"You shouldn't have put me out in front without a warning, Zale..."

  I can hear him chuckling under his breath after leaving the bookshop. Because of him, I had a hard time explaining everything about my [Magecrafting] methods to Xiri, Epona, and Leslie. Unfortunately, my way of explaining things is as bad as Wind's acting or Arthur's flirting. If it wasn't for Xiri understanding what I explained and deciphering everything else, things would be even more awkward between us.

  "Hey. At least they know you got a recommendation for a good reason," Zale says with a smile and shrug without turning to me. "A young [Insignis] who defeated the legendary [Tempest Frigate] before clearing his [Sign Creation Ceremony] along with a rumor of expelling the plague from the . You should try to be proud of your accomplishments and show off once in a while. Don't you want to be famous in [Isekai]?"

  I groan, recalling the time when the [World Notices] Arthur and Razul mentioned posting our names after the incident. "I did that, and I never want to go back in that spotlight again. I'd rather explore and do random [Quests] than be a celebrity."

  "Huh... Didn't expect you to be the shy type. Whatever. You do you. If I say anything else, well..." He shudders as if he’d see a ghost. "Your brother is gonna get me."

  Knowing Wind, anyone trying to mess with me will earn a beating from him. So good call on holding off... whatever you're gonna do with me.

  "But seriously. If becoming the best player isn't your goal here, what is? Having no goal is worse than having too many."

  I huff. "Obviously, I want to explore the world!" There is still finding the culprit behind the plague in among other story stuff, but that is my long-term goal beyond that.

  "True, true. But what about anything game-related? Getting into the rankings, creating the strongest [Guild], creating or looting the strongest equipment, end-game stuff, and more..." Zale explains. "If you don't do all of that, you will be left behind by all of the players."

  I hum in thought when he mentions the gap between me and the players he mentioned. "That is true. I did try to get stronger so I could catch up to Wind and his friends. But what's the point of getting stronger all the time if I don't enjoy the little things in life? If I hunt and grind all day, I can't play with the kids here even without any rewards. If I spend money and time on the custom staff I want, I won't be able to afford a delicious banana sundae at cafe. I don't know what's normal for video games here. But [Isekai] is all about freedom and expressing myself without weighing myself down with the cliches in life. And I intend to do that as Kazu the Mage."

  I take a deep breath after saying all of that. I wish I could say more, though. While I intend to do what the game wants me to, another reason is my Mom's advice to me and Hayate.

  "Be yourself."

  I joined this game because I wanted to fulfill my fantasy dreams while hanging out with my brother in our free time. If I start just doing some boring gaming stuff without doing the story or exploring , it's no fun at all. That's what I'm sticking through till the very end! Or until the game ends in some form...

  "Heh... I thought you were waxing poetry back there. But hearing your explanation closely, I feel like I can't change your mind about it." Zale scratches his chin as I see sweat running down from his forehead. "Guess you have the same stubbornness as your brother. Plus, you reminded me a lot of Earth..."

  That's a weird way to compare me to my brother...

  And hang on a second!

  "Earth? As in Earth Dux?!" I shouted. "You knew him?!"

  "Uh... Yeah... But how d-"

  [Zale!]

  Xiri suddenly comes running out of the store. Right, while we were chatting after we went to the bookstore, Xiri went off to visit the for a quick stop. But when he came back, he was completely covered in sweat as he tried to regain his composure after running from the halls. Heck, he wasn't the only one as adventurers who were players and NPCs were also coming out as if there was a fire.

  "Hey, sir. What's going on?" Zale asks. "I thought you were only meeting with the vice guild master."

  [A magical alarm was set off at the bank, and it seemed like the robbers who tripped it were no ordinary ones,] Xiri answers before turning to me. [Young Kazu, you're also an adventurer, correct? What's your rank?]

  My rank? Wait, don't tell me that the robbers in question are strong enough to make all of the adventurers come out to stop them!

  "I was just recently promoted to [Topaz Rank]. Is that good?"

  Xiri nods. [As long as you're promoted, that's good enough for me.] He then turns to Zale. [As for you, Zale, you might be an [Alexandrite-ranked Adventurer], but you're one of the strongest mages we know in the guild. I'm afraid participation is mandatory.]

  [Alexandrite]?! Wait, how's that possible?! Sure, I get he's a veteran beta tester of sorts. But how can he...

  "Right, right. It's not like I have a choice, for that matter." Zale turns to me and grabs my right wrist before I can react. "Come on, kid. You're with me."

  Before I know it, I’m being quickly dragged away by Zale right after getting the [Quest] notice. "H-Hang on! I need to acc- ARGH!!!"

  Man, what's with this guy?! I’d nearly had my chance to tap [YES] on the prompt before he dragged me away, and he's supposed to be one of the high-ranking adventurers here! I didn't expect him to be as impatient as me!

  Despite being dragged off before I can say yes, I manage to learn the full extent of the [Urgent Quest] I got. According to Xiri, there's a bank nearby that not only does normal bank stuff like depositing and withdrawing money but also stores important valuables and [Mana Crystals] for selected adventurers and nobles in the city. While it seems like a useful function in the city and game in general, it doesn't mean it's safe with many criminals and bandits targeting it nearly on a daily basis. What's worse is that some adventurers tend to team up with those guys (including players) and are willing to overpower anyone who dares to cross them. So a normal police force or a group of soldiers isn't enough to defuse the incident since most of them can use magic.

  While having the concept of freedom around the fantasy world is nice, it does have a double-edged effect of attracting players who just want to mess up the world for thrills. I have heard several articles about them on the [Isekai Community] site, but not to this extent. I'm guessing the infighting began to increase once the expansion came out.

  Of course, the player adventurers' strength can vary depending on their levels. According to Zale, his version of the [Urgent Quest] is mandatory, just like Xiri said. As for me, I have a different kind of [Quest], yet still the same.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  It seems like depending on my [Adventurer Rank], I have to defeat several enemies based on my current strength as an adventurer. The bandits aren't very difficult to deal with, but since Zale is [Alexandrite Rank], I wonder if he has to face a much stronger enemy. Regardless, I can't turn a blind eye to whether they are a player or NPC. Even if my enemies are real players, I can't run away now.

  Eventually, we manage to reach our destination on foot. As expected, there are several players already taking care of some fleeing criminals, and some of them who are allied with the bandits are fighting back and protecting them from being captured.

  I gulp at this sight. I’ve seen player VS player combat with my brother's [Duel] before, but not like this. What's worse is that one of our [Urgent Quests] will fail if we let the others complete their objective. I'm guessing the bandits getting away with the [Lapi] might count as their objective, so we have to do the opposite and arrest those jerks before it's too late.

  "Are you ready, kid?" I turn around and see Zale, only this time, he isn't smiling as he takes out his staff and glances at our enemies. "No offense, but I'm not sure you might be a crimefighter-type."

  I huff with a pout. "Of course, I am! A-At least, I think I do..." I quickly shake my head out of my doubts. "Besides, I'm not the type to run away. Wind might have protected me before, but this time, I'm going to protect everyone by myself!"

  "Correction: Yourself with some help. Don't forget you're still a newbie despite your ranking up," Zale reminds. "Just don't do anything crazy, okay?"

  Right... I'm frustrated that he said that in a jerkish kind of way, but he has a point. I just need to focus on my objectives while avoiding being reckless. But is that even possible in this kind o-

  BOOM!!!

  I almost scream the moment I hear a loud explosion nearby. I turn around, and to my shock, several bandits and players are already in combat with friendly NPCs and players in front of the bank. So far, some of the low-level bandits and allied players have already been arrested by the soldiers while others were injured and are being healed by mages. By the looks of it, we’ve managed to arrive here in time. I would’ve sigh in relief from this, until someone came out of the bank while carrying what looked to be one of the NPCs from the bank.

  [Ha! This is too damn easy!] The man named tosses the unconscious man away while still grinning madly when he turns his attention to us. [Those adventurers weren't kidding; we'll get all of the loot here if we team up with them. Look at all the [Lapi] and crystals we got!]

  That jerk... He doesn't have any care for anyone, not even the NPCs! I try going over to the man that Vainsly tossed like trash. But Zale stopped me just as another player came in and healed his wounds with their healing magic.

  "Easy, kid. He's not like any monsters you faced in the last patch," Zale says. "If you really want to save them and defeat those guys, you need to stay cool and do what you can in your current strength."

  Right... I don't have Wind's [Investigate], but I know he's too powerful for me to deal with right now. If I really want to help, I have to avoid the leader and focus on the bandits. However...

  "What about the players?" I ask. "There's a chance they might attack me if I try fighting the bandits."

  "If I were them, I would just treat the small fries as meat shields and mostly focus on protecting the leader and some stronger lieutenants."

  I gasp at this. "That's horrible! They can't do that to those bandits! I thought they needed to be arrested, not be betrayed by them!"

  "To them, it's necessary to complete the [Quest]. Sorry, kid. I know you want to arrest them without killing them. But you can't save them all."

  Easy for you to say... This is just like those scenes where the main characters can't save everyone during the invasion of demons in the capital. Still, he's right about one thing. I'm not strong enough to defeat all of them right now. But I know I can still do something to help everyone, and I'm gonna do it my own way.

  "Fine, I'll deal with my own [Quest]," I huff. "But don't come crying to me when you screw up and destroy something important during your fight."

  I take out my [Plasma Staff] and rush over to where the bandits were gathering. It seems like they're trying to kidnap several female employees from the bank while being creepy with them. I don't want to know what they're planning to do with them, but I have to act fast.

  “Spirits of thunder, give me a meager portion of your power to paralyze my enemy! [Static Stun]!"

  I fire streams of electricity toward one of the bandits and let them do the rest. While I want one of them to be [Paralyzed], I have other plans for all of them.

  “Spirits that dwell the earth, heed my call! Trap my foes in a cage of stone! [Stone Spike]!"

  I smack the tip of my staff and summon several spiked pillars from the ground, surrounding the panicked bandits while they're distracted.

  [What the h*ll?!]

  [Where do all of these spikes come from?!]

  [Dammit! There's another mage here! Find them!]

  [Wait a minute! What about the spikes?! Break them! It's only a few seconds until they're gone!]

  Heh... Looks like I've been found. But it's too late~

  “Spirit of Sylph, hear our call. Trap our enemies into the gale of storms and imbue our weaponry with your blessings! [Tempest Blow]!"

  With one more swing, I summon a small tornado to trap the bandits further. I can hear their screams as it consumes them. It's not enough to put their [HP] to zero, but I feel a bit sorry for them.

  Nice! That's almost half of my [Quest] done. Guess catching them without defeating them in a normal battle counts as progress. As long as I keep this up, we should finish this bank robbery event with n-

  "[Quaking Rage]!"

  Suddenly, the ground starts to shake violently, causing me to lose my balance and drop to my knees. What's worse is that another notification replaced the good one.

  Escape?! Oh, no... Don't tell me that "someone" is trying to stop me from arresting them?!

  "Seriously? We left you guys alone for a while, and you got caught by a kid?!"

  I slowly turn around to the source of the voice. To my shock, I see several adventurers approaching me with swords, daggers, and axes in hand with familiar green crystals on their heads. And I know what those crystals mean...

  "Consider yourselves lucky we volunteered to deal with the small fries while Vainsly worked his magic."

  Players! And they're not guarding the leader as Zale predicted! But what are they doing here protecting the bandits?

  I don't know what's happening, but I have a bad feeling about this...