3-003
Afterwards, Naotsugu and Shiroe decided to go into town with me.
Although they discussed and looked at it, in the end, it's hard to help that they are fundamentally lacking in information. They wanted a little information now. The reason is that even if it was obvious when they were playing Elder Tail, they did not know if it was valid now.
Just to be sure, Naotsugu and Shiroe formed a party.
A party is one of the communication functions of the Elder Tail, and refers to the formation of a team to fight together and conduct combat. Unlike a guild, a party is a temporary relationship, and with this party, you can check each other's HP and status, and if you are in the same zone, you can see the direction and distance of each other's presence.
The city of Akiba is a no-fighting zone.
If you engage in combat in this city - whether you are a non-player character or an ordinary player - the city guards will immediately fly in and force you to move to a prison. If the attacker is a guard, it will be considered treason against the guard and will be defeated on the spot.
Elder Tail also has a number of non-player characters, such as city dwellers, who are called non-player characters in the game system, or "earthlings" in the in-game world.
Many of them work as shopkeepers, selling a variety of goods and services, such as guild registration offices, and will give you information and quests if you talk to them.
There is no way for the player to resist, as there are as many as 100 levels of strong guards.
Of course, the city is also a monster-free zone, so in the conventional wisdom of Elder Tail, this is one of the safest zones in the world.
As we left the abandoned building, a warm and somehow watery breeze crossed the city, like the beginning of summer, and the smell of damp earth. The smell of damp earth. Leaves and grass were rustling in the wind.
It was so natural that Shiroe could feel his awareness of the game evaporating from his mind. The world that he can feel through his five senses is overwhelmingly real, and the sense of being in another world is so strong that it doesn't feel like a game at all.
When you turn into an alleyway, you come to a wide, four-lane road. At the corner is the monolithic appearance of an intelligent building made of composite materials. The big intersection of Akiba. Beyond that is the station square. Every building is entangled in ivy, or has already fallen down and been transformed into a giant ancient tree.
It doesn't give the impression of the fashionable and high-tech town of Akihabara in the real world.
The colorful signboards and flashy lights have been shattered and are being supported by the old ginkgo and elm trees that have grown so large that they are nestled up against the buildings, canted at an angle or broken in half.
The street, completely eroded by the soil, looks like a nature park, with the front street still showing asphalt, but the back streets are all covered with wet soil, decaying leaves and blue moss.
Abandoned since ancient times, the hybrid cars are weathered and covered with weeds, and are home to small animals.
But even such a cruel sight was picturesque in its own right. The buildings mixed with the colorful greenery are not sophisticated and beautiful, but they have a life force in spite of the ruins.
The temporary shops and stalls built by players and non-player characters who have taken up residence in the miscellaneous buildings are lined up in a tropical stall-like atmosphere. It's just like the Elder Tail's hometown of Akiba, which Shiroe knows.
If it were the usual Elder Tail scene, the station square would be a very lively place where players would be hanging out, setting up stalls to sell their items to other players, or killing time to meet up with friends to explore or fight.
But now that I've visited, the atmosphere there is one of bewilderment, confusion, and convoluted frustration.
A cursory glance around reveals hundreds of players in the square.
On top of that, I could feel their eyes on the abandoned buildings overlooking the plaza and the many narrow alleyways - not to mention the elevated railroad tracks that should have collapsed and become useless.
Probably everyone had come together in search of some kind of salvation.
Perhaps a person from the management side suddenly appeared in the square, explained what happened and said, "This is the end of the event. Isn't it great? ...what will they say? It's that kind of hope that's what they're all here for, isn't it?
Even players with such fleeting hopes are afraid to gather together in the plaza or to be intimate with others. Even when we come out to the plaza like this, the voices of the conversations that are taking place there are much lower than usual.
A small group of people gathered here and there, a few at a time, and there were many who were looking at us warily. And sometimes sobbing and angry voices leaked out, as if they couldn't stand it.
After all, everyone must be aware of it, whether consciously or unconsciously. I'm sure everyone must be aware, whether consciously or unconsciously, of the fact that under these circumstances, you never know what will happen.
It's a good thing that you're not the only one.
(How long do these people plan to stay seated for........ Seriously, ugh. (Eye contact.)
Shiroe freaked out and removed her gaze.
He looked at her as if she was begging for something, as if she were complaining about her unhappiness.
Even as Shiroe, I don't think I'm that sensitive, but I'm also not tough enough to want you to look at me more and more.
Besides.
(And ... irritating.)
To the way it squats and begs.
I'm not going to be able to do anything but complain. I knew it, but the sight of hundreds of players nodding off like this is not good for their mental health.
I'm sure you're not the only one who has had to deal with this kind of situation.
I'm sure you're not the only one who understands that there is no such thing as a superiority between you and your fellow man. I'm sure you're not going to be able to get away with it.
I'm not going to be able to do anything about it. White boy!
It was a woman who called out to me in a loud voice. It wasn't a very loud voice, but the brighter voice, like a bell waving, was much more noticeable in the dark, stifling square of people.
It's a good thing that you're not the only one.
''Miss Mari, Miss Mari. You know what? I'm not going to be able to get rid of it. I'm going to be conspicuous!
I don't want to stand out in this whole funeral thing, either.
Shiroe pulls on Marielle's arm and looks at her. Marielle is the one who continues to talk to Shiroe regardless of her. It's a female player, commonly known as Miss Mari.
It was just in time. I was looking for Shiroko.
... "Um... well, I mean, why... no, it's fine. .... yes.
Wow. Miss Pantie?
"Naotsugu, please don't wear pants right now.
We walked faster and faster, leaving the plaza and somehow making our way to a secluded alleyway. It's not that there's anything backward about it, but the atmosphere in that square is sick to the stomach. I'm sure you'll be aware of the fact that the person you're going to be talking to, Marielle, has an even more successful face than Shiroe, but you want to be careful about your surroundings.
''After you bring in a place like this. You're so silly, Shiroko!
I didn't mean to say that at all.
So you got a girlfriend, Curiosity.
It's not like that. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Oh, and this is Naotsugu.
This is Naotsugu. A friend of White's. And your sister?
We're called Marielle. You can call me Marie or Miss Marie. Oh! Naotugu-kun's got a great look, huh? You guys are a combination?
Marielle chuckles. It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're talking about, but there's no malice in the smile on your face. It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're talking about.
It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on a new one.
The cleric is one of the three healing jobs, and it has the highest healing ability of all the restorative jobs. Reactive Activation Recovery, which automatically activates in response to enemy attacks, provides the backbone of your party in battle.
Healing jobs have high survivability, but low attack power. In this sense, like the Grantor, they are more suited to team adventuring, and conversely, they are not suited to working alone.
It is not only a matter of helping others, but also of helping others, which is why the recovery profession is generally reserved, but Marielle is unique among them.
I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one. It's a good thing that they are not the only ones. They are the same since the days of the Elder Tail. They are the same as any player in the game world, but for some reason there are still popular women and men.
This is even more pronounced in Elder Tail, where voice chat exists, and Marielle, with her cheerful tone and caring nature from the Kansai region, is actually quite popular. It's not so much as a popular figure as a member of the opposite s*x. The reason for this is because of her excessive openness.
She is not a sticky, feminine person, and is loved by both men and women. Unlike Shiroe, who is an old-timer and therefore an acquaintance of sorts, Marielle is a caring player who has many true acquaintances.
As the head of the Crescent Moon League guild, he takes care of dozens of fellow players, and because he usually hangs out in the bars of Akiba, he is known as a knowledgeable figure within the Elder Tail.
"I'm a very difficult person to deal with, aren't I?
Well, yeah, well.
I'm anxious to see if Shiroe has such a difficult look on her face.
It's inevitable that her expression is a bit stern because of this situation, but if anything, it's because I'm thinking of the phenomenon that I've felt since this major incident, that the features of her original world's appearance are being projected onto this world.
In my former world, I had a bit of a complex because I was told that I had a bad look in my eyes. The reason why she didn't change her glasses to contact lenses is because she couldn't get over the thought of her eyes becoming steeper than they already were because of the switch.
When the Elder Tail, which has been transformed into a different world, and someone said to me, "You have a difficult face," I felt upset that the bad look in my former world had been exposed.
(But even Mari-san...)
I glanced at Marielle with that intention in mind, and her face still looks clearly different from that of a typical forest elf tribe or elf.
I'm sure you'll want to make a difficult face, too. I know how you feel. I'm already overwhelmed. If you don't play around, you'll go crazy.
Bright hazel eyes. Just the placement of thick eyebrows and a mouth with a slightly larger smile on a supposedly aristocratic elfish face gives her a friendly and warm Marielle-like face.
It's a good thing that you've never met Marielle herself, but it's more obvious to Shiroe that she's Miss Mari.
What's that look? Ha-ha, it's just the same as usual, isn't it? The "self
Marielle presses her finger on Shiroe's forehead.
'My usual antics are a hobby. Now this is an active escape. It's a lot of trouble.
White. Is this sister always like this?
It's always like this.
And now we're doing this undercover.
It's hard to tell them apart, though.
The first time I heard Marielle's words, Naotsugu was a bit offended, but gradually he understood that this is his personality. Marielle laughed at Naotsugu's flinching. But when Shiroe and Naotsugu look at it, their laughter is cut off and they let out a small gasp of air.
I'm sure you'll be able to find it. Yup. .........It's in serious trouble.
Yes. Would you like to exchange information?
I guess. Where should I start? No, that's right. I see. I guess we should be careful. It's a good idea to be cautious. Naotugu-kun, is that all right with you?
Marielle invites Shiroe and the others to the Guild Hall.
The three of us bypassed Freig's tavern and headed for the Guild Hall, since we were told that it would be safe for now if we got there.
The Guild Hall is a facility that can be found in any city, and in many cases it is a large multi-purpose building that is a complex of several facilities.
In the case of the city of Akiva, it has built itself into a zone, with a number of non-player characters busily working in the entrance hall.
They are employees of this guild hall, and they can take care of the procedures for establishing a guild if you talk to them. They also handle the paperwork for non-guild members to join or leave the guild, and vice versa.
In addition, all players will have an account at the in-game bank, where they can deposit money and keep their valuables.
Another important purpose of this guild hall is to rent out the guild hall.
The Guild Hall is a separate, medium-sized zone, ranging from three to ten rooms, the largest being for living and office space.
In the Elder Tail, some of the zones are for sale and can be purchased by individuals. Many players purchase small to medium-sized zones as their home because they can restrict access to these zones to certain players only, or they can modify the settings of the zones.
Even though it's a purchase, you'll still have to make a large down payment and pay about 1/500th of that amount per month for maintenance, so it's not easy to get your hands on one if you don't have the financial means to do so.
A guild hall is a variant of this, referring to a dedicated zone that you can purchase as a guild. Guilds with a decent size usually rent a guild hall at the guild hall. They could then use this guild hall to store loot, materials, and items obtained from monsters and produced by the guild, or they could use it for meetings between guild members.
The Crescent Moon League is another such guild that rents space in this guild hall.
Shiroe and the other two climbed the spacious stairs to the second floor of the guild hall.
After getting registered as a guest in front of the large door, Shiroe was allowed to enter the guild hall of the Crescent Moon Alliance.
The Guild Hall, which is rented out at the Guild Hall in Akihabara, has a basic interior with a tired office style. Even if I say "basic interior", it's just the floor and the wallpaper.
It is completely up to the buyer to decide how to decorate the borrowed or purchased zone. The guild hall of the Crescent Moon Alliance has been cleaned and refurbished by the efforts of its members to make it more comfortable.
The walls are covered with wood, creating a warm, home-like atmosphere.
"We won't need any unnecessary interruptions here, right?
Marielle said that and proceeded to the back of the guild hall.
◆
Come on. Oh, don't worry about it, just sit there. Just like you, Naotsugu-kun.
Entering the back room of the guild hall, Marielle threw herself into a sofa filled with soft pink cushions and gestured for Shiroe and the others to sit down as well.
'It's kind of feminine,'
Well. We're Guildmas, after all. We express the captain's dignity in the room.
Pink cushions. A stuffed bear. A bed with a canopy. Beige lacy curtains on a tapestry with a pattern of a giant dog puffing its chest out in a pompous manner. The interior, far from dignified, is reflected in Shiroe's vision. Naotsugu blurted out a comment, but Shiroe couldn't agree.
It's kind of like someone else's private space, subtly uncomfortable. He's still saved because the other person is an open-minded Marielle, but if this were a woman's private room, he'd be starting to prepare to withdraw.
However, even if it's a little too fancy hobby, considering that it's a guild hall with this rather large room dedicated to the guildmaster and five or six other workrooms and luggage storage areas, I'll need to spend a lot of money.
(Hmmm. With a down payment, 40,000 gold coins. The monthly maintenance fee is 80 gold coins........)
Shiroe tries to make that observation. Naturally, this is the first time I've been invited to this guild hall.
''How is the situation in Miss Mari's place?''
Nineteen people are online, including us. Eighteen of them are in the city of Akiba. Most of them are in this guild hall. .... Oh, don't worry about it. As long as you don't make a big deal out of it, your voice won't leak out.
I don't know if they had confirmed this beforehand or not, but they gave me a sturdy answer.
If 18 of us are in Akiba, does that mean the other one is in a different zone? When Shiroe asked this question, the other one happened to be out of town and in a different city.
Well, as far as I know, Sibuya, Minami, Susukino and Nakas are all in the same boat.
If so, the situation is like this in all five major cities of the Japan server. Marielle, who has many acquaintances, probably used the telephonic function to confirm it.
''What do you mean, now?
Yeah. The transport gate between the cities seems to have been shut down for now.
Marielle answered Naotsugu's question. That was new information.
Akiva, Sibuya. And Minami, Susukino and Nakas.
These are the five largest player cities on the Japanese server. There are many other cities that have shops and non-player characters, but in terms of services, these five cities are the best.
These five cities were added with the expansion pack and are designed to help newcomers get started. That's why every player on the Japan server has a home in one of these five cities.
These five cities are connected to each other by Transfer Gates, which allow players to move between them in an instant. The Transference Gate - the Transport Gate - has stopped functioning.
That means, aside from Sibuya, it's pretty hard to get to the other cities.
How old is Shibuya, anyway? I guess I had to cross seven or eight zones to get there.
The earliest would be four.
Shiroe responds with a blank stare. The inter-city gates are out of commission, which is quite a problem. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make contact with distant cities. For example, Susukino is a player town located in the location of Sapporo on a real map of Japan.
It would probably take you a week or more to make the journey in-game. Of course, that's in-game time, but it's safe to say that this in-game time is now real time.
Hey, me. ...Can you imagine how that happened?
Shiroe and the others have no choice but to opt for silence.
Seeing Marielle's slightly dented expression, Shiroe wishes she could have answered this question. But in reality, Shiroe doesn't have the strength to answer the question.
'Well, cheer up. Sister. ........it's a terrible situation, sure, but it's not the worst.
Yeah, well...
I'm not going to be able to get rid of it," said a dejected Marielle.
It's a good thing that there are a few tens of thousands of Japanese people in the world who are stranded there. If there are people on the overseas servers, it's hundreds of thousands of people. It's far from the worst thing to have all these people in the same situation, isn't it?
You speak the language, and you have some property on hand. The fact that we can sit here in a room like this right after we were exiled to the island is proof of that, right?
I haven't checked it out yet, but it looks like our physical strength will be enhanced depending on our characters, and we'll be able to use magic and sword skills. In other words, we have at least the ability to survive in this world.
Compared to the classic fantasy of drifting through different worlds and floating islands, we're pretty lucky. I don't care if you call it an easy victory festival.
In the guild master room with a somewhat girlish taste, Naotsugu assured him.
''Could it be that Naotsugu knows a lot about that sort of thing?''
Oh, so much for that. I used to read them at school.
Despite the trivial questions, Shiroe was reviewing Naotsugu quite a bit. It's true. It seems that I was in the habit of looking at things too obliquely and had become unable to accept them honestly.
I'm sure you're right. That's right!
It seemed to be the same for Marielle.
When she looked at Naotsugu with a grateful expression on her face, she squeezed him tightly.
''Unh! Well said! Great! It's Naotsugu! So it's not all about being cool! Your sister is an inspiration, you're a lifesaver!
Wha...? Wha...? What the hell is this guy?
Naotsugu squirmed in Marier's chest, eating bubbles, but Marier held it tightly.
'Marier? Sir?
The bespectacled woman who knocked and came in looked at it and gave her a terribly embarrassing look.
'I'm sorry to disturb you, Miss Henrietta,'
Good day, Mr. Shiroe-- Would you like to come back later?
I'd rather you didn't.
Henrietta, the woman who entered the room at Siloe's request and who is in charge of the guild's accounts, grabbed Marielle by the shoulders and pulled her away. 'Hey, Marier! 'Stop saying that unconsciously,' he blackmails.
'Wow! Henrietta? I just heard a good story. This Naotugu-ya told me a good thing! Great things to say!
'I didn't mean that! Think about the situation, at a time like this!
Watching Naotsugu, who is red and limp, and the exchange between Marielle and Henrietta, Shiroe gives a small smile.
Henrietta is one of the leaders of the
It's not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you'll be able to get your hands on a new one. She has the look of a secretary who can do that as well. Her costume is frilly and girlish, and to be honest, it doesn't match her impression of herself, but that's up to the individual to decide.
With Henrietta's participation, the four of them review what they've talked about so far and give each other a brief status report. I've been in this world for only half a day since I became aware of it. It's not like they knew what was going on.
'I don't know what's going on...'
For the time being, I think we should focus on keeping in close contact with our people and avoiding confusion.
Henrietta expresses a supremely calm judgment. Shiroe agrees with her opinion. I'm not thinking too far into the future, and if I don't do what I can do now, I will be "swallowed up". That's the impression Shiroe had.
You're right, Marie. What Shiroe-sama and Naotsugu-sama are saying is also valid. Fortunately, we have a guild hall at home, and although sleeping in for a while is a bit cramped, I think it's better to do it in a group.
Yeah.
Naotsugu subtly backs away from Henrietta and Marielle's conversation.
'What's wrong? A direct successor?
It's nothing. I'm just in a bind.
Naotsugu hurriedly denies Shiroe's whispered question. You usually talk about a lot of shameless stuff, but it seems that direct attack is very hard to bear.
It's a good thing that you are not good at boobs, right? Do you want to touch it?
At Marielle's bright words, Naotsugu hurriedly averted his gaze. In spite of that, when you're glancing at it, that's it, it's still a man's saga.
I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about it. I know how she feels.
Shiroe also nodded in his chest. Shiroe had been baptized with this when they met. Shiroe, however, continues to be stubborn and says, "Yes? What is it? What is this lump of fat? It's heavy, isn't it?" he said, and Marielle, perhaps bored with his attitude, no longer made contact with him.
I don't need to write again, but it's just for show.
'Why is this sister so open? I'm scared.
Marie grew up in a girls' high school. That's what happens when Osaka people get pure culture. .........Marie! If it was a game, that would have been fine, but we're in a state of emergency now, so you need to be a little more cautious!
Marielle receives a nudge from Henrietta. Marielle is being scolded for being shabby and honest. It's a good thing that she is being scolded even though she is a guild master.
In the event that you're not a member of a guild, you can still trust the guild system itself, but that doesn't mean that you're going to turn your back on them.
It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for when you're in the market.
I've had a few parties with Marielle and Henrietta, and I've had her make accommodations for the many people I know. If it weren't for Shiroe's illusions, she was timid about human relationships and tended to keep her distance, but the cheerful and caring Marielle knew that and took good care of her.
(Mari-san is also an adult in a different way than Naotsugu.)
It's not a matter of profit and loss, but rather the benefit of Marielle's natural personality and caring nature, which Marielle believes is not a special gift to her, but rather to all the people around her.
(Well, it's true that skin-to-skin contact is...annoying. Oh, I see. It's because Naotsugu and I have a similar atmosphere that I was able to fit in so easily...)
The members of the Crescent Moon Alliance are probably the participants of a guild that has gathered in admiration for Marielle, and it's a genuine task to organize and look out for nearly 20 members.
Marielle was a trustworthy and good-natured player, and if that was the case, Shiroe thought that he should tell them as much as he could predict now.
Marielle listened attentively to the notes of the battle and asked a few pointed questions. And when he mentioned the number of people currently on the server and the high likelihood of trouble between humans in the future, his eyebrows furrowed.
''I see. ...I see...that's right. That possibility is high, if you think about it. In addition to violent incidents, fraud and harassment are also a possibility.......
Unlike Shiloe, who only needs to protect herself and that's it, Marielle has friends to protect. And more than that, Marielle is also a woman in her own right.
''Yes, that's right! You know what? Sister. You can't do the same thing you just did. Use a little more common sense. I mean, you're light on the brain.
'Ugh! Of course! We're heavy on the chest, but light on the head! But Naotugu-kun, who we just met, has nothing to say that much. Naotugu-kun's bad. Ahoy!
''Eeeee. Naotsugu-sama is correct here. Correct the habit of high school girls hugging each other at any time, Marie.
It's okay. It's okay. I mean, her real name is Umeko.
'Ki~! You promised not to tell me that!
The exchange between Henrietta and Marielle, who apparently know each other in real life as well. I should have told them something pretty serious, but Shiroe's head hurts when he thinks about how far they got it.
''Already. This silly girl is good, but........ Then, I knew we'd have to resolve the matter as soon as possible.......
'I don't think we should expect...'
Shiroe replies to the pragmatic Henrietta, "Is there anything I can do to help you?
''Is there anything I can do to help you...?
Shiroe, as Shiroe, has already considered that question. As a result, she and Naotsugu are now working together to gather information.
But the high priority information gathering that Shiroe and his team can do is not always the top priority for everyone.
You're not the only one. It's a good idea to make sure that you have a good idea of what you're doing.
It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what the guild is. There are many different types of guilds, depending on their activities and goals, as well as their size.
The first type of activity is a battle-type guild. This is one of the great joys of the Elder Tail: a guild that assists in combat. The main purpose of the guild's members is to fight outdoors or in dungeon zones. The role of the guild is to facilitate the recruitment of companions for the day's battle - or a party of friends. If you know each other, it's easy to talk to each other and often works well together.
The city of Akiba boasts the largest population of any player town on the Japanese server, and the most famous fighting guilds in Akiba include the Black Sword Guild, Honesti, D.D.D., and the West Wind Brigade.
The other guild is the production guild. In addition to the main professions that control the combat abilities of the Elder Tail, there are a variety of sub-professions. The players who create items for the production-type sub-professions are called "craftsmen". The levels of the main occupation and the sub-occupations are independent and can, of course, be raised at the same time, but there are some players who prefer to play as quiet merchants in the city with their sub-occupations.
These players belong to a production guild, which tends to be larger. This is because it is easy to take advantage of the benefits of having a large number of people in a guild, such as buying materials in bulk and managing the warehouses, which is the expected role of a guild. The most famous production guilds on Akiba Street are the Oceanic Organization and Roderick's Trading Company.
The Crescent Moon Alliance, led by Marielle, is a small adventure support guild. It is a small adventure support guild, a guild that helps its members in any direction they want to go, whether in battle or in production. It's a guild that has an at-home atmosphere, although the benefits to its members are lessened due to the lack of a common denominator, and in fact, many small and medium-sized guilds have an adventurous and supportive nature.
The Crescent Moon League is a relatively well-known guild among them. Although it is inferior in name recognition and support capabilities to the major fighting guilds, and cannot compete with the large production guilds in terms of income and size, it has a reputation for supporting mid-level adventurers and being nimble in its footwork.
''For now, we'll protect ourselves. I think the first thing to do is to...''
Yeah. This guild has a lot of girls by the looks of it, right?
Henrietta nodded to Shiroe and Naotsugu's point. Although the city is a no-fly zone, there is no telling what will happen. It's a good idea to make sure that the no-fighting zone is still alive and well.
(I'll have to look into that later.)
Shiroe adds to the notes in his head.
'And then I think we should pull up the items in the market.
Huh? Market? Why not?
'Oh..... Right.
A market is a service provided by a specific non-player character in a large city. Players can sell their items to a specific non-player character by depositing their own items to him or her and setting a price for them.
There are many ways for players to trade with each other, but the market is a very useful feature if all you want to do is to sell produced items or surplus items.
In the Crescent Moon Alliance, you have a lot of materials, right? I believe that many of the items are also sold in the market individually by the guild members. Because of the current situation, the value of even old items can change dramatically.
There may be new effects added to the item, or it may be that a new use for it has been discovered. If you have some money on hand, I think it's best to take a wait-and-see approach to selling items for now.
Yeah. I get it. You're right.
And we can't go on the Web anymore.
Marielle and the others nodded divinely.
When they were playing Elder Tail as a game, Shiroe and the others' bodies were in front of the monitor. Shiroe and the others could casually play the game and have the internet. In fact, it was normal to play in that style.
The world of Elder Tail is a vast and incredibly complex game. The amount of information it contains is impossible for a single player to keep track of.
A number of strategy sites have helped players with this.
Maps of various zones, features, connection paths, monsters, items, where to find non-player characters, and so on.
In Elder Tail, it was commonplace for players to refer to this information while playing.
Of course, the strategy sites were far from perfect, but even so, they often listed popular areas and efficient places to earn money.
And also about "dangerous places you should never go near".
'I know I'm here to exchange information, but information is very important from now on. You remember the new expansion pack, right?
You're a noosphere cultivator, right?
Yes, and not just the zones that will be added, but also the zones and towns that were there before... maybe we need more information. We can't just say, 'I'm a little lost, let's look at the strategy site' anymore.
Well.....
Afterwards, the four of us drew a connection map of all the zones around Akiba as best we could remember.
When I say that there are tens of thousands of zones on the Japanese server, I'm talking about tens of thousands more, including rooms in inns, small abandoned buildings, and private zones rented out to players like this guild hall.
There are far fewer Field Zones, which represent the outdoors, including forests, hills, decaying cities and ruins, and far fewer Dungeon Zones, which include old subways and massive buildings. Of course, even though it's not much, there are probably thousands of those alone, and even Shiroe can't claim to have a grasp on them.
But still, Shiroe is a veteran player with eight years of experience. He should be much more familiar with this Elder Tail world than other players. Even though Naotsugu had a hiatus, his knowledge of the old zone was sufficient. He cross-referenced his memories with those of Marielle and Henrietta, and scraped up a zone connection diagram, albeit probably very incomplete.
The diagram, with many zones written down and their connections represented by lines, listed hundreds of names, mainly field zones where Siloe and the others usually acted.
I don't know if it's necessary or unnecessary to investigate each one of them, but even so, a note like this is still better than nothing at hand.
"Good-bye, Shiroko. Naotsugu-kun.
It's always been good to me.
I didn't do much.
You're a big help. We think you're a good guy.
When Marielle says that, she gives Shiroe a smile like a sunflower.
(Miss Mari....................smile, full marks. Even when she's tired and irritated. I should learn from her, too.)
I can't leave Miss Mari alone, sir.
It seems that Shiroe meant to say it to the best of his ability, but he still didn't say enough.
"What? Even my white boy told me that! We're done. It's a definite lightweight, stupid female character. What's the matter with you, Henrietta?
Why don't you just push it with your s*xuality for now?
Shiroe quickly averted her gaze.
'Do you want a titty rub? Do you want to touch it?
Shaken by Shiroe, Marielle talks to Naotsugu next to her. Naotsugu wordlessly slaps Marielle on the head.
''Bu, bukta!''
Shiroe suspects that Marielle's comment about this kind of shimmy is a cover-up for her embarrassment, but come to think of it, that's what Naotsugu has to say about it too. It's interesting to see this kind of reaction from Naotsugu.
"Don't you have any remorse function, you pantywaist woman!
"Don't tell me to panic! In general, what's the matter with you, Naotugu? My breasts are that bad. Are you calling me old?
I don't know. Old people. We're about the same age.
Naotsugu blurted out his birth year, and Henrietta nodded.
''Marie is three years older than you, isn't she?
We're getting older, aren't we? We've already got bad inventory. That's why we're underperforming. You're going to defy me, aren't you? You treat my poor tits like wrinkled pudding.
Marielle expresses her frustration by flapping her feet on the couch.
(In a way, I respect Miss Marielle for being able to do that under these circumstances.)
Shiroe is stunned. It's a natural talent to be able to produce this kind of groove on the first day of drifting to another world.
It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them. It was like comforting a large dog, but gradually Marielle began to calm down.
Anyway. Anyway, I'd better get going. I've used up a lot of time. .........I'll go explore the situation a bit more.
Bowing lightly to Marielle, who is still somewhat flustered, and Henrietta, who is more serious here, Shiroe stands up.
Hm. I'm going too. .........You're in my way!
It must have been more than half a day since that disaster. Someone spirited might have fought the monster once or twice.
Shiroe and Naotsugu stand up and announce their resignation to the two men still sitting on the couch. Henrietta greets them politely, "I couldn't help it, I'm sorry," but Marielle gets up from the flabby couch and looks straight at Shiroe and Naotsugu and starts talking.
''Hey, Shiroe, and Naotugu-yan too. .........well. I mean, do you want to join the Crescent Moon League?
Marielle sounded hesitant, which did not suit her.
'No. You know, Shiroko. I know that you feel uncomfortable with the guild. But we are living in this day and age. Joining a guild is not a waste of time. Naotugu-kun also doesn't seem to be a member of the guild by all appearances. I don't think there's anything to think about...
The troubled expression on his face turns into one of persuasion.
There's no intention to use Shiroe and the others or to increase their strength, only simple and naive goodwill in their voices.
It's a loose guild. "We are a loose guild, we don't bind ourselves to anything. I don't have to do anything White boy wouldn't like. I know you've been to a few dungeons with our youngsters.
You know, the Shinjuk Underpass and Nakano Mall.
I don't know why Naotsugu-kun doesn't join the guild, but I think we are......................comfortable with our home. How do you think...?
Marielle waved her hand as if in a panic, wondering how she received Shiroe's silence, and continued to speak. The way the green hair swaying over the practitioner's white robe seemed to Shiroe to show her concern.
''........''
Naotsugu looks at Shiroe in silence.
The meaning of that look was clear: "I'll leave it to you. I'll leave it up to you to settle down here or remain unaffiliated. I'm not going to be able to get rid of it," he told Shiroe.
I'm not in junior high school anymore," he said.
It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you want to do with it. You're going to be able to find out what you need to do with it.
I'm sorry. You're not going to be able to get it right. --I don't think it's going to work.
I see. Hmm..... You see, I'm not.
Miss Marielle momentarily erases her disappointed expression and smiles as usual. Her smile was still as bright as a sunflower, and Shiroe felt like she was saved.
If he was able to return to his original world, if he was blessed with a miracle from God, even if it was some kind of coincidence, Shiroe would definitely be able to recognize Marielle if they met somewhere. Shiroe is sure of that.
The healer's cloak and lush green hair may be nothing more than objects made from polygon data prepared by the Elder Tail, but the smile on Marielle's face is uniquely Marielle's, and it's not something that can be imitated by anyone else.
It's not something that can be replicated by any game program.
You can say whatever you want. We'll help you.
You're right. If you need a good guardian, give me a call.
Yeah. Keep it warm. White boy. Hi, Naotsugu. If you guys have any problems, send me a message, OK?
Shiroe and the others waved goodbye as well. If possible, I wish I could have the same strength as Marielle.
◆
--Four days have passed.
Four days have passed since that joke about drifting to another world.
After resigning from Marielle, Shiroe and the others toured the streets of Akiba, exchanging information with some old familiar players.
After that, they spent most of the next four days gathering information.
It's no surprise, but we found out a new fact almost every day.
The first thing we learned was that Siloe and his friends were hungry.
To tell the truth, they had felt a subtle sense of discomfort since the time they left Marielle's place. But the tension and fear of the unusual situation seemed to have prevailed, and until that night, Shiroe and the others continued to listen to it, using their feet like sticks, without realizing that the discomfort was due to hunger.
Finally, hunger got the better of them, and at dawn, Shiroe and the two of them bought some food at the market and headed back to the abandoned building they'd started with. They had decided to have a somewhat unhealthy meal, an evening meal and breakfast.
As it turned out, it was a terrible experience.
That night, Shiroe bought a roast chicken sandwich with orange sauce and tomatoes, chocolatey cake and green tea. Naotsugu bought a seafood pizza, bacon potatoes, Caesar salad, and orange squash.
It sounds sumptuous, but Shiroe and Naotsugu are 90-level players, they have some assets, and these menu items are food items created by artisan players, and they can be sold at the market in any number of ways.
The food looks fresh, brightly colored and opulent.
But all those foods tasted the same.
To borrow Naotsugu's spitting words of criticism, the taste was, to use his own words, "no saltiness at all, the crackers blistered with water. Shiroe would have to agree with this assessment.
By the way, as for the drink, it tasted like tap water, though it had a hue to it.
It's not so bad that you can spit it out immediately. Probably not poisonous either. It's a sure sign that it's food because it makes you hungry, but honestly, Shiroe and the others were horrified by this.
The moment we ate it, we wanted to yell at them, but the fact that it wasn't so intensely bad made it all the more unbearable. The more we ate, the more delicate our mood became, and the more we lost hope, which was a sad and pathetic kind of bad taste, if you ask me.
But we bought a variety of food, and we learned a few things.
All of the food items that Shiroe and the others are eating are either created by the player or sold by non-player characters.
In addition to the main jobs in Elder Tail, there are countless sub-jobs. One of the major sub-occupations is the Cook, whose cooking skills are used to produce food.
Sub-cultures can be learned independently of the 12 main jobs, which means that in the Elder Tail world, for example, there are samurai cooks and sorcerers' cooks.
These cooks can use their skills to create the food items that Shiroe and his friends eat, but cooking in the Elder Tail is an instantaneous act.
You approach an object on the cooking table, select an item from your pack, and designate it as the ingredient. The ingredients - some of which can be found in various zones, others are meat from monsters. They may also be picked up from dungeons. Some items, such as grains that can be grown by planting seeds in a field, are also available.
Of course, non-player characters can sell the basic ingredients, and it's not impossible to get just the ingredients from other players in the market.
In any case, when you specify such ingredients, a list of possible dishes is displayed and you select the one you want to make from among them. After ten seconds or so, the ingredients light up and the cooked item appears.
This instant cooking is the problem, isn't it?
That was the reasoning that Shiroe and Naotsugu gave.
Because freshly caught fish still smells like fish, and salt and sugar purchased from non-player characters can be salty or sweet. Nevertheless, it's not logical that the final dish, which should have been made by mixing them together, would be a "damp cracker with no taste".
Well, there's no way to solve the problem even if you understand the logic.
Shiroe and the others learned to buy salt as a simple ingredient as well as food items and sprinkle it on the "wet crackers" to overcome their hunger.
It was only yesterday that we learned that material items have a certain taste to them. That's why fruits like oranges and apples are so fresh and delicious. It was a nice discovery, but we regretted that most of the fruits in the market had been bought up by someone else before we realized that the only way to drink them was with water.
It's very easy to find out that if you have to eat, you have to excrete, and that's what you need. This was not so much of a problem for Shiroe and Naotsugu, since they are men. It's a good idea to get used to doing it outdoors, as long as you get used to doing it outdoors. If I had to say it, I would say that I would need some tissue paper.
It's a good thing that you're able to have a good time with your friends.
There are many things in the world that Shiroe can't help but think about.
He also found out that he needed sleep.
Unlike Shiroe's real-life body, his body in this world has quite a bit of physical strength. Even though he is a sorcerer type, he has a certain amount of ability value when he reaches level 90, and it seems to be reflected in his ability.
However, fatigue and the desire for sleep seem to be two different things, and after a certain amount of time of activity, both Shiroe and Naotsugu have become quite sleepy.
When they entered the inn, Shiroe and the others received a short-term zone rental and made their home. They had never used this kind of feature when they were enjoying Elder Tail as a game. Whenever I got tired, I could just sit in some random alley in Akiba and log out.
But now the body exists as an entity even while you sleep. It was necessary to set up a roost in a place with a reasonable amount of security.
And, of course, there was no such thing as a return to your world when you woke up from your slumber.
Speaking of returning to my world, there was one other fact that I had been wondering about.
Right now, even in this Elder Tail world, players can come back from the dead. Players who have died in this world will be resurrected in a cathedral in the city of Akiba after a short time lag.
If the common sense of the original game is acceptable, they should have received certain penalties for their experience and possessions, but neither Shiroe nor Naotsugu have experienced this directly yet, so they don't know that.
The existence of resurrection from the dead is good news because the worst possibility is gone - if you die, you just disappear - but if you die, you will return to your original world. It also meant that the hope that they were going to be able to do so was cut off.
It was on the second day at noon that Shiroe and the others noticed this revival.
When we were walking the streets of Akiba, one player, perhaps unable to bear the stress of the situation, suddenly attacked the city guards, even though they were in the city.
Even if you are an experienced player, attacking the guards in a non-combat area is suicidal. ........In fact, he probably wanted to die.
In the time it took him to breathe two or three breaths, his body was stabbed through by the guard's huge sword and he was out of breath. After a few minutes, Siloe and the others saw that his body had disappeared in a flash of light, and they went straight to the temple, where they witnessed his resurrection.
The player sat there with a deflated look on his face, but there was apparently no mistaking the fact that he would be resurrected.
Food and death.
These are the basics of life, and we know that this is a terribly contradictory and distorted world, to say the least.
At first glance, this world seems to be a faithful adaptation of the Elder Tail game world. Most of the specifications of the Elder Tail are faithfully reproduced.
However, this has led to a terrible contradiction in this world as a place to actually spend time in a physical body.
A prime example of this is cooking. A "grilled fish" made with fish and salt is actually a damp rice cracker that has no taste of fish or salt.
But if you pour salt on the fish, you can't taste the saltiness of the fish. The act of "pouring salt on" brings the salty taste, but the act of "cooking with salt as an ingredient" makes the salt taste disappear.
To test it, I tried to heat raw fish very normally over an open fire or other heat source. But it would never turn out to be the "grilled fish" that Shiroe and his friends knew. It just produces a black, charred, unidentifiable item.
The same goes for sleep and excretion.
These items should not be necessary for the specifications of the game.
But in the realised world of the Elder Tail, Shiroe and the others need to sleep. No matter how you look at it, this world is strange.
Of course, since this is a world, it must have rules. But I don't know if this world operates under the rules of the Elder Tail, or if it operates under the understandable rules of other worlds with their own physical laws.
There was a lot more to find out in those four days.
It's the second day since the disaster.
Shiroe and Naotsugu went out to the field zone, prepared to go. It's the adjoining zone 'Forest of Storeroom Tower', which can be accessed through a gate from the city of Akiba.
Since the Forest of the Library Tower is close to the starting town, the level of difficulty is quite low. It's a typical abandoned field zone with monsters in the low 20s wandering about. It's an abandoned building similar to the city of Akiva, but still covered in green ivy and parasitic plants.
As you might expect from the name, the Forest of the Storeroom Tower is a zone where old bookstores, libraries and laboratories are scattered about, and it's also connected to several dungeon zones. The enemies are weak, but they often drop magical and mystical books as treasures, making it a famous place to earn a tasty profit for fledgling adventurers.
The opponents are small fry monsters in the low 20s.
Shiroe and Naotsugu are 90 reps.
The battle isn't going as well as it should.
The enemies were not strong by any means. With a direct hit from the Sword of Direct Succession, they could defeat a goblin or a gray wolf with a single strike. The fact of the matter is that even Shiroe's attack spell, which is the weakest attack power in the sorcerer system, can kill an enemy with a single blow if it hits.
That's how much of a level difference there is between them.
However, even though he could defeat the enemy, the severity of the battle was something else. The first time he encountered a wolf, when a pack of green kobolds wielding an axe stained with rust and blood attacked him, Shiroe was honestly so terrified that he couldn't stand up because he was so weak from his knees.
His breathing was ten times faster than usual, and even though he was taking in that much air, he was still struggling to breathe, as if he didn't have enough oxygen, and his vision was reduced. If I hadn't told myself that desperately, I would have run away.
However, after a while, that telling turned out to be true.
At the 90th level, Shiroe has a little over 8,000 HP, and the "guardian warrior", Naotsugu, who has the best defense among the 12 professions, has 12,000. The attacks of these goblins can only deal a few points of damage against such a group.
Even if the axe that they swung with a terrifyingly strange cry was swung down with tremendous force, they wouldn't feel the same amount of pain and itch as if they had been punched by a schoolboy.
Confirming this fact, Shiroe and the others were finally able to regain their composure.
Now that they had calmed down, Shiroe and the others were no longer damaged in battle, but the severity of the battle continued afterwards. Here, too, there were strange twitches in front of Shiroe and the others, as if they were caught between the laws of physics and the Elder Tail's specifications.
In Elder Tail combat, friends like Shiroe and the others in the party will check each other's HP on the status screen and unconsciously choose a plan of action and coordination.
Will there be any more enemies approaching while they are fighting the one in front of them?
Any chance the enemy will join up with us or call in reinforcements?
Which enemies do you want to eradicate first?
Which enemies can be put off if you neutralize them to some extent?
These factors can be an important factor in the outcome of a battle.
However, in the current environment, it's difficult to check each other's HP. Of course, if you focus on your forehead area, you'll be able to see HP bars and numbers in your head. However, it was extremely difficult to distract yourself from the other activities while moving frequently on the unstable footing with lots of debris.
Even with the vigilance of the surrounding area, if the enemy loomed in front of him, his vision would be poor and he would not be able to see satisfactorily. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for when you're in the market.
"This is not going to be a simple matter.
As he ate his lunch of Chinese buns (wet rice crackers, after all), Naotsugu sighed deeply. Although the opponent is a small fish, so you don't have to worry about HP to fight them now, it's quite doubtful how far it will work against an enemy of the same rank.
In the end, Shiroe and the others ended up fighting the small fishes that couldn't even gain experience until the evening. The items are also useless, so it can be said that this is completely a battle for training purposes.
Shiroe and Naotsugu have no experience in the real world of martial arts.
So they had no idea how to get used to the sensations and fears of combat, and they didn't know if they could learn it this way.
But they knew that they wouldn't be able to do this if they were intimidated by twenty small fry monsters, and they couldn't think of a better way to practice now.
Thus, Shiroe and the others spent their time in the city and gathering information in the neighborhood zone.
Fortunately, their bodies were much stronger than they had expected.
The bodies of Shiroe and the others at a high level were immune to fatigue, and even though they were tired from fighting and moving around, they were completely rejuvenated after a few minutes of rest. Shiroe and Naotsugu spent most of the daylight hours outdoors, and in the evenings and evenings, they would go out to the city's bars and acquaintances, chatting with players in similar situations in search of new information.
During those four days, the streets of Akiba remained quiet on the surface.
There hadn't been any major panic, as Shiroe had expected.
That could be partly because of the prospect of food supplies (albeit in very disappointing taste), or it could be because of the relief of knowing that death in this world, in other words, would not lead directly to annihilation.
But that doesn't mean that nothing has happened, of course, and there are a number of effects that have begun to appear here and there that aren't significant, but that we can't miss.
First of all, the market's goods were disappearing rapidly.
Apparently, many players had come to the same conclusion as Shiroe and the others, and were withdrawing their items from the market.
What remained were items that seemed to have been put up by players who were fortunate enough not to have logged in on that fateful day, but they too were selling out more and more as the day went on.
There were rumors that some major artisan guilds were buying up all the materials, and items that were out of stock and unavailable were becoming more and more noticeable. There must have been many players with production jobs, but they, too, seemed to have given up their activities due to this situation.
The other was a guild recruitment battle. Or players who did not belong to a guild were looking for a guild to join.
It seems that humans are creatures that seek security by belonging to someplace. Many of the unaffiliated players who had been living comfortably until now have decided to join a guild after the disaster.
To find out what kind of name and which guild a player belongs to, you can check the information from the menu if the player is in your sight. However, there is no easy way to look up statistics from within the game.
The number of unaffiliated players has been decreasing, although Shiroe and his team can't say for sure.
Of course, Shiroe and Naotsugu, who are 90-level unattached players, were approached by many guilds just by walking around town.
However, Shiroe and Naotsugu both turned down all of the invitations.
Aside from Shiroe, Naotsugu didn't have a sense of rejection towards the guild. When Shiroe asked him about it, he said, "Hanging out is the result. It's normal to run first, then run and make friends," he laughs.
The Prodigal's Tea Party was not a guild, and it was established outside of the means of a guild. To the two men who belonged to it, a guild was just a name, and the name wasn't important.
Neither of them had any idea that they could belong to a guild and have something protect them.
However, apart from that mindset of Shiroe and the others, the senses and common sense of many players were certainly independent in their own right. It's a good idea to have a good idea of where you want to be, but it's also a good idea to have a good idea of where you want to be.
Of course, there were cases where unaffiliated players were allowed to join, but more often than not, smaller guilds merged with each other, or major guilds pulled out players they had their eye on.
I couldn't pinpoint why this was happening at this time of year, but when I asked Marielle about it, it seemed to have something to do with my comfort in Akiba's city.
There are many players who believe that they have been exiled to this or that other world from that disaster.
Even Siloe and the others feel more or less unreasonable.
But according to Marielle, such players' hollow feelings are expressed in their attitudes. It's a relationship of munchies and taking it out on them.
If this feeling is shared by the guild unit, it will lead to exclusion from the guild. In other words, everyone else in the guild is an enemy.
We can trust our fellow members of the same guild, but not the rest of them. This is a natural act of self-preservation in this stormy atmosphere, so Shiroe and the others can't deny it.
But that kind of atmosphere has gone too far, and the friction between the guilds seems to be increasing little by little. Of course, Akiba's streets are a no-fighting zone, so you won't be attacked all of a sudden. If you try to start a battle, steal, or restrain someone, the guards will automatically appear in transition and forcibly capture the person who tried to attack you.
However, not all of the harsh words and harassment is an act of combat. There are many ways to slip through the cracks in the act of combat and harass, and even more so when your body comes to our world like this.
Small guilds are often the target of such harassment. Marielle had a troubled expression on her face as she said that, as if she was trying to mend it.
It was during such a conversation with Marielle that something significant about the Zone was revealed. I opened the brain menu without a second thought. He found an unfamiliar item added further down in the information menu, guild-related items.
It was unfamiliar, but it wasn't a menu I had never seen before.
It was a menu that displayed information about the zone I was currently in, and it was a menu that showed the information of the zone I was currently in, and it was a natural place to be.
It was labeled "Japanese server / Akiba city / Urban area - no monsters / combat prohibition zone / entry permission (unlimited) / exit permission (unlimited)".
Shiroe, Marielle, and Naotsugu were standing in the unpopular streets of Akiba's city, talking to each other. So there was nothing wrong with that display, as it represented the zone they were in, the city of Akiba.
The problem was the next line.
'This zone does not currently have a specific owner. In order to purchase this zone, we need 700 million gold coins and 1.2 million gold coins for monthly maintenance. Do you wish to purchase it? (y/n)
-- that notation was supposed to be on the menu when purchasing a small abandoned building, a hotel room, or an otherwise small zone such as the Guild Hall of the Crescent Moon Alliance, for example.
Even though that would require a huge amount of money, the city of Akiba itself was also for sale.
Naotsugu and Marielle, who had laughed at Shiroe's suggestion at first, were also exasperated after confirming it on their own menu.
Shiroe, who had a long history of Elder Tail, was a high level player and was one of the relatively wealthy among the players. Shiroe's bank account is roughly 50,000 gold coins. At 700 million gold coins, it was definitely not an amount of money that could be purchased by an individual.
However, that is not a guarantee that it can never be purchased.
If the major guilds were to mobilize all their resources, it would probably still be impossible, but some things could not be said with certainty.
If the city of Akiba were to be purchased by someone else, the purchaser would be able to restrict access to the city of Akiba. Even a guild they don't like, or an individual they don't like - they can legally bar them from entering the city.
According to the members of the Crescent Alliance gathered under Marielle's command to investigate, this sales situation seems to be occurring in almost every zone.
In other words, whether it's in the city, field or dungeon, every zone is up for sale without an owner. There is one exception. It must be a place that already has an owner...such as the Guild Hall of the Crescent Moon Alliance. In that case, there's an additional option to reduce the ownership of the zone to an item of deed.