Chapter 66

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In a certain village,

"Hey, hey, what are you planning to do by suddenly taking out that old stuff?"

The wife of the only tool shop in the village, armed as she was when they first met, raised her voice at her husband. She wondered where in the house such things were stored—full armor and a great sword, the very equipment he had worn when he appeared with a troubled look on his face. Somehow, it was not even scratched or dusty.

"Ah, sorry. It seems I have to go out for a bit."

With a casual attitude, as if he were borrowing a farming tool from the next-door neighbor, there was a resolve in his back. Having been married for over a decade, the wife was bewildered by this unfamiliar attitude of her husband. No, perhaps he was like this when they first met, when he volunteered to slay the monsters that appeared around the village.

"Well, I'll be gone for a few days, but I'll be back, so don't worry."

As she was patted on the head like a child, the wife felt a sense of déjà vu and looked up. There was a warrior with a childlike smile, just like back then. Though he had become a bearded old man, the wife, trying to hide her tears of nostalgia, slapped her husband's face.

"Ouch!?"

"Hmph! If you're not here, my business will be ruined. Get back here quickly!"

"Ouch... Where did that innocent young lady go?"

"Don't just stand there talking nonsense, get it over with quickly!"

Escaping from his wife, who brandished a rolling pin, the husband laughed and went outside. Waving from the window, he crushed the stone (an emergency event item) he took from his pocket. Seeing the husband turn into a beam of light and fly west, the wife clasped her hands in prayer to a god unrelated to the angels who appeared over the village at noon.

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At the entrance of a certain forest.

"Then, be careful."

"Yeah, you too."

A young-looking female elf and an old elf exchanged words. The one about to depart was a black-haired woman in leather armor, with a short sword and a short staff at her waist. The one seeing her off was an old elf in a blue robe, with a white beard down to his waist. Both were high elves, with only slightly pointed ears, and this forest was the entrance to their otherworld, the "Deep Green Forest."

"If you meet any of our kin, tell them to return to the forest, okay?"

"It depends on how stubborn they are. But I'll try to persuade them, so don't blame me if no one comes back, okay?"

"That's understandable. See you next time..."

"Don't be too pushy, or they might dislike you."

Laughing as if enjoying a conversation between a grandfather and a granddaughter, the old high elf turned and used [Forest, Open] to disappear into the opened door.

"Phew, well, there's a lot to do once I get out."

The woman, who watched him go, sighed and crushed the stone she took from her pocket. Instantly, she turned into a beam of light and flew southwest.

---

In the west of Helshper,

"Hey, you, wait a minute!"

"Hm?"

Coilogue, who had obtained permission from the knight commander and Keilina to be relieved from the capital defense, was about to crush the stone he had taken out when he was called. Turning around, he saw a cat-person youth in heavy metal armor, making a clattering sound as he approached.

"Phew, it's a good thing I have a fellow player. You're a player, right?"

"Yeah, I'm Coilogue. If you're asking, you must be one too?"

"Yeah, I'm Hurnel. I ran out of emergency transfer items, so can I go with you?"

"Sure, I'll send a party registration request. Please confirm it."

"Thanks."

Both opened their windows and completed the party registration. After confirming it, Hurnel let out a sigh of relief.

"It's a sudden call from the admin for an emergency mission, so I was surprised. I didn't know there were still people who could run the admin here."

When Coilogue heard "admin," only two people came to mind. He wasn't wrong, but as a regular player, he thought of GMs as admin staff. He had only met one, but from his words and actions, he was sure there was another.

"I know two people with GM privileges."

"Really!? I've never heard of 'Cream Cheese' being here. Have you met Coilogue?"

"... 'The Witch and the Strategist.'"

"Wha!? You, you're still alive...?"

For general mid-level to beginner players like Coilogue and Hurnel, players with nicknames among the hardcore players were like dangerous explosives. Coilogue couldn't say that he had been on the verge of death after a direct confrontation, so he responded with a strained smile, "Ah, ah, well, yeah..." Hurnel, reading something from his expression, patted his shoulder and comforted him, "Don't worry about it." Coilogue, who had never been comforted by a fellow player, teared up and crushed the stone.

---

At the scene

The location where Ops had set up camp. At the intersection of the road extending from Felshkeiro and the commercial outer shell road connecting the continent's coastline, a tower with a parabolic antenna at the top was installed. This was the receiving antenna for the emergency mission transfer stones during the game. Incidentally, Mai Mai and the others were [Transferred] to Felshkeiro before Ops built the tower. Arc, who had a player's standing, avoided meeting other players due to his rare weapon. There was a slight sense of guilt, but Exis, who was in charge, insisted, "I'll take care of my sister's share," and forcibly sent them back.

"This was built by an admin agent mixed in with the players."

"There were a few others besides me."

Several beams of light flew from the south, east, and north, and a few players landed near the tower. One of them had already taken charge of the situation, calling out to the players who were gradually appearing, forming temporary parties based on level and front or back line roles. This quick and efficient action was no different from the past. When a few players gather, there is always someone who can take charge. The players present were divided into parties but connected by the party link function, so if one person used a range defense spell, everyone would benefit.

"Still, there are only about twenty of us..."

"It's impossible to surround them. The best we can do is to break through and crush them while keeping the surroundings sealed."

At the feet of the white dragon, which had been summoned in advance by Keena for emergencies, Keena, Ops, and two other players were huddled together. The white dragon itself was summoned to a level seven, with a summoning intensity of nine, in case of emergencies. The green dragon, sent as a messenger to Outarokus, returned with the queen Sahara Shade's letter. It was sent back once and then summoned again at the maximum level. Each dragon was an expert in various support roles. The white dragon specialized in group healing spells, and the black dragon excelled in group attacks. This formation, with these two types of dragons, was highly effective for solo actions. Additionally, with two people, they could maintain the summoned creatures without being constrained by time or limits.

"It's a bit of a help to have a level breaker here."

"But seeing the two of you together made me think my life was short."

A human player in red full armor, Yager, who had once led the "Silver Clock" guild, a major guild in the game, with over two thousand members in Reideil. His level was in the 800s, suitable for a front-line role.

A blue dragon-person in a robe with a staff, Spiraal, was a back-line specialist skilled in support, also in the 800s. He was a unique player who chose a front-line race but specialized in back-line roles, leading the guild "Ancient Document Alley" composed of other unique players (such as library exploration specialists, dwarves who dedicated their game lives to digging holes, and cliff dwellers).

"The problem is what's inside, right?"

"Huh? Since it's not a mix of the Demon Realm and the Heavenly Realm, the highest level would be around 600, right?"

"No, no, in the continent, there are the 'Descendants of the Demon King.' If they're here, it's not a joke..."

"Oh, the one in the underground of the Black Country. From your exhausted look, have you fought them before? I've never heard of it."

"Yeah, I've heard of it. The master of the underground labyrinth, right?"

"When I was in the 900s, I went with Eberope, Meshmouth, Tartaros, Warabansi, and San. We were wiped out, but we might have won, I guess."

Spiraal, who found it interesting, grimaced when he heard "wiped out." Yager, with his arms crossed, asked, "Did you all die in a mutual kill?" but Keena, shaking her head, looked down with a dark expression.

"We used the final resort because we were about to be wiped out."

"Hmm, you used that, huh. That's indeed..."

Ops, nodding in agreement, received a questioning look. In response, he made eye contact with Keena, asking if it was okay to speak. Keena, nodding easily, let Ops explain.

"[Special Skill: Self-Destruct]."

"Self-Destruct!?"

Yager, who had never heard of such a skill, was surprised. Spiraal, who knew about it but didn't feel the need to learn it due to the many prerequisites, was also surprised. [Self-Destruct] was one of the most powerful area-of-effect skills, but its effectiveness depended on the user's stats and it was difficult to use. The power was calculated as [Next Level-Up Required Experience × (User's Level + Remaining HP + MP)], so it was extremely powerful when used by a high-level user like Keena. The downside was that the user would die and lose a level, and the effect was indiscriminate, so even near-death party members would be killed by Keena, resulting in everyone dying. Additionally, the attack range was a dome with a diameter equal to the user's level, so most players in the capital of the Black Country, which was above the dungeon, were caught in the blast and died. The members of the raid party kept silent about this incident, making it one of the seven mysteries of Reideil. Only the admin knew the background of this incident.

"That's not an event monster but a fixed monster, so I don't think it's here."

Ops, who couldn't say, "I gathered them," only made a guess. In fact, he didn't know how many event monsters he had gathered here. He had set markers at the event monster spawn points and connected them all to the ruined city, regardless of whether they had spawned or not. After that, he left it to the summoned creatures, so he didn't know what kind of ecosystem the monsters had formed inside. The conversation continued without revealing his thoughts.

"It's difficult to fight when you've adapted to this world and grown older, as the times of arrival are different."

Yager, who said this with a sense of nostalgia, received nods of agreement from some of the players listening. Some had met senior players in this world and invited them to join, but they were refused with the excuse, "I've developed attachments, so I can't." Keena could understand this, thinking of Luka. Even Yager had someone waiting for him, so it was a matter of personal motivation.

"I'm used to taking care of a large group, so it's like being a student council president, which is easier."

"Isn't that more like a school's miscellaneous tasks position...?"

"My subordinates were excellent, so they would follow up on my commands."

At this point, Exis, who looked a bit dirty, arrived. He had formed a small party to guard the entrance. The current ruined city was in a state where the Argent had disappeared. After Keena set up a [Barrier] outside and Ops canceled the summoning, only the city's front entrance was left open, and the monsters emerging from it were being dealt with.

"What's the situation?"

"The number of people has increased, so we have a bit of leeway. However, we haven't seen any of the types of monsters Keena mentioned, like dinosaurs or mage-type monsters. Most are general quest monsters in the 300-400 level range."

They were dealing with manageable monsters to reduce the number. All the players present were linked by the party link, so when someone defeated a monster, everyone received a small amount of experience. There would be some disparity, and some might complain, but those with confidence in their skills were joining the front line. Exis, who had been instructed by Quorke, "We haven't confirmed the use of resurrection magic, so don't overdo it," was leading a group of players who wanted to join the front line back to the entrance, dividing them into two groups to secure the entrance.

"Isn't Kongming good at this kind of thing?"

"No, no. Basically, Ops is used to 'waiting,' 'trapping,' and 'ambush.' Without premium items, both strategies are difficult. In guilds, it was basically 'level-based carpet bombing,' with no strategy."

Keena's blunt statement made Yager and Spiraal sigh. In the game, except during the war, they had a normal relationship, and having Keena in the party meant they didn't need to bring two or three back-line players. When the guild focused on offense, it became an extreme force, and when the entire guild acted as one, it was a group specialized in destruction. "We already knew this, but..." was