The Protagonist’s Party is Too Diligent

Thinking back, the game from Chronicles of Aetherna episode 14 wasn’t just about Leo.

Leo is the playable character, and he can’t leave the party or anything. You could say he’s designed to be easy for players to immerse themselves in. But that doesn’t mean you can’t use the other characters.

If there are other characters in the same party, you could set a representative character to switch up who you see in the field. You can snag the first hit by attacking monsters first or sneak up from behind for a stun. Those field-specific gimmicks made things interesting.

So usually, guides would select a ranged character as the representative instead of the sword-wielding protagonist, starting battles by sneaking up and whacking monsters from a distance.

One of the most commonly used characters was Mia Crowfield, who could shoot ice arrows with basic attacks.

And among the party characters, there wasn’t a single one who would say things like, “It’s too dirty here; I’m not going in,” or, “I don’t want to go where it smells.” Not even when they had to crawl through a vent. Even the Crown Princess, royal ladies, or guest characters like Jennifer didn’t refuse.

“……”

“……”

“……”

So my choice of thinking, “The smell is so awful they’ll just give up,” was honestly a pretty stupid one.

About ten minutes after entering the sewers, I was already regretting it.

The two following me were superhumans, so they could probably stand the smell, but as for me… I could barely hang on at the ‘C’ level. Gulp…

Plus, that ‘C’ level was just my guess; who knows what the actual deal was? During those ten minutes, I seriously contemplated turning back… but ultimately decided against it.

It was like when you bravely start your first playthrough at max difficulty, only to get stuck at a boss thanks to a bad strategy, watching your party get wiped out three times, and then staring at the “Would you like to reset to a lower difficulty?” message.

The developers likely included that message hoping players wouldn’t give up, but reading it just pricked at my pride. It’s not like anyone is watching; I’m not even streaming the game, but suddenly, clicking it feels embarrassing.

But since multiple playthroughs are a must to write a guide, even if I can’t earn difficulty-related medals right now, I’ll end up getting them eventually.

So in the end, I pressed “No” at that choice and decided to brave it out.

At least the good news was that the two others behind me seemed too preoccupied to say anything. If they opened their mouths, the smelly gases would definitely waft right in. You can’t smell it, but that unique sticky, unpleasant feeling is there, you know?

“This way.”

I spoke cautiously, hoping to keep the conversation going. No response came from behind, but at least the footsteps kept going.

At this point, even if I wanted to wander off alone, it would be awkward. We had already taken a complex route to get here. While it wasn’t a complete labyrinth, it was definitely a confusing place for someone visiting for the first time.

But hey, I’m not a first-timer.

There were parts that didn’t match my memory. The downgraded textures made the makeshift map feel less dreadful. And while it was claimed to be dark, it wasn’t so dark that I couldn’t see at all.

Wait, actually, it was kinda bright, like a fluorescent bulb was on. Not a horror game, and adding annoying gimmicks wouldn’t get good reactions anyway.

The minimap lit up by blocks, so as soon as you stepped into a block, the layout popped right up on the mini-map. Plus, the clock wasn’t bad, so getting lost in the game was nearly impossible—just a minor annoyance of forgetting something and having to backtrack.

In that sense, this sewer we were walking through was quite different from the game. Especially the atmosphere.

It wasn’t dark enough that I couldn’t see ahead. There were lamps powered by magic stones, faintly lighting the area where people come and go.

But the paths between the lamps were quite dark. Water flowed through, carrying some… yuck… nasty liquids, and I could see what definitely looked like cockroaches scuttling along the floor.

But still, the structure was the same as I remembered.

I had no clue about the areas blocked off by iron doors. But I didn’t need to. You couldn’t access them in the game anyway.

The dungeons I had traversed multiple times for game攻略.

Oh, I don’t mean I remember every little detail like a navigation system. It’s been ten years.

But I had solid memories of the really important places. I had noted down everything I could remember in my notebook once I crossed over.

“Are you sure you know where you’re going?”

“Yes, of course.”

I replied with confidence to Alice’s slightly anxious voice.

At least I knew where we were. If we went deeper, real monsters would probably be crawling around too.

But those monsters wouldn’t come this far. We were still at the very beginning of the game. The monster issues would come some time later.

And, well…

Even if they did show up, it wouldn’t be a major problem.

In the game, they were considered strong monsters because of their ‘level,’ but in reality, that didn’t matter. Sigh… Aetherna isn’t a game about exploring vast fields; areas unlock based on progress and monster appearances are predetermined. Their levels only serve to match protagonists who would be strong enough by the time they get there.

Since it’s turn-based, it’s not like I’m standing still getting hit by swords and bullets; these beasts here will die just from being hit by my crossbow while they chase me.

“This way.”

I made a sharp turn and entered a small room that looked neat and tidy.

Honestly, I’m not sure why there’s such a space in the sewer. In the game, the sewer acted as a dungeon for adventuring, but in reality, there probably isn’t a need for this kind of space in actual sewers.

…Well, it looked like a storage space. Since sewers are long and wide, maybe they created spots where people could take little breaks in between.

But surprisingly, the room wasn’t locked, and inside was just a few scattered bits of trash and a single closed box.

Moreover, the box looked almost identical to the item containers from the game.

With no lights and an empty room, the box standing there felt a bit creepy.

“…A box?”

I heard Alice’s mutter from behind, but I didn’t bother answering and walked straight up to the box.

Thick dust was piled on top; I could probably draw a picture in it with my finger.

I pulled out my black leather gloves from my pocket and put them on.

Then I slowly bent down to open the box.

The dusty box opened as easily as a light breeze; there were no special locks on it.

Which was something that matched the game too.

“…”

While I confirmed that my thoughts and memories were right, it felt a little strange once I looked inside for real.

When was this item left here? Who brought it and how did only this box remain in this empty room?

I bent down and pulled out the item inside the box.

“Uh?”

“What’s that…?”

Marmaros.

What I was holding was Marmaros.

Compared to the ones that appeared in the game, this wasn’t particularly expensive or rare.

But in ‘reality’ rather than in ‘the game,’ this Marmaros was genuinely top-notch. Sure, within the game, towards the latter half, circumstances in the Empire allowed for a higher chance of obtaining rare Marmaros, and those might happen in reality too… but at least right now, it wasn’t something you could easily buy even with money.

The perfectly carved blue Marmaros felt cold even through the gloves. While I wouldn’t hurt myself just touching it without protection, my hands would feel chilly, like holding a drink straight from the fridge.

This powerful Marmaros I got from Jennifer was much stronger than the fiery one, and it would be mounted on Mia Crowfield’s staff to enhance her attack power later on in the story.

In the game, its ice magic damage was probably all that mattered, but in reality, it would be far scarier.

“Why is such a thing here?”

Charlotte asked, taking a few steps closer to me. Since Marmaros is used as a magical weapon attachment, if I had taken this and secretly crafted a weapon, I could have gone around with it without anyone knowing.

…But if someone else found this instead of me, it might have turned out a little risky. Is it more dangerous than the gun itself? I can’t argue against that.

But regardless of danger, this item is valuable. Charlotte’s question about why ‘this item’ is here isn’t just about that.

More than that, it’s about why I know this item is here.

I glanced at both Charlotte and Alice. Their faces, illuminated by the magical lamp’s light, were filled with confusion.

Until now, I could’ve passed it off as simply ‘being skilled,’ but coming this far meant I acted completely differently.

I must have known from the start that this item was here to even get here.

And the dust piling up in this room showed that someone had prepared this in advance. It looked like it had been left here to gather dust for a long time.

So it was no surprise Charlotte was asking me about it.

“How did you know this was here?”

That’s the essence of the question she wanted to ask.

“I’ll let you know later.”

I said that as I slipped the Marmaros into my coat pocket.

Honestly, doing so made the reason for even wearing the coat feel pointless, but still… well, I couldn’t just carry it in my hands.

As I said that and turned towards the door,

Swish.

Someone’s body blocked my path.

Without needing to look, I knew it was Alice standing in front of me.

“Tell me.”

Alice stared at me with determination in her eyes and said, “How did you know such an item would be here? If you don’t tell me, I won’t let you pass.”

“……”

Hmm.

What should I do?

---