56. The Goddess Who Comforts Me
56. The Goddess Who Comforts Me
Firearms were strong-weak-weak-strong
Cold weapons were weak-weak-strong-strong.
It meant that guns were advantageous when facing many weaklings, while cold weapons were advantageous when facing a single strong opponent───to put it bluntly, you might wonder what the hell that even meant.
But this was reality.
More precisely, it was a game, but now this was reality.
For example, let's say swinging once applied 100 force.
In front of you were 10 pathetic monsters that could die from just 10 force.
To take them down, you had to swing 100 force a total of 10 times.
The height of inefficiency.
But what if you had a firearm that could rapidly fire 10 force 10 times?
While killing one with a sword, you could easily annihilate all 10.
Therefore, since contempt for the weak was built in by default, sweeping through with a gun was the easiest and best when grinding experience.
'But if you don't train the cold weapon side too, you'll bleed.'
As if you'd only face pushovers every time.
Eventually, you'd encounter bastards that deflected bullets without a care.
Of course, things like anti-materiel sniper rifles and rocket launchers for dealing with those guys did unlock later, but for one, ammo was expensive, recoil control was brutal, and on top of that, the list of drawbacks was endless.
In contrast, cold weapons?
As long as you maintained your weapon, there were no costs.
Attack power could also be supplemented by piling on skills from Holy Mastery and whatnot.
Additionally, since it involved physical exertion, there was no bone-shattering recoil, and skill-based recoil was a bit more forgiving. Skill activation speed was also on the faster side.
So what could I do.
Let, chiiiii.....
"Hwaaaaaa........."
Even if immediate efficiency dropped, I still had to grind my levels.
I shook the blood off my hands and exhaled.
Whenever things got dangerous, I'd sweep through with the submachine gun or accelerate time to escape, so no immediately dangerous situations had arisen.
Instead, my body was more than twice as exhausted compared to just shooting. Though the throbbing in my joints irritated me a little, seeing the levels climb steeply filled my heart with satisfaction.
'I should allocate skill points later too.'
Right now it was grueling and exhausting, but later this would become the foundation to become a one-man army.
Moreover, occasionally when I mixed in Time during the process and used skills, I sometimes felt a sense of omnipotence, as if I could do anything.
...Not that that was remotely true.
"Settlement is complete. I'll link the performance bonus to the Academy."
"Thank youuu....."
I worked myself to the bone just short of dying, then received the settlement at the ant tunnel.
The performance itself was slightly lower than when I only shot, but if I'd wanted performance, I should've only shot anyway.
'Look at that proficiency grinding going hard.'
It was shooting up by nearly 3 or 4 each time.
On top of that, my stats were also rising as I worked my body.
With Ur's buff layered on top, the phrase "remarkable improvement" was literally happening to me.
"I'm back....."
"..........."
".....? What is it?"
Ur looked at me with a peculiar gaze when I returned to camp and lay down.
As if looking at something fascinating, a strange and subtle gaze—disapproving yet not entirely bad.
"Do you...want to fight?"
"Huh?"
Ur asked.
Whether I wanted to fight.
...Are you asking that seriously right now?
"If it were up to my heart, I'd quit on the spot."
If I could just not do it, I'd quit immediately.
I'd just live happily in Ur's embrace.
No matter how much I adapted, my essence was that of a petit bourgeois steeped in modern society.
It was quite ridiculous for such a petit bourgeois to be shooting and slashing with a blade, but it was an unavoidable situation for me.
"But...if I quit and later I go down without even being able to resist, what then."
"Then I'll protect you!"
"............."
"I can protect just one person, Chrono, sufficiently!"
Ur looked at me, took my hand, and spoke.
"So....Chrono, do you want to run away with me?"
"Where to."
"To where I live. All nine of my sisters, including me, will work together to protect you."
"............"
Sweet.
The strength drained from my body.
And before my eyes, a window shimmered.
[Emergency Mission]
[The Moment of the Appointed Choice]
-An emergency mission issued by Cronus
1. Continue as an Apostle (0/1)
Reward: None
Upon Failure: Not considered
"......Ha"
This was a bit too much.
The mission was handed out far too sloppily.
Not even a reward—the mindset that a reward wasn't needed for something so obvious was fully on display.
"This feeling...it's a mission, isn't it?"
"You can sense it?"
"I may look like this, but I am a goddess. Ah, did I not say?"
"I knew even without you saying it. Because only gods can grant blessings."
"As expected of Chrono! I like that you're quick on the uptake!"
Ur lightly embraced me.
"So...Chrono, if you desire it, I, a goddess, can save you."
"...From what?"
"From everything that oppresses you."
"Even from gods?"
"A god.....?"
Ur's brow furrowed slightly at the word "god."
Ur quietly asked me.
"...Could you tell me which god it is? Ah, if you don't want to say it, you don't have to, but...unless it's a god as great as the Twelve Olympians, I can somehow manage it with my power!"
"It's Cronus."
"............."
Ur was at a loss for words.
Perhaps she hadn't heard me.
"Cronus is the Main God I serve."
"....Even now?"
"They are watching."
"..........."
Ur slowly closed both eyes.
She shut her eyes tightly, clasped her hands together for about a minute.
"....I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. You did nothing wrong."
Ultimately, Ur bowed her head.
It couldn't be helped. She couldn't resist.
A god of a higher tier, beyond the Twelve Olympians.
To throw rank around, the opponent was the second-generation heir of a conglomerate chairman.
"Just don't tell anyone else later. It'd be troublesome in many ways if it got out."
"I won't tell...how could I even begin to speak of such a thing."
If she misspoke, she'd be trapped in an eternal labyrinth of time.
Ur trembled slightly, then buried her face in my chest entirely.
"Haaaa...I thought I could pull you completely into my embrace, but the opponent had to be...uuuu....."
Cronus was impossible.
No matter what, Cronus was too much.
"Chrono must be suffering too...to think you're a warrior chosen by a god. If you weren't born with the qualities of a hero, it would simply be a curse that kills people."
".............."
A voice consoling me.
Hands, consoling me.
...Which tune was I supposed to dance to?
"Chrono too...hmm? Rather than the fate of a warrior, you must have been born with the fate of a canary crying in a goddess's embrace. To try to turn such an artistic, creative, diligent, and talented child into a warrior...."
"Uh...?! W-wait...."
The touch grew increasingly blatant.
It began creeping right inside my clothes.
"It's hard, isn't it? It must be hard. So at least now, at least during the time the sky is veiled by clouds, nestle in my embrace and take your rest."
"Ha...ah, haa, ah....?!"
Ur's touch had slipped inside my upper clothing before I knew it.
Up and down, I couldn't come to my senses from the touch consoling me so earnestly.
"It's okay. You can leave everything to me."
"Hut───aaaaa.....!"
An experienced, big-breasted woman who looked only at me.
On top of that, wealthy and plenty of businesses.
'When this is all over, seriously.'
Isn't that the best?
Heueung....
I... I'm going to marry Ur!
Around this time, at the Academy.
1. Chrono : 212 points
Record: [Cave Ant Extermination][Cave Ant Extermination][Cave Ant Extermination][Cave Ant Extermination][Cave Ant Extermination][Cave Ant Extermination]............[Cave Ant Extermination][Cave Soldier Extermination][Cave Soldier Extermination][Cave Soldier Extermination][Cave Soldier Extermination][Cave Soldier Extermination][Cave Soldier Extermination]
"...What the hell is that bastard doing right now?"
Mars's mind went blank.
She'd thought from the moment he said he'd go alone that he'd pull something, but this was beyond pulling something.
This was practically a massacre.
The birth of the Ant Slaughterer.
And I, watching the spectacle in real time.
"If I, stay still like this....."
No
She had to do something.
A sense of crisis that if she waited endlessly for Chrono to come, she might fall far behind in an instant.
'I need practical experience.'
Above all else, she needed as much experience as possible—maybe not that much, but the absolute maximum.
"Chrono....."
In Minerva's case.
"....You deceived me again, didn't you."
The words Chrono had spoken before leaving.
The image of herself calling him a fool, telling him to snap out of it and trying to stop him, came to mind.
Stop him? What was there to stop. She needed to stop herself first—from leading a party out and making a mess of things.
Teammates who didn't follow as well as expected.
Even when she managed to rein them in and finish, results far worse than before.
Even doubts that bubbled up suddenly—perhaps doing it alone would be better.
".........Me too."
Like Chrono.
Minerva wanted to grow.
She wanted to become better than her current self.
And the best thing for growing oneself was──none other than practical experience.
'But going alone is...'
No. Beyond dangerous—when she went to experience the dungeon, she had learned firsthand when she was defeated by the Goblin Champion.
That for a woman, it didn't simply end with death.
Though she had been freed just before it happened, she couldn't forget the helplessness of that day.
"Then it's a party after all...."
Who should she form a party with?
Minerva agonized.
"Chrono....."
In Yuno's case, she had no particular thoughts.
She simply thought it was amazing and quietly applauded in her heart.
She decided that when he returned later, she would definitely let him know and congratulate him.
And Ter was watching her──just as he always was.
".....Dammit."
A catastrophe beyond the level of things going wrong.
Sure enough, that bastard named 'Chrono' was 'Timeless.'
Though no physical evidence had surfaced yet, he already knew a method to find evidence through regression.
However, the immediate problem was still the hopeless gap in ability.
Even if he brought forth evidence and presented it, without power, he would be defeated helplessly.
"Yuno."
And the best way to increase ability was...
"Form a party with me."
"...Suddenly?"
...As always, practical experience was the best.