Chapter 249
The passage went on longer than expected, but nothing went wrong, and we made it to the exit. Then again, it had been maintained as a shortcut precisely to prevent trouble, so none should have occurred.
"This is... 'Ashfall Hills'?"
"Looks like we could get outside through the gap in the rocks... if we were Metallica."
The passage's exit was hidden beneath a large rock like the one beneath which Kilde-kun of the Nadeus clan, whom we had helped before, had apparently hidden. However, the gap was so narrow that only Metallica could squeeze through it; not even I, let alone Cal, could crawl through.
The Metallica must have taken off their Tactical Shells at the end of this passage, then gone outside to gather dirt and encountered the Nadeus clan. That must be why the Nadeus clan had no information about Tactical Shells.
"Now that we know where we are... Base Teleport."
However, as far as we were concerned, knowing the location was all that mattered. All we had to do now was return using 【Time-Space Magic】. We returned to Shiratsuki as one group.
"Welcome back! I've been waiting!"
Shiitake was the one who greeted us. After receiving word from Iris, she had hurried back from the event area.
She must have wanted to see the experimental equipment Iris had bought as soon as possible. Even now, she was wiggling the hands sprouting from her mushroom body and urging me to 'Hand it over already.' Was the mad scientist in her blood acting up? Go ahead and make whatever you like, as long as it doesn't inconvenience our companions.
"There's no need to hurry so much..."
"Then, I'll go see Jigoro. What about the rest of you?"
"Like I said, I'm done for today."
"I'm meeting Shifune~."
"I'm sorry. I'm meeting Nenaashi-san too."
So I would be on my own. I couldn't take the overly conspicuous Cal with me, and although it would only be for a short while, it looked like I would be traveling alone for the first time in a long while. It kind of reminded me of when I had first started logging in...
Once that was decided, I began preparing at once. Aside from the mask, I changed into the same disguise as before. This time, I would be using an iron mask Iris had made as a practice piece for metalworking. It resembled a hockey mask, but had an opening in the forehead so I could properly use my third eye. It was a practical piece of equipment.
On closer inspection, it had flames and skull motifs worked into it, making it an impressively elaborate design. The many fine details had apparently made it good practice for leveling up her Skill. I was grateful for that.
"It looks like something from an old horror movie... You're going to the event area wearing that?"
"What!? Is it... tacky!?"
"Tacky isn't even the issue—it's incredibly suspicious, isn't it? Won't people bother you again?"
Toji had been about to log out, but seeing my appearance had given her a dubious look. It was true that I looked somewhat like a horror-movie killer who massacred young people with axes and machetes. My avatar wasn't as physically imposing as that man, but the robe made me feel that I looked even more suspicious.
"There are plenty of players in suspicious outfits. Besides, if it keeps people from approaching me, that's actually convenient."
This was a game world, after all. There were players with mismatched equipment in pursuit of practicality, while others wore bizarre outfits and gear for the sake of role-playing. If I convinced people that I was simply one of those players, there would be no problem.
Besides, I was a monster player, a rarity to begin with. Even if I walked around in strange clothes, people would probably just think, 'A weirdo is doing something weird.' People pay less attention to those around them than one thinks.
"Really? If you're fine with it, I won't say anything more... And Iris, I'll give you the materials, so could you make me a really cool mask next time, too?"
"Sure! What kind of design would you like?"
"Thanks. Hmm, I'll tell you once I've decided."
"Got it! Then shall we go to the workshop?"
"I've been waiting for this!"
With the conversation between the three girls behind me, I headed to the event area. When I landed on the same beach I had visited the day before yesterday, I immediately sent Jigoro a message. Waiting for his reply was boring, but I suppose I could wander around for a while.
The area around the beach was overflowing with players, since the event was in full swing. People were lively with pickup-party recruitment, item trades, and ordinary conversation.
There was a particularly large gathering nearby, but I didn't approach it. The loud voices I could hear, despite not trying to eavesdrop, made it clear that it was a gathering of a famous streamer and their fans.
I wasn't a fan, and I barely watched internet streams in the first place, so there was no point in approaching. Instead, I sat beneath one of the palm trees growing on the beach and stared blankly at the sky.
"...Um, excuse me. You're a player, right?"
"Hmm? That's right, but..."
The person who spoke to me was a Human player. It appeared that the four of them had formed a party: a male Beastman and Dwarf, along with female Human and Elf players. It was a splendidly diverse group, with all four Races represented.
Judging by their equipment, which was probably their starter gear, their levels seemed quite low. They had most likely started playing at the same time as the event—either today or yesterday. What could a group of four like that want with a monster player like me?
"Whoa, awesome! I've never seen a monster player before!"
"What kind of monster are you? Where'd you buy that mask?"
The Beastman light warrior loudly expressed his delight, while the Elf archer crouched down to meet my gaze and carefully examined my mask. Judging from their voices, they were probably young people like Shifune, Wool, and Sei, but they were really coming on strong... Was this what youth was like?
"Hey. It's bad manners to suddenly try to get information from a complete stranger."
"I'm sorry! My friends are sorry!"
"Huh? Is that so? Sorry 'bout that!"
The Dwarf heavy warrior scolded the two, while the Human priest bowed and apologized in their place. They seemed to be close friends, but perhaps this was how things always went with them. If so, the Human and Dwarf must have had a hard time.
Though the Dwarf man was a beginner at FSW, he apparently wasn't new to online games. He was the exact opposite of me: I had been playing FSW from the start, but this was my first online game.
"That's all right. Since I'm hiding what kind of monster I am with this mask, I'd rather you not ask too much. Also, a friend made this mask by hand, so it might be difficult to obtain one."
"Aw, what a cheapskate. It's okay to tell us your Race, isn't it?"
"Don't say that!"
"I can't deny being a cheapskate, but why did you approach me? You had something you wanted, didn't you?"
I couldn't deny being a cheapskate, but I was also waiting for Jigoro's reply, so if they had business with me, I wanted them to get to it. That might not be something a person playing a game should say, but it wasn't as if I had nothing else to do.
"Oh, I'm sorry! We were planning to go clear a Dungeon. We wanted a Mage to help us, but Mages are popular at the party-recruitment area, and it was hard to find anyone willing to accompany beginners..."
"We figured we'd ask the loner who looked bored."
The Human woman answered, sounding flustered. And you, Elf—stop calling someone you've just met a loner. I'm not a loner right now; I'm just waiting by myself. It would be foolish to point that out, so I let it pass.
Regardless, I thought it was reasonable for them to want a Mage. Their party consisted of a light warrior, a heavy warrior, an archer, and a priest, giving them a balanced mix of front-line and back-line members. However, they would have a hard time if they encountered an opponent resistant to physical attacks.
The two women in the back line, the archer and the priest, might have been able to use magic, but their firepower would be inferior to that of a specialist Mage. That was probably why they were looking for a Mage—to make their Dungeon run more reliable.
But I couldn't go with them. In fact, I was meeting Jigoro. I intended to refuse them outright, but someone cut in before I could.
"No. This person has prior plans."
"Whoa!? Who are you!?"
That was a girl wearing a cat mask who had somehow appeared standing atop the palm tree. I knew the girl with the red marker, who spoke only the essentials in a monotone. We had even registered each other as friends.
"Red... a PK!?"
"Oh, Akane. Is Ji... bro with you guys, by any chance?"
She was Akane, a member of the PK clan 'Persona.' She had been the first PK girl I encountered when they meddled in the previous defense event. She was a skilled fighter who used two swords specialized for stabbing, like ice picks.
Usuba, the leader of 'Persona,' had wanted to fight Jigoro and Genjuro for quite some time. He had witnessed the battle the day before yesterday, so he knew Jigoro's face. Since Jigoro was a Battle Junkie himself, I wasn't surprised at all that the two had joined up.
"Yes, but not quite. That ogre is with the boss and the boss's friend. It's the boss's friend who's calling for the skeleton."
The person she called the boss could only be Usuba, the leader. Usuba's friend? I thought of him more as a business partner than a friend, but apparently that person was the one calling me. I didn't know who it was, but since Jigoro was there too, I had no reason not to go.
"Tacchan, what's a PK?"
"Player Killer! It's short for a player who targets and attacks other players!"
"Huh? So they're dangerous?"
The moment Akane's identity became clear, the four of them seemed to panic and go on guard. I didn't know how skilled they were, but the overwhelming level difference meant that beginners could not win no matter what they did. In any case, 'Persona,' whose style was to attack, single-handedly, groups as strong as or stronger than itself and seize victory, would never attack them—not even outside the event area, let alone here.
"This event doesn't allow fighting other people. So there's no danger. More importantly, hurry up and come."
"I see... That's the situation, then. Sorry, but you'll have to find another Mage."
Akane tersely made it clear that she had no intention of fighting, then turned around and set off toward her destination. Since I couldn't exactly let her leave me behind, I said goodbye to the group of four whose names I hadn't even learned yet and followed her.