Navigating through the forest with incredible speed was Atsuko, who had successfully eliminated thirty five players.
Noticing the increasing difficulty in finding players, Atsuko realized that the word of her swift and lethal attacks had spread, causing others to actively avoid encountering her.
Players hesitated to engage with those in the top three, unwilling to risk a confrontation unless they were confident in their strength.
As Atsuko continued her search, Yuji found himself locked in combat with the hundreds of wolves that spawned every ten minutes.
After an hour of relentless battle, Yuji had slain numerous wolves, resulting in a substantial increase in stats and levels.
Bored of the monotonous battle against the predictable wolves, Yuji found their attack patterns and strength lacking everytime he's on this floor.
Repeating the same situation multiple times only intensified his frustration.
Mid-battle with a wolf, Yuji sensed a formidable presence from his left side. Turning his head, he observed a crescent moon hurtling toward him.
Sensing the impending danger from the moon, Yuji swiftly dodged. As it missed him, the moon struck a pack of wolves, slicing through them as if they were made of tofu.
"Hahaha! Let's see how strong you are now!" Ichirou declared, repeatedly swinging his sword.
Ten more crescent moon slices headed towards Yuji. While he managed to dodge multiple, a few grazed him, causing minor injuries.
Yuji stared at Ichirou with a frightened expression, "H-How did you get that?!" he exclaimed with a panicked voice.
Ichirou derived pleasure from witnessing Yuji's scared expression. "I was blessed by the gods! They have chosen me instead of you!" he declared, swinging his sword again.
Yuji, panicking, turned around and began running, screaming for help as he attempted to evade the relentless attacks.
As he ran, some of the crescent moons grazed Yuji, prompting him to plead, "I-I'm sorry Ichirou! Please let me live!"
Ichirou's eyes widened as Yuji mentioned his name. The realization struck him – Yuji shouldn't have known his name unless he knew his identity from the outside world.
In the midst of the chase, Ichirou demanded, "Who are you?! How do you know my name?!"
In a surprising turn of events, Yuji responded, "W-What do you mean? Don't you remember me? Your dog?" as he increased his pace, catching Ichirou off guard.
Hearing Yuji say 'your dog,' Ichirou burst into laughter. "So it was you, Yuji! I had a feeling when I first saw you, but to think a weakling like you got so strong! Too bad you're gonna die now!" he exclaimed.
Discovering that r100 was Yuji added a heightened thrill to Ichirou's pursuit. He swung his sword with twice the speed he had been using.
Yuji skillfully dodged the attacks, managing to avoid some while others grazed him.
The intense exchange continued for a couple more minutes until Ichirou sensed a strange feeling in his stomach, as if something was amiss.
'Something's not right. He's been pleading for his life, but every time he nearly gets hit, he miraculously dodges, and it's not just a one-time thing, it's happening every time. And even though he's pleading for his life, he doesn't look scared at all,' Ichirou thought to himself, his stomach feeling heavier as time went on.
Ichirou ceased his pursuit, and Yuji, having also halted, slowly turned around with a broad smile on his face.
Yuji took out a health potion from his inventory and consumed it, swiftly healing all his cuts.
"I wanted it to go on longer, but you caught on," Yuji admitted, slowly approaching Ichirou.
Ichirou slowly backed away from Yuji, a hint of uncertainty in his demeanor.
"What type of powers did they give you?!" Ichirou demanded, without specifying who 'they' referred to. However, Yuji understood the implication.
"I don't need to borrow power from those people; they need to borrow my power. That's the difference between me and you," Yuji asserted.
"Impossible! You expect me to believe you got that strong without the help of an angel!" Ichirou shouted, refusing to accept Yuji's claimed strength.
Yuji ignored Ichirou and gazed up at the sky. "I know you're watching. I'm going to give you a heads up—we are coming for your spot. No matter how much you try to kill me, you'll always fail," Yuji declared, directing his words at #1.
#1, currently overseeing another test, had been observing Yuji and Ichirou. She had provided Ichirou with a potent Rune known as the Moon Rune.
The Moon Rune, distinct from the typical boosters runes gave, was among the few that served as a strong mini-class.
Comprising five parts to maximize its powers, Ichirou possessed only one, indicating he had a mere twenty percent of the Rune's potential.
Witnessing Ichirou's unexpected defeat, something that should have been an easy victory, #1 screamed in anger. Her outburst caused trees in her vicinity to explode, inadvertently killing nearby players.
"Well, now it's just you, Ichirou. Your benefactor has abandoned you," Yuji stated with a confident smile.
Ichirou looked up to the sky, "Give me more power! I swear I'll kill him with a little more power!" he pleaded to #1.
She heard his pleas but chose not to listen. What she had done was already punishable enough, and any further interference would only lead to more trouble for her.
Ichirou, realizing he had been abandoned, turned around to run but collided with something. As he looked up, he saw Yuji smiling down at him.
"I-impossible! You were just over there!" Ichirou exclaimed, pointing to where Yuji had been a moment ago.
Yuji sighed, "Your eyes can't possibly track my speed; everything you see is just an afterimage."
Growing bored of the act, Yuji unsheathed his sword and swiftly sliced off Ichirou's head from his shoulders.
Long ago, Yuji had relinquished any lingering hatred for Ichirou. To him, Ichirou was nothing more than an insignificant ant in the vast expanse of the universe.
Upon Ichirou's demise, his items scattered on the ground, left for others to claim.
A shiny grey rune adorned with a moon symbol dropped at the location of Ichirou's demise, accompanied by his other items, which Yuji deemed mostly useless but decided to take nonetheless.
Yuji left to engage more wolves, intending to occupy himself until Atsuko completed her share of the task.
An hour later, deep within the forest, Atsuko had successfully killed three players.
"One more kill, and my part is done," Atsuko mumbled.
Hearing a tree branch crack in the bushes beside her, she swiftly dashed toward the sound and discovered a girl crawling on the ground.
The girl player, upon realizing that Atsuko had spotted her, attempted to plead for her life. However, before any words could escape her mouth, she met a swift death at Atsuko's hands.
When she achieved her hundredth kill, Atsuko anticipated something extraordinary to occur, yet several minutes passed without any noticeable change.
"What the hell! Nothing hap-." Her words were abruptly interrupted as the floor started to rumble, and a red screen appeared before her.
| Quest |
| Summon of the Demon Queen |
| Kill a hundred players and the Queen shall awaken from her slumber |
| The Summoner is restricted from damaging the Queen |
"Huh?"