After the emotional storm finally passed, the small, awkward calm that followed felt almost stranger than the tears themselves.
It was one of those times when he realized how embarrassing what he said was. He flushed up and finally couldn't take it anymore and pulled himself out of Marika's embrace.
Both of them were back on their feet, the tension easing into something more awkward. Or at least for Orion it was. Marika just had a knowing smile. Teasing, almost.
But that wasn't exactly the case. She had simply recovered faster than Orion.
The earlier soft, motherly smile—touched with a hint of regret for her past—slipped almost immediately into a teasing mood. She folded her arms, a sly smile curling on her lips, and asked Orion—far too cheerfully—if he planned to keep calling her "mother" from now on.
Orion's answer was a low, irritated grumble. He avoided her gaze entirely, muttering under his breath about how certain words should never escape a man's mouth, no matter the circumstances.
[Hahahaha…Oh, my new son is certainly an amusing one.]
Marika laughed anyway, clearly enjoying his discomfort far too much.
"That's why I'm not looking for parents," he grumbled, then stopped paying her any attention.
Eventually, reality came knocking again. It was time to face Beldia once more.
[You just woke up. You should rest more, perhaps go out and learn the art of the sword from someone strong]
Marika chipped in, trying to stop him. While his state had improved, he would face soul exhaustion if he continued this reckless grinding, as he put it.
She did not like that idea in the slightest. She made that very clear. She stood in his way, arms folded, as if sheer willpower might stop him, insisting that rushing back into another battle so soon was reckless.
"I'm alright now. And I promise I won't overdo it. Five runs. That's all I ask for. If not, then I won't face him again today…" Orion, after a bit of contemplation, finally gave a hard limit on his deaths per day.
That might help him regulate his soul and mind from withering.
Marika narrowed her eyes. Five deaths a day was still too much. But she reluctantly agreed.
[How stubborn my new son is… as a mother, what am I to do]
She shook her head as if reprimanding him. He just grumbled about it—'this ain't stopping anytime soon'—and looked around.
During the lull between battles, he had also realized something that irritated him far more than any injury ever could. Beldia's origin.
Through scattered conversations during their clashes—mostly one-sided beatdowns—Orion had pieced together where the headless bastard was from.
He first thought it was a series or piece of fiction he had never read before, completely possible seeing how many shit tons of fantasy stories were out there. However, none of that.
It was a story he was very clearly aware of.
It was KONO-SUBA…
He felt like kicking himself.
Beldia—or rather, Dullahan, as he remembered him—was a Demon King General in the world of Konosuba.
The realization hit him like an insult rather than a revelation. Orion actually kicked the ground in frustration, cursing himself for not recognizing it earlier. To think he had been dying repeatedly at the hands of a Konosuba character. That world was, at best, a chaotic comedy circus held together by the sheer power of hope that everything would somehow work out.
The fact that Beldia belonged to it felt like someone had slapped him with a used slipper.
With a tired sigh, Orion prepared to enter the fight again. The familiar system panel appeared before him, glowing faintly in the air. He skimmed it out of habit—then froze.
"Huh ?"
There was something new.
A new option, quietly blinking at the edge of the panel.
—<>—
Enter Level Up Boss Trial
Yes/No
Note:-
Player have died to the boss more than 20 times. A hidden feature had unlocked…
Player can travel to the Boss's Home World and defeat the boss there…
—<>—
It spoke of a chance to visit the Konosuba world itself. A special condition. If Orion chose this path, he could confront Beldia there, with the biggest advantage being that he wouldn't have to face the headless knight alone. He could fight him alongside characters from that world. As long as Orion himself delivered the killing blow, the boss would be cleared.
"Holy shit…"
[Again… what feud do you even have with the divine ?]
He ignored the goddess. This was more important.
For a moment, it felt unreal. Too convenient. Too generous. How was this supposed to be a Souls-like ordeal if the system was offering him allies and a familiar setting on a silver platter?
Well, 'the familiar setting' was something related to him more than the system, since he had seen the anime. And by the fact that the system didn't mention the Konosuba world by name—only calling it the Boss's Home World—he doubted the system desired him to know the difficulty of this world beforehand…
However, it was still a big deal. This was making the game too easy.
This is not the path of the Soulslike.
And as if reading his mind, another notification arrived.
A penalty notification appeared beneath the offer, blunt and merciless.
—<>—
Warning:-
Due to player physically being teleported to the Boss's Home World, player will lose access to the Site of Grace.
Player is advised to take caution that it is no longer a simulation but reality.
Flasks won't be refilled automatically; however, they can be refilled through hunting for lifeforce.
If player dies in the other world, that death will be permanent.
—<>—
The chill that ran through Orion's body was immediate and visceral. His fingers clenched unconsciously, nails digging into his palms.
'Permanent death…'
Marika noticed the change in him at once, her playful expression fading as she demanded to know what was wrong.
To her dismay, she couldn't see the panel he was talking about.
Orion, after a bit of calming down, finally explained everything. The offer. The opportunity. The risk.
She rejected it instantly.
[No]
[That's madness. You could die for real. Going to another world—we don't know what kind of place it is. We don't know what enemies you'll face there. We don't know what the gods of that realm might do once you arrive. We know nothing. I will not allow you to go there…]
She said it without hesitation. Her voice was firm. Final. She refused to even entertain the idea.
A silence spread around them. He understood her worry—he really did. But it's not like he didn't know the world.
He did. And from what he had seen of the Danmachi world, while everything wasn't the same, most things were. If Konosuba was the same, then it might not be that hard.
Orion didn't reply immediately. Instead, he thought. According to the system, death in the Konosuba world would be real because it wasn't a simulation like the monsters and side dungeons he had faced so far. It was a genuine world. A real place.
But Aqua existed there.
Aqua, who could resurrect the dead.
Can't he just, you know… get revived by her if he dies? Which he absolutely wasn't planning on doing—but just in case.
He pressed his lips together, thinking it through carefully. With someone like Aqua—and Kazuma, however unreliable they might be—it would actually be far easier to defeat Beldia there than alone. Safer, even, in its own absurd way.
Orion exhaled slowly.
He made his decision.
"Sorry, step mom… but there are times when a man gotta do what a man gotta do…"
[Step Mom ?]
xXx
A/N : Ah, here is the real multiversal part of this entire fic. And thought about it, wondering what I do that it not only allow him to travel, with a reason, but also keep the challenge and danger real. And him really dying in other worlds was the best idea I could one up with.
I believe it would be fun. Though I can reduce this world traveling part later on if you guys like by how I have design the system. So, do tell me which one you prefer.
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