Mebius World Online – Mari’s VRMMO Diary, Embarking on a Laid-back Adventure as a Novice - Chapter 31
31. Mari-nee and New Partner
After a few days had passed, the event was approaching tomorrow.
While leveling up, I visited the church to spend time with Estelle-san and the children, and occasionally I was abducted by Vanessa-san.
…Seriously, the last part, I really wish she would cut me some slack.
For a certain promise, I logged into MWO right at 9:00 PM sharp, and came to the <Plains of Beginning> west of the city of Eden.
That promise was for confirming a certain achievement.
Already three people were waiting at the meeting place.
“Hello. I’m sorry for keeping you waiting.”
“Hello, Maria-san. It’s okay, we just came early because we were looking forward to it.”
Roulette-san, wearing the trademark round glasses that have become her image, responded in her usual calm voice.
“Hello, Maria-chan. Roulette-chan is right. Honestly, it’s been a while since I got so absorbed in production!”
Kanna-san still had the appearance of a completely feminine woman, and the stark contrast with the high-pitched voice of a veteran voice actor she portrayed was intense.
I know she’s good at woodworking, but even if she told me her main job in reality is a voice actor, I wouldn’t be surprised.
“Enough of that, let’s try it already. We still have a lot to do before the event.”
Although he always says it in a gruff manner, the one who is more anxious than anyone else is Mareus-san.
If I point it out, it would be troublesome… no, I mean, he might get defensive and deny it, so I won’t say it.
Oh, did the correction not really make much sense? Well, it’s fine, it’s just my inner thoughts.
“If you’re so impatient, you’ll be hated by Marcia-chan at the Adventurer’s Guild, you know?”
Even though I managed to keep it as my inner thoughts, Kanna-san, you as a person…
“Hey, why do you know about that! No, I mean, it’s not like that!!”
Roulette-san stopped the conversation that was about to go in the usual direction.
“Alright, alright, that’s enough. I’ll bring it out, okay?”
Hearing that, the two of them became quiet.
I also held my breath and waited for that moment.
“Alright, here we go.”
Roulette-san’s finger moved smoothly, and immediately after, a polar bear with a length of about 3 meters appeared in front of us.
“Amazing, a polar bear that I saw in the video is right in front of me!”
“I expected it to be big since I created the skeleton, but this is beyond my expectations.”
“Oh, and this realism. Roulette, how much effort did you put into this?”
“I spent most of the daily login time on this little one.”
“No way. So, during that time, you didn’t accept any player requests? The Sewing Guild guys must have been crying.”
“It’s okay, if there were requests that I had to deal with, they would mostly be from troublesome people.”
“Well, that’s certainly true… So, Maria. Are you ready for the crucial part?”
“Yes, I’ve memorized it properly. ‘Dead Skill.’ I didn’t know it also meant ‘Skill learned while dying’ in addition to ‘Useless Skill.'”
The skill that I learned under the guise of special training was [Ride].
To learn it, I had to master riding a horse designated by the residents for a certain period, but it turned out to be a wild horse, and I was thrown off many times.
Moreover, falling reduced my HP, and with the unfortunate setting that a bad fall could result in instant death, I stopped counting the number of times I died after it exceeded dozens.
Thanks to this, my equipment’s durability decreased, and I ended up having Roulette-san repair it many times. However, I realized that I could just switch to a beginner set with no durability and do it, and by then, I had already learned the skill.
This skill, [Ride], was filled with many frustrating feelings, as it allowed me to ride on things.
However, since there were currently no things to ride on, it was called a “Dead Skill” at best, or a “Romance Skill” at worst.
Upon knowing about this skill, what I proposed was, “If there are no things to ride on, let’s just make them.” The interest and passion of the three leaders of the Production Guild were added to this idea, resulting in the creation of this polar bear.
Why a polar bear? Because it’s strong and has a cute expression.
Also, there was the decisive factor that in an old Western movie, there was a scene where a girl rode on a polar bear.
Pandas were actually considered as candidates, but they were abandoned due to the intense discrepancy between the image everyone had and the fact that they could run quickly. Unfortunately.
“Now, let’s first try moving this little one.”
I extended a thread with ?String Manipulation? and activated ?Manipulator?.
<To cooperate with the target, the thought intensity transmitted through the thread is not enough.>
Huh?
The polar bear didn’t move an inch.
The notification said there wasn’t enough thought intensity in the thread, but what is thought intensity!?
The person who wrote this still didn’t explain enough, as always!
Phew… Let’s calm down. If it’s not enough, maybe increasing it will somehow solve the problem.
If I think about it, Nero and this polar bear are completely different in size, so it’s not strange that I need more thread to manipulate a bigger creature.
I tried using two threads this time, but the result was the same.
Even when I increased the threads, doing it with the maximum of five that I could currently summon, there was no sign of movement.
The notification content remained unchanged.
What should I do…
This is bad, I’m getting flustered.
And sensing that something is off with me, the three of them are giving me strange looks.
We’ve all worked hard together, and the punchline is unexpectedly me unable to move it! No matter how much I apologize, it won’t be enough!!
Searching for something that might solve the problem, when I finally found it, I secretly rejoiced.
?Bundled Manipulation?
This skill gathers multiple threads and enhances the thought intensity transmitted to the target.
The more threads are bundled, the stronger the thought intensity becomes.
The thought intensity is also strengthened based on the skill level.
This is it!
I feel like I saw it during the class change, but I had forgotten about it because I was so focused on Nero moving more naturally now.
“?Bundled Manipulation? has been acquired.”
I acquired it without even checking the acquisition points!
Using all five threads, I activated ?Manipulator? again from ?String Manipulation?, and finally, it moved!!
Light dwelled in its green eyes, and with a shiver through its large body,
“Grrraaah!”
It roared with such force that the surroundings vibrated.
All three of them were surprised.
I was also surprised.
Incidentally, the Horn Rabbit nearby, which was eating grass, was also surprised.
To add to that, the Horn Rabbit seemed to be so shocked that it fell over, foaming at the mouth.
“I was surprised when I saw Nero-chan, but this is really amazing. It’s like it’s truly alive.”
“That’s right, ah, I’m getting too emotional; I might go crazy.”
I wholeheartedly agreed with Kanna-san and Roulette-san’s opinions.
Since then, either because the skill level has increased or due to the lack of expression “like it’s alive,” it doesn’t quite cover it.
With the three of them being so skilled, well, I think it’s safe to say it’s “alive” now.
…
It was unusually quiet, and I noticed Mareus-san was standing there in shock.
A drop of liquid fell from his eyes.
Wait, is he crying?
“I-I’m not crying!”
“No one mentioned that though? You don’t have to self-destruct.”
Mareus-san is not straightforward, but he might be passionate after all.
“Forget about Mareus for now; Maria-san, please try riding it quickly.”
Agreeing with Roulette-san, who seemed unusually restless, I conveyed my intention through the threads. The large body lowered into an easy-to-mount position.
Approaching, I climbed onto its fluffy back.
When I settled on its back, it stood up again, and its gaze rose significantly.
“Whooa!”
Something I never dreamed of actually came true!!
After enjoying the fresh view, when I conveyed the message to run, it roared again and began to sprint across the plains.
(Maria: Marionettist Lv. 16 ? Lv. 20)
- STR 1
- VIT 4 ? 5
- AGI 6 ? 8
- DEX 67 ? 80
- INT 4 ? 5
- MID 18 ? 23
(Skills: Skill Points +19 ? +24)
- ?String Manipulation? Level 15 ? Level 18
- ?Manipulator? Level 7 ? Level 10
- ?Clown? Level 10 ? Level 13
- ?Bundled Manipulation? Level 1
- ?Capture? Level 5 ? Level 7
- ?Cooking (Intermediate)? Level 1 ? Level 2
- ?Preparation? Level 8 ? ?Preparation (Intermediate)? Level 1
- ?Acceleration? Level 6 ? Level 8
- ?Dark Vision? Level 3 ? Level 5
- ?Meditation? Level 4 ? Level 8
- ?Visual Enhancement? Level 2 ? Level 5
- ?Auditory Enhancement? Level 3 ? Level 5
- ?Ride? Level 1
(Puppet Targets)
- Nero (Cat Plushie)
- ?? (Polar Bear Plushie?)