Daichi: Updates are slow. For one reason, and one reason alone.

Tsukaimon: She plays Persona. Persona Q is how she got into it, and this. Meaning she is well acquainted with the Reaper. And the Reaping Shades are close enough to evoke trauma.

Verity: If she owned this, the FOEs would likely be fluffy bunnies.

Daichi: Hey, don't diss the bunnies. They are vicious.

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Aster,

Are you sure that was a Furyhorn- I mean, Ragelope- you killed? I've heard that Etria's forest used to be home to a weaker subspecies called the Fender, before they died out from overhunting. Maybe they aren't as extinct as we thought.

Just a reminder, however, that the Labyrinth has many freakishly strong opponents. And they aren't all as straightforward as the deer. The pumpkin that killed my old guild was invisible until it attacked us.

Best wishes,

Ariadne

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"She did warn us," Asterion sighed, folding up the letter before turning to where the charging boar had hit a tree. "On the bright side, these things don't seem very smart."

"Do you think I could cook one from the inside out?" Arthur asked. "I mean, the deer aren't that threatening..."

"Please don't..." Frederica told him.

"She's right," Simon agreed. "We've already made enemies of a herd of deer, let's not provoke the boars too."

"Please...? Just one-"

"No!"

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Ariadne,

So you were right. There are opponents who can ambush us. It's just boars, though. And they're easy enough to get out of the way of.

Of course, I've never heard of a stealth boar, so that may have something to do with it. We're going down to the third floor soon.

...Though, come to that, I've also never heard of a stealth pumpkin.

Aster

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Aster,

You shouldn't hurry on to the next floor too quickly. In High Lagaard, that's where the really vicious monsters start coming out. Bugs, flowers, all sorts of stuff.

And of course you've heard of a stealth pumpkin. I've told you about them. You just never listened to my old Labyrinth stories. Never mind that there's a reason that I never went back. You just had to go out and find your own Yggdrasil to play in.

You know, sometimes I wonder how many of these things there are, and if they're limited to just our planet. It's not like we'll ever know, though. Right?

Ariadne

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Alexander,

You know a lot of the old stories. And you've actually asked others about what happened to them in the Labyrinths. And if I brought this up to Ria, there's a decent chance she'd freak given the contents of her recent letters.

So, while we were deer hunting in the Labyrinth today, I saw this plant monster with long vines that danced down into a lower floor. And I know there's a story about it, but I don't want to ask anyone in Etria because... well... I don't want to sound paranoid.

Because I'm not. Ria's the paranoid one. Really!

I'm just curious.

Asterion

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Asterion,

While I cannot be certain, I believe that the monster you saw was a Mandrake. They have the power to lower an adventurer's defense, and are often taken as a sign of bad luck.

I hope this information was helpful to you.

Alexander

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Aster,

You saw a Mandrake!? I've heard of them. They ventured down the tree in High Lagaard before, although everyone was certain they came in from a higher Stratum. An undiscovered one.

Because here's the thing about the Yggdrasil Labyrinths. The further you get in one, the more powerful the monsters that appear. So far, nobody in High Lagaard has ever reached the fourth Stratum.

If nobody in Etria's mentioned Strata yet, they're groupings of five floors that make up an ecosystem. Every time you climb that fifth set of stairs, everything you know goes out the window.

Mandrakes on the third floor... Etria must be a terrifying place. Really glad I'm not there.

Ariadne

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Ariadne,

Etria can be a bit scary at times, what with the paranoia that every rock formation could be a Boulder Boar in disguise, but it's also rather beautiful. I spent the entire day in the Labyrinth today.

When you said vicious monsters appeared on the third floor, well, that's one thing these two Labyrinths have in common. The entire area we were exploring was swarmed by these gray mantises that chased after us, although they got tired easily.

One almost caught us, actually, but Frederica bound its legs, letting us make a clean getaway. Honestly, it was the room with three of them that was the most trouble, although I'm not sure who decided to install doors in the Labyrinth.

Another odd thing was the fact that we could still see the stars despite being three floors underground. I'm sure that'll stop happening eventually, especially since the place isn't fully explored.

We had to turn back after a certain point, however, which means we'll have to do all that again. And some of the insects seemed to be guarding unopened treasure chests, so we'll have to figure out a way to get at them.

Wish us luck,

Aster

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"You didn't tell her about Fenrir," Simon stated. Asterion sighed.

"I asked you to check my spelling, not criticize my life choices. Besides, we might not even get to it before the other guilds do. She worries enough as it is."

"And if you tell her after the fact?"

"As long as she doesn't trek here to chew me out, I'll be fine. And even if she does, I can just hide out in the Labyrinth. She's not a recognized explorer here, only in High Lagaard. Not that it matters, since she's clearly stated her desire never to enter one again."

"Oh?"

"Entire guild. Killed by a pumpkin. Sad, right?" He folded the letter and tucked it away. "I'll ask Rosa to get this delivered tomorrow. Thanks for your help."

"It's not a problem."

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Daichi: Aster tries to put on a professional front with his guildmates. It doesn't always work. Meanwhile, Ariadne continues to be your average Yggdrasil dropout.

Verity: I thought those tended to be dead.

Daichi: ...Average living Yggdrasil dropout.