Yep, they were all terrible. Nevertheless, I was thrilled to be in the Death Chariot gear. Why, I looked to be the Death Chariot himself! It was as if he’d decided he wanted to be human and shrunk down to size. The only real difference was that I walked on legs instead of wheels.
Now that I had all of his gear, I could see how he worked—specifically, what was going on under the robe!
From top to bottom, we started with the Yell Mask. As explained before, it was a silly mask based on a movie.
Next, the Blood-Dead Robe. It was pretty creepy with its bloodstains and ghastly visual effects, but apart from that, a normal robe.
After that, the Gauntlets of the Deceased. Left and right were bound together with chains; aside from the fact that I couldn’t move, though, they were pretty normal.
The Pants of the Raging Wheels had a ridiculous design, with wheels all over the sides of the legs. When I stood up, the lowest wheels dragged against the ground.
Finally, the Fool Dragons’ Boots. They had a lopsided design where the fronts were really long. The top of the front of either boot had plesiosaur-like dragons attached to them.
“So does this make me the Death Chariot now?”
I tried sitting seiza style, on my knees. Just as I did, the wheels lined up like a tank, and the dragons attached to my boots seemed to leap out. He must have sat like this under his robe.
Just as my knees touched the ground, the wheels started to turn with a hideous creak, and the dragon heads came poking out!
“Kshaaaah!”
“Whoa, sick! This gear actually moves!”
This amazing set let me move just like the real thing!
It felt kind of like riding a Legway. When I leaned one way, the wheels would move and turn in that direction. There were no handlebars, and I wasn’t sure how to stop.
“Wow, that’s cool!” Akira marveled. “Does it just do what you want? It kinda looks fun!”
“Yeah, it does it all on its own! I could get into this!”
I spun the wheels while I circled the girls, surveying the area. The sensation was kind of like sitting seiza-style on a dolly while someone pushed me around. Sitting like this was going to get tiring, but it was really fun how it moved automatically.
“I wanna try! Let me borrow them after,” Akira said.
“Sure! We can all take turns!”
“Does that mean we’re done with Aswarth’s runs for the day? If so, we should try to ride this all the way back to the cottage!”
“Maybe so. Heck, some people might want it for cosplay. This could be a nice advertisement for our guild shop!”
Now I could astonish those mere pedestrians! Nobody else in the game would have full Death Chariot gear like me. Without an idiot in your party who would go to a boss battle naked, you’d never know how to get this stuff.
Thanks, Ryuutarou! But never come back to my party again!
“Ooh, yeah. If it sells for a lot, we could mass-produce them and make a fortune!” Akira’s eyes glimmered with greed.
If we could fundraise with this, then taking a few extra sets back home would be nice. Fundraising was always important.
“I think I’ll pass. The thing looks grody as heck. Akki, you can leave me out.”
“Erm, I have to agree.”
“I’ll also have to refuse. I will follow you... from a distance. It’s embarrassing to be seen with that ensemble.”
Yano, Maeda, and Akabane did not seem as impressed.
Shizuku, on the other hand, was down with it. “Hmm. Perhaps I will wear it. It could make for an amusing memory.”
Akira, Shizuku, and I decided to take turns with it as we marched our way back to the cottage.
“Well, then it’s settled. First, though, I need to test the most important thing!” I proclaimed.
“Oh, yeah, your circle thing? Having five pieces of equipment should make it guaranteed, right?” Akira asked.
“Exactly. It won’t take long at all, so gimme just a sec to try it out.”
“Go right ahead! We’ll watch.”
“Awesome! Elemental Cir— Hey, what the heck? Elemental Circle! Aaargh, it interrupted me! It’s really hard to stop!”
To cast magic, I needed to be stationary. But as this outfit moved on its own, it was tough to stay still. I would try to cast magic, get interrupted, try again, and get interrupted again. What was I, an NPC with busted AI?
“Whatcha doing, Ren? Is this testing too?” Akira looked at me blankly.
Dang it! If you’re always doing weird stuff, people don’t notice when you’re actually making mistakes! This is one of those times!
“Nah. I just can’t stay in one place, so it interrupts my magic.”
“Oh, you were actually having trouble. Okay, I’ll help you stay still!”
Akira circled behind me and grabbed my shoulders, but the wheels kept moving, driving me forward.
“Hm? Still rolling? Okay, I’ll put my back into it. Hah!”
Akira squeezed me tight, holding me in place. Finally, the wheels stopped.
Aah, boobs on my back! This is lovely.
The sensation made me just want to freeze up for a while. I’ve said this a few times, but this game was realistic in some weird places. It was enough to make me want to say, “Yeah, girl, keep going.”
“Uh, Ren? You can go ahead and cast your magic. You’re not having weird thoughts, are you?”
Shizuku cleared her throat. “Ahem! Virtual or not, remember that you are on school grounds. I understand it’s summer vacation, but students must still follow the moral code. If you have nothing important to do, then keep a wholesome distance.”
She was a lot more teacherly than Ms. Nakada. The latter would’ve just ignored that outright. Her tone of voice was strangely authoritative too. Were all big shots like this? Shizuku just made you want to give up and obey, lest you face the consequences.
“Oh, sorry. We’ll hurry! Elemental Circle, Elemental Circle, Elemental Circle, Elemental Circle, Elemental Circle!”
Watching the colors of my circles, Draco reported, “Chichirp! Black, black, black, black, black!”
YESSSSS!
“Awesome! Just as I expected! I have the one hundred percent dark circles I’ve been dreaming of!”