Artificial Fantasy

Chapter 44: The Guardian's Gratitude

[But after I saw that you were able to achieve the impossible and destroy the source of the plague for good, I forgive you.]

...

W-Wait, seriously?!

"W-W-W-Wait...! So... you're not mad over what we \did in order to kill that monster?!"

[If I was enraged, then I would have bound you and declared so before giving you your punishments. But in spite of your reckless actions, you managed to locate and destroy the [Black Willow's] heart and stop the plague from spreading outside the forest. Because of that, I am genuinely grateful and I thank you both for what you have done for my home.]

Wow? We were desperate wanted to destroy it as fast as possible for his and Kazu's sakes. I guess despite the risks of our plan, we had managed to achieve our goal and save the <Tested Wilds>.

"Y-Your welcome, Mr. Bai Hu," Kazu spoke up as he tried to keep himself from falling off from my shoulder. "We did what we had to do in order to save your home."

[Yes, I can see that. However, while I commend you for your bravery and heroic act, there is still the problem regarding the fire that you accidentally instigated and you two need to rectify it without using your magic as a part of a punishment for your reckless act.]

In other words, it was like a community service. Well, at least it was better than having a rematch against the guardian. Plus, we only had about 45 minutes left before we have to log out anyway, so how hard could it be to douse a fire in this fantasy world?

----

Turns out, I ended up putting my foot on my mouth after I realized that carrying a bucket full of water had really taken a toll on my virtual arms. In short. It took us several minutes to scoop water from a nearby river, carry it over and to throw it on the fire. Bai Hu had already cured Kazu's [Paralysis] condition, but from what I can tell from his expression, he wasn't having such has a good time putting out the fire either. Of course, it would take more than just me and Kazu to put out the flames.

Bai Hu, despite not allowing us to use magic to combat the fire, didn't leave us without any help, however. He instructed the hippo monster to douse the larger flames that spread over half of the former [Black Willow's] domain with the water cannon on its back. However, because there was a chance that it could miss some of the smaller flames below them, it's up to us to take care of those. And boy, it took almost half of our mental stamina to endure the medieval firefighting, due to us using only buckets of water and nothing else.

Eventually, after nearly an hour, the fire had been extinguished, and me and Kazu collapsed on the ground, groaning and gasping in exhaustion. Maybe fighting Bai Hu in boss battle would've been a better punishment after all. Exhaustion aside, I was glad that the <Tested Wilds> were now free of not only the forest fire, but also the wrath of the [Black Willow] and its poisonous fog. But, I was beat!

I heard Kazu gasping and groaning right beside me.

"Man, that was brutal...," he muttered. "And I thought my PE classes were painful..."

"Aye... We did save the forest, but I doubt I can ever do that again in real life or online. At least I know that firefighting isn't for me..." I wheezed, too exhausted to say anything else. "In any case, we should log out for the night."

I didn't just mean we're exhausted in a physical sense. We had spent an entire night traversing the forest and ended up beating the monstrous plague tree. And right now, all I want is to go back and head to bed.