Retired from the meaningless conflicts, the great hermit Shadyna finally gets to enjoy a peaceful life!

  …Just don't think too much about the source or the size of my retirement fund. According to totally unbiased media which perfectly portrays reality, distinguished veterans always become so rich they never have to worry about going hungry ever again!

  If anything, I have to be careful not to overeat with the amount of food around me, be it from [Fishing] or my own guild members. It's hard being the guildmaster of a [Cooking] guild~

  Nevertheless, [Fishing] at the artificial pond underneath our "village" has become a routine now that I'm not undertaking a long questline to save the world. I even built a small cabin to store my rods and fish here, completely on stable ground. Hessy and co may have banned fish sales in the village, but they have no power here!

  The fish must swim! Or something along those lines!

  _ Nerin: Looks like our customers have arrived.

  My bodyguards, and Nerin, mutter to themselves while looking at a different flying island descending from above. It's a shark-like creature cladded in shiny scales resembling silver or diamond. Combined with its size, it does look like an apex predator even by fantasy standards, until it slowly parks itself next to our island, then it looks like a cute well-behaved aquatic pet.

  Cute! Even if it's so big!

  _ ???: BEHOLD! The UNITY!

  From the giant shark, a group of players are falling while yelling various battle cries. Look, I know my catch is delicious and worth dying for, but we built an elevator specifically so that you maniacs don't need to jump off the edg…

  *SPLASH*

  …Or into the water.

  I put up multiple wooden boards to shield my bodyguards and myself from the splash. While it does nothing mechanics-wise, I still don't want to get my clothes wet just because the game's physics engine wants to boast its realistic water simulation, thank you very much!

  _ ???: How na?ve, young girl.

  Behind me stands the macho man that would always be mistaken for a

  member if it weren't for the Unity of Mankind banner on his armor. Speaking of, I'm pretty sure the guys in the water also bear the same banner as well.

  _ Shadyna: Hello ~ What do you mean by "na?ve"?

  _ Xerrio: If a small distraction like that is enough to catch your attention, how will you survive when it's an assassin behind you and not me, the MAGNIFICENT and AWESO…

  _ Shadyna: Un, I'll keep that in mind. By the way…

  _ Xerrio: Why won't anyone ever let me finish my speech!!! What is it?

  Not that people won't per se, but rather his speeches get so long that everyone has to interrupt him to get anything done. I have better things to do despite looking like I'm just idling around, thank you very much~

  _ Shadyna: Do you know that my bodyguards are behind you?

  As the manly man slowly turns around, he is greeted by the stoic warrior caressing her hammer and the no-nonsense archer juggling her arrows. Judging from his face that is filled with dread, he most likely was too fixated on my back, he neglected his own. I guess he… didn't see that coming. Ufufu~

  _ Xerrio: …Oops.

  A~nd to the cabin he goes! Having a wooden cabin nearby sure is convenient, isn't it? For both storage and other less-than-legal purposes I mean. Let's hope enjoys his private time in there with the two beauties, because he certainly is going to get some~

  On a side note, all of us did see him coming, hence the ambush. [Detect Presence] sure is convenient, isn't it~?

  …

  _ Xerrio: As per my previous business mail…

  _ Nerin: Why are you speaking like a corporate salesperson?!

  _ Xerrio: I'm not a merchant in the first place! This is what your tavern patrons came up with when I asked for help with writing the email and roleplaying a businessman.

  _ Nerin: Neither of which exists in a medieval fantasy setting!!!

  Immersion is hard, isn't it~? Our patrons should also ask about the context before giving earnest advice though…

  _ Shadyna: A~nyway, yes, I got the messages. You can get the goods from the boxes here.

  I tap lightly on a wooden box, one of the many sitting beside me. No, those boxes do not contain any legendary weapon that can change the tide of a war. They contain fish.

  Yes, just fish. The ones I caught earlier to be specific.

  _ Xerrio: You heard her! Transmute and load the materials onto our warehouse on the double!

  _ Drenched players: SIR!

  The players who dived straight into the lake as a distraction (?) earlier walk up to me, open the wooden boxes, express disgust at the sheer quantity of fish packed in said boxes, cast [Transmutation] en masse, realize they need more people for this, call in more players to help, who repeat the process without fail.

  Honestly, they should try bringing in the whole guild or even the entire alliance to help. is full of professional merchants and they still need to mobilize the entirety of their crafter force to get things done in a timely manner. Did not tell beforehand I wonder? That chair-bound handsome man surely wouldn't treat the know-how for dealing with me as trade secrets right? Right?!

  _ Xerrio: Worry not! We are professional mercenaries. Logistics is our bread next to the butter that is our siege weapons! Our members have received the words and are moving in as we speak!

  *SPLASH* *SPLASH* *SPLASH*

  _ Shadyna: Can you also tell them to use the elevator, or at the very least, dry land?

  _ Xerrio: …Sure, but no promise.

  Why?! You guys aren't even mermaids!!!

  _ Fensen (PM): Good evening, . Are you free today?

  _ Shadyna (PM): Un, I'm just wrapping up today's business deal.

  _ Fensen (PM): Can I come with you then? I just sold out the lunchboxes too.

  _ Shadyna (PM): Of course. I'm at the cabin if you don't mind waiting for a bit.

  I don't have any plan for the day, so hanging out with is as good as any. Besides, I think going with today is a must.

  *FLASH*

  _ Fensen: Hiyo, , , and Nerin too~! Thanks for taking care of me today!

  _ Nerin: Evening, and… Huh?

  The little energetic girl appears behind us with [Recall], causing a lot of confusion not just for Nerin, but also for and co who interacted with her in the past.

  As for why they are surprised… Well, she did say "I" instead of "we" after all.

  ____________

  A southern castle is on high alert today.

  Players inspecting and repairing the stone walls, crafters building and setting up row after row of siege engines, supplies being moved from storage to important positions. Even the newest players would know upon witnessing all of these preparations: A big battle is coming.

  From the highest tower of the keep, guildmasters and managers owning this castle are overseeing the operation as well as discussing the upcoming fight.

  _ Alliance leader: There goes our treasury. Are you sure Unity of Mankind will attack us soon?

  _ Guildmaster #1: They will. Their members have been buying materials in bulk from the top four. The estimated amount is too high for their normal operations. They must be planning a big attack or long-term war.

  _ Guildmaster #2: The timing also coincides with our conquest of this zone. Whether they attack us or not, we need to improve our defenses against other rivals, post-haste.

  _ Guildmaster #1: In fact, our scouts reported Unity of Mankind meeting up with at their floating island. We will continue getting more and more enemies as we conquer more land, any of whom can strike at us at their earliest convenience.

  _ Guildmaster #3: …Are we really going to ignore 's declaration of war yesterday?

  _ Guildmaster #2: Hush, don't trust everything you read on the internet.

  _ Guildmaster #3: But he delivered the letter in person?!

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  _ Alliance leader: …Sometimes I feel like I'm not paid enough to lead you guys…

  Despite the uncertainty (?) regarding the identity of the incoming attackers, the southern alliance is in high spirits and will be ready for combat!

  ____________

  _ Xerrio: So your mercenary band returned from a sortie today, only for you to realize that important intel documents were left behind. Your partner went back to retrieve them in your stead, and you carried on your duties here.

  _ Fensen: …That's not what I said at all!

  _ Nerin: Don't worry, he didn't mishear you. He's keeping things friendly to the settings.

  _ Fensen: I-is that so…?

  _ Xerrio: Because the atmosphere is important!

  Well, I suppose school trips are not something one would expect in a fantasy setting, let alone forgetting the smartphone behind… We are going to ignore how

  was the one going back there even though it was 's phone huh? Everyone in knows about 's medical condition by now, but even didn't dig deeper into it. I guess he can be more considerate than his rough appearance and manner suggest.

  Or the roleplaying maniac just doesn't care about real life stuff. Yup, probably that.

  _ Shadyna: Still, for

  to spend a night there, it must be somewhere far from your home.

  _ Fensen: Un! It takes four hours to get there by bus.

  Figures~ Our timid girl doesn't seem to be the type that spends another night out of town if she could help it after all.

  _ Shadyna: It can't be helped then. Now, should we get started with your power-up?

  _ Fensen: Fueh?! How did you know I wanted a power-up?!

  _ Shadyna: Who wouldn't? Besides,

  got one, so it's fair for you to get your own too.

  That, and was completely in awe upon seeing

  's new toys according to Elri. This considerate half-elf me won't say that out loud though~

  _ Fensen: I can?! Thank you so much, ! I love you!!!

  Gyah! Too bright! Too bright! I'm gonna get purified~!!!

  _ Miel: What a sinful girl.

  _ Nerin: I agree, but what are you saying to children!!!

  I don't think you are supposed to agree either, Nerin~

  _ Fensen: I'm so glad~ Ever since you gave

  skill charges, she could attack faraway enemies as fast as me. I'm happy she is not afraid of ranged enemies anymore, but…

  _ Xerrio: But you feel like you are not pulling weight either.

  _ Fensen: Un…

  Which is… definitely my fault, isn't it? I kind of taught her partner new ranged attacks, better tanking, and most damning of all, a cool-looking killing technique with a cool name that is Fortress Drop. Anyone would probably feel a bit inadequate upon witnessing that amount of upgrades.

  _ Fensen: I'm a big burden to

  in real life… In this game where I can finally walk freely, I don't want to drag her down again.

  She has a sad look on her face, one that I never thought I would see from someone so cheerful. I don't regret helping

  , but dealing with this earlier instead of waiting for to approach me would have been much better huh…

  _ Shadyna: Don't worry, I'll do my best to help you. Just promise me that you will talk to

  afterwards.

  _ Fensen: Talk to

  ?

  _ Shadyna: Un, about these thoughts and worries you told us. It will help both of you understand each other and feel at ease despite your differences.

  _ Fensen: I don't really get it, but I'll do it!

  _ Shadyna: That's the spirit!

  I don't think she will get it even if I explain about therapy or counseling, so getting them to talk is as good as it can be. Maybe I'll ask Hessy if there's anyone good at facilitating it in our guild later too.

  _ Nerin: is already thinking about dumping the hard work on someone else.

  _ Shadyna: Whatever could you be talking about~?

  Education sure is hard, isn't it~? If they were older, I'll just tell them to get a room, because these dorks really need to get a room!

  _ Shadyna: Now, with that out of the way, let's help become stronger!

  _ Nerin: Oh, you have something in mind already?

  _ Shadyna: None whatsoever!

  _ Nerin: Figures… Don't overdo it. The last time you did, we got a new level cap.

  _ Shadyna: Ehehe~

  _ Nerin: It's not a compliment!

  _ Miel: Isn't it fine? has not made any progress for months.

  _ Nerin: Not our problem! And not when we are rebuilding our island!

  I don't know if Sateri designed the new edge of the world with Terra Cetus in mind or not, but boy did it bring combat to a new dimension, literally. The presence of new airborne enemies means the old shield walls or line formations can no longer protect the squishy magi and archers in the back. Until other guilds in the alliance are freed up from their settlement building or a new air meta appears,

  won't get past the outer elements, let alone the boss.

  It's not our problem though as Nerin said. Aside from the battle maniacs, the majority of players are in no rush to unlock the next level cap. The new zones and flight patch are keeping us busy, and the minor events from both Sateri and the community are certainly not helping either. I suspect this will continue for a while until the meta is mostly figured out and all that.

  The biggest changes, both figuratively and literally, are still the Terra Cetus. Having a living flying island tends to massively change how a guild operates, and that change takes a lot of time and resources for the guild involved. Unity of Mankind moved most of their arsenal onto their shark and turned it into a mobile siege platform for instance. on the other hand uses theirs as a massive cargo hauler, making it the biggest aerial caravan in the game to date.

  If it took the biggest guilds like them multiple weeks for those transitions, I doubt other guilds would have an easier time setting up their dream Terra Cetus.

  What about ours? Believe it or not, a big floating island has a lot of overlap with another big floating island, and I'm not talking about my space serpent. We were honestly at a loss for what to build on Olari, our volcanic turtle, since we had already struggled to fill the space beyond our village. Ideas went back and forth during that business meeting until some way, somehow, we decided that throwing our poor turtle onto our artificial island was the way to go.

  …I still have no idea how that spark of genius (insanity) came to be, but I think we should ban Mera from important meetings from now on. Just saying.

  Nevertheless, that's what we went with in the end. The upper part of the island except for the village was removed for Olari to move in. The same excavated materials were then put back to expand the land around it, keeping the buildable area roughly the same size. From a floating island and a flying volcano, we now have a bigger island with a volcano at the center. Genius, right?

  …Except for the part that our artificial landmass was so heavy, Olari could not move anymore with all the new weight. Even of all people was appalled by us managing to overburden an island-sized beast when he heard the news. That was only one-fourths of the total work. The rest are still being slowly built because [Construction] guilds are still swarmed with contracts from other Terra Cetus owners.

  Seriously, who da heck thought it was a good idea?!

  _ Shadyna: Well~ Nox wasn't part of the training regime. More importantly, we should think of ways to improve 's fighting capability.

  _ Xerrio: How about joining us in the upcoming conquest? There is no better mentor than real, glorious combat!

  That's not how education works, you musclebrain~!

  _ Nerin: You guys are going to attack that new alliance in the south right?

  _ Xerrio: How much do you know of our battle plans?!... Whatever, big sieges can't be completely hidden anyway. It's exactly as you said. They are the biggest fish in that part of the map, and other rivals paid us handsomely to… keep them in check, so to speak.

  _ Nerin: *Sighs* Just as expected. , let's not take part in this. It will turn into a GvG (guild-vs-guild) quagmire if we are not careful.

  _ Miel: Agreed. Too big to attack unprovoked.

  Does that mean you girls won't mind if it's just one or two guilds…?

  _ Xerrio: *Shrugs* It was worth asking. said they were trapping the rest stops and forcing merchants to use theirs so I thought you might have a bone to pick with those bastards too.

  …Hold on, they are doing WHAT now?

  _ Nerin: I will be right back. [Recall].

  *FLASH*

  _ Miel: Your call, ?

  _ Shadyna: Un, self-defense is still pacifism technically.

  _ Xerrio: That's your concern?!

  What else did he expect then? I am a pacifist first and foremost. While my guild is not pacifist, we don't suddenly go mow players down without a proper casus belli. Yes, just as any reasonable guild would do, so how about stop looking at me like someone with a screw loose~?

  *FLASH*

  _ Nerin: I'm back. It's a death trap there. Any weary caravan walking into it will no longer feel weary, or anything at all for that matter.

  They really have done it huh~

  On paper, the rest stops belong to . In practice, anyone dealing with the rest stops will know about the separate [Recall] network built with it, which is known among merchants as the Caravan Network by the way. Although I don't particularly care who controls the surrounding area, I definitely care about the income from the [Recall] service, as well as the food delivery orders from the caravans resting there.

  Whoever did this, they must be aware of me. That's why they went out of their way to place traps around it instead of blowing up the place. Not a bad idea as we wouldn't notice without a broken [Recall] tablet, and caravans simply stopped using that road. It's also the undeniable proof that they knew it was a hostile action and still committed anyway.

  _ Shadyna: Alright~ , we are going to train a bit in PvP and see how to improve from there!

  _ Fensen: Oh~! Can I ask something before we go?

  _ Shadyna: Of course. What is it?

  _ Fensen: Why is tied to the fishing line? Is it one of those "atmosphere" things?

  _ Shadyna: …Kinda. It's his punishment for misbehaving.

  _ Fensen: *Sweatdrops* I-is that so…?

  Best not to tell young children too much about it, un!

  _ Xerrio: NOPE! Because bigger bait means bigger fish!

  Like heck it is~!!!

  ____________

  Back on the half-built volcanic island, the lead bartender of the cafeteria was supervising the construction works when the lead teahouse proprietress appeared from behind. Not bothering to turn around for a greeting, silently slides to the side of the wooden log she's sitting on, leaving enough space for her little friend who then takes up the offer almost instantly.

  _ Sulien: Is it about 's announcement?

  _ Linista: Not exactly. Hessy can handle the guild war. I called you because of something else our guildmaster said.

  _ Sulien: Which is…?

  _ Linista: With the current meta, do you think it is feasible for a normal guild to maintain a network of roads and rest stops?

  _ Sulien: I see… It is indeed concerning to know they are actively building their own to replace ours.

  Pulling out a manuscript from her inventory, scans through its contents while softly mumbling to herself. It is her in-game method to document and access knowledge on the fly. Complex problems still require a spreadsheet and more detailed documents of course, but her handbook will do for quick fact checks.

  _ Sulien: The [Construction] meta has not changed, so they cannot compete against our prices. However…

  _ Linista: Yes, costs do not matter if they control the area and hold a monopoly. We cannot let the lowly peas… factions begin to think that they are better off building their own infrastructure now, can we?

  _ Sulien: Please refrain from calling others "peasants" unless they pay for it… So, what is your suggestion for our predicament?

  _ Linista: Still only an inception, but say… What do you think of an airport?

  _ Sulien: …Pardon?

  --- Topic: Strongest Terra Cetus ---

  ## Shining Knight

  Now that most Terra Cetus have found their place, which one do you think is the strongest chonky boy (or girl) among them?

  ##

  ## GoldBar9999

  I'll have you know that our jellyfish is in peak physical shape!

  ##

  ## OP alchemist

  Go home @GoldBar9999. You maniacs chose it purely for the smooth bouncy dome, and you don't even use it for combat! (?益?)

  ##

  ## Deeply Intelligent

  Does that matter? They all have devastating attacks that one-shot everything but the cooldowns are so long, the battle will be over before the second shot is ready.

  ##

  ## Nearseeing Sage

  It's sad, isn't it? Terra Cetus are just shadows of their former selves after taming. They will still ruin your day if you are a guard on a castle wall though. ˉ\_(ツ)_/ˉ

  ##

  ## Serious Mage

  Because there will be no game balance left if they can fight at full strength under players' command, duh (=_=)

  Aside from aesthetics, they are pretty similar in power levels as @Deeply Intelligent said. 5 or 10% more overkill is still overkill as far as the squishy players at the other end are concerned.

  ##

  ## Manly Warrior

  From what I have seen in battles involving Terra Cetus, it's siege weapons which are the actual main weapons and deciding factor. You need them to hurt the big guys, and you can add more to improve fighting capability of your own.

  …If only the holder of Builder Origin was still around. I blame @GoldBar9999 and @Nearseeing Sage for that. ^_^;

  ##

  ## GoldBar9999

  Hey!

  ##

  ## Shining Knight

  Ah, so Unity of Mankind's shark is the strongest Terra Cetus? Just look at how many ballistae they put on that thing!

  ##

  ------