Pandora of Fantasy And Reality Chapter 27

Death Penalty

There was a sudden feeling of weightlessness.

Then the gravity abruptly returned and Alfie felt her back hitting the ground. She opened her eyes.

She got up from the hard stone bed.

「Haa……haa……」

Her breathing was rough.

For some reason the sensation just now felt horribly unpleasant to  her. Then she looked at her hands. The lovely palms belonged to her  avatar.

She didn’t know why but she was sweating rivers. She covered half of  her face with her right hand and felt the sweat on her forehead.

「……What a horrible way of waking up.」

She was cut the moment she followed Ponsuke’s words to contact Nanako.

She was frustrated that she was unable to react. And then she remembered and opened her status screen.

「The time……has passed a little.」

She hurriedly tried to contact Nanako, but there were other players around the bed she was lying on.

「Ah, you’ll get in the way if you stay there. You better go outside if you want to check something.」

Alfie was bewildered from being told that by the player who got up  from the bed. Even so she nodded and thanked him before going out.

It was a different entrance of the shrine that was prepared near the adventurer guild.

There was a graveyard area around the entrance.

「……That’s right. Status.」

She went outside and checked her status. She found that her level had  gone down by two. To get back at her previous level she imagined that  she would have to focus on fighting monsters for two logins.

She also lost some of her fund. The amount lost was randomized, from  20 to 50 percent, but she didn’t even check that and contacted Nanako.

『Nanako-chan, can you hear me?』

Nanako’s relieved voice replied after a while.

『Alfie-san! Thank god, you’re safe.』

She wasn’t safe tough. Alfie smiled bitterly and started walking. Her  mind felt dull and slow, but she forced herself to pull herself  together.

『Where are you right now?』

Nanako sounded apologetic.

『I’m sorry. I returned the horse and tried to head to the old lady’s place, but I can’t find the marker in my map and got lost.』

It seemed that Nanako still weren’t fully familiar with the menu operation. She hadn’t arrived at the old lady’s place.

『You should head to the old lady’s place immediately. I’ll also head there. Also the way to control the menu――』

First she was going to make Nanako secure the secret medicine.

Alfie planned that and  then she immediately thought about the next action to take.

(I should contact the GM immediately. But, will they immediately respond to this……)

Many of the players had been harboring dissatisfaction to the GM’s respond since before.

The flow of time in the virtual world was fast. On top of that the number of players who logged in was massive.

She didn’t know how many employee the developer had, but it would be  difficult to deal with everything even if they put personnel inside the  game.

(I should contact my acquaintances.)

Alfie sent a call one after another while rushing through the street of the Capital of Hope.

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There was a feeling of weightlessness.

She recalled the hideous faces of the players who attacked her as she  experienced the floating sensation. They had handsome faces, and yet  they all looked horribly ugly.

Her killer was laughing while stabbing her over and over with jagged short swords.

Mariela’s hands grasped the opposite arm to hug herself. Then she was  suddenly assaulted with the sensation of being pulled from her back.

She felt light even though her eyes were shut.

She opened her eyes slowly――fearfully, and found that she was in the shrine.

「……I’m back.」

This was her first time experiencing this. That was just how frustrating getting killed by the malicious player was.

「Those bastards, how dare they.」

Mariela cursed, but her face was a bit pale. She tried to stand up, but she couldn’t put any strength into her legs.

A priest NPC approached her as she calmed her rough breathing.

「Is something the matter?」

The male NPC wore round frame glasses and had a gentle expression.  Mariela looked at him and wished that he wouldn’t talk to her right now.

「It’s nothing.」

She said that and waved her hand, but the NPC didn’t leave.

Not only he didn’t leave――,

「May luck be with you.」

He said that and casted magic on her.

「This magic……I’m not asking for it.」

The NPC smiled a little at Mariela’s words. And then he walked away.  But Mariela felt that she was becoming able to breathe a little easier.

She stood up and moved her body, then she checked her status.

「My level also goes down from the death penalty. My money too……forty percent!?」

The people around Mariela turned toward her when she screamed in  surprise like that. She smiled wryly and said it was nothing before she  left the shrine.

She looked around, but she didn’t find Alfie anywhere.

「For now let’s contact Ponsuke――no! I need to meet up with Alfie and Nanako-chan. Also the GM……wait!」

She tried to contact the GM, but the contact methods came out all at once. It confused Mariela.

The way to contact the developer company at the real world. The way  to contact GM inside the game. There was also option for reporting bug  or inconvenience in an event or the like……there were many varieties.

「I’ll call Alfie first. I wonder what happened to Ponsuke?」

It didn’t feel like he would appear in shrine anytime soon.

Surely he was doing his best right now, Mariela thought as she contacted Alfie.

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Ponsuke was looking up to the sky.

The sky was gradually getting darker. He gritted his teeth and tried to move, but his body wouldn’t follow his command.

「……Kuh! It’s no good.」

Perhaps it was a skill with really great effect or an effect from the weapon. Ponsuke couldn’t move from that place.

His HP didn’t regenerate and he would die right away if a monster attacked him at this moment.

But perhaps that would be a better result.

And yet no monster approached. It was the fault of the donkey that was eating grass nearby.

The donkey defeated all the approaching monsers.

「Oi you, take a hint and let the monster approach so they can kill me!」

The donkey didn’t react to Ponsuke’s words. It only kept chewing on the grass.

The sound of incoming call kept ringing out since some time ago but he couldn’t even pick it up.

「……I can only pray that those two can somehow take care of it.」

They were comrades that he could rely on despite their usual  behavior. However Ponsuke was worried after seeing the two of them  getting killed so easily.

The malicious players said that they were targeting Nanako.

「They got this face that looked disgusted by decent moral.」

He was worried. He wanted to chase after them right away.

But, his body wouldn’t move.

Then he heard the clopping sound of horse hooves, several of them.

Ponsuke raised his voice.

(Great! I can ask them for help or have them kill me, then I’ll be able to go help everyone!)

「Someone, please help! I can’t move because of bad status!」

The horse clopping approached Ponsuke and then stopped. Then the  heads of several donkeys appeared in Ponsuke’s vision, looking down on  him.

「……Eh?」

And then the donkeys all spat on Ponsuke’s face simultaneously.

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Nanako finally found the shop where the old lady was located. The location was inside a maze-like alley. She ran toward it.

She ran out of breath when she arrived. And then she handed the key items to the old woman NPC.

「H-here it is!」

Even though Nanako looked to be in a hurry, the mean looking old lady  checked the key items slowly before tossing them into a pot and started  stirring it.

「Don’t rush me. I have an important work waiting for me.」

Nanako casted her gaze down when she heard that reply.

「I’m sorry. But, if possible please finish it as quickly as you can.」

Originally it would be pointless to say something like that to NPC.

Nanako herself understood that, but she just couldn’t calm down when  she thought of her friends who were doing everything they could for her  sake.

The old woman snorted and turned her gaze to the shelves.

「There’s a special stuff that I created long time ago in the shelves over there. Take it with you.」

Nanako’s eyes opened wide in surprise.

「Is that okay?」

The old lady sighed deeply.

「That’s because recently the youngsters won’t even look at it, even  though they had used it all the time in the past. It’s pointless even if  it’s left gathering dust there, so take it with you.」

Nanako took the bottle in the shelves. It looked to be a simple ornament, but then it started shining when a player took it.

「……It’s pretty.」

Nanako immediately stored it inside her item box and then she bowed deeply toward the old woman.

「Thank you so much!」

The old woman shooed with her hand to tell her to leave already.  After Nanako rushed out in a hurry, the old woman stopped stirring the  pot.

She had wrinkled face and large hook nose.

She looked just a little bit happy.

「……Do your best you brat.」

The NPC said that before stirring the pot once more to accomplish the task that was assigned to her.

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Nanako looked around after she ran outside while contacting Alfie.

「Alfie-san! I have the secret medicine with me!」

Alfie replied to Nanako’s happy voice.

『Good job Nanako-chan! Head immediately to the guild――to the center of the city. We should be able to meet up on the way.』

「Y-yes!」

Nanako looked around. She ran as fast as she could even while feeling  scared. The beastman race had powerful legs and she could run with the  fastest speed in her whole life.

But, when Nanako turned on the corner, she found a man who dressed like a host standing there.

The malicious player unsheathed the two swords on his waist and notified his friends.

「It’s my win. The pussy cat ran my way.」

Nanako froze. Then she tried to run away through the way she came from, but the enemy had greater speed.

「It’s useless. We’re specialist in hunting dimwit like you.」

He was saying that he had jobs, skills, and equipments that were specialized in hunting dimwit, in other word other player.

Nanako ran away from the opponent who was wielding two swords.

She was too desperate with running away from him that she had no leeway left to head to the adventurer guild.

(Help. Someone help!)

The opponent grinned and swung his sword.

「Here, die!」

But, above a building――from the roof, someone wearing a red attire jumped down and swung down a sword.

「I won’t let you!」

The two swords guy crossed his swords to block the attack.

「Tsk! Paid equipment huh.」

The two swords guy made an annoyed expression. Facing him, the person who came to protect Nanako was――.

「Alfie-san!」

Nanako’s eyes brightened. Alfie replied to her with full confidence.

「Sorry I’m late, but it’s alright now. ……I let my guard down before this but, it won’t go the same way this time.」

Alfie intimidated the opponent. In respond the two swords guy muttered complaints while closing the distance rapidly.

「Shaddup you annoying bitch. You honor students playing around in here like kids just disgust me.」

The two swords guy stopped smiling and struck at Alfie repeatedly  while looking like he was really disgusted. However Alfie parried all  the strikes with a single sword.

「I told you. The same trick won’t work on me again……Mariela!」

A single arrow was fired from the rooftop when Alfie yelled.

It didn’t hit the two swords guy. He lifted up his face but this time a bottle was thrown at him.

Alfie covered Nanako’s eyes and ran away from there.

「Oi! ――tsu!」

The dark alley was filled with a powerful burst of light. It was a blinding item, and it seemed to be effective.

Mariela gave instruction to the two who were running through the alley.

「Go to the main street! There will be other players too there!」

She raised her voice telling them to run away to a place that was  bustling with a lot of other players in order to run away from the  malicious players that attacked them.

Then there was a heavy sound like something bursting and Mariela got blown away to the ground from the rooftop.

Nanako approached the fallen Mariela. She crouched with her two hands reaching toward her.

「Mariela-san!」

Her hands emitted faint white light. It healed Mariela’s HP.

They were in a narrow alley.

There the remaining three malicious players appeared at both ends to  pincer them. As expected the girls felt anxious seeing they were  cornered.

A player who carried a great sword on his shoulder took a step forward.

「……Oi, hand over the secret medicine.」

Nanako stood up. Even though she was scared――she was trembling in  fear of the enemy players, she looked at him in the eye and spoke.

「W-will you stop doing this if I give it to you?」

Nanako spoke pleadingly. In respond the players nodded while grinning.

「Yeah, we’ll leave you alone if you give us what we want. That’s why hand it over.」

Nanako was about to take out the item from her item box, but Alfie  grabbed her hand. It caused a serious warning to pop out because she did  it to Nanako who was younger than her, a player who was below fifteen  years old and was considered as protection target.

「Don’t. What these guys want isn’t the secret medicine. They’ll just attack again even if you give it to them.」

It was just as Alfie said.

「What, so you see us through.」

「Your acting suck.」

「Shut your mouth. Tsk!」

The player with great sword readied his weapon.

「Too bad. I planned to break the item right in front of your eyes  before killing you. Then we’re going to lie in wait for you in front of  the shrine and kill you over and over. We aren’t going to stop even  after you become level 1, so look forward to it.」

This group was just too nasty.

Mariela held her weapon.

「You bastards, we already reported you to the GM. Don’t think that you can get away with this!」

One of them stuck his tongue to make fun of Mariela when he heard what she said.

「Of course we’re going to get away with this, you gross crossdresser bastard!」

「Wha-! Crossdresser!?」

The enemy players showed them a screen. Nanako read the words there.

「Duel request?」

The nasty players guffawed while telling them.

「This thing can be approved even using the severed arm of other  player. It’s perfect to drag someone to the back alley and murder them  over and over. It’ll be duel without rule. Try guessing how many times  you guys are going to die today.」

Another of them laughed while holding his stomach.

「We’ll traumatize you so bad you won’t be able to login into here  ever again. I forgot how many idiots we had traumatized like that.」

They were experienced in doing something like this.

In other words, they were saying that the GM had been overlooking them.

Mariela gritted her teeth.

Then Ponsuke’s shout entered the area.

「ORAAA! THE CAVALRY IS HEREEE!!」

Over there a group of orcs riding donkeys arrived at the narrow alley. The seven huge orcs riding on small donkeys yelled.

「You guys are absolutely unforgivable!」

The orc leader Prey yelled. The other orcs also yelled after him.

「You insolent brats who don’t know any manner!」

「You guys are ten years too early to lay your hand on our queen!」

「Attack with no love in it has no worth whatsoever!」

「This lowly one too shall never forgive it degozaru!」

「Eat a fistful of my magic-su!」

The newcomers in the group were an orc wearing a hakama and armed  with a katana, and an orc dressed like a magician and carrying a staff  with a pineapple cut hairstyle who immediately casted his magic.

A powerful light burst out and everyone closed their eyes. Then Nanako was scooped up by a huge arm and placed down on a donkey.

Alfie and Mariela were also collected by the orcs before they all immediately retreated in full speed.

But Nanako noticed.

「Ponsuke-san!」

Ponsuke jumped down from his donkey after placing her there. Ponsuke  turned toward Nanako within the dazzling light and gave her a thumb up,  and then he smiled.

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Ponsuke stayed behind while the orcs escaped on their donkeys. The gazes of the four malicious players focused on him.

「……This is super annoying. We just want to quickly take care of the  main dish today, and yet nuisances keep popping out. What’s more it’s  mere orcs, a damn joke race who are in our way!」

Ponsuke held his ground in front of the player with great sword. He stayed behind to buy time.

「Sorry but I won’t let you guys pass……wait, that’s a cool line that I just said. I’m going to annoy you guys.」

These players had far higher level that they had to be given  restriction. He didn’t know what kind of skill they had and how they  would attack.

Besides he didn’t think that he had any chance to win.

Ponsuke gulped while looking at the four’s irritated faces.

(Perhaps I’m trying too hard to look cool.)

It would be Ponsuke’s victory if Nanako managed to reach the adventurer guild and handed the secret medicine.

The sound of incoming call rang in Ponsuke’s ear. Surely it was from Mariela or Alfie wanting to complain to him.

(Just sleeping from getting paralyzed without any chance to show off will be a bit too uncool……)

He readied his weapon and glared at the four.

However pain ran through his right leg at the next moment.

「I really loathe small fry. You guys get heated up just for a damn game and keep prattling about manner or whatever.」

Next the player with short sword jumped on Ponsuke’s back and stabbed  him over and over. Ponsuke’s face warped from the pain. Then the two  swords guy slashed at him consecutively.

The player with great sword looked down on Ponsuke who collapsed on the ground while saying.

「Well, whatever. We can still catch up to them even if we spend  several minutes to torture this dumbass first. Oi, continue hurting him  while healing him.」

While Ponsuke got his arm pinned on the ground while he struggled to  stand up, the player swung down his great sword to lop off his arm.

「Guuh!」

Ponsuke thought that the pain was unthinkable for a game.

(These guys, are seriously……)

At the end the player with gun pressed his gun muzzle on Ponsuke’s head and pulled the trigger.

「……Disappear pig.」

Ponsuke fell and red light began to envelop him. The malicious players used item and vanished from there.

Ponsuke strongly thought while vanishing.

(Dammmitttt……if only I’m stronger……)

――And then one orc vanished from the back alley on his lonesome.

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