Chapter 305: Loli-sensei's Night-Sky Classroom
Chief: "People, or beasts... Even Avengers have their aptitudes. That is exactly why a split-second binary choice offers a glimpse of one's true worth..."
Take the child attacked by a monster, or the woman being dragged into the alley? Most players would probably deal with the latter first, I think... But the Chief, reunited with me surprisingly quickly, smiles. That's not it.
Chief: "It's about your field of perception. Where your awareness is directed... The actions and the outcome are merely secondary."
Because you cannot ignore the woman in front of you, do you push the little girl's wish out of your awareness? Or do you dismiss the whole thing as nothing more than a petty squabble between people and keep your attention fixed on the monster you have yet to see? That above all reveals the essence of an Avenger, the Chief explains.
Chief: "You've shown a rather rare result... While choosing one, you never took your eyes off the other... Your field of view is quite broad, isn't it?"
I don't fully get it, but basically, the system judged "which one your thoughts prioritized," right? This game just casually shows off its high tech.
Sunraku: "Wait, don't tell me those two were also..."
Chief: "Yes. They're our 'investigators.' The punching-bag role — they played it well, didn't they...?"
So I was dancing in the palm of your hand, then! I mean, I did think that wall-kick power move landed way too satisfyingly with a crit... but if the receiving end was cooperating, that makes sense.
Sunraku: "That was basically a critical hit, though. Are they okay...?"
Chief: "They're skilled actors who can play dead against professional assassins. There's nothing to worry about."
I don't know if that's really relevant... wait, playing dead against assassins? That's insane. What kind of survival specialization is that? I'm actually super interested.
Sunraku: "Well, whatever. Back on topic. So what's the verdict on my so-called aptitude?"
Chief: "Hmm... The Avenger profession broadly splits into 'Anti-Personnel' and 'Anti-Monster' specializations. But it looks like you'd shine in either. You may choose whichever you like."
Sunraku: "Anti-Monster, then."
Honestly, in SLF I don't pour that much passion into PvP. If this were Bakumatsu or Post-Apocalyptic Round Table, it'd be stupid to even hesitate.
Tias: "......Follow me."
Sunraku: "Huh? Oh, roger!"
Wait, what? Ah, stop, Tias-san! Don't pull on my inner layer while I'm half-naked — I'm gonna be out of bounds! Out of boundssss!!
Tias: "Field test... Beat it."
Sunraku: "Beat it, she says..."
And so we've come to the Ruins of Past Glories. Ahh, my buddy's house is getting further away. Since the job quest isn't over, this must be part of it too... but what the hell am I supposed to do? Dragged through town by a bikini-armor little girl while in a half-naked female avatar — a pretty serious humiliation play. I'm now looking where Tias is pointing... what is that? A golem that's completely dumped all its stats into looking like a cherry with legs?
Tias: "Wrong. Not that one. That one."
Sunraku: "That one?"
Oh? Something's barreling this way at a furious speed... Oh, oh! The cherry golem is sailing through the air like an American cracker that misfired... What is that thing? A sea anemone with legs?
Tias: "...Let's get this over with at top speed. Beat it."
Sunraku: "Could you at least give me an explanation!?"
Not even trying to hide her lethargy, as if an unskippable cutscene just wedged itself in, Tias... no, Loli-sensei lets out a sigh.
Tias: "...That is a man-eater. And it devours only the arms of humans."
Sunraku: "So all those are human arms..."
I see... It honestly looks like something that wouldn't be out of place in Ruluiath. Actually, I feel like there was a similar guy... no wait, that was just a merman covered in sea anemones. Hahaha, basically the same thing.
Tias: "The name bestowed upon it is 'Aigaio'... It rampaged too much, so a wish reached us."
Sunraku: "Just asking, but any help...?"
Tias: "...I am very sleepy. Five minutes."
Sunraku: "It's a time attack...!"
Fine by me, you anemone bastard! I'm gonna pluck you bald!!
(Omitted [Skip])
Okay, look. Isn't this just stupid? If it's got a hundred arms, and you get a grab check a hundred times in a row — isn't that way too harsh on close-range jobs? Well, I shredded its shins with "Operation: Can't Scratch That Itch," so it's fine! Being smaller from the female form was a blessing. I've turned its legs into a state where it'll get a sharp pain every time it puts on knee socks...
Sunraku: "Th-The time..."
Tias: "Five minutes and eighteen seconds. That's a good rating, isn't it?"
A good rating (I got scoffed at), huh... I want to say, "Then what's your time?" But her name alone gives off the vibe she'd clear it in under a minute, so I'll keep my mouth shut.
Tias: "The work of an Avenger is very harsh. Fail even once, and your reward is reduced by ninety percent."
A 90% cut sounds brutal. Though, in this game, at the extreme, you can make do just by hacking up monsters and selling the materials... no, wait. Selling materials plus quest rewards is obviously gonna fill your pockets better.
Tias: "And the work is irregular. You never know when you'll be called."
Irregular, huh? That's rough. If it's at random timings while I'm logged in, it wouldn't be a problem, though.
Tias: "And if you are going to make a living in these circles, there is something important."
Sunraku: "...Something important."
Tias explains: In principle, there is no hierarchical relationship among Avengers. There is a Chief, a central authority, but no superior-subordinate relationship exists among the hunters. Their standing is fundamentally equal. That said, humans... no, not just humans, but living creatures tend to grow anxious without some degree of hierarchy.
Which means, in other words... Hmph! Tias throws her chest out. It seems she wants to unleash a typhoon of seniority on her first kouhai.
Tias: "...You will address me as 'Sensei.'"
Sunraku: "I'll follow you anywhere, Tias-senseeeei!"
I look up to a rabbit as my Aniki, and I look up to a little girl as my Sensei. This character save data's gotten pretty incomprehensible... Well, that's that. On a different note, you could say gamers are, in a sense, the polar opposite of bigots. We have the grand pretext of fiction to interact with characters crammed full of the creators' fetishes. Skin color? Gender? Race? If the parameters are good, I'll welcome a slug into my party. That's a gamer. And I've got mountains of experience revering little girls as my teachers. Loli-babas show up pretty often in fantasy games.
Loli-sensei seems pleased by my full-force groveling, without a trace of condescension or underestimation. Hmph, hmph, snorting proudly, Tias guided me to the hidden café "The Wandering Sword" and even treated me to an apple parfait. Extremely unusually, while there was a slight cheapness, I'd say the taste restrictions were almost entirely lifted. I'd thought all food in this game had taste restrictions... but is it lifted for Avengers? No, there's no way they'd implement such a nonsensical perk into a mere job, even a hidden one. If anything, the Cook job (which makes recovery and buff items from monster materials) would be more fitting. Is there some other condition...? Ah well. This is the kind of thing for the analysis freaks in the Library.
Oh, and also, I've got screenshots of "Smug Tias-sensei" and "Convincing Tias it's a water-repellent casual outfit and getting her into a school swimsuit for a two-shot with me (female)." You think these would sell for a high price?
[Hidden Job Quest: 'The One Who Grants a Faint Wish: Revenge Dead Edge' — Cleared!]
[Job Change! Main job has been changed to 'Avenger']
[Change job 'Mercenary' to sub-job? YES / NO]
[Title acquired: Gourmet Tongue]
There's something I realized upon acquiring the mysterious title [Gourmet Tongue]. Probably, in this game, "ingredient quality tier" and "taste restriction" are linked. In other words, as long as you pile up enough money, you can eat delicious things. Meaning everything we've eaten up to now has been... Feeling the cruel truth of capitalism and the transience of the world, I'm currently in Fifticia.
Sunraku: "Man, it hasn't even been a full day, and my male body feels terribly nostalgic..."
Probably because events happened at breakneck speed while I was female. Anyway, the scorpions apparently show no mercy even to a lovely young girl. They have no gender bias — whoever visits gets the full-force welcome... Well, I managed to collect a good amount of Amulcidian Quartz, so that's fine.
Today's plan is to go hunting with Rei-shi to make various preparations before moving to the New Land. I forget if it was high-tension or pension, but apparently players are currently overhunting a monster whose horns become potion ingredients, so we're heading to an area with relatively fewer players. Well, I made a nearly straight dash to Fifticia, so I'm pretty ignorant about the areas on other routes. At most, I know there's a Flame Broccoli Butterfly at the bottom of Fellfate Caldera and a fishing spot at the Iron Ruin of the Divinity.
Sunraku: "Alright... it's about time for our meeting."
I've been standing out a little too much. Just passing through quickly would be one thing, but standing around like a guard at the meeting spot is risky. So until about three minutes before the meeting, I'd been lurking in a back alley, holding my breath, planning to leap onto the main stage when the moment was right. But...
Psyger-0: "U-Um, S-S-S-Sunraku-s-s-san, th-th-this is is is is is..."
Sunraku: "Hyee!"
If a Dark Knight whose whole body is breaking apart with static appears right in front of you, anyone would be startled. As the surroundings grow noisy... no, some people seem to understand the cause and shoot sympathetic looks. Rei-shi, fully glitched out, reaches out a hand whose outline as a person has blurred... and then — bzzt — vanishes from the spot.
Sunraku: "Well, damn."
It's nothing surprising. If we're both fine and only Rei-shi pinpoint-glitched, then there's just one reason: trouble on her physical body's end.