VRMMO: My first Contractee is Yandere

Chapter 52 Evolved Weapon

'...When is this going to end!?'

In front of the old, almost ruined hut, countless shadows are dancing.

It's already night. Several hours have passed since then. Despite Liora having the [Regeneration] skill, her movements are noticeably sluggish due to fatigue.

In fact, it might be better for me to log out to activate the [Loneliness Resistance]—but since Princess and the others are here, it may not activate. Normally, with the great scythe skills, [Life Steal] and [Soul Steal] would provide endless stamina.

But she don't have those right now.

Although [Regeneration] does help with fatigue recovery, it isn't enough.

"Are you okay, Liora?"

"Yes!"

"You seem to be in good spirits... at least."

Her movements have slowed, but her spirits remain high. In fact, the longer this goes on, the happier she seems.

Well, we're fighting during what would usually be logout time. In other words, my game time today has been unusually long. It seems Liora has noticed this.

"I wish this time would just go on forever."

"A berserker, in every sense."

But even if her spirits are high, her physical limits are still there. It's my job to manage that.

As monsters approach, Liora momentarily reacts too slowly. I throw an exploding potion, which damages the monsters.

Liora seems to understand this.

She slashes through the monsters with [Shining Blade].

"...Maybe I should get a new skill."

My level has reached 50 during this battle, meaning I have an extra skill slot now. Acquiring a skill that could change the current situation might be a good idea.

Or perhaps a new art.

I haven't acquired the art for reaching level 50 in [Dark Magic].

There's actually an HP absorption magic art available, but its practicality is unclear. Besides, Liora already has ample healing options.

Moreover, [Darkness Creation] is useful for debuffs and action inhibition, and I don't find the latter hard to manage.

Despite my indecision, the monsters' assault continues. Unseen insects with high realism in this game are quite unsettling.

Liora keeps attacking steadily.

She uses her agility and magical arts to attack. The spells cause her to stiffen momentarily, which can be troublesome.

"...?"

For a brief moment, a monster's attack grazes Liora.

This alone causes her body to stiffen, and she falls to the ground.

Her mouth twitches.

Is this... paralysis?

A spider, dripping with venom from its fangs, ambushes from the trees. Liora, paralyzed and unable to move or chant spells, is vulnerable.

"[Dark Ball]"

I deploy [Dark Ball], which slows the spider down slightly. I then use [Darkness creation] to send the spider back into the tree, like an action star performing rope tricks.

"Ugh! Revive!"

The monsters are now very close, but Liora has recovered from the paralysis. She avoids using arts and maneuvers through the enemies using only her physical skills. The increased proficiency in [Shrine Maiden] helps with her agility.

His swollen cheeks are the result of a slap from the princess.

It seems he's aware of his mistake and, despite being the eldest among us—having lived for several hundred years—he's behaving like a scolded child.

Even though he's a former member of royalty.

He must have been the type to get so absorbed in his work that he ignored everything around him, which is why he could spend hundreds of years focusing on blacksmithing in the depths of this forest.

It appears he's already publicly renounced his royal status, but it raises suspicions that he was forced to do so.

Actually, I'm somewhat like him in that regard, so criticizing him feels like criticizing myself.

"I'm sorry... I completely forgot," Gauche says.

Liora shakes her head.

"It's fine. I had more time with the gods. You should have come even later."

"Is that so?"

Liora seems downcast.

I'm genuinely starting to feel sleepy. Even though it's necessary, maintaining focus for over ten hours is like torture for a human.

It's enough to make even the most notorious black companies look mild.

I was hoping to graduate from being a IT overworker, but...

I don't dislike games.

And if I convert it into playing a game for about ten hours—well, it seems quite manageable. Humans are impressive.

"Well then, I will come soon Liora."

"Take care, GOD!! WAHHH!!"

I logged out.

As soon as I returned to reality, I found myself lying in bed. VRMMOs are meant to be played while lying down, but I felt strange, so I got out of bed only to jump back in. My back ached a little.

Feeling a bit down, I decided to sleep.

I ended up sleeping for ten hours straight. My brain must have been exhausted—it seems those rarely-used brain cells were working overtime.

After rubbing my eyes, I began my morning routine.

Lately, I've been neglecting cleaning, and my groceries are running low. I should have enough, but my neighbor keeps pestering me for some. I'm starting to think I should start charging them, but doing so would mean "making a deal," which would mean losing my ability to say "no." Losing that would be damaging to my spirit, so it's better to just let them take the food.

"Oh, it's already this late. I feel bad for leaving Liora alone, but..."

Time in the game world flows three times faster than in reality, so it's been about a day in Liora's experience since I last saw her. Some might say, "Why worry about an AI?" but it feels too real. Who would have thought an online game could disrupt real life?

I noticed a ton of notifications on my smartphone—all from Liora. I quickly replied. As my phone kept buzzing, it felt like dealing with a demanding lover. But since she's just a little girl, I couldn't brush her off. I needed to treat her gently.

...I slept too much and made her worry. I'll log in for five minutes and then get back to cleaning and shopping—or maybe I'll put off cleaning until tomorrow. That's what I decided.

▽

I took care of things as quickly as possible, and while replying to Liora, I checked the messages from my friends. It's annoying, but I have two friends.

One is Ribbit. The other is Rere.

This time, the message was from the former, Ribbit. It was an invitation to join a party to defeat the second field boss. There was also a clan invitation.

Honestly, I'm not interested at all. But I understand the importance of clans in MMOs. In the future, there will probably be clan-exclusive events and features.

As someone who once led a solo clan with flair, I understand the benefits of this offer.

"...I suppose forming a party wouldn't be too bad."

I do prefer going solo. But I recall Jack-Jack's warning: Never challenge the "second field boss" alone.