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 62

Chapter 62: The Resolve Pledged in the Heart

 

Leaving Kuro, who was crying continuously, in the care of her father Hart, Sora prioritized clearing the quest.

 

The silver-haired boy approached the pedestal where the ring was placed and looked at it.

 

The metal had a gentle, bluish-green hue.

 

The power it concealed was so intense that even without using his insight skill, Sora could feel its strong pressure.

 

The ring had no attached gemstones, and its surface was inscribed with unfamiliar symbols.

 

?The inscription is in Hebrew, and the ring is marked with the name “Raphael”.?

 

“Ah, thank you for the detailed explanation.”

 

As if determined to answer all questions, ?Lucifel? responded immediately to Sora’s thoughts.

 

Expressing his thanks, Sora cautiously picked up the ?Jade Ring? from the pedestal.

 

A notification for quest completion appeared before him, and he gained a large amount of experience. His level quickly rose from 33 to 35.

 

A new quest, ?Report to the Wind Spirit Queen Sylph?, was also added.

 

Such quests are usually a set: once you finish the collection, you return and report, so Sora wasn’t surprised.

 

More pressing was Sora’s reaction to the ring he had obtained, his brow furrowed in concern.

 

?????????????????

?Item Name?: Jade Ring
?Rarity?: EX
?Effect?: A ring imbued with the power of the Great Archangel of Wind.

The first adventurer to equip it can acquire the unique skill ?Raphael? by fulfilling certain conditions.

?Note?: Adventurers who have acquired the unique skills ?Lucifer?, ?Michael?, ?Uriel?, or ?Gabriel? cannot equip it.

?????????????????

 

So, since I already have ?Lucifer?, I’m out of luck, huh?

 

Feeling a bit disappointed, Sora put the ring into his item box.

 

At the same time, he sensed the immense power that had been filling the temple dissipate.

 

The reason was that the source of this power, the ring, had been removed.

 

With this, the great barrier in the forest should have been restored.

 

After a while, a fanfare signaled new notifications for the adventurers.

 

As Sora attempted to open the menu, his newly upgraded support system, ?Lucifel?, preemptively informed him through voice.

 

?Message from the World: Adventurer Sora and Adventurer Kuro’s efforts have restored the great barrier of the Forest of Spirits and weakened the Leviathan-type enemies. The barrier’s power has sealed the skill that halves physical damage.?

 

Upon hearing the message, Sora clenched his fist and struck a victorious pose.

 

This is a huge win, he thought with joy.

 

This means that the major issue for adventurers, the halving of physical damage from Leviathan-type enemies, has been resolved.

 

With this, it’s possible that the raid team might defeat the raid boss *Leviathan* by the end of today.

 

Honestly, Sora had wanted to fight a large boss monster at least once, but given the current situation, it seemed unlikely he would make it in time if he were to leave now.

 

Sora glanced at the “Angel’s Ring” icon that had been added to his HP bar, and checked the remaining time for ?Lucifer? mode.

 

About 7 hours left.

 

Even though it’s a cheat mode with infinite MP, whether it’s short or long after using one of his lives, it’s a bit of a dilemma.

 

With a sigh, he turned on his heel and returned to Hart and Aria, who were watching over the sleeping Kuro.

 

“Sorry for the wait. It’s all done. The Leviathan types will be significantly weakened, so I think my allies will handle the rest.”

 

“That’s great. Peace will return to the forest,” Aria said with a relieved look.

 

She then looked at Sora with a curious expression and blushed slightly.

 

“Sora-sama, while you were lovely as a girl, you’re even more wonderful now.”

 

“Thank you for the compliment.”

 

“It’s not just flattery. I truly think you are more remarkable than the heroes from the stories.”

 

“Well, thank you. But we can discuss this another time. Right now…”

 

Interrupting what seemed to be a lengthy discussion, Sora shifted his gaze to Hart, who was resting.

 

His HP has been fully restored by an ‘Elixir,’ a potion-tier item that replenishes both HP and MP by a whopping 1500 points with just one dose.

 

There were no strange status abnormalities in his current stats.

 

After a thorough check with his enhanced ?Insight II? skill, there seemed to be no issues.

 

Meanwhile, Kuro, exhausted from crying, was now sleeping peacefully on Hart’s lap.

 

Seeing Kuro’s serene sleeping face softened Sora’s expression, and he spoke to him.

 

“Hart-san, are you feeling okay?”

 

“Ah, I’m fine. Thanks, Sora-kun. I was surprised to find out you were a boy. That was unexpected.”

 

“Well, yeah… there’s quite a story behind that.”

 

He gave a wry smile as he hesitated with his words.

 

“First of all, let me thank you. I’m grateful for freeing me from the curse of the armor I couldn’t take off since waking up in Helheim prison.”

 

“Prison…?”

 

At the unsettling word, Sora frowned, prompting Aria, who was next to him, to answer.

 

“The country of Helheim, far from here, worships the Demon Lord. I’ve heard that long ago, they used to abduct powerful individuals from various countries.”

 

“I see. So the armor was meant for those they abducted. In other words, it’s a terrible country.”

 

Considering Hart’s situation, Helheim might be a dangerous opponent for them as well.

 

Sora decided he needed to inform Shio later and advise top players to be cautious.

 

He quickly opened the menu screen to send a message.

 

Hart, with an apologetic expression, said to Sora, who was facing the keyboard panel, “I heard from Kurono. About how our bodies turned into light and disappeared.”

 

“…Do you have any idea why this happened?”

 

“Definitely. Arisa and I, plus the top players back then, kept playing right up until the beta was supposed to end. We were curious to see what would happen if we went over the time limit. Surprisingly, the game didn’t kick us out. None of us could log off.”

 

“So, you and the others didn’t reach zero remaining lives, did you?”

 

“Ah, I still had about 87 left.”

 

So, the reason so many high-level players’ bodies disappeared was that they stayed in the game world beyond the beta test’s deadline.

 

Kirie, who was also a beta player, avoided this fate because she hadn’t logged into Astral Online.

 

No one would have anticipated their real-world bodies disappearing. If they had known, everyone would have avoided logging in.

 

Sora, too, thought this was unreasonable.

 

“This is truly worse than expected. If your physical bodies are gone, does that mean you can’t return with Kurono?”

 

“Hart-sama…”

 

Aria looked at Hart with a sad expression as he looked down.

 

Indeed, without a body, even if Hart could log out, he wouldn’t be able to return to the real world.

 

Unfortunately, as an ordinary human, there’s nothing I can do about it.

 

?Lucifel, is there any way you can help him??

 

Feeling frustrated with the helpless situation, I asked my skill a question that seemed absurd.

 

‘Lucifel’ responded:

 

?Unfortunately, there is no way to help him in this world.?

 

As expected, I thought.

 

The issue isn’t with this world but with reality.

 

Even if mythology describes ?Lucifer? as ‘the epitome of perfection, full of wisdom, and the pinnacle of beauty,’ it wouldn’t offer a solution to problems from a different world.

 

I sighed at my own naivety.

 

But then ‘Lucifel’ suggested:

 

?However, if the ‘God’ of the ?Guardian? organization that appeared in Master’s world can help, it might be possible.?

 

“………!?”

 

How could I have forgotten that?

 

Certainly, if the leaders of that mysterious group, who seem to wield supernatural powers, are truly capable, they might be able to resolve Hart’s dire situation.

 

It’s just a possibility, not a certainty.

 

I must try everything I can.

 

Why the game system knows such things is irrelevant at this point.

 

I was struck by the idea I hadn’t considered at all, and I exclaimed, ?As expected of the Archangel-sama!?

 

“Hart-san, can I take care of this matter for now?”

 

“Sora-kun…?”

 

“There’s a chance that the real-world situation could be resolved.”

 

“Sora-sama, is that true!?”

 

Aria looked at me in surprise.

 

I smiled wryly and nodded.

 

“Ah, it’s still uncertain, but if the ‘God’ who appeared in my world is real, there might be a chance.”

 

Hart bowed his head in gratitude.

 

“…Thank you, Sora-kun. I can’t express how grateful I am.”

 

“No, I was helped by your daughter as well. Please think of this as my way of repaying the favor.”

 

Looking at the sleeping black-haired girl, the silver-haired boy made a vow in his heart.

 

He didn’t expect to have his wish granted for free by the so-called ‘God’ of the real world.

 

But if it meant protecting this child’s smile, he would fulfill any demand made of him without fail.