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 65
Chapter 65: Farewell and Vow
Yoru, the leader of the ?Hunters of the Twilight?.
His hobbies include exploring maps and solving mysteries in his favorite games.
He likes animals.
He dislikes boredom.
Three years ago, in ?Sky Fantasy?, Sora, Shin, and Rou were members of his guild.
His personality hasn’t changed since then, bringing a sense of nostalgia.
Yoru’s contributions to the game were immense.
He was the first to solve all the mysteries related to unlocking the player level cap and discovered hidden areas in maps thoroughly explored by other players.
This was all due to Yoru’s abnormal obsession with exploration.
He would inspect every corner of a map, analyze the information, and use even the smallest, overlooked details to discover something new.
In various games, Yoru would find things that other players struggled to locate and would always share his findings publicly.
Now, among VR gamers, he is widely known by the nickname ?Pioneer of the World?.
As for why he appears as a girl, there are various theories: maybe it’s because enemies let their guard down when he looks like a girl, or maybe he has a serious crush on Sora—though the truth remains uncertain.
With a confident look, Yoru spoke to Sora.
“You just don’t know it yet, but you can find all sorts of information in the first capital, Yggdrasil. For example, ‘Those chosen by the World Tree will awaken to fight the Demon Lord,’ or something like that.”
“That means…”
“On top of that, the adventurer who managed to reclaim the ‘Light Bringer’ stolen by the Demon Lord barely survived and seems to be becoming a silver-haired girl as a price. Though it seems he’s turned back into a man now, it sounds like a perfect story for someone, doesn’t it?”
Yoru smiled mischievously as he spoke.
Then, he turned to Hart, his expression shifting to seriousness.
“And when the world wasn’t fully formed, adventurers who didn’t follow the time limit got absorbed into the world… I suspect that the missing beta players were absorbed into this world based on the urban legends from the beta era.”
“Yoru, you…”
“Information only becomes reliable when you investigate it yourself—seeing, hearing, and touching it directly. My suspicion about the beta players was pretty solid, but your reaction just confirmed it. Thanks, Sora.”
“The leader of Shio-chan’s guild seems like a pretty amazing person…”
Kuro, watching Yoru, was unusually taken aback.
But Yoru, displeased with Kuro’s comment, pouted.
“Hmph, it’s not that amazing. I only know what information I have gathered. I did think it was suspicious that the first outfit was a non-sellable item, but I never imagined it had an effect for entering the forest.”
A boy lightly taps the side of the ?Forest High Wolf? with his right fist, seemingly sulking.
Is this because I unlocked the forest map?
Meanwhile, the ?Forest High Wolf? remains unfazed by its master’s tantrum.
Sora, smiling wryly, decided to change the subject.
“By the way, where did you get that strong-looking Forest Wolf?”
“…This guy was summoned with a ?Summoner?’s skill.”
“A Summoner’s skill, huh? Being able to summon a level 40 monster at level 25 is an impressive skill.”
“Ah, Sora doesn’t know how Summoners work, does he? In combat, Summoners are a high-risk, high-reward profession.”
“You use MP to summon them, right?”
Having said that, Yoru shook his head and mounted the ?Forest High Wolf?.
“Indeed, it consumes MP. The summoning magic I can use now is up to level III. From there, you select one of the species you’ve acquired—be it beast type, element type, or necro type—and then… you do a gacha.”
…Gacha?
When you mention “gacha,” are you referring to that gacha from social games, the one that’s considered a bad influence and has caused countless tragedies even to this day?
While it has decreased somewhat, you still see players on social media celebrating or lamenting the results of spending tens of thousands of yen on gacha in smartphone game apps.
I never imagined that such a feature would exist in VR games as well.
“So, in other words, the creatures summoned through summoning magic are random?”
“You can choose the species, but a level III summoning spell, which consumes 50 MP, randomly summons monsters at levels 10, 20, 30, or 40. Sora, you understand what that means, right?”
“Hmm, it’s a pretty niche profession. It’s not weak, but unless you can consistently pull the highest level, other professions that can boost their stats might be stronger, don’t you think?”
“Well, having more numbers is better than being just a ‘normal enchanter.'”
“The way you’re saying that makes it sound like there’s an ‘abnormal enchanter’ out there.”
When I feigned ignorance, everyone’s eyes turned towards me.
“Who else but you?”
“Indeed, Sora is anything but normal.”
“If there were other enchanters like you, the game would be on the brink of collapse.”
“Sora-sama is very reliable, but if there were someone else as strong as you, it would be terrifying.”
Oh…
Even Yoru aside, hearing this from my companions is quite harsh.
It’s true that with my current unlimited MP state, I’m far from normal—in fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if I were mistaken for a “Demon Lord”.
“Alright, let’s cut the idle chatter here.”
As I gazed off into the distance, Yoru suddenly raised his hand towards the sky.
A summoning circle appeared.
I wondered what he was up to when two ordinary Forest Wolves appeared in front of us.
Their levels were 20 and 30.
Yoru murmured, “Not a bad pull,” and then faced me with a serious look in his eyes.
“I learned about Leviathan’s situation when I was linked with High Wolf earlier. I’ve still got things to take care of, so I can’t go this time, but if you ride on these guys’ backs, you should reach your destination in about an hour.”
“Yoru…”
“I feel bad for your sister, but there’s still a ton of stuff I need to investigate.”
“I understand. I owe you one.”
“Level 30 should be fine for you and the princess to ride together. But as for the old beta player, even if you’re level 40…”
Hart, sensing the awkward stares directed at him, understood what Yoru was implying. He nodded and smiled at Kuro.
Realizing what he was about to say, Kuro widened her eyes and shook her head.
“No, I want to stay with Dad…”
“Kuro, as an adventurer, you’re Sora’s partner, right? Then you should fight by his side, not mine.”
“Dad…”
“The timing is just right. We’ll part ways here, and I’ll head to the meeting point that Arisa and I agreed on in case of an accident. Knowing her, she might still be waiting for me.”
“In that case, I’ll go with you…”
“The place we agreed on is a map you and Sora can’t access yet. I’m sorry, but I can’t take you with me.”
Hart gently embraced Kuro, who looked like she was about to cry. His hands trembled slightly.
“We’ve already registered as friends, right? I’ll send you messages every day, so just wait for me to return with Mom.”
“……”
At his gentle words, Kuro fell silent. After a moment, she wiped her tears with both hands.
“…I’m going.”
“Kuro?”
“If you’re late coming back, I’ll go get you and Mom!”
“…Yeah, I’ll do my best to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Hart gave a wry smile, acknowledging he’d been outwitted. Kuro, her face tear-streaked, forced a smile.
First, Sora and Aria mounted the level 30 Forest Wolf. Then Kuro, alone, climbed onto the level 20 wolf. As the three of them turned to Hart and Yoru to exchange farewells, they exchanged their final words.
“Hart-san, I promise I’ll protect Kuro.”
“I’m so glad I got to meet you, Hart-sama, who helped my father and mother.”
“Yeah, I’m glad we met too. Sora-kun, I’m counting on you to take care of my daughter.”
Finally, Sora turned his gaze to Yoru, who gave a deep nod. No words were needed between them. That alone was enough.
Sora and Aria’s Forest Wolf started running ahead. A little later, Kuro’s wolf followed, and for the first time, she shouted loudly to her father:
“If you don’t message me every day, I’ll tell Mom on you!”
“I’ll definitely reply!”
Waving his hand energetically, Hart watched his daughter depart. The Forest Wolves carrying us quickly ran far enough that they were out of sight. Kuro, her head lowered, revealed no emotion on her face.
“Kuro…”
When Sora murmured her name, Kuro lifted her head and looked straight ahead.
“I won’t cry… because I’m going to become strong enough to go get Dad and Mom.”
The girl vowed to herself.
Sora was dazzled by the strength of her heart.