I immediately got up, my immobility resolved as I hit the ground.
“Ah, right. I almost forgot.”
While I was worried about Ringo’s reaction, there was something I had to do before anything else.
The effect of “Incarnation of Rage” hadn’t ended yet.
While I evaded my own 3x speed, I checked the spot where the Butcher had been and the drop items that had fallen.
The King Butcher dropped the same two types of items as before: the greatsword “Meat Cleaver” and the doping item “Power.”
And this small seed, “Power,” was the final reason I had challenged the King Butcher.
In this game where final stats could exceed 1000, increasing Strength by only 1 or 2 with seeds was practically meaningless. It was like a single grain of dust, incapable of affecting game balance. But what if it accumulated to 100, 200, and so on?
“A single spark can start a great fire.”
Just like that proverb, the Strength boosted by Power seeds should become a formidable weapon for me.
Normally, seed-type items were only obtainable from boss drops, and their quantities were limited. However, the King Butcher was here to break that common sense. This unique boss of the dungeon was guaranteed to drop “Power” seeds, which should have had limited acquisition.
Moreover, and most importantly, due to a bug, there was no limit to its appearance. As long as I kept defeating the Butcher, I could theoretically obtain an infinite number of these Power seeds.
“This is the first step,” I thought.
I took out the seed items I had collected so far from my bag, and reverently, carefully picked up the seeds dropped by this Butcher. After all, these were planned to be my trump card for defeating the Demon Lord.
I had given up on learning the 3x speed Skill for this fight, but I had no intention of abandoning my statement that I wouldn’t use Skills other than 3x speed from now on. By the time the deadline arrived, I would definitely master Skill Cancel with 3x speed. However, even if I mastered 3x speed, defeating the Demon Lord in my current state would be difficult. To defeat the Demon Lord, I needed not only overwhelming speed but also overwhelming offensive power. Yet, the prospect of achieving both was now within reach. If I combined “Incarnation of Rage” with a large quantity of Power seeds, surely—
“—Wha—?”
It happened as I was about to pick up the fallen seeds and put them in my mouth. Suddenly, my body lost its freedom.
“What is this…?”
No, it wasn’t that my body was completely immobile. It’s just that my movements were incredibly slow, and my body felt as heavy as lead. It felt as if my clothes, my armor, had suddenly increased in weight. My entire body’s reactions were sluggish, as if it wasn’t my own.
“Wh-why…?”
The hand I tried to lift wouldn’t cooperate. I poured all my strength into trying to raise my arm, but I was overpowered. I couldn’t even move a single finger properly.
This was clearly an abnormal situation. Almost panicking from the suddenness of it, I finally realized.
“Could this be… the backlash from ‘Incarnation of Rage’?”
“Incarnation of Rage” triples all of a player’s base stats for 30 seconds after activation, but then reduces them to 1/100th for the next 30 seconds. It made sense when I thought about it. If agility, or speed, was reduced to 1/100th, I wouldn’t be able to move my body properly. If Strength was reduced to 1/100th, the weight of equipment I usually wore effortlessly would feel 100 times heavier.
“Honestly, I underestimated it…”
This was beyond the level of mere parameter changes.
In VR games, functions related to player perception undergo strict auditing. Techniques that accelerate brain function are particularly unestablished and prohibited by current law. Therefore, agility only affected the speed of physical movement. It was supposed that the brain, eyes, and mouth, which are directly linked to communication abilities, were not affected by agility. However, that only made the abnormality stand out more.
“It’s like sleep paralysis…”
A speed of 1/100th means that an action that normally takes 1 second would now take 100 seconds, or 1 minute and 40 seconds. My brain’s perception was still near normal, making the inability to control my body a terrifying experience. In such a situation, there was no way I could fight an enemy. Using “Incarnation of Rage” outside of a situation where I could surely defeat the enemy within 30 seconds was practically suicidal. I shuddered at my own recklessness.
And then—
“No…!”
The tension snapped as I understood the cause. The strength left the hand I had lifted, and the seeds almost spilled.
“Ah…”
That hand was gently supported from below. A cool, small hand.
“Rin-go…?”
I moved my somewhat sluggish tongue and called out her name.
“…………”
She, who usually softly called me “…Soma,” was silent. Since I was frozen while slightly hunched over, Ringo’s face was slightly above mine. I couldn’t raise my head, but by lifting my eyes, which I could move slightly, I tried to gauge Ringo’s expression.
Even in this situation, Ringo’s face was seemingly expressionless, showing no sign of distress. However, her brows were furrowed a few millimeters more than usual, her mouth was set a little tighter, and her eyes seemed slightly moist… No, wait, is this?
“Ringo, are you crying… Mmph!?”
Suddenly, all the seeds I was holding were shoved into my mouth. Surprised by the suddenness, I couldn’t spit them out. I moved my mouth sluggishly, trying to chew the seeds.
If this were a game, my mouth movements shouldn’t have slowed down, but perhaps in reality, there was some lag. Still, as a counter-attack, I tried to look at Ringo’s face again, lifting my eyes, but—
“—Bofu.”
This time, something soft sealed my vision. A moment later, I realized I had been embraced by Ringo’s chest.
“Th-this…!”
As I was secretly flustered by the soft touch and the warmth, a small voice rained down. “…I was really worried.”
I felt sorry, but with my mouth blocked, I couldn’t say anything. I urged my slow mouth, increasing the speed of my chewing.
“…I told you not to rush…”
For this, I had no reply, even if my mouth wasn’t blocked. I realized I had caused her a lot of worry. Come to think of it, Ringo had tried various things to help me regain my usual composure, pulling my cheek, telling unfamiliar jokes, and so on. Yet, in the end, I had rushed against the Butcher and acted recklessly, and I might have died if Ringo hadn’t intervened. At this moment, I had nothing to say.
“…We’re here, I told you…”
Even these words, I hadn’t truly heard. My slow comprehension finally grasped their meaning. At the time, I had interpreted Ringo’s encouragement as “Be strong, especially now” or “Keep going, we’re still here.” But what Ringo wanted to convey was much simpler. She was saying, “If you’re having a hard time, please rely on us more.”
“……Sorry.”
Finally swallowing the seeds in my mouth, I uttered a sincere apology. The muffled voice surely reached Ringo’s ears, but—
“…No. I won’t forgive you.”
Ringo dismissed my earnest apology. Ringo’s hands on the back of my head tightened as if to scold me. Helpless, with no way to move, I felt like I was suffocating in Ringo’s chest.
“…Why?”
Then, a quiet voice asked.
“…Why are you in such a hurry?”
“That’s…”
I faltered. It was a selfish reason, something I had decided not to tell anyone. But I couldn’t remain silent to Ringo, who had gone to so much trouble for me.
“Ena…”
As soon as I started talking, Ringo’s body trembled as if she were startled. I didn’t know if she reacted to Ena’s name or to my starting to talk. Without knowing, I continued.
“When Ena returned to normal, I didn’t want her to think that there were casualties because of her.”
Ena might not realize anything now, but the truth couldn’t be hidden forever. Even if we managed to defeat the Demon Lord, if she learned that someone had died because of her, Ena would feel responsible. This was clear from her reaction to the players who had died during her Train.
“She’s been through enough hardship already. We don’t need to burden her with any more. …That’s all.”
It was a selfish story, but it was my unadulterated truth. In the end, my sense of justice wasn’t strong enough to risk my life for someone invisible. I decided to cause the Demon Lord’s curse for Ena, and defeat the Demon Lord without anyone dying, for Ena.
“…Ringo?”
I confessed my feelings as honestly as I could. However, Ringo didn’t answer. Even without saying anything, I could sense Ringo breathing. She was taking deep breaths, as if trying to swallow something heavy.
“Oh!”
At that moment, the effect of “Incarnation of Rage” completely ended. My body regained its freedom, and I pulled away from Ringo’s chest.
“…Ah.”
As I pulled away, Ringo’s hand moved for a moment, as if reaching for my head, but then—
“…No-no-no!”
Ringo suddenly let go of me and hastily turned her back. I didn’t understand why, but she probably didn’t want me to see her face right now. While she was turned away, I fanned my face with my hand, cooling my flushed cheeks. Thinking about it again, the contrast from 1/100th agility was intense. My body moved with comical speed. Well, it was the opposite that was abnormal before, but that’s how it felt.
“…Here.”
Ringo didn’t remain facing away for long. When she turned back, her expression was neutral again, and she held a Potion in her hand.
“Ah, right.”
I had completely forgotten to recover HP after defeating the Butcher. I could still heal using Bloody Stab since I was wearing a few light-attribute specialized rings, but I decided to accept it. As if washing down the bitter aftertaste of the seeds, I downed the recovery Potion. “Thanks, Ringo. I really can’t do anything without you,” I said, half-jokingly, but with a sincere sentiment. However, Ringo replied softly, looking down, “…That’s not true.” Her downcast face seemed to show a mixture of regret and frustration. It was an incomprehensible reaction. But— “Today’s Ringo is very emotional and talkative,” I thought, feeling a sense of deep emotion. Compared to when we first met, Ringo now showed a variety of expressions. This was likely a change that could be called “growth.”
“…Soma.”
As if to confirm my assessment, Ringo looked up with a determined expression. “…Soma, I have a request.” “A request?” I knew of Ringo’s growth, but her words surprised me a little. It was unusual for Ringo, who often took a passive role outside of me, perhaps even the first request she had ever made. But I wasn’t done being surprised. “…Please.” At that, Ringo probably bowed her head to me for the first time. “…Teach me a Skill.” I remained in a state of stunned disbelief for a while, before finally noticing Ringo looking at me anxiously. I had to give her an answer. I finally realized this fact, but… what should I say? Ringo could use the ranged attack “Lightning Strike” even if she couldn’t use Skills. Due to its sheer usability, she would likely have few opportunities to take on other roles during combat. Of course, it wouldn’t hurt to learn it, but there wasn’t a strong necessity for her to be able to use Skills or magic. Moreover, Skills, especially single-shot Skills, left significant openings despite their convenience. I had just experienced this firsthand. Personally, I would prefer Ringo to continue supporting me from the rear as she had been. I felt reluctant to refuse Ringo’s first request, but I decided to try and persuade her. “You don’t really need to learn something like that; you’re already good enough as you are…” “No…! It’s not enough as it is.” Ringo’s unexpectedly strong tone pushed me back. “…Because today, I wasn’t in time.” “Ah…” At her words, I finally understood why Ringo had started saying this so suddenly. Earlier, when I was fighting the Butcher. Was she bothered by the fact that she couldn’t reach me in time, couldn’t intervene to save me? “…No, it’s not just that…” Earlier, when I learned that Maki was faster than me in the underwater city, she seemed a little, just a little, off. Perhaps Ringo had been troubled and thinking about it for a long time? It was as if she, like me, felt her own power was insufficient before the battle with the Demon Lord. “Speaking of which…” When I was almost defeated by the Butcher, Ringo threw her Wakizashi. I had wondered why she hadn’t used “Kongou Toshi,” which had higher power and speed, but perhaps my thinking was mistaken. “Kongou Toshi” was an equipment Skill. Anyone could use it if they had the corresponding equipment. However, this came with the caveat that they knew how to use “Skills.” Before meeting me, Ringo knew nothing of “Skills” or “Magic.” She lacked the knowledge and experience related to Skills that everyone else in this world naturally possessed. “She didn’t use it, she couldn’t use it.” Thinking back, it was Kuma, not Ringo, who mainly used “Kongou Toshi.” I had unconsciously assumed that everyone in this world could use Skills, so I hadn’t thought any further. “Wait a minute…?” Then, another fact occurred to me. Ringo doesn’t know how to use Skills. Due to a bug created by Maki’s arrival in this world, she lacks the knowledge and experience regarding Skills that the inhabitants of this world should naturally have. But doesn’t this, conversely, mean she can learn how to use Skills from scratch, without any preconceived notions? “Ena was too accustomed to her existing Skills and couldn’t adapt. But perhaps, for Ringo…” Ringo might be able to learn. She, the only one besides me and Maki, who came from another world, might hold the potential to use Skills through “Order.” “…Soma?” Perhaps sensing my hesitation, Ringo took a step towards me. And then, “…I’ll do anything for Soma,” she said, with words exactly the same as before, yet carrying incomparably more weight. “…So, for that sake…” With a trembling voice, she squeezed her eyes shut, desperately suppressing the rising fear, and then Ringo said— “—I’ll quit being Human too!” Her resolve left me speechless for a long time. But as the meaning of her words sank in, I couldn’t remain silent. Slowly, as if choosing my words carefully, I opened my mouth. “Thank you. But there’s one thing I want to say too.” I was happy about Ringo’s determination. But precisely because of that, I couldn’t let her say words like that now. Hey, Ringo… “Skill Cancel isn’t a technique that makes you quit being human, you know?” Perhaps: Heroine
