Hiro swallowed hard. No wonder he felt that the girl had an appearance that was 100% his type. It turned out that the form was made based on what was inside his head. But, how could that be? Wasn’t this just a game? Why was there no limit? Hiro was once again amazed by the game he initially hated.
“How can I get out of this place? I have to do something.”
“What? If you mean touching that tree, I won’t let you do it,” Meta replied, then turned his back to Hiro so that Hiro could see her exposed and very smooth back.
Well. It looks like staying here a bit longer is fine too.
However, Hiro immediately shook his head and brought himself to his senses. “Is that thing going to kill me?” he asked, trying to ask another topic that might be useful.
“I don’t know. There are two answers. Maybe yes, maybe not. It depends on your current abilities.” Meta looked back at Hiro. Her beautiful, round eyes seemed to be empty. As if she was the only AI creature who was not equipped with the slightest feeling by the developer.
“How do I know if my current ability is enough to not get me killed while approaching that tree?” Hiro changed his question.
“There’s only one way to find out.”
“Tell me.”
“You have to defeat me. If you can win against me, I’m sure you can touch the tree without any problems.”
This was the first time Hiro had been challenged by an AI who was like a summon, or even his own pet. Usually in games, challenges like this often occurred between MCs and companions who had a quarrel, or companions who just wanted to test their strength according to the storyline. But this time, it was the demon who claimed herself as a guardian who actually challenged him.
“It doesn’t seem too difficult,” Hiro replied, then pulled out the Blood-eater Vampire from his back.
“You’re going to fight me?” asked Meta to confirm, still wearing the same expressionless on that charming face.
“Yes.”
The empty air above Meta’s head suddenly had a glitch, and the next second, a dark green full HP bar appeared above her head. This time, Hiro could see the HP bar that he couldn’t see before. And with that bar, Hiro felt even more confident that he could beat Meta.
Whoosh!
Hiro dashed forward without waiting while swinging his sword with both hands. The target, Meta, didn’t move and just stood still in her place. Her eyes locked onto Hiro’s blade and…
Bang!
Hiro felt his hands suddenly tremble as if he had just hit a blunt object so hard that there was an uncomfortable current, like an electric shock that he could feel from his wrist to his shoulder.
An invisible wall seemed to block Hiro’s attack, stopping his sword, which was only an inch away from Meta’s face. Yet, the demon didn’t move in the slightest from her position.
“Macro Curses,” said Meta casually, while Hiro exerted all his physical strength until the muscles in his arms bulged to the surface. He was still trying to move the sword through the invisible wall in front of him and hit Meta, but it failed.
“MacroMake: Reverse.”
Splat!
Blood gushed out from Hiro’s shoulder as the sword that should have hit Meta after breaking through the wall stabbed into his left shoulder instead. He had changed positions, swapping positions with Meta who was now standing where he was before.
“Arghhh!”
Hiro immediately drew the sword from his shoulder. Even though it was painful, he didn’t see any health point notifications coming out, as if the attack he had just received was an illusion.
The power possessed by Meta was the power of the curse, and she had only one skill. Macro Curses. By consuming the curses that existed from various forms of objects in the game, such as the things Hiro found in illegal marketplaces, Meta’s Macro Curse could be enhanced.
Hiro knew what Macro Curses was. It was the power that could control anything, like mind control. He had often encountered such power users in other games. And with that, Hiro realized that he wouldn’t be able to fight the demon. Not before he discovered the skill to counterattack the Macro users.
“Don’t worry, even if you’re injured more than a hundred times. You can’t die in your own body, Master,” said Meta in the same flat tone, not changing one bit.
Hiro understood now. That was why his health points didn’t decrease. But still, the pain he received from that incident was really painful.
“You’re right. I’m not strong enough yet. You can get me out and I won’t touch that tree now,” Hiro said in the end.
“You chose the right thing, Master. See you in the near future.”
Ding!
[You have entered the normal world]
[Location: Unknown]
“Hiro!!!”
The first thing Hiro saw was Liberty whose face was already filled with tears and half swollen. The girl was crying hysterically because Hiro’s body, who was in front of her, suddenly fell backwards even though there was nothing out of the ordinary.
“Libe?” Hiro blinked and sat up. The surprised Liberty immediately hugged him tightly, as if Hiro had just risen from the dead.
“What happened? Why are you crying?” Hiro asked while patting the girl’s back. She was still shaking and sobbing on his shoulder. Hiro glanced at Spyro, Monica, and Nicholaesz who surrounded him with strange expressions on their faces.
“Well, you told her that dying here meant dying in the real world. She already thought you were dead in both,” Ace replied. He even breathed a long sigh of relief after seeing Hiro was fine.
Hiro didn’t have time to ask what the fate of his real body was when he was transferred to another room within his own body. It looked like he fainted or seemed to be in a torpor so Liberty cried over him.
“It’s okay, I’m here. Don’t cry. I won’t die so easily, Libe.”
“I– I thought that you got a heart attack.” Liberty sobbed, still in shock from what she had just seen. Hiro just grinned at the attention that Liberty had just shown. It seemed like Hiro had at least one person who would always wait for him right now. It was much better than having no one, right?
“Libe, I have something to ask you,” Hiro finally said it, pushing Liberty’s body away gently and then wiping the tears on her cold cheeks.
“What is it?”
“You have to awaken that Genesis Tree.”
“The tree? Awaken it, but how? Is it asleep or something?”
“The Genesis Tree is a tree that can erase all darkness and evil in certain areas that are still within its radius of protection. Apparently, if Yuujin participated in creating a new world in this game, he adopted the same system. I’m sure, even the NPCs we met earlier, the curse they got will disappear once you awaken the tree.”
Liberty didn’t really understand, but the girl nodded in agreement. It was because Hiro was the one who asked for it, so she was willing to do it without asking for further explanation.
“I’ll do it.”
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