Chapter 2 – The Great Stampede
“W-Wait! S-Stop, please!”
“…Huh?”
“Woof?”
It’s fine, I’m fine. That last conversation went perfectly, didn’t it? An event where the Talash gate guard talks to me is no big deal. I can handle this. I’m just trying to get through!
“Th-That giant dog behind you… is it? That’s, uh…”
“…A pet.”
“A pet…?!”
“That’s right. Donta, shake.”
“Woof? (What’s that?)”
“Put your right paw in my outstretched hand. Do it.”
“W-Woof! (Eep! Doing it!)”
“…That’s one big pet.”
Alright, I strong-armed my way through by calling Donta a pet. Now there are no more problems. My win.
“If it rampages inside, we’ll put it down, no questions asked. Be extremely careful. Welcome to the city of Talash, adventurer from another world. The church you’re looking for should be straight down the main street, in the plaza. You can go on through.”
“Huh? Oh… thanks. Let’s go, Donta.”
“Woof…”
I passed, I passed, I passed—!! And since I entered the city, several user interface features that were restricted are now unlocked!! My friends list is unlocked, too, so I’ll contact Mayumi right away! I don’t know her in-game name, but the VR dive system has a function to contact real-life friends. I’ll use that to reach Mayumi!!
[Do you want to synchronize your VR Dive System contact list with Meltis Online?]
Yes, yes, do it quickly. It’s not like I have anyone to contact besides Mayumi anyway.
[Synchronizing… Synchronization complete. Calling Mayumi Nanase…]
“—Hello, Mayumi?”
“Oh my, A-chan?! Is that really you, A-chan?!”
It connected—… Honestly, I was so lonely, it was so hard, I even felt like I might throw up. If Donta hadn’t been here, I definitely would have hit my mental limit…! Thank you, Donta. From now on, you’ll work hard as my servant, supporting me both mentally and in combat!
“It’s me, Rinne. I’m in the city of Talash right now.”
“Please stop reporting to me like you’re Mary-san from the urban legend, saying ‘I’m right behind you’!”
“I need you to come get me. I have a big doggy with me. Come as fast as you can.”
“Talash, is it! A big doggy…? In any case, I shall head over at once! Also, could you please call me Perseus instead of Mayumi?”
“Peru-chan.”
“…I see. That will suffice. I am Peru-chan. I am coming to pick A-chan up now.”
“Waiting, waiting, waiting…”
“Ah-wah-wah-wah, A-chan sounds like she’s in a very bad mental state…! I am coming immediately!”
Okay, that’s settled. Mayumi is coming to get me… Oh, right, she’s Perseus here. I have to be careful not to call her by her real name. Peru-chan… Peru-chan… Right. For now, I need money to buy Donta some food…
“…Donta, what do you want to eat?”
“Woof! (Meat! Meat!)”
I see, meat. You do look like you’d love meat… Maybe I’ll sell the materials I got from defeating monsters on the way here and buy some meat. Haaah… Peru-chan, I hope you get here soon.
What is this… I feel like everyone is just… staring at me… Don’t look at me, or I’ll feed you to Donta…! I’ve got a giant, starving doggy over here…
“Woof! (Meat!)”
Donta found a shop selling meat before I did. You don’t really see butcher shops in real life, but in this world, they sell meat at private shops like this. What an amazing world…
“W-Welcome…”
“…Want to sell… items. No money. Want meat.”
“Items…? Ah, yes, if you mean materials, we’re part of the merchant’s guild, so we can buy them… What are you selling?”
What should I do? Maybe I don’t need anything except this unidentified accessory…? I’ll keep about five Lowest-Grade Health Potions and sell everything else except the accessory. Things like ‘Wolf’s Poor-Quality Pelt’ and ‘Slime’s Poor-Quality Core’—I don’t need any of this.
“This is quite a lot. How about 2,000 silver for the whole batch? I’ll give you whatever is left after subtracting the cost of the meat.”
“All of it.”
“…Huh? What do you mean, ‘all of it’?”
“All of it, for meat.”
“All for meat?! Ah… Oh, it’s for that huge thing, isn’t it…”
“…”
“A-Alright, alright, you want it all in meat. You want a large quantity, right? The stringy parts are cheaper, so I can give you more of that…”
“Grrrrr… (Meat looks delicious…)”
“Eek…?! Fine, just take all of this block meat!”
“…Th…anks.”
[Sold multiple consumables and materials.]
[Received: 【Food: Wild Taur Meat Chunk】 from the Talash Butcher.]
Perfect, perfect. I thought selling items and buying meat would be super-high-difficulty content, but it finished so easily! Let’s feed this to Donta. If he eats this much, he won’t say he’s hungry for a while…
Still, everyone is staaaring… Mayumi… oh, Peru-chan… I told her I’d wait in Talash, but being stared at like this is really annoying… Donta won’t be able to eat his meat in peace, either. Let’s just go outside.
“…Right, let’s go outside. I can’t relax here.”
“Woof! (Okay! Hurry, hurry! Get on!)”
“Get on… Donta?”
“Woof!! (Yes! Let’s go quickly!)”
“Well, maybe I’ll take you up on that…?”
Donta must want to eat this meat right now, but not only can he wait until we move, he’s even letting me ride his back so we can leave faster. What a good boy! Alright, I guess I’ll get on that fluffy back~ Oh, this is surprisingly easy to ride. Is it okay if I grab around his neck?
“Am I heavy? Does it hurt if I grab the fur around your neck?”
“Waf! (It’s fine! I’m tough!)”
I guess a little pulling from me won’t hurt him at all. Of course, if something like this injured him, he’d take massive damage from a single enemy attack. Whoa, my view is so high… and the amount of attention we’re getting is intense. I want to get out of here, fast…
“Okay, go. Run towards the city exit~”
“Woof!! (Here I go!)”
“Wah?!”
S-So fast?! You’ve got to be kidding me, this is as fast as a rollercoaster drop! This speed is actually terrifying!!
“Whoa, what was that?!”
“That Beast Tamer from before is—”
“Someone stop her!!”
Move, move! Get out of the way unless you want Donta to trample you~!! If we stop, players will definitely swarm me. We have no choice but to escape outside! The gate guard just told me we’d be put down if we rampaged! I thought he’d run at a slower, more considerate speed~!!
“Woof! (We’re outside~!)”
“Hah… hah…! K-Keep running, further! Much further!”
“Waf? (Further? I’m hungry…)”
“Just go!!”
“Woof! (O-Okay!)”
I have no choice but to give up this time. I have to train him not to do this in other towns. We were lucky we didn’t crash into anyone, but at that speed, we could have easily killed someone. For now, we just have to run… Hmm? Something just glittered in the plains. I only just realized it when Donta pointed it out. What is that?
“Piii—”
“Eh?! What was that? Was that a Slime?!”
“Woof…? (Probably. It’s faster than me!)”
I thought something golden flashed for just a second, and it was a Slime… Is there any player who can defeat a Slime that fast? I’d like to try, but it ran far away. Donta’s food comes first, anyway… We’ve come pretty far. It should be safe here.
“Donta, let’s eat here for now. I think we’ve come far enough.”
“Woof!! (Yay!)”
I received a food item called ‘Wild Taur Meat Chunk,’ right? Where is it stored in my item inventory… Not in materials, definitely not equipment… consumables? Ah! ‘Introduction to Necromancy Vol. 2’ is in my inventory all of a sudden! Did I get this from Babylon-chan as a congratulations gift when Donta evolved? I’ll check later.
Oh, found it, found it. Uncooked food and ingredients are stored in the ‘Food’ tab. And food doesn’t count toward the item inventory’s 100kg weight limit; it has its own limit of double the inventory. So I can hold 200kg… Wow, this Wild Taur Meat Chunk is 5kg all by itself.
“Here, this is a reward for protecting me and listening to what I said. If you keep listening to me and being useful, I’ll give you even better meat.”
“Woooof~♡ (Okay! I’ll keep doing my best! Can I eat??)”
“Alright, you can eat.”
“Woof!! (Yay!!)”
I thought it was a big piece of meat, but considering Donta’s size, maybe it’s not that big. Since his body is huge, he probably eats a lot… Come to think of it, Donta is technically undead, right? He died and was revived? Does he still need to eat? Oh, wait, in zombie movies, the zombies have huge appetites, so maybe it’s not so strange… Anyway, I’m bored while Donta is eating, so I’ll read that ‘Introduction to Necromancy Vol. 2’ that was in my inventory. I might learn some new necromancy.
“Pigi!”
“…Eh?”
[You took 1 damage from a Slime.]
I’m in the middle of studying the necromancy book I got from Babylon-chan. What do you want? You never show up when I’m looking for you, but you appear out of nowhere at times like this… Why do slimes always, always, always, always get in my way at the best possible moments…
[You took 1 damage from a Slime.]
—I’ll murder you!! The activation word for the new necromancy spell is… this! Go to the afterlife and keep apologizing to me!!
“Sink, Negative Aura!!”
“Woof!? (Huh?! What?!)”
[Activated 【Negative Aura】. Multiple status ailments inflicted on the Slime.]
[All nearby party members will be buffed for 3 minutes.]
[Slime died from Deadly Poison and Curse damage. You gained 5 EXP.]
Oh…? So this spell doesn’t have a direct attack, it just inflicts multiple status ailments. Well, it died from the poison and curse damage, so I guess it’s fine. More importantly, Donta gets buffed, too! My stats only went up by less than 10, but all of Donta’s stats are up by nearly 30.
“Woof!! (I feel way stronger! I think I can catch that golden flashy one now!)”
“Really? Want to try chasing it?”
“Woof! (I’ll definitely catch it~!)”
Donta ran off, full of motivation. That golden slime from before was incredibly fast… can he really catch it? Oh, looks like he found it? He’s chasing it all over, but he can’t seem to catch it. Looks like the slime is still a bit faster since it can make sharper turns. Hmm…? Hey, isn’t it coming this way…? It’s heading right for me, isn’t it?! E-Eh, what do I do?! Whoa, here it comes!!
[Golden Slime (Lv. ????) came into contact with Negative Aura. Multiple status ailments inflicted.]
It ran right past me… What?! This Negative Aura has a persistent effect! H-Hmph, hmmph…! You underestimated me just because I look weak and harmless! Suffer a bit from the poison and curse damage! …Still, I didn’t know there were monsters with unknown levels. Is this one of those monsters that’s impossible to beat right now, like a ‘come back and challenge me when you’re stronger’ type of thing?
[Golden Slime (Lv. ????) died from Deadly Poison and Curse damage. You gained 1 EXP.]
[Congratulations! You are the MVP. MVP Reward: 【Pure Gold Ingot】]
[Obtained 【Golden Slime Card】.]
“Woooo—f!!? (You killed it—?!)”
No way… Sorry, Donta, I killed it… Th-This was an accident, right…? It’s an accident where it basically ran into me and died, so it’s not my fault… Also, what a ridiculous name. And what’s this ‘card’ thing?
“—O-hohohohoho!! I have finally found you~!!”
Th-That ridiculously over-the-top laugh…?! Could it be…?!
“Grrroooowl…! (An enemy?!)”
“Ah, this one’s different. It’s okay, Donta.”
“My! My, my, you truly are with a giant doggy!!”
It is Mayumi! She looks almost exactly like her real-life self. She even has those drill-like ringlet curls in Meltis Online. Still, how did she know where I was? I told her I’d wait in Talash, but I just ran out in a panic and forgot to tell her where I was going.
“Mayu… Peru-chan! How did you know I was here?”
“Indeed! Perseus has arrived~! Talash is in an uproar over you, A-chan… I mean, Rinne-san. It was easy to track you down once I gathered some information!”
“Woof? (Not a bad guy?)”
“Donta, this is Perseus. She’s a dear friend of mine. You two be nice to each other.”
“Woof! (Twirly, a friend! Nice to meet you!)”
“What an affectionate doggy. Now, now, licking is strictly forbidden! Please refrain!?”
I’m glad Donta and Peru-chan seem like they’ll get along. And just as I thought, Donta and I are the talk of Talash. It’s probably impossible to go back there… What should I do now?
“Oh! By the way, did you happen to see a golden slime around here?”
“Yeah, I saw it. It was super fast.”
“I’m sure it was! That’s a monster no one has been able to defeat, so everyone has given up on hunting it. I’m sure the reward for defeating it would be just splendid—”
“I killed it.”
“…Pardon me, what did you just say?”
“I killed it. The ‘Golden Slime’.”
So ‘Golden Slime’ was something no one had ever defeated. That’s why it was left alone and hadn’t been hunted. W-Well, what happened just now was less ‘defeating’ it and more ‘a traffic accident’…
“Y-Y-You… defeated it—?!?”
“Y-Yeah… Also, a card dropped.”
“A card dropped as well—?!?”
“Woof! (Twirly is energetic!)”
“She’s energetic, isn’t she.”
Judging by how shocked Peru-chan is, cards must be pretty rare items. Come to think of it, I haven’t looked at its detailed effects yet.
“It says it… ‘Grants Boss Attribute’? To an accessory, a ring or bracelet.”
“B-Boss Attribute?! You mean it grants full immunity to Rank 2 status ailments and gives boss-specific attack resistance?! Ah, but the targets are rings and bracelets… those are slots we haven’t found any equippable gear for yet…”
It sounds like this card has some amazing effects. But if there’s no equipment to attach it to, it’s just a piece of paper with potential.
“What kind of equipment can you attach it to?”
“You cannot equip a card unless the equipment has an open slot. No one has ever found an accessory with an open slot, and this is the first time I’ve even seen a card for an accessory!”
Huh? But I have one. A ring with an open slot! Well, I’ll just equip it to this ring then.
[Equipped 【Golden Slime Card】 to 【Urge of Death】. 【Urge of Death of the Slime】 has been created.]
“Done.”
“Done…?! Eh!!??”
I don’t feel like I suddenly got stronger just from equipping a card that grants ‘Boss Attribute,’ but it feels pretty good to be the first player in this game to equip a card to an accessory. Hmph, hmph…
“Th-That ring! Where did you get it?!”
“This? I got it from Babylon-chan.”
“Babylon-chan… who is that…?”
“Babylon-chan is the Demon God who appeared after I beat up the angel that shows up before you set your avatar.”
“A D-Demon God?! Wha… y-you… beat up the angel?! P-Please, could you tell me the details?!”
I’m in a good mood, so I’ll do my special friend Peru-chan a favor and tell her all about Babylon-chan. Hmm, where should I start? Right, from where I beat up the angel~.
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“—Your friend is also pretty crazy~♡ To think she’d reincarnate just to come and punch an angel. I like her~♡”
About ten minutes after that cheerful message arrived from the Demon God Babylon-chan, my one and only best friend, Perseus-chan, returned, having been certified as Crazy woman No. 2. When I told her how I met Babylon-chan, she said, “I want to see that event, too! I shall reincarnate!” and apparently paid real money to reincarnate just to go punch the angel. She’ll be back at Level 1… what incredible dedication…
“—Babylon-sama was such a lovely and wonderful person!!”
“I know, right? She’s… amazing… I’ll start calling her Babylon-sama, too…”
“I also received this gauntlet!”
“Oh my… a shiny golden… thing. Just what you’d like, Peru-chan…”
It seems she got a present from Babylon-sama when she reincarnated. Peru-chan was wearing a flashy golden gauntlet on her left arm. I wonder what her class is? I can’t even imagine.
“It is the Princess Gauntlet! I can never take it off, but it has very high performance, and it even has an open slot!”
“Princess?”
“Correct! My class is Dark Princess. I can draw a magic sword from this very gauntlet! Behold!”
“Whoa! So cool. It already looks strong.”
Peru-chan’s class, Dark Princess, is a close-range power-type swordswoman who wields her magic sword with elegance, grace, and boldness. While the sword is drawn, it constantly consumes MP, so she has to be careful with her MP management. If she runs out of MP while the sword is drawn, she gets a status ailment called ‘Mana Deprivation’ and apparently enters a dangerous state where she can’t move properly until her MP recovers to 30 percent.
“Attacking elegantly and flashily increases my attack power via a skill effect!”
“Huh?”
“Having elegant and flashy clothes also increases my attack power!”
“Huh??”
I have trouble understanding what she’s saying, but it seems she has a skill where the wider her swings, the more her attack power increases.
“From now on, I can rampage as elegantly and flashily as I please!! O-hohohohoho!!”
“Awooooooo-ooooo-oon!!!”
Stop that, Donta. Stop howling along with Peru-chan’s laugh. It’s contagious. You’ll catch something weird.
“Well then, to test the performance of this magic sword, Harpe, it is time for battle… Ah, but before that! I brought a present for you, Rinne-san!”
“A present? Eh? This is… an avatar?! Isn’t this a cash shop item?! I can’t accept this!”
“It is fine! It would only rot away in my avatar inventory anyway! Here, hurry up and change! I cannot tolerate you wearing those tacky starter clothes next to me!”
“Tacky…?!”
Before I started the game, I glanced at the avatar catalog on the official website. It said avatars come from a ‘gacha’ with over 20,000 different sets. Of course, there are popular avatars, limited-time pickup gachas, and even ‘hidden avatars’ not on the list. And the price is a shocking 300 yen per pull!! Is it really okay for me to receive something so expensive…?
[Received 【★Classic Princess Lolita Dress – Black】, 【Embroidered Veil – Black】, 【Lingerie – Lace – Black】, 【Lace-up Long Boots – Black】 from Perseus.]
I just got a whole avatar set from the cash gacha from Peru-chan. This has to be a popular one. Its appearance just screams, ‘I am a popular avatar, nice to meet you.’ Thank you, Peru-chan. I’ll treasure it. Still, this black dress, all the frills, it’s almost too much… Ah… I… love it!!
“I think I might have just beaten this game.”
“Too soon, too soon! It’s too early for that! You only just put on an avatar!!”
“Peru-chan, thank you so much. I’m really happy.”
“Fufu! I am overjoyed that you like it! There are many avatars in this game, so please find more wonderful ones and change your outfits often!”
“Thanks to you, Peru-chan, I was able to wear Lolita fashion for the first time. I’m just… so happy.”
“I… am Rinne-san’s… first…?!”
“Hm? Yeah, that’s right.”
“F-fufu… fufu… Her first… her first…”
The joy of finally being able to wear the Lolita fashion I’ve always loved but could only look at in real life… Ahhh… this is the best feeling. I’m just so happy…
“I feel wonderful—!! A hunt! We are going on a hunt~!!”
“Okay. Donta, you’re not to interfere unless we’re in a pinch. You’re on lookout duty. Can you tell the difference between players and monsters?”
“Woof! (It’s fine! I can tell!)”
When you’re in a good mood, there’s nothing like moving your body. Right now, I feel like I can destroy any enemy that stands in our way. Let’s go earn some EXP. Become experience points, all of you monsters.
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