The Sticky Cave Swimsuit Season Event
"W-wait a second! Why me!?"
"Because the size fits perfectly?"
Marine clearly disagreed, shaking her head with tears welling in her eyes.
...Honestly, looking at that outrageously perverted outfit Levant was wearing, I couldn't blame her for being flustered.
But nobody else fit the size, so Marine had no choice but to put it on.
"Oh...."
No matter how you looked at it, the getup was incredible. This was exactly why people cracked their skulls on the gacha just to use a free skin. Even though you could farm everything you needed over a few months of grinding, seeing something like this made everyone lose their cool and rush the pulls.
"Yeah. Dangerous."
"Eh, Master. You can't cover my eyes. I need to look at the good stuff...."
"At this rate, Marine might steal Jasmine away from me."
It's not that serious.
Honestly, it was right in my strike zone, so I liked it just fine. But a micro swimsuit wasn't the only thing I wanted out of this situation. The free eye candy was a nice bonus, sure — but that micro bikini was a special item. When two people wearing it properly held hands, a sealed function unlocked. For a performance junkie like me, that function was what mattered most.
"Huh...?"
"What? What's going on?"
Suddenly, something like a cave half-submerged in water appeared. This was the stage for Princess Fourmi's first swimsuit event. How on earth had Levant managed to get her hands on something this rare? Just how capable was she?
"Levant?"
"What in the world is this...."
Originally, Princess Fourmi's lore had new characters introducing new dungeons as the story progressed, and those dungeons would get added to the region map. But during swimsuit season, none of that happened — they just ran drop-rate events on existing areas and called it a day.
Well, now that this is reality, we don't get those events either. On the flip side, the daily run limits are gone, so if you mobilize everyone, free farming of new characters is way faster. Raising the star ranks of existing characters is still a grind, though. So it would've been nice if events like this actually worked.
Ah, that's not the important part.
Anyway, the swimsuit region opened through a special story event like this. Only the affection gift farming zones from the dungeons here got permanently added to the map. Everything else was an event map — unusable outside the event window.
The weird part was that you had to form a party exclusively in swimsuits, regardless of what you'd already obtained. Even characters you'd pulled and leveled got ignored. It was a pure skill challenge. My job was always finding the most efficient, safest clear and posting it online. Even the guys who mocked me for placing second in the last Deadly Battle were singing my praises during this event. I remember them putting up my screenshots instead of Levant's and calling them dazzling — right before getting banned under the socializing rules.
Yeah, the structure really does lock you out unless you're in a swimsuit. The entrance is fine, but the entire event zone is damp. Plenty of sections you can only pass by diving. Even if Master stays connected remotely, I wanted to go in myself and carry with raw stats. It's a shame.
If I'd known, I would've grabbed any swimsuit and brought it along.
Not that putting on just any swimsuit gets you recognized as Jasmine (Swimsuit). It only works if your dedicated swimsuit comes in as a gift. I was planning to use it once mine dropped — I just didn't expect it to come out after the event. Then again, Jasmine (Swimsuit) originally released around the time this event ended, so thinking it would work was pretty dumb of me.
Honestly, wearing a regular swimsuit wouldn't be impossible, but....
Then I can't open my wings.
I found that out last time I tested it — if I put on anything other than my default outfit, the wings won't unfurl. The clothes themselves seem to be treated like a kind of weapon. That's why I couldn't even change into a maid outfit, and why I was stuck wandering around in this exhibitionist getup that shows off my entire ass whenever I get bored.
But what I needed was raw stats to crush things with, so not opening my wings to use skills was fine. That meant I could wear something else just for this event....
Should I buy a swimsuit first?
"What do you think, Master?"
"Hmm. Aren't those leftovers over there?"
Master was looking at the swimsuits left scattered around the two who'd changed into micro bikinis. I fell into thought for a moment.
The sling swimsuit would be way too big on me and hang loose, and the design itself was far too lewd for my taste. That left the tight one-piece Marine had been wearing. The problem was that even though our builds were similar, the midsection difference was extreme. I wasn't sure I'd even fit into it....
"I-I'll try it."
Honestly, if I could just get it on, I wouldn't have to waste money on something useless, and I'd save time on an already precious event.
I hid behind a boulder large enough to keep Master and the others from seeing, and started changing.
Crazy....
It was way too tight. My chest was crushed so hard I could barely breathe. Still, since our overall builds were similar, it went on — but what should have fully covered my chest left my side-boobs completely exposed, as if the suit had been designed open on the sides from the start. The intense pressure of the fabric made the flesh around my chest bulge out, creating a thoroughly strange effect.
"A-Are you okay?"
"Huh...."
"Hweh!?"
Marine, the original owner, looked especially shocked. Her swimsuit had been sexy because of the open back — not because it exposed the sides of the chest like this. Seeing a completely different result on someone else must have been fascinating.
"Hmm. You look like you're struggling a lot."
"It was rough at first, but it's a bit better now."
When I'd first put it on properly, sure — but then the lower half naturally pulled tight, gathering into something like a string and folding over. It stopped covering my rear properly, which actually gave the swimsuit a little more room. Of course, the folded fabric biting into my crotch was painful, but it still beat the feeling that my chest was about to explode.
...I looked ridiculous, but it was a swimsuit, so it counted.
"I'm fine. Let's check the interior first."
This was temporary anyway. The second the event ended, I was throwing this outfit away. No need to fuss over it. ...It had somehow become an extremely lewd-looking outfit, but that was absolutely not intentional.
"Master, over here. Please wait here."
"I can't go in too?"
"It's dangerous."
This event didn't allow you to steamroll with raw stats. Protecting Master on top of everything else could get difficult. Nobody else was going to come in here, so waiting and talking on the call would be better.
"Of course, with me here there might not be a major problem — but I don't want to be exposed to even that possibility."
If a single moment of carelessness cost me Master, I truly wouldn't be able to endure it. Honestly, I've imagined it before, and it was terrifying enough to make my skin crawl. ...Please just stay put somewhere safe.
"Okay."
"And we'll stay connected on call in combat mode the whole time anyway."
"That's true."
Being an event, it would take longer than a Deadly Battle — but if we wanted to clear it in one clean run, there was no other way. I handed over the essential supplies and farming bag I'd prepared in advance. The six of them fell into formation under my directions as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and entered the dungeon.
Hmm. So this is the feeling.
A short way inside, a fork appeared. From here, each path seemed to count as a separate dungeon. The small hole in the middle was probably the event stage.
"We're going through the middle."
"Y-You're saying we go into a place that narrow and half-filled with stagnant water? D-Dirty?"
"I'm sorry, but we can't skip it just because it's dirty."
The water pooled on the floor was definitely going to be some slippery, sticky, thoroughly unpleasant liquid. But crawling through that narrow passage was the only way into the event stage. I knew the enormous rewards waiting inside, so I had no intention of abandoning the clear or cutting even one person over something this minor.
"I-I don't want to...!"
"In exchange, I'll take you straight to the hot springs once we're through."
"Ugh...."
The moment Cotton put her foot in, her whole body shuddered and she looked ready to cry — but that wasn't going to change the plan. It would feel awful right now, but enduring it for the rewards was an adult virtue. Sure, she looked small enough to pass for a kid, but she was old enough to handle this properly.
"No, I said I don't want to...!"
"Thanks for cooperating."
She said that, but watching her take the lead was actually pretty cool. Cotton had a foul mouth and a sharp tongue, but when she made up her mind and pushed through, there was something admirable about it. Her mouth screamed while her body diligently advanced toward the goal. I nodded as her towel-like clothes grew soggy and plastered to her skin.
Yeah. The people who made this game are definitely insane. And that's exactly why I can't help loving it. Games made by crazy bastards are fun....
Hmm. It looked great from the outside, but being on the receiving end is pretty rough.
The slippery stuff made the already tight swimsuit cling even harder, which was stifling. My body already felt hard to move, and the liquid sticking to me restricted my motion further, which was just irritating.
...There was also a strangely lewd quality to it.
"Finally...!"
"We'll shake ourselves off quickly and keep moving."
The entire event map was damp and sticky like this, but the narrow passages didn't go on forever. The moment we emerged from the hole, everyone shook out their glossy swimsuits and bodies and scanned the surroundings warily.
Hmm. Similar to how it looked in the old illustrations.
"What's this...?"
"What is it?"
"There are some sparkling things embedded in the walls."
"Huh...."
Those look like Star Candy — the premium currency...?