The young pacifist children of the neighborhood are kind of clueless right now~

Really, even though we came in peace, everyone mysteriously died. What are we supposed to do now with this elk boss now?

_ Player #2: Whether you are streaming or not, WHY THE HELL DID IT NOT ATTACK?!

_ Fensen: No idea~

Corpses aside, there's this hill behind the elk, and a cavern entrance that has no problem letting it pass through. Its home, maybe?

_ Shadyna: Hey~ What's inside that cavern?

_ Player #1: As if we would tell you anything!!!

_ Player #2: We don't know, actually. The boss was blocking the way since we first came here.

Thanks for the explanation, dead people~

_ Player #1: YOU DAMN TRAITOR!!!

I wonder what treasure is hidden in that cave~

_ Shadyna: You two, stay here. I will check if the boss is cool with us going near the cavern.

_ Fensen: Roger~

_ Poltea: P-please be careful.

[Shared Fate] is still active with , so I won't die in one hit. That rock spikes attack may have multiple hits though…

Because I am not forced into battle for once, I take my time switching to CON gear. 100k defense after buff should be enough right?

I already feel like my gear is outdated compared to attributes from [Absolute Zero]. Let's make Sateri wear an over-crafted wedding dress when she wants (has) to nerf it~

_ Shadyna: Okay, here goes…

With my SPD, it should be trivial to run straight into the cavern before the boss can even target me, but why would I want to leave my cute students behind? If it comes to worst, I can always draw the boss away so they can enter without being smashed by that scary attack.

Calm down, remove all non-existent impurities from the mind, act as naturally as possible. Definitely-not-suspicious person passing through~

…

Wow, it really doesn't attack. I reach the entrance without any problem apart from being stared at by the boss.

_ Player #1: WHY?! It stomped on everyone that tried to get close without exception!!!

You are already looking at the exception~

These guys are not returning to Tyrel, which means SOMEONE is definitely coming to resurrect them. What a pain…

_ Shadyna: , your turn.

Because she has more shields, and has my [Shared Fate].

_ Poltea: U-un!

_ Fensen: Do your best, ~!

Next will be .

…

And so, let's begin the exploration~

_ Player #2: Please upload the footage to the board later! I want to know what's inside too!

_ Shadyna: I'll try~

Mega-elk, are you sure it's fine to follow us instead of continuing guard duty…?

____________

In the teahouse that is no longer tended by its owner, another emergency meeting is being held by and .

_ Olkan: And behold, [ Blade of Unification]!

---

[ Blade of Unification]

- Creator:

- Quality:

- Enhancement: 9

- Enchantment:

- PAT: 900

- MAT: 300

- PSP: 30

---

_ Tippe: Awesome!

_ Ignar: Thanks, .

_ Maximus: That [Equipment Manufacturer Origin] is too friggin' OP.

_ Olkan: Not without the absurd scaling base stats of [Artifact] materials. Hell, [Night] effect is already crazy on its own! Stacking debuffs on attack, and scales with your level too. It shouldn't be legal!

For who is at level 20 at the moment, [Night] gives his enemies a debuff on all stats that stacks up to four times as he attacks. A force multiplier, the most powerful effect one can have on the battlefield.

A sword that can be reforged as needed and scales with both the owner and crafter. It can be said that has already obtained the end-game weapon, regardless of the current meta.

Because it is so powerful, everyone was fighting over it back then. That was when [Artifact] was found to be "binding" to its first wielder.

_ Ignar: The generic [Artifact] materials are strong too aren't they? You even made rods out of it.

_ Olkan: It's a scepter!!!

_ Tippe: Who's gonna get the Nox's unique drop? ?

_ Olkan: She's the only one fighting it, so obviously. We can only hope the Magnus Bestia are the same.

_ Maximus: Those things are stronger than Nox. If they don't give unique drop that AI girl will have to deal with revolts.

_ Olkan: That's why I went my way to ask about that other boss, but probably saw through it. As expected of my (not) wife.

_ Maximus: *Groans* Do reforge our generic [Artifact] later. Can't fight that brat with wooden sticks.

_ Vladina: It will be fine~ Nox dropped enough [Artifact] for a full party. We will have enough for the players that count.

_ Maximus: As long as that scrub stays put and not rob us right under our nose, that is.

_ Olkan: She's mentoring 's cousin. Why would she go to a snake-infested forest or a level capped grove?

Because he just had to say that, , who was grumping in the corner after being revived, went straight into total panic mode.

_ Torenis: Our Magnus Bestia site is under attack by the multi-weapon wielders!

_ Ignar: Oh come on!!!

While certainly not the main objective of and , they also mobilize to assist . The fighting power of the multi-weapon wielders are not known, but they were strong enough to defeat the few parties there.

One Illusive Sprout is already one too many!

____________

The ambient soundtrack is nice~

As soon as we walked past the entrance, the music changed. You know this is a place of great importance when it has its own theme. Usually it is one theme per area.

The mask had one too, I think? I usually leave the volume low and that fight was sooooo hectic I barely had the chance to enjoy the tunes. Let's ask for the footage later to check.

Oh, before I forget. Streaming, start~ Uh… let's make sure the PM option is off so my private conversations are not recorded.

There's also the default recording that is always on, but only has a few minutes of footage. It was meant for saving unexpected moments, not for long videos.

_ Shadyna: I'm recording now. Do you want to say hello to the dead guy out there?

_ Fensen: Oh~ Am I going on TV?

_ Shadyna: Probably not~ But people may see it so don't say anything too weird~

_ Fensen: Okay~ Hiyo! This is Mister Big Elk!

_ Shadyna: You are introducing the boss instead?!

is already sighing! Please don't give up, !

But really, having this boss following us is kind of awkward. It's like visiting your girlfriend and her father is pointing a shotgun at your back the whole time!

_ Shadyna: Let's venture inside. What do you think awaits us?

_ Fensen: A legendary sword to slay the last boss!

Pre-emptive strike before the girlfriend is kidnapped?! And girl, you use cannons, not swords!

_ Poltea: Its…family?

Surprisingly mundane expectations?! And this is an elk, not wolf. Elks probably do not camp in caves. I don't know what to think if a whole group of these "elks" decide to have us for dinner though. This one alone looks way too tough already.

…

After a few turns, light from the outside is pretty much gone. And I thought the grove outside was dim!

The only lights from here on out are some glowing mushrooms. Colors vary, but green is dominant. Oh, the elk's eyes glow too, but they are too high to be of any use.

_ Fensen: Thankfully we have these lanterns, right~?

_ Poltea: Yes, but please don't squish another one.

_ Fensen: I didn't mean to~!

If we were on foot, tripping onto something is a real possibility. However, pets, and NPCs in general, do not need to "see" to walk on terrain completely void of light, so there's no problem.

_ Shadyna: Hm~ hmm~ hm~

Humming along with the background music, I enjoy the ride through the deep dark cave.

…Nothing bad or questionable is waiting at the end of this, right?

…

_ Poltea: Light…?

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

Light at the end of the tunnel. Are you sure we are not being transferred to the netherworld…?

_ Fensen: Onward~!

_ Poltea: !!!

How am I going to fix that habit of her…?

_ All: Oh~

The light that we saw was not from a mushroom, nor a gigantic mushroom, as I was expecting.

It's the fireflies. Greenish, just like the ones on Schennul's eyes.

*Tinkling*

They make a bell-like sound as they fly past my ears. Even then it's hard to hear, and 's "Wa~ Wo~" are not helping~

_ Poltea: It's beautiful…

_ Shadyna: Un~

_ Fensen: ~, can I bring one home?

At least enjoy the scenery before thinking about souvenirs!!!

_ Shadyna: Let's not. Mega-elk probably won't like it.

And in this case, I have a feeling it would convey its opinion by skewering all of us with that spike attack… Un, no thanks to that, even if we wouldn't die in the first hit!

In this dome-like area under the hill, the fireflies live in complete isolation. Without a single ray of light from the sun, it is an eternal "starry" night, calming, relaxing. The benefits of a virtual world~

The main attraction of this place, however, is most likely that rock formation in the middle.

[Destroyed home of fireflies]

…That's it? Why, [Inspect]-chan?! Are you in rebellious phase?!

And why is it destroyed? I'm pretty sure has not accidentally crashed into anything… yet. She is definitely poking the thing though.

Good kids should never poke unknown stuff, especially in a fantasy-themed game, where the usual consequences of such action includes explosion, detonation, eruption, blowup, rapid expansion of air, and explosion!

Un, explosions happen too often that I have to say it twice!

Even if it's called "home", it's just rocks leaning on each other, with each rock reaching about our arms' length. They probably formed a small "hut" where the fireflies took shelter because of the convenient size. Did this giant elk somehow build this?

…Nah, if that was the case the hut wouldn't stay destroyed.

Half of the hut is missing. The standing rocks are barely holding, while the remaining are scattered around. I'm not certain, however, as this is a rocky area…

Looking at the exposed part, there are several egg clusters on the side of the rocks. Do eggs hatch in this game…? I kind of want to have a whole farm of Gelly for peaceful world domination~

_ Fensen: Uhm, should we… fix this?

_ Poltea: Let me try… I can't pick the rocks up.

_ Shadyna: Really? That's weird…

Even grass can be picked. Why not these rocks? Special quest items?

In general, I am not able to pick up trees, ores and player buildings… Wait, buildings?

_ Shadyna: [Creation], full power!

[Begin craft: ]

A crafting sphere has appeared!!!

And uh… Can anyone tell me what we are crafting? I don't even know if [Construction] was the skill triggering this!

_ Fensen: Woa~ The rocks are moving!

Unlike the normal crafting where materials simply disappear, the rocks are not consumed by [Creation], but start moving as I work on the sphere.

_ Poltea: C-can I try it too…?

Joint crafting? I wonder if it is allowed?

_ Shadyna: Go ahead~

_ Fensen: [Creation]~!

_ Poltea: C-[Creation]!

The crafting sphere is growing bigger! It's about twice as large as before, so almost my height now. Progress bar is going up faster than previously, I think? It is enlarged with the sphere so I am not so sure.

When crafting something for the first time, you need to select the materials before using [Creation]. A storage-like menu with the recipe's material cost will appear for later attempts so you can just throw material into it as needed.

This time, said menu appeared, but the material number is displayed as [Any - 0/?]

What is this, hot pot in the dark? Oh well, if I give it a lot of items, something will happen right?

Let's go, starting with the highest quality first~

_ Shadyna: Throwing~ throwing~ into the abyss~

Somehow, it's still eating my items nonstop!!! Isn't this a bit too much?!

*Sniff*… my fishery materials…

At this point there can be no return! Commence operation Overfeeding!!!

_ Shadyna: , , throw out all the corpses you are carrying and keep working on the craft. I will add more materials.

_ Fensen: Roger~

During the few seconds I change to my LCK gear, the dome area has been submerged in corpses. Just how many living beings have you murdered in cold blood during the time I was fishing?!

_ Shadyna: [Refinery], maximum firepower!

I still have the majority of my loots from [Fishing]'s "treasure" boxes, but the rate of material consumption scares me. Moreover, the quality of the remaining items is not as good you see~

You have better turn out awesome, firefly nest, because you are eating what were meant to be these young innocent girls' weapons of mass destruction!

The fallen rocks were put back in place. A grayish liquid wrapped around it, solidifying into what I would assume a concrete-like layer. After that, multiple magic circles appeared, engulfing it with barriers. Even the moss started glowing and spreading to cover the now fortified hut.

And as the cherry on top, fireflies are now flooding out of the hut's "entrance", like those bubble blowers, with the bubbles being living glowing insects!

Did they come from the eggs? Even so, that's way too many!!!

*FLASH*

…What's that light just now?

I am still at where I was. The fireflies, however, are now emitting gray light. Rather than the fireflies changing their bulbs, I suppose the problem is my vision changing to greyscale. I know that by looking at the green moss, which was not gray.

Oh, of course, seeing those scary-looking players in greyscale also helps.

…Wait, what? Where's mega-elk?

_ Leading player: What's this? [Home of fireflies]?

The young man leading the party looks just as confused as we were when we first saw it as well. That is to be expected.

Walking forward from his side, the (definitely) blond waitress with the dual swords stares at the stone hut, most likely to read [Inspect]'s infinite (lack of) wisdom.

But seriously, what is Hessy doing here? Even if I can only make out some facial features in this darkness, I am not going to mistake those spiky swords you know?

_ Hessy: *Shakes head* No description.

Greyscale vision, inexplicable situations, being ignored as if not existing, un, I am definitely in a flas…

_ Leading player: Let's try breaking it. Etena, [Charge].

_ Hessy: What the hell, ?!

I agree! What the heck is with this trigger-happy guy?! Why did you act like a civilized marauder also known as adventurer?! This is why the stereotype of players being jerks can never be rid of!!!

The fiery bird behind him flies straight at the stone structure, resulting in a blinding explosion.

…That, or the flashback ending, as I am now seeing colors again after the light dissipates.

_ Poltea: Sh-, did you see that…?

_ Shadyna: The convenient flashback revealing the tragic past of the heroine? Yes, I did.

_ Fensen: You are not making any sense~

Hessy called that man . Pretty sure he's the guildmaster of , and my senior in summoning. Over half of my acquaintances are from the same guild, yet this is the first time I see his face?!

He has good looks, the kind of smart calm guy who would be the second option in an otome game. The long robe and glasses give off a scholar-ish vibe, which is fitting considering his summoner profession. His serious expression combined with that straight long hair really adds to the brain-over-brawn if not even a bit feminine archetype. A stark contrast to the harem-protagonist-like or battle-hardened hero .

Ironically, that also makes his… behaviors really stand out for me. It's the cliché "Handsome man is actually a pain in my cute butt" scenario in otome games~

Conclusion: Hessy has ridiculously bad luck with online acquaintances, except for the cute little tree girl that is me. Sigh~

_ Fensen: Mister Big Elk?

While I was internally complaining, the boss approached us from behind. Lowering its neck to us, the elk's face is about a meter away as I turned back. Considering its towering height, that's quite close.

…It's not going to bite me, right?

_ Shadyna: Uh… Something, something, you had it rough too huh?

I don't know where it was when raided the place, but I doubt that would make a good impression of Schennul's ability to guard this area…

*Tinkling*

Two flickering lights come towards me. Where did they… What the heck happened to your eyes, mega-elk?!

Its glowing eyes are gone! Or rather, the "glow" is gone, while the empty gray eyes remain. Censorship? Do I need censorship for this?!

*Tinkling*

[Received Primordial Firefly of the Moss x2]

Don't barge into my inventory without my consent!!!

_ Fensen: This is bad! Mister Elk's eyes flew away!

When you put it like that it's even more creepy!

_ Poltea: U-Uhm… St… stop the bleeding, first and foremost!

No, first step is you calming down, girl! Also, [Inspect]!

[Blind Protector Beast Schennul: The great beast guarding the grove since primordial time. Once a weak and blind creature, it asked the fireflies to lend it light. The fireflies agreed, asking for the beast's protection in return. Both sides have been keeping their promises against many adversaries ever since.

However, the fireflies were harmed while the beast was recovering from the great disaster. Disappointed in its own failure and helplessness, it entrusted the light to the saviors, finally ending the contract defining its very existence.]

…Panic mode, on.

_ Shadyna: I am really sorry!

I didn't mean to, honest! Besides, shouldn't fixing the hut bring a good end instead of this tragedy?! How is this poor thing going to fare now that it's blind, not to mention the whole "I have failed" note to it!

_ Fensen: Lantern! Give Mister Elk a lantern!

_ Poltea: How would that work?! Our lanterns are too small!

That's what you are worried about?!

_ Fensen: , please make a bigger lantern!

You are not even going to question it?! Then again, having fireflies as eyes is not logically sound in the first place…

Worth a try, right…?

_ Shadyna: [Creation]!

[Warning: Proceeding will have unforeseen consequences. Continue?] [Y/N]

…I'm sorry, what? Sateri, why is it going to get worse?! Nine out of ten times when a game asks for your confirmation, it will result in boss fights, bad ends, rare item destructions, broken engagements, or the worst of them all, heroine's route commitment!

Considering this is for a bonus boss, I guess it's either new boss fight or bad ends? How do you even get a bad end in an MMO anyway…? Permanent account ban, maybe?

This will most likely go horribly, so YES PLEASE!

Not that I am looking forward to it, okay? But think about it, what I am doing is pretty much hidden bonus content of hidden bonus content! Who can even resist such temptation?!

Moreover, I am responsible for this mess to begin with. I have to do my best until the end! Retreat is never an option for the pacifist girl~

[Begin craft: ]

…It's the "Heroine's route commitment" option!!!

Retreat! Retreat! Where is the "Load" button?! I demand to be brought back to my last save!!!

…And, uh, where's the crafting sphere? Because I am not seeing it.

_ Poltea: , are you looking for… that?

Turning around as per 's advice, I see it.

A gigantic crafting sphere that reaches the ceiling of the dome. It is so high the progress bar has to be put below rather than above it. Said bar is also big enough to span a good part across the room no problem.

Okay, I admit, I did not see this one coming.

The best and worst part is the hot pot (designated temporary name) menu is also available.

My materials… Uuu… The last one ate way too much already. Just how much do I have to give to this massive black hole???

And I don't even know the actual effects of throwing items into it!!!

_ Fensen: [Creation]~!

_ Poltea: *Sighs* [Creation].

You girls are not bothered at all?!

With only two of them working on it, I suppose it will take around… five minutes, according to the progress bar? That's twice as long as the last one. In other words, I doubt the required materials will be no less than two times the amount I used previously.

You asked for it, Sateri.

Let's turn off the stream for now. Save current coordinates, start the countdown!

_ Shadyna: I'll be right back. [Teleport]!

_ Fensen: Eh~?!

Even the corpse pile my cute students brought in won't be enough at this rate. Therefore, I will be bringing in the big guns, figuratively!

I am back to the mining base. To gain a massive amount of materials in the shortest time, obviously the excavator is my best chance.

Not sure if I have to do it quickly, since we can always stop working on the craft. But for one, my alarm has rung! And two, I do not know if the owners of the fort outside won't be marching in on us soon!

_ Shadyna (Party): Alert me if other players arrive, okay?

_ Fensen (Party): Leave it to me~!

_ Poltea (Party): You are not seeing anyone if you keep your back turned to the entrance!

Counting on you, , un.

_ Shadyna: [Enhance]! [ Kinetic Boring Excavator]!

Dynamite mining, full power!

Two minutes and a half should be fine right?

There're storages filled with crystals over there, but just grabbing them takes longer than mining. More importantly, ever since this area got terraformed the crystals have become limited goods as we cannot get new ones. No thanks to burning through non-renewable stuff!

*BOOM*

Let's keep going!

Only getting some items to refill the quiver, I keep on activating the excavator. There's no time to dump the trash. Just. Keep. Bombing~!

…

I'm surprised I haven't turned into a black hole or at least neutron star, considering my mass is probably several tons now. My own weight is nowhere near that, okay?

Even with my cheat attributes, I can't move due to encumbrance. No problem though.

[Teleport]!

Back to the cavern~

_ Fensen: Welcome back~

_ Poltea: Welcome back, .

_ Shadyna: Un~ Keep going at it. Sure-kill technique: Item carpet bombing, go~!

_ Fensen: Go~

You want items? Then items you will get! There're two minutes left and I will make sure you will eat every last one of the materials in this little body of mine!

[White sand], [Copper ore], [Silver ore], [Rough diamond], [Rough emerald], [Fish bone], [Mossy Box]… Did I miss that one during the fishing?

[Onyx ore], more [White sand], lots of [Fish bone], [Crab shell], 's hand. Wait, sorry, I just grabbed her by mistake!

Even more [White sand], just how many piles of sand do I have here?! [Mossy claw], [Mossy rock], [Primordial Firefly of the Moss]. Wait, no! That was close! I almost threw in something I didn't mean to!

More [Mossy rock], [Iron ore], [Rough emerald], I haven't asked for your hand, !

Some more [Crab shell], why do I still have [Fish bone]?! Oh wait, need to turn the stream back on!

My sanity, please come back~!

____________

The on-duty waitress, , waves as returns to the cafeteria. Such a friendly greeting that freaks patrons out as if they were looking at an imposter of the harsh mistress, until she glares back at them and calls them out for what they are, damn degenerates.

_ Fuelri: Done grinding already?

Upon seeing the busty mentor, who was probably chilling with her supposedly archnemesis, freezes and looks confused for a moment. Then she breaks out a beaming smile.

_ Shadyna: Screenshotted~ Thank you very much~!

_ Fuelri: …Eh?

Puzzled by 's actions, turns to with an expression of "What was that about?" on her face.

_ Hessenria: …Probably amazed by how lightly dressed you are.

_ Fuelri: …! KYAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Lowering her line of sight, the young (?) elf lets out a shriek that pierces the heaven, or on a more related note, the eardrums of the poor players in the vicinity, many times over.

It is the scream of a bashful girl whose dressing got interrupted by the bastard protagonist barging in, so it was totally worth it for the degenerate patrons!

_ Fuelri: I forgot to change back! , why the hell did you not say anything earlier?!

A black top with green branch-like patterns on the lower half, with a leaf on each far side. Combined with the black bottom having similar textures on the side, there's no mistaking it.

The elf girl is wearing a bikini, period.

That in itself is not a problem. Being anywhere not a beach or a gravure idol's photoshoot is, as she's pretty much in her undies.

Not that the perverts here mind that, of course! Even the destructive little girl is enjoying it to the fullest!

_ Hessenria: …I thought that was your hobby.

_ Fuelri: IT IS NOT!!!

Poor girl is already teary as she changes back to her normal heavy armor set. She probably has roamed around town in that almost-no-clothing getup for a while.

_ Shadyna: It is a feast for my eyes so please continue~!

_ Fuelri: I WILL NOT! I was wearing it to protect my sanity!!!

gives a sympathetic look as she witnesses her distressed friend.

_ Shadyna: I am certain that you lost it, Elri~

_ Fuelri: YOU ARE NOT HELPING!!!

_ Hessenria: So, how was the boss?

Ignoring the elf, the (reinstated) head waitress turns to the young girls.

_ Shadyna: Hmm~ The flower was weird and a lot happened, but it turned out OK!

_ Hessenria: Flower…? I… see? Good for you.

The mistress of the tavern is confused by the answer, but decided that her sanity is more important than curiosity.

She doesn't want to end up like that elf over there!