The orchard was located about ten minutes’ running distance from the South Gate. It was surrounded by a metal fence, and a worn-out sign at the entrance read, “Welcome to Reve Orchard.” The place, however, seemed long-abandoned. Plants grew wild, and the color on the sign had faded.
“Well then, it’s time to storm in, but...” My brother stopped in front of the entrance to Old Reve Orchard, which was now a den of insect monsters. Right after that, a new window appeared before me.
“Party request from Shu Starling.
Will you join this party? Yes / No”
“It’ll be easier to cover for you if I can constantly track your status,” he said.
“Okay, got it.” I clicked “Yes” on the window, and as soon as I did, a screen opened up showing the status of our party. My brother’s name had been added to it as well.
There’s space on the party screen for four more players, so this game must have a maximum party limit of six.
Displayed along with my brother’s name were also his stats. However...
“What’s going on with this?” I asked.
On my brother’s status screen, everything other than his name was blacked out, including even his level and HP.
“Ah. That’s the concealing ability of this suit,” he said. “If there’s a difference in level between me and an enemy or ally, then they can’t bear witness to my stats.”
What kind of ability is that? I thought. That makes it harder to help with support magic... Not that I have any... Oh, that reminds me.
“Hey Bro, I didn’t get the chance to ask this because of the quest, but why are you wearing a bear costume?” I asked.
My brother rubbed the eyes of his costume with his bear fingers. “It’s a story that’ll leave us both in tears.”
“We’re kind of busy, so hurry up and answer my question,” I said.
“My little brother is looking at me so coldly...” he grumbled to himself, before gradually starting to speak. “So, you know how there’s a part where you create your character, right?”
“Yeah.”
“It was a pain to make it from scratch, so I tried to do it using myself as the base.”
“So did I.”
“Well, I made a bit of a mistake...”
“A mistake...” I began. “What did you do?”
“I accidentally confirmed it without making any changes.”
“...Oh boy.”
So in other words, inside the suit was my brother’s actual face and appearance. Playing an online game with your actual face was a risky thing to do. This was especially true in my brother’s case.
Yeah, with that you’d have no choice but to wear something like a suit.
“By the way, the reason I chose this kingdom is because I saw a store in the capital selling costumes,” he said.
“Oh, so that’s why you didn’t go somewhere that was more along your tastes, like Dryfe or Granvaloa,” I said.
“Drastic times called for drastic measures... Oh, and by the way, costume number one cost 4,980 lir.”
“That’s almost the entire starting amount!” I cried. Just how exactly did he get by in the beginning?!
“On top of that, it was a gag item with no defense,” he said. “I was one of the first players, so there was no information available. Really, from that hopeless start, it’s been a path full of hardship until I got a hold of this costume.”
“So what abilities does this one have?” I asked.
“Take a look.”
“Ultimate Suit Series: Hind Bear
Ancient Legendary Armor
DEF +903 (beary high)
Skills:
Disguise: completely hides your stats from anyone with a total level of 100 less than yours.
Built-In AC: a built-in AC designed for any environment. The perfect temperature any time, any place.
Power Assist: supports movement with muscle motors. STR +903.
Bullet-Proof Made: able to withstand even crossfire. Reduces damage from physical ranged attacks by 903.
Knife-Proof Made: feel safe on even the days with a lot of assassins. Reduces damage from physical close-ranged attacks by 903.
Utility Bear Hands: mysteriously, these hands can properly grab things, and they can be used quite skillfully. Increased damage to fish and insect monsters.
????: ■”
What’s with this overly high-spec gag item?
“What’s ‘+903 (beary high)’ supposed to mean?” I asked. “Is it actually as high as that implies, though? Wait, what level are you anyway, Bro Bear?”
I can’t see his stats at all right now, so at the very least, his total level should be over 100, but...
“That’s a bearied se-cr-et,” he said.
Man, that’s irritating.
“All right then, that’s enough of our comedy skit for now. Let’s go save the girl.”
“...About 90% of the material came from you, Bro Bear, but I agree,” I said. “Let’s go.”
We made our way into Old Reve Orchard. Once inside, we followed a path of weeds and broken signs. On one of the signs was written, “500 metels to remberry field.”
“I take it that means 500 meters?” I asked.
“Pretty easy to understand, isn’t it?” my brother agreed. “Also... have you noticed?”
“...The sound, right?” I asked. “I’ve been hearing it for a while now.”
From the direction the sign pointed in, I could hear clashing sounds and the cries of something inhuman. I couldn’t see anything due to all the plants in the way; however, Liliana, who’d entered the dungeon ahead of us, was without a doubt fighting something.
That was when I realized that the sound of battle could only be heard from the remberry field, while everywhere else was quiet.
“Are there no other players here?” I asked.
“Ahh, there are a lot of people with trauma from this dungeon,” said my brother. “On top of that, the drop items and materials you can gather at these levels aren’t all that great, either. Also, the insects attack in swarms, and a lot of them can cause Poison or Paralyze, so a counter for status effects is a must.”
I guess it’s what you’d call an unpopular hunting ground.
“Well, thanks to that, it does make it easier for me to fight...” my brother muttered. “Baldr, activate in second form.”
“Ready.” An electronic voice I hadn’t heard before answered him.
The back of my brother’s left hand began to glow through his costume, and then something suddenly flew out from it. The bear’s silhouette now had the following strange additions to it: a ring of gun barrels, a motorized mechanism for quick reloading, an ammunition belt, and a giant drum-like magazine.
Right there before me was a heavy firearm known as the Gatling gun.
“...Isn’t this game supposed to be primarily fantasy-based?” I asked. As I looked at my brother’s Embryo, which was likely a Type Arms, I couldn’t help but ask this question.
I envisioned Type Arms to be more, you know, like a demon sword or a demon spear. Is something like a Gatling gun allowed? I wondered.
“The machine Imperium Dryfe also exists in this world, so my Embryo is just fine.” Bro Bear laughed as he hoisted the drum magazine on his back and lifted the barrel of the Gatling gun under his right arm.
As I stared, somewhat shocked at the surreal sight of him...
“KIKIKI...”
“CHIKI... CHIKI...”
Bee and ant-type insect monsters had begun to swarm around us.
“All right then, let’s bear-eak our way through to the remberry field,” Bro Bear said, as he readied his Gatling gun... and fired away. “YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”
In the next instant, the sound of explosions roared about us. The insect monsters were smashed to pieces, and their bodily fluids were scattered all around.
The gun barrel spun, and each bullet it spit out added to the number of corpses. As soon as the monsters fell to the ground, they turned into specks of light and disappeared.
It was a one-sided killing spree. Bro Bear mowed down the monsters faster than they could appear. In under a minute, a few thousand empty cartridges had been ejected from the Gatling gun.
Normally, there would be no way he could hold and fire something that heavy-looking. However, based on what he had showed me earlier, his costume was essentially a power suit.
His STR is at least ninety times higher than mine, so that might be why it’s possible, I thought. Even so, it’s bizarre for him to be shooting while walking.
The reason he didn’t run out of ammo while firing at that pace was probably because his Gatling gun was an Embryo. It was likely using some sort of mysterious power.
Seeing him carry a Gatling gun and rapidly fire like that... It’s almost like that one scene from that old, famous movie, I thought. I think it was the second film in a series about cyborgs, and the most well-known title of an actor who later became a state governor.
Well, given that it’s a bear costume doing it and not a muscle-bulging, macho man actor, it’d probably turn into a C-class movie.
“In any case, it really doesn’t look like I’ll be of any use...” I said. If I were to carelessly get out in front, I would probably end up like Swiss cheese in an instant.
“Oh, you can ignore the drop items. I want you to stick right behind me,” said my brother. He was referring to the drop items that had remained behind after the monsters disappeared.
Parts like this are really game-like.
“Gotcha,” I said. “Hm? Isn’t this situation kind of like...”
It was a situation found in a lot in games. The low-level player character would get help in the beginning from a high-level character and proceed through the game. This character would be really powerful and helpful, but would usually end up dying. The death would sometimes be used to close out the opening act.
“‘Uuuuuurgh,’ I think it is,” I said. “That brings back memories.”
“...Wait, I’d be the one that dies in that scenario.” My brother’s voice sounded unsettled.
It was hard to tell if we were in battle, working, or doing a comedy skit, but we traversed the 500 meters and arrived at the remberry field.