kscans

Chapter 486 - Karate

Five days after meeting Ginny's friend Cynthia, Parfait headed to a hunting ground by herself.

Her target was the Giant Spider. Defeating this monster dropped an item called Spider Silk. It was an item you could never have enough of, as it was used like water with the Sewing Skill.

In the case of Orion's clan, Cats are God, they had tamed numerous Giant Spiders and had them produce the silk in massive quantities at their base. But Parfait and her friends had given up on trying to imitate that scale, deciding instead to aim for drop items.

The reason for gathering Spider Silk was for Cynthia’s sake. Or rather, it was Rick's suggestion to level up Cynthia's skill, based on his belief that the Sewing Skill would be necessary for the next event.

"If you ask me that with Ashley-sama's face, this humble servant shall give her all until she burns out from sheer adoration!"

Cynthia had said this as she dramatically tumbled from her chair. Rick, though slightly surprised, seemed used to it from his time with Ginny and sleekly ignored her. With a tired expression, he simply said, "I'm counting on you."

Rick's information gathering and predictions brought considerable profit to their clan. It was no exaggeration to say that they were able to compete on equal footing with major tamer clans like Cats are God, Cretaceous, and Highway Star during the last event all thanks to his information.

Moreover, that information allowed them to get to Cat Island early in the event, which was a huge advantage. As a result, they were able to sell rare first time drops from the giant beetle, Chariot, for a high price. Everyone was motivated to get a head start in the upcoming event as well.

And so, everyone decided to do what they could, and as part of that effort, Parfait was on her way to secure a hunting ground.

Demand for Spider Silk was so high that hunting grounds became fiercely contested. What's more, if you were lucky, a rare monster called an Arachne might appear among the Giant Spiders. It dropped an item called Gold Thread, which traded for a high price, making the spot a prime money making location when combined with the Spider Silk. For that reason, the hunting grounds were always bustling.

With that in mind, Parfait, being the first to log in, was moving at a brisk pace to secure a spot. If another party was already there, she would need to change locations, so she judged it was best to move quickly.

She thought it would likely be fine since it was a weekday evening. The hunting grounds usually got crowded at night, when working adults logged in after finishing their jobs. Still, you never knew what might happen. Even while thinking it was probably okay, she picked up her pace.

I can hunt one by myself. It's not efficient, but it's better to gather even a little bit before everyone else arrives.

Thinking this, Parfait stepped into the forest where the Giant Spiders' lair was located. Giant Spiders could be found in the forest itself, but their cavernous lair was the best hunting ground. She increased her speed to check on that spot first.

She made her way through the forest, and just when she thought she was almost at her destination, she heard a woman's voice.

"Huh? You're not feeling well? A, are you okay? ...Just a cold? I see, I'll come visit you later then. If there's anything you want, just email me... Huh? Ah, yeah, I'm fine over here... well, not really, but I, I'll figure something out, so don't worry... Yeah, yeah, well, take care..."

I guess someone couldn't make it because they're sick, Parfait thought vaguely, just as the woman who had been speaking came into view.

A shrine maiden...? Her hakama is black, so maybe she's a martial artist or something. I've seen Simon-sensei dressed like that sometimes.

The woman was wearing a white kimono with the sleeves tied back and a black hakama, with bandages wrapped around her arms and legs. Parfait imagined the bandages weren't due to injury, but were more like wraps for fighting.

Since they were in a forest, the other person hadn't noticed Parfait and had her back turned. Judging from her voice and height, Parfait figured she was about the same age. As she tried to pass by, the woman shouted.

"This is so bad! If I can't stream today, I'm gonna get kicked out! What am I gonna do!"

"Wah!"

"Eh?"

The woman had yelled so loudly that Parfait, who was running nearby, let out a cry of surprise.

Noticing the startled voice, the woman turned to look at Parfait. Brown hair covered only her right eye, and the rest was tied back in a short ponytail. Just as Parfait had guessed, she looked to be around her age.

Their eyes met. And then the woman charged straight at Parfait.

"Sister-san! Please, please help me! I'm not a believer, though!"

"Huh? H, hey, don't, don't shake me!"

Before she knew it, the woman had grabbed both her shoulders and was shaking her.

More than that, Parfait couldn't hide her surprise at how quickly the woman had closed the distance. But that aside, she seemed truly desperate, her face on the verge of tears.

Realizing the situation, the woman hastily let go of Parfait.

"S, sorry! B, but, I'm really in trouble! Please, help me!"

"It depends on what you need, but what is it?"

"I need you to have a PvP match with me!"

"A PvP match?"

"Y, yes! You see, I make a living through video streaming, and if I don't stream a PvP match right now, I'll be kicked out of my clan! If that happens, I won't be able to earn any money, so I'm in a real bind!"

"Video streaming... You mean you make a living earning real money?"

"Yes, yes! I belong to a company that has a business partnership with AFO, and if I don't meet the quota for video streams and view counts, I'll be kicked out of the clan, which means I'll be fired! My time is almost up, so this is really bad! I like bean sprouts, but I want to eat meat, too!"

"Bean sprouts..."

She was saying something desperate. That aside, Parfait knew a little about video streaming.

Normally, videos could only be streamed within the game, but companies partnered with AFO could also stream videos outside the game. These companies could solicit sponsors by placing advertisements in the videos to earn money, and some clans specialized in creating content for streaming.

The largest of these streaming clans was Kiss of Death. They streamed videos with the concept of being able to sing, dance, and fight. Some of their players had become idolized, and their view counts were staggering. Parfait had seen their videos before.

She also recalled Orion happily mentioning that famous clans sometimes get individual sponsors, and that Cats are God had received an offer from a Sagittarius-affiliated company to stream pet videos.

She didn't know which clan the woman in front of her belonged to, but she had heard stories about various quotas. She understood that if this woman couldn't meet her quota, she'd be kicked out of her clan and lose her real money income.

It wasn't something she had done herself, but Parfait had become somewhat famous through streaming once. To be honest, she didn't want to stand out too much.

Still, that was months ago, and the hype had mostly died down. Besides, the woman seemed to be in serious trouble, her eyes welling with tears as she pleaded.

There was no one else around, and Parfait thought she might be the only one who could help, so she nodded and said, "I understand."

"Th, thank you so much!"

"Whoa, you don't have to get on your knees and thank me!"

It was troubling enough that the woman had suddenly sat down seiza-style, but now she was bowing deeply. Martial arts may begin and end with a bow, but being treated with such reverence made Parfait feel awkward.

Parfait hurriedly helped the woman to her feet, and the woman, thanking her repeatedly, activated the PvP system and began setting it up.

"Of course, this will be a mock battle with no ranking changes. Also, for the combat mode, you get to choose, Sister-san, but please select 'Real'. That's the kind of video I stream."

"Real, not Virtual. Got it. By the way, is this a real time stream?"

"That's right. Although, my videos aren't popular, so there are usually fewer than five people watching in real time... and my archived videos have never even hit triple digits..."

"Ah, let's do our best! I'll do my best, too!"

"Y, you're right! Let's do our best!"

The settings were complete, and when Parfait selected Real for the combat mode, a dome for PvP deployed. Since they were in a forest, a few trees were inside the dome, but not enough to be a major obstruction.

"Whoa! The stream just started. I need to do my greeting, so please wait a moment."

With that, the woman turned a contrived smile toward a screen floating in the air.

"H, hello everyone. Welcome to Kazatoki's Dojo of Finishing Moves, the video that shows you the secrets of Karate."

I didn't catch her name, but it's Kazatoki-san? And did she say 'Karate'? Does she mean karate?

As Parfait wondered about this, text scrolled across the screen Kazatoki was looking at. Comments like "It started," "Been waiting," and "I'm the one who's gonna make Kazatoki big" were flowing by.

She's using the feature that turns voice into comments? Well, real time voices could get a little noisy. Oh, three viewers...

Even if there were only three, Kazatoki had no intention of slacking off, and she earnestly spoke to the screen.

"Thank you for always watching! Today, we've had a slight change of plans, and I'll be fighting someone I just met. Sorry to everyone who was hoping for Lion-chan... But please watch! I'm begging you! My view count is in trouble! Don't leave!"

She was desperate. As Parfait was thinking this, Kazatoki turned the floating screen toward her.

"This is the Sister-san who agreed to fight me despite my sudden request. She's a true goddess... Whoops, she's a private citizen, so I won't be revealing her identity!"

"H, hello."

Parfait wondered if she should wave, but the comments on the screen had completely stopped. The viewer count at the edge of the screen still showed three, so they were presumably watching, but no one was saying anything.

Maybe they were here for the person named Lion-san. Well, they're not watching for me, so I guess they don't know what to say. I wish they'd at least said hello back, though.

An awkward silence fell, and Kazatoki hurriedly turned off the screen.

"Alright, let's fight! The format is Real. The first one to land ten hits wins! Are you ready!?"

"Ah, yes. Let's fight."

Saying so, Parfait assumed her usual stance, lightly placing a hand on the hilt of her sword and standing straight. As her sword drawing style was mainly counter based, she had no basic stance, but this was a relaxed posture that allowed her to respond to any attack.

Kazatoki turned halfway toward Parfait, her left hand forward and her right hand pulled back slightly, her hips lowered a little as she firmly planted both feet on the ground.

But she didn't move.

"Um, is it okay if I attack...?"

"Huh? Ah, please. This is my stance."

"I, I see, okay..."

Kazatoki took a deep breath and fixed her gaze on Parfait.

Whoa, this feels like facing Simon-sensei. Is she actually really strong?

Immediately after that thought, Kazatoki closed the distance. It was less like running and more like she had leaped in a single bound.

She can jump that far with a single step!?

"Chestooo!"

From that speed, she unleashed a swift right fist.

For a moment, Parfait thought she was in trouble, but her body seemed to react before her mind could think. She parried Kazatoki's bandaged right hand with a sword drawing slash.

In reality, this would have been a disaster, but this was a virtual reality. Even if the combat mode was Real, an attack that merely parried a weapon didn't count as a hit, so they were both unharmed. However, that single exchange was enough for them to gauge each other's strength.

Immediately, they both took some distance.

Parfait was surprised by the speed of Kazatoki's leap and attack, but Kazatoki, too, was staring at Parfait with a look of astonishment. It quickly shifted to a serious expression.

"I see that you are a well known ranker. In that case, I will come at you with everything I have!"

Saying so, Kazatoki smiled, for some reason looking pleased.

So her last attack wasn't her full strength? Parfait thought. Then again, there are plenty of strong people my age. A smile crept onto her own lips as she placed her hand on the hilt of her blade, Beelzeb.