Parallel (A Virtual Gamer's Story) [Vol.1 - Vol.4 Complete]

Chapter 201: The Land of Roses

Naru Island.

12:30 p.m. 18th Banem 1092.

Naru Island was one of the thirteen islands south of Rosendun which the Maggots had been working on. It was one of the smaller islands, mostly occupied by a dense forest, and beautiful, sandy beach fronts. Many Edo-period Japanese style buildings had been erected close to the beach, eating into the forest's edge.

Naru Island was designed to serve as both a wildlife reserve and a beachfront. Guests to the island could pay for exclusive tours through the forests, getting a chance to witness many of these proud beasts in their natural climate. The resort was not aimed toward actual gamers who spend 90% of their time slaying every creature they came across, but toward regular people who have always wanted to go to a reserve but lacked either the time, money or opportunity.

Paths had been cleared through the forest, allowing for easy travel. Several workers walked along the paths, burying bones and faeces along their edges to ward off the local wildlife. Suddenly, the workers paused their work, looking up to see a small group walking down the path towards the beach.

"Good Afternoon, Silver-san, Stryke-san, Hope the day's been good?" greeted a worker as the group neared.

"Afternoon, Byron-san," Stryke politely greeted with a toothy grin. He then added as he patted JWSilver's back. "We were just checking to make sure we'd taken care of all the bosses. Luckily, it seems there's none left, so you guys can work in pea—"

Grooowl!

Stryke paused and looked to his left, eyes wide as a large, tiger-like beast walked out of the bushes. The tiger's gaze travelled from Stryke, to the workers, and finally rested on the edge of the road. It took a step forward, but then stopped as it smelled an unfamiliar, but powerful stench.

The tiger bent down to sniff the road but instantly reeled back afterward. It rubbed its nose with its paw and once again glanced at the road in confusion. It then looked at the workers and let out a low roar, and pawed at the ground in frustration.

JWSilver raised a brow, surprised at the beast's behavior. Scratching his head, he turned to Stryke and asked, "Any idea why it's acting that way?"

"I'm not sure, but I think we blocked off its path," Stryke answered with a frown as he scratched his mane. The warrior made eye contact with the tiger and motioned with his hand, "This way. Come this way." As he spoke, he slowly walked down the path. Luckily, it seemed the tiger understood, as it actually followed along the path's edge.

Stryke finally stopped at the end of the path and pointed at the ground. "Safe. You can pass through here."

The tiger frowned as it slowly inched forward and then sniffed the ground. Thankfully, the foul, repulsive, scary stench was no longer present. As a result, the tiger could cross unimpeded. The proud beast looked over its shoulder and chuffed at Stryke before it disappeared into the thickets at the other side.

Stryke rubbed his snout as he embarrassingly said, "It was nothing. Have a good day now." With that, he waved goodbye to the tiger and returned to JWSilver. "We have to leave some room every couple of meters for the wildlife to pass through. We don't want to disrupt the ecosystem too much."

JWSilver nodded, "Yeah, you're right. I was too concerned with the visitors' safety that I forgot about the wildlife."

"Safety won't be an issue as long as they have a guard with them," Stryke explained as he said, "The monsters here are around level 80. Hire a few level 100 and above guards to escort the guests, and the monsters would not dare to attack. They are too sensitive to the power imbalance."