by Mamare Touno
That said, they still had two troublesome weapons: numbers and plague. True to the phrase “to multiply like rats,” normal rats were astoundingly vigorous breeders. Possibly the ratmen were as well, because considerable numbers of them tended to live concentrated in small areas. Since entering the tunnel, in fact, on several occasions, Shiroe and the others had seen more than twenty ratmen huddled in rooms a few meters square.
Under normal circumstances, any creature that sensed the approach of something much stronger would run the other way. This reaction was particularly marked in wild animals, and the ratmen were no exception. Shiroe, Naotsugu, and Akatsuki were high-level players, and the monsters around them seemed to sense it. As proof, throughout the journey from Akiba to this tunnel, Shiroe and the others hadn’t fought any battles to speak of. They were on a mission to rescue Serara, and so they’d come this far without pausing for anything, avoiding unnecessary combat training or exploration. If the monsters ran away from them, it was all for the best.
Still, if they were dealing with large, concentrated groups of monsters like the ratmen, and if they happened to stumble onto a group in an enclosed room or a narrow dead end, things would be very different. Even if the ratmen tried to run, they’d have nowhere to go. In that case, even if Shiroe’s group tried to retreat and give them their space, they’d most likely attack in a frenzy. It would be a real-life case of the cornered rat biting the cat. Shiroe didn’t think they’d lose in combat, but it would take time to defeat so many ratmen, and it wouldn’t do their nerves any good.
The other issue was plague. Like medieval rats, ratmen were carriers of the plague. If the Elder Tales specs had been faithfully reproduced here as well, the plague was a nasty one that would inhibit recovery and cause continuous damage.
The ratmen in this tunnel were all around level 40. Transmitted plagues had levels as well, and the levels were linked to the host. In this case, the plague would have to be around level 40 as well. A midlevel healer could have treated it easily, but Shiroe’s group didn’t have a healer. They were drinking the Antibacterial Potions they’d bought at the market, but the potions were preventative measures and wouldn’t treat the actual plague. With a level difference like this one, it was doubtful whether they’d be hit with such an attack at all, but even then, it didn’t hurt to be careful.
“This room looks like it might be sorta safe. Whaddaya say, Shiro?”
“Mm… Sure. Let’s rest for a bit. You stay near the door, Naotsugu. I’ll check in with Mari for the day. Akatsuki…”
“I’ll go scout.”
Without waiting for Shiroe’s answer, Akatsuki melted into the darkness.
This sort of role division was already routine for the three of them. At first, Shiroe and Naotsugu hadn’t been happy with the idea of sending a young girl out scouting all alone. However, Akatsuki was more than capable, and she was proud: She wanted to contribute to the party. Once they understood that (although they still hadn’t approved wholeheartedly), they were able to accept this division of labor.
True, scouting was one of Akatsuki’s fortes, and she was definitely the right player for the job. She was a very serious girl, and she was resolutely faithful to her mission.
Naotsugu dragged a steel box that was just the right size out of the rubble, sat down on it near the door, and began to listen, his sword out and ready. If any ratmen or other monsters approached, he’d be able to take them on instantly.
After making sure Naotsugu was settled, Shiroe half closed his eyes and opened his mental menu. He called up the telechat function and contacted Marielle. Over the four days of their journey, Shiroe had contacted her regularly, once a day. Marielle seemed to understand what he was doing, and her response came quickly.
“Thanks for all your hard work, kiddo… How’s things?”
“No problems here. After I checked in yesterday, we set up camp, and early this morning, we entered the Depths of Palm.”
“So you’re down in a dungeon now?”
“That’s right.”
“How are you makin’ such great time?! You’re scarin’ me over here! Talk about fast!”
“Mm-hm.”
Marielle’s warm words made him feel awkward. He wished he could think of some better way to respond, but he couldn’t seem to find one. Even as he thought that, he answered conscientiously.
Marielle didn’t know they were traveling by griffin. In this world, if one wanted to travel, they usually used a whistle to summon a horse. There were War Boars that were trained for use as extremely expensive items, and he’d heard that dire wolves were used in certain areas of the Chinese server. Summoners were able to summon several varieties of animal, including the unicorns they used for personal transportation. However, only a very high-level Summoner could summon animals that could carry them through the air, and no regular player would ever guess that a mere Enchanter, Warrior, and Weapon Attack player had them.
“I mean it. If we’d gone, I doubt we’d have covered half of half that distance yet. Seriously, thank you.”
“Please don’t worry about it… Um. How do things look?”
“I’m still gettin’ through to her.”
This was one of the reasons for Shiroe’s daily calls. He and the others were headed to the town of Susukino in the Ezzo Empire to rescue a girl named Serara. However, they weren’t able to contact Serara by telechat. The telechat function could only be used with people registered to players’ friend lists, and in order to register someone to your friend list, you had to be standing right in front of them, looking at them. Since Serara wasn’t on any of their lists, they couldn’t contact her directly.
“So nothing’s changed?”
“Nope. It sounds like she’s hidin’ with the nice player she mentioned. Nothing bad is happenin’ right now, and she says she’s all right.”
“Understood. If there’s someone like that in Susukino, I guess the place isn’t entirely rotten.”
“You said it.”
Serara had been targeted by a group of vicious players who were trying to intimidate her into joining them. She’d been locked up once and had very nearly been sexually assaulted. However, she’d managed to escape, and at present, she was hiding somewhere in Susukino.
Although Susukino was the same size in area as Akiba, only about two thousand players were currently using it as their hometown, which meant its population was one-eighth the size of Akiba’s. That meant that each individual player was more visible, relatively speaking. For example, if Serara went to the market to buy food, it would be several times harder for her to blend into the crowd and make her purchases quietly. With the town’s population as small as it was now, Shiroe had worried that it would be nearly impossible for her to stay hidden.
However, Serara seemed to have found an ally. Shiroe didn’t know the details, but the ally was a player with good intentions, and their help had made it possible for Serara to make her initial escape from the dangerous Briganteers guild.
If Serara had an ally whose identity wasn’t known to the enemy, shopping would be incredibly easy. In that case, there was a good possibility that Serara could stay hidden until they got there. If there were only two thousand players in Susukino, there would be scores of deserted houses and empty buildings. The lack of players—a factor that had worked against Serara before—would now work in her favor, Shiroe thought. He felt a bit relieved.
“Since we’re in a dungeon, I’m not sure what things are going to be like for a while, so I’ll contact you again once we’re out. I’d assumed the Tearstone Mountains would be the place that gave us the most trouble—”
“What are you goin’ to do about the strait?”
“We’ll think about that when we get there.”
They were actually planning to fly across on the griffins, but Shiroe kept his answer vague. Although Akatsuki had accepted it as a matter of course, knowing they had mounts that could fly would earn them nothing but envy from the average player. In additi
on, for players that knew how they were acquired, the griffins would be proof that their owners had been victorious in the Hades’s Breath full raid. Large-scale battles were high-end Elder Tales content. They were hard battles that only a few of the bigger guilds could attempt and average players could only dream about, and the rewards included rare items such as griffins’ pipes. A certain subset of players would find it unforgivable that someone like Shiroe, a player who wasn’t even in a guild, had such a rare item.
Marielle was the Crescent Moon League guild master. Unlike Shiroe, she had a large circle of acquaintances, and at the very least, it was likely that all the members of her guild knew that Shiroe, Naotsugu, and Akatsuki were on their way to Susukino to rescue one of the guild’s members. Marielle would probably register the griffins with no more than her usual smile, but it wasn’t a sure bet that all the members would follow suit. If word got around, people might start to look at them differently, and that idea scared Shiroe a bit.
“Well, it’s you guys. I think you’re gonna be just fine.”
Marielle giggled at Shiroe’s haphazard remark.
I know she’s pushing herself to sound normal, and she still sounds like this… Mari’s really strong.
“We haven’t taken any major damage yet. We haven’t done very much fighting at all.”
“Roger that!”
“All right. I’ll call again later.”
“Yep! I’ll be sendin’ prayers to the god Eulara for you. Say hi to Naotsugu and Akatsuki for me. Henrietta’s gettin’ lonesome over here!”
As Marielle ended the telechat, Shiroe thought that her closing comment about the god Eulara made her really sound like a Cleric.
So far, everything’s going according to plan…
“How does the situation look, my liege?”
“~~~!”
Since he’d been concentrating on the telechat, he’d completely failed to notice, but Akatsuki was back. When Shiroe turned around, Naotsugu was chowing down on some travel rations.
“No changes in Akiba. Serara is currently in hiding in Susukino, and there’s no trouble on her end. The situation’s stable.”
“Understood.”
Akatsuki answered briefly, then took a big canteen out of her pack. The canteen was actually the same size as Shiroe’s, but when Akatsuki held it, it looked bigger. Shiroe handed her an orange he’d taken from his pack. Fruit could be eaten without being prepared, and in this world, where most food items tasted the same, it was the one precious thing that actually tasted like itself.
Shiroe’s pack was magic and could hold up to two hundred kilograms’ worth of items. The bag canceled out the weight of anything put into it, so that however much it was holding at the time, it only weighed as much as a small, empty knapsack.
This sort of magic bag was a typical Elder Tales magic item. There were several grades ranked by their weight limit and the types of items that could be carried, and since the bags were so convenient, almost all players had one. The packs were one of this world’s must-have survival items: Thanks to them, players could keep fighting even if they found treasure in a dungeon, and they made it easy to carry food and camping gear around.
“Could you report on your scouting expedition now? I’d like to check the terrain against the map.”
“Of course.”
As she dexterously peeled the orange with her knife, Akatsuki reported the results of her expedition. The main road through the tunnel was so wide that even dump trucks would have no problem entering it side by side, and there was really no way to get lost on it, but that road was crossed by countless side roads. If they went straight down the main road, it would get them to their destination; however, since there were colonies of ratmen in places, they might have to make the occasional detour, and the information from Akatsuki’s scouting excursions was invaluable. As he listened to her report, Shiroe jotted down new branch roads on the sheaf of paper he kept nearby.
“…Like this?”
“Yes, that looks right… You’re good at this sort of thing, my liege.”
Akatsuki sounded impressed. She was standing on tiptoe to look at the drawing by Shiroe’s hand, inspecting the parts he’d just added.
“It’s a little like CAD… That and I’m a Scribe.”
“What’s CAD?”
“Computer-aided drafting. I do some of it at university. On top of that, I’m in the Department of Engineering, so…”
“You’re in college, my liege?”
Shiroe nodded. “I’ll be graduating soon, though.” Real-world matters seemed distant and increasingly unreal.
“I see. We’re about the same age, then.”
“Huh?”
“What, for real?!”
Shiroe and Naotsugu reacted to Akatsuki’s comment at the exact same time.
“Is it that unexpected?”
Akatsuki responded calmly. Shiroe thought, a bit guiltily, that it was. He’d assumed Akatsuki was at least three or four years younger than he was.
“You’ve gotta be kidding, short stuff. You’re nowhere near tall enough to be an ad— Dwah!”
A sharp, flying knee kick, launched as if to strike the words down, hit Naotsugu square in the face.
“My liege. May I kick Naotsugu the Idiot?”
“I keep telling you, ask first!”
Internally, as he listened absentmindedly to their comedy routine, Shiroe felt himself break out in a cold sweat. He hadn’t actually said it, but now that he thought about it, the only reason he’d had to assume Akatsuki was younger was her height.
“And anyway, stupid Naotsugu, you harp on my height too much.”
“Well, your chest is even more of a washout— Nyargh!”
That time, Naotsugu took a beautiful flying knee kick from the left. From the difference in their heights, Akatsuki had to have jumped nearly two meters straight up, but she twisted back with brilliant, nearly feline aerial form and landed lightly.
“—Akatsuki? Naotsugu’s going to die.”
“If you insist, my liege…”
Reluctantly, Akatsuki put some distance between herself and Naotsugu. Shiroe had privately thought she was younger as well, and even though he’d been quiet about it, he felt compelled to help Naotsugu out.
“Don’t tell me… Did you think I was a minor, too, my liege?”
Unable to take Akatsuki’s forceful gaze, Shiroe made a muttered confession.
“It wasn’t really your height or anything— I mean, age isn’t— Please don’t ask.”
Shiroe had thought Akatsuki was younger, but he’d never treated her as a kid. This was a world where you had to fight to survive. The sort of world where they had to battle ratmen in cavernous tunnels. Age had nothing to do with it: Anyone who couldn’t do the bare minimum of what had to be done for themselves would have a hard time surviving… Even if “death” didn’t technically exist.
Shiroe remembered the twins he’d helped out. Come to think of it, on the day of the Catastrophe, he’d been playing with them right up until it happened. They’d been separated when the Catastrophe kicked him back to Akiba. He’d seen them later from a distance, and they seemed to have joined a guild, but he was still a bit worried.
Once they got back to Akiba, he decided, he’d check up on them.
“My liege? What are you brooding about?”
“Hm? I’m not really thinking about anything.”
“That’s not true. When you think, your forehead wrinkles up right between your eyebrows.”
“…Oh. Uh…”
He’d tried arguing for no real reason, but Akatsuki had seen right through him. That part wasn’t so bad, but Akatsuki had begun tapping the space between her own eyebrows, saying, “Right here. Old guy wrinkles,” and it was making him feel very weird.
“Rrgh! Naotsugu, what’s so funny?!”
“You’ve gotta ask? Gwah-hah! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
Shiroe aimed a kick at Naotsugu’s shin, but Naotsugu’s legs were covered in
thick armor, too, and he only hurt his toes.
After the three of them bickered for a while, they stood and got ready to press forward. The fathomless darkness of the tunnel pressed down on them, as heavy as eternity. The atmosphere was damp and frigid in the way peculiar to deep underground spaces, but even so, as they laughed together, the air around them felt just a little warmer.
5
By the time they finally left the endless tunnel, the first light of dawn was beginning to edge the mountains on the horizon with purple. They’d been underground for a very long time, and they stretched hugely in the cold, fresh wind. Although the cavern hadn’t been so low they’d had to stoop, having several hundred million tons of earth and sand above them had been more oppressive than they’d realized. Now they were just happy to have the early summer sky, still indigo with receding night, over their heads.
“The wind is cold.”
Akatsuki leapt nimbly up onto a large boulder that looked out over the forest and the ocean.
“Yeah. Feels good, though. We’re finally out. Glad-that’s-over city!”
Shiroe hurried after the two of them and climbed up onto the boulder. The wind was really cold, but the view was overwhelming. The primeval forest, a green so deep that it looked nearly black, was being colored with great strokes of rose-colored light. When the clouds that rode the dawn wind broke, that rosy light struck the sea that gleamed on the far horizon, making it shine raspberry and gold.
“How pretty.”
“Whooooa…”
Akatsuki and Naotsugu’s brief comments said it all.
Come to think of it, this is a first, Shiroe thought.
We’re the first people to ever see this view… No one in this world has traveled all the way from Akiba to Susukino yet. We’re really the first ones to see this. There are lots of players who happened to be passing through here at dawn when Elder Tales was just a game, but in this other world, we’re the first. And being first is…
