<h4>Volume 2, Chapter 5</h4>


    Trantor: Einbedo


    Editor: Weasalopes


    _______________________________________________________________


    「Don’t mean toe off as picky but…」


    「But?」


    「All these food items they’re offensive to the eye.」


    「Oh that.」


    Everyone silently nodded in agreement, not having much to add to Tatsuya’s observation. They were sinking their teeth into some beefy-legged salmon – a type of salmon characterized by their muscr legs which were sturdy enough to run up entire cliffs had the need arised, thus the name. Taking this factor into consideration it was hardly surprising why no one felt it necessary to raise their voices in objection.


    While there was a real life equivalent of salmon that most are familiar with they were currently out of season, the beefy-legged salmon, on the other hand, were conveniently in-season. There were still around two weeks of time before the run kicked into full gear but some impatient early starters that wanted to get ahead of the curve had already put on their running shoes


    「Wouldn’t you find it a tad bit off putting if the salmon in your rice ball looked like, whatever this is supposed to be?」


    「I means ya gots beefy-armed salmon runnin’ amuck which means they ain’t some freak ident so how ’bout ya cut them some ck, eh?」


    「First of all why is it that different body part variations even exist to begin with? Clearly whatever evolutionary purpose they were meant to serve would have been carried out more efficiently with a full set of limbs, kind of like a gill-man.」


    「Now that you mention it, that is odd, isn’t it?」


    Makoto concurred with Tatsuya’s astute observation. If they had just went down the gill-man route it would’ve been a lot easier to maintain suspension of disbelief then when they’re so bizarrely incoherent on a fundamental level.


    「Gill-man, you say?」


    「What about it?」


    「Do you think they’d taste good?」


    「First of all no, second of all why’s that the very first question to pop up in your mind?」


    「Before we buckle down ta discussin’ that I thinks it’d be worthwhile ta ponder the moral dilemma if it was to hypothetically be consider a humanoid.」


    Hiroshi voiced his concern just as the conversation on whether or not gill-man meat would taste good began picking up steam. Makoto and Tatsuya began pondering on the matter.


    「That’s a good question.」


    「Well if it could convey its will with words it’d be a humanoid, if it acted blindly on feral instinct alone then it’d be a monster, or something along those lines?」


    「That sounds like a good startin’ point although I thinks you’re forgettin’ that even some monsters are technically considered humanoid.」


    「Well if we were to extend our definition of humanoid to include goblins and the ilk there’d be a high chance that they’d getbelled as such.」


    The group took this abstract food for thought andpletely gorged on it. A more down to earth person would only begin to worry about such philosophical conundrums once the necessity arose but they were anything but.


    「I’m starting to think that maybe there are too many unountable variables to reach a conclusion on this one without seeing the real thing in action.」


    「Sounds about right.」


    Their heated discussion ended with a very obvious realization. The only consensus they did manage to gather is that if it did turn out to be a monster they’d definitely be all over that meat.


    「Now, back to the matter at hand.」


    「Hmm?」


    「I think it’d be a really nice change in pace toe across produce that’s just normal in every sense of the word and is not in any way going to self-destruct when cooked improperly or is not a beefed up fish but only in parts. What do you all think?」


    「It’s a fantasy setting, anything goes.」


    Haruna blurted out a remark that would make any fantasy writer worth their salt turn in their grave.


    「Haruna, If I could just say one thing.」


    「Yes? What is it?」


    「Just because it’s fantasy doesn’t give it the right to have no internal logical coherence」


    「I mean, what other exnation do you propose?」


    At that moment Tatsuya had to restrain himself from repeating the same point he had made but louder and in a more fed-up tone. Fantasy settings as a whole, across all mediums, didn’t exactly go around making up all kinds of in-universe edibles instead opting to use whatever was native to earth. The farthest they’d possibly go would be counting dragon meat as an edible but under no circumstances would a root lotus that posed a serious life threat, if one was to rub it the wrong way, ever exist.


    「This has been on my mind for quite some time now but how exactly are you all okay with oh so casually digging in on food made from fluorescent green vegetables without a single care in the world?」


    「Oh, that? We got used to that kind of thing in about a month’s time.」


    「Ya and Mio might not be aware but summer’s in-season produce is, for the most part, not for the faint of heart.」


    「So that’s why Makoto didn’t find any of this off-putting, huh?」


    「Something like that.」


    Tatsuya and Mio got sucked just in time for September – a time where mostly produce native to earth are in-season. That’s why they didn’t get the chance to get familiar with all those fever-dream like veggies and fruits, meanwhile the others were ‘fortunate’ enough to reach Wull’s in midsummer – a time where rusted up metallic cabbage-like things and veiny, beefy-looking watermelons were at their peak freshness. Although prevent rot could keep out of season produce fresh it could only go so far and that’s why the city market was, as expected, mostly dealing in in-season produce and the asional cereal. Without implementing these into one’s diet there was only so much variety an average meal course could have, not to mention that food expenses would also go up significantly.


    That’s why Hiroshi and Haruna decided that it was about time to get over their fears and simply started trying every single one of them out left and right. This little habit has stuck with them to this day, what with them trying their luck at serving whatever they can get their hands on. As for Makoto she managed to throw away any pickiness she had left in her by the time she got with Haruna by haphazardously trying out everything that was put in front of her in a Russian roulette fashion. Due to a personality quirk of hers Makoto was always hell-bent on cleaning out her te, no matter the cost and well, the rest is history.


    Because the two never had to go through such excruciating pains to get a bite to eat and due to the fact that they had professional cooks making meals for them, neither Tatsuya nor Mio were ever in a position where they had to step out of their tastefort zone. In Mio’s case she at least had the whole food taster and cooking thing going for her meanwhile Tatsuya, who didn’t engage in either, never even really had a chance toy eyes on any of that bizzaro produce.


    In a sense him grumbling about this was indicative of his privileged position.


    「Ya can get wyvern meat down ya throat just fain but the moment some slightly ominous looking veggie hits the table ya suddenly lose it now?」


    「Wyverns are staple fantasy creatures, rock boar meat wasn’t offensive to the eye.」


    「If you’re going to be bringing up the fantasy card whenever it’s convenient for you what’s stopping us from doing the same?」


    They grinned upon hearing Haruna’s retort. She wasn’t off by any means, after all, who’s going to argue that say some brightly colored tuft of grass doesn’t fall in line with the spirit of fantasy? What they are likely to get hung up on is using that grass as an edible, that’s not really a thing in most fantasy settings.


    「Tatsuya I think it’d be a wiser move to just ept things as they are.」


    「Guess so.」


    「That being said I do think it’d be a nice change in pace if the ingredients we happen toe across were pleasantly surprising like maitake or bok choy back home for once instead of the, well, usual.」


    Makoto voiced her nostalgic memories of some of the ingredients that were once unavable in Japan which became widely essible after advances in agricultural and transportation technologies.


    「I don’t think that’s as a far cry as you might think.」


    「Darl and Forre might have what you’re looking for.」


    「That’s one heck of a distance we’d have to cover…」


    Tatsuya said with a thousand yard stare, directed at nothing in particr. The elf vige’s produce was, for the most part,pletely normal, although the few bad apples stuck out like a sore thumb in Tatsuya’s eyes who’s suspension of disbelief wasn’t as developed as the rest quite yet.


    「Enuff with a this food talk, we have better things to be worryin’ about.」


    「Not likeining’s gonna get me anywhere, I suppose. Fine, I’ll drop the issue.」


    Tatsuya begrudgingly dropped the issue. Hiroshi wasn’t exactly known for being this direct but when it came to more urgent matters it’s as though he’d switch into responsible hero mode.


    「How’re things movin’ along on ya’lls end?」


    「Well we’ve managed to clear out all the hunter trees from spots where they might cause some real damage.」


    「That and we’ve frozen any man eater roots we could find through good old manualbor, except the ones blocking off the entrance to the temple.」


    「Sounds like you’ve been makin’ progress.」


    Tatsuya and Mio travelled all the way from the elf vige to the goblin, forest giant and fairy viges and cleared out any hunter trees along the way that might’ve posed a threat to passing by vigers. Forest giants had a high chance of escaping with their lives in tact but goblins and fairies, due to their smallish stature, were particrly vulnerable to not only hunter trees but man eaters as well.


    Any other animal type monster they just left to be. For one it would take an unreasonable amount of time to thin out all of their numbers not to mention the potentially devastating impact this might have on the local ecosystem.


    「And how are things on your end?」


    「It be nearin’pletion, so long as everythin’ goes ordin’ to n those things’ll be wiped clean off the face of the earth.」


    「Well aren’t you making strides. When are we be going to be carrying out this n of yours?」


    「If everythin’ goes smoothly tomorrow mornin’. There’s no guarantee that’ll be the end of it though, so you’d better prepare for the worst.」


    They nodded in affirmation. Whether it’s a game or a story events like this never just end peacefully, there’s always a catch. While there weren’t any tangible signs of it being a part of some bigger conspiracy it was a stretch to believe that it just urred naturally without any underlying cause.


    「If we’re going to be preparing for the worst what kind of worst do you have in mind? Personally I don’t think we’re walking into any sort of scheme, so we canfortably cross that one off.」


    「Based on experience I’d say there’s a good likelihood we might walk into a forest dungeon.」


    「Mind borating?」


    「Don’t you find it odd how eerily peaceful it is despite the man eater infestation?」


    Hiroshi and Harunatched on to the argument and began solemnly nodding. It was rather odd how that many carnivorous nts managed to maintain their numbers for close to thirty years at this point withoutpletely impregnating the environment with their miasma. From what Hiroshi and Mio had gathered, the local feng shui wasn’t in line with the path to the temple, which meant that the miasma exuded by the man eaters was being used for something other than contaminating the feng shui.


    「Now that ya mention it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if the path just spontaneously lead into a dungeon, all the building blocks are there.」


    「That’s why I’ll need you and Mio to think of an escape n in case things do go south.」


    「Aye, will do.」


    「Roger.」


    The two decided to put their trust in Makoto’s assessment. Even if it proved to be off the mark it’s always better to be safe than sorry.


    「Well then, I suppose we better get back to business. Me and Makoto will be scouting out the area, Hiro’s gonna be busy with his thing and Haruna and Mio are… What are you two going to be doing?」


    「I’ll prep for a dungeon run.」


    「I guess I’ll help out with the farm work.」


    「That settles that then.」


    They nodded in agreement and began going their own ways. If everything went as nned their five day stay at the elf vige was about toe to an end.


    「Would ya lookie here, either my eyes are yin’ tricks on me or I’m seein’ a weess, sweet as a pea, tendin’ to the crop.」


    「Ya don’t get to see that every day, now do ya?」


    「’Tis times like these that make me wanna thank the lord for not lettin’ these ol’ bones of mine to wither away quite yet.」


    Haruna let out a stifledugh at the vocal admiration thrown her way by the elven folk who were tending to their crop. ‘Sweet as a pea’ implied her being on the cute side of the beauty spectrum which, in a vacuum, could be seen as a pure heartedpliment, if not for the fact that it came out of the mouths from members of a race unanimously known for their childishly pureplexions, and the fact that they were all lecherous old hags deep down.


    「If that wasn’t heartwarmin’ enough, this one’s an experienced cook, she is.」


    「One that doesn’t shy away from incorporatin’ some of the more, how should I put it, visually repulsive local produce in her repertoire.」


    「There be no such thing as bad ingredients, only bad cooks.」


    Haruna, having carefully picked out her words, cordially thanked them. Had she tickled their fancy with an overly enthusiastic response further teasing would have ensued.


    「Have ya ever considered weddin’ anyone from the vige?」


    「Malga’s boyo’s still a bachelor.」


    「So is Addo’s.」


    「Senegal’s wifey disappeared without a trace after hearin’ out their revtion.」


    Even the highly conservative rural elfmunities had trouble sufficiently enticing the female poption to marry into a bunch of farmhands. Haruna, not wanting to linger on a depressing reality of the rural lifestyle, interjected.


    「Will you be thinning these out?」


    「Hmm, well ’tis hard to say at this point in taim but I suppose doin’ so wouldn’t hurt.」


    「Will this grow into a healthy crop even if not immediately nted?」


    「Depends heavily on the temperature and soil quality but not to the extent that it’d only survive under the most ideal of conditions.」


    「In that case may I take those off your hands?」


    They were caughtpletely off guard by Haruna’s abrupt request.


    「’Tis no skin off our backs but what do ya n on usin’ ’em for? If ya don’t mind me askin’.」


    「Once we’ve finished our business here we’ll be taking a few experts on Lars wheat back to Wulls to share said expertise, so I figured we may as well make use of our test garden while we’re at it.」


    「Fair enuff. I s’ppose ya will be wantin’ as much we can spare?」


    「If it’s not too much trouble.」


    The elves began poring over their supply of thinned out ntlings, selectively picking out all the nicer looking ones.


    「How’s this look?」


    「That’ll be plenty. Thank you so very much.」


    「Don’t mention it. If ya hadn’t taken ’em off our hands they’d either be rottin’ in the garbage or be startin’ off a new life as fertilizer. I’m sure they’re the ones who’re the most grateful.」


    「Won’t they have wilted away by the time ya get there?」


    「We’ve got teleportation stones on hand so that’s a non-issue.」


    The elves winced at the mention of teleportation stones. Even they were aware what amodity tp stones were and yet Haruna was fully intent on using them all willy-nilly like as if it was no big deal.


    「Teleportation stones, ya say?」


    「Are ya sure there’s not a more practical use for it?」


    「I appreciate the concern but if we ever were to run out we’ll just have Hiroshi prepare another batch.」


    They were leftpletely dumbfounded at the reveal.


    「The boy’s one ‘eck of a talented kid, ain’t ‘e?」


    「You can say that again. I don’t believe you’d find a single craftsman better than Hiroshi at what he does even if you were to search the entire globe.」


    「Mortifyin’.」


    「Ya took the words right outta my mouth.」


    「I’d say you were being overly dramatic but in this case that’s kind of to be expected.」


    Haruna evaluated their reactions and deemed them to be perfectly reasonable. Expecting anyone to take the info at face value was a fool’s errand – Hiroshi was but a human and a fairly young one at that, on a pure numbers basis the hours he could’ve physically put into crafting were meagerpared to that of other, longer lived races.


    「Oh, and another thing.」


    「Aye?」


    「We were thinking about setting up a teleportation circle in this here vige, how do you all feel about that?」


    「Teleportation circle, you say?」


    「Do we even really need one?」


    With just two words a disturbance was caused. The rural elvenmunity might’ve been simple, honest folk but even they weren’t unaware of the potential damage a teleportation circle could do to their vige. The only reason they were able to protect themselves from outside treats was because their vige was cleverly located in the middle of god knows where in the southern forest, which was massive in scale. TP stones and TP circles essentially nullified the one thing they had going for them.


    TP stones they were willing to let slide – they only allowed for so much carrying capacity, getting hold of one was no small task and, to top it all off, they were ssified as a consumable. No one in their right mind would ever think to execute an all-out attack n with just TP stones and even if they did, so long as the line-up of baddies weren’t too ridiculously powerful, elves could handle them with rtive ease.


    As for TP circles all of those aforementioned downsides were inapplicable. Granted while they didn’t allow for the simultaneous transportation of arge number of people like teleportation gates did, they did, however, allow a potentially infinite amount of people to teleport to a designed location just by using up a fraction of their mp and they could bring along whatever extra equipment they needed, so long as it fit nicely, along with them.


    What most concerning to the vigers was that the TP circle, unlike TP stones, allowed people who had never even been physically present in that particr space to easily make their way over.


    「Well, I never really expected you all to blindly ept without being provided with all the fine details.」


    「Ya had us worried there for a moment.」


    「The teleportation circle will lead into our workshop, that way we’ll be able to port over whatever personnel and equipment we need for the cultivation of Lars wheat and it’ll be useful for the asional recreational visit. We could just use teleportation stones to the same effect but that feels needlessly wasteful and inconvenient.」


    「It would certainly be nice ta have easy ess to Wull’s…」


    「Is there any chance of your so called workshop bein’ taken over and used as a gateway for stormin’ our vige?」


    「This whole area would fall before anybody got their hands on our workshop.」


    Haruna stated with an air of unwavering certainty. For one if the Azuma workshop was ever to be taken over that would signify a foreign force overthrowing the royal family. Secondly some serious firepower would be needed in order to break through the workshop’s defenses, the kind that could only reasonably be afforded by Barold and his associates and by the time they got there the entirety of Fane would’ve already been infested with miasma. The vige’s feng shui was directly connected to that of Wull’s, so naturally if Wull’s fell, the vige would fall alongside it.


    「Also by ying around with the settings a bit it’s possible to block off ess to anyone attempting to use the circle without our explicit permission.」


    「Fair enuff but what if someone was to overwrite those settins, hypothethically speakin’?」


    「Well for that hypothethical scenario to ur the one doing the overwriting would have to have an armyrge enough to crush Fane’s Knight Order, get past the workshop’s security and, not to mention, they themselves would have to possess enough technical expertise to rival the world’s greatest craftsman. If all of these factors happen to somehowe together your vige would be in certain peril regardless of whether there’s ess to a teleportation circle or not.」


    「That be so?」


    「There’s only one group capable of pulling something as grandiose, as far as I’m aware, and they’d be much more likely to start off by contaminating the entire nation’s feng shui before taking any other action.」


    Haruna dered remembering Barold’s immense physical and magicalbat capabilities. Judging from his overall demeanor it was fair to assume that he was undoubtedly close to the bottom of the food chain within the group. At best possibly a project leader, at worst an overseer but either which way even someone as small, in the grand scheme of things, as him was powerful enough to singlehandedlyy waste to a city around the size of Wull’s. If more than one of him were to attempt to overtake the workshop there would be a good chance they might just seed.


    However if they were truly out to contaminate Fane’s feng shui and wreak general havoc on the country they could’ve easily done so by now multiple times over, but they didn’t. That could only lead to the conclusion that they had other, more grandiose ns in mind that necessitated an oddly convoluted way of approaching things.


    It’s just that even the groups weakest members are powerful enough to singlehandedlyy waste to at least of couple of towns, so if they came at us with the intent of taking over no matter the cost, there’d probably be nothing stopping them from doing just that.


    「Freaks like that exist?」


    「Well we’ve cleared out the ones in Wull’s but they were all bottom feeders.」


    「If what ya be sayin’ is true ya must be real powerful.」


    「The whole reason we’re here is to gain further leads on the group.」


    They turned to one another to see how they all felt about the issue. They knew that Haruna wasn’t the kind of person to lie in such an unbelievable manner and they knew for a fact that Hiroshi’s craftsmanship far exceeded what would be expected from someone his age but the scope of their story was simply too grand for simple farm folk to make a definitive choice.


    「This ain’t a decision for us to make, regrettably.」


    「We’ll try an’ talk things through with the vige mayor and the other elders.」


    「Take all the time you need, no worries. We can discuss this once me and the group get back from Aranwen’s temple.」


    They nodded in agreement and went right back to what they were doing. The fact that they were able to seamlessly transition from serious conversation to cracking dirty jokes on the spot, at seemingly the snap of a finger, made Haruna realize just how painfully set in their less than admirable ways the vigers really and truly were.


    「There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask.」


    The very next morning, on the day the group was nning on clearing out the path the temple, Artiem hesitatingly asserted her thoughts.


    「Hmm?」


    「What be the matter?」


    「Can Ie along?」


    They all nkly stared back,pletely oblivious as to what spurted on this abrupt request of hers.


    「If you can make a good enough case for yourself.」


    「And provide detailed info on yourbat capabilities.」


    They didn’t want to make an uninformed judgment, so they decided on hearing what she has to say for herself before thoroughly scrutinizing her request.


    「First ya will have ta exin the cause for this sudden change of heart.」


    Aranwen spoke out to mest night.


    「Hmm, that sounds oddly familiar, almost like a certain somebody…」


    Murmured Mio while pretending to have forgotten the identity of this certain somebody who was, needless to say, everyone’s favorite princess priestess currently responsibly carrying out her duties back over at Wulls.


    「Would you mind being more specific?」


    「He told me to apany all of you to the temple.」


    「No beatin’ ’round the bush with those clear cut instruction, aye? If only ‘e had the courtesy ta provide some exnation.」


    「If only.」


    Even the divine words of a deity were subject to the groups relentless scrutinizing. They weren’t nitpicky without good reason as there was a very real possibility of Artiem getting hurt carrying out his orders.


    「He didn’t touch on that, although…」


    「Although?」


    「He spoke to me just now…」


    Theedic timing on that was so impable that it momentarily left the group at a loss for words. Artiem was not to me in this instance as itid squarely on the shoulders of the trolly deity who was purposefully aiming for the perfect opportunity to get a rise out of them.


    「Ya ain’t the guilty party ‘ere, no need ta beat yourself o’er it. Anyways, let’s just focus on what he said for now.」


    「Thank you for being understanding. He said something along the lines of ‘On the off chance that you fail toply to my demand consider your trial failed and your right to address me forfeit’」


    「Are all deities over here like that or what gives?」


    「Well if we go by Greek mythology they’re not that far off from how one would usually carry itself.」


    Haruna responded to Tatsuya’s thoughts on the matter with lighthearted jest. Their knowledge of mythology wasn’t all that deep because if it was they’d be aware of the fact that this kind of deity character type wasn’t all too umon in polytheistic religions.


    「What do you mean by ‘all’, if you don’t mind me asking.」


    「Back at Wulls there was this Alfeminady who made her presence much too apparent, to the point of desentization.」


    「She’d find the flimsiest of reasons to pop on in and make oddly specific demands even when we had nothing going on at the time.」


    「We weren’t all too pious folk to begin with and her innateck of conventional deity characteristics certainly didn’t make matters any better.」


    「Would it kill her to put on an air of divine dignity for once in her life?」


    Artiem was silently befuddled hearing Alfemina being vocally berated. In her worldview it only made sense that if the goddess of space and time itself was fairly casual in her demeanor that other lower ranking gods such as Aranwen would take on some of that yfulness. Exining this line of logic, however, was ultimately pointless to a bunch of outsiders who had different expectations on what a deity was supposed to represent.


    「I don’t really see how we have a choice in the matter.」


    「We’re gonna be wantin’ to reserve an appointment with the guy and that ain’t happenin’ unless we cave in to his demands.」


    「There still remains the issue of yourbat capabilities. How well do you think you can handle yourself in a fight?」


    Getting to know this factor was essential as, depending on Artiem’s answer, their entire game n could be flipped on its head. Aplete novice would require special attention from the group and even if she was an experienced fighter they’d still need to effectively incorporate her toolset to synergize with the rest of the group.


    「So long as it doesn’t get into melee range I can take on a razor-fanged jaguar just fine.」


    「Speakin’ from experience, I’ll assume? Weren’t ya lucky to get off scot free.」


    「I was lucky enough to be in a group at the time, so just before it got all close and personal healing spells were already being pre-cooked. If there’s anything that experience thought me is that I should probably keep a more than ample distance away from a monster as physically powerful as the razor-fanged jaguar.」


    「A logical conclusion most would reach.」


    「There exist anomalies such as say Chette or Janna, both olddies who can go toe to toe with one.」


    This news was nothing short of surprising to the group. It didn’tst long, however, as although elves weren’t typically associated with being particrly physically powerful the ones in this vige would routinely do farm work in full te armor, so it wasn’t too far of a stretch to reasonably believe that some of them may very well overpower a razor-fanged jaguar in a one v one scenario.


    「Anomalies are, well, anomalies. Comparing yourself to them isn’t going to do anyone any good.」


    「The important thing is that we now have a general gist of what yer capable of in a fight. All we need ta know now is yer preferred fighting style.」


    「I’m an elemental archer capable of infusing my arrows with the might of all four core elements. I keep my enemies at a distance with and if that fails and my dead zone’s been breached I’ve always got my trusty kukri to fall back on.」


    「So, to put it simply, a variation of Mio’s role.」


    「That’s a bit redundant…」


    That was their initial impression of Artiem’s self-described abilities. Role wise she’d belong to the backline lineup but unlike Mio she wasn’t proficient in close quarterbat and was more skill than basic attack based.


    「How are you with traps?」


    「Indoor traps I can sort of handle, outdoor traps I’m pretty good at.」


    「That part also oveps.」


    「While it might ovep at least we can take sce in the fact that character type wise they’replete pr opposites.」


    「Sorry for existing…」


    Tatsuya might have not intended it toe across that way but his words carried the nuance of Artiem’s character being superior not just personality but physical feature wise as well, a devastating blow to Mio’s ego. She stared at her underdeveloped chest area in defeat. She had grand delusions of it one day developing into a B cup but as it stood it was a high AA at best.


    「Well anyways, we’ll need ta slightly adjust our game n with this new information in mind.」


    Hiroshi got back on topic as though nothing ever happened. The other members didn’t want to linger on an ufortable topic either so they all went along. Makoto, however, was gently patting Mio on the head, perfectly showcasing her high emotional intelligence through action alone.


    「What do you have in mind?」


    「We’ll have ta test out Artiem’s ability in a an actualbat scenario and once we’ve done that I was thinkin’ of fashionin’ her a brand new set of leather armor along with a bow.」


    「Where are you going to get the materials for a bow?」


    「Hunter trees’ll do the trick.」


    Tatsuya and Makoto could barely hold back from audibly expressing their amusement at Hiroshi’s usual old self. That being said Artiem’s equipment was in desperate need of upgrades so this side of his would not go under appreciated.


    The equipment used by elves was at the very least three whole ranks below what they had on them.


    「But before a that we should get toyin’ out the seeds first.」


    「I’ll help out.」


    「Me too.」


    「Why don’t we all just go? There’s a lot of ground to cover either way.」


    Makoto’s idea caught on so they all ended up helping Hiroshi out with the endeavor. Doing it that way made a lot more sense because they had to nt the seeds right at the roots of the man eater and in a group of two where one’s got the other’s back while they’re busy doing their thing, the whole process would flow a heck of a lot more smoothly. It would also make sure that Artiem wouldn’t get into another one of her signature troubles.


    「Wowie.」


    「They’re squeezing real tight, aren’t they? Gulp.」


    「Some of them have begun yfully nibbling as well. Oh my.」


    As such they managed to avoid any Artiem rted issues by a hair’s breadth and watched on as the seeds sprouted in the blink of an eye and began to make quick work of the man eaters. The nt, which resembled a tree with vines for branches, would uproot the man eaters and either put them in a cobra lock like maneuver or begin chewing the life out of them. Upon taking care of one it itself would immediately shrivel up and die. The sight was oddly satisfying to watch since there was a slight dy between when each of them were nted, making it so that the nts shriveled up one by one in a nice, orderly fashion. What was even more astounding is how the surrounding nt life didn’t get caught in any of the crossfire.


    「How on earth did you get them to grow like that, what kind of sorcery is this?」


    「High end science gets mistaken for sorcery all too often, ‘Tis just selective breedin’ at work ‘ere.」


    「I’m still not fully convinced that some matter of sorcery wasn’t involved in that process.」


    Makoto’sment resonated with the rest of crew who, simrly, found the whole thing to be absurd.


    「How about we start getting a move on?」


    「Aye, no point in dilly dallyin’ much longer.」


    It had already been two hours since the man eaters gotpletely demolished by Hiroshi’s experimental nt type. Once Artiem received her new and improved gear, Tatsuya urged the remaining party members into action. The timing wasn’t ideal as lunch was only an hour away but if their departure was to be dyed any further it would already be toote into the day to be strategically wise to do so.


    「How long’s the journey going to be?」


    「Around thirty minutes give or take, so long as we don’t run into anything along the way.」


    「I think it’s fair to assume that even in the best case scenario we’ll be running into something and so long as that something isn’t a dungeon it’ll take us maybe an extra thirty or so minutes to make it there.」


    「Just in time for lunch as well, so long as it’s not a dungeon.」


    「Artiem’s rough estimate was made slightly less rough via a reality check. They were almostpletely certain that some form of danger was around the corner, whether they liked it or not.」


    「If we’re to assume there’s gonna be some dungeon delvin’ involved me thinks it’d be appropriate to fill up our stomachs while we still can.」


    「No sessful dungeon run can be done on an empty stomach.」


    Makoto nodded to Hiroshi’s and Mio’s suggestion. Taking one’s sweet time to chow down in a dungeon simply wasn’t a usible feat due to monster respawns which made it so that even if they were to clear out a suitable area from a campsite it wouldn’t stay that way for long enough to enjoy a fully-fledged, stomach-pleasing meal. At best a light snack would be all they could reasonably spare the time for.


    There was a substantially high probability that they were walking into a dungeon which meant that lunch might very well be thest proper meal they get to enjoy until the whole ordeal came to a close. They were more fortunate than the average adventurer in the sense that they had ess to apact source of portable nutrition butpared to thevish meals they were used to eating on a regr basis they werecking in a sense.


    「Some final checks are in order.」


    「Haruna proimed just as everyone had finished packing their stuff.」


    「Have you ced your potions on the quickbar?」


    「Naturally.」


    「Have you packed rope, kukris, sickles, ice axes and regr axes in case of emergency?」


    「Aye, got that end covered.」


    「Have you stocked up on pomey’s?」


    「Yup.」


    Haruna inspected each member individually. This whole procedure mighte off as one big joke, especially considering how oddly worded one of the answers was, but it was those fine little details that could trip up even the most experienced of adventurers due to a simpleck of orderliness.


    「Andst but not least, have you all remembered to pack consumables?」


    「As if we’d ever forget.」


    「That settles that then. Hope you’re all mentally prepared because we’re heading off.」


    They finally took off after all the preliminary inspection had been taken care of. Artiem’s initial thirty minute estimate proved to be far off as the path to the temple was teeming with monsters. All of the encounters did prove useful for Artiem to get a feel for the group dynamic so they weren’t much of an issue, what did stunt their progress was the overgrown nt life that wasn’t feeling all too cooperative.


    「We’ve been trudgin’ along for quite some time now and we’ve got little ta show for it.」


    「That’s to be expected from a path that’s been untrecked for thirty years now.」


    The tedium inducing trudge through the grass that was moving along at a snail’s pace, finally got some of the party members to grumble about their state of affairs. If it wasn’t for either Artiem leading the way or Hiroshi and Mio discovering the remnants of a path long forsaken they’d have much more pressing issues toin about.


    「How far have we made it?」


    「About three fourths of the way there.」


    「We were this close, if only the dungeon had waited a bit longer before barging in uninvited.」


    「Eh?」


    Artiem, in reaction to Makoto’s words, began to frantically scan through the area. Makoto let a slight grin slip past her for a moment but immediately switched back into serious mode and began exining.


    「See that space over there? If you look closely enough you’ll notice that it’s slightly distorted.」


    「Eh?」


    「If I and Tatsuya were able to take notice you, an elf, with your much more developed sensory organs, should be able to pick it up.」


    Artiem began intently focusing on the general area pointed out by Makoto. After about thirty seconds she noticed a barely visible spatial contortion just as it happened and kept focusing on that exact same spot for a little while.


    「I-t’s distorting!」


    「Told you.」


    「How did you manage to spot such a minor contortion with such uracy in such a short span of time?」


    「Luck mostly. Knowing that there was most likely a dungeon around I was sort of trying to probe around for proof of its existence and I just happened toe upon it.」


    「I also had that preconceived notion but didn’t catch on…」


    「You’ve never even been in a dungeon, not to mention the type that’s capable of bending reality to this extent.」


    Artiem nodded to Makoto’s observation. It wasn’t just an Artiem thing either, neither of the races residing around the area had any dungeon experience to speak of.


    「You make it sound like you have experience in such dungeons.」


    「I do, but it was a one-time thing. The dungeon was still fresh so neither the bosses nor the trash posed any real threat. Despite this the payout was rather juicy and the quest reward items weren’t half bad either, which was real nice considering how broke I was at the time.」


    「Makes sense.」


    Tatsuya was left convinced by Makoto’s answer. In reality, although she did make a convincing case, her picking up on the abnormality was a stroke of pure luck. If she hadn’t know that they might be heading head first into a dungeon she likely would have never taken notice. Tatsuya’s case was also simr but his perception stat just barely edged out Haruna’s, which put him at the top of the pecking order.


    「Welp, now that we’vee across the dungeon entrance I propose another refueling session.」


    「Seconded.」


    「Not like it could hurt.」


    Since they’ve managed to locate the dungeon without any hitches it only made sense to stop and have onest meal so that the run would go as smoothly as possible.


    「I think we should make some distance between us and the whole spatial distortion before we think about anything else.」


    「Aye, god knows what might ‘appen while we’re peacefully chowin’ down on our food.」


    The remaining members agreed to Makoto’s proposal and made ample distance between themselves and the dungeon entrance, so that even if Artiem were to pull one of her signature physics defying maneuvers they wouldn’t identally zone into the dungeon, and began getting to work. The work involved cutting the grass, which towered well above any of their heights, down to an eptable size to make room for a pic nket. Nothing tooplicated all in all.


    「How does this look?」


    「That’ll do just fine.」


    「I’ve already sort ofe to terms with this reality of an adventurer’s life but it’s still surreal how it’s yed up to be this chain of never ending thrill and excitement when most if it is just, well, this.」


    「Aye, what lousy fantasy work would have their characters tediously and uneventfully make their way towards a dungeon situated smack-dab in the middle of some forest.」


    「Exactly, although someone’s got to do it, it would be too much to ask the state to deal with these kinds of dungeons as they pop up from a logistical viewpoint.」


    Tatsuya and Makoto found Haruna’s urate remark rather humorous. Someone certainly had to take care of it as these types of dungeons would pop up at seemingly random and, if left uncleared, would continue to expand indefinitely. Needless to say nobody wanted things to get too out of hand so someone would just eventually deal with them.


    In-game these randomly spawning dungeons woulde in the form of limited time events. The conditions for them to end were varied but on the whole they either ended once a certain amount of time has passed or when the instance has been cleared by arge enough amount of yers.


    Although there were cases, like the stairway to hell event which was, well, pretty hellish, where all the yers server wide had to work together towards unlocking the final boss by seizing certain areas and clearing all the dungeon quests. After all of that hard work the final boss would be unlocked and as soon as a group clears it the event would be officially over. It was so grueling, however, that it took the yer base three months from the usual two to fully clear it.


    Then there are the cases where certain dungeons only be avable through quest chains in that the entrance was unavable to anyone who wasn’t on that part of the chain or wasn’t in a party with at least one person who had it active. In their case it was the exact opposite where a quest became avable through the random spawning of a dungeon.


    「Well it’s not like every single one of them gets dealt with eventually, some slip through the cracks.」


    「Kind of like the one in Woldeus’ capital?」


    「Don’t forget the one in Forre as well. Oh and there’s also the sweltering tower in Darl which isn’t asrge as thest two but still requires the state to tend to it.」


    「Most of those century old dungeons were just fortunate enough to spawn in a really awkward, out of ce spot.」


    They nodded to Tatsuya’s addendum and decided to push all dungeon rted conversation aside for a while. There wasn’t any deeper meaning behind that, they just wanted to get to their grub, which came in the form of a bento fit for a king, as soon as possible. It had its fair share of odd ingredients thrown into the mix but as a whole it looked aesthetically pleasing and, most of all, appetizing. The one thing it was missing was salmon which can be exined by what they had for breakfast that morning.


    「Did you manage to find any active buddies or get in a guild before all this, Haruna?」


    Asked Tatsuya as his chopsticks reached for a well-seasoned piece of boiled shiitake mushroom.


    「There were some guys I was in a party with on a semi-regr basis but that’s about it. As for guilds I was in one for a little while, but then entrance exams came along and I got booted and never really got back into the guild game ever since. I didn’t care much for hardcore group content progression to begin with so I just went solo.」


    「I’d imagine many guilds were trying to entice you to join for, obvious reasons.」


    「Well yes, the invitations were certainly plentiful. After all my avatar did and still does resemble pre-pubertyte bloomer elementary school me, asides from the natural increase in height, of course.」


    They mulled over Haruna’s statement and voiced some points of interest.


    「Wouldn’t that mean that current your in-game character would give Makoto a good run for her money appearance wise?」


    「I’d go as far as to say that she’d be the one taking the money back home in the end.」


    They were poking light hearted fun at Makoto’sck of curvature around the chest area. Things weren’t all that bleak for her as she made up for it with curves in other ces that mattered, primarily the bodyline. Although she didn’t tick out all the boxes for conventional female beauty her tallnessbined with the underperforming bust made for some aesthetically pleasing proportions ording to outside sources.


    「I’m surprised you weren’t scouted out by the fashion industry with the exquisite figure/looksbo you had going on.」


    「Well actually I did. In my second year of middle school I was already pretty tall for my age, so some tried their luck.」


    Back before the whole craftsman debacle there used to be certain yers who engaged in model-like activities such as transmogpetitions, which were held a total of two times before the incident.


    Transmogpetitions were technically held another two times after the incident but without the participation of craftsmen all the yers only had randomly dropped gear to show off, which made the whole point of thepetition mute and audiences generally weren’t impressed due to theck of originality, which was their main selling point to begin with. All of this because of the incident.


    It was still possible to modify the look of one’s armor through in game purchasable items, otherwise known as microtransactions, but by using them there was a risk ofing off as a craftsman which was not something anyone wanted if we’re going off of the harassment received by the few select individuals who were brave enough to take the gamble.


    「I also got the chance to participate in a single y which went by the name of ‘Edith’s notion of love’」


    「Were you the main lead by any chance?」


    「Yes, I took up drama just for this one role.」


    「So that’s why you looked familiar.」


    They were reminded of the in-game y that took ce sometimest year. It was performed a total of four times. Its recording was uploaded to the official game site, where it was met with overwhelmingly positive reception. The script was of a professional quality, it interspersed someedic scenes between all of the serious action without any tonal inconsistencies, the game’s mechanics were pushed to the absolute creative limit but above all the performances were outstanding, it was as if the characters weren’t acting but just being. All of these factorsbined were enough for Tatsuya and Mio, who were attending it live, to give out a standing ovation.


    「We’ve derailed for far too long, let’s get back to the matter at hand.」


    「Okay.」


    「Unless I’m mistaken you’ve ran dungeons before, right?」


    「I’ve ran them solo, in a party you name it.」


    「Then I think we’ll be off just fine, everyone here’s got dungeon experience after all.」


    Haruna nodded to Tatsuya’s words. While she wasn’t as bonkers as Mio when it came to the trap department she could fully carry her weight without inconveniencing the party in any way, although that’s not really saying much since most yers who were serious about their dungeon runs would develop that sort of skill out of necessity.


    「This type of dungeon is insidious in its own right, be sure to stay on guard at all times」.


    「We’re hopping in blind, how could we not?」


    And so they carried on discussing their game n while enjoying a meal on the side. Most of the points flew over Artiem’s head but the ones that were integral to a sessful run she made sure to note down in her mental rolodex and if some of them were too confusing she would ask to exin it in simpler terms. The exchange of ideas got more and more heated as their meal came closer and closer to a close.