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 187
Chapter 187: End of the Break
After finishing breakfast and cleaning up the dishes, I returned alone to my room.
The reason? Shiori, Kurono, and Inori had gathered in the living room, starting what could only be called a “girls’ talk.” Even though my body is technically female, I’m still a high school guy on the inside. I don’t have the guts to join in on their conversation, nor would I be able to contribute much if I did. I’d just end up like a piece of furniture.
That said, Kurono and Inori are both members of the current dungeon team. Even if I were to log into ?Astral Online? now, I couldn’t make progress without them joining me. I’d told them to let me know when they were done, so for now, I had to figure out how to kill time.
(Though, to be honest, all I have here are games…)
I glanced at the shelf filled with game titles, considering which one to play.
Most of the games here are either amazing or terrible. The ones I considered average or barely playable I sold off, so my selection is pretty limited. But I know that if I start something and really get into it, I’ll end up burning through hours until I’ve beaten it. And there goes a whole day, wasted.
With nothing else to do, I decided to message my friends Shinji and Shiro on a chat app, asking if they wanted to do a VR chat.
I typed out an invitation on the touchscreen and sent it, but even though it’s a day off, several minutes passed, and neither of them had read it.
Realizing what was probably happening, I tossed my phone on the bed, put on my VR headset, and checked their accounts. Sure enough, they were both online, playing ?Astral Online?. I couldn’t help but give a small, wry smile.
(Well, that figures, with school canceled and all.)
At our core, we’re gamers. If it weren’t for our dungeon party, I’d be logging in on my own without a second thought.
But logging into ?Astral Online? just to call them out seems like a hassle, and I didn’t want to interrupt their fun. So, I took off my VR headset, grabbed my phone, left a quick cancellation message, and then sprawled out on my bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
After a while, a light knock came at the door.
I sat up and called for the person outside to come in. The door slowly opened, and in stepped Inori and Kurono, both holding VR headsets in their hands.
Realizing their intent immediately, I decided to ask just to confirm.
“So, why’d you bring those into my room?”
Exchanging glances, the two of them blushed and answered my question honestly.
“I thought we could log in together like we always do.”
“I… I also wanted to log in together in the same room…”
“No, no, no! There’s barely enough room for the two of us, let alone three on this bed!”
As I calmly pointed out, the two of them looked at the bed’s size and nodded in agreement.
Even if I allowed for the three of us to log in here, the only feasible solution would be for me to sleep on the floor with a futon while they took the bed.
Just as I was thinking this, Kurono suddenly seemed to have an idea, whispered something to Inori, and they both hurriedly left the room.
(I have a bad feeling about this…)
Watching them leave, an inexplicable sense of dread crept into my chest.
Maybe I should just jump out the window and dash over to the church for safety.
While I was debating whether or not to actually do that, I heard footsteps running up the stairs, stopping right outside my room.
This time, the door swung open energetically, and the two returned, now carrying a guest futon.
“If we lay this on the floor, we can all sleep side by side like a family!”
With beaming smiles, Kurono held up the futon while Inori nodded enthusiastically beside her.
Remembering the time years ago when I did the same with Shinji and Shiro to play ?Sky Fantasy?, I reluctantly agreed to her plan.
As usual, I took the middle position, with Kurono and Inori on either side, and we each put on our VR headsets.
The sight of three cute girls lying cozily together under a single blanket would typically give off a sense of warmth, but with identical helmet-like headsets on, it suddenly felt absurdly surreal.
“Le-let’s do our best, everyone…”
In response to Inori’s words, Kurono and I nodded slightly, and we started the countdown.
At the final count of one, all three of us said, “Game start,” and logged into ?Astral Online?.
………………………
Once I logged into ?Astral Online?, the familiar scent of my room was instantly replaced by a sweet, flowery fragrance.
The next sensation I felt was someone clinging to my arm.
From the size of the softness pressing against my arm, I could tell it wasn’t Kuro’s. Inori is a bit bigger, so I quickly narrowed down who it could be.
When I opened my eyes after syncing fully, I noticed my vision was slightly blurry.
This slight misalignment of focus is something that can occasionally happen to players in a full-dive.
Thinking it was a rare occurrence, I blinked a few times to adjust, and the system automatically corrected the focus.
I glanced at my hand to make sure everything was clear, and once I was sure there were no issues, I decided to check my surroundings.
When I cautiously looked over at the person sleeping beside me, there, lying on the personal bed I’d fought so hard to secure, was none other than the Siren princess—Laura.
“She’s sleeping so peacefully…”
Could she have come over to this bed while half-asleep? In a typical game, it would be impossible for an NPC in sleep mode to go anywhere but their assigned spot.
But ?Astral Online? isn’t a typical game, and the people here are practically indistinguishable from us. Situations like this don’t surprise me anymore (though I do risk an elbow jab from Kuro).
With a technique I’ve gotten used to recently, I carefully slipped my arm out from between two soft mounds. As I quietly got off the bed without waking her, I met eyes with Arisa, who was standing nearby, stretching alongside Kuro and Inori, who had logged in at the same time.
“Good morning, Arisa.”
“Good morning, Sora,” she replied, giving me a somewhat peculiar look as if trying to figure something out.
When I asked what was on her mind, she answered straightforwardly.
“Any other guy would either be shocked or see this as an opportunity. But you just brushed Laura off like it was nothing.”
“Oh, that. I get used to it after a few times. If I still looked like a guy, I’d be more flustered, but I’m in a girl’s body now…”
A true gentleman always stays respectful, regardless of the situation. This was a teaching from my father, who hasn’t come back yet: Never be tempted by anyone other than the one you truly care about.
Satisfied by my explanation, Arisa stopped asking questions and cheerfully embraced Kuro, who was finishing her warm-up stretches. As I re-equipped my gear, I sighed a little.
Every day, I get a message from my parents on the chat app: ?Morning! Still alive with Mom today!? I wonder when those two travelers of ours will finally come back. They mentioned delays when the World Tree appeared, but we’re getting close to the end of September now.
Maybe they got caught up in trouble—or, more likely, they’re the ones causing it.
Lost in thought, I realized we were ready to go. Kuro and the others had also finished their preparations, and we were now waiting on the princess, who had finally started to wake up. Apparently, even the inhabitants of this world can get groggy, as Laura clumsily took off all her clothes, leaving herself completely exposed. I got an elbow jab from Kuro, sending me to the ground as I caught an accidental glimpse.
Laura, completely red-faced and embarrassed, scrambled in confusion, while Arisa calmly and maturely helped her get dressed.
“Sorry to keep you waiting!”
After about ten minutes, Laura was finally ready, and the five of us stood in front of a large door labeled ?Trial of Strength?.
Since the option to proceed appeared in front of me as the party leader, I glanced back at everyone for confirmation. Kuro, Inori, and Laura all looked tense, while Arisa, the only adult, seemed calm and confident, ready to handle whatever came next.
Once everyone nodded, I straightened up and tapped the button to proceed.
As the double doors slowly opened, I felt a rush of excitement about what awaited us at the goal up ahead. I rested my hand on my single-handed sword, the ?Silver Magic Sword?, readying myself.
Why place my hand on my sword? Because I’d already caught a glimpse of what lay beyond with my ?insight? skill, peeking through the opening doors.
“Everyone, get ready for battle,” I called out simply, letting them know the situation.
As soon as the doors fully opened, I charged forward.
Waiting in our path was a massive, liquid-type monster, a ?Mega Slime?, about a meter tall.
I imbued my weapon with lightning element, its weakness, and prepared to strike with my ?Strike Sword? technique.
With jet-like speed, I closed in on the slime, aiming straight for its core, which was about the size of a soccer ball, a weak point I’d identified beforehand. My skill struck the core precisely, shattering the creature’s HP, which dissolved into particles of light in a single hit.
?Trial of Strength commencing?, announced an emotionless female voice from the world’s support system, distinct from Lucifel’s voice, marking the beginning of our quest.
“Let’s push through straight to the Undersea Temple!” I called, charging ahead with Kuro and the others as new monsters began to appear around us.