The Runaway Master Sora's Scenic Day: I Became a Legend Just by Not Fighting - The scenic views lie beyond where you run.

"I want to see scenic views!" That was how it all began. Sora rolled over in her bed in the real world. Her phone had over ten messages from her friend—Luna. They all said the same thing. *"Let's start Cross World Online!"* It had been like this for three days straight. "[sad]But I've never even played a game before..." Sora murmured quietly and buried her face in her pillow. Nineteen years old. Ever since graduating high school, she'd barely left her room. She'd quit her part-time job after three days. Talking to people scared her. When she went outside, it felt like everyone was staring at her, and her chest would tighten painfully. She didn't go to college. She couldn't. And yet, Luna kept insisting. *"The scenic views are amazing! The mountains, the ocean—it's just like the real thing!"* *"It's fun just wandering around by yourself!"* *"Sora, I know you'll get hooked!"* Luna had been her friend since elementary school, and she was the only one who kept in touch after Sora became a shut-in. "...Scenic views." Sora said the words out loud once more. When she was a child, there was a photo book she used to look at often. A thick volume collecting beautiful places from all over the world. Waterfalls in the Amazon. Sunsets in Africa. The aurora in Northern Europe. Every time she turned a page, her heart would race. *Someday, I want to go to places like these...* But in reality, it was impossible for her. Getting on a plane, walking through unfamiliar towns—it was all too terrifying. If that was the case. Maybe, inside a game. Sora slowly sat up. She picked up the headset resting by her pillow—the NeuroLink Zero. It was something Luna had pushed on her, saying, "It's a birthday present!" Ever since opening the box a week ago, she'd left it untouched. "...Just a little." Hesitantly, she put on the headset. She turned it on. —The world changed. A blue sky filled her entire field of vision. A gentle breeze brushed her cheek, and the scent of grass came from somewhere. The ground was flat cobblestone, and in the distance, she could see a town with white walls. "[surprised]Huh... This is a game...?" Sora spun around on the spot. The sky, the wind, the scent—everything felt completely real. But this was inside a game. A semi-transparent window opened before her eyes. The tutorial. *"Welcome to Firmament. First, let's try walking."* Reading the text, Sora timidly took a step forward. The cobblestone made a light *clack*. Just that was enough to make her feel a little happy. The tutorial area was a peaceful grassland. *"Move forward, run, jump—excellent!"* Following the displayed instructions, Sora nervously moved her body. When she ran, the wind hit her face. It felt kind of nice. *"Stride Skill: 1 acquired."* "...Stride?" As she wondered about it, another window opened. *"Free-Build System Explanation"* Lines of text filled the screen. In short, it seemed like the more you did something, the more your skills would grow. Not just combat—even just running or jumping would make you stronger. "So basically, the more you do, the more you improve." Sora accepted that easily, without thinking too deeply about it. After all, she had absolutely no intention of doing any fighting. At the end of the tutorial, a signpost appeared, pointing the way to the next town—Centra Riviere. "Um, this way... I think?" Sora looked carefully at the direction of the arrow and started walking. —Or so she thought. But Sora hadn't noticed. That arrow was pointing toward the base of a mountain far, far away. It was the exact opposite direction from Centra Riviere. Sora had no sense of direction. In reality, and in the game. She walked and walked, but the town never came into view. The grassland continued for a while, but before she knew it, the surroundings had gradually turned into a forest thick with trees. The air was chilly, and it felt somewhat dim. "...Huh?" Tree trunks were covered in mushrooms she'd never seen before. The ground was slick with moss, and every step she took made a squelching sound of water. This was not a place for new players to come. But Sora still hadn't realized that. Even worse, she still hadn't noticed something else. —*Rustle.* Behind her, the bushes shook. Sora flinched and turned around. *What was that? Just the wind?* The moment she thought that, a large gray shadow emerged from the grass. Forest Wolves. Two of them. No, three. The wolves' eyes gleamed in the darkness. Their bodies were much larger than real wolves, their fangs jagged, drool dripping to the ground. Sora's feet froze to the earth. "[scared]W-why, why...!" Her voice trembled. One of them growled. A low, long growl that pierced her ears. That was the signal. In the next instant, a wolf lunged at her. Its mouth opened wide, aiming to tear into her shoulder— "[scared]Nooooo!!" Sora screamed and crouched down on the spot. It was pure coincidence. She was just scared and her legs gave out. But with that single motion, Sora's body slipped right under the wolf's fangs. The wolf, carried by its momentum, slammed its face into the ground with a *thud*. *"Evade Skill: 1 acquired."* Text like that flickered in her vision, but Sora had no time to pay attention. She scrambled to her feet and ran at full speed. Another wolf chased her from behind. Its claws grazed her back— "Eek!" But it was just a graze. Sora's cloth clothes were torn, but that was all. *"Evade Skill: 5 acquired."* Run. Run. Run. Her heart felt like it was going to explode. Tears blurred her vision. Still, she kept moving her legs. She nearly tripped over a root, and just as she was about to fall— "[scared]Wah!?" Her body twisted on its own, spinning around. She dodged the charging wolf closing in from behind, as gracefully as if she were dancing. *"Evade Skill: 12 acquired."* This time the number was a bit higher. But Sora didn't care. She had absolutely no room to care. She just kept running. Jumping over tree roots, ducking under fallen logs, pushing through branches—just forward, forward. How long had she been running? Before she knew it, the wolves' growls had grown distant. But Sora was still scared, and she couldn't stop running. *"Stride Skill: 37 acquired."* *"Evade Skill: 58 acquired."* *"Stride Skill: 102 acquired."* Without realizing it, her skill values had skyrocketed. Numbers that would take a normal player days to raise, Sora had achieved in just a few dozen minutes. Fear had driven her beyond her limits. —Suddenly, her vision opened up. Sora had made it out of the forest. What spread before her eyes was a cliff. Beyond the rugged rocky terrain, there was nothing but empty sky. "[scared]N-no, a dead end...!" Her feet stuck to the ground. There was nowhere left to run. She looked back, but the wolves were nowhere to be seen. It seemed they had given up chasing her. Sora collapsed onto the spot with a *plop*. Her legs were trembling violently. "[crying]That was terrifying... really, terrifying..." Tears spilled down her face. She stayed like that for a while, breathing heavily with her shoulders. She didn't know how long it had been. When she finally calmed down and lifted her head— Sora caught her breath. Beyond the cliff. The edge of the endless sky was dyed in golden hues. Sunset. A massive sun was sinking far, far away. Its light illuminated the sea of clouds below. The waves of clouds slowly undulated, shifting into gold, pink, and pale purple. The top of the sky was a deep blue, and one star, then two, twinkled into view. The wind blew, swaying Sora's fluffy brown hair. "...Beautiful." The words came out naturally. The fear faded away somewhere. Deep in her chest, a gentle warmth spread. *(This is the kind of view... I wanted to see.)* The world's scenic views she had seen in that photo book as a child. She had always wanted to see them with her own eyes, but she thought it was impossible for her in reality. But now, inside this game, she was seeing a view even more incredible than those, with her own eyes. "...I." Unconsciously, Sora had activated the screenshot function. She pressed the button. Something bubbled up from deep within her heart. "I started this game to see scenic views." Those words were a declaration to herself. Along with her tears, the terror washed away. In its place, determination swelled up in her mind. *(I want to see more.)* *(More and more incredible views.)* In that moment, Sora became a Scenic View Hunter. A title just for her, one that didn't have a name yet. But inside Sora's heart, something had clearly changed. She was captivated by the scenery for a while, but eventually the sun set completely, and the area grew dark. "...Well." Sora stood up. "[serious]I need to go back." Yeah. ...She had no idea how to get back. "[scared]Huh, wait, where am I!?" She frantically looked around, but there was only the dark forest spreading out. For now, she started walking in the direction she thought she'd come from. Wandering. Alone in the pitch-black forest, Sora kept walking. Occasionally, she'd hear the cries of beasts in the distance, and each time she'd flinch and hide behind a nearby tree. Then, timidly, she'd start walking again. It was a cycle. *(I can't take this anymore... I want to go home...)* As she walked with tears in her eyes— "Hey, check it out." Suddenly, a man's voice. Sora froze in her tracks. Ahead, she saw three players walking toward her. They were all wearing bulky armor and holding large axes and swords. Above their names, red icons floated. Vanargand. It wasn't written anywhere, but Sora intuitively got a bad feeling. "[laughing]Heh heh, ain't she a newbie." "[sarcastic]What're you doing in a place like this? Lost?" "[cold]Prey's here." The three grinned as they approached Sora. Sora's mind went completely blank. *(What? What? Why are they coming this way?)* Her legs froze. She knew she had to run, but her body wouldn't move. "Hey, hand over your stuff." "[laughing]You stay quiet, and we'll let you off without hurting you." One of them raised the axe in his hand. "[scared]Noooo!!" Sora screamed, squeezed her eyes shut, and crouched down on the spot. The axe swung down— —*Whoosh.* With the sound of cutting wind, the axe slipped right past Sora's head. *"Evade Skill: Auto-activation."* "Huh?" The man tilted his head. Another one swung his sword in a horizontal slash. But Sora's body coincidentally lost its balance, and she stumbled forward, dodging the blade. "Wha—why can't we hit her!" All three lunged at her at once. "[scared]Stooop!" With her eyes still shut, Sora crouched and trembled violently. The next instant— *Thud! Clang! Crack!* Strange sounds rang out. "[angry]Ow! You idiot, where are you swinging?!" "[sarcastic]You're the one in the way, move! Ah—" "[scared]Whoa, crap—" *Thud thud, clatter clatter clatter.* The sounds gradually faded into the distance. When Sora timidly opened her eyes, the three were gone. Instead, there were tumbling footprints left on the ground at the cliff's edge. Apparently, the three had gotten tangled up hitting each other with their own attacks and fallen off the cliff. "...Huh?" Sora's mouth hung open in bewilderment. She had no idea what had just happened. But either way, she was saved. "[crying]Th-that was terrifying...!!" She collapsed onto the spot with a *thud*. She had no strength left in her legs. She kept trembling for a while, but staying here wouldn't help anything. Sora unsteadily got to her feet. "...Ah." In the distance, she saw a light. That was—the light of a town. Centra Riviere. Sora started walking slowly, unsteadily, toward the light. She didn't know how long she walked, but she finally reached the town's entrance. It was as bright as daytime, with many players coming and going. A stranger, seeing Sora's tattered clothes, said, "Hey, is that girl

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Episode 1

Name: The Runaway Master Sora's Scenic Day: I Became a Legend Just by Not Fighting
Author: Novelia

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