Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 111

Chapter 111: Second VR Emergency Meeting

 

The second emergency meeting in VR Chat begins.

 

Gathered around the large round table that Sora had prepared in the simple virtual space are five heroes who fight on the frontlines of ?Astral Online?.

 

One of them is Shinji Takamiya, a tall and cool boy, standing over 180 cm. Today’s outfit is a simple white shirt paired with navy jeans, a simple choice.

 

Another is Shiro Kozuki, an attractive boy with natural brown hair and a constant refreshing smile, standing around 170 cm tall. He’s wearing a stylish polo shirt with vertical white and blue stripes and cropped pants.

 

Standing next to me is Shiori Kamijo, my younger sister, a refined girl with black hair tied in a ponytail, standing a little over 150 cm tall. Today, she’s in a traditional mood, wearing a cute shrine maiden outfit.

 

And the one who called the usual members together is me, Sora Kamijo, a boy with black hair and an ordinary appearance, which greatly lowers the beauty rating of this space.

 

I haven’t changed my avatar’s outfit at all, so I’m the only one wearing the same thing as last time.

 

People often tell me I should pay more attention to fashion, at least in virtual spaces, but if I had time to worry about that, I’d rather dedicate every second to gaming.

 

It’s not that I have no sense of style and keep wearing the same kind of clothes—I just don’t care, okay?

 

Thinking up excuses to justify myself, I shift my focus.

 

Sora, who always gathers everyone during emergencies, glanced at one of the new members before starting the conversation.

 

Hiding behind me, clinging tightly to my back, was a young girl with silver hair and blue eyes. Her black dress, which highlights her hair color, suits her perfectly. Her name is Kurono Takanashi.

 

When my two close friends saw Kurono’s appearance after logging in through the real-life scanner, they exclaimed in surprise, “Isn’t she just like Sora in the game?!”

 

Come to think of it, Shinji and Shiro haven’t met Kurono in real life yet, so they only know her as a black-haired avatar in the game.

 

I went ahead and explained that she’s half-nordic, with her mother’s side being strongly reflected in her features.

 

And to top it off, she’s my second cousin—life’s funny that way, you know?

 

After I explained this, the two of them let out the predictable “Seriously?” and stared at Kurono intently.

 

Her cheeks turned a bit red from embarrassment, and in a voice so soft it was almost inaudible, she introduced herself.

 

“H-hello, it’s nice to meet you here… I’m Kurono Takanashi…”

 

“Takanashi-chan, nice to meet you. I’m Shinji Takamiya. You can call me whatever you like.”

 

“I’m Shiro Kozuki. Feel free to call me however you prefer. Takanashi-san, I look forward to working with you.”

 

“N-Nice to meet you, Takamiya-san, Kozuki-san.”

 

After the introductions, the four of them sat in their usual designated seats.

 

Kurono, however, brought her chair right next to mine and sat down happily.

 

“Hehe, I’m sitting next to Sora.”

 

Her cute words and smile made my cheeks relax involuntarily.

 

Even though Kurono seems mature, she sometimes acts her age and leans on me like this.

 

After all, she’s two or three years younger than me. Since I’m a high school first-year, she would be, at most, a middle school first-year.

 

With her parents trapped in ?Astral Online?, it’s my duty as her companion to make sure she doesn’t feel lonely and let her depend on me as much as she needs.

 

Driven by a sense of responsibility, I burn with determination.

 

But I can’t help thinking—she’s just so cute.

 

As I patted her head, my tired heart from everything that happened today felt warm and comforted.

 

Meanwhile, Shinji and Shiro, with mischievous grins, looked over at me and put on exaggeratedly envious expressions.

 

“Whoa, Shiro, look at that overly sweet lovey-dovey couple!”

 

“We were the ones who invited him to this game, and yet he barely plays with us, choosing to flirt with a girl instead. That’s classic Sora for you.”

 

“Turns out friendship is powerless in the face of a girl. I think I might cry…”

 

“As the two of us have been left behind, why don’t we enjoy the upcoming summer festival together?”

 

“Yeah, for sure. He’ll be too busy hanging out with Takanashi-chan anyway.”

 

“To be abandoned by your best friend is so incredibly sad.”

 

Sora gave the two fake-crying guys a cold look.

 

After years of friendship, I know all too well that engaging with them now would only lead to more trouble, so I decided to ignore them.

 

“Okay, let’s ignore these idiots and start the meeting. First—”

 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!”

 

“At least acknowledge us a little!”

 

“Shut up, you idiots! I feel bad about what happened in the Forest of Spirits, but this time, it’s also your fault for hanging around with Yoru. If you’re above level 45 now, just finish your business quickly and come join us!”

 

When I glared at them, Shinji and Shiro both gave awkward smiles.

 

“Well, looks like we’ll only be able to meet up once the event starts again.”

 

“Yeah, that’s true. But hey, there’s a festival coming up *in real life*, so let’s make sure we have fun then.”

 

“Big brother…”

 

Hearing Shiro mention the word “festival,” Shiori looked at me with a worried expression.

 

??The festival.

 

If I go, it means I’ll have to reveal the changes in my real body that I’ve been hiding from them until now.

 

In any case, they’ll find out when summer vacation ends.

 

Running away from this isn’t an option.

 

Having made up my mind, I gave a small nod and answered the two of them.

 

“Yeah, I have something I need to tell you both, too. Let’s meet at the usual Kamisato Park.”

 

“Got it.”

 

“Something you want to tell us, huh? I’m looking forward to it.”

 

After making this important promise, I shifted the conversation and shared with everyone what had happened at school today.

 

…………………….

 

After hearing everything, the four of them made predictably grim faces.

 

They were already aware of the global reforms brought about by the declaration of Yggdrasil, the “World Tree”, and the appearance of El, the “God” who had been on television.

 

During the first instance, that suspicious white-haired girl appeared, and everyone gained their ranks while at home. Kurono ended up with a rank of [E], while the other three got [F].

 

Since Shinji, Shiro, and Shiori were ranked [F], just like Kirie, they could only use the basic skills of the professions they had set in ?Astral Online?.

 

Kurono, one rank higher, was able to acquire both her initial profession’s skills and, like me, attack skills as well.

 

“What’s it like for you, Sora, at rank [C]?” Shinji asked.

 

Sora answered honestly, “I can use all level 2 skills.”

 

“No way! Doesn’t that make you the strongest human alive?”

 

“Even with all these skills, I don’t feel like I could beat my mentor at all.”

 

“But the fact that we need such excessive force isn’t something we can simply be happy about, is it?” Shiro said, his expression serious as he considered the future.

 

I couldn’t agree more.

 

By gaining ranks, players could unlock the skills they’d acquired in the game and use them in the real world.

 

This meant that monsters, which hadn’t appeared in previous events, could potentially show up in reality from now on.

 

Fighting in both the game and real life—honestly, if adventurers end up working this much, won’t they die from overwork?

 

Shiori thought for a moment and then voiced her opinion.

 

“Monsters, huh? Considering the world was nearly overrun by the Spirit Tree, it’s not surprising that one or two monsters might appear now. But why at this particular time?”

 

“Hmm, it might not have any special meaning,” I said.

 

There were too many unknowns, and overthinking it would get us nowhere.

 

As Sora and the others were discussing possibilities, Kurono, who had been quiet until now, spoke up with her own thought.

 

“Maybe the *Consecration* mentioned on TV has something to do with it?”

 

At that, all of us let out a collective, clueless “Ahh.”

 

Shinji was the first to respond to Kurono’s suggestion.

 

“…Now that I think about it, there was a part in the Bible that mentioned *Consecration*. It means God selects and separates people.”

 

“So you’re saying adventurers were given ranks and skills to distinguish them from regular people?” Shiro asked.

 

“That seems likely. What happens after that, though, is anyone’s guess,” Shinji replied, looking at me.

 

Sora glanced around at everyone before wrapping up the meeting with his conclusion and plan going forward.

 

“We don’t know anything for sure right now, but let’s stay extra cautious from here on out. Let’s prioritize sharing information and staying in touch. With that, today’s meeting is over!”