Unlimited Fafnir - Volume SS - Gamers - Chapter 3

Gamers SS 
"Why on earth have they asked me to come today, I wonder..." 
Summoned by an email from Lisa Highwalker, Mononobe Mitsuki arrived at 
Midgard's girls dormitories. Walking along the corridor, she sighed. 
When she reached Lisa's room, she heard noisy voices behind the door. 
"Oh no! Hurry and dodge! Mononobe is gonna die!" 
"Ugh... On the verge of death after such an attack, Mononobe Yuu is so 
useless!" 
Listening to the conversation, Mitsuki instantly went pale. 
"Hold on... Everyone, what on earth are you doing to Nii-san—" 
She frantically opened the door and took a look, only to see the girls of 
Brynhildr Class gathered around a television connected to a game console. 
"Oh it's you, Mitsuki-chan. Good evening." 
Iris Freyja greeted Mitsuki in a laid back tone of voice. 
"Evening!" 
"Hi." 
"Mm." 
Tia, Ariella and Ren also greeted her. On the other hand, Lisa was staring at Mitsuki with an expression that read: You finally arrived. 
"Mitsuki-san, you sure took your time." 

Seeing the girls in harmony, Mitsuki could guess what was happening. 

"Sigh... You must be playing some sort of game again, is that right?" 
"Yes, today we are playing a 3D action game." 
Holding a controller in her hands, Firill nodded and replied. 
"But for some reason, I heard Nii-san's name just now..." 
"Because this game lets you edit the main character to go adventuring, that's why I created Mononobe-kun." 
"Basically, what I want to ask is why you chose Nii-san..." 
"Because it's easier to liven up the mood. And look, it's not bad, right?" 
Firill switched screens to show the main character's 3D model. 
"Indeed... I suppose the resemblance is not off." 
Mitsuki brought her face closer to the television screen, murmuring. 
"...However, I must voice my objections regarding the eyes. Nii-san's gaze ought to be much sharper! Much sharper!" 
Since this was crucial, Mitsuki repeated herself twice. 
"Well... Since the game's settings are limited, please compromise and make do with what's available." 
"Seriously. Fine, I shall treat this character as Nii-san." 
"So this is what's going on. Let's resume our adventure! But Mononobe-kun is already almost dead." 

Mitsuki took a closer look and saw that the HP gauge was flashing red with less than one third remaining. 

The main character was panting with heaving shoulders, looking like he was going to collapse any moment. 

"H-Heal him! Please heal Nii-san immediately!" 
"...Health can't be recovered in this game except by defeating monsters and eating their meat or picking fruit from trees." 
"Since it would be suicidal to go fighting monsters in this state of health, go pick some fruit to eat." 
Mitsuki issued orders with an expression befitting the captain of the Counter-Dragon Squad. 
"...Roger that." 
Firill did as instructed and controlled the main character to explore the forest. 
"Oh look, there's something fallen on the ground." 
Ariella observantly noticed a purple fruit that had fallen to the ground. 
"Then eat the whole fruit now." 

The main character picked up the fruit and ravenously swallowed it in three bites. 

However, Lisa, who had been browsing the manual, suddenly cried out in a 
panic: 
"Oh no, that is... the poisoned fruit for weakening enemies." 
"Ehhh!? Yuu, don't eat it! Spit it out quick! Spit it out!" 
Tia screamed at the screen. 

However, this game did not feature a system for spitting out food that had been eaten. The HP gauge flashed red while gradually decreasing with a skull symbol displayed next to it. 

"M-Mononobe can't even stand properly! F-Firill-chan, is there an antidote?" 

Iris asked frantically. 
"...Can't find any nearby." 
Firill operated the main character while answering. 
"Then it cannot be helped, although it will be taking a gamble... We will use monster meat for health recovery. Time is of the essence." 
Mitsuki spoke with a serious expression. 
"Got it, hmm... Oh, something seems to be over there, it's name is... Super Invincible Lizard Man." 
Firill read out the name of the targeted monster. 
"W-What, that name sounds like it belongs to an especially strong monster!?" 
Mitsuki exclaimed in surprise while Ren tugged at her clothing from the side. 
Displayed on the screen of Ren's laptop were the following words: 
'A sudden mutated species that appears occasionally, much stronger than 
ordinary monsters.' 
"Y-You are so knowledgeable, Ren-san." 
"Mm." 
Ren nodded. 
Mitsuki crossed her arms and contemplated. 
"That kind of opponent really should be avoided if possible... But there is no time left. Firill-san, can you win?" 
"...Leave it to me." 
Firill made a thumbs up and took on the request. 
Then—The deathmatch began. 
"Good luck, Mononobe!" 
With everyone cheering for him, the main character killed the monster just as his HP was almost depleted. 
"H-Hurry and eat the meat! Eat the meat, Nii-san!" 
Mitsuki shook Firill by the shoulders and screamed. 
"...Hold on, I'm starting to roast it now." 
The main character extracted the monster's meat and began roasting it on a fire. 
"H-How can there be enough time for roasting meat!? Nii-san is already on his last breath!" 
"But in this game, meat can't be eaten unless you cook it first. In other words, eating raw meat directly will cause food poisoning." 
"Nii-san's digestive system will not lose to raw meat!" 
"Even if you say that, I..." 
During the cooking process, the HP gauge continued to decrease. 
"Ahhh... Don't die... Don't die, Nii-san!" 
Mitsuki had her hands clasped together in prayer. Perhaps the heavens heard her praying—Right when there was only 1 HP remaining, the character's health stopped decreasing. 
"T-This is a miracle!" 
"Oh... It looks like the character won't die directly from poison." 
Lisa rained on Mitsuki's parade. However, the moved and tearful Mitsuki did not hear her. 

After eating the cooked meat, the game character recovered full health and was cured from the poison too. 

"As expected of a rare species' meat..." 
Firill remarked, impressed. 
"Firill-san! Please allow me to have a turn. I shall surely keep Nii-san alive." 
Displaying eyes shining with determination, Mitsuki extended her hand to 
Firill. 
"...Sure, Mononobe-kun is in your hands." 
"Yes!" 
Hence, Mitsuki started playing the game in high spirits. 

After that, even after the rest of the girls had fallen asleep, Mitsuki persisted in playing the game till late night. The next day, she would end up oversleeping and had to be woken by Nii-san, what a massive 
embarrassment... But of course, she could not have known at the time.