Second World Online

The morning sunlight slipped shyly through the ventilation of my room, carrying a warmth that made me reluctant to leave the bed. However, a promise was a promise. Last night, I had already agreed to Alya’s request to become a "substitute player" in her party. Knowing my little sister’s enthusiasm, I was certain she had been ready inside the game since the crack of dawn on this weekend holiday.

After finishing breakfast and my morning medical routine quickly, I immediately entered the Game Capsule.

White teleportation light wrapped around my consciousness, and in an instant, the antiseptic air of my room was replaced by the fragrant aroma of toasted bread, the clanging of blacksmiths, and the bustling voices of players. I stood at the Waypoint point in the square of StoneBrook City.

Before stepping out to meet Alya, I opened my inventory panel. Bringing the Titan’s Ironbark Longbow, whose size exceeded my body height, into a public place right now would only invite far too much unwanted attention. That purple-aura weapon was too conspicuous. Instead, I stored the Titan in my inventory and took out my old bow, the Whispering Ash Recurve Bow. This bow rested comfortably on my back, making my appearance once again look like an ordinary mid-tier Archer. I also deliberately wore my gray cloak, covering the Spellweaver’s Dirk bound to my thigh.

I walked through the crowded square, my eyes scanning the sea of players. It did not take long to find my target.

Near the central city fountain, a small white fox was hopping up and down while waving her little paws toward me. A pair of white fox ears twitched full of spirit, matching the fluffy tail that swayed behind her back.

That was Yuuki, Alya’s avatar.

"Big Sister Syl! Over here, over here!" she called out in a cheerful high-pitched voice, ignoring the gazes of several other players who found her small Beast avatar adorable.

I smiled and quickened my pace. As I approached, I realized that Yuuki was not alone. Beside her stood two other female players who were looking at me with expressions of curiosity mixed with hesitation.

"Right on time," I said while ruffling the soft virtual fur of Alya’s head, making her fox ears flatten for a moment before standing upright again. "So, these are the members of your pride party?"

Yuuki puffed out her chest proudly. "Of course! Let me introduce them, Big Sister. This is Rara; her character name is Lumina."

The girl to Yuuki’s left bowed politely. She used the Elf race, similar to mine, but without the Albinism trait. Her long blonde hair was neatly tied, and she wore a clean white robe with a wooden staff tipped with a blue crystal in her hand. A pure Priest class.

"Hello, Big Brother Rian... uh, I mean Big Sister Syl," Lumina (Rara) greeted in a soft and slightly shy tone. She glanced at my deathly pale skin and silver hair caused by the Albinism effect, as if afraid of offending me.

"And this is Azalea; her character name is Flora!" Yuuki continued, pointing toward the flower girl on Rara’s shoulder.

Flora (Azalea) had the most unique appearance. She had chosen the Dryad Azalea or forest spirit race. Her skin was pale olive green, and instead of hair, flower tendrils and leaves grew to decorate her head. Instead of wearing shoes, her feet resembled flexible interwoven roots. She held a short staff made of thorny branches.

"Hello, Big Sister Syl," Flora greeted with a faint smile. "Thank you for being willing to replace Yuna today. Yuuki always says her big sibling is an amazing craftsman and Archer, but we didn’t expect Big Sister’s appearance to be... this unique."

I chuckled softly. "Unique is a polite word for describing ’pale as a ghost,’ right? Don’t hold back. Today, just think of me as your hired soldier. Yuuki is the one holding the formation control."

Hearing that, Yuuki’s fox tail swayed even faster. "Hehehe, hear that? Today I’m the captain! Well, because Big Sister Syl focuses on attack and crafting, her HP and defense must be really thin. Flora, your job today is a bit heavier because you have to help hold the monsters with your vines in place of Yuna. I’ll be the main DPS, and Big Sister Syl can help from the back with arrows."

Hearing my little sister lecture me and arrange my strategy, I could only hold back laughter. If only she knew my HP bar was indeed pitiful, but I had just leveled a Level 29 mountain boss alone yesterday.

"Yes, Captain," I answered with pretend respect.

The four of us left the square of StoneBrook City, walked toward the Southern Gate, and entered the Whispering Plains area.

True to its name, this area was a vast expanse of waist-high grassland that stretched all the way to the horizon. The wind blowing across this grassland produced a soft hissing sound that resembled thousands of people whispering. This area was in the Level 15 to 20 range, an ideal place for Alya’s party, whose average levels were 16 and 17.

As a captain, Yuuki truly carried out her duties seriously. She walked at the very front, her fire magic staff at the ready. Flora walked beside her, using her roots to detect movement in the ground. Meanwhile, Lumina and I walked in the rear line.

"Big Sister Syl... is it really okay for Big Sister to hunt with us?" Lumina asked suddenly, her voice soft amid the sound of the wind. "Yuuki said Big Sister is sick in the real world. If you move too much inside the game, won’t you get tired?"

I glanced at this kind-hearted young Priest. "Don’t worry, Lumina. This game uses neural interface technology. As long as I don’t force the system limit, my real body is only sleeping. Besides, walking around on a grassland like this is therapy far more enjoyable than staring at the ceiling of a room."

Lumina smiled in relief. "I’m glad to hear that. Yuuki really loves Big Sister. She said the reason she took strong fire elemental magic is so she can wipe out monsters quickly and protect Big Sister."

A warm feeling spread through my chest. That kid. In the real world she often acted tsundere, but behind my back, she thought about me that far.

KROOOOK!

The heavy growl of a wild boar cut through our conversation. Up ahead, the tall grass parted roughly. Three [Horned Grassland Boar – Level 18] the size of small cows with sharp curved tusks appeared and immediately glared at us. Their eyes glowed red, indicating they were aggressive-type monsters.

"Enemies ahead! Formation!" Yuuki shouted, her gamer instinct lighting up instantly.

She cast magic. A small fire circle appeared at the tip of her staff. A fireball the size of a human head formed and immediately shot toward the middle wild boar.

BOOM!

[-120 Fire Damage]

Yuuki’s opening attack was strong enough to trigger the aggro of all three monsters. They scraped the ground with their hooves and immediately charged toward Yuuki.

"Flora, hold them!" Yuuki ordered.

"[Vine Bind]!" Flora slammed the tip of her wooden staff into the ground. Instantly, thorny roots emerged from the soil, wrapping around the legs of the two wild boars on the left and right sides, forcibly stopping their advance.

However, the middle wild boar managed to escape and continued charging toward Yuuki.

Instead of panicking, Yuuki used the agility of her fox race. She leaped lightly to the side (side-step), allowing the wild boar to crash into empty air.

"Now, Big Sister Syl!" she called out.

I smiled faintly. I drew my Whispering Ash bow, not using any skills at all, purely releasing a single basic attack. I deliberately held back my power, only drawing the bowstring halfway so that my arrow would not kill the monster instantly.

Sring! Jleb!

My arrow embedded accurately in the front leg joint of that wild boar, giving it a brief Slow effect and breaking its attack focus.

"Good work! Time for barbecue!" Yuuki shouted.

She cast her wind magic, [Gust of Wind], and directed it at the remaining embers still sticking to the fur of the first wild boar. High-pressure air met residual fire magic, creating an area explosion that spread to the other two wild boars still bound by Flora’s vines.

The Fire-Wind Spread combo explosion swept all three of them. Their HP bars plummeted into the red, and a few additional strikes from Flora’s staff finished the battle.

"Yeay! We won!" Yuuki jumped in excitement.

I clapped my hands softly. "Not bad coordination. The aggro management is still a bit messy because you don’t have a Tank, but Flora’s adaptation with her vines is excellent."

"Of course! We’re future pro players!" Yuuki replied while picking up loot in the form of tusks and wild boar meat.

For the next hour, the hunting went smoothly. They faced small groups of two or three monsters. I truly played my role as an observer and "weak supporter." Every time a monster managed to break through their defense, I would fire one or two arrows with surgical accuracy just to stop their advance, letting Yuuki be the star of the show to finish them off.

However, the peace of the grassland did not last forever. The smell of blood from the dozens of wild boars we had defeated began attracting more deadly predators.

We were resting near the ruins of an ancient stone pillar when the wind suddenly stopped blowing. The hissing of the tall grass disappeared, replaced by a pressing silence.

I was the first to notice it thanks to my extremely high Dexterity status. My eyes narrowed, scanning the sea of tall grass surrounding us.

Around the stone pillar ruins where we sat, the grassland swayed gently. Not by the wind, but by something creeping stealthily toward us from various directions. They were surrounding us.

"Everyone, stand up. Form a circular formation. Now," I ordered. My previously relaxed tone had now become extremely cold and firm. Something in the tone of my voice made Alya and her friends reflexively jump to their feet without asking.

"W-what’s wrong, Big Sister?" Yuuki asked, her staff beginning to glow red.

"We’re being targeted. The smell of blood," I answered briefly.

Suddenly, a long and hoarse howl broke the silence. From behind the tall grass, one by one shadowy figures leaped out, surrounding us within a radius of ten meters.

They were wolves. Their size was almost as tall as a human’s chest, with dark gray matted fur and long fangs dripping reddish saliva. Their eyes glowed blood-red.

[Bloodfang Wolf – Level 20]

HP: 1800/1800

Type: Beast

Description: Apex predators of the Whispering Plains. Move in large packs, relying on speed and ambush tactics. Their fangs can inflict the [Bleed] (Bleeding) effect.

I quickly counted their numbers. Three... five... eight... ten! There were ten Level 20 Bloodfang Wolves surrounding us.

"Big Sister... this is too many," Flora’s voice trembled with fear. Her branch staff was gripped tightly. "Their levels are higher than ours. Yuna isn’t here to hold them..."

"Don’t panic!" Yuuki shouted, trying to maintain her authority as captain. "Flora, protect Lumina in the middle! I’ll try to break their line with area magic!"

Yuuki cast Fireball and threw it toward the pack on the northern side. However, these wolves were not stupid. Sensing danger, they immediately scattered with extraordinary agility, completely avoiding Yuuki’s fireball.

Instead, Yuuki’s attack had just triggered the attack command for the entire pack. Ten wolves shot forward simultaneously from all directions!

Four wolves lunged at Yuuki in front, forcing her to jump back and roll in panic. Three wolves lunged at Flora who tried to hold them with a root wall, but those roots were immediately torn apart by their bloody fangs.

And the remaining three wolves leaped straight over the ruins, targeting Lumina who stood unprotected in the rearmost line.

"KYAA!" Lumina screamed, closing her eyes in fear while crossing her Priest staff in front of her chest.

Yuuki turned, her eyes wide with horror, seeing her friend about to be torn apart. "RARA!"

This is the time to stop playing around, I thought.

I dropped the Whispering Ash Recurve Bow to the ground. In the same second, my right hand shot to my thigh, drawing the Spellweaver’s Dirk. The astral silver blade reflected the sunlight, whistling as it left its sheath.

I activated [Wind Walk].

With the additional 40% speed and my base DEX that had broken through the number 40, I shot forward like a gray shadow, crossing a distance of five meters in the blink of an eye. I appeared right in front of Lumina, turning my back to her, facing the three ferocious wolves that were leaping through the air with jaws wide open.

"Stay behind me," I ordered coldly.

I ducked sharply, allowing the first wolf to fly over my head. When its unprotected belly was exposed, I slashed my silver dagger from bottom to top.

SRAAAAAT!

The silver blade split the wolf’s belly without resistance, spraying virtual blood particles into the air. The monster screeched and was flung to the ground behind Lumina, dying instantly from a Critical Hit.

The next two wolves lunged from the left and right sides simultaneously.

I used my right leg as a pivot, spinning my body 180 degrees like a top. My right hand holding the dagger slashed the neck of the wolf on the left side, while my free left hand punched hard into the snout of the wolf on the right using the momentum of the spin.

CRACK!

The left wolf was instantly beheaded. The right wolf was thrown backward, whimpering in pain with a broken snout, before finally the passive wind blade of [Gale Slash] shot after it and split its head.

Three Level 20 wolves. Dead in less than three seconds.

Lumina, who still had her eyes closed, slowly opened them. Her mouth hung open wide, unable to utter a single word as she saw the three wolf corpses that shattered into light around her, and my figure standing calmly without a single scratch.

Without wasting time, I turned toward Flora and Yuuki. They were still fighting desperately to avoid the bites of the remaining seven wolves. Yuuki’s HP bar had already dropped to half.

"Lumina, Heal Yuuki now!" I shouted.

"Y-yes, Big Sister!" Lumina immediately cast light magic, restoring Yuuki’s HP to the safe zone.

I shot back into the middle of the battlefield. My left hand took a sulfur-smelling mud clump from my inventory: a [Lesser Mud Bomb]. I lit its fuse, then threw it right into the middle of the pack of seven wolves.

"Yuuki! Fall back!" I shouted.

DUAARRR!

The mud bomb exploded, producing a physical shockwave and mud dust that flung all seven wolves to the ground, applying a Stun effect for two seconds.

"Now, Yuuki! Burn them all!" I ordered while sheathing my dagger again.

Yuuki did not waste the opportunity. Her eyes blazed with determination. She raised her staff high. "Take this!" she shouted.

A giant fireball shot forth, followed by a storm-wind gust from her spell. The Fire-Wind Spread combo slammed into the seven still-dazed wolves. The massive area fire explosion swept the grassland, burning away the remaining HP of those monsters in one decisive blow.

A series of EXP notifications filled the air.

Silence once again descended upon the stone pillar ruins. I walked slowly to pick up my Whispering Ash bow that lay on the ground, cleaned the dust from it, then slung it back onto my back. I turned toward the three teenage girls who were still frozen in their respective places.

Lumina, Flora, and Yuuki stared at me with half-open mouths. Their eyes were perfectly round.

"B-Big Sister..." Yuuki finally broke the silence, swallowing with difficulty. "Three seconds... Big Sister just killed three Level 20 wolves using only a dagger in three seconds?"

Flora also spoke, her tone full of amazement. "Yuuki said... Big Sister is a crafter with weak defense. B-but that speed just now... even Assassins in major Guilds might not be able to move that smoothly!"

I only smiled faintly, casually rubbing the back of my neck. "Big Sister didn’t lie. My HP is indeed very thin. But who needs thick blood if the enemy can’t touch you at all?"

Hearing my answer, Yuuki suddenly ran and crashed into me, hugging my waist tightly. "BIG SISTER IS SO COOL!" she shouted hysterically, her tail swaying wildly. "Teach me how to move like that! Teach me!"

Lumina and Flora also approached; their eyes now radiated stars of admiration. "Please, guide us today, Teacher!"

I laughed freely, a laughter I very rarely felt in the real world. The grassland wind caressed my avatar’s face, carrying away all the burdens of illness and household routines.