Episode 46: Her, Unknown by Name

——The predetermined conditions have been met.

——Phase 1 is now concluded as of this moment.

"…………phew"

Gazing at her pocket watch, the girl lets out a small sigh.

"Two days later than scheduled… What even is this 'predetermined condition,' anyway?"

Sitting cross-legged atop a towering metal structure that overlooks the entire city, her legs dangling loosely,

——… transformation into an extraterrestrial life form is now possible.

All players have now earned the achievement “Phase 1 Complete.”

Listening to the announcement.

Nothing particularly new, really.

I thought absentmindedly, resting my chin on my palm.

Well then. What should I do now?

Lost in thought, I noticed from afar a few flying dragons approaching this way.

"Gwaah... gwaahh..."

"One, two, three... wait, what?"

I narrowed my eyes.

"Another one's been killed. Is there some ridiculously strong player somewhere?"

And that person is definitely targeting me.

Who is it? I have no idea. Can't even guess.

At this stage of Phase 1, there shouldn't be much advantage to being hostile toward other players.

"Hmm..."

Feeling uneasy, I ran my hand over the head of the dragon that had landed in front of me.

'Guru, gurulululululu...'

"Good job. You did great. Thanks."

The flying dragons tilted their heads slightly, as if embarrassed.

"Such a cute little one. Well then—let's share."

As he spoke, the memories of the flying dragons poured into his mind.

"Hmm... There's definitely nothing here... No clues at all..."

Their memories from their reconnaissance mission yielded nothing useful.

He began to grow slightly anxious.

He had expected to have found "her" by this point, according to plan.

"Ah, well. Thanks, you guys."

At that moment.

――Congratulations! Your level has increased!

"Hmm?"

He tilted his head.

Since he hadn't done anything, the only explanation was that one of his familiars—whom he'd believed dead, the wyvern—had eliminated some hostile entity.

"Strange... what could it be?"

Well, it's fine. Worrying about it won't change anything.

The world is made up of things like this.

"Skill:《时空魔法Ⅳ》,《兽使役Ⅲ》 and 《Ⅳ》, please. … Oh, and the reward for 'Phase 1 complete' is 'Elven Potion,' okay?"

——Then, here are your items.

A small bottle is handed over with a soft plop.

Furthermore,

——Now, applying the skill effects.

That's it.

Leveling up is going smoothly.

While gazing at the notebook in her pocket—she calls it a "guidebook"—the girl suddenly smiles.

There's no need to examine skill effects or consider which items to acquire.

She already knows, without having to look it up.

It's only natural.

After all, she's experienced this situation before.

"Chrono Magic X."

This magic makes "redoing one's life" possible.

"To redo one's life" essentially meant that only the mind remained their own, while the body was reborn as someone else.

--- Yes.

She was a "reincarnated one."

"…………phew"

Gazing at the cloudless blue sky, the girl softly sniffed.

After hesitating just slightly, she quickly drained the "Elven Potion" she had just obtained.

Damn it.

I don’t know what it is, but this is incredibly delicious. Apple flavor.

At the same time, strange changes began to take place within the girl’s body.

Her ears grew longer and pointed.

Her long black hair turned a beautiful golden hue.

Her skin became a translucent, Caucasian-like white.

She was transforming into a non-human being.

It was a little scary to see her appearance change, but it wasn’t actually that bad.

The girl thought simply.

Either way, her magic power should now be greatly enhanced.

Then... shall I move on my own now?

And gently, I lower my feet from the iron tower.

In an instant, the girl was pulled down by gravity and fell straight toward the ground.

Hundreds of "zombies" reaching out toward the ground with both hands.

...

At the moment of landing,

"——[Pause]"

The girl chants a spell.

At that instant, not only the groaning "zombies" but even the girl’s body in free fall froze midair.

"Then, ——‘Rebirth,’ so to speak."

After reciting it once more, the "zombies" remained frozen in place while the girl alone safely landed on the ground.

"Everyone, keep searching for ‘that girl’ and leveling up. I’m counting on you."

The three dragons she commanded let out deep, resonant roars in response.

"I can't afford to be this relaxed... "

The girl muttered, nibbling on a chocolate bar to replenish her magic.

"From here on out, I'm going to speed things up a bit—this is 'Fast Forward.'"

That's right.

I know.

The one holding the key is "that girl."

The girl in the red tracksuit, sword in hand— "that girl."

"The nameless one."

I have to find "that girl" as soon as possible and tell her—

how to save the world on the verge of ending.

In the next instant, the girl vanished like a gust of wind.

Left behind was only a group of "zombies" frozen in place, like statues.