I woke up this morning with a strong eagerness for the [Events] to come.
Having prepared as much as I could for them, I left the bed and headed to the living room, where I discussed my plan with the girls.
Miwen: "If at any moment there's a risk to our lives, we'll run to the [Kingdom], ok? No need to play the hero..."
Claire was playing a game on the couch.
Right as I said not to play the hero, she recklessly threw herself into a bunch of enemies, getting a well-deserved restart.
Miwen: "Just make sure you're safe."
I didn't feel like I had to worry that much about Licia, so I made sure to look at Claire while saying these words.
Licia: "The same goes for you, Miwen. If we're thrown into a war, the most important thing is to keep calm. There's no wiggle room for thoughtless decisions."
Licia took a seat on the couch next to Claire, joining in on her game.
The difficulty slider of the [Event] worried all of us, but I thought that as long as we could escape, it wouldn't be a problem.
Miwen: "Just to double check, but are you guys sure you've never heard of a 'Kingdom Of Hamperlon' before?"
I watched as Licia and Claire struggled to get past a certain point of the level.
Once they were sent back into their checkpoint, I knew it'd be good to distract them. Especially Claire, as she was getting fairly frustrated.
Licia: "I was not very well versed in geography or history, but as far as I could tell, there was no such kingdom in my world. If they were at war, I'm pretty sure I'd at least hear about it..."
Claire: "As for me, I'm absolutely sure. There's no way I wouldn't know. My father drilled into me everything I needed to live in high society. I could name all the kingdoms in my continent. And quite a few on others, too..."
There were three people in the living room.
All of us were from different worlds.
And yet, there wasn't a trace of this kingdom in any of our worlds.
It made me question if this was a world created by the [Events]. Something like the game the girls were playing.
Or maybe, there were just too many worlds, and this wasn't just likely, but also to be expected?
Miwen: "... I wonder how many worlds exist."
I was deep in thought as the words escaped my mouth.
Claire: "At the very least, as many as there are Gods."
She answered readily, as if it were obvious.
Miwen: "Huh?"
Claire: " I mean, where do you think Gods come from?"
I hadn't considered that.
But Gods seemed to be the same as humans in almost every way, other than their miraculous abilities that put most Gifts to shame. I kinda expected them to reproduce the same way we do.
At least, that's how it went in old mythology.
Miwen: "How do you know they don't reproduce between themselves?"
Claire: "They might, but..."
She scratched the side of her head, slightly embarrassed.
Seemingly, I had taken the topic in a different direction than she intended.
Licia: "The Gods are the ones blessing the worlds. Even though a world can receive the blessings of multiple Gods, and a God can bless multiple worlds, if you were one, you'd want at least one world to be uniquely blessed by you, right?"
Miwen: "I see. I guess you might be right."
It was reasonable enough, and I didn't have any argument against it.
To begin with, I didn't care much about the Gods since they rarely interfered with us. At least, outside of the occasional Divine Event that Catherine would initiate.
Even that hadn't happened in a while, though...
Still, once we got into the specifics of the plan, I had the girls pause their game.
Upon confirming that everyone was on the same page, I accepted the [Event]: "War! The Fall of the Snow White Wolves Tribe of the Maide Island".
As soon as I confirmed it, my head went blank, exactly like it happened when I rolled on the gachas.
However, this time it took much longer for the effect to subside, and once it did, I found myself in a completely different place from my living room.
I could hear the sound of waves crashing against the shore.
Almost everything in sight was covered in white by snow, and the temperature was freezing me to the bone.
Even though I had worn the thickest jacket I had in preparation, I could never have expected the weather to be this bad.
I could see a thick forest near the horizon, but every step I took towards it was a battle on its own as I pushed against the snow and the unreasonable cold.
Between steps, while catching my breath, I'd check to see if I could still escape to the [Kingdom].
While I had no intentions to escape without reason, I kept the menu open, just in case I found myself in a dire situation.
Still, it brought me immense relief that I could escape whenever I wanted. It almost warmed me up. Almost.
Since this was the case, I accepted Claire and Licia's requests to enter the [Event] as well...
Claire: "... It's freezing out here!"
She was shivering like a wet puppy. I could almost see tears falling down her cheek.
Licia: "Mhm... I quite like it actually."
On the other hand, Licia hugged herself tight, blowing steam on her hands.
Since they didn't have winter clothes, I decided to send them back for the time being.
Miwen: "I think it's best if you wait for me in the [Kingdom]. I'll summon you if I need to."
It would take me a while to get to the forest, and since the girls would always teleport directly to me when I accepted their requests, there was no need for them to waste stamina walking beside me.
Claire: "F-fair enough, but be sure to call us if it gets dangerous."
She didn't think twice before accepting it.
However, Licia fell silent, considering what she should do.
Miwen: "Don't worry too much, I can also escape if needed."
Licia: "If that's the case..."
I knew her worries pretty well by now, and thanks to the [Kingdom], I convinced her to save up some energy.
As the girls vanished from my sight, leaving the [Event], I resumed my journey towards the forest.
After a little more than an hour walking, I stood before the first tree line.
Thanks to my level-ups, I was naturally faster and stronger than I should be, so it surprised me that it had taken so long for me to walk from the shore to the forest.
Even more alarming was how tired I felt. At some point, I didn't even waste energy taking the snow off my face and just walked forward with my vision blurred, like a madman or a zombie.
These absurd conditions made me wonder how exactly people lived in this place, if any did.
I couldn't imagine someone at level 1 surviving this harsh winter.
If this was Maide Island, I couldn't see why anyone would want to conquer it.
As these thoughts circled my mind, I lifted my hands from my knees and straightened my back, taking the first step inside the forest.
But as soon as my feet left the ground, a voice echoed from behind me.
???: "Stop right there and turn around. If you want to keep your life, that is."
Since I wanted to keep my life, I did exactly as told.
10 people were approaching me. Number-wise, it was already more than I was comfortable with, but given their armor and weapons, each of them seemed like trouble.
The woman leading them carried a bow.
The string was drawn; she was aiming at my chest.
I could outrun an arrow. As long as the girls or I were the ones shooting, at least.
But that didn't mean much. By that point, I wouldn't even need to dodge since it would probably curve directly into the ground without flying a single meter.
Given the proper stance of the woman and the confident smirk of her lips, I didn't dare take such a chance.
Since I had my escape route secured through the [Kingdom], I didn't look back at the forest and instead, tried using [Appraisal] on the woman leading the pack.
I regretted it almost instantly.
Her level sat at an absurd 121. The list of her skills was so long, it easily dwarfed mine. Even though I was acquiring skills from the girls and the gacha, the only skill I had at a higher level was [Faster Tree Climbing].
Thinking she might've been an outlier, I used [Appraisal] on the others as well.
They were all around level 80, meaning I had no hope of surviving a battle against them.
However, since a few seconds had passed with her shooting at me, I thought there might be a chance for us to talk.
Hopefully...?
???: "Who are you and how did you get past the coast?"
She broke the silence first.
Miwen: "My name is Miwen. I'm... the king of a distant realm. I came here to propose an alliance with your people."
I wasn't exactly seeking an alliance with the Snow White Wolves, but since I was probably on their island, I probably wouldn't have a chance to contact the other side for a while.
It was a shame that I couldn't pick sides, but it was either them or isolating myself inside the [Kingdom] until the war was over.
For now, this was the only path I could see to progress the [Event].
???: "A king who wants to ally with us, you say?"
The woman lowered her bow.
The men behind her readied their swords, surrounding me.
I reached for my sword as well, but I stopped short of drawing it.
???: "I noticed you used [Appraisal] on some of us, right?"
I wasn't surprised by this. Her level was so high that she would definitely feel it.
I also noticed she had a skill to block [Appraisal], so she had allowed me to check her level and skills on purpose.
Miwen: "Yes."
???: "You probably didn't notice, but I also used it on you."
Even though I didn't feel it, I figured that was the case.
???: You're not much of a threat, although you have quite a lot of skills given your level and age. You should be thankful for your weakness, it's the only reason you're still alive."
It'd be better to survive thanks to my strength; however, I guess I'd take whatever I could.
???: "You are carrying a very flashy sword. I doubt a spy would have something like this. It makes sense if you are from royalty or at least nobility... But you did evade my question, haven't you, boy?"
I did.
But honestly, it would be difficult to explain to her how I got past the coast.
Miwen: "It involves my Gift. I can tell you how I did it, but it would take time."
???: "I see, so you are willing to cooperate. Then I'll allow you to choose, either you die right here by my hands... or you're to be imprisoned, questioned, and hopefully we can ransom you back to wherever you came from. So, which one do you want?"
She presented it as a choice, but honestly, there was none.
Either I let the wolf woman kill me, or I let her imprison me.
It was a pretty bad situation, even considering my ability to escape to the Kingdom, but...
Among these options, only one would move the [Event] forward.