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Chapter 334 – This High Degree of Freedom
On the ever-peaceful plateau,
Every ten days or so, the gods gather to report their findings.
Or rather, the Ortran Cuisine Appraisal Meeting. After it ended, I stayed behind to work, which was unusual for me.
Thinking it was about time, I took the large parchment I’d received earlier from Waddle-san, the front desk officer of the commercial guild, and began mapping the current state of the continent.
Though I didn’t have the full picture, I wrote the names of countries and regions whose locations I had gathered information on, along with key points.
I needed to organize the information and carefully consider which direction to head next.
(For some reason, I ended up in charge of the east. It would be natural to move out of Ortran. But…)
Heading south would take me to the Stia Federation, the homeland of the noisy beastmen Quad-san. From what I’ve heard, it’s mostly a remote, jungle wilderness.
Plus, the intel is a bit old, but if there isn’t even a Hunter Guild, finding hunting grounds would be difficult. So, this country isn’t that high on the priority list.
The problem lies beyond that, though. Slide the map, and you’ll see it: a tiny, dot-like spot marked on the map.
Hans-san’s “Elion Republic,” which I visited before, is close enough that crossing one or two more countries might get me there.
Also, I got some monster intel from Barche about the “backdoor route.”
It mentions a creature called the “Bicorn,” described as a “black-bodied horse with two horns.” Beyond that, the information was so shocking that it almost took my breath away.
It shoots “black lightning bolts” from its horns. This is probably really bad news.
Finding one is incredibly difficult. Even if I manage to defeat it, whether I can make it my own depends entirely on my skills.
There’s also the possibility that it hasn’t been skill-bound, so I can’t say for certain.
Still, considering that I’ve already obtained White Fire from an Overflame Rock, which enhances “Fire,” my expectations soar.
This insanely rare species inhabits the Illusory Sea of Trees in the southeast of the continent. If I’m targeting it, that means heading south.
Heading east is different from heading south, though; there are definitely new B-rank monsters there. That’s the most obvious appeal.
The vast desert known as Hell Desert is home to Sandworms, the standard version of the White Worm. It wouldn’t be surprising if many other desert-specific monsters were present, either.
(Plus, if it’s B-rank, there’s a chance a boss could be there…)
It’s just a possibility.
However, considering that the main bosses of both previous B-rank hunting grounds lurked deep within, the odds seem pretty decent.
I can’t help but wonder, “What exactly is ‘deep within the desert’?”
Once you cross the desert nation of Palmo Sand Kingdom, the sea stretches out beyond, and finally, the great eastern kingdom of Albert Kingdom comes into view.
If I want to meet Marie—just hearing her name makes me sick—then I guess I’ll have to cross the desert and head east.
Then there’s the final “northeast” direction. What should I do about that?
Initially, I was thinking of heading northeast and maybe even aiming for an S-rank hunting ground. However, if the “Holy Knight Kingdom of Garf” is ravaged by civil war, then it suddenly becomes a much more complicated matter. [T/N: I’m not sure if the author changed it, but it’s written as “garufu” here, whereas it was “garumu” before.]
If the factions are divided between the pro-Albert Kingdom (i.e., pro-Marie) faction and the neutral faction, I’d like to weaken the pro-Marie faction to hurt Marie, even a little.
More than that, though, I’m mentally drained from dealing with Baron Olan’s psychological attacks. I’m pretty much done with “nobles” for a while.
After all, according to Quad-san, the Holy Knight Kingdom of Garf is a traditional country.
I mean, I have one of those books right in front of me, but it’s probably just full of people twirling their beards and spouting nonsense I can’t understand.
Still, such an old-fashioned nation isn’t all drawbacks. Apparently, the “Crusis High Noble Academy”—once renowned for having the largest library in the land—is located here. So, despite everything, it remains one of the destinations I can’t quite rule out.
“Ah, enough already! This level of freedom—!”
“Loki, you’re being noisy. Shut up.”
“Buh-hoh!?”
Something flew at me at incredible speed. When I looked over, though, everyone was quietly reading while eating roasted nuts.
It must be my imagination. My forehead really hurts, but yeah, it’s probably just my imagination.
Just then, Felin opened her mouth with the air of a wise scholar.
“High degree of freedom…that’s an unfamiliar term, isn’t it?”
“True.”
Then, as if chasing after her, Ril made a pat-snap sound as she closed her book.
“Both of you, I’ll ask for your book reviews later, okay?”
“”…””
“Anyway, high freedom means being able to go anywhere, right?”
“”?””
“Isn’t that just normal?”
Felin’s question was perfectly natural.
But, from the perspective of someone comparing this world to their past experiences, it felt a bit different.
“Normally, you’d think so. But in the ‘game’ world I loved, it wasn’t quite that simple.”
Even in the supposedly high-freedom world of MMOs, the easier and more user-friendly the new game is, the more everyone tends to head in the same direction.
I often watched Kasahara-san level up his character while AFK. I thought it was bad for my progress, but I couldn’t look away.
In older open-world MMOs, you could go sightseeing among monsters that you likely wouldn’t be able to defeat for a year, even in the early stages. Even then, though, there was a predetermined “route” based on monster strength.
That’s precisely why it functioned as a game. Games that could be enjoyed by ignoring that route were probably quite rare.
This world, however, couldn’t care less about such routes.
The second town I landed in had hunting grounds that could easily be called high-level, and monsters or bosses didn’t conveniently appear at my level.
I had to search for them myself, confront them myself, and sometimes flee pitifully. I gradually grew stronger and expanded the range of what I could do.
It’s the same with people.
I was killed fighting the strongest god right at the start, and meeting Hans-san in the first country scared me to death.
But that’s the freedom. This unfriendly, groping-in-the-dark progression feels strangely nostalgic.
No matter which path I choose, I’m moving forward steadily, and the joy of knowing that I’ll grow stronger from this situation is overwhelming.
I suppose it’s just me, an old man who enjoys this kind of hassle.
(It’s precisely because this world is like a real-life game—where people come back to life, breathe fire, and so on.)
“Fufu, I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”
“Exactly! High freedom is a wonderful thing!”
“Loki, you’re being noisy. I’ll throw you again, you know?”
“Ah, sorry about that. So, what do you think? Is there anything in this book that might be useful?”
I won the ‘Gemstone Guidebook’ at auction.
Separately, I bought eight books from the old lady before the escort request.
Finally, with the tasks in Ortran complete, I carved out time to read properly.
Gazing into the campfire, I wondered: Did Felza-sama, who created this world, bring me here because she found someone who loves a world like this?
Lost in such thoughts, I picked up one of the remaining books.
The book, titled The Mysteries of the Wooden People, was in my hands as the relaxed evening hours with everyone passed by.
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