《Genocide Online ~Playtime Diary of an Evil Young Girl~》 Chapter 0 : Prologue ?My lady, I have received the package.¡± As soon as I came back from school, the first person I met was Yamamoto-san, a butler of my household. If I remember correctly, it¡¯s today, huh¡­ I was too busy and had forgotten about my long-awaited delivery. I concealed my inner excitement. ?Understood, thank you very much¡± Yamamoto-san immediately left without saying another word¡­ Well then, I will go back to my room and prepare it! I, Ichijou Reina, am the eldest daughter of the Duke Ichijou¡¯s household which is one of Japanese aristocrat families. I¡¯ve been raised in this difficult family environment and been taught since birth what it means to be a proper lady of this family. I hated this kind of life since I was a child, especially the eyes of those who merely saw me as tool to get close to my father. But despite all of my sacrifices and effort I put into this family I never got the recognition of my father. No, he hates me. I have thought about it a lot, but I¡¯m still not sure where it went wrong. I may have been crueler than many other children. Like for example I am sure children enjoy catching bugs or filling up anthills with water. Just because I didn¡¯t feel it was wrong even after being scolded is no reason to hate me. I was a child so its fine right? I liked my mother who always taught me to be how to act normal. She stopped me before I overdid it, she taught me righteous behavior and told me to consult with her if something happened. When I reflect about it now, my mother was probably worried about my future. It was after I got into elementary school a lot changed. Children are cruel and sensitive to things that are not like them. Beautiful raven black hair like her mother. Not wearing common clothes or latest children¡¯s clothes, but instead western clothes that were tailormade and proved to be expensive at a glance. At the beginning people are fascinated with new things but that mindset switches fast. And because I wasn¡¯t like all the others the bullying started. But at the time, I did not realize that this was bullying and thought that it was just children having fun, like what I always have with my insects. Hiding people¡¯s things and burning them it in front of them, pushing someone down until his/her front teeth are broken, and if they complained, I put insects inside their mouth and forced them to chew. I had so much fun with them. This continued on until no one wanted to get close to me. Then one day, when I passed the staff room. I could hear my mother apologizing for my behavior¡­ though, I did not know what she was apologizing for, but I realized that my playing with the other children is not what people consider normal. Even then I couldn¡¯t fathom why my beloved mother would apologize. I got frustrated with myself and stood before the room, waiting. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. My mother, who after being done, came out of the staff room and got surprised after seeing me waiting in front of the door eventually smiled and said, ?Wanna go home?¡± And from then on, I stopped ?playing¡±. As I grew older, I noticed that I was strange. My father regards me with increasingly cold eyes and seems to always punish my mother harshly. But my mother endured and looked at me with warm eyes. Not long after my mother passed away from a harsh battle against her cancer, my father immediately remarried with one of his affairs and brought in her children. My intuition told me if I would stay in his house there would be a big possibility, I would start to ¡°play¡± with his new children. Thus, I moved away along with my mother¡¯s furniture. Fortunately, my father didn¡¯t care. My father only doted his stepdaughter (little sister) and son (little brother) and had already lost interest in me a long time ago. However, it was a big deal for me, because without my mother it was getting increasingly harder to understand what normal is. One day while doing research on the internet to understand laws and morality I stumbled upon a game. This game intrigued me so much I immediately bought it. It was perfect to satisfy my urges to ¡°play¡±. And that is what was arrived today. ¡°It finally arrived, Karma Story Online! The service itself had just started yesterday but it¡¯s still within the acceptable range.¡± Karma Story Online, commonly known as KSO, is a new VRMMORPG in which the players themselves are the ones who could change their karma value depending on their own actions. Then, they will eventually belong to one of the three factions, order, chaos and neutral. Although I said factions, there is nothing that you need to do, such as belonging to a specific organization or country. There are consequences for your decisions, such as restrictions on a certain facilities or classes that can be unlocked, etc. In this game, you cannot select the side you belong to from the beginning. The karma value changes while the players play the game as it relies on his/her attitude toward NPCs, conquest method, contribution to a specific countries or organizations, etc. Almost all players who are still unable to move from the first town will be neutral. It¡¯s been more than a day since the online service started, maybe some people are already out of the neutral faction ¡­¡± And above all, on the official website, it was written that the admins will tolerate any speech or behavior unless it violates the real laws such as sexual harassment in the game. I think that this place is the best choice for ?playing¡±. The fact that one¡¯s Karma changes depending on one¡¯s actions is contrary to my home, where as my existence is clearly frowned upon from the beginning, regardless of my own intention. Thus, it has drawn me in as it¡¯s an extremely attractive offer for me. It seems that this game is a way to release all of the resentment and frustration which cannot be done in real life. ?Okay then, the installation has already finished, so let¡¯s play right away!¡± As I already went to the toilet and am well hydrated, I lied down on the bed which has a faintly smelled like my mother, and excitedly put on the head monitor which similar to a thin halo. Selected the game icon with eye movement, and logged in. Chapter 1 : Character Setup ?Welcome to KSO!¡± I appeared in a white space with nothing except the games title and my real-life figure. I looked around curiously, this place is probably the character creation room. Then, I heard a voice from behind. Nico: ?Welcome Ichijou Reina-sama, I, Support AI No. 25, will assist your character setup. Please feel free to call me Nico-chan.¡± Seems like this beautiful woman, who looks like a secretary with a Noh Mask, can help me with my character setup. Reina: ?I understand, Nico-chan.¡± Nico: ?Let¡¯s immediately go into your character setup. Here you may select 10 initial skills in addition to your username and appearance in the game. Naturally, you cannot change it later, so please be careful with your choices.¡± Reina: ?Okay then, let¡¯s get started.¡± As soon as our conversation was over, a translucent screen appeared in front of me. Let¡¯s see, the name will be¡­ ?Rena¡± which comes from my real name. It seems a bit simple, but I¡¯m aware I¡¯m not creative enough to make a special Name for me. Besides its more fun to be yourself while having fun. Next is race. There are many options, but Human is the safest choice indeed. As it will probably be too hard for the appearance to be far apart from the reality, I kept the same height and figure as it is. Let¡¯s keep the hair short so that it won¡¯t get in the way and make it black with an addition of white highlight. I just kept it my face as is rather than overdoing it. I¡¯m really not that creative. It would probably be okay as I have no friends or acquaintances who play games anyway. I just changed my eyes into a striking wine red. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The rest is the skills¡­¡­yikes, there are a lot. My play style is mostly fixed, but it will still take some time if I search for suitable skills and think about the combinations, hmm©`©`©`. ©`©`©`Alright, it took a while, but I think I¡¯m happy with my choices. Reina: ?It¡¯s done.¡± Nico: ?Would you like to make any other changes? Remember you can only do this once.¡± Reina: ?Yes, this should be fine. Please proceed.¡± The skills I have chosen are Dagger Art, Throwing, Walking, Acrobatics, Medicine, Surprise Attack, Tame, Camouflage, Detection, and Friendship. Nico: ?Well then, please select your preferences.¡± Reina: ?Preferences?¡± Did I miss something? Or maybe I just forgot about it?. Nico: ?No these choices are separate from the creation process, first of all, your sexual guard¡­ it¡¯s about how far would you give your permission to be touched by other players and NPCs in range.¡± Reina: ?Please block everything!¡± Nico: ?Understood. Next is the depiction regulation setting, this is the setting whether you would prefer a game-like effect or a real-life basis when killing and hurting others.¡± Reina: ?Then, please give me the real-life basis.¡± Nico: ?Lastly, about the pain limitation. There might be some mild discomfort to make the experience more realistic. However, the system will monitor your pain level and automatically log you out or provide a response if it reaches your limit. So, there¡¯s is no need to worry about experiencing excessive pain. What would you¡­¡± Reina: ?Please don¡¯t limit that either.¡± Nico: ?¡­Understood. Please take care of yourself as it might be an extremely detrimental to your health even in reality if someone aimed for your vital parts such as the neck or heart. This is the end of the preferences. Please wait a moment as we are preparing your character data.¡± Finally, it took quite a while but I¡¯m looking forward to it. Nico: ?¡­¡­Thank you for your patience. With this, the entire process is completed. Before you get started, there¡¯s one last piece of advice.¡± Reina: ?Yes?¡± Nico: ?In this world, players can gain skills and influence in the world depending on the player¡¯s own actions. Unlike players, NPCs that live in this world cannot be resurrected if they die, so please be careful in advance because this might close of some options regarding quests or advancements.¡± Reina: ?I see, I will ¡­ look out for that.¡± Nico: ?Well then, I pray that your adventure will be exciting¡­ Welcome to Karma Story Online!¡± With that, Nico-san lowered her head, and I was swallowed by a white light that blinded my view©`©`©` Chapter 2 : Tutorial Uncle When the white light cleared up, I arrived at the First Town with stone and wooden Eastern European-like buildings are lined up around a prominent plaza with a beautiful fountain. Rena: ?So many¡­¡± The place was crowded with people, probably some players mixed in as they were dressed in the same starter gear as me. People with social anxiety with are very likely to physically convulse at the sight. The people here alone already numbered in three digits probably. Rena: ?Well, anyhow¡­¡± When I look around, I was able to see that there were certain hotspots where the crowd was way denser. At the center of the First Town is an NPC called ?Tutorial Uncle¡± and ?Our Aniki¡±, who are dressed like soldiers from the military of a country. In this game, NPCs that appeared in the beta version will not change their speech and conduct towards real people, which also includes the first NPC that the players will encounter as he¡¯s very popular among players due to his very realistic mannerisms and friendly character. When a player appeared and tried to have a real consultation about how to avoid his divorce in the beta version, the NPC answered everything seriously, and thus he became very popular and a hot topic on the various forums discussing the game. Since this NPC explains the player how to properly hunt monsters, how to use skills and magic and various other things for the first quest, as his name suggests, the game hints that it is necessary for the players to talk to this NPC first. Rena: ?This is really a lot to take in¡­¡± After I got tired of looking around, I tried getting close to the Tutorial Uncle but there are so many people blocking him it felt really awkward pushing through the crowd. Rena: ?Umm¡­¡± Uncle: ?Hmm? Aah, you are also a migrant, right?¡± Rena: ?Well, yes.¡± I could nally talk to him¡­ there really are way too many players for a single NPC¡­ But interesting that NPCs call us migrants. Uncle: ?Do you want to ask me something?¡± Rena: ?Yes, I just came here and there¡¯s a lot of things that I don¡¯t understand.¡± Uncle: ?If it¡¯s like that, then this quest might be a¡­¡± Rena: ?so that¡¯s why, I will need you to die.¡± I pulled out the starter dagger that I had and decapitated the Tutorial Uncle. ???: ?Huh?¡± Suddenly the fountain plaza, as if time had stopped, was deathly quiet. Rena: ?¡­alright¡± The dagger cast a faint red-black effect when I decapitated the uncle, which is the proof that the Surprise Attack skill was activated. Though, it would seem that as the name suggests, it was a surprise attack rather than a stealthy assassination and it would activate even if you attacked suddenly from the front, this is good. Blood spurted out like a fountain from the decapitated body, probably because I set the depiction setting to real-life basis. Is there any player who saw it in its full beautiful glory like me? Oh? I suddenly got a lot of announcements. Well, that¡¯s obvious as I¡¯m still a Level 1 here and just killed a countries soldier. For the rest¡­ I¡¯ll check it later. Instead, I cannot afford to miss this opportunity when there¡¯s a vast number of players here. Rena: ? ...Fuh!¡± While the others were still processing on what just happened, I decapitated the two players who just had a friendly chat with the Tutorial Uncle before in one got in. Because of real-life basis setting, they didn¡¯t transform into particles of light and disappeared, but instead they fell down while they were spurting out bloodlike pretty little fountains. As I was thinking that I quickly rushed into the crowd, decapitated everyone, pierced their hearts, and stabbed their throats like a random assailant. Player A: ?W-what?!¡± Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Player B: ?Aniki is...!!¡± Player C: ?GYAAAAAAAA!!¡± Player D: ?What¡¯s wrong? What is happening?!!¡± Player E: ?I don¡¯t even know!¡± NPC: ?S-SOMEONE! PLEASE HELP!!¡± When they finally came back to their senses, it was already too late. I kicked my current target¡¯s leg and stabbed him from the front¡­and pierced his throat before cutting him in mid-air. I, then grabbed the corpse and threw it as a cover while I went for the hunt for another players¡¯ neck. As the PKs continued, it spread the chaos even further. Player F: ?Ah! It¡¯s that girl!¡± Player G: ?That son of a bitch!¡± Player H: ?KILL HER!!¡± Player I: ?Seize her!¡± Some of the confused players have started to respond, are they from the beta version? Well, I won¡¯t deviate on killing everyone anyway as I have already PK-ed a total of two digits. Player G: ?Everyone calm down! Make some space!¡± Player I: ?Go surround her!¡± Those who were calmed down tried to calm everyone else down and tried to take control of the situation but their cries for order were like boiling water on a heated stone. Player G: ?This piece of sh...¡± Before he was able to finish his sentence, I was already on top of him and removed his head with a neat slicing motion, but at the cost of getting surrounded by two parties. Player H: ?Bastard! How dare you do that to Aniki!¡± Player J: ?Aren¡¯t you going a little bit too far?¡± Player I: ?You¡¯re now surrounded by at least 11 people. Just give up and die!¡± There are three swordsmen for the vanguard with one spear-user and axe-user on each side, and four people who look like magicians and two archers in the back¡­ If I don¡¯t move, they will annihilate me, but if I charge in, the vanguard will beat me up, and to make matters worse, if I take too long here, the other players who have just returned to their senses will join in the battle. Then, the only option I have left is¡­. Rena: ?There¡¯s no choice but to escape, I see.¡± Player I: ?Ah! Wait, you bastard!¡± I¡¯m not a bastard, but I guess it¡¯s a good they are still trying to talk with me lets me up my kill count because I¡¯m still running through the fountain plaza killing random NPCs who were running a stalls and players who were still too slow to grasp the situation. Player J: ?tsk!! That girl is still killing people!¡± Uh oh, when I looked back, the rear guard had terrible scowls on their faces. Player K: ?Shi-!!¡± The archer readied an arrow, so I just grabbed a child which was nearby as a shield. Player K: ?Are you a human?!¡± Are you a human is probably a no for me. Well, I also think that I¡¯m a bad person, though. Anyway, I threw the kid behind me after stabbing it in its stomach. Maybe they get distracted. Player H: ?Dangerous-!¡± Player I: ?tsk! If we don¡¯t heal that child quickly, he will die!¡± One of the swordsmen caught the child but as his vision got blocked momentarily by catching the child, I stabbed him through the in his heart through the child¡¯s arm with my dagger. I then decapitate the priest girl who seemed to be running to help the child. Player L: ?Ryne! Cherry!¡± It¡¯s Ryne-san and Cherry-san, I see. But to be honest I don¡¯t care at all. As I went behind the distracted spear-user I kicked the back of his knees then tightened my grip around his neck and twisted it. I made sure that all his HP were gone along with the signature wet popping of his breaking spine. Maybe because I set it real-life basis, his eyes went into the back of his head, and he spewed foam from his mouth. Well, I will just leave him be as it is, thus I kicked his stomach, took his spear and threw it into the rear guard. As I tried to charge to the second swordsman who rushed to repel the spear, I saw a big axe glinting in the corner of my vision. I evaded it with somersault and threw my dagger at the axe-user which resulting in a wonderful headshot. It felt truly wonderful. Rena: ?Two vanguard swordsmen, three magicians and two archers remain, I see¡­¡± The guard NPCs and the players are gradually recovering from the confusion. There isn¡¯t much time left¡­¡­ Rena: ?Let¡¯s end it here¡­¡± Player I: ?tsk!¡± Player J: ?Rear guards, assemble! We don¡¯t have enough hands here!¡± I charged towards the rear guard again and ignored the two vanguards. When the two flustered swordsmen rushed back to the rear guard so that they could protect them I turned around again as I don¡¯t need to deal with them. I used my opening. Player I & J: ?Aaaahhh!¡± I escaped and rushed out of the town while stabbing and decapitating some mob NPCs as per usual. Because I¡¯m not familiar with the back alleys I cannot disappear into the crowd there, I ran through the main street as it is and pulled the NPCs and players who still couldn¡¯t comprehend what was happening and pushed them into the way of my pursuers. I pulled down the fully loaded stalls and threw launched weapons that I took while on my killing spree. The few unlucky players that got headshot and died instantly. My pursuers were likely to catch up to me shortly, but I stopped and jumped backwards and launched a few weapons at them. Funny enough my haphazardly thrown weapon hit another players¡¯ throat and killed them. While running stole some goods from the stalls and continued my escape. If I have some time, I will sell these essential items to make a little money since I couldn¡¯t get my starting quest. While thinking about my future plans, I reached the outskirts of the town. NPC: ?You there! Stop!¡± The gatekeeper ordered me to stop when the gate came into view, but I ignored him while dashing past him. Escaping from the First town was a great success. Will they decide to withdraw from pursuing me as the area will change into a zone not really explored by players yet? Well, they¡¯re still chasing me, so I¡¯ll try to lose them in the forest south from the town which is looming in front of me now. Player M: ?Wait!¡± Player N: ?Hey, is this an event?¡± Player O: ?Isn¡¯t it too fast for an event? This is only the second day of service, right?¡± Player P: ?Well for now, we should try to catch that girl first, I guess?¡± The pursuit seems to be attracting players who have no idea what is going on. But im not worried about my ability to escape them now. Rena: ?Now then¡­¡± I reached the South Forest and just ran deep into it. I, then hid in the shade of a large tree¡­.cut my throat and committed suicide. Chapter 3 : Temple Prank Awesome, seems like I safely respawned in the temple. This place is beautiful. The statue that adorns the center of the big temple hall is this game worlds God from the Order faction, The Seven-colored Noble God if I¡¯m correct¡­..oh wait, I cannot afford to dawdle as the players that I¡¯ve killed are bound to gather here as well. The bishop NPC is currently trying to quell the confusion¡­ This is perfect. Player Q: ?W-what just happened back there?!¡± One of my victims began to cry came as soon as he respawned. I activated my Camouflage skill and change my hair color to red and just like that, I successfully slipped into the crowd. Bishop: ?Everyone, please calm down!¡± The bishop of this temple seems to be the top among the bishop class as the first town is quite a large town. She¡¯s currently trying to suppress the confusion calmly. Bishop: ?That person is likely a messenger of chaos and will eventually receive divine punishment.¡± Player C: ?Messenger of chaos? As expected, was it a part of an event or quest?¡± Player E: ?How am I supposed to know that? If that was an event I¡¯m going to complain. This is a safe starting area.¡± Player D: ¡°But that person looks like a normal player, though?¡± I see, it looks like I¡¯m mistaken for a messenger of chaos and such. There are still some players who are convinced I¡¯m a player, though. Well, my karma value seems to have dropped a lot so they¡¯re probably not wrong, but I have to confirm the details because I¡¯m not sure what a messenger of chaos really is. Bishop: ?Nevertheless, please relax and take your time to recuperate! You all have the blessings of order! And of course! We promise you that as long as you stay in this temple, you will be safe!¡± Are you sure? Well, let¡¯s let me show them how wrong they are. My trap has been set so let¡¯s kill them. Rena: ?Ah! It¡¯s her! She¡¯s the one who killed us!¡± I have turned a stranger into someone who has the same characteristics as me with my Camouflage skill and screamed at him to bring him to everyone¡¯s attention. Player G: ?Son of a bitch! How dare you show up in here!¡± This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Player R: ?Wait! It¡¯s not me!¡± Player G: ?Shut your goddamn mouth!¡± Bishop: ?Everyone, please remain calm!¡± Everybody¡¯s hateful gaze turned to that person instantly and this caused an uproar. The bishop is trying to stop it but failed miserably. Player S: ?KILL HER! KILL HER!¡± Player T: ?JUST DO IT!¡± Even some players who are entertained with this have started to join in and incited the situation even more. With this, it will be nigh impossible to control the situation¡­ In the meantime, I moved in and just like that¡­ Bishop: ?Wh¡­!!¡± I activated the newly acquired Fatal Blow and Surprise Attack skills to pierce the bishop¡¯s heart. Just before she dropped to the floor while spurting out blood from her mouth, I stole a seemingly expensive necklace or whatever that was hanging from her neck. Then, I kicked away some players and grabbed a dagger that was placed from the altar and with a sacred aura, which is likely to be a divine artifact or whatever. I¡¯m going to have fun desecrating it regardless. Just like that, I decapitated the nuns who serve as the bishop¡¯s attendants and proceeded to jumped over some player¡¯s head. After I regained my footing, I ran through the temple. Player R: ?tsk! It¡¯s her! That girl is the real one!¡± Player E: ?She¡¯s the one!¡± Player D: ?Capture her!¡± Player G: ¡°You guys are a standing in the way!¡± When they started to notice me, I was already close to the exit. I instantly killed the temple gatekeepers, who didn¡¯t know anything about the uproar that happened inside and ran towards the underground tomb on the north side which is the opposite direction from last time. The guard NPCs who are blocking the road were hit with my dagger¡¯s hilt. Then, I grabbed one of the guards, cut off both his arms and used his body as a shield. Guard A: ?You bastard!!¡± His comrade shouted furiously but I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m having so much fun playing with my new friends. But with the guards¡¯ body in the way, the rear guards were not able to interfere. I moved forward slowly while carrying him and then threw him in the middle of those who were trying to apprehend me. Guard A: ?Hans!¡± Oh? The armless guard¡¯s name is Hans, I see¡­ Don¡¯t tell me, the developers even gave the mob NPCs names too? This makes it even more fun ¡­ extinguishing the lights of the living and forcing someone to remember their name. . Guard A: ?You bastard! Don¡¯t think you will get out of here alive!!¡± Guard B: ?Prepare to offer one or two of your limbs to quell my rage!¡± Isn¡¯t that for every one of you? If you¡¯re not careful, you might not be able to eat properly after this, you know? Well, I don¡¯t know about NPC, though¡­. I threw a torch right above Hans¡¯s head and used my Throwing skill for an oil bag that I grabbed while looting the stalls previously. It ripped upon impact and splashed its contents for the torch to arrive. It consumed the oil in a roaring blaze igniting everything it came in contact with. Guard A: ?WAAAAA?!¡± Guard B: ?Put it out! Put it out!¡± I grabbed the nape of one of the panicked guards and threw him into a nearby wooden house. Of course, while he was burning. I need to spread my love. Then, I ran away from the guards, who just changed their objective from capturing me to putting out the fire, by using the smoke as a cover. A lot of announcements came as soon as I entered the tomb on the north of the city but let¡¯s postpone them for now as I need to quickly find a place to hide before reaping my rewards. The plan is to hide in this place for a while, you see. I¡¯m really excited. Chapter 4 : Final Battle Results Finally, I made my escape to the tomb north of town. So how about I check my gains? I can¡¯t be careless even though I escaped the players because there are some monsters here, though¡­ Let¡¯s check my status. Name: Rena | Gender: Female Race: Human | Level: 27 Karma Value: -128 Evil Class: Villager -> New classes can now be selected SP: 78 Skill?Page Dagger Art Lv. 11 Throwing Lv. 9 Walking Lv. 7 Acrobatics Lv. 10 Medicine Lv. 1 Surprise Attack Lv. 14 Tame Lv. 1 Camouflage Lv. 5 Detection Lv. 1 Friendship Lv. 1 Thief Lv. 9 Jumping Lv. 4 Evasion Lv. 3 Martial Art Lv. 5 Assassination Art Lv. 2 Fatal Blow Lv. 3 Feint Lv. 3 Escape Lv. 7 Voice Change Lv. 3 Disguise Lv. 2 Title?Page Giant Killer ¨C Successfully killed an enemy that is 20 or higher levels than yourself ¨C Increases damage against higher levels enemy. The First Killer ¨C Be the first person to successfully kill a person in this world ¨C Increases damage against human. Daredevil ¨C Successfully executed a person without any hesitation ¨C Increases Fear Resistance Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Increases Charm Resistance Increases Confuse Resistance Slaughterer ¨C Successfully murdered a vast number of people in a short time ¨C Adds a bonus to AGI based on the number of opponents at one time Max 150% Restricted to Humans Demon ¨C The person who has strayed from humanity ¨C Karma value will be difficult to raise and will fall easily. Plunderer ¨C The person who has successfully looted more than a certain number of times from a certain number of people ¨C Increases the success rate of any looting skills. Criminal ¨C The person who has violated the law in the city ¨C Cannot get into any city by regular means. God¡¯s Enemy ¨C The person who declared war or something similar towards the Order faction ¨C Increases damage against enemies with Virtuous karma value Increases damage taken by enemies with Virtuous karma value. Fugitive?First Town ¨C A wanted person in First Town ¨C Current bounty: 25.000.000 G Fugitive?Temple ¨C A wanted person in Temple ¨C Current bounty: 15.000.000 G ¡­¡­did I overdo it? Especially the titles ¡­ Well, I¡¯m overwhelmed but I¡¯m not regretting anything because it has been a long time since I had this much fun. Now then, the next thing that intrigues me after the titles is this new class selection possibility. I cannot help but to check. Karma value has reached to a certain level. Specific conditions have been met and new classes can now be selected. Level has reached to a certain threshold. The second-class slot has now been unlocked. Please choose from the following options©`©`©` There are a lot of them, I see¡­ Alright, let¡¯s think about this! I will choose this¡­ and this! Name: Rena | Gender: Woman Race: Human | Level: 27 Karma Value: -128 Evil Class: Assassin | Second Class: Tamer Yeah, this should be fine! Assassins could get bonuses on STR, AGI, and DEX. It also has special effects against humans. Tamer has tame skills just like the name suggests, hence there are bonuses on INT and LUK, and an increased chance of taming monsters. It¡¯s difficult to put together a party with my peculiar playstyle. Though, there is a limit to what I can do while being solo and there will be a lot of enemies engaging me as I already earn their hate. Thus, it was added for the purpose of artificially increasing my strength without relying on players that would support me, and the timing is just right as the monster that I¡¯m looking for also appears in this tomb. The next thing to check is the dropped items and money, let¡¯s see¡­ Just kidding! Yup! Well then, let¡¯s begin our search! Chapter 6: Underground Tomb Exploration Alright, now that I''ve finished checking the spoils of war, let''s get down to exploring properly, but it seems we have company. ¡ºOaargh¡­¡­¡» Looks like just a regular zombie¡ªugh, it stinks! It really stinks! Here¡¯s where the downside of realistic depictions rears its ugly head. "¡­¡­I''d rather not get too close if possible." So, I take my torch, fill my mouth with oil, and then spew it out in one go. Kind of like fire-breathing performance art. ¡º¡­¡­uugh¡» It seems to be a weakness as expected, but it''s not very effective. Melee will be faster, so let''s just quickly finish it off. Taking too long is the real problem. ¡¶New skill acquired: Acrobatics¡· I- I don¡¯t need this¡­ No! I''m sure it will be useful for something! I must believe in the Acrobatics skill! "Phew¡­ Come to think of it, if I explore without a torch, maybe I can get skills like night vision or night eyes?" This game seems to have a huge emphasis on player choice. Let''s try to clear this area without any light. ¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹ I''m gradually getting used to it, and I''ve come to the point where I can vaguely see around my feet. As I was thinking about this, something came flying at me with a whooshing sound.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. "Hk!" That was close, if my reaction had been a little slower, I would have taken damage¡­ ¡­ ¡­ but it seems my target monster has come to me. ==================== Race: Living Dead Sword Lv. 7 Condition: Normal ==================== I try to use ¡¶Tame¡· skill just in case, but it fails. Well, makes sense, I guess I need to show them the difference in power first. "Hmph!" So I use my dagger to knock down the thing that flew at me again, and before it can take off again, I stomp on it to stop it, and then bash it hard with the dagger¡¯s hilt. ¡º¨D¨D¨D¨D£¡¡¡¨D¨D¨D¨D£¡¡» "How about now? Feeling like submitting?" Just to be sure, I bash it about five more times, and then activate ¡¶Tame¡· again¡­ This time it''s successful, let''s check the status screen. ==================== Name: Unassigned Race: Living Dead Sword Lv. 7 Condition: Normal Skill List ¡ºLevitation Lv. 3¡»¡ºWeapon Possession Lv. 4¡»¡ºStealth Lv. 1¡»¡ºNight Vision Lv. 3¡»¡ºBackstab Lv. 1¡»¡ºDark Magic Lv. 4¡»¡ºSlash Enhancement Lv. 2¡»¡ºMental Status Immunity Lv. -¡» Title List Lena''s Familiar: Proof of becoming Lena''s familiar. Slightly increases the effectiveness of buffs received from the master. ¡¶Small¡· ==================== Hmm, ¡¶Weapon Possession¡·, huh¡­ That¡¯s a skill that could back up what I was thinking of doing, let''s try it out. "¡­Can you possess this dagger?" ¡º¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¡» The original rusty single-edged sword crumbles and disappears, replaced by the "possessed" status. It seems that in the possessed state, the monster''s maximum HP becomes the combined durability of the weapon it possesses. Same goes for attack power. This dagger is starting equipment, so it''s practically indestructible, though as starting equipment, its attack power is also¡­ you know. "Now, for a name." However, my naming sense is practically non-existent¡­ What should I do? "¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­From now on, your name is Yamada-san." ¡º?! ¨D¨D¨D¨D£¡¡¡¨D¨D¨D¨D£¡¡» It seems to be protesting, but I''ll just ignore it. ==================== Name: Yamada-san Race: Living Dead Sword Lv. 7 Condition: Possessed ==================== "Successfully registered." ¡º¨D¨D¨D¨D¡» And with a slightly melancholic-looking short sword in hand, I resume my exploration. Chapter 6, Part 2 After that, I proceeded for a while and even found some treasure chests, but strangely, I haven''t encountered any monsters. The maximum number of party members I can have, including familiars and summons, is six, so I want to tame four more monsters, and they won''t appear if this keeps up... ¡º¨D¨D¨D¨D£¡ ¨D¨D¨D¨D£¡¡» "£¿ What''s wrong, Yamada-san?" Yamada-san seems to be acting strangely? I wondered if something had happened when¡ª "¨D¨D¨D¨DSo that''s what it is!" I suddenly got attacked from the shadow beneath my feet, that was dangerous! I''m beyond angry, but for now, let''s check the enemy. ==================== Race: Shadow Lv. 7 Condition: Normal ==================== It was the second monster I was aiming for, so that appeases me somewhat. More importantly, Yamada-san has the Night Vision skill, right? That must be why he noticed it so quickly. "Well then, in this dark place, you''re a very troublesome enemy, so Yamada-san, I''m counting on you."Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡º¨D¨D¨D¨D£¡¡» As if in understanding, the hilt vibrated, and my body was pulled along. I didn''t resist, but rather, I thrust forward with all my might in the direction I was being pulled. ¡ºVoooh!¡» Bingo. I then rolled torches around it to cut it off from the other shadows and trap it. "Alright, hopefully you''ll give up quickly, okay?" I slowly approached the Shadow and proceeded to beat it mercilessly with the torch. I beat it to a pulp, as if there was no tomorrow. When it finally stopped moving, I activated ¡¶Tame¡·... Success, it was easier than Yamada-san. "Alright, status check." ==================== Name: Unassigned Race: Shadow Lv. 7 Condition: Normal Skill List ¡ºShadow Dive Lv. 3¡»¡ºShadow Movement Lv. 2¡»¡ºStealth Lv. 1¡»¡ºNight Vision Lv. 3¡»¡ºBackstab Lv. 1¡»¡ºDark Magic Lv. 4¡»¡ºMagic Enhancement Lv. 2¡»¡ºMental Status Immunity Lv. -¡» Title List Lena''s Familiar: Proof of becoming Lena''s familiar. Slightly increases the effectiveness of buffs received from the master. ¡¶Small¡· ==================== "...For now, your name is Kageyama-san." ¡ºVoooh?! ¡» "Now, Kageyama-san, please quickly dive into my shadow." ¡ºVoooh...¡» He reluctantly, very reluctantly, dived into my shadow. I''ll have him cast magic to support me while I fight in close combat. ==================== Name: Kageyama-san Race: Shadow Lv. 7 Condition: Possessed ==================== Oh? Hiding in my shadow is also a type of possession, huh? ¡­It seems like HP is not shared with the player, but it cannot be detected by skills like Presence Detection. Unless you have high-level Appraisal, I guess¡­ Well, anyway, things are going smoothly so far. I''ve come quite far into the dungeon, and I''ve already tamed two of the monsters I was aiming for. Let''s keep going at this pace! "Alright, let''s resume, Yamada-san, Kageyama-san." ¡º¡º¡­¡­¡»¡» The hilt vibrated and the shadow swayed to a negligible degree... Well, whatever, let''s move forward. Chapter 6, Part 3
"Well then, I''ll be in your care, okay?" (Flap flap) And so, here we have Azabu-san, the Phantom Mantle I tamed after that incident. ==================== Name: Azabu-san Race: Phantom Mantle Lv. 9 Status: Possessed Skills: [Levitation Lv. 3], [Night Vision Lv. 3], [Armor Possession Lv. 4], [Wind Magic Lv. 4], [Dark Magic Lv. 2], [Magic Enhancement Lv. 2], [Mental Status Immunity Lv. -] Titles Lena''s Familiar: Proof of becoming Lena''s familiar. Increases (small) the effect of buffs received from the master. ==================== Azabu-san is possessing the cloak that was my initial equipment. I''ve asked him to provide magical support and rear guard duty, just like Kageyama-san. This is very reliable. "Things have gotten lively, so shall we acquire some new support skills?" I have skill points to spare, so what would be good? I seem to be able to get the Night Vision skill on my own, and Yamada-san and the others are here, so that''s fine. If possible, I''d like something that can buff everyone? If so, these seem good: [Spent 3 SP to acquire the Encourage skill] [Spent 3 SP to acquire the Command skill] [Spent 3 SP to acquire the Leadership skill] "Encourage" and "Command" are both skills that increase the stats of party members during combat, and "Leadership" is a skill that allows you to give instructions to familiars and summoned beasts without speaking. I chose and acquired skills that seem easy to use. I''ll also acquire resistance skills that are difficult to obtain on my own. [Spent 5 SP to acquire Physical Resistance] [Spent 5 SP to acquire Magic Resistance] [Spent 5 SP to acquire Physical Condition Resistance] [Spent 5 SP to acquire Mental Condition Resistance] Is this enough? It''s a total expenditure of 29 SP, but it''s a necessary expense. Let''s move forward. ¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. --Oh? We''ve been hunting monsters for a while, and I hear footsteps? The monsters in this area either float, make a dragging sound like zombies, or make a noisy sound, so none of those apply. Also, these footsteps are human or something close to it... other players? For now, let''s approach while being cautious and trying to eliminate our presence and sound as much as possible.... "..." It seems to be beyond the corner nearby, I can even hear voices. Let''s observe a little, and if they are players, we''ll kill them immediately. ¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹ "Damn it! I''m still not satisfied!" "Calm down, Hannes. Getting angry now won''t help, will it?" "But still! What was with that guy?! He suddenly kills the tutorial NPC, keeps PK''ing, uses children as shields, he''s a mess!!" I, Hannes--of course, it''s my player name--am upset because I''m still dragging on what happened just 1 or 2 hours ago. The cause of my anger was that guy who appeared suddenly, dressed the same as the beginners everywhere--and that''s probably true--approached the tutorial NPC and killed him as he was. He was a popular character who had been with us since the beta version, acting and talking no differently from us players, and even gave us advice. Of course, we were stunned. But there was no time for that... without any interval, he then began killing players around him, plunging the place into a whirlpool of chaos. Even in the midst of that, some people were trying to settle the situation and quickly capture or defeat him, and I was one of them. With the sacrifice of one beta version acquaintance, we were able to bring him into a semi-encirclement. From the time I thought it was over, it was an overwhelming development. Even with this, I was confident in my gaming skills, but my axe was easily dodged, and in the meantime, I was headshot by a thrown dagger and respawned. Even now, the memory boils my insides--!!!!! "I also think that person was terrible..." "Right? Look, Line! Cherry''s saying the same thing, aren''t you childhood friends? How can you not feel anything after being killed in front of your eyes along with a child you were trying to save?" "I was frustrated too, but what''s the point of saying it now? He doesn''t know where he is now, so he''s restarting the game." "That''s true, but..." "Okay, okay, that''s enough. We''ll continue after this dungeon is cleared." It was the magician Eleanor who said that to arbitrate. Certainly, there''s no point in saying it now, and it''s as they say... But Eleanor also had a demonic look on her face, making her look like a mountain witch--I''m not thinking anything, I''m not thinking anything, so don''t look at me like that............ "I''m sorry for lashing out, please forgive me..." "No, it''s okay, I understand how you feel." "That''s right, I had my neck twisted! That''s a trauma..." "...When my arrow hit a child, I thought my heart would stop." Certainly, the spear user Kerin and the archer Mira also had a hard time, it''s not just me. Especially Kerin was tragic... He''s still staring into the distance... "Everyone... yeah! First of all, let''s clear this area for the first time! And next time, we won''t lose!" "Yeah, next time we meet, we''ll definitely---" "---Hello, you''re being careless in a place like this." Just as I heard an unfamiliar woman''s voice, Eleanor''s neck was pierced by a dagger, and behind her, Cherry''s head fell off... Chapter 6, Part 4 Come on Bennett, ditch the weapons and bring it on! "Y-you bastarddddddddd!!!!" Driven by impulse, I swing my axe. Desperate to vent this rage, I unleash an overhead strike as if to slam it into this hateful foe¡ªsidestep¡ªsweeping strike¡ªbackstep¡ªupward swing¡ªleaning back diagonally¡ªdiagonal slash¡ªfollowed by a backflip, all of which are evaded. Even in this narrow passage, seriously?! "You son of a bitch!" I try to step forward¡ª Clang¡ª!! ¡ªThe daggers thrown are deflected by Line''s longsword. "Hannes! Calm down, coordinate with us!" "Hk! O-oh, right, that''s right." Damn it! Seeing two of my comrades instantly killed by that bastard just made my blood boil¡­ I know I can''t win against him when I''m seeing red¡­ but if we coordinate in this narrow passage, we might have a chance. With the bonus from the beta version, inheriting the level cap of Lv. 15 and half of our skill levels, we top players have the skill and pride to match¡ª!!! "¡­¡­Hmph." Gradually, little by little, we coordinate our attacks to corner him! Kelin''s spear relentlessly targets his feet, making him hesitate to step forward, Line''s swordsmanship aims for his head, distracting him and obscuring his vision. And when his movements stop¡­ no, even if there''s just a slight opening, I''ll slam my axe down¡ª!!! "Shi!" "Hah!" "Oraaah!" "¡­¡­" Damn it! Not even a graze! Is this still not enough?! It''s three against one in this narrow passage, you know?! Kelin''s spear is evaded as if dancing, and instead, his spear is occasionally stomped on, throwing him off balance and his neck is targeted. Line''s sword flashes are evaded with just neck movements, without even a glance. My wild swings with the axe go without saying¡­ "Damn it!" "Monster¡­"If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I involuntarily curse along with Line¡­ but it can''t be helped, right? It''s just so unbelievably impossible to hit him! But we''re not just struggling, we''re steadily luring him¡ª "¡ªhk!" Mira releases an arrow. Even if it doesn''t hit, he''s completely focused on us, and the arrow is coming from behind, a blind spot. Distance-wise, it''s Mira''s kill zone. He''ll be instantly killed, pierced from the back of his head, serves him right! Half-convinced of his death¡ª "¡­¡­Oh, thank you very much." "¡ªHuh?" It was then, as if being pulled backwards by something, he fell backward, the arrow passed right by, and instead, it ended up piercing Kelin''s head¡­ I blankly stared as Kelin respawned, lost in thought. ¡ªWhy did he evade it? ¡ªDoes he have eyes in the back of his head? I know this isn''t the time for this, but the shock was immense, having been so sure it was a hit, I froze with wide eyes. It was only a few seconds, but in that time he closed in on Mira. "¡­Tch!" Mira rapidly fires arrows to keep him away, but they''re all deflected by daggers. The sound snapped me back to reality, and Line and I rushed forward, but it was already too late¡­ Mira''s HP was completely depleted, her throat pierced from the front¡­ "AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" "Line! Wait!" Seeing that, Line, who had been restraining me until now, launched a reckless charge. "Damn it!" I followed suit and charged in¡ª "Well, yes¡­ that was reasonably fun, you know?" While being smiled at like that by him, my throat was pierced and my HP completely depleted. In that fleeting moment before respawning, I was, regrettably, captivated by that smile¡­ His smile was the last thing I saw before my vision went dark, and when I opened my eyes again, I was in the temple, surrounded by party members with a funeral-like atmosphere¡­ But I definitely wasn''t captivated by his smile! I refuse to admit it! Next time, no way! Next time we meet, I''ll definitely win! I renewed my vow and proposed a post-mortem analysis to the dejected party members¡ª ¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹ ¡¶Level Up!¡· ¡¶Skill Points Acquired¡· ¡¶Karma Value Decreased¡· ¡¶New skill acquired: Night Vision¡· ¡¶New skill acquired: Stealth¡· ¡¶New skill acquired: Silent Movement¡· ¡¶New skill acquired: Presence Detection¡· ¡¶New skill acquired: Danger Detection¡· ¡¶New skill acquired: Keen Hearing¡· ¡¶Existing skills leveled up¡· The battle is over, my level went up, and I acquired new skills including Night Vision, good things. "Phew¡­ I tested whether we could fight even when surrounded in a narrow passage, and it seems we can. Especially Azabu-san was immediately helpful, let''s give her a perfect score." ¡º¡­! (Flap flap!)¡» "Hehe, are you happy? That''s good." Indeed, that last arrow, if Azabu-san hadn''t been there, my reaction would have been too slow, and I wouldn''t have taken no damage. However, the monsters didn''t even use magic, so isn''t this a pretty good result? "We''ve confirmed there are no problems, and we''ll aim to conquer this area while taming our target monsters!" ¡º¨C¨C¨C¨C! ¡» ¡ºWoo! ¡» ¡º¡­! (Flap flap!)¡» Hehe, they''re starting to seem kind of cute. Let''s keep going at this pace. Running into the protagonist was the end of their luck. Chapter 6, Part 5 While continuing the exploration, we discovered a hidden room. Hmm, it seems to be locked from the inside, but I don''t have the unlocking skill, what should I do... should I just acquire it? Woo-woo "Oh? What''s wrong, Kageyama-san?" Kageyama-san came out of my shadow once and went into the hidden room through the gap in the door. After a little while, I heard a ''click'' from inside... Is that okay? I guess it is... "Thank you very much, Kageyama-san." Vut! I thanked Kageyama-san, who returned to my shadow as he was, and entered the hidden room. The inside wasn''t that large, with only a slightly luxurious treasure chest placed there. "Suspicious..." It looks like a trap, but we can''t move forward without checking, so let''s open it... "Well, well, will a demon or a snake come out..." Just as I reached out to the treasure chest and tried to open it, it suddenly moved and bit at me. "Whoa! That was dangerous..." I immediately took a step back, and as far as I could see from the pop-up above my head, it was a monster. ==================== Race: Mimic Lv.13 Status: Normal ==================== A Mimic, huh? It''s not the monster I''m aiming for, but since there''s one slot left even if I tame the last one, should I tame this one too? "In that case, I''ll have you experience some pain." It''s a bit higher level, so let''s have Yamada-san and the others use it as a sandbag for training ¡ª¡ª¡ª ¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹ "From today on, your name is Mita-san." Gah?!This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. "By the way, you don''t have the right to refuse, just so you know." Gah... Now, let''s check the stats of the tamed Mita-san. ==================== Name: Mita-san Race: Mimic Lv.13 Status: Normal ¡¶Mimicry Lv.3¡·¡¶Night Vision Lv.3¡·¡¶Concealment Lv.2¡·¡¶Treasure Possession Lv.4¡·¡¶Light Magic Lv.4¡·¡¶Illusion Magic Lv.2¡·¡¶Magic Enhancement Lv.2¡·¡¶Mental Status Ailment Immunity Lv.-¡· Title Column Lena''s Familiar: Proof of becoming Lena''s familiar. Increases the effect of buffs received from the master (Small) ==================== Hmm, not bad either... Oh? I understand Mimicry, but ''Treasure Possession''? This is a pleasant miscalculation, but was there anything that looked like treasure...? Come to think of it, I should have a high-looking necklace that I received from the bishop of the temple as a parting gift... "Would this be okay?" Gah! It possessed it successfully, and I equip it as an accessory by putting it around my neck as it is. ...Wait, this necklace has surprisingly high additional effects, as expected of the bishop. He''s a paragon of a clergyman who gives alms to the people even when he''s about to die. "Now, only one more left." The last one is a rare spawn, so it might take a little time... Well, we can proceed with the dungeon and look for it later, let''s take it easy. ¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹ ==================== Race: Living Armor Lv.17 Status: Normal ==================== Just when I was thinking we might be close to the boss soon? The last monster appears. It''s high level and humanoid, so it won''t be as easy as the previous four. "Let''s go from here." Taking advantage of the fact that the opponent isn''t moving, I lowered my posture and charged, tackling its waist to pull it down. I then stabbed my daggers into the gaps behind its elbows and knees to dismantle it. Once it''s in a ''Daruma'' state (limbless), I beat it mercilessly with the hilt. With Kageyama-san holding it down from the shadow and Azabu-san using wind magic to make it lose balance, I beat it mercilessly. ¡ªEee! Eeee! ...? I don''t understand what it''s saying? Anyway, I''ll try to activate ¡¶Tame¡·... It failed, didn''t it? I''ll wrap the Living Armor in rope, hang it up, and roast it with a torch, roasting it while hitting it. Let''s wait about 3 minutes, shall we? ¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹ ¡ªEee! ¡ªEeee! Okay, 3 minutes have passed, so I''ll activate Tame again... This time it succeeded, good. If it had failed, I was going to drag it to the boss room while roasting it from the inside with a torch placed inside. ... I feel a gaze as if they''ve seen something gruesome, but I''ll ignore it, and check the stats instead. ==================== Name: Undecided Race: Living Armor Lv.17 Status: Normal ¡¶Walking Lv.3¡·¡¶Night Vision Lv.3¡·¡¶Swordsmanship Lv.2¡·¡¶Armor Possession Lv.4¡·¡¶Strength Enhancement Lv.4¡·¡¶Durability Enhancement Lv.2¡·¡¶Defense Enhancement Lv.2¡·¡¶Mental Status Ailment Immunity Lv.-¡· Title Column Lena''s Familiar: Proof of becoming Lena''s familiar. Increases the effect of buffs received from the master (Small) ==================== It''s quite strong, I''m satisfied. Now, for the usual naming... "From today on, your name is Inoue-san." ...Eee It sounded like it cried in a sad tone, why is that? "Well, it''s fine, more importantly, will you possess this light armor?" Eee! Possession completed successfully. Better results than initially expected, very pleasing. Let''s rush to the boss room as we are. "Now, we''ll head to the boss room while confirming our teamwork and leveling you guys up on the way with the mobs!" They all replied in their own ways of expression at once. It seems they are motivated, which is good. Let''s continue the strategy. Chapter 6, Part 6 Anyway, after all that, we''re probably in front of the boss room. It''s been a long journey to get here. We got lost countless times, encountered monsters sometimes, and other players sometimes¡­ Treasure chests were either filled with junk or Mimics, it really took a lot of time¡­ Should I log out once the boss fight is over? I wonder if I can get a room at the inn with this karma value? Can''t I do something with the disguise skill? I did take the ¡¶Socialization¡· skill in anticipation of this kind of situation, and I''ve been actively communicating with my familiars to raise their levels, so I hope it works out somehow¡­ "Alright everyone, the next one is the boss, are you ready?" ¡º¨C¨C¨C¨C! ¡» ¡ºWoo! ¡» ¡º¡­! (Flap flap!)¡» ¡ºGah! ¡» ¡ºEee! ¡» They seem okay, good. Should I do a final status check for myself before challenging the boss? ==================== Name: Lena Gender: Female Race: Human Lv. 29 Status: Possessed ¡¶Kageyama-san¡· Karma Value: -134 ¡¶Evil¡· Class: Assassin Second Class: Tamer SP: 65 Skill List ¡¶Dagger Technique Lv.19¡·¡¶Throwing Lv.17¡·¡¶Walking Lv.21¡·¡¶Acrobatics Lv.16¡·¡¶Alchemy Lv.1¡·¡¶Sneak Attack Lv.21¡·¡¶Taming Lv.13¡·¡¶Disguise Lv.11¡·¡¶Discernment Lv.12¡·¡¶Socialization Lv.9¡·¡¶Theft Lv.9¡·¡¶Leaping Lv.7¡·¡¶Evasion Lv.14¡·¡¶Martial Arts Lv.21¡·¡¶Assassination Arts Lv.13¡·¡¶Fatal Blow Lv.10¡·¡¶Feint Lv.8¡·¡¶Escape Lv.9¡·¡¶Voice Change Lv.7¡·¡¶Disguise Lv.4¡·¡¶Acrobatics Lv.3¡·¡¶Encourage Lv.12¡·¡¶Leadership Lv.14¡·¡¶Command Lv.11¡·¡¶Physical Resistance Lv.4¡·¡¶Magic Resistance Lv.2¡·¡¶Body Ailment Resistance Lv.1¡·¡¶Mental Ailment Resistance Lv.1¡·¡¶Night Vision Lv.4¡·¡¶Stealth Lv.5¡·¡¶Silent Movement Lv.7¡·¡¶Presence Detection Lv.5¡·¡¶Danger Detection Lv.7¡·¡¶Keen Hearing Lv.3¡· Title Column Giant Killing: Proof of defeating an enemy 20 or more levels higher than yourself. Increased damage dealt ¡¶Slight¡·and reduced damage taken ¡¶Slight¡·when fighting stronger opponents. First Murderer: Proof of being the first to kill a person in this world. Increased damage dealt to humanoid races ¡¶Slight¡· Fearless: Proof of performing actions that are normally hesitated upon. Increased fear resistance ¡¶Slight¡·charm resistance ¡¶Slight¡·confusion resistance ¡¶Slight¡· Massacre: Proof of committing mass murder in a short period of time. AGI is increased in proportion to the number of opponents engaged at once ¡¶Up to 150%¡·Humanoid races only. Heretic: Proof of acting against humanity. Karma value becomes harder to increase and easier to decrease. Plunderer: Proof of committing plunderous acts a certain number of times against a certain number of people. Increased success rate of plunder-type skills ¡¶Slight¡· Criminal: Proof of breaking the law within a town. You will no longer be able to enter towns through legitimate means. God''s Enemy: Proof of declaring war on the Order faction or similar actions. Increased damage dealt to enemies with ¡¶Good¡·karma value ¡¶Small¡·Increased damage taken from enemies with ¡¶Good¡·karma value ¡¶Small¡· Wanted - City of Beginnings: Proof of being wanted in the City of Beginnings. Current bounty: 25 million G Wanted - Temple: Proof of being wanted by the Temple. Current bounty: 15 million G Equipment Weapon: Ordinary Dagger ¡¶Possessed by Yamada-san¡· Body: Evasion Clothes Armor: Iron Light Armor ¡¶Possessed by Inoue-san¡· Arms: Black Gloves Lower Body: Prairie Wolf Leather Leggings Shoes: Thief''s Boots Accessories ?Ordinary Cloak ¡¶Possessed by Azabu-san¡· ?Rosary of the Supreme God ¡¶Possessed by Mita-san¡· ?Ring of Power ? ? ==================== Besides the light armor possessed by Inoue-san, there were other pieces of equipment that dropped, so I equipped them. I was a little worried about going into the boss fight with just the initial equipment without any possessions. However, even after killing so many, this is all the equipment that dropped. Is the drop rate low? It''s a little concerning considering that it will become difficult to use town facilities from now on... Well, if that happens, I can just kill or threaten them and take what I need, but more importantly, it''s the boss now. "Shall we go?" I opened the heavy door in front of me and proceeded ¡ª¡ª¡ªIf you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹ The space beyond the door was wider than I expected, and the ceiling was also high. And as far as I could see, coffins were stored all over the walls, just as the name ''Underground Tomb'' suggests. "Oh?" There''s something in the center of the room? Is that the boss? A skeleton with skin and flesh barely clinging to it, wearing a tattered black cloak and holding a sinister longsword ¡ª¡ª¡ª It''s starting to move, entering combat stance. ==================== BOSS Enemy Race: Eternal Tomb Guardian Lv. 25 Status: Cursed ==================== ¡­Its level is high, isn''t it? Even with my familiars, it''s practically solo, so I should be prepared for a tough fight¡­ I''m glad I plundered potions from the town (deeply). "Everyone, let''s go!" ¡º"!!"¡» I charged straight at the boss. Of course, the opponent also meets me with the longsword in hand, but I lower my stance even further to evade it and aim for the neck ¡ª¡ª¡ª "Guah!" ¡ª¡ª¡ªMy neck was dodged and I got a knee to the stomach instead, careless of me. Using the momentum from being kicked, I retreated backward while throwing useless items, but¡­ well, they''re deflected, as expected. "Kicking a girl in the stomach¡­" ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨DI will absolutely dismantle you!!! I approached again to point-blank range, and slashed upwards with the dagger in my right hand from under the left armpit. It was defended by the longsword, which was switched to a reverse grip, but using that as an axis, I half-rotated. I moved around to the opponent''s side and kicked their knee joint. "Hah!" ¡º¨C¨C¨C¨C¡» Crack! Aiming for the neck of the opponent who had fallen backwards with their knee forward ¡ª¡ª¡ª but they twisted their body and slashed upwards at me from under my crotch. I evaded it by pivoting on my right leg, and performed a spinning slash without losing momentum, but it was dodged by rolling away. ¨D¨D¨D¨DSpinning, spinning, spinning, spinning. Our positions constantly switched, wielding our blades while evading each other''s sword flashes by a hair''s breadth. I no longer know which direction I came from. Without right or left, we continued to circle each other, unleashing fatal blows. I lowered my stance to evade the approaching longsword, slipped around, and thrust my dagger into the opponent''s armpit. The opponent evaded that with a layback, switched their weapon to the opposite hand, and swung down ¡ª¡ª¡ª I matched the dagger''s blade to it, tilted it at the right moment to make it slide, and then moved to point-blank range while scattering sparks of iron on iron, and grabbed the opponent''s chin and slammed them to the floor ¡ª¡ª¡ª Just before impact, they put their hands on the floor and evaded it with a somersault-like move, but right before that, I kicked them in the face and Mita-san''s ¡¶Light Orb¡· light magic detonated. It seems like it''s weak to light magic, just as I thought. Finally, I managed to land an effective hit. I guess this AI didn''t expect me to use magic. ¡º¡­¡» I ask Azabu-san to unleash wind magic towards the opponent''s back as they cautiously try to create distance. Suddenly, the opponent, pushed out by Azabu-san''s ¡¶Gust¡· from behind, comes flying towards me. I also charge forward and initiate a head-on collision. I slash and sever the opponent''s waist, which is bent into an ''L'' shape from the back, simultaneously with Mita-san''s light magic. I then bring my dagger down on the upper body that fell to the ground and send an arm flying. "Is this enough to finish it, I wonder?" Clatter clatter! Oh? The severed lower body and both arms are moving? Is it perhaps because it''s already undead and ''dead''? Well, whatever, if that''s how it is, then I''ll just dismantle it as originally planned. First, I grab the lower body, which is wobbling towards me, and slam it onto the ground. Once it doesn''t move much anymore, I dislocate every joint and break it apart. Even bones alone can''t move, right? As expected, the lower body became completely silent, and I apply the same treatment to the remaining arms. "Now, are you ready?" ¡º¡­¡» ¡­¡­Silence, huh? Maybe it just can''t speak. Anyway, I start removing the bones one by one from the spine, huh~ there are even bones this small¡­ interesting. I should seriously study human anatomy, shouldn''t I? I vaguely understand how to break it, but I don''t know the theory behind it. It wasn''t my major either. Wait, I just noticed the boss''s HP is decreasing at an incredible rate. Could it be some kind of part destruction or something? If so, how long will it last? "Please endure it diligently, okay?" ¡º¨C¨C¨C¨C! ¨C¨C¨C¡ª! ¡» Finally, there''s a response that sounds like something, but sorry¡­ I''m having too much fun to care about that. "Could this be the spinal cord, or rather, the place where the spinal fluid passes? The ribcage wasn''t made of 6 bones, was it?" I continue the dismantling while observing, but it disappears midway. ¡¶World Announcement: Party ''Lena and her servants'' have cleared the Underground Tomb of the City of Beginnings for the first time¡· ¡¶World Announcement: From this point onwards, the boss of the Underground Tomb of the City of Beginnings will be weakened¡· ¡¶Acquired 10 SP as first clear bonus¡· ¡¶Acquired Dark Mantle as first boss defeat reward¡· ¡¶Level Up!¡· ¡¶Skill Points Acquired¡· ¡¶New skill acquired: Foresight¡· ¡¶New skill acquired: Parry¡· ¡¶New skill acquired: Dismantling¡· ¡¶Existing skills leveled up¡· ¡¶Title acquired: Ruthless¡· ¡¶Title acquired: Conqueror of the Underground Tomb of the City of Beginnings¡· ¡­¡­¡­¡­It seems the boss has died, I wanted to play a little more, what a shame¡­ Yeah, really. However, it''s good because we got the first clear of this area. The magic circle that appeared in the center of the room should teleport us outside, right? I''ll go back to town, get a room at the inn, and then log out for today. It was an eventful first day. "Oh, before that¡­" I''ll change my hair color and stuff with the disguise skill, just in case. There are plenty of people with all sorts of hair colors in the game, but just to be safe. And I''ll re-possess Azabu-san from the ordinary cloak to the Dark Mantle. "This should be good, shall we return?" I got on the teleportation circle as it was, and after getting a room at the inn in town, I logged out. Chapter 7: Official Bulletin Board
¡¾Finally¡¿ General Chat Thread 28 ¡¾Service Launch!¡¿
  1. Adventurer taking a break This is the general chat thread. Feel free to post anything. However, you must follow the minimum rules, or the admins will come for you. Previous thread: http://£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª
980 Next thread, please.
  1. Adventurer taking a break
276 Lol By the way, how far is the¹¥ÂÔ (strategy/walkthrough) progressing now?
  1. Adventurer taking a break
276 H-He''s a pervert¡ª!!
  1. Adventurer taking a break
281 From the top groups, I think: Hannes and Harold''s party are at the Underground Tomb in the northern City of Beginnings. Kevin and Nicolas''s party are in the Southern Forest of Beginnings. Cecil''s party is in the Western Grasslands. Mikaela, Gustav, and Sheila''s party are in the Eastern Mines.
The¹¥ÂÔ (strategy/walkthrough) progress is about the same everywhere, if anything, the West is a bit behind and the East is progressing faster? Well, it''s probably within the margin of error, I heard everywhere is about half¹¥ÂÔ (strategized/walkthrough) already.
  1. Adventurer taking a break
276 is a genuine pervert, no doubt about it.
  1. Adventurer taking a break
283 Thanks! Wow~, they''ve already¹¥ÂÔ (strategized/walkthrough) half of it¡­ and it''s only the 2nd day since service started, you know? Especially the Underground Tomb, which requires countermeasures for darkness and ambushes, they''re really going for it, as expected of the¹¥ÂÔ (strategy/walkthrough) groups.
  1. Adventurer taking a break
276 looking guy got taken away by the guards lol, serves him right. 283 Why are they progressing so fast?
  1. Adventurer taking a break
285 The Underground Tomb is nose-killing if you set the depiction settings to realistic.
  1. Adventurer taking a break
286 All these guys are from the beta version and have carried over some of their data from then. Beta testers get a bonus of carrying over half of their base level and skill levels, and these guys leveled up to the level cap of 30 in the beta, so they started at level 15, skill levels I don''t know though. And they''re probably already past that level by now.
  1. Adventurer taking a break
288 Wow~, thanks! We''re having it easy thanks to the top groups giving us info, gotta worship them.
  1. Adventurer taking a break There''s a crazy guy in the square though¡­
  2. Adventurer taking a break
283 Harold''s party girls are all cute, aren''t they?
  1. Adventurer taking a break
289 Yeah, worship them, worship them.
  1. Adventurer taking a break
290 What happened?
  1. Adventurer taking a break I got killed by the crazy guy in the square¡­
  2. Adventurer taking a break What''s going on? Did something happen in the square?
  3. Adventurer taking a break
293 295 The peaceful fountain square was filled with beginners just like yesterday, and I was taking a break on a bench watching them when suddenly Tutorial-ojisan''s head flew off. And before I knew it, I was dead too, now I''m in the temple.
  1. Adventurer taking a break
296 Wait wait wait, I don''t understand at all?
  1. Adventurer taking a break
296 What does this mean¡­
  1. Adventurer taking a break Is there anyone who can explain in detail?
  2. Adventurer taking a break Okay, I luckily survived and saw everything, so I''ll explain, wait a sec.
  3. Adventurer taking a break
300 Thanks
  1. Adventurer taking a break
300 wktk (excited anticipation)
  1. Adventurer taking a break It''s gonna be a bit long. I was in the east stall next to the Tutorial-ojisan, across the fountain, chatting with my party members while watching the newbies. (By the way, I''m also from the beta version) My party members and I were joking "Look! People are like trash!" while watching the newbies flocking to Tutorial-ojisan.
As we were doing that, another newbie appeared in the square, and after looking around, started walking towards Tutorial-ojisan. "Ah, another newbie," I didn''t pay much attention at the time, but then that guy talked to Tutorial-ojisan, and then suddenly decapitated ojisan with a dagger. Everyone in the square was like (©b§Õ©b) this face.
  1. Adventurer taking a break
303 No kidding lol
  1. Adventurer taking a break
303 What are you playing at lol No wonder it turned out like that lol
  1. Adventurer taking a break
305 Because I''m bored until the death penalty is lifted¡­.
Continuing my story. And that guy, taking advantage of everyone in the square being (©b§Õ©b), used the two people behind him as a signal to drop their heads and then ran through the square PK-ing (Player Killing) everyone, it was just chaos. Everyone changed from (©b§Õ©b) to ©c( ©b§¥¡£)¥Î in an instant. We also couldn''t move right away, even if we could, the confusion was so great that we couldn''t move immediately. At that time, Hannes and Harold, who happened to be in the square, started calling out to try and calm things down. I thought it was¤µ¤¹¤¬ (as expected) of top players to try to take command and control in that situation.
  1. Adventurer taking a break
306 What the heck, that guy''s seriously crazy
  1. Adventurer taking a break
306 But there were 2 top parties, right? No need to panic that much lolThe narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
  1. Adventurer taking a break
308 You''d think that, right? That guy first rushed at Harold who was calling out to divert attention and killed him by dropping his head. Even then, we were surprised, but when we managed to semi-surround him with the remaining 11 people, we were half-convinced that this time it was over.
But from there, it was a raging development, the guy immediately chose to escape and ran through, and he didn''t forget to kill NPCs and players along the way. When Mira from Hannes''s party shot an arrow to stop him, he used an NPC child as a shield and threw them behind him, I doubted my eyes.
  1. Adventurer taking a break
309 Bastard lol
  1. Adventurer taking a break
309 Completely heinous that guy lol
  1. Adventurer taking a break
309 Harold got taken down?!
  1. Adventurer taking a break And then Line and Cherry from Hannes''s party rushed out to save the child, but Line was pierced along with the child by the guy who had reversed direction using the child as cover, and Cherry was killed by having her head dropped.
Kelin, who was distracted by that, was circled around to the back and died with his neck twisted. The guy took Kelin''s spear as it was and threw it at the rear guard, it was a beautiful form from the sidelines. Just as he was about to rush at the rear guard who were busy dealing with the thrown spear, Hannes''s axe was swung, but he evaded it with a somersault and threw a dagger in mid-air, it was a splendid headshot¡­¡­¡­ Then the guy pretended to charge again but reversed direction again and escaped to the south¡­¡­ With only 2 front guards to protect the rear guard, and the rear guard gathering together to be easily protected, we ended up letting him escape¡­¡­¡­¡­ of course, while escaping, he was killing NPCs and players indiscriminately.
  1. Adventurer taking a break
313 Hiee
  1. Adventurer taking a break
313 What do you mean ''of course''¡­?
  1. Adventurer taking a break
313 Huh? Beginners and two top¹¥ÂÔ (strategy/walkthrough) group parties got half-destroyed by one person? The front guard is in a state of annihilation¡­ is this not a lie?
  1. Adventurer taking a break
316 I wish it was a lie or a dream¡­ anyway, because of that, the square to the main street leading south of the city is completely chaotic right now.
  1. Adventurer taking a break
317 Ah, so this large-scale search in the Southern Forest isn''t an event, if something like this happened, it would cause such a commotion.
  1. Adventurer taking a break
318 Did that crazy guy escape into the Southern Forest?
  1. Adventurer taking a break
319 Probably, even with a large-scale search involving two top parties, Kevin and Nicolas''s, they can''t find him, so I don''t know.
  1. Adventurer taking a break
320 Well, he''s in the forest that hasn''t even been¹¥ÂÔ (strategized/walkthrough) yet, and facing a large number of adults including top players who have calmed down, surely this time it''ll be okay, right? It''ll be okay, right?
  1. Adventurer taking a break If everything is true, I''m still worried though
  2. Adventurer taking a break Shouldn''t all the¹¥ÂÔ (strategy/walkthrough) groups gather together once?
  3. Adventurer taking a break ¡¾Breaking News¡¿ Crazy guy murders the bishop, sets fire to the temple and escapes
  4. Adventurer taking a break
323 Yeah, right?
  1. Adventurer taking a break
324 Wait wait wait wait wait wait wait
  1. Adventurer taking a break
324 I don''t understand what you''re saying¡­
  1. Adventurer taking a break
324 Oh, it''s all messed up now¡­
  1. Adventurer taking a break
324 So that''s why the city guards and temple knights were running past me with terrible expressions¡­
  1. Adventurer taking a break I don''t even know what''s going on anymore¡­
  2. Adventurer taking a break ¡¾Follow-up¡¿ Crazy guy, after going on a rampage against the guards, sets fire to the city
  3. Adventurer taking a break
331 What is this pyromaniac?
  1. Adventurer taking a break
331 Pandemonium
  1. Adventurer taking a break Somehow the city lord himself is taking command on the front lines¡­
  2. Adventurer taking a break
334 Well, soldiers dispatched from the country were killed, a massacre happened in the square that''s supposed to be a place of relaxation, stalls and markets are ravaged, a key person called the bishop was murdered, the temple burned down, city guards were killed and injured, and the city is on fire, all of this happened in broad daylight, it can''t be helped that he''s taking charge.
  1. Adventurer taking a break
335 Lol, ain''t no way this can happen normally
  1. Adventurer taking a break
335 Isn''t that guy seriously crazy, no way¡ª!
  1. Adventurer taking a break Alright, I''m gonna go check it out!
  2. Adventurer taking a break
338 Don''t rush in¡­
  1. Adventurer taking a break
338 I''ll pick up your bones for you
  1. Adventurer taking a break Salute to the brave >>338! (£à?¦Ø?¡ä)©f
  2. Adventurer taking a break
339 340 341 Don''t kill me off on your own! ¡­Well, I died though¡­¡­¡­¡­.
  1. Adventurer taking a break
342 You died already lol
  1. Adventurer taking a break
342 Too fast lol
¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹ ¡¾City of Beginnings¡¿ General Chat Thread 34 ¡¾Total Damage Amount?¡¿
  1. City Adventurer This is the general chat thread. Feel free to post anything. However, you must follow the minimum rules, or the admins will come for you. Previous thread: http://£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª
980 Next thread, please.
  1. City Adventurer
572 In the end, they couldn''t find Geno-cider-san¡­
  1. City Adventurer Geno-cider-san got a wanted poster lol
  2. City Adventurer
584 He really managed to escape lol
  1. City Adventurer
585 After rampaging that much, huh?
  1. City Adventurer I roughly calculated the total damage amount in the City of Beginnings
  2. City Adventurer
588 Competent
  1. City Adventurer
588 Too fast, Jose
  1. City Adventurer First, regarding human casualties NPCs 87 townspeople dead, 274 seriously or lightly injured, 52 missing Players 67 players dead, 384 seriously or lightly injured, 0 missing Next, regarding damage to houses etc. General Residences 58 buildings collapsed, 78 damaged Damage to other buildings Temple, monastery, orphanage, station, Grand Trading Company branch
If you combine other damages such as market goods, it easily exceeds twice the city''s expected annual budget... and furthermore, according to NPC testimonies that merchants will avoid a city where such a big incident occurred, including future losses, it will be even worse¡­
  1. City Adventurer
561 The lord is probably holding his head in his hands right now
  1. City Adventurer
561 Seeing the numbers like this, it''s terrible lol
  1. City Adventurer
561 No wonder he got a wanted poster lol
  1. City Adventurer Geno-cider-san is making too many legends from day one lol ww
  2. City Adventurer
565 This will definitely get a dedicated thread made for him lol
  1. City Adventurer
566 It already exists! ¡ú£ºhttp://£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª£ª
  1. City Adventurer
567 Seriously, work is fast lol w
Chapter 8, Part 1: Town Exploration and Subjugation Well, I¡¯m back from school, and after taking care of various errands, I¡¯m logging in. A few days have passed since then, and I¡¯ve been itching to continue. "Good morning, I''m going out for a bit." "Y-yes..." I greet the innkeeper, but he just looks at me fearfully. He did manage to reply, though... He refused to let me stay on the first day, you know. I only dropped two of his fingers, but it seems I scared him completely... Something to work on in the future. ¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹ Now then, after leaving the inn, I''ll fully activate my stealth skills. After all, I''m a wanted person now. Today, I think I''ll just wander around town, both to secure escape routes for when things go south and for ¡®fun¡¯. Looking around the town again, it¡¯s a cityscape reminiscent of early modern Eastern Europe. Imagine Warsaw or Bucharest, and you''ll get a good idea, maybe? The lord''s mansion looked a bit Russian, from what I glimpsed; I wonder why. I stroll through the exotic cityscape. Stealth skills fully engaged, and my familiars are on alert. As far as I can observe, the town lacks the vibrancy it had on the first day, and the faces of the residents are gloomy. And above all, the guards are heavily armed... I could understand pairs, but they''re always moving in groups of four whenever I see them, and patrols are frequent ¨C it''s definitely my fault. I slip into a back alley to avoid people''s eyes. I skipped it on the first day, but I should definitely memorize the routes and record them on my map. It won''t hurt, at least. Entering the back alley, the bright, open feeling of the main streets disappears, replaced by a completely outlaw atmosphere; this is exciting! As I''m walking around, looking this way and that¨C¨C¨C "Ooh, ooh, little lady lost, are ya?" "How about us uncles show you the way, huh?" "We''re real nice guys!" ¨C¨C¨CI''m being harassed by thugs. A trio of a fat guy, a tall guy, and a short guy. This is the worst. Was I too caught up in the back alley atmosphere and neglected my stealth and searching skills? I need to reflect on this¡­ "Say somethin''." "Scared shitless, ain''t she?" "We uncles ain''t scary¨C¨C¨C" Well, it''s perfect timing anyway, so let''s change today''s plans. I instantly behead the fat guy, and then sever the legs of the remaining two to prevent them from escaping. "Huh?" I then stomp on the short guy''s head and grab the tall guy''s jaw, slamming him against the wall. "Gyaaaaaaaah!!" He''s finally grasping the situation and screaming in pain now. The short guy is hard to hear since I''m stomping on his head. "You''re being a bit too loud." With a dull thud, I dislocate the tall guy''s jaw, and then, with another thud, relocate it. "~~~~~~~~~~!!" Once it¡¯s a bit quieter, I start the interrogation. "There''s something I want to ask you." "O-okay! I''ll tell you anything! So please, help me!" "That''s good to hear. Now then, has anything changed recently?" "¡­A-apparently a big incident happened in the main part of town a few days ago, and now the back alleys are overflowing with unemployed people, and theÖΰ² (public order) is terrible everywhere!"Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "I see." So, it seems that due to my rampage, the Town of Beginnings is overflowing with unemployed people, and theÖΰ² (public order) has deteriorated not only in the main streets but also in the back alleys. "Anything else?" "¡­These newcomers are being gathered up by a new organization called the Yagan Family, who are starting to expand their influence and have started picking fights with the Moonlight Family, who used to control this whole area, so in retaliation, the conflicts are increasing." I see, the underworld has its own troubles, huh? Well, that''s fine by me. "Then finally, one last thing: take me to the Moonlight Family''s place." "W-wait, no way! I can''t do that! If I guide someone like you, I''ll get killed!" "...Is that so? That''s unfortunate." Looks like he won''t guide me. I don''t need him anymore, then. I grab his jaw to keep it in place, and then start stuffing oil into his mouth. "~~~~! Guhk!" I then feed him the torch and light it up. A human bonfire, complete! The fact that flames are spewing from his eyes is a nice artistic touch, as expected of the Tall Guy. "Now then, Shorty-san, which do you prefer: being killed here and now, or being killed later? Or rather, who would you prefer to be killed by?" Saying that, I remove my foot from his head. "I-I''ll g-guide y-you~" Ugh, he''s all snot and tears, disgusting. I wipe my shoe on the ground to clean it. I''ve got his promise, so I hook the short guy''s collar with a clothesline prop and start moving. "Which way?" "T-that way." Seriously, can''t he stop crying already? I can''t crush his eyes because I need him to guide me, but should I at least slice off his nose or something? ¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹ "Boss! More Yagan Family guys again! This time it''s mayaku (narcotics)!" "Again?! How many times is that now?!" Damn it! Bad luck! Just when I was having a drink at the tavern ¨C which is our front as a hideout ¨C my subordinate comes in with this report. I just got promoted to executive in charge of this area two days ago, and then on the second day of my promotion, a major incident happened in the main part of town, and the number of underworld residents suddenly exploded... If it was just that, it''d be manageable, but then that Yagan bastard, who absorbed those newcomers, started expanding his influence and picking a fight with us! He was excommunicated, so he should just lay low! "What''s the damage?" "A few junkies, and over a dozen of our guys with minor and serious injuries." The damage is relatively light for something involving mayaku (narcotics)... More importantly, the problem is¨C¨C¨C "More importantly, there''s a risk that the lord''s investigation will reach our side because of this." "...I know." Seriously, one thing after another... Fairly large countries have been destroyed by mayaku (narcotics), wiping out their entire populations, so it''s banned by continental treaties, but if you get involved with that stuff, we''ll be in danger too. "This time, we can''t just turn a blind eye. I''ll negotiate with the higher-ups for permission to crush that Yagan bastard¨C¨C¨C" "¨C¨C¨CGood evening~? Excuse the intrusion?" "¨C¨C¨CWho is it?" A voice calls out, accompanied by the loud bang of a door being opened. Seriously, who is it? Did someone call for a woman? This isn''t a brothel, you know? I turn around to complain, and then¨C¨C¨C "B-Boss! It''s Rolan!" Behind me, there was a beautiful woman. However, in her hand, she was holding Rolan by the collar, his legs gone, his nose sewn shut, and his eyes gouged out, a grotesque figure. Dan and Nosuri, who were with him, are nowhere to be seen, but¡­ hopes are dim. "You, are you with Yagan?" "? No, I''m not?" What? I thought they¡¯d finally come to raid us. "Then are you the lord''s pawns? Or are you a spy from another family?" "Neither of those either, though¡­" "Then who the hell are you and what''s your purpose!!" Damn it! Calm down, me. I know it''s infuriating that my subordinate was taken out, but stay calm¡­ A woman who can kill three adult men alone is abnormal, I need to carefully assess the situation. And then, when I see an opening, all of us here will attack her together¡­ After thinking that far, I exchange glances with my subordinates around me. I get nods and bows in return from each of them. "You see, I have business with the boss of the Moonlight Family, or something like that?" "You''re in luck, I''m the boss here." "Is that so? Doesn''t look like it, though¡­" I''m the boss here; I''m not lying. Even if she uses Appraisal, it should be fine. "Ah, that''s right. We can talk inside, so come with me." "¡­Well, okay, I guess." The woman follows me along, looking unconvinced ¨C fool, the moment she gets further inside the tavern, she¡¯s done for. I''ll torture her to squeeze out every last bit of information about who''s behind her, and then sell her off to a brothel. Turning my back to the woman, I advance a certain distance, and then give a signal that only my subordinates would understand. "Expose her to death!" "Prepare yourselves!" "For our three comrades!" At that signal, the subordinates who had been waiting around us attack the woman all at once. "Bad luck and bad judgment, you shouldn''t have followed us so trustingly¨C¨C¨C" ¨C¨C¨CAs I turned around, saying that, what I saw was three of my subordinates'' heads flying off, five more subordinates'' arms being severed, and weapons that looked like they belonged to her sprouting from the throats of three more, and two being sent flying out of the tavern. "¨C¨C¨CI really have bad luck." Chapter 8, Part 2 ¡¶Level Up!¡· ¡¶Existing Skill Level Increased!¡· Well then, now that I''ve returned the favor for that surprise attack, shall I try asking them again? "Will you listen to me properly this time?" "...Yeah." While questioning him, I was dismembering one of the guys who attacked me and playing with the parts, and he nodded obediently. If he had just done this from the start, it would have saved us both a lot of trouble, wouldn¡¯t it? "Wow, guts are surprisingly whitish, huh..." "Please, I''ll talk, and I''ll be as accommodating as possible, so please stop torturing my men any further..." "? Torture? ...Well, alright, I''ll stop playing around and we can talk." "...Thank goodness." This time, I''m finally guided to the back room. Along the way, presumably the boss''s (provisional) guards, a few people follow us, but they all stare at me as if I''m some kind of monster... It reminds me of my father, which makes me want to kill them. "¡­Hey, you guys, don''t gawk at the guests." "Y-yes, sir!" As expected of this place''s boss, he''s very perceptive. This is a plus for his personnel evaluation. "Here we are, please come in." "Excuse me." The room I was led to was so clean and tidy that it was hard to believe it was located in a back alley, and the furniture subtly decorated the room in a refined manner; the lack of excessive ornamentation is a plus in my book. "Please, have a seat there." "Then I won''t hesitate to." Ooh, this feeling of sinking in... And then a woman who appeared from somewhere brings out tea and sweets, and then withdraws. From these small details, you can get a glimpse into the Moonlight Family''s wealth. Is being in organized crime really that profitable after all? "So, what''s this business you wanted to talk about?" "Won''t you become the lord of this town?" "...............Sorry, I didn''t quite catch that. Could you say that again?" Huh? I thought I spoke clearly, though... "¡­Shall I carve it into you?" "W-wait, hold on! I heard you! I heard you!"Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Suddenly making jokes like that. "You''re surprisingly humorous, aren''t you?" "Heh heh, right?" But he doesn''t seem to be used to saying jokes; his smile is strained. "S-so, about becoming the lord, was it? I''d like you to explain in more detail." "Certainly. You see, I''ve caused quite a ruckus in the main part of town and ended up with a bounty on my head." "¡­So it was you (muttering)." "In this situation, I can''t go shopping openly in the main streets, nor can I use the facilities. In fact, to stay at an inn, the owner had to sacrifice two of his fingers." "¡­¡­" "If it''s just for ¡®fun,¡¯ that''s fine, but having to do things against my will is no fun, and it''s a waste of time too." "¡­¡­" "So, I was thinking, since this is how things are, I might as well make a puppet ruler who''s convenient for me. What do you say?" "¡­¡­Wait, hold on, this isn''t something I can decide on my own, and I can''t make a decision right away. I understand you''re serious, but please give me some time." "Is that so? That''s unfortunate, but I''ll wait... However, the deadline is one week from today." "Understood." It seems it will take some time, and he seems really reluctant, but he agreed. That''s good. "And one more thing." "¡­There''s more?" "Yes, there is more. If possible, I''d like some high-performance equipment and tools and materials for making potions." "Take as much as you like from the underground warehouse..." Oh, how generous! I''m really starting to like this guy, you know? "I''m happy to hear that, thank you very much." Saying that, I stand up to head there right away, but¨C¨C¨C "Wait, just one last question, please." "? What is it?" "What are you planning to do during this week you''re waiting?" That''s true, I''ll have a whole week free. What should I do? "Hmm... Let me see... Well, I can go crush the Yagan Family for you, as an advance payment of sorts." "¡­T-that''s appreciated, but it''s not like I''ve agreed to cooperate yet, you know?" "¡­¡­¡­¡­Are you going to refuse?" Huh? Huh? I thought things were ending on a good note, but is it just my wishful thinking...? How disappointing. It''s really disappointing, but¨C¨C¨C "¨C¨C¨C¨CI shall look forward to the next boss." ¨C¨C¨C¨CSaying that, I raise my dagger. "W-wait, hold on! It''s not like I said I wouldn''t cooperate, right?! I''ll definitely negotiate with my superiors to cooperate! So please, I beg you!" "So you''re not the boss after all, are you? You''re probably just an executive or something, huh? Well, I don''t really care as long as you cooperate¡­" "N-no, I''m not lying!" "I know, well, whatever... I''m looking forward to hearing from you in a week, okay?" Saying that, I leave the room and head to the underground warehouse, taking absolutely everything stored inside. The person who guided me to the underground warehouse had a strained look on his face, but he didn''t complain. I think I''ll log out around here for today. From tomorrow, I''ll level up my Alchemy skill in parallel with crushing the Yagan Family. ¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹¨‹ "¡­Boss, was that really okay?" "¡­It can''t be helped. Neither you nor I want to die yet, right?" "That''s true, but¡­" The person I had been talking to just now disappeared, and a wave of exhaustion washed over me, and I leaned back against the sofa. My subordinate voices his concern. While replying to him, I rack my brains on how to explain this situation to the boss and the other executives and get them to cooperate, when one of the subordinates who had guided the woman returns. "Boss¡­" "How did she seem?" "She seemed to be in a good mood the whole time, humming to herself." "¡­Is that so? How enviable." And here I am with a stomach ache because of you¡­ "And? What did she take with her? You checked, of course? We need any information about her we can get right now." "About that¡­" "¡­What is it? Don''t tell me you forgot to check?" I press him, irritated by my subordinate''s hesitant manner. "It''s not that I forgot to check, it''s just that, um¡­" "What is it? Stop beating around the bush and say it." "¡­¡­¡­¡­Everything." "Huh?" "She took absolutely everything stored in the warehouse, everything down to even the candlesticks for lighting up the place¡­¡­¡­¡­" And with that, I fainted from sheer stress. Please, give me a break, seriously¡­