Returning Transcendent Opens an Idol Agency

In <World Line>, dungeons were separated into three different types.

The first were field dungeons. These were places in the world that could be freely explored and entered just like in the real world without breaking any sort of immersion.

An example would be the <Tuto Plains> just outside of the <City of Origin>.

Any player could enter a field dungeon, and all players shared the same dungeon upon entering.

The second were instance dungeons. These were places in the world that could only be accessed through <Gates>, glowing portals that led to a dungeon only accessible to the party that entered.

In lore, this was explained away by world line shenanigans. In practice, this was a means for players to privately level up and enjoy the game.

It was also the main way to fight monsters when in <Streamer Mode>, as players couldn't interact with other players or monsters in a field dungeon while in <Streamer Mode>.

The last type were <World Line Rifts>. These were elaborate plot-based dungeons that could be accessed by all players, but only cleared once. Afterwards, it would be gone, with the only record being a replay in the menu, or the written notes made of the events by NPCs.

The Project MirAIs collaboration, and the future Ilgarde collaboration, were of the last type.

At the moment, there were millions of players trying to figure out how to solve the <World Line Rift> and be the first to have that claim to fame.

However, for the Prodigy girls, the only dungeons they had in mind were instance dungeons.

And as for the one chosen by chat...

xxx

Miya looked around the area, hand resting on her sword's hilt to draw it at a moment's notice.

A bright and sunny atmosphere. Vibrant colored fruits and plants in every direction. Altogether, it looked like a set right out of a kid's show with everything appearing almost *too* colorful.

Kuromi walked over to a tree with apples, tomatoes, pears, and peaches hanging on it before gently poking at a tomato. "Is this place really a dungeon?"

Tsubame tilted her head, staring at an oversized watermelon the size of a small car and said, "I wonder that as well. Did our esteemed viewers decide to send us to a peaceful area instead?"

Rhea paused in the middle of grabbing a handful of white strawberries off a bush. She blinked and then said, "Wait. You guys don't know what this dungeon is? Why the heck did you put it on the poll then?"

Miya glanced at her chat and said, "Well, there weren't many options to choose from..."

Although Miya and the other girls had gone through the tutorial and done a bit of leveling, there weren't too many dungeons available for people who hadn't done quests to unlock them.

The three that Miya put on the poll were the only ones that they had access to at the moment without going back into the normal game mode.

That would mean dealing with all the fans and people wanting to meet them though. And considering what happened with Aoko...

Yes. Better to just pick from the starting choices.

Rhea plucked a white strawberry from the bush and said, "Well, at least this place is interesting."

Tsubame's eyes widened and she said, "Ah, Rhea! You should not-"

*STRAAAAAAAAWR*

"W-Whoa!"

An earthshaking roar echoed, sending Rhea stumbling backwards.

She quickly regained her balance and pulled out her pistol. Before she could do anything though, the white strawberries on the bush turned an ominous black and shot towards her.

"What the MMPH!?"

An explosion of black smoke erupted when the strawberries collided with Rhea. The moment they did, holographic Z's began floating around her, and her eyelids started to droop. Barely a second after that, she plopped to the floor, fast asleep.

xxx

[abjectWildfowl] Ooh, she had to pick the Strawrsaur's berries...

[superiorEagle] Of course Rhea would get hit by that first.

[lyingFish] I'm surprised Miya didn't go ingredient hunting.

[curiousSalt] There's poison, sleep, paralysis, stun...

[curiousLion] This is why they nerfed Spore in competitive Capsumon

[pacifiedLocust] Totally haven't died to that guaranteed sleep ability at all. Totally.

xxx

Miya drew her sword and let out a sigh.

Honestly, she should have seen this coming. Rhea was the sort to not really care about her surroundings when something caught her interest...

But this was good information, at least.

"Tsubame, please wake Rhea up with your abilites. Kuromi, we'll take down that monster."

Kuromi dashed forward the moment Miya finished talking. "Already on it, Miya!"

"STRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWR!"

Another roar echoed as the ground around the strawberry bush started to shake. Dirt and leaves exploded before a shiny reptile head made from red berries peered out. "BEEEEEEERRRRYYY!"

Kuromi grinned and then jumped into the air, doing a flip into an overhead heel smash. "Berry... Smash!"

A flurry of vines shot out to lash at Kuromi.

She couldn't dodge them. Since she committed to the jump attack, it was impossible to change her attack trajectory.

*sching*

A flash of silver, followed by scattering green fluid. And then, immediately after that, a loud *squelch* and pained roar.

Miya wrinkled her nose in disgust at the green fluid splattering her. However, she quickly fixed her expression and focused on the battle, pointing her sword towards the strawberry bush.

Kuromi kicked off the ground and flipped back through the air, landing next to Miya... as well as sending bits of random fruit chunks and goop all over.

Miya resisted the urge to scrub off all the goop and instead took a deep breath. "Kuromi. How many times have we said to not jump in to fight an unknown opponent?"

"It's fine!" Kuromi grinned and gave a thumbsup to Miya. "You've got my back, so I've got nothing to worried about!"

"...Hah..."

xxx[cautiousCrane] Wow.

[grizzledSeahorse] YOU CAN DO THAT?

[mellowFerret] Okay, so maybe Monk-types aren't that weak?

[madRaisins] Did she... Did she just one-shot the Strawrsaur with a drop kick before the healthbar even appeared?

[pitifulDotterel] Of course the anime girls would fight like anime characters.

[dreadfulFlamingo] Wait. Since the physics engine is super good... does that mean they can fight like that IRL!?

xxx

"stawr...berry..."

A weak roar echoed from the strawberry bush. Shortly after, a floating HP bar and name tag appeared.

[Strawrsaur the Berry Mad Lizard]

HP: 10/?????

xxx

Miya immediately flung her sheath at the Strawrsaur's head.

*bonk*

"Straw...rawr..."

The HP immediately drained to zero. When it did, the Strawrsaur flashed a rainbow color before bursting into light, leaving behind a basket of rainbow-colored strawberries.

It also caused the gunk surrounding the area to dissolve into light as well, something that made Miya let out a sigh of relief.xxx

[lovesickBoars] And of course they get the rarest drop first.

[dearMoth] Wait. So is it a guaranteed drop if you break the berry bush?

[goofyApples] New speedrun strat confirmed?

[ferventMacaw] Oh look, Rhea's just waking up again.

[wrathfulFish] This is what happens when a ranged dps gets close, lol

[relievedAntelope] Rhea should have just tried to find the Aqualux Painter job instead of picking Gunner...

xxx

Rhea groaned and then sat up, shaking her head. "What the heck just happened?"

Tsubame lowered her staff and said, "You tried to eat something you should not have."

Rhea blinked and then jumped to her feet, her face a beet-red. "I wasn't trying to eat it! I just wanted to get a closer look at it!"

Kuromi dashed over to Rhea and patted her on the back. "Don't worry, Rhea! I think the fruits look pretty tasty too!"

Rhea growled in response. But then she let out a breath and collected herself. "Whatever." She looked around at the fruits and then pulled out her pistol. "Since these fruits are the monsters..."

*click*

"...I'm taking you all out."

With those cold words, Rhea took aim at the closest fruit. As for said closest fruit, it was the giant watermelon Tsubame was looking at earlier.

xxx

[hushedBagels] lol

[drearyPretzels] It's happening again.

[wornoutCamel] Melosaurus Rex let's goooo!

[crummyCur] No wonder this is an E-ranked dungeon.

[ecstaticRaisins] Isn't this whole place just a trap for fruit lovers?

[outlyingStork] Has nobody here watched the Chocolate Factory?

[vengefulDinosaur] Partywipe in-bound?

[dreadfulSardines] I thought this was a membership announcement stream?

[zestyApricots] Time for announcements? lol

xxx

Miya's eyes widened as she read her chat, and she quickly turned to Rhea. "Rhea, wait!"

"You don't get to tell me what to do, Mimi!"

*BANG*

A flashy explosion erupted from Rhea's gun. A skill, enhancing the power of her shot.

But...

*BOING*

...All that happened was that the watermelon jiggled before bouncing the bullet up into the sky.

xxx

[gutturalPiglet] Oh yeah. The Melosaurus Rex is immune to projectiles, isn't it?

[importedSmelt] Reaaaally should have stuck to painting, Rhea. XD

[thrilledFalcon] No cap.

[bubblyHyena] All Rhea has to do is riz up the rex. Ezpz.

[solidQuiche] ...Do you two even know what those terms mean...?

xxx

"E-Eh?" Rhea stepped back and looked at her gun, confused.

"MELOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!"

A roar echoed through the forest, shaking the ground. Shortly after, the ground beneath the watermelon erupted, sending dirt scattering everywhere. The watermelon rose through the air and revealed the body of a towering dinosaur with green and black striped skin beneath it.

Then the watermelon jiggled before cracking open to reveal gleaming crimson teeth... which were basically just watermelon slices.

Rhea just stood there in shock. "...What the hell is this game's art direction?"

"SAUR!"

A blur of green and black. The Melonsuarus Rex rushing forward to snap at Rhea's head.

Kuromi dashed forward to interrupt it with an uppercut, smacking the monster's jaw shut and sending it staggering. "Rhea! You can think about the yummy fruit later!"

Rhea groaned and said, "I'm not thinking about the-"

"DUCK!"

"Huh? Wh-"

*GULP*

"..."

xxx

[sheepishSheep] lol

[enragedPiglet] ded

[pitifulWildfowl] Of course.

[solemnMoth] Why does this seem like a horror movie setup

[grizzledPaella] I'm getting Magia flashbacks...

[grudgingTuna] Do you want to be a magical girl too?

[kirido_kurokenshi] And this, people, is why the ranger always stays at the back.

xxx

Miya stared at the melon dinosaur for a brief moment before shaking her head and drawing her sword. "Okay. I think that's enough embarrassment for everyone..." She sighed and said, "Come on, Kuromi. Rhea's probably still alive, so let's cut her out. And then let's start with the membership announcements before something else goes wrong..."