Mebius World Online – Mari’s VRMMO Diary, Embarking on a Laid-back Adventure as a Novice - Chapter 158
158. Mari-nee and the Promised Place
The next morning, we left the covered wagon with the villagers and followed Roulette-san into the forest. Initially, the trees were sparse, but they gradually grew denser, with roots sprawling across the forest floor that frequently tripped us up… mainly me.
Roulette-san and Gils, with their long legs, navigated the terrain effortlessly. Vel perched on Gils’ shoulder, keeping a watchful eye for any danger. Vel’s large, round eyes gave the impression of a child enjoying a field trip, but I decided to keep that observation to myself.
We continued through the forest, crossed streams, and climbed up and down slopes. Despite my best efforts, after about two hours, it was clear I was lagging behind… me alone.
“I’m sorry, we should have slowed down,” Roulette-san said.
“No… it’s because my stamina is lacking,” I replied.
My level had increased significantly when we headed to the “Great Demon Forest,” but my VIT remained stubbornly low. And my STR? Still stuck at one, if you want to know.
I’m convinced I was never meant to have a STR stat. If it exists, it’s probably a decimal point value that Zagreus-san took pity on me and made visible. While I could allocate stat points to increase it, Zela-san had previously warned me against it.
Besides, I had a feeling she’d stop me again, saying, “You are fine as you are.”
I digressed quite a bit from the topic of stamina, so let’s leave it there…
As I steeled myself to move forward, I felt myself being lifted from behind. Turning around in a panic, I saw Gils’ eager face, as if he’d been waiting for this moment.
“Wha—”
It wasn’t a princess carry, thankfully, but being hoisted with both hands had a “high-high” feel to it. (*like carrying a child)
Yeah, not really comforting, is it?
“Leave it to me, I’ll be Maria’s legs,” Gils declared.
His words alone should have sounded reassuring, but floating in the air made it hard to feel that way.
“You’re like Kuuga from the atmosphere,” Roulette-san chuckled, perhaps recalling our time riding on Kuuga’s fluffy back across the plains.
“Um, the imagery is quite different,” I pointed out calmly, but Gils’ enthusiasm only soared higher when compared to Kuuga.
The moment I was placed on Gils’ shoulder opposite Vel, he began running with great vigor.
Roulette-san, unable to hold back her laughter, quickly caught up and ran alongside us.
Seeing the scenery flow by from this unusually high vantage point, I couldn’t help but think again: This is definitely not right!!
In the dense forest, the two of them dashed forward at an unbelievable speed, effortlessly taking down any monsters that dared to stand in their way as they pressed deeper and deeper into the forest.
Even when taking breaks, they did so without stopping their run.
Although I was worried, neither of them showed any signs of slowing down.
We continued running until the sun set, and I lost track of how far we had gone. Suddenly, we emerged from the forest, and in the corner of the night sky, illuminated by the remnants of the sunset, the silhouette of what seemed to be a building appeared.
I say “seemed to be” because the structure was almost entirely assimilated into the surrounding nature, with no roof and crumbling walls.
But in front of it, Roulette-san stopped.
Her expression was a mix of nostalgia and pain.
“This is the place, isn’t it?”
“…Yes,” she replied softly.
Her brief response was swallowed by the twilight.
Roulette-san stood there quietly, as if time had stopped.
I descended from Gils’ shoulder and stood by her side, waiting patiently until her time began to move again…