ALL NOVEL The Strongest Solo Gamer with Terrible Social Skills Reincarnates as a Hated NPC in a VRMMO Chapter 62
62 Free Exploration, Day 1 End
“――Shouma! And Mushakouji too!!”
“I’m so glad…Mushakouji-san…”
“Both of you, welcome back!!”
After retrieving Mushakouji’s portal device, we returned to the transfer zone, where the 1-D students welcomed us warmly. The time was 11 pm. Despite being tired from the day’s exploration, they were waiting for us with serious faces.
By the way, Mushakouji had changed into her school-designated jersey. She couldn’t expose her huge breasts to everyone, after all…
“Everyone…”
Before Mushakouji could say anything, Suzuki slid in and did a dogeza to her.
“I’m sorry, Ojou!! I was about to take a break, but I ended up putting you in danger! Please punish me until I’m satisfied!!”
“Suzuki――”
It’s not Suzuki’s fault alone! I’m also to blame!
“Um, this is a failure on all our parts. Mushakoji, as the leader, I apologize for not respecting your opinion. I was wrong.”
Suzuki, Utsusemi, and Banma bowed their heads to Mushakoji once again.
“Everyone…”
Mushakoji, seeing this scene, seemed to be thinking something. With a determined look on her face, she spoke up.
“――Oh ho ho! What’s with the long faces, everyone!? Failure can happen to anyone! This time, I was also too stubborn! If we were exploring ABYSS, this kind of thing would happen, don’t you think, Ishizuru Shinma?”
Why is she suddenly asking me…
Well, it’s fine.
“Yeah, that’s right.”
I gave a casual response, similar to a TV show’s audience participation. However, Mushakoji immediately retorted, “You lack fighting spirit!” and patted me on the back, which I couldn’t understand at all.
“Ah, that… Ishizuru, are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you? It seemed like a tough battle…”
“Yeah.”
Suzuki was examining my battered body. Most of the injuries were caused by Mushakoji, but if I said that, she would get angry again, so I remained silent.
“We encountered a Werewolf. If Shinma wasn’t there, who knows what would have happened…”
Did she just casually mention that? People with good communication skills can create distance like that…
“Was the Werewolf we encountered the same one as yours? Mushakoji, where on the map did you encounter the Werewolf?”
Ubu asked Mushakoji.
By the way, didn’t the Fukuyama PT encounter a Werewolf too? I learned about it through an email from Ubu.
“…I don’t remember well. Besides, it’s not important anymore…”
“What?”
“If it’s a Werewolf, Shinma can just defeat it. The same one won’t appear again… We don’t need to know its location!”
The members of the Fukuyama PT, led by Ubu, were shocked by Mushakoji’s words. Those who hadn’t encountered a Werewolf showed a lukewarm reaction.
“What method did you use…?”
“Huh?”
Takao approached me with a blank expression and asked.
――Wait, she’s really close!
I didn’t think much of it, but Takao is really tall! No wonder she’s good at volleyball. My back is… completely defeated.
“What method did you use…? I just defeated it with a normal attack…”
“You and Seiei couldn’t defeat the opponent, but you did? That’s impossible.”
It’s impossible, but isn’t it impossible for me too?
Besides, how did the four of us (in a formation) let the Werewolf escape? I think that’s even more unbelievable.
“…Hey, you didn’t just randomly attack the monster without thinking, did you? You were watching its movements, right?”
“Don’t make fun of me. I did it properly.”
“Then, how about the damage calculation?”
“Damage… what?”
“Damage calculation, of course! If you reduce a monster’s HP below a certain level, it will take special actions. For a Werewolf, it enters a enraged state at 60% HP, increasing its attack power and movement speed. And if it’s below 40%, it will enter escape mode, so you need to defeat it before that or it will escape!”
“…”
“You didn’t think about that at all, did you…?”
“…Ishizuru, are you a monster expert…?”
“Chaū wa”
This is the foundation of foundations.
There’s nothing to be proud of.
“Even with Stone Lu’s arm strength, which is the lowest overall, we can’t land an effective hit on the Werewolf…”
“So, I aimed for a critical hit.”
“A critical hit isn’t something you aim for.”
“That’s what all the incompetent people say. From the perspective of someone who’s actually doing it, it’s like ‘What’s the point?'”
“…”
I teased him a bit, and Takafarina’s expression changed slightly. Although his facial expressions are scarce, it seems he’s not completely unaffected.
“―Hey, is that Werewolf monster really that troublesome?”
The out-of-touch Saiga approached me. Saiga’s team hasn’t encountered the Werewolf yet, so there’s a part that’s hard to talk about.
“……It’s weaker than the Golem we fought before. You guys should be able to defeat it normally, right?”
“Hmm……”
“Well, since Shouma was able to defeat it, it should be an easy win.”
“……You’re saying that, but aren’t you, Kouu, going to get into trouble with the Werewolf?”
“What, what’s that!?!”
“You’re the one who started this, so don’t talk to me!”
“――!”
Saiga hurriedly calmed down the angry Kouu.
I didn’t like that scene either.
Why does he only say hurtful things to me? If he treated me the same as the other guys, I wouldn’t have acted like this…
“!”
I interrupted my thoughts and looked around.
Probably, I’m not misunderstanding…
――Tōka was staring at me.
In an instant, my back stiffened.
I recalled the mistake I made during the day――I sent an email saying Tōka’s job was ‘Evil Sorceress’. From her reaction, I think Tōka must have seen the email sent to Kanzaki. This information is crucial to Tōka’s character settings, and it’s impossible for Stone Lu Shouma to know. I think she’ll come to uncover the mystery soon. Will I be safe when that happens…?
……I’m worried, but there’s nothing I can do.
After a while, the flow of the gathering dispersed, and each PT returned to their own tents.
Since setting up tents in the transfer area is free, those who embark on a two-day free exploration usually camp near the transfer stone.
Is this an old habit…? Perhaps ancient explorers also gazed at the same night sky…
The transparent ABYSS ceiling. I lay down in my sleeping bag, gazing up at the starry sky, and slowly closed my heavy eyelids…