Chapter 13: Boss in Action

For a consecutive week, Natsuki Subaru and Fujimaru Kaede arrived here promptly every day.

At the same time, they discovered something miraculous: when they came to the internet cafe to go online, the flow of time in their own world would become extremely slow.

It was roughly a ratio of 60:1. When they left the internet cafe, time returned to normal. Twelve hours outside the internet cafe equaled twelve hours passed inside.

The only regret was that during these days, they didn't see Namikaze Minato. It was estimated that he wasn't interested in the things at the internet cafe.

However, in reality... Namikaze Minato did want to come, but some recent events needed his attention. He received notifications to open the shop every day, but with too much on his plate, he planned to come and play with his beloved when he had free time.

Today, as usual, Fujimaru Kaede returned to her room after logging off. She looked at the various weapons, ash of war, and food in her backpack, as she excitedly rolled on the bed.

"Fantastic, fantastic, hehehe~"

Today was the first day of the Ray Shift Experiment, and the other Masters were preparing to conduct the experiment.

Due to her and a few others being disqualified, she didn't go to the scene to watch the excitement.

"Alright! Let's go find Mash and have some fun together~"

Skipping happily down the deserted corridor, Fujimaru Kaede hummed a tune. But after only a few steps, she ran into her brother, Fujimaru Ritsuka, who was on his way back to his room.

"Hey, what's up, bro?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka seemed completely out of spirits as well. Hearing his sister's greeting, he sighed dejectedly, "I was too excited last night and couldn't sleep well. I accidentally overslept and got disqualified on my first attempt."

Fujimaru Kaede patted his shoulder and laughed heartily, "Haha! No worries, consider it as accompanying me to play. Let's go! Let's find Mash and celebrate our carefree time."

As the saying goes, "When in high spirits, one feels invigorated."

During these days, Fujimaru Kaede acquired an almost overpowered Ash of War.

"Hoarfrost Stomp"

According to Liu Yuan, "This is an invincible Ash of War, commonly known as Old Cold Legs. You can use it to practice."

Unfortunately, the entire Chaldea was busy with Ray Shift-related matters these days, and there was no one to maintain the training room.

This meant she couldn't try out her own god-tier technique, "Old Cold Legs".

As for the axe that could unleash Old Cold Legs?

It was too ugly, and it lacked the power of the great sword she was currently using, so she didn't bring it.

"I'll go get something from my room."

"I'll go with you~"

Opening Fujimaru Ritsuka's room, the two saw Romani eating cake in the room. Seeing the sudden appearance of the two, Romani was startled, almost dropping the cake from his mouth.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

Romani knew that Fujimaru Kaede had been temporarily disqualified, but why was Fujimaru Ritsuka here too?

Fujimaru Ritsuka explained somewhat awkwardly, "I fell asleep. By the way, you..."

"It looks like you're just slacking off~ There's nothing urgent in the Medical Department right now. Why slack off here?"

"Hehe~ You guessed it."

"Hey, you old man, stop acting cute. It's disgusting."

"Am I really old? Just recently, someone even sent me a love letter..."

While they were bickering, a huge explosion rocked the entire Chaldea.

"What's going on?"

"The direction of the explosion!"

"Oh no!"

The three simultaneously realized that something was wrong and rushed outside.

"Central area will be sealed off in 240 seconds."

The control room, the core area of this experiment.

Both Fujimaru Kaede and Fujimaru Ritsuka thought of Mash immediately. Mash was the core of this experiment, and she must be at the scene.

With such a huge explosion, perhaps...

The three rushed into the control room and their hearts sank. The entire control room was in shambles, all the experimenters were unconscious, surrounded by flames, with only the intact Chaldeas in the middle.

"Hoarfrost Stomp!"

Fujimaru Kaede took out her Claymore and unleashed her engraved Ash of War, "Old Cold Legs".

In the entire room, frost appeared on the ground, temporarily isolating the scorching sensation under the frost.

"Darn it!!"

Fujimaru Kaede felt her mental energy depleting rapidly. Unlike in games, using this Ash of War in reality could make one control its range and duration, but at the cost of her own mental energy.

Whether it was her in-game attributes or her own willpower, Fujimaru Kaede couldn't sustain it for long.

"Kaede..."

"Don't waste time, Ritsuka. Find Mash for me!"

"Got it!"

Without any hesitation, Fujimaru Ritsuka dashed in.

Watching his brother's back, Fujimaru Kaede felt her consciousness starting to blur.

"Hehe, just a few seconds, and I'm already struggling? Hoarfrost Stomp! Hoarfrost Stomp!"

But no matter how she released the Ash of War, when her mental energy was insufficient, its power gradually weakened, or even couldn't be released at all.

Old Cold Legs was indeed a god-tier technique, but it was mainly used by Fujimaru Kaede to clear trash mobs.

It wasn't her main skill; her main skills were her small round shield and greatsword.

As a result, trouble arose this time.

A few seconds? Several tens of seconds?

Fujimaru Kaede didn't know how long she had endured. She didn't see Fujimaru Ritsuka or Mash's figures, but she felt that she couldn't hold on any longer.

"If only I had listened to the boss... and made some Cerulian Tears. Even one bottle would do..."

Her original plan was to focus on strength, and she considered using spells and Ash of War in the mid-to-late game.

Plus, she mostly used physical strength during normal times, and she never used mana before.

As a result, she didn't prepare any Cerulian Tears. Looking at the six bottles of Crimson Tears in her backpack, it was too late to regret now.

"Idiot, hurry up. I might not last much longer."

Meanwhile, inside the internet cafe.

Liu Yuan, who had finished today's business, opened a computer, ready to continue playing "Elden Ring".

After several days of strategy, he had already reached the Eternal City of Nokron and obtained the Jellyfish Shield, and he had even defeated the Mimic Tear buck naked.

Just as he found the Spirit Ash Mimic Tear, he received a message from the system.

"Player 'Fujimaru Kaede' detected in danger. Do you want to rescue?"

"Huh? In danger? Of course, I'll save her. She hasn't brought in enough customers yet, and she hasn't spent all the money in her card. How could something happen?"

Without hesitation, Liu Yuan agreed, and the moment he agreed, he disappeared.

Kisara, who had prepared two instant noodles at the front desk, yawned and walked out. "The instant noodles are ready. Huh? Where's the boss?"

Looking left and right, she shouted loudly but no one answered.

"Did he go out?"

Kisara glanced at the seafood noodles and braised beef noodles, her face lighting up with an excited smile. "It's not good when they get cold. Let me eat them now~"

She wanted to enjoy a good meal and then continue playing Resident Evil.

She got a bit addicted to Resident Evil 2, especially after meeting Sherry. She felt like she had found a purpose in life and wanted to enjoy herself thoroughly.

...

In the burning and corrupted Fuyuki City, Fujimaru Kaede felt something unpleasant being shoved into her mouth. It felt like a mixture of countless Chinese medicines, making her nauseous. But after drinking it, her consciousness gradually returned.

"I..."

Raising her head, she saw the pitch-black sky. Above the sky, the parabola formed by a red streaks of light seemed to be targeting her?

"What the heck?"

Hastily taking out her shield from her backpack, the Great Turtle Shield, this was her most useful and the only shield she had reinforced to above level 10.

"This won't do, this is a magical attack, not a physical arrow."

The familiar voice made her heart pound fiercely. Following the voice, she saw Liu Yuan holding up the Erdree Greatshield beside her.

"Dropped by the Tree Sentinel at the Capital Gates, Now! Return it with gold!"

Just as the red light was about to hit the ground, a light unique to the world of magic appeared in front of the shield. The light hit the shield without the expected explosion, but instead, a golden light shot straight into the sky and automatically tracked the release of this attack in a parabolic trajectory.