Chapter 102: Shadow of The Fantasy Tree
[May 30th, 7:00 PM.]
[Your gaming night continues.]
[Without sparing even a second to mourn the so-called "True Ending" achieved by Master GO, the next to take the stage are Artoria and Baobhan Sith, diving into a synchronized "souls-like" adventure!]
"You guys go ahead and play..."
Eikou sat slumped on the sofa, completely drained of energy. Barghest kindly massaged his shoulders beside him.
Just that one fake-Pokemon game session earlier had drained him so badly he didn't want to touch another video game for a while — maybe even for the rest of his life.
He'd played too much already. Now he had gaming PTSD — every time he thought about starting another, he got the creeping sense it'd turn into another personal hell.
"Trash fish, weakling — you only played one game and you're already worn out? How pathetic~"
Baobhan Sith's beautiful face showed a teasing smirk as she picked up the controller.
"Let me show you what a real gaming master looks like. Hey, country girl over there — watch closely."
"C-country girl? Are you talking about me?"
Artoria was both angry and embarrassed, gripping the controller tightly.
"I don't really get it, but all I have to do is slash every monster I see, right? Doesn't sound that hard!"
"G-good… good luck, you two..."
Eikou muttered.
[You can't help but wonder if those two are actually capable of handling such a difficult souls-like game.]
[Though Baobhan Sith claimed she wasn't that interested in games, she's a devout believer in the doctrine of "appearance is everything."]
[As long as a game has skins or achievement icons she likes, she'll grind them no matter what — so her gaming skills might actually be more impressive than you think.]
[As for Artoria, she's simply here to have fun.]
"Let's begin."
Gawain inserted the game cartridge, and the main menu immediately displayed 「Start Game」.
Rune Ring: Shadow of the Fantasy Tree, launch!
As the grand, epic background music played, the game's main screen appeared — dark, medieval, and filled with a mystical atmosphere.
It was the first time the Boar Princess had ever played a video game. She took a deep breath at the sight.
"...Artoria Caster, let's do this!"
She pressed the controller button with determination.
「Start Game.」
「...Falling leaves bring tidings.」
「Beyond the mist lies our homeland — 'Avalon'.」
「The great Rune Ring has shattered——」
After a mysterious and somewhat incomprehensible CG opening, the game finally entered the character creation screen.
Fumbling a bit with the controls, Artoria followed the on-screen prompts and created a female knight clad in heavy armor, wielding a straight sword.
Long golden hair tied neatly, green eyes, fair white skin — no matter how you looked at it, she'd made herself in digital form.
"This is Artoria's first time playing, so even if you let her create a character freely, she'd still obediently base it on her real self…"
Eikou said with an awkward smile. In his heart, he found the Boar Princess's seriousness to be kind of adorable.
Then, curiously, he glanced at Baobhan Sith beside her.
Baobhan Sith had made a witch character with a cold expression and long white hair tied with a black ribbon.
"..."
Isn't that literally Morgan's appearance?! Just how obsessed is this girl with her mother?!
The two of them quickly finished their character creation.
「Artoria — Knight, Straight Sword」「Baobhan Sith — Mage, Meteor Staff + Meteor Magic」
"A Meteor Staff start, huh…"
Eikou couldn't help but be amazed when he saw that, turning to look at Baobhan Sith.
This little evil Baobhan Sith had immediately chosen a full-offense weapon and spell combo right from the start — she really does know how to play!
"...Hmph."
Seeming to sense his gaze, the princess smirked with a proud, meaningful grin.
"I told you already — I've played this game before!"
As for the Boar Princess, there wasn't much to say. She had zero knowledge of starting classes or weapons and simply picked Knight because, well, every Caster (and Archer) secretly has the heart of a close-combat fighter.
Following the in-game tutorial, the two quickly entered the beginner's cave for basic training.
「You step into a deep, dark cave where you learn to roll, block, attack, and hide…」
「After some exploration, your skills are now sufficient to leave the cave and begin your journey to become the King of the Lostbelt.」
「You slowly push open the heavy doors, and before your eyes lies the desolate plains of Camelot.」
"Just follow me."
Baobhan Sith said proudly, a hint of smugness in her tone.
"I know quite a bit about this game. Anyway, first we need to find our guide. Only after meeting them can we unlock the mount Red Hare and the upgrade system. Follow me this way—"
"No need, I'm dead."
Artoria suddenly said.
In the brief moment it took her to say that, a giant "DEAD" appeared on her screen.
「Artoria, Dead!」
"???"
Baobhan Sith froze on the spot.
"What the hell is this, I haven't even finished talking and you're already dead? You've only been alive for less than a minute, how can you die that fast?!"
"I saw three Cu Chulainns over there, so I couldn't resist attacking a little…"
Artoria muttered softly.
"You idiot, the Cu Chulainn in this game is an extremely dangerous existence!"
Baobhan Sith said seriously,
"One lone Cu Chulainn is manageable, two are still tolerable, but if you run into three at once, you'll definitely die without leaving a corpse behind… When being surrounded and attacked by three Cu Chulainns, even the King of Lostbelt could die on the spot!"
In the game, players even gave this situation a name — "The Triple Dog God-Slaying Battle."
"Ah!" Artoria exclaimed in horror, "I actually dared to provoke something that dangerous?!"
「Artoria revived at the starting point.」
「She hurriedly ran to Baobhan Sith's side.」
"All right, this game is really dangerous, you have to stay close to me—"
「Artoria, dead!」
"You died again?! At least let me finish my sentence first, you idiot!"
Baobhan Sith stared blankly, glaring angrily at her.
"Sorry, I saw a bear named Orion in the nearby forest just now, so I couldn't help but get closer to take a look…"
Artoria confessed honestly.
"You moron! That's the habitat of the Super Orion Bear! A nearly immortal bear with insane endurance and absurdly brutal attacks — even the King of Lostbelt might not be able to defeat him!"
"Um…"
Artoria thought for a long time, then couldn't help but say, "Isn't this game a bit over the top? Even the King of Lostbelt can get beaten by a bunch of low-level mobs?"
...