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 17

Chapter 17: The Meaning of Remaining Life

 

The reason I started playing VR games in the first place was to satisfy my cousin and mentor’s desire to find someone who could match her in combat.

 

The game genre is competitive combat.

 

It’s a simple game called ?Duel Arms?, which has been extremely popular for the past five years. Players fight with melee weapons, aiming to reduce their opponent’s life points to zero.

 

On weekends, I was dragged into playing from morning until night, and initially, I was completely outmatched.

 

However, as I became engrossed in the fun of VR games, I gradually improved and eventually found myself evenly matched with her.

 

Our win-loss record went beyond ten thousand, and after that, we stopped keeping track.

 

The last time we fought was five years ago, the day before she moved abroad to pursue her career as a professional gamer.

 

… I remember I lost by just a hair’s breadth.

 

Reflecting on this, I turned my gaze towards Shino, who was sitting upright in the chair in front of me.

 

I thought to myself that she hadn’t changed a bit.

 

This game uses scanned data of players’ real bodies as avatars.

 

Naturally, Shino has also scanned her real self for the game, so unless altered, her appearance here should be exactly the same as in reality.

 

And from what I’ve seen, she appears to be exactly as she is in real life.

 

Her appearance remains as beautiful as ever, and I sighed.

 

“Shino, I’ve made sure no one else can get in.”

 

“Thanks, Kirie.”

 

“Rinne was quite persistent, so you two should be careful from now on.”

 

“I’m fine, but Sora…”

 

“I’m okay. If it gets troublesome, I’ll just run away with all my might. By the way, are you and Master acquainted?”

 

“Yeah, we’re old friends from university.”

 

“She’s one of the few people who can properly challenge me, aside from Sora and Shio.”

 

“Though, I’ve never actually won against her.”

 

Kirie, the red-haired beauty, locked the door from the inside and opened the menu to adjust the store’s settings.

 

All doors and windows were locked.

 

With the store ?Little Hephaestus? switched from open to preparation mode, only Kirie, Shino, and I were inside.

 

Kirie sat down at the round table, positioning herself so that it formed a triangle with Shino and me.

 

Shin, Rou, and Kuro were absent.

 

Since it would be a waste to take up their time, they went leveling, and Kuro, who had logged out because it was 2 AM in America, was asked by Shino to log out.

 

Once everything was set up, Shino was the first to speak.

 

“First of all, Sora, thank you for being so kind to that girl.”

 

“Master?”

 

“Actually, Kuro is our distant relative. I took her in after her parents passed away in an accident and she had no other relatives.”

 

“Oh, now that you mention it, I remember my dad mentioning that we had some relatives we lost contact with.”

 

“Yes. It was fine to take her in, but she was originally a shut-in and never left the house. So, we had no choice but to have her play games with the team.”

 

“Playing together? Does that mean you’re coaching her?”

 

“Yes, that’s right. Her parents were quite the gamers too. She has some talent and is worth training.”

 

“Seriously?”

 

I see, no wonder she’s so strong.

 

Unbeknownst to me, Kuro and I had been battling as disciples of the world champion in competitive games.

 

I don’t know the details of how Shino ended up taking her in, but if her parents passed away, it makes sense that she’d have some social issues.

 

Given how close Kuro seemed to Shino, you can catch a glimpse of her efforts.

 

As I was thinking this, Kirie, the only outsider present, took on a solemn expression.

 

“Is it okay for me to hear this?”

 

“I trust Kirie, and she won’t spread it around indiscriminately, so it’s fine.”

 

“Since Master says it’s okay, don’t worry about it.”

 

With that, Kirie gave a wry smile.

 

After all, it was Kirie who provided this meeting space, and setting up a private VR chat would be a hassle.

 

Shino nodded, then turned to me and asked:

 

“… So, what’s with your appearance? I recall you were a guy.”

 

“A guy? This cute little one?”

 

Kirie’s eyes widened as she looked back and forth between Shino and me.

 

Come to think of it, she doesn’t know I used to be male.

 

To clear up their confusion, I straightforwardly explained what happened to me.

 

“Well, to put it simply, when I started the game, I ended up fighting the ‘Demon Lord’ right away, and when I lost, I was cursed and turned into a girl.”

 

“Huh?” x2

 

Not only Shino, but even Kirie, who had somewhat guessed, made a surprised face at Sora’s revelation.

 

I continued, pressing the matter further.

 

“Moreover, this curse apparently can’t be lifted, and it won’t be undone until I defeat the Demon Lord.”

 

“Are you really originally a boy?”

 

“Yes, I am. …Though, this current state is due to the Demon Lord’s curse.”

 

“Seriously…”

 

Even Kirie was left speechless.

 

Beside her, Shino had a troubled look on her face.

 

“If it’s a curse, it can’t be helped, but… it seems odd.”

 

“Master, what seems odd?”

 

“I think you and Kirie know this, but this game addresses bugs and cheats immediately. So if what happened to you today were a bug, it would definitely have been fixed on the spot.”

 

“So if it hasn’t been fixed…”

 

“It’s likely a feature… at least, that’s what seems plausible based on the current situation.”

 

So it’s a feature, huh?

 

If that’s the case, what’s the point of a scenario where defeat is inevitable, no matter how you struggle?

 

It’s true that my level has increased, and I’ve learned various skills, essentially starting in a cheat state, but for the person who underwent the gender change, it’s nothing but bewildering.

 

Moreover, this effect is happening not just to my avatar but also to my real body.

 

If I were to say that I’ve undergone a gender change in real life, I’m sure neither of them would believe it.

 

It would be understandable if they thought I’d lost my mind from getting carried away with the fantasy game.

 

While I was thinking about this, Shino, with a sharp gaze, pointed out to me.

 

“That look on your face indicates that it’s not just the avatar’s gender change, but there’s something else too.”

 

“Did it show on my face?”

 

“Do you think I’ve been fighting one-on-one for years without noticing? No matter how well you hide your expression, I can sense when something’s off by the fluctuations in your aura.”

 

“That’s creepy.”

 

“You’re still a monster as always.”

 

Both Sora and Kirie were taken aback by Shino’s apparently cheat-like external abilities.

 

However, saying that I’ve undergone a gender change in real life is too far-fetched and I don’t want to face the reality of it.

 

So, to divert my cousin’s attention, I decided to reveal another secret.

 

“There’s something I need you to keep quiet about. Actually, when I was cursed, I acquired a unique skill.”

 

“A unique skill!?” x2

 

Once again, their voices overlapped.

 

You two really are close, huh?

 

While having such thoughts, I honestly explained the effects of my unique skill, ?Lucifer?.

 

“…So it consumes the Life Point to activate ?Fallen Angel?.”

 

“A skill point acquisition rate that’s four times the normal rate is not just bad, it’s insane. At this rate, you’ll probably have a profession’s skill level of 15 by the time you reach level 19, won’t you?”

 

“Since my current skill level is 11, that might happen.”

 

“That’s an utterly broken skill.”

 

“I think so too. In fact, if I hadn’t had ?Defense Power Increase Enchantment? from when I reached skill level 10 during the fight with Kuro, I would have been worn down.”

 

The two players, likely among the top players in ?Astral Online?, put their heads together and addressed the remaining issue.

 

“?Fallen Angel?… I can’t really say.”

 

“I wonder what happens if you consume one point of Life Remaining. Could it turn you into a fallen angel or something?”

 

“Honestly, I haven’t tried it yet. I don’t even fully understand what Life Remaining really is.”

 

“No, I think that’s a good thing.”

 

When Sora asked, “Why?” Shino leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table and clasping her hands together.

 

This was her typical posture when she was about to share an uncertain guess.

 

With a slightly tense expression, Shino began to speak slowly to the two of them.

 

“Please take this with a grain of salt. This is just my intuition, but the number ?120? for ?Life Points Remaining? on this status screen might be…”

 

“…Strikingly similar to a human lifespan.”

 

With Shino’s words, a shiver ran down Sora and Kirie’s spines.

 

“A human…”

 

“Lifespan?”

 

“So, if all of it runs out, it might mean that our characters could disappear. That’s my guess.”

 

“Oh, I see. So, if ?Life Points? runs out, it means our temporary bodies would no longer be usable.”

 

“Yeah, that’s what I think. It’s probably incorporating an old game system where you had a limited number of lives.”

 

“……”

 

“Sora, is something wrong?”

 

“You’re saying that with such a serious face, you’re scaring the kid. You’d better follow up on that.”

 

No, that’s not it.

 

Both of you, listen to me.

 

“Sora, I’m sorry for startling you. I remember you’ve always been afraid of horror stuff.”

 

“Haha, it’s surprising that even the strong ?Silver Sword Princess? has such a weakness.”

 

That’s not it. If ?Life Points? is reflected in real life just like the gender change…

 

—If it reaches ?0? in this world, it means death in real life.

 

As Shino patted my head and Kirie laughed, I couldn’t bring myself to explain it until the end.