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Having found Da’at Criferd safe and sound, the group resumed exploring the area for a bit.

“Kyahh, it’s Criiiim!!”
“Aghugh?!”

Someone appeared out of nowhere and went straight to hug Crim, who only realized what was happening as two large and soft masses pressed against her face, leaving her unable to breathe.

*Wh-Why can I never dodge these types of attacks?!*

She quickly began to panic, tapping on the arms holding her to no avail, instead feeling someone’s cheek start to rub against her head.
It did not take long before a suffocation icon lit up and her HP bar began to blink red, indicating she was slowly losing health.

“Stop it, you’re going to kill her.”
“Ah, I’m really sorry. It’s just been so long I couldn’t stop myself.”

Finally a tall dragonewt man dragged that woman away, who quickly apologized, even though her face was sparkly as if screaming “that was heaven!” putting into question whether she really felt apologetic.
Freya also stepped in between that woman and Crim to protect her, glaring at the two intruders, while Crim finally regained her composure.

“It really has been…a while. I’m glad to see thee in good health, Ernesta, and Lueger too.”
“And there’s Sorleon with his two companions too.”

Following up, Frey noticed that Sorleon, Reinhard, and Cheval were behind them too.
They were all good friends of Lua Cheia…the core members of Nord Glacier.

***

“…A vacation you say?”

As they walked together, Sorleon was a bit surprised by Crim’s sudden invitation.

“Yes, it’s not like anything is set in stone yet, but as we don’t get many chances to talk…”

Crim still needed to discuss those plans with most of Lua Cheia, not to mention passing them through her parents as well, but it was not often that she got to talk with Sorleon as he was part of a different guild.
So while it felt a bit rushed, she decided to try inviting Sorleon too. Only to hear…

“I would love to accept that invitation, I’m really honored…but I’m sorry, I…well, the three of us already have plans.”
“Really?”
“Yes, my parents and some relatives are going to visit, so I’ll be spending all of New Years with them.”

After Sorleon’s response, Reinhard chimed in to explain things a bit better, so Crim knew there was nothing she could do about it.

“There you have it. It’s been a year since he’s seen any of his relatives, so cut him some slack.”
“Hahah, it’s all good. I’m sure there will be another opportunity.”

With that settled, Crim quickly switched topics.

“I have to say…I’m surprised we haven’t run into any other guilds in all this time.”
“Wait, you haven’t?”
“No, thou art the only players we’ve seen ever since entering this area.”

Sorleon seemed surprised by that, but Crim just nodded to reaffirm her point.
While Lua Cheia had arrived a bit later compared to other players, it was still odd that they had not seen anyone else.

“Well, maybe this area is just way too big, considering they had to appoint unique guides to every guild.”
“Ahhh, I had my suspicions about that. I guess I was right.”

Cheval mentioned that, which Frey was fully in accordance with, glancing at the front of their group.
Two fairies were there, talking like old friends. Fia, and the fairy who had been guiding Nord Glacier.

…As it turned out, those fairies were there as a sort of guiding system.
This area was unbelievably vast, with some areas only accessible through wind elevators or hidden routes, so it was understandable that all the players had scattered without seeing each other.
Having dedicated guides who could answer questions about the place was also a great help, as exploring all of that area blindly would be quite the ordeal.

“Hey, is it true that there’s hidden events shoved down random cliffs too?”
“Yes, we actually found an item just like that earlier. Look, it’s this shield.”
“Ohh interesting…that’s a good shield right there.”

Ernesta was also curious about that, and Freya happily showed her the Shield of Rebirth: Hildr she obtained, which Lueger praised from the side.
That shield had some of the best stats out of all shields found so far in the game, and that before accounting for its unique traits, so a fellow tank could recognize that at a glance as well, even becoming jealous of it… but Lueger’s good natured commented left Crim impressed with his manners.

On the other hand…they had already set the precedent that some extremely rare items could be hidden down random cliffs.

“…This is going to be a really fun place once that becomes public knowledge.”
“…I don’t doubt that. It’ll be like watching lemmings from a front row seat.”

Frey and Reinhard’s conversation was taking a somewhat disturbing turn.
It also reminded them of a certain group of players determined to calculate what the highest survivable fall was, even if it cost them their lives… And soon that spread to everyone present, who scowled as they pictured those grasslands filled with players gleefully jumping down to their deaths in search of loot.