kscans

Chapter 68 - Solo Sora

"—Nn..."

It felt like only a few seconds. Through a brief lapse in consciousness, almost like a doze, I felt the world switch on the other side of my closed eyelids.

It's been almost two weeks—a little over a month if you include the special trial period I was allowed... but it feels like it will take a little more time before I can casually say I'm "used to" this sensation.

I opened my eyes with a blink to a ceiling different from the one in my usual room. I had decided it was time to graduate from logging out on the side of the road, so this was a room in an 'inn' that I was trying for the first time.

As always, I confirmed the reliable sensations of this body, so different from my frail one in reality—and leaped out of bed with a burst of energy.

The deathmatch with Angalta, God-Wedge Sword-King—that 'adventure' that brought about a major turning point for me, was just yesterday.

The excitement had yet to fade, but it was clear that we were both at our limits of exhaustion. In the end, we disbanded quickly after that, without much of a victory celebration.

I say 'disbanded'... but to feel disappointed about it is because of the warmth that still lingers in my chest even after a night's rest. The look on our faces when we parted told the story of our mutual 'reluctance to leave,' and we both ended up laughing.

Looking back, I was completely absorbed in the moment during that battle... It was a fierce fight, filled with a passion like something out of a story. I still can't quite believe that I was the one who took part in it.

"Fufu..."

But still, it was real—and I can't help but feel happy, wondering if I can finally call myself his partner with my head held high.

"Now then... what should I do?"

As it turns out, my partner—Haru—has some business to attend to today, and he told me yesterday when we parted that he probably won't be able to log in for two or three days.

I thought about taking a break myself—but with nothing else to do the day after, I couldn't process my excitement and found myself launching `Arcadia` before I knew it.

"Come to think of it... since I met Haru-san, I don't think I've ever done anything by myself...?"

What should I do? At times like these... yes, I think Haru said something like this.

"No matter what you're doing, you always start by staring at your stats...!"

Apparently, that's the standard for something called an RPG—

——————————————————————
◇Status◇
Name: Sora
Lv: 42⇒67 (250)
STR: 50
AGI: 100 (+10)
DEX: 100 (+10)
VIT: 70
MID: 100
LUC: 50

◇Skill◇
・Magic Sword Aptitude
《Optimize Alert》 New!
　Telekinetic Sword
　Homing Shot New!
　Magic Sword Generation Efficiency New!

・Light Magic Aptitude
《Qualia Veil》

・《Spectate Ale》⇒《Scareless》up!
・《Observer's Eye》

・Healer's Precept
・Evasion Precept New!
——————————————————————

"Hmm!"

Until I started Arcadia, I had never played a game before.

So I wasn't familiar with concepts like 'level' or 'status'... but seeing my efforts accumulate as clear numbers like this brings a sense of fulfillment that's hard to describe.

Haru once said that "leveling up is addictive," and now I can completely agree with him.

And what makes my cheeks relax even more than the accumulated status points is, above all else, the resplendent string of characters that is Scareless.

There is no longer a single flaw in my status screen!

...As for the short bow tree, I'll just have it take a break for a while.

I gently averted my eyes from the demoted Short Bow Aptitude skill and distributed the abundant points I had gained from the massive level-up into my stats.

——————————————————————
◇Status◇
Name: Sora
Lv: 67
STR: 100
AGI: 150 (+10)
DEX: 150 (+10)
VIT: 100
MID: 170
LUC: 50

◇Skill◇
・Magic Sword Aptitude
《Optimize Alert》
　Telekinetic Sword
　Homing Shot
　Magic Sword Generation Efficiency

・Light Magic Aptitude
《Qualia Veil》

・《Scareless》
・《Observer's Eye》

・Healer's Precept
・Evasion Precept
——————————————————————

I can't help but feel that my preference for AGI is influenced by Haru, but I'll need a certain amount of speed to stand shoulder to shoulder with him.

I thought MID would be useless after switching to close combat, but considering the cost of operating my magic swords and the continuous drain from Scareless, I need to prioritize it to increase my MP pool.

Conversely, as Haru says, I can compensate for a lack of STR with "inertia boost," and since I'm mostly in light armor, VIT feels like a drop in the bucket, so I'll just reinforce them with the minimum—

"There, that's good!"

After updating my stats, what comes next is already decided.

I think this might be the first time, but compared to yesterday's fierce battle, going out into the field alone is nothing to be afraid of! I started running to dash out of the room with gusto and—

"Fmgyuh—?!"

As if kicked by my AGI, which had been increased by fifty percent with a single touch, I slammed into the door and let out a scream.

◇◆◇◆◇

After leaving the game-like inn with its infinitely generated instance rooms, I headed to the familiar `Plains of the Horizon` to test out my updated stats.

Amidst the familiar, peaceful scenery, I flew around, getting used to my enhanced stats, checking the behavior of my newly acquired skills, and even tried fighting the `Buried Great Boar` that barged in all by myself.

—And so, after an hour of this and that, I found myself standing alone at the dead end of the `Cliff Road of the Sky Bridge`.

"...???"

The circular plateau at the end of the third rookie area is, in other words, the boss battle field for the `Cliff Road of the Sky Bridge`.

In the past, when I visited with Haru, I had such a terrible time that I even developed a slight trauma... or so I thought.

Standing there in a daze, a simple system window floated before me, announcing the results of the battle I had just finished.

It was the same kill confirmation I had seen once before when we defeated the boss monster group of this area, the `Great Winged Bird Flock`, a.k.a. the Glowbirds... but the reason I was tilting my head was the process that led up to that result.

In about an hour, I had run through three fields, starting from the first area, the `Plains of the Horizon`, completely unscathed.

The great boar I had only watched before, the giant scorpion that had only chased me, even the flock of birds that I had left entirely to Haru in the end—I didn't feel a single shred of "fear."

"My level... is certainly higher than it should be, but even so..."

Putting aside the journey to the boss field, those boss monsters were never designed to be challenged alone in the first place.

Haru said my Anima was "broken," and even if my stats greatly surpassed the appropriate level, the result should have been an "easy win" at best.

—I don't think it should have been a situation where I felt like it wasn't even a warm-up, though.

"Um..."

I looked at my raised hand—or more accurately, at the avatar named `Sora`, which looked no different from my real self.

"I-is this okay...?"

My bewildered whisper was carried away by the wind sweeping across the plateau, echoing quietly.