Log Horizon Vol 1 Chapter 3

"We looted a lot this round, we're making a killing out here!"

Naotsugu swung his skinning knife to shake off the blood before sheathing it. s.h.i.+roe nodded in agreement as he put down his staff to cancel the spells he had prepared.

(I'm feeling melancholic again after recollecting various things.)

s.h.i.+roe shrugged with a sigh. This was really a headache. There were so many things troubling him since arriving in this world that he forgot what he was brooding about sometimes.

(I hope this doesn't become my catch phrase.)

"What is it, my lord?"

Akatsuki had finished packing and was by s.h.i.+roe's side before he knew it. s.h.i.+roe was unable to calm his emotions in front of her s.h.i.+ny black eyes akin to obsidian that looked at him from a low angle.

"Let's go back." s.h.i.+roe said with a smile to change the topic.

s.h.i.+roe's group was in a place called 'Small Stone Herb Garden', a relatively small field zone about 1 square km in size.

It was already evening, the wind was starting to turn chilly, and the sound of birds chirping was all around them.

This zone was close to both Akiba and s.h.i.+buya, a place suitable for one-day training trips. The monster level was a bit high for a place so near the city.

"Let's hurry back, then."

"Roger."

After listening to s.h.i.+roe, the girl in black, Akatsuki, replied seriously without emotion as usual as she fastened her pack.

The defeated corpses of triffids and briar weasels laid all around them, and would disappear in a shower of light particles after some time.

Triffids were a type of mobile plant with a flower bud the size of rugby ball on top of it. The bud would peel back in 3 parts, revealing the sharp teeth inside, a horrifying creature.

A briar weasel, on the other hand, let vines grow on its body. It was faster than a cat and could attack with its vines, an agile monster.

The levels of the monsters were 48 and 52 respectively.

Their levels were quite high in the world of Elder Tales, but they were 40 levels below s.h.i.+roe's team, so they wouldn't gain any EXP from them.

After days of training, s.h.i.+roe's party suspected this world faithfully followed the settings of Elder Tales. They had not confirmed this yet, but they probably needed to defeat monsters at least 5 levels below them, or in other words enemies level 85 and above for them to gain EXP.

It would be a very tough fight if they took on level 85 monsters now. They might be able to handle one, but not if they were attacked by a group.

"You doing fine?"

"I took some potions, so I'm good. My defense is like an iron wall, iron festival!"

Naotsugu responded with a grin while knocking on his armor. His grey gauntlets made a clear, dull sound as they hit his breastplate.

According to Naotsugu, you felt less pain from enemy attacks than in real life. You didn't feel half dead even when your health bar was halved and only felt a bit sore and warm from the wounds all over your body.

Naotsugu described the worst pain as stubbing your toe on the corner of a cabinet.

(That would be painful enough to make me cry three times.)

s.h.i.+roe frowned at his description, but Naotsugu continued laughing heartily.

(Even if it is this way for now, there is no telling if it will remain like this.)

s.h.i.+roe remained on guard as he thought.

(The low-level enemies have weak attacks, so there is no rush to make snap judgments or ensuring a retreat path. But we will take more damage as the monster level increases... Even an excellent Guardian like Naotsugu won't be able to handle it as easily as he does now. We need to think of other possibilities...)

Among the 12 cla.s.ses, the one with the highest HP and defense combination on the frontline was the Guardian. If there were attacks Naotsugu couldn't withstand, it would be impossible for any other cla.s.s to do so.

(We will need a healer after all... But I don't want to increase the number of teammates if we take efficiency into consideration. I doubt our teamwork would be good if we invited anyone with such motives. We will just be sent back to town if we do get wiped out, but...)

The miracle of revival existed in this world.

Even if they died in battle, they would resp.a.w.n in the cathedral, s.h.i.+roe's group knew this.

But they still refrained from pus.h.i.+ng themselves too hard even with their revival guaranteed. Death was still an unacceptable taboo for them.

(Being able to come back to life after we die is really suspicious.)

"My lord...?"

"Hey s.h.i.+ro, hurry up!"

After acting together for several days, they had made greater progress in both personal relations and teamwork than s.h.i.+roe had expected. The members of this team had fitted really well to this new dynamic despite their history of working alone.

As they got used to life as a group, their individual characteristics were magnified too. In this team roster, s.h.i.+roe naturally became the guy who was responsible for worrying about things.

(I have been playing the part of tactician since my Tea Party days anyway.)

s.h.i.+roe got lost in his thoughts easily.

He had also noticed this bad habit, but it was not something you could change that easily even if you knew about it.

(It's okay to be the guy responsible for worrying, but I don't want to be the guy who spoils the mood,) s.h.i.+roe thought.

"Let's withdraw then... Do you need me to s.h.i.+ne a light?"

s.h.i.+roe asked as he prepared his Magic Light spell.

"Lord s.h.i.+ro, please wait."

"There is no need to address me as lord. We are comrades, can't you just call me s.h.i.+roe?"

"Then please address me as Akatsuki, too."

Akatsuki stared at s.h.i.+roe as she spoke after brus.h.i.+ng aside s.h.i.+roe's request.

(How should I describe Akatsuki's gaze, hmmm...)

Akatsuki was a beautiful young lady no matter how you looked at her.

And because of that, s.h.i.+roe found it hard to withstand Akatsuki's gaze. He didn't hate it, but it made s.h.i.+roe uncomfortable.

s.h.i.+roe was a typical homely online gamer who was bad at socializing with others. He didn't have much experience dealing with girls.

(No matter what excuse I use, the bottom line is... I am shy and I don't know how to react... this is something that can't be helped, right? Yes, I understand, I really do...)

"My lord."

Akatsuki said as she took a step forward, akin to kicking a man while he was down. Akatsuki had to look up at him due to the height difference, which made s.h.i.+roe feel a little sorry.

"Ermm... what is it? What's so funny, Naotsugu?"

Naotsugu was looking at s.h.i.+roe and Akatsuki with a smile on his face. After snapping at Naotsugu, he asked Akatsuki to continue.

"I will be scouting ahead on our way back."

"Why?"

"Practice. a.s.sa.s.sins have Dark Vision, Sneak, and Silent Move, I want to see how it feels using them in this world. This forest is the perfect place to practice."

Akatsuki looked at the dark areas of the forest as she fastened her sword with her black waist cloth, making her preparations as she informed them of her intention.

Moving alone.

s.h.i.+roe gave his permission after considering for a while.

This zone didn't seem to have monsters stronger than the 2 types they fought. Akatsuki should be able to take on any single monster or run away if there were too many enemies.

Akatsuki wanted to confirm her skills so she would be ready when she needed to use them. s.h.i.+roe understood her concerns, knowing the limits of your abilities was crucial to surviving in this world.

"Be careful. Let's meet by the south gate. We'll stay illuminated using Magic Light as we go, you can use that to find us."

"I understand. I can find you if we are in the same zone."

If you formed a party and were in the same zone, you could find your allies through the direction and distance displayed on your screen. It shouldn't take long for them to meet.

"See you later then, shrimp Akatsuki."

"Be quiet, stupid Naotsugu."

Akatsuki retorted and was gone the next instant as if she had merged with the forest.

"That shrimp is good."

"I couldn't even hear the leaves rustle."

Naotsugu whistled.

s.h.i.+roe shrugged and chanted the spell for Magic Light and the tip of his staff glowed like a lamp. In the dimly lit forest illuminated by the fading orange light of the evening sun, the magic light gave off a gentle and soothing light.

"Let's be on our way."

"OK tactician, let's march towards our goal of panties!"

s.h.i.+roe and Naotsugu headed for the east gate under the illumination of the light.

Step by step.

The trail was full of gra.s.s that looked like ribbons with dew and pebbles covered in moss. s.h.i.+roe and Naotsugu walked on this path advancing through the Imperial Forest.

(This is like walking in Yakus.h.i.+ma Island or the Amazon Rainforest that I saw on web-TV... Even if the others say this is an alternate world, I still find it hard to believe.)

They could faintly hear the pleasant sounds of insects.

The duo waded through the undergrowth. They had to rely on Naotsugu's sword to bash a way through as they moved through the forest in the night.

"So Akatsuki's subcla.s.s is Tracker."

Naotsugu's words reminded s.h.i.+roe of the earlier conversation.

The Sneak and Silent Move skills that Akatsuki mentioned were Tracker skills. Tracker was one of the many subcla.s.ses in Elder Tales, letting you learn skills to track or avoid being tracked in turn.

A feature common to all subcla.s.ses in Elder Tales was the provision of skills that were not directly related to combat. Subcla.s.ses were also independent from the 12 main cla.s.ses that were battle focused, so you could learn any subcla.s.s if you met the requirements.

There were two main types of subcla.s.ses.

One type was production subcla.s.ses like Chef, Tailor, Blacksmith, and Carpenters. Players with such subcla.s.ses could craft all sorts of items using the appropriate ingredients and facilities.

It was easy to learn a production subcla.s.s, you just needed to buy an instruction manual from NPCs, and you could start acc.u.mulating EXP. The EXP for a subcla.s.s was separate from battle EXP, so it was tedious to level it up. But it didn't require any special quest or items, anyone could grind it to high levels if you were determined enough, and you didn't need your comrades' help to do this.

s.h.i.+roe was a Scribe, which was also a production subcla.s.s. He could duplicate magic tomes, maps, and all sorts of doc.u.ments using paper and ink.

Being n.o.bles, Merchants, and Rose Garden Princesses belonged to the other type, which was the role-playing subcla.s.ses. Unlike production subcla.s.ses, they couldn't craft items, but they could learn some special skills and rare techniques. They could also get rare equipment in some situations.

Tracker was a role-playing subcla.s.s, it had the ability to track other players or foes, erase their presence, and move in the dark.

s.h.i.+roe wasn't very familiar with the Tracker subcla.s.s. The 12 main cla.s.ses that dictated combat were designed by the creators of Elder Tales, a large American corporation. The strength of each cla.s.s would be balanced for each update and more subcla.s.ses would be added. The outsourced company in each country, such as Fuji Entertainment in j.a.pan, may create a subcla.s.s unique to its server.

s.h.i.+roe remembered about 50 subcla.s.ses from memory, but with exclusive subcla.s.ses created in other servers, it was hard to guess their number.

Powerful subcla.s.ses were popular and famous, so s.h.i.+roe knew about them and had a rough idea of their features. But even a veteran player like s.h.i.+roe wouldn't know about some obscure subcla.s.ses.

Out of the countless subcla.s.ses, Trackers were sort of well-known.

It had useful abilities, but it wasn't something a player would need often so it was in the middle in terms of popularity. Players not as hardcore as s.h.i.+roe might not have heard of it, but it was more famous than Sailors or Janitors.

"She is really dedicated to her role-playing."

Naotsugu grinned to express his agreement.

(A Tracker a.s.sa.s.sin, she is obsessed with ninjas. I can see why she would call herself one.)

Akatsuki's style of giving her all made s.h.i.+roe and Naotsugu smile. Role-playing always gave the impression of playing pretend, but Akatsuki's serious approach to it made the act feel real.

"What do you think of our shrimp girl, s.h.i.+ro?"

"... Very active on the front lines with a high level of focus."

s.h.i.+roe replied to Naotsugu's vague question after a moment of consideration.

Naotsugu was asking s.h.i.+roe for his opinion on Akatsuki.

s.h.i.+roe had a good impression of Akatsuki, but he was acting indifferent because he felt embarra.s.sed about praising her.

"Enough about me, what about you, Naotsugu? Has your burden increased?"

"The burden has decreased. Compared to just the two of us, we're clearing the monsters way faster. Some minions are dealt with before I can even turn to face them. She may be a shrimp, but she's a strong shrimp."

Naotsugu replied to s.h.i.+roe as he led the way.

Naotsugu was kind and cheerful, the type that was very sociable. He made crude jokes sometimes, but s.h.i.+roe felt he did this intentionally to ease the mood.

But Naotsugu wouldn't mince his words when talking about battles. He might be polite about it, but he would not lie.

From what s.h.i.+roe remembered about Naotsugu's criticisms of other players, he gave almost full marks to Akatsuki.

"But she mentioned her reach was shorter and her attacks had less weight after she adjusted her appearance, right?"

"I was never a shrimp, so I wouldn't know about her reach, but with her speed and agility, that shouldn't be important, correct? Why don't you try taking a knee in the face from her? It is really instantaneous, my eyes can't keep up even if I want to block it."

"I would rather not."

Naotsugu rubbed his nose as he recalled the pain and said:

"As to her attack dropping because of her weight, it should be true since she said so herself, huh? According to the settings, your attack is not affected by gender, and having more weight in your punches may not increase your attack power. But this is just what she felt, so there is no other way to tell. If her attack power really has decreased, then she will be fine with s.h.i.+roe's support spells backing her up."

Naotsugu said as he pried away a leaf with thorns.

(About that... He is right.)

s.h.i.+roe was an Enchanter, one of the 3 magic attack cla.s.ses. Each of the warrior, weapon attack, healer, and magic attack categories had 3 cla.s.ses each forming a total of 12 cla.s.ses. The Enchanter was one of these twelve.

Among the magic attack cla.s.ses, Enchanter was the best at support, setting up the battle stage and using crowd control. It had a variety of support spells.

Keen Edge was one such support spell that increased weapon attacks.

Every time an ally hit the enemy, Thorn Bind Hostage could deal additional damage with its curse vines.

Attacking the psyche of the enemy to numb its senses with Mind Shock.

Enchanter was a special cla.s.s that contributed to victory by boosting its allies' power and controlling the flow of battle.

"Yeah... You're right," s.h.i.+roe replied shyly.

Enchanter was the least popular cla.s.s in Elder Tales and had a bad reputation among players.

s.h.i.+roe had no obligation towards anyone and chose this cla.s.s out of personal preference. No matter what others said, he was confident of the Enchanter's abilities and its deep potential. s.h.i.+roe also knew that an Enchanter could not work alone.

This cla.s.s needed a party, and the effectiveness of an Enchanter widely depended on how good their teamwork was.

This had nothing to do with the stats of the player; how well you worked with others could not be measured numerically.

Because s.h.i.+roe understood this, he felt embarra.s.sed when others told him 'That will be fine' or 'Things will work out if we do it together'.

For Enchanters...

If their existence in the team was acknowledged, it meant the player's character and personal relations.h.i.+ps were working well.

"s.h.i.+ro..."

"Yeah?"

"I think you're holding back too much sometimes."

"Hmm?"

Naotsugu said as he bashed through the vegetation. This change in topic was too big and s.h.i.+roe was unable to keep up.

"... For example panties?"

"How did this turn into a question?"

"The mysterious triangle region of cute girls is always questioning the world, you should understand that, you locked closet pervert!"

"How perverted am I in this setting of yours?"

s.h.i.+roe at this moment was unable to understand Naotsugu's concern, and could only chase after his back.

The s.h.i.+roe right now was just a normal Enchanter.

They moved to a neighboring zone after linking up with Akatsuki.

"Let's hurry, I miss our hotel."

Although he was tired from the battles, Naotsugu was in a cheerful mood as he chatted with his teammates.

This region was known as the Kanda Channel, a ruin based on the Marunouchi Metro in the real world. It was the nest of demihumans like goblins and beast men now.

The enemies in this region were only about level 30, no longer a threat to s.h.i.+roe and the others. With such a level gap, the monsters would hesitate to attack them.

With the sky totally dark, s.h.i.+roe, Naotsugu, and Akatsuki regretted spending too much time in the Imperial Forest.

Since monsters wouldn't attack them recklessly, they could just make camp in some ruins, caves, or under trees. But they were still traveling with their magic light s.h.i.+ning, moving on the roads with abandoned cars and trucks scattered all around.

Akatsuki insisted that sleeping on a proper bed was more comfortable.

They had furs and fangs looted from monsters in their bag they needed to trade for cash anyway, so they needed to go back to the city.

Naotsugu, who was in the lead, would turn back every now and then to confirm his party mates' statuses.

(Both of them show no signs of fatigue, our level 90 bodies have considerable stamina after all.)

Naotsugu sighed in relief secretly after looking at their steadfast footsteps.

Unlike the two of them, Naotsugu was a typical warrior. Warriors had outstanding strength, stamina, and agility.

Even Naotsugu was surprised he could fight for hours wearing 40-50 kg armor.

Even if he exhausted his energy, he just needed to rest for a few minutes to slowly recover his strength. He was confident of lifting 300kg in terms of his explosive power, and his stamina seemed boundless.

But it was different for the others. s.h.i.+roe was a pure intellect cla.s.s, Akatsuki was incredibly fast, but she was a lightly armored fighter. They might have claimed 'there is no problem with stamina, we are level 90 too' but Naotsugu felt he needed to accommodate them for this part.

But there was no need to worry for tonight.

With the bright moonlight and magic illumination, the relatively smooth asphalt road with some debris and a few potholes was easy to traverse.

"The goblins aren't attacking us."

"We are level 90, of course they aren't."

"I like the goblin with the skull on its head. Their arrogant demeanor is cute and weird."

(Akatsuki is talking nonsense with a straight face...)

Akatsuki should be referring to goblin shamans. They led their kinsmen minions with their ice and fire spells. They might look funny when they arrogantly gave commands, but they were definitely not cute.

"You like those type of monsters, shrimp?"

Naotsugu asked again to be certain. Akatsuki replied curtly:

"They are cute and die so easily."

They needed to be killed since they were enemies, but Naotsugu couldn't understand what was so cute about them.

"Most magic type monsters look arrogant, but their armor is as thin as paper, and their HP is extremely low. It would be fine if they stayed at the back, but goblin shamans will walk nonchalantly to the front lines and are easy to take down. I just need to use Hide Shadow to sneak up beside them, and I can slit their throat with my blade. The way their body collapses like a puppet with its strings cut is so addictive."

As she was not sure how to interpret Naotsugu's query, she shared her thoughts with the others casually.

(... Wah, if you put it like that, wouldn't s.h.i.+ro be troubled?)

s.h.i.+fting his gaze to the side, Naotsugu could see that s.h.i.+roe was shocked to hear that. It was natural for mages to have low defenses, so s.h.i.+roe didn't need to be so sad. Naotsugu also knew Akatsuki doesn't mean to hurt s.h.i.+roe.

But even so, s.h.i.+roe still looked depressed with Akatsuki acting so casually matter-of-fact.

Naotsugu wanted to sigh looking at the two of them.

(s.h.i.+ro is smart, but he tends to overthink things and is too concerned with trivial matters... He is shouldering a large burden. Why is our tactician frightened to this extent?)

Naotsugu thought s.h.i.+roe was holding back too much.

If someone asked him what s.h.i.+roe was holding back about, Naotsugu wouldn't be able to answer. This was just how he felt.

Naotsugu felt the same way back when the two of them were in the Debauchery Tea Party. s.h.i.+roe wanted to do things by himself too much, which Naotsugu thought was s.h.i.+roe's good point.

But the duty of a Guardian was to protect his allies.

It left a bitter taste in his mouth if his teammates didn't rely on him, as if his duty had been stripped from him. Naotsugu thought s.h.i.+roe should at least rely on Naotsugu for things he was good at.

"Hold on, our mage is reliable during critical junctures, right?"

"Hmm? The armor of my lord is as thin as paper too... That's fine, I will protect him as his ninja."

She didn't notice his depression as she kicked s.h.i.+roe again while he was down. Naotsugu thought they were interacting like children... But Naotsugu was thinking the same about s.h.i.+roe too.

On the whole, it was a quiet night as they chatted on their way back.

They could see the elongated shadows of the goblins sneaking around in the moonlight. But when Naotsugu looked at them, they would scatter.

"This is a zone adjacent to Akiba with only low-level monsters lurking around. If there were high-level monsters, the beginners would be wiped out."

s.h.i.+roe said.

It had been more than 10 days since they were trapped in this world, and no new players had shown up since.

What was his body doing in the real world? Did all the players disappear? Or were they all in a coma? Naotsugu and the others had no way to tell.

(It may be hard to imagine, but our real selves may each still be living their lives as normal. That means we have no way of going back, an abandoned babies sales festival. If it is like some light novel setting where the world forgets we ever existed at all, it would be depressing too...)

Contrary to the way he acted, Naotsugu was thinking about this as a fan of fantasy novels. But at this point in time, they couldn't tell.

You might say 'It has just been 10 days' or 'It has already been 10 days', everyone had a different interpretation about this. But the three of them had been forced to grow accustomed to this world.

This was the addition of alternate world physics on top of Elder Tales setting. In this world twisted by these two factors, there were still some rules and accompanying logic.

Even if all the food was tasteless, even if strange effects existed, they still followed a set of laws. They often felt frustrated by these effects that defied common sense, but they had to try to understand this logic and live in this world.

They had to live in the world they were in, be it the game world or real world.

(Since we can't find a way back, this is the only world for us now. We can't do anything about it being the game or real world... It's not too bad after you get used to swinging swords and adventuring... Although I put on a brave face and told Marie-san 'This is far from the worst case scenario', I just wanted to say this more than anyone else.)

It was a good thing for Naotsugu to get used to this so quickly. He had nothing against the world he was from, but if someone asked if he would risk his life to go back, his answer would be 'I don't know'.

(I don't have a girlfriend who will show me panties, and I haven't seen my parents in 2 years... I have gotten used to work, but there was nothing very satisfying about it.)

From Ichigaya pa.s.sing through Kudans.h.i.+ta, they were just a couple of zones away from Akiba.

They were not going by the Archive Tower Forest today, opting to go via the slope of Ochanomizu. As they pa.s.sed by the gentle slope of Roka Charity Hospital, Naotsugu was reminded of home. In the j.a.panese garden on the right side of the road stood a large tree with plenty of branches wearing its leaves like a jacket.

The moon could be glimpsed through the leaves. The shadows of the leaves jerked unnaturally, making Naotsugu and the others scatter away from the tree hastily.

(...!)

Naotsugu dashed at full speed into the darkness and bashed at the bushes with his s.h.i.+eld.

A yell could be heard from the dark.

He could feel s.h.i.+roe's presence behind him more than a dozen meters away.

Even as Naotsugu focused on his forehead, he did not let down his guard and scanned his surroundings.

(There are 1, 2... 3? 4?)

Even though this was within expectations, he could still feel his throat drying up when facing it. This tension was totally different from when fighting monsters.

Suddenly, he heard the sounds of chains being dragged on the ground.

(Uu, too late!)

Naotsugu did not check his back as he attempted to jump, but snake-like chains had entangled his ankles. These were not real chains with a physical form, but a magical binding spell that seemed almost real when it bound their foes.

Naotsugu lost his balance in the air, his movements sealed by magic. At this moment, a silent and colorless magic wave came from behind.

Dispel Magic.

It should be s.h.i.+roe who was casting it.

The snake-like chain binding Naotsugu's ankles was disintegrated by s.h.i.+roe's Dispel.

(You're always so quick with support! Well, what do we do, tactician?)

The excitement of battle rose in his heart, s.h.i.+roe was right behind him giving his full support. Naotsugu's confidence lifted his spirits.

"Naotsugu, straight line formation. Our enemies are PKers, I have visual contact on 4. I'll determine their location... There!"

s.h.i.+roe shouted on the road covered by the shadows of the trees in the middle of the night.

A greenish white bolt shot out of his staff. Mind Bolt was the basic attack spell of Enchanters, it would strike at a single opponent, causing some damage.

It had less attack power compared to summoners and sorcerers of the same level. But as the basic attack of the Enchanters, s.h.i.+roe had many chances to use it.

s.h.i.+roe complained about his low attack power often, but Naotsugu thought this was no big deal. Instead of powerful spells that often missed, simple spells at the right time were much better.

"Enemy sighted!"

s.h.i.+roe's spell was performing as he expected.

The light of the spell only shone for a fraction of a second, but it was enough to see the PK-ers hidden in the darkness.

Naotsugu retreated as per s.h.i.+roe's instructions about half way between the darkness and s.h.i.+roe. He was right on the line dividing the 2-way road.

After confirming the enemies' position, Naotsugu could attack them.

But instead he intentionally retreated to his position in the formation.

In a line formation, the distance between the front and back was crucial. If they were too far apart, the rear would be open to attacks.

"They have guts, turning to PKing... They miss their mommies so much they have turned into animals? Thinking they can celebrate victory by ambus.h.i.+ng us, don't make me laugh."

Naotsugu turned the pa.s.sion in his heart into words.

The enemies were not monsters.

Naotsugu despised this act of players the most.

PK means 'player kill' or 'player killer', instead of fighting monsters, a player hunted other players.

Akiba was designated as a non-combat zone, which meant other zones might not have such a designation and battles were allowed.

In Elder Tales, players battling other players was an officially recognized way of playing.

But due to factors in Elder Tales such as the low success rate, high risk and cultural aversion of the j.a.panese... j.a.panese players were very law abiding and hated violence among players... PKing was not popular there.

The mini-map in Elder Tales showed all players, monsters, and NPC around them, the chance for PKing to work was very low.

High-level players would have an innate evasion rate without the need for players to input any command, lowering the probability of PKing working even further.

... Simply put, sneak attacks were not effective.

PKing was not banned in Elder Tales, but hara.s.sment, which meant hara.s.sing players and causing undue distress, was. Although PK itself was not hara.s.sment, targeting specific players or abusing them with words were actions that might be judged as hara.s.sment. The official might then deal out a warning or the ban hammer.

But hara.s.sment was very much dependent on personal opinion and prejudice. Even a proper PK might be viewed as hara.s.sment if the victim was a lady, resulting in the perpetrator being locked out of his account.

That's why PKing was a high risk action.

But things were different in this alternate world.

They couldn't view the mini map on their screen anymore, and even high-level players could be ambushed if they were not conscious of the incoming attack.

Unless the player was a real-life martial artist, no one could keep their guard up all the time.

Hara.s.sment reports could only be done after the officials reviewed the records. When Elder Tales was still a game, order was maintained through the Game Masters' 'Hand of G.o.d'. But such convenient saviors didn't exist in this world anymore.

... The chance of a sneak attack working increased, the risk of being reported was gone.

And PKing gave lots of benefits.

After defeating other players, they could be stripped of all their gold and some items. Although some items could not be dropped, half the salable items in your bag would be lost, spread around your corpse.

There were more cons than pros back then, but that had been reversed.

This was the reason why PKing was becoming a regular occurrence in Elder Tales.

(We made it past the sneak attack phase... Their advantages are numbers, terrain, and preparation. Our advantages are...)

s.h.i.+roe's staff shone as he went through the spells he could use. He didn't have to choose the spells using the game menu, his common spells had already been prepared on his hotkeys.

Before s.h.i.+roe raised his staff to cast any spells, several players showed themselves.

The dry debris of the asphalt road cracked loudly in the quiet night.

Four shadows emerged from the darkness.

One dressed like a fighter, two as bandits, one like a healer.

Their levels and numbers were high, their footsteps steady.

"Leave everything you are carrying, and we won't kill you."

The warrior said these cliché words in a disparaging tone.

s.h.i.+roe laughed bitterly when he heard this.

(If they are talking like that, they have read too much manga.)

They were already used to hunting monsters, but battling other players was a different thing. Unlike the monsters moving by animal instincts, this induced the fear of unpredictability. And humans were not dense enough to be ignorant of malicious intents of the enemies.

Monsters also had killing intent, but PKers had the malicious intent of profiting off others' efforts.

s.h.i.+roe's palms were sweating before he realized.

But the cliché line washed away the tension, and s.h.i.+roe was grateful for that.

"Guardian and a Mage, right? You want to put up a hopeless fight? We have 4 on our side, alright?"

The man dressed like a bandit, who seemed to be the leader, said. The two long sword on his waist hinted his cla.s.s to be a Swashbuckler. Out of the 12 cla.s.ses, only the Swashbuckler and Samurai could equip 2 weapons without the use of special items and with putting in minimal effort.

"What should we do, Naotsugu?"

"Kill them. Pick out the bones, chop them into mincemeat, and kill them again. These guys attack people for fun, they can't complain if someone else kills them."

The reliable voice of Naotsugu revitalized the strength in s.h.i.+roe's legs.

(Breathing normal, sense of balance is intact... Emotions are calm, I can do this. This is something we expected... Just a matter of time before we faced this road.)

s.h.i.+roe mumbled to himself. He was already prepared to fight, but wanted to drag the conversation a bit longer if possible.

"Naotsugu hates PKing after all... Actually, I'm willing to give them the money."

The PK group sneered at s.h.i.+roe's words.

They took half a step forward, showing their ugly threatening att.i.tude. s.h.i.+roe averted his eyes from the pressure, even though he expected this.

(That must be it... They are looking down on us, thinking we will fork over the cash if they apply a bit more pressure.)

s.h.i.+roe felt he had split into two. One of him had trembling legs from fear, the other was thinking calmly and clearly. He could also feel his pulse beating warmly by his ears, a sensation he had had several times during the Tea Party.

s.h.i.+roe was not good in handling Akatsuki, but he didn't hate her.

s.h.i.+roe hated fighting, but he was good at it.

"If they can beat us."

"Well said, s.h.i.+ro."

The PK group was either surprised by their conversation or angered by their insolence. Their faces turned red as they drew their weapons while cursing.

The red 'battle mode' warning on the status screen had been flas.h.i.+ng in the corner of his eyes since the sneak attack.

s.h.i.+roe took half a step back with his left foot and prayed his voice would be steady as he gave his command.

"Target the warrior on the left, draw the others' attention too!"

"I will handle the tank, go take out the Mage!"

The sound of s.h.i.+roe's command and the bandit leader's roar sounded out at the same time.

Naotsugu took a step forward and slammed his s.h.i.+eld at the warrior. His opponent was wielding a katana, meaning he was a Samurai.

The bandit with long hair flanked Naotsugu on his leader's command, attempting to reach s.h.i.+roe with a leap. But this was one of the developments s.h.i.+roe antic.i.p.ated.

s.h.i.+roe cast his spell in an instant.

Astral Bind.

Similar to the magic that had bound Naotsugu, it restricted the movements of the enemies.

When the defensibly weak mage adventured alone, this spell could restrict the movements of monsters. This was followed by range attack from a safe distance. A basic battle strategy.

The spells of mages might differ in details, but they had many common spells, including binding spells.

But binding spells had no other effects.

The long-haired bandit was left with no choice other than to turn and attack Naotsugu, who was right beside him. He attacked with his daggers that were almost the length of a short sword. Binding spells restricted the opponent's long range movement, but it didn't deprive them of all freedom. It was similar to leas.h.i.+ng a dog with a chain to a pole, they could still move around within a short range. The binding spell would last only for a short while.

"Let's change, I leave this to you!"

"I'm on it!"

Under the sparks of the clas.h.i.+ng weapons, the leader made a simple feint and attempted to break through Naotsugu's defense line.

Their strategy at the start should have let the leader engage Naotsugu, leaving the others to take down s.h.i.+roe. But seeing his subordinate bounded, he decided to change the strategy by going for s.h.i.+roe himself.

His judgment to adjust his plans on the fly was commendable. His flanking action making use of the feint was fast.

(... But that is not enough to match Naotsugu's experience.)

"Anchor Howl!"

Naotsugu lowered his center of ma.s.s and shouted fiercely.

This howl that shook the air was a skill of the Guardian.

The bandit leader that should have slipped past Naotsugu flinched his body as he turned to face Naotsugu with his swords raised on reflex.

He lost strength in his legs, and he was unable to look away from Naotsugu. Cold sweat broke out all over his body, the long-haired bandit and the Samurai were suffering the same sense of fear with their eyes wide open.

They would lose their lives if they didn't stare at Naotsugu. That was the horrifying feeling the 3 of them felt from Naotsugu.

Naotsugu was a Guardian who protected their comrades. They were known as tanks because they were the s.h.i.+eld absorbing the opponent's attack.

But having high defense and HP was not enough to act as a tank. Monsters like goblins and orcs might possess similar intelligence to humans, the players might encounter dark elves or cultist as well, and this was the world of Elder Tales.

Opponents ignoring the tank and going for the healer and mage behind were common too.

Guardians were built around the policy of protecting their allies, so they didn't just have high HP and defense.

Anchor Howl was a skill Guardians cast with their fighting spirit. Foes who heard this howl would not be able to ignore Naotsugu. The moment they tried, they would be hit by a powerful counterattack. This skill granted Guardians additional attacks if their enemy's attention lapsed.

The skills to focus all the enemies' attention on themselves was one of the reasons why Guardians were known as the fortress among the warrior cla.s.ses.

"Tch, Don't be scared! We are going 3 on 1, he will go down no matter how tough he is, take him first!"

The bandit leader encouraged his men despite the fear he was feeling.

The Swashbuckler was forced to switch tactics again, locking on to Naotsugu and searching for his weak points with his double swords dancing like a snake.

The rogue Samurai, double swords leader, and the long-haired bandit were determined to take out Naotsugu first.

It was not wrong to do that.

"d.a.m.n it! You are just tough like a turtle, nothing impressive!"

The enemy screamed hysterically as they attacked in a flurry.

"Your swords won't break through my armor!"

Naotsugu's bold and cheery statement made them double up on their attacks.

s.h.i.+roe checked Naotsugu's status as he listened to the sharp clash of metals.

This group had the skills to back up their words with good courage and teamwork. Naotsugu's HP dwindled under their relentless attacks.

Even Naotsugu wouldn't last another 30 seconds.

(That is, if they can keep up the attack for 30 seconds...!)

s.h.i.+roe grinned. He was not going to give them this amount of time.

Drawing a symbol with the tip of his staff took 1.5 seconds. s.h.i.+roe created a buzzing lightning ball and shot it at the Samurai. This was a 'damage over time' spell called Electric Fuzz, persistently dealing low damage to an opponent for 10-20 seconds.

"Ha! You're an Enchanter? What's that spell? You can't even kill a dog with this!"

The Samurai just snorted in annoyance despite being hit. The tennis ball sized lightning sphere was loud and bright, but its damage was so low it didn't hurt.

Enchanters' spells on the whole lacked attack power, but damage over time magic could spread its power over a period of time. Its total damage exceeded Mind Bolt, but each wave of damage was insignificant.

The feeling of scratching an itch matched the low damage of the spell. It was just a harmless prank to the Samurai.

(It is weak, but...)

The taunts went to and fro, but s.h.i.+roe didn't react to the Samurai's sneer since he knew the features of his spells. He cast the same Electric Fuzz on the bandit leader and long-haired bandit next.

The dual wield based cla.s.s had less HP than the Samurai from the warrior cla.s.s. But this low damage magic was painless to them.

"Hahahaha! What were you trying to accomplish with that spell? Are you a greenhorn following this chum?"

The greenish white sparks shone like a shorted wire or some misshapen fireworks. The three PKers redoubled their effort on attacking Naotsugu.

(... Alright then, let's get rid of one.)

The anger, carelessness, and sneer of the enemy.

Absorbing these emotions like data and preparing in a deep breath, s.h.i.+roe took two steps forward ready to act. He wielded his staff as he chanted, using his magic with the hotkey.

He cast Thorn Bind Hostage after chanting for 2 seconds. Five s.h.i.+ny rings flew towards the Samurai and morphed into 5 vines entangling him.

"What is this? Ah!"

Naotsugu slashed at the Samurai, a lightning ball seemed to explode in the darkness. The Samurai screamed as he backed away on reflex from the impact.

Enemies who were affected by the spell would suffer about 1000 points of additional damage when attacked by the Enchanter's allies.Thorn Bind Hostage was a trap attack spell frequently used by s.h.i.+roe. Unlike single target or wide area attacks, it had a more complicated activation requirement. It also needed to be cast on the enemy beforehand.

The number of vines and the damage it dealt differed by level. s.h.i.+roe's Thorn Bind Hostage was Secret level, even a warrior cla.s.s would lose half his HP if all five vines were triggered.

"Calm down, this is a d.a.m.n trap spell. Dispel it, healer! Concentrate on healing our Samurai! We have double their numbers, there is no way we can lose!"

Unlike the damaged Samurai, the bandit leader was still in control. Healers played a critical role in the Elder Tales setting.

With a powerful healer using high-level spells, damage of several allies about the same level could be restored completely.

If the healing was consistent, s.h.i.+roe's Thorn Bind Hostage was nothing to worry about.

The bandit leader had a plan of taking on a Sorcerer, who had more powerful attacks than an Enchanter, so he remained confident in this battle.

Naotsugu slashed again.

Every swing activated the shockwave damage from the vines. Every time the Samurai tried to take up a stance, the sword strike and the vine explosion threw him off balance again.

"Ha, this is nothing, your flank is open!"

The long-haired bandit slashed at Naotsugu's right flank with his machete. Naotsugu who was immobile after his attack couldn't avoid this attack.

"This battle will be decided by the presence of healers! Don't underestimate us, chums! Hahahaha! Cry on your way to the cathedral!"

Naotsugu's attack was strengthened by s.h.i.+roe's magic, dealing damage above a normal warrior cla.s.s. The Secret level spell was also one of the few Enchanter skills that could deal heavy damage. But that wouldn't be enough to outperform the healing spells of a healer about the same level. The laughter of the bandit leader came from this confidence.

"That is the correct a.n.a.lysis."

"If your healer is doing his job!"

Naotsugu lowered his body to halve his height in an instant and slashed at the Samurai's knee.

This blow was like a giant praying mantis striking, throwing the Samurai to the ground.

He did not fly off with the blow or spray blood all over the place. The Samurai was fighting fiercely one second and dropped motionless on the ground the next, cutting off the bandit leader's laughter.

"W... What's happening? What did you do!? Paralysis? Hey, healer! Stop fooling around, heal him!"

The bandit leader yelled as Naotsugu swung his sword and said:

"You annoying fellow, stop spouting ugly minion speeches on this beautiful night."

"You! What did you say?"

(This is faster than I imagined, what a reliable pro technique.)

s.h.i.+roe looked to the vast forest on the right of the courtyard.

Everyone was standing on the road full of bright greenish white light and couldn't see deep into the bushes of the courtyard.

As s.h.i.+roe knew his companion was inside that bush.

"f.u.c.k it! Enough! Hey, Sorcerer! Summoner! Use everything you got to burn them into crisp!"

The bandit leader decided to show his hidden cards and throw in his reserve forces.

(So there were two other mages. They might be able to kill us if they join the fray. Even though the Samurai fell, it is still 5 on 2 so he's confident thinking we will lose.)

s.h.i.+roe deduced the thinking of the bandit leader. But even the reserve forces were within s.h.i.+roe's expectations.

(They used a binding spell on Naotsugu right from the start, but only a warrior, two bandits and a healer turned up. They already let the cat out of the bag at that point in time.)

s.h.i.+roe already knew the PK group was holding a Mage in reserve standing by in the dense forest.

(Mages have low HP and defense, but they left them alone in the forest without a bodyguard. Which means...)

"Hey, hurry up! Kill these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!"

The bandit leader shouted in a panic while pointing his sword at Naotsugu. But the tip of his sword was more than a meter away from Naotsugu.

s.h.i.+roe and Naotsugu's tactics and weird atmosphere had depleted the morale of the PKers.

"Seems like we won."

"You are right, my lord."

A small figure appeared from behind the broad leaved tree.

Akatsuki with her usual serious expression dragged two Mages with her and dumped them on the road. The beautiful young girl shorter than 150cm in height throwing the PKers like trash made the bandit leader lose his composure.

"What, what, what are you doing? Why didn't you report in? H-healer! Didn't I tell you to manage our HP! Did, did you betray us..."

"This is why I said you're annoying."

The bandit leader's speech annoyed Naotsugu too much, and he knocked the leader with his s.h.i.+eld. The leader lost his balance from this sudden attack and fell on his b.u.t.t.

"It's better to trust your teammates. Your healer has been sleeping since the start of the battle."

s.h.i.+roe's cruel announcement could be heard on the whole road.

This was the spell Astral Hypnos.

The binding spell that was one of the two invaluable weapons of an Enchanter alongside Keen Edge. A magic that forced any target to fall asleep, a stoppage spell. It only lasted a dozen or so seconds no matter how you extended it.

The target would wake up when attacked, so it was a prank magic in a sense, used to buy some time.

Battle was a way of stripping each other of the ability to fight. The goal was to kill off the other party. Just putting the opponent to sleep wouldn't win you the fight. It was a spell that wouldn't affect the fight directly.

That was why Enchanters were seen as a 2nd-rate cla.s.s.

"Do not underestimate my lord's magic."

"!"

The road had returned to silence all of a sudden.

The lightning b.a.l.l.s had stopped sparkling after its duration ran out. Both bandits were sitting on the ground while the healer was sleeping soundly. s.h.i.+roe's group looked down at them.

"You underestimated the sparkles of the lightning b.a.l.l.s, ignoring it because of its low damage. But having bright lights near your eyes obscured your vision of the forest's dark areas. You wouldn't see the situation in the forest or realize your healer was sleeping. You only think about fighting, your teamwork is full of loopholes. It is easy to a.s.sa.s.sinate your reserves."

After Akatsuki finished, Naotsugu swung down his sword as if he was looking forward to it. The long-haired bandit who had lost his fighting spirit screamed like a high-pitched whistle and died.

"We, will revive even after dying, we haven't lost yet!"

The bandit leader was still acting tough, but he couldn't move with Akatsuki's blade on his throat.

Akatsuki asked s.h.i.+roe with her eyes.

She was asking for permission to proceed.

s.h.i.+roe gave a long sigh.

Tying him up, robbing him of everything, and then interrogating him was possible. But s.h.i.+roe's nature was not suitable for interrogation, so he couldn't really do that.

(We can also let him go, but... Even if we do that...)

He probably wouldn't be grateful for that.

And he wouldn't take this as a lesson and repent.

He would definitely see it as an insult and bear a grudge. Death was just a ritual in this world anyway. It made one doubt there was a crime and punishment system like the real world.

s.h.i.+roe understood this.

But s.h.i.+roe still felt that one must not act without any regards to the law.

(There's no other way.)

s.h.i.+roe nodded at Akatsuki. She stuck the blade into the bandit leader's throat without hesitation. Blood that looked red and dirty in the dark night sprayed from his throat.

Akatsuki deftly turned her body to avoid the spray as gold and items dropped around the leader.

This ended the attack of the PKers.

"So the rumors that security has gone bad are true."

Naotsugu, who was picking up the loot, commented and s.h.i.+roe shrugged in response. They had looked at ease before with the wild bandits, but it had not been an easy victory.

There had been six enemies after all. The enemies level had been high, even though they were not level 90 yet. Naotsugu who used defensive skills had lost half his HP.

If Akatsuki hadn't taken out the reserve forces in the darkness... No, if Akatsuki hadn't hidden her presence immediately when they were attacked, understanding what s.h.i.+roe had meant when he said 'I see four of them' and taken out the ambush party, who knows how the battle would have turned out.

s.h.i.+roe, Naotsugu, and even Akatsuki still had an ace up their sleeves. But to turn the tide of battle required a cool head. If they used their ace in a state of panic, they would still lose no matter how good that ace was. By keeping calm and playing their cards at the right time, they could maximize its effectiveness to obtain victory.

There were two reasons why s.h.i.+roe's party won. The first was the overconfidence of the PKers due to their advantage in numbers. The second was the better team work of s.h.i.+roe's group.

"Any other PKers hiding around here?"

Akatsuki asked in a gloomy tone while looking towards the cl.u.s.ter of abandoned buildings.

"That should be all of them."

s.h.i.+roe answered.

The most important thing about PKing was the element of surprise, so they needed an appropriate place to set up. There was the possibility of their target escaping into the city if they went further ahead, so it was not suitable to PK there.

(We need to stay alert though, it is getting dangerous out here.)

s.h.i.+roe thought there was another reason why they won.

Because they knew about the news of the deteriorating security in the city.

s.h.i.+roe's group had also heard rumors of rampant PKers roaming around.

They hid around the field zone surrounding Akiba and ambushed the unsuspecting under the cover of darkness. The group that they defeated seemed to have been experienced in PK to the extent that they were overconfident.

s.h.i.+roe's team kept their guard up while moving because they had heard the news and were wary of any shadows lurking in the bushes.

"They are the 'Dread Pack'? What a cliché name."

That was the guild name of the PK team they defeated, it probably meant they were a group that terrorizes others.

"Can't be helped, it would be too much to ask of PKers to come up with cla.s.sy names."

Naotsugu displayed the disgust in his heart without reservation and Akatsuki agreed with him.

(Well, I am furious about this too.)

s.h.i.+roe sighed.

Naotsugu hated PKers, and s.h.i.+roe disliked them too.

There were many reasons to dislike them, but the main reason was that s.h.i.+roe simply found them unsightly.

Wanting to profit off other people's hard work was already an unsightly idea. The gold and items you could get through PK would not get you to the top levels, so s.h.i.+roe thought they were extremely unsightly.

Taking others' treasure meant they did not step into the high level zone that contained these rewards. Not only do you miss out on exploring unknown places and mysteries, you wouldn't run into treasures you had never seen before as well. You wouldn't be able to stand at the peak of adventures if you relied on PKing.

So PKers would always be relegated to parasite status, feeding off other people's rewards.

That was what s.h.i.+roe thought.

(...To criticize the personality of players while trapped in an alternate world... Maybe this is something that cannot be helped. Everyone has been pushed to the edge mentally.)

Regrettably, the situation of being on edge was becoming part of their daily lives, that was how this world was.

"I have also heard such rumors."

"Other than that, 'Tidal Clan', 'Blue Impact' and 'Canossa' are all into PK."

s.h.i.+roe answered Akatsuki's comment.

"I can understand people being freaked out, but even so... Shouldn't there be other things for them to do?"

"Like what?"

"Like chatting about panties."

Akatsuki took a step back.

She turned her head and looked around her before taking another step back.

"Two steps... She took two steps back...?"

Naotsugu was depressed while s.h.i.+roe patted his shoulders to cheer him up. Naotsugu tried to describe the wonders of panties, but Akatsuki silenced him by saying 'Shut up, pervert'.

The power relations of the party had gradually been set.

(Other. Things. They. Should. Do...)

There was nothing to do, which was the current problem.

You could get by with cheap food if you just wanted to live.

Even if it was tasteless soggy crackers, there was nothing to complain if it kept you alive. In countries in the South East Asia region, states at war and cities facing famine had children starving to death with their eyes praying for food.

But they wouldn't face such a food crisis anytime soon.

Food could be crafted using ingredients in Elder Tales, and the ingredients could in turn be gathered from the field zones. Defeated monsters might drop meat, and mushrooms and berries could be plucked from the forest. You could fish in the sea and even cultivate and harvest plants.

He didn't know about this world, but Elder Tales had four seasons. It seemed to be summer now and food was everywhere out in the field.

So even a beginner who was less than level 10 could get food from the relatively safe field zones.

The issue lay with the low percentage of players with the Chef subcla.s.s to craft the food. But quite a number of players had changed their subcla.s.s to Chef in the past 10 days.

Having nutritious meals was the basics of survival and was a reasonable strategy.

It was the same with clothes.

They could get fur by skinning beasts or make sheets of clothes using silk or hemp. If you were not picky about the stats of the equipment, production players could make one cloth in a few dozen seconds. Daily necessities like shoes could be produced by Tailors, Blacksmiths or Carpenters. Normal sized equipment could be created by these craftsmen, while small and fine products were made by Artisans.

As for accommodation, you could spend the night in any abandoned building if you weren't too concerned with safety or comfort.

A night in a cheap hotel cost 5 gold, but even a level 10 player could get that money by defeating a few goblins. You could also opt to rent a place at a nice hotel for months or purchase a s.p.a.ce such as a guild hall as a group. You could buy a room by yourself too, there were many ways to secure a place to sleep.

In other words, just surviving in this alternate world didn't require you to risk your life or work long hours.

There were no dire situations if you just wanted to survive.

(But rather than living, this is more like 'not dying'.)

s.h.i.+roe thought this type of noncompet.i.tive environment caused the players to lose their goal in life, meaning they had nothing to do.

This was a very free alternate world.

It might be too liberal.

Naotsugu would probably have said 'The objective of living? Things we should do? This should be decided and worked on by ourselves, right? Such as discussing or protecting girls. Just like what panties ladies wear should be decided by themselves.' There was nothing wrong with this view, and s.h.i.+roe didn't want to object it.

But some might agree while others wouldn't.

If people didn't set a goal and work towards it, it was easy for them to be tempted onto the wrong path. There were such people everywhere, like the ones who boosted their ego by bullying others.

(It's the same with PK. There are many simple and safe ways to live in this world. If you just want to survive, there is no need to earn lots of cash or resort to PKing.)

Hence, PKing was not a means of staying alive. For instance in poor countries, people might be forced to become robbers to feed themselves. But PK was totally different from that.

For these people, PKing was something they felt they should do. A means to give them enjoyment apart from just staying alive. This made s.h.i.+roe feel that PK was even more unsightly.

"Wait a minute, wah!"

Naotsugu yelled.

"What is it?"

"These guys only have 62 gold combined, just how poor are they?"

"But the items they have are not too bad."

Naotsugu and Akatsuki had accounted for all the drop items and gold. The loot seemed pretty disappointing.

"PKing carries a high risk. Unless they're stupid, they will just bring the bare necessities. The rest of their stuff should be in the bank. What we see here are items they robbed from others."

The two of them sighed deeply at s.h.i.+roe's comment.

It was almost midnight when they reached Akiba.

The streets seemed to be full of killing intent.

The city center, consisting of the metro city square, major road junction, and a bridge, was filled with stalls as usual. The crowd was substantial there as well, but the darker outskirts of the city and the dim alleys of the ruins had suspicious players. They were wary of others and kept a distance from people when walking the streets.

(Security really is going bad...)

s.h.i.+roe's group had been heading to the field zone to hunt monsters these past few days.

It was crucial to share your information in the city ever since that terrible event. Issues regarding eating, sleeping, the basic mechanism and structure of this world, there were many things they needed to confirm.

After gathering this basic data, s.h.i.+roe's group had decided to find out about the field zones and how much battle had changed.

This was the policy the 3 of them had come up with, but it was taking a longer time than expected.

Using magic and skills was vastly different than mastering them. s.h.i.+roe and Naotsugu already had this idea, and Akatsuki was also gaining this viewpoint as time pa.s.sed.

The bigger the difference between using and mastering, the more time it took to make up the difference through practice. Confirming the features of each skill, researching its uses, and experimenting with it. The amount of data in Elder Tales was enough to make beginners cry, but it was double... No, several times more in this alternate world.

Take Cross Slash, for instance.

This was a basic combo attack of Guardians, striking a foe twice in the shape of a cross. Guardians learned this early since it was a basic skill and they had many opportunities to use it. According to Naotsugu, there were five ways to activate this skill.

"Slas.h.i.+ng from top right to bottom left, then strike up vertically is the basics. But you can also start with top left to bottom right, which suits left handers better. You can also do a horizontal slice followed by a vertical cut."

That's how it was.

This skill, or rather this basic battle movement, had already been saved inside their body. Based on the two fighting cla.s.s players, Naotsugu and Akatsuki, if you had the will to fight and could see your enemies' movements, your body would act automatically.

But you needed lots of practice to tie down the delicate movements. There was no telling if practicing like real world martial artists would work, but the weapon wielding duo was the same as s.h.i.+roe. They had to go through the process of research, experimentation and adjustment.

For ranged attack spells, aiming with your staff would raise your accuracy than solely using hotkeys. This was also something s.h.i.+roe found out through experimenting.

Apart from finding trivial but crucial things when using skills, it would be hard to use it on t