Well, I did not expect this.

To be greeted with a greeting like this.

About twenty forest elves are currently aiming their bows at us.

They are all females, clad in green leaflike dresses with wide skirts that end up above their knees. All of them have a beautiful yet proud face, which what you would expect from elves.

The one in charge seems to be the girl in front of me. She has a long straight blonde hair that go to her waist. She has a slim build, with a quite delicious long legs.

"What are your business here? And how are you able to use the Phantasma gate? Speak!" she says with an authoritative tone.

"W-well, you see, we're..."

Before I can finish my sentence, a wind suddenly blows.

Apparently, it's quite a perverted wind since it lifts all the forest elves' skirts present.

"N-nopan!"

Yes, indeed. None of them are wearing any panties underneath, revealing the full glory of their womanhood, all twenty of them, to my lecherous eyes.

When they realize what is happening, it is already too late. I've already taken in the glorious sight.

I find their reaction both amusing and exhilarating. Some of them act like the typical school girl when their skirts are blown by the wind, going "Kyaaaaaah!" while blushing, trying to make their skirts go down. And then there are others who maintain their bow with arrow pose, pretending to not care that their maidenly bit is exposed to the world. I say pretending because they clearly care, what with the red of their cheeks and their faces looking like they're about to cry yet angry at the same time.

Surprisingly, the leader's expression is of the former.

It's really cute how she tries to salvage what dignity she has left by going back to her serious, stoic persona after she just went "Hyaaaaaa!" while trying to cover her naughty bit.

"A-anyway," she stutters while blushing, "S-state your case, o-or else I'm going to order them to shoot."

Oh, I can't resist. I just have to tease her.

"Very well, but first, I am obligated to say that I am really thankful for the beautiful sight you have given me, for you see, it's not a common occurrence for a man to be granted the sight of the maidenly flower hidden beneath the graceful skirts of the elves."

"Y-you... you degenerate human! Kill him!"

They launch their arrows at me. Before Eleanore erects her shield barrier, I signal at her to stand her ground, for I'm planning to show the elves just who are they dealing with. I know these NPC Elves don't have that high of a level, so they shouldn't be able to deal a significant damage to me.

I was right. All twenty arrows hit me, but I don't feel any significant pain from them. My HP only decreases slightly from them.

"You might want to take that back, Miss Elven Commander," I say casually as I pull out the arrows from my body, "I don't think you want to piss off someone that can knock you all out in just a mere second."

"Y-you, y-you must be a demon! That's right! You must be one of the Maou's generals! Quick, send for backup!"

"There won't be a need for that, Germina-chan."

The voice comes from the trees above us. All of us look up to see a young girl about 10 years old crouching on a branch of a tall tree above us. She has a short bushy blonde hair, only reaching to her shoulders. She wears an outfit somewhat similar to the ones the elven warriors wear, but with a smaller and shorter skirt. She has quite a mischievous expression on her face.

And then, my eyes widen as with her crouching like that, I can see that she's not wearing any panties too.

D-damn you Akira, l-look away! Y-you're not supposed a lolicon!

The elven leader also notices this fact.

"A-ah, H-Hime-sama, y-you're flashing your..." she whispers loudly, as contradictory as that may sound.

"I know what I am doing, Germina-chan," she replies with a grin, before fixing her gaze at me. "Hey, you there. Like what you're seeing, hmm?"

"N-no! I-I don't--!" I quickly deny it. I can already feel some murderous intent coming from the two girls behind me.

"I don't mind if you look, as long as you do this task I'm going to give you."

Then, the little girl jumps from her position, her skirt fluttering upwards as she's falling, revealing the entire nakedness of her lower body.

I would've had a massive nosebleed if I were an anime character.

"The name's Layla, and I'm the crown princess of the Wood Elf queendom," she says right away after landing nimbly in front of me. "Even though I may look like a little girl, I'm actually older than you. Far older in fact. So don't feel guilty if you have lustful thoughts on me."

W-what is this... loli baba?

'So, right into business. I assume you're the rumored summoned hero, seeing you can use the teleportation gates no one else can use. So I assume you're pretty strong, yes?"

"Y-yeah.." I answer.

"Then, I have a favor to ask. I want you to accompany me to explore a certain place, be a bodyguard of mine. As much as it annoys me to say this, our most highly skilled warriors weren't good enough for that place."

"W-what place?"

"Isn't it obvious? The place I believe you also want to get into. A Phantasma ruin." She said with a chesire-cat like grin.

***

And thus, she explains to us everything. It turns out her race is also researching the long lost Phantasma civilization, to the point where they know the function of the teleportation gates (thus ordering her people to stand guard there in case someone uses them to invade) and the location of the a Phantasma ruin near them.

It's called "The Den of Monsters", a name that doesn't particularly forebode well. And like the name spells, it's populated by many monsters. And not just any ordinary monsters. They're all from mid to very high boss tier monsters. And there are dozens of them. And they will attack you at once with no mercy whatsoever.

No wonder Layla waited until I get here. Sending her weak troops will just get them slaughtered.

After some more chitchat, and an apology from the elven leader, Layla leads us to where the entrance to the ruin is.

Ingeniously enough, it's built on the base of the Grand Tree where her castle is. No players would have expected this, since there's a belief that Phantasma ruins are all located on obscure, hidden, and remote places, not in the middle of a damn capital.

The entrance is a lot different from the entrance to the Maze of Air. There, it's clear you're entering a Phantasma ruin. Here, it's literally just a small hole only fit for one person to go through at once.

"We're supposed to jump down here?"

"Of course. And let me remind you that we can't go back from this hole. We'll have to search for another exit in the Den itself. I was lucky that I managed to escape that one time."

I look at Lilia and Eleanore, both have nervous expressions on their faces, though it's more pronounced on Lilia.

"So, you two ready?"

"Y-yes, A-Akira-sama!"

"Of course. I'm always ready."

And so we jump through the hole. I go first, followed by Layla, Lilia, and then Eleanore.

The fall seems to take forever, as if we're falling to hell itself.

However, eventually, the scenery shifts. From the white brick walls to a huge and massive savanna stretching out to the horizon.

Welcome to the Den of Monsters.