Chapter 100
After fighting the extermination Golems, we decided to take a short break. We had destroyed the troublesome γ-type and recovered its remains, while Jigoro had pulled out the device that had been deploying the Jammer Field. Thus, we figured there was no immediate risk of suffering catastrophic damage.
Since I was the first to take a break, I logged out and quickly took care of hydrating, eating a light snack, and using the bathroom. Only a little over ten minutes had passed in real life, but nearly an hour had gone by in the game. Hoping nothing had gone wrong, I logged back in.
"...Phew, looks like nothing happened."
"Oh, welcome back~"
"Indeed, it was quiet as could be."
Ruby and Gentaro, who had been guarding our avatars, said this while looking relaxed. Ruby was eating nuts dusted with sugar, while Gentaro was drinking liquid from a leather flask. Both were foods sold at Birdy Perch. Cal, meanwhile, was curled up asleep.
"I've never heard of that before. Is it tasty?"
"Hmm... It's so-so?"
"The flavor is rather weak overall. It cannot be helped, though, since it is regulated by law."
The regulations Gentaro mentioned concerned the once-popular VR food diet. It was a dieting method in which people ate in a virtual space and restricted their food intake by convincing themselves they had eaten.
As a result, people reduced the number of meals they ate, and even more people collapsed from malnutrition than during the carbohydrate-restriction diets that had been popular long ago. Thus, laws were enacted requiring food available in virtual spaces to be bland, or making delicious food enormously expensive.
"I'm back."
"I'm back!"
After we made some idle small talk, Jigoro and Iris returned. That meant all three of those who had taken a break earlier were back.
"Then I'll go take a break!"
"We're leaving our bodies in your care."
With that, Ruby and Gentaro logged out. Now, while I waited for them to return, I could replenish the talismans I'd used up. I'd used almost all of the ones I had made.
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You have received one message from the operators.
――――――――――
Oh? A message from the operators? At a time like this? What could it be about?
"This is... related to an event, I suppose."
The message was an announcement about an event being held during Golden Week. An event had actually been announced while I was working overtime, and we had already decided not to participate. The next event was called 'Defend the Mining City!'—a defensive battle to protect a mine from an approaching horde of monsters.
There was no way we could participate! Well, second-wave monster players sometimes formed parties with human players, so it was not as though we would necessarily be rejected outright. But the incident in which all the top players of the time were slaughtered was still fresh in my memory. More importantly, I aspire to be a villain! Why should I join hands with human players to fight a defensive battle?
"That was what I thought, anyway..."
This event had the strange rule that we had to declare in advance whether we intended to participate. I had sent in my declaration of nonparticipation from the tablet I had linked to the game during a break from overtime, but this announcement had only been sent to monster players who had declared they would not participate. Its contents made my heart race.
"'To the Land of Bloodshed'... The details are unknown, but is this an event where we capture a mine defended by players alongside the local monsters?"
The announcement screen only displayed the event's name and a touchscreen for declaring participation or nonparticipation; it gave no concrete details whatsoever. Almost no advance information? That sounded fun. Unfortunately, it presented one major problem.
"But everyone else has plans tomorrow..."
The event would run for two days starting tomorrow. And tomorrow, everyone but me already had other plans. They were the sort that could not be canceled, either.
Iris, Ruby, and Shio—the trio of girls—were heading to 'Flower Country' in the Aquaria Archipelago to serve as guards at the request of a Birdian merchant. It had originally been a training trip for those planning to challenge the 'Azure Moon Trial' alongside Shio, but Iris and Ruby had decided to tag along so they could acquire the Flower Country's technology and unique items.
Jigoro and Gentaro, the battle-junkie duo, would accompany the three of them partway through the journey. They would then travel with a Birdian elder who was likewise a battle junkie to a place where one of his old acquaintances lived. Apparently, there was a place in the Aquaria Archipelago that was practically a paradise for monsters, and the Birdian elder knew some of its residents.
As for me, I was having trouble deciding because both groups had invited me to come along. They each had their own appeal. If I went with Iris and the others, I might be able to learn more advanced 【Talisman Arts】. If I went with Jigoro and the others, unknown magic might await me.
"Hey, bro. You wanna go to the event, don'tcha?"
"Don't worry about us."
"Hmm... Sorry."
But more than anything, I could not pass up an event where I could play the villain. The two of them understood that, which was why they said this with wry smiles.
"We'll be looking forward to hearing your stories."
"That applies to me too."
"Please look forward to our stories as well!"
That settled my plans from tomorrow onward. It had been quite a while since I had acted alone, but there was something to be said for that, too. I made talismans while thinking about tomorrow's event.
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After Ruby and Gentaro returned, we resumed exploring. I told them about the event along the way. They both looked a little disappointed, but seemed to accept it.
"This is as far as the map goes."
As we advanced, clearing away Golems that appeared from time to time and checking alchemy and magic-item shops, we finally reached the last readable point on the map shown in the guide. From here on, we would have to find our way by trial and error.
"A fork right away, huh?"
Even so, a fork lay in front of us. Now then, which way was the correct one?
"Thinking about it won't make the answer appear, so let's just go! Iris, right or left?"
"Huh?! Um... then maybe right?"
"All right! Right it is!"
The way we decided was somewhat forceful, but we chose to take the right-hand path at the fork. I hoped this was the right way. I wondered how it would turn out.
After walking for a while, we found a sign mounted on the wall. We had come across signs several times before. While not all of them could be read, some in good condition revealed their destinations. This one was relatively well preserved and easy enough to read.
"Yep, we got it right."
The sign had an arrow and the words 'Central Administration Building.' The passage ahead had to lead to our destination. We had Iris's instincts to thank!
"Let's keep going. Looks like this is the right way."
"That sure bodes well. At least it won't be a hassle."
"I'm glad my guess was right..."
Jigoro was in a good mood after learning that we had chosen correctly, while Iris lowered her tentacles in relief. Although Ruby had steered things in that direction, Iris had been the one to make the decision, so she had apparently been worrying about it. How conscientious of her.
Now that we knew we had not taken a wrong turn, we continued farther down the passage. Most of the signs along the way were in good condition, and there were only two more forks, leaving us with no reason to get lost.
"Once we go up this escalator, we should come out near the entrance to the Central Administration Building."
"This one doesn't move either, huh?"
"Can't be helped. More importantly, once we go up this, we're outside, right? Which means..."
"Nine times out of ten, the Harpies will attack us."
For security reasons, perhaps, the underground district's exit was located some distance from our destination's building. That meant we would have to travel aboveground from the exit to the building's entrance. If so, there was a high chance we would be spotted and attacked by the Harpies, whose detection abilities were extraordinary.
"We'll just have to move as quickly as possible."
"I'll do my best!"
Although Iris was accustomed to moving at high speed with her tentacles, she was the slowest of us all when relying on her natural speed, so she was steeling herself. As a last resort, Cal could carry her through the air, so she did not need to put so much pressure on herself.
"All right... Let's go."
We climbed the stationary escalator and emerged aboveground. The moon was still in the sky, making it clear that we had not spent all that long underground. Still, after fighting Golems so many times, it felt like ages since we had last been on the surface.
"Gyaaah!"
"Gegya! Gegya!"
"Tch! It's nothing but Harpies out here!"
We had just emerged aboveground, only to find ourselves surrounded by Harpies! I thought we had been ambushed, but that probably was not the case.
"Looks like those Harpies have a nest on the roof of a nearby building."
On the rooftops of the surrounding buildings were bird nests built from monster bones and rubble from collapsed buildings. There were a great many of them, too. It seemed the central area of the 'Ancient Ruined City' was the Harpies' stronghold.
"Graaah!!"
"Gyogyaaa!!"
"Stop gawking and run!"
We had been staring at the Harpies' nests as though trying to escape reality, but we had no time to stand around. The Harpies, whose territory—and deepest reaches at that—had been invaded, were all worked up. The air was so hostile that they looked ready to attack at any moment.
"Everyone, close your eyes! Star Magic Circle, remote activation! Flash!"
As I cast the blinding spell Flash, we turned our backs and ran. There was no time to look for anything my tentacles could grab, so Cal was flying while carrying Iris. We were making a full-on escape!
"Gyaaah!"
"Kyoaaah!"
"They're too fast, and there are too many of them!"
"Tch! We can't shake them!"
The distance from the exit to the Central Administration Building was farther than expected, and the Harpies, having recovered from Flash, all swooped in at once. Their voices carried an extraordinary fury. It was an entirely natural reaction, but for us, it could not have been more troublesome.
"Then how about this!? Magic Circle, remote activation! Evil Spirit Summoning! And Summon: Skeleton Shielder! Summon: Demi-Lich! Undead Boost!"
As sacrificial pawns, I summoned evil spirits into the air through 【Spirit Invocation】 to attack indiscriminately, then deployed my fellow skeletons, summoned through 【Summoning Arts】, on the ground after enhancing them with 【Necromancy】. This should at least hold some of them back, even if it could not stop them all.
"Geh! Geh!"
"Gyogyaaaaa!"
"Grrr!?"
"Hey! There are more of them now!?"
Damn! Even though I had spent most of my magic preparing those decoys, more than half of the Harpies were still heading this way! We were almost at the building, but at this rate, they would circle around us! There was no choice. I had to use my last trump card!
"...Please send something strong. Infernal Beast Summoning!"
I used Infernal Beast Summoning, which randomly determined what would be summoned—a pure game of chance. This left me with almost no magic. Please! Let something strong come!
As the magic activated, a black hole opened in the ground. The effect was the same as during the battle with the Tarasque. And what came out was...
"...Nothing's happening?"
"Huh? What?"
Th-that's strange. Last time, a huge bug had come out right away... Don't tell me...
"It failed at the last moment!?"
"Ungh!"
"Stop arguing and run!"
Damn it! It failed here of all places!? I never imagined Infernal Beast Summoning could fail to produce anything! This was completely beyond my expectations!
"Damn! They've gotten around us!"
"Do we have no choice but to fight?"
In the end, we had landed in the very situation I had spent almost all my magic trying to avoid. And with me being useless, it was even more dire than last time, when we had been forced to flee despite being in perfect condition.
"We'll force our way through the encirclement, even if it's a little rough!"
"Then allow me to assist."
"!?"
It was a woman's voice—not Iris's or Ruby's—that answered me. When we looked toward the voice in surprise, every one of us was shocked for two separate reasons.
The first was that the person who had appeared was a human woman. She was a tall beauty in a crisp women's suit, with long black hair streaming behind her. Her appearance could only be described as that of a cool career woman, completely out of place in our current desperate situation. The scene was incredibly surreal.
The second reason was that the beauty was holding what was unmistakably a machine gun in her right hand. It was an exquisite weapon nearly as long as she was tall. She lifted it effortlessly with one hand and aimed it at the Harpies.
"Begin firing."
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
As soon as the beauty announced this coldly, the machine gun roared. Its power was enough to kill a Harpy outright with a single shot, putting it in an entirely different league from the security Golems' weaponry. The gun fired in rapid succession, and the Harpies caught between us and the mysterious beauty fled in every direction.
"Now's our chance."
"R-right! Let's hurry, everyone!"
Thanks to her skill, one section of the encirclement collapsed with surprising ease. We took advantage of the opening and dashed into the building.