Chapter 20: The Diverging Top Tiers
???: "Oh, that player is still here..."
???: "Why is a high-level player like that just standing around in the first town?"
???: "I heard they're looking for someone."
???: "More importantly, I heard the player behind that avatar is a woman."
???: "For real? A female player using a big, tough male character... nice."
???: "Don't even think about it. Newbies like us aren't going to get her attention."
With summer vacation starting and the number of new players exploding, the armor knight knew it was difficult to find the person she was looking for. That's why, when she was about to head back to her clan's headquarters after getting scolded by the executives, it felt like a miracle to overhear that name on her way out.
Souma: "Yeah, I'm told you can't just level up. You've also got to raise your player skill, or whatever."
Kahho: "I guess you're right. I've finally reached the same level as Sunraku-san, but I still can't read the Vorpal Bunny's attacks at all."
Reena: "They say that players who are good at VR games can hold their own even at level one. Sunraku-san must have honed his skills in a lot of other games!"
Kahho: "Reena, you say stuff like that, but this is your first VR game, isn't it?"
Reena: "D-Don't say that!"
A boy swinging a new sword as if imitating something, a thief girl laughing "ha ha ha," and a mage girl puffing out her cheeks. Was it because she had been searching for and thinking about that name for so long that she was able to pick it out of the noisy chatter? Knowing that her intimidating appearance might frighten them, she approached quietly and called out to them as calmly as possible.
???: "Excuse me."
Souma: "Huh...? Wh-Whoa!?"
Kahho: "Gah!?"
Reena: "Uwah!?"
So much for that.
To an outside observer, a fully-equipped high-level player silently sneaking up on some beginners is a pretty terrifying situation. Fortunately — or unfortunately — no one was level-headed enough to point that out at the time. Souma, Kahho, and Reena — the trio who had previously encountered the weird bird-masked player — were approached by this knight in obviously strong-looking armor. All three thought the same thing: why do they keep running into the strangest people?
Souma: "Wh-What... do you want?"
???: "I'm not going to attack you. I just... want to ask something."
Souma's attempt at politeness had become a mess, and the armor knight's response was also a bit stilted, as if she was an amateur at role-playing.
???: "Have you... met a player named Sunraku?"
Souma: "Uh, y-yes..."
Kahho: "In the forest, and, well... I guess you could say he ended up helping us?"
Reena: "At first I thought he was some kind of new monster..."
Recalling the half-naked bird-masked stranger who leaped out of the bushes and brutally killed a cute rabbit — but was actually a pretty nice guy — Kahho gave a wry smile.
???: "Could you tell me... where he is?"
Souma: "Um... I think he said he was heading straight to Secondale?"
Kahho: "He also said he was going to level up some more first."
Reena: "But given his level, he's probably already beaten the Gluttonous Serpent and moved on, don't you think?"
(No wonder I couldn't find him.)
The female shopkeeper, who was helping her get closer to him, had warned that "He's an eccentric who loves trash games, so you need to expect the unexpected." She never imagined that he would skip the first town entirely and head straight for Secondale.
???: "Thank you for the information. It's not much, but please take this as thanks."
Souma: "Huh, wait a minute..."
???: "I'm in a hurry, so..."
Reena: "Wait, hold on... Oh, she's gone."
Souma: "Kahho, what did you get?"
Kahho: "What is this... a Magic Scroll... [Coordinate Transfer (Teleport)]...?"
It would be some time before they realized that the item the armor knight had given them — a Magic Scroll [Coordinate Transfer (Teleport)] — was something you couldn't normally obtain unless you had progressed all the way to the front lines of the game's content.
The armor knight raced through The Rampant Forest with an agility (AGI) her appearance never suggested. Since Coordinate Transfer was a spell that moved you to your last saved respawn point, she had to go to Secondale on foot.
(I considered the possibility of him acting outside the norm... but I never thought he'd skip the first town entirely!)
Normally, the very first town, Firstia, also serves as a tutorial for brand new players. To think that he ignored it completely and headed straight for Secondale. And the fact that he hadn't respawned meant he'd beaten the Gluttonous Serpent without dying once.
While it was a boss for beginners and easy once you knew about its cheap poison attack, it was still amazing that he'd beaten it on his first day. If she hadn't taken so long to level up, she could have found him — Sunraku — much earlier.
The armor knight, who had covered in two minutes an area that would take players of the appropriate level at least ten, rushed toward the Gluttonous Serpent, which was rearing up its head in a threatening display. She didn't slow down.
???: "...Highest Strength, Enchant Hellflame, Apocalypse!!"
She buffed her strength on the first step, enchanted her greatsword with an element on the second, and lunged forward on the third.
???: "I wish I didn't have to fight a boss every time I cross... though I suppose it's good for shuttle runs."
Behind the armor knight as she ran toward Secondale, the Gluttonous Serpent stood frozen in its threatening pose. Then, its body was cleanly split in two vertically. All that remained on the spot was its guaranteed drop item: the "Gluttonous Fang."
Whether this was a lucky break or not would depend on your point of view. It was, after all, the afternoon of that very day.