Chapter 36

Nana: "Sorry, I have a body type that doesn't gain weight no matter how much I eat."

"…That's what happened."

"You sure had quite an intense experience in just half a day."

Exhausted from being killed by Shuzen and receiving the death penalty, I immediately logged out. Even though the effect of *Garei* had worn off, I wouldn't be able to gain any experience for 12 hours due to the penalty from the hair accessory. Before logging out, I sent a quick email to Rin, and we decided to have lunch together.

As I was battling the cheese on the delivered pizza, Rin sighed and said,

"Murder Princess… She really doesn't learn, does she?"

"Huhuheiho?"

"Yeah, I think it's safe to say she's famous. She was caught once in the early days, but since it was her first offense, she was released quickly. Now, she's ridiculously high-level and spends most of her time leveling up, except when she randomly goes PKing."

"Ugh… A hardcore player, huh."

I wonder why Rō was in such a place. He was far more powerful than me. From what Rin said, that was undeniable. Even if he wanted to hunt weaker prey, it wouldn't make sense to return to the second town from the fifth town, the current frontline, considering the effort required to level up.

"Probably, he had some business near Dyalis and decided to check out the abnormal swamp area while he was there."

"In that case, Rō might have been the one who got the short end of the stick."

"True. The Black Dragon has been sighted a few times… It's called Apocalypse."

"That's right."

The True Dragon of Reason, Apocalypse. From our brief encounter, which lasted less than two minutes, I learned that it was an incredibly magic-focused monster. Its massive size wasn't just for show, either.

"Still, I've never seen such magic before. There was a streamer who happened to be broadcasting when the spell was cast. It's a big topic on social media."

"I disappeared before it hit, so I don't know what it was like."

Rin, who was interested in my question, quickly fiddled with her device and handed me the video she had clipped. The footage seemed to be from a distance, probably hundreds of meters away. It looked like a beginner streamer from the second wave, asking the audience, "What's that?"

The video started with the scene where I was running away, but it was too far to see me clearly. The flashing lights were probably light spears.

After a while, a bell-like sound echoed, followed by a 20-second pause. Then, the screen lagged for a moment, and suddenly, a massive magic circle appeared high in the sky. The aurora magic descended, expanded around the impact point, and finally exploded and disappeared, taking the girl in the video with it.

"Ew…"

"Poor thing."

"Considering I was the target and I survived, that's pretty impressive."

It wasn't just a matter of range. The magic was powerful enough to destroy the field itself. There were probably other victims besides her…

By the way, I think Rō survived too. The fact that we survived while the players around us died is significant.

"It seems to have erased all players and monsters within a 300-meter radius. It might be a conditional spell."

"The mere possibility of fighting it makes me want to give up."

"It's magic-focused, right? Probably has a steel barrier."

"Even a graze tore my stomach open."

"That's too soft. I or Tōka probably wouldn't take much damage from a graze."

"Maybe. Even I didn't take much damage, and it seemed to be more about limb destruction."

Rin looked amused at my grumbling. However, as a monster, it's a battle we have to face, but how can we defend against it?

"Probably with event items."

"Without a countermeasure, it's impossible to win. For example, the magic circle's color suggests it's a dark attribute spell. Maybe increasing resistance to that attribute would help."

"I want to propose the theory that all Oni will die."

We're stuck. Well, there are enemies we can't defeat, and maybe *Dōji* will evolve and be able to counter it.

"If that happens, just give up. Oh, the pizza's gone? I have a cake in the fridge."

"Really? Wow, Sachertorte."

"Lampō said you'd like it."

"I love high-calorie stuff."

After eating two slices of pizza and feeling unsatisfied, I was informed about the sweets in the fridge. While eating the Sachertorte that Tōka had brought, we continued our unproductive conversation about Apocalypse.

By the way, I also ate a cheese tart that Tōka brought over last night. Rin is wealthy, and I can afford to buy them, but receiving gifts makes me happy.

"Nana, you're not going to log in today, right?"

"No. The death penalty will lower my efficiency until late at night."

"Then, let's go shopping this afternoon. I want to pick out some new clothes for you."

"Huh?"

At Rin's suggestion, my body stiffened.

Neither Rin nor I care much about our appearance, as I mentioned before. However, Rin loves dressing me up, and once she catches me, I can't escape for hours. The goal is to dress me up, so whether we buy anything is a separate issue.

Until now, I've tried to divert Rin's attention away from clothing stores when we hang out. But this time, it was a trap.

"Tōka will probably be back in an hour, so get ready. I'm going to take a shower."

"No, wait…"

"Is that okay?"

"Y-yes."

For a moment, I felt a chill of fear. Intimidated by her glare, I collapsed onto the sofa. And so, we decided to spend our suddenly free time shopping.