The Beginning of the Cataclysm (2)
Having finished all our business, we headed out of the Sky Ocean Forest.
Isaac Berylof, Adelia, and Doricco Shiro followed behind me in turn.
"Hup...!"
Just then, Doricco Shiro suddenly began to act rather bizarrely.
She stretched both arms stiffly out in front of her and began hopping along.
It was the classic jiangshi posture straight out of a movie.
"...?"
They froze.
Adelia and Isaac Berylof stared at her with expressions of utter bewilderment.
Seeing their reactions, Doricco Shiro quickly offered an excuse.
"M-my spiritual power is all tapped out."
"..."
"I don't really know the exact reason either... but ever since I became an undead, whenever I run out of strength, this is the only way I can move."
Of course, I knew the reason.
Even if she looked like an ordinary person most of the time, Doricco Shiro was still a jiangshi.
When her power drained, she had no choice but to revert to the primal form of a hopping corpse.
"By the way..."
Adelia spoke up, looking around at their surroundings.
"Is it really alright to just leave the Sky Ocean Forest like this?"
I followed her gaze and scanned the woods.
Although the blood-red energy had vanished, traces of corruption still lingered throughout the forest.
The damp leaves bore a dark, reddish-black hue, and an unsettling aura still clung to the earth.
Even so, there was no need to worry. This forest would recover quickly.
"The Sea Moon Mother is practically one with the Sky Ocean Forest. As long as the larvae exist, the forest will naturally restore itself."
To be honest, this was a first for me too, so I couldn't be absolutely certain...
But still, hadn't more than ten Sea Moon Mother larvae been born?
As they grew, the forest's vitality was bound to strengthen alongside them.
In the past, there had been only a single Sea Moon Mother. Now, with multiple larvae guarding the forest together, the chances of it flourishing even more than before were highly likely.
"But Sir Gaon."
Adelia looked back with a slightly flustered expression.
"This one keeps following me."
Pitter-patter.
One of the Sea Moon Mother larvae was persistently trailing behind her.
While all the other larvae had returned to the lake, this particular one refused to leave Adelia's side.
Like a chick following its mother, it kept close to her heels.
"I-I'm so jealous...!"
Doricco Shiro muttered childishly, but Adelia looked deeply troubled by the situation.
And understandably so.
Having a sacred creature like a divine beast constantly tailing you would be quite a burden.
"Leave it be. Divine beasts are spiritual creatures that follow the will of the great."
"...Ah."
"There is always a reason behind their actions, so you don't need to worry."
Adelia nodded. She seemed reassured by my words.
One of them should be fine.
This was also unprecedented, so I couldn't say for sure, but... well. If this continued, wouldn't that little creature eventually become an excellent pet for Adelia?
Adelia, wielding a fully grown Sea Moon Mother as a pet...
Adelia was already powerful enough on her own.
But if she also gained the protection of the Sea Moon Mother, no one would ever dare look down on her.
In any case.
Chatting about this and that as we walked, we soon arrived at the exit of the Sky Ocean Forest.
"Hehe! See you next time, friend!"
Doricco Shiro bid farewell with a bright, innocent smile.
"You know what? 'They' told me to get along with you too!"
"..."
"Fortunately, they seemed really happy that we're friends."
Hearing Doricco Shiro's next words, I couldn't help but feel slightly taken aback.
What?
Even the evil gods were pleased that I had befriended her?
...What on earth are they thinking?
But I didn't have the luxury to ponder it deeply.
"Bye! I'm really leaving now!"
"..."
Hop, hop, hop!
With her arms stretched straight out, Doricco Shiro vanished into the depths of the forest.
Staring at the spot where she had disappeared, I shook my head.
Well, it's not a problem I need to dig into right this second.
Whatever the evil gods' intentions were, I had more pressing matters to attend to.
I quickly prepared to depart.
"Let us head to Wintersield."
The Sky Ocean Forest was located in such a remote area that finding a carriage was no easy task.
In the end, we had to return to the central city of Centerium to secure a means of transportation.
It's a shame Elder Dang isn't with us this time, which means unexpected events might occur...
Well, even so, there shouldn't be any major issues.
After all, I had the Level 85 Adelia and the 7th-tier mage Isaac Berylof with me.
Step, step.
Even as we made our way toward Centerium, my mind was working restlessly.
The thing occupying the largest share of my thoughts was, of course, the notification window that had popped up a few hours ago.
[Strawberry Latte has started the 200th playthrough.]
[The second player is entering the world.]
Another reincarnator has appeared.
With this, everything became clear.
In the end, my hypothesis was correct. The Saintess had been trying to warn me about the situation where more players would be reincarnated into this world.
I'm not particularly panicked.
Was it because I had somewhat anticipated this? Or was my Max Level mental strength stat helping me stay composed even in a situation like this?
Even after seeing the notification announcing the arrival of a new reincarnator, I was able to maintain my calm.
To be honest, I was actually glad. It meant I now had a companion in the same boat as me.
Strawberry Latte.
Ranked 2nd in the Hall of Fame.
He was the closest younger brother to me among the players, and the one I shared the most information with.
We had known each other for over a decade.
We had met up at offline gatherings multiple times, and we had hung out one-on-one quite a bit too.
Strawberry Latte will be of immense help to me.
There were plenty of ways to utilize him as an ally.
Although I couldn't draw up concrete plans since I didn't know his exact specs yet, one thing was absolutely certain: we had no choice but to share the same goal.
Just like me, he had to survive in this world, and ultimately, he had to save the world from the apocalypse.
Because that was the destiny of any player reincarnated into this world.
Just having someone with the same goal as me is a massive gain. Even more so when both of us know Lost Elder inside out.
Furthermore, Strawberry Latte was a guy who only played mages.
If he had created his character normally, he would have reincarnated as a mage possessing immense mana and a wide array of talents.
The presence of an outstanding mage will, in itself, be a huge help to me.
Therefore, the most important thing right now was to verify Strawberry Latte's safety.
After finally gaining a companion to navigate this godforsaken world with, what could be more terrible than him suddenly dying some dog's death in a ditch?
Having reached that conclusion, I sent a message to check on Strawberry Latte's situation.
This was one of the functions of the newly activated 'Community' feature.
Specifically, the direct messaging system.
"..."
Slowly...
The young man opened his eyes and swept a cold gaze over his surroundings.
A cramped, dark cell. Rotten straw littered the floor, and a candle mounted on the wall dimly illuminated the space.
Clink.
He instinctively tried to move, but the iron chains binding his wrists and ankles restricted his motion.
A musty, rotting stench invaded his nostrils. Screams and groans echoed from beyond the walls, accompanied by rough, anxious breathing.
All of his senses were far too vivid for this to be a dream.
"Fuck..."
The young man muttered a low curse.
A hollow laugh hung on the corner of his lips.
He had already been trapped in this dogshit prison for half a day. By now, he could no longer deny this absurd reality.
"...Of all things, I actually got reincarnated into a game."
He could only chuckle dryly at the sheer absurdity of the situation. It was so ridiculous that he couldn't even bring himself to feel afraid.
Or if not that...
Trait: Cool-Headed Mind
...perhaps it was thanks to the trait he had added during character creation that he was barely managing to maintain his sanity.
It was right at that moment.
"Are you awake, slave?"
Step, step.
The sound of approaching footsteps. A man wearing a baggy robe stopped in front of the iron bars, holding a plate in one hand.
His appearance, with a pointed hat pulled down low, was familiar.
The young man silently muttered the other's name in his mind.
Lugwin, the teaching assistant of the Wintersield Magic Academy.
He was an NPC that no one who played Lost Elder could possibly fail to recognize.
Assistant Lugwin was the very first person a mage character would encounter at their starting point.
"Eat."
Slide.
Assistant Lugwin pushed a food bowl into the cell with an indifferent expression.
"It's oat porridge. It tastes awful, but it'll be enough to stave off your hunger."
"..."
The young man stared silently at the oat porridge, which gave off a disgusting odor.
Just yesterday, he had been sitting in front of his computer enjoying crispy fried chicken, but now, this wretched food was his only option.
But what else could he do?
Realizing there was no alternative, the young man reluctantly brought his face close to the plate.
And then, like a beast, he began to lap up the oat porridge.
"Wise choice."
Assistant Lugwin watched him with a somewhat satisfied look.
"The 'Ritual' will take place in five days. If you want to live, you'd better conserve your strength until then."
The young man's expression sank coldly.
...I know.
The Magic Academy's ritual.
No.
To be precise, the rite conducted by the Holy Assembly lurking in the shadows of the Wintersield Magic Academy.
This was the first gateway that every mage character had to pass through.
Just as a swordsman character had to face the Human Butcher Barba in the underworld arena, a mage would begin their journey in earnest only after surviving this ritual.
The general framework is exactly as I know it.
The Magic Academy's dungeon.
Assistant Lugwin's food distribution and dialogue. And even the ritual that would take place in five days.
But...
For some reason, the young man couldn't shake off a sense of incongruity.
Although the overall flow was similar, things were subtly off in the finer details.
"Listen well, Number 32."
...Just like now.
"If you want to live, keep your wits about you from now on. Make sure to prove your worth during the ritual."
"..."
"I'm giving you this advice because, unlike the others, you seem to have some grit."
He froze.
The young man, who had been lapping up the oat porridge, went completely still.
Something is wrong.
A player waking up in the Magic Academy's dungeon was always called Slave Number 7. Not Number 32.
Throughout nearly two hundred playthroughs of the game, there had never been a single exception to this rule.
It's different from the original story.
In fact, he had noticed a few other strange things.
In the cell, there were always five other slave NPCs alongside the player.
Yet no matter how much he looked around, he couldn't find any trace of them.
Wherever he looked, there were only unfamiliar slaves.
Circumstantially, it was clear he had been reincarnated into Lost Elder. But for some reason, the flow of events didn't align 100% with the original game.
In his confusion, the young man's face twisted into a deep frown.
What the hell is going on...
Tring!
"...!"
A system window had suddenly popped up right before his eyes.
Upon seeing it, the young man's face went pale, as if he had just seen a ghost.
Drip.
Oat porridge began to dribble out of his wide-open mouth.
"What the?"
Witnessing this, Assistant Lugwin scowled deeply, shook his head, and walked away.
"Dammit. I thought we finally got a somewhat decent one, but this bastard's out of his mind too."