"You're saying that anyone who's been to the town gets sent here every time they teleport!?"
"No way… my kin are still out there!"
Stella grabbed the person in front of her by the shoulders, her face flashing with a mix of emotions—one part tension, two parts anxiety, three parts helplessness, and four parts amusement.
…Wait.
Amusement?
Just imagining how much they'd suffer without her guidance—how could she not feel like laughing?
"Why didn't you include this in the guidebook?" she said, pretending to be angry as she lightly punched the person in the chest. "Now my kin are doomed."
Luluwo, the guide's author who had somehow ended up here as well, shrugged helplessly.
"We just added it in the latest edition, but it hasn't been distributed yet. People need rest too, you know."
There were no competitors on their level yet, so the Skyrim Team didn't feel any urgency.
Stella craned her neck and asked, "By the way, Leon and the others… have they arrived yet? I've got good news."
"I don't keep track of them every day," Luluwo replied.
With no relatives nearby, Stella finally relaxed. She no longer felt the need to keep her back straight.
There was no point searching for them—who knew where they'd been teleported? All she could do was hope they reached the safe zone soon.
She looked around.
In front of the academy gates, the town had been filled with colorful tents of all sizes. These were temporary camps for adventurers. Some even slept out in the open, wrapping themselves in water-soaked grass that had been dried over a fire as makeshift blankets.
Looking at them, adventurers were like cockroaches—no matter the environment, they always found a way to survive. Their "I'll survive no matter what" vitality was honestly impressive.
But still… didn't anyone think about repairing the empty houses?
"Is that a forging stone?"
Suddenly, she noticed something familiar. Many of the objects used to weigh down tents weren't ordinary rocks—they were forging stones.
Right now, no one knew how to use forging stones from the Sein Dungeon, so they were treated as useless. Even glowing stones were considered more valuable.
"What a waste…" Stella shook her head.
She firmly believed that everything produced by the Sein Dungeon had a purpose—it just hadn't been discovered yet. Forging stones had to be the same.
Recently, a cute cat forging master had appeared in the forest area. Maybe there were similar phantoms here—ones capable of using forging stones—just waiting to be found.
But for now, that didn't matter.
A rough estimate put the number of people here at over fifty, but the town was so large and spread out that it still felt empty. Most were probably out exploring.
A line had formed in front of the wandering merchant Kale's stall. People bought odds and ends, and anyone who took too long choosing got scolded by those waiting behind them.
Nearby, several intact houses had been repurposed. The Skyrim Team had turned them into temporary bases, with anvils and forging furnaces placed outside—likely salvaged from inside.
Stella also noticed that many people were buying ordinary jerky.
Did they not bring enough food when they entered the dungeon?
"See? This is a huge business opportunity," Luluwo said with a sly grin. "If you could reliably bring food and supplies here to sell, you'd make a fortune."
"That only works during the early exploration phase," Stella replied calmly. "Once the Count notices, he'll develop the area around the portals. After that, the big merchants will take over."
She thought a few steps ahead, then turned back to Luluwo.
"So… what was that good news you mentioned?"
"It's fine to tell you early."
Luluwo snapped her fingers, a confident smile spreading across her face.
"After a lot of testing, we now have a preliminary concept for solving Elder Crystallization."
"The key… lies in the numbers."
(***)
The sky stretched endlessly overhead, the wilderness vast and open. The wind swept across the grasslands, but there were no cows or sheep in sight—though aquatic life was abundant.
"Crackle!"
On a small hill rising from the water, a magical fire burned steadily. Above it, a massive lobster claw roasted, its bright red shell tempting enough to make anyone forget how dangerous its owner had been.
The scenery around them was monotonous. Thick fog obscured the distance, hiding unknown dangers.
And yet—someone was casually having a barbecue here.
"Are we really eating this?" Melga frowned. "Aren't we supposed to be vegetarians, at least for appearances?"
"That's just for outsiders," Liznai said as she cracked open the shell, revealing tender white meat. "You need proper food to keep going."
"I won't eat it. I'll stay true to the ideal image people have of elves." Conel spoke firmly while pulling weeds from the ground.
The others were already used to this kind of scene.
Facing their desires honestly, they gathered around the fire, waiting for the food.
One person was missing.
Where was Wienma?
"This tastes a bit bland…" Melga took a bite and stuck out her tongue. "Not as good as that lobster fish dish."
"Melga, is the food in that gourmet zone really as amazing as you say?" another elf asked, having heard her brag about it many times.
"Didn't you all go check it out before?" she asked curiously.
"We were busy… and then we forgot," the elf admitted sheepishly.
"I'll take you next time."
Her words immediately drew cheers.
Sometimes, even a small promise was enough to lift spirits—at least for traditional elves.
Elves like Stella, who had lived in the outside world, were different. Once they got a taste of benefits, they wanted more.
As the group chatted and finished off the lobster claw, Wienma finally emerged from the fog.
Her expression carried a hint of satisfaction. The dirt on her skirt vanished under a simple cleaning spell.
While the group rested, she had gone out alone—to scout.
Her return meant it was time to move.
Rewinding a bit—
After passing through the seal, they discovered Stella was missing. Without a guide, they had no choice but to navigate on their own.
They quickly encountered monsters.
The thick fog made it difficult to see. Dodging one attack often drew the attention of more enemies. Eventually, they cleared a small area and found a hill to use as a temporary resting spot.
"No path found," Wienma said, shaking her head. Water surrounded them in all directions, offering no clear direction forward.
But the elves weren't discouraged.
They simply picked a random direction—and started walking.
However—
"We're going the wrong way," Wade muttered as he watched through his crystal ball. "Are all elves this bad with directions?"
The initial teleport location wasn't far from the town, but the fog periodically obscured the bonfires. Combined with their luck, it was no surprise they ended up heading the wrong way.
Going the wrong way wasn't the problem.
The real problem was that they had no idea they were wrong—and were confidently marching deeper into the mistake.
"Just because your hair is green doesn't mean you have to be as clueless as a certain algae-head…"
Wade had high hopes for them. After all, they were supposed to help collect painting fragments.
But most of those fragments were inside the academy. If they couldn't even reach it, what was the point?
With a sigh, he let things be.
"They're not completely unlucky. If they keep going, they might run into new characters… as long as they don't change direction again."
Inside the crystal ball, the elves continued confidently along what they believed was the correct westward path.
If they had gone northwest, they would have encountered the Prism Dragon and the Academy Prism Key.
But heading west only led to impassable mountains—the boundary.
Most adventurers wouldn't try to cross a boundary. Everyone knew dungeons had limits, and there was nothing to gain beyond them.
Wade watched as they encountered veteran lobsters, only to be terrified by their long-range, high-powered water cannons.
At this point, he had seen that reaction so many times that he'd lost interest.
Despite their odd personalities, the elves were strong.
A young girl unleashed a massive explosion spell that shook the ground, defeating the lobsters—but collapsed immediately after.
Then came the bug-type monsters.
Grotesque in both appearance and movement, they restricted movement with magic, leaving the elves thoroughly disgusted.
In the Elf Forest, everything was beautiful—even monsters.
This was their first time seeing creatures designed purely to be revolting.
Aside from Wienma and Melga, everyone else showed visible discomfort.
Next came ghosts, puppet soldiers, and giant crabs—a full welcome package for newcomers to the lake.
Lake monsters followed a strange rule:
The stronger you were, the stronger the monsters you attracted.
Ordinary adventurers rarely faced anything beyond medium-sized lobsters.
Following this rule, Wienma's group encountered the elite mudfish dragon.
The battle itself wasn't anything special.
It wasn't stronger than Moongrum—just tougher than a Carian Knight.
But—
"Phew…"
Climbing out of the mud the dragon had flung, Wienma's expression turned terrifying.
Her killing intent surged, so intense that even the monster seemed to tremble.
"Run! The old lady's angry!" someone shouted.
The elves scattered.
Two seconds later—
The ground shook violently.
When they looked back, the small lake had transformed into a forest, as if a chunk of woodland had been forcefully transplanted there.
The mudfish dragon was bound tightly by massive roots, hanging like a salted fish.
"Today… we eat grilled fish." Wienma's face was dark as mud dripped from her chin.
No one dared refuse.
"…Maybe we should find a place to rest," Conel said carefully. "We're all exhausted."
He pointed ahead.
"There's a house over there."
Liznai quietly cleaned Wienma with magic and tried to cast a calming spell—but Wienma's glare stopped her cold.
Tch… just a few years older and stronger in magic… I'll get you back one day…
Sure enough, there was a house ahead.
But as they approached, they saw a large pot bubbling outside—something was cooking inside.
Melga stepped forward to take a look.
Then—
A strange voice suddenly spoke:
"Want to buy some shrimp?"