The Mystery of the Urban Legend II

---Chapter 6: The Mystery of the Urban Legend II

Everyone faced Rokugo, who’d just declared that he knew a few more rumors about the Mermaid’s Tear.

“Really?” asked Quartz, feeling hopeful. “So back in the other server you played on, you heard rumors about how to actually obtain the item?”

“Indeed I did.” nodded Rokugo. “Unfortunately, I heard anyone who earnestly tried the methods never actually found the item. In the first place, most wrote them off as mere pranks.”

“So it’s likely just a hoax…?” Quartz sighed, feeling a bit let down, but not surprised given the nature of the internet.

“Really?” Yui interjected. “But would anyone really do that? Just make up fake directions…?”

Everyone else at the table blinked.

“Yui…” Quartz placed his hand on her shoulder. “You truly are a kind soul.”

“???” Yui didn’t understand at all.

“Anyway…” Rokugo continued. “Back in the other server, rumors of the item’s actual function was what served as the main point of gossip, much like what Mint had described before.”

Mint nodded along in acknowledgement.

“But I do recall hearing about supposed methods on how to obtain the item.” Rokugo explained. “The most prominent one was rather straightforward: Defeat every water-attribute boss monster in the game 100 times.”

“O-one hundred?!” Quartz nearly fell out of his seat. “There’s no way that’s real, right?!”

“As I said, none of these are actually proven. This is an item no one’s ever seen with their own eyes, after all.” Rokugo adjusted his glasses. “Another method I recall hearing is to defeat any one of the water-attribute bosses whilst only using equipment with the word ‘fish’ in the name.”

“Okay, now it’s getting bizarre.” Mint smiled wryly.

“I can’t even think of that much equipment with fish in its name…” Striker pondered. “I think I found something called River Fish Gauntlets once, and there were those fish masks from that fishing competition not long ago…”

“These are definitely starting to sound more like practical jokes than legitimate directions…” Quartz sighed.

“But maybe some of them are still worth trying anyway… You never know.” Yui gave Quartz a pleading stare.

“Huh? I mean, I guess we can try… at least any of the feasible ones.” Quartz spoke, as he timidly tried to avoid eye contact.

“What?! You seriously want to give some of these a try? They’re totally bogus, though!” Striker said, believing the futility was obvious.

“I mean, it’s not like we’re gonna go fight the water bosses a hundred times! But if it’s just something silly like wearing fish gear then, well… Why not, you know?” Quartz tried to rationalize the idea.

“I should note that I had heard stories of players trying a few of the simpler methods, such as the one with the fish gear, but they’d always return empty-handed.” Rokugo clarified. “So whether you try or not, please keep that in mind.”

“Yeah, I basically figured as much…” Quartz nodded. “Yui? What do you think?”

“Well, I dunno…” Yui frowned. “A part of me wants to try as much as we can. But I don’t want us all to waste our time, either…”

“The water bosses were frequently cited in the rumors I recall hearing, so it may be worth visiting them regardless.” Rokugo recommended. “Other than the hundred kills rumor, there was another that claimed fighting them in particular order within a certain amount of time would produce the Mermaid’s Tear.”

“I mean, it’s called the Mermaid’s Tear, right?” Mint noted. “Just from that name alone, it’s no wonder the rumors fixated on things themed around water like those bosses.”

“How many water bosses are there in the game anyway?” Striker asked.

“There are five.” Rokugo answered. “There’s the Water Slime out near the magic school, the Chimera Squid in the Beachside Ruins on the southeastern shore, the sea serpent Aquaticus at the end of the Water Cathedral in the northeastern sea, the Aqua Knight in the Demon Queen’s hidden palace, and lastly, there’s Aqua God Neptunix on the Demon Continent where the main story’s climax unfolds.”

“Wow, you sure know your stuff…” Striker was impressed.

“It’d probably take all of us working together to even have a chance of defeating the Aqua Knight, but at our levels we can forget about Neptunix.” Quartz shuddered just thinking about the endgame bosses.

“When it comes to those bosses, I have beaten the first three before. I thought fighting bosses that had to do with water could be what I had to do, but none of them dropped the Mermaid’s Tear…” Yui sighed.

“Oh, is that why you were fighting Aquaticus when I met you?” Quartz noted in realization.

“Haha, yeah.” Yui smiled.

“Well, I’d say you basically get the idea at this point.” Rokugo continued. “There were a handful of other methods, but if you’re going to head out and try them, then I’ll message you a list.”

“Yeah, sounds good.” Quartz nodded.

“Thank you so much for your help, Rokugo!” Yui stood and bowed.

“No thanks necessary.” Rokugo waved her off with a smile. “I never thought I’d come across such an interesting situation. I hope we can resolve your quest and get to the bottom of the Mermaid’s Tear rumors.”

“Yeah!” Yui pumped her fist, now back to her usual energetic self.

After wrapping up the discussion, Quartz and Yui had decided they’d put some time aside throughout the week to try various methods they could manage with the water-themed bosses (aside from the strongest two). Their attempts to chase the rumors had begun.

---

Saint Magus Academy: A school for sorcery located in a forest east of the capital. A river coming in from the coast came out into a large lake that the school was built beside. Around the school, there was a small village with all kinds of facilities. It was a very scenic location.

Though, in the context of the game itself, it’s the town where new players of Myth of Genesis Online begin their journey if they choose the Mage or Healer class.

Today, like any other, there’d be a few new players beginning their journey here. One such player was currently speaking to one of the school teachers: an NPC that normally gave a lot of the beginner quests to get players accustomed to the game. This particular player was nearing the end of their curriculum, and was receiving their final quest from the magic school.

“Oh cherished Mage, you have learned a great many things from our fine academy!” the teacher NPC spoke. “But a great creature looms in the nearby forest, prepared to strike at any time. This will be your final test: find and eliminate this creature so we can hold the graduation ceremony in peace!”

“Oh man, this must be the last boss for this area.” the player muttered.

The player accepted the quest to slay the Water Slime, the big boss lurking in the forest. After stocking up on healing items from a stall in the village, the new player ventured deep into the nearby forest. After circling the lake, they found a small clearing with a few puddles. They’d glimpsed the boss out here before, so they knew they’d likely still find it in this area.

“Looks like someone’s already here…” they whispered, peeking through the shrubbery. But then…

“… Huh?”

Quite a bizarre fight was unfolding before their eyes.

“Its attacks are weak, so I just debuffed its defense! Go land some punches and this shouldn’t take long!” shouted a boy who looked like a Healer.

… But he was wearing an extremely bizarre fish mask on his head. Not only that, but he was wearing a vest that looked like it was made of fish scales, and the only pants he wore seemed to be the basic underwear.

“… Why on earth would anyone dress their character like that?” the new player stared, baffled.

But that’s not all; in front of the Healer was another player. A girl who seemed to be a Fighter-class character was showering the Water Slime with a flurry of punches. Much like the Healer, she was also dressed strangely. She wore the same weird fish mask, but her top was just a bra made of two starfish, and she wore what looked to be a skirt with a giant fish tail extending from the back.

“… Seriously?” they were at a loss for words.

In just a few moments, the two players defeated the Water Slime. After checking through the loot it dropped, they both took their leave.

“… Maybe I should play a different game.” the new player was left with such thoughts as they waited for the boss to respawn.

---

“Well, looks like the fish equipment theory was a bust, as expected.” Quartz sighed.

After a few days of collecting some equipment with the word ‘fish’ in the title, the two had gone and decided to try fighting the weakest of the water bosses using only that equipment. Of course, they came back empty-handed.

“Maybe we should try again sometime… After all, does the ‘fish’ in “Starfish Brassiere” even count as the word ‘fish’ being in the equipment name?” Yui contemplated.

“Oh man, you’re right, maybe it didn’t count…” Quartz fell to his knees in an over-dramatic fashion. “After I spent so many coins on these ridiculous outfits, too!”

Clearly, this wild goose chase of a search was starting to get to him.

“Oh well… At least no one saw us dressed like that.” Quartz muttered to comfort himself, totally oblivious to the truth...

[To be continued…]