Chapter 18: "I attacked the wyvern."

 Bridget's way of speaking left a strong impression on me.

So, I tried to imitate her.

"...Kuu-chan flies.

...Where to?

...I wonder.

...I don't know."

It didn't work well.

I couldn't go all the way to the point where she laughs.

Seems like talent is required for this.

Anyway, today I floated in the air, enjoying a leisurely sky journey.

The continuous clear weather is truly appreciated.

A caravan formed a convoy, advancing along the highway below.

Oh.

Goblins emerged from the forest and attacked.

Adventurers in charge of escort quickly counterattacked.

Easily repelled.

Strong!

After the battle, the adventurers examined the goblin corpses.

And then, they stabbed a knife into the corpses, extracting something.

I wonder what it is...

Approaching, I could see.

It was a transparent crystal-like stone.

Inside, black light swirled.

Probably a magic stone.

First time seeing one.

Impressed, I continued to watch, and then the goblin's corpse caught my eye.

Slashed and mangled corpse.

Covered in blood.

Entrails spilling out.

Eeeek!

I ran away at full speed.

It took quite some time for my heartbeat to calm down.

Enemies in the field don't disappear, huh...

Even after the merchant caravan left, the discarded corpses remained.

Departing from the imperial capital, the security situation seems to be becoming increasingly unstable.

The Zanidea mountain range, our destination, is near.

Speaking of which, dungeons...

Among the several dungeons in the country, the Zanidea dungeon seems to be the most profitable.

Rock-san and others mentioned aiming for a big fortune there.

Of course, that means it's dangerous.

I have an adventurer card.

I should be able to enter.

Should I give it a try?

Hmm.

I hesitate.

For now, I want to experience battling monsters.

I need to get used to it.

I came to this world, and I'm living as Kuu now.

I should prepare myself.

No matter how much I hesitate, I can't survive if I'm afraid of insects.

Last night and this morning were a lesson.

I was too surprised by the goblin's corpse.

Pathetic.

"I need to do my best too."

I floated high into the sky and looked around.

On top of a distant rock, I saw a wyvern—a wyrm, a familiar monster from the game.

I approached while still invisible.

Alright.

Let's give it a shot.

Set "Black Magic," "White Magic," and "Silver Magic" in the soul slots.

Level 1 Black Magic activated.

"Magic Arrow."

A magical arrow shot out from my finger, piercing through the wyvern's body.

My invisibility dissipated with the magic, revealing my presence.

Now, come!

It's my first battle with a monster.

I'll carefully observe what kind of attacks it makes.

"Kyuru...?"

The wyvern made a noise, looking at me, who was ready for a fight.

Huh?

The wyvern didn't attack.

Instead, it folded its wings and seemed to ask, "Why are you doing this to me when I haven't done anything?" with its eyes.

Huh?

I thought wyverns were super aggressive enemies... But maybe it's different from the game.

Blood flowed from the wyvern's body.

Damage from my attack.

The wyvern shivered in pain.

"Kyuruuru..."

The wyvern seemed to be suffering.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean that!"

I hastily cast a healing spell.

The wyvern's wounds healed rapidly.

"I'm sorry! It was a little mistake.

Magic misfired!

Yeah, it was an accidental misfire!"

As the wounds healed, the wyvern made cooing sounds, nuzzling its face against me in an affectionate manner.

When I touched its hard-scaled body, it seemed delighted.

Without any actual combat, I apologized and used the silver magic "Flight" to quickly bid farewell to the wyvern.

More accurately, I escaped.

Wyvern, you're a good kid!

I'm totally the bad one!

Is it different from the game...?

Hmm.

What should I do?

Should I walk on the ground and see if I get attacked?

Hmm.

In that case, maybe I should go to the dungeon.

If I defeat the monsters, they should disappear, right?

Let's just go and see.

Although it's away from the Pointy Mountain, let's proceed along the highway.

We'll probably reach Dungeon Town.

I concentrated, enduring the unpleasant chill of continuous MP consumption, and headed towards the town at full speed using "Flight."

I found it at the end of the highway.

A town surrounded by double fences built at the foot of the mountain, resembling a fortress.

This is it.

From the town, a road extends towards the mountain.

There were adventurers walking along the road.

Probably the way to the dungeon.

I disappeared and, as usual, entered the town from the sky.

Carriages were running, and people were walking on the main street lined with buildings on both sides.

The buildings were practical and modest, but judging by the people's appearance, the economy seemed good.

However, there were several watchtowers, and an ominous atmosphere was present.

Near the fences, there were many soldiers.

Being close to the mountain, there would likely be monster attacks.

I found a square bustling with adventurers.

"Recruiting members! Looking for a water magic user, even if F-rank is fine!"

"Urgent need for a water magic user! Can leave immediately! Come join!"

"This is a C-rank party! We're looking for someone skilled in water magic—high rewards guaranteed!"

Water magic users were in high demand.

Water magic is good for healing, right?

Nostalgic.

It feels similar to the atmosphere of the game.

Users of healing magic were always in demand and treated with admiration.

Especially in VRMMO.

It's more fun to swing a weapon and stand on the front lines.

Casting flashy black magic is more enjoyable.

The job of staying in the rear and providing support was not popular.

But that's precisely why it was popular.

Especially for girls.

Girls who played the role of healers were treated like princesses and admired.

I've experienced being admired too.

Yeah.

As a serious player and organizer, I was always on the side of admiration.

It was quite a challenge.

Nostalgic.

Oh, wait a minute. Come to think of it, Bridget-san was a water magic user, right? Moreover, a top-tier one. And she's a girl. Was she the one being admired?

...I am Bridget. The one who gets admired. Chya? Hoya?

Ah, no good. I can't bring it to a successful laugh. I can't do this.

Bad. I've suddenly become infatuated with that person. Let's refocus.

Taking a deep breath and calming down, I heard some unsettling voices.

"Give it back! That's mine!"

"You idiot. This is a nuisance fee. Just pay up without complaining."

In front of the dining hall, a young adventurer in his late teens was arguing with a middle-aged adventurer. The middle-aged adventurer held a magic stone in his hand, apparently taken from the younger one.

"Nuisance fee? That's ridiculous! Do you even realize how much I contributed?"

"Listen, I let you join the party as a baggage carrier out of pity, but you acted like a warrior and stepped forward. Do you have any idea how much trouble we went through because of you? Just be thankful you made it back alive."

"I obtained that lizard's magic stone!"

"You just finished off an opponent on the verge of death. You have no rights to it. And to top it off, you didn't report it and kept it hidden."

"Gah!"

Roughly kicked, the young adventurer fell to the ground.

Despite wearing well-reinforced leather armor, he seemed rather frail. Perhaps some young master from somewhere. Still, he was being handled roughly.

Furthermore, the middle-aged adventurer stepped on the fallen young one's arm.

"Guaah!"

"Listen. I'll let it slide with just this. Be thankful to my sister and disappear, you piece of trash."

Expressing his irritation, the middle-aged adventurer left. The surrounding people showed no interest in this exchange.

"Darn it...!"

The young one groaned, holding his arm. It might be broken.

Unable to ignore it, I deactivated "Invisibility" and approached.

"Are you okay?"

"What the hell, kid? Don't come near me."

"Well, without saying that..."

I changed the Soul Slots to white magic, green magic, enemy detection.

"Heal."

White light enveloped the young one's arm, and he quickly recovered.

"Who asked for this! I don't have any money!"

"Don't need it. See ya."

"Hey, wait, brat! You're just doing whatever you want!"

"Don't touch me."

I swatted away the hand that tried to grab me. Geez.

I gained nothing by helping.

"Hey, you! You just used water magic, right? And it was without chanting, wasn't it!?"

Uh-oh. A guy in metal armor approached forcefully.

"Right now, we happen to be recruiting a water magic user! Especially cute girls like you! Come join us!"

"Me?"

"That's right! Come with us for sure!"

"Wait a second. We're recruiting too, you know? Hey, you, it's better to join a party with girls, right? It's reassuring."

This time, a seductive older sister approached.

Before I knew it, I was attracting a lot of attention.

"...Hey, that girl just used water magic, right?"

"...And it was without chanting?"

"...Is she from the Imperial Capital's academy? Did she come for training?"

"Whatever the case, it's a chance. Let's invite her too!"

"I'm sure she'll come to my place!"

"Hey, you! Wait, you brat! You did whatever you wanted! Don't come near!"

"Hey, you!""Hey, you!""Hey, you!"

Wait a minute. Who touched my butt just now?

Stop pulling me!

Ah, geez.

Farewell.

"Invisibility" and "Levitation"!

I disappeared and retreated to the sky.

"Hey, where did that girl go?"

"You scared her away by forcing her to join! What are you going to do!"

"That's my line!"

Down below, a fight broke out among the adventurers.

I have no idea.

I distanced myself from the square.

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