◈ Chapter 279. Starting from Zero (3)
Inazuma.
Tomoyo, now a guild member of the Giant Alliance, gripped her staff tightly.
They had entered a cave like a rat hole and set up base camp.
Now, there was nowhere left to retreat.
“Whew—”
She took a deep breath and steadied herself.
Aside from Captain Hisagi and Commander-in-Chief I Hoyeol……
The expressions of the other guild members were no different from her own.
The recommended level was a staggering 850.
“It’s not going to be easy, as always. Right, Tomoyo?”
“Haha……”
Tomoyo merely laughed at the man’s words.
She didn’t even have the presence of mind to trade jokes.
Tomoyo’s class was [Battle Mage]. It was a mage-type class, but its nature required her to engage in close combat, so the pressure Tomoyo felt was by no means small.
“Are you going to be all right?”
“Pardon?”
“There’s no need to push yourself too hard.”
The Battle Mage’s other name?
The representative one was “peasant class,” the exact opposite of “noble class.”
Compared to being treated like a peasant, the nickname “glass cannon” was something to be grateful for.
Above all, it was a nickname she could accept.
The man continued.
“Can I be honest? A Battle Mage’s attack power? It’s considerable. In terms of destructive power, you can accurately slam magic-type skills that don’t fall behind anyone’s at close range. But think about the level gap.”
Tomoyo’s level was 475.
Even if Tomoyo boasted exceptional attack power among those of the same level, could she land an effective blow on giant rats well over level 800?
No, before that, could she even get close?
“Even if you land a skill cleanly, you won’t be able to deal much damage. Then what about the reverse? Coldly speaking, how many attacks do you think you can withstand?”
At the question that struck home, Tomoyo looked down at her equipment. The cloth armor for mages, meant to supplement her [Magic Power] stat and [Magic Power Regeneration], was terribly thin.
“I wonder. If I’m lucky, maybe two……?”
Just as the man said, the moment she was grazed, it would be a fatal wound.
Perhaps it wouldn’t be strange if she closed her eyes for good after the very first hit.
Tomoyo went on awkwardly.
“I’ll keep your advice in mind.”
She said that, but she knew.
At this moment.
In this place.
There was no one who was not putting their life on the line.
“Damn it, if only I could equip my new gear.”
“Now, now. A craftsman does not blame his tools.”
“No, I’m telling you, it’s not an excuse?!”
Nor would there be anyone without their own circumstances.
This was a battlefield where such people stood back-to-back for one another.
She had no intention of backing down, if only so she would not burden others. ‘In the end, this is the path I chose.’ Had she ever regretted choosing her class? ‘If I’m being truly honest……’ She regretted it every time she entered a rift and faced monsters. She had blamed herself every day, thinking close combat didn’t suit her, and when she looked back, she had simply found herself here.
Some people spoke like that man.
“I think you’ve done more than well enough up until now, Tomoyo. To reach that level with a class like Battle Mage. I sincerely respect you. It’s an incredible talent.”
Tomoyo did not answer.
To say it was thanks to incredible talent.
If she admitted that, it would be the same as denying all her suffering, all her desperate struggling.
“Honestly, if only your class hadn’t been Battle Mage. Tomoyo, by now you would have……”
At the same time, it would be denying her own choice.
Squeeze—
Whenever that happened, Tomoyo gripped her staff tightly.
Even as she regretted.
She had moved forward so that she would not regret.
However.
“Damn it……!!”
For the first time, she felt as if that stubbornness might break.
[Sanctuary-Guarding Watchman Rat: Lv.800]
Rats three or four times the size of a person came rushing in from all sides.
Level 800, no less.
Even if they were ordinary monsters.
How many people would have to cling to just one to take it down?
She could not even estimate it.
Thick fur.
Hide as thick as their size.
The moment she faced them, doubt sprouted.
Would such monsters so much as flinch at her skills?
Amid the chaos, a voice rang out.
“Break through at a single point!”
Captain Hisagi’s order.
Those carrying out the order to break through at a single point were the close-combat players.
They had to draw aggro at the vanguard and carve out an escape route through it. ‘……I have to follow them.’ Just as Tomoyo was about to step forward.
Grab—
The man seized Tomoyo’s wrist and shook his head.
“It’s dangerous.”
“I know. But……”
“You’re special, Tomoyo.”
Special?
It was not wrong.
Thanks to the uncommon class of Battle Mage, Tomoyo could take the front line or the rear line.
Depending on the situation, she could perform her role freely.
“Think calmly.”
The fact that she could act according to her own judgment rather than orders. ‘Even if you don’t say it, I’m calm enough.’ Battle Mage was an ambiguous class.
Calling it special treatment was just putting it nicely.
She was treated ambiguously both in the front line and the rear line.
Because of that, no matter what choice she made, she was bound to regret it. ‘Then.’ Even if only out of resentment, she would not let her stubbornness break.
“Stay with me in the rear……”
“Thank you, but I’ll decline.”
“……What?”
“I’m already used to regretting things.”
Tomoyo dashed toward the front line.
Even as she ran, her hands were trembling.
As always, her mind was filled with regret.
However, she did not want to admit it.
If she yielded to something like the Cataclysm and denied even her past choices,
then nothing of her life before the Cataclysm would remain.
Someone would call it reckless stubbornness.
“I will open the path with you, Captain Hisagi.”
“Welcome to hell, Tomoyo.”
“……Your way of speaking has changed, hasn’t it?”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“……Was that a compliment?”
Yet at the same time.
Another “someone,” who knew the sorrow of a peasant class,
would say this.
That was precisely the kind of pride that deserved to be answered.
An answer, was it.
Where in the world existed a being capable of answering the desperate struggles of humans? Unless they were a god, could they notice and answer something like that? It was the perfect thing to be mocked for.
Those words were right.
“……Huh?”
Because Tomoyo was seeing a god.
The oath of her class change flashed through her mind.
She remembered the passage she had recited without much thought. ──────There is no place on the Arcana Continent where the goddess’s gaze does not reach. Even if that place is inside a rat hole, even if it is hell, the goddess shall not turn away from those who seek her desperately.────── Wondering if it was a dream, she opened her mouth.
“……Captain Hisagi, are you seeing this?”
Nod—
Hisagi nodded.
Still unable to believe it, she asked again.
“I’m not seeing things because I’m suffering from extreme stress, right?”
Nod, nod—
Only after Hisagi nodded repeatedly did she accept it. That her eyes were not mistaken. Tomoyo stared blankly at the enormous goddess who had appeared in midair.
Squeak squeak squeak!
She was so large that even the giant rats were thrown into confusion.
Because of that, her face and detailed form could not be confirmed.
But even without confirming it, Tomoyo could feel it.
Warmth.
That aura looked down upon everyone on the Arcana Continent.
It was so gentle that none but a goddess could emanate it.
At the same time, it was omnipotent.
Was there no proof more certain than words?
There was. Because that was not the end of it.
Messages appeared before her eyes.
[The Blessing of the First World Tree fills the area.]
[Life Regeneration has greatly increased.]
[Magic Power Regeneration has greatly increased.]
The word “greatly” in the Arcana system carried considerable meaning.
It meant it was enough to bring shock to the players’ faces.
“What kind of buff is this all of a sudden?”
“No way…… It’s more effective than an intermediate potion?!”
“Captain Hisagi! With a buff like this……!!”
Hisagi nodded.
“I rescind the order to break through at a single point. From this moment on, everyone.”
“……!”
“Engage in individual combat.”
Level 800, no less.
It meant the effect was enough for them to have a chance even in a melee against a swarm of monsters.
The basis for that judgment was clear.
“Until the goddess ceases to watch over us!”
[The Blessing of the First World Tree],
was that what it said?
The effect of this fraudulent buff would continue until the goddess disappeared.
Was it because of the warm heat?
Tomoyo’s arms and legs no longer trembled.
Instead, a question arose. ‘Why now, of all times……?’ In truth, this was not the first time they had faced adversity.
Then why had the goddess revealed herself at this moment?
It did not take long to arrive at a conclusion.
Only one thing had changed.
“……No way.”
The commander-in-chief.
Only the presence of Hoyeol.
Tomoyo’s gaze turned toward Hoyeol.
He did not look surprised or flustered.
Even before the form of the great goddess, he was not the slightest bit intimidated.
He simply remained as unchanged as ever.
Tomoyo swallowed her astonishment. ……Is he truly connected to the goddess?!
*
I mean, I did declare that I would return to my roots, but.
Hiel, do you really have to go so far as to step forward
and follow my roots as well? ‘……Say something, at least.’ As an honest impression,
I did think it wasn’t that strange for the players to mistake Hiel for a goddess. Even when she had been a tiny spirit, Hiel had been mistaken for a Spirit King because of her ornate, flowing attire. ‘Why is the halo so bright, too?’ As if her enormous size were not enough, she was glowing on her own.
She looked nothing short of sacred.
As the finishing touch, there were even her graceful movements, the spitting image of Granfell’s. ‘……Fine, what can I say?’ A parent is a child’s mirror.
I had no choice but to let it pass with, It is all my fault.
Only then did Hiel’s voice echo in my head.
—“I have no face, having dared to look down upon my lord. If it would not bring harm to you, my lord…… I feel as though I would raise my voice this instant and offer you a formal greeting.”
Inside the rat hole, Hiel’s presence was considerable. ‘I suppose I can’t know the reason she wasn’t affected.’ Was it because she was a {Unique Spirit}, beyond a mere contracted spirit? Or had Hiel become, without my knowing, a being this cave could not contain?
I had no way to know.
“There is no need for that.”
I would like you to refrain from that unbearably burdensome greeting this time. Especially now that the tremendous misunderstanding of Hiel being a goddess had been overlaid upon her.
[The Blessing of the First World Tree fills the area.]
In any case, the buff’s performance was certainly reliable.
With Hisagi at the lead,
the players of the Giant Alliance faced the giant rats. ‘I can vouch for its effect.’ It would be inferior to the original, but the buff improving life and magic power regeneration would be more effective than drinking most potions. Thanks to that, they would be able to focus solely on battle without worrying about death or injury.
“They should be able to realize it on their own.”
The method of catching fish, that is.
Back when Arcana was nothing more than a game.
The reason players had been able to clear raids and quests considered impossible was simple. Because even if they died, they could revive. In other words, they could challenge without fearing death. ‘Even if it isn’t quite like back then.’ The players were realizing it, slowly but surely.
“So what if they’re level 800? Their patterns are obvious!”
“A graze is fatal? Then we just don’t get hit.”
“Good, one down!”
I was watching that scene with satisfaction,
as if I had truly become commander-in-chief.
Commander-in-chief, huh. ‘A heavy responsibility.’ But now that I had even acknowledged the Claudi family,
the source of my dark history, what was the position of commander-in-chief in comparison?
Above all, since I had taken it on,
I knew better than anyone that I could not do it half-heartedly.
So, as I had resolved,
let’s do it properly.
Control the tempo.
Shashashak!
Unlike the players before me, whose every nerve was focused on combat,
I had leeway.
Meaning I was able to notice the shifting flow of the air.
I opened my mouth toward the direction where I sensed a presence.
“How unfortunate.”
Judging from the aura it emitted, it seemed to be a named monster that easily surpassed level 800.
But as I said, even if it made a splendid entrance, I did not have the leeway to face it with all due courtesy.
“Watching over the growth of one’s allies must also be the role of a commander-in-chief. Thus, I cannot simply stand by and allow you to run wild. Frail wild beasts of the mountains.”
Calling those monsters frail.
I flinched briefly at Granfell’s manner of speaking,
then drew up my magic power.
[Magic Power: 585]
Considering the recommended level of the cave, it might be a meager figure.
However, to me, who had entered not only the realm of 『Transcendent』 but even that of [『Oddity』],
the magic power stat was, as Granfell said, nothing more than a number.
I opened my mouth.
“However, if we have disturbed your sweet slumber, I shall compensate you appropriately.” ……
Squeak squeak?
Formality and dignity enough to bewilder even a rat.
“Choose whichever of the two compensations you desire.”
And while presenting them with choices steeped in my dark history.
“Eternal night, or discipline for throwing a bedtime tantrum.”
I had truly recovered my roots properly, hadn’t I……!!