After logging out, I decided to take a break for a few hours to get some sleep. My sleep schedule had been disrupted by my previous corporate job, so I needed sleeping pills for good rest.
"Sigh..."
Thanks to Liora, I didn't have to worry about money for a while.
I thought about getting a better mattress. They say sleep takes up a third of our lives, and now that I spend even my VR time lying down, it feels like two-thirds of my life is spent in bed.
Investing in a good bed would mean longer gaming sessions for Liora too.
"Good night, Liora."
I received a flood of replies when I checked my smartphone, but I decided to respond after I woke up.
When I checked the forum later, I found that Liora had become quite popular. My gameplay was also receiving praise, although I didn't feel it much. Many live-streaming players were now playing "PHO" because it allowed live streaming.
But that was fine.
I wanted to keep Liora's details as secret as possible to avoid her being PKed. However, staying too secretive and not playing at all was also not ideal.
I logged back in.
[Zephyr leveled up]
[Zephyr's Dark Magic leveled up]
[Zephyr's Create Dark leveled up]
[Zephyr's Dark Aura leveled up]
[Zephyr's HP Auto-Recovery leveled up]
[Zephyr's MP Auto-Recovery leveled up]
[Zephyr's Appraisal leveled up]
[Liora leveled up]
[Liora's Scythe Technique leveled up]
[Liora's Farming Skill leveled up]
[Liora's Dark Magic leveled up]
[Liora's Solitude Resistance leveled up]
They were getting stronger even while I slept.
I wondered if Liora had slept well. It felt a bit strange to watch a young girl sleep for hours, even if she would do so if I asked.
After what felt like a long time, I checked our status.
Name: Zephyr
Gender: Male
Level: 27
Race: Dark Spirit
Magic: Dark Magic 31
Production:
Skills: HP Auto-Recovery 30, MP Auto-Recovery 45, Appraisal 4, Darkness Creation 27, Dark Aura 13, Enemy Resistance Reduction 3, Gift of Venom 1.
Status: Attack 135, Magic Attack 135, Durability 135, Agility 135, Luck 135
Title: Ruler of Tragic Plays.
Name: Liora
Gender: Female
Level: 30
Race: Human
Job: Priest
Magic: Dark Magic 35
Production: Farming 40
Skills: Solitude Resistance 38, Scythe Technique 38, Blade arts,
Status: Attack 114, Magic Attack 210, Durability 177, Agility 213, Luck 150
Title: Deadly Sin - Parent Killer
Unique Skill: Death Blade, Head Hunt
It was a lot of information.
Our levels had significantly increased after soloing a high-level boss.
With so many new skills and techniques to explore, it was impossible to check each one individually. I decided I would test them out during my free time.
The immediate task was to decide Liora's job.
We spirits could change our contractor's job every ten levels, but Liora was already at level 30.
Being a priest wasn't bad, but beyond level 50, advanced jobs offered substantial stat bonuses that were hard to pass up.
But how did the system work exactly?
There were irreversible elements that were crucial. I had to be careful when the time came.
"Liora, do you want to change your job?"
"Priest... is good. I want to honor the gods and spread your greatness throughout the world!"
"Hmm, oh! Look, you could become a Shrine Maiden, which seems like a higher rank than a priest!"
"A Shrine Maiden! Oh, God, I'll be a Shrine Maiden!"
"Very well."
"I will serve you even more faithfully!"
"So, a Shrine Maiden it is."
'The hidden ability of a Shrine Maiden... partial magic attack power applied to melee attacks. This is perfect for Liora, who focuses on melee combat despite having high magic attack power.'
Though the numbers were small.
Hidden abilities varied by job. Even if jobs changed, acquired hidden abilities continued to affect stats.
For example, a priest's hidden ability was increased healing power.
This effect strengthened with each level, making specialization in the same job beneficial. Changing jobs too frequently might not be wise.
The basic strategy was to stick with the same job until level 50 and then choose an advanced job for its exclusive skills. However, detours to acquire those skills could also be a viable training plan.
Liora successfully changed her job to Shrine Maiden.
After that, we quickly acquired new skills and techniques, resuming our adventure in the second field.
We ventured into an uncharted land.
There's a theory, though its authenticity is uncertain, that if you put all humans and all ants on a scale, they would weigh about the same.
There are a lot of ants.
I couldn't imagine ants outweighing humans.
"Huge!"
Our view was filled with giant ants.
Each one was about the size of a hippo. They were large and eerie, resembling creatures from an alien movie.
'Squeak squeak squeak squeak'
"Ants make noises?"
"Oh, what should we do, God?"
Appraisal showed their levels were comparable to ours.
The only concern was their sheer numbers, but we should be able to handle it. Liora excelled in prolonged combat.
"She's extremely strong against lower-level opponents."
"Let's go!"
"Understood, God!"
Liora danced into the midst of the ants.
With her new Shrine Maiden skill, [Death Dance], her movements were like a dance. She always moved as if dancing with her scythe, but this skill refined her technique even further.
In an instant, three ant heads flew into the air.
"[Darkness Creation] - Smoke Mode."
I activated the new Smoke Mode of [Create Dark] to conceal Liora's presence from the ants.
As the ants started to stir, Liora used the scythe skill [Death's Guidance].
This art made all attacks critical.
Scythe arts could not coexist with blade-type arts, so [Life Reaper Blade] was not active.
However, once used, they remained effective indefinitely unless overwritten, making them cost-effective.
As an exception, the unique skill [Death Blade] could coexist with other arts. Strictly speaking, it wasn't a scythe skill.
"――!"
Additionally, thanks to the passive skill [Weakness Strike] acquired through the scythe technique, damage increased when hitting weak points or landing critical hits.
At each swing of her scythe, Liora's attacks tore through the ants' bodies.
"Until now, I couldn't do enough damage unless I hit their heads, but this is great."
"There's no need to aim for the head. It's easy, right?"
"Yes!"
The ants only attacked by biting.
With enemies on all sides, evasion was difficult, but they couldn't break through the scythe's range.
By roughly spinning around, death kept piling up.
"There's no sign of a tough fight. Should we increase the difficulty level a bit?"
"Of course, God! Aura, right?"
"That's right. [Dark Aura]!"
Even this [Dark Aura] skill level was finally acquired after raising its skill level. An art called [Consumption Reduction] reduced MP consumption when using an aura.
A dark aura enveloped Liora. It didn't have any particular effect, but leveling up this aura skill could grant effects like DOT damage to enemies within the aura or applying existing abnormal status effects.
It consumed a lot of MP and wasn't easy to level up.
However, Liora realized that increasing the number of enemies enveloped in darkness was necessary to level the skill to 5 or higher.
If Liora didn't have MP auto-recovery and wasn't someone who "absolutely followed my instructions," she wouldn't even consider trying it.
It seemed like a skill that would grow stronger as it leveled up.
Especially with Liora's endurance and DOT attacks, they complemented each other perfectly.
The battle against the swarm of ants continued.
'Let's earn some money!'