Here again, huh.

Erika gazed into the void. Her body was reduced into an azure flame and floated inside the black nothingness.

“Pwahahaha! So lame! Can’t believe that dumb flower kicked yo ass, haha!”

Mina had the blast of her life at Erika’s expense.

“Geh...”

It was a rare occasion, Erika had nothing to say back. The RPG Master squirmed at every every word of criticism.

【TIP】【In order to have a fair fighting chance against monsters, all God Vessels are provided a Combat Aid system. You may benefit from raising the level of your Combat Aid.】

【TIP】【Keep in mind: too much Combat Aid may feel unnatural and restrictive. It’s important to find the right balance for you. You may change the Combat Aid level at any time from your Settings screen.】

A sliding bar appeared for Erika to configure her Combat Aid. A specific area on the bar was marked as【Recommended for you】.

“I see, now it makes perfect sense. I was defeated because my Combat Aid wasn’t configured properly!”

Erika regained her spirit.

“Huuuh? Combat Aid? The heck’s that?”

“It’s... it’s a system that helps you move better during combat.”

“Oh! There’s such a dumb thing in this game?

“Yes, there is...”

It was obvious that Mina never had any trouble with the default level of Combat Aid. This frustrated Erika anew. Increasing her Combat Aid felt the same as choosing to play on “Easy” mode.

Nevertheless, Erika raised the Combat Aid as recommended. “Every Mob is a Raid Boss” was clearly not the right difficulty for her.

The azure flame was extinguished and Erika respawned all the way back in Minerva’s hall.

【NOTIFICATION】【The quest Vivi’s Escort is put on hold until you reunite with Vivi (Velver Pixie)】

Erika nervously looked around her. As the notification implied - Vivi was nowhere to be found. The system provided additional explanations, which Erika only skimmed through.

Escorted NPCs weren’t teleported to the player’s respawn spot. Therefore, it was necessary to meet up with them in order to continue the quest. Depending on the circumstances, continuing the quest may even prove impossible.

This isn’t good...!

Erika dashed out of the temple. She couldn’t be separated from her adorable pixie like!

“Like, are we ever going to reach Zelin at this rate?! You stupid idiot can’t even handle one flower!”

Vivi waited right outside the temple.

【NOTIFICATION】【The quest Vivi’s Escort will now resume.】

“Phew, I’m so glad.”

Erika was so rejoiced about the reunion, that she didn’t even register the rest of Vivi’s complaints.

“Don’t worry. This time - I’ll defeat it.”

Erika reassured the little pixie in confidence.

“You still gonna fight?! Like, we should be moving on to Zelin, you know!”

“It’ll take just a moment, don’t worry~”

“Hmph, fine! The generous Vivi might as well let you to entertain her with your stupidity!”

“Thanks~”

Despite her high and mighty attitude, Vivi couldn’t deny Erika’s free will. The pixie had to make silly excuses in order follow Erika around.

Let’s have another go, raid boss.

Erika dashed toward the Windflora again. Same as before, she braced herself for incoming attacks. The Windflora recognized her as a threat and took its aim.

This gonna hurt. If only I could dodge it instead-

“Eh?”

Erika’s legs suddenly changed direction. Instead of running straight at the Windflora, her legs led her sideways.

“Wah!”

A blast slammed her left side. It hurt as much as before, but she somehow dodged half of the attack.

I can hit it! Now, to carefully aim and- wha!?

Her fist jumped forward. She was still processing how and where to hit the enemy, but her punch already whacked the Windflora’s face. It was the first time she punched another creature, but her hand moved as if it was her daily hobby.

I can hit it again- ah!

Her left hand instantly followed the vague thoughts. She delivered another blow at the staggering enemy.

I-I can do it!

Erika shot consecutive punches into the Windflora’s face.

It was a weird feeling. Her body gained a will of its own, but it obediently acted according to Erika’s will. The moment she imagined her next action - it was already taking place.

Did she control her attacks? Or, did the Combat Aid system possess her? The line between the two was very blurry.

The Windflora couldn’t dish out a single attack. Driven to a corner, the Windflora bent its stem backwards.

Ah! It’s that catapult thing! I can’t dodge it from this range, I have to-!

Her body already understood the order. Erika couldn’t dodge, therefore she had to defend. Her arms braced for impact and her legs assumed a defensive stance.

“Agh!”

The Windflora’s head fiercely bashed Erika. She was pushed back and her blocking arms burned. But, she could still fight on. The damage was far from enough to fell her.

The Windflora became dazed after striking Erika’s unexpected block.

It’s a chance! I should be able to-

Her arms spread open and fired strikes at the defenseless Windflora.

Ha, haha! I can really do this with the Combat Aid!

Erika’s mind adapted to the quick strikes. Even though some invisible system aided her, each strike was definitely hers.

Erika’s barrage blew off the Windflora’s face. The stem snapped in half and dispersed into azure particles. Shortly, even these particles vanished and there was no trace of the Windflora.

【Defeated Windflora. Obtained 5 [Wind] pieces and 1 Windflora Seed.】

“Haa... haa... haha...”

Erika panted from the exhausting battle, but a smile appeared on her face. She by no means supported violence, and she avoided it by principle. However, after executing revenge with her own two hands - she felt refreshed.

It was the first time this thought crossed her mind: violence could sometimes be... fun.