I Became a 6★ Gacha Character

Chapter 196: Temporary Companion and Development 1

TL/Editor: Raei

Schedule: 5/Week Mon-Fri

Illustrations: Posted in discord.

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The 40th floor, which I never thought of challenging due to the difficulties of the supply unit and the harsh environment in the past, turned out to be less remarkable than I expected.

It's a floor of undead, so I expected hordes of zombies, or annoying and grotesque infected creatures like the tumor trolls, or doppelgangers that imitate humans, or new monsters from breeding trees.

-40th floor is a breeze?"

-Another easy one, Han Se-ah? Another easy one, Han Se-ah? Another easy one, Han Se-ah? Another easy one, Han Se-ah? Another easy one, Han Se-ah?

-Nothing much on the 40th floor.. was destroying the 35th floor the wrong move?

-Someone who added 'likes raw food' and 'likes overcooked soup' to Han Se-ah's King Muwiki page, come forward

-I couldn't help but laugh at that. It hurts my pride.

If there's any change, it's that the number of Lizardman Skeletons, usually 13-15, has increased to 18-19, and they've become tougher, prolonging the battle duration.

Naturally, it's not a change that the viewers would like.

"In other floors, boss monsters openly roamed around, but on the 40th floor, is the boss monster hiding? Sure, it would be strange if something like a hatchery roamed around... So maybe the 40th floor's boss isn't a combat type but a non-combat breeding type."

The situation is interesting; mana stones pile up in the inventory, but the quest isn't progressing.

Han Se-ah's heart grows impatient, but since the search is done by Grace, the scout, even a genius mage like her can only quietly follow and endure the angry chat.

One change is that Katie, disheartened by encountering undead instead of doppelganger thieves, slowly starts gravitating towards Grace and me.

It's more like affection and camaraderie than love, but viewers on the other side of the camera interpret it differently.

If you read the chat, you'd think the game's name should be changed from Heroes Chronicle to Love and War Online.

"I thought there'd be something amazing on the 40th floor after our experience on the 30th..."

"Isn't it better to have nothing? A boss monster means the Demon King's power is immense."

"Isn't it good to think about hunting such boss monsters and gradually reducing the Demon King's power?"

While glancing at the chat, Grace, who has clung to my side, and Katie, who has sneakily closed the distance, have a conversation.

In this world where the word 'inventory' is understood as a spell, it's strange to see words like normal monsters, elite monsters, and boss monsters becoming normal adventuring terms.

It feels even more so when our party and Han Se-ah, as well as the guild, start using such words.

Grace seems to prefer a steady approach and is apprehensive about suddenly encountering powerful enemies.

Katie, who has a bit of a 'middle-schooler syndrome', seems to think it's better to fight against powerful enemies and gain glory.

Well, as an adventurer, Grace's opinion is the correct one, but as a stream assistant and an OP-level possessor, it's more comfortable for me to go with Katie's opinion.

"What do you think, Roland?"

"For me, facing powerful enemies is more comfortable. As a senior adventurer, I should agree with Grace, but personally, I'm inclined towards Katie's opinion."

"Well, that's expected from you. I even heard that a bard is planning to compose songs about your adventures."

Hearing my candid thoughts, Grace nods her head.

I thought she might feel slighted since I didn't take her side, but she's a kind lady after all.

She squints her slender eyes, seemingly full of plans to tease me in return.

Bards, huh...

How do those annoying fan-stalker-like people even learn about the events inside the tower?

In Heroes Chronicle, bards are wandering adventurers.

On Earth, wanderers would only have to worry about wolves and bandits, but in a fantasy world, monsters are added to the list.

Without at least the minimum force of a low-level adventurer, wandering between cities and territories singing songs would just make you a meal for a monster.

"Bards are turning Roland's stories into a song?"

"Yeah, there were a few adventurers with lutes in the marketplace on the 35th floor, where I went for arrows. All of them were talking about Roland."

Like aspiring singers without fame maintaining their livelihood with part-time jobs and doing busking when they can afford it, bards earn money as adventurers and roam around singing songs.

The problem is, fittingly for the medieval era, there's no concept of rights or human rights.

To become a famous bard, it's necessary to be good-looking, sing well, and also have a famous hero as the subject of your songs.

To succeed, they must first sing about well-known adventurers or knights to gain fame.

But if they fabricate lyrics on their own, they could be beaten for deceiving the nobility, or the subject of the song might hold a grudge and retaliate.

As a result, bards end up becoming stalkers, a terrible consequence.

Those who sing the truth are stalkers, and those who sing lies are spreading false information, a medieval-style dilemma.

How can one be pleased with that?

"Ah... bards. Annoying ones have latched on."

"Do you dislike bards?"

"It's not that I dislike them, just find them a bit bothersome."

Grace and Katie tilt their heads at my words.

To them, bards are just wandering singers who make their tedious daily life fun, or entertainers invited and paid for by their families.

To me, bards are nothing but despicable stalkers whom I wish to pummel into a state where they can never sing again, all while evading the guards.

It seemed hilariously entertaining to them how a senior adventurer played around with noblewomen in the capital.

They clung annoyingly to tales like a commoner saving a knight, a vanguard who never retreats in front of enemies, and a man who eases the loneliness of noblewomen and then coolly departs

It's no wonder bards would love such stories.

For me, it was just enjoying life to the fullest with the overpowered physical abilities I acquired as a trade-off for being thrown into this other world.

But to the bards, I appeared to be a protagonist embodying knighthood, heroism, and romance.

"There was this incident in the capital of the kingdom... A bard who wanted to claim he had met me followed me all the way to my lodging. When I asked the innkeeper, it turned out that every guest on the same floor as me was a suspicious person carrying a musical instrument."

"Wow... So all of them followed you to the lodging?"

"The ones who were there first..."

"Weren't there. When they found out I was staying at that lodging, they even paid extra to buy the room next to mine from another guest."

Hearing about the stalking antics of bards after only knowing their songs, the two opened their mouths in surprise.

Irene, who was close by, also let out a small exclamation of disbelief, appalled by the story.

As we talked about bards and walked, something distinctly out of place finally appeared before us.

It was neither a Lizardman Skeleton, a Zombie Crocodile, nor an explosive Tumor Troll, but something dark and ominous.

"...What is that?"

"It has scales, could it be an undead subtype of a Lizardman?"

"It seems like an elite monster of the 40th floor that has mutated."

Its lower half resembled a long snake, while its upper half was a human male covered in dark scales.

With its large stature, broad shoulders, and muscular chest due to the snake's lower half, and wielding a long trident, it looked quite menacing.

It seems that instead of the Vine Snake, a typical boss monster of the 40th floor, a black Naga warrior has appeared.

I've heard that the Naga family resides deep in the jungles of the southern kingdom, but this is my first encounter with them.

If Lizardmen are agile swordsmen wielding scimitars, then Nagas are cavalry, using tridents and their snake lower halves to move through marshes.

I'm not sure how they've changed after becoming undead, but they dont seem to have weakened physically.

"Is it because it's a boss monster? It appeared alone."

The Naga, blocking our path like a knight challenging us to a duel, pointed its trident at us.

Originally, I heard that Naga were teal-colored snake people native to swamps, but this one, tainted by undeath, was black, almost feeling like a Death Knight.

After zombies, skeletons, explosive tumors, and tentacled infectors, now a Death Knight?

It's like a complete undead gift set.

Katie, who also seems to see it as a knight, confidently steps forward, drawing her sword, seemingly inspired by its open display of weapon skills.

"Roland! I'll take this one on. It's a new creature, and I want to scout it out."

"Alright, but I'll intervene immediately if it looks dangerous."

She doesn't show displeasure at my comment about intervening, even though she insists on fighting alone.

It's a boss monster and undead after all, so it's only natural to not expect fairness in such a fight, even if it looks like a knight.

Katie advances slowly, maintaining tension due to the imposing and dark figure of the creature.

"It can talk? Does it retain intelligence?"

Rather than a duel of knights, it felt more like a tense standoff in a Western, where anyone could suddenly jump in. Katie gauges the distance with the tension in the air.

If it's a boss monster of the 40th floor, it's at least at an intermediate level, and if we're unlucky, it might be an enhanced creature at the level of a senior adventurer, capable of unleashing mana.

Moreover, if it speaks with a slow, unsettling voice, unlike rotting undead, it must possess considerable intelligence.

As the black Naga exuded an aura befitting a high-level creature, Katie slowly aimed her sword, imagining various dangers.

The Naga might lay traps or wait in ambush, considering its retained intelligence.

She exhibited the perfect posture of a great adventurer and swordsman, showing no arrogance or underestimation of her opponent.

-Human, go back. I, do not, wish to, fight.

"What?"

Katie's caution seemed unnecessary as the Naga lowered its trident.

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