It was the fourth day of my game life.
The morning had started with an already precarious outlook, but when Ena rushed into my room after hearing my scream, the situation became even more chaotic.
“Huh? Soma-san, you have muscle pain? In that case, leave it to me! I’m good at massages!”
Ena excitedly crawled towards me. I, suffering from muscle pain, couldn’t escape.
“No, no, I don’t need it!”
“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine! Even my mom praised me, saying, ‘You’ve always been good at massages. So good it’s almost… erotic.'”
“Your mother is surprisingly frank for someone ill! Hearing that makes me want it even less, seriously!”
This exchange, which could have been mistaken for flirting depending on how you looked at it, was fortunately interrupted by the innkeeper, who had come to investigate the commotion in my room.
“Ah, muscle pain? Then why don’t you use a potion?”
His single sentence brought everything to a complete end. At that moment, I didn’t miss Ena subtly turning her face away from me after hearing the old man’s words.
*She knew all along!*
My muscle pain was easily cured with a potion. As a token of my gratitude, I gave the innkeeper a shovel and Ena an iron claw. Then, I headed out into town.
“My muscle pain is gone, but today I think I’ll take it easy, explore the town, and do some shopping. Since I don’t have any particular plans, Ena, maybe you should do your own thing…”
“I’ll go with you!”
“…Alright.”
Being interrupted with such force mid-sentence, I lost the words to object. Watching Ena walk beside me, beaming, I felt a complex emotion.
There were two primary reasons I prioritized Ena’s strengthening. As I mentioned before, one reason was to get rid of her. In other words, to be prepared for when I might disappear. Half of the reason was so that when we did things together, she wouldn’t be the only one to die.
I don’t possess noble sentiments like wanting to protect all humans in this world, but I’m not so thick-skinned as to be unfazed by the death of someone I know. I absolutely don’t want to live with the guilt of causing someone’s death, and no matter how annoying or bothersome someone is, it’s better for them to be alive than dead. Ideally, I’d want them to live peacefully somewhere I don’t know about, but while they’re near me, I want to at least ensure they don’t die. It’s a rather half-hearted stance, but it’s my honest feelings right now.
*(But that’s probably not necessary anymore…)*
Fundamentally, “Nekoneko” doesn’t have the concept of “parties.” As I mentioned before, monsters’ experience points are solely acquired by the person who lands the finishing blow, making it difficult to level up low-level individuals quickly. Ena was able to level up to 66 all at once due to her “Train” trait, but that’s probably reaching its limit soon. The Train mode only activates when I stay in the field around Ramur for a certain period. Underground labyrinths are naturally excluded from this, and the highest-level enemies around Ramur appear in the “Trial Cave.”
It shouldn’t be too difficult to level up to around 75 or 76, but as my level surpasses the enemy levels, a significant negative correction is applied to the experience points gained. Especially exceeding the appropriate level by 5 or more results in a devastatingly large correction. Even with Train, I don’t think it would be easy to level up much further. To achieve higher levels, I’d have to leave Ramur, but Ena’s Train only activates around Ramur. And without Train mode, she’s just a regular adventurer. Besides, if she’s going to live in Ramur, she doesn’t need any higher level than that.
*(I guess taking her along is impossible…)*
I said I played “Nekoneko” mostly solo, but in the early stages, especially during my first playthrough, that wasn’t the case. On the contrary, I initially recruited low-level adventurers like myself and carefully managed our progress to ensure our levels rose equally. At that time, I never considered playing solo or changing party members. It was perhaps the period when I enjoyed “Nekoneko” most purely, but it was also when myself and my companions died the most. In a world without save or load functions, traveling with an ordinary adventurer would be nothing short of suicide.
*(Then again, who *could* travel with me and not die…)*
At my current strength level, there are plenty of candidates. Even without that, this world is teeming with cheat-level characters who can become companions. If I could recruit some of them early on, my adventures might proceed smoothly.
The NPC with the highest level in this game was supposedly “The Phantom Hero, Alex.” Clad in golden armor, possessing unparalleled swordsmanship, he was a brave and fearless level 200 hero. He had specs that made you think he should have been the protagonist, but unfortunately, I’ve never met him in the game. His thought process is apparently solely “Demon Lord = Defeat,” and he immediately charges into the Demon Lord’s castle alone after the game starts, getting himself killed before the player can even meet him. He’s a prime example of how bravery and fearlessness can be relative. His suicidal charge, akin to the Armored Knight in the Trial Cave, is famous, and in a way, he’s quite a rare character. He’s apparently a favorite of the development team, and there are nearly ten unique events related to him, none of which have been cleared yet. Truly, a phantom hero. While I’d prefer him to be alive both in a game sense and in a general sense, three days have already passed since the game began. According to the game, he could have died long ago, so perhaps expecting anything from him is futile.
Let’s think a bit more realistically. A strong character who might be encountered around here would be “The Helper Cheater,” perhaps. She occasionally appears as a helper character when you take quests and is renowned as “Nekoneko’s” strongest female adventurer. She’s a katana user who dispatches enemies with impossibly fast movements, so much so that the catchphrase “Only she experiences reduced movement speed when using Step” was born. The nickname “Cheater” has a double meaning. She sometimes shows up briefly to help clear a quest once, but you can also officially recruit her by completing a series of events that begin with a one-on-one battle against her. In either case, she annihilates enemies with terrifying mobility and attack power, but her evaluation as a companion character is often lukewarm. Because she’s too strong and too fast, she ends up killing enemies too frequently, preventing the player from gaining any experience points. While her settings state she doesn’t accompany you when fighting the Demon Lord, there are rumors that she could defeat the Demon Lord solo, showcasing her overwhelming power. Her personality is capricious yet cold-blooded… or so it seems, as most of her unique events are cheesy rom-coms that break her character. However, to witness those cheesy rom-coms, my own character, who was level 300+, died more than ten times. Either way, she’s someone I’m not very eager to rely on in this world.
Other than her, there are “Perverted Warrior Jane,” “Tea-sipping Raiden,” and “Rose Piercer, the Digging Master whose name dare not be uttered,” men who, if you overlook their mental states, could be promising in terms of combat power. However, whether I’d want them as companions is debatable… No, regarding the last one, it’s not debatable, I definitively don’t want to meet him.
Alternatively, it might be worth aiming for royalty who only appear during events. Judging by the event battles in the game, the King, Queen, and Princess of the Licht Kingdom all seem to possess cheat-level power. They’re so strong you want to tell them, “You guys defeat the Demon Lord yourselves.” Although they sadly don’t become companions in the game and can’t be met outside of events, it might be possible to recruit them in this world through skillful maneuvering. Of course, that would require at least traveling to the Capital City, so recruiting them anytime soon is impossible.
“Hmm…”
A groan escaped my lips. Is it just me, or does the strength of characters seem to be inversely proportional to their humanity? I can’t recall a single decent person, which frankly makes me understand why I played solo.
*(Speaking of inverse proportionality between strength and…)*
Based on strength alone, “The Strongest Genius Idiot Mage, Sahzan” could technically be a candidate. Well, just a candidate, that is. Just saying the name might be enough explanation, but this character is rumored to “reduce survival rates to below half” and “increase death rates by more than fivefold” simply by being in your party, making them a go-to character for masochistic players, albeit in a negative way. However, from a specs perspective, she’s a candidate for the strongest magic-type character. After all, her stats and the power of her magic are high. Incredibly high, even. But that’s precisely why she causes so many casualties. Her notoriety is endless. Her AI, refined in a way that feels like a malicious intent from the creators, made countless players remember what anger felt like. First, it’s basic to use a status ailment spell with high probability after using Concentrate to double the power of the next spell. Then, she prioritizes sleeping monsters, hitting them with weak magic to wake them up. Against enemies with low magic defense, she inexplicably uses status ailment spells with high probability. Since such enemies are usually physical attackers, and the only status ailment she knows is Berserk, she actually buffs the enemy. Sometimes she’ll hold her right hand and say, “M-my right hand’s seal…!” I thought she was just a chuunibyou patient, but then her right hand’s seal actually breaks, and the party is wiped out. When monsters get close, she tries to defend herself with explosive magic, but ends up dying herself. She wears a suspicious mask. When attacked, she panics and fires magic indiscriminately. When healed, she clicks her tongue. If there are two or more enemies, she always uses an area-of-effect fire magic that hits allies as well, even against fire-elemental monsters, healing them. She tries to use fire magic even underwater, which fails. She uses fire magic in forests, causing forest fires. Yet, when an enemy weak to fire appears, she inexplicably uses wind magic, which she’s not good at. She suddenly laughs, “Heh heh.” When asked the reason, she replies, “Oh, excuse me. I just remembered something funny.” Her magic has a long range, so she foolishly initiates combat with distant, inactive, or strong monsters. She’s always late. She attacks monsters in counter-attack state without hesitation and gets counter-attacked. She’s quick to talk about probabilities. If left idle for too long, she starts narrating her own life story as a standby animation, and the story changes every time. Moreover, it’s inconsistent. She uses her strongest spells regardless of enemy level, resulting in overkill. She even overkills dropped items from defeated enemies. She uses her strongest spells regardless of enemy level, so the casting doesn’t finish by the end of the battle. It’s worse; even after the battle ends, she continues casting, slowing down the march. If her position is wrong, she can get caught in the attack magic that activates after the battle, killing allies. Her magic effects attract new enemies. She uses her strongest spells regardless of enemy level, leading to MP exhaustion at crucial moments. When her MP runs out, she charges at the enemy despite her paper-thin armor and is immediately killed. She quickly blames others for her failures. Her victory lines are condescending. Her victory poses are annoying. Her table manners are atrocious. She dislikes leaving her favorite food for last. She wears impractical clothing for climbing mountains. She whines when bitten by insects. She immediately suggests taking a break. In the end, she has me carry her down the mountain. She becomes bolder when she drinks. Even when sober, she’s drunk on herself. She can’t look people in the eye, blaming her mask for it. Just recalling her name makes me irritable. My chronic stiff shoulders and back pain have worsened because of her. The Earth’s warming is her fault. Even so, one of her strongest spells, “Stardust Flare,” can only be acquired through her event, so she can’t be avoided entirely. She’s truly the worst.
You might think I’m lying, but this is all true. The proof is that I’m feeling irritable right now, and my chronic stiff shoulders and back pain feel worse. It’s probably due to recalling her name.
*(Compared to her…)*
I looked at Ena walking beside me.
“Um. Is something wrong?”
I was a bit annoyed this morning, but her trying to play a prank on me under the guise of a massage when I had muscle pain is rather cute.
“Ena, you’re truly an angel.”
“Huh? Wh-what?!”
Watching Ena visibly fluster, I made up my mind to be cautious in my mercenary selection, no matter how long it took.
