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 7

Chapter 7: The Girl Who Became the Talk of the Town

 

After finishing the Napolitan and satisfying her hunger, Sora checked the time.

 

It was 1:20 PM.

 

The meeting time with her two close friends was set for 2:00 PM to give herself some extra time, so there was no need to rush.

 

Pouring some mildly sweet iced coffee into a glass, Sora sank deeply into the living room sofa. Taking a sip of the coffee, she let out a sigh of relief.

 

Shiori, who had held her back from logging into Astral Online to continue their conversation, sat down next to her and slowly began to speak.

 

“Actually, to be honest, I already knew about the silver-haired girl beforehand.”

 

“Oh, really?”

 

“You might not know, but right now, the silver-haired girl is a huge topic on social media.”

 

Saying this, Shiori operated her smartphone and showed her an article titled “The Angel Who Descended on the Land of Beginnings.”

 

Moreover, there was a video of Sora, Shinji, and Shiro together, and the caption read “What’s the relationship between this angel and these two people!?”

 

“Wow, I knew it would become a hot topic, but I didn’t expect it to blow up like this.”

 

It seemed the player who wrote this article was quite taken with the silver-haired girl. Following that, they posted impassioned commentary along with various secretly taken screenshots of just Sora.

 

Some of these included intense action shots from when she was hunting slimes, focusing on glimpses of her navel and stomach.

 

The skill with which they managed to capture such dynamic shots of her made Sora wonder what kind of photographic techniques this person had.

 

Scrolling through the complex-looking screen, she came across the author’s name.

 

“Let’s see, ‘Rinne,’ got it.”

 

Although it was unclear if the in-game name and the author’s real name were the same, this person seemed to be noteworthy.

 

She decided she should avoid this person if she ever encountered them.

 

Reading the article, Sora’s expression turned serious.

 

Without mentioning it, Shiori pointed at the video of the three people at the beginning of the article and said, “This is Shinji and Shiro, right?”

 

“Yes, but how did you know?”

 

“The appearance is exactly the same, and there was a foreign girl with a speech style that resembles you next to them.”

 

Shiori then made this deduction.

 

She had never heard of Shinji and Shiro having any foreign acquaintances in real life.

 

It was also suspicious that the brother, who had said they would play the game together starting tomorrow, was not with them.

 

No matter what happens, it’s her brother’s strong point that “he” absolutely never breaks a promise.

 

Perhaps “that girl” might be her brother who was involved in some trouble and ended up undergoing a gender change.

 

After hearing this, Sora let out a light whistle.

 

As expected from the smart student of Kamisato Junior High.

 

To deduce so much from just this video was impressive.

 

“But even a genius like Shiori couldn’t have known he was cursed by the Demon Lord and underwent a gender change.”

 

“Well, it’s not something anyone could have guessed.”

 

Shiori puffed out her cheeks cutely.

 

Seeing her sister like that made Sora regain a bit of her composure. She took a sip of her iced coffee and asked:

 

“So, why is it causing such a stir? My appearance might be cute, but it’s not particularly rare in the game world, is it?”

 

“…You might not know, but Astral Online’s character creation doesn’t include any white color options. That’s why it’s causing such a fuss on SNS and VR gathering places.”

 

“Oh, really? White is a fairly popular color, so I wonder why that is.”

 

“Well, we’ll need to ask the developers to find out for sure, but among players, there’s a rumor that it might be a limited quest reward.”

 

“Ah, I see.”

 

It seems this game has a system that automatically creates side quests, and some of them may disappear after being cleared once.

 

These quests are referred to as “Rare Quests” by players, and several have been confirmed.

 

Logically, it makes sense to consider the silver hair as a reward for such a quest.

 

The current top clan members that Shiori is part of have come to this conclusion, and now the discussions among the executives are focused on how to recruit her.

 

“…Recruitment?”

 

As Sora tilted her head while drinking her iced coffee, Shiori let out a deep sigh and spoke with an exasperated tone.

 

“Ugh, of course. It’s not just your appearance that’s attracting attention. You showed everyone something incredible in the starting grasslands.”

 

“Incredible…?”

 

All she remembered was hunting slimes non-stop.

 

Seeing the question mark hovering over Sora’s head, Shiori gave her a disapproving look before changing her posture and sitting upright on the sofa.

 

She then reached out and pinched Sora’s left cheek firmly.

 

It hurt pretty badly, but it was quite painful.

 

Seeing her attitude, Sora timidly asked.

 

“Wh-what did I do wrong, Shiori?”

 

“Don’t talk like a protagonist from a novel. …To put it simply, the triple attack skill you used to hunt the metal slimes, not a single top player has obtained that skill yet.”

 

With an exasperated tone, Shiori said this and stopped pinching his cheek.

 

Relieved, Sora held her slightly stinging left cheek with one hand and understood her sister words.

 

“Ah, that’s pretty serious.”

 

It’s only natural to be surprised if a player who hasn’t been seen on the front lines suddenly uses an attack skill that no one else has obtained.

 

Shiori operated her smartphone and, displaying the relevant information, directed it toward her again.

 

The article’s title was, “The Silver Sword Princess Hunts Metal Slimes Solo!?”

 

Reading the content, it described how “the beautiful girl with graceful movements cut off the slime’s retreat and, astonishingly, used an unprecedented ‘triple attack skill’ to completely defeat a metal slime.”

 

According to the current common knowledge in Astral Online, hunting a level 10 metal slime requires at least four top-level players of level 10, with two players dedicated to not letting it escape and two attacking it.

 

It’s clear that a two-hit skill can’t finish it off, so the best strategy is for one player to weaken it first and then have another player deliver the finishing blow.

 

She also checked the comments section.

 

?The fact that it’s glowing red means that the triple attack is skill-based.?

?A triple attack, seriously??

?Besides, I don’t think there are many top-level players who can even perform a two-hit combo with a one-handed sword, right??

?I’m in [Black Princess]’s clan, you know? She’s the best with a one-handed sword. Even she’s freaking out about this, which is wild.?

?That ‘Berserker Doll’ would be interested in humans instead of monsters? That silver-haired girl is seriously trouble.?

?Ah, I also want to be called ‘big brother’ by such a girl.?

?I’d prefer to be called ‘darling’ by her.?

 

Since the later part of the comments was starting to lead to other things, I quietly closed the browser.

 

I took a sip of my iced coffee and sighed at the slightly bitter yet deep flavor.

 

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

 

I decided that I had been a bit too enthusiastic and resolved to be more reserved about using skills in public in the future.

 

“This is definitely something I need to be careful about.”

 

“There’s already a sense that it might be too late.”

 

“Yeah… ah, yeah. You’re right.”

 

I haven’t told Shiori, but if she found out about my ?Insight? skill or the unique skill ?Lucifer?, things would get even worse.

 

I must ensure that these things never get discovered.

 

As I made this vow to myself, a single question suddenly crossed my mind.

 

“By the way, Shiori, why haven’t you directly recruited me?”

 

“Huh? I wouldn’t do that.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because you’re someone who’s considerate of others, so it’s more comfortable for you to be with Shinji-kun and Shiro-kun, right?”

 

“…I’m grateful to have such a capable sister.”

 

As expected from a blood-related younger sister. She understands me well.

 

I sincerely appreciated her thoughtfulness.

 

Well, was that all for now?

 

Looking at the wall clock, I saw that the hands were approaching 2 o’clock.

 

Putting aside the matter of my gender change and the attention it’s drawing, I needed to log in soon.

 

I finished my coffee, stood up from the sofa, and went to the kitchen to rinse and put away the cup.

 

As I was about to head upstairs, Shiori suddenly called out to me.

 

When I turned around, she spoke in a serious tone.

 

“Big brother, promise me one thing.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Remember to always be cautious while playing and never go anywhere with someone you don’t know. Make sure to set your sexual defense settings, and if you feel unsafe, get out of there.”

 

What did she think of her brother?

 

I was at a loss for how to respond to my seriously concerned sister.