Chapter 42

“Harlin is finally asleep,” Nagi said softly as she descended from the stairs that led up to the second story of the church. Yuuma nodded and checked the current time. It was 9:45 AM. They had left Shelter Sugamo at 7:30, which meant more than two hours had already passed. They wanted to get back by noon if possible, so Yuuma was hoping to decide on their next destination and get moving in fifteen minutes at most. They returned to the nave of the church, weaving their way between the petrified villagers before stepping outside. Although they were worried about leaving Harlin there all alone, seeing how young he was, Niki at least seemed unlikely to return. Yuuma spoke to the others once they had gathered in a corner of the plaza. “Mountains or swamp? What does everyone think?” “Hrmmm…hrmmm…” Kenk hemmed and hawed in an exaggerated fashion. According to what Harlin told them, the mountain people mined for gems in the rocky mountains on the other side of Lake Sumiu. Yuuma and the others might be able to get their hands on a Rubellite Needle there, but the problem with that was that Harlin had no specific idea who or what these mountain people were. If the phrase mountain people just referred to normal humans who worked in the mountains, that would be one thing, but they could be a different species, like dwarves or gnomes or even some kind of hostile monster. Plus, it would probably take a lot of time to walk all the way around the massive lake, and Yuuma couldn’t stop picturing them capsizing if they tried to row one of the little boats across the lake by themselves. On the other hand, there were also problems when it came to this so-called medicine that could cure any illness, supposedly made from a white lotus flower that bloomed in the swamp north of Thula Village. First and foremost, there was no way of knowing whether or not that medicine would actually work on petrification. And since Harlin had called it medicine, Yuuma was worried it might need to be drunk in order to have an effect—naturally, a petrified person would be incapable of eating or drinking. Yuuma was also worried about the very strong monsters that Harlin said lurked in the swamp. If they at least knew what breed of monsters were out there, that might help, but all they had been told was that the monsters were strong, meaning there was little they could do to prepare. There was also that mysterious phrase Harlin had taught them. It sounded like some sort of hint, but its meaning was unclear. Honestly, in terms of both uncertainty and difficulty, the mountains and the swamp seemed neck and neck. Yuuma was beginning to wonder if they should just roll some dice to decide, when… “I think we should go to the swamp,” Kai Kisanuki said quietly. He had been silent since arriving at the village. Yuuma glanced at Kisanuki’s face. Even in Algol, it was almost completely hidden by his bangs. “Would you tell us why?” “Of course,” Kisanuki said before switching to the same fast-talking mode he had displayed earlier at the shelter. “A medicine that cures any illness doesn’t sound like the kind of item that would be obtainable early game. My guess is there was some sort of plague event that would be triggered upon visiting the village, maybe after raising your level high enough or after tripping some flag somewhere else, which would then activate a quest to go out and get this flower from the swamp. But by turning the entire village to stone, I think Niki has fulfilled the requirements for activating the quest in an unexpected way.” Kenk had been listening quietly up until now. “That’s some crazy-level metagaming…,” he muttered quietly, in a voice too low for anyone but Yuuma to hear. Metagaming referred to when players predicted what would come next in a game, not based on information they had acquired within game but on meta information, such as what the developers were trying to do, what made sense for the scenario, or even the size and budget of the game. Many gamers avoided this style of play because it spoiled the role-playing experience. If Yuuma and his friends had to choose, they would probably consider themselves blind players, too. But now was hardly the time to be picky. Kisanuki began speaking swiftly again, interpreting Yuuma’s silence as assent. “Since we skipped the requirements, that probably means that the recommended level for the swamp quest is higher than our group’s average level, but even if the difficulty is a little high for our level, it was probably set with the assumption that the quest would be completed by a standard four-character party. With two parties, or eight people in total, our chances are probably pretty good. Under the circumstances, there’s no way to know when we will be able to form another raiding party of this size. So if we’re thinking long term, we should seize this chance while we can.” “Huh,” Chinami said once Kisanuki finally finished speaking. “You sure seem to know a lot about games. So why were you so quiet yesterday?” Kisanuki began to stammer suddenly, almost like a completely different person. “N-no… I don’t really know that much about games…” “It’s too late to get shy now, not after that whole speech you just gave!” Chinami said. “For real, though,” Hokari added with a chuckle. Even though there was nothing negative about their reactions, Kisanuki lowered his head, shrinking into silence. Hokari shrugged slightly as he turned back around, as if to ask what they should do. Yuuma thought about it for a moment before answering. “I think…Kisanuki made some pretty good points. We can always visit the mountain people the next time we dive in, but if we pass up this chance now, even if we get our hands on the flower later, the event that lets us turn it into medicine might have expired. Besides, time keeps passing in this world even after we log out. I’d like to avoid leaving Harlin alone for days on end, with the village in the state it’s in.” “That’s…a good point,” Aoi agreed in her tiny voice. Hokari and Chinami nodded as well. Yuuma already knew what Sawa, Nagi, and Kenk’s answer would be, even without looking. “It’s decided, then. The swamp it is, right, guys?” Yuuma said, checking with everyone once more to be safe. Six voices rose in agreement, but Kisanuki only nodded softly, remaining silent. After following the road that circled around behind the church, they quickly arrived at the village’s north gate. Like the southern gate, a wet marshland stretched out before the entrance, with a narrow path, about three meters wide, meandering deeper inside. But the thicker fog on this side and the bizarrely shaped water plants let them know, in no uncertain terms, that the monsters that appeared in this section of the marsh would be a step up in terms of difficulty. Additionally, the road seemed to be covered in water in places. It still looked like they would be able to pass, but there could be deep sinkholes along the way. Yuuma summoned Squeak, his Horned Great Hare, and had it take the lead, issuing it the Avoid Traps command. As they preceded along the narrow path, in double-row formation, new and unfamiliar monsters sprung up to attack, one after the next, just as they expected. The encounters were all water-type monsters, such as frogs, crayfish, and water bugs, and they jumped out of the water on either side without warning, causing Yuuma and the others to panic the first few times. But Sawa soon noticed that there were signs before the monsters appeared, such as ripples or bubbles in the water, allowing them to avoid being taken by surprise. Unfortunately, the party’s two biggest sources of damage, Sawa’s fire magic and Nagi’s water magic, were ineffective against aquatic monsters. As they made their way deeper into the marshlands, they were forced to have Sawa focus on debuffs and Nagi and Aoi on buffs and healing. Kisanuki’s summoned Rock Slime tanked while Yuuma, Kenk, Hokari, and Chinami defeated the monsters with physical attacks. With each new battle, their teamwork improved, and soon everyone rose another level as well. However, new problems also surfaced, not least of which was Aoi Soga’s performance. The starting weapon for a Priest was a crosier, a kind of iron staff with a dramatically curved head, that served as both a magic amplifier and as a blunt weapon. In other words, the Priest class was expected to be able to engage in close combat when necessary, but unlike Nagi, Aoi stayed far away from any monsters she saw, and if monsters did approach her, she quickly ran to hide behind Kenk or Hokari. They had plenty of people in their raiding group right now, and the only pure backliner among the bunch was Sawa, so it wasn’t that big of an issue if Aoi stayed off the front line, but in MMORPGs, the unexpected was always bound to happen. There could come a time when the whole party’s fate rested on Aoi’s courage. Should they camp the spawns here for a little while in order to let Aoi get used to close combat? Or should they prioritize their quest…? Yuuma was still trying to make up his mind when he realized their surroundings were beginning to change. He ordered everyone to halt in an area where the path widened out a little. “Everyone, I think we’re getting close to our destination; we should take a little break!” “Sure thing!” Nagi replied. She cast Healing Circle, which gradually healed the HP of everyone within its area of effect. Kenk and Hokari pulled out their water bottles and began drinking, while Chinami and Aoi plunked down in place. Yuuma gave Squeak a piece of dried fruit and changed its command from Avoid Traps to Guard for Monsters. The fruit resembled some sort of mango. Squeak clutched it between its paws as it nibbled. When Chinami and Aoi saw this, their previous exhaustion seemed to fly out the window. Yuuma was still watching the two girls pet the blue rabbit’s back when Sawa approached. “Hey, Yuu, that thing that Harlin said earlier. Have you figured out what it means yet?” “Harlin…? You mean with the ‘red for fire, blue for ice’ thing?” “It was the other way around. ‘Fire for red; ice for blue; fire, ice, and iron for purple.’ But what could it mean…?” “It’s hard to say…” Yuuma took another look around. The fog had grown thicker, and the marsh water looked even deeper than before. He squinted and peered around but couldn’t spot any signs of firelight. The water in the area, meanwhile, looked more black than blue. As Yuuma was still casting his eyes about in search of some clue, he spotted Kisanuki munching on something in a corner of their clearing. His Rock Slime familiar, with its amorphous rock-studded body, undulated aimlessly at his feet. Yuuma walked over toward Kisanuki. “Hey, Kisanuki, what do Rock Slimes usually eat?” “Huh…? Well…,” Kisanuki murmured, glancing down at his feet. “Apparently, feeding them rare ore and gemstones raises their Loyalty a lot, but that would be kind of a waste. If you just want to heal their HP, though, any old rocks you find lying around will do. One of the perks of slimes is how cheap they are to feed.” “Huh… But wouldn’t it still be better to raise its Loyalty stat if you can? I have a few gemstones on me, actually. Should we trying feeding it one?” Yuuma suggested offhandedly. Kisanuki’s mouth curled up in a smirk. “Don’t bother. I plan on replacing this familiar and the Lurker Slime with higher-tier mobs before long anyway. Your Horned Great Hare is only tier one, too. There’s no real point in training it up, you know.” “W-well, I guess not, but…” Unsure of what else to say, Yuuma decided to change the subject. “By the way, Kisanuki, what do you think Harlin meant by that phrase fire for red; ice for blue; fire, ice, and iron for purple?” “I think there’s no point thinking about it since we don’t have enough information,” Kisanuki said, short and to the point. He stared at Yuuma, from beneath his drooping bangs, with an accusatory look. “If you wanted to know that badly, why didn’t you wake Harlin up to ask more questions? Usually, when an NPC has information, you’re supposed to keep grilling them until they run out of dialogue and start repeating themselves.” “…” Yuuma was taken aback. Sawa interrupted from the side. “Kisanuki! Harlin is just a child. He’s maybe five or six years old. It took a lot of courage for him to tell us everything he did, after all he’s been through. Of course we weren’t going to wake him back up, not after he’d finally fallen asleep.” “A child…?” Kisanuki looked at the ground, avoiding eye contact with Sawa. There was a clear tone of disgust in his voice as he spoke, however. “That was just a very well-made NPC. One baffling hint was hardly fair payback for all those valuable treats you gave him!” “It’s not a question of payback…!” Sawa shouted. Yuuma yanked her backward by her robe and quickly stepped between them. “Thank you, Kisanuki. I’ll take that under consideration. If you notice anything else or have any other thoughts, I hope you will let us know.” Yuuma dragged Sawa away from Kisanuki, who was still pouting. He leaned in closer to his sister, who seemed dissatisfied, and whispered to her. “Sawa, what Kisanuki said isn’t wrong. If our priority really is to escape Althea, we might need to start thinking the way he does.” “…Well, I don’t like it.” Sawa snorted before yanking her robe from Yuuma’s hand and heading toward Nagi. After about ten minutes, the party completed their rest and began moving again. At some point, they realized that the characteristically marshlike spattering of algae and peat moss on the water’s surface had given way to massive floating leaves, swollen, volleyball-like water plants, and unpleasantly discolored deadwood and trees. The water was apparently shallower than they had thought at first. It looked to be about ten centimeters deep or so, but the bottom was caked with deposited mud and would undoubtedly be slippery. It wasn’t even noon yet, but the marsh was already dark and gloomy, the sun’s rays obstructed by the gray fog. Yuuma took the lead along with Squeak. Chinami came forward from the rear to speak with him. “Hey, Yuu, these large round leaves are all lotus plants.” “They are? We should start looking for a white lotus flower, then.” “Okay, but so far it doesn’t seem like any of the lotus plants are flowering.” “I understand. I’ll keep my eyes peeled as well.” Nodding, Chinami returned to her original position. As the terrain shifted from marshlands to swamp, the types of creatures inhabiting the area changed as well. The frogs, water bugs, and other animal- and insect-type monsters disappeared, and spirit-type monsters, such as wisps, mists, and phantoms, as well as gelatinous-type monsters, such as blobs, oozes, and slimes, began to attack the party with fairly high regularity. Both spirit-type and gelatinous-type creatures were annoying enemies to deal with, as they were both resistant to physical attack, but Nagi and Aoi cast Light Enhancement on the party’s weapons so that they could damage the spirits, and Sawa was able to kill most of the gelatinous creatures with a single Flame Arrow. Yuuma had a feeling Sawa’s partial demon transformation had boosted her magical attack power and MP regeneration, but that may have been a feature rather than a bug. Either way, she was finally getting a chance to vent her frustration at not having been more useful back in the marshlands. The other members lived up to their roles admirably as well, and the party was making steady progress. Aoi’s issue, however, still remained—if anything, it had only gotten worse since entering the swamp. The spirit- and gelatinous-type monsters seemed to freak Aoi out even more than the other monsters, and while she was able to function well enough as a Priest, so long as the monsters stayed far away from her, as soon as one came within a meter of her, she would just scream and cower in place. She didn’t seem as bothered by Kisanuki’s Rock Slime, which was covered with solid matter all over its surface, so clearly the issue was mostly mental. But that was precisely what made it so difficult to overcome in a short period of time. Right now, Algol felt more real than even reality. The slightest brush with the transparent mist creatures left behind a slick chill that penetrated the skin and caused goose bumps, while the raw, gunky stench of the ooze, which the slimes splattered in every which direction, stuck to their faces, making them want to retch. Aoi had barely ever even played traditional games before, let alone VR. Yuuma knew it was a lot to expect her to get over how gross these things were, right off the bat… But seeing her get worse with every battle instead of better was starting to make him lose his cool. He wished she would at least try harder. Yuuma was worried that Hokari was going to lose his patience before long… But surprisingly, the first person to break wasn’t Hokari. It was Chinami Nushiro. “Are you serious right now, Aoi?” she said after their tenth fight since entering the swamp ended, wheeling about on Aoi in a fury. “What happened to all that stuff you said back at the shelter? Did you even mean it when you said you wanted to get stronger so you could save Yukimi? Look, I know Sugamo was the one to volunteer you, but you decided to come yourself in the end, right? No one’s asking you to step up to the front and fight, but can you at least do your job right as a Priest!” Chinami was about two centimeters shorter than Aoi, but after Chinami’s scolding, Aoi seemed to shrink, like she wanted to make herself even smaller. She answered Chinami in a faltering voice. “I…I know… I want to fight just like everyone else. But…my body won’t do what I tell it to to…” Aoi hung her head, as heavy tears began to drip down her face. Chinami softened slightly and spoke again. “You know that these spirits and slimes aren’t real. They’re just game monsters… Data created by a computer somewhere in Althea.” “B-but…,” Aoi said, her voice growing fainter and yet somehow more earnest than before. “There really are demons now, right? So…the monsters in this world could be real, too.” “Soga…,” Yuuma cut in reflexively. “You haven’t been hearing your demon’s voice, have you…?” Aoi was silent for a second or two before nodding. “Last night…after we went to bed at the shelter, I heard a voice in my head. It said I’m not good enough to help Yukimi yet but that we could become stronger together. I covered my ears and said, ‘Go away, go away,’ over and over again… The next thing I knew, it was morning, so I thought maybe it was just a dream, but now I know that it wasn’t. Because…just now…” Still speaking in a faltering voice, Aoi was about to say more…when a tepid breeze suddenly blew in from somewhere across the swamp, clearing away the surrounding fog. Next came a pop, pop, like several large bubbles being burst, while Squeak, who was standing at Yuuma’s feet, began to squeal—the sound it reserved for its most dire warnings. “Something big is coming! Everyone, get ready for a fight!” Yuuma shouted as he readied his Darkiron Shortsword in his right hand and thrust his left hand forward, preparing to cast. Yuuma’s shadow magic skill had increased enough for him to learn the versatile Dim Star spell. He scanned their surroundings for some sign of the monster as he pressed his tongue against the back of his teeth, just like you would to pronounce the T sound. He was now ready to chant the word of power for the dark element, tenebris, at a moment’s notice.