The Alraune's Call

Meanwhile, Emily's party, who had arrived late to Zone 3's Durigarda, were fighting the carnivorous plants just as Ian had done before them.

"Unni, on the left!"

"Got it. Shield Charge!"

Emily blocked the reaching vines with her shield and shouted.

"Mugi, now!"

"On it. Get clear!"

Emily threw herself aside as Mugi's staff behind her erupted in flames.

It was the basic magic skill, second-circle fire magic. Continuous discharge type.

"Flame!"

The endless stream of fire consumed the plants.

"Naira!"

"Ready!"

Emily and Naira charged forward, each wielding their new weapons.

The trajectories of spear and sword crossed. The plant struck by their combined blow was instantly reduced to ash and vanished.

"Excellent coordination, everyone."

"It was all thanks to Mugi. She burned them up so cleanly."

"N-no, it's because unni blocked them so well."

In that warm atmosphere, Emily's party continued onward.

"By the way, where do you think she went?"

"Ian? Yeah… it looks like she went ahead…."

"M-maybe she headed to the village first?"

"Given her personality, that wouldn't surprise me at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all."

Having reached Zone 3 a step behind, they wandered the edges of the rainforest but saw no sign of Ian.

They weren't particularly worried, though. It was a shame, but if it was Ian, she would have reached the destination safely on her own. Without hesitation, they headed for the settlement.

Finding the path wasn't difficult. The players who had arrived in Zone 3 earlier had shared maps, allowing the party to reach the residence—the dark elf outpost—without incident.

Naira looked around with sparkling eyes.

"Whoa, real elves. It finally feels like we're actually inside the game."

Most of them wore deep black hoods that hid their faces, but the exotic scenery that could never exist in reality made Naira look like a child visiting an amusement park.

"A lot of people have crossed over."

She even spotted a few familiar faces. Realizing that the full-scale conquest of Zone 3 had truly begun, Emily's party explored the outpost.

However.

"I don't see Ian anywhere."

"M-maybe she already went out hunting?"

No matter where they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠looked, there was no trace of her.

Even after asking other players and dark elf NPCs, not a single person had seen her.

"Could she have gotten lost?"

The tropical rainforest had such similar-looking terrain that it was easy to lose one's way. If the earlier players hadn't provided maps, Emily's own party might still be wandering through it.

Just as they were considering heading back out to search for her—

"First time seeing outsiders around here."

A dark elf built like a bear stepped forward to block their path.

They eyed him warily.

"I am Malacor, captain of the defense unit stationed at this outpost. Who are you?"

"I'm Emily."

"Naira."

"I-I'm M-Mugi…."

"Fine names. Welcome to Rimbahitam, humans."

A broad smile spread across his rugged face. The hearty laugh that followed was so genuine that their earlier tension melted away, and Emily's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠party smiled back.

In that friendly atmosphere, Naira asked, "So, Captain… or should I call you Captain, sir?"

"Just call me Malacor. No need to be formal."

"All right… Captain Malacor, what exactly is Rimbahitam?"

"Huhu… You don't know?"

For a brief moment he curled the corners of his mouth like a villain from a story, then spread both arms wide.

"Rimbahitam is the name of this vast great rainforest. The area where we stand is called Durigarda."

"Durigarda? Are there other places too?"

"Indeed. This cursed land, our elven home of Tetumaya, and our ancestors' territory of Akarsuma—together they are all known as Rimbahitam."

The information that the tropical rainforest was divided into three distinct zones was quite interesting. If Malacor's words were true, then Zones 4 and 5 were likely similar rainforests as well.

Emily decided to share everything she had learned with the others.

Right now, however, she had a more pressing question than details about Rimbahitam.

"Mr. Malacor, do you always come out personally like this?"

Malacor nodded proudly.

"It is the natural duty of the defense captain. Pay it no mind."

"Then, have you seen someone named Ian? A woman with black hair, about this tall. We're looking for her."

Malacor pondered her description for a moment, then shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but I have not seen any human woman matching that description. Are you certain she came here?"

"She arrived before us—to Durigarda, I mean. She's strong, so she couldn't have died."

Emily completely dismissed the possibility that Ian had fallen to monsters. That led Malacor to consider other possibilities. He stroked his chin.

"Then this could become rather troublesome."

"Uh… why?"

"Three units are stationed in Durigarda. My defense unit, the supply unit near Tetumaya, and the scout unit operating to the west. If this Ian woman went toward the supply unit, she should be fine. But if she went toward the scouts…."

He let out a low groan.

"She is probably dead."

After leaving Kalinia's tent, I immediately opened my map.

West from here… that would be around this area?

Arcadia Online is fundamentally an extremely unfriendly game. It barely gives you proper quest information and doesn't even have basic markers.

If it weren't a real death game, it probably would have been hit with worldwide terrorism by now. Its lack of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠user convenience was truly the worst.

Anyway, I had to complete the quest Kalinia gave me within the three days I was given.

It can't be a boss, right?

No matter how malicious the game was, it probably wouldn't set a condition requiring players to defeat a boss within the time limit. At most it would be a monster slightly more dangerous than the average ones.

In that case, there was no need to drag things out. I'd finish it today and knock that arrogant attitude down a peg. With that thought, I walked around the outpost.

Thanks to Kalinia's guarantee, the dark elves no longer drew their weapons on me. Their hostility remained, however, so none of them approached or spoke to me.

As expected, you really have to give the kanfu credit for their personalities. Getting any information out of them seemed impossible.

By the way, why isn't there a single person here?

I wandered for quite a while just in case, but I couldn't spot any other players.

Weren't a few of them supposed to be staying at the residence? Most of the people who had been resting were supposed to join up today as well.

So how could there be absolutely no one? Or had I gotten caught up in something bad again?

All the while, the dark elves' piercing stares were incredibly irritating. In the end, with nothing to show for my efforts, I finished basic preparations and left the outpost.

The moment I moved even a short distance away, monster attacks began.

The carnivorous flower I'd encountered first, roots bursting from the ground, mushrooms spraying paralyzing spores, moving stumps—everything. It felt as if the entire rainforest itself was alive.

Was it dangerous? Honestly… not really.

At first I was startled by the way they suddenly popped out, but once I grew used to it, the experience points practically rolled into my lap.

Why? Because my level was still higher than the monsters appearing so far.

"Wow, they burn beautifully."

Since they were plants, fire was extremely effective.

Plus, once my staff proficiency hit 100 I gained access to the support magic Cure, which let me remove status effects. With a counter for the paralyzing spores, I was practically invincible.

Is this zone literally designed as a welcome mat for mages?

The efficiency of magic here was so high that the thought genuinely crossed my mind.

Because of that, I was using my staff far more than my sword in this zone. I could just burn everything with fire and only switch to my sword when the damage wasn't quite enough. It was easy on both body and mind.

Now if I could just locate the quest target, everything would be perfect.

Where the hell is it?

I swept the western area from top to bottom, but nothing stood out as a likely target.

The game said I'd know it when I saw it. Yet everywhere I looked there were only identical trees and identical monsters. So where was it?

Eventually night fell without me pinpointing the enemy's location. I hadn't even leveled up once. Since I'd only killed low-level monsters, a full quarter of my experience bar remained empty. It felt completely unrewarding.

Should I head back for now?

I didn't think I'd be able to sleep soundly. Honestly, I wasn't even sure I'd be allowed inside a tent.

But camping alone without anyone to stand watch was basically suicide. Even if it meant sleeping rough inside the base, it was time to return.

At least I've mapped out the entire area.

I wouldn't get lost on the way back. Flapping my sweat-soaked clothes, I turned my steps toward the outpost.

That was when I heard it.

-Step. Step….

The sound of footsteps emerging from the darkness.

Isn't that the guy from earlier?

The dark elf who had thrown a noose at me and swung his gauntlet. He had removed his hood, so I recognized him immediately.

Why was he showing himself in front of me? Given Kalinia's personality, I doubted she would have told him to pay any attention to me.

I decided to speak first.

"What brings you—"

The instant I moved toward him—

Caught completely off guard, I had to roll desperately across the ground to avoid the charge.

"What the hell?"

There was no time to stay flustered. While I was still rolling across the dirt, he was already swinging a fist at me.

I rolled forward to dodge the punch, then immediately drew my sword. I slashed diagonally at the oncoming dark elf.

Sword and fist collided.

-Slaaash!

The brief contest of strength ended in my victory. My blade shattered his gauntlet and severed his entire arm.

But—

"What the… why isn't there any blood?"

Even though I had cut it cleanly, not a drop of blood flowed from the wound.

And then—

"Ugh! It's still moving?"

Without a single change in expression, he swung his remaining fist. He looked like a puppet without a will of its own.

There's no life in his eyes, either.

Was he truly being controlled? Was he even alive? To figure out the situation, I cut off his remaining arm as well.

Even after losing both arms, he kept struggling. Once I finally subdued him, I examined his whole body and discovered a thin tentacle near his neck.

"Is this the cause?"

The moment I severed the tentacle, the violent thrashing at my feet stopped completely.

It seemed the owner of the tentacle had attacked him, drained all his blood, turned the corpse into a puppet, and stolen his freedom. Even though he had once shown me hostility, the sight left a bad taste in my mouth.

Wait. Then what about the other one who was with him…?

What had happened?

The moment that question formed in my mind—

-Step….

Another set of footsteps approached.

"R-run…."

It was the dark elf who had shot an arrow at me. The one who had been filled with hostility was now desperately gesturing for me to flee.

But—

"Guh!"

His eyes went blank. He collapsed limply, nothing more than a corpse.

The mastermind behind this horror finally revealed itself from the shadows.

It spread its arms wide toward me.

I knew it instinctively.

This was the target of the current quest.