I Became a 6★ Gacha Character-Chapter 532: Terror of the Deep Forest 2

In fantasy worlds, the hero's party wasn't a savior position helping everyone. Rather, they were more like assassins breaking through enemy lines with limited resources and elite members to strike at the command center. They called it a decapitation strategy.

So our party couldn't wander around searching for the missing innkeeper, nor could we prevent the deaths of good people who risked their lives over a loaf of bread while roaming the plains. A hero's job wasn't to save one good citizen, but to eliminate the villain who would create hundreds of victims.

"I wonder if there are specific conditions that trigger this unidentified monster to attack people?"

"Since it lives in the forest fairies' forest, maybe it attacks things that look similar to fairies? All the other animals are basically stealth creatures."

"Or maybe the snakes, monkeys, and other forest monsters hide because they're afraid of this thing."

In other words, a request to kill a named monster that devoured humans was perfectly suited for a hero's party.

We already needed to find the gate from the 61st to the 62nd floor and any additional forest fairy villages that might exist on the 61st floor. Hunting a named monster capable of ambushing and wiping out a top-tier adventurer party was practically our duty as the hero's party.

Add in the blasphemous ability to nullify holy power, and Irene's eyes particularly burned with enthusiasm. It was inevitable to carry the sacrificed people in our hearts, but I hoped she wouldn't obsess too much.

"At least we have a rough idea of where this thing might be."

"We do?"

"It's not some predator loudly leaving traces all over the forest, but something that moves silently, right? And the adventurer who gave us the fang collapsed from severe poisoning."

"...So it was near us? Or that area is its territory."

The strategy meeting progressed efficiently even as we thought about this. Normally we'd accept requests like "please find this item somewhere," but this situation was different.

A named monster with poison that nullified holy power. Forget requests—once we brought back the mana stone and byproducts, the Magic Tower or Temple would show up with sacks full of gold coins begging us to take their money, so the order didn't really matter.

So we just needed to hunt the named monster, though capturing it alive might be better than hunting it. Research would progress faster with a living specimen, like when we captured the mutant ogre, rather than just having byproducts.

In RPG terms, selling byproducts might advance research at 100% speed, but capturing the monster alive would boost it to 150%.

"I have a good idea."

"What is it, Roland?"

When I suggested a reliable way to catch the named monster, even if we couldn't find the elf village, my companions' faces filled with shock.

My method was quite simple.

I'd serve as bait.

"After all, this thing ambushes humans secretly, right? I could just camp nearby without my armor."

"...Are you out of your mind?"

Three pairs of eyes stared at me in alarm. They were understandably concerned that I'd face an enemy immune to holy power without armor. But my confidence wasn't rooted in mourning the dead adventurer—I was genuinely confident.

The man had died from poison without injuries despite the monster having a forearm-sized fang. This suggested the named monster, though fierce-looking, could shoot poison from a distance.

I remembered venomous snakes from my previous life on Earth that could spit venom like a water gun and blind people. Surely a fantasy world would have poison-shooting monsters too?

"Don't worry, I've thought this through."

"But still..."

However, I could block remotely-sprayed poison with mana even without armor, and even if those huge fangs bit me, they wouldn't penetrate my skin.

It sounded funny, but skin enhanced with extreme mana concentration could become as hard as armor. In a typical mobile game, removing equipment would drop stats to rock bottom, but this virtual reality game was different. A superhuman's skin enhanced to the extreme through mana could be harder than steel armor.

My confidence was boosted by the fact that this world was a game.

Even the 60th floor boss couldn't penetrate my defense without going all out. Why would a named monster from the 61st floor, a stealth ambush character with healing-prevention poison, have attack power exceeding the Four Heavenly Kings?

"Still, it could be dangerous."

"Holy power might not work, but antidotes probably will. I'm not saying I'll strip down and run off right now, so don't worry too much."

A named monster with stealth, poison, healing prevention, defense penetration, AND a strike more powerful than a boss? Unless BB Games had gone insane with user-hostile operations, such a balance-breaking monster wouldn't exist. While I was reassuring my companions with these thoughts, Han Se-ah was staring at me with a peculiar look.

That was clearly the look of someone eager to open a betting house.

※

In the end, my suggestion prevailed.

This meant that while my companions hid with their newly purchased stealth items, I sat alone nearby, starting a campfire and grilling jerky.

First, we'd purchased expensive tent-shaped magical tools with party funds to conceal my companions' presence. We justified it as something useful for when we had to spend the night without a safe zone.

Second, we'd discovered an antidote. Thanks to the fang passed to us by the dying adventurer who had crawled to our party, alchemists had been able to quickly develop one.

Third, we had the firm support of the hero party's leader, Han Se-ah. To my companions, it might have seemed like a genius mage and alchemist who had calculated our odds of success was showing leader-like faith in her tank, but the reality was quite different.

"Alright, folks! Betting house closes soon! If you don't place your bets now, who knows when you'll get another chance!"

-Mom I'll win for sure this time and be a good child! Mom I'll win for sure this time and be a good child! Mom I'll win for sure this time and be a good child! Mom I'll win for sure this time and be a good child! Mom I'll win for sure this time and be a good child!

-LOL if they win points and get subscription tokens, they don't have to empty their mom's wallet LOL

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-Sometimes the "true abyss" visible in the chat might be more terrifying than the Demon Lord

Han Se-ah had reached the same conclusion as me—that I wouldn't get poisoned if bitten. So while in-game she was silently showing faith in her party member like a true leader, in front of the camera she was busy hustling viewers like a nightclub tout.

At least I wouldn't be bored sitting alone by the campfire grilling jerky.

'Is this really okay?'

'We brought the antidote hurriedly made by the alchemists, so it should be fine.'

'Place your bets! Will a named monster attack Roland or not? It's a simple binary choice with points at stake!'

'With Roland's abilities, he can block it with mana.'

My companions huddled together in the tent that completely concealed their presence and aura, watching me. The wizards must have put their hearts into making it, because it truly felt like I was alone in the forest.

Of course, while it concealed their presence, it didn't block Han Se-ah's broadcast signal, so the camera alternated between showing me and them. I tossed another branch into the campfire as I watched Han Se-ah's excitement and my companions' concerned faces.

While my companions held their breath inside the tent, I sat alone with my campfire. The expensive premium jerky I'd bought at the market, skewered on a stick and roasting, spread its fragrant aroma in all directions.

"Ah, that smells good."

This wasn't cheap jerky preserved with saltwater, but modern cutting-edge jerky marinated in soy sauce and generously sprinkled with expensive pepper. The jerky browning nicely over the campfire released an aroma strong enough to be smelled from hundreds of meters away.

As I grilled the jerky, I made it obvious I was relaxing—my shield and warhammer leaned against a tree trunk, and I'd even removed my armor to use as a chair.

A man in just a shirt, bare-bodied and wafting meat smells—wouldn't a territorial beast-type monster come running immediately? As I pondered this, I sensed rustling in the undergrowth from far away.

It seemed too noisy for a named monster—could it be a regular monster? Grabbing a piece of firewood like a club to chase off any ordinary monster, I glared in that direction as something suddenly popped out.

"What are you doing?! Even if our connection to the World Tree is severed, to commit suicide like thi— A human?"

A new forest fairy, one I hadn't seen in the village.

Enjoy the chappy!