Lundel (1) - The Savior
It feels like it’s been such a long time.
Emily’s party, having parted ways with Ian, had arrived back at Startia.
Standing before the walls of Startia for the first time in three days, Emily fell into a quiet wave of emotion.
When they left she had resolved never to return, yet now that she was here, it felt like coming home.
The terrible realization made her smile bitterly.
At that moment Mugi stepped closer and asked carefully.
“Unni, are you okay?”
“About what?”
“That earring. It was originally something you were going to keep for yourself, wasn’t it?”
Just as Mugi said, the earring she had handed to Ian was one Emily had planned to use herself once the boss fight ended.
But Ian had survived, and the earring still hung from her ear. The outcome had strayed completely from the original plan.
Even so, Emily’s face showed no trace of displeasure.
“We cleared it. That’s what matters. We promised to keep working hard together afterward, too.”
Emily’s only goal was to clear this damned death game. As long as she could escape this world, it didn’t matter who ended up with which items.
Separately, there was something Emily wanted to ask Mugi as well.
“By the way, what’s gotten into you? You’re the one who suggested inviting her into the party.”
The person who had proposed accepting Ian was neither Emily nor Naira, but Mugi.
Unlike the other two, Mugi had little connection to Ian, so even Emily had been slightly surprised by the suggestion.
“I was only pursuing efficiency. If she’s with us, she’ll lighten Unni’s burden.”
“Well, it would be efficient.”
Two melee fighters and two ranged. The number of tactical choices had certainly increased compared to before.
Moreover, someone of Ian’s skill could hold the front line, allowing for much faster hunting than they managed now. Even so—
“Still, it’s fine. I can protect the two of you as much as necessary.”
Emily gently stroked Mugi’s head.
She had made the decision the moment she first lifted her shield: no matter how hard it became, she would return to reality together with these two.
That resolve still burned unchanged inside Emily’s chest.
Naira slipped between the pair.
“What are you two whispering about?”
“Nothing important. By the way, you two had quite the atmosphere last night. I can’t believe you of all people would say something like that, Naira. Even this big sister…”
“Eek! W-what are you saying, Unni!”
Seeing Naira’s face instantly flush scarlet as she raised her voice, Emily burst out laughing.
She had already spent half the night kicking her blankets in embarrassment over what happened yesterday; now the memory came rushing back.
Only after jumping around and throwing a full tantrum did Naira finally calm down.
Of course, her thoughts about Ian hadn’t vanished.
“I wonder what she’s doing right now.”
“Who knows…”
Emily thought of Ian, who had left for Zone 2 ahead of them.
“Probably out hunting, I suppose?”
But contrary to her assumption, Ian was currently—
“Huff… huff… Why is this so ridiculously high…”
Struggling up the mountain with great effort.
If Zone 1 had been an area of plains and forests, Zone 2 consisted of tall, rugged rocky mountains.
Which inevitably meant mountain climbing.
Even so, Ian didn’t feel particularly daunted as she faced the masses of stone.
This was a world inside a game. After a month of harsh training, she believed her built-up stamina would make climbing a mountain easy.
That belief lasted until an hour after entering Zone 2.
“Just… how much farther do I have to climb…”
Her legs trembled. Sweat poured down like rain and her breath had climbed all the way to her throat.
There were no proper paths and no trees to grab onto in the brutal terrain.
Before long, Ian had no choice but to sit down.
Do I really have to keep traveling through places like this?
Her head spun. The height still left to climb was so vast that she thought fighting would be preferable.
What even appears in a place like this?
There were no plains or dense woods for beasts to hide in. It wasn’t an environment where plants could grow properly, either.
She couldn’t even guess what kind of enemies she would meet in Zone 2 when—
“What’s that…?”
Ian, looking up at the sky, spotted a small dot.
What she had taken for a dot gradually grew larger, closing the distance toward her.
“A bird?”
It was a huge crow.
A crow the size of a real-world eagle was diving straight at Ian.
Level 9 Valtor Raven
“Level 9 right from the start?”
The first enemy she encountered in Zone 2. Ian naturally drew her sword from her waist.
Let’s test it once.
She needed to gauge the opponent’s strength in order to prepare for the enemies she would face ahead.
Ian didn’t dodge the incoming crow. Instead she thrust her sword forward to meet it head-on.
Clang!
It’s heavy!
The impact nearly made her drop her weapon, jolting through her wrist.
But it wasn’t enough to overwhelm her. Calmly deflecting the crow, Ian immediately swung her blade.
But it’s insanely fast.
Her sword barely grazed the crow as it shot past. In pure speed it surpassed any beast she had faced so far.
Meanwhile the crow soared high into the sky again. Then came another dive. Ian rolled across the ground to avoid the gliding predator.
If only Naira or Mugi were here.
They could rain arrows and magic on the flying creature, then strike a fatal blow once its stamina dropped.
Unfortunately, that was a tactic a solo player like Ian could not use.
I have to wait until it closes in.
Without long-range options, that was her only chance to land a hit. She would need to strike a vital point accurately to kill it in one blow.
But Ian was confident. Counterattacking was the specialty that had kept her alive in this world until now.
The crow approached rapidly. Close enough to touch if she simply reached out. Ian twisted her body at the last possible moment and slashed down toward its neck.
Slash
Slice!
The crow’s head and body split apart. It tumbled across the rocky slope, scattering blood, flapped its wings twice, and then lay still.
“Hoo…”
Taking a deep breath, Ian sheathed her sword. She now had a rough idea of what kind of enemies would appear in Zone 2.
“Flying beasts this time, huh…”
In a place without forests or plains, the only place to exploit a player’s blind spot was the sky.
Sensing that this zone would be no easier than the last, Ian resumed her climb.
People are called creatures of adaptation.
No matter how barren the land, humans find ways to survive in it.
The same held true for Zone 2 and its rocky mountains.
After walking another two hours and finally reaching the summit, Ian saw a settlement spread across the basin below.
“So that’s where I’ll be staying for the time being.”
Unlike Startia in Zone 1, the area had only simple fences to block outside threats and shabby wooden buildings that looked ready to collapse in the next storm. It felt less like a city and more like a tribal village.
The conditions were far worse than the village she had stayed in until yesterday.
Still, she couldn’t turn back to Zone 1 now. Ian descended the slope and arrived at the village entrance.
“Lundel… It looks better up close than it did from above.”
Lundel—the name of Zone 2’s so-called major city.
From the ridge it had resembled a shantytown, but from below it showed more structure than expected.
That didn’t mean she wanted to stay here for days on end.
Ian stepped inside Lundel.
There were far more people than she had anticipated.
No players were visible—perhaps they simply hadn’t arrived yet—but the number of NPCs exceeded even the rural village in Zone 1.
Merchants clapped their hands and called out to customers. Women chatted along the streets. Children swung wooden sticks in a game of house.
As Ian walked along, observing them with curiosity, the NPCs naturally turned interested gazes toward her as well.
In a small village where everyone knew their neighbors, a stranger naturally stirred both curiosity and caution.
Perhaps that was why an old man suddenly blocked Ian’s path.
“Who are you? An adventurer?”
“I’m Ian. I came from Startia down below.”
“Startia?!”
The old man’s eyes widened at the name. Not only him—everyone nearby stared at Ian in shock.
Startled by the sudden shift in attention, Ian grew flustered. She had only mentioned the city name because she couldn’t say “Zone 1,” yet the reaction was extreme. Sensing danger, she took a step back.
Before she could move further, the old man—moving with surprising speed—grabbed her shoulders and shook her.
“I-is that true?”
“Yes. Is there some kind of problem…?”
Did the people of Startia fight a war with them in the past? Are they looking for revenge?
While such thoughts crossed her mind, the old man suddenly collapsed to his knees and began to cry.
“Ah… aah… At last…”
“U-um, sir?”
The old man looked up at Ian and raised both hands above his head.
“What?!”
Ian doubted her own ears.
But the old man’s next words made her squeeze her eyes shut.