Chapter 1154 - 三人娘疾走中
It was the 【Fun Castle of Sweets】, a place where the word "high-calorie" felt appropriate in many senses, but in a virtual world, sweets with truly zero calories could never become a weight upon a maiden's heart.
Thus, there was no need to rest after eating. After exchanging a promise to visit again with the troublesome King of Sweets, who was throwing a tantrum and likely pestering them with "────! ────!"... or more likely, "One more time! One more time!", the three girls who had exited the dessert buffet were────
"I miss Haru."
"I feel you."
"............Right now, you're both talking about him as a means of transportation, aren't you?"
From the Fun Castle located in the western part of the Central First Base 【Safe Area】 of the Garden of Divine Creation, they continued further west. Setting their second destination as 【Key Tree City】, they were running endlessly across the ground.
Of course, approximately one person (Nia) was currently fulfilling the role of luggage via princess carry... One reason was likely the improved comfort since the 'Princess' playing the role of the prince had recently acquired a human-carrying skill, but more than anything, it was a manifestation of the experience points she had been forcibly accumulating.
"If only we could at least get a business rental of Sapphire-chan."
"True. Being able to fly is definitely cheating."
"Since the prerequisite for challenging the taming of a flying 【Stardust Beast (Lim)】 is 'being able to fly,' I guess the basic stance is that flight is a no-go for the player side."
"No doubt. And the reason for that is likely Haru himself."
"Ahaha, would it break the game?"
Though it was nowhere near her top speed, it was merely a comfortable run (running) for the 【Sword Queen (Iris)】. In actual fact, if they were just strolling leisurely, there was no way they could traverse a journey of about five hundred kilometers with the casual feeling of 'let's go play for a bit.'
For that reason, Iris was running at a normal speed of about three hundred kilometers per hour, and on plains without undulations or obstacles, she ran at a speed close to five hundred kilometers────and yet, look at this.
Whether she should be pitied or praised, the indigo-colored girl was accustomed to being placed under ultra-high-speed movement. The way she enjoyed chatting nonchalantly seemed to say, 'As long as it's below the speed of sound, I have room to spare.'
"────Even so, it's become much... much easier than before."
Setting aside the mysterious, smug fairy who was, so to speak, merely being carried.
"I think... in Iris-san's case, that's a rather special case, though."
"I don't want to hear that from Sora."
"I... y-yes. Um, I am also quite special, but..."
While nowhere near the speed of a certain someone who was currently the fastest, or a certain former-fastest cartographer, they were maintaining a sprint (sprinting) of three hundred to five hundred kilometers per hour... which simply converted to an AGI of about 300 to 500.
The fact that the 【Sword Queen】, who once judged such a thing as 'impossible,' had already been running for nearly thirty minutes without tripping or tiring was a manifestation of the virtual world's new era (innovation).
────Just as Iris had snapped back. Setting aside the exception among exceptions who was running alongside her, scattering lightning and keeping pace perfectly without falling behind, running in the blink of an eye...
"Iris-san, what level were you again...?"
"157."
"...How many 'Extense' Senses have you taken?"
"A lot."
That was the answer to everything. Because Arcadia at this very moment was a place where 'being able to do what you couldn't do' was overflowing all at once and wouldn't stop.
"I also wondered about things that were so clearly tied to body control at first... but I recommend this, the 《Revolving Run》 from the 'AGI' tree. I can't put it well, but I don't feel that intrusive sense of being assisted at all. I don't feel it, and yet I'm running. It's purely convenient."
"I-I see... by the way, what stage of Sense is that?"
"Hmm........................ Thirteenth stage?"
"That's a long road for me..."
Certainly, the level 157 person (Iris), who was estimated to be at the top among all players, was in a special category. However, between before and after the 'Green Connect' conquest... it was a fact that the virtual world's environment had changed drastically, to the point where the word 'dramatic' wasn't enough.
The greatest example of such a drastic change was the raising of the speed standard.
Due to the Senses brought about for thought assistance or body control assistance, it was said that almost all players had significantly raised their respective 'speed zones.'
In other words, though it was an extreme example, this was how it felt for many people.
To a greater or lesser degree... no, without exception, the current situation was one of massive spec-ups.
────Nonetheless, picking up what had been set aside.
"Hmm............ no, really, yeah. Sora, you're fine just as you are."
It was only natural that Iris, glancing sideways, couldn't help but let out a sigh.
"Eh, ah, th-that..."
Senses or whatever had almost nothing to do with it.
It was true that she herself had excitedly put her heart and soul into it with all her might, but she hadn't expected things to become this strange. With a Soul Vessel that reached the limits of abnormality and the talent to command it fully, she was showing a leap of ten steps that was utterly dumbfounding...
Indeed, toward the girl who continued to show a growth rate────no, an evolution────that made one feel frustrated because it suited her too well as a certain someone's partner.
"Sora."
"Yes...?"
"Next time, do you want to try having a serious match with me?"
"Heah-eh!?"
When she proposed a 'spar' out of pure curiosity, half-serious and half-joking, zap.<
The unexpected surprise must have disturbed her concentration. The lightning she wore...────due to the combination of its miniscule size and dazzling light, the countless magic swords that were difficult to see lost control.
In short, the body of the girl who had realized ultra-high-speed movement by riding the waves of lightning was about to dive into the ground with her inertia as she was in mid-air... but she didn't.
"...Ngh, ............fufu, just kidding. It seems I'm still not quite like Haru."
Suddenly, a movement like a bolt of lightning that was equal to, if not better than, Sora's "lightning." Iris's single hand, which had reached out as she drew close, caught the small hand without letting it slip────
"Ju-wha...! S-Sorry, wait, just a sec, sto-stop, waaaah!!?"
"Wait-wait-wait, what are you doing, one hand is scary, a one-handed hug is too much, Princess, you dummy-dummy-dummy!!!"
In other words, a flower in each hand.
"Hmm... this is a bit of a difficult problem."
Thus, the sudden crisis continued.
Even if she was told to stop, in order to brake properly while holding a person in each hand at this speed zone... well, she wondered what kind of body movement she should use to accomplish it safely.
She realized that she, too, was still not quite like a certain someone. While Iris tilted her head with a composed, expressionless face for a while, making the two of them look like koinobori (T/N: carp streamers),
"Hiaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!?!?"
"Ngyaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!?!?"
It is said that the lovely screams of a maiden and a borderline-maiden (?) colored the lonely wasteland.
Incidentally, after tossing Sora-san into the sky with a "heave," she stopped with an emergency brake, "plopped" Nia-chan down, and then sprinted at full power to catch Sora-san, so everything turned out fine.
Turned out fine?
Yes, it turned out fine.
[Author's Note]
The "Princess" (Iris) is becoming more and more like a certain someone in terms of her physical specs and her slightly airheaded behavior.