Story Reader / Festival Event Story / Dumplings and Dragons / Story
Inside an ordinary building to the left of the capital gate.
Strike Hawk and the Engineering Force had been trying to leave the game for days, but neither had succeeded.
So they decide to stay undercover around the safe house for the time to come, awaiting an opportunity.
Thank you, kind adventurer. May I know where the Church of Flying Ramen is...?
But Kamui just waves and casts aside the additional rewards.
No problem at all. To thank the almighty Flying Ramen, all you need to do is to live a good life. Lord doesn't care about anything else.
Kamui puts his hands together and bows, and the villager follows him to do so.
Lord doesn't care about anything else.
After waving goodbye to the villager, Kamui asks DM to check his own status and finds himself many levels higher.
DM, I need more strength! I want to put all attribute points earned from level-up on strength.
Wanshi watches the villager walk away. As Kamui's helper, his EXP is also rapidly increasing.
A few soldiers are coming their way. Kamui quickly pulls Wanshi's arm, gesturing him to lower his head and walk forward with hands together.
Live a good life. Lord doesn't care about anything else.
The soldiers display no signs of tension or aggressiveness. Instead, they also put their hands together to chant the somewhat awkward prayer.
One of them is even holding a wanted order to check against everybody on the street, but none would have imagined the "evil" criminals on the order are walking past them as friendly and helpful members of the new church.
Sir, your cape is touching the ground.
Oh? I didn't even notice that. Must be because I was walking at the back... Thank you. Praise the F... Flying Ramen. Live a good life. Lord doesn't care about anything else.
The soldiers soon go around the corner. Feeling relieved, Wanshi knocks on the door of the safe house.
Okay, Karenina has reinforced this "thing" with a broomstick, wood blocks, a table corner, and charcoal tongs... What should I call it?
Just call it a reinforced composite door.
Someone is knocking on the reinforced composite door, making "clink", "thump" and "bang" noises.
It's me! It's me!
To open the door, you need to roll a check.
Why do I need to roll for this...?
I took out the door hinge to make it even stronger. It now has to be pulled up and down to open.
...It seems I have failed.
...I'll do it. I will lift the reinforced door all the way up with my mighty strength. Roll!
Kamui rolls a... critical success.
Critical success... What will happen? Did Kamui strip the door off and put it back after coming inside?
One sec, I need to think... Um, when Kamui enters the room, he finds a minor fault in the door and reinforces it to make it even sturdier.
Are there still a lot of guards near the gate?
We might be able to break through, but one of the merchants that Kamui helped mentioned a large space under the gate. DM has probably prepared a mighty opponent for us there.
When do the guards usually patrol the area?
The captain said they had more than doubled the number of guards. They search the entire city once every morning, noon, and evening.
Number?
Eight squadrons, according to the patrol officer.
Equipment?
Regular army equipment, according to the blacksmith in the Old North Point.
Well done. Good work.
Yeah!
Speaking of which, does anyone remember the arrival of new heroes we saw on the notice board? An adventurer told me the hero team named Gray Raven was also coming to the capital.
I don't understand... How did you make those people tell you everything?
Oh, we have been helping people in the name of Kamui's new church. As long as you put the hood on and lower your head, you may even walk all the way to the palace with no issue.
Which means... This secret church needs to keep going.
Yeah. We can secretly level up while collecting useful information. Let's not waste time and find more tasks to do.
In the name of the Flying Ramen!
...
What's wrong?
DM just made me roll sound perception and luck...
I hear steps. A lot of footsteps.
Wanshi lifts up a corner of the curtain and immediately rolls a Luck check. The arrow only takes a few hairs off him.
Break the door!
A soldier kicks on the door with all his strength, making a loud bang. He then screams even louder in pain.
Blow it up!
The soldiers seem to have stacked something up against the door. Everybody in the room is rolling Dodge checks except Karenina, who just stares at her own work doing nothing.
BOOM—the loud bang that shakes the entire house washes over and deafens you...
Just what the heck is this ugly thing? We need healing spells! Hurry!
Still, the reinforced door shows no sign of breaking.
Get the battering ram here!
Officer, why don't we blow up the wall next to the door?
Everyone immediately rolls Dodge and Luck checks. Only Karenina notices something is not right.
What's that sound...?
Another loud explosion leaves a hole in the wall. Amidst the dust and smoke, soldiers flood into the room with their weapons unsheathed.
More soldiers come in with sharp blades, forcing the players to a corner.
Ten minutes ago. When Gray Raven entered the capital, a guard found out they were heroes and immediately reported to the gate officer.
The wanted order was attached with magic and could not be torn off, so the guard just carried the entire notice board over.
Cunning devil...?
Furious beast? Officer, what exactly are they describing...?
Oh dear hero, you must have not heard of him. He was the incarnation of fury. There was nothing but one nail left under his stake. If his friends came a little later, I say he could even lift the stake up and run away with it.
Sleeping thug... Deadly wraith... Beast of destruction... Are they all wanted?
Yes, my hero.
Alright. Tell the guards to get ready. We will head out right away.
Do you know where they are?
We are heroes. We will figure it out.
But... As a gate guard, I must report to the guard headquarters first...
W-wait!
The Travelling Wizard puts an arm on the officer's shoulder, lowering his body. He then pretentiously looks around and lowers his voice.
Are you sure you want to do that? Giving all that merit away?
...What do you mean?
Think about it. They sent you here to guard the gate. Do you seriously believe they will give you the credit?
I'm pretty certain that the headline of tomorrow's notice board will be something like "General XX and heroes have captured all the criminals", while your name will only show up in a corner.
The officer takes a gulp and looks at him helplessly. After the Travelling Wizard encourages him again, he finally makes a decision and walks back to the gate.
Have I seen him somewhere...? Oh, wasn't he the gate guard when we were still heroes?
Oh, that poor guy going after someone's butt because he defrauded the merchant's association?
Shut up... Let's go, someone seems to have recognized me...
While the officer is assembling his troops, the Travelling Wizard winks at Gray Raven and blends into the crowd walking out of the capital with his friends.
Right, just like the hero said, the criminals are all hiding in them.
Two familiar faces are peeking out behind the soldiers.
Lucia! What the **** are you doing?!
But Lucia is standing too far away and cannot hear. She only smiles and waves at her.
You filthy criminals managed to get away last time, but now I have the heroes with me! Better surrender if you don't want to suffer... My heroes?
Liv of Gray Raven has poured out "Sleepy Fog" from the magical bottle.
Check completed. Here's the result of your action: the fog secretly sneaks into the soldiers' noses like slithering snakes. Some of them could not even lift their weapons before falling asleep.
Critical success.
The wizard's item sure did help.
As she speaks, the four Gray Raven members walk up to the soldiers, take their weapons, and throw them aside.
They also turn the soldiers around and search all over their bodies. When they cannot find any more items related to the mission, they lay the soldiers together neatly.
How many times have you done this...?
We met quite a few not-so-friendly people in the quests.
Liv wanted to reduce casualties, so we came up with these... procedures.
Wanshi, I need to know the size of the remaining gate garrison.
I roll a long-distance scout.
The result is... success. Wanshi peeks through the window and realizes there are a lot fewer soldiers guarding the game. The remaining soldiers are also preoccupied with managing the entry and exit of regular civilians.
Well, Gray Raven has taken away our biggest trouble. Time to plan our next step.
This guy didn't report to his senior but rushed here with his own troops. Somehow this gives me a familiar feel.
...
Hey! Ho! Ah-tah!
Critical, kill. Critical, kill. Super-critical, level up...
Boss, I just beat up another wave of enemies.
Really? Keep going. As long as we can accumulate enough power before the game ends.
Speaking of which, Boss, that weird old man you beat up was talking about how he wanted us to save the world. Do we need to check over there?
Just leave it to the Gray Raven Commandant. He's more experienced at being a hero.
No. 21, spell bonus... I can't calculate...
Just don't calculate then. Let's check the nearby town for notice boards.
Wow, Boss, the expedition army is coming at us!
Expedition army? I have seen their leader somewhere... Right, isn't he from Dark Aries?
...
Are you the Red Monsters on the wanted order who have occupied the Northern Wilds?
Yep. What can I do for you?
(This game is designed for a script. Ayla said I must play my role...)
We are the expedition army from the capital. Surrender now, monsters. Your end is nigh!
You sure? Show them what you've got, Noc.
Alright!
Noctis first reluctantly stretches his arms, but when his bulky body is promptly displayed, he makes a smile as brilliant as the midday sun.
Noctis of Cerberus. Character level 99.
Sorry, I hope I didn't disturb you...
