He clutched his butt and rolled around on the ground, screaming in agony. It felt like his tailbone had shattered as he shakily reached out to use a Command Spell.
"By the power of this Command Spell... heal my butt."
Mahiro Oyama stepped forward and looked at Kazuma Satou, who was lying on the ground.
"XD, how did you get beaten up this badly?"
Kazuma Satou rubbed his butt, sat up, and stared heartbrokenly at his shattered imitation Kiku Ichimonji Norimune.
He had only just gotten this good sword. He had not even properly used it once.
Still, if the blade had not blocked that attack, he probably would have lost a life just now.
His heart broke for several seconds.
He took several deep breaths before he finally recovered a little.
"Whew, now I know just how fast Souichirou Kuzuki is...
Put it this way: within ten steps, you simply can't react in time... If Hachiman Hikigaya hadn't used one of his lives to tank two waves of attacks last time, we never would've survived."
Mahiro Oyama said, "That's pretty tanky."
"Still, speaking of this position..."
Mahiro Oyama looked at Souichirou Kuzuki, who stood high above them in the corridor.
"Can't you... shoot him with your bow?"
"I'll try."
Kazuma Satou summoned the Bow of Prayer, nocked a Yew Poison Arrow, and fired at the man's forehead.
Souichirou Kuzuki smashed the incoming arrow with one punch, but this was not a Degraded Dragon Bone Arrow. It was a poison arrow of a higher grade.
Its durability and magical power were both superior. The shattered fragments sprayed outward. With Medea's enhancement on his fists, his hands were uninjured, but his face was scratched.
The poison entered his body through the wound.
Souichirou Kuzuki's body stiffened.
"It worked!"
"Another arrow!"
"Take him down!"
Kazuma Satou swiftly nocked another arrow, but Souichirou Kuzuki directly left the third-floor corridor, returned to the building, and disappeared beyond the bow's effective range.
"Are NPCs really this intelligent?"
Mahiro Oyama complained.
"I remember this map being labeled normal. If maps get updated in the future, what kind of monsters are we going to be fighting?"
Shiro said, "This game has a high degree of freedom. NPC reactions are no different from real people's. Even elite Bosses may have been simplified to reduce the difficulty, but they're not completely brainless. The challenge is still there."
Shiro said, "Bro, stop talking. I want to play."
Umari Tsuchima said, "Me too."
Esdeath said, "The only problem is that their progression is too slow. With this level of ability, they would've been eliminated long ago in my army."
Shinya Kougami said, "Heh. Someone who can say something like that would only do worse than them in this game."
Izayoi Sakamaki said, "You're comparing things blindly without even understanding the rules. What else is there to say to you?"
Izayoi Sakamaki said, "To put it bluntly, no matter how much it resembles reality, it's still just a game. Having fun should obviously come first."
Asuna said, "Couldn't agree more. Right, @Akihiko Kayaba?"
Akihiko Kayaba said, "?"
Akihiko Kayaba said, "...But you're right. This game really is more fun than the one I made. I should learn from it."
Kirito said, "What are you planning to do?"
Akihiko Kayaba said, "Of course, make one myself."
Shino Asada said, "Make it slowly. Once this game enters open beta, no one will play yours."
Akihiko Kayaba said, "Then... I'll have to work overtime."
Asuna said, "Shino, why did you remind him? (facepalm)"
Akihiko Kayaba said, "This time, there won't be any penalty where logging out means death. I'm just an electronic ghost. Once I make it, play it if you like."
Kirito said, "Oh? I'll definitely support it."
"Beauty Wine" (3K)
Hohzuki Academy, side entrance to the teaching building.
Kazuma Satou pondered for a while before explaining his tactical plan.
"Shido, you can draw Kuzuki's aggro, then jump down from the window. I'll shoot arrows at him from here, and we'll slowly wear him down like that..."
"That sounds like way too much trouble..."
Shido Itsuka ground his little fangs and waved his arm as he headed straight for the teaching building.
"Ah! I can't take it anymore. I'm going to drag him down."
"?!" x2
Kazuma Satou and Mahiro Oyama hurriedly grabbed one of Shido Itsuka's arms each.
But his monstrous strength dragged them across the ground, covering them in dust.
"Bro, no... Sis, don't throw your life away!"
"Don't go! He can chain three elbow strikes. You can't take that!"
Astolfo said, "Shido-chan is so cute, just as cute as me. Ehehe."
Roland said, "..."
Sieg said, "She really is cute."
Jeanne d'Arc said, "Haaah, this is... exactly the same kind of recklessness."
The two of them finally managed to make Shido Itsuka stop.
Mahiro Oyama quietly complained.
"He doesn't seem reliable at all... He's completely lost his mind. Wouldn't sending him to lure the enemy just be suicide?"
Kazuma Satou had no solution for the moment either.
"Should we search somewhere else?"
Mahiro Oyama lay on the ground, completely giving up.
The Noble Phantasm and Craft Essence assigned to her were so embarrassing that she did not want to wear them at all, and they did not seem particularly useful anyway.
"Sigh, my Noble Phantasm, My Red Mead, can charm men, but they have to drink it for it to work.
But there's no way for us to force-feed it to him... If we had that chance, we would've killed him already."
Kazuma Satou suddenly turned his head, looking thoughtful.
"So he just needs to drink it?"
"Yeah."
Kazuma Satou pinched his chin with his left hand, then lowered it and looked at the Concealment Command Spell on it.
Oh—ho?
Kazuma Satou's grin split wide, just like Tom the Cat's.
He had a bold idea.
"Mahiro, can I carry your Noble Phantasm?"
"Hm?... I think so?"
"Let's try it first."
"Okay."
Mahiro Oyama climbed to her feet, brushed the dust off her butt, and opened her backpack.
"Let me see, like this?"
She closed her eyes and chose to use her Noble Phantasm, but the following prompt appeared before her.
Insufficient magical energy. As a reserve operator, you possess no magical energy. Without using a Craft Essence or another means of supplying magical energy, you cannot activate your Noble Phantasm. Your life force is also too low. Even if you exhaust all your life force... it will still be insufficient to support activation. Craft Essence equipment is recommended.
Huh?
Mahiro Oyama tugged at the hem of the long-sleeved clothes she had brought several sets of.
She just did not want to wear that Craft Essence.
"Alluring Warden Uniform (E)"
The name already looked improper, and the description was even less proper.
"Oyster~"
Mahiro Oyama looked at Kazuma Satou's expectant gaze.
Sigh, Mio, I hate you! I hate you!
She took a small breath and chose to activate the Craft Essence. White light radiated from her body, and in an instant, she changed into an extremely revealing red warden uniform...
Rather than a warden uniform, though, its function was probably more... suggestive.
Mahiro Oyama lowered her head, looking at the whip in her hand, then at her absurdly short red skirt and upper body covered by nothing but a bra.
"Oyster—!"
Kazuma Satou could not bear to look anymore. Of course... he had actually taken several glances before stepping forward and taking an ordinary cloak from his backpack to hand to Mahiro.
"Waaah..."
Mahiro Oyama sniffled, accepted the cloak, and quickly wrapped herself in it.
"Thanks."
"Uh... the Noble Phantasm?"
"Waaah..."
Mahiro Oyama closed her eyes as though resigning herself to fate and activated her Noble Phantasm.
Fragments of memories flashed through her mind.
—A pink-haired queen from Celtic mythology, born with a flawless body as perfect as a goddess's.
Innocent and pure, lewd and vicious—every side of her was her truest self.
Mahiro Oyama chanted the most seductive and wanton Noble Phantasm incantation in a young, innocent voice.
"Become... the lover of every good man in the past, present, and future! For them... I offer My Beloved Honey Wine~"
Miyako Hoshino said, "Huff huff."
Nemesis said, "Huff huff."
Ayame Sarutobi said, "Queen, step on me."
Before you continue