Chapter 29

    The Award Ceremony and the Next Goals

    "I never thought that the explosion was just an effect."

    Möbius stood amidst the award ceremony for the event that had kept him up all night. Being a light sleeper, particularly when surrounded by the girls, he normally got to sleep around midnight. Fortunately, the award ceremony was held in the evening and the company had generously provided them with rooms and a dinner.

    "It would be too costly to actually blow up the city, so they just only did it like that."

    Leia replied while indulging in dessert, and today, her excitement was slightly more palpable than usual in Möbius's eyes.

    "It seems many teams managed to complete the event."

    Teppanyaki observed, looking around at the many recipients of awards. This was largely because the higher-level zombies and bosses had been drawn to Möbius's team, allowing others to advance more easily.

    "Tell the chef to bring out more food."

    One of the gamemasters looked at two beautiful women who were eating vigorously. No matter what the chefs served, these women seemed to consume it rapidly, leading to a shortage of food. He decided that next time, they wouldn't have this kind of buffet again; a Chinese dish would be better.

    "Yawn... I wish they had scheduled this for tomorrow, I'm still so sleepy."

    Kujikatsu yawned loudly, needing at least 14 hours of sleep a day.

    "Hello, my name is Alex. You guys have helped me through several rounds and yet we haven't formally met."

    A man from the shield line that Möbius had helped to survive the event, approached and greeted Möbius.

    "Hello, I'm Möbius. Nice to meet you," Möbius turned to smile and greeted Alex warmly.

    "And I'm Teppanyaki. Nice to meet you as well."

    Teppanyaki also got to know Alex, finding common ground with him as they shared the same profession.

    While waiting for the scores to be tallied, Möbius took the opportunity to explore the city's gun market for the first time. The three ladies preferred to stay at the event to continue enjoying the food provided by the gamemaster. After returning to the city, Möbius collected the loot dropped from the zombies he had killed, earning nearly half a million from the zombies and an additional three hundred thousand from the boss kills. Though their levels hadn't increased much due to the shared experience, the loot was primarily various types of ammunition, none of which were particularly special for Möbius.

    Inside the spacious hall of the main building, numerous merchants had set up stands selling firearms. Möbius purchased a large number of hand grenades to compensate for the ones he had used during the mission, along with a substantial amount of C4 explosives. He also bought four Uzi light machine guns. The advantages of these guns were their light weight, decent firing rate, and dual-wielding capability. He bought four barrels so he could rotate their use. Besides that, Möbius also visited one of the system shops that offered gun upgrades.

    "Hello, is anyone here?"

    Möbius entered the shop which, apart from himself, was seemingly empty. The interior featured a counter with a small square-holed metal mesh atop it, surrounded by various complete and disassembled weapons hanging everywhere.

    "Oh, a customer. Hello, what can I do for you?"

    Behind the counter, a middle-aged man with a beard and bald head, wearing a large apron, sat looking slightly surprised to have someone use his service.

    "I’d like to upgrade a gun."

    Möbius placed his Thompson on the small square opening in the mesh. Among all his weapons, the Thompson was his favorite, though it was also the least powerful, which is why he was keen to upgrade it.

    "A Thompson, huh? It's rare for someone to bring one of these in for an upgrade."

    The man picked up the Thompson to examine it. Usually, those in the gunner profession opted for modern or futuristic firearms, so it was quite unusual for someone to bring in an antique firearm. He then noticed something particular.

    "It’s seen a lot of use. What materials do you have for the upgrade?"

    The gunsmith noticed the heavy wear on the Thompson. He turned to see what Möbius intended to use for the upgrade and was shocked to see a round Miltis ore in Möbius’s possession, a rare material usually dropped from bosses above level 60. This material was typically used to upgrade weapons of level 9 and above. Using such high-quality material on a level 4 weapon like the Thompson seemed extravagant.

    "How about this, little brother? Sell me this ore for 5 million, and I’ll throw in a better gun as well."

    The bald man spoke to Möbius. The market price of the ore was around 6 million reals. If the other party agreed, it would be a profitable deal for him.

    "I'm certain that I want this Thompson to be upgraded because, well... it chose to follow me, and I choose not to abandon it either."

    Möbius said about the moment he acquired the Thompson as his trust weapon during the final test of his gunner class.

    "A good man, a good gun, good words, good eyesight, excellent! My name is Smith, and I will upgrade this custom Thompson for you. Trust me, little brother, it's been a while since I've met someone who cares so much about their weapon."

    Smith said cheerfully to the young man. Such a person deserves to wield this gun.

    "Come back in an hour, and it will be ready."

    Smith turned to tell Möbius before heading to the back of the shop. Möbius decided to return after the awards ceremony to pick up his gun and then walked out of the shop to continue shopping.

    "Oh, what a coincidence."

    Möbius ran into Tempura and Shabu-Shabu, who were also shopping for guns. The priestess had taken a liking to firearms after getting to try them out during the event.

    "Yes, can I help you with anything?"

    Möbius asked the ladies who were looking at small handguns.

    "Can you help choose a gun for Tempura?"

    Shabu-Shabu, still haunted by Möbius's (driving) antics, asked while hiding behind the priestess.

    "This type would be better; it's easy to shoot and load."

    Möbius picked up a compact double-barrel shotgun for Tempura, thinking it was the most suitable since her team could protect her well. If she needed to defend herself, it would likely be in close encounters with monsters, so a short shotgun was ideal.

    "Then we'll go with what Mr. Möbius suggests. Teppan and others have contacted us that they're starting the event soon, Mr. Möbius, you better hurry."

    Tempura checked her phone, then invited the young man to head back to the event with her.

    "Hello, I hope you're enjoying our event. Now it's the moment everyone has been waiting for—it's time for the awards."

    The female gamemaster in a military outfit, came out to speak on stage. She began with the consolation prizes for those who participated but did not make the top five, which included five teams. This meant that only ten teams completed this event, including Möbius's team, Alex's team, and teams from the Arc Magic Federation who bizarrely avoided Möbius's gaze, the Shield and Sword Federation who periodically looked over at them, and another federation Möbius had never seen before, dressed like a Japanese samurai team.

    The fifth prize goes to the Shield and Sword Federation. The fourth prize goes to the Arc Magic Federation. It seemed like the Shield and Sword Federation was not quite satisfied with the judges' decision because they thought they had killed many more zombies, which was indeed true. However, they mostly killed the lowest level zombies, thus scoring less than Möbius's team.

    "The third prize goes to..." the gamemaster paused slightly for suspense. Among the remaining three teams, two were praying it wouldn’t be them, unlike Möbius, who was eagerly hoping for this prize because it was a manual for firearms maintenance.

    "Team Alex." announced the gamemaster, causing Möbius to be visibly disappointed for not winning this prize.

    "And now for the first prize, one of the hardest items dropped by the boss Nemesis, which is..."

    The gamemaster paused for effect since only two teams were left, and then she announced the first place directly.

    "It’s Team Dessert. The prize is a rocket launcher used by Nemesis, with a mere 3% drop chance if you were to hunt it down yourself. Very lucky indeed. Additionally, they receive five million reals in cash."

    The gamemaster announced loudly. Möbius must have been very pleased to receive this gun, especially since he hadn't secured it from the boss himself. The crowd was amazed by the results, thinking a federation team would have been more likely to win first place. While Möbius walked up on stage to collect his prize somewhat reluctantly,

    "We from the Bushido Federation object to these results. We killed every zombie we saw completely, why didn’t we get first place?"

    A man dressed as a samurai, began to protest because they had invested heavily in potions and weapons for this event. While he cared less about the weapons, the loss of reputation was unacceptable.

    "Well, please, let me finish announcing all the awards first, there’s still a special prize."

    The gamemaster smiled at the Bushido Federation. Her mention of a special prize silenced the room because this award was for killing the Nemesis boss, which many groups had attempted but failed to defeat due to its bulletproof armor.

    "The prize for a trip to the Maldives Islands, which will be featured in the next patch, goes to the Desserts Team."

    The gamemaster smiled at Möbius who held a rocket launcher, his prize, in hand. The young man paused, surprised, as he hadn't known about this special prize. He glanced at Inari and Leia, likely the planners, while the Bushido Federation members quieted down upon realizing that Möbius's team had defeated Nemesis. They knew that if they had encountered Nemesis, they would have fled immediately. Thus, the fact that Möbius’s group managed to fight and win showed they were far superior to them.

    "As reported by the Paradiso branch, truly, Möbius's team must be at least level 90 to have managed to defeat Nemesis."

    A voice from the Arc Magic Federation rose, heard by players of the other two federations as well. Now all three federations were frantically gathering information on Möbius.

    "We did it, yay." Gumio turned to celebrate with Inari and Leia, excited about their upcoming seafood hunt.

    "So, we get to go too," Sashimi quietly commented, standing with other members of the Japanese Cuisine group.

    "Inari, Gumio, Leia in swimsuits..." Kujikatsu's imagination began to run wild.

    "...the sea..." Tempura glanced towards Teppanyaki, who was still chatting nonstop with Alex.

    "No way," murmured Shabu-Shabu, a water mage who ironically couldn't swim.

    "Sigh..." Möbius sighed, not getting the prize he wanted. Despite the lethality of the rocket launcher, which he could only carry one at a time, it was impractical to have two. After descending from the stage, Alex approached to give him a gun maintenance manual.

    "Here, I give it to you."

    Alex smiled at Möbius. This was a consensus from his entire group, as without Möbius, they would have all been killed by zombies. Moreover, none of them used firearms.

    "Thank you, but why give this to me?"

    Möbius asked, puzzled since the gun maintenance manual could be quite profitable if used to open a gun repair shop, as not every town had the ability to repair firearms.

    "Uh... because I'm dumb, I guess."

    Alex gave an answer that even Möbius couldn't have expected before leaving to rejoin his group.

    "Soon the prize to Maldives will be a helicopter ride to the Sakura Town port, followed by a day's ship journey. Please contact me when you are ready."

    The gamemaster explained to Möbius's group. They agreed to meet in the evening since it was a half-day journey from Tanuki City to Sakura Town and another day by ship to reach Maldives by morning. Everyone then went about their separate errands before meeting up again.

    "Where are you headed?"

    The fox mother asked, linking arms with Möbius, thrilled about the upcoming beach trip.

    "I'm picking up the upgraded gun I left. It should be ready by now."

    Möbius responded, sharing a smile with the three excited girls, all eager for the beach.

    "We need to buy seasonings and cooking equipment too," Leia said, grabbing Möbius's other free hand.

    "And what do we need to prepare to catch shrimp and squid?"

    Gumio asked, her eyes sparkling, making Möbius realize that their eagerness to fight Nemesis was largely driven by their appetite. With limited time left to shop in the city, Möbius hurried to retrieve his gun first.

    "Hello, little brother, your gun is ready."

    Smith handed over the Thompson. Outside, it looked unchanged, so Möbius checked its status.

    Item Details Window

    Name

    Thomson m1927A-1 custom

    ????????????

    Level, Type, Element

    8 (4+4), light machine gun, none

    Durability

    300/300

    Specifications

    Attack Power (Standard Bullets): 100

    Firing Rate: 90 rounds/minute

    Magazine Capacity: 151 rounds

    Special Abilities

    Special Abilities: Ignores enemy's defense 100

    Accuracy Increase 40

    Notes

    ???????????????????????????

    "Oh, I really like it, thank you, Mr. Smith," Möbius expressed his astonishment at the greatly increased accuracy of the Thomson gun.

    "It's nothing, I just did my job by integrating the ore used for the upgrade into the gun. The outcome depends on the gun itself. These stats seem to tell you to shoot more accurately, 555."

    Smith laughed heartily as he had never seen a gun whose stats increased so much after an upgrade, suggesting that the Thomson also wanted to support its owner.

    After shopping, the Desserts group gathered to board the helicopter to the port city of Saruka to continue their journey to Maldives.

    "I have to go offline now," Leia told Möbius as they just boarded the helicopter to the port city.

    "We do too," Teppanyaki added. All five of them were also running out of game time.

    "Are you going offline too, Mr. Möbius?"

    Sashimi turned to ask Möbius, who was at a loss for words because he himself didn't know if he needed to go offline either.

    "Möbius uses a Habinet system."

    Leia answered for him. A Habinet system is used by those who need to be online for extended periods, such as professional gamers or company employees who can continuously play almost indefinitely. It's said that the prototype of this system has been running nonstop since the game launched 15 years ago.

    "Oh, so Möbius is a professional gamer."

    Kujikatsu misunderstood slightly. In reality, the young man did not play games professionally but lived his life through them. Leia, who knew the whole truth, kept quiet because she did not want anyone to probe why Möbius had to live like this.

    Soon, everyone's forms turned into yellow light and disappeared, leaving only Möbius and the two fox girls.

    "We haven't been just the three of us for a long time, have we... Möbius?"

    Inari smiled at Möbius and sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

    "Yeah, I saw pictures of Sakura Town; it's really beautiful. Let's go for a walk there, Möbius."

    Gumiho came over and sat down next to Möbius, shaking his sleeve gently with a bright, cheerful smile.

    "Sure, that sounds good. I just talked to the Teppanyaki guys, and Sakura City has a lot of unusual sweets."

    Möbius set up a tea table and brought out his guitar bag for the two foxes to choose some sweets while waiting to reach Sakura City, which would take almost 12 more hours.

    "We're here, passengers... uh, sorry."

    As they arrived, the pilot came to wake his passengers but saw Möbius being cuddled by the two beautiful girls on a large bed. Actually, Möbius had been awake since the pilot started opening the door but pretended to be asleep. Luckily, the helicopter's cabin was spacious enough to accommodate a bed, so the three didn't have to endure sleeping on narrow chairs.

    "This city is really beautiful."

    Gumiho sat at an old-fashioned dessert shop allowing customers to sit out front to enjoy the city where everyone dressed in traditional Japanese style. The city, reflecting vintage Japanese atmosphere, adorned with year-round blooming Sakura trees, matching its name. It exuded a relaxed atmosphere, which suited the two fox girls well as they wore kimonos while Möbius stood out in a suit, carrying a large guitar bag and buying lots of sweets in the city.

    Beep…Beep

    “Eh? what's that sound?”

    Möbius heard a noise emanating from his wristwatch, which doubled as his mobile phone. It signaled an incoming message, and when Möbius checked it, the text read: "Request for help from the 'Injustice Upholders of the World Assosiation. Please assist a player at the Sakurako City’s Plaza.’

    "Should we check it out, Möbius?"

    Inari asked, sensing something intriguing was unfolding. Möbius was already interested, so they headed straight to the city plaza to see what was happening. There, they found a group of players, almost ten in samurai attire, surrounding a merchant selling goods at the market.

    "What? You don't want to join our Bushido Federation?!!!"

    The largest samurai pulled the merchant's shirt up with just one arm.

    "Um... It's not that I don't want to, it’s just that my level is still low."

    The merchant tried to evade, clearly not keen on joining the large federation because it would mean being obliged to produce goods for them. The only product this merchant had to sell was the swords he had displayed.

    "Is there anything I can help with?"

    Möbius politely approached the merchant who was being pulled by his shirt, completely ignoring the samurai.

    "Hey, who are you and where are you from? If you don't want any trouble with us, the Bushido Feder..."

    Before the samurai could finish speaking, someone from behind pulled him back. Another man, dressed in fine but not extravagant clothing, emerged with an ordinary-looking sword that exuded a strange aura. Inari nudged Möbius and told him that the man who just came out was the strongest in the group, with both his attire and sword being of the finest quality. His footsteps were so light that she could barely hear him walk.

    "I apologize for my subordinate's behavior. My name is Haru, the deputy head of the Bushido Federation and the head of the Sakura City branch. You are Mr. Möbius, I presume?"

    Haru spoke politely to Möbius. He had heard from a group that was active in Tanuki City that there was a group of players who were likely above level 90. Their distinguishing features were suits and ties, a guitar case, and a beautiful blonde woman always by their side.

    "Yes, I'm Möbius."

    Möbius replied to Haru with equal politeness. He didn't know why this federation was being so polite to him, but either way, they outnumbered them, and the deputy head of the federation was probably much smarter than his subordinates.

    "Oh, Mr. Möbius, you're here? And what are you doing here, Nikiri?"

    Teppanyaki and the Japanese Food group walked in, openly acknowledging both Möbius and the merchant named Nikiri, which made the atmosphere even more tense than before. A strange aura continuously emanated from Haru, causing Sashimi to pull the merchant behind him to prevent him from fainting from the murderous intent being emitted.

    "Oh, this young man is an acquaintance of yours, Mr. Möbius? My apologies for being rude. May I offer you a meal as an apology?"

    Haru invited Möbius to dinner with ulterior motives. Normally, if Gumiho knew someone was offering her a meal, she would not refuse, but with this man, Inari sent a telepathic message to Möbius and Gumiho that the danger level was very high and that if they went along, there would be trouble.

    "Unfortunately, I'm busy right now with a mission. Don't take this misunderstanding to heart."

    Möbius refused politely, following the fox mother's advice immediately.

    "Then next time, please feel free to visit. The Bushido Federation always welcomes you."

    Haru stepped back, as Mobius had opened up some space for him. But in his mind, he considered Möbius to be truly skilled because he remained unfazed no matter how much killing intent he sent out.

    "The killing intent really lives up to the nickname of a soul assassin, that Haru."

    Nikiri, now sitting at a tea shop by the dock after Haru and his group had left, invited Möbius over for tea since he was rather poor. Haru, whom Möbius had encountered earlier, was one of the most renowned players of the Bushido Federation, rumored that his serious killing intent alone could kill a person.

    "His killing intent is quite strong."

    Möbius smiled at Nikiri. For him, he had already faced numerous killing intents from young players jealous of him being surrounded by beautiful women, and he had also encountered a level 666 boss with much greater pressure than this.

    "So, Mr. Nikiri, what will you do next?"

    Inari asked, eating her shaved ice topped with red beans, because the young merchant seemed more targeted due to his acquaintance with Möbius.

    "Don't worry, the Red Bread has sent someone to pick up Nikiri. He just needs to move to another city for a while until things cool down, and then it will be back to normal."

    Teppanyaki responded. The Injustice Upholders of the World Guild often used this method to avoid confrontations, as once a federation set its sights on a player, they typically kept it a secret within their group. Just moving to a territory under another federation's influence was usually enough to be safe.

    "Teppan, Mr. Möbius, the ship has arrived. Let's board."

    Sashimi walked over to Möbius and Teppanyaki's group, pointing to a white ship docked at a distant pier.

    "Has anyone seen Leia?"

    Möbius asked with a concerned tone, as Leia also wanted to go to the sea.

    "...I told you to call me 'Young Miss'..."

    Leia's voice came from behind Möbius. When he turned around, he saw the petite girl sitting and also enjoying shaved ice, having ordered a large amount to take away. Her gaze at the young man was clouded with moody emotions, prompting the young man to just smile awkwardly before leading everyone to their next destination.

    "Then let's board the ship."

    "Wow, the ship is really beautiful, Möbius."

    Gumiho stood admiring a medium-sized ship lavishly decorated with a swimming pool, a sauna, and numerous entertainment facilities, making it almost a cruise ship. A white gangway extended from the ship as a group of sailors came down to facilitate the passengers. The last person to walk down was a tanned middle-aged man in a white captain's uniform who approached Möbius.

    "Welcome to the Sea Star, I'm the gamemaster named Capitan, pleased to welcome you."

    Capitan removed his hat and bowed politely to Möbius and his group.

    Phew…!!!

    "Miho..."

    Möbius called out to Gumiho, who was the first to run onto the ship, seemingly ignoring the young man's call.

    "Miho probably thinks boarding the ship will be as exciting as riding in a car that you drive, so she's especially thrilled."

    Inari said as she walked arm in arm with Möbius up to the ship, following her daughter. Leia walked beside Möbius, checking his bag for sweets available only in this city since she didn't enjoy walking around the city much herself.

    "Ah, Mr. Möbius, you're so lucky."

    Sashimi walked onto the ship arm in arm with Kujikatsu and Teppanyaki, looking somewhat sullen. He had a particular fondness for petite, cute women like Leia.

    "Come on, Sashimi, just looking should be enough to make you happy. Bark all you want, friend. The plane won't hear you."

    Kujikatsu consoled him while teasing him quietly. Personally, the young archer liked everyone.

    "Ah, look at the men, always staring at your group, Inari."

    Tempura, dressed in a fitted white cleric's outfit, observed Sashimi and Kujikatsu eyeing the beautiful women around Möbius.

    "Ah..." Shabu-shabu, not really listening to her friends, sighed as she watched Möbius surrounded by beautiful women.

    "Oh, one thing, everything on this ship is free except for the food. We only serve one meal per meal. If you order more, we'll charge, and the stores on board have to pay as usual."

    Capitan informed Möbius, as the gamemaster in Tanuki City had instructed him that this group ate a lot, and he might have to dig into his own pockets to cover their food costs if he was accidentally treating them. Everyone nodded in understanding; they had earned a lot of money from activities, so this wasn't an issue for them.

    Möbius thought he would have several days to relax, prompting him to try some maintenance on his guns. So, during the day, he went out to buy several sets of necessary equipment. Now all that was left was to learn the skills. He opened the manual that Alex had given him immediately, only to feel utterly drained when he saw what was inside.

    "..." Although he had braced himself, expecting it to literally be a bullet to shoot at himself, he hadn't expected it to be the type of shotgun shell lying still on the book's page.