kscans

Chapter 608 - The Traveler

“Nngh—?!”

It was as if a giant had thrust its fist up from beneath the earth. A violent tremor.

It wasn’t just a shake. My body was launched into the air as if propelled by a spring, and I couldn’t help but cry out in surprise as I tumbled to the ground.

Even with the [Trickster of Zenith] title and its resistance to falling, the impact broke right through it. A strange debuff icon, one I’d never seen before and which seemed to indicate being incapacitated, lit up on my status bar.

Fear—this is bad. I can’t move a muscle.

It was an unforeseen interference from an unknown source. I could only surmise two things: first, that ‘that’ just now hadn’t come from the [Feidran Tyrantinus].

And second…

‘—’

After ‘that’ shook not just the chamber but seemingly the entire world above, well, unless it was a particularly dull-witted mole, there was no way it wouldn’t wake up.

“This is so bad… Hey, come on…!”

With the icon not even blinking yet, showing no signs of fading, the powerful debuff held my avatar in its grip. As I desperately willed myself to move, my eyes were fixed on the spot where the giant creature stirred with a strange cry, like countless pieces of metal scraping together.

The visualization of its HP bar indicated the enemy had become active.

Its bars—two thick ones, five thin ones. In other words…

“Twenty-five layers?!”

This was truly a boss enemy meant to be challenged by a full raid party. It was a tier or two above the half-raid boss, [Epel, Great Ice Spirit Guardian]—proof that this was a genuine monster.

I’d suspected as much, but having the reality shoved in my face was quite a shock. While it might be inferior to the truly special Colored Monsters that also required a full raid to conquer, it was a similar transcendent being that existed in a realm beyond simple measurements of ‘strength’.

Compared to this, no one would say that the once-unbeatable enemy was an easier opponent. The difficulty of an enemy that pursued ultimate ‘individual strength’ versus one that pursued ultimate ‘group strength’ was in a completely different category.

For example, even if there was an ultra-high-spec raid party capable of defeating this thing, throwing the ‘Shadow’ version of me and Alicia at them would likely result in their annihilation.

Conversely, even though I had defeated the ‘Shadow’…

“This is… yeah, this is definitely…”

It meant I didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning against this thing by myself.

And then… the giant mole, having partially uncoiled itself, raised its long body high.

Its countless tentacles twitched restlessly, looking like radars searching for prey.

The debuff icon began to blink.

Then, one by one, its innumerable eyes opened.

Control over my body slowly started to return.

And just an instant before I steeled my resolve to charge in as a decoy, as planned…

Though we were at a similar distance, it wasn’t me—who had removed my cloaking garment the moment I confirmed it was awake and was standing openly in the chamber—that it focused on.

Its grotesque head turned toward the three girls, who were still frozen in place, sitting on the ground.

A familiar pre-motion.

The instant its metallic tentacles began to glow red-hot.

The instant I thought my eyes met the frightened aquamarine ones.

“[Trance].”

My form flipped, cloaked in crimson. I released the ‘Outer Force’ I had been building up while I couldn’t move, and I ran.

◇◆◇◆◇

‘—!!!’

“Wah?!”

“Whoa?!”

The cries from Sora and Lux weren’t because of the roar the giant dragon let out, but because of the single arrow that had caused it.

Literally faster than the blink of an eye.

A small body shot through the air with the speed of lightning, striking the side of the [Feidran Tyrantinus]’s head. With a ridiculously loud boom, it sent the massive head flying just as it was about to unleash a heat ray.

For a brief moment, time seemed to stretch as they stared in awe.

Their captivated gazes followed the figure of their ‘partner’ as he floated in the air from the recoil.

“—Retreat! Lux-san!”

Without a glance in their direction, he gave a thumbs-up. A smile graced Sora's lips as she accepted his trust, and she kicked the frozen situation back into motion.

Regardless of their roles, this was business as usual when it came to him.

“Okay, leave it to me!”

“Wha, eh…?”

Responding to the command, Lux moved instantly, effortlessly scooping up Nia, who had strangely cried out and collapsed to her knees before anyone else. Without hesitation, she broke into a run.

Something was clearly wrong with Nia, but checking on her and her faint cries would have to wait. The top priority now was to escape and ensure their safety. It wasn't just about fulfilling the request of a partner she cared about so much it made her a little jealous.

Sora knew all too well the fear of entering a battlefield without the power to fight.

“I’ll go on ahead! Leave clearing the path to me!”

“Right, right, you got it!”

Tilting the ‘Scales’ as a parting gift, she ran without looking back, leaving her trust behind as well.

Because she, who could now stand beside her partner with a sword in hand, prided herself on being a protector.

◇◆◇◆◇

—As expected, their telepathic connection was something to behold.

Bound by a trust that was almost enviable, the two of them no longer worried about each other during minor incidents like this.

The girl leading the way showed no hesitation, and the sword she swung at the moles blocking their path showed no doubt.

Perhaps due to the boss becoming active, the encounter rate had increased since their trip in, but she cut through their massive bodies with a furious onslaught.

…Honestly, why was she unranked?

The sense of otherness Lux had felt from the girl since their first meeting only grew stronger the closer they became and the more she understood her. Her interest was endless, her curiosity boundless.

She could sense there was something there… but she couldn’t see what that “something” was at all.

Truly strange, distorted, mysterious, and bizarre—a mass of the unknown, just the way Lux liked it.

“—…I’m, I’m sorry… Lu-chan, I think it was me, something…”

Then, in her arms, her friend, who had been carried along quietly while trembling, seemed to have regained her composure and spoke in broken sentences.

Well, considering what happened right before the irregularity, Lux could guess that ‘something had happened,’ and she could predict the words that would naturally come from her mouth…

“Alright, alright, Nya-chan, don’t worry about it! The unexpected and accidents are part of any unknown adventure! The one truth is that ‘it’s nobody’s fault,’ you know!”

If her hands were free, she would have ruffled her hair, but since she was busy carrying her precious princess, it would have to wait.

Nia’s eyes went wide, caught between the confusion she was still wrestling with and the no-problem attitude Lux delivered with gusto. Lux gave her a smile.

“Don’t you worry, Nya-chan.”

And then, shining above the running [Traveler]’s head, was a single crown.

Compared to the countless ‘treasures’ she had obtained, it lacked luster… to be frank, it was a rather shabby, dull-colored crown.

However,

It was modeled after the first ring she had ever obtained on her very first adventure in this virtual world, and it was her very first treasure.

“Getting home safely is what I call a real adventure, you see.”

It caused a golden light to dwell in her eyes, becoming a guide to show her the path forward.

The enhancement effect of the special title ‘Traveler’—[Treasure Hunter]—the power it held was the ability to visualize a route that would always lead to any object or thing Lux recognized as treasure.

For example,

“Aha! Okay, okay, just as I’d expect from you, Har-kun!”

It even included treasures like a true-ending adventure tale where everyone gets home safe and sound.

“Sora-chan! A quick consultation!”

“Huh…?! Uh, um, just—one moment, please!”

She called out to the back of the girl who was dispatching one mole after another. The girl, attended by countless sand swords, was flustered but not panicked.

With a terrifying display of violence—a giant wheel woven from blades—she crushed the three [Feidran Armoire] that had approached from ahead.

“Go ahead!”

As if nothing had happened, the girl turned an ear to her. Lux suppressed a wry smile that was half admiration and half exasperation… After running at a breakneck pace for several more minutes, a far cry from their cautious approach on the way in, they finally saw the crack that marked the cave entrance and leapt out.

“Alright, we’re out! Now then, I’m off to help Har-kun!”

“That was the consultation?!”

Having blurted it out like a foregone conclusion, she got the expected reaction. Whoops, my bad, she thought, but there was no time for a leisurely explanation.

The single ‘path’ visible in her sight was beginning to narrow by the second—so Lux just smiled vaguely and tapped the crown on her head with her fingertip.

The girl, with whom she had adventured twice before, knew of its power.

If that was the case, and Lux was making a declaration based on that…

“—Please go! I’ll leave Haru in your care!”

“Ahaha! I really love you, Sora-chan!”

It was a swift and decisive judgment, unbecoming of such an innocent-looking girl. Without a hint of doubt, she immediately nodded. Lux passed her friend to her new partner and pulled out a notebook from her pocket.

Fifth Tier: The Traveler’s Notebook of Cherished Treasures. Its hidden ability was to replicate the Anima of others recorded within it.

“‘Memories of a journey, bonds of a soul’s vessel, copy and reflect upon the world’—[Little-Little Guidener]!”

The key phrase was accepted. The shining notebook dissolved into particles and re-formed into the shape of a palm-sized patchwork doll. The Anima, having completely changed its form and nature, obeyed its master’s will. It hopped from her hand and landed on the girl’s shoulder.

“Huh? Um, what is this…?”

“That little one will guide you on a path with no enemies, so you should be able to get outside safely! So with that, I’m off!”

“Wait, hold on… Lux-san?!”

Even if she was acting almost entirely on her own, as a party member, she had to respect the leader’s wishes—and with this, Nia’s safety was now guaranteed.

With the Anima showing a route that was absolutely safe, limited only to the ‘way back,’ and an invincible, law-defying bodyguard, there wasn’t a single thing to worry about.

With that settled, it was time to head this way.

“Where are you going?! You said you were going to help Haru— ”

“It’s fiiiine!!!”

Instead of returning to the crack they had just emerged from, she ran off in a completely different direction, earning another understandably confused shout from behind her.

But this was fine.

Grabbing the crown on her head, which shrunk into a ring in her hand, she slipped it onto the index finger of her right hand… and without hesitation, Lux began to follow the shining golden path.

---

The visualized path is limited to achievable futures. A path her body cannot traverse will not appear before her eyes.