Vol 3 Chapter 2 (1/2)

Chapter 2: Forest Ragranda

1

”Ragranda Forest?” Tohya asked ”Seeeon”

Naotsugu replied ieon', it is a dungeon”

The sky that was light purple had turned deep blue, the school that sheltered them was illuminated by several campfires on the field

Tonight they were celebrating with a BBQ party for reaching the campsite

The 60-odd participants gathered in the school yard to enjoy their dinner

It was suust

The sweltering heat froround and was dissipating slowly But the dry wind in the night felt comfortable to the skin It was bearable even if you sweat

And the food was top class

Nyanta's dishes were always delicious, eating it together with the big group also had a nice feeling Tohya had always liked this type of at the snacks fro a tantrum as well

Minori was busy handing out beverages to everyone, but she ca him as the matter

”Minori, that is, I heard ill be going to a dungeon You know that?”

”Ah? Dungeon?”

Minori was just as surprised as Tohya was

The training ca to last for 3 weeks, they expected to have live battle training, but never thought that they would be raiding a dungeon

”I' too?”

Naotsugu nodded at Minori's question

”I know this is a bit too heavy a burden on Minori, but rather than assigning you to a different group, wouldn't you feel better if you party together with Tohya, in case anything happens?”

”Of course”

Tohya nodded repeatedly He and Minori were twins

Even though Minori was the elder sister by tiuardian, but felt strongly that 'I airl' In that case, even if he was not on the level of being Minori's guardian, Tohya still thought he should protect his sister

They had been partners since coether And if his sister fell into any danger when they were apart, and he was not there for her Tohya was unable to iine that

”You are right”

It seereement

”We can assign Minori-cchi to the beach group, but for the sake of the future, it will be good to experience raiding a dungeon nya”

Chief Nyanta approached with a rectangular tray filled with grilled japanese horse mackerel as he spoke

”What do you roup?”

Chief Nyanta explained in detail

The beginners varied in levels

The policy of this su camp was to use the school as a caroups based on their abilities

For very low levels players less than level 20, they would be far Ascot Crabs at the beach There were healers and caroup, so it was very safe in accu EXP

But the battles would be 1-on-1, so they wouldn't be forinners needed to understand the skills of their class, what they could do, and what they excelled in They wouldn't be able to ith others until they grasped their own abilities, so this stage would be solo training

Actually, the ca Minori had already 'trained' at the beach during the day, when they were dragged there by Maryele But in the end they changed into their swimsuits and played at the beach all day, Minori had already done some reflection on this

They left the setting up of the caoods to the men, and just enjoyed this vacation activity in the confusion

She even played beach volleyball with the girls she knew from Crescent Moon Alliance and Maryele who cheered loudly, ”Wah, this is so ht? It has to be swireat!” Maryele was a scary influence on the others

Her bombshell body was also scary, which made Minori embarrassed about her childish swimsuit But even if she tried to dress maturely, it would still make her embarrassed

Adventurers of levels 20-35 would be for teams for battle practices, which would be conducted either indoors or outside Outdoor training would be conducted at the 'Caminash Waterway'

Indoor training would be in the Ragranda Forest that Tohya just heard of The dungeon was situated in the direction of the forested area of the peninsula, about a half-day journey The raid would take several days to co in a sense

There were only a handful of players above level 36, so they were doing individual training with the high-level caet everyone to reach level 40

Tohya was level 29, and worked as a tank during his tiood in battles

The underground ruins known as Ragranda Forest, with enemies of various levels, were suitable for players between level 20 to 35 to challenge It should be tough for Tohya as right in the midpoint at level 29

Tohya's heart burned with passion when he thought about this

On the other hand, his big sister Minori was level 21, her subclass Tailor was level 32, her than Tohya's subclass But her subclass was useless in battles Minori's level put her at a disadvantage and Tohya was determined to protect her

”There will be further briefings before we start the training nya Level 29 and 21 will not affect the tea between twins to make up for it in battle and you will be fine nya”

Chief Nyanta squeezed sorilled japanese horsefor the day He poured some wine into a bowl, and drank to his heart's content

”So that's it, dungeons !”

Tohya was unable to hold back his anticipation

When Tohya ith Haht with monsters to farm before, but because of the distance and their teaeon before

In Elder Tales, dungeons were not the terround prison It was also used for ruins, castles, forts, towers, shrines, caves, and many others

It ht monsters'

Dungeons were usually ruins or reical culture from ancient times or a naturally formed cavern These ruins were separated into zones which were nests of wild creatures, and it was easy to see the path to the next area It provided a lot of benefits to the defending side, and had a high 'requirement' in order to complete it

The 'requirement' here was from the monster's perspective

Disregarding the intentions of the builders and original occupiers,for ence like Orcs, Goblins and Ratmen set up forts to used as a base Beasts like Owlbears and Chimera simply wanted to use the area as a nest, like bears in a cave

Everyone also knew that high level undead and dragons were soence, and they would use challenging dungeons to hide their treasures

Tohya had never for Horizon for 2 ood friends with Naotsugu and Nyanta They would talk about their vast battle experience in Elder Tales, so he had accueons

(Naotsugu-san said the difficulty of dungeon battles are incomparable to battles in the wild!)

Tohya was eager to try

Naotsugu was Tohya's teacher right now

shi+roe was Tohya's benefactor and instructor, but in ter skills he couldn't cou Even so, shi+roe definitely possessed enough knowledge and could give Tohya various tips

But Log Horizon had an excellent vanguard in Naotsugu, his experience in Elder Tales was co the top in the whole server As advised by shi+roe, Tohya started learning frou

Tohya also liked Naotsugu, almost as much as he liked shi+roe

Naotsugu was friendly, and you wouldn't feel any age gap with hiht alllike him

Tohya who had been instructed by Naotsugu was confident in challenging any battles

( I will be challenging dungeons sooner or later, this is just a step onan independent Adventurer)

Saying he had no ambition was a lie

”Alright, Minori! Let's go! Toranda Forest!”

”I can't stand this, Tohya I will definitely catch up to your level!”

Minori seemed determined as well, as she looked at Tohya confidently

They bu

Under the night sky of the Sand Leaf zone and the crackling sound of the cainners were filled with anticipation and deter that started tomorrow

2

The next roup headed towards the central hilly region of Sand Leaf peninsula

There were no treacherous mountains in the peninsula On the contrary, it was filled with hills of varying sizes, so as a lake There ater flowing everywhere, the clear strea into the Sand Leaf River, or directly into the sea

Compared to the old world, it was less than a hundred km away frodom of nature

On their way here they had seen orioles, white face sparrows, pied kingfishers, birds that you could see in the old world They also saw some deer In the japanese server zones, wildlife like this could be seen everywhere

The trees were also reproducing virally, even though there were no mysterious ancient trees found in Akiba here, there were many of the even if they worked together And there were thousands of theht up into the sky Everyone was moved by this scenery

The twins grew up in Tokyo

They had never been so impressed and stunned by the power of nature

Minori was speechless, while Tohya kept repeating the word ”A!”

(The vocabulary of my brother is so limited, I feel embarrassed as his sister)

This was part of Minori's true feelings, but the other part of her was happy to see her brother's pure display of surprise and joy

After hiking along the hill for quite so away the trees Sweeping away the decaying leaves with their feet, they could see stone slates covering the ground There was a Torii with its color faded after many years of exposure to the elements

This seemed to be a shrine around here

The 14 people in the group dis from the school since dawn, and it was already noon when they arrived

Even though they rested a few times on their way here, Minori didn't expect they would need so much time to travel in the hills

In the center of the group was Naotsugu, Nyanta, and a Cleric sent frohts, Rezarick

Nyanta pointed at a large cavern entrance that everyone could see

”That is Ragranda Forest nya, but the inside is very spacious To put it siht at the first T junction, the route will be easier Going left will lead to aarea nya”

The beginners looked at the giant cave entrance and gulped

Even without Nyanta pointing it out, once they reached the plaza, their gazes were all focused at the entrance that was like a house made of boulders

Vines entangled the edge of the entrance, there were old and cru at the entrance, but there were no holy feelings here at all There was only a rotting smell, and the air could only be described as miasma

”Ah, there ht be small demon beasts inside, but the rest should be undead type”

Naotsugu warned the campers

Undead type

They were not fully dead for various reasons, or they still lingered in this world because of evil reasons like curses Moving using the power from spirits, the undead type monsters

The most common monsters of that type would be skeletons and zombies, but also included monsters that had no physical bodies like banshees

”This is a ca your own limits' is also a part of your battle power nya, you have to consider your retreat route at all timent on when to come out nya”

”That's right, you must treasure your life”

Nyanta and Naotsugu reminded them

”I will be setting up cau-san and Nyanta-san and wait for your return We will be caeon every day You don't need to clear it in one day You can recover your strength once you return to camp, you can relax here”

Rezarick looked strict, but he see person His words assured the campers

”Eh teacher is not co?”

Tohya shouted, Naotsugu nodded with a smile

”Of course, this is a training for beginners If experienced players tag along, that won't be training right? You are a vanguard as well, so you should understand that right? If I a”

When he put it that way, it made sense But Minori was still worried

Minori trusted Tohya, she even heard that he was an excellent tank (for beginners) What she orried about was her healing abilities

With Tohya holding down a key position, if he did not have the support of healers, he wouldn't be able to endure the attacks for long

But since their instructors Naotsugu and Nyanta said so, Minori had no objections They assigned them the task because they believed in their abilities, so the twins should respond by living up to their expectations

The other beginners also had worried expressions, but all of thehts to Minori

Next was party assignment

The dungeon had two halves, and the beginners were separated according to their strengths as well The tere in the weaker tearoup split into two as the Cleric read out their names

The weaker party had 5 people

The maximum number in a party was 6, so this was not an optiinners, this could not be helped

The crucial vanguard position with the duty of attracting and intercepting the enemies' attacks was filled by Tohya, Minori's twin brother He was a Samurai, level 29

In the central position was Isuzu, a slender and tall Bard She had been friends with Minori since their time in Hamelin, and was now in Crescent Moon Alliance She was a bubbly girl with freckles, wielding a 2-handed spear that was rare for a Bard She was 3 years older than Minori, a high school girl in the real world, level 24

There were 3 people in the rear guard

First was a young Sorcerer, Rundelhous He wore a flashy robe, and was very prominent with his snobbish behavior, a solo player not in any guild, level 23

Next was the Druid Serara When Minori escaped from Hamelin, Serara took care of her They found out their levels were close after talking, and they became friends

Serara was also in high school, so her age was closer to Isuzu She see close to him on the ride here, level 25

Minori herself was a Kannagi in the healer class, level 21, the weakest in the party shi+roe taught the to do with levels', but it still made Minori uneasy

The only redee point was that Serara the Druid was in the sah, Serara could pitch in as well

(Chief Nyantathe parties)

”Well then, let's begin the 15 y session”

Nyanta said ”Begin!” and clapped his hands, ending his instruction for the group

Minori's party gathered in confusion

If they looked to the other side, the party that was 5 levels higher than the a discussion in a circle

”Eh What should we talk about?”

Tohya asks the group

”Even if you say that”

Isuzu looked at the rest with a frown

”Hht?”

Rundelhous said confidently holding his 2-handed staff This youth had blond hair and green eyes, similar to a prince in fairy tales In Minori's eyes, his 'rich young”That is”

”Correct! You are right! Next will be the battlefield, it's a dungeon right? Dungeon! Fighting spirit is the most important!”

Tohya cut off Minori's words and shook both of Rundelhous' hands strongly

”That's right! You understand! Spirit is the raceful is important, but the essence of a man is spirit and passion!”

Rundelhous seemed very happy to have Tohya's support, and they became fast friends out of the blue

(But, I think we should discuss so like formation and patrol file)

”That's it, let's work hard together! We are coeon for a whole week after all!”

Isuzu had a smile over her freckled face

(I can't say it in this atmosphere)

Minori peeked to her side, Serara also had a troubled expression She smiled to reassure her, and she smiled in return, which put Minori at ease

As Minori's party continued to interact, the stronger party started to randa Forest Minori noticed this when Nyanta shouted: ”Work hard in your battles nya!”

Minori clenched her fists hard

After leaving Hamelin for 2 months, Minori was not completely useless Hamelin forced her to take up the subclass Tailor, which she was unfa and worked on leveling up together with Tohya under the guidance of shi+roe's group

After much hard work, Minori rose from level 12 to 21, but shi+roe warned the levels, so the overall training was progressing slowly

All their battles so far had been under the supervision of a high-level guild member

But even though they set up a camp outside to support theeon and defeat their enemies, so it was normal for them to feel nervous

Minori was not afraid of losing

She was afraid of doing soroup

When she thought sheand efforts put in by shi+roe's group, her knees would be like jelly, unable to walk properly

”Minori-cchi, are you okay nya?”

So Minori lift her head in shock Nyanta was in front of her with his usual slit eyes and a kind face This face with a hint of doubt, !”

Naotsugu looked at this scene and cohed softly

”Listen, if you encounter any trouble, res, but your hearts, can you promise me that?”

Naotsugu patted Minori's head, approached the other party members and spoke to them

Minori looked at his back

Naotsugu and Nyanta were encouraging and instructing her teaht tackle hiance was obvious, Tohya proratitude

”Alright, you are lagging a bit too o! Work hard!”

And so, Minori's party challenged a dungeon for the first time

3

The roup enjoyed their breakfast on a roomy terrace

The terrace the aathered in had all sorts of plants, the crystal atriuht summer sun

This terrace was about the size of a s tables, a very luxurious place

The dishes were very traditional, freshly baked bread, sunny-side-up eggs, cheese, haetable salad platters and various beverages, everything was decorated elegantly

shi+roe just needed raw eggs with rice for breakfast, but there was nothing to couildmaster Michitaka, this was ”hmmm quite normal”

Akiba's standard for food had been progressing rapidly for the past 2 h unknownshi+roe

Processed seasonings like soy sauce and miso soup had also debuted in the form of 'imitation versions' The neas that fer time could take up to years for it to have proper taste, the 'imitation version' skipped several processes and was an inferior product But to the people who had grown accustomed to the tasteless food of days past, this was a joyful taste

”Eh, my lord, pass me the jam please”

Akatsuki asked shi+roe while holding a piece of bread with her petite mouth Her sense of 'shi+nobi loyalty' see shi+roe as lord, the two of them had a normal relationshi+p

”Akatsuki-chan, you need to eat the salad too, or your skin will turn bad”

Henrietta was looking for ways to interact with Akatsuki, but Akatsuki lifted herself off the chair, getting ready to escape

”Such a co!”

Just as Michitaka said, the blue of thesky was spectacularly beautiful

Enclosed by a glass wall, there was no wind in the terrace, but it was cool here with several ays in the area There was no heat froht

”That's right”

'Berserker' Krusty was cal his tea The other members also helped themselves to breakfast When they first arrived at the terrace, the tables were much further apart, and there was an obvious difference in quality for each table

This should be the difference in treatment for nobles and servants

But the group was not bothered by this, they pulled the tables closer and passed the breadbasket around freely, picking the ones they preferred If there was not enough they could just take s, there were already people ere drinking their own green and thick beverages

”But this is luxurious, I did expect thee our accommodations, but not this level of service”

Henrietta stopped when she reached this point of her speech

After the banquet ended, the group was led to their living abodes, but instead of rooms, it should be described as zones

Situated on the southeast corner of the palace of this floor, there were twenty roo room, the terrace they were in, showers, a recreation roouests

”But if this is the case hmmm”

”What is the matter, shi+roe-dono?”

Michitaka inquired

”Michitaka-san, do we have a Chef here?”

”Of course, what's the issue?”

”I think we should getstaff need to be capable, between 3-6 people”

”Indeed”

Krusty nodded at shi+roe's request

”What is the probleht?”

shi+roe calmed Michitaka down

”No, the reason why they arranged such a big place for us is in anticipation that ould need to entertain guests as well I have always felt that 10 days is too long, but I understand now The s will be held in several sessions, but there will be s and invitations to talk, these are known as tea parties”

”That should be what is happening I was invited to ht of the banquet”

”Now you mention it, so was I”

”But I changed the topic tactfully”

Krusty concluded with a cold expression But in this situation, they would be receiving a lot more tea party invitations, and would be forced to attend soht it was best to be prepared

”I wonder what today'sschedule will be like Hey, Kaayu”

”Here boss”

Michitaka called for his aide fro the youth Kaayu to find out today's ence

After Kaayu left energetically, shi+roe, Michitaka and Krusty continued to drink their tea There were only the 3 of them at this table, but the other table ithin earshot, so they could discuss things together

” seems like this is more complicated than expected”

Krusty and shi+roe nodded to acknowledge Michitaka's point

League of Freedom Cities Eastal was formed by 24 noble families, 25 if you included the Round Table Council They were spread all across east japan, governing their own territories The ones that were larger in scale had a citadel city at es

Duke Sergead's Maiha the nobles, but only had a population of 30,000 at most

Of the 3 ladies who debuted last night, one was Marquis Lestar's daughter frohter of Freedoana But these two cities had a population of around 10,000, consideredthe nobles

If you thought about this you would understand Akiba with 15,000 Adventurers and total population of 20,000, was a force to reckon with Ignoring the fact of the individual battle prowess of Adventurers, the scale of the city itself ranked aue of Freedom Cities Eastal

Other than this, there were countless sion which were not under the control or protection of any nobles

These independent villages did not revolt against the lords In this world where monsters roamed freely, they yearned to be part of the nobles' territories to be protected But the nobles would decline with the reason 'it is too far frouard them

The duty of nobles was to ensure the safety of their citizens and territory If you viewed it from an extreme point, taxes were the price they paid for protection

There were also criminals within their territories, and there were also incidents of monster attacks But these incidents were different froanize defensive forces'

If it was in a distance that could be covered in a day of riding, the nobles would be able to send troops to protect these villages But any further they would need to station an army camp there

In this fantasy world, traveling tookthe roup of soldiers in order to expand their protection range was impossible to execute

There were also many farmers ere independent and preferred to not deal with nobles If the noble was able to increase their armed forces cheaply, there would be a possibility of an increase in taxes

(Just gaining intelligence on this is worth our time here)

The nobles also knew about the existence of Adventurers

Since the tiaes, escorting travelers, and defeating groups of monsters because of the nobles

Si mercenaries, they could put up job requests for Adventurers that normal soldiers didn't have the time to handle, or even outsource the soldiers' jobs to theht elsewhere

The pioneer villages not under the nobles' jurisdictions would also send requests to Adventurers when they were attacked by monsters or demihumans

After the Catastrophe,shi+roe spent the rasp the situation and to survive They also trained to learn how to use their skills here These pioneer villages definitely needed the aid of Adventurersthe lead, Adventurers everywhere were also having a revolution in technology, the nobles knew about this as well

”Seems like they want to recruit us, I can understand their feelings”

Michitaka added honey to his tea as he speaks

”Now I understand shi+roe-kun's speech to build relations with the People of the Land, right? We need to handle this part delicately, so Akiba won't be fazed by the situation I wonder what kind of divisive schemes they have up their sleeves”

”It is too early to let down our guard, it is highly possible they are just starting their divisive plots”

shi+roe replied in a low voice

Even if it was a bit delusional, his keen observations had already considered several negative ways this could play out

”The topic of division can be dealt with later, the i in the current phase is to understand their methods and operation philosophy, we need to start from there”

”That's right What are your views, shi+roe-kun?”

shi+roe summarized the situation he understood froht

”I think the intent of the nobles is quite obvious They wanted to understand the a, and to observe how barbaric we are But we have clearedus as intelligent and reasonable enough to communicate with Their next step is recruit to bestow a title of nobility on Krusty-san, there are no cons in doing that If they have a cat, they need to tie a bell on its neck, the nobles are stillin consensus up 'til this point There are some who object to this, but they will settle such disputes afterwards, prioritizing on the recruitment plan”

When shi+roe reached this point of his speech, the crystal door at the entrance of the terrace opened, Kaayu of Oceanic Syste inforave his report

”The official neill beappears to have been cancelled”

Krusty nodded curtly, Michitaka signaled Kaayu to continue

”I asked the other e This sees After starting with a banquet, there will be lunch sessions, tea parties, night parties, and dinner gatherings, so the nobles bring along e are small by comparison, that's e have soin the last few days where they will raise agendas they have arranged beforehand, which will be decided by a majority vote speedily”

shi+roe nodded in agreement

Thinking about it carefully, even if there were 24 members, their power and scale differed widely Cos to vote and discuss any dissenting opinions, dealing with each other privately and for alliances and compromise was a smoother way of communication In japan this was known as 'consultation', it was not a special idea

”Alright, the schedule for the next few days is obvious, Akiba has powerful military capabilities, the nobles understand this as well All who challenge us 1-on-1 will be seeking their own destruction, so they will be careful in contacting us But if they are successful in getting on good teres for them in this world As mentioned by Krusty-san and Michitaka-san, their invitations for s will increase Requests for Akiba's battle prowess, finance, talents, inventions, and tools will be overwhel We need to clear this probleotiations”

”So we need to set a basic policy for future talks Hmmm”

shi+roe's analysis made Michitaka frown, this was a troublesome issue indeed