episode_0066

Games are different from reality.

Turn-based RPGs in particular are so different that they have nothing to do with reality.

In reality, when you fight for your life, you don’t take turns hitting your opponent. You don’t waste tens of seconds preparing to make a powerful attack, and you don’t ‘miss’ while attacking the enemy right in front of you.

So, in other words… … .

This means that when using magic, you don’t have to just stand there blankly and take all of the enemy’s attacks.

In Azerna Electric, there are some types of attacks that cancel the enemy’s big attack before it can be used, causing them to waste turns. If there is a word called ‘Cancel Action’ in the skill ability, there is a certain probability that the enemy’s planned big attack will be canceled.

Except for the ultimate skill that comes flying in without warning, all magic shows its name as soon as it is executed, and the number of turns the magic is used is determined by the agility of the monster or character in question. In such a situation, if you are hit with an action cancel skill, the magic is canceled, and on the turn when the magic is supposed to be executed, the character will wait for a new command with the initialized action points instead of executing the magic.

The best way to increase the chance of canceling an action is to choose an attack method that has the opposite attribute of the magic you are planning to execute, either a faster magic or an instant skill. Of course, it has to be a magic or skill with ‘cancel action’.

At first glance, it seemed logical.

If you were to block fire magic by pouring water on it, wouldn’t that be pretty plausible? It wouldn’t be easy to continue doing what you were doing when suddenly being hit by a large amount of water pouring down from above your head.

The problem is, that story only exists in theory.

… … Knowing full well that having a large amount of water falling on your head is disadvantageous to you, what enemy would not try to avoid it?

The Elemental Bear is a ‘bear’. And although the bear may look dull at first glance, it is actually a fearsome beast whose body is mostly made up of muscle.

And the elemental bear before us was much larger than any bear I’ve ever seen.

Of course, the muscle mass in your body will also be much greater.

“Ah… … !”

It seemed that the bullet didn’t do any fatal damage to the Elemental Bear. At the same time that I pulled the trigger, the magic of the Mia Crow Field was activated, and water poured down from above its head. The bear started moving almost at the same time, and the bullet hit its cheek, but it didn’t die.

Actually, the reason I asked Mia Crowfield to do that magic was because I was worried that the fire-attribute Elemental Bear’s attacks would set the forest on fire. In fact, where its claws touched, flames rose and small fires were lit in some places.

However, that could be done after the attack was over.

The location of the Elemental Bear was different from where I last saw it.

The time it took to lower the gun that had been raised due to recoil was not that long, but it was enough time for the bear to move its position and change its posture.

When I put the gun down, he was already completely out of the damp place and was lying flat on the ground with both front feet planted on the ground.

… … The mouth was still wide open.

The magic was not undone.

The bear was looking at Mia Crowfield.

“Again!”

I shouted urgently.

*

“Ouch!”

I took a deep breath and quickly sat up.

The room was still dark.

… … I was back at the time I woke up this morning. Before Claire came to find me and woke me up, right before I woke up and started cleaning my gun.

“… … .”

ah.

I turned it too quickly and it seems like I went too far back.

… … Actually, if I think about it, it might have been better to just turn it briefly and put a bullet in its head like we did when we were training or sparring. It was right before the bear performed its magic, but I was watching the bear too.

I wiped my face with both hands.

but…….

Yeah, but my thinking was also short-sighted.

The name ‘Azerna Empire’.

And the names of many characters I’ve seen in the game.

For that reason, I unconsciously perceive this as a game.

But… … it’s different. It’s clearly different.

In the game, even if you get hit by something like a bear swinging its arm, your HP will only drop a little. You can replenish your HP by using magic or drinking a potion.

Actually, it doesn’t really matter if HP drops.

For some reason, in cutscenes, you’re shown being shot and assassinated, or dying from a bomb, but in battle, no matter how many times you get shot or hit by a bomb and your HP goes down, unless your party is wiped out and it’s game over, you’re only shown as ‘fell down’.

After the battle, you can restore your health by using magic, potions, or the recovery devices at each checkpoint.

But the reality is not like that.

There are no convenient devices like stamina recovery devices in the forest. There are no auto-save points either.

If you get hit by a bear’s front paw, your bones and flesh will be separated and your internal organs will come out before you can even think about recovering HP.

… … If you get hit by a straight fire attribute laser coming out of its mouth, even if you use recovery magic to save your life, your fingers might get stuck, or your face might melt… … In any case, you might end up with a terrible scar for the rest of your life.

“In the original… … .”

In the original, the word was only applicable to the story and the shape of the village.

In retrospect, it’s unlikely that Leo and his party would have broken through the fake trench if I hadn’t been there. Even if they had asked for help from Mia Crowfield… … Would they have been able to jump into the trench without a pre-loaded shotgun and knock out the enemy before they did?

“Is it because of me?”

Are these things happening because I, who wasn’t in the original, suddenly joined the group?

I furrowed my brows and thought about it, but I couldn’t come to a proper conclusion.

In a battle like that, would my presence or absence make that much of a difference? When fighting enemies with guns and swords, there was a very high chance that I would suffer a fatal wound with just one attack. So, in order to follow the story… …I had to keep fighting without allowing any attacks beyond scratches.

Even if the story progresses as planned, is it really possible for the main characters to reach the end without getting hurt ‘even once’?

In the first place, if that were possible, wouldn’t there be a reason for me to be here? Isn’t it because there is a goddess in this world, or a god of another religion, or at least a system that created the existence of this country?

“… … .”

I don’t know. No one has told me why I am here yet, so I have no choice but to create my own reason.

I chose to become a character that fits the game and is not abandoned by anyone.

“After… ….”

Still, well, at least I was able to fall asleep with a clear mind, knowing that there was a future ahead of me.

I got up from my seat.

It was almost time for Claire to open the door.

*

“Is there a blacksmith shop nearby?”

When I blurted out that question to the guide who was about to take a break after giving a cursory explanation, the guide glared at me straight away.

“At this hour? Are you trying to wake up someone and ask them to make a weapon?”

“Yes.”

“Ahh?”

The guide was once again speaking like a thug, but when I looked straight at him without avoiding eye contact, he blinked, looking a little embarrassed.

“Sylvia?”

Claire, who was nearby, seemed a little surprised by my attitude and called out to me.

“If you have money, you can make weapons. It must be tiring to make weapons at this hour. If you wake up the craftsman, I’ll give you a tip. ”

“… … .”

When I said that with a confident tone, the guide looked at me quietly for a while.

You probably already know who I am. You probably heard it from Jennifer.

The guide we were introduced to here yesterday was a different person. That’s natural. One person can’t work all night.

Even if it was a change, I’m sure there was a handover.

“… … Okay. No need for tip.”

Honestly, I don’t know what I felt, but the guide picked up the receiver of the phone on the table.

“Please blacksmith.”

The guide spoke in a voice quite different from what we had seen, then fell silent again. Then he looked me over, moving his gaze up and down, as if he was judging me.

When training the night equipment in the game, it didn’t take much time, almost like putting in and taking out toy parts, but reality is different. Since the magic wand originally had a part to put in Marmaros, it wouldn’t take that long, but it would take at least several tens of minutes to an hour to put it in properly and adjust its condition.

Fortunately, we didn’t leave to make the request right away. We still had some time left, so if we leave our weapons in the meantime, things will work out somehow.

“Are you sure about anything?”

When Alice asked me that, I nodded. After seeing my expression, Alice didn’t ask any more questions.

“Oh, sorry for being late. I’m just the Frida of the request office—”

The guide, who had been holding the receiver for a while, opened his mouth.

*

“… … .”

On the way back to where the Elemental Bear was, Mia Crowfield had a thoughtful expression.

Although he was still panting, his expression seemed to suggest that he needed to think about it more seriously than it appeared.

A blue jewel sparkled at the end of the staff he was holding.

It was the Marmaros I got from the sewer.

… … To be honest, it was a little scary. If that magic was directed at me, I would die without even being able to scream.

But more than that, I didn’t want the main characters to get hurt.

There might have been a way to prevent this request from being accepted in the first place. But I hated that as well.

Well then, I guess I’ll have to look for another way out, even if it means taking some risks.

“… … Let’s take a break.”

Because Mia Crowfield didn’t make any outright panting sounds, the group didn’t even realize that there was someone tired, and only after hearing me say that did they turn around and make slightly surprised expressions.

Because there was Mia Crowfield with sweat dripping from her forehead.

“If you’re having a hard time, you should’ve talked about it.”

After Claire said that, we decided to sit down and rest for a while.

I handed the bottle of water to Mia Crowfield without saying anything, just like I had done before.

She accepted the water bottle without saying a word, held it, and drank the water carefully.

Even while doing that, he was looking at me with confused eyes.

At this point, it was understandable since he had just given away the extremely precious Marmaros.

I think the country must have been extremely suspicious too.

But I didn’t feel like explaining that I had seen the future.

I just hope this method works this time, Mia Crowfield thought as she accepted the warm water bottle that she had handed her again.

*

The more Marmaros of a specific attribute you equip, the shorter the magic’s ‘execution time’ will be.

To put it in reality, it means that you don’t have to concentrate for a long time, but Marmaros’s own magic power provides assistance.

The number of magics you can use increases, and the time it takes to use those magics also increases significantly.

… … Reality is not a game, but the game’s setting itself is made with an awareness of reality.

“Spitusglapes!”

Ice spirit.

That’s what Mia’s scream sounded like.

A large ice pick was thrust into the mouth of an elemental bear that was lying flat on the ground with its mouth wide open.

The inside of the shining elemental bear’s mouth instantly turned red. The large, solid ice cubes stuck in its mouth cracked, and red blood flowed out through the cracks.

But the bear did not die.

bang!

Well, my head got pierced right after that.

When he fired another shot at the right eye, where a bullet had already struck him, the scalp on that side collapsed and caved in.

The bear fell to the ground in a rather horrifying state, with ice stuck in its neck, its hide tattered from sword cuts, and one side of its head down.

Although it was puffed up, the posture itself was like a carpet made by peeling off a bear’s skin.

“… … um.”

After seeing that Elemental Bear, Jake opened the sign-up.

“I think it’s wrong to get paid for it.”

No one laughed at that joke.