"Amusement park ohoy!" - Mira

Alongside Mira's joke, the sight of a huge construct started revealing itself to us. The Marauder didn't have a crow's nest. Our resident female knight's statement was far from needed. Then again, I can't blame her for growing excited over reaching our destination. It's been over 20 hours since we left the Dungeon with the floatship, and that's when we only counted the time when we were on the move. Having to camp out in the desert again made me happy that our voyage was over. Had it not been for that it's going to take just as long getting back home...

As for the "construct" I mentioned, I'm referring to the giant Ferris wheel that's placed in the middle of the large area of buildings constructed with metal and concrete. And by large I am talking about around 5 times the size of a single floor of my Dungeon. Which, by the way, should be around 5 square kilometers. It's still not as big as the larger amusement parks back in my old world, but considering our goals here...

"Man, this is going to take forever. That blasted Flint, giving us such a hard cookie for our first treasure hunt..." - Garami

Today's agenda is solving the treasure map Flint gave me before we parted in Oasis Town. After determining it was real, we suited up and left the Dungeon, the map as our only guide through the scorching desert sands.

We found a large area of civilized plot of land (even if also abandoned and would be better called a "ghost park"), but that's just half our job. The treasure map that Flint provided us also hints that a special type of material is hidden within these dilapidated cement blocks. Flint wants us to find this material for him, as it could help fulfill his dream, or so he said. I didn't ask for details. A good adventurer knows when to respect their client's privacy.

However...it's a whole amusement park...and a noticeably big one to boot... While the areal wouldn't be too much of a problem, treasure maps tend to lead their readers to Chaos Dungeons or Haunts, which means monsters, traps, or other forces of hostility. That wouldn't be too bad had we had to look through an ancient temple or something. That would be just one building to scout. But this...

"Looking through all those rustbuckets' going to break some bones." - Garami

"If you're talking monster bones, then that's fine with me." - Mira

Yeah, it was a good idea to take Mira with us on this trip. Having a [Dark Knight] guarding us is good on its own, and then there are her thief classes, which include the all-to-fitting [Treasure Hunter]. As for me, I was chosen since I'm the only Guild member who is using Scout-line classes as their main. Even if they're not Path of Searching classes, I can still discover a hidden treasure chest or two. And the last member chosen...

"Hey, Alf? You still alive?" - Garami

"N-no worries..." - Alf

Our resident vegetarian vampire is trying to withstand the desert sun underneath his ridiculous-sized parasol. How's that thing not flown off the ship's deck yet?

"You should have known the sun would be ruthless on a blood drinker. Why even come along?" - Garami

"I'd stayed behind had it not been too scary leaving you two alone. At worst, a whole section of the desert may have been erased." - Alf

Hey, hey. Why're we getting this kind of treatment? The worst Mira and I have done as a duo is robbing a casino for all their secret savings. ...Okay, now that I'm reflecting on my past deeds, that might be a cause for concern.

Mira looked like she'd wanted to test out her sword's edge on Alf, but she restrained herself and kept quiet. Following her example, I steered the Marauder toward one of the larger buildings where we could park the ship inside.

---

After parking the Marauder inside the abandoned building. Considering the remains and structure of its inside, I guess it used to be some sort of large-scale car park. I call it a "car" park, but this place probably saw more carriages or floatships than cars when the amusement park was still operating, if it ever was.

To be safe, I retrieved a large piece of black cloth that I'd made beforehand and used it to cover the sailship. In the darkness of the car park, most people won't notice the ship unless they actively search for it. It's not an invisible mantle, but it has to do.

"Every time I see it in use, I'm getting jealous of your huge inventory." - Mira

"It only shines when you have the right tools inside. Luckily for me, I'm in love stuffing it with lots of junk." - Garami

The black cloth from before was the result of my experimenting with my weaving skills back in Velantas. The [Spatial Storage] currently has pieces of cloth that can be used for simple camouflage, albeit that's their limit. Their real purpose was to make outfits with them, but luckily, I've yet to find the time to do that.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Anyhow, how's thing looking outside?" - Garami

"If summarized into one word: abandoned." - Alf

"I'd call it 'boring', but eh. Abandoned fits the bill as well." - Mira

Asking the two who were scouting outside the car park while I was securing the Marauder, couldn't have another ship-napping incident after all, I got a depressing answer. Joining them, I took a look outside at the dusty landscape in front of us. Just a bunch of buildings lined up, no paint left on the walls after the many years of being exposed to the desert winds and sun. Abandoned and boring indeed.

Ransacking them was as boring as their appearance. Nothing of value to be found. Just sand, dust, and stone powder. In short, nothing that's in demand here in this oversized sandbox.

We did find what appears to be the main entrance to the amusement park back when it was "alive". The gate had already crumbled apart with almost no remains left, however, surprisingly enough, a large container filled with old tickets had managed to survive the many years. We also found a map of the park, a blessing we genuinely needed. Any signs portraying the park would have faced the same fate as the gate in half the time it took for it to fall apart.

The park looks pretty orthodox. A U-shaped area with different attractions, including staples such as the Ferris wheel, rollercoaster, mirrorhouse, and more. We could see some of them from the distance when we arrived. It's a miracle that they're still standing. Even the gate is in its sorry, non-existing state. Maybe the attractions were enhanced by some durability-enhancing magic. Or it's a case of the park being another Chaos Dungeon and the facilities are integral to its construct.

"In that case..." - Garami

To confirm my suspicions, I went outside the ticket booth and headed for the wall separating the park's inner sections from the outside world, sans the section where the gate used to be. Power attacks ain't my cup of tea, so I summoned a Deadflesh Golem and ordered it to do a straight right that could have won a boxing championship.

"Not even a scratch..." - Garami

"Can't add a scratch when the wall's made entirely of them." - Alf

"Tch. I wanted to see if there were some Dungeon-related rules applied to this place, but this doesn't tell me anything." - Garami

"So we're quality testers now? Great. Alf, your chance has come." - Mira

"Excuse me, but my halberd's not a wrecking ball. It will cost a lot to repair it, not to mention replacing it if it gets destroyed trying to smash an indestructible object." - Alf

"Then use one of these," said Mira while dragging a rebar she'd hauled off one of the more damaged buildings. Wait, is that a cut mark on the rebar's lower end? Decayed or not, that's supposed to be steel, not butter...

Accepting the "hammer", Alf took a swing that would make a baseball player jealous at the wall. Despite the loud noise it made, neither the wall nor the hammer had any visible damage. ...Neither the wall nor the hammer?

Alf had a face that betrayed that he had the same doubts as me, so he went to the other buildings and gave them some good wacks. The first hit was enough to make visible changes to the improvised hammer, and by two more, only the rebar part was left of it.

"And the building wall ain't faring any better," said Mira while looking at the hole Alf had made.

"In short, the wall, rather, the barrier around the park's inner circle seems to be magically enhanced. Maybe even Dungon-cally enhanced." - Garami

"What's that supposed to mean? No, I get what you're trying to say, but seriously..." - Alf

"Wow... To get even the Ice-guy to feel the chills... Guild Master, you're on a whole other level." - Mira

Huh? Hey, why're you stepping away from me so much? Some people just don't have a sense of humor.

"If you guys are done playing heartless bullies, do you mind if we start our amusement park date for real?" - Garami

"Garami, that way of saying it only works when it's the two of us alone." - Mira

"...Crap, that's too true!" - Garami

"Am I supposed to feel warm seeing you two having such a good relationship or broken for being treated like a broken third wheel?" - Alf

Keeping his tears down, the vampire started walking toward the gate with his head down. We must have teased him too much. A nervous chuckle from Mira, aimed to hide her embarrassment, showed she thought the same thing. Maybe I should start planning that fishing pod present for real...

*BONK!*

"Ow!!" - Garami

Right when I was considering trying to obtain a natural pond or an artificial one that you can find in the big cities, my head collided with something right as I was stepping past the gate. And it smarts!! Like, ouch! For real! The pain was enough to make me crouch down holding my head.

"G-Garami? What's wrong?" - Mira

"A-a-aaaa..." - Garami

"Hmm, this is a no-go. Our princess lacks the most important resistance that we warriors are gifted with." - Alf

"[Pain Resistance]? Be careful, Alfy boy. I've heard rumors about people having their heads messed up for over-relying on that skill." - Mira

"There are such rumors? Also, do not call me 'Alfy boy'." - Alf

"In that case, I'll steal your 'princess' idea~. Why didn't I think about that one before myself?" - Mira

"Uuugh..." - Garami

Your "princess" is demanding some royal assistance, you knight of debts!!

"Oh, righty. Princess Garami? Did you hurt your head? ......How?" - Mira

That's...a good question. I was just trying to walk through the gate, but something prevented me. In a hard, non-perceivable fashion.

After the worst pains subsided, I carefully started to feel the empty air in front of me, my fingertips soon found their way to a solid wall. An invisible wall, I might add. Getting my head almost cracked open like I was some character in a cheap cartoon was not the way I imagined this treasure hunt to start.

"There's a wall here..." I grumbled, still using my left hand to nurse my forehead while tapping the invisible barrier with my right one.

"Eh, for real? I can't feel anything weird." - Mira

While my hand was blocked by this solid piece of air, Mira could walk past me just fine. Alf was the same, seeing as he had already passed the gate and even took some trips in and out just to be safe.

"A barrier that blocks out only Garami? This is a head-aching mystery we've stumbled over right from the get-go." - Alf

Tch. Why's only he allowed to do the puns? Ouch...