Log Horizon Book 1 chapter 4

Chapter 4: Deep in palm


1

"Is this really okay?"

Marielle who came to see them off ask yet again.

This is Ueno thieves' realm, a zone where demihumans and bandits roam at night. Right now it is a scene of beauty with the sky slowly turning white through the mist.

The humid morning air surrounds Shiroe's team, Marielle and several Crescent moon alliance members who came to bid them farewell.

"Miss Marielle, don't worry about this. That girl is cute right? I won't let any guy touch her before I hit on her myself, hitting on girls expedition festival!"

Naotsugu's word that seems flirty in a sense was rewarded with an elbow by Akatsuki along with the words 'shut up idiot'.

"It will be fine, we are used to camping outdoors and has been training for the past 2 weeks..."

Shiroe reassures Marielle.

The chance of success of the 3 of them is higher than Marielle's party. Even though this is a fact, but his showy action last night was really embarrassing, and Shiroe still hesitates looking directly at Marielle.

"Erm... This is nothing much, but please eat this on your way there. Shiroe sempai, do your best."

"Akatsuki chan, this is healing salve made by the guild members, take care on your way there."

Shiroe and Akatsuki accepted the sincere support items prepared by the Crescent moon alliance members. Although Shiroe only said a simple word of thanks while Akatsuki nods, but their feelings are successfully conveyed to the Crescent moon guild members.

"Do take care as well Marielle... especially with the PK."

"Yeah, we will be fine here and will continue to collate data."

"Miss Marielle, take it easy and leave this to us!"

"Ahahaha, be safe Naotsugu alright? Shiroe doesn't need it, so I will let Naotsugu touch them. Look here, this is really soft!"

Marielle smiles to hide her embarrassment and hugs Naotsugu arms with her hefty breast.

"Eh, time out Miss Marielle!"

"What is it, Naotsugu hate this just like Shiroe?"

"That's not it..."

Marielle who is like a bold and candid big sister taking care of others like to pull dirty jokes to hide her embarrassment. She declares her character is unlady like and laughs that everyone ignores her when she pull dirty jokes like this.

(But I think only Marielle considers herself to be unpopular..."

Shiroe glance at Akatsuki and see her covering her mouth with both hands and mumbling 'idiot, idiot, die pervert Naotsugu'.

The members of Crescent moon alliance just smile sheepishly without taking any action. This is probably an everyday occurrence.

"Is it fine? Is this chest worthless?"

"Hold up... If it is thrown in my face, I will be afraid to take up the offer... Ah, really, me helping has nothing to do with this! Didn't I prohibit pulling dirty jokes!"

"It is totally unconvincing when Naorsugu says it."

Akasuki kicks Naotsugu.

The blow is shielded by the heavy armor of the guardian only leaving a dull thud. Naotsugu uses this chance to break away from Marielle.

"I will let you have my way with my fats when you come back safely... Yeah, bon voyage, thank you for doing this, take care of yourself."

After hearing this, it is time to go.

The blushing Naotsugu who broke free from Marielle is already walking down the foggy streets to hide his embarrassment.

"Shiroe, Naotsugu, Akatsuki chan, please bring Serara home."

Naotsugu turns around with his back to the rising sun and lift his shield up high.

Shiroe waves goodbye while Akatsuki draw her blade half an inch and slam it back into the hilt, making a clear sound.

The trio bid their farewells and start on their journey to the distant north.



2


The morning mist is a temporary scene in the early summer, which turns back into a bright blue sky soon after.

The three of them walks on the half ruined highway, in ancient times (which is the modern era in the real world) it is known as the grandest highway of the capital. The highway that is like a bridge over land extends far into the north.

Looking back from the capital highway, the zones they have passed through are relatively peaceful. There are more wildlife than monsters out here, you can see herds of deeds and bears taking a leisure stroll.

The players believes the world of Elder Tale is set thousands of years into the future of the real world, so much that it is akin to the official setting. According to the Elder Tales lore, there was a war so grand it shatters the world literally... And rebuilt into its current state by the miracle of the gods. This is a common world building setting seen in fantasy games.

The graphics that improves with each new expansion enchants the players with its beauty. But after the Apocalypse, the scenery they see with their eyes are beyond that of any rendering machines.

The trio have no problem riding even though they have zero experience doing that. Horses are a common mode of transport in the Elder Tales.

All players can ride a horse without any practice. A horse can be purchased or rented a few days from shops. It is normal for mid level players to have their own ride.

Horses was treated like a summon creature when Elder Tales was just a game.

You obtain a flute after buying or renting a horse. You can summon the horse by blowing the flute in any place.

This setting is recreated in this world. Your horse will run to you from far away when you whistle for them, so you won't need to tie down and worry about your horse when raiding dungeons.

Horses are classified as items in the game and will not die, but this place has not been confirmed in the game. You might lose your horse if you call for them in dangerous places, so Shiroe has not experiment and confirm this aspect.


Shiroe's group will be traversing through the field zones for this journey. As the name implies, it is an open and vast area in this world.

This world basically consist of interconnected field zones. There are some buildings in good condition that are individual zones, but ruins and abandoned buildings are usually part of the field zone's background.

On of the feature of field zones is its vague boundaries.

Enclosed zones are connected to others by doors, cave entrance and stairs. But field zones has no clear entry points to move between neighboring zones.

You will cross over to the adjacent zone by walking over the zone boundary. So being in which zone is not a concern when traveling over open land.

You can check which zones you are in by opening the status screen if you wish.

The highway the trio is traveling on is in a state of disrepair, debris and collapse sections are every where.

They have to traverse some parts by horse. The trees engulf so much of a section that it is practically a forest. They had no choice but to go through the dense undergrowth instead.


They decided to rest just a short while past noon.

The flyover highway merges with a wide road after rounding a complicated curve in the sky. The asphalt under their feet is alarmingly weak, it would be dangerous to go this way any further.

"Let's take a lunch break?"

Naotsugu who is leading the way sighs deeply at Shiroe's suggestion.

"It's nice that riding the horse is automatic, but my butt still hurts."

"That's right."

Shiroe nods in agreement while Akatsuki stares with a questioning look asking "Does it?".

The height difference between Shiroe and Akatsuki is about 30cm, Shiroe estimate her weight to be about half of his. Being so much lighter will place less burden on her lower body while riding.

"I wonder how far we went."

"It's only been half a day, you are too hasty stupid Naotsugu."

Naotsugu remains nonchalent despite Akatsuki's words. They are used to this type of interaction, a way of bickering and playing around.

Shiroe leads them down the slope made of the collapse sections and debris of the highway. This is probably a residential area in ancient times, but only the remnants of telephone poles are left, a wasteland without any trees.

On the reddish undulating ground, they found a boulder suitable to be used as a table to rest.

They lay a cloth on the surface of the rock and place food, canteens, maps and tools on top. This is a map of Japan labelled with names of zones Shiroe still remembered.

"Where did you find that? That's a really nice map."

The map was really detailed and worthy of praise.

It is about 1 metre square in size when fully opened, with a drawing of an archipelago similar to Japan... The zones under the jurisdiction of the Japan server of Elder Tales.

The map is drawn with 4 colors labeling rivers, forest and even villages, not something an amateur can draw.

"My subclass is scribe, this is a map I copied off the Akiba library."

"I see... Nice job my lord."

"Well, Where are we?"

Naotsugu asked as he opens his canteen.

"We should be around here."

Shiroe points to the north of Tokyo, very near to Akiba.

"We didn't go very far yet."

"Oh well, it's only been half a day... we'll make better time flying in the afternoon."

"Roger."

Naotsugu chats with Shiroe as they start digging into a basket of soggy crackers that looks like chicken sandwich.

Akatsuki usually keep out of such conversations. Shiroe recently thinks she acts this way because she trust them totally, not because she is disinterested. Since she didn't ask any questions, that means she understand the contents of the conversation.

The horse graze on the dry brown grass as the trio have their meals. They run off into the distance after some time. The horses will leave by themselves a short while after you dismount.

They will be back when they blow their flute, so the three are not concerned about them.

"... Will it always be like this?"

Akatsuki says as she take small bites out of her chicken sandwich.

She look far off into the distant, straight at the depths of the untamed lands. She has filtered the contents of her mumbling and you will miss it if you don't pay attention.

But Shiroe can empathize with her.

This world has recreated the settings of Elder Tales wonderfully, but Elder Tales is a game, not a journey to experience an alternate world. There are sleep or pain in Elder Tales, and this world is not a game.

It inherited the setting and logs of Elder Tales, but Shiroe believes they should treat this as a totally different alternate world. Since the first day of the Apocalypse, Shiroe feels a deep sense of unease, telling himself it would be a big mistake to mistake this world for Elder Tales.

(Everyone forgot about something important and wants to move on without confirming it. But no one knows what is really happening. Even if this is really related to Elder Tales, this is still an alternate world... That's why every body is acting so strangely.)


Security didn't really turn bad.

Saying security is turning bad seems to imply security was good before, which is not true. If you treat this as an alternate world independent from Elder Tales, then security did not exist in this world in the first place.

The non combat zone are the only place that are close to being safe. This seems to be a shallow sign to prove that the Elder Tales' settings still exist.

But this restriction is not the same as laws.

There are no security in the first place, so it couldn't have deteriorated.

This is a lawless world.

Akatsuki understands this point.

But she still talks softly to herself even tough she understands.

Is her emotions wavering in the depths of her serious eyes?

(I can't tell...)

Shiroe can't see through Akatsuki's thoughts.

It might be unease, homesickness or even despair. But if you search in Shiroe's heart, he thinks you will find frustration.

This is the reflection of his heart.

The irritation that things turn out this way. The subject when she says 'will it always be like this' means to this world, but it can also refer to 'us'.

(Is this the best we can do? Are we being looked down on? We are killing each other, racketing, crying and despairing over trivial things. Are we being treated like brats?)

This is a question for himself. Will we immediately turns to backstabbing villains when thrown on a lawless plain?

Shiroe answers firmly because he understand this:

"No it won't."

He will not fall into despair so easily.

Like the rotten fruits falling to the ground, the world is following this natural order and turning cunning, cheap and unsightly. It is moving away from nobility and gallantry which is a bad thing. Shiroe doesn't accept this natural evolution of the situation.

"That will be too boring."

Naotsugu comments curtly.

"..."

Akatsuki looks towards the horizon.

Shiroe decided to take over Marielle's quest by himself because their chance of success is higher than Crecent moon alliance'a team base on their levels and familiarity with battles.

This is just one of the reason.

But the reason is more of a 'want', not a 'need'.

Crescent moon alliance is an independent guild no matter how good their relations are. Shiroe's party has no obligation to spend so much time risking countless danger to do this on their behalf.

This is something that is normally impossible.

Marielle request Shiroe to occasionally drop by and look after her guild because she understand this. She probably think this is the limit she can ask of Shiroe as a good friend. This is a deduction made from common sense, Marielle is not wrong.

Naotsugu and Akatsuki also know they have no moral duty to aid Marielle's comrades.

But Shiroe wants to take on this quest.

Logic and calculations are important, he even held his breathe when thinking through this mission. But his will is mainly driven by a sense of frustration. Shiroe was also surprised to have unearth such strong emotions. And Shiroe was glad that his companions felt the same without putting it into words.

... That is too boring.

... Too unsightly.

(Although such embarrassing words were uttered...)

The wind brushes his cheeks that heats up when he recall this event. He can feel joy, unease and bliss within his undulating emotions.

It is a sense of resistance, he wants to resist this unsightly world.

If that is the case, he shouldn't hold anything back.

To do the best within his abilities.

To work hard in this environment of his.

As Shiroe is distracted with such thoughts, Naotsugu taps his back.

"You will help if your family is sobbing right? That is common sense. Even if those guys are unsightly, we have no reason to dance to their tune."

Shiroe don't want to accept that he has drifted into an unsightly, dull and boring world beyond redemption. There must be something cool and flashy like the Debauchery tea party out there.

It is embarrassing to express it in words so Shiroe try not to think about it. But he can feel that quest like this is the answer.

These is the 'things they should be doing'.

"Really, harassing a girl like this is unromantic. You need to do it more like this! Try to grab their attention."

Naotsugu's speech throws the whole atmosphere off.

"Well, what types of girls do you like Naotsugu?"

Akatsuki gives Naotsugu a condescending look while Shiroe resist joining this conversation. These puberty thoughts are extremely awkward for Shiroe.

"My range is wide, like maids and nurses. Nah, it has to be my junior right? After joining the workforce, the clean and pure juniors joining my company looks so blindingly bright. They will even call me sempai, that is very important!"

"The basics are important! Teamwork is built on the fundamentals of practice!"

Shiroe don't really understand what Naotsugu is implying, but he decides to answer Naotsugu loudly with conviction. Akatsuki's glares pokes painfully at him.


"You are absolutely right, teamwork, tactics and terrain are all important. Getting angry at guys when their panties are seen while climbing the stairs. They are the one exposing and blame us, that is really the strongest."

(That is not being strong, just a nasty excuse right?)

Even if that is what Shiroe thinks, he won't express it to Akatsuki. She nags at him anyway, saying "ignoring idiot Naotsugu, my lord needs to act like a properly. Stupid lord."



3

...Akatsuki is giving them the cold shoulder after that conversation. She was stopped by Shiroe when she was about to summon her horse after lunch. Akatsuki is puzzled as Shiroe takes out a bamboo flute with elegant carvings.

It looks like a piece of art even though it is just a horse summon flute. Naotsugu has the same flute in his hand.

"What is that my lord?"

Shiroe smiles at Akatsuki's question and blow the flute while facing the sky. The sound harmonize with Naotsugu's flute and is carried across the plains by the wind.

"Could this be..."

A high pitch cry interrupts Akatsuki. 2 huge shadows draws near with the deep sound of wings flapping. The creature as big as a carriage circle 2 rounds above Shiroe's party before landing strongly, bowing their head at Shiroe and Naotsugu's feet?

"Those are griffons!"

The mythical beast standing before them are griffons. It has the head, forelegs and wings of an eagle along with the body of a lion. It's battle prowess differs by variety and age, but is mostly on par with chimeras.

"Well, yeah."

Shiroe rubs the neck of the griffon a couple of times and takes some raw meat from his bag. He brought these from the market at a cheap price since they are ingredients that can be hunted easily in the wild.

"You did't really think we are going by horse to the far north, did you? We would get old by the time we reach."

Naotsugu teases Akatsuki.

"Why did you summon these monsters... we're riding them?"

"Yes, we are riding them. What is it Miss Akatsuki?"

"It's Akatsuki."

Akatsuki makes a strong request when she hears Shiroe. Even though he has been addressing Akatsuki this way all the while, she still wants Shiroe to call her by her name.

"Akatsuki... You'll ride behind me. Okay?"

"That's fine, however..."

Akatsuki watches the griffon fearfully from afar. Naotsugu prepares the saddles on his griffon expertly while Shiroe feeds his griffon while scratching its ears.

"I have heard of summon flutes like those... That they're only given to players who've won the Hades Breath raid on the fields of Death."

"Yeah, a long time ago..."

Shiroe answers Akatsuki.

This is one of the legacy of the debauchery tea party that is gradually forgotten by the masses. Shiroe and Naotsugu obtain this flute from the deepest part of the spirit king's grave. They fought a fierce battle with the four horsemen of the king in front of the magic alter that desecrates the secrets of life.

The spirit king attempts to steal the underground energy of the elf mountain to gain eternal life. The 'King of winged beast' who fought alongside them to stop the spirit king's plan present these flutes as a symbol of their friendship.

"Why do you have these flutes?"

"It is a great party trick to surprise people with, right?"

Naotsugu answered Akatsuki this time.

(This is sort of embarrassing.)

They didn't mean to hide it, but taking these flute out is still kind of awkward for Shiroe and Naotsugu. 'Griffon flute' is a rare item that make other envious. Make no matter how precious it is, it still serves mainly as a memento.

"Bind the sheath of your sword tighter, same with your bag. Keep everything that might be blown off by the wind."

Shiroe extend his hand out to the hesitant Akatsuki.

After hesitating a while, Akatsuki reaches for Shiroe's hand. But she noticed something and starts to blush.

As Shiroe is starting to feel awkward, Akatsuki muster up her courage and grabs his hand.

Shiroe pulls Akatsuki up with just the strength in his arm. He is not sure if she jumped or her weight is light, the feather light feeling surprises Shiroe.

"All set?"

"Yes my lord, no problem."

Akatsuki fidgeting figure behind him makes Shiroe look back uneasily.

"Sit tight and hold on firmly. Hold on strongly if you are afraid. Wait, don't grab my stomach!"

Naotsugu who has been holding back burst out in laughter looking at Shiroe and Akatsuki's interactions. Ignoring their accusatory eyes, he pat his griffon's neck.

"I'll go first!"

Naotsugu sentence was followed by a gust of wind, Naotsugu and his griffon becomes a shadow in the sky the next instance.

"Really... You ready Akatsuki? Let's go!"

It feels like being thrown into the sky or falling head down into the ground far below. Akatsuki endures this feeling as she holds on to Shiroe's slender back.

Shiroe back is lean like a old scholar. Akatsuki buries her face in it, hiding her eyes from the surrounding view. But she regains her composure to look around after a moment.

"It's a great view."

Shiroe is deeply concerned about Akatsuki who is grabbing his back tightly and tells her softly. Akatsuki is too small in stature after all. The young girl who is only about Shiroe's shoulder or even chest height might fly off with the wind, which worries Shiroe.

Instead of sitting behind, she would be more stable in the front. But doing it this way might scare off Akatsuki in another way.

(Another problem will be where I can hold on to Akatsuki.)

After analyzing in his head, the answer would be to grabbing the reins with his right hand and holding Akatsuki by the belly or chest with his left hand. But he will be risking touching sensitive parts of her body, which makes him bleed cold sweat. It will be fine if Naotsugu laughs at him, but being pushed off the griffon in mid flight would be bad.

"You doing okay?"

"Yeah... This is amazing, it's like we're floating in the sky my lord."

The griffon tears through the air.

It is not flapping its wings, simply gliding steadily in the wind.

The air current is split to either side like the flow of the river, alternating between rising and falling. The griffon might have the instincts of the birds, choosing the suitable currents and climbing up the stairs in the sky.

Naotsugu's griffon is flying besides them like the blue jewel in the sky, shimmering in the sun.

"Isn't this great!"

Instead of flaunting, his words feels more like the pure joy of flying. Akatsuki who usually treats him like childish companion can't help but smile when she sees his grin. It is a rare smile, just like a blossoming flower.

"It's amazing... This is amazing, the sky is so blue and clear."

Shiroe with his eyes in front smiles warmly.

It's true.

Flying through the skies is a unique sense of happiness.



4

"...No signs of the enemies ahead."

"Let's advance."

Shiroe answers with a gesture after hearing Akatsuki report.

This is the tunnels of Palm, which passes under teardrop mountain. It has been 15 hours since they entered the dungeon.

Referencing the map Shiroe drew from memory, they have traveled about 20km in a beeline.

Shiroe visited this place when Elder Tales was still a game, but he did not know this place was so vast.

It has been 3 days since they set off from Akiba.

The trip has been smooth and peaceful.

The griffon is 3 times faster than a horse in terms of speed, but the ability to ignore obstacles means it is 10 times faster overall.

The ability of the griffon has been nerfed, so it can only travel 4 hours a day. But they still manage to complete a 2 weeks journey by horse in 3 days.

But their speedy travel reaches a bottleneck.

They already anticipated this and they confirmed teardrop mountain is a nest for iron tail wyverns when they arrived. Wyverns are a type of demi-dragons, it is similar to dragons without forelegs and the ability to use magic. It is considered the scrub of dragons.

But they are still tough enemies.

Dragons has the highest stamina, defense, speed and attack among monsters. Some possess immense intellect and can cast spells. Just like most fantasy stories, dragons are amongst the strongest enemies adventurers can face.

Even a scrub like wyverns are still a type of dragons.

They cannot use magic, but their tails are as strong as steel and their razor like wings make them as fast as griffons.

Shiroe's party are top class player and can take on a single wyvern on the ground easily.

But they might get overwhelmed if a group of wyverns attack them in the sky.

Teardrop mountains has been the nest of wyverns since the early days of Elder Tales, so Shiroe is already mentally prepared for these and not fly recklessly here.

If they fight without any plan in the sky, they might be able to fend off a few wyverns, but will eventually fall from their waves of attacks.

There are no such things like a graceful retreat for aerial battles.

The losers are doomed to fall hundreds of meters to their death.

Shiroe's team hiding on the ground to avoid this trap have 4 options. They can go the long way by the sea route or bash through the forest in the mountains. They can also advance through Palm's tunnel under Teardrop mountain made from ancient sewage systems. The last option would be to climb the mountain directly.

Shiroe's group decides to challenge the tunnel after a discussion.

After considering many factors, this route offers the best combination of speed and safety.

After going through the forest and entering the tunnels through a work site ruins, they have traveled in Palm for 15 hours. The vast tunnels are built with grey concrete walls, stretching endlessly under the illumination of magic light.

Similar to large sewage systems in the real world, there are narrow pathways that connects 2 major sections. There will be dry and clean smelling square rooms popping up every now and then which seems redundant.

The intent of the designer and traces of the users have been lost under years of dust and debris. The deep cavern with slow flowing water are now ruled by the ratmen.

Ratmen.

They are low in class among the many demihumans in this world. Their appearance is a cross between rat headed men and rats standing on their hind legs. They are about the height of middle schoolers, but it is hard to tell their shape with all its fur. It is covered all over in wet looking fur and can use simple tools.

Rat men are no threat at all for high level players like Shiroe. The ability of each unit varies, but most of them are weaker than goblins or beast men.

But the ratmen has 2 troubling weapons, their numbers and plague.

Just like real world rats, ratmen have powerful reproductive abilities, living in small confined areas in large numbers.

Shiroe's group has already stumbled across rooms several square meters in size with 20 something ratmen nesting inside.

Normal creatures will run away if they instinctively feel the enemies to be much stronger than them. It is the same with ratmen who can sense that Shiroe's group are powerful.

Shiroe's group did not have any proper battles on their journey so far, proving this point. The objective of this quest is to save the girl named Serara, so Shiroe cut down on unnecessary exploration and battles as they rush to her. The monsters avoiding them is a good thing for this mission.

But for the numerous ratmen trapped in a confined space with no escape route, things will be different.

The ratmen will attack in this situation even if Shiroe's group wants to give way to them. A cornered rat will fight desperately.

Shiroe's party know they will win, but fighting a large group of ratmen waste a lot of time and is a burden on your mental health.

Another issue is the plague debuff.

Ratmen is a medium for disease spread just like the Middle Ages. Elder tales recreated this aspect by giving ratmen to infect players with the plague debuff that causes persistent damage over time.

The ratmen in the tunnel is about level 40.

The harm level of the plague are determined by the level of the ratmen, which is around 40 for this case. This can be easily handled by a mid level healer, but Shiroe's party don't have any right now.

They purchased 'preventive potions' at the market and already took them, but it cannot be used to cure any plague status. With their large level difference and low chance of getting infected, it is better to be safe than sorry.

"This room looks safe... How about it Shiroe?"

"yeah... You are right, let's take a break. Please stay near the entrance Naotsugu I will make a routine call to Marielle. As for Akatsuki..."

"I will scout ahead."

Akatsuki melts into the shadows without waiting for a reply.

Their roles within the team has been set. Shiroe and Naotsugu resist the idea of a petite girl like Akatsuki scouting alone in the beginning.

But Akatsuki is proficient at this, and her pride pushes her to contribute to the team.

The two of them accept this reluctantly after understanding Akatsuki's view.

Scouting is Akatsuki's strong point, so this division of work makes sense. This serious girl plays her part with utmost dedication.

Naotsugu drags a metal box from the pile of junk and sit on it, hugging his sword while guarding the entrance. He will be ready if any enemy shows up.

After confirming this, Shiroe uses the menu in his mind to call Marielle telepathically. Shiroe has been contacting Marielle about this time daily after starting the journey. Marielle understands this and picks up quickly.

"Thanks for the hard work Shiroe, how are things?"

"Everything is fine here, we made camp and rest shortly after contacting you yesterday. We entered Palm's tunnel this morning."

"You are in the depths of Palm right now?"

"Yes."

"That is too fast, you are scaring big sister here!"

"Yes."


Marielle's kind greetings give Shiroe a warm feeling.

He wanted to reply in a kinder way, but that is beyond him. Shiroe continues to answers politely as he thought about this.

Marielle didn't know Shiroe is traveling in a special way... By griffon. The usual means of travel in this world is by summoning horses.

Another way to traverse the land is by trained 'battle boars'. There are news of players in the Chinese server using giant wolves as their ride.

Summoners can conjure several mounts such as unicorns to ride, but only high level summoners are able to summon flying mounts. Normal players would not be able to imagine enchanters, warriors and weapon based classes owning flying mounts.

"To be frank, we would probably cover about a quarter of your journey if we take on this quest, I am grateful for your help."

"Uh, that aside... How are things on your side?"

"We are in touch with Serara via telepathy."

This is one of the reason for periodic contact.

Shiroe is heading to Ezzo empire to save Serara, but he can't contact her telepathically.

You can only contact players on your friend list by telepathy. And you can only add them to the list when they are right in front of you.

In other words, Shiroe's group has no means to contact Serara through telepathy.

"The situation remains unchanged?"

"Yeah, she says she is hiding with that nice guy I mentioned and that she is okay for now."

I see, that's good to hear. There is still good players there, seems like Susukino is not beyond redemption."

"Yeah."

Serara is targeted by a group if nasty players, forcing her to join their guild through intimidation. She was even confined for a period of time and was almost assaulted sexually. But she managed to get away and is hiding somewhere in Susukino.

The size of Susukino is on par with Akiba, but there are only about 2000 players there, 1/8 that of Akiba. This makes each player more prominent.

Take buying food for instance, you can't merge with the crowd and do that, so it will be several times harder to remain undetected. Shiroe is worried Serara can't cover her tracks with such a low urban population.

But Serara seems to have found a player willing to aid her.

Shiroe don't know the details, but Serara only manage to escape from the nasty guild Brigandia with the help of this kind player.

With a player the enemy knows nothing of, there will be no problems buying supplies. With this, the chance of Serara avoiding detection before help arrives is high. With the low population, there will be more ruins and abandoned buildings for her to hide in.

Shiroe breathe a sigh if relief when he thought of this.

"We can't confirm further plans before leaving the dungeons, so I will contact you again after passing through Palm. Teardrop mountains is the biggest obstacle after all..."

"How do you plan to cross the straits?"

"I will figure it out once I get there."

Shiroe avoids the question even though he already decided to fly over. Owning a griffon means conquering 'dead spirit field' raid. Raids are the pinnacle challenge in Elder Tales, only a few major guilds are able to complete them. They are then rewarded with the rare item griffon summon flute.

For some people, guildless people like Shiroe owning this rare item is unacceptable.

Marielle the guild master of Crescent moon alliance knows lots of people unlike Shiroe. At the very least, all her members knows about Shiroe's quest to rescue Serara.

Although Marielle accepts Shiroe's aid with her usual smile, it is hard to say this is the same for the other guild members. Shiroe is worried that the public's perception of him will change if news spreads out.


"You will definitely make it, Shiroe."

Shiroe's hesitant words made Marielle smile.

(Marielle is definitely pushing herself. She is so tough.)

"We have no serious problems, didn't even fight much at all."

"Roger!"

"Well then, I will contact you later."

"Great! I will pray to the goddess Yurola on your behalf, say hi to Naotsugu and Akatsuki for me, Henrietta misses her."

Marielle ends the call mentioning the goddess Yurola which priests talk about in this alternate world.

(So far so good...)

"How is the situation my lord?"

"...!"

He didn't notice Akatsuki is back when he was focusing on the telepathy call. Shiroe turns and see Naotsugu taking big bites out of his meal.

"Akiba is the same, Serara is hiding in the urban part of Susukino. No issues so far, let's proceed as planned."

"Affirmative."

Akatsuki takes out a large water canteen from her back after answering. The canteens are all the same size, but it looks bigger in Akatsuki's hands.

Shiroe opens his bag and offer some oranges to Akatsuki. In this world where food has no taste, unprocessed ingredients like fruits are precious delicacy that retains their flavour.

Shiroe and the others are using a bag of holding, an excellent item that can be loaded up to 200kg. Apart from the bag itself, it can negate the weight of all the items inside it.

This is a well known item in Elder Tales, and it's quality determines the weight and type of items it can carry. Almost all the players have one because of its convenience.

With this bag, you can carry on fighting in the dungeons even if you are loaded with lots of treasures. You won't be flustered by cumbersome camping equipment, a necessity item in this world.

"Can you tell me what you saw? I want to cross reference it with my map."

"Understood."

Akatsuki peels the orange expertly with a knife as she makes her report. The main path is wide enough for 2 trucks to drive through side by side so they won't lose their way, but there are loads of side paths that branches out.

They can reach their goal by following the main route, but it is better to make a detour sometimes to avoid the nest of the ratmen. Akatsuki's scouting reports are invaluable for this.

Shiroe draws new deviating paths on his map as he listens to Akatsuki.

"Does it look something like this."

"Yeah, that should be fairly accurate... You really are good at cartography my lord."

Akatsuki leans over to inspect Shiroe's map and is impressed.

"This is just like CAD, and my subclass is also a scribe."

"What is CAD?"

"Designs you make on a computer. I do it at my university as an engineering student."

"So you are a college student my lord?"

"But I am graduating soon." Shiroe nods in reply. His memories of the real world seems so distant and unreal now.

"I see, so you are about my age."

"Hmmm?" "No way!"

Shiroe and Naotsugu retorts at the same time.

"Is it that surprising?"

He feel bad for Akatsuki who is asking so calmly, but Shiroe was sure Akatsuki is 3-4 years younger than him.

"Are you kidding us shrimp? Based on your height you puwahh!"

A knee lands on Naotsugu face cuts off his sentence.

"May I kick this stupid Naotsugu my lord?"

"Didn't I tell you to ask before doing it?"

Ignoring the comedy duo, Shiroe is bleeding cold sweats in his heart. He didn't say it out, but Shiroe has been judging Akatsuki's age based on her height.

"Idiot Naotsugu is always nitpicking about height issues."

"It would be sadder talking about bre..puwahh!"

She used her left knee this time. Akatsuki jumped almost 2 meters, flipped backwards and lands gracefully like a cat.

"...Akatsuki? Please don't murder Naotsugu."

"Since it is my lord's request..."

Akatsuki left Naotsugu while sulking. Shiroe didn't say her thoughts about age out loud, but he still helps Naotsugu.

"Did you also think I was a child my lord?"

Shiroe endures the pressure of Akatsuki's glare and comment softly.

"I am not concerned about height... or age issues. This is troubling..."

Shiroe did think Akatsuki was younger, but he didn't treat her like a kid.

This is a world where survival skills are crucial.

A place where you need to trade blows with ratmen in giant tunnels like this. You will die if you don't meet the minimum requirement, even if you are a child.

It is the same even in this world without death.

Shiroe recalls the twins he knew recently.

On that day, Shiroe was still with the twins up till the moment the Apocalypse hits. They got separated when Shiroe rushes back to Akiba.

Shiroe saw the twins join some guild from afar once, but he still worries about their current status.

Shiroe decides to meet them when he return to Akiba.

"What are you thinking about my lord?"

"Hmmm? Nothing really."

"That isn't true. Whenever you are thinking, your brow furrows."

"Ah..."

He objects Akatsuki on reflex, but she has totally seen through Shiroe. Being seen through is embarrassing enough, but Akatsuki continues 'right here you know? Just like the wrinkles of an old man', which makes Shiroe uneasy.

"Hey, what are you laughing at Naotsugu?"

"Because... Wahahah!"

Shiroe kicks Naotsugu in the shin.

But Naotsugu's legs are wrap in armour, so Shiroe's toes hurt from the impact.

The 3 of them moves out after bickering for a while. It is always dark in the tunnels, threatening to crush the trio with its weight.

In the cold humid air unique to such underground dungeons, only the smiles of the three offer some warmth.



4


The first light of dawn bathes ridge of the mountains in purple light as they came out of the tunnel.

Shiroe's group who have been spending long hours underground stretch their backs in the cool and fragrant breeze.

They did not need to bend their backs to traverse the caverns, but the billion tons of rocks over their head gives them overwhelming pressure.

The sky right now is still dark as the summer sun slowly rises.

"The wind is cold."

Akatsuki jump onto a boulder which give her a view of the forest and the ocean as she speaks.

"But it feels great. We are finally through the tough part"

Shiroe follows them up the boulder.

The wind is indeed icy, but the scenery is grandiose. The dark green forest is glowing beautifully from the rose colored light.

As the clouds moves off with the wind, this rose colored light makes the ocean shimmers like a sea of gold.

"Beautiful."

"Amazing."

Shiroe's companions explains everything with these simple words.

Speaking of which, this is the first time.

(We are the first to see this scene. In this alternate world, no other players has traveled to Susukino from Akiba yet. We are the pioneers. When Elder Tales was a game, lots of players passed by here at dawn. But, we are the first ones here. Being the first means...)

... The best part of adventuring is experiencing new things. It makes you so tense with anticipation you can't stand still.

Hmmm? What? Don't lose control of your bladder? What's the big deal, this is a happy moment. Are you unhappy? You are happy right? Just look at this gorgeous view, totally worth the effort! Hahahaha!


Shiroe remembers 'her' words.

'She' has no basis for her overflowing confidence. 'Her' character is built on willfulness, bluffs and bold words.

But 'she' always knows the correct answer.

If it was 'her', she will treat this scenery as a medal and wear it proudly.

"We're the first ones here."

Shiroe says to his friends with this emotion in his heart.

"We're the first adventurers in this world to see this."

For the first time, Shiroe accept this to be an alternate world with his words.

The gorgeous view in front of them confirm this fact stronger than anything else. Something that is impossible to see in a game. Technology that recreate real life in the virtual world cannot display this flowing wind, chilly air, the sound of the trees and the dawn that is changing every micro second.

After coming to this world, even if everyone around them falls into a panic or players disrupt security due to lack of goals, Shiroe still maintains a certain degree of calm.

He will go to the suburbs, investigate the zones, experiment with spells while battling and find out what he can or cannot do in this world even if it is tedious.

(... I didn't know I was so adaptable. Naotsugu's humor helps me forget my hardships. Akatsuki makes everyday more lively, saving the sanity in my heart...)

But that is not all. Shiroe finally understands this now.

The ruins under the ancient trees looks so beautiful after coming to this world, telling him this is indeed an alternate world.

(This is an alternate world, we are adventurers.)

Akatsuki looks at Shiroe with surprise for an instant. She then nods with understanding the next moment. Naotsugu gives a manly grin and takes a deep breathe.

"That's right, I've never seen anything so amazing, even in Elder Tales."

"It's our first prize for victory."

The 2 of them cherish the scene in front of them with longing eyes before acknowledging Shiroe.

And in reply, Shiroe faces the sky to the east and blows his griffon summon flute.



Chapter 4 ends.