kscans

Chapter 140 - Tracing a Path Together

I overslept. Hard.

I have no idea how many times the alarm buzzing in my ear had looped, but by the time I slowly regained consciousness, it was the morning of the next day.

I vaguely looked at the sunlight streaming through the window—and then my blood ran cold. I shot out of bed. It was seven minutes before our meeting time (8:00 AM).

It was just like oversleeping for my part-time job... no, honestly, I might have panicked even more this time.

Two minutes to practically shove my face into the sink to splash water on it and commit minimum viable atrocities on my mouth with a toothbrush.

One minute to slam my foot into the wall, writhe in agony, and then force down a pastry from the fridge with a gulp of milk.

Another three minutes to finish getting ready while my brain short-circuited over why I was eating after brushing my teeth. With my hair a spiky mess like a rooster's comb, I dove, panting, into Arcadia.

—All of that happened about three minutes ago.

Since I logged out at Ui-san's residence... estate? Dojo? Yesterday, I naturally reappeared on the stone pavement inside its walls.

I hadn't memorized the route from the transfer gate, so without a second thought, I launched myself into the sky and made a beeline for a likely-looking spot I spotted from above.

Fortunately, while getting there required some steps, leaving seemed to be no problem. The option [Safe Area 033] was clearly listed as a destination, so I slammed my finger on it and—

"I made it!!"

"Um..."

And here we are.

Except I totally didn't make it. Sora-san was already here, completely in 'waiting' mode...!

"A-Are you okay...?"

"Hah, wheeze... Sorry, I'm fine."

I bent over with my hands on my knees, less from stamina loss and more from mental exhaustion. Sora looked on with concern, a bewildered expression on her face.

She's rubbing my back... My partner is an angel today, too.

"Sorry, I overslept... I'm so sorry for making you wait..."

Though, to be fair, it's still 7:59 AM—oh, it's eight o'clock now.

"You're right on time, you know? —Good morning, Haru."

"Haha... Yeah, good morning, Sora."

She saw my less-than-graceful arrival and seemed amused—but still, she greeted me with a happy smile.

And so, together again with Sora after what felt like a while, our day of adventure began.

◇◆◇◆◇

"You said you overslept, but did you get enough rest yesterday?"

"Well... I think I slept for about twenty hours..."

"Twen— A-Are you sure you're okay?"

"I don't know. My virtual self is fine, but my real body might be stiff as a board from sleeping too much."

"You know, you're currently sleeping more right now."

"...Alright, I'll go for a run during our lunch break."

"A run... during your break?"

As we enjoyed this peaceful conversation, the scenery flew by behind us—or rather, behind me.

I had already planned out our schedule for the day, which included several destinations.

And since the distance to get there was a little too far to be called a stroll...

"...I have to say, it's a bit worrying how used to this I've become."

"How is the ride, my lady?"

"...Somehow, the fact that it's getting more comfortable little by little is also annoying."

—And if you call me 'my lady' again, I'll get mad—she grumbled with a reluctant look on her face... but Sora, now nestled in my arms as if it were her usual spot, had relaxed completely, showing no signs of nervousness.

I can't call her 'my lady'? Why not?

A few minutes after leaving the [Safe Area], I was, as usual, carrying Sora in both arms, my AGI cranked to the max as we headed for our destination.

The town, developed around the Great Bell Tower that was once submerged in the forest, is still surrounded by a vast woodland as far as the eye can see.

No matter where we go, we have to pass through it first, so any "long trip" in the [Garden of Divine Creation] basically begins in the forest—

"It really feels like cheating, you know."

"This is a perfectly legitimate action within the game's mechanics, so there's nothing wrong with it."

I responded to her exasperated mumble with a textbook deadpan delivery. I mean, really, I'm not doing anything in a gray area this time.

I'm just kicking off the treetops and running over the forest.

Can the trees withstand the force of my kicks, amplified by my ridiculous stats and carrying the weight of two people? Well, they're withstanding it, so I guess they can. Fantasy trees are amazing.

"I mean, you could probably do this much too, Sora, right?"

"...I've been meaning to say this for a while, but I think your assessment of me has gotten a little strange lately, Haru."

Eh?

Cute and strong, cute and strong. What part of that is wrong?

"I can't do this, you know? I really can't. How can you jump around so fearlessly?"

"Jump around... Well, if I hesitated, I'd fall..."

Something like this is all about momentum. The required stat isn't technique, it's simply guts—

"That's what I mean. It's scary. This is normally scary."

"You seem pretty calm about it, though?"

"...That's thanks to experience. I know you won't drop me, Haru."

Oh, that trust. Makes me blush.

"But if I tried to do this myself, it would be terrifying—You don't seem to have much of that feeling, do you, Haru?"

"Hmm..."

Yeah, she's right.

It's not that I don't get scared. Of course I do. Heights, monsters charging at me trying to flatten me, even PvP where people casually point 'blades' at you—all of it is scary.

It's just...

"I guess I still think of it as a game..."

That perception, solidified deep in my heart, is probably what's numbing my senses. I've been aware of that for a while now.

◇◆◇◆◇

"I-It's floating..."

"Floating, indeed."

About ten minutes after starting our cheating-level traverse of the great forest.

After breaking through to the west and running across a plain for a while, we were met by an unbelievably huge crack in the earth. And floating around it was a cluster of massive rocks.

In Arcadia, official names only exist for dungeons like the [Spiral Crimson Tower]. The various fields apparently don't have place names.

So it's customary for players to share information using nicknames or whatever they come up with.

"They call it the 'Quarry.'"

"Wow..."

Sora stared at the surreal scene, dazed. I know how she feels. I was pretty much the same when I first came here alone.

"I don't know the details, but apparently a meteor fell and did this."

"A meteor...!"

"That's what the flavor text of the materials you can get here suggests. The rocks are floating because some weird property of the meteor spread to them."

It's the source material for something called a [Floating Meteor Fragment]—yes, one of the two necessary components for my new equipment, the [Meteor Serpent (Stake)] series.

To be honest, the theme of today's adventure is upgrading Sora. Our main target is the materials needed to update her long-neglected gear.

And I haven't forgotten. The [Desert Moray] series I was using before the [Meteor Serpent] set was something Sora wanted so we could match.

I can't say it's not a little embarrassing, but it's obvious what should take priority over something like that.

"Alright, let's just quickly mine what we need and move on—we're blitzing a journey that took me a week in a single day, so we need to keep up the pace."

"R-Right!"

I picked out a large floating rock and started walking towards it. Sora, who had been mesmerized by the magnificent view, hurried to follow.

Trying to hide the smile that was threatening to spread across my face at the girl's small-animal-like gesture, I prepared for the mining operation I had experienced once before, all while finding this rare opportunity to explain things to an extremely curious Sora quite refreshing.

—Eh, a pickaxe? You can manage just fine by smacking it with a blunt weapon.