IBHJ Chapter 870

Artoria and Ayaka, hiding in the bushes, rushed forward. But Altera and Shirou were gone, leaving only a Switch behind.

"Wh-What just happened?" Artoria muttered, picking up the lifeless Switch.

This wasn't just Artoria's question, but Shirou's as well.

"Wh-What is this?" Shirou was dragged through a tunnel of swirling light by the hand gripping his collar.

Altera had been pulled in beside him.

Was this the Council's doing? The thought barely crossed his mind before Altera drew her sword, slashing at the hand on her collar.

Steel clashed endlessly, but the hand remained unharmed.

He also drew Excalibur and attacked.

More clanging metal, but still no damage!

Suddenly, Evil Blossom slithered from his shadow, hissing like a viper as it coiled around the hands.

Sizzle sizzle!

White smoke billowed from the hands.

"Ow! Hot!"

A voice cried out in pain, like someone scalded by boiling water. The hands instinctively released Shirou and Altera.

With two cries of "Ah!", Shirou and Altera tumbled out of the tunnel.

Evil Blossom rushed towards Shirou.

After falling from the light tunnel, Shirou found himself and Altera plummeting towards the ground. Before impact, Evil Blossom caught up, forming a mud net to catch him and gently lower him down, then retreating back into his shadow.

Altera wasn't so lucky, slamming into the ground with a loud "boom."

"Ugh..." Her body went limp.

She was down.

Just as he was about to yell for her not to die, her body faded away like a ghost, then reappeared.

She was alive!

He stared at her in amazement. She didn't have a revival Noble Phantasm like Heracles, did she?

Altera was equally puzzled, looking down at her own hands with confusion in her eyes.

She didn't have a revival Noble Phantasm either. How had she come back?

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm okay, Artoria," she shook her head.

He surveyed their surroundings – they were in a valley, mountains looming on all sides.

His expression turned serious. "We might have fallen into the Council's trap. We need to stick together to stay safe."

"Okay, I'll follow your lead," she nodded, standing up.

As Altera rose, a flicker of doubt crossed his eyes.

"What is it, Artoria?" she asked, puzzled.

"Did you...get shorter?" He compared their heights, and Altera did seem to have shrunk.

"Huh?" She tilted her head, completely bewildered.

"Never mind, let's figure out what's happening first."

"Okay, I'll follow your lead," she repeated.

Shirou was about to assess their situation when he froze.

A line of virtual text had appeared before his eyes:

[Beginner Village - Respawn Point]

Shirou: "????????"

What was this?

He stared at the words, completely lost.

He turned to the now even smaller Altera, pointing at the words. "Altera, can you see this too?"

"Those words? Yes. And Artoria, there's something above your head too," she pointed at him.

Words above his head? Shirou instinctively looked up, but saw nothing. Instead, he saw a line of green text floating above Altera's head:

[Loner Flower]

Shirou was stunned – [Loner Flower] was Ayaka's ID in 'Moon-Gazing Beauty'. Why was it above Altera's head?

Not only that, but Altera's ears had grown longer and pointed, and thin, insect-like wings sprouted from her back.

—A fairy!

Wait!

He and Altera had been pulled into the screen by those hands.

Did that mean they had been transported into the game world?

Just then, Altera raised a hand, pointing at him blankly. "Artoria, your teeth...so sharp."

Huh? He was taken aback, then rushed to the nearby stream.

Reflected back was Artoria's pretty face and bright eyes, but his canine teeth were indeed incredibly sharp. His skin was deathly pale, and the sunlight felt like it was burning him.

Just like...

Just like a vampire!

Ayaka's ID, [Loner Flower], was a fairy, and Altera had sprouted wings and ears, becoming a fairy in this world.

He'd chosen the vampire race at Altera's suggestion. Did crossing over mean he was now a vampire?

But that wasn't the most pressing issue. The most pressing issue was why hadn't he made a male character earlier?

Argh!

Amidst his regret, he noticed other virtual interface buttons and settings hovering before his eyes, just like on the game.

He scanned the options - [Character], [Inventory], [Skills], [Quests], [Guild], [Settings] and so on.

Without hesitation, he opened [Settings], looking for a [Logout] option. If they had crossed into the game, maybe logging out would send them back.

But...

[System: Interface damaged, unable to open.]

Figures!

He sighed.

Seeing this, Altera waved her tiny fists and patted her small chest. "Don't worry, Artoria, I'll protect you."

"Thanks," he smiled.

Coming from Altera, those words were surprisingly reassuring. Plus, fairies were known as powerful mage-type fighters. But the most important question remained - how could they get out of this game world?

Thinking it through, they must have fallen in because of that bug they triggered with the Gatekeeper NPC in the Andes Mountains.

So, defeating the Gatekeeper NPC might be their ticket back to their own world?

They discussed it, and she readily accepted his lead. Clearly, she was the same type as Artoria – preferring action over strategizing.

Since they were heading towards the Gatekeeper, he needed to check his own status first.

[Name: Evil Flower

Race: Vampire

Class: Baron Lv1

Strength: B+

Endurance: B

Agility: D

Mana: E

Class Skills:

Blood Consumption: Consume human blood to recover HP and temporarily boost combat power.

Basic Possession: Small chance to turn blood-drunk creatures into familiars.

Blood Contract: Under the Vampire King's witness, turn targets into familiars. Easier to contract after class promotion.

Weak to Light: Continuously lose stamina and power (30% reduction) in sunlight. Removed after promoting to True Ancestor.

Personal Skills:

Dragon Factor: Mana capacity and recovery increased 500%, spell power increased 1000%, strength and endurance increased 300%, 1000% magic resistance.]

...

...

[Name: Loner Flower

Race: Fairy

Class: Great Fairy Lv3

Strength: D++

Endurance: D+

Agility: C++

Mana: A+

Class Skills:

Elemental Manipulation: Use earth, fire, wind, and water to create powerful magical attacks.

Magical Tide: Mana capacity and recovery increased 300%, spell power increased 300%. Increases with class promotion.

High-Speed Chanting: Reorganize elemental runes, faster spell casting.

Weak to Physical: Take 200% more damage from physical attacks, 300% less resistance. Removed after promoting to Sacred Fairy.

Personal Skills:

Star Crest: Strength, endurance, agility increased 500%, magic resistance and damage resistance increased 800%. When berserk, increases by 1000% and 1600% respectively.]

The "Moon-Gazing Beauty" devs were clearly innovative. According to Altera, this game had high realism and freedom. Now he could see why.

But...

"Are you sure you're a mage, not a berserker?"

Seeing Altera's Star Crest skill, he couldn't help but be dumbfounded. But Altera didn't react, instead staring blankly at the crimson moon.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

"No, nothing," she shook her head.

She had just felt a strange sensation, like her main body was up in the sky. But that was impossible. Her main body was still trapped on the real moon.

Shaking her head, she looked at him and asked, "So what do we do now?"

"If the Gatekeeper is the final boss, we need to level up by grinding mobs first. Luckily, there are beginner mobs here for us to practice on." He smiled, pointing at the cute, bouncing slimes in the distance, then started walking towards them.

Grinding before a boss fight was common sense.

"Okay, leave it to me, Artoria." Altera confidently took the lead, heading towards the slimes.

He nodded – as a mage, she was perfect for clearing out large groups of enemies.

She approached the oblivious, happy-go-lucky slimes.

"Shatter reality, crush spirit! Fire magic, Fireball!"

Altera cast the classic fire spell, Fireball.

Red energy gathered in her hands, then a fireball shot towards the slimes.

Despite the edgy chant, the Fireball should have obliterated them.

Sure enough, it hit the slimes, dealing massive damage.

—MISS!

The damage... missed!

However, the Fireball did catch the attention of the adorable slimes. They turned towards Altera, suddenly sprouting demonic fangs, and swallowed her whole.

Then, an astronomical damage number popped up.

-999999999!

She was digested by a slime.

Shirou stared, dumbfounded.

A beginner slime had just eaten Altera!

After she was digested, a flash of light appeared behind him at the respawn point, and a shrunken, confused Altera emerged.

"What happened, Altera? How did a slime take you out?"

"I... I forgot... Ayaka said the beginner village slimes are stronger than even level 9 dungeon bosses. All the newbies die to them, that's why they're called 'Noob Killers'," she said, scratching the back of her head sheepishly.