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Published at 23rd of January 2023 06:15:20 AM


Chapter 51

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'What should I do about this...'  Shiro looked at the girl who's shorter than him by 10 cm, sitting right beside him on the dungeon's floor. (A/N:  Kuroneko is 160cm, so MC is at 170cm)

He didn't expect that he would face yet another dilemma that he doesn't know how to handle.

'Consoling is fine, but it has something to do with killing...' For once, he knows that he possesses a twisted reasoning about this, perhaps brought over by his past self. If a normal human shaped by a peaceful modern society knew about it, they would definitely say that he's a psychopath.

However, killing is not only a norm for Terra, but also to the majority of Chat Group members. Shinji knew about it due to his connection to the moonlit world, while Romani himself used to be a ruler that doesn't have any qualms about it. Kouzuki could sacrifice her students (though it's still painful for her) if it meant humanity having a better fighting chance against BETAs, and Kal'tsit is used to doing such thing for the better good.

That's the reason why he's facing a dilemma right now; he's simply not a person that could be measured by a normal human's moral compass. 

Shiro considers himself as an "educator" or "teacher" of sorts ever since he started teaching Shinji and others, thus he knew how important his responses would be on Kuroneko's future.

"First of all, you did it because that's what you know as 'right'?"

"...Yes."

"They're someone who will commit bad deeds in the future? They have an intention to kill you?"

"Yes... That's right."

Shiro thought of an angle that they should tackle in. Then, he realized something.

"Kuroneko, this world is just a game. If true death is allowed, you would've been killed by them--I believe you already know of this. What's been weighing you down are your doubts, right?"

Kuroneko went silent upon hearing this. Back in her world, she's smart--sharp enough to notice that something's going on between Kyousuke and Kirino within their time as friends.

"I'm afraid. Afraid of them going away from me."

"Your friends?"

She nodded as she continued, "I don't know if things would stay as it is once they know what I've done. I know that I can't keep it as a secret in one point."

To her, the friends that she made are very important. They helped her, changed her for the better. Thanks to them, she knew that keeping things within herself is a bad choice. All those years of struggling alone made her suffer, too. When she met them, she would've been happy even if she couldn't sell much of her doujinshi, unlike her downcast self before.

Everything just seemed better if she's with them, thus she tried her best to create that ideal world of hers--a world where Kyousuke, Kirino, and Kuroneko would be happy together.

Hence, she broke up with Kyousuke when she noticed how it affected her friendship with Kirino and how it hurt her. That, and the fact that she felt guilty for trying to take away Kyousuke from her. In the end, she sacrificed her happiness to achieve the second best option, for the two siblings to fully realize their feelings with each other. 

"So that's how it is." Shiro realized something yet again. "Have some confidence with your friends, y'know? They wouldn't do that if that's how you describe them."

Before she could speak, Shiro added, "You also have us, if we counts. Though we only met for more than half a month, I consider y'all my friends."

Amnesia isn't a thing that he could simply brush off. Not knowing anyone, not even your home, made Shiro feel estranged with the world--until the Chat Group invited him in. At least, he found a common connection with the people there.

If he didn't get connected to it, he could only imagine him and Surtr being the same. Wandering around the world aimlessly, not caring about her past that is long forgotten.

Silence.

Kuroneko couldn't--or rather, didn't reply at his remark. She could only smile helplessly as she mumbled, "This is not like me."

"Anyone else in your position would've been the same. Don't burden yourself too much."

"...Thank you for this, Shiro."

Kuroneko organized herself, removing the doubt that clouded her mind earlier. As she did so, some sort of embarrassment crept up as she thought of how she's been asking his help for a few times now.

"You are the only mortal that I owe such favors. Tell me if you need something, this queen shall get it done!"

"Right, right." He patted the dust out of his armor as he stood up and he reached out his arm to her. "Wanna go dungeon raiding?"

"How could I be left out on that?" She smiled, taking his arm so that she could stand up.

"Oh right, if you have some things to settle, I can wait."

"...I understand. Please wait for a while."

*****

Tap-!

Tap-!

Kuroneko's silent footsteps vaguely resounded in this wide corridor. Though, it didn't trigger any 'aggro' of the skeleton monsters. As to how?

The corridor itself is dozens of meters wide. A skeleton could only be seen in every few dozen feet, which describes a lot about their distance. If not for Shiro intentionally luring them, they wouldn't gather up to hundreds by themselves.

If other players did this, they wouldn't be able to, but things are different when it comes to Kuroneko.

Not only did she practice [Light Magic] at home which allowed her to become invisible, she also learned about Shiro's lightness technique. When coupled together, it made her a terrifying assassin.

Of course, this is without imperfections as she'd been practicing for more than two weeks.

As she passed through the skeletons, she quickly pierced through their vital spots, namely the burning flames on their eyes, the so-called undead flame in Shiro's power system.

'.'

One of the skills that she synchronized is her recently acquired skill from her first kill, .

Cost: 100 Mana

-Using mana, the selected target/s will be put in a state of fear for 1 minute

-Several targets can be selected at the same time.

-Effect 'Fear': All stats decreased by 50%

She selected not more than five skeletons in her vicinity, making the modules that controlled the monsters confused. This confusion and fear is reflected in the skeletons' actions, in which they stood stiffly.

'.'

Her dagger glowed before it pierced through the weakened skeleton's skull, extinguishing the undead flame from within. Its HP bar went down to 0 in one go, turning it into bright blue fragments before disappearing.

She did the same with four other skeletons, switching between , , , and . Through that, she managed to keep on one-hitting them while not disturbing the other skeletons within her radius.

After her 30th kill, she went back to the starting point, the only place where there's not a single skeleton within its hundred-feet radius.

"It's your turn, Shiro."

"Mn..? Ah, well..."

Waking him up from his nap, he yawned before briefly stretching. This is how things had been once they decided to grind in this dungeon. Shiro and Kuroneko kept taking turns, but it's mostly Shiro who takes the majority of the grinding time the most. 

He messes up the dungeon by kiting the mobs, thus Kuroneko had to wait for a while before everything goes back to normal. Though, the two idly chatted to pass this time.

"Wait... Another one?"

"What do you-"

Just as Shiro muttered out loud, a loud scream resounded from the top of this hole. After a few blinks, Kuroneko saw another girl in Shiro's arms--Shino.

*****

Fact #11: In Terra, there are two races that has a hive mind (or something similar to it), namely: Seaborns and Sarkaz. The former is much similar to the zergs, whereas a "Queen" appears to take lead of the group. With it, the Queen could control the Seaborns. That Queen is also the one who constantly tries to corrupt Skadi into going to the dark side. As for the latter, its their memories that are connected. That connection is very powerful to the point that a catastrophe occurred when something triggered it at one point of Arknight's story (chapter 7).

(PS: When a certain prophecy was fulfilled, originum burst out from concentrated areas (factories, mines, energy sources, etc) and a catastrophe happened at the same time.)





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