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 50
Chapter 50: Kuro’s Contribution
After defeating the Leviathan General with great difficulty, Sora and the others returned to the base, where they were to have a discussion in Giorl’s office.
Giorl, sitting in the large chair of his office, let out a big sigh of relief.
“I still can’t believe that we won against that Leviathan General, losing only one of my arms.”
His expression had softened significantly compared to when he first heard about the Leviathan General’s appearance.
In the past, when their ancestors fought the Leviathan General, there were more than twenty people over level 20, and more than half of them were killed in action, according to the deputy.
In contrast, this time, only Kuro and I were over level 20.
If I were in Giorl’s position, I would have been overwhelmed by the dire situation.
So I completely understand his relief.
However, at the same time, I can’t help but feel apologetic.
Giorl’s right arm was severed by the Leviathan General’s thrust skill, disappearing from the shoulder down.
In other words, if an NPC suffers a loss of body parts, it cannot be healed and remains permanent.
For a soldier like him, losing an arm is fatal.
Therefore, Giorl will probably not be able to fight on the battlefield in the future.
“I’m sorry, it’s because I allowed the defense line to be breached…”
Because of my lack of diligence, I put Aria in danger and caused Giorl to lose an arm.
The responsibility clearly lies with me.
Sora bit her lip tightly.
Seeing this, Giorl shook his head as if to deny it.
“Sora-sama, this is the result of my own inadequacy. If I had commanded the unit more effectively, we wouldn’t have been pushed so far.”
“No, that’s not true. Sora-sama properly warned us about the Leviathan General’s thrust attack. It was all because I was paralyzed by fear!”
Aria stepped in between Sora and Giorl, looking as if she was about to cry.
Giorl, with a wry smile, gently told her:
“When I was the same age as the princess, I was terrified even of Poison Bee. It’s only natural that you would freeze in fear when facing the Leviathan General.”
“But Giorl-san…”
“And if it weren’t for the princess, not only would I have fallen, but the knight squad would have been annihilated by the poison. Of course, it wasn’t just the princess. Without you, Sora-sama, and Kuro-sama, everyone in this base would have perished by now.”
??In reality, this was a quest battle that would not have occurred if we hadn’t shown up.
However, discussing such meta aspects of the game would only confuse Giorl and Aria.
Swallowing the words that had almost come to her lips, Sora closed her mouth.
To lighten the negative atmosphere, Giorl smiled at us.
“Princess Aria and the others did their best. Please take pride in this outcome for my sake as well.”
Let’s become stronger.
Determined, Sora nodded deeply along with the two others.
And then, a notification arrived stating that the quest ?Great Serpent Surprise Attack? had been completed.
…………………………
Perhaps due to the lack of a rare item reward, we received a substantial amount of experience points, and my level rose to 31 while Kuro’s level increased to 24.
The rate at which levels increased was remarkable.
I had just leveled up by 3, and now I had leveled up a total of 4 times.
As expected of the title ?Vessel of a Hero?, which boosts experience points.
On the road to becoming a hero, for sure.
“By the way, Kuro-sama’s tactics that you taught us worked perfectly against the Leviathan General.”
“Hmm? Oh, yeah, that’s right.”
Nodding at Giorl’s words, I named the greatest contributor to this battle.
“The reason we were able to defeat the Leviathan General without any casualties, despite it being our first encounter, is thanks to Kuro, who taught us the tactics of the top adventurers’ clan.”
“Eh, um? I…”
Suddenly called out, Kuro became flustered and shy, turning red and looking down.
It was not me who provided the cutting-edge tactics of Astral Online, including T-Shift and A-Shift.
It was all Kuro.
Before she met Sora, she had always been by Shino’s side, so she naturally learned the tactics practiced by ?Hell and Heaven?.
Moreover, I was truly impressed that she not only knew about the knight’s skills that I didn’t, but also knew their properties and drawbacks in such detail.
There’s no doubt that her knowledge greatly helped us in this instance.
After all, without her knowledge, we might have struggled even to reduce one HP gauge.
Receiving everyone’s gaze, Kuro spoke in a faint voice.
“I only taught you the fighting style of Shino and the others…”
“But you also understood the meaning of the tactics. That’s much more important and valuable than just knowing them.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yeah, as expected from a disciple of the master. There’s still room for growth, and if I’m not careful, you might surpass me.”
Saying this, Kuro wrapped her arms around me and smiled happily at Sora.
“Will I be able to become Sora’s partner if I get stronger?”
“Actually, I’d like to ask you to be my partner.”
“Yes, I want to be Sora’s partner!”
“…”
I couldn’t help but be a little mesmerized by her beaming smile.
Aria covered her mouth and gave a delighted “Ara~” while Giorl was praying with his remaining hand.
Giorl, are you actually a resident of this world?
The urge to make such a comment rose within me, but the cursor that I could clearly see was blue, a sign of an NPC.
As Sora closed her mouth and endured the indescribable gazes from the two, Aria addressed Kuro formally.
“Yes, your knowledge was extremely helpful and valuable this time. As a princess, I sincerely thank you.”
“Thank you again, Kuro-sama.”
Aria and Giorl bowed deeply and respectfully.
“Eh, um…”
Not accustomed to such things, Kuro seemed confused about what to do, looking back and forth between Giorl and Aria with a puzzled expression.
Eventually, reaching her limit, she hid behind me.
What is this adorable creature?
Sora felt a tickling sensation as Kuro rubbed her head against his back.
Then, the title of the next quest, ?Discovery of a New Medicine?, was displayed.
Clearing his throat to change the mood, Giorl looked directly at me and began to discuss the next quest.
“Now, Sora-sama. We’ve gathered all the information from my subordinates, and I was thinking of heading to the temple soon. However, before that, I have one request.”
A quest before conquering the temple, huh?
It looks like the end is in sight for us as well.
Just as I was thinking that, Giorl mentioned an unexpected quest detail.
“During the recent battle, the tool shop actually found an old document that seems to describe a method for creating a poison antidote.”
“What, really…!?”
Sora was taken aback.
It was clear from the explanation alone.
In other words, it’s that.
A staple item in fantasy games.
Usually found in early-game shops.
The item is called ‘Antidote’.
Oh, if we had that during the recent battle, it would have been so much easier.
If the sequence had been reversed, it would have been such a blessing.
Feeling deflated, I squatted down on the spot, and the other three tilted their heads in confusion.
“Sora-sama?”
“Don’t worry about me, just continue with the discussion…”
“Alright, if you have any concerns or issues, please feel free to consult with us. We will help as much as we can.”
“Yeah, that would be great…”
Giorl, with a worried expression like a concerned parent, continued.
“However, the document will take some time to decipher, so could you come back around 5 PM tomorrow?”
“Oh, it’s a time-release quest.”
“Time-release?”
“Looks like Kuro is seeing this for the first time. A time-release quest is one that can’t be started until after a specific date and time.”
This is a technique used in old social games to manage player activity.
I never thought I’d experience it in a VR game, though…
“Then, we have the whole day free.”
“In that case, should we explore the base together?”
“Sounds good. I’ll join you as well.”
And so, our plan for today was set.
Until it was time for Kuro to have lunch and me to take a nap, the three of us explored the shops within the base.