Mebius World Online – Mari’s VRMMO Diary, Embarking on a Laid-back Adventure as a Novice - Chapter 24

1-24. Mari-nee and The New Equipment Performance

“If we’re testing our progress, why not go somewhere new? I believe you can go deeper inside the <Trial Forest>.”

Certainly, the opponents there should be at a higher level. In addition to regular potions, I replenished one high-quality potion just in case.

As for me, with low VIT, the regular potions can recover about 70%, which is sufficient. However, just to be safe…

Before departure, I double-checked the equipment crafted by Roulette-san and…

?Giant Spider’s Silk?

Silk made from the threads of a Giant Spider, used as a piece of armor. The wearer can imbue the silk with adhesiveness according to their will. The effect of adhesion depends on the stats and the skill level of ?String Manipulation?.

(Equipment Trait) Adhesive, DEX +7

?Mist Silk Blouse?

A blouse made from the threads of a Mist Worm. Excellent defense against magic and reduces MP consumption during skill usage.

(Equipment Trait) MP Consumption Reduction (Small), MID +4

?Wind Leather Long Skirt?

A lightweight long skirt made by thinly processing Wind Horse leather. Although it doesn’t offer high defense due to the thin leather, it reduces air resistance during movement.

(Equipment Trait) Wind Resistance Reduction (Small), AGI +3, DEX +2

?Wind Leather Shoes?

Light shoes made by thinly processing Wind Horse leather. Increases movement speed during travel.

(Equipment Trait) Movement Speed +5%, AGI +2, DEX +1

“…Um, isn’t this a pretty remarkable set?”

The increase in attack and defense is significant, but more importantly, it has something not present in the beginner’s set I’ve been using. Equipment Traits.

There are so many elements that will clearly make me stronger…

What should I do? I’m scared to ask for the price!

It feels like I’m accumulating more dishes to repay.

Or rather, can I even repay them?

“No, no, there’s no point in worrying about it here!”

I shook my head, temporarily putting a stop to my contemplation. While I was at it, I checked the items I received from Mareus-san as well.

?Magic Silver Thread?

Threads forged from magic silver and specially processed for use as armor. Boasts excellent magical energy conduction efficiency. The wearer can imbue the thread with elasticity according to their will. Elasticity depends on stats and the skill level of ?String Manipulation?, but there are limitations based on the thickness of the thread.

(Equipment Trait) MP Consumption Reduction (Small), Elasticity

It has a higher attack power than ?Giant Spider’s Silk?, but it doesn’t increase DEX through its equipment trait.

And each has its unique equipment trait.

It’s a difficult decision, but I’ll use them first and think about it later.

“Nero!”

“Nyaa!”

Answering my call, Nero energetically appeared.

I chose the ?Giant Spider’s Silk? first.

Now, let’s go.

While passing through the depths of the ‘Trial Forest,’ we were naturally attacked by Boars and Forest Deers. However, they were no match for us anymore.

With Nero being faster, he could defeat a single opponent before I even ordered an attack. Even when multiple enemies appeared, if I entangled them with ?Giant Spider’s Silk? and pulled tightly, their HP instantly disappeared.

“Am I getting too strong?”

The drastic change made me a bit, well, considerably uneasy…

But what made me genuinely happy was the equipment trait: Movement Speed +5%.

Looking at the numbers alone, the benefits might not seem significant, but when you experience it, you can clearly feel the difference.

Even considering the increase in AGI from the equipment trait, my movement, which used to be as slow as a snail, now feels somewhat normal.

Normal… It’s a good word.

…But I’m not saying that with a sad undertone, okay?

Exiting the <Trial Forest> a vast expanse of overlapping mountains unfolded before me.

The mountains were covered with various deciduous and coniferous trees, giving the impression of a natural mountain untouched by human influence.

If this were the real world during autumn, the colorful trees would have adorned the mountains, creating a lively scene.

While picturing such a sight, I stepped into the mountains.

Fortunately, the slope wasn’t too steep, and I felt that even I could manage.

Though I haven’t tried it before, it felt more like hiking than mountain climbing.

As usual, Nero led the way, and after walking for a while, Nero gave a small alert.

“Nya!”

Approaching Nero, who had stopped, and looking ahead, I saw a group of monsters.

“Three ?Goblin Soldiers?, a ?Goblin Magician?, and a ?Goblin Thief?.”

It was the first time encountering humanoid opponents.

Goblins had small horns on their heads and were about the size of children, but their eyes were unusually large, and their mouths extended up to their ears.

Drool dripped from the twisted teeth, making them look a bit hard to approach.

The Goblin Soldiers wielded chipped swords, the Goblin Magician had a staff-like rod, and the Goblin Thief held a rusted short dagger.

They were wearing nothing but tattered rags as armor and hadn’t noticed us yet.

While I wanted to proceed cautiously for the first encounter, if we could ambush them, that would be preferable.

If targeting, it should be the Goblin Magician, likely to use long-range magic attacks.

Since my threads wouldn’t provide effective protection against that.

Attempting to climb the tree and have Nero flank them, I suddenly had an idea.

“Right, if we’re going to ambush them anyway…”

Behind the tree, I tried something.

As expected, it was fine if I did it slowly.

Satisfied with the result, I acted along with Nero. The goblins, with the thief in the lead, three soldiers following, and the magician in the rear, formed a loose formation.

Although not as disciplined as a military unit, they were fooling around with each other, creating a relaxed atmosphere.

“If that’s the case, we should be able to handle them safely.”

Seeing the scene spreading out below me, I couldn’t help but grin.

What I tried was using the threads to pull my body up onto a tree branch.

It worked just as I expected, slowly and steadily.

Previously, my HP used to decrease rapidly due to low VIT and sudden stress, but now, with a somewhat increased VIT, and if I take things slowly, my HP doesn’t decrease much.

I observed the Thief and Soldier passing by, then extended my thread silently. Without making a sound, I wrapped the thread around the Magician’s neck and pulled it up swiftly using ?Thread Manipulation?. The increased skill level and DEX, along with my own weight, seemed to enhance the power, as the Magician’s feet left the ground, and its HP quickly dropped to zero.

The other Goblins hadn’t even noticed the disappearance of the Magician.

In that opening, I manipulated three threads simultaneously, setting traps for the three Soldiers. Whether it was due to having more VIT or HP than the Magician, the Soldier in the air struggled a bit, but the outcome was the same as the Magician.

The remaining Thief noticed something amiss and tried to approach me, but I was high up in the tree and couldn’t reach me immediately.

The Thief tried to climb the tree by stabbing its dagger into it. Well, thanks for making yourself vulnerable.

From behind, Nero, who had been waiting, delivered a cat punch, and the Thief’s HP also reached zero.

It was a complete victory, or should I say… it felt more like fishing than a battle?

“…More like fishing than a fight?”

Yeah, the term “fishing” seems fitting.

I picked up the drops, regained my composure, and moved on to find the next target.

By the way, the drop was a ?Goblin Ear?.

Uhh, is this some form of harassment?

After that, I continued to fight in the same way for a while. However, when it took more time to find Goblins than to defeat them, I changed my method slightly.

It wasn’t a big deal, just waiting in a location where Goblins were likely to appear, extending the thread, and using ?Clairvoyance? to gather Goblins. Thanks to this, I didn’t need to move, and the number of defeats increased, killing two birds with one stone.

When I got used to it, I tried using the adhesive property of the equipment trait. It was quite user-friendly. Just touching the opponent made them stick, inhibiting their movements without having to entangle them intentionally.

It was especially effective when the gathered Soldiers rushed towards me. I stretched the thread horizontally on the ground, causing them to trip. Once one fell, others followed or got entangled when trying to help, resulting in self-binding.

Then, I could deal with them as I pleased, making it very easy.

Maybe I defeated too many, or they became cautious, as Goblins started to appear less frequently. So, I changed locations and encountered a new monster called a ?Walking Wood?.

It was a tree that walked using branches as arms and roots as legs.

Literal monster, indeed.

However, it turned out to be more troublesome than expected. Simply pulling it with the thread didn’t reduce its HP much.

Perhaps it was challenging to constrict a tree or something?

Nero’s attacks were also not very effective. While contemplating, I decided to try using the ?Magic Silver Thread?.

Although it was a light idea, the effect was quite good. When I entangled it, its HP gradually decreased.

“By the way, what happens if I use the extensibility equipment trait?”

Since it’s a thread, it probably won’t become thicker than it is now, but maybe stretching it would make it thinner?

The moment I thought that, the ?Walking Wood? was cut into two from top to bottom.

Its HP seemed to instantly become zero, as if reflecting what I saw.

“…Um, what just happened?”

I didn’t recall having such a wicked weapon. Trying again, entwining it only caused the HP to gradually decrease. Stretching it, on the other hand, cut it in half again.

“Let’s search a bit.”

Not understanding it well, using this without knowing could be too dangerous.

Since MWO allows browsing external sites, it’s handy in situations like this.

I searched for “thread,” “cutting,” and similar keywords but found no relevant results.

Changing my perspective to focus on “cutting,” I found a hint.

While I couldn’t understand the complex principles, in simple terms, a knife can cut because the area where the blade contacts the target is small.

“So, by extending the ?Magic Silver Thread? and making it thinner, it suddenly became easier to cut… maybe?”

Let’s consider it as such for now and ask Mareus-san later.

And the drop from the ?Walking Wood? was ?Walnut Wood?.

Yeah, I wanted walnuts anyway.

After endlessly fighting and leveling up, as I decided to call it a day, a child’s scream suddenly echoed through the mountains.

Maria: Marionettist Level 15?Level 16

• STR 1
• VIT 4
• AGI 6
• DEX 64?67
• INT 4
• MID 17?18

(Skills: Skill Points +22?+24)

• ?Thread Manipulation? Level 13?Level 14
• ?Manipulator? Level 6?Level 7
• ?Clown? Level 9?Level 10
• ?Capture? Level 4?Level 5
• ?Cooking? Level 7
• ?Preparation? Level 2
• ?Acceleration? Level 3
• ?Dark Vision? Level 3
• ?Meditation? Level 2?Level 3
• ?Visual Enhancement? Level 1?Level 2
• ?Auditory Enhancement? Level 2

(Puppet Target)

• Nero (Cat Plushie)

(Equipment)

• [Giant Spider’s Silk]
  • (Equipment Trait) Stickiness, DEX +7
• [Mist Silk Shirt Blouse]
  • (Equipment Trait) MP Consumption Reduction (Small), MID +4
• [Wind Leather Long Skirt]
  • (Equipment Trait) Wind Resistance Reduction (Small), AGI +3, DEX +2
• [Wind Leather Shoes]
  • (Equipment Trait) Movement Speed +5%, AGI +2, DEX +1
• [Magic Silver Thread]
  • (Equipment Trait) MP Consumption Reduction (Small), Elasticity