Alex, Benezia, and Tereza stare at the giant in front of them, casually taking a walk, the ground shaking with every step. He's smiling widely as he takes huge steps toward the center of the island.
"Completely worn-down sword and shield, black hair..." Alex mutters. "So that is Dorry...."
"Let's follow them," Benezia says, staring at Tereza.
"Yeah? Why are you looking at me?" Tereza asks, surprised.
"Do you expect us to walk, girl?" Benezia replies, looking annoyed.
Yes?
Yes! Princess Jewel can ride on Soulmate's head instead.
"Yes, why not?" Tereza replies.
"Enough, we need to plant the food as well! Hurry up!" Benezia announces, clearly irritated. "Let's fly there to take a look, and then place the food at the respective camps, along with the slain Tigers, and then split up! Little one, you need to be in charge of hiding close by and then planting a lit Grenade into the food while the giant is eating and drinking. If possible, also hide the other Grenades inside the food to boost the explosion. Alex, you'll take care of the other one! Now, Tereza, you'd better transform right now, or we'll be late!"
"Fine..." Tereza says, pouting a little, once again taking out the harness and transforming into her full bat form.
The group lands on top of the giant skulls in the middle of the island. From their current position, they can accurately see the fight in the distance, thanks to the giant's immense height.
Dorry and Brogy are screaming at each other, both using their respective shields to block the other's weapon—a sword and a one-handed axe. They clash again and again, testing their strength, endurance, and will.
"The fight is rather... bland and barbaric," Benezia comments. "It seems like a simple exchange of endurance, not an actual fight. They slam their old and broken weapons against each other's shields and try to overpower each other. They're not even using advanced techniques, movement arts, or trying to dodge—much less the so-called power system of this world, Haki. What a dull and utterly moronic contest. I couldn't imagine doing this even once—how can they go on like this for a hundred years? There's no grace, no technique, no spirit involved. This will make blowing them up feel even better."
"It's not like you to get annoyed this easily, Benezia," Alex notes. "Why do they piss you off that much? You sound almost angry."
Benezia sighs. "You are right. I've been aware of the plot, so this really shouldn't surprise me. I just loathe stupid beings like that. I'm surprised I'm actually reacting this strongly. This hasn't happened in decades... I need to analyze my behavior. I need to meditate."
"No problem... but save that for later, okay?" Alex asks.
"No, I can do it now... this might take a while," Benezia says as she sits down cross-legged, closes her eyes, and begins to meditate.
"Well... might as well divide the food now, but Benezia hasn't given me her ite—" Alex starts, but then notices a trade window initiated by Benezia.
He sighs as he accepts the items.
He then quickly divides up the corpses, food, alcohol, and grenades. Jewel's inventory is barely large enough to carry everything. Alex also conjures two more special grenades with a 30-second fuse length.
Alex gulps, suddenly feeling a bit unsure about himself and the plan.
Will our plan really work? What if those giants notice... too late to second-guess it now.
The group watches the fight drag on for hours, until both giants eventually buckle and collapse onto their knees, sending another tremor through the ground.
"Let's move to our spots, Jewel. I'll drop you off real quick," Tereza says, but Jewel jumps down on her own and heads toward the camp of Brogy.
Princess Jewel will succeed on her own!
Take care! Your life is more important! Flee if things go wrong!
❤️
With Jewel gone, Tereza, Benezia, and Alex fly back to Dorry's camp and quickly prepare the scene.
They arrange the corpses and the prepared meat, placing the alcohol close by.
"What is this even supposed to look like? Like animals killing each other after stealing supplies from humans?" Alex wonders aloud. "Why would they steal alcohol?"
"Just deal with it," Tereza says. "It'll probably work... even Mr. 3 succeeded, and he's cunning—yet also pretty stupid."
Alex places the grenades into the meat, pushing them deep into the massive chunks, leaving him with just a single one—the one with the long fuse.
He then activates Zetsu and hides behind a nearby rock, waiting for the right moment to drop the lit grenade onto the mountain of food, while Tereza and Benezia fly away.
As Alex settles into place, his heart begins to pound.
This feels off. The setup is clumsy... is this really going to work? They can't be this dumb....
Suddenly, he hears loud thuds in the distance—Dorry's return.
Slightly tense, Alex glances at the approaching giant from his hiding place. He's bleeding all over and struggling to walk straight, clearly not just exhausted but also injured.
As Dorry reaches his camp, he stares down at the scene laid out before him.
Confused, he rubs his eyes, then kneels to inspect the corpses and the pile of food more closely.
After a moment, he bursts out laughing, satisfied, before gathering the entire mountain of meat and alcohol in his arms.
To Alex's shock, instead of sitting down and consuming it, Dorry just scoops up the entire pile and carries it off.
What the fuck is he doing?! Don't tell me—?! Our plan failed... I guess that one really was stupid. What a waste! All for nothing. Although... maybe... Could he be?!
His presence still erased by Zetsu, Alex follows behind, spotting Tereza flying above, tracking Dorry from the sky.
Good... if things go wrong, she can still get us out.
Alex runs hard to keep pace, following the giant all the way back to the battlefield—only to spot Brogy approaching from the other side, carrying the exact same kind of "luggage."
...busted. Even those idiots will get suspicious now.
But to his surprise, both giants shout joyfully at each other in their booming voices.
"Gegyagyagya! I got myself a feast! Animals stole it and killed each other for it, so it must be good!" Dorry yells, laughing. "Of course I'm sharing with you!"
"Gababababa! What a coincidence! The same thing happened to me!" Brogy roars in return.
"Gegygagaga! That's funny! Then let's eat!" Dorry replies.
Both giants drop their loot and immediately begin devouring the meat, opening barrels and pouring the alcohol straight into their mouths.
Fuck, they're fast—I need to hurry... but I also have to time it with—
Jewel? Are you around here?
Princess Jewel is in position to initiate the Ultimate Secret Spider Divine Super Technique!
So she stuck with the name. I want to forget I ever heard it.
Great... let's do it in 10 seconds...
Alex approaches the pile of food, his nerves on edge. He takes out his last grenade—and spots Jewel creeping in from the opposite side.
They exchange a quick nod, and together, they light their grenades, the fuses burning in purple flame, before preparing to press them into the topmost piece of meat, trying to hide them from sight. Jewel pierces into the meat with her claws, creating a large enough hole, while Alex digs with his hands before pressing the grenade inside.
As they quickly retreat, Alex hears Dorry say, "This Squid is a little crunchy. I almost hurt my teeth."
"Less talking, more swallowing. Just swallow the Squid bones without chewing, and it's fine!" Brogy responds.
Squid bones? Is this guy a moron?
Plan successful! Princess Jewel can't wait to see the explosion!
5...
4...
3...
2...
1...
❤️
As Jewel's silly countdown ends, Alex hears a series of deafening booms—two of them louder than the rest. The giants' stomachs suddenly bloat outward as smoke and flame erupt from their mouths, along with a torrent of blood.
Both immediately lose consciousness and collapse face-first into the ground with an earth-shaking crash.
We did it!
Princess Jewel's Ultimate Secret Spider Divine Super Technique is unstoppable! Praise the divine grenades!
... Well, they are useful, I'll give you that.
Tereza, with Benezia still riding on her back, lands at once, while Alex and Jewel rush back toward the fallen bodies.
"I don't see any chest! They're probably not dead—we need to finish it!" Alex says, slightly panicked, pulling out his [Executioner's Blade R2] and sprinting toward Dorry's exposed neck, ready to end it.
Just as he's about to strike, a system window flashes across his vision.
[Administrator 71 is watching you with amusement and regret.]
[Administrator 71 is tired of working overtime to fix the mission timeline again and again, allowing the mission to progress in an orderly fashion. Administrator 71 offers you a deal and suggests you accept.]
[Secret Quest Offered
Mission: Spare Dorry and Brogy and leave Little Garden within 24 hours.
Reward: ???, Administrator 71's gratefulness
Time Limit: —
Failure: Administrator 71's anger]
Alex stares at the others in shock, rubbing his eyes. "Do you... see this?"
"Yes..." Benezia replies, her expression unreadable as she falls into deep thought.
"I don't want to be targeted by an Administrator—let's give in to his demands!" Tereza blurts, visibly shaken.
No! Princess Jewel refuses to give in to a Peasant Administrator!
[Administrator 71 reprimands the rude spider and declares himself to be of royal heritage.]
Startled, Tereza lunges toward Jewel and grabs her, hugging her tightly to her chest.
"You know, it's kinda useless to try and gag her. She talks through thoughts," Alex says without thinking, his voice dazed as he stares off, his brain still catching up to the chaos.
"Ah..." Tereza mutters, slowly releasing her. "That's true!"
She glares at Jewel and hisses under her breath, "Shut up. Don't insult the Administrator!"
Princess Jewel won't be silenced! She demands an apology—and also wishes to know the reward, so she can decide!
This spider... is she insane?! Although... for some reason, this Administrator seems weirdly casual. He's actually responding to her. This might be a chance.
[Administrator 71 announces that the giants would merely drop White Ranked Chests and guarantees a worthy reward for the pair of players should they accept the quest.]
But what about Princess Jewel?!
[Administrator 71 does not intend to offer gifts or rewards for annoying spiders!]
Soulmate! Please reject this quest! Princess Jewel doesn't believe this lying Administrator. These giants should drop better chests! Probably Black chests!
[Are you stupid, you dumb spider?! No way will they ever drop anything close like that, especially if you use such a cheap and dumb way to kill them you stup— I... This...]
"..."
"..."
"..."
What the?!
Princess Jewel is not the one who abandoned her speech patterns, is she? The Peasant Administrator is!
[Administrator 71 now predicts that the chests will be gray, because he will be especially annoyed if the players decide to reject his kind offer.]
"Fuck—this is blackmail!" Alex mutters silently, turning to Benezia and Tereza, his face twisted in confusion and frustration.
Princess Jewel suggests rejecting the mission, even if Soulmate doesn't receive a reward! If she were to accept this stupid quest, she demands compensation for this administrator's rudeness!
"..."
"..."
"..."
Benezia shrugs, "This is so silly, I am utterly disappointed by the system."
"I guess... this kinda killed the immersion a little," Alex admits.
Even Tereza smiles at the ridiculous situation.
[Administrator 71 vows to offer fair compensation to players, because he will be especially annoyed if he has to work hard to balance the mission again. He will also offer a tiny compensation to this audacious spider.]
Princess Jewel accepts the Peasant's apology!
"..."
"..."
"..."
Did the administrator just negotiate with a spider... and lose?!
------------------------------------------------
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