Chapter 75

"It's finally begun."

I had expected it to happen eventually, but I didn't think they would announce the quest so grandly. Moreover, a new term, "Great Beast Devourer," which I hadn't anticipated, also appeared.

Around me, people seemed just as internally shaken as I was. After the announcement, it was strangely quiet, and the moment I glanced around—

"---Sudden Quest, Here It Comes!!!"

"Wha!?"

The cheers that broke the silence made me even more flustered.

"Hey! Let's go hunting right away. Let's find and hunt that Great Beast Devourer!"

"Wait a minute! How about we lure it over here and watch everyone fight it?"

"Sounds good! Let's have a party battle and a personal time attack competition!"

"I'll join too!"

"Hey, what's that? Something creepy is coming closer!"

"Wha!? It's already here! Let's go, guys!"

"Yeaahh!!!"

"..."

What is this? The special monster that crossed the safety zone boundary was immediately stopped by a wall of human flesh, halting its advance.

The appearance of the Great Beast Devourer is a silhouette of twisted trees with a torn mouth and a row of uneven, sharp teeth. However, the elements that make it up are simply unsettling.

Its body is a fleshy, bloated trunk with a black and brown texture, and countless tentacles extend from it. Parts that look like human fingers can be seen in some places, which were not visible in the mural. Inside the dark, fleshy mass, muscle fibers and pale pink, white, and red flesh can be seen, making the colors stand out even more.

The head, which seems to be the top part, is sunken, and the area where the eyes should be is hollow and darker than the surrounding darkness.

Moreover, its high-pitched, metallic scream erodes my mind, making me wince in discomfort.

Women would probably be too disgusted to even approach it. Its appearance, which would make anyone scream in a sudden encounter, combined with the way it slowly emerges from the darkness of the night, makes everyone swallow their screams.

I saw its form clearly. No, I can't help but see it with my [Eagle Eye], which I now regret having at this moment.

However, what is even more puzzling is the way our allies are enthusiastically charging at the enemy with that appearance.

Ah, look, even my sister is happily slashing at the tentacles and tearing the flesh.

"Whoa!? It's not going down at all! The eyes on its back must be the weak point! Luka, what do you think?"

"We'll hold it down! Tobi, go for the back!"

"Got it. ---[Back Stab]!"

Everyone starts hunting the Great Beast Devourers that keep appearing as if crawling out of the darkness, cheering excitedly.

Normally, wouldn't they be running around in panic?

"..."

"This is..."

Magi, who had somehow appeared next to me. People like us, who are non-combatants, tend to stay in the center, forming a circle as everyone fights.

"Cro, what is it? I'm sleepy... and so is Shia..."

"Sorry, but you need to wake up. An emergency quest has started."

Carrying the sleeping Lilee on his back, Claude also gathered and observed the situation.

The Great Beast Devourers appearing from the forest are being eliminated quickly, so the situation doesn't feel threatening.

"Hey... Wouldn't the appearance of a monster usually cause panic?"

"This is a game. Logically, an enemy that would kill all players wouldn't appear. But this enemy might be designed to create a sense of intimidation and disgust. Hmm... interesting."

I can understand what Claude said. Rather, humans are scarier. Look, my sister Sei and Mikazuchi are testing how much damage they need to deal to the eyes on the back to defeat it, and others are trying to see if they can defeat it without targeting the weak point.

However, there are no drop items, which is disappointing for some people...

"This is why gamers are..."

My grumbling made the people nearby chuckle. Meanwhile, the situation was changing.

After about thirty minutes, the number of enemies appearing from the forest decreased, and eventually, their appearance stopped. Some groups entered the forest to investigate whether they had all been defeated or to find the respawn points.

Now, in this safety zone, about twenty people, including crafters and non-combatants, are taking turns keeping watch.

"This is getting fun. Attacks are happening everywhere. It seems to be following some kind of pattern."

"Cro, Magi, I'm sleepy. Can I go to sleep?"

"Um, I'll wake you up if something happens, but you can sleep here."

Claude, who was checking the bulletin board, relaxed, and Lilee leaned against him, falling asleep. Magi, petting Rikur, watched the scene with a smile.

Internally, I was confused because the first camping event had turned into a hunting event, but everyone seemed so natural that I wondered if I was the only one who was wrong.

"Haah... Sei, Miu, and Taku are all out there... I'm worried."

"Yun, it's rare to hear you complain. You've been acting strange too."

I was holding Rui and Zakuro on either side, looking around nervously.

"No... I'm just watching the forest. With my [Eagle Eye], I can see clearly and sharply... I can't feel at ease unless I see it myself."

"Yun, are you afraid of ghosts?"

"N-no... I'm not afraid of them."

I don't think I'm afraid of horror. We've never gone to a haunted house at an amusement park or watched horror movies together...

But these two gamers must have played some horror games... Wait, they said the sound would be annoying and never played them in front of me.

While I was digging through my memories, Claude, with a dark look in his eyes, started telling a story without taking his eyes off the bulletin board.

"Once, I heard a story about college students camping in a forest. They had dinner and set off fireworks, and just as they were about to go to sleep—"

His storytelling, which was proven to be atmospheric by the bulletin board, made me hug the young beasts on either side. Rui turned her head away, annoyed, but I couldn't care less.

"—They heard an ominous sound inside their tent. At first, it was a faint 'crunch, crunch,' but it gradually grew louder. When they looked outside, they saw a large human shadow. They wondered if someone was there at this hour, but there was something strange. The sound of multiple footsteps, even though it was just one person.

Moreover, the figure, though far away, was clearly larger than a human. When they shone a light into the darkness, they saw a human body. But the body was a bizarre shape, as if several human bodies had been mixed together like clay.

One of them remembered something. There was a rumor that a military research facility was nearby. The facility was said to have experimented with attaching different limbs to people who had lost their arms or legs, to create an ideal body for soldiers to fight again, a non-human experiment to enhance humans by adding more arms and legs.

Then, a different sound came from deep in the forest. At first, it was a thin, wind-like sound, but when they understood its meaning, the people in the tent froze.

'—Return, our, bodies. Return.'

The clay-like human slowly passed by their tent, as if fleeing from the voice.

When everyone thought the combined human had left and they could relax, they clearly heard the voice.

'—Your, bodies, are, good.'"

The sound of multiple footsteps from the forest behind me made me turn around abruptly.

Claude's ghost story immediately connected to the image of a monstrous creature, and I couldn't help but imagine the worst. I wanted to look away and cover my ears, but my body was frozen. My [Eagle Eye] clearly saw a black shadow approaching.

"Ah!"

"Stay calm, Yun. It's okay! Rui and Zakuro are uncomfortable!"

"Wow, to panic this much from a ghost story..."

Magi, trying to calm me down, and Claude, looking exasperated.

I couldn't care about that and just stood there, frozen and suppressing my voice.

The black shadow, which was black and had parts of a human body visible, approached as if chasing something and burst out of the forest.

—With multiple young beasts.

"Great Beast Devourer chasing young beasts?"

I suddenly had a sense of déjà vu when the young beasts burst out of the grass. What was I afraid of in the first place? There's no such thing as ghosts in a game created by technology.

Thinking about it, I felt a wave of fatigue.

I watched the Great Beast Devourer, which was immediately defeated by the guards, and let out a long sigh.

"Whatever..."

Feeling self-disgust at my own incompetence, I buried my face in Rui's body. I felt like I was being told that I was being a bother, but I let it slide.

Zakuro's fluffiness soothed my self-disgust. Rikur, Kutsushita, and Neshias looked up at me with concern.

My heart gradually returned to normal, and just as it did, Claude spoke up.

"I didn't expect you to panic this much. Honestly, I'm sorry."

"I should have stopped it halfway, but watching your face was too amusing. Sorry."

"No... I'm fine now. Yeah."

"By the way, the continuation is—"

"Aah, I can't hear it! I don't want to know!"

I interrupted Claude, shaking my head to forget. Claude quietly said it was an improvised story, a fiction, so I shouldn't worry. For an improvised story, it was pretty good.

"By the way, what should we do with these young beasts?"

One person spoke up on behalf of the group. The content was about the young beasts that had fled.

The young beasts that had fled were various types, such as piglets, baby elephants, baby monkeys, squirrels, rabbits, and calves. Their arrival caused the sound of multiple footsteps.

"What do you mean, 'what should we do'? Why us?"

"Well... you're the 'nanny' of the young beasts."

"Stop calling me that. I don't like it."

Being called a 'nanny' as a man is too much. This will be a teasing point for Taku. I feel gloomy just thinking about it.

However, the current situation is about dealing with the young beasts that have fled. We can't just leave them, and it seems they are hard to find in the forest. This is a good opportunity, so I'll have everyone take care of them.

"Hmm. How about each party takes care of the young beasts they like? Maybe someone can contract with one."

"Is that okay?"

"It's fine. I already have two, and do you, Magi and Claude, have any complaints?"

"I agree with Yun. Greed can lead to failure..."

"I have no complaints."

With Magi and Claude's agreement, I turned to the representative.

"That's what I mean. I'll support you, so do your best."

"Thank you!"

"Don't be so formal. I'll feel bad."

The overly polite response made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

After that, the young beasts were taken care of without any issues. Parties with more men chose strong-looking young beasts, while parties with more women chose cute, small young beasts.

Everyone was discussing which food was best and cautiously interacting with the young beasts.

Seeing the situation objectively, it reminded me of an animal petting area, which was heartwarming.

"Yun, was this okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"Dealing with the young beasts. Didn't you think, if it goes well, maybe one more...?"

Magi, grinning like a Cheshire cat, seemed to be testing me. I answered without any particular tension.

"It's fine. I already have Rui and Zakuro, and as Magi said, greed can lead to failure. Trying to monopolize them would just cause resentment."

"I like that about you, Yun~"

"I'll take that as a compliment."

We continued our pleasant night chat.

The long night was interrupted by two more attacks by multiple Great Beast Devourers.

During this time, Claude was in close contact with various parties, the bulletin board, and the investigation parties, gathering information.

"Hmm... It seems young beasts are fleeing to areas where players are present in various places."

"Really?"

"Also, the respawn period is every two hours, confirmed in five locations. So, the next attack will be in thirty minutes. We'll eliminate them as soon as they appear."

"Finally, it's almost dawn. By the way, we ended up staying up all night, but are you okay?"

Claude seems used to staying up all night, but Magi is sleeping with Lilee, supporting each other. I, as a man, stubbornly used my [Eagle Eye] and [Discovery] sense to detect enemies early, which helped me level up.

"After eliminating the next respawn in five locations, the people who went out will return. We'll take turns napping and then search for and hunt the Great Beast Devourer."

"The main boss hasn't been found yet, though."

That's right. Despite thorough searches, the main target hasn't shown up.

So far, five respawn points have been discovered: two in the north, one in the east, one in the west, and one in the south. However, there seem to be more due to the number of misses.

The number of appearances at one point is one hundred, so five hundred Great Beast Devourers roam the field, chasing the young beasts.

"Thirty more minutes. I think I'll take a nap."

"Sure. Get some sleep. I'll gather information while—"

At that moment, the world shook.