“Wow, that’s quite impressive.”
Kurimu, who had watched the entire scene from start to finish, clapped her hands in admiration. Although she didn’t fully understand what had happened, she was deeply impressed.
“If it were me, I probably would have just charged in for a head-on fight. I didn’t expect you to have this kind of technique, Bululu.”
‘No, no, no, there wasn’t any technique involved here at all, was there?’
Ai Yue, who had cast Defense Magic just in case to avoid being caught in the explosion, thought to herself.
To put it simply, Bululu’s fighting style could be summarized in one word — power.
Ai Yue was currently severely weakened, and it was nearly all she could do just to track Bululu’s movements with her eyes. However, as the Game Developer, she could tell that Bululu hadn’t used any actual technique from beginning to end. She hadn’t even used magic; she had simply swung her fists and pummeled the enemy repeatedly.
As for the destruction of the laser defense layer and the subsequent explosion, they were almost entirely the result of her sheer, overwhelming strength.
But that shouldn’t be right. Ai Yue had checked Bululu’s Information Panel before. Although she was a pure melee strength-type character, she shouldn’t have possessed this level of power.
One had to remember that the “Relics of the Lost World Mechanism” Dungeon Instance imposed significant debuffs on one’s strength. Magic would be reduced by at least dozens of levels. While the reduction for physical attacks wasn’t as severe as for magic, it still exceeded 10 levels. Based on Ai Yue’s memory and her observations of the recent battle, that Multi-cube Robot was likely around Level 70 or higher.
Just think about it — would a fight between two opponents of the same level be so one-sided that it ended in just a few exchanges?
“Bululu, do you have any special skills?”
“Hmm?”
Hearing Ai Yue’s voice, Bululu turned around and ran over to her like a puppy.
‘Wait, are you a cat or a dog?’
“If we’re talking about special skills… I suppose I have Physical Reinforcement, Super Physical Reinforcement, Strength Boost, and Agility Boost? As for more unique skills…”
Bululu opened her Information Panel to check, leaving Ai Yue speechless.
What kind of simple and crude buff skills were these? Even a berserker who put every single point into Strength and Agility wouldn’t have such a complete set of passive enhancement skills.
Incidentally, under normal circumstances, skill bonuses differ from equipment in that they aren’t calculated directly into the base stats on the panel. One usually has to click on the skill details to see them. Furthermore, the skill column cannot be seen by others through a standard Appraisal. That was why Ai Yue hadn’t realized the full extent of Bululu’s strength when she appraised her earlier.
This was a form of balance; otherwise, anyone who learned Appraisal would be able to fully expose the secrets of anyone who hadn’t learned a skill to block it.
“Ah, found them.”
While Ai Yue was complaining internally, Bululu finished checking her skill panel.
“Currently, I have Charged Blast Punch, Sea Cat Blast Punch, and Arctic Divine Punch.”
“…Why are they all punches?”
Moreover, they were all extremely powerful active skills. Combined with Bululu’s luxurious set of passive buffs, Ai Yue could finally understand why her fists carried such devastating power.
In short, there was a certain beauty in those numbers.
Ai Yue gave Bululu a slightly exasperated look, only to find the girl staring back at her with an expression that practically begged for praise.
“…Ahem! Anyway, you did a great job, Bululu.”
As she spoke, Ai Yue reached out and patted Bululu’s head. The latter looked so happy that the cat-ear-like horns on her head seemed to quiver.
Sigh, who told her to be a moth — who told her to be so kindhearted? She simply couldn’t resist the spoiled advances of a cute child.
“Ah, Bululu, you’re getting a head start! I want some too!”
With that, Kurimu also rushed over to Ai Yue and lowered her head.
“You two… Sigh, I really can’t do anything with you.”
Seeing this, Ai Yue helplessly placed her other hand on Kurimu’s head.
She didn’t know if she was being a mother or a mother to a bunch of little ones, but it was actually quite healing. The proof was her Vitality Essence bar, which had dropped after casting magic, surging upward as she petted them.
“…That should be enough, right? We need to get back to clearing this Dungeon Instance.”
After petting them for a good while, Ai Yue finally changed the subject and refocused on the dungeon. To prevent the two from complaining that it wasn’t enough, she ignored her “fragile as glass” status and took the lead, running to the front.
Bululu and Kurimu had no choice but to follow.
“How unexpected. Master Kurimu didn’t throw a tantrum and demand to be petted longer,” Bululu whispered to Kurimu while maintaining a short distance.
“Fufu, that’s because I’m a good girl. If I’m too greedy, Mama might stop liking me.”
Kurimu placed her hands on her hips, looking proud, as if she had successfully played the role of a good child in front of her mother.
Looking at Kurimu, Bululu had another question. “By the way, didn’t you say earlier that you don’t like people touching your head?”
Bululu remembered that when she had pushed Kurimu’s head down earlier to dodge an attack, Kurimu had been visibly dissatisfied, even though Bululu was helping her. One could only imagine that a random touch would have probably enraged her.
“Mm… true. It’s not just the old man who usually supervises my work; even back when my parents were still around, I didn’t like it. But when Mama Ai Yue pets me, I feel like… I don’t hate it at all.”
Kurimu thought back to when she was even younger than she was now. Even with her biological parents, she hadn’t let them touch her head or tail. According to the old man who taught her, it had been that way since she was an infant. Apparently, she had once lost control of her power and destroyed an entire room just because someone touched her.
However, when she saw Bululu being petted by Ai Yue, her heart had felt strange for some reason, as if something were weighing on it. Consequently, she had subconsciously run over to ask for pets.
“Besides, Mama Ai Yue’s petting is surprisingly comfortable. It makes me want her to keep doing it forever.”
“…It’s like a type of candy that is sweet without being cloying, making you addicted to it.”
“Exactly! Even though I can’t smell it or eat it, that’s exactly what it feels like. You really understand, Bululu!”
“…”
Of course Bululu understood. She felt the exact same way, and she had felt it from the very beginning.
From the moment she had seen Ai Yue with her own eyes in that basement, she felt her gaze constantly drawn to her. Her thoughts always drifted toward Ai Yue, as if the woman possessed some mysterious magic or gravitational pull that attracted everything.
Yes, everything. Every person she saw was, without exception, affected the same way — especially a certain bat and Kurimu.
Although she knew that as a Maid she had no right to make demands of her master, she still felt uncomfortable, though she didn’t know the reason why.
However, as the Personal Guard Maid, she was the one who was always closest to Master Ai Yue.
…Thinking of this, Bululu felt her mood brighten considerably.
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