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 118

Chapter 118: The Oath of the Dragon Princess

 

The next day, Sora and her group, along with the village chief and many others, were seen off as they departed from ?Philophrosyne?, which believed in the legend of the brown-skinned girl who saved the country.

 

Their return route to the kingdom naturally led them back through the lava fields, unchanged from when they had first traveled through. Blue, rose-like flowers called ?Refractory Flower? bloomed in clusters here and there, and the landscape resembled hell, with occasional bursts of magma.

 

As was becoming the usual routine, I found myself passing the time in the shaking carriage by playing a board game given to me by the village chief. Across from me sat the young girl Satanas, and we were playing to kill time.

 

“Yay, I won again!”

 

“Ugh… Satanas, aren’t you too strong?”

 

This marked my tenth loss of the day. Continuing from yesterday’s string of defeats, I was being thoroughly beaten by the young girl without mercy.

 

The rules of this board game, which involved pieces modeled after monsters, were exactly like chess from the real world, similar to how card games like poker are. Although I’m not very skilled at board games, unlike card games that rely heavily on luck, this was a battle of brains.

 

Judging by her appearance, Satanas looked about the age of a third-grade elementary school student. Since I’m a high school freshman, I felt bad about beating her too much, so I had decided to go easy on her after winning the first game. However, that thought turned out to be sweeter than sugar candy.

 

Satanas was unbelievably strong, almost as if she had received some sort of system assistance.

 

If I had to compare the difficulty, the challenge felt like the pro mode NPC chess game I had only experienced once before.

 

Considering my average skill level, which barely allowed me to clear hard mode, it was no surprise that I couldn’t win if she was set to the highest difficulty. The little girl beamed with joy, swaying gently from side to side, clearly enjoying herself.

 

“Hehe, this time you get to go first, Brother Sora.”

 

“Grnnn… This time, I’m definitely going to win!”

 

Saying this, I moved the first piece in the front row forward—at the same time, I gripped the practice “wooden stick” and launched a surprise attack on the two sitting across from me.

 

I first struck with a sweeping motion, drawing a line from left to right.

 

The target of my surprise attack was Kuro, the black-haired girl clad in a battle dress, who had been slightly less on guard while distracted by the board game.

 

Yesterday, she had reacted too slowly and taken a hit on the shoulder. But today, she quickly raised her one-handed sword diagonally and barely managed to deflect the strike upward at the last second.

 

However, my ambush didn’t end there.

 

I skillfully adjusted the trajectory of the deflected strike using my body’s movement, aiming for Alice, who was standing next to Kuro. I swung the wooden stick down from the upper left to the lower right. Without panicking, Alice raised her rapier to meet my diagonal slash, striking the side of my attack and parrying it.

 

“Whoa, seriously?”

 

There’s a famous saying that goes, “After three days, you must look at a man anew.” It means that someone who trains every day will have grown so much in just three days that they seem like a different person.

 

I couldn’t believe that the same girls, who had been relentlessly beaten yesterday, could move so well after just one day.

 

Kuro and Alice exchanged glances, looking smug as if to say they had done well.

 

“Heh, not bad, huh!”

 

Feeling proud of my two disciples’ impressive defense, I couldn’t help but get a little more serious. A green skill effect emanated from the wooden stick in my hand, and I activated a horizontal double strike, ?Dual Nail?.

 

The two girls blocked the swift horizontal double strike with their swords. Though their stances wavered slightly under the weight of the sharp consecutive blows, they managed to guard without taking a single hit.

 

I couldn’t help but genuinely admire them for this.

 

Through repeated trial and error in this tough training, I had finally mastered three defensive stances. Yet here they were, already catching up to my skill level by the second day.

 

Whether they had grasped the technique from yesterday’s battle against the dragonkin, who worship the ?Demon Dragon King?, or had practiced on their own, I wasn’t sure.

 

But from the feel of my attacks, I could sense that the two of them, who had worn frustrated expressions yesterday, had worked hard to learn how to defend.

 

That’s great!

 

A competitive spirit is the essence of a true gamer, and it’s essential for growth.

 

With that thought in mind, I unleashed a ?Quad Slash?, a four-hit combo that exploited an opening. The two of them, with desperate expressions, barely managed to parry the fast strikes with their weapons, stopping the final blow.

 

Though they were completely exhausted with no energy left, they had blocked all of my attacks, even when I got a bit more serious. If I were to rate them, they’d both score a perfect 100.

 

Sora relaxed her stance, took a breath, and honestly praised the two.

 

“That was amazing! You’re getting the hang of defense really well.”

 

“Hehe, all that practice paid off for us, huh?”

 

“Practice?”

 

“We were frustrated after getting hit so much, so after Sora-sama logged out last night, we had a quick half-HP duel to practice.”

 

“Oh, I see.”

 

Watching Kuro’s delighted expression and Alice’s wry smile, I understood why they had improved so dramatically in just one day.

 

There’s no substitute for real experience.

 

I didn’t know how much time they spent training together last night, but this kind of improvement doesn’t happen overnight. Sora thought this was the result of both their talent and hard work.

 

“Sister Alice and Kuro-chan are amazing!”

 

Satanas beamed with admiration, and her words of praise made Kuro and Alice blush in embarrassment.

 

After a moment, Alice, looking as if she had made a decision, glanced at Satanas. She pursed her lips tightly and spoke with determination.

 

“Satanas, there’s something I want to tell you. Will you listen?”

 

“Sister Alice…?”

 

What was this about, all of a sudden?

 

The little girl tilted her head curiously beside me, her beloved mentor now looking at her with a serious gaze.

 

As I watched her adorable reaction, I couldn’t help but feel nervous in front of Alice. While I knew there was no way she would ever reject Satanas, these kinds of situations had always made me feel tense.

 

I held my breath, and Alice spoke softly, in a gentle tone.

 

“Satanas, no matter what happens from now on, I will always protect you. I’ve decided to become stronger for that reason.”

 

“Sister Alice…”

 

“As long as the followers of the ?Demon Dragon King? are after you, it’s not good to keep relying on Sora-sama. That’s why I’m going to become stronger so that we can stay together from now on… if that’s what you want, of course.”

 

“Yes! I want to stay with Sister Alice forever!”

 

With a beaming smile, Satanas hugged Alice tightly. The dragon princess embraced the small girl in her arms, a gentle smile on her lips.

 

Kuro and I exchanged glances, nodding to each other, silently vowing to protect this beautiful moment.

 

………………………

 

After overcoming the sudden series of attacks from the ?Lesser Dragons?, Sora and the others found themselves facing the followers of the ?Demon Dragon King? in the final battle.

 

It seemed that the enemy had become serious after three of their comrades had been defeated. They sent the dragons to hold me back while attempting to abduct Satanas during the chaos.

 

There were five enemies in total. No matter how much their defensive skills had improved, the numbers were too overwhelming for just the two of them.

 

In fact, the enemy had paired up two of their members to hold Kuro and Alice back, while the remaining one targeted Satanas.

 

Unfortunately, the coachman and the bicorn had no combat abilities whatsoever. If they were attacked, they couldn’t resist, and Satanas would be taken away.

 

Thinking this, Sora hurriedly tried to deal with the dragons and rush to their aid.

 

But when she turned around, she was surprised to see Alice, enveloped in crimson particles of light, fighting valiantly.

 

Unique Skill: ?Twin Dragon Shrine Maiden?.

 

This was a specialized skill that Alice obtained when her bond with Satanas reached a certain level. It granted significant improvements to her stats for a limited time, along with drastically reducing damage, as revealed by the ?Insight? skill.

 

The followers of the black cloak shouted, “We didn’t hear that the Dragon Princess was this strong!” as their HP dropped to zero from Alice’s sword, turning them into particles of light.

 

Kuro was not to be outdone. She activated her profession skill, ?Battle Spirit Boost?, to enhance her stats. The two girls quickly accelerated their movements and turned the attackers back on their heads in no time.

 

Meanwhile, I finished off all the dragons and quickly joined the two. Together, we rushed to the carriage, keeping a lookout around us, and left the scene.

 

Once seated and taking a breath, I thanked Alice.

 

“… Phew, I’m glad you got stronger, Alice.”

 

“You took down enemies in just two strikes. It was amazing!”

 

“Sister Alice was just like Sora-sama!”

 

Blushing from the compliments of the three, she then lowered her gaze to her hands.

 

It seemed she was surprised herself, as Alice wore a look that suggested disbelief.

 

“I thought I had to protect, and then power just surged from the depths of my body…”

 

I see, so it’s a mechanism that activates when danger approaches Satanas. For Alice at this moment, it’s truly the ultimate trump card.

 

After a while, the carriage ran without being attacked and arrived at the ?Hephaestus Kingdom?.

 

I decided to entrust the ?Perception? skill I had been using to the support system, ?Lucifel?, and relaxed my vigilance.

 

“Whew, being attacked consecutively really took a toll on my mental state.”

 

“Sora, thank you for your hard work.”

 

I never thought I would be facing a total of 100 Lesser Dragons on my own while relying on Alice and Kuro to protect Satanas.

 

Sora, feeling completely drained, followed Kuro’s beckoning hand and rested her head on Kuro’s lap.

 

Why am I so tired?

 

The reason was quite simple: I had faced 20 dragons every hour.

 

Anyone would be exhausted after fighting a total of 100 dragons in five hours.

 

This was a full-dive VR game, unlike retro games where you could mindlessly play. The mental fatigue was on a completely different level from just casually pressing buttons on a controller.

 

With just Kuro, I could have reduced my fatigue to some extent.

 

However, knowing from the ?Insight? skill that the dragons had been lured by someone, I decided to wait for Kuro to be on standby and take them down alone for emergencies.

 

Since the followers had indeed attacked in the end, I can say that this decision was not wrong.

 

But still, I’m really tired…

 

Rolling a sweet and sour candy in my mouth, resembling a pineapple that slightly restores fatigue, I closed my eyes.

 

If I were still in my original male form, I’d be too embarrassed to be so clingy with a girl younger than me.

 

But perhaps because I’m in a female form, I feel that my shyness towards the opposite sex has slightly diminished.

 

But at the same time, it means that my mind is steadily turning more feminine, which, to be honest, isn’t great.

 

However, Kuro’s lap pillow seems to hold some kind of healing power because, as I lay there, I felt my strength slipping away from my body—wait, what!?

 

No, no, that was close! I almost fell asleep for real. Kuro’s lap pillow is terrifying.

 

Still, when I opened my eyes, she was looking down at me, flashing a cute smile, which isn’t good for my heart either.

 

I mean, getting a lap pillow from a beautiful girl would normally make anyone call you a “lucky guy” right in front of your best friends.

 

But Kuro is like a little sister to me, so isn’t this just the same as getting a lap pillow from Shio…?

 

As I brooded over this, the carriage carrying us finally passed through the garden and arrived safely at the castle.

 

I had felt something strange when we passed through the garden, but that sensation was drowned out by the commotion outside.

 

“It seems the castle is in quite a frenzy. Sora-sama, Kuro-sama, I suggest we stay on guard.”

 

“Out of one problem and into another, huh? Got it.”

 

Reluctantly pulling myself away from Kuro’s lap pillow, I was the first to get off the carriage.

 

Next came Alice and Satanas, with Kuro taking the rear, cautiously watching our surroundings.

 

Sure enough, the soldiers at the castle seemed to be in a hurry, gathering and discussing something.

 

When I got closer to ask what was going on, they all responded in unison, saying, “It’s a serious situation.”

 

I asked again, but got the same answer.

 

At times like this, asking more questions usually doesn’t help, so I shook my head at Alice and the others and headed straight for the throne room where the Dragon King was.

 

On the way, I overheard a maid, who was cleaning, mutter anxiously, “What’s going to happen to this year’s Dragon King Festival?”

 

…Seriously, what happened?

 

With that question in mind, we reached the throne room, where we found the Dragon King, Otter, with a troubled expression.

 

“Father, what’s with all the commotion!?” Alice asked ahead of me.

 

Otter, looking somewhat bewildered, told us, “Well… just a while ago, the ghost of the previous Dragon King declared that he would set up a stall at the Dragon King Festival, accompanied by his deceased elite retainers. I’m at a loss on what to do.”

 

Wait, what?

 

The ghost of the previous king is going to run a stall with his ghostly comrades?

 

This was such an unexpected turn of events that even I, Sora, was left utterly baffled.