Chapter 332: Group to Feast

———Karra———

<12: 39 pm>

“She seems to want us to meet up quite earlier than what we’re used to.” Orrel remarked. “Before nine in the morning is certainly early for a weekend.”

“She has something special planned, obviously. She’s usually the reclusive type, right?” I pointed out. She has always been quite secretive even back before the masquerade was thrown out the window.

“Yeah, always buried in her work. Sully is the one raising me more than anything.” Useph said without the hint of angst one would expect. I think everyone is used to the story at this point so there isn’t really any sense of gravity to it. “...Too bad not everyone is here right now. I know we’re meeting up tomorrow as well, but I think we all get that it’s going to be different than a normal hang out, right?”

“It’s not like the entire class hangs out together all the time.” I argued. There are people like Seni and Emmie who rarely hang out. They’ll continue to talk in the group chat, but in-person meeting is only on special occasions. “By the way, you guys got any new records? It’s been a while since any of us talk about dungeon runs and by now everyone should have that dungeon counter thingy, right?”

“Haven’t been doing one of those for a while, admittedly.” Useph is the first to speak up.

“Got a new record yesterday. A hundred and fifty. Could’ve gone further, but it was getting late.” Jeff boasted. I know that is impressive considering the average, but Wiina was hoping they would at least clear the two hundredth floor, and considering her insight into things should mean that everyone should be capable of going that far.

“Uh huh.” I let out a dispassionate acknowledgement which he quickly picks up on with the sudden shift in expression.

“What? What’s your record?” He asked, clearly wanting to see where my reaction came from. Thankfully Wiina did make me do a dungeon run with the device on and recording the whole process. I take out my dungeon counter and place it down on the table and make it show my previous run. “Two-sixty!?”

“Damn, you’re putting in work.” Useph remarked while managing to maintain his composure.

“I could maybe push it a few more floors, but uneven numbers aren't exactly pretty to the eyes.” I said to sound a little bit humble. I was running ragged when I cleared that floor, but I wasn’t exactly at zero mana zero energy. “Jeff, I could’ve sworn the gap between us wasn’t that large. The gap between the two records isn’t that massive.”

“Oh… Well.” He awkwardly replied, trying to steer the conversation to make himself look less embarrassing for being proud of his earlier records. It is still considered inhumane level for many, but from our skewered perspective it is a bit lacking. “I’ll try again next week! I’ll be more motivated next time.”

“...I haven’t tried to set a new record yet. I guess that is the benchmark.” Orrel remarked. Considering he doesn’t like to do solo runs it’s likely that he isn’t lying. “If nothing else, we should at least get to the two hundred mark. The difficulty spike is only notable at a hundred floor intervals.”

“Assuming a lot about every one of us…” Useph remarked. If it comes from Wiina’s mouth then it has to be true. They’re just not motivated enough for it just yet.

“I bet those two have already surpassed that.” Jeff said, seeing no need to specify. It’s pretty clear who he is talking about.

“Wouldn’t surprise me if they have done runs that have gone past that multiple times already. Their drive and strength surpassed most of us.” Orrel remarked. “But that aside, Useph, do you have anything to impart today?”

“Nah. Just a regular hang out.” He said despite paying for the buffet, while it is middle of the road in terms of price, it is still more fancy than the usual places we hang out. “...Just here to see if anyone has anything interesting to say. Like Karra, who was playing dumb the whole time yesterday.”

“What? Aside from the fact that it’s better for content if I act like I don’t know what is happening, even if I said I do, they won’t believe me anyway.” I defended my acting on yesterday’s stream. Deception isn’t my forte, but content is content, you know? Having Wiina silently messaging me to nudge me to talk about false guesses helps to make that seem a bit more natural.

“Your acting was better than I thought it would be.” Orrel remarked. Of course he noticed that.

“I had some time to plan it out, and lying in front of the camera is way easier than when meeting up for real.” I explained. While obviously Wiina helped out quite a bit, it’s not like what I just said is wrong. “…So do we actually know the specific places being attacked outside of our own town? I was saying nonsense anyway, but was any of those places they talked about right?”

“We’ll probably find out soon.” Orrel said. I suppose today is when they’ll start attacking. Who knows if that’ll amount to anything. I think Edea and Wiina had alluded to countermeasures to the army, so the prospect is very likely. “I made sure to follow groups that are interested in those matters. They are quite unhinged, but their information is still reliable.”

“Right, those guys.” Jeff said, not sounding like a fan. “They seem to say things with way more confidence than they have any right to be, especially with how sensitive the information is.”

“Admittedly that is more of the followers’ fault than the information brokers, so I simply ignore it.” Orrel said, not caring much about the drama surrounding them. We don’t really interact with such a group anyhow, so it’s nothing worth worrying about.

“Y’all are talking a whole lot.” Nicks remarked, pausing his eating for a moment before he continued. He has mostly been focusing on the food since it’s rare we get to hang out in a buffet place.

“...Hey, Karra, don’t you have a better information broker?” Jeff asked. I thought we agreed to not open that can of worms?

“What about it?” I asked, hoping he’s not trying to inquire about who it is again.

“Do you already know about which cities are attacked?” Oh, that. I suppose that is an acceptable thing to ask.

“Unfortunately, no. Not due to the lack of information, it’s just that I didn’t bother asking them.” I explained. There’s no need for me to know which specific town or city gets swarmed by the troops when they’ll be sorted out soon anyway, and if I did know then playing the act of ignorance yesterday would’ve been harder.

“...Guess we won’t get spoiled on that… Damn that sounds so morbid.” Jeff remarked but unable to completely remain nonchalant about it. I don’t think they quite realize the extent at which the others go out of their way to protect these places. It’s just a temporary measure that was done more out of spite towards the aggressor than compassion for the defenders.

“Most people have made light of worse events, don’t worry about it.” Useph said, trying to lighten up the mood a bit. “...Also, do you think buffet restaurants like this will be more popular in the future with appetite increasing across the board?”

“I don’t freaking know. Why is that thought suddenly in your head?” Jeff asked, bewildered by the sudden shift in topic.

“Because on certain days we eat a lot more.” He explained. “Today isn’t one of those days, but imagine being famished and not wanting to eat those mystery meats because you’re getting sick of it, so you came here as well.”

“With the level of interest in dungeon runs being at the level of niche at best, there isn’t a large enough population that needs the massive amount of calories per dollar a buffet would provide.” Orrel pointed out. “Cheap items like the aforementioned mystery meats sandwich would suffice. We’re putting the cart before the horse if we keep talking about this one topic.”

“Also, I don’t think even a super high metabolism of a body with an efficient mana circulatory system can even let you eat at a buffet to be extremely worth the money.” I said, knowing that is probably where the conversation is heading if Orrel wasn’t interested in shutting it down.

“Hmm…” Useph seems weirdly interested in this topic. Perhaps because it’s a rather low-stakes topic to be wondering about, so there’s no harm in reaching.

“Ah, right. Nicks, didn’t you also do a dungeon run yesterday? Did you set a new record?” I asked since it doesn’t look like he’s actually entertaining the idea of discussing this topic further, and Nicks had been quiet this whole time, almost uncharacteristically so.

“Nah. I was going casual yesterday. With how exhausting Rico’s class is, there is no way I’m setting a new record.” He answered. That’s fair, she has been making us do something a lot more physically taxing as of late. “With how it’s going, it seems like there are three days we can’t really do a dungeon run.”

“At least it’s not just us who were drained by that subject. Seems like other classrooms were put through the wringer as well.” I pointed out. Now whether or not they are teetering on the line of teaching too many dangerous practices is up in the air. I doubt they cared that much as long as no one got permanently injured.

“Hopefully they didn’t get subjected to anything close to our level.” Useph said.

“I doubt it. I’m pretty sure our curriculum is significantly different from the rest.” Orrel replied. “At least that’s what Gregori has said before. He had talked to a few people from other classes.”

“…It’s rare for him to not hang out with the group.” I pointed out. Ironic coming from someone who isn’t hanging out that often anymore either.

“Probably got something planned, just like with everyone else who didn’t show up today.” Orrel speculated.

“He’s probably… I don’t know, go into an abandoned restaurant or something.” Jeff jokingly said. “...Wait, wouldn’t those places actually be haunted?”

“They were all demolished a long time ago. Not like he can hang out in those anymore.” I pointed out. “And on that point… Huh. Maybe if there is a lingering spirit around they might be unchained from such a place and… Well, you know.”

“Aren’t those things super weak to magic? We’ll be fine.” Said the one person who doesn’t use spells that often.

“I don’t think we are the ones who need to worry about ghosts, just generally speaking.” I interjected. “Maybe not right now, but tomorrow, there will probably be a lot of damned souls flooding the place. Perhaps that is something worth being concerned about.”

———Wiina———

<9: 13 am>

She summoned her weapon into her hand, its form has evolved and become more complex as her powers grew and mastery over battle.

The soldiers are naturally confused. Despite their experience on a regular battlefield and being taught the many tactics from the agreeable and the forbidden that they must account for. Magic in warfare has never been discussed. Moreover, what does one do against an opponent that has broken through the conventional limits of man, breaking past where their advanced weaponry that even the mages of the past might have mistaken for powerful spells faltered.

Ultimately, it seems that all they can rely on is attrition, where in the hypothetical scenario that they will succeed, many would’ve been lost, and the ones who commanded them to charge would not care about in the slightest, as long as they win.

But in reality, their only chance of not being wiped out is the mercy granted by the single opponent standing before them.

In front of them is a barrier preventing entry into the town that is said to hold the key they need to regain control of the country that is slowly becoming fractured.

Behind them, a sudden appearance of a barrier made by the person in front of them, encircling them just like they have chosen to encircle the town, having anticipated their arrival and blocked their only escape.

She raised her scythe up high. Unfortunately, I do not think she is someone with that kind of compassion.