Chapter 2-5 : PK
It’s been three days since Umika and I formed a party. She has gotten used to fighting. Now, she can clear a pack of Erst Wolves by herself without my help.
Well, she still can’t control her emotions. She would get mad when she got attacked and lost her cool sometimes.
Nevertheless, I’m thinking it’s about time she fights stronger enemies, so I’m taking her deeper into the forest to fight Erst Bears.
「Hey, Alice, are we there yet?」(Umika)
「We should have entered their territory.」(Alice)
「Really? But I don’t see any bear.」(Umika)
「Hmm…」(Alice)
Something is not right… Normally, we should have encountered at least five Erst Bears by now.
As I looked around, I smelled something. It’s hard to tell, but I think it’s a burning smell.
I wonder if someone killed all the bears in this area with fire magic.
「ー!!」(Alice)
Suddenly, I felt something was coming. I swiftly dodged it, and that thing hit the tree behind me.
「What?」(Alice)
It was a rock about the size of a tennis ball.
Did someone throw it at me?
However, it wasn’t just a normal rock. Upon hitting the tree, it glowed and thenー
ーBOOOOOOOMM!!
「Kya!」(Umika)
「ー!」(Alice)
It exploded.
「What was explosion!?」(Umika)
Umika was panicking. I was panicked too.
I don’t know what it is, but I think it’s a combination of fire magic and earth magic that turn rocks into bombs.
Another rock flew at us, but I quickly deflected it with my blade. It hit a tree and exploded again.
「Wh-What is happening!?」(Umika)
「Not sure, but I think someone’s attacking us.」(Alice)
「But, who? Why!?」(Umika)
「I don’t know!」(Alice)
I completely have no idea who they are and where they are. Looks like they have a high level of 【Stealh】skill.
I didn’t even have time to think. The next attack was coming. However, this time, several rocks came from multiple directions.
「Umika, hold on to me!」(Alice)
「Eh!?」(Umika)
I can’t deflect them all, so I quickly carried Umika in my arms and jumped into the air.
The rocks then exploded at the point where we were standing and created a small crater on the ground.
I thought we were safe, but they kept attacking. While we were still in the air, I noticed several larger rocks raining down from above.
「Give me a break!」(Alice)
This is a trap! We would both get killed at this rate!
「Sorry, Umika!」(Alice)
「Kya!」(Umika)
I instinctively threw Umika to the ground to save her, but Iー
ーBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMM!!
………………..
………….
………
….
.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
ーUmika’s perspectiveー
Alice carried me in her arms like a princess and jumped to dodge the rock bombs, but then more rock bombs came from above.
She threw me to the ground to save me, but sheー
「ALICE!!」(Umika)
As I looked up, a huge explosion had already occurred, and soon after, blood and pieces of flesh scattered all around.
「No… NOOOO!!」(Umika)
Seeing the burnt pieces of flesh and blood on the ground, I felt nauseous and wanted to throw up.
「Ugh… No way… Alice has been defeated…」(Umika)
My chest hurt, my head was spinning, and my entire body started shaking.
I didn’t expect she would be defeated so easily.
「Gaaahahahaha! I did it! This Vizul-sama has killed the Headhunting Princess!」(??)
「!?」(Umika)
A man came out from the darkness. He seemed to have been hiding behind a tree.
He spread his arms and laughed like an evil vilain.
「Hmph! She’s weaker than I thought. What a let down.」(Vizul)
「You… How dare you!!」(Umika)
He must be the bastard attacking us. He killed Alice!
He approached me while showing an evil grin on his face.
I wanted to beat him up so badly, but my legs were still shaking.
Dammit!
「Aa-ahh, I failed to kill them both at once, but it doesn’t matter. Killingー」(Vizul)
「Your next line isー “Killing a rookie should be easier than killing a baby.”」(Alice)
「ーa rookie should be easier than killing a baby… Huh!?」(Vizul)
「Eh?」(Umika)
I fell in despair, but then I heard a familiar voice from behind.
I turned my head and saw the girl I wanted to see the most.
「A veteran player bullying a rookie, huh? That’s so lame!」(Alice)
「ALICE!!」(Umika)
She’s alive! Thank god!
「Impossible! How did youー」(Vizul)
「Next you gonna say, “You were supposed to have died in that explosion”.」(Alice)
「You were supposed to have died in that explosion! …Huh!?」(Vizul)
Alice’s cheeks and clothes were slightly scorched, but she didn’t seem to have any major injuries.
She even predicted the enemy’s lines before he could finish his sentences. She’s so cool!
*/TL : It’s a JoJo reference. It’s the scene from JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure Part 2 when Joseph was battling Straits.
https://x.com/jojo_douga/status/722354247698919425/video/1
「Umika, can you stand?」(Alice)
「Un.」(Umika)
She asked and extended her hand to me.
Feeling relieved, my legs stopped shaking. I grabbed her hand and stood up.
When I thought I was in a dire situation, she appeared like a hero. She looked so dazzling to me that I might fall in love with her.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
ーBack to Alice’s perspectiveー
「Umika, stay back. I’ll handle this.」(Alice)
「Un! Kick his ass, Alice!」(Umika)
I stepped forward and drew my blade, facing the man.
「How the hell are you still alive!?」(Vizul)
「Take a guess.」(Alice)
I smirked, trying to annoy him.
The reason I was still alive was because I instinctively took out an Erst Bear corpse from my storage as soon as I threw Umika and used it to block the explosion.
That’s right. The flesh and blood on the ground were not mine. They were the dead bear’s.
At the same time as the rocks exploded, I activated my【Concealment】skill to hide my presence and jumped away.
Luckily for me, the explosion wasn’t that destructive. Perhaps this man hasn’t raised his INT that much. If he had the same points on INT as Rin, the explosion would have blown both the bear corpse and me.
I’m guessing that he’s not just a magician but a hybrid type. He puts his Stat Points mainly on INT, but he also puts some on AGI. That’s why he could hide his presence and threw rocks quickly from different directions.
If this man were smart, he would have noticed that the flesh scattered on the ground wasn’t mine since it didn’t disperse into pixels.
「Tsk. Dunno why you’re still kicking, but it doesn’t matter. I only have to kill you again!」(Vizul)
He took some rocks from his pocket and threw them at me all at once.
However, since I could see the rocks, it was easy for me to deflect them all with my blade.
ーClank clank clank!
「Dammit!」(Vizul)
Before he could take out more rocks, I activated my【Sever】skill and dashed forward.
However, when I was about to swing my blade toward his neck, I noticed he raised the edge of his mouth.
He was grinning…
「ー!!」(Alice)
Suddenly having a bad feeling, I jumped back.
「Alice, what’s wrong?」(Umika)
「Something’s not right.」(Alice)
My instinct told me I would die if I got too close to him.
Could it be…
「I see. Suicide bomb, huh?」(Alice)
「Tsk!」(Vizul)
He frowned. Looks like my guess is right.
He’s wearing a magician’s robe, and I’m guessing he has planted rock bombs under it. He’s planning to sacrifice his own life to kill me.
「That’s Headhunting Princess. You’re sharp, but what of it!?」(Vizul)
Now that I’ve figured out his plan, he tried to approach me as his last resort.
However, before he could dash forward, I quickly hugged Umika and activated my newly acquired spell.
「!?」(Umika)
「【Area Gravity】!」(Alice)
Unlike the【Graviton】and【Swap Gravity】combo I used to fight Rin in the tournament,【Area Gravity】is an advanced gravity spell that applies a gravitational force to my surrounding area. The radius of the affected area is ten meters, excluding one meter around me. That’s why Umika and I are not affected.
「Guhhh!」(Vizul)
The force was not that powerful, but it was enough to bring the man to his knees.
The rock bombs he was hiding under his robe were falling to the ground one by one and started to glow.
「I knew it. Your bombs are neither time-delay type nor switch type. They will explode when they collide with something.」(Alice)
While saying that, I erected an earthen wall with earth magic as a cover while still hugging Umika in my arms.
I noticed that the rock bombs exploded after they hit trees, the ground, and the bear corpse I used as a shield.
In other words, his rock bombs are like grenades that will explode after they hit the ground.
The rocks glowed brighter and brighter, and thenー
「SHIT! SHIT! SHIIIIIIIIIIー」(Vizul)
ーBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMM!!
The man was blown up into chunks of meat by his own bombs and scattered into pixels.
I don’t know who he is and why he wants to defeat me so badly, but that’s what you got for messing with me!
It’s too bad that I couldn’t finish him off with my blade, but I hope he won’t appear before me ever again.
After confirming that he was really dead, I deactivated my【Area Gravity】skill.
「U, umm…」(Umika)
「Hm? A-ahh, I’m sorry.」(Alice)
「N, no… it’s… I don’t mind at all…」(Umika)
I realized I was still hugging Umika. I let go of her.
「Umika, did you get hurt?」(Alice)
「No… I’m completely fine… Alice onee-sama…」(Umika)
「I see. Thank god.」(Alice)
…Hm?
Did she just call me “onee-sama”?
Looking at her face, I noticed her face was as red as a tomato.
「Are you sure you’re alright?」(Alice)
「Yes… Alice onee-sama…」(Umika)
She did call me “onee-sama”.
「Umm, why are you calling me like that?」(Alice)
「You hate it, Alice onee-sama…?」(Umika)
「Well, not really. Out of curiosity, would you tell me your age?」(Alice)
「I’ll be nineteen this year, Onee-sama…」(Umika)
She’s younger than me, huh? I guess she can call me that, then.
But, hold on… There’s clearly something wrong with her.
「Your face is red. Are you sick?」(Alice)
In the first place, can you even catch a cold in a virtual game? I doubt it.
If she’s not sick, then…
「I’m not sick… It’s just… My heart’s beating fast, and my chest is kinda hurt, but… I don’t hate this feeling…」(Umika)
Hm?
Heart’s beating… Blushing face… And she calls me “onee-sama”…
Wait, wait, wait! Don’t tell me, she…
No, that can’t be. But… This is bad. If her fans see us like this, they might try to kill me out of jealousy!
「What’s wrong, Alice onee-sama?」(Umika)
「Eh? A-ahh, it’s nothing… Say, Umika, I think we should call it a day for now.」(Alice)
「What? But I still want to play with you, Alice onee-sama!」(Umika)
「Uhh… You said your chest hurt, right? I think you should take a rest today. Besides, there might be other players trying to attack me. A-anyway, it’s too risky to hunt in this forest today!」(Alice)
「Umm, if you say so. Alright, I’ll be a good girl, then. I will see you again, Alice onee-sama!」(Umika)
「U, un! See you, Umika.」(Alice)
She waved at me with a smile on her face and logged out.
Now all I can do is pray that Umika will be back to her normal self tomorrow.
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