Chapter 87

Xiaolin stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from her mother. However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't help but overlook it...

"Already twenty minutes have passed..."

The entrance on the opposite side was, of course, closed, and although she wasn't completely disappointed, she felt a bit of resignation as she sat in front of the entrance (or exit?) for twenty minutes.

*Ringne mochitsuke*

*Are you still alive?*

*Nana will be fine... probably*

*Yeah... surely*

*Maybe*

*↑Say something w*

"Hey... are you trying to encourage me?"

The words of the listeners, which were far from encouraging. Despite the usual atmosphere they provided through their comments, it was true that it made her feel a bit more at ease. However, when it came to Nana, she seemed to become incredibly weak, more so than she could ever imagine. She felt so much anxiety and restlessness that she couldn't just brush it off as a mere game.

Still, not everything was bad. Even after twenty minutes, Nana's HP, which she could see as a party member, had only decreased by about 30%, and there were no signs of any status abnormalities. It had dropped by nearly 20% in the first five minutes, but it hadn't decreased much since then.

"Oh...?"

*Click*.

While worrying about Nana and playing with the listeners, she heard a familiar sound. The door of the Monster House opened. Without waiting for it to fully open, she rushed into the room as soon as there was enough space. Nana was sitting in the center of the room, waiting for her. She seemed to be looking down, and didn't seem to notice that Xiaolin had entered the room.

"Nana!"

"...Ah, Rin-chan"

Nana didn't seem excited or cold, just a bit dazed, which was unmistakably her usual self. Seeing Nana sitting and looking up at her, Xiaolin ran over.

*Plop*

"Are you okay!? Did you get hurt?"

"Rin-chan, this is a game, you know?"

"Ahaha, right... I'm glad, I'm so glad."

Relieved to see Nana unharmed, Xiaolin hugged her, and laughed, realizing how anxious she had been. Nana had really wiped out all those monsters.

"Hey, Rin-chan. Look at this."

"Huh? What are you sitting on?"

"A treasure chest. It appeared after I defeated all the monsters."

The thing Nana was sitting on looked like a rusty treasure chest. It wasn't exactly a jewelry box, but what could it be? The decorations visible under the rust were quite luxurious, and it was natural to feel a bit of excitement, considering it was a reward for clearing such a large-scale Monster House.

"Nana, can I open it?"

"Sure, I'm not really interested."

Nana, looking a bit dazed, said she wasn't interested and wasn't even looking at the treasure chest. She seemed to be looking away, as if at something else...

At that moment, a sound she rarely heard came from Nana.

"...H...a..."

It was a sigh from Nana, a tiny breath. No, Nana wasn't uninterested. Nana was "exhausted." So exhausted that she had to sit on the treasure chest to rest after the battle. Of course, defeating over 100 monsters was an extraordinary feat. It was impossible not to be exhausted. Nana was so drained that she might have been forced to log out.

Indeed, even in a large room, the situation with the monsters overflowing would have been easier for Nana, who could move quickly. Unlike turn-based battles in roguelikes, the monsters' movements were somewhat restricted, so Nana might have been able to take advantage of that and even target them to fight each other. Nana had the Red Wolf outfit and the special skill *Moon Camellia Solo*, so she might not have had to worry about SP.

However, there was a limit. It was impossible to defeat over 100 monsters with only 30% damage. This dungeon had many magic-using monsters, most of which could deal fatal blows to Nana. The fact that she hadn't taken a single magic attack during the battle was proof of that. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to defeat all the monsters without using any recovery items.

Unless she had a complete grasp of all the monsters' movements.

*Shiver*.

Her hand trembled as she reached for the treasure chest. How much concentration would it take to do such a thing? The Nana she knew was much more...

"...Rin-chan? Aren't you going to open it?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. The lock is hard to find because it's so rusty."

Nana's words snapped her out of her unpleasant thoughts. Nana had achieved a great feat, a great accomplishment. That was enough, that was enough. Later, she would ask to see Nana's play archive. Even without editing, the video would likely get a huge number of views on the video site.

By the way, the play archive was a feature that recorded all the player's gameplay, even when not streaming. Players who purchased the maximum-grade full option for streaming were charged a monthly fee, but in return, they could record all their gameplay even when not streaming. The cost was 50,000 yen per month, and the recording data was only saved for a week. Considering the massive data size of VR videos, it was actually quite a deal. Nana's tip amount for streaming was more than three times her monthly salary from her part-time job, so paying 50,000 yen a month was no problem. Besides, her pocket money was enough to cover it, so there was no need to ask Nana.

"Okay, I'm going to open it...!"

The rusty treasure chest creaked as it opened. There was no dazzling light or solemn atmosphere. Inside the opened chest were a "Transparent Star Dust Fragment" and "a thick book."

"Hmm...?"

"A book? That's rare, I don't think I've seen many in this game."

"Right."

Nana, who seemed to have recovered a bit, came to look inside the treasure chest. Understanding Nana's reaction, Xiaolin pondered the two items.

The Star Dust Fragment looked like a candy, and when taken out of the inventory, the color of each fragment was quite random. Most were a pure color with a translucent white, like candy. In contrast, this Star Dust Fragment was clearly transparent, like a glass ornament. As for the book, it was difficult to understand. It was just an old, hardcover book.

"I'll look at the book."

"Sure. I'll look at the fragment."

Xiaolin took the book that Nana didn't seem interested in, and gave the Star Dust Fragment to Nana. The book in the inventory was titled *Skill Book: Songstress's Embrace*. Its effect was that the user could learn the rare skill *Songstress's Embrace*.

"A rare skill book, huh?"

Skill books were a fairly standard item. Most initial skills were learned from skill books, and developing them into more powerful skills was the way to learn skills in WLO. For example, skill books for initial weapons could be bought for about 1,000 Iris from stores. They were almost like buying the skill itself, and since they were used with a single command, many players might not even realize that skill books were books. Conversely, there were cases where skills were obtained directly without using a skill book. For example, when a named boss dropped a skill, it would be added directly to the player's skill list.

Why were they separated if they were similar? It was probably due to the value of each skill. With skill books, anyone could learn the skill if they received it from the owner, but with drops, only the player who defeated the monster could obtain it. For strong skills like Nana's *Famine Wolf* and Xiaolin's rare skill, the intention was for players to actually defeat strong monsters to obtain them.

Still, rare skill books like the one Xiaolin now held did exist. She had just learned this, but the *Songstress's Embrace* skill seemed to be more suitable for Nana based on its effect.

"Rin-chan, this is pretty amazing too. It's just a Star Dust Fragment, but look at the quantity."

"Let me see... What!?"

She let out an exclamation. The "Star Dust Fragment × 5000" on Nana's menu card was shining brightly. Maybe the color of the Star Dust Fragment changed depending on the quantity. According to Nana, the 5000 number was separate from the Star Dust Fragments she already had, and was the result of thawing the transparent Star Dust Fragment. The transparent Star Dust Fragment was an item that could provide the amount of Star Dust Fragments equivalent to ten clearances in just one.

"Nana, I'll give this to you."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"You earned it all by yourself. If it were a magic skill, I might have taken it, but..."

"True, it would be a waste for me to learn a magic skill."

Nana, who seemed to have recovered a lot, smiled and said this self-deprecatingly. Nana was often focused on her low magic defense, but her MP and intelligence were also incredibly low. It was just that they weren't mentioned because they weren't usually needed. Therefore, it was essential to develop skills in areas other than magic. The skill book she had just returned was definitely something Nana needed.

"Songstress's Embrace... Is it related to the Siren?"

"It's definitely related..."

While watching Nana use the skill book to learn the skill, Xiaolin agreed with Nana's words. Sirens were mythical creatures associated with singing, known for causing shipwrecks. It was hard to imagine *Songstress's Embrace* not being related to the Siren.

"Hmm... I don't have enough skill slots..."

"What skills do you have now?"

"I have *Blunt Weapon*, *One-Handed Mace*, *Two-Handed Mace*, *Unarmed Combat*, *Detection*, *Famine Wolf*, *Throwing*, and the *Instant Change* skill I got at level 50."

"Is *Instant Change* the one that lets you switch weapons quickly?"

"Probably. It's convenient because I can equip throwing weapons instantly."

I see, I was wondering how you were taking out the throwing items. So you had that skill.

*Instant Change* was a skill you could get by raising the proficiency of three or more weapon skills to 50. Even derivative weapon skills could meet the conditions, so it wasn't difficult to obtain. If you placed weapons in a dedicated change inventory in advance, you could change equipment without any animation by consuming SP. I just learned that this effect extended to throwing items, but since the throwing skill was so unpopular and unexplored, it made sense.

*Instant Change* was a skill that only players who could handle multiple weapons at a decent level could use. It was more common in VR to focus on a single weapon rather than half-heartedly developing multiple skills. Furthermore, considering that *Instant Change* already required diverse skills and that the throwing skill was completely dependent on player skill, there might be only a handful of people out of 30,000 who could use both at a practical level. Honestly, I think Nana is the only one who can use both right now.

Still, Nana's discovery could be revolutionary for throwing skill users. Equipping or taking out throwing weapons was more cumbersome than expected. *Instant Change* wasn't particularly difficult to obtain, and it might become a valuable skill for throwing users.

"What should I do?"

"Nana, it's a passive skill. You only have *Shadow Sewing* right now, so why don't you replace *Two-Handed Mace* or *Unarmed Combat*?"

"Passive?"

"Skills that are always active."

In skill-based games, there are usually two types of skills: active and passive. Active skills are basic skills that you can choose when to use, like casting arts.

Conversely, passive skills are always active skills that affect stats or resistances. For example, raising the *One-Handed Sword* skill to proficiency 100 would grant a skill effect of "1.1x attack power when equipped with a one-handed sword." Since this effect is always active as long as the equipment is worn, it is considered a passive skill. On the other hand, active skills like *Slash* are completely active.

"Come on, Nana, you should know about passive skills, right?"

"Hehe..."

When I pointed this out, Nana laughed sheepishly. Nana had also been deeply into games, having conquered many with me, so she should have a decent amount of game knowledge. However, since I was the one who played most of the time, it's understandable that she wasn't very conscious of it.

"Hmm? Rin-chan, could this be...?"

"Yes, it's perfect for the current Nana, isn't it?"

After checking the skill effect, Nana looked surprised and tugged at my robe. I returned a slightly smug smile. The rare skill effect was still a secret.

By the way, the *Instant Change* skill is not very popular. It's because switching weapons during combat doesn't often provide an advantage. However, if a variety of attribute weapons become more common, it might be evaluated differently.