Sandoro separates from us to coordinate with our men. After walking past a few colorful corridors, we leave the castle and finally have a good view of the city.

Gify suddenly pops back into existence on my shoulder and gazes at the city with wonder like I was about to do.

"Oh? Finally deemed it time to grace us with your presence?" I gently tease her.

"Gih," she tells me to shut up so that she can enjoy the sight.

I chuckle and follow her lead. We're at the center of the caldera, near the highest point of the town, and we have the perfect view to see how it spirals down under us.

We're right under the opening of the caldera, allowing us to see the dark blue sky of twilight as the sun begins to rise, but just those few rays of light make the area around us considerably brighter than the rest of the town. Gnomeria has so many little sources of light that the atmosphere gradually shifts from being cute and colorful around us to gloomy and cozy deeper down, and it reminds me of the lower levels of Escanso due to the permanent scarcity of sunlight.

The gnomic houses themselves are incredibly cute and just as colorful as the clothes they wear. They're all spherical and tilted in such a way that it looks like multiple rooms have been haphazardly stacked on top of each other, straight out of a fairy-tale, which can be taken literally since the extended Tale of Creation for the gnomes and pixies claims that they simply came out of childrens' fairy-tale books.

Their whole theme is to be childish and whimsical, and they very visibly show it through their architectural style and sense of fashion.

The gnomic road network seems a bit nightmarish, though, since there are a dozen suspended highways crisscrossing the skies, and there's even floating arrows that pulse with light, held up by cartoonish carvings of pixies that indicate the air lanes for flying vehicles.

But wait, there's more. For some reason, there are giant dandelions, spinning flowers, and glowing mushrooms spread out across the sky. None of us know what they might be for, aside from decoration.

"First time in Gnomeria?" A cute female voice graces my ears, and I turn around, only to see Tinkerbell in a blue dress staring at… Lina.

"Y-yes, it is. It's such a… different city," she awkwardly replies, caught off-guard by the pretty, young pixie.

 

 

First Princess Belind is one of the few with an innocuous name, but she has a strong happy-go-lucky air to her that makes up for that, though she was completely silent during the previous meeting. "You can say what you're thinking; the gnomes are pretty weird," she cheekily states and giggles. "We're mostly concerned with the Enchanted Forest, so we let the gnomes run things over here, and they just can't help themselves." Then she motions to the town under us.

"Sister…" the Second Prince grumbles and frowns at his older sister.

She grins as she slowly floats towards him without flapping her butterfly wings. "Well, Looklwind isn't weird, he's just boring."

"I'm just more mature than you," he dryly replies.

She flicks his pompom, but his hat is firmly secured to his head, so the pompom merely bounces a little, but it still amuses her. "Like I said, boring, which is something, considering he's a gnome."

He refuses to look at her as he asserts, "You should be more respectful of our guests and not bother them with your foolishness."

"I'm merely lightening the mood and relieving the tension," she replies matter-of-factly.

"We appreciate the thought. Being overly stiff and formal doesn't suit our family," Yunia gracefully interjects, and the Princess gives her brother a smug glance.

But he just rolls his eyes and confesses, "Pixies are simply a lot more free-spirited than we are, so it's quite difficult to get them to do anything."

Belind shrugs. "Well, I find it just as hard to pull you out of your numbers and letters."

"Algebra?" Lina coos curiously. "I've been trying to learn it for one of our projects."

The Princess shakes her head and dramatically cries, "Oh, no, you're just like him."

"She's a dwarf, so of course she'd be like that," Looklwind replies with a snort.

And Tinkerbell giggles out loud as she holds her stomach. "I can't escape the gnome curse no matter where I look."

"The what, now?" I mumble confusedly.

She dries the corners of her eyes as she explains, "Gnomes and pixies are fated to fall in love, no matter how different they are, so 'gnomic' traits will always be attractive to us."

But Ciel takes issue with her wording and concernedly remarks, "That doesn't seem like much of a curse, really. The God of Creation wouldn't be so cruel as to make two races hate one another when they each depend on the other to procreate."

And the Prince heartily agrees with her, "Yes, it's not a curse unless you're a pixie contrarian." Then he shoots his sister a brief glare, but the Princess just giggles softly and flies in circles around him, completely unashamed.

"I like her," I comment through [Bind].

"Of course you do," Ciel dryly replies.

"Is that jealousy that I hear?!" Roxanne mockingly exclaims.

"Only Ciel may pamper our little dwarf," Alissa states with an internal nod.

And Ciel shouts annoyedly, "T-that's not it!"

"She seems fun," Aoi innocently comments, completely ignoring the banter going on.

"But we've taken up enough of the Ryders' time, so let's head to our assignments," the Princess gently declares and points towards one of the horseless, pumpkin-like carriages behind us, then she grins adorably. "If you don't mind, may I take a ride in your carriage? My assigned tunnel is near yours."

"We'd be delighted to have you with us for a little longer," I politely answer before Ciel can say anything.

"I wasn't going to!" Our angel exclaims indignantly in my soul space.

 

We enter the carriage and notice that it has a very strong [Warp Space] enchantment on it, making me a bit nervous about our safety since the gnomes have a fondness for explosions, and when this enchantment fails it, uh… explodes.

Once we're comfortable, the driver activates an enchantment, and the carriage takes flight, which makes me wonder why it has wheels if it can just fly wherever.

As we fly down and around the town, Belind points out all the exceptionally weird buildings as we pass them, then explains their history, which appeals to both Lina and I. The town is under alert, so there should be fewer people on the streets, but there's still considerable traffic, though Alissa detects quite a high density of people inside their homes.

As we near the bottom, the number of soldiers patrolling increases exponentially. We see gnomes marching in lockstep while chanting "hoi, hoi, hoi, hoi," with their weapons floating beside them as if they were possessed by ghosts. Pixies are flying in formation while holding long lances upwards, and their weapons have such a wide handguard that they could almost use it as an umbrella.

Then we reach the bottom, where the smooth, dark stone of the volcano's wall meets with the town… except it doesn't. The entire town is actually floating.

"Impressive," I coo in wonder.

And the bland Prince shows quite a lot of pride as he brags, "The halflings got the idea of turning Auri Yorei into a floating city from us. Granted, theirs only floats when the flood seasons starts."

But the Princess obviously thinks differently, "We don't even need Gnomeria to float, so I don't know why we use so much mana on it."

"It's for safety. Better to be floating than wishing it was," the Prince flatly replies.

She turns a cheeky grin towards us. "See what we have to deal with?"

But he's unfazed. "I can say the same."

And I gently interject, feeling like I should be diplomatic in the face of this sibling rivalry, "I find both of your races' attitudes refreshing. With your vigorous and hard-working personalities, there's so much you could accomplish, but it's a pity that you so rarely leave your home."

"Indeed. If we did, we'd quickly dominate the realm," Prince makes a rare joke and chuckles.

"That could be said for any race. If only we were as greedy as the humans…" Yunia remarks thoughtfully.

Then we all turn to Ciel.

"What? You were a human, too!" She stiffly exclaims, starting to get annoyed by repeatedly being the target of our teasing.

Fortunately for her, our short ride ends as we land at the entrance of a wide and tall rectangular tunnel with rounded walls and a subtle decline. I feel a bit silly as the shape of the tunnel makes me imagine the gnomes just pushing huge balls into the tunnel, then allowing them to freely roll down, but then I remember that these are gnomes, so they've most likely done exactly that, and it might also be what caused the explosion of the… Dangerous Spinny Balls Research Facility.

The tunnel ends at the beginning of a murder corridor, and the area around us is brimming with gnomes taking positions around the fortifications and manning the uncountable number of simple-looking ballistas and catapults. These soldiers are merely conscripts, and their weapons and armor are all flimsy-looking, so this is clearly Gnomeria's last line of defense.

The fact that the city is floating above us gives the girls and I chills because if the enchantment failed, we'd all be instantly squashed.

"Maybe that's a defensive measure too," Lina whispers internally.

The last, last line of defense.

One of our knights comes out of the tunnel and motions for us to follow him, so we part ways with the royals. The Prince will set up a station at the entrance to control the traps while the Princess will join her personal soldiers at another tunnel nearby.

 

We go down along the gentle slope of the tunnel and walk past a number of fortifications that are in the process of being crewed by our men. It seems the gnomes have a weapon that reminds me of the Chimera Trinity Cannons and another that seems like a liquid thrower of some kind.

The smooth stone gradually becomes rougher and more porous as we descend, with the occasional vein of unknown metal adding a bit of color to the dreary environment. The walls are covered in a slimy and shiny substance, and a quick test reveals that it's oily and extremely slippery.

We eventually reach the first line of defense and find the bulk of our men, who are finishing gathering for battle. We've also called a dozen of our knights, Klein, Anton, the gay Grosshils, and the twins because this is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to level up relatively safely.

Sandoro is almost done setting up the communications line with the Prince with the unpronounceable name, and monster scouts keep charging our line, so the men aren't allowed to relax, but most of the men are just waiting for the real battle to start, so I think we have enough time for a little speech.

I use [Telekinesis] to float up in front of our first line of men, then I clear my throat and call for their attention, "Men!"

They turn their heads towards me with a hint of curiosity, and I see in their eyes the respect they have for me. I even recognize the few passionate gazes from the Companions mixed in.

I wait for a few seconds until everyone falls silent, leaving the dying spider-like monsters nearby as the only sound we can hear, then I infuse a bit of [Godly Language] into my voice as I declare, "Today, we're here to aid our fellow humanoids, the gnomes, for only one reason: because I want their coffee. Simple as that." -They frown in confusion and murmur to each other- "Therefore…! Don't fight for me, fight for yourself, for your level, for your skills, and for your own power! Fight because this may be the last time we clash against something as inoffensive as bugs!"

It takes them a couple of seconds, but the soldiers soon understand my intentions, and Oritiki even nods in approval, then they all cheer fiercely with my encouraging words.

Without further ado, Aoi shifts into her dragon form, and we check our armor one last time. Then the knights, Silvano, the Celestial Horns, the girls, and I move forward to explore and clear the area. I summon a Holly for each group of knights so that we can keep an eye on them. This won't be the place where we lose our first knight.

 

The tunnel splits into a dizzying network that widens with depth. This plays with monster psychology and guides them into clustering up just enough that the digger-type monsters don't feel like widening the tunnels while also ensuring that the gnomic defenses are at their most effective.

There's no need to be conservative, so I freely use Patrono and leave a trail of bodies in my wake, but what I'm most grateful for is the fact that no fluids can stick to our Heavenly Weapon because these bugs have a tendency to leave a mess everywhere when they die.

They're all weird varieties of creepy-crawlies, so they use hydraulics to move, which means that their limbs are all filled with sticky, unknown fluids rather than blood. Also, they can all see in the dark, apparently, so our [Spirit Light]s draw them in like moths to a flame.

But then the size of the bugs quickly grows along with the thickness of their carapaces.

"Normal arrows are almost useless," Klein complains to her Holly.

Anton runs a gloved finger along the edge of his poleaxe, and his permanent frown deepens. "It's getting dangerous," he grunts and turns to the veteran knight.

"The Threat Level of these monsters is still below our ability," the elf categorically replies.

I don't like this knight's dismissive attitude, but it's not unexpected that some would behave like that with Klein and Anton. We'll just have to deal with him later.

We continue clearing the tunnels, but then the other knights also report having some difficulties with the bugs.

"Are these bugs really that bad?" Hana casually asks as she skewers a dwarf-sized scorpion through its mouth with her spear. "The knights are close to us in level, and I don't notice any difficulty."

"Even for Lords, our strength is abnormal," Yunia points out, and Hana immediately understands.

But I'm starting to feel a bit uncomfortable with this situation, so I deliberate, "The gnomes already discovered a new variant of underworld creatures, so it isn't absurd to think that these bugs might also be different from what was expected."

The girls hum in agreement, and I turn on the Emergency Ring to recall everyone. I don't want them to continue pushing forward recklessly.

"Oh, come on," Silvano grumbles annoyedly to his Holly when he sees the Ring turn red.

I leave Patrono with Hana and drop a [Gate] coordinate, then I return to Sandoro to speak with him.

 

"Sandoro!" I shout as I fly over our line of Lordsguard, then I land right in front of him. "Everyone is reporting that the bugs are stronger than expected. Well, the knights are reporting this."

"It could merely be that they're not used to fighting these monsters," he calmly retorts.

But I insist, "There are some bugs in the High Forest, so they should have some experience with them, and the gnomes already reported a new variant of underworld creatures, so we should let them know that the bugs are different."

He narrows his eyes and enters deep thought. "Hmm… If we do report this, they might think us weak."

I shrug. "Fuck it, I don't care. I don't like how things keep changing."

And he nods diligently. "Understood, Your Highness. We appreciate your carefulness."

I grin and tease, "It's because I love you all."

Almaria snorts, and Sandoro struggles to hold back a smile, forcing himself to remain stern.

I open a [Gate] and return to the girls just as Silvano gets back, and I feel like he deserves praise for not waiting a little longer before returning.

 

We soon hear a rumbling coming from the tunnels up ahead, then the first real wave of bugs arrives. This will be a good opportunity to test our ability to coordinate with the golems through [Bind].

The monsters lack coordination, so come in waves since they'd just clog the tunnels with their numbers if they came all at once. If the Monster King was present, then the bugs could actually use tactics, turning them into frightening enemies.

The gnomes gave the monsters unpronounceable names, so I shall name them based on their role, and the first ones we encounter are the Trains, caterpillar-like bugs the size of horses that ram shield walls. To us, these monsters are nothing but fodder, and Patrono cuts them open with ease.

We fly backwards as we fight since their numbers are simply too great, then we face off with the Crab, a nimble little shit the size of a gnome that almost grabs Lina with its pincers since she's the slowest.

Then a Crab grabs onto Aoi's foreleg and slightly deforms the metal plate with the incredible strength of its pincers. The armor of our men would definitely fare much worse against it.

As we chew through the line, we finally find the one variety of bug that can climb the slimy walls by slamming stake-like feet into the rock. The Spitter is like a dog-sized cockroach that spits acid, and, apparently, it can fly. That also wasn't mentioned in the information we received.

It's an easy target for Alissa, though, so it doesn't give us any trouble, but then she spots a red barrel with legs scampering towards us at an incredible speed, and the sight of it gives me dread.

She fires an arrow at it, and it explodes, causing dust and glowing red fluids to fly everywhere.

The force of the explosion is amplified in these tunnels, pushing all of us back and making us temporarily deaf, but Hana suffers the worst of it since she was at the front, and her whole body was badly hurt by the blast wave.

Aoi roars in pain as some of the fluid gets through the eye slit of her helmet, but I can't hear anything.

"KILL THOSE THINGS FIRST!" I shout through [Bind] and take Patrono out of Hana's hands, then I throw it and make it spin with [Telekinesis], turning the Heavenly Weapon into a flying blender.

Another explosion throws the Weapon out of my magical grasp, but I just re-[Equip] it again and repeat my attack after checking that it isn't damaged.

The golems follow my lead and throw heavy metal balls up ahead, crushing everything, but theirs get slowed down by the heavy Trains in the way.

Ciel's [Holy Spirit] touches each of us to [Heal] our ears, but then we basically become deaf again as a horrified screech comes from down the tunnel.

Alissa fires off a few arrows and manages to kill the now-named Witch, then a pink tongue shoots out from underneath the bodies and sticks to her bow. She doesn't even have time to react before it's ripped out of her hands, but she just re-[Equip]s it, negating the now-named Frog's attack.

Ciel reports that Aoi's left eye is busted. [Heal] isn't enough to restore it since it was melted away by the magical acid, so she'll need a few days of [Regeneration] or [Regrowth] to get it back, neither of which are options for us right now.

Alissa kills another Red Barrel, and the blast wave makes us all grunt in pain.

"SHIT'S FUCKED! RETREAT!" I shout through [Bind], then I open a [Gate], and everyone jumps through it.

Yunia immediately goes to Sandoro to report our encounter while I comfort my dragon and use [Regeneration] on her.

I really don't like how this battle is progressing.