The Defense Event Is Over!

The three of us—Nanako, Moss-san, and I—returned with a pop using Base Teleport and decided to wait here in this cavern until the event ended. This place was quite far from Ilevus, so I didn't expect the other members to make it back here. Besides, we had registered each other as friends, so we could contact one another as soon as the event ended. There would be no problem meeting up later.

I had already explained the situation to Iris and the others, so I could have added them to the clan immediately, but the system had been set up to prevent that. Specifically, I had configured it so that anyone joining the clan had to be friends with at least two clan members.

I hadn't known this, but apparently clans in a game Shio used to play often ran into trouble when their membership restrictions were too lax. Perhaps sorting out those problems was the leader's duty, but our conclusion had been that if people were so incompatible, we shouldn't have recruited them as companions in the first place.

Let's take a look at the new magic and Titles we obtained in the final battle. First, 【Enhancement Magic】's Attribute Enhancement increases the elemental attack power of its recipient. It applies not only to magic, but also to physical attacks.

In other words, if you have a weapon with a particular attribute, the damage it deals will increase as well. Against an enemy weak to a specific attribute, it was probably more effective than other stat-boosting effects.

Next are the Titles: 'Angel Slayer' and 'Aruru's Nemesis.' It would be faster just to read their descriptions.

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'Angel Slayer'

Proof of having slain an envoy of the gods

Slightly increases damage dealt to angels

Acquisition condition: Defeat an angel

'Aruru's Nemesis'

Granted to those who incur the hatred of Aruru, the 'Goddess of Light and Order.'

Makes you more likely to be targeted by angels of the Light attribute.

Increases damage dealt to angels of the Light attribute, but also increases damage received from them.

P.S. If I find you again, I'll beat you to a pulp! Just you wait!

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We all acquired the Title 'Angel Slayer.' If we'd killed more of them, would we have become 'Angel Killer' or something? If I'd kept taking it easy any longer, 【Dragon Factor】 would have worn off and we'd have lost instead, so I won't be greedy.

On the other hand, 'Aruru's Nemesis' is a problematic one. It seems to increase the damage dealt to Aruru's minions, but it also increases the damage we take from them. That part can be dealt with by keeping my distance or having my companions protect me, but the problem is that I, a back-row fighter, will be targeted more easily.

One of the techniques required of a shield-type fighter like Eiji is aggro management, but this would throw that off. I don't know how strong the effect is, but if enemies ignored the frontline entirely and came straight for me, it would be extremely troublesome. I do want to test its effects, but it's probably best to avoid getting involved with Aruru's angels whenever possible.

"Hmm, it looks like you two evolved successfully."

"Yes, I'm in peak condition."

"Yeah! Thanks to Izam-san's Chimera Creation!"

That took care of my own rewards. Moss-san and Nanako had both evolved after making it through that fierce battle. Moss-san had become a Big Blood Fighter Bat, even more specialized in hand-to-hand combat, while Nanako had evolved into a Summon White Crow with pure white feathers.

Moss-san had grown even larger and more robust. Before, even though he was big, he had still been small enough to perch on my shoulder or staff. That was no longer possible. He was now about the size of a kindergartener. If he forced himself onto my shoulder, it might get sore. Not that I have any muscles to get sore!

As for Nanako, she had used an item taken from an angel with Chimera Creation and evolved into a crow with white feathers. Here are the details of the item we used.

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White Light Angel Feather Quality: Fair Rarity: S (Special Grade)

A feather from an angel serving Aruru, the 'Goddess of Light and Order.'

This feather belonged to a Power Angel and is imbued with the Light attribute.

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This was one of the feathers taken from the five White Light Power Angels we had defeated. As the description stated, it was imbued with the Light attribute, so Nanako acquired 【Light Magic】 and 【Light Attribute Resistance】 through this evolution. At the same time, however, she also acquired 【Dark Attribute Vulnerability】.

Because of that, she could no longer use the 【Dark Magic】 she had planned to learn next. This was something she could overcome eventually. It would take an extra step, but that couldn't be helped. It was the result of Nanako's choice, after all. By the way, Moss-san tried to use it too, but he couldn't select it as a material.

So we decided not to turn him into a Chimera. He looked disappointed, but there was nothing we could do about it. He would just have to wait for the next opportunity.

"But are you sure it's okay for me to hold on to the remaining items?"

"Yeah, yeah! Izam-san defeated almost all of them in the first place. Getting a share of the spoils is more than enough for me."

"Besides, they'll probably have been turned into equipment by the time we meet up."

There had been several other drop items from the White Light Power Angels. However, the two of them said they would entrust them to me. They had also asked our companion artisan—in other words, Iris—to process them. She should be able to make wonderful equipment.

I was happy that they trusted me, but I couldn't deny that I felt the responsibility as well. I knew that worry was meaningless because we would return to Birdie Perch immediately once the event ended, but worrying about things was simply my nature.

"Don't assume they'll definitely be finished, though. Iris is a player too. She has her own schedule."

"Of course."

"I don't intend to rush her, naturally."

Those two weren't the only ones—everyone had been extremely envious when they heard that Iris had made all my armor. However, she was still nothing more than an ordinary player. She couldn't necessarily log in every day, much less stay logged in all day. The two of them seemed to understand that.

Ping♪

"Hmm?"

"Huh?"

"Oh?"

The instant the notification sound rang, all three of us reacted at once. There was only one notification that could arrive at this particular moment.

――――――――――

The events 'Defend the Mining City!' and 'To the Land of Bloodshed' have ended.

Reward items have been sent to your inventory.

In thirty minutes, you will be sent back to the save point from before the event began.

If you wish to return immediately, touch 'Return' in the Event tab of the menu.

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"The event's over. Good work, everyone."

"Good work."

"Good work! Wow, things got way crazier than I expected!"

It seemed the event had finally ended. For now, that was one thing settled. A timer counting down from thirty minutes had appeared in the upper-right corner of my vision. So this let me know how many minutes I could stay here. How considerate.

"What are you two going to do? I plan to return right away."

"Same for us."

"We need to start moving north so we can meet up with Izam-san and the others."

I had told everyone about the teleportation device in the northern mountains. Everyone except Eiji and Toji, who were far too distant, was supposed to make their way there on their own. The boss there, the Twin-Headed Wind Eagle, was a formidable enemy, but if Nanako and the others gathered together and fought it after their levels had risen, they should have no trouble defeating it.

I had also taught them about the attack patterns of the monsters and bosses along the way, so perhaps they would even finish it with ease. The tension of fighting an enemy for the first time without any prior information wasn't bad, but meeting up again as soon as possible was more important.

"I see. Then I hope we can meet up again soon. See you."

"Yeah! See you next time!"

"Sure. Goodbye."

With that, we touched 'Return' on the virtual window. And so our event came to an end.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

"Hmm, it has been quite a while since I was here too."

I had returned to my room in the clan house for the first time in a while. It had only been a few days, but I felt strangely reassured. It truly felt like I had come home from a trip.

I left my room and headed for the living room. Four figures were there.

"Ah, Izam-san! Welcome back!"

"Welcome back!"

"Good work at the event!"

Iris, Ruby, and Shio—the three girls—welcomed me the moment they saw me. Being welcomed despite not entering through a door was rather surreal, though.

"Ah, you were back too. And is this the person you mentioned?"

"Yes, that's right. This is Kanna-san."

Iris introduced the avatar of a woman with long black hair and long, narrow eyes by pointing a tentacle at her. She was a cool, refined beauty. She must have been the player the three of them had met in the Aquaria Archipelago.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kanna."

Kanna stood up from the chair she had been sitting in, bowed, and greeted me. She seemed to be a very polite woman.

"Likewise. I'm Izam, the clan leader. I've heard you're highly skilled."

"Skilled...? It takes both my husband and me just to be considered competent."

Competent? The two of them had won the tournament as a duo. She was awfully modest.

"And your husband isn't here? I had hoped to introduce myself..."

"He's playing with Karu-chan right now. Also, there's no need to speak so formally to us. We're clanmates, after all."

"Hmm... All right. How's this?"

Kanna nodded with a smile.

"So, Izam-san! Haven't you noticed anything?"

"Hmm...?"

Notice? What on earth...? Oh!

"Shio! Did you evolve!?"

I hadn't noticed because she was sitting there as though it were perfectly normal, but Shio's appearance had changed considerably. She was now about as tall as an adult man, just like the other Birdians I had seen in Birdie Perch. Brownish feathers, a sharp beak, and large, keen eyes. It was obvious that she was a raptor-type Birdian.

"Is your model... a hawk?"

"You got it! I desperately leveled up after clearing the trial! My current Race is Birdian Sharpshooter, and I'm level 42!"

"Birdian Sharpshooter...?"

While I had been fooling around at the event, Shio had successfully cleared the Trial of the Azure Moon. Afterward, she had devoted herself to leveling up in order to make up for her previous delay. Even so, to think she had raised her level past forty all at once... What kind of reckless stunt had she pulled? An unbelievable number of monsters must have been sacrificed.

And what kind of Race was the Birdian Sharpshooter she had become? Since she had originally used a bow, perhaps it granted a bonus to sniping accuracy from long range.

"Does it just make your arrows more likely to hit?"

"Not quite. Birdian Sharpshooter gives me an accuracy bonus with ranged weapons."

"Ranged weapons... I see. So Iris's repaired firearms count too?"

"Exactly. I'm more used to guns, but bows and arrows make less noise and have higher single-shot damage, so I switched between them—and that's how I ended up like this!"

I see. Guns had their advantages, and bows had theirs. More importantly, I hadn't realized that bows had higher single-shot damage. Perhaps that was to ensure the two weapons had distinct roles. Either way, it seemed neither one was destined to become completely useless.

"Oh, right. Kanna-san, you need to tell him about that."

"Oh, yes, that's right. Izam-san, I have a favor to ask."

"A favor?"

Was she asking me for something? If it was something I could do, I was prepared to do my best to oblige. But what could she be planning to ask me for?

"Yes. Would you turn me into a corpse?"

"...What?"

The words were so abrupt that I couldn't help letting out a thoroughly absurd yelp.