Chapter 4 – Kasho no Yume
“Huh? Sub-master, did you change your look?”
“Perseus-san, who’s the beauty next to you!? And woah, what is that fluffy doggo!? It’s huge!!”
“Welcome back, Perseus-san~! Where did you go without changing classes~?”
“Advanced class yet~??”
“Huh? What happened to your weapon?”
“Amaaaazing—!! Hey, hey, can I touch that doggy? Can I touch it!?”
“BE QUIET!!”
We were already drawing a ton of attention on the way to the Guild House, but even after entering, I feel like I’m going to faint from the storm of stares and questions… The only reason I can stay calm right now is entirely because Peru-chan is next to me. If not for her, my spirit would have died at least 100 times from the barrage of attention.
“Oh, Perseus-chan is back. Welcome home~. Is that the friend you messaged about~?”
“That is correct! Rinne-san, this is our Guild Master, Nap Lover-san. Because she wanted the trade city of Loray as a perfect spot for napping in-game, she recklessly charged at the pirates illegally occupying the city without a plan, causing a massive brawl that resulted in reclaiming Loray!”
“N-Nap… Lover…? Is that… her name…!?”
“It is! Nap Lover is her name. You may call her Nap!”
“I get told this a lot, but I call myself Nap Lover~. Just like the name says, I love taking naps~. Nice to meet you~. Ah, I’m a girl just like you, Rinne-chan, just flat as a board~. Though Rinne-chan’s girly parts are really asserting themselves… A Real Module, huh? Amazing…”
Oh, I want to die… Just because she’s a woman doesn’t mean it’s okay to stare…
“Kuh~ If only there was a touch function…! I’m flat so I’m jealo—Byaheyaaaaaa!?”
“Staring at Rinne-san upon first meeting is rude, even for another woman! I wouldn’t mind making you love eternal sleep, you know!?”
Thank goodness, Peru-chan spoke up for me with full force. I don’t think she would have actually hit her, but her first impression is someone with extreme communication skills who I might want to keep a little distance from…
“S-Sorry, sorry. I’m really sorry, Rinne-chan. That was inconsiderate of me.”
“I… It’s… o… kay…”
“Huh? Hey, is she perhaps the complete opposite type of Perseus-chan?”
“Do not worry! She is the same battle-loving type as me!! She logged in a little over two hours ago and is already such a hot-blooded girl that she has killed over 10 players!!”
“Sounds like her Karma is in the negatives.”
“Negative of negatives; she is at the level where she is banned from entering the Church!”
“Oh my—”
“Oh my—indeed! Ah, I cannot enter either. Since I committed an act of betrayal against the Church.”
“Oh my God—??!!”
I don’t think Nap Lover-san is a bad person… Her appearance gives off the vibe of a languid older sister. She has large gauntlets equipped on both hands, and her avatar wears a mature leather jacket and hot pants, striking an exquisite balance between sexy and cute. Her hair is short and brown, and her eyes are gold. Wow, she has a Real Module avatar just like me! I feel a little bit of affinity with her now.
“Is it okay that you can’t enter the Church?”
“There are no problems so far. More importantly, now that introductions are done, I would like to bring Rinne-san into the guild!”
“Mm, sure thing~. Just in case, here are our rules—”
Ah, right. One of my goals was to join the guild Peru-chan belongs to. It seems to be referral-based, a guild where only people Nap Lover-san approves can join. I won’t know if it’s comfortable until I try it, but I think it’s definitely better than joining any other random one, so I agreed to give it a shot. There seem to be some guild rules though…
- Be greedy about growth.
- If you find a dungeon, share the info within the guild if possible.
- Basically, you’re free to take things from the guild storage, but please have some morals.
- PK is basically free. But intentional newbie hunting is prohibited! Don’t do malicious, obsessive PK either.
- Since this is a guild that gets targeted by weirdos and gets PKed easily, don’t complain if you get PKed a lot.
- If there’s a beginner in trouble, help them if you have the spare capacity. Half-hearted help is actually a nuisance, so not recommended. If you’re going to help, see it through to the end.
- Abusive language, excessive sexual harassment, soliciting relationships/hooking up, prying into stats, and prying into real-life details are prohibited.
- Sorry, actually, allow just a little bit of sexual harassment.
Since it’s a famous guild, the PK stuff might be unavoidable. In fact, since I probably already have grudges held against me by several people regarding PK, the benefit of joining a guild as a shield or shelter when push comes to shove is greater… Alright, let’s rely on them!
“That’s about it, I guess? Well, we get entangled with weirdos easily, so I can only say please be really careful about that.”
“U… Under… stood…”
[Invitation to join Guild {Kasho no Yume} received — Invitation accepted]
[Welcome to the Guild {Kasho no Yume}!]
“Okaaay, as you all heard~. This is Rinne-chan, who just joined. Be nice to her~.”
“I’m… Rinne… Nice… to… meet… you…”
“Nice to meet you, Rinne-san~!”
“Welcome, Rinne-sa~n!!”
“Woof woof~ (This person smells like food! Looks delicious!)”
“Nice to meet you, Rinne-san! Also, could you tell your huge doggo to stop licking me all over?”
“He said… you look… delicious…”
There was already someone captured by Donta. A macho man with a shaved head wearing an apron… Donta says he smells delicious… Don’t eat him, Donta. And for the record, I don’t think that person actually tastes good.
“D-Delicious…?”
“Baldie is a Chef by profession~. That big doggy is good at finding tasty-looking guys~.”
“Oi oi, don’t eat me, okay…?”
“By the way, what’s this kid’s name?”
“…It’s Donta.”
“”””Donta.””””
“Woof? (You called?)”
I guess the skinhead macho man’s name is Baldie-san… So there’s even a Chef profession. Truly, this game is free in so many ways…
“But why Donta~?”
“He lost… to me… He was a clumsy, fat Wolf, so…”
“Clumsy and fat, so Donta, huh…”
“It’s charming and cute!”
“Nah, this Wolf was definitely strong. Can’t believe you beat it… Wait, it’s a wolf? Not a dog!”
“His expressions are too rich for a wolf~. Donta-kuu~n, you’re so fluffy and cute~! Let me scratch under your chin—Owwwwww!? He bit me—!!”
“Ah… Maybe, he thought, he’d get food…”
“Woof? (Not food?)”
“Baldie got biiiit~.”
“Baldie, make something~.”
“Why am I being pitied while having cooking demanded of me in this flow?”
“But Baldie’s cooking gives long buffs, so it’s strong.”
“I used it all up on rations earlier.”
“I have plenty of ingredients in my storage!!”
“Baldie, we have them! Ingredients!!”
“As expected of Peru-sama! You speak my language!!”
“Oh, the meat of that Little Red Dragon we hunted a while back? Want me to give it a shot?”
“I’m glad you’re having fun~… Yaaawn… I’m sleepy…”
What a free-spirited guild… So Baldie-san’s cooking provides positive effects. I guess if it didn’t, there wouldn’t be much point in going out of your way to become a Chef, something anyone could technically do.
“Peru-chan. Aurelia is… waiting…”
“Oh my, that is true. However, it is absolutely better to receive this food buff before you go, you know?”
“Really…?”
“It has the effect of increasing Max HP by 500 for 2 hours!”
“I’ll eat.”
“Right? I apologize to Aurelia, but let’s have her wait just a little longer.”
“Mm…”
I wanted to get back quickly since I left Aurelia waiting outside the north gate of Loray, but they say I should eat the food first. I don’t feel hunger or anything, so I didn’t think I needed it, but hearing about the positive effects changed my mind. This is definitely the only choice; it’s a loss if I don’t eat!
“Sorry for the wait. The rookie comes first. Here. A simple Dragon Steak.”
“Th-Thank… you… very much.”
“If you want to thank me, do it after you eat. Those words are a bit early.”
Baldie-san looks scary, but… somehow, he’s easier to talk to than other people. There’s a mysterious sense of security… And maybe he has extraordinary pride in his cooking. He says he doesn’t need thanks before eating, but wants those words again if I think it’s delicious after eating. That implies he has confidence even in this single steak that looks simply grilled…
“Ah, um…”
“Forget manners, cut it how you like and eat it how you like. Eating delicious food without leaving any leftovers—I believe that is the greatest table manner.”
“O-Okay…!”
I’m not knowledgeable about table manners so I was wondering what to do, but Baldie-san threw me a lifeline. Thank you very much. Then, I’ll take you up on that…
“My, you say such cool things.”
“Right? Don’t you think I’m as cool as my head is shiny?”
“It certainly has a shine to it.”
“Mu, guh…!? Cough, cough!!“
Hey, don’t make me laugh when I’m eating!!
“Good, so that girl does laugh! Hahaha!!”
“Oh my, Rinne-san is cute at any time, but she is cutest when she smiles!”
“Peru-cha…!”
“Oh my, oh my, I am sorry Rinne-san! I did not think you would choke!”
“Ngh…! Ngh… Nn? Mm!!”
I was about to get mad about almost spitting it out, but wait—this Dragon Steak is incredibly delicious! It’s not like the salt and pepper are too strong and hide the meat’s taste; I can feel the natural umami of the meat bursting out, but I can also firmly feel the punch of the seasoning… And it’s so, so soft…!!
“Woof woof… (I want to eat too…)”
“I can’t grill yours yet, big guy, so wait a bit.”
“Donta, he said wait. He has a big one for you.”
“Awoooooooo—♡”
From the moment he heard he was getting some, Donta has been expressing his joy with his entire body. Calm down… But instead of running around or rampaging inside the Guild House, he’s lying on his back, exposing his belly to the ceiling, and twitching his paws like ‘gimme gimme’… It’s kind of cute. Ah, I have to say thank you! Because it was very delicious.
“It was, delicious. Thank you, very much…”
“Oh, is that so? Then tell me again when you get hungry.”
“O-Okay.”
“To think A-chan could talk this much with someone she met almost for the first time…!”
“D-Don’t make fun of me, I can do it, a little bit…!”
I feel like it’s been a long time since someone cooked for me and I thanked them. Could it be the first time…? When was the last time I said it…? From now on, when I eat something delicious, I’ll make sure to say thank you properly.
“Once Don-chan finishes eating, let us go pick her up. Until then, I shall borrow Aurelia’s evolution materials from the storage. There should be a mountain of them that we were struggling to consume.”
“Is, that so…? I have to pay you back later.”
“Let us use them gratefully. You do not strictly need to pay them back; only if you have the surplus to do so.”
“Mm, understood…”
Until just a moment ago, I was worried about what to do if I didn’t fit in or if it was uncomfortable, but here… it seems like it’ll be okay. I’ll do my best in this guild, in Kasho no Yume!
“Thank you for the meal.”
“Sure thing! Just finished it, here you go Don-chan! Eat this and work hard!”
“Woof—♡ (Meat—♡)”
“Amazing, looks like it’s being sucked in!”
“Don-chan likely does not have the concept of savoring food! He is quantity over quality!!”
“Quality, and quantity, I guess… Surprisingly, he can tell… the quality of meat…”
“Woof! (It’s gone!)”
“Well yeah, you ate it, so it’s gone…”
Donta’s appetite, making the massive Dragon Steak Baldie-san served disappear in an instant… How does his stomach work? Is it connected to another dimension or something?
“I have received several materials from the storage! Now then, we are off to level up!”
“Ouh! Be careful out there~.”
“Have a safe trip~!”
“Take care.”
“I wanted to pet the fluffy doggy~…”
“I’m, off.”
I thought we could leave a little more leisurely, but since Donta ate it in the blink of an eye… Ah, I left Aurelia waiting! That was dangerous, I almost forgot. I hope she becomes a helpful child once evolved~.
“It’s troublesome attracting attention, so shall we ride Donta?”
“That is easier and faster… sounds good!”
“Donta, can you give us a ride? I want to go outside, so speed up little by little, okay?”
“Woof! (Okay! Got it!)”
Donta is honest and plays a huge role both as combat power and transportation~. The North Gate is coming into view. Is Aurelia hiding properly? Is she safe?
“Donta, slowly. Run slowly at first.”
“Woof…”
“Right, you can speed up a little bit. Just a little!”
“Woof!”
Oh, if I ask carefully, he listens properly. He speeds up gradually just as requested and has stopped dashing off suddenly and causing trouble for others. Discipline really is important; barely any kid can do things well from the start~…
“Turn left right after leaving the gate.”
“Woof! (Where Aurelia is!)”
“Right, right, you remember well. Good boy~.”
“Don-chan is smart, isn’t he~.”
Is he smart…? It’s only my words, but since he can understand language, maybe he is smart… He instantly acts dumb when food is involved, but other than that, he might generally be on the smart side. Ah! Is that curled up shape in the shadow of the rocks Aurelia?
“Is that her?”
“Woof! (That’s her!)”
It is. Let’s go closer for now, and then I have to apologize for being late!
“—Aurelia~. Sorry~ for making you wait outside~.”
“(Shake shake shake shake)”
From a distance, her silhouette looks like a cute little witch~, but when you get close, she’s totally a skeleton. I really want to keep my servants in the cute category… I need to evolve her quickly and do something about her looks.
Now, for the evolution options~… First is the choice to defiantly give up on a physical body: Ghost Witch. Medium size, Spirit-type Undead. She becomes a ghost so she can apparently speak, but the downside of being neutralized in direct sunlight was way too severe, so that’s a no-go.
Next is continuing as a bone girl: Chaos Bone Witch. Also medium size, Immortal Attribute, Skeleton-type. Obviously, this one can’t speak, so rejected. I need Aurelia to talk quickly or the quest won’t progress, and frankly, she’s really useless right now.
The last one is Undead Witch. Medium size, Immortal Attribute, Humanoid-type! A Zombie Witch girl where she can finally obtain the physical body I’ve been wishing for! The only thing that really worries me is the ‘Zombie’ part. I wonder if it’s okay~? I’d hate it if she was smelly…
“Anyway, let’s have her evolve into an Undead Witch!!”
“She will finally be able to speak, won’t she~.”
“Let’s talk, Aurelia~! Here, Evolution~!!”
The evolution materials are [☆1 Magic Crystal x20], [Unstoppable Heart], [Attribute Gem], and [Over 30kg of Meat Items]. This time, we’re using the excess materials from the guild storage that Peru-chan selected. Repayment will be out of future earnings. For the two optional items, we’re using the Fire Attribute Gem {Ruby} and for the meat, {Small Dragon Meat – 30kg}. There, toss ’em in!
[Beginning Aurelia’s evolution…]
[Aurelia has evolved from {Skeleton Witch} to {Undead Witch}.]
[Due to the synergistic effect of the Fire Attribute Gem and Dragon Meat, Aurelia has learned the skill {Fire Breath}.]
[Due to Undead characteristics, Aurelia has acquired the weakness {Fire}.]
[Some stats have increased significantly.]
I have a really bad feeling about this, hey… Is it just my imagination? No, surely not. Surely she won’t burn her throat or inside her mouth with her own breath, right? It’s okay, right!?
“……A… A……! Cough Cough, Cough cough cough, Cough cough, Cough…”
“You’re kidding…”
“What is happening…?”
“Woof~……”
You’re kidding… Say it ain’t so, Aurelia……
[Continuous burn condition has occurred in Aurelia’s throat. She cannot produce a voice.]
Aaaaaah, you gotta be kiddiiiiiing~~!!!! And her face is rotting like a zombie so she’s not cute at all~~!!!!
“A, A……”
“The gem and meat I brought were Fire Attribute, so she gained Fire Breath, and self-destructed…”
“You are joking, right!? Eh…!? Will it not heal!?”
[Perseus used {Panacea} on Aurelia. Burn condition recovered. Burn condition reoccurred.]
“Aaaaa…”
Even if we heal the burn, the moment she tries to speak, she instantly gets burned again and can’t talk… Ah, this is painful… I’m taking a lot of mental damage right now. Let’s do a mental reset…
“Peru-chaaaaaaan~~!!”
“Hyaah!? You are hugging me so suddenly!?”
“Nnngh……!!”
This is a secret technique to recover mental damage by hugging Peru-chan. Usually, when I do this in real life, nothing gets in the way so the hugging comfort is great, but in Meltis Online, the armor is in the way so it feels bad… But let’s count it as a win since I broke the worst-case chain of despair completely wiping out my motivation.
“Thanks.”
“Oh my, are you okay now?”
“Yeah… Since it’s come to this, I’m going to make Aurelia speak no matter what. If it takes this much effort, it means Aurelia is worth it. Otherwise, this wouldn’t be allowed. This time, I will absolutely evolve Aurelia into something that can speak.”
“That is good enthusiasm! Then… it is Stone Armor Slime hunting time, is it not!?”
“Exactly! Hunt, simply hunt, hunt, and hunt some more! I’ll make her evolve this time for sure!”
From now on, I need to be careful not to choose materials that seem incompatible or options that look like traps when evolving. Taking this as a lesson for the future, I just need to raise the remaining 14 levels to reach Aurelia’s next evolution at Level 15. Now that I’ve decided, it’s time to act. I’ll max out her level today no matter what!
“Pierce, Curse Spear!”
[Activated {Curse Spear}, dealt 1 damage to the Stone Armor Slime. Inflicted {Cursed} status.]
[Defeated Stone Armor Slime via curse slip damage. Gained 3900 EXP.]
“There is one over there!”
“Donta, forward and to the right.”
“Woof! (Leave it to me!)”
I have Peru-chan and Donta search for Stone Armor Slimes while I single-mindedly keep firing Curse Spears—hunting, hunting, and hunting. Annihilation. Just annihilation, no questions asked. I’ll keep hunting until there are no Stone Armor Slimes left near Loray. In reality, they respawn somewhere else after being defeated, so they won’t actually disappear, but I’m hunting with that intention.
“We don’t need to confirm the kills anymore, right? Let’s hunt the next one!”
“We are definitely securing kills, so that is true! Let us go to the next one!”
For a while, I don’t need the battle logs displayed for trash mobs. From here on, I’m concentrating solely on hunting Stone Armor Slimes. Aurelia’s next evolution is at Level 15. The first level up took 5 kills, the next 10, then 15—the required number is gradually increasing, so I have to hunt silently and efficiently. Ideally, at a pace where I defeat one every time Curse Spear’s cooldown refreshes. Of course, considering travel time and range, that’s just an ideal.
“Ahahaha!! EXP! Lots of EXPPPP!”
“Woof! (Something different is here!)”
“Woah! What is that? Something is looking this way from the shadow of the rocks!”
“The best way to deal with suspicious things is to cut them down! Don-chan, bring us closer!”
“Donta, full speed approach!”
“Woof woof!! (We’re taking it down!!)”
I wouldn’t have noticed if Donta hadn’t said anything. There really is something that looks like a small animal in the shadow of the rocks, and I feel like something resembling red eyes is facing us. Just like Peru-chan said, the best thing to do with suspicious things is to kill them!
“!!”
“It is too late to try running away now—!!”
[Perseus activated {Hyper Slash}, Critical! Dealt 3460 damage to the Eye of Darkness (Lv. 60) and defeated it. Gained 80,000 EXP.]
[Omitting some level-up messages.]
[Aurelia has reached Level 11.]
Ooh!? That’s a huge EXP! Is this a hidden monster or something? Maybe it’s a bonus monster meant to make people happy if they notice and defeat it! Are there any others? I want to hunt a lot of these!
“That was a somewhat eerie monster, like a fog with no fixed shape…”
“But the EXP was amazing. I wonder if there are more!”
“Woof~… (I don’t see any others.)”
“Tch…”
“If there were a massive amount of those eerie monsters, they would appear in my dreams!”
“You could defeat them in your dreams and level up all you want.”
“A massive number of mysterious red eyes staring from the gaps in furniture… That is disgusting! Absolutely not!!”
“True, when you put it that way, I might hate it.”
Imagining it made me feel a little sick. Yeah, if there were a ton of those in real life, I’d hate it. Finding and exterminating one right before bed, then getting under the covers thinking, ‘Are there still more…?’—I wouldn’t be able to sleep.
“I’m glad there was only one.”
“I imagined them being real, so I feel like I will be wary of shadows for a while…”
“Woof!?”
“What? Donta, are there still more after all?”
“There were still more!? No, that is…! That is the Stone Armor King Slime! It is the Area Boss of the rocky area north of Loray!”
Just when I thought Donta had found another one of those things, there was one more than ten times bigger than a Stone Armor Slime. It’s as big as the giant balls used in rolling competitions at elementary school sports days… Standing silently, it just looks like a big rock. But even if it’s an Area Boss, all it can do is a rolling charge relying on its mass, right? It’s basically just bigger, so if I curse it to death, it’s an easy win!
“Ah, this is your first Area Boss, isn’t it? Area Bosses are—”
I thought I should ask about Area Bosses just in case, but Peru-chan started explaining before I could. Having information gives a better sense of security than going in completely blind.
- Basically, they only exist in Channel 1.
- Once defeated, they don’t respawn for a certain period. Apparently, some bosses haven’t respawned for up to a week.
- As the name implies, they inhabit areas as strengthened versions of the monsters in each city’s zones.
- When defeated, they drop a Boss Reward Treasure Chest. Some players scour for Area Bosses just for the chests, so competition for subjugation is high.
“Heeh~. So if it gets hunted, we might not see it for a while.”
“Quite so. By the way, this Area Boss is left alone because there is no method to hunt it…”
“I see. In other words, there’s no info? Pierce, Curse Spear!!”
[Activated {Curse Spear}, dealt 1 damage to the Stone Armor King Slime (Lv. ????). Inflicted {Cursed} status.]
I’ll just punch it once for now. Ah, crap, the level is unknown… And despite being huge, it moves pretty fast. Ah, it’s rolling this way!! This thing is fast!!
“D-Donta! Run around so it doesn’t catch us!”
“You have got to be kidding!? You punched it once without question!? We do not even know if we can defeat it~!!”
“Woof woof~~!? (If you’re starting, say you’re starting~!? It’s absolutely gonna hurt if that hits~~!!)”
“A…!?”
[Stone Armor King Slime (Lv. ????)’s Cursed status has been removed.]
“You’re kidding… The curse duration didn’t last at all! Pierce, Curse Spear!!”
[Activated {Curse Spear}, dealt 1 damage to the Stone Armor King Slime. Inflicted {Cursed} status.]
We have no choice but to ride Donta and fire Curse Spears periodically while running away. As long as we keep running like this, we should be okay…
[Stone Armor King Slime activated {Stone Shot}.]
“—Aah!? Aegis!!”
[Perseus activated {Magic Shield Aegis}. Donta entered {Penetrate 1} state. Donta nullified the attack.]
“F-Fuwah~… That was dangerous…”
“Donta, try to get hit by the flying stones to block them! You have a barrier!”
“Woof—!?”
It is not okay at all. If the ranged attack hits Donta, we can block it, but if it hits me, Aurelia, or Peru-chan, it’s over. Hey Aurelia, can’t you do something? Yeah, you can’t, right— If you could, you’d already be doing it.
“Pierce, Curse Spear!!”
[Activated {Curse Spear}, dealt 1 damage to the Stone Armor King Slime. Refreshed {Cursed} status.]
“Don-chan, right!!”
“Donta, you’ll run out of space that way! Go right!”
“Woof—!”
Being chased by a rock as big as a giant rolling ball is something you can absolutely never experience in real life. We’re in a ridiculously perilous situation, but it is helplessly fun. This heart-pounding sensation of kill or be killed is irresistible…!
“Don-chan, left!”
“W-Woof!?”
“Donta, opposite direction!!”
“The hand you hold your rice bowl with, Don-chan!”
“Donta doesn’t hold a rice bowl!! Pierce, Curse Spear!!”
“The hand you ask for seconds with, Don-chan!!”
“Donta can only do ‘Shake’!!”
“Aaahh, useless doggo—!!”
“Donta is a Wolf!!”
“Aaaaaah!! Front!! We are going to craaaash!!”
“Ahahahaha!! Donta—!! Do something—!!”
—Ah, this is so fun… This game is the best…!!
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