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 150

Chapter 150: The Beautiful Girl and Hardcore Gamer

Sora, hearing the request of the pink-haired girl to find a calm place to talk, agreed to move to an open café with a view of the sea.

Luckily, a seat with a perfect view of the ocean was available, so we were guided there.

Sora sat down first at the white round table, with Kuro and Inori sitting on either side of her. The three of us then browsed through the café’s menu, displayed on the automatically opened window screen.

We each chose a drink and one of the café’s recommended dishes, made the payment, and closed the window.

One minute after ordering, our drinks arrived.

Inori, who had ordered a coffee-like beverage, took a single sip and sighed contentedly.

“Ahh, this is the first time in a month I’ve had coffee that wasn’t just to keep me awake.”

“Wait, have you been logged into this game non-stop since you started?” Sora asked.

“Of course not. I am still human, after all. I logged out for meals, bathroom breaks, and baths. But I did tend to fall asleep while still logged into the game,” Inori replied.

“Wow, you’re more of a hardcore gamer than I am,” Sora muttered, a bit taken aback.

It seemed that Inori had been dedicating almost all of her time to the game after taking care of only her basic needs. Even Sora made sure to log out properly when she slept, but Inori’s obsession with the game was on another level.

As Sora looked a bit overwhelmed, Kuro, sitting beside her, asked, “What kind of relationship do you two have?”

Inori, placing her hand on her chest, formally reintroduced herself.

“Allow me to properly introduce myself: I am Inori, an ?Alchemist?. I met Sora-kun in another game, and he was the one who taught me the joy of VR gaming, both as my teacher and my friend.”

Inori was the leader of the ?Tenmoku Ichi-Ka? guild and, like Sora, was 15 years old. She had chosen ?Alchemist? as her profession, but her main weapon was a bow.

When I used my ?Insight II? skill to check her equipment, I saw that she wielded a high-quality ?B-rank? bow called ?Indra’s Bow?, made from Magic Iron.

Though there was no visible quiver, she was probably using an item storage system like the one Aria used before, to avoid carrying unnecessary weight.

Her armor was also impressive. It was made from the skin of the giant serpent ?Jormungandr?, likely an area boss we encountered on our way to this country, and its defensive power rivaled my own coat.

Her overall defense was likely at least ?B-rank?.

But more impressive than her equipment was her level. She was at level 60, she was almost as high as Kuro.

From the fact that Inori had never been seen at the frontlines or in efficient hunting areas, Sora deduced that she had likely leveled up solely through the experience points gained from crafting items.

However, to have reached a level comparable to those who hunt monsters on the frontlines, the sheer number of items she must have crafted was staggering.

Sora had heard rumors that the quality of crafted items could affect the amount of experience gained, but it would take far more than an ordinary amount of crafting to reach this level.

It was likely in the hundreds, or possibly even thousands.

This was a realm beyond Sora’s imagination.

She couldn’t help but feel genuine admiration for her efforts.

“Still, you’ve chosen ?Alchemist?, huh? You’ve always liked making things, haven’t you, Inori?” Sora remarked.

“Indeed. Combining various materials to create something new is fun, no matter the game,” Inori replied happily.

In particular, she explained, ?Astral Online?’s alchemy skills offered a lot of creative possibilities.

“In most games, an ?Alchemist? creates new things by synthesizing materials. But in this game, you can not only do that, but also break down materials into lower-tier ones and combine a certain number of the same material to convert it into a higher-tier one.”

“And the most interesting part is that by processing materials, you can change their properties in all sorts of ways. For example, if you defeat a weak slime in the starting meadow, you get slime jelly, right? “

“If you combine that with water, it becomes a normal “Potion”. But if you use a transformation skill to turn it into green slime jelly before combining it, you can make a magic potion. And from there—”

At this point, Inori’s explanation was becoming long-winded, so Sora stopped listening.

Once she got started, she wouldn’t stop until she had fully shared all of her knowledge.

She figured she’d eventually finish once she talked herself out.

Just as Sora was thinking this, she noticed that Kuro, sitting beside her, was listening intently to Inori’s fast-paced explanation.

No way!

Surprised, Sora leaned in and quietly whispered to Kuro so Inori wouldn’t hear.

“Hey, I hate to interrupt, but do you actually understand what Inori’s talking about?”

“Yeah! Being an ?Alchemist? is really deep!”

Kuro responded enthusiastically, nodding and leaning forward with a sparkle in her eyes, clearly enjoying Inori’s explanation.

Maybe that’s why she’s able to absorb everything she learns from Shino so quickly, Sora thought. She really listens and understands things thoroughly.

That must be a kind of talent too.

There was something that I could never replicate.

As I marveled at this, Inori noticed Kuro listening intently to her and continued speaking with a very happy expression.

“Anyway! Here’s where it gets really interesting! It turns out that a ?Blacksmith? can infuse special skills into the ingots they use for weapon crafting through the alchemical transformations of an ?Alchemist?. I plan to use this—”

Hours seemed to pass.

After finishing a ridiculously sweet cake and refreshing my palate with some pleasantly bitter coffee, I drifted off to sleep.

“…Listen closely, Kuro. In times like these, you must erase all your presence and approach like a gentle breeze, creating no disturbances.”

I heard someone’s voice nearby.

A voice, someone’s voice, was drifting closer. It was approaching, creeping towards Sora’s exposed cheek.

“Awake, Sora-kun, you are truly an impregnable fortress! You boast a defensive power akin to Odawara Castle, so if I am to catch you off guard, now is the perfect time for a *pugyu*!”

My finely honed “Inori Detection Sensor,” forged through various past experiences, sensed the danger and reacted instantly.

Before I knew it, I had grabbed the girl’s face from the front before she could touch my cheek.

With that, I slowly woke up, straightened my back, and stifled a yawn as I asked the two of them.

“Yawn, is the conversation over…?”

“No, no, no, no, no, no! Sora-kun, I give up!”

Inori screamed as I unconsciously applied pressure with my right hand, threatening to crush her head.

Finally, my awareness began to sharpen as I looked at her struggling, and I started to grasp the situation.

“…You were trying to do something weird again, weren’t you?”

Reluctantly releasing my grip, Inori crouched down, cradling her pained face.

“Ugh, how disappointing! I was so close. I never expected Sora-kun’s sensors to be completely rust-free. That was a miscalculation!”

“Ah, it seems the infection in the patient’s head hasn’t cleared up completely yet.”

“I-I’m so sorry!”

Inori hurriedly hid behind Kuro.

It seemed the two had become quite close in this short time.

With a slightly nervous expression, Kuro spread her arms wide to shield Inori, prompting Sora to lower the right hand she had raised.

“I-I’m sorry, Sora. I was the one who asked Inori how to get closer to you.”

“I see, so you tried to physically shorten the distance.”

Even though it felt like they were already close enough, Kuro seemed to feel there was still some distance between them.

Perhaps it was because she had just woken up, but her thoughts weren’t quite coming together.

After a moment of contemplation, Sora stepped closer, took the hands of both girls, and said, “How about this? This is close enough, right?”

As Sora said this, Kuro and Inori looked at each other with a dazed expression and then chuckled softly.

What on earth was so funny?

Sora was puzzled, but the answer didn’t come to her.

Then, from the direction of the sea, a loud scream echoed.

Pulling the two of them along, Sora led them to a spot where they could see the entire harbor, where a crab much larger than the ?Increasing Crab? they had just fought was wreaking havoc.

It seemed the mid-level adventurers who had been at the harbor earlier were now challenging it alongside some higher-level adventurers, but they were being scattered by its overwhelming defense.

When Sora turned to look at Kuro and Inori, she saw determination in their eyes as they nodded.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Activating her ?Speed Boost Enhancement V?, Sora enhanced herself and the two girls before sprinting toward the battlefield together.