Finally, the death penalty was lifted. While I waited, I repaired my weapons and armour and restocked my items. Then I took a breather at a cafe I lucked into getting into, so I think I’m fully refreshed now.
Feeling rejuvenated, I made my way to Portal Square. It looks like parties are still recruiting for the area boss run. Now then, a good party to join…
Oh, that party looks promising! Two Beastmen with spears and bows, plus two elves in robes, wielding staffs—they look like classic mages. They must need melee classes!
“Excuse me, are you recruiting for an area boss party?”
“Uh, yes! We’re looking for a random party! We just got together ourselves…”
“Oh, a classic sword-and-shield melee type! Perfect timing.”
“Great! We got people together, but we were worried about balance.”
“Hey, bro, since you asked us out, does that mean you’re joining our party?”
“Yes. If it’s okay with you, I’d love to.”
A party request popped up, and I accepted it. Looks like I joined the party just fine. That’s a relief. …If this were real life, it probably wouldn’t have gone this smoothly.
“Alright! That makes five. Can we head straight to the boss now?”
A friendly-looking Beastman (Dog) wielding a spear. Is this guy the leader? By the way, he was a male avatar. His name was [Hasegawa Harumaki].
“We’re good!”
The two elves—were they acquaintances? Female avatars named [Carmela] and [Macaron Macaron].
“Are you also good, Onii-san~?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. You can just call me by my player name normally.”
“Thank you so much! Then, Plana-san, feel free to call me Menma.”
The one who spoke with a beaming smile was a Beastman (Cat) archer. Also, a female avatar named [Otsumami Menma].
…Everyone else’s player names are food-related? Is this really okay for a random party?? They’re not all acquaintances, right?
＊ ＊ ＊
We chatted casually as we made our way back to the giant slime. Even seeing it again, it was huge.
Along the way, I got fairly friendly with my fellow male avatar player, Hasegawa Harumaki-san, and he let me call him Harumaki-san.
“Alright, we’re going into the area boss fight! As planned, Plana-san and I will charge in first. The other three, please attack from the rear. Watch out for acid attacks!”
“Okay!”
“Got it~”
“Let’s do this.”
Leader Harumaki-san allowed the area boss battle to start, and we entered the instance area.
Without hesitation, Harumaki-san and I charged in, weapons drawn. I used [Slash], which has a knockback effect, to strike in, hoping to disrupt its stance even slightly!
Harumaki-san’s spear also affected it, so he must have used some kind of Arts. The Large Slime staggered back slightly.
The magic unleashed by the two elves and Menma-san’s arrows. The two elves seemed to be using [Fire Magic] and [Wind Magic], respectively.
When the follow-up attacks hit, the slime must have taken significant damage, because they trembled violently and flew backward with a whoosh.
Then, part of their bodies bulged slightly. This is the same behavior I saw when fighting solo. An acid attack is coming! From that position… is Menma-san the target!?
I hurried to get in front of Menma-san. Sorry for blocking your line of fire! The Large Slime fired acid, but it wasn’t that fast, so I blocked it with my shield.
“Thanks~!”
Menma-san thanked me. Looks like my positioning was okay. An arrow with some effect on it flew past me from behind, curving as it went. Is it an indirect shot?
Since Harumaki-san is pursuing, I’ll head back up front and join the vanguard.
＊ ＊ ＊
A couple of minutes into the battle, we managed to take down the Large Slime without incident. Along the way, Harumaki-san, who was holding the front line, got blown away, and Carmela-san, who was behind, got caught in the blast. Macaron Macaron-san’s wind magic grazed me (thankfully, friendly fire is disabled system-wide!).
We had our share of trouble, but we managed to win. It was the first area boss, after all, so it didn’t seem too strong.
<Congratulations! You have defeated the area boss [Large Slime]. You can now pass through this area without fighting. To fight it again, select [Rematch] at the area entrance.>
Alright, alright. The post-victory pop-up appeared, too, indicating it’s truly over. By the way, the drop was 10 [Slime Mucus]…
Savouring in the afterglow of victory, we decided to make the most of this party and head to the next town together. Crossing the bridge, we reached the opposite side.
As we advanced along the road, we encountered tougher versions of the same Petit Slimes and Petit Rabbits found near First Town, and even [Slime] without the Petit prefix. But perhaps because we were a party, we progressed without much trouble.
And then, before us appeared the second town, surrounded by outer walls.
—We’ve finally arrived!
Author Note:
The protagonist generally speaks in “formal mode” with anyone outside their close friends and family. Because of this, they use honorifics with other players and resident NPCs they meet for the first time in the game.
However, they spoke casually with Nine from the start? Since Nine wasn’t humanoid and had a childlike, approachable voice, the protagonist’s “formal mode” just slipped.
A devilishly charming AI—that’s Nine!