DanMachi, My Members Are From Slice-of-Life Anime

"As you can see, this is the new world I have invited you to!"

Welcome to the Myth of the Familia!

Chapter 16 Pain

Sword-wielding city.

Even though it was just a giant blacksmith workshop and couldn't compare to the prosperity of Orario, when the black cat and Dekomori stood on the street, they still felt the strong atmosphere of another world.

The hawking of vendors across the street, the clanging of metal from the blacksmith's shop next door, and the passersby chatting amongst themselves—all these elements were quite striking.

"Hey." The black cat tugged at Shaka's sleeve and asked softly, "Is this really a game?"

"Well..." Shaka was a little guilty, but still stubbornly said, "Without a doubt, this is the real world! As the one who descended, I have crossed the invisible boundary line and arrived in another world."

The black cat grinned, its eyes gleaming with a hint of smugness, and said in agreement, "A decent artificial celestial realm, not inferior to my own Dark Night Demon Realm."

Okay, to be honest, nobody believes me. Xia Jia shrugged, not intending to be too proactive.

Unlike the black cat, the people on the Dekomori side were already having a wild party, and before Shaka could react, he had darted far away.

Fortunately, Cecil reacted quickly and grabbed the man by the back of his collar.

"Release me, Death! Dekomori is on his way to defeat the Demon King!"

"Calm down, there's no such thing as a Demon King in this world!" Cecil covered his forehead.

Ignoring her, Tu Shou turned around and swung his twin-tailed meteor hammer at Cecil, who grabbed it and tied it into a tight knot.

"Waaaaah, I was wrong, please let me go!" She then looked at Shaka with teary eyes: "Master, help me!~~~"

Shaka looked at Tsubomo, who had instantly turned into a caterpillar and was wriggling on the ground, and felt helpless.

“Hey, what’s wrong with this kid…” Cecil asked, patting non-existent dust off his hands.

“Cecil…” Shaga said helplessly, “Could you please look after this child?”

"Huh?" Cecil rolled his dead fish eyes. "Why? Why are you suddenly pushing this kind of trouble onto me? Do you think I'd agree to it?"

"The outcome of the competition is still undecided, isn't it? The time limit is three months. Besides, whether or not you become the leader depends on everyone's approval. Even if it's not a kid you recruited, as long as everyone agrees that you should be the leader, I won't have any objections."

Shaga threw out bait: "With your character, Miss Cecil, you don't think you're inferior to me, do you?"

This statement came out.

"Huh? Who do you think I am!" Cecil glanced disdainfully at the still wriggling Tu Shou, raised his head, and patted his chest, saying, "Then leave it to me. I will definitely set a good example as an excellent senior!"

As he spoke, he knelt down affectionately and undid Tokimori's hair.

Before Cecil could say anything, Dekogami immediately took a step back and then ran away.

"Haha, you've been fooled, Death! You're just a fake leader, come and catch me if you dare!" He added with a mocking face.

“[○?｀Д?? ○]! This guy!”

Cecil ignored Shaga and charged towards Dekomori with all his might.

As a blacksmith, and having already been blessed, his strength and speed are no less than Dekomori's; catching up with her is only a matter of time.

The black cat looked up and asked, "Are we just going to leave them like this?"

"Hmm." Xia Jia shrugged: "Tushou's positioning is that of a free-spirited, ordinary experience-based user. Whatever they do can be used as an exceptional case for reference."

Xia Jiaxin said that it was just not following the "tutorial" and that for silly players, it was just normal operation.

“Besides…” Xia Jia looked at the black cat seriously, “I’m broke. Maybe following that rich woman Cecil would be much easier than following me. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about food.”

"Money? Such a vulgar thing. As the master of the artificial heavens, would you be worried about such data?" the black cat asked, puzzled.

"This is a real other world, so it's normal for me to be penniless,"

Another setup?

Black Cat seemed lost in thought; this was also her first time experiencing a fully stealth-based game. Even as a seasoned player, she was somewhat bewildered.

The main problem is that this world is too real; there are neither guidance nor tasks.

No wonder that scoundrel kept saying this was the real world, and there was really no way to tell the difference.

Xia Jia, on the other hand, also had his own plans.

Unlike players like Dekomori, the black cat recruited with money has more potential. Although he uses the guise of a game to get the black cat and others to help him, it's actually very difficult to treat this world as a game.

Leaving aside the ambiguous main storyline and the unexpected events that could occur at any time, there are no dungeons available for leveling up.

How to operate a game well is also a skill, and Xia Jia needs advice and help from expert players.

The black cat, glancing around with interest, can only give players a good first impression. To maintain that positive feeling, other game content is needed.

"Let's go test the mission and combat systems first."

As Shaka spoke, he led the black cat in one direction.

A short while later, the two arrived in front of a circular building, where mercenaries wearing armor were entering and exiting.

This is the Guild's branch in Swordcraft City.

The mercenaries coming and going included adventurers from other places who had received favors, and ordinary people.

Unlike Orario, which has a headquarters that manages adventurers, this place is more like a neutral platform for issuing commissions.

Black Cat followed behind Shaga somewhat awkwardly. Most of the mercenaries who came and went from the guild looked fierce and menacing. Even though it was a game, the realism made Black Cat feel a little uncomfortable.

Shaka, with the black cat, arrived in front of a huge wooden plank...

"This is where you receive mission requests from the city. Yeah, this is where you complete missions and get rewards."

Looking around, most of the jobs involve buying various ores and rare metals, and there are also jobs recruiting apprentices and assistants. There are also a few monster-hunting quests, but most of them are located far away.

Xia Jia was engrossed in searching for a suitable task, so much so that she ignored the black cat behind her.

And at this time...

"ah."

A cry of pain came from behind.

Shaka saw the black cat rubbing its rear end and sitting on the ground, while a bald man wearing a black skull eye patch stood in front of her.

He was all fat and had a hostile expression.

"Who came from, brat? You've dirtied my clothes! How are you going to make up for it?!"

He glanced at the black cat's appearance: a linen shirt and shorts without any dye, but with surprisingly fair skin. He couldn't help but smirk: "How about, as compensation, you come home with me and spend the night with me..."

The mercenary's brazen act of falsely accusing others revealed his reckless and unruly nature. However, his statement, instead of provoking resentment, elicited a burst of laughter from the others.

Seemingly encouraged by the laughter, the bald man bent down and slowly reached out his hand to the terrified black cat.

However, before he could even touch the black cat's hand, he was gripped by an immense force.

"Hey, a few teasing words are fine, but actually taking action is going too far, isn't it?"

A series of cracking sounds rang out as bones snapped against the bald man's arm. The intense pain contorted his face as he jerked his arm back, staring in horror at Shaka, who was squinting with a seemingly "kind" expression.

"Adventurer..."

The bald man clutched his almost deformed wrist, his gaze first falling on his companions around him, seemingly wanting to resist, but when he saw the sword and wing badge hanging on Shaga's chest, his pupils contracted sharply.

The bald man's companion behind him secretly tugged at his sleeve and shook his head slightly.

"Tch, well, you're lucky. Let's go!" The bald man glared at Xia Jia, then turned and walked away.

Seeing that nothing was wrong, Xia Jia's expression softened, and she reached out her hand to the black cat.

"Is everything okay?"

"Hmm." The black cat breathed a sigh of relief, rubbed its bottom, and said softly, "I just got bumped. It hurts a little."

Xia Jia said helplessly, "As you can see, there are still many problems with the game. That kind of pain feedback just now is the part that's most troubling for us."

"In pursuit of realism, perfectly recreating pain is inevitable, but this raises the question of 'Can any player really withstand such pain?'"

"Furthermore, the follow-up censorship for those 'rogue' incidents wasn't done, so if you encounter this kind of problem, just silently chant 'The world rejects me,' and you'll be logged off."

Black Cat wholeheartedly agreed: "Hmm, so that was also part of the test? That man was also a staff member?"

Black Cat was amazed by the company's meticulousness.

Xia Jia shook his head: "They're just ordinary NPCs. The only real employees right now are the gods who are the planners, and us."

Shaka told a little lie. He noticed that the black cat was in a bad mood, but still relatively stable.

As for why deities are included...

That means the gods of this world often utter lines that don't fit the reality of this world, such as actually mentioning RPGs or games. Therefore, patches are installed in advance.

"Thank goodness for the filter of the game, otherwise I probably would have a headache."

Xia Jia tried to use words to bring the black cat to the staff's side, so that any other problems that might be encountered next would become part of the work.

After all, he paid me.

Black Cat was even more shocked by what Xia Jia said: What kind of amazing company is this? So many NPCs, all of them are AI?

What kind of incredible computer would it take to run that?