Vol 1 Chapter 4 (2/2)
”Isn't this great!”
Instead of bragging, his words feltAkatsuki who usually treated him like a childish corin It was a rare s flower
”It's a, the sky is so blue and clear”
shi+roe with his eyes in front smiled warmly
It was true
Flying through the sky was a unique sense of happiness
4
” No signs of any enemies ahead”
”Let's advance”
shi+roe answered with a gesture after hearing Akatsuki's report
This was Deep in Palm, which passed under Tearstone Mountains It had been 15 hours since they entered the dungeon
Referencing the map shi+roe drew from memory, they had traveled about 20km in a beeline
shi+roe visited this place when Elder Tales was still a game, but he did not know this place was so vast
It had been 3 days since they set off from Akiba
The trip had been smooth and peaceful
Griffons were 3 times faster than horses in ternore obstacles meant they were 10 times faster overall
The ability of the griffons had been nerfed, so it could only travel 4 hours a day But they still ed to complete a 2 week journey by horse in 3 days
But their speedy travel reached a bottleneck
They already anticipated this, and they confirmed Tearstone Mountains was a nest for iron tail wyverns when they arrived Wyverns were a type of des and the ability to use ons
But they were still tough enemies
Dragons had the highest sta monsters Some possessed immense intellect and could cast spells Just like in est enemies Adventurers could face
Even a scrub like a wyvern was still a type of dragon
They couldn't useas steel, and their razor-like wings riffons
shi+roe's party consisted of top class players and could take a single wyvern on the ground easily
But they roup of wyverns attacked them in the sky
Tearstone Mountains had been the nest of wyverns since the early days of Elder Tales, so shi+roe was already mentally prepared for this and did not plan to fly recklessly here
If they fought without a plan in the sky, they ht be able to fend off a feyverns, but would eventually fall from their waves of attacks
There was no such thing as a graceful retreat from an aerial battle
The losers were doomed to fall hundreds of meters to their deaths
shi+roe's tearound to avoid this trap had 4 options
They could go the long way by the sea route or bash through the forest in the h Pale systems The last option would be to climb the mountain directly
shi+roe's group decided to challenge the tunnels after a discussion
After considering many factors, this route offered the best combination of speed and safety
After going through the forest and entering the tunnels through the ruins of a work site, they had traveled in Palrey concrete walls, stretching endlessly under the illuht
Sie systems in the real world, there were narrow pathways that connected 2square roo up every now and then which seemed redundant
The intent of the designer and any traces of the users had been lost under years of dust and debris The deep cavern with sloater was now ruled by the ratmen
Ratmen
They were low in class a the many demihumans in this world Their appearance was a cross between rat-headed s They were about the height of middle-schoolers, but it was hard to tell their shape with all their fur They were covered all over in wet-looking fur and could use simple tools
Rath-level players like shi+roe The ability of each unit varied, but oblins or beast men
But the ratue
Just like real world rats, rat in se numbers
shi+roe's group had already stumbled across roo inside
Normal creatures would run away if they instinctively felt their eneer than them It was the saroup was powerful
shi+roe's group did not have any proper battles on their journey thus far, proving this point The objective of this quest was to save the girl named Serara, so shi+roe had avoided any unnecessary battles and exploration as they rushed to her Thefor this mission
But for the numerous rats would be different
The ratroup wanted to give way to theht desperately
shi+roe's party knew they would win, but fighting a large group of ratue
Another issue was the plague debuff
Rates Elder Tales recreated this aspect by giving ratue debuff that dealt persistent dae over time
The ratmen in the tunnel were about level 40
The harue was determined by the level of the ratmen, which was around 40 in this case This could be easily handled by a ht now
They purchased 'Preventive Potions' at the market and already took theue statuses Even with their large level difference and low chance of getting infected, it was better to be safe than sorry
”This room looks safe How about it shi+ro?”
”Yeah You are right, let's take a break Please stay near the entrance Naotsugu I will make a routine call to Mary-nee As for Akatsuki”
”I will scout ahead”
Akatsukifor a reply
Their roles within the teau detested the idea of a petite girl like Akatsuki scouting alone in the beginning, but Akatsuki was proficient at this, and her pride pushed her to contribute to the team
The two of the Akatsuki's view
Scouting was Akatsuki's strong point, so this division of work irl played her part with utmost dedication
Naotsugu dragged a steel box frouarding the entrance He would be ready if any enemy showed up
After confir this, shi+roe used the menu in his mind to call Maryele telepathically shi+roe had been contacting Maryele around this ti the journey Maryele understood this and picked up quickly
”Thanks for the hard work shi+ro-bou, how are things?”
”Everything is fine here, weyou yesterday We entered Deep in Pal”
”To say that, you are in the dungeon right now?”
”Yes”
”That is too fast, you are scaring your onee-san here!”
”Yes”
Maryele's kind greetings gave shi+roe a war
He wanted to reply in a kinder way, but that was beyond hiht about this
Maryele didn't know shi+roe was traveling in a special way by griffon The usualhorses
Another way to traverse the land was by trained 'War Boars' There was news of players in the Chinese server using Dire Wolves as their rides
Summoners could conjure several h-level su ine Enchanters, warriors, and weapon-based classes owning flying mounts
”To be frank, ould probably have only covered about a quarter of your journey if we had taken on this quest, I arateful for your help”
”Uh, that aside How are things on your side?”
”We are in touch with Serara via telepathy”
This was one reason for the periodic contact
shi+roe was heading to Ezzo Empire to save Serara, but he couldn't contact her telepathically
You could only contact players on your friend list by telepathy And you could only add theht in front of you
In other words, shi+roe's group had no h telepathy
”The situation reed?”
”Yeah, she says she is hiding with that nice guy I mentioned and that she is okay for now”
”I see, that's good to hear There are still good players there, seems like Susukino is not beyond redemption”
”Yeah”
Serara was targeted by a group of nasty players, forcing her to join their guild through intimidation She was even confined for a period of tiet away and was hiding somewhere in Susukino
The size of Susukino was on par with Akiba, but there were only about 2000 players there, 1/8 that of Akiba This made each player more prominent
Take buying food for instance, you couldn't e with the crowd and do that, so it would be several times harder to remain undetected shi+roe orried Serara couldn't cover her tracks with such a low urban population
But Serara see to aid her
shi+roe didn't know the details, but Serara only andia with the help of this kind player
With a player the ene supplies With this, the chance of Serara avoiding detection before help arrived was high With the low population, there would be s for her to hide in
shi+roe breathed a sigh of relief when he thought of this
”We can't confireon, so I will contact you again after passing through Palest obstacle after all”
”How do you plan to cross the straits?”
”I will figure it out once I get there”
shi+roe avoided the question even though he had already decided to fly over
Owning a griffonthe 'Hades Breath' Full Raid Raids were the pinnacle challenge in Elder Tales, only a few uilds were able to complete them They were then rewarded with the rare item Griffon Flute
For so this rare item was unacceptable
Maryele, the guild master of Crescent Moon Alliance, knew lots of people unlike shi+roe At the very least, all her members knew about shi+roe's quest to rescue Serara
Although Maryele accepted shi+roe's aid with her usual suild members shi+roe orried that the public's perception of hie if this news spread
”You will definitely make it, shi+ro-bou”
Maryele's hesitant words made shi+roe smile
(Mary-nee is definitely pushi+ng herself She is so tough)
”We have had no serious probleht much at all”
”Roger!”
”Well then, I will contact you later”
”Great! I will pray to the Goddess Yurala on your behalf, say hi to Naotsugu-yan and Akatsuki-chan for me, Henrietta misses her”
Maryele ended the call bythe Goddess Yurala which priests talked about in this alternate world
(So far so good)
”How is the situation, my lord?”
”!”
He didn't notice Akatsuki was back when he was focusing on the telepathy call shi+roe turned and saw Naotsugu taking big bites out of his meal
”Akiba is the sa in the urban part of Susukino No issues so far, let's proceed as planned”
”Affirmative”
Akatsuki took out a large water canteen fro The canteens were all the saer in Akatsuki's hands
shi+roe opened his bag and offered soes to Akatsuki In this world where food had no taste, unprocessed ingredients like fruits were precious delicacies that retained their flavor
shi+roe and the others were using a Bag of Holding, an excellent ite itself, it could negate the weight of all the items inside it
This was a well-known iteht and type of items it could carry Almost all the players had one because of its convenience
With this bag, you could carry on fighting in the dungeons, even if you were loaded with lots of treasures You wouldn't be flustered by cu equipment, a necessity in this world
”Can you tell me what you saant to cross reference it with my map”
”Understood”
Akatsuki peeled the orange expertly with a knife as she h for two trucks to drive through side by side, so they wouldn't lose their way, but there were loads of side paths that branched out
They could reach their goal by following the main route, but it was better to make a detour so reports were invaluable for this
shi+roe dre deviating paths on his map as he listened to Akatsuki
”Does it look so like this?”
”Yeah, that should be fairly accurate You really are good at cartography, my lord”
Akatsuki leaned over to inspect shi+roe's map and is impressed
”This is just like CAD, and my subclass is also Scribe”
”What is CAD?”
”Designs youstudent”
”So you are a college student, my lord?”
”But I a soon” shi+roe nodded in reply His memories of the real world seemed so distant and unreal now
”I see, so you are about e”
”Hmmm?” ”No way!”
shi+roe and Naotsugu retorted at the same time
”Is it that surprising?”
shi+roe felt bad for Akatsuki as asking so caler than him
”Are you kidding us, shriht you- Puwahh!”
A knee landing on Naotsugu's face cut off his sentence
”May I kick this stupid Naotsugu, my lord?”
”Didn't I tell you to ask before doing it?”
Ignoring the co cold sweat in his heart He didn't say it out loud, but shi+roe had been judging Akatsuki's age based on her height
”Idiot Naotsugu is always nitpicking about height issues”
”It would be sadder talking about bre- Puwahh!”
She used her left knee this time Akatsuki juracefully like a cat
” Akatsuki? Please don't u”
”Since it is my lord's request”
Akatsuki left Naotsugu while sulking shi+roe didn't say his thoughts about her age out loud, but he still helped Naotsugu
”Did you also think I was a child, my lord?”
shi+roe endured the pressure of Akatsuki's glare and commented softly
”I ae issues This is troubling”
shi+roe did think Akatsuki was younger, but he didn't treat her like a kid
This was a world where survival skills were crucial
A place where you needed to trade bloith ratiant tunnels like this You would die if you didn't meet the minimum requirement, even if you were a child
It was the same even in this world without death
shi+roe recalled the twins he knew recently
On that day, shi+roe was still with the twins up to the ot separated when shi+roe rushed back to Akiba
shi+roe saw the twins joining souild from afar once, but he still worried about their current status
shi+roe decided to meet them when he returned to Akiba
”What are you thinking about, my lord?”
”H, really”
”That isn't true Whenever you are thinking, your brow furrows”
”Ah”
shi+roe objected to Akatsuki on reflex, but she had totally seen through hih, but Akatsuki continued 'Right here you know? Just like the wrinkles of an old man', which made shi+roe uneasy
”Hey, what are you laughing at, Naotsugu?”
”Because Wahahaha!”
shi+roe kicked Naotsugu in the shi+n
But Naotsugu's legs rapped in armor, so shi+roe's toes hurt from the impact
The 3 of the for a while It was always dark in the tunnels, threatening to crush the trio with its weight
In the cold hueons, only the smiles of the three offered some warmth
5
The first light of dawn bathed the ridge of the ht as they came out of the tunnel
shi+roe's group, which had been spending long hours underground, stretched their backs in the cool and fragrant breeze
They did not need to bend their backs to traverse the caverns, but the billion tons of rocks over their heads gave the pressure
The sky right noas still dark as the summer sun slowly rose
”The wind is cold”
Akatsuki juave her a view of the forest and the ocean as she spoke
”But it feels great We are finally through the tough part”
shi+roe followed them up the boulder
The as indeed icy, but the scenery was grandiose The dark green forest was glowing beautifully froht
As the clouds ht old
”Beautiful”
”A”
shi+roe's co with these simple words
Speaking of which, this was the first time
(We are the first to see this scene In this alternate world, no other players have traveled to Susukino froame, lots of players passed by here at dawn But, we are the first ones here Being the first means)
The best part of adventuring was experiencing new things It made you so tense with anticipation you couldn't stand still
'H deal, this is a happy ht? Just look at this gorgeous view, totally worth the effort! Hahahaha!'
shi+roe remembered 'her' words
'She' had no basis for her overflowing confidence 'Her' character was built on willfulness, bluffs, and bold words
But 'she' always knew the correct answer
If it were 'her', she would treat this scenery as a medal and wear it proudly
”We're the first ones here”
shi+roe said to his friends with this emotion in his heart
”We're the first Adventurers in this world to see this”
For the first time, shi+roe accepted this to be an alternate world with his words
The gorgeous view in front of the that was iy that recreated real life in the virtual world could not display this floind, chilly air, the sound of the trees, and the dawn that was changing every microsecond
After co to this world, even as everyone around them fell into a panic, or players disrupted the security due to lack of goals, shi+roe still ree of calm
He would go to the suburbs, investigate the zones, experi, and find out what he could or could not do in this world even if it was tedious
( I didn't knoas so adaptable Naotsugu's huetthe sanity in my heart)
But that was not all shi+roe finally understood this now
The ruins under the ancient trees looked so beautiful after co him this was indeed an alternate world
(This is an alternate world, we are Adventurers)
Akatsuki looked at shi+roe with surprise for an instant, yet in the next rin and took a deep breath
”That's right, I've never seen anything so a, even in Elder Tales”
”It's our first prize for victory”
The 2 of the eyes before acknowledging shi+roe
And in reply, shi+roe faced the sky to the east and blew his griffon summon flute