Chapter 112

Cayna caught the collar and put it away in her Item Box. The demon player gingerly touched his own neck, and upon confirming the collar was gone, realized he was free and fell to the ground in exhausted relief. Several soldiers around him exclaimed, “All right!” and “Good for you!” His attitude had apparently won them over. “Thank you, Grandmother.” “Don’t mention it. Anyway, let me know me if this guy causes any trouble. I know someone who can help me obliterate him from existence.” “There will be no such need… At the very least, please keep it strictly to corporal punishment.” “Forget me—it’s my friend you’ll have to worry about.” Caerina could make such mild requests because she had no clue, but Opus didn’t exactly have the patience of a saint. There was no question that Cayna’s and his combined destructive power could wipe out an entire nation. Sometimes ignorance was bliss. She suddenly remembered something and turned back to the demon player who was getting mobbed by the soldiers. He flinched in surprise, his cheek twitching. “By the way, I never got the chance to ask your name. I’m Cayna. What’s yours?” “U-um, it’s Luvrogue…,” the demon stuttered. He offered a smile that belied his earlier gruffness. “Luvrogue? Like, ‘Rogue of Love’? Fancyyyy,” Cayna teased. “Wha—?! N-n-n-n-n-no! That’s not it! It don’t mean nothin’! I just thought the name sounded cool!” Luvrogue protested, his face bright red. Cayna suppressed a giggle. Given his flustered response, someone back in the game or elsewhere had undoubtedly made similar comments. Her light ribbing broke the tension in a heartbeat. Caerina, the knight captain, and the rest of the soldiers couldn’t stop themselves from gawking in shock at this new, relaxed vibe. “Shucks, Mr. Rogue of Love, sounds like you’ve got your work cut out for you. Maybe I ought to offer you a Name Change.” “H-hell no! Not a chance! Don’t you dare!” “C’mon, don’t be shy.” “I said noooo!!” Luvrogue’s tantruming and Cayna’s amused instigating left everyone on the training grounds overwhelmed. “I’m heading home. Keep a close eye on him for me.” “I will, Grandmother. Thank you for your help.” “Hey, Mr. Rogue of Love.” “It’s Luvrogue!” “You won’t get another chance, so don’t even think about going back to your bandit ways. The Silver Ring Witch Cayna and Kongming of Leadale Opus will swoop down to destroy you, so watch out.” “Eek?!” With her business concluded, Cayna went to exit the training grounds when she stopped halfway and uttered the most feared names in the Game Era as a warning to Luvrogue. His reaction was priceless. Mute and pale, Luvrogue began sweating and trembling from head to toe. Caerina offered to show Cayna out, but the knight captain said he’d go himself and saw Cayna off. Caerina used this sudden free moment to ask Luvrogue a question that had been on her mind. “Was Grandmother famous in the old days?” “‘F-famous’ don’t begin to describe it. She’s the Silver Ring Witch and Meteoric Hazard that rumors say annihilated the Brown Kingdom…” “I see,” Caerina murmured. She yanked on Luvrogue’s ear. “Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow?! What’re you doing?!” “You may be a soldier, but you’d best watch your language. First and foremost, I shall teach you basic manners. Not to worry. I’ve had no troublesome subordinates lately, so we have all the time in the world.” “…Huh? Eh? What?” As soon as Caerina stared him down, the quivering Luvrogue didn’t even have a chance to mention the level difference between them. If he wanted to mitigate the pain in his ear, he’d have no choice but to be dragged along. The soldiers watching this scene play out were very familiar with their instructor’s no-nonsense attitude and looked on sympathetically. A few paused for a moment of silence. “Wonder how long he can keep up that spunk…” “Less than three days.” “I give him five.” “Nice, wanna bet on it?” “A bet, huh? How about one silver per day?” “I’m in. I bet two days.” “I’ll guess three maybe?” Seconds later, the bets were rolling in. Without their superiors around, it wasn’t long before the training grounds became a makeshift gambling den. It remained unclear whether Luvrogue’s spirit ended up shattered into many pieces. “Up to the castle gate is fine.” “I see,” replied the knight captain, a little too close for comfort. He dismissed Cayna’s annoyed stare and continued as if he hadn’t heard a thing. “There is something I wish to ask. May I?” he questioned calmly. “I’ll answer if I can,” Cayna said with a reluctant nod. She was pretty confused and had no idea what a knight captain would need to ask of an adventurer. “It’s about that man’s swordplay. His technique is entirely wrong. Was no proper education available two hundred years ago?” “…Huh?” Not sure what he was getting at, Cayna tilted her head. The knight captain clenched his fist and went on passionately. “His movements are erratic. If that was the only issue, I’m certain his skills could rival even the instructor’s. However, when it comes to the way of the sword, I daresay he is not even a beginner! I cannot fathom how he has survived for two hundred years!” The gatekeepers stared in wide-eyed shock when they heard their superior’s ardent speech. Cayna was startled at first, too, but she was relieved to know there were still some people out there willing to drop the pretense and just talk to her. This knight captain wanted to help Luvrogue improve, but she had difficulty answering his question. After all, even if Cayna told him the truth, she doubted he would understand. The reason was simple: Luvrogue only had rudimentary set moves. In the VRMMO Leadale, players had basic attack patterns set according to their race. Dragoids were loose and powerful. Werecats were quick and agile. Elves were nimble and precise. Humans and demons were efficient and reliable. High elves were dependent on weapons and pretty pathetic overall, which was partly why they were so rare. Things started out this way, but as the players’ pleas for more grew louder, they were eventually able to mod their own attack animations. The road to progress wasn’t an easy one. Race-specific animations were initially tossed out, and Character Creation was updated so players could choose whichever set they wanted. Later on, set moves from multiple races could be combined, but this often resulted in wonky movements and quickly went obsolete. Then, by the fourth or fifth attempt, character animations were finally left entirely up to the player. Not only could each person make their own custom set, but they could download others. This jump in freedom created an immediate explosion of possibilities. Of course, the original starters were also available, so less creatively inclined players had no room to complain, either. Cayna remembered how a wave of new moves inundated the Leadale Link Resources forum right after the update. From the delightfully imaginative to complete overkill, there was no end to the madness. The ones derived from history or authentic sword techniques were no issue. However, terrible ideas based on novels, manga, anime, period dramas, and tokusatsu, as well as embarrassing names made up by otaku that clearly stuck in middle school, also came pouring in. Cayna had naturally downloaded a few moves as well, and her options were split roughly fifty-fifty between comical and serious. From what she could tell, Luvrogue’s avatar never used these additional animations, which explained his stilted movements. Of course, it was still possible to wield your weapon of choice without them. That being said, it was unlikely even 1 percent of total players had mastered swordplay in real life. This was why Luvrogue looked like a clumsy amateur. Even if he customized his moves to a T, any master swordfighter would almost certainly claim that his techniques left a lot to be desired. Cayna’s own techniques were a combination of several skills and whatever moves she had learned during her no-holds-barred contests with Arbiter. Such ability was a testament to her Skill Master title, and Cayna tweaked them when necessary. In truth, her magic was leagues more threatening anyway. “Use whatever training you guys think will whip him into shape,” she said before leaving the castle. She couldn’t really think up a better excuse. Luvrogue’s future was now in his own hands, so she was better off minding her own business. In other words, she passed the buck. Cayna was worried about Opus and had planned to head straight back, but she ended up stopping by Caerick’s place instead. “Are you sure you can stay, Grandmother? Don’t you have other business to attend to?” “No worries. We got interrupted before, right? It’s high time I made it up to you.” “I appreciate the gesture…but please don’t push yourself.” “Roger that.” After that, Cayna focused on processing the magic rhymestones. She didn’t have to focus too hard, but that was no reason to settle for inferior work. Time passed quietly. Once Cayna finished the overall process and let out a sigh, Caerick finally spoke. “Mother informed me of the troubling incident the other day.” “Mai-Mai did? I wonder if sharing info with other nations like that is such a good idea.” “Thanks to Sakaiya’s information network, she said it was only a matter of time before the news reached Helshper.” “True…” He undoubtedly meant the recent attack on Felskeilo. For Cayna, it was the embarrassing memory where everyone learned the giant crater to the west of the capital was her fault. She couldn’t bring herself to admit this to Caerick, though, and planned to feign ignorance if the topic was brought up. “It’s unsettling to think such horrid monsters are lying in wait somewhere on this continent.” “The traveling caravans are on edge, that’s for sure.” Forget lying in wait somewhere; Cayna could already imagine the monsters pouring out of the Abandoned Capital in droves. “That’s why I have a favor to ask of you, Grandmother.” “I’m guessing it’s related to what’s going on?” “It is.” Caerick’s shadowy visage suddenly drew closer, and Cayna felt like she was looking at an old-timey villain. “Grandmother, could you lend me a summons?” “…Huh?” she said in a strange voice. This was unexpected. “You want me to magically summon a bodyguard for you?” “Yes, correct,” Caerick replied, nodding and wringing his hands pleadingly. Sakaiya was turning more into an evil oil baron with every passing second. “A summons, huh…? How about this?” Cayna raised one hand, and a small slime appeared on the table. It wasn’t even five centimeters tall, and no one would know the difference if she said it was a tiny blob of red jelly. At first glance, the jiggly slime looked more like a delicious strawberry treat than a monster. However, Caerick didn’t seem the least bit eager to taste test the summons in front of him and instead stared curiously at the helpless-looking ooze. “…What is it?” “An ikbekto slime. It attacks by instantly breaking into hundreds of smaller slimes.” “What?!” Cayna burst into unintentional laughter as Caerick comedically tore his face away. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. This little guy does whatever I say, so it won’t randomly multiply or anything.” “I—I see…” Caerick peered at the slime from behind his chair, but Cayna thought this was a bit dramatic. In the game world of Leadale, slimes weren’t entirely synonymous with weakness. They were pretty strong overall, and ikbekto slimes had absurd physical power despite their flimsy magic spells. Although commonly found in beginner fields, these monsters were usually somewhere between level 30 or 50. For overeager newbies, slimes were their first brush with a ridiculous enemy. A single ikbekto slime’s physical strength was minimal, so players hardly got a scratch as long as they came prepared. However, anyone up against an endless onslaught of hundreds of mini slimes watched their HP almost instantly drop to zero. “Th-this creature is going to guard me?” “I’ll admit that ikbekto slimes don’t have much going on upstairs.” “Are you sure this will work?” Cayna doubted any monsters she had previously called upon to guard caravans would be allowed inside cities and villages. Didn’t her grandson realize that? Cayna sent away the ikbekto slime and tried another summons. This time, a dog-headed beast appeared from a magic circle in a corner of the room. The creature wasn’t particularly cute despite its canine appearance, and he stood as tall as Caerick. The pointed ears were Doberman-like, and his shabby brown robe might be mistaken for old rags. “It is an honor, My Lady.” “Thanks for dropping in.” The Doberman beastkin knelt before Cayna and bowed with a hand to his chest. “I have a question, Anubis.” “You need only ask.” Caerick’s wariness toward the polite yet unfamiliar beastkin was understandable. In this world, kobolds were the most common race of dog people. They were usually short and had the heads of smaller breeds. The summon Anubis was a monster deity from the Underworld area. The original real-world god had the head of a jackal, but if Cayna pointed out every liberty the game took, the list would never end. “Can you spend any time apart from me? Keep in mind how much magic it would cost me to keep you totally self-sufficient.” Anubis licked his nose and fell silent for a moment. “Understood. My limit is currently three days, but apart from you, I will not last two or three. I will require one month to provide my full services.” “Right, right. And how much MP is that?” “…Yes, let me see. Twenty times the cost of summoning me should prove sufficient.” “Hmm. I can probably swing it…” Cayna calculated the MP she’d used to summon Anubis, simply multiplied by twenty, and confirmed there would be enough left over for her. She then touched him on the shoulder and offered the stated amount. Caerick felt the beastkin’s physical presence magnify in a matter of seconds, and Cayna’s power nearly knocked him off his feet. After all, the little magic lights he and his grandmother made earlier were the most powerful sorcery he’d ever experienced up until that point. Most elves understood the magic arts like no other, but it wasn’t Caerick’s forte.