Chapter 6

□＜Old Leve Orchard＞ Ray Sterling

The path that my brother had just taken, spraying the Gatling gun, is now free of any monsters.

I can now sprint the remaining 500 meters to the entrance.

However, it's tough.

It's only now, after giving it my all, that I've realized this game has a concept of fatigue.

Not only that, but my legs are trembling from the current situation.

The status screen even shows an abnormal condition: [Fear].

Still, I run without letting go of Miriane's hand.

“Gah...!”

Miriane also seems to be struggling, but she's trying her best to run.

Her face, however, is filled with fear.

We run, trembling with fear.

“By the way,”

I called out to Miriane to try to distract her, though I wasn't sure if it was to distract her or myself.

“Miriane... Miri, why did you come all the way here to pick [Rem Berries]?”

I asked, half out of genuine curiosity and half to distract her.

“Well, today is Onee-chan's birthday... Onee-chan loves Rem berry cake, so I wanted to make one for her...”

“I see.”

“But there weren't any left in the store, so I was worried. Then the glasses-wearing guy said, ‘If you have this seed, you can go to the <orchard> outside...’”

Because of that glasses-wearing guy.

I don't know what he was thinking, but I want to punch whoever sent a child to such a dangerous place.

“I picked the Rem berries, but then Onee-chan came to pick me up, and the seed's effect wore off...”

While talking, we've covered half the distance, with only half left.

We can make it if we keep running.

“...uluuuu”

Immediately after, a growl and the ground's tremor came from behind.

“!”

It was a split-second decision.

I grabbed Miriane and jumped to the side.

In the next moment, the [Demidragon Worm] emerged from the ground, its massive jaws snapping as it passed by where we had been running.

“No way...!”

I turned back, but the sounds of battle were still coming from that direction.

Liliana is still fighting.

Is this one of the two that escaped from the battle and came after us?

Or one of the two that took my brother underground?

...There could be even more, but I don't want to think about that.

The problem is, no matter which scenario it is, I have no way to fight back.

I looked at my status screen, but my level is still 0, and the <Embryo> in my left hand hasn't hatched yet.

Even if it did, I doubt a newly hatched <Embryo> would be any match for something that even my brother's Gatling gun <Embryo> couldn't defeat.

My heart beats with fear and anxiety, and cold sweat runs down my forehead and back.

The sensations are too real; I feel like I'm going to die.

“GYULUUUUUUUUUEAAAAA!!”

The [Demidragon Worm] emerged from the ground, roaring.

It's not a warning to its enemy but a triumphant laugh of a strong victor.

“...I'm done for”

The <Old Leve Orchard>, a place known as a “beginner killer.” I guess I'll meet my first “death” here.

But...

“Waaah...”

Miriane, who is now crying in my arms.

She's an NPC... Tia.

Unlike me, a player, she can't come back if she dies.

From what my brother said, even important characters like the king couldn't come back after dying, so she's probably no exception.

She can die in <Infinite Dendrogram> just like anyone else.

“...That's why it leaves a bad taste in my mouth”

I took off the [Life-saving Brooch] from my equipment and put it on Miriane.

“Miri, can you run back to the entrance by yourself?”

“...Huh?”

Miriane looked up at me, uncertain.

“I have to punch this damn centipede, so...”

As soon as I said that, the [Demidragon Worm] charged at us with its massive body.

I pushed Miriane away, and she flew through the air like she was hit by a truck.

“Gah, Hah...”

The impact was intense, worse than when I collided with Liliana in the city.

But I'm still alive.

The damage was 93, and my remaining HP is 5.

One of the four [Substitute Dragon Scales] in my open equipment list shattered and disappeared.

I survived the charge thanks to the [Dragon Scale] reducing the damage by 90%.

I forced my numb body to move and drank the [Heal Potion Lv2] from my item list.

HP fully restored. My body can move again.

I looked around, and Miriane was still there.

“Go! I'll take care of this thing!”

It's a big lie.

There's no way I can handle it.

But I can buy time. If she can escape during that time, it'll be fine.

Miriane stood up and ran towards the entrance.

There should be other players or NPCs outside the entrance.

This is good, I thought, just as I was hit again.

Second near-death, another [Dragon Scale] shattered, [Potion] recovery, and back in the fight.

“Hah! If I include the death penalty, I can take three more hits, you damn centipede!”

I dodged the third charge.

Even with my initial stats, I can avoid it if I move properly.

But,

“!?”

I was kicked away by its tail, which moved like a whip.

The damage was almost the same, and my HP dropped back into the danger zone, shattering another [Dragon Scale].

“Damn it”

Only one [Dragon Scale] left.

Miriane hasn't reached the entrance yet. I need to buy time until she does.

As I was thinking that,

“GYUUUUEAAAA!!”

The [Demidragon Worm] changed its target.

It twisted its massive body to focus on Miriane.

“Hey, what are you looking at, you...”

It ignored my stubbornness and charged at Miriane.

“Wait a minute, aaaaaaaah!!”

I ran, but my speed wasn't enough, and the [Demidragon Worm] hit Miriane with its massive body.

—Her small body floated up like a leaf.

The basket she was carrying fell from her hand and hit the ground.

“Aaaaaah!!”

I dove and caught her falling body.

The impact was intense, and the last [Dragon Scale] shattered.

But that's not the issue now.

I looked at Miriane's face, fearing the worst.

My heart ached with a pain different from the physical pain.

“...”

She was unconscious, but unharmed.

The [Life-saving Brooch] I put on her earlier had shattered, but it seemed to have worked.

It was already broken.

My last [Dragon Scale] was gone.

We have no way to withstand the [Demidragon Worm]'s attacks.

Liliana is still in battle.

There's nothing we can do.

“GYUUUUAAAAAAAA!!”

The monster in front of me, unable to communicate, seemed to be trembling with the joy of finally being able to finish off its stubborn prey.

I tried to resist by drawing the knife I had as initial equipment.

But the blade was broken when I pulled it out. It must have broken from the repeated impacts.

The chances of survival for me and Miriane are now 0.

“...”

I looked at the unconscious girl in my arms.

Her weight, her warmth, her breathing, the emotions she showed me, all felt as real as in the real world.

She is here as a real life, and her life is about to be lost, just like in the real world.

“...Damn it”

I can't give up.

To me, this world is a game. Dying isn't a problem.

But even knowing this world is a game, the idea of this girl being lost from this world forever leaves a bad taste.

I clenched my fists in frustration.

On the back of my hand, the <Embryo> in its 0th form, like an egg, was embedded.

“Hey...”

I said,

“If the <Embryo> can give the player, you, me... infinite possibilities”

I wished.

“Give me the possibility”

I wished, right in front of the monster about to deliver the final blow.

“Give me the possibility of a happy ending, the possibility of saving this girl...!”

I wished with all my heart to my left hand, the embodiment of the world of possibilities called the <Infinite Lineage>.

“Wake up and give me even a 1% chance, damn it!”

The [Demidragon Worm] launched its final charge,

“Quite a passionate master, aren't you? But I am born from such a passionate you. I don't dislike it.”

In an instant, the fatal charge was blocked by something.

“...Huh?”

Just like when my brother disappeared into the ground, I couldn't understand what was happening in front of me.

I couldn't comprehend that the tragedy that should have occurred didn't, and that an impossible miracle had happened.

The <Embryo> on the back of my left hand had disappeared, leaving a crest in its place.

The [Demidragon Worm], which should have killed us, was recoiling from a wall of light.

And between the [Demidragon Worm] and us stood an unknown girl.

Her jet-black hair fluttered in the wind, and her skin shimmered like white porcelain.

She turned to look at me, her gothic skirt with black fabric and white frills swaying. Her eyes, black like the night and white like the stars, met mine.

“Good morning”

She said that first.

“...”

“Tsk, you're dazed. What a disappointment. I was forced to wake up because you called me.”

Her tone lost some of its mystique, but her words gave me a hint of a possibility.

“You're my...”

<Embryo>, right...?

“Of course. Well, Master? That damn centipede is still alive. How about a grand finale for my birthday?”

“How...!?”

Before I could finish my question, the girl dissolved.

She lost her human form and became a cluster of black, glowing light, which wrapped around my right arm and transformed.

It became a black greatsword, organic and ominous, yet somehow beautiful.

“Timing is up to you. When the damn centipede charges, swing the sword. Fail, and we all die.”

“I’ve given you the possibility. The rest is up to you”... That’s what I felt she said.

“...Understood”

I realized what I needed to do before I could even ask.

The [Demidragon Worm], enraged by our survival, charged at us with a speed I've never seen before.

It was a straight, visible charge, but too fast to avoid.

However, there was time to swing the sword.

“With the three times you almost killed me and the one time I absorbed from you...”

Just before the [Demidragon Worm]'s massive jaws touched us,

“...I’ll return it doubled”

I swung the black greatsword.

“...《Vengeance is Mine》”

The moment the greatsword touched, a shockwave hit.

A moment of silence.

Then, the [Demidragon Worm] was crushed into pieces, as if by a monster several times its size.

Its head was pulverized into splinters.

How many times today will I struggle to understand what I see? I thought as I looked at what was in front of me.

In front of me was the [Demidragon Worm], its massive body gradually turning into light, leaving only drops behind.

Behind me, Miriane was still unconscious.

And next to me, the girl who had returned to her human form from the black greatsword.

“Success, success. Good job, Master. You’ve grasped the possibility you wished for.”

“Are you really my <Embryo>?”

When I asked, the girl, with a flourish, did a curtsy, her frilly skirt floating.

“I am Nemesis. <Embryo>, TYPE: Maiden with Arms, Nemesis. Born from your heart, flesh, and soul.”

She introduced herself and smiled.

“Looking forward to working with you, Master?”

To be continued

6/9