Peridot
"Is something wrong?" I asked Norma, who looked downcast.
Coincidentally, she had logged in just a few minutes before me.
"...No. It's just that this bridge is usually raised; if she had come this way, she would have had to leave her mount behind and cross the river via that fallen tree to lower the bridge."
"That doesn't sound like a task she'd struggle with."
"True. Except that when the [Bishop] showed me this path, a [Level: 12] archer was perched in that tree, keeping an eye on the crossing. After all, the land on the other side of the river is the [Marquis]'s private property."
"I see. So, if there's no sign of her horse, it means she managed to take out the archer somehow."
"Or worse. The [Marquis] decided to 'confiscate' her treasure," she added, closing only her left eye.
"...Either way, he must have some information about her. Let's go," I said, following the trail up the plateau.
▲○X■
The smell was the first sign we had that she had passed by: nauseatingly sweet, the stench of rotting flesh. Then came the buzzing of millions of flies, moving like black clouds just beyond the final rise. And then...
"By all the shooting stars!" Silas covered his mouth as we reached the crest of the rise and came face-to-face with the carnage.
Hundreds- no, thousands of animal carcasses were piled as high as the church towers where we had found Norma.
"Cows...?" the [Nun] asked.
"You said the bridge guard was [Level: 12], right?" I asked, noticing something white wedged amidst the tons of carcasses.
"Yes, I did."
"And presumably, the [Marquis] had many more guards just as strong, if not even stronger. It would be impossible even for her to kill so many enemies so much stronger than her... at least, alone."
"Hmm... What do you mean?" Mira asked.
I pointed upwards, to the top of the plateau, before concluding:
"She must have stirred up the man's cattle into a stampede, and ambushed them like that."
"So you mean the [Marquis]...?!" Silas paled.
"I don't think there would be anyone other than a nobleman wearing a white linen suit around here, would there?" I pointed to the white thing I had seen.
"So, that woman still has the treasure" the [Nun] commented. "And she just committed an even greater act of treason against the empire, didn't she? Well, just one more reason for us to hurry up and capture her!"
"That's true. With every minute we lose, she not only commits a new act of terror, but also gets stronger. Let's hurry, there must be some clue as to where she went up there" I said, skirting the pile of animal carcasses.
I stopped suddenly when I saw what was on the other side.
"Nhar.. Grahn... Crar!" Grunted the enormous creature that was feasting on the animal carcasses; something like a huge pterosaur with horns, feathers, and four legs and two wings. "CRAAARR!" It screamed when it saw us.
"Damn it!" I tried to dodge the animal's beak, but I only managed to do so partially, and at the beginning of the battle I was bitten on the arm and shaken from side to side, unable to do anything but watch my [HP] rapidly decrease.
"Graargh!" The pterosaur recoiled when a saw opened a shimmering red slit in its side.
"Hmm! Are you alright, Legiano?!"
"I lost two-thirds of my life. You saved me, Mira."
"Careful!" Silas warned, shooting at the creature just in time to push it away from me once again.
"Tch!" I clicked my tongue, feeling useless.
"What's wrong, Legiano?" Norma asked, worried.
"...My specialty is dealing with other human beings, I'm not so good with animals and monsters" I explained.
"Aaah" She smiled. "Well, in that case, leave it to me!" She continued, walking towards the enormous, enraged pterosaur. "It just so happens that this is precisely my specialty. [All Blessings]!" She shouted, swinging her flail, which burned with purple flames upon hitting the animal.
"Graaaargh!" The pterosaur roared, trying to fly away while its entire body was engulfed in purple flames.
In seconds and with a single blow, Norma had defeated the monster.
"Hm?! Norma, that's... impressive, to say the least."
"Really? The [Bishop] told me the same thing..." She replied, smiling and looking away. "I don't know exactly why, but this Saint became quite attached to me, and said he would give me a hand if I needed it. The [Bishop] also couldn't say how I managed to befriend the Saint, he said there was one in each cathedral but even so that was very rare. But I think I managed because, during my training, I kept talking to him non-stop!" She explained, innocently hugging the flail that contained an eyeless skull.
"Huh, two pleasant surprises today," Silas said, resting his weapon on his shoulder. "First, we discovered that Legiano isn't good at absolutely everything, and second, that Norma is a genius too!"
"Hey, why is the fact that I'm no good with monsters supposed to be good news?" I asked. But at that, everyone just laughed.
Shortly after, we tracked tire marks leading toward a nearby town. We sent a telegraph message to the local authorities reporting the [Marquess]'s death, then set off in a car as quickly as we could in pursuit of "Vinea."
Given how the severity of her crimes had escalated exponentially, I doubted she would immediately head for a city even larger than the one ahead, Meicaminho, where there would certainly be ways to identify her. In other words, at that very moment, she was likely trying to forge a new identity and secure her treasure. I was close to cornering her, I was certain of it!
Game Over ☠
Jade
The banker stared open-mouthed at the piles of coins before him.
"Three thousand two hundred and seventy-two gold coins, three thousand one hundred and ninety-eight silver coins, and five thousand and thirty-one bronze coins," I listed, having further expanded my hoard after killing the [Marquess]. Flashing my best innocent-young-lady smile, I tucked a lock of brown hair behind my human ears. "I'd like to open an account at this bank, deposit this sum, and get a debit card for convenience... if you please."
"Ah... W-Well, of course, of course, I'd be delighted to! But I need to verify a few little things first. You know, the standard paperwork," the banker mumbled, adjusting his glasses and picking up a notebook and pencil. "Could you tell me your full name, miss?"
"Just Anelise. You understand, don't you? For us colonists, surnames aren't all that common."
"Of course, of course. And how did Miss Anelise come by this fortune?" the banker asked again, shooting me a nervous glance over his spectacles. "I apologize for the indelicate question, but some colonists have engaged in practices that aren't exactly admirable, like grave robbing, to get rich quick."
Grave robbing? Damn, why didn't I think of that sooner?! I mentally kicked myself. Soon, however, I got my train of thought back on track: should I say it's my dowry? He might want to know more about my fiancé in that case... Should I lie about some business venture instead? Or a reward for a quest? Then again, if he were to investigate this matter, I could end up in serious trouble... I thought to myself, adjusting the lovely white dress I was wearing (the bandits' guild actually offered an impressive identity-swapping service, featuring one of those magazines found in character-creation booths).
"Well, I obtained my fortune through homicide, of course," I confessed, flashing the most charming, confident smile I could muster.
"Clack!" The banker's pencil dropped to the floor.
"Haha! Don't worry, my dear fellow; the men whose lives I took were all wanted criminals. And I believe Imperial law dictates that the spoils belong to the bounty hunters and adventurers who take them down, doesn't it?"
"Y-You... You killed enough bandits to amass three thousand gold coins?"
"Oh, of course not! I've never met such a comical banker, hahaha!" I covered my laughter with one hand. "I took out the mastermind behind the Scales Guild directly... Though not before 'convincing' him to reveal where he kept his treasures, naturally."
"The leader of the Scales Guild is dead!?"
"Of course; I made sure of it. And if you'd like to verify that for yourself, why not visit his secret base in the sewers?"
"That... that is...!" The banker shook his head. "N-No, even if that were true, three thousand gold coins, such a fortune is simply..."
Hm? Is that really so much money?
"Well, that masked man also had an imp in his possession; I imagine the little creature must have boosted his hoard somehow. Had I known it could serve as a key witness, I wouldn't have killed it and tossed its corpse into the sewage flow."
"Thud!" The banker's ledger hit the floor as he suddenly stood up.
"Y-Y-You killed a demon and dumped its corpse into human waste?!"
Is that strange? I thought this game's lore involved demons being hated and all that? Well, I've already said it now; there's no taking it back.
"That's right. Is there a problem, Mr. Banker?" I stared him down, serious.
"Gulp!" The banker swallowed hard, looking away. "N-No. We could send auditors to verify your story, but..."
"But we do have a problem after all, don't we? Even if the money was obtained perfectly legally, I got it by desecrating a demonic cult and robbing one of the region's biggest criminal organizations. If you were to put that in writing... Who knows who else might want to have a 'private chat' with you to set a few things straight, right?" I quickly understood why the man before me was hesitating. "Once you're certain I'm telling the truth, why don't we negotiate a sort of... special financial insurance?
▲○X■
An hour later, I was walking through the beautiful streets of the colonial-style city that had sprung up around the cathedral, a debit card bearing the name "Anelise" in my hand, and several hundred kilograms of coins lighter. And only a fraction of those coins had gone toward bribing the banker!
"Wow, I swore you'd get arrested and hanged when you walked into the bank so confidently to deposit all that cash, but you actually pulled it off," a little red-scaled lizard-man said from inside my bag. "Just what I'd expect from my partner! A heart as dark as pitch and a mind as sharp as an assassin's razor! So, what's the next step?"
"The next step?" I reminded myself that I was playing with a specific goal in mind. "Oh, right. Well, it looks like I've got a decent chunk of change for a newbie, but that doesn't make me particularly unique." While trading VRMMORPG currency had always been relatively popular, it wasn't the kind of asset that truly made sellers rich, given the many ways to obtain it and the common issue of inflation in that setting. No, the kind of product I really needed was... "Something only I can have. An exclusive position, or at least the closest thing to it. A special [Class] or [Title], perhaps?"
"True, now that you mention it... What are your plans for your [Class]?" the imp wanted to know. "You've got great reaction time; maybe you should become a [Quick-Trigger]? Or a [Duelist]? Or even an [Assassin]?"
"Nah, none of those [Classes] sound unique enough. But you're right, I should start looking for a suitable [Class]."
I opened a menu and saw which classes were available to me at that moment:
[Outlaw Gunslinger (Common): You've put to sleep more than a handful of fools who dared to cross your path, armed with nothing but a pistol and no prior training. Do you wish to follow the path of an outsider self-taught in the art of pistol-based killing?
Perks: Immediate unlock of the "Double Shot" skill; +15% damage with all types of pistols.]
"Hmm, so you don't necessarily need to learn a [Class] from a master?"
"That's right; if you meet certain prerequisites, you can unlock [Classes] on your own. But that method takes a lot more effort than simply learning from a master" the imp explained. "Haven't you been paying attention to the [Class]-unlock notifications you've received so far?"
Huh? I got notifications like that? Damn, I've been having so much fun playing this that I didn't even notice...
"Let me see what other [Classes] are available here."
[Trailblazer (Rare) (E): You reached Level 25 as a "Settler"; your drive to carve new paths through the wilderness with a machete, find natural resources, and locate the perfect spot to settle down is exceptional!]
A rare class? Well, "rare" doesn't sound all that impressive, and I bet something this easy to get is already well-known within the game's communities. It wouldn't surprise me if players were competing right now to reach the level cap as settlers just to unlock an even more exclusive class. But there's something else here that catches my eye...
"Hey, why does this class have an '(E)' next to it?"
"That's because it's a 'Specialist' [Class]. It's an upgraded version of a basic [Class]. Anyone can learn a basic [Class], but you need a specific foundation to become a specialist. So, a [Settler] can become an [Archer] or a [Swordsman], but only a [Swordsman] can become a [Dual Wielder].
"I see" I confirmed, and went back to scanning my options.
[Bandit (Common), Swordsman (Common), Commoner Knight (Uncommon), Trapper (Common), Biker (Rare), Pyromaniac (Rare), Outsider Cultist (Uncommon), Outsider Exorcist (Uncommon)]
"Hey, how many [Classes] can I have?"
"You can only choose a new [Class] every 25 Levels, and as far as anyone knows, the maximum [Level] is 100, so that makes four in total. At each new 'evolution', which is what these opportunities to learn a new [Class] are called, you can learn a basic [Class] or further advance your current one. Learning more than one basic [Class] isn't really recommended, but sometimes they allow for interesting combinations."
"Combinations?"
"Yeah, distinct base [Classes] can combine into mixed [Classes]. For example, if you have the option to evolve into an [Archer] and eventually unlock the option to evolve into a [Knight], you unlock one of the most well-known mixed [Classes]: [Mounted Archer].
"So, even just having the option to evolve into a [Class] can lead to unlocking a more complex one? Interesting. And is there a [Class] almanac out there?" I asked, assuming that, so early in the game's lifespan, players likely didn't know any more about evolutions and [Classes] than the NPCs did.
"Well, there are plenty of almanacs like that, but they're usually quite valuable. And the ones containing information on (Extraordinary), (Legendary), or (Unique) [Classes] are kept under lock and key by Vanguard's most powerful organizations... Like the Cult of Mboi'Cairos! Hey, hey, why don't you join my cult, partner? Guihihi!"
"I'll think about it. But tell me, how many different combinations are possible?"
"Thousands? Tens of thousands? The [System] is a living, intelligent entity; they say it creates new [Classes] constantly, whenever the need arises."
In other words, any information from this point on is just lore or flavor text, nothing truly useful.
"Right! I've made up my mind."
"Are you joining my cult?"
"No. I'm joining the adventurers' guild!" I pointed to the building I had stumbled upon by chance, where countless NPCs and players were constantly coming and going.