Golden Experience

“Alright then, it’s preferable to covertly control this town from the shadows without alerting the players, correct?”

“Not exactly aiming for control from the shadows, but securing the land might lead to that, I suppose.”

Kerry and the others were summoned through [Summon], and the outline was explained. Additionally, the experience gained in the past day was invested, allowing the four to acquire [Subordinate].

“I leave the method up to you. You can focus on [Subordinate], saving gold coins, or distribute gold coins normally and engage in land speculation. Oh, but let’s keep the lord and those around him under control. I’ll be taking over the lord later, so the rest can do as they please.”

“Understood.”

“Even if we say not to be discovered by players, we don’t know for sure how many players are staying in this town for reasons other than the dungeon. Well, let’s aim for diligence. What must not be known is that you are acting under my instructions. As long as the connection with me is not revealed, honestly, anything else is fine. You can pretend to be players as usual, and if someone probes too much, you can even say something like ‘I’ll report you for stalking to the admins!’ and escape.”

Ideally, similar towns in other countries—referred to as portals for convenience—would be controlled. However, their locations were unknown, and it was impractical to manage them all.

Assuming one per country, seizing this town meant controlling one-sixth of the continent’s portals, which should be sufficient.

Though the country had lost its formal structure, the demand for the former Hiers Kingdom among players was high. This was due to the presence of easily understandable raid bosses and unique dungeons.

If they could control the portals in such regions, that would be satisfactory.

“Now then, before heading to the dungeon, shall we go greet the lord?”

Disappearing, they headed to the lord’s mansion. Meanwhile, Sugaru had been instructed to observe the state of the grasslands from above. Flying at such a high altitude, it was not easy to discern if it was an ordinary insect, bird, or something else at first glance.

*

Hiers nobles seemed more susceptible than Aural’s nobles. They quickly became docile with just [Charm].

If Lyra’s information was accurate, the noble family should all be Noble Humans.

Controlling the lord, his wife, daughter, and son through [Subordinate], and additionally the elderly man presumed to be the steward. This was because he had witnessed the rare sight of [Charm] being cast on the lord.

They could have disposed of him, but if he truly was the steward, his absence might jeopardize the lord’s duties and the maintenance of the mansion.

By holding the lord family and the steward, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this household was under her control.

They could even hire Kerry and the others as mansion servants under the authority of this steward. If done cleverly, they might not arouse suspicion for any surface-level property dealings within the city, attributing it to the “lord’s orders”, and they could potentially even extort other players who had already acquired properties.

“Hey, Sugaru. Sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we head to the dungeon soon?”

<Have you finished your business?>

“As much as I will do.”

The rest can be left to the lord and Kerry’s group.

They were quite delayed due to dealing with other matters, but on the bright side, the player population around the dungeon had increased. With this many players, some would likely post about it on social media.

“Now, let’s go. But how exactly do we conquer the dungeon? Should we capture some character like an area boss somewhere?”

<How about a magic carpet bombing from above?>

“No, I plan to place them under our control later.”

Turning the grassland into a scorched field would be a waste.

“Let’s try to traverse it on foot.”

They landed in a location where players, gathered at the edge of the recognized entrance area, seemed to be concentrated.

[Camouflage] had been cut off in the sky.

To attract attention, they deliberately descended with force, creating a heavy sound. Dust rose, concealing Yoroizaka-san’s figure.

Shortly after, Sugaru landed quietly in front of Yoroizaka-san.

Sugaru flapped the wings on her back, dispersing the surrounding dust.

When the visibility improved, surprised players came into view.

Suddenly, a fully-armored, insect-like creature, three meters in size, descended from the sky with a height of around two meters for Sugaru. It seemed quite intimidating compared to the Yoroizaka-san, but to an average player, it was an imposing figure.

“…Uh, what’s this? Who? A monster?”

“Some event? Who triggered it? Any idea?”

—Not realizing it was the calamity that destroyed Hiers.

Although, this field was for beginners. Players at this point might not pay attention to the appearance of a raid boss. Alternatively, some might notice when the rare creature emerges from Yoroizaka-san. Probably, visually, that would be more impactful.

However, it felt a bit too much, a bit embarrassing.

<How troublesome. Shall I clean them up?>

<No, let it be. You can deal with them if they show signs of attacking us. Let’s go for now.>

These players and the magical creatures that would appear in this field wouldn’t yield significant experience points if killed now. It would be a waste of time to engage them.

If they dominated this area and the players posted about it on social media, those aware of the calamity would likely make a fuss on their own. There was no need to introduce themselves here. Sugaru and Rare ignored the players and started walking.

Still misunderstanding it as some event, most players near the entrance followed Rare and Sugaru.

Was it okay in terms of dungeon raid etiquette to do this? I vaguely recall it being referred to as “hyena behavior”.

However, Rare was not interested in what you can get in this dungeon. It’s irrelevant if there are people who want to take advantage of it or not.

After walking a bit, something jumped out of the ground.

Initially, it seemed like a large capybara, but on closer inspection, it was a mole.

Sugaru silently stood in front of Yoroizaka-san and knocked it down with her bare hands.

It wasn’t clear if the claws caught it or if it was intentionally torn apart, but the mole was deeply slashed, covered in blood, and slammed onto the grass, lifeless.

<It seems there are countless holes dug by these creatures underground.>

Sugaru reported while shaking something like antennae. Perhaps, this allowed Sugaru to understand the situation underground. Was it some kind of active sonar?

<I see. Could it be that these moles are preventing trees from growing properly? Maybe, due to the moles’ large scale, trees can’t root, but grass can thrive by spreading roots over the moles’ holes.>

If that were the case, eliminating the moles might change this area from a grassland to a forest.

Or, they could use the holes in the ground as they were and turn the entire grassland into an ant nest.

<Unexpectedly, this field might really suit us. Alright, let’s release some engineer ants.>

<Understood.>

Sugaru summoned five Engineer Ants.

<Go. If you find an individual that seems to be the enemy leader, do not act and report it.>

The engineer ants quickly disappeared underground. Whether they found holes or not, they disappeared from this area in no time.

In the same way, about five times, a total of thirty engineer ants were released onto the grassland. Sugaru bowed to Rare.

<Good job. By the way, why did you leave the enemy leader? It’s fine to let the ants take care of it if it seems doable.>

It remains to be seen whether the lowest level of combat power in Rare’s camp, the arsenal of arsenal ants, will be able to cope with the situation.

With thirty of them, if the engineer ants were considered to have the same strength as beginner players, it could be said they had a force equivalent to a raid party by beginners. The required force for conquering a ☆1 dungeon was unknown, but this was probably not something they couldn’t handle.

<…It’s a bit selfish of me, but the truth is, I’ve hardly ever fought. So, even if it’s a lower-ranked creature, I thought it might be a good test for me to become the ruler of the territory.>

I had forgotten. I had only allowed reincarnation, and I hadn’t examined Sugaru’s combat abilities.

While it was inadequate for the boss level of this area, it would be better than doing nothing.

<Well then, since we’re already here, let’s leave all the fighting during our outing to Sugaru. Feel free to kill any players who attack. You probably won’t be affected by attacks anyway, Yoroizaka, so you don’t need to worry about us.>

Voices of confusion came from the players behind them.

“What’s going on? I can’t understand it at all. What kind of event is this?”

“What, what does it mean? Did the ant boss attack the grassland?”

“Then, what’s with that armor? It’s clearly not an ant.”

“An armored giant with ants… feels like I’ve heard that phrase somewhere.”

About the grassland monsters, it’s probably fine to leave them to the ants. I didn’t have any expectations for experience points from the beginning.

If there is an area boss, we might be idle until we find it.

Looking back, the players took a step back.

“… They’re looking over here.”

“… Oh, seriously, this is bad.”

“Huh? What’s going on?”

“I just asked my friend. It’s that thing, the raid boss. The one who destroyed the Hiers Kingdom.”

“The one that was on the forum!? Seriously!? Why is it here!?”

Ideally, this reaction would have been great when it first appeared, but it couldn’t be helped.

While I initially thought it might be a waste of time, if there was nothing else to do, playing along wouldn’t hurt.

Apologies to them for the suddenness, but it’s time for a raid boss battle.

In terms of numbers, it’s about the same as the royal capital from before. It should be fine.

“Sugaru. Dispose of these noisy ones.”

To clearly signal the start of the battle, I deliberately gave the order aloud.

<Understood.>

“Whoa! A raid battle out of nowhere!?”

“What the heck! Who triggered the event!?”

“Doesn’t matter who! This seems to be the case! Anyway, let’s do it! Tanks, come forward!”

I thought it was just beginners, but there seemed to be some intermediate players mixed in. Perhaps they were support for the following group of acquaintances.

Since the game lacked a clear party or alliance system, it was relatively easy to give guidance in-game. With no experience point distribution within a party, even if advanced players followed beginners, the beginners could monopolize the experience points if they didn’t participate in combat. Helping only in dangerous situations would be enough.

It seemed like these intermediate players were here for that purpose.

Sugaru courteously waited for the tanks to line up in front. This kind of enemy could be defeated even with a surprise attack.

The lined-up tanks raised their shields, preparing for the attack.

Perhaps they intended to first defend against Sugaru’s attack and then find an opportunity to counterattack.

While it was understandable to be cautious against a boss they encountered for the first time, they were a bit too passive. Since they needed to attack anyway to win, it might be better to try some long-range attacks first and see the reaction. Defense was important, but if they intended to win against an unknown opponent, they should consider first depriving the opponent of the opportunity to attack.

“No, it might be a difference in personality.”

People have different ways of thinking.

On the other hand, Sugaru didn’t seem to care much about defense. She approached the players casually, and as she did when she slashed the mole earlier, she delivered a flash of attack to the vanguard.

“Ugh!”

“Heavy!”

It wasn’t enough to send them flying, but the vanguard who took the attack fell backward from the impact.

Some had their shields completely torn, while others had received wounds but managed to defend. Perhaps it was a difference in shield material or some defensive skill.

Immediately after the attack, a few magic spells flew towards Sugaru.

Single-target fire magic.

Single-target magic had a high hit rate and usually hit the target as long as it was within range.

However, it wasn’t guaranteed to hit. Although it wasn’t seen often, if the target’s movement speed was faster than the speed of the magic, it could be avoided. Also, hiding behind obstacles could prevent it from hitting. In this case, it was a combination of both, as Sugaru grabbed the fallen tank at his feet and used him as a shield against the magic.

“Gyaa!”

“I see. Indeed, when mages gather and cast spells, if you have a large shield, you might be able to block them all at once. It’s better to coordinate and focus on creating crossfire lines.”

The player used as a shield was thrown away by Sugaru and soon disappeared into light.

Sugaru then crushed one of the surviving tanks underfoot.

The remaining tanks hurriedly stood up and distanced themselves.

—

It’s unclear what was activated, but flames of scorching heat attacked the retreating tanks. It was Sugaru’s area-of-effect magic. I wonder how characters of the non-speaking type activate their magic spells if they can’t speak keywords.

Sugaru had been with us almost since the start of the open beta.

I have also tried to experiment with experience, and I have also assigned more of it to her abilities in order to strengthen her subordinates.

Her magic skills are now second only to Rare’s. The same is true for ability values.

Her species’ rating can be said to be the of the same level as that of Rare. If she was not under Rare’s command, she would have been about the 10th calamity by now.

Whether they were beginners or intermediate players, there didn’t seem to be a vanguard among them who could endure Sugaru’s magic. Together with some melee attackers who seemed to be watching from a little behind, they turned into charcoal and disappeared.

“This really is that raid boss, isn’t it? The one you can’t beat without event items!”

“Wait, wait, this is different! The raid boss is the one standing with its arms crossed in the back! This guy is just a preliminary!”

“Also, it’s a bug, and it’s using fire attacks…? So, would water magic be better…? Or maybe ice?”

“For now, I spread it on the forum! If we endure for a bit, maybe some top-tier players with free time will come!”

It’s the second day since the start of the transfer service. Most top-tier players were probably attacking some dungeon, or at least they had already transferred to a nearby safety area. Since they couldn’t transfer again from there, I don’t think they’d come here immediately.

However, if they say they’ll come, I’m naturally welcoming. If top-tier players come, members from the previous raid battle might also come, and I wouldn’t mind waiting a bit.

<Sugaru. It seems we have more guests coming here soon. It’s like the goblins’ “Calling for comrades” trick. Let’s wait a bit.>

<Yes, boss.>

From within Yoroizaka-san, I secretly checked the forum.

It seems that the information was indeed spread, as there were various threads on the game’s official forum. Since it’s troublesome to chase after them, I honestly wish they would stop, but for now, I bookmarked the ones I found.