Chapter 14 - Labyrinth of the Wasteland
"That would be Alicia White-san. She doesn't actually hold the title Strongest Sword King, but rather [Sword Queen]."
"Haeh... She seemed more like a 'Princess' than a 'Queen,' though."
"Fufu, you're right. Most people agree that suits her better, so she's generally known as the 'Princess.'"
"'She doesn't seem to care whether people call her Queen or Princess, though,' Sora added, proving herself quite knowledgeable. We had met up again at Istia's fountain plaza after our lunch break, and my surprisingly well-informed partner was sharing some of her wisdom with me."
"So she's really famous, huh? I mean, she's on TV and called the strongest, so I guess that's obvious."
"Among players who appear in the media, she's by far the most popular. She's incredibly beautiful, after all."
It was true; that avatar was on another level. If there were such a thing as a character creation service, people would pay good money for that.
"But I see. A girl that cute being the strongest... that feels very fantasy-like. I like it."
So there were no performance gaps between genders in virtual reality. Though I imagine there were still individual differences in things like reflexes and reaction speed.
"Alicia-san is really amazing. There should be a lot of war archives on video sites, so I recommend you check them out, Haru-san."
"Hoh. So people do stream videos like that."
At my impressed remark, Sora gave me a look that just screamed, What is this guy talking about?—and yeah, she had a point. I was probably the only person who would jump into a world as massive as this virtual reality after a three-year hiatus with absolutely zero prior information.
"Hmm..."
It's not like I had anything to hide, so I considered telling her... but for some reason, I always feel a strange aversion to bringing up real-life topics in a game like this.
If I confessed that I was going in blind, the conversation might spiral into the story of my three years of high school spent as a part-time-job warrior. Talking about my real self like that would feel like I was just bragging, and it would be embarrassing.
I'll just answer if she asks.
"Alright, on to Stage II."
As we chatted idly, an archway about three meters tall, shaped like an oval, appeared before us. Made of intricately carved white porcelain, it was a transfer gate that connected to the outside fields.
There were several of these gates located throughout the city, but since you could choose your destination, it didn't matter which one you used. Now, the second stage of the beginner area was—
"The [Rocky Wasteland], huh..."
Having cleared the [Plains of the Horizon], which was teeming with boars, a second field had appeared on the selection list. As I muttered its name, the empty archway, which had been reflecting the scenery beyond, instantly filled with a blue phosphorescence.
Passing through this light, which rippled like the surface of water, would transport us to the outside field.
"I wonder what kind of place it will be."
Sora's eyes sparkled as she excitedly imagined what lay beyond the gate.
It seemed that while she had done some research, she was completely in the dark when it came to maps and strategy guides. Since we were going to be a team, it was great that we were both going in fresh.
"Come on, Haru-san, let's go!"
Sora, who usually seemed so calm and mature for her apparent age, even in her manner of speech, had a surprisingly strong sense of curiosity and would show a more innocent side in moments like this. I wasn't trying to figure it out, but I still couldn't tell if she was older or younger than me, and more importantly...
—That gap is just unfair.
Even though I'd categorized her as a little sister, she was still undeniably beautiful. Pushed from behind by an eager Sora, I tried to suppress my fluttering heart and stepped through the transfer gate.
"—Whoa..."
"—Wow...!"
Beyond the light of the transfer gate, we were greeted by towering rock walls that seemed to pierce the heavens, and we both let out a cry of amazement.
At our feet was a wasteland dotted with dry, scraggly weeds. Surrounding us and forming a 'path' about five meters wide were massive rock walls. It was, indeed, a [Rocky Wasteland].
The area was a uniform earthy brown, and the towering walls completely blocked out the sun, leaving us in a dim, shadowy space. Being hemmed in by the walls created a strange sense of pressure, making me feel a bit unsettled.
"...You don't think the walls will suddenly close in and crush us, do you?"
"I-I was just thinking that... Please don't say such scary things!"
As I voiced the thought that had just popped into my head, a nervous-looking Sora chided me.
Yeah, well, they probably wouldn't resort to such a sadistic way of killing us... right? I can tolerate being beaten to death by monsters, thanks to the fantasy filter, but being crushed by walls is a way of dying I can imagine a little too clearly, and I'd rather not experience it.
"A-Anyway... let's move on. I'm counting on your support."
"Understood...!"
With our straight sword and shortbow in hand, we began our exploration of the 'Rocky Wasteland'—
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Compared to the first stage, which was an open plain where boars were scattered about as if to say, "Feel free to play as you wish," the second stage took the complete opposite approach.
If the boar plains were 'open,' then this was a 'closed' labyrinth of rock walls. The monsters here weren't carefree extroverts running around at will, but rather a bunch of sneaky introverts lying in wait for wandering players.
Mob #1: The [Wall Lizard], a large lizard that clings motionlessly to the rock walls. They usually hide on the upper parts of the walls, and if you try to pass underneath without noticing them, they'll drop down to ambush you.
They were about two meters long (big), had decent AGI (fast), and respectable STR (painful)—a troublesome trio of traits. But as long as you kept a close eye on what was above you, the ambush was avoidable. A merciful design.
Mob #2: The [Rock Toad], a basketball-sized frog that camouflages itself as a rock by the side of the path. If you step into its detection range, it breaks its disguise and attacks.
Its body is slow, but its attack animations are quick. It whips its tongue out like a frog, but the tip is hard and swollen like a boulder, and it hits like one. However, despite its rocky appearance, it has paper-thin durability. Merciful.
Mob #3: The [Dust Bat], which sometimes appears from the sky visible through cracks in the rock walls—possibly a random encounter. I will never forgive this thing. It pelts you with needle-like sand from out of my sword's reach, instantly backs off if you try to counter from a distance, taunts you by relentlessly following you, and gives pathetic EXP when you finally kill it. HRAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!
"Sora-san, finish it!!"
"There goes your character again..."
As I roared out my command in a fit of rage, Sora, who was already getting used to her shortbow, moved with a wry smile.
With a fluid motion, she drew her bow, and the arrow of mana she released flew true, piercing the unforgivable damn bat.
"Insolent reptiles, trying to coordinate your attacks...!"
Relying on the cover fire from above, the great lizards had launched a bold offensive. I spat a curse at them and, reversing my retreat, charged forward.
Two Wall Lizards were right in front of me. They were surprisingly nimble for their size, but without the annoying harassment from above, they couldn't keep up with my AGI-maxed legs.
I measured the distance to the giant that was opening its massive jaws to meet me—now!!
"Unleash the Acrobatics!!"
Using my newly acquired DEX-assisting passive skill, I brought my triple-digit AGI completely under my command.
As a result, my body, which had been running at a speed easily surpassing a short-distance sprinter, made a right-angle turn without losing any momentum. I leaped, planted my feet on the rock wall, and turned into a human pinball.
Rock wall, rock wall, ground, rock wall, wall, wall, wall, ground, WALL!!
"This is what gaming is all about!!"
With movements impossible for any human—or any living creature, for that matter—I ricocheted around the passage, dicing the Wall Lizards to pieces with my straight sword.
Can I be honest? This is so damn fun!!
"And that's a wrap!!"
As a finishing touch, I cleanly lopped off both their heads with a single slash and struck a cool landing. For extra flair, I spun my sword and activated [Quick Change], making the weapon vanish into thin air with a subtle light effect...
To put it mildly, that was pretty cool, right—if only my face wasn't so plain!!
"Ahaha... You're really enjoying yourself, aren't you?"
"Well, this is a rare otherworldly experience, so I've got to make the most of it. My stats have gone up, and I can finally pull off some cool-looking moves."
If I were being greedy, I'd like to try a muscle-bound STR-focused build, but... for now, I'll stick to mastering the art of the high-speed warrior without any distractions.
"'Cool-looking' is one way to put it... I've never seen anyone move like that..."
"Hm?"
I caught a soft murmur. Turning my gaze, I saw Sora-sama giving me a somewhat exasperated, sidelong glance.
"Oh, it's nothing... I'm going to heal you, so please stand still."
Sora's healing skill was area-targeted, not player-targeted, so it would apparently dissipate if I moved around too much.
So I understood why she was telling me that, but... her tone and expression were exactly like someone scolding a restless child, weren't they?
Wait, is that the image she's starting to have of me?
It's true that my combat style is becoming more like a shark that dies if it stops moving, but... I felt a slight sense of foreboding as I skimmed through the results screen that had just popped up.
EXP acquired, items obtained, [Dust Bat Wing Membrane], [Wall Lizard Rough Claw], and so on—
"Hmm... I guess this game doesn't have direct equipment drops, huh?"
We were still in the early stages, but so far, all we'd gotten from our battles, including the bosses, were crafting materials.
I'm sure there were equipment drops from events and such, but it didn't seem like we could expect them from regular enemies.
"What's the deal with that, professor?"
"P-Professor...?"
Now that I'd taken the plunge, I had no intention of continuing my self-imposed information ban. I wanted to avoid major spoilers, but Sora didn't seem to have any knowledge of strategy guides, so I probably didn't need to worry about that.
I would humbly accept her as my teacher.
"Um, I'm sorry. Most of my knowledge comes from videos and such, so it's rather narrow and shallow, you could say..."
"I see."
So her knowledge was skewed. The things she knew, she understood on a surface level, but the things she didn't know, she didn't know at all.
"Oh, but the artisan players are very famous. The crafting system in Arcadia is said to be incredibly flexible, so it's been a lively community since the service first started."
"Ah, so it's mainly crafting, then."
As a healing light washed over me, I nodded in understanding, my thoughts drifting to the dazzling equipment I had yet to see.
In a game with such a ridiculously high degree of freedom, I was sure you could create your own one-of-a-kind gear. The possibilities were truly exciting.
I wanted to graduate from my generic, store-bought iron sword as soon as possible, so I decided to push forward with clearing content as fast as I could.
The afternoon session begins.