighed in grief. That was no surprise. Le Francia was brutal. ¡°And the heirs?¡± he continued. ¡°By the time I arrived, they had already departed. I don¡¯t know of their whereabouts now.¡± ¡°There will likely be a power vacuum then,¡± Chelsea picked up. King Lancestor nodded thoughtfully. ¡°However, that has nothing to do with our kingdom¡¯s affairs, so we shall not concern ourselves.¡± Le Francia wouldn¡¯t be weighed down by irrelevant matters. So cold¡­ ¡°I can¡¯t argue with that...¡± King Lancestor accepted it, though was still a bit displeased. ¡°Unlike Lamentine who has faltered in its traditional political system, we fortunately have a failsafe for the kingdom.¡± He reassured Chelsea and Sako. ¡°...Albeit questionable sometimes¡­¡± He shot a concerned glance at Le Francia. Yeah, I¡¯d be a bit concerned too. Chelsea nodded. ¡°Now, what of the prisoner?¡± ¡°In the dungeon,¡± Chelsea replied. ¡°Go and see how she fares. Have our guest accompany you.¡± ¡°Sire.¡± Chelsea bowed. Sako bowed too then followed her out of the room toward the dungeon. They went down the hallway then down a long staircase. The further down they went, the dimmer it became. Once they got to the base of the staircase, they made their way down the cobblestone corridor.