Chapter 63

『You have received a message, you have received a message, you have received a message\'

"Kee, stop acting like a mynah bird."

"......Yes."

Without any particular trouble, Keena and the reconnaissance team galloped (on horses and summoned beasts) toward the ruined city. On the afternoon of the third day, Keena, who had been riding on Pī-chan, a short-legged creature that comically ran, noticed a series of friend messages and asked Pī-chan to slow down to a walk. Mai Mai, with a puzzled expression, approached to see what was happening.

"Is something wrong, Mother?"

"Kyu?"

"Hmm, just a moment. I need to check these messages, ...what is this?"

The first message was from Exis: 'What the hell is your partner doing!?!'

The second message was from Coral: 'What is this "impossible game"? I want a change!'

The third message was from Shining Saber: 'A demon and a maid calling themselves the "Cream Cheese Squad" are participating in the tournament. I want details (I can imagine, but still).'

"...Ah, so that's what it is. I didn't think Opus would be so into bullying the weak."

"Is something wrong with Uncle?"

"???"

Mai Mai, worried by Keena's exasperated mutter, asked what was going on. The knight girls, however, were completely clueless.

"Yeah, it seems Opus is participating in the tournament."

"Uncle is...?"

"Who is he, exactly?"

Sfuld, representing the knight girls' confusion, asked. She is particularly polite to Keena because of her High Elf heritage, a species-specific trait that Keena can't argue with. Mai Mai explained that he is a friend of her mother, their uncle, and a Transcender. Sfuld and Herau responded with stunned faces.

"Eh, are there still Skill Masters around?"

"Seriously...?"

"Yeah, seriously. It's just me, Opus, and Grandpa, three of us confirmed."

"Keena, give me a skill."

"No, I refuse. I'll send them back for now."

With a quick rejection of Ark's raised hand, she sent replies to each of them. To Exis: 'There's no way to reprimand someone on a different mission.' To Coral: 'I think he'll get bored and quit after beating the opponent in the final, so just go along with it until then.' To Shining Saber: 'That's Readeil's Zhuge Liang and his maid. They're too overpowered, so report them to the king and have them disqualified.'

"Done. Shall we go ahead?"

"Eh, don't we need to go back?"

Even Ark, who prided himself on being an ordinary player, understood the situation. The fact that a Skill Master, who has broken the limits, was participating in the tournament was an extremely unusual situation. From Keena's perspective, this was just Opus's way of passing the time. Since there are rules, he wouldn't do anything to break them, and he wouldn't cause any deaths. In the worst case, she could use [Command], but she believed he wouldn't do anything she fundamentally disliked, which is why she decided to leave it alone.

With a slight shadow of unease among her companions, the four of them continued on their way.

---

In Shining Saber's case.

The captain of the knights, who was assigned to guard the royal family in the VIP seats, was smiling wryly at Keena's almost entirely delegated reply.

"Even if I say something, it won't make a difference, will it?"

In the first match, the outcome of the 5 vs. 2 battle was expected to be one-sided from the perspective of ordinary people. For those who didn't understand what "Cream Cheese" meant, the audience's jeers turned to silence at the overwhelmingly one-sided fight. It was questionable whether it could even be called a battle.

As soon as the match began, the demon cast [Blessing of the Earth], a transformation magic that turns any terrain into the perfect place for planting rice. The area where the party centered around the Eagle's Fortress was instantly turned into a muddy swamp. The five warriors, trying to rush out, were knee-deep in mud and fell over helplessly. Being heavily armored, this was a natural result.

The demon's turn wasn't over yet, and [Washing] magic was cast immediately after. This magic rotates fluids within a certain range, acting as a life magic to wash clothes, unlike the [Great Whirlpool] attack magic that deals massive damage underwater. The five men were kneaded, rolled, and buried in the mud without a chance to stand up properly, losing their will to fight. The demon and the maid won without moving a step, leaving the audience speechless. Only the king in the VIP seats was shaking with laughter, clearly finding it hilarious. Shining Saber, deducing that the two had won the king's favor, decided it would be difficult to disqualify them now.

The defeated men, now a uniform gray, trudged away, dripping with mud, a sight that brought tears to the eyes of the onlookers. The center of the arena, which had turned into a rice paddy, was restored to its original state by some magic from the demon.

---

In Coral's case.

"......"

"That's a spirit-breaking sight..."

The "Triumph Armor" party, including Coral, was speechless. The reply from Keena mentioned something about the final, but for them, who were about to face the second match, it was like a death sentence. They were sure to face the monstrous duo in the semi-finals.

"What's wrong, Coral..."

One of the party members noticed Coral, who was drenched in sweat like a waterfall, and was frightened.

"What, how are we supposed to challenge them...?"

"Huh?"

"Can't we just fight normally?"

Coral, suppressing the urge to retort, "That's not the point," knew the gap in strength was over 700 levels. Compared to his companions, it was a staggering 1,050 levels. Challenging them was the height of folly. This was a weakness of Coral's, who still had the mindset from the game era.

"Hey, are you misunderstanding something, Coral?"

"Huh? What?"

With a tense face, Coral watched the "Cream Cheese Squad" return to the participants' seats on the other side of the arena. His companions, with exasperated expressions, said:

"It's not like the goal is to win at all costs. What was our initial goal? Don't tell me you've forgotten with that thick head of yours."

"Um, to see how far we can go, right?"

Coral, fumbling for words, received nods and sighs from his companions.

"You know, this is a test of our skills. Winning at all costs isn't the goal."

"Give it your all in the moment. If you win, great; if you lose, that's it. Don't think too far ahead, that's why you're so worried."

A companion mage patted Coral's shoulder, and the front-line fighter elbowed him in the side. Coral, as if just noticing, turned his gaze back to his companions. All four were smiling at him. Coral had experienced a similar situation before. When he was still adjusting to the transition from the game, a village had warmly welcomed him, and his friends had said:

"We're comrades who left the same village and vowed to make it big, right?"

"Right, right, no wanderers in our group."

"No outsiders, either."

With a warm feeling in his chest, Coral nodded firmly. He turned his gaze to the opposing party, called by the host, and confirmed that his companions had also stood up.

"I get it, first things first."

"Count on you, our shield!"

"Don't chicken out. If you get through, it'll be tough for the rest of us!"

His companions patted Coral as they moved to their positions. The opposing party had five members, and so did they, giving them a significant advantage with Coral. Smirking, Coral stepped forward, not with a shield but with a large platinum sword he pulled from his item box. Of course, he had no intention of swinging it at the opponent. Following the precedent from the previous match, he was going to use [Combat Skill: Weapon Destruction].

---

In Exis's case.

"Hey, hey, hey, I didn't hear about a separate mission! What the hell is he doing?!"

Exis, visibly anxious, prompted Quorke, who had just watched the gag-like match, to ask, "What's going on?"

"Just a moment," Exis signaled, sending another friend message to Keena. What he wanted to know was where she was. The quick reply read, 'Almost to the ruined city.'

"Quorke."

"Hey, what's going on?"

"We're heading to the ruined city."

"Huh?"

"We're heading to the ruined city, right now!"

"Huh? What?"

Quorke, with his mouth agape, was stunned by his partner's sudden declaration. Even if they left immediately, it would take nearly twenty days to reach the ruined city, rumored to be on the border between Felskeiro and Outarokus. Quorke thought that by the time they arrived, the troublesome situation involving the communication partner would likely be over. However, Exis's eyes were dead serious, so he decided not to press the issue.

"Alright... Just a moment, I'll get ready."

"Got it. I'll check out."

Quorke, understanding that arguing would be futile, slumped and went upstairs to retrieve their belongings. Exis, having prepaid the inn, went to inform Maleer of their departure. However, he was intercepted by Luka, who looked at him with teary eyes.

"Are you leaving...?"

"No, Luka. I have important business..."

Behind him, Roxine was giving him a stern [Intimidate] look. Ritt, unable to bear the tension, interjected, "Adventurers need to move to earn their daily bread, you know." Latem added, "We'll make it up next time. Right, bro?" Feeling the children's concern, Exis met Luka's gaze and patted her head, saying, "A, ah, see you later."

"So, what do we do? Even if we're players, the distance is too great to shorten the travel time, right?"

After saying their goodbyes and moving outside the village, the two of them faced each other again. The ruined city was on the opposite side of the kingdom from their current location. Quorke's question was valid, but the next method of travel Exis suggested was completely unexpected.

"I placed a 'Simple Teleport Target' in the village where Luka lived, just in case. If we get there, we can reach the ruined city in a day."

"......"

"Quorke?"

There was no response, just a vacant, soulless look. ...Or rather, after a long pause, Quorke's reaction was a startled "Huh!?!?" He then slumped and sat down dejectedly.

"What's wrong?"

"If you have such a convenient skill, you should have used it earlier, not 'just in case'..."

"O, oh, sorry."

Exis, who had chosen a dragonkin specialized in the front line, had learned special movement skills for quests that required traveling all over during the game. He hadn't told Quorke about it because he was afraid of being treated like a handyman by the Adventurer's Guild.

"Are there any more hidden skills?"

"We'll talk about that later. First, the ruined city."

---

Meanwhile, Keena and her four companions, unaware of Exis's frantic rush, were busy dealing with a sudden attack.

"Attacking as soon as we thought about camping, it feels like they were waiting for the right moment."

Keena, with an extremely annoyed look, cast [Enhanced Physical and Magical Defense] on everyone. The Cerberus, summoned for night watch, pounced on the attackers with glee at Keena's command. The three knight girls and Mai Mai were responsible for taking out those who slipped through Cerberus's attacks. Sfuld stood behind Mai Mai's shield, and Herau behind Ark's.

The attackers were a group of about sixty goblins. Eighty percent were warrior types armed with stone axes and small shields, with the rest being archers and mages. Despite their brute force, they had a well-organized army, with the front line retreating and archers and mages attacking from behind.

"Keena, these goblins look really familiar!"

Ark, taking aim at the archers and mages in the back while Cerberus was tearing through the front line, was firing crossbow bolts. Most of them missed, hitting warrior goblins or flying off in the wrong direction. A few hit Cerberus but bounced off its tough fur, causing no damage. Keena nodded in agreement. They were clearly the [Favre Guard] goblins from the 200-level cap removal quest, just in larger numbers.

"Try aiming better."

"In the game, they hit automatically. It's different here..."

"Wow, you're lacking in skills. Here, you have to aim manually since the system doesn't distinguish between friend and foe. You should have [Precision Shot] to target properly, but it seems you don't. If you join a party, someone will probably teach you."

"I only partied with my brother."

"Tartaros's negligence! You should socialize more. There were people sitting on the streets in every city, recruiting."

"I was scared of strangers..."

"In an MMO, that's a real problem."

In truth, Ark's fear of people stemmed from Tartaros's casual comment, "If they find out you have that rare weapon, they might attack you." While this conversation was going on, Keena wasn't idle. She was cutting down goblins that slipped through the Cerberus's range. The warrior goblins' levels ranged from 90 to 150, and she was timing her attacks to only let through the 90-level ones.

"Here!"

As the front-line goblin warriors retreated and the goblin mages prepared to cast spells, Keena cast her magic. The Cerberus, which had been forming a wall at her command, leaped to the side to clear the line of fire.

[Magic Skill: Stagnant Space]

A fifteen-meter-wide net of blue-white lightning enveloped the goblin mages and the larger leader behind them. The goblins caught in the sparking net suffered damage and paralysis. The lower-level ones were instantly charred, and the mages' movements froze in shock. Seizing the opportunity, the Cerberus pounced, and from the back, Mai Mai cast an ice spell on the group. With the double punch of paralysis and ice, Keena finished the battle with an explosive spell.

"..."

Herau sighed, looking at the crater that had swallowed half the road and the cliffside. The magic, though not particularly powerful, had a significant impact. According to Keena, it was her third most powerful spell, but even Mai Mai commented that the damage was minimal. Keena, on the other hand...

"S-Sorry, sorry, Cerberus. I got carried away..."

...Kuuu~

She was casting healing magic on the Cerberus, which had been blown away by the blast. The Cerberus, pouting, turned its three heads away, causing Mai Mai, Sfuld, and Ark to chuckle.