Fungal Forest of Burning Moss (3)

――――――――――――

【Soul Arts】 level has increased.

You learned the new spell Chaotic Healing.

【Curse Arts】 level has increased.

【Evil Arts】 level has increased.

You learned the new spell Phantom Death.

――――――――――――

After reading Shiitake's messages, the three of us continued exploring. The 'Fungal Forest of Burning Moss' was larger than I had expected, and since we were exploring while gathering materials, we still had not reached the boss area.

However, our lengthy exploration had yielded results. Not only had we collected items, but we had also obtained drop items from the Fire Rat and Lava Deadly Viper.

―――――――――――

Fire Rat Tail Quality: Fair Rarity: T (Treasure Grade)

A tail made from a Fire Rat's flames.

A Fire Rat killed by a blow imbued with flames may leave part of its body behind.

It emits pure Fire-Attribute magic and can be used for a wide variety of purposes.

Lava Deadly Viper Fluid Skin Quality: Good Rarity: T (Treasure Grade)

A nearly liquid skin that produces hard scales.

When magic is passed through it, the surface solidifies, allowing it to generate scales semi-permanently.

It requires some ingenuity to use, but it should make an excellent material for armor.

―――――――――――

We had succeeded in obtaining new drops from both the Fire Rat and Lava Deadly Viper. Since both required us to fight in a slightly unusual way, we had quite a difficult time.

First, the Fire Rat. The condition was to finish it off with a physical attack imbued with the Fire Attribute. Attacks such as 【Fire Magic】 would only heal it, but while the elemental damage of a Fire-Attribute physical attack was absorbed, the physical damage still got through.

We had to attack with an attribute that was convenient for the enemy, which was probably why the condition was so difficult to discover and the item had such a high rarity. If you did not know about it, there was nothing you could do, and I would never have thought to try it if Eiji had not suggested that we give it a shot. This was entirely Eiji's achievement.

Next was the Lava Deadly Viper. This one was simple in a sense: the condition was to kill it instantly with the first attack. After using the 'Death and Chaos Mystic Eye' to raise the success rate of instant death even slightly, we only managed to harvest this item from the specimen we somehow killed instantly, so I assume that was the condition.

However, we encountered the Fire Rat itself so few times that we had not conducted many attempts. It was possible that we had overlooked another method. We might come here again, so we could try various things then.

"It's getting late, so shall we head back?"

"Let's do that. Wow, that was fun."

"It is unusual for the three of us to explore together. It was a refreshing experience for me too."

As Moss-san had said, tackling the area with such an unusual party was fresh and fun. I also wanted to interact with the undead players here, and we still had not fought the boss. We should come back here again tomorrow and in the days after that.

Next time, I might come with different companions, but that would be enjoyable in its own way. If that happens, exploring a different field might be a good idea as well.

"Soooooo laaaaaate!!!"

"Guhah!?"

We called it a day and returned to Shiratsuki, but the instant we entered the lounge, I was tackled in the abdomen and knocked onto my back. When I looked down, wondering what had happened, I saw a spiky mushroom with arms and legs standing there, burning with rage and making no effort to hide it—namely, Shiitake.

"Late! How long do you think it's been since I replied!?"

"C-Calm down! Let's talk first..."

"You kept me away from the cute creatures, and then made me wait forever for the replacement item! How am I supposed to calm down!?"

"Wow, she's not sorry at all."

Shiitake grabbed me by the collar and shook me violently up and down. I had experienced acrobatic flight while riding on Cal's back, so being shaken with this much force was no problem. If anything, I had enough room to be slightly surprised that Shiitake was stronger than she looked.

As Eiji had muttered, the problem was that Shiitake had not cooled off at all. If anything, she was worked up and rampaging. I had deliberately taken my time returning, but it seemed to have had exactly the opposite effect.

"Haaah, honestly. Eiji-kun."

"Ah, yes. Hup."

"Let go! Raaaagh!"

Moss-san called out to Eiji with a sigh, and Eiji responded by grabbing Shiitake by her cap and lifting her up. She looked like a cat being picked up, but in her case, she showed no sign of calming down whatsoever.

At any rate, thanks to Eiji, I managed to escape from the mount position. I used my tail to stand up without relying on my hands or feet, then took the items we had acquired out of my inventory.

"Here, a souvenir. Use it however you like."

"Phew... Thanks. I'm calm now."

"...Really?"

"Really, really. I'm cool as a cucumber."

"It seems you've really returned to normal. Still, you changed far too much the instant you received the item."

Her cackling laughter was certainly the usual carefree Shiitake. She had been rampaging like a wild beast only moments earlier, but receiving an item alone had calmed her down. How utterly mercenary.

"Sorry. I get stressed if I don't have something to obsess over..."

"Is it just me, or do you seem to go berserk whether you have something or not?"

"Could be! Ha ha ha! Well, time for an experiment!"

"There she goes..."

With that, Shiitake cheerfully ran off to Shiratsuki's laboratory. But she was an excellent crafter. Surely she would develop some kind of useful concoction using the item I had given her. She would stay calm while experimenting, and we would get to see a new item. It was a win-win situation.

Shiitake was troublesome, but she was merely too single-minded about her interests. Deep down, she was not a bad person, and she had an endearing side that made her impossible to hate. As long as the trouble she caused remained minor, anyone could forgive her with a wry smile.

"Phew. Anyway, Shiitake's rampage is over. I'm going to check on Cal and the Centaur children. What are you two doing?"

"Ah, I'll come with you. I should show my face, and more than anything, I want to meet the Centaurs."

"I'm coming too. Apparently, being able to fly is popular, too."

Afterward, the three of us went to meet the Centaurs. Cal seemed wary, as though wondering whether Shiitake had come again despite everything, but the instant I appeared, Cal stopped growling and began making affectionate noises instead.

Seeing this, perhaps the children realized it was safe, because they came running over to us. After we introduced Eiji and Moss-san, the children quickly took to them. Eiji won them over with the same caring nature Eiji had shown toward Alvy, while Moss-san won their affection by showing off the ability to fly.

After the adults returned from the hunt and joined us, we spent some time interacting before logging out for the day. Later, when Shiitake learned that Eiji and Moss-san had been accepted immediately, she apparently shouted, 'Why only me!?'

◆◇◆◇◆◇

I logged in. It was the sixth day of the Uninhabited Island Event, leaving only two days, counting today. Once again, I visited the bottom of the vertical shaft that served as a gathering place for undead players.

"Ho ho ho. This reminds me of the hole Ruby and I once stayed in."

"That hole can't compare with this one in either diameter or depth, Grandpa."

"It's as dark and cramped as I'd heard. I'm not very good at fighting in places like this."

"Wool! Are you okay!?"

"I'm okay!"

The members were different today, however. Accompanying me were Genjuro, Ruby, Shio, Shifune, and Wool. The other four—Jigorou, Shichikou, Mikero, and Nenashi—had gone ahead, led by Eiji and Moss-san.

They had all shown interest in exploring the shaft. We could have gone down together, but the companions descending with me had been delayed in logging in due to real-life circumstances.

Because someone had to lead the way, I stayed behind to wait for them. As a result, we ended up descending separately as two parties.

"We'll reach the bottom soon. Hang in there until then, Wool."

"Okay!"

Our party had three members who could not fly during the descent: Ruby, Shifune, and Wool. Ruby was small enough that simply riding on Shio's shoulder was sufficient, while Shifune was a giant spider who could walk along the walls, so neither posed a problem.

The problem was Wool. Carrying him was difficult. Genjuro belonged to a Race capable of flight, but he could hardly be called proficient at it. He merely flapped his hindwings and descended slowly like a parachute. He had no spare strength to carry Wool.

The same was true of Shio. She was good at agile flight, but if the weight became too great, even flying would become difficult. Wool weighed as much as a large sheep, so there was no way she could carry him.

So I increased my Strength to its maximum, wrapped my tail around Wool, and flew down. If powerful monsters had appeared in the shaft, or if this had been somewhere we had never visited before, I would have hesitated to use this method.

But this was a known area, and the enemies that appeared here were weak. I knew that this party could handle them with ease, so I took responsibility for carrying Wool.

It also helped that I could fight even while Wool was hanging from me. It made moving somewhat more difficult, but Wool was also a back-row type who attacked with his bleats and magic. We decided to treat ourselves as a pair of stationary turrets and focused entirely on ranged attacks.

Our descent ended without being particularly arduous despite the trouble involved, and we finally landed. We passed through the horizontal passage we had used yesterday and entered the 'Undead Resting Place.'