"A «Gold Chest» after so long!"

"And I'm opening it, of course!"

"Hold your horses there for a second, won't you!?"

Before I knew it, the ever-sharp Lana was right beside me. It's totally strange. I mean, she, our rear-guard, was much further back just a moment ago!

How on earth did she get here so fast?!

Hmm, looking back, she'd been there all along. We'd even shared the afterglow of the boss battle together. Oh well, no matter.

"Lana-sama, if you'd be so kind as to wait a moment."

"Ester?! Could it be that you want to open it?!"

To my surprise, it was Ester who put a stop to things. Now that's a rare sight! Ester volunteering for something!

"No, not at all. What I mean is you've opened quite a number of treasure chests recently, including the «Hedonist Beast Iron Sword» and the complete recipe collection of «Chivalrous Code of Woman Series», so perhaps it's time to let someone else have a turn."

"Mmm, I see your point," Lana hummed.

Ester smoothly approached Lana and whispered in her ear. It's just, being so close, I could hear every word.

Still, Ester had a point. Lana had been on an incredible lucky streak lately. Or perhaps it had always been this way? She'd even pulled the «Hedonist Beast Iron Sword» after we'd pulled out all the stops trying to get it, and the very next week, she hit the jackpot with the complete recipe collection, a rare drop from «Demon Dungeon». It was an outrageous run of luck.

She definitely had something going for her. I am so green with envy. I make so many offerings to the «Sachineko-sama», too! What makes her so different?!

Ah, wait a minute! Lana always has the «Sachineko-sama» on her lap... could it be? No, no, it must be my imagination, just my imagination! Phew, that was so close. I almost stumbled upon a revelation best left undiscovered.

While I was wrestling with my inner turmoil, the conversation continued.

"How about Sierra-dono?"

"Me?"

"Yes. We'd appreciate it if you could get something good."

"You're asking for quite a lot there, aren't you?"

The spotlight had fallen on Sierra. I see, yes. Sierra hadn't opened a «Gold Chest» for quite a while. Or, rather, she hadn't landed any rare drops. So, Ester, aiming for balance, had passed the chance to Sierra.

Getting too many good things from Gold Chests might invite unnecessary animosity. Back in the game, there was a time when reporting only good fortune gradually led to harsh slaps from other players. (Though it had no real impact.)

Whether such things truly happen in real life or not, balance and taking turns are important.

Lana, Ester, and I had all opened countless Gold Chests when we were trying to get the «Hedonist Beast Iron Sword». But Sierra hadn't been part of the party then. The weapons we got back then, the «Drift Ice Dagger - Silence» and «Skyscrapper« was currently equipped by Karua, and Ester. Sierra got nothing.

So, Ester's reasoning was perfectly understandable.

"Alright. I'll open it then."

"You got this, Sierra! Go for the ultra-rare drop! Get something powerful!"

"It's the field boss's «Gold Chest drop», so there are often some rare items mixed in. Especially since this is a fairy dungeon. There are even drops like «Summon Disk»!"

A «Summon Disc» of healer boss would be insanely in demand. It's not just for defense battles; the demand for «Summoners» in general would become immeasurable as well. The problem, though, was that «Eden» doesn't have any »Summoners».

I was already hoping that when Fraumina managed to reach this dungeon, she could tame fairy-type monsters.

"Oh, come on, everyone, stop putting so much pressure on me. What if I'm aletdown?"

"It's Sierra, so it's fine even if she's a letdown."

"So just open it without a care in the world!"

"Those words have absolutely no persuasive power whatsoever."

"You two sure are good friends."

Hehehe, you're naive, Sierra. We, players, always tackle treasure chests with all our might. We'd acquire «Sachineko-sama», make offerings and prayers to maximize our luck, and keep offering and praying. Then we open it with a snap, experience highs and lows, and then get slapped (or do the slapping). That's how you enjoy the thrill!

We're not who we are if we don't keep expecting good stuff!!

As Lana and I gazed at Sierra with sparkling eyes, she let out a small sigh and turned back to the «Gold Chest». If Sierra gets something good here, it'll bring things back into balance. I really hope she gets something good!

"Karua, Ester, cheer for Sierra!"

"Huh? I don't need that kind of thing, you know?"

"Mmm, good luck, Sierra."

"Please bring forth something excellent."

"Hey!"

"Sierra, pray to «Sachineko-sama» very, very nicely for something good. «Sachineko-sama» will absolutely never let you down!"

"Your trust in «Sachineko-sama» is far too high."

"Because it's «Sachineko-sama», of course!"

"Haaah. I'm going to open it now, okay? «Sachineko-sama», please."

" "Please!" "

Sierra prayed, and we followed suit. O' divine «Sachineko-sama», please grant our wish! If you do, we'll offer up plenty of delicious meat – I mean, offerings!

*Snap*

Sierra popped open the «Gold Chest», and we all leaned in to peek. What Sierra pulled out was a single pendant.

"Oh, this is «Nature Adaptation Pendant»!"

"Well, Zephyr, is it a good drop or what?!"

Lana, speaking for everyone, asked me. Sierra, Ester, and Karua were all looking at me intently.

"It's an excellent drop! A highly sought-after, great piece of equipment! With this one item, you gain resistance to all environmental negative effects!"

This pendant, in fact, was even better than the «Nature's Leaf Ornament» I'd talked about earlier in adaptation to changes. Besides its high magic defense stat, its unique «Nature Adaptation» skill was incredibly potent.

The 31st and upward floors in this dungeon were winter areas, and some specific regions even had snow zones where a negative environment took its toll. They also inflict random debuffs. When combat begins, you start with some kind of negative debuff attached to your stats. It's a rather troublesome negative effect.

To escape those, you either had to have «Cold Resist» skill, or «Hot Drink». There were many types of negative environmental effects.

The most common was DoT damage due in the heat prominent region, and debuff from winter prominent region. (T/N - For reference, it's like losing health from too much heat, hence damage over time effect. In winter case, it's mostly freeze or slow which slower your movement speed so a debuff)

There's also reduced movement speed from strong winds, decreased maximum HP from dehydration, reduced attack accuracy from darkness, and even reduced potion effects from polluted environments, and many more. These were all environmental conditions that could occur in advanced dungeons.

Conversely, there were corresponding items and skills to prevent them. However, it could be annoying or sometime it would slip out of your mind to bring the right item for each environment. For those who faced such problems, there existed an all-purpose item or skill, so to speak—indeed, the «Nature Adaptation» ability.

This one item possessed extremely useful effects. I began explaining it to everyone.

"Heh, that sounds fun! I want to try it out a little!"

"...Speaking of which, the next floor is a winter area, isn't it? Would it be alright to just peek in?"

"Yeah, we definitely want to try it now that we've got it!"

Curiosity about the effects of a newly acquired item and the desire to try it out was a gamer's psychology. It might even be a universal truth, not just for gamers.

"Alright, let's go give it a quick try then!"

And so, it was decided. Since we didn't have much time, it would just be a quick peek.

We hastily gathered the drops and headed for the gate to the 31st floor. First, Sierra swapped her accessory and equipped the pendant. It's a passive skill, so the effect should already be active, but it wasn't clear here.

"Let's go!"

"It might be cold, but bear with it for a bit."

With that, we entered the gate. A winter landscape, with plants withered all over, immediately greeted us. No snow was visible yet.

After a moment, a sudden, chilling wind swept over us.

"Ugh, it's freezing!"

"It truly is winter, isn't it?"

"Mmm, cold. *Shiver*."

Lana, looking somewhat amused, wrap her arm around herself, while Ester stood in a position to shield her from the wind, surveying the surroundings. The member prominently affected was Karua, the cat-kin, as she shivered visibly. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Meanwhile, Sierra was "It really isn't cold at all."

She looked at us with a bewildered expression, then began checking her own body. She didn't seem cold in the slightest.

"Hey, Sierra, let me try next! I want to wear it too!"

"Sure. —Here you go."

"Thanks."

"—! Wow, that was a surprise. It's cold now!"

The moment Sierra took off the pendant and handed it to Lana, she placed her hand on her hairs and shivered. It seemed the pendant even blocked out the winter wind.

"Wow, it really isn't cold at all! This is kind of fun!"

Lana, with the pendant hanging next to her talisman, looked around at her body with a puzzled expression, then excitedly twirled around, making her skirt flutter slightly.

After that, Ester and Karua took turns experiencing the effect firsthand. Next, it was my turn, or so I thought, but—

"Zephyr, no, I'm not giving this back."

"Karua, wait!"

"No way!"

She ran off. A full-on escape!

It seemed the winter cold had hit her harder than expected. She refused to hand it over to me and bolted. Damn it! When she run, even I was no match!

Before I knew it, time was up. We returned to the 30th floor and had to use the shortcut warp gate to go home.

That day, I learned for the first time that there existed a being who could outrun the hero.

T/N - Just a heads up, I read about the illustration page error—though it's been couple weeks since then—and have fixed it. All the illustration, coloured and b&w should be now properly in their places.