Chapter 96: Vs Fairellen
Hmm…The chronicle that Cecil-san was doing is registered in the list. So it ended with the best result the management could have expected. The soul annihilation must have been intended.
If it was someone other than me, they would have destroyed it and left, without caring about the Empire's trial. It depends on who it is… There's no hope with anyone but King Woofwoof. But I don't think King Woofwoof class characters come along very often. He is a helper character to me, but he is actually the leader of the Tindalos. Mh'ithrha is an overlord, you know, the Arch-lord of Tindalos.
He's a bit different from the Outer Gods, but he's a doggy who can fight against Yog-Sothoth. According to «Identification», he's a lower dominant race, but that's definitely fraud.
As for Lizzy…or rather, her soul. Lisa, that is, seems to have been able to meet with the villagers.
The Nether Army… well, technically they are the Nether Army, but they patrol both the Nether and the Abyss. It seems they were able to meet during one of those patrols.
A touching reunion! After death. But still a reunion.
Hm…. Oh, it can be upgraded.
Let's go to the place where the dead Outsiders appear.
At the moment, the Outsiders fundraising shrine is a single-storey building. After raising it another level it looks like a log cabin.
The offertory box is still at the entrance, but the house is now a log cabin, like a villa. It's getting more luxurious.
Next is to go and upgrade Evernight Castle.
After the castle glows, it comes out looking clean and pretty. What about the inside. Let's have a look around.
The inside is clean – in the sense that there is no dust – as usual. The maids have been cleaning it. But other than that, the material has become more beautiful.
Oh, were these ornaments here before? Not only are the slight cracks being repaired, but it is becoming more luxurious too.
There is no change in the map. It has not made any extensions to the building.
Oh, this is… an upgrade of the military facilities. Let's see… let's see. This is nice. It could be in an arcade. Though I wouldn't know, because I don't visit them.
Let's see… advanced settings. Number of players is solo, mode is time endurance. 3 minutes, more than 4 hits and you fail. Level range is the same. Enemies are shooting types, four of them. The position, distance and range are all random. The frequency of attacks is…. normal, for now. My range of movement is in the centre… this should do. Permitted skills are chosen from those you possess…. so «Kokon Musou – Single Sword Style». The forbidden skills are… any but the permitted skills.
Let's go with these settings.
<The combat simulator is now configured. The selected combat mode is custom. Enter the specified area and focus your intent on starting or use the UI to begin.>
I move to the centre and ready Athame with space attribute… hmm? It has become the space-time attribute. The effect of the space attribute was a reduction in attack and an increase in defence. It was the attribute I used most with Athame, but I guess this is a higher level attribute. The effect is also more beautiful. In addition to the star-like white dots on the deep blue, the refracted light seems to shimmer a little.
But enough of that, I'll use the simulator I set up.
When I become conscious of it beginning, a countdown starts, and on reaching 0, ball shaped drones appear as the enemies. There is one one to the front, one to the rear and two to the left, for a total of four. The number I set. The position, distance and orientation are all set to random, but it might be biased in some cases.
As it was set, they are going to perform shooting attacks, and four familiar lines are displayed… No, it's not familiar. At any rate, I'll parry the four shots that come at me.
The drones move a little after attacking, then fire again after stopping. Of course, the drones move in different directions. The movement speed and distance is different, so the order of attacks changes.
<Fairellen has logged in.>
<Fairellen has come to visit.>
Hm… oh, for honey.
The «Sensing Danger» line… now it is a system assist line from «Revelation», but the line is not only red, but colourful, is it?
Red, green, blue and… orange? They order is red 1, green 2, blue 3, orange 4, and the colours get darker.
The colour is the order, the intensity is the timing. There is also a gauge, in addition to the shade of the colour, which may be more reliable? The problem is that neither the gauge nor the intensity are too credible. Sometimes, the gauge drops all at once as if it was lagging. The accuracy is probably poor due to a low skill level.
Just knowing the order in which the attacks come is good. It will increase my survival rate when surrounded. Just like before, I have no choice but to do my best with the timing.
At any rate… four drones are not enough. The barrage in the ruins dungeon is more dense. It's no fun unless I increase the number a little more.
…Hm, it's finished. As expected, this did not raise the skill level. It's mainly for PS training. It could also be used to check party coordination, or skills against enemies.
I should have upgraded this earlier… But nothing I can do about it now.
As this is an extension of the castle it will be available to Immortal players who belong to the Nether. I don't know if there will be a queue or if it will be instanced.
I think I'll reduce my time with form training and use this, from now on.
I'm done testing it, so off to the palace. Even if I don't go to see though, I expect she is using the crystal lotuses to produce fairy honey.
When I return to the detached palace, she is working hard at collecting nectar, mingling with the magic army bees, while making sure not to irritate them.
"Good day, Fairellen-san."
"Yaho~"
Fairellen-san is an Éclasídhe, the same as before as before. A lightning-type fairy species that is pale and sparking.
"Oh, by the way. I met the Cavalier guy the other day~."
"The tank type fairy, was it."
"Yeah. They fly with a special kind of floating, and their stats lean more towards melee. According to the setting, they've changed the way they use their magic."
"The setting and stats are good, but… special floating?"
"It's a tank, so apparently it can stand its ground even while floating?"
"I see, it would be a problem if it got blown away."
It's probably the same effect as my «Coordinate Levitation», but with a different name. Mine is a levitation technique based on space manipulation.
It may look rare, but it's not a rare skill, so that's probably the case. But I am curious if it's exactly the same effect.
"Has it been tested out? Was it possible to stand upside down or at an angle?"
"It's possible, but it's very difficult because it has a fluffy or drifting feeling, like a balloon."
"Now you mention it, the floating types did move up and down a little."
Apparently, it's not exactly the same… It's probably a high performance floating type skill. In terms of stability.
"By the way, Princess's floating skill doesn't move up and down, does it?"
"It's like I'm standing on the ground, so it's very stable. It's slower, though."
"There are more types of flying skills than expected…"
Firstly, the two main categories are «Flying» and «Floating». There are types that consume MP and types that do not.
Birds have a type of «Flying» that does not consume it, while fairies have a «Floating» type that does not.
Even among the fairy species with the same «Floating», the feeling differs depending on the race. The wind fairies seem to fly, the water nixies seem to float, and the light sprites seem to drift.
Eagles don't consume MP for normal flight, but they can fly a little unnaturally by using MP, such as sudden acceleration and increasing the maximum speed.
"If you lean your body and flap your wings using MP, you can do a quick boost."
"That sounds dangerous."
"If you get carried away, you can lose track of which way is up and down, and have a passionate embrace with the ground…"
"I guess it's the fate of flying types…"
"Is Princess okay?"
"I don't do dogfights, you know… There is no need to fly around. And my vision is special."
"That so~. We didn't get to fight during the sports day, so would you like to do a dogfight with me, Princess~?"
"I don't mind… but it's impossible to dogfight like a fighter jet, you know?"
"But I hate doing it against hawks or eagles…"
Ah… There's not many chances to fight in the air like that, so I don't mind."
"We can't do that here, can we?"
"No, not here. It's got to be some other area."
This is a special area. Fairellen-san's range of action is limited to the palace, which is treated as my private area. To go anywhere else, you must be an Immortal who has passed the trials.
"Okay, that's about it~. Here, today's share."
The fairy honey received from Fairellen-san is handed over to a nearby maid, to be stored in the kitchen.
"By the way, do you know of lemonade of recollection?"
"Mm, yep… my favourite drink. I do."
"It's made with honey from the magic army bees and water of recollection, but you can also make it with fairy honey."
"Have you tested the effect~?"
"I think the fairy version heals a little more… it's just to that degree."
"Then it's a bit of a pain…."
Judging just by performance, lemonade made with fairy honey is the way to go, but considering how that honey is obtained, it is a bit troubling to make it with fairy honey…
In Fairellen-san's case, if she is to use the fairy honey, it seems it will be for mead. If you don't drink enough to get the disadvantages, it can recover a lot.
"Alright! Princess, the Starting Town!"
"Got it."
Using the miniature statue in the garden, I will teleport too.
The Starting Town, on a weekday. There are many people. However, duel mode… Rather than PK, if you apply for PvP with this, attacks will only hit the opponent.
The duel mode is also very configurable…
You can set the duel range, win / loss conditions, handicaps, betting, etc.
The range allows you to set an area, causing you to lose if you move outside it. You can go from a domed area to the whole town, or at the maximum, the area around the Starting Town. In short, the range is from the plains where the rabbits and wolves are, to the forest where the enemies change. Without it, there is no loss due to leaving the set area.
You can also set the altitude. It can be considered a loss if you go too far from, or too close to, the ground.
"What about the winning conditions? Total loss or red?"
"There is no death penalty, right?"
"No~."
"Then I'm fine with total loss."
The conditions in either case are mostly the same. Basically… it just changes how much HP you can lose. If you set up a range, it is a loss when your HP drops outside that scope.
The range is 0 to 99 in units of 1. Basically, it's 0 for total loss, or 30% for red. If you set the range to 99, you lose if you take even a single hit.
In this case, the area is 『Over the Starting Town』, and the rule is total loss.
In the UI, I can see a preview of a cylinder above the buildings, within the wall surrounding the town. It should be visible in person too, but I can't see it in the range of my sight.
"Oh, there is recording too."
"Fixed point and player… You check the ones you want."
"Can I record it~?"
"Well, I don't mind."
"Eight fixed points… on the edge, looking up and looking down. As for players… what will you do, Princess?"
"I can't even see with my eyes, so I wonder how it will look…"
"So it's not just a decoration, but actually what it seems? You can usually choose which skills to apply, but… is it like for slimes?"
"Let's check it out…"
There is no change in the third person, but the first person is a bit unnatural.
Slime is a special race. Unrelated to skills, it should be a racial issue for them?
Let's lose the third person. Always in first person, but a circular view with me at the centre. The areas I'm conscious of are lightly coloured.
"It's like this."
"Oh, it's almost like a slime, but… Princess, you can't see the outside at all, can you?"
"I can't. It's like a light shining from me in the dark."
"I suppose which one is better depends on the person…."
The slime's is dome-shaped, and from the halfway point it blurs, as if your eyes get worse. The range they can see clearly is narrower than mine, but it is closer to a visual sense.
It is dome shaped… but it seems to be narrower than 180 degrees, perhaps because a slime is crawling on the ground…
My current radius is 409 metres. I think the formula has changed again since it became «Space-Time Awareness Expansion». How much wider can it get?
Honestly, it would be a problem if it became too wide.
"Then I'll set it to record everything."
"That's fine.
That's it for now, I guess.
After pressing ‘Done', the setting screen changes to ‘Start Battle' and ‘Cancel' buttons.
First of all, we have to be in the starting area to press the start button. Otherwise, both of us will lose the moment the battle starts.
So, we both fly into the sky and face each other.
"Okay, are you ready~?"
"Yes, I'm ready."
After we both press the button to start the battle, a countdown appears in the centre of the duel area.
Ready.
3
I take Athame in hand, with its space-time light blade extended and the bookmark floats up and returns to its book form.
2
1
Fight!
Immediately after the battle begins, I start chanting while reflecting the [Tonitrus Arrow] that has flown over from Fairellen-san.
…I won't even try to avoid it. By the way, I think fairies were immune to attacks of the same attribute as them. If I think of it as not needing to worry about aiming and reflecting, it's easier.
In this match, my opponent is an Éclasídhe, which are among the strongest in flight capabilities. It's up to the person inside to actually master flight, but it's Fairellen-san. She's been flying around since the beta, so balls and arrows are unlikely to hit her. Just by flying in a zigzag manner, the system assist for deviations will not work.
The six [Nox Magic Missile]'s I was chanting are released from the book.
As expected, Fairellen-san starts moving. Her acceleration and flying speed are quite impressive. While flying, she is sending arrows and lances towards me. I don't fly around, so that's all she needs to use.
Well, I'll parry it though.
Light, darkness, lightning and wind are flying between me and Fairellen-san.
"[Tonitrus Spread]!"
"[Magic Barrier]"
The pages of the Book of Elder Records come forward and form a membrane in front of me, blocking the torrent of lightning. It can't block all of it, but it's pretty good.
"Less than I expected got through!"
"Because barriers are dependent on spirit."
…The lightning seems to be doing more damage? Composite magic only calculated the increase. Other than from light and dark, I should expect an increase from the basic elements.
"[Sonic Rush]"
"Wah!"
Oh, she survived. I thought it would go well, but I couldn't get a clean hit. Too bad.
With just a normal swing, the tip of the whip slightly exceeds the speed of sound. Making use of game elements, [Sonic Rush] is the fastest attack I have.
The description for the art is ‘Instantly hits the target, dealing piercing damage and knockback', but it's a simple art that can only be used on a single target, lashing straight towards the target.
However, the tip of the whip… the tip which exceeds the speed of sound, accelerated by the art, strikes towards the enemy, making it fairly useful.
Honestly, it is a speed where there is not much deviation, so it's easy to hit. The problem is that compared to magic, which has a long range, the serpentine sword, which is a combination of sword and whip, only works within a medium range.
In other words, there's insufficient range! She won't come close enough again.
"I knew it, but I can't hit~!"
"It's a mutual thing."
Fairellen-san can't hit me because I am parrying. I can't hit her because she's evading.
"In that case!"
"Mu…"
Fairellen-san was moving from side to side in front of me, but she has started to circle around me. She's using her speed to fly at me from all directions.
It was written on the verification team's wiki that the casting speed for a spell with an attribute matching the race will increase from 40. I could call it a magic-specialised race.
The biggest selling point of my race is its health and resilience, but it's a defensive effect. It's useless unless I get hit. Rather than that main point, I'm more happy with being able to put out a tentacle and paint my enemies with «Unknown Organisation».
"How about this!"
"Hoi"
"Seriously, Princess…."
Aerial combat means being able to move in three dimensions.
Fairellen-san flew from my front to my back, below me, firing off magic when she was underneath me.
Naturally, I can't parry in that state, so it's normal to take evasive action. However, my «Coordinate Levitation» is great. I can keep my centre fixed, and just turn around.
Since my vision is also a circle around myself, I will not lose the attack line displayed by «Revelation» when I am twirling around.
Rather, what I have to worry about it is my form for «Kokon Musou». I want to maintain [Water Surface Form].
"Didn't I say that the stability is outstanding?"
"You move like you're weightless. But the skirt is dangerous."
"Yes,you're right… Because it's not really weightlessness…"
"But I won't stop attacking!"
Gravity is still there, so if I turn upside down I will be exposed. Even though I'm properly wearing underwear, that's it.
Anyway, this magic battle… isn't it really barren? We can't hit each other. If anything, I have the advantage. Fairellen-san is playing a glass cannon type, where she will die if she makes a mistake.
Éclasídhe can shake off binds. On the other hand, the other side's bindings are being dealt with by the Book of Elder Records and [Magic Barrier], so I won't be defeated during a bind. Afterwards, I can recover with «Holy Magic» while parrying.
I'd say there is no decisive attack that will defeat either one of us… Is it time to release the tentacles? I think it's Fairellen-san's natural enemy. Tentacles that suddenly appear. It's hard to keep up with that speed, but if I put them out as a wall and let her run into them…
"Now… ey!"
"Ooh? Oh…"
Six [Tonitrus Magic Missile]'s, each flying from a different direction.
Each missile appears in a different position and is launched in a different direction, using the guidance effect to attack as though surrounding the target… I see.
It is an effective way to shoot if the target is almost motionless like me, or if the target is large. On the contrary, if the target moves calmly, the bullets will collide with each other and disappear.
But I'll deal with it in a different way. I hope this will beat it. When not for attack magic, the ancient divine language takes quite a long time to cast.
An arrow and lance are parried and the missiles attracted until the last moment…
"[Short Jump] [Mey Persepho…]"
"Heeeeey!?"
I teleport behind the flying Fairellen-san and swing my sword while chanting in the ancient divine language, but she evaded.
"[…Herja]"
"[Magic Barrier]"
That's an impressive response. I chose to use burst after knowing she would dodge the sword, but the [Magic Barrier] reduced the damage.
The distance has closed though.
"[Sonic Rush]"
"Guee!"
Fairies are small, so it's hard to get a clean hit. There's a little health left, so… tentacles.
"Oof…"
"I win. You have until tomorrow to figure out why you lost."
"Buha! Here it is…! Frustrating!"
"I thought now would be a good chance to say it."
"That's true!"
It would normally be quite inciting, so it's a joke that can only be used with friends who would get it.
"Didn't you teleport during the battle, Princess?"
"That's the [Short Jump] I learned with «Super-Class Magic Ability» and «Spatial Magic» 30."
"Short distance transfer magic!"
"Yes. Though it costs 10%."
"The fuel efficiency is as usual…"
"Isn't there some kind of accessory that reduces the MP consumption of certain attributes?"
"It seems likely~."
However, if there was such equipment for the «Spatial Magic» line… if you asked me if I want it, I'm not sure. Darkness, light, or holy would be the priority. Accessories all take up an equipment slot, so the number that can be equipped is limited.
"It was a fresh aerial battle, but one-on-one with Princess is no good!"
"Pure magic and bows are my speciality…."
"It would be painful if you just used tentacles from the beginning."
"With Fairellen-san as the opponent, it seemed like I could just use the tentacles as walls, right?"
"Ah… I'd crash into it. I'd definitely crash. You can't go putting walls in the air."
The most ideal would be a direct hit from the direction of travel. Well, that is batting. It should do the most damage. But evasive action will definitely be taken against that, so it would only graze at best.
"To be honest, I think one-on-one melee would be more disastrous…"
"Is that so?"
"There's an automatic counterattack that reacts to melee attacks with a set probability. Even on parrying it, you'll die due to a counterattack from the tentacles and the abnormal conditions…"
"Waa…."
The tentacles themselves are not very powerful, but it's enough to think of them as a parry tank that can cause abnormal conditions. Regardless of the power of the tentacles, the abnormalities caused by «Unknown Organisation» are powerful.
We're done anyway, so I'll return to the ground.
And check out the video. It's interesting to see it from the point of view of the person fighting me.
"You can switch cameras or split-screen…"
"What's the file extension for this… Oh, here we are. So there are eight videos for the fixed cameras and two for the players, ten video files, all associated by file name."
It takes up a lot of space, but it's convenient. If nobody went near a fixed camera, you can save space by deleting the file and renaming the associated file.
Even if you have ten of them, the storage space needed for a single PvP battle is… 40GB. I feel like it's okay to just leave it.
"The problem is… that there are no video sites that can play this format."
"Ah… I certainly haven't seen anything like it on video sites. In that case, do you edit it and put it up as one file?"
"That's about right. The only other thing you can do is compress them for downloading. There are apps that can play them."
"The fixed point is not needed, because it's too wide and it doesn't show much."
"Princess doesn't move at all~."
"Then we should just upload the two viewpoints."
"Good. I'll just save my point of view."
I save the video of my point of view, and proceed to upload it.
…By the way, I want to check something I thought of while at school.
Summon #1 as a floating fortress of flesh.
"#1, is it possible to change the shape of that body? If possible, ○, if not, ×, if conditional, △."
There is no answer from #1, but his body gradually starts to ripple. After a little while, a tentacle gives a triangle signal.
"So conditional. Well, it's impossible to be precise because of the size… but it will take some getting used to… maybe?"
Correct.
That body is a floating fortress moving by levitation, so there is not much need to move the body. It can extend its tentacles as a counterattack, so it can change its shape.
So, I should be able to ride the floating fortress of flesh, right? I unconsciously excluded it because of the size, but in a world where there are giants, golems, arachne and the like… it seems a little late for that.
"#1, is it possible to make the top concave like a chair?"
The top seems to be undulating, so I'll go there.
There should still be nobody other than me capable of summoning this, so it will surely stand out at a glance.
It draws in and changes in waves, but it is distorted. The comfort of the seat is… not good.
"By the way, #1, how many tentacles can you put out with that body?"
…So many that it is troublesome to count.
It seems better to make a chair with the tentacles. …It's too late to worry about how bad it looks, so I shall not care.
"A seat, a backrest and armrests would be nice."
The parts are formed from tentacles, so I don't need to worry. #1, angle the seat a little more… Yes, that's good.
"Yeah, definitely a villain, right?"
"So that's how it looks after all. I spoke about it with Mohican-san, and in terms of elements I'm more towards dark fantasy."
The top of the fleshy sphere is full of tentacles, and I'm sitting there, making it quite a picture. Normally it would be a villain. And more on the dark side, no less.
Fairellen-san floats up and sits on the armrest.
"Honestly, the problem is that there won't be many opportunities to use it. Because I will mostly travel with teleport or subspace movement…"
"It's a good landmark, so you should use it around town. Great impact!"
If I'm looking for impact, this is better than bones.
Uploading… seems to have finished. I'll also share Fairellen-san's video for another perspective.
"What's next, Fairellen-san?"
"Hmm… there's an event coming on Saturday, so maybe levelling up?"
"It mentioned a city scenario."
"The subtitle smells like Cthulhu, huh."
"It seems fishy."
"A bit."
"When thinking of Halloween, it could be Shub-Niggurath. Rather, I've only heard of Shub-Niggurath in relation to fertility."
"That's about all I know, too. And then there was the black goat related to Shub-Niggurath?"
One of the gods, along with Yog-Sothoth. Shub-Niggurath. I think this one is famous too.
The title of the outer god Shub-Niggurath is ‘The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young'.
And there is the Black Goat, a high ranking servant.
Well, there's a clear connection. A parent and offspring, eagerly spreading the word about the wonders of the parent.
"I haven't got any information on Shub-Niggurath yet. But the simple answer is Harvenshis-sama…"
"Harvenshis-sama is the goddess of benevolence, isn't she? Is she not around?"
"There's the precedent of Stellura-sama, so I wouldn't say no. When there are not many gods there are multiple authorities and it becomes inconsistent…"
"Fumu. So they're just crazy…"
"Well…… ouch!"
And just as I said ‘well', a light fell from the sky and pierced me.
<You have been scolded by Stellura.>
God's punishment came tremendously casually….!
"What….?"
"Because I replied with ‘Well…' to your saying they're crazy, it was taken as me agreeing…"
"It didn't hurt me."
Fairellen-san was sitting on the armrest, so she was caught in the light, but it seems nothing happened to her.
"Probably because you're not a follower."
"I see?"
"Haa… the deeper the connection, the more easily god's punishment will fly….?"
"Amen!"
"What a surprise. I didn't know that joking about such things was not allowed… As long as I serve the gods, I guess I should be more serious."
"Maybe it's because this world is a society of status~."
"Which means, I am God! ………It's not coming. So they'll forgive me for that."
"You can't do it in front of the Residents."
"….Role-playing is in progress, is it?"
"That's nice. Now… I think I'll go hunting~."
After seeing off the flying away Fairellen-san… what should I do? It's a weekday, so going into the dungeon… is not the best in terms of time.
Thanks to the increase in gathered items due to the Halloween campaign, my daily crafting routine took more time than usual. But I want to make MP potions, so crafting is necessary.
…I guess I'll go with increasing capacity.
After returning from school and logging in, I do my form training, play with the battle simulator, collect from the large ore vein and the fields and do some crafting. I am gradually raising «Cook» and «Alchemycraft»
After the usual activities… today, I will go to the church in the Starting Town to pray. Going there on a chunk of flesh would be a bit of a bad entrance, so it's bones.
Of course, when I pray, I will get off.
Level up, craft, or walk around the town for quests…
What should I do, Stellura-sama?
<The town is also important. Spread your name.>
…I wasn't expecting a reply. But name recognition. Hm… power and position must be known by the other party… is what I think it means.
Even if the name of Nemeseia is known, isn't it another story whether or not that is equated to me? The clothes may imply it to some extent, but if my face isn't known, it's meaningless…
How well known your face is… name recognition, and how much the Residents like you… so favourability?
That's what I'll do then. It's a hidden value, so I don't know how well I'm known.
Judging by the reaction in the empire, the more important you are, the more information on you spreads, so it would be almost perfect if the aunties around town know about you.
To raise recognition of me… the best way might be to get on #1 and parade around town. For raising favourability, it's probably best to do a quest.
If other people could find a Chronicle like Cecil-san's, my fame will increase.
In the meantime, opening up other royal capitals… can wait until after the event!
Travelling around on #1, I'll level up on until the event on Saturday.
By the time of the event, «Luminous Magic» and «Darkness Magic» will be in their third tier.