Hello, ITalkToSky here.
I hope you guys missed me. For some reason, I got a lot of ideas for this story, so I wrote it out before it got drowned out by my research. Not going to lie, I feel that graduate school is slowly eating into my life. I can't even play my game in peace without wondering whether I mixed the chemical right.
Well, I hope you enjoy this one.
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A week later…
Takayama Misa, or referred to affectionately by the member of her guild as Sansa or Major, read out her summarized report. Her face appeared stoic and reliable as ever, the likes that would be any drill sergeant proud. But on the inside, her heart felt terribly lost.
Mere days ago, she led a normal life as a kindergarten teacher. Her work could be backbreaking at times, especially when compounded with shenanigans children caused. The only saving grace being that the parents were rather accommodating, highly unusual in her line of work. Her burden was no more than any other faced in the game of life.
Yet, her predictable lifestyle all came tumbling down faster than she could blink. It should have been a normal gaming session. She was excited to see what new updates had to offer. Just like that, she unceremoniously became Sansa.
Who was Sansa? One of the Three Crows leading D.D.D., an impeccable strategist that her people looked to for guidance, these were a few roles that described her. An identity Misa forged as her hobby became something that she had to live with, not mere temporarily retreat from her real-life responsibility.
The change in role from a kindergarten teacher to something akin to a military leader was so abrupt. It scared her.
However, at the same time, her identity in the guild also served as an anchor for her. In her mind, having a purpose to fulfill kept her mind preoccupied, and away from the sheer incomprehensible situation she found herself in. She just had to keep focus and play along. One day, she would adapt.
Though in some dark recess of her mind, she wondered whether she could return to be a simple kindergarten teacher after she fully embraced this side.
"…And that concludes my report on the matter."
Regardless of the inner turmoil that plagued her for the past week, she succinctly summarized the reports from various recon squads sent into the wilderness. She had a duty to fulfill and she would do it, for herself and as an example to the others that looked up to her.
"Excellently done as always, Sansa. Thank you for your effort," Krusty propped his chin up. His bespectacled eyes never left the lady beside him.
The other member might not notice it, but how could Krusty not? His eyes were a discerning pair, fitting for his calculative mind. To him, Misa's turmoil was almost palpable. But he elected to leave it alone. Not only was such a problem best worked out on her own, he still needed a little grease to ease into his role in Elder Tale.
"I want those zones secured before nightfall."
Misa nodded and answered firmly. "It will be done. But, milord, I still have to stress that such a heavy-handed move will not be perceived well by the other guilds." In the end, Misa's greyish eyes bored straight at Krusty's.
Krusty chuckled deeply, his eyes flashing a predatory glint. "Someone will snatch it up sooner or later. Rather than being the one grumbling when that happens, we might as well snag the juicy bits first."
Not all zones were created equal in Elder Tales. Many zones possessed their unique charms and features to be explored, but most did not have the quality it took for hardcore players to stick around. For the hardcore players, it was all about the experience points and item drops. Many factors went into these two goals, spawning locations, the favorable terrains and drop rates to name a few. Hence, some zones were inherently more valuable.
As an invested player himself, Krusty could list of a few such zones off the top of his head. Though he mostly remembered the higher-leveled zones, he recalled a select few that could be exploited conveniently from Akiba. With the juicy targets found, Krusty did anything reasonable players would do and pounced on it.
"How can monopolizing these low-leveled zones be worth our reputation?" Misa spoke politely but with a hint of disapproval. She slipped back to the stern tone she used to lecture children.
"We have a large influx of new members, don't we? We need somewhere to train them." Krusty grinned lightly, finding a little humor in being lectured in such tone. "Haha, we might need training ourselves to familiarize ourselves with the combat system."
"…" Misa narrowed her eyes, rightfully suspecting that her master was scheming.
Krusty's grin grew as Misa begun to catch on. A predatory glint flashed across his eyes. "With these zones in our hands, it will provide the smaller guilds more incentive to join our guild. There is no such thing as too much manpower after all."
So, that was what he truly wanted, Misa concluded. Krusty usually shied away from taking risky actions without profit. Consolidating their place as the largest and arguably most powerful guild after their transfer could not be passed up.
"Though you are right, Sansa. Do tell our men to be less…aggressive when staking our claim. We are, after all, looking out for our lower-leveled members first and foremost. Coercing people to join our guild is just the side benefit."
Misa wanted to quip that Krusty seemed too gleeful mentioning mere side benefit, but that was not her place to say.
"Now that the heavier stuff is out of the way. Do you have anything else?"
"Nothing…actually there might be." Misa flipped to one page on her clipboard. "About one of the zones you wished secured, there seems to be a strange report concerning Archive Magic Forest."
"Hmm, I thought there is no problem in your earlier report."
"Rather than a problem, it is more of an unconfirmed report. If not because two squads mentioned something remotely similar, I would not even hear of this detail."
Misa referred to the subordinates sifting through the raw reports from the field. They were the ones making her life easier.
"Now, you have my curiosity." Krusty crossed his fingers.
"It appears that some areas of the forest were severely burned."
"Burned?"
"Yes, only ash remains. Some burned areas are small patches, while the other is the size of a soccer field."
Since Elder Tale became a reality, the possibility of forest fire could not be discounted. But this was not the season. Krusty had no idea what season they arrived in. However, he went on a few strolls to see the impenetrable sea of green beyond the Akihabara's perimeter wall. Fresh leaves needed a lot more heat to start burning, so he immediately ruled out natural caused.
Furthermore, the section of the trees scorched was reported as geometric, like cones or circular shape. Forest fire would not be so artistic in its wake.
"Do you this is the part of the new expansion?"
"My lord, we are not sure at this point." Misa shook her head. "Since the game became real, this could just be one of the phenomena not shown in-game or it could be a sign for an event."
"Are these littered throughout the zone?"
"No, we found these mostly toward the edge of the zone, away from Akiba."
Krusty rested his head on his hands. "Hmm, do they find anything that could be the cause nearby? An exotic new material, perhaps?"
"Nothing of that sort."
"Interesting, fascinating even," Krusty lowered his gaze, obscuring his eyes from his adjutant. Yet, Misa could already picture what kind of expression her leader was sporting. "A field boss appearing right out of the gate is quite the welcome gift."
"Yet, it can also be other players. My lord surely had not forgotten. We…by that I meant the adventurers, can now interact with the environment."
If this was still a game, such thought would be preposterous. Massively multiplayer accommodated more than a million players, most of which did not join at the same time. To standardize the experience amongst such player base, the environment of the game was mostly kept constant. The players were not permitted to alter scenery and reshape terrain permanently. However, given that the game became a reality for them, such limitation may be lifted.
Following her line of thought, Krusty asked the first question that popped into his mind. "What is the point of burning down a random swath of the forest, then?"
Misa nodded, acknowledging his point. There was no conceivable reason to randomly burn down a forest, so it was most likely something from the new update. "I suggest diverting personnel to ascertain the situation. With luck, you might find new area boss that you so wish."
"That does sound like a superb idea."
Misa chuckled softly. "My lord, do not get your hope up too much. An area near adventurer town is unlikely to provide a worthy challenge for you."
"It will be a shame if that is the case, but I won't mind being the first to claim its head."
Misa smiled wryly to see that side of him remained perfectly intact. Contrasting to his calm and collected exterior, he personified his Berserker class to the tee in combat. She nodded curtly and dismissed herself.
A little less than an hour away on foot, another individual was also utterly fascinated with his findings. Rather than finding something challenging to maim for the Blood God, however, Lunaire pursued a more intellectual path. After scrawling the last incomprehensible symbols into his notes, he slammed his quill onto the page. Not caring that he had almost snapped his favorite golden nibs, he snapped up from his hunched posture and breathed a deep sigh of relief.
"Finally, some breakthrough?"
"No, even better," Lunaire mumbled as he turned to the blond, nursing his throbbing temple.
Alice tilted her head quizzically, wondering what could be better than a breakthrough and cause such relief. Since setting up the camps many days ago, Lunaire's routine consisted of eating, sleeping and scribbling furiously onto his notes. Like a possessed man, he rarely spared a word to chat. Only on rare occasions like monsters raiding their camp did he break this monotony. This antic would have worried Alice greatly if not for the fact that he warned her.
"I am done?" The sentence left his lips as a question with mixed surprise and uncertainty.
"Wait, you are?" Alice scanned her eyes toward the Fairy Ring, only the see the same old boring groups of boulders. "Aren't these supposed to be extremely complex?"
"They should be, but they are not."
"That's great then."
"Hmm, it is great that I can wrap this up earlier. But sadly, I didn't learn too much from it." Lunaire sighed softly.
"At least you did not waste too much time on it then."
"No, I did not waste any time on it." Lunaire stood up from the mat, straightening to his full height. He rolled his shoulders, driving away the cramps. "It is not useful for research, but I believe we might gain something far more valuable in return."
Lunaire had an inkling before, but the result confirmed it. The Fairy Ring was an artificial construct. It was too simple. By nature, Fairy Ring depended on multitudes of variables like astronomical events, geography and many more. The calculation should have looked messy beyond compare, but it did not. Like well-composed music, it flowed orderly from beginning to finish
Furthermore, the natural Fairy Ring was also documented as highly erratic and unreliable. It could connect to China in one moment, and India in the next. The connection broke and reformed in minutes and even seconds. But the one before him and its network showed stability in a way that natural Fairy Ring never could
It should have taken weeks of unceasing effort to completely examine one ring, but the factors above made the numbers played out very nicely. It went so well that Lunaire managed to elucidate the property of not only one ring, but countless others as well. Perhaps one of his most important discoveries, Lunaire cracked the rules of Fairy Ring on Theldesia, a legacy that would echo in the ages to come.
Each Fairy Ring was connected to at least 2 other rings. At any given time, the ring would be connected to one of its possible destinations for a few hours to days, before switching to another.
An example would be a system of three Fairy Rings connecting Tokyo, Hokkaido, and Kyoto. For the next three hours, the rings between Tokyo and Hokkaido would be linked. During that period, adventurers from Tokyo and Hokkaido could jump into their respective ring to appear in the other. On the other hand, the Kyoto ring would be inactive. After those three hours, the new connection would be formed. Which two rings get picked and for how long appeared randomized but was based on extremely complicated calculations that Lunaire drew up.
This connection was not a hard and fast rule though. Even if the current destination was known, there was a minute chance to be sent to the inactive ring.
Continuing the example above, the connection may be between Tokyo and Hokkaido, but there was a minute chance one might be thrown to Kyoto. The probably lied between one or two in a thousand cases. Lunaire liked the odds, however, only because adventurers could always count on Call of Home to return from a missed jump.
Yet, there was even the worst possibility. There was around one in a few million chances of a disastrous jackpot that would send one to any Fairy Ring in the world. For that special unlucky bastard stepping into Tokyo ring, he or she may receive an unwanted one-way ticket to Siberia or Alaska.
The reason this could happen was that all Fairy Rings were connected in a gigantic network. The rings in Tokyo, Hokkaido, and Kyoto massively favor each other, but there was an infinitesimally small chance one of them may connect with another outside of its favored partners.
Rather than this being a bad thing…
"Thus, there is a non-zero probability for any Fairy Rings to connect to any other ring in the world."
Alice's eyes widened incredulously. "Which means that we can go to whichever ring we so please."
For a magician reigning over probability manipulation, there could be no greater gift. As long as it was possible, the odds could be twisted to his favor. With this one discovery, Lunaire just threw open the gate to the whole world.
"Make no mistake, it will be costly on my mana. But…I have confidence that I can muster the sum after leveling up a bit more." Lunaire raised his hand to hold back her excitement. "Hmm, just when things are getting good."
"Yes," Alice reigned in her expression.
A few presences tripped the net their mana senses cast. Keeping their surveillance at all times, the two caught the interlopers at a comfortable distance that their conversations should remain unheard. Silence persisted a while before the armored silhouette came into view.
Ideally, the two magicians would have scooped their camps into their inventory before hiding close by. However, they decided to meet the newcomer head-on for a few reasons.
The contacts on their mana sense quickly multiplied. Rather than clumping up in a hoard as the monsters did, the interlopers organized themselves in a scattered patrol formation. Sensing no malice from them, they were not bandits or PK-ers on the prowl. Lunaire concluded that they belonged to some organized force, most likely adventurers.
That begged a question. What could an organized, probably guild-affiliated, adventurers want with that area to send such a sizable force?
The armored giant took his sweet time to notice the two magicians, even if they stood in plain sight. Not exactly the best display of competence but Lunaire would not underestimate the man.
"Oh! I don't expect to see you in the middle of the woods like this."
Hearing the rumbling call of the giant-like man, Lunaire shifted forward slightly in front of Alice. His slightly tense nerve defaulted him to a defensive mindset, even though his face remained as impassive as before.
"Don't need to be so guarded, man. We are not one of those PK-ers." The giant sounded rightfully offended.
Lunaire shook his head softly. "Apology, but you have quite the army behind you."
"Well, I guess that is true," the man chuckled before bellowing to his men. "Continue with the patrol."
The giant made their way uphill to the magicians, looking somewhat relieved. From the somewhat accusatory glances at his backs, it seemed that the giant just wanted an excuse to skip the monotonous patrol.
"Nash, from D.D.D.," the giant extended his gauntleted hand.
Hearing a cute sound effect, a small window opened above Nash's head. Lunaire hummed slightly, not understanding why his actual name was 'wwwNashwww.' Instead of his nonsensical name, he placed more emphasis on the fact that Nash was a level 90 Guardian, just like that Naotsugu fellow.
A troublesome warrior class, Lunaire thought as he introduced himself.
"Lunaire Vivian Meister, from Scarlet Devil Mansion."
"Alice Margatroid, from the same guild."
After learning about the guild mechanic, Remilia insisted they form one of their own. Understandably, the vampire named the guild after her beloved mansion. The rest of their guild did not object and even nominated Remilia as their guild master. Seemingly a nonsensible decision at first, it was a combination of showing respect to the mistress of the mansion and the fact that she would not abuse her authority on a more important matter. Lunaire highly doubted the last point but felt pointless to argue.
"Scarlet Devil Mansion? The famous one?"
"Famous? I am not sure we did something deserving of fame."
"Apart from owning an awesome looking giant mansion, nothing at all, haha." Nash glanced above Lunaire's head to confirm. "Oh damn, you guys are quite ballsy, aren't cha."
"I am surprised you can tell. Is it written on the tag?" Lunaire joked.
Nash flatly answered. "No."
"Aww, shame."
"Still, credit where credit is due. Unlike the rest of them, you guys are not shivering back in the city and you are not even max level either. I can respect that." Nash laughed heartily.
Lunaire smile lightly but had zero intention to drop his guard in front of someone able to snuff him out with a flick of his wrist. He might be exaggerating a bit here. At level 38, Lunaire was optimistic about his chance to escape, a bold claim but not unreasonable with his extra skillset. Regardless, Nash must not be underestimated.
Alice stepped up slightly and asked chirpily. "Why are you leading a patrol in the middle of nowhere like this? Hunting PK-ers?"
"Nothing grandiose like that, we were ordered to investigate something."
"Mind sharing?"
"Well," he furtively glanced at the magicians before relenting. "Shouldn't matter, you guys can probably help too."
"…go on."
"We are here to investigate a report of some burned patch of trees in this zone. Sansa said something about a section of the woods being completely charred to ash. Know anything about that?"
Oh, they knew. Lunaire was partially at fault, but Patchouli took the cake for environmental destruction for the past week. Lunaire concentrated fully to not avert his eyes as he played dumb. Since Alice refused to lie out of personal principle, he mainly did the talking. He thought that the adventurers should be used as collateral damage from hunting the monsters. Apparently, that was not the case, a fact that Lunaire took to heart.
Although his skill felt rusty from disuse, Lunaire spun up a convincing story for themselves. Much to his convenience, the forthright giant provided most of the bits and pieces needed for the story to work. He just had to tell the giant what he already knew.
Their conversation dragged on slightly, to the point that Lunaire needed to stop the newly discovered chatterbox.
"I like you guys. What say you about joining D.D.D.?"
"I am already in a guild. I am not about to switch allegiance that easily. But we appreciate that you view us so highly."
"The lady said it best. Thanks." Lunaire shrugged.
"Well, it's a shame really." Nash let out a sigh. Lunaire felt the tiniest bit of true regret from such a display. "Are you sure? We can just take in your whole guild, you know. It's nothing new for D.D.D."
Lunaire and Alice shook their heads as one. Personally, joining an organization where they can be ordered around did not sit well with them, especially by someone they had never met before. Furthermore, there was no way that they would subject themselves to any authority or oversight, lest anyone learned of their strange abilities and true agenda.
"Then I will have to warn you."
"Warn us?" Alice asked warily.
"You guys should clear away from this zone as soon as possible. D.D.D. will be claiming hunting ground for our guild's exclusive use."
Lunaire narrowed his eyes incredulously. "Wait, what? Is that even allowed?"
"The other major guilds will be doing it, so we have to protect our interest as well." Nash just waved his hand nonchalantly.
Tense silence reigned supreme around them as the two magicians processed their thought.
Lunaire shook his head slightly. Nash's word already gave it away. The other major guilds would be doing it, meaning that no one did anything yet. D.D.D. just wanted to seize the initiative. He respected the decisive move, but also despised it.
Lunaire would not give the hoot about D.D.D. marking this territory if it did not contain the precious Fairy Ring, their gate to the world. From the looks of it, the new owner was not so keen on letting anyone through. The only comforting thought was that D.D.D. would not realize the value of the treasure under their noses. Even if they did, the rings would be junks to them without his magical touch.
Nash's tone took a more severe turn. "In a situation where you don't really know left from right, it is usually us against them."
"…"
"Look, I don't want this either, but orders are orders." Nash scratched his grey hair roughly.
Alice stared at Nash for a solid thirty seconds, causing him to visibly sweat. Her annoyance rose a few notches higher than Lunaire's. It appeared to her that D.D.D. threw their weight around to forcibly integrate smaller guilds into their ranks.
Alice understood the simple concept that more people meant more power in any community. Yet, most adventurers were not free. Large portion affiliated themselves with smaller, cozy guilds. They possessed their sense of identity and could not be pulled in so easily.
Yet, if joining them became the sole way to access hunting ground, the adventurers would be forced into submission or even join willingly to be on the winning side. It seemed D.D.D had larger aspirations and had little restraint from the more unsavory method, which placed their standing very low in Alice's book.
"Very well."
Leaving behind only two resolute words, Alice nudged Lunaire to help with packing up. Nash only shook his head in disappointment seeing the two left on bitter terms, but it mattered little to him in the long run.
Along their trek back, Lunaire kept his silence as Alice reported back to Remilia of the occurrence. In the comfort of his mind, he felt a premonition that their lives were about to get interesting very quickly.
Patchouli savored the malty scent spreading through her palate. Whatever the tea blend, Sakuya always went above and beyond to deliver. She could not thank the maid for sparing the effort to prepare some refreshments. Everyone was equally exhausted from their hunting spree. But while she and Remilia took the opportunity to relax, the maid soldiered on to her other responsibility without even a peep of complaint.
Fortunately, their hard work paid off as Sakuya managed to reach level 40 before the mansion tore itself apart. Her mana reserve barely met the bottom line to refresh the spatial dilation spell for the entire mansion. Unlike before, the spell fuel with all Sakuya's MP would last only for two days at most. But that was more than adequate for the task. Sakuya could regenerate her MP fully in a reasonable time to stack more spells and lengthen the duration.
Just as Patchouli sunk into the comfort and security of her chair, an incensed cry disturbed her thought. The magician pulled her back upright before directing her gaze at the source.
"The nerve of them!" Remilia slammed teacup on the saucer, sloshing out the fragrant amber liquid. On the side, Patchouli wondered how the dainty little porcelain was spared from being smashed to bits.
Sliding the cup away with a flick, Remilia threw herself on the backrest of her highchair and crossed her legs. The vampire brought her neatly manicured nails to her lips, partially concealing her cold grin and gleaming fangs. The atmosphere chilled down by a few degrees from the predatory glint dancing upon the scarlet orbs.
"Chasing away my lovely employees, throwing their weight to take over public property…how bold! What else are they going to do next, declare themselves city lords, these knaves?"
"Oh…how unexpected? For you to say that even though you sounded just as offended as I am…Of course, I know D.D.D is the largest guild in Akiba, but does it matter?"
"Hmph, fine! It matters not whether it is today, tomorrow or months from now. I will have my payback."
"Other than this…most unpleasant development, do you have anything else? No? Then, good day to you, Alice. And tell Lunaire good work and that I expect even better news from him later."
Remilia turned to Patchouli with a chuckle that freezes hell over. The stoic magician betrayed no sign of discomfort. Yet inwardly, she felt a trickle of cold sweat. Her fear was not directed at Remilia, but the devastation that could result from royally angering a True Ancestor.
Remilia's bloodthirst had been significantly curbed by her time in Gensokyo. Make no mistake though, as nothing in this world could completely defang a vampire. Remilia would make them squirm for sure, but probably not by slaughtering them directly. That option was pretty much sealed anyway since the adventurers would rise again from the cathedral, ready for a second round.
On that note of immortal adventurers, Patchouli hoped that Remilia would not push her revenge too far. As much as she found an eternal hostility shared by Kaguya and Mokou highly fascinating, she had no intention of being in such a relationship herself.
Following the soft rumbling of the cart, Sakuya's joy could barely be heard in her usual flat tone. "My lady, I have brought additional refreshment."
The smell of sweet butterscotch aroma hung in the air, but not to a sickening degree that would make one retch. Remilia's fury abated somewhat when she saw the confectionery on the tray.
"Ah, finally some cookie."
"Another menu returned to my repertoire."
"As it should," Remilia unceremoniously munch on one and nearly melted from the nostalgic sweetness she never knew she missed.
"Remi.."
"Yes, Patche, what is it?"
"Before considering any form of revenge, we need somewhere to hunt."
Level was an indisputably most important factor in Theldesia. Not only was it correlated to the mana able to be output by an individual, but it also affected the damage able to be dealt against other entities. As sad as it may sound, Patchouli believed that retreat would be the only option against level 90, unless with extensive preparation on her part. Whatever the cost, they needed to increase their level to 90 as soon as humanly possible. Or in their case, as soon as inhumanly possible.
Compared to the maximum of level 90, their current level 40 seemed like a lot, almost halfway. Yet, the difficulty of leveling increased the higher one went, as the experience points needed far outstrip the rate gained from butchering monsters. From her count, she probably slaughtered more than a few thousands of them already.
Along with experience points, monster drops were also important commodities. As Marisa had demonstrated, many exciting opportunities could be found in the ingredients offered by Theldesia. The potential profit was high enough to be worth going out of their way to procure a steady supply. Hence, finding themselves a hunting location placed highly on their bucket list.
"Further away from Akiba, I suppose?" Remilia asked, bored.
To accommodate their increasing demand for experience points and monsters drops, they would be pushed to venture further and further away from the protective walls of Akiba.
"Yes, we need an outpost away from the city for supply and rest."
"Hiking back and forth from Akiba every day will make the hunt more of a chore than it currently is." Remilia slumped in her seat at the distasteful thought of camping outside for days or even weeks.
"We can think about that after we find a place for an outpost."
"How hard can it be? Oh," Remilia spat with annoyance.
Major guilds, the likes of D.D.D., would not be content with monopolizing lower-leveled zones and would start creeping outward. Somehow, they needed to find uninteresting zones that no one would pay attention to. Only then could they construct a semi-permanent outpost. The situation was hardly ideal, but it was the way the cookie crumbled.
"They just give us more and more reasons to crush them, don't they?" Remilia grumbled.
"Don't do anything rash."
"I know. I know, ugh. We already have enough target painted on our backs."
Patchouli and to an extent, Remilia, knew that they could barely contend with level 90 adventurers, let alone a gargantuan guild with more than a few hundred members. The fact that they were militarily outmatched could not be overstated. Yet, there was usually a solution for any problem, even if it required a change of angle. Whether their superior technical knowledge could prove a decisive edge, it remained to be seen.
As the forefront expert on materials back in Gensokyo, Nitori gleefully accepts the task to survey the raw material markets and craftsmen district. Kappa was notorious for their short attention span, however, so Meiling was stuck with the unenviable job of a handler.
"Iridescent Dragonfly wings, Rugan ore, Golem shards…"
Nitori swooped around the store, browsing through the unheard materials with glee. Her specialty lied more toward metallurgy, so she mostly fuzzed about the ore section, but crystalline monster parts also matched her interest. She could not wait to start experiment with these materials.
Just how many more wonderous creation could be made, she wondered. Perhaps, some of the esoteric ideas from that weird Miko could come to life in this world.
Looming behind the Kappa, Meiling felt her head throbbing. She had never suffered so much escorting someone. She was not sure whether this was intentional on Nitori's part, but the Kappa seemed to linger in a place long enough for Meiling to gently doze off before moving away. Of course, this cruelly ripped the gatekeeper from the promise of a nap. The teasing continued to the point that a perpetual frown etched itself on her face.
To compound to her plight, Meiling's stomach protested angrily, demanding the lunchbox in her inventory. Reality had a cruel sense of humor as she valued her life than to take out the succulent chicken Schnitzel within the hoard of starving adventurers. Just the savory aroma could whip the crowd into a frenzy.
Taking her mind off her plight momentarily, Meiling spotted the blue-haired girl hovered over a large chunk of ore. A stout looking dwarf stood to the side, watching with an almost fatherly gaze. A glance at the price tag made Meiling's face parched in shock.
The gatekeeper tapped strongly on Nitori and shook her head. The kappa huffed strongly before deflating. Meiling felt a little guilty when Nitori acted as if she crushed her hopes and dreams, but it had to be done.
"At least wait until Reisen return."
"Aww, I know. I know."
They barely had any funds for this trip. Buying anything substantial would be held until Reisen returned with the gold from selling the dress. Even then, they needed to be judicious about spending as the sum rightfully belonged to Alice, who only lent them some to start operating.
"Hmm, are you Reisen's acquaintance?" The stereotypical dwarf asked.
"If you are referring to the one with lilac hair, yeah. She is a guild member." Meiling answered nonchalantly.
"Aha, then I think I can offer a little discount for her mates as well. Your friend seems interested in Rubrix crystal. Quite unusual," the lander dwarf lifted the chunk of crystal effortlessly and spun it around like a rubber ball. "It is only useful for crafting a thinner blade like a rapier or some style of dagger. Since it is not quite in demand with the adventurers right now, I can sell it for a little cheaper. How does 20 percent off sound?"
"Yes! That's great!" Nitori turned toward Meiling, almost charming her with the expression like a little girl with a new toy.
Meiling reluctantly denied. "We still don't have enough. Maybe later."
"Aww, miser!"
"Hmm, perhaps," Meiling averted her eyes from Nitori. The gatekeeper pursed her lips before asking softly. "Are you willing to hold it for a few days? We are willing to pay full price for it later."
"Hmm," the dwarf combed through his thick mustache. He groaned softly and scratched his head. "It's not as if I will use it any time soon. Sure, if it works for you."
"Great! Thank you very much!"
"Don't worry about it, little girl."
"Nitori" The kappa corrected him with her cheek puffed up. She was neither young nor little, just a little on the short side.
"Nice to meet cha, Nitori. I am Grippa. Hope we can do business later."
After making another pass through the store, the duo quickly left the premise. They spent the better part of the afternoon doing much of the same, much to Meiling chagrin. Before long, their surroundings were bathed in the gentle orange glow, signifying the coming night. Soon, the stores began packing up for the day and their little trip finally ended.
"So, did you find anything useful?"
"Well, how do I start…"
At this moment, Meiling realized she should have kept her mouth shut. With that one innocuous question, she just started the most mind-numbing lecture from the resident engineer.
Half a day on horseback away from the adventurer city of Akihabara, away from all the chaos left in the wake of transference, a man in his late forties waited in the private reception deep within the Cinderella castle. As one of the most inspiring sight in Maihama, the capital of Eastal League of Free Cities, any common man would be both giddy and cowed to be summoned the castle.
Yet, Johan was no common man. In fact, save for the lords and employees, he probably set his foot on this castle the most often out of anyone. Not through the front gate though, lest his visits draw attention to his identity.
Most knew him as Johan Reinbach, the president of Maihama Firm whose wealth measured right below the territory lord himself. A socialite, he appeared in most of the high-profile balls and party throughout Eastal. Though in his advanced age, he constrained himself mostly to Maihama, the home ground of his company.
Steadfast but with a glib tongue, Johan was a missed personality among the elite society. His impartial dealings added to his likability. With the coins and connection to rock Eastal itself, it was no wonder that many still sought to forge an alliance even when Johan declared his retirement years ago. Yet, rarely did anyone managed to sway him to their side.
To most, Johan seemed like a neutrally aligned, retired businessman who focused more on his effort toward grooming his son to take up the mantle. Rumor had it that he greatly doted on his precious granddaughter.
Or so was Johan's official persona.
With a soft click, the heavy wooden door gave way, revealing the two most distinguished people in the country.
A wizened old man entered Johan's vision first. His white hair, mustache, and beard were kept shiny as always. The man carried with him a serene expression, neither smiling nor brooding. Long years of administrative tasks had long etched frown lines into his brows, fitting for a man carrying the weight of the golden crown. This was Serjiad Corwen, leader of Eastal League, Duke of Maihama and patriarch of Corwen Clan.
A youthful lady following close after was rightly known as The Pearl of Eastal. Even in her mid-thirties, Lady Saraliya aged very little since her debutant years ago, much to the great envy of other noble ladies. Wearing her light blue hair in a neat updo accentuated her mature looks. In contrast to her harmless but strict demeanor, the eldest daughter of the duke led the secretive Maihama's counterintelligence agency to great success.
Part of said success could be attributed to no other, but the glib-tongued Johan.
Politically, Johan stood right in the middle and not as a player. Rather than playing the game of intrigue himself, he acted like a courtier in court or the dealer in a casino. Playing the part of harmless and fair man, many wished to sway Johan to their side. In their attempt to please the merchant, they slipped up. These little bread crumps would find its way to Saraliya's ears before long.
Such was the deal.
Johan stood up from the couch. "Greetings, your grace, my lady."
"Drop the formality," Serjiad waved his hand. "Good day Johan."
"It has been a while," Saraliya greeted curtly.
"Yes, my lady, but your beauty had not waned since we last met." Johan gestured to the couch.
Corwen family's maid knew well their task and quickly served the refreshments before retreating quietly. Only the most trusted guards waited at the door in case of any emergency.
"So, Johan, about the matter I asked of you…" Saraliya trailed off.
"My sincerest apology, but the consigner refused for confidentiality purpose." Johan broke eye-contact briefly, collecting himself.
It appeared that he got the reaction he expected. Saraliya frowned deeply. Not many had denied her direct request before. As someone of her prestige, most were expected to yield before her, especially someone selling a dress to her family.
"Regrettable but it cannot be helped. Though I truly wish to get a glimpse of someone who could assemble such a magnificent dress." Serjiad ruffled his beard and chuckled to clear the air.
"Your Grace, the consigner is not the seamstress herself, merely someone in her employ to guard the merchandise." Johan raised his hand slightly, seeing Saraliya was about to interject. "Even I do not know the identity of the mysterious seamstress. She has only interacted with us through her employees."
"A mere employee," Saraliya felt the urge to click her tongue, but that would be unbefitting of her.
"It is still a shame not to talk to her contact at least." The duke answered with good humor.
"Johan, just who is this employee anyway?" Saraliya asked.
"That, I am not at liberty to say, my lady."
"…Johan?" Saraliya narrowed her eyes, clearly displeased.
"My lady, please understand. I know we have a deal, but this matter is truly out of my hand. It is one of the stipulations in the magical contract."
Saraliya huffed, clearly not convinced. "Don't you have your usual loopholes. It matters not even if you have to speak in riddles."
John lowered his head and grumbled. "I wished my lady. I tried the usual clause prohibiting the intention to compromise their privacy, but the other party firmly rejected. They added three entire pages of what I can and cannot do to the contract. I must admit. Those fellows played me good. That dress was too juicy a deal to forgo, so he knows I will bite regardless of the stipulations."
"That fellow?" Saraliya homed in.
"A man who initially contact us about the dress, the same who signed the papers."
Saraliya finally realized that it was an exercise in futility to ask any further questions. Other than the fact that the mysterious seamstress employed a man and a woman as her middlemen, Johan could divulge nothing further.
Johan even proved his point by producing a copy of the signed contract. A quick skim made her wonder whether the man who wrote it was exceedingly thorough or wished to throw in some tongue-in-cheek. Johan had never seen lady Saraliya's brows twitched like that afternoon. He also ignored the suspicious 'pfft' from the duke.
"It seems that the seamstress associates herself with some peculiar personalities," Saraliya remarked with a pretense of calmness.
"Pardon me my lady, but I also wish to have a…serious talk with the man after my first read as well." Johan certainly did not mean talk in a civilized sense.
"Such impudence should be responded in kind," Saraliya's smile took a somewhat vindictive turn. "Do you believe these people to be a threat to Maihama or Eastal?"
The existence of Maihama's counterintelligence agency had only been to monitor and curb any influence that may undermine Maihama first and Eastal second. Usually, Saraliya would never ask such a broad, opinion-based question, but poking for weakness in the contract for weakness would take all day.
Johan blinked twice, slightly surprised from the unexpected question, but he answered obediently. "It is very hard to say, my lady. I don't exactly have much to work with. Most of what I know, you probably could deduce it too."
Johan grumbled under his breath. He had ever met the lilac-haired lady once and she was taciturn to the point of being unapproachable. Even Albert who met her and the other bastard could not cough out any detail. The only evidence to conclude from was only the extravagant dress won by the Corwen house.
Impeccably weaved and dyed silk, shockingly blue sapphire and high-quality pearls were simply impossible to acquire without ample connection. Saraliya unwillingly admitted that even Corwen themselves would be hard-pressed to assemble such materials, simply because of their rarity.
Yet, for all the hinted level of influence the seamstress possessed, the dress betrayed no intention. It could not have been to fund nefarious operation as procuring the money so openly was simply counterproductive.
In the first place, if the seamstress possessed the wealth and connection to gather such an ensemble, she had wealth to burn. There was simply no need to sell anything. If the seamstress merely used a fraction of that money to fund a rebellion in Eastal, she could have caused so much havoc. At least, that was what Saraliya thought.
"My lady, I have to contradict you on this. According to Albert…I mean Albertine Gilford, my subordinate reported that the other party was particularly interested in payment."
"That's illogical," Saraliya shook her head in denial.
"Right, Johan, I have to agree with my daughter on this." The duke who was listening in with interest finally chimed in.
"Your Grace, I have an alternative explanation for this. My subordinate could not confirm this due to the contract stipulation, but please read the 47th article on page two."
Anyone belonging to the Party A may not divulge any information on the status of Party B under no circumstance, even among themselves…
The rest of the article was followed with more pedantic junk, but Albert desperately asked Johan to reread this article repeatedly. It was only after the twelfth read that he finally figured Albert's message.
"I believe that the seamstress and her employees may be…adventurers, your grace."
Albert who knew for sure was not allowed to directly say it. Johan had no such problem simply because it was merely his opinion. The magical contract had such annoying quirks like these.
"Are you certain?" Serjiad's eyes lit up in alarm.
"This is the best I could deduce from this riddle my subordinate gave me. It seemed I got it right from his facial expression." Johan felt a trickle of sweat down his brows, hopefully conveying the correct message.
"This changes thing…" the duke brooded. "What are they up to exactly?"
"If you meant the adventurers in general, your grace, I have already submitted a report to both of you. Though in summary, they were not doing much except holing in their adventurer city. For reasons incomprehensible to use, they appeared very distressed and strangely…animated."
"Animated?" Saraliya narrowed her eyes.
"Yes, my lady. As you knew, before the May Revolution, the adventurers were like golems patrolling the land and accepting quests. They would never do something like submitting items for auction with us Landers."
Serjiad learned of said quite early after the revolution. The minor vassals vocally complained about adventurers not around to take quests and demanded some knights dispatched as a substitute. Of course, the duke only barely approved of the most pressing issue. Their knights were quite precious in terms of resources and training time.
"Is it possible to investigate further the adventurers and their city further?" The duke looked to the lady beside him.
Saraliya shook her head glumly. "It pains me to say, but it is currently impossible. The agency's resources were currently spread thin, looking into the border dispute. They managed to forge up quite a convincing document that we need to debunk if we are to deny their claim."
Serjiad sighed heavily. "Just when will those Westerland curs leave us alone, I wonder."
Although Maihama sat quite far from the disputed area, both father and daughter were not willing to yield an inch of Eastal if they could help it. Such was the responsibility of the one gripping the reign of the alliance.
"Johan, is it possible for you to send some trusted men to Akihabara to monitor the situation," Duke asked.
"It is a risk. If they discover us, they will tighten up their defense," Saraliya countered.
Duke shook his head. "Perhaps, but I am sure the adventurers would not mind a few more people just working in their cities."
"Of course, your grace. My men are merely merchants, so we will be caught if we snoop around. But if we don't, we should blend right in." Johan glanced at Saraliya. "Then, perhaps my lady's men should have an easier time after I establish all the groundwork."
In the end, Saraliya reluctantly agreed. The delicate issued deterred her from taking any risk at all. Only because she had no manpower to spare but still needed information as soon as possible that she conceded.
As the three stood up from their seats, Saraliya stared at Johan briefly. The merchant, subjected to the intense stare from one of his bosses, sweated internally. Just when he finally mustered the courage to ask, Saraliya asked briskly.
"May I know where to find the dress' consigner?"
"As stipulated by the contract, I may only say 'Maihama,' my lady."
"Is that so? How unfortunate," said Saraliya as she strolled uncaringly.
Unknown to the two, they shared the same thought. Whoever wrote that contract, they dearly hoped for a rematch or at least a payback for this annoyance.
Half a day on horseback away from the port city of Maihama, away from all court intrigue, a man in his early twenties nursed his mug of tea within the safe confine of Scarlet Devil Mansion. He sighed softly, not knowing that he earned the ire of two people.
Binding up all his notes and finishing up for the days, Lunaire leaned back in his seat. Content to relax with an empty mind for a second, that choice slipped away when he smelled a strangely sweet smell and smoke. The unfamiliar smoky aroma spurred him from his seat.
With his mug in hand, Lunaire followed the scent and it led him to Marisa. He already had the inkling after he smelled the smoke and ash. Chuckling softly, the magician pushed open the door to her underground laboratory.
Again with the explosion, Lunaire thought wryly and shook his head gently. He tiptoed around the singed books, parchments and glass fragments toward the witch disgracefully flopped on the floor. Right in front of her was a circular blast mark, showing the origin of whatever vessel that had exploded.
In contrast to the devastation brought upon the entire room, Marisa remained curiously unmolested, sporting only slight burn on her apron and witch hat. Her lustrous blond hair remained perfectly intact if a little ruffled and sooty.
Responding to his soft footsteps, the blond raised her eyes to meet him. She rose to a sitting position, dropping her large hat in the process. Her dull yellow eyes gradually cleared up as she slurred softly. "Lunaire?"
"Was I wrong to expect that explosion to wake you up?" Lunaire helped her up.
"Thanks, ze! I totally did not expect it to blow up like that."
"I believe you might be the only not expecting explosion from your experiment." Lunaire jabbed lightheartedly, earning a pout from the witch. "Though you have my curiosity. How on God's green Ear-…Mars did you cause an explosion working on cosmetics."
Lunaire referred to the Holfry ash and slime core medicinal salve. Looking at his current HP pool, the salve's meager restoration of 40 HP in 20 seconds was utterly laughable. Yet, Lunaire saw potential in its effect to slightly reduce scarring and skin blemishes.
The adventurers generally sported striking looks. Since they were originally playing a game and likely sticking with one's avatar for a long time, most customized theirs to be easier on the eyes. Lunaire pitied any bastards who created a hideous monstrosity of an avatar before transference, or Apocalypse as they called it, hit them. But he digressed.
On the other hand, People of the Lands were remarkably like a human, in that they were born naturally without modification. Through living their lives and aging, most would develop crow feet and frown lines and other undesirable marks. Women were creatures who value beauty highly, so he did not doubt that anything of this nature would sell.
Marisa cheekily stuck out her tongue, looking not in the least apologetic. "I managed to concentrate the salve, but kinda dropped it for something else."
Opening one nondescript cabinet, Marisa flicked a small jar filled with grayish blue gel. Lunaire's gaze shifted to the bottle before its description window appeared.
Unnamed Concentrated Medicinal Salve
Recover 20 HP per second for 20 seconds, very effective against scars and skin blemish, temporary moisturize the skin
One smear using the fingertip is enough to activate the healing effect, does not stack, effective charge around 20.
Now, that sounded like something that would sell, Lunaire thought with amusement. Marisa really outdid herself this time around.
Healing for 400 HP in 20 seconds did not sound like a lot, but it was one-fifth health for level 40 sorcerer. While the healing did not stack, a bottle contained enough salve for 8000 HP worth of healing. A very efficient item in terms of production cost and inventory space.
As for the cosmetic effect, the only thing Lunaire felt qualified to comment on was the more the better. With a big question mark at the end of that statement.
"It turned out better than I could hope for. Marvelously done!" Lunaire gently patted her head. "You should name it."
Not shying away, Marisa giggled cheerfully. "How should I name it?"
"Ahem, it is your responsibility as its creator to name it," Lunaire averted his eyes and said in his most self-righteous tone possible. It was a valid point and totally not an excuse to avoid displaying his dismal naming sense.
This served only to widen Marisa's cheeky grin as she swerved around to meet his eyes. She tried playfully to force eye-contact only for Lunaire to evade yet again. The two spun around each other for a while, their laughter growing all the while.
"Okay, okay, enough already," Lunaire stamped his foot and tried his best to reign in his expression. "So, what are you trying to make?"
"Sure…" Marisa leered.
"…"
Thus, Lunaire presented his most impeccable smile. Anything unrelated to his question from that point would be summarily ignored. He lightly scanned the surroundings and the sense of wrongness struck him.
"Fine, ze." Marisa laughed triumphantly only to adopt a somber tone soon after. "I was trying to analyze the EXP pots."
"Hmm, EXP pots," Lunaire cocked his eyebrows at the unusual dourness on Marisa's countenance. "Is there something wrong with it?"
With a simple flick, an ornate glass bottle materialized on Lunaire's hand. Hot pink concoction sloshing softly within. He quietly gauged her reaction, spotting a trace of revulsion from the witch. His purplish-blue eyes peered at the bottle, interrogating the interface for any details.
After a quick skim, he gave the bottle an appreciative nod. EXP pot was quite a nifty potion, doubling the experience point gained from slaying monsters and conferring a few 'buffs.' According to the written description, the potion would be given daily to adventurers below level 30 to let them experience the meat of the game. Lunaire thought it a nice welcome gift to the world, if a bit jarring how a bottle could suddenly materialize directly in the inventory and stacked only up to 3 at a time.
Lunaire quickly found the other 2 bottles left in his inventory and decided to save it for later. He wondered whether it had any hidden side effects. His blue orbs peered at the yellow pairs for an explanation.
"There is nothing wrong it, but what it made other people do." Marisa squeezed out bitterly, word by word.
"What it made people do," Lunaire parroted. "I don't suppose you meant trading it."
EXP pots' effects made it quite a valuable commodity. But the fact that it was given freely to newbie adventurers should make it relatively common. With steady supply and demand, his first thought went to trading. Newbie adventurers may choose to sell their EXP pots at the cost of slightly slower level advancement. Lunaire found nothing wrong with this. For Marisa to show such expression, it must be something more sinister.
"Not just trade, EXP pots are singlehanded causing slavery right now."
"Wait what?"
Then it struck him. If Lunaire was to consider the newbies as a steady source of EXP pots, then everything made sense. Since the pots could only be harvested from low-level adventurers, they might as well be penned like cattle to keep them from advancing. It was so simple that it sickened him to the core.
EXP pots were not an inherently terrible item, but it was the evil it inspired with people that caused such revulsion from the witch.
Any cheerfulness promptly evaporated from his expression. Lunaire's eyes harden considerably and were matched with the determined look from Marisa. The two did not need a word to understand each other's thoughts.
Lunaire despised treating an individual as a literal object. Such an act hit too close to home with his experience in Meister Family. Although it may be presumptuous and hypocritical of him, someone willing to kill with appropriate reason, Lunaire genuinely felt that way.
Embolden by his attitude, Marisa spilled everything that had transpired. Most of it came from rumors, but the witch did her part snooping around. As expected, the famed kleptomaniac lived up to her reputation. It was a shame really, that the zone entry system stopped her from breaking into their guildhall itself. Yet, it was enough for Lunaire.
His fear was confirmed. Many guilds began intentionally holding back junior members and coercing EXP pots from them. Among those guilds, one went above and beyond. Marisa spat with rare genuine fury, a name that Lunaire would remember to heart, Hamelin. He grinned slightly, like a hound that finally found its prey.
This guild had been rounding up new players, at first through persuasion and later coercion after their notoriety grew. Lunaire pitied those tricked and bullied into joining and then confined. Worst yet, rumor had it that these poor souls would be shuffled into sweatshop like conditions, being forced to craft items and their EXP pots taken from them.
At this point, Lunaire finally put two and two together for the reason behind Marisa's investigation into EXP pots. Her straightforward nature had her thinking that she could end this travesty simply by providing substitute EXP pots. Once again, he was touched by Marisa's hidden golden heart but also knew that it was sorely insufficient.
Even if Marisa found a recipe for synthetic EXP pots, they would be unable to utilize it. As a guild of level 40 adventurers, they had nothing to stop others from wringing out their secrets. Hamelin, which barely held a candle to the top guilds, could easily crush them, let alone everyone else in Akiba. Lunaire bit his lips. He seldom felt powerless that he almost forgot the frustration.
"Marisa…is there any more development I should be aware of?"
Marisa fell silent briefly, racking her mind. She replied, "apart from PK-ers being more prominent, nothing."
Now, it was Lunaire's turn to muse.
When considering the matter carefully, PK-ers posed a larger obstruction to their operation. The existence of these bandits prevented them from moving freely in the wilderness. Other than wasting their time, these PK-ers may camped around good zones, lowering their hunting efficiency. In essence, PK-ers were hampering their growth as an organization, a much more critical obstacle.
On the other hand, Hamelin was not hurting them directly. Everyone in Scarlet Devil Mansion had surpassed level 30, only barely for some. This meant that they would generally leave them alone.
Marisa seethed, "how could you even suggest that! Are we just going to let these bastards do whatever they please?"
The witch grasped Lunaire's shoulder tightly. Her eyes lit up with anger and unmasked disappointment. Marisa looked at him as if he just spit right in her face.
"Oh, I will stop it. Even if it is the last thing I do…"
Marisa shivered slightly from the cutting cold hidden in his tone. The words were not meant for her, yet she could not stop herself from taking a step back. Lunaire snapped out of his private thought and saw her reaction.
"Sorry, this is also personal to me too. Very personal," Lunaire added.
Marisa knew of his baggage and made no further comment. Yet, her yellow eyes recovered its heated determination after knowing that Lunaire was just as invested as she was.
"I should correct myself. They will be stopped, even if it will be the second last thing I do," Lunaire winked, trying to lighten up the air. "My goal will first and foremost be our mission, of course. Gensokyo comes first."
"Right," Marisa glossed over the previous episode with a tense smile. "Sorry."
"No worry, I can be quite…intense when provoked." Lunaire gently released Marisa's hand from his shoulders. "Anyway, what I am worried about is whether I can convince the rest to include Hamelin on the hit list."
Pragmatically, they had better use of their time. PK-ers and other parties made it increasingly harder to grow. The two magicians knew their priority and that they lacked the means to save everyone they felt sorry for. Yet, they also knew that they would regret for the rest of their days if they stood by.
Lunaire was well-aware of the irony that he could not tolerate slavery, yet willing to kill a man if given a compelling reason.
"Alice will agree."
"She will, but we cannot just cut anyone who might disagree from the loop. We are a team, Marisa." Lunaire berated.
From the sporadic message from Reisen, Alice's earning from the dress seemed optimistic. Just the three of them and a small fraction that the seamstress was willing to spare, they could deal some damage to Hamelin.
However, he would not push it through if most people picked the pragmatic option. Doing whatever someone wanted with the resources their rightly earned sounded nice but negatively impact their cohesion.
"But…damn it all." Marisa averted her eyes.
"No, damn them."
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And there you go. This chapter is primarily the setup for the event in the chapters to come. Go big or go home! I hope you guys are excited as the SDM folks obviously are about to go big.
I hope I get Saraliya's personality correct. It just feels right to include her as she is the person in charge of their counterintelligence agency. I still have not read anything about her other than her wiki entry though, so feel free to correct me. You might feel a slight bias I have against her. This is simply because I dislike the fact that she pressures her daughter into a political marriage even though she married her husband because she fell in love at first sight.