In the Land of Leadale - Volume 8 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - An Announcement, an Assembly, an Event and a Beginning

The day after Cayna met with the argent and the shubez, she sent the students back to the capital. A number of participants were naturally upset that their outing had lasted only one day, and complaints rose from the adventurers who had been forced to abandon their request as well.

“There’s no reason to panic over a horde of monsters that might not even come!” Jild shouted at Cayna in front of the Adventurers Guild.

Cayna, however, remained perfectly calm. “You’re free to take the lead and die, but don’t shoot the messenger.”

Whatever questions everyone had about the sealed quest monsters, Cayna couldn’t just peek inside the Abandoned Capital. This meant she didn’t have the whole picture. Nonetheless, as far as Cayna knew, even the smallest shrimp in there could eat Jild for breakfast. He was well aware of her pitying gaze and reasonably angered by it.

As Cohral watched in silence, he decided Cayna’s attitude was unhelpful and stepped between them.

“Relax,” he said.

“Ngh,” Jild grunted. “Fine.”

“Cayna is worried about you in her own way. She might not look it, but that girl is the strongest person here right now. Still, I agree she’s got a sharp tongue and just blurts whatever is on her mind.”

“What, that pip-squeak?!”

Both Jild and fellow adventurers in the guild who had been listening in glanced back at Cayna incredulously. If Cayna herself had claimed this, only about half would have believed her. The Armor of Victory had been active in Felskeilo’s Adventurers Guild for many years, and a long string of successes lent their words credibility.

“She’s stronger than you, Supreme Swordsman?” Jild asked Cohral.

“Hmm?”

“Are you saying even you’re no match for this little lady?”

“Exactly. I understand you have expectations of me, but I’d be dead in an instant if I challenged her. When it comes to raw strength, Cayna can’t be beat.”

“…Oh yeah? Got it.”

Jild had expected a different answer, but he backed down the second Cohral admitted he was weaker than Cayna.

“I feel like I messed up somehow…,” said Jild.

“If you talk like a player, only other players will get it,” Cohral explained. “No matter what you say, no one else will understand. Just accept it.”

“Yep,” said Cayna. “Thanks for stepping in, Cohral.”

“No problem. It’s the least I can do!”

Pleased by Cayna’s kind praise, Cohral thumped his chest. After pledging to lend their aid, his party members followed Jild and the Swift Horses.

“I do not know your intentions, but your cut will be temporarily reduced once everything is over, Cohral,” the Armor of Victory’s leader warned with a humorless smile.

“Seriously?!”

“Yes, seriously.”

Cohral’s shoulders slumped.

“Um, my condolences…?” Cayna offered.

“…Sigh.”

Upon the group’s return to Felskeilo, Cayna reached out to Mai-Mai and Skargo. She also sent a letter to Kartatz saying that this was an urgent matter.

Skargo quickly said he would advise the king, so it seemed each of her children was informed without issue.

Afterward, Cayna summoned a Green Dragon and sent it off to deliver a letter to Sahalashade in Otaloquess. It concerned the previous night’s discussion about the Abandoned Capital barrier.

She also tried contacting Opus via a Friend Message, but he had yet to respond. He was the one who first told her to go to the barrier, so Cayna figured it was only right that he be kept in the loop about the event. Her patience had long since worn thin.

“Sheesh. What’s that jerk up to…?”

“How should I put this, Mother? You’ve been speaking rather poorly of Uncle Opus for a while now…”

“He’s not twiddling his thumbs at times like these! Trust me, I speak from experience! Opus is a nutcase even in the heat of battle.”

Beside her was Mai-Mai, who had received Cayna’s message and addressed the students. After notifying everyone that the event would be held another day, Mai-Mai remained behind.

Her mother had been searching for a private, spacious area to converse with her fellow players, so Mai-Mai proposed the Academy campus. Cayna took her up on this offer and changed venues to pick up where they left off.

The tactics of that despicable Opus often exploited the guild members and players of his own nation. For example, in wartime he would draw over 80 percent of enemy fire to the boundary line and initiate an event that inundated the area with monsters. Cayna and two other guild members, however, were roped into defending the main base in the meantime. After summoning a wall of dragons and fighting over a thousand players for four straight hours, the trio spent the rest of the day exhausted.

The fear players felt for this heinous event was indescribable, as it enveloped them in a darkness no skill could penetrate and unleashed a constant wave of monsters. Since enemy players had a respawn point in the area, participants spent the remaining half of the day in an endless cycle of revival and death. Of course, players from opposing nations who knew the culprit continued to bash Opus in the forums.

Opus and his crew would also cast Disguise in advance and sneak into the Red Kingdom, which didn’t even share a border with the Black Kingdom. In the last ten minutes of the battle, they’d fire off Meteorite Drop: Giga Strike (with Buff as a cherry on top) near the boundary line. The long-range attack blasted bitter rivals blue and red indiscriminately.

Since the rule had always been that the Collection Point belonged to whichever nation controlled it in the last ten minutes of battle, the Black Kingdom’s success auspiciously brought it under their possession.

Both official and fan forums later exploded, and the resulting chaos pushed the Admins into a corner. They responded several days later, and needless to say, they modified the rules for occupation.

Thinking back on it, Cayna couldn’t help but feel she’d been sent on a suicide mission for that very purpose. Of course, she jumped right in, despite the unfavorable odds that had been made clear to her. However, this was purely because she’d been talked into it. Opus’s silver tongue was matched only by the former sub-leader, Ebelope.

More than old fury, Cayna felt a sense of exhaustion and misery each time this memory resurfaced. Mai-Mai misunderstood her silence as something dreadful, and she paled.

“Don’t go diggin’ up painful old memories,” Exis begged Cayna.

“Sounds to me like you got roped in, too, Tartar Sauce,” she replied.

“I told you, it’s not Tartarus now, either!”

Quolkeh stood next to him looking conflicted, and on his other side was Ark, smiling brightly. With a girl on each arm, he attracted the bloodshot, murderous gazes of every lovestruck fool in the vicinity but brushed these aside like a gentle breeze. Male jealousy was no match for the Cream Cheese guild’s rigorous mental training.

“Not exactly sure where you came from, but it looks like you sniffed out my location,” said Cayna.

“What are you talking about?” Exis demanded. “It’s easy to figure out a friend’s location if you’ve got a proper map.”

“Huh? It is…?”

Exis had trekked across every corner of the continent as an adventurer, so his world map was pretty much complete—unlike Cayna’s, which was spotty, since she traveled only between the major cities and the main road to the east.

“He had the gall to hide from me that he can teleport,” Quolkeh grumbled.

“Hey, look—you always want an ace up your sleeve, right? You never know what might happen,” Exis countered.

“You could’ve at least said something…”

Anyone who didn’t know the pair would easily mistake this exchange for a lovers’ quarrel.

“Ah, I get it,” said Cayna. “You jumped to the closest spot and then made a beeline for me.”

Exis had registered the destroyed fishing village, Luka’s home, on his map just in case. He and Quolkeh had used travel-based skills to pass through forests and rivers but were attacked by goblin soldiers once they were near Cayna’s location. They ran into her just after launching a counterattack.

“Ark,” said Cayna.

“Yes?”

“This guy is your brother, right?”

“Yes. His face got a bit nastier, but he’s definitely Tar-Tar.”

“…Tar-Tar?”

“Oh! Um, that was my nickname for his old avatar. It didn’t mesh well in real life, though. One day I just started calling him that…” Ark waved her hands in a frantic effort to explain, which charmed everyone except Exis, who sank into despair.

“This is just how dragoids look,” he muttered.

“Right, right. It’s been ages, Tar-Tar. Glad to see you’re still…your usual self. Plus, you seem to be doing well.”

Ark was now so calm and composed that one had to wonder why she’d been so nervous before. Cayna was visibly shocked.

“………I totally forgot she’s like this…,” Exis moaned. He heaved a deep sigh and slumped his shoulders dejectedly.

Cayna remembered how everyone in the Cream Cheese guild took digs at Tartarus to get a funny reaction out of him; this must have been a daily occurrence in real life as well. She could understand making a separate account to escape his bullies in both the game and reality, but it was still a mystery why he didn’t hang up his controller.

“Gee, you’re so strong and fierce now that I hardly recognized you,” Ark told him.

“Drop it already!”

The two were left alone to reestablish (?) their sibling bond.

Quolkeh, who had been brought up to speed on Exis’s situation along the way, watched the scene with amusement.

With Exis and Ark’s joyful reunion now out of the way, Cayna seamlessly switched to the topic at hand: joining forces.

“You guys made the mistake of coming here, but that actually works in my favor, so help a girl out, please and thanks.”

“You really couldn’t put that any nicer, huh?” asked Quolkeh.

“I’d say you’ve got it pretty good if this much absurdity is throwing you for a loop.”

“You mean it gets worse?!”

“Don’t start with her, Quolkeh,” Exis cautioned. “Even back in the guild, Cayna was a special brand of absurdity.”

“Um, could you not lump me together with Opus and Ebelope?”

“You’re exactly as bad as they are! Just in a different way!”

“Whaaa?!”

““She’s legit surprised…?”” Quolkeh and Cohral muttered in exasperation. This confirmed their suspicions that top-level guild members were a different breed of odd.

Mai-Mai, meanwhile, stood by idly, no longer able to follow the conversation.

Kuu tugged on Cayna’s ear and urged her to get back on topic. “The Abandoned Capital! The Abandoned Capital!”

Finally, Cayna remembered what she wanted to say and pressed a palm to her fist. “Anyway, I wanted to ask you guys to help exterminate the Abandoned Capital’s monsters. How about it?”

She made this sound like a leisurely monster hunt. Her fellow players shared the same sentiment:

“““That’s a job for a Skill Master! Keep us out of this!!”””

Cohral, Quolkeh, and Exis vehemently shot her down, but Ark appeared clueless. Since they’d be involved, Cayna explained the growing monster situation and how the argent’s Fence was on its last leg.

“Don’t turn your back on a fellow player,” Cayna urged. “Although I’ll admit there’s a good chance you’ll end up in the line of fire. Could you at least help me clean up the chumps that slip through the cracks?”

“Hmm. The Abandoned Capital’s pretty massive, though. It might be dilapidated, but it was still the capital of the Brown Kingdom. You say the place is infested with monsters—how many monsters are we talkin’ here?” asked Exis.

“He’s got a point,” said Quolkeh. “It’s impossible for the four of us. We don’t even know what levels these monsters are.”

Back in the game, each of the seven capitals arbitrarily became starter areas for new players. Thanks to this, one purpose they served was to provide support and a suitable place to buy beginner weapons and items.

Moreover, materials harvested on individual hunts found their way to player-run vendors that specialized in item production. Each region was different, and there was a myriad of local specialties.

In addition, sprawling dungeons were typically built underground, so midlevel players (around level 500) could play along the capitals’ outskirts. These might be subterranean waterways, an ancient city buried beneath the foundation, a secret base built by some magician as a hobby, or a research facility sealed away after a chemical accident. The backstory changed with each city.

The worst among these was the Black Kingdom, which was constantly overflowing with riches. Deep in an underground cavern, descendants of a demon king apparently kept an eagle eye on the world above and sought to rule it. Needless to say, the nation was not friendly to novices in any capacity.

Sure enough, this was the root of Exis’s concerns. A monster infestation on the surface was one thing, but if there was an underground facility beneath the capital, it could swell to three times that number. How could a few players eliminate all the enemies crammed down there?

Of course, Cayna was a Leadale addict like Exis/Tartarus and had taken this into account as well.

“I bet their levels run the gamut,” Cayna said.

“C’mon, take this seriously! How can four people handle somethin’ like that?”

“We’ll have Opus, too. Plus it’s not like we can just sit around and do nothing. I don’t want to imagine any more kids ending up orphaned like Luka, so I’ve been using my connections to sound out the defenses of all three nations.”

“…Maybe you’ve been at this for a while,” started Quolkeh, “but the fact you can ask each government for help blows my mind…”

Cayna smiled uncomfortably. For whatever reason, the Foster Children and relatives she encountered were deeply involved in various state affairs. Most of them were too busy to travel abroad, due to their positions. Mai-Mai, who stood grinning in front of Cayna, was no exception.

“How did things turn out this way…?” Cayna asked.

“It is because of your personal virtue, Mother!”

“What virtue is that? I was gone for two hundred years. It makes zero sense…”

The whole situation made her want to sigh. This was soon accompanied by a piercing howl from above.

A Black Dragon with massive wings and a body the size of a gymnasium skidded to a halt. It was level 550. In terms of the Summoning Magic: Dragon spell, it boasted unmatched strength like the Red Dragon but also specialized in long-range magic. Cayna had often called upon it in times of war. Then, two people alighted from its back. The first was Opus, who wore a pure black coat. The second was his constant maid Siren.

“Please forgive our tardiness, Lady Cayna,” said Siren.

“You’re still hanging around here?” Opus teased.

“Uncle Opus?”

“Damn it, Opus!” Exis shouted.

“Wow, two Skill Masters in one place,” said Cohral. “Wonders never cease…”

“That’s terrifying somehow,” quipped Quolkeh.

Mai-Mai, Exis, Cohral, and Quolkeh each felt a strange premonition in turn and made their thoughts known. Cayna alone furrowed her brow in concentration.

A collaboration between Leadale’s Kongming and the Silver Ring Witch struck fear into the hearts of Cohral and Quolkeh, and Exis likewise shivered at the thought of such an alliance coming together on the eve of a decisive battle.

Before anyone had a chance to speak, the momentary silence was interrupted by a massive human figure floating in the sky.

Suddenly, it appeared directly over not only the Academy but also the entire capital. Something brighter than the sun glittered in the cloudless sky. Back in the castle, Shining Saber immediately prepared to unsheathe his blade but moved no further.

It wasn’t just the inhabitants of the castle—every citizen across the city stared up in disbelief. This was an inevitable reaction, considering the immense scale. No citizen, traveler, adventurer, merchant, or wanderer was exempt as everyone continued to watch incredulously.

The figure was concurrently visible in both Otaloquess and Helshper and also appeared above villages scattered across every region. It bewildered every corner of the continent.

Queen Sahalashade froze as she handed a response letter to Cayna’s Green Dragon. In Helshper, Caerina and the king glanced out the window. And in the remote village, everyone noticed something was off and raced out of their homes. No matter one’s location, it was impossible to miss.

A smiling angel of ethereal beauty sported a pair of white wings and held a lithograph in one hand. Divine light illuminated it from behind, and most fell to their knees in prayer at the very sight. Only a minuscule percentile failed to react, simply because they’d met the angel before.

“I come bearing a message.”

The angel’s androgynous, melodic voice echoed in the minds of all who gazed upon it. There was a long pause after the first sentence, but the next was something vastly unfamiliar to the people of this continent.

“The Leadale Administration would like to notify all players about the final event.”

Cayna and the other players knew this angel perfectly well.

Exis, Quolkeh, Cohral, and Ark heard it countless times back in the day and glared at the messenger high above them. Only Mai-Mai seemed nervous. Cayna tiredly watched Opus gloat over his own success. She slumped her shoulders. There was nothing more to say now that he’d gotten the ball rolling.

“In a few days’ time, the large barrier surrounding the Abandoned Capital will unravel.”

Anyone in a position of national importance jolted at the name.

“It is the duty of all players to eliminate the monsters that will overrun the capital.”

Beneath the distant sky, Luvrogue looked up and remembered the sensation that had encircled his neck until recently. He clenched his fist.

In his floating garden, a certain dwarf stood dressed in full armor. He took one swing of a battle halberd taller than himself and then gazed at the blue sky.

“We Administrators anticipate each of you to accomplish your duty to the fullest. May you be victorious.”

The angel repeated this message once more and dissipated into the air. Only the unsettled citizens who continued to crane their necks were proof it ever existed.

Back in the remote village, a teary-eyed Luka clung to Roxine’s skirt.

“Mommy Cayna…,” she whispered.

Then, in a certain village:

“H-hold it right there, you. Why’d you suddenly take out that old thing?” Camy asked harshly. She worked at the only tool shop in town.

Her husband started to don the equipment he wore when they first met. It was a full suit of armor and a large sword, and she had to wonder where he’d been storing it in the house all this time. He had it on the day he unexpectedly appeared with a lost look on his face. Unbelievably, there wasn’t a single scratch or even a speck of dust on either the armor or the sword.

“Oh, sorry, sorry,” he told his wife. “It looks like I’ve gotta step out for a bit.”

His casual tone suggested he was going to stop by the neighbor’s to borrow farm equipment, but her husband’s back held some kind of resolve.

Camy had been running their household for several decades, but his unfamiliar behavior confused her. No, it was the same when they’d first met long ago and her husband took on a mission to vanquish a monster spotted near the village.

“I have to leave for a few days, but I’ll be home soon. No need to worry.”

He patted their child’s head soothingly, and his wife looked up at him with a sense of déjà vu.

The soldier with the childlike smile stood before her once again. He had become a bearded, middle-aged man in the blink of an eye, but Camy hid this teary-eyed nostalgia with a smack to her husband’s face.

“Ack?!”

“Hmph! Business will plummet while you’re gone, so just hurry back already!”

“Sheesh… Where did the simple young girl I once knew go?”

“Quit your blabbering and get a move on!”

“Ow, ow, ow, ow! Okay, okay, I’ll see you later.”

The husband chuckled as he dodged his wife’s pestle stick and dashed outside. After lightly waving to her through the window, he took a stone from his inside pocket (an item he’d saved for an emergency event) and crushed it in his hand. His wife watched as he transformed into an arrow of light and flew toward the western sky. She clasped her hands together and prayed to a deity unrelated to the angel hovering above the village in the afternoon sky.

Then, at the entrance to a certain forest…

“Well, I’m off.”

“Do take care.”

A youthful-looking female elf and an older elf conversed. The black-haired woman was dressed in leather armor and carried both a rapier and short wand at her side for the journey ahead. Seeing her off was an old elf in emerald robes whose white beard came down to his waist. Slightly pointed ears distinguished the two as high elves, and these woods were the only link to their home in the Verdant Forest.

“If you meet one of our kind, can you tell them to return to the forest?”

“It will depend on their stubbornness. I’ll extend an invitation, but please don’t be upset if no one comes.”

“I suppose it can’t be helped until the next opportunity…”

“They’ll hate us if we’re too persistent.”

The two were like grandfather and granddaughter as they enjoyed each other’s company. Then, the old high elf smiled and turned around. He cast Forest Knocker and disappeared through the doorway.

“Sigh. My goodness. There’s always so much to do whenever I come out here,” the high elf girl mumbled tiredly after watching him leave.

She took a stone from her inner pocket and crushed it. An instant later, her body transformed into an arrow of light and arced across the sky.

Then, in western Helshper…

“Ah, you there. Stop what you’re doing for a moment!”

“Huh?”

After obtaining permission from Caerina and the knight captain, Luvrogue stepped away from his duties and headed outside town. He’d apparently been staring up at the heavenly angel with a serious expression, and his inexplicable request was swiftly accepted.

He left from the western gate and traveled along the main road, but a voice called out just as he gripped the stone in his hand. Luvrogue turned around and saw a young werecat man race toward him with one arm raised. He clattered and clanged in heavy metallic armor, a rarity for the race.

“Phew. Thank goodness I found a comrade. You’re a player, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I’m Luvrogue. I’m guessing you’re a player, too?”

“Yes, yes, I’m Hernel. I’ve run out of emergency teleportation items and would really appreciate it if you took me with you.”

“Got it. I’ll request to form a party, so just confirm it.”

“Thanks.”

Both checked their own windows and registered the party. Once this was done, Hernel breathed a sigh of relief.

“Can you believe the Admins suddenly gave us an emergency mission? I didn’t even think anyone still had that authority here.”

For Luvrogue, the word Admins brought only one person to mind. His assumption was correct, but the authority of a Game Master automatically meant a connection to the Administrators in the mind of an average player like himself. He’d met only one Game Master so far, but her words and actions confirmed another was involved.

“I only know one person with the power of a Game Master.”

“What? Really?! This is the first time I’ve heard of a Cream Cheese member in this world. Did you meet them, Luvrogue?”

“…I met a witch.”

“Ack! I-I’m glad you’re okay…”

For beginner to average players like Luvrogue and Hernel and even addicts, anyone called by a nickname was like TNT. He had learned his place and almost died after picking a fight with one. Luvrogue couldn’t say this, however, and remained ambiguous.

“Y-yeah, I guess…,” he replied with a stiff smile.

Hernel seemed to read something in his expression. He gave Luvrogue a comforting pat on the shoulder and said, “No worries.”

Such concern from a fellow otherworlder was a first for Luvrogue, and his eyes misted as he crushed the stone in his hand.

And now, let us return to our original scene.

Opus’s preferred encampment was located on Felskeilo’s main road and intersected the outer trade routes that ran down the continent’s northern and southern coastlines. A steel tower that acted as a parabolic antenna was stationed along the very edge of the roadside. Back in the Game Era, this was an antenna receiver for teleportation stones during emergency missions.

Incidentally, Mai-Mai wanted to participate but was left behind since this was both a player event and potentially fatal. Ark was a player, and she also declined, since meeting other players would be awkward, given her rare weapon. She felt pretty guilty, but Exis and his sister complex insisted he could fight for both of them and made her stay back.

“This was built by the Admin spies who hid among the players, right?” Cayna murmured as she looked up at the tower.

“There were several others besides me,” said Opus.

Such was the general opinion of those who understood the situation.

After a short while, several player lights flew in from the south, east, and north and landed near the steel tower. Previous arrivals took charge and received the trickle of newcomers. Temporary parties were then created based on level and whether one was a vanguard or rearguard. This swift action was no different from back in the day. After all, any group of players was always eager to show off.

At present, participating players were separated by party but connected by the function known as Raid Link. If any one person cast wide-range defensive magic, everyone would receive those benefits. Nonetheless, this would also require the proper amount of MP.

“Still,” said Cayna, “we don’t even have thirty people…”

“A siege attack is out of the question. Our best bet is to rush in and trample the monsters while the barrier holds,” Opus suggested.

A White Dragon the size of a five-story building held a scrap of wood that said STRATEGY HQ in its mouth while Cayna, Opus, and two other players brainstormed beneath it. Cayna had summoned the dragon earlier. In fact, she and Opus had summoned seven level-990 dragons just to be on the safe side.

The Green Dragon sent to Otaloquess on Cayna’s orders had delivered her letter and returned with Queen Sahalashade’s response. She sent it away for a moment before resummoning the dragon at maximum level. Each dragon was an expert assistant in its own way and proved quite useful.

The White Dragon specialized in full recovery magic, while the Black and Red Dragons excelled in attack magic. The Blue Dragon couldn’t move on land, but Cayna could summon it in water to unleash a massive tsunami. The Brown Dragon could cross any terrain and defensewise was a cut above the rest. The Green Dragon had giant wings and, although slow on land, was an excellent flier. Its wind-based Assistance Magic was highly useful as well. The Violet Dragon looked like a giant purple toad with horns, a tail, and small wings. However, its poisonous breath could strike the enemy with a number of status ailments.

Despite their vast differences in abilities, these dragons could improve the outcome of battle whenever they acted solo. Now that Cayna and Opus were together, they had the added bonus of perpetual, unrestricted summonings.

“It’s great to have some Limit Breakers around,” Jaeger said.

“Still, I must admit it took years off my life when I saw you both together,” Spirale replied.

The middle-aged human man dressed entirely in red armor was the player Jaeger. Back in the game, he was an influential player, a citizen of the Red Kingdom, and the leader of the Silver Watches guild. It was said to be the largest in Leadale with over two thousand members, and they dominated both group-based Mission Quests and attack-based Story Quests. His typical position was an active level-800 vanguard.

There was also the blue dragoid Spirale who wore robes and carried a wand. He was level 800 as well and excelled as a rearguard. Although this eccentric specialist chose a vanguard-type race, he brought together his fellow oddball players (librarians who could find any book, dwarfs who spent their entire game lives digging holes, cliff denizens, et cetera) to create the Archive Alley guild and serve as its leader. Even within the game, the information network that spawned from this collection of quirky experts became a prime source of content.

“The problem is what’s inside, right?” Cayna asked.

“Huh? It’s not like the Underworld or Hermit areas got mixed up in this world. They might be tough, but I’d peg ’em at no higher than level 600,” replied Jaeger.

“Dear me, no,” said Spirale. “The Demon King’s descendants are on this continent as well. If we run into them, it’ll be no laughing matter…”

“Ah, the ones beneath the Black Kingdom? You fought those irritating maggots? I wasn’t aware they made it here,” Opus said.

“Right, I heard about ’em. Don’t they rule an underground labyrinth?”

“When I was around level 900, me, Ebelope, Meshmout, Tartarus, Straw Paper, and San annihilated them,” Cayna explained. “You might call it a shaky win, though.”

“If you had been destroyed at that level, I daresay no other player would have stood a chance.”

“The heck?” said Jaeger.

Spirale listened with keen interest but frowned at the word annihilated.

“You won by takin’ each other out?” Jaeger asked, his arms crossed.

Cayna shook her head and then looked down with a dark expression. “We thought all hope was lost and used a last resort.”

“Ah, that last resort,” Opus muttered to himself, nodding. “Yes, it makes sense…”

Everyone else eyed him curiously, and he calmly made eye contact with Cayna as if seeking permission to elaborate. She quickly agreed, so Opus carried on.

“She’s talking about Special Skill: Self-Destruct,” he said.

““Self-Destruct?!””

Jaeger had never heard of such a thing and jolted in surprise. Spirale knew of it but never felt the need to bother with the laundry list of skills needed to obtain it.

Of the many available long-range attack skills, Self-Destruct boasted the highest damage. However, its level of convenience depended on the user’s stats. Such power was calculated by experience points until level-up x (user level + remaining HP/MP), so if someone high-level like Cayna used it, the results would be obvious.

Unfortunately, in addition to death, the caster also went down a level. And since the skill didn’t discriminate, Cayna wiped out all her party members who were already on the brink of death. Everyone eventually respawned, but since her level also determined the diameter of the attack dome, most of the players in the Black Kingdom capital directly above the dungeon were caught up in the blast and died as well.

The subjugation party kept mum on the matter, so the Sudden Death in the Black Kingdom Capital Incident became one of Leadale’s many mysteries. Aside from Cayna and her fellow guild members, only the Admins ever knew the truth.

“Those were fixed monsters instead of event ones, so the two won’t mingle here…or so I hope.” Opus offered an educated guess, since he couldn’t just say that he was the one who assembled everyone.

In truth, even he didn’t know how many Event Monsters awaited them. This was because he had put a marker on the Event Monsters’ spawn point and connected everything to the Abandoned Capital regardless of whether their numbers were multiplying. He then left the rest to the summons, so whatever monster ecosystem had formed inside afterward was a mystery.

Since Opus couldn’t announce this publicly, his predictions were set aside and the conversation continued.

“Everyone arrived here at different times, so they’ve gotten acclimated over the years. A battle might be a tall order,” Jaeger insisted.

Several players listening nearby nodded in agreement. Some had invited fellow players who had been in this world longer to join the fight, but lingering attachments kept them from participating. Indeed, when Cayna considered a future where Luka survived her, it wasn’t hard to understand how they felt. Jaeger himself had friends and family waiting back home, so personal motivations varied in that regard.

“As a guild leader, I’m used to lookin’ after a large group. Think of me like as a student council president,” Jaeger insisted.

“Don’t council members have to do endless chores around the school? No waaaay,” said Cayna.

“But my subordinates were brilliant. For the most part, everyone, including the guild sub-leader, had my back and followed every order.”

“There’s a limit to outsourcing,” Opus remarked.

“Heyyyy. Got a report for ya.”

“Great work, Exis.”

The slightly dirtied dragoid approached them. He had formed a small party currently keeping watch over the entrance in shifts. The argent’s absence from the Abandoned Capital was already evident. This was because Opus had called off the summons after Cayna cast an Isolation Barrier over Fence’s perimeter. With the front of the city as the sole entrance and exit, the group could eliminate any monsters that broke through.

“How’s the situation?” Cayna asked Exis.

“We have more hands now, so things have gotten a bit easier. But like you said, the systemized dinosaur and mage-type monsters haven’t shown up yet. Almost all of ’em are average quest monsters between levels 200 and 300. On top of that, they’re coming at us in spurts instead of all at once.”

A manageable crowd meant they could take down whatever monsters came first and figure out how to deal with the rest. Every player in the area was Raid Linked at present, so despite a slight ratio shift, everyone would receive a small bit of experience each time even one person defeated an enemy. However, some were no doubt disgruntled by the value difference between those fighting on the field and those not. Upon hearing about this, players had raced here to test their mettle.

Although masters of Revival Magic were on call, they cautioned Exis to exercise restraint, since there was no guarantee such spells would work.

Exis assembled everyone who wished to join the front lines and led them back down the road from whence he came. Half of their forces left to thoroughly block off the entrance.

“The Great Kongming is a pro at this kind of thing, right?” remarked Jaeger.

“What? No chance,” said Cayna. “Opus is all about scheming and waiting in the wings. In fact, sneak attacks are his go-to. There aren’t paid items here, either, so either way we’re in for a tough fight. Our guild pretty much depended on our levels to carpet-bomb everything in sight during party battles. I guess you could call that a strategy?”

Jaeger and Spirale heaved a collective sigh.

They had been together constantly except in wartime, and someone like Cayna, who could join a party without any need for backup, was quite the asset. If she focused solely on attack and her guild fought as one, it was a recipe for destruction.

Tell me something I don’t know…, thought Jaeger and Spirale.

Opus, aka Leadale’s Kongming, naturally had expectations of his own. However, he was the type to hide away and refine his strategy prior to battle. He had calmly taken everything into account and understood not to get his hopes up.

“Hmm. Looks like they’re carrying out a standard assault tactic. What if we restructure our parties to match the enemy’s level?” suggested Jaeger.

“Our midlevel players are already in the vanguard. The rearguard is hurting, correct?” Spirale pointed out.

Cayna chimed in. “In other words, we’re thin in the back. Too thin.”

“That’s because the winds will later shift in favor of the vanguard. The monsters might drop all sorts of useful items,” replied Opus.

“Who the hell thought up a hand grenade? That’s definitely from another game,” Jaeger grumbled, citing an unrelated robot title set in a dystopian future.

Spirale opened the current party link in his window and alongside Jaeger commanded each player to reorganize.

The current HQ consisted of these four, but Opus and Cayna remained in the rearguard so they could play it by ear no matter the situation. Both could have stood on the front lines if they choose but stuck to the back after the other players’ quest for glory implied disapproval. Jaeger and Spirale acted as the vanguard’s command center while Opus led the rearguard, so everyone reached an understanding.

“What will you do, Cayna?” Jaeger asked.

“Um, obviously I’ll aid everyone from behind with Buffs.”

“I understand, but friendly fire is still a possibility,” said Spirale. “Please do not blow away our allies with long-range magic.”

“Just who do you think I am, Spirale?”

“An incarnation of destruction.”

“……”

Cayna fell into silent disappointment as their surroundings erupted into laughter, but several sensed her wrath and quickly backed away in fear. The main reason ordinary players (?) wanted to fight at the front was due to the level of monsters back in the game. After all, aside from several special areas, an enemy’s level was 600 max. There were a few quest exceptions, of course, but the Limit Breakers could rush in like some corrupt politician’s bodyguard if need be.

“Ahhhhh?!?!”

There was a sudden yell, and every bewildered player who heard it turned toward the source. A black-haired high elf woman had just alighted beneath the receiver tower and pointed at Cayna and yelped in surprise.

Cayna recognized her immediately.

“Oh…”

“Ah.”

As did Opus. Cayna started smiling, but the demon’s expression went blank.

The woman dashed up to Cayna but face-planted in the ground at her feet when Opus tripped her.

For a moment, no one made a sound. Some flinched at Opus’s violent act while others showed concern for the high elf now motionless on the ground. The culprit held his stomach in uncontrollable laughter.

After a few seconds, the woman’s head shot up. Her expression was a mix of joy and sadness as tears poured like waterfalls from her eyes.

“Sissyyy!” she cried.

“Wait—are you okay, Sahana? Stop doing that every single time, Opus…”

Some shocked onlookers started criticizing Opus’s behavior. They couldn’t believe he did this every time and gazed with compassion as Cayna helped the woman back up. After brushing away the dust and tears, Sahana squeezed her tightly. Anyone would assume this was a reunion between sisters, though it was Sahana who appeared older.

“Spirale, I’ve got someone perfect for the rearguard,” said Cayna, still in her little sister’s arms.

“She’s from the high elf community, right? We should be fine now.”

Sahana was a former member of the high elf community. Tall, with raven hair and eyes, she specialized in Assistance Magic. Back in their community days, Sahana devoted herself to Cayna to a troublesome degree and, at level 850, was a force to be reckoned with.

At the game’s height, she and five others—each an average of level 800—formed one of the most outstanding and influential rearguard units in all of Leadale. The threat their support-only group posed was entirely unprecedented.

After a moment, Spirale explained the situation and party ratio to Sahana, and she gladly agreed to aid the vanguard. Everything went so well it was almost disappointing.

“Didn’t think she’d say ‘yes’ right off the bat…”

“I wouldn’t dare cause Cayna any trouble! I’m prepared to give this everything I’ve got!”

“This ain’t the time for exaggeration. You must be outta your mind.”

“We’re not here to get carried away and burn the place to the ground.”

“Goodness, don’t assume I would ever disgrace my big sister.”

“Don’t get that look in your eye! You’re not here for some sisterly skill slinging!”

Various players found Sahana’s ardent dedication a bit disturbing.

“W-well, anything can happen. Just be careful, all right?” Cayna cautioned. “If you get overwhelmed at all, it’s okay to leave the vanguard.”

“Yes! I understand, Sissy!”

“I have my doubts…,” Opus muttered.

“I don’t want to hear that from you,” Sahana replied with a murderous glare.

Opus was relieved to see this reunion didn’t leave Sahana in blind ecstasy.

Then, Siren approached and bowed politely. “These appear to be the last for now.”

“Right,” replied Opus. “Good work.”

“Wait, what?” said Cayna.

She stared in wonder at one of the four newcomers directly behind Siren: a demon in knight’s armor. A well-armed werecat accompanying him raced over to Spirale.

“Leaderrrrrr!” the werecat cried.

“Buddyyy!”

He and Spirale immediately embraced.

“Hey, you made it,” Cayna said to Luvrogue. “I wasn’t sure if the knights would let you leave.”

“I don’t plan on dyin’ here. I’ve still got stuff to do…,” he muttered sorrowfully.

Cayna flicked his forehead. Sahana observed their familiarity with a death glare.

Although Luvrogue was a demon, he didn’t appear to have any interest in Opus.

The humans and dragoid sulked when he didn’t bother to greet them. I guess we’re just chopped liver, they figured.

“I get why Cohral is here,” Cayna began, “but what about you, Shining Saber? Can you step out like this?”

“…So, I’m a given? Getting my comrades to agree was no walk in the park, y’know,” Cohral grumbled.

“For now I have permission from the king, plus my co-captain can handle things. A defensive fight should be no issue. Besides, you guys aren’t gonna let those things escape the Abandoned Capital, right?”

Shining Saber directed that question at Cayna, but every player in earshot shouted, “Obviously!”

Shining Saber nodded. There were no definite rules, but eliminating those monsters was required to complete the quest. The players flown to this world were well aware of the tragedy that would occur if three-digit-level monsters escaped into the wild. He was pleased everyone felt the same way. After all, if a wave of monsters broke out here, Felskeilo would be their first victim.

“Well, let’s get this extermination quest started,” Jaeger told everyone in the Raid Chat.

The players responded with a rallying cry. This moment alone was bizarrely noisy, since she could hear the chat, but Cayna felt a slight sense of nostalgia and excitement.

Suddenly curious if Opus shared the sentiment, she looked next to her. However, he was staring at the receiver tower in keen bewilderment.

“What’s wrong?” Cayna asked him.

“It’s nothing. I just thought Hidden Ogre might come.”

Now that he mentioned it, Cayna remembered Hidden Ogre was in this world, too. She’d heard that Exis had met him, but the dwarf apparently had no desire to see her. Everyone has their own circumstances, so Cayna didn’t argue this.

“Come, let us begin our annihilation of the Abandoned Capital,” Opus announced. “The plan will fail if Cayna is defeated. Know that if anything happens to her, you’ll revert to regular people and be unable to use skills.”

“““WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!”””

As soon as Opus began his commencement speech, the players felt doomed.

“Don’t start the battle with a bombshell!”

“Indeed. We haven’t even discussed the reward yet.”

“““Yeah! You tell ’em, Spirale!”””

At the mention of compensation, the other players cheered Spirale on. Material greed had seemingly won out.

Jaeger, the first to rouse his fellow players, promptly face-palmed. “Guess we’ve got other problems to deal with first…”

He glanced over at Cayna, the center of all this hubbub. Sahana was on the verge of tears and clinging to her.

“‘If you die’?! Sissy, what does he mean?!”

“I’m not gonna die, so just relax.”

“If anyone wishes you harm, I’ll kill them! I’ll even die in the process!”

“Hold it, hold it! No player would even try to pick a fight with me.”

Just as her incoherent blubbering left Cayna at a loss, Kuu suddenly floated out and kicked Sahana in the forehead.

“Gyah?!” Sahana crumpled to the ground with an unladylike yelp.

“Kuu?!”

Cayna remembered that Kuu’s kick always elicited the same response. It seemed to cause players significant pain.

Kuu had probably tinkered with the system to produce this effect. At any rate, Cayna used Search to check Sahana’s status and confirmed a Faint effect. As she pressed a hand to her heart in relief and looked around, nearly everyone stood frozen in wide-eyed shock.

“Huh?” said Cayna.

Cohral and Shining Saber offered a strained smile. Cohral lightly pointed at Kuu, and she finally realized what was going on.

Even players rarely spotted fairies, which were mostly background characters in the Game Era. Once she remembered this, Cayna introduced Kuu to everyone.

“This is Kuu the fairy. She might not look it, but she’s super violent. Make sure you leave a final will and testament before messing with her.”

Several players who had always hoped fairies were real paled at her unsettling words.

Their kaleidoscope of emotions aside, Spirale glanced up.

“Something is falling!” he warned.

The players followed his gaze as round shapes whooshed overhead and blocked the sun.

“Parachutes?” one muttered.

“Huh? Maybe it’s an aerial attack?”

“Are they monsters?”

“They wouldn’t be that smart, right?”

“Demons or vampires could probably pull it off.”

“Those can fly anyway!”

And so, the conversation derailed as approximately twenty people descended, one after the other. The parachutes disappeared to reveal a group of young girls and women.

“Ohhh!”

The men’s eyes lit up in admiration, but several recipients looked down on them with disdain.

They seemed to be dressed in armor much like the players, and a small old man wearing a monk’s samue garb brought up the rear. A cry of surprise rose from the crowd.

“““Hidden Ogre!”””

“Gramps?!”

“It’s been a long while, Cayna.”

The Twelfth Skill Master Hidden Ogre made a stylish entrance and saluted her.

All twenty of his little sisters had joined him. Since Foster Children couldn’t use the item for emergency events, they had no choice but to move the floating Guardian Tower and parachute down.

“You still have twenty left?!”

“It’s nothing compared to the one hundred and eight I had back in the good old days, but everyone is around level 500. They’ll help out.”

“To elevate this many to such a high level… Your sister complex is worse than I feared,” Opus remarked.

The cheek of every player who had heard of the 108 foster sisters twitched, and they could only mumble in disbelief.

One of Hidden Ogre’s sisters, a demon, immediately walked over to Cayna and gazed up at her with sparkling eyes. Such a fervent display of reverence baffled her. The girl was like a puppy wagging its tail.

“Ah, that is Yunio,” said Lu Peixi. “She adores you, Lady Cayna.”

“Come again?”

Despite the elf’s succinct explanation, Cayna was still uncomprehending.

Hidden Ogre had evidently given his fifty-fourth sister, the demon Yunio, the flavor text loves Cayna.

“Why’d you write something like that, Gramps?”

“I ran out of ideas,” was his heartfelt reply.

Cayna had no idea how to respond. As an experiment, she reached out and patted Yunio’s head. The girl launched at her and gleefully pressed her head against Cayna’s stomach. Unsurprisingly, Sahana shrieked from the shock.

“Even flavor text made it over here…?” one player said incredulously.

“Crap—I feel like I wrote some pretty crazy stuff, too!” wailed another.

A number of players who witnessed this scene trembled when they heard about the flavor text situation, but the girls were assigned to the rearguard. Jaeger wanted them on the front lines for their battle prowess, but he took the fact they were Foster Children into account and relegated them to the back. Incidentally, Hidden Ogre’s level-800 stats meant he was put in the line of fire before he even had a chance to refuse.

“Players can use Revival Magic without a problem…but the success rate of foster kids and the people of this world are another story,” muttered Spirale.

“Huh?” said Cayna. “Spirale, have you used Revival Magic since coming here?”

“Yeah, a number of times. It’s extremely limited compared to the game, though.”

“What? Really?”

Cayna wanted to know more details, but the event was about to start. Further questions would have to wait until later.

“Opus, you bastard. I’ll make you explain more about the conditions for defeat later, but isn’t there a reward for victory?” Cohral grumbled.

Several players then struck a fist against their palm in realization. In the game, the reward for an emergency quest included a choice between experience points, a cosplay item with a slight bonus, or money.

“Hmm.” Opus, the host of this event, mulled over this with a frown. It seemed this hadn’t occurred to him, but now the players were riled up.

“Yeah, only a Game Master could call that notification angel, right?”

“Didn’t the Limit Breakers have similar power?”

“It wasn’t just about authority. Didn’t some have connections to the Admins?”

“Oh yeah, there were totally Game Masters. I saw a knight in all red.”

“Really? I saw someone who looked like a ghost.”

“Okay, okay, quiet down!” Cayna called to the group, shooting Hidden Ogre and Opus a meaningful glance and a bright smile.

A clap echoed via a sound amplification spell, and everyone fell silent. Once their confused attention was on her, she grinned. Several people who knew her well enough sensed danger and stepped back. Indeed, the other players remained on edge as well. Cayna acted like this was no concern of hers and proposed a reward.

“In exchange for a successful quest, you’ll get…two skills from us Skill Masters!”

“………………”

“““ALL RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!”””

After a brief silence, a wave of cheers broke out.

“Yeah! The Skill Masters sure are generous!”

“I can have the skills of my dreams!”

“The one I failed to get on that final day will finally be mine. It’s been eating me up inside.”

“Self-Destruct is every man’s fantasy!”

“Don’t go nuts. That’s a death flag.”

“Hmm. I’m content with my life now, so I don’t need much.”

“Something I could use on a daily basis would be nice.”

Chatter and commotion erupted all at once.

“Well, that’s the situation,” said Cayna. “Much obliged, Gramps, Opus.”

“I see. Are you fine with this, Hidden Ogre?” Opus asked.

“Ah, that’s what you mean. If this turns out to be my last duty as a Skill Master, I’ve got no complaints.”

As soon as Hidden Ogre granted his permission, the players buzzed with excitement.

“Okay, folks!” Jaeger boomed. “Exterminating every monster will spell victory! The fall of the Silver Ring Witch will spell our defeat! Gather your courage and fight!”

“““YEAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!””” came the players’ rallying cry.

“Wish he wouldn’t use the chaos just to say my nickname,” Cayna grumbled.

“It was easier to understand that way, right?” Opus replied.

Spirale gave the order, and preparations for their annihilation quest began. Under his command, the players were divided into an assault unit and a dedicated support unit. There were just under thirty people in the former, Exis and his barrier observation team included. The latter had over forty.

“I think we might’ve broken the record for biggest rearguard.”

“We’ve got a ton of foster kids, so nothin’ for it.”

Opus had rejected Lu Peixi’s proposal to split her sisters into two groups and hold down the fort.

“Unlike warfare, our trouble won’t end with the fall of the Capital,” Opus said.

“Cayna can defend the stronghold, right?” Jaeger suggested. “We’re toast if she’s taken out.”

“Thanks, no pressure there. Besides, I’ve got Kee and Kuu to protect me…,” Cayna replied from nearby as everyone’s hopeful gazes fell upon her. “And Yunio,” she added.

“It would seem she’s already grown on you,” Opus noted.

“…”

His comment spoke for itself. As her friends’ eyes grew tepid, Cayna summoned her Silver Ring to brush away the embarrassment. A large silver ring inset with seven orbs in every color of the rainbow circled her at waist level. Players who recognized it immediately began panicking.

“Why did you take that out all of a sudden, Sissy?!”

“What are we gonna do if you terrify our comrades?!”

Needless to say, Jaeger was immediately displeased.

The players pressed forward as one.

The former capital of the Brown Kingdom was unique in the fact it had a temple behind the castle. The town itself was spread out in a fan shape around the castle, and the roads connected like a mesh. The original landscape had surely been beautiful once, but none of the buildings along the streets had been left in any decent condition.

The group of dragons circling the city’s walls overhead was a strange sight as well.

Cayna, Opus, Hidden Ogre, and Sahana worked together to summon this powerful squadron. Each member was no less than level 800.

The cobblestones were cracked and derelict with traces of shriveled-up weeds. Some areas had been stripped to reveal the bare ground beneath, and there were huge, deliberate-looking holes everywhere. Like the buildings, not a single door or window remained intact. Everything had the tragic heroism of a horror game. An irritating odor would occasionally waft by on a warm breeze.

It wasn’t just a scene that had broken down in a matter of a few months or years. There were fresh claw marks, and some buildings had been twisted apart by an incredible force.

“Wasn’t this your magic’s doing, Cayna?”

“How rude. It was rebuilt after the event, so this only happened in the past two hundred years.”

“We still haven’t found the culprits, though…”

“Maybe they went extinct on their own?” she suggested.

“Then none of us would have any reason to be here!”

Once someone spoke up, friendly conversation spread among the nervous players. They remained vigilant, but the silence was evidently unbearable.

“At any rate, this ground cleanup was definitely a rush job.”

“The buildings are still standin’ but look a mess. I bet they’d fall right over if you kicked ’em.”

“Don’t you dare. We’ll get caught up in it!”

Since there were Skill Masters in the mix, it was suggested they take command. However, Hidden Ogre himself admitted a lack of leadership ability and declined. Cayna had the battle prowess and the authoritative skills but knew little of large-scale warfare, so Jaeger and Spirale were assigned the position as initially planned.

According to Exis and his team who had guarded the entrance, the monsters’ sporadic escape attempts seemed to be on hold at the moment. However, they couldn’t breathe easy yet, thanks to the earlier attack on Felskeilo.

Incidentally, Opus wasn’t part of the conversation; he had gone underground by the entrance to hunt monsters in the subterranean tunnels. Siren did not join him but instead stood watch outside and explained the situation to any oblivious person who approached. Everyone was shocked when Opus announced he’d eliminate any foe on sight and destroy the tunnels as well.

“Hey, hey, hey, what are you planning?!” Exis had yelled at him.

“Once the tunnels collapse, the monsters will flood whatever exit they can find, right? All you have to do is strike there. It’ll be like shooting fish in a barrel.”

A number of players had nodded in understanding. Considering that it was a dungeon maze where monsters could pop out from anywhere, this was a reasonable proposal. Besides, the enemies aboveground took priority if they wanted to avoid a pincer attack.

If the objective had been simply to pulverize the city, Cayna and Opus could have used their strongest magic to get the job done in an instant. However, aside from a few exceptions, ranged spells fundamentally focused on the caster. Plus, unlike in the game, friendly fire was possible in this world. Magic couldn’t automatically differentiate between a player and a nonplayer.

If they were to level the city with magic, only one person could enter. This was fine for either Cayna or Opus, but doing so would negate the entire point of assembling players for this emergency quest.

Opus’s destructive activities were evidenced by the occasional slight tremor beneath the players’ feet. The cobblestones from the town entrance onward slowly began to break down and collapse, so they had to keep moving.

“Better hope he doesn’t get himself stuck,” said Shining Saber, exasperated.

“I’m sure Opus has it covered. He’s pretty smart about that stuff.” Cayna vouched for the demon with a smirk.

“I see.” Shining Saber nodded.

Just then, Kuu issued a warning from Cayna’s shoulder: “Enemy!”

“Spirale, we’ve got company!” Cayna shouted. “Monster sighted!”

“Huh? What? Where?” Jaeger yelled once Cayna raised her magic staff and warned Spirale.

Without a moment’s delay, the players on the front lines drew their weapons and stood on guard.

There was a fountain square in the center of town. The water had long since dried up, the earth was cracked, and shriveled weeds peeked out here and there.

“Are they underground?”

“Darn…”

“As I suspected, they’re in a better position for an ambush.”

The radar display of the Abandoned Capital was filled with countless red and blue dots that indicated friend or foe: blue for players, red for monsters. At present, the blue dots were gathered in the central plaza with a host of red dots circling them. The players had been simultaneously surrounded by the enemy.

Magic Skill: Physical Defense Up: Ready Set

Magic Skill: Magic Defense Up: Ready Set

Cayna’s Buff spells immediately diffused everywhere and lit up the players in red and blue. Sahana added to this by casting Speed Up and Attack Power Up. The players were then cast in a green light, and their weapons glowed red.

Someone audibly gulped when suddenly one building in the direction of the castle exploded from the inside. Fragments of stone material and what looked to be broken furniture went flying.

Although everyone was well aware the physical defense boost would protect them, it is a normal instinct to dodge airborne objects.

Just as the panicked players either lay facedown on the ground or retreated, the buildings to the left and right exploded in the southern direction of their advance. The attack was clearly hostile, so they formed a vital circle to avoid an enemy strike from behind. The army had nearly recovered from the thick dust when something materialized from farther within.

It was a monster the size of a four-ton truck. The slimy toad had red and black spots, and a snake reared its head from the amphibian’s partly open mouth.

“It’s a chimera!”

“““Blegh…”””

As soon as one person perceived the monster’s true nature, everyone else watched with annoyance. It wasn’t alone, either; there was also an alligator with a shark’s head and a two-headed Cerberus with the tail of a scorpion and heads of a snake and a dog. These monsters had no sense of unity whatsoever.

What appeared to be a rotund suit of armor came from the building on the left. However, at four meters tall, it was so huge one couldn’t help but wonder where it had been hiding this whole time. When the living armor flipped up its helmet shield, a host of wriggling octopus legs flew out.

It was absolutely disgusting. A scream rose from the unit of little sisters.

Giant eyeballs substituted as the suit’s joints, and it resembled an uneven, ball-jointed doll. The monster unsheathed not a sword from its side but a squirming, legless centipede. The corners of its mouth were wide enough to bite a person’s head off in a single attack, and the slobber that trickled down was a dissolving solution that bored holes in the ground.

“I don’t remember anything like that in the game!”

“Maybe it evolved in the barrier by itself for two hundred years?”

“This ain’t the time for a casual analysis!”

Chimeras were relatively common monsters in Leadale and could often be found in ruins and dungeons. Their appearance was an amalgamation of two or three real-life animals, and apart from special areas, most players could beat one with ease as long as their physical attack was properly leveled up and the location was right.

What destroyed this balance was the troubled Admin design team who announced an open call for ideas in exchange for special items. Every passionate gamer artist, amateurs and pros alike, jumped at this with abandon. The design submissions alone were fine, but some players also included a list of detailed attack moves.

Furthermore, after the Admins carelessly accepted these with zero edits, violent monsters began to spread into newbie regions. Leadale’s most powerful guilds later collaborated to launch a large-scale sweep. A majority of players at the time were upset, and the widespread propagation of chimera monsters came to an end.

“I guess only the most disgusting ones survived that extermination.”

“Damn it! Is this another Admin trick?!”

“I know it’s kinda late to say this, but the Admins’ well of ideas ran dry a long time ago…”

“Stop, it just makes me sad.”

Players who had memories of that cleanup job shot evasive looks at the armor and toad.

Both monsters were around level 300 and no match for the players here, but unfortunately it was no time for a counterattack. Other nearby buildings continued to explode, and the players’ impatience became more pronounced as a stream of chimeras appeared one after the other. Despite their inferior strength, monsters of unknown ability surrounded them on all sides. This was enough to stop the army in its tracks.

Some players tried to move toward the wall, but another blast erupted in front of them. When they tried to shield themselves, another came from behind.

“Gaaah! Are they gonna keep us in this plaza?!” Jaeger shouted.

“Weird…,” said Cayna. “I thought chimeras only acted on instinct.”

Soon enough, the players were surrounded by a multitude of chimeras. Jaeger and Cayna, now both poised for battle, exchanged bewildered looks.

“What’s going on? Are these monsters really smart enough to plan an ambush?”

“How should I know?! This is no time to panic!”

“Quit your blabberin’ and fight back! We’re packed together, but we can beat these guys to a pulp if we strike from the outside.”

“All right, you radish fighters. Let’s show ’em what we’re made of!”

Jaeger’s crimson armor clanged as he hefted a sword larger than himself onto his shoulder. Shining Saber and Cohral grinned ferociously and followed suit. Several players set their own oversized large swords on their shoulders and crouched into position.

“Why radishes?” Quolkeh asked without thinking.

“He’s referring to a large sword for beginners that is white with a green hilt,” Hidden Ogre replied, a halberd in each hand.

“Ah, got it.” Nodding, Quolkeh took a whip in each hand and began slicing the wind in circles.

As each individual in the vanguard readied their technique, Cayna and the rest of the rearguard prepared attack magic beforehand. Sahana cast spells like DEX Up that would help the swordfighters strike true. As soon as everyone received this effect, the chimeras moved all at once.

“SHOW NO MERCYYYYY!!”

Everyone raced toward the black wave and unleashed a slew of sword techniques.

Flaming Bomb Lea Vork

Flame Snake Stampede Leala Barcia

A blazing ball of fire struck its target and scorched everything within a five-meter radius, while a flaming snake coiled around a different foe and burned it to cinders. Such magical attacks continued one after the other, but they only struck the monsters one row back so the vanguard wouldn’t get caught up in it.

Cayna and Sahana’s combined Mega Levork took things a step further. It blasted away not just monsters but the surrounding buildings and environment as well.

Weapon Skill: Sand Dragon Breakdown Storm

Jaeger, Shining Saber, and the other swordfighters dashed straight ahead. Their blades whirled like vigorous hammer throws and hit speeds invisible to the naked eye.

The wind began to swirl and rage around each and transformed the weapons into a single tornado. Several of the swordfighters’ fierce twisters crowded together and tore through the approaching dark wave. The zigzag attack shredded anything in its path. Monsters were sliced sideways into several layers as the violent storm threw chunks of flesh into the sky. Enemies caught between two at the same time were shredded like paper. Monsters that once howled and trembled in delight as they swooped down on their quarry now shrieked in anguish.

Weapon Skill: Canyon Grind

Hidden Ogre held two large halberds in front of him and struck the earth in a circular sector. The cobblestones caught in a radial pattern caved in, and a stream of monsters lost their balance as they were swallowed up by the earth. Some panicked and tried to jump to freedom, but it was already too late.

Stone spears rose from below like billowing waves and pierced the captured monsters. Impaled by crude stone spears like a butcherbird’s prey for later consumption, Hidden Ogre’s foes were swiftly vanquished. Some did manage to escape but were either cut in half or burned to ashes by a wave of other players.

Weapon Skill: Rapid-Fire Spiral Slicer

Several players wielded a whip like Quolkeh, and their high-speed rotations produced wind buzz saws. Any monster that tried to forcibly squeeze through a gap in their technique was cut to ribbons. Each was carved into four or five unrecognizable slices and tossed into the air. This technique was more cost-effective than those that prioritized destructive power; you could strike multiple enemies at once, and it was easy to control. They coiled around the swordfighters’ earlier tornadoes like drill bits, and the additional power aided the rush of players.

Magic Skill: Lea Lance Vision: Ready Set

Countless flame spears about two meters long appeared above Sahana’s and Spirale’s heads.

“Fire!”

“Go!”

The spears soared over the tornadoes and players to pierce the back row of monsters. Instead of burning, they instantly turned to ash and crumbled away without even time to scream.

Sahana had ample MP, so her shower of flame spears covered the entire blockade of monsters. Not a single foe who ran out of pure instinct avoided their dusty fate.

Eliminating the monsters took fifteen minutes from start to finish.

“Awww, it’s over already? I was about to unleash my second attack, too…” Cayna looked ready for more action.

“If we left it to you, dear Cayna, none of us would get a turn.” Spirale shouldered his wand with a grin.

“Kuu didn’t get to attack,” the fairy mumbled.

“Huh? Sissy, can that fairy fight, too?” Sahana’s eyes widened in shock.

“She’s so dangerous, even Opus runs for the hills.”

“You’re kidding…”

Cayna looked away with a defeated smile. Sahana didn’t know what to believe.

“That aside, you should probably see to them first,” said Spirale.

““What?””

The girls turned in the direction Spirale indicated with his wand and came upon a pleasant scene.

“Hrgh, hold…on… Blargh!”

“Ohhhh…”

“Ugh, I feel sick…”

There were only a few injuries, but the swordfighters suffered far differently from everyone else. Unsurprisingly, unlike back in the game where the players could fight as they pleased, the high speeds made most dizzy and pale with nausea. Wildly chopping up monsters was all fine and good, but the rain of meat chunks and blood splatters soon dyed them red and purple. Anyone who could use Purification cleaned them from head to toe.

“Ohhh?”

“Huh?”

While this was happening, a pillar of fire rose into the sky near the main entrance. Thanks to the Raid Link, each player was also enveloped in a red effect that granted Flame Resistance. The caster was Opus, who was still on his own.

Incidentally, several people heard some kind of howl and frowned.

“Wow, it sounds like a fight down there…,” said Shining Saber.

“It truly pains me to say this, but I’m sure that rotten demon will be just fine.”

“I knew it, Sahana,” said Cayna. “You really do hate Opus…”

“Well, ya gotta figure he wouldn’t be much help anyway. Let’s leave him to it,” Cohral suggested.

The group nodded in agreement. They had no desire to intentionally get involved in a tactician’s battle.

Leaving a Limit Breaker to fight in a Limit Breaker’s own way, they quickly pressed on to put this chaotic quest to rest.

“Onward! To a peaceful life!” Jaeger shouted.

“““YEAAAAAAAAAH !!”””

With that, the players raced forward.