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After the event began, they all boarded a ship.

“I’ll go explore the front area!”
“Ah, don’t run like that, Hinagiku! It might be dangerous!”

The two youngest girls ran around the ship happily, and the rest of the group just watched for a moment before glancing at each other awkwardly.

“I have a bad feeling about this… The viewers haven’t said anything since we got on the ship.”

As Crim mentioned, there had been no comments from the viewers for a while. For a moment, she worried that the stream had crashed, but Ryunosuke confirmed everything was still running smoothly.

There was only one explanation for the viewers’ unusual silence—when normally they loved chatting.

“ “ “ “They’re waiting in anticipation.” ” ” ”

Crim, Frey, Freya, and Kasumi exclaimed at the same time, and right after…

“Kyahhh?!”
“Wh-What happened?! Awawawahh… don’t drag meee!!”

Lycoris and Hinagiku’s screams echoed from the ship deck.

“I knew something would happen!”
“Hinagiku, Lycoris!”

Crim and Freya were the first to rush out, with the others following close behind.

“What in the world is thisss?!” Crim cried out in distress.

Countless elongated columns, covered in suckers, were sprouting from the sea—octopus or squid tentacles. They had already wrapped around Hinagiku and Lycoris, dragging them toward the ocean. Crim stood frozen for a moment, dumbfounded.

“Woah?! Hey, let…let me go?!”

Before she could react, one of the tentacles wrapped around her leg, lifting her small body into the air. She tried to wriggle free, but breaking free now would just mean falling into the water.

“Wh-What’s this?!”
“Eww, it’s so slimy. I hate itttt!!”

More screams came from Freya and Kasumi as they were also caught by the tentacles.

“I… I shall remember thissss! Especially thee, Sorleon!!” Crim shouted angrily at the heartless viewers as she was dragged deeper into the ocean.

«Spawn Point momentarily set to Search Campsite (Guild Lua Cheia)»
«All teleporting abilities momentarily disabled»

◇◇◇

After being abducted by the octopus or squid creature, they were carried far into the sea until they found themselves on solid ground again. They could only assume this was the submerged city where the event would take place.

“…Th-That was horrible…”
“Ew, my body feels all slimy…”

Lycoris clung to Crim’s hand as they climbed out of the water and began walking toward the city. In front of them stood a crumbling stone wall, almost like an eerie invitation to pass through. It led to a stone building, likely the search campsite the system notification had mentioned.

Peeking inside, they saw the rest of Lua Cheia’s members already there, drenched and looking exhausted as they sat down.

“…And here I thought the theme of this event would be horror.”
“That was more like a disaster…”

Kasumi chuckled sarcastically, and Freya replied in kind.

“At least you girls were carried more gently. We were tossed around like rocks into the sea.”
“Yeah… I thought I was going to die for real…”
“That pervy octopus…”

Apparently, the way the girls were transported was the creature’s “gentle” method of escorting them, while Frey and Ryunosuke had endured a much harsher trip.

Crim felt like she was losing her mind hearing that, wondering what the development team had been smoking to come up with such an idea—while also grappling with the fact that her own parents were part of that team.

◇◇◇

Shortly after, they asked the viewers if they could pause the stream for a moment to properly discuss their plans. The viewers agreed, mentioning it probably wouldn’t be very interesting to watch or listen to that part anyway.

“That’s taken care of, so let’s see what we’ve got here.”

“From what I can tell, it looks like an abandoned campsite left behind by some search party.”

“Yeah, our basic needs should be covered at least.”

They began exploring the place, which was indeed an old campsite. The room had a stove for cooking and a kiln for alchemy and crafting.

“That explains why we were in that separate instance of the harbor. It was all to transport us to the real event location.”

“So, we can assume we can use this campsite as we need, right?”

“I’d say so,” Crim nodded in response to Frey and Freya’s question.

It seemed each guild was assigned a separate campsite within the event area, so everyone quickly marked theirs on their maps.

The announcement in Wyndham’s Central Tower had described the event as an investigation of the floating island that had suddenly surfaced in the southern sea.

The event lasted two weeks, meaning Kou and her friends would be able to continue exploring the large dungeon even after they returned home, alongside other guilds.

However, the loot was given out on a first-come, first-served basis, and killing other players outside their campsites could make them drop the loot they were carrying. It was only a matter of time before the event turned into a bloodbath, with players fighting to steal from each other.

As the group lit a fire to warm themselves, they continued discussing.

“There’s a way to return to the city while the event is ongoing, and our progress here will be saved. But we can’t take items in or out, so potions and consumables will be crucial.”

Crim listed their concerns while stirring a pot over the fire. The materials to craft potions and similar items could be found in the submerged city, but they were still limited in quantity.

“I can still make basic ones… but I guess they wouldn’t be as effective as those made by a specialist?”

Freya, who had gained some points in the Alchemy Skill, chimed in. She raised a good point: if materials were limited, it was best to conserve them for someone who could use them more effectively.

“Well, we’ve still got some potions with us for now, so unless we hit any emergencies, we should stock up on materials until Jade arrives.”
“Mhm, sounds good.”

With that decided, Crim knocked on the side of the pot with her spoon.

“Alright, everyone, the soup is ready. Let’s eat before we head out.”

She poured the soup into cups and handed them out. It was a simple Dry Meat Soup made with a Dry Meat and Spice Set. A basic meal Crim could make with her low-level crafting skills, it didn’t offer many stat boosts, but it was enough to get rid of the Cold status effect.

Anticipating that they would spend a lot of time in the water while exploring the submerged city, Crim had prepared items to help deal with that before starting the event. Though the taste was plain, the soup warmed their bodies and filled their stomachs, preparing them for their casual playthrough of the event.