In the Land of Leadale - Volume 3 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – A Butler, a Ghost Ship, an Adopted Daughter, and the Palace of the Dragon King

Setting aside personal player circumstances for the time being, Cayna and the others went around explaining their current situations. 

“I came here about a month ago. A bunch of stuff happened, and now I’m looking for some towers.” 

“Geez, vague much?!” said Quolkeh. 

“We’d be here all day if I explained everything! I’ve met three other players so far, and one of them is in jail.” 

“A lot of things aren’t adding up here. Jail?” asked Exis. 

“Yeah, remember those bandits who were causing trouble when we met in Helshper? Their leader was a player. I beat him down, but those knights came over and swiped him right out from under me.” 

Cayna gave a cute wink and stuck out her tongue with a “Tee-hee.” Exis paled and took a step back. 

“Y-you’re creepin’ me out!” 

“What’s with that reaction?! I’ll give you a beatdown!” 

“At least that’d be more like you!” 

Quolkeh and the blanketed child stared in shock at the duo’s sudden comedy act. 

Li’l Fairy floated over to them from Cayna’s shoulder, but apparently, the child couldn’t see her. She circled around them a few times but realized as much when she got no reaction. Li’l Fairy then dejectedly returned to Cayna’s shoulder. 

““Wh-What’s that?”” 

Quolkeh and Exis were shocked instead. They stared at Li’l Fairy in sheer disbelief, their mouths agape. 

Realizing she was visible, the fairy rushed back into Cayna’s hair. 

“This is Li’l Fairy,” Cayna said blankly. 

Exis slumped his shoulders, while Quolkeh stood frozen, mouth still open. 

“I sort of got her from Opus. Or, actually, I guess it’s more like he entrusted her to me.” 

“That son of a bitch is here, too?!” 

The shock must have been pretty great, because Exis was shouting. 

Cayna smiled awkwardly and gave a wave of her hand. “Nah, I haven’t seen him. I feel like he’s still around, though.” 

“You gotta be kidding me…” 

As Exis held his head in his hands and looked up at the ceiling, Quolkeh gave a questioning look. “Who’s Opus?” 

“A moron I can’t get rid of.” 

“The worst kind of bastard to get mixed up with.” 

Cayna’s and Exis’s respective opinions were on completely opposite ends of the spectrum, but Quolkeh seemed to understand the impact this person had on them. She simply murmured a disappointed “Oh, I see…” 

Cayna summoned a Flame Spirit before the stunned child, who hadn’t yet come to terms with the situation. The small, flaming monkey was about thirty centimeters tall and filled the small room with an orange glow as it playfully jumped around in front of them. The child gave a small smile as they watched the baby monkey repeatedly hop, fly, run around, and tumble about. Upon finally dropping their blanket for the first time, Cayna realized the child was a young girl. 

The three looked on with bated breath and heaved small, quiet sighs. 

“““Phew…””” 

Perhaps feeling a slight weight lifted off his shoulders now that the monkey was taking care of the girl, Exis began talking about their own situation. 

“For us, it all started when we took on a request from the Merchants Guild in Helshper. The fish were disappearing from the ocean, so we set off to a fishing village about three days away on foot. When we got there, though, there were no signs of a struggle, but everyone was gone. All the doors were left open, there were no bodies, and we found footprints that led into the sea. The investigation came to a dead end.” 

“Sounds pretty crazy to me…” 

“We then decided to head south to check on the other fishing villages,” said Quolkeh. “Everything was fine here until two days ago. Sometime around that evening, though, the villagers started kicking up a fuss. They were asking stuff like ‘How are the boats?’ and before anyone knew it, the entire village was suddenly engulfed in a fog. Goodness, everyone collapsed and turned into zombies. Why, they even began attacking at random, if you can believe it. Some dreadfully strong skeletons were even mixed into the group. There was no chance of escaping to the outside, so at a loss, we fled here and met this dear child.” 

“Can you stop trying to sound girlie? You’re failing at it, and it’s super-weird.” 

“Gweh…” 

Quolkeh resigned herself to Cayna’s pointed comment and hung her head. 

The little girl’s name was Luka, and she was apparently this village’s sole survivor. Of course, Cayna continued to speak kindly to the little girl even when she asked for her name. 

There were no other children her age in the village, and this storehouse had become Luka’s playground. Since the fog had never infiltrated the cellar and a charm of protection was put in place to protect the food stores, she had escaped the disaster. 

If they hoped to leave this place, it seemed like the group would have no choice but to pass through the foggy village. And if they hoped to find freedom, the others would have to take Luka with them. 

There was a high chance a child would turn into a zombie the moment they touched the fog. Having said that, though, it wasn’t like everyone else could just go out to find the cause of the fog while they left her behind. It was truly a tricky situation. 

“Still, I had a rough time killin’ the zombies. They used to be villagers…,” Quolkeh said. 

Exis, being equipped in metal armor and not suited to clandestine missions, had been entrusted with looking after Luka while Quolkeh occasionally went outside and reduced the zombie population to a manageable size. 

“I thought you were a high-level zombie at first, Cayna. That’s my bad.” 

“No, now I get where you were coming from. I went overboard back there, too.” 

“You goin’ overboard is worse than any massacre. I don’t trust you for a second.” 

“What’re you agreeing with me for, Exis?!” 

“Gah! Enough! Quit fightin’ every time you open your mouths!” 

Sensing the two getting ready for another comedy showdown, Quolkeh stopped them just in time. Having returned to himself, Exis drew a simple map of the village on the floor and devised an escape. 

Although the shared storehouse was on a higher elevation than the village, it was closer to the sea. They considered escaping by water, but no one knew how to operate a boat. On top of that, even if Exis took off his armor, his weight would still overload the small boat. Thus, it was decided that they’d quickly find the source of the fog and destroy it. 

“We have plenty of battle options now that you’re here, Cayna. Luka will be safest with you, so we’ll go crush the source in the meantime,” said Exis. 

“I’m pretty sure no one will be able to touch her if I put a barrier around the storehouse, though.” 

Cayna often listened patiently while talking with the other children in the hospital, so Luka quickly grew attached and clung to her clothes. 

The girl appeared to be barely ten but seemed to have developed a quiet demeanor from growing up in this village of scarce children. 

Since leaving the poor girl on her own wasn’t an option, Exis and Quolkeh offered to destroy the source of the fog themselves. However, Cayna proposed it was better that she join them as a rear guard. Based on what his main character was like, Exis acknowledged that his range of techniques in battle depended on whether he had backup support. 

“You’re the same as ever, Mr. Nice Guy Tartar Sauce. You’re willing to prioritize children at the cost of our own mobility?” 

“Quit callin’ me Tartar Sauce. I’d feel bad leaving her here alone in a place like this.” 

“No one said anything about leaving her alone…” 

Cayna took out a blue handbell and a red handbell from her Item Box and carefully looked over each as she deliberated. 

Quolkeh wasn’t familiar with the items and was thus uncertain of their effects. However, Cayna and Opus had used them back in the game and gotten Exis (formerly known as Tartarus) mixed up in the ensuing mess. Because of this, Exis gave a look of obvious displeasure. 

“So why the heck do you have two…?” 

“’Cause that’s how much I played.” 

“You damn addict.” 

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” 

“Sorry, but I have no idea what you two are talking about.” 

Since Quolkeh hadn’t had the chance to play the game for very long, she had trouble following the conversations of these overpowered former guild members. Cayna apologized to Quolkeh for leaving her out of the loop and proceeded to explain the handbells she’d brought out. 

“Right, sorry about that. You earn one of these whenever you play the game for ten thousand hours.” 

“And havin’ two marks you as someone who has nowhere else to be,” Exis commented. 

“I’d expect no less of a Cream Cheese member… You guys just don’t know when to quit,” said Quolkeh. 

“These allow you to summon either a butler or a maid, and for a thousand gil, they’ll serve the summoner for up to ten days. Their level is half the user’s.” 

“I see. So you’re planning to have them accompany me and Exis?” 

“Bzzz. That is incorrect. I’ll be coming with you. One of these two will stay here to protect Luka. I wonder who I should call, Cie or Rox?” 

“Not the maid if you can help it,” said Exis. “I might drop dead from rage if she shows up here in the flesh.” 

Quolkeh didn’t know if something had happened, but by Exis’s expression, she could tell that just hearing the name alone had worn him out. She was itching to learn more about this problematic maid but exercised self-restraint when she realized there was no time for that in their current situation. 

“It costs money, though, right? A thousand gil might be a bit of a stretch,” Exis remarked. 

“Yeah, but when you convert a thousand bronze coins to Leadale’s modern going rate, it equals ten gold coins.” 

““That much?!”” 

The two cried out in shocked unison and fell backward. Confused by their reaction, Cayna replied with a question of her own. 

“Huh? Don’t you two have money from the game? One gil equals one silver coin…” 

As Cayna gave a brief explanation of the local currency, the two lost their minds in tandem. Exis balled his hands into fists and ground his fangs with a snarl. Quolkeh held her head in her hands and huddled in a corner of the room. The pair’s eccentric behavior frightened Luka, and she clung to Cayna’s back. 

“Ah, I guess neither of you checked your money,” Cayna said, looking on them with pity. 

Back in the game, you didn’t often see physical money. Since it was commonplace to view transactions by a displayed numerical value, most players treated their finances like a real-life credit card. After the game world became the real world and both players saw actual bronze and silver coins, they must have concluded that their “credit cards” were useless. 

“Don’t worry, Luka. This is what they deserve.” 

“…Mm…” 

Both Exis and Quolkeh had a dark, nebulous cloud hanging over their heads. It was an excessively strange scene. 

“Dammit. If I’d known that, I could’ve done something back then…” 

“…And I had to swallow my pride working as a waitress at that bar…” 

“What the heck have you two been doing this whole time…?” 

They had clearly suffered a number of money woes, and such reactions made Cayna pity them from the bottom of her heart. 

At any rate, Cayna, thinking of the young girl’s safety first and foremost, lightly rang the blue handbell. 

Riiiing! 

The lingering note trailed off across the storehouse, and a line of light drew across the space directly in front of Cayna. 

Vertical lines raced over the wall, hanging objects and all, like a 3D figure. A stately, double-sided door appeared. It was stained with a woodgrain pattern and stuck out in relief from the wall. 

Cayna watched Quolkeh’s and Luka’s eyes widen. The door slowly creaked open of its own accord. A pure-white light from the other side flooded into the space, and just as the sound of clacking shoes seemed to grow closer, a single figure came forth. 

Black eyes. Black hair. Black cat ears. 

A werecat boy sharply dressed in a semiformal butler suit appeared before them. Behind him, the door soon disappeared without a trace. 

He was slightly shorter than Cayna, and after taking a few steps forward, he stopped in front of her and gave a respectful bow. 

“It has been some time, Master. I, Roxilius, have arrived. Please command me as you wish.” 

Cayna smiled at Luka, who had been watching on in bewilderment since the moment the werecat entered. Quolkeh likewise stood there gaping at the outrageous events that had just transpired. 

Exis had seen Roxilius countless times, so he karate-chopped Quolkeh and returned her to her senses. 

“Don’t worry—he’s very nice,” Cayna assured the nervous Luka while lightly patting her back. “Long time no see, Roxilius. How’ve you been?” 

“I…am not certain I can say everything is entirely well, but there is no question matters have been peaceful overall.” 

“Gotcha. What about Roxine? Wasn’t she with you?” 

“That place was like a packed storage closet, so I’m afraid I haven’t the slightest idea where that foolish feline might be.” 

“Your system’s basically no different from a store that’s closed up shop. All those other players’ NPC aides are stuck there, too…” 

Cayna placed her hand to her mouth as she mulled this over. However, she pushed Roxilius to the forefront when she noticed Quolkeh and Luka staring. 

“This is Rox, also known as Roxilius. He’s my loyal butler. Oh, and he’s level 550. I hope you’ll all be friends!” 

“Bwagh?!” 

Paying no attention to Quolkeh’s impressive outburst, Roxilius placed a hand over his heart and bowed. 

“I am Roxilius, a werecat butler. Despite my many shortcomings, I hope you will command me as you see fit.” 

“We’ll be heading out to take care of some monsters soon. Could you watch Luka for us?” Cayna asked. 

“But of course.” 

Roxilius dropped to his knees, met Luka’s eyes, and gave a deep bow. 

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Luka. My name is Roxilius. I am honored to serve you.” 

Luka looked back and forth at Cayna and the werecat in confusion. 

“It’s okay, Luka. If you stay here with this nice man for just a little while, we’ll be able to go outside.” 

Cayna patted the girl’s back consolingly, and Luka hesitantly wavered over taking Roxilius’s white-gloved hand before finally accepting it. 

“I cherish your trust, Miss Luka.” 

The girl blushed and looked down as he smiled at her gently, but she gave a small nod. 

When Cayna patted her head from behind, Luka gazed up in wonder. No longer able to contain herself, Cayna gave her a big squeeze. Luka flailed around in a fluster. 

“C’mon, enough of that. Let’s get going,” Exis urged Cayna as he poked her in the head. 

“Okay, Rox. I put up a barrier to keep the hazardous fog outside, but it’ll go away once we take care of things. Do me a favor and please watch Luka until then.” 

“Yes, understood. I, Roxilius, shall protect Miss Luka with my very life.” 

“Luka, you can stay here with Rox for a little while, right? We’ll be back as soon as we can.” 

Cayna’s words brought sadness to Luka’s face as the girl gripped Roxilius’s pants, but she nodded gently. At her feet, the small fire monkey rooted the three on like a stalwart cheer squad. 

As Cayna approached Exis and Quolkeh, she extended the magic staff she’d removed from her earring and gave it a swing. 

“Okie doke, it’s cleanup time!” 

“What are you, a kindergarten teacher or something?” Exis asked. 

“Seems to me like she says that kind of stuff all the time.” 

“Must be ’cause I was bedridden and only hung out with old people and kids in the real world.” 

“I—I see…” 

Cayna’s openness about her own circumstances and the casual way she spoke of such gloomy topics made Exis feel awkward. After all, she had always been logged in every time he played, so he’d assumed she was actually some antisocial NEET. He was now undeniably aware that the circumstances in Cayna’s life held a shade of nuance. 

When the trio got back outside, Cayna cast a barrier around the small storehouse that was surrounded by fog so thick they could hardly see anything at all. The zombies quickly staggered toward them. Their levels were in the two-figure range, so both Exis and Quolkeh dealt with them quickly enough. There wasn’t even any need for Cayna to get involved. 

“Kee! Search for quests with similar conditions. I feel like I’ve seen this situation somewhere before.” 

“Understood.” 

Getting the sense that a village, fog, zombies, and a boat were all involved somehow, Cayna had Kee look through his vast database to find a quest that matched their current situation. She took this chance to face the zombie groans of “Ughhh” and “Aghhh” approaching from behind, and she threw the Flame Lance she had produced in her raised hand. Each spot the spears struck instantly carbonized, and Exis broke into a cold sweat as even the heat from the blasts pierced the hordes of zombies swaying behind Cayna’s attacks. 

“Overpowered as always, I see…” 

“You said the same thing back when you were Tartarus.” 

“I told you—I’m Exis now!” 

Exis’s weapon of choice was a Dragon Blade about as long as a large dragoid. His equipment was different from the last time she saw him; he’d likely switched things up to better suit his current needs. This weapon, a Leadale original, was a type of longsword that had two crescent moonlike protrusions at the tip of the blade. The wielder used its massive heft to hack and chop up enemies in battle. When equipped by a level-630 dragoid, it was powerful enough to decimate a horde of zombies without even using any Weapon Skills. 

Quolkeh wielded two weapons at once, and she switched between close and mid-range attacks in battle. The saber in her left hand was ideal for close combat, and she mostly used it to handle zombie attacks as she led them to Exis, who was charged with dealing the final blow. The chain whip in her right hand used Weapon Skill: Slicer to quickly intercept the shadows squirming in the fog. This was a technique that used high-speed whip rotations to shoot wind rings that cut the enemy in midair. 

Before Cayna even had time to lend a hand, the zombies surrounding them had been swiftly eliminated and returned to dust. 

“You guys are tag-team players, huh?” 

“We’ve been… Er… Why, Exis and I have paired up for over a year now.” 

Quolkeh had managed this speech pattern somewhat decently at first, but she seemed off her game ever since her battle with Cayna. 

The revelation of her true self had thrown her speech into disarray. Even Exis couldn’t help but smirk. 

“Anyway,” Cayna began, “this fog situation matches several conditions from an earlier quest—one that gave you Active Skill: Fortify. The enemy bosses are the Ghost Ship and the pirate captain Terror Skeleton.” 

“Dang—I mean, goodness, you have quite a good memory…” 

“Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha, well, I was waaay too into the game…” 

“That’s a Limit Breaker for ya,” said Exis. 

Cayna, of course, smiled and chose not to mention that she’d gotten this information from Kee’s ridiculously huge database. 

Leaving Quolkeh to keep a close eye on their surroundings, Cayna discussed the plan with Exis. 

“…So what next?” he asked. 

“We should burn the Ghost Ship and the Terror Skeleton, right?” 

“You sure don’t mince words.” 

“It’s better than letting them target the next village.” 

“Can’t argue that. Quolkeh! We’re heading to the shoreline!” 

“Huh? Oh, o-okay.” 

His sudden booming voice startled her, but she followed after Exis as he broke into a run. Cayna used fire arrows to launch a machine-gun-style attack and clear out any zombies or skeleton sailors that crossed their path. 

“What is that…?” Quolkeh questioned. 

“Just Cayna’s normal way of dealing with chumps. Don’t sweat it.” 

“…How is that normal…?” 

Cayna’s definition of “normal” threw Quolkeh for a loop. The three of them raced through the blurred fog making wrong turns all the while. After a long bit of meandering, the three finally arrived at the shore; they would have reached it much sooner if they’d just continued straight forward. 

The dilapidated Ghost Ship had run aground and was surrounded by a fog slightly weaker than other areas. A sour smell wafted in the air, and the visual stagnation was nausea-inducing. The blackish-brown body of the ship was like a well-soaked tree. The sails were dyed black, and they dangled in tatters. The gun turrets on its flanks were antiques whose operational capabilities were in serious doubt. For some reason, only the skull and crossbones on the flag of the lead mast was brand-new. 

Just as Quolkeh murmured “Wow, what a dump,” a horde of skeletons appeared on the deck and began unanimously rattling their teeth—clack-clack-clack-clack! They wore shabby sailor outfits and carried rusted swords. 

“They look like they’re protesting something…,” Cayna observed. 

“It’s definitely ’cause of Quolkeh’s comment.” 

“What?! It’s my fault?!” 

As Cayna and Exis looked up at the boat, their conversation sent Quolkeh into a panic. 

“Wh-what should we do?” 

“Just calm down. And Exis, stop trying to freak Quolkeh out!” 

“Sorry, sorry, my bad. Anyway, I don’t think they’ll come down from there, but what’s the plan? Punch our way through the hull and storm in?” 

Exis swung his Dragon Blade with a low whoosh and set his sights on the ship. 

“The Terror Skeleton is the core of the Ghost Ship. If we don’t beat it first, the ship will use the souls of the zombie victims as fuel to endlessly reincarnate. It’ll be a never-ending battle.” 

“Ah, that kinda quest, huh? Better get to it, then.” 

“At any rate, let’s anchor the boat in place so it can’t escape. Then we’ll climb aboard.” 

As Quolkeh, the only clueless one, tilted her head, Cayna cast a spell. 

Magic Skill: Underworld Lue Dune: Ready Set 

“Drop!” 

Directly beneath the Ghost Ship sitting upon the shore, a jagged line that shone with a black light raced across and snapped open without warning. The fissure split the beach and continued along the ocean’s surface on the other side as well. The sea didn’t surge up, but the Ghost Ship dropped like a rock into the opening. The magic was originally intended to swallow large enemies and seal them off before crushing them to death. 

Cayna halted the spell halfway. This raised questions for Exis, who knew what the final result was supposed to be. 

“Hey, Cayna! Why’d you stop?” 

“An instant kill would be easy enough, but that’d defeat the whole purpose of us coming here. Just thinking about what that little girl went through churns my stomach. Unless the two of you have any reservations about this?” 

“R-right. Sorry.” 

Cayna’s glassy stare and low voice caused Exis to take a step back. He sensed her corresponding rage and nodded repeatedly. If he was being honest, those eyes alone looked like they could destroy him and much more. They were terrifying. 

Thinking he’d better hurry up and get rid of the source of the fog before he found trouble with those eyes, Exis glared at the skeleton army on the deck, which was now directly adjacent to the land. 

“““Krik-krik-krik-krik…?””” 

Being stared down by a level-600+ dragoid seemed to somehow rattle even the skeleton army. 

“Cayna, you act as backup! Quolkeh, you squash the small fry! I’ll take down the boss.” 

“Gotcha.” 

“Huh? Uh, o-okay!” 

Cayna cast Superior Physics Defense Up: Laga Proteck and Additional Holy Magic: Curell All in quick succession. The first spell significantly enhanced the trio’s defense, while the second imbued their equipment with the holy attribute. The group’s gleaming weapons were devastatingly effective against the zombies and skeletons. Since the magic’s impact depended on the caster’s power, the way the skeletons vanished at the slightest touch of Quolkeh’s whip was highly amusing. 

“Everything feels like a cinch now. What’s going on?” she asked. 

“Don’t ever underestimate a Skill Master,” Cayna replied. 

She swung her magic staff and mowed down any of the close-range skeletons Quolkeh missed. Exis used a single swing of pure firepower to part the sea of skeletons like Moses, and he aimed for the Terror Skeleton arrogantly swaggering behind his minions. 

“Kak-kah-kah-kah!” 

“I don’t understand what the hell you’re sayin’!” 

The Terror Skeleton, which had a saber in its right hand and a hook on the other, resisted Exis’s fierce attack to a certain degree. However, it was around level 300. Seeing as it had no hope of winning against a dragoid who specialized in close combat and was over twice the Terror Skeleton’s own level, a single stroke sliced it clean in half—head, saber, and all—and it turned to dust. 

The moment the Terror Skeleton was defeated, the minion skeletons fell into piles of bones like puppets with cut strings and tumbled across the deck. Not soon after, the Ghost Ship slanted with a plunk!, and phosphorescent particles rose up. Together with the scattered light specks floating at random throughout the frame, the ship’s image slowly faded. 

The three rushed to jump overboard before they got tangled up in it. 

“…Well, that sure didn’t take long,” Exis said. 

“That’s what happens when you’re as powerful as me. Duh!” said Cayna. 

Heaving his Dragon Blade onto his shoulder, Exis expressed disappointment while watching the light particles of the Ghost Ship dissipate in midair. As the ship and deck grew increasingly indistinct, the frame suddenly revealed the semitransparent white orbs inside. Countless numbers lifted into the heavens. They were the souls of the villagers who had fallen victim. 

“This is gonna be a tough report to make,” said Exis. 

“What’s gonna happen to the fishing village? …Think it’ll be abandoned?” Quolkeh wondered aloud. 

“I doubt anyone will want to live in a village that got wiped off the map like it did. Its fate is for the country to decide, right?” Cayna replied. 

The souls all escaped before the Ghost Ship finished turning completely to light. The fog then dispersed, and the sky was slowly dyed orange. Twilight reflected off the ocean. Even after the last particle of light disappeared, the three looked up at the orange sky until their melancholy abated. In the meantime, Cayna put her hands together and observed a moment of silence. Exis heard her murmur “Heigl. I’ve avenged you.” 

He seemed to think she’d involved helpless villagers in this mess, so he bellowed at her. 

“What the hell?! Don’t tell me you knew one of those people?!” 

“That was my summoning. He got ambushed in the fog and disappeared.” 

“Oh, okay. I thought you were talking about a villager. Don’t be vague like that! It’s no wonder you were so resentful. So what’d you summon?” 

“…A level-250 centaur.” 

“Waiting ten days to summon it again must be tough, huh?” 

“Yeah.” 

Having your summoning shot down didn’t mean losing it forever. However, you had to wait the same number of hours as your summoning’s level before you could call on it again. 

It was a good example of how a high level meant more restrictions. 

It was then that Exis noticed that Quolkeh had been acting strangely quiet. He soon grew fed up with the way she nervously glanced at Cayna. 

“Hey! Quolkeh!” 

“…?! Huh? What?” 

“What’re you zonin’ out for? Not feelin’ so hot?” 

“N-no. I’m just a bit…” 

She was trying to show otherwise, but her movements were breaking down and becoming increasingly robotic. Something was definitely up. 

“If something’s bothering you, I’m open to questions. It’ll cost you, though,” Cayna stated. 

“Um, well, I heard something strange just now. I was wondering if I was mistaken.” 

“‘Something strange’?” 

“‘Mistaken’?” 

Neither Cayna nor Exis had any idea what she was talking about, and they tilted their heads in unison. Seeing that she wasn’t getting through to the pair, Quolkeh steeled herself and turned to Cayna. 

“You said ‘Skill Master’ a short while ago, right?” 

“Oh, that,” Cayna replied with an understanding nod. She did remember saying that to Quolkeh after shocking her with an impressive display of magic. 

However, Exis clapped his hands as if in recollection, pointed to Cayna, and added, “She’s also the Silver Ring Witch!” 

“Wha—?! …The…the…the Silver Ring Witch?!” 

“Huh?” 

It was no exaggeration to say that all except a few who encountered the Silver Ring Witch—that is, Cayna in her special equipment with a silver ring floating around her waist—were traumatized in some way. 

Seeing as Cayna didn’t know the horrified Quolkeh’s circumstances, Exis provided further explanation. 

“Apparently, she witnessed a horrible tragedy.” 

“Don’t call it that,” Quolkeh retorted. 

This exchange alone was enough for Cayna, who had been present at the event, to realize what was going on. Her heart didn’t want to accept it, but she had no choice. 

Three incidents had spread Cayna’s alias throughout Leadale: the Monthly Battle of Three Nations, the Monster Raid Outbreak Event in the Blue Kingdom capital, and the Monster Raid Outbreak Event in the Brown Kingdom capital. 

The main cause in particular was a version update that went into effect just before the event in the Brown Kingdom. This trial update added a function that allowed range attacks to damage buildings. 

Seconds after the event began, the Brown Kingdom capital turned into a massive air raid of burning fields and flying debris. Although NPCs weren’t affected, the incident went down as the biggest disaster in MMO gaming history. There was indeed some damage from enemy monsters, but in all honesty, the biggest contributor was the meteorite bombing raids. Any players who happened to be present soon witnessed the town turn to rubble thanks to the hunks of rock falling from the sky. 

Not long afterward, footage of the disaster went viral on the Internet. The Admins fixed this trial version and restored the Brown Kingdom capital to its former self. However, seeing as the city had already once been destroyed, many began calling it the Abandoned Capital, and the number of affiliated adventurers severely declined. Of course, whispers of Cayna’s infamous alias, the Silver Ring Witch, traveled as well. Needless to say, she didn’t show her face in official battles for quite some time after that. 

The western sky was growing a deeper orange, so Cayna talked things over with Exis, and they decided to make camp there for the night. Although the threat of the Ghost Ship had finally been taken care of, that wasn’t to say nothing else might attack them. Cayna set up a heavy barrier around the area. Since visibility would be poor and there’d be no place to escape, the group also voted against using one of the unoccupied houses. After determining the patrol order, the three went to pick up Roxilius and Luka. 

“What’s gonna happen to Luka now?” Cayna wondered aloud. 

“Maybe she’ll stay here if that’s what she wants…” 

“A kid all on her own? Sounds risky, if you ask me—uh, I daresay.” 

Exis viewed Cayna’s murmurings with long-term insight, while Quolkeh expressed concern. 

When Cayna released the barrier on the storehouse and opened the door, she saw Roxilius standing there with Luka. He greeted them with an “Excellent work, everyone” and bowed. 

Luka, on the other hand, shook off the cat-eared butler’s hand, looked out across the empty village with tear-filled eyes, and ran toward one house in particular. 

“…M-Mom…!” 

As her reedy voice rang out in desperation, Exis and the others watched in heartbreak. After nodding in reply to the look Roxilius gave her, Cayna followed Luka into the house. The butler gave a respectful bow, then took firewood from a nearby house and used its kitchen to prepare dinner. 

Her vision was murky. There was the smell of burnt, rusted iron mixed with flesh and hair, as well as other charred things she didn’t want to imagine. Clouds spread across the blue sky like a haze. 

Something that only a short while before had been her parents was lying on top of her, pinning her down. She sobbed and continued to call out her parents’ names until her voice grew hoarse, and she eventually fainted from dehydration. 

When she awoke, she was in the hospital. Her cousin was looking at her with tears in her eyes. 

“Mom… Dad…!” 

As Cayna listened to Luka race around the house, the girl’s forlorn cries and the sound of every door frantically opening and closing overlapped with Cayna’s own memories. The pain, frustration, and sadness that felt like it would crush her very soul came rising up within Cayna all over again, and she gripped her hands tightly. She knew the agony of suddenly losing loved ones who had been happily chatting right next to you only moments before. She understood it so well it hurt. 

The sounds within the house suddenly stopped. As soon as she heard sobbing, Cayna stepped inside. 

There was the dining table, where the three-person family once discussed their days together. 

“UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!” 

The little girl clung to one of the chairs and trembled as large tears poured down her cheeks. She lifted her head with a gasp at the sound of Cayna’s footsteps, but upon realizing the newcomer wasn’t who she hoped for, her sorrow spilled out all over again. 

At this rate, she could see Luka becoming like her own former self. Her old self from only a few years earlier who closed off her hardened heart and failed to recognize the people who were always by her side and cheering her on. Her old, weak self who thought she had nothing more to lose. 

Thus, Cayna would try to teach Luka that she would always be there for her. 

Cayna wouldn’t push her or force the girl to notice her. The time spent quietly with someone simply by Cayna’s side had been so precious. She was deeply grateful to her uncle and cousin; now she would pay it forward and offer Luka the same. 

Cayna crouched by the girl and rubbed her back slowly and gently. She continued doing so until Luka calmed down and could regain a little peace of mind. 

“I’m gonna take care of Luka.” 

“I see…” 

Holding Luka after she cried herself to sleep, Cayna returned to the campsite, where Exis and the others were waiting. Exis and Quolkeh had already finished eating, and Roxilius wordlessly began reheating food for her. 

Cayna laid the sleeping girl across her lap, covered her in the blanket provided by Roxilius, and ate quietly. The dinner consisted of a boiled vegetable-and-meat soup and a slightly hard bread packed with preservatives. Apparently, Exis and Quolkeh had given Roxilius whatever ingredients they’d had on hand. Each house had its own store of usable items, but the two had said they didn’t use these for safety and sanitation reasons. 

The group sat in a circle around what appeared to be the village plaza, and a bright bonfire burned between them. The Flame Spirit that had accompanied Luka was in charge of this. It kept an eye on the perfect flames while adding a log on occasion. Cayna cast a shadow over Luka so the light wouldn’t hit her. 

After he finished cleaning up, Roxilius stood at attention behind Cayna. She told him multiple times that he ought to sit, but he stubbornly replied, “This is a butler’s duty,” and refused to move from his position. She eventually gave up. 

Exis had apparently suggested the plaza as their campsite since, after a bit of investigation, it turned out that the charm protecting the village from monsters had dissolved. He wanted to be ready in the event large monsters showed up as he anticipated. 

Roxilius, who had little experience camping outdoors in this world, openly went along with this line of thinking. 

After Cayna finished eating, everyone kept their voices low as they once again began discussing their current situation. 

First, there was the matter of Cayna’s own circumstances. After Cayna briefly summarized everything that had happened since her time in the hospital, Exis and Quolkeh nodded at the revelation that other players still existed. Cohral was primarily active in Felskeilo and Otaloquess, so the chances he’d run into Helshper-centered players like them were pretty low. Shining Saber was also a member of the knights, so meeting him was out of the question as well. Furthermore, any hope of seeing the bandit leader presently locked away in jail was essentially shot. 

Exis’s and Quolkeh’s own journeys into this world had been very much like Cohral’s and the others’. On that final day, they spent hours playing the game to their hearts’ content until they passed through a dark space that made them think they’d been booted out, only to end up somewhere in modern Leadale. 

They hadn’t been fellow guild members like Shining Saber and Cohral, but Exis and Quolkeh were both in parties of their own at that fateful moment. However, their fellow party members were nowhere to be seen, and the two themselves had been tossed elsewhere. After that, each one found a village, learned about this new world, and met by chance at a tavern where they were both working part-time to pay off a dine-and-dash attempt. After that, they saved money and teamed up to become adventurers. 

“And you did all that as a duo instead of a team of six, right?” 

“Screw the rules… I mean, uh, forget the rules.” 

Quolkeh’s true identity had already been revealed, but since Cayna wasn’t the only newcomer with them this time, she was completely focused on returning to her old speech pattern. Since laughing would have been rude, Cayna stopped herself from pointing out all of Quolkeh’s feminine contradictions. 

“Well then, why don’t we discuss the reward?” 

Exis and Quolkeh looked at each other blankly as Cayna once again switched topics. The details of this incident would be primarily reported to the Adventurers Guild, which would in turn pay the reward. Therefore, the pair didn’t know what she meant by “discussing the reward.” 

“Ah, I have no plans to butt in and claim I helped with your request. My goal is to get to the Palace of the Dragon King. What I’m trying to say is that although the whole ordeal left a bad aftertaste, you two cleared the event, so as Skill Master, I’ll give you both Active Skill: Fortify. Do you need it? No?” 

“What’s it do?” Exis asked. 

“It’ll double or triple the value of one of your abilities for about thirty minutes. If you get really proficient with it, you’ll be able to handle two or three abilities at the same time, but you’ll be sluggish for a while after the effect wears off.” 

Since that tiredness was only a matter of numbers in the world of the game, Cayna was hit with major fatigue after the spell wore off for the first time. She’d tried it out while killing time in Felskeilo. Running around, flying, and jumping had been great, but she realized such a skill had its disadvantages in a protracted battle. There had been at least some value in giving it a whirl. 

Quolkeh considered the pros and cons of what Cayna said. Exis thought for a moment as well, then asked, “Can I change it to something else?” 

“Sure. You don’t need that skill, right? Fine with me. Ask for whatever you like. But keep in mind that if you don’t match the prerequisites, you won’t be able to learn it even if I give it to you.” 

“I know. What I want is MP Conversion. You got that?” 

“What a dumb question to ask a Skill Master. Still you gotta be pretty hard-core to want a skill like that…” 

“Slashin’ is faster than magic.” 

Special Skill: MP Conversion was a skill that warrior-type players consumed often. Rather than a skill, it was more like a one-use item that could be obtained repeatedly. Each time a player used it, it would convert 5 MP into the value of another ability. In other words, it was a unique skill that raised the value of your abilities (with the exception of leveling up). 

No other skill could be used to rise up and break through the highest parameters set for each race. In the game world of Leadale, dragoids had the lowest amount of MP, but it wasn’t as if they had none at all. Their INT was also low, so aside from casting support magic on themselves, dragoids had a far better chance of inflicting extensive damage on the enemy by slashing as opposed to using Attack Magic. 

Dragoids who further excelled in magic were highly praised among players. Of the ones Cayna had met by chance and spoken with, it seemed to her that taking on such a challenge was a thorny path indeed. 

Cayna swiftly used Scroll Creation and passed the resulting item to Exis. He immediately used it to convert 5 MP points to STR. What enemy in this world could go up against the level-600+ dragoid now? Frankly, Cayna was under the impression that neither the quest boss they’d gone up against that afternoon nor anything else could lay a scratch on him. 

“Have you decided, Quolkeh?” 

“Hmm. Even if I ask for something else, it’s not like I know every skill out there, y’know… Er, you see. I have no idea what to pick.” 

Cayna reflected on Quolkeh’s battle talents that she just witnessed and had Kee pick out skills that prioritized agility and dexterity. 

“Since you focus on physical attacks, how about something like Battle Speed Up, which boosts your attack speed, or Mirage, which improves evasion? The first one will increase your number of moves, while the second will create two clones of the user that move in different patterns to throw off your opponent…” 

“Okay, I’ll take Battle Speed Up…if you don’t mind. It’s magic, right?” 

“It basically aids one target. Battle Speed Up II will allow you to cast on an entire party, but please complete a trial for that one.” 

Quolkeh took the scroll Cayna made and quickly activated it. She then opened her menu screen, read the explanation, and began checking how to use the skill. 

Exis gave a bored look at the word trial and sulked. 

“Cayna’s tower, huh…? I heard it’s way easier than the others. Where’s it now?” 

“In northeastern Felskeilo, near the Helshper border. I’m also managing other towers right now, so you can use the Battle Arena in Felskeilo and the Crescent Moon Castle in Helshper, too. There’s also the Palace of the Dragon King, where I’m headed next. Oh, but the Crescent Moon Castle used to belong to Opus, so I can’t say I’d recommend it.” 

“Geh. That’s the House of Murder and Malice, right…? I’ve seen it before; the gimmicks inside don’t match the exterior at all. Still, you’re running those now?” 

“Ah, well, about that…” 

Cayna brought the two up to speed on the thirteen Skill Masters and the management of their towers. Of course, the information she’d discovered included skill exchange as well. 

Quolkeh listened with rapt attention. Stuck in an environment where none of her real-life friends played the game, she’d apparently only been able to depend on players she met while logged in for firsthand game info. Exis had pretty much been teaching her the basic facts on his own these past two years, but unfortunately, the two had been so preoccupied with surviving that he hadn’t been able to fully go over core parts of the game. 

Cayna further told them what she’d hear from Cohral about the mysteriously updating friend list. 

“I see. In that case, I wonder if maybe I passed by another player somewhere. Sadly, ‘Exis’ is a second account, so I haven’t been paying attention to stuff like that. It also looks like Quolkeh has a pretty small friend list.” 

“Here you are, Master.” 

With an explanatory gesture, Roxilius handed Cayna a wet towel from behind. This was enough for her to realize she’d unwittingly raised her voice to normal volume. She looked down and saw Luka staring at her blearily. 

“……Mm…?” 

“Oh, sorry, did I wake you?” 

Cayna placed a hand to her forehead and moaned in failure. Luka’s eyes gradually focused as she stirred. However, she swayed shakily and leaned against Cayna once again. After covering Luka back up with the blanket, Cayna gently sat the girl on her lap and simply asked, “Are you okay?” 

“……Mm……” 

Luka replied with a downcast gaze, then listlessly locked eyes with Exis and Quolkeh sitting on the other side of the bonfire. Exis’s voice was gentle as he nodded and said, “You can go back to sleep.” Quolkeh was unsure of how to respond, and Exis smacked her with an apologetic look. 

“Idiot. Don’t look so gloomy in front of the kid.” 

“Ow, that freakin’ hurt! That ain’t anything to randomly smack me for!” 

“Language, Quolkeh, language.” 

“Uh, well… I-isn’t hitting people so suddenly…c-cruel?” 

““Pfft.”” 

“…Hey…” 

Roxilius poured hot milk from a small kettle cast with an Insulation effect into a wooden cup and handed it to Luka. 

Luka looked around at the silent village lit by firelight, her expression distant, and Cayna noticed her gaze cloud over as the girl reaffirmed their situation. Unable to hold back any longer, she squeezed Luka tight. 

Exis stood and approached the flustered Luka in Cayna’s arms. 

“Luka.” 

“…Mm.” 

Luka’s eyes met those of the gray dragoid as she answered him with a weak nod. 

“Cayna says she’ll take care of you, but what do you wanna do? Stay here in the village by yourself? Or maybe come with us?” 

A few moments passed before she slowly shook her head. Even at her age, Luka naturally understood that orphaned children had no choice but to survive on their own or die by the roadside. If this were the big city, she might have been able to scrape by somehow, but in a rural fishing village far from any metropolis, you had no right to complain if you took one step outside and got attacked by a monster. Not only that, this village was no more and lacked the walls to keep out said monsters. 

Luka squirmed around to look at Cayna and nodded as a way of saying Please take care of me. Cayna smiled and slowly nodded back; Li’l Fairy flitted about in midair. From her expression, she seemed to be doing a happy dance. 

“There, there. I know it’s not gonna happen all at once, but I hope we can become family, Luka. I also have two sons and a daughter back in Felskeilo, and two grandchildren in Helshper. I’ll introduce you to them if there’s ever a chance.” 

“……Mm.” 

Luka’s blank-faced nodding aside, Exis, who had returned to his spot on the other side of the bonfire, sat stock-still, breaking into a cold sweat. Quolkeh looked at her speechless partner strangely. “What’s wrong? You don’t look so good, Exis.” 

“Th-three kids and two grandkids?! Since when did you get married?!” 

Cayna’s immediate thought was to freeze Exis in ice, but she didn’t want to scare Luka and stopped herself just in time. Instead, Li’l Fairy voluntarily floated over and gave him an upward kick right on the tip of his nose. 

“Gyagh?!” 

The adorable gesture provoked a not-so-adorable reaction: Exis grabbed his nose and fell over. Li’l Fairy crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks before swishing her hair as if to say Hmph! and returning to Cayna’s shoulder. 

After lying there trembling and holding his nose for a significant amount of time, Exis finally sat up with tears in his eyes. 

“Gaaagh, that huuurt… I—I thought I was gonna die…” 

“What’d she do?” Cayna asked. 

“She sent a straight line of pain all the way from my nose to my brain. W-wait! I’m sorry, okay?” 

Exis apologized to Li’l Fairy, who was leaning forward threateningly from Cayna’s shoulder. Cayna herself had no clue why the fairy’s actions would cause that much pain. She didn’t understand, but considering it was Opus who had left her the fairy, such abilities didn’t seem beyond the realm of reason. 

“You would have figured it out if you’d been listening to anything I said! My kids are from the Foster System. My grandkids were born the usual way!” 

“Nnnghhh. Sorry. I was just messin’ with you.” 

Cayna shot Exis a dirty look as he raised a hand in apology. 

“You’re totally different from the Tartarus I used to know. You sure that was your true self back then?” 

“You got it all wrong. Isn’t it obvious from one look at everyone in the Cream Cheese guild? Messin’ with tough members like that was pointless. I was happy enough just to keep quiet and stay out of trouble.” 

He did have a point. There was no question that all the members had a quirk or two. At the time, Tartarus would mediate to prevent discord and act as the voice of reason. Nevertheless, Cayna didn’t think he had to be so heavy-handed about it here. After all, it made her all too aware of how much she’d let loose back then, too. 

“The heck are you talkin’ abo—? Whatever do you mean?” 

Quolkeh was the only one still in the dark. 

“Basically, the Cream Cheese guild was full of troublemakers,” Exis replied. 

“I only heard rumors, but apparently when wars broke out, any camp with that guild on their side was a freakin’ powerhouse… I mean, had a major advantage,” Quolkeh replied. 

“We had no choice but to become game addicts if we wanted to keep up with the strongest. And a group of game addicts meant a group of people as far from normal as possible.” 

Quolkeh tilted her head as Exis answered with an air of self-deprecation. Although since Tartarus himself had been a member of the guild, that made him an addict as well to a degree. 

Cayna, too, was well aware of what made her guild so unusual. 

Since Cayna could move freely only within the game, logging in was the most fun she ever had the chance to have. 

Opus didn’t spill every last detail, but he was allegedly a player sent from the administrative company. He would do full investigations of the quests and system for the higher-ups and report any bugs or malfunctions. Thanks to this, he had strangely in-depth knowledge of all the hidden tricks and shortcuts. Cayna remembered how he would often get mixed up in proposals of this nature, and even she would cross countless bridges she never had any intention of crossing. 

The guild sub-leader, on the other hand, would go on and on about real-life stories Cayna really didn’t want to hear about. Apparently, the woman worked at night and logged in during the day to kill time. Her habit of rambling on and on among mixed company about her graphic IRL experiences earned her the nickname Sin City. 

The one Cayna knew the least about was the guild leader. When the evening news came up in conversation, he would cover everything from the legislator who appeared on TV to questions about invasion of privacy. He spoke casually of things that would cause an uproar if the media heard. He walked a dangerously thin line, and it soon became an ironclad rule of the guild that no one could bring up real-life topics in front of him. 

Looking back, even Cayna now thought, We didn’t have a single decent soul, did we? 

The biggest mystery was how everyone in a group like that possibly managed to pass the Limit Breaker quest. Cayna had thought that everyone was surprisingly normal deep down, but now the truth would never come to light. 

Leaving the three to excitedly chatter on about the old guild, Luka dipped her bread in leftover soup and reluctantly ate it with Roxilius’s assistance. 

The next morning. 

Since they had laid out capes and blankets to lie on while they slept on the hard ground, Exis and the others worked out all the aches and pains from their bodies as soon as they woke up. Their stretches took an immense amount of effort. 

“Damn that Cayna. How come she’s the only one who gets to be comfy?” 

“N-now, now. We don’t have the skills for something like that, so it is what it is,” Quolkeh replied. 

Cayna was the only one who had pulled out a bed, which she shared with Luka, from somewhere in her Item Box. She’d been thinking of making one for her house back in the remote village and tirelessly worked on it in her free time. 

Incidentally, the night guards had been Roxilius, who presumably needed neither rest nor sleep, and Cayna’s Night Strix, a two-meter-tall pure-black owl. 

After breakfast, Cayna made plans to dive straight into the sea. 

Exis volunteered to stay ashore and guard Luka. However, opinions were divided, and Quolkeh insisted they quickly report to the proper authorities that the pair’s standard request had ended in a worst-case scenario and the destruction of two fishing villages. 

Both appeared to be on the verge of a verbal battle, so Cayna stepped in and offered to send them back to the Helshper capital via magic once she’d done what she needed to do. The conversation was then allowed to continue. 

“Come to think of it, are you gonna send us back with magic? Shooting us over a parabola?” 

“Hell, no! Uh, I mean, of course not.” 

Exis and Cayna gave looks of What’s with her? and narrowed their eyes in exasperation at Quolkeh’s outrageous reply. 

“You can also use Teleport to transport people other than yourself, too,” said Cayna. “The destination has to be a place I know, though. Outside Helshper’s western gate will work, right?” 

“What?! Can’t you plop us right in the city? —Ow!” 

Exis took a whack at Quolkeh’s face. 

“You idiot! Sure, let’s go ahead and try to suddenly show up in the middle of town even though we’ve got no clue who’s watching!” yelled Exis. “They’ll mistake us for some sort of miscreants and toss us in jail before we can even sneak in!” 

Sneaking in wasn’t a problem if the two didn’t get caught, but Cayna, the key figure here, wasn’t aware of any place she could send them that was trouble free. That was why she decided to drop them outside the town gate. 

“I’m just gonna hop over and activate the Palace of the Dragon King first, so you guys take good care of Luka. Got it?” 

“Quit starin’ me down with those scary, bloodshot eyes! Your butler is here, too, so she’ll be fine.” 

Cayna, who had just been looming over Exis with an ogreish expression, instantly changed her tune when she crouched to Luka’s eye level. 

“I’m sorry, Luka. I’ve got some work to do, but just wait here for a little while, okay?” 

Luka gripped the edge of Roxilius’s pant leg and gave a small, delayed nod as Cayna stood up as fast as lightning. 

“Look after her for me, Roxilius.” 

“I will protect her on my very—” 

“If you give your life to protect her, you’ll be subjecting Luka to the gruesome sight! Protect her and don’t die. Okay?” 

“…U-understood.” 

Cayna’s overpowering gaze hit Roxilius like a ton of bricks, and she came within less than an inch of his nose. She only relaxed after watching him nod multiple times. 

“Your protective-mommy side is already getting worse…,” Exis murmured with an annoyed expression. 

Paying him no mind, Cayna walked toward the water’s edge and faced what she had summoned. 

“I know your magic and summonings are all incredible across the board…but why that?” Exis asked. 

Taking up a good chunk of the beach was a long, enormous blue creature. Luka, who clung close behind Roxilius, had never seen such a huge, majestic presence, and her eyes widened with shock. Quolkeh, still a Leadale newbie, gaped with amazement as well. The only ones who remained unmoved were Exis and Roxilius. 

The creature waiting behind Cayna was a fifty-meter-long Blue Dragon. She had just called upon the greatest of the dragons with Summoning Magic: Dragon. Like the Brown Dragon, Leadale’s Blue Dragons were unable to fly; instead, they sported an enormous, marlin-like fin that ran from the tip of their heads all the way to the ends of their tails. It was a unique characteristic ideal for gliding through water. The dragon had short horns that began at the bridge of the nose and extended over the eyelids, four solid limbs, and webbed fingers. At first glance, one would think the creature was a streamlined alligator. 

“To be honest, I can’t swim. Since that means I can’t move through the water, I thought I’d hang on to something that’ll do the swimming for me.” 

Quolkeh held her head in her hands as Cayna proudly boasted that she’d be swimming along like a suckerfish. Exis wordlessly patted her shoulder and shook his head with a smile as if to say Think too hard, and you’ve already lost. As Tartarus, he’d been forced to go along with the other Cream Cheese members’ outrageous behavior on more than a few occasions, so he knew a thing or two. The main takeaway was Just smile and ignore it. 

Cayna had switched into her Black Dragon Suit beforehand, and Exis was on the verge of making a comment when her glare speedily silenced him. After stroking Luka’s head, she grabbed hold of one of the Blue Dragon’s horns and dove into the ocean. 

As soon as they saw her off, Exis called to Quolkeh. Of course, they left Luka with Roxilius and moved a distance away so they wouldn’t be overheard. The group remained vigilant of their surroundings. Roxilius was level 550 thanks to having Cayna as his summoner, so neither imagined there’d be any slipups. 

“Hey, where do you think that Ghost Ship came from?” Exis asked. 

“…? It was a Skill Event, wasn’t it?” 

Quolkeh’s response was the most obvious one a player could give. However, such would only be the case if they were still in an MMORPG. 

“A Skill Event that wasn’t even initiated by an NPC? I don’t remember any event involving the destruction of two villages. So where do you think the Ghost Ship sprang up from? I’d heard of events where pirates took over sea trade routes, but based on what we learned while watchin’ Cayna, the Ghost Ship event should’ve only existed as a quest.” 

“Now that you mention it, the people of this world are pretty wimpy—er, frail. I also noticed there are way less field monsters than back in the game. Must be ’cause this world is nothing like the old one.” 

The average player level had been between level 400 and level 600. Players over level 900 made up less than 5 percent of the total population. This meant that as long as you kept to most general areas, a maximum of level 600 would more than suffice. Those who wished to go all out typically grinded as much as they could in the Heaven and Underworld Maps, also known as the Advanced Areas. Once you went there, you were officially an addict like Cayna and her crew. Leadale’s high degree of difficulty made it a decent game overall, but so many other things made it such a blast to play with friends. 

This was also reflected in the quest events, and in all the time Tartarus spent leveling up, he’d seldom seen an event that left as bad a taste in his mouth as the destruction of the two villages had. Originally, two level-400 players should have been more than enough to take on the Ghost Ship. That was what Cayna had said anyway. 

“Wanna add this to the report?” Exis asked. 

“Won’t it end up being a matter of getting them to believe the words of a two-hundred-year-old human?” 

The mere fact that Quolkeh was human made her less than convincing. If the person in charge asked her, How have you been able to live for two hundred years? she’d be at a loss on how to answer. 

“Guess we’ll just report we were attacked by the Ghost Ship,” Exis concluded. 

“If we start going off on a crazy story, they’re gonna call in some councillors to question us. I’m not exactly a fan of those guys—they ask the same things over and over again,” Quolkeh said as she rubbed her temples with displeasure and turned toward Helshper. 

Quolkeh recalled having once run into trouble with the nobility and the subsequent interrogation by several councillors. She’d gotten so sick of hearing the same endless questions. 

“Not much helpin’ it. Two villages is a big deal. If we don’t tell the top brass what’s going on, all our work will be for nothing.” 

“True. There’s only so much we can do as adventurers, after all.” 

As Exis listened to her mild comments, he looked out upon the surface of the sea and wondered if there was anything Cayna couldn’t do. 

Fortified by Underwater Breathing and Underwater Movement, Cayna held on to the Blue Dragon’s horn and dove deeper into the sea. 

Cayna would have had a hard time without Underwater Movement, a support spell that allowed the user to move in water as they did on land. Otherwise, her stats would decrease by half across the board, and her attack power would be reduced to less than a tenth of its normal strength. 

To Cayna, diving beneath the water was like exploring unknown territory. Even with her Black Dragon Suit equipped, she wasn’t entirely at ease. 

The Blue Dragon’s size and Cayna’s Intimidate skill scattered the fish obstructing her path. Many looked like those found on Earth, and they came in species of all sorts. 

However, even Cayna herself had no time to take in the sights. She’d been unable to obtain information in the village about the location of the Palace of the Dragon King, so with the simultaneous help of Night Vision and Eagle Eyes, she searched for its whereabouts while gauging the reaction of her Guardian Ring. She occasionally had the Blue Dragon stop so she could point the ring in different directions and see which way it lit up. 

After a number of primitive search attempts, she finally got a reaction in a shallow area not even twenty meters below the surface. It was the sort of place even fishermen could have discovered while free diving, so she’d overlooked it. The mere name Palace of the Dragon King brought to mind the deepest depths of the sea, so her efforts felt horribly wasted when she finally found it. 

The area was a flat plain surrounded by coral and glowing with a green light. Within it, the Palace of the Dragon King sat in full view as if to say Ta-daa! 

The structure looked like some sort of eye-catching tourist attraction. The foundation was white, and the building was a noticeable red. It was surprisingly compact, like a house you’d find in a sprawling metropolis. From what she had heard, some sort of raging monster protected the palace, but there was no sign of any such creature. 

“Perhaps that is a separate feature?” 

Kee’s hypothesis gave Cayna an overall picture. Since the castle had run out of magic, it could no longer call upon its defensive magical beast. 

The Blue Dragon kicked up sand as it landed among the coral reefs. 

“Blue Dragon, look around and see if there are any mermaid villages nearby.” 

The Blue Dragon closed its eyes to signal its acknowledgment, then wriggled its body and moved beyond the shallows that surrounded them to dive deeper into the depths of the sea. 

The Guardian Ring shone pink, and Cayna raised it high as she called out the password in a clear voice. 

“One who protects in times of trouble! I beseech you to rescue this depraved world from chaos!” 

Her vision warped, and she passed through a whirlpool that dropped down from above. It wasn’t long before Cayna was thrown into a vast space. The instability of her landing caused her to stumble. 

The red Chinese-style room was completely covered in water like a lake. Round lotus flowers big enough for a person to ride were floating all over. She had ended up on one of them. 

Upon taking a look around, she saw a flower bud as big as a human head sticking out in the center of the lake. Guessing this was the tower’s core, Cayna poured half her MP into it. After a short while, its flower petals slowly opened, and a large, light-pink lotus flower bloomed. 

“Phew… Finally got the third one down. This place sure was far.” 

Now that everything had turned out like this, Cayna wished she’d asked all the Skill Masters the locations of their towers ahead of time. It was too late for that now, though. The biggest problem was that she didn’t even know whether one might be in the sky or another in some unexplored area. 

As she pondered all this, a sound came from behind her, and an adorable voice like the peal of bells called out. 

“Hmmmm? Do we have a visitorrrrr?” 

“Yes, are you this tower’s Guard— Huh?!” 

Cayna was so preoccupied thinking about Luka that she’d inadvertently forgotten the peculiarities of this tower’s Skill Master. She turned around and was struck speechless by the enshrined speaker’s appearance. 

A protruding mouth. Glossy, slimy skin. Dewy eyes that bulged even farther than its mouth. A googly-eyed stare that regarded her with a mixture of black and gold. A body that was more stout than slim. Front feet that gathered beneath its chin. Folded back legs that spread out in opposite directions. A crown between the eyes. It looked just like a toy, and its entire body was so blindingly pink that it hurt to look at. In fact, Cayna didn’t want to look at it at all. 

Gulping back the scream she almost let escape, Cayna gave herself an internal pep talk. 

“This isn’t an enemy, this isn’t an enemy. It’s actually on your side.” 

Frankly, if she hadn’t known any better, she probably would have blown the Guardian away with her greatest Fire Magic right then and there. However, there was still the question of whether that would even do anything… 

This tower’s Guardian was a pink tree frog that stood at Cayna’s eye level. It was about the size of a cow. 

She made sure to avoid eye contact as she asked it the usual questions in a trembling voice. 

“A-are you the Guardian of this tower?” 

“Aye, that I ammm. I’m the Sixth Skill Master’s Guardiaaan.” 

“O-okay… I’m Cayna, the Third Skill Master. Pardon my intrusion—I’ve come here in the hopes you’ll let me restart this tower. I’m sorry I’m not your real master, but do you think you could bear with me?” 

“Very wellll. After all, I did not expect my masterrr to returrrn. Will youuu be my masterrr from now onnn?” 

Cayna assumed from this reaction that Liothek would never visit her Guardian again. She was glad that the frog was able to figure out what she was there for before things got complicated; that saved a lot of time. Its languid speech was a bit of a drawback, but Liothek spoke with a similar affect, so Cayna muttered to herself that it was probably a personal preference. 

The bright-pink frog opened its mouth, which was big enough to swallow a person whole, and unfurled its tongue. A Guardian Ring sat at the very tip. 

Of course, Cayna’s initial reaction was to recoil from the slippery sliminess, but she steeled herself and picked it up. She was relieved to find that, contrary to appearance, it was not dripping with saliva. 

“Thank you, I’ll take good care of it. Please reach out to my mural Guardian if you need any further information.” 

“Understooood.” 

After replenishing herself with a potion and maxing out the core’s MP, Cayna left the tower. 

She ended up floating in the ocean until her Blue Dragon located her and brought her back to the surface, but that would remain a secret.