Chapter 323 - A Map with No Discernible End
After successfully touching the monolith and making a swift getaway from the former site of the Red Circle's subjugation, our party headed northwest toward our second destination.
The crimson army had been a spectacular sight, but in terms of overall difficulty, it wasn't much of a threat.
The veteran rankers were, of course, unfazed, and even Sora—who's grown accustomed to my antics—showed no signs of fatigue. And yet…
"So-ra-chaaan!"
"Whoa?!"
Just as we entered a new forest area and found a pleasantly tranquil stream, Tiger Lucky unceremoniously declared a break.
Even if he suddenly told us to rest, what were we supposed to do—before I could even finish that thought, Rinne swooped in, scooped Sora up, and carried her off somewhere.
They're probably off to have some girl talk. Have fun, you two.
So, when I asked about the necessity of this sudden break, Maru II was the one who answered.
In this virtual world, where time flows fifty percent faster than in reality, an 'expedition' that takes up half a day of real time feels like a full eighteen hours.
Pushing yourself too hard during a long dive can lead to sensory fatigue, which ultimately wastes more time and, in the worst-case scenario, could end up like that.
So, regardless of whether you feel tired or not, it's apparently a golden rule on these kinds of long treks to take breaks, big or small, between each event.
"Besides, on a raid-scale expedition, every player's tolerance for fatigue is different. For support-types, just the travel alone can be exhausting."
"That makes sense…"
Maru II and I were by the stream. A short distance away, Sora and Rinne were in the shade of a large tree.
I wondered where Tiger Lucky had gone, and a quick search found him stretching while wading barefoot in the shallow water. Nature really suits that guy. A tiger through and through.
"You know, something just occurred to me."
"What's up?"
I had fully expected to be bombarded with questions about Sora's abilities, but surprisingly, the trio's reactions had been limited to high praise after the battle.
Rinne might be getting the details from her one-on-one right now, but… if no one's going to ask me anything, I might as well use this break for my own questions.
"Those transfer gates, they exist outside of safe areas too, right?"
"They do."
"And players can set them up themselves, I hear."
"They can."
Right, so my memory wasn't failing me.
"Then what's the point of traveling all this way on foot? And if players can place transfer gates, you'd think they would've put one at that 'site' we were just at."
"Ah… well, if we could do that, we obviously would."
When I voiced the simple question that had popped into my head during our long journey, Maru II's response was just as I'd expected.
Yeah, I figured as much. The fact that they hadn't done it meant it was probably impossible. So what I really wanted to know was the reason why.
"Oh, right. You've only been playing for less than three months, haven't you?"
"I'm a bit of a virtual world newbie. It's a little embarrassing."
"Nah, don't worry about it. This place has way more information to process than the real world. I can barely keep up with current events myself, I don't have time to dig through past info."
"…You have no idea how right you are."
Man, he sympathized with my dilemma so perfectly it almost moved me. That's exactly it! There's so much new information coming in all the time, I don't have a spare moment to study up on existing lore…!
"Best way to do it is to ask whenever you have a question. I mean, you'd be hard-pressed to find a gamer who hates talking about game knowledge."
"I feel that."
Come to think of it, I had a lot of fun teaching Sora all the terminology myself…
"Right, about the transfer gates. To put it simply, there's a limit to where you can place them. Specifically, within a hundred-kilometer radius of the Great Bell Tower at the center of the safe area… You can't place them any farther out, no matter what you do."
"Ah… a distance limit. That makes sense."
Wait a second. Does that mean Ui-san's hideout is surprisingly close to the city?
Irori had said you 'can't reach it unless you go through the transfer gate in the correct sequence'… Maybe it's some kind of barrier that's invisible from the outside. I'll have to ask my master directly next time.
"By the way, Haru-san, have you heard? The talk about the South getting serious about taking down a Colored Monster and rallying the troops."
"Hm? Oh yeah, I've heard."
Heard is an understatement; I'm technically on the leadership side of things. Though in reality, it seems I'll just be deployed as 'manpower' by Iris.
"Then are you aware that the systems in Arcadia will be expanded once that Colored Monster is defeated?"
"I know about that, too, for the most part."
Iris had explained it to me the other day in connection with the subjugation of the Red Circle.
"You mean how the 'Clan' system was unlocked when [Rieltaheria of the Red Circle] was defeated, right? And there was an early implementation of the 'Marriage System' or something."
"That's the one."
Let's set the marriage thing aside for now.
Clans—basically mutual aid organizations for players—are the kind of feature the developers should have had ready from the very beginning. An online game where crucial systems like 'Guilds' or 'Clans' are unlocked through player progression is, needless to say, completely unheard of.
"This game is absolutely bonkers, isn't it?"
"Totally bonkers, for real."
But that's what makes it great—or not, but regardless, the fact remains that it's common knowledge among players that 'defeating Colored Monsters expands the game systems.'
…Hmm, how did we get from transfer gate restrictions to this topic?
"The White… The White Throne uses teleportation, doesn't it?"
"It does… Oh, wait, I get it. Is that what this is about?"
"That's what it's about. The reward for defeating the White Throne might be an expansion of the transfer gate system… just a bit of hopeful speculation, of course."
"I see… Now that you mention it, that seems like the only possibility."
[Tsarkalv of the White Throne]—it governs 'boundaries,' right? As a divine messenger presiding over domains and space, it would certainly make sense for it to be involved with the teleportation system.
"Realistically, it's hard to imagine them not making some changes there."
"Hm… What do you mean?"
This time I couldn't follow his train of thought and tilted my head. Maru II just chuckled and said, "It's simple," as he opened a system window.
With a flourish, a map of this world—the world map data—was projected into the air.
"This world is just too damn big. It's impossible to aim for 'the end' without being able to set up transfer gates as waypoints."
"…It's that bad, huh."
I'd heard over and over that it was huge, vast, and endless…
But I never imagined it was so immense that a ranker from Nortalia, the faction dedicated to 'adventure,' would declare it 'impossible' with such a distant look in his eyes.
"Can you believe it? This map, as it is right now, is apparently larger than all of Earth's continents combined. It's insane, right?"
"Huh???"
What? What did he just say???
"Even an elite team specializing in pure travel, running for a solid month, can't even find the sea, let alone the edge of the world. And just when you think it's just pointlessly vast, the farthest confirmed regions are still littered with undiscovered dungeons."
"That's terrifying… Is this seriously a 'game you can play for a lifetime'?"
"For travel lovers, at least, it's a paradise. In fact, there's a rumor that half of Arcadia's population are true casual players, just enjoying their leisurely journey in another world."
"Wow…"
There's still so much I don't know…
"—Are you two done talking?"
"Whoa!?!"
A whisper from so close I could feel the breath on my ear sent me literally jumping back in an immediate evasive maneuver. I secured several meters of safe distance in two-tenths of a second and whirled around to find Rinne standing where I had been, looking quite pleased that her prank had succeeded.
Damn… She calls me her favorite, but she has no problem pulling these kinds of stunts…!
Just then, a splash of water caught my attention. Tiger Lucky, having climbed out of the river, was giving me an exasperated look.
"What're you doin', lettin' out a pathetic scream like that?"
…Oh, what's this? Done enjoying the great outdoors, Mr. Tiger?
I'd bet anything you'd have the exact same reaction if someone did that to you, huh?
"Oi, what's with that annoying look on your face? If you got something to say—"
"Alright, alright, please don't start roughhousing every time you have a spare moment."
"The break's been long enough. Let's go, Master."
"H-hey, what's the big idea? Don't pull me…!"
And with that, the tiger was flanked by his disciple and junior, flailing as he was hauled from the water.
Hmm… From the looks of it, he doesn't mind physical contact with Rinne. Is he just used to her, or does he have a hard time with—or a soft spot for—quiet girls like Sora?
"………………What is it?"
"Oh, nothing."
And why, I wonder, is Sora-san, who has appeared at my side at some point, smiling so brightly?
I'm happy she seems to be enjoying this trip, but… I can't shake the feeling that she's having a particularly good time watching me act like an idiot.
"Come on, we should get going too. We'll be left behind!"
I guess it's not my imagination… but oh well.
Urged on by my partner, who has been in high spirits all morning, I broke into a jog, tossing my jumbled thoughts to the ground without a second thought.
Honestly, I was planning to tone down the goofy antics if Sora's reaction was lukewarm… but from the looks of it, she's actually enjoying it.
I'm having fun, and Sora is happy (?). Well then, I suppose there's nothing more to be said.
I'll just spend the rest of the day enjoying this laid-back vibe.
I can hear the voices demanding details on the 'Marriage System' that was set aside.