In the Forest, I Met Grass-san

The subject changes, but in the game FSW, there are an awful lot of forests and grasslands among the fields where monsters spawn. This is because, given the nature of a virtual world, monsters as external enemies only roam areas that have been largely untouched by human hands.

In other words, most players who are accustomed to this game are also accustomed to walking through primeval forests, at least within the game.

Even Eiji, a heavily armored giant of a man, walked through the forest easily with light steps. Seeing his huge body slip smoothly between the trees was always strangely surreal. That said, he had no scouting-oriented Skills such as 【Sneak】 or 【Stealth】, so he would be spotted immediately if someone used a detection-type Skill on him. That was where the game-like nature of it all showed.

Taking care not to make as much noise as possible, we approached the site of the battle. We could hear the barking howls of Wind Wolves ahead, so the fight was apparently still underway. This was our chance to identify the enemy from a safe position!

"...What is that?"

"I-is that a pitcher plant? No, a Venus flytrap?"

What we saw in the forest was a monster fighting Wind Wolves in front of what appeared to be a naturally formed cave. One part had a tall, pouch-like organ, while another had leaves shaped like a bivalve shell. Looking closely, I could also see countless other small, colorful flowers and leaves resembling sensitive plants. Wasn't this practically a plant Chimera?

That plant-collective monster was holding its own against the pack of Wind Wolves. Two Wind Wolves were stuffed inside the pitcher-plant-like pouch and struggling, while Venus-flytrap-like leaves held another thrashing Wind Wolf in a firm grip.

However, the five remaining Wind Wolves were biting at its stems and leaves in an attempt to save their companions, so damage seemed to be accumulating little by little. Even now, vines writhing like tentacles were being bitten apart. The predatory pouch and fleshy leaves also looked as though they were being sliced up by 【Wind Aura】.

It seemed to be swinging its leaves around to counterattack, but it lacked a decisive blow and wasn't inflicting much damage. I suppose this was a case of being outnumbered. It was obvious that it would eventually lose if the fight dragged on.

For now, I decided to use 【Appraisal】. We might be able to complete the quest without getting involved, but this was a monster I had never seen before. There was no harm in gathering information.

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Name: Nenashi

Race: Mimic Monstivorous Vine Lv41

Job: Predator Lv1

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"A player!?"

I barely managed to keep myself from shouting aloud as I told everyone the results of my 【Appraisal】. The fact that we could see the Name, Race, and Job, but there was no listing whatsoever for Skills, was a characteristic of players. It was just like when I first saw Eiji and Toji.

"A player? Does that mean a plant-type monster player, like Iris and Shiitake?"

"Yes. Its Race is listed as Mimic Monstivorous Vine."

"Mimic Monstivorous Vine... It probably means a plant that disguises itself as ordinary grass and eats monsters that approach it."

"That may mean it's not very good at fighting head-on. What should we do?"

What Mot-san was asking was whether we should help it. I had no idea whether that player was male or female, but I was interested in what circumstances had led to its current form. Besides, if that player really was the source of the trouble, we might be able to resolve things through discussion. In that case, I decided we should lend a hand.

"Star Magic Circle, Remote Activation, Earth Fang."

"Vwoof!?"

"!?"

Earth Fangs from 【Earth Magic】 activated beneath the five Wind Wolves, and their legs were caught in the small fissures that opened up. They hurriedly tried to pull their legs free, but the split ground closed violently around them and held them fast.

Though the player had been completely caught off guard and seemed surprised, it immediately wrapped its vines around the Wind Wolves' necks and strangled them. There was no reason to let this opportunity slip away, and I would have done the same.

Around the time the Wind Wolves suffocated and lost their strength, the individual being preyed upon also ran out of HP and died. After confirming that the entire pack had been wiped out, the player remained on guard. Since someone nearby had rendered helpless the pack that had been driving it into a corner, being wary was only natural.

Well, it was about time we showed ourselves. I deliberately shook some tree branches with a rustling sound as I stepped out in front of the mysterious player. It immediately sent its vines toward me, as if to say that the first strike was the key to victory.

Eiji sprang in front of me and shielded me with his shield. The other player immediately wrapped a vine around it and pulled, trying to tear it away by force. However, there was no way it could beat Eiji in a simple contest of strength. He won the tug-of-war with room to spare.

"Wait. We mean you no harm."

"Hmm... Could it be that all of you are players?"

"That's right."

I put away my staff to show that I had no hostile intentions, and a strangely sultry baritone replied. When I answered in the affirmative, the vine wrapped around the shield loosened slightly. The player had not completely let down its guard, but it seemed willing to listen.

"Let's start with introductions. I'm Izaam, and I lead a clan called 'Nightwalkers.' These are Eiji, Mot-san, and Toji, in that order."

"I'm Eiji. Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Motsu Aru yo, formerly Mot-san. Everyone calls me Mot-san, but call me whatever you like."

"I'm Toji."

"Izaam-shi, Eiji-shi, Motsu Aru yo-shi, and Toji-shi, correct? I am called Nenashi. I humbly ask that you remember me."

As the player who called itself Nenashi said this, it lowered both the pitcher-plant-like pouch and the Venus-flytrap-like leaves. Were those three things its heads? And why did it speak like a samurai? This was certainly an unusually distinctive player, as one would expect from someone who had chosen such a special Race.

"...Hmm? Izaam? By Izaam-shi, do you mean that Izaam-shi?"

"Ah, if you're talking about the monster-only thread, then I believe we're the same person."

"Ooooo!? A-are you the real thing!?"

"I can't prove that I'm not a fake, though."

This reaction was nostalgic. I think Eiji had been like this when we first met. It was somewhat embarrassing to be treated as a celebrity among monster players who read the message board.

"By the way, how did you get here? Did you take the standard route?"

"No, no, not at all. It was entirely by chance."

Apparently, until two days ago in real time, Nenashi had been active on the Luxresia Continent like most other players. However, he had been caught up in the great storm there and blown away, only to find himself in this land when he came to.

It was an utterly absurd story, like 'The Wizard of Oz.' But this was a game world, so it wasn't impossible. Besides, according to Nenashi, his journey had not been a fairy-tale-like adventure. He had been caught in a raging storm, after all, so that was only natural.

Although he had not died along the way, he complained that he had been tossed up, down, left, and right and had been unable to play properly. All I could say was that I felt sorry for him.

"So there's just one thing I'd like to ask. Were you the one who approached the village beyond the forest a little while ago?"

"Indeed. However, I went there with my lord, and they shot arrows at us, so I tucked my tail between my legs and fled here."

When I got to the main point, Nenashi laughed and answered as though saying, 'What a predicament.' So he had been the one who approached Sair Village. No, wait. What had he just said?

"Your lord?"

"That is correct. I did not come alone, you see. I came with my lord."

"Where is your lord now?"

"Inside the cave. However, my lord is currently logged out, so speaking with him will not be possible."

I see. He had a player companion. So Nenashi had been fighting here to protect his logged-out companion. When exploring in a party, I had also experienced logging out in a field while leaving someone on watch. This was probably the same sort of thing.

"Is your lord a Human? Or is he a monster?"

"A monster. However, he was formerly a Human."

"A former Human... No way! Is he that reincarnator!?"

Eiji let out a startled cry. At present, only one person was believed to have discovered and used the reincarnation system. There had apparently been reports of shrines where reincarnation was possible, but the required resources were so immense that no one had managed to reincarnate yet. Such a reincarnator was in the back of this cave. I definitely wanted to hear his story.

"Indeed. My lord is somewhat eccentric, but he is highly skilled. I was once abducted by a thug among the Residents, but he was strong enough to single-handedly conquer their hideout."

"Y-you were kidnapped by Residents...?"

"There are almost no autonomous plant-type monsters like myself on the Luxresia Continent, so I was about to be sold as a rare commodity."

"Ha, ha, ha..."

Nenashi laughed dryly, while all we could do was force strained smiles with our faces twitching. When we were weaker, we had also struggled to some extent because our actions had been heavily restricted. But nearly being sold alive was taking hard mode a bit too far, wasn't it?

"And why have Izaam-shi and the others come to this forest? Is it related to your earlier question?"

"Correct, Nenashi. We accepted a request from the villagers to investigate a monster that doesn't live around here but approached the village. That made it clear that you were the source of the trouble, but..."

"Hmm, I understand what Izaam-shi wishes to say without his needing to say it. You want us to leave this place. However..."

I nodded silently. I didn't know why they were here. But it was also true that peace would not return to the people of Sair Village as long as they remained here. The villagers would have to continue living in fear of an unidentified monster.

Should I falsify the results of the investigation and tell them that we had defeated the monster? No, that would be a bad move. We might be able to cover it up for now, but if villagers entered the forest later and saw them, the lie would be exposed at once. If that happened, the relationship of trust we had painstakingly built with the Birdians would be destroyed.

I had no intention of crossing a dangerous bridge for a player I had just met. At the same time, I didn't want to treat a fellow monster player coldly. So I decided to go to a little trouble here.

"That would be the quickest solution, but... Could you leave this to me? I can han—"

"...Is someone there, Nenashi-san?"

When I tried to continue proudly, telling them to leave everything to me with complete confidence, a man's voice came from the cave behind Nenashi. It was a gentle voice that naturally put whoever heard it at ease. I found myself thinking about something pointless: it would be perfect for narrating a travel program.

"Oh, my lord! Have you logged in? We have guests!"

"I've told you that calling me 'my lord' is embarrassing... So there really is someone here. I'll come out now."

"Eek..."

Just as we heard the sound of something dragging itself along from the depths of the cave, the player called 'my lord' emerged from the darkness. The four of us couldn't help holding our breath at the sight of that inhuman form.