Mebius World Online – Mari’s VRMMO Diary, Embarking on a Laid-back Adventure as a Novice - Chapter 46
46. Mari-nee and the First Official Event (Things you don’t want to lose)
The ones facing off against Nemesis were Leon, a warrior-type, and a male thief.
Mist, a mage, and Lotus, a cleric, are on the rear, while Gillan, a knight, positioned himself in front.
According to Kanna-san, the male thief’s name was Arx, and the female cleric was Lotus. Both were undoubtedly top-class in terms of strength.
The battle began quietly.
Arx skillfully dodged Nemesis’s fierce attacks, unleashed from its six arms, using his high AGI.
If I were alone, I wouldn’t be able to dodge, let alone react, right? Well, maybe if I kept riding Cougar.
While Arx drew Nemesis’s attention, Leon and the three in the rear still hadn’t moved.
When Nemesis focused its attacks more on Arx, creating a situation where it couldn’t immediately counter against Leon.
As Leon closed in on Nemesis, he immediately activated some skill, and his dual-handed sword swung down with the force of thunder.
It was a breathtakingly powerful single strike.
“Maybe this time…” someone muttered.
Wasn’t this the flag that Maki had mentioned if I recall?
As expected, Nemesis showed no sign of faltering.
Interrupting the attacks aimed at Arx, Nemesis turned its gaze towards Leon. In a departure from its expression, it unleashed a series of brutal attacks with the halberd.
Leon, having maintained a distance as the attacks ended, managed to evade smoothly from a difficult position for retaliation.
The intense exchange continued for a brief moment.
Taking advantage of the opening created by Nemesis targeting Leon, Mist unleashed her magic.
It resulted in a massive explosion on Nemesis’s face, and amidst flames and smoke, Mist proudly puffed out her chest. However, as one pair of wings flapped, she quickly shrank and hid behind Giran.
Then came the rain of feathers.
Similar to the previous encounter, the ground was filled with impaling feathers. However, Giran, holding up his shield, remained standing and continued to stand on his feet.
Mist and Lotus, who were behind him, were unharmed.
Cheers erupted from the surroundings as they successfully withstood Nemesis’s attack for the first time.
Certainly, it was an impressive feat.
Even if I were told to try it in a nearly first encounter state, I can confidently say it’s impossible for me.
“This doesn’t look good,” Kanna-san said.
“Yes. Although Leon’s group managed to endure Nemesis’s attacks, it doesn’t seem like our side’s damage has been effective,” Mareus-san explained.
“I hoped for some stagger due to the gimmick, allowing damage to be dealt, but it seems unlikely. By the way, ‘gimmick’ means mechanism or setup. In games, it refers to something that, until solved, prevents any damage or increases the damage dealt. Usually, gimmicks are set for formidable enemies like raid bosses. The solution usually comes after dozens or even hundreds of attempts, resulting in trial and error often leading to a complete wipeout,” Kanna-san added.
“But, Maria-chan, we don’t have time for that now, do we? We can’t even form a raid, to begin with. Moreover, this is quite nasty—when you die, you lose points,” she continued.
“Ah!”
With that said, I realized.
Their goal was to gain as many points as possible in the event.
And within the event announcement, there was no mention of what would happen if the event wasn’t cleared.
“If it were possible to keep the points even without clearing the event…”
“That’s right. Look, the members of the clearing group who returned to the field are here but haven’t made any attempt to return to the front lines.”
When I turned around, a crowd had formed in front of the west gate without me noticing.
Everyone was watching Leon and the others’ battle through the screens, but there was no sense of cooperation or any intention to assist.
Instead, their eyes seemed to say, “Hurry up and fail already.”
I felt a heavy, uncomfortable feeling building up in my chest, and I instinctively pressed my hand against it.
The persistent efforts of Leon’s group came to an end as Arx withdrew due to Nemesis’s area-of-effect attack set to music.
Exposed to Nemesis’s concentrated assault, Leon was defeated, and in the storm of feathers, the three in the rear reached the limits of their equipment’s durability and MP. They returned to the Plain of the Beginning.
Then, the Plain of the Beginning fell into silence.
No one uttered a word.
“Dear guests, are you not pleased with the Nemesis we ‘summoned’? Although I put some effort into this performance, as a director, it’s regrettable if you can’t enjoy it. Therefore…”
As Mephistopheles signaled with his fingers, Nemesis, with its snake-like lower body, began to advance.
Slowly but steadily.
Ahead of it were us adventurers, and beyond us was the city of Eden.
The starting plain was confined by seven gates, and leaving through the gates to the southeast, north, and west of the city was restricted. There was no escape anywhere.
The guillotine’s blade, referred to as Nemesis, was approaching us, forming the shape of a beheading platform, as Mephistopheles described.
“In this way, I have carefully devised a production for your enjoyment. For the performers, I hope you continue to enjoy the conclusion… However, it seems that some have already grown tired of my stage.”
His gaze turned, and a considerable number of people averted their eyes.
“Oh, what a situation. I, a talentless director, can only curse myself. This is not redemption, but to facilitate your departure from this stage, I will now activate a magic circle for five minutes. Even if you choose to leave the stage, I guarantee the ‘reward points acquired by all of you until now.’ However, that magic circle is a one-way ticket. Once you leave the stage, you will never be able to return. Please be cautious.”
With a bow, Mephistopheles appeared a glowing blue magic circle entwined with geometric patterns beside the west gate.
“……..”
Nobody moved.
More precisely, they seemed to want to move but were hesitant to be the first.
Disrupting this subtle atmosphere, Leon’s party, who had returned after dying, appeared.
Without hesitation, they headed toward the magic circle.
“I can’t deal with such a boring event anymore. We’ll file a complaint against the management who came up with this event later,” Leon said.
Following Leon’s words, they all spoke disdainfully about the event while the entire party stepped onto the magic circle, and their figures disappeared from the spot in an instant.
With the appearance of a trigger to move, those who had been restraining themselves rushed toward the magic circle, causing an avalanche.
Most of them were from the clearing group, but there were also people who had helped us defeat the ogre.
Faced with an opponent with no chance of winning, if presented with a way to avoid losing something valuable and a path to avoid it, their actions were not unreasonable.
I might have made the same choice if the circumstances were exactly the same.
However, I have a reason why I can’t make that choice.
That reason is what or who I would lose by leaving this place.
Once lost, it may be irreversible.
And…
“I promised them, so…”
I switched from the Silver Thread to the Giant Spider’s Silk and summoned Nero and Cougar again.
As I reached out to them, they rubbed their heads against me in a cuddly manner, and their soft fur felt ticklish.
“Maria-chan…”
“I didn’t expect this from you.”
I turned to face the two and bowed.
“Please, count me out of the party. I don’t mind if you kicked me off the party.”
From here on, it’s my selfishness.
I lifted Nero, got on Cougar, and dashed across the plain, which was now empty.
Ahead of me was the approaching figure of Nemesis.