Since the mission only required her to defeat a single enemy, anyone with half a brain knew it was smarter to pick the weakest target. So Kiana zoomed in on the cluster of tiny red dots on her map. Luckily, there were plenty of them—more than ten of the smallest, faintest ones.
She tapped the lightest-colored dot and began moving. After quietly weaving around several clusters of more dangerous enemies, she slipped deeper into the dense forest. Strange bugs chirped from every direction, and the humid heat mixed with a faint, salty breeze drifting in from the sea.
"Is that it…?"
Kiana crouched behind a thick tree trunk and peeked at her target: an elk.But not an Earth elk. No—this thing looked like some bio-engineered monster straight out of a shōnen series.
Its antlers rose as high as two sharpened swords, the tips stained dark red—like they'd been dipped in blood. Even its tail was white at the base and red at the ends, as if dyed.
And its size… easily twice that of normal elk.
What the hell, do animals in the One Piece world grow up on steroids?
The elk munched lazily on the grass at its hooves, blissfully unaware of the impending disaster. Kiana prayed silently in relief.
Good. Herbivore. That means less aggressive than predators. Even if I can't beat it, I should be able to outrun it. Probably… hopefully… please…
Yes—she had already begun planning her escape route.
"…Hah… all right. Let's do this."
Kiana sucked in a deep breath. Time to be brave.In a game, she never hesitated—death just meant respawning.But in real life?
Yeah. Real life hit different.
Still, Kiana refused to chicken out. I'm a man! …Even if I look like a cute anime girl right now. I'm still a man on the inside!
She stepped out from behind the tree. Her eyes sharpened. She raised her pistol. Inhale. Aim. Shoot—
…Or so she thought.
Click! Click-click-click!
Kiana squeezed the trigger desperately, but the gun betrayed her with the pathetic sound of a jammed toy.
The noise instantly drew the elk's attention.It lifted its terrifyingly large antlers, staring directly at her with cold, emotionless eyes.
Its hooves scraped the dirt. A low, threatening growl rumbled from its throat.
Kiana almost cried on the spot.
Why can't it shoot!? WHY!?
She threw both hands up in surrender, forcing a stiff smile.
"Heh… hey there. M-Misunderstanding! This is just a big misunderstanding!"
The elk did not agree.
It charged.
"YAAAAAAHHHHH!!"
Kiana spun around and bolted. While sprinting for her life, she yanked the phone from her chest and screamed:
"Ai-chan! Ai-chan! HELP ME!"
Ai-chan's chibi form popped up on the screen, blinking in confusion.
"What's wrong, Captain? Do you have a question?"
"LOOK. BEHIND. ME!"
Kiana held the phone up so Ai-chan could see the rapidly approaching death beast, then pulled it back.
"Understand my situation now!?"
"…Ai-chan sees it. But Ai-chan still doesn't understand—why are you running away, Captain?"
Kiana nearly tripped from sheer rage. She whipped out her pistol and shook it.
"BECAUSE THIS THING WON'T FIRE! Why can't I use my weapon!?"
"…"
Ai-chan stared at her the way one stares at an especially hopeless idiot.
"Captain… you didn't forget that the Domain Equipment: White Comet… is melee armor, right?"
"…"
Kiana froze.Of course she knew White Comet was melee-based.But—
"But it shot perfectly last night! I clearly saw bullets flying out over the ocean! Hundreds of them!"
"Captain… girls shouldn't use words like 'handjob.'"
Ai-chan spoke with the disappointed tone of someone lecturing a misbehaving child.
"I'M A MAN! Focus on the real issue! Why can't I use the gun!?"
Ai-chan sighed. Deeply. Twice.
"Captain, last night you said you wanted to test your weapon, so Ai-chan temporarily switched you to Ranger Armor for long-range attacks. After you were done testing, Ai-chan switched it back."
"…"
So… she had been using Ranger Armor the whole time last night.
Now that she knew the truth, Kiana felt despair settle in.I really have to fight this thing with my bare hands!? Seriously!?
Ai-chan narrowed her eyes.
"But Captain keeps insisting he's a man. Yet everything you've done so far has been… extremely unmanly."
Kiana's running slowed. Her jaw tightened.
Yeah… If I ever want to be a man again… I need courage. Strength. Resolve.If I can't even fight one enemy, how am I supposed to get stronger? Am I seriously going to live the rest of my life as a girl?
After a hard internal struggle, Kiana skidded to a stop. Her eyes sharpened. A faint battle spirit lit up inside her.
Ai-chan smiled proudly.
"Looks like the Captain finally resembles a man! Ai-chan is very pleased!"
Kiana allowed a small smile.
"Thanks, Ai-chan. You woke me up."
"You're welcome! Supporting you is Ai-chan's duty!"With that, Ai-chan faded from the screen.
Kiana tucked the phone back into her chest, tightened it securely, then turned to face her rapidly approaching foe.
"Come on! I'll show you what being a man really means!"
Coming from Kiana's sweet, high-pitched anime-girl voice, it sounded incredibly ridiculous. But the spirit behind the words was real.
The elk felt her provocation. Its aura sharpened. Its speed doubled. The killing intent rolling off its antlers made Kiana's legs tremble—but her mind had already changed.
The coward from ten seconds ago was gone.
She measured the distance carefully.Closer. Ten meters. Five. One—now.
Kiana planted a hand on the ground, executed a clean evasive roll, and slipped past the deadly antlers.And in that instant, her world shifted.
Color drained. Everything dimmed to cold black.Time slowed—no, nearly stopped.
Time-Space Rupture.
Her passive evasion skill had triggered perfectly. Enemies slowed to a crawl while she remained unaffected.
"Then… while you're down—finish it!"
Her pink-haired body spun gracefully as her jade-like legs hammered into the elk's head. Three clean strikes.
Then she leapt skyward.
A massive yellow cat paw materialized above her—her branch attack skill.
It descended like a meteor.
BOOM!
The ground cratered. The elk's body was smashed flat, reduced to minced meat and blood in an instant.
Kiana landed heavily, gasping from the sprinting and fighting, but her face lit up in pure triumph.
"Hahaha! I did it! I actually did it!"
Beep-beep!
Her chest buzzed. She quickly pulled out the phone.
"Congratulations, Captain! Ai-chan is suuuper happy!"
"Haha! It's all thanks to you, Ai-chan! Here—let me thank you. Give me a kiss!"
Kiana puckered her lips and leaned toward the screen.
ZZZZT!
Electric sparks blasted her.
She collapsed to the ground, twitching, her soul leaving her body.
"…Didn't Ai-chan say it already? No. Licking. The. Screen."