We've been here about 50 minutes, but I spent about 30 of those swimming and playing, so I've probably explored less than 1% of the island.
"For now, shall we explore the area? Lena, Rhea..."
"Phoebe is right; I'd like to circle the island if possible."
"Got it! Let's also take down some fishmen for extra event points!"
Thus, we set off to explore the island.
"Hey, I can hear that song again…"
"Again? Really, Lena?"
Twenty minutes into our exploration of what seemed to be the island's perimeter, the song repeatedly echoed around me.
The frustrating part was that neither Rhea nor Phoebe could hear it. Phoebe strained to listen but muttered that she couldn't catch anything.
By the way, when I followed the song, I was ambushed by fishmen, so I decided to ignore it for now. I wanted to see the source of that song in the ocean, but battling the spear-wielding fishmen left me no time to dive. If we wiped them out, they'd just flee…
Rhea could hold them off with throwing knives, but she couldn't defeat them. It seemed that even her surprise attacks with the knives made the fishmen flee.
"Hmm, I wonder what the conditions are? Is it gender? Or something else? I suspect the enemies are sirens…"
Rhea pondered this while I thought about how I had been hearing the song long before meeting her, making it seem unrelated to the quest. At least, it didn't appear to lead to any pure water source.
"Oh, there's another party nearby. I'll go gather some intel!"
"Wait, is everything okay?" Rhea asked as she quickly approached a group of other players. Wouldn't it be surprising to be approached by someone promoting Fantasy Freedom?
Initially taken aback, the other players soon relaxed and engaged in conversation with Rhea before drifting away.
"Hey, it seems like the singing voice only affects men near the seaside!"
"Well, it's good to know that, but why wasn't there more of a commotion?"
"Huh? Oh, I have a disguise skill that makes me look different to anyone who isn't my friend or party member. Changing my voice makes it easy to hide that I'm Rhea."
That sounds just like a spy…
"I really want to solve this mystery of the enchanting singing, but to stop hearing it, we'd either have to confront the source directly or move away from the shore, right?"
"Lena, are you okay?"
"Yeah, no damage, just a bit hard to concentrate on exploring."
Responding to Phoebe's worried voice, I scanned the area. Besides the beach, it looked like we could head into a forest… but I really don't want to deal with the bugs that are bound to be there.
"Let's check out the forest for a bit. This singing seems to affect all the men, which might mean it's a large-scale raid boss. If that's the case, it's probably not connected to the event quest with Wendy, so exploring the unknown forest might be our best option."
"…I guess so, let's do that…"
"I hope we don't encounter any more giant bugs…"
Despite their dislike for insects, they remembered there might be a spot in the forest where Wendy could be found, known for its crystal-clear waters. With that thought in mind, they ventured from the beach into the woods.
"Oh? The singing has suddenly stopped."
"The enchanting song only reaches men by the beach… As an idol, I've always wanted to hear it, but the voice that spreads debuffs is hardly useful…"
"At least compared to yesterday's live performance, this is way below par, so you can relax."
"Wow, that's nice of you to say as an idol! You know, maybe I should've sung my heart out to drown out the beach melody?"
Rhea moved ahead with her cheerful energy, and while it might attract attention for better or worse, it was probably best if she kept that idea to herself.
"Lena, there's a river over there!"
"Oh, a river… If we could test the water quality, it could lead us to Wendy, but it looks clearly polluted…"
Phoebe pointed towards the river, which appeared brown and murky.
"Ugh, there's no way Wendy is in this water. Let's search somewhere else…"
"Wait, there's something!"
Rhea was about to move on when Archie caught her attention. She spotted something sparkling on the riverbed… a mining spot!
I didn't want to step into the filthy river, but my curiosity got the better of me. The water was only knee-deep, so I figured I wouldn't drown unless I tripped.
"Ugh… it's slimy! This gross stuff is clinging to my legs… Phoebe, if I start to slip, you've got to help me out of this!"
"Don't worry! I'll support you! Speed up!"
As I struggled against the slippery muck, Phoebe cast a spell to boost my speed. But even with my agility increased, the discomfort of the slime made it hard to feel any difference.
"There! I found it!"
I finally reached the glowing ground and plunged Archie into it to dig.
*'Lena obtained a clump of impure sludge.'*
Ugh, it smells terrible, but I might as well dig while I can.
*'Lena obtained a clump of impure sludge.'*
*'Lena obtained a clump of impure sludge.'*
I dug as much as I could, but all I found was sludge!? And then…
"It stinks!"
"Oh, Lena! The river looks a bit cleaner now!"
Amidst my disgust, Rhea's voice confirmed that the water had indeed become somewhat clearer. I decided it was time to head back to her.
I examined the sludge I had collected with my discerning eye.
"Ugh, just holding this stuff makes me reek! If I throw it at an enemy, it might inflict various status ailments with a high chance… But I'm not keeping this!"
No matter how powerful an item is, I refuse to deal with a foul stench!
I open my inventory to discard the sludge... It disappears without touching the ground, and I pray that the stink hasn't transferred to the 64 healing potions sitting next to it.
"Could it be that if I find the river in the forest and clean it up, I might meet Wendy?"
"Really? But if I get dirty cleaning up the mud, Wendy might tell me to stay away from her house with a death glare!"
I want to reject Rhea's hypothesis. Initially, I was curious about the filthy river, but I really don't want to do it more than once. It's fine to get dirty, but I can't stand the sliminess of that filthy water.
"Um, Lena, the Wendy I know has a high affinity for water and possesses the ability to sense distant water conditions… She might even be aware of our current situation. If we clean a lot, maybe Wendy will reward us with her elixir when we meet."
"Is that so, Phoebe? Well then, let's remove any dirt as soon as we find it…"
For now, I have no idea where Wendy is. So, let's focus on cleaning the river, which might have future implications. With that decision made, we set off to explore again.
As we wander through the forest, we spot the filthy river once more.
"Is that… a crocodile?"
Near the dirty water, two crocodiles lurked, covered in black, sludge-like muck, and they certainly looked dangerous.
"First, let's deal with the crocodiles. Leave this to me," Rhea declared, stepping forward with throwing knives gripped in both hands.
"Blade Piercing Throw!" She leaped into action, flinging two magically enhanced knives that struck an unsuspecting crocodile in the head and torso.
"Magic Bomb!" The knives exploded, engulfing the crocodile in a burst of red energy and sending it flying!
"Critical Ray!" Drawing a slender sword mid-air, she kicked off the sky, descending with incredible force to pierce the croc's skull in one swift blow.
"That was fast!"
"How do you move so gracefully in that frilly swimsuit?"
Rhea's combat style was elegant and flashy, clearly designed to impress—perhaps a reflection of her life as an idol.
"How do you like that? Are you captivated?"
"Well, I managed to keep up… though it smells quite bad…."
"What are you saying about an idol?! Oh no, there's sludge dropping everywhere! I have to get rid of it!"
With a pained expression, Rhea hurriedly disposed of the muck. Nobody wants to carry around a foul odor, especially not an idol.
"Oh, look! The river is getting clearer!"
"Wait, does it clean itself without us doing anything?"
Phoebe's words drew attention to the visibly improving river. There was clearly something significant happening with the water's transformation…
"Ugh, this sludge item—if Lena is right, it could definitely be a powerful item depending on how it's used, but the stench brings everything down... I can't handle it at all," Rhea said as she tossed aside the sludge, taking a deep breath.
"But this doesn't feel like negotiating with Wendy to get the potion; it seems more like we're helping her and then receiving the potion as part of a quest. Let's explore the forest a bit more."
"Yeah, let's be careful of the sludge," Rhea replied. I nodded and resumed our search along the water's edge. Along the way, small monsters like wolves and bats attacked us, but their movements were sluggish, allowing us to take them down easily with a full swing.
"Lena, I caught a faint whiff of sludge from the wolf..."
"Is that so, Phoebe? If that's the case, there might be a water source in the direction the wolf came from. Could its weakness be from ingesting sludge and getting sick?"
"In that case, there's a possibility Wendy is unwell too... It might even lead to a boss fight against a mud-covered enemy. Let's proceed cautiously."
As Phoebe and Rhea chatted, we pressed on until we reached a spot resembling a brown spring.
"Lena, there's something at the bottom of the spring! Two responses detected!"
"…Doesn't seem like Wendy, though?"
"Targeting... Virtual Toughness! Luck Up! Analyze!"
As Phoebe detected the presence of danger, Rhea and I prepared ourselves. Rhea supported me with a protective spell. Suddenly, brown arms emerged from the spring as if responding to our voices, an unsettling sight with three fingers. A foul odor filled the air as the arm slithered out of the water.
"The boss is called the Slime Arm! Its weakness is ice, and it has resistance to fire! It has high defense, so if you can use magic, attack with that! I'll take the lead! Magic Shot!"
After Rhea shared information about the Slime Arm, she launched a magical attack. A mass of magical energy sliced through the arm, but it showed no signs of fear.
"Phoebe! Imagine the power of ice!"
"Got it! Power up, speed up! Element Boost!"
"Ice's power!!"
Together with Phil, we shouted our intent, and ice enveloped Archie.
"Feel this!"
With a thud, the tip of Archie pierced the Slime Arm, freezing part of it. However, the arm writhed violently, throwing me off and slamming me against a nearby tree.
"Ugh… this enemy feels insubstantial! It's like a mass of sludge… or is it cloaked in slime?"
"Shadow Dance!"
"Regenerate!"
While Rhea summoned a shadowy figure armed with a sword to draw the Slime Arm's attention, Phoebe healed me. My HP hadn't dropped much—perhaps due to Rhea's support spell, or maybe the Slime Arm's attacks were weaker than they seemed.
"Aero Burst! Magic Shot! Phoebe, you mentioned there were two reactions earlier, but is there still a reaction near the spring?!"
"No, there are two reactions in the arm!"
"Two reactions? Is it splitting or something?"
Phoebe's observation piqued my interest, but the dark shadow summoned by Rhea had vanished under the sludge arm's attack. I redirected my focus to Archie, now encased in ice, and launched another thrust against the sludge arm! Swinging again, I aimed to chip away at the frozen sludge, trying to peel it off the arm.