Chapter 22 - Verification and the Island's West Side
"Ah, a little more to the left. Around there, zoom in a bit more..."
"Ah, this island?"
"No, to its left. Um, scroll a little more southwest."
Yes. Currently, Mion has finished creating her character and is on the starting point selection screen.
Normally, you'd just click and choose one of the three nations on the continent: the Grania Empire, the Wolkelst Kingdom, or the Marsis Republic.
However, by zooming in on that map, scrolling, zooming in again... and checking isolated islands one by one out in the sea away from the continent, an Uninhabited Island Start becomes possible...
"Ah, yeah, that's it. Zoom in on the southern tip of that island."
"Yes. Ah! I can select... wait?"
"It seems it can't be selected. Should we conclude that only one person can start on an island?"
"Looks like it. So, is it okay to release this information then?"
Knowing the method, I'm relieved there's no worry of players recreating characters and rushing in. But still,
"Could you wait a moment~? Is Shou-kun's Uninhabited Island Start point the only one~?"
"Oh, no, there are over a dozen other places. I just chose this one because it seemed the best."
"Could you tell me one more different location~?"
So, I told Mion about another potential candidate location, and then:
"Ah, here, I can select it."
"I see~. It might be better to keep this information hidden~."
"Why is that?" asked President Bell.
"I think there are only about a hundred such locations~. If we reveal it now, an Uninhabited Island Start rush might begin~."
Ah... if they know how, they can do it if they have the patience.
"I see. If players start an Uninhabited Island Start following a trend but then abandon it, it's the developers who'll have problems," said President Bell. It would be a waste of the Uninhabited Islands they prepared. Well, they probably anticipated that too.
"And if some problem arises from that~, I wouldn't want Mion-san to be blamed~."
"That's true. Let's not disclose it. Is it okay to ignore such questions?"
"Understood."
"Yes."
Alright, I guess the verification is over. After this, President Bell will probably play IRO, and I'll go play with Lupi again.
"Mion-san, are you going to start in the Wolkelst Kingdom? Even if you're not good at action games, there are crafting options and many ways to enjoy it."
"Um... can I pause this?"
Pause? I thought, but then remembered Mion wasn't very keen on playing IRO.
"You can pause it~."
"Then I'll pause it. I might be able to go to Shou-kun's island soon."
...Right.
*
"Woof!"
"Whoa, good morning, Lupi."
I caught her as she jumped on me and started the stream.
"Hello."
"Welcome, Mion."
"Woof-woof!"
Hmm? Can Lupi see the camera too? Well, since she's my partner, it wouldn't be strange if she could.
"How's it looking today?"
"I've only explored the shallow parts of the west side, so today I plan to go deeper. I'll take Lupi with me and have her guide me."
"I see."
I'd investigated the area where Lupi got injured and lay down before, but I ran out of time without encountering any monsters.
The forest was quite dense beyond that point, so encountering monsters might be a bit dangerous.
"Lupi. We're going west, so guide the way, okay?"
"Woof!"
She started walking ahead as if to say, "Leave it to me," but... will she be okay?
There's no doubt that whatever injured Lupi is still out there. Well, I'll proceed carefully, and if it gets dangerous, I'll just pick her up and run.
After a short while, we advanced into the western forest.
"Was it here, Lupi, that I found you?"
"Woof!"
"It's dark deeper inside... and somehow scary."
I nodded at Mion's words. It felt more intimidating than when I came here last time...
"Alright, I'm going to go a little deeper."
"Okay. Please be careful."
"Woof!"
The trees grew close together, and their dense leaves blocked out the sunlight, making it dark. I activated my [Presence Concealment] skill, keeping Lupi behind me, and cautiously began to explore.
.........
......
...
I continued straight north, but nothing particularly unusual happened. There was just a long-haired, droopy-eared rabbit called a [Forebit] that ran away. Is it non-aggressive?
Ahead was a sheer cliff, stretching east to west, about 20 meters high.
I tried to climb it, but it seemed impossible without a skill. Maybe with a climbing skill or something similar, there'd be a chance.
"This cliff probably continues all the way to the western coast."
The cliff continued on my left, seemingly getting progressively taller.
On the right, it sloped upwards towards the center of the island, so the cliff height seemed relatively lower.
"I guess I should head towards the center. ...Hm?"
On that right side, my [Presence Detection] picked up something approaching.
"Grrr..."
Beyond where Lupi suddenly began to growl...
"GRAAAHH!"
A bear!? It's huge! It must be about 2 meters tall!
The red nameplate that popped up read [Armor Bear].
"Damn it! No way, no way, no way! Let's run, Lupi!"
"Woof!"
I was worried Lupi might try to attack it, but she understood and even ran ahead, guiding my escape route.
We weaved through the trees and leaped over fallen logs, desperately running south, until the presence disappeared from my [Presence Detection], as if it had given up.
Caution was still key, so I didn't stop until we were back at the sandy beach, a Safe Zone. I finally stopped and sat down. Being chased had even raised my [Presence Detection] and [Presence Concealment] skill levels...
"Whew, that was close. I was really scared..."
"Are you okay!?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. But if Lupi hadn't been here, I probably would've picked the wrong path and gotten caught. Thanks, Lupi."
"Woof!"
Hmm, is being chased by this bear part of a quest? Or was it really just a coincidence?
I opened my map and marked the encounter spot as 'Armor Bear.'
"Did that bear injure Lupi?"
"Oh, right. Lupi, was it that guy that got you?"
"Woof!"
It seemed I was right.
"Then, I guess I'll have to get my revenge on him someday."
"Woof!"
With my current level and equipment, it seems pretty tough, so who knows when that day will come. But if I don't defeat him, I won't be able to go chop wood either.
"How strong is that bear, monster-wise? Mion, do you know?"
"Please wait a moment. ...It's apparently monster level 12 to 15."
"Good thing I ran..."