Playing as a Tank

After Asha returned to the Lunatic Guild branch in response to continued calls, I spent a long time thinking, but eventually came to a conclusion.

No matter what happens next, I decided to join Asha’s guild first.

How could anything progress if the player who should be leading the core of the story was trapped in the starting village without even joining a guild?

If the world ended before I could clear all the achievements given to me, then my life would truly be over.

Even if I somehow managed to survive thanks to my unrealistic stats and skills, I would be trapped here forever.

In a bleak world that ended badly, where not even a speck of hope existed.

“…I definitely don’t want that.”

One way or another, the priority was joining a guild.

I needed to join a guild first to make use of what I had, what had been given to me.

But if I just asked to join the guild out of nowhere, they’d probably just tell me to come back after drinking more milk.

No matter how cheat-level my stats and skills were, it would all be for nothing if I had no opportunity to show them.

I could probably defeat the final boss on my own eventually, but…

My real goal, Lua’s ending condition, wasn’t defeating the final boss but completing all the achievements in .

Well, I was trembling at the sight of a single wolf, so how could I defeat the final boss… but I would have to do it someday.

If I continued to face monsters, I’d get used to it eventually. Yes, I’ll get used to it. I must get used to it…!

Anyway, right now I needed to find a way to join Asha’s guild.

I decided to devote time to finding a way to prove my usefulness before Asha returned to the Lunatic Guild headquarters.

I needed to make Asha realize that this little kid was actually an almost invincible tank to create some possibility.

She would still be concerned about me being a child, but from the perspective of one of the three major guild leaders who needed to save as many lives as possible, such concerns would be manageable.

She couldn’t waste talent with such cheat-level skills, especially if it could reduce casualties in dungeons.

So, while I might flee in front of monsters, I shouldn’t show weakness or be overpowered by others in front of Asha.

I needed to let Asha know that I could pull my own weight, no matter what.

With that mindset of just diving in, I flung open the door to the Lunatic Guild branch.

“No, you can’t. I’m not taking you. I have no intention of taking you. Go back quickly.”

I was picked up by a relatively burly guild member and gently placed back in front of the branch door.

“Why, why not! I just want to observe!”
“Lua, you know how you tend to wander off. If we lost you by any chance, we’d all be roasted alive by the guild master.”

Or turned into ice statues. Light laughter with not a hint of seriousness followed.

Well, honestly, I had expected this to some extent.

Whether as the childhood friend from the first playthrough or the close little sister in the second, it was common knowledge that Asha cared for me.

She was hesitant because she didn’t want to deal with the consequences.

She didn’t have the confidence to face the consequences of taking a child she cared about to a dangerous place under the pretext of a field trip.

The solution was simple.

Make the backlash of not letting me observe greater than the backlash of letting me observe.

For example, if a child successfully sneaks into a dangerous place like a dungeon due to their poor management and gets badly injured.

Due to my nearly infinite health and regeneration, I wouldn’t actually retain any wounds, but others didn’t know that yet.

“I know where the uncles are hiding something.”

The locations I mentioned were all based on memories from my first playthrough.

Their faces froze by the second as I described the surroundings of the dungeon entrance with unnaturally precise detail, which was quite satisfying to see.

Did they think they could hide the dungeon location from someone who had already seen the ending once?

“I should go in there when the uncles aren’t around~.”

What I meant was: guard the dungeon entrance all night if you don’t want to end up as roast meat or an ice statue, as they had mentioned earlier.

The familiar faces became increasingly horrified, beyond speechless.

I felt a bit sorry since I still had memories of going through thick and thin with these people in the first playthrough, but what could I do?

“If you show me what it looks like, I promise I won’t sneak in. Just once, please!”

If it didn’t work, I was prepared to reveal details about the boss room inside the dungeon.

They would probably faint if I mentioned a cave with strange rolling stones.

Knowing about the minerals in the boss room would imply that I had already been there once.

If Asha were to hear that I knew the boss room in detail, there would be no turning back.

So, couldn’t they just agree before it was too late?

“We can’t tell the guild master. If Asha finds out, both we and you could actually die.”
“You uncles might, but I won’t.”

Though my cheeks would probably puff up like steamed buns.

Anyway, they promised to take me along on their dungeon patrol a little later.

Coincidentally, Asha was busy thoroughly searching the forest to clear out various low-level monsters, including the wolf I claimed to have seen.

With Asha temporarily away, this was the only opportunity.

These people knew that too, so they probably wanted to show me as quickly as possible before Asha returned.

So, somehow, at the entrance to the rugged mountain range located exactly opposite from the forest where Asha was.

“No matter what happens, you must never leave the uncles’ side.”

I reluctantly nodded at the repeatedly stern warnings.

I had no particular desire to wander around this beginner dungeon that I had visited dozens of times in the first playthrough and was thoroughly sick of.

My purpose for coming here was just one thing.

“Hey, uncles. I think something is flying toward us from up there?”
“What? Already?”

To imprint in their minds that I was someone who should be protecting others rather than someone who needed protection.

Rather than asking to join the guild on my own, it would be more persuasive if I included testimonies from people who had seen my overpowered stats and skills.

To showcase what I possessed, I needed a bit of a “story.”

A minor mistake like unnecessarily provoking a monster out of curiosity.

Since it was just a beginner dungeon, there wouldn’t be any particularly threatening monsters.

After all, these would be monsters appearing in the early story, incomparably weaker than the various named monsters that would appear later.

However, my appearance was so fragile that I could be in danger even from such minor monsters.

I could be swallowed by a tiny slime.

I could be easily picked up by a short goblin.

This vulnerable body could even be kidnapped by a baby griffin that hadn’t yet matured.

“Huh? What’s this?”
“L-Lua! Don’t touch that!!”

It was only natural that the guild members’ faces turned pale when they saw me bending down toward a horn-like object protruding from the ground.

My voice felt awkwardly fake even to myself, but that wasn’t important right now.

The identity of the slender horn right in front of me was an antenna of a monster called the Giant Ant Lion.

Usually, it hides quietly underground and fiercely attacks any person or monster that touches its antenna.

Hmm, if they had noticed something hiding underground, they would have kept me away from the area.

They must have been distracted by the small flying monsters that had swooped in earlier and hadn’t paid attention to what was beneath the ground.

The problem was that the memory of being attacked by the wolf earlier briefly bubbled up like a soap bubble.

And my heart had been beating faster for some time now.

Still, these were things I would have to face and overcome eventually.

“Umm…!”

Finally, with a “whatever happens, happens” mindset, I squeezed my eyes shut and touched the monster’s antenna.

Almost simultaneously, crash.

The monster that burst out from the ground lunged toward me with a strange cry.

It feels wrong to say this about a monster that’s already hideous by nature, but its appearance was really something else.

There’s no need for detailed description—it was just completely creepy and scary.

…The saying “don’t tickle the whiskers of a sleeping lion” exists for a reason…

“Lua!!”

The guild member closest to me was rushing over urgently.

The problem was that the monster’s long leg reached me before they did.

Unable to withstand the force of the monster several times my size, I fell to the ground.

“Ugh, ugh…!”

I unconsciously tried to push away whatever was clacking right in front of my face—whether it was the monster’s teeth, pincers, or beak, I couldn’t tell.

But for my skills to activate, to show others my capability as a tank, I needed to let this creepy monster attack me, even if just for a moment.

After taking a deep breath, I finally relaxed the hands that had been pushing the monster away.

And so, squish.

Something thick yet sharp firmly pressed into my chest.

“…!!…!”

It hurt.

It hurt like hell.

I keenly realized that when a person is in too much pain, they can’t speak properly or even breathe properly.

But unfortunately, the real problem was something else.

-Ding.

[A total of 9 damage has been accumulated.]
[Cumulative damage: 24 ▶ 33]
[Available damage: 33]

-Ding.

[Woo Woo Trash (P) has been activated.]
[Designating entity: Mutated Giant Ant Lion as a public enemy.]

-Creak…

Once again, the monster froze in place due to skills that activated regardless of my will.

In other words, I had to remain pinned under the monster with my chest still pressed.

If I could endure a little longer, the confused monster would start harming itself, just like the wolf had done earlier, but…

To achieve the real purpose of provoking the monster, I needed to create a scene where I defeated the monster with my own strength.

And I wasn’t confident I could endure this nearly unbearable pain any longer.

Then, with teeth clenched and trembling from pain, I finally used a skill of my own volition for the first time.

[Using The Outgoing Words Are Worse (A) at maximum capacity.]
[Total damage: 99]

Something invisible flew toward the already confused monster, piercing through its body.

Almost simultaneously, I extended my trembling fist toward the monster in front of me.

To the guild member who had just arrived in front of me, it probably looked like I had thrown a punch very quickly.

And a powerful punch at that—one strong enough to pierce through that hard exoskeleton in one go.

“Haa, haa…”

Trying my best to hold back the tears welling up, I slowly turned my head to the side.

What I faced was a guild member who was literally “speechless.”

“H-how…how?”
Fortunately, he seemed to have firmly mistaken the scene I had staged for an actual situation.

…Wait, shouldn’t asking if I’m okay come first?