Regarding the Subjugation Tournament on Deus Plain, numerous reports surfaced early on stating, “We’ve defeated all the monsters, so why isn’t the tournament over?”
However, such reports were commonplace during tournaments, and countless players elsewhere reported similar occurrences. Thus, they were easily dismissed with, “There must be some you missed. Search more thoroughly.”
But after the release of “Nekoneko,” even late-game players equipped with numerous detection-type items and abilities began experiencing the same phenomenon. This led to suspicions that Deus Plain might have some kind of bug.
It was around this time that rumors of a “hidden monster behind the large rock” began to circulate.
The rumor stated that during the Subjugation Tournament, if one went behind the large rock on the southwest side—that is, to the south of the rock—they would occasionally hear strange noises emanating from it.
It was discovered that these sounds occurred every five minutes. However, even after the 45-minute Monster Pop time ended, the sounds continued.
This fueled speculation that there might be a special event monster within the rocky hills, preventing the completion of the Subjugation Tournament.
Amidst this commotion, one individual, unwilling to accept the event monster conclusion, focused on the unique terrain of Deus Plain. Deus Plain generally had shrubs and rocks placed at regular intervals. However, there was an area a short distance from the southern large rock where none of these were present. Although grass grew there just like elsewhere, for some reason, that specific area had no pop points. No trees grew there, and not even small rocks were placed. Strangely, the size of this “empty space” was almost equal to the size of the “adjacent large rock.”
The person who first noticed this fact hypothesized that the large rock, originally located in the “empty space,” had been moved to its current location for some reason. If this were the case, the aforementioned strange rumor would gain credibility.
It was already reported that if an obstacle was placed on a pop point, monsters would spawn slightly off to the side. However, if the obstacle placed on the pop point was enormous, the Monster Pop itself could be canceled.
In other words, by moving the large rock to an area that was originally flat ground, a pop point might have been set up within the rock, creating a single, un-spawnable pop point on Deus Plain.
This was a highly persuasive hypothesis, but it was impossible to verify. In the game, terrain like rocks and ground could not be interfered with. They were indestructible objects, not set up to be destructible. Eventually, the rumors faded, and I had forgotten about it until now.
However, this world is not just a game. In this world where reality and the game are mixed, it is possible to confirm such things.
“Ringo, here! Carve this part out with all your might!”
We raced to the back of the large rock and found the spot rumored about. All that was left was to make a hole in it.
“…Mm.” Ringo, whose speech had recently become a bit more extensive, responded with a small sound and unleashed a lightning strike. With the Golden HAGURE NYORAIM’s rare drop, Koganezakura, equipped, Ringo’s attack power increased further, and the lightning strike relentlessly chipped away at the rock.
“Keep going, keep going! Focus on the lower part as much as possible, preferably without collapsing the rock!”
While giving these instructions, I checked my watch. 3:14, almost 3:15. As the lightning strike gouged into the rock, creating a deafening sound, I patiently waited for that moment.
“Ringo, stop there!”
And at precisely 3:15:00. Amidst a cloud of swirling dust, particles of light gathered and…
“It appeared!”
A single golden Nor emerged from the gouged-out large rock.
“Damn, this is frustrating…!”
After some time. We rejoiced at the discovery of a new hunting ground, but as time passed, impatience and annoyance grew. We had completely monopolized this spot. However, as no monsters had appeared from this point yet, it meant that monsters would continue to spawn here for another ten times, over 45 minutes. If anyone discovered this location before then, it would be troublesome. Yet, we had no intention of giving up this spot we had so carefully found. The first one that appeared was, of course, skillfully defeated, raising our score to 67. If we stayed here, we could easily reach 76 kills without much effort. Some might argue that a mere ten points wouldn’t be enough to compete with Hisame. Indeed, if Hisame had continued hunting with all her might, 76 might not have been enough. But Hisame had said that she was “almost finished” at that time. If Hisame had given up midway due to overconfidence, there was still a chance. And as proof, there were still un-hunted pop points remaining at the southern end. Even if we couldn’t get them all, we wanted to hold out here for at least three more, reaching around 70 points. Time passed agonizingly slowly with my hopes resting on this. The second monster also appeared. For us, who had dealt with ten monsters before, it was impossible to fail to take down a single Golden. We dispatched it easily in less than 30 seconds, and then another five-minute waiting period began. Since there were no other active points, we couldn’t go anywhere else. We just had to wait here again.
“…Hm?” A small hand landed on my shoulder. It was Ringo.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, but Ringo didn’t answer. After a confusingly long moment, Ringo kept her hand on my shoulder without a word and then murmured, “…Let’s do our best?” before quickly moving away. I didn’t quite understand, but perhaps she was trying to encourage me.
(…That’s right.) Panicking wouldn’t help. It would be better to use this time for something more productive.
“All right!” During this waiting time, I decided to test out the fire magic I had recently gained access to. Magic in “Nekoneko” was a bit more cumbersome than Skills. Unlike Skills, which could be used instantly by just ordering the skill name, magic had systems like ‘Chanting,’ ‘Chant Waiting,’ ‘Multi-Chanting,’ and ‘Timed Casting.’ I needed to confirm whether these mechanics were the same as in the game.
“Power Up!” To use magic, you first had to order the desired spell. Then, the player would enter a ‘Chanting’ state for a certain period, depending on the difficulty of the spell. Even though it was called chanting, the player didn’t need to recite anything. The system would automatically consume MP and complete the spell. While that was helpful, during the ‘Chanting’ state, all stats were significantly reduced, and Skills became unusable. Due to these downsides, magic-user characters typically used equipment to mitigate the effects and duration. After completing the required chanting time, the player would enter the ‘Chant Waiting’ state. In this state, stats were no longer reduced, but Skills remained unusable. After targeting the objective in this ‘Chant Waiting’ state and ordering the spell name again, the magic could finally be cast. However, since I had the chance, I decided to try the ‘Timed Casting’ technique, a favorite among warrior-type characters. ‘Timed Casting’ involved setting a time, such as 30 seconds or 2 minutes later, to cast the spell with a time delay. The advantage of this technique was that ‘Chant Waiting’ was canceled the moment the activation time was set, allowing Skills and magic to be used simultaneously if done correctly. Of course, since you could use magic as well as skills, you could even cast the same spell twice concurrently. The disadvantage was that timed spells could not be canceled or have their targets changed. If set incorrectly, they could become useless, or in the worst case, attack allies. However, for spells targeting oneself, like Power Up, this disadvantage was practically nonexistent. I cast Power Up with a ‘Timed 10 seconds’ setting. Then, before that time elapsed, I activated a Skill. “Horizontal Slash!” The Skill was activated without issue, but… “Cough!” a dull thud echoed, and the attack was deflected by the rock. However, the 10-second reservation time ended. The Power Up magic was cast on me. “Horizontal Slash!” Immediately, I activated the Skill again. It was different from before the magic was applied. My attack, now strengthened, struck the large rock, and… “Cough!” it was deflected again. It seemed that even with the increased attack power from Power Up, it wasn’t enough to break the rock. It made me wonder about the power of Ringo’s lightning strikes, which had easily chipped away at it. I couldn’t help but feel dejected, but ironically, that also helped dissipate my impatience. Well, both the magic and the timed casting worked properly, so I should be satisfied. If only I could try ‘Multi-Chanting’ too, but ‘Multi-Chanting’ is a magic-user technique to increase power by chanting the same spell again, and it’s not usable by me right now. Later, I also tried ‘Petit Explosion,’ and it activated without any problems. The meager explosion of ‘Petit Explosion’ caught Ringo’s interest, and she asked, “…Fireworks?” She seemed to enjoy it, so I got carried away and used it repeatedly until my MP ran out, thus ending the magic experiment. As we busied ourselves with various things, we forgot our anxiety about someone arriving, and we continued hunting smoothly. And then… “Rokutsuki (Six Strikes)!” We skillfully defeated the eighth Nor just like always. As I bent down to check for drops, a man’s voice called out from behind. “Wow. That’s amazing. I never thought Nor would still be remaining in a place like this.” Startled, I spun around. Standing about ten meters away was a man. I gasped at his appearance. “Raiden of the Teatime?” I blurted out involuntarily, and the man, Raiden, grinned gleefully. “Heh. You know me? I don’t recall getting the epithet ‘Teatime,’ but it feels good to be recognized by someone I’ve just met.” ‘Raiden of the Teatime’ was a man in his twenties with long hair tied back, exuding an aura that could be described as cunning or a master of looking harmless. His motto, or rather his main guiding principle, was “I seek out those stronger than me,” and as a result of putting this into practice, he became a character greatly beloved by “Nekoneko” players. The epithet “Teatime” also originated from around that time, and apparently, there was a character in an old manga with a similar name who was loved for that reason. However, that was in the game. Encountering Raiden during the Subjugation Tournament was not part of his event. Despite his appearance, Raiden was a seasoned Adventurer at level 130. No matter how much our levels had risen, he was someone we didn’t want to make an enemy of. (…What should I do?) Our current score, even without counting Koganezakura, was 74 kills. Even if we retreated now, the score would be sufficient. However, sensing our hesitation, Raiden hastily interjected, “Whoa there. Don’t give me that hostile look. I was just asked to deliver a message from the Princess.” “…Princess?” For a moment, I glanced at Ringo. But that was impossible. Could it be Maki? I harbored a brief flicker of hope, but… “Ah, she won’t get that with ‘Princess.’ It’s Hisame. You know, the one with the big ears and who uses a Katana…” It was completely different. Apparently, that cat-eared swordsman, despite being a samurai, was apparently called “Princess.” “There are no Nor to be seen anymore, so I was heading back to town. Then the Princess came and said there might still be some Nor left, and told me about this place. She said I should go check it out, and when I said I would, she asked me to deliver a message as well.” “A message?” Her message was, ‘I am waiting in town.’ It was very simple, and I had heard it. As I pondered the cryptic message, Raiden showed a somewhat malicious grin. “Well, the message was just an excuse. The Princess might have been worried about you guys. She did say, ‘If you find any defeated Adventurers there, bring them to me no matter what.'” He then added, “Oh, right, I was told not to say that,” with an exaggerated laugh that I found absurd. However, it seemed he genuinely bore no ill will. At least, if we trusted the game’s settings, he wasn’t the type to resort to ambushes or petty theft. I slightly let down my guard. “You seem to be doing quite well. How many have you defeated?” As if sensing my guard dropping, he asked a slightly probing question. I hesitated whether to answer or not, but his next words, “By the way, I defeated 21 myself!” made me relax, and I replied, “…Around 90, I guess.” I had fudged the number slightly, but since I said “around,” it wasn’t entirely wrong. “Whoa! That’s amazing! I couldn’t possibly compete with that!” Raiden feigned exaggerated surprise, but I didn’t miss the sharp glint in his eyes the moment I spoke the number. Just as expected of a seemingly harmless character. This is why “Nekoneko” is never to be underestimated. “You both look like newcomers. Well, it just goes to show my ‘Horse Hit’ ability was right!” “Ugh…!” Hearing the nostalgic term, I almost burst out laughing. But Raiden, unperturbed, continued cheerfully. “Oh, I don’t think I mentioned it. I actually have a knack for spotting strong individuals and encountering strong opponents. The first time I realized this was when I was betting on horse races. I even gave it a name, ‘Horse Hit,’ and have treasured it ever since.” Raiden boasted, but the ability to pick horses, “Horse Hit,” had a different name among players. Raiden appeared numerous times in both the story and sub-events, repeatedly encountering opponents stronger than himself and engaging in battle. While that might sound like a protagonist’s story, the problem was that Raiden always lost these battles. This gave the ability to meet strong individuals, “Horse Hit,” a different meaning. The ability to meet strong people, fight them valiantly, and then lose, merely serving to highlight the opponent’s strength. In other words, “Pacing Horse” ability. You see, Raiden was the ultimate “Pacing Horse” character in “Nekoneko”! “So, what are you planning to do now? The mass spawn period is ending soon, but are you still going to stay here?” Raiden, the “Pacing Horse” of “Nekoneko,” asked me again. Even after the mass spawn period ends, the monsters that spawned won’t disappear or stop counting towards the subjugation count. However, if you don’t report within an hour of the mass spawn ending, you won’t receive the tournament prizes. “I’m thinking of making this the last one. If another one appears at 3:55, we’ll stop there.” At 4:00, the mass spawn period would end, and normal monsters would start appearing on this map. While we could probably handle level 50 monsters now, we couldn’t afford to take risks with our initial equipment. In fact, Ringo and I had already agreed to give up and go home if we couldn’t defeat the ninth monster. I was curious about Raiden’s intentions, but he said, “Hmm. Well, since you’re here, I guess I’ll just observe. I might expect you to escort me back, though.” Whether he wanted to scout the competition or was simply being helpful, he made such a proposal. Honestly, I wasn’t keen on showing him our hunting process, but it would be acceptable to finish the last one with Ringo’s lightning barrage. I agreed, and we decided to wait for 4:00 to arrive with Raiden. However, I should have considered *why* Raiden chose to visit this location at this particular time. “Soma.” Ringo was the first to notice the signs. It was time. Particles of light began to gather, forming a monster, but something seemed wrong. “Whoa, whoa. That’s a pretty big Nor, isn’t it…” Raiden made a casual comment next to me, but I was on edge. (No way…) The location, Deus Plain. The forgotten pop point within the rock, a place seemingly erased from the game. And the presence of the man next to me, renowned for attracting formidable foes wherever he went. These three elements led me to the worst possible prediction. The particles began to form the shape of a monster. And that shape unequivocally signaled that my worst prediction had come true. “It’s still the mass spawn period, right? Why is such a large monster appearing?” Raiden asked me, seeking agreement, but I couldn’t answer. My body trembled uncontrollably. I tried to say something, but my teeth chattered, and my mind was a jumble of incoherent thoughts. “…Soma.” Before I knew it, Ringo had come to my side. But I couldn’t even reply to her. I could only stare blankly as the light formed its massive body, and the most malevolent monster revealed itself. (It’s… coming…!) A grotesque giant covered in flabby white flesh. A fiendish demon wielding a thick meat cleaver like a bludgeon. “King Butcher…!” The “Mince Festival,” a bug that had reportedly killed the most players among “Nekoneko’s” numerous bugs and was the first to be fixed by a patch. —That terror was now about to resurface in another world.
