“………”
Rozen and Silica walked through the streets of Mishe side by side, and there was an indescribable silence between them.
As awkward as it seemed, Silica was the only one who felt that way. On the other hand, Rozen was as laid back as usual, still playing with Pina.
But the same couldn’t be said to Silica.
(What should I do? What should I say? What’s with this awkwardness…!?)
She walked silently beside Rozen, but her heart screamed out these words.
Although Silica did accept Rozen’s party invitation because of Pina, now that she thought about it, this was the first time she was alone with someone from the opposite sex that she didn’t know.
To put it simply, she didn’t know what to do or what to say.
(I’m such an idiot! I didn’t take this into account…!?)
Silica blamed her own spontaneity.
(Uuuu… This is all Pina’s fault…)
Silica had no choice but to remain silent while following Rozen.
Until…
“Uhh, by the way, do you mind if I just call you Silica?” Rozen asked to Silica.
Silica was startled since Rozen hasn’t said anything since they left the inn.
“Ye… yes! Please do!”
Silica responded flusteredly.
“So, Silica, can I ask you a question?” Rozen asked curiously: “When did you tame this little guy?”
“Hmm…” Silica tilted her head and said: “I think it’s about a year ago when I went to the lower Floor. I came across a Feathered Little Dragon and decided to approach her, then I fed the nuts that I happened to have in my storage, and before I know it, Pina followed me back to town.
“I see.” Rozen nodded and said: “You really are lucky.”
In general, small-animal type monsters weren’t aggressive unless they were attacked; some would even approach Players. If Players fed them, especially with their favorite food, there was a chance that Player would be able to tame them, but Silica really was lucky to come across Pina and happened to have her favorite food with her.
Silica nodded in response.
“Yes.” Silica said without hesitation: “Meeting Pina is the best thing that ever happened to me in this world.”
The smile that Silica showed was not the kind of smile from someone who was simply happy to get a Tamed Monster, but someone who was happy to be able to meet a Tamed Monster named Pina.
As someone who was knowledgable about Tamed Monsters, Rozen could see that Silica really adored Pina at first glance. It was clear that Silica didn’t adore Pina because of her Skills, but because of Pina’s existence itself. Most probably, Silica treated Pina as a true companion and friend instead of a merely Tamed Monster in a game.
“Kyru!”
Pina cried as if seconding Silica’s words
It was clear that Silica and Pina’s relationship couldn’t be summed up with just a simple Tamer and Tamed monster relationship.
Not that Rozen couldn’t understand.
(If Silica’s age matches her appearance, it’s just too cruel to leave a 12 or 13 years old girl alone in a world where death is always staring at you.)
That was why Silica’s encounter with Pina wasn’t simply an encounter to make her stronger, but also an encounter with an irreplaceable friend and partner.
Silica must’ve considered Pina as her emotional support, the only thing that kept her going and encouraged her to survive in this world.
This could be seen from the fact that Silica chose to form a party with Rozen instead of a more balanced party since Pina seemed to really like Rozen.
But Rozen did raise his hand and ask Silica to team up back then, but that was not his real purpose at first.
But his main purpose could wait.
“Okay.” Rozen said to Cilika: “Are you ready to leave town? Or do you want to replenish your recovery items or repair your equipments first?”
“No, no, I’m all set.” Silica shook her head, and then asked: “Where should we go? Forest of Wandering?”
There was a vast forest located in the north of the 35th Floor which actually was a sub-dungeon. As the name implied, it was easy to get lost in the forest. In addition to the forest being full of large, towering trees, which divided the forest into areas like a chessboard, players within the forest will be transferred to a random area in the forest one minute after setting foot in their current area. Additionally, if Teleportation Crystals were used within the forest, the Player would be teleported to another area in the forest instead of a town. To exit the forest, the Player must go through each area in the forest within a minute each until they eventually found a way out. To help navigate through the forest, the Player may purchase an expensive map from a shop in the local town. This map checked what areas the Player’s current area was linked to, allowing them to find their way.
However, thanks to this mechanism, there were many treasure chests in the Forest of Wandering. The monsters there also had a higher level compared to monsters in Outer Field, so hunting there was quite effective.
Now that Silica has arrived on the 35th Floor, she didn’t want to miss the opportunity of hunting in Forest of Wandering.
“Forest of Wandering?” Rozen was thinking while rubbing his chin and then asked: “the sub-dungeon?”
Sub-dungeon?
What did that mean?
Silica stared at Rozen with a puzzled look.
Rozen immediately waved his hand.
“Don’t mind me. I am just talking to myself.” Rozen tried to change the topic immediately: “Well, let’s go to the Forest of Wandering then.”
“O… okay.” Silica nodded, although she was a little curious about what Rozen said earlier.
After that, they went to the nearby item shop to buy the expensive map for the Forest of Wanderings and left Mishe.
Little did they know that someone has been tailing them.
