After walking for a while, I came across a staircase leading downward, but since it wasn't part of my planned route, I ignored it.
This place felt like a labyrinth—the further I went, the more paths appeared, and I had to constantly use [Inference] to figure out where to go. The area had map-shifting features just like those in a dungeon.
Could this actually be part of a dungeon too?
I suspected so because the place had several characteristics similar to a dungeon—like the self-changing map and the complex terrain.
I even found some traces left behind by humans, which meant quite a few people had been here. Most of them likely met their end, though, since the only thing I found were scattered skeletons.
These people were probably killed by creatures living here—if they had been caught by that tree, not even bones would remain.
Suddenly, I picked up a strange sensing...
Or rather, it was something extremely familiar—it was Seina's presence!
I could vaguely sense her, but I still couldn't communicate or connect with her. Maybe I was still too far from where she was.
I kept wandering around, trying to find which path would amplify the sensation and narrowed it down to two paths that gave off an equal level of response.
Not sure what to do, I tried using [Prophecy] to deduce the answer, but all I saw was a pitch-black image. Trying to infer from that didn't give me anything useful.
Once more.
I released [Sensing] and [Scan] to the maximum extent, trying to gather more information so that [Inference] could function more effectively.
This place was seriously vast—the more I expanded my detection, the more paths appeared. But finally, I found it!
The space where the strongest sensation came from was exactly where Seina currently was. I still didn't know her precise location, only that it appeared as a dot on [Sensing].
But now that I had a lead, I quickly combined [Inference] with [Prophecy] to try and guess the exact position of that space.
Failed on the first attempt…
The area I had sensed shifted, and Seina's trace suddenly jumped to another place, completely opposite from the one that had changed.
This was clearly trying to mislead me into choosing the wrong direction. But no matter what's on the other side, it underestimated the connection between Seina and me.
I began chasing after Seina, who was being moved constantly, while simultaneously using [Inference] to deduce her location.
At this point, I was sure—a creature was carrying Seina and trying to avoid me.
Dream on, sucker!
If I couldn't use [Prophecy] on Seina's position, then I'd use it on the creature instead.
A faint image appeared—it was dark, but I could still make out a creature moving at high speed. It could even pass through walls, which made tracking difficult.
It was so fast that my [Prophecy] couldn't keep up with its image, but finally it slowed down for a moment—enough for me to see it had four legs, sharp claws, eyes on its head, and two fangs.
With that information, I immediately began to [Infer] its actions.
Got it!
At last, I could see the full picture. The creature turned out to be a rat. It was holding something in its claws—and when I looked closer, I was shocked to see that it was Seina.
No way!
How could it be holding her like that so roughly?!
That damned rat!
Still… logically, Seina should be in a non-physical form. How the heck was that rat able to touch her...?
Ugh, who cares—I just need to save her!
I rushed toward the rat, but the moment it noticed me, it slipped into the wall and ran down a different path.
Stop right there!
At this point, I had already used [Inference] and [Prophecy] to gather every bit of info on it. No matter how fast it ran, it couldn't escape me.
Its wall-phasing was definitely annoying, but since I could anticipate its actions in advance, I started blocking it off multiple times.
It was caught off guard several times, but still managed to dodge just in time.
I only managed to ram into it once.
Damn it!
That cowardly rat wouldn't even fight—it just kept running.
Its wall-phasing ability was overpowered, and its speed rivaled mine. If I couldn't end it in one blow, it would escape again.
No matter.
I wouldn't give it a moment to rest. Every time I could attack, I'd hit with full force to injure it as badly as possible. Once its speed began to drop, I'd definitely be able to catch it.
I timed it perfectly—as the rat jumped out of the wall, I used my evil eye and spider silk to trap its legs.
But its sharp claws cut right through my threads.
Still, even just a split-second was enough.
I lunged at full speed and slammed straight into the rat, sending it tumbling.
The rat quickly recovered and tried to escape into a nearby wall again.
I charged before it could get away and managed to slash its leg.
Perfect!
Its speed had dropped.
You're dead meat now, rat!
You dared lay a hand on my person?!
After that, I kept anticipating its moves, and even though I couldn't finish it off right away, its injuries kept stacking up.
Eventually, it couldn't take it anymore—it dropped Seina and turned to flee.
Where do you think you're going, rat?!
I quickly caught Seina and placed her in the [Virtual World], then continued chasing after it. Today, I wouldn't be satisfied until I had rat meat seven ways.
The chase resumed, but it didn't last long—eventually, the rat collapsed from exhaustion.
Woahhh.
That thing was pretty tough, I'll give it that.
Using [Appraisal], I learned it was a [Mutant] with high speed stats—but all its other stats were super low.
So that's why it kept running.
A classic case of "all bark and no bite."
After finishing it off, I dragged its corpse to a quiet, spacious area and began prepping the meat.
I'd eaten rat before, but eating more was never a problem.
While cooking, I also entered the [Virtual World] to check on Seina's condition.
Thankfully, she was okay—she had just lost too much soul energy, but that was something I could heal.
After treating her, I sat quietly beside her, waiting for Seina to wake up.
She'd come close to real danger—who knew if Suzu was doing okay now?
I wanted to go find her right away, but I was also worried about Seina's condition. I'd wait until she recovered, then go after Suzu immediately.
Not long after, Seina finally woke up.
"Huh? I'm not dead?"
What are you saying all of a sudden?
"Thank you."
Seina said, then came over and hugged me.
Etou… this was the first time I'd seen her do that.
Are you feeling unwell anywhere?
"No, just had a lot of my energy drained earlier."
It was true—when I first rescued her, she'd looked really faint, like she could disappear at any moment. But now, she was back to normal.
Good.
I should look for Suzu now. I wonder how she's doing…
"I know where she is."
You do?
"To be precise, I know what happened to her earlier. We were together before, but then we got separated. I'm not sure what's going on now, but there's a place we can check."
What exactly happened to you two?
"Let's go—I'll explain while we walk."
Okay.
I grabbed a few bites of meat to recover my strength, then followed the direction Seina pointed.
…
Hey, can you tell me what happened?
"Sigh… I have to start from when you stepped through the gate. At that moment, both Suzu and I sensed something strange and wanted to warn you, but we suddenly realized we had already been separated from you without noticing."
"Since it was our first time existing outside the Virtual World, Suzu and I couldn't function for long. Then, out of nowhere, some annoying rats appeared and tried to capture us. Luckily, one of them was successfully taken over by Suzu and me, and we managed to control its body to escape."
Oh, that's pretty impressive!
"But there were still two other rats, and unfortunately, the one we took over was the weakest among them. So we were quickly caught up. In a critical moment, Suzu pushed me out and told me to go find you. It was already hard to move outside, and I was also injured while trying to take over that rat, so I didn't get very far before being caught again."
"That rat could grab hold of me even in spirit form and began to drain my soul energy. I was already too weakened, so I passed out without knowing anything further."
Phew…
Looks like I really made it just in time.
But what about Suzu? Will she be okay?
"I think she'll be fine. If Suzu continues hiding within the body of that rat, she still has a chance to survive. Also, that other rat seems to want to preserve the body we took over, which is why Suzu felt confident enough."
Sigh…
That shy girl can be really decisive sometimes.
"We're almost there."
Yeah, I can smell the rats too—there are quite a few of them.
"Chances are more of them have gathered."
Don't worry.
Those rats are only fast. They can't really hurt me.
"Be careful. From what I can tell, the creatures here can attack the soul. If you let your guard down, you could die without even realizing it."
Hmph.
Let me tell you something.
Then, I explained everything I had been through to Seina. Honestly, I still felt a bit thrilled thinking back on it.
But… why isn't Seina saying anything?
Seina?
Ah…!
"You idiot!"
"You went and did something reckless when no one was around! What if you had failed?!"
Eh? But I succeeded…
"No buts!"
Okay, okay.
I admit my mistake. Please stop scolding me.
"I really don't know what to do with you…"
If you want to get rich, you've got to take risks, right?
"But you should at least think things through. You can't gamble on everything. If you don't understand that, sooner or later you're going to pay the price!"
Alright… I'll ask for everyone's opinion first next time before I do anything.
"I hope you remember what you just said."
Geez…
If it were Suzu, she might've praised me, but Seina is so strict. Still, she's not wrong. I was really reckless this time.
It took me a while to calm Seina down. That was hard, but now that I've seen the results, I don't regret it that much.
Putting that aside, we were now very close to the rats' nest. I could already use [Prophecy] to see their images and began using [Inference] to piece together the whole future scenario.
There it is!
That rat…
In the image I saw, one rat was being repeatedly attacked by the others. It was badly injured but simply curled up and didn't fight back.
Suzu!
That's definitely her!
Those damn rats!
I couldn't wait any longer and charged straight in. The rats were caught off guard. Before they could react, I dashed in and used [Blade Leg] to slice off the head of one of them.
They quickly regrouped and began attacking me, but like I said, they're fast but not dangerous. Some of them began using soul attacks, but too late—way too late.
I countered instantly and successfully killed three mutant rats. Two others managed to escape.
<
<
<< Additional experience points have been received. Skill [Blade Leg Lv5] has become [Blade Leg Lv6]>>
<< Additional experience points have been received. Skill [Prophecy Lv2] has become [Prophecy Lv3]>>
<
Oh, I didn't expect to level up too.
But I didn't have time to be happy—I rushed over to check on Suzu. The rat's body was already in a terrible state, but as long as Suzu inside was fine…
Suzu!
Suzu!
Can you hear me?
"Heal her first. Just like me, she lost a lot of soul energy."
Okay, got it.
After a short period of recovery, Suzu began to show signs of improvement.
"I-is that… you…?"
Come back to me now.
I can't relax leaving you out there any longer.
"Mm…"
After that, Suzu exited the rat's body—killing it for good—and returned to my Virtual World. I also hurried inside to check on her condition.
Are you okay??
"I… I'm fine now."
Fine, my ass.
Suzu still looked very faint, so I kept restoring her. I laid her down on my lap and began transferring soul energy to her.
"Hey… why didn't you let me lie on your lap earlier?"
Eh?
You want to too?
"W-w-what are you saying?! I was just asking!"
You clearly want it, but won't admit it.
Knowing what Seina was thinking, I took the chance to tease her a little.
Once Suzu feels better, I'll let you lie down too.
"I told you I don't need it!"
Really? This opportunity won't come again, you know.
Seina kept refusing with words, but her body was already trembling.
Haahh…
I don't understand why these girls make such strange requests, but after everything they just went through, it's fine to spoil them a little.
A while later, Suzu finally fully recovered.
Anything still bothering you?
"Mm… I'm fine now."
…
Then sit up already…
Even though she said she was fine, Suzu kept lying on my lap.
"If you're fine, then get up already!"
I hadn't even said anything yet when Seina jumped in. Her tone… felt a bit impatient?
"Sorry… I still feel a bit weak…"
Oh? Are you feeling sick somewhere? Tell me quickly!
"It's just that… earlier, I tried using magic but failed. It drained my spirit too much… so now I just want to lie down a bit longer…"
Oh, I thought it was something serious.
"Hmph. So now you even know how to lie?" Seina still wouldn't let Suzu off.
"I… I'm not lying."
Come on, Seina. I know you want to lie down too. Just wait a bit. I promised, didn't I?
"Who wants that?!"
Eeehhh…
Um, Suzu? Could you shift over a bit for Seina?
"If you say so, then of course…"
Alright, Seina. Come on over.
I held out my arms to welcome her, but Seina turned her head away, acting like she didn't notice—while slowly approaching anyway.
What's wrong with her…?
Since she was taking too long, the moment she got close enough, I pulled her in and let her lie on the other side.
And then, the three of us just lay there in silence, enjoying the moment.
Honestly, I really needed some relaxation like this. Suddenly, I felt something soft against my hand. Looking down, I saw Suzu resting her cheek on it.
Hmm… Suzu?
Wait… is she asleep?
I didn't think soul beings could sleep… but if she is, I shouldn't disturb her.
Then my other hand also felt something soft.
You too, Seina?
"Shut up. If Suzu can do it, then why can't I?"
No, no.
I didn't say you couldn't.
If you want to sleep, go ahead.
"Silence."
Alright…
And just like that, I was stuck here—my lap a pillow, my hands turned into cuddling objects for both of them.
It took quite a while before I could finally get up. And that was only because I called out to them myself. If I hadn't… who knows how long I would've been stuck like that.
Sigh… why is life so hard for a main character like me?