Chapter 66

"Stomach's growling!"

"Let's order out. I don't have the energy to cook."

"Got it."

My stomach continued to rumble, as if complaining. It seemed I had slept soundly for over a whole day, and when I woke up, Rin-chan had returned. I felt a mix of happiness and sadness, but I needed to reply to Toka-chan, who had been worried about me while I slept. So, while Rin-chan was ordering the food, I sent a message.

"Ordered something random, so I'll come when it's ready. Did you contact Touka?"

"Yep, all set."

"Well, if you were sleeping, it can't be helped. Maybe you were tired from your part-time job or the long play sessions. It's only ten hours a week, so don't overdo it."

"Yeah, that's true. I guess I was only using my brain, but maybe that's what's more tiring."

I hadn't studied or played games for years. Even though WLO is a fun game, doing something unfamiliar can be exhausting.

"By the way, I think I had a dream."

"Do you remember what it was about?"

"Not at all. It's rare for me to dream, so I'm pretty sure I did, but I can't recall anything."

Before I woke up, I thought it was quite vivid, but once I was awake, my brain had completely forgotten.

"Your head is as empty as a bird's."

"That's not true!"

"No, you might not realize it, but Nana's memory is pretty bad."

Her serious tone made me freeze.

"Wait, you're joking, right? Right?"

"Well, what do you think?"

"Rin-chan, Rin-chan? Don't dodge the question!"

"Hehehehehehe"

I clung to Rin-chan, trying to get her to retract her statement, and she enjoyed the playful tussle until the delivery ramen arrived.

☆

"Ah, I'm full."

"Stop, you smell like an old man."

After devouring the ramen, pizza, and sushi, I patted my full stomach, only to be met with a sigh from Rin-chan.

"Really, where does all that food go?"

"Um... into my stomach?"

"I'll bonk you on the head."

I quickly protected my forehead but ended up having my cheeks pulled. You got me, Rin-chan, with that cheap trick!

"Okay, let's stop playing. Nana, you might not know since you were sleeping, but WLO is all abuzz with a new topic."

She smoothly swiped her tablet and displayed a screen.

"It's the official WLO site."

"Right. What part should I read?"

She pointed to the announcement section of the WLO official site. One of the items marked with a "←New!" tag caught my eye.

"What's this... an event announcement?"

☆ ☆ Dungeon Event: "Stardust Labyrinth" ☆ ☆

By the guidance of the creator god, the path to the sky labyrinth has been opened. Travelers aiming for the stars, traverse the labyrinth and show your strength.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

"Dungeon event! ...What is it?"

Faced with the poetic, or rather, vague text, I couldn't understand anything and turned to Rin-chan for an explanation.

"Look carefully. There's an explanation."

"Hmm, hmm."

I scrolled down to find the event details. I'll summarize the key points of the event's detailed description.

☆

1. The event involves challenging the "Stardust Labyrinth" in another world through warp gates set up at the entrances of each town.

2. The difficulty has four levels, determined by the warp gate passed through: Start Town, Dualis, Trilis, and Fias and beyond.

3. Each player's labyrinth is unique, meaning there's no overlap. Consequently, no rescue is possible.

4. Five servers will be set up for the event period. Players choose a server when first entering the dungeon and explore within that server.

5. Collect "Stardust Fragments" dropped by monsters in the labyrinth to exchange for items, including weapons, armor, and materials. Higher difficulty levels yield more fragments.

6. The boss of the labyrinth drops many "Stardust Fragments" upon defeat. To collect more, players should clear the labyrinth multiple times.

7. Rankings are published based on the number of "Stardust Fragments" collected and other factors. Rewards, such as consumable items, are distributed according to the final ranking.

8. Top-ranking players on each server...?

☆

In simple terms, it's an event where you clear the dungeon multiple times to get lots of items.

"Right?"

"Not bad for Nana."

"Hehehe... are you praising me?"

"Of course."

As she patted my head, I relaxed, and everything seemed less important.

"Basically, it's a repeat event. The exchange items are still unclear, but the ranking rewards are impressive. The 'Revival Potion' for the top 10, for example, is the same as the one confirmed in the beta test's final stages."

"Wow."

"Other top rewards include rare items, though no limited items. They're all valuable at this stage. Given it's a new game, they probably won't give out unique items yet."

Rin-chan, analyzing the event from a game balance perspective, seemed to find it good.

Still, a dungeon event. One that assumes multiple clears. Repeating the dungeon means players with more time have an advantage.

With rewards varying by difficulty and bosses dropping many "Stardust Fragments," the path to the top ranking is clear: efficiently clear the highest difficulty dungeon as much as possible during the event period. If done well, reaching the top ranking isn't a dream.

"The event starts next Friday, in six days."

"Wait, isn't that the day the third wave of players starts? It'll be quite crowded with the event."

"No, the third wave is the day after tomorrow. They're changing the interval from two weeks to ten days."

"Ah, I see."

Apparently, the first and second waves progressed faster than expected, leading to a shorter interval for new players. Starting the event and adding new players on the same day would overload the game, so a four-day gap is reasonable.

"Apparently, the difficulty of the event dungeon doesn't change beyond Fias."

"Right."

Thanks to the intense session with Toka-chan the day before yesterday, I reached Fias, meeting the minimum requirement. Rin-chan, however, is in the fifth town. I should be able to reach it in six days, but...

"I know what you're thinking, but you don't need to head to Griffith yet. I'll return to Fias for this event."

"Really? You're almost at the sixth town, right?"

"Directly, yes. But there are villages and small towns to explore between Trilis and Fias, offering more skills and broader gameplay."

"Fias is like the end of the tutorial, huh?"

True, only about 30% of the first wave has reached Fias. Some second-wave players have, but not many. Probably around 4,000 in total. Even if more reach Fias by the next event, it will still be fewer than those before Trilis. The difficulty beyond Fias seems to reflect this.

"By the way, I was invited to an NPC-hosted auction by Koneko-maru. Also, I need to visit Shuya's clan in Fias."

Shuya, the one-handed swordsman I met when Toka-chan sent me to Dualis, had asked me to visit his clan in Fias.

"Shuya... oh, him. His clan is Round Table. Please say hello to the leader for me."

"Ah, you know the leader. What's he like?"

"Well... he's definitely strong."

That's to be expected for a clan leader, but her vague response suggested some issues.

"Anyway, you can explore and sightsee around Fias for the next six days. Do what you want, and take a break from streaming if you need to."

"Got it!"

"Also, stock up on weapons and items. Losing them during dungeon runs is a waste."

"Okay. Rin-chan, you're serious."

"Of course, if there's a ranking, I'll go for it. It's only natural, right?"

A typical aggressive statement from Rin-chan, who hates losing. I smiled and nodded at her battle-ready grin.