Chapter 9
「So this is the Rookie Forest! Alright, let’s do our best!」
As soon as Elena transfers to the Rookie Forest, she looks around excitedly and raises her voice in delight.
「Huh? Could it be your first time here, Elena?」
「Yes, that’s right! Oh, and it’s also my first time fighting monsters!」
(She’s seriously planning to leech off me… Well, whatever. If that’s the case, I’ll just level her up quickly.)
In Dream Fantasy, experience points and money are evenly distributed among those who participate in an attack.
However, it’s different when you’re in a party – even if you don’t participate in the attack, it still gets distributed.
This allows for literal leeching gameplay.
She probably formed a party with that goal in mind.
If that’s the case, if I work hard and level her up quickly, I’ll be released from her that much sooner.
Thinking this, Isamu draws his sword and prepares for battle.
「Ah, that’s a monster, isn’t it!」
Reacting to Elena’s voice, Isamu turns around and sees a Giant Grasshopper.
Grasshoppers can be taken out in one hit with the fire magic spell, Fireball.
So the moment Isamu stretches his hand out to chant Fireball――
「Ice bullet! Pierce through! Ice Shot!」
He hears Elena’s voice from beside him.
Looking over, he sees her stretching her hand out towards the grasshopper, just like him.
However, nothing happens.
「…Huh?」
「Come forth, fire bullet, and burn! Fireball!」
Putting Elena aside for now, Isamu launches a fireball at the grasshopper.
As usual, it’s taken out in one hit. Then, he hears a clapping sound from beside him.
「Sieg, that was amazing!」
Saying this, Elena applauds.
In contrast, despite being praised by a young and cute girl, Isamu makes a confused expression.
「Um, Elena. What was that just now…?」
「Ah, that’s right! I just tried using ice magic, but it didn’t activate. Why is that?」
「Ice magic… Could you be talking about Icicle Shot?」
「Ah, Icicle Shot! I got it wrong!」
「Also, the chant is ‘Ice bullet, pierce through.’」
Magic won’t be recognized by the system and won’t activate unless you say the correct chant and skill name.
Therefore, it’s only natural that nothing happened earlier.
「Oops, I was way off! Oh, right. Sieg, you can talk to me casually! I’m younger than you, after all.」
「O-Oh. Got it.」
「By the way, Sieg, do you also have points in ice magic?」
「No, I only use one-handed swords and fire magic, but…」
「Huh? Then how do you know about ice magic?」
「Ah, that’s――」
Isamu explains that he tried out all the skills once during the beta test.
In Dream Fantasy, you can reset your skill points by talking to an NPC in the Starting Town.
By repeating this, Isamu found an efficient way to level up on the first day.
「Huh, so you were a beta tester! No wonder you’re so knowledgeable!」
「W-Well, I guess.」
「Ah, that’s right! Everyone! Since we have the chance, is there anything you want to ask Sieg?」
Elena asks this question to the viewers watching the broadcast.
At this, the chat starts flowing even faster than before.
「Sieg, if you don’t mind, please answer everyone’s questions as a senior player!」
「…O-Okay, got it.」
Of course, he can’t refuse.
Isamu reluctantly shifts his gaze to Elena’s broadcast screen and starts picking out chats that catch his eye.
「Let’s see, ‘How are axes?’ Axes deal big damage per hit, but the issue is their slow attack speed… They’re the kind of weapon that shines when you have allies who can cover your openings.」
「’Recommended stat distribution,’ huh. Hmm, fire magic is useful in the Rookie Forest, but it might be different in other areas… There aren’t any particularly bad choices, so I think it’s fine to raise whatever you like.」
「Next is, ‘That’s iron armor, right? What do you think? Is it worth buying?’ It’s worth buying. It reduces damage more than I expected. If you save up money, you should buy it right away.」
Isamu calmly answers the questions, but inside he’s filled with tension and impatience.
It’s only natural, since 100,000 people are watching him.
He’s never experienced standing on such a big stage in his life until now.
Thanks to that, he ends up honestly conveying useful information that would make it harder for him to PK.
「Okay, everyone, that’s enough! Sieg is going to hunt monsters with me now!」
After a few minutes of answering viewers’ questions, Elena claps her hands.
In response, the chat shows――
『Elena, that’s not fair! That old guy belongs to everyone!』
『That’s right! There’s still a lot of things I want to ask!』
『Elena, please be quiet for now. Hey, old man. I want to use a rapier, but are there any good combinations that synergize with it?』
『Do you have all the chants memorized?』
The viewers try to continue their conversation with Isamu, ignoring Elena.
「Hmph! We’re done! Sieg is going to level up with me now!」
『For now, Elena, just level up by yourself.』
『Sorry, Elena! Right now, just don’t get in the way!』
『Old man, party up with me next time.』
「No means no! Come on, Sieg. There don’t seem to be any more monsters around here, so let’s go further in!」
「O-Okay…」
Pulled by Elena, Isamu walks deeper into the forest.
(What the heck is this…)
☆
「Ah, Elena! Behind you!」
「Right! Ice bullet, pierce through!」
Elena turns around while chanting, extending her hand towards the rat that’s leaping at her.
「――Icicle Shot!」
After saying the skill name, a sharp icicle shoots out from the magic circle towards the rat.
However, even with a direct hit, the Giant Rat doesn’t fall and continues charging.
「I’ll take care of the rest!」
Saying that, Isamu leaps out and swings his sword down on the rat.
In that instant, the rat turns into particles of light and disappears.
「Thank you! Ah, I leveled up again!」
「Oh, that’s great.」
After moving deeper into the forest, Isamu and Elena have been continuously hunting monsters.
「So, what should I do? Should I keep raising ice magic like this? Or would it be better to raise it in parallel with something else?」
「I think ice magic is fine. There’s a strong spell called Frigid Blade that you can learn at 8 points.」
Just when he thought she was aiming to leech, Elena actively participates in battles.
Realizing her enthusiasm, Isamu finds himself giving sincere advice.
「Is that so! Then I’ll keep raising ice magic!」
The two of them continue leveling up, and after about 2 hours――
「Phew, I think I’ll call it a day soon! I have school tomorrow.」
「Yeah, I’m getting a bit tired too, so let’s stop here.」
「Okay! Then I’ll disband the party!」
＜The party has been disbanded.＞
Isamu is finally free from Elena.
「Well then, thanks for watching, everyone! Ah, everyone say goodbye to Sieg!」
Saying that, Elena moves the panel in front of Isamu.
『I learned a lot today! Thanks, man.』
『’Please party up with me next time!』
『Good work, old man!』
『Old man, you’re actually a pretty good guy. Sorry for saying harsh things earlier.』
『Byeee!』
The chat is filled with friendly messages.
It seems he managed to get through without drawing their ire.
Isamu lets out a sigh of relief, then says his parting words to the viewers.
「T-Thanks, everyone! Good work.」
「Yep yep, looks like everyone’s taken a liking to you too, Sieg! Well then, everyone. See you later!」
Waving her hand at the screen as she says this, Elena opens the menu window and closes the broadcasting panel.
「Phew. Sieg, thank you so much for today! Thanks to you, the broadcast was lively!」
「Y-You’re welcome!」
「Well then, I’m logging off too! If we meet again, I’ll be counting on you!」
「Yeah, same here.」
「Then, if you’ll excuse me. Good work today!」
Elena disappears while deeply bowing her head.
「I-I’m exhausted…」
After a moment’s pause, words leak from Isamu’s mouth.
VRMMOs are inherently taxing on the brain, causing more fatigue than regular video games.
On top of that, the tension of being watched by 100,000 people has left Isamu physically and mentally drained.
(I have work early tomorrow morning, so I should go to bed…)
With that thought, he ends the game.
Although he couldn’t PK today due to unexpected circumstances, Isamu felt oddly refreshed.
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