In the rainy night outside the window.
Amidst the flashes of lightning and thunder, inhuman creatures are approaching.
A giant bat flaps its wings in the sky, its terrifying form revealed under the light of the storm. Unlike a normal bat, its body looks disturbingly humanoid.
It's like a creature from a fantasy setting, some kind of bat monster.
Below it, on the town street.
Two hunched monsters, crawling on the ground.
Occasionally standing on two legs, they seem to be sniffing the air.
"A giant bat, two ghouls, classic combination."
"What?" Alyris asked, a bit puzzled.
Although they've been running for their lives and battling these creatures, they never categorized them before and simply called them monsters until now.
"The names of the monsters, hold on, don't move."
Kana suddenly said, pressing against Alyris beside him, retreating his head as well, staying perfectly still.
The situation occurred abruptly, and although Alyris was confused, she obeyed the command, becoming as motionless as a statue.
An invisible wave approached.
The two experienced tinnitus amidst the thunder.
Its manifestation is slightly different from a game, but not much.
Kana thought to himself.
This is a method of probing used by the giant bat; if you slightly over-move during the wave, you'll easily be detected.
Even in such a stormy, thunderous night.
The manifestation would cause a slight tinnitus in most circumstances.
The tinnitus fading from strong to weak indicates that the probing sound wave passed through them without detection.
If the tinnitus suddenly appears and then fades, it feels like an illusion. If you happen to be moving, you'll be spotted.
Without understanding how this mechanism works, no one would notice the anomaly, leading the giant bat to discover their hiding spot.
Especially since such creatures have just started appearing.
"Ha-Oh!"
In the intervals between thunder, the howl of a ghoul below can be heard.
Looks like those three soldiers are done for.
"We can move now. We have to leave here. First, take off your armor; it will give away our position."
Alyris's armor is severely damaged and makes a very crisp sound, easily revealing them.
Moreover, she's having trouble moving.
"But..." Hearing this, Alyris wanted to refuse.
"Listen to me, Alyris, we must escape from here."
"...Alright."
Alyris relented, nodding her head.
Her left leg was already fractured, making it very inconvenient to wear full body armor.
With that said, she began removing the armor.
After a little while, Kana checked the situation outside, noticing the silence behind him.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, I can't remove it alone."
Indeed, this isn't a game; you can't just change outfits with a click. Kana snapped back to reality.
"Then let me help you."
Kana got right to it, no hesitation.
But as soon as he touched it, he realized the problem; how is he supposed to take this off?
In games, it doesn't get realistic to the point where you have to slowly put it on yourself.
"Your Highness, from here..."
Alyris instructed while watching Kana work, her thoughts unknown.
Soon, the outer armor was removed, revealing the lightweight inner armor Alyris was wearing, providing a bit of defense.
"Let's go, we need to leave this building first."
Saying that, Kana helped Alyris up and handed her the sword beside her.
Alyris, once standing, pointed to the corner next to them.
"Your Highness...your sword."
"Oh." Kana nodded in realization, retrieving the sword from the corner.
Looking at the sword in his hand, Kana's eyes lit up.
[Crimson Swing]
But judging by its appearance, it seems to be the version not yet tainted by crimson power.
Without the crimson dark special effect, it actually looks more handsome.
Reining in his thoughts, now is not the time to ponder these things, he fastened the sword to his waist.
He quickly supported Alyris downstairs.
The old wooden house creaked loudly under their swift movements.
"Your Highness, we're making too much noise, it might attract the enemy."
They escaped from the Royal Capital's palace to here, encountering these unprecedented monsters along the way.
Alyris was quite aware of how acute these monsters' hearing was.
"Don't worry now, they've been distracted by the soldiers just now. Let's take this opportunity."
Saying this, she quickly went downstairs, and as soon as she reached the nearby broken opening to leave, she heard screams in the distance.
It was clearly a man's voice.
"It's Matt." Alyris recognized whose scream it was.
Was it that foul-mouthed soldier?
Following them might increase survival chances. Of course, this was only from Kana's current perspective.
"This is an opportunity." Kana said, immediately supporting Alyris as they swiftly stepped through the muddy water under the pouring rain, navigating the town's alleys.
"Which way?" Kana asked, his mind filled with some vague memories that became clearer the closer he got to the time of his crossing.
But the original owner was just the original owner; his mind was completely devoid of useful information, filled only with panic and curses.
"That way, that's the town exit." Alyris pointed to the other side of the town.
So, they had just hidden when they entered the town.
The thunder rumbled incessantly.
Suddenly, Kana stopped, pressing Alyris's shoulder firmly.
Alyris instantly understood, and the two stayed in the shadows.
The feeling of tinnitus came once again.
Even though remaining still twice was accompanied by slight tinnitus, Alyris immediately captured the crucial information despite her poor state.
Tinnitus indicated they were being scouted.
But the problem was... she looked at the motionless Kana.
After a while, Kana's voice sounded.
"More than one squad? Trouble."
If it were before, even if it was only Level Two or Three, he would have had the confidence to clear out these two Blood Race scout teams in this small town.
Although lacking personal panel data, he could still rely on experience to feel that this body's Level was at most Level One.
And it was just the basic data of someone who owned nothing.
This feeling was too familiar.
After all, the shock of first contacting a virtual game during the alpha test was unforgettable.
Later, during the public beta, he played several accounts, so he was very sensitive to the novice body's feel and data.
However, it would be nice if there were a data panel or something.
Continue moving swiftly.
The square was just ahead, with no cover, too easy to get caught.
Looking at a nearby house with a broken hole, he decided to take a detour through it.
As soon as they got inside, entering another room, a gust of wind swung down from the side.
"Crack!"
The sound of a wooden stick shattering.
"Monster, go to hell!"
Someone attacked them from behind the door, but the wooden stick was blocked by Alyris.
The stick shattered on her arm, and Alyris counterpunched, hitting the enemy.
And it was a town resident, slammed against the wall, fainting away.
"Ah!"
A sharp scream.
It's over, they've been discovered.
This town still had people.
They hadn't fled with the main force but stayed here and had not been caught by the Blood Race's scout team.
And they encountered them.
"Your Highness, you go quickly, I'll cover the rear." Alyris said, drawing her longsword, leaning single-footed against the wall.
Kana glanced at her, thought for a moment, and didn't refuse, nodding: "Be careful."
He turned and slipped out through the inner door.
Alyris watched Kana's back, her eyes did not hold sadness or desolation.
That's right, this is how His Highness should be.
She thought this way.
After Kana woke up earlier, his behavior all the way made her think she was under an illusion technique.
Now that Kana acted as he should have, it oddly reassured her.
Holding her sword, she looked in the direction the sound was coming from.
She never thought she could escape in her current state, only considering that she might continue to help His Highness until death.
It wasn't out of deep loyalty to Kana, but because she was loyal to the Princess, grateful to Kana's mother.
And just a few days ago, when the Royal Capital fell,
the last Princess found her, hoping she would protect Kana well.
To her life-saving benefactor, the kind, perfect Princess, for the request she made,
she naturally agreed and swore loyalty.
She would die before His Highness.
A loud crash.
The wooden wall shattered, and the enemy burst in.