Chapter 21

    Paradiso Ancient Remains, Part 1

    "It’s complete, look, Möbius."

    After they finished ice cream from the famous local shop Leia had saved for last, Gumiho showed Möbius the completed secret mission form, now fully stickered. This mission had significantly thinned Möbius’s wallet, fortunately the petite girl ate no more than a regular person; otherwise, he would surely need to do the ore transaction to replenish his funds.

    "Young Miss, where do we submit this mission?"

    Möbius, hoping to alleviate some financial burden with a restaurant discount card, asked Leia, who likely knew more about this.

    "Submit the mission at the base of the central city column, just past that market."

    Leia pointed towards the market located in the city's large square, in front of a huge column supporting a massive flying saucer overhead.

    "Hey, Möbius, isn't it about time you bought some new clothes? You've been wearing that one for quite a while now."

    Inari commented. The fox mother thought that at least good protective gear could significantly enhance his strength and status.

    Möbius nodded in agreement, and all four of them walked through the market. This market, formed by players who were merchants themselves, offered a wide variety of goods. Though they had initially planned to buy Möbius some clothes, the three girls ended up browsing stores that interested them more.

    Möbius found a shop selling miscellaneous equipment, where he discovered a variety of gunpowder for sale. Without hesitation, he promptly bought out the entire stock, much to the delight of the shopkeeper. Gunpowder was typically hard to sell because few players possessed the ability to craft their own bullets. It was simply not cost-effective; just the recipe for making bullets costs 20 million Ryo, and it’s more economical to just buy the ready-made bullets to save both time and effort, except for players like Möbius who carry large guns.

    Thinking he might need the Gamma Mörser in battle, he almost completed his collection of materials to make bullets for it. After failing to find the last few materials he needed for his large caliber bullets, he turned his attention to a clothing store instead.

    "How much for this outfit?"

    Möbius asked about a level 35 protective suit adorned with high-reflective green scales, which also enhanced health and speed. However, when Leia saw Möbius reaching for the green reflective outfit,

    "Put it down, I'll choose for you. Do you think anyone would dare walk next to someone wearing that?"

    Leia spoke in her usual calm tone before quickly taking the shirt from the young man's hands and setting it aside. Although Möbius didn't see anything wrong with the reflective color, and the price quoted by the seller was quite good, he readily complied.

    The three ladies joyfully dragged Möbius around the market looking for cool clothes for him to wear, forgetting all about the status and protective powers of the outfits. For Möbius, anything was acceptable as long as they were happy, because surely there couldn't be anything worse than the level 5 outfit he was currently wearing.

    "We've agreed, Möbius will take this one."

    Inari took 100,000 Ryo from Möbius, which was quite expensive compared to the level of outfit he could wear. The suit chosen by the three ladies was a long-sleeved, black level 35 suit with a white shirt inside and a red necktie included. As for the status, it didn't even need to be mentioned; it was slightly inferior to a level 25 suit.

    But once Möbius put it on, he transformed from an ordinary man surrounded by beautiful women into a confident man enveloped by gorgeous ladies, making him appear much better to those around him. If he wasn't truly confident, he wouldn't dare wear such a stylish outfit into battle.

    "Möbius looks so much better in this outfit."

    Gumiho praised non-stop, as she had never seen Möbius look anything but a newbie. Normally he didn’t carry weapons, and his clothes were just old items with no value. But once dressed up, he looked unbelievably better.

    "Everything is good except for that refrigerator bag."

    Inari, who liked the new look as well, criticized the refrigerator bag because it made Möbius look more like an energy drink salesperson, but she hesitated to get rid of it because she loved drinking the potions when they were cold, and the bag also allowed them to keep various sweet treats fresh for longer. That gave her an idea.

    "Möbius, do you have the business card of the person who sold the refrigerator bag?"

    Inari asked, and Möbius, having kept the merchant's card well, nodded in acknowledgment.

    "Got a business card, how do we contact them?"

    Möbius, who had never contacted anyone, looked at the business card puzzled. Inari and Gumiho, being monsters, didn't know either. All three then turned to Leia without planning to.

    "Ah... Let's head to that building."

    The petite girl sighed heavily before pointing to one of the system buildings, which resembled a large phone shop where players could choose to buy.

    As Möbius, newly groomed and dressed in a neat suit from head to toe, walked into the phone shop, a female clerk immediately approached to introduce him to their products.

    "Hello. Are you here to buy a new phone? We currently have the new L-Phone model 57 8gSSS, which can watch movies, listen to music, fry eggs, bake cakes, blah, blah, blah."

    The clerk rattled off to Möbius. But she stopped when the ladies accompanying Möbius followed him into the shop and started choosing a phone for him.

    "Take this one."

    Leia handed Möbius a wristwatch. Initially, he was confused about why a phone purchase turned into a wristwatch but when he tried it on his right wrist, he found it resembled a luxurious watch under normal conditions. But when he spread his right hand and said, "phone," the watch transformed into a phone that sprang into his right hand, revealing it was actually a sleek phone that could roll up into a watch. Once finished, he just needed to push it back, and it reverted to a watch.

    "Uh, this phone can only make calls. It can’t do anything else like download AA app or play back book."

    However, the clerk had to stop speaking when Leia gave her a calm look that suggested, 'We can choose for ourselves, no need to interfere.' Inari, worried that Leia might not tolerate the chatty clerk who was staring unabashedly at their Möbius, quickly had him pay and then walked outside to make a call to the refrigerator bag seller.

    After finding a spot to sit in a city park, Möbius tapped the business card against his phone, automatically dialing the merchant. Soon, the call was connected.

    "Hello, this is Möbius. I'm calling about the refrigerator bag."

    "Hello, this is Da Vinci. Is there something wrong with the bag?"

    Da Vinci asked, surprised, since even though it was just a hobby for him, he had made it with care and tested it countless times, so it shouldn't break down so quickly.

    "No, the bag works great, but it doesn't really match my outfit. I'd like to order a custom bag."

    Möbius, seeing his reflection next to a shop window, felt that the red refrigerator bag really did make him look odd.

    "Oh!!! Really? You like my refrigerator bag so much that you want to custom order one?"

    Da Vinci, who had sold only one bag since he started, asked excitedly, unaware that no matter how functional it was, if the design wasn't appealing, it wouldn't sell.

    "Yes, I would like a bag with a much larger capacity, and also..."

    Möbius proceeded to order the bag as he planned, considering the amount of snacks and potions the two foxes consumed in a meal. To keep them well-fed, a larger capacity bag was necessary. While he was contemplating the bag's features, someone snatched the phone from his hand.

    "Besides being able to dispense water, can it also dispense cakes or snacks?"

    Inari ordered as if the bag were her own, because getting snacks out of the refrigerator bag was quite a hassle each time, and she wished it had a dispensing button like the water one. She then passed the phone to Gumiho.

    "Don't forget to include a refrigerator, divided into a freezer section, a cake section, a potion section, a meat section, and a vegetable section."

    The fox girl cheerfully rattled off her desires into the phone, regardless of the current bag's capabilities to freeze and chill. Sometimes storing cakes or chocolates in the regular section could degrade their quality, so she thought it would be great to have a special section just for cakes before passing the phone to Leia.

    "Make it black, something formal. Normally used for carrying, but it must have a hands-free system during combat and make the storage sections large."

    The petite girl said in her flat tone while glancing at Möbius from head to toe. Though functionality was important, external appearance and convenience were equally significant. She then returned the phone to the owner who was also the owner of the bag that they are ordering.

    "Uh… Mr. Da Vinci..."

    "Even though it's challenging, I'll do exactly as you've requested. You can pick it up at my garage tomorrow. I'm really excited that someone is interested in my work to this extent. Thank you, beep... beep... beep..."

    Da Vinci's voice cut through before Möbius could say anything else, and then he hung up immediately after finished speaking, leaving the young man who was the owner of the bag standing still, repeatedly pressing the phone to try calling the bag maker again, but to no avail.

    "Well... I guess it's all set. Let's go find him after we complete the secret mission."

     Möbius decided, putting away his phone, confident that Da Vinci must have started making the bag, which surely couldn't turn out worse than the current refrigerator bag. Then, he led the girls to the large column in the center of the city.

    Inside the massive column was a wide passage leading secret questers to an elevator that would transport them to a giant flying saucer to search for hidden treasures. Initially, real treasures were hidden on the flying saucer, but as the game had been operational for a very long time, those treasures had all been found, and local restaurants had replaced them with their own discount food vouchers.

    In fact, the Cosmo Custom that Möbius obtained from Cosmos also originated from this flying saucer, albeit modified by Cosmos before being given to Möbius.

    In front of the large elevator, there were chairs for waiting. Although the elevator was not in use, two men were sitting there. On their chest were the insignia with a staff floating above the flame, the symbol of the Arc Magic Federation.

    "That's the guy the reports mentioned."

    One man, pretending to read a newspaper, whispered to the other man beside him as Möbius and his group walked by. Inari and Gumiho, with their keen hearing, caught every word clearly.

    "Acknowledged. Commence the mission."

    The other man stood up and quickly disappeared through a door next to the elevator that Möbius’s group was about to board.

    (Möbius, be careful.)

    Gumiho immediately warned him about the untrustworthy men. The young man turned to nod at her.

    "May I see your mission card, please?"

    The column attendant checked Möbius's card before opening the elevator door for them, offering a brief instruction,

    "Please enter. You cannot use any spell scrolls to teleport back from inside, I hope you all find some great treasures."

    Möbius waited for the elevator door to fully open before stepping in, ensuring it was safe first. Everything inside looked normal, so he gestured for the three girls to follow him. The elevator's large size was probably necessary to accommodate many people at once in the past.

    "They're from the Arc Magic Federation. What did Möbius do to them?"

    Leia was the first to speak as the elevator doors closed and slowly ascended. It normally takes about ten minutes to reach the flying saucer above, so she seized the opportunity to discuss the suspicious individuals they had encountered earlier, who were from the Arc Magic Federation, long trying to control the city.

    "I really don't know, Young Miss. I haven't done anything to trouble others, as far as I know."

    Möbius was unaware that his actions had caused the price of metal ores to plummet significantly. The unexpected surge in ore mining led to an oversupply in the market, lowering prices. The Arc Magic Federation, owning their own steel mills and holding large quantities of metal, suffered substantial financial losses due to the significant drop in ore prices—a fact Möbius was completely oblivious to.

    "They're probably waiting for us at the top. Let's get ready."

    Inari speculated, prompting Möbius to prepare his Thompson. Gumiho and Inari gathered their magical powers, while Leia stood still, doing nothing in particular.

    Finally, when the elevator stopped moving, everyone inside braced for a warm reception. Leia, having been up many times before, was the first to realize something.

    "We've only been going up for less than five minutes; we shouldn't be there yet."

    Leia's words made everyone look at each other in confusion, just before they got their answer in seconds later.

    Screech...!!!

    A sound like something scraping against the wall rose, followed by a sensation of falling, familiar as the stomach-turning feeling of dropping from a height. Realizing what was happening, everyone exclaimed in unison,

    "The elevator is falling!!!"

    The elevator carrying Möbius and the girls was rapidly descending towards the lower levels, sparking flames along the long shaft of the elevator.

    " If it's like this, it’s definitely bad."

    Inari said as she hugged Gumiho, knowing that her daughter couldn't die; she had to protect her with her life, unaware if her magical barriers would withstand the impact.

    "Damn it!!! I never thought they would use this trick."

    Möbius blamed himself for not being cautious enough. He thought the system's elevator would be 100% safe, so he didn't cancel the mission card even though the federation’s members were present. Now, he needed time to figure out how to survive this situation.

    Cronos

    The young man using his accelerated his thought process to devise a plan quickly. The elevator was falling fast, and he estimated they had reached underground. If they didn't act quickly, they would all surely die. Soon, he had a plan.

    His trusted black machine gun moved from his right to his left hand swiftly. He pointed it upwards and fired numerous rounds, spinning to create a circular pattern of bullet holes in the elevator's ceiling. Then, he kicked the floor and used the butt of his gun to smash through the center, creating a large round hole.

    "Aliright. Quick, everyone, give me your hands."

    Möbius nearly floated out of the rapidly descending elevator, extending both hands back down to help the important people in his life. Inari, holding Gumiho, and Leia, maintaining her cool, quickly grabbed Möbius's hands. The young man successfully pulled all three women out of the elevator.

    "It's just a change from dying inside the elevator to dying outside of it."

    Leia observed the elevator shaft walls, which were smooth on all sides with no grips. She immediately frowned, appearing hesitant.

    "I won't give up, Young Miss."

    Möbius assured, looking into the eyes of the petite woman. His gaze showed no fear. Then he pulled all three women into his embrace.

    "Möbius, you cheater, even at a time like this, you still manage to pull something off."

    Inari said, now nestled in Möbius’s embrace, felt a slight blush creeping up her cheeks, as did the other two girls. Möbius had no ulterior motives; he was entirely focused on keeping everyone safe.

    Grativa

    Using a spell, a medium-sized magical circle appeared on one wall as Möbius touched it with his foot. The direction of gravity shifted, allowing them to stand on one of the elevator shaft walls as if it were flat ground. They were all safe for now, as long as Möbius's strength held out.

    Boom... !!!

    The elevator, now empty, crashed into the ground about a kilometer away from them, utterly destroyed. Everyone felt incredibly lucky that they had managed to escape in time.

    "Okay. Let's head back up."

    Möbius looked towards where the elevator had fallen. Despite the great distance they had fallen, luckily, the two foxes he was with had been consuming power-enhancing potions as a hobby, so he had enough varied potions in his refrigerator bag to surely climb back up.

    "Hold on, Möbius, there's an exit down there."

    Gumiho pointed about 800 meters below where light was shining through.

    "Let… Let's get out of here quickly."

    Leia, who was also in Möbius's arms, closed her eyes tightly, as if she didn't want to see anything at all. Her usually composed expression was completely gone, making Inari, Gumiho, and Möbius look at her with curiosity.

    "I'm afraid of heights."

    Leia gathered her courage, pointing down to where the remnants of the elevator were, even though it seemed to be in front of her, she knew it was actually below her, and she was now looking directly at it.

    "It's okay, Leia, hold onto Möbius, you won't fall. Möbius, you can let us down now."

    Gumiho smiled at Leia, before Möbius slowly set the two foxes down, but he continued to hold the trembling Leia in his arms.

    "Don't stray too far."

    Möbius warned the two foxes, as he had to conserve his magical energy, creating only a medium-sized magical circle that spanned just 2 meters.

    "You're not usually one to seize an opportunity like this, Möbius."

    Inari, walking slightly ahead, squinted back at the young man who was holding the petite girl. While she understood that it was a forced situation, she took the chance to tease Möbius with her words, causing the one being teased to awkwardly avert his gaze.

    "Hehe, let's head towards that exit."

    Möbius laughed nervously and quickly changed the subject, leading everyone towards the exit that Gumiho had pointed out earlier.

    Behind that exit was a rectangular passage the size of the elevator door, stretching forward. At the end of this corridor, they found a cavern as vast as the lost volcanic city’s dungeon. However, this cavern was illuminated by golden strips similar to those in the city buildings of Paradiso, with the floor paved in square stone slabs.

    There were monsters resembling large white birds with human-like arms and legs, dressed in ancient Greek attire and armed with a variety of weapons including swords, spears, bows, and axes. Möbius also noticed that they had yellow halos floating above their heads. As soon as these creatures, numbering about fifty, saw the newcomers, they rushed forward to greet them with their weapons.

    'You have encountered 53 level 35 Angel Troopers.'

    "Everyone, be on your guard."

    Möbius warned, taking out his Thompson and opening fire on the advancing enemies. Inari skillfully enhanced everyone's abilities with her magic.

    'Player Leia has invited you to join the "Desserts" group. Would you like to join?'

    "Hurry up, Möbius."

    Leia, who had sent the group invitation, urged him to accept. Once he joined, Leia regrouped with Inari and Gumiho, who were already combining their magical powers.

    Möbius continued to fire as usual, having taken out his Thompson as a substitute for his Gatling, which he couldn't walk with. His intent wasn't to kill; he just needed to buy time for his fox partners to complete their magical combination, and his covering fire was quite effective in delaying the enemies. Soon, Gumiho, wielding Flaming Blossom Umbrella, and Inari, with her 'Ten Thousand Blossoms Dual Fans, released several golden and silver orbs that flew over his head and landed in front of the group of charging birds.

    The explosions created a large gray smoke cloud, and although many numbers emerged from the smoke, indicating damage, the surviving birds ran through the smoke towards Möbius, who stood there drinking a chilled blue potion. The young man gazed at them fearlessly, knowing he still had backup.

    Möbius pulled a card from his right hand and threw it down in front of him on the ground, then immediately activated a newly acquired ability.

    Summon the Fire Demon, Efrik.

    Boom...!!!

    The ground in front of him exploded, killing several of the front-line birds instantly. The fire demon Efrik, engulfed in flames, emerged from the hole in the ground, standing with its arms crossed as if waiting for Möbius's command.

    "Don't let them pass this point."

    The young man pointing forward and ordered Efrik to stop those birds, which the demon responded with a loud roar.

    "Hmm...!!!"

    Efrik charged into the midst of the birds rushing towards them, disregarding the birds that had managed to breach the perimeter where Möbius and his group were stationed—a direct contradiction to his orders to hold the enemies back.

    "Möbius, can’t you see it’s a monkey? Do you really think giving orders like that will make sense to it?"

    Gumiho, gathering magical power for another fireball, urgently informed Möbius. The young man blinked rapidly, puzzled why foxes could understand but a creature akin to humans couldn't. He held back his words to avoid upsetting the two foxes by comparing them to monkeys.

    "Möbius, try using monkey language; maybe it will understand."

    Inari suggested seriously. The young man, hesitating, immediately mimicked a monkey's actions: scratching his head and squatting while making a sound.

    " Gibber."

    As soon as he made the sound, Efrik stopped rampaging and turned to look at him. Möbius then intensified his monkey-like antics and making the gibber sound, hoping to get Efrik to return to defense rather than attacking.

    "What are you doing? I agreed to follow you because I thought it would mean fully engaging new enemies, not to heed your commands."

    Efrik retorted stubbornly in a deep voice, looking at its master as if he were insane before turning to continue decimating the futilely shooting archer birds.

    "Idiot."

    Leia's succinct remark pierced Möbius deeply. The instigator fox mother subtly covered her face with her sleeve, suppressing a quiet laugh, as she hadn't expected Möbius to actually do it. The fox girl burst out laughing, forcing themselves to regather their magical power.

    “…”

    Möbius, embarrassed, covered his face and then took out his shotgun to shoot a bird that had come too close, knocking it back. He then made himself lighter and charged in to shove the shotgun into the mouths of the birds one by one as a way to recover from his embarrassment. Although he got hit back, the fox mother healed him almost instantly. Soon, all the angelic creatures lay dead.

    "Sigh, that's done. I'm leaving now. Next time, I’ll obey you, but don't make Fire Demon Efrik known for accepting a fool who suddenly starts dancing like a monkey as the master."

    The demon Efrik shook its head before gradually fading away. The last look it gave Möbius was filled with profound disdain.

    "Oh come on… it's okay Möbius, acting like a monkey was quite cute actually."

    Gumiho said, intending to console him, unaware that her words felt more like a reminder of his grand embarrassment to Möbius.

    "Möbius, do you realize that when you are embarrassed, besides being cute, you also perform much better?"

    Inari said cheerfully, giving him a mischievous look as if plotting how to make him blush again.

    Soon, the four of them found themselves facing a deep chasm that seemed bottomless. Across from them, about a kilometer away, there was a continuation of the path that was similar to the one they had emerged from on their side. Luckily, a bridge about four meters wide stretched between the two sides, but it looked very old and unstable.

    “…”

    Leia, upon seeing the path ahead, which was akin to her injurious food, was rendered speechless. If she had to cross this dilapidated bridge over a kilometer long, spanning a chasm so deep its bottom was invisible, she'd rather face three boss-level monsters.

    "Don't worry, Young Miss, I won't let you fall."

    Möbius reached out and held the hand of the petite, pale-faced girl, offering her a warm smile. Despite her small hand trembling, his warmth was comforting.

    "Um."

    Leia murmured softly, her face slightly flushed as she gently squeezed his hand and moved to walk beside him.

    "Möbius, I’m scared too."

    The typically fearless fox mother now feigned fear seamlessly. Möbius, seeing her act, couldn't resist taking her hand as well.

    "Yay~~ Then take me too, let's all cross together. It'll be more fun for sure."

    Miho's clear voice chimed in from behind him. Followed by her leaping onto his back playfully since his hands were already full. Not stopping there, she lightly wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed against his back, which immediately made him react.

    "Argh, argh, argh…"

    Möbius, his entire body currently focused on the soft sensation against his back through thin fabric, made inarticulate sounds, akin to a record stuck repeating the same part of a song.

    "Miho, you can’t do that, Möbius is over-heating now."

    Inari observed Möbius's face turning beet red from his face down to his neck and even his ears, steam almost visible coming off his head like an overworked machine. She quickly let go of his hand and pulled Miho off his back, worried her toy might break before its time.