Chapter 443 - Falling Starry Sky
About an hour had passed since we started our aimless stroll.
Thanks to my companion—who was spooked by the dark, startled by falling leaves, complained about the rough trails, and clung to me at every opportunity—the journey had been anything but boring.
However, so little was happening that I had just started to wonder, What kind of event is this?—when Nia noticed it before I did.
"Hk... Ah, wa-wait, stop for a second."
Without warning, her shoulders jumped. She put a hand out to stop me and scanned our surroundings cautiously... or rather, she was on full alert.
While I watched Nia's eyes dart around, searching for something, my own senses couldn't pick up whatever it was she was looking for.
"...Is... something... there?"
"Something—... Ah, I see now. That makes sense."
"Hey, don't just figure it out on your own. Let me in on it."
For a moment, she gave me a look that said, What are you talking about? before immediately coming to a conclusion on her own, just as she'd said.
"You don't have any perception-type skills, do you? They say people who just charge headfirst at enemies are slow to accumulate experience, and it's a type of skill that takes a long time to learn anyway."
"Could you not so casually call me a boar?"
"Well, do you have one?"
"I do not."
I see, perception-type... a support skill for detecting enemies. Now that she mentions it, I don't seem to learn any skills like that, the kind that aren't directly related to combat...
The only purely non-combat one I have is probably [Greed's Precept]. And since my inventory space issues were solved after partnering with Sora, it's pretty much useless now.
"Anyway, the point is something is here, right? Where?"
"I'm looking... but I can't tell. Sorry, I acted all high and mighty, but my skill isn't that great either—"
"Just warning me is more than enough. Don't leave my side."
I cut off her unnecessary apology, drawing the rabbit dagger from my lower back and extending my senses to our surroundings. Even if we chose to retreat, not knowing its position meant we could end up running right into whatever it was.
Patiently waiting to see what it does is the safest bet—though, to be honest, I don't think we need to be that cautious... Nia-chan?
"Hey, why are you smiling?"
"Eh, hehe... C-could you, um, say what you said just now one more time?"
"Thank you for the warning?"
"The part after that...!"
"You're surprisingly composed..."
Setting aside the indigo-haired girl who was completely misreading the room, I began to feel something touch my own senses—not a skill, but my raw ability to perceive presence.
Ah, this is...
"Nia, don't move."
"Huh—"
Nia, who had sensed the presence but hadn't grasped the situation, cried out at the same time as I gripped the dagger in my right hand and kicked off the ground.
AGI: 0—I graduated from that a long time ago.
◇Status / Trance◇
Title: Acrobat
Name: Haru
Lv: 100
STR: 0 (+100)
AGI: 0 (+230)
DEX: 0
VIT: 0 (+100)
MID: 1150 (+300)
LUC: 0
Since it was a Great Spirit, I thought the material properties would lean toward magic, but the gear from Epel's loot came with a strength bonus, of all things. Apparently, it has some complex mechanisms that affect "power," but the important thing is that the two-piece set gives a top-tier STR+100 bonus. Simply the best.
And the huge boost to my AGI comes from one of the rewards for clearing that nostalgic rabbit paradise. The title is the incredibly direct and impactful 'Conqueror of the Spiral Crimson Tower'.
While wearing an accessory from the [Spiral Crimson Tower], this title's effect—'Boosts AGI according to your MID value'—is a full twenty percent of my mental stat.
It doesn't reference the values from equipment, but with a brain-dead build like my Trance body, this is the result. Therefore, a certain level of close-quarters combat is no longer a problem—
Yes, for example... casually swatting away the monkeys that leaped at me all at once from the treetops is, I declare, a piece of cake even in my base state.
"Uwah!?"
I let out a small laugh at Nia's shriek—which was perhaps a bit unladylike—as she saw the numerous shadows that had silently crept up on us, and then I effortlessly swept them aside.
I knocked down a small monkey, about seventy centimeters tall, with the pommel of my rabbit dagger. I sent another flying with a roundhouse kick, grabbed a third by the scruff of its neck, and threw it at another... one after another, I drove them all back.
After casually dealing with the first wave that jumped at me—alright, that's far enough, don't move. Activating [Mistlurade].
Without ever swinging the blade, I tossed the rabbit dagger back into its sheath and, without a pause, imbued my ten free fingers with a deep violet skill light. Which meant, of course, that the next move was...
"[Parabellum Bullet]."
I spun around forcefully, launching a barrage of crimson blades that had deployed all around me. The new skill, with its expanded area of effect from one hand to two, and having simultaneously gained various new 'conveniences' and 'inflexibilities', performed its first combat duty flawlessly.
Not to mention the ones I'd struck and knocked back. The group that was about to jump out as the second wave also hesitated when blades were fired right at them.
After the momentary "festival," the assault ceased, and silence filled the air.
Well, as expected, or rather—they're weak. Compared to other humanoid types, they're not even on the same level as the [Wandering Decaying Statues] that [Angalta, God-Wedge Sword-King] commands.
I felt no threat from them, neither in technique nor in stats. The only thing that concerned me was...
"Ugh, whoa... Um, are those... monkeys? Can you call them that?"
"Well, their shape looks like it, at least..."
...their appearance, a solid black that felt like condensed darkness, completely devoid of any sign of life. No, solid black isn't quite right. To be more precise, it was—
"[Starry Paradise]... so, it's something like that?"
The form of a "starry sky," countless glittering specks contained within, compressed into the shape of a living creature.
I see, I see... —Alright, I've decided.
"Okay, excuse me for a second."
"Huh? What—Whaah!?"
After a brief lull, the star-monkeys began to cautiously test the distance. Ignoring them, I unceremoniously scooped up Nia—who had been watching my fight with a blank look on her face—and made a full-speed retreat.
"W-what... Are you running away!?"
"Of the thirty-six stratagems, running is the best!"
From our brief encounter, I was certain they weren't very strong opponents. However, I still didn't understand the direction of this event. Assuming they're related to the event's main theme, there could be some kind of gimmick involved. I didn't know if we could defeat them without consequence, or even if they could be properly defeated at all. We had a refreshing amount of zero information. If I were alone, it would be a different story, but I'd rather not mess around with creepy, mysterious objects of unknown origin while carrying a partner I need to protect... so, that was that.
Plus, they were weak. The fact that I could shake them off in an instant at just a running pace, without using [Rocket] or anything, showed how low their stats were.
In other words, this was probably a difficulty setting aimed at the general player base. I think it's safe to assume they are, in fact, tied to some kind of event gimmick—
"That's my analysis of the situation, anyway. What do you think?"
"Stop looking away while you're running faster than a caaaaaar!!!"
Whoops, my apologies. How regrettable.
For better or worse, I've gotten used to the standards of exceptional players in this virtual world... I'll have to adjust my speed for the half-crying Nia-chan from now on.
Weird behavior might be forgivable if the avatar is a beautiful girl.