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 87
Chapter 87: Second Event Announcement
Even from a distance, it was clear—an enormous tree, Yggdrasil, stretching from the earth and piercing the sky.
In ?Astral Online?, it is a symbolic presence, visible from any country in the game world.
However, that’s the story in the virtual world. In reality, it doesn’t exist.
Sora looked at it again.
The tree was so immense that it was beyond imagination, truly something out of myth.
When he first arrived here, there was nothing like that in that direction.
So, it’s only natural to assume that the thing in front of him is some kind of illusion, visible only to the people in this place.
Or, maybe all of this is a dream, and when she wakes up, she’ll be back to the morning before she met Kurono and Shino, starting all over again.
As Sora doubted the massive presence before her, a solemn fanfare—something he had heard countless times in the game—resounded from the sky, as if to deny her suspicions.
The surreal appearance of the World Tree threw the surrounding people into a panic.
“What is this sound?!”
“One thing after another—what the heck is going on?!”
“Is this… safe?!”
Believing the fanfare to be some kind of cursed sound, the panicking people covered their ears with their hands.
Only a handful remained calm, quietly observing the World Tree.
Perhaps they were fellow ?Astral Online? players, just like her.
This isn’t… a dream, right?
To make sure, Sora pinched her cheek hard, but all she felt was pain—there was no waking up from this.
The throbbing pain in her cheek, along with the sensations from all her five senses, told her this was unmistakably reality.
That meant what awaited after this fanfare was the familiar announcement from the game.
While everyone around her was in a frenzy, Sora, being an ?Astral Online? player, remained calm and waited for what was about to happen.
“Sora…”
Kurono, standing beside her, looked extremely anxious and gripped her right hand tightly.
Sora squeezed Kurono’s hand firmly and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”
Just that was enough to ease Kurono’s anxiety, and her previously tense expression softened a little.
And then it happened.
As expected, a girl’s voice reverberated from the sky, addressing everyone on the ground.
?To the residents of the real world, a message from the World Tree.?
“…A message from the World Tree?”
“Yeah, I heard something about a message.”
Doubting her own ears, Sora glanced at Kurono to confirm, and she nodded, indicating that she had heard the same words.
What exactly was the “World Tree” going to announce?
A bad feeling welled up inside her, and Sora, now sweating heavily, focused on the words of the so-called World Tree.
?The world contamination has progressed by 1%. As a result, the World Tree, Yggdrasil, has appeared. Further announcements will be made on the ?Astral Online? homepage and through the World Tree.?
No way.
So this is what happens when the world contamination progresses.
It was just a guess, but it seemed that the contamination advanced not only when events failed but also with the passage of time.
This was new information, but it was far from good news.
The disturbing realization that there might be a “time limit” in the game was not something to be happy about.
Wiping the sweat from her forehead with her left arm, Sora glared at the distant World Tree.
And then, as if declaring war on humanity, the World Tree spoke again.
?Announcement from the World Tree regarding the ?Astral Online? event.?
?Starting August 23, the event ?Invasion of the Arrogant Demon Dragon King? will commence.?
?The event details are as follows: The Demon Dragon King, Belial, has been unleashed from the volcanic seal and will lead an army of monsters to invade the Kingdom of Hephaistos.?
?The victory condition is the defeat of the Demon Dragon King, Belial.?
?The defeat condition is the death of the Dragon King, Otter, and the Dragon Princess, Alice.?
?If the event is lost, as a penalty, the world contamination will progress by 10%.?
?This concludes the announcement. We wish you the best of luck, residents of the real world.?
A new battle was about to begin.
……………………………
After that, Sora and the others quickly regrouped and decided to head back home for the time being.
Their eyes were all fixed on a large flat-screen TV.
The news was covering the appearance of the World Tree, Yggdrasil, in the real world, and it was being reported nationwide.
A massive tree had appeared in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean after a huge tremor.
However, it was said that none of the instruments had detected any seismic activity, so the cause of the tremor remained unknown.
Moreover, the only reported damage was people falling over, with no other incidents. Because of this, a physicist speculated that the tree might be some sort of supernatural phenomenon, perceptible only to humans.
The next image shown was the Japanese Prime Minister.
Amid the flashing lights from the numerous media cameras, a man in his forties, dressed sharply in a suit, stood illuminated.
His name was Seiji Amou, the Prime Minister of Japan.
Having solved various issues, he was the most popular Prime Minister in history, with a 90% approval rating from the public.
Everyone was eager to hear what he had to say.
As many citizens watched closely, Amou slowly opened his mouth and spoke.
“I understand that the sudden appearance of the World Tree has caused great confusion. However, it is not an enemy to us.”
“Prime Minister, do you have any evidence to support that!?”
One of the reporters questioned, and Amou nodded.
“According to our ‘God,’ it is a neutral entity. Not only is it impossible to harm it, but any attempt to do so would trigger penalties, as I have been warned by our ‘God’.”
As soon as the name “God El Aurum” was mentioned, all the previously noisy reporters fell silent.
This showed just how much trust people placed in their ‘God.’
In Sora’s mind, the image of the white-haired girl she had met recently surfaced.
To her, she couldn’t be classified as either good or evil.
Thinking about how much trust this mysterious power commanded made her realize how dangerous it truly was.
Next, Amou outlined his plan: rather than attacking the World Tree, Yggdrasil, it would be closely monitored.
He assured the public in front of the cameras that a 24-hour surveillance system would be in place, ready to respond if it ever became a threat to humanity.
This time, the “God” El Aurum did not make an appearance, and the screen soon shifted to discussions between experts and commentators.
After turning off the TV, Sora shifted her gaze to Shiori, Kurono, and Shino.
The appearance of Yggdrasil had everyone looking understandably tense.
Shino then analyzed the situation.
“We don’t know exactly how fast the contamination will progress, but I don’t think it will suddenly jump to 100% from here.”
“I agree,” Sora said, “but we don’t have much information to go on. From what we know, it seems like it increases by about 1% every week?”
?Astral Online? had only been out for about a week.
Taking that into account, it seemed reasonable to assume a weekly rate of progression.
Shino thought for a moment and then spoke.
“Well, the contamination is only at 1% for now. We can’t let our guard down, but don’t forget to stay in touch if anything happens, both inside and outside ?Astral Online?.”
“Understood.” x3
The three of us nodded firmly in agreement with Shino’s words.
“Alright then, I’m going to log into Astral Online. I’ll be back down in time for dinner—”
As Sora began to walk away, Shino swiftly grabbed her arm.
What’s going on?
As I tilted my head in confusion, Shino said to me:
“I believe I taught you not to play VR games when you’re sweaty from being outside.”
“M-Master?”
“While we’re at it, as part of VR game safety guidelines, I’ll personally teach you to take a bath after coming home.”
“Master?! Wait, stop… Aahhh!”
With overwhelming strength, Shino dragged Sora all the way to the bathroom.
There, she blindfolded her and thoroughly scrubbed her down. To make matters worse, Shiori and Kurono even joined in.
In the end, Sora lost consciousness.