The Hidden Event Begins!

I logged in. Yesterday, after that, I returned to Birdy Perch with Number Eighteen. As for Number Eighteen's work, she would basically be handling odd jobs for Iris at her workshop. Once her damaged parts are repaired, she'll probably be able to take on a wider variety of tasks.

As for the ornaments we collected, I claimed two rings: the 'Intelligence Ring' and the 'Mana Gathering Ring.' The former slightly boosts Intelligence, while the latter slightly increases the rate at which Mana recovers.

Both have the rarity 'R (Rare),' so they can hardly be called especially rare items. To be honest, their effects are within the margin of error, too. Still, these were the only two I felt I needed. The other ornaments had each gone to the companions who needed them.

My share may seem small, but that's no problem. That's because there was something extremely useful among the items we obtained during our exploration! More importantly...

"Well, the event starts today. I'm looking forward to it!"

What occupied my thoughts was today's event. To be honest, I was getting excited despite my age. It wasn't simply because I would be able to participate in an official event for the first time in a while. Of course, that was part of it, but even more than that, I might get to meet some new companions.

In conjunction with the defense event, 'Defend the Mining City!', there was 'To the Land of Bloodshed,' which gathered players who had not participated. Depending on why they had declined the event, there was a good chance that players as contrary as myself would gather here, despite having deliberately announced that they would not participate in the other event.

People like that would be a good fit for the 'Nightwalkers,' a group made up entirely of companions with one or two quirks too many. In fact, I think such people would be more fun as companions. Of course, I was also worried that they might instead become mortal enemies.

"Oh, bro! The event's about to start, huh?"

"Yeah, that's right."

While I waited in the living room of Birdy Perch, which I used as my base, Jigoro logged in. He must have intended to wait for Genjuro, who would be heading to the Aquaria Islands with us.

"You're going to stir up the forums for us, right?"

"What's that supposed to mean? Spare me the unreasonable expectations."

Hey, isn't it strange that my taking action directly leads to the forums buzzing? I'm not some event-generating machine, you know!

"Heh, I'm counting on you!"

That wasn't an answer to my point at all. Honestly, what does he think I am?

"So, what are we doing in this event?"

"Who knows? They never said exactly what we would be doing. They did mention that there would be restrictions on the items we could bring in, though."

The event's details were being kept secret once again, but one of its features this time was that the items we could bring in were limited. We could bring only our equipped weapons and armor, along with five types of items. On top of that, we could bring no more than ten of any one item.

I had agonized quite a bit over what to bring. After careful consideration, I decided on a spare staff, my trusty great scythe, and ten each of three kinds of cards. They were Lava Bread, Magic Bomb, and Short Teleport.

I had a very hard time deciding which cards to take. In the end, I settled on the powerful Lava Bread and Magic Bomb, along with Short Teleport, which could be used for escape or surprise attacks.

Incidentally, I wasn't going with the scythe equipped because I wanted to conceal my Race. If I revealed it, someone would definitely start prying into every little detail. And if I refused to explain, they'd hold a grudge against me, right? I know how this works!

"So the item restrictions mean we're supposed to gather things locally and do various tasks?"

"I don't know. But if we could bring in anything we wanted in unlimited quantities, wealth would create a huge disparity. Maybe they simply wanted to avoid that."

Having no limits on our inventory freed us from the stress of worrying about weight and such, but it also meant that the difference in how many items we could keep on hand became almost directly proportional to our playtime. Naturally, there would be a resource gap between working adults like me, who could play for only around two hours a day except on holidays, and hardcore players who played from morning to night, right?

So I suspect this is a measure intended to eliminate that gap as much as possible. The quality of our weapons and consumable items themselves is impossible to equalize, though, so they couldn't make the conditions completely fair.

"Oh, it's almost time. Well, I'm off."

"Bring me a souvenir~"

As we talked, the time for the event finally arrived. With Jigoro's nonsense ringing in my ears, my avatar was enveloped in light and teleported away.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

I felt a light sensation of floating, and then found myself standing in a pitch-black space. I had read on the forums that the labyrinth event had placed players in a pure-white space, so perhaps the location we were sent to differed from event to event?

'It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, players.'

Hmm, what was with this dandy voice...? Wait! I can't speak! What happened? Could my VR device have broken down?

'I am an angel in service to Ifa-sama, the Goddess of Death and Chaos.'

Ignoring my confusion, the deep voice continued. An angel serving Ifa-sama, huh? Given their status as an apostle, did that make them my superior? Or my subordinate? An equal? Whatever. If the device was broken, I would have to send it in for repairs...

'Oh, I neglected to mention that. In this space, all five senses except your hearing have been blocked. Your device has not malfunctioned, so please rest assured.'

Oh, I see. Whew, what a relief! Repairs aren't cheap, after all.

'Now then, allow me to explain the event that will run for the next two days. The setting is Ilevs, a mining city in the northeastern part of the Luxresia Continent, where Fars and other cities are located. It is home to numerous veins of rare metals. At present, a vast horde of monsters is marching south from the north of Ilevs, and if nothing is done, the city's very survival will be at stake.'

So a massive migration of monsters was taking place. And if things continued like this, the mining city of Ilevs would be destroyed.

'Therefore, the premise of the main event, "Defend the Mining City!", is for the players to cooperate with the local residents and defend the city.'

The main event, huh? I see. Which means...

'However, the event all of you gathered here will be participating in is the hidden event, "To the Land of Bloodshed." What it entails will likely differ from player to player.'

As expected, this was the hidden event. But the way they phrased that bothered me. What did they mean by the contents differing from player to player? It didn't sound as though we'd be sent to entirely different places, but...?

'Now, what is it that we would like all of you to do in this event? That would be...'

W-what is it?

'Nothing at all.'

Huh?

'You are free to do whatever you wish. We would like each of you to act as you please, according to your own judgment.'

H-heh heh heh! Hahahahaha! As expected of Ifa-sama! She was giving us complete freedom! If I could have spoken, I would have laughed out loud.

In other words, this was what she meant, right? I could join in defending the city, destroy it alongside the monsters instead, or ignore the large-scale battle entirely and devote myself to gathering materials. I liked it! I really liked it! It sounded like fun!

'You may do whatever you wish, but I have one piece of advice. For the sake of consistency with the main event, you will be allowed to respawn only once. That is because...'

To summarize the dandy angel's explanation, the main event's premise was 'a realistic battlefield,' and this was meant to put us under the same conditions as the players participating in that event. Let me explain it step by step.

First, participants in the main event would be placed at one of five forts north of Ilevs. The massive horde of monsters had been divided into five forces, each heading toward a fort, and it was obvious that their first objective was to capture those forts. Thus, a defensive battle at the forts was certain to occur as a preliminary engagement.

A great many players would probably die here. If that were all, the event would be rather anticlimactic. But if players adopted zombie tactics on the assumption that they could simply respawn, the tension would be lost. Therefore, anyone who died at a fort would respawn at Ilevs's Great Temple of the Twelve Gods, making it impossible for them to immediately rejoin the defense of the fort.

Moreover, the total number of respawns for the event was limited to just one, apparently to heighten the tension of the battle. If players could respawn without limit during the defense of Ilevs, they would surely defend it with zombie tactics.

Thus, any player who died twice would have their event end at that point. Their next respawn would take place where they had been immediately before participating in the event, and their event rewards would be distributed as soon as the event ended.

Incidentally, if the defense failed, the city of Ilevs would be occupied by the monsters. In that case, the dandy angel said, Ilevs would cease functioning until a city-recapture operation led by the Kingdom of Lichtesburg, the nation to which both Fars and Ilevs belonged, could be carried out.

This meant that many participants in the main event would probably fight desperately. The importance of Ilevs as a mining city went without saying. Even when they could no longer hold the forts, many would likely choose to retreat rather than make a suicidal last stand. If they wanted to make use of their one revival, using it to defend Ilevs would be far more worthwhile.

'That concludes the explanation of the event. In thirty seconds, all of you will be deposited in the primeval forest north of the forts. Until then, please enjoy the event... Ah!'

I thought that was the end of it, but the dandy angel suddenly spoke in a flustered voice. It sounded as though they had just remembered something and blurted it out without thinking.

'I completely forgot. While you are participating in the event, clan chat and party chat will be unavailable. You will also be unable to view the forums. Please understand that this is to preserve the realism that is the premise of the main event.'

So chat and the forums were unavailable. I see, I see. That meant information could be shared only verbally or by letter. If we could use them, it would be like having a communication device. They probably wanted to avoid destroying the fantasy-like atmosphere of the world. Running a game must be difficult, too.

'The timing is perfect. Then, we will now begin the event!'

At the dandy angel's declaration, I was supposed to teleport to the forest... but I hadn't teleported! What was going on?

'Oh, our fellow apostle, Izaam-sama! You have been asked to remain here because we have a message from our lord for you!'

"A message? Whoa! I can speak!"

Apparently, my other senses had returned as well. Since there had been no warning, I hadn't noticed!

No, more importantly, I needed to hear the message. It came directly from Ifa-sama, after all... I just hoped it wasn't some strange request.

'I shall convey our lord's exact words: "I have gathered some players who looked interesting nearby, so please lead them and stir up the event for me, okay? Heart."'

Wait, the players' spawn points weren't random? Was this really all right!? I had no intention of announcing it publicly, of course. Once they had already been gathered, we'd be considered accomplices, wouldn't we?

And you, dandy angel! Don't say 'heart' in that voice of yours! It gave me goosebumps!

"Stir up the event, huh? Does that count as a quest?"

'No, this is merely a personal request from our lord. You are under no obligation to accept it, and there will be no penalty whatsoever even if you join up with players from the main event.'

"Really? Then why ask me? Any other player would do, wouldn't they?"

'For a simple reason, Izaam-sama. You are an apostle blessed with our lord's protection. There is no one more suitable than you to entrust with our lord's harmless request!'

Did telling me to meddle in the event really fall within the scope of something harmless? That goddess could genuinely leave me baffled about what she was thinking sometimes. Seriously.

"Sigh... Fine, I understand. I'll accommodate your request as much as possible."

'Oh, thank you!'

"However! I'll prioritize the wishes of the players Ifa-sama gathered, so keep that in mind. And if they're all people I don't get along with, I'll just leave them alone. This is an event where we are free to act as we please, so that should be fine, right?"

Honestly, I'd be at a loss if I were told to organize a group of strangers. If our personalities didn't mesh, it would be nothing but misery. Besides, if I were bound by Ifa-sama's request, I wouldn't be free to do as I pleased.

'Of course. Our lord has merely made the arrangements. Whether you make good use of them or let them go to waste is entirely up to you, Izaam-sama.'

The dandy angel's tone contained a hint of satisfaction. It annoyed me a little, as though they had seen right through my thoughts.

Just as I was about to deliver a parting barb, I found myself standing in a forest of tall conifers. Apparently, this was the stage for the event.

"Sigh, to think that not only Jigoro but even a goddess is counting on me... I'm starting to feel the pressure."

Muttering to myself, I set to work. In any case, I'll start by making contact with the players Ifa-sama had gathered!