VIP Chapter 307: “Don’t Call Me Sister”
About three days later.
Tenth Demon City.
“Mmm… cancel environment rendering—you made that word up! If we only keep the illusion monsters you summon, it’ll definitely maintain the intensity.”
Lucifer sat in her seat, arms crossed, pouting.
About two days ago, Will and Shuna had come to her under the guise of “we need to take shelter and have nowhere else to go,” to mooch off her!
Oh.
But thinking about it, these two had agreed to help her clear Dungeon floors here, and they both quit before the BOSS floor, effectively clearing a year’s worth of Adventurer activity for her.
Because of this, Lucifer had accumulated a lot, a lot, a lot of brand new Dungeon energy, and she was much closer to clearing the next floor!
…Heh heh, it seems like she was the one mooching off them.
“Full disclosure, if… if you’re trying to train your skills, I, a small-time Dungeon Empress, can’t help. You might get blown away instantly.”
“No problem.”
“I… I mean, I can tell you’re not ordinary anymore… compared to about a month… or was it two months ago?”
Lucifer scratched her head.
It wasn’t just because Will seemed to be equipped with a full set of “divine gear”—
A strange white earring possessed a certain power that belonged to “demons,” but it was older than hers.
No matter how you looked at it, the collar, which looked like it was for some inappropriate play, held magic that had been around for an even longer time, and it was surprisingly powerful.
And his blood, when she met him, he carried a strange scent of blood, and now that scent seemed even more potent.
“I see, I see, can marriage make a man this strong? Should this be called ‘a husband’s strength’?”
Finally, she arrived at a conclusion that sounded like something only a child with a partial understanding would come up with.
“Pfft.”
Shuna, who had been watching the scene with her arms crossed, couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.
“Actually… actually, it hasn’t happened yet.”
“…Huh? Didn’t you have gifts prepared in one hand and sincere words in the other, and were planning to help? Why didn’t it happen?”
“How about this, if you let me win this fight, then I’ll tell you.”
“Bring it on, bring it on! You don’t know, do you? While you weren’t here, I’ve gotten a lot stronger too—”
Lucifer, who usually enjoyed eavesdropping on gossip at the village entrance, became particularly excited upon hearing this gossip from the royal family, her initial timidity from having lost once vanishing.
“Hear the summons of the Tenth Empress! With the Demon’s Eye, I glimpse your deepest fears, blurring dreams and illusions, and recreate them in this world—”
Extending her hand from her black hood, Lucifer’s eyes emitted a faint layer of purple light, and then…
In front of Will.
What finally appeared was a “Slime” several times larger than what he had seen before.
It was about two stories high, like a particularly large droplet, and its eyes alone seemed capable of killing a person.
However, this low-level monster was indeed quite “innocent.” Even magnified so many times, it still looked like a small fry.
“Because I’ve removed the rendering of your deepest fears and the dark surroundings, this thing has indeed developed in terms of strength. Come and try it.”
Will retrieved his staff from his ring, which had a half-transparent crystal ball, half black and half white, on it.
“Hmm, it looks like a worthy opponent that can withstand a few attacks. Come on, my Tai Chi Staff!”
“What kind of weird name is that!”
“This half-white, half-black thing, isn’t it very ‘Tai Chi’?”
Lucifer looked at Shuna.
“Um, you’re supposed to be… his guardian? Why has he suddenly become, become even stranger than before.”
Shuna surprisingly showed a happy and doting expression as she watched Will, who was naming his staff with a strange, incomprehensible name in front of her.
“You would know if you had seen him a few days ago…” She paused, then smiled, a happy and sweet smile. “Little Will is cuter like this~”
This made Lucifer retract her expression.
She began to ponder who exactly this man in front of her was.
Why did he have the engagement contract with the current Empress and yet so brazenly flaunt their affection on her territory?
“As for you, Lucifer, when did you change your preliminary incantation? This incantation doesn’t sound any better than my naming skills.”
“You… what business is it of yours! I invented my own magic, aren’t I allowed to name it myself?!”
*Plop—*
“Huh? Did it start?”
In the BOSS’s room, Lucifer sat on a slightly elevated platform, looking at the Slime she had created, which towered over her head on the platform.
The Slime seemed to attack first.
It madly spat out bubbles—well, they were standard attacks.
“Yes.”
After the fight officially began, Shuna no longer had that doting and happy expression. Only a solemn look, like a teacher proctoring an exam, remained. Will had asked her to be his combat coach, responsible for identifying any issues during his battles.
Therefore, she had to be very serious. Although she didn’t have a notebook, she would record every detail of Will’s practice fight in her mind.
Flinch.
Step back.
Roll.
Will’s expression was serious. Like a shadow, he executed a basic evasion combo on the field, dodging every bubble.
Of course, given the speed of the bubbles, he probably didn’t need such agility. It was more like he was using everything for training.
Next—
It was almost prepared during the evasion.
A rapid succession of fireballs shot towards the giant Slime’s body.
Each shot was carefully designed and placed.
Within seconds, they pierced its body, destabilizing the magical tension that maintained its physical form. It was more like a droplet, instantly scattering on the ground—
This left only the largest core entity in the center.
Although most of its body had been dispersed, it was still about two meters tall, like a very well-built human warrior, staring down at Will from above.
Will took a deep breath, and light gathered at the tip of his staff.
But…
At this moment, the core entity suddenly leaped from the ground—
He didn’t panic. The direction of his staff quickly adjusted.
“Too fast. At this size, his fireballs should have finished it. Wait…”
But as Will looked up and saw it leap directly overhead, the staff, held vertically to the ground, suddenly extinguished the light it was preparing to cast.
“What is he doing! This is suicide…”
Lucifer instinctively prepared to withdraw her magic. This was just a training match, she didn’t intend to actually kill Will… Will, the Adventurer who kept farming gold for her!
However, Shuna slapped her hand over her mouth.
“Mmph—!”
“It’s okay. He’s just practicing. After all…”
Shuna’s gaze seemed to have seen right through Will.
“He must have experienced this scene countless times in his dreams.”
The leap and downward smash of low-level monsters like Slimes always had a very noticeable pause in mid-air, as if designed to give Adventurers time to evade.
After a moment’s pause, leaving a faint circular shadow on the ground—
It smashed down directly from above his head.
“!!!”
*Bang—*
Lucifer covered her eyes with her hands in fright.
But…
She parted her fingers slightly.
She didn’t seem to hear the sound of it crashing onto the ground and crushing him, a fleshy body splattering blood… ?
“Not bad. Tested this out too.”
What she saw was…
Will looked up confidently. About half an arm’s length above his head, the Slime was blocked by a massive, glass-like ice surface. The moment it made contact with the ice surface, it was frozen into a large block.
Will gently extended a finger.
He flicked it.
It instantly shattered.
Then, it turned into scattered light particles and disappeared into the air.
Because it was merely a phantom created by a demon, its method of disappearance was unusual.
*Clap clap clap clap.*
Shuna beside them was the first to start clapping, a look of relief on her face.
“Well done!!!”
“So-so. It was just a warm-up. There are still a few things in my hands I’m not used to.”
Will said as he walked over, leaping onto the raised platform where the two were standing.
“You scared me to death. I thought you were going to commit suicide,” Lucifer said somewhat displeased. “You’re too modest. I can see that… you have indeed gotten much stronger.”
“And you, Lucifer, who can generate such a powerful Slime, you’ve gotten stronger too?”
“All right, all right, no need to flatter me.”
Shuna, however, had indeed observed everything.
First, Will’s physical reactions were much stronger than before. Of course, when he was practicing quick and agile dodges, she noticed a slight purple glow in his left eye, utilizing a small amount of demonic power.
Second, his spellcasting speed had significantly improved. He could now cast many spells that previously required chanting simply by invoking his magic circuits for instant casting.
Finally, there was the ice wall he deliberately tricked them with. He adjusted the trigger method for several Ice Array (Attack) spells encapsulated by Iaar (provided by Will) from his collar, effectively gaining several passive defensive spells that required no effort from him.
…
Shuna nodded.
Alright, she admitted that Will had fought well.
She had expected him to fight poorly, and she would have to rack her brains trying to find something to praise him for, preparing a lot of compliments like “your casting gestures were so cool!” “your recovery after slipping was so timely!” “you look great today,” etc. Now, it seemed they wouldn’t be needed.
“What? Shuna, do you have any issues to point out?”
“You fought very well. No problems.”
“Mmm… but I asked you here specifically to help me find fault~ Sister Shuna…?”
Will shook his head.
She…
She couldn’t stand this the most!
“Mmm… the timing of your evasions… could… could still be adjusted a bit. You don’t have to wait to stand firm when casting. You should be able to… should be able to cast spells smoothly even when unbalanced now…”
She stammered out her reasons, tripping over her words.
“And! Don’t… don’t call me sister!”
“But you can call me Little Will~”
…
Lucifer, who had been pulling her hood tightly, pretending not to hear, finally couldn’t take it anymore—
“If you’re going to flirt, go back to your room—!”
