The real problem, however, was how much this world had in common with the game.
They exited the tower to the outside.
Takuma squinted his eyes against the bright white light that washed over him.
After his eyes adjusted, he began to get a clear view of the outline of this world.
While looking exactly like Cross Reverie, the feeling of reality from the landscape that spread out before him was incomparable to any game.
Up until now, he had been at Starfall Tower.
The 《Man-Eating Forest》 sprawled out to the West.
Though the dense overgrowth of foliage and trees was blocking it from view, there should be a dungeon in the form of some ruins near the entrance to the Man-Eating Forest.
To the East, ever-expanding fields of green stretched out as far as the eye could see.
In-game, there would be a river just beyond these plains, with 《The Border City, Faltra》 being just past that.
If he remembered right, going by foot should get you there in about five minutes or so... But from here, he couldn’t even see the river. Maybe it was because of the landscape of the plains; maybe because it was far away.
Or it could be that the geography of the world was different.
There were three modes of transportation in Cross Reverie: walking, riding mounts, and teleportation.
When on foot, there was a chance you could encounter monsters. They would pop up at random, with most of them attacking players on sight.
Large boulders dotted the landscape of the plains in front of him. If he hid behind those, then he should be able to avoid fighting any monsters.
Because he was still keeping up his Demon Lord persona, however, hiding would make him seem lame.
Checking his surroundings, Takuma was relieved to confirm that there were no monsters in sight. He was just glad that he wouldn’t need to have the girls protect him.
In the Starfall Tower area, monsters were usually around the low 60’s.
For Takuma’s character in the game—Diablo—they would not even pose a challenge. As he was now, however, he wasn’t sure if he could take them.
That was what he was on his way to confirm for himself.
As usual, Shera and Rem were back to arguing over who had summoned Diablo.
Takuma turned around to look back at them.
“I believe you two are mistaken about something.”
“...What are you talking about? Well, it is true that this useless Elf is mistaken if she thinks she’s the one who summoned you.”
“I’m not mistaken, thank you very much! I’m the one who summoned Diablo, okay!?”
“...You are being foolish. This was your first summoning, wasn’t it?”
“It was, but I’m a genius! Everyone back home told me so!”
“...I have already made contracts with seven Summons. Even among the other Summoners back in town, this is a top-class amount... Put simply, I am an outstanding Summoner, while you are not. Diablo is an outstanding Summon, and therefore, the obvious conclusion one can come to is that I am the one who summoned him. Do you understand now?”
“What? Huh? So, um...what!?”
“...Elves should just stick with shooting arrows, you dumb Elf.”
“Don’t lump me together with the other Elves! And right back at you, kitty girl! Pantherians should just go sharpen their claws on a scratching post or something!”
“...It’s because I am special.”
Rem turned up her lips and looked the other way.
Takuma wanted to sigh.
—Dang, the more girls talk, the more they get off track. Or is this just how these two are?
However, a Demon Lord who started sighing because he did not know how to handle a couple of girls was the exact opposite of looking strong. Instead, he let out a scornful chuckle.
“Hmph... It seems that you two are against listening to me speak.”
They froze in place.
He felt bad about scaring them like this, but this was for the best if he wanted to get information out of them.
Besides, he had no idea how to talk to girls outside of his Demon Lord act, so this was just how it had to be.
—Man, what the hell do I do now?
Looks like he would have to keep on pushing through as the Demon Lord.
“Listen well, for I want to be clear on this... I am no Summon!”
The two looked at each other.
Shera opened her mouth to speak.
“B-But you were summoned because of the summoning ritual, right?”
“I am a being who transcends conventional wisdom. Being compared to the likes of those one-trick beasts is nothing short of an aggravation.”
“...So what you are trying to say is, you don’t fit into the category of a Summon? ...Are you saying you have more than two abilities?”
Summons in Cross Reverie came with a certain set of parameters, and only one special ability.
This could be anything from poison, paralysis, recovery, letting their Summoner ride on them, or even firing lasers to mow down multiple enemies at once. However, outside of their basic attack, Summons were only supposed to be able to perform one other action. What Rem had said must mean it was the same for this world too.
He was a bit relieved to hear that.
With a sneer, Takuma twisted his face into an expression fitting of a Demon Lord.
“Yes, that’s right. As proof, I do indeed possess abilities outside of Magic Reflection.”
Elemental magic.
He wouldn’t be going to much of anywhere if he couldn’t use this.
Of course, his equipment had other effects as well.
As Takuma stood at the edge of a puddle on the ground, his appearance was reflected on its surface.
The black outfit he was wearing, the Ebony Abyss, had the ability to reduce the power of physical attacks, as well as provide a hefty stat boost just for having it on.
The cape that covered his back was called the “Curtain of Dark Clouds.” In addition to protecting its wearer from negative status effects, it also had an effect that would leave the wearer with 1 HP from any attack that would normally reduce it to zero. He wore it so he could say things like “the Demon Lord will never die!” but so far, no one had been able to get his HP down to zero. If he was attacked again while at 1 HP, though, he really would die.
In order to give him more of a Demon Lord-esque appearance, he wore an item called the “Distorted Crown” on his head. Not only did it change how he looked, but it also had an automatic HP regeneration effect as well.
For his weapon, he carried a stave named 《Tenma’s Staff》. Not only did it boost his INT (Intelligence) stat, but it also shortened chant times for spells.
He also carried an item pouch on his waist.
Hidden under his cape, it held things such as potions to restore MP, as well as healing potions, since the Demon Lord’s Ring would reflect recovery magic.
He also carried with him a special rare item he planned on giving to anyone who could defeat the Demon Lord to commemorate their accomplishment.
He wanted to take them out to check, but to “take out” something in-game also meant “to use.” Since this world seemed based in reality, he doubted that would happen... But he wanted to avoid the risk of wasting any items before he could finish confirming his own power.
The Demon Lord’s Ring sat on the middle finger of his left hand.
This was the only thing that he had been able to confirm its effect. In-game, and in this world as well, it was Diablo’s ace-in-the-hole.
Takuma also got his first glimpse of Diablo’s face since coming to this world.
—Damn, I look good!
A face vastly different from the real-world Takuma was reflected in the water.
The light from his black eyes gave off a sharp gleam, and bluish-black tattoo-like marks covered his cheeks and forehead. Because of the effects of the Distorted Crown, he could also see two horns growing out of his head.
There was a mocking smile plastered on his face.
He was savagely handsome: his skin tanned and his body toned and muscular.
This was not 《Sakamoto Takuma》.
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