At that time, a sense of fatigue from the past came over me, and I sat down as if I was throwing myself on a chair. At the same time, Lilan flapped her wings gently and flew to the table in front of me.
"It's great that we don't have to meet anyone... If we did, there would definitely be a big commotion..."
I covered my eyes with my hands and heard Lilan's voice in my mind.
"Speaking of which, Kirito. From what I remember, you seemed to have been depressed before you met me. Did something happen to you before you met me?"
Then I finally realized why I was visiting that forest and what was happening there. Yes, everything I did was in vain.
Although I got the resurrection item, it had no effect and could not revive important people.
Didn't even hear the last words. Furthermore, before entering that forest, I was separated from important friends.
He has been by my side since the beginning of the game and was very worried about me, but I ignored everything he said, showed no concern for his concern, and eventually parted ways with him.
It's absolutely disgusting.
As a fool who longed for experience points, he kept accumulating experience points to improve his level while being laughed at. In the end, he only got useless resurrection items, lost friends, and fell into despair. Even the resurrection props disappeared from Lilan's body.
Oh, by the way, I think I got the familiar named Lilan and became a "beast familiar". What am I doing? While I was thinking this, I heard the voice of my familiar Lilan.
"Kirito. Can you tell me what happened?"
I looked away from my hands and towards the table. Under the moonlight, a small dragon stood there with its head held high.
"What's the point of telling you?"
"I am your familiar. And I plan to support you as your master from now on. You seemed to be in pain at that time. And you are still suffering now. I want to know the cause of this pain."
She spoke eloquently, but I knew that no matter what she said I wouldn't understand. Although she seems to move and speak like a living person, she is just an AI that executes commands after all. She cannot understand my words and will only give pre-programmed responses.
This is probably because I became a "beast familiar" and something happened with the familiar. Becoming a "beast user" can happen to anyone.
Perceive, empathize, think and give answers - such human things she is incapable of doing.
"What's the point of telling you. So, I don't want to say it."
"Don't you want to say it?"
"I don't want to say it. So, I won't say it."
Lilan showed a slightly sad expression and said softly, "That's it." However, surprisingly I felt calmer.
Moreover, by the time I went to the forest to challenge the boss, I had completely relaxed and was so depressed that I even considered committing suicide. However, when I met and talked to Lilan in that forest, I seemed to have returned to my normal state. ——Although I can hardly have a good conversation with my friends, Lilan and I can communicate normally.
However, even now that feeling is back, I'm not in the same abyss as I was back then. On the contrary, there is a warm feeling inside. What on earth is this guy? Is this the "Beast Envoy" incident?
"Then, I'll listen to you when you want to say it. I'm going to rest, and you should rest too."
"Well, let's take a nap."
With that said, Lilan flew towards the bed, curled up and began to purr. Yes, she is just an AI after all. So even if I told her, she couldn't understand. She couldn't understand what only I had been through.
I looked away from Lilan and fell into thinking. ...At that moment, a strange voice suddenly came, and Lilan and I looked around. At first I thought it was Lelan's voice, but after listening closer I realized it was a siren.
The source of the sound... I turned my head in the direction where the sound was getting louder and found a yellow button similar to the window floating there. And that's where the sirens come from.
"……This is……"
I moved my finger and tried to press the button, and a long and narrow window appeared, but when I saw the words on it, I was stunned.
December 25, 2023
I took Lilan and left the hotel. I could feel a strong will inside me that I had never felt before.
I have a strong partner in Lilan. As long as we have the power of Lilan and I, we will be able to break through this city, protect all players in this world, and return to reality. Lilan and I must survive in this world, defeat the final boss, and end this world. Before reaching that goal, I will try to reduce the number of victims and help and protect our partners who fight with us.
Never let anyone die again.
――I thought that leaving the hotel was pretty smooth. Not long after I came out, I was surrounded by a group of players, both male and female, and I couldn't move. I asked the players next to me what happened and learned that they were gathered here because they saw the information about me taking the dragon with me last night and wanted to confirm whether it was true. I was sneaking around last night thinking I wasn't seen, but it looks like I was actually seen somewhere.
Moreover, the birth of the "Beast User" profession in this layer should be the biggest surprise to everyone. There are more than 6,000 players in this world called Aincrad, but there seem to be only about a dozen players who can become "Beast Users". Therefore, it is quite rare for me to become a "beast user", or an extremely rare existence. They probably gathered like this just to catch a glimpse of me.
Then, the players saw Lilan sitting on my shoulders with an expression of surprise and joy, her eyes shining.
Lilan is a new type of monster that has not been discovered so far, and her current appearance is like a hybrid between a baby dragon and a puppy with huge wings on her back, so everyone's reaction is understandable.
Male players were surprised and delighted by this monster form that they had never seen before and would not attack them, while female players exclaimed with excitement at the cute dragon like a puppy.
More female players who love cute things started tapping Lilan on my shoulder, and Lilan screamed loudly at the players, while I screamed through the "voice" in my head.
"This, this, stop making trouble!"
"Haha, I think this is impossible. But if there are so many people..."
The crowd was so crowded that I couldn’t seem to get close to the square where the boss battle meeting was held. It seems that I will be absent from the boss battle meeting.
The boss battle meeting is to share information about the boss on this level. It is a meeting that must be attended when participating in the boss battle. However, I was unable to move because of the players surrounding me. Is there any way?
While I was anxious, a familiar voice came from the crowd.
Sorry, please step back. Please make way for me!
Hearing a sound like real-world first responders dismissing onlookers, Leland and I turned to the source of the sound.
Standing there was a man wearing blue armor, carrying a one-handed sword at his waist, with blue hair, who looked older than me. His appearance could be seen as that of a traditional knight.
I shouted when I saw the blue-haired knight.
"Diabel!"
The knight had a surprised look on his face and called my name.
"Kirito, are you telling the truth!"
Diabell's gaze went directly to my shoulder. There was the now shrunken "familiar" Lilan. It seems that this man Diabel also came here after listening to the words of the people around him or the guild members.
But now that someone like Diabel is here to help, communication will be much easier. Diabell participates in every boss battle and organizes meetings to defeat regional bosses.
"Diabel! Sorry to disturb you! I will tell everyone gathered in the square, and then I will pass the information to the information house Argo to let them understand this monster!"
I immediately rushed over, grabbed the arm of Diabel who was staring at Lilan, and broke through the wall of players. Then we continued running, looking at the panicked Diabel, and we got into the alleys of the city. When I couldn't feel the player's breath or sight at all, I stopped.
Looking back, Lilan had already spread her wings and flew up at some point, while Diabel was watching Lilan. A look of confusion came over his face.
"Yes, Kirito."
"Kirito, who is this man?"
They both spoke at the same time and I crossed my arms. Now I need to explain to both of them, so let’s introduce Diabel to my new friend Lilan.
Diabell. One month after the start of this death game, he mastered the information about the Boss, gathered players to form an army, entered the maze area, and successfully defeated the Boss. That alone is impressive, but he is more than that.
Diabell was originally a beta tester like me. He knew very well how to fight the boss and how to level up, and he also published it in the form of a guide.
In the boss battle, he used his inherent knowledge to support and guide the players with smooth instructions and orders, and finally defeated the boss on the first floor. He was a hero with outstanding skills.
