kscans

Chapter 959 - Walking Through the Glistening Forest

"—Okay, question!"

"Yeah?"

Several minutes after we'd cut the battle short, shaken off the giant lizard, and caught our breath in the shade of the forest trees.

Her 'eyes' still glowing, Nia, who was walking through the danger zone with an expression that showed she'd grown somewhat accustomed to it—that it wasn't all bravado—raised her hand.

Her voice wasn't hushed. That probably meant there were no enemies nearby enough to hear her—so, I suppose I'll take her question.

"Why'd we run away back there? It's not like we couldn't have beaten it, right?"

"And this is coming from the girl who was on the verge of tears…"

"We're done with that, stop bringing it up!"

As for her question, it was about our unanimous—or rather, three-person unanimous—decision to flee. The answer was simple.

We were in a formation with Nia in the middle, protecting her. I glanced at Sora and Ashe, who were walking a step behind me on either side. It seemed we were all on the same page about this too.

Alright, let's say it together. Ready, set—

""Because it was a pain.""

"It looked like it would take a lot of ti— …me, is all."

One angel, who couldn't quite sync her words, seemed half-annoyed and half-embarrassed, but since we were clearly in agreement, it's fine. You're super cute.

As for the slightly smug, emotionless expression from the other side, it's probably best to ignore it.

"Well, if you're asking if we could beat it or not…"

"I doubt there are many opponents the three of us couldn't beat."

In any case, the words of the smug princess who continued my sentence were true.

Actually, you could even exclude me from that. I can't really think of any opponent that the combo of Ashe and Sora couldn't handle, and I doubt such an opponent exists at this point.

However, that's assuming we're willing to spend the necessary time and effort.

"Raid-class enemies are just absurdly tough. Plus, there are many patterns where you need 'numbers' to figure out and overcome their special abilities or gimmicks."

"Exactly. Like how some bosses will only reveal their weak points after a certain number of players have challenged them. That shadow bastard was an exception among exceptions, being limited to a small number of challengers. Raid bosses in games are fundamentally designed to be fought by a large group."

"There were raid-class enemies in the Key Tree Maze, but… aside from the one on the hundredth floor, they were all types that could just barely be defeated by a small group through simple 'puzzles.'"

"The Djinns were pretty much half-raid boss spec on the hidden routes, though. The others… I dunno, they felt more like light-raid-boss-flavored?"

"They seemed balanced to allow even those with no raid experience to feel the thrill of a large-scale battle. A 'good game' provides opportunities for various experiences."

"Yeah, well, I think even getting up to that floor is tough for the average player right now…"

"I'm talking about the future. Four years have passed, but it's still just the beginning. There's no need to rush through life."

"Why are you looking at me? I'm not rushing through life, I'm enjoying a full-on sprint—"

"—Heeey, no hogging the conversation!"

And so, as fellow game lovers from before this virtual world, Ashe and I were trading words back and forth when I felt a pinch on my back from behind… but anyway, the point is,

"If we'd seriously tried to chip that thing down, it probably would have taken over two hours."

"Ugh, seriously…?"

"Seriously. And that's including the optimistic hope that we'd accidentally figure out 'why our damage wasn't getting through' along the way. If we'd just stubbornly tried to beat it as things were, I think it would've taken twice as long as Haru said."

"Seriously?"

"Y-Yes… seriously. Even my 'Flame Sword' didn't get through…"

That's what it comes down to. Since my second magic sword from the [Cradle of Sword-Craft], the defense-ignoring, physical-penetrating 'Flame Sword,' could only do chip damage, it was a certainty that it had some kind of damage reduction ability. To fight it properly, we'd have to figure out its secret first.

I wanted to avoid wasting the precious resource of time without a plan—and the reason I couldn't ignore such a thought, which I would normally kick to the curb, was…

"…Fufu. You don't have to be that considerate, though."

"I have to be, at least for this…"

Because I had brought along the busy 'princess,' after all.

That aside, there was one more—

"—…Hmph."

"Ow."

A tight pinch sent a jolt through me.

Even if it doesn't cause damage, my five senses here are far sharper than in the real world. The numbness that replaces pain dutifully does its job, so it can't be helped that I let out a reflexive cry.

"What was that fo—"

And when I spun around,

"………………"

"Ni… Sora-san."

"Nisora-san, is it? Hmm…"

"Please don't be mad like that. That's the scariest you've ever been, I'm sorry, please stop."

"Hey, you. Do you think Nia-chan is responsible for all the mischief?"

"I do, I'm sorry."

"I see. —Hmph."

"I said ow! It doesn't do damage, but it still tingles, so stop it!"

"…Hmph?"

"You don't have to join in, third person! What are we doing, walk, look forward, let's go…!"

One wrong move and I was in a casual hell. Taking chipping damage to my mental state, which isn't tied to my MID status, even though my HP was untouched, I shook off their fingers and resumed walking.

Again, time is limited. Playing around isn't bad, but…

For now, we had one more thing.

"Search! C'mon, everyone, search! There's supposed to be some super flashy, obviously-a-rare-enemy thing around here, so strain your eyes and ears and everything else! Let's go!"

We had to focus on our original goal, which we didn't even know how long would take—

"He becomes like a grade-schooler sometimes, doesn't he?"

"Cute."

"Ahaha…"

"…………………………"

If I didn't force myself to focus in this demonic 1-vs-3 landscape,

There was no telling what would happen to my heart.

---

It's already happened, as usual.