Thinking they had finally found the light at the end of the tunnel, Akira and Co. had reached a point of no return when one of the corridors led them to a sheer dead end drop, down the side of a tall rocky cliff overlooking a verdant river valley.
Freedom was just within their grasp, and yet so far away.
"There's no other path for us to take but down," Akira said, after looking out across the valley for a while. "What do you think, Lazuli?"
He turned to face the others, who were all silent..
One of the nameless girls—the snake-girl—couldn't slither fast enough and had been clipped by a fired crossbow bolt along the way: her echoing screams, moments later, being the last that anyone would ever hear of her. Which only left—Akira counted—two of the rescued girls, not counting himself and Lazuli, still standing.
Lazuli had been carrying the mouse-girl that was used for minotaur bait, earlier: Naked, scarred and bloodied. Alive, yet not alive. Rendered comatose in her state of shock.
Akira could feel the blame transmitting through the cold glares of Lazuli and the cat-girl.
There was a palpable, looming threat of mutiny, prompting him to defend himself:
"I had no choice," he said. "It was either her, or all of us."
"You're a complete psycho," Lazuli bit back sharply. "I could end you right now—with my [Power Word]."
Akira wasn't fazed. "If you feel so strongly about it, then go ahead," he said while languidly pacing back and forth. Adding, like he was taunting her: "I'm already done with this game, anyway! So you'd be doing me a favor. Except I reckon there's a new problem facing us here that requires my brain power to sort through, so you wouldn't dare."
Lazuli's eyes were glowing. "Oh, yeah? Wanna try me you bastard?"
"Stop!" Suddenly the hat-girl, who had remained neutral up until this point, stood up in-between the two with her arms held out to form a wall. "He's right, Lazuli-san! We need him."
"I don't care if I die here"—Lazuli shoved her aside—"this smug ass needs to pay for his crime!"
"There's no way you'll be able to save that girl if we jump."
Lazuli turned to her sharply, like she was going to yell...but then swallowed her lip.
Of course, hat-girl was right: Lazuli would never be able to ensure the safety of the comatose mouse-girl, let alone her own safety, if she jumped off the cliff while holding her.
Akira grinned, coyly seizing upon this opportunity given to him by the hat-girl:
"Your best bets would be to leave her behind, or throw her off," he said. "You know, let fate decide."
Lazuli's holy glow had fizzled out, but there was still anger in her eyes. "How can you be so heartless? What's wrong with you?"
"I know when I need to make a difficult decision," Akira simply said. "It's part of what it takes to be a top CEO." He walked over to Lazuli, examining the blankly staring face of the catatonic girl. "If one must be sacrificed for the good of the many...then it will be done. Just as anything that will slow down progress must be eliminated."
FWOOSH!
"Uwah!" A crossbow bolt whizzed past, clipping the Naruto cat-girl in her neck.
"Datte...bayo!" she cried, spitting up mouthfuls of blood.
A wicked laugh tore through the air then, as a minotaur holding a crossbow stepped forth from the shadows.
"I found the runaways!" he triumphantly yelled. Meaning more were now on their way.
The girl struck by the crossbow bolt was choking, coughing up blood, feebly holding onto the wall with wobbly steps to keep from falling…before plummeting off the edge of the cliff.
"We'll all be dead if we don't follow her," Akira said. "Everybody, let's go!"
Lazuli looked like she was about to cry. "Damn it!"
FWOOSH!
The minotaur fired off another bolt, aimed at Akira.
"Holy Intervention!" Lazuli yelled, just in the nick of time, causing a gleaming white protective bubble of divine holy energy to form around Akira, easily deflecting the bolt.
"Th-thanks," Akira said, slightly shaken by the near hit.
"I've got you, psycho!" Lazuli said. And after delivering her usual speech, [Power Word: Judgment] made quick work of the minotaur. "Now figure out a way to get us out of here!"
With the threat eliminated, Akira was provided some much-needed room to think. He wanted to come up with a way to better the odds of their survival if they jumped, and witnessing Lazuli's [Holy Intervention] had given him an idea. But first, he needed to gain a better understanding of how the bubble worked, and fast.
"Lazuli, is your [Holy Intervention] able to cover multiple targets at once?"
"Yes, as long as they're standing close to each other when I cast it. The radius is only about one meter in all directions, so they practically have to be hugging."
"And how strong of an impact can it absorb?"
"Uhh…" Lazuli looked uncertain. "I've never really tested it on much, but it can hold off sword attacks without a dent."
There wasn't much to go on. But still, what Akira was thinking seemed like their best hope…
"All of us need to stand close together, so that you can shield us all with your bubble. Then we'll jump, and if we miss the water your bubble will absorb the impact."
"Hopefully," Lazuli added with a skeptical look, while she went to scoop up the mouse-girl.
"If this works like I'm hoping it will, we won't have to leave anyone behind after all."
Lazuli's lips stretched into a wide smile when she faced him again. "Akira-san…!" (You really do care!)
Akira smiled back. "After all, there's nothing I hate to see more than unnecessary sacrifices."
"Except gamers, right?" Lazuli said jokingly.
"True. Gamers are the scum of the earth—and don't you forget it!"
"Hurry! They're getting away!" A minotaur could be heard shouting, their hunkered forms mustering in a line with crossbows drawn and loaded as Lazuli, carrying the mouse-girl, Akira and the hat-girl all held hands.
FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH!
"Holy Intervention!"
The bubble withstood the oncoming volley of bolts, producing a slight suctioney sound with each hit.
Pushed to the edge of the cliff, all there was left to do was take the plunge.
"Here goes nothing," Akira said with a deep breath, just as Lazuli was finishing a small prayer for good fortune.
And then, all at once, they jumped.
But quickly, they found that it was impossible to steer the bubble as they fell.
It first touched down on the top of a jagged cliff, but held strong, with only a few cracks forming in the side of it. Then rolled down the cliff face like a pinball, chaotically jostling and tumbling Akira and Co. about within it, until being deposited into the white river rapids speckled with jagged sharp rocks below.
The bubble was buoyant, and perfectly airtight. Making what would've been a dangerous fight for survival against the strong current…a leisurely river-float.
"I guess my bubbles are pretty strong after all," Lazuli said, still panting hard.
Akira was panting, too. But hadn't felt this alive since the last time he went bungee jumping. "Now we'll just have to go wherever the river leads us."
Looking back he saw a fortress carved directly into the brown cliffside, looming in the distance.
"That was the Maze Dungeon," Lazuli said to him. "It's a mid-level instance that even high-levels prefer to avoid, because of how easy it is to get lost inside. Sometimes for days. Which is why the minotaurs have been growing in strength, taking more captives than ever before. Because no one bothers to go through the trouble of culling them."
"So, this really is a video game world…with stats and skills, dungeons and everything."
"Mhm. And after seeing the way you operate firsthand, I'm not surprised that you started out in such a difficult zone."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Akira gave a mystified look.
"Don't you think it's odd that you started the game in a mid-level zone?"
"Now that you mention it…" Akira hadn't really thought about it until she just brought it up.
"A new player's starting zone is determined based on their karma. The more negative karma a person has accumulated, the more difficult the starting zone. Almost like the world itself wants to eat you up for your crimes."
"That's…nonsense. Such a thing as 'karma' can't be quantified."
"I know it sounds strange, but there's a lot you'll come to learn about this world that should be impossible."
"Such as having such a ridiculous, perverted body?" Akira noted, while annoyedly adjusting the thin piece of cloth that barely covered his breasts. "Tch, it feels like I have heated pillows tied to every part of my body! It's so embarrassing." His tail angrily twitched, his furry squirrel-like ears standing upright of their own accord. "I swear, I'll never get used to this! I can't find a way out of this stupid game soon enough!"
"Ohohohoho!" Lazuli gave a snickering laugh, hiding her mouth behind her hand. "It doesn't suit a serious person like you at all! Maybe it's due to your bad karma as well?"
"A truly bizarre form of punishment..." he groaned.
The sky became dyed orange, signaling it would soon be the end of another day: the end of Akira's very first in Another World. And up ahead, the river could be seen forking into two opposite directions. Lazuli, looking strangely forlorn, seemed to take special notice of this fact as she then turned to Akira with a sad smile.
"Akira…" she said softly, dramatically pausing before continuing, "thank you."
"Lazuli?" Akira looked between Lazuli's solemn face and the split up ahead, realizing what she was planning to do. "No, no, no, don't—"
"I'm sorry...but for now, this is where we must part ways."
Suddenly, the holy bubble split in two: Akira and one of the rescued girls went bobbing along the river in one if the two forked directions, while Lazuli went the other with the catatonic girl.
Lazuli waved. "I hope we'll meet again, Akira Maximilian!"
"That's right!" Akira was sad to see her go, but didn't want to let it show. If only because it wouldn't be very "CEO" of him.
So instead...he smiled, and waved back. "Like for those donuts and coffee you promised..."
"That's right! I'll see you again, in Acquama Town!"
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Party member has dropped out: Lazuli Miércoles!
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