"Shit—! Everyone run! I'll cast [Quick]"
With a green light that suddenly enveloped everyone, Nara had executed several skills that involved combat.
[Quick effect received for a duration of 00:05:00]
[Haste effect received for a duration of 00:03:00]
[Precision effect received for a duration of 00:02:00]
[Due to the presence of Blacksmiths in your party, all your weapon durabilities are enhanced.].
Multiple prompts appeared all at once as they all entered combat against the forces of the Kingdom.
Soldiers were flooding in against them, but one by one Nara had shot those who led the charge one by one with her quick and precise arrow shots.
They were caught in between two opposing forces that were both hostile to them. It was the worse scenario that could have played out.
"——!!"
Ichiro stepped back as Nara and the others stand in front of him, ready to intercept the incoming forces of the Kingdom whilst aware of the Empire's warships that were hovering above them.
"For the Kingdom of Lucia!"
The soldiers of the Kingdom chanted on their charge, cursing at everything they had to destroy to protect their Kingdom.
But was it necessary to destroy and kill everything?
"Ichiro! What are you doing?!"
Ichiro froze in fear as Ron called his name out. It was useless, he couldn't hear him as his heartbeat resounded much louder than Ron's voice.
He was deafened by it.
"Damn it!"
Ron shouted as the Nara and Kyori looked back as well, only looking at Ichiro who began to falter at the sight of killing.
They understood that his world was a peaceful place where such violence was a traumatic experience.
But they all should have prepared him for the fact that this was inevitable if one must do everything to survive.
Nara could only turn herself back to face the opponents, fortifying herself for the upcoming attack. She must focus to protect the people who were running behind them.
"Ichiro! Just run!"
She shouted, throwing her hand to push him away towards the others who she had wanted to protect.
"Ngh... No...I—"
Claaang! Swoosh!
They began to clash with the soldiers, holding them back as many of them were felled by Ron's attacks that caused massive bloodshed.
"[Ghost Vertical!]"
Ron shouted before tumbling to the right to dodge a series of attacks whilst leaving a clone of him that was made out of his mana, performing a destructive vertical strike.
"Kyori! Give me a boost!"
He called out as several magic circles appeared, becoming footholds for his upcoming attack.
"[Continuous Strike]"
It was a series of slashes he performed while passing through the numbers of soldiers, piercing through their armors as he cuts them in their limbs and heads fly up.
It was truly a disgusting sight for Ichiro who couldn't stomach such a scene.
He had knelt on the ground, throwing up after witnessing such bloodshed, trying to choke it in as he held his sword with his other hand.
"Bleegh!"
He felt his innards become sore and his throat became dry. Everything he had eaten since morning had vanished, it felt like nothing but a mush of liquid.
He couldn't believe that he would be able to feel something to this extreme. He was confident that he wouldn't be bothered by the scene of someone being killed.
But he was right, he shouldn't have been bothered by it. However...
"[S-Status!]"
He opened up his status, quickly scrolling down to his skills.
"The skill Adaptation is gone..."
It was the skill that had created an opportunity for him to be mentally invulnerable but for it to become Evolution, a one-time usable spell that would limit break his level cap of 1.
It was a shitty system, he had always cursed it since.
"——!"
From behind him, there was a soldier who slipped through from Nara and the others.
The soldier raised his sword, preparing to strike him.
He shouted the name of the Kingdom with bloodshot eyes as Ichiro flinched back, however, he ground his molars and tumbled to the side, barely dodging the strike as his back was cut.
He yelps out an agonized cry of pain turning into a growl.
"Ichiro!"
Nara called out from a distance as wide combat ensues around them. She already had run out of arrows, only relying on the dagger she had that was on her waist.
She had to come and help him, screaming out his name as she felled many enemies that were on her path.
"Nara! Where are you going?!"
Ron tried to go after her, but they had to continue holding the soldiers back, with their numbers that had never seemed to even lower.
The pain he felt was immense.
All of the training he spent that day came back to him, haunting him back of all the efforts he made just to be hurt again.
He didn't place so much effort in that to stay weak.
If this was the world he must survive in.
"Fuck it. Now I'm angry."
He seethed air into his slightly open mouth, attempting to reduce the pain by breathing.
The soldier that had struck him previously followed another strike to impale him but this time, Ichiro wielded his blade.
"If anything, I'm much more fucking faster than you!"
It was the sudden confidence about one aspect that had pushed him to move, doing that same move the soldier had done.
A single thrust that was just simply faster, but as he had done it, he had intended to use the soldier's momentum against him.
"[Thrust,] motherf—her."
He uttered under his breath with a curse.
"——!"
Suddenly, the soldier's upper torso had vanished completely, leaving the disturbing remains of his lower extremity that spilled out stomach juice and organs.
"Ugh—Blaaargh!"
He threw up once again, however this time, there was nothing that would come out. It felt like he wanted to throw his heart out along with his organs.
Killing another, was not a good feeling. He felt remorse after doing it. His hands were covered with his blood, and as he looked at the sword he used, there was a change in it.
[Vanadium Sword]
Kill Count: 1
[You have killed a human being]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have committed Treason against the Kingdom. -10000 reputation.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have learned Thrust.]
[You have learned Execute. You can cast this skill after holding the target.]
[You've learned Danger Sense. You can now detect danger.]
[You have leveled up.]
[The Black Hare's Dagger is eager to be used.]
His vision was filled with a sudden prompt of leveling. After months of trying to gain experience, one Lv.1 Soldier had amounted five times his own level, which was 1.
It was absurd. He just couldn't understand why was the system like this.
Was it only for himself? Or is the system deliberately wanting him to kill other human beings?
He stopped for a moment. His thoughts had gone askew. He thought that if this was a world of the game, it would make sense for a player to kill the enemies regardless and win.
There was no remorse in doing so. That this intense and disgusting sight of bloodshed was nothing but realistic graphics.
He just had to think that everything was a game.
"Why is the army being held back."
A voice that led the army from the back inquired about the commander of the Kingdom's army. He wore silver armor decorated with a golden pattern and crest on his chest plate. His spiky crimson hair shaped his reputation for being a crude executioner was known to the capital, but he did it for the sake of 'playing.'
It was a player. Kagiri Natsuyami is a hero class player that was chosen by the Kingdom.
"W-We encountered ten insurgents! They're holding back our army somehow!"
"A just ten people? Are there any more players trying to help these imbeciles? They're just worthless ants."
Standing up from the chair of his carriage, he unmounted and wielded a massive red sword that had eyes poking out from its flesh-like parts.
"[Flight.]"
He flew straight into the sky, looking down to see where the army was being intercepted.
"Ah. There they are."
He lowered himself with enough distance to channel something.
His status panel was filled with skills that had seemed to be amounting to more than fifty.
[Kagiri Natsuyami Lv 289.]
It was his level, an exponential difference between most of the people here that haven't been able to even break through the hundred-level cap.
He was the strongest person in this area currently. In his list of skills, he scrolled down as if choosing what to use against the insurgents.
"Let's just use this before the Empire's eyes as a sort of warning then."
It was a word that most of them would recognize.
"[Nuke.]"
With that spell cast, there was a large glowing object that had been summoned and immediately fell, right at where Ichiro and the others were.
"——?!"
Nara and Kyori were the first to detect it from the sky, seeing as someone was afloat. It was something that contained a massive amount of mana, and they knew that it was an attack that had obliterated other cities.
"It's a [Nuke]! Ron!"
Kyori could only cast multiple colored barriers that layed upon one another with each of its components. It was every barrier she could conjure with her remaining mana.
While although Nara had noticed it, Ichiro was still staring at the ground.
"Ichiro! We need to get out of—"
[An AoE skill is approaching. Danger Level: Imminent.]
He would only look at it with a laugh. He was lost in his mind, incapable of processing anything right now. He couldn't hear Nara nor see her, all he was focused on was thinking that everything was a game.
"—[Heal]"
She tried to heal him as the wound on his back closes up.
"Why won't you look at me?!"
It was only a cry that followed, screaming his name as she tried to bring him back to her. There was no way that both of them would be able to escape this.
However, as the [Nuke] nears itself from the ground. She could only remember the words he had told her before.
"Nara! Ichiro!"
Kyori and Ron shouted they watched their imminent death, crying as Ron stopped Kyori from stepping outside the boundaries of her barrier.
[Nuke] reached the ground and in that time frame, she cast;
"[Calm]"
Ichiro's mind was restored. His eyes quickly moved to meet hers. He had finally realized what was happening.
"——!?"
"Promise me, Ichiro."
"Nara, what happened—".
"Say it along with me! Ichiro! We don't have much time."
She shook him harder, shouting with tears in her eyes.
"Promise me that you'll travel back to Earth."
From her hands, she handed Ichiro the locket she had, opening it.
"I promise that I'll [Travel]..."
[State your—]
"... back to [Earth] with you."
[Connecting to Earth. Locating Catalyst.]
Suddenly, as he said those exact words, the locket that was on Ichiro's hand glowed white, reminding him of the effect that came as he was transferred between worlds.
"No... No, no, no! Nara!"
But as it was too late to realize it, he could only attempt to embrace her once again before he vanishes. His hands had never reached her, but his feelings were delivered.
She could only cry and be strong at the same time. Closing her eyes as extreme brightness and heat consume everything around them.
Everything was annihilated, leaving nothing but those who were lucky to survive.
[Transfer Complete]