LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 43: Let the Match begin!
It's around 5 in the evening. Close to 6.
Sanae and I have arrived home from our date.
She's carrying a bag of her lingeries she'd bought and another bag of my clothes received from Mion's manager. Whereas I was carrying the heavy bags of groceries bought at the supermarket at the end of our date.
Now back home, I took my key out of my pocket and unlocked the door.
"We're back!" I announced loudly, as Hikari came bursting out of her room to greet me.
"Welcome back, bro! And Sis Sanae too. How was your date?" Hikari then asked.
"Pretty well. Though, there were some interruptions."
"What do you mean?"
"Yoruto got asked to temporarily be a model by a fashion designer from Starlight Fashion." Sanae answered.
"Starlight Fashion? What's that?" Hikari asked her, causing Sanae to look at me as I simply told her.
"Hikari doesn't read fashion magazines."
"Yeah. I was able to figure that out..."
Then I turned back to Hikari.
"Anyways, like Sanae said, I got asked to be a model for this fashion company which I... or rather, Sanae accepted in my stead. Got some free clothes and money for doing it."
"I see. What kind of clothes?"
"Some really expensive-looking ones. Might be a pain to clean for laundry though."
"Lemme see! Lemme see!"
"It's in the bag Sanae's carrying. The ones I'm carrying are groceries which... I should be storing it in the fridge now."
Sanae and I removed our shoes and split ways from there. I went to the kitchen, whereas Sanae went with Hikari upstairs to show her the clothes I got from the designer lady.
Once I was done storing the groceries, I took some out and began preparing dinner.
Now that I have restocked my spices, I should make something spicy for Hikari.
A little while later, we had our dinner. Hikari's in her room, back in the game already. However, because the evening match of the event was from 5pm to 7pm, she won't be able to participate in it. Which is why she will be trying to grind for some levels a bit with Himeji until the night match at 9pm.
Meanwhile, Sanae and I are in my room. Being curious about my skills with my fingers after her brief conversation with Mrs Kisaragi back at the mall, she wanted me to demonstrate it to her.
"Ahhh~ Ahhhhh~ Mmmmmm~ Yes... That's the spot, Yorutooo~"
"Sanae, would you stop moaning...?"
"I can't help it. Your fingers are making my body feel all tingling inside. Aaaahhnnn~"
I swear... Every time I do this, they just keep moaning awkwardly. It's especially bad when I do it to Mom...
Sanae fell asleep from the pleasure and relaxation after a while. Her body lies as comfortably as it can on my bed, while she snoozes cutely in her dreams.
I carried her to the guest room and laid her on the bed to rest. Then I checked the time and seeing that I still had about an hour and a half before the event's night match, I decided to make preparations for tomorrow's dinner and head to the kitchen.
And after that was done, I put on my Dive Gear, lied comfortably on my bed and logged into the game.
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[Welcome back to Umbra Frontier Online.]
[Transporting to the last logout point....]
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The moment I opened my eyes, I found myself in a crowd full of players all over Lily Corvo. It was as if the entire server had gathered in the town on this particular day.
Hikari warned me during dinner that Lily Corvo's going to be crowded because of the event, but I wasn't expecting this!
I squeezed my way through the crowd, trying to reach the spot in town where Hikari and I agreed to meet up. It was tough with players all around, pushing against me as I tried to move past them.
Eventually, I got myself some space to breathe and proceeded to go to the meet-up spot after a short breather.
Additionally, I'd noticed some of the players, having some aesthetically pleasing equipment as I was squeezing through them.
I wonder how they got those...?
I'd also noticed a strange floating ball of light on top of the fountain at the center of Lily Corvo.
Was that always there?
"Sis, over here!" I heard Hikari's voice, calling out to me.
Looking in the direction where the voice came from, I spotted her waving her hands up high next to Himeji and approached them.
"Good to see you, Mama."
"Glad you can make it."
"Of course. You told me to after all."
I then looked at the crowd of players here and asked Hikari. "So, is this how many people we'll be facing later on in the event?"
"Not really. Some of them are just here to watch. As for the rest of them, yes." Hikari answered.
"It wasn't like this earlier in the morning and afternoon though. Only during the evening and night now are there this many players." Himeji remarked.
"I see. So then the night match may be tougher now, huh?"
"Yeah. You may be right about that? Especially now that Zanny's going to participate now. This match might just end up with him as the winner already."
"Is that so...?" I looked at Hikari. "By the way—"
"Zanny is a famous player who was able to play UFO's beta, if you're wondering." said Hikari, as if she had read my mind. "He's also considered one of the best players of UFO, alongside two other beta-test players, Red and Sindri." she added. "Additionally, Zanny's also a live streamer so he'd probably be streaming his fights in the match live later on when it starts."
"I see. Well I know Red, but never heard of this Sindri character before. So this Zanny person is like them, huh?"
"Wait. You've met Red?"
"Just saw the kid from a distance, that's all. Another player told me about him and that's how I know his name. But anyway, I want to ask something." I then changed the topic of our conversation and looked towards the players who were wearing some amazing-looking gear.
"Those guys look tough with their equipment. Should we be worried about them?"
"Depends on what they're actually wearing." Hikari replied. "But for what you're seeing now, sis, they're just skins."
"Umm, what?" I asked her to reiterate.
"Yeah. Those are just cash shop items they bought to make their characters look good."
That... That sounds like a waste of money.
"Are there... any bonuses from buying items in the cash shop though?" I asked.
"Nope. Not a single item in the cash shop affects gameplay whatsoever. They are all about appearances. Whether it's for your character or for your lamp bug, they are just that."
"Hold on. You can change your lamp bug's appearance?" My attention was caught by that bit of info Hikari stated.
"Yup. I've seen some players with pixies as their lamp bug."
"I've seen them too. But they're a bunch of glowing butterflies instead of pixies." Himeji stated.
I've never seen anything like that. But I prefer Lampy as Lampy: A cute and big firefly.
"So we've been here a while... When is the match going to start?"
"Soon, my dear sister... Soon."
And soon as she said it would be, the moment the in-game clock hits 9pm sharp.
From out of nowhere in the air, a biblically accurate angel appeared to greet us all.
Is that the game's mascot or something?
"Greetings, children of the light. I, Jael, am pleased to welcome you all once again to our Makers' wondrous event."
The "Makers". I'm guessing he’s referring to the developers of the game.
"Now... Seeing as there may be some of you who were not present before, I shall briefly explain to all present now on the rules of the event." said Jael.
"First. Those who wish to partake in the event, make your way to the town's center." Jael explained the first rule as some of the crowd began to move when he did so. The three of us, however, remained where we were since we're already in the town's center. Just at the edge of it.
"Second. By the power granted by the Makers, I shall transport those participating to the arena which will be chosen randomly once I have finished explaining the rules. And within each arena, there will be different types of monsters depending on the arena chosen.
Third. Once transported, you will appear at a random location on the map. In that instant, the match would begin as everyone you see around you now will be your rivals in battle.
Fourth. For each competitor you have defeated, 100 event points will be granted to you. Whereas each monster you defeat in the arena, you will earn 50 event points instead. These event points can be exchanged with my familiar, Riel, for limited items or skills in return. She can be found sitting on top of the fountain at the center of Lily Corvo."
Ah. So that's what the floating ball of light was. An event shop NPC.
"Beware, for Riel will only remain at her post till the end of this whole event. But aside from that...
Fifth. In the duration of the match, none shall gain any experience points from the defeat of your foes. None can use any consumables they possess in their inventory. Only the event-exclusive potions which we will grant you are allowed in that regard.
Sixth. Death during the match shall not result in any penalties whatsoever.
And finally... Seventh. The last participant standing will be awarded with 10,000 event points. Now... With the explanations over, may you all have fun and may you stand victorious in the end!"
In other words, this is either going to be a blast or the lamest event ever depending on how far you've survived in the match.
"Are you ready, sis?" Hikari asked me.
"I sure am." I replied.
"Then from this point on, we're enemies, right?" Himeji stated, nervous but excited too.
"Yes we are. Try not to die too early, alright you two?"
"I'd say the same for you, sis. Don't go kicking the bucket until we defeat you."
Hikari, Himeji and I have therefore declared our rivalry to each other. During which, Jael begins to spin the wheel for the map we will be transported to in our match.
The images on the wheel showed a variety of maps. Some that look bright and colourful, some that look murky and dark. There's even some that look hard to navigate, and some are just a wide open field with no cover whatsoever.
Eventually, the wheel stopped spinning as Jael then announces.
"The arena for the fourth and final match for today is: The Crawling Hellscape. Home to many Bug-type monsters and the greatest fear to those who are unable to withstand it. Ha Ha Ha!" Jael laughed. Then turned towards the players below.
"Those who wish to back out now may do so within the next ten seconds. Otherwise... Let the match begin!"
By the power granted to Jael from the Makers, he proceeds to transport us all into the arena as a dazzling and blinding light spawned from the ground and took us there in an instant. The moment I opened my eyes, I was already in an unknown location somewhere in the arena.
Looks like I'm in a swamp on the map.
I opened my map and checked. Believing that I may have gotten a favourable starting point with all of these obstacles to hide me.
I've also opened my inventory to check how many of the event-exclusive potions I was given and found a hundred inside, which wasn't much but due to its ability to fully restore my HP and MP, I'd say it's enough.
There are a lot of players participating, so maybe I should stay here and wait until their numbers have depleted somewhat? Or perhaps I could just go out and take down as many as I can until I run into Hikari and Himeji or something?
Hmm... It's hard to decide.
But just as I was thinking on my first course of action, an enormous group of hornet monsters appeared before me. Fortunately, I heard their wings buzzing beforehand and was able to prepare for combat at that moment.
However, that's when I noticed something off about them and lowered my staff.
They aren't attacking...
"Wait. Don't tell me...
This is like what happened with Bane when I first met it, isn't it?
If that's the case...
I put my mind to ease, walked up to the hornets, put my hand out as a friendly gesture and asked them.
"Do you want to be friends?"
The hornets buzzed their wings, creating noise. They looked... happy? I believe, as they then swarm around me with no hostilities towards me.
I'm guessing my Monster Tamer skill is in effect.
"I see. Then from now on, you guys will collectively be known as Buzz."
"Bbbzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz~"
I think they're happy. Also, I know what I should do now.
"Alright then, Buzz. Let's go find some more friends, shall we?"
"Bbbbbbbbbbbbzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz~!!"
And so, for the next thirty minutes or so into the match, I went around the map, gathering "friends" for our little caravan while also avoiding contact with other players in the map, which was easy because they had their lamp bugs' lights on while my Lampy just sits on my shoulder like a good boy.
And because of my efforts on that single task, I now have a lot of friends behind me.
There are like... one... two hundred of them, I guess? Is there even a limit to the Monster Tamer skill?
I don't know. But in any case, these many should be enough.
So, I gave them their orders.
"Spread out and eliminate everything you see."
"Skreeeeeeeeeee~!!"
"Bbbbbbzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz~!!"
"Krikirkrikrikrikrikrikrikirkir~!!"
At that moment... On the first night of the event... The players taking part in the match did not know of what's about to befall upon them.
Death and despair... By the hands of a single player, who commands an army of nightmares at her disposal.
And by her orders...
Hell. Was. Unleashed.
