Book 9 - 9-20. The Spriggan's Training Site

9-20. The Spriggan's Training Site

Satou's here. Relative to the number of people who play the nonobligatory tutorial parts of games, it's hard to make them you know.

In real world, they are training or OJT, but I wonder if it's effective~

◇

When we were tidying up after the training was over, a [Telephone] came up.

It's from Arisa.

"Umm, hello, is this the house of Pendragon-san?"

I can hear Arisa speaking with slightly higher voice, I desperately try to endure my exhaustion.

You think this is a landline of old?

"Heffo, hooissit?"

"Ah, I'm sorry, I got the number wrong."

I felt slightly mischievous, so I pretended to be someone else. I thought that Arisa would immediately booed, but she plainly apologized and cut off the telephone.

I was just joking, but was Arisa the type who's not good with phone calls?　While feeling slightly apologetic, I call Arisa back with [Telephone].

"Y, yes, this is Arisa Pendragon speaking!"

I want to retort, but I'll endure it. There's no doubt that something is happening, so I look there with [Clairvoyance].

"Arisa, it's Satou, did anything happen?"

"Ah, I'm glad, some old man I don't know received the telephone just now, I was surprised."

I saw Arisa who was flustered.

She doesn't seem to be injured, but it sure is awful.

"And so, we've screwed up for a bit, won't you come save us?"

"OK, I'll go immediately."

I reply Arisa with two words, and ask Aialize-san to get Dryad teleport us to the attraction where Arisa and the others are. The place seemed to be famous as we immediately departed when I told them the name of the attraction I had heard from Arisa.

◇

"This is the training place for the third fairy."

The black building that looks like a deformed bat seems to be the entrance. I enter to the red mouth that opens. It's really attraction-like.

This attraction has a lot of silly traps, and has become the playground for the elf children.

It seem to be play where children have to clear the eight attractions that are appropriate to their ages. Children who don't have very bad reflexes can clear them easily, but there are exceptions in everything-- and one of them is Aialize-san. She wanted to follow me, but she stopped with the frantic look of Lua-san.

She looks to be the clumsy element, so let's make her wait.

Just in case, I ask Lua-san to call for other help if I'm too slow in returning.

When I went inside, there's a living doll with torn neck lying on the floor. Judging from the state of its neck, the cause is probably Liza's spear. She really shouldn't break the attractions.

I use [All Map Exploration] and check the internal structure of this place.

It's quite wide, about 6-stories building big.

Everyone seems to have been divided into three groups.

Liza, Lulu and Pochi are the closest to me. Arisa and Mia are in the middle. The farthest ones are Tama, Nana, and the tour guide this time, Shagnig-shi, the leprechaun.

Huh? Did Lulu and Mia come along too.

I make use of quick dressing skill to change, from the borrowed kariginu, into work clothes that are okay even if they get dirtied.

I set marker on the shortest route, and run with sky drive. Among the innumerable traps that I've found with trap discovery skill, I only cancel the ones that are unavoidable by using [Magic Hand] remotely.

Every trap seems to have been made with concern as to not injure.

Instead of poison gas, it spews strange irritant gas, there's knee-deep water in the bottom of the pit holes, the arrows shot from the trap have shock absorbed leather on its pointed end that even if you're hurt by it, it won't be serious.

When I avoid the traps, living dolls that are made to look like monsters attack from the back. There are colors painted on the place that seem to be its weakness, and it's made to stop if you hit that place with a wooden sword or your fist.

However, the layout is quite unpleasant.

Like having another trap right after you've avoided a trap, or getting attacked by the fake monsters just when you think that you've reached the safety zone, it reminds me of the consumers trap surprise.

I arrive at the room where Liza and the others are, in one minute. I had passed through some corridors and stairs, it seemed to be quite deep underground.

Liza has been caught in a web trap that has been lifted about 6 meters high to the ceiling while looking very unwilling.

There's a wall modeled after a monster's face right beside Liza. And then, Pochi has been eaten to half of her body on the monster's gaping mouth. I see her feet hanging full of discontent. Of course Pochi is unhurt since it's an attraction.

However, how did she even get stuck being eaten like that. No, when I look closer, there's a protrusion that seem usable as a scaffold near Pochi. The trap is probably made to eat someone who's climbing to save their friend.

And also, where is Lulu?

I turn my head, and she seems to have been caught on a wire trap with both her leg and an arm lifted, and cannot move nearby the place where the floor has disappeared near the door on the other end of the room. All the wires only go to the height of her back. It's probably made as to prevent blood from going up to the victim's head.

However, Lulu's legs seems to have stepped on the trap as both are lifted to different directions. Her posture looks embarrassing for a maiden. I have to secretly fix her rolled up skirt with [Magic Hand] while being unseen before I call them out.

"I've come to help."

"Ah, master!"

"I'm very sorry, master."

"Master, Pochi is over here~ heelp~"

I quickly rush to Lulu, and cut the hemp ropes with a dagger.

Next, I go up beside Pochi with sky drive, and press the release button right next to the trap to save her. I quickly catch her on my arms since she was going to slide and fall.

"Thank you nanodesu. Mia's said that there's a button to save Liza on the other side of this wall nodesu."

I see.

I use [Magic Hand] to press the button since it's clearly there. I hear some rattling nearby, and then the rope that lifts Liza lowers. It's quite particular about the detail as it's lowering slowly to prevent serious injuries.

"Master, please save Arisa and Mia. The two have fallen into this hole."

Lulu points to a caved in floor that has created a deep hole. Looks like Arisa and Mia are over there.

"I understand."

"Those two must be alright aren't they."

Lulu joins her hands together and asks as if praying.

"Yeah, they're alright of course. Arisa was the one who had called me here after all."

When I confirm on the map, consecutive cave-ins don't seem like it'll happen, so I evacuate the three to take a refuge in a relatively structurally-safe place. Liza, and Pochi wanted to come along, but since they had just shown their shameful sights, they meekly withdrew.

I intended to go back quickly, but I took out a bag with some canteens and baked sweets from the Item Box and gave it to Lulu.

I jump into the collapsed place while waving to the three.

I check the collapse while regulating my speed with sky drive.

Apparently, somethings are advancing through the underground, and have created crevices on many floors around this area. That somethings are the level 20 worm monsters which seem to be the cause. According to the map, they have made a nest underground 2-3 kilometers ahead. I'll take care of them later.

◇

At the end of the descent, the two are there being wrapped by feelers from a living doll posing as a plant monster.

"Thank you for waiting."

"Fast. What kind of cheat did you use this time."

"Satou."

I think Arisa misunderstands the meaning of cheat sometimes.

"The Dryad helped me come here."

"Wa, by Dryad, do you mean that green little girl? Don't tell me, she robbed your lips again~~."

"That didn't happen."

She's energetic even though she's being wrapped.

I looked for the release device, but I couldn't reach it since it had been buried by the collapsed floor stones. Since it can't be helped, I cut the feeler and release them. I might be destroying the attractions, but it's already half-destroyed anyway.

"Thank you."

I release Arisa who's nearby. She should have just cut the feelers with space magic and escaped. When I told her so while freeing Mia, surging wave of protests came from Arisa.

"The power of space magic is great you know. I would cut my own body if I used it to cut feelers that were so close. A maiden won't be able to become a bride if she's hurt before it right--no, I can get some injuries here, and force him to make me her bride can't I?!"

The latter part of Arisa's scheme was said in whisper, but I could clearly hear it with straining ears skill. I warn her, "Be moderate with your scheme okay."

"Thanks."

Mia hugs me when I've finished saving her, so I put her down. I pick up a long wand that has been dropped on the ground and pass it to Mia. Mia probably couldn't escape with magic because she didn't have the wand. Feel like I've heard that she's said her aim is off without a wand.

Now then, it seems there's no exit here.

"How about the other three?"

"Liza is caught on the trap above this room right, they're operating separately to release her."

"Nn."

I carry the two back to the above room for the time being. Since they're light, I carry them together at once.

"Don't carry me on your shoulder~"

"Objecting luggage."

Their maidens' hearts would be hurt if I treat them like luggage I guess?

Well, forgive me.

When I get back to the upper room, I see Tama waving on the opposite room from the mouth of the monster that had caught Pochi. I can see Nana and Shagnig-shi behind her.

Apparently, Tama and the others were going ahead to save Liza and the others who had been caught by traps, but the floor where Arisa and Mia were standing collapsed right after they entered the next room. Tama and Shagnig tried to go back in a hurry, but the door seemed to have been warped, and they couldn't go back. Since they couldn't help it, they advanced through the maze to the room where the button to release Liza was, that is the other side of the monster mouth that had caught Pochi and rejoined.

Arisa seemed to have contacted me first thing after thinking the possibility of other members getting injured from another collapsing accidents. GJ, Arisa.

"I am truly ashamed. Letting such dangerous situation to happen during my tour."

Shagnig-shi gets down on his knees to apologize, but the unexpected accidents aren't really his responsibility. He doesn't seem to be a monster parent too. Since he had checked the place many times three days ago, the worms probably made the holes around 1-2 days ago.

Today's exploration has ended since the facility is going to be reinspected.

Tonight's prey are... seven Metal Worms.