episode_0044

Let’s talk about the chairman and Elin.

Elin Hildebrand.

A character appearing in Part 1 of “Seraph of the Superdimension”.

He uses [Cheonsalbeop], a unique awakening ability that allows him to inflict self-inflicted wounds on his opponents.

From a young age, he has been regarded as a hero who has achieved great things, and surprisingly, he does not find it painful to live up to those expectations.

He is a good-natured person who values rules and order, and insists that even if he accepts the rules of the Master War, he must at least keep a minimum level of good.

The timing is slightly different, but after the beginning of Part 1, if the protagonist does something as a master, he will notice and approach them.

And he reveals himself as the Master and challenges you to a duel on the condition that the True side merge. If you refuse, it will immediately lead to an all-out war, so it’s easier to just accept it if possible.

If you rush in alone, the player’s power at this point is obvious, so if you confront them head-on, you’re bound to have a hard time.

It’s good that the game doesn’t end when you lose, but since you lose all your power, you won’t be able to overcome the crisis that comes later.

What you will find out when you win is that Elin is not actually the Master. Her younger sister, Yuren, is the Master and Elin is her only slave.

The suffering caused by this feels somewhat similar to ours.

Yuren, who has a disability in both legs that limits his freedom of movement, and whose personality and abilities are not befitting of a Master, Elin pretends to be a Master in order to protect Yuren and attempts to defeat and subdue her opponent in a fair duel.

It’s not that I’m afraid of losing and dying, nor am I afraid of guaranteeing the Master’s life regardless of who wins. Of course, it’s also the minimum that she claims.

This could be said to be a reversal(?) that reassured players who were initially shocked and thought, “What? I can’t use this person as a slave?!” when he introduced himself as a master.

Although it comes in early, if you are careful, it can play its role in battles until the mid-to-late stages, and in some battles in particular, it almost acts as a free pass.

Even in non-combat situations, he is versatile and capable, making him a good assistant and advisor to the player.

It’s a bit difficult to win early and make them a slave, but there’s a backdoor there that makes it incredibly easy to make them a slave if you use that method.

The downside is… there are no characters in this game that are convenient for the player.

†

After that, the day of the duel approached without any special events with the chairman.

It’s not like there was nothing special going on between me and the chairman, but it was a time without anything happening.

First of all… let’s talk about raising funds.

It was my period week, so even though I managed to secure a training room, it wasn’t easy to move around.

If it was pain, how could I bear it, but I couldn’t get used to this dissonance on one side of my body.

I have decided to start looking for a way to secure funds that I had put off. Of course, I am not trying to do something grand in this state.

It was just a matter of meeting someone for a bit and negotiating… .

“Why are you following me?”

“Senior Yuna said she had to protect Senior Saya… . I know, it might just be a nuisance.”

“I’m not saying that’s the reason, but… Do I still look that dangerous?”

I don’t want to expose my senior to the person I’m meeting.

So, Senior Saya waited in the hideout. Yuna waited with her just in case. I had hoped that Suin would wait as well, but she followed behind.

Sooin is a bodyguard. Who is protecting whom?

“… It’s even stranger that you keep feeling nauseous or sweating and don’t realize it. Senior Saya was worried that you were someone who never said you were sick.”

“It’s really bearable… . If I think about this as preparation for giving birth to Senior Saya’s child someday, it’s not a big deal… !”

“Are you beating around the bush?”

“… .”

Suin’s obvious point hurt deeply.

“I guess my condition is not good enough for you to see through me. Don’t you think I should have regretted not following you?”

It was a slightly provocative remark, but Su-in didn’t respond. He was walking around, surprisingly, with a sense of duty. It seemed like he was going to be faithful to his role as a bodyguard.

… I wish it weren’t so obvious though.

The place we arrived at was an old downtown area that had lost all its vitality.

We arrived at one of them, a small, inconspicuous mixed-use building.

The glass door is closed from the inside, and the handle is covered in dust. Various notices shoved between the cracks in the door give the impression of an abandoned building.

“Are you here?”

I nodded and banged on the door.

“Hey! Aret! I’ve come to make you an offer you can’t refuse! Open the door!”

No one passes through the shabby alley.

But the moment I called that name, I felt the air around me change.

Ignore it.

“Hey! This isn’t a losing deal, is it? If you don’t listen, I’ll stab the Pentagon?”

The glass door opened.

At the same time, the subtle spatial ripples and small motor rotation sounds characteristic of stealth camouflage could be heard.

Probably stealthy drones. Maybe 5 or 6 of them.

Su-in, who didn’t notice, seemed more interested in why the glass door, which was clearly opened and closed by hand, opened automatically.

I raised both hands and told Suin to follow suit.

──Come in.

A mechanical, synthetic sound was heard from the air.

As Suin and I entered, the door closed again and locked with a click.

──So come down.

A spherical drone the size of a human head appears out of thin air. It is called Beholder because of the large eye-shaped camera on the front.

It started to float down into the ground with the camera pointed at us.

You must have been taken aback by the unexpected sight.

Suin clung to me tightly.

“Are you already regretting it?”

“… Okay, okay… !”

After saying that, he started following the drone down the stairs to the basement. His legs were shaking slightly, but he was showing a lot of courage.

Still, I was worried that he might slip and fall down the stairs, so I followed him down the stairs right away.

As I came down to the basement hallway, one side of the wall suddenly opened.

A bright light was shining from inside. A drone was hovering in front of it, looking at us.

Su-in, who had been hesitating, closed her eyes tightly and went inside. I followed her. The wall closed behind her again.

Inside, it is called the ‘Room of Compound Eyes’. It is a course that must be passed in order to meet Aret.

All kinds of cameras and sensors were occupied in all directions, blatantly observing us as we entered.

About 15 minutes later, the Beholder drone appeared in front of us again.

──Seha, Suin. What do you want with me?

“Hello Aret. How have you been?”

──I’ve never had a relationship with anyone where I could greet them in a friendly manner. I don’t even know why you know my name in the first place. How do you know it?

“I can’t say anything else than, “Somehow… I can’t tell you the truth.” I’m under a taboo that prevents me from telling the truth.”

──Nonsense.

“Really. I’ll try it, so watch it carefully. ‘I know you as a gay video’.”

《!WARNING! This world is not a game. Speech has been censored. !WARNING!》

… the filtering is too much! Why is the game becoming a gay video!

Suin looked at me with a bewildered expression.

The drone was silent for a while, then spoke again.

──That’s true. I confirmed that the moment you speak, there is a tremendous amount of force at work.

I let out a small sigh of relief inside.

This compound eye room is monitored by all sorts of sensors that Aret has created. Any blatant lies will be caught in this room, which monitors every reaction of the body and even traces of awakening abilities.

It’s not like they’d care too much if you lied a little, but it’s not a good idea to come to negotiations and start with a lie.

──So, what’s your business?

“There are a few things, but the biggest one is… I want to sell some medicine.”

The drone was silent for a while and then said.

──You only know my name, but you don’t know what I do?

“No. I came because I know that this kind of thing can be handled without much trouble. I want you to handle it on your line, or I want you to put it up for auction on my behalf.”

I handed over the bag containing the medicine I had brought.

He put it down on the floor, opened it, and showed it to me. There were two types of medicine he brought. It was an ointment-type recovery medicine and a potion.

Sensors all over the place started to activate simultaneously. After a few minutes, the synthesized sound was heard again.

──It’s okay. The recovery potion is ordinary, but the potion is of a quality I’ve never seen before. I want to use it right away.

“That would be an honor. The producer would be happy too.”

However, the producer was unable to fully understand the situation and just opened his mouth wide.

──How much quantity can you supply?

“Once a week, the same amount as now. If the marketability of the recovery potion is low, you can supply it in small amounts. The profit is 8 to 2 or 9 to 1, which is fine… Oh, you’re the big one.”

──You’re not greedy?

“I think it would be profitable even if it was small, and I don’t want it to be a hassle. I’d rather just have it developed by them.”

After a moment of silence, a synthesized sound was heard.

──There’s no need for that. I’ll buy all of them from here every week. Is this amount enough for one meeting?

Suin was startled by the number the synthetic voice said.

The amount of money that comes in every week is not enough to cover living expenses. As expected, people from a big country have big hands.

“This side doesn’t need to go that far… Then shall we make the next transaction?”

──What are you proposing this time?

“I’d like to rent equipment that you’re experimenting with or discarding, if that’s okay… . If anything, I’d also like to have a test agent format.”

──Are you brave or crazy?

Even though it was a synthetic sound, I could feel the emotion.

Of course, that’s true. The equipment under Aret’s control is all top secret, regardless of its practicality. It’s not something that someone of unknown identity would easily lend you if you asked for it.

If Aret had a normal way of thinking.

“I guess these are good things for you. Are there a lot of things you’re hiding? Isn’t it a good thing to have real-world verification data?”

──You’re so confident. I thought you had brain problems because of your period… .

“That’s not related?!”

As I was perplexed by the sudden mention of menstruation, one side of the floor opened and a small stick-like object came out on a stand.

The moment I saw that, I almost cheered without realizing it.

──I’m glad. Do you know this?

Oh, my emotional reactions are probably all being scanned too. There’s no point in pretending not to notice.

“Yeah. I was hoping you’d take this out.”

──Just knowing what this is makes me feel like I’m in Area 51… .

“Well, ‘I saw it at Zencon’.”

《!WARNING! This world is not a game. Speech has been censored. !WARNING!》

Gen Con is the world’s largest table gaming convention. Thanks, Mr. Filtering.

It must be my imagination that makes the drone’s lens look a bit weird.

──Okay. If you can use this, I’ll accept you as a test agent.

The object on the pedestal was a small metal stick about a span long.

The official name is too long to remember, but the nickname is Self Slicer. I called it Sersi.

Except for the fact that it was cursed, it was considered one of the most useless weapons in the game.

I picked up Sersi.

It has a strange texture that is not cold even though it is metal. It looks like a straight stick, but it actually has small grooves that make it easy to hold. And there are a few invisible buttons that fit each finger, so you can change the shape by combining them.

First of all, the whip.

It can be used as a metal whip with a thickness of about 0.5 cm. Its length can be rapidly increased or decreased depending on the angle at which the button is pressed, so it can also be used as a substitute for a rope.

Maximum length is 8 meters.

“Can you put the sensors away? Suin, you step back too.”

The upper part of the handle is detachable, so it can be used as a whip or as a handle, depending on the purpose. For example, it can be used as a garrote.

After confirming that the sensors were hiding inside the walls and that the water spirits were slowly retreating, I swung Sersi in whip mode. At first, I held it short and swung it, but then gradually increased the length and expanded the area.

I couldn’t say I was satisfied. My body wasn’t trained to swing such a large whip.

But I remembered the trick, so I was able to handle it well enough to at least make it look plausible.

Add lightning mode here.

The degree of decompression can be used to determine the degree of electric shock that will be sent through the whip. Even in its default state, it can instantly render a naked human incapable of combat, and can even render an unarmed vehicle inoperable.

And the last one is why it’s called a self-slicer… it’s a monowire whip.

When you press the button, the whip surface retracts into the handle, leaving behind a single monowire so sharp it’s invisible to the eye. It has incredible cutting power, so once you get the hang of it, you can cut through things like building pillars.

The safest way is to hold the upper handle in your opposite hand and use it like a garrote. It is different from a garrote because you cut it instead of pulling it.

However, the effect when used as a whip is amazing. The feeling of the entire length of the whip becoming a cutting line is likely to become addictive once you experience it.

However, because it is so difficult to handle, there are rumors that more people have killed themselves than died from it. It is not called a self-slicer for nothing.

“Want to flip a few coins?”

He must have been terrified at the sight of the whip tearing through the air and striking the room. When I said that to the cowering Suin, she paused for a moment and took out a few coins from her coin purse.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

When I signaled with my eyes that it was okay, he threw a coin in my direction.

Five coins were thrown. The orbits of the coins flying in the same direction are different depending on the shape of the coin when thrown. I calculate the orbits in my head and add the shape that the whip that I am about to extend can draw.

The monowire whip flashed through the air, and three coins split in half and fell to the ground.

“Unfortunately, this seems to be the limit for now. What do you think? Is it worth using as a test agent?”

──Do that. It’s hard to think of anyone else who would be able to handle such a weapon anyway… .

Well… it’s not a practical weapon. You have to learn whipping to use it, and even in monowire mode, many of the whipping techniques (like wrapping the whip around your body and using it) become crazy.

However, it is lightweight, compact, quiet when not in lightning mode, versatile, and has excellent destructive power under certain conditions.

Everyone has different preferences, but for me, it was my favorite sub-weapon. I’m glad to see it again.

That demonstration seemed to have piqued Aret’s interest in me, and she suggested that we do a formal equipment test.

If I could borrow Aret’s equipment under that name, I would be grateful. In the game, you can only access them at the end of Part 2 or the beginning of Part 3.

I gladly accepted, thinking I had made a good deal, and now I waited for the final words to come out.

In fact, negotiations with Aret in the game were not this easy. The things I asked for were good things for Aret, but there was a reason why she readily complied.

──Before you go, I’ll give you this as a gift.

The floor opened and a set of clothes came out.

──It’s a bulletproof, swordproof, fireproof clothing that can enhance your strength. I’d like you to test it out while wearing it.

I thought, “Here he comes!”

Aret hates men and likes women. It’s hard to interact with her in the game because most players are men.

However, liking women is not a typical form of sexuality. Maybe I should call it a reverse Pygmalion…. He has a habit of observing and recording the person he likes thoroughly, and then trying to ‘stuff’ them.

Well, I didn’t plan on doing that out of the blue, I just came here because I thought I could organize it well before putting it into action… I see. It seems that it suited Aret’s taste after all.

The idea that we need to be aware of the influence we have on others was fresh in my mind.

I sighed and picked up my clothes… .

“Oh my!”

The lightning struck me and I jumped back in surprise.

──What are you doing? Isn’t this a gift for that girl, not you?

“… Huh? Me? ”

──Yeah, there you are, shy and cute girl.

†

“This is an unexpected development… .”

“Is the future time wrong?”

“No, it wasn’t the scene I originally saw in the future… . I thought that even if I got a little ahead of myself, the future wouldn’t change much… . Fortunately, I achieved my goal… .”

As Suin came out of Aret’s building, she had a shopping bag containing Aret’s gifts in her hand.

“… You’re giving me a maid outfit as a gift on my first meeting. You have strange tastes. Are you a woman? Not a man? ”

“Don’t worry. She’s 100% a woman. And she’s so pretty that you won’t be able to say anything for about 5 minutes when you see her.”

“… Something seems fishy about this description. It feels like it’s hiding something dangerous.”

It’s true that she’s hiding it, but it has nothing to do with Aret’s appearance.

… Let’s not say anything for now. There’s no need to make them feel unnecessarily scared, and we can just sort it out before it becomes visible.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s your fault for following me.”

“… I’m so nervous!”

“You’re still smiling even though you said that. You must be really happy about receiving the gift, right?”

“That’s not true, but somehow, I feel like things are going well… . The training didn’t yield much results… but I think Senior Yuna also looked favorably on it… .”

Suin said with a shy smile.

“I really feel like I can become a different person.”

†

That night.

An email like this arrived in a certain email account.

Title: Please help me. I can’t sleep.

The content of the email was that for some reason, every night, he had nightmares. It felt like something scary was happening to him by someone, someone whose face he couldn’t even remember.

It said, “I don’t know why, but I feel like you can help me, and please get me out of this nightmare.”

Suin bit her lip.

The owner of the email knew very well that he was his first ‘victim’.

I also knew very well why she wrote the email.

Because this was the last order he gave her as her master.

‘If there is something you cannot completely forget and it becomes so painful and difficult that you cannot bear it, please send an email to this address and receive counseling.’

Suin replied.

With my lips trembling in fear.

‘Please come to the location below tomorrow. I will do my best to help you overcome your fears.’