ALL NOVEL The Strongest Solo Gamer with Terrible Social Skills Reincarnates as a Hated NPC in a VRMMO Chapter 29
29: How to Make a Viral Video
――SIDE: Hayashi Katsu――
Damn it, damn it…!
Why did this happen?!
We were in the 2nd floor of ABYSS. The PT we formed as part of our lesson was full of weaklings. Our class’s leftovers formed a PT that looked unreliable.
The leader was Matsumatsu, who had the highest overall power among us. She herself said that she wasn’t suitable to be a leader, and she was worried about this exploration…
Exploring ABYSS… It’s not something to be taken lightly. This is a matter of life and death! I wanted to form a party with more reliable students. The top students didn’t care about us and quickly formed their own parties, but I think I should have considered the whole class. Otherwise, it would have been decided by lottery. I think it’s unfair to divide the students without considering their will.
Everyone has their own dissatisfaction. But what about this case? I think I’m the victim, being divided by overall power and forced to form a party with weaklings.
Isn’t it ridiculous to discriminate based on initial ability values before the exploration even starts? I can’t accept it.
……Was it Ishizuru Shouma?
I don’t care about him, but I agree with his idea that “the current trend of prioritizing overall power is ridiculous.”
My dissatisfaction is directed at the school’s system.
That’s why I wasn’t enthusiastic about this ABYSS exploration. Everyone else was excited, but… I think that’s because they had formed good parties. I’m different. When I saw Matsumatsu as the leader, I felt uneasy, and even if we succeeded, it would be Matsumatsu’s achievement. I didn’t want to cooperate.
I thought that if we failed, I would blame the leader and take their position. That’s what I was thinking.
But why…?!
“Hey, you’re slow! Hurry up, Moyashi!!”
“H-hai…”
“Hahahahaha! You’re getting kicked around, and it’s hilarious!!”
“You’re one too, you pig! You’ve been holding us back, so hurry up and walk, damn it!”
“Bu, buhii!? “
The one walking beside me is Debun Sugiyama. The one kicking me from behind and laughing is Isozaki Hiroshi and his PT… What’s with me getting involved with this delinquent group?!
Ahh…!
My stomach hurts like crazy…!!
When I transferred to the 2nd floor, I couldn’t find any of the Sanpomatsu group around me! I was the only one left behind…! Maybe I was the only one who delayed the transfer?
That’s why I hated it…!
There’s a problem with Mr. Kageyama, who forced us to transfer, too!
To make matters worse, I got caught by the “Isozaki PT” while wandering around alone, and they took away my magic crystal terminal (portal) and transferred all my mileage to this new girl, Shibata Airi! They took away all my assets!
And it doesn’t end there! They still won’t return my terminal, and I can’t use the emergency escape function, so I’m stuck with Debun Sugiyama, treated like a scapegoat to avoid monsters.
Do they think I’m some kind of shield to protect them from surprise attacks or something?!
If I had to choose, I’d rather be with Sugiyama alone!
I’m not involved in this, am I?!
I turn around, my heart racing.
“What’s going on?!”
“…I, I, it’s nothing…”
Oh, it’s terrifying…! Too terrifying!!
The three white-eyed gaze, a gaze that has definitely taken a life before…!!
Someone like me, a gentle adult, shouldn’t be involved with these people. I should stop resisting, yeah… that’s what I’ll do…
“Hey, how long are we going to search for? The time Mr. Kageyama said has already passed, right?”
The bright, tea-haired gal, Shibata Airi, asks the leader, Isozaki.
Thank goodness…!
Someone finally said it…!
Isozaki’s group has clearly exceeded the search time. And yet, I can’t ask them, “Aren’t you going back yet?” like I’m risking my life. I want to cut the search short as soon as possible, and Shibata’s question is like a blessing from heaven.
“Indeed, we’ve already exceeded the time by an hour, haven’t we?”
Did they just realize it?! What an idiot, Katsumi Kasai!?! With that bald head and stupid expression, we’ll never understand each other in this lifetime.
“What should we do, Isozaki-kun?”
“Huh? What’s that?”
“No, I mean the search—”
“Kasai! You’re really stupid, aren’t you?!”
“Eh, yeah…!?”
What’s going on…?
Are they having a falling out? Suddenly, Isozaki starts belittling Kasai. As for me, as long as the focus isn’t on me, I don’t care. Let them fight it out.
“We can take the lead if we search longer than the others! We don’t need to listen to the teacher’s instructions! This is a game of winners, and we’re going to win it!!”
“Th, that’s…!!”
What’s with that “that’s”?!
In the end, it’s just a rule violation, isn’t it? I’ll just go along with it, this low-intelligence guy…!!
“I get it, but can we take a break? I’m tired from walking, and I want to go back and take a shower…”
“A break… Ugh, fine!”
“Then, let’s take a short break in this small room. If you could bring some Yan, that would be amazing, though.”
“How about setting fire to that grass over there and taking a puff?”
“Hahaha, wanna give it a try? Oh, pig, I’ll let you try my special ‘weed blend’! You’ll be impressed and burst into tears!!”
“H-h-h, thank you so much!!”
Sugiyama bowed his head, expressing gratitude. But I knew that this attitude was forced upon him by the Isozaki gang. If someone said something, he had to respond politely and bow. It was annoying to see those rude people acting like they were superior.
“Hahahahaha! You’re so stupid! Are you saying thank you? If you’re grateful, you should do it like this!!”
“Bweh!?”
“Gyahahahahahaha!!”
Shinhata trampled on Sugiyama’s head, and through the gap in her miniskirt, her well-proportioned, sun-tanned thighs were visible.
I couldn’t help but stare.
“W-what are you looking at, you pervert?”
“Ahh!?”
I got caught staring…
Damn, I let my guard down…
“N-no, I wasn’t looking at anything!!”
“Come here.”
“Uhi!? H-h-hahahah!!”
Isozaki grabbed my neck and moved me like a cat, seating me next to Sugiyama.
“Sit up straight!”
“Hah, hahahah!!”
Isozaki ordered me to sit up straight, and I did so. The second floor’s ground was hard and hurt. But they didn’t care about my feelings, and Kasai and Shinhata were watching the scene with interest.
“What’s going on? What happened?”
“This pervert was peeking under Shinhata’s skirt!!”
“What?! Seriously?! That’s the worst!!”
“I can’t forgive a pervert like that…”
“S-s-s-s… I’m sorry!!”
In reality, I just took a glance, but Isozaki was too scary, and I couldn’t say anything…
“You, peeking under a classmate’s skirt is bad, isn’t it?”
“Y-yes… it’s bad…”
“Then apologize.”
“…”
“Ahh. Apologize to Shinhata. Show your sincerity and do it properly.”
—In this case, apologizing meant doing a dogeza (a traditional Japanese apology), right? As a classmate, and one who was clearly looking down on me, I couldn’t bring myself to do a dogeza with the pervert label stuck on me.
—But, I couldn’t change the situation…
If I refused, I didn’t know what would happen. Here, the teachers’ eyes couldn’t reach. As an explorer, it was natural to face danger. Even if the people in front of me made a mistake, there was no law to punish them. I had to swallow my pride and apologize…
“I-I’m deeply sorry…”
While trembling with extreme stress, I did a dogeza, looking down at Shinhata.
The response I got was nothing.
“Hm? What’s wrong, Airi?”
“…N-no, it’s just not funny, I guess…”
“Huh?”
“What’s not interesting? What’s she saying? What’s she planning to do to me next?”
“Hey, do you remember? The video of Ishiru. The first one that went viral, right? I want to make something like that, something interesting.”
“Are you going to make me take off my pants too?”
“!”
I was taken aback by Nishino’s words.
I thought they wouldn’t go that far, but these people in front of me didn’t have an ounce of mercy. They were trash who would do anything for fun, even strip me of my pants.
If they made a video like that, my academy life would be… over!
“Hahaha! Full-Chun 2! It sounds interesting, let’s do it, Shinohata!”
“W-wait!! That’s…!”
“Shut up, Moyashi!!”
“Ah!!”
I was kicked in the face by Katsuragi’s trash. I was terrified, my nose bleeding from the shock. If this continued, I would really be stripped of my pants. While I was panicking, Shinohata, who seemed to hold the power, had a thoughtful expression.
“That’s not bad, but it’s a bit… unoriginal. I want to do something more interesting…”
And then, it happened.
Shinohata looked at me and Sugiyama alternately, and then smiled, as if she had thought of something interesting.