IGTL Chapter 78

Chapter 78 – How Insolent of a Mere AAAA to Rebel Against Me… I’ll Punish You for That

“Ahahahaha! Hihahahaha!”

That laugh… It was not normal…

Had he finally snapped?

Or was it because I had used “AAAA” as a weapon?

Had he been hit somewhere he should not have been?

As I wondered about that, “AAAA” turned toward me and raised his voice.

“Kakeru! Fight me!”

“Huh?”

What did he just say?

Had I misheard him?

Surely he had not just challenged me to a fight, had he?

“…Perhaps I misheard you. Could you say that again?”

When I asked because I thought I might have misheard him, the conceited voice of “AAAA” reached my ears.

“I… I have spent all this time dancing in the palm of your hand, Kakeru… But now I am level one hundred fifty-four! I no longer have any reason to remain beneath you! I will defeat you and earn my freedom! Fight me, Kakeru!”

Was the fact that he was still calling me Kakeru instead of dropping all politeness his way of preparing an excuse in case he lost?

Whatever…

If he wanted to fight me that badly, then I would fight him…

I stored the 2 million Col in my Item Storage, smiled, and warned him.

“…By challenging me, you are saying you are prepared to have your level reset. Is that correct?”

When I intimidated him like that, “AAAA’s” face twitched.

“M-My stats are something I earned through my own efforts. They are not something you can do anything about, Kakeru!”

“Oh, really…?”

Then there was no need to hold back…

It was true that his cursed equipment was powerful.

However, that did not mean there was no way to deal with it.

By rebelling against me, he was declaring that he was prepared for the consequences…

If he was prepared, then I would do it!

Honestly, it was super easy!

All I had to do was reduce his stats to the level of a goblin!

I would make him regret it…

He would pay the price for looking down on me, even once…

He could experience the power of my paid items firsthand…

I smiled at the swaggering “AAAA.”

“Do you know what this is?”

I took “Boon of the Naming God” out of my Item Storage, an item the game development team had created as a prank long ago.

“Huh? No, I do not… But more importantly, Kakeru, can we start fighting already?”

In response to “AAAA’s” question, I shook my head theatrically.

“Now, hold on. Do not be so eager to fight. I am actually showing you consideration here, you know?”

“C-Consideration? You, Kakeru, are showing consideration toward me?”

What did he mean by “you”?

And why had he phrased that as a question?

I had helped him countless times before, damn it!

Still, whatever. If that was how he wanted to play this, then I had an idea of my own.

“That’s right. Do you not understand? I am giving you a chance.”

I spoke to “AAAA” from a thoroughly superior position.

In response, “AAAA” glared at me.

I had power leveled him and given him cursed equipment free of charge, yet he was unbelievably shameless. A mere “AAAA” was getting far too insolent. He needed to know his place.

“A chance? What do you mean?”

“…You do not understand? It is simple. I am giving you an opportunity to apologize by saying, ‘I am sorry that an ignorant, foolish creature lower than an insect like me challenged the magnificent Lord Kakeru to such a ridiculous fight.’”

After going to all the trouble of power leveling “AAAA,” it would have been a waste for him to throw it all away because of a momentary impulse.

His level was 154, after all.

When I told him that in an overbearing tone, a vein bulged at “AAAA’s” temple.

“…Do you honestly think I would say something like that, Kakeru?”

“Of course…”

When I said that, “AAAA” tightened his grip on the ringed staff.

“There is no way I would say that! Stop looking down on me!”

Then the enraged “AAAA” held the self-destruct weapon “Reverse Scale of the Naming God” and shouted its activation phrase.

“Reverse Scale of the Naming…”

“I see. How unfortunate, ‘AAAA’…”

As I muttered that toward “AAAA,” who was trying to finish the activation phrase, I used “Boon of the Naming God” to forcibly change his player name from “AAAA” to “HikiNEET.”

“Boon of the Naming God” was a pager-shaped prank item that could arbitrarily change another player’s name.

It was one of the better-known prank items in the world of DW.

Under these particular circumstances, however, it produced the worst possible effect for “AAAA.”

“…God.”

The instant “HikiNEET” finished saying the activation phrase, “Reverse Scale of the Naming God,” dark clouds filled with rumbling thunder began rising.

Up to that point, everything was fine…

“Huh? M-My equipment… Wait, gyaaaaaah!?”

However, the instant his name was forcibly changed, every piece of cursed equipment “HikiNEET” had been wearing was forcibly purged.

Then the rising thunderclouds swallowed “HikiNEET,” and a deafening roar echoed through the area.

“Wrath of the Naming God,” which “HikiNEET” had been wearing, carried a curse that reset the wearer’s stats if even a single character of their name was changed.

Furthermore, the cursed equipment could only be worn by someone whose ridiculous name practically blasphemed the Naming God.

Personally, I thought “HikiNEET” was plenty insulting toward the Naming God too, but apparently it had not been enough to incur the Naming God’s wrath.

As if to prove it, every last piece of equipment had been completely purged from “HikiNEET’s” body.

“Gah…”

After incurring the Naming God’s wrath and being scorched by lightning, “HikiNEET” collapsed while smoke poured from his mouth.

His purification was complete.

I used “Boon of the Naming God” once more to change his player name from “HikiNEET” back to “AAAA,” then gently addressed the charred “AAAA.”

“You probably cannot speak after incurring the Naming God’s wrath, but listen carefully…”

When I spoke to him, “AAAA’s” body twitched.

It did not seem as though he had completely lost consciousness.

Apparently, the lightning unleashed by “Wrath of the Naming God” had temporarily left him unable to move.

I ignored that and continued speaking to “AAAA.”

“…Because you challenged me, your stats have now been completely reset. Do you understand why this happened?”

“…”

“AAAA” gave no answer.

He merely lay there frozen with a stunned expression, almost like a corpse.

Feeling the tiniest bit sorry for him, I took an “Intermediate Recovery Potion” out of my Item Storage and made “AAAA” drink it.

“G-gblgh…”

Had the Intermediate Recovery Potion gone down his windpipe?

Poor guy…

Nevertheless, I continued pouring the Intermediate Recovery Potion into “AAAA’s” mouth.

I would have nightmares if he died, after all.

Even though I had healed him with an Intermediate Recovery Potion worth one million Col, “AAAA’s” eyes looked almost completely dead.

His level, which had been 154, had been reset.

He had brought it on himself, but his reaction was understandable…

I thought that while equipping “AAAA” with “Wrath of the Naming God” again.

Had this still been a game, the instant his stats were reset, he probably would have thrown his controller and taken his anger out on the game.

But this was reality…

It was a game world that had become reality.

“You recklessly challenged me to a fight… That is why this happened. I warned you too… If you had not challenged me, none of this would have happened.”

As I spoke, “AAAA’s” gaze remained fixed somewhere far away.

“…I never cared about you in the first place. Do you understand? There was never any need for us to fight. It is not as though I intended to do anything to you.”

That was not a metaphor.

I genuinely did not care about him.

If anything, I felt like begging him to avoid getting involved with me as much as possible.

“You understand the difference in our power now, right? I can change your ridiculous name whenever I want. I can effortlessly destroy all your hard work… Well, I have no idea how much effort you have actually put in since this world became reality… If anything, I get the feeling that I forcibly power leveled you for almost all of your stats so far, but regardless, I possess the power to reduce your efforts… your stats, straight back to rock bottom…”

“Wh-What are you trying to say… Kakeru…?”

I gently questioned “AAAA,” who spoke in a hoarse voice.

“What I’m saying is… do not get carried away. Never forget that I can crush you whenever I want…”

After muttering only that, I gave “AAAA” a radiant smile.

“…That is all. That said, your power while equipped with the Naming God series is truly remarkable. If you swear never to defy me again and become my eternal servant, I will restore the stats you lost in the reset…”

I was not a monster.

Honestly, the Naming God series was absurdly powerful, and while “AAAA” was scum, he was useful.

Now that his stats had been reset once, he had probably lost any desire to rebel against me.

“P-Please do…”

After muttering only that, “AAAA” lost consciousness.

“Honestly, what a troublesome guy…”

Still, putting on this absolute-overlord act was not half bad…

I had enjoyed myself thoroughly, and I had also delivered divine punishment to the Transfer Group.

When I thought about it that way, perhaps all of this had been thanks to “AAAA” getting involved with the Transfer Group.

I chuckled, hoisted “AAAA” onto my shoulder, and left the arena.

This should have taught the Transfer Group a proper lesson.

They probably would not come picking fights with me indiscriminately anymore.

“Now then…”

I arrived at Transfer Gate “Yggdrasil” with the unconscious “AAAA” and smiled.

I had made a promise to “AAAA” before he lost consciousness…

After he had sworn eternal servitude, simply standing by and doing nothing would have been a little too cruel.

After reaching Transfer Gate “Yggdrasil,” I opened the menu bar and selected the dungeon I wanted to visit.

“Teleport. Desert Cradle.”

When I muttered that in front of the Transfer Gate, blue light enveloped my body, and I was transferred to the vast desert dungeon “Desert Cradle.”

Once I arrived, the bustle of the city I had been in moments earlier disappeared. In its place came a low sound like singing sand and the cries of monsters.

“Now then, let’s get started…”

My goal was to raise “AAAA’s” level back to 150.

I would finish everything while he was unconscious.

I selected the paid items “Rare Drop Rate +500% (24h),” “EXP Gain +500% (24h),” “Monster Respawn (60 min),” and “Boss Monster Respawn” from my Item Storage, then tapped “Use.”

With me at the center, the ground turned red in a circle. Antlion pits of various sizes formed in the earth, and monsters began spawning.

““Grararararara!!””

I smiled at the “Antlion Neo,” the boss monster of Desert Cradle, as it emerged from the antlion pit.