Hello, ITalkToSky here.
Sorry for the long absence. The PhD program finally started in earnest and the workload is both crushing and baffling. There are a lot of readings and no one to test your knowledge on them. The only problem is that it shows in your project how much you know. But you are not here for my excuses.
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What the gap was going on, Lunaire desperately wished to ask, but the intended recipient was way out of reach. Frankly, this was the farthest distance he had ever put between him and Yukari. While not having her around to steal his snack was nice, being unable to reach her when needed was not so much.
Yukari's twisted sense of humor could easily fling him and his friends wherever she pleased, even in the middle of the oh-so welcoming Lunar Capital. He was sure the Watatsuki sisters would be so happy to see him. However, their undertaking involved more than just them, but the fate of Gensokyo itself. To create the new permanent home for the eastern paradise, even the dragons exhausted their effort to pitch in. Even Yukari would not mug about with so much on the line.
This meant that the very dirt he stood was unquestionably on Mars. Specifically, it was the far side of Mars, seeded with life by the dragons' power over creation. Yet, whether far or near side, it was unmistakably real, not some data construct hidden in a computing machine somewhere.
At first, Lunaire thought the adventurers were some sort of autonomous drones that existed in Theldesia, this world's local name. Probably created like golem by some magicians as a defense system against the monsters while gathering resources from a dangerous area. Briefly, after their arrival, these drones somehow gained personality. This would explain why some Landers responded strangely when he talked to them. Lunaire would also react that way if an autonomous golem suddenly started acting like a human, not just mimicking. But the truth was far more confusing.
Lunaire questioned many adventurers discretely in the pub. Since he could not dig too deep without exposing himself, he did not outright hear the answers but figured his conclusion was close to the truth. All the adventurers provided testimonies along the same line without contradiction.
They were sitting in front of their computers.
Lunaire was born and lived long enough in the outside world to witness the rise of gaming. By 1999, the year he departed to Gensokyo, gaming on a personal computer (Per-so-con, in Japanese portmanteau) already became a reality. Lunaire found the concept fascinating that one could squeeze out entertainment from a machine made to do advanced mathematics. With such knowledge, he had no trouble understanding what it was that they were doing.
Disregarding the oddity that all adventurers shared the same experience for a minute, Lunaire drew his first conclusion. Before they regained consciousness in Theldesia, they were sitting in front of their computers, playing the game and waiting for the new update to load. While he could not fathom the advancement in gaming, he understood the concepts.
From this, he concluded that these adventurers were not native, in the sense that they did not originate in this world. Unless there was some technologically advance pocket existing in this world, computer gaming was an impossibility here. The impetus behind the transference of their consciousness into their avatar was most likely the new update they installed into the game. As to their exact origin…
"Where are you from?" Throwing in a little disarming and sympathizing smile here and there, most people, especially women, talked. The concern of telling a stranger where they lived became a non-issue in Theldesia. In their minds, it would be best if he somehow found a way to reach their homes.
The answers varied but struck the chords, Shibuya, Fukuoka, Kyoto, Kanazawa, and many other cities. These adventurers were from Japan or god-forbid, Japan of the past or another unknown world highly similar with a Japan-like area. Lunaire did not want to imagine the later the possibility.
"What were you before all this mess?"
Engineers, teachers, college students, JSDF personnel, again, other familiar-sounding jobs. For computers and such jobs to exist, they must at least be from a more modern era of Japan, matching with the mansion's arrival, some time in 2018. But there was a catch.
Adventurers could belong to any of the 8 different races, human, elves, half-Alvs, Werecat, Wolf Fang, Fox Tail, Ritian. Apart from human, these beings did not exist or living openly in Japan to hold such a day job. From this Lunaire almost concluded that they came from a completely alternate world if not for one crucial information.
Back to the experienced shared by the adventurers, Lunaire believed he did a great job extracting the information about the nature of the game they played without spilling beans. Even if he sometimes received less than flattering stare.
The adventurers were playing the same game, Elder Tale. This very same game was the one they believed they were trapped within. They went on to say that the game mechanics were basically identical. Specifically, most were unsure whether they were trapped in the computer game or they were sent to a different world that operated like the game.
Drawing on the previous conclusion that Lunaire was truly on Mars, the later was most likely true. Somehow, they were trapped on the far side of Mars that operated like this game they called Elder Tale. This brought forth two questions.
Firstly, where exactly did the adventurers came from? Their consciousnesses arrived in this world through the game as if this was a movie called The Matrix, premiered back in 1999. Fine, he forced himself to swallow. But he could not conclude that these people came from the Earth he knew or a parallel world. Either way, he placed low priority in answering this question. The next question was more pressing.
Was the world mimicking the game or vice versa?
If the world mimicked the game, it might simply mean that the Dragons took inspiration from the game existing in the outside world when they created Theldesia. While certainly hilarious for the god-like beings to look at human construct for inspiration, Lunaire was more worried about the purpose. Dragons were not stupid enough to do this as a passing fancy. Something about the Elder Tale's setting made for a good groundwork to develop a world to house Gensokyo.
Yet, the fact that adventurers existed and actively participated in the world before the transfer made this conclusion unlikely.
If the game mimicked the world, then someone on Earth had information about their little project on Mars and somehow created a connection, as impossible as it sounded. This would allow the players to think they were playing a game but were actually manipulating an avatar on this world.
This boded ill for them. Their project was supposed to be kept secret. In particular, the Lunarians must never learn of this, lest they tried to interfere. Not only that, there was the fact that someone out there could fundamentally manipulate this world from Earth.
All this information would be meaningless if he could not integrate it into their course of action. Their goal was simple, preparation of Gensokyo's arrival. To that end, two conditions must be met.
All hostile threat to Gensokyo's existence must be pacified. This did not mean a genocidal campaign. Generally, threats should be negotiated away. If they could reason out, an accord could be struck to achieve peace. On the other hand, no quarter would be shown against those who could not or would not listen or had their fundamental needs that conflicted directly against Gensokyo. Such threats must be purged.
Besides, Theldesia's time ran a few times faster than the standard time, a factor included to help speed the world's evolution along. Somehow, they must correct and slow down the flow of time of an entire world, straightforward but tedious. They had a lot of time as a few years in Theldesia might be only a few weeks or months on Earth.
Regarding their directive, the least of their concern was the origin of the adventurers. Other than coming off as people living under the rock in term of technology, interacting with adventurers should not be too problematic. The only thing they needed to be careful was to be conservative about revealing their more…esoteric skillset.
In the likely scenarios that the Lunarians learned of their plan, they would try to stop it. The only question was how much chip they were willing to throw in. Best case was that only a few raiding parties of moon rabbit arrived to thwart their effort. Even a swarm of moon rabbits, armed with futuristic rifles, could not match up to their might. But God-forbid, if the Lunarians threw caution to the wind and went all in, sending their crème de la crème, nothing could be done. Toyohime would mop the floor with them, let alone with her sister. The only course of action he could take was to prepare the best defense and pray for deliverance.
As for the guy who was capable of interfering with the very workings of this world, Lunaire had no idea where to start. Other than investigating the method such feat was done, he could think of nothing else against the enemy or not-enemy, whose motivation was completely unknown.
Although simplistic, such was Lunaire's way. Better than spending his time brooding all day about the inevitabilities, Lunaire devised a working solution and soldiered forward.
He…They had a job to do and they certainly knew it wouldn't be easy.
Although he spent the better part of the morning at the pub, he felt like a year had passed for him. Numbness crept up his temple, tempting him to indulge in the pub's selection of ale. The fact that all tasted like tap water stopped him. He had a much better place to spend his money and time.
His heavy heart urged him to just return to the mansion and inform the rest of this grand revelation when they returned. But again, he restrained himself. He left the mansion with a handful of missions to complete.
The hard part was over, Lunaire assured himself. Though straightforward, Lunaire put off the second task for its tedious and time-consuming nature. Unlike gathering information that could be done in a public area, he had no idea where to go to solve the next mission. He only knew that he had to start asking around, so he slapped his cheeks crisply and started.
Walking about the main thoroughfare, ignoring the empty eyes of the adventurers stumbling about, Lunaire looked for the seamstress. The dilapidated multistory buildings on the two sides housed various shops. Some looked slightly better than shacks, while others were tastefully decorated. Keeping his focus, he found his target before long.
Callister's storefront appeared small, but the depth made up most of the show space. Even with the lack of any natural source of light other than the entrance, the magical lamps illuminated the space with a yellow candle-like glow. While the yellow light smothered the color of their selection, Lunaire liked the general welcoming atmosphere. Smoothening out the creases on his shirt, he took a deep breath and plunged in.
A cute lady manned the counter. She only came up to his chin in height. Her maple-colored hair reached down to her shoulders, giving her a refreshing look that complemented her droopy eyes. Dressed in a simple blue one-piece and an apron, the girl glanced at him as he approached.
Since the lady manning the counter could not be treated like children anymore, Lunaire chose a more conservative estimate. "Hello, miss."
"Oh! Hello there handsome, what kind of clothes are you looking for…" She trailed off. "You are…"
"Please call me Lunaire," he smiled.
"Bina," she paused. "May I ask, are you an adventurer?"
"Yes, what gave it away?"
"Your staff, most armed people around this part are either adventures or merchant escort."
"How can you tell that I am not the latter?" Lunaire chuckled softly.
"Intuition," she puffed her cheek. "Also, that staff is quite well made. Not many mercenaries could have something like it."
"Alright then, miss Bina. I have a little question that I hope you can answer." Lunaire smiled disarmingly, hoping not to spook the girl. "I am new to this city, just arrived yesterday."
"Go on," the girl smiled knowingly.
It was not strange to try familiarizing with the new surroundings. Yet, out of all the shops around, this man chose to go out of his way to ask her a question. Unfortunately, her intuition was wrong this time. Hitting on girls was probably the last thing on his mind at that moment.
"I wish to know which trading firm is reputable in this city, the one dealing with women's gown."
"Ah…what kind are you looking for," she giggled and gestured with her hand toward the selection behind her. Her smile only widened.
Lunaire rubbed the back of his head. "Instead of looking for, I am actually selling one on behalf of my friend."
"Is that so…In that case, our shop also accepts goods as well. Provided that you can meet our demand." Bina thrust out her ample asset and raised her chin high.
Lunaire chuckled at her endearing display of pride in her shop. Inwardly, he felt quite troubled. With only one sweep of his eyes, he risked sounding arrogant in his assessment, but their selection was only so-so. While excellent made for daily uses, the item hidden in his inventory was a completely different animal altogether. He highly doubted that this shop could handle it.
Briefly cupping his chin and mumbling to himself, he groaned and finally give up. His exhausted mind struggled to strain out any polite way to inform her, so he pulled up his inventory and let Alice's handiwork speak for itself.
In a spectacular display, strands and specks of seemingly solid light coalesced into a human-shaped figure. Bina shielded her eyes from the light, which promptly vanished as suddenly as it appeared. Before the silver-haired magician, a gown appeared along with the mannequin.
Tailored in a completely different style than the conventional standard, the gown featured no puffy sleeves, opting to display the shoulders of the wearer. Cutting the shape of an hourglass, the dress emphasized the bodyline without appearing too vulgar. Rather than the voluminous skirt, it had a refreshing looking narrow skirt.
From the chest down to the hem of the skirt ran a gradient of color from midnight blue to bright aqua blue. Made from the fabric Bina had never seen before, the gown gleamed with glossy luster while appearing lighter than a feather. Blue and silver thread embroidery added exquisiteness to the entire complement.
A thin white and black sash wrapped around the waist, emphasizing the delicate figure of the wearer. Trailing from the little pins on the sash, laces of silvery pearls wrapped around the skirt, giving yet another dimension.
"Uh…"
"Um…"
"Ahem, without trying to be impolite, I simply want to know where in this city can take in this dress." Lunaire smiled awkwardly.
"Ahaha," Bina laughed awkwardly before faking a dry cough. "I totally understand. Rather, I must apologize. Please don't take my previous comment as an insult."
"No worry, miss. It was an honest mistake."
"The only place that can accept such a…gorgeous gown is the firm dealing with the aristocracy." She paused before looking straight into his purplish-blue eyes. "I have to admit that I am out of my element in this regard. Perhaps, my mother can help."
"By all means, please," he bowed politely.
"Mother!" Bina cupped her hands and bellowed into the interior of the shop.
A moment of silence followed. Then, Lunaire head a gentle creaking of the wood boards from further in. Craning his neck, he saw a lady descending the stair. Wearing a simple, light-weight dress with an apron, the middle-age madam spoke softly but authority.
"What is it, Bina? I thought I taught you all you need to handle a customer."
"If he is a normal customer, I will not have so much trouble." Bina winked mischievously at him as payback.
At her gesture, the madam gained a strange vigor in her steps. Quickly approaching, her grey eyes scrutinize Lunaire from the strands of his hair to the tips of his toes. She stared deeply into Lunaire's eyes. For some reason, he could have sworn that he saw the barely contained excitement in that tired pair of eyes.
"Good morning, madam. I came here to inquire whether there is any establishment around here that could take in this dress." Lunaire stepped back a little, allowing the new arrival a look toward the dress, previously concealed by the hanging rack and his body.
"I am sure we can…oh."
The madam fell silent. Rather than alleviating the tension, Lunaire felt a palpable pressure in the air as the grey eyes bore into the evening gown on the mannequin. He silently took a step back from the strange air emitted by the middle-age woman, slightly cowed by her fervor.
"Is this your handiwork?" The madam asked. "Of course not, ma'am. I am only responsible for the minor accessories that this entire dress is pretty much my friend's. Entrusting this piece to me, we hope to find a good owner for it."
Lunaire chuckled nervously. Something deep in his gut warned him to never say yes, not that he would ever take credit from Alice.
"Who is this friend of yours?"
"I am sorry, ma'am. My friend wishes to remain anonymous for now. Being pestered for a dress by nobility does not sound too appealing."
"Understandable…Young man," she paused.
"Yes?"
"The only establishment that can take this in is the Maihama Firm. They are based on Maihama City, but they have a local branch in Akiba. I suggest you take this there." The madam explained plainly.
Lunaire tilted his head and inquired, "only one?"
"While many local firms often deal with the nobility one way or the other, Maihama Firm is probably the only one that can give the most exposure and a direct route to the high society. If there is something that Maihama Firm doesn't lack, it is their funding and backing."
"Understood," Lunaire tried to utter a thank but the madam cut him off.
"Don't you dare just sell this thing off," she raised her finger at his face warningly. "Something of this caliber is worthy of a fight among the aristocracy."
Lunaire thrust out his chest and answered with mock haughtiness. "Of course, ma'am. If they refused to put this evening gown on the auction, I will personally travel to their headquarter to file a complaint."
"Oh, look at him! At least he got the spirit," Bina snickered.
"Make it so, young man."
The proprietress patiently informed him of the Maihama Firm's branch office. Lunaire fully exploited his setting as a newcomer and asked for any local interest in Akiba. Overall, the trip yielded a great result for him.
"Now then, I better be on my way. Is there a way I could repay you for your time?"
"Well," Bina craned her neck to her mother.
"If it is not too much to ask, can you tell us what type of fabric was used in this dress."
"I can certainly tell you that much. It is silk."
And thus, Lunaire regurgitated the technical details of silk, which was pretty much the only thing he bothered remembering, to the pair of mother and daughter. Since it was their trade, they listened with rapt attention, much to his pleasure.
Before he left, he stored the whole mannequin back into his inventory, shocking the madam with his status as an adventurer. Apparently, the people of the land had no access to the inventory system, another detail to commit to memory.
"Just where did you get all this."
"I have my source."
"We are not fenced you know."
"Ask yourself whether you think you can find something like this elsewhere."
Albertine Gilford, the head of the branch, grumbled. Silver boy, who popped out of blue, nailed it in the head. This display before him was a collection of novelty and ridiculousness that he could not help but concede.
The hourglass shape of the dress was maintained without the external corset. The interesting folds and embroidery made for an elegant and refreshing style that could no doubt influence the court fashion in the year to come. However, that was the least of the surprise.
Even a man as well-traveled and well-connected as Albertine, he had rarely seen such a glossy and smooth fabric that seemed to flow weightlessly on his hand. At times, the fabric also felt cold to the touch as if the wind caressed his rough hands. At must be silk, he thought but was not sure, having never seen any source that could produce such impeccable fabric. The gradient of the dye was also shocking well-made, emphasized by the light scattering off the flowing dress. Most likely, a fabric with this property could not be found on Yamato, or probably exclusive to a high-level dungeon.
Yet, nothing shocked him more than the quantity and the quality of the pearl. The nacre was thick. The clarity of the reflection was top-notch that he could see his beardy face on its surface. Such pearls could generally be found in the earrings and rings possessed by the high nobility. Out of many harvested pearls, few could reach this quality. Albertine was too frightened to imagine how much it might have cost to procure all this. There was no recent news of a large amount of jewelry stolen, so these were probably legitimate.
"So, auction?"
"Kiddo, if I say I will buy it for a flat price, I will be too ashamed to live." The large man chuckled in his seat, creaking the chair from the shifting weight.
Lunaire highly doubted that to be the case. There were people who would try to get away with whatever they could, and he knew Albertine too little to not discount him as such.
"What do you think will be the starting price?" Lunaire grinned widely, warning Albertine to pull no funny business.
"100,000 gold coins are the bare minimum. But," Albertine paused. "That is just the beginning of a war that will leave someone with a broken bank."
A grin naturally surfaced on Lunaire's face. "Now, we are talking sense…10 million?"
"Greedy aren't cha," Albertine wagged his finger in chastisement, but his grin made it not so persuasive. "Though you are probably right. That is the very most even the richest and the vainest aristocrat will spend for a dress, even one as exquisite as this. Maybe…8 million might be more reasonable."
"Not bad, if I do say so myself."
Suddenly, their eyes grew cold. They were friendly when discussing the size of the whole pie. That friendliness evaporated without a trace when it came to dividing up the pie, namely the commission. As an incentive to take in the items for auction, the house usually charged a percentage fee from the gross sale. The prismatic blue eyes locked straight with the hazel pairs in a contest for dominance. Seeing that none faltered, Albertine threw his dice first.
"Twent-"
"Say twenty and I leave," Lunaire responded with his most saccharine smile.
"O-of course not, I meant eighteen." The man grinned back, pretending that he meant eighteen all along, even if the first syllable was entirely different.
The silver-haired magician deadpanned and then blinked. A deliberately soft and slow chuckle escaped from his lips, rattling the nerve of the older merchant. "Ten."
"You must be joking." Albertine slammed his hand on the table in totally fake outrage. As a seasoned merchant, he knew that Lunaire honestly did not expect a deal to be struct at ten percent. In all honesty, he did not expect the whole twenty percent commission anyway. "No matter the quality of your goods, this is still the most prestigious auction house in Eastal."
"I can settle for second-best or third-best."
"Grr, fine! Fifteen, not going any lower than that."
"I thought I heard thirteen."
"Don't push your luck kid. Either you take fifteen or you have to walk to Maihama and find your own deal."
"Oh," a weak response followed. Neither raging nor submitting like expected, Lunaire's lukewarm reaction unnerved the bearded man. Lunaire then flicked his finger, tapping at the crystalline staff leaning on the sofa. Rather than a dry knock, the staff seemed to sing like a little bell from the tap.
"You forgot…I am an adventurer."
A markedly higher individual strength of an adventurer made a road trip to Maihama quite tolerable. Most high-level monsters kept away from the road while the small fries posed little threat. Since the auction was only a few days away, Albertine concluded that Lunaire would make it in time for the auction season with time to spare. Knowing that the hard approach did not work, he changed his gear.
"Kiddo. Think about it. Maihama Firm's auction house is the best you could get. The elites from Ducal families and other high nobles will prioritize our items. You might get a bigger cut from second-rate houses, but the whole pie will be smaller." Albertine made a circular gesture with his hand to demonstrate his point. His leveled voice showed his great experience in this matter.
If Lunaire continued to push bullishly, they would be stuck in a deadlock for the rest of the evening. Albertine seemed unwilling to part from the deal, yet would not allow the deal to past through on Lunaire's term. The situation hardly appealed to the magician.
"Hmm," Lunaire hummed. "Fine! Fifteen it is then."
"Great!" Albertine slapped his thigh and reached forward for a handshake.
"For a one-time deal," Lunaire reached his hand forward in response.
"Wait, what?" The soft muttering froze the large man in his track.
"Fifteen it is," Lunaire intentionally repeating the wrong phrase earned him the crossed look from the merchant. "For a one-time deal."
"Uh…I…" Albertine stuttered.
"Did you think that there are no more goodies where this," Lunaire emphasized by pointing at the dress, "came from?"
"You…might be right about hearing thirte-."
"My memory said twelve."
"…" Albertine took a long, deep breath.
"I am not pushing it down any further. I promise." Lunaire shook his hands innocently, weathering the glare from the older man.
At last, after a long contest of will, Albertine relented. He slumped back into the couch, sighed and covered his eyes with his giant palms. Lunaire did not miss the exhausted groan from the man.
"I need to discuss this with the president. Give me a few more days and I might have contract paperwork ready for you."
"What ensures that you follow the agreement on the contract?"
"Is this your first time doing a large business deal? Of course, it is a magical contract, signed by me. When the deal is a big one like this, the president needs to sign as well."
"The punishment?" Lunaire tilted his head.
"Oi, oi, you are not seriously considering that the Maihama Firm will cheat you." Albertine looked at Lunaire as if he had grown three more heads. "Whatever…if either party decided to break the agreement, the contract will exert a strong compulsion to follow the stipulations anyway."
"But can't you resist it."
"You technically can. But you, me and president do not have the level for it. My eyes can tell."
"Hmm, alright, but I am sending my people to supervise."
"Suit yourself, why don't cha." Then, a strange gleam appeared in Albertine's eyes. "To help speed the discussion along, can I make a sketch of this dress."
"Hahaha!" Lunaire laughed derisively. "And let you copy its design?"
"Tch," the merchant clicked his tongue annoyingly.
Albertine mumbled to himself that he needed a few kegs of ale as he escorted the magician out the heavy wooden door. He blocked the afternoon sun with his calloused hand and ushered Lunaire off.
"Well, see you later."
"Right, after all the trouble I went through. Don't disappear on me."
"Of course not," Lunaire snorted. "It's not just you who want the money."
"Damn straight brat," Albertine fired back.
Hearing a resounding thud, Lunaire walked away naturally. Since the business was concluded and neither party willing to get too chummy, he had nothing left to do here. Though frankly, he quite liked the giant for a business partner. Lunaire did not mind his rough mannerism and preferred it when the merchant did not constantly bootlick him.
Looking up, Lunaire sighed, satisfied that he managed to finish his agenda by early afternoon. He now had the rest of the afternoon for himself. Maybe he could get on the strange feeling in the forest from yesterday after a nice filling lunch, he thought.
Maihama Firm office located at a rather large street junction, right next to an overpass, overgrown with vegetation. The roof already was blown off by the elements, the concrete structure still looked solid to the eyes. Indulging his passing interest, Lunaire ascended the steps and treated himself to the view of one of Akiba's main streets.
Lunaire smiled gently. After taking a good look, the feral wilderness encroaching upon the modern city possessed a strange charm. The only thing detracting from the impression was the adventurers shambling about lifelessly like zombies.
Accidentally ruining his mood, he sighed intermittently as he made his way back to the mansion. The unfamiliar surrounding gave way for the familiar thoroughfare. As he neared the collapsed sign that marked the alleyway leading to the mansion, a voice called out to him.
"Hey! You were that guy from yesterday."
"Oh, hello there, that guy from yesterday." An unintentional sass slipped out.
The middle-aged man laughed awkwardly. "Sorry, I did not quite catch your name."
The first impression was crucial as people usually remember stranger by one key detail that stood out. For this man, Lunaire only remembered wondering the reason he wanted buckets of slime. The magician veered his head to the side, hiding the snicker from the fruit stall owner.
"Wait, this is not the point." Collecting himself, the man redoubled his vigor. "Don't you guys accept quest anymore?"
"I don't know about other people, but I still do if it interests me." Lunaire shrugged.
"You won't be accepting quest anymore too?"
Lunaire frowned and said, "I can't exactly hunt slime for you for the rest of my days."
"Oh, right…That reason, I can understand."
Instead of jumping into another tirade, the man calmed down considerably quickly. Lunaire thought that the man was used to it. The system in place upgraded the capability of the adventurers as they leveled up. Before long, hunting slimes for a handful of coins would hold little appeal. At most, an adventurer would repeat a task twice for the man before moving on. Though it begged the question.
A week and most adventurers would progress past the stage of hunting would the man rely on, Lunaire wondered?
Then again, this was hardly his business. He was not running a charity and had much bigger fish to fry. He might sometimes be a softie, but he was in no way an idealist. He possessed neither the power nor the desire to save everyone.
"Where will you get your slime gel then?" It did not hurt to ask, Lunaire thought.
Unfortunately, it had the unintended side effect of evaporating most of the sympathy he felt for the man. Apparently, the hunters', ran by the Landers, sold most low-level monster parts. It would simply cost a slight bit more than directly asking the adventurers. Rather than a pure necessity, their service was simply highly preferred. Lunaire was not sure how big of a cut, but he figured the business would survive for the foreseeable as the man did not look too desperate.
"Anyway, what is this about adventurers not accepting the quest?" Not wasting an opportunity to fish for information, Lunaire asked anyway.
"None of the adventurers is interested in taking a quest anymore. I gave some of them a holler, but they simply pass right by. Those were the nicest one. Don't get me started on the ones that aren't. You should have seen how they look at me, scoffing and muttering something about damn en-pee-see!"
NPCs or Non-Player-Characters was another jargon Lunaire learned. Apparently, some idiots still believed that this world was the matrix. How lovely, Lunaire thought snidely.
If anyone hadn't noticed yet, the real world did not exactly have a continue button, nor was there any easy mode either. This universal law was not a new realization as Lunaire lived it. If these adventurers still treated their current lives like in a game, they would be in for a rude awakening…before the oblivion took them.
In an ironic twist of fate, it was Lunaire who was in for a rude awakening. For in this world, at least when adventurers were concerned, people did not die when they were killed.
Zone: Archive Forest Tower
It all started just because Lunaire wanted to do some leveling. Understanding the plight of magicians with insufficient mana reserve, he thoughtfully invited Alice and Marisa with him to share in the bounty. The two should be able to handle themselves, he thought.
As the one with larger reserve, he maintained magic barriers around them, voiding the chance that a stray arrow taking them out. In this part of the zone, closer to the city, the monsters were slightly under-leveled. He could easily baby the two. Oh, boy was he wrong.
"Damn," Lunaire cursed underneath his breath. "Get back, green skins! Burn!"
A blue brilliance flared before the torrent of flame enveloped the wide swath of woodland before him. Even if the trees in late spring still packed plenty of moisture, the flame indiscriminately reduced all caught within to ash.
As the azure conflagration faded to a more natural red-hot flame, Lunaire saw a handful of stragglers lucky enough to avoid the worst of the fire. Crawling on the dirt, they struggled to regain their feet with whatever life remained in them, no doubt preparing another reckless assault. Streams of colorful light gushed out from behind him, sending them back to the ground for good.
Unfortunately, that was not the end. Lunaire's spell only burned the enemies in front. Those around the flanks got off scot-free. A barrage of arrows peppered the ground around him. He lazily dodged as needed.
His sense homed in on the brightest spot on his mana sense. By then, words already rolled off his mouth. "Both of you, pin them down." He pointed to the left.
Alice and Marisa followed without question. Shanghai led her fellow dolls into the fray, spraying countless colorful bullets at the goblins. The monsters duck and sought cover, but the flying menace would not allow them a reprieve, constantly chipping at their HP. At some point, the goblins tried to retaliate with their stone cleavers and crude bows. Needless to say, the dolls were too high, too small and too nimble for any of those to be effective.
Yet, there was a limit to what mere five dolls could do. Some of the smarter ones decided to break cover and make for the two girls. Marisa caught on quickly and blasted them with her magic beam, boring through some while severely scalding the others. For those that got uncomfortably close, a barrage of star-shaped bullets sent them flying back.
Seeing that their few brethren managed to reach the two magicians raised the goblin's morale. Those armed with melee weapons began charging toward the two, disregarding Shanghai entirely. Marisa's screen could not hope to stop them.
The two magicians locked eyes briefly before they respectively withdrew an item from their inventory. Marisa rubbed the small clay bottle in her hand, while Alice poured her mana in the strange doll in her hand.
When the goblins cross an invisible threshold, Alice sprung to action, throwing the doll in her hand with all her strength. The doll flew true, straight into the front of their group and exploded. The goblins survived but knocked off their feet. To the disoriented goblin, Marisa had a gift. When the clay bottle shattered among them, the content spilled and burst into searing azure flame.
On the other side, Lunaire contended with another group. Led by a shaman, the goblins appeared more coordinated. Their vanguard spread into two wings, aiming to surround him. A crude but effective plan if only because of his low reserve.
Then again, the shaman made a stupid move of walking into his line of sight. Although Lunaire had many options in his prime to target enemies without visual, it was quite problematic in his current state. So, it was quite gracious of the shaman.
A quick mumble and a small sphere of flame appeared. The blue flame billowed eerily, flickering left and right as Lunaire maneuvered away from the arrows. Growing brightly, the sphere bolted out. By the time the shaman noticed it, the bolt had arrived. With no defensive spell in place, the bolt pierced its hide with ease and then exploded. Packing enough mana to efficiently take out even the largest goblin let alone a lanky shaman, so he exploded spectacularly in a shower of gore. There was no kill like overkill. He just needed their leader gone.
"Flashbang," Lunaire mumbled with a grin. Reisen would shiver if she heard this word as it was her bane during their spar.
Just like its namesake, the bolt of this spell would detonate and stun the enemies with bright light and concussive blast. However, unlike a conventional flashbang explosive, the spell could be launched accurately and en masse.
Five pure white wisps spawned and circled protectively around his staff. Rather than launching it at his enemies, he charged into melee. Lobbing the wisps before swooping in, he butchered them to the last.
"You say this is not normal, right?" The crisp voice rang behind him.
"Absolutely not."
"That was a riot, ze." Marisa saw Lunaire looking at her crossly. "But I sure don't want to face this again…for the third time."
"So much for 'at most a dozen at a time,'" Alice quoted his earlier reassurance.
"More like thirty assorted monsters, ze!"
Just as Marisa said, they encountered unnaturally large numbers of monsters. During yesterday hunt, the six members often found only a dozen of monsters to tango at once. In contrast, the three-faced unceasing combat ever since they entered the area. Dozens upon dozens of goblins, Briar Weasels, and other monsters threw themselves upon them.
It was as if the monsters were attracted to their group, a worrying possibility. Taking no chances, Lunaire immediately requested support from Reisen's group hunting in the area.
A flash of lilac burst out from the tree line. "We are here!"
"A little late but appreciate it." Lunaire waved.
A high pitch childish voice teased. "What is wrong, Lunaire? Can't handle some goblins?"
"You can say that when you don't have like…thirty of them running at you!"
"And you said it as if that was a bad thing," Remilia tilted her head.
Lunaire opened his mouth to retort, but his words went unsaid. Remilia had a point. While the monsters being drawn to them en-mass might seemed horrible, it played to the objective of raising their level as swiftly as possible.
He changed his tune, proposing to drop Alice and Marisa back at the city before continuing with the hunt. However, Patchouli quickly noted that the two might be the key to drawing in the monsters. Since when Lunaire fought with them yesterday, they did not struggle with the torrent of monsters.
"All of us should go in a little deeper. We don't need to fight the strongest monsters we can take, only the middling ones will do."
Not updated on their progress in the morning, Lunaire inquired. "What are your and the monsters' levels?"
"Ours are around 28 and 29, while theirs were around mid to upper thirties," Reisen replied.
Unknown to them, the other players would have labeled them lunatics to even consider enemies more five levels above their own as middling. And what would they have to say about calling a mid-forties level monsters interesting challenge?
"Fourteen," Lunaire pointed to the blonds beside him.
"That's awfully fast," Remilia blinked cutely.
"Thanks to them," Lunaire pointed at the devastation before him. He expended quite a bit of mana, so it was only proper. "But there is something strange."
"Shoot," Reisen replied.
"Unlike what Lunaire said, the EXP points from his kills were not shared with us. We only leveled up through our own kill in the beginning, quite difficult." Alice explained.
"Our party EXP sharing is working just fine, right?" Remilia tilted her head toward Sakuya, who nodded in confirmation.
"I…might have an explanation for that," Lunaire paused. "But it is quite a long story. Can we save it for after the hunt?"
Remilia shrugged. "Why not? If you believe it is not important now, then it can wait."
Lunaire smiled, feeling a little warm from the implicit trust in her words. She may be childish at times, but she knew what to say to cheer him up.
"So, how about this? You guy take a quick break, while I get Alice and Marisa a little more level. Just 18 to be safe." Lunaire then grinned. "Then we go to have some fun."
"Good decision, make it so!" Remilia ordered with mock haughty, high pitch voice.
Somehow, Lunaire sympathized with the monsters. No doubt, the strange attraction they felt toward his party was a game mechanic. If he had to guess, it was implemented to prevent the high-level players from killing strong enemies while letting weaker players leach off their effort. Doing so would make leveling up too convenient to be fair. Perhaps as a punishment or deterrent, the monsters aggressively swarmed their party, hopefully taking out said strong players or the leaches.
Ironically, the rule preventing loophole could, in turn, be exploited to a gross degree, drawing hordes of monsters toward the adventurers ready to meet them. Finally, the rules of this strange world worked to their favor.
During their enjoyable time purging monster and charring the verdant landscape in the process, something resonated with Lunaire sense. Demanding his attention, Lunaire made a note to trace down the feeling later. He knew better to not wander off by himself when hordes of monsters constantly made a play for their lives.
His opportunity came soon after when Alice's and Marisa's level caught up to where the world decided not to punish-slash-indulge them anymore. Yellow sunlight shifted toward orange, but they still had some time before night fell. The feeling also led them slightly closer toward Akiba, generally meant safer area. Their level boost and lack of monster swarms to contend with guaranteed a good safety margin.
Despite the winding maze of trees and ruined buildings, Lunaire led the way confidently. Like a lighthouse to his mana sense, mere foliage could not deter him. As the group crested over the small hill, Lunaire mumbled.
"Now, this certainly is not what I expected to find."
Before their eyes was a clearing, littered with boulders of various sizes, dotted with some mushrooms and plants. The chirping birds and critters frolicking about made the area quite suitable for a picnic.
"Well, would you look at this, a mana spot…" Remilia chimed excitedly, but then her expression quickly soured. "But this is not something to write home about. Definitely not worth bringing all of us."
Remilia had a point as a few of them nodded along with her. To the mana sensitive individuals, the place radiated subdued power, strong enough to be noticed but hardly adequate for a serious magician. If Lunaire truly needed a power spot, constructing a large array back at the mansion would be more worthwhile.
Patchouli, the only one who stared deeply at the boulders, rubbed her chin in thought. Lunaire glanced at her appreciatively. She realized that there was more than meet the eyes, an impressive feat given that her research had nothing to do with it. Though it did not stop him from teasing her a little.
"You are making quite a difficult expression."
"Do you know what this is?" Rightly, she confidently implied that this was not an ordinary power spot.
"A treasure trove for me. This thing in front of me should propel my research for about five decades or so."
"So important," Alice's eyes widened in surprise. She extended her mana sense toward the not power spot, all the while asking, "But that does not explain what it is."
"It is no wonder all of you don't recognize it," Lunaire spoke understandingly. "It is something more prominent in the occident, specifically Europe."
Glancing toward Remilia and Patchouli, he resisted the urge to snicker. Remilia sported a cute pout like a child being made light of. Patchouli, on the other hand, he could see the gears turning furious in her head, rifling through the literature and her memories.
Before her brain overheated, Lunaire answered, "Fairy Ring."
"Ah." A light bulb lit up above Patchouli's head. Analyzing its property could benefit his research greatly. Unfortunately, Fairy Ring did not exist in Gensokyo. No wonder his giddiness, she thought.
Seeing that he had just lost most of his audiences, Lunaire cleared his throat. "I will take this on a tangent but bear with me. Have you ever wondered how some sages got to the moon and became Lunarians in the first place?"
"Rocket," Remilia said jokingly.
Even while knowing that it was a jest, the rest could not hold their laughter. Lunarians possessed the most advanced technology and magical knowledge existed and build the most advanced civilization known. For them to use such an inefficient method like rocket seemed so comically uncharacteristic.
"It is based on quantum theories that had just begun to crop up in the outside world. In short, most events are possible and anything that can happen will happen eventually. While you might think that you can't simply walk through the wall, there is an astronomically small chance it can happen. There are complex explanations for that but believe me. If you try it for eons upon eons, you will eventually pass through."
"I have heard something about that," Reisen chimed up. "The first Lunarians came to the moon by exploiting the minute probability that somehow the creatures from earth find their way to the moon."
"So, they got there by dumb luck? Like your magic?" Meiling asked.
"Similar to my magic, but not luck. My magic is not luck, China!" For some reason, Meiling could not help but label his magic as luck, even though it had nothing to do with it. He held back his building tirade and continued. "It is the manipulation of probability. It like changing the dice throw form 12-sided to 6-sided. It is more likely to get the highest number on 6-sided dice, yes?"
The rest nodded, although Meiling looked a little lost. He sighed and continued.
"As to why this is important, there is a possibility that two distant locations can be entangled, allowing a quick shortcut like Yukari's gap. Through some freak coincidence, the stars, topography and various other factors align and suddenly you can cross continents in mere seconds. This connection is transient and possibly is the cause of various spirited away incidents in the west. The unfortunate victims might wander into another continent entirely before the connection broke down."
"However, if the connection is stabilized with local features," Patchouli gestured toward the boulders, arranged into a haphazard circle. "Then, the Fairy Ring, a permanent gap is created."
Lunaire nodded. "Using it, you can travel to the location connected to this Fairy Ring almost instantaneously."
"That sounds too…convenient," Alice said hesitantly.
"Agreed," Marisa nodded.
"Right, for something so convenient, why is there no record about it? Why is no one using it constantly? Establishing a cross-continental trade route will be a breeze with Fairy Rings." Remilia asked in disbelief that such a thing can go unexploited. Some humans would use anything they found even without complete understanding if the benefits outweighed the risks.
"It is not that easy. They are rare, to say the least, so there are barely any records about them," Seeing that Remilia was about to argue, Patchouli answered. "Even if you managed to find one, it is quite difficult to use."
"Firstly, the connection is not always open. Most people cannot predict when the ring is usable, let alone create a timetable to facilitate regular travel. Secondly, most Fairy Rings are connected to multiple other rings. On one day or even minute, it might send you to India, and the other, China. Most disastrous of all is when the ring is not connected to another Fairy Ring, forming a one-way connection to god-knows-where. That is why no one wanted to risk exploring these freak anomalies."
There were many other limitations, but Lunaire cut his explanation short, not wanting to bore his audience. Suffice to say that even the foolhardiest preferred admiring the anomalies from a safe distance. The daredevils that tried became irrelevant.
"That is quite a shame. It could have been so useful in getting places," Patchouli sighed.
"Maybe we should worry about our immediate surroundings, ze. It's not as if we have to go somewhere too urgently." Marisa shrugged.
"It is always good to know the tools at your disposal."
"You want to use that thing. Even with all the problems, you have listed." Marisa turned and looked and the silver-haired man incredulously.
"But, don't we have an expert on probability manipulation over here?" Pointing at himself, he grinned smugly. "It would take some time. Maybe a week, but I am confident it will be worth it down the line."
Alice giggled. "Isn't it just because you want to study it?"
"I may or may not have such motivation." He laughed but quickly came down from his glee. "On a more serious note, I think we still have a more serious matter to attend to, namely the fact that one mansion is tearing itself apart."
"It is great that you haven't forgotten, but it is not good to hold yourself back unnecessarily." Remilia chastised. "A party can accommodate six and we have eight, including you. Since our baiting strategy is no longer working, there is no problem leaving one to guard you."
"Then, I have a better idea. Why don't we just camp out here?" Marisa jumped up cheerfully. "I mean, we should plenty strong to survive a night in a zone closer to the city like this one."
This sounded a chorus of agreement. The loudest voice came from Remilia who seemed excited to explore this world at night. Reisen chuckled and began planning. Magic could conjure up water. But they needed food and seasoning that they could trust not to kill them. Also, sleeping in conjured dirt huts might be pushing it. Therefore, someone had to return to the city with their spoils of war to trade.
"Are you sure that they only have meat? No vegetables at all, really?" For once, Sakuya reminded them how interrogative she could be.
"Meat, meat, meat, all they have is meat. No matter how many stalls we went to in the entire marketplace, vegetables are completely out of stock," Reisen complained. After visiting the market, their inventories were filled with camping gears and meat from animals with strange names.
Lunaire smiled wryly from the rabbit grumbling. Normal rabbits were herbivores, but somehow their youkai counterparts became omnivores, capable of eating most thing human could. They retained some fondness for vegetables though, so her dismay was understandable.
"Apparently, the adventurers scoured the marketplace for all the vegetables," Lunaire added.
Personally, he did not mind too much, already having craving for unhealthy, meaty dish anyway. Sakuya was quite particular about the balanced diet. Now, the adventurers gave him a proper excuse, so he was not complaining. He looked forward to the sizzling meat skewers and steak for dinner.
"You look quite happy about this," the maid glanced at him.
"Hehe, I have my cravings sometimes. It's not as if I am lying about having no vegetables."
Laying out various jars of seasonings and sauces for Sakuya to work her magic, Lunaire smiled innocently. The maid only smiled wryly in response to the happiness gleaming in his eyes.
The marketplace did not have fresh vegetables, but the cold storage back at the mansion certainly did. Reisen honestly forgot about it, since she sincerely liked vegetables. As for Lunaire, Sakuya wondered whether this lapse of memory was intentional. She giggled softly from her speculation and busied herself marinating the meat.
"Oh, I am liking this already!" Marisa laughed heartily when a small wooden cylinder materialized and plopped beside Lunaire.
It need not be said that the liquid sloshing around in the cedar barrel was the finest quality Sake, from one of the more exclusive Youkai breweries. Even Meiling who sat the furthest could smell the flowery aroma that seeped into the wood and salivated slightly. Reserved for special occasions, this Sake came in a smaller cask. Perhaps for the better because the topics for their dinner discussion would be quite difficult to digest. Lunaire wanted the alcohol to ease the talk along, not for them to get completely hammered.
"Oh, for what occasions, commemorating our second day here?" Remilia asked.
"You can take it like that. However, I think it is more like a fitting end for a very, very long day." Lunaire's shoulders sagged as he leaned back into the boulder.
"Is this about the long, long story you mentioned in the afternoon?" Remilia teased.
"A long story would be an understatement," Lunaire sighed heavily. "I don't even know where to start."
"Let's start with what you know for sure, before we follow with your speculation," Patchouli's curiosity urged her to take the initiative.
"We are on the 'far' side of Mars…"
"…"
That was it, he could already imagine them yelling in their minds. Lunaire mustered his most deadpan expression available to him. Apparently, such facial expression was quite contagious as the rest adopted identical faces.
A discussion dragged on into the night with many attempts by Reisen to check whether Lunaire was hallucinating or drunk or both. Their confusion for the workings of this world escalated as words rolled off his tongue. Just like them, Lunaire also wished he could just unhear every disconcerting detail and pretended that everything was fine and dandy. However, such was not the way of a magician and would be a great detriment to their mission.
Lunaire wrapped up his report near midnight. His explanation which should have taken at most a few hours over dinner was extended to clarify all basic concepts not know to the more ancient beings. Describing a computer to someone born in the 1500s was a trying ordeal.
"So, in short…We are on Mars."
"Yes," Lunaire nodded firmly.
"The so-called People of the Lands and monsters were the natural inhabitants of this world."
"Yes," he nodded again with a little doubt this time.
"The adventurers are like Shikigami controlled by the people in the outside world on earth."
"In a way…yes." While Remilia could not completely grasp the concept of a computer in such a short time, he appreciated the fitting analogy.
"They used a certain device to control this Shikigami to play around in this world for entertainment. Due to unexplainable cause," Sakuya paused briefly. "They are now stuck permanently on this side in their Shikigami."
"Yes, their consciousnesses are now on this side." Lunaire felt the need to elaborate. He could not ascertain whether they were controlling their bodies like in a dream or their souls crossed to this side completely.
"And this system or interface or whatever is a mechanic or framework to play the game." Marisa continued.
"…That is uncertain. As I said before…"
"It might be something native or added in when the adventurers came to this world," Alice corrected in his stead. "Or rather, when someone created a connection to allow the adventurers avatar to manifest on this world."
Reisen continued this string of questions, wrapping up everything they knew. "Which in turns, suggest that someone on Earth is aware of our presence here…And that certain someone might have the capability to rewrite the fundamental rules of this world."
"When you say a long story, this is not what I expected," Marisa mumbled as she downed her next cup of Sake.
Lunaire lied down on his side and stretched out, feeling the tiredness of the day hitting him all at once. "Sleep on it or something."
"How can you sleep after hearing that?" Marisa asked incredulously.
"There is nothing we can do, in the short term at least." It was Reisen who answered curtly. "For now, we need to get ourselves established. Then we can start looking through the history of this world. From there, we can uncover what exactly is the deal with the adventurers and who sent them here."
Lunaire stared up to the starry sky. "That is still a way off. We need to investigate all the threats to us first, namely the monsters and the nobility."
"Especially the nobility," Remilia added
"We can't discount the monsters just yet. The ones we have encountered thus far should not problematic to any youkai worth their salt, but something like wyverns and drakes might be more…" Lunaire chewed his lips for a good word. "Gnarly."
"We need access to a local archive. Only then can we find information about Theldesia without having to run around the world personally." Patchouli asserted.
Marisa plopped on her back and sighed. "So much thing to do, ze!"
"Also, Lunaire…" He perked up with the strange tone that Reisen called him with.
"Yes?"
"Come help us set up the tents."
"Tch, I thought I gave you a slip," Lunaire pouted.
Contrary to popular belief, setting up tents were not much of a hassle. Though this applied only to those with magic at their disposal. The stakes, poles, and canvas essentially set themselves up with a brief gesture from their hands, another convenience not allowed to normal adventurers.
00000
And there you go.
Can you guess why I introduced the Fairy Ring? If you are familiar with Log Horizon lore, you will know what it is, but maybe not why I included it.
I dumped a lot of information in this chapter, but I tried to avoid the dreaded text wall. Hopefully, I succeeded. I felt that it was more realistic for the Touhou casts to discover this in a step-by-step process, thus the need to include it in.
Also, some of you might be curious why Alice and Marisa are okay with butchering swath of monsters. In my Mahouka story (their personalities are the same, slightly less mature in Mahouka), the two had trouble killing any human. The reason is simply that they viewed the monsters as a bastardized version of Gensokyo's fairies crossed with youkai. The fairies in Touhou are basically weak elementals, which are essentially immortal. You can kill them, but they will come back. Just like how the monsters kept respawning. Killing monsters are more or less exterminating youkai and fairies to them.
If you are wondering why I introduced a few Landers characters, I wanted the world to feel more alive and feel that they are underutilized. Apparently, the Landers are very rich. Who could have known? It's not like Plant Hwyaden is letting the nobility fund their entire operation, including buying out Cathedral and other facilities.
I won't introduce them too excessively though. You should keep an eye out on Albertine Gilford though. I know for sure that he will be a recurring character.
Unfortunately, I will be turning my attention back to my Touhou x Mahouka crossover for now. This story is not abandoned but will be like a side project when I encounter a writer's block on my main story. For the people who had been waiting for this…
Rejoice! Boy/girl, your wish is about to come true!