VRMMO: My first Contractee is Yandere

"Understood, Sensei?"

"Oh... that has a nice ring to it."

Afterward, the two sparred lightly.

Jack-Jack's skill set isn't particularly strong, yet his combat skills are exceptional, likely due to centuries spent honing his abilities for revenge.

"Atri, ready for the next round?"

"Yes, my god! One more time!"

Atri charged forward as Jack-Jack nodded calmly.

"Very well."

Atri closed the gap using Offering: Dance of Swift Escape, but Jack-Jack negated the advantage with a counter-art, blocking the scythe's large swing with just a light finger movement.

A thread caught Atri's hand, slowing her movement just slightly.

In that brief moment, flames engulfed her clothes. Oil was splashed over her, and the fire showed no signs of stopping. The problem wasn't so much the damage but how the fire obscured her vision.

Although she tried to hold him off with Flash, Jack-Jack caught her with a shoulder throw.

"Impressive that the flames don't faze you."

"It just hurts a little. It was more of a distraction."

"High-level people won't die from such a fire, but it'll still cause damage, and eventually, they would succumb."

As they both burned, Jack-Jack calmly used a fire-extinguishing potion.

He extinguished Atri's flames as well.

Jack-Jack seems to be a master of unconventional tactics.

Atri relies on brute force, but Jack-Jack is a specialist in dirty tricks. I feel a bit of a connection with him.

Atri may appear to have complex strategies because I'm with her, but in reality, her approach is mostly "rush in and kill." The synergy between us just makes it seem more tactical.

Jack-Jack's methods might bring about a significant shift in Atri's fighting style.

Sensing this, Atri's eyes gleamed darkly with anticipation.

"My god will rely on me more... hehe, hehehe."

"You're kind of scary."

"Teach me more, Sensei."

"You're kind of adorable."

Once again, I felt a growing sense of camaraderie with Jack-Jack.

The intended gameplay here seems to be focused on how to grow and develop your contracted NPC. In other words, nurturing something can indeed be a source of content.

Let me be clear about this.

It appears that Jackjack has become completely engrossed in the growth game as well.

"Hmm, this is the first time I've taken on a disciple... but it's not bad. I almost ended up teaching soul techniques beyond just outer techniques."

Nodding repeatedly, Jackjack watches over Atori as she hunts monsters. That said, Atori doesn't use many underhanded tactics during combat.

Atori's essence, no matter how much she grows, is still all about "charging in and defeating the enemy."

Using tricks might actually weaken her. However, it's undeniable that a touch of finesse has been added to her "charge and defeat" approach.

Currently, we're on the sixth floor.

This place is filled with monsters strong enough to give even Atori and Jackjack a hard time. The terrain has changed, and it's now a wilderness littered with countless rocks.

This makes things tricky.

If you take too long on one enemy, more monsters will swarm in from all directions.

"―Hah!"

Atori swings her large scythe.

A stealth kill.

Using the large rocks around her, Atori constantly hides her presence and form. She's practicing stealth techniques that Jackjack taught her.

For distant enemies, she throws small scythes to cut them down.

The monsters don't notice until their numbers have significantly dwindled.

"Outer techniques are not the same as real skills. In the end, they're just tricks. Naming a technique doesn't change that. However, techniques with names carry logic behind them. And logic means reproducibility... If one has Atori's level of ability, reproducing them is simple."

Under the old Atori, a chaotic group battle would've already started by now.

Of course, she had access to options like stealth before with her [Snipe Lightning] skill. But now, her movements are on a whole other level.

When she had silently killed about ten monsters, the situation shifted.

"...I've been noticed."

Atori's presence is detected by a monster.

Well, if the enemy has any search-related skills, outer techniques become meaningless. They aren't necessarily strong or essential techniques.

A frontal battle begins.

Ten monsters rush in all at once, pressing forward like an avalanche. Atori calmly takes a breath.

The ten monsters are ape-like creatures.

When one leaps towards her, Atori pierces its heart with the butt of her scythe. She swings the scythe, throwing the dead ape's body as a distraction to the others.

The sudden appearance of their comrade's corpse startles the apes.

Using the body as a screen, Atori's [Shining Slash] lands a devastating blow. With their vision blocked by the corpse, the high-level apes are unable to react in time.

Two more fall dead.

At this point, the apes realize they're at a disadvantage.

Seven of them flee, but Atori had already set traps—specifically, the light-based magic arts [Mirror Lightning].

The ability of [Mirror Lightning] is simple.

It enhances light-based magic and reflects it.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The [Shining Slash] she had fired earlier reflects off the [Mirror Lightning], blowing off one ape's leg.

Their movement slows as their comrade screams in agony, and Atori's small scythes and [Snipe Lightning] continue to increase the body count.

At the same time, she uses [Offering - Swift Dance] to close the distance.

Pitifully, the apes are unable to escape. They simply cannot outrun Atori. Before, she relied solely on her agility stat to run.

However, now she has learned the proper way to run.

By making better use of her agility, Atori's speed feels like it has doubled. Well, of course, that's impossible in reality.

But she's undeniably faster.

"[Kagura] is a skill related to physical manipulation. However, it's not particularly suited for running. Atori's movements are guided by [Kagura], but even that skill has its limits."

She also learned various running techniques—silent running, deceptive movement, and more.

▼

We've reached the deepest part of the seventh floor.

It's a swampy maze. Without my [Create Dark] ability to manipulate the terrain, we would've struggled here. Right now, we're resting before the boss battle.

We're gathered around our campfire for the umpteenth time.

It seems Atori and Jackjack have grown close.

"This substance can hinder movement. It's sticky. However, it's not very effective against stronger opponents."

"So, it's pointless to use it?"

"Everything depends on how it's used. For instance, by combining it with this explosive..."

Jackjack's lecture continues.

Atori nods, listening attentively. His bag of tricks is vast and ever-changing. However, it's likely Atori will only put a fraction of it into practical use.

Still, she will undoubtedly grow stronger.

Her abilities that can't be enhanced through skills or equipment will improve. It may not be visible, but it's vital nonetheless.

After finishing his lecture, Jackjack portions out some grilled meat. Atori silently holds out a paper plate.

She bites into the meat happily.

Suddenly, a tear drops from Jackjack's weathered skin.

"Huh? Why are you crying, teacher?"

"Oh? I'm crying... I wonder why."

"The god once told me, 'Don't worry when you're sad.'"

"Don't worry?"

Atori stands up and pats Jackjack's head with her small hand. The old elf looks up, his eyes wide in surprise.

Atori speaks.

"When God is sad, they do this for me."

"Hmm, a kind god, aren't they?"

"God is the kindest evil god in the world."

"Hohoho, a kind evil god? That's an odd one."

"Peace will never come to a world without darkness..."

As someone who is quite cruel, I feel guilty for having Atori say something so misleading. Everyone, be careful with spreading fake news.

We wouldn't want Atori to become corrupted, after all.

But then again, perhaps being my accomplice isn't the worst thing for her.

Atori goes back to sitting down as if nothing happened, biting into her meat again. Jackjack watches her with a grandfatherly smile.

Why Jackjack shed that tear, we don't know. Without knowing his backstory, it's impossible to understand.

However, if that tear eased even a little of his burden, then perhaps it was a small blessing.

At that moment, I felt like I could finally, from the bottom of my heart, forgive Jackjack for his past attempt at player killing (PK).After defeating several floor bosses, we finally reached the 10th floor.

"Well, what should we do now?"

Rasetsu○ and I are essentially in a cooperative relationship. To avoid troublesome interactions, we stick to solo play, even though Rasetsu○ isn't the type to insist on playing solo.

It's just that her playstyle naturally leans towards solo activities.

She has decent communication skills, and this unusual dungeon conquest we're undertaking is likely her way of being considerate of me. I don't like dealing with complicated relationships—that's part of the reason I started playing this game.

That said, Rasetsu○ is thoughtful enough to ensure things never become a "troublesome relationship." We could probably become better friends.

We've staggered our sleeping schedules. While I sleep, Rasetsu○ supports the NPCs, and while she sleeps, I take over.

As a result, we've reached the final floor without stopping.

Now, since we've arrived at the final floor, where the dungeon boss is waiting, both of us are actively participating.

A friend message pops up:

**Rasetsu○**: Depending on the situation, we might have to make a run for it.

**Nero**: Agreed. Let's leave it to Jackjack to decide.

**Rasetsu○**: Thanks.

After that simple exchange, we decided on our approach.