The Mecha-Kai Species During Dimensional Travel

And as if realizing that he simply couldn't match me in a contest of strength, he charged in at high speed from the start with his giant axe, even suddenly changing his moves to bait me into dodging.

That was also how Takuson was tricked into revealing an opening, getting cut in half at the waist and losing his second life.

The enemies in here get stronger. They learn.

Tch, seems tougher than I imagined.

But don't worry, teacher. How could a little difficulty like this ever stop my resolve?

Enemies that get stronger, huh? I'll defeat every single one of them!

Prepared and ready, determination filled Takuson's eyes.

Once again, he stepped without hesitation through that [Door] that symbolized battle.

Chapter 15: Commission

While Takuson was fighting the Demon in the [Virtual Combat Arena], Xiu Er hadn't been waiting idly on the sidelines the whole time.

After two hours of continuous observation, once she confirmed that the operation of this armament would definitely not encounter any issues, she left the area.

This barrier only appeared to be there, but the world within had already been shifted to a different space.

It was formless and colorless, untouchable and inaccessible to anyone, with entry and exit only possible through the passage Xiu Er had specifically opened.

The only drawback was that each activation required scanning the selected range, and to let someone in, she had to scan the target to select them as well.

Since she was just a single Mecha-Kai unit, no matter how much system assistance her computing power received, she couldn't achieve the effect of the entire Mecha-Kai species networking together as in the original No Game No Life.

This was also the main reason why Xiu Er's scanning and analysis always took a certain amount of time to complete each time.

So, in combat, using the [Virtual Combat Arena] to capture enemies had a very low success rate in terms of reliability.

After confirming there were absolutely no issues, Xiu Er felt at ease enough to leave.

She left behind only a Doppelganger, tasked with monitoring Takuson's physical condition at all times.

After all, Takuson's battle wouldn't be over anytime soon.

While Takuson was getting beaten up in the [Virtual Combat Arena], Xiu Er had arrived at a city located in this region.

This city was originally her next destination—the fourth city she had encountered in the past six months.

Walking along the streets, as usual, she scanned every person in her field of vision, recording the various traits and data of each passerby.

Eventually, she found a villager who had come to the city seeking someone's help.

In simple terms, it was a classic RPG element: quest commissions. In this world, although there were "Heroes" and "Adventurers," there was no classic RPG "Adventurer's Guild" or "Mercenary Guild."

Commissions in this world had no fixed location; they were all handed out by the commissioners themselves to passing adventurers they happened to meet.

However, Xiu Er's purpose this time wasn't to earn money, and she didn't need it anyway.

In her hand, she held a rolled-up commission scroll—one she had carefully selected as a test for the results of recent training.

"Eliminate the Spider Monster lurking deep in the mountains."

Time arrived at noon on the third day—

In a certain mountain forest...

"Hm? Finished?"

Xiu Er was sitting in front of the entrance to a new Dungeon, flipping through a Magic Guidebook resting on her closed thighs, while before her stood Takuson, who had just stepped out of the Teleportation Gate.

Takuson was already used to this. Whenever he needed to stay in one place for training or something, the teacher would use a [Doppelganger] to watch over him, while she herself would leave to go look at who knows what.

Only after he finished his training would she open that golden [Teleportation Gate] and send him straight to her.

And every time, it was possible to be moved a great distance in an instant.

Stepping out of the gate to find a completely different scenery had become a common occurrence.

"Ugh... teacher... I feel a bit... unwell..."

During the battle, his mind had been in a constant state of high tension, and inside the barrier, he couldn't perceive the outside world at all.

The end result was:

Aside from that one lucky victory over "Zera" at the very start, Takuson had been stuck hard at this first stage for a full 90% of the time.

Takuson had no idea that he had actually been fighting without eating, drinking, or resting for two whole days and nights. The moment he came out, the hunger in his body and the mental fatigue hit him all at once.

As he was complaining, Xiu Er had already finished checking his body.

"Hm, here."

He closed the book, and Xiu Er, producing a can of liquid from somewhere, tossed it to the other.

The force was just right, landing in Takuson's hands.

"This is...?"

"[Explanation] Nutrient Fluid, it can alleviate your current state."

"Alright..."

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

Mm, the taste... was actually a bit sweet, but what was this made from? He genuinely felt his body and energy recovering!

How was this possible!?

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

He wanted to ask, but thinking it was his teacher's doing, he let it go.

After all, that was his teacher.

Xiu Er showed no intention of explaining. He casually tossed the Magic Guidebook in his hand to Takuson across from him, who, as if long accustomed, caught the flying book without even looking.

Ever since Takuson started following him, Xiu Er had gained a humanoid traveling bag. He often threw collected and recorded Magic Guidebooks to the latter for safekeeping.

Originally, he left recorded, ownerless Magic Guidebooks where he found them simply because he had no extra space to carry them and didn't need to—all knowledge was stored in his database.

If he wanted, he could replicate an identical Magic Guidebook at any time.

The change now came only because Xiu Er noticed Takuson's strong curiosity about [Magic] and his regret a few times over burning Magic Guidebooks.

Thus, things became as they were.

Takuson often spent his breaks or spare time from training and practicing [Goddess Magic] flipping through those Magic Guidebooks Xiu Er had already recorded.

This was probably a hobby?

He didn't understand.

After all, even if he could infer someone's thoughts and habits from facial expressions and body language, it was only inference. Xiu Er didn't truly have [Mind Reading] ability.

And Takuson never asked Xiu Er questions about [Magic].

Partly out of shyness, partly out of his own stubbornness.

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

It had been like this for months.

But now, Xiu Er interrupted his reading.

"[Reminder] Put the book aside for now. There's a new commission here."

"Huh? Is it time for a Test again?"

Takuson tossed the book into the travel backpack beside him—one his teacher had made for him to hold books.

This was a [Gift] from his teacher, and he treasured the backpack, always leaving it far from battle before fighting.

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

Afraid he might lose it otherwise.

This so-called [Test] was literal.

Ever since Takuson started training and had [Combat] training, every thirty days, Xiu Er would go to human cities or villages to pick up various [Subjugation] quests.

These were [Tests], and the content was for him to complete the commission alone. Teacher Xiu Er only followed to observe and prevent accidents, like an invigilator.

So that's why Takuson asked what he did.

"Correct. You've been inside [That Place] for two days. You should understand that."

"Ah, ahaha..."

Takuson rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He understood that too.

And spending that long, still stuck on the second stage, unable to guarantee success on the first, was a bit embarrassing.

But he never considered that he was still a child, ignoring how his physical age affected things.

Takuson's combat state was unlike others. Once he entered it, he ignored external conditions, focusing solely on the current action.

In the [Virtual Combat Arena], he used this to temporarily disregard his body's needs, engaging in life-or-death struggles with the Demons inside.

He took the commission sheet his teacher handed him, opened it, and read the contents carefully.

"Spider Monster... this time we're subjugating that kind of creature?"

"..."

Xiu Er said nothing.

And Takuson naturally understood his meaning.

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

He looked ready to set out.

"Is this the mission location from the request?"

"Mm."

It was always like this—the teacher would open a Teleportation Gate near the mission site and send him through. Still, Takuson had developed the habit of confirming before departing, after one embarrassing incident.

Fortunately, Xiu Er had called out to him that time, or else he would have had to trek thousands of miles to the mission location on foot, with no help and no funds.

"Well, I'm off now. Teacher, rest assured—I'll be back soon."

"..."

Xiu Er didn't reply. She simply watched silently as Takuson's figure disappeared into the mountain forest.

Takuson didn't ask about the Demon in the Virtual Combat Arena, just as he never questioned any of his teacher's actions or the things she produced.

He trusted Xiu Er completely.

And Xiu Er generally followed the habit of not explaining unless asked.

That was how the two of them had gotten along for the past six months.

Once the detection showed that Takuson had entered the target territory, Xiu Er turned around and walked in the opposite direction.

This time, she hadn't chosen to follow in person. Instead, she sent her Doppelganger to supervise the Test.

Because in her detection scan—

On this mountain, there were a few "little bugs" that needed to be cleaned out...

Chapter 16: Fusion Magic