“That’s why, out of respect, we call him the ultimate Kirihito... King Kirihito.”

“I can’t imagine anyone appreciating that...” Felicia muttered.

Felicia’s words were accurate; the title was fatally lame.

But King Kirihito was the only person Kirihito (Leader) could think of that would have begun playing sometime between August and October — in other words, the time when Sera Kiryu had first stopped going to school. Did that mean this King Kirihito was her friend’s avatar?

“I can’t believe we got the clue this easily...” Felicia said, dejectedly. She couldn’t help feeling that all her hard work over the past three months had been a waste of time.

Kirihito (Leader) laughed. “It certainly is a clue, but if you think you can catch King that easily, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“What do you mean?” Ichiro asked.

“King is a lone wolf. He’s never registered a single friend. He’s probably down in the lowest levels of the dungeon, fighting powerful monsters like he does every day. Can you imagine? Being all alone in a dungeon full of powerful enemies that give even the top guilds pause?”

“I see.”

“We’re going to try to find King, too, and gain inspiration from him as his fellow Kirihitos. Later. I pray we’ll meet again!”

“Meet again!” “Meet again!” “Meet again!” “Meet again!” “Meet again!” “Meet again!”

The remaining six Kirihitos imitated their leader in lockstep before leaving.

Ichiro watched The Kirihitters depart the front-line base into the Necrolands, murmuring to himself, “I suppose everyone enjoys the game in their own way.”

“Indeed.” Kirschwasser could sympathize, as someone with his own unique playing style.

Felicia stood there with a gloomy expression on her face.

It was only natural. She had gotten a clue as to Sera Kiryu’s whereabouts so suddenly, but it had not been what she was expecting at all. No one expected to hear about someone they knew being deified as a legendary solo player. It was difficult to reconcile the image of her truant classmate with the King Kirihito they had talked about.

“We don’t know for certain that they’re one and the same,” Ichiro reminded her, but Felicia only murmured a subdued agreement.

“Even so, a hint is a hint,” Kirschwasser said. “He mentioned something about the lowest levels of the dungeon.”

“Yeah. I wonder which one...”

“If you go straight down the Necrolands’ main street, you’ll reach a dungeon called the Forgotten Catacombs. That’s likely it. Many people have been exploring it, believing it to be a key point in the Grand Quest.” Kirschwasser cast a glance at the three great guilds. “I believe the Knights and the Serpents were making it a point to explore the Catacombs.”

“I see,” Ichiro nodded. Then he looked at Felicia. She was deep in thought about something.

“Anyway, Felicia. Shall we search for King Kirihito?”

“S-Sure...”

At the sight of Felicia’s hesitant agreement, Ichiro smiled gently. “Would you rather not?”

“H-Huh?” Felicia looked up at the unexpected question.

“I’m doing this at your request. If you’re not certain this is what you want, I won’t do it.”

Felicia stood in silence for a few moments, then eventually shook her head. “No, let’s go.”

The others had no idea what decision Felicia had worked out in that short moment of hesitation.

She was surely in disbelief over the story of King Kirihito. Ichiro and Kirschwasser had no idea what Sera Kiryu was like in the real world, but the description of King Kirihito suggested a person surely very different from the one that Asuha Tsuwabuki knew.

What was the thought process at work, if the two really were one and the same? Felicia’s petrification was likely due to feeling lost at sea about that. Such was Ichiro’s analysis of his second cousin’s state of mind.

“Master Ichiro, it seems in rather poor taste to try to peek into the heart of a girl of such tender years, don’t you think?” From beside him, Kirschwasser threw him a chilly glance.

Ichiro laughed. “Nonsense.”

“Itchy, you can be nice sometimes.”

“I’m always nice, as far as I know.”

After working all that out, the three of them signed up for the quest.

“There’s been a strange miasma sighted over the Necrolands for the last few days. We found a dungeon at the center of the ruins. Please go there and try to find the cause!”

The GM running reception (a macho bunny-eared Anthromorph) gave them that overbearing instruction as he sent the party on their way.

They had registered for the quest. Without registering, they wouldn’t be able to enter the central dungeon, the Forgotten Catacombs. It was an irritating rule.

“Incidentally, it seems participants who die respawn at the ruined temple over there,” Ichiro said, pointing. Felicia and Kirschwasser looked at the ruined temple in question.

Players were exiting it with surprising frequency, and with a variety of different expressions. Some looked pale and dejected, while others were smiling awkwardly. But they were uniformly returning either clad in their starter gear or stripped down to their underwear.

“Ugh, you really do lose your equipment when you die...”

“That is the rule, after all. You’ve never experienced it, Lady Felicia?”

“No. I’ve only been fighting monsters way lower level than me.”

“It is wise to preserve a safety margin.” Online games all had different death penalties. Some lowered your level or experience or caused you to lose all your money. NaroFan’s was particularly malicious — the loss of all items you were currently carrying. Players hated it. There had been enough complaints to force them to change certain rare items from “lost” to “dropped.”

Still, if an entire party was wiped out, scavengers would show up to loot the dropped items, so in the end it didn’t fix much.

“If The Kirihitters get killed on the way down, they’ll be reverted back to unremarkable adventurers who happen to have the name Kirihito. I wonder if they’ll pay to buy that tie-in armor again.”

“They should create some kind of death penalty insurance. Perhaps I’ll collect in-game currency from players in advance, and either recompense them for the cost of items lost after death or simply agree to fetch the dropped items from the floors they died on. Wouldn’t that be an interesting business? Maybe I’ll try it.”

“Itchy, please don’t do any more weird things.”

Ichiro shrugged, but agreed that while death penalty insurance sounded like an interesting idea, it would probably be a lot of trouble to actually run. “Well, then, let’s head to the Necrolands. Felicia, are you all right for time?”

“Oh, yeah. Um... we’ll probably have dinner around 8:00. They said they’d make it late today.”

Felicia opened the menu window and checked the time. It was currently 6:00 PM. She’d come right home after finals and logged in around 2:30, which meant it had been over three hours now. It felt both very long and very short at the same time. A strange feeling.

“I see. Well, I suppose I should go.”

“Huh?!” Felicia was shocked by Kirschwasser’s statement. “Mr. Kirsch, you’re going home?”

“You may have forgotten, Lady Felicia, but I am Sakurako Ogi.” The silver-haired Knight spoke in especially sonorous tones. “To neglect dinner preparations to play the game would make me a terrible wage thief. As that is not my desire, I shall log out and begin cooking Master Ichiro’s dinner.”

“R-Right. That must be hard.”

“Oh, but it is. Ah, Master Ichiro, tonight will be horse mackerel baked with fragrant herbs.”

“Hm, sounds good. I was getting tired of just eating curry lately.”

“Well, then. Good hunting, you two.”

With that, Kirschwasser logged out.

Ichiro and Felicia were left standing together in front of the gate that led out into the Necrolands. Elite players passed through the gate around them, shooting dubious glances their way.

Felicia looked up at Ichiro timidly.

“I-Itchy...”

“Yes?”

“Are we going?”

“We are going,” Ichiro responded with a smile.

“I, um... I’m only level 38.”

“Yes, and I’m level 92.”

“But our tank, Mr. Kirsch, just logged out.”

“True, but I’m still here.”

“I-I don’t have anyone to protect me...”

Ichiro was neither stupid nor foolish. He was Felicia’s beloved Itchy, and he surely understood what she was getting at. Yet his infallible smile did not waver.

“I am rarely one to quote proverbs, but there is one that applies very well right now.”

“Wh-What?”

“The best defense is a good offense.”

“N-No!” Felicia cried out. She was about to run, but Ichiro’s next words were filled with ice.

“Felicia. Earlier, I said that if you were not prepared to go, I would not go. You said you were prepared. That means that I will go, and you will go, too.”

“What if I’m not prepared anymore?!”

“I don’t have a plan for that, so we’ll go anyway. You now have two choices.” Ichiro held two fingers up to Felicia. “I can pick you up and drag you along, or you can stay close to me and walk on your own. I think the second is safer and more advisable. You won’t have to call in the Power Golem until it’s absolutely necessary.”

Ichiro smiled. Felicia knew that smile.

She remembered it from her eleventh birthday. Ichiro had taken her to the amusement park and listened courteously to all of her requests. They had gone on the Ferris wheel, the teacups, and the merry-go-round, just as she wanted to. But she hadn’t been satisfied just having him along. She had said:

“I want to ride what you want to ride, Itchy.”

Ichiro insisted that it was her birthday, and they should ride what she wanted. But she grew obstinate about the feeling that he was treating her like a child.

“In that case...” Ichiro had said, and gleefully picked out his own preferred ride...

Ah, just remembering it was terrifying.

Ichiro Tsuwabuki could be indulgent to a fault, but if that were kicked away, all bets were off. This time was no different.

Felicia gave up. To give up is the end, the saying went. But that was okay. She wanted to get the suffering over with as soon as possible.

I wonder if I’ll die, Felicia thought.

Long ago, Paul McCartney had sung “Live and Let Die.”

It was a song from 26 years before Asuha was born, but for some reason the up-tempo rock track with Paul’s beautiful voice was playing on endless loop in her mind right now. The Dragonet boy ruthlessly and boldly amassed a pile of corpses as she clung to him, the two of them swiftly proceeding through the main story.

“This isn’t as bad as I expected,” he commented.

“Y-Yeah...”

The majority of the players around them were taking on the Grand Quest in parties of four or five. Watching them effortlessly dispose of the undead-type monsters that popped up incessantly, she realized how much skill it took.

But having leveled up at a terrifying rate using the game’s paid content, Ichiro Tsuwabuki continued his leisurely one-man advance. What was more horrifying was realizing that, because he was using the 24 hour paid boosts every day, he was going to keep on gaining levels.

Ichiro’s class was Magi-Fencer. Its strength was that it allowed the acquisition of both Fighter and Mage-type skills, but most people didn’t have enough skill points to advance both equally. Even if they did, it would be impossible to keep up with specialist builds. The player’s half-hearted skill levels would just be a weight around the necks of their comrades in an MMORPG where role division in party play mattered so much.

Ichiro had more than compensated for that through the use of microtransactions. Every time he leveled up, he got three or four times more skill points than a normal person. He’d quickly outstripped more superficial specialist builds.

“Uooooo...”

“Uoooh... ahhhhh...”

Zombies lurched toward them, letting out eerie moans. Ichiro unleashed a peal of hellfire from his hands that incinerated the walking corpses instantly.

A skeleton knight attempted to ambush him from behind. He blocked it with his bare-handed “Weapon Guard” skill, then punched back as hard as he could with the other hand. The skeleton knight collapsed with a clatter.

This might be the time to explain how the game’s battle system works.

The abilities a player could acquire were broken up into two main categories: “Skills” and “Arts.” Skills had continuous effects, whereas Arts were used actively.

For example, “Dragon Claw,” which increased Ichiro’s attack power when fighting bare-handed, was a Dragonet-exclusive Skill, while “Punching Technique” and “School of Flame” increased the power of his hand-to-hand attacks and fire magic, respectively.

The fire spell “Spiral Blaze,” which he’d used to roast the zombies, and Weapon Guard, which he used to block the skeleton’s attack, were both Arts. The attack he’d used against the skeleton, “Bash,” was the most basic of basic physical attacks.

Flexibility was the game’s selling point; Skills could be turned on or off at will. As long as the sum total of your skill levels was lower than your total skill slots, you could set a level 50 skill to level 20 if it benefited you.

Ichiro’s strength came from his high number of skill levels, which gave him great freedom in choosing his Skills. He’d also bought the Skill Slot Doubler Bonus, which let him increase his combat prowess even more. This was a pay-to-download bonus that usually only lasted for 12 hours, and was meant to give intermediate players a boost for high-pressure battles.

And thus Ichiro, using the overwhelming abilities he’d gained with the power of money, was easily dominating this dungeon.

Felicia couldn’t say she minded this time.

“I’m glad we’re making such swift progress.”

“Y-Yeah...” Ichiro smiled as he used recovery items to ease the fatigue he’d amassed through constant use of his Arts.

Around them in the dungeon, a number of players with the Acolyte class were using “Saint Barrier” to block off encroaching mobs and healing the wounded within. At the same time, Alchemists and Thieves were offering potions and map information to players about to take on the dungeon in exchange for compensation.

“It appears that strength alone usually isn’t enough to get you to the bottom floors. You need to learn the map, and you need constant healing,” Ichiro murmured as he watched them. “Of course, a player’s own skill can keep expenditures at bay, I’m sure.”

“And you think you can do that alone, Itchy?”

“Yes. If your friend can do it, I believe I can too. I can get recovery items whenever I want to, after all.”

“Stop using microtransactions for everything!” Felicia screamed, earning looks from all the players around her. Her face was red and scrunched up.

Just then, an avatar broke in to talk to them. “Are you the one who’s trying to solo this dungeon?”

It was a man with a large, muscular body, a hawkish nose, and short red hair whose sideburns joined to his goatee. It was Stroganoff, the leader of the Red Sunset Knights. Like Kirihito (Leader), he seemed to have a large coterie around him, but perhaps that was simply true of all elite MMO players.

“I’m with this girl, so I’m not solo.”

“But it’s pretty much the same thing, ability-wise,” Felicia interjected over Ichiro. She was feeling like a total burden.

“I’ve heard about you. You took out Edward with one punch the other day,” Stroganoff said.

Felicia’s eyes went wide at the sudden talk of violence. What was he talking about? Who was Edward? All kinds of questions began flooding through her mind. Maybe he was a quest boss character?

“I thought he was pretty strong, too,” Stroganoff continued.

“But I’m far stronger than that ‘pretty strong’ Edward.”

“So it seems. But I still believe it the height of hubris to take this dungeon on solo.” There was something a bit antiquated in the way Stroganoff spoke. Perhaps he, like Kirschwasser, enjoyed roleplaying.

His voice was a deep and sonorous one, sampled from a famous voice actor. This was another pay-to-download option the player could purchase during character editing, suggesting Stroganoff was not beyond trend-chasing.

“Regardless of what anyone thinks of me, this is how I’ve always lived my life. Besides, there’s a player who’s already soloing the dungeon, isn’t there?” Ichiro responded.

“King Kirihito, you mean?” Stroganoff let out a sigh. “That man is extraordinary. If you just look at his stats — his level and total Skill and Art levels — they’re nothing that special. But what’s really noteworthy about him is his own talent, and...”

“Stroganoff. Are you suggesting that I am his inferior in this regard?”

“...Ichiro Tsuwabuki,” he said, apparently taking a moment to check the avatar name over his head. “I’m giving you this warning for your own good.”

Ichiro wasn’t a short man by any means, but Stroganoff still towered over him. His calm yet powerful gaze met that of the aloof Dragonet. It was the kind of “strong rivals glare at each other” scene you might see in a movie or an anime. Felicia’s (albeit limited) experience suggested that one of them would eventually get bored, and break the gaze with a “heh.”

“Heh.”

And so it was.

“You do appear quite confident,” Stroganoff said. “As you wish. We’ll see if your skills are enough to carry you through the lowest levels of Delve.”

“That was my intent, with or without your permission.” As Stroganoff turned and lumbered away, the main thought that ran through Felicia’s mind was that she had never heard someone say “as you wish” before. Kirschwasser had told her that Stroganoff ran his own restaurant. There was no way he talked that way in real life.

“Well, Felicia. Let’s get going.”

“Oh, wait, Itchy!’

Ichiro stepped back into the dungeon as if he were strolling about on a picnic. The other players watched him, agog.

“These graphics truly are detailed,” he murmured quietly.

“Itchy, you’ve been saying that this whole time,” Felicia interjected.

“Well, that’s just how I really feel.”

He’d flown all around the world and seen all kinds of ruins with his own eyes. The graphics designer who’d designed this dungeon likely couldn’t say the same. Yet the dungeon’s eerie atmosphere, the feeling of the walls and the floors... they were in no way inferior to the traces of ruined ancient cultures he had seen in real life. The human imagination truly was a powerful thing.

The footsteps of his King Behemoth Leather Shoes resounded against the flagstones in the wide caverns. The paths twisted like a maze (in truth, that was what they had been designed to be), and beginning on this floor, all of a sudden, they became very wide, with high ceilings. It was easy for Ichiro to imagine just why the halls were that way. It was likely a sign that this level would begin to spawn oversize mobs.

But for now, the ones blocking their path were hordes of worthless Greater Zombies, mixed in with the occasional powerful mob that you occasionally saw at the higher levels — Pain Ghosts, Skeleton Reapers, and Giant Zombies. Ichiro’s Dragon Claw flashed, easily slashing through such monsters.

“Uoooooh...”

“Good to see you,” Ichiro said to the Giant Zombie — it would give him a lot of experience, after all — as he unleashed a magic blast on it.

It was Spiral Blaze, the mid-level fire-type attack Art. A whorl of hellfire wreathed his outstretched fist, easily halting the advance of the mass of rotting flesh.

The interminable hordes of zombies were there to tire you out, but there was no sign of fatigue in Ichiro’s expression. This would be a grueling battle for any other player, but that didn’t even occur to him.

“You must be tired of dominating everything all the time, huh, Itchy?” Felicia asked.

“Would you like to fight them, then, Felicia?”

“No, no thank you.”

The dungeon was set up to be a winding mass of corridors, but Ichiro was keeping a map with the drawing tool, which kept them from getting lost.

After turning the latest group of mobs to ash, they walked a little while, and found...

“Itchy, look!”

“Hmm...”

They were standing in a hall littered with equipment.

These were players’ dropped items.

It wasn’t an uncommon sight: the scattering of equipment items that indicated a party’s complete destruction.

It was, at minimum, the proof that a player had fought mobs in that location and run out of life less than 24 hours ago.

Of course, it was just a game, so while it may have been frustrating, they hadn’t really died, and would have been resurrected in the ruined temple nearby. But there was still something eerie and macabre about the sight of that equipment scattered around, symbols of their owners’ cruel end here in these uncivilized depths.

Ichiro’s expression turned from its usual breezy one to something more serious. He recognized that equipment. Unadorned straight swords and long black coats... Though quite rare, they didn’t offer very good stats bonuses, but there were enough pieces for there to be multiple owners, and they all had the same design with the same emblem textured onto the collar.

“The Kirihitters...”

“Indeed.”

They had suffered the indignity of dying here in this place.

The Kirihito from the story might be the ultimate solo player, but these were just wannabe heroes modeling themselves after him, just another group of players bound by the system’s rules. Their skill was far from “ultimate.” They had been beaten by a stronger opponent, nothing more.

Yet, thinking back on the considerate Kirihito (Leader) they had talked with just before, Ichiro couldn’t help but feel a scrap of pity. The more he thought about it, the less well it sat with him.

But the most notable point of interest was that there were only four sets of the equipment scattered there. The Kirihitters had seven members in all. Which meant three of them hadn’t died — at least, not in that location.

“Hmmm...”

Even so, they must have been in pretty big trouble if they didn’t even have time to pick up their allies’ equip items. In other words, the three Kirihitos had not avenged their fallen brethren, which meant the remaining half of The Kirihitters might still be on this floor, then.

Ichiro stuck the four sets of tie-in items in his inventory, then looked up and down the wide corridor. He had his infinite supply of potions. If they were still alive, he wouldn’t mind giving some to them.

Just as Ichiro was about to start down the hallway again, he heard the sound of screams echoing through it.

The cries that had previously only been indistinct echoes in the corridor consolidated into a single direction: the hallway right in front of them. Ichiro turned to face the voices and saw three men running down the center of the 30-meter-wide corridor. They were all Kirihitos. Which meant they were alive.

But there was no time now to feel relieved over that; they were being pursued by a swarm of mobs, undead monsters he had never seen before.

The monsters were based on a skeleton archetype that wore a helmet reminiscent of ancient Sparta. They brandished a machete and a shield, but unlike the usual skeleton warriors, their lower halves were a set of wheels made from bone.

Ichiro checked the clattering, creepily smiling skeleton’s maw with his Far Sight skill.

Behind the large dust trail visual it was kicking up were more of the same type; quite a number of them. Probably too many for the three Kirihitos to face. They were far away right now, but it was only a matter of time before they bridged the distance, and the Kirihitos were so distracted with their running that they hadn’t seen Ichiro and Felicia.

The terrifying train was coming right for them.

The Kirihitters weren’t the only ones panicking.

“I-I-I-Itchy! Itchy!!” Felicia screamed, grabbing the corner of Ichiro’s jacket and tugging hard.

Perhaps an explanation is required: In MMOs, trailing a large number of monsters behind you and luring them into groups of other players — an act known as “training” — is considered very bad manners. Training can be done maliciously, to take out a rival player group. But whether it’s done intentionally or not, it’s always considered rude.

Manners, however, are artificial constructs created out of a sense of mutual social consideration, and Ichiro had no interest in either enforcing or abiding by them. The charging undead monsters also didn’t seem like much of a threat, so rather than be angry or panicked, he simply called out:

“Hey, Kirihito! I’m glad you’re okay!”

“Is this really the time?!” Felicia screamed.

The Kirihito at the head of the train, Kirihito (Leader), only then seemed to notice Ichiro’s presence, and his face went pale. He was trying to stop so as not to make trouble for their party, but at the current distance, it made little difference.

“Mr. Tsuwabuki, I’m sorry! I ended up training you!” he shouted.

“Nonsense. No need for such formality with me,” Ichiro said calmly. With one hand still in his pocket, he raised his right hand. “It was clearly fate for us to meet here. Allow me to assist you.”

That would be easier said than done. An area of effect spell Art would surely catch the Kirihitos, as well. A support Art for focusing magic might be useful at a time like this, but he didn’t have any. There were also no spells that you could bend around a group.

In Ichiro’s opinion, this was one way in which the game was unnecessarily inflexible. Ichiro Tsuwabuki was the rare kind of person for whom games were often harder than reality, as the real world might be slightly more accommodating.

Ichiro’s thoughts strayed to Felicia, who cowered by his side. That was right, he remembered. She was here with him, too.

“Felicia, can you choose the location to which you summon your Power Golem?”

“Y-Yeah... It’s pretty flexible that way...”

“In that case...”

Ichiro gave instructions to Felicia.

Felicia nodded seriously, and took out her Dominion Dagger. A mysterious sound filled the narrow, choked passages of the Catacombs.

It was followed immediately afterward by a crunch, and then a huge shadow loomed over them. A steel giant whose height and width far outstripped the hallway’s dimensions became a wall blocking off the undead monsters from the Kirihitters.

Two Skeleton Chariots had slipped through, but they would be easy enough to beat, Ichiro thought. But just then...

The first to stop was Kirihito (Leader). With little affect but a great deal of pride, he drew his straight sword and turned to face the charging Skeleton Chariots. He took in a deep breath, then made a great show of holding up his sword. Even Ichiro found himself enchanted by the sight. The Kirihito with a snail shell on his head and the Kirihito with the Detect Googles mirrored his posture.

What are they doing, Ichiro wondered, tilting his head. They didn’t need to be so reckless — he could easily handle them himself.

As the Skeleton Chariot squad drew closer, the laughter from the leader of the pack grew even louder. Just turning their attention to it activated its Skeleton Focus, and the rhythmical yet unsettling chattering of bones met his ears.

The three Kirihitos took a simultaneous step forward and drove their swords through the leading Skeleton Chariot. Three four-digit damage effects appeared at once, sending the lead Skeleton Chariot flying.

“Oh?” An unguarded noise of astonishment escaped Ichiro’s lips. Not bad at all.

But they’d only beaten the leader of the monsters. They had no way of defending against the fierce attack of the chariots that would follow, now disarmed and at the mercy of the bony wheels. In real life, the scene that unfolded before them would have been a merciless dance of flying blood and torn flesh.

But all Ichiro saw was a cold, calculating string of battle damage digits. All he could do was pray that their HP gauges didn’t get too low, and then lay waste to the chariots that followed.

He turned to face the chariot coming towards him, striking it with an unflinching counter. It barely registered.

The chariot continued on its trajectory, slashing away as it passed. Fortunately, Felicia wasn’t hit by the attack. The Skeleton Chariot continued to race down the hallway past them. It would be a while before it hit the far wall and U-turned back at them.

“Kirihito, that was a magnificent attack you used. What was it called?” Ichiro commented.

“Oh, uh, that?” Kirihito (Leader) asked as he moved unsteadily to his feet. He had a few HP remaining, but his status was definitely critical.

Ichiro pulled a few potions out of his inventory and distributed them to the group.

“Thank you. That was ‘Breaker.’ Tie-in weapons tend to have a high Durability, even if their power is low. Since we were going to die and drop them anyway, we decided to sacrifice them to avenge our comrades.”

“Hmmm.” Ichiro leisurely opened the browser window and looked up the guide wiki.

Breaker was a weapon attack Art that any class could buy as long as they had a high enough strength stat. It came with a high fatigue rate, but it dealt a damage bonus based on the Art’s level and the weapon’s remaining Durability. The weapon used would have its Durability reduced to zero and be destroyed.

“I never knew about that Art.”

“It’s not very practical. It’s basically a last-ditch attack. What do you want to do, Mr. Tsuwabuki? We’re the ones who led the train onto you, so if you want to run away...” Kirihito (Leader) began, but trailed off. “M-Mr. Tsuwabuki?”

“Nonsense. I’ve never run away from anything, and I don’t intend to start now.”

Ichiro closed the browser and selected “Config” in his menu window. Once the motion was finished, a sword appeared in his hand. Kirihito (Leader) recognized it immediately.

It was the Legendary Blade Arondight, a pay-to-download tie-in item from a popular manga. It was considered a low-tier weapon because the attack bonus it provided was mediocre compared to the strength stat required to wield it. People gave it the mocking name “Monetary Blade Arondight,” but it had the highest Durability of any tie-in item in the game.

The Skeleton Chariot squad had finished their turn and were charging back in their direction. Ichiro used his stockpile of points to learn the new Art. Felicia grabbed Ichiro’s sleeve and spoke in an urgent whisper.

“U-Um, Itchy... don’t tell me, you’re...”

“Oh, yes, I am.” Ichiro raised his Arondight high.

Felicia screamed.

In that moment, the three Kirihitos realized the tragedy they had wrought.

The Monetary — er, Legendary — Blade cost 1,200 yen to purchase. Rather expensive, relative to its abilities.

The advancing Skeleton Chariot was merely a fictional threat. The sight unfolding before Kirihito (Leader)’s eyes was far more terrifying. Judging by their relative velocity, the chariots would soon be in range. Ichiro took a step forward.

He took a quiet breath of preparation...

“Noooooooooo!”

...but it was drowned out by Felicia’s scream.

The weapon attack Art, Breaker. Its high Durability would more than cover for its relatively low power. Combined with his damage-increasing skill buffs like Sword Technique and Strong Blade, plus his straightforward (and swiftly increased) strength stat, it provided a final damage calculation that revealed a 5-digit damage marker over the head of the skeleton chariot.

And so the pale rider of this fictional world, which came slinging fear and death, was taken out by the 1,200 yen Monetary Sword.

In the grand scheme of the money a man makes in his lifetime, 1,200 yen may not seem like much. But consider...

Kirihito (Leader) trembled. That one sword had cost as much as two of the light novels that were so sacred to him.

And the bad news wasn’t over yet.

The Power Golem sealing the hallway was slowly having its life chipped away. No matter how specialized it was for endurance, Felicia was still just a level 38 Beast Tamer. Her servant golem couldn’t be counted on to hold out for too long.

Even so, Felicia was extremely hesitant to call back the Power Golem. “U-Um, Itchy...”

“Go ahead, Felicia. I want the way opened.” Ichiro was already holding a second and third Arondight in his hands.

The “legend” came cheap.

“Mr. Tsuwabuki, this isn’t right...”

“Nonsense.” Ichiro slapped down Kirihito (Leader)’s gravely earnest warning.

“Please, Mr. Tsuwabuki! Money shouldn’t be used so recklessly!”

“He’s right! Itchy, you need to treat money as a precious commodity!”

“But if this keeps up, Felicia, your Power Golem...”

A scream like the scraping of metal upon metal echoed through the thin passageway. Beyond it, the horde of undead monsters swarmed, dishing out constant damage. If the Power Golem were vanquished, the train of monsters would pour through like an avalanche.

He could clear them out in no time with his Monetary Blades, but not without them. Wide-area attack magic could fry them all at once, but the passageway was too narrow, and fighting them bare-handed would take time, with no guarantee that the Kirihitters and Felicia would stay safe in the meantime.

“Leader, there’s still a Zombie Legion on this floor.”

“R-Right! There’s one of those, too! That’s why we should run away!” Kirihito (Leader) spoke very earnestly on advisement from his comrade. Ichiro looked upwards.

“Zombie Legion?”

“It’s a rare mob type that spawns in the Necrolands. Extremely powerful. Not many people have encountered them, though, so they haven’t been investigated that deeply. It appears that starting on this floor, they appear in groups with those Skeleton Chariots,” Kirihito (Leader) explained.

It was enormous, and emitted a foul odor from its body. An undead monster forged of pure distillate of its designer’s malice. Even looking at it inspired revulsion. To come upon something like that in the endless labyrinth would cause any player to forget that it was just a game and fly into a panic. Most people simply broke rank and ran, leading to just this situation.

The Zombie Legion itself moved slowly, so it wasn’t hard to get out of its aggro radius, but the Skeleton Chariots that accompanied it made it far more difficult to escape. The Zombie Legion’s size inspired terror in the player, and the moment they turned away, the chariots would burst out and attack from behind, their wheels quickly grinding down a player’s HP.

If they stood to face it, it would end much the same. A Skeleton Chariot’s AI algorithms inspired them to pursue tenaciously no matter how far the player ran, which tended to result in trains. The phenomenon had likely wiped out many parties before them. They’d managed to avoid that this time, but as they ran, they had noticed many equip items already scattered around them.

“I see,” Ichiro murmured.

By this time, the cries of the Power Golem had ceased. Its master, Felicia, seemed to realize this first, and she peeked over in fear. In this game, when a character’s life reached zero, its sprite dissolved into particles of light. If the golem was still there, it must still have HP remaining.

“Wh-What’s going on?” Kirihito (Leader) finally noticed the abnormality, and spoke up in a trembling voice.

“Felicia, remove the Power Golem.”

“U-Um... But...”

“If the same monsters come from the other direction, we won’t be able to run away.” Not even Ichiro knew exactly what was about to happen. It was clear that the attacks against the Power Golem had ceased, but surely, the enemies couldn’t have simply withdrawn...

Felicia vacillated for a moment, then used her Dominion Dagger to encourage the Power Golem to leave. It let out a cry like metal grinding against metal and slowly disappeared.

The party prepared. Anything might happen, and if that “anything” was a mauling by Skeleton Chariots, they would just have to deal with that.

But what they found there was not a mass of enemies.

It was a single man.

He was of modest height, wore a body-length black coat, and carried a sword in one hand. Despite his somewhat reedy build, he stood with absolute presence, as if the chilled air of the labyrinth itself was at his command. The equipment he wore resembled that of the three men standing beside Ichiro and Felicia. The only difference was that he was alone.

Yes... he was alone.

“King Kirihito...” Kirihito (Leader) murmured, voice trembling.

The sight of the intruder had rendered him awestruck. After all, the only proof of his existence had been an account registered with the Thistle Corporation and a few uncertain rumors of his deeds. He did not appear on anyone’s friends lists, and only a few of the top players had ever chanced to see him. He was a myth of the cyber world, and he was standing before them now.

Avatar name: Kirihito.

King Kirihito was a joke name someone had come up with, and it had stuck. No one knew if he was aware of the title, but the majesty he projected as he stood there in silence was certainly king-like.