Ch.89 Similar Scenes, Almost Identical Words and Actions, The Performers Remain Virtually Unchanged; Yet, The Ending is Vastly Different

"...Juu juu... Gyaoo..."

"Don't... Aaaah..."

Okay, let's sort them out one by one.

First, let's talk about the mysterious glow.

The fact that nothing else happened except for the light, that something resembling a magic circle appeared on the ground, and that Nabla-kun said there were lots of little people—from all of that, they're hinting at one thing : summoning magic or sorcery.

If you're suddenly summoned to a place where there are people, that's the only explanation. You can also summon someone using the appropriate item, but that's still a form of summoning.

Don't tell me I have bad intuition. None of my friends or clan members from my previous life were summoners.

I have been in temporary, random parties with people of that profession, but while they might glow when they cast summoning magic, the effect wasn't just that kind of glow, and after the glow, wild or contracted monsters were summoned.

In other words, if he was being summoned, Nabla-kun should have disappeared from the spot after he glowed.

I've heard that the only monsters you can summon are weaklings or moderately strong ones.

Apparently, they glow when they're sent back, but that's irrelevant since he hasn't moved locations, and I didn't know how the monsters were summoned from their original locations either...

The mysterious glow, which seemed like a dud, couldn't possibly be perceived as a secondary effect of activating summoning magic or invocation. It was impossible.

It might sound like an excuse, but for those reasons, the option of summoning never even crossed my mind.

"Jujujujujuujujuju"

"Damn it, uoooooooooogh!"

And this is the second and final one.

Two screams can be heard: one from a human and one from an animal. The approaching shadows then soon emerge from the forest and reach this flower field.

The human voice is female. It sounds familiar, and this situation also seems familiar.

If my prediction is correct, the one who will appear is the sparrow lookalike.

Whether I'm right or not, I'll fly into the air and keep my hands out in front of me so I can activate "Blood-Rotten Tree powder" At any moment.

If it's just the sparrow lookalike, it shouldn't do anything unless I attack it first. However, if it's not the sparrow lookalike, or if it's a different monster or demon, simply watching it from a distance without taking any precautions will delay my response if something unexpected happens.

I often see this in manga and anime: footsteps are heard from a distance, causing vibrations and kicking up dust, indicating that something is approaching.

I've been wondering, why do protagonists stand frozen in place, squinting to try and figure out what that is, or just raise their weapons and wait, not knowing what's coming?

I understand raising your weapon when there's nowhere to hide, but why just stand there without even raising your weapon, asking your teammates if they can see it or trying to gather information?

I suppose the way you deal with it changes depending on who you're facing, but honestly, that way is dangerous, isn't it?

What if the one coming towards you is the final boss? What if it's charging at you at the speed of light from a certain position? You can't say for sure that won't happen, can you?

I'm not saying that running away or hiding is the best solution, but it can at least be a temporary fix, right?

I suppose there are reasons like it looking uncool or the production team's convenience that prevent it.

"It would be terrible if I got involved."

I have magnificent wings. I don't just stand there or lie in wait. Safety first.

So I ran away to safety, even though I knew the attack wouldn't hit me.

Nabla-kun isn't moving from that spot. Or rather, he's not running away because he can't.

Fortunately, he's not in the path of those running, so there's no need to worry about him getting caught up in it.

If we do end up fighting, as expected, it will be a raid monster vs. event monster battle, which would be a multi-player battle with an unknown number of opponents.

However, the sparrow lookalike is the boss of this hidden area. It's like the king of this place. It almost never does anything to indiscriminately harm the inhabitants of this place.

The reason Nabla-kun was riddled with holes during his grassy days was probably because he was literally just grass. I could have been the one to suffer the same fate.

I believe the likelihood of being attacked is low at the moment, but...

"If they were to fight and Nabla-kun was about to lose..."

Living a slow life in a place with an outrageously arrogant king is the worst. Far from relaxing, it's not a peaceful life at all. There's no need for anyone who disrupts a leisurely life.

If that sparrow lookalike is that kind of guy, then I suppose I should side with Nabla-kun for the sake of my future livelihood. It all depends on what the other side does. That's what I think.

That's assuming the sparrow lookalike coming from the forest would actually attack.

"Juiiii-"

"Nooooooo!"

The two creatures finally emerged from the forest.

My prediction was correct; a translucent Cern-san desperately kicked the ground, and then comes the Fairy Flame Gerbil.

Having died, she became a ghost. However, through bond events created by the player's petition, her soul remains in the mortal world and continues to live on.

Despite that, it's strange that she's not transparent or floating around. Perhaps she's still not used to controlling her body.

With her eyes wide open, constantly shouting something, and a desperate expression on her face, she sprinted in a straight line at full speed. It was a magnificent run, focused solely on escaping.

When she was alive, she would be caught up to and attacked all over her body in no time, but from what I can see now, the distance between Cern-san and the sparrow lookalike is neither too close nor too far.

Perhaps because her body feels lighter, she's running faster, and if she keeps running like that, I'm sure she'll eventually get away. The sparrow lookalike with physical bodies will tire out first.

She will soon pass right below me as I float. Just as I thought that, I saw the sparrow lookalike's face flash for a split second.

"Dodge, Vester!"

At the same time, Nabla-kun's loud voice, which I was hearing for the first time, echoed through the air.

"...Eh...Ah..."

It all happened in just a few seconds. It was so fast that all I could perceive was that something blackish-purple had passed by.

"Kyaaaaaaaa... Huh? What? It doesn't, hurt...?"

Cern-san's voice, which had been coming from the front, changed direction and now came from behind.

That's when I realized she had moved to a spot behind where I am.

Something blackish-purple pierced Cern-san, and perhaps due to the recoil, the sparrow lookalike raised its head, changing direction from bottom to top and hitting me directly in the air.

The compressed, shimmering, beam-like remnants dissolved into the air.

The body that was hit was split vertically in two. The left half was falling headfirst, while the right half was spinning as it approached the ground.

I witnessed the scene around me after being hit by a stray bullet, through the severed left half of my body.

He must have been trying to help. I saw Nabla-kun reaching out his branch hand towards me, but he was too far away to reach. Unfortunately, I couldn't move either, so I couldn't take his branch hand.

This clone seems to have been completely destroyed. My trait that normally restores 1 MP per second isn't activating.

My body is falling apart in mid-air at an incredible speed.

Since the head is still there, I'm thinking while looking like this...

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〘Occupation: Lower-Tier Fundraiser A〙

Primary job: A person who solicits donations and collects money.

The money collected is gathered at the church and used to help people in need.

Good deeds are rewarded with good things.

When set as a job, it provides a slight bonus in HP and LUK.

Requirements for employment:

① Read all the job postings that are occasionally put up on the bulletin board inside the church.

② Express your desire to become involved with the church.

〘Passive Skill: Helping Hand〙

This skill is always active when you have set your occupation to Fundraiser A.

Increases LUK by 15.

Regardless of whether it's a player, NPC, monster, or demon, it heals 20 HP for anyone they touch.

Recast time: 20 seconds

〘Job: Lower-Tier Fundraiser B]

A profession derived from bandit. A person who solicits donations and collects money.

The money collected will be used to help people in need. Definitely won't be used for themself...

When set as a job, it provides a slight bonus in AGI and DEX.

And a slight reduction in LUK.

Requirements for employment:

① You must have previously joined and then left the Thieves Guild.

② You must belong to a bandit group.

③ You must express your desire to become the leader of a bandit group.

〘Passive Skill: Habitual actions are as bad as a criminal's.〙

This skill is always active when you have set your job to Fundraiser B.

Increases DEX by 15.

Regardless of whether it's a player, NPC, monster, or demon, touching anyone will reduce their AGI by 20 for 30 seconds.

Recast time: 20 seconds

〘Skill: Please Donate〙

A job skill specifically for Fundraisers.

First, choose one person to look into and make eye contact with (one eye is fine). Then, approach that person and ask them to donate.

A skill that applies either a buff or a debuff depending on the opponent's response at that time.

The effect is random.

Recast time: 30 seconds

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TL note : sorry for the late upload, I overslept quite a bit.