Ex-Machina in Dimensional Travel

And as though he had realized that I simply could not match his strength, he charged in at high speed with his giant axe raised from the very start. He could even suddenly switch moves and trick me into dodging.

That was also why Takuson had been baited into revealing an opening, then cut in half at the waist and lost his second life.

The enemies in there could grow stronger. They could learn.

Hiss, this seemed even Harder than I had imagined.

But don't worry, Teacher. How could this little difficulty possibly stop my determination?

They're just enemies that can grow stronger. I'll defeat every last one of them!

Having prepared himself, Takuson's eyes brimmed with determination.

Once again, he fearlessly stepped through that gate that symbolized battle.

Commission

While Takuson was fighting the Demons in the Virtual Combat Arena, Xiu Er had not remained outside waiting the entire time.

After two hours of continuous observation, once she had confirmed that there would absolutely be no problems with the operation of this equipment, Xiu Er left.

This barrier only appeared to exist in this place. The world within it had long since been moved into a different space.

It was invisible and colorless, impossible for anyone to touch or enter. Only through a passage specially opened by Xiu Er could one enter or leave.

Its only drawback was that every activation required scanning the chosen range, and anyone she wanted to send inside had to be scanned before they could be selected.

Since she was merely a standalone Ex-Machina, even with the system assisting her processing power, she could not achieve the effect of the entire Ex-Machina being networked together in the original No Game No Life.

That was the main reason why Xiu Er's scans and analyses required a certain amount of time to complete each time.

Thus, in battle, using the Virtual Combat Arena to capture enemies had an extremely low success rate, at least in terms of reliability.

Only after confirming that there were no problems at all could Xiu Er leave with peace of mind.

She left behind only a Doppelganger to monitor Takuson's physical condition at all times.

After all, Takuson's battle would not end anytime soon.

While Takuson was being tortured in the Virtual Combat Arena.

Xiu Er arrived in a city located within this region.

This city had originally been her next destination. It was the fourth city she had encountered in the past half year.

Walking through the streets, she scanned every person within her field of vision as usual, recording every passerby's characteristics and data.

Eventually, she found a villager who had come to the city to commission someone for help.

Put simply, it was a classic RPG element: quests. Although this world had things like "Heroes" and "adventurers," it did not have the classic RPG "Adventurer's Guild" or "Mercenary Guild."

There was no fixed place for commissions in this world. Clients personally sought out passing adventurers and handed out requests themselves.

However, Xiu Er's purpose here was not to make money, nor did she need money.

He held a quest scroll in his hand, one he had carefully selected to test the results of Takuson's recent training.

"Deal with the Spider Monster hidden deep within the mountains."

Time came to noon on the third day—

Somewhere within a mountain forest...

"Hmm? Finished already?"

Xiu Er sat before the entrance to a new Dungeon, flipping through a Magic Guidebook resting on her closed thighs. Before her stood Takuson, who had just emerged from a Teleportation Gate.

Takuson had long grown used to this. Whenever he needed to remain in one place for training or some other reason, Teacher would use a Doppelganger to watch over him while leaving in person to look at who knew what.

Once he completed his training, Teacher would open that golden Teleportation Gate and send him before her.

And each time, he might be moved a great distance in an instant.

Emerging from the gate to find an entirely different landscape was no longer anything unusual.

"Ugh... Teacher... I feel a little... unwell..."

During battle, his mind had remained in a heightened state, and inside the barrier, he could not sense anything happening outside.

And the final result was:

Aside from luckily defeating that "Zera" at the very beginning, Takuson had been forcibly stuck on the first stage for ninety percent of the time.

Takuson had no idea that he had actually fought for two days and two nights without eating, drinking, or resting. The instant he came out, hunger in his body and mental fatigue struck him all at once.

While he complained, Xiu Er had already completed an examination of his body.

"Mm. Take this."

Closing the book, Xiu Er pulled out a canister of liquid from somewhere and tossed it to him.

The force was just right, and it landed in Takuson's hands.

"This is...?"

"Explanatory Nutrient Fluid. It can alleviate your current condition."

"Okay..."

Without hesitation, trusting his teacher, Takuson downed the entire canister of liquid in one gulp.

Hmm, it actually tasted a little sweet... But what was this made of? I could really feel my body and energy recovering!

How did it do that!?

Takuson stared in surprise at the empty canister in his hand.

He wanted to ask, but when he remembered that it had been made by Teacher, he accepted it.

After all, this was Teacher.

Xiu Er had no intention of explaining. She merely tossed the Magic Guidebook in her hand toward Takuson. As though already accustomed to it, he caught the flying book without even looking.

Since Takuson had begun following her, Xiu Er had gained a humanoid walking travel bag. She often threw the Magic Guidebooks she had collected and finished recording to him for safekeeping.

Originally, she had thrown unowned Magic Guidebooks back where she found them after recording them simply because she had no extra space to carry them, and had no need to do so. All knowledge would be stored in her database.

If she wished, she could recreate an identical Magic Guidebook at any time.

The reason she changed this was merely because Xiu Er had discovered that Takuson possessed a strong curiosity toward Magic, and had expressed regret several times over burning Magic Guidebooks.

That was how things had become as they were now.

During breaks, or in the spare time between training and practicing Goddess Magic, Takuson would often flip through the Magic Guidebooks that Xiu Er had already recorded.

This probably counted as an interest, right?

She did not understand.

After all, even if she could infer someone's thoughts and habits from their facial expressions and body movements, those were only inferences. Xiu Er did not truly possess Mind Reading.

Nor did Takuson ask Xiu Er questions about Magic.

On one hand, he was embarrassed. On the other, he wanted to be strong.

He merely quietly read through the Magic Guidebooks, like a child reading a storybook.

It had been like this for the past several months.

But at this moment, Xiu Er spoke and interrupted his reading.

"Reminder: put the book aside first. There is a newly accepted commission here."

"Eh? Is it test time again?"

Takuson tossed the book into the travel backpack beside him. His teacher had made it for him to carry books.

It was a "gift" from Teacher, and he treasured the backpack dearly. Before every battle, he would leave it somewhere far from the fighting.

Of course, he only did so when Xiu Er was present.

After all, he was afraid of losing it.

And this so-called test meant exactly what it sounded like.

Ever since Takuson began training and received combat training, every thirty days, Xiu Er would go to a human city or village and accept various subjugation quests.

These were the Tests. Their content was for him to complete the commission alone, while Teacher Xiu Er would only follow and observe throughout, preventing unexpected situations, like a proctor.

That was why Takuson had asked that question just now.

"Correct. You have already stayed in that place for two days. Surely you understand that."

"Ah, ahaha..."

Takuson scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He understood that as well.

And after spending so long, he had still been stuck on the second stage. He could not even guarantee a successful clear rate for the first stage. It was somewhat embarrassing.

But he had completely failed to consider the fact that he was still a child, overlooking the impact of his physical age in this regard.

Takuson's combat state differed from that of ordinary people. Once he entered that state, he paid no attention to the outside world and focused wholeheartedly on his current action.

Inside the Virtual Combat Arena, he had relied on this to temporarily ignore his body's needs and engage the Demons within in a desperate fight to the death.

Taking the commission letter handed over by his teacher, he opened it and carefully read its contents.

"A Spider Monster... Is this time's task to Subjugate this kind of monster?"

"..."

Xiu Er said nothing.

And Takuson naturally understood what she meant.

He placed the commission letter and the Sacred Canon into his backpack, then picked up the axe resting beside him.

He looked ready to set off.

"This is the quest location mentioned in the commission, right?"

"Mm."

It was always like this. Teacher would open a Teleportation Gate near the commission's quest location and send him over, but Takuson had developed the habit of asking before setting out because he had embarrassed himself once.

Fortunately, Xiu Er had stopped him immediately that time. Otherwise, without anyone to help him or any funds, he would have had to travel on foot to a quest location thousands of miles away.

"Then I'll be going first, Teacher. Don't worry, I'll be back soon."

"..."

Xiu Er did not respond. She merely silently watched Takuson's retreating figure disappear into the mountain forest.

Takuson did not ask what the Demons in the Virtual Combat Arena were, just as he would never question any of Teacher's actions or the things she brought out.

He trusted Xiu Er completely.

And Xiu Er generally upheld the habit of being too lazy to explain if others did not ask.

That was how the two had gotten along for the past half year.

Only after her detection showed that Takuson had entered the target territory did Xiu Er turn around and walk in the opposite direction.

This time, she did not choose to follow in person. Instead, she sent her Doppelganger to supervise the test.

Because according to her detection.

There were several "little bugs" on this mountain that needed to be cleared out...

Fusion Magic