Log Horizon Web chapter 58

1


The preparations proceeded smoothly.

Adventurers keep most of their belongings in their rooms, their guild house, the bank, in a warehouse or bring it along in their bags. Veteran adventurers own several weight reduction containers, known as magic bags. Bringing along perishables and equipment needed for adventuring are common knowledge.

It is even more so for big battle guilds specializing in raids like the Silver swords. The elite members spends everyday battling. They can start preparation for over night expedition whenever William give the word.

The world of Elder Tales after the Apocalypse moves twelve times slower than before. With the fairy rings rendered useless, the amount of time required to traverse great distance is depressingly long. You have to go through the straits of Lightport in order to reach the depths of Palm. Although Shiroe, Naotsugu and Re Gun flew pass the straits on Griffons, it is not feasible for a group of 24 to travel that way.


Silver swords are one of the major guilds competing for the honor of being the best in raids, so quite a number of them have griffons, but not all. Although they can make it by air if they squeeze, William decides to travel directly by land. Shiroe agrees with this means of travel.

The Silver swords is William's guild, so he is most suited for command.

Shiroe and Naotsugu understands this and has no qualms in following William's lead. The ones complaining are Demikas and Tetora. Demikas throws tantrum without a word because of his pride, while Tetora disturbs Naotsugu in a Tetora way, saying stuff like 'I want to be a flying idol.'

Shiroe feels that there is more than meets the eye.

For Naotsugu, spring has come.


There is only one way if they travel by land. That is through the tunnel under the straits of Lightport. As expected, this tunnel also doubles as a dungeon in the world of Elder Tales, but is no threat to the full raid group with an average level of 93. This dungeon can be traverse alone for adventurers above level 40 anyway. The raid group led by William advances into the dungeon underneath the straits.


The basics of group battle in Elder Tales is the party made of 6. Each party of six are then numbered from 1st to 4th.

Raid battles differs widely, so there are no such things as the correct composition. But it is common to see the 1st party to focus on defense and the 2nd party to be well balanced for guerrilla missions. The 3rd and 4th party concentrates on attack and is responsible for bringing down the enemy.

The first problem in planning a raid is assigning members to parties.

If you think about the roles each members play, it will be based on their job class.

For example, the tanks in the 1st party form the defense line for the whole raid, it is impossible for all the players to withstand the attacks of the raid boss indefinitely. The main tank will need to have the highest defense and health bar, and uses the best taunting skills to focus the enemies' hate on himself. Only a Guardian meet all these criteria. Although Samurai is a viable choice, Guardians are still better with their ability to equip shields.

But that is only in normal situations.

If the Samurai is higher level than the Guardian or has better equipment, the Samurai would be the better choice. And more important than the level and equipment is the character of the adventurer. In raid battles, spending long periods of time tanking the enemies attack is a heavy burden. Skills is important, but the mental toughness and the teamwork with others are crucial too. There are some Guardians out there who prefer to concentrate on attacks and hates taunting enemies and protecting teammates. Instead of assigning them to the front lines, they will be more suited fighting in the command party or the 3rd and 4th party which concentrates on attacking.

This means that detailing of the members are not limited to class and levels, but also the character of the players, a complicated puzzle to derive the best combination. Taking into account the weakness and movement of the enemy monsters, there are plenty of permutations to consider, a difficult question that has plagued commanders for the past 20 years.


Shiroe understands that the reason why William chose to traveled by land lies here. He wants to understand the nature and strengths of the new members as reference for the team roster when the time comes.

(But, I don't think you can use this as reference.)

Shiroe was assigned to the 2nd party.

The members are Enchanter Shiroe.

Guardian Naotsugu.

Cleric Tetora.

Druid Rugiusu

Swashbuckler Federico.

Monk Demikas.


Ruguisu and Federico are veterans of Silver swords, and they welcome Shiroe more warmly than he expected.

The problem choice is Demikas, rushing out when the battle starts to hunt down monsters. The monsters are between level 30 to 40. For the level 93 Demikas, this is as challenging as poking through paper windows. It is hard to tell his character and teamwork from this.

Although Shiroe tried talking to him several times, Demikas cut the conversation short with his curt and menacing replies.

"No need to rush."

The kind and warm Ruguisu told him.

"It will be great if we complete this by year's end."

There is a reason why Rugiusu thinks this way.

Things like raid battles are not challenges you can complete in a day. From their experience of Elder Tales as a game, a raid zone has countless normal monsters and 5 to 10 raid boss. They could be wiped out by a normal monster if they are careless. You will need to be wiped out dozens of times in order to understand the raid boss' capability and look for the way to victory, that's what raiding is all about.

If you die in a raid zone, you will not be sent to the cathedral in the player's city. You will respawn  right at the entrance of the zone. This means the entrance to the zone has the same capability as a cathedral.

Since they can challenge the zone from the entrance if they are wiped out, it is the norm for players to try again multiple times. Preparing to spend a month on this is reasonable.

William's instruction to purchase a month's worth of perishables reinforced Reguisu's words. Shiroe was already prepared for this and squeezed all sorts of materials and tools into his bags, enough to last him 2 months.

This is great for evading spies, Shiroe thought. although Susukino is a border city with sparse population, it is still a player city. There is a high chance people are already watching him. It will be safe to stay in an unexplored region. Shiroe don't know how true this is... But even so, he don't want this to drag too long.

Even if he stays still, the chance of information leaking increases the longer he takes. And if Shiroe is right, this is not a surveliance he can evade by switching zones. Although Nyanta and Akatsuki is creating an alibi for him in Akiba, but there is no telling how long he can keep this up. So he wants to wrap this up as soon as possible.

As Shiroe thought about this, he starts missing his old friends.

How strange, Shiroe thought as he scratch his cheek.

It has been less than half a year, but he misses the guild house wrapped by an ancient tree. The fragrant wooden floors of the living room made by Mitchitaka, he misses the cheerful sound of everyone. he wants to watches the sun rise from the balcony while drinking tea. In order to protect all this, he has to complete this mission. I am a guild master now, Shiroe push himself on with this thought.

"Wahh!"

Shiroe looks towards the source of the scream, Tetora is staring at him.

"What happened?"

"Mr Shiroe was smiling! I saw him smiling by himself!"

"I do smile every now and then."

"Really!? This was my first time seeing it..."

Barging in with this rude conversation are the duo Naotsugu and Tetora.

"Keep a distance from Shiroe. He is a closet pervert."

"Ahh. I see... Mr Shiroe is so pitiful. Want to see some panties?"

"You claim to be an idol and you are fine showing it to anyone."

"I'm not showing. I'm just asking. Just curious. If I really want to show it, I will pretend it is an accident. And then report that guy to the police."

"That's being a trap, not being an idol."

"Mr Naotsugu you meanie. Even if you are charmed by me, I still don't belong to any one person."

Although Shiroe didn't show it on his face, he was shocked by their unhesitant conversations. Naotsugu grunted 'I'm not charmed', Tetora uses Tetora's way and hugs Naotsugu, saying 'Saying that like a true Tsundere. I'm climbing up.'

They have good affinity with each other.

Shiroe didn't forget that he was the subject of a rude discussion, and felt happy for some reason. This is just their 2nd meeting. It is only natural that she has never seen Shiroe smile, and both of them knows nothing of each other.


Tetora somehow angered Naotsugu and fled, with Naotsugu chasing behind. Shiroe didn't felt the need to stop them. They can take on any monsters in this dungeon easily, and Demikas is wiping out all the enemies nearby anyway.

Shiroe still waved and shouted 'Be careful okay' anyway. A hand pat on his back and said to him 'You are really taking it easy.'

William is fully equipped with a giant bow on his back. He looks straight ahead with his sharp expression and walks to Shiroe's side.

"Instead of taking it easy, I feel that I am enjoying myself."

Shiroe replies.

Williams seems to laugh bitterly upon hearing this response.

Shiroe only learned in these few days that William's sharp and guarded expression is his default face, he is not actually unhappy about anything. He does not shows his thought through his face and his mocking smile doesn't really mean anything. This is the norm for William.

A good commander needs to grasp the direction and character of his members. This will maximize the effectiveness of command and execution.

On the other hand, the members will also learn the perks of the commander over time. Just following orders blindly is meaningless. Only when you understand the intent and purpose will you be able to react in time to achieve the team's goal.

Appointed as the leader of the 2nd party, Shiroe unconsciously tries to spend more time understanding William. From the unhappy expression William wears all the time, Shiroe can imagine about the guild issues Williams worries about all the time.

But this is to be expected. Without this level of ability, it will be impossible to lead a guild like Silver swords to the top of the battle guilds rankings.

"But he's not."

The meaning behind this vague words can be understood by following William's gaze and looking at the bulky figure destroying monsters. Indeed, Demikas is straying away from the 2nd party's formation.

"This part of the team has not stabilize yet."

Shiroe said apologetically with a hint of guilt. But William simply smile and nod.

William uses his left hand to stroke his chin and look into the distance with a bitter smile.

"But he also need this chance. Whether he will fight on or give up, we will know when the raid begins. Demi understands too. If he don't, then this will be his limit."

Williams seem to be hinting at all sorts of things with cryptic words, but Shiroe doesn't understand it at this point in time.


2


Three weeks later, the group is still raiding on.

The 1 month target they set was shattered easily, the way ahead seems to be getting more unpredictable. They only took down 2 raid boss after 3 weeks, and only has a vague idea of the whole raid zone.

The atmosphere of the group is growing increasingly fatigue and serious.


"Damn it!!"

The roaring Demikas is taking damage from poison, Rugiusu cast Heartbeat healing on him. Demikas will constantly heal a certain amount of health within a 20 second period. Green and orange pulsing light effect surrounds the burly warrior.

He lean forward and strikes with all his might, splattering slime in all directions. Pungent smell from the pieces fill the air as they starts to dissolve. The attacker Demikas is also covered in white smoke and smoldering. Orcus Jelly uses its acidic body to attack enemies, and will also damage anybody who comes into contact with it. The 5 meter large slime ball doesn't seems to be hurt.

"You don't even have to say it!"

Rugiusu rushes in Demikas' direction. The muscle head warrior's strike has put him out of the 20 meter range of healing spells. Although he cast Heartbeat healing on him, the recovery amount won't be enough. If Rugiusu don't cast instant cure and minor heals, Demikas will fall again.

Rugiusu feels frustrated with Demikas who has disrupted the formation again.

The dull thud from the sewage pipe on either side of them signals the arrival of more Orcus Jelly.

A chaotic fight.

The raiding group of 24 was led by Rugiusu's guild master William, made up of 4 parties. But only the 1st and 2nd party has acceptable level of defense. The 1st party specializes in defense and is tanking the bulk of the Orcus Jelly from the front.

The 3rd and 4th party are in charge of dishing out firepower to destroy the enemy. Their offense is heightened to kill their foes, but their defense are lacking. They are to dispose of the monsters the 2nd party pulls efficiently.

The 2nd party Rugiusu was assigned has the task of guerrilla missions.

They have to intercept the monsters that got pass the 1st party. When the enemies launches surprise attack against the weakly armored 3rd and 4th party, the 2nd party will need to protect them.

The 1st party is in the spotlight as they hold off the biggest enemies and attract their hate, the 2nd party on the other hand needs quick reaction to dangers and is very important from a tactical standpoint. All of the members needs to know what the task at hand is in order to coordinate efficiently.


The monsters emerging from the sides launch their attack.

The 1st party is holding the defense line ahead and can't pull back. Demikas pulls a surprise attack when the raid bogs down to a stalemate. This is a dangerous time for enemy reinforcement to come in. They are coming at the flanks of the 3rd and 4th party, the rear of the formation with weak defense. The lightly armored mage responsible for long range attacks are especially vulnerable. It will be over if they are to fall.

(This is not the time to worry about others!?)

Rugiusu is chased after Demikas who has charged on ahead.

He watched his steps and moved ahead, failing to notice the translucent yellow pudding wall approaching until its too late.

This is bad, Rugiusu thought as a silvery items manifest in his right hand.

"Anchor howl!"

The ear splitting shout of the guardian attracts the wrath of a Orcus Jelly. It is his team mate Naotsugu from the 2nd party. Rugiusu heard that Naotsugu is from a small but famous guild, and is impressed with his smooth movements in raid battle.

The monsters shakes its ugly body, probably locking on to Naotsugu. Naotsugu raise his shields in defense, understanding that reckless strikes will invite counter attacks in the form of acids. He skillfully uses his taunts and wield his shield to minimize the damage. His ability might be even better than that of the Guardian Dinkuron, the defensive specialist of Silver swords.

The Orcus Jelly from the left moves in to double team Naotsugu, rising up like bread dough and suddenly freezes.

Without even hearing it, Rugiusu can tell the timely 'Astral Hypnos' spell was cast by their Enchanter. Although it is only for 20 seconds, monsters hit by the spell will cease all movement. Because they are just sleeping, just a light hit is enough to display the condition. But the ability to reduce the number of active enemies is already a big help. Since this is a raid zone, the monsters here are all buffed up to raid zone level. The effectiveness of hypnosis spells are reduced to about 4 seconds. Just 4 seconds is enough to slip past the enemy and head for the front lines.

"Enemy reinforcement, requesting for support! 8 o' clock, Orcus Jelly!!"

In response to the voice, the 3rd and 4th party switch their attack target. The first blow came from the commander William. His crystal like arrows sparkles like meteors, piercing holes through the stomach of the Orcus Jelly the size of fists. This is followed by fire, frost and lightning spells raining down in rapid succession.

All raid monsters have huge amount of health. Even the combined attack of dozens can not take them down in a short period of time. The Orcus Jelly crippled by Shiroe has broken free, but the 4 seconds is enough for their Guardian to accumulate enough hate.

Rugiusu watches the nimble Cleric bounce aroung the battle field.

The lightly armored Cleric is more experienced than she looks. She came from an unknown guild called light indigo, but is no stranger to raid battles. Her light armored built contradicts directly with the orthodox built of the full armor Cleric. But her skillful positioning and movements, Rugiusu knows that she has a good sense and understanding of the situation.

Tetora moves back and forth repeatedly as she distribute her Reactive Heal among teammates. She hides behind Naotsugu when the Orcus Jelly compresses its body. Using the powerful defense of the Guardian to block the dangerous area attacks of raid monsters, a veteran move.

"Doing okay, Mr Naotsugu?"

"The slime festival is really swell."

"Wonderful...! Mr Naotsugu is so cool...!"

"You are totally using me as a shield!"

"I heal you several times already, so take the hit for me alright?"

Rugiusu smiles when he sees the two of them bicker. Shiroe and the duo he brought along is impressively tenacious.

Mysterious light shines from the tall celling within the zone. It is either illuminated by luminous mushrooms or magic. The bright lights keeps the dungeons bright and the surroundings visible. When exploring the place, it is advisable to use Bug light though.

This place is several hundred meters underground. They have passed through the depths of Palms to a bigger battle zone 'Abyss Shaft', a conservative estimate of the amount of soil above their head to be several million tons. For adventurers who are mainly students and civilian working adults, it is very pressurizing.

The complex sewage openings around the premise means monsters could launch sneak attack at anytime, intensifying the pressure. The raid is going badly. They are not holding back either. The difficulty of this zone is tougher than Rugiusu expected.

They have to spend 8 to 10 hours battling dozens of rounds with monsters daily. This is their limit. Every fight is challenging, and they need time to recover too. Their exploration area is still very limited.


Contrary to expectation, the trio was not discouraged at all. Even the elites of the Silver swords are feeling the heat. Compared to normal adventurers, this trio is full of life and vigor. This doesn't seem to be the effect of skills and equipment, but because of their nature.

"I'm going to do it okay. Anytime now. Don't fall for me alright?"

"Enough, just get on with it."

"Fufu. Here I come. In response to everyone's request... listen to my 'Aurora Heal'!"

Colourful lights from all spectrum of the rainbow shines bright, healing the wounds of allies in the range slowly. The area of attack of the Orcus Jelly does not only target the members holding down the defense line. Melee attackers using swords and axes will also take damage. A member of the 2nd party Federico is already at half health. It is the duty of Rugiusu to heal him when he has the time to spare. But with the monsters fierce attack at hand, Rugiusu have to give the priority to the tanks.

In order to cover for Rugiusu who rush out to support Demikas, Tetora is using a big spell with long casting time to mass heal.

"I did it! I am so smart and cute, so perfect!"

"That's the truth, although your attitude disgusts me, I am grateful for the fix! Take this!"

"Focus your attacks! Keep your melee range area attacks down!"

Shiroe cast a support spells for Tetora. At the same time, Federico whose wounds are on the mend returns to the front lines.


Ignoring the cheerful voice behind him, Rugiusu cast consecutive healing spells at Demikas.

Orcus Jelly seems like nothing but trouble for melee fighters and tanks. Acidic slime will splurt out when they are attacked from close room, an effective counterattack. The acidic smog cause area damage and debuff, another headache. Deal with one is bad, facing 4 or 5 at once is even more of a pain.

"Come back Demikas."

"TO be held back by these small fries."

Demikas roars as he retreats. His hands are smoking from the acid. The wear and tear on the weapons seems rather serious.

"Damn it, heal me!"

"Don't need to shout, I can hear you."

Rugiusu starts to chant. Demikas is on the verge of dying, and will fall if this keeps up. Demikas returns because he understands the risk, but his attitude is bad.

Demikas seems unhappy with Rugiusu's response and glares at him. His eyes seems to be saying 'If you know, then hurry up!'

Rugiusu sighs.

As a fellow party member, Rugiusu wish Demikas will tone it down.

If he keeps up his solitary strike, his Heal work will be compromised. Attacking without considering the casting range will cause the formation to crumble.

Demikas has racked up several deaths. In a raid group with dozens of adventurers, there are sure to be members with healing class, so they can be revived with no issues. For adventurers in raiding guilds like Rugiusu, death is just equivalent to fainting, but it also means they will not be able to move when they are down. The overall performance of the group will drop with death.

No matter how dumb he might be, he has learned to avoid dying. But even if he retrats just before he falls, it is still unacceptable in terms of efficiency. When Demikas is recovering, the 1st party has to cover for him.

Demikas' reckless charge was reinforced by the kindness of the people around him. The support stopping will lead to the whole group falling into ruins.

(But...)

Rugiusu who cast multiple heals thought as he rush back to the front lines alongside Demikas.

But even so, it is only fair to say that Demikas is an excellent player.

They have spent 3 weeks exploring the depths of the underground dungeon. There has been many brutal battles in this period. Although they have never been wiped out totally, all the participating members has been killed more than 10 times.

In normal circumstances, people will want to vent their anger at the surrounding when face with such pressure. For Shiroe and his group from Log Horizon to maintain their optimism is abnormal.

Rugiusu felt honored to be in an elite guild.

Led by the famous William, Rugiusu felt like a veteran who has been through hell.

Not only Rugiusu, all other members of the Silver swords is confident that they are the strongest guild in the server and proud of it.

But the guild specializing in raids and striving to be the strongest has its share of troubles. Twenty percent of the core group, 40 odd members has fallen into depression after the Apocalypse. There are some who has quit raiding even though they still retain guild membership.

For raid battles in a zone that matches the level of the adventurers are brutal.

For top tier players, fighting in the Citadel of 7 falls of about level 50 is child's play.

In the eyes of Rugiusu and the others, it is a joke. A bunch of level 90s running around a level 50 zone. Instead of being a major battle guild, they are more like a major fun and games guild.

But he does not recognize Demikas because of this pride. This dim witted burly Monk is unable to understand the meaning of cooperation.  He is unwilling to listen to others and gives them a ton of troubles. His attitude is poor, lacking all the eseential elements for fighting raids.

But Demikas is no coward.

Even D.D.D is hesitant when fighting level 90 end game content. But this martial artist did not slow down when facing the torrent of violence and death. He does not shy away from contact with monsters, and his eyes are unwavering.

Rugiusu knows that Demikas' jealousy for Shiroe and the Silver swords are part of the reason. Fear isn't the thing that is holding Demikas back. But there is no way Demikas can handle the slimeballs monster more than twice his height by throwing tantrums.

Rugiusu has no answers, and can only add protective barrier on Demikas and himself.

The situation is dire.

The exploration is not progressing well. Even the Silver sword guild is losing self restraint and on the verge of exploding. The most brutal battles in the whole serer is probably here. They can't just let the vagrant continue to run amok. Rugiusu continues to commit to his duty as a healer to keep his party healthy as he rush around the battlefield.


3


William who holds the trust of the Silver swords is suffering.

After finishing the battle for the day, in the casual but elaborate camp site, William toss out the papers documenting the results of the exploration. He stretch his back so far out that he almost topple the canvas chair he is sitting on.

"It is not going well."

"Right."

Sitting besides is Log Horizon's Shiroe. This young man in glasses is mapping out the area with an accuracy William can never match. William stretch out his legs wide, rock his chair and sigh. He knows he is furrowing his brow.

"How much further?"

"Well..."

Shiroe traces his finger on the gigantic map.

"There are 3, no, 4 more."

This is an estimate of the number of raid boss in the zone.

Although there are all sorts of raid zones, this one appears to be a typical multi stage raid zone. A raid dungeon is a more challenging version of normal dungeons, containing raid contents.

Compared to party level dungeon zones, there are many more passages and rooms. There might even be traps and puzzles. Humongous space lies within the key areas of the zone, and a powerful raid boss stands guard in it.

All the enemies are at raid level strength. Since this area is designed for a 24 person full raid, a party of 6 would not stand a chance. Even with a full raid group, there is still a chance you will be wiped out if you let down your guard. The Silver swords will be able to expedite their exploration process if they are facing normal monsters. But they are still stuck with filling the gaps in the map for now.

The problem lies with the raid boss which requires different tactics from normal monsters.

They have taken down '1st of the garden' Vandemi and '5th of the garden' Eroraider. Both of them are powerful and have special abilities which requires complicated tactics to defeat.


"This is tedious."

"Fighting those 2 bosses is like performing an circus act."

That's expected in raid boss battles.

Simply gathering powerful members won't even get you to the fight, let alone lead you to victory.

Both of the fight didn't go perfectly, and they barely avoided being wiped out, with a handful out of the 24 escaping to safety. The other members are revived in safety, and this processed was repeated 20 odd times. Including combat resuscitation, all the members have been incapacitated multiple times.

But some good did come out of this. Orcus Jelly, Mutant Griffon and Venom Hydrangea quality drops lots of materials such as primordial mud and veriant leather only available through raids. These are high class items production class adventurers can use to create quality equipment worth a fortune.

They also obtain 7 phantasmal class equipment after defeating Vandemi and Eroraider.

These equipment are a huge motivation for major guilds fighting to be the very best like no one ever was. The loot this round was types that they have never seen before. They are not only an upgrade of phantasmal class level equipment, it is a glorious accomplishment they an be proud of.


Shiroe pour out coffee from the pot that is 20cm tall. Williams counts the number of days they have left as he watch Shiroe's action.

"Ten days is our limit."

"..."

Williams is concerned about resupply.

As they fought on, the adventurer's equipment will suffer wear and tear. Death will cause even more damage which cannot be mended by resuscitation spells. To keep the equipment in working conditions, they have to constantly maintain them.

This is common sense in Elder Tales and William has already taken this into account. Such multi stage raids has always been a headache since the Elder Tales days. The members of the raid has subclasses of blacksmith, armor craftsman, seamstress and carpenters. Doing maintenance when not engaging in battle is the norm for major guilds.

But repairs requires materials. Without proper facilities, the material consumption rate is much more intense. And a guild like Silver swords is full of members with phantasmal level equipment, which requires phantasmal material as well.

Apart from the maintenance of equipment, they also need to take note of expendable items. That's the case for William's Holy crystal comet arrows. The powerful arrows are made by craftman from phantasmal material. A skilled craftmans can make 500 arrows from Holy rainbow Quartz. But 500 is not enough for consecutive battles like this one. William has already expended 2000 of the 10,000 reserves he has prepared. Other expendable items includes potions, balms, tailsman and scrolls.

This means that the supplies for raid battles are gathered from other raid battles, viscious cycle.

To upkeep the equipment you get from raid battles, you will need to get the material from raid battles. By going through such cycles, you will obtain the power to challenge harder raid battles. If you succeed in challenging a higher level raid, you will get even better equipment. And to maintain them, you will need to continue fighting difficult raids.

Historically, raiding guilds will periodically conduct raids of a certain level in order to maintain balance in the cycle. The purpose is to resupply. But with the fairy ring out of commission because of the Apocalypse, it is difficult to visit the raids spread all over the world. But even if that is not an issue, the Silver swords are a proud battle guild. Unless there is a pressing issue for resupply, they would rather not visit lower level raid zones.

William has wandered the land after the Apocalypse.

He did not regret it, but he has exhausted a large portion of his resource and materials. In terms of full raid battle, William is confident that this group is the strongest within the server. But the wealth of each members is in a pitiful state.


"I have resources prepared from Akiba as well."

"How much, how long will it last us?"

"10 days at most."

Shiroe replies bitterly. William heard that Log Horizon is a small guild with just 8 members. They are still able to supply the elites of Silver swords with 10 days of supply, which is amazing. But that doesn't change the situation. Downing 2 boss took 3 weeks, and twice that number in 20 days wil be hard. Traditionally, bosses will get harder in the later stages.

And William has another concern.

Which is the origin of the man before him.

The silent Shiroe who seems to have many secrets hides his true thinking behind his expresssion.

This zone itself is unnatural.

'1st of the garden' Vandemi.

'5th of the garden' Eroraider.

Even without seeing the other boss, William can take a stab at their names. Probably '2nd of the garden' Mezarakurau, '3rd of the garden' Ibura Habura and '4th of the garden' Tarutaurugar. The boss guarding this zone are the pride of 'Heroes of the 9 prisons', having the same form and name as their administrator. But they are not totally the same of course. In the expansion pack heart of fantasy, the raid battle 'heroes of 9 prisons', They are known as '1st of the prison' Vandemi and '5th of the prison' Eroraider. The raid boss takes the form winged snakes or of a white horse which you will never forget. They made their appearance again after a slight change in name and colour pallete. They have also became stronger and discarded their old fighting patterns.

Games that recycle characters living in the database are common. This zone is just one of many examples. There should be some lore behind them if this world is still a game. Shiroe has not divulge the things he is hiding for some reason.


He is not a position to nag at others.

This is William's true feeling.

He did think his group was wrong. He has no regret over leaving Akiba or going through multiple raids in the north. Although he has no qualms about it, he feels that the Silver swords has distanced itself from the others. Man cannot improve just by not making mistakes. William don't want to know about all that. He just want to be the best and that will be enough. If his comrades feel intimidated, he William can wipe away their worries with just a shout.

But he understands that he cannot keep this up and has to face reality.

He don't want to admit it, but William thinks he might be wrong.

He was wrong to reject shiroe's invitation and left the Round Table Council.

Williams wants to talk about this with Shiroe.

But William is not sure what Shiroe is up to, but it seems Shiroe is suffering from the secrets he is withholding. It is hard to lower his hold and ask Shiroe to address his doubts. William is not an adult, and he don't want to be such an adult.

He mocks at his childlike pride. He also has thoughts thinking that this is just fine.

The deteriorating supplies issue, fighting raid battles deep underground with no ready means of escape. In this situation which is worsening by the minute, what can he say to motivate his Silver swords comrades? What can a loser like him who has only taken Elder Tales gaming seriously since birth say to his men?

William don't think he can say anything. He is just going about this on a whim.

He feels like a child waving a weapon around to shows his bravado. But he should make use of the weapon since he has one, that is only natural. That is what William decided as a gamer.

"What do you think Shiroe?"

"About what?"

William scratch his head roughly when he heard that response.

He has no answer ready for William's query.

William also needs a chance. To take up the challenge or give up.

To prove that he is someone or to become someone. How different is he from Demikas who has nothing but fury in his eyes, or Silver swords which has no clear direction?

The chance is before him, in the battle. That's what William determined.

So he strive on despite the hardships.


End