Chapter 2-7 : Summer Camp Event Ⅰ (part 1)
After I got teleported, I lost the sensation of someone hugging my right arm. It seemed that Umika had been teleported to a different location.
However, I still felt someone hugging my left arm. When I looked to the left, I saw Ruka’s face.
「Ruka!」(Alice)
「Alice… Thank god.」(Ruka)
It seemed that Ruka and I miraculously got teleported to the same spot, while Umika and Rin got teleported to different locations.
Feeling relieved, Ruka exhaled and let go of my arm.
「Where are we?」(Ruka)
「In the middle of the forest, I think.」(Alice)
I saw nothing but trees. However, they were different trees from the forest near the Erst Town. As Taurus said, we seemed to be teleported to a different realm from the game.
I think Rin will be fine since she’s a veteran and a better gamer than me. The problem is Umika.
「…Alice, are you worrying about that girl?」(Ruka)
Noticing my pondering face, Ruka asked.
「Yeah. It hasn’t been long since she started playing this game, so…」(Alice)
「She’s a beginner, huh? Alright, if you want to look for her, I’m with you then.」(Ruka)
「Thank you, Ruka.」(Alice)
「But, first, we need to grasp where we are.」(Ruka)
「You’re right.」(Alice)
Thinking of scouting our surroundings from a high vantage point, I looked around, trying to find a tall tree, but most of the trees here had the same height.
In a time like this, I just have to make my own vantage point. Luckily for me, my【Rapid Growth】skill has leveled up quite a bit.
I took out a seed, put it on the ground, and used my skill on it.
「【Rapid Growth】」(Alice)
The seed grew at tremendous speed and turned into a tree as tall as a building in less than ten seconds.
I swiftly climbed to its top and looked around. Utilizing the position of the sun, I determined the directions.
There was a mountain range to the north, a big river to the west, and fields spreading to the south. It was hard to see, but it seemed that there were ruins to the east.
I also saw some people that seemed to be players. Some of them were just standing and walking around, and some others had already started building their bases.
The ones who were just standing around seemed to be combat-focused types of players who only upgraded their combat abilities, while the ones working were players who also upgraded their production-type abilities.
That’s right. This event is a survival game. I don’t know much about survival games, but I know that crafting skills are important in this type of game.
I climbed down from the tree and reported to Ruka.
「How was it?」(Ruka)
「Mountain to the north, river to the west, fields to the south, and ruin-like place to the east. Also, I saw some players have already started building bases.」(Alice)
「Bases?」(Ruka)
「Yeah. It seems that people with production-type skills have advantages in this event.」(Alice)
「I see. So, what’s the plan?」(Ruka)
「Hmm…」(Alice)
I put my thumb on my chin and thought.
Building a base is important, and we better do it as quickly as possible, but at the same time, I also worried about Umika.
「Hm?」(Alice)
While I was thinking, a notification popped up. I got a message from Rin.
『Alice, you doing okay there~?』(Rin)
『Rin. I thought we couldn’t use the messaging feature in this event.』(Alice)
『No one said it would be disabled, right?』(Rin)
『Uhh, right.』(Alice)
Now that she mentions it, Taurus didn’t say anything about the messaging feature. Apparently, we still can message each other like normal in this event.
That means I can send messages to Umika.
『I’m with Ruka right now. Where are you?』(Alice)
『So you’re together, I see. Guess what~? I’m with Eclair and some Silver Wing Brigade members. We’re building our base right now.』(Rin)
That’s quick. As expected from the strongest clan in the game.
『I see, so you are with them.』(Alice)
『Yeah, you don’t need to worry about me. You should focus on building your base with Ruka right now.』(Rin)
『You’re right, but I’m worried about Umika.』(Alice)
『Ah, she’s still a beginner, right? Well, why don’t you message her?』(Rin)
『Un. Will do.』(Alice)
『Alright, then~ Good luck, Alice~』(Rin)
『You too, Rin.』(Alice)
As soon as I closed my messaging interface, Ruka asked.
「A private message?」(Ruka)
「Yeah, from Rin. She’s with her clan.」(Alice)
「I see.」(Ruka)
「I’ll try contacting Umika.」(Alice)
After Ruka replied with a nod, I opened my Friend List interface and sent a private message to Umika.
『Umika, where are you?』(Alice)
『Alice onee-sama! I’m not sure where I am. There’s a swamp and a jungle. It’s hot and humid here.』(Umika)
Swamp? I didn’t see any swamp when I was on the tree. Either that place was obscured, and I couldn’t see it, or it was far away from here.
『Are you with someone right now?』(Alice)
『Yes. I found some of my fans I can rely on. They said we should build our base as soon as possible.』(Umika)
So she’s with her fans. That’s a relief. At least she’s not alone.
『Your fans are right. You should build your base for now.』(Alice)
『Uuu… I want to see you, but… If you say so.』(Umika)
『Can you handle it there?』(Alice)
『I think so. There’s a fan who claimed to be good at survival games.』(Umika)
『That’s great. Anyway, let’s focus on building bases for now. We can see each other once everything is settled down.』(Alice)
『Okay.』(Umika)
『Good luck and be safe, Umika.』(Alice)
『You too, Alice onee-sama~!』(Umika)
Ending the conversation, I closed my interface and turned to Ruka.
「Ruka, change of plans. Umika’s safe. She’s with reliable people. We should start building our own base for now.」(Alice)
「Alright. What should we do first?」(Ruka)
「Good question.」(Alice)
Now that’s the problem. I’ve never played survival games before, so I’m not sure.
「Let’s see… Since we’re going to camp here, let’s make a place to sleep.」(Alice)
「Okay.」(Ruka)
Fortunately, we were spawned in an open area in the middle of the forest. I think this place is perfect for building a base.
「Other than that, we should secure food.」(Alice)
This is a survival game, so as a matter of course, we can’t bring food from the main game world into this event world. We have to prepare it ourselves.
「Ruka, what production skills have you learned?」(Alice)
「【Lumbering】,【Woodworking】, and【Tool Mastery】.」(Ruka)
「Excellent.」(Alice)
What perfect abilities in a survival game like this.
She’s an archer, but she doesn’t want to waste money to buy arrows, so she chose to make them herself using those skills.
As for me, I have the advanced version of【Appraisal】, which is【Appraiser】, and I think I can find something edible in this forest with this ability.
「Let’s split up for now. Ruka, you gather wood, and I will gather food.」(Alice)
「Roger that.」(Ruka)
ーRustle rustle…
「!?」(Alice)
Ruka and I were about to split up, but suddenly, we heard something from the bushes.
Thinking it might be monsters or players with ill intentions, I drew my blade while Ruka drew her bow.
However, the one who showed up from the bushes turned to be someone I knew very well.
「Eh? Shougo?」(Alice)
「Oh! Alice!」(Shougo)
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