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The Explorer Guild got noisy in an instant.

Screams and roars mixed, and the sound of falling onto the floor and groans created a chorus.

“It is only one guy! What are you doing?!”

“If you are going to talk all big, come at me. Come on, bring it on.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach showed a faint smile and beckoned over the man that’s acting as if he were the leader.

He faltered for an instant at that composure of his, but he thought that he had the overwhelming advantage here, so he raised his fist and tried to hit Lanpeach.

Even if he is a weakling even within the 1 Star explorers, he is far stronger than a normal person.

He charged strength into his fist enough to make an adult faint and punched at Lanpeach.

[Guard].

A dull sound rang and it was easily stopped by the palm of Lanpeach.

“Wa. Eh?”

It looked as if he simply put his palm to the front in slow motion.

But not only could he not snap that hand away, the posture of Lanpeach was unflinching.

It was as if his fist collided with a boulder. The man who punched was the one who felt pain instead.

“Guess that’s all. It is a bare fist anyways.” (Lanpeach)

A sharp straight landed right on the face of the dumbstruck man.

Lanpeach shifted to the left and avoided the kick that came from behind.

The hoodlum didn’t think this would be evaded, so his posture was broken. Lanpeach swept the pivot leg and mercilessly kicked his head.

“Tch!”

He then exhaled sharply, spun both arms like a spiral, and hit two hoodlums with the bottom of his palms.

The men collapsed with pained expressions at the corner of Lanpeach’s vision as he jumped and smashed the head of an enemy’s head with a somersault kick.

He used the recoil of this to spin in the air and landed 3 sharp and beautiful kicks onto the hoodlums as if he were a dancing flower.

“Y-Y-You b-b-ba—”

“You should stop chanting spells.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach stepped into the range of a guy that was trembling profusely from seeing his comrades fall one after the other, hit his chin with the bottom of his palm, and shook his brain to make him faint.

“T-Tackles. Tackle him to stop his movements!”

“U-Uwaa!”

“You bastard!”

3 people spread their arms with desperation and rushed at Lanpeach.

It seems like the sole thing in their mind is to stop him from moving.

But Lanpeach lowered his body, and twisted his body with his left leg as a fulcrum, and unleashed kicks onto the men with the force generated.

He kicked the faces of the men like a spear with speed that was difficult to follow with the eyes, and the 3 lost consciousness and fell to the ground just like that.

Lanpeach was wild at moments and would show flexible moves at other times. He was defeating them all with first class martial arts.

Even if they tried to get him from his blind spot, Lanpeach had no blind spots because of his overhead view, so there’s no way hoodlums with a bit of combat experience would be able to match him.

Lanpeach has had the experience of having survived thousands of battlefields installed into his mind, body, and soul.

“…What’s with this guy? Isn’t he too strong?”

The last one, who couldn’t even fight properly or even touch him, stood there dumbfounded and muttered this.

And then, he was sent flying by the punch of Lanpeach.

This is how all the hoodlums in the Explorer Guild were beaten up and turned into a hellscape.

Lanpeach thought it was finally over. He wiped off his sweat and glared at Libra with a frown.

The gamer Lanpeach didn’t notice his own actions at all and the only thing Libra could do was laugh and enjoy it since she understood the situation accurately.

“—It didn’t work!” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach could only be disappointed by this.

He didn’t understand why it ended up like this.

He was even thinking something out of left field like this being a forced event from the game.

[Ahaha, right. But you really are weird. Ahaha.] (Libra)

Libra held her stomach and laughed, but didn’t tell him the truth. That’s because it would be more amusing this way.

“Isn’t it the troupe for it to only be 2 or 3? I don’t think I would have to fight these many hoodlums at the same time even in Nightmare difficulty.” (Lanpeach)

He thought this must be the Lanpeach difficulty and…

[You have cleared Caught in trouble in the Explorer Guild. Obtained 5,000 EXP.]

Then he got hit by surprise EXP and his scowl changed into a smile of happiness.

So self-interested.

“Oi, you guys. Uhm, sorry for saying you were a pain. You can go ahead and pick a fight with me every time I come here. Ah, you can also attack me in the Spirit Ward. But I recommend the ones like today where you pick a fight with me. Hey, I will be waiting for next time, okay? Please attack me at any given opportunity.” (Lanpeach)

And then, he even talked to the collapsed men to tell them to please bring on more events.

Lanpeach thought that maybe he could make this into a chain quest. Stacking every little bit of EXP can eventually become a mountain.

The fallen hoodlums felt fear at this light demeanor of his. His crooked smile felt like the smile of a demon lord that would easily kill people.

(Hiih! What is this monster saying?)

(He surely hasn’t beaten us up enough. There’s no doubt this dude was a former assassin.)

(Attack him? Is he delusional? It is obvious that we will end up as corpses instead.)

(Let’s just stay put. That’s right, I am moss. Moss on the ground…)

Of course, the hoodlums didn’t just go ‘got it’ and answered with a smile. They feared Lanpeach who defeated them all as if nothing, and everyone etched in their hearts that they don’t want anything to do with this monster.

This is how the hoodlums of this Explorer Guild became terribly well behaved, but Lanpeach didn’t think he was the reason for this.

◇◇

“Man, it would have been tasty if I had properly leveled up for such brawl events. Do you think they will pick a fight with me if I show up tomorrow? I would say something like I am visiting just to thank them.” (Lanpeach)

[It might be a good idea to give yourself a challenge and see how many you can defeat without being dealt any damage.] (Libra)

It will already change into a well behaved guild branch by tomorrow, but Lanpeach had hopes that he might be able to farm them up into a chain quest. Libra was also getting riled up by this and giggling.

The two of them headed to a station a little distance away after exiting the guild branch. There’s something that’s definitely built after a guild branch is established.

“The Element Station in the Spirit Ward is operating today as well.” (Lanpeach)

—-The Element Station that is set at the Portal that sends you to the Spirit Ward of its respective location.

An empty plot of land that’s a bit more spacious than a soccer field. There are crystal pillars shining blue that are as tall as a 2 story building, and that shine of it was beautiful even under a dull weather.

There’s 5 crystal pillars, and they are surrounded by iron fences that are around 5 meters tall. There’s a door set in between the iron fence, but it is currently open.

There’s a rustic building at the side of the crystal pillars that is made of concrete and looks like tofu. There’s a small reception window, and an old receptionist was yawning as if he didn’t have anything to do.

The crystal pillars are enchanting within the white falling snow and the white carpet it creates.

The identity of the crystal pillars is that they are the Portals that connect to the Spirit Ward.

You can be teleported if you pay money, allowing you to instantly arrive into the Spirit Ward that you want.

That said, it is right by the side of the lowest guild branch and its facility is also pitiful, so it is only the places where low level monsters appear and can only obtain cheap spirit crystals.

The cost to use is cheap in exchange though.

It truly is set like a game.

In order to go to good Spirit Wards, you need to raise your rank, and transit the Explorer Guild branch that is closer to the middle of the Surface District.

[Are you really planning on going to the Dream Island Spirit Ward? I recommend the Aso Spirit Ward more though.] (Libra)

Libra peeked at the face of Lanpeach with a questioning look. Their foreheads were close enough to touch, and it was a bit embarrassing, but Lanpeach responded to Libra.

“The Aso Spirit Ward is the Spirit Ward for beginners. There are strong monsters if you go deep in, and you can unexpectedly earn big when the level goes up.” (Lanpeach)

[Right? Let’s go to the Aso Spirit Ward. That place is the prairie and wilderness Spirit Ward, and there’s a lot of different monsters showing up. Now, let’s go!] (Libra)

“Don’t ‘let’s go!’ me! There’s a lot of monsters with elemental weaknesses, so it favors mages. It is easier to defeat them with magic, not a gun.” (Lanpeach)

It is a Spirit Ward for newbies even in the game. It is full of monsters that you can defeat easily if you hit the weak element of the enemy.

A monster that you normally would have to shoot 5 times in order to defeat can be defeated in one hit with the weak element.

In other words, it is a place to teach the player the game mechanics.

“But my main weapon is guns. Also, Supernatural Powers is the almighty element. It is inefficient in the Aso Spirit Ward. I can’t really defeat enemies to accumulate EXP either.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach was rejecting the way to enjoy the game from the developers straight on.

The way the game works is that you raise your level with quests, and gather materials and money from the Spirit Wards to strengthen your character.

And so, it would be best to head to the place that suits him the best.

The snow had piled up all the way to the ankles. There’s no weirdo who would go out of their way to go to a low level Spirit Ward in this condition, so he headed to the reception within this silent plaza.

The small room of the reception seemed warm. The window was misty white. He seemed to not have anything to do while watching the portable TV.

But the security system noticed the entrance of someone and the lamps lit up, so he opened the reception window.

“Welcome. Which Spirit Ward?”

“One ticket for a round trip to the mid floors of the Dream Island Spirit Ward.” (Lanpeach)

“10,000 Ele.”

He paid the money to the old man of few words and he gave him a ticket.

Lanpeach felt like he was paying for an attraction here as he headed to the Portal.

He held the ticket over his head at the crystal pillars and a space distortion showed up in the crystal pillar.

“Such fantasy sights are really exciting in real life.” (Lanpeach)

He was a bit moved by how it was exactly the same as the game and stepped into the distortion without hesitation.

He has used this countless times in the game, so there was nothing to fear.

It turned pitch black for an instant after crossing the distortion, but sunlight soon entered his eyes and it changed to a clear sky.

The sight spreading before his eyes was that of scraps burying the ground. The wreckage of machines was creating mountains and hills, and the air was filled with the scent of rusty iron and old oil.

“Now then, let’s adventure in the Dream Island Spirit Ward.” (Lanpeach)

[Yes sir! Soldier, this is where our legend begins!] (Libra)

“Don’t spout a line like that of an axed series.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach took out the DG5 Assault Rifle from his Dimension Poach and walked off as he shouldered it on his shoulder and smiled boldly.

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