Chapter 113: New Patch Log
———Wiina———
<12: 03 pm>
So this is the closest Fantarban Realm to our town. It’s near the border between Pennsylvania and New York where the river helped create that line, which is quite far from our small town.
Part of the road here is completely wrecked since the new area is grown out and destroys man-made structures. Thankfully aside from encroaching on the roads it didn’t actually destroy any residential areas nearby, not that I think they found that much of a consolation, since monsters could roam around here.
The land formation is quite strange, there is one piece of land that seems to grow up tall then curved backward, like a hook stuck in the ground.
There are all kinds of weird aquatic creatures in the water, which itself looks quite clear and pleasant.
Some trees have deep red color on them, contrasting the shades of green the other trees had. A few of them are grown to a massive size comparable to one of those tall buildings no one is quite sure what they’re for.
Now then. This place isn’t restricted or anything, but the amount of people here are… Well, I don’t see anyone here just yet. I’m standing on the part of the road that wasn't cut off by a new branch of the river and other shifts in landmass.
*Splash* *Chomp*
Two giant water serpents start fighting each other in the lake, violently biting each other and letting their blood taint the water. Their body looks quite similar with the only difference being the color of their scales, one a bit duller and darker than the other.
On top of the land formation I said looks like a hook stuck in the ground, there is a giant flower hanging upside down at the tip, its vines look quite thorny.
Those giant trees actually have a few big mushrooms on them, and even other plants trying to leech of it.
It's more… fantastical, I believe that’s the word. I don’t quite know what this area was like previously, but it probably wasn’t anywhere near this vibrant.
No monsters have approached me just yet. It seems like their aversion to anything man-made remains strong. Only the very ferocious one step onto what they know isn’t their territory.
*Beep*
I think I should take some pictures. The scenery is quite nice, and it doesn’t look too chaotic. Rather digestible… Let’s send it to Karra and see what she thinks. This is still the lunch break period, so she can use her phone just fine.
Now then. I don’t really have a use for such a place, nor would it give me any trouble to navigate. If there is one thing that might be concerning is that monsters might roam out of the habitat and cause chaos. Also what in the world were they expecting people to actually do here? Unlike the dungeon which is a closed off area with a good deal of rewards but rather oppressive in its atmosphere and structure, this is a completely open area with no real rules to it. It’s a new type of area never seen before, one that needs a completely different approach compared to the dungeon.
One thing for sure, it feels like this place has been reclaimed by nature. No doubt that before all of this, this place is less lively, fewer greens, and has a lot of junk lying around for no good reason. Nowadays this kind of place is a lot more rare. To explore one feels like a novel experience instead of something that should be abundant if the world is truly heading in the right direction. I can’t help but think that whoever caused all of these things is maybe being a bit charitable… Then again, with the potential casualties, maybe this is but a small consolation.
———Jeff———
<12: 38 pm>
“Hmm… So do we actually know what these… Fantarban Realms are?” I asked, still feeling rather lost. Just what in the world could these places be all about? We’ve all seen the pictures. Looking like vibrant nature reserves and all that.
“It would be weirder if some of us did know about it, let’s be real.” Orrel chimed in. “What is clear is that it is a place that is impossible to avoid, unlike the dungeons or night monsters. We have already heard reports of monsters roaming outside of the habitat and causing chaos.”
“Thankfully nothing like that is even remotely close to us.” Qyunda pointed out, her voice sounding a bit weak today, the heck had she been doing? “...It’s a bit of a bummer, those places look quite beautiful. Might be a good place for a picnic or marathon.”
“Since we get to go to one every week from now on, I think we’ll be good on that front.” Gregori chimed in. “Of course, I don’t think our time there will be even remotely peaceful. Probably full of regret more than likely.”
“...I thought being apprehensive was my job?” Wers said, sounding a bit amused.
“If it was a job, you’d be paid.” Gregori replied back. “You’re not, and so I can do whatever I want.”
“Alright you guys, settle down.” Malk chimed in before anything big could happen. I doubt anything big is gonna happen there. “Also, Qyunda, what happened to you today? You look a bit tired.”
“Jeez, I wonder who’s responsible for that, asshole.” Qyunda said, clearly referring to Malk specifically. Did they get into a fight or something? “We’re gonna need to talk about it later.”
…Okay? I can’t follow that conversation at all, despite knowing a good deal about their history. Why do some of us look a bit disturbed?
“Ahem! Back to the main topic.” Malk let out a loud awkward cough as Qyunda chucks down the large glass of water. “I think we’re just gonna be sticking to the dungeons, since that’s the only place we can go to. I honestly would’ve preferred those wilderness, just because it is way less stuffy.”
“Same. I’m getting tired of the interior already, despite having those teleports.” Useph commented. Those have been convenient so we can actually reach lower levels without getting exhausted first.
“Hmm…” Gregori’s expression suddenly turned grim as he looked up something on the internet. People post dumb, immoral, disturbing stuff online all the time, he probably wasn’t grimacing because of those. “Those snakes…”
“Hm? What about snakes? Are you talking about the ones from yesterday?” Wers asked, wondering why he brought that up.
“Yeah. There is now an estimated report on the amount of people who died from their assaults.” The atmosphere suddenly feels tense once those words are spoken. “I don’t want to say how many have actually died. The more important aspect is the reported strength of these things. We didn’t get to fight it, as you know. What seems to be reported is that most people who are known to be dungeon explorers cannot fight them head-on. Their strength individually is said to be too much for one person to handle.”
“Really? Just off sense alone, I feel like each of us could take on one.” I can feel that they are strong, but too much for one person? I think I can cave their head in with enough force.
“I assume they meant an average dungeon explorer. We’re above that, remember?” Qyunda chimed in. Right. I kinda forgot about that.
“It’s hard to believe considering the scene some of us saw yesterday…” Gregori muttered out.
Yesterday, on our way back home after the broadcast was over. We walked along the streets and saw… like a dozen or two worth of snake corpses. With how little collateral damage there seemed to be in the aftermath, it was clear that that person easily killed them all in a short period of time. Probably in a few seconds right after she forced us back into the school. Some of them also have Kenni and Emmie’s handiwork on them. None of us really did the math to see who kills how many.
“I think it’s fair to say that the fox lady did most of the work.” Malk repeated his conclusion, one that we all more or less shared. “How odd that we never encountered someone so powerful before…”
“Well, you learn something new everyday, I suppose. The world is just full of surprises.” Gregori said while not trying to allude to catching a glimpse of her prior. “Also, in other news. It seems like more people get powers, or maybe unlocked is the better word.”
“Huh? Did more people change?” I asked, confused as to where that news came from. I feel like some of us would’ve already noticed that kind of thing.
“Nothing of the sort. It’s just that people’s magical potential has been unlocked. Anyone who has been unable to cast a spell can do that more easily now, it seems.” Gregori clarified. Oh, so that’s how it goes? “They obviously aren’t catching up to us suddenly unless they are already talented and need a bit of a push. It’s only been a day, we won’t know the full scope of it for a while.”
“What the fuck did Karra sent us? Are you guys looking in the group chat?” Qyunda suddenly said while staring at her phone. Let me see here… A very nice scenery. Looks like something out of a more fantastical world and- Hold on a moment. Is this a photo taken from one of those places? Where did she get that?
“Now this place… Hmm… Many things to talk about here…” Orrel starts muttering to himself. Guess he finds all of this very interesting. I also do find it quite a sight, though I would rather it in person than just through a photo.
“Hmm… She must’ve gotten it from Wiina, if I were to guess.” Gregori gave his conjecture. I mean who else would it be? I guess that fox lady? “There’s not much we can do with just pictures though… I think this might provoke Kenni to go off and explore these places without us.”
“Yeah, about that. When are we gonna come together and figure out how to fly?” Wers asked, interrupting the conversation with a topic we kinda forget about with everything going on. “She hogs all the actions because she can fly. We can’t. I don’t even think Karra can.”
“I mean, we saw her do mid-air movements before, does that count?” Useph pointed out. She did do that during sparring sessions. That in itself felt like cheating, let alone freely moving in the air like Kenni did.
“No. It doesn’t.” Orrel stated. “Now I believe we had discussed this before, but her affinity for wind and dark magic, her biology, and greater mana pool than most of us, means that she has a much easier time flying around. Even if we also achieve flight, we’ll probably be floating rather than flying, we need to expand our mana pool first before trying it out. We already know the theories on how it works, there is no need to rush.”
“Well not all of us could have those theories embedded in our mind like you can.” Wers complained. “And shouldn’t we try at least once? Isn’t practical testing important?”
“It would be, if we have all the necessary materials.” Gregori came to Orrel’s defense.
“And so what? We need to work ourselves to the bone?” Sixson said with some apprehension. Weird, he’s usually a patient guy, does he wanna fly that much?
“I mean. If you want to try it out on your own, be my guest.” Gregori said with a smirk, looking like he is issuing a challenge.
———Lerim———
<12: 55 pm>
*Glide* *Smack* *Slice*
Take that! You stupid bird. Why did so many have to show up? It’s not like the nearest Fantarban Realm is even that close. Was it avenging its fellow bird monster from yesterday or wha-!?
*Crash*
“Agh! Ow…” Still didn’t quite… get the idea on flight. Being afloat for only a minute and I quickly plummeted back down. At least I can tank the fall, so the trade-off isn’t that bad right now. I should figure out the kinks quickly. I want to go to the nearest Fantarban Realm and maybe… cause ecological disruption. Let’s call it that. As long as these birds came, the stronger the desire. Hopefully it never comes to that. If it does, with my future mastery in flying, I will track them down and make sure not even one of them is left.
...Not being vindictive in the slightest. I need to at least check it out to make sure it’s not causing any problem anyway, aside from this obvious one.