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 70

Chapter 70: Once-in-a-Lifetime Encounter

 

After Sora logged out, the Spirit Tree that had spread across the world disintegrated into particles of light and vanished.

 

Judging from the fact that a spirit tree was right in front of her when she woke up a few days ago, she realized that the situation was probably pretty dire.

 

She went downstairs, turned on the TV with her sister Shiori, and there on the screen appeared the self-proclaimed “God,” the white-haired, golden-eyed girl.

 

“The resentment of ?Envy?, which sought to destroy this world, has been vanquished by the brave ones,” she announced, declaring to the world that one of the threats in ?Astral Online? had ended thanks to the players.

 

Next, the TV displayed footage of adventurers fighting valiantly against ?Leviathan?.

 

It was unclear who had filmed this, but experts in competitive gaming and celebrities passionately discussed the battle, causing a massive buzz on social media.

 

However, all the commentators had previously been harsh critics of professional gamers. Watching them now flip their opinions left a bitter taste.

 

The extent of everyone’s efforts to gain an advantage in that battle…

 

Knowing how hard everyone worked made their shallow commentary utterly exhausting.

 

Amidst all this, the program highlighted the silver-haired boy who had suddenly appeared and played a major role during the final battle, though “his” player name remained unknown.

 

The silver-colored player.

 

A color that doesn’t exist in the game’s character creation options.

 

Aside from the ?Silver Sword Princess?, there were no reports of any other players with this rare color, especially not from the casual players who hadn’t participated in the ?Leviathan? battle.

 

In the end, the program concluded that ?perhaps he was a helper character placed by the game’s developers?.

 

Of course, the players from ?Hell and Heaven? and ?Hunters of the Twilight? knew who “he” was.

 

But Shino and Shio had imposed a gag order, so none of them revealed the silver-haired boy’s player name.

 

If the name were to be made public, there was a fear that more people would start targeting the silver-haired, blue-eyed girl in the game.

 

What was surprising, however, were the high-level solo players who had joined the fight. They also maintained their silence during interviews, not mentioning the silver-haired boy at all.

 

It seemed that Kirie, who had been providing adventurers with free weapon maintenance and potion supplies, was involved in this.

 

Kirie-san has always been so helpful…

 

I need to make sure to thank her properly, whether in real life or in the game.

 

Three days passed, and after things had calmed down in the real world, ?Astral Online?’s lengthy update finally finished.

 

As soon as Sora and the others logged back in, they were greeted by Aria’s mother, ?Sylph, the Wind Spirit Queen?, who bowed her head in gratitude.

 

About the Ring.

About the Leviathan Hunt.

 

These achievements were apparently quite significant.

 

That’s why Sylph proposed that Sora and the others enter into a contract allowing adventurers to freely enter the forest.

 

Of course, there was no reason for us to refuse, so we agreed without hesitation.

 

We signed our names along with Sylph’s on an old piece of parchment, completing the contract between the spirits and the adventurers.

 

After a while, a grandiose fanfare rang out, and a notification was sent to all players:

 

?By forming a covenant with the Spirit Queen Sylph, access to the ?Forest of Spirits? is now unrestricted.?

 

This meant that adventurers could enter the forest even without their initial gear. However, there was a crucial point to note: if anyone harmed a spirit, their ?Number of Sin? would instantly max out.

 

The ?Number of Sin? is a penalty counter that increases when an adventurer commits a crime. If it exceeds a certain threshold, they are barred from buying or selling at shops. Furthermore, for those who continue to commit crimes, each subsequent offense will reduce their ?Life Point? by one.

 

It’s a rather strict rule, but not all adventurers are good people, so it’s understandable.

 

As an additional reward, Sora received an ultra-rare dress in a different color from Aria’s, but since she was absolutely against dressing up as a girl, she gave it to Kuro as a keepsake.

 

Seeing how happy she was with the gift was more than enough for me.

 

Finally, Sora and the others were to escort Aria back to the Fairy Kingdom.

 

I set out for the Fairy Kingdom with a party of four: Kuro, Aria, and my sister Shio, who had joined the seasoned trio.

 

I had originally wanted to bring Shin and Rou along, but they had obligations with Yoru in the real world, so we had to go without them.

 

During our journey, we were attacked several times by “Lizard-type” monsters around level 15, but given our current level and party members, there was no real danger.

 

We handled all the encounters with ease, while Aria happily recounted our adventures to Shio—starting with how Sora saved her from an attack, the troubles we faced along the way, and the fierce battle with the General.

 

Before we knew it, we had arrived at the Fairy Kingdom.

 

The Fairy Kingdom, like the royal capital Yggdrasil, was a country inspired by medieval Europe.

 

We headed towards a castle with a classic design, guided by Aria, and entered inside.

 

The return of the princess caused an immediate commotion within the castle.

 

Looking slightly apologetic, she repeatedly bowed her head as she headed straight for the top floor.

 

Waiting there was a handsome man with blonde hair and blue eyes, dressed in green-themed attire. ?Oberon?, the Fairy King and the ruler of this land.

 

Finally, it was time for the second emotional reunion of father and daughter!

 

When Aria returned safely, her father, the handsome king, threw aside all royal dignity and burst into tears.

 

As we watched, slightly taken aback, Aria apologized and gently comforted her weeping father.

 

After what felt like an hour, the king finally stopped crying. He then gave orders to his ministers to open the gates that had been closed for so long.

 

Aside from the Forest of Spirits, this was the first new map to be unlocked in five days.

 

The name of the new map was “Volcanic Zone.”

 

Beyond that area lies the ?Hephaestus Kingdom?, where skilled blacksmiths are said to gather to craft extraordinary weapons and armor.

 

Watching adventurers rush into the new map from the window, we couldn’t sit still any longer. After telling Aria that we were setting off, we parted ways.

 

She was a princess, and we were adventurers.

 

This time was an exception. In reality, we weren’t supposed to adventure together.

 

Looking a bit lonely, Aria said to us:

 

“Will you go on another adventure with me someday?”

 

“Yeah, someday we’ll definitely adventure together.”

 

“It’s a promise then, my hero.”

 

“??!?”

 

Seizing the moment, Aria, mustering all her courage, kissed Sora on the cheek.

 

The soft sensation on her cheek left Sora so stunned by this unexpected move that her mind went blank.

 

“That’s not fair!”

 

“What seems unfair to you, Kuro-sama? I can’t always let you take the lead, you know.”

 

In a rare display of anger, Kuro started to tussle with Aria, forcing Shio to rush in and break them up.

 

Meanwhile, instead of getting angry that his daughter had kissed another girl, the handsome king clasped his hands together with a blissful expression as if witnessing something sacred.

 

His behavior reminds me of Giorl before.

Is it just me, or do the men in this world have a thing for yuri?

It’s one of the many mysteries of Astral Online’s NPCs.

 

And so, with Aria seeing us off, we left the castle.

 

As we walked, gazing absently at the grand gate to the new map,

 

“It does feel a little lonely,” Kuro muttered.

 

Shio, walking beside her, said nothing in response.

 

Sora shook her head and said to her,

 

“She’s right there. If we want to see her, we can anytime. Besides??”

 

In an MMO, there are joyful moments and sad ones.

 

You go through many meetings and many farewells.

 

That’s just how MMORPGs are.

 

The girl cherished the memories of her adventure with the jade princess in her heart and turned her gaze to the new world ahead.

 

Holding the hands of the two girls, she dashed forward toward their next adventure.

 

………………….

 

End of Volume 1