"Let's go back down. There's still an entire world to explore!" Said Gothra as she immediately just jumped off the branch we were sitting on, without any warning at all.

"Hey, you idiot! That will kill you! And this game's penalty for death is 24hrs cannot login!" Not that saying this now will change anything! I don't think she has the stats to survive this fall...

Then, the branch I was sitting on suddenly wavered as another weight disappeared.

I looked over and Bereo... was gone.

Eh?

He had appeared right after, just underneath Gothra!

BOOOM!

A loud sound resounded and Gothra landed, scattering clouds of dust all around.

I peeked at the party tab in the corner of my vision, and there was Gothra at... 90% health!?

The dust cleared and I saw how Gothra landed on her feet, stepping above Bereo. She crashed into him, basically drop kicked him in order to escape most of the fall damage...

Uhhh... Yikes.

I know he's a system avatar and all, but still... yikes.

I'd never treat Ciraphim that way!

I turned around and saw Ciraphim's holographic body staring back at me with a warm smile.

Cough, cough!

ANYWAY~~~!!!

How do I get down? Ciraphim can't materialize in a game because it's against the rules. And I can't climb down myself... Maybe I'll survive the fall? My defense is higher than Gothra's. I mean, Bereo actually did survive the fall, and he got double stomped by a falling Gothra so...

"Jump," said Gothra's telepathic voice, "Papa Bereo here will catch you. Hahaha!"

"Eh? How much HP does he even have left?"

"Hmm, about 10%?"

"He's almost dead!"

"No worries, no worries. He'll respawn in 10 minutes!"

"Well, yeah, and he'll probably remain as a hologram even while dead... but still..."

"Oh my, oh my. So much concern over Bereo. Fufufu."

"I-idiot! Not like that!"

"Spoken like a true tsundere!"

"Grr...!"

"But, ah! I get it! No need to say any more oh Fira! You just wanna be carried again by daddy don't you? You want to experience once more the sensation of rubbing against his back. The ecstasy of Bereo Huggies' piggyback ride!"

"I'm jumping," I muttered telepathically with a flat tone of voice.

"Eh!? Bereo!"

Bereo jumped below me just in time as I crashed into him like a meteor! He caught me in my reckless fall!

Then, he looked into my eyes, as his body slowly dissipated into light...!

"Bereo!!!! NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

"He's right here, silly," laughed Gothra, pointing at his holographic body.

"Hello." Bereo added.

Ah, yeah. I knew that.

< Proficiency Acquired! >

< The [Meteor Drop] Skill has been acquired! >

"Oh hey, I got a skill out of that."

"Oh, Meteor Drop? I got it too. It seems very specific, but it deals tons of damage based on height dropped, and the wielder's max HP. It also passively decreases all fall damage by an entire 50%! It's halved! I bet I can survive the fall by myself now!"

"Yeah it could unlock or make certain areas accessible. I'm sure are some. Who knows how big this first Realm truly is, but virtual world larger that earth are quite commonplace nowadays."

"Yeah, I wonder what treasures awaits us? Maybe a fully functioning gun?" Said Gothra, moving forward.

"Not in this map probably."

"Yeah... So, let's go! get to that next Realm even faster!"

"Oh, you wanna continue grinding? I was gonna turn in for the night, maybe grab some dinner..."

"Eh? It's like 7:30, it's still early!"

"Well yeah..."

"We don't even need to eat or sleep."

"Well... it's still fun, sometimes."

"Oh. I haven't done it in like years. Sleeping, I mean. Eating is nice!"

"Hahaha! Well, I only sleep like maybe once a week, but this somehow was tiring so..."

"Alright... but can't we do one more grind? It's nighttime and usually stronger monsters would show up, right?"

"Oh! You're right! Well... a few more battles wouldn't hurt, I guess." I shrugged, catching up to Gothra.

We didn't need any light, as the game naturally provided players with decent night vision, although it's still not as good as during broad daylight.

"Schreeeeee!!"

It didn't take long until a ghost showed up. It had a withered and disfigured face, and a tattered piece of shirt. Its body was transparent with a bluish luster. Very typical ghost stuff.

"Maybe it's a friendly ghost?" Asked Gothra innocently.

"Why don't try going up to it and ask?"

"On it!" She saluted, marching forwards towards the ghost.

"SCREEEIAAAHHHH!!!" Screamed the ghost.

"Amazing, Fira! This ghost has some foreign dialect I cannot understand! But 'Scrriiiaaaahhh!!!' I think it's complimenting me. Oh my, what a talker!"

"Pfft! Go on, go for the handshake!"

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Yes! I'll show them the famed Gothra hospitality!" Gothra extended her hand up to the ghost with a big grin, "MY! NAME! IS! GOTH-RA! PLEASED! TO! MEET! YOU! GHOST!"

Slash!

And the ghost thanked her by swiping her hand with its claw! How horrible!

"Guh! W-what!? Why!? I thought we were friends, Ghost-san!" Gothra then took out her mace and pointed it at the ghost, "I'll punish you for daring to attack a cute and innocent little maiden!"

Wow... she's saying that about herself.

Fwish!

Gothra swung her mace and it went right past into the ghost's other side!

That's it. It just went through the ghost. Its HP is still full, it didn't take any damage at all...

Well, yeah, it's a ghost so that's to be expected I guess...

"H-how!? That was my ultimate mace attack, Mace Xtra Helping Ten Thousand! How can you resist such a powerful blow!?" Gothra was freaking out! Her powerful move that she just made up was thwarted by this random monster! No shot there's actually a skill named like that!

"You're not a normal ghost at all!" She shouted.

"W-what!? It is not just a normal monster!?" My voice sounded surprised!

"You must be a hidden secret boss monster!!!"

"Bwahahahahaha!" I couldn't help but laugh. This entire act is killing me...! Was this her plan all along!? Curse Gothra! That schemer!

"Bereo!" Gothra commanded her System Avatar, but he only floated around her as a hologram!

"Eh!? It hasn't been yet 10 minutes!? Maybe we should've waited! Fira!"

"No, no, this is perfect!"

"Oh! You have a plan!?"

"No!"

"Eh!? Then how is it perfect, dumbass!?"

"It is very funny! Gahahahaha!"

"It's funny to see me get beat up by a ghost!?" All this time, the ghost was still clawing away at her, and no matter how many times she swings her club, the ghost's HP bar would not budge!

"Alright! Fira! Tag in!"

"What do you mean tag in? I only have a hammer! I don't have anything to fight against a ghost either!"

Gothra ignored my pleas and ran past me trying to pass the aggro off!

"H-hey!" I cried, running after her. I looked back at the low level ghost that was following after us. This is actually pathetic, hahahaha!

"Oh! Bereo's back!" Gothra immediately summoned him again, materialized into her guardian!

"Bereo, now!"

"Understood." He said cooly, taking his rifle into his hands, and aiming it right at the insolent ghost!

Trtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrt!

Bereo mercilessly shot his gun, filling the ghost with a thousands holes!

"Screeeeaaaahhhhh!!!"

Or not! The ghost survived- no it more than survived! Its HP was still full!

"Gothra, you idiot! That gun deals physical damage!" I immediately complained to her!

"Well, how would I know!? Maybe it did some magic too!" She pouted angrily!

We kept on running, but we were then interrupted by the sounds of countless cries and screeches!

"Grrraaaahhhh!!"

"Scrrriiiaahhhh"

"Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank!"

"Brrraaaiiiinnnnsssss!!!"

Oh wow, zombies actually do go all 'brainsss' in this game.

Wait, no, that's not the point!

"Amazing!" Said Gothrra, "It seems that Bereo's machine-gun really does have a taunting effect! Or at least, it's insanely good for getting aggro on him!"

That's nice... but still not the point!

"We're surrounded!"

"Yes! Hahahahaha!"

"Why are you happy!?"

"I don't know!"

Gothra suddenly jumped into horde of enemies and hit a skeleton undead right in the face with her mace! The other enemies walked, ran, and crawled up to her, but she paid them no mind and kept on bashing away!

Crack! Crash! Crack!

The skeleton quickly fell apart into pieces, they had low defenses and health!

Trtrtrtrtrttrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrt!

Bereo began to shoot at the enemies on one side, the loud noise attracting the attention of many of the creatures and critters!

I ran towards the other side and also started to smash away with my hammer!

CRASH!

A skeleton fell apart in one hit, but more kept on coming. There were zombies, ghosts, ghouls, undead skeletons, and even zombies who stayed way past their bedtime!

"Go back to sleep!" I roared as I bashed a goblin's head in! That took about 70% of its health but not enough it seems!

< Proficiency Acquired! >

< The [Hammer User] Skill has been acquired! >

I finally got the damage multiplier for my weapon of choice! I kicked the previously injured goblin right on its crotch!

"URRRRIIIIIAAAAYYYYHHHHH!!!"

It died with a melodious death cry!

More and more monsters kept coming, but I spot another goblin, lvl 5 like the other one!

Perfect!

I swung my hammer wide to test out just how much more damage [Hammer User] gives me!

'Ueeghhh!!"

I hit it right on its head just like the other one, and its HP instantly dropped to 20%!

"URRRIIIIAAAAYYYHHH!!"

I kicked it on the crotch as the finishing move just like the other one. I call this technique: 'The Nut Cracker!!!'

Gahahahaha! This is fun! More, more!

As if to answer my call, more and more enemies kept on flooding in!

Wait! It was a joke! A gag! Have you no sense of humor!?

"Grrrraaaahhh!!" Answered an ugly face zombie.

"I. DO. NOT. UNDERSTAND!!!!" I smashed my hammer to its sides, and then to its shoulder, and then to the top of its head!

Splat!

Like a fucking watermelon!

NEXT!

More and more enemies keep on coming. Zombies crawl up to me and grab my feet, Ghosts close in, undead right in front, goblins at the side!

But I will not give in! For the people that I love, for the country, for the world!!!

I stepped back, carrying the damn zombies clinging to me, skidding their ugly faces across dirt and soil.

But they still won't let me go!

Ugh...

Sorry, but I'm not interested!

I slammed their arms with my hammer, loosening their grip on me and finally freeing myself from their rotten grasp!

However, right at that moment, the other monsters quickly swarm right at me, surrounding me from all sides. I swing and swing my hammer, taking one out every 2-4 swings, but they keep on coming and coming and coming!

And the ghosts aren't at all decreasing. They're also not affected by collision, which means they can stack in the same space as the other monsters! It's so difficult to keep them at bay!

They claw and claw at me, how can they even hit me when I cannot hit them!? Not fair! Although, well, they only deal damage and have zero knockback, so it kinda makes sense, but this isn't the time for that!

Four ghosts attack me at once, from all four directions, alongside another zombie with a foot fetish going after my feet, a ghoul ready to pounce to my sides, and a ranged attack coming from afar!

[System Worship!] [System Overdrive!]

I activated the third effect of my Unique Skill, slowing down my perception of time. A single second feels like five, three seconds stretched into fifteen!

I take one of these extra seconds to assess the situation. The ranged attack is coming from an archer skeleton, I was able to tell the attack was coming because of my Unique Skill's [System Algorhithm] predicting its trajectory. Even from the corner of my vision, as long as I can technically see it clearly, the trajectory would be calculated.

This archer, I can ignore, dodging its attacks should be easy. As for the ghosts, I'm willing to take one swipe so I escape to the right, going after the ghoul. The ghost in my way did hit me with its attack, but I'm quite tanky so it's fine. I passed through its ethereal body like nothing.

"Brrraaaaaiiiinnnssss!!

The crawling zombie was left behind, without my delicious foot to rub, but that's not my problem.

Also, my brain is not in my foot dumbass!

Swish!

The arrow then whisked past where I was, but I was long gone from there.

"Rrraaaa---!!"

The ghoul roared as I came towards it, thinking that its got me in its grasp, but you're the one in my grasp motherfucker!

I smashed the ghoul away, and then continued chasing after it midair, smashing it again, it falls down to the ground, I kick it away, then gave it another smash, and then one last time for good measure. Dead.

The world has already gone back to normal, moving at a rapid pace! The sounds of war and rabid gunshots resonated in my ears, the cries of monsters begging to tear off a piece of me for themselves.

A goblin suddenly pounced at me, it was hiding near the ghoul with a stupid grin! It's gotten too close, swinging my hammer won't make it, and he thinks he can stab me with that puny knife of his, probably as small as his goblin cock! The rapey bastard, people might not even be able to tell he's raping them because of how small he is!

I grabbed both his arms with a single hand using my superior strength.

"Uurrii!!??"

Die confused, bitch!

I threw him high into the air, giving myself ample time to swing my hammer, slamming the back down into the ground, and even cracking the forest soil!

I took a peek at my status, I'm still over half health, about 60%. There are about 20 more enemies left on my side, 5 ghosts that I cannot do anything about...

I glance at Gothra's status, and she's... almost at full health!?

I looked behind me to find her fighting with Bereo, taking out the enemies very efficiently.

She's definitely, really enjoying herself. That sadistic grin says it all.

Glad someone's having fun.

I know that she doesn't just charge in blindly, even when she's like that. It's not all instinct, though it really seems like it is sometimes. But at this rate, with the strategy she's using, Bereo will eventually fall and she'll be overwhelmed even with her defense bonuses when Bereo dies.

She and Bereo are actually taking on twice the amount of enemies I am. And on my side, I've only taken out a third of them. This is tough... but also fun! Ah, but I'm not a masochist! Fuck you Gothra!

The ghosts, ghouls, and zombies close in on me. There are one or two goblins left, while the only surviving skeletons are the ranged archer ones. Which means that the remaining ones are all considerably tougher and more difficult to kill!

Tch! I might still be able to win against these numbers aside from the ghosts, but not when you add the greater half that Gothra is holding by herself... Wait Bereo is with her, so it's not really solo. Right? Or is it? I mean summoner mechanics exist in the game outside of Unique Skills, I think...

Ah, I don't know! Not the time for this! But let's say it's not solo, otherwise she won't fucking shut up about it! Hahaha!

Alright! I'm joining back up with Gothra! Perhaps together, with the power of nakama and friendship, we can defeat all odds and defeat this fucking wave!

(For those who don't know that anime is actually a very accurate representation of Japan. Nakama is just another word for friend or ally, but with a heavier and more heartwarming, heartwrenching connotation.)