Chapter 95

"Let's focus on interpersonal combat training for now. Any objections?"

"Wait. I have plenty of objections."

After breakfast, we had a meeting to rally everyone. As I began to explain our future plans, Sylvia leaned forward and protested.

"First of all, Eco and I don't have enough experience points to make our Dragon Kings reach the 9th rank. This means we can't even qualify for the title matches."

"No problem. There's still over a month until the winter title matches."

"It took us four months just to get to a high rank. It's impossible to reach the 9th rank in just one month..."

"I'll get you both to the 9th rank in three days. Don't worry."

"…Second, I have a very bad feeling about this."

Had she already forgotten what I said last night, even though we had been drinking?

"We're going to make a killing in Isolais."

"Y-You were serious...?"

Sylvia slumped her shoulders.

"It's fine. I'm not going to make you fight to the death or anything. What you need from now on is interpersonal combat experience. In other words, you won't even have time to fight monsters."

"Hmm? What do you mean by that?"

"Watch today. It's a good opportunity to see what a high-rank dungeon is like. Starting tomorrow, I'll be earning experience points with Anko alone."

"Is that... Is that possible?"

Yes, it is possible.

That's one of the main reasons I tamed Anko. With her extraordinary strength, it's possible to earn experience points at an explosive rate even solo.

Moreover, by utilizing the versatility of Dark Transfer and Dark Summon, we can challenge high-rank dungeons and complete them in a day. With this, getting both Dragon Kings to the 9th rank will be a breeze, and I should be able to qualify for the title matches within a week.

"Hey, hey, what's a title match?"

Suddenly, Eco asked a question.

"Huh?"... Not only me and Sylvia, but Yurika, who was doing housework, also looked at Eco.

"You don't know!?"

"I don't know?"

Sylvia approached Eco with a shocked expression. Eco tilted her head and said, "Honya."

"Eco, if you win a title, the beastmen in your hometown will worship you as a god."

"Wow!"

"That's right, it's amazing. So, you should participate in the title matches."

"Okay, I'll participate!"

Good, she seems to understand.

"Wait, wait, wait!"

"Master, please wait a moment. It feels like you're deceiving her."

"You're right. I should explain it in more detail."

Sylvia and Yurika called for a halt. Maybe they're right, maybe they're not.

"Then, I'll leave the explanation to Sylvia."

"Alright, I'll do it!"

Sylvia, who looked like she was eager to explain, was designated. Yurika nodded and returned to her housework.

"Listen, Eco. First, to participate in the title matches, all your skills must be at the 9th rank."

"All of them?"

"Yes, but not all the sub-skills of the main skills. For example, for your Shield Technique, it means from Infantry to Dragon King."

"Then, I'll get a title?"

"No. After that, you have to win a tournament and challenge the current title holder. If you win, you get the title."

"…That sounds difficult."

"Exactly… In short, you just need to keep winning. However, you should know that just qualifying for the title matches is an incredible honor."

"Okay, I understand."

Wow, in this world, it's considered an "incredible honor." In Mevion, it was more like a "wall for advanced players."

"The title match tournament is a 'duel.' Even if you receive a fatal blow, your HP will be reduced to 1 and you'll be stunned, so it's safe. Potion use is not allowed. You're disqualified if you use other skills or go out of bounds. The time limit is one hour, except for the final match, which has no time limit."

A duel is a PvP system, unlike the virtual Arena. However... "If you receive a fatal blow, your HP will be reduced to 1 and you'll be stunned"? Seriously? In Mevion, the title matches had a "fatal blow is fatal" rule. Otherwise, it wouldn't be exciting.

Did the world become more realistic, leading to ethical issues? Indeed, the title match organizers wouldn't want participants to die. Personally, I find the reduced tension a bit disappointing, but it might be necessary.

"Eco will participate in the Kongo tournament for Shield Technique. I'll participate in the Oni-Piercer tournament for Archery."

"Kongo tournament?"

"Yes. If you win a title, everyone will call you 'Eco Leaflet Kongo.'"

"Sylvia Virginia Oni-Piercer."

"Exactly. Sylvia Virginia Oni-Piercer... Muhahaha."

Sylvia seems to know a lot about this. Ah, I see... The title names tickle her middle-schooler heart.

"By the way, which title will you challenge, Second? Archery, right?"

"Yes. Archery, Magic, and Summoning."

"Ha...?"

I was about to add that I would have liked to participate in Archery but would let Sylvia this time, but I stopped because Sylvia was still in shock. She probably wouldn't hear me anyway.

"So, in my case, it will be Second Ippan-Za, Eisei-Sho, and Reio-Ou. When people call me, it will be 'Second Tri-Crown,' right?"

"Second Tri-Crown!"

"Right. Tri-Crown."

"...Even a Double Crown is unprecedented, yet you're aiming for a Tri-Crown in your first participation. I'm surprised, but thinking about it, it's just like you."

Sylvia came back to life while talking to Eco. She seemed to be in awe of my Tri-Crown declaration. Hmm, it feels good. To be the best in the world, you need to be so strong that people are amazed.

"For the winter, I'll aim for these three. For the summer, I'll aim to defend the Tri-Crown and win two more, making it a total of eight."

"Ha...?"

She froze again.

"...Eco, don't misunderstand. This is because of Second. He's just weird. Participating in the title matches is an honor in itself. A great honor, it should be."

Eco gave a vague response to Sylvia's explanation. She seems to be slightly influenced by my values. Well, everything is about experience. Once you challenge a title, you'll learn a lot. Whether it's an honor or not, everything starts with a challenge.

"Alright, let's go to Isolais. We'll leave in 30 minutes. Get ready."

There's only a month left until the winter title matches. First, let's quickly earn the missing experience points.

"Oh, right. Yurika, I want to bring some of the top-ranked servants. Do you have any candidates?"

"...Yes?"

"There's a lot of experience to be earned. We'll also train the servants. If the servants we train can handle a B-rank dungeon, the ones below them will improve too."

"Ah, I understand. I'll gather them in 30 minutes."

"Thanks."

"Here are the five who gathered."

30 minutes later, in the living room, Sylvia and Eco, along with five servants, had gathered.

"Kyubero, Eve, and El, right? And..."

"It's nice to meet you, Master. I'm Champaigne."

"Oh, you look like a lady."

"I-I'm honored! I'm so moved! It's wonderful~"

Champaigne clasped her hands in front of her chest and jumped with joy. She's very expressive. A sweet floral scent wafted from her luxurious blonde hair. Her meticulous grooming, from her fashion to her inner self, gave me a very good impression.

"I'm Cosmos. Nice to meet you, Master."

"Ah, nice to meet you. You're a Staff Technique user, right?"

"Yes. I'm confident in handling a staff."

Cosmos has a traditional Japanese beauty with long black hair. Hmm, but she seems to be hiding something despite her innocent appearance. Why do I think that? Because she uses the niche skill "Staff Technique."

"Is that all?"

"Originally, Lily, the head gardener, was supposed to come instead of Cosmos, but she had some trouble at work."

"Work, huh? That's tough."

"I think it's tough for her subordinates. She was shedding tears of blood and regretting it."

Kyubero responded with a wry smile. When I said to tell her to try next time, Kyubero nodded with a somewhat pleased expression.

"Let's go then."

I called out and summoned Anko with Dark Summon. The servants were visibly shaken. I guess I hadn't explained it yet.

"This is my secret weapon, Anko, the Dark Wolf. She's the hidden boss of the high-rank dungeon Isolais."

"...High-rank?"

"Yes. The dungeon we're going to is where Anko used to live."

The murmurs turned to silence, and then to a commotion.

"You're saying we're going to a high-rank dungeon!?"

"Didn't Yurika tell you?"

Kyubero wasn't the only one with a shocked expression. All the servants had pale faces. Well, Eve's face is always pale, so it's hard to tell if she's pale or not, but she seems to be surprised too.

"Don't worry, I won't let anything touch you. Think of it as a field trip."

The purpose of this trip is to show the servants the field while earning experience points. It might seem like a trivial thing, but it's actually very important.

In an MMORPG, players are inspired by advanced players to take action. Without seeing concrete examples and thinking "I want to be like that," it's impossible to put in the effort.

I want them to be inspired by this field trip and take action. I want them to find a reason to endure the repetitive task of grinding experience points in dungeons.

"Be motivated. Have ambition. Think for yourselves. I have all the information you need to become stronger. If you want to know, I'll tell you. Today is the first step."

"Master."

"Right. Start the transfer and summoning in sequence."

"As you wish."

Anko touched each of them and used Dark Transfer to Isolais, then performed Dark Summon one by one. Sylvia and Eco looked determined, while the servants looked bewildered as they were transferred to the gate of Isolais.

"Join the team."

I sent a guest invitation to the five servants for the First Test. They all accepted instantly.

I temporarily excluded Yurika from the distribution and set the experience point distribution method to equal. This way, even if only Anko and I fight, the experience points will be evenly distributed among the eight of us.

"Keep up with me."

I started walking without waiting for a response. Just before we encountered enemies, I summoned Angolmois and used Spirit Possession. This caused another commotion among the four servants, except for Kyubero.

"This is Spirit Possession in Summoning. It's unlocked at the 4th rank of Spirit Summon. It's best to remember this."

I gave advice without hesitation. Champaigne was taking notes. That's a good attitude. Information leakage is not a concern.

"Ask Sylvia and Eco about the transformation skill you'll use later."

I alternated between Spirit Summon and Transformation to maintain buffs while fighting. This is the basic strategy for dungeon clearing.

"Anko, Black Flame Spear."

"Understood."

I didn't hold back. I pushed forward with maximum firepower from the start. I drew my Mithril Sword and prepared Flying Chariot Sword Technique while running.

"Hehe."

Anko's Dragon King Spear Technique blew away two armored knights guarding the gate in one hit.

Sylvia, Eco, and the servants were speechless. They understood how abnormal it was to take down high-rank monsters in one hit.

We broke through the gate and stormed into the ancient castle of Isolais.

"Go straight, enemies at 10 o'clock."

"Understood."

"Go straight, enemies at 3 o'clock."

"Understood."

"Go forward at 1 o'clock, enemies at 9 o'clock."

"Understood."

I gave instructions using common words. Directions were indicated by the clock. As concise and clear as possible.

I anticipated and handled everything, knowing exactly what kind of monsters would appear from where and what kind of attacks they would use.

The safest thing is to prevent the enemy from doing anything. Preemptive strikes are the best defense.

"Transform in 5 seconds, enemies at 11 o'clock."

"Should we continue?"

"Let's go with B."

"Understood."

I blew away three Black Ghosts coming from the left front with Transformation. "Continue" from Anko was asking what to do next. My "B" referred to Plan B. Since I had prepared various patterns of responses as "forms" in advance, there was no need to give detailed instructions like "do this and that after transforming."

Plan B, in this case, involved Anko attacking the monsters from behind during the 8-second invincibility of Transformation. If they weren't defeated, I would charge in after 6 seconds and blow them away, followed by Anko's follow-up attack.

"Foolish."

This time, Anko's Flying Chariot Spear Technique was enough to defeat them, so there was no need for a charge or follow-up attack.

"Go forward at 1 o'clock, enemies at 12 o'clock."

"Understood."

We cleared Isolais at a rapid pace.

We reached the keep where the boss was located in less than an hour after entering the castle.

"You look similar."

"Yes. You are essentially a mutated and evolved form of this."

The boss of Isolais is a Black Flame Wolf, a large black-furred wolf like Anko, the Dark Wolf.

"F."

"Understood."

Plan F—Anko's preemptive attack with Dark Magic.

I fired an Infantry Archery shot at the Black Flame Wolf, whose HP was reduced to 1 by the black mist, instantly killing it.

"Alright, let's take a short break and do another round."

One round takes about an hour, and with a break, it's exactly an hour. This matches the 3600-second cooldown of Dark Magic, making it possible to clear Isolais quickly.

Well, even though it's been a while, the muscle memory from the countless rounds I did in the past is still there. At this rate, I should be able to reduce the time to about 45 minutes per round. In that case, I'll need to defeat the Black Flame Wolf without relying on Dark Magic. I could use Dragon King Sword Technique's stun to force it, or for safety, I could use Kinkaku Hamejiro. Kinkaku Hamesaburo would work too. Hmm...

"...Second?"

"What is it?"

While thinking about various strategies, Sylvia approached me with a serious expression.

"Ryoma reached the 7th rank."

"Great. That's good."

"It's not just 'good'! It's too dangerous!!"

Too loud! My ears are ringing.

"Do you realize what you did!? You cleared a high-rank dungeon in just one hour without taking a single hit!? And while protecting us!"

"I didn't protect you. I just eliminated the monsters before they could do anything."

"That's what's abnormal!!"

She shouted.

"Ryoma went from the 6th to the 7th rank in one hour! That means... How much experience did the servants get!? They probably went from the 1st to a high rank in Infantry!"

"Maybe."

"Amazing, right!?"

"Right."

Sylvia was so hyped up that she was acting crazy. On the other hand, Eco was happily fiddling with her skills, as usual.

"Second-sama."

Then, Kyubero called my name with a determined look. The other servants were standing beside her.

"I understand the purpose of bringing us here."

"Good to hear."

...They seem eager. Like when I showed the damage of the First Model to the First Court Magic Corps. The effect of showing them the field is evident. It's very gratifying.

"If you have any questions, ask anything. Whether it's dungeon clearing strategies or anything else. I'm ready to teach you."

"Understood...!"

I spoke to the new team members like a senior, and the five servants nodded gratefully.

"Since I want to focus on the time attack, you can go back now. Sylvia and Eco, stay. We're going shopping on the way back, so wait here."

I sent the servants back with Anko and returned to the Isolais loop.

It feels like the moment has finally arrived. Gradually earning experience points and stepping onto the stage of the title matches. Finally stepping into the realm of the best in the world. Returning to that position once again.

...Title holders, wash your necks and wait. Your days are numbered.

* * *

"Everyone understands, right?"

The five who returned to the First Test residence looked at each other.

Cosmos raised her hand in response to Kyubero's question.

"What is it?"

"My panties are soaked. Can I go home?"

"...Please wait a moment."

While being taken ab