Chapter 305: Loli Sensei's Night Sky Classroom

"Human or beast... Even Avengers have aptitudes. And it is precisely within split-second decisions that your true worth can be glimpsed..."

Saving a young child attacked by a monster, or saving a woman being dragged into an alleyway.
I imagine most players would prioritize the latter... but the Boss, whom I had reunited with far sooner than expected, smiled and said that wasn't the case.

"It is a matter of perception. Where is your consciousness focused... Actions and results are merely secondary."

Did you ignore the young girl's plea because your consciousness refused to overlook the woman right in front of you? Or did you dismiss it as a trivial scuffle between humans and focus your gaze on the unseen monster? The Boss explained that this very choice reveals the core nature of an Avenger.

"You showed me quite a rare outcome... While choosing one side, you still never diverted your gaze from the other... You have quite a wide field of vision, don't you?"

I don't really get it, but basically, "The system read your thoughts and judged what you prioritized," is that it? Don't just casually flex your high-tech mechanics, game.

"Actually, even without you telling me, those two were also..."

"Yes, they are our 'Investigators'. They played the role of the punching bag quite well, didn't they...?"

So basically I was being made to dance in the palm of your hand—well, I did think that a brute-force move like a wall-kick landed as a critical hit far too perfectly... but if the receiving party was cooperating, it makes sense.

"That was quite a devastating blow, but are they okay...?"

"He's a master actor capable of successfully playing dead against a professional assassin, so there is no need to worry."

No, that has absolutely nothing to do with... Wait, playing dead against an assassin? That's amazing, hey, what is that survival-specialized build? I'm incredibly interested in it.

"Well whatever, let's get back to the main topic. So, what exactly were the results of my so-called aptitude test?"

"Let's see... Avengers are broadly divided into specializing in either 'Anti-Personnel' or 'Anti-Monster'. You seem like you could excel in either, so you're free to choose, you know?"

"Then Anti-Monster."

To be blunt, I don't really have much passion for PvP in ShanFro. If this were Bakumatsu or the apocalyptic Round Table, even hesitating would be idiotic, though.

"...Follow me."

"Eh? Ah, yes ma'am!"

Eh, what's going on? Ah, stop it Tias-san! Don't pull on my inner wear while you're half-naked, we'll get banned! We're gonna get banneeeeeeed!!

............

.........

......

"Practical Exam... defeat it."

"Defeat it, you say..."

And so, we arrived at the Ruins of Past Glories. Ah, my friend's house is getting further and further away.
Since the job quest isn't over yet, this is probably part of it... but what exactly am I supposed to do?

After being subjected to the rather humiliating play of running through the town in a half-naked female avatar while being dragged along by a young girl in bikini armor, I was now looking at where Tias was pointing... What is that? It looks like a cherry with legs, a golem that completely spec'd into its visual appearance—"No, not that one. That one."

"That one?"

Oh my, something is running this way at a blistering speed... Oh my, oh my. The Cherry Golem just got sent flying through the air like a pair of clackers blowing up... What the hell is that? A sea anemone with legs?

"...Finish it quickly. Defeat it."

"Could I at least get an explanation!?"

Making absolutely no attempt to hide her annoyance—acting as if an unskippable cutscene had just started—Tias... no, Loli Sensei, let out a sigh.

"...That thing is a man-eater. Specifically, it devours only human arms."

"Are all those things human arms..."

I see... It honestly wouldn't look out of place in Ruluiath. Actually, I feel like I saw something similar there... No, that was just a Merman completely covered in sea anemones. Ahahaha, there's practically no difference!

"The name given to that thing is 'Aigaio'... It caused too much havoc, so the request reached us."

"I'll ask just in case, but any chance of some help..."

".........I am very sleepy. Five minutes."

"A time attack, huh...!"

Bring it on, you sea anemone bastard! I'll shave you completely bald!!

(Skip)

Seriously, are you an idiot? Even assuming you have a hundred arms, having a hundred consecutive grab hitboxes is way too harsh on close-range fighters.
Well, I shredded its shins to pieces using "Operation: Scratching Where It Itches," though! Being smaller due to the gender-bend effect actually worked in my favor. I turned its body into something that'll scream in agony every time it tries to put on knee-socks...

"H-How's my time..."

"Five minutes and eighteen seconds. Acceptable (Not bad)?"

Acceptable (laughed at through her nose), huh... In that case, what about you? I wanted to say that, but given her name implies she'd probably kill it in under a minute, I decided to keep my mouth shut.

"An Avenger's job is very strict. Fail even once, and your reward is reduced by 90%."

A 90% reduction sounds brutal. Well, taking it to the extreme, you can get by in this game just by butchering monsters and selling their materials... No, selling materials + quest rewards is obviously going to yield a much better income.

"Also, jobs are irregular. You never know when you'll be summoned."

Irregularity is tough. It wouldn't be a problem if it only happened at random times while I was logged in, though.

"And if you want to make a living in this industry, there is something important you must know."

"...Something important?"

Tias explained that, in principle, there is no hierarchy among Avengers. While there is a Boss who acts as the manager, there is no superior/subordinate relationship between the hunters themselves; everyone's status is completely flat.
However, human beings... no, not just humans, but all living creatures tend to feel a sense of unease if there isn't at least some degree of hierarchy.

In other words. Tias, puffing out her chest with a funsu, apparently wanted to blow a typhoon-level Senior Breeze (assert dominance) over her very first junior.

"...You are to call me 'Sensei'."

"I will follow you anywhere, Loli Sensei (Tias Sensei)ーーー!"

Looking up to a rabbit as a brother, and revering a little girl as a master. This Character (Save Data) has really turned into an incomprehensible mess... Well, leaving that aside, I'd argue that gamers are, in a sense, the exact opposite of discriminators.
After all, we interact with characters packed with the developers' fetishes, shielded by the grand justification of "It's fiction." Skin color? Gender? Race? If the stats are good enough, a gamer would gladly welcome a slug into their party. That's what a gamer is.
Besides, I've had more than enough experiences looking up to little girls as masters. Loli-babas are a dime a dozen in fantasy games, after all.

Loli Sensei seemed to greatly appreciate my full-power prostration, entirely devoid of any underestimation or disrespect. Snorting proudly with a funsu funsu, Tias not only gave me a tour of the underground cafe "Wandering Sword" but also treated me to an apple parfait.
Incredibly, despite tasting slightly cheap, the flavor restriction felt almost entirely lifted. I honestly thought all food items in this game had their taste restricted... Are Avenger-related items exempt? No, I seriously doubt they'd implement such an incomprehensible and hidden perk into a mere job. Besides, if they were going to do that, the Cook job (a class capable of creating recovery/buff items from monster materials) would be a much better fit. Is there some other condition...? Well whatever, that's a job for the Lore Hunters (Library).

Also, as a side note, I now have screenshots of "Smug Tias-sensei" and "A two-shot of me (female) and Tias, who I convinced to wear a school swimsuit by talking about casual wear and water-repellency."... I wonder if these would sell for a high price?

『Hidden Job Quest "The One Who Grants Feeble Wishes" Cleared』
『Job Change! Main Job has been changed to "Avenger"』
『Do you wish to change the Job "Mercenary" to your Sub-Job? Yes/No』
『Title 【Gourmet Tongue】 Acquired』

Acquiring the mysterious title 【Gourmet Tongue】 made me realize something. This game likely links "Ingredient Quality" with the "Taste Restriction." In other words, as long as you fork over the cash, you can eat delicious food.
Which means everything we've been eating up until now was............ Feeling the transience of the world through the cruel reality of capitalism, I was currently standing in Fifticia.

"I wonder why... It hasn't even been a day, yet I feel incredibly nostalgic for my male body..."

Maybe it's because a tidal wave of events occurred while I was gender-bent. Regardless, it seems the scorpions show no mercy even to a delicate young girl. They don't wear the tinted glasses of gender discrimination; they welcome any visitor with everything they have... At the very least, I managed to collect quite a bit of Amulsidian Quartz, so I'll call it a win.

My plan for today was to meet up with Rei-shi and go hunting to prepare various things before moving to the New Continent. I forgot if it was High Tension or Pension, but apparently, monsters whose horns can be used as potion materials are currently being massively over-hunted by players. So, the plan was to head to an area with a relatively lower player population.
Well, since I practically ran in a straight line to Fifticia, I'm pretty clueless about the other route areas. At best, I know there's a Flame Broccoli Butterfly at the bottom of the extinct crater lake, and that there's a fishing spot in the Iron Ruins.

"Now then... It's just about time to meet up."

I stood out a bit too much earlier. It would be one thing if I was just passing through, but standing around idly at a meeting spot carries a high risk.
For that reason, I executed a plan to hold my breath in an alleyway until about three minutes before the meeting time, waiting for the right moment to leap onto the main stage...

"U-Um, Su—, Sasasa, Sunrararaku, sasasasa, th-th-th-thi-this, isis isis is is wwhwhwhhwhhhaaaaattt"

"Hyeh."

Anyone would be terrified if a Dark Knight, whose entire body was crumbling into static noise, suddenly appeared right in front of them.
Amidst the ensuing panic—or rather, amidst the sympathetic gazes from the few players who seemingly understood the Cause—the thoroughly bugged-out Rei-shi extended a hand whose human outline was completely blurred toward me, and... butsun, vanished from the spot.

"Well, this is a problem."

It's nothing complicated. If the rest of us are completely fine and Rei-shi bugged out with pinpoint accuracy, there's only one reason... Hardware trouble on her end.

Author's Afterword
The Yuzapa (User-Participation Event) that surpasses Yuzapa. The Skipped Yuzapa... Well, he's a TAS, so skipping is completely natural.
Incidentally, the ultimate Yuzapa was the Hermit Crab of the Deep Sea Top Three, who only existed in the lore and had its actual depiction completely cut.

By the way, "Aigaio" is not a Species (Monster) name, but an Individual (Monster) name. You could call it a variant of the Fresh Meat Golem.
It possesses traits similar to a Chimera, but because it strictly has an unbalanced diet of only devouring human arms, it isn't actually a Chimera. In fact, the items it drops are the exact same as the normal species, not variant drops. It isn't a rare enemy; it's simply a "normal species that was given an alias due to developing abnormal (behavioral) traits."

The quests Avengers can accept involve variant monsters like this one, or extremely wicked NPCs.

• Lore Trivia
  Tias-chan has a background lore of being a bottom-tier orphan where malnutrition and stunted growth were the default before she was picked up by Lutia-san. As such, her appearance and age don't really match. Specifically, she barely looks like a 4th-grade elementary schooler, but her actual age is around 14.

She is the final Bounty Hunter designed by the two geniuses to be the absolute "PKer Annihilator." Her exclusive skill "── Speed (X X X n)" is a non-standard skill that carries the risk of crashing the server just by processing Tias's movements alone.

As long as it's high in calories, she loves anything. Due to the environment she grew up in, her mentality is "As long as I can wear it, anything is fine," making her a natural-born cosplayer. That's why she willingly put on the school swimsuit.

Survival would probably be willing to pay up to 500 million Mani for those screenshots.