C.S.O.

 witch

what comes to your mind when you heard it?

a woman with a tall, conical shape with a wide-brim hat and wearing a clock? use a wand and of course, using magic.

witch, that's what comes to Kuro's mind when he sees Chiaki in Celestial Soul Online

wearing a tall, conical shape with a wide-brim hat, clock, and using a wand called staff

With the name Chika that not so different from her real name, Chika eats at the restaurant with Kuro and Anna (Ruko).

The restaurant is in the game, but so far Kuro doesn't feel any different from the real world.

Kuro sits between Chika and Anna like a sandwich on the table.

the foods at the table are also not so different from the real world food.
Many are Japanese, Chinese, Europe, and American.

Perhaps, this is because CSO players come from around the world, but for Kuro, it's not a big deal.
This actually allows players to experience food from all over the world without having to travel to the food's country of origin.

All three of them ordered Japanese cuisine.
They didn't have to wait long as the NPC waiter immediately placed the food on their table.

Kuro was a little curious about the taste of the food he ordered, but after trying it, he discovered something interesting.

 

“The taste of the food in this world are not different from the real world.”

Kuro had suspected this already.

“Onii-chan, would you like me to feed you?”

Anna brought the food closer to Kuro's mouth with her chopsticks.

“Kuro-chan, I'll also feed you…
ahhnn.”

Chika (Chiaki) did the same thing.

 

Kuro ate from both of them without hesitation.
The food they both ordered happened to be their favorite dishes in the real world.
For Kuro, it wasn't an issue.

 

“…
why sis you doing it too, Chika?”

“Why do you ask? Shouldn't you be happy to be fed by two beautiful girls?”

“…fine, I'm happy.
Are you both satisfied now?”

“Hehehe…”

Anna smiled happily.

“By the way, does it have any effect on us eating like this? Honestly, I'd rather not eat and choose real-world food because it's more filling.”

“Onii-chan, in this world, we need to eat at least once a day, or else our HP will gradually decrease, just like when we don't eat in the real world.”

“…this game is too troublesome.”

“I agree, but that's what makes this game interesting.”

“Ah, is that so? I thought it was just a way to squeeze money out of players…
but I guess it's not my concern, and I don't care, but there's one thing that's been bothering me since earlier.”

“What is it, Onii-chan? Are you being targeted by other women?”

Why other women? Kuro wanted to say that, but he couldn't.

“Don't you realize that I've been receiving strange looks since earlier? Could there be something odd about my appearance?”

Kuro was still wearing the default character outfit, which was actually normal considering he was a new player.

 

“No, Onii-chan.
I don't think there's anything strange.”

“You even look handsome.”

“Hmmm….?”

Kuro didn't quite understand, but he thought he might have been too cautious.

“Oh, by the way, there's one thing I want to make sure of, Anna.”

“Don't worry, today is a safe day, so don't hesitate to attack me.
Fufu.”

“…why do you always think I would do that? Don't say weird things, I could get a reputation as a pervert because of you.”

“Ara…
isn't being a pervert normal? Don't worry, I'm always on your side, Kuro-chan.”

“I should just leave to level up and stay away from both of you.”

 

Kuro quickly stood up and tried to walk away from the restaurant, but his hands were immediately held by Anna and Chika, preventing him from escaping.

Kuro was a man with greater physical strength than a woman.
He could easily break free, but that didn't apply in CSO.

A player's strength was determined by their stats.
The higher the player's stats, the stronger they were.

Kuro understood this and eventually sat back down in his original seat with a pleading expression.

 

“Onii-chan gets sulky too quickly, you know we were just joking.
Fufufu…”

“Kuro-chan is just that kind of person.”

“If you already know, I shouldn't have to explain it again.
Besides, I don't have much time to entertain you both.”

Chika and Anna only smiled softly.

“Alright, then what is it that you want to make sure of, Onii-chan?”

Finally, they got to the main topic.

Kuro could only sigh before answering the question.

“You said you wanted to do a quest with me as your birthday gift, right?”

Anna nodded.

“But does it have to be a quest in the fourth world? Based on my calculations, the third world takes longer to complete.
Am I wrong?”

Upon hearing that, Anna and Chika sighed as if they were in trouble.

They were indeed in trouble.

“I actually wanted to do that quest, but I'm also aware that it takes longer to complete the third world.”

“We're trying our best to conquer all the cities in the third world as quickly as possible, but it's not as easy as we thought.
Especially defeating the Demon King in the third world, it's still just a dream.”

“…Is the Demon King really that powerful? …?! I didn't know you were also one of the top players like Anna.”

Chika just smiled softly.

“Kuro-chan, don't judge a book by its cover.
Even so, I'm even stronger than Anna-chan.”

“Chika-chan is the vice president of the Ouroboros guild.
Unlike me or Onii-chan, Chika-chan is a pure mage.”

“Heh……”

“But of course, I can also use sword skills, but not as strong as magic skills.”

Players who only level up their magic skills will be like Chika, who has high-level magic skills.

On the other hand, players who only level up their sword skills will be the opposite.

Anna (Ruko) is the type of player who levels up both sword and magic skills.
Players like Anna are the most common in the world of CSO.

“As for the Demon King…
they are incredibly strong as the Last Boss.
But I think it's only natural because this is a game.”

“Based on data and my experience, the Demon King in the first world is level 110, which isn't too high considering players could reach level 120 at that time.
But to defeat the Demon King, it took about 6 parties consisting of players who were all level 120.
Do you believe that, Onii-chan?”

It took 36 level 120 players to defeat a level 110 Demon King.
It's as if the level of the Demon King is just a number and doesn't reflect its actual strength.

“Meanwhile, the Demon King in the second world is level 235, but it took 6 parties at level 260 to defeat him.
Just like in the first world.”

“The Demon King in the third world is predicted to be around level 350-360.
That's why we need to be at least level 400 to win and to reach that level, 3 months is not enough.
It's really giving us a headache…”

“………….”

After hearing all the explanations, Kuro remained silent.

Kuro knew that in CSO, there were no level restrictions.
Perhaps that was because the greatest enemy was the Demon God.

But one thing crossed Kuro's mind, and it made him curious.

“Can I know your levels?”

“I am level 344.”

“While I am level 325.”

Kuro is level 15.
It's a very small number compared to 300.

“…and you want me to raise my level to 300 in 3 months?”

Impossible.
That's what crossed Kuro's mind.
No, that's the reality.

“Well, how many years do you think it would take to reach level 300?”

Why years instead of months or days? That really makes Kuro curious.

“That's why we came here to give you a little help.”

“Huh?”

Without many words, Chika brought up a menu window and selected one of the options.
After a few moments, a panel window appeared in front of Kuro.

[Chika wants to provide you with some data.
Accept (Yes) or (No)]

Without hesitation, Kuro chose (Yes).
Then a photo appeared.
It was a picture of Ruko wearing a sexy and provocative bikini pose.

“………….”

Kuro couldn't even comment.

“Oops…
I made a mistake.
It was supposed to be my photo and not Anna-chan's.
Hehe…”

“Nice, Chika-chan.”

“I'm glad with your help.
This really motivates me.
Can I go now? I still have some things to do.”

Kuro stood up once again and tried to leave.

Kuro is the type of person who is indifferent but also serious.
He's also the type who doesn't like asking for help unless he's desperate.

Anna and Chika certainly know this.
It's what often leads them to tease Kuro.

Unfortunately, Kuro is not someone who enjoys jokes and quickly gets annoyed.

“Sorry, sorry.
I should have known that you'd prefer to see Anna's body directly rather than a photo.”

Anna immediately grabbed Kuro's shoulder, preventing him from escaping.
Again.

“I'm sorry, Onii-chan.
If you want to see me, I will log out and come directly to your room.”

“Why has it become like this…?”

Kuro sighed as he remembered why his younger sister loved him as a man.
It was all his fault.

The problem is that Kuro didn't realize his mistake until it was too late.
It was very late because Kuro's parents actually approved of their relationship.

Kuro sat back down, but this time he was facing the two of them.

He decided that he didn't want to be played with anymore.
If they were going to play with him again, he chose not to interact with them for 3 months within the CSO.

As for not interacting in the real world…
that's impossible.

That's the best solution and the least troublesome way.

He would keep his promise in his own way, as he had always done.
Being quiet and solitary doesn't mean he can't solve problems; in fact, it makes it easier for Kuro to focus on solving his own problems.

“The help we want to provide is…”

A panel window with the same message appeared in front of Kuro.
Once again, he selected [yes].

A new panel appeared.
This time it didn't show a sexy photo, but a map.
But it wasn't an ordinary map.

“Could it be…”

Anna and Chika nodded.

“Yes.
It's a map of the first world, Midgard, and the second world, Nilfheim.
There are also data on the third world, Alfheim, but only limited to the places we already know.”

“But…”

The map given by Anna and Chika contained more than just that.

It included information about monster types, monster levels, items, Nest locations, dungeon data, and most importantly, data about the Vital Soul locations, which are the monsters' weaknesses.
Everything was included in the data given by Anna and Chika.

“However, it's impossible to reach level 300 in 3 months.
That's why we at least want Onii-chan to raise his level high enough to fight alongside me.
It's still impossible for some people, but I, no, both of us believe that Onii-chan can do it.
I trust you, Onii-chan.”

“Chika, Anna…
you…”

“After that, any quest doesn't matter to me.
What matters is the memories we create together, Onii-chan.”

“……..”

Anna smiled sweetly like an angel.
That's how Kuro sees Anna.

A beautiful, sweet, and genuine smile that can melt anyone's heart.
Anna (Ruko) is the sweetest sister Kuro has ever had.
To see Anna always smiling, Kuro will do anything, even if it's impossible for others.

“Alright, Onii-chan will do it…”

Anna and Chika immediately smiled happily.

(That's right.
To see you smile, Onii-chan will do anything)

That was the decision he made when Ruko became his little sister and their family 10 years ago.
And until now, it has never changed.

(But I hope you won't do anything strange again…)

Kuro always gets into trouble because of that.

But it doesn't mean he hates it.
It's something normal for a younger sister to do.

As he thought about it, one piece of data was different from the rest.

Kuro immediately looked at that data.

And the data was…

A photo of Anna and Chika wearing towels in a hot spring.
But it wasn't a real-world hot spring.

In other words, it was when the game characters were bathing in a hot spring.
This gave a slight impression that the photo was of two people different from the ones Kuro knew.

Kuro then glanced at Chika, who smiled thinly like a fox.

“Just consider it as a bonus…”

“Yup.
It's indeed a bonus.
…but do you forget that I've already seen you without a towel, so I guess this is a small bonus.”

“Guhh…”

Chika's face turned bright red to her ears and she couldn't look at Kuro.

Meanwhile, Anna seemed to be recalling something.

“Ah…
that did happen…”

That incident happened a few months ago.
Anna knew because she was the cause of that problem.

“Don't act like it has nothing to do with you.”

“He he he…”

“Anyway, there's something I want to ask about a magic skill that I can't activate no matter how many times I try.
Do you know what the problem is?”

Kuro changed the topic because he didn't want to remember the pleasurable memories…
and painful for every man in the world.

Upon hearing Kuro's question, Anna and Chika immediately looked interested.

“What kind of magic skill, Onii-chan?”

“Shouldn't you only have three skills? Could it be that Kuro-chan chose useless skills?”

Kuro could tell that Chika knew because Anna told her.
Otherwise, why would Anna come together with Chika?

Regarding the number of skills, Kuro was curious if both of them knew that he actually had 13 skills [Magic Skills + Sword Skills].

“W-Well, something like that…
I guess.
…maybe.”

“What skill is it?”

“Umm…
it's a skill called Raising.
I think it's a skill to summon something, but so far, I don't know what it summons.”

Anna and Chika sighed.

Seeing that, Kuro had a bad feeling.

“A useless skill, huh?”

“Huh?”

“The Raising skill is indeed used to summon something, but it can only summon Undead-type monsters.
Besides, why does Onii-chan always choose useless skills?”

“Y-You might be right, but can you explain more about that skill? And what are Undead monsters? Although I can guess from the name that they're unpleasant monsters.”

“Undead monsters can be said to be types of monsters that have died and come back to life.
Skeletons, ghosts, dead trees, bats.
Things like that.”

“Ohh…”

In short, they were frightening monsters.

“With Raising, Onii-chan can summon the monsters that Onii-chan has killed and make them Onii-chan's subordinates.
But the monsters Onii-chan summons are weaker and easy to kill.”

“But that's not all, Undead-type monsters are usually high-level.
Kuro-chan knows the weakest Undead-type monster in the first world is at level 20.
It would take Kuro-chan a long time to raise his level that high.”

“Hmmmm….”

If what Chika said was true, Undead-type monsters had a 5 level higher than him.
He doesn't know the difference between level 20 and 15

(I guess I don't have any other choice but to find out…)

To formulate a strategy, information is needed.
In other words, to fight, Kuro needs all the information about the opponent's strength.

In the world of CSO, which is created based on digital data, this is easy.
It's unlike the real world where a weak person would be able to kill a tiger with a pistol or a trap.

“Alright, thank you.
You've been really helpful.
Now I know what I have to do.”

Kuro suddenly stands up.

“Eh? Are you leaving?”

“Well…
I only have a little time, right?”

At the same time, Kuro prepares his weapon, a sword that he used before, but when he looks at the list of weapons he has, there's another weapon that he hasn't used yet.

(Oh yeah, I obtained that weapon after defeating the Alpha Big Boar.)

Kuro's new weapon is a monster drop.
He hasn't tried it yet, so he doesn't know the difference compared to the starting sword.

Kuro then selects his new weapon.

[Twin Red Dagger] level 11.

As the name suggests, it's a pair of twin daggers with a bright red color.

The weapon appears in Kuro's hand as if by magic, but Kuro knows it's just part of the system.

Kuro then places the two daggers on his waist, just like the sword he previously used.

Interestingly, it seems that the location to store weapons automatically changes according to the player's weapon, but unfortunately, it is not free.
Kuro has to pay 100 ruk for it.

“Besides, isn't this the reason you provided that data?”

“…Yes.
Onii-chan is right.
We are also busy preparing to defeat the Demon King.
But there's one thing I want to let you know, Onii-chan, be cautious of Red Players.”

Since Kuro has read the guide, he understands what Anna means by those words.

Red Players.
Players who kill other players.

In VRMMORPGs, Red Players are quite common, but in CSO, they are feared because of the Death Penalty that players receive.

If a player dies from being killed by a monster, they only lose XP.
But if they are killed by another player (Red Player), they will receive a Death Penalty in the form of losing some money and one randomly selected item from their storage.

Red Players are like robbers in CSO.

“Yes, of course.
Well then, I'll go now.
Hmm…
Chika, is something wrong?”

“Eh? No, I'm just worried, ha ha ha…”

Kuro knows that Chika is thinking about something.
They have known each other since childhood, so they can tell if something is bothering the other.

“Oh…
I see.
Alright, I'll go then.
See you later, Anna.
Chika.”

Kuro leaves while waving his hand behind him.

After a while, Kuro is no longer visible and disappears.

Meanwhile, Chika nudges Anna's shoulder, even though Kuro is no longer visible.

“What's wrong, Chika-chan? Is there something going on?”

“No, it's just that, have you realized that Kuro-chan is hiding something from us?”

“Something? Don't tell me Onii-chan already has a girlfriend? That's why he's not interested in me at all.
This is really troublesome.
What should I do?”

“Not that.”

Chika immediately embraces Anna and whispers.

“Do you think Kuro-chan is really only level 4?”

“Eh?”

“Also, do you know about the weapon Kuro-chan used earlier?”

“Ummm…
I don't believe Onii-chan would lie to me, but when it comes to Onii-chan's weapon…
I haven't seen it before.”

“I was thinking the same thing.
Could it be…”

“Eh, do you mean Onii-chan's weapon is…
a Rare Item?”

“………..”

“……….”

Both of them burst into laughter.

“That's impossible…”

“Yeah.
We all know there are no Rare Items in this town…”

Meanwhile, Kuro is walking along a road that cuts through the forest.

His destination is Death City.
In that city, there are many Undead-type monsters.
Not only that, there is a dungeon near the city that is filled with undead monsters.

To reach that city, Kuro has to pass through five towns first.

(Although it's a game, it really resembles the real world.)

Kuro sighs as he looks at the world map, Midgard, once again to rearrange his plan.

Midgard can be considered a world consisting of one continent.

Like typical RPG games, there are places that serve as goals for players and also the only way to reach the second world.

That place is Heaven City.

(Somehow, that city is like a gateway to heaven.)

“I hope it's not…”

To reach Heaven City, players have to pass through places or towns along the way.
It is during this journey that players will encounter monsters, complete quests, and so on.

The closer they get to Heaven City, the tougher the monsters and quests become, and the higher the monster levels.

(The closer to the destination, the stronger the players become.
It's like embarking on an adventure in another world using a power called skill.)

“Hmm…
why do I think like this?”

Kuro doesn't know.

(I should probably plan ahead but before that…)

“There's something I need to make sure of first.”

As the saying goes, 'There are many roads to Rome,' Kuro considers that there is not just one path to reach a goal.

Kuro's first target is to reach Heaven City as soon as possible, and then proceed to the third world.

Whether he can do it within three months or not, he has to do it.

He made a promise, and he doesn't want to break the promise he made.

“I guess I can't relax…”

Kuro decides to run towards the next town, Fosr.
It is the second town in his adventure in CSO.

Suddenly, he is ambushed by plant-type monsters.

[Red Tree] level 6.
Quantity: 3.

The monsters are tree-shaped with large branch-like hands.

“As stated in the data, in other words…”

Kuro smiles faintly.
Thanks to the data provided by Anna and Chika, he knows what kind of monsters he will be facing.

Their strengths and, of course, their weaknesses.

Kuro prepares the two daggers in his hands.

Although Kamikiri-Ryu primarily uses a katana as its main weapon, it doesn't mean Kamikiri-Ryu doesn't teach how to use other weapons.

In other words, Kuro can actually use any weapon, including daggers.

Kuro doesn't stop and continues running at full speed.
He tightly grips both daggers and prepares to use a sword skill once the distance is close enough.

“[Shadow Bullet]”

Kuro's body shoots forward like a bullet, piercing through the three monsters, which now turn into particles.

Kuro is level 15, and level 6 monsters are no match for him.

But after using [Shadow Bullet] multiple times, Kuro realizes he can also aim for vital points of the monsters he kills.

Perhaps it's because Kuro's DEX stat is high enough that he can do that, but what if his DEX stat is low? Would he still be able to do it?

(It doesn't matter…)

Now is not the time to dwell on unimportant matters.

He focuses more on finding the fastest way to reach Death City.

Kuro continues running, even disregarding the items and monster drops he obtains after defeating the monsters.

After killing many monsters, Kuro finally arrives at Fosr Town.

However, to enter the town, he has to defeat the Monster Boss or gatekeeper.
In this case, the monster blocking Kuro is…

[Giant Tree] level 10.
Quantity: 1.

That is no match for Kuro.

Without hesitation, Kuro runs and leaps into the air, directly above the boss monster blocking his way.

In mid-air, he wields Kamikiri-Ryu, using the two daggers as his weapons.

“[Twin Breaker]”

Kuro's body spins in the air, heading straight toward the monster.

At the same time, the monster's two hands prepare to attack Kuro in mid-air.

But it's futile.

When the monster's hand touches Kuro's body, it shatters and is cut into small pieces.
At the same time, Kuro's body doesn't stop and continues to penetrate the monster's body.

Kuro lands and immediately run towards the visible town.
He ignores the monsters that have turned into particles.

Upon entering the town, Kuro slows down his pace to avoid colliding with other players who are present in the town.

In CSO, players can teleport anywhere using teleportation gates, but the locations are limited to the towns they have previously visited, and it requires money.

Chika and Anna entered the Starting Town in the same manner.

After entering Fosr Town, Kuro doesn't stop and continues running towards the town's exit.

This is not something a beginner player like Kuro should do, but he has no other choice if he wants to reach Death City quickly.

This attracts some attention toward Kuro, but most people don't care and consider him a foolish player who will soon meet his demise.

On his journey, Kuro encounters more monsters.

He becomes more accustomed to it, but the level of the monsters he encounters is higher than the previous ones.

Kuro already knows this thanks to the data provided by Anna.

The reason he wants to reach Death City quickly is not only to find out the purpose of the Raising skill but also to answer a question that has been bothering him since yesterday.

In CSO, a player's strength is based on their stats, in other words, a numerical value.
Additionally, CSO is programmed to be similar to the real world, so players tend to think of CSO as the real world.

Kuro's question is: Can a low-level player defeat a higher-level player?

In the real world, strength is not only represented by numbers.
If it were, the smartest person would be the strongest, but the real world is more complex than that.

A child can kill an adult.
That is proof that strength is not only possessed by the strong but also by the weak.

So does CSO, or rather, this world, have such a phenomenon?

Kuro must find the answer.

Two hours pass, and Kuro is almost at Death City.
Although he has been running the whole time, he doesn't feel too tired.
It may be because his stats are quite high, but he realizes that his current stats are on par with the monsters he encounters and fights.

Kuro is still not having difficulty because he aims for the Vital Soul of every monster he encounters.

This is the fastest method that Kuro has come up with, even though he is aware that he will receive less EXP in return for speed.

But that is not a problem.

“?”

On his journey, Kuro sees two players battling a fairly large monster.

[Ogre] level 18.
Quantity: 1.

The monster resembles a sumo wrestler with a potbelly and an ugly face.
It wields a weapon that looks like a baseball bat.

One of the players wields a spear as their weapon, while the other player wields a sword.

In CSO, players are not required to use swords as weapons, but their skills are usually adjusted based on the weapon they use.

One of the players attacks with the spear.
The spear moves straight with high speed and hits the Ogre's vulnerable abdomen, which is an easy target.

Kuro simply observes from a distance while taking a rest.

The other player attacks with a sword, aiming for the Ogre's blind spot on its back.

(The Ogre is a slow monster but possesses great strength and endurance.)

The remaining HP of the Ogre, which is still quite high, is evidence that the Ogre is strong enough to challenge both players.

-But what about Kuro?

He has never fought an Ogre before, so he doesn't know.

If he joins the battle, he would only be a nuisance or mistaken for interfering.
That's not the type of person he is.

So what should he do?

“Waiting is the best option.”

Kuro sits down and observes while looking at the map and the data about the enemies he will encounter on his journey.

While looking at the data, he discovers that Ogre's Vital Soul is located in its eyes.
That's a difficult target considering the Ogre's large body.

“Hyaa!!”

The spear-wielding player, a woman, shouts as she slashes the Ogre's body after successfully evading the Ogre's attack.

“Good job, Umi.
Now it's my turn.
[Blade Burst]”

The dual-sided sword wielded by the male player releases flames and slashes the Ogre's body.
Not only that, but an explosion also occurs where the wounded Ogre is.

The explosion causes the Ogre to fall to the ground like a heavy object.

The impact of the two players' attacks results in the Ogre's HP dropping to 30 percent.

The two players high-five each other and smile happily.

“Hmmm…
so this is what a party battle looks like.”

This is the first time Kuro has witnessed a party battle.

In a party, members must coordinate their attacks and strategize to support each other and reduce the risk of getting hit.
It requires trust among the players to accomplish that.

This also makes Kuro wonder about himself.

-Can he do something like those two players?

(Well…
I guess there's no need to think about unnecessary things.)

Yes.
All he needs to do is stay focused on his current goal, which is reaching Death City.

Kuro stands up, but at the same time, the Ogre also stands up and prepares to fight again.

However, the Ogre's opponents are those two players, not Kuro.
So Kuro walks along the edge to avoid getting involved in the battle.

Kuro walks slowly and uses a technique similar to Kuroko no Basuke.
He succeeds, but-

“Hey, you there! Why aren't you helping us and acting like a thief?”

The girl shouts while avoiding the Ogre's swing attack with the baseball bat.

“…………….”

Kuro doesn't answer and ignores both of them.

He doesn't care about the unfamiliar players he just met.

Unfortunately, his indifference brings him bad luck.

Another Ogre emerges from the trees in front of Kuro and blocks his path.

“……………”

Kuro looks up directly into the ugly face of the Ogre.

“Hua ha ha ha…
eat that!”

The female player now smiles like a demon upon realizing that Kuro is in trouble.

“Umi, stop laughing.
You know if he dies, the other Ogre will attack us, right?”

“…………”

The young man was right.
After that, the panic was evident on the face of the player named Umi.

“Umi, watch out!!”

“Huh?”

While caught off guard, the Ogre's bat struck Umi's body.
She managed to defend herself with her spear, but the strength of the Ogre's attack was too great, causing Umi to be thrown backward.
Her HP decreased significantly, turning yellow.

“Umi, are you okay?”

“Ah…
Uh…
I'm fine, Leo.”

Leo, the player, helped Umi to stand.

“The most important thing right now is how we can defeat those two Ogres.
Leo, do you have any ideas?”

They both observed the two Ogres now surrounding the thief-like player.
They were quite surprised that the player was able to dodge all the attacks as if they were familiar with fighting Ogres.

“If only we knew the location of the Vital Soul, we could win.”

“…
Should we ask that player?”

They both nodded in agreement.

Umi drank a potion to restore her HP, while Leo ran towards one of the Ogres.

“[Fire Ball]”

A half-meter-sized fireball appeared and attacked one of the Ogres.
It was Leo's Magic Skill.

The Ogre's HP decreased slightly after being hit by the Fire Ball, but not by much.
As a result, the Ogre refocused its attack on Leo.
From the beginning, Leo's goal was to draw the attention of one Ogre to prevent it from attacking the thief-like player.

Leo then joined Kuro in fighting the two Ogres.

“Do you need help?” Kuro asked.

“What, you want to fight, idiot? I'm here to assist you,” replied Leo.

“…Alright.
How will you help me?”

“So, you want to fight, huh? Annoying player.
That's the first impression I have of you.”

“No, I just want to know your plan.”

“Oh…
I see.”

“……….”

They both turned their backs to face the two Ogres.
The two Ogres attacked simultaneously, swinging their bats vertically toward Kuro and Leo.

Bammm!!

The powerful attack caused the ground to shake and dust to scatter, but Kuro and Leo were in the air, avoiding the Ogre's attack.
They both landed and once again stood back-to-back.

“A plan? The plan is to finish off the nearly defeated Ogre first and then defeat the full HP Ogre together.
How about that?”

“…That makes sense.”

“But that's Plan B.”

“Eh? Then what's Plan A?”

“Do you know the Ogre's Vital Soul? If you do, Umi will immediately attack with her strongest magic skill on the Vital Soul area.”

“Hmnm…
according to Kuropedia, the Ogre's Vital Soul is located in its eyes.”

“Oh..
thank you.
Wait, what's Kuropedia? Ahh..
never mind.
Umi, did you hear that? The Vital Soul is in the eye.”

“Alright, but which eye, right or left?”

“Forget it, just attack!!”

“Okay…”

Not far from them, Umi finished chanting the incantation for her water-element magic skill.

“[Ice Spear]”

Dozens of ice spears appeared in a magic circle in front of her.
The ice spears shot forward like bullets, aiming for the head of the Ogre with low HP.
Kuro and Leo managed to dodge at the last moment.

One of the Ogres died, leaving only the Ogre with around 60% HP remaining due to Umi's attack.

“Yosh…
just one more to go.”

Leo was enthusiastic, while Kuro remained silent but kept his guard up because he knew he couldn't let his guard down.

“We'll attack alternately, taking turns.
Meanwhile, Umi will attack from a distance.
Understood?”

Kuro nodded.

Leo and Kuro then attacked the Ogre in turns.
When Kuro diverted its attention, Leo attacked, and vice versa.
Meanwhile, Umi attacked using the ice spear at the Vital Soul area, just as before.

In less than 5 minutes, the three of them managed to defeat the Ogre.
They didn't receive any monster drops or items, but they were satisfied.

“Thank you for helping us, uh…
by the way…”

“Kuro.”

“Kuro-san.”

“You're welcome.”

Kuro replied in a flat tone, which annoyed Leo a bit, but he understood that it was Kuro's personality.

“My name is Leo, and she is Umi.”

Kuro just nodded.

“Nice to meet you, Kuro-kun.”

The three of them walked together along the path.

“Kuro-kun, where is your destination? Is it so important that you even ignore us?”

“…Yes.
I want to go to Death City.
And it's more important to me than you guys.”

“Ugh…
I really want to punch you, but I'm more curious about you.”

“Sorry, I'm not gay.”

“You!”

Leo sighed and held back his anger.
He realized that he was the one at fault.

“Ahaha…
I'm also interested in you, Kuro-kun.”

“………”

“When I saw your equipment, I knew you were still wearing beginner gear.
Anyway, you're strange, fufu…”

After seeing Leo and Umi's equipment, which was quite different from Kuro's, Kuro realized that he was indeed odd.
Umi and Leo were both wearing leather armor, but of different styles.
Although their equipment could be considered cheap, it was still better than Kuro's.

“I just didn't have time to stop by a shop to buy clothes or anything…
Now I'm more focused on heading to Death City.”

“How about we go together? Actually, we also want to go there.”

“Yes, yes…
the more, the merrier and safer.
Especially with a combination like earlier, we'll get there quickly,” added Leo.

“Sorry, but I have to decline your offer.
I'm in a hurry.”

“What is it that you want to do there? Is it something very important?”

Kuro nodded slowly.

“Can we know?”

“You can.
…Actually, I want to create an Undead army.”

“………”

“……….”

That is indeed very important.

…or maybe not.

“Seriously?”

“No.
I just want to try the Raising skill that can summon Undead monsters.”

“Ohh…
Hoy…
isn't that the same thing!?”

“…..maybe.”

An annoying guy, but somehow quite enjoyable.

“Haa…
It's my first time meeting someone like you.”

“It's also my first time meeting a gay guy like you.”

“Why are you still talking about that? Do you want me to PK you? Huhhh!”

Although Leo's gaze was intimidating, Kuro wasn't afraid or shaken.
He didn't realize he was being stared at sharply.

“Enough…
stop fighting! Do you know that fighting is a sign of familiarity?”

“Who's familiar? Umi, you know I prefer fighting Ogres alone rather than being familiar with him.”

“Are you sure you don't want to be familiar with me?”

“Of course not! Wait, why are you asking that?”

At the same time, an Ogre appeared in front of them, blocking their path.

“Because, according to Kuropedia, your request will soon be granted.
So please face your Ogre.”

Kuro made a gesture as if he were a servant.
Umi did the same.

“Ohh…
cursed Kuropedia.
Fine…
fine…
fine…
I understand.
Hurry up and help me defeat that Ogre…”

“Alright, but after this, we have to part ways.”

“We understand you're in a hurry.
But would you add us to your Friend List?”

“Sure.”

Kuro and Umi added each other to their Friend Lists, and Leo did the same.
Once they were done, the three of them prepared themselves in a fighting stance.
Meanwhile, Kuro took a deep breath and tightened his grip on his swords.

“……..”

Without saying much, Kuro dashed forward on his own.
Leo and Umi couldn't do much since Kuro moved suddenly.

“Ah…
he's making me frustrated…”

“What can we do…”

Leo and Umi had no choice but to move forward.
However, they stopped in their tracks when they saw something terrifying ahead of them, and it wasn't the Ogre, but Kuro.

Kuro leaped into the air directly above the Ogre.
The Ogre didn't waste the opportunity to attack Kuro since he couldn't dodge in mid-air.
As the club almost struck Kuro, the Ogre groaned in pain and dropped his weapon to the ground.

The Ogre groaned as Kuro threw one of his daggers directly into the Ogre's eye, which was its Vital Soul.
The HP bar instantly decreased by half, but Kuro had already predicted that.

Knowing that the Ogre had no defense, Kuro immediately used Vital Curse.
A magic circle appeared on the Ogre's stomach, marking the curse of Vital Curse.

Without wasting any time, Kuro spun in the air to increase his speed and slashed down from above directly onto the spot where the Vital Curse was located, with incredible speed.

“Kamikiri-Ryu [Eagle Sword]”

The Ogre's HP vanished in an instant, turning into particles within seconds.
Kuro always fought in this manner during his journey to Death City, so he knew exactly what to do.

(A very useful skill.
Hehe.)

While laughing inwardly, Kuro picked up his fallen dagger since the Ogre had disappeared into particles.
After putting the dagger back in its place, Kuro turned towards Leo and Umi and waved his hand.

“See you later.”

“Uh…
see you.”

“……..See you.”

Kuro walked away and disappeared into the distance.

“Umi, how long did it take us to defeat one Ogre?”

“About 15 minutes.”

“And how long did Kuro take?”

“Less than 30 seconds.”

“We just encountered a monster.”

“Yeah.
I know that.”

The two of them then collapsed to the ground as their legs wouldn't stop trembling.

“Umi…”

“Shut up.
Or I'll hit you.”

“Are you aware that Kuro didn't use a sword skill earlier?!”

“Huh?”

—————————

Kuro was running towards Death City, which was now visible to his eyes.
The sky was dark with gloomy clouds, accompanied by lightning strikes.
The trees around Kuro also began to transform into dead and eerie trees.

(Although it's called Death City, isn't this too much?)

Or maybe the set designer has bad taste.

Kuro continued running towards Death City.
According to the data, he was about to encounter the Monster Boss.
And finally, the Monster Boss arrived, accompanied by a purple mist spreading in all directions.

From the purple mist emerged skeletal monsters wearing black robes.
They were armed with large scythes capable of slicing through human bodies with a single sweep.

Matanya memancarkan cahaya merah, symbolizing death itself.

[Grim Reaper] level 19.
Quantity: 1.

Kuro, level 16.

Their levels weren't too far apart, but it didn't mean that the Grim Reaper was a weak enemy.
Unlike the slow Ogre, the Grim Reaper had considerable speed and the ability to fly.
It could be said that the Grim Reaper was Kuro's toughest enemy.

 

But…

 

“You will be my first experiment.
Ku ku ku…”

With a smile more sinister than a demon, Kuro prepared himself to face the Grim Reaper with two daggers in his hands.

Kuro kicked the ground and then used [Shadow Bullet].
His body shot forward at high speed, attacking the Grim Reaper.
The Grim Reaper's Vital Soul was located in its heart, and Kuro aimed for it while using Shadow Bullet.

Klang!!

The sound of metal rang out as the Grim Reaper successfully blocked the Shadow Bullet with its large scythe.
It seemed that the Grim Reaper knew Kuro was targeting the Vital Soul, which was the weakness of all monsters.

Although it was successfully blocked, Kuro smiled instead.

Kuro's eyes met with the Grim Reaper's.
They both smiled simultaneously.
Even though the Grim Reaper was just bones, Kuro could tell that it was smiling.

Kuro and the Grim Reaper jumped backward.
Kuro was pushed back further because he was weaker and had lower stats.

“Interesting…
This is much more interesting than I anticipated…”

Kuro kicked the ground and used [Shadow Bullet] once again, but the effective range of Shadow Bullet was only ten meters, and the distance between Kuro and the Grim Reaper was greater than that.

After the sword skill finished, a player's body would automatically stop, and the same applied to Kuro.
But he found one thing…

Sword skills weren't limited to just one use.

“[Shadow Slash]”

Kuro immediately moved at high speed again and performed three consecutive slashes.
The Grim Reaper suffered an attack effect, losing 20 percent of its HP.

What Kuro did was use two sword skills in succession.
It was possible, but it consumed a significant amount of MP.

“…………”

What caught Kuro's interest was that he noticed his own HP also decreased by about 30 percent.

After inspecting his body, he saw red slash marks crossing his body as evidence of receiving the attack.

Kuro wasn't too worried since MP and HP would recover, but it would take time.
Meanwhile, the Grim Reaper wouldn't recover.

This was the advantage of every player.

But could he win?

“No one knows before trying it, right?”

Kuro once again advanced toward the Grim Reaper.
The Grim Reaper did the same.

Twin daggers and scythe clashed, creating orange sparks.
They both defended and attacked using their weapons without any magic skills or sword skills.

It was an enjoyable fight for Kuro, but when he saw his HP bar at 30 percent while the Grim Reaper's was at 50 percent, he decided to end their battle.

Kuro jumped back and distanced himself.
At that moment, he placed one of the daggers in his right hand on his waist.

He couldn't relax because the Grim Reaper was still attacking him.
He managed to dodge by jumping like a rabbit.

In a short amount of time, while evading, Kuro took out a potion from his storage and drank it.
The taste of the potion could be likened to juice, but Kuro didn't know which fruit juice it was.

After drinking the potion, Kuro's HP bar increased to 70 percent, which was enough for him.

Kuro took his dagger again and ran towards the Grim Reaper.
He leaped high and spun in the air.
He intended to use Kamikiri-Ryu.

“Kamikiri-Ryu [Twin Breaker].”

Kuro attacked like a drill, targeting the Grim Reaper's Vital Soul, but his attack was blocked by the Grim Reaper's scythe once again.

Slowly, Kuro's body started to slow down its rotation due to the failure, but Kuro smiled a little.

Krakkk…
kraak…krakkk…

The Grim Reaper's scythe cracked and shattered.

The Grim Reaper seemed surprised, but when it looked at the broken part, it saw a black magical circle, a sign of a Vital Curse.

(You didn't expect me to be able to use Vital Curse on weapons, did you?)

Finally, Kuro's attack hit the Grim Reaper's Vital Soul and killed it.

The Grim Reaper vanished into particles, but something remained like a monster drop.

That something was bones.

“………….”

Kuro wasn't a dog or a Scooby-Doo, so he didn't need bones.
But after thinking for a moment, he knew what he had to do.

“[Raise]”

Kuro used the skill [Raising] on the Grim Reaper.

The white bones were once again enveloped in mist, but this time the mist was black.
After a few moments, the Grim Reaper rose again, wielding the large scythe.

[Grim Reaper] level 17.

“So that's how it is.
You may be lower in level, but how do I turn you back into bones? Hmmm…
[Cancel]?”

The Grim Reaper once again turned into bones.
The bones then automatically entered Kuro's item storage.

After learning how to use the Raising skill, Kuro stepped toward Death City.

“According to the data, Death City has monsters ranging from level 20 to 30.
This might be fun…”

And so, Kuro's adventure in the world of CSO began.

With initially useless skills, he took step after step to make his younger sibling smile on their birthday.

He had made a promise.

And he would keep that promise.
 

 

note:

1.
Every CSO monster has a weak point called Vital Soul.

2.
Liber will defeat monsters quickly by targeting their Vital Soul, but in return, the EXP obtained will be significantly reduced.

3.
Liber can ignore the towns on the CSO world map.