Chapter 53: The Red Zone of Passage Four

Original: Chapter 53: The Red Zone of Passage 4

I think I’m already in the Red Zone.

The tension in the air has clearly thickened, making my skin prickle.

It took less than an hour to get here. I guess my walking speed has increased as my Level has gone up.

Since I’ve saved some time, I think I’ll take my time walking through the Red Zone.

“There sure are a lot of flower fields here.”

Every time I enter an open area, colorful flower fields welcome me. There are trees here and there, but not as many as in the forest of Passage 1. If someone asked me what the defining feature of the Red Zone in Passage 4 is, I’d say it’s the flower fields.

“Do Red Zones have different characteristics depending on the passage?”

I never really thought about it, but if I ever go to the Red Zones in other passages, I’d like to check out the differences. For now, Passage 4 has flower fields, and Passage 1 had a forest. I wonder what the others are like. Just imagining it makes me a little excited.

“Ah, a Monster.”

It’s a large, plump white rabbit. It has impressive fangs and long, thick arms. It’s a bipedal type, standing about chest-high to me.

“I know about it because I studied up on the Strategy Site. It’s a Monster with a Recommended Conquest Level of 55.”

It seems like it’d be a good match, but fighting isn’t my goal today. So I’ll pass.

I walked along the earthen wall and slipped into the next path. There’s no sign of the white rabbit following me. Maybe it’s a Monster with low aggression.

“Alright, I should start looking for the Fluffbloom soon.”

It’s for Miss Marta, who’s been so kind to me. I’m determined to do my best.

“Today, completing the Quest is my top priority. Even if I feel like fighting, I have to hold back.”

Even if my body is itching for a fight, I won’t. Today’s goal is plant gathering. I really, absolutely don’t plan on fighting.

If I go back all battered and bruised, both Miss Marta and Miss Rilril would worry.

“But well, if it’s an opponent I could handle quickly without a scratch or with just minor injuries…”

Someone like that white rabbit earlier might be just right. No, but it’s probably Higher-ranked than me, so maybe not…

“Wait, what am I saying? I need to focus on my job of finding the Fluffbloom.”

As I walked along the dirt path, I passed a group of girls in Tracksuits who were lightly injured.

Their Tracksuits were torn and damaged in places. One girl had traces of blood at the corner of her mouth. And there’s a faint scent of blood…

Probably, one of them suffered a serious injury. I guess they drank a Potion and recovered, but it seems they couldn’t erase the scent of blood.

“Ah… that gives me chills.”

I muttered to myself. Those girls must have fought a life-or-death battle. It made me think I want to do that again soon, too.

I continued along the dirt path. Several times, I came out into areas with sprawling flower fields.

I must have been walking for nearly 30 minutes now. Honestly, I thought I’d find the Fluffbloom I’m looking for more easily. I’m starting to get a little anxious.

I don’t really want to go too deep. There are probably lots of Monsters that could instantly kill a weak girl like me.

If I don’t find the Fluffbloom around here, I might have to consider leaving and coming back another time.

“Ah, there’s a field of white flowers over there.”

Could that be the Fluffbloom? I heard Fluffbloom petals are white.

I walked into the flower field. Ah, no. They were just ordinary white flowers.

“Oh. What a shame.”

False hope.

Maybe it would be faster to just ask someone. This is my first time coming here, and maybe finding it on my own is impossible from the start.

“But, with my low communication skills, whether I can get the information I want…”

They might even charge me for the information. More than that, just talking to strangers is a high hurdle for me to begin with. For a loner like me, it takes a huge amount of courage just to have a conversation…

“Mmm, this is troubling…”

… … … Hmm. My survival instinct or something is starting to tingle. I feel a clear killing intent directed at me from something.

But from where? Not from the front, not from the side. Not from behind either. It doesn’t feel like something coming out of the ground like a Fire Ant. Then, maybe from above? Ah, there it is.

“Whoa, a bee.”

It was a huge bee. It’s taller than my waist.

Regular bees are scary enough, but that size is terrifying.

Whoa—it’s pointing its long stinger at me. Gahhh, it’s closing in at an unbelievable speed. The killing intent is intense.

“Whoaaaaaa!”

I barely managed to dodge the stinger by jumping aside at the last moment.

“That was close!”

If I hadn’t noticed its approach, that might have killed me.

‘A Killer Hornet has appeared.’

A message appeared, letting me know the Monster’s name. It was a name I’d seen on my Smartphone. Its Recommended Conquest Level is around 40, I think.

Its stinger Attack is very monotonous, so it’s easy to avoid, but if you get stung, you’ll definitely get the Poisoned Status. That’s why the advice was to avoid fighting it if at all possible.

“I don’t have any Antidote. Hahaha…”

The situation is so bad it’s making me laugh.

Even if they say avoid fighting if possible, what am I supposed to do when it attacks me first?

Bzzzz—the Killer Hornet circles around, making a wing noise. It seems intent on targeting me with its stinger again. Its killing intent is way too high. I was just walking…

“Looks like I have no choice but to prepare myself.”

I gripped the handle of my Hammer.

I really didn’t plan on fighting today. It seems the Red Zone isn’t such an easy place. I looked the Killer Hornet squarely in the eyes and took my distance.