Chapter 525 - IRO Management (7): The Brilliant Reverse Run
"Listen closely, and stay calm."
"...What was the original quote for that again?"
"It's from a certain sneaking game, but apparently, the actual line is different."
"Huh, really? Well, internet memes often don't retain the original form, do they?"
Misha P nodded in admiration, then opened the producer's office door.
The iris-scanned door slid open with a whoosh, and the room's lights immediately came on.
"Did you get enough rest?"
"Hmm, so-so, I guess. So, what's this thing I need to hear calmly?"
"A lot happened on the Southern Island, you see."
"Eh?"
He set his shoulder bag down and headed for the coffee machine.
He brewed a cup for himself and one for GM Choco, placed them on the low table, and then settled onto the sofa.
"...Didn't Shou-kun and the others say they were going on a school club training camp? I thought they were going back to their hometown after that."
"I think they might have logged in from their camp. And by the way, they've been playing quite frequently, day and night, for long hours."
"Eh? Eh? What does that mean?"
"Perhaps they're in the game club?"
"Kuwasedrftgyfujikolp~~~!"
Misha P let out a strange cry and looked up at the ceiling.
If, as GM Choco said, they were in the game club, perhaps there was no need to restrict their live streams after all.
"Well, wasn't it that Remote Island Liberation Movement thing? I think they might have wanted to avoid that and just enjoy the Southern Island at their leisure."
"...So, what happened?"
"First, they found the church. And, naturally, they found the Nameless Goddess Statue."
"That much was within our predictions, of course."
Originally, the intended flow for starting on the Southern Island was to find the Armra Forest, then naturally discover the church. From there, finding the basement was inevitable, given that Shou already knew of its existence.
"So, did they make it into the Jade Goddess Statue?"
"They took the Nameless Goddess Statue to their own island as it was."
"Yes."
"'Yes' isn't the right response!"
"Well, it's fine that they took it. It would have been worse if it had become the Jade Goddess Statue and been placed in the Necropolis again."
Currently, the Necropolis has all three goddesses: Scarlet, Jade, and Blue Sky. Aside from the Jade Goddess's overwhelming output, it could be said that a balance has been struck between the players, the Dragonkin, and the Demon Kingdom.
"In terms of players taking the main role in revitalizing the Necropolis from now on, it would have been best if it had become the Scarlet Goddess Statue and been placed there."
"That would be impossible for Shou-kun. He's already become an 'Apostle of the Jade Goddess'."
Shou himself had said he couldn't imagine any other goddess than Mion, or any other goddess image than the Jade Goddess. Systematically, once a player becomes an apostle to a specific goddess, they cannot create statues of other goddesses. Otherwise, there would be a possibility of becoming an apostle to all goddesses and gaining multiple benefits.
"So, I don't think that Nameless Goddess Statue will surface again for a while."
"Okay. Well, that's not too bad, then..."
"Next, the Ancient Ruins—specifically, the mining facility. They went straight to the top floor, defeated the Polymo Golem, and Majo Bell became the administrator."
"S-Seriously?!"
GM Choco nodded to a wide-eyed Misha P and meticulously explained the route and strategy they used. From Misha P's perspective, defeating the Polymo Golem at this stage should have been almost impossible.
"I did mention that Pan-kun, the Urisk chieftain, has a Mithril Hoe, which is a golem-slaying weapon, didn't I?"
"Oof... No, wait, there should have been three Magic Iron Golems before that, shouldn't there have been?"
"That's why they went straight to the top floor. Shou-kun can just reverse-run through it normally."
"Ah-ah, I can't hear you~. More importantly, why didn't you inform me?!"
"It wasn't a system failure severe enough to halt services, and the World Monitoring AI's alert level was merely 'info'."
Misha P had no comeback for that. At Rokujo Group, contact outside business hours (including during vacation) is strictly for emergencies. Even then, a detailed report explaining the reason for the contact must be provided afterwards. Calling an employee during vacation for a mere 'info'-level issue about a change in situation would lead to an incredibly troublesome explanation later.
"Hmm, indeed, it's a matter of 'what if Majo Bell became the administrator of the mining facility?'..."
"That's generally it. However, we also received an 'info' alert that the conditions for starting the World Quest had been met."
"Huh? Was it related to the next World Quest?"
The next scheduled World Quest was a short one called 'When the Devils Come,' set for the latter half of September's long holiday, where players would search for devils that had infiltrated various nations. The appointment of an administrator for an Ancient Ruin on a distant Southern Island had no apparent connection to it.
"Not the next one. After the Necropolis was liberated, a Magic Crystal Stone large enough to restart the sub-control room there was found, so the World Quest after the next, 'City Rebirth,' reacted prematurely."
"Eeeeeh..."
This quest was originally supposed to begin once players discovered emergency Magic Crystal Stones capable of temporary restarts in the lower levels of Ancient Ruins scattered across various locations. That information was also supposed to be acquired during the next 'When the Devils Come' quest... (the fact that Shou and some other players somehow already knew this was to be ignored).
"Let me just clarify. 'City Rebirth' hasn't started yet, right? No, I have to give the final go-ahead, so it shouldn't have started."
"No, it hasn't started. The World Quest thread title on the forum changed a bit, but we've managed to gloss over that."
"Okay. So, starting the next quest, 'When the Devils Come,' as scheduled, is fine?"
"No problem there. However, the subsequent 'City Rebirth' quest... who knows how that will turn out."
GM Choco's concern was the possibility of Majo Bell bringing the Emergency Magic Crystal Stone from the Southern Island's mining facility and using it to restart the sub-control room. There was a chance it could be a 'start-and-immediately-finish' scenario.
"Hmm... In that case, the players' victory would be assured, wouldn't it? If that happens, let's call it overtime and have the resolution happen at one of the other sub-control rooms. The conflict between the Dragonkin and the Demon Kingdom would probably be more exciting anyway, right?"
"I see. Majo Bell and Thunder Empress Leona are on the Kingdom and Dragonkin side, while Ice Princess Anshia is on the Republic and Demon Kingdom side, so it could turn into a good proxy war."
"Just keep it from getting too heated, okay?"
Player conflict is engaging content, but it can also easily turn chaotic. They agreed to be very careful about that aspect.
"Is that the end of your report?"
"No, they then descended to the lower floor and obtained documents related to a Large Magic Ship from a Magic Confidential Box."
"Yes."
"In the Large Transfer Room, it was also revealed that the transfer destination was a Large Magic Shipyard."
"Yes."
"The intrusion prevention mechanism for the 11th floor underground and beyond is working normally, and it seems to be held back by an infinite spawn of powerful ants until the next update, but the information about Iris Ore was revealed."
"Stop! The producer's life points are already zero!"
[Update History]
2/10 Chapter 466 "My Home is the Best After All?" ~ Up to this chapter
Thanks to you, Volume 4 is confirmed for production!!
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Also, thank you again for all your comments and impressions.
I haven't been able to reply, but I read all of them and they encourage me. m(_ _)m