[Rafania Grassfield]

I feel like I’m two weeks late, but anyway, I passed through the gates of the first town, Lurolona.

There are long roads spread out like snakes and a wide grass field.

It’s probably too late to start raising my level. No one is in sight. Anyway, I carry the Brave Fish Tachi, a weapon I have with the highest attack power, on my back and start walking.

After walking for a while, I found a dog-type monster called the Common Wolf in front of me.

I grip the hilt of the tachi I carry on my back with all my might and make a jump slash towards the monster.

SLASH! With an exhilarating sound, the common wolf split in two and disappeared.

“Huh?”

How powerful is this weapon to kill it in one hit?

Well, it’s a waste of time thinking over it, so I put away the tachi and take out the Iron Butcher Knife. The Iron Butcher Knife is designed like a kitchen knife with a long blade and seems to be very powerful.

It’s a kitchen knife that’s also categorized as a dismantling weapon, so it can be used as a substitute for cooking. It’s also lighter than the Tachi, making it easier for me to walk around and search for enemies.

“Oh, there’s another one over there.”

Since this is the first field, the monsters do not initiate the first attack on the players. They’re so-called practice monsters.

“Hmm!”

I wield the Butcher Knife and attack the Common Wolf. This time it wasn’t a single blow, and the Common Wolf’s HP bar was reduced by three-fourths.

However, my joy ended quickly as the Common Wolves jumped at me with a belligerent growl.

“Wah!?”

Partly because I’m not used to fighting yet, but also because I’ve never played a VR game properly until now. It’s almost the same size as a puppy, but I was a little nervous when it jumped on me.

“Ugh!”

It inflicts 5 damage and reduces my energy by 5. Certainly, this is hard work to earn energy. It makes sense for people to say that Spirits are a weak race, but I have no intention of losing energy further!

Once more, this time I rushed at the common wolf as if stabbing it. Then it hit, and the Common Wolf fell to the ground.

“Phew… Thank goodness my weapons are excellent.”

Beginner weapons won’t make it this easy. Also, I have a lot of energy. Considering that too, that must’ve been the reason why I could defeat that monster easily.

“Well… let’s try this.”

Unlike the common wolf that was cut in half earlier, this one still has a corpse.

I point the Butcher Knife at the Common Wolf.

Unlike fish, I felt uncomfortable cutting dogs, but thank goodness this game is made for all ages. No graphic representation occurred, and the results of dismantling the wolf are: rough fur, beast bones, and common wolf meat.

As expected. If I dismantle it properly, I can get the items. Perhaps this is a dismantling weapon-only effect, but how come no one notices?

I don’t think it’s strange for someone to notice this, but… maybe they haven’t come up with the idea of cooking or dismantling a wolf.

It’s a game that costs a lot to play, after all. Even though there are many participants, it’s not an always-on online game…

Well, whatever. For a while, let’s hunt monsters while raising the dismantling skill.

†

The performance of my weapon is good, but as I was moving through the field, trying to find where my suitable hunting ground was, I saw a girl fighting a green dwarf wielding a spear… a Goblin Assault.

She’s pretty far away from me, but she’s taller than me.

Well, I’m going with a loli character because of someone else’s fault. There are probably only a few who are shorter than me.

She looks younger than my big sister but more mature than Tsumugi. Is she in high school? My female classmate is about her height, so it’s probably right. Well, I don’t know what kind of person she is in real life, though.

She is dressed in an indigo kimono. It has a gold pattern and a tasteful appearance.

Her weapon is a fan.

According to Kanade-nee-san, who says she’s tried all the weapons, it’s an all-in-one offensive and defensive weapon that combines thrusts and strikes. However, she doesn’t even attack, and she looks impatient while making distance with the Goblin Assault. The fan emits a white light, so I know that the skill is activated, but it doesn’t look like it’s willing to attack.

“Why don’t you attack?”

The girl notices me, and because I carelessly called out to her, the Goblin Assault attacks the girl with its spear.

The girl puts the thrust between the folding fans and blocks it brilliantly.

Wow, she’s pretty strong! At the very least, it would be difficult for me to take that thrust.

“Wild Dance First Stance, Rapid Strike…” When the girl whispered the name of the skill, the glowing fan continued to hit the Goblin Assault’s forehead. The Goblin Assault eventually loses its strength and falls to the ground.

“Phew…” The woman let out a light sigh. “You! What would you do if I was attacked!?”

“I’m sorry. Did I do something wrong?”

“There is no problem if I’m a normal race, but I’m… Huh?”

“What?”

“Are you a Spirit too? Excuse me then.”

“Okay…”

The girl suddenly softened her tone and spoke in a friendly voice. “I think you can understand, but if a Spirit is attacked, it is directly linked to the efficiency of experience points. That’s why I fought to avoid being attacked as much as possible.”

“Ah, so that’s why.”

That explains why. The Killer Wing I fought before should have given me 300 energy, but it dealt 550 damage, so it’s a total of 250 losses for me. There is such an inconvenience when all the status becomes energy.

Even so, why is she fighting in a place like this when her equipment looks good?

“Are you curious why I am here? It’s because I was running out of energy the other day,” she answered before I even asked. Maybe it was because I was staring at her so intently that she found out what I was thinking.

“Is it really fine for you to tell me that?”

“It doesn’t change even if you talk to someone about it.”

It seems that the girl was fighting at a party that hit it off from the first day and was in the frontline group, but she became a shield in the battle with the boss the other day.

Spirits have an overwhelming amount of HP compared to other races, as energy indicates the role of HP. That’s why she’s using a folding fan as her weapon for offense and defense, but it seems that her energy was considerably reduced due to fighting in the front line.

And when her party sees that her abilities have weakened, like turning their palms, the members demand that she leave the party. She gets fed up with them and decides to leave. Right now, she’s playing solo here to get stronger.

“I’m sorry for complaining to a stranger of the same race. I was really upset.”

When the story ended, the girl apologized. She must be really annoyed with those who were in her party.

“No problem. I thought it was possible, but never did I think that kind of thing really happens.”

“They’re heretics. I’m ashamed of myself for having shared the same path once with them.”

“Your manner of speech… Are you role-playing?”

“Role play?”

“Don’t you know? It means acting as a character.”

“No, I usually behave like this. Is there a problem?”

“Not really. That won’t be a problem.”

I think she’s a rare type of person in online games. Of course, the most plausible line is that even that is an act.

“In that case, why don’t we form a party? We should be able to understand each other since we’re both Spirits.”

“Are you sure? I have only 20,000 energy.”

“I am about the same. This may be perfect timing. You know an efficient hunting ground, right?”

“Yes, as long as it’s around the second town.”

“Then, if you don’t mind, why don’t we work together?”

The girl put her left hand to her mouth and made a thoughtful gesture, then smiled softly. “Understood. Let’s go together.”

“I’m Kizuna. Nice to meet you.”

“My name is Hakoniwa Shouko. Please treat me well from now on.”
#Note: Player Name in online games don’t have space, and full names in kanji can be written without space too.
#Funfact: 「硝子」can also be read as「ガラス Garasu」, a way to spell Glass in Japanese. Shield Hero’s used 「グラス Gurasu」

Since she bowed so beautifully, I ended up bowing back and saying “Me too.”

By the way, “Please treat me well from now on” sounds like what you say in an arranged marriage meeting.
#Note: これからよろしくおねがいします Korekara yoroshiku onegaishimasu. This is a phrase that’s challenging to translate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wkA7OCbHd0

†

“It seems to be true that you were in the frontline group,” I whispered quietly.

When it comes to battle, completely different from before, Shouko has an aura like a demon. She said that it also came from the safety because we formed a pair. Above all, it’s easy to charge in with my Iron Garasuki between her fan’s offense-defense combined single attacks.

“Did you doubt me?”

“I half doubted you, yes.”

“What a terrible person you are.”

“Well, it’s just the testimony of the person herself before. It’s not like I’ve actually seen you in action before.”

“Then, can you believe in me now?”

I nodded honestly.

The folding fan sandwiches the enemy’s weapon, and if the weapon has low durability, it can be snapped by applying force to the side. Seeing that the probability increases with swords, it may be an anti-weapon against swords.

However, to achieve this, it is necessary to catch the opponent’s weapon. Shouko’s movement was so sophisticated that it looked as if she were dancing. From defending to destroying the opponent’s weapon, she used such a divine technique without hesitation. It’s hard to believe she was new to the game just two weeks ago.

“Kizuna-san, what have you done so far?”

“I was fishing all the time in the first town.”

“Fishing? I’ve had sardines, and they were delicious.” She closes her eyes and puts her hands together in gratitude.

“Even if you put your hands together in front of me like that…”

Forming a party with Shouko stabilized the battle.

Since both of us are Spirits, we naturally fight so as not to receive attacks.

“Speaking of which, do you know anything about dismantling weapons?”

“I heard that there are bonuses to the items that monsters drop.”

“Oh.”

Well, what should we do? The corpses of Flame Condors are lying around me.

If I dismantle them, I can get something that seems moderately good.

Above all, even if monsters come during dismantling, Shouko can defeat them. If it’s just player skill, Shouko is definitely better. I can leave the escort to her with peace of mind.

…Sooner or later, someone will notice. I guess it won’t be a problem even if she tells others.

“I want you to keep this a secret, but dismantling weapons have a hidden effect that is not widely known.”

“Something like that existed…? What kind of thing is it?”

“Just look at this.” I cut off the Flame Condor’s right wing with the Iron Garasuki.

Then, Shouko commented. “Kizuna-san. Even if it’s a monster, I’m not impressed with the act of desecrating the dead.”

“No, please look more carefully.”

I dismantled it easily. Then, it changed into four types of items: flame feathers, burning feathers, bird bones, and condor meat.

“My! Kizuna-san is someone who values life! Hakoniwa Shouko is impressed!”

“…?”

Is it me, or did Shouko just contradict herself?

“Taking a life is… yes. It’s something that can’t be helped because we’re alive, but it’s a wonderful thing to treat that life we take to the end without wasting it.”

“Oh, that’s what you meant?”

Shouko can indeed say something like a priest. She’s strangely dignified, and I was convinced. It may be rude, but I thought that she would say something like, “Farmers put their hearts into every grain of rice.”

I casually half nodded as if it were only natural. Still, I don’t think she’s the type of person to play games. She’s likely to live elegantly at a rich girls’ school or something like that.

Well, everyone has different hobbies, so I won’t complain.

“This is why people didn’t recognize the original usage of dismantling weapons.”

“I see. This is a prediction, but isn’t there a problem with the explanation?”

“What do you mean?”

“Yes. The explanation for the dismantling weapon was ‘Weapon description: A group of weapons created to dismantle living beings and plants. Will drop items after defeating monsters.’ The explanation was insufficient, wasn’t it?”

Certainly, just as Shouko said, that description was a little lacking in explanation.

In that explanation, people might think, “The defeated monster will drop items.”

Probably, there is a judgment system from the attack point. For example, if it’s a Flame Condor that I defeat this time, I’ll have to cut off the wings from the base. It’s much more difficult than you might think to practice it in combat, since that bird is flapping its wings pretty fast.

“I have roughly grasped the situation, but why is it a secret?”

“Of course, it’s profitable if no one knows about it. In fact, if you sell this item now, it should sell at a high price, right?”

“But wouldn’t it be useful to people if we announced this fact to the world?”

“… Shouko, are you going to politely teach those who used and disposed of you?”

“… I see, I don’t want to tell them.”

“You’re very quick to be convinced, huh.”

“I’m not a saint. I have some people I like and some people I don’t.”

It was a little surprising. Well, I don’t think I’d be willing to be kind to someone I don’t like either. Rather, even if I don’t go so far as to harass them, I try to avoid meeting them as much as possible. In other words, that kind of psychology works for Shouko as well.

“Okay. Let’s keep it a secret between the two of us,” she said.

“It would help if you did.”

I’m glad she’s faster to understand than I expected. Shouko is far more intelligent than I imagined. She may be a smart girl.

Come to think of it, there was another reason that made me think of her as smart.

“By the way, do you remember all the weapon descriptions?”

“Yes. I’m the kind of person who carefully reads manuals and such.”

We’ve only been together for a short while, but I can see that somehow.

It’s difficult to explain, but unlike her appearance, I get the impression that she seems to know things she doesn’t normally use, such as mobile phones and computers, and that she’s very good at using them.

“Then, wouldn’t it be better to reduce the number when selling and keep some?” she suggested.

“Right. If the distribution volume suddenly increases, there will be people who realize it.”

“But I may be lucky.”

“Really?”

Rather, I think it’s unfortunate that she used up two weeks’ worth of effort in the boss battle and lost all her comrades…

If it were me, I’d be staying in bed out of spite at least once.

“Because I was able to meet one of the few people from the same race, moreover, someone like Kizuna-san. I have to thank those who demanded that I leave… Actually, I won’t do it though,” Shouko adds, letting out a soft smile.

For some reason, this girl smells like a natural charmer. My heart skipped a beat there.

“But Kizuna-san. Since you’re a girl, I think you should choose your words a little more carefully.”

“… Hah… I have to explain from there, huh.”

I explained that for some reason I looked like a girl, but inside I was a man, and if possible, I wanted to be treated as a man.

In the end, the sun had already set and had turned the area crimson by the time we had finished talking.

As a side note, there is also the fact that the two of us hunted together, but my energy efficiency has risen to an incomparable level, so I’ll say it’s all thanks to Shouko.