Their inventories packed with a mountain of poisoned and explosive food, along with large amounts of alcohol—mostly rum—the group sets off, walking away from the popular parts until they reach the edge of the settlement and are undisturbed. Tereza transforms into her full Bat form and pulls out her harness from her inventory. Alex quickly straps it on her, and both he and Benezia climb onto her back, while Jewel clings to her usual spot atop Alex's head.
As soon as they lift off, Tereza speaks in her deeper, slightly monstrous-sounding voice. "We forgot something! We don't have a Log Pose or Eternal Pose—how can we make sure we don't get lost? When I flew here, I had an Eternal Pose, but I had to return it to Mr. 8 immediately. He even locked it away because it's so precious."
"Hehe," Alex chuckles. "Remember my unique item? My [Destiny Watch (Orbment) R2] will solve all our problems!"
[Destiny Watch (Orbment) R2]
World: Hunter x Hunter, Zemuria (Kiseki/Trails Franchise)
Quality:Light Gold
Type: Trinket (pocket watch / orbment)
Required Stats: LUK - 18
Effect:Increases LUK by 2(If LUK is below 18, just carrying this item will reduce your LUK by 2, and the other effects will remain inactive, displaying random information instead.)
Effect: Always shows the current day, weekday, month, year, temperature, humidity, and contains a 100% reliable compass. Works in any world—circles may adjust in worlds with alternative interpretations of days, months, or years.
Effect: Once per mission, you can activate this item to give you a random hint. Following the hint always leads to a good outcome!
Effect (Special): Orbment Slots: 2 (While inside the world of Zemura, this item will transform into a full Arcus unit, granting access to 7 slots for Quatz and 1 slot for Master Quartz)
Note: All-knowing, mysterious, and magical, this watch holds powers that provide accurate information regardless of location. However, if the wearer's LUK is low, it won't work at all and even decreases the wearer's LUK.
Effect: Current Quartz: [Heal], [Water Bell]
Note: If you look carefully at this watch, you may discover the source of its mysterious power.
"It's one of those seemingly useless minor effects that surprisingly shines in this world," Benezia comments. "When I researched this world, I realized right away how valuable it would be. Just make sure to read it properly. We know where Little Garden is, so adjust the course carefully and check every few minutes."
"Jewel..." Alex says, gently pulling his pet into his lap. "Help me keep an eye on the Watch. I'm afraid I'll fall asleep—we've got almost a full day of air travel ahead of us."
Princess Jewel is focused on ensuring the success of the new Ultimate Secret Technique, but she is capable enough to check the course from time to time.
Before Jewel can respond, Benezia turns around and snatches the Watch. "You two aren't trustworthy. I'll keep track of the course."
Princess Jewel is the most trustworthy spider in existence! This is blasphemy! Still, she'll allow her peasant servants to handle such menial tasks.
Benezia turns around again, gently grabbing Jewel by a few legs and lifting her into her own lap. "Since I'm the one watching the course, I might as well educate you for a while, little one. You are in desperate need of it."
Soulmate! Save Princess Jewel!
Alex, completely ignoring her, closes his eyes and simply enjoys the sun and the wind rushing against his face.
Tereza maintains a steady pace, the hours slipping by until the sun begins to set, before it finally disappears.
Sounding a little tired, she asks, "When will we be there? Flying without a clear destination feels exhausting. My instincts tell me we should have arrived already!"
"Yes, indeed," Benezia says, stroking Jewel, still trapped in her lap. "We only have two points of reference—our starting location and the Watch, which serves as a compass. I've calculated our average speed, but there are bound to be some inaccuracies. Worst case, we'll have to fly in an ever-growing circle to correct them until we find our destination. One way or another, we'll reach our target. Keep flying for a few more minutes."
A few minutes later, Jewel surprises the group, by announcing some positive news.
Princess Jewel sees the island!
Alex, now paying attention again, activates Gyo and indeed spots an island. As it slowly comes into view, he sees a medium-sized landmass covered in thick, wild-looking jungle. His eyes catch on two giant skulls—remnants of Sea Kings, the giants had slain a hundred years ago. These two giants look like enormous hollow mountains and take up a surprisingly large part of the island.
Besides these skulls, he notices numerous large volcanoes. His gaze lingers on the tallest, which erupts regularly, marking the start of each duel.
These giants have been using this volcano for 100 years to start their duels... it's a silly, but effective starting signal.
Tereza flies over the island, and Alex feels a hot current of air rising against him.
"These volcanoes! I can feel the heat... might be worth paying them a visit, don't you think?" Alex asks.
"No. This is not one of your typical fantasy worlds. I know your taste in games and fantasy. But this is a volcano, not a special dungeon or anything you humans dream of. Aside from lava, you won't find anything there. No magic stones, no precious metals. Still, we can take a look if time permits. Perhaps some animals have adapted to live inside," Benezia says drily.
Alex immediately looks depressed.
Way to ruin my hopes....
"Tereza," Benezia orders, "We'll eventually land near the center of those two giant skulls. For now, we'll wait until the giants begin their next battle. Until then, we need to find both camps and figure out the best way to deposit the food. These giants are not logical beings, so I doubt I can come up with a good plan. Alex, any ideas?"
"...I don't like the insinuation that I'm not a logical person," Alex defends himself before thinking aloud. "I dunno... maybe kill a few smaller dinosaurs or animals, then toss the meat along with the food into both camps. They'll wonder why their rival would leave such a feast, get curious, and eat our mountain of deadly fish. To succeed we would also need to have people stationed nearby who slip in an Annihiliation Grenade when the giants have consumed most of the food and alcohol. Ah... the alcohol. We can just put that stuff next to it, the giants will probably just think that it's a fitting addition to their food."
"It's a silly idea and the logic is flimsy at best, but it fits those simple-minded giants perfectly," Benezia says. "Good job, I'm proud of you—we'll go with that."
"Are you mocking or praising me?" Alex asks, but Benezia ignores the question.
"Tereza, take a few laps before landing. I want to spot our two idiotic targets," Benezia commands.
It doesn't take long for the group to locate the giants' camps. Each is laughably simple—little more than a campfire and some logs. Alex notices one of them sleeping inside the skull of the massive seaking.
After having found their targets, they scout the center of the island a while longer before Benezia gestures toward a spot far enough from both camps to remain unnoticed.
Tereza lands, then shifts into her hybrid form after Alex and Benezia dismount.
"It's dark, it's humid, and we're in a damn jungle. I don't like this!" she complains immediately. "Where are we going to sleep?"
"No time for sleeping," Benezia announces. "Baroque Works could contact us any time with a new mission. In fact, I expect it within the next few days. We also need to hunt four small dinosaurs for Alex's silly plan. We can go without sleep for a day or two."
"I agree... sorry, Tereza," Alex says. "You worked hard flying us here so quickly, so you can ease up a little. But we really don't have much time to waste. Also Benezia, it's our plan! You agreed to it. Don't use the excuse that it's my fault if things go wrong."
Alex stares at Tereza who looks tired. "Are you okay?"
"It's fine," she finally says, before slapping her cheeks. "Let's do this then."
I should first make sure we're safe. En!
As Alex activates his En, he immediately notices an Aura slowly approaching. It's not tall, but long and broad in shape, inching closer and closer.
Damn, it's rather large... larger than us! Is that some sort of tiger?
Alex raises his hand and whispers, "Enemy approaching... right behind me. Some sort of tiger, I think."
Just as he finishes speaking, Jewel leaps down from his head and vanishes into the nearby bushes.
These animals are smart—no reason to let it know we've spotted it. Lucky for us, it's delivering itself right to our feet. We needed bait anyway!
Alex grips his [Executioner's Blade R2], preparing to strike.
With En still active, he senses the beast edging closer and closer until it crouches just behind the group, hidden in the tall grass.
Suddenly, it bursts forward, its claws outstretched, aiming straight for Benezia.
Alex reacts instantly—dropping En, switching to Ren, and slashing at the tiger.
Benezia also responds, her Asari sword, glowing with Biotic energy, slashing forward in a quick counterattack.
You have dealt 161 damage to Sabertooth Tiger
You have crippled Sabertooth Tiger (right front leg)
With both Alex's and Benezia's strikes leaving it crippled and bleeding, the Tiger staggers back, trying to flee—only for Jewel to land on its head, her sharp legs piercing through its skull, finishing it off.
"Good job, Jewel!" Alex says, stepping toward the corpse.
Pulling out his [Butchering Knife], Alex crouches down to carve the beast the way Menchi taught him—but then bursts out laughing.
"Haha, sorry, I forgot. We're keeping this one, right? But the system marks the corpse as Gray Quality, so I wanted to quickly loot it."
"We can still take the best cuts of meat," Benezia explains. "Much like the squid, only parts of this corpse actually count as usable meat, while many parts are more or less worthless. With my trading skill and the experience I gained from Menchi at the markets, I can tell which portions will be recognized by the system. We can take most of the meat without raising suspicion. These giants will never notice it."
Following her instructions, Alex manages to salvage exactly six portions of [Sabertooth Tiger Meat], each recognized as Gray items, while still leaving the carcass mostly whole.
"Let's keep this up," Tereza says, looking satisfied.
It's time for a hunt!
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