Pandora of Fantasy And Reality Chapter 31

P2W Player

「Shit! Shit!」

It was a room inside a cramped apartment.

The curtain was closed with light shining in from the gap. The dusts  floating in the air in the part that was illuminated by light were  glittering.

The inside of the room was in disorder. There was no visible place to stand on the floor.

Various things were piled up around the bed. There was also spot  where cup noodles were piled up. The disposable chopsticks were left  inside the used cups while the soup remains in there were giving off a  stench inside the room.

The futon had stains on it. Inside such room, the complaining room owner was getting angry.

「Every single one of them is making fun of me!」

Kurita Futo――he had been employed in supermarket for a while and now he was thirty years old.

He took out several cards from inside his wallet, then he faced his PC and inputted his card’s number to purchase point.

Then he immediately turned off his PC and looked toward his bed where a headset that was connected to a cable was lying.

「That damn hag, and that woman too, all of them are looking down on me!」

Kurita complained while walking toward his bed. His movement inside the room caused the trashes around him to be moved too.

He lied down on the bed and put on the headset. And then he turned on the game.

「I’m the strongest……the strongest……」

His consciousness headed toward the virtual world. His body stopped moving.

◇

Capital of Hope.

There was a giant gate at its outer wall.

Gathering there was five parties……around twenty two people.

Each person had different species and different attire.

But standing out even among them was the giant man carrying a heavy looking shield――the orc Ponsuke.

「It feels reassuring to have twenty people in a group like this.」

He said that while looking around. Mariela who stood beside him was checking her new bow.

It was a bow that she prepared for this day. She had also gone through a lot of efforts to prepare a lot of arrows.

「The rear support is also satisfactory. There’s nothing to complain about.」

Five parties were participating but, two parties were a gathering of craftsmen.

Originally it was also alright for all five parties to consist of  nothing but combatants, but the craftsmen were also allowed to join them  as a form of mutual cooperation.

Alfie talked to the player who temporarily joined their party for this raid.

「Thank you very much for cooperating with us today. Umm……you’re a solo player aren’t you?」

The person was a solo player who was introduced to them by the other party.

He was a black haired player wearing a robe that hid his mouth.

Alfie seemed to be uneasy knowing that this person was a solo player. Her gaze on him was appraising.

Ponsuke lightly tapped Alfie’s back.

「Don’t stare too much like that.」

「No, but!」

Both Mariela and Alfie had become really wary toward other player since the incident with the malicious players.

The solo player shrugged.

「Her reaction is normal so don’t worry about it. My style put heavy  emphasize in speed. Normally I like to quietly play alone. But, it’s  impossible to clear this kind of quest alone.」

There were also some players who liked to be alone.

Mariela asked a simple question.

「Then why don’t you play offline?」

「That’s no good.」

The solo player answered instantly. According to him, playing solo in online game was the best.

「Or rather, there isn’t any game in development that is better than  Pandora, whether on or offline. Perhaps the only game that can surpass  Pandora will only be Pandora’s sequel?」

Pandora’s Box Garden was the dominant player in VR game.

There was no better VR game than this, so solo player also didn’t have any option.

「Besides, there is meaning in playing solo when there are other  players around. Fighting against the loneliness and winning after giving  it your all. And then after returning to the city, I’ll sip on alcohol  by myself while gazing at the happy looking players. That’s the best  part!」

Both Mariela and Alfie looked like they couldn’t understand even after the solo player explained to them passionately.

「No, it’s better to party with someone else rather than like that.」

「That’s right. We’re in an online game after all.」

The solo player raised his index finger and waved it to left and  right while saying 「Tsk tsk tsk」. Then he put his hand on his chest and  spoke.

「It’s meaningful because I’m playing solo in online game.」

Ponsuke thought.

(This person has the same smell like the orc group.)

Ponsuke sighed.

He looked around and saw other players talking with their fellow party member or with player from other party.

But――.

(These two are standing too close and won’t move away from me……)

After they finished Nanako’s quest, these two would always stand near  Ponsuke――staying at his side the whole time. Perhaps they were still  traumatized.

Previously they would sometimes acted separately, but recently they never did that again.

(I need to do something about it.)

Ponsuke felt happy to be relied on like this, but he also understood that this wasn’t a good tendency for them to have.

There Ponsuke struck a conversation with someone.

It was with the raid’s leader, [Blaze].

He had brown hair and judging from his hairstyle, he looked like  someone who loved to party. His armor had silver color and looked like  something that he had poured a lot of money into.

(But unlike Alfie, it looks like he spent money for the materials instead.)

He didn’t buy a readymade item, but bought the materials before  making the armor with them. He was definitely spending more money than  Alfie for this game.

「Ah, hello. I’m Ponsuke.」

When Ponsuke greeted him, Blaze lifted his right hand in greeting.

「Aa, the famous person. I don’t know whether it’s right to call an  orc a person but nice to meet you. More importantly, that shield……is it  made from a rare item? Isn’t it a waste to combine that kind of rare  item with steel of that grade?」

Blaze suddenly said such thing after looking at the large shield he carried. Ponsuke was at a loss of how to reply.

「No, this is a gift. You yourself are really――」

Blaze’s comrades gathered around before Ponsuke could finish talking.

「Blaze, don’t meddle with other people’s equipment too much. Rather  than that……there’s a kid who doesn’t bring enough item here. Do you have  some spares?」

Blaze’s comrade put his arm around Blaze’s shoulders.

Blaze said It couldn’t be helped and opened a screen right on the spot.

(Purchasing screen for paid item!?)

Like that Blaze bought healing items――around ten of them, where each one cost several hundred yens.

「Is this enough?」

「Thanks a bunch~. Heey, you guys~」

Two of Blaze’s comrades brought the items toward a party that was  filled with female avatars. They handed the healing items to them before  engaging them into an animated conversation.

One of Blaze’s comrades warned Blaze about what he was doing.

「……Blaze, you shouldn’t do that.」

Blaze tilted his head.

「I shouldn’t? No, but they are comrades. Besides, we’ll also be  troubled if they got defeated so just this much isn’t any trouble at  all.」

The concerned comrade dropped his shoulders dejectedly.

Blaze waved his hand toward Ponsuke before heading to talk with the other players.

Mariela watched Blaze’s receding back in exasperation.

「He’s even more extreme than our own whale idiot. Spending tens of  thousands of real money isn’t a big deal at all for that kind of player  huh.」

Both Ponsuke and Mariela were also spending some money to challenge  this quest. But the amount that they spent were insignificant.

It was just an amount that student could still pay for.

Alfie looked dissatisfied.

「Even I can buy materials and order NPC to make armor of highest  quality like him. I’m not only because you two keep saying not to use  too much money.」

Alfie said so with her cheeks puffed up sullenly. It was just as she  said, there were NPCs who could create high level equipment if player  brought materials to them. But these NPCs had the random factor in their  equipment creation removed, unlike with the players.

What was required to ask them to make equipment was using ticket that the management distributed or real money.

Ponsuke took off his helmet and scratched his head.

「How should I say it……it’s amazing.」

That kind of player was in a whole other level than players like them  who only spent money for the basic rate plus several thousand yens each  month.

.

.

.

The Angry Fire Dragon quest took place in an active volcano at the World of Hope.

The quest was to subjugate the fire dragon that was living there.

Originally at the earliest stage, the fire dragon was the boss of this World of Hope.

After it was defeated, the fire dragon was demoted to be the touchstone for players to go to the next world.

Even after that the fire dragon kept getting its balance’s adjusted  and after some large scale updates, one of the strongest bosses was now  treated as a mere midboss.

Even so, it didn’t change the fact that this boss was troublesome for players whose level was limited to 50.

The raid group of twenty aimed toward the mountain, but they were basically travelling there by horse carriage.

The horse carriage stopped at the entrance to the mountain. From there they had to travel on foot.

They had to pass through a labyrinth to reach the fire dragon. The path there was also randomized so it took some time.

Ponsuke stood at the forefront inside that labyrinth……he was entrusted to be the tank for the whole group.

「This son of a bitch!」

A crocodile with red skin rushed on the cave’s floor toward him.

Ponsuke stabbed his one-handed sword to the ground, pinning down the  crocodile. The monster then burst into red light and vanished.

Behind him the solo player threw a knife to back up Ponsuke.

「An orc’s back look really reliable. This race’s physical strength  and defense power are also standing out, so there is no problem with  defeating the enemies. Well, most monsters around here are just small  fries as long as you do your preparation properly though.」

As expected from someone who played solo, his fighting style didn’t  rely only on his jobs and equipments, but also on skill and using item.

Sometimes the solo player would throw item to stop the enemy’s movement.

「Thanks for making it easier for me to fight. Even so, why are we the only one at the front?」

Ponsuke looked behind with a bit of irritation. There two of Blaze’s  comrades were talking to Mariela and Alfie. The two girls were looking  displeased.

The solo player shook his head while saying good grief.

「They’re getting chatted up because they’re using avatar with nice  appearance. Well, there’re a lot of players who do a lot of thing to  attract more attention though-!」

The solo player threw a knife to the ceiling.

A large bat dropped from the ceiling. Ponsuke bashed it with his shield and it turned into red light.

The solo player looked around while continuing the talk from just now.

「After all avatar with nice appearance is unexpectedly few.」

Ponsuke tilted his head.

「Is that true?」

「You don’t know? Fiddling too much during the avatar creating can  make the result unbalanced. ……Look over there, at her. No, him I guess.」

The solo player pointed at the female avatar of the player who invited Ponsuke to this raid group.

「It’s a female human avatar……it looks like the player has fiddled  with the glamorous body but, doesn’t it look unnatural to you?」

Ponsuke stared attentively at the avatar. Certainly he could feel some parts that looked off.

He wouldn’t notice it without being told like this. The off feeling was really just a little.

「Many female players tend to use their own body data that they  fiddled to be closer to their ideal, but it caused imbalance in the end  result instead. In men’s case, they often used sample data that they  edited to match their preference. That editing caused the differences  between each avatar. The avatar will look better looking if they just  used the sample data as is, but something like that is noticeable right  away.」

The solo player was really knowledgeable about various things. Ponsuke nodded deeply several times.

「Then, my two party members are――」

Another enemy came before he could ask the solo player about his own friends.

The solo player’s hand reached toward his knife.

「It’s a group this time. Let’s ask the rear for help. Hold your ground here for a while.」

「Ah, yes.」

Ponsuke saw off the solo player, then he planted his shield on the ground in front of the enemy group while thinking.

(……Why am I fighting solo here?)

He was fighting solo even though he was in a group of nearly twenty people. That situation made Ponsuke completely speechless.

.

.

.

The group came out of the labyrinth into an open area.

They decided to camp there. Ponsuke entrusted his equipments to the craftsmen.

They recovered the equipments’ decreasing endurance with. They also  accepted request to strengthen equipment for free with their own item  and money.

「Oo, this feels nice.」

Ponsuke happily received the equipments back. Beside him there were Alfie and Mariela.

The two of them were standing close to him.

「……You two, how about talking to other people? I myself had gotten  close with the solo player. We’re friends already after finding out that  both of us like huge breasts. I have also registered him as friend.」

The solo player……his avatar’s name was [Sololy].

But the two’s mood was still somewhat gloomy even after I joked like that.

Alfie looked at Ponsuke.

「Ponsuke, aren’t you angry? Most of the materials that the monsters  dropped were taken away because of the equal share rule. Those guys said  that Ponsuke is useless so you should at least act as shield in the  labyrinth you know?」

Ponsuke understood after hearing that.

「I’m not really angry.」

In the first place, he could endure here as long as it allowed him to  go to the next world. It wasn’t like he would keep partying together  with these people after this, so Ponsuke didn’t really care about their  attitude.

Mariela too couldn’t stop sighing.

「The friends of that Blaze guy you know……they hit on us. They also  asked us about RL. Blaze apologized to us and wanted to give us paid  items to consider the matter closed. We didn’t take it though.」

It seemed that those two particular people among Blaze’s friends were making use of him.

But Blaze too didn’t seem concerned about it.

「You can just turn them down. We won’t meet them again after this.  This will be the last time. We will be able to go to the Capital of  Temperance the next time we login, so it’s not a problem.」

This raid was uncoordinated.

The leader was a P2W (pay to win) player, while the players around him were parasites.

Ponsuke thought.

(We joined a really troublesome raid.)

Ponsuke looked up to the sky.

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