Playing as a Tank

It wasn’t difficult to figure out why one of my overpowered skills automatically activated in response to an attack that was a level above what had been inflicted so far.

The impact that Tana’s giant cards had just exerted on the shield seemed roughly equivalent to the shock of 7-8 cargo trucks hitting simultaneously.

Normally, one would have been sent flying backward with the shield rather than withstanding such a tremendous attack.

In other words, it was natural for [Prevention Impossible] to activate against an attack that could easily send me flying.

Yes, up to here I could understand perfectly.

But.

Why.

“Waaaaahhh!!”

Why would a mere shield suddenly accelerate like that?

I couldn’t even open my eyes properly at the outrageous speed that rivaled any roller coaster.

Belatedly realizing I would get hurt more if I let go of the shield handle, I gripped the leather handle even tighter and flew toward Tana, fluttering limply like a gas station inflatable.

Come to think of it, it was a short time, not even ten seconds… but that doesn’t really matter now.

So, finally. CRASH!!

I ended up ramming into Tana while simultaneously smashing my forehead against the back of the shield.

Perhaps because the dizzying impact was directly transmitted to my head, something like stars flashed before my eyes.

-Ding.

[A total of 21 damage has been accumulated.]
[Cumulative damage: 24125]
[Available damage: 24125]

Once again, my patience flew all the way to Andromeda at the system window that informed me of my pain in exact figures.

…I need to find a way to deal with this.

If I have to face this frustrating system window every time I unintentionally take damage, I’ll surely collapse someday with my neck stiff.

Right after that, I barely managed to gather my wits and get up.

“Lua!”

Asha’s hands, having just arrived in front of me, felt all over my body.

Fortunately amid the misfortune, except for my forehead being slightly red and swollen, there was nothing particularly wrong.

Even that soon returned to normal thanks to my nearly infinite regeneration…

But Asha was the one who couldn’t calm down.

She was pouring all kinds of healing magic despite the fact that I was already completely fine.

Hmm, if she wastes mana on unnecessary things, Tana will scold her…

…Wait.

Tana?

“N-not me, check Big Sister Tana first!”

Only then did I belatedly remember the person who had been rammed by the shield and urgently shifted my gaze beyond the shield.

But rather than facing someone who must have been seriously injured, I couldn’t sense any presence at all.

“Huh…?”
“What, what’s wrong? Does something hurt? Can’t you move your body well?”

I just blinked blankly while staring at the measurement room floor where only a small card remained.

Right after that, I was suddenly lifted up by someone’s touch that came from behind rather than the front where Asha was.

“That’s enough. Can’t you see she’s already been cleanly healed?”

What followed was a rigid rebuke that continuing to pour healing magic like this could create problems where there were none.

“Oh, you’re fine…?”
“Did you wish I wasn’t fine?”
“N-no!”

Still being held up, I hurriedly waved my hands to prevent Tana from misunderstanding.

The fact that I almost hurt her was bad enough; I couldn’t afford to do anything more to reduce her favorability.

So, somehow, after the commotion had been barely settled by a person who was unusually calm at every moment.

“It seems you won’t get hurt no matter where you go.”

A simple yet incredibly accurate conclusion was finally reached.

“Talent like Ms. Lua’s is probably difficult to come across twice.”

In other words, this meant I was valuable enough to be accepted as a member of the Lunatic Guild.

I looked back and forth between Asha and Tana with eyes full of expectation.

Not long after, finally.

“…I never thought I’d be bringing such a young child into the guild…”

I was officially made a member of Lunatic by Asha, who once again confirmed that my mind hadn’t changed.

My snow-white tail naturally rose up, representing my joyful feelings.

Perhaps because my body had become younger, I couldn’t calm the various emotions flowing from deep within my heart.

I barely managed to hold onto my reason and refrained from jumping around like a real child, but I couldn’t stop the giggles from leaking out.

“Are you that happy…?”
“Yes! Super duper happy!”

Like this, I unknowingly answered with a bright smile even to a soliloquy that didn’t require a response.

However, since both Asha and Tana were already busy people who couldn’t afford to give me time forever.

I had to leave the messy measurement room behind and walk back to the office.

What followed was a replay of the scenes I had seen before coming to the measurement room.

I killed time watching Tana’s extremely formal rebukes or advice starting again, and Asha’s eyes slowly turning lifeless.

It was about an hour later when a so-called ‘high-level guest’ arrived.

Perhaps because they couldn’t have a young child like me in such a weighty position, I was asked to stay outside the office until the meeting ended.

“You might get lost, so don’t go too far.”
“Come on, do you think I’m a little kid? Would I get lost?”
“…You are a little kid, you know.”

Unable to feel at ease at all, she finally let me go after attaching a bracelet equipped with various functions, including location tracking.

So, with lighter steps, the place I went to was the floor right above the office.

Specifically, Asha’s home.

The reason was simple.

Rather than walking around looking at facilities I had visited to the point of boredom in my first playthrough, I thought it would be better to just lie around quietly in Asha’s house.

I also needed time to organize my thoughts alone in a quiet place.

Since I had already been told by Asha herself that I would be living with her from now on, there was no particular problem entering the house without its owner.

When I entered by pressing the house’s secret code I had known even before being told by the homeowner, what unfolded before me was a scene more hotel-like than a hotel.

“Wow…”

Once again, I truly felt like a country mouse visiting a city mouse’s home for the first time.

Although it didn’t glitter that much, perhaps because it was the home of someone who didn’t indulge in luxury, to my eyes with X years of studio apartment living experience, it was nothing short of paradise.

Well, it’s the home of a guild master from one of the three major guilds.

This much is to be expected.

After that, I went back and forth around the duplex house for a long time, filling my eyes with the daily life of the top 0.001 percent.

It was only after there were no more doors left to open that I finally came to my senses and began to think deeply about the future.

I walked to the bedroom, the largest among the various rooms, sat on the neatly arranged soft bed, and then uttered a word that I hadn’t particularly had occasion to say until now.

“Status window.”

-Ding.

───────────

『Name: Lua』
『Race: Beast Person』
『Class: ?』
『Affiliation: Lunatic』
───────────

As might be expected, I stared repeatedly at the affiliation column that was not blank.

After fully savoring the sense of achievement once more, I opened the skill window next.

▶ If the Incoming Words Are Bad (P)
[Accumulates all damage inflicted on entity name: Lua. There is no limit to the amount of damage that can be accumulated.]
▶ The Outgoing Words Are Worse (A)
[Delivers all accumulated damage to the target, enhanced by 2-3 times its power.]
▶ Prevention Impossible (P)
[Resists all external influences attempting to change entity name: Lua’s coordinates.]
▶ You Are the Shield (A)
[Forcibly overlays entity name: Lua’s skills and stats onto the object in contact.]
▶ Ugh Trash (P)
[Forcibly designates entities that have harmed entity name: Lua as public enemies.]

Indeed, these skills threw balance to the dogs, even looking at them now.

And the applications were endless.

After scrutinizing the text in front of me for quite some time, I clicked on one of the skills with my finger to learn about the anomaly that occurred in the measurement room.

-Ding.

▶ Prevention Impossible (P)
[Resists all external influences attempting to change entity name: Lua’s coordinates.]

“Hmm, no matter how I look at it, there’s no mention of a threshold…”

Just as I knew it.

The skill description, which hadn’t changed at all from what I had examined on my first day in the game, filled me with even more suspicion.

Just in case, right after that, I firmly pressed the triangle next to the skill name.

And about 5 seconds later, at that moment. Ding.

▼ Prevention Impossible (P)
[Resists all external influences attempting to change entity name: Lua’s coordinates.]
[Threshold: C]
[Current Mode: Repulsion]

“Oh sh…!”

As soon as I realized that the triangle next to the skill name was actually a “show more” button, I was engulfed in a numbing shock as if I’d been hit hard on the back of the head.