Silika was a rare " Beast Tamer " of Ain Grantry. No, it should be said that it was once. This was because the demonic spirit that proved her identity as a beast tamer was no longer around.
Beast Tamer Master was not a standard level or skill in the system, but a common name.
The monsters that were usually active in battle would occasionally show goodwill to the players. If they could seize this opportunity and successfully tame the monster by feeding it with food, the monster would become a precious existence that could provide various help to the player, a " demonic spirit." Everyone would praise and envy these lucky players and call them beast tamers.
Of course, not every monster could become a demonic spirit. There was only a small number of small animal-type monsters. The conditions for the event to occur had yet to be completely determined. The only confirmed condition was that if too many monsters of this type were killed, the event would never happen.
Just thinking about it made him feel that these conditions were too harsh. Even if they tried to repeatedly come into contact with monsters that might turn into demonic spirits, those monsters would usually take the initiative to attack, and there was no way to avoid fighting. In other words, if one wanted to become a beast tamer, one had to constantly come into contact with the target monster. As long as there was no triggering event, one had to run away without saying a word. It was not hard to imagine how complicated the homework was.
In this regard, Celica was incredibly lucky.
Without any relevant knowledge, she came to the lower level on a whim and wandered aimlessly in the forest. The first monster they encountered did not attack. Instead, it took the initiative to approach. The thing that Celica threw to it was a bag of nuts that she had bought the day before. It was the monster's favorite food.
The race name was " Winged Dragon ". It was a small Wyvern that was covered in light blue soft fur and had two large tail feathers instead of a tail. It was a rare special monster. Silika seemed to be the first person to successfully tame it. Therefore, when she returned to the main street area of the eighth floor, Felipan, which was the stronghold, with the wyvern on her shoulder, it immediately attracted a lot of attention. The next day, it seemed that many players began to try to tame the winged dragon according to the information provided by Lilika, but no one had ever succeeded.
Silika named the small wyvern " Bina," the same name as the cat raised in the real world.
The direct combat power of demonic spirits was not very high, and Bina was no exception, but she had several special abilities. For example, the ability to detect the approaching monsters, the healing ability to help the owner recover a small amount of HP, and so on. Each ability was very precious and could make hunting easier every day. However, compared to all these, what made Celica the happiest was that Bina's existence brought her peace of mind and warmth.
The AI program of the demonic spirit was not set so high. Talking was impossible, and there were only about ten commands that he could understand. However, for Cecilia, who was imprisoned by the game, the Sealed World SAO, at the age of twelve and was almost crushed by uneasiness and loneliness, the redemption Bina gave was indescribable. It could be said that after getting Bina as a partner, Celica's " adventure ", which was to " survive " in this world, finally began.
In the following year, Celica and Bina successfully accumulated experience and honed their skills as Short Sword Practitioners. They gradually became relatively famous among the intermediate players as high-level players.
Of course, her level was far inferior to the top swordsmen who were fighting at the frontlines. However, in reality, the " Strategy Group ", which only comprised a few hundred players out of the 7,000 players, was even rarer than beast tamers from a certain point of view. It was almost impossible to see them in person, so their fame spread far and wide among the intermediate players formed by the majority of the players. It was no different from being promoted to idol players.
Moreover, female players were overwhelmingly rare, and due to their age," Dragon Envoy Silika " soon became a famous figure with many admirers. Hope Idol had joined many teams and guilds, so it was only natural for the 13-year-old Celica to feel smug about this situation. But in the end, because of this arrogance, he suffered a mistake that could not be undone no matter how much he regretted it.
The reason was because of an insignificant argument.
Celika joined the team that had invited her two weeks ago to explore the vast forest area north of the 35th floor, commonly known as the " Lost Forest." Of course, the frontline was the 55th floor, which had already been conquered. However, the top swordsmen were basically not interested in conquering anything outside of the maze area, so secondary mazes like the Lost Forest were left alone, which was why it became a suitable target for intermediate players.
Celica's team of six had gathered all kinds of experts. They had been fighting since morning and digging for treasure chests, earning a lot of money and items. The adventure ended as the surroundings were gradually dyed with the colors of the setting sun and everyone's health potions were almost exhausted. As they prepared to return to the main street area, another female player equipped with a slender gun said to Celica as if she wanted to restrain her,"
"Regarding the distribution of items after returning, since you already have the lizard to help you recover, there shouldn't be a need to give you the Recovery Crystal.」
Silika immediately retaliated,"
"You are! A person who did not go to the front line at all and only knew how to hide behind the team would not need the crystal at all!」
After that, there was a verbal confrontation, and the captain's arbitration was just a drop in the bucket. Furious, Cecilia finally said,"
[I don't want the props anymore! I will never team up with you again! Moreover, there are so many teams that want me to join that they are full!」
Although the captain tried his best to persuade her to stay, at least before they left the forest and reached the town, Celica, who turned a deaf ear to his advice, immediately separated from the five of them and ran towards the fork in the road. Just like that, she left with a belly full of anger.
Even if she was alone, the monsters on the 35th checkpoint were not a strong opponent for Cilika, who had already mastered 70% of her short sword skills and had Bina's support. He should be able to defeat the enemy easily and return to the main street area, if he didn't get lost.
The Forest Maze, which was called the Lost Forest, was not undeserved.
The dense forest was divided into hundreds of blocks in a chessboard shape, and it was set to change the connection of the surrounding blocks randomly after one minute of stepping into one of the blocks. To leave the forest, one had to break through each block within a minute, or use the high-priced map items sold by the item stores in the main street area to confirm the connection between the four sides while moving forward.
The only person who had the map was the team leader, the Shield Swordsman. Moreover, using the Transfer Crystal in the Lost Forest would not allow one to return to the town. They would only be randomly sent to a certain area of the forest. Therefore, Celika had no choice but to run non-stop and try to break through. However, it was more difficult than expected to run on the winding forest path while avoiding the roots of the giant trees.
Although they were heading north, it had been more than a minute since they reached the edge of the region. After being repeatedly transferred to an unknown location, Celica was getting more and more tired. The color of the setting sun grew thicker and thicker. As the night slowly descended, he felt anxious and it became more and more difficult to escape from the area.
In the end, Celica gave up on running and started to walk, hoping that she would be sent to the outer area of the forest. However, luck did not come---and as they staggered forward, the monsters attacked them mercilessly. Even though there was a margin in terms of level, as the surroundings darkened, he could no longer see clearly around his feet. Even with Bina's support, it was impossible to end every battle without being injured. In the end, other than the remaining props, even the emergency recovery crystals were used up.
As if she could sense her uneasiness, Bina, who was on her shoulder, moaned and leaned her head against her cheek. She stroked its long neck as if she was comforting Bina. She regretted the embarrassment caused by her impatience and arrogance.
Celica prayed to God in her heart as she walked.
[I will reflect on myself. He would definitely not feel that he was special anymore. So, please send us out of the forest during the next transfer.」
She prayed as she stepped into the transfer area that was shaking like a heatwave. After a moment of dizziness, the scene that appeared before his eyes was, of course, the same deep forest as before. The depths of the forest had already fallen into darkness, and the grassland that surrounded the forest could not even be seen.
Just as the dejected Celika was about to take another step forward, Bina, who was on her shoulder, suddenly raised her head and said,"Chirp!」It screamed sharply. It was a warning notice. Silika immediately pulled out the dagger she was used to and took a stance in the direction Bina was looking at.
A few seconds later, a low groan came from the shadow of the moss-covered giant tree. He focused his gaze there and a yellow arrow appeared. It was a complex number. Two…no, three. The monster's name was " Drunken Apeman ", the strongest apeman among the monsters that appeared in the Lost Forest. Silika bit her lip.
Speaking of which-
In terms of level, this monster was not that dangerous.
Intermediate players like Celica would usually take extra precautions against monsters when they left the safe zone. At the very least, he would be able to win even if he was surrounded by five monsters alone without a way to recover.
This was because they were different from the top Swordsmen who fought at the frontlines and had the goal of completing the strategy. The reasons why Intermediate players would go on adventures were firstly, to obtain the money they needed for daily life, secondly, to obtain the minimum EXP required to stay in the Intermediate Level, and lastly, to be bored to death. No matter which point it was, it was hard to say that it was enough to gamble on the purpose of death in reality. In fact, in the " Town of Beginnings ", there were more than a thousand players who could avoid any increase in the possibility of death.
However, in order not to starve and to be able to sleep in a hotel bed, they had to have a regular income. In addition, MMO players would feel uneasy if they could not stay in the average level circle for a long time. It had been almost a year and a half since the game started, and the players who formed the main class had slowly walked out of the safe zone after they had made sufficient preparations to enjoy the adventure that belonged to them.
Therefore, even the three strongest Drunken Apes on the 35th checkpoint would not be a match for the Dragon Envoy, Silika.
With her tired spirit spurred on, Cecilia gripped her short sword tightly. Bina also flew up from her shoulder lightly and entered combat mode.
A giant apeman wrapped in dark red fur appeared from the back of the forest. His right hand was holding a crude cudgel, while his left hand was holding a pot that looked like it was tied to a gourd.
When the apeman raised his cudgel and bared his canine teeth and roared, Celica, who wanted to seize the opportunity, had already rushed towards the enemy at the forefront. First, he used the mid-level dash skill of the short sword skill," Quick Bite," to hit the target, greatly reducing the opponent's HP. Then, he took the opportunity to use the high-speed continuous skill unique to the short sword to attack further.
The Drunken Ape used a low-level hammer spear skill. Although the power of a single hit was quite great, the attack speed and the number of consecutive skills were not much. Celica repeatedly retreated to avoid the enemy's counterattack after her continuous attacks hit the target. She then attacked again and immediately reduced the HP bar of the first monster. Bina would sometimes spit out bubble-like breaths to confuse the apeman's eyes.
On the fourth attack, he released the continuous skill " Short Blade " in an attempt to deal a fatal blow to the apeman at the forefront.
In that split second, the new enemy switched from the right back of the target to the front. Celika had no choice but to change her target and began to reduce the second monster's HP. After the first apeman retreated to the back, he raised the pot in his left hand and drank.
Then, Celica checked the HP bar of the first Drunken Ape with the corner of her eye and found something that shocked her. His HP bar was recovering at a considerable speed. It seemed like there was some kind of recovery agent in the pot.
Celica had fought with the Drunken Ape on the 35th floor before, and she had easily defeated two of them. Because he didn't give the other party any room to switch, he didn't notice that they had this special ability. Celika gritted her teeth and tried her best to defeat the second monster.
However, after a round of fierce attacks, the HP bar of the second Drunken Ape was reduced to the red domain. In the instant that he pulled away from the last heavy attack, he was forcefully cut in by the third Drunken Ape. Looking closely, the first apeman's HP had almost completely recovered.
If this continued, there would be no end to it. The taste of anxiety gradually spread in Celica's mouth.
Celica did not have much experience fighting monsters alone. After all, the level of safety was just a numerical value, and it was different from the player's own skills. This unexpected situation caused Cecilia's anxiety to gradually turn into panic. She made more and more mistakes, and at the same time, she gave the enemy a chance to counterattack.
Just as she finally managed to reduce the HP bar of the third Drunken Ape to about half, the ape did not let go of the chance to continuously cast a series of consecutive skills. As Silika was too persistent in her pursuit, she managed to hit the apeman with a critical hit.
Although the cudgel was only a crude product made of wood, the basic damage caused by its weight, coupled with the reinforcement of the Drunken Apeman's tendons, instantly reduced Celica's HP by about 30%. A chill ran down Celica's spine.
The fact that she did not have any more recovery potions on hand also made her waver. Bina's Healing Breath could only recover about 10% of her HP, and she could not use it frequently. In that case, if he suffered the same damage three more times, he would die.
Death. The moment this possibility entered her mind, Cecilia's body stiffened. Not only could he not raise his arms, but he could not move his legs either.
Up until now, although the battle was intense for her, it was far from the danger of reality. She had never thought that the real " death " would be waiting for her in the extended line of the battle.
As the Drunken Mad Apes roared and raised their sticks again, Celica's eyes widened and her body stiffened. It was only then that she understood what it was like to fight monsters in SAO. He understood that although this was a game, it was not a joke. It was a fact full of contradictions.
The cudgel fell with a low growl and hit Celica, who was standing rooted to the ground. She fell to the ground because she could not withstand the strong impact. Her HP bar suddenly decreased, and she entered the yellow alert zone.
He could no longer think. There were still options like running away or using the transfer crystal, but she could only stare blankly at the cudgel that was raised for the third time.
The crude weapon emitted a red glow, and just as Celica was about to close her eyes out of reflex…
A small figure flew from the air to the front of the stick. Then came the heavy sound of impact. Aqua blue feathers scattered along with the effect light, and the short HP bar was reduced to the left at the same time.
Bina, who had been knocked to the ground, looked up at Silika with her round blue eyes. After letting out a soft " Chirp..." sound, it turned into shiny pieces and scattered. Only a long tail feather floated down from the sky and finally landed on the ground.
The sound of something breaking suddenly rang out in Celica's heart. The invisible strings that bound her body also disappeared. Before he felt sad, he felt anger. He was angry that he was so frightened that he could not move after only one attack. There was also the anger towards him who had quarreled and quarreled over such a small matter and was so stupid as to think that he could break through the forest alone.
Celica retreated agilely and dodged the monster's pursuit. She roared and attacked the enemy fiercely. The short sword in his right hand flashed with light as he kept slashing at the apeman.
Seeing that its companion's stamina had decreased, the first Drunken Ape swung its cudgel and tried to switch positions again. However, Silika did not dodge but used her left hand to block the attack. Even though it wasn't a direct attack, his HP bar was still reduced. However, Celika completely ignored this and focused on chasing after the third ape that killed Bina.
Using her petite body, she rushed into the other party's arms and used all her strength to stab the short sword into the apeman's chest. As the brilliant effect of the Critical Strike appeared, the enemy's HP was also destroyed. First, it was a sorrowful cry, followed by a broken sound effect.
Amidst the debris, Celica turned around and attacked her new target without saying a word. Although her HP had already reached the red alert zone, she no longer cared about these things. In the narrow field of vision, only the figures of the enemies that had to be killed kept expanding.
Just as she had forgotten the fear of death and was about to attack from below the falling cudgel…
A pure white ray of light came from behind the apeman and slashed horizontally, cutting apart the two Drunken Mad Apemen standing side by side.
In an instant, the apeman's body broke into two halves, and it let out a series of miserable cries and sounds of destruction.
Silika, who was stunned on the spot, only saw a male player standing there after the fragments evaporated. He was not tall with his black hair and black coat, but he exuded a strong sense of majesty. Cecilia instinctively felt fear and took a step back. Their gazes met.
The other party's eyes were very calm, as deep as the darkness of the night. The man put the single-handed sword in his right hand back into the scabbard on his back and said,
"... Sorry. I couldn't save your friend…"
The moment she heard this, Celica felt weak all over. She could no longer hold back her tears and they kept flowing down. She didn't notice that the dagger slipped from her hand and fell to the ground. Her gaze shifted to the aqua blue feather on the ground and she knelt down in front of it.
As the boiling anger disappeared, a deep sense of sadness and loss surged from the bottom of his heart. This emotion turned into tears that kept rolling down her cheeks.
In the demonic spirit's AI, there shouldn't be a mode of action that actively attacked monsters. Therefore, at that moment, Bina chose to rush to the front of the staff with her own will. It was proof of their friendship over the past year.
With both hands on the ground, Celica finally managed to squeeze out the words.
" Please... Bina... don't leave me alone..."
However, the aqua blue feather did not respond.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。