CH 106

[Encounter With the Unknown!!!! Pinko-chan!!!]

“…I’ve gotta say, Yuri-chan. I’m impressed you could find this place.”

Pinko leaned against a tree with his arms crossed.

He was unbelievably handsome, but his all-pink getup only made him look like a cuckoo. What a shame.

“I’m supposing you’ve had a hard time? The trees here in this ‘Murk Forest’ are all pitch black, and there’s not much light shining down here because they’re so dense. You can very easily get lost.”

“Not really. It was a piece of cake thanks to my familiar Urutaro here.” I stroke Urutaro for a job well done.

Pinko suddenly shoved his face in front of Urutaro and said, “I see!”

“Woof?!”

“‘Wolf King’ is a wolf-type boss monster with extraordinary senses. Its senses are far superior to regular wolf-type monsters—or at least that’s what I’ve theorized. I haven’t got the chance to ascertain it because I’ve never met someone who has tamed one… until now! I’d expect no less from you, Yuri-chan. As a Summoner, you knew your familiars well.”

It was just a coincidence, though….

More importantly, could you step back already? Your face was creeping Urutaro out.

“Oh, sorry about that Urutaro-chan… Hey, Yuri-chan. Does Urutaro-chan’s status mention anything about his highly sensitive senses?”

“No, it doesn’t…”

“Yup, it doesn’t, right? You see, there are so many things not explained by the system in Blade Skill Online! It has so many abilities and settings hidden! Don’t they just make you feel curious?!”

With his eyes twinkling, Pinko shoved his face in front of me, saying “They do, right?!”

Hmm… yeah, they did pique my curiosity. Bet it’d be so much fun discovering hidden info like that…!

But I got a feeling that the lack of explanation could be attributed to the devs’ laziness.

“In Urutaro-chan’s case, it’s easy to guess. Wolves have a good sense of smell and hearing, after all.

“But what about races that don’t exist in real life? Like goblins and dragons? Who’s to say what secrets they have? Investigating this kind of stuff is the purpose of my guild, ‘Serpent of Wisdom’♡.”

“Hmm~, that sounds interesting! If I know the hidden abilities of my familiars, I’ll be able to kill my enemies more efficiently!”

“Why is it always about killing and slaughter with you, Yuri-chan~?! You must be sick!”

“No worries, I’m perfectly healthy!” I gave a thumbs-up to Pinko.

I made sure to have two breakfasts every day, after all!

“No, I don’t mean physically… but never mind.

“The reason I’m visiting this forest today is to investigate the origin of this world, which is my latest interest.”

“The origin of this world?”

There was a brief summary about it on the game’s package, but… damn, I drew a blank–I couldn’t remember it.

It didn’t help that I never got the chance to learn this world’s lore. I mean, I was always fighting every day. Even now, I was traveling to drag out and slaughter all the assassin players scattered around the world.

“Sorry, Pinko. I know nothing but how to fight.”

“Err… I’m starting to suspect you truly are a child soldier… Well, worry not. I’m going to teach you, Yuri-chan…!”

Pinko patted my head for some reason. Then he started explaining:

–Long, long ago, there was a strange being named “Demon King Azathoth”. He scattered monsters in this world.

One thing led to another, and eventually the Hero, who was blessed with the divine protection of ‘Mother Earth Goddess Ymir’, took him down at the cost of his own life.

But by that point, the world was already overflowing with monsters. Dungeons–indestructible monster manufacturing furnaces–were scattered all over the world. Thus, mankind’s struggle against monsters continued to this day. The end.

“Hmm~, that sounds interesting. So that’s why you can find monsters everywhere.”

“Ahaha… I never imagined I would be teaching the strongest player in the game the basic lore that even a newbie would know. You really have only been fighting all this time, huh…”

“Yup, it’s fun and exciting!”

“Oh, poor you…!”

For some reason, Pinko cried and hugged me. What was up with him? It was embarrassing, so I’d like him to release me.

–After that, I asked him, “So, how can that info be useful in battle?”, and he hugged even me even tighter.