Golden Experience

“Thanks for coming, Boss.”

<It has been many moons, Boss. That there is the neighboring forest.>

Marion and the ice wolf Ginka got along quite well, perhaps because the first element of magic that Marion learned was [Ice Magic]. During their travels, whenever they got ambushed by bandits and monsters, they would work together to take care of their attackers.

“We practiced fighting as a team, but we only got attacked by weaklings that either one of us could beat all on our own…”

“Well, you know, there’s a world of difference between getting some practice and getting no practice, so it’s better to have gotten some in.”

While joking around and catching up on recent events, the party headed over to the monster territory. The neighboring forest had a slightly different feel to it than the Great Liebe Forest did. According to the map, this forest was considered monster territory from as far out as where there only scatterings of trees about, as opposed to the great forest where the boundary was well inside the treeline.

Just like how Erfahren bordered the Great Liebe Forest, there was also a city in this area on the frontlines that opposed the territory. However, it was quite far from where Rare’s group was currently located. The road that led to that city ran parallel to the forest, as though fencing off the monster territory; it was the same road that Marion and Ginka had used to get here. There was a decent bit of distance from the forest to the road, about the same distance to that nearby city.

Comparatively, the Great Liebe Forest and Erfahren were closer to each other, which explained why there weren’t stronger monsters in the great forest. That could also be the reason Hakuma and the ice wolves fled there. Rare didn’t know why things were so peaceful up until now, but she posited that it was probably because the area was intended to be a staging ground for Sugaru. Or maybe it was Deas’s instead, but either way, the forest was probably there to nurture a raid boss. Maybe Sugaru couldn’t mature into a raid boss in time for the early access beta since the city was too small. Or perhaps her development was to be adjusted based on how many players there were in Erfahren.

Thinking over it again, when the city was constructed and the road paved, the reason there was so much distance between them and the forest could be because this monster territory was just that much more dangerous than the one in the Great Liebe Forest.

“Still, it’s something to look forward to. I wonder how we measure up to our rivals here.”

<Allow me to be vanguard. It will not do for Your Highness to be on the front lines; we cannot risk the infinitesimal chance of your death.>

“Hm… While it is a bit of a shame, I suppose I must oblige. The plan here in the first place was to become powerful enough to never be killed, so courting death now would be putting the cart before the horse.”

Rare was disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to experience the forest from the front of the group, but she shouldn’t need to lift a finger unless their conquest faced significant difficulty. Deas was more than powerful enough by himself, so she should first allow him to take charge. Rare had never actually seen him lead before, so this was also a way to verify exactly how competent he was.

“Deas, I was thinking of summoning some of the adamantite series; how many do you think would be good?”

<I would like to say that they are wholly unnecessary, but I believe Your Highness would like to evaluate my ability to command, correct? In that case, I would request one platoon’s worth. Any more than that and it would be overkill for this campaign.>

“I suspect that the territory in this forest is a level above ours in Liebe, but if that is your wish then so be it. If you find that your forces are lacking, feel free to speak up at any time.”

Then, Rare summoned a platoon of thirty units: one adamanleader, nine adamanmages, six adamanscouts, and fourteen adamanknights. Even though it was only a platoon, the fact that they’d be operating in a forest made it feel quite crowded.

“There’s no raid system in this game, but I wonder if this would be considered a raid party? In reality, though, trying to assemble thirty or more players would be quite an ordeal.”

Even if all their troops were adamanleaders, they would not pose a threat to Rare. Even without Yoroizaka, that wouldn’t change. As long as it wasn’t daytime, at least.

“Generally speaking, the adamantite series and the carknights are programmed to obey my orders, Sugaru’s, and Deas’s. If we aren’t around, then the catkin girls will be prioritized. If none of us are available, then I think they’ll act according to their own judgment. But since they’re living object-type monsters, I believe the only choice they’ll make is to kill their enemies as efficiently as possible.”

<That seems appropriate. While we observe their performance, I hope you will also carefully evaluate my own ability.>

After saying so, Deas gave a curt order to the adamantite platoon, and the six scouts scattered into the forest. Considering their entire bodies were made out of adamantite, they disappeared into the trees with unbelievable agility. Regardless of their composition, since they were scouts, they were more lightly armored, and their muscles and organs were extremely lean, so they didn’t look heavy at all either. They probably weighed about as much as an equivalent human race individual. And since they didn’t generate any heat like warm-blooded organisms did, snake-type monsters with infrared night vision wouldn’t be able to detect them. They were perfect for covert activities.

The adamantite series and carknights were all given armaments, but, because they were so numerous, they only had lower quality mass-produced items. Since whacking something with their bare hands would be several times stronger than using a low-rank club, they all got bladed weapons in order to increase the variety of damage they could inflict. As far as what would deal the most damage, it was possible that simply using their bodies as battering rams would be the best. It would have been ideal to give each one a living weapon, but there wasn’t enough Knight’s Grudge. The reason they were marching on this forest was the hope that another order of knights from that ruined kingdom, separate from the ones Deas led, had come here and met their end. There certainly were a lot of remains from Deas’s group, but for what used to be a continent-spanning kingdom, the scale was far too small. Remains from those knight orders should be all over the continent.

While the scouts dispersed into the woods, Deas had the rest of the unit continue marching. The main group took a different type of care than the scouts did. They progressed slowly, clearing away brush in order to create enough space for combat. Normally, one would begin evaluating someone’s ability to command from how well they could control their subordinates, but next time that criterion could be skipped and she could simply look at how they commanded on the field. Speaking of which, Deas’s commands were careful but very logical and concise.

Rare felt satisfied watching Deas and the adamantite soldiers. She made a note to create more combat units of similar strength to this one for the Great Liebe Forest. If she could compare the combat strength of this campaign to other units, she could come up with an objective evaluation for the overall strength of all her forces in the great forest.

Rare slowly proceeded along the path that Deas and his soldiers created as they marched. Kerry and Marion flanked her while Ginka brought up the rear. Including Yoroizaka, everyone here had enhanced sense skills. There was no chance they could be ambushed unless their attackers were significantly more powerful than they were. It would have been good for Ominous the forest owl to have come along as well for reconnaissance, but he wasn’t very strong. If there was a powerful monster here that was capable of flight, he might not stand a chance. Since forest owls were built for living in the woods, they had smaller bodies, which meant lower combat capabilities.

After some time, Deas’s group in front came to a halt. After Rare asked what was happening, she learned that apparently the scouts had found some kind of monster. Deas received the scouts’ report then contacted her via friend chat.

<Your Highness, we’ve located an enemy. Apparently this forest is already being controlled by a single force.>

<Oh, is that so? Which means if we exterminate this force or make them yield to us, then we can steal control, right? So, what kind of monster is it? Don’t tell me it’s someone from the human races.>

<…Indeed. This forest is dominated by the undead. After seeing the armor they wear, I believe… they were once my brothers-in-arms.>