Part 1

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Volume 1

Chapter 2

— 1 —

Once in a while, I would come across someone who hated the leveling systems of RPGs with a burning passion.

“Hey, I’m just asking out of curiosity, but what’s so fun about grinding a lot of levels and then steamrolling every boss? Doesn’t the joy of a game come from honing your fighting style and optimizing your equipment to finally snatch victory after tasting defeat? Why would you willingly spend hours and hours doing something so repetitive it might as well be manual labor, just to take all the excitement out of the game? I’m not trying to flame you, but honestly, I just can’t understand it!”

Shut up! I like feeling super strong! If that’s how you feel, then why don’t you go play a game without levels? Rant aside, I’d discovered another group of people who thought that way.

 

To put it bluntly: They were the developers of Nekomimineko.

 

If that was the case why did you create a level-based RPG, of all things?! I’m not trying to flame you, but honestly, I just can’t understand it!

…Back on topic. In some fantasy simulation games (SLGs) or strategy role-playing games (SRPGs), if you tried to grind in the same place for too long, strong enemies that clearly couldn’t be defeated by normal means would spawn and proceed to massacre your party. That was the developers’ way of telling you not to hang around here and to “hurry up and move on.”

However, unlike SLGs and SRPGs, most RPGs were balanced around leveling up, and some even accepted grinding as a form of enjoyment, so you wouldn’t usually see an enemy that was meant to hurry the player along.

But Nekomimineko was an exception. Proclaiming mindless grinding to be an unforgivable sin, the reaper was sure to visit any player who tried to grind through the early-game. To be precise, if you were to grind in the maps around Ramlich for an extended period of time, then she would come for you. She was the second assassin of Nekomimineko, following <The Lizardmen’s Trap>, and her name was Train Girl!

Perceptive individuals and those with significant experience playing MMORPGs would immediately understand from the name alone. “Ah, MPK, huh.” MPK stands for Monster Player Kill, or alternatively, Monster Player Killer. It referred to the act of killing another player by dumping a large number of monsters on them, or to a person who committed such an act, respectively. It was also called a “mob train” because of the large number of monsters—the train—such players dragged around. Hence, “Train Girl” was the nickname given to the NPC responsible for MPK in Nekomimineko.

Upon learning of this, most players’ first thoughts were something along these lines: “That sure sounds dangerous. I’m glad I learned about this in advance. But I never fight too far from town, so I should be safe if I run away as soon as I see a mob train coming.” However, this train of thought was way too naïve. This kind of shallow perspective wouldn’t last two seconds against the sheer malice of the Nekomimineko development staff. To such laid-back people, there was a saying among the players who had actually encountered Train Girl.

“…You can’t run from Train Girl!!”

***

The dust storm gradually drew closer, and the outline of a large group of monsters chasing a single girl became clear.

“Pleeaseeee, heeelppp meeeeeeeeeeee!!” As the girl’s cries grew louder, I let out a deep sigh.

Train Girl’s event was said to be even nastier than <The Lizardmen’s Trap>, but the nastiest thing about it was that the character herself didn’t have any bad intentions.

While running away from monsters, Train Girl possessed cheat-level speed and stamina and an evasive technique that made you wonder if she had eyes in the back of her head. She could escape from any enemy and would rarely be caught and killed—the few reports of such deaths were linked to bugs. Given that, you would think she would be just fine on her own.

However, the moment she met someone who seemed likely to help her—namely, the player—she lost that exceptional ability to escape. Apparently, it was something like an adrenaline rush, so the relief at seeing another person made all the strength drain from her body, leaving her helpless.

In other words, if a player were to abandon her and run away, she would undoubtedly be killed by the monsters. If she were a character with malicious intent and purposely lured monsters to try to MPK the player, abandoning her would be an easy choice, but Train Girl herself wasn’t even aware that she was an MPK. Even worse, if not for the player, there would be no reason for a normal girl like her to ever become an MPK. She was just a novice adventurer trying to get better at her trade, and for whatever reason, she just happened to be surrounded by monsters and forced to run whenever a player grinded levels in a field for an extended period of time. Indeed, she was a victim.

In fact, if one were to overcome this MPK event a few times, she would even express regret at causing so much trouble for the player and begin to muse about giving up on being an adventurer entirely as a result. That’s how kindhearted she was.

She would also never abandon you even if you begged her to escape first, or to go to the town and call for help. She would maintain, “I can’t possibly leave you here and run away by myself!” and stubbornly refuse to move. Thus, you had only two options. Either leave Train Girl behind and run away in shame or steel yourself for a tough battle to protect her. 

If you chose the former, making it out unscathed was but a trivial matter. Though many of the monsters Train Girl brought were quite fast, they would all target her as long as you didn’t attack them. However, while targetting Train Girl in particular, the monsters were programmed to slowly torture her to death rather than deliver a quick death. If you could bring yourself to ignore her sobbing voice crying for help—if you could look the other way as it grew weaker and weaker until she finally whispered, “I’m sorry, Mom…” and died, then making it out safely would be quite simple.

Of course, that would be a terrible ordeal for any normal person to sit through, so most people would either mash the reset button over and over, or live on at the cost of a massive psychological trauma. Hence the saying, “you can’t run from Train Girl.”

Then, what if you chose to stand and fight? Not only did the player need to defeat the mob train she brought with her, they had to do so while weighed down by the enormous burden that was Train Girl. Even if they were weak monsters from the field the player was grinding in, the chances of winning against a large number of them at the same time were slim. Yet, Train Girl became almost helpless after meeting up with the player, so they had to continuously watch over her while fighting the monsters. Fighting the horde while looking out for her safety was harder than fighting solo; trying to fight like you were solo would just result in a quick death for the defenseless Train Girl. It wasn’t uncommon for players to let their guard down in shock when this occurred, leading them to the same fate.

Another common mistake was paying too much attention to Train Girl. Focusing too much on protecting her prevented you from fighting at your full potential, and you would be killed before Train Girl was. In that case, you could rest easy knowing that you died fighting to protect a girl—

At least, if this were some other game. As for why… That was because Train Girl would never leave you behind. After your HP hit 0, there was a slight time lag before it cut away to the game over screen. During that time, the player would see it whether they wanted to or not. A tearful Train Girl embracing the player and sobbing, “Hang in there! Please hang in there! How could this… All because of me…”

As well as the blade swung towards her head. “Gyahaha!”

It was honestly pretty traumatic. As a result, the players who experienced this event all learned that Train Girl was to be avoided at all costs. They kept their grinding in check, frequently changing their hunting grounds as they progressed naturally through the game.

But I hadn’t gone near the newbie fields in a while, so I’d completely forgotten about Train Girl. My situation hadn’t changed. “Now then, what should I do?” Train Girl was steadily approaching and I didn’t know how her speed compared to Rapid Cancel Dash, but it didn’t look like I could outrun her. And right behind her…

“Mad Hounds, huh.” And more than ten of them. The other monsters probably couldn’t keep up with her. Still, Mad Hounds were the toughest enemies in this field, so that wasn’t much consolation.

Should I run away? I wasn’t that far from the town gates. All it would take to get away safely was sacrificing her.

This world was not a game. Failures in this world couldn’t be redressed with just a reset. In fact, as an adventurer, abandoning her here was a perfectly valid choice.

“Heh, as if.” I knew better than anyone that I wasn’t capable of that.

Fortunately, my stamina was full and my HP had barely been touched. I could play with a few Mad Hounds.

Beginning to sweat from nervousness, I grasped Shiranui. The sandstorm drew closer and closer. At the forefront, Train Girl gathered her remaining strength to call out, “Please! Help…me!” as she gasped for air. Her voice sounded like it could fade at any moment. Hearing that desperate plea for help, I—

“Leave it to me! Get behind me!” I replied with all the confidence I could muster.

“Th-Thank…you.” Train Girl dashed behind me and collapsed from exhaustion with the expression of somebody finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. That was all I needed.

The Mad Hounds came to a stop, wary of me. A dozen or so of the monsters spread out in a semicircle, surrounding us. Mad Hounds were rather sly creatures. They knew the reach of human weapons and would keep just out of range as they waited for their comrades to circle around behind their prey. Then they would all attack at once.

That was why I had to take the initiative! With Shiranui held at the ready on my left, I Stepped forward. I didn’t expect to have to expose my secret techniques so soon… I’m counting on you, Shiranui!

The furthest enemy was about 3 meters away— The perfect distance! Not missing my chance, I short-cancelled Step and activated my next skill before the Mad Hounds could react!

“Invisible Blade!!”

The moment I shouted that, Shiranui unleashed an invisible strike. The hound on the far left was just about to jump at me when the sword reached it—

“W-Watch ou— Wha?!“

—And effortlessly sliced it in half. Train Girl raised her voice in surprise from behind.

“I’m not done yet!” It didn’t stop there. The hound next to the first, then the one beside that, and even the one behind that… The blade didn’t appear to physically touch them in any way, but they’d all been shredded in the blink of an eye.

“…Phew.”

By the time my swing was finished, every one of the Mad Hounds had been dismembered. That took care of all the enemies that chased Train Girl here, but it would be bothersome if the monsters she’d shaken off earlier managed to catch up. I lent a shoulder to Train Girl, who still couldn’t reliably walk on her own, and we hurried away.

After showering me with words of apology and thanks, “…Also, that attack just now was amazing!” she finished. I could see her eyes were sparkling. “I’ve never seen a skill like that before! You must be really strong!”

“A-Ahahaha…” She seemed to hold me in high regard. I was getting uncomfortable.

By the way, it wasn’t easy to learn AoE skills that weren’t magic. You’d be around level 50 before you finally learned one if you were playing normally.

“I’m still only level 27. I want to become a skilled adventurer as soon as possible…”

“I-I see.” I plastered a dry smile on my face, trying to keep the conversation going, but cold sweat dripped down my back. I couldn’t tell her. There was no way I could tell her.

I couldn’t tell her that I was a novice adventurer who may not even be level 10 yet.

“I’m trying hard, but I’ve still only learned four weapon skills…”

Or that the “Invisible Blade” I had used earlier wasn’t actually an AoE skill, but a close-ranged attack, and that it was actually a basic skill like Slash that anyone with the right weapon could use.

“B-but, I want to hurry up and get stronger and become a great adventurer like you!!”

There was no way I could tell her that it was just Sideswipe!!

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