Enchanted by Moonlight (3)

"You showed far too much composure, you fool. Your attitude made for a good performance, but..."

I forced myself to stand with a body that had finally regained the strength to move. Neither being blown away nor being unable to move until now had been an act. However, falling at this exact spot was no coincidence.

This was where the trap I had set up in advance between the noble and myself would come into play. When had I done that? The answer was just before I used Fire Wall for the second time against his minions.

I had set it up expecting the noble to approach during that opening, but I never thought it would prove useful at this critical moment. It was also a good decision to give up on blocking everything and jump toward this spot myself. Truly, forewarned is forearmed.

"It is practically a rule that when an overbearingly proud villain says something like that, it is a death flag! Hahahahahaha!"

"Gaaaaaah!"

The noble, dragged down onto the ground, angrily swelled his throat as he tried to use Dragon Breath again. But I was not a fool. I had already thought of a countermeasure.

"Hmph. Have a taste of this!"

"Gagaga!?"

I thrust the staff in my hand into the noble's wide-open mouth. This initial piece of equipment had the worst possible performance, but its durability was infinite. In other words, it was indestructible from a system standpoint. No matter how powerful the noble's jaws were, he could not bite through this battered staff. Its appearance was rather mismatched with that property, though.

"Now for this."

"Geg...ge!?"

I took a bottle filled with a lurid liquid from my Storage and made the noble swallow its contents through the gap between the staff and his mouth. It was a poison I had previously created and synthesized.

You're a boss, yet you don't even have 【Status Abnormality Immunity】—or even 【Status Abnormality Resistance】—do you? Then can you withstand my special poison—its undiluted form, at that?

"Gyaaaaaaaah!!!"

The noble let out a muffled scream. It seemed to have worked. When I checked his markers, poison and paralysis icons had appeared, while the bleeding icon had begun flashing intensely. The poison had apparently manifested all its effects. Giving him the undiluted extract had paid off.

Oh, the trap's effect has worn off. It would be troublesome if he started thrashing around, so I suppose it is time to finish this.

"Set Twin Trap Array, activate Magic Circle, Magic Sword!"

I had set the traps directly beneath the noble, who was convulsing at my feet, so they activated immediately. The traps were filled with nothing but Dark Arm. In addition, I activated Magic Sword, pouring in all my remaining magic power. Magic Sword could not be used without getting close, but it dealt more damage than Dark Arm if it hit.

"Perish, you pitiful obsession!"

"Ggyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!"

Four Dark Arms pinned the noble down while Magic Sword gouged out his heart. The boss noble's health bar finally shattered.

――――――――――

You won the battle.

You cleared the 'Trial of the Azure Moon.' You receive a reward and 10 SP.

You are the first player to clear the 'Trial of the Azure Moon.' You receive a reward and 10 SP.

You have cleared the 'Trial of the Azure Moon' solo. You receive a reward and 10 SP.

You achieved the first clear of the 'Trial of the Azure Moon.' You receive a reward and 10 SP.

You acquired the Title 'Trial Conqueror.'

Your 【Race】 level has increased. You gained 1 SP.

Your 【Job】 level has increased. You gained 1 SP.

Your 【Staff】 level has increased.

Your 【Magic Control】 level has increased.

Your 【Earth Magic】 level has increased.

Your 【Water Magic】 level has increased.

Your 【Fire Magic】 level has increased.

You have learned the Fire Pillar and Fire Wave spells.

【Fire Magic】 has reached its growth limit. Evolution is now possible.

Your 【Wind Magic】 level has increased.

Your 【Dark Magic】 level has increased.

Your 【Null Magic】 level has increased.

You have learned the Magic Lance and Magic Wave spells.

【Null Magic】 has reached its growth limit. Evolution is now possible.

Your 【Summoning】 level has increased.

Your 【Enchantment】 level has increased.

Your 【Magic Circle】 level has increased.

Your 【Necromancy】 level has increased.

Your 【Curse Magic】 level has increased.

You have learned the Dispel and Poison spells.

Your 【Trap Magic】 level has increased.

Your 【Appraisal】 level has increased.

Because you won a battle in a boss area, you can now teleport to your respawn point. Use it if you wish.

――――――――――

"I won..."

I had won. I was happy about that. However, the lethargy was overwhelming. I could not even laugh triumphantly as I had when I defeated the Ratman. I was that exhausted. Once the tension left my body, I collapsed onto both knees.

"Why..."

...Hey, why is he not disappearing? I stabbed him through the heart, you know? The victory information had appeared, and the opponent had returned to being human (?), but the fact that he had not vanished was surprising. Was this part of the event, too?

"Why... will you... not come to me...?"

Was he asking me that? My romantic experience was limited to nothing but disastrous affairs... Still, I suppose I should answer him.

"Can you not even understand something so simple, you fool?"

"What...?"

"You really do not understand, do you? At this rate, you will never get her to turn toward you, no matter what you do."

"What should I do...? What should I do to make the moon mine...?"

"Yes. That is exactly it."

To the foolish man, who was still unable to give up despite lying there exhausted, I decided to say exactly what I thought.

"The moment you regard the other person as a 'thing,' she will never turn toward you."

"Wha...!"

Even before the battle began, I had already figured out what this man's character was based on. It was The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. The man's equipment consisted of the items Kaguya-hime had demanded from the noblemen who proposed to her, and since his Race had become Human (Ageless), I inferred that he was someone who had drunk the elixir of immortality she left behind at the end.

Presumably, this nobleman—now known as 'Obsession with the Moon'—could not give up on the woman who had left him, so he drank the elixir and collected and presented genuine versions of every item she had requested. To anyone familiar with the original story's hardships and tragic conclusion, his fixation was unbelievable. It certainly explained why his name included 'Obsession.'

"To begin with, what do you love about that woman? Her beauty? Her personality? No, that is not it. You regard her as a 'thing,' so you do not truly love her in the real sense of the word."

"Stop..."

"What you want is 'yourself with a beautiful woman at your side.' In other words, the one you love is... yourself."

"Stop aaaaahhhhhhh...!"

The moment 'Obsession with the Moon' let out a scream, he turned to ash. Was that really for the best? I had merely said something fairly offhand and clichéd... Had I struck a nerve?

――――――――――

You acquired the Unique Skill 【Iefa's Blessing】.

――――――――――

Hmm? A Unique Skill called 【Iefa's Blessing】? Let me see... Iefa was the goddess who helped me during character creation, right? That goddess was giving me her blessing?

She has been looking after me from the beginning, and I am grateful. At the same time, though, I feel as if she might be using me for some purpose.

I don't know what that purpose is. Still, I will simply play the game as I please. If I am ever fortunate enough to speak with her face-to-face, I will ask her about all of this. That should be fine.

Well then, time to return to the laboratory. After that, I will log out for today. Tomorrow, I can check the rewards and evolve my Skills. I am looking forward to it!

◆◇◆◇◆◇

"Whoa~ You did great, Izam-kun!"

It has been a while. I am Iefa, the 'Goddess of Death and Chaos.' Today marks the first 'Trial of the Azure Moon' since the service began. We were very much looking forward to seeing who would challenge it.

I was particularly interested because I was the one who produced this trial. In terms of balance, it was designed so that a player of the appropriate level could clear it by making ideal moves and fully exploiting their Skills. For solo players, we reduce only the monster's HP compared with party play. Since we give solo clearers a special reward, that much is only fair.

Ordinary players seem to struggle even against monsters at their own level, but that is because their movements contain too much waste. Of course, it is precisely because eliminating that waste is difficult that we prepared Titles such as 'Overthrow' and 'Brilliant Strategy.'

The way to challenge the 'Trial of the Azure Moon' is simple: a player at level 15 or below must enter a boss area on the night of a new moon. The players, especially those actively conducting tests, will identify the conditions soon enough.

And now, I am watching a live broadcast of the trial with Grunare, the 'Goddess of War and Victory.' The reason we are watching it together is that both players we have high hopes for are taking the trial.

"I certainly expected him to clear it, but I never imagined he would do so at that level. I thought he would at least need to evolve once first."

One of the players whose character creation I oversaw, Izam-sama. I liked his approach to the game, so I gave him various forms of assistance, but I never imagined he would clear the trial at level 8—approximately half the recommended level—and without evolving.

I also give him high marks for firmly shutting down that pest who kept making advances toward me. It was so refreshing. I even granted him a special blessing.

"But your favorite is no slouch, either. In terms of sheer combat power, he might be the strongest player of all."

"In a one-on-one brawl, yes."

The player Grunare has high hopes for also seems likely to clear the trial solo. Unlike Izam-sama, he even has the leisure to enjoy the battle. He is also level 8. He is a terrifying prospect.

"All right! He cleared it! I think I'll give him a blessing, too!"

It's over, then. His opponent was 'Fierce Tiger of the Moon.' It was a monster that defeated challengers through the powerful movements characteristic of beasts and its ability to control lightning. Unlike the 'Obsession with the Moon' Izam-sama fought, this trial forced challengers into a straightforward battle without reinforcements or indirect tactics.

He should have been inferior in every parameter, yet he overcame the difference through talent and battle sense. I can see why Grunare likes him.

Now, what is happening in the other areas? There are four areas adjacent to Fars, the starting city. Izam-sama defeated the one in the west, while Grunare's favorite defeated the one in the north. So what is happening in the east and south?

"The south... does not look good."

"They're a promising bunch, but they made the wrong call at the start."

The people taking the trial in the south are a party led by a so-called top player. Their opponent is 'Shadow of the Moon Rabbit,' a weakened clone of my adorable pet Pyonkichi-chan. It is sluggish at first, but swings a mallet that is extremely difficult to defend against. Once its HP falls to half, it switches to a huge cleaver and slashes at them with increased speed. Once its HP drops below thirty percent, it dual-wields both weapons.

The optimal strategy is to evade the mallet, have the tank defend against the cleaver, and attack with the rest of the party in the meantime. However, the tank failed to block the mallet with their shield, and the formation collapsed. They somehow reduced its HP to half, but then could not cope with the increased speed after it switched to the cleaver and were defeated. It was exactly the sort of loss I predicted for a first attempt. Now, let us look east.

"Are they the ones I've heard rumors about...?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. That Hero-kun that damn woman keeps fawning over, right?"

The party challenging the trial in the east is also made up of top players. What sets them apart from the group in the south is that their male leader is a favorite of Aaruru, the 'Goddess of Light and Order,' an extremely unpleasant goddess.

There is nothing wrong with the player himself. His words and actions are beyond reproach, he treats NPCs gently, and even his brainwaves reveal no duplicity. He is the very picture of a fine young man. From my perspective, he is a boring model student, though.

His only flaw is that he is as dense as the protagonist of a romantic comedy. Everyone in his party aside from him is female, and every one of them has the sort of appearance generally described as beautiful or gorgeous. Moreover, they are all genuinely attractive in real life, having only made minor adjustments to their faces, and they all harbor feelings for him. He is a template protagonist in human form.

Aaruru apparently took an intense liking to him because he saved her believers time and again during the beta test, and gave him her blessing before any of us could. She even went so far as to say that he, and he alone, would bring order to this world.

What a ridiculous notion. Order imposed upon the world? Has she never imagined what would happen if that came to pass? All the players would leave, I am sure.

The players seek stimulation unavailable in the real world. To provide that, elements they cannot experience in reality—in other words, an impossible degree of chaos—are essential. Trying to erase that would be the height of folly. We must stop it at all costs.

"At this rate... they look like they might win."

"Looks that way. Everyone focuses on Hero-kun, but the girls are all quite strong, too."

The trial in the east is 'Luna Evil Pixie.' It is a tricky boss that fights with flight, the swift movements afforded by its tiny body, and powerful magic. It uses a non-elemental attack against the entire party when its HP reaches fifty and thirty percent, so the backline will be wiped out in an instant if they are not careful... but they are handling it well.

The quick-witted Hero-sama, the Knight-sama with his impressive defense, the Thief-sama who keeps the fairy in sight with swift movements, the Warrior-sama wielding precise swordsmanship, the Mage-sama switching between powerful spells, and the Priest-sama who keeps perfect track of everyone's HP. The coordination of the six is honestly worthy of praise. It would be even better if Aaruru the Fool had not taken an interest in them.

"Three of the four parties cleared it? I thought I had made the difficulty high, but was the adjustment insufficient?"

Originally, this trial was supposed to be the hardest quest in the game, with a clear rate below ten percent. The Title for overcoming a 'trial' is meant to carry that much weight. And yet, of the fourteen people who challenged it, eight cleared it—a clear rate just under sixty percent. That is far beyond our original estimate. This is a serious problem.

"Whoa, whoa. It is too soon to judge based on this alone. Everyone who cleared it is someone one of us goddesses favors, aren't they? Let's watch at least ten attempts before we decide."

"...Yes, I suppose."

I seem to have gotten a little carried away. As Grunare says, we should observe things a few more times. Well, the trials seem to be over, so until more challengers appear, shall we return to our regular duties?