I Defeated the Guide Angel and I Became a Necromancer ~ I Feel Like I'm Playing a Different Game from Everyone Else, but I'm Doing Fine ~ - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Dreamscape Utopia

◆ Rinne and Perseus, Outskirts of Lorelei ◆

I nearly forgot I was in a virtual reality world. It’s incredible, truly incredible. It’s as if I can feel the air near the sea… the refreshing sea breeze, the faint cries of seabirds in the distance. The sun’s rays beaming down intensely, and gradually, the sea came into view in the distance. A crystal-clear blue sea… visible even from here. The fact that you can have this experience in VR makes the real-world sea lose its appeal to me completely.

Honestly, the real-world sea doesn’t compare. There’s trash scattered around year-round, leftovers from inconsiderate beachgoers’ barbecues, debris scattered about, and the sea looks murky and uninviting. Oh, VR is truly the best… Simply experiencing this breathtaking scenery in a game could turn it into a bestseller. I genuinely believe that.

“How about it? Lorelei’s sea is beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Yeah… incredibly beautiful. So much that I’d like to move here, go ahead and change my residence registration here.”

“If by any chance, you were to move to VR, I would move here too, of course!”

“Yeah, that would be nice. You work too hard in real life.”

“But I’ve lightened my workload. Once the transition is fully done, the world will keep turning even if I don’t do anything!”

“Give it your best shot. I’ll be rooting for you!”

“Just having you cheering for me is enough. Um, there’s something I’ve wanted to talk to you about, Rinne.”

“Pigi.”

You received 31 damage from the Stone Armor Slime (Lv.34).

Now, Pers-chan was trying to tell me something important, right? This, this slime, seriously, slimes are… Slime, slime, slime, slime…!!!

Kyuun… (I’m sorry, I didn’t notice.)

“…I’ll kill it!!! Perforate, Curse Spear!!!”

Curse Spear activated, dealing 1 damage to the Stone Armor Slime (Lv.34) and inflicting it a curse.

“Kill it!! Donta!!!”

Gaaaah!!!

Donta (Lv.15) executed [Two-Stage Palm]. Dealt 1 damage… defeated. Experience gained: 3,900

Evil has been vanquished. Slimes are evil. There’s no such thing as a good slime in this world. Slimes must be killed. But seriously, aren’t the experience points for this one high?

“Isn’t the experience points for this slime high? It’s almost 4,000, isn’t it? Right, Pers-chan?”

“T-t-t-that slime… you defeated it?! That can’t be true! How were you able to defeat it?!”

“Huh? It died when Donta touched it. However, Curse Spear and the Two-Stage Palm only managed to inflict 1 damage each. Why, though?”

“W-would you mind showing me the battle log for a moment?!”

“Sure thing!”

Wait, was this the kind of monster that Pers-chan couldn’t easily defeat? But yeah, it’s strange to die from repeated attacks of only 1 damage. Why did it die?

“Curse’s slip damage?! So this works, huh?!”

“Wow, you defeated it with that?”

“It seems so… But it shouldn’t have had such low HP to die just from this. It should have around 500, that super tough monster!”

“Huh… why though? Maybe its HP was already low at that moment?”

“I’d like to look into it! Don-chan, do you remember the scent of the slime or anything? Can you find more?”

“Donta, can you locate this kind of slime?”

Woof! (I remembered! I can do it!)

Come to think of it, I never delved into the intricacies of curse status effects. Slip damage and such, that’s the extent of my knowledge. Well, perhaps this time, its HP just happened to be low. I should explore further by defeating a few more. They can’t all have low HP.

Woof!! (I found it!)

“Good job, Donta. Perforate, Curse Spear.”

Activated Curse Spear, dealt 1 damage to Stone Armor Slime (Lv.35). Inflicted a curse.

Stone Armor Slime (Lv.35) succumbed to the slip damage caused by the curse. Experience gained: 4,000.

“Oh, that was easy.”

“E-easy…?!”

It died immediately again. Was its HP low as well? It was nearby; maybe someone else has been dealing with them…

Woof woof!! (There are two of them!)

“Good, you’re such a good boy. Perforate, Curse Spear.”

Activated Curse Spear, dealt 1 damage to Stone Armor Slime (Lv.35). Inflicted a curse.

“Perforate, Curse Spear.”

Activated Curse Spear, dealt 1 damage to Stone Armor Slime (Lv.34). Inflicted a curse.

Stone Armor Slime (Lv.35) succumbed to the slip damage caused by the curse. Experience gained: 4,000.

Stone Armor Slime (Lv.34) succumbed to the slip damage caused by the curse. Experience gained: 3,900.

Level increased to 21! Congratulations!

Rinne and Perseus have both reached Level 21. Congratulations!

Donta has reached Level 16.

Aurelia is in a state where its level cannot increase. She can now evolve!

“Woof.”

“Woof, woof, woof.”

“Woof.”

Waaun…?

“Woof.”

“Woof.”

… (Clatter, clatter, clatter)

I’m almost certain, but could this one be… a bonus monster with ridiculously high experience points and easy to hunt? Moreover, even I can tell, these slimes are everywhere on these rocks. Without a doubt, this is a hunting ground, a leveling spot. Kill them…!! Exterminate them…!! From these slimes that always get in the way, I can at least get something…!!!

“R-Rinne-san? Your face, um, looks, s-scary…?”

“Hehe, hehehe… hehehehehehehahaha…!!! After we arrive at Lorelei, let’s come back here!!! I’ll defeat them all!!!”

“Yeah! L-let’s do that!”

“Donta, run. Let’s do some shopping in Lorelei, evolve Aurelia, and then come back here!”

Woof, waaun!! (Understood!!)

!!

Just wait, Stone Armor Slimes… When Aurelia evolves, I’ll slaughter all of you…!! This will be my hunting ground…!!!

◆ Rinne and Perseus, Guild House of Dreamscape Utopia, Trading City Lorelei ◆

“Huh? Is that your sub profession? Did you change your look?”

“Perseus-san, who’s the beautiful lady next to you?! And what’s with this fluffy dog, it’s huge!!!”

“Welcome back, Perseus-san! Where did you go without leveling up your profession?”

“Is your advanced profession still not unlocked?”

“Huh? Where’s your weapon?”

“Wow!! Hey, hey, can I, um, pet that dog? Can I touch it?!”

“Donta s-t-a-y c-a-l-m!!!”

Even before reaching the guild house, I had already caused quite a sensation. Now, as I look at my avatar closely, I see the neckline is daringly open, the corset is emphasizing my bust, I just… I just wanted to die. The cuteness of my Princess Gothic Lolita dazzled me. I want to die. I want to die. If it weren’t for Pers-chan, I would have already died a hundred times.

“Oh, Perseus-chan is back. Welcome back. Is this the friend you got in touch with?”

“Yes, indeed! Rinne, this is the guild master, ‘LovesNapping’. She’s the idiot of idiots who wanted to have this trade city Lorelei as the perfect spot for napping in the game and conquered it!”

“Loves, napping..? That’s her nickname…?”

“Yes! LovesNapping is her nickname! It’s okay to call her ‘LovesNapping’!”

“I am LovesNapping! As the name suggests, I love napping! Nice to meet you. I’m a girl, just like you, Rinne-chan? Rinne-chan has… a voluptuous bust and real module representation, really asserting her femininity… amazing…”

Oh, I want to disappear… Just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean it’s okay to be gawked at like that…

“Hmm… if only there was a touch feature…! I’m flat, so I envy…teehee?!”

“Even among women, gazing at Rinne’s double balls is rude! Feel free to indulge in your love for eternal sleep!!”

Thank goodness, Pers-chan really spoke up for me. There wasn’t any hitting involved, but she’s attacking with her usual ‘Maiden’s Charge’. LovesNapping is really on the verge of eternal rest…

“S-sorry, sorry, Rinne, I’m really sorry. It was an inconsiderate act…”

“I… I’m… okay… I think…”

“…Are you exactly the opposite type of person from Perseus?”

“It’s okay! She’s the same combat maniac type as me!! A girl with so much bloodlust that she’s already engaging in double-digit PKs at level 21!!!”

“Seems like the karma value might be heading into the negative.”

“It’s negative already, it’s a church no-entry level!”
“Arrgh!”

“Arrgh! Ah, indeed! I can’t enter either. I’ve already been reincarnated.”

“Arghhh!!”

LovesNapping might not be a bad person. She seems like a laid-back older sister, sporting large gauntlets on both hands, but her avatar, on the contrary, is thinly dressed, resembling an adapted cheongsam. The fabric is red, adorned with a large golden phoenix embroidery, looking cool.

Her hair is brown, and her eyes are golden, huh. It’s a real-life module avatar, and she’s definitely really flat… just like this in the real world. I wish she’d take that aspect into consideration. Being too flat is challenging, but so is being too big. It’s the opposite issue, but I hoped she would understand. Well, expecting her to realize that while I boldly expose my neckline might be too much, impossible actually. Impossible. I want to disappear…

“It’s fine not to enter the church?”

“Well, for now? Oh, more importantly, now that you’ve got to know each other, you can join the guild!”

“Yeah, sure. But just in case, our rules are…”

Oh, sure thing. I came here to join Pers-chan’s guild. There might be a few troublesome members, but basically, everyone here is someone she’s allowed to join, so they’re all fundamentally good people. I’m not sure about the atmosphere, but I think it’s better than elsewhere, so I was allowed to join. And as for the rules…

– Be eager for growth.

– Share information within the guild when finding a dungeon. The discoverer gets to name the undiscovered dungeon.

– Guild warehouse is free to take from. Massive withdrawals are discouraged and prohibited. The system automatically records who takes what, so if someone tries to make off with stuff, they’ll be dealt with accordingly.

– PK is allowed. Just don’t engage in malicious, persistent PKing.

– Conversely, since we’re a guild that’s easy to be PKed in, don’t complain even if you get PKed a lot.

-If there’s a struggling beginner, and you have the capacity, lend them a hand. Half-hearted assistance is discouraged because it can be annoying. If you’re going to help, do it properly.

-Profanity, excessive sexual harassment (a bit is tolerated), direct indecent acts, probing into stats, and probing into real-life are absolutely prohibited.

Since it’s a well-known guild, there might be some inevitabilities regarding PKing. The people in this guild house all seem to be smiling and cheerful, and there’s even someone who seems a bit too cheerful… I’ll trust them for now.

“Is this the gist of it? Our guild focuses on growth and conquering dungeons. When it comes to PK, there might be some lingering grudges, so just be cautious.”

“I… a…ga…in…”

[Join request from Guild Dreamscape Utopia has been received – Approved]

“Welcome to the guild, Dreamscape Utopia!”

“Yes, everyone heard it right. The newcomer is Rinne-chan, nice to meet you!”

“I’m Rinne… n…ice… to… me…et…”

“Nice to meet you, Rinne-san!”

“Nice to meet you, Rinne-san!!”

“Woah woah woah! (This person smells like food! It smells delicious!)”

“Rinne-san, nice to meet you. Can I ask you to tell this dude to stop licking everyone’s faces?”

“I… u-understand… I’ll t-tell him…”

There was already someone caught by Donta. Seems like they smell delicious or something… Don’t eat them, Donta. I don’t think that person is actually tasty.

“Baldy, he looks delicious!”

“Baldy’s profession is chef, he seems to be good at finding tasty-looking things! Your huge dog!”

“Hey hey, don’t eat me…”

“By the way, what’s this guy’s name?”

“…Donta.”

“Donta!”

“Woof wuuhhh!!! (Donta!)”

“Hage are you alright…? There’s even a chef as a profession. Truly, so much freedom…”

“Why on earth is he named Donta?”

“Because he was a sluggish, chubby dog…”

“Donta, a sluggish chubby one…”

“Sluggish, that massive thing?”

“This wolf is huge and super strong. It’s more like a wolf than a dog!”

“But it’s too expressive for a wolf, isn’t it, Donta? Oh no, I’ve been bitten again!!”

“Hmm… it seems he wants to eat… why don’t you…”

“Woah?! (Not food?! Oh, I’m sorry! I bit you!)”

“Got bitten, huh?”

“Baldy, make something for him.”

“Poor Baldy, being begged for food after getting bitten.”

“But Baldy’s dishes give buffs for a long time, so they’re strong.”

“Well, there’s no meat or anything…How about this?!”

“We got something! Marbled meat!”

“We got marbled meat!! Help yourself!!”

“As expected of Perseus! She always knows everyone’s needs!”

“Yeah, I didn’t have any meat or anything… Oh well, I hope it turns out delicious!”

“I’ve got it! Marbled meat!!”

“Super! Marbled meat!! For you, Donta!”

“Alright, it looks like a tasty piece of meat. I’ll cook it now…”

“Seems like everyone is having a good time.”

Hmm… this place is really free-spirited. Also, it’s interesting that the game system has various features, like the long-lasting buffs from cooking. Melty’s Online is truly a game with incredible depth.

The frost-covered dragon steak that Baldy-san cooked just melts. It feels like it’s melting into my stomach. The sensation of satisfaction lingers in my mouth, and the regret surfaces, wishing I had savored it more. It was so delicious… I want to eat it again. By the way, the effects were extraordinary: “+500 to maximum HP, 100% increase in natural recovery speed for 2 hours.” I feel like I’ve figured out why everyone treats Baldy so well. On another note, Donta seemed delighted too. Despite being a wolf, he was eating with a broad smile. What a cute guy.

◆ ◆ ◆

“Sorry I left you waiting outside.”

“(Shivering)”

I found a rocky area that appeared safe before entering Lorelei and left Aurelia there. Walking around with a skeleton witch felt risky, so I preferred being cautious. Consequently, everyone started referring to me as ‘Beast Tamer Rinne,’ but I didn’t feel the need to correct them, it’s fine as it is.

“I’m looking forward to her evolution!”

“Yeah.”

“!”

I retrieved the evolution materials for Aurelia from the guild warehouse. Everyone had mentioned, “We have tons lying around, so feel free to use them,” and the materials numbered in the tens of thousands. It should be okay to use them.

By the way, Aurelia had various evolution paths:

First, there was the path of giving up on the physical body—’Ghost Witch (Spirit Attribute, Undead Form, Medium-sized)’. It seemed like it could speak, but the disadvantage of becoming powerless in sunlight was too severe, so I rejected it.

Then, there was the continuous bone path—’Chaos Bone Witch (Undead Attribute, Undead Form, Medium-sized)’. This one had the downside of not being able to speak, so I rejected it too. Aurelia needs to start speaking soon for quests and usefulness.

The last option is the ‘Zombie Witch (Undead Attribute, Humanoid Form, Medium-sized),’ a witch with the long-awaited flesh. However, the fact that it’s a zombie is quite concerning. I wonder if it’s okay; if it smells bad, I won’t like it.

“Starting today, you are the Zombie Witch!!!”

“The maximum level was 15, right? It seems there will be another evolution there.”

“With this, you should be able to speak!”

So, it’s confirmed—the Zombie Witch! The materials are ‘☆1 Magic Crystals x20,’ ‘Unstoppable Heart,’ and ‘Meat Items 30 kilograms or more’! This time, I’ll use a surplus of ‘Small Dragon Meat – 30 kilograms’ that I had in abundance!

“Aurelia (Lv.MAX) has evolved from Skeleton Witch to [Zombie Witch, Aurelia (Lv.1)]!”

“She gains the Dragon attribute, changing from humanoid to dragonkin, and Aurelia has learned the skill [Breath of Flame].”

“Due to the zombie trait, Aurelia is now weak to [Fire].”

“Some of her stats have significantly increased.”

…Wasn’t that just an incredibly unexpected and unfortunate combination? Am I imagining things? No, surely not. There’s no way she could get burned by her own breath, right? She’ll be fine, right?!

“Cough…hack-hack, cough-cough, cough…ugh…” (Flailing and scrambling)

“Is this a joke…”

“…Is the small dragon’s meat causing this trouble?”

“Wauu……”

No way… Tell me it’s a lie, Aurelia…

“Aurelia’s throat is burned, and a persistent burn condition has been applied.”

“No wayyyyyyyyyyy!”

“Ugh, ugh… (Frustration)”