Our destination this time was the royal palace on Telluna. It was heavily guarded at all times, so unless there was some sort of event going on, people typically weren’t allowed in. However, we still had one free item remaining from winning the guild mission, so they allowed us inside to get it.
As a reminder, our first choice had been given to Homura in exchange for making that alliance with us. The second one was a warp item that let Kokoru come visit us whenever he wanted. As for the third...
I exchanged it for a Peregrine Stone! I had to replace the one I lost due to an unfortunate misclick! The fact that we still had this remaining right when I needed it was a blessing indeed.
Normally, I would have wanted to pick something more permanently useful. But things were different now, as we needed to get through the Hadean Rose as soon as possible. We had neither the money for a new one, nor the time to grind for it!
Well, it was my fault that we were broke, yes. I would have to find a way to make the guild shop more profitable to take care of that. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be able to keep up with my drama cannon’s costs, which were spiraling out of control. Once this was over, I’d give it some thought.
Anyway, with our Peregrine Stone in hand, we left the palace.
I said my goodbyes to the gatekeeper NPC. “So long! Thanks for all the items.”
Next to me, Akira sighed. “Was that the right choice? I’m sure we could’ve found something better.”
“It’s cool! Maeda and Yano said it was fine, remember?”
I had messaged those two a while back and confirmed with them. They didn’t especially seem to mind. Their reaction was more or less the same as Akira’s.
“With this, we can take down that Hadean Rose!”
“Are you sure? It’s not gonna go to waste or anything?”
“Huh? What, are you worried?”
“I mean, we used that Super Special Warp Stone and still failed. If we bomb again this time, I think morale’s gonna drop like a rock. I’m used to it, but they’re different.”
Uh, what’s with that glare?
“Umm, why such a sour face?”
“Again, I don’t mind, but I just remembered... in EF and other games, we’d spend night after night experimenting just for it to all go to waste in the end.”
“Oh, I get it. That’s how you always looked on the other side of the screen, huh?”
“Yep! Whenever I did foot-stomping emotes, or shiny-eyed excitement emotes, or wore ogre masks, I’d always make the face in real life.”
“Oh, jeez, I remember all that. That big beastman was scary as heck.”
“Maybe, but it never seemed to deter you. You’re the same way even now.”
“Pretty much. Behind every success, there are ten hidden failures! There’s no point in getting down over it!”
“Big words for the guy who didn’t get dragged into it! Whatever. I guess you’re back to normal now, huh? Even after you looked like a sad puppy earlier.”
“Heh! A lot has happened, but I’m all good now!”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s hard for me to keep up with your passion right now since you’re all hyped out of nowhere. But really... let’s make this next one the last one, okay? Everybody’s tense, and it sucks.”
“Really?”
“I mean, yeah. You sent us off in such a weird way, and we all got so fired up over winning for you that it made us pretty nervous.”
“Oh, dang.”
“But even that was because you wanted me to get the Rainbow Guard, right? I couldn’t help but feel bad. Sorry, but I just don’t think everyone can really have fun like this.”
“Hold up, now. It’d be even worse if you got yanked out of school, Akira. Everyone agrees with me, trust me. That’s why we’re all so serious about it. We can’t choose our family. It’s not your fault, not in the slightest.”
“Hahaha. How sweet of you to say that. Once this is over, I’d better do something to thank everyone.”
“Ooh! How about you invite us all to your place? Bet you’ll have some good food we’ve never tasted before. Since it’s summer vacation, how about some curry or somen noodles? I gotta have some good food once in a while!”
“Whaaat?! Do you wanna come to my house IRL? Really?!”
“Well, yeah. Not if it’s a bother, though.”
“N-No, it’s cool! It’s more like a reward for me... Um, I mean... Anyway! After we finish this dungeon, I’ll invite everyone to my house. We’ll get lots of good food ready for you!”
“Awesome! Are you sure?”
“Yeah, totally! I won’t let my parents say no! So, you promise you’ll come?”
“Heck yeah. I’m excited.”
“Me too! Now that that’s decided, let’s go hunt that Hadean Rose! Go, go, go!”
Akira was beaming as she tugged me by the arm. Before I knew it, she was even more motivated than I was.
✦ ✦ ✦
After we got back to the floating cottage, we headed off to Aswarth’s Undersea Ruins. Once again, not many people were around; they were all at the game stands, trying to get Super Special Warp Stones.
Everyone present was either here to try new strategies or to try to farm for Special and Super Special Warp Stones in Aswarth’s itself. Just bringing an SSWS alone wouldn’t be enough if there was no limit to the number of roses, though.
It was unclear whether other parties had tried it yet, but even if they failed, they wouldn’t let that information out so easily. After all, that would help other people get a leg up. If anyone was going to make it public, it would be after they cleared the dungeon. No doubt they would reveal it with smug grins on their faces, having secured the Rainbow Guard for themselves. Dammit, I wanted that to be me! I just had to improve the symbologist’s reputation!
Either way, if a method had been made clear, this place would be chock-full of people hoping to copy it. The fact that it wasn’t happening meant that the Hadean Rose had not yet been conquered.
Okay! Today, we’re gonna be the first to do it!
We had swapped Kataoka back out for me, so our members were Akira, Maeda, Yano, Akabane, Shizuku, and yours truly.
“It’s a good thing we saved up one final Special Warp Stone because the game stands are packed right now. It’d take forever to get more.”
Beating the target scores in each game yielded Special Warp Stones, which gave you an hour, twice that of the normal stones. With all the guilds interfering with the stands, you had to stand in line for eons to get one. It would’ve been a huge waste of time. While we dawdled, Emily, Yukino, or Homura’s party would easily get a leg up over us.
“Yeah. We gotta win this today!” Akira said.
“Do you have a plan?” Maeda asked me.
“Of course I do! But you’ll have to wait and see.”
“Ooh, can’t wait. I hate that stupid flower so much, I can’t wait to see it stomped into the ground!” Yano growled.
Her agitation resonated with Akabane. “I wholeheartedly agree. It’s beyond frustrating that it wasted our Super Special Warp Stone.”
“Victory is everything in these competitions,” commented Shizuku. “If you believe it will bring us victory, then I’ll expect great things.”
“Good, because that’s what you’re gonna see. Just leave it to me!”
We conversed as we approached the entrance.
“Dammiiit!”
Just then, we heard Yukino and Homura shouting in unison. The two of them ran in our direction.
What happened? Did they bring the Hadean Rose down to low health and die to something cheap?
“Hey, girls! What’s the matter?” I asked.
Akira’s brow furrowed. “Did something happen?”
“Oh! Hey Ren, Akira! Man, this game sucks butt!” Yukino complained.
“It’s clearly your fault. Reflect on your past self instead of blaming the game,” Homura admonished her.
“What? You didn’t finish either!”
“It’s different! You’re like, twice as bad as me!”
What in the world were they fighting over?
“Did the Hadean Rose do something crazy?!”
“Well, y’see—”
“Yukino, shut up! We’re competing, remember?!”
“Urk! Um, right. Sorry, Ren. You heard her.”
“Yeah, no problem. I get it.”
“Sorry, pal. Let me just say, though: it may be much worse than you all expected.”
“We’ll be fine! See, we’ve got our own plan in mind.”
Our levels were lower than theirs, so the Hadean Rose might have had different stats or attacks when they fought it. It was adjusted to have a similar difficulty at all level ranges, but we didn’t know what range might actually have it easiest. We couldn’t test it either.
“Good luck, Ren! We’re gonna head home. Later!”
“Hurry up, Yukino! We have to go now!”
Back home? Are they not gonna take a second swing at it? Maybe they have some stuff to take care of.
Either way, after seeing them off, our gang went to the entrance of Aswarth’s.
“Hey, guys! If you wanna go in, pop a Warp Stone into my mouth!” chirped the lion’s head.