Stories Outside the Tower 2
The kingdom's four cardinal regions were shaped like the elemental dungeons and event dungeons of Heroines Chronicle. The northern snow mountains and tundra fields were, of course, built for Christmas and winter-season events — and for elemental mana stone dungeons.
If the north was the winter field, the west was the summer field. You might wonder why not the south — but the south was all swamps and jungles, a backdrop tailor-made for barbarian warrior ladies in leather bikinis and witch ladies in painted-on robes that clung like a suburban milf's outfit.
The western region of the kingdom was the backdrop for the beach bikini skins no otaku gacha game would ever be without. As a bonus, it even threw in a wasteland for sexy cowboys. Head due west and you hit a port city; turn north from there and you ran into a stretch of wasteland no one could live in.
"Maybe a large-class monster came down from the highlands."
"At this point, that does seem like the most likely possibility."
In short, it was the medieval-fantasy way of saying the place wasn't safe.
Bikini skins and summer beach events might belong to Heroines Chronicle — but Heroes Chronicle had none of that. What remained were the large-class monsters roaming the wasteland and the seafloor monsters crawling up out of the ocean.
Safer than the south, more dangerous than the north or east. That was about the size of it.
"I'd originally planned to leave this to you alone, Roland… but if your party members agree, I'll formally commission Mage Hanna's party."
"I'm in favor, for my part."
"We may be climbing the Tower, but if it's a matter of saving people, the Goddess would smile upon us."
With the northern brat who wanted nothing more than to avoid her father and the candidate saint who would never refuse a rescue both in favor, the atmosphere naturally drifted toward accepting the commission. Grace tended to follow my lead on things like this without making waves, and for Han Se-ah, a quest window had already popped up.
Kim Seok-hyun might have raced up to the thirtieth floor, but he'd climbed so fast he hadn't even farmed golem mana stones on the way. Four rideable golems to keep running, and only about two mana stones to his name? He'd need to mine stones, repair golems, and brew lure incense — since he couldn't bait monsters barehanded the way I could.
Same thirtieth floor, but in terms of time, we were nearly two weeks ahead. Han Se-ah could take a leisurely detour without worrying about losing first place.
"I'm in favor too. I've been curious about the west, and if it's someone Roland knows who's asking us to save people…"
Han Se-ah must have finished the same calculation I had, because she voiced her agreement a beat later. Lily Depp's eyes welled with emotion at the sight of people volunteering to help before even hearing about the pay. Being a woman packed full of passion, hard work, and grit, she seemed especially moved by this kind of thing.
…It was probably kinder not to know that one of us was agreeing so she could pull off a chaotic runaway adventure — fleeing her father from the north through the center all the way to the west.
"Th-thank you! All of you! Even if I have to go into debt, I'll make sure the reward is generous!"
Blissfully unaware of that cute little scheme, Lily Depp bobbed her head in deep bows, her ponytail whipping about. She'd agonized over making such a shameless request — and now not just one person but an entire group had cheerfully agreed to help. Of course she was moved.
And just like that, a western commission — not a Tower climb — was decided in an instant.
"Today we're taking a side quest and heading to the western part of the kingdom instead of the Tower. Wonder if any of you viewers are active out west."
Inside the rattling carriage, Han Se-ah had her stream running and was chatting with her viewers. The camera wasn't on our party — it was fixed on Lily Depp cradling her long spear. Heading into unfamiliar western territory with a new beauty in tow was enough to set the chat ablaze with comments.
There were plenty of players active outside the Tower, but as the chat said, the west was a pretty brutal region. The deep, distant reaches of the west were as good as unexplored territory to the viewers.
"Quick explanation — this adventurer here, Lily Depp, is an acquaintance of Roland's. Her companions took a surplus of mana stones that flooded the market because of a Gate and went on a trading run west, then contact went dead. Upper-grade adventurers wouldn't just run off with a bunch of orc mana stones, so something must have gone wrong — and that's how the commission came in."
While Han Se-ah bantered with her viewers, Lily Depp and the rest of the party started talking about the west. Grace was from the east and Katie from the north, so neither of them knew anything about the region.
From what I overheard, Lily Depp and her companions seemed to be western natives themselves. That was probably why they'd packed up mana stones and headed west in the first place.
"The west? It's an extreme kind of place. It can feel roughly like the east, then you cross one mountain and suddenly you're looking at a barren wasteland with barely a plant in sight. Stick to the inhabited routes, though, and it's about the same as the east."
"A wasteland… that sounds dangerous."
"It is. Orcs driven out by the kingdom's soldiers are crawling all over it, and large monsters keep popping up from who knows where."
Being first-time acquaintances — and with the refined-looking Katie in the mix — Lily Depp and the others kept their conversation politely formal. Their interest seemed firmly fixed on the western wasteland.
Compared to the east, with its blue grasslands and mountains that weren't all that treacherous, the west was more extreme. Cross one barren stone mountain from a moderately wooded plain, and you were staring at a den of large monsters and orc settlements.
Even in inhabited territories, take one wrong turn over the local hill and you could walk straight into a demon realm — so, true to the medieval setting, the place was thick with every kind of superstitious rumor.
"I, uh, heard the western mountains don't have a single tree…"
"Not every mountain — but on the side that leads into the wasteland, there are quite a few bare stone peaks. Makes it easy to spot orcs when they try to cross over."
In this world, life itself — monsters included — was a being blessed by the Goddess's grace. That made plantless wastelands the subject of all kinds of superstition, as if they were cursed ground. Of course, the Tower — which appeared in neither doctrine nor scripture — was far worse.
"What do you mean, bikinis? Food is one thing for player convenience, but why bikinis?"
"Ugh, seriously. Well, there's a reason this game is rated for adults, right?"
With the camera still locked on Lily Depp, the viewers who'd overheard her explanation started buzzing with lecherous expectations. Western bikinis — you'd need at least a month by carriage just to see those.
That said, "there's a reason this game is rated for adults" — was Han Se-ah really in any position to say that out loud while roasting her viewers for being pathetic?
I was thinking that when the carriage naturally came to a stop. Unlike the knight order commission, there wouldn't be any relay stations along this route, so we'd be camping a bit on the way. I stretched as I climbed down, and sure enough, an open clearing with nothing but the remains of a campfire came into view.
"Adventurers, I think we'll need to stop here for today. Reaching the next rest stop would mean driving through the night…"
"We know the western roads are rough. Take good care of the horses and get some solid rest tonight."
"Yes, yes — you seem to know the place well. Are you from the west?"
The coachman parked the carriage in a corner of the clearing as if the spot were familiar, then led the unhitched horses off to the side. He slipped away naturally, apparently planning to handle his own meal.
Whether he did or not, the party that had climbed down from the carriage naturally gathered around Han Se-ah and Irene. Han Se-ah was the inventory-powered pack mule, Irene handled the cooking, so Grace and Katie trailed after them looking for any way to lend a hand.
Lily Depp started toward me at that, then caught herself, read the room, and went over to Irene in her nun's habit instead.
"Sister? It looks like we need to prepare a meal — do you know where the luggage is?"
"Ah, Hanna will pull that out for us."
"Pull it out?"
"I'm not the one milking it! …Ah, I'll get the pot out first. Doesn't look like there's anywhere to fetch water, so I'll have to make some with magic, right?"
"G-good heavens! You can store luggage in a magical space? If magic like that exists…!"
Han Se-ah pulled a pot out of thin air, and Lily Depp's eyes went round as saucers. At that comedy routine, the viewers spammed the now-repertoire Genius Mage Han Se-ah bit and roasted her for all they were worth.
Between taking a surplus of mana stones from a Gate opening and boss event and heading out on a trading run, Lily Depp's party seemed to dabble in light commerce alongside their adventuring to make money.
That aside — even knowing this world was a game, watching someone casually pull a person-sized pot out of empty air was still a pretty amazing sight.