The only thing that stands out in this region are patches of forests scattered here and there with vast grasslands in between, all in a circular pattern. The main feature of the first layer is that it has a simple structure, each forest containing Events and Dungeons unique to them.

With that in mind, they concluded that they’d probably get more rare items by abandoning searching the grasslands and moving from forest to forest.

“In that case, it’s my turn, isn’t it?” Johann said.

She’s suddenly in a good mood now that she can make use of her Virtumon. She summons Meteor Bird, and the three of them ride on her back.

“~~~~~♪” Johann hums happily, to the tune of the Virtual Monsters’ opening song.

“… It’s good to have her back, huh?” Remma said.

“Yeah,” Zecca said. “Even a person like Johann-san can harbor such darkness, the working world is scary.”

The two students whisper behind Johann’s back. They thank whatever higher powers have turned Johann back to her usual kind self.

“I wonder what kind of item we’ll get next?” Johann asked.

“I hope it’s a sword! I would love a sword. You can never have too many swords!” Zecca said.

“… I’m not picky, but I want cute outfits,” Remma said.

And while they were enjoying themselves with idle chatter, a message window popped up in Remma’s eyes.

“”Intuition’ Skill has been Activated.”

“’Luminous Eternal’ Skill has been Activated by the ‘Intuition’ Skill’s Effect.”

The Guardian’s strongest defense skill deploys. A circular magic formation envelops Meteor Bird, Johann, and the others.

A short time after, an attack flies from the forest Johann and co. were aiming for. Like a laser beam, it hits them dead-on and instantly. If Remma’s Skill had been activated just a few seconds later, Meteor Bird would have been annihilated and they would all have died from the fall damage.

“An attack from the forest!? Was that from an Archer…?” Zecca asked.

“Remma-chan, what just happened?” Johann asked.

“That Skill I got last time, Intuition, it activated,” Remma said.

The “Intuition” Skill. When attacked, it would activate another Skill that the user linked to Intuition in advance. Since Remma had linked Luminous Eternal before, it activated the moment an archer hiding in the forest shot an arrow at them. The excellent point of this Skill is that it can be activated even if the players themselves are unaware of the danger.

“I worked hard to get it while Onee-chan was busy,” Remma said.

“Great job, Remma-chan,” Johann said.

“No, this is not the time for headpats!” Zecca said. “We’re obviously still being targeted here!”

“I know that,” Johann said. “I’m sending Meteor Bird to the ground.”

“… That’s a relief,” Remma said as she used an MP potion. “Luminous Eternal will be on cooldown for 10 minutes.”

“It would be trouble if we were targeted on the ground,” Zecca said. “So, what are we going to do?”

“I say avoid the fight and take a detour,” Johann said.

“… Let’s give them the fight they want,” Remma said.

“I’ve got to go with Remma-san,” Zecca said. “Combat with the Archer in the forest… I’m getting fired up!”

As soon as the three landed, they charged into the forest.

It was just after entering they entered the woods.

“We’re surrounded,” said Zecca like a master of combat.

Does she know why? As Johann and Remma wondered, they also brace themselves. Then, 5 players appear from behind the bushes.

“Guhehe”

“It’s been a while, Johann-san.”

“Hello.”

“I’ve missed you.”

“…I don’t intend to talk. Just fight.”

Was that at least 3 different directions from their greetings? The players approach them.

“Do you know each other?” Zecca asked.

“No… umm, have I met you all somewhere before?” Johann asked.

“Guhehe.”

“It’s no wonder you don’t remember, huh?”

“We were all killed by you in last month’s ranking event.”

“I really missed you.”

“…I don’t intend to talk. Just fight.”

They were a disorganized bunch.

“In other words, revenge? Lame,” Zecca said.

“Awawa…” Remma blubbered. “But it’s a fight, so let’s fight without any grudges.”

Zecca tries to dismiss the players’ intentions. She intended to provoke them, but surprisingly, the other party didn’t take the bait.

“Guhehe”

“Revenge? It’s not like that. This feeling is love!”

“For the past month, we’ve been thinking about you.”

“I’ve wanted to meet you for a long, long time.”

“… I don’t intend to fight. Just to (censored).”

“Ugh… Johann-san, these people are creepy,” Zecca said.

“…Yeah, it’s kind of scary. Let’s beat them up,” Remma said.

“Yeah, let’s… huh, Johann-san, what wrong?” Zecca asked.

“Uuum, I wonder if I’ve become popular now?” Johann asked.

“I don’t think so,” Zecca said.

“Well, that’s the end of all that talk,” one of the players said. “Let’s get to it.”

“That little lady and the gorilla are also on her said, let’s play as a team,” another said.

The 5 players aim at Johann and prepare their weapons.

“Johann-san, there’s no need to use your Skills on these guys!” Zecca said, stepping ahead of Johann. “I’ll take care of this!”

Lv: 18 Johann Job: Summoner

Lv: 50 Zecca Job: Saber

Lv: 41 Lemma Job: Guardian

VS

Lv: 32 GoroGoro Job: Saber

Lv: 43 Gargarozzo Job: Destroyer 

Lv: 22 Beauty Job: Lancer

Lv: 40 Avenger Masuo Jox: Archer

""

Lv: 45 Ippatsu 1 Job: Wizard

“HaaaaAAAAA!!”

Zecca pulls out her pride and joy, the Unique Equipment Dead Or Alive. And then she slashes at Avenger Masuo, the only Archer on the enemy team.

Then, 1, 2, 3, strikes at an unstoppable speed, and she swung the final blow with the black sword. Angelic and demonic wings appear on Zecca’s back as she wields her twin swords, it plunges Masuo further into despair.

“Angel and demon… at the same time… such fanfare,” he groans.

Avenger Masuo is gone. But there was no time to celebrate the victory. While Zecca was taking out the enemy Archer, the opponent’s Wizard finishes his spell.

“Their vanguard must die—Fire Statue!”

He casts Intermediate Fire Magic at Zecca. A pillar of flame rises from Zecca’s feet, destroying her HP in an instant.

“Now, your friend is dead. Johann. Fight with me,” Ippatsu said as he faced Johann.

But Johann gestures and warns, “Behind, behind.”

“Behind… GUAAAHHH!” Ippatsu groaned.

“Who’s dead now, huh?!” Zecca snapped.

She activated Guts and defeated her second opponent. As his name suggests, the Wizard Ippatsu dies in one shot.

“Do you have Guts…?” he gasped.

“You idiot… you let your guard down,” Zecca said. “The rest are all melee fighters…that’s an easy win for me.”

Zecca slashes with the white sword in her left hand. Gargarozzo the Destroyer holds up his hammer, but he cannot respond to Zecca’s speed.

“Consecutive Thrusts!!”

It’s Zecca’s demonic attack. It is a three-hit combo attack that stabs her white sword like a rapier. However, it was not possible to destroy Gargarozzo’s HP, probably due to his high Endurance.

“That’s too bad… Crash Counter!!”

Gargarozzo counterattacks with a Counter Skill, one that would crush the enemy plus the damage he just received.

Zecca takes the attack head-on, but…

“Wha… your HP didn’t drop!? Don’t tell me you’ve got a 2nd Guts?!”

“Yes, goodbye—Continuous Slashes.”

She does consecutive attacks with the black sword this time. She defeats Gargarozzo and GoroGoro at the same time.

“To destroy my high HP in an instant… just how much DPS do you have?” Gargarozzo asked.

“Ehehe, it’s a secret,” Zecca said.

Zecca’s character build was the meta for this game, focusing on Strength and Dexterity. However, there is one thing that sets her apart from other players:

Her Unique Equipment, Dead or Alive.

The effects are complex. When attacking with the white sword, it gives you a chance to get Guts. If you’re lucky, you can get 3x Guts with a triple attack Skill.

And the effect of the black sword is to forcefully consume the Guts gained from the white sword, doubling the damage of its attacks.

This equipment is not simply strong outright, it is necessary to constantly pay attention to the number of Guts that are granted randomly, and to determine what attacks you can evade and take on outright. But, Zecca loved these swords’ fighting style where there were no two similar situations, no one way of winning.

“You’re the only one left, huh?” Zecca said, looking threateningly at Beauty the Lancer, the one remaining enemy.

“I see, you don’t seem to be Johann’s lackey, huh?” Beauty said.

From the outside, Johann’s party gives the impression of Johann the Demon King, Zecca, the Right-Hand Woman of the Demon King and the Swordsman of Darkness, and Remma, a strong Mountain-of-Muscle-type of character. Beauty throws away his misconception of Zecca as a mere follower.

“I’m going to get really serious—Sonic Javelin!”

“Accel Boost!”

Zecca evades the enemy’s super-sonic thrust with the Guaranteed Evade Skill, Accel Boost.

“Kuh…… did you just dodge me?” Beauty asked.

“That spear you have has the Poison Attribute,” Zecca said. “Guts can’t stop Poison damage, so I had to dodge it.”

“I see, your knowledge seems to be top-notch, too,” Beauty said.

Zecca has already gone around behind Beauty, and has the black blade against his neck. Beauty threw down his spear and made a pose of surrender. Then, he becomes a bit of a sore loser.

“Fuh… even if I get killed… there are still 40 people. They’re all in this forest, aiming to get you.”

“Gee… 40 people… maybe they’re stronger than you guys… are they?” Zecca asked.

“They are… is what I would like to say, but I just met them, so I can’t tell…” Beauty said.

“No, seriously, what the hell even are you guys…?” A slightly disgusted Zecca said before she executed Beauty.

“What are you going to do?” Zecca said. “I don’t think I can deal with 40 people at the same time…”

“Don’t worry, Zecca-chan,” Johann said. “I have an idea.”

Then, Johann took out a toy-shaped summoning stone.

Footnotes

One-Shot

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