*Thump*

A small step for a demon... but what a great leap for the Dungeon!!

"So this is the country of Wakoku," I asked no one special as I took in the view of this country.

You could see only from the docks that this is a different continent. If I had to describe it with one word, maybe two, then I can only think of the "Edo period". This place is what I imagined a port in old Japan looks like. It's all made with timber or bamboo... or something resembling it. Maybe we should find a way to import it back to Invidia? If it's as useful as it is back on Earth, it may give us some extra pocket money.

We said our farewells to Kaizo and his ninja-goons for now, as they wanted to tell their "lord" or whatever about our arrival and the Firebells that are currently resting in my Storage.

Before doing anything else, we went to the inn that Kaizo had recommended, which turned out to be a freaking hot spring inn!! Why's there a hot spring so close to the port!? We did walk a little way out of town but that's still not a good enough explanation!! Though the undead mounts pulling the wagon I took out from my Storage did attract some attention.

Ah, whatever. I'm no geologist or whoever's got a Ph.D. in hot springs and all that. The pass that Kaizo gave me provided some sweet rooms for a discount, so I'm not gonna be picky at this point. Let's just do a roll call and let everyone loose on the town. 

"Okay everyone, we got some free time before we gotta go and meet the 'lord' or whatever. Go in groups of two or more, and beware of pickpockets. Okay? Disperse!" - Garami

And with that, everyone went back to the town. Me? I'm gonna slack off. The unexpected bonus adventure and designing the two Dungeons have left me exhausted. I need to rechargeeee...

"Garami, come quick!" - Lily

WHAT NOW!?!?

---

Deliiiissh...

"See! Karnel's recommendation's not wrong, right!" - Lily

"Why're you acting so proud over that?" - Garami

We're in a restaurant, no, a sushi restaurant that Karnel had been helping out with before. Their reputation's goddamn good, but the shop itself isn't that big. Seems like they wanna focus on the quality of the food rather than a high number of customers. Well, those that do come here once will come again. I'm in the same group.

"It's nice to see you again, Karnel. Now tell me, who are your friends? They are quite the lookers," said the head chef of the shop that was taking a break. 

"This is the Master of my Guild, miss Garami." - Karnel

"Really? Then you're not from around here?" - Chef

"From Invidia. How did you know?" - Garami

"There's no one who wants to start a new Guild when they can work for the governor as a warrior or as a ninja. Even if they did, it would be a commercial-kind of Guild, and you missy, you look more like a warrior than anything." - Chef

I'm closer to a ninja though.

"We know less about this place than we first thought," said Lily in between the sushi bites. Not that I think this piece of info got any decent value for us...

"If that's the case, how about I give you a quick lecture?" said the chef and pointed at a picture on the wall. It looks like a triangle on a blue surface, with the upper part being strangely light-blue and white, while the lower right is light-gray... hey, don't tell me...

"That is the map of Luxuria." - Chef

"Did the painter spill some paint on it?" - Lily

"No. The northern part of the continent was turned into a wasteland of ice after the conflict against the Disaster of Ice." - Karnel

"...And the grey part is..." - Lily

"The work of the Disaster of Life. That part of the continent has turned into a swamp of grey mass that'll dissolve you if you fall into it. The Disaster itself has been vanquished, but it's said that it will take several centuries before all the muck has been cleared." - Chef

This is not a conversation to have while eating.

But damn, Disasters are worse news than I thought. Both made one-third of a freaking continent uninhabitable! Glavras isn't such a big deal compared to them, and I was almost killed by that guy. Would have too, hadn't that Baron-idiot arrived with those futuristic battleships of his.

"Due to those two events, Luxuria has become one-third of its size, practically. It also means that more monsters have appeared when they flee from their now-destroyed homes, making the living for those closer to the center of the continent more than just difficult. I can't say I envy them." - Chef

"The mountain I lived on before is somewhere north-east of here, but luckily it's still only halfway to the frozen north." - Karnel

That's good. Having to experience one's former home being destroyed would break anyone's heart, including Golems. Wait... the Water-Knot could be considered my first home..., no, birthplace? Agh, stop thinking about it! I'm just gonna develop a headache.

"In any case, public security has gotten worse, right?" - Garami

"If 'worse' can even describe it. There are not many warriors that have the chance to come to our continent, so if you guys are looking for work here, you'll be accepted in half a second." - Chef

We're only here to bash in some Dungeons and win the festival though... ah.

"Hey, what do you know about the Yamatai Grand Festival?" - Garami

"That one... wait, you're planning on entering that thing!?" - Chef

"At least we're gonna see how far we can go." - Garami

I've already consulted with everyone, and it was decided that no one should, or would, be blamed if they retired from the festival.

"Ah, okay... but seriously, are you going to enter that thing? The survival rate is horrible. Not even 10% of the contenders survive normally. A whole Guild from your continent once tried, and they were annihilated." - Chef

He must be talking about that super-Guild that had 10 A-rank adventurers.

"Those had bad luck and didn't stop when they reached their limit. And it's because I know about them that I'm not taking this lightly. Even if we do win, the experience is gonna be worth more than the rewards." - Garami

...? What? All the customers stopped talking. Did I do something wrong?

"Finally someone that's got something working in their skull!" - ???

A loudmouth entered the store. He looked... pretty normal for someone in Wakoku. He's dressed in a shabby dark green and blue kimono. He wears a pair of huge glasses, but the pulled-back purple hair is kinda killing the image. Prolly a type of humanoid Yokai. Seen several of them ever since we landed...

Why's the ninja-geezer Kaizo following that guy!?

"Akemiyama-san! It's an honor!" - Chef

"Akemiyama?" - Lily

"That's me. Akemiyama Shouren, merchant extraordinaire and the local 'don' of the people, at your service," said the newcomer. "And you, miss, must be Garami, no?"

 "...And why do I have this pleasure?" - Garami

"Why, after helping ol' Kaizo here with my request, then I gotta show my appreciation then." - Akemiyama

...So, it wasn't a noble, but a merchant. I feel kinda relieved, but also somewhat tricked...

"While we're at the subject, Kaizo!" - Akemiyama

The old ninja didn't answer, but instead, handed over a small box to the self-proclaimed merchant. What was in the box was... tickets? No, gemstones? Maybe both? Its shape looks no different from those tickets that you use in cinemas, but it's made of some light-blue gemstone flattened to the size of a ticket.

"I'm the kind of man who spoils my daughter and her friends, so why not do the same to her future rescuers?" said the merchant while handing over the gem tickets... ah.

"These are to enter the Yamatai Festival?" - Garami

"Precisely. I only have ten to give away, but I hear that's the number that you wanted, right? The rest of the payment will be delivered after I receive the Firebells." - Akemiyama

He calls it "spoiling", but isn't this just pre-payment? Wordlessly, I took out the bag filled with the flowers and handed them over to Kaizo, who accepted it with a deep bow and left the store in a hurry.

"A-ha! As I heard, you're a lady that gets straight to the point!" said the merchant with humor in his voice.

"Don't forget the other part-" - Garami

"Teachings on Wakoku-weaponry and forging techniques? That will take a while to gather, but I will have them ready before the Festival." - Akemiyama

That's reasonable. He first heard about my demands today, didn't he? The fact that he could produce the means to enter the Festival immediately and then come here on his own to meet me shows that he's got the influence and is not to be trifled with. The other part's just an extra for us anyway... except for Flint. But he should figure things out even if we didn't get our hands on that stuff.

"Then, for a great future partnership... chef! Give them your best fish! Place it on my tab!" - Akemiyama

"Got that, sir!" - Chef

"Ya-hoooo!!!" - Lily

Ahh... he's not gonna be bankrupt now, is he?

"...When's the Festival again? And the third reward?" - Garami

"In three weeks. As for the permission to enter a Dungeon, I need to ask the emperor about it. Those things are troublesome for everyone, especially if it lets monsters roam out. If that's the case, I'm sure that guy would give you the go-ahead. Heck, I'd bet he'd even send some of his best men to help!" - Akemiyama

"..You're buds with the emperor or something?" - Garami

"We're something close to childhood friends. That's why Kaizo and his group's working for me. However, that bastard's damn merciless when we talk business! Last time, for example, he-," and the merchant started to complain about something, but my brain went into ignore-mode for that while until the merchant was finished.

"Anyway, tell that childhood friend of yours that we don't need any escorts. Altering our battle strategies for temporary members' just gonna complicate things." - Garami

"'Anyway'... I'll tell him that." - Akemiyama

Good. Though... don't we need to seriously crush some Dungeons to not raise suspicions on us then? Things are gonna be busy these next few days...

"Then, mind filling me in about the Festival? I heard that there are ten challenges people can take..." - Garami

"That's right. The first three are done in the surrounding area close to the festival grounds. Mostly item-fetching stuff. For the first round, one can team up in a group of twelve. The second round can be challenged in a party of up to 6 members but it must include the members from the first round. Round 3 onwards are solo, but you won't be grouped against your former teammate for those challenges." - Akemiyama

In other words, you can use a small Clan for the first challenge, a Party for the second, but you're on your own from the 3rd challenge and onwards. Plus, each round will have several challenges at the same time, but you won't be grouped with your former teammates. A measure to prevent teamwork, or from having to fight your friends? Could be for both reasons.

"Round 4 and above takes place in a special field. And if you retire after round 5, you can choose a consolation reward for having reached that far. It's on round 6 and onward that you can receive the main prize." - Akemiyama

"The Extra Skills." - Garami

Extra Skills. Normally only available after completing a string of difficult Quests, being very lucky and discovering a randomly generated test area like Mira, or through the third and final way, earning a special reward for having done something, such as me defeating the "ancient dragon" Glavras... or, his remains, to be politically correct. If I were to try to obtain Zahhak the normal way, I would have to do the first option.

This "Festival" however allows you to earn Extra Skills without having to rely on luck or having to defeat crazy monsters and/or trials. The exceptions to this selection are the Seven Virtues, Seven Sins, plus the two [Hero] and [Demon Lord] skills. On the other hand, it means that any Extra Skills, except for those 16, are for the taking.

You have earned the right to one of these skills after clearing round 6 of the "Festival events", but the skill obtained will be randomly chosen. Though it seems that the type of Extra Skill that can be obtained is also affected by the type of challenges completed and also one's abilities. according to the files I requested from the organization. Those guys from Info are damn good at this.

Winning round 7 and above will improve the chances of getting a skill they want. Think it's something like they can specify what the skill they want shall do. Asking for a Darkness skill may net them Zahhak, for example. Clearing all 10 challenges will give them the ability to ask for ANY Extra Skill in the System, except the mentioned 16.

So, why aren't people stopping at round 6 then? Because the difficulty-balance of each challenge is broken. Some may be so simple that even a non-combatant may clear them all. According to the merchant, he obtained enough money to start his business as his round 5-reward. This means that even he managed to survive for that long despite having almost no combat skills. 

"I entered the Festival with the emperor when we were younger, but I had to retire after the fifth round. A drinking challenge with a Yamata-no-Orochi is too much, even if you can cooperate..." - Akemiyama

Th-that sounds challenging, alright. Is your liver okay?

The merchant told me that some challenges would allow several participants, if not everyone, to work together to clear. There are some challenges again where it's "first come, first serve" as well though. Yesterday's ally can be your enemy tomorrow, or something like that. 

However, the broken part about the difficulty is for the challenges above 7. The number of survivors who have challenged the 7th round can be counted on one hand, despite this festival-thing having been repeated for several millennia already. And the only person who passed the 8th challenge is the freaking first emperor of Wakoku! It's because of him that the Festival started to be held in this area instead of changing the location every time. 

People who get too high over having cleared the relatively easier challenges will know true despair after entering the 7th one... even so, according to the files, lately, more and more people stopped at the 6th... but it's still questionable if they can reach that far anyway. If they've got bad luck, a pure Warrior could end up with a magic-based challenge. Those things are random after all. 

I was gonna thank the merchant for the free grub and the tickets when I noticed that he had frozen up while holding a long, long, LONG piece of paper. His glasses looked like they are broken for some reason... Oh. The check.

"Twenty people's worth... sushi for twenty people... on a single girl..." - Akemiyama

"That was delicious! What's for dessert?" - Lily

The culprit for the merchant's current state isn't even aware of the pains she's inflicted on the guy. Wow... that's some expensive fish...

---

"And therefore, we're gonna get some materials to sell!" - Garami

The next day, I dragged some members with me to a Haunt that we're allowed to challenge. It's covering a big part of a forest that the local authorities want to be removed, so we just have to find the source of this thing and crush it! Some of the items we can get here are gonna be a good present for the merchant for the incident with Lily at the restaurant. 

"That is fine and all, but why us!? Take Lily with you!!" - Ciara

"Sorry, but I have no confidence in this either..." - Karnel

"And I want to see the type of swords they make here!" - Flint

"It's a port-town we are staying in. They do not make swords there." - Noire

"And be quiet! First, both Ciara and Karnel's yet to obtain an Advance-tier class! No way I'm gonna let you guys enter that Festival at this rate, so we're gonna do some heavy training with you! Karnel needs to evolve as well." - Garami

"So, I am here as a medic?" - Noire

"Precisely. Limit yourself to keeping these guys alive." - Garami

"Then what about me!?" - Flint

"This is a forest filled with bugs! Bugs are weak to fire, remember? And your fighting abilities are amongst the lowest in the Guild, even if we think about you as a crafter. Try to gain some muscles. It may even help with that meteo-" - Garami

"I'm in! Let's fry some bugs already!" - Flint

That was easy. The two newcomers still seem a little uneasy, but we need to get them into shape. Especially Karnel. I heard that he's never defeated a monster on his own, only entering battles with others, which reduced the total EXP he could gain. It did allow him to obtain many Hunting Titles despite his low level. His [Party] skill is surprisingly low due to his low kill count though. 

Anyway, busting this place may give us some "affection points" with the locals, which may improve our chances in the first of the Festival's challenges. So, let's go!!

---

Ciara's status page:

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Karnel's status page:

Skill List:

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