The Event Starts In Earnest!

※~・Arc 10: Summer Events・~※

Hey, Shun here!

Have you ever talked to a person who kept on talking like their speech is about to end but it just doesn't? For some reason, they just keep on talking on and on like they're not running out of words to say.

That was honestly the most annoying trait you could ever encounter in a person. Very annoying.

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(Shun's POV)

I don't know about you guys but if some game developer who had you gathered for an event of sorts were to say something along the lines of, "You will be staying here for some time," or something, I'll be like, "Oh, so am I trapped here now?"

Well, that's currently what's happening right now.

『Thank you for participating ladies and gentlemen. I am Yoshino Kazuhito from [OSO's] development department.』

With the beginning of his announcement, every player around the vicinity quietened down as they listened to what this gamedev guy is about to say.

『This event was made with the idea of making everyone thoroughly enjoy their gaming experience. This time event is…』 Gamedev guy, that's what I'm gonna call him from now on, paused for a few seconds to probably create some sort of suspense.

『…[Forest Camping Game].』

"Whoah…" My mind is blown away by such a creative way of naming. No one could've come up with a better name for this event…

Yeah, who am I kidding?

Anyway, let's go back to what gamedev guy is trying to say.

『If we're talking about summer, one thing comes to mind… That's right, it's the outdoors and outdoor activities. For 7 whole days, you guys will spend your time in this massive forest, camping.』

This message of his have many implications like, how the hell could we all spend a full 7 days in this godforsaken forest without eating or sleeping in real life? And the most pressing question is…

"Eeeeeh!? Seven days!? In this place? Are we trapped here now then!?"

That was the bellow of a bewildered Kaede-san. Aside from her and me though, it seems like we are the only ones who are worried about our current situation. If you include Lucato-san from Miu's party, that's three of us.

Take for example the kids, Pochi, Tama, Fenny, and Tsuka. They totally have no idea what the gamedev guy's words may imply and was still in a merry atmosphere talking to each other, ignoring the presence of this gamedev guy altogether.

As for the older girls? Well, Rokuko, for one, is totally ignoring the announcement and was more focused on joining in on the kids' conversation.

She's having fun interacting with them. I mean, mental age wise, Rokuko and the kids are around the same age.

Mutsuko-san, Toutobi-san, and Magi-san were unfazed whilst Rikka-san, Satania-san, Miu, and Hino-chan were excitedly talking about a possible trapped inside the game world scenario with fervor. While that sounds kinda cool, I don't think it would be a cool thing to experience.

The announcement wasn't over yet but there are already shouts coming from somewhere saying things like, "Don't fuck around! This is a killing game, I'm logging out!" among other things that a gamer could think of.

『Everyone seems to have misunderstood something. This isn't anything dangerous. In fact, it wouldn't consume any of your time either. You see, the flow of time in this field has been stretched by about eighty times on this special server.』

This revelation for sure shocked everyone as they all showed a stupefied look on their faces. Some probably managed to put two and two together and came up with what would happen to the game from now on after the previous announcement.

『In other words, one week in this place will take two hours in real life. This means, you can level up a lot in a short period of time. Now, do you guys finally get what I'm trying to say?』

That meant, the people who participated in this could secure a week's worth of playtime. That's how it was.

This reminds me of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber… but in a Virtual World.

『Of course, people who want to progress the game as normal can go back by dying to monsters. In that case, the death penalty will not occur.』 It's like he's saying, "Go kill yourselves if you want to get out of here, gamers!"

Everyone went silent after they heard this part of the explanation. They seemed to be motivated all of a sudden. Talk about changing their opinions in but a flash.

The entire atmosphere changed from, "Get me out of this death game!" to, "Hey, it wouldn't hurt if we just play this game, right…?"

Seeing that the crowd was finally convinced, gamedev guy finally continued.

『Now then, I will explain the rules…』

Long story short, the summary of what he said is like this:

• The event will last for seven days and six nights.

• The place we are standing in is a safe area.

• Moving locations is allowed.

• This entire map has lakes, ruins, and mountains. This also includes Unique Monsters, as well as unique items hidden in secret locations.

• All the players could only acquire one Sense each during the event.

• Items acquired from this event can immediately be appraised. However, one needs to have the corresponding Sense to do so.

『Believe in your own Senses and find your own way to enjoy it.』

Just when I thought he's going to disappear, he continued. Thankfully, he did or we wouldn't have any idea as to where we could find and possibly befriend the young beasts that will help us finish our quest.

『Further inside the forest over there are inactive monsters — young animals — wandering around. If you're able to build a friendly relationship with one in a week, it will become a summoning stone and your exclusive pet. If you have a [Taming] Sense, it will be possible for it to fight with you as your magical beast.』 Oh, I'm picking up the [Taming] Sense then. Sounds like it will be a handy thing to take.

After that, gamedev guy just explained the last rule regarding how the people who will last for the whole duration of the event will be given points(in numerical value) depending on the actions that we took during the event. The top five players will be given souvenirs, or in short, rewards.

He also said that materials and items found in this map will not be taken back by the game. This comforted the players who wanted a more solid way to gain something from this event.

At this moment, the excitement seemed to have reached its climax. Everyone aimed for the victory and in the middle of everyone who was being motivated was the members of my group chat.

"You think we could gain a dungeon as a reward from this, Shun?" this was Rokuko asking me with her face filled with curiosity.

Following her was Mutsuko-san, Kaede-san, Rikka-san, Satania-san, Pochi, and Tama who were aiming for totally different things.

"The item cap was there for setting our camp or something, huh. By the way, Shun-kun, do you think we could find rare plants here? I want to plant some in your field to experiment with."

"Heeh~. Rare materials mean we could find stronger materials for armors, right? Magi-san, let's go find many rare ores! I want to boost my defense!"

"Unique items… It feels like it's calling me… My [Tyrant's Eye] is tingling."

"If there are unique items, there should be Unique Monsters around, right? Let's go fight them! This will make me one step further to conquering [Only Sense Online]! A-HAHAHA!"

"Nyu~? [Admin-sensei] can cook meat~?"

"You should abastolutely cook meat Master [Admin-sensei] nodesu! Pochi, Tama, Tsuka, and Fenny will hunt the preys for you, nanodesuyo?"

Unlike the older girls who seems to now be occupied by their own thoughts, Pochi and Tama came to me for obvious reasons. Later, I should divide our guild to parties according to this.

『And in case a player did not acquire the [Survival] Senses beforehand, it will impose a negative correction to point conversion on the final day. Don't expect to win without it. By the way, the acquisition of [Survival] will also count if you acquire it right now…』This gamedev guy just continued on and on about how you could share your map with your party members and etc.

We understand now dude. You're starting to become annoying, just so you know.

While I was thinking of such things, it seems that the announcements was finally over. While the players were still stunned, I checked the map and looked around to map out the 100+ meters of vision that I have through the use of [Hawk Eyes].

After doing so, I told everyone to follow me. We walked inside the forest and, after arriving at a location that's near a slope, I stopped.

Everyone casted a skeptical gaze my way but I didn't pay attention to that and spoke.

"We'll set up camp here. Food is… one of our top priorities due to the introduction of the satiety system. So, everyone, make sure you keep track of your hunger." I wanted to say, food is just one of our many priorities but the look on the beastkin girls' faces were enough to deter me.

And so, with the event finally ongoing, we decided which people will be in what party during the entire duration of the first day.

The first party is of course the ones who would set up the base camp which consists of: Lyly, Rokuko, Mutsuko-san, Cloude, and Magi-san.

The second party is aptly named as "Super Awesome Food Prowling Team 1" consisting of me, Pochi, Tama, Fenny, Tsuka, and Rikka.

The third party is the "Super Awesome Food Prowling Team 2" consisting of Kaede-san, Satania-san, Miu, Toutobi-san, Lucato-san, and Hino-chan.

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※~To be continued~※

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Author's Remarks:

※ First chapter of Volume 4 done! Phew, off to another chapter to write my friends.