Chapter 304
Author’s Note: I caught a cold, so I was taking it easy (playing Granblue) while downing Red Bull, but somehow it got worse. Why... (The headache and runny nose won’t stop.)
Whoops, almost three minutes. Time to change equipment.
Some kind of jazz-like melody, played on a string instrument that looks like a cross between a violin and a guitar, drifts in the background. I'm following the woman in the dress, taking in this strange place with no windows or doors...
At the counter, where a master who looks like the possibly-a-clone shopkeep from "The Serpent's Apple" just aged up a bit stands, in the corner, a little girl in a weirdly revealing bikini armor is munching away on a hunk of meat. Could that... maybe, just maybe, be the Bounty Hunter named Tias?
Chief: "This place is something like a guild for Avengers... though, we don't have all that many members, you see?"
The hidden job "Avenger." The profession presented to me is, in short, a specialist who only takes on high-difficulty cases.
Chief: "In this world, there are wishes that go unfulfilled. For instance, a request to subjugate a beast so dangerous that even the kingdom's knights must turn a blind eye. Or the wish of a poor girl seeking a medicinal herb so impossibly difficult to harvest that it commands an astronomical price."
Sunraku: "A noble cause... but is this some kind of charity work?"
Just hearing about it makes it sound like volunteer work, running yourself ragged for the good of the world. When I ask, the woman who introduced herself as the "Chief" shakes her head, waving a folding fan.
Chief: "That's half the reason. The other half is to provide a battlefield for people like you..."
Sunraku: "...I see."
Legalizing violent means. Keeping a rein on potentially dangerous elements... Gathering combat junkies and daredevils, people who clear near-impossible problems that the surface world can't handle or won't even look at. So the "Bounty Hunter" system is an NPC-exclusive subset of the Avenger job, focused on specific targets. Well, it makes sense — even if the targets are PKers, leaving their judgment entirely in players' hands would be... yeah. Could draw even more aggro than just PK'ing in the middle of town.
Sunraku: "So? Is the invitation an immediate hire?"
Chief: "Well, now... your abilities are vouched for, so that's all well and good. But how about you tell me a little something to brag about?"
Bragging, huh? A self-sales pitch? Show her what I can do... Yeah, I do have other business after this anyway. I pull out from my inventory a Crystal Scorpion stinger I'd been sitting on as surplus material. And while I'm at it, a dud Lowenava Amber Crystal I'd dug up — turned out to have "no contents," so its in-game value is, well, you have to admit, low.
Sunraku: "I hit Crystal Nest Cliff pretty often. If you'd like, the amber crystal's a gift?"
Chief: "Oh my, my my... this is a far rarer prize than I'd expected. It seems the rumors might not be so far off the mark after all."
Rumors... rumors, huh... Whoops, three minutes.
Sunraku: "I've been wondering for a while — what exactly are these rumors...?"
Chief: "Let's see... the number one rumor would be 'The Night-Roaming Freak Who Even Drove Back the Emperor of Night.'"
Sunraku: "Freak..."
So what, do I explode in a flashy burst when I die or something? And who the hell spread a rumor like that? An NPC? Did it come from an NPC? Dammit, Lycagon, I'll never forgive you.
Chief: "At times, a mask mimicking a bird. At times, a mask mimicking a fish... There were even rumors of someone striding about in white cloth that fully covered the body. But I never imagined even gender was at your whim. Maybe calling you a “freak”—someone you can’t even be sure is human—isn’t so far off the mark after all...?"
Sunraku: "It's deeply against my will, but since it's all based on facts, I can't even deny it. The sorrow..."
I guess this is what they mean by "you reap what you sow"... It's Lycagon's fault. I'll never forgive him. The counter keeps spinning. It's a pain to keep changing clothes, so I just quick-activate Shakkotsu Breaker. Even though I've been swapping gear constantly and just suddenly started self-harming right in front of her, the Chief doesn't so much as twitch an eyebrow. She's a pretty damn bold NPC, it seems...
Or so I was impressed, but then a burly old man in a maid outfit (long skirt, not a miniskirt) lumbered past, apparently coming back from work, and a slender man in a suit that looked normal at a glance but, on closer inspection, was clearly a career woman's suit walked by. Which gave rise to the alternative theory that she's simply used to seeing bizarre stuff. Actually, were all those custom-ordered by players? The Dress-Up Squad is having way too much fun... goddammit, that looks like a blast.
Chief: "Well, let's call today a simple introduction. Perhaps we can go over the details another day?"
Sunraku: "...Got it. Then I'll head home for today."
So I stand on the floor where the magic circle is carved, return to "The Serpent's Apple," and when I leave the private room, the shopkeep wraps up an apple pie for me (it recovers hunger pretty well, so I want these by the dozen). Then I went home and slept.
...You really thought that was it? Like hell it is! Don't get fooled!!
(Invited and instantly hired? The system shut that down hard!)
The main job listed on my status is still "Mercenary." I haven't even cleared the job quest. Which means... yeah. There's definitely something coming. I don't know if it's a pop quiz or what, but if there's a quest, there's gotta be some kind of event...!
"Avenger." Just from the name and the Chief's explanation, it's hard to see it as a simple labor force job. Looking at other apparent hidden jobs like "Ancient Craftsman" and "Divine Craftsman," it's only natural there'd be some kind of event attached. Even "Ancient Craftsman," a production job, had a combat event. So what about an event for a pure combat job?
Woman: "K—mmph!"
Sunraku: "There it is!"
A scream—or rather, a cry forcibly muffled halfway through—cuts the late-night air of Eidort. The few players scattered around don't notice, for some reason. But right there is a scene that practically screams, "I was chased, I was running, and I got caught." A woman struggling desperately, weak but fighting, and a rough-looking man holding her down, trying to drag her into a back alley... I see. So this is a test of my sense of justice, huh? Okay, fine.
Sunraku: "I've rescued enough damsels in distress to fill an encyclopedia...!"
It's fine. I'm wearing clothes, so it shouldn't turn into "And now a pervert has joined the fray!" Right now, I'm a mysterious beautiful warrior maiden, dashing gallantly to a lady in crisis!
Sunraku: "Now, let me just—"
Child: "P-Please... help me...!"
Just as I'm about to leap into action, a small hand grabs mine, and I almost stumble. I hold back and turn around. There's a little kid, eyes brimming with tears that look about to spill over, looking up at me.
Child: "My little brother... a monster attacked my little brother...!"
Sunraku: "Ngh—"
You're throwing a choice at me NOW!? Shit! In a normal game, this would be a route split...! Even an idiot can see this is a judgment call...! Which one? Which one's the right answer!? Wait, are both of them events? Or did I just stomp on an unrelated flag!?
No time to agonize. Which is right, which is wrong? My entire career change, my new job, is riding on this choice...! In that case!
Sunraku: "Five seconds."
Caffeine's running low? By now, my body ought to be self-producing the stuff, so let's go! I fire up Levin Trigger: Hazard. I need the shortest, fastest route. The moonlight's started to fade, but since I've been bathed in it, Mánagarmr Pride is unleashed — I'm probably faster than I am in broad daylight.
Sunraku: "Fast!"
Random coordinate check — good. The two vanishing into the alley and I are connected by a straight line.
Sunraku: "Est!"
Start dash — so-so. There was a momentary hesitation loss from shaking off the kid's hand, but let's call it acceptable.
Sunraku: "Sol!"
Neutralization procedure — very good. You think I'm some kind of punching bag for a universally-bottom-feeder who casually weaves martial arts she only dabbled in on a whim into actual combat tactics?! I've been through that wringer! A back alley — meaning the gap between buildings, so I've got walls on both sides as footholds.
Sunraku: "Ution!"
I didn't think I could actually pull it off. I do have Gravity Zero, a straight upgrade, but that one's convenient in its own way. A manually replicated pseudo-Ricochet Step — the accelerated flying kick drills right into the scumbag's jaw. And then, something impossible by real-world physics: a midair landing... no, a midair stance — I kick off the now-limp NPC, dancing through the air. I cancel Levin Trigger: Hazard the instant I land. The fastest movement, pushing past even the limit imposed by the skill’s stamina-draining drawback — I can't help but admire myself.
Oh, and also, apparently three minutes passed, because my clothes exploded off. Shakkotsu Breaker's constant smoke is annoying, and on top of that, the sensation of having a heat pack stuck to you is also annoying, so keeping it on all the time isn't really the move.
Sunraku: "I'm pretty sure that was the fastest possible...!"
Way too ideal. If there were a speedrun category for kicking thugs, that would've been a world-record move.
But someone unexpected, in an unexpected place, raised an objection to my record.
Tias: "———Four seconds... and a little. There is wasted movement in your actions. Room for improvement."
Sunraku: "Wha— fast...!?"
Teleportation? No. At the kid's feet, a tiny bit of dust is swirling. If instantaneous movement had displaced mass, the dust would have risen upward from the ground. But the dust in front of me is streaming slightly to the left. Meaning... ultra-high-speed movement based on physics calculations. Wait, hold on. The difference between my speed with Levin Trigger: Hazard active and Lutia's "Superspeed Mach" isn't that big. And the speed of Overflow state is still just barely within graphical rendering limits.
Meaning... this speed just now was even faster than Lutia.
Tias: "———This was an aptitude test. Since Lutia is away on business, I am in charge of you..."
In other words:
Sunraku: "Loli-sensei Tias...!"
When I turn, there she is — the bikini-armor-clad little girl, having shed the powerless child form along with those clothes. She's staring at me with quiet eyes, like glass marbles.
Author’s Notes: