On a bright day in the world of Arcoul, Lina is driving the 5 of us, Laura, Cheshyr, Alice, Envie, and I. The sun is shining brightly and the A/C is on full blast. Right now we are entering the vicinity of Frosthill, a town along the mountain face near a ravine. That is our first major stop on our way to the capital Verbeau in the heart of Yorland.

We decided on visiting the capital to get a rank up promotion at the Keepers Guild HQ, and at the same time making it our base of operations.

An illusion magic is masking the appearance and sounds of our vehicle, but as we get closer we disembark and make the remainder on foot. I teleport the vehicle back to Earth in a garage.

It’s been an uneventful few days as we traveled and the girls have been absorbed with playing with our new member the wolf pup Fu. He gets along with Mu and carries her on his back. Together they make MuFu, and it causes the girls to fawn over them affectionately.

Since taming Fu I’ve given up slightly on killing monsters to level up, and instead created a skill called Game Menu. It is a skill that causes my body to exhibit characteristics of a game character that can be adjusted via a screen like Status.

The special thing about Game Menu is that I imagined a self evolving skill that grows over time, developing new functions and such without needing my input. It’s a skill to make reality bend to game logic.

The menu has my status screen and in a tab called EXP, it shows several gauges constantly rising. If I can’t absorb experience from killing monsters then I’ll just go the route of a different game style, the kind that doesn’t involve fighting. Like in those games, I have several parameters involved with daily life that increase and award experience over time.

Doing things like walking, eating, or sleeping will grant me experience increasing my level. All kinds of activities are recorded in the menu that I can’t keep track easily. Some like running seem to increase my overall Agility. All it means is that my level is no longer 1 but 25 and my stats have been raised by 25 each. Even while speaking I am steadily gaining experience and growing in level.

The menu also merged my bottomless bag with it so I no longer need to lug it around to bring my things. And currency like Earth’s and Yorland’s are stored and recorded within the inventory for easy retrieval.

But really, skills and magic are convenient.

From afar Frosthill looks like a peaceful gathering of small huts and stone. A bigger mansion made of brick is located on a hill overlooking the town. It’s not as huge as Realight or as flashy so it gives an impression of being rustic.

At what looks like the front of Frosthill is a road in with two guards at the side. They seem bored and aren’t even standing at attention, just sitting on stools as we approach.

They ask us plainly to state our intent but it doesn’t feel like our answers will even stay in their heads. They let us pass without a care, but one of them warns us that there’s an illness currently so stay away from the quarantine.

A quarantine and a sickness, sounds like a job for a healer, which I so happen to possess such skills. Let’s head to this town’s Keepers guild and see if we can’t secure a reward or coordinate a sickbay operation.

Walking through the town, people are shambling like lifeless zombies and coughs echo around. I take a peek at people’s statuses and see most have either (Weakened) or (Lowered Vitality) next to their names. It’s already this bad and we haven’t entered the quarantine yet.

A modest Keeper’s Guild greets us as we enter. There are some men in leather or robes crowding the bar dead drunk in the afternoon. Even the receptionists behind the counter are not attentive and seem tired. I ring a bell at the counter and a lady with circles around her eyes drags herself over.

Receptionist 「 Welcome to Frosthill’s Keepers Guild. How may I assist you? 」

She squeezes out a smile so I awkwardly smile back.

Becca 「 I’m Becca Thorn. Glass rank Keeper. I’m passing through the town, but is this a bad time? 」

Cheshyr 「 I am also glass rank. 」

We present our guild cards.

Receptionist 「 Frosthill is in a bit of a pinch right now actually. If you’re looking for work there’s not much going on. Most requests will be for escorting those moving out of the town. 」

Becca 「 This might sound strange, but I was hoping you could tell me more about this town’s situation. There’s an illness going around I hear? 」

Receptionist 「 There’s an epidemic going around currently and the lord has quarantined an entire section of the town off. A lot of the Keepers here had family there so they’re drinking away their frustrations. 」

Becca 「 I see. Is there a cure being developed? 」

Receptionist 「 Cure? There’s no way that exists. After all, this is the White Death we’re talking about. There hasn’t been a cure since it was discovered 100 years ago. 」

So this plaque has a name like the White Death. Not sure how to feel about that, but my magic restoration could probably take care of it. The only issue is that I need to prevent this from happening again. Means I need to get rid of the source of this infection or create a vaccine.

Receptionist 「 Well if you’re so interested, there’s a doctor that just visited the lord earlier today. He seemed interested in the White Death and wanted to consult Lord Gosler about some things. He’s probably still there. What was his name? Doctor Fraude I think? 」

I decide I’ll pay a visit to the lord and this Dr. Fraude and head there with my party. At the entrance to the lord’s estate there are two guards with plenty of vigor. They cross their spears into an ‘x’ shape to deny us passage.

Guard 1 「 Halt! State your business. 」

Becca 「 Here to see Lord Gosler and this Dr. Fraude guy. Name’s Becca Thorn. 」

Guard 2 「 Do you have an appointment? 」

Becca 「 No? 」

Guard 1 「 Then you may not pass. If you wish to do so do it through the proper channels. 」

Becca 「 What channels? 」

Guard 2 「 The proper ones. 」

Ah this is a pain.

Becca 「 Look! There’s a kid running around waving an unsheathed sword. Someone should stop him. 」

I cast illusion magic to make that lie appear as real as possible. The guards panic and rush after the imaginary child. Hopefully that will keep them busy. Time to meet Lord Gosler and Dr. Fraude.