VRMMO: My first Contractee is Yandere

"Hm, we got some interesting items, but…" Jack-Jack muttered dejectedly, his head hanging low, with the empty sleeve of his arm swaying in the wind. His main reason for joining the dungeon expedition was to find an item to lift his curse that prevents healing.

Without that, it's only natural for him to be disappointed.

Well, we did earn quite a bit of money, which should make searching the market easier, though such items are rarely found.

He sighed.

"…Atori, give this to Jack-Jack," I said.

"Yes! Jack-Jack, God has bestowed this item upon you. Please accept it."

Atori handed over a doll that can lift curses. Simply hugging it causes any curse to transfer onto the doll. It's a very rare and expensive item.

It was something I had purchased from a witch for protection against mental attacks during our fight with the dark spirit Milim. In fact, I had been carrying it since before we entered the dungeon. It wasn't that I had forgotten about it.

My priority, however, was always Atori. I couldn't risk him getting cursed inside the dungeon, so there was no way I would've given away such an important item.

But at this point, it was acceptable to hand it over.

After all, we were about to leave, and it would be safer for Jack-Jack to have his arm restored.

Jack-Jack hugged the doll as instructed, and it quickly decayed. Then, he drank a high-grade potion that I sold him, made from the leaves of the World Tree.

It's potent enough to regenerate limbs. Just don't drink it too often, or it can cause addiction.

Before our eyes, Jack-Jack's arm began to grow back.

"Oh! Thank you! I'm so grateful, Atori-dono, Nero-dono!" Jack-Jack exclaimed.

"God is merciful," Atori replied.

"Indeed," Jack-Jack nodded, swinging his newly restored arm. It seemed to be functioning perfectly.

During this dungeon expedition, I realized that Jack-Jack is quite a powerful NPC. The fact that even he was cursed and had to retreat makes me wonder what kind of enemy he faced.

Still, I have no intention of interfering in Jack-Jack's quest. These types of games are full of individual stories, and I don't want to needlessly disrupt them.

"Now then," Jack-Jack cleared his throat.

"I'll settle the payment for this curse-removal item later. For now, let's focus on getting out of here."

"Yeah, I need to get back so God can shower me with praise," Atori said.

So, that's what he had in mind.

Well, this expedition yielded many rewards, and Atori's skills have also improved. I suppose some praise is in order.

We set off for home.

▽

We sped through the dungeon's sixth floor.

Without stopping much, we swept aside every monster we encountered. The deeper we descended, the weaker they became. They couldn't keep up with our speed-focused builds. As Atori carried me, I supported with my [Present Paralysis] whenever necessary.

"Hah, hah… Atori-dono, could we take a short rest around here?" Jack-Jack panted.

"Sensei lacks stamina," Atori remarked.

"I'll have you know that I've maxed out my stats… But you, Atori-dono, how do you keep going?" Jack-Jack asked, perplexed.

"If it's for God, I don't need to rest or even sleep."

"I've always wondered, are you even human?"

It seemed Jack-Jack was completely exhausted. He is elderly, after all. According to the lore, elves take many years to show signs of aging. High Elves are said to maintain their youthful appearance until their final days.

How enviable.

We set up camp once more.

It turns out that Sugo is a game where camping is essential. NPCs need to sleep, after all.

However, Atori almost never sleeps. He has some mysterious ability that allows him to stay awake without any visible side effects, using his skills and stats. Occasionally, I'll lie down with him to keep him company.

Because of this, we haven't had much experience camping.

Honestly, I'm quite grateful for Atori's unique abilities. It saves us the trouble of constantly logging out and in to match the NPCs' sleep cycles. Still, once in a while, camping isn't so bad. Maybe I should let Atori sleep more often, even though he's just a game character. After all, I've grown quite fond of him.

As I was creating a small shelter using [Create Dark] , Shio raised one of her tentacles, signaling an enemy attack. The raised right arm meant it was a human.

"Atori."

"Yes, God?"

Atori, who had been peeking curiously into the stew Jack-Jack was making, quietly stood up, his scythe in hand. Soon, a group of enemies appeared.

"We finally found you, kid and old man."

It was a familiar face. These were the beastmen who had caused trouble for us in the guild before we entered the dungeon. Even the clerk who had been behind the counter was there.

There were more than twenty of them in total, quite the large group.

I noticed a dark spirit lingering behind them. However, none of them seemed particularly dangerous. I used [Appraisal] to check if they had any special abilities.

The results didn't suggest they were much of a threat.

Then I recognized the dark spirit's name—Milim. Milim was a player who had once been contracted to an NPC named Stark.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

They had tried to form a large-scale bandit clan, which we had taken down.

This same person had once made death threats against me in real life and even showed up at my apartment building with a knife. Luckily, my associate Yomura had spotted them and quickly subdued them.

After a few punches, they confessed everything and went home bloodied. Apparently, they also had some compromising videos taken of them.

Even though Yomura is the same gender, they might get into legal trouble. Well, if they get caught, it's not my concern.

It seems Milim gave up on killing me in real life and decided to focus on winning in the game instead. It's easy to forget, but getting hit in real life hurts.

Milim materialized.

"It really is you guys. Whatever. If I keep attacking, one of these hits will land. Besides, I've got nothing left to lose—kill them!"

At Milim's command, the twenty enemies rushed at us. Despite the narrow space of the cave, there was just enough room for all twenty to charge at once. A confined ambush by twenty foes can be surprisingly troublesome.

Atori activated [Khesed's Wing] , granting [Regen] to himself, Jack-Jack, and Shio. Just as the battle was about to begin—

Most of the enemies were blown away.

Atori had triggered the light magic [Bomb Lightning] , which I had hidden with [Shadow Veil] .

In a single blow, half of them were wiped out.

"Wh-What!? What's going on!?" Milim shrieked in confusion.

What a pitiful enemy. Truly, nothing but a nuisance.

Let me give you an update on my current status.

Honestly, I haven't leveled up at all. Recently, I haven't had many chances to face strong opponents. Ghis was pretty weak, after all.

Name: Nero

Gender: Male

Level: 62

Race: Dark Spirit

Magic: Dark Magic 70

Production: Alchemy 75

Skills: Regeneration 70, Appraisal 31, Create Dark 72, Dark Aura 52, Enemy Resistance Reduction, Item Box 31, Adversity Enhancement, Critical Evasion, Agility Enhancement 55, Trap Art 15

Stats: Attack 295, Magic Attack 295, Endurance 295, Agility 295, Luck 295

Title: The False God's Voice

Unique Skill: Divine Manifestation

I recently acquired a new skill: Trap Art. This increases the effectiveness of traps, making them harder to detect and more destructive or obstructive.

Atri's Bomb Lightning trap has also been powered up thanks to this skill. With just one blow, the enemy was half-destroyed. And Atri didn't miss the opportunity. Charging forward through the explosion with her scythe in hand, she threw a small sickle with her free hand, killing one of them.

Jack-Jack has also begun moving.

The Create Dark ability I used has made the visibility in the area terrible. In the thick darkness, NPCs specialized in assassination dashed through the shadows. Screams. Cries. Death throes. The adventurers began shouting in panic.

"We didn't hear they were this strong!"

"Weren't we only supposed to deal with the old guy? Even Millim said it would be fine!"

"This isn't what we were told!"

"Isn't that kid supposed to be a tamer... why is he close comba—gyahhh!"

It was utter chaos. I can't help but wonder what stance Millim had when she said "we could take them." That was never going to happen. No, maybe these NPCs were just cannon fodder. Or maybe it was all just to annoy us.

Still, I must say, I'm impressed by Millim's playstyle. My Appraisal revealed that all her NPCs are spirit-bound. She's been exceptionally efficient in acquiring skills.

In this world, NPCs who don't make contracts with spirits tend to learn skills randomly, often with little synergy. But Millim's NPCs have well-constructed skill sets.

I'm guessing she's contracted with all twenty of these NPCs. Normally, one can only bond with a single spirit, but it's easy to break and re-establish a contract. This means Millim likely re-contracts just before her NPCs learn new skills. By doing this, she can effectively contract with as many NPCs as she wants.