THE CURSED GAMER

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Chapter 145: Guilt

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Kimi was betting all her luck into the possibility that Neji was inside a dungeon, and because he was at UA when the sudden attack happened, there is only one dungeon where he must have gone to.

The Tower dungeon.

Of course, Kimi didn't know the exact name. She only called it a ‘dungeon’ because it was like a game where killing monsters dropped loot. In truth she simply considered it another dimension, another world in this vast cosmos. Which wasn’t exactly that far off from a bullseye.

After leaving the party, Kimi swiftly made her way to UA again. With her speed, it didn’t even take a few minutes before she reached her destination. But what she saw here… almost gave her existential crisis.

“All Might!! Looks like All for One is going to owe me one!” A huge red dragon, bigger than any of the UA buildings, said as it fired a breath of flame at All Might who was jumping in the air.

All Might swiftly dodged the attack, but Kimi noticed All Might was panting like crazy.

All Might wasn’t the only Hero present there though. All the UA teachers were there, and two of the big three were also present, with Mirio Togata actually dealing some heavy hits.

‘Speaking of which, where’s Nejire?’

Kimi couldn’t help but worry, but she shook her head soon. If Nejire wasn’t here, it must mean she’s been saved by Neji… or dead.

Kimi chose to believe the first option and then went a bit far and safe from the fight.

“Okay, Kurai, make sure to avoid the fight and enter the gate as soon as possible,” Kimi said to Kurai, looking at the cat’s wet golden eyes, as she nodded.

Then, Kimi karate chopped her own neck causing her to fall unconscious.

Kurai took over from there. She put her mommy inside her inventory and then cast stealth upon herself. Then, Kurai took the usual route to the Tower. But she was shocked to find everything besides the tower destroyed, melting as if a tsunami of lava had crashed here.

Luckily, the Tower didn’t exist for people other than the Gamers, and even then Kurai wasn’t sure if the structure could even be damaged or not, so it was completely intact.

The fight was happening a bit far from here, and even without stealth none of the fighters would care about a random stray cat. So, Kurai quite smoothly reached the golden gate of the dungeon and pushed it apart.

She just wished… her mommy’s hypothesis is actually correct.

—★—

Neji’s eyes sprung up as he gasped out loud.

“What the…!”

He sat up from the bed and looked around him.

He was wearing clothes made of animal skin, and he was in a bedroom with walls and roof made of wood. He recognised this place as his 'Palace' within the Ogre village.

“...Holy shit, I almost died.”

When the situation finally registered in his head, he released a relieved breath.

“But this means there is a high chance that entire Japan is at risk.” Neji bit his lips. “I am feeling worried about my parents… it’s not rare for them to get into parties, but why now… more so along with Momo’s parents.”

Since the Meta Liberation Army was also moving, there’s a high chance this meeting was called by Re-Destro, aka the businessman Rikiya Yotsubashi. If that’s the case… things might be dangerous for his parents.

‘I hope Kimi reaches there on time…’

Neji also noticed something else here. He couldn’t feel Kurai’s presence at all. It was said in their familiar contract that they’d be able to feel each other's presence anywhere as long as they weren’t in a different dimension. Neji could feel Kurai’s presence when he’s inside a dungeon but she’s not, but her presence certainly did become thinner. 

It seemed the dungeons were considered a ‘different dimension’, but not quite entirely because it belonged to the ‘Gamer System’.

However, this time, inside the tower dungeon, Neji couldn’t feel Kurai’s presence at all. He would guess this is most likely because of the time difference. Here, time was 10x faster than the outside world.

‘I hope she doesn’t freak out…’

That worried Neji. If she were to freak out and tell Kimi about the situation, Kimi might get too shaken to fight the potential villains that would be present at his parents' party, causing her to get hurt.

Neji softly sighed and leaned back on the bed.

The situation in the outside world was suddenly too chaotic. There would be no summer camp, and therefore he just lost his opportunity to take the quirk, All for One… at least for now.

From what he could decipher of the situation, the 'Plot' of the manga just skipped a few arcs and entered its final stage where the entire Japan was at risk.

That meant he needed to go out as soon as possible.

'Kimi and Kurai will come here sooner or later, the moment she guesses that I am inside. The problem is Rumi… and Ryukyu.' Neji thought.

In the manga, Rumi lost her arm and leg in the same war that was building up in Japan currently. Certainly, Neji could be able to heal any injury of that calibre with his Health Potions, but… what if things escalate in a way that didn't happen in the manga? What if she actually dies this time?

Rumi wasn't the type to turn her back from danger and risk, she will instead jump right on it. 

'In fact… knowing her, she might run to UA to confront Hisashi since she would assume I am in danger.' Neji thought as a trail of sweat ran down his temple.

He could only hope Hisashi will be gone from UA by the time Rumi arrived, if she even gets the news.

Whatever the case, Neji needed to get out of here to make sure she was fine. On top, Hisashi had the ability to control dragons, lizards, or any reptile quirk user–from what Neji could decipher. Meaning, Ryukyu was in severe danger too.

Truthfully, he won't be that sad if Ryukyu were to die. They don't have that deep of a relationship yet. But he must keep Rumi alive.

'But the point remains… I at least have to go out after I am sure Hisashi is gone. My [Last Man Standing] skill is on a cooldown of 24 hours, I can't take the risk of going out before that.'

Hisashi was after him, and because of that he was in severe danger as long as he was in the outside world.

For now, everyone must be assuming he and Nejire were dead because of the beam, so Neji wanted to take utmost advantage of that.

Neji slowly climbed down the bed, standing on his feet as he moved around a bit. Making sure his [Gamer's Body] has healed him properly, he stepped out of the room and then the two-story building he was inside.

Stepping outside, he immediately noticed the orc and ogre girls training, eating, gossiping, or just managing their hounds. There was also Andrius there, sitting with his underlings around him.

"You're up my liege!"

It was Mursha who noticed Neji walking outside and immediately ran to him. The other ogres and orc girls and wolves also ran close to him.

Andrius and Mursha stepped forward with Mursha beginning to speak.

"My liege, what happened to you on the other side? You came here nearly dead… half of your body was missing."

"Ah…" Neji smiled awkwardly. Even he didn't know the injury was so deep. Though that's to be expected as it managed to throw him to 1-HP. "It's a long story, don't worry about it. Speaking of, how did you manage to save me?"

Mursha nodded to his first words, not daring to probe him for an answer. In his second words, she turned her head to the Mage from the time when Kimi first came here.

Seeing Mursha's gaze, the orc mage, known as 'The Witch' by the people of this village, stepped forward and kneeled on one knee. 

[Image Here]

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"It was me, my liege." She said softly. "If you remember, the last time you left I was also present in the basement beside Mursha, luckily. When you returned this time, I managed to temporarily stop your body from realising that it was actually missing half of its mass. I was getting worried because healing magic is not my speciality, so I didn't have any spells that could heal such a huge injury and so could only wait for Mursha to bring the actual healer. Luckily your High Human bloodline acted up before that and you started to heal by yourself."

 "Hmmm," Neji made a thoughtful expression.

Certainly, he would have died the moment his 5-seconds of invincibility ran out because his HP only regenerated once every minute, not every second. Meaning, this orc girl pretty much saved his life…

"What's your name?" Neji asked softly.

The girl flinched at his indifferent voice, fearful that he was displeased at her lack of power.

She hesitantly nodded and said, "My name is Slaassee… but the villagers call me The Witch."

"Thank you for saving me, Slaassee. Stand up, don't look so nervous. I am simply grateful." Neji said, and as she hesitantly stood up he raised his hand and patted her head. She was much shorter than him, despite being an Orc, and clearly was embarrassed at getting her head patted like a little girl.

"T-thank you, my liege." She nodded softly.

"Don't thank me for my words, you need to thank me after you get a proper reward," Neji said and took out a few magic books from within his inventory. "These are a few 5th-class spells, hope they help you."

"A-ah, yes, of course." The girl's eyes sparkled as she nodded rapidly and accepted the books.

The others looked envious from the sidelines, and that envy only increased when Neji leaned over and whispered something in the girl's ears, causing her to blush deeply.

Only the wolves seemed to hear his whisper because of their good hearing, but only Andiris could express 'his' thoughts.

"Huuh… Maybe I should try to gain a human form too, I seem to be missing out on a lot of things." He said in his deep voice.

Neji awkwardly smiled at him. "I don't sleep dudes, sorry."

"Dude?" Andrius tilted his head. "Oh, is it because of my deep voice? Ah, I simply make my voice like this since this sounds more domineering." There was a twist in his voice and next, a more light, feminine voice came out of 'his' throat. "I am actually a female, you can check my nether regions if you wish to."

"..."

"..."

Along with Neji, the others looked at the now revealed to be female wolf lord who tilted her head in confusion.

It was then, as if God didn't like the awkwardness either, something small ran from far and jumped towards Neji.

"Papa! Papa!" Kurai cried, her eyes wet as she jumped and hugged Neji's chest.

Neji caught her mid-air, hugging her back with a surprised expression.

She looked… so relieved, so glad.

Neji felt bad all of a sudden. He was worried about Rumi and Ryukyu, about Kimi's mental health at the news of his health that would be passed by Kurai. But… what about Kurai herself…? 

She's just a little girl, only 5 years old… It was no doubt, she saw him as her actual father. So she must have felt the world crumble when she felt his HP suddenly drop to its lowest before feeling her connection with him get cut… 

Neji suddenly felt a great guilt twist within his heart, while at the same time feeling touched at her reaction.

Exactly then, a very welcome system message flashed in front of him.

[The Synergy between the Master and Familiar has reached the apex. The ability, "Fusion" is now available for use.]

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